A Show Full of Surprises

by Soothing Stone

An Unlikely Trio

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...

Wait, we’re not doing that again.

It had been several years since the blooming of a friendship between a certain brash, yet proud unicorn and a cheerful, yet silly pegasus. At first, they were just a showpony and assistant act. Now, they were more than that. As the years passed, their friendship grew stronger and stronger. They were best friends at this point, and no thing, nor creature, could get in the way of that.

In all those years, they have been practicing and performing for crowds of ponies, and even other creatures, everywhere. Sometimes they would be successful, sometimes decent, and other times, not so good. It was a balance.

They were currently making their way to Ponyville where they would rest for the coming evening. The walk there was rather silent, so the white pegasus, dubbed Surprise, decided to make small talk.

“Sooo... last night’s show was great, wasn’t it?” Surprise asked as she leaned her head toward her companion.

“It was decent enough,” the unicorn, named Trixie, responded. “At least they paid us this time. You have to make sure they pay us to view our shows so we can make a living. Especially for you since, you know, you didn’t even have a living before you became the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Great and Powerful assistant.”

Surprise was no ordinary pegasus. In reality, she was a clone of Pinkie Pie made into a pegasus using an apparently powerful spell. But that was old news.

“It’s a good thing I’m with you then, huh, Trixie?” Surprise showed her a gentle smile, to which she reacted with a soft smile of her own.

“Of course! We’re quite a duo if I do say so myself.”

The next thirty minutes or so were filled with either silence or more chatter. Trixie put a hoof to her forehead to block the sun as she looked ahead. She spotted their destination, and pointed ahead with her hoof.

“There it is ahead, Ponyville. That’s where we’ll be staying tonight.”

Surprise stopped in her tracks. “P-Ponyville? I don’t know... what if the ponies figure out I’m actually a Pinkie clone? They’ll send me back to the Mirror Pool for sure!”

Surprise looked worried, but Trixie had a reassuring smirk and put a hoof over Surprise’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. That’s why I changed you in the first place. None of those ponies will recognize you. At least, Twilight Sparkle won’t. If I remember correctly, she was the one that sent all the other Pinkie clones to the Mirror Pool, right?”

Surprise nodded her head.

“Well, you’re no ordinary Pinkie clone now. You’re Surprise! You’ve made a life for yourself that’s different from that hyperactive mare. Just be yourself and everything will be smooth sailing.”

That made the white mare smile. “Yeah, you’re right as always. Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie raised her chin up proudly. “No need to thank Trixie. It is her honor to give encouraging words to her bestie/assistant. Now let’s stop here. Also, I just remembered, we haven’t cleaned up the interior of the wagon yet, but today has been a tiring day for Trixie.”

“If you’re tired, then that just leaves me to clean up the wagon.”

“Perfect! You clean up while I...” Trixie gestured toward the town. “Head into town. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“But--” Before Surprise could utter another word, Trixie was already on her way. She looked back at the wagon and shrugged. “I wonder what she’s going into town for. Oh well. Time to get this thing into tip-top shape for when she comes back. Then we’ll have time to relax.”

*****

That moment couldn’t have come sooner for Trixie. Even though she looked all high and mighty in Surprise’s eyes, her hooves felt sore, her back could use some time off, and she wanted to sleep for a long time. There was only one place in Ponyville to fix all that.

She recognized Ponyville’s spa anywhere, but this was actually the first time she stepped hoof inside. Just taking a few steps made her hooves feel like they were on fire. Oh, did she ever need this.

Just simply seeing the lobby was already making her feel relaxed. There were maybe one or two other ponies in there, sitting on the couches to go inside. From the looks of it, they were waiting for someone. That didn’t matter one bit to Trixie. No, that would be the complete lack of a line to the pink pony at the counter.

“Oh, hello, Miss Trixie,” she greeted Trixie with a thick accent. Of course she knew who the Great and Powerful Trixie was. Everypony should. “You’ve had several days of long and difficult travel, haven’t you?”

“How did you know that?” Trixie balked.

“You seem to be having trouble walking in a straight line, and you’re not putting your full weight on your legs,” she pointed out. “Don’t worry. We have just the thing.” She pulled out a brochure full of options, and there were several packages available. She was just about to dig out a pencil to circle one of them in particular.

“Nonsense. I’ll take the full package. It’s what someone as wonderful as Trixie deserves.” Trixie went ahead and threw a surprisingly sizable bag of bits on the counter.

Aloe picked up the bag with a hoof, as if to determine how many bits it contained by its weight. She was sure it was enough, and put the bag away. “Very well. Come this way.”

What happened over the next few minutes were a complete blur to Trixie’s senses, in the best possible way. She got the most wonderful back massage of her life, acupuncture that didn’t want to make her scream in agony, and a hoof pedicure. It made her feel like a huge weight was taken off her back. Who knows, maybe that Aloe or whatever her name was, she was onto something.

