15 - The Best Policy (Part III)
Trixie awoke feeling less than ‘Great and Powerful’ as she looked to her side to find herself alone in her bed. After giving her mind a few seconds to clear she remembered that she had gone to bed by herself last night after having given up on waiting for Rainbow Dash. With an aggravated yawn, Trixie rubbed her eyes and used her magic to remove her bed wear.
“What time is it?” Trixie asked herself aloud, looking over to the clock on the floor and waiting for her vision to clear so that she could read it. “About nine… Well, I guess Trixie can start her day early for today.”
Walking over to her vanity mirror with her horn glowing, and assortment of objects began to float around Trixie. A manebrush came down to fix her bed mane, an eyelash curler moved to her front to tend to her eyelashes, and a horn file made contact with her horn and began to file it.
She then turned on her sink and brought over her toothbrush and toothpaste. Whilst focussed on that, she looked towards her pantry to think about what she would have for lunch later that day. A smile came to Trixie’s face as she took in all of the things now filling her trailer. “Just one good show, and Trixie went from rationing fruit to living the sweet life.
“And to think, all Trixie had to do was place her faith in one pony.” As Trixie turned back to her mirror and began to brush her teeth, she started to think. ‘Rainbow Dash really came around at just the right time… I wonder why she never showed up last night?’
A knock sounded at Trixie’s door. She quickly spat out the toothpaste in her mouth and turned to face her door. “Who is it?!”
“It’s us, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Trixie rolled her eyes. ‘Great. Dumb and Dumbest.’ “The Great and Powerful Trixie will she you as soon as she is ready!”
“We understand! We’ll just wait right out here for you!”
With a sigh, Trixie returned to the task of brushing her teeth. ‘It’s not like I hate dedicated fans, and I get what Dash means about appreciating the hardcore fans that always stayed loyal to me. But if it wasn’t for those two, I never would have-’
“Are you ready yet?!”
Trixie emptied her mouth once more and glared towards her door. “IF YOU INTERRUPT THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE ONCE MORE, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELFVES WISHING YOU NEVER LEFT YOUR HOMES TODAY!”
A yelp came from outside. “S-Sorry! I’ll be quiet ‘til you come out!”
‘“You’re being too hard on them”, is what Dash would probably say,’ Trixie thought to herself as she placed her manebrush down and finished brushing her teeth. ‘… Yeah, well, maybe you should have shown up last night if you wanted me to be easy on them… I’m going to have to ask her about that later.’
After a further fifteen minutes of making herself presentable for her loving public, Trixie donned her hat and cape and grabbed an empty plastic bottle from her nightstand. After a moment to ready herself, Trixie opened the door to her trailer and stepped outside.
“Good morning, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Snips and Snails shouted in unison as they crowded the mare.
“We’re ready for your lessons on magic!” Snips proclaimed with an excited smile.
“Please shower us with your infinite wisdom!” Snails pleaded.
Trixie kept the two from muddying her coat with their hooves by use of her magic. She shot them a glare that told them to settle down, and it seemed that the message was received loud and clear as the two immediately stopped in place and ceased talking at once.
“Yes, yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie has agreed to take you under her wing,” Trixie recapped as she made her way past the two colts. “And yes, the challenges ahead of you will be tough.”
“Oh boy!” Snips shouted, hopping up-and-down on the spot. “I can’t wait! What is it? Fireballs? Fighting wolves? Walking on our horns?”
“It will be- Walking on horns?” Trixie asked, giving the colt a strange look. “That’s just stupid.” ‘… Though if that is somehow possible, it would certainly draw a crowd. I’ll look into it later.’ Trixie shook her head and presented the two colts with a bottle. “Your first task for today will be to bring the Great and Powerful Trixie some water.”
The bottle landed at Snips’ hooves, and the two colts stared at it for a moment before looking back up at Trixie. “That’s it?” Snips asked, the disappointment in his voice plain and clear.
“That doesn’t sound so hard,” Snails said.
“Now hold on,” Trixie said. “There are some rules. First, the amount you bring must match up to the red line. No more, no less.” Trixie indicated a very thin red line on the bottle, just halfway up the neck.
“That’s still not very-” Snips began.
“Furthermore,” Trixie interrupted, “The bottle is enchanted. Whenever it moves, any water inside will evaporate.”
“Then how do we move it?” Snails asked.
“You may use the bottle for measuring out the water only, and to do so you must keep it absolutely still as you pour the water in and take it out,” Trixie told the colts. “After that, you must bring the empty bottle and the water to Trixie. Be warned, though, that if you are even slightly over or below the correct quantity of water, you will not pass. The final rule is that the water can only be transported in your magic.”
“In our magic?” Snips asked.
“Observe.” Trixie’s horn lit up. Behind her, the water in the lake began to rise up into the air and shape into a sphere that floated above the ground. “Like this. Holding water is one thing, but moving it without spilling a drop is something else. It is a great way to practise very finely controlling your magic and focussing your mind.”
“But we don’t know how to hold water in our magic,” Snails told Trixie. Snips nodded beside him.
“It is the same levitation spell that you use on solid objects. It is just a little more difficult because the particles are spaced further apart. Just keep trying and you should get the hang of it soon enough.”
“Really? Okay! Let’s do this!” Snips closed his eyes and pointed his horn towards the lake.
