Minor Issues in Showbusiness
As it turned out, the Cakes had absolutely no intention of taking the prize money.
The moment he hoofed it over to them, they started going on and on about the overtime he'd done, overtime he knew he didn't have, and then gave it right back.
He didn't know whether to be a little pissed about that or not.
Regardless, it had been a few days since the Running of the Leaves, and Emerald had yet to start helping Sparky with her trauma.
Not that he was feeling particularly obligated to start. This was a small town, and the likelihood of her having to go up in front of everyone was slim. And besides, Celestia had a point. Her friends would likely take care of the whole thing long before he could.
"But, you're not an athlete, you're a... an egghead!"
"Yeah, see you at the finish line!... Tomorrow!"
Dammit Rainbow...
He growled, accidentally spewing out fire over the food he was cooking, not that he cared. Wisp's breakfast had already been made, some burnt food wouldn't kill him.
"What's wrong Emerald?" came the small, but familiar, voice from behind him. He turned, finding Wisp staring at him from her seat, looking worried. He shook his head,
"Nothing much Wisp. Just some... things someone said to someone else," he replied vaguely, she pouted at his answer, but it vanished when he placed her food in front of her,
"Were they being a bully?" she asked innocently as she took a bite of her eggs,
"... Yes," he finally replied, "And I... I need to help the pony with their confidence issues, but I'm not sure I'm the right one for the job," he admitted.
It was rare that he'd any sort of problem with his job. It was usually 'Go in, do this, get out', and that worked for him. It was one of the reasons he'd gotten so good at so many things. He had to learn fast, and learn well. It would mean failure otherwise.
And he didn't do failure.
But this was a little different than that. For starters, this was about a pony, a member of a species he had a difficult time really understanding. Things that were trivial and meaningless to him could be massive social taboos to them. An example being Sparky's little faux pas with his wings. They didn't mean much to him, unlike pegasi who treasured them. He'd rather not do or say anything that could be considered something else to them, and mess up tremendously.
"Well why wouldn't ya be?" she asked, "I mean, you're the greatest thestral I know!" she chirped. He chuckled at her enthusiasm,
"Thanks for the confidence, Wisp. But still. I'm not exactly the best when it comes to emotional support,"
"Are you kidding?!" Wisp yelled, "You helped everybody back at the Facility!" she said passionately, before turning somber, "I dunno if we would'a made it out without you,"
The somewhat chipper mood died abruptly at that. Names and faces he'd never see again filtered through his mind, and with each one a pang of guilt struck his heart.
If only he'd been a little faster, a little bit stronger he could've-!
No. What's done, is done. He couldn't save everyone, so he saved who he could.
"I dunno, Wisp," he spoke up, "I'm sure Sapphire or Trixie would've gotten you out. Those two always did have a good head on their shoulders. Unlike Spits or Will. Star would've been the best option, but I don't think her trust issues would've let her," he mused.
"No," she stated firmly, causing him to glance her in surprise. Her face was set in a firm frown, trying to appear stern but failing adorably, "You were the best leader we had! The best we could'a asked for!" she insisted, "The rainbows you kept tellin' us about gave us all hope, Emerald. We all would'a died if it wasn't for you,"
Emerald stared at his little sister for a minute, before a soft, guilty laugh left him. His vision blurred slightly, but he didn't mind. Moving over to Wisp, he gently wrapped her in his hooves and pulled her close,
"... Thanks, Wisp," he breathed, "I.... I really needed to hear that," he confessed, before pulling away. He glanced down, finding the little filly beaming up at him brightly, her smile practically glowing, even in the morning light.
He was lucky to have such a sweet little sister.
Scratch that, his sister was a demon.
A small, cuddly, and adorable little demon.
But a demon nonetheless.
It was Saturday, and because it was a Saturday, she wanted to spend all day with him, despite the fact that he had to work Saturdays.
So here he was, sitting behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner while his cute little demon happily drank a chocolate milkshake, which she had somehow tempted out of him.
Faust, she had him wrapped around her tiny hoof!
... He could live with that, he supposed.
He sighed, raising his head from his hoof rest. Oh well, it wasn't like he was the only one. Pinkie absolutely adored her as well, and it had taken copious amounts of pushing, cursing, and the occasional threat just to get her back in the kitchen, and away from the little filly she was showering with attention.
"I hope you're happy," he snarked at the filly in front of him, to which she responded with a bright grin, before going back to her treat. The tinkling of a bell caught his attention, and he swiftly turned his attention to his new customer, only to jerk up in surprise.
"Trixie?" The name caught Wisp's attention as well, and she turned around, and gasped happily,
"Big Sis Trixie!" she shouted gleefully as she set down her shake, before running over to the mare and glomping her.
Emerald stared in surprise at the mare, even as she happily hugged the little filly back.
She had grown since he'd last seen her. Her sky blue coat was immaculately brushed down, causing it to appear as smooth as silk. Her two tone silver-blue mane and tail glimmered brightly in the light, even as some of it curled down into her face. Her purple eyes shined with unrestrained glee as she moved her gaze from the excited filly up to him. A bright wand shimmered on her flank, a trail of magical dust glittering beneath it.
Sitting atop her head, with a sky blue horn sticking out from underneath, was a royal purple hat dotted by white stars, and a cape of the same make rested atop her back.
Trixie Lulamoon, a familiar face, stared back at him.
And damn, he forgot just how much she and Wisp looked alike. Really, just lighten Wisp's coat a few shades and he wouldn't be surprised if they were actually blood related!
His eyes roamed across her familiar form. She had certainly taken care of herself in the past few years. For a unicorn like herself, it was very impressive to see the tightly packed muscle coating her entire form. Although, Emerald had the distinct impression that the muscle that had grown the most, was one that he, and every non-unicorn, would never be able to truly see.
Trixie smiled brightly at him, her pearly white teeth looked almost unnatural, likely having been assisted through magical means.
"Emm!" she cried happily, her deeper voice ringing with untold maturity, even if none of it was shown as she skipped over to him and wrapped him into a hug, "Oohhhh!! It's sooo good to see you two again!!" she chirped, before letting go of the stallion, who smirked back at her enthusiasm, "How long has it been?" she asked. Emerald chuckled,
"About five years, I think. What brings you to Ponyville of all places?" he asked, getting straight to the point. Trixie laughed a little,
"Well, I'm a traveling magician!" she gushed, smiling brightly, "I just got out of Manehatten, took a couple looks at my map, and thought 'why not?'! I've already got my stage ready, and I'll be giving out flyers before performing tomorrow," she said, before leveling a glare at him, "Though, I didn't think I'd find you of all creatures here," she stated, the unasked 'Why are you here?' rather obvious. Emerald rolled his eyes, but deigned to answer,
"I'm working," he said, although the unamused glare Trixie sent him made him smirk,
"I can see that," she muttered, "Why are you in Ponyville? I know you Emm, you wouldn't be anywhere without a reason,"
"I'm working," he repeated, his ear flicking backwards slightly. Trixie's eyes caught the motion instantly, and she nodded,
"Alright. Never took you for a baker though,"
"There's a lot of things a lot of ponies don't take me for," he responded, nodding sagely, although Trixie just scoffed, amused.
"Whatcha been doin' since we left Big Sis Trixie?" Wisp's little voice cut in, catching their attention, "I've been practicin' my magic ever since!" she said, puffing out her chest proudly. Trixie smiled,
"Really!? That's wonderful!" she gushed excitedly, "But like I said, I've been traveling all over Equestria since the Facility!"
"Ever been out?" Emerald asked, she shook her head, but paused, then nodded,
"A little, yeah, but it was only for a couple days," she admitted, "There were some zebras who were looking for some entertainment, and they ended up hiring me," she scowled, "I left when I realized the 'entertainment' was something I wasn't comfortable with," she lowered her voice so that only Emerald could hear, "Do I really look like a prostitute, or were they just stupid?"
Emerald snorted, but tried to reign in his laughter. Trixie leveled another glare at him, and he ended up failing.
