One Little Mistake
From her usual balcony, Princess Luna watched as the moon sank beneath the horizon while the sun began to rise over Equestria, guided by magic that wasn't her own, and as it went tried not to think about her sister, just as she had every morning for the last several months.
It was unusually quiet at that moment, a silence all the more pronounced with the absence of the court musician, who as she was already well aware was tending to other matters, by the Princess's leave. And without her, there was nopony else. No noble trying to engage her, no adjutant delivering a report, and no secretary trying to thrust a report into her face. A rare, quiet moment to think to herself.
Naturally, the moment didn’t even have time to sink in.
"Good morning, your highness," came the voice of Midnight, as the mare approached her highness, a small amount of papers hovering around her head.
Luna gave her a polite nod. "Good morning, Midnight," she looked towards one of the papers now floating toward her, taking it gently in her own magic, before trying to read it. "What news is there?"
"The police have found no evidence as to whom was behind the arson of the Canterlot Opera House, though they have reason to believe it is connected to the Optibeurs-Golo case." Luna frowned at that, as the unicorn continued. "In response to this event, Court Musician Octavia Philharmonica has already begun organising a benefit concert, as an attempt at funding for construction of a replacement."
Luna's ears twitched at that. She had of course gone down to see what remained of the century old building as soon as had been physically possible. She'd liked that concert hall, even if the acoustics when it had first been built were, with the greatest will in the world, awful.
"And how is that doing?" Luna asked, as she turned and walked across the room, and the large map of Equestria that was the floor, toward the door.
"It has already received pledges from several prominent musicians, and no small number of nobles. Also, the court musician apologises for her absence this morning, but she felt unable to perform her functions due to "emotional distress"."
Luna nodded at that. She had already knew that part. In fact, it was why she had given her leave in the first place. But Midnight had clearly entered with the conversation topics pre-prepared, and even if Octavia's absence was quite plainly noticeable, she wasn't about to let that take her off-script.
Of course, it was also possible Octavia was apologising again. She'd already done so at least three times when Luna had tried explaining she was okay with her being gone for one morning.
Meanwhile, Midnight moved the paper out of the way, going for the next. "Regarding the unknowns from earlier this morning, Vicereine Wallflower reports she has no knowledge of them."
Luna stopped, and looked down at Midnight, her gaze hardening. "None?"
"None," the mare stated bluntly, apparently ignoring or not noticing Luna's look. "Whoever these ponies are, they are apparently a new element, though Captain Armor suspects given their behaviour and choice of words they may be, or are related to, the sun cultists."
There was a long pause as Luna stared at Midnight. She did not state that she was incredibly unhappy with that. In return her major-domo did not respond that she understood. Tense seconds crawled past.
"What else?" There was more ruffling of paper.
"Archduke Fisher has sent another petition to you requesting more powers to root out the enemies of Equestria before they strike at the heart of all we hold dear. His words, of course. And he has not yet been informed of the night's developments."
It wasn't really fair, Luna though, that even though it was just about time for her to sleep, she should be assailed with so many reasons to go down to her wine cellar. It just wasn't fair.
"The guards assigned to watch Lulamoon and Sparkle in Ponyville report no unusual activity," the mare paused momentarily, "at least, that is none outside the usual unusual activity of Ponyville. However, their examinations found that the wards designed to ensure Sparkle did not break parole were... gone."
Luna tensed at that.
"These documents," Midnight moved a small sample of the papers she'd been carrying forward, and Luna tried not to let any irritation show at the thought of more paperwork, "require your attention at your earliest convenience, and unless there has been any late breaking developments, Celestia has not overthrown you and Equestria as we know it continues to exist for another day."
Luna nodded, taking them in her own magic. "Very good."
"Also, a reminder that you have a scheduled meeting with Professor Nexus and Lulamoon at the academy, scheduled for midday."
"Yes, Midnight," Luna recited, "Thank you for reminding me, Midnight."
By now the two had reached the doors to Princess Luna's office, guarded as always by two of the most steadfast ponies in all the Night Guard. With a glance from Luna they allowed her highness access to her own study. Once inside, she made her way to her desk, and her chair, and allowed herself to collapse into it, whereupon she stared at Midnight, as the mare sorted some of the paperwork she'd been carrying into little piles on Luna's desk.
"If I asked you something, would you answer it honestly?"
Her majordomo quirked an eyebrow. "That would depend entirely upon the question, your highness."
"Damnit, Midnight!" Luna declared, slamming her hoof against the desk. After a few seconds of tense breathing, she tried speaking again. "What happened tonight?"
"I have no idea, your highness. I had no knowledge of it."
Luna frowned. "None?"
"None," the dark blue mare replied.
"That's not good enough." Luna stated. "Simply not good enough."
"May I speak frankly, your highness?"
Luna smiled ironically, if only for a moment. "Could I stop you?"
"With all due respect, we knew this would be a concern." Midnight paused, as she looked over one of the few pieces of paper still floating in her magic. "And as time goes on, it likely will become more pronounced."
Luna sighed heavily, rubbing a hoof to stop the throbbing pain in her head. She needed sleep, she needed drink, and she needed more sleep. Not necessarily in that order.
"Alright. That will be all, Midnight." She said.
"Be sure to actually get some rest, your highness," the mare stated, as she turned to leave. "I shall return at half-past eleven, and I do expect to find you asleep."
Luna just stared at her. "Is there any point in my trying to point out you cannot actually order me to do anything?"
The dark blue pony paused for a moment, before shaking her head. "None at all, your highness."
And with that she walked out of the room.
Luna waited until she was absolutely certain her major-domo was out of hearing range, before letting out a massive yawn.
She wasn't sure where she was. It was dark, there were voices. Somepony was dragging her somewhere, and from the feel and the sound of it, it was down stone stairs.
There was an odd, fetid smell in the air. There were odd mutters, ones that didn't sound like any a pony could make.
Suddenly, the sounds changed. The stairs ended. There was now an odd echo to everything. She could hear somepony discussing something, somewhere.
She could only catch fleeting bits of what they were saying, but none of it sounded pleasant. The ponies carried her across the floor of wherever it was, first against something smooth, then against something else, before rudely shoving her again a raised surface, and tying her down, even as she struggled to get free.
Under the muttering, she could hear something else, an unpleasant droning noise.
"Is she prepared?" A voice called out from somewhere.
"Hey," another, much younger voice called out, "I think I recognise this mare. It's-"
"TRIXIE!"
