> Trixie is Pregnant and It's Twilight's Problem > by TheCrimsonDM > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter one: Of Pregnant Trixie and Stuffy Librarians > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie Is Pregnant and It’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter One: Of Pregnant Trixie and Stuffy Librarians Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie was great and powerful yet she somehow found herself in the kind of situation that she never wanted to be in. After the recent events of the alicorn amulet the last thing she wanted to do was come back to Ponyville. Still when she thought back to where the safest places in Equestria were, all of them paled in comparison to Ponyville. Even with her devastated reputation this was about the only place she could think of that would be safe, and there was one pony in question she realized might be, just might be willing to help her. She let out a sigh as she dragged herself forward. Hidden in a gray cloak as the skies turned stormy above. She had come at the worst possible timing too. A rainstorm was not exactly what one would call safe. Still she had to do something. The rock farm she had been before was far too distant from her and even if she went there and begged for them to forgive the way she left so hastily, they’d put her to work and right then she couldn’t risk the heavy labor. She had something more important to do, something to protect. Pride… pride was something Trixie was filled with and it was one thing she would absolutely defend until she died. In the face of this new challenge though she couldn’t risk her own demise so foolishly anymore. Flirting with destruction was a favored pastime but those gambles might have been the exact problem that put her there to begin with. Each step into the town made her body scream with paranoia. The sky rumbled with thunder. Any signs of the sun were gone from the sky now. She shivered as a cold wind blew through. The first droplets of rain came down and were freezing; they quickly became a downpour causing her to move quickly. She had to find it, the Golden Oaks Library. After a minute or two of galloping she could feel her body protesting the motion but she saw it, the library was just ahead of her. Its lights were all dimmed but it was there. Trixie slid through the mud and stopped at the door. Lightning flashed in the sky above her and struck the mud some distance away causing a large splash and tingles to go through the air. The roar of its thunder was far more dangerous than she’d planned. Trixie knocked on the door several times as loudly as she could. No response came. This was a public library was it not? Could she not just enter the lobby and wait? She tried pushing the door open and found it locked. A small sign said that the place was closed. This was not what she needed. Trixie was nothing if not persistent. With a bit of telekinesis Trixie was able to move the gears in the lock and with a click her efforts were rewarded. The door opened and trailing mud behind her she ventured inside and shut the door behind her. It was dark in here. Too dark for anypony to be home. She called out, “Hello?” There came no reply. Trixie let out a sigh and found a place nearby the door to lay down. At least it was dry in here and she could take her cloak off. The thing was covered in mud and soaking wet. Most of her fur was soaked through as well. She was freezing but could at least warm up in here. “Safe, Trixie is safe.” She stroked her barrel for a moment. “Safe.” She lay there shivering from the cold for what felt like ages. Eventually she began to wonder if she had the right place. Did Twilight Sparkle have her own house someplace else and only worked here? If that was the case chances were she’d be here all night by herself and frozen to death by the morning… that metaphor was a bit too dark to think of at the moment. For awhile she lay there listening to the pitter-patter of the rain and the occasional lightning bolt causing an applause of thunder. It was a fierce storm outside, the kind of which was dangerous for normal ponies to be out in. With her condition she was even more vulnerable. The alicorn amulet had caused some serious problems in her life. It had caused her to do some vile disgusting things. It had ruined her already damaged reputation. It had even cost her a good job and a place to stay. But it did do one good thing for her, just one. She rubbed at her barrel once more at the thought. Luckily she heard some voices eventually. They were muffled through the sound of the constant downpour but she felt she could make out a female and a young colt. The door handle began to turn and then there was a pause. Oh no, Trixie had forgotten to lock the door. Would that be a problem? What would Twilight think if she was coming in here… what if it wasn’t Twilight? The door opened a crack and Trixie saw the tip of a horn poke through. A red light began to surround the horn and Trixie cried out. “Wait, it’s just Trixie, please!” The aura didn’t vanish but the door did open all the way. Twilight stood there with narrowed eyes and the small dragon on her back had much the same expression of discontent as they looked at Trixie. Twilight walked in, looked around at the mud and growled. “So, you break and enter into my home and you have the audacity to leave mud everywhere.” Trixie swallowed. “Trixie does not break and enter, you should feel lucky that she choose to come to you instead of anypony else.” Twilight shot the glare right at her, their eyes met and that aura grew a little stronger. “I don’t really care, you're leaving. Now!” Trixie felt her body growing light and the red aura was surrounding her. She was being lifted into the air. “NO WAIT PLEASE!” Twilight glared at her. “You were just here like, a week ago and tormented the entire town, why should I ‘wait’ when you’re obviously planning something else.” “Trixie is not!” Twilight met her eyes, for a moment the anger held but it began to soften. “So what are you here for?” “Please, set Trixie down, this can’t be safe. Trixie needs safe, not scary or painful.” Trixie began to fall. “NO!” Much to Trixie’s surprise she realized she didn’t fall, Twilight had set her down safely. Twilight was staring at her with wide eyes. “Were you… scared? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you scared. At least without a giant monster on your tail.” Trixie was shivering, now more from fear than cold. She sat up and began inspecting her belly. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” She shivered. “Trixie is not scared. She is in need of help, and there is nopony in Equestria who could offer her safety. She knows you hate her, and for good reason, but Trixie asks for safety from you nonetheless, not for her sake, but for the sake of her unborn daughter.” Twilight blinked. “You’re what?” Trixie met Twilight’s eyes and felt she shaking more. “Trixie is pregnant.” > Chapter Two: Of Bubbles and Baths > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Two: Of bubbles and Baths Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight stared down at Trixie, her heart was racing and her mind blank. Did Trixie just say she was pregnant? As in with child? As in her oven of life was full? If that was true… oh she almost did something horrible. She was going to… not exactly hurt Trixie but a pregnant pony needed extra care. Twilight looked down at the wet, shivering form of Trixie who had gone back to lying in her puddle. Her eyes couldn’t even meet Twilight’s, instead choosing to stay planted firmly on the floor. There were a lot of questions Twilight had but for now she settled on action. She summoned forth a towel and dropped it over Trixie’s back. The poor mare flinched as it touched her. She was terrified. “Trixie,” Twilight said as gently as she could. “Why did you come to me?” Trixie spoke but her voice had a steel tone to it. “Trixie needed assistance.” “What about your parents?” “Trixie has none.” That felt like a barbed thorn being lodged into Twilight’s heart. “Um… friends?” Trixie blinked. “Those are what ponies have when they know somepony for a while and speak to them yes? Then Trixie has you.” Twilight sat down. “You consider me a friend?” “Trixie has never had need of friends before so she doesn’t know if you count, but you seem to be close to what Trixie expects a friend is like.” That was a mouth full that really only amounted to ‘she has never had a friend and doesn’t understand friendship’ which meant Twilight now had two reasons to think about Trixie’s presence here. One Trixie was clearly in distress and needed help. Having a child with no one around to help you or explain how it worked was difficult. Looking back over at Spike who was busy mopping up the mud the three of them had left behind only solidified Twilight’s knowledge in how hard that could be. Two: Trixie had friendship problems, and Twilight wanted to kick herself for not having thought about it sooner. Of course Trixie had friendship problems and twice now she’d just let Trixie go out on her own and not fixed them… they’d even fixed Discord, well they began to do so, so why did Twilight leave Trixie alone? Twilight let out a sigh, she already knew where this was going and really didn’t like it. Still, she was the element of magic, the leader of the elements of harmony and this might just prove to be an amazing friendship lesson to give Celestia. To think about the praise she could get for helping a pregnant pony find friendship, well Twilight could easily enjoy some adoration from her favorite princess. “So,” Twilight began, “Why exactly come to me? What are you expecting?” “A baby filly.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I meant what are you expecting of me?” “Trixie… isn’t’ sure.” There was sincere doubt in her tone. “Trixie knows you are a good pony, the second best in Equestria one might argue, next to Trixie of course. So she thought you might know what to do? Trixie just needs to be safe until her baby is here and then she can be a proper mommy and raise the best filly in all of Equestria.” “Okay, I think I know what to do, but when did you get pregnant?” “Trixie was not under the best influence when she was using the Alicorn Amulet, she was in fact in heat and made some fun but tactical errors thinking they would not come to last after the incident was over.” Twilight nodded. “The Amulet does have a way of lowering inhibitions to the point of doing some… let’s not get into this.” “Agreed.” Twilight offered a smile. “I’ll help you. If anypony can understand how scary it is to have a kid and have absolutely no help, or no idea on what to do it would be me. So if there is anything I can help with I will. I will ask of you a single condition though.” Trixie looked up at her. Her main had fallen over half her face only letting one purple eye stay visible. “F-fine, just be gentle.” Twilight choked. “I… what? What, what do you think I’m going to ask?” “The same things everypony does. Either I work, or I give them my… just… what do you want?” Twilight felt head was starting to split. “I just want you to learn about friendship. That’s all.” Trixie stared at her. “Is that really all? No hard physical labor, no favors, just learning?” “Of course. I mean, friends do favors for each other sometimes but that’s for you to learn later.” “Trixie will… she’ll do as you ask, if you keep her safe so her baby can be born.” Twilight stood up and reached out with a hoof. Trixie stared at it for a long moment. Twilight finally said, “Take my hoof, your soaking wet, shivering and covered