Chapter 4
& & &
Rainbow Dash and Trixie’s first stop was to Carrot Top’s carrot stand to collect Dinky. “C’mon squirt, time to go….Dinky?” A low moan filled Rainbow’s ears as she looked around. She peered behind the cart to see a little lavender-grey filly lying on her back, holding her stomach and groaning.
Carrot Top, who was kneeling next to her and rubbing her head gently, looked up at Rainbow Dash. “I just gave her some carrot cake! She was fine after the first slice so I offered her a second and…”
“I think I have a tummy ache.” Dinky moaned, holding her belly as if afraid that it would explode if she let go.
Rainbow nodded. “After that ice cream, that stuff at Sugar Cube Corner, muffins and now carrot cake? It wouldn’t surprise me Dinks.” She sighed. “Ditzy is gonna kill me…Trixie, think you could give me a hoof?”
Trixie had taken half a step back, tugging on her cape for fear that the little filly would be sick on it. “With what?”
“Help me get her on my back…I need to take her home.” Rainbow explained.
Trixie bit her lip, giving her friend an incredulous look. She tentatively reached out a hoof and prodded Dinky, as if to make sure that she wouldn’t catch anything from her.
Carrot Top moved a bit quicker, gently prodding the filly up and helping up onto Rainbow Dash’s back. “Up we go, honey.” Dinky groaned, letting her hooves dangle off as she buried her face in Rainbow’s mane. “Feel better, okay?” A low moan answered her. “Sorry again Rainbow Dash. Do you want me to talk to Ditzy?”
Rainbow shook her head, causing Dinky to groan. “No, I got this. Come on Trixie.”
The showmare nodded primly and walked alongside the filly-laden pegasus as they headed through town. “Trixie is surprised to see you foal-sitting.” She commented laconically. “You sure it isn’t 'cramping your style' to use your phrase?”
“Nah, it’s cool. I’m staying with Dinky and her mom.” Rainbow said, tilting her head back so she could make sure Dinky was still with them. “You okay back there?” The filly groaned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She turned back to Trixie. “The squirt’s cool. Clever too.”
Trixie nodded. “Ah, so not like you then.” She grinned smugly. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“Yeah yeah, ha ha. Real witty.”
“Can she do any magic yet?” Trixie quirked her brow when Rainbow Dash shook her head. “By the time I was her age I was already levitating cookies out of the cookie jar.” Rainbow rolled her eyes at Trixie’s superior tone. “What is her mother doing that she can’t teach her daughter how to use her Celestia-given gifts?”
“Flying.” Rainbow retorted curtly. “Ditzy’s a pegasus.”
“Ah.” Trixie nodded as if to say ‘that explains it.’ “Perhaps I could show this poor deprived filly of how to perform wonders worthy of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She proclaimed. Dinky flattened her ears at the sudden noise and whimpered. Rainbow Dash shot Trixie a look. “What?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. She liked Trixie but sometimes it was like trying to explain water to a fish. “Never mind. Still, it’s not a bad idea.” Then she gave an awkward laugh. “I uh, already asked Twilight Sparkle to tutor Dinky.” Seeing the dark look on Trixie’s face, she hastened to add. “Maybe the two of you could teach her some stuff together.” Trixie sniffed but didn’t reject the idea out of hoof.
En route, Rainbow saw a familiar face walking up to them. “Hey Blossomforth!”
“Rainbow Dash! That was amazing!” Her eyes lit up in wonder. “The whole show was incredible!” She added, noticing Trixie. “I’m glad I got to see it.”
“All in a day’s work.” Dash preened.
Blossomforth nodded, then winced. “Uh, yeah, speaking of work…I just ran into Raindrops.”
Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Yeah? What about it?”
“…Can we talk?” Blossomforth asked, giving Trixie a small smile. “Sorry, it’ll just take a second. It’s some stuff from work…”
“Work?” Trixie gave Rainbow a look. The blue pegasus groaned, feeling like everypony wanted a piece of her today.