Trixie's eyes shot open, to find a concerned Raindrops looming over her.
Unfortunately, panic made her cast a spell, intended to momentarily blind and disorient whoever was in front of her.
"Raindrops!" Trixie yelped, as the weathermare swore under her breath, "what are y-... what are you doing in my bedroom?!
Raindrops scowled, as she waved a hoof in front of her rapidly blinking eyes. "There were Royal Guards by your front door, and Pokey was worried."
"Hey," came the voice of Trixie's assistant, from behind the pegasus. Trixie looked to see him standing behind Raindrops. "You look like crap, boss."
"Good morning to you too," Trixie groaned, as she yawned, "What time is it?"
"Ten o'clock," Pokey replied. Trixie stared at him.
"Wait, ten? You let me sleep in?"
"No, I just had a hard time convincing your new security measures to let me in." Pokey frowned, "The hay's up with that, anyway?"
Ten, Trixie thought to herself, and winced. Assuming she didn't miss the next train, that didn't leave her long to fetch that foal from Twilight and get over to Canterlot.
Though Princess Luna probably wouldn't mind too much if she didn't arrive exactly on time for midday. But it was the principal of the thing.
"I'll explain later," she said hurriedly. Raindrops' response was a withering glare in her general direction.
"Really, I will, I've just gotta go."
"Go where?" Raindrops asked.
"Canterlot, and I've gotta be there by lunchtime. Probably won't be back until... late."
She rushed out onto the landing, and down the stairs.
"Hey," Pokey called out, "what am I supposed to do if you're not here?"
Trixie tried to turn and look at him, no easy task while on the stairs. "Congratulations, you've got a free day off."
Even as she rushed to grab her hat, cape and wallet, she could hear Pokey grumbling about not getting paid.
Ignoring that, she hurried out of the door, past the two guards standing there, and out into the street, and the blinding, frigid light of another winter's day, heading towards the library.
Trixie hammered on the library door. Seconds passed, as Trixie fidgeted about on the doorstep. Freed from the thought of walking, her mind was wandering back to the nightmare she'd been having... that, and what she'd done to Raindrops, however accidentally. Trixie noted to herself to buy the pegasus something expensive while she was in Canterlot.
Trixie looked at the door, which still hadn't opened. Her mind began treacherously going back to the nightmare, and she felt an odd chill unrelated to the weather (mercifully, her cape was keeping most of the actual cold off of her). She tried knocking again, this time more forcefully.
From somewhere inside she heard a noise. After several more seconds it opened, revealing a dishevelled looking Twilight Sparkle.
"Hey, Trixie," the mare said, blinking in the sunlight, "you're here for Thesis?"
Trixie nodded. Twilight nodded back, and motioned for Trixie to follow.
"Watch the books," she noted, as Trixie made her way inside. "Still haven't tidied them up yet..."
"Has she been any trouble?" Trixie asked, as they walked up the stairs. Twilight just looked away thoughtfully.
"Not... really."
Trixie eyed the mare suspiciously. "Meaning?"
Twilight paused again, and turned around to face Trixie, glancing back toward the door to the other room for a moment. "A few hours ago she, ah... she had a nightmare."
"About what?" Trixie asked, feeling an odd chill go down her spine.
"I don't know," Twilight said, "she wouldn't tell me. The only thing I know is the whole room was shaking while she was asleep, and when she woke up, it stopped."
Trixie frowned. Typically, most unicorn foals weren't really capable of magic until around the age they usually got cutie marks, and even then that was limited to the bare basics, and whatever they were skilled at. Typically, of course. There were the occasional, infrequent cases of newborns using magic far beyond what they should have been able to, but when dealing with an alicorn, and what was more, an alicorn apparently born from misuse of magic, all bets were off.
"That's... really not good."
"None of this is good." Twilight sighed, before glancing back to the door again. "Still, I wish I could come with you two to Canterlot. Just to see what happens," she added, hastily.
"You could," Trixie pointed out, "I am your parole officer. Pretty sure if I say you can tag along you can come."
Twilight made a small noise, then shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think house arrest would work if I get to leave within the first few months for no good reason. I'll stay here," she suddenly yawned, "maybe try and get some actual sleep. The Mayor came by, said Princess Luna had explained everything and it was okay if the library was closed today, while I get some sleep." She yawned again, "which I do really need."
"Leaving me to do all the work?" Trixie asked, not entirely seriously.
Twilight tilted her head. "What work? You're just taking her to Canterlot for an examination."
"Have you ever tried taking a foal anywhere?" Trixie asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.
"No," Twilight said, "but why would that be a problem?"
Trixie just gave Twilight Sparkle an odd look, as she desperately tried not to think of what a Starlight family outing was like.
"It's not a problem," she said hurriedly. "Why would it be a problem? I'm just taking one foal who looks like somepony who tried to kill us to Canterlot. Why would that be a problem?"
Twilight gave Trixie another, stronger look, then turned back to the door. The two walked through to the upstairs room which looked... slightly more disarrayed than it had during the night. Thesis was sitting on the spare bed, looking at a book. It wasn't hard to miss the fact she was looking jumpy.
Not that Trixie was feeling much better, really. As much as she was trying very hard to force the images of that nightmare out of her head, they were just as determined to stay.
"Hey," she smiled as warmly as she could at the filly. "How are you feeling?"
Thesis made a small noise. Trixie looked to Twilight, who just looked helplessly at her.
Trixie turned back to the filly, and tried again.
"Okay, not the best way to start a conversation. Twilight told me you had a rough night. I get that. I didn't sleep well either."
She fished about in the pocket of her cape, and removed a small item, carefully wrapped up. "Here," she said, nudging it toward the foal, who sniffed at it, cautiously.
"It's chocolate," Trixie explained, "special chocolate. Real expensive, too. Only a few ponies in town know how to make this sort, much less want to, and they're not cheap. But it will make you feel better."
After a few seconds of nervous glancing, the foal took a small bite. After a few seconds the chocolate apparently worked its magic, and Thesis' mood plainly improved.
"So, here's the deal. I'm supposed to take you to Canterlot for this check-up thing. Shouldn't be too quick and it'll probably be a few boring science-y sorts prodding you and asking boring questions, but after that, who knows? What do you say? Wanna see the sights?"
Thesis made a noise that sounded like a yes. Trixie looked to Twilight, who was staring at the sight. Also frowning for some mysterious reason.