in mud. We’re getting you cleaned up, warmed up, and full of food before this night is over.” Trixie took Twilight’s hoof and with a little effort Trixie stood up. Twilight was surprised to find herself happy with this situation. Sure she was angry at first and concerned with Trixie’s sudden appearance, but after hearing what it was that Trixie wanted, and how lost she really was, she was positive that this was the right course of action to take. It also couldn’t be understated how powerful of a friendship lesson this would make, the letter for this one was going to be amazing. *** Well at least she wasn’t cold anymore. In fact Trixie might be able to say she was quite comfortable. The hot, bubbly water splashed around her as she relaxed. Twilight was sitting off to the side and had been talking to her almost nonstop since they got up here. It was honestly a bit concerning considering how little they’d ever conversed in the past. Still it wasn’t bad to have a fan, friend, pony who could keep the silence away. Twilight finally said something that was actually interesting though causing Trixie to actually respond. “Did you just say Trixie is sleeping in the bed?” Twilight nodded. “Of course, I’d never ask a pregnant mare to sleep on anything less.” “Will you be sleeping on the floor? Or is there a couch hidden in here that Trixie has somehow missed?” Twilight blinked. “No, I’m sleeping in bed too silly.” Trixie sat up straight. She knew better than to expect Twilight was really innocent. She’d prepared for this, but she was not pleased. Still if it kept her child safe, she could stomach it, and besides, she might be able to use such activities to manipulate the foolish unicorn. Ponies who were pleased were easily swayed after all. Spike called out from behind them. He was reading a comic book near the fire place. “Twilight, she thinks you’re going to be sharing a bed.” Twilight’s face paled. “Oh no, I um, I have two beds. I’m letting you use my guest bed.” Trixie felt a lot easier about that revelation. She didn’t want to think about getting nearly that cozy with the crazy mare, at least not too soon. It felt like she was trying to take shelter under a dragon. Safe from any threat in the world but only so long as the dragon didn’t notice her. Twilight then asked, “So how far along are you anyway?” Trixie paused. “One and a half months.” Twilight frowned. “That early huh? That’s a good ten and a half months before you give birth. And your right in the middle of the scary part, we won’t know if you’re really safe until 9 weeks have passed. We’ll need to sort out a diet plan for you shortly… and your sure your having a filly?” Trixie smiled. “Trixie knows she will have a beautiful baby filly and it will be named Trixie Two!” Spike added. “Electric boogaloo.” Trixie replied. “The sequel will be better than the first.” Twilight was smiling again. Not the kind of smile that showed patience toward Trixie but an earnest one that showed pleasure. She’d seen this kind of smile several times but only when watching ponies from afar or the few ponies that had enjoyed her show before it was so thoroughly ruined. “Why are you smiling?” Twilight shook her head as if it was the silliest question she’d ever heard. “Because I’m happy for you. You seem really excited to have a foal, most mares in your position are normally upset.” Trixie beamed and waved a hoof through the air. “And why should Trixie be at all upset? Sure her own parents were awful, but that’s why she is here to show she will be the Greatest and Best mommy in the whole world.” Twilight smiled. “So do you know who the stallion is?” Trixie shrugged. “Handsome, strong, and big. In all the best ways.” Twilight blinked. “Like… his muscles or something?” Did she really not understand or was this some kind of play at innocence. If it was the former this might become an annoying ‘friendship’ really quickly, but if the later, Trixie could exploit it. “Well he did have a fair few of those too. But mostly he was large, and hot. Yet somehow only as rough as Trixie needed.” Twilight stared at her, her eyes narrowed and lip being bit with this look of concentration like the gears in her head were turning as hard as they could. Several seconds went by before she finally asked, “Did you want him to be rough? Or do you mean like he had a rough and rugged appearance?” Before she could get to it, Spike had palm slapped his forehead. “Twilight, how is it that I am the kid here and I understand more about sex talk than you do.” Twilight glared back at him. “She did not mention any breading, Spike. Honestly, you’re getting so weird now that you’re getting older. It’s probably puberty.” Trixie had to ask, “Have you ever had sex?” Twilight’s cheeks turned a little pink. “I have too had the sex! And it was with a handsome stallion. It was good.” Spike called back. “She’s lying.” Twilight glared at him. “You haven’t had it either.” Spike was in the middle of drinking from a cup of hot chocolate. He coughed a few times before choking out, “Y-yeah, sure I havne’t. Nope, never had sex. Don’t know what it’s like at all.” Twilight smiled. “So… um… no. No I have not. I’ve never really had the reason too. I have my books and my studies to tend too.” Well at least this made Trixie feel more secure about staying here. Twilight was not going to take advantage of Trixie’s body. Still it meant that Twilight truly was innocent, and as funny as that could be it also meant she might be annoying as well. If only there was a peaceful, non sexual way to destroy that innocence so that Twilight could speak on her level. Oh well, that would have to wait she was going to have a whole ten months to plan that out. Oh, by Celestia’s thick and hot rump, ten months. This was going to be a nightmare wasn’t it? She rubbed her belly again. The