An Enthusiastic Admirer

by Eyeswirl the Weirded

Chapter 3: Regroup!

Prince Blueblood, age 10, wandered the Royal Garden of Canterlot Palace, alone. That's how it usually was, since the incident at the magicite cavern. With his parents gone, his remaining family didn't want anything to do with him, and he just didn't want to talk to much of anypony else. Even his aunt didn't seem to have time for him of late. So, Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns would let out for the day, he'd wander alone for a while, then turn in for the night. This was the plan until he noticed colorful lights and strange sounds coming from deeper in the garden.

Moving in to investigate, he saw a blue unicorn filly, her cutie mark a blue wand with a star for a tip in front of a sparkly crescent moon, standing in the middle of a maelstrom of magical lights, fires of at least four different colors whirling about in the air as she reared up on her hind legs. She seemed to direct it all with subtle movements of her horn, forehooves waving about (though that might have just been to keep her balance) in a slow dance. Eventually, the floating strands of light and colored fire began to gather a few meters above her head, spiraling and wrapping around one another as though being sewn into a big, spherical blanket. Fusing together, the orb glowed a brilliant white before dispersing in a flash.

Settling on all four hooves and breathing heavily, the filly smiled to herself for a job well-done. She was startled by thunderous applause in the form of hooves stamping the ground behind her. Quickly turning, she saw a white unicorn colt grinning ear to ear.

"That was amazing! You must be the best magic pony in the whole world!"

Little Trixie's face flushed as she tried to reply, a nervous stutter all her throat would allow. "Th-tha-thank you, I-I, u-uhm-"

He took a few steps closer, smile just as strong. "Wow, you can even change colors in your face!"

If it had been on purpose, she would have appeared to increase the effort, double-casting her Stutter Spell at the same time, visibly shaking. "Th-this, I-I-I, it's n-not really-"

He blinked once, shining teeth disappearing with his smile as he stared at her, wide-eyed. She felt a lot like a rabbit in the face of a speeding carriage, unable to move, frozen in his sight. "You," he uttered, "are so pretty."

She compulsively tried to pull her mane in front of her face to hide behind it, smiling sheepishly. "R-really...?"

He nodded once, smiling again. "Really! I'm Prince Blueblood, who are you?"

"T...Trixie." She looked him in the eye. "Trixie Lulamoon."

---

"...And then?" Shining prodded.

"And then," Prince replied with muffled annoyance from behind the bookshelf, "she went crazy!"

Doctor grinned. "Tackle-you-in-the-streets crazy?"

"Worse!"

"Send-you-hoof-long-love-letters crazy?"

"Worse."

"Stalk you on your way home crazy?"

"Worse."

"Tell-your-aunt(Princess Celestia)-over-tea-she-wants-to-spend-life-with-you crazy?"

"Worse."

There was a short, curious pause before the pony still in hiding continued.

"Well, that too, but I'd rather not go into it."

"Alright," Shining said, "what are you going to do about her?"

"Honestly? I'm open to suggestions."

"Hmm," Doctor hmm'd, a hoof on his chin, "what have you tried so far?"

"Staying out of her sight has proven the most effective short-term tactic."

"Is that the only thing you've tried?"

There was a long silence, ended with a muffled cough. "Like I said, open to suggestions."

Shining spoke up, smiling. "You might not have to worry about her much longer, if we're lucky Soarin might, uh..." He scratched the back of his head with a hoof, trying not to blush. "Be Soarin. And then-"

"Tried that," came the ex-wonderbolt's voice from an upper window, startling the three in the library, "I can't prove she dyed her fur, but she's pretty dead-set on you, Blue."

"Why," Shining inquired with a hint of irritation, "are you in the window?"

Soarin looked as though he'd been asked why the sky was blue. "It was open."

There was a muffled face-hoof. He would have closed all the entry points off before hiding, but that might have been just the suspicious kind of move to clue Trixie in that somepony was hiding there, defeating the purpose somewhat.

"Wait," Shining said, guard senses tingling, "if you're here, where's Trixie?"

He grinned proudly. "Probably wandering around town wondering how she lost a battle of wits to-"

"You mean she could be anywhere, lurking around any corner, under any floor tile?!"

Soarin's ears folded back a little as he lowered his head. "...Never mind."

Doctor, silently mouthing 'floor tile' with a perplexed look on his face, shook his head and steered the conversation back on track, smiling. "Why not throw yourself at her, reverse psychology?"

"Or tell her you already have a fillyfriend?" That, Shining Armor was sure, would stop Trixie in her great and powerful tracks.

"Pfft" Prince scoffed, "Yes, because a thing like that would get in the way of her unbridled insanity."