Deep guffaws left him breathless as he laughed. He tried in vain to stifle the sounds with a hoof, but it only ended up making it worse, especially with Trixie giving him such an unamused stare. The sound of the bell above the door ringing barely registered to him in his bout of laughter.
Eventually he managed to compose himself, and returned his attention to Trixie, who was staring at him blankly.
"Are you done, yet?" she asked. He chuckled a little, but nodded,
"Sure, why not? And no, by the way, you don't,"
"Could'a fooled me," she responded darkly. Emerald smirked, before waltzing back behind the counter,
"Whatever, Trix. You gonna order, or what?" he asked. Trixie rolled her eyes,
"Just get me a damn shake. Strawberry," she snapped lightly. He nodded, and turned to the window,
"You get that, Pinkie?" he asked,
"Totally!" came the excited response, before the pink mare's head popped up, "One strawberry shake, comin' ri-!" she froze when her eyes caught sight of Trixie, and she gasped, "Ohmygosh!"
She made to rush out of the kitchen, but a green hoof caught her just before she disappeared,
"Oh no!" he snapped, pulling her back into position, "You're not leaving me by myself today!"
"But-but what about the you-know-what?!" Pinkie pleaded, looking back at him with big, watery eyes,
"You can do that tomorrow when we don't have to work!" he countered, "Now, get back to work!"
Pinkie slinked back into the kitchen. Having sufficiently cowed Pinkie, he turned back, finally noticing that there was another in the room with them.
Standing behind Trixie, Sparky was glowering at the back of the mare's head, seemingly unaware of Emerald's newfound gaze. He glared back at the mare, letting a low growl emit from his throat.
Sparky blinked, before noticing his glare. She paled slightly, and shrunk away, looking both mortified, and somewhat confused.
-----
Twilight's heart had nearly froze.
That... that look...
She couldn't bring herself to move. The icy glare pierced through her, and the sheer animosity in his eyes made her want to shrink in on herself and hide away! She wanted to run! To get away! She wanted to do something, anything to get rid of that horrible glare!
The feelings went away at the same moment Emerald turned his cool gaze away from her, and her heart resumed it's frantic beating.
What... what was that?!
Ever since the Running of the Leaves a few days ago, Twilight had been in high spirits!
In fact, her good mood seemed to translate over to her magical studies, as every single spell she'd been trying had been a magnificent success! Even Spike had been affected by her chipper mood, as he had been excitedly helping her out with those same spells.
The two of them had been out and about in town, with Spike gushing about the twenty-fifth successful spell she had performed today alone, when she got an idea.
She had been doing so well for the past few days, and her friends had all seemed happy as well whenever they came by to visit. The only pony she hadn't seen since was Emerald. She thought that, maybe it was time for her to give him a little visit and see how he was doing?
Maybe she'd even tell him about those spells of hers!
Oh she could just imagine it! He'd smile at her and say, 'I knew you could do it, Twilight.', and then he'd invite her out to lunch and then-
That had stopped her. Not only was she letting her overactive imagination get to her, but her own hunger was beginning to distract her.
Although, she couldn't deny the fact that the idea of Emerald inviting her to lunch was rather appealing.
Obviously it was because the two of them were good friends, in fact maybe she could invite all of their friends out with them!
...
Oddly enough, that thought didn't appeal to her as much.
Regardless, she and Spike had just arrived at Sugarcube Corner, and had even pushed through the door, when she heard it.
Deep, musical laughter met her ears. It wasn't loud, but it wasn't exactly quiet either. It's strong, musical quality sunk through her ears and into her mind, sending pleasant sensations throughout her body. Somehow she knew whose laughter it was, despite having never heard it before, and her thoughts were only proven true when she spotted Emerald, a wide grin splitting his face as he threw his head back and laughed.
That was when she spotted the other mare in the room.
For a moment, she didn't quite comprehend what was happening, but, after a moment, a conclusion struck her.
This mare, whom she had never seen before, had somehow made Emerald laugh.
She narrowed her eyes at this mare. Who was she? What was her connection with Emerald?
How in the name of Tartarus had she made him laugh?!
The thought circled through her head. This mare had made Emerald laugh. Something that she, herself had never heard. A few chuckles and snickers sure, but never a strong laugh like this one.
She felt a strange feeling flutter in her chest. It wasn't pleasant.
Of course, before she could ponder further on it, she had noticed Emerald's glare.
-----
Dammit Sparky.
He had only thrown her a small glare, before he had abruptly cut it off. It wouldn't do to glare at his charge like he had. Unfortunately, she had noticed him and had promptly froze in place.
He supposed she couldn't be blamed for that reaction. Ponies were herbivores, so a carnivore, or omnivore like himself, would naturally set off their fight or flight instincts if they hit the right buttons, even if he didn't currently look like one.
Hopefully she'd either forget about, or disregard, the whole thing.
Regardless, if Sparky had noticed, then it wasn't a surprise that Trixie did as well.
She turned to face whoever it was that had invoked such a strong reaction from the normally unflappable thestral, mentally preparing herself to face some sort of atrocious scum of the earth, only to come face to face with a rather cute, but meek, looking mare.
Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon each blinked at each other, both confused by the other mare, although for very different reasons.
This was the mare that pissed Emerald off? Trixie couldn't help but wonder what she could have possibly done to offend the thestral behind her.
Even back at the Facility, Emerald had always been calm and collected. Granted it was entirely forced at the time, and the only way he'd been able to keep it up for so long was his own fear, as well as his almost obsession with rainbows at the time.
Looking back on it now, it was actually kind of funny to think that such a strong willed stallion had such a deep adoration of something that was generally seen as a little filly's daydream. Of course no one from the Facility would ever make fun of him for it.
Twilight, however, couldn't help but admire the mare through her confusion.
She was beautiful, that much was almost painfully obvious. Her mane, which was being parted by a rather long horn, gently curved around her face, almost drawing Twilight's eyes in. Her eyes were more ovular than most ponies, giving her an exotic sense of beauty, which was further bolstered by a set of thick eyelashes that fluttered attractively. Her muzzle was curved elegantly, and her plump lips sat, curved into a light frown. Her neck was of average length, leading downward to a body that wouldn't look out of place in one of those magazines that Rarity owned. Thin, but muscular legs supported a well proportioned body, where a thin waist almost teasingly expanded into a set of flanks a decent bit below what most ponies would consider big.
Twilight couldn't help but compare this mare to herself, and felt that she came up short.
"Hey," the mare suddenly spoke. Even her voice was attractive! A set of deep feminine tones that almost caressed the ear flowed from her lips.
Twilight inwardly cursed.
Why was it that every mare she knew was so much more attractive than her?!
And why did she suddenly care so much?!
"Y-yeah?" she stuttered, the mare narrowed her eyes at her,
"What's your issue with Emm?" she asked, "'Cause he only ever glares at someone like that when he's real pissed off,"
"I didn't like the look she'd been giving you, Trix," Emerald stated. 'Trix' looked back at him for a moment, before bringing her gaze back to Twilight, looking a little angry,
"And just why exactly were you giving me a look, Short-Horn?" she asked, idly flicking Twilight's horn with a bit of magic.
Twilight flinched back at the insult. Distant voices echoed in the back of her mind echoing out,
"Lookit Twi-Lame over here!"
"Is the little Teacher's Pet gonna start crying?"
"Lookit Twi-Cry! What a baby!"
"Friendless loser!"
"Bet she got that doll because she couldn't make any real friends,"
The old, but never fading memories rose up to the surface, flashing before her now blurring eyes.
She barely had time to see the suddenly worried expressions of the two ponies in front of her, before she teleported away in a bright flash of light.
-----
"... Well," Emerald began, his voice breaking the silence, "That was... bad,"
"Is she gonna be okay?" Wisp asked, looking up at the two older ponies. Emerald sighed, as Trixie continued staring out the door, with a somewhat guilty expression on her face.
Damn. It was a little worse than he thought.
Emerald inwardly cursed. It looked like her confidence wasn't the only thing that needed work on.
