Nerves
For the first time since she arrived in Ponyville, Trixie awoke, not because her back hurt, Pinkie's latent skill as an alarm clock, or a nosy alligator. She woke because she felt rested. She rolled onto her back, stretching her legs and letting out a large yawn in the process.
She rolled over just in time to see Pinkie's eyes flutter open as well. Pinkie smiled for a moment, but only for a brief moment. The smile changed into a scrunch as the mare worked her jaw side to side.
"That's weird. My tongue feels funny!" Pinkie announced, her brows knit in confusion.
"Heh, heh, y-you don't say?" Trixie laughed nervously.
In a flash, Pinkie's smile returned. "Oh well. Hey, let's go get the Cakes going early so we can get to practicing our magic."
Trixie watched the pink pony bound into the bathroom and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Applebloom! You be careful up there, ya hear?"
"Don't worry, Sis! Everything's A-okay up here!" the filly shouted back.
Twilight stared up at Apple Bloom hammering together the top of the stage connecting each of the sides. She couldn't help but giggle at Applejack who had her hat covering her face in anxiety.
"Wow, AJ. I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous before."
The cowpony moved the hat to her chest. "Twi, that's mah kin up there! You expect me to be calm about this?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Well, considering I can just catch her with my magic, and that she and the crusaders have fallen from much higher than this before, yes."
"That sure don't make it much easier. Rainbow Dash! Why ain't you up there hammering that wood instead of mah sis?"
Rainbow, who was currently sitting on a nearby cloud shrugged. "Ummm, hello. I don't know anything about construction! I'm more of a destruction type pony."
Applejack snorted angrily. "Well, the least you can do is park yer little cloud closer so you can catch her if she falls!"
"Fiiine."
Rainbow hopped off of her cloud and pushed it closer to the stage. Apple Bloom looked over and gave the pegasus an apologetic grin.
"Jeez, I hope Trixie and Pinkie are pulling their weight practicing or something. I'd hate for all of this to be for nothing."
"The only thing you're doing is napping!" Applejack pointed out.
"Hey! I was up until two in the morning last dropping off flyers! Not only that, but I still had to go to work this morning."
"Girls, please, can we not build a stage without going for each other’s throats?" Twilight pleaded.
"Oh Twilight, you just don't understand how Applejack and Rainbow Dash flirt."
Twilight and two other blushing ponies turned to the new voice.
"Rarity, Rainbow and I are not flirting! Like I would even be interested in a multicolored mess up like RD!"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Very convincing. You have the curtains for the stage?"
Rarity pulled the long red curtains from each of her saddlebags. "They're not the most elaborate curtains I've ever made, but given such short notice, they're the best I could do. They're certainly better than that fraud deserves."
"Rarity, this isn't for Trixie, remember? This is for the Cakes," Twilight pointed out in a chiding tone.
"Yes, yes, I know. It just seems wrong, that's all."
"You two wanna keep gabbin' or would ya maybe like to help get this thing together?" Applejack called out to them.
"Reset!"
Pinkie tumbled to the floor face first. "Shoot! We were so close too!"
Trixie sighed. The sun had started its descent into the horizon as a visible reminder to how little time they had left.
"Worry not, Pinkie. We're at about fifty-fifty with this trick. You just have to slide out quicker."
“I'm calling for a cupcake timeout," Pinkie said as she made for the door. "You want anything?"
Trixie's stomach growled at the offer. "I could go for an apple."
"I'll see if there are any left from baking this morning!" Pinkie called back, closing the door behind her.
Allowing herself a breather, Trixie finally noticed that Pinkie's room had become a disaster area. Various props and decorations littered the floor from their intense routines.
It's a bit stuffy in here.
Trixie walked to the window and opened it. She was immediately rewarded with a cool breeze flowing through her mane. The ponies of Ponyville busied themselves with their routine, not paying attention to her overlooking them. In the distance, she could make out the stage Twilight and her friends worked so hard to build. It looked to be complete. The only thing it needed now was an audience, and some performers.
