Chapter 3
“So... We get dirty to bathe later?”
Starlight looked over her two friends, Tempest and Trixie, who had already made their way into the mud bath before her.
“Yes, Starlight, that’s how it works.”
Trixie groaned quite plainly, taking a quick dive underneath and coming back up for air. Her mane and coat were now completely covered in the slimy gray mixture to the point where Starlight easily could have confused her for a different pony were it not for those distinctly violet eyes.
“Starlight please, Tempest wouldn’t be one to get in this if she didn’t believe Tempest was doing this to clean herself. Tempest is not somepony to just play around in the mud like some careless schoolfilly.”
Tempest proceeded to gleefully trot through the mud before diving under for a moment, coming back up with every inch of her coated in the very thing Starlight was hesitant to trust.
“I don’t get it. I just took a bath 3 days ago, so why am I taking a bath again? And why are we getting in the mud before we get in the bath?!”
The purple eyed mare groaned once more, falling back and floating in the bath. WHY does this feel like a repeat of yesterday?
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“What’s a spa?”
The two mares found their jaws seeming to lack the means to be attached to the rest of their face. Starlight’s simple question was a reminder of how little she’d experienced in her life.
“I suppose it was too much to expect for you to know what that is.”
Had Trixie known that the suggestion of a trip to the spa would lead into another long winded explanation of Starlight’s life story, she probably would have kept her mouth shut. Fortunately for Tempest, this was her first time learning more about the other mare, and she found herself quite intrigued by the various tales the unicorn had. Starlight’s various ups, but mostly downs, managed to bring to light a certain lifestyle that the lightning-laced pegasus had never been aware of before; but with the pony’s behavior now explained, Tempest did her best to try and speak in a language that would make sense to Starlight.
“Starlight, Sweetie, going to the spa will be fun! It’s like... Imagine the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had. EVER! Now imagine that feeling without sleeping, and that’s what a spa is!”
That forced the orphaned pony to think back to the last night she actually slept without stress, barely tossing and turning. However, as enjoyable as that restful night of sleep had been, she remembered that the day had later turned sour.
“So it’s like Tornado Day without the tornado... right?”
Tempest was about to press for more information, but Trixie stopped her short, lest Tempest lead the other unicorn into another long story.
“Yes Starlight, it’s just like that. Look, we’re not going to get you into anything you wouldn’t want to do, alright?”
Still very hesitant but trusting in her friends, Starlight finally gave into their requests. Still somewhat unwilling, deep down she wanted to go and do something with the ponies whom she was slowly beginning to believe were her friends, the feeling shared between Trixie and Tempest. After all those days of studying, the girls would finally have their day out, with no inconveniences or problems whatsoever!
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Trixie should have known that was wishful thinking. And with Starlight still frozen near the edge of the bath, Trixie was growing fiercely impatient, her face beginning to show that Trixie was likely not going to wait any longer. Her horn sparked briefly before being coated in a white aura, the same aura slowly beginning to wrap around Starlight.
“H-hey! No, I don’t wanna get in! You can’t make me, Trixie!”
Quick to fight back, Starlight’s own magic flared a brilliant ebony color, pushing back against the white aura of her roommate. Much to Trixie’s surprise, the other mare was actually putting up quite the fight.
“You’re getting in this mud bath right NOW! I’m NOT waiting ANY longer!”
Another flare up of magic came from Trixie, as she slowly tugged Starlight in the direction of the bath, who began scrambling with her hooves to hold her ground and fight back with magic at the same time. Merely needing to calm herself, Starlight pushed back in full force, beginning to now lift Trixie into the air, the mud and clay dripping off her coat. Starlight puffed out her cheeks triumphantly.
“Now who’s gonna make me get in the bath?! Not you, Miss Trixie!”
Briefly intoxicated with pride from her victory, she’d failed to notice Tempest’s disappearance from the bath. With a tap of a hoof on her flank, Starlight released Trixie who hit the mud with a hard splat, face and belly first. With curiosity getting the best of her, the smaller mare found a rather large pegasus behind her, wings outstretched and ready to flap.
“Ah, Starlight sweetie, Tempest would like to suggest that perhaps her wings are stronger than your magic.~”
Tempest bega flapping her wings slowly, standing her ground and digging in her hooves before beating them harder, a gust of wind slowly swirling the air in the room. With the natural force of weather being something that Starlight was flat out unable to control, as well as not a huge fan of, she realized her fighting was only delaying the inevitable. Tempest’s wings eventually proved the strongest force in the room, as Starlight lost her balance and was blown into the mudbath. The smaller mare poked her head out of the mud, only to be met with a large ball of mud colliding with her face.
“And THAT is for dropping the Great and Powerful Trixie into the bath!”
Wiping the mud off of her face with her hooves, Starlight nearly confused Trixie for a different pony, what with her cheeks flaring bright red in anger. With three more mudballs floating hazardously around Trixie’s head, Tempest did her best to diffuse the situation.
“Starlight, say you’re sorry for dropping Trixie in the bath.”
Mouth agape in horror, Starlight whined in protest.
“But she started it!”
Tempest fixed her with a stern glare before replying.
“That doesn’t matter. You agreed to go through with this last night and you didn’t. And while Miss Trixie didn’t handle things in the best way, Tempest believes that she did it with the best of intentions. ‘Right’, Trixie?”
Well, that and I wasn’t going to wait any longer. Trixie was quick to disguise her inner thoughts with an meek nod. Buying into the other pony’s fake sincerity, Starlight bit her quivering lip and began tearing up. Oh hay, not the crying again.
“I’m s-s-sorry.. Tri-hi-hi-hixie.”
The Great and Powerful mare was incapable of resisting the other pony’s adorable mannerisms this time, wading through the mud and putting her hooves around Starlight. Giving her a tight hug, she stopped Starlight’s sniffling short of turning into a full blown sob.
“It’s alright, Trixie is sorry she tried to make you get in the bath before you were ready. I’ll... Try and not do that next time.”
