Interchanged destinies

by I had no idea

Chapter two: Tonight we dine in Canterlot

"Shining, could you get a glass of water for your father and Twilight?" Velvet asked. His son nodded, but he was stopped by the head nurse's outheld hoof.

"Leave it to me. I imagine you want to talk."

She gracefully trotted out of the room, leaving the confused ponies inside. Shining scratched his head. First she says Twilight is not related to him, then she says somepony else is. He glanced at his newly acquired sister. She seemed awfully calm, given the circumstances.

"You seem awfully calm, given the circumstances." he voiced his concerns.

"Believe me, there is a storm of chaos going inside."

Shining blinked. The way both mares replied to him at the same time was a bit uncanny. Needless to say, they were surprised by it, too. Velvet smiled shyly at her long-lost daughter.

"This was unexpected."

"Quite." she agreed. The fact that she didn't elaborate was a sign that she was deeply shaken. The usually loud and boastful mare was in the process of making sense about all of this. She hardly could. Thankfully, Twilight had come to, giving a reason to ignore the problem, if only for a minute's time.

"Are you feeling all right, sweetie?" Velvet asked her. The dazed alicorn nodded, her eyes darting around the room like a frightened deer. Velvet pulled her into a hug.

"Shhh." she cooed. "Don't be afraid. We will make this work out. We love you, and we're not going to abandon you after all these years."

The lavender mare cried into her chest, shuggling closer with every sob. Trixie wore a sorrowful smile, unbeknownst even to her. She stood up, determination in her eyes.

"Excuse me for a moment. I think I have to step outside for a while, to get some fresh air."

"Sure."

Making sure Twilight was all right, Shining's brain had finally caught up with him. She realised what Trixie was going to do. He darted out of the room without a word, nearly trampling over the startled Health Care, who arrived with a jug of water.

"S'ry" he mumbled, dodging ponies through the corridor. By the time he arrived outside, the azure mare was already halfway to the corner of the street.

"Wait!" he cried. Trixie didn't seem to notice it, (or maybe she outright ignored it), so he was forced to pull a mean one. The showmare suddenly noticed that her hooves have kissed goodbye to the ground, as she was levitating in a bubble a foot above ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"Somewhere. Anywhere. I don't know! What did you expect? A random old mare says 'oh, hey Trixie, you suddenly grew a family', and I'm just supposed to act like nothing happened?! Like we haven't been apart for all these years?! I don't know any of you! I'm just a stranger to you! Why would you care?"

"Because you're family! You belong with us!"

Trixie rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, that's such a cliché. We haven't met for seventeen years, and now you suddenly act like I'm instantly accepted into the circle? I highly doubt it."

"Circle? What circle?"

"The circle of having parents. There was a time time when I yearned for that, but that time is over! This mare is on her own, and she likes it!"

"You are lying." Shining stated softly. This seemed to put the showmare off-track.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're lying." Shining repeated. "You only say that because you want us to think you are a horrible pony, and we'd be better off without you. You think that if you don't get close to us, neither of us will get hurt... or, at least not that much. You want to leave before you cause any damage."

Trixie stared at her silently.

"I know you are planning this," he continued, "because I would do it, too. If I found out that my parents were not my real parents, I'd keep it a secret. Because I wouldn't want to hurt them."

"Hrmmrmm mmrmmmrm hrr." Trixie mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said 'put me down before you attract the whole street'! Geez!"

Shining blinked, then with cheeks burning red, he carefully put Trixie down, and let his shield dissipate. Trixie looked in his eyes, uncertainity and sadness written all over her.

"I saw how your mother looked at you. I saw how much she cares for both of you. We're just strangers to each other, if I leave now, you can all pretend it never happened. Maybe it'd have been the best if all this nonsense never saw the light of day."

The stallion stepped closer.

"The fact that she cares for us doesn't mean there is no room in her heart for you. Maybe we are strangers now, but I know I fully intend to change that. Give us a chance." He stopped for a moment, realising something. "Also, not my mother. Our mother."

His last words crushed her meager resistance. She sniffed, and looked at him with watery eyes.

"Okay, I guess I can give it a shot."

"Are you crying?"

"N-no, it's just... crystallised relief."

Shining let out a small chuckle. The mare eyed her with suspicion.