“Yeah, I’m the Chief” she stressed for the benefit of both mares. “—weather mare for Ponyville. Just hold on Trixie, this won’t take long…” The two pegasi stepped off to the side. “So what is it now?” Dash groaned.
Blossomforth held up her hooves. “Rainbow, I’m not your enemy…I want to help, same with Cloud Kicker. We don’t want this thing between you and Raindrops to become….a thing.” She rubbed her neck. “That came out better in my head.” Rainbow Dash snorted and looked away. “Come on…you need to see this from her perspective. The fact is that you’re the chief weathermare AND a new hire. That’s gotta ruffle her feathers a bit. She’s a hard worker and you getting promoted over her…well…” She shrugged awkwardly.
Rainbow’s eyes hardened. “You saying I’m not a hard worker?”
The white pegasus kicked at the ground, looking down. “Well, you’re good at what you do, but…you’re not exactly consistent and Raindrops, well...”
“Ugh! Raindrops, Raindrops, Raindrops!” Rainbow Dash almost stomped her hoof, but refrained when she remembered Dinky was still on her back. “Raindrops needs to get it through her head that I didn’t ‘steal’ her job! I read her file and I’ve seen her in action: her flying is mediocre at best and she has a real anger problem and so-so pony skills. Nopony was going to put her in charge of the weather team.”
“I know that!” Blossomforth exclaimed, frustrated. “You just don’t have to rub it in Raindrops’ face though!”
“When do I—”
“Treating work like it’s just an opportunity to pull pranks? Making the last pony to finish pay for lunch when you know Raindrops is a slow flier?” She quirked a brow at Rainbow Dash. “If you keep needling her like that she’s gonna blow up sooner or later. Trust me, you do NOT want to see Raindrops explode.” Blossomforth shuddered. Then she stretched out a hoof. “Look, I know you’ve got a point. But so does Raindrops. The truth is—deep down, I think she knows she wasn’t about to replace Ditzy either. But when she sees you and it’s like you’re not even trying…” She bit her lip. “I know you’re an amazing flier…but maybe you could work with Raindrops and be an equally amazing weather manager? We want to see you succeed because that means we all succeed. We’re not trying to trip you up or see you fail or anything…honest.”
Rainbow took a breath, exhaling through her nose. “…Fine. But that pony really needs to pull the stick out and loosen up or else I’m the one who’s gonna explode.” She shook her head. “I gotta go B. Take care.”
The other pegasus nodded. “You too Dash.” She turned and walked away as Rainbow Dash headed back to Trixie.
What the cyan pegasus didn’t notice was that as she approached, Trixie’s horn shimmered and then wink, as if terminating a spell—which was the case. “Sorry about that Trixie. Just needed to take care of some work stuff, you know how it is.”
“Trixie wouldn’t know.” Trixie said evenly. “Trixie is her OWN boss…but I suppose not everypony can be.” She shrugged. “Now, I believe you were taking me to the house you were staying in?” The outside observer would hardly have noticed the emphasis she put on ‘staying in’ as if to stress that the house wasn’t Rainbow’s.
Even Rainbow Dash mostly missed it. Mostly. She grunted. “Let’s go.” Trixie followed her as the two resumed walking. It wasn’t long before Rainbow announced, “We’re here.”
Trixie looked at Ditzy’s house and scrunched her nose up. “You live here?”
“Yeah, this is Dizty’s house.” Rainbow opened the door and stepped in. Trixie followed, looking around. Because she was heading up the stairs, she missed Trixie’s disapproving stare. Still, Trixie followed her up just in time to watch her gently put Dinky on her bed.
“Rai’bow Daaaash?” Dinky mewled as she curled up in bed. “I dun’t feel good…”
The pegasus sat on the corner of her bed. “Yeah, I guess that’s normal. It’ll be okay Dinks. You just rest and you’ll feel better in a bit.”
“P-pwomise?” She whimpered.
Rainbow nodded as she fluffed Dinky’s pillow. “I promise. Do you want me to get Favorite?”
