Chapter 9 - One way or the other (Part 1/2)
What a difference a bed made.
It had not been Trixie’s intention to sleep in, but the comfy covers made such a compelling argument... She deserved it, didn’t she? The more of today she slept through, the better.
She’d long since missed the sunrise when she finally summoned enough willpower to leave the warm embrace and wander down into the living room.
Passing a window, she caught sight of some of the animals pressed up against the glass, probably waiting for a meal. A few more were gathering in the clearing around the cottage. Dumb critters, if they were that impatient they should have taken a page from her book and slept in as well.
There was something off about them. She would have to ask Fluttershy about the specifics, but while they did look hungry, there was a restless hopping about that didn’t match up with their normal behavior in the early morning.
Actually, it wasn’t that early in the morning at all anymore, was it?
Trixie paused.
No, it was well past feeding time. Even without her magnificent assistance, Fluttershy should have been able to handle it. What was going on?
Where was Fluttershy?
A quick trot around the cottage proved fruitless, but in the kitchen, she found that pesky rabbit, Angel.
He spotted her in turn and waved his little paws, making strangling gestures around his throat, and then pointing toward the front door.
Trixie didn't understand him, of course, but there was no doubt he was 'talking' about her. There was no doubt either that she shared his sentiment. She too would like to see him strangled.
One day she was going to find a tophat and reverse a classic trick with him. Not today, though. No, today would require all her fantastical power if she was going to conjure even one ounce of bravery out of Fluttershy.
Speaking of which, where could she have gone? It must have been urgent if she left without feeding the animals or even waking her up. What could be that important?
An early-bird discount at the pet shop?
Another dragon snoozing nearby?
A cougar with a cough?
It would have been nice if she’d at least left a message of some kind.
If only she hadn’t been so short with her the night before, perhaps Fluttershy would have said something to give Trixie a clue now.
Her heart sank.
Last night had been so very frustrating that she was proud of herself for going to bed rather than blowing up at Fluttershy too much, but… if she’d known she wouldn’t see Fluttershy in the morning, she would have made more of an effort to talk to her.
Not that there really was anything to resolve. The only thing to do would have been to talk with Rainbow Dash.
“Oh! That’s it!”
Trixie jumped up.
It took all of her incredible acting talent to imagine herself in Fluttershy’s confrontation-averse horseshoes, and it didn’t hurt that she’d been practicing for a couple of weeks at that very thing, but it was clear what must have happened.
Rather than face her wrath, Fluttershy must have gone after the source of the problem.
“She’s off to talk with Dashie!”
That made sense. After all, Trixie couldn’t be angry at her if she did what was asked, even if it was a day late.
If the state of the peckish animals nearby was anything to go by, Fluttershy must have left first thing in the morning, presumably to avoid changing her mind and perhaps to avoid Trixie herself.
Trixie should probably have felt worse about that, but she was too nervous.
If Trixie was right, then all she had to do now was wait, right?
Just like yesterday.
That went so well for her…
Fortunately, there were many critters eager to help keep her attention on them and off of… whatever it was that she’d been worried about when she started tending to them a couple of hours ago.
She couldn’t just ignore the poor starving dears, could she?
…Okay, she might have given herself a little handicap of doing it all by hoof, just to make the chore last longer.
To the outside observer, maybe that could have appeared as if she was making them all wait longer on their meal than they needed to, but she was doing that for their sake! A fact she would have been happy to explain in detail; long, drawn out detail. If only doing so didn’t require that she also think about a certain yellow somepony who she was trying very hard not to spare a thought…
A certain somepony who was at this point very late.
Trixie was positive it had to be nearly afternoon already.
The sun, however, was oddly low in the sky still. Clearly, it was tardy.
In any case, she had seen neither hide nor hair of either of—No matter! She had so many things she could do to keep occupied.
A great and practical place to start was to give her new magic props a test run. The few still lingering animals could count themselves lucky. It wasn’t everyday one got to see a professional at work.
Trixie truly was too good for this world.
Dinner and a show!
Maybe that hadn’t been the best idea.
It had turned out that while it was easy to get a duck to pick a card, any card, it was much harder to get it back.
Worse, all she had been able to think about during the impromptu rehearsal was how much she wanted to show off her tricks to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash instead.
It was clear to her now she’d been approaching her problem from the wrong angle.
Really, this time alone was just what she needed to get started on something long overdue.
That was how she found herself at the little writing desk in the bedroom. Equipped with everything she’d need to begin her letter. A sheet of paper, a quill, an inkwell, and a nice glass of freshly squeezed lemon.
All she had to do now was write the darned thing.
The beginning was easy.
Dear Mom,Hello Mother,First of all, I’m not dead.Hey mommy!
...Okay, maybe not so easy.
No matter, she had all day to stare at a blank piece of paper!
Or, maybe she’d take a walk first.
Yes.
That sounded like a great idea.
She knew just where to go!
“Trixie did not think this through.”
Trixie grumbled to herself as she wandered along the solitary road through a large open field of grass.
Supposedly, Rainbow Dash lived around here somewhere, but she was beginning to suspect she might have been pranked. A very impressive prank that required the collective conspiracy of every single pony she asked along the way.
So maybe not, then.
Also, this field was in the direction that Rainbow Dash would fly toward when she left for the night.
It had to be real.
Or maybe Fluttershy had gone over to help Rainbow Dash move. House and all.
With a sigh, she sat down in the grass and looked around. There were some buildings in the distance, perhaps that was it? She didn’t know.
“Gah, why didn’t Trixie ever think to go to her place before? That’s a romantic thing to do, right?”
They always met at Fluttershy’s cottage or went somewhere outdoors. Now that she actually thought about it, why had she not noticed it previously?
Was Rainbow Dash secretly homeless? That would be the only explanation Trixie would accept for not getting invited to her girlfriend’s house before. That was after all the perfect excuse Trixie was using herself.