"Sounded like a yes to me," Trixie said.
Mercifully, they didn't miss the train, and by the time it left, Thesis seemed to have undergone a complete change. She bounded from one side of the coach to the other, looking out over the landscape in wide-eyed awe.
By Trixie's best guess, it was half an hour before the questions started. Most of them fell under the specialist subject of "What's that?" Trixie answered carefully as she tried describing rocks, tunnels, snow, rivers, some village she wasn't sure she knew the name of, and her hat and cape.
This was quickly followed by the even more obscure subject "why?"
There were an awful lot of those.
Of course, Trixie already considered herself pretty good with foals, and as a performer she was prepared for improvising, very useful when much of her audience consisted largely of foals, so she managed to explain pretty much near everything she could (though as to why nopony else seemed to be wearing capes, she could only say she didn't know). And where she couldn't explain, she would obfuscate, obscure or just outright lie (well, not "lie" per se, but just gently massaging the truth, which she maintained was different).
The questions stopped when the foal caught the first glimpse of Canterlot the train allowed. Ponyville had its charms, it grew on a pony, with its picturesque little houses and thatched roofs, and infrequent but rarely actually dangerous monster attacks, but Canterlot... Canterlot was just beautiful. Even in the daylight, there was no sight in Trixie's mind that could possibly compare with the hints, the tantalising glimpses of the city, a jewelled thing of silvers, whites, blues, purples and greens, all building up to the final glorious shot of the entire city. And frankly, Trixie thought it looked all the better in daylight, where a pony could see all of it, the city and the river and the mountain as one glorious image. Even the fact that much of it had snow over it did nothing to dampen her joy.
Soon, the train pulled in at Canterlot Central Station, which Trixie noted looked pretty busy.
She winced, and looked to Thesis. "Okay, just to make sure you don't get lost, I’m gonna have to carry you now, alright? It's a big crowd out there."
She gently wrapped the filly with her magic, and hoisted her onto her back, eliciting a few tiny squeaks from the foal in the process.
"So where's that population drop now, little miss high-n-mighty?" she muttered under her breath. "Still looks like there's an awful lot of ponies here."
Mercifully, none of the ponies present appeared to have recognised her for the moment. She turned her head to try and look at Thesis, "just a heads up, I'm about to disguise myself with magic."
"Why?" Thesis asked.
"Because I'm kind of a big name at the moment and trying to get through a crowd who may or may not want to swarm me... it's not exactly fun."
She focused her magic, letting it wash over her, removing her cape and hat from view, and turning her fur a dull greyish-purple. Thus adorned, Trixie set forth through the crowd, doing all she could to avoid bumping into anypony.
"Hey, miss, there's a sign over there with your name on it!" Trixie stopped at that, and looked about.
Indeed, hovering over the crowd, near one of the doors of the station was a sign, with her second name on it. Immediately, Trixie felt her soul sink at that. This feeling did not go away at the sign of a guard and, of all ponies, Midnight, standing there next to them, the sign held aloft in her magic.
"Hello," Trixie said to the mare as she approached. She looked toward the guard. "Who's this?"
Midnight glanced at the guard, who was now looking elsewhere in nervousness. "A guard. Pay him no mind."
"Right, gotcha." She turned to the guard and nodded, giving him a casual "hey", before turning back to the mare, "Where's-"
"Her Highness is waiting with Captain Armor at the academy. Captain Armor was concerned her highness might have been at risk from attack if she were to meet you at this location." The mare paused momentarily. "I am strongly tempted to investigate what he has been imbibing. Shall we?"
"Um," Trixie began, glancing skyward, even though they were indoors. "Now? But it's midday?"
"It's after midday, Lulamoon." Trixie tried keeping a smile on her face, to little avail.
"What's wrong with midday?" Thesis piped up.
Trixie removed the filly from her back (which earned her an "aw" and a small stab of self-loathing). "Well, you see, because of... lots of reasons, most ponies tend to stay indoors around midday."
"Why?"
"Unreasonable fear and paranoia," Midnight cut in, "can we get going now?"
"Fine," Trixie sighed, "Let's."
The dark blue mare led the group out of the station, and along the streets toward the university, which had all mercifully been cleared of snow and ice. As they walked, Thesis stared at the guard walking alongside them.
"How come your eyes look different?" He opened his mouth to respond.
"Standard enchantment for guards," Midnight stated, "similar to the one on his fur."
"Why's he wearing that stuff?"
"It’s armour."
"Why's he wearing armour?"
"It is required for guards."
"Do all the guards wear that?"
"Most, though there are exceptions."
"Why do they wear that?"
Trixie grinned to herself as Midnight responded to that question, and then the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that, and so on.
The two looked about, at the mild bustle of Canterlot in day time, a great contrast to how it was at night. Fewer ponies, for one, and even fewer carrying coffee (a necessity for most who lived there, even outside those who worked in the night hours the Princess and her Night Court were awake at), though Trixie was willing to bet that this was simply because the post-noon bustle hadn't properly kicked back in yet. That said, there were plenty of ponies going about and enjoying the snowfall, most of whom unsurprisingly were minors. More than once they had to walk through snowball fights held by children whom Trixie was pretty certain should have been in school. But there were also nervous glances around, not all of them skyward. Nopony outside of them seemed to be too engaged in speaking to one another, at least beyond the extent required for trade.
Meanwhile, Thesis had apparently run out of questions to ask Midnight, having gone back to being utterly quiet, as she tried keeping up with the larger mare, to little avail, since Midnight was already a way ahead of all of them.
Soon, they came up the open gates of Luna's Academy of Magic, where several royal guards were huddled together in a clump, eyeing everyone and everything suspiciously, though they weren't trying to block anypony's entrance to the grounds (probably because they knew a lost cause when they saw it, or possibly because several of them looked like they really didn't want to be outside. Trixie didn't blame them for that).
Past the gates were the campus grounds, where even with the horrible cold, and the harsh winter sunlight, there were some ponies apparently having a good time. Trixie could hear Midnight saying something to Thesis about the university itself.
They made their way toward the main building, maybe not the largest or the grandest building on the grounds, but certainly the one that caught the eye first, helped by the large bronze statue of her highness in front of it (looking suspiciously clean and newly polished, in fact).
Inside the atrium, which like so many buildings in Canterlot was made largely of marble, there were several more guards, all glancing about cautiously at the few students inside.
