> Trixie's Commitment
>  by Damaged
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Castle Crash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wagon wasn't heavy, but it was a constant struggle: a load that rewarded every step Rainbow Dash took with more strain. Despite the drudgery of pulling a wagon, Rainbow felt good, relaxed and every other happy emotion her mind could dredge up. It was a bright sunny day, the metal tracks at her side were one companion, but the blue unicorn at her other side was infinitely more talkative and a much better friend.

Trixie Lulamoon had forsaken her hat and cape for the day, enjoying a quiet walk with Rainbow Dash—her best friend. Quiet, of course, was completely subjective. "… and then use the fireworks blast to hide Shade turning back into a pony. It will work great. And then Trixie will jump out from behind the false back of the stage and make it look like she cast a spell that transformed the Shadowbolt into a Wonderbolt!"

Every day was something new. A new hill to pull the wagon over. A new town to put a show on for. I remember when I would spend a whole day snoozing just because of how boring it was. Rainbow Dash nodded to Trixie. "If we can get the timing right it will look amazing. Shocked and confused will be the look I use. Of course I can barely remember being the monster and…" Rainbow suddenly realized what it would mean. "That would 'out' me." There wasn't any panic there, but there was some mild surprise that she wasn't too freaked out at the idea.

Her heart beating faster, Trixie drew up all her ego, all her self confidence. "Trixie wants the world to know who her best friend is and…" she mumbled some words quickly, so fast and quiet that Rainbow didn't hear.

"What was that?" Rainbow didn't stop pulling the wagon, she knew it took ten times more effort to get it rolling than to keep it going.

"Doyouwanttogoonadate." Trixie spoke the words so fast they lost all meaning. She closed her eyes, tried to calm down. "The Great and Powerful Trixie," she took refuge in her ever-present persona, "wants to know if her Great and Powerful Assistant would like to go on a…" The last word was almost impossible to get out. Trixie looked away from Rainbow, not able to even think the word while looking at her friend. "...date."

The wagon stopped. Trixie just asked me on a date. The wagon pushed against Rainbow a little, momentum making the actual stopping more of a stumble. The afternoon breeze was the only noise either mare heard for a full minute.

She hates Trixie! Oh no, this will ruin Trixie's biggest friendship… Too scared to panic, Trixie turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash felt the moment of silence draw on, growing longer by the moment. Okay. Sure. Sounds cool. Whatever. Yes. Ugh, what is the best way to say I do? She turned and looked at Trixie, seeing the terrified mare holding everything inside; three months together, during the Wonderbolts off-season, had taught Rainbow a lot about the Trixie under all the Great and Powerfulness. "I would love to."

Trixie's blood ran alternately ice cold and burning hot. She spun back to look at Rainbow Dash, eyes wide in incomprehension. "Yes?" Every fiber of her being trembled with panic, until Rainbow nodded.

"First night is preparation, as usual. Second is our show." Rainbow watched Trixie nod, and got the feeling that she would have nodded to whatever Rainbow said right then. "So third night in town is our date."

Trixie snapped out of her shock and nodded again. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will have to come up with something super-special." She tried to hide her sigh, and failed. "This will be the last performance of this tour."

The words stung in Rainbow's ears. She leaned forward, started the wagon moving with effort, and worked back into a constant walk. "Last performance? What's up?" Following the tracks of the Friendship Express rail line meant that the ground was mostly even, so the low hill ahead, and forest on her right, surprised Rainbow a little.

"Rainbow doesn't recognize where she is?" Trixie blinked in surprise at her friend's ignorance. "Rainbow Dash should know her home turf; the Great and Powerful Trixie's next show is in Ponyville." Again the wagon stopped, and again Rainbow looked shocked.

"We have to make this awesome…" Rainbow's eyes glazed over. "Just the entrance has to be amazing, let alone the show. Oh my gosh, we are so going to go with that idea. I want my friends to know!" She reached over and pulled Trixie into a hug, the realization that soon hugs might mean something more causing her to blush a little. "Oh, oh! I know! Get my outfit, the bridle and all; this is going to be so cool!"

Trixie knew inspiration when she saw it, and trusted Rainbow Dash's distinctiveness when it came to showing off. As well as fetching the outfit, she grabbed her hat and robe. Returning from her wagon, she held up the outfit for Rainbow.

The suit of tight magic-woven fabric was tight on Rainbow, tighter than when she had first gotten into it. She slid a leg at a time into the fabric, felt the tension just like her Wonderbolts uniform. Pulling a wagon for three months had added a little more tone to her legs, and it showed in the outfit.

Pulling the suit up and over Rainbow Dash, Trixie struggled to seal it up. "Trixie believes that while she and Rainbow are in Ponyville, she might have to get Rarity to adjust Shade's costume a bit."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Rainbow looked over her shoulder, a grin on her face that took any hurt in her question and replaced it with humor. "Not going to lie, I feel better than I have in years. Remember how I was when we started?"

Trixie tugged the suit up, bound it and tucked it carefully around Rainbow Dash's wings. "Rainbow Dash pulled the wagon for two hours and nearly passed out. Trixie remembers. All dash and no stamina." She worked Rainbow's mane through the hood and pulled it up and over her friend's head. "What is Shade's plan?"

With the suit on, squeezing in all the right places, Rainbow Dash felt Shade in the back of her mind. Not yet, I need to tell her what we are going to do. You are the pony who gets to do it. The thoughts calmed the wild side of Rainbow, letting her turn her head to get the metal bridle fitted. Without a second thought, she stepped back into the hitch of the wagon. "My thought is that you don't roll into Ponyville at all. You ride your wagon, pulled by a wild and monstrous Shadowbolt. I am pretty sure I can pull this." She lifted her chin, letting Trixie lock the bridle into place. "You can use the whip, and the reins, make it look really awesome."

The description was perfect. Trixie almost bounced in place at the idea. "Trixie can make a huge cloud of dark smoke pour off the back of the wagon." She clipped the reins to the bridle, trailing them back to the wagon's normally-unused front seat.

Rainbow felt Shade lean forward, and she didn't fight the wild animal, the side of herself that needed an owner. Shade spread her wings and stretched. She started to move, then felt the weight of the wagon behind her. Growling a little, she squirmed around in the tack.

"Trixie thinks Shade is back." Without further thought, Trixie imbued the enchanted costume to its full Shadowbolt glory. Dark smoke billowed with Shade's mane and tail, poured off her fetlocks. Her wings appeared to be shadows, even in bright daylight. Walking up before Shade, Trixie leaned forward to accept the licks she knew were coming.

Shade nuzzled and licked at Trixie, snouting and rubbing cheeks with her again and again. She wagged her tail in excitement, knowing just what was coming. Her ears perked forward, straining to hear Trixie's words.

"Listen, Shade." Trixie didn't pull back, but she felt Shade stop nuzzling and listen. "Shade is a good girl. Shade is Trixie's pet," the words earned a lick to her cheek, almost making Trixie giggle, "but she only is while she wants to be. The moment Shade, or Rainbow Dash, doesn't want to be Trixie's pet, they aren't."

The words were different every time, Shade had to focus on them, let them sink in. She gazed into Trixie's eyes, the words an expression of her owner's will and love for Shade.

"If Trixie's pet thinks anypony is in danger, or at risk of injury, she will not be Trixie's pet. If Trixie tells her pet 'Show's over,' or Trixie's pet curls her wing tips, just so," Trixie used her magic to curl Shade's feathers just enough that was noticeable, "Shade is no longer Trixie's pet. If Trixie's pet barks, she may refuse a command, any command, and will still be Trixie's wonderful pet."

I love this feeling, Shade. She is the best owner ever. Shade quirked an ear, and nodded to the thought that came from her more civilized self. Leaning forward, she expressed her feelings with a big lick, starting at Trixie's mouth, and ending at the base of her horn.

"Ugh!" Trixie pulled back. "Stop it! Shade!" She lifted a hoof to wipe off the slobber that she knew was dribbling down her face. "Shade is the most incorrigible pet Trixie has ever had." Walking around Shade, Trixie made sure the reins were neat and not going to foul her wings. At last, she climbed up on the seat of her wagon.

Shade faced forward, studying the sky and terrain ahead. When Trixie took up the reins, Shade felt anticipation rush through her. Pushing forward, she set her own body weight against the wagon's hitch.

The wagon tugged a little, but Trixie held the reins steady. "Yah!" She snapped the exclamation out and flicked the reins. Trixie's eyes snapped wide in shock when Shade lifted and pumped her wings. "Aahh!" She didn't sound like a mare with her pet under control, not one bit. Holding the reins for dear life as the wagon shot into the air, Trixie levitated the whip out and cracked it beside Shade. "Shade will keep to a normal," she squealed as the whip drove her pet to fly faster, "PACE!"

Smoke billowed out behind Shade, the crack of the whip sent her into a furious pace that no other pony with such a load behind them could hope to match. A tug on the left rein had her head turn, her flight arcing to follow. A tug on the right brought her back around to the other side. Shade opened her muzzle and shouted incoherently at the sky.

Slowly getting used to the terror that was Shade's flying, Trixie settled down on the seat a little. "Wait, Trixie lost her hat!" Looking around, she saw it fluttering in the breeze behind them. "Shade, Trixie needs her hat!" She jerked on the right rein and cracked the whip. Swapping the whip to her hoof, she held onto the reins as they practically spun in place and shot after her hat. Streaking like a missile, she had only a brief moment to grab her hat in her magic. "Yes!"

A rush of happiness poured through Shade, hearing her owner so happy drove her to want to show off for Trixie. Pulling up hard, she spun through a barrel roll. No rainbows trailed behind her, instead she poured out the thick black smoke of the enchantment.

Turning an unflattering shade of green, Trixie clung to her seat, her hat, and the reins for dear life. The world spun upside down during the roll, but when she curled back up the right way at the end of the maneuver she found herself yelling in glee. "Wooo! Go Shade! Oh right, Trixie needs to cast the last illusion…" Illusions were literally her forte, and she lit up the back of the wagon with smoke, lightning bolts, and repeated cracks of thunder. In the distance she could see Twilight Sparkle's Castle of Friendship, and decided on her target. "Right there, Shade!" She cracked the whip low to aim Shade down, tugging the reins until they were aimed right at the huge crystal fortress.