She was forgetting something. She just knew it, but what?
With a frustrated groan, she let herself fall backward into the grass.
It felt good to get off her hooves for a little bit.
Still, she didn’t feel at ease. If anything, the longer she lay there just watching the clouds drift by, the more her thoughts drifted toward the night before last. When she’d been in a similar position, stargazing with Rainbow Dash.
Had it really only been a day?
She wanted to see her, or maybe she just wanted the warmth of her favorite blue pillow.
Well, she could want two things at once.
Trixie gave a wry smile.
Yes, she could. That was what got her into the current mess, wasn’t it?
Just as she was about to go through the angsty script in her head for what felt like the hundredth time, one of the clouds caught her attention.
A cloud castle?
It wasn’t strange for clouds to look like things, but this… this was something else altogether.
Trixie gaped at the lavish white-blue cloud structure.
The castle itself was built up of pristine pillars and smooth walls. Curled waves surrounded it like some sort of permanent breeze given form. Streams of rainbows wrapped around it and flowed as if to leave no doubt to even the most dumbstruck of stagemares that she’d found her destination.
This! This was where Rainbow Dash lived!
“How!?” Trixie sprung up straight onto her hindlegs, grasping at the sky in a vain attempt to pull the gaudy exaggeration from it. “How did you make this!? You have the patience of a rocket in a bonfire!”
Oh, great.
She was yelling at clouds now.
Focus.
That was definitely her destination. All she had to do was get up there.
After that… She’d probably have to figure out how to walk on clouds or she’d be right back down here again.
After that… well… Trixie wasn’t quite sure.
Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t quite sure what she was doing here at all.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were supposed to be inside that cloud castle, but even if it had been a regular shack on the ground that she could easily enter, should she interrupt them?
Staring up at the castle, Trixie bit her lip.
She didn’t doubt her own judgment, but perhaps a second opinion wasn’t a bad idea.
“Are you okay?” asked a hoarse little voice.
Apparently, a small orange pegasus filly wearing a big helmet had materialized from thin air. Well, that, or perhaps there was the remote possibility that she’d snuck up on the Great and Perceptive Trixie.
The filly looked concerned as if she’d never seen a perfectly sensible pony allow herself a harmless little sigh of frustration...at the sky… at maximum volume… Yes, this was clearly the result of how sheltered she must have been.
“Trixie’s fine,” she said, as cool as she could manage. “Just a little argument.”
“You were kind of yelling at the sky,” the annoying filly pointed out.
“Nevermind that.” Trixie waved it off with a grimace. “Who are you? Why are you even here?”
“I’m Scootaloo.” She stepped back to reveal a scooter parked behind her. She looked very proud to show it off. “I’m gonna show my moves to the greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale!”
“Hum, as far as Trixie knows that could only be… Rainbow Dash?”
Scootaloo beamed. “Yeah! She’s the coolest!”
“Of course she is. Trixie wouldn’t settle for anything less.” Trixie smirked then looked back to the scooter. “Are you really planning to use that?”
Scootaloo fixed her with the fiercest stare she’d ever seen on a filly. “You got a problem with that?”
“Oh, please don’t hurt Trixie,” She rolled her eyes. “If you wanna lug a big heavy piece of wood into the air with you, be Trixie’s guest. It just seems like you’d go faster without it, and if there’s one thing Dash likes it’s moving fast… Trixie wishes a certain other pony did too.”
Scootaloo jabbed a hoof at her. “Hah, shows what you know! I am so fast on this thing!” Then she hopped onto the scooter as if she was ready to give a demonstration.
Oh, why not? Any distraction away from her girlfriends was a good one, especially if it also conveniently kept this kid from following up with prying questions.
Trixie motioned for the filly to get started. “Go on then. Show Trixie what you can do.”
To this filly, any excuse to show off was clearly a good one, as she didn’t even bother to question why and launched straight into a set of stunts, flips, twists, and tumbles.
One curious detail was that while some of the feats were certainly performed in mid-air, they were never achieved using actual flight, though Scootaloo’s wings would buzz constantly like some sort of bumblebee. She always ramped off a rock or incline, leaving Trixie to believe that perhaps Scootaloo was too young to take to the sky under her own power.
Scootaloo called out a number of ‘moves’ while she zoomed up and down the road. Triple Whip, Double Barspin, Backflip. There were a couple others, but Trixie didn’t quite catch them as the filly was well out of earshot at times.
Credit where it was due, the filly had style. Even if she ate dirt on more than half the ‘moves’ she attempted, it didn’t slow her down at all. Scootaloo got right back up as if she’d meant to do it that way all along and hopped into the next trick.
It was an impulse that Trixie was all too familiar with, herself. Of course, even as a filly, her tricks’ success rate was much greater than Scootaloo’s stunts, but it was cute to see her so devoted to putting on a good show.
While this was turning out to be a much better distraction than she’d predicted, Trixie still couldn’t help herself from sneaking a peek up at the castle above. What was taking them so long? She didn’t want to interrupt, but she’d really like to know how it was going.
If only she could fly up to go have a look.
Oh! That gave her a brilliant idea!
“Bravo! Trixie has seen enough!” she called out while applauding Scootaloo’s latest successful feat. “You are clearly talented, Trixie should know.”
Scootaloo skidded to a halt in front of Trixie and took an awkward bow over the scooter’s handle. “Thanks, I, uhm, I’m awesome. Yeah.”
Trixie smiled.
As confident as the rambunctious filly was, she didn’t look used to having an audience yet. The bow and comment were clearly copied straight from Rainbow Dash’s playbook but were performed with none of her practiced casual swagger.
“Trixie is certain Rainbow Dash would be impressed.” She saw the filly’s face lit up. “But she might be busy at the moment… Oh, don’t look so down. Trixie has an idea. Why don’t you quietly fly up there and peak through a window to see if she is?”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “You mean spy on her?”