"Her highness should be with Professor Nexus, who should likely be in his office," Midnight stated, "We merely have to look for the throng of ponies."
She asked the guard, who pointed their hoof upward. Trixie and Thesis followed the two ponies toward one of the larger staircases leading to the upper floors of the building, wherein there were yet more guards and students.
It wasn't long before the stairs led past a few floors to a wide landing, with two corridors leading off to the side and one large set of doors apparently leading to some officers. Several guards were standing around, focused on them. As they crossed the landing, a tall white unicorn appeared from out of one of the corridors, practically barrelling into the group.
"Sorry," the mare blurted out. Her purple eyes focused on Midnight, "oh hey, Nighty. What are you doing here?"
Midnight just gave the newcomer a withering stare, which she just took entirely in stride. Or possibly didn't notice at all. From the look of her, Trixie suspected the newcomer didn't notice a lot of things.
"Oh, right," the mare chortled, "guessing it's something for the Princess, right?"
Before Trixie could ask who the buck the newcomer was, she noticed Thesis. There was a tiny noise as she looked down at the foal. Trixie looked to see Thesis wasn't even trying to match the mare's gaze.
"Who's this?" the newcomer asked.
"Family," Midnight said, instantly, causing the mare to look between them. After a few seconds, she nodded.
"Oh, yeah, I see the resemblance." At that the pony seemed to notice Trixie, and gasped. "Oh my gosh! You're - you're..."
Before Trixie could say anything, the mare grabbed one of her front hooves (with a surprising amount of strength). The next thing she knew everything was shaking.
"Sorry," the mare grinned sheepishly, "I've just never met an Element Bearer before!"
Suddenly the mare blinked, and looked about. "Crap, I'd love to stay and talk, but I gotta dash. I only came by to drop off some old exercise equipment."
The mare turned toward Midnight. "Let's do lunch sometime, shall we?"
And with that, and a smile that eerily reminded Trixie of some bizarre fusion of Pinkie Pie and Rarity, the mare trotted off toward the stairs.
"Who, or what, was that?" Trixie asked.
"Her name is Fleur de Lis," Midnight stated.
"What was that all about?" she asked. "And did she call you..." Her grin slowly faded as she saw the filthy look Midnight was giving her. "How do you even know somepony like that anyhow?"
"It is..." the mare paused, "a long story. Shall we?"
They walked over to the small throng, with the guards keeping a tight circle preventing anyone from getting through, until Midnight approached. They walked past through a set of large doors, into a small office, which then led into a bigger office, wherein the princess was talking with Professor Spell Nexus about something over tea, with the captain of the guard standing nearby.
"-ourse I shall ask Professor Yearling, if she ever returns from her latest trip, but I am reasonably confident what the answer shall be." Professor Nexus said.
"Yes," Luna nodded, "but it wouldn't hurt to check. As I understand it, Professor Yearling has a reputation for this sort of- ah, Trixie, there you are."
As Trixie approached, Princess Luna gave her a small nod, followed by one to Thesis, who was glancing about nervously at all the guards, trying to stay by Midnight. Trixie returned the nod with a slight bow.
"Alright, Professor," Luna said, "now that Trixie and Thesis have arrived, I'd say we can begin. Shall we?"
"Of course. Follow me," the Professor said, motioning with his hooves.
A few moments of awkward shuffling out of the way followed, as he tried to make his way past or through the clump of ponies standing in the doorway, then out into the hallway, past the gathering of eager students, still being kept away by the guards, who as the group began moving past adjusted their position to try and keep it that way.
"An awful lot of students don't appear to be in any classes," Luna observed as they went down a hallway, the guards moving to block the students from following behind, "is something amiss?"
"No, your highness," Spell Nexus replied, "though I imagine a few are likely taking advantage of this morning's weather. And of course, most of the school's music department took an impromptu leave of absence, what with that unfortunate development during the night."
Princess Luna didn't respond to that, she just stared off into the distance. Having apparently run out of conversation, they continued on in silence, through several different corridors, until finally coming to one particular room. Inside, there were several ponies bustling about, some moving things to the edges of the room, a few setting up strange things Trixie knew not what, and at least one appeared to be drawing something on the floor.
"Good afternoon, all," Professor Nexus stated, causing some of them to stop, "I take it everything is almost ready?"
"Er," one pony declared, "almost, sir. Just a few things left."
The professor nodded at that, then something appeared to catch his gaze. "Frolic, what happened to your hair?"
A bright red pony, a colt, stopped, running a hoof through a ragged looking mane. As she saw the expression on his face when his name was mentioned, Trixie felt a strange brief pang of sympathy.
"Firelock, sir," the colt stated firmly, in a way Trixie Lulamoon recognised all too well (the name too, given Ponyville had its own Firelock, a filly who was excitable a little too excitable about fireworks, and who’d nearly caused some damage to Trixie’s residency a few months back), "I, ah..." he mumbled something indistinguishable, before going back to moving some items out of the way, with more force than was really needed.
Trixie looked to Princess Luna, who had one of those looks on her face that said she was trying not to look bemused, as she returned to her conversation with Professor Nexus. Then, making sure nopony was looking at her, Trixie leaned against the wall and slid her hat over her eyes.
After a few minutes she heard the colt declare, "Professor, we're ready to begin."
"Good, make it so."
Trixie looked on as some of the ponies began examining a terrified-looking Thesis. Or tried, at any rate. As one of them started approaching the filly, Trixie felt the room beginning to shake, as the filly backed away from the scientist.
“Hey,” she declared, “you’re spooking her.”
The scientist stopped, and looked at Trixie, as she marched over the room toward the filly. The shaking stopped as she approached.
“It’s alright,” Trixie said to the foal, “they’re not going to hurt you. Right?” she asked, looking to the lead scientist.
“Of course not,” the pony said, “Professor Nexus was very explicit. Nothing invasive, or painful, just a few basics. (Not that we were actually going to do anything like that.)” he added, under his breath..
“Good,” Trixie said, trying her best non-threatening yet-still-unfriendly smile. With that, she made to walk back over to the wall. As she leaned against it again, she felt a burst of intrigue, and decided to follow it.
One spell Trixie had learnt early on when Luna was teaching her was the ability to see magic. Not in the basic way of Detect Magic, which usually only showed unicorns, but one that allowed her to see all kinds of magic. The bright pinks of the unicorns in the room (Shining Armors’, she noted, was brightest), the sky blue of pegasi, the deep green of earth ponies, the eye-searingly bright gold of Princess Luna…
And then she saw Thesis’s, and the reason why Princess Luna hadn’t taken one look at her and declared for all the world what the filly was became… Well, actually, it didn’t become clearer.