With a downwards angle of attack, each flap brought more speed to Shade. She pumped her wings with furious strokes to gain even more. There was a shrieking sound as she dived to the side of the castle. The wheels of the wagon spun fast as Shade dumped speed circling around the castle. By the time they reached the first balcony, they were down to a normal flight speed. Shade ignored her reins and dove, aiming to land to the side and out a little from the front doors of the castle.

Trixie was sure she had left her sense of balance on the other side of town, and she knew her stomach was no longer present. Jumping from her seat, she aimed for the solid ground and almost missed. Stumbling a little, she got her hooves under her and cracked the whip in the air. "Behold! The Great and Powerful Trixie is… is…" Her stomach was back, and it was not happy.

Shade pawed at the ground with one hoof, striking pose after pose to keep the crowd's attention of her owner. She spotted the purple alicorn approach before the crowd had even finished parting for her.

"Ra… Shade." Twilight tripped over Rainbow Dash's wilder-self's name. "Where is—"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned!" Trixie's voice dropped to a whisper. "Minus her lunch." She trotted over to Shade and unfastened the hitch from her. "Behold! A wild Shadowbolt! Beware her dark magics and fierce gaze, for she is a wild thing that cannot be tamed!"

Even with Twilight standing in front of her, even with a captured glimpse of Fluttershy in the crowd, Shade had to put on her show. She roared loudly, the enchantment elevating it to a wild blast of sound. She flared her wings wide and up, casting a shadow forward. And when her owner jerked on the reins, Shade knew she should fight the restraint, digging her hooves in, trying to charge forward and attack the crowd. This is so cool.

"Trixie, call off your pet." Twilight's voice was flat, deadpan. She looked at Trixie, posturing as if she were really straining to restrain Shade, and then at Shade herself, nearly two feet away and salivating and snarling like a monster. "Both of you calm down!" She watched as both Shade and Trixie folded their ears back and settled. "That's better." Twilight turned. "I am sure Trixie and her wild Shadowbolt will put on a fine show, but I promise her wild pet will not be allowed to run loose in town."

With the excited crowd dispersing—with a princess on the job there would certainly be no rampaging—Trixie finished freeing Shade of even the reins, and walked to Twilight. "Thank you for covering. The Great and Powerf—"

Trixie was rolling away, a Shadowbolt having pounced on her with great speed. Licking and nuzzling Trixie's face, Shade made happy little whines under her breath.

"Oh my, are they a creature from the Everfree Forest?" The owner of the soft voice stepped from the crowd and approached Shade. Fluttershy had her saddlebags on, having just done her shopping in town when the excitement started. "A Shadowbolt? I thought those were the monsters that… that…" She was suddenly a lot less sure of herself.

Shade lifted her head and looked at Fluttershy. On one hoof she felt only good things looking at the mare, but on the other was Rainbow Dash beating at Shade's intended plan. No… not Fluttershy! She is our bestest friend ever, you can't— Shade was already in motion, leaping at the terrified Fluttershy.

Fluttershy had enough time to raise her wings in shock, and then the dark creature was upon her. She curled up in fear, trying to protect her face from its vicious, soft licking. Wait a second. She looked up at the monster standing over her, ignoring the tongue-bath her face was getting. "Aww, you're a big softie, aren't you?"

The nice pony started to dig her hooves into Shade's mane, rubbing her in places she didn't even know were good to be rubbed. She practically collapsed across Fluttershy's back legs, whining softly, gazing up at the big, kind eyes.

Twilight and Trixie both stared at Fluttershy as she completely disarmed the Shadowbolt with her hooves, rubbing tender spots until Shade was on her back, all her limbs spread out to the sides and tongue lolling from the side of a grinning snout. Fluttershy had found Shade's "off switch" and it involved belly rubs.

"Aren't you just a big softie? Yes you are." Fluttershy's wings were fluffed up while she worked, she wasn't afraid anymore, not of Shade. "What is your name I wonder? Snuggle-Muffin? Cutie-Drop? Nuzzle-Snuggle?"

"So," Twilight didn't want to consider what was happening in front of her, "how long are you two in town for?" She saw the relieved expression on Trixie's face as Trixie realized she had been given a reason to ignore Fluttershy and Shade.

"Well, Trixie and Shade have planned for at least three days, and Trixie believes her pet will be," Trixie waved a hoof, "parting company with her… with her…" Trixie blinked at how hard it was to finish the sentence. She tilted her head and thought a little more.

"Parting company?" Twilight blinked for a moment. "Oh! Oh yes!" She nodded. She completely missed the cue from Trixie that this was a matter of contention. "And I bet another pony will be getting back from their big trip." She lifted a hoof up and slowly tapped the end of her snout, implying a secret.

Fluttershy was so distracted with Shade that she didn't even notice the conversation going on. "Well, if nopony names you, I am going to call you Butterfly Breeze." She smiled and reached up to rub Shade's chin, earning a soft sigh from the target of her attentions. "Aww, do you like that, Butterfly?"

Shade's mind was completely zoned out. All the Shadowbolt knew was that the kindest pony in the entire world was being nice to her—being called Butterfly Breeze was a small price to pay. I don't even care, this is better than sleeping on a cloud. A single sound cut through everything, even the touch of Fluttershy's hoof to her ear. Shade jerked her head up and looked at Trixie.

Trixie hadn't even noticed she had whined softly at the thought of leaving again, but she was pulled from her conversation with Twilight when Shade pushed up and nuzzled her cheek. Confronted with the object of her fugue, Trixie leaned against Shade. "Trixie thinks maybe Shade wants to have something to eat?" It was a ruse, but she honestly just wanted to be with her friend, and not her pet.

"Well, you both could come to the castle for dinner. There is no reason you have to spend the night in your wagon when there are so many spare rooms in the castle." Twilight smiled widely, gesturing to her castle—which was after all right beside them—with a hoof.

Her head spinning with thoughts, Fluttershy stood in a daze. "But… um… I could take care of Butterfly?" Her voice was soft, too soft to be heard without her going closer, getting into the conversation. She gave a little peep and stood straighter, marching forward with all the positive intent of a timid squirrel. "Um, excuse me?"

A dark black wing wrapped up and over Trixie's side, pulling her against Shade. Despite Trixie's urge to get to somewhere private, she stopped to pay attention to Fluttershy. "Uh, Trixie was about to leave with her pet. What can she do for you?"

"Is… is her name Shade?" Fluttershy lifted up a hoof, tickling Shade under the chin. "She is really nice. Do you know much about Shadowbolts? I thought they were just monsters that Princess Luna—as Nightmare Moon of course—made up to tempt Rainbow Dash to join her. What does she eat? Is she housebroken? Is that smoke magical or is she breathing—"

Leaning up to Shade's ear, Trixie shielded her mouth from Fluttershy. "Trixie assumes it would be inappropriate to throw a smoke bomb and run?" She already knew it was, but Trixie couldn't resist asking. "Remembering back, Trixie is unsure. Maybe you could ask Rainbow Dash, when she returns from her holiday?"

Fluttershy blinked in incomprehension "But—"

She didn't use a smoke bomb, but Trixie did hustle her pet towards the castle. "Trixie suddenly feels very tired. If it isn't too much trouble, could she possibly have that room sooner rather than later?" It actually stung her a little, abandoning Fluttershy.

Realizing that Trixie was trying to get Shade away safely without having Fluttershy realize who is under the suit, Twilight worked to intercept. "Oh, uh, you can ask Spike inside. Fluttershy? Did you see that new species of star-spider that was found at the castle of the two sisters?"

Rainbow Dash was conflicted, she didn't want to get found out like this, but at the same time she didn't want to leave Fluttershy with the sad, wistful look on her face. Luckily, Rainbow wasn't in control of herself, a wild animal that looked like her was. Shade gave a little whine to Trixie and turned. Trotting over to Fluttershy, Shade smiled in a way she hoped didn't look too terrifying, and licked her newest friend from the side of one cheek all the way up to between her eyes. With a twinkling look, she spun back around and flew for the doors of the castle. You're the best, Shade.

Trixie and Shade slipped into the castle and closed the doors behind them. Both ponies breathed out a big sigh of relief. Shade stretched her wings out and gently curled the tips of her feathers.

A rushing sensation filled Rainbow's ears as she felt her wild side slip off like a hat. "Bucking wow. I have never pulled anything that huge through the air before. That was awesome!" She bounced in place, looking like the silliest Shadowbolt ever—discounting Shade's efforts with Fluttershy, of course.

"Trixie didn't know how to handle Rainbow Dash's friend. She just… Trixie panicked a little." Trixie scuffed a hoof against the floor. "Trixie didn't want anypony to find out about her pet, except on Rainbow's terms."

"She was going to find out, Shade was so out of it when she was rubbing our…" Rainbow's mind fuzzed a little, realizing her foalhood friend had been giving her a belly rub. "Well, she had Shade completely out of it until you whined." She reached up and pulled Trixie into a hug. "And thanks for that. I guess we can keep the big secret until tomorrow night, huh?"

Having a real friend meant a lot to Trixie, and she hugged Rainbow Dash tightly. "Trixie thinks that part is all up to her friend." The two dropped apart. "Should Trixie remove the enchantment?"

Rainbow looked down at herself and laughed. "Nah, this is pretty awesome, and if somepony barges in, or some emergency crops up, I am still hidden." She stretched, not wanting to admit how good it felt to wear the outfit. Just then, her belly gave a stern grumble, reminding Rainbow Dash that lunch was now a long way past. "Guess we better go see what Spike is making."

Spike was making a tossed salad for dinner, although it became extra-tossed when a scary Shadowbolt walked into the kitchen. "Argghhh!" The bowl of leafy-greens flew into the air. "Stand back! I, the great Sir Spike, will defend the… kitchen…" He shook his head and picked up a big salad spoon.

If Shade was in control, there would have been a mess and much craziness. With Rainbow Dash, however, something more was definitely in order. "Princess Twilight Sparkle bid me come here, Sir Spike," only Rainbow's training with Trixie kept her from cracking up laughing as she used a fake voice, "to be your noble steed!"

"R-Really?" Spike's eyes lit up as he stared at Rainbow Dash. He set down his weapon, ignored completely the bowl of salad hovering in light-magenta magic, and walked closer to Rainbow. "Wow…"

"No, not really you doofus." Rainbow reached up to her head and pushed the hood of the outfit back from her face; Rainbow Dash's head now poked out of the illusion of a Shadowbolt. "I couldn't resist!"