"What's so funny?"

The stallion shook his head with a smile.

"You know, we might be more similar than you would ever guess."

________________________________________________________________________________

By the time they arrived back, Night Light was back in action. His mane was also wet for some inexplicit reason. Trixie gulped as everypony stared at her, nervous for being in the spotlight the first time in her life. The one to break the silence was Velvet.

"You were both out for quite a long time. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," Shining replied, "we just... got a headstart on bonding, yep."

"That is nice to hear, dearie. Now, Trixie, I wonder if you would like to join us for dinner?"

Trixie averted her gaze, not daring to look into her eyes.

"Dinner... sounds... nice, I guess?"

Tw—her mother nodded, gesturing the others to get going, too. The nurse was nowhere to be seen, and to be frank, neither Trixie nor Shining had the urge to meet her soon. It was probably because of her job, but the elderly mare seemed distant and detached. Maybe after seeing so much in her life, she became fazed at even the weirdest acts of the fickle fate.

The way they retreated from the hospital would have made Fluttershy envious—if she would be capable of feeling that emotion—considering they carefully avoided eye contact, and just sneaked out in a back door, all under a minute. Finally on the street, Trixie let her mind wander.

She had been to Canterlot a few times, but she never really explored it. The street they currently trotted on had small apartments stacked in a neat row; with the cobblestone road, it was cut off from vehicles, forcing anypony who wished to go that way do so on hoof. Not that there was anything wrong with that. What the houses lacked in size, was compensated by the fact that each of them was unique. Some had stone underlay for the windows, some were painted in every colour of the rainbow, and some were covered by various types of plants. Suddenly, she felt envious of these ponies; they had a place to live, and by the look of it, neighbours with a hint of artistic sense. Some of her annoyance has been mirrored on her face, which Tw—her father noticed, but completely misunderstood.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon!" he said, trying to reassure her.

She mentally slapped herself. Way to give second impressions.

"No, I'm just..."

"Just what? You don't even know." she thought. "You're just trying to take your mind off of it; to face it as late as possible. Reeeeal mature, Trixie."

"... I guess I do want to arrive as soon as possible."

Night Light nodded.

"Just around the corner, dear."

Ugh. If there is something to be said about her, it's the distinct lack of cheesy nicknames flying around her. Trixie would be fine, or daughter, or 'yo wassup', but she just can't cope with expressions like dear, darling and such.

Speaking of names, isn't she technically Twilight Sparkle now?

"We've arrived." Shining said, interrupting her dangerous trail of thought. The house they arrived to wasn't fancy, or abnormally large; yet it had a strong presence to it. A simple brick house, with stone foundations up until eye level, overgrown with vines here and there. The flora was clearly a part of it's design, for it had the most beautiful pink flowers Trixie ever saw. It was in no way menacing, yet Trixie wished to be someplace else right then; even facing an Ursa seemed like a good idea, as long as she didn't have to go inside.

"Come right in!" Tw—her mother nudged her. She carefully trotted inside, making sure to clean her hooves on the doormat.

The first word that came into her mind upon seeing the interior was 'cozy'. Signs of wealth popped in here and there, but the whole place practically screamed 'we thought it would look good'. From the soft blue carpets to the ancient wardrobes, everything was hoofmade, and personal. There weren't any walls without pictures, trophies, diplomas or such; every little inch of this place was filled with memories.

Memories she wasn't part of.

She felt her gut churn again. This place was so intimate, so...them, that it felt wrong to tread into as an outsider. Maybe she should leave before something eventually goes wrong.

She turned back, only to find a white stallion blocking the front door, while whistling innocently.

"What are you doing there?" Trixie hissed.

"Well, Twilight still hasn't finished taking down her horseshoes, so I'm kinda stuck here until she's done." he explained with a straight face.

"You try putting one of these on!" the alicorn retorted. "I swear, if it wasn't necessary to wear these, I'd throw them away at once! Gah!"

"Try twisting it vertically." the showmare interjected. Twilight gave her a suspicious look, but she complied; and lo, the excruciating object immediately came off. She gave her... nemesister? a weak smile. "It's just something I picked up in Trottingham."

The lavender pony repeated the process three more times, and when she finished, she had the look of utter bliss on her face.