The little filly sighed, snuggling into her pillow. “M’kay…” Rainbow got up and fetched an old, somewhat worn blanket from her bedside and tucked it around the immobile Dinky. She softly ruffled her mane before heading for the door. “…story?”
Turning back, Rainbow regarded the little filly. “Hm? Oh right, you wanted a story, didn’t you?”
“Ya huh.” Dinky said, looking and feeling appropriately pathetic. Rainbow came back and got on the bed next to her.
“Okay squirt.” Looking over, she nodded for Trixie to come in. “My friend Trixie here hasn’t heard the story about Nightmare Moon and my friends. Would it be okay if I told you that one instead?” Dinky nodded. Rainbow Dash waved Trixie over as she started her story. “So, once upon a time—I guess a month ago—I was at this party with Princess Celestia…”
As Rainbow Dash spun her story about finding her place, ancient evils, deep magics, friendship, adventure and redemption, she cast a glance to see Trixie’s reaction. The showmare had tugged her hat down over her eyes, effectively hiding her face as she sat down in a chair leaning back against the wall. Rainbow described each of her friends and their amazing contributions on their quest and how they realized that they each embodied an element of Harmony—leading them to triumph over Nightmare Moon and turn her back into Princess Luna.
Dinky yawned and settled in for a nap just as she was talking about the journey home. The little pony sighed contently as she fell asleep, clutching her blanket. Rainbow Dash smiled and carefully got up off the bed without disturbing her. Trixie joined her as the two walked out together, gently closing the door lightly behind them. Rainbow Dash tilted her head, indicating for Trixie to follow her. They headed downstairs and got comfortable on the couch.
“I never thought I’d see you act so…domestic.” Trixie said after a moment. “With the filly, I mean.” She elaborated when Rainbow looked confused.
The rainbow pony shrugged. “Yeah I guess it is a little funny…but Ditzy made me Dinky’s godmom and—I dunno. It’s kinda nice.” She flushed a bit, then tried to move on. “So, great story huh?” She smirked. “And amazing storytelling too! The best part? It’s all true! Amazing, right?”
Trixie hmmmed. “Trixie could’ve improved the story-telling experience but I cannot say it was THAT amazing.”
Rainbow Dash goggled. “W-what? Trix, I helped save the world!!!”
“Oh that isn’t surprising.” The blue unicorn said simply, shrugging.
“R-really?”
“Of course!” Trixie folded her hooves back behind her head. “Trixie always knew that you were destined for greatness, much like Trixie herself.” She smiled toothily as she threw a hoof across Rainbow’s shoulders. “The two of us are the most amazing, impressive ponies in all of Equestria! What we could do together—we could take Equestria by storm! Everypony would be in awe of us!” The consummate showmare, she knew just how to use her words to weave a bright picture for Rainbow Dash to be entranced by.
Visions of Rainbow Dash flying in the Wonderbolts uniform, with Trixie’s fireworks bracketing their flight, danced in the young pegasus’ mind. She shut her eyes and smiled, drinking it up. Trixie let Rainbow indulge herself for a moment before bursting the bubble. “What Trixie finds amazing is that after all that you’re still HERE.”
“Huh?” Confused, Rainbow shook her head to bring herself back to the here and now.
“After all you’ve been through, all you achieved, why are you still in this little town?” Trixie looked at her crossly. “All of Canterlot would be falling over themselves for you! You could have it all—everything you ever wanted! Everything I always, I mean, YOU always, worked for.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I…guess.” She felt a twinge in her stomach that she tried to ignore. “It’s not like I’ve given up on getting into the Wonderbolts or anything! I’m just…taking it easy for a bit. You know, stopping to smell the roses?”
“You’re Rainbow Dash.” Trixie said as it to remind her. “You don't stop. Ever. If you aren’t moving forward, you’re falling backwards!”
“Aww, c’mon Trixie.” Rainbow smiled despite wanting to grimace. “I’m still the most awesome pony around!”