Spike froze, looking at Rainbow as realization dawned that he had just been the target of a prank. "Well, it's too late now. You said you were my steed!" He jumped and landed on Rainbow's back and grabbed a handful of mane. "Didn't you learn your lesson after all those cookies?"

"Hey, get off!" Rainbow was too busy laughing to really buck Spike off her back, and ended up giggling more than acting the part of rodeo bronco, giving him a ride around the dining room on a "wild Shadowbolt."

Not a complete slouch with food, Trixie juggled the salad back into shape and used her magic to finish off preparing it. When Rainbow circled around one last time, more trotting than bucking, she set off illusory fireworks. "Behold! The Gastric and Culinary Trixie has prepared a meal sensation that will defeat all other dishes!"

No, not yet, Shade. Rainbow mentally nuzzled that other, wilder self; she fought the urge to just shove her snout in the big bowl and start munching, by just a whisker. "Smells good!" She followed Trixie to the main dining table. "Hi Twilight!"

"Hello Rainbow Dash, Trixie. Mmm, smells good, Spike." Twilight trotted over and took her place at the table, blinking a little as she realized Trixie was doing the serving. "Trixie, I didn't know you could cook."

"Trixie has many special talents, surviving alone on wild herbs and greens is one of her lesser-known ones, it is true." Trixie used the big salad forks to set out the meal on everypony’s plates.

With everypony settled down to eat, talk paused. The sounds of gastronomical delight were interrupted from time to time, when Spike kept poking Rainbow dash, having to keep reminding himself that her smoky parts were real.

Done with the bulk of the eating, each diner was getting to the end of their meal (pushing around that one unidentifiable leaf that they don't like the look of, mostly), when Twilight decided she needed to ask. "So, uh…" She got three sets of eyes focused on her, even if one set looked like they were covered in angry-looking goggles. "Rarity said you two were…"

"I'll do the dishes." Spike gave Twilight a smirk, his old squeamishness now replaced by the knowledge that three mares would not want a young male around while they chat about their relationship—a relationship Spike could see clear as day.

Once Spike was out of the room, Twilight tried to continue. "Are you two a couple, romantically." She tried to say it as fast as possible, in the strange assumption that the less time it took the lower the chance of actually causing offense.

"No."

"Yes"

Trixie looked at Rainbow, and Rainbow Trixie.

"Yes."

"No."

The two mares stared at each other some more, then both gave a nervous laugh. "It's complicated, Twi." Rainbow waved a smokey hoof. "What we have—the pet thing—is pretty special already, you know? We are friends, with some extra fun from time to time."

"Trixie really loves Shade, and knows that Rainbow Dash and Shade are two sides of one coin. She… Trixie wants to try for something more." Trixie gave a firm nod, looking Rainbow in the eyes.

"Me too. So we are going on a date." Rainbow looked into Trixie's eyes and had to fight not to lose herself. Just friends right now. No Shade, not yet. She closed her eyes a moment to hide from those dark violet eyes, and calm Shade down in her head.

"A date?" Twilight was a mixture of shocked, delighted, and happy for her friends—Pinkie would likely call it delappked. "That is great. Where are you going, and who will be organizing the night?"

The double question shocked both Trixie and Rainbow, both mares turning to look at each other, then to Twilight. "Trixie, Rainbow, and Shade got so much help last time from Your Highness, Twilight Sparkle. Could… could they get it again?"

"Aw no, Trixie…" Rainbow lifted a smoky hoof and bopped herself on the forehead. "Now she is going to make a—"

"List!" Twilight clopped her hooves together in excitement. "Now, one of you has to be in charge of what is happening, so who asked whom?" She looked between Trixie Lulamoon and Rainbow Dash, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

Rainbow Dash grinned at Trixie. "Trixie did, it was so awesome… we were just outside town, about to put on our grand entrance, when she…" Rainbow blushed hotly. "It was awesome." Looking away from Trixie, she watched as Twilight—having summoned a scroll—was apparently making some kind of list. Definitely egg-head stuff…

> Welcome to the Show
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why is 'Friendship Lesson number twenty-eight' crossed out at the top of this?" Trixie's eyes narrowed and looked down the list until she found the new writing. "And why does it start with Starlight's name crossed out and mine written instead?" 

"It's a work in progress. A contingency for what might have been." Twilight tapped her forehooves together nervously. "Uh, ignore the bits that talk about Sunburst…" She trailed off a little. "Maybe I should start over with a fresh scroll. It just seemed like a good idea to get things going, was all."

"Actually, Trixie could use this." As her eyes scrolled down the page, Trixie smiled more and more. "And she certainly won't ignore the Sunburst bits, she will assume that Rainbow Dash fits in there. Yes, this will do nicely." She rolled up the scroll and turned to Rainbow. "Our show is tomorrow night, still, but the night after the Anxious and Nervous Trixie will take you on the best date ever!"

"Trixie, just chill. Okay? Focus on the show tomorrow first. I am sure our date will be totally awesome." Rainbow lifted her forehoof up and, like always, Trixie met it with a firm clop. "You are literally the greatest showmare in Equestria, how could you mess up a date?" Rainbow got to her hooves and stretched. "I might go and lay down. Hey Twilight, do I just pick a room at random?"

Twilight lifted her head from the entirely new list she was working on. "Huh? Oh you are going to bed? Just pick a room, knock first…" She descended back into the world of planning through lists. "… and then they have to ensure the stars are in just the right pattern to be the perfect backing… I can talk to Princess Luna about that…"


~~~~~+++++~~~~~


Another wonderful day was dawning, and Trixie had been finding a lot more such since not just making up with Twilight and her friends, but since her friendship with Rainbow Dash had grown. Waking in the castle was vastly different to waking in her wagon; the sounds of nature were muted, disconnected. 

Trixie was just getting used to the silence the crystalline walls of the castle imposed, when she heard panting breaths coming from the doorway-side of her room—at her back. That somepony was in her room wasn't all that odd for Trixie. On the road she and Rainbow had shared the wagon most chill nights, and on warm ones they had stretched out under the stars. 

Slowly rolling over, Trixie's blurry vision started to sharpen just as a tongue connected with the tip of her snout and licked all the way up her face and between her eyes. Staring in shock, Trixie watched—point blank—as Rainbow Dash licked her twice more. 

"Shade!" Trixie's exclamation didn't deter her pet in the slightest, and so Trixie's face was now sopping wet with the pegasus' slobber. "Shade is being a little too friendly…" She used her magic to reach for the collar around Shade's neck, gently pulling it away from herself. 

Undeterred by the shouting, Shade wagged her rainbow tail vigorously. Tugging against the grip on her collar, she wanted to show her mistress how happy she was her mistress was awake. Turning her head around, she nipped at the pinkish glow near her collar.

"Trixie is not getting out of this, is she?" Shimmying to the side under her covers, she pulled back a corner of the bedclothes and released Shade's collar.

Bounding forward, Shade dipped her snout and aimed for the gap between the sheets of the bed. Shoving down and pulling her back end in, she snouted her way around under the covers, poking her mistress' back hooves repeatedly. 

"SHADE!" Trixie's cry was shrill, but tinged with laughter. "Trixie is sensitive on her hooves, you know this!" More and more nuzzles assaulted her hooves, until Trixie was laughing loudly. "St-Stop!" She couldn't cease twisting and turning, trying to get away in vain.

Turning around under the covers just required Shade pushing half of them from the bed, but soon she spotted her target. Standing up and over Trixie, with the covers now firmly dealt with—and on the floor—she began licking and "cleaning" her mistress' face.

Heaving a sigh, Trixie waited for Shade to slow down, and when she looked up in the pegasus' face—as Shade licked her snout slowly—she couldn't stop a blush from rising. This is NOT more intimate than when Rainbow kisses Trixie. Shade is a pet and… Trixie's internal monologue faltered and died. With no warning at all, Shade gave a bark of pure delight and bounced off the bed, crossing the room towards the en-suite. 

Freshened, properly washed, and with Shade suitably dressed at her side, Trixie left the confines of her room to almost bump into another pony. "Starlight!" Trixie froze. Starlight Glimmer had been one of her first true friends, and she was eternally grateful to the unicorn for helping her see that friendships didn't have to be like Twilight's and her friends—they could be based on different things. 

Starlight was surprised at seeing Trixie, but didn't hold back from giving her friend, and fellow savior of Equestria, a tight hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, Trixie." Her eyes slid to the Shadowbolt at Trixie's side. Implications poured through Starlight's mind at seeing the monstrous pony having left Trixie's bedroom at such an early hour. "Uh… who is your new friend?"

Trixie looked to Shade, and saw no indication that her pet wanted to be introduced as anything other than a Shadowbolt. "The Great and Powerful Trixie's wonderful new pet is a Shadowbolt! Legendary monsters of the night and shadow, Trixie dares not let the beast roam the castle halls at night, for fear of finding nopony left the next day…"

This is literally the best fun ever. Let's play the part to the hilt, Shade! Rainbow Dash's thoughts were still slow and sluggish, but Shade was quite happy to act on them. She pounced forward, snarling at the air, pouring black smoke from her mouth at a shocked Starlight. Shade's mistress was pulling back, desperately attempting to keep her "wild pet" from mauling Starlight.

"Oh gosh!" Starlight jerked back further than she needed to, only for Shade to charge closer, getting right in the enchantress' face. "Why in Equestria do you have such a monster? Have you talked to Princess Luna about recovering the poor pony's mind?"

The questions bordered on ruining the joke, and while Trixie was about to answer with misdirection and amazement, Starlight suddenly energized her horn. "Wait—"

"I'll go ask her!" Starlight had worked hard to learn teleportation spells. She wasn't nearly as adept with them as Twilight Sparkle, but she had more raw heft than the Princess of Friendship—at least when it came to sorcery; without a doubt, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the undisputed master of any friendship-related magics.

"… Trixie can explain…" Trixie's voice slowed and dropped after Starlight disappeared in a zzz-pop of magic. "Trixie is sure nothing ill will come of this at all. Whenever anypony misunderstands a showmare's tricks, you will find everything works out perfectly."

Even Shade, unwilling to focus on words usually, could pick up the alicorn-sized load of sarcasm Trixie was using. As she gave up her "fierce beast" act, Shade leaned against Trixie and nuzzled her cheek.

"Shade all day until your big moment?" Trixie reached a hoof up to rub Shade's ear, and felt the mare's head nod under her touch. "Rainbow Dash doesn't have to appear. You can stay as Shade until tomorrow if you want."

"No, I want this." Rainbow Dash had to shove her "monster" persona aside, and spread a black, smoky wing around Trixie's back. "I want everypony to know you are awesome. When I first saw you, I just…" She muttered something under her breath, trailing off.

"Trixie didn't hear that." Giving the black and purple attired Rainbow a boop on the nose, Trixie giggled. "What did Rainbow say?"

"I said I was jealous." Rainbow stepped back and looked at Trixie's shocked look. "Okay? I said it. I was jealous of all the things you could do, some were more amazing than what Twilight could do with her magic!"

"I have not ever said this, I don't think." Trixie shocked even herself with her first-person prose. "But I am not better than Twilight Sparkle at magic. Even those tricks…" She hung her head. "… were just tricks. I looked better, no more."

"Well duh, I know that now. But your tricks are even more amazing than they first looked." Closing the distance with Trixie again, Rainbow put a foreleg and a wing around her. "See, I thought you were just better at magic. I figured you were some amazing long-lost student of Star Swill or—"

"Star Swirl." Trixie might be a lot of dishonest things on stage, but she didn't disparage such a hero.

"That's the point. I thought you were another amazing unicorn and 'blah blah blah horns and magic' and stuff." Rainbow waved her free forehoof in the air. "Don't tell either of them, but I am pretty sure Starlight is more powerful than Twi is. But that is all besides the point. Trixie, you aren't just another overpowered unicorn who thinks they are the greatest. You work ten times harder on your tricks because you aren't that powerful."

"What?"

"Trixie, I am saying you are more amazing because it isn't just raw magic doing your tricks, you are really great at what you do, and it shows in how much time you spend practicing." Rainbow froze when Trixie leaned closer and kissed her on the lips. 

Time stopped for both mares, and all that existed was each other. Their lips didn't shove or fight, there was no struggle at all. In every other way the mares might be over-competing ego-maniacs, but in the hallway, in that moment, they were only two happy mares… and a baby dragon.

"When you two are done making out, breakfast is ready." Spike turned away, whistling innocently as Trixie and Rainbow almost fell over each other trying to pull apart and look innocent.