“Oh yeah, almost forgot,” Trixie said, causing Snips to reopen his eyes. “The water must come from the fountain in the town square. Trixie added a sweetener to the water there so that she will be able to tell that you used the correct water, and that you didn’t add from any other source on your way back to Trixie.”
“Are you allowed to do that?” Snails asked. “Other ponies drink from that.”
“There was no sign telling Trixie not to,” Trixie said, pointing her nose into the air. “You may begin whenever you are ready. Keep in mind that Trixie will not simply remain in one spot at all times though. But the Great and Powerful Trixie has so generously prepared these tracking crystals for the two of you.”
Snips and Snails held out their forehooves as two small, blue crystals were levitated their way. “It’s warm,” Snails commented.
“They get warmer the closer you are to Trixie. Think of it as an additional exercise in tracking somepony using only those crystals, though there are no explicit rules on asking ponies for directions.”
With a nod, Snips put the crystal away and turned to his friend. “Alright! We can do this in ten seconds flat!”
“But it takes ten minutes to get to the town square from here,” Snails pointed out.
“No, I was- Ah, forget it! Race you there!” Snips bolted past Trixie, leaving his friend in the dust.
“Hey, no fair!” Snails protested as he took chase, leaving Trixie alone at last.
“Well thank goodness,” she said to herself as she released the water in her hold, allowing it to drop down back into the lake. “That should keep them busy for… at least a week, I’d say. Perhaps Trixie should have told them to take regular breaks… Ah, I’m sure they can’t be that stupid.
“Anyway, there’s a more pressing matter at hoof right now.” Trixie turned to the direction opposite to the town. “Gotta find Dashie and demand an explanation for her absence last night.”
It was nearing afternoon, and Rainbow Dash still refused to climb out of her bed. Her stomach was growling, but she refused to get up and make herself some lunch. Her mane was in her eyes, but the only effort she put towards clearing it was simply blowing some air upwards. Her leg was asleep… That actually bothered her, so she finally decided to roll onto her back.
“Damnit. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m still not even tired.” Memories of the events the previous night invaded Rainbow Dash’s thoughts. The dreaded words from Scootaloo’s mouth echoed throughout her mind, ringing louder and louder until-
A sudden ringing to her right startled Rainbow Dash. She turned to see her alarm clock, which she had smacked earlier to shut it up, was going off. And it sounded broken. “What am I gonna do?” she asked herself as she sat up and reached for her clock, opening the panel on the back and taking out the batteries inside. The ringing stopped, and silence fell. “Darn it, what do I do?!”
Rainbow Dash looked around the room, hoping to find something that would provide some answers. “I’m not sure what to say to her,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she lowered her gaze and stared down at the cloud floor beneath her hooves. “I mean, I’ve rejected ponies before, but… not children. Not my sister.
“Sister… Sister! That’s it!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she dropped her clock and jumped into the air, slapping her wings to hover above her bed. “Fluttershy’s like a sister to me! She’s always willing to lend an ear! … Except, she’s probably less likely to know what to do than me.” Rainbow Dash deflated as she slowly touched back down onto her bed. “Knowing her, she’d just hide if she were in this situation. But maybe… maybe somepony else will know what to do.”
Rainbow Dash brought a hoof to her chin and weighed her options. “Pinkie Pie? Nah, she’d just throw a party. How about Scootaloo’s parents? No way. That’d just make things more awkward. Twilight’s pretty smart… but I don’t think she’s the best source for relationship advice. Oh! How about Scootaloo’s teacher? But this isn’t really a school matter, so… Rarity? Hmmm…”
A bulb lit up above Rainbow’s head. “Hey, yeah! Rarity and Applejack know about dealing with kids, and Rarity’s got tons of those old romance novels lying around her store! She’s like, the Twilight of ‘Romance Education’!”
With a firm nod, Rainbow Dash’s course was set. Picking herself up once more, Rainbow Dash bolted out of her window and towards the town of Ponyville. It wasn’t long before she heard the sounds of somepony familiar calling up to her. “Oh shoot. I’d better apologise to her, first.”
“Rainbow Dash’s home looks pretty nice,” Trixie commented to herself as the large cloud house entered her vision. “I wonder how she affords it? Perhaps her mother was rich…”
Trixie stopped and looked up. She could see a rainbow trail leading out of Rainbow Dash’s home and heading towards the town. “HEY!” she called up. “HEEEEEEY!”
Her voice seemed to have reached Rainbow’s ears as the pegasus began to descend towards her. “Hey Trix, I-”
“You seemed to be in an awful hurry,” Trixie said as she approached Rainbow Dash. “You going somewhere?”
“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to-”
“And not even a word of apology for standing Trixie up last night?” Trixie asked with a teasing grin on her face.
Rainbow Dash didn’t pick up on the tone in the showmare’s voice, though. She had other things on her mind. ‘I can’t let Trixie know what’s up. She’s just got past that whole ‘world is against me’ thing, and after what happened with Melody… she could use a break from worries and stressful situations.’
“Well, perhaps you had something more important to attend to?” Trixie asked, her grin falling as she noted Rainbow Dash’s silence.