Trixie avoided eye contact. “Erm, well, when you put it like that...”
“Because I can totally do that!” Scootaloo cried out enthusiastically. “I’ve never been up there before! I can’t wait, except, uh… but… I’m pretty tired. Yeah. I don’t wanna fly right now.”
Right. There was the flying issue. A minor hurdle for Trixie’s impressive problem-solving skills.
“Of course, you are right. You need to conserve your energy for the show you are going to put up, don’t you?” Trixie asked, going along with the obvious lie. “In that case, The Great and Powerful Trixie will perform a feat beyond imagining and levitate you!”
“Yes! Oh my gosh! Yes!” Scootaloo froze then adopted a lazy leaning pose on her scooter, feigning disinterest. “I mean, that’s kind of cool. I guess. Now?”
Trixie rolled her eyes. Not that the filly would notice anything else than her glancing up at the castle; she was a professional, after all. “As soon as you ditch all that heavy gear.”
While Scootaloo fiddled with her chin strap, Trixie surveyed the sky.
Had the clouds always been that far up?
“On second thought… you can keep the helmet.”
“Sure!” Scootaloo stood at the ready. Apparently she did not have any sense of self-preservation if that last line didn’t have her question this whole thing.
Lucky.
Scootaloo glowed in the secure grasp of Trixie’s magic, then slowly lifted off the ground
Basic levitation was simple enough, but it was always more difficult on a living creature. It was hard to get a good grip on something squishy that was squirming around without causing discomfort.
Then there was the issue of creating enough power to lift her up high. The further away she’d get the harder it was supposed to be. To Trixie’s surprise, this part was a whole lot easier than she anticipated. She shifted her attention from the magic to Scootaloo and quickly spotted why.
Scootaloo was smiling ear to ear while her tiny wings buzzing fiercely. “This is awesome!”
She even managed to assert some control over her assisted flight, floating left and right in the air before she remembered her original goal and pointed herself skyward, hooves outstretched.
Not that she was actually going anywhere, just buzzing in midair.
It reminded Trixie of the dry swimming exercises she’d done as a filly before her mother would let her anywhere near water. Those had been an exciting precursor at the time too, but not anywhere near as thrilling as this seemed to be for the filly.
“You look ready. Here we go!” Trixie called out and sent Scootaloo up, and up, and up.
Weirdly, it actually became progressively easier rather than harder as Scootaloo became more excited the higher she got until her hooves touched down on the cloud porch. She sank in a little bit, but the cloud appeared to hold her even as Trixie canceled the levitation.
Good.
Scootaloo immediately ran toward the center of the cloud, vanishing from sight.
After a while,Trixie still hadn't heard back from her.
Impatiently, Trixie paced around directly below the cloud, keeping an eye on it. She wasn’t sure how the cloud walking thing worked, and if Scootaloo came falling through, well… she was glad the filly had her helmet. Just in case.
She wanted to yell for Scootaloo to tell her what she saw, but her superior foresight told her that it would be a terrible idea if she intended to have all this remain unnoticed. It was against her every instinct, but she’d have to avoid attention for now.
“Trixie!” yelled Scootaloo from the edge of the cloud, nearly giving Trixie a heart attack. “Hey! Trixie! Are you there!?”
She took a few hurried steps out from under the cloud. Once Scootaloo spotted her, she quickly then held up a hoof over her mouth. Surely, she would get the message: ‘shut up, you moron!’
“There you are!” Clearly, Scootaloo hadn't gotten the hint. Also, she was wearing a blue-striped scarf now that Trixie was positive she didn’t have before. “Nopony is here!”
“What!?” Trixie screamed. “What do you mean nopony is there!? There should be at least two!”
“Hang on, lemme check again!” Scootaloo called back and vanished. She came back a moment later, this time wearing a golden circlet with a pair of wings on them. It was clearly too big for her, but it fit just fine over the helmet. “I’m pretty sure!”
“Damnit!” Trixie dragged her hooves down her face. “Where else could they be? Gah! Maybe Rarity knows.”
Scootaloo was gone again. She seemed to be having fun at least.
Kicking a nearby rock with all her frustrated strength, Trixie began the trek down the road back to Ponyville.
Perhaps this was for the best. To the untrained eye, she might have looked desperate had she shown up on Rainbow Dash’s doorstep… or below it. Whatever.
Maybe Rarity could help take her mind off it or at least help her scheme.
“Oh, check this out. I think it’s a first edition Wonderbolt poster, with all the signatures!”
Ideally, she’d like to forget everything for the day, but that wasn’t going to happen.
”Trixie? Trixie! Wait! I’m still up here!”
She was burdened with a memory as perfect as everything else about her, after all.
“Rarity? She’s not home right now,” Sweetie Belle informed her. “Wanna come in and practice magic?”
“Hehe… Trixie would love to,” she said while not-so-slowly backing away, “but she’s terribly busy. Maybe next time!”
“Any idea where Trixie can find Appleja—”
“Nope.”
“Trixie doesn’t know what she was expecting.”
“No clue, sorry. Last we saw Pinkie Pie she’d put these peanut butter muffins in the oven and next moment she went sputtering out the door.”
“Dang it! ...Trixie will take two.”
"And that was when the Shrewd and Perceptive Trixie realized the very world itself was conspiring against her!"
A reveal of that magnitude normally required a properly grand gesture, such as rearing up, but the massage table was so comfy that she’d make an exception, just this once.
"How dreadful, miss."
Aloe had been working on a specific knot in Trixie's back for most of her ghastly tale of gross injustice. A knot obviously related to the stress of the past few days. She still hadn't defeated it.