"If I knew calling her 'Short-Horn' would've done that, I would've thought up something else..." he heard Trixie mutter, "Who was that mare, anyways?" Emerald groaned,
"That was Twilight Sparkle. She's..." he trailed off, trying to think of an adequate term to describe her, "... an acquaintance," he conceded after a moment.
"She's my magic tutor!" Wisp supplied, getting Emerald to nod,
"Yeah, from Canterlot," he added. Trixie winced at the revelation,
"Aww, jeez. I hope I didn't ruin that for you," she said, rubbing the back of her head, "I should apologize, right?" Emerald shook his head,
"Don't worry. Sparky isn't the kind of pony to give up on Wisp just because of something you said," he replied, but paused, before adding, "Well, I don't think so, at least. As for the apology..." he trailed off, a sudden thought cropping into his head, "Why don't we go out and do that now?" he suggested. Trixie sighed,
"Lead the way," Emerald nodded and stepped out from behind the counter,
"Alright Pinkie, you heard all that, right?"
"Yep!" came the chipper voice, just as the familiar pink head popped into the window, "Don't worry! I'll let the Cakes know if they ask!"
"Thank you," he responded, "Come on," he added, jerking his head to the door.
"You seem to get along with her," Trixie noted as they made their way into the streets, Emerald shrugged,
"Hard not to," he admitted, frowning slightly, "She'd just keep annoying me otherwise, I'd bet," she laughed,
"She seems like the kind of pony to do that," she grinned at him, but it fell after a moment, "So, what's the plan for this apology?" Emerald scoffed,
"Oh please, that'll be easy. Just tell her you're sorry and explain. That's not why I wanted to get you alone," he said, lowering his voice, "I need your help with something,"
Trixie's relaxed gait stiffened suddenly,
"What do you need?" she asked,
"You said you were performing tomorrow, right?" she nodded, "What will you be doing?"
"Illusory magic," she responded immediately, "As well as some older sleight of hoof tricks, stuff earth ponies could easily do. Then I was going to wrap it with some transmutations, then take requests. Why?"
"Will you be needing volunteers for any of it?"
"Yes, why, you wanna go up?" she asked, the hardened tone lightening slightly. He shook his head,
"No. Whenever you need a volunteer, get Sparky up there,"
"Is that apart of the apology?" she asked, now completely relaxed again, he paused for a moment, before nodding,
"If you want to think of it like that, then yes. The main reason I'm asking is because Sparky has some confidence issues due to bullying as a filly. Of course it seems she's also bad with some teasing, as you revealed earlier," Trixie winced, "By having her go up and help with your tricks, hopefully it'll start building her confidence up, since most of the attention won't be on her. It's a bit of a big step, I'll admit, but it's better than nothing,"
Trixie nodded, but bit her lip. She threw a sidelong glance at the thestral by her side.
Why would he want to help someone out like that? He was a very selfless stallion, she knew that, even if he'd deny it, but that was really only towards someone he liked. It was possible that he liked this 'Twilight', but with how he was glaring at her earlier, it must be a new thing. Still...
"Why do you want to help her so badly?" she asked. Emerald was quiet for a moment, before giving a deep sigh,
"Honestly? It's my job,"
She blinked, confused. Job? She knew that Emerald was the Champion, which was a position second only to the princesses themselves, as Princess Celestia was kind enough to send herself, as well as the others, the occasional update about Emerald, likely because the sacrificial fool would keep himself too busy to do so himself. But, did that mean that the princess had assigned him as the bodyguard to some random mare?
No. She wouldn't do that, so it meant that this 'Twilight Sparkle' was someone of significance. But who?
Well, she wasn't just going to ask! If she was important enough for the princess to assign Emerald of all creatures to protect her, then she'd find out sooner or later, regardless if she tried to or not.
"Well... alright," she agreed, "So... about that apology?"
Emerald blinked.
Then blinked again.
...
Okay, he wasn't seeing things then.
The apology between Trixie and Sparky had gone swell, as he thought it would. At first, it seemed like Sparky held a grudge towards her, but, oddly enough, after he made a side comment about his sister being a decent pony, she warmed up to her right away.
He'd left the two in peace after that, and ended up in this position.
A pair of familiar, bright baby blue eyes peered back into his from above him, shining with worry.
"Are you okay Emerald?" the owner of said eyes asked him,
"... Pinkie,"
"Yeah?"
"Get. Off,"
Rather than wait for the order to process, Emerald placed his hind legs against her stomach and forcefully kicked her off of him, though he made sure to restrain from causing any harm.
"Wheee!"
He succeeded.
He stood back up, wiping away some dirt that gathered on his coat at the same time. Just as he was about to snap at Pinkie for running into him, she spoke,
"Found you!" Pinkie squealed,
"Whatever. What are you doing?" Pinkie grinned,
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Cake woke up a couple minutes ago and saw that you were gone. I told them that you had to go to Twilight's for a little bit, so they asked me to go out and find you so we can can all be there for Mrs. Cake's shots and baby update!"
"... And, they asked you to do that... why?" Pinkie's smile turned a little nervous,
"Weeeellll.... I may or may not have told them I would and ran out the door..." Emerald stared for a moment, but sighed,
"Whatever, Pinkie. Good luck going by yourself," he snarked. Pinkie pouted,
"But Emerald! I told the Cakes you'd go with us!"
"Well, too bad. We'd have to be present when they get these shots, and I refuse to be in the same room as a needle unless I absolutely have to!" he snapped, causing Pinkie to flinch.
...
Pinkie frowned at Emerald, sadly watching on as he turned away from her and walked off.
Well, she guessed that she really should've expected that kind of reaction from him.
Pinkie knew a lot of ponies, and she meant a lot a lot! But, she'd never met anypony like Emerald. He was a bit mean, and he acted like he really didn't care sometimes, but Pinkie could tell he did.
After all, he listened to her whenever she lost track of what she was saying and went on a bit of a rant. She'd never heard him call her weird, or odd, or anything. Not only that, but he never got annoyed whenever she was just playing around, and even went along with it sometimes!
Sure he got annoyed with her sometimes, but that was usually when she was pestering him.
She didn't know if anypony knew how much that meant to her.
Nopony knew this, but Pinkie has always had a hard time making friends. Real friends. The kind that you can tell anything to and never have to be afraid of what they'd think.
She felt that Emerald was that kind of friend. The kind that you have to work to befriend, but when you do, you never have to be afraid again.
So, it hurt her to hear him refuse to do something with her. But there was something else.
"I refuse to be in the same room as a needle unless I absolutely have to!"
Pinkie's frown deepened. Was Emerald afraid of needles?
It was... kinda silly, she supposed. But just because she thought it was little silly, didn't mean Emerald did.
...
Maybe she could help him get over it?
-
-
"So, Twilight," the blue unicorn began, idly taking a sip of her tea, "Care to explain the whole 'glaring at me' thing now?" The unicorn in question winced slightly, and looked away.
Twilight genuinely felt bad about glaring at her, and it seemed that Trixie certainly didn't appreciate it. Honestly, she was fairly certain she would be peeved too if she learned that somepony she'd never met before was caught glaring at her for seemingly no reason.
But as it was, even Twilight wasn't entirely sure why she'd been glaring at her. Nor was she certain of the reason of her lingering hostility when when she had come by to apologize for calling her 'Short-Horn'.
"Well... I... I'm not really sure why, to be honest,"
"You... don't know?" Trixie asked, straightening up in her seat. Twilight had, once the two of them had warmed up to each other, been kind enough to prepare some tea for them to drink while they both relaxed on the library's only bit of furniture on the ground floor, something that Trixie had pointed out, much to Twilight's embarrassment.
As it was, the small distance made it very easy for Trixie to notice the look of genuine confusion that played across the lavender mare's face,
"I have no idea, at all. Originally I thought that maybe I had contracted some disease I'd never heard of, but after a few days worth of research I couldn't find a single thing that matched my symptoms. After that I assumed that there was some sort of spell that somepony had cast on me, but after thirty scanning spells I couldn't find a single thing wrong with me! Not even the seeking spells could trace my symptoms back to whatever caused them! It's infuriating! I know that the answer is here somewhere, but I just! Can't! Find it!" Twilight snapped, her frantic motions sending her immaculately styled mane into a frizzy mess.