“Really?” The showmare leaned forward. “Last month you were performing Sonic Rainbooms and saving the world. Now you’re…what? Foalsitting? Pushing clouds around? Getting told off by ponies who fail to see how extraordinary you are and are too busy for you? You could be doing so much more…” Trixie settled back onto the couch, tapping a hoof against her chin. “Trixie remembers a certain pony once saying something about her dream being free to go wherever the wind took her and refused to be chained down.” She commented breezily, subtly keeping a sharp eye on Dash’s reactions.
Rainbow fidgeted. “It’s—it’s not like that. I like it here!” She fished for the right way to explain it. “I’m not chained down…I want to be in Ponyville! It’s great! My friends are here and—and it’s great!” She repeated, knowing how lame it sounded.
“If you say so.” Trixie said simply, saying more in her silence than in her terse statement.
“It is!” Rainbow felt defensive and she didn’t know why. “I mean, you know how nuts Canterlot made me sometimes.”
“So we’re blaming the city now,” Her companion mused, a small smirk on her face. “But yes, Trixie does.”
Rainbow nodded. “So…I wanted to get away for a bit and I found this place. And…it’s hard to explain. Everypony was just so…nice. I mean, cool.” She corrected herself quickly. “And it wasn’t because I was Princess Celestia’s student or anything: it was because I was me.” She tossed her mane and gave a cocky smile. “Everything was just so…pure, I guess. Sincere. It was almost like a fresh start and they liked me, appreciated me for being me instead of who I was connected to, if you know what I mean.”
Trixie removed her hat and dusted it off. “Yes, it must have been SO hard being the student of Princess Celestia, ponies always recognizing you and knowing your name.” Rainbow Dash winced at the bitterness in her voice. She reached out a hoof only to have Trixie knock it away. An awkward silence fell, Rainbow scuffing her hooves on the floor. Trixie calmly examined her hoof. “Trixie supposes that for some ponies, a few friends, a menial job and living in somepony else’s home can be considered a good life. But for a pony who used to live in the palaces of Canterlot, protégé of Princess Celestia and aspiring Wonderbolt…” She shrugged, deliberately letting herself taper off. “Still, what does Trixie know? She was merely performing before packed audiences in Hoofington and Trottingham, throwing bits at me and cheering my name. You?” She sighed and bit her lip. "Rainbow Dash...please don't think that I'm trying to be rude..." This despite the fact that she was doing a fairly good job of it. "...but I'm thinking of what is best for you. This," She gestured at the house and the stairs leading to Dinky's room. "This isn't you. You're meant to be out there, doing the incredible. Not here doing the mundane and the ordinary."
"Trixie, you don't know what it's like here yet! This place has plenty of incredible stuff. My friends..."
"If your friends," Trixie interrupted. "are keeping you from your dreams, your destiny, then perhaps they aren't really your friends. Trixie IS. Listen to Trixie. Is this what you want?"
Rainbow Dash had no answer. She got off the couch and excused herself to go into the kitchen. “You want anything?” She asked. “I think we have some apple juice in the fridge.” As soon as she was out of sight, she rested her head against the smooth surface of the refrigerator. “What is wrong with me today?” Rainbow groaned. “I’m letting everypony down lately…” Her coworkers thought she was a slacker. Her friends thought she was a featherhead. Ditzy was gonna have her head for letting Dinky give herself a stomachache and now Trixie was acting like she let her down too. What had happened?
She shook her head. It was just an off day. Twilight said they were cool and tomorrow she’d wow Trixie with how awesome her new friends—and her new life—were. It would all come together. Right?
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Hmm I like Trixie, i hope she is a bit nicer here than in the show, we don´t really know much about her. Still it seems like she is looking down on everypony exept RD.
anyway good story you got here :)
Well Trixie does sort of have a point. After saving the world you could being doing more. Its not wrong, just Trixie has different goals.
The worst part about it all is the fact that everyone who's telling Rainbow about stuff is the fact that they're all, in their own way, correct.
should be: "If your friends," Trixie interrupted, "are keeping you..."