With the problem resolved, Tempest couldn’t resist but getting in on the hug herself, pulling both ponies under her wings and hugging them close. Giggling with delight before sporting a sly grin, she dunked herself and the other two mares under the mud, both struggling to pull themselves back to the surface for air. Each of the unicorns were preparing a mud ball for hurling in Tempest’s direction, before being cautioned against such a decision.
“Ah ah ah.~”
Even covered in mud, her massive wings were still very intimidating, enough that both Starlight and Trixie dropped the mud back into the bath. Thankfully, the rest of the mudbath proceeded without any further conflicts,with the girls quickly moving to the next part of the treatment. A firm scrub down purged all the mud and clay off their skin, and out of their fur, was all Tempest and Trixie needed to feel better. Starlight, however, found herself unable to find the right words to describe the delightful feeling from such a cleansing.
“Uwahah... Ahhhhh... I just, I can’t.”
Trixie was quite amused by the flurry of expressions flying across Starlight’s face, who seemed to be unable to decided if she was happy, relieved, or just comfortable.
“I know, I know, there’s nothing else like a good scrub after a mud bath. Really takes the edge off if I do say so myself.”
Even with her mind drowning in indescribable pleasures for such a simple experience, Starlight attempted to contemplate just ‘why’ she was enjoying this so much.
“So we get dirty to ‘increase’ how good this feels? Is that right?”
Tempest was finishing up her own cleanse, shaking off her whole body of water and suds.
“Correct! Tempest meant to explain that to you earlier, but Tempest felt it would be best if Starlight experienced it first hoof. It seems that was a good call!”
The pony attempted to speak, but it was a wasted effort as all that came out were more delighted moans and squeals. Starlight was on cloud nine and she wasn’t about to come down.
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A sauna, some hooficures, and a mane treatment later, the girls left the spa, the most refreshed they had been in the past 3 days. With two of the ponies grinding through books for preemptive studies and one keeping them fed and the dorm clean, this day out was an absolute necessity for each of them. However, one was particularly more blown away by the experience than the others.
“Once a week, right?”
Starlight had asked that question at least fives times now, each time being given the same answer. Trixie was on the verge of biting her lip so hard it’d bleed, but luckily Tempest was quick to pick up on the emotions of others, finally giving a more concrete and specific answer to quell the excited pony.
“Once a week, every week. We have the time for it, after all, but we’re doing something a little special today. There’s a particular unicorn Tempest would like for you all to meet; he’s gotten a nice start here recently, and I think he’s quite fantastic when it comes to making designer outfits. Best to get your measurements for him now, should there be any events at the academy in the future! Besides, you’ll have the Grand Galloping Gala to attend at the end of the year. It ‘is’ part of your tuition, after all.”
Before even placing a hoof in the shop, the three were greeted by a brilliant white-coated stallion, flashing a smile and sporting a gaze that would probably have knocked Starlight’s non-existent socks off... had she spent more time around stallions.
“Tempest, darling, so good to see you! Are these your friends you mentioned in your letter?!”
Tempest giggled and hugged the violet maned unicorn.
“Lucy, these are Tempest’s friends, Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Sonata. Tempest brought them in today just like you asked.”
Starlight gave a meek wave of the hoof, while Trixie’s eyes narrowed at the stallion. The nickname sounded familiar, the mare swearing she’d heard the name before, the full name coming to her after recalling a chat with Dusk Shine.
“Elusive, is it? You own this place?”
Elusive turned his attention to the azure mare beside his pegasus friend, raising an eyebrow.
“You aren’t aware of who I am? Why, I’m the friend to Dusk Shine and the embodiment of the Element of Generosity! So generous in fact that Prince Solaris seeked to return that generosity with my own store here in Canterlot! Of course, I only sought to give ponies what they wanted, and I’m looking to spread outside of just designing clothes now! Perhaps you’re willing to be the first customer for my personal mane stylings?!”
He gave a simple tap at her flowing locks of hair, dwelling on various ways he could give a little pop and flair to the mare’s manestyle. Being brought back to reality by the hoof firmly pushing him away, Elusive found himself on the end of a very cold and ire-filled glare from Trixie.
“You touch me, or my mane, without my permission and I will see to it you lose your horn.”
She trotted into the shop, both Tempest and Starlight left behind her with quite the shock from the spur of the moment icy mood swing from the magician that they never expected.
“Um, Lucy dear, please don’t mind her. Perhaps it’s not the best idea that I brought her here without letting her know first.”
Elusive shrugged it off, not even mildly bothered by Trixie’s less-than-thrilled attitude at being around the store, or so he assumed. Tempest walked off to another part of the store as Starlight began hunting down Trixie in what ended up being an unexpectedly large clothing shop.
Trixie had long since abandoned the customer areas of the store and gone into the backrooms, where she figured she wasn’t welcome. Much to her expectations, the rooms were lined with an array of dress forms and wrinkled fabrics. The doors to each of the rooms were locked, but experiences in the past forced Trixie’s hoof at needing to pick up some skills that weren’t what many would praise a pony for knowing. A twist of a spring here and a shifting of a lever there opened door after door, all the rooms showing something different, at least in terms of ideas. Is he paranoid that somepony is going to come into these pigstys and steal his designs or something?
What got to Trixie the most was the lack of neatness. For a pony whom she had learned always prided himself on keeping up appearances, clearly the stallion had no concerns about what went on behind closed doors. There’s something just off about all of this. Who even cleans this all up? He’s a full grown stallion who prides himself on appearance, and yet his workshop is like this? Finally, the seemingly endless hallway of workrooms came to an end as she reached what she figured was Elusive’s office. Had she taken the time to think about it, Trixie would have assumed that it was natural to keep one’s office tidy, but then it hit her fully as she took in just what state of order this heart of the shop was in.