There were large areas of the filly that were gold, similar to Luna but much less bright, and there were areas that… weren’t. They weren’t pink or green or blue either. More a blotchy purple-ish colour.
A troubled Trixie frowned, turning off the spell, and decided to continue watching the proceedings.
For the next while the scientists examined her, occasionally casting one spell or another, jotting something down on a piece of paper. One or two poked and prodded at her, only for that to soon stop when it became clear Thesis tended to react to being startled by biting. Once or twice, they tried asking her something, but compared to her behaviour on the train, she was incredibly reserved, usually responding with a shrug and murmurs.
Eventually, however, they stopped whatever it was they were doing.
"Well, your highness," a sea-green unicorn who had apparently been chosen to tell the results declared, "we have done all we could and, as far as we can determine, this filly is for all intents and purposes, an ordinary filly. Albeit one who appears to be an alicorn," the way the mare stated that suggested she was having difficulty believing it.
Princess Luna frowned for a moment, before nodding. "Thank you, doctor. It is most appreciated."
With a few muttered somethings toward Spell Nexus, the assorted ponies filed out, leaving only Luna, her secretary, Trixie herself, the professor, Shining Armor and Thesis.
"So, what now?" Trixie asked.
"Well," the Princess declared, "for the time being, somepony will have to look after Thesis, until something more permanent can be arranged."
Trixie nodded, looking toward the filly, who wasn't looking especially interested, just confused. "Yeah, of course, but who?"
There was a look on Luna's face she didn't like, one that suggested the Princess was already well aware of who it was that was to be chosen. "One name does spring to mind, don't you agree, Midnight?"
There was a silence so profound it was almost possible to hear dust settling, as the mare in question stood stock still.
"What?" Trixie exclaimed.
"Me?" the mare declared, as she took on the expression usually shared by those who had a whole herd of buffalo rushing toward them. Luna nodded.
"But," the mare faltered, "I can't-"
"Captain Armor and Professor Nexus have jobs requiring their full attention, and Dame Trixie not only has a job, but she is one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony."
"But-!" Midnight repeated. Somehow this did not sway Luna's decision.
"How long has it been since you last took any leave, Midnight? One year? Two?"
The mare stopped looking alarmed, if only for a moment. "It... it has been more than that, your highness."
"Well then," Luna smiled, "congratulations, you get all the leave you might need, and conveniently in time for Hearth's Warming."
"Your highness, I really... I really must protest! "
"Noted," Luna said, without missing a beat, "but somepony has to take care of this foal, until the formal adoption papers can be sorted out. And you agree, I take it, that it is somepony who is already sworn to secrecy about matters?"
The mare hung her head. "... yes, your highness."
"I'll do it," Trixie said, causing everypony to look at her, "I mean, I'm not exactly the best role model a pony could ever ask for, but I'd still give it a try."
Luna shook her head, "I am terribly sorry, Trixie, but given your status as an Element Bearer, and the dangers that come with it, I do not think it is wise."
Trixie began to protest. She wanted to point out how she’d just spent the entire morning with the foal. She wanted to point out she was good with kids. She wanted to point out she could handle it. She was prepared to point out that if it was down to not being prepared, she could learn. She wanted to point out that if it was down to being an Element, her fellow Element Ditzy managed to get by. Yes, the mare did work extremely long hours just to make ends meet, and yes, there had been that incident with the ponies using her daughter to get to her, and yes, Trixie was not too great with looking after foals (the still-recent incident involving the whole herd of foals turning up on her door looking for magic tutelage came readily to mind), and maybe not the first pony who should really have been entrusted with an impressionable mind, but she still felt she could have, or at the very least should have been allowed to try.
"Trixie," Luna declared before she could say anything else, her voice stern, "this isn't a request, or a suggestion. This is an order, and that is final."
"... oh," Trixie said, trying not to glower in Midnight's direction and not particularly succeeding. "Fine."
"Good," Luna said, "then it's settled." Her gaze softened, and she lowered her voice, "I am sorry, Trixie."
She then turned her gaze to her major-domo, "Midnight, a few words in private."
The two walked over to the corner of the room and began talking in hushed voices. After a few seconds it ended, Midnight looking... well, about the same as she ever looked, frankly, as she walked back toward Thesis.
A thought occurred to Trixie, as the Princess began walking out the door. She looked over to the two, "can you stay there for a minute?" she asked, "I just need to check with the Princess about a thing."
Before she even got a response, Trixie hurriedly trotted over to Luna, and got her attention.
"Yes, Trixie?" Luna asked.
"What was that about?" she asked. Luna's frown vanished, replaced by a more resigned look, as Trixie glanced back to the two ponies sitting in the center of the room.
"You've got a plan of some kind, haven't you?"
Luna remained absolutely silent, which Trixie took as confession, or as close to as made no difference. "But why her, of all ponies?"
Luna’s horn glowed, as she began casting thoughts to Trixie.
"There are... reasons," Luna stated, “for one, while she isn’t the best choice to look after what appears to be a nascent alicorn foal, she will at least do so to the utmost of her abilities. And if this is a threat or trick of some kind… I felt it safer to risk her than to risk you.”
Trixie murmured. Then she heard the thought from Luna, “I take it you took the time to see what type of magic she was using? I saw you doing so during the examination.”
“Yeah,” Trixie thought back, “but I'm not really sure what I saw.”
Luna frowned. “Indeed.”
"I don't like this," she said out loud, to which Luna nodded in agreement.
"I cannot blame you, but for the moment, we shall have to wait and see where this all leads."
In the pause, Luna blinked heavily, "It’s only temporary, Trixie. A week or two, at the most. Now I'm sorry, but I do need to go back to the castle and, with any hope, catch some rest. Be safe."
With that, the Princess exited, Shining Armor following silently after her. Trixie turned to look at Thesis, and tried smiling. "Alright, kid, I believe I promised seeing the sights, didn't I?" she waited for Midnight to potentially object before she’d continue.
"I'm hungry," Thesis murmured. Before Trixie could say anything in response, there was a deep, primal roar from the depths of her stomach, and she became acutely aware of just how long it had been since she'd last eaten.