Her now frizzy mane, coupled with her heavy breathing and rapidly darting eyes gave the lavender mare a distinctly manic look.
"Woah! Calm down!" she snapped, using her magic to slap the mare back to her senses. Twilight pouted, rubbing her now stinging cheek with her own magic,
"Sorry," she muttered, "It's just... it's so frustrating! I want to know what's wrong but I don't understand it at all! I need to know what's wrong with me, and why it only ever happens around Emerald!"
Trixie froze for a moment, but regained her composure,
"What, exactly, happens around Emerald?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the angered mare. Twilight waved a hoof at her, almost dismissively, but answered in a distracted tone,
"My body temperature and heart rate go up, I find myself continuously distracted and it's difficult to think straight," she turned to Trixie, looking less distracted, "It's... terrifying actually. I can't think straight when he's around, and it's worse when I'm alone with him. Thinking is all I'm good at, and for me to lose it like it's nothing..." she took a deep breath, "And, and what's even worse? I don't dislike it. I can't stand the thought of not being able to think, but for some reason I enjoy being around him, so I can't even bring myself to just outright avoid him until I figure this out!"
Trixie stared at her, absolutely stunned. If she was telling the truth, and she doubted she was lying, then Twilight here likely had developed a bit of a crush on Emerald in the time he's been here, which was almost two months if she was right.
That was... actually kind funny, now that she was thinking about it. The thought that somebody, anybody, had developed feelings for the thestral she saw as a brother was both heartwarming, and highly amusing. It would be good for Emerald if he had a marefriend, give him something, or someone, to focus on and maybe even break him of that sacrificial habit of his.
Of course, that kind of thing had to be taken slowly, very slowly in fact.
"When did these... 'symptoms' start appearing?" she asked.
"Well... I guess it was after I gave Rarity a pair of fake wings so she could go up to Cloudsdale with us to watch the Best Young Fliers Competition. There was some magical displacement, which blew us all back and I ended up crashing into Emerald," Twilight turned a faint red, obviously recalling the incident.
That... faintly sounded like some romance novel she'd read once. A pair of ponies brought together by a magical accident, and ended up falling in love due to the aftermath.
Thankfully, this wasn't that, so Trixie wouldn't have to deal with the obvious headache that it would have brought.
"Well... maybe you'll figure it out if you spend more time with Emerald? Ever think of that?" Trixie suggested playfully. Twilight either didn't catch her tone, or didn't recognize it's meaning as she only titled her head in thought,
"Spend more time with...?" she stared off into space for a moment, her cheeks turning a much darker red as she did so, "I suppose that could work... I'd be able to get an up close account of him, find out if maybe he's doing something to me on purpose," she murmured, "Get an accurate reading of my symptoms and see if prolonged exposure changes anything..." she nodded, "Yes. Yes! That could definitely work!" she gushed, but froze, "Wait. Confronting him about this could raise suspicion. If he's actually doing something to me then..." she trailed off, before grinning, looking almost... deranged, "Yes... I'll have to observe him from a distance. I can record his behavior and find out what causes what reaction," Trixie blinked at the mare's sudden rambling, being unable to do anything but watch as a notepad levitated over to Twilight, which she furiously scribbled into, muttering about 'observing the subject' and something called 'Emerus Skius'.
"That's... that's not what I was-"
"This is perfect!" Twilight gushed, cutting Trixie off, "I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" she squealed excitedly, before lunging at the stunned mare, and proceeded to give her a rather bonecrushing hug, "Ooohhh! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
...
Had she just made a terrible mistake?
-
-
The rest of his day had been spent with him constantly looking over his shoulder.
For whatever reason, he felt as though he would be in constant danger for the next few days, and it was setting him on edge.
The worst part was that he had absolutely no idea what would happen! Meaning that he was stuck guessing, and if there was one thing he knew, it was that the anticipation was often worse than whatever was to come.
He sighed. Whatever, he'd just wait until whatever it was revealed itself before he did anything about it, on the off chance he was just being paranoid.
The night had passed by slowly. Whether that was because of this newfound paranoia, or sheer boredom he didn't know.
One thing of note, however, was Trixie's wagon. Parked directly beside his house, by his insistence, she was practically living with him and Wisp now, at least until she headed out to her next town in a couple days.
She had even been cheeky enough to give the two of a pair of signed flyers for her show, which she had asked him to put up during his rounds, as she had to prepare the stage for the show. It wasn't much of an issue, and it gave him something else to do, so he agreed quite easily.
She had even roped not only himself, but Wisp as well, into helping sell tickets. At ten bits a piece for adults, and five for foals, he and Wisp were to sit outside Town Hall and sell tickets while Trixie worked on getting a place to set up the stage from the Mayor.
He only hoped it would be well worth it.
"Come one, come all!" came the amplified voice of the little filly from atop a small crate, "'The Amazing Trixie' has arrived in Ponyville for two nights only! Come get your tickets before they're all sold out!" she called happily through her little megaphone.
Emerald sighed softly, but grinned as he hoofed around tickets and put away bits.
He sat behind a purple booth, where a sign hung above him, emblazoned with the moniker, 'The Amazing Trixie!'. A single poster for her show hung off to his side, depicting Trixie wearing her showmare's garb, standing confidently atop a stage, horn aglow as bright burst of lights lit up the world below.
Wisp was out the street a few feet away from him, standing a top a small crate they'd found, with a megaphone, shouting into the masses to draw even more attention to the booth he sat behind, which already stood out due to it's colour.
Apparently, Trixie had a good reputation around Equestria, one that he had, somehow, never heard of before.
Although, in his defense, he hadn't spent much time in Equestria over the past six years, so he couldn't be blamed too heavily.
A lot of ponies seemed very excited to see her perform tonight, although two young colts in particular, whose names he didn't know, seemed a bit too enthusiastic to see her show.
Given the way they nearly fainted when he hoofed them their tickets, he honestly didn't want to know just why they were so enthusiastic.
"'The Amazing Trixie'?" came a familiar accented voice, prompting him to look up. Rarity waltzed up to the booth, her eyes firmly planted on the words above him, "Oh my, it seems somepony is a bit full of herself," she stated.
"It's a stage name, moron," Emerald snapped, causing the mare to jolt in surprise,
"Goodness! Whatever is the matter?"
"My sister isn't full of herself," he snarled, "Besides, if you're friends with Rainbow Dash, I would've imagined you wouldn't care," Rarity blanched at his statement, but quickly regained her composure,
"Well, yes, Rainbow is a little much at times, but-... your sister?" she asked, he nodded,
"Yes, my sister, Trixie Lulamoon. She's a showmare, and calling herself 'The Amazing Trixie' does wonders for selling tickets, which support her. Much like your dresses support you," he snapped. Rarity winced at his tone and dropped her gaze to the ground. She took a deep breath, and looked back up at him,
"I-I see... of course, I suppose I was too judgmental. I've never even met the mare. I apologize for my assumptions," she said, giving him a faint smile, "And you do have a point. Anypony who can deal with Rainbow Dash shouldn't have an issue with anypony else of a similar... attitude,"
"You gonna buy a ticket?" he asked, completely shrugging off her apology, "It'll give you a chance to see Trixie in action, and you can make your judgement then," Rarity glanced down at the box of tickets he was gesturing towards, and gave a good natured chuckle,
"Well, I suppose I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked, smiling, before gently levitating her bits over to him, which he exchanged with a single, silver ticket,
"Enjoy the show," he said, grinning.
"I'm sure I'll have an opinion of it," she responded, "Have a nice day, Emerald,"
He bid her goodbye and returned to his work, feeling slightly accomplished for no reason other than having averted whatever confrontation that would've occurred between Rarity and Trixie, because he was fairly certain there would've been one given her attitude upon seeing the stage name.