"O-of course," Shining retorted, feeling slightly defensive, "if you already have a special somepony, she has to back off, right?" Looking a bookcase in the eye being extremely difficult, he glanced to Doctor, who had a hoof over his mouth in the middle of an unconvincing coughing fit.

This was backed up by Soarin nearly falling out of the window as he rolled around the window sill, laughing.

Shining scowled. "What?!"

The local love guru managed to speak between gasps for breath. "Dude, how many love-struck fillies do you know?"

His ears folded back. "Uhm, w-well..."

Doctor started laughing out loud now.

Blueblood, starting to feel ridiculous where he was, slid the bookshelf aside, stepping out of the compartment that he would have to explain the existence of at a later date. "Suppose some of those ideas are worth a try, though I think I'll go ask the others for good measure. Has anypony seen Thunderlane?"

"Oh, yea," Soarin said, grinning, "He's the MASTER of breaking up!"

---

Elsewhere, the black pegasus sat eating a sandwich, his lunch break, and stopped mid-mouthful.

Cloud Kicker raised an eyebrow, swallowing the banana she'd been chewing. "Something wrong?"

"I... I think," he uttered, "I want to punch somepony in the face..."

---

Shining shook his head. "I think he's busy today, same with Big Macintosh."

"True," Doctor added, "but farm work usually allows for light conversation, and not being a hundred feet in the air. I'm sure he could offer some wisdom on the matter, if you stopped by Sweet Apple Acres."

Prince nodded. "Alright, I'll..." He glanced around briefly. "On second thought, would you all mind joining me? I'd rather not risk running into her alone."

"Are you sure?" asked the pegasus still leaning in through the window, "Being chased by a cute mare is a dream come true for-"

"Not if they use nets," the targeted noblepony interrupted, "nor giant rubber bands."

The other three stared at him with a mix of fear and wonder. Shining shook his head. "Not even going to ask."

"Perhaps," Doctor said, looking contemplative, "we should split up, if any of us run into Trixie we can try to keep her busy, you can try either of our methods if she finds you first?"

Soarin, at last joining them on the ground, waved a hoof. "I'll stick to Prince. She probably won't stand around talking to me a second time, but I bet I could distract her long enough for him to slip away."

Blueblood nodded. "Alright, thank you all for the help, are we ready?"

The other three smiled, answering in unison. "Ready!"

---

Not long after departure from the library, leaving the 'Closed' sign up before he left, Shining Armor marched through town. He wasn't 100% sold on the idea that he needed to keep his friend and boss safe from a traveling showpony, but kept on the lookout for trouble anyway.

"You want Trixie to WHAT?!"

He might have found it. Pressing himself against a nearby wall to keep out of sight, he peered carefully around the corner to see Ditzy Doo talking to the very pony Blueblood was trying to avoid.

Ditzy nodded, smiling happily. "A lot of ponies have done it, especially his closest friends!" She didn't know why this pony wanted to get close to Prince Blueblood, but more friends were always nice, right?

What, the hiding guard pondered, are they talking about...?

The showmare's face colored faintly. "T-Trixie isn't going to do something like that to earn her beloved's affection, it's just barbaric!"

The eavesdropping spell (you can do all kinds of magic unnoticed when wearing a hat like Trixie's) Trixie had used when the two stallions that approached her mid-cuddle started whispering hadn't helped much. She was sure they had been just about to say where he went when that damn pegasus showed up. Still, Trixie had determined that somepony around here had to know about her future husband, and the pony with the mailbag going around delivering letters most likely knew where everypony in town lived. However, the conversation had taken a turn she wasn't fully comfortable with.

Ditzy frowned a little. "Are you sure? I know it's weird, but I think he kinda likes it."

Trixie's jaw dropped.

The grey mare smiled sheepishly. "Well, maybe just once?"

"But, b-but," she stammered in reply, "wouldn't that, you know, hurt? a lot?"

She scratched her head with a hoof. "Hmm... Maybe the first time, but I really think you'd have a good shot if you did."

Trixie looked away with a huff, crossing her forelegs and pouting. There was a long silence until she spoke up again, quietly. "Just... One time?"

Ditzy nodded, smiling cheerfully. "One time!"

The pony in the pointy hat refused to make eye contact, her face still slightly red. "...Trixie will consider this..."

Shining Armor stood still, knowing from experience not to jump in based solely on what he was hearing. No, he would be smarter this time! He slipped away to warn Blueblood.

"But honestly," Trixie asked, throwing her forehooves upwards, "how can Trixie just trot up to her future husband and PUNCH him?!"