"Alright, then, let's go grab some lunch." She looked over to the dark blue mare, "unfortunately I was in such a rush this morning I forgot to bring enough bits for dinner. Oops."
Midnight just gave her a level stare. "Then it is fortunate that one of us happens to have money to spare."
"Isn't it?" Trixie smiled a mildly insincere smile.
"But in return, I choose the location."
Damn, Trixie thought to herself, as her smile vanished.
A short time later, the three ponies were in a small but upscale restaurant in the city center which appeared to be designed on a generically Cavallian theme. While it wasn't what Trixie would've chosen, she had to admit it was at least comfortable and warm (and as an added bonus there weren't too many ponies there).
Thesis had been initially reluctant to sample any of the food, but eventually her hunger managed to override her caution.
Meanwhile, Trixie had spent several minutes re-reading the menu trying to find something she actually wanted to eat, no easy thing when she was by her own admission a picky eater. And as for her host... when the waiter arrived Midnight looked at them and spoke thus:
"One pizza, red peppers, chilli and would it be possible to include some manner of hot sauce?"
"Uh," the waiter said, "I think so?"
"Good. And to drink I would like a glass of water."
Trixie, meanwhile just ordered something that wasn't likely to set her mouth on fire.
And as for Thesis, she had just been staring at the menu, much like Trixie. On hearing Midnight’s order, she’d just decided to ask for the same. Trixie and the dark blue mare had both looked at the filly at that. Trixie, for her part, found herself think of the foal breathing fire the minute she tried taking a bite.
“No, wait,” the filly declared seconds late, “the all-cheese one.”
Just as the waiter began scribbling down that one the filly exclaimed again, “wait, no, I want…” The foal’s face scrunched up as she examined the menu.
“She’ll have the cheese,” Trixie said quickly. Without a moment’s hesitation, the waiter hurried away, leaving Thesis with a conundrum.
“Who put all these things here?” she groaned. “How am I supposed to choose?”
“Pick one at random and see whether you like it,” Trixie suggested. “That’s how most ponies get by.”
“But they all sound good!” the filly declared. “Whoever made this thing is evil.”
Of course, that did leave the several minutes before their meals arrived, with no menu to try and look interested in, stuck with one of the most soulless, humourless ponies ever to walk across Equestria. But if she didn't find something to do, she was going to start thinking about either the nightmare or the events of that morning again.
"So," Trixie began, "ah, what Princess Luna did, that was pretty unexpected, huh?"
If the mare sitting across the table noticed the small wince Trixie had, she didn't make any indication of it.
"Slightly," the mare said, absently skewering one of the complimentary olives on a toothpick, "I had suspected she would do something of that nature, though I had no reason to entertain the possibility of myself being chosen. I’d presumed Captain Armor would have been the choice."
Trixie hummed in agreement. Awkward silence swiftly reasserted itself, as Trixie tapped a hoof against the table. "So, uh... do you ever see anypony from when we used to..." the words "be friends" lingered on her tongue for a moment, which gave Trixie pause. After a few seconds of careful consideration she decided to go for a less loaded word, "hang out?"
"Only by coincidence, never by design."
"Right," Trixie nodded.
"Though Ms. Tail did find cause to invite me to her nuptials."
At that Trixie stopped, and blinked for several seconds. "What?" she declared, loud enough to have several ponies in the restaurant looking in her direction.
"Chocolate Tail invited you to a wedding? Her wedding? You, of all ponies?"
Midnight just nodded. Trixie tried saying something, indeed anything. All she could think of was that at no point did she ever recall getting any note about that.
"How did this happen? And... when?"
"I believe it was over a year ago," Midnight replied, "certainly before the events of last year's Longest Night."
"She didn't invite me," Trixie said, looking down at her hooves.
"I believe her reasoning was more obligation than actual desire for my presence," Midnight said. She probably meant for it to sound conciliatory.
"Yeah," Trixie grunted. All she could think about at that moment was Chocolate Tail. She'd always considered the pony a friend. True, she had driven her away by boasting about being Luna's student a lot. More than a lot, actually. All the time, as a matter of fact. But still, to not be invited at all?
"Did you go?" she asked. For a moment, just a brief moment the mare opposite her hesitated.
"I considered it," the mare replied, "I was intrigued. It is not often I am invited to anyone's wedding."
Trixie had to bite back the desire to say something to that, as Midnight looked down at her food.
"So much so it would have seemed the only way I could attend one was to be the bride."
"Or if you abducted a bride and took her place," Trixie suggested facetiously.
"Indeed," Midnight said, as she stared off at something else.
"Um," Thesis's voice caused Trixie to jolt, partly because she might have forgotten the filly was even there, she'd been so quiet, "what's a nuptial?"
"A wedding," Trixie replied. The filly blinked.
"'kay... what's a wedding?"
"A ceremony involving two ponies marrying one another, followed by some manner of celebration involving speeches, cake, and dancing." Midnight said. Thesis paused for a moment, then nodded uncertainly.
No longer feeling any desire to make idle chit-chat of any kind, Trixie took out a pack of cards from the small pouch in her cape, and began idly playing with them, earning her the rapturous attention of the little filly sitting next to her. At least until the food arrived. One massively spicy looking pizza for Midnight, a smaller, much less spicy looking pizza for Thesis, and a mixed salad for Trixie.
Trixie stared down at her meal, and frowned at the absence of any carrots, or any sauces to add to the meal. All there was was some vinegar and some oils.
However, it was unlikely the kitchen staff would simply loan her some extra foodstuffs to spice up the salad, even a little bit.
Thesis sniffed carefully at her own meal, eyeing it apprehensively like she wasn't sure what to do. Trixie leaned in toward her.
"You alright there?"
The filly blinked for a moment, and pointed at the pizza. "How do I eat it?"
"For a start, you might need to use magic, unless you want to get cheese everywhere," Trixie began. Thesis just blinked innocently at her.
"Okay, like this..." Trixie's horn lit up, and one slice of the pizza was wrapped in her blue aura, hovering ever-so-slightly above the table.
"Oh," the filly said, "okay... but how do I use magic?"
"Well," Trixie coughed, "focus on the slice. Are you focusing?"
Thesis shrugged. "I guess?"
"Good enough, now, try and focus whatever magic you might have into your horn..."
The filly looked up at her horn, and frowned. She focused. Several seconds passed, as nothing happened. And then nothing continued happening.
"I don't think it's working..." she murmured, "sorry."