Trixie did not blame her for it stood only to reason that her troubles were so much grander than those of lesser ponies. Of course it took more time and effort even for the most talented masseuse. And she knew talent when she saw it. The magic hooves hadn't won yet, but they'd felt almost as amazing as Trixie was.
This had been a good idea.
To show her appreciation, she’d been regaling Aloe with her grandiose tale. To inspire her. It was working, as she’d felt the mare’s hooves dig deeper into her stiff muscles as time wore on.
"They are off on some kind of adventure, again." She scoffed. "That pet dragon told Trixie as much, once she'd graciously bribed him to offset some ludicrous imagined slight on her part."
He hadn't said a thing about why she hadn't been asked to help, though.
"Trixie is glad they didn't invite her, of course. Missing her glorious presence is one of the great injustices of the world, after all, and she'd have no choice but to reject. The Great and Successful Trixie is far too busy to go gallivanting into some gloomy forest."
She swirled her glass in her magic. Everything had looked and tasted better after she'd recovered her use of it.
It still tasted pretty sour that she'd been left out a second time in the same adventure, though.
She stared into the drink. "They're probably fine, anyway."
The other spa twin, Lotus, came in during her musing. She looked worried.
"Sorry to interrupt. Aloe, I need to speak with you, now."
“Excuse me, Miss Trixie.” Aloe halted the massage to go speak with her sister.
A tragedy in its own right. One that only lent further credence to Trixie’s theory that the world was most certainly conspiring against her. As if she’d needed any more evidence.
They’d taken a couple of steps away to hurriedly discuss whatever was going on, but Trixie could still make out the gist of it.
Apparently, it had once again to do with concerns about Zecora. As soon as Trixie heard that, she tuned out of the conversation and went back to her own thoughts. That was until she picked up a stray name.
“Something something, Fluttershy, something.”
Trixie perked up. “Did you say Fluttershy?”
Lotus briefly pulled away from her conversation. “Uh, yes. She’s out in the lobby, but—”
If the rest of that had been important, Aloe really should have said it before Trixie bolted from the room and down the hall...
She slammed the lobby door open.
The ridiculous menagerie gathered there did not just contain a startled Fluttershy, but the rest of the missing motley crew. Or at least, Trixie assumed as much from the context. Some of them were practically unrecognizable!
Were it not for her immeasurable strength of will, she might have broken down into a fit of laughter right then and there, but no, she had to be strong and settle a couple of details first.
Fortunately, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked to be completely fine. That was the most important bit taken care of, which left Trixie free to move on to the next order of business.
“First all!” Trixie jabbed a hoof toward the big hairy ball of white and purple that was probably Rarity. “Trixie did not do that! Not this time!”
“Yes, darling, we know.” The fuzzy ball affirmed.
“Second of all...” She came up to the black-and-white-striped earth pony who, by process of elimination, had to be… “Applejack, Trixie’s pretty sure that’s offensive.”
“Though, it may take you aback,” she spoke in an even weirder accent than usual, “I am not this Applejack.”
“Riiiight, you are some other earth pony that just so happens to hang around with the five of them and your little sister while Applejack is missing.” Trixie rolled her eyes at the transparent attempt to fool her then turned to the rest of them. “Seriously, somepony fill Trixie in. Why do half of you look weird and—”
“Consarnit, Trixie!” a tiny little voice called out.
Trixie fell silent and laid eyes on the most probable suspect, Applebloom.
There, standing atop the filly’s head, a tiny orange cowgirl doll was giving her the world’s smallest death glare.
“...Applejack?” Trixie asked, dumbstruck. There was no way. “Then, who is this?”
“That’s Zecora.” Twilight stepped forward. Her blue-spotted horn wobbled comically. “She’s helping to cure us of all this.”
“It’s nice to see you’ve become more flexible. Wasn’t she supposed to be evil?” Trixie asked, unable to take her eyes off the floppy horn, but she felt Twilight’s heated stare regardless. She could also hear Rainbow Dash snickering in the background.
“Pfft! Prrftt!” Pinkie Pie sputtered at Fluttershy, drawing Trixie’s attention.
Whatever she’d said was utterly lost, but it was a small miracle she could even make a sound. The girl’s tongue was so swollen that it looked as if she’d been licking an angry beehive for an hour. It shared the same odd blue spots Twilight had.
Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t want to sing it again,” she said with a deep and strangely sultry voice that was practically dripping with honey; maybe from the same beehive Pinkie had encountered, but with starkly more confusing results that had Trixie briefly question her own preferences.
It wasn’t often that Trixie found herself dumbstruck twice in the span of as many minutes.
“Hah! The look on your face!” Rainbow Dash laughed and leaped into the air, only to immediately come crashing down on top of Rarity. “Gah! I forgot about that.”
Being the insightful mastermind she was, Trixie deduced that all of them had something wrong with them, though it wasn’t quite clear how or what.
Lotus and Aloe arrived in the lobby with an announcement. “Good news. We think we can accommodate your request. Miss Zecora, you may come with us to prepare the main bath.”
“Good. Ah can hardly wait ta be back to mah old self again,” Tiny Applejack said, “but do ya reckon y’all could get me something a bit more, uh, shallow?”
Trixie left them to argue logistics on their own. She had far more important things to attend to.
“So, this problem is handled, right? You have the cure and you just need a bath?” Trixie asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash struggled to free herself from the tangled mess that was once the second-best mane in Ponyville. “Why?”
“Excellent!” She trotted up to Fluttershy. “Trixie would like you to tell her the whole story while we wait. Right after Trixie is done.”
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably but nodded. “Uhm, okay… Done with what?”
She smiled and turned toward her ridiculous friend group crowding around the spa ponies. “Oh, just this…” she said, taking a deep breath.
Fluttershy didn’t think it had been a very nice thing to do, but it was at least a little bit impressive that Trixie could laugh for ten minutes straight, and still be giggly for another hour.