~~~~~+++++~~~~~


Trixie adjusted her hat and looked at Shade. "Are you ready for this?" She reached a hoof up to rub the deceptively delicate-looking bridle around Shade's head, and check it for chafing—of course it wasn't. 

Shade was more excited than calm. Although her "civilized" half would be trembling in panic, she was anticipating another show. Leaning back, she nuzzled at the special flaps sewn into her suit, the folds of fabric perfect to hide the props hidden there. "Bark!"

When Trixie only heard the one, and saw her excited pet wagging her big tail, she couldn't help but give a laugh as her own pre-show energy was massing. "Let's do this, Shade. Let's be Great and Powerful…" 

Stepping out on the stage, Trixie was almost derailed before she started. In the second row—behind all the foals of course—sat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "The Great and Powerful Trixie presents her Great and Powerful Show!" She set off a dazzling array of sparklers and spinning jolts of magic; the fireworks were all diversion, of course. The pronouncement had been Shade's cue to launch herself into the sky and gain altitude. 

Everything was down to timing. Shade soared on her huge, black wings. She reached a few clouds that the weather ponies had left in the sky at her mistress' request. Flicking a hidden seam on her suit, the smoke effects started to billow great clouds of darkness around her, and the well-trained Shade counted her last wing-beat. Turning her head down. 

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has many amazing acts of the highest magic to show you tonight! First, Trixie will perform her greatest trick, one that never fails… to end the pony casting it… forever!" Trixie floated out a huge, serious-looking tome—actually a cook book, but nopony but Trixie and Rainbow need know that—and began reciting one of the Neighponese recipes. Chanting the instructions for making trail-bread, Trixie used her perfect illusion magic to make it look like huge amounts of magic were rushing from her. 

Shade watched the pentacle-within-a-circle appear on stage below her, and adjusted the angle of her wings. Smoke billowed out from around Trixie, and even half-seen ghosts and monsters reached for her. In the perfect dive, with no way to adjust her angle of attack, Rainbow Dash floated in the only way she had found to really relax—showing off.

The slightest bit of illusory fire was the last guidance Trixie could offer Shade, but it worked perfectly. A tremendous crash shocked the crowd as Shade slammed into the stage and destroyed the balsa around her landing platform. Under the stage, a huge cushion made the landing much less dangerous than it would have been had she hit a solid stage. "Stand back everypony!" Trixie herself leaned forward, but took a step back, as if struggling against great force. "T-T-Trixie has summoned a Shadowbolt!" 

Foals were squealing in delighted fear, and not a few adult ponies shied back from the snarling monster that was in the burning ring on stage. The two Royal Sisters wore completely different looks. Princess Celestia knew a well-practiced act when she saw one, and she had picked up a few details that led her to believe this was very well practiced indeed. Princess Luna was more intrigued than shocked. She peered at the Shadowbolt inquisitively.

Shade dodged the whip her mistress had suddenly produced, snarling at the boundary of her circle like a wild beast. Slowly, she let herself be driven to the opposite side from Trixie, and finally lowered her head.

Keeping the whip held high, Trixie didn't take her eyes off Shade. Stepping into the ring, she let her illusion show the circle briefly flare and then snuff out. "Oh no, I broke the circle!" 

Shade's cue to "attack" spurred her to action. Rushing to the front of the stage, she tried to pounce off and onto a foal. Rainbow noticed it was Sweetie Belle at the last moment, and just as she thought she was going to slam into the poor, stunned filly, magic reins lashed themselves to her bridle and pulled back hard.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will not let her audience be harmed by any monsters!" Trixie pulled back, astounded by how committed Shade was to the "attack." Dragging her pet back on stage, Trixie set about the big "fight" scene. She threw deadly-looking spells at Shade, while her pet continually swooped around, diving at her and bouncing off illusory spheres of energy.

Slowly, the fighting changed to more flashy tricks, with Trixie's mastery over the supposed monster now displayed for all to see. She looked in Shade's eyes, and could see Rainbow look back—and nod. Trixie smiled. "There is one last feat of magic the Great and Powerful Trixie will perform tonight. Some would say that a monstrous Shadowbolt is useful only for guarding and fighting, but Trixie has a way to redeem them."

Luna's eyes widened at the words, and she looked to her sister for answers but found none.

Trixie wheeled a trolley onto the stage, one that had a box atop it. Normally, a showmare like herself would have a trick box, but this one was just normal. "Trixie will undo the magics wrought upon this poor pony, and reveal their true nature." She reared up beside the trolley, and tapped the open box.

Shade shook her head, sticking her tongue out at Trixie in a show of defiance that had all the foals cheering for her with laughter. Cries of "get in the box" and "it's a trap" abounded among them, but when Trixie tugged on the reins with her magic, Shade stepped up. One quick jump had her landing in the box.

Trixie had to push and shove comically to get Shade's wings and tail to fit in the box. The actions drew more laughs, but Trixie motioned the crowd to silence. "Trixie needs help to focus on this spell. We know friendship is magic, and this will take a lot of friendship. Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie beckoned to Twilight, then pointed at Pinkie Pie. "And Trixie has a feeling Pink—"

"YAY!" Pinkie Pie bounced on all fours, beating Twilight to the stage in her excitement. "Are we going to turn them into a chicken? I always wanted to turn something into a chicken, but Mrs. Cake says the only things that turn into chickens are eggs, what are we—"

"Ahem!" Trixie struggled to be heard over Pinkie Pie, but her magically amplified voice was up to the task. "If both of Trixie's wonderful assistants could stand on each side of the box, and think of the most wondrous flying thing they can!" 

Trixie started with her magic again, dragging out the performance to give Rainbow Dash time. "Think positive thoughts, happy thoughts. Trixie requires everypony here to focus on the box now, and think of the most wondrous of things." Her words were guiding everypony's thoughts towards what she wanted them to think. Trixie felt the slight trickle of magic as Rainbow triggered the suit to change into a Wonderbolt costume. "Trixie thinks… she thinks it might already be done. Is anypony in there?" She leaned close to the box, cocking one ear towards it theatrically.

Three loud knocks came back. Slow, deep thuds against the casing. The crowd went dead silent.

"Princess Twilight, could you please help Trixie unfasten the lid of the box?" Trixie took one side, and tried desperately to ignore the wide smile of delight on Twilight's face. As soon as the last catch was undone, the lid flew upwards, almost exploding as a rainbow spray of light shot into the air. Rainbow Dash hovered, a shell-shocked look of surprise on her face. 

The crowd of ponies exploded into applause. Cheering wildly and stomping hooves in support of the show. Stepping to the front of the stage, Trixie guided Twilight and Pinkie offstage, and took a bow towards the crowd. "Thank you! Thank you! The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to thank her amazing Wonderbolt friend." She turned to gesture to Rainbow to come to the front with her, but as she did, her eyes widened in surprise. Trixie's lips were pressed against Rainbow Dash's, and somehow the crowd's cheering increased three-fold.
> First Date
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things had flipped around for Rainbow Dash, and she wasn't sure how to take it. Previously, she had used Shade as her shield, to hide behind and keep the eyes of her friends from looking at her too much. Now she was scared stiff everypony would try to talk to Shade as if they were the same pony.

Rainbow looked up at the clock on the wall, then to the maitre'd of the restaurant. "She should be here any moment. Are you sure she made the booking for seven?" It was ten-past-seven in the evening, and Trixie was late to their first date.

"Madam, I have told you before. We are not so busy that we cannot hold your table." Savoir Fare might be many things, but being short to a pony in love—let alone the personal friend of a princess, and a Wonderbolt—was unconscionable. "Perhaps your friend is just—"

"Trixie!" Rainbow Dash's wings shot up, and she had to fight the urge to race up to Trixie and lick her. The latter feeling, of course, was more Shade's doing, than Rainbow's. All thoughts of how late Trixie was left Rainbow Dash's head, and she grinned wide.