Ditzy smiled apologetically. "I'm not really sure, but I think that's how he makes friends."

She sighed. It was something to consider, at least. "Oh!" Remembering the reason for talking to this pony, she straightened her hat somewhat. "Where does he live again...?"

---

Soarin hovered in the air as the pair made their way to the apple orchard. "We're almost there," he said with a grin, "don't worry buddy, I'm not leaving you no matter wha-"

Just then, Cloud Chaser flew by so fast she nearly tackled him out of the air. Looping back to face them, her face showed panic and desperation. "Soarin," she cried, "we need your help, it's an emergency!"

He gestured to Blueblood with a hoof. "I can't, we're busy with-"

Soarin's secretary grabbed his head in both forehooves. "SHE is back!"

Not having time to decide whether or not he liked this new head-grabbing trend, Soarin gulped, giving Prince an apologetic glance. "Welp, gotta go, bye!" And the two sped off.

The abandoned noblepony blinked as he watched them disappear, only having the presence of mind to shout "TRAITOR!!" when they were well out of earshot.

And so, Prince stood alone on the dirt road to Sweet Apple Acres, his companion having been abducted by his secretary for what she would only identify as an emergency. While confident that it would make for an interesting story in Sugarcube Corner one morning, it left him on his own should he run into Trixie. No matter, he was at the destination, and it wasn't long before he found the big, red farmer he'd come to hear advice from, exchanged greetings, and started explaining the situation.

"Alright, there's a mare in town I knew as a colt. Long story short, she and I didn't see eye to eye on a few things, such as personal space and the exact definition of "trespassing." She eventually left me alone, but now it seems she's up to her old, somewhat frightening tricks." He shuddered, remembering how she saw through his teleportation. I didn't even know there was a spell for that!

"This filly likes ya more'n ya like her, Ah take it?" He gave the nearest tree a good kick, clearing it of apples.

"That would be the jist of it, yes."

Luckily, this was a problem Big Mac had some experience with. He raised a single eyebrow. "Blue, ya ever try jus' sayin' 'no'?"

Prince seemed thrown by the utter simplicity of the idea, slowly reaching up to scratch his head. "Just... What?"

The farmer nodded. "When she asks ya to if ya wanna be 'er special somepony, jus' say 'nope.'"

He blinked slowly, internalizing the notion. "...Nope?"

Big Mac smiled. "Eyyup, nope."

Blueblood grinned as well, feeling more confident than he had all day. "Nope! Haha, nope! Yes, I'd like to see what she has to say to that!" Exchanging goodbyes with his busy friend, he felt as ready as he'd ever be to get rid of the obsessive madmare. It was then that a thought that he'd never believed he would dare allow in his mind surfaced.

Time to go looking for Trixie.

---

"Hey, Ditzy!"

"Hey, Doctor!"

"Finished up today's deliveries?"

She nodded happily. "Yup!"

Doctor smiled. "Great, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Have you heard about the newest source of excitement to hit the area?"

She blinked. "The electric groundhogs? Are they here already?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "Other source of excitement, one Trixie Lulamoon?"

Ditzy grinned back. "Oh, yea! I think she has a thing for Prince Blueblood, so I told her where he lives." And then Doctor got that look. A smile, but with a twinkle in his eye that said 'Ohh, this is going to be fun!' She frowned a little, tilting her head inquisitively. "Ummm...?"

"There's something of a history between those two, and while I don't know the whole thing, this is what he's told us so far..."

---

"Alright," Trixie muttered to herself, "the library was closed, but somepony saw him heading this way..." To an apple orchard. A very, very, BIG apple orchard. Well, finding a big, white unicorn among brown and green scenery dotted with red sounded simple enough, so she got to trotting in no particular direction. Trixie saw some strange things, wandering those fields, some of which gave her a weird, eerie feeling. Empty buckets placed around trees? Ok. A colorful tree house? Fine. Trails of tree sap running in zig-zags along the ground? Odd. Apple slices assembled to resemble a life-size lobster on a plate? She took that one as a sign that she needed to find the prince and leave before the sun went down, because something was very wrong with this place.

Next it'll probably be rusty axes and piles of bones...

Trotting a little faster, she noticed a blotch of red much larger than the others, and on the ground. Pony-shaped. She waved a hoof. "Hello there! Trixie seeks assistance!"

Big Mac inclined his head to look at the newcomer as she approached, bucking the nearest tree clean. "Howdy. What can I do ya for?"

She smiled amicably."Trixie is in search of the Alabaster Angel of Canterlot, Most Eligible Bachelor in Equestria, Best-Groomed Fetlocks Trixie Has Ever Seen, Longest Horn On Anypony But A--"

"Yer lookin' fer Prince Blueblood?"