Not a single pile of disorganized papers, nor a stray pen. The photos on the wall all have him in the shot somewhere too. Dinners, award ceremonies, school events, it’s all the same. So, why doesn’t he have a picture of Dusk in here if they’re friends? Trixie took notice of the picture hanging above the doorframe, seeing the very photo she’d been looking for: Dusk and his five friends, all wearing the elements of harmony. To anyone else, this would have seemed like a picture of legends, something that would be hung in the halls of a museum and otherwise seen as a piece of historical memorabilia.
This mare was not one to miss details though, as she guided the framed picture off the wall with her magic, bringing it closer for a better look. Just as I thought. Amid all the smiling and happy faces of Solaris and Dusk’s friends, Dusk was the only stallion there who seemed to be out of place. Trixie could see him smiling like the others, but his happiness in the picture seemed to lack a genuine excitement she’d see during his studies with her. The forced smile in the photo, however, did seem familiar.
“There you are sister!”
Startled but thinking quickly, Trixie guided the picture back up onto its hook and darted out of the room, slamming the door shut. Starlight was quite frightened by the rush of the mare charging out of the room, but kept her cool. As Trixie gathered her thoughts, she blocked out the concerns of Dusk and her investigation of his friends, instead bringing up something more pressing to discuss with the other intruder.
“I’m sorry but... did you just call me ‘sister’?”
Starlight’s face matched the red intensity she’d seen on Harpford’s face only a few nights prior. But instead of embarrassment over being teased, it was clearly for a different reason.
“Um, yes, if that’s... okay. I mean, we’re sharing the same rooms, you let me talk to you all the time at night about things I’ve done or had happened to me, and you do the same, so I thought it was okay.”
Trailing off a bit near the end, the two seemed to ignore the fact that they were trespassing into a private section of the store, feeling as though they were the only ponies in the shop.
“Starlight, forgive me, but I really find that awkward and uncomfortable. I haven’t really done anything to ‘qualify’ myself as a sister to you.”
The other pony shook her head in protest, eager to express just why she felt Trixie was wrong.
“That other night when you hugged me while I was crying, that was the first time in... well, honestly I can’t remember how long since someone’s hugged me, or if I’ve ever been hugged at all.”
Oh you have GOT to be kidding me; this mare can NOT be serious. But Starlight was quite serious, approaching Trixie and hugging her tightly, causing her to freeze in place. No no no no no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Her mind raced in detest of this very forward affection from the other mare, her thoughts screaming for it to stop, but her hooves speaking the opposite. Knowing that Trixie wasn’t a fan of physical displays of affection, Starlight let her go and laughed at the sight of the distraught pony.
“I’m sorry, I understand what you were saying. Um, if you don’t want me to call you sister, I can st-”
Trixie pointed a hoof towards Sonata, pausing her speech for her.
“Look, if you would like to call Trixie... Sister, then I suppose as long as it’s not around other ponies I’m... o...kay with that. But only when we’re alone like this, got it? I ‘really’ do not need flack from Harpford. That stallion truly thinks with the mind of a colt sometimes, and Solaris knows I wouldn’t hear the end of his implications. Worst of all would be the stares from Dusk. He’d mean well, but surely wouldn’t resist wondering just EXACTLY what goes on behind closed doors.”
The mare’s rambling had no effect on Starlight, who had long since tilted her head in confusion at the last statement from Trixie. Solaris help me, this girl has got a LOT to learn.
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“So, you’ve never been on a date?”
The girls had taken time to do a little extra shopping after getting their measurements at Elusive’s boutique, soon after finding a cafe to stop and rest at. Tempest was quick to dig at the two mares for some interesting conversation, and after discussions of studies with the boys, she quickly turned the talk towards boys period. Starlight had become Tempest’s target for teasing this time, like every other conversation it seemed, and pressed to figure out her interests in stallions.
“I’ve never had the time... or money, really. No home to go to, no school to meet colts at, nothing like what Trixie was talking about.”
Trixie couldn’t help but puff out her chest, grinning with delight as she reflected on past achievements with the crowd of stallions that she could gather around her.
“Those stallions back home couldn’t get enough of Trixie! After all, coming from a pedigree of famous magicians and being as amazing and fantastic as I am, why ‘wouldn’t’ they want to spend all their bits and free time on Trixie?”
A hearty laugh from the showmare wasn’t enough to drown out the loud sigh coming from Starlight, Trixie’s boasting having brought up a more depressing realization.
“Besides, who would be interested in a pony my age who STILL doesn’t have her cutie mark?”
This topic had been eating away at the other two mares since the day they had all met, Tempest most of all. Trixie’s curiosity was piqued by it, but not to the intensity the pegasus had experienced.
“Starlight sweetie, a cutie mark doesn’t change anything about whether or not stallions will like you. Sure, perhaps Tempest has gotten a few more free meals after Tempest’s father would suggest that he would destroy their homes with a thunderstorm, and that maybe if they made Tempest mad a twister would send then from Canterlot to Las Pegasus...”
It took the storm spinning pegasus a moment to realize that her brief explanation of her special talent wasn’t helping Starlight Sonata feel any better.
“Look, the better question to ask would be what kind of stallion you’d like to date.”
Trixie nodded in agreement.
“That’s actually not a horrible idea. After all, I only really found myself not bored out of my mind when I was talking with other actual showponies who knew what they were doing...”
After a little banter between the two ponies, Starlight finally spoke up.
“Somepony who likes music.”
Tempest and Trixie’s attention was broken by the interjection. They refocused on Starlight, prompting her to let out a small yelp as she found herself locked in their gaze, but quickly calmed down once she realized they were waiting to listen.
“I’d want to be with somepony who likes music. Since I had to move from place to place for as long as I can remember, I used to sleep under theater stages and in back rooms of concert halls. And whenever I heard the music playing, it always helped me fall asleep faster.”
Starlight began humming softly to herself, seeming to forget the others at the table with her, breaking from the tune playing in her head to speak.