Trixie wore neither cape nor hat. "The Great and Powerful Trixie would like it to be known she is not late. Princess Twilight had a list, you see, and making sure there was time to actually mark things off the list was not on the list." Rolling her eyes, Trixie smiled at Rainbow Dash. Stepping closer, she closed her eyes and leaned forward.

Even without the rush of the performance, Rainbow Dash didn't hesitate. She leaned forward and kissed Trixie Lulamoon on the lips. It didn't last long, just a touch, but her lips were warmer when she pulled back. A giddy, happy feeling settled in Rainbow's belly, and although it made her want to fly, it wasn't a "run away and fly" so much as a "I feel great flying."

Turning her attention to Savoir Fare, Trixie Lulamoon tried to ignore the giddy feeling she felt after every time she kissed Rainbow Dash. "Trixie thinks it is time we were seated, thank you."

When Rainbow Dash turned to follow Savoir, she thought she heard paper rustling behind her. Turning her head slowly, she couldn't resist making a joke. "Let me guess, Twilight made you a list of things to do?"

Trixie only barely got the scroll put away before Rainbow Dash saw it. "What? Of course Trixie wouldn't do that!" Walking forward, she made sure the list was well hidden in her saddle bags as she drew up beside Rainbow Dash. "The Thoughtful and Caring Trixie just wants to make sure this goes right."

"Being on a date is way less important than spending time with you, Trixie. But I have to admit, this place is pretty fancy." When they were finally stopped at a table, Rainbow Dash reached for her chair and slunk down on it. "I hope the food's good."

"Twilight helped Trixie choose. She had to sit through hours of compared lists, including graphs." Trixie rolled her eyes as she took her own seat. "The only thing Trixie managed to get out of it was hungry."

"Madams, I can assure you we can fix that." Savoir Fare turned his charm to eleven, and offered menus to Rainbow and Trixie. "May I make a suggestion?" He waited the few moments required for a nod from each of his customers.

Rainbow Dash quickly tuned out the waiter, just nodding to him when he was finished talking. A naughty part of her pondered letting Shade loose, just to see what would happen. So wrapped up in thinking about it, was she, that she completely missed what Trixie said, and by the look of her fillyfriend's face she was expected to answer. "S-Sorry Trixie, I got a bit distracted there."

Having been caught staring at Rainbow Dash, Trixie took the easy way out of the indiscretion. "Well, perhaps Trixie needs to do something to get all of your attention?" She raised an eyebrow, and then used her magic to lift three glasses up and position them upside down.

"Cups? Really? Trixie, I know you're bad at this. Besides, nopony can do this trick with clear glasses." Waving a hoof dismissively, Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie produced a ball from nowhere.

"Trixie has been practicing." Picking up the first glass, Trixie tilted it in such a way as to hide the little flash of magic she used to slip a ball under it.

"I can see the ball under that!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the cup.

"Well of course; that glass is clear. But you missed the ball under this cup." Reaching to the cup on the far end, Trixie lifted it, using her hoof to hide another flash that made it look like a ball was under it all along.

"Wait…" Looking back and forth between the two cups, Rainbow was suddenly confused.

"Was that too fast?" Trixie grinned, tipped both cups upright again and the balls were gone from sight the instant her hooves left them. "So while you were watching the outside cups, suddenly the middle one has a ball under it."

Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie's hoof tapped the top of the middle cup, but nothing was under it. "You're wrong!"

Trixie lifted the end cups, making a ball appear under each. "Oh, you're right, they were under these two again." She tilted the cups over and captured the balls from them. "Trixie wonders if you were, though."

Watching as hard as she could, Rainbow Dash realized there was an impossible aspect to the trick, and rather than paying complete attention to the cup, she watched Trixie's horn. A gentle flicker gave the trick away. "You're using magic. I saw you use a spell to put the last ball under the cup." Trixie's hoof was obscuring the cup, but Rainbow was sure of herself.

"Rainbow Dash." Trixie waited until Rainbow paid her full attention. "Look in your glass."

"You're getting a lot better at this." Looking to her own glass, of course Rainbow Dash saw all three balls in it. "But the point is, you used magic."

"I did. After all, you gave Trixie the idea to." Reaching over with a hoof, Trixie liberated the balls from Rainbow's glass. "There is nothing amazing about what Trixie did, anypony could do it, but the trick is to make it look so perfect that they don't know she used magic."

"What?" Rainbow blinked, trying to work her way through the logic. "So what you're saying is, after making everypony think that you are using magic, they will think that you wouldn't for such a silly trick, and not suspect you actually are?"

Trixie preened (which was hard to contemplate, given she was a unicorn). "Perfect, isn't it?"

Despite her skepticism, Rainbow Dash smiled at the other overconfident egomaniac in the room. "Okay, but show me the magic at work. I didn't see a flash or anything." When Trixie reached for a cup, Rainbow shook her head. "No, without hiding it."

"And Trixie assumes you will want to know the secret behind all her tricks?" Managing an indignant expression long enough to get a reaction from Rainbow Dash was tough for Trixie, but she was nothing if not a Great and Powerful actor.

"Trixie! I'm your assistant!" Rainbow Dash was winding up for a tirade, when she saw how hard Trixie was working not to laugh. Blowing out an exasperated sigh, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin at how well she had been baited. "Just show me."

Trixie's horn barely lit, a very soft magenta hue surrounded just the very tip. She performed the trick, fighting the urge to reach up and hide the magic. "There."

"You made smoke around it, like with the suit." Rainbow hadn't seen any light before the ball had appeared from the smoke. "That is something. Every time I have ever seen a unicorn do magic, it had a flash of their magic."

Her ego stroked finely, Trixie smiled like the sun. "Trixie will have her horn hidden, of course, under her hat. Nopony will know that real magic was used for such a simple trick." 

The dinner progressed, and once food started coming out both ponies—who were used to living on the road, with simple meals—devoured the wonderful food. Each had finished their desserts, and the bill had been paid, when Trixie stood up.

The sound of a thud to her side had Trixie looking to see what had fallen. When she spied the scroll Princess Twilight had written for her, she tried to quickly put it back away. The problem was, when Trixie grabbed for the scroll with a hoof, she bumped it, unrolling it along the floor.

"Thought so. Let's see!" Rainbow Dash jumped on the scroll, reading the title. " 'Princess Twilight's Guide to the Perfect Date.' Trixie! You said you weren't running from a list!"

"Well Trixie was trying to, but then you went off script, and her silly list didn't cover what to do when the Great and Powerful Rainbow Dash wanted to see the latest special trick." Trixie tried to roll the scroll back up, but Rainbow was still standing on the end of it.

"Trixie. The reason I asked is because I knew anything Twilight could come up with would be just about the most terrible plan ever." Scooping up the scroll herself, Rainbow Dash lifted it and started to read. "Look. You were supposed to ask me about my Wonderbolt training, which you know I haven't been to in three months."

Walking up beside Rainbow, Trixie read the next item. "And I was supposed to offer you a wing massage if you looked tired?" She giggled.

Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow. "I could really go a wing ma—"

"You aren't getting one." Trixie looked to the next entry. "She even specified how long the candles on the table had to be."

Unable to resist, Rainbow Dash leaned in and set her wing gently over Trixie's back. "What about Shade?"

"If you think Shade would sit still long enough for a wing massage, Trixie might give her one. Shade likes Trixie's magic tricks." Trixie certainly wasn't averse to the soft, silky feathers wrapped around her like her cape. "Perhaps Rainbow Dash and Trixie should do this one together?"

Rainbow followed Trixie's hoof where it gestured at the scroll. "After date kiss? Second date, bub." She gestured towards the exit with her free wing. "Come on. If I wanted to do all this stuff, I would be dating Twilight, not the Great and Powerful Trixie."

Hearing her name spoken such, Trixie followed along with Rainbow. "You're right. Next time, you plan the date." Holding the scroll to the side, she carefully unrolled it to the end and took out a quill. "One thing I think I managed."

Looking at the last entry, Rainbow Dash nodded. "Y-Yeah."



Make sure you both have a good time.



Waiting until they were outside the restaurant, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings in the evening air. "Although, I am not really used to all this fancy food. Permission to go a little down-market with the next date?" 

"You may." Limbering up her legs, Trixie arched an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. "Race you to the wagon?" The light she saw in Rainbow's eyes made everything worthwhile. Of course, she had to break into a gallop to catch up. "No fair!"

Laughing, Rainbow Dash didn't slow down, she knew how much work Trixie did pulling her wagon. "C'mon slowpoke!" Shade seemed to wake inside her, and for a moment they were both running together, but once the wagon was in sight Shade pushed. Rainbow didn't fight her other self, and let the power of a Shadowbolt pour through her.

Trixie stared in surprise as smoke began pouring off Rainbow Dash, and when her friend turned, she knew Shade was at the helm. "Shade!" Delight spread through Trixie, and she met with her pet and began rubbing Shade's ears. A little shock hit her, however, when she realized Rainbow Dash/Shade was not wearing the enchanted suit.





Princess Luna didn't often feel the urge to prank a pony, but she considered Rainbow Dash and Trixie Lulamoon a special situation. After all, it wasn't everypony who claimed to be one of Luna's own, special guards. The enchantment she had laid on Rainbow Dash had triggered, and Luna couldn't help but giggle. She expected a letter from Twilight Sparkle shortly.
> A New Lease on Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash waited with Trixie at her side. Black/blue smoke boiled from her body, and when she looked in the mirror—for the hundredth time, or so it felt to her—solid yellow eyes stared back. The suit that seemed part of her fur was mostly dark colors. Purple hid most of her body, a gold lightning bolt wrapped her neck and each leg, and her hooves were black, as was the "mask" that covered her head.

Sitting beside her fillyfriend, Trixie kept stealing glances. She thought she had the look of a Shadowbolt just right, but the subtle differences to Rainbow Dash made it all the more spooky. "Princess Luna's letter said she would be here as soon as she can."

The doors of the map room flew open. Twilight Sparkle, her wings fluffed up and on display, was not the only alicorn who looked into the room. Beside her, Princess Luna had just finished schooling her expression into some semblance of her normally stoic one, despite having what was apparently the best joke in a thousand years revealed.