"...yes, him."

This filly was looking for Blue too? Maybe she and the one Blue had been worried about knew eachother. He nodded once. "Eeyup, he came through not too long ago, reckon he's headed out since then, though." He shifted the stalk of hay in his mouth from one side to the other as the pony in the flashy cape and hat seemed to deflate a bit. "What's yer int'rest in Prince, iffin' ya don't mind mah askin?"

Her smile recovered a little. "Trixie seeks to be with her beloved, of course! When she finds him, he and Trixie will be the most Great," She stood up on her hind legs, forehooves extended upwards, "and Powerful couple in ALL of Equestria!" This was the point where most in her position might laugh maniacally, but it came out as more like that of a foal imagining she were princess of the playground than the dark master of a crystal spire.

Giggling fillies always tickled Macintosh's brotherly instincts, possibly due to having two of them to look after, even if Applejack didn't laugh as much as Applebloom these days. Aside from that, the mare in the funny hat was helping somepony else find their special somepony? Darn nice thing to do, that. He smiled a little. "Well, Ah reckon Miss Trixie'll find him sooner 'r later, Ponyville ain't that big, afterall."

She blinked, settling on all fours again. Rarely did other ponies refer to Trixie in the 3rd pony. Trixie approved, showing it with a wide, somewhat haughty grin. "Well, Trixie thanks you for your time, kindly apple farmer," she reared back to excitedly flail her forehooves in the air, "but she must be going!"

And with that, she vanished in a puff of purple smoke, Big Macintosh too distracted by a thought that just sprung up to notice her running off through the trees. Wait a tic, wasn't Blue worried about a filly that wanted to...? He face-hoofed. "Oops." With a faintly lingering gaze on the spot where she'd disappeared, he figured the pony in the funny hat was Trixie, her speech matching her fashion sense. Still, she seemed like a nice enough pony. He took a few more seconds to ponder how bad she could have been years ago before getting back to work.

---

Later, Prince found himself standing in front of Trixie's wagon, staring at it not unlike a colt might stare at a dragon's cave. There was a chance this would work, a chance everything would work out fine if he followed his friends' advice, after all, he'd gotten three different suggestions! There was also a chance she wasn't in there at the moment and he would soon look very silly for all this trepidation. Such were his thoughts when he was startled by a hoof landing on his shoulder, accompanied by the voice of Shining Armor.

"There you are!" When Blueblood turned to look at him, his face was serious. "I think Trixie is planning to molest you somehow."

Prince felt his jaw drop, mouth twitching both in effort to close it again and to form a reply.

Shining went on. "I overheard her talking, and while I didn't catch the specific details, it sounded like she had something really..." He looked away slightly, face tinting red. "Unseemly, in mind."

Blinking slowly, Prince managed to verbalize again. "Right... Suppose that's not too much of a surprise, really, given her track record. Thanks for the warning."

Shining nodded, then caught sight of two ponies approaching from behind Prince. He smiled, waving at them with a hoof. "Hey Doctor, hey Soarin!"

Blueblood turned to face them as well. "That emergency business all wrapped up, then?"

Soarin, landing, nodded. "Yup!"

Doctor glanced at the wagon appraisingly. "I take it that by gathering at her home and/or place of performance, that nopony has seen Trixie recently enough to know where she is?"

The others answered in unison. "Yup."

He smiled. "And I would further guess that the hope is that we need only wait until she returns to said mobile stage-slash-living space?"

"Yup."

He nodded. "Splendid!"

In mere minutes, boredom set in. As did awkward silence.

"So," Shining said, producing a deck of cards, "anypony for a game? I used to play this with my sister all the time."

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

"I... I think," he uttered, "I want to punch somepony in the face..."

HAH!

"But, b-but," she stammered in reply, "wouldn't that, you know, hurt? a lot?"

Of course, this sounds like something very wrong, however, Ditzy means punching him in the face.

"But honestly," Trixie asked, throwing her forehooves upwards, "how can Trixie just trot up to her future husband and PUNCH him?!"

Knew it!

[djthomp]

I think, on the whole, I like Ditzy's advice the best. After all, whether or not the punch to the face works, at least it will also be funny.

Trails of tree sap running in zig-zags along the ground? Odd. Apple slices assembled to resemble a life-size lobster on a plate?

Run.

[MeadowRosePony]

"But honestly," Trixie asked, throwing her forehooves upwards, "how can Trixie just trot up to her future husband and PUNCH him?!"

Ditzy smiled apologetically. "I'm not really sure, but I think that's how he makes friends."

I nearly died there