Trot Buddies!

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Forest Trek

“Ms. Victoria!” Rainbow Dash's voice cracked as she flew above the tree canopy of the Everfree Forest. She wobbled a bit in her flight, but nevertheless glided true. “Have you seen Water Lily?!”

A middle-aged woman—now a mare with a pale green coat—nodded towards a violet-haired filly straddling her backside as she trotted along with the grand equine procession. “She's right here with me, Rainbow Dash! I haven't let her out of my sight once since we went through the portal!”

“Oh! Okay! Whew!” Rainbow Dash swiped her brow as she hovered up and down on awkward pegasus wings. “Sorry! Didn't mean to give you a scare! The lil' one sorta blends in the shadows, y'know?”

“I'm a pony!” Water Lily chirped, happy as a clam.

Victoria chuckled. “Don't you worry, Rainbow Dash.” She winked skyward. “You're doing a fine job acting as Sunset's lookout!”

“Yeah! I am, aren't I?” Rainbow grinned wide as she flapped her wings harder, lifting up slightly. “I know that we're marching—like—three hundred horse people through a big scary forest'n'stuff, but this just feels so awesome!”

“Better go check up on Curly Winds and Wiz Kid!” Victoria suggested, nodding with her head. “Make sure they didn't fall into a sinkhole together again!”

“Oh snap, you're right!” Rainbow Dash flapped harder and zipped ahead. “What's up with those two?! I swear—they get stuck in tight places on purpose!”

Flash's dull eyes watched as Rainbow soared above. His gaze fell—landing on a pastel pony procession of butts, butts, and more butts. He winced, then chose to look down at his marching hooves instead. Such strange limbs they were—and far more... cartoony than he had expected from a civilization of hairy horse beings.

If he didn't know better, the young teenager would have guessed that everything about this universe was specifically designed to be outrageously cute. It was startling to know that this was the actual place Sunset Shimmer came from. The same place that... another beautiful soul called home.

But, the more he reflected on it, the more it somehow made sense. Even in a place as foreboding as the Everfree Forest, everything just felt “bright” and “friendly” and “cute.” He almost couldn't remember why a heavy pit lingered so often in his stomach. Why, if Flash simply allowed himself to live in the moment, he should have felt nothing but a peculiar buzz of childish joy—

“Trixie swears, if any of the marching idiots ahead of her makes horse brownies—especially with Trixie's nose hanging so close to the ground—I'm going to sue the pants off Sunset and all her bosom Rainboom buddies!”

And just like that, Flash let out a prolonged, breathy groan.

Nevertheless, the “Trot Buddy” beside him continued muttering: “But ohhhhh! Who is Trixie kidding!” She scrunched her nose as more than a few flowers and weeds batted across her face as she marched along. “Nobody has any pants to sue off of them! Because everybody is naked! Most especially Trixie!”

“Everyone else is doing just fine with it,” Flash grumbled. “Why can't you?”

Trixie huffed and puffed as her face struggled to dodge more and more flora. “I thought we had agreed to remain quiet during our journey!”

Flash's jaded eyes scraped the sliver of blue sky above the trees. “Whatever could have made me forget?”

“Well—a fine job you're doing!” Trixie nearly tripped as another flower batted her face. “Mrmmff! Trixie was doing just fine until you had to open your... your...” One eyelid fluttered thinner than the other as her ears pulled back and her muzzle opened wider and wider. “Ah... A-aah......” Trixie exploded. “AH-CHOOO!” Flower petals flew up and spiraled downward as she paused to rub her dainty muzzle, frowning. “Seriously?!?” She gnashed her teeth. “The one day Trixie has huge gaping horse nostrils and she's still suffering from allergies?!”

“You're a magician,” Flash muttered, waiting a moment for her to regain her hoofing and keep up the pace. “I figured you would be used to flowers by now!”

“Magic. Flowers!” She then upturned her nose and trotted more briskly. “Not like any of this wild parallel universe rubbish! My flowers are special! They can bend and collapse and fit nicely up a sleeve! A sleeve... which I don't have by the way.”

“So, in other words...” Flash smirked slightly. “...fake flowers.”

Trixie ignored him. “And that's another thing!” She held an angry forelimb out, pointing nebulously towards Sunset's position at the very front of the forested parade. “Our illustrious leader got to keep that weird staff!” Her eyes bugged and she plunged forward, having forgotten how to trot on three limbs. The mare caught herself at the last second and continued complaining: “She got to carry it through the portal! What's up with that?!”

“What are you even talking about...?”

“The big Gandalfy stick thingy that Sunset, Rainbow, and Twilight brought with them!” Trixie spat. “The 'Staff of Cucaracha' or whatever!”

“You mean the magical Equestrian artifact that they used to stop the chaotic storm that sank the ship?” Flash droned, glaring at his partner. “The one thing that's responsible for why we're all alive and kicking as we speak?”

“Exactly!” Trixie batted away another flower and growled in mid-trot. “It's so unfair!”

Flash sighed. “Trixie, what are you going on about?”

“All of Trixie's stuff is back there on the sinking ship!” she huffed and puffed and trotted and huffed some more. “Her magic trunk! Her magic vase! Her cloak and cap and wand and top hat and... and... and everything!” Trixie rolled her eyes. “'Your bodies are more precious! You'll get your stuff back long after we've returned home and alerted authorities!'” She stomped her hooves in a particularly soft patch of forest soil. “Well, maybe Trixie's things are half of what makes Trixie precious!”

“They're all magical things...” Flash bore the slightest hint of a smirk. “...maybe you can just 'poof' them back once we've stepped through the other portal.”

Trixie glared at him. “Hardy har har...” She tilted her nose up again. “Not that I can expect a simpleton like you to sympathize...”