"Thanks, Trixie. These things are driving me crazy!"

"No big deal." she answered hesitantly. She wasn't used to casual conversations like this. Thankfully, as soon as Twilight finished, Velvet called out to them from another room. The trio trotted towards their tender mother, who already laid out most of the tableware. The table itself was actually large enough to seat eight ponies; with a steaming pot on top, it looked very inviting.

Twilight sat on the middle seat of one side, with he—their mother on her right, and father on her left. Trixie took the seat opposite of Velvet; Shining grabbed the one beside her unceremoniously. The pale unicorn levitated the pot's cover away.

"I am afraid the food is a bit simple, Trixie. You see, we weren't expecting guests today, so I just made an everyday meal for us. I hope it's not too disappointing?"

The showmare waved her hoof.

"Oh, not at all, don't be silly. I'm glad to be finally able to eat homecooked food."

Tw—her parents shared a concerned look.

"You mean you were starving?"

"No, not exactly. You see, I can cook, it's just... I didn't really have the time or the ingredients to do it in quite some time." she explained. The last month was... hectic at best, to say. After she was finally freed from the Alicorn Amulet's corruption, she decided to just wander around Equestria. It was a small miracle that Health Care's letter reached her. Whether it was agood miracle or a bad miracle remains yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, Velvet finished poring soup for everypony. Trixie looked at her plate with curiousity. The soup was orange-ish red, with massive amounts of potato. Potato soup it is, then! She picked up her spoon, and took a sip of it. Any doubts she had were instantly cleared away. The taste was simply wonderful. She forgot all her manners, and started scarfing down the soup, spoon after spoon. Only after she made the whole dish disappear did she look up. Everypony was staring at her. Twilight with a small frown, her pa—everypony's parents with concern, and finally, Shining with a slight smirk. Realising the attraction she made of herself, she quickly became the Red and Embarassed Trixie.

"Uh... sorry. It was very good?" she offered with a weak smile. Impressions were not going too well today, were they?

Velvet looked horrified.

"Dearie, you can't tell me you weren't starving! You tore through that soup faster than a parasprite!"

"No, no! Really, it was just the soup that was too good. No starving whatsoever."

Her words didn't seem to convinve the older uni—her parents. Regardless, the dinner continued at a much calmer pace; Trixie slowed down, and let the others catch up with her. For a few minutes, nothing could be heard but somepony's teeth clattering occassionally. Surprisingly, it was Night Light who broke the silence.

"You two act like you've known each other. How did you meet?"

Trixie looked at him with confusion.

"Didn't Twilight tell you?" she asked. Twi—her father shook his head. The azure unicorn glanced at the alicorn in question, only to find her averting her gaze.

She didn't tell them. The only reason to do so was to protect her, Trixie, because she was the only one to receive punishment for her misdeeds. Yet this pony kept it a secret, for a reason Trixie could only guess—maybe to give her a second chance. She felt herself fill with warmth.

Still, they deserve the truth. The whole truth. She cleared her throat.

"It all began three years ago, when I arrived into Ponyville..."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"...and finally, I've been freed of the Amulet's control."

Trixie finished her story. The Sparkle family sat baffled. None of them suspected what transpired between the two mares who were only supposed to meet today, and on the day of their birth. The showmare could feel disappointment in the air.

"Pardon me, I need to use the restroom." she excused herself. Velvet pointed upstairs, and with a quick nod, Trixie left the table. She found the bathroom immediately (two stylised ponies spitting water from their mouths—how cheesy is that?), and closed the door silently after herself. She wasn't going to use the facilities, she just wanted to decide her next step. She sat upon the closed lid of the toilet, and absent-mindedly checked out her surroundings.

Her parents acted kind to her, even though they never met her. They radiated an aura of trust and love whenever they looked at anypony from the five present ponies. That is why their disappointment hurt her so much.

"Are you all right, Trixie?"

She didn't even notice when Velvet entered the room. The older mare was watching her with a worried expression.

"She just found out that I wronged the pony she believed to be her daughter, and yet she comes to comfort me? What is wrong with her? Surely she didn't start to love me more than Twilight just because we're the same blood?"

"You are not all right, I gather." continued Velvet. "I was afraid you might try something stupid."

"Stupid? What, suicide? I am not one to give up."