While she had once seen Pinkie Pie suffer a case of ‘the giggles’ that lasted a full day, that hadn’t been anywhere near as loud.
It also hadn’t been directed at them.
Not that she begrudged Trixie for it. After all, if it really was that funny to her, then it was kind of nice to know that she’d held back long enough to make sure they were okay before giving in.
Yes, that was nice of her.
Fluttershy smiled, swishing her hoof through the warm, soupy water.
She finally had a quiet moment all to herself.
Most of the others immediately left as soon as they had been cured. There were jobs and responsibilities to attend to that had been put on hold since the morning. She would have had to leave quickly as well, but Trixie assured her she’d taken care of her animal friends in her absence.
The only exceptions were Trixie and Rarity. They were still somewhere in the building. Supposedly they’d left to find more towels.
Trixie did not seem to be angry anymore either. After last night, she’d been worried about how that would turn out, but now Trixie had been strangely insistent that Fluttershy take her time to recover in the bath.
There were all of these nice things Trixie kept piling up for her...
…All she piled up in return were disappointments.
Trixie hadn’t asked, but she’d obviously figured out that Rainbow Dash was still none the wiser.
Fluttershy could pinpoint the exact moment in the conversation where that realization had dawned on Trixie. She’d stopped giggling afterward. It had been less painful to see Trixie angry than it had been to see her quiet down.
The door opened. Trixie and Rarity had returned.
They shared a brief look with one another then came trotting in, all smiles.
What could Rarity have said to cheer Trixie up? It was nice that they were getting along so well now, but… She wasn’t really sure when it had happened.
“Fluttershy, dear?” Rarity came trotting up the small staircase leading to the bath. “We just had a delightful idea! Today has been so dreadful, what with us trudging through that ghastly forest, not to mention our respective afflictions… What we really need is something to wash our hooves of the whole sorted business and start fresh!”
Fluttershy blinked and looked down at the bath a moment before looking at Rarity again. “I, uhm, I thought that’s what we were doing?”
Trixie didn’t bother with the stairs and simply reared up, bringing her hooves down on the edge of the bath. “Well, yes, but we were thinking, maybe something a little more drastic! Especially with that party coming up tonight.”
“W-what party?” Fluttershy let herself sink down till she was up to her chin in the water.
Rarity sighed and shot an annoyed look over at Trixie. “You did not inform her?”
“Of course, Trixie did.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Weren’t you listening just now?”
“Anyway.” Rarity looked to her again and flashed a smile. “There is a small little get-together tonight, just us friends, really. It was to celebrate… erm, well, I’m not quite sure what it is for now. It used to be about rescuing Apple Bloom from Zecora, which is rather inappropriate now.”
Yes. She did vaguely recall the rest of the girls discussing something like that the day before. She’d been too preoccupied with failing to talk to Rainbow Dash to really listen at the time. Actually, she’d been pretty preoccupied with that for most of today too.
Wait, then, that had to mean Rarity and Trixie had spoken to each other yesterday as well.
“The point is,” Trixie cut in, “there is a party and we want to look our best. So… makeover!”
“Makeover?” Fluttershy quietly repeated.
“Makeover!” Rarity clapped her hoofs together, excitedly. “Doesn’t that sound simply wonderful? It would be such a surprise to everypony there! Why, it’s sure to leave anypony speechless.”
…Anypony?
“O-oh, I, uhm… Y-yes, wonderful?” Despite her own hesitance, this might be just what she needed. If Rainbow Dash was really left speechless, that could be her chance to talk to her…
Or more likely, her chance to get entirely embarrassed and be speechless herself… again.
“Great!” Trixie pulled herself up to sit on the edge and offered a hoof to help her out. “Come on, we’ll get started.”
Fluttershy stared at Trixie’s extended hoof.
What was the point, really? She couldn’t do it.
She was making this awkward, like everything else.
She didn’t really have a right to impose on them, especially not after she’d promised to handle it herself.
Still…
“...Sorry, but… I… This really does sound like a wonderful way to pass the time, but… could we maybe, instead… uhm…” She stalled out. This wasn’t how to ask somepony for a favor. “No, sorry… It’s actually… I was wrong. I can’t do this by myself.”
Do not cry.
“... I need, uhm... Please, help me. If that’s okay. W-with Rainbow Dash, I mean.”
“What?!” Rarity and Trixie gasped in unison.
Rarity recovered first and pulled her into a hug. “Ohh, Darling, of course! It must’ve been hard on you too.”
“Wait.” Trixie bit her lip as if she was trying to stop herself from speaking. “...We will not tell her for you. Trixie hates it, but you were right the first time… You can’t be a passive pony in your own love life.”
Now she wished she’d never said that.
“Oh...that’s okay...”
“Now, don’t you worry.” Rarity smiled as she gave her a comforting squeeze. “She says that, but we were going to subtly coach you all day anyway. Just you wait, come nightfall, you’ll be the most assertive you’ve ever been!”
Fluttershy carefully pulled away from Rarity. “Uhm, was this a ‘scheme’ then?”
Suddenly the pieces were starting to fit together. The party that should have been canceled. The extra-long stay at the spa. The makeover. The way they kept glancing knowingly at each other.
She looked to Trixie.
Trixie folded her forelegs across her chest with an odd defiance. “What? You’ve been floundering for so long that you had to know Trixie was going to do something. Honestly, Trixie's restraint is amazing. She can't believe she only now decided to plan something out.”
Fluttershy had expected Trixie to lose patience with her and take matters into her own hooves at some point, but she imagined that would mean Trixie would go speak to Rainbow Dash instead. But… a plan to secretly teach her to be assertive? Just so she could make her confession and feel good about herself?
The effort they must have put into that for her…
“I understand,” Fluttershy smiled. “So… what, uh, what is next?”