Now hopefully, that was all he had to deal with.
"Welcome everybody, to The Amazing Trixie's Magic Show! Where I, The Amazing Trixie, will dazzle you all with magical delights, the likes of which you'll never forget!"
She was theatrical, that was for sure.
Emerald chuckled lightly from his position at the front of the crowd, with Wisp giggling next to him.
They had completely sold out the tickets, much to his surprise, and it certainly showed. It looked like the entire town had turned up to Town Hall, where Mayor Mare had given Trixie permission to set up. It wasn't so packed that everyone was brushing up against someone else, but it certainly wasn't roomy.
As it was, Trixie, with a little help from himself, had set up her stage, which was an addition to her wagon, complete with a large red curtain, and sizable wooden floor.
She stood atop her stage, her hat sitting snugly on top her head, and her cape flowing behind her, likely due to a spell of some sort. A confident grin stretched across her muzzle, her eyes scanning the crowd with a brilliant gleam in them.
This was where she belonged.
Standing on stage, watching over a crowd of adoring and expectant fans, just waiting for her show to start.
Old memories filtered through her mind, of broken ponies staring back at her, eyes devoid of life, with her doing her absolute best to bring some sort of shine back to them. It had been hard, almost impossible, but, with a little help, she had done it! Those broken, empty eyes shined once again, perhaps not as bright as they used to be, or ever would be again, but it had been a start.
It had taught her the joy of bringing a smile to someone else's face, it had shown her that she could do so much for someone, just by making them happy. It was a feeling she cherished with all her heart, one that had been all but engraved onto her very soul.
That wonderful joy had brought that same light back to her own eyes, and the princess of all ponies had helped her bring it to others all across Equestria.
"Great, another Rainbow Dash,"
Does no one in this town understand the meaning of 'advertising'?
Trixie sighed mentally, but kept up her smile. This was the town that had earned the moniker, 'Friendliest Place in Equestria!'? Her show had literally just started, and ponies were already writing her off as some sort of braggart with no inherent skill!
There wasn't a doubt in her mind that the pony who had spoken, an orange earth pony mare with a trio of apples for a cutie mark, was an idiot. The cutie mark, accent, and attitude practically screamed at Trixie that she was a member of the Apple Family, a family well known for their hardworking nature, as well as their pride in their crop.
Knowing that, she couldn't help but feel insulted by the little hypocrite. She'd met dozens of Apples, and each and every single one constantly bragged about their apples being the absolute best in all of Equestria, even though she knew that none of them had actually done some sort of research on the matter.
In her opinion, a little town called Hardline, run by minotaurs, grew apples that were far better than theirs.
Regardless, there was little doubt that this Apple did the same thing with her crop, and yet here she was, judging another pony for doing the exact same thing, but on a smaller scale, as Trixie never advertised that she was the best, just good.
She ignored it, of course, and began her show.
-
-
Twilight was nervous.
Trixie had proven to be a wonderful conversationalist, as well as a good friend in the short amount of time they'd gotten to know each other, even if she had quieted down after Twilight's revelation.
She and Spike had arrived at the show, a little surprised at the sheer turnout that her performance had gotten. But the surprise faded rather quickly, and the two of them snuck through the crowd, hunting for their friends.
It didn't take long to find them all at the front of the crowd, though she noticed that Fluttershy and Pinkie weren't in the crowd. Fluttershy not being here didn't really surprise her, but Pinkie's absence... actually made a little sense, now that she thought about it.
She was probably still working.
Regardless of her friend's absences, she spotted Emerald and took the empty spot on his left, his right being occupied by little Wisp. She quietly went about analyzing him, watching for every minute movement in an attempt to pin down his attitude.
It was times like this that was glad she'd spent a few months learning about pony body language as a foal, even if it was almost useless against anything that wasn't a pony.
Once she got a good look at his body language, which apparently indicated exhaustion, though he didn't look the slightest bit tired, she stopped, now eagerly waiting for her new friend's show to begin, when Applejack spoke.
"Great, another Rainbow Dash,"
Was it really that bad to be talented at magic? Twilight felt the first dredges of panic flare up inside of her, but she forced it back down and spoke,
"Th-there's nothing wrong with being talented at magic, i-is there?"
Of course there wasn't! Trixie wasn't even bragging about whatever talent she had! O-obviously Applejack just had the wrong impres-
"'Course not," her judgemental friend began, "'Cept when somepony goes 'round showin' it off like a schoolfilly with a pair of fancy new ribbons!" she snapped angrily.
"Well well well!" came the strained voice of Trixie from atop the stage, "It seems we've got a naysayer in the audience! I suppose I'll have to do something about that, won't I?" she asked, before looking up and scanning the crowd, "Could I have a volunteer?"
Twilight shrunk away, but a stray hoof caught her before she managed to hide. Startled, her eyes shot over to the hoof's owner, finding that Emerald of all ponies was the one stopping her,
"What are you-?"
"You there! The purple unicorn!" Twilight froze at the call, before slowly, almost agonizingly, turning her head up towards the blue showmare.
Trixie was pointing directly at her, wearing a confident, but supportive, grin. She gently waved her up, but Twilight couldn't bring herself to move.
Trixie wanted her... on stage?!
No! There was absolutely no way she'd ever go up on stage! What if she messed up, or did something stupid?! Everypony in town would laugh at her and she'd never, ever be able to show her face around town again! She'd be stuck inside the library, locking herself up and preventing anypony from ever seeing her again!
And even if she didn't mess up, what about Applejack!? She had made it clear that she didn't like Trixie showing off her magic, even if she wasn't doing such a thing. What would she think about Twilight doing the same thing!? She'd yell at her, scream at her and then she'd end up losing one of her best friends! Not only that, but because they'd stopped being friends, the Elements of Harmony would probably stop working and then all of Equestria would be doomed. Doomed!
She didn't want any of her friends thinking she was some sort of showoff!
"Go on," Her mind went still, the simple phrase giving her complete pause. She glanced over at the stallion who'd spoken, and was now giving her an annoyed look, "You're just helping her with a trick. Not actually performing, you know? Everything will be fine, no one will judge you,"
H-how did he...?
No. He was-he was right! She'd just be helping with a trick, not doing one. All the magic would be Trixie, and she'd just be standing there... everypony looking up at her... expecting her to...
Oh sweet Celestia if this went on she might just wet herself!
Nevertheless, Emerald's confidence in her did help. She walked up onto the stage, trying desperately to ignore the way her legs were shaking. There was a flash of light, and a large, rectangular box suddenly appeared on stage. A little magic application, and the front suddenly swung open, revealing a hollow interior,
"Very well! Now, would my lovely little assistant please step inside the box?" Trixie asked. Twilight blushed lightly, but quickly trotted inside.
The door closed behind her, and she felt a spell wash over her. It was like being doused in ice water just after hopping out of a hot shower, and it took all it had in her to keep from yelping at the sensation.
Even then, she was sure a small squeak escaped her.
-----
Emerald sighed in relief.
Sparky had, thankfully, been rather easy to convince, much to his surprise. But still, that look on her face...
It was terror, pure and utter terror.
It had been so bad, in fact, that he had the urge to tell Trixie to fuck off, even though the whole thing had been his idea. Even now, the slightest twinge of guilt floated around in his chest, annoying him with its persistent pulling.
He'd make it up to her, someday.
If he remembered.
The sound of a door closing caused his attention to return to the performance. A few moments ago, Trixie had conjured up some large, purple box decorated with blue stars onto stage and had Sparky go in it.
"Watch and be amazed, as I, The Amazing Trixie, do... this!" she announced. A bright flash of light, one significantly brighter than when she had conjured the box on stage, later, and a large, pony-sized cutlass was revealed, floating in the air beside her.
It was made completely of magic. That he could see. The cutlass was bright pink, the exact colour of Trixie's magic. He could see faint swirls traveling across its large form, even as it tapered off to a fine point.