“Somepony who likes music or is a musician themselves. They could play an instrument or maybe even just a composer, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Both Trixie and Tempest were amused by Starlight continuing to hum with her eyes closed, as the tune seemed to have some meaning to her, judging by the huge smile on her face. The three mares failed to pick up on the presence behind them until it approached the table and prodded the ponies on their shoulders.
“Somepony who maybe also has it as their talent? Oh, maybe he would have it as his cutie mark! He could even help me figure out what ‘my’ gift could be! Oh that would be quite... Wonderful...”
Letting out a delighted sigh, Starlight slowly opened her eyes and saw the last pony in the world she expected to be standing across the table from her: Harpford Strings.
“Uh, pardon the intrusion, but do you mind me asking what you girls were talking about?”
Trixie was on the verge of exploding with laughter at the inexplicable level of coincidence, Tempest’s eyes were ablaze with excitement and Starlight was fighting the urge to take off for the nearest unblocked pathway out of the cafe. But as she realized that Harpford hadn’t a clue what they’d been discussing, she tried to cover her bases.
“Um, uh... Oh! We were talking about what kind of boys Tempest would be into! And uh, going on about what pony would be perfect for her!”
Harpford seemed to lose his balance, and his focus, as he stumbled forward and bumped into the table, grunting in frustration.
“Oh well uh... That’s nice I suppose. But uh, Tempest is a ‘bit’ too old for me, don’t you think?”
Any other mare probably would have unleashed a wrath wherein the intensity was comparable to that of a thousand red giant suns, but Tempest took it in stride and retorted with rather harsh snark.
“Well, I suppose I am a bit too mature and sophisticated for you, Harpford. After all, if you’re still stashing PlayColt magazines in your room, so perhaps you haven’t had the luxury of being with a real mare yet?”
A direct strike to his ego, Harpford made a mental note to, from that moment on, lock his personal belongings within a magically sealed container. He attempted to keep his cool, denying possession of such things.
“Oh my, so desperate to cover for your age by falsifying truths? I guess that would explain your lack of a coltfriend after all.”
Realizing that, perhaps, her words were hitting too close to an uncomfortable topic, Tempest gave in and let the green stallion have his win.
“Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. Regardless, you care to tell us what you were doing here in Canterlot anyway?”
Having lost track of the very reason he’d headed into town in the first place, he dug through his saddlebag and lifted out a gift certificate.
“My mother and father sent this to me and said I should enjoy a nice night out to dinner before classes start, but honestly I don’t know quite ‘how’ I’m going to spend all of the bits this covers on one meal. I don’t suppose one of you would like to tag along?”
Trixie rolled her eyes quickly at such a suggestion, not really interested in attending someplace that would make her gag at the rather uptight atmosphere, not to mention her complete lack of interest in Harpford. The obvious indifference on Trixie’s face directed Harpford’s focus towards Tempest.
“Tempest is busy with her own personal business tonight, so Tempest is afraid Tempest will not be able to give you the luxury of my presence. Besides, Tempest is too old, after all. Isn’t that right?”
Harprford had been expecting a response like that and brushed off her hostility. Thus, only one pony was left, trying her hardest not to make eye contact though not wanting be rude and deny the offer.
“Um, I uh, don’t have any plans. I suppose I could come along.”
Presenting a kind smile to the mare, Harpford motioned with his hoof for her to follow. She lifted her bags full of her purchases from the day only to find them taken over by Harpford, carrying them with his own magic.
“We can go drop these off at the dorms first; I made the reservation for later in case I ‘did’ fine somepony to go with me. Oh, and we can change too, since there’s kind of a formal attire requirement there...”
Trixie only smiled as her predictions were true.
“Therein lies my disinterest. And if you don’t mind, Tempest, I think I’ll take my leave too, as I’ve got a study session with Dusk later. We got our entrance exams back, and we’re going to go over whatever we got wrong.”
Thinking nothing of the fact that she was spending time with Dusk again, Trixie trotted off away from the group, leaving Harpford, Tempest and Starlight with an opportunity to gossip, the storm spinning pegasus taking the lead.
“For all that time they spend together, one would think they enjoy more than just academics.”
Tempest made a rather quick assumption about Dusk and Trixie’s relationship which Starlight was quick to rebute.
“Tempest, I don’t think it’s quite like that. Trixie’s talked to me about a lot of what they do, and really, she says that he’s kind of the only pony she feels comfortable actually talking over studies with. Though...”
The trailing off at the end left Harpford and Tempest unwilling to believe that was all there was to the matter.
“Starlight sweetie, what did we say about remembering not to trail off into the depths of your own mind?”
Starlight knew that Tempest’s comment was meant with good intent, the inner thinking a bad habit she was attempting to break now that she was spending time around other ponies more frequently.
“Well, I feel like maybe Trixie has some sort of ulterior motive. Not an emotional one, but it almost seems like she was ‘told’ by someone to spend time with Dusk. I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t like him so much as she’s very focused on never missing an appointment with him. In fact, she left the dorms yesterday morning without waking me up because of her plans to have breakfast with him before they went to plan out their schedule. When I asked her about it later, she said that she wanted to take classes with him and promptly yelled at me for giving her a funny look implying that I thought she liked him.”
Even with the rambling at the end, it managed to shed some light on the situation for Trixie’s other roommates. Each pony had their own suspicions, Harpford chiming in with what was the closest to the correct answer.
“So maybe she’s being told to keep an eye on him; it’s no big deal. Dusk Shine is a stallion of interest, it wouldn’t be entirely implausible for some out of the blue mare like Trixie, no pun intended, to be there from another country to keep an eye on the Element of Magic.”
A very valid point for the stallion to bring up, but Tempest was eager to believe her own thoughts.
“Ah well, if they did get together they’d probably have some cute foals.”
Tempest chuckled at such a thought, the two unicorns feeling that it was an ideal time to leave, quietly leaving the cafe. The pegasus ended her laughter only to discover that both of her friends were now gone.
“Nopony appreciates Tempest’s sarcasm, it seems. Oh well.”