Luna thought it would be impossible to hold back her laughter, but memories of what Nightmare Moon had offered Rainbow Dash—on Luna's behalf—flooded her. The suit Rainbow and Trixie had been using was a poor imitation of the spell that rested around Rainbow Dash now. Every detail reminded Luna of much older times. "Princess Twilight Sparkle tells me my new recruit is now properly attired for her duty."

"Wait, my duty?" Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide, not that anypony could see (thanks to the goggles that seemed fastened to her face). "I totally didn't mean to, I mean, I am a Wonderbolt! I can't be a Shadowbolt as well!" When Luna's face didn't show any change, Rainbow Dash lowered her voice. "C-Can I?"

Twilight had had enough of tormenting Rainbow and Trixie. "Princess Luna, I won't let you push my friend into—"

Lifting her hooves, Luna gave them a gentle clop together. The magic of the night that had wrapped Rainbow into the guise of a Shadowbolt fell away. Dark smoke flowed off Rainbow Dash, pooling around the floor before it flowed up and seemingly into Luna. "You look good in that uniform, Rainbow Dash."

"Th-Thank you, Your Highness." Rainbow Dash sucked up her pride and tried to bow her head. Arching her back, she barely managed to dip her snout a little before straightening back up. "I guess this means no more performing as a Shadowbolt."

"I didn't say that." Luna clopped her hooves again, and once more Rainbow Dash was clad in the dark costume, smoke billowing from mane and tail. "Discord would love this." She started clopping her hooves together over and over, and each time the suit either appeared, or rolled away like smoke. 

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof at Princess Luna. "Wait!" She managed to catch the Princess in one of the normal-Rainbow-Dash moments. "I don't think I understand quite what you are saying, Princess. And I thought you removed this…" Rainbow Dash clopped her forehooves together, and was once more clad as a Shadowbolt.

"A lot of years ago, there was a group of ponies who flew through my night and kept everypony else safe. My sister has always had her Wonderbolts, but while they defended Equestria during the day, it was my Shadowbolts who guarded it by night." Luna walked up to Twilight's throne, and with a quick smile to Twilight, she sat beside it.

"They were never many, but they were the best fliers and the best fighters. I think you see where this is going." Luna nodded to Rainbow Dash. "It is your choice. You can be a Shadowbolt, or not."

Rainbow Dash clopped her hooves together again, and again she was her normal self. "So a Shadowbolt is a good flier, who can give as good as she gets?" What confused Rainbow Dash the most was that it was practically a definition of her. 

Luna saw the fire in Rainbow Dash's eyes and smiled. "The Wonderbolts slipped into a more relaxed role during a thousand years of quiet, but the world isn't quiet anymore." She stood up and ruffled her wings. "After Ponyville, I would like it if the Great and Powerful Trixie came to perform in Canterlot." Walking for the door, Luna gave Twilight a bright smile as she passed her.

Trixie was stunned. There was almost too much for her to take in. She turned from the doorway Luna had just exited through and looked at Rainbow Dash. Her friend clopped her hooves together, then again, and each time she changed from normal, to what Trixie always thought of as Shade.

"You know what this means, right Trixie?" Rainbow left herself in her normal guise, and turned to look at Trixie. "Three words: Royal Command Performance." She smirked as a huge grin blossomed on Trixie's face. "Is that a—"

Watching as Trixie catapulted across the table at Rainbow Dash, Twilight turned from the map room with a big smile on her face. She followed in Luna's hoofsteps, and almost bubbled over. "This must be how Cadance feels."

A dull, flat monotone stole all of Twilight's focus. "What is what Cadance feels?" Maud looked at her lover, and a tiny smile pulled up at the corner of her mouth. "They can look after themselves. Come on, pet."

"Tonight has been really awesome, Trixie." Rainbow Dash held up her hooves and gently tapped them together. A wash of feeling rush through her, and despite all the crazy stuff she really should have been thinking about, Shade slipped into the fore.

Rainbow Dash felt Shade taking over. Shade was Rainbow, if only a more animalistic side. Instincts rushed in around her, and without thinking twice, Shade trotted around behind Trixie and sniffed under her tail.

"Shade!" Trixie jumped to the side and clamped her tail down. "You know that is bad behavior! Come on now, it's time for Trixie to take her pet to bed."

Happy to follow her owner, Shade pranced along, her dark form no longer just a trick of magic. When Trixie opened the door to their bedroom, Shade leapt up on the bed and curled around herself on top of the covers.





Jerking her head up, Shade shook the sleep from her mind. A glance around the room revealed not the little wagon she was so used to sleeping in, but the Castle of Friendship. Looking up the bed, she eyed Trixie still asleep.

Rainbow Dash, happily letting Shade deal with the morning, worked her thoughts over the night's dream. She had been soaring, flying in her Wonderbolt uniform, and at her side had been Shade. They had been unstoppable, beating up every baddie that came their way. Day or night, it was all the same, but during their nighttime battles, Luna's moon had watched over them.

Trixie Lulamoon had gotten used to a large, pony tongue rasping over her face; being licked by Shade had been her alarm clock for months. She knew that shielding her face would just encourage Shade to further shenanigans, so she put up with the face-bath, and giggled.

Encouraged, Shade bounced in place and spread her wings. A blanket of smoke poured around the bed before the Shadowbolt flopped down on top of Trixie. Nuzzling her head in against Trixie's neck, Shade relaxed.

"Whenever you're ready, Shade." Trixie Lulamoon lay abed with the best excuse for not getting up. Her left foreleg managed to sneak out the side of the blanket and reach up and around Shade's withers. 

Being a pet meant that Shade had no intention at all of getting up. She was warm, and snug, and had Trixie pinned down and giving her snuggles. Closing her eyes, Shade drifted off to a dreamless sleep that lasted nearly another full hour.

Shade's ear perked up when she thought she heard her name. She twitched it again when she did hear her name. Opening her eyes, she was already looking right at Trixie's face.

"Shade." The third time Trixie said Shade's name, she knew she had her pet's attention. "Shade is Trixie's pet. Shade is the best pet." She kissed Shade's nose, and got a lick back for her trouble. She spent some effort to even her tone, and bring a hypnotic tone to it. "If Shade or Rainbow Dash don't want to be Trixie's pet, then they aren't.

"If Shade or Rainbow Dash think anypony is in danger, they are no longer Trixie's pet. If Shade or Rainbow Dash curl their feather tips,"—Trixie reached down to one smoke-covered wing and gently turned a feather a little—"like this, or if Trixie says 'Show's over,' then Shade and Rainbow Dash are no longer Trixie's pet. Barking will let Trixie's pet refuse any command, but she will still be a good pet."

Rainbow Dash felt a little distracted in her head. The wording was a little different, it wasn't just sinking into Shade, it was also affecting her. It dawned on her after a few moments of silence; Trixie had included both their names in the commands. "B-Bark.

"Trixie. You worded that to make both of us your pet." Rainbow Dash, not Shade, looked at Trixie from nearly point-blank. Their noses were so close that they could rub with minimal effort.

Realizing she had messed up the induction, Trixie opened her mouth and was about to say Show's over, when Rainbow Dash kissed her. She blinked. "Trixie can remove the—"

Rainbow kissed Trixie again. "If I wanted it to be over, I would have just thought it. Let's try it, just for one day." She leaned in and adjusted her position so that she could lay with their lips touching. Then Shade returned.

The soft, gentle motions of a pony were gone, and Shade engaged in giving Trixie another face bath. "You've already done this! Shade! Off!" Trixie's protests only encouraged Shade to greater lengths, and soon she surrendered, trying not to blush as Shade lapped along her horn.

Finally, seemingly done with cleaning Trixie's face, Shade stretched her wings and pumped them once. Sideways momentum from a perfectly angled flap of her wings sent Shade off the bed and to the floor. She shook herself roughly, shedding smoke all around in her excitement.

"Trixie and her pet need to start working on something new for Canterlot. Something that shows a little less 'savage Shadowbolt' and a little more 'fantastic Shadowbolt'." Climbing from her bed, Trixie stretched her shoulders and hips, the muscles used to long hours pulling a wagon and not so much soft beds. 

If Shade could have looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes and sighed, she would have. Working on tricks was her other half's game, so Shade lifted her forehooves and clopped them together.

Rainbow Dash sighed and stretched her muscles. Looking over her body, she still marveled at what Princess Luna's spell did. "So, what do you think would work? We could have something appear to go wrong, and while Shade is being all angry and nasty, she rushes in and saves the day."

"That would definitely work, and it would be best if Trixie used somepony from the audience—Wait. Close-up magic tricks are always the best, and Trixie would prefer it being herself in any danger, rather than somepony else." Trixie had been too busy brushing her mane to even see the kiss coming, but when it landed on her cheek she practically purred.

"The way I was thinking of it, it would only look dangerous. Maybe something else you could do with magic that would look perfectly normal? That way, if it goes wrong, you just have an illusion wash over you." Pulling back from where she had rewarded the Brave and Responsible Trixie, Rainbow Dash lowered her body down, and pressed her wings to the floor.

"No, that would be easy to fake, but while anypony would see the illusion, there are so many things that would make it impossible to believe. The trick would be that whoever is on stage would return to the crowd and tell everypony that it was real." Watching Rainbow do her wing-ups, Trixie couldn't help but admire the physical strength her fillyfriend possessed.

"And it needs to be something they can't stop themselves. The stunt could quickly fall apart if one of our assistants tries to be the hero." Pumping her wings, Rainbow Dash lifted her body-weight again and again. "And there is somethin' else I gotta work on." 

Trixie finished brushing her mane, and was moving on to her tail. "What is that?"

"Our second date." Hefting her body up from the floor, Rainbow tilted her head to the side so she could look at Trixie. She smiled at the look of surprise on her fillyfriend's face. "What? You thought one was going to be enough?"

Laughing, Trixie swapped over to brushing Rainbow Dash. "Trixie would not be resistant to a second date." She watched Rainbow Dash for a few moments, working the brush in time with the other mare's motions, but after a few long strokes Rainbow seemed to flop to the floor and just go boneless.

With both her ears splayed out to the sides, Rainbow Dash gave a happy groan. She lay still, barely moving apart from swishing her tail from side to side. "M-My weakness…"

"And to think, Trixie never discovered this one while they were traveling." Smiling and standing over Rainbow Dash, Trixie Lulamoon couldn't have been happier if she tried. Each stroke of her brush earned a little, happy groan from Rainbow Dash, and for the moment that was all Trixie wanted in the world.
> Shadowbolt Pt1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stamina that Rainbow Dash's months with Trixie had made stunts take a lot less physical effort. It was easy to forget everything—all her cares and worries were behind her. Rainbow Dash did five, quick aileron rolls.