Despite it lacking any sort of depth, likely because it couldn't cast a shadow, Emerald had a distinct feeling that it was just as sharp, if not sharper, than any steel weapon he owned.
And she went ahead and demonstrated its sharpness, by cutting the box, and Sparky, in half horizontally.
Despite knowing how the trick worked, as Trixie had happily told him all about it, Emerald's heart lurched at the sight of his charge seemingly split in two. Judging by the scream and cries from ponies around it, he wasn't the only one affected.
"She killed her!"
"Everypony run, before she gets us too!"
"The horror, the horror!"
Completely ignoring the screams of the ponies around her, Trixie dismissed the magical blade, and lifted the upper half of the box, and opened it.
The ponies around him cringed and looked away, as if fearing the sight of a bloody corpse that they obviously expected to see, not bothering to notice the lack of blood dripping from the box.
"Um... what's going on?"
Sparky looked out amongst the crowd, seemingly unaware of her lack of a lower body. Her voice caused everyone in the crowd to look up at her in shock.
"Hey Sparky, does anything, ah... feel a little numb?" Emerald couldn't help but ask, ignoring Rainbow slug him in the leg, as well as the way she started shaking it in pain.
"Uh, no, why?"
"Ya might wanna look down,"
She blinked at him, confused, but did as he asked. She looked down, but seemingly didn't register the lack of a lower body, instead focusing on the bottom of the box she was in,
"What are you... Trixie, what did you do?!" the lavender mare screeched, trying in vain to turn to the unicorn in question. Trixie just grinned innocently and closed the box door, muffling the sound of Sparky's yelling.
"And now, for my next trick!" she cried, seemingly ignoring the enraged unicorn in her grasp, she gently replaced the box a top its lower half, before it glowed, and the door swung open once again.
Sparky was panting heavily, completely red-faced from all her yelling a moment ago. She perked up when the door opened, and suddenly marched out, before whirling to face the showmare,
"What were you thinking!? You cut me in half! How are you going to... put me... back..." Sparky's yelling started to calm down once she noticed that she was, in fact, in one piece. Sparky spent almost five minutes, just standing there and going over her body, carefully prodding along the line in which she'd been cut, before finally looking back at Trixie, "... Warn me next time..." he heard her mutter, before she slunk offstage and went back over to the seat to his left.
Choosing to ignore the rest of Trixie's show, he turned to the victimized mare.
"So, you feelin' okay?" he asked, "I can't imagine you appreciated the whole, 'being cut in half' thing,"
Most wouldn't.
He never had.
Sparky licked her lips and glanced at him,
"The spell... I didn't feel a thing," she muttered, looking away shyly, "I still wish she told me before doing it..." Emerald chuckled,
"Why would she do that?" he asked, grinning slyly, "If she did, then we wouldn't've gotten to see you react like you did," Sparky threw a glare at him, but she was interrupted before she could say anything,
"Oh yeah?! Well then, 'The Amazing Trixie'," Crash yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the stage, where she stood, glaring at Trixie, who looked absolutely furious, "Wanna bet?!"
"Fine!" Trixie snapped, "Anything you can do, I can do better!" she snarled,
"Deal!" Crash returned. Trixie's glare intensified, and she huffed,
"Tomorrow night. Same time, same place. Now get off of my stage!" she snarled, grabbing Rainbow in her magical grasp and tossing her none too gently off to the side.
"Tomorrow?!" Crash intoned, barely catching herself before hitting the ground, "What, you too scared to take me on now?!" she challenged, grinning victoriously, as if certain that her taunt would work.
She was wrong.
Trixie growled and sent the mare a scathing look,
"I don't care who you think you are," Trixie began dangerously, her tone sharp as a razor, "But these ponies paid to see my show. They paid me to entertain them, and I'm not going to let some pathetic little braggart who can't stand not being in the spotlight ruin that for them!"
Silence.
Trixie continued staring down the brash imbecile, the only audible sounds echoing through the town being that of her own heavy breathing.
And then, the stomping started.
Of course, it had been Wisp who started it, since Emerald was unable to. Her hooves pounded against the ground, creating a quiet, but rhythmic beat that soon had others joining in beside her.
On and on that continued until the entire plaza was cheering happily for Trixie. The only one that remained was Crash, who looked mutinous at this point. Predictably, she went to open her trap, only for an ethereal ball-gag to form around it, cutting off all of her attempts at communication. An instant later, a pair of glowing, pink chains twirling into existence from Trixie's horn, wrapped around the legs of the startled Crash, leaving her lying on the ground, hogtied.
Even Applejack, who had been one of the ones against Trixie, laughed at that.
Trixie gave a self-satisfied huff, grinning cockily as she looked back over the crowd.
This was, indeed, exactly where she belonged.
"I loved the glowing lights, they looked just like little fireflies..."
"It was nice, but poofin' up that lion cage an' tamin' it? That was a hoot!"
"I have to disagree, Applejack. That trick with those diamonds was absolutely marvelous!"
Trixie's show had gone perfectly, Crash notwithstanding.
Once they had migrated over to Sugarcube Corner, the four mares, three, since Crash was busy pouting in the corner, were excitedly chattering about their favored moments amongst her performance, with Trixie sitting at a stool next to Emerald, looking smug.
"How about you Emerald?" Sparky asked, "What was your favourite part?" Emerald glanced back at her, grinning slightly at the whip cream mustache her milkshake had given her, although he didn't comment on it,
"Hooves down, when Trixie tied up Crash like some perverted toy,"
Said chromatic mare sputtered from her spot in the corner, whereas Trixie just laughed it off,
"Oh please, she's not good enough to be my toy," she snarked good-naturedly,
"What?!" Crash snapped, zooming right up to the showmare, who was glaring defiantly, "You think I'm not good enough?! Please! I could-!"
"Girls!" Sparky shouted from her table, causing the closest mares to flinch, "Quit fighting!" she snapped. Crash growled, but back off, going back to her corner to continue pouting.
"What the hay's wrong with you two anyways?" Emerald couldn't help but ask, idly glancing at the clock, only to hide a grimace. Trixie shrugged,
"I don't know. A foal in the audience asked me if I had met any scary monsters, and I told them about the time with the Ursa Major," she said.
"Ursa Major?" Applejack asked, Emerald groaned, but Sparky beat him to the punch,
"An Ursa Major is a giant astral bear a bit smaller than Canterlot Castle. I read about them in 'Magical Monsters and You!'!" she said proudly, before frowning, "They're supposed to be one of the most dangerous creatures out there. Their size and innate resistance to magic makes them absolutely terrifying! Nothing short of an alicorn like the princesses can banish one successfully!" she cried,
"Yeah!" Crash suddenly snapped from the corner, "And there's no way she did that either!" she yelled, pointing a hoof at the showmare and nearly shaking in rage. Trixie rolled her eyes,
"I never said I banished an Ursa Major," she snapped, "I only said that I ran it off. They're nocturnal. I just threw a bunch of light spells at it, and it left. I was just lucky it was curious and not angry," she added, frowning in worry, "Almost nothing can stop an angry Major,"
...
Was that why he was called to Puffington for damage control a few years ago?
Damn.
Crash growled once she finished speaking,
"No way! You can't just come into town and start spouting lies like that!"
"I'm not lying. And besides, it's my job to impress. You're just jealous of all the attention I got during my show,"
"Oh please! I'm the best flyer in all of Equestria! I can get a crowd WAAAYYY bigger than yours in ten seconds flat!" Trixie scoffed,
"You? The best flyer in Equestria? HA! Try telling that to Spitfire! I'm sure my sister would just love to hear about some no name pegasus claiming to be better than her!" she laughed, then shook her head, "Please. To be the best, you have to beat the second best. If you can't beat Spitfire, then you don't stand a chance against the only one better than her,"
Emerald withheld a sigh at that. It was painfully obvious, to him at least, what Trixie was implying. As it was, he was not a better flyer than Spits. Yes, he was faster and could fly for much longer, but, unlike her, he didn't have the practice or skill to pull off all those stunts. He could, if he really tried, but he didn't have the inherent skill and talent that she, and even Crash, had.