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After having headed back to the dorms, Trixie found a note from Dusk informing her he was stopping by the Royal Guard HQ to see his sister off on a yearly trip she made. With little more details than that, Trixie made her way to the headquarters, having taken a walk there a few days before only to find it a waste when Shimmer Shield wasn’t there to meet Dusk Shine. After flashing the school ID from her saddlebag, the guards let her in, and Trixie followed the sound of Dusk’s voice as it echoed through the halls.
“You know how it is, Shiney. I’ll be back in a few weeks, so don’t worry about me, alright? You know Solaris wouldn’t ever send me off to do something too dangerous. Besides, even if it ‘was’ dangerous, we know I can handle myself.”
Finding a white coated and blue maned mare sitting across from Dusk Shine, Trixie assumed this to be his sister, Shimmer Shield.
“I’m aware of that, and I know you have Emporte’s magic protecting you. I guess I just get worried about the worst case scenarios all the time.”
Shimmer Shield put a hoof around Dusk as he leaned against her, hugging him close.
“I know, Shiney, I know. I’m the only family you’ve got left, but don’t forget that if anything ever happened to me, you still have Emporte as a brother-in-law.”
Trixie froze mid-trot into the room and began to slowly back up out of view. Carefully peeking her head outward, she watched Dusk try and find a response to that statement, but he seemed to be at a complete loss for words.
“Is something wrong, Shiney?”
Dusk remained silent, his head hung low and eyes closed. It seemed he was on the verge of divulging something important to his sister, and would have... had Trixie not fallen forward and hit the floor with a loud thud. Shimmer Shield jumped into a defensive position as Dusk tilted his head to the side, staring at the mare in confusion for a moment before stepping in front of his sister and waving his hooves like a madpony.
“Shimmer! It’s alright, it’s just my friend I was telling you about.”
Seeing the mild scowl on Shimmer’s face, all Trixie could do was force a weak smile and try to pick herself up, trotting into the room and sitting across from the Royal Guard Captain.
“You know, it’s not exactly polite to eavesdrop, Miss...”
Trixie groaned.
“Lulamoon, Trixie Lulamoon. Listen, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t even realize it was a private conversation and-”
Dusk Shine attempted to defend Trixie as well.
“And it’s my fault she came here in the first place. We were supposed to meet back at the dorm, but when you said you were leaving tonight...”
Shimmer Shield sighed and brushed her mane out of her eyes, nodding in confirmation.
“It’s alright, think nothing of it. But it is nice to finally meet the mare my brother’s been talking so much about. He says you’ve been making for a great study partner.”
Tossing her mane with flair, Trixie made her way to the couch and hopped up beside Dusk.
“Well, I figured someone as consistent and organized for studying as he is, why not keep working with him? No sense in studying with someone I’m not sure does it right.”
Shimmer Shield seemed to be buying Trixie’s spiel, prompting her to continue gloating.
“And I seemed to do well on the exams, so again, no sense in tossing aside what is likely a good luck charm.”
Dusk’s ears furrowed upon being called a good luck charm, Trixie working quick to recover from that.
“But uh, that’s uh, not all of course! He’s good company after all, tends to like talking about the same things I do, really understands magic...”
The next statement completely and totally threw Trixie for a loop.
“So why don’t you two do something else besides study then?”
This was something Trixie knew would be asked by one pony or another eventually. With all the time they spent together, and without knowing the real means behind her giving Dusk all of her free time, the question left her unable to come up with a proper excuse. But this was a new and improved Trixie, one not ready to simply roll over and accept defeat. Shimmer Shield wasn’t one to let her have that chance though.
“I mean, I’m sure you go out to eat together, but surely you guys could be doing more right? If you two are dating, there’s a lot more options for-”
Had Trixie been drinking something, she would have spewed it all over Shimmer.
“Sweet Solaris no! Sister, why would you suggest something like that?! Trixie’s a good friend. Why do I ‘have’ to do something like date her?!”
Dusk had practically stolen the words right out of Trixie’s mouth, her eyes growing wide for a moment before Shimmer finally clarified.
“Sorry, I suppose that was one massive leap of an assumption on my part. Still, just promise me you’re not going to closet yourself with your studies again like you did after your mentor left.”
But rather than accept what seemed like helpful advice from a sibling, Shimmer’s words only frustrated Dusk. And unfortunately, she didn’t seem to take the hint from his silence towards her.
“You’re getting older and it’s time to be thinking about the future. A family and friends can be just as important as your studies, so you shouldn’t be prioritizing that over socializing. After all, if I hadn’t loosened up and spent the time with Emporte and the others in the guards like I did, I wouldn’t have a wonderful husband and the friends I do now.”
Shimmer’s words grew more harsh with each second when finally, Dusk slammed his hoof on the table to silence her and gave her one of the most hate-filled looks she’d seen from him in years.
“And what am I supposed to do if those friends are too busy for me? Do you expect me to turn around and just make new friends like it’s nothing? Let’s forget that maybe I have done that, that perhaps Trixie is one of my new friends. Or let’s make another suggestion and imply that maybe AJ, Scotch and the others weren’t even my friends at all, how about that?”
Seems as though his sister opened up an emotional can of worms. Though she wasn’t about to touch this argument with a ten foot pole, Trixie found herself quite engrossed in the conversation.
“Shiney, I didn’t mean that, you know I don’t. I’m sure that all of your friends back home still care about you. I just worry that after mom and dad abandoned us, and then your mentor did the sa-”
“Don’t you DARE say that!”
Dusk screamed at Shimmer, leaving her at a complete loss. Having never seen her brother explode like this before, she was left speechless.
“Master didn’t abandon me! I’ve told you and everypony else and NO pony believes me! You think the same of mom and dad, but what if you’re wrong?!”
I wonder where all of this is coming from. At least, Dusk never seemed to really be this angry around me. Trixie did have some ideas as to what really was frustrating Dusk, thinking perhaps he wasn’t truly mad at his sister. Surely this is just misdirected anger.
