19 - Concerned About Appearences
It happened on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, a day that is usually filled with cheer and festivities all across Equestria. A day where ponies everywhere take a day off from their hardships and simply enjoy the longest day under their beloved sun. This year’s Summer Sun Celebration played out differently.
Trixie was putting on a show for a wonderful audience in the Crystal Empire when it happened. Black tentacles everywhere, ponies running in mass hysteria, the royal guard running around screaming about the ‘missing princesses’, and worst of all, Trixie’s how was left in shambles, literally.
The strange black tentacle ripped through Trixie’s stage as if it were made out of paper and destroyed most of the props inside. Taking whatever she could, Trixie made a swift retreat, only to find that the incident wasn’t only limited to the Crystal Empire; it was happening all over Equestria!
If Trixie had to choose, she would have to say that the incident with the near-eternal night was far more preferable to having to fend off a swarm of tentacles spewing strange gases and trying to coil around her, but at least the chaos didn’t last long before it disappeared just as suddenly as it had started.
With her stage ruined, Trixie had no choice but to finish her show on a small makeshift stage just in front of the Crystal Heart, before catching the following morning’s train back to Ponyville and find out what had happened. She had a hunch that a certain group of ponies would be able to shed some light on the mysterious happenings.
“You lost the Elements of Harmony?!”
Everypony in the marketplace stopped what they were doing and turned to the couple of blue-coated ponies, one covering her ears with her wings and the other looking as if she had just seen a giant bear walking down the street. After seeing that it was Ponyville’s resident loudmouths, the curious onlookers simply went back to their morning shopping.
“Take it easy!” Rainbow Dash said as she uncovered her ears and faced her distraught-looking marefriend. “We didn’t ‘lose’ them; we gave them up.”
“B-But why?” Trixie asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“Uh, to save Equestria?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as Trixie stood frozen before her, mouth agape.
Finally, Trixie sighed and lowered her head dejectedly. “And Trixie never even got to use them…”
“Really?” Rainbow asked in a disbelieving tone. “That’s what you’re bummed out about?”
“Well that and you also had an epic adventure without me,” Trixie added. “Instead of adventure, Trixie was stuck in the Crystal Empire fighting off what she could only assume were monsters straight out of a Neighpanese porno.”
“Hey, at least you didn’t have to go into the Everfree Forest and fight a giant rockadile.”
“You saw a real live rockadile?!” Trixie sighed once more. “Trixie never should have gone to the Crystal Empire. She even lost her stage and only made about fifty bits…”
“Yeah, meant to ask: where’s your stage?” Rainbow Dash looked around, confirming that Trixie’s stage was nowhere to be seen.
“It was destroyed,” Trixie leaning forward and burying her face into Rainbow’s shoulder. “Completely demolished, down to the last splinter,” she muttered into Rainbow Dash’s fur.
“Oh… Uh, sorry to hear that…” Rainbow Dash glanced around nervously, found that nopony was really paying the two much attention, and slowly brought a hoof up to pat Trixie’s back. “But it was insured, right?”
“No,” Trixie said simply.
“You didn’t have it insured?”
“Couldn’t. The insurance companies denied Trixie when she told them of the haphazard lifestyle she leads and the bone-chilling dangers she faces on a daily basis.”
Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from Trixie’s back and connected it to her own face. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.”
“FYI, Trixie also doesn’t have medical insurance.”
“Well we can deal with that later,” Rainbow Dash said as she pushed Trixie away. “First thing’s first. We’ve gotta get you a new trailer.” Trixie pouted and looked down at the ground, kicking at the dirt with a hoof. “… What?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is short on funds…”
“What happened to the money you were saving?”
Trixie grinned sheepishly and put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well…”
“IRON WILL NEVER FOLDS! ALL. IN.” Everybody at the table gasped and turned their attention to Trixie, who simply grinned and pushed her pile of chips forward.
“All in. As if somepony as great as Trixie would lose to a muscle-brained minotaur such as yourself.”
“Iron Will thinks you should have quite while you were ahead!” Iron Will flipped his cards to reveal a four of a kind. “Now it’s time for the children to go to bed!”
Trixie’s smirk never fell as she revealed her own cards, showing a straight flush that turned Iron Will’s skin pale.
“The player wins the hoof!” Iron Will and Trixie turned wide-eyed as they turned to their mysterious opponent, who was raking in the huge pile of chips thanks to his royal flush hoof.