small life inside of her was only just beginning to take form and experience things. She could bare ten months of this, so long as it kept her and her baby safe. That was all that mattered. > Chapter Three: of Biscuits and Coffee > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Three: Of Biscuits and Coffee Written by TheCrimsonDM It was late into the night and Trixie found herself lying awake in the bed Twilight had offered. It was smaller than the enormous thing Twilight slept in. Honestly Twilight’s bed was so large it was actually bigger than Trixie’s old wagon. Still it wasn’t uncomfortable so she was happy with it. The bed Trixie occupied was on the top level of the tree house sitting on the opposite side of the floor as Twilights. Spike had taken the dog bed making her question a lot of things about how Twilight viewed him. Was this a mistake? Coming here and asking for assistance from Twilight had worked out so far. Tartarus she hadn’t even needed to do much besides ask for the help and promise to learn about friendship. This was still one of the few places in Equestria that Trixie wanted to be but when she had weighed her options from Canterlot to Manehatten no place was safe for a mare like her. If only her reputation hadn’t been absolutely crushed, she’d have been able to do some stage magic, save some money, and then eke out a living in some inn at a no nothing town or something. Even with that said what was she going to do now? It was late at night and the gears in her mind were spinning. She could stay here, be somewhere safe, and then once she had her child she would take the baby and leave. Where to, she had no idea, but Twilight was already kind enough to let her stay this long. Relying on that kindness to last that long was a gamble, to hope it extended any further was impossible. No, she knew that despite whatever kind words came from Twilight’s lips, she’d be thrown out once the kid arrived. That was okay though, in a year’s time maybe her reputation would have healed some. If not she could always pretend to use another stage name for awhile. The thought of that tasted sour… that wouldn’t work. The Great and Powerful Trixie could lie about anything, except about who she was. Trixie rolled over. The sound of rain had eased up a little and what was left was somehow relaxing. Reminiscent of the rogue rainclouds sometimes found on the road. Her eyelids felt as heavy as her heart as she continued listening into the pitter patter against the window. One question still bothered her. What did Twilight get out of this act of charity? Nopony did things free of charge, so there had to be something. Trixie feared it could be something more than she bargained for, but really hoped that the way Twilight portrayed herself was accurate to who she really was. An innocent, good natured, fool. *** Twilight woke with a start. There was an unfamiliar noise in her room. Like a chainsaw going off. She looked around quickly only to see a bed on the opposite side of her room. In it lay a slumbering Trixie, mouth open and snoring as loudly as Rainbow Dash. For a moment she stared unsure of how it was Trixie got there but as her brain began to wake up with her she remembered the events of yesterday. The great and pregnant Trixie was staying with her. Oh… that might have been more than she bargained for. Thinking back to it, she had felt so sorry for Trixie’s predicament she hadn’t considered the long run. Ten and a half months, plus however long it would take Trixie to heal from after birth. This was going to be a long year. The thought of the friendship letters she could write to Celestia were starting to feel less important now. Twilight shook her head. She had already made her promise, and furthermore Trixie had agreed to learn about friendship. Surely things would be just fine, maybe even better than fine as things went on. Twilight rolled herself out of bed and managed to drag herself downstairs. Once on the first floor the scent of freshly brewed coffee made Twilight’s hooves curl. Following the scent she found Spike in the kitchen drinking a cup for himself with a plate of biscuits sitting in the middle of the table. There were a fair few more biscuits than usual. Once cup of coffee and three biscuits later Twilight was ready to socialize again. “Good morning, Spike.” Spike replied. “Morning, Twilight. You wake up to the sound of a bear roaring too?” Twilight laughed. “I wasn’t expecting it, but yes. I managed to get some good sleep despite it though.” Spike rolled his eyes. “Well she’s not the only one who snores at night.” Twilight didn’t care much for his insinuation but choose better than to react to it. Instead she had a concern of her own t address. “How in the world do we explain this to the girls?” Spike took a sip of coffee. “Easy. ‘Hey everypony, Trixie got knocked up and we’re taking pity on her. Try to be nice to her okay.’” Twilight glared at him. “That is not exactly tactful.” “Does it really need to be?” “Considering the situation I’d say yes. Explaining how and why I’m taking on this role is going to be rough.” Spike looked up at her. “Why exactly are you doing this again?” “Because she needs somepony and… I can actually relate to what she’s going through. At least a little bit. I know you can’t remember what it was like when I first had you, but if I ever had any criticism with Celestia, and I don’t, it would be that she kind of, sort of, dropped a child on my lap with no help or explanation of how to raise one.” Twilight let out a sigh. “Honestly, I’m grateful for the experience because it taught me that I can do anything, but I don’t want anypony else to feel that way so if I can help prepare Trixie for motherhood, even a little, I want to.” Spike’s claws tightened around his cup of coffee. “Y-yeah… must have been hard.” Even Twilight could tell that his demeanor had changed. It always did when the subject of his hatching and raising came up. “Spike, I’m so very happy to have had you. Honestly, I’m the luckiest mare in the whole world because I got you.” He smiled. “Thanks… but why did Celestia have a dragon egg anyway? Like what happened to the dragons that laid me?