“Since you’re in on the ‘scheme’ as it were now, that really streamlines this whole thing.” Rarity helped her out of the water and floated over a bathrobe. “We’ll start with some exercises to improve your self-image. Not to worry, I’ve hired an expert.”
“R-really?” Fluttershy swallowed. Maybe she’d better dry off her hooves first, they were getting colder by the second. “Who?”
“Who else?” Trixie wrapped a hoof around her shoulders. “Now, loudly repeat these words: I am Great and Powerful!”
“Uhm, I, uh...” She felt hotter now than she had in the bath. “Uhm...”
“I know it’s tough, but I suggest you try your hardest here, Fluttershy.” Rarity pulled out a comb and set to work on her mane. “Fair warning...”
“Y-yes?”
“Plan B is to lock you and Dash in a room until we ‘hear making-out noises’.”
“Eep!”
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Ah yes... the classic 'Lock two people in a room trick!'
It's either that or Fluttershy somehow ends up speaking in third person, both scenarios sound hilarious.
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Never fails!
...or was it never works?
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I don't know, it's hard to tell the difference sometimes.
Review part three of four is landing on the page for you, Crow! Let's see what I can dig up from within myself about your work.
So the first thing that comes to mind is probably a throwaway line about how Trixie felt a bed was a luxury. She's been living with Fluttershy for weeks now, right? And I guess she's just sleeping on the couch because Fluttershy just doesn't have the space for another bed or something more comfortable. I don't remember Trixie complaining about it much in the story (although I may have just forgotten) but if she hasn't that would be another little piece of Trixie's nature that she spares Fluttershy from. Any other host and Trixie would likely be browbeating them into letting her use the bed or giving her a room.
The animosity between Trixie and Angel makes me chuckle. That rabbit is so sour! And Trixie's quip about "reversing a classic trick" was a pretty good line. Angel is a bit of a mystery to me. Most fanfic doesn't really remember or focus on him too much and he's far from a fleshed out character in the canon. They basically just establish that he's a cranky bunny and leave it at that. I wonder though what his real motivations are or what it would take to get on his good side. Time? Bribery? He always strikes me as a spoiled and stubborn rabbit, so unless you're letting him run you over I don't see how he would REALLY get along with you. I suppose he might tolerate you if he had to though. As it is, it seems like Fluttershy is doing her best to keep a tentative peace between them all!
As for feeding the animals...clearly Trixie isn't perfect or some benevolent and loving mother...but I still thought it was sweet of her to take up the responsibility of feeding the animals because they were important to Fluttershy. Honestly, there's a version of Trixie out there that would probably have just said, "They're wild animals, they can find their own food for a day" and she would probably be right. But this time she had a properly selfish excuse to be thoughtful and spent the entire time avoiding her problems by helping Fluttershy. I mean...it's framed like there isn't much more that Trixie could be doing to take her mind off of the ever approaching dread but she has had other things she could be doing to blow off work. It would be within her character and she would explain it to herself as having too many of her own problems to worry about other pony's problems. At the end of this scene she even goes off to practice her magic! So I'll continue to think that it's a very sweet gesture that shows Trixie continuing to put down roots and show she can be trusted as a friend. She wasn't asked to do it and I doubt anyone would have been able to blame her for not doing the feeding...but Fluttershy would have been so upset if the animals weren't fed!
Oh! And just as a thought, I figured it was pretty interesting that Trixie is in the position that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in yesterday. Waiting for a friend that had unexpectedly vanished. And whereas they had both assumed that Trixie had probably or would probably get into trouble, it's interesting that Trixie assumes that they had, in some form, just left her behind to do something else without telling her. Now maybe I'm once again misremembering this story but I don't think they've ever done that! In fact, Trixie is more than a little spoiled by those two. So part of that instinct of hers is probably informed by her current unbalanced and nervous mindset but I wonder how often Trixie has done this exact thing to other ponies in the past. Just moving on one morning without telling anyone.
I see that Trixie is still struggling with that letter to her mother! I'm sure there is plenty of baggage to dig up there! We are seeing but one coin of the hidden treasure. And there is something oddly endearing to me that Trixie would consider starting her letter with "Hey Mommy".
I'm also glad that Trixie is still riding on her instinct from the day before (IT WAS ONLY A DAY AGO?!) to want to learn more about Dash. I would honestly always love to see more of the characters bonding and growing their relationships! Hanging out and showing them doing things that they all mutually enjoy and proving that they have common tastes, interests and understandings of one another. I know that the current dating status has been an elephant of a plot point for a while and I don't expect it to go away any time soon...and it was relatively recent when you basically did exactly this between Dash and Trixie. So this isn't so much a criticism as just a rumination. I suppose I'm stuck on it because I've been watching another animated show recently and two characters are doing a "will they won't they" dating thing that I find frustrating because I see no chemistry between them.
Ooh, now we finally get a chance to see Trixie interact with the final member of the CMC. I feel like Scootaloo is one of those characters I never really understood in canon. I kinda get it, it made a certain sense to have Rainbow Dash kinda pick up a big sister role for the filly and it made for some good learning for both characters but it never sat well with me that her actual family was always just glossed over. I mean, maybe it wasn't really important to canon but it couldn't help but bug me. And then her actual character tends to be just a young Dash. I mean, Applebloom has a lot of the Apple family sense of responsibility but she's still young and wants to challenge some of those Apple family traditions. Sweetie shares a lot in Rarity's prissiness but she never had Rarity's focus (again because she's probably a filly). And in this story you even have Sweetie suffering from a bit of a inferiority complex. For Scootaloo her personality always seemed just...Rainbow Dash. You could say Scootaloo is brash and thoughtless, but so is Dash. I really can't think of much that separates her from Dash in a way that isn't just Scootaloo being younger. I think it would have always been more interesting to me if she had either been more timid or if she had been WAY more brash. Seeing Dash have to learn herself how her actions could have unintended consequences (like with Trixie and Snips and Snails) would have been an interesting way to see character growth. Or to have Dash have to step in and show Scootaloo that being cool wasn't all just showing off or bragging. Just another thought! It's honestly been so long since I've watched most of canon that I can't remember too much that may have been done to characterize Scootaloo so maybe I'm just wrong!