When she laid down on the long chair, her face covered in face cream, she didn’t think she could ever feel more relaxed. The kiwis on her eyes just sealed the deal. Usually, when her mane was covered in a towel, she would feel a massive weight on her head. Not this time. How could anyone live without feeling like this? Surprise probably needed something like this soon.

Still, she could hear something break her concentration behind her. Somepony was in the chair right behind her. She was not about to open her eyes and see what was going on, but the sound couldn’t get out of her ears. This sounded like somepony in need.

“Hard day, too?” she went ahead and asked.

“You could say that,” the pony sighed. “I’ve spent the whole day trying to make friends, and it hasn’t really worked out.”

Trixie couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Trying? I don’t know who gave you that idea, but you don’t try to make friends. It just happens. I have a friend that’s...” She stopped herself before she could spill the beans. “...well, we just became friends over time. She recognized my greatness, I recognized that she could be a great help and friend.”

“Wow. The way you make that sound, it’s almost so effortless.” She turned to get a better look at Trixie. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

Trixie sighed and pulled the kiwis from her eyes. When she saw the other spa customer, she was a lilac unicorn with a slightly frazzled mane. The first thing that stood out to her was just how exhausted and anxious she looked.

“You should. I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all.”

“Oh yeah. The one that woke up that Ursa Minor and challenged Twilight to a duel?”

“Oh, so Twilight Sparkle has told you about me. But that was a long time ago. We don’t talk about it anymore.”

“Right. So how do you do it? Make new friends and hang out with each other? Is it really that simple?”

Trixie blinked her eyes a few times. “You really don’t know how to do that yourself? Have you ever had any friends until now?”

“A few times. The first friend I ever had, it... didn’t end well.” She nudged her front hooves together. “The second time, I... brainwashed all of them and made them follow my manifesto.”

The blue unicorn couldn’t stop staring at this stranger. “You sound like my kind of pony. What’s your name?”

“Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you. And it’s true, I don’t know what I’m doing. It sounds like you’ve made some of the same mistakes as me...”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie... has had some bad days. Some ponies judge me for them. But that doesn’t change who I am. Not to fret, my wonderful assistant has stayed with me through thick and thin. That’s what a great friend does.”

“She does sound amazing. Maybe I could meet her? Learn some things from both of you?”

Trixie hummed, and noticed the cutie mark on Starlight’s flank. “What’s your special talent in? Is that another magical cutie mark Trixie sees?”

“Oh, that? Yeah, it’s for magic. I almost beat Twilight at her own game, too. Can you believe it?”

That got Trixie’s attention, real fast. “You’re great at magic, nearly defeated my arch rival at magic, and you want to be friends?”

“Arch rival?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story...”

“Well, when you put it that way, I think so.”

“Great! You know, I think the two of us are going to get along just fine. Surprise is going to love you, too.”

“That’s what your friend goes by? I’d be happy to meet her, if you want. It would be... nice to have some friends again.” Starlight nudged her hooves a second time.

“Why not. But we’re not stopping this package. Trixie paid a lot for it. There’s still three more things left for me to do. I need this badly, and from the looks of it, so do you.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“Just a measly two hours.”

Starlight looked quite surprised. “That’s a pretty long time!”

“Eeyup.”

*****

Cleaning out a whole wagon was hard work. So much scrubbing and re-scrubbing. Surprise probably didn’t need to do it a third time, but she wanted Trixie to be happy with the result when she was back. Besides, it didn’t take that long to do. After all her best friend did for her, this was the least she could do in return.

While Surprise got the last of the wagon scrubbed off, her eyes caught the sight of Ponyville out in the distance. Wide open fields surrounding it, lots of grass even in the town, and the friendliest ponies in Equestria in the streets. No wonder Pinkie moved over here.

It took everything in her hooves not to go into town. After what felt like hours--it was really just minutes--she heard someone trot over to the wagon. She fixed up her mane and got herself looking at her best. She leaned over the wagon with a smile, hoping it was literally sparkling from all the hard work she put in. Only thing is, there wasn’t just one pony coming to see her. There were two.

Trixie was there, of course. She was talking mindlessly with the other pony. “...and then we did our first show together, and she was the perfect assistant!” Trixie boasted. “Oh, there she is right now. Starlight, I’d like you to meet my wonderful assistant in crime, Surprise!”

“In crime?” Starlight asked with a puzzled expression.

“It’s a figure of speech, not to be taken literally.”

The lilac unicorn looked to see who this assistant was. “So you’re Surprise? Nice to meet you. I’m Starlight Glimmer. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

Surprise couldn’t help herself and started to sweat. She had no idea who this pony really was, or why she was here. “You have? Oh yeah. Trixie and I’ve been working together for a while now. Trixie, are you happy with the wagon?”