“Shimmer, I study as much as I do because he told me to. He said I was meant for something important someday, and even though you and so many others keep telling me I already met that goal, you’re completely incapable of understanding how I feel! Forgetting master’s name, Mom and Dad’s disappearance, lack of any research evidence, and so much more... You and everypony else just moved on, but I didn’t.”
Stomping his hoof on the table after each statement and seeming to be on the verge of storming out, it was clear the tension between the seemingly well-to-do siblings was growing.
“You may feel like ‘you’ have done everything in your life you set out to do, but I do not. I will not sit here and listen to you lecture me on how to live my life when you’ve fulfilled your dreams, and made life changing decisions without ever consulting me.”
Realizing that, perhaps, her choice of words were wrong and that Dusk might actually leave, Shimmer apologized quickly in an attempt to try and defuse the situation.
“You’re right Shiney, I... It was out of line for me to say that. I get used to telling the boys what to do all the time and I forget you’re your own stallion. It’s not right for me to try and take Mom and Dad’s place or suggest that your mentor abandoned you. I may have my own feelings about him, and our parents, but it wasn’t right for me to push that on you.”
Although the two ponies were cooling down from the heated conversation, their time together was cut short as a guardpony entered the lounge.
“Miss Shield, I’m afraid there’s a matter that requires your attention.”
Shimmer rolled her eyes and got off her seat.
“Aquilinia got her feathers caught in the armor again, didn’t she?”
The guardsman nodded and took his leave. After a frustrated kick of the hoof to the floor, Shimmer turned back to the two ponies.
“Um, unfortunately, since I must attend to business, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask you two to leave. Technically speaking, non guard members are allowed in HQ outside of family visits and whatnot. But um, Trixie, do you mind if I talk to you for a moment? And Dusk, do you mind waiting outside the gate? I’ll show her the way out.”
Still attempting to come down from the peak of his anger, Dusk nodded and trotted out, but not before stopping and turning back to his sister.
“I’m sorry too Shimmer. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I hope you won’t stay mad.”
Shimmer Shield sighed and smiled.
“Shiney, you know I could never stay mad at you. I am your Big Sister Best Friend Forever after all, right?”
Trixie felt as if there might be something funny in a shortening of that title towards Shimmer, but instead ignored it and watched Dusk leave, feeling uncomfortable with just the Royal Guard Captain sharing the room with her now.
“Forgive the awkward suggestions earlier, Miss Lulamoon, but Solaris asked that I make my best attempt to keep my awareness of your duties in the dark.”
There was a mixture of relief and concern from that statement, Trixie hesitant to speak but forcing out her words.
“And how much has he told you?”
A sly grin ran across Shimmer’s face, suspecting that there were more secrets than she expected about Trixie being kept in the dark.
“That you seem to bring out a more social and upbeat side of Dusk he hadn’t seen in weeks, not since the Endless Night incident. I asked for some more background... But he said that was classified information. I’ll be blunt and say that while I approve of that and I appreciate you being friends with Dusk, I don’t like the pony who’s spending so much time with him having such a locked up history.”
A wave of the hoof to follow Shimmer pushed Trixie to do so. As they headed down the hall towards the exit, she continued her declarations towards the magician mare.
“I don’t expect you to divulge every detail right here and now, but since I’m trusting my brother to your care as Solaris suggested, I would like for you to someday open up to me. Secrets only make things worse, I feel, especially if th-”
There’s no point in this. Trixie ran the consequences of her forthcoming statement and decided that they were in her favor.
“I’m not from your Equestria; I used a spell to transport myself to your realm and Solaris believes that if I study along with your brother, I could help him find a sort of inner emotional peace and tap into the powers he holds as the Element of Magic.”
Hearing the other mare’s complete halt of her trotting, Trixie turned about to face Shimmer directly.
“If you want trust in that I have no intentions of using or harming Dusk, then I will trust you with what you need to know about me. Your brother and his counterpart in my realm have an aptitude for magic unlike any other. Solaris believes that he could confirm theories about magic and discover new kinds of spells and rituals that nopony else has ever discovered. It’s possible that Dusk could be responsible for the advancement of our knowledge in mere years rather than centuries or millennia.”
Shimmer was completely floored by the reveal on Trixie’s part, having never expected the mare to open up and let her in on everything that suddenly. And with her being at a disadvantage, she struggled to find the right way to thank her.
“I wish I had more to say, but I really can’t think of anything. I trust Solaris, so... I guess I’ll trust you too. Dusk hasn’t opened himself up to anypony else besides Emporte. He doesn’t even feel comfortable around Solaris sometimes, but I haven’t figured out why yet. Regardless, if he desires to make you part of our family too, I suppose I will welcome you as well.”
Even with that kindness in those words, Trixie resisted giving into Shimmer’s politeness.
“I’m not doing this because I’m some lovesick mare desperate for a stallion in my life. Dusk Shine truly does have some special gift with magic that I haven’t seen in anypony else, not even myself. I work with him so I can one day figure out what that talent is and maybe attempt to achieve some of that greatness myself. I have no desire to take it from him, nor do I have any desire to be something more than an obligated acquaintance.”
Leaving Shimmer with little else to say, they headed for the gate where Dusk was waiting, staring up at the evening sky. It seemed that he was off in his own little world, giving Shimmer one last chance to speak to Trixie.
“You’re a complete stranger, and he speaks of you in a way I haven’t heard him so excitedly talk about anypony else in ages. Please, don’t make him feel like it was for nothing. He could use a mare like you to make him really happy.”
Trixie kept her head faced forward, hiding the fierce blush that had taken over her face. Shimmer finally took her leave and left the two alone. Slowly trotting forward, Trixie carefully approached Dusk Shine and brushed up against him, pulling his attention away from the fiery orange sky.
“Oh, hey, did uh... Did Shimmer have anything else to say?”
The truth would probably have Trixie expelled from the school and Dusk’s memory wiped of her ever existing, so she chose a harmless lie instead.
“She said if I break your heart she’d drive her horn through my throat.”