“Uh, yeah. T-That’s it. I just had something to take care of, so…”
Trixie eyed Rainbow Dash for a moment. The pegasus looked uneasy. She kept looking past Trixie and it was clear that she was in a hurry to take off. “Well, I suppose it was late. Still, you’d better make up for it. Let’s say, at the ice-cream store? Right now?”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Oh, gee, sorry Trixie. I kinda… got something to take care of.”
Trixie’s narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Really? Well, perhaps Trixie can tag along? Maybe offer you a helping hoof?”
Sweat began to drip down Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “Uh, maybe next time. I’d prefer to do this on my own.” Rainbow Dash began to walk forward. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you around…”
“Wait,” Trixie said, following after Rainbow Dash. “What’s going on? What are you doing that’s so important?”
“I can’t tell you,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just go do something else for a while.”
“Why can’t you tell Trixie?”
“I just can’t.”
Trixie, no longer amused by Rainbow’s antics, teleported herself before the pegasus, stopping her in her tracks. “Now hold on! I was prepared to accept whatever excuse you had for standing me up last night, but this is just-”
“It’s none of your business!” Rainbow Dash snapped, startling Trixie. She flapped her wings to gain some lift. “Look, just leave me alone, alright? I wanna be alone right now!”
Trixie didn’t say another word as she simply stared up at Rainbow Dash in surprise. Taking her silence as an ‘okay’, Rainbow Dash flew away over her head, heading towards the town.
‘I’m such a moron,’ Rainbow thought to herself as she flew. ‘I just didn’t want her to worry or concern herself over all this. She needs a break from stuff like that… I’ll make it up to her later. Right now, I gotta sort this whole Scootaloo thing out.’
Trixie continued to watch Rainbow Dash until she was out of sight. Her head then lowered and she stared at the ground in thought. ‘‘Leave me alone’? ‘I want to be alone’? What… was she trying to tell me?’ A drop of water hit the ground.
Trixie looked up to see that the sky was clear, and quickly ran a foreleg across her face, finding her cheeks to be wet.
After an eventful morning of wearing out her marefriend and then freaking her out with the thought of one day adopting a foal of their own, Applejack was enjoying some long overdue relaxation time. Rarity had to go out to meet with a client about some sort of partnership, and the farm was being tended to by Big Macintosh and Braeburn, who had somehow started some sort of competition together whilst the latter was visiting their town for the week,
It wasn’t often that Applejack decided to just lie about and do nothing, but there was something about that day, something that just made her feel like kicking back and letting the day pass her by. Maybe it has the warm weather, or maybe those spa trips were starting to affect her as she said they would.
Either way, Applejack was certainly enjoying herself. Rarity’s boutique was certainly warm, and she had actually come to like the fragrant aromas that filled the air. And heck, the cushions at the farm had nothing on the soft pillows of heaven that the fashion designer had laying about.
“Eeyup,” Applejack said to herself contently. “It’s gonna be a good day.”
“RARITY!” a voice shouted as the front door to the boutique slammed open. The bell ringing above the door hardly seemed necessary at that point. It was fairly clear that her relaxing afternoon was about to end.
“Afternoon, Dash,” Applejack said as she sat up and faced her friend, who was looking around the boutique with an almost-panicky look on her face. “What’s up?”
“Oh, hey Applejack. Don’t suppose Rarity’s around, is she?”
Applejack shook her head. “Nah, she’s out. What is it? Ya need a dress?” she asked with a smirk.
“I need to ask her something,” Rainbow said with an annoyed look. “I got sort of a problem on my hooves. Where is she?”
Applejack’s smirk fell and she climbed to her hooves to approach Rainbow Dash. “Well, ah’m not entirely sure ta be honest, but… what’s this problem ya said y’all have?”
“It’s nothing you’d be interested in,” Rainbow Dash said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.
Applejack’s brow furrowed. “Dash, we’re friends. O’course ah’d be interested in whatever problems ya have.”
“But it’s not something you could help with.”
Applejack tipped her hat forward with a confident grin on her face. “Try me.”
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment before nodding and telling Applejack her story. She told her about Scootaloo’s confession, and that she had no idea what to do or how to deal with it. The entire time, Applejack simply listened with a neutral look on her face, taking in all the information that Rainbow had to offer and thinking it through seriously for her friend.
“Ah see… So when the Crusaders said she had a date, they musta meant you.”
“What do I do, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash asked, moving towards one of the nearby cushions and sitting down on it. Applejack sat beside her friend. “I mean, obviously I can’t return her feelings. Trixie aside, she’s only a kid.”
“But ya don’t wanna hurt her, right?” Applejack asked, receiving a nod. “It’s a real pickle, that’s fer sure.”
“I also don’t want things to be strange between us,” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, she’s a cool kid, and I love having somepony under my wing. I never had any siblings. Fluttershy’s the closest thing to a sister I had growing up, but we were so different. Scootaloo’s like, the perfect younger sister I never had.”
“Ah get what ya mean,” Applejack said. “Even after the Gabby Gums incident was resolved, Mac an’ ah were worried sick over whether or not we’d be able ta go back ta the way things were before with Apple Bloom. But these things, they sorta have a way of resolvin’ themselves.”
“This isn’t a minor screw-up, Applejack. She said that she loves me!”
“… Ah suppose they are kinda different.” Applejack fell down onto her back and stared up towards the ceiling, closing her eyes after a few seconds and humming in thought. “Ah can see why ya’d go ta Rarity fer help, but y’know ya can still rely on yer other friends, too, right?”
Rainbow Dash nodded after a brief silence. “Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t have ruled you out so soon.”
“Y’know, ah always said that honesty is the best policy…” Applejack sat up straight and turned to face Rainbow Dash with a smile, “An’ ah ain’t changin’ mah opinion now! Y’all have just gotta come straight with Scootaloo. Let her know ya don’t feel the right way, but that ya still want things ta be the same between ya.”
“But what if she doesn’t feel the same way?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What if she doesn’t think we can go back to just being sisters?”
“Then there’s not much ya can do ‘bout it. It’s her decision, after all. But as things stand now, yer relationship ain’t exactly great at the moment. Until the two of you sort this out, y’all will jus’ be avoidin’ each other in awkward silence.”
Rainbow Dash sighed and closed her eyes in thought.
“O’course, ya could always dump Trixie and start goin’ out with Scootaloo, but that may cause more problems down the line,” Applejack added with a grin.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and returned the grin, thrusting a hoof into her friend’s foreleg. “You idiot. When’d you start being so wise?”
“Since ah got a best friend who loves books an’ a marefriend who practically roleplays outta her romance novels.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a deadpan look and nodded. “It gets weird, trust me.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Rainbow said with a nervous smile. “… Thanks, Applejack. You’re right. I need to find Scootaloo and just… tell her the truth.”
“Anytime, Dash!” Applejack said as her friend rose to her hooves and began to make her way towards the door. “Don’t forget, it’s not just me! We’ve all got yer back when ya need it!”
“I know,” Rainbow Dash said as she opened the door and stepped outside. As the door closed, Rainbow Dash sighed and took a moment to collect her thoughts. “… Okay, no more dodging the issue. I’m just gonna tackle it head-on like I always do, and if worst comes to worst… I’ll deal with it as it comes.”
Rainbow Dash extended her wings and took off into the air, making her way towards Scootaloo’s home in the distance.
Travelling down the path leading out of Ponyville, carrying a hay smoothie in her magic and occasionally taking sips at the drink, Trixie Lulamoon was still pondering what the meaning behind Rainbow Dash’s words and actions were earlier that day.
Did she do something to upset the pegasus? Was Rainbow Dash upset about something else? Was she involved in some kind of secret case about a shadow organization being hunted by the Royal Guard? Was she a changeling in disguise?
Only one of those theories seemed plausible to Trixie, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Rainbow Dash wouldn’t say anything if she was upset.
As slurping sounds came from her drink, Trixie realised that she must have finished her smoothie and stopped to look around for a bin, only to find that she had somehow wandered into the Whitetail Woods.
All around her, Trixie could hear nothing but the chirping of birds and the blowing of wind against the leaves in the trees. The scenery around her looked like something out of a painting of summer paradise in the Canterlot Museum of Art.
“This is a really peaceful location… Trixie must hold a show here at some point.”
Splash.
Trixie’s ears twitched as she looked around for the source of the sound. She saw a lake through the trees that looked like it might be a good place to stop for a rest, seeing as she had been walking around for some time.
Stepping forward, Trixie approached the lake and found that the splash she had heard was a pinecone from an overhanging branch falling into the water. She sat on her haunches by the lakeside and looked across to the other side as the wind blew through her mane.
Now alone and in complete silence, Trixie’s thoughts wandered back to Rainbow Dash. ‘‘Leave me alone’? Could it be that she… is dumping me?’ Trixie gasped as the thought occurred to her. “That would explain why she didn’t want Trixie to be around her. ‘I want to be alone’ must mean she’s tired of our relationship.”
Trixie’s hoof shook as she brought it towards her chest, feeling a pain she had not felt since the night of the ursa minor. Her mouth trembled as her breathing slowed and her magic shut itself off, dropping her empty cup to the ground. It rolled forwards until it landed in the water with another splash. The sound snapped Trixie out of her stupor and she reached out for the cup with her magic.
Behind her, the sound of a snap caused Trixie to turn around to find an orange filly standing behind her. “You?” Scootaloo asked in a low tone. “… I guess you kinda hate me now, huh?”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Well certainly, Trixie dislikes you, but ‘hate’?”
“But I- Uh, never mind… Hey, what’s up? Why are you crying?”
“Crying?” Trixie raised a hoof to her face to find that there were indeed tears flowing down her face once again. “You’re mistaken,” she said as she quickly wiped her foreleg against her face, “It’s just water from the lake.”
“Huh? How does that-”
“What about you?” Trixie asked. “Your voice is pretty hoarse, so you’re either ill or you’ve been crying recently.”
Scootaloo’s cheeks glowed red as she quickly cleared her throat. “I-I haven’t been crying!” she shouted, wincing as her throat suddenly stung. “It was just all that cheering from the Wonderbolts’ show last night.”
‘You didn’t cheer that much,’ Trixie thought. “Hey, about that show… did Rainbow Dash seem off to you at all?”
Scootaloo flinched and felt her fur standing on end. “N-No. She seemed cool to me,” she said, her eyes shifting around the scenery. “Why d’ya ask?”
Trixie’s ears flattened against her head. Scootaloo watched curiously as the showmare’s typical look of confidence seemed to fade and she turned around to face the lake. “Well, it just seems that she’s been acting a little… off, today. That’s all.”
Scootaloo gulped. She approached Trixie cautiously and asked, “What do you mean? Has she said something?”
“Well, sort of… Trixie thinks that she… That Dash wants to break up with her.”
“What?!” Scootaloo gasped as she circled around to see Trixie’s face. “What do you mean?! That can’t be right!”
“Well it’s the only thing that Trixie can think of!” Trixie shouted with a glare. “She stood Trixie up last night, she didn’t want to talk or spend any time with me, and she told me herself that she wanted Trixie to leave her alone!”
“That’s because-” Scootaloo began, stopping herself before she told Trixie of last night’s events. “I mean, that doesn’t mean anything!”
“Of all the ponies who have turned on Trixie, this was the one I really didn’t see coming,” Trixie said in a sad tone. “I put my faith into Dash and was sure I wasn’t mistaken in my beliefs. I guess… I guess I was just wishing for too much, huh?”
“No way!” Scootaloo shouted. “There’s no way that Rainbow Dash would do that!”
“And how would you know?”
“Because I know Rainbow Dash! She’s like my big sister! And I know for a fact that she would never betray anypony, and even if she was gonna break up with you, she wouldn’t do it in such a cold way!”
“… You have a pretty high opinion of her.”
“Don’t you?” Scootaloo asked. “All this time you’ve been with her, and you still don’t know what she’s really like?”
Trixie sighed. “Honestly, I thought I did, but that pony continues to surprise Trixie time and time again.”
“Well, trust me, she’s not a cruel pony,” Scootaloo said, glancing down at the ground with a guilty look on her face. “And, you two get along so well together… I don’t think she’s gonna dump you anytime soon.”
Trixie smiled after a moment of silent thought. “You really know a lot about her, huh?”
“Well I am the head of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club,” Scootaloo said with an uneasy chuckle. Trixie chuckled too, but only for a moment, before the two were met with complete silence. “Hey, what do you like about her? What made you… start going out with her?”
Trixie considered that question for a second. “Well, at first, it was her loyalty,” Trixie said, and as soon as the words came out, she facehooved. “I guess even the Great and Powerful Trixie can be foolish, huh? She should have given Dash better credit.”
“Is it just her loyalty that you like?” Scootaloo asked.
Trixie shook her head. “That was just the starting point. As we gave our relationship a go, Trixie found that there were many things she liked about that pony. She may not be the smartest mare, but we have fun together, and it just feels so right being with her. Not to mention the other reasons that you’re far too young to hear.”
“Too much information,” Scootaloo said. “… When you say ‘it feels right’, what do you mean?”
“Trixie isn’t sure how to explain it,” Trixie said with a shrug. “It’s like the feeling Trixie got the first time she was on stage, only much more intense, and it’s more excitement than terror. Trixie’s heart feels like it wants to break out of her chest, and her legs would be like jelly had she not trained them to behave long ago.”
Scootaloo nodded as though she were following. ‘That’s… not really how I feel…’ “Well, anyway, I should probably be going now.”
“Hey,” Trixie called as Scootaloo walked past her and moved towards the trees, “Thanks. You don’t have to tell Trixie what’s wrong, but since you listened to my problems…”
Scootaloo bit her lip and stared at Trixie. “Just… go find Dash. I’ll be fine.” Before Trixie could say anything, Scootaloo turned tail and fled back into the woods.
For a moment, Trixie simply stared off into space, before nodding her head and rising to her hooves with firm resolve. “Right. Time to go find that airhead and find out what’s going on.”
All around the town, Rainbow Dash found no sign of Scootaloo. Scootaloo’s mother told Rainbow that the filly had left without saying where she was going. Out of all of the usual places Scootaloo would frequent – Sugarcube Corner, Snowflake’s Sports Emporium, Bon Bon’s Sweets, the Ponyville lakeside – not a single one of them had left any trace of the filly, and nopony she asked could provide her with the information she needed.
Not even Scootaloo’s fellow Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, had seen or heard from Scootaloo that day. The clubhouse proved empty, too. Rainbow Dash was starting to grow worried as she looked towards the Everfree Forest, the accursed forest that has been known to attract foals seeking to be alone.
“I hope she didn’t go in there alone,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she looked down to the library beneath her. “… I guess I should get Twi to throw a search party together. Or maybe I should do one more lap, first. Just to make sure she’s not in the city.”
“Who?”
Rainbow Dash jumped higher into the air. She spun around quickly to find an arrogant-looking unicorn resting on a cloud behind her, laughing at the near-heart attack she just given the pegasus. “D-Don’t do that, you- Wait, how’re you-”
“Cloud-walking spell?” Trixie reminded.
“Yeah, but, how’d you get up here?”
Trixie patted the cloud that she was resting on. “Trixie borrowed this. It didn’t look like it was doing that much.”
“… You can’t just move clouds around like that,” Rainbow Dash said.
“You do it all the time,” Trixie pointed out.
“I have clearance to move them as I see fit! You don’t!”
With a shrug, Trixie used her magic to slowly move the cloud closer to Rainbow Dash. Very slowly… Very, very slowly.
“Oh for the love of-” Rainbow Dash shot forward to grab Trixie and lift her off of the cloud. She descended down towards the ground and gently placed Trixie down.
“Dumb cloud must be broken,” Trixie muttered.
“Or you’re just too heavy for it,” Rainbow Dash retorted with a smirk. “Hey, listen, about earlier-”
“Yes, about earlier,” Trixie said, leaning towards Rainbow Dash with a threatening glare. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands an explanation as to what that was all about. Now!”
“Uh, well, you see…”
“Honesty is the best policy.”
Rainbow Dash gulped. Trixie narrowed her eyes and took a step back. “If you want to break up with Trixie, just come out and say it! Don’t waste her time with this dramatic build-up.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Break up- Why would you think I wanna break up with you?!”
Trixie shrugged. “It was just a hunch. ‘Leave me alone’, ‘I want to be alone’… It sure sounded like that’s what you wanted.”
It was now Rainbow’s turn to narrow her eyes and give her marefriend an angry look as she stepped forward, grabbed Trixie’s cheeks with her forehooves, and slammed their mouths together. The kiss lingered for a few seconds before the two parted, and stared intently into each other’s eyes. “And what does it seem like now?”
“… Now Trixie has mixed signals.”
Rainbow Dash sighed with a slight chuckle as she shook her head. “Come on… are you really such an idiot?”
“Coming from you, that’s most unflattering.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? You thought I was trying to break up with you earlier? I just wanted to be alone at that time, that was all!”
Trixie’s face turned red as her eyes trailed off to the side. “W-Well how is Trixie meant to know that? It’s not like she’s been in a relationship before.”
Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath of air, leaned forward, and kissed Trixie again, this time only for a brief moment. “Right… I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did earlier… Sorry about that, it’s just that I had something really important to take care of, and I didn’t want you to worry over it. Y’know, after everything else that’s happened to you lately, I wanted you to-”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not that weak, you know?” Trixie leaned forward to nuzzle Rainbow Dash, bringing a blush to the pegasus’ face. “Well, Trixie supposes she can forgive you, so long as you don’t do it again.”
“R-Right. Next time, I’ll just try to avoid you altogether.” Trixie kicked Rainbow Dash in response to her joke, and Rainbow Dash simply laughed as she moved to Trixie’s side to hug the showmare with her wing.
“So what was it?” Trixie asked. “The problem. Did you resolve it?”
Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment as she recalled the still-ongoing problem at hoof. “Ah.”
With a sigh, Trixie moved her way forward out of Rainbow’s hold, and gave the pegasus a confident grin. “Well then, shall the Great and Powerful Trixie offer you some assistance?”
“Um, about that… The problem kinda escalated. You see…”
As Scootaloo paced through the woods, keeping her eyes on the path at all times to avoid getting lost – she wasn’t in the mood for that today – she mulled over her situation in and muttered to herself.
She was deep in thought about many things. Should she have told Rainbow Dash how she felt? Should she have just kept her mouth shut and let Rainbow Dash be happy with Trixie? Should she go and find Rainbow Dash and apologise? Should she go and find Trixie and apologise? Why did Trixie’s feelings not match up with her own?
“Scootaloo?” Scootaloo stopped and lifted her head with a startled gasp. “Why good afternoon, dear,” Rarity said as she approached the filly. “Whatever is the matter? You look so down.”
Scootaloo gave Rarity a questioning look. “W-What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong with me. Why would you think there was?” she asked, putting on a cool front.
“Well, you’re out here walking by yourself, as opposed to with your friends or riding your scooter,” Rarity pointed out. “In addition, you were walking rather slowly and with you head down. You looked just like Sweetie Belle whenever she’s sad.”
Scootaloo flinched and averted her eyes. “Uh, it’s nothing, really… I-I don’t wanna bother you over it.”
“Oh, it’s no bother,” Rarity said. “I’ve just finished up my work for the day and was simply taking a stroll through the woods in the hopes that the scenery might inspire me, but lending an ear to a dear friend takes top priority.”
“… W-Well, it’s just that…”
“Is it about your date last night?” Rarity asked. Scootaloo hesitated before giving a slow nod. “Oh, Scootaloo… Please, do tell me all about it. It’s best not to hold such things in, especially at your age.”
Tears began to fall down Scootaloo’s face as she tried hard not to think about Rainbow Dash. No matter how hard she tried to switch the topic in her mind, it would always find its way back to the pegasus she loved. “I… I…”
Scootaloo gasped as she felt fur against her face. Rarity had stepped closer to the filly and pulled her into a tender, loving hug. “There, there. First loves don’t always go well, but then, that doesn’t mean they will be your last loves.”
Scootaloo sniffed and eased into the hug. “I just feel so stupid. I never should have said anything in the first place. Now Rainbow Dash is gonna hate me forever.”
Rarity’s eyes widened at the name she heard. “… Scootaloo, dear, did you… tell Rainbow Dash that you…”
“I-It just happened!” Scootaloo shouted, rubbing her face into Rarity’s coat and soaking the fur with her tears. “I… I didn’t want to risk losing Rainbow Dash to that pony, so I just… I said… Rarity, I don’t understand… Why doesn’t my heart feel like it’s gonna burst out of my chest when I’m with Rainbow Dash? Why don’t my legs feel like jelly?”
Rarity patted Scootaloo’s mane in the hopes of calming her down. It seemed to work as the filly quieted down, now simply sobbing silently with the occasional hiccup. “What do you mean?”
“T-Trixie said that… that’s how she feels around Rainbow Dash…”
Rarity nodded. “Yes, well, that’s the typical reaction. But it’s not always the same for everypony… Tell me, Scootaloo: what do you feel whenever you’re around Rainbow Dash?”
“I feel… I feel brave, and confident, and I feel like I can fly if she’s there to guide me. I feel happy and I want her to look at me and tell me I’m awesome.”
“Do you feel that you always want to be around her, though?” Rarity asked, bringing Scootaloo to a sudden silence. “Do you feel joy the likes of which you’ve never felt whenever you see her?”
“… N-No… It’s more like when I see my dad after he gets home from work.”
“Do you feel like you’re on top of the world after you see Rainbow Dash? Do you feel lonely whenever you’re not with her but she is in your thoughts?”
“Not really,” Scootaloo said. “I just sorta think it’s cool to hang out with her and wonder what she’ll teach me next.”
Rarity was silent for a few moments, before she took a step back and lowered herself to look Scootaloo in the eyes. “Dear, do you think of Rainbow Dash… as a mare you love, or as a sister you love?” Scootaloo gave Rarity a confused – and almost fearful – look. “When you’re around Rainbow Dash, is it similar to when you’re around your friends, you father, or something entirely different?”
Scootaloo thought about it for a full minute, running all of her previous encounters with the pegasus through her mind and considering what she felt each time. “… I-It’s just like… when I’m with my parents…”
Rarity nodded. “It’s not love, is it?”
Scootaloo slowly shook her head. “But what if it is?” she asked. “I mean, she’s not my family, but I still feel this way towards her! I don’t want Trixie taking her away, so how can it not be love?!”
“Because if it was love… then I feel that you would prioritise Rainbow’s happiness above all else,” Rarity said. “Because that’s the type of pony you are. You said it yourself that you only started feeling this strongly about it when Trixie came into the picture. If it was truly love, then you should have felt something sooner…”
Scootaloo’s tears began to start back up again as she stared at Rarity. “T-That’s-”
“I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” Rarity said as she brought the filly into another hug. “But, look at this way: at least you first love wasn’t a total disaster.”
Scootaloo sniffed. “B-But I was so sure-”
“Love is a mysterious and difficult thing, but trust me when I say that, when you truly find the one that you love, you will know it.” Rarity gently nuzzled Scootaloo’s cheek, which seemed to calm the filly down. After a few minutes of allowing the sobs to leave Scootaloo’s system, Rarity asked, “Are you ready to go now?”
Scootaloo nodded. “I… I think so…” As Rarity rose to her hooves and offered to take Scootaloo’s hoof, the filly asked, “Do you think Rainbow Dash will be mad at me?”
With a gently smile, Rarity shook her head. “Of course not. In fact, I’m sure that her top priority is making sure you are okay.”
“But I-”
“It’s not wrong to love somepony. Even Rainbow Dash knows that.”
“… But I… didn’t really love her…”
“… In any case, I know she will- … Actually, why don’t you go and see for yourself?”
“Huh?”
“SCOOTALOO!” Rainbow Dash called as she walked with Trixie through the Whitetail Woods. “Are you out there?! Hey, are you sure she’s out here?”
“It wasn’t that long ago that the two of us met out here,” Trixie said. “If she’s not in Ponyville, then it would be likely that she’s still in here. Trixie doesn’t believe it’s possible for that filly to have reached the Everfree Forest from here in such a short space of time, especially without you seeing her.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Rainbow said. “She’s got a knack for getting from one place to another faster than anypony can keep up with her.”
“Rainbow Dash!” The two mares stopped and looked further down the path, finding Scootaloo approaching the two of them, with Rarity following behind. “… H-Hey…”
“You’re okay!” Rainbow Dash said, jumping quickly to Scootaloo’s side to pat the filly’s head. “Thank Celestia! I thought you went into the Everfree or somethin’!”
“You found her?” Trixie asked Rarity, who nodded. “Well, thanks for that, but we can take care of the rest from he-”
“She told me everything,” Rarity said, sensing Trixie’s intent. “She told me of the… situation, between the three of you.”
Rainbow Dash’s smile fell as she was reminded of the difficult situation that she was still in. “Right, about that… Scootaloo, listen, I-”
“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said quickly, turning her gaze to the ground. “I never should have said… that…”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip and scratched the back of her neck. “Well, it’s not like it’s wrong for you to like somepony, but I can’t-”
“That’s just it though,” Scootaloo said. “I… I don’t like you in… that way. I just… I guess I…”
“You what?” Rainbow pressed.
“… You’ve been spending so much time with Trixie, and you wouldn’t even notice me. It’s like you were forgetting all about me, and I-”
“T-That’s crazy talk!” Rainbow Dash said. She looked down at Scootaloo and sighed. “But I guess you’ve got a point… I’ve kinda been spending a lot more time with Trixie than with any of my friends lately. But, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I was just having so much fun that it sorta slipped my mind, and…”
“I know… and I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said.
“No, I am,” Rainbow Dash returned. “I should’ve noticed you were feeling left out, being your big sister and all.”
A silence washed over the group for a moment, before Scootaloo lifted her head to ask Rainbow Dash, “Can we… still be like before? Y’know, sisters? Who like, hang out and do stuff together?”
Rainbow Dash smiled and lay a hoof on Scootaloo’s head, roughing the filly’s mane a little. “Of course we can. In fact, mayyyybe we can do something tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash turned to Trixie for confirmation, who simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Then I guess it’s settled. How would ya like ta do a little mountain climbing?”
Scootaloo gasped and nodded her head, a wide smile spread across her face. “That’d be awesome!”
“Cool! It’s a date!” Rainbow Dash said as she rose to her hooves. “Now, let’s get you home. I kinda gave your mum a scare when I asked her where you were.”
Scootaloo giggled as she walked down the pathway beside Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, she worries way too much.” As Scootaloo looked in front of her, she saw Trixie leading the group. “… Hey, Trixie?”
“Hm?” Trixie asked as she looked behind herself.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Oh, don’t mention it,” Trixie said with a grin. “Trixie never felt threatened by you anyway. You’re half her size, after all.”
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and her face turned red. “Hey! At least I don’t go around wearing pyjamas all the time!”
“No, just bandages,” Trixie returned.
“Okay, you two,” Rainbow Dash said, looking between the two. “It’s been a long day. Can we just leave it at that for now?”
With a huff, the two turned their heads away from each other and continued to walk. Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head sadly, whilst Rarity could barely contain her giggles at the two ponies’ antics.
After parting with the other three, Trixie decided to return to her trailer and fix up some dinner. After reaching her trailer’s door, though, she was interrupted by a tugging at her cape.
“Who dares-” Trixie began as she turned around, gasping at the sight that befell her. Snips and Snails, completely out of breath, were standing before her with a large sphere of water and an empty bottle in their combined magic.
“W-We did… it,” Snips said, falling to the ground.”
“Did we pass?” Snails asked before also falling down.
With both of their magic auras gone, Trixie had to act fast to catch all of the water and the bottle. Looking down at the two, she found that they had simply lost consciousness, not died. She placed the bottle down and carefully filled it with water.
“… Just a little under the mark,” Trixie muttered, biting her hoof. “But how? As a filly, it took Trixie four days to complete this exercise…” Trixie gasped as it hit her. “Of course! They were working together! Trixie did this by herself and failed to account for their magical strength combined.
“But even so… even if they were in sync together, it still should have taken at least three days… Is this the extent of their resolve to learn magic? Or perhaps… to learn magic under my tutelage?”
Trixie examined the two once more, sleeping soundly on the grass before her. With a sigh, she collected the bottled water and the crystal that she had leant them. “Well, they didn’t pass the test just yet… but perhaps Trixie will not entirely hate helping these two to learn magic.”
Stepping into her trailer, Trixie closed the door behind her, leaving the two colts outside on cold grass… without any cover… with the sky slowly growing colder…
The door opened once more and a blanket flew from inside the trailer and landed on top of their bodies, before closing again.
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Always great to see how kind and benevolent Trixie is to Snips and Snails. Think I'd have like the scene between Trixie and Scootaloo extended a bit more for the sake of drama, but all in all another good chapter.
Alright, Scootaloo can live. You redeemed her from being a silly lil' douche rather nicely in this one, great job
And it's looking like you're about to make Snips and Snails kinda cool, which is almost as unimaginable a feat so I'm very intrigued to see where that particular plot thread goes now.
That seems like a pretty reasonable bit of magic training. Builds endurance, concentration, teamwork (even if the latter wasn't planned). I suppose anyone who has put as much effort into their magic as Trixie has would know some decent exercises.
And thank god that Scoots was just confused and not actually in love with her. I've never been a fan of ScootaDash, way too creepy for me.
Nice to see talking out things wins in the end.
And you actually made me feel kinda... good towards Snips and Snails. Nice.
What a great chapter I am really looking forward to seeing how Snips, Snails and Trixie's relation will build. If it's any thing like Dash and Scoots it'd be great. Keep on writing this story as you please though I enjoy your quality of work.
This was very good. I am glad to see the issues with Scootaloo resolved cleanly and I am really liking the direction you are taking things with Snips and Snails.
The only thing that kind of annoyed me was the comments about Rainbow being an idiot because she is a very smart pony who tends to act without thinking. Of course, this was mostly in Trixie's thoughts on the subject so it is entirely believable that she has not figured out how smart Rainbow is yet, but it was prevalent enough here that I wanted to bring it up.
Trixie has a heeeeaaaart~
Great storie and an update
.
Uhm... friends? 
That last line... Awwww Trix is getting soft
Some mistakes I think?
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will see you as soon as she is ready!”
YOURSELVES
Maybe it was the warm weather
your
you sure make this pairing work and sound in character. which is so cool. great job. /)
I was going to say this is a typo, but she is brushing her teeth at the moment...
it is sad that it is over soon, i like it really much. If there is room for a sequel, i would love to see them adopting a foal.
PS: If there is someone with a group for adoption storys, i would like to join the group.
I liked the cliche at the end, you know the "looks like the character is heartless, but at the last second sneaks in a good deed" one.
Nice bit of world-building.
"And also, Trixie was bluffing."
That pun is never getting old.
And what have we learned from this, Trixie? I think it's time for a letter to Celestia.
5660734
"Dear Princess Celestia,
Trixie learned that she should never underestimate two colts who are heavily fans of herself and their capacity to accomplish a task she thought would take longer.
-Sincerely,
The Great and Powerful Trixie"