Anyways, it's great to see Trixie watching Scootaloo and evaluating her based more on showmanship rather than actual talent or work. Also don't think I missed that Trixie was slightly bragging in her own mind that SHE didn't mess up her routine as much as Scootaloo. You do your show professionally, how insecure are you, Trixie? Haha. But it's pretty funny seeing her playing Scootaloo like a fiddle here. And also a bit sad. I think this is one of Trixie's worst impulses; manipulating an obviously starstruck and impressionable child to have her spy on your girlfriend. It also doesn't help that once again Trixie bails on her responsibility towards the filly and leaves her stranded! She's lucky she didn't drop the filly...in that alternate universe where Trixie made a mistake and dropped Scootaloo I wonder what that would have changed? Hopefully some of that reckless impulse to take advantage of others would be reduced at least!
On the more positive side I love that now Trixie has helped Sweetie Belle with her magic and Scootaloo with her flying! Neither time was she exactly a great teacher but it seems pretty clear that both of them really loved the experience. I suppose Trixie did do some work with Applebloom to help her break away a bit from her overbearing sister and getting some heavy stuff off her chest, but I don't really know how Trixie would help Applebloom in the same way. I kinda wonder if Applebloom wouldn't feel cheated in some way. Here Trixie hangs out with her best friends and helps them learn more about what makes them unique whereas in some ways Applebloom might feel that she expected to be closer to Trixie after opening up to her earlier. Just a thought, though, as usual!
I also appreciated the order that Trixie went to investigate the Mane Six. First Fluttershy (almost by default), then Rainbow Dash (her official girlfriend), then Rarity (likely her closest non-romantic friend at this point), then Applejack (whom she at least feels friendly towards and I hope they hang out more) and then Pinkie Pie (who Trixie thought about but hasn't spent much time with). And that was every one of the six of them. Yessir. Trixie's perfect memory wouldn't let her forget one, nossiree. Although, to be fair, it sounds like she did eventually go see Twilight and spoke to Spike, haha. And seeing Trixie so transparently worried about them and feeling left out was endearing. I mean...really what if the Mane Six made a new, very close friend? One that was not an Element of Harmony? Would they really not invite the friend off on adventures? Later on there would be plot points (the map table) that would preclude them inviting someone else along but at this stage of the story there's really no reason they wouldn't. I mean...don't get me wrong I realize why they didn't here and Trixie is just being self-absorbed but it is a thought. It's like all of your friends being a part of a super exclusive club that you can't join. Stories about how Spike might feel about that disconnect were some of my favorites because the writers never seemed quite sure how he fit into the dynamic. But with Trixie there is no "she's too young" or "just a ward" excuse for you to use. She's an able bodied friend who might really very well go with them on an adventure if they were to invite her. I look forward to seeing how that might warp more future stations of canon!
Trixie accusing Applejack of blackface because she can't tell Earth pony faces apart cracks me up. Talk about a pot calling the kettle offensive!! I also felt like there was a real connection between Dash and Trixie in this scene...as they both couldn't help but laugh at the misfortune of their friends...even especially Dash wasn't really in a position to be lording anything over them.
And I know it was played for a laugh, but having Trixie even have the barest of social tact to wait to make sure everyone was okay and not seriously hurt or inconvenienced before laughing has to count for something!!
And finally the Fluttershy POV portion of the chapter!
Honestly, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that part of the reason I'm so enamored with the Fluttershy twist and getting her POV is that it does such an excellent job of showing characters potentially falling in love (of course no guarantees! No spoilers for the eventual ending!) I've mentioned before that sometimes I don't see what it is that attracts the characters to each other but I feel like I'm really convinced of it for Trixie and Fluttershy and I love seeing Fluttershy especially getting closer to a realization while actively sabotaging her relationship! Such drama!
I think you've done a good job of capturing the culmination of Fluttershy's frustration here. The previous chapters we got to see Fluttershy try to talk to Dash and piteously give up at the first hurdle each time. Here we get to see her battered self confidence on full display. Seeing how much it had hurt her to see Trixie disappointed by her inaction was heart-string tugging. First Trixie had been mad but then she was just resigned and that change worried Fluttershy. I also really liked how Fluttershy noticed that Trixie and Rarity were getting along much better now. Of course it could all be innocent enough friendship, but Fluttershy has already shown a talent for self-delusion. I wonder if either Trixie putting down more solid roots (and possibly deciding not to travel and therefore not leave Fluttershy alone with Dash) or possibly indulging in another pursued relationship (we of course know there is little chance of this but just planting the idea in Dash's head that Trixie is just not going to stop at the two of them might be enough for her to break it off with Trixie). But ooh, that would be INCREDIBLY dirty. It would fit in with her current strategy for breaking up her rival (something innocent that could be true and just laying seeds rather than pushing outright). And it would be interesting to see Trixie's overreaching on this relationship coming back to bite her in this very reasonable way. Trust will be slow to build and pretty fragile!
I liked how Fluttershy and Trixie finally managed to meet in the middle. Trixie managed to control herself and do what was best for Fluttershy (and I fully support making Fluttershy an active participant in her life) and Fluttershy was able to accept the help from the friend she's trying to manipulate into leaving forever! Haha, I kid but that does make the context a little more upsetting. Lol. But I also like the characterization of seeing Rarity immediately resort to taking control from a floundering Fluttershy while Trixie pushes her to self reliance. Which actually holds pretty well with Trixie's interactions with other characters! She is usually very much in the camp of wanting ponies to grab their own life by the horns...unless she's actively trying to position herself into a better position so she has no qualms about convincing them to do what she wants!