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve even tried to research it but from what I have heard, you weren’t really supposed to be a dragon egg. You were supposed to be a rock somepony painted to look like one. The fact you were an egg and that I hatched you is a miracle and I don’t need to know how it happened, I’m just glad it did.” Spike looked up. “Do you think Trixie feels the same way?” Twilight smiled. “Judging from how she smiles when she talks about her baby, I do.” Spike stood up. “Okay, you can count me in. I don’t know what I can really do to help but I’m all for it.” Twilight nodded. “That’s the spirit. Now how do we get the others to feel the same way?” *** Once Trixie had finally awoken she managed to drag herself out of bed. At first she was confused by her surroundings but as she recalled the night before she remembered she would be staying with Twilight for some time. However, all of that paled in comparison to the scent of coffee wafting up from downstairs. Trixie walked downstairs still half asleep and as she approached the kitchen she heard Twilight mention, “Now how do we get the others to feel the same way?” Trixie looked at her. “Others feel what way?” Twilight offered her a warm smile. “To want to help you out and be friends with you of course.” Trixie looked at the coffee. “Trixie… does not want them to know everything.” Twilight seemed to noticed Trixie’s stare. “Go ahead and have some. There’s a cup and plenty of biscuits on the table.” Trixie did not hesitate to grab herself a cup of coffee and then three, four, or five biscuits, before sitting down. She was starving but then again it wasn’t just her who was hungry. She ate greedily as Twilight continued to smile at her. Normally Trixie loved a captive audience but she did not like the smile, it felt odd, too warm for her. Twilight asked, “So what did you not want me to tell the others?” Trixie swallowed the last bite of her biscuit. “That Trixie is with child.” Twilight blinked. “But… but isn’t that the most amazing part?” “Sure, if most ponies were understanding. Yet most ponies expect certain things like, Trixie to be married, or at least have a significant other. Trixie is very much single and they might look down upon that fact.” Twilight looked down at her cup of half finished coffee. “I didn’t think of it that way. I was just happy for you. I guess you’re right though, I’m sure Fluttershy would love to get close to you if she knew but I’m not so certain about the others.” “And prey tell why would this Fluttershy want to be close to Trixie?” Spike answered. “She’s baby hungry.” Twilight replied. “Fluttershy does not want to consume children, Spike. I think she just wants to have one.” Spike face palmed. Trixie followed the motion. Twilight looked at both of them. “What?” Spike explained. “It’s a phrase, Twilight. Why, why do I know more about these things than you do?” Twilight’s ears folded back. “I just read a lot of books, I don’t always know every current phrase that ponies have to say.” Trixie could see it in Twilight’s features. She was at least mildly upset about not knowing what the term ‘baby hungry’ meant. In fact that could be a general discomfort with being out of touch with phrases or socializing in general. She wasn’t sure but that might come in useful later, if nothing else it was oddly cute. Twilight shook her head. “Alright, so I won’t tell them about your pregnancy. I still need to explain why you’ll be living with me.” Trixie raised a hoof. “OH, you could tell them we are a couple now. That would explain why I sleep in the same house as you.” Twilight’s eyes became pinpricks and nearly budged from her skull. “A c-c-couple!” “Yes, and to truly fool them we could share the same bed or even kiss in their presence. That would silence any doubts before they arise.” Twilight scooted back in her chair. “K-kiss!” Trixie leaned forward and pouted. “Is this not a great idea?” Twilight stammered for a good moment. She was positively frazzled and Trixie had to admit it was equal parts adorable and hilarious. This stay could actually be a lot of fun. Twilight finally managed to say, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Trixie let a cruel smile grow across her lips. “Trixie was only joking. The lie would be a difficult one to keep up with.” Twilight out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness. I don’t want my first kiss to be a lie.” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Have you not even kissed? Have you never had an interest in somepony before?” Twilight looked from side to side a few times as if expecting eavesdropping ears. “I have… had thoughts before. B-but never acted on them.” Spike replied. “That’s because she keeps rejecting you.” Twilight narrowed her eyes at him and growled. “She does not reject me, Spike. She simply doesn’t realize how I feel.” “Sure, nopony else knows about your super not obvious crush.” Twilight glared. “The same could be said for you.” Spike swallowed. “Oh uh…” Twilight swiftly turned that glare into a friendly smile, with such speed Trixie was sure she was used to changing her emotional appearance in a moment flat. “It’s okay, Spike. We can just keep our secrets secret for now.” Spike nodded. Trixie had the distinct feeling that they were trying to keep certain facts hidden in front of her but it was fun to know that both of these two had crushes. Of course she was sure they’d both never act on them… scratch that, the dragon boy seemed to have had some knowledge or dare she wonder, experience with certain things that Twilight had not yet. He might act on his. Twilight shook her head. “Okay, I think I have it. I’m going to tell them the truth, but not the whole truth. You needed help and wanted to learn about friendship so I’m taking you in as my pupil to learn about the magic of friendship as well as helping you get back on your hooves. How does that sound?” Trixie looked at her. “This is acceptable. That way you do not have to attempt lying, which you are far from skilled in, and Trixie can keep her baby a secret until she is ready to trust these ponies.