"Not necessarily hurting yourself," the pale unicorn said, as if following her trail of thought, "but escaping mostly. I just want you to know we don't blame you."

"Why?" Trixie asked in a wavering voice. Velvet was thrown off-track.

"I'm sorry?"

"Why don't you blame me?" the showmare repeated. "Why don't you hate me? I wronged Twilight many times, I humiliated ponies at the drop of a hat, and to top it off, I enslaved a whole village! What else could I do to make myself more despicable?"

"But you regretted it, right? It doesn't make it acceptable, but it makes your actions understandable. Besides, I could see you're hurting, dearie."

"Oh really?" Trixie asked sarcastically, though she felt a tear roll down her muzzle. "I guess it's because we're mother and daughter, huh?"

To her surprise, the pale unicorn shook her head.

"No. I know it because I raised two foals. I know when somepony tries to show themselves stronger than they are. Yes, we were disappointed. Yes, we think that what you did was wrong. But we saw that Twilight did not hold a grudge; and I trust her judgement. You made a mistake, and I think you've suffered enough for it."

Velvet stepped closer. The trails of tears were now clearly visible on her daughter's fur. She took her into her forehooves, and held her firm, just like a foal who got scared of the thunder.

"I don't deserve you." Trixie muttered. To her surprise, Velvet pushed her away, and glared at her with a sudden chill.

"Don't you ever say that! Nopony in the world deserves solitude. Are we clear?"

Still bewildered, she could only nod. The sternness immediately disappeared from her mother's face, and she gently nuzzled her.

"We're waiting for you in the dining room. Clean up, and come, we're curious about you."

She left. She left, and Trixie was at a loss for words—something that only happened to her once in her life: when she faced the Ursa Minor. She had so many things to say—but too cowardly to actually form the words.

"Thank you." she whispered to the door.

_________________________________________________________________________________

After refreshing herself, she felt confident enough to step into the spotlight again. Years of showmareship taught her quite a few tricks about hiding emotions, and their consequences. Red eyes, for instance. After a few well-delivered splashes of water, the redness in her eyes subdued. She knew deep inside that families should not be ashamed of each other's tears—but she didn't feel ready yet.

She trotted back to the diner, noticing that Twilight was talking to Shining. A new thought entered her mind. How would the alicorn feel herself? She found out that her parents weren't hers, after all. A pang of guilt struck her chest. Surely, Twilight must be as confused as she is... yet she didn't make a scene out of it. Two scenes, to be precise.

Trixie shot them a nervous smile, and sat back to her seat. Was it frown upon their faces when she entered? Was it pity? The guilt struck again. It wouldn't be this bad, only if they weren't this likeable! Each time they saw their sad faces, a knife struck into her heart. Damn!

"How has life been treating you up until now?" Night Light asked. Trixie took this chance to examine her father's features more thoroughly. He seemed young, only a pair of wrinkles under his eyes betrayed his true age. His mane seemed to be tidy, despite all the surprises of this day. He was not frowning anymore, he was... what's the word? Trixie didn't know what to call it, but it reminded her of something warm, and long lost.

"Life? I guess I... well... I mean..." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll have to start at the beginning. I'm going to warn you, though, it's neither interesting, nor happy."

"My first memory of the orphanage is me getting scolded. I remember that we broke something while playing, a vase or such, and got grounded for a week. To tell you the truth, I don't really like to talk about my life there. Our matron was indifferent towards us; she wasn't outright cruel, she just didn't care about us. No feat worthy of her praise."

"I had a friend back there, by the name of Luck Striker. Got adopted later, though. Oh yeah, I was also a student in Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns."

"Really?" Velvet asked with curiousity. Trixie nodded with confirmation.

"Really. For about seventy-five minutes, until it turned out I wasn't good enough for them. Biggest letdown in my life up until then. I was eight, if I remember correctly." Her voice was distant, recalling mistakes past. "After that, I was hauled back unceremoniously to the orphanage. Needless to say, the matron wasn't too happy. Thought she got rid of me once and for all."

"After that, not much. When I was fourteen, I was finally discharged to roam as I see fit, and I took the chance. A few months later, I met Twilight. End of story."

"Trixie," Velvet began, opting to choose her words carefully, "you barely told us anything about yourself. Couldn't you give us just a little more to go on?"