Trixie stared at the foal for several seconds, as she tried to think of something. "Have you tried..." she began, hoping the words would spark an idea. Then a thought went back to some months ago, when she had been dealing with Snails, his own problems casting, and the solution they’d come across.
"Try thinking of that soup you had last night." Thesis stared at Trixie for a moment, then to the pizza.
Once again, nothing happened. Trixie leaned back in her seat, as the filly stared forlornly at her meal.
"Do not be discouraged," Midnight stated, "many foals have difficulty attempting to cast magic on the first try. Even ones such as Twilight Sparkle."
Trixie watched as the mare effortlessly devoured an entire slice of half-melted pizza in one go, then looked down to her plate, where there was a lot less of the meal than there had been mere moments ago.
"Is that normal?" Thesis asked Trixie, who shook her head.
"Not where I'm from, it isn't."
"I was famished," the dark blue mare responded curtly, as she consumed another sizeable slice.
Meanwhile, Thesis had decided to try and approach her own meal as best she could without magic, which meant her hooves and teeth.
"In hindsight," Midnight declared, between another mouthful, "perhaps it would've been an idea to suggest you ate something different."
"I can do this," Thesis said defiantly, or as much as could be managed with a wedge of pizza between her teeth, its contents spilling over onto the table.
Trixie shook her head at that, and looked over at Midnight again, the mare staring at the sight next to her. A thought crept into Trixie's mind, and slowly began to take root.
"Hey, Midnight, I was just wondering… I was going to take Thesis around on a little sight-seeing tour. You wanna come with us?"
Trixie presumed the way Midnight raised an eyebrow was meant to express confusion. "Are you asking that because you actually want me to come along?"
"Absolument non," Trixie sighed, as she poured some vinegar over her salad, "but if I didn't you'd just tag along anyway." She took a thoughtful bite of a lettuce leaf, and grinned. "Like old times."
After several seconds of careful consideration, she felt the need to add "only without Chocolate Tail, or Brawny Heart or any of the rest of the gang."
"So in fact not like them at all," Midnight pointed out.
"Pretty much," Trixie admitted.
"I do have some errands I must perform," Midnight stated, as she finished her own meal, "but once I have finished those I shall meet up with you and Thesis."
Before Trixie could ask how she'd manage that, in a large bustling city like Canterlot, her horn lit up for a moment, and as it did Thesis gave off a small noise. On the small of her back Trixie could see a small light briefly appear, then fade.
"Do not be concerned," Midnight stated to the filly, "that was a simple tracking spell, that is all, so that I will know where to find you."
"'kay," the filly said, as she tried glancing to where the mark had been.
"Do you have any particular destination in mind as to where you may go?" the dark mare asked. Trixie leaned back in her seat, casually munching on some caramelised onion (inasmuch as she could).
"Well, I was gonna go buy something for a friend, but after that, not really. I was just going to see where we wound up"
After the cheque had been paid for, and a suitable tip left, Trixie and Thesis went off to do their thing. In a little bookstore not far from the train station, she spent several minutes perusing books she'd never have looked at twice (or even once, come to think of it, going by some of the covers), trying to find one suitable for Raindrops.
Eventually, she just chose one at random, one she felt wouldn’t get her weird looks while she was paying for it, and decided to hope for the best.
Once that piece of business was out of the way, she took Thesis on a walkabout the city. In contrast to earlier, the filly didn't ask a single question, instead glancing about at everything from on top of Trixie's back.
Of course, as Trixie soon rediscovered, the capital of Equestria was still teeming with ponies even when it was a cold afternoon in November. She was relieved at her good sense to have re-disguised herself before leaving the restaurant.
Not helping was that, by pure coincidence and random chance, Trixie's choice of direction wound up leading her to the Royal Art Gallery. Which by wild convenience was packed with ponies, either tourists milling about with oversized saddlebags, or taking photos of one another, or ponies who from the look of things had just wanted to get away from the cold and snow and cold and slush and cold, with the gallery being the closest place.
It was crowded, and therefore noisy. Rather than perhaps decide to go someplace else, with fewer ponies likely to be milling about in the way, Trixie decided to brave it anyway. She did briefly consider going to the castle, but going by the luck she'd had so far, something would've happened, like running into some guards with a grudge against her for something or other, yet again.
So, in desperation to avoid the swarms of ponies, Trixie and Thesis found themselves in one of the far galleries, which had barely anypony in it. And, much to Trixie's immediate relief, a bench for sitting on. Thesis looked about the room, at the various paintings, looking puzzled.
"Y'know," Trixie said, "I used to come here sometimes when I was younger. Usually when I was bored, or Luna was away, and I had nopony else to talk to..."
She smiled faintly at the old memories, as Thesis looked up at her, "I'd look at the paintings and try and imagine what they were about, make up whole ideas in my mind."
Thesis looked at Trixie, then to one of the paintings, which had a small placard next to it designed to inform whoever looked at it what the actual subject matter was.
"Not, I'll admit, very accurate, and it didn’t exactly make me very popular with visitors, but it was something to do at least," she chortled, "of course, when Princess Luna was here she'd usually talk about the pony who made them and the techniques used and all of a sudden it'd be "Trixie, why are you falling asleep"?"
Thesis snorted at that, which Trixie took as a good sign. She sighed wistfully, and leaned in towards the filly.
"I mean, I like good art as much as the next pony, but there's only so much a pony can take in one sitting." After a few seconds pause, she felt this needed further clarification, "in fairness, I was pretty young at the time."
"As opposed to now, when you are older, and wiser," Trixie's smile vanished at the sound of Midnight's voice, as the mare approached.
"You know," Trixie said, "when you said you had things to do, I imagined that it would take more than..." she faltered as she realised she'd no idea how long it had been since they'd split up.
"Then it is a good thing I did not specify how long they would take, is it not?" Midnight stated. Then her horn lit up, and a small item appeared in the air next to her head.
It was a small glass bottle, containing within a precious brown liquid. Trixie's eyes went wide as she beheld the bottle of bourbon.
"Monsieur Bourbon," she grinned, taking it in her own magic before looking at the dark blue mare, "how did you know?"
"That is easy enough to answer," the mare said as she sat down next to Thesis, "I know you, Lulamoon."
Trixie scoffed, even as she examined the bourbon carefully. "Are you a mind-reader now?"
"Not at all," Midnight said, "that would make a great many details of my life so much easier."