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “You know, if your one and a half months along we should get you to a doctor. See if we can find out if you have a baby girl or boy.” Trixie huffed. “Trixie does not need to have a doctor tell her the gender. She already knows. Besides, does it not ruin the fun to know such things?” Twilight smiled. “Maybe it does, I wouldn’t know… but you know, mares do have a tendency to um… slip. So I want to make sure we go to a doctor for you and your baby’s safety.” “Trixie and Trixie Two-“ Spike cut in. “The Trixiening.” “-would appreciate that, but um… we don’t have any money for one.” Twilight grinned. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. I’ll take a few days to research who the very best doctor is nearby. Just promise that when I introduce you to my friends you’ll do your best to try and become friends with them too.” The ones Trixie had thoroughly trounced in the past, tormented, or otherwise humiliated… that seemed unlikely but if they were anything Like Twilight maybe it was possible. She still wasn’t’ sure about this whole ‘friend’ thing but if it was Twilight’s only stipulation than she’d have to take it. Trixie offered her favorite practiced smile, “Sure thing.” > Chapter Four: Of Friends and Cookies > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Four: Of Friends and Cookies Written by TheCrimsonDM The gathering of Twilight’s friends was about as easy as ever and within the hour she had summoned all of them to her treehouse. They all sat downstairs around the table with cups of tea and a bowl of cookies in the middle. Twilight was happy to see them all here but it was still weighing on the back of her mind that she was going to be omitting some information that they might need to fully understand the situation, but it was a promise she’d made and she was going to keep it. She really hoped they’d believe her based on the secondary reason Trixie was staying. With a jittery heart Twilight announced, “Good news everypony. I have an announcement to make.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “Did you finally tell Celestia you have the hots for her?” Twilight balked. “W-what?” Pinkie feigned a frown and replied, “Oh phooey, I was hoping that would be today’s meeting. Guess that’s next week.” Twilight blinked several times trying to comprehend anything that Pinkie had just said. There was zero chance in Tartarus that Twilight was ever going to tell Celestia anything even remotely close to that. Although maybe she wanted to? She wasn’t sure, but she was sure that her head was now filled with odd thoughts she needed to suppress. Shove them into the mind closet with all the other thoughts that bothered her and she would be just fine. No need to open that closet, not ever. Rarity gently prodded Twilight. “Darling, what did you bring us here for?” Twilight cleared her throat. “Yes, um, that. I have a new guest staying with me for some time. She’s going to be learning about the Magic of Friendship from me and has become my pupil.” Pinkie Pie gasped. “Ooooohhh, that was this week. Okay. I got my timeline straight now.” Twilight chose, very wisely, to ignore Pinkie. “She’s been through a lot and was in a very bad situation but I am helping her get back on her hooves and doing what I probably should have done last year. I’m helping her learn about something she doesn’t know anything about, friendship.” Rarity smiled. “That’s wonderful, darling. You do always love to show ponies how friendship works.” Rainbow Dash added. “It’s kinda your whole deal. I’d be surprised if you didn’t do something like this eventually.” Applejack nodded. “Agreed, Ah figured that you’d be helping some poor lost soul like that.” Fluttershy smiled. “Reminds me of when I adopt a new furry friend.” Rainbow Dash snickered at that. The others smiled as if trying not to laugh at the comparison. Was it really like taking in a wounded animal? Well maybe it kinda was, but ponies were not animals so it couldn’t be considered too much. Still they were happy with the news so far, hopefully this would continue to go well. Rarity chimed in with a question that made Twilight’s heart skip a beat. “So, who is this mystery mare you invited into your home?” Twilight swallowed, her throat was dry. She took a sip of tea. Still dry. “B-before I get to the who, let’s cover a few rules first. I really want… no I really need this first meeting to go well. So please, even if it’s challenging keep an open mind, and be willing to give her a chance. She has never had a friend before me so she doesn’t understand a lot of things. Think of me when I first got here to Ponyville only… in a worse position.” Most of them were starting to frown. They could already sense this was going to be a problem. Only Pinkie Pie was still smiling. In fact Pinkie was the only one to respond, “Of course we will play nice, silly. Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine. I honestly think it’s amazing you took her in. Proud of ya.” Twilight stared at her. “Do you know who it is?” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “She’s only stuck her head down the stairs three times since I’ve been here to look at us. She looks so silly being nervous.” Twilight spun around to only to see a trail of white and cobalt hair flying upstairs. She really hoped nopony else had seen her. At the very least this meant that Pinkie was okay with her presence. Maybe… maybe she could trust her friends after all. Twilight swallowed. “Will you all give her a chance?” Everypony looked at each other as if unsure. After the recent introduction of Discord into their lives it was understandable that another force of mystery and chaos was not exactly welcomed but after a moment every pony gave a nod and a verbal agreement. They would give her a chance and that was all that mattered. Twilight stood up and walked over to the staircase. “You can come down now.” Trixie’s voice called back. “How are you so sure?” Twilight offered a smile towards the staircase as if hoping Trixie could see it. “Because they are my friends and I trust them. One of the first lessons of friendship is trust.” Trixie replied. “Trust is what foolish ponies believe in before being betrayed and intelligent ponies use against you to betray you.” “Come on, I promise you, I’m here and you trust me right?” There was silence for a moment before Trixie finally replied. “F-fine. Only because a promise was made…” Twilight watched with eager eyes as Trixie walked down the steps. Her head hung low and avoiding eyesight. The gasps from behind Twilight set off warning bells making her body tense up but she was prepared. Every possible encounter from them really liking Trixie to getting violent had been prepared for and Twilight was not going to let anything happen to her ward. Not when it was two lives on the line. Trixie finally reached the last step and spoke. “The Great and Reluctant Trixie is finally here to- ‘sniff sniff’ to- ‘sniff’ are those peanut butter cookies?” Trixie raised her head and all the anxiety she imagined was gone as her eyes scanned for the nearest bowl of cookies. Seemingly having forgotten her fear she trotted to the table and dragged the bowl over to her to start pulling cookies out and eating them. Everypony was watching Trixie with a mix of mistrust and confusion. Twilight sighed but at least this was not the worst case scenario. Twilight took a seat next to Trixie and explained, “Yes, it is Trixie Lulamoon that will be staying with me.” Trixie replied between bites of her third cookie. “The Great and Powerful.” Twilight offered a smile. “Yes, The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon.” “Close enough.” Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. “Wait… but… why her?” She was going to need patience for Rainbow Dash, too bad that wasn’t an element of harmony. “Because she needs help and wants to learn about friendship, do I need any more reason to take her on as a pupil?” Rarity swallowed and said, “Well… darling, it is your life and your choices, but yes, yes you do.” Twilight glared at her. “If it’s my life and my choices I believe I can make them with any sort of reasons. If it helps, I am taking a play out of Fluttershy’s book here.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “I-I-I um…” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Because it worked so well with Discord?” “Exactly. Discord was a force of mean chaos but he’s learning friendship and becoming a much better person for it. At least Trixie won’t be flooding any pony’s farm.” Trixie had eaten six cookies so far. She finally looked up to see every eye on her. There was a brief moment where Twilight saw the reflex. Eyes widening, breathing stopped, lip quiver. It lasted only a fraction of a second, enough for an observant Twilight to see the fear in Trixie’s body. It quickly turned into a scowl and Trixie spoke, “Trixie is fine with all the attention but you all should be thanking her, honestly, Twilight is lucky to have Trixie as a pupil.” The tension in the air tightened. This was not going as well… Pinkie Pie replied. “Of course she is. Anypony would be lucky to get to know you.” Trixie smiled but it seemed less than genuine, more practiced than anything else. “Of course, Trixie is glad you understand Pink Pony.” Pinkie Pie grinned. “After all, you’ve spent so much time distancing yourself from everypony that letting anypony in even a little is a miracle. We thought you’d be prickly forevah.” Trixie choked. “Prickly!” Damage control Twilight, how to do damage control with Pinkie around. “Like a coconut!” Everypony looked at Twilight with confusion. Especially Trixie. Twilight found herself standing on the tip of a knife, what was she saying. “Prickly like a coconut. Y-you know with the sweat tender inside but you need to be patient with it to find out how good it really is?” At this point she didn’t even believe herself. Trixie took a bite of another cookie. “Trixie is not prickly… but she might be a coconut, so long as it’s mixed in with peanut butter. Speaking of which, something is wrong with your bowl.” Twilight glanced at her. “O-oh?” Trixie set it down. Empty. “It would seem that the cookies have all vanished from it and Trixie requires more.” Rainbow Dash whistled. “Wow… didn’t think anypony other than Pinkie could eat like that. Trying to beat Pinkie at some kind of sweets contest?” Trixie glared at her. “Trixie has no idea what you mean, she only ate one… or two… or three.” Twilight groaned. This was certainly going to be a mess. What if they asked more about why Trixie was eating so much? Rarity studied Trixie for a moment. “When did you get here, darling?” Trixie replied. “Yesterday night, Trixie arrived much like a true hero would in the middle of a rain storm.” Rarity nodded. “Did you eat much since then?” Trixie put a hoof to her chin. “Not as much as Trixie would like.” Rarity asked, “And how long was it since you