Trixie’s eye twitched as she realised she had just blown over two hundred bits, thanks to the intimidations of a loudmouthed minotaur.
“Trixie misplaced it,” Trixie said with an innocent smile.
Rainbow Dash’s face gave no indication of her giving the benefit of the doubt, though to Trixie’s relief the pegasus didn’t press her harder on the matter. She simply uttered, “Uh-huh…” and nodded her head once slowly. After that, she smiled and moved to Trixie’s side, wrapping a wing around the unicorn. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’ve been makin’ all those friends around here! I’m sure Applejack wouldn’t mind helpin’ you out. She’s pretty good with her hooves, y’know?”
Trixie raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Admittedly Applejack was the first pony to enter Trixie’s mind when she thought of acquiring a new trailer, but even if she’s a friend, she’ll surely still want payment for her time.”
“Probably, but you can just ask her to start a tab,” Rainbow said in a confident tone. “I mean it’s not like her brother can’t fill in for her for a couple of days, right?”
“I suppose it is worth asking,” Trixie admitted, before leaning into Rainbow’s side and nuzzling the pegasus’ neck. “Trixie will also need someplace to stay for the next few days. You wouldn’t happen to know somewhere that’s rent-free, would you?”
“Sure do,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. Trixie moved back and smiled back happily. “Applejack has a guest bedroom at her farmhouse.”
Trixie frowned and gave Rainbow Dash a flat stare. “Please tell Trixie you were joking,” she said with a sigh.
“Well, where else were you plannin’ on staying?”
Trixie saw the grin on Rainbow’s face growing by the second. It angered her, not just because she knew what the pegasus was doing, but because she knew that Rainbow was winning. Trixie’s face turned red but her mouth remained closed for a few seconds, before finally opening as she said, “With you, obviously…”
“Oh! I hadn’t considered that!” Even the Spirit of Honesty would have called that attempt at lying pathetic. Rainbow Dash simply giggled at the threatening glare being sent her way. “Welllll, I suppose you could stay with me for a few days.”
“Then it’s settled!” Trixie said quickly, pointing her nose into the air as Rainbow Dash suddenly looked confused. “Well then, Trixie has some things from her trailer she would like you to move up to your house.”
“What? Why me?”
“You would have a lady such as Trixie strain her horn and her back from heavy lifting?” Trixie asked through quivering lips and wide, sparkling eyes. Rainbow Dash only gave a deadpan stare, until Trixie returned to normal and added, “Besides, Trixie can’t fly, remember?”
“Oh… Yeah, I guess that would make moving things up to the sky difficult…”
“Trixie has left her things in the care of Twilight Sparkle for now,” Trixie told Rainbow Dash as she turned to leave down the street. “As yesterday was such a stressful day, Trixie will be taking some time to relax at the spa. When you are done with the moving come and find Trixie so that we can move onto Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Why can’t you go there yourself?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Trixie recycled her quivering lips look once more. “You don’t want to spend time with the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Rainbow Dash simply sighed and rolled her eyes, and then jumped as she felt Trixie’s lips against her cheek. “So we’ll go together then?”
“… Fine,” Rainbow sighed in defeat. She watched as her marefriend chuckled victoriously and left down the street, stopping for just a moment to wave goodbye. As Rainbow Dash waved back, she heard giggling off to the side and looked around for the source. It was two ponies she knew well, Bon Bon the sweetshop owner and… Okay, one pony she knew well and one pony whose face she knew but whose name eluded her. “What’s so funny?” she asked as she approached the two.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Bon Bon insisted as she slowly ceased her laughter. “Lyra and I-”
‘Lyra! That was it!’
“-Were just watching the two of you and thought that it was rather… cute.”
Rainbow Dash wanted to gag at being called ‘cute’. “You make a way better husband than Bons here,” Lyra said.
“I told you, I’m not the husband,” Bon Bon said, glaring at Lyra.
“Well I’m sure as hay not!” Lyra returned. “My mum’d kill me if I walked down the aisle in a tux!”
“Uh, what are you two talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Bon Bon waved her hoof dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Lyra insists that I’m the husband and-”
“No, I got that. But what d’you mean by ‘husband’? Aren’t you both mares?”
The couple exchanged glances with each other, before both giggling, which only served to annoy Rainbow Dash. “Oh, sorry,” Bon Bon said as she collected herself. She cleared her throat and explained. “It’s not literal, of course. It’s just something same-sex couples like to use to distinguish their roles in the relationship. You know, like how some couples have top and bottom, or master and slave?”