It seems like Trixie had been pinning some of her hopes on Rainbow Dash in order to break big. And now that's not panning out and she's afraid of being consigned to obscurity.
Oh crap... this wont end well. I see the moral of the current arc, who are your real friends?
As said in background pony, everypony fears being forgotten. Including Trixir>>1435430
this makes me hate Trixie. Rainbow Dash is living more than what I would consider the perfect life, and she is happy. Trixe better not cause to much trouble
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1435819
They are written with that continuity in mind....albeit taking place within the Dashverse (as I call it).
1435419
Not to mention that anyone who says something like that is 99% guaranteed to be manipulating you. That line is used by almost every Villain trying to recruit an innocent kid or turn the young Hero away from his or her friends.
Hope this doesn't end like Griffon the Brush Off did.
Ah...manipulative Trixie. I see.
1435865
Actually, she might simply be sing Trixie wasting what she thinks is an incredible situation and opportunity and resents it immensely. Trixie's worked to get where she is. Rainbow Dash...less so, overall.
Both sides have good points;
The Mane Five are focused more on emotions and friendship, which admittedly are more important in the story than the real world. They seem to be predisposed against Trixie simply by the performance and her stage demeanor. They're wary of Trixie's obnoxiousness, and don't want that Rainbow to become more like her. Rainbow's emotional side likes this.
Trixie is focused on achieving her dreams, and seems to believe others should as well. She seems to believe Rainbow has lost her way, and doesn't want her to become obscure. I may be reading into this to much, but the author seems to imply Trixie's already hit obscurity, which would further her resolve to get her friend into the big time. Rainbow's competitive side likes this.
The real question is what Rainbow wants long-term.
1436729
Yeah, I can tell from Trixie's comment on her being known for her student status that she wishes she had that background and is pretty jealous, but that's just WHY she's being manipulative. If she wasn't being manipulative she would just say (paraphrasing and simplified) "Rainbow Dash, I wish I had been chosen as the Princess's student, because I would use that fame to my advantage. You staying here is a waste of time when we could be famous together."
She could resent how Rainbow Dash chooses to live without trying to make her doubt her friends and join her to be famous.
WRONG!!!
Huh. Instead of Gilda, she got Trixie.
Very interesting. Trixie does raise some pretty solid points. I have to wonder, though... is Trixie happy? She may be "living the dream", as Rainbow Dash would put it, but her dialogue doesn't actually convince me that she's truly happy.
Man, this story keeps getting better and better.
Good work.
Something tells me that trixie has a crush on Dash...
Uh huh. The last time Dash flipped her shit, she started getting aggressive with Princess Celestia. And then the whole Nightmare Moon thing was basically Luna's long-overdue explosion over how she thought she was being treated, and that little debacle involved the entire planet.
I find it difficult to believe that any explosion from Raindrops could top either of those blowups, I really do.
Please excuse me a moment while I reattach my jaw. I am floored and honored to see that made the jump into your story.
A much as I hate to end this one negative note, though, I do have a critique to offer: I should have mentioned this earlier, but using asterisks (*) is an awkward way to show emphasis when you have italics available. Same with CAPITALIZATION--more often than not, that's used to denote a character shouting. Rule of thumb, stick with italics if you want to show emphasis.
If you need to explain that someone is being rude (and you're not dealing with an alien culture) you're doing it wrong. I found the aside unneeded and jarring.
Also, if you're going to leave that unnecessary aside in there, it should probably be all one sentence written as:
My guess? No.
I wonder if Trixie really wants to help Dash or if she's just being manipulative.
You don't really get this whole Loyalty thing, do you?
Trixie... has some damned good points, there. So does Blossomforth, for that matter.
Man..I don't even know where to begin here.
Trixie is a leech. Don't think I missed that "All the things I-I mean, you, ever dreamed of." She's going to ride Rainbow's coattails (tail?), just you watch.
5430657
Loyalty doesn't necessarily mean you have to stay in the same place, just that you won't let them down. Otherwise Rainbow wouldn't have joined the Wonderbolts in the show.