This could be it. If we manage to pull this off, ponies might be willing to watch me perform again.
A mint green unicorn walked out of a nearby store and nuzzled a pony waiting outside. A tan pony with a candy colored mane. She remembered during the occupation of Ponyville, she had used her magic to force the unicorn to divulge her most embarrassing secrets for Trixie's pleasure. She remembered the crimson blush upon the unicorn's face as she admitted her crush out loud.
At the time, the secret did little to amuse Trixie, but seeing the two ponies walking together, hearts joined in harmony, she couldn't help but feel slightly envious.
At least some good things came out of my reckless behavior.
The sound of the bedroom door opening caught Trixie's ear. She held up her hoof in anticipation. She felt something light and soft pushed into it.
"We were out of apples, so I grabbed an apple cinnamon muffin instead," Pinkie explained right before she jammed a cupcake into her mouth.
"Many thanks."
Trixie nibbled at her muffin, her eyes still looking out Pinkie’s window.
“Something wrong?” Pinkie asked, having already devoured her cupcake in a single bite.
“Trix-I mean, I’m not sure. I always envisioned that one day I’d be a wielder of arcane magicks. Somepony with untold power at the tip of her horn. Yet, here I am, reduced to a lowly illusionist. A glorified circus seal for other’s amusement,” Trixie lamented.
The air grew tense for a moment.
“Oh…”
Immediately, Trixie’s ears shot up. She looked to Pinkie who sat beside her, lips curled into a frown. Even more alarming, Pinkie’s hair seemed to droop. It felt foreign to see the party pony in such a state. Unnatural, and heart breaking.
“D-Did I say something wrong?”
Sitting back on her haunches, Pinkie tapped her front hooves together. “I thought you liked performing and making ponies happy like I do. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all…”
Trixie’s eyes flew open as she turned to Pinkie. “No! I don’t mean anything by it, I just…” letting out a frustrated grunt, she smacked her head against the window. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
Scrunching her nose, Pinkie looked more confused than before. Trixie sighed and looked to her companion. “Listen, Trixie is still new to this whole, friendship thing. She says things she isn’t exactly sure of herself. I’m sure Miss Perfect Sparkle occasionally messed up too when she was learning.”
Pinkie looked at her with a blank face prompting Trixie to fold her ears. “Please tell Trixie that even Twilight Sparkle didn’t get everything right on the first try…”
A knowing gleam crossed Pinkie’s eyes. “Oh, you meant Twilight! I was about to say I didn’t know any Perfect Sparkles! Sure she did, but she always learned something every time!”
Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia. Trixie was afraid Twilight really was perfect for a moment there. Listen, all Trixie is asking for is a little understanding when she says something she might not mean.”
Pinkie seemed pensive, but after a few terse seconds, that familiar smile spread out on the mare’s lips. “Got it! I, Pinkie Pie, shall be the most understandingningest friend ever! I think that’s way better than what Twilight wanted.”
At this, Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s that?”
“Twilight showed up with a stack of books and scrolls this tall!” Pinkie demonstrated by stretching her hoof into the air above her head a good bit farther than should be possible. “She wanted to give you friendship lessons, but I said, ‘Twi-Twi, the bestest way for Trixie to learn would be to learn the same way you did!’, but Twilight said my suggestion of using a time spell to have you replace her in the past in an alternate timeline might cause problems. So, I suggested you learn the same way she did. Just do it!”
Resting her head on the windowsill, Trixie let out a pathetic moan. “It sounds so simple when you say it.”
“It’ll be fantastic! No, wait, it’ll be terrific! No! Even better, it’ll be fantas-terrific!”
Lifting her head, Trixie gave Pinkie a warm smile. “With you by my side, I think it just might be.”