Slowly the color seemed to leave Dusk’s eyes, the azure mare bursting into a roar of laughter and almost falling over.
“Oh boy, Trixie did NOT think that you would ACTUALLY believe that! Ahh hahaha, that was priceless! You looked like a zombie pony for a minute there!”
Shoving her aside with his hoof, he pouted like the gullible stallion she had teased him about being so many times before.
“Aha... Ahhh... Ahem. No, we, uh... she actually said to make sure that I don’t let you study so much that you forget to sleep or eat. Of course, I don’t plan on letting that happen, not after that one day we ended up having to go into town to get food.”
Dusk smiled weakly, recalling that incident prior to their exams.
“Your words, if I remember correctly, were ‘Make me miss dinner again and Trixie will drag you to the most expensive restaurant in all of Canterlot and make you watch her eat the entire menu’ or something like that, right?”
Giving a firm nod, Trixie acknowledged those being her exact words.
“Trixie will not care how many pounds she gains, she will hold to her promise.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later at the dorms, Trixie and Dusk were on the verge of working into midnight and growing quite bored. There had been silence for minutes now, and Trixie’s mind was beginning to wander. She dwelled on the private conversation she’d interrupted with her clumsiness earlier that evening, deciding to finally try and get Dusk to open up a bit more.
“Shimmer said something about her being your only family left... Did something happen to them?”
Dusk gave a nod, seeming to not have much issue with divulging details on his family.
“Shimmer and I actually used to live here in Canterlot, believe it or not. Our mom and dad were researchers under the study of my old mentor. They were working on expanding the knowledge of teleportation magic, having some grand theory about how maybe it would be possible to teleport from more than just one place to another.”
Against her desire to drag away from a topic somewhat too close for comfort, Trixie let him continue as he checked for her focus and interest in his story.
“One day... They basically just disappeared. They were supposedly at the peak of their studies, but everything was lost. My mentor, if I remember correctly, said they were testing something out that he had advised against and, well, there’s not much more to it. After that, since we didn’t have our parents to pay for food, or school, or anything, so we sold their manor and left for Ponyville. Emporte did his best to visit us on a daily basis and it wasn’t too much trouble, seeing as how he’d learned a lot from my parents. Best of all, he got a job for Shimmer in the royal guard and managed to build up funds so we could live on our own. I didn’t get to see her a lot, but Emporte was there a lot so it wasn’t too bad I guess.”
He doesn’t seem all that bothered by them being gone. I wonder why. Even though Trixie didn’t want to admit it to herself, this was something she genuinely had a problem with and it pressed her further.
“So you don’t blame them for anything? You’re not mad at them?”
Shaking his head, he smiled back at her.
“When I really think about it, if that hadn’t happened I wouldn’t have had my master teach me everything he did, Emporte probably wouldn’t have ended up with my sister, and I probably wouldn’t be here now. I’m sad they’re gone, and I miss them sometimes, but... Shimmer had to put up with me crying a lot after they left, so I don’t wanna think about it anymore. I believe, or at least I have faith, that whatever happened was an accident and that hopefully I may get to see them again someday. They were smart ponies; I don’t think they would give up on coming back home.”
Trixie was quite amazed by the kind of unconditional faith Dusk seemed to have in his parents, and it left her feeling a bit hollow on the inside, though it was Dusk’s voice that pulled her from her inner searching..
“So, Trixie, what are your parents like?”
Oh horseapples, I should have known that was coming. Having been put on the spot, it left Trixie with little room to wiggle out of answering, and thus forced her hoof.
“Well, where would you want me to start?”
Dusk seriously thought about that question for a moment, seeming to lose himself by staring at Trixie’s flank. Having finally caught on to his direction of sight, she growled.
“And WHY are you staring at my rump!?”
Thinking nothing of having done what he did, he flatly answered.
“How about you tell me how you got your cutie mark?”
Thankfully, this gave Trixie a good place to start off from and, more importantly, a more positive point. Dusk settled into his seat as Trixie cleared things off the couch, made herself comfortable, and prepared to weave a tale about her life to a point where she at least hoped she wouldn’t bore Dusk Shine. She was a showmare, after all.
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Hm...I shall track this for further enjoyment later
565309 I always though it was from Good Burger, myself. Looks like Kenan Thompson.
I think Trixie was still quite young and didn't really understand why she was doing what she was doing. Maturing a little more seems to be the subject of a good portion of fanfics. I might not read this one but i find the consept to be quite well done in some of the ones i have read. Its sad to see what they did to some of the other characters that seem to be missunderstood. Still that is the point of view of the community and i wont touch on that very much.
In my opinion Pinkie still had a point with Gildia Grimfeathers. "Maybe if i met another Griphon that wasn't sutch a meanie then maybe i'd give them a better attatude but you mess with my freinds and you mess with me." Not every spieces is bad because of just what one person comes off as.
Adult-blank-flank and relation-with-main-character OC? Aw man, not again.
(Still tracking though.)
711788 You forget said OC has no family, and doesn't REALLY understand the concept of a real family. It's not like they're really related. (I assume you mean Starlight and Trixie.)
I'm afraid you misspelt a command [/i ], meaning a lot of this fic is in italics
i can see where this is going....
ITALICS EVERYWHERE
And fixed! That screw up was my fault ladies and gentlemen, not Trevor's. Many apologies!
712228 Apparently,my comment never posted, so they never knew I thought it was me...
Oh well, it's fixed now, and that's all that matters! Right? Right!
I really like this story, but sometimes I feel like I didn't do the prereading for it. Like there's more I should be knowing, but...it's not there. I hope and suspect it's just stuff that'll appear in future chapters, but I wonder if I'm the only one feeling like this?
712394 I promise that in good time, all will make sense.
If I wasn't certain this structure of story telling wasn't going to work, I wouldn't keep you guys in the dark. But I promise that the payoff will be worth it.
looks like you fumbled one of the italics end brackets and it caused half the chapter to appear in italics, rather than just the word "I".