Trixie went over and checked the wagon out for herself. She hummed and tilted her head, making sure she got every inch of it with her eyes. “I can almost see my reflection in the wood! Nice job, Surprise. I knew you’d do it well.”

Even with all the compliments, the pegasus couldn’t stop staring at Starlight. Maybe it was just to be nice. Maybe she was nervous about why this unicorn was here. It could have been something else. She didn’t really know.

“Are you okay?” Starlight asked. “You look a little nervous.”

“Nervous? Me?” The amount of sweat on Surprise’s face betrayed her. She sighed and kicked the dirt. “A little bit. Trixie never brings friends to the wagon with her, other than me.”

“Really?” Starlight seemed legitimately surprised, for the lack of a better word. “It sounds like Trixie has fans all over the world.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has a lot of fans that admire her!” Trixie shouted. “Just that... how to put it... there has only been one pony Trixie has met that’s worthy of being her assistant until now, and that’s Surprise.”

Surprise felt a lot better after hearing that. “So what are you doing here, Starlight? Come to see the next show? Go someplace nice? Something like that?”

Starlight shook her head. “Trixie asked if I could travel with you guys for a little bit, get to know how you do things. It sounds like you two are wonderful together.”

“What?” Surprise could feel the pupils in her eyes shrink to the size of peas. “Travel... with us? Why would you want to do that?”

“Well,” Starlight began, “I’m actually the headmare of the School of Friendship, and since the students are out for the Summer, I’m taking a break as well. So, this is an opportunity to do something fun!”

“Isn’t that exciting?” Trixie butted in, shoving her head between Surprise and Starlight. “Not to mention she’s good at magic, just like me! Imagine what we could do!”

The sweat kept pouring down Surprise’s face. “Yeah, together...”

“Yup, together!” Trixie and Starlight said in unison before they looked at each other. “Jinx!” Then they laughed together.

Trixie looked back at Surprise with glee. “Isn’t she a riot? Trixie couldn’t ask for somepony better to run into during her sp--ah, walk in town! Yes, that is what Trixie did while you were cleaning the wagon.”

Starlight lifted an eyebrow. “But we went to--”

Trixie cut her off by putting a hoof to her lips while whispering to her. “I don’t want her to feel bad that she didn’t come to the spa with me, you know?” Starlight nodded as Trixie removed her hoof. At the same time, Surprise was giving them a puzzled expression, but didn’t say anything.

All three of them kept talking until the sun started to set across the horizon. “Well, would you look at that,” Starlight said as the sky started to darken. “It’s about time we hit the hay.”

Trixie looked back at the wagon. “Unfortunately, the wagon is too small for all of us to sleep in. Trixie would generously offer you a place to sleep if there were enough space, but there isn’t.”

“Oh... well, that’s ok!” Starlight waved a hoof. “I could just go back to the castle in Ponyville. I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t mind me bringing over a few new friends.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to pass. I just find my wagon to be personally cozy. I don’t want to leave it. But... maybe Surprise wouldn’t mind joining you? It would be great if she got to know you better.”

Surprise was somewhat unsure about having to go along to the home of somepony she just met, even if it was Trixie’s idea. For almost her whole life, she stood by Trixie’s side. This would be the first time since meeting Trixie that Surprise would be seperated from her best friend, if even for a little while.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Starlight nodded. “You coming, Surprise? The castle’s not too far from here. You can’t miss it.”

Surprise was still wrapping her mind around leaving Trixie, when she had been so used to having the unicorn within eyesight recently. Still, this Starlight was being nice to her. It was only fair to be nice right back. “Sure. Will you be here tomorrow, Trixie?”

“Certainly. This wagon has the only bed comfortable enough for Trixie to get the beauty sleep she deserves. She won’t be going anywhere.”

That was enough to settle Surprise’s nerves for now. “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She joined Starlight on the road, and the unicorn led the way. What should I say to Starlight? Say hello? Ask about her life? This is harder than I thought...

“So, anything you wanna do when we get over there?” Starlight asked. “There’s a lot of empty rooms in the castle, so we have all the space we need.”

“Huh. I didn’t think about that. I like playing games, hanging out, and generally having a good time. You know, friend stuff.”

Starlight laughed. “Reminds me of somepony I met.”

Oh no, this isn’t good! I can’t let her know what I am... “Nevermind! We should do what you like.”

“Hmm...” Starlight was a little edgy when she made herself admit it, but what the hay. “Do you like to fly kites?”

“That does sound pretty fun.” Maybe this won’t be so bad, I hope...

Comments

[MajorFubar]

Trixie's pride and Surprise's envy. Surprise wants her only friend all to herself but Starlight throws a wrench into her happy life.