Crash blinked and stared at Trixie in confusion.
"Better than Spitfire?" she asked, "What the hay are you talking about? She's the Captain of the Wonderbolts!" she suddenly gushed, "The best flight team in the world! And she's the best out of all of them, how could anypony be better than her?!"
...
Emerald sighed, even as Trixie and the other mares, stared at the fanfillying mare. It wasn't until one of the mares, Applejack specifically, stopped gawking at Crash and stood up, that everyone else finally did the same.
"Well, all. As fun as tonight was, I gotta get back ta the farm. But before I go," she said, then directed her gaze to Trixie, "I jus' wanna say sorry. I thought ya were like Rainbow. All talk," Crash's shout of 'I am not all talk!' went ignored, "But ya proved me wrong," she finished, smiling. Trixie smiled back,
"I'm glad I impressed," she said, "It's always nice,"
"Yeah, well, Applejack's right," Emerald began, glancing back at the clock, "It's pretty late. We should all get home," he said, standing, "I don't know about you all, but I'm looking forward to watching Rainbow get her flank kicked," That sparked a reaction from the angered mare, but she went ignored.
"I suppose you're right. Have a nice night everypony," Sparky replied, horn a glow, before she teleported away. Applejack scoffed,
"I swear, that mare uses magic fer everythin'," she said. Rarity tittered,
"Well, I'm sure she'll learn her lesson when Spring comes along," Applejack rolled her eyes,
"If Spring comes. If it's anythin' like last year, we're gonna be a week late,"
Emerald groaned on the inside.
The turnout was much the same as before.
Ponies piling into the Town Square, all eager for an exciting show. The only difference, was that Emerald and Wisp were not apart of it.
Instead, the thestral and his little sister found them selves sitting outside of a familiar wagon, where the sounds of motion could be heard echoing from inside.
Emerald sighed,
"I still don't know why you agreed to this. She's a pegasus and you're a unicorn. There's no way a fair competition can come from this," he snarked.
It was like the Iron Pony Competition all over again!
He thanked his lucky stars that Sparky hadn't gotten roped into the contest against Trixie, unlike Rarity. After yesterday's performance, he was pretty sure that she would've had a panic attack if Rainbow asked her.
On the other hoof, he was surprised that she hadn't.
Either she was a much better friend than he'd thought, or she was just a total moron.
The sound of something shattering drew his attention, just as the wagon door opened, revealing a frazzled looking Trixie.
"... Em, why did I agree to this again?"
"Because you're a prideful moron,"
"... That sounds about right,"
He chuckled at the admittance, but didn't say anything. Wisp looked up at the older mare, and tilted her head,
"Why'd you need my help anyways? You're an amazing magician, Big Sis Trixie! Nobody can beat you!" she gushed, beaming. Trixie flushed slightly and looked away, embarrassed,
"I'm not the best Wisp. Besides, it's customary for unicorn duels to have seconds. Even though this isn't a unicorn duel," she said, muttering that second part under her breath. She sighed, then turned to Emerald, "You think I should go easy on her? I was the one with the idea after all," Emerald shook his head,
"Don't bother. 'Anything you can do, I can do better' is a unicorn challenge. If Rainbow is dumb enough to just blindly accept any challenge if her pride's on the line, then she deserves to get knocked down a couple pegs," Trixie grimaced,
"I get that, really, but I still feel kinda bad for practically cheating her into a loss," she admitted, only for Emerald to shrug in response,
"If it makes you feel better, she recently challenged an earth pony to an Iron Pony Competition, and lost pretty badly because she kept cheating. Once she realizes how bad it feels to get cheated, I'm sure her pride will take a drop, making my job a little easier,"
Trixie laughed a bit, hopping down the steps to the spot in front of him,
"How the hay is that helping you?" she asked, though she was grinning, likely already having an idea,
"Her pride is her weakness. If she sees anything, and I mean anything, that she thinks challenges that, she'll take it head on without regard for the safety of herself or others. If her pride is shot, then she's less likely to do that,"
"And you think this little 'duel' will wreck her pride?"
"A competitive mare like her? Losing?" he asked, before laughing, "Without a doubt,"
Well...
It seems things have changed.
Emerald scowled slightly at the sight of Rainbow sitting below the stage, glaring at Trixie, even as she and Wisp faced Rarity and Sparky.
"What. The fuck. Do you think you're doing?" he snarled at the egotistical mare, causing her to flinch away from him.
"What do you mean 'What am I doing?'!?" she snapped, only to shy away at his glare, "Twilight told me about the whole 'Anything you can do' challenge," she muttered, crossing her forelegs in a stubborn pout, "Said it wasn't fair for a pegasus to face a unicorn,"
"Like a pegasus against an earth pony?" he asked sardonically. She twitched,
"Yes," she growled through clenched teeth, "So Rarity and I convinced her to go up instead," she continued regardless.
His eyes flickered up to the mare in question, taking in her minute shaking, even as she tried in vain to hide behind Rarity without looking conspicuous. The pristine mare in front of her kept looking back, seemingly getting more worried with every glance.
He sighed in minor relief. She was the second, meaning that she wouldn't have to stand up unless... Trixie... beat...
Shit.
An irritated sigh escaped him. This was too much for the poor mare, and it certainly didn't help that a crowd was slowly forming as the four stood a top Trixie's stage. If this continued, he wouldn't be too surprised if the poor mare ended up wetting herself from fear.
He made an internal vow to not laugh if that happened.
Even he had a limit.
"Are we really doing this?" he heard Trixie ask, and he snapped his attention back to the stage, "Twilight looks like she's gonna faint," Rarity sighed,
"Well, I'd love not to, really, but..." she trailed off, sending a discreet glance towards the still fuming Rainbow, who had yet to remove her glare from the showpony. She growled,
"Great," Trixie muttered, but sighed, "Oh well. Let's get-"
GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Agony.
No other word could ever hope to encompass the sheer pain that echoed through his very being, even as his he felt his eardrums burst in an instant. Pain rocketed through his skull, burning white hot and causing his vision to blur, even as the sudden loss of equilibrium threw him to the ground.
He watched through blurred eyes as colours and shapes streaked across his vision, frantically rushing every which way. The ground started to tremble, with every quake coming directly after another, as if something much too large for this world had appeared and was stomping its way towards them.
And through all that, he couldn't hear anymore.
He couldn't hear the screaming, the roaring, and the frightened calls of his name as he tumbled to the ground.
A deep seated, almost instinctual fear lit up his mind, screaming and screeching at him to run, to fight, to do anything other than just sit there!
Yet he couldn't. He could do naught but fling himself around aimlessly, trying in vain to stand up once more, to draw a weapon, to do anything to prepare himself for the foe that had appeared in his town!
Finally, he managed to turn himself to face the direction in which the-burningsearing-roar had come from.
Big.
That was the first word to come to his disoriented mind. The creature before him was large, standing head and shoulders above the nearby houses, it stared down at all of the minuscule little ants before it, glaring at them with red and yellow eyes of burning hate.
Muscle clearly defined it's form, poorly hidden from the world beneath it's ethereal blue fur. Every breath sent cascades of power through it's body, pumping gallons upon gallons of the live-giving liquid that ran through its body. A set of teeth, each one as wide and as tall as a pony, gleamed in it's maw as it growled. The sheer force behind such an action sent vibrations running down his spine and, even without his hearing, there was no doubt about the sheer anger it must have radiated.
Emerald ignored the warm wetness that was beginning to coat his head, even as more of his own life-giving blood flowed from his ears, instead focusing all of his attention on the large blue star adorning the creatures head.
An Ursa Minor.
And it. Was. Mad.
The monster-for what else could it be?-roared at them, the force behind its bellowing cry ripped at the winds and pushed them all back, sending the disoriented Emerald tumbling up, onto, and even over the stage.
Stars danced across his vision as his head collided with the ground, his limp body falling to the ground like a puppet without it's strings.