“What have I done now...?”

“Oh, nothing~” Trixie hummed, her eyes shut as she trotted along. “Nothing at all~” She pretended not to look at him, but Flash was unable to ignore a narrow pupil slicing towards him like a violet dagger. “Mister 'Bad Magic Is Over There.'”

“Huh...?” Flash blinked in genuine confusion.

“Oh, what?” Trixie glared at him dead-on now. “So on top of being a sad-sack, you've got a goldfish memory?”

“I'm not a 'sad-sack,'” Flash calmly retorted. “As for the goldfish thingy, didn't you ever watch that episode of Mythbusters—?”

“Don't play stupid with Trixie—” A particularly large flower bud smacked her in the face. Whap! “Ah... Ahhhh-CHOOO!” She rubbed her muzzle and resumed snarling. “Rainbow Dash stormed in on my act, looking for 'bad magic!' And she only did so because you totally pointed her in my way!”

“Hey... that's not fair...” Flash's brow furrowed. “Those were Rainbow's words! Not mine!”

“Yes, and when she specifically asked a crowd of vacationers where there was 'bad magic,' who was the first to point her towards Trixie of all people, huh?”

Flash sighed, looking forward. In truth, he remembered the situation—as awkward as it was. Rainbow was making a scene, ruining everyone's good time with her somewhat exaggerated paranoia. At the time, Flash only wanted to usher Rainbow away from everyone—so that the crew could resume having a good time. And it's not like he was the only one who gestured her towards the auditorium where Trixie's act was unfolding. His guy friends were seated with him—none of whom were anywhere near him and his “Trot Buddy” at the present. He couldn't blame them.

He couldn't blame anyone, but...

“I'm sorry, Trixie, for insinuating that your magic act was 'bad' in some way...”

“And...?”

Flash blinked. He looked at Trixie.

Trixie stared straight forward, calm and cool... and waiting.

“And... uhm...” Flash fidgeted in mid-trot. “...for... saddling you with a very, very paranoid Rainbow Dash?” He smirked crookedly. “No pun intended.”

“And... …?”

His muzzle hung open... but he could only shake his head. “What else do you want from me?”

“Well, maybe if you had actually summoned the courtesy to sit in on one of the Grreat and Powerrful Trrixie's perrformances, you would know that it's awesome and fantastical!” she proclaimed, her R's rolling more than a few times with dramatic finesse. “Then you wouldn't be so quick to call it awful, hmmmm?”

“Trixie, I never said your performance was 'awful!' Who's said that?! Nobody's saying that!”

“Hah! Easy for you to cover yourself now when... y-you can't cover yourself with anything else.” She cleared her throat, blushing and averting her eyes from everypony. “Trixie swears she's putting a petition to shut down Furaffinity when she gets back...”

“Besides...” Flash continued on another point altogether. “...I'm surprised you would even want a pathetic 'sad-sack' like me soiling your showman's reputation.”

She squinted at him. “Huh?”

“You know.” His horse nostrils flared as he took his turn to avert a stubborn gaze. “'Flash Sobbstry.' The beta boy that 'no girl wants anything to do with.'”

Trixie opened her muzzle to retort—but then closed it. “Hrmmf!” She glared forward. She puffed her cheeks... trotted... then puffed her cheeks again. After a half-minute of quiet forest trotting, she eventually muttered: “Trixie is sorry...”

Flash exhaled, his whole horse body loosening noticeably. He nodded slightly. “It's okay, Trixie...”

“...sorry that you haven't had a chance to watch the Grreat and Powerrful Trrixie in the spotlight before!”

“Unnnngh...” He bowed his head low to the Everfree Earth.

“Then you wouldn't be so quick to make harsh judgments about the one skill that carries Trixie above the rest!” She smiled, winking aside. “Seriously, Flash, you have nobody to blame but yourself.”

“Don't you mean 'nopony?'” he droned.

“Don't appropriate!” she tilted her head up, haughtily. “It's undignified—” Whap! Another flower. “Aaaah... AHHH—CHOOO!”

This time Trixie's horn glowed at the precise moment of the sinus discharge. A violet beam of light fired into the crowd ahead of them. A column of “Trot Buddies” jumped in opposite directions—gasping—as the energy beam flew across the forest, bounced off two trees trunks, and impacted a pine cone. ZAAAAP! The seedling morphed into a pink teacup that shook, wobbled, and finally fell loose from its branch, crashing to the forest floor below. Cliiink!

While several marching horses glared back at the pair...

...Trixie was gasping with delight. “Did... you... see... that...?!”

“Uhhhh...” Flash grimaced, his pegasus wings coiling nervously at this sides. “...still processing...”

“Ooh... Ooooh...” Trixie did little filly jumps in place, biting her smiling lips as she crossed her eyes at her horn. “Eee-hee-hee! Alien horse magic!” She hoofy-danced, beaming at her partner. “Trixie wonders if she can do it again?!?”

“KEEP. TROTTING.”

Comments

[Bookeater_otaku]

Oh no. The one thing nobody should let her have.

But you know, my stupid shipper brain kind of think those two could be good to each others... if they didn't kill each others before making it to the mirror.

[Scyphi]

This time Trixie's horn glowed at the precise moment of the sinus discharge. A violet beam of light fired into the crowd ahead of them. A column of “Trot Buddies” jumped in opposite directions—gasping—as the energy beam flew across the forest, bounced off two trees trunks, and impacted a pine cone. ZAAAAP! The seedling morphed into a pink teacup that shook, wobbled, and finally fell loose from its branch, crashing to the forest floor below. Cliiink!

Teacup!

[Ninjadeadbeard]

It's at this moment I am starting to dream about seeing Flash reunite with Princess Twilight. Just to shut Trixie up.