"Rainbow! Trixie does not like stunts!" Trixie, meanwhile, was not enjoying the flight quite as much as her fillyfriend. "We have been over this!"

"What's that?! More?! Okay!" When Rainbow Dash had to make a choice about where to take Trixie for their second date, the answer was easy: Cloudsdale. Their afternoon had started (after they finished their practice for the new stunt) with a trip to Canterlot. From there Rainbow Dash had borrowed a chariot, and hooked up and taken to the sky with Trixie safely aboard.

Cloudsdale was just south of the Crystal Empire, and that meant that the ride from Canterlot should have been a long one, but not for a single-pony chariot, and not when it was pulled by Rainbow Dash. The loops Rainbow had flown, and the frequent rolls had added a little time to their flight, but not enough for Rainbow Dash to consider not doing them.

By the time Rainbow Dash landed the chariot in Cloudsdale, the sky was growing dim. "Don't forget to cast that cloud-walking spell." She unhooked the chariot and walked around to greet Trixie with a kiss on the cheek again. 

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has been learning a lot of new tricks." Trixie prepared the spell, focused on herself as the target, and let loose. Her own magic energizing her limbs, Trixie Lulamoon tested the cloud with just one hoof first. Finding it solid, she stepped down onto the—now—solid surface.

Rainbow Dash watched Trixie Lulamoon walk, and was struck (not for the first time) by how physically fit she was. "Come on. There's a fancy place up here that Soarin told me is nice."

"Slowly. Trixie is still getting used to the ground—err, clouds—being down. She does not like whatever that trick you did was." Trixie's words were absolute truth. She walked slowly, getting a feel for having everything up the right way again. She fought down her squeamishness and made her way up beside Rainbow Dash. 

Taking note to be a little more gentle on the way home, Rainbow Dash stepped a little sideways so her shoulder and thigh brushed against Trixie with each step. "So, about this trick?"

"Great and Powerful Shadowbolt? Yes?" Trixie was well aware of Rainbow with each casual touch of their bodies. Rainbow Dash was slightly in the lead, guiding Trixie along. For a brief moment Trixie considered using a leash, but then she reminded herself this was Rainbow Dash she was on a date with, not Shade.

"Would it be best if we had an actual patsy from the audience? Somepony we can tell in advance? I just don't want to freak out somepony too badly." If Rainbow Dash had learned one thing about pranking, it was that some things were going a little too far. 

Trixie let out a sigh. "You're probably right. Trixie has tried these tricks before, and on several occasions she had to make a hasty retreat because the audience pony got scared and stirred everypony into a stampede. "Do you have somepony in mind?"

"A friend: Scootaloo." Reaching the right street, Rainbow Dash turned to lead the way toward the restaurant.

"The filly? Hrmm, that would help play up the danger aspect. And if she's in on the trick, we can easily make it look like she's in a little danger." While Trixie spoke, she watched as the shops progressively became higher and higher class. By the time Rainbow Dash turned toward a particular restaurant, Trixie was just coming up with the last good point. "And who stops a foal from getting to go on stage?"

Rainbow Dash walked into the restaurant. There was a big VIP chain covering the entrance. "Hey! What gives? I sent a friend to book a table and—"

"Hey, Crash." Soarin was inside the restaurant, and leaned against the little podium. "We heard you got a promotion. I know you only wanted to book two seats, but when Captain Spitfire heard the news, she booked the whole place for the night."

"What?" Rainbow Dash's wings loosed at her sides, and she felt anger start to grow. "This was supposed to be—"

"Crash, don't sweat it. Of course, you and your plus one are coming in. I still can't believe the news." Soarin, casually, pulled the chain aside for Rainbow Dash. When he recognized Trixie Lulamoon, he got even more excited. "You're still together?"

"Soarin thought it was a phase, Trixie." Waiting just inside the chained off area, Rainbow Dash kissed Trixie on the cheek.

Raising an eyebrow as she watched Soarin's face fall a little, Trixie smiled. "Trixie doesn't do phases—they are too tiring." She could see the entire Wonderbolt team around a big table in the middle of the room. One or two of them she could be reasonably intimidating toward, but the whole team was a united force of awesome. 

Trixie Lulamoon didn't know how to be meek, however. She quickly cast a new spell Starlight Glimmer had taught her: invisibility. "Close your eyes."

"Whoa. You made us invisible?" Holding up a hoof before her own face, Rainbow Dash was stunned to be able to look right through it. "How'd you do thi—" An invisible hoof poked into Rainbow dash's mouth. 

Stepping right up to the table, or so she hoped (her eyes were closed), Trixie tossed a smoke bomb at the floor and dispelled the invisibility a moment later—when she hoped the smoke was thick enough to hide their appearance.

One thing Trixie hadn't planned for was combat-trained pegasi. When she opened her eyes, Trixie saw three members of the Wonderbolts fanning their wings—the smoke was practically out of the door behind her. 

"Nice try!" Spitfire knew Trixie Lulamoon from the times she and Rainbow Dash had put on shows after the Wonderbolts' own. "You and Crash still an item? Good for you."

Trixie had learned a rule when it came to showing off: sometimes somepony is "good" enough that you cannot win against them directly. Spitfire seemed that, but there was also the compliment she paid, which appeased the Great and Powerful Trixie.

"Wait." Thunderlane looked from Trixie to Rainbow, then back again. "Soarin, when you said Crash wanted you to book two seats…" 

Even Spitfire colored at the realization of what they had accidentally crashed. "This is my fault, too."

Soarin looked between Spitfire and Thunderlane. "Wasn't it a celebration of her promotion? I don't get it."

Standing up, Fleetfoot walked over to Soarin and pressed her mouth to his ear. "They came here on a date."

"A date?!" Soarin stared around at the other Wonderbolts. "Aww pony-feathers. And we're all intruding on it!"

"No, you're not." Trixie stomped up to the table the Wonderbolts were sitting at and parked her plot on a spare seat. "Trixie and Rainbow have plenty of other times they can go on a date. What's this about a promotion?"

"Princess Luna sent it with her fastest courier." Spitfire pulled an important looking scroll from the table. "You're now an honorary Wonderbolt, you'll always have that rank, Crash. But now you're Captain of the Shadowbolts." She passed the scroll to Rainbow. "Don't know what Shadowbolts are, but I know a royal promotion when I see one."

While Rainbow Dash read the decree, she felt a chill run down her spine. At first, she thought it was from the news, but the chill got stronger and she felt something swell inside her. Tilting her head away from the note, away from her squadmates, she looked right at the moon (though there was a wall blocking her view, she knew where it was).

"If you don't mind, the Great and Powerful Trixie needs to talk with Rainbow Dash." Pushing back to her hooves, Trixie floated Rainbow into the air just a little, and levitated her to a table in the far corner of the restaurant. "This is big news."

"Y-Yeah. I didn't know things would change this much." Rainbow Dash got to the end of the decree and returned to the start—unfortunately, nothing had changed from one reading to the next. "I mean, I'm still a Wonderbolt?"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "You've saved Equestria so many times they should make you two Wonderbolts."

Under the circumstances, a giggle was exactly what Rainbow Dash needed. "I don't think that's how it works, Trixie."

"What does this mean for you? For the Shadowbolts?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah. That's what I don't get. So I'm a captain, but captains need a command." Reaching to the middle of the table, Rainbow Dash snared a bread-stick and bit the end off it. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment before gulping the bread down. "We'll need to go to Canterlot and speak with Princess Luna."

Trixie nodded. "But first Trixie thinks you need to celebrate with your friends." 

"Trixie can be pretty smart sometimes. Damn unicorn egg-heads." Closing her eyes, Rainbow Dash pressed her lips to Trixie's. They were soft, warm, and moving back against her own. They were locked in the kiss for nearly four whole seconds before cheering came from the main table.

"You go, Crash!" was the loudest cry from among the cheer.

Between nuzzles, Trixie let out a sigh. "We need to go back over there, Captain Crash." Flicking her tongue over Rainbow's lips, Trixie let out a little giggle at the hungry/happy look on Rainbow's face. "Come on."

Rainbow Dash stole another kiss before she turned toward the table of her comrades. As she strutted back over, Trixie by her side, she felt her curiosity rise about one subject in particular. "So, why's Cloudsdale all the way up here? Last time I checked the Crystal Empire didn't need its weather worked on."

"That's just the thing, something's whipping up a huge storm here. A few of the weather egg-heads think it's just some minor retaliation against the sunshine and warmth the Crystal Heart's producing. Princess Celestia asked us to deploy the best weather ponies we have against it." Spitfire had picked up a piece of fancy toast and now crunched it in her mouth.

Another chill ran down Rainbow Dash's spine, but this time she couldn't find a reason for it. Sitting at the table, she reached out and grabbed some of the toast for herself. "Well, it's lucky you have the best weather pony in all Equestria here."

"All the best," Spitfire said. "I'm sure we'll have the weather back to normal in no time. Now, eat up, Captain." She held her hoof across the table to Rainbow Dash.

As Rainbow reached across to clop hooves with Spitfire, she noticed something odd. Just before their hooves met a purple arc of light flickered. The chill ran up her spine again. "There's only two types of weather that make Princess Elmo's Fire." As she drew her hoof back, the purple light kept burning on her own and Spitfire's hooves.

"Thunderstorms over water." Soarin recounted the drills that his training had instilled in him. "A-A-And—"

"Grab your gear and get on the field! I want you all ready to fly in under five minutes!" At her best when yelling, Spitfire never failed to bring her voice to bear when there was an emergency. "Now you bunch of fillies!"

Trixie Lulamoon looked confused. She turned to face Rainbow Dash (the last Wonderbolt left in the room now the rest had turned and bolted). "What else can do that?"

"The enemy of all ponies. Windigo." Rainbow Dash turned toward the exit. "Are you coming?"

"Well, of course I'm coming." Taking a step after Rainbow Dash, Trixie was surprised when Rainbow clopped her forehooves together. "What are you doing?"