Great chapter. I really like where you seem to be taking it, and it seems as though this world is more than just a gender-swapped version of the show. A lot of it is different.
I can't wait to see where you take it.
712475 And I'll be sure to stick around to see what you do.
A really, really good chapter. God damn your talent for worldbuilding.
Also, uh... You might want to double-check your italics. They kind of came out of nowhere.
712537 Hmm, dunno why it's still doing that. Did another save just to be safe, but if there's still italics problems, please let me know and point out the specific lines. As far as I can see, it should be fine now...
“Lulamoon, Trixie Lulamoon. Listen, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t even realize it was a private conversation and-”
“Well, I figured someone as consistent and organized for studying as he is, why not keep working with him? No sense in studying with someone I’m not sure does it right.”
and a few others from this part with Dusk, Shinning, and Trixie.. some of Trixie's lines need to be.. well. Trixie? Third Person?
Also Enjoying where is going, nicely done
712855 She comes in and out of third person speech. Part of the whole 'change' she went over during that year I've left out of explanations is that she stopped speaking in third person so much. Now, it's more of a knee jerk reaction (reflex) when she's excited or boasting.
I.E. it only happens when new Trixie is acting closer to old Trixie. Eventually, there will have been enough displays of her switching in and out of third person that when she does use it, it will make sense.
712985 Right Right, fair enough
711930
No, I meant that that is two of many bad ideas too include in an OC.
BSBFF...
I know it's "Big Sister" but I'll be damned if my brain actually reads it like that.
764626
Yeah, one of my pre-readers pointed it out, having realized long before that I would never read it as 'Big Sister' ever again as well.
10/10
765246 *Trollface* You're welcome...
(chapter 2)
>School Dorms
>Shared Double Beds.
What is this?
963623
Not sure where this is coming from but the intent is to say that in each 'bedroom' there would be 2 beds, each in an opposite corner of the room. Each student in the room gets their opposite side to themselves. If I wasn't a hack with art, I would draw up a little diagram.
They have decently sized beds but still have to share the space. Dunno why or why I think that's the ideal room set up, it's just what I went with.
The question I have now is: When are you finishing this?
968895 it's not a complaint tbh, just thought I read it pretty weird.
Now, when is this finishing?
969052
Ahhh, I knew this was coming.
I really don't know, I started writing this as a means of having a creative outlet and unfortunately, it's driven by my need to 'expel' my creative side. I don't think I'm some artistic genius, it's just an outlet for me to get out my non-critical/work related/life helping thinking.
I've yet to give up on this though, because I've got a rough outline in my mind for the entire story. It's just a matter of hammering out the chapters and putting them onto a document. And to be honest, I'm having one hell of a time pushing out chapter 4.
I'll say this, I've always been open to the idea of a co-writer or more pre-reading. If anyone has interest in assisting me on the story and won't turn around and use their knowledge of the story to say, ruin the experience for other people, I'm open to them helping me out. I think I've done a decent job building up key ideas and building the world within the world that already exists, I'm just sort of struggling to fight procrastination to actually put out more content. =/
969085 To say no to that offer would be... unright for me. I can certainly help you out and keep a secret. Send me a PM =D!
Not a bad story writing-wise, but im afraid your execution falls down somewhat. The stories premise was presented to me as Trixie and a genderswapped Twilight. but the story so far has concerned your OCs far more than anything else, and they arent very interesting. I tried to just ignore them at first, but that had the effect of me not really knowing whats going on in the story, and i didnt find their characters interesting enough that i really wanted to go back and try again. I cant even remember their names well, ive been mostly thinking of the girl Trixie is hanging out with as the 'clingy poor one' because that seems to be her main character trait. But honestly Trixie even with the obvious discomfort Trixie is showing towards her id still probably describe Trixie as being too nice to a mare who comes across as desperately pathetic. But even she has more characterisation (albeit not great characterisation) than the other pony who i honestly cant name a single character trait for other than being fairly certain theyre male.
Frankly i would advise a restarted story with Twilight and Trixie sharing a dorm room. You can still have your OCs, but focus on making the clingy one less... pathetic and put them in the next dorm room or something, having them slowly visit more and more. OCs are always poor if theyre presented as equal to the main characters at first. Because we know the main characters and their personalities, while we dont know the OCs and in comparison they come across as flat. By keeping them small in beginning chapters and slowly expanding their influence they become characters we love and get attached to.
As it is this story is really hard to get into, and its put me off because weve focused too much on these OCs and now i dont really feel connected to Twi and Trixie in any way or even like its a story about them.
Sorry to give you negative criticism, but as i said. Theres little wrong with your writing itself, i just think youve made poor choices.
Hey brah, if you ever feel inspired to write for this again... PLEASE just ret-con Omi's and my character. Please. We never should have given you more than a pony and personality, we had to use a backstory and crap too. Just... Think about it, maybe? I think you could do a lot with this story again if you just backed up and did what you wanted to do, instead of letting Omi and I get so involved.
(Or if not, mind if I try to continue/restart the story? I'd really hate for an amazing story as you had planned never take off because I helped * it up... )
1952037 That's the problem. They weren't his OCs... He let his pre-readers each add a character, and that's part of what caused this story to cave. On the plus-side, ish, I've been given permission to try to revive this fic, so expect some edited chapters to come in a month or two, after I've had a chance to re-evaluate what, exactly, the goal of this fic is/was, and how to go about executing said goal. (Because, honestly, his overall story-line, what I remember of it, was fairly confusing. I'm going to look about ways to simplify it, and make it more about the Trixie/Dusk dynamic, and less about a 'real' set of elements of harmony, and the other sub-plots he had going on. They'll still be there, but yeah, re-reading the chapters, there's far too much attention placed on the original characters.)
I know this is from a long time ago, and you might not care about the story anymore, but if you're interested in perhaps helping with the fic, drop me a PM or something, alright?
This is amazing and cute. I laughed so much when dusk stared at her plot.