As his vision swam and blackened, only one thought had the strength to ripple through his mind.
How had he not noticed the bear's approach?
-----
Trixie's heart hammered in her chest, even though she maintained a calm expression on her face as she dipped and dodged around the Ursa's persistent swipes.
Emerald had been taken out almost instantly thanks to this thing's roar, and she couldn't help the guilt that fluttered through her.
Her stage was her home. It was where she performed, slept, and lived for the past few years, and if she learned one thing, it was that her fans could be loud! So, there was a long lasting dampening spell around her stage. It didn't remove sound, as that was never smart, but merely took it, and reduced its volume. This way if someone ever needed to speak with her, she'd at least be able to hear it if they tried hard enough.
Unfortunately, the sheer strength behind the Ursa's roar had been enough to completely overload her spell and cause it to fail. If she had bothered to remove the spell for the night, then he would have absolutely heard the Ursa's approach and had everyone evacuate the town before leaving to either fight or drive the astral bear off himself.
But because of her, he'd been taken out. His balance was obviously shot, and, even if it hadn't been, the agony the roar caused him, as evident by the expression he wore as his ears started to bleed, would've likely kept him from doing much.
Even with his pain tolerance, which she freely admitted was higher than her own, he likely wouldn't have been able to recover from that for at least a few minutes.
And so that left her, and a bunch of screaming morons, to face the bear alone.
It was angry, so firing some light spells at it wouldn't drive it away, if anything it would only piss it off more, so that option was out.
Judging by the colour of the star on it's head, it was still pretty young, likely still in the stage where it had a lot of energy to spend, so waiting it out was not an option either.
Granted it was young, so... what was a trick she could use on a bear cub to lead it away or even lull it to sleep?
Her thoughts were cut off as a gentle flute began to play. She faltered in her motions, but it seemed the Ursa had as well, leaving her to quickly compose herself and teleport out of harm's reach.
She looked around for the source of the music, when she spotted Twilight.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she watched the shy bookworm's horn light up like a star. Her teeth were clenched and eyes were screwed shut as she worked her magic. Trixie could see the beads of sweat forming on the other unicorn's brow as her breathing sped up.
Part of Trixie couldn't help but be proud at the sight of the mare pushing herself so hard, but it was quickly washed away by panic when Twilight's horn started to flicker.
When it comes to magic, two things must be taken into account. Control and Strength.
Without control, the spell would end up doing whatever it wanted, and could very well explode. Without strength, then the spell can't even get started.
However, most tend to assume that strength of mind and magic are all that are needed to cast a spell. While yes, most unicorns can manage very well by just studying a lot and making sure their mind was strong, they tended to ignore their body.
Strength of mind, and strength of body were both key factors in performing magic.
A strong mind exercises control and flow. But a strong body creates power and endurance. It's possible to do magic with only one, but it's either difficult or completely exhausting.
Trixie's body was trained as far as she could get it, allowing her magic a vast reservoir of power that she could tap into with ease. And she rarely ever experienced magical exhaustion, in fact she rarely ever got winded from her magic.
However, her control wasn't the best. Illusions and small entertainment spells like the ones she does for her show came naturally to her, thanks to her cutie mark, but, not only that, those spells required very little control. It was why she was so good at offensive spells, a talent she discovered in the Facility.
It seemed that Twilight, on the other hoof, had the opposite problem. Her control was through the roof, and it was likely that, and that alone, that had her so successful with so many spells, if what she had told Trixie was true. She was good at multitasking, and her magic was fluid, doing exactly what she wanted, when she wanted, and it showed.
Her strength and endurance, not so much.
The amount of power necessary for a lullaby spell, as well as whatever else she might be doing, was pushing her far past her limit, and the flickering of her horn was evidence that she was about to fail.
A light bulb suddenly went off in Trixie's head, and she smiled.
Twilight had the control and she had the power.
If they combined the two...
-----
Twilight jumped in shock as the foreign magic washed over her own, the feeling of another pony's magic signature almost caressing her own, sending strange, unpleasant shivers into her horn.
She risked a glance to the side, and her spell nearly came undone due to her shock when she saw Trixie standing almost nonchalantly by her side.
"T-Trixie?" she asked through grit teeth, "What are you...?" Trixie sent her a sly grin,
"I'm helping. What does it look like?" she asked, before the pink glow surrounding her horn brightened, and a new wave of energy suddenly washed over her.
Trixie watched in minor amusement when Twilight's eyes went glossy for an instant as her magic funneled through the spell alongside Twilight's.
For a moment, Twilight was mesmerized. The vast sea of magic that Trixie had washed over her, and, for an instant, she could see.
A vast ocean of pink energy, calm yet lurid, drifted endlessly. Yet underneath this calm surface, the energy-contortedspiraledlashedout-attacked anything it could reach. She could feel this foreign energy wrap itself around her being, pushing itself into her own pool of magic, empowering it beyond anything she could've done on her own.
The sleepy Minor finally succumbed to the lull of the song, beginning to tip over. Right before it could land on the nearby house, whose sole occupant was curled up in terror, the combined magic of Trixie and Twilight gently caught the sleeping bear.
Trixie could see in her mind's eye a large water tower as their magic reached out towards it. A vague sensation traveled through the magic, and a sense of understanding washed through her.
She nearly laughed aloud as they worked, gently dumping the tower's load into the nearby pond, and a laugh did escape her when Twilight directed the now empty tower over towards a large red barn, likely where some cows were resting.
Their cries of alarm might've made her feel guilty, if Twilight's reason for doing so was anything other than getting rid of the Minor.
Finally, they took the now oversized baby bottle, as well as the Minor itself, and, to Trixie's immense amusement, they began to carry it out of town, as it suckled on the bottle like the baby it was.
A couple minutes passed with the two of them gently carrying it farther and farther into the forest, with the milk it was drinking disappearing at a rapid pace. Finally, they set it down just outside of a large cave, where they took the empty bottle from the sleeping cub and quickly brought it back to town.
Once the tower had been successfully brought back, cleaned, filled, and replaced, a task that was much more draining than Trixie would've liked, they broke the spell.
Trixie let out a soft sigh as her magic returned to her. It wasn't a good feeling, giving her magic away. It felt like a cold, empty hole had been burrowed into her being, not painful, just uncomfortable.
A soft thump broke her form her thoughts, and she turned to find her new friend laying on the ground, having fallen unconscious. Trixie sighed, but gave the mare a fond smile.
To have exhausted herself into unconsciousness just to save some ponies she likely didn't know very well. Trixie let a laugh escape her.
She and Emerald would definitely get along in the future.
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Well then, we all know that the more excited you are for something the more it feels like time is being slowed down, but it felt like an entire millennium had passed before you posted this.... I'm enjoying this story way too much.
9163594
You have no idea how happy reading that makes me.
I’m liking this chapter.
This is not the direction I foresaw this story taking, not that I thought about it too hard. Iron Will and Starlight are going to be changed around too? I don't dislike that, the minor antagonists always felt weak and cliched to me anyway, so I appreciate when a story doesn't try to explain away those actions, but fill them in more like you have done here.
9164225
I'm glad I could throw around a curve ball or two, however minor they may be. It wouldn't do any good to have a story where my dear readers could predict everything that was going to happen, right?
Had she known the cause she would probably be glaring at him instead.
Ok, so I want to like this fic, and for the most part I do. But my god, Cupcakes was nicer to Rainbow Dash than your being.
9732772
2 things can happen when 2 people of similar personalities meet, either they will 1: become fast friends and be basically inseparable or 2: Be like fire and gasoline where even the slightest spark will go up in flames. Emerald and Dash are the latter of the two.
Yay!! Trixie is different! I like that a lot!
I love what was done with Trixie in this story, the nicer versions of Trixie have always been a real big favorite of mine.
i.ibb.co/WG01m0q/3004834-B-F113-4-D93-8-C65-337-F669945-A6.png
9732772
i'm living for it tbh lmao
9732772
Someone needs to Rainbow Bash.
Needs a big ole' Humble Pie, the mare.