"I don't think Princess Luna did any of this just for show." As Rainbow spoke she felt Shade baying inside her head. Together. We need to fight this together, Rainbow Dash thought.
> Shadowbolts Pt2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is abominable." Trixie Lulamoon stood in the throne room of Canterlot Castle and glared up at both sisters, though she focused most on Princess Luna. Her voice was raised above its usual level to ensure she would be heard—this was something important to her. "You made Trixie's friend a Shadowbolt to defend Equestria, but she had to do it almost single hoofed!"

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked sideways at her sister. Luna, she noticed, looked like the cat that ate the canary. While Trixie continued—describing a great battle between a pony and a windigo—Celestia asked, "Sister, is there any truth to this?"

"She made her own uniform. It had smoke and everything." Despite her embarrassment at being caught by her sister, Luna still remembered when she'd first seen Rainbow Dash wearing her outfit. "I may have revived the Shado—"

"The Shadowbolts," Princess Celestia said—cutting in, "was something you came up with when you were ten. What do you mean 'revived'?"

One of Luna's ears still twitched toward Trixie, listing to the mare rant about the dangers of doing things alone, while she turned the other toward Celestia. "When I came back as Nightmare Moon, I may have manifested them."

"You used dark magic to recreate your imaginary friends?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I was in a dark time, alright? Apparently it gave Rainbow Dash the idea for her costume." Luna's thoughts trailed back to the first time she'd seen Trixie's show with the wild Shadowbolt in it—Luna had almost squealed like a filly. "It was really good…"

Princess Celestia wanted three things: a cup of tea, a slice of the best cake in Equestria, and a soft pillow to hide under—in that order. Instead, Celestia had to sort out a mess her sister had made. It was what big sisters did, after all. "What exactly did you do? Nothing that might open the way for the Nightmare to—"

"No!" In her haste, Luna had cut off both Celestia and Trixie. The former just smiled while the latter looked annoyed. "I'm sorry, Trixie Lulamoon. Please continue." When Trixie did, Luna sighed to her sister. "I just invested her with a sliver of my magic."

"You're immortal, Luna." Celestia intentionally, and through the diplomacy learned over a thousand years, kept her tone calm and even. "Investing a pony with power invests them with its history. You have over a millennia of history behind that little sliver. How much are we talking?"

"She needed to really look the part," Luna said.

"And?"

"And I may have given her something a little more. Being a Shadowbolt, my own representative, was bound to attract danger. I just gave her enough to put her on par with a young alicorn. No magic, of course, but she shares a little earth pony toughness, and more pegasus speed and agility." Luna waved a hoof dismissively. "Only a little more than she already had."

"You gave the fastest flier in all Equestria more pegasus magic, and boosted them with earth pony magic too?" Celestia's left forehoof found her forehead.

"And—" Luna said.

Celestia's hoof shot away from her face and she looked at her sister. "And? What do you mean and? There's more?" 

Frowning at her sister, Luna nodded sharply. "Well, Shadowbolts need to be masters of shadows. I couldn't call her a Shadowbolt and not give her a little more control over mist and smoke, as well as being able to bend moonlight a little." 

"I'm going to translate that. If I get anything wrong, please correct me." Princess Celestia cleared her throat, though it didn't seem to distract Trixie (who was still making her case). "She can create illusions with smoke or mist—quite solid ones I assume—project images at night, or even make herself invisible. Did I miss anything?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds a little crazy. She hasn't worked out how to do much more than make smoke," Luna said in her defense.

Trixie was in full rant mode, and nothing would stop her. "… and she had to go to hospital for two days. Rainbow punched a windigo in the face, and it—" Except for a princess clearing her throat loud enough to shake the room. 

"My sister will be handling this. Good luck, Trixie Lulamoon," Princess Celestia said, and teleported out.

Luna sat up straighter on her throne. "Ahem. Well. I can assure you, Trixie, that Rainbow Dash will recover from whatever malaise affects her."

"How do you know that? It isn't right you put her unsupported into this situation. If it weren't for the entire team of the Wonderbolts being there, she might not have defeated the windigo!" Trixie was building up steam again now she had a captive audience. "Furthermore, you—"

"Very well!" Luna could feel a headache coming on. "Who do you propose to be her allies?" The best solution she could come up with was so simple it would be over and done before her sister could even find out about it.

"W-W-Wait." Trixie Lulamoon could feel alicorn power boiling from Princess Luna like she were a font of power—which she was. It tumbled and flowed down from the dais, pooling around the floor like mist. "Sh-Shouldn't Rainbow decide who should—"

"Absolutely correct." Liking the suggestion (mostly because it meant being bothered less), Luna added a hint of propagation to the magic gift she was forming. It was a trickier package, since she had to build templates for the propagating effect so that it could be used on anypony, but she already had pegasus, and now was creating a unicorn one—earth pony and alicorn were not much more effort.

Trixie looked around and saw the mist was flowing toward her. "Trixie didn't mean herself! She meant—well—one of Rainbow's friends. Hold on."

"Of all her friends, Trixie Lulamoon, I can think of nopony more deserving of this." With the entirety of the package assembled, Princess Luna let it pour into Trixie.





"Hey."

Trixie started to shake her head to clear it of the fuzz that seemed to be everywhere—which was a bad idea. Holding still, she slowly opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash laying down on the bed beside her. The hospital bed. "What happened?"

"I got better quick. Doctors don't know why, and when Princess Luna brought you in, she seemed really quiet. Like, more quiet than usual." Stretching her wings, Rainbow Dash had to fight her urge to jump up and lick Trixie on the nose. "What actually happened?"

"Trixie was—she was telling Princess Luna off." 

"What?!" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It was wrong to do this to you alone. Trixie was too convincing." Lifting a hoof, Trixie rubbed the side of her head. "The Princess might have been a little hasty."

Since her fight with the windigo, Rainbow Dash had been experiencing the world through a new lens. Movements seemed to catch her eye a lot more, but she also could sense magic in strange ways. Right now, Rainbow could smell the same kind of awesome darkness that permeated herself—but she smelled it on Trixie. "You don't mean…?"

Holding her forehooves up, Trixie positioned them barely a hoof-width apart. "I'm almost afraid to do this." 

"Princess Luna wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Rainbow Dash realized what she'd said the moment she said it. Her eyes widened, and now she felt worried.

Biting her lip, Trixie brought her hooves together.

"Whoa!" Rainbow watched as dark smoke bubbled and boiled from Trixie's mane and from under the covers. A pair of glowing yellow goggles appeared over Trixie's eyes, and the dark pattern of a Shadowbolt uniform formed around her. 

Atop Trixie's brow, her horn glowed with soft silver light that reflected in Rainbow Dash's eyes. Illusion magic was the usual extent of Trixie's power, but she felt her presence grow and spread. Power rolled through her in waves she'd never felt before. "It worked?"

"Yeah. Gosh did it work. Take a look." Rainbow gestured to a mirror on the far side of the hospital room.

Climbing from the bed, Trixie felt lighter than usual, but her magic felt much more dense. Deliberately not looking into the mirror until she was right in front of it, Trixie Lulamoon opened her eyes and gasped. Two golden lenses looked back at her from the smokey figure in the mirror. Light seemed to avoid her, leaving it looking slightly darker everywhere but her horn.

Trixie turned her head at the sound of a pair of hooves clopping. She looked at Rainbow Dash—no, Shade. Turning back to look in the mirror again, Trixie felt her fellow Shadowbolt press against her side. The two suits complimented each other perfectly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie could definitely get used to this. 

Shade nuzzled and rubbed against her mistress' side. When a purple-and-black-clad hoof reached to her head and began rubbing one ear, Shade leaned into the attention with happiness burning up inside. 

"Come, Shade, Trixie—No, we both need special code names. Shade, and Moonglow. Without any hesitation, Moonglow leaned down and kissed Shade's cheek, her horn flashing bright as she did.

When the smoke cleared in the hospital room, both Shadowbolts were gone.





Moonglow laughed when she and Shade appeared beside her wagon. When she realized they weren't alone, however, she was a little taken aback. "Princess Luna!"

"I didn't grant you this so that you could frivolously use it." Luna couldn't help her direct tone, it stemmed from the shocked look her sister had given her after Luna had told Celestia what she'd done. "However, it is well that you are training with your power. How do you feel, Trixie Lulamoon?"

For nearly fifteen seconds Moonglow just stared at Luna, then she took a deep breath. "Moonglow did not mean to put herself forward. She thought Princess Luna would pick Twilight Sparkle, or Fluttershy."

"'Moonglow'?" Luna asked.

"Secret identity. And it sounds more moon-ey." Moonglow waved a hoof dismissively, then realized that might have been part of what got her into this. "But, now that Moonglow has this—this power, what can it do?"

"My sister has—" Clearing her throat, Luna started over. "I have decided to teach you how to use it, and how to responsibly pass it on to others." Looking up, Luna judged it to be mid-afternoon. "To learn properly, we must wait for nightfall."

Just mention of nightfall made Moonglow's blood sing. The night was coming. Holding up her forehooves, Trixie clopped them together and gasped as the magic rushed back inside her. She still buzzed with it, her horn humming with suppressed power, but it wasn't a blatant need anymore. Another clop sounded, and when she looked she saw Rainbow Dash.

Both Rainbow and Trixie caught each other's eyes at the same time. Two egos had never been so swollen or so close before. It should have been a critical mass, but as they stepped together, the only thing that exploded was their feelings. Leaning together, Trixie and Rainbow kissed.

Luna tried not to stare for nearly ten seconds before finally managing it. Looking away, she took a few steps before coming up with a great excuse. "I'll—uh—just go visit Twilight until nightfall. Okay?"

Trixie cracked a laugh a moment before Rainbow. The kiss had felt good simply because it was an expression of their friendship having grown one extra step. She gestured expansively to her wagon. "Errant princesses will not spy on us within."

"Trixie? Are you inviting me into your wagon to snuggle?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Because that sounds like a pretty awesome thing to do."

Biting her lip, Trixie used her magic to smack Rainbow's rump. "Trixie will negotiate snuggling, kissing, and maybe even cuddling within. Move it, Rainbow."

Trotting up and into the wagon, Rainbow Dash was reminded just how small it was. She started the complicated maneuver of turning around when Trixie rushed in behind her and pulled the door closed.