had a proper meal before that.” Trixie’s ears twitched and folded back a little. “Trixie eats properly every night, she has never gone hungry and never will. What do you think she is some kind of poor pony? Trixie will have you know she eats like a queen and always has.” Rarity nodded. “Of course, I’m sorry for any ill implication.” “Trixie forgives you, not all of you could be as astute as her.” Rarity eyed Twilight as if trying to say something in her eyes. The words she spoke were, “So have you fed Trixie like a queen since she’s been here?” Twilight raised a hoof and then lowered it. What did they eat for dinner last night? Some nachos maybe… oh… oh no, had Trixie really not eaten enough since she arrived? Twilight stood up swiftly. “SPIKE, can you go prepare a meal… a big one.” Trixie glanced up at her. “What are you planning?” Twilight smiled. “You deserve to eat well, don’t you?” Trixie eyed her suspiciously for a moment but then relaxed. “Assuming you did not poison it, then yes.” Twilight attempted to smile at her. “I wouldn’t do that.” Trixie let out a sigh. “Trixie knows…” Spike and Trixie quickly left to go feed her in the kitchen. Once she was gone everypony was staring at Rarity. Rarity smiled and explained. “So, Twilight, how long ago was it that Trixie actually ate a real meal?” > Chapter Five: Of Mac and of Cheese > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it's Twilight's Problem Chapter Five: Of Mac and of Cheese Written by TheCrimsonDM Fluttershy had stared at Trixie as she got up and left the table. There was something about Trixie that she couldn’t quite place her hoof on. She looked a little warmer, a little brighter. Was it the effect of having Twilight as a friend? No, there was something else going on. Even watching her eat all the cookies, Fluttershy had felt mesmerized by Trixie. Once Trixie had left she felt the desire to follow her. Getting up from the table Fluttershy excused herself quietly which was fine as nopony seemed to even notice her leaving. Rarity and Twilight were going into a conversation about Trixie. Fluttershy entered the kitchen and saw Trixie sitting there staring up at all of cupboards and poking her head through the pantry. Spike asked, “So, uh… what do you want?” “The great and decisive Trixie will tell you when she decides.” She looked around almost wide eyed. “How does one pony and her dragon child have this much food? It is like you cleared out an entire grocery store.” Spike shrugged. “Seems like a normal amount to me.” Fluttershy looked around and didn’t see much more food than she owned at her home. Just enough to last the month and then some. Fluttershy felt her tiny voice crack a little as she asked, “I-is it really that m-much?” Trixie replied. “If Trixie had attempted to put this much food into her wagon she’d have nowhere to sleep. That is if Trixie still had a wagon.” The last sentence held a bit of venom. Fluttershy had remembered the cute little wagon that Trixie had come to town in originally. If memory served her right she recalled hearing it was destroyed by the Ursa Minor. Honestly for as scary as that sounded Fluttershy wished she wouldn’t have remained hidden that day because the Ursa Minor sounded sooo cute. She lamented not having gotten a chance to pet the Ursa Minor. Trixie paused to look up at one of the cupboards. A lavender aura grappled with a box of mac’n’cheese bringing it down. She set it on the table and stared at it. “Hmm… Trixie feels she is missing something but will figure that out later. She wants this.” Spike rolled his eyes. “Okay, suit yourself. It’ll take like, ten minutes.” While Spike got to work turning on the gas for the stove he used a small spit of flames to light it and then began the process of boiling water. Trixie meanwhile took a seat at the table and waited. Fluttershy seeing this as a good opportunity took a seat across from her. For a moment she stared into Trixie’s eyes watching them change from interest, to confusion, to concern. “What do you want with Trixie, yellow pony?” Fluttershy offered a small smile. “M-my name is Fluttershy.” Trixie stared at her. “Trixie feels she should know you…” Fluttershy shook her head. “You p-probably don’t. B-but um…” she needed to figure out what was up with Trixie and why she seemed to look so amazing for lack of a better term. Trixie stared at her; the look was turning from concern to one with narrowed eyes and sharp eyebrows. “What do you want?” Fluttershy swallowed. “I-I just want to g-get to know you. Um, if that’s okay.” Trixie offered a smile but it didn’t quite touch her eyes. “Oh, a fan, Trixie appreciates her fans, if you so choose to spend your time worshiping Trixie she will accept.” Fluttershy felt her wings twitching. What was wrong with her? “W-well… I-I did like your show. I-I went to everyone you had h-here b-b-before-“ Trixie stood up from her chair with such speed Fluttershy felt her heart stop for a moment. “That is where Trixie knows you from! You were one of the ponies that actually enjoyed Trixie’s show… er that is to say, one of the few Ponyville ponies to have such great tastes as to recognize her natural born talent.” Fluttershy was lost for words. Trixie was leaning halfway over the table and was a lot closer to her than she expected. Wings were starting to move on their own and heart racing, Fluttershy couldn’t tell what was going on inside her but she wanted to stay around Trixie, to look at her more to figure out why she looked so colorful and warm. Rainbow Dash appeared at the doorway leading to the kitchen. “Hey, Fluttershy, what’s up?” Fluttershy shook her head. “N-nothing.” Rainbow Dash stared at Trixie for a long moment. “Yeah… right. Anyway, your missing the conversation. Let’s go hang with the others.” It was a bit weird for Rainbow Dash to be checking