And to wrap it all up, I liked Fluttershy's line "Maybe she'd better dry off her hooves first, they were getting colder by the second." Cute turn of phrase!
And as always, I hope that you like my free form analysis! There are certainly stances I take that could be argued against but it how I feel at this time! I look forward to reviewing the most recent chapter soon!!
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My word, you are putting in a frankly irresponsible amount of effort. Try not to burn yourself out!
I say that purely out of obligation because in reality I'm loving it.
You're right not to to remember her complaining because (with the exception of the previous night ) Trixie has always slept in the bed. At first, because she was recovering and FS gave up her bed and slept on the couch herself. Later they both shared the bed after an argument about who'd take the couch.
Heh. It's hard to imagine what drives that little bratty ball of fur.
I sometimes think his 'good side' is relative. The best way to be on it is to be in a room with someone he likes less than you.
Though, this does occasionally backfire on him. As here he is trying to tell Trixie what happened to FS, but she immediately assumes he is just being a jerk, because of course.
Hah, I'd not realized. That is a neat little reversal, yeah.
Trixie is definately not being entirely fair in her assesment, but she has a few events she's basing it on:
1. They all left just yesterday to chase Applebloom, again without telling her (other than leaving Spike.)
2. They all left to go deal with the dragon in Dragonshy without telling her. (She wasn't even concious at the time, but that's no excuse in her book!)
3. They all left to go take on Nightmare Moon.
Trixie wasn't in Ponyville yet for that last one, but she knows about it and it does contribute to the pattern. The Manesix can at a moment's notice go off to 'save the day' with some sort of adventure.
Proper care of a Trixie: Constant attention.
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Huh, apparently that's universal.
Just a hint at the 'Trixie is a mommy's girl' Arc.
What? No, no of course not. That would be silly! No way that so little time has passed! ...it was two days...
I'm making active efforts to let some time pass so it's not quite as packed as some previous days, but... well, I'll get the hang of it eventually. It just takes some time.
Good news, I love to see that too, so we're definately getting more of it!
Which one?
We're on the doorstep of disaster!
Interestingly, I think a major difference is that they both have the same hero: Rainbow Dash.
By which I mean, Scootaloo idolizes Rainbow Dash. She thinks RD is the best and wants to be like her, be around her and cheer for her. In that sense, Scootaloo has a lot more in common with Rainbow Dash's parents than she does Rainbow Dash herself.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash thinks she herself is the best. Yes, she idolizes the Wonderbolts, but only in the sense that they are awesome flyers who she will someday join and surpass. It is her stage for proving to everyone else that she is the best. We see this in particular when it turns out that RD does not actually know anything about Wonderbolt history.
I like this idea. I guess part of the trouble was that RD starts in a very immature place and gets a lot of growth over the series, so it's tough to find her an even more immature counterpart. Even Lightning Dust was basically just Season 1 Rainbow Dash. Speaking of which, the episode where Scootaloo ends up becoming a fan of Lightning Dust is kind of exactly the sort of thing we're talking about. It just happened very late when RD had the maturity.
I feel like some more could have been done with Scootaloo not being able to fly. It was an interesting trait.
Hey now, Trixie made a totally fair comparison herself when she was a highly talented filly.
For all her progress in dealing with ponies she actually kind of likes and know eachother... she's learned nothing about not using strangers.
"That horrible witch, Zecora, she ate a filly! Trixie saw it with her own eyes!"
*Nearby, a mound of dirt has a scooter handle sticking halfway out.*
I have a thought, but I may end up using it so I can't share too well. >.>
Suffice to say, there are passions that AB dropped.
Well don't worry, she won't have that concern for a little while, namely because...The CMC are not actually friends yet.
So, here's an interesting tidbit. The CMC only formed in Call of Cutie, 3 episodes from now. ^^
It does amuse me a little that Trixie ends up interacting with them before they interact with each other.
We can assume she exhausted all other options before trying that. xD
Isn't that basically exactly what they do with Starlight?
The same goes for other characters like say for example, why does Big Mac not come with them to help out his beloved sister in a dangerous situation? Heck, BOTH his sisters in Zecora's case.
We know that the real reason early on is that this is a TV show and we are following the main character group, so there is a little suspension of disbelief involved, but if we had to come up with some plausible reasons for the sake of grounding a story a bit...
I'd think first in line is that the manesix do end up in dangerous situations, maybe they might not want to invite anyone along as a result. What if somepony got hurt because they asked them to come?
In Trixie's case, I imagine part of it is that is also that Trixie was injured just recently and is technically still recovering. Though she is just about over it, It would make sense for ponies to maybe avoid inviting her anywhere dangerous unless she inserted herself into the situation and made it clear she was not leaving. (Like the rest of the manesix did to Twilight in the opener, come to think of it.)
Once that happens, we may start seeing how disruptive one more pony can be.
It might have been a cheap dig, but the situation was too perfect not to take it. xD
I fear for a day when Trixe and RD go for a pranking spree akin to that of RD/Pinkie at the start of Griffon the Brush off. Actually, I wish we saw more of that, it was a cute bit of interacting with those two and they didn't get to hang out much otherwise.
It's a low bar, but she passed it. xD
I'm gonna be suspiciously quiet on this part so I don't give anything away on accident, but I absolutely loved reading it!
Instead, please accept this cute picture as a placeholder. ^^
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Thanks for your free form analysis! I'll see you on the other side.
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Keeping up the suspense, ey? And I thought I was evil.
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I have not forgotten! Life got away from me, but I appreciated the reminder. I've just posted my review of the most recent published chapter so I'll see you over there!
Well seems Rarity might just be as impatient as Trixie and i love that XD