In the middle of Ponyville, the finishing touches were just being put to the stage for the next day’s performance. What Applejack thought would be a simple build, turned into a nightmare. The stage itself wasn’t the problem, so much as the extras they had to build into it. Mostly the trap doors. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her hoof and stared at the finished project in the evening sun.
“Dern thing nearly killed us, but it’s finally complete. Now all she needs is a crowd,” Applejack declared.
“Hey, Applejack. Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
The cowpony nearly hopped out of her skin. Placing a hoof over her heart, she gave a relieved sigh. “Jeez, Twilight. I didn’t even hear ya come up behind me. Rainbow’s at home. Apparently she was plum tuckered out after deliverin’ all those flyers and then doing the weather on top. What’ve you been up to?”
“Ugh! Fighting with the mayor. I went to town hall today to get approval for the show, and she turned me down at first! The moment I said Trixie’s name, she nearly flipped! Once I told her it was for the Cakes, she demanded to see the broken oven before signing off on the show. Can you believe it?”
“Actually, I can,” Applejack admitted. “I didn’t think Trixie was sincere neither. Weren’t till she showed up after overworking her did I even consider she might be on the level. She did a lot of bad in this town, Twi, and she’s lucky you talked them down after last time.”
During Trixie’s “occupation” of Ponyville, Twilight imagined locking the unruly unicorn away herself a couple times. It was only Trixie’s heartfelt apology that stayed her hoof. “I guess you’re right. This time I think she’s really trying though. From what Pinkie and the Cakes say, the show was entirely Trixie’s idea, and she didn’t even demand a cut of the money.”
“What do you suppose she’s gettin’ out of it then?” Applejack asked.
Twilight’s eyes drifted to one of the myriad posters advertising the upcoming show. “Maybe she just wants her cutie mark back…”
Applejack furrowed her brow. “Wait, what?”
“Nothing, just thinking to myself,” Twilight said as she started the walk back to her castle. “Later, AJ.”
“Night, Twi.”
Trixie looked up from the dishes, her eyes narrowed. “What?”
“I said, tomorrow’s the big night, isn’t it?” Mrs. Cake repeated.
In the time she spent living at Sugarcube Corner, Trixie rarely got a peep out of the matron of the bakery. If she bothered to speak, it was just work related. Even that was rare. Most of the time, Mrs. Cake had nothing for the unicorn except a derisive glare.
“Yes, of course,” Trixie said, shaking off her confusion.
Trixie returned to her dishes, unsure if she should try to continue the conversation or not. Instead, both ponies sat in the uncomfortable silence, as Sugarcube Corner had closed thirty minutes ago.
“Do you… think you’re ready?” Mrs. Cake asked.
Trixie didn’t know how she should respond. On one hoof, she could be confident to try and reassure the elder mare everything was shaping up to be fine. A less appealing, but more common choice for her as of late, would be to simply tell the truth, as it had served her well recently.
“Trixie… doesn’t know. It has been many moons since she has performed, and most ponies in attendance might hate her. Without Pinkie Pie, Trixie probably would stand little to no chance,” the unicorn admitted.
“Oh.”
Standing over the sink of dishes, Trixie returned to her task.
“I can handle that,” Mrs. Cake said, nudging Trixie out of the way gently.
“Are you sure? Trixie hasn’t helped much in the kitchen today.”
For the first time since she arrived, the elder mare gave Trixie a warm smile. One she gave any other resident of Ponyville. One Trixie had been longing for since she first moved into the bakery. “I’m sure. You and Pinkie Pie have a busy day ahead of you. It would do you both well to get some rest.”
Utterly dumbfounded, Trixie didn’t even know what to say. “Trixie is-I mean, I’m very grateful. Thank you. I won’t let any of you down.”
Mrs. Cake simply nodded, still wearing the same smile. “Good night, dearie.”