"...I'm sorry. I'm not ready yet."

"We understand." Night Light interjected. The azure unicorn locked gazes with him. She tried to figure out the message in those jonquil eyes, to catch any kind of ill will. She couldn't. All she saw was a quiet stallion, who seemed interested in her, as a father. She didn't know why. Nothing she said cast her in a positive light; nothing she did would earn his trust. Why? Why is he willing to give her a chance, when there were ponies who chased her around Equestria because of petty reasons? Is a family really like this?

...She didn't even notice when the others left. Breaking their connected gaze, she noticed the emptiness of the room, acknowledging it with a slight snort.

"Is it your turn?" she asked rudely. The blue stallion blinked.

"My turn? What are you..." Realisation dawned upon him, eliciting a small smile. "Oh, you mean that everypony talked to you? I assure you, we didn't plan to take turns talking to you... at least, not intentionally. I just stayed because you looked like you wanted to say something to me."

"How does it feel?" Trixie demanded, with barely contained emotions. "How does it feel that the genius alicorn, who rose to the rank of a princess by her own power is not your child, but instead a ruthless, egotistical loner, who couldn't make friends if her life depended on it is? How does it feel that you traded the most powerful unicorn turned alicorn to a fraud who can barely cast spells?" Her tone was bitter, recalling all the times she was made fun of because of her magic. "I was laughed at even as a foal, not chosen by the monarch of Equestria herself to become her private pupil! What could I possibly offer to fill the gap left by her?!"

"Trixie, this is not a contest." her father stated gently. "Being part of our family is not a race; you don't need to be a genius, or a scholar to be accepted. We only want to know you better. You're surely not making this any easier."

The showmare looked away in shame.

"I know, and... I'm sorry. I know it's selfish, I know you're just as new to this situation as I am, yet... I cannot help but ask for your patience. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know how I'm supposed to behave. I don't even know how I feel right now. All I need is a little time."

Her father nodded with great understanding.

"New situations always bring out the worst of our nerves. Don't fret, though, nopony is perfect. Tell you what, I'll tell you about the time Twilight turned me into a plant, so you won't feel that we're perfect."

"Thank you, I..." Her brain finally processed the implications of her father's words. "Twilight? That Twilight? Turning you into a plant?! Surely you jest!"

"Actually, no. It was on the day she had her tryouts for Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and boy, was she nervous! There we stand, watching her from the sidelines, in front of a stern commitee. Suddenly the room lits up! The next thing I knew I was absorbing sunlight through the window."

The azure mare smiled. Somehow, her father had a... vivid way of presenting things. His humour was not lost on Trixie.

"Feel any better?"

"A little." she answered.

"Come then. I'm sure Shining would be eager to tell you about his wedding."

Trixie hung her head.

"He's married? By the stars, I've missed out on so much..."

Night Light raised her chin with a hoof, while giving her a reassuring smile.

"Well then, it is time to start catching up, don't you think?"

Comments

[Eden]

Sir, this is epic!

4.bp.blogspot.com/-yPKMZ36bGZY/UWn5B_UDeSI/AAAAAAAACwQ/LBZZqlv7rZ4/s1600/Cool+Story+Bro+1.jpg

[I had no idea]

2641550

Thanks!

[Jphyper]

I've noticed that Trixie hasn't referred to herself in the third person even once so far in this story. But, on the other hand, I just recently noticed that her tendency to do that seems to depend on her emotions. When she's in a good mood, it's third-person. If she's feeling sorrowful, apologetic, etc, she does first person. She would indeed be likely to do primarily first-person in a scenario like this. It's just different seeing her go this long without doing it, as most writers tend to go overboard with it.

[I had no idea]

2668759
My stories tend to ignore that, mostly because pcychological reasons. She speaks in third, as you've noticed, when sshe's confident. Considering that she got deeply shaken in her view of the world twice just in canon, it could be said that she approaches things a bit differently. Still, I'd like you to check out the progression of her various ways of referring to her parents. Might not be that obvious yet, but later it will be.

[Draco Dei]

nemesister
-Again, I'm rereading here. A few seconds ago I thought that "neme-" was akin to "demi-" and "hemi-". Then I realized that it was a portameneau of "nemesis" and "sister".