Trixie looked to the mare. "Thank you," she said. After a few seconds a thought started occurring to her. She looked about the room for signs of a clock, of which there was none.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Slightly after three o'clock," Midnight replied. Trixie raised an eyebrow.
"Only "slightly"?" she tutted, "somepony's standards are slipping." After a slight grin, she sighed and looked at Thesis. "But I guess I should probably head on over to the station, catch a train home." She smiled apologetically at the filly, "sorry, guess I didn't show you all the sights."
"It's okay," the filly replied, "I liked it. 'cept those ponies poking me and stuff. And this place is pretty cool."
She looked over towards one painting, "just look at that picture."
Both mares looked, to see a painting of two armies of ponies fighting one another, in perhaps more detail than was strictly speaking necessary, or appropriate for minors.
"Oh, hey," Trixie declared, standing up, "I really should go, otherwise I will miss my train."
"Yes," Midnight nodded firmly, "we shall see you off."
"That's very nice and safe and boring, and why didn't I notice that there?" she hissed, as the three walked out. "Who put that there anyhow?"
Mercifully, getting out through the massive crowd proved easier than getting in, and it was only a short (relatively speaking. Nowhere in Canterlot was exactly quick to walk to) walk to the train station.
Trixie felt a slight tugging inside at the sight of the train sitting there. From what she knew of the schedule, there was at least some minutes before it left.
"So, I'm... staying here, right?" Thesis asked, looking to Midnight. Trixie nodded, to which the filly looked confused.
"Hey," Trixie smiled as reassuringly as she could manage, "it's not goodbye. Ponyville's only a train ride away. Maybe you can come visit someday."
The filly smiled back, looking to Midnight. "Perhaps," the mare said, carefully, "we shall see."
Trixie turned to look at the train, then back to Midnight. "Look," she said slowly, "if, ah... in a few weeks it'll be Hearth's Warming. I was going to see about throwing a celebration, with some close friends and such. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, you could always stop by."
The dark blue mare pondered this for a moment. "That sounds like an offer one makes to friends."
"So?"
One of the mare's eyebrows raised. "Do you consider us friends?"
Trixie blinked. "We're..." she began, "well, we're not enemies." She paused for a moment, "at least, I'm pretty sure we're not."
Midnight nodded. "But we've known one another far too long to be acquaintances."
Trixie nodded, "but we haven't really spoken in a long while."
The two stood there. Trixie scuffed at the station floor with a hoof. "Not doing so great here, are we?"
"If by some as yet obscure circumstance I, a pony who happens to reside and work within Canterlot, happened to find myself passing by your residency in Ponyville, on the night of Hearth's Warming, I may investigate this celebration of yours." When she finished, Midnight shifted her posture slightly. "Though I can promise nothing."
Trixie tried smiling, only to find she didn't have it in her at that moment. "Of course, I'd probably have to introduce you to some of my friends there. Who knows, you might like them?" Trixie looked at the mare's expression, and considered what she'd just said, "well, some of them. A few of them, at any rate. One or two, maybe."
There was a noise from one of the trains, and Trixie sighed. "I should probably go get on the train," she declared, absently, turning to look at the coach steps. As she did, however, Trixie found herself thinking of Chocolate Tail again. She turned to look at Midnight once more.
"Hey," she said, "this is going to sound weird, but...would you say I was a bad friend?"
Midnight remained thoughtfully silent for several seconds. "Lulamoon," she said, calmly, "you were rude, boastful, arrogant, thoughtless, reckless, insensitive. You had a poor temperament and severe difficulties handling criticism."
"You know what? Forget I asked," Trixie muttered.
"I was not done," the unicorn stated, pausing briefly, "regardless of your faults, it is plainly evident your manner has changed dramatically in the year since you've been to Ponyville." She paused again, "you did not boast once about being the Princess's student all through lunch."
There had been a smile developing on Trixie's face until that moment, when it vanished, replaced by a frown, and she glowered at the mare.
"Well," she said, "it's been... bizarre. And awkward."
Midnight nodded. "Indeed."
Trixie took a look at Midnight, then to Thesis, then back to Midnight. "You take care of her," she stated, "and don't let me find out or..."
"Yes?"
"Or else," Trixie declared, with as much menace as she could muster turning and walking into the coach before Midnight could make any retort.
Once she had sat down, she took her hat off and ran a hoof through her mane, and resisted the urge to look out the window to see whether they were there.
At least until the train started moving. Then she went to see Thesis waving a tiny hoof as she and the train station slowly receded away, until they vanished from view as the train went around a bend.
Once that happened, Trixie sighed, and took out the bottle of bourbon. After a few seconds of reluctance, she took a swig, trying to ignore the looming sense of unease, and the overpowering feeling everything had gone hideously wrong.
The two ponies stood on the platform, watching the train slowly roll off into the distance, until it vanished from sight. Minutes passed, as Thesis looked toward the distance. Then she looked to Midnight.
"So, what now?" she asked. The tall mare looked down at her, with an odd expression the filly couldn't determine (which wasn't really saying much).
"Now," she declared, "I agreed to take care you. That means I will do anything and everything I can to protect you. However," she paused, "I admit to having little experience in this manner of venture. So as you rely on me, I shall have to rely on you. If you feel I am not doing something properly, tell me so. If you feel something troubles you, inform me. If you require something, ask for it, and provided it is within reason I shall attempt to deliver it. Do you understand?"
"I... guess?" Thesis shrugged. The two stood there for some moments more, before a question occurred to her.
"So, does this make you my mom?"
The mare made an odd expression at that. "That... that might be... how about we simply say I am your sister?"
Thesis looked at the larger mare, who then looked ahead before she could ask how that made sense.
"Now then, perhaps it might be an idea to procure some essential supplies. Come along, little one."
With that, the mare strode away, Thesis hurriedly trotting after her.
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Pumping these out pretty fast. Wow.
7914693
... Not really.
I'd just written the first five chapters over the last two-and-a-bit years. I didn't feel confident actually putting the fic up until I'd done that. (Actually writing chapter 5 took pretty much all of 2016. But that's down to a mix of writer's block and real life problems).
After chapter 5, things are probably going to slow down by a lot.
7914726
Oh. Still a good read.
7914911
You assume they weren't after something else from those two...
Hmm... not fond of Trixie not getting Thesis. She'd be a hell of a lot warmer than Midnight.
Cast Magic ---> Pizza
Nothing interesting happens.