Without another word, Trixie removed the apron she wore and hung it up on her way out the kitchen. She couldn’t help but take note that the walk upstairs wasn’t an unpleasant one. Her hooves no longer ached from overuse, nor did her head sway in exhaustion. It made sense really. All she had been doing is practicing her routine with Pinkie and help the Cakes with the shop. Nudging Pinkie’s door open, she spied the pink mare sitting on a stool, humming happily to herself while hunched over her desk.
“Hello, Pinkie.”
Spinning in her chair several more times than was necessary, Pinkie finally came to a halt, her eyes still reeling until she shook her head. “Heya, Trix! Finished already?”
Trixie shook her head. “No, actually. Believe it or not, Mrs. Cake volunteered to finish for me. She said we should get some rest.”
Pinkie’s eyes flew toward the clock, and back to her desk. “She’s right! It’s getting late and we both need sleep if we’re gonna wow anypony with a trick that doesn’t call for passing out on stage. I just have to finish this real quick.”
“Finish what?” Trixie asked, climbing onto the bed.
“A letter to my family of course! Tomorrow’s a big day and I can’t wait to tell them all about it!”
“Ah yes. I guess that’s true. How silly of me. I thought this would be just another performance for you.”
Pinkie threw her hooves up haphazardly sending her quill flying into the wall above Trixie. On reflex, the unicorn buried her head all the way up to her eyes beneath the blanket, staring at the projectile embedded in the wall a mere foot above her. Pinkie held her letter up triumphantly and then slipped it into an envelope. “Ta-da! Anyway, this isn’t just another party, I’ll be performing with a totally new partner.”
“R-right. I guess that is noteworthy,” Trixie said, gently extracting the quill from the sheetrock with her magic. “So, it all comes down to tomorrow, doesn’t it?”
“Incoming!”
Pinkie Pie, given to flights of fancy, apparently chose that exact moment to cannonball into bed. Trixie bounced several feet in the air, spinning head over hooves.
“Ooof!”
When the unicorn finally regained her senses, she realized her head now rested at the foot of the bed. Pinkie on the other hand was tucked snugly beneath the covers. Firing an annoyed glare at the oblivious pink pony, Trixie righted herself and crawled back to her original spot.
“Are you nervous, Trixie?”
Trixie leaned back into the pillow, her eyes trained on the ceiling. “It’s just another show for you. For me… it might be my last chance to perform. For all I know, they might just run me off the stage.”
A shudder ran through Trixie’s shoulder’s as a warmth tickled her ear. “Don’t worry too much. I’ll be right there with you.”
Pinkie’s gentle whisper brought with it a pleasant tinge of bubblegum from the mare’s toothpaste, and a reassurance Trixie couldn’t even conceive of until that very moment. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie.”
The lamp went out abruptly, leaving the pair of ponies to the still of the night.
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please Rarity don't be the killjoy when everyone (hopefully) realizes Trixie's actually pretty good by claiming that it's clearly a charade and everyone's being fooled by it
this chapter was both heart breaking and heart warming at the same time.trixie so deserves some good luck and some loyal and understanding friends. well done once again on this very finest of stories.
I didn't know it was that kind of story!
I actually really enjoyed this chapter, and it's nice to see more character growth, though it'd be even better if we had a little more fuel for our Shipping <.<
8053979
Gah! I can't believe I missed that. Fixed now. I left a sentence I was supposed to italics as well. Thanks for letting me know!
8054724
Don't you worry. It's just a matter of time...
8055272 07
Awww yeah!
Now it's time to show these ponies what a real Magican can do!
And of course Ponk being adorable with this:
Wait...did Twilight wait until after Rainbow Dash had hoofed out all the posters before trying to get approval for Trixie and Pinkie's show? That's not something a well-organised pony should do
If this story follows a well-constructed 3-act or 5-act narrative with a hero(ine)'s rise and fall and rise again, I suspect Trixie will have a setback with her show. Still, even Mrs. Cake is finally falling in line. Now to just wow Rarity, and, well, the rest of the townsponies too. Perhaps even the random background pony who was Trixie's friend, too.