“Okay, okay! I get it,” Rainbow said with a blush as she looked around nervously. “So, you think I’m the husband?”
“Well, duh,” Lyra said. “And a totally whipped one, at that. That mare’s got you wrapped around her hoof.”
“I am so not whipped!” Rainbow Dash argued. “And I’m not the ‘husband’, either.”
“Hate to say it, buy you kind of are,” Bon Bon said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just that you’re… how should I say it?”
“A totally tomboy,” Lyra said bluntly. “Also you act like a colt hopelessly in love sometimes.”
“I do not!”
“Man, they sure do take their time gettin’ dressed, don’t they?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack as the two waited downstairs in Carousal Boutique for their marefriends to finish preparing for their double-date.
“Ah’m used ta it by now. Ya should see how long ah have ta wait when Rarity starts talkin’ fashion with somepony.” The two simply stared at each other for a couple of seconds in silence before Applejack turned her attention towards a nearby clock. “So… what’s new?”
“Uh, not much… You?”
“Not much either.” The two fell silent for a few more seconds. “Ah mean, besides Rarity planning this whole double-date thing.”
“Ah, yeah, yeah…”
“Sorry for the wait. We are ready now!” Rarity announced as she descended the stairs.
“About time,” Rainbow said as she stood up. “Took you two long enou-” Rainbow Dash froze as she saw Trixie trailing behind Rarity, dressed in new gown and makeup that radiated beauty, with her hair done up and an intoxicating aroma drifting from her body, like a field of flowers in a gentle summer’s breeze.
Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash to revive her and the pegasus quickly straightened up, approaching Trixie like a robot as she silently gave her date the bouquet of flowers she had purchased earlier. “Oh. Such a gentlecolt,” Trixie giggled as she accepted the flowers. She leaned in a gave her date a peck on the cheek.
Rainbow Dash could only break into a stupor of nonsensical noises as the scent of Trixie’s shampoo, as well as the perfume she was wearing, assaulted Rainbow Dash’s nostrils.
“What?! This game must be rigged!” Trixie stated as she growled angrily at the owner of the carnival stall.
“Sorry, ma’am! Maybe next time!” the smiling pony on the other side said as he turned away with laughter.
“Fine, one more time then!”
“You’ve already tried ten times!” Rainbow Dash complained as she slammed both of her forehooves into her face, sitting on the ground beside Trixie with her back to the stall.
“And Trixie shall try another fifty times if she has to!”
Rainbow Dash got up and stretched her body. “You already have a bunch of stuffed toys in your trailer-”
“They are not toys!” Trixie corrected with a blush. “They are collectibles! Trixie simply likes to collect odd things is all.”
“Whatever. Point is, do you really need another one?”
Trixie pointed to the stuffed toy in question that she was trying to obtain: a large panda bear with a bamboo shoot in one paw, nibbling away at the snack with a happy smile on its face. “The Great and Powerful Trixie wanted this in her collection as soon as she laid her eyes on it! It’s just like the one from her first collection, before it was destroyed!”
Rainbow Dash gulped at the determined – and almost desperate – look on Trixie’s face. “Ugh, fine,” she said, seeing that Trixie would not give in… and a part of her not wanting to let Trixie down. “Here, let me try.”
“Like you’ll do better,” Trixie muttered angrily.
“Not like she could do worse than you,” the pony at the stall said, causing Trixie to growl once more.
Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and slammed two bits onto the stall, before grabbing the water pistol from Trixie and aiming it. In one shot, she nailed her first target. In two shots, she nailed two, and so on. By the time that Rainbow Dash racked up enough points for the prize Trixie wanted, she still had one shot left. She aimed her weapon at the pony on the other side of the stall and grinned as she pulled the trigger.
“Wow… you actually did it!” Trixie exclaimed with grin, using her magic to grab her prize and bring it down towards herself.
“Keen eyes of a flyer,” Rainbow proclaimed proudly, puffing out her chest and holding her head up high. “Now can we get going, please? I wanna-”
“Oh, a ‘test-your-magic’ game! A perfect chance for Trixie to redeem herself!” Trixie levitated her new plush toy towards Rainbow Dash. “Here, hold this,” she said before taking off towards the game in the distance.
Rainbow Dash simply sighed followed after her with the panda on her back.
“Excuse me, miss.” Trixie turned to the stallion addressing her. It was a stallion who had apparently borrowed his wardrobe from the sixties that was talking to her. “I couldn’t help but notice you were alone and was wondering if maybe you’d rather spend your time with a stud like me.”
A blue hoof tapped the stallion’s shoulder from behind, causing him to turn around. Rainbow Dash grabbed the stallion’s collar as he faced her and leaned in close with a threatening glare. “Hey, pal, she’s with me. So buzz off, before I buck you into whatever time period your clothes are from!”
The stallion let out a small cry of terror before quickly nodding. Upon his release the frightened pony fled quickly, leaving the two mares behind. Rainbow Dash gave Trixie a concerned look as she scanned her marefriend’s body. “Are you okay? He didn’t get rough on ya, did he? You should’ve used your magic on him or something!”
Rainbow’s ramblings were cut off by the laughter coming out of Trixie’s lips. “Seriously, Rainbow?” Trixie asked through her laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye. “All he did was approach Trixie, and you freak out like Fluttershy when her animals find her sewing kit.”
Rainbow Dash simply puffed her cheeks and turned away. “Well excuse me for just lookin’ out for my marefriend!”
“… I so do not,” Rainbow Dash reaffirmed after consulting with her memories. “Okay, so I’m a little more coltish than Trixie is-”
“Uh-uh. Spike is a little more coltish,” Lyra said.
“Spike is a guy, you know?” Bon Bon asked Lyra.
“… He is?” Lyra shook her head to clear the thought. “Anyway, my point still stands. In your relationship, you totally wear the saddle.”
“No, that would be Trixie,” Bon Bon corrected. “Traditionally, the wife wears the saddle. It’s from a time where males were the dominant sex, before Equestria was even founded.”
“Huh. You learn something new every day.”
“Yeah, well here’s somethin’ else,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m a MARE!”
“Yes, we get that,” Bon Bon said. “But are you a ‘mare’ mare, like Rarity is?”
“Or are you just a stallion in a mare’s body? Y’know, like Applejack? Or her cousin Braeburn?”
“Again, Braeburn is a stallion.”
Lyra held her head in her hooves and slammed it down onto the table before her. “It’s hard to tell! They’re both so girly!”
“So you two think… I really act like a guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, a worried look on her face as she glanced between the two.
“Nopony ever told you?”
Rainbow Dash tried to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. So she instead simply settled with: “Yeah, well, what do you know?!” and then fled.
“You want to know if I see you as a tomboy?” Twilight asked with confusion in her voice. She bit her lip as she looked away from Rainbow Dash and focused on her open book. “Well, I wouldn’t say… that is, I don’t think… verily… ergo…”
“Yeah, you’re a total tomboy,” Spike said as he entered the room from the kitchen, carrying a box in his claws. “No doubt about it. Nothing remotely ladylike about you.”
“Spike!” Twilight scolded, glaring at her assistant.
“Twilight, please,” Rainbow Dash pleaded, “Tell me the truth.”
“Well, I don’t know if I would say there isn’t anything ladylike about you,” Twilight said as she scuffed a hoof against the floor, doing her best to look away from Rainbow Dash as she answered. “I mean, you do like a lot of ‘guy things’ and you don’t exactly like ‘girly’ stuff, but I don’t think that means-”
“Ugh, you’re right!” Rainbow Dash shouted, falling onto her back and placing a foreleg over her eyes. “I even talk like a guy sometimes!”
“But why should it matter? I mean, you’ve never let it bother you before.”
“Because nopony ever pointed it out before! I don’t want everypony to think I’m the ‘husband’. I’m a girl!”
“Well, sorry, Rainbow Dash, but when you compare belches and hold wingball nacho parties that only stallions go to, ponies are going to say things about you like that.” Twilight tapped her chin in thought. “Maybe what you need is a little image change if you want ponies to think differently of you, though personally, I think that-”
“What kind of image change?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, back on her hooves and staring at Twilight with a look of determination.
“Well, I can’t really help you there. I never tried to fit in with gender norms…” Rainbow Dash sighed as she lowered her head and Twilight frowned in response. “But if it helps, I’ve researched lots on the appearance and roles of mares in the middle ages.”
“Somehow, I think that’ll just give ponies an even worse image of me.”
Twilight shrugged. “Then all I can suggest is that you talk to somepony else who might have more knowledge in this field.”
“… Like Rarity!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, a smile on her face as she turned to the library’s front door. “She’ll know what to do!”
“But Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said quickly, before her friend could leave, “Maybe you should just… be yourself, and not worry too much over what others say about you.”
“Twilight, I’ve been called many things in my life.” Rainbow Dash opened the front door and spread her wings. “But no matter what anypony called me, I never once thought that anypony saw me as a colt.”
Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash took off into the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, returning to her book in silence until her faithful assistant spoke up. “Uh, wasn’t she going to collect all this stuff?”
Twilight turned around to find the boxes of Trixie’s belongings stacked up in the corner of the room, blocking the stairway to the upper floors, and frowned. “… We’ll just have to hold onto it a little longer. Until then, could you move it all back into the kitchen for me?”
Spike moaned, rubbing his sore little arms before leaning down and picking up his first box. “I still don’t see why you can’t move it all yourself,” Spike muttered angrily as he carried the heavy box back into the kitchen.
Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash, running the story she had just been told through her mind and analysing Rainbow’s face to see if she was serious or if she was just messing around.
Rainbow Dash fluttered above Applejack, giving her friend a serious look as she waited anxiously for a response. Applejack certainly wasn’t the smartest pony around, but she was one of the wisest that Rainbow Dash knew, and also one of the few ponies Rainbow Dash felt total confidence confiding in.
Applejack saw the beads of sweat down Rainbow Dash’s brow and knew that she was serious. That was when her mouth curled up and a stifled laugh escaped her lips. She made no further attempts to hold it back. It was just all too much for her.
“Boy, Rainbow Dash, ya sure had me goin’ there,” Applejack said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Sorry, it’s just that ah can’t imagine Rainbow Dash getting’ all worked up over something so silly. It just ain’t like you!”
“What d’you mean by that?! I’m always working on my image!” Rainbow Dash argued.
“Yeah, as the coolest and fastest pony in Equestria,” Applejack replied. “No offence, Dash, but ya don’t exactly come across as a mare concerned with her sexual identity.”
“Well, I am, okay?! Now are you gonna help me or not?!” Applejack simply laughed once more, causing Rainbow Dash to heat up as she began fuming at the mare beneath her.
“Oh boy, this’s too much,” Applejack said as she finally calmed down. “A-Ah’m really sorry, Rainbow, but ah really can’t help mahself. Ah mean, of all ponies, ah never would’ve thought ya cared so much about bein’ seen as a mare.”
“Isn’t that normal?” Rainbow asked, lowering to the ground slowly with a blush.
“Maybe for most ponies, but ah always saw you as somepony who jus’ wanted ta be known for her deeds an’ abilities, not for bein’ a girl.”
“Well of course I want ponies to know I’m a girl! I mean, what about you? Don’t you want everypony to know you’re a mare?”
Applejack simply shrugged. “All ah care about is helpin’ mah fellow pony. To be perfectly honest, ah don’t think ah’d mind at all if everypony thought ah was coltish or not.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Man, I wish I had could say the same thing.”
Applejack approached her friend and reached a foreleg around her shoulders. “Hey now, ye’re takin’ this too hard. Ah mean, ya’ve done amazin’ things, an’ ye’re practically a hero ‘round these parts. So what if someponies think ye’re a tomboy? It don’t change who you are!”
Rainbow Dash simply shook her head as she stepped away from her friend with a solemn look on her face. “You don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“Ah don’t?” Applejack scratched the back of her neck nervously. “Well, sorry, Rainbow Dash. Ah wish ah could be of more help.”
“I mean, everypony thinks that we’re like stallions, right?”
“Well, ah- Wait, ‘we’?”
“And I guess you’re right about how it doesn’t change who we are.”
“Hold on, what did ya mean by ‘we’?”
“And Twilight had a point with how it’s just the thoughts of other, random ponies.”
“Ya mean ponies really think that of me?”
Rainbow Dash sighed and fell to her haunches, resting her chin on her forehooves. “But what about my dad? I want him think of me as his daughter, not his son. And then there’s Trixie. I don’t want to drive her away by being too ‘stallion’ around her. I’m sure you don’t mind what Rarity thinks, but I-” Rainbow gasped as a thought came to her. “That’s it! Rarity! Why didn’t think of her before?! Thanks AJ! I knew talkin’ with you’d help!”
“Wai-” Rainbow Dash pushed off into the air and blasted forward with enough speed to leave a rainbow trail behind before Applejack could stop her. “HOLD ON! WHAT DID YA MEAN BY ‘WE’?!” Applejack continued to stare up into the sky with a worried look on her face. “Does everypony… think ah’m stallion-like, too?”
Trixie tapped her hoof against the ground outside of the Ponyville Day Spa. Her coat had been bathed, her muscles had been relaxed, her tension washed away and her mane groomed. It had been nearly two hours since she had arrived, and yet she was still waiting. “It shouldn’t take this long to move Trixie’s things…” There was still no sign of Rainbow Dash. Trixie sighed and wondered if she should just head on down to Sweet Apple Acres on her own.
“Sorry I’m late.” Trixie looked ahead of her to find a blue pegasus pony approaching, one that resembled Rainbow Dash in hair and coat colours… but not in any other way at all. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”
Trixie felt her brain stop as she looked over the unknown pony before her. The hair was similar to Rainbow’s, but a lot more tidy and… fancy. It was done up in a bun and a straightener had clearly been used on it. Her eyes were the same, but the eye shadow around them was a new feature. As was the lipstick, and the clipped on ruby earrings dangling from each of the pony’s ears.
A necklace and a couple of bracelets around her right foreleg, a pink dress for casual outings, a little blue ribbon around the base of her tail… There was no way that this was Rainbow Dash. Sadly, Trixie wasn’t fooling herself with that.
“Dash, what’s… all that?”
Rainbow Dash smiled as she slowly, gracefully approached Trixie. “Oh, I just thought I’d change my image a bit. What d’you- I mean, what do you think?”
Even Rainbow’s voice was different. It was softer, more refined, and her speech was slower. “Why are you talking like that?”
Rainbow frowned. “Is there something wrong with me talking like this… darling?” Rainbow’s eye twitched at that last word.
Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash suspiciously. “Well, yes. It’s not at all like how you normally speak.”
“Uh… W-Why, I told you: I’m trying a little image change, that’s all.” Rainbow Dash looked around for a moment. “Um, why don’t we stop by the flower shop on our way to the farm?”
“You like flowers?” Trixie asked in a disbelieving tone.
“Sure I do,” Rainbow said with a nod. “They, uh, are pretty, and they smell nice, and uh…”
“Okay, what’s your favourite flower then?”
Rainbow Dash froze for a second. “All of them?”
Trixie sighed. “Okay, what’s going on? What’s with the clothes, and the makeup, and…” Trixie closed her eyes and sniffed the air. “… Is that perfume?”
“Just… want to look pretty for my date. Is that a problem?”
“It’s hardly what Trixie would call a ‘date’. We’re just walking down to the farm together.”
“Well, then, I wanna look pretty for our walk! What’s the big deal?!” Trixie gave a deadpan stare in response and Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright, fine… Ponies see me as a tomboy…”
“They do!?” Trixie exclaimed in mock surprise. “Well call the Foal Free Press. We’ve got the headline of the century for them!”
“Har har. Look, I didn’t even notice until somepony pointed it out today.”
“And… it bothers you?”
“Of course it bothers me! I’m a mare! Why is that so hard for ponies to see?”
“Well it’s not that they don’t see you’re a mare,” Trixie clarified. “Just that you don’t act like one.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Rainbow Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “I dunno, I guess I’m just tired of ponies thinkin’ of me that way, y’know?”
“Is that all?” Trixie asked. “Trixie can’t really imagine you would let something so silly cause you to…” Trixie simply gestured to the ensemble that Rainbow Dash was wearing, which the pegasus looked over with a light blush.
“… Well, I also didn’t want you to think… I was too coltish or something…” Rainbow Dash admitted, kicking a hoof against the ground. “I mean, you like mares, so-”
“Rainbow Dash, perhaps you hadn’t noticed, but we’ve been dating for a few months now. In that time, has Trixie shown any indication that she is losing interest in you?”
“Well, I guess not, but-”
“Trixie likes you as you are,” Trixie interrupted. “Sure you might not be Rarity levels of ladylike, but that cool and tough side of you is part of what draws me to you.”
Rainbow Dash stared wordlessly at Trixie for a second before the unicorn leaned in and kissed her. After she backed away, Rainbow grinned. “Heh, you’re right… I mean, I like you the way you are, too, even if you are a bit…”
Trixie’s horn glowed. “Choose your next words carefully, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow decided to take the safe route and end her sentence there. She then looked down at the dress that she was wearing and gagged. “Did I really let Rarity dress me up like this?”
Trixie giggled. “Perhaps we should get that dress and that makeup off of you.”
“Feeling better?” Trixie removed the final wet wipe from Rainbow Dash’s face and allowed her marefriend to see herself in a small mirror.
“Uh, yeah… Man, that stuff was so not cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she admired her original face in her own reflection. “I guess I got a little caught in everypony’s opinions that I forgot something important.”
“To always be yourself regardless of how others see you?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, not that. The lesson is that my opinions are better than anypony else’s!”
Trixie laughed and brought a grape to Rainbow’s mouth. “But y’know, you do have a cute side sometimes.”
Rainbow scoffed and snatched the grape with her teeth. “As if. Rainbow Daring Dash is nothing but fifty percent cool, fifty percent awesome and fifty percent amazing!”
“Then you must be minus fifty percent book smart,” Trixie responded with a grin. “Also, your middle name is Daring?”
“Yup! Got it changed couple of months ago. Didn’t I tell you that?”
Trixie shook her head and reached for her hay smoothie. “I should probably be more amazed that you did that, but really it isn’t that surprising to me.”
“Twilight was thinking of changing her own name to Starswirl but her brother talked her out of it.”
Trixie snorted as she laughed through her smoothie. “… Princess Starswirl, huh? That would be pretty funny.”
“Oh horseapples!” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed. “I totally forgot to move all your stuff to my place!”
Trixie’s eyes widened and she looked up towards the sky. “Are you serious?! It’s already getting late!”
“Uh, yeah… Sorry ‘bout that. I guess I could go do it now, but-”
“Well it looks like Trixie has no choice.” Trixie finished her smoothie quickly and jumped out of her seat. “It looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie will have to help you after all.”
“Huh? Wait, I thought you couldn’t ‘cause you can’t fly.”
“Trixie never said that, did she?” Trixie grinned as she approached Rainbow Dash steadily. “You made that conclusion all on your own. Trixie may not be able to fly, but she has plenty of resources at her disposal.”
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Wait, so you just wanted me to move all your stuff because…”
“Because Trixie was tired,” Trixie said with a proud smile.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
“Now, now. No need to get all bent out of shape, Dashie,” Trixie said, circling Rainbow Dash and ensuring that her tail brushed against Rainbow’s side. “Trixie did offer to spend the day with you after that, didn’t she? And besides, if Trixie had worn herself out any further, she wouldn’t have the energy left tonight for you.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the cocky unicorn giving her a victorious grin. “Well in that case, you’d better pay up,” she said, reaching forward and wrapping a foreleg around Trixie’s neck, brining the mare in closer to kiss her on the lips.
“Oh, please,” a voice from behind scoffed, causing the two mares to pull away in surprise and turned to whoever was addressing them. It wasn’t a pony, but a griffon, who was approaching the two. “I can’t believe you’re the same Dash I used to room with. I knew these ponies were turnin’ you lame.”
“Gilda?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping into the air and floating with her wings.
“A friend of yours?” Trixie asked, moving her head to get a better look at Rainbow’s shocked and confused face. “… Maybe not?”
“N-No… I mean, she’s uh… It’s…”
“We used to room together in flight school,” Gilda told Trixie. “We also hung out almost every day, and even went out for a bit once. Didn’t last long. We preferred just stickin’ as friends.”
“Ah, and old mare… er, griffonfriend… What’s the term Trixie should use here?”
“What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked Gilda, her eyes narrowed to a glare as she slowly landed onto the ground. “I thought you didn’t wanna see me until I was ‘ready to be cool again’.”
Gilda gritted her teeth as she and Rainbow Dash became locked in an eternal staring contest. “… You know what? Forget it. I don’t even know why I bothered.” Gilda turned around and spread her wings.
“Wait!” Rainbow Dash cried, but Gilda simply took off and flew away from the scene quickly, a strong gust of wind blowing behind her. “Gilda!”
Trixie watched the griffon fly away and then turned to Rainbow Dash. “… So I’m guessing that something happened between you two.” Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded her head. “You want to talk about it?”
Rainbow looked at Trixie and shook her head, smiling. “Nah. It’s not that big a deal.”
“You sure? The Great and Powerful Trixie is willing to lend an ear, so you might want to consider-” Trixie was interrupted as Rainbow Dash flicked her forehead suddenly, forcing her to take a step back in surprise. “OW! W-What are you-”
“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash shouted, taking to the air and flying some feet away from Trixie. “C’mon, you’re it now! Catch me if you think ya can!”
Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry towards Trixie and the unicorn felt her veins rising to the surface as she took a step forward. “Oh, you just wait, Dash.” Rainbow quickly flew down the street as Trixie gave chase. “Get back here, you!”
As Rainbow Dash led Trixie towards the library with hearty laughter she made it a point to slow down occasionally, to give her less-athletic opponent a chance. As she moved, she couldn’t help but notice the large figure flying towards the Everfree Forest in the distance. ‘Gilda…’
“Watch out for that-” Rainbow Dash snapped to attention just in time to find Twilight’s tree about to meet her face. Using her quick reflexes Rainbow Dash dodged and circled around in the air, landing just in front of a heavily-panting Trixie, who quickly proceeded to lightly tap Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “… Got… you…”
Rainbow quickly backed up to catch her falling marefriend and couldn’t help but giggle at how worn out a simple run had made the so-called ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie. “Uh, maybe you should get some more exercise.”
Trixie harrumphed and climbed out of Rainbow’s hold, quickly sorting out her mane and her attire and walking casually towards the library. “Whatever. Trixie won in the end, did she not?”
“I guess so,” Rainbow said with a shrug as she followed Trixie into the library, before sparing one last glance in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
Rarity opened the door to her boutique and trotted inside, humming a tune as her helpful assistant Spike followed behind with a full sack over his shoulders. “Thank you so much for your help again, Spike. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Don’t… mention… it…” Spike said between pants, wiping the sweat from his brow before simply dropping the sack on the floor against the nearest wall to him. As payment for his service Rarity offered him three large gems from the stash, which he accepted with a smile and a content sigh.
“I’m sorry for asking you to help me so late in the evening.”
“Ah, it’s nothing.” Spike brushed the gems with his tail, making them shine even brighter. “I mean, hey, it beats Twilight’s crazy delusions that somepony is purposely sliding the books forward on her shelves… Please don’t tell her I said that.”
“Well, thank you again, Spike dear.” After Rarity and Spike waved each other goodbye, Rarity closed the door to her boutique and approached the stairs leading upstairs. Applejack’s boots by the door told her that the other mare was already home. “Applejack, I’m hoooome!” Rarity sang as she opened the door to their bedroom and walked inside. “You wouldn’t believe the day that I’ve had. First Rainbow Dash of all ponies comes asking for my help looking more…”
Rarity trailed off as her eyes fell onto Applejack, sitting at the vanity inside the room with all of Rarity’s makeup and cosmetic products lined up in front of her, and an awful lot of it painted on her face, with her hair braided and shining from a clear overuse of shampoo.
“Uh, hi Rarity,” Applejack said, staring back at Rarity as the awkwardness levels in the room continued to rise. “… Am ah pretty?”
“…” Rarity slowly backed out of the room and closed the door with her magic.
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If by the end of 2016 the next update isn't here I will make an somewhat angry post. You have been warned.
Also, the last bit was funny enough. For the most part this was a bit of character development, nothing wrong with that.
Oh, I hope there is more Gilda. Used figure AJ would know how to apply makeup because of Manehatten or at least the Applejewel thing.
Loving the story. BTW, it's a cragadile, not a rockadile.
Man, Lyra isn't the only one that is confused about Spike's gender
Is this on purpose?
4358419
Agh! It's a problem that keeps cropping up because of how fast I type! >< It happens with other words, too (sometimes I type 'withe' when I wanna say 'with the'). I usually catch it pretty easily, though clearly this is not one of those times
I shall fix this at once!
4358162
Just assume she got somepony else to apply the makeup for her
Poor AJ.
2016? So fast? You spoiling us.
Yay, late comment~
But I do figure I'll mention something
Sexual Identity is who you're attracted to. So unless Rainbow is concerned that she shouldn't "like" Trixie because she's a mare, then Sexual Identity isn't the correct identity crisis.
Might I recommend gender identity, seeing how she seemed to have an issue with ponies thinking of her as male, when she's clearly not. Or something along those lines.
I will say I was howling with laughter over this, mainly because I've had a similar issue.
Hmm, I dunno. I thought it was good. Nice lesson in the end. But wait, Gilda?! Whoa, dude! You can't have her show up and then leave like that again.
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8158246912/hD4384221/hD4384221.jpg
internetboxpodcast.com/members/avatars/kroonlovespoon-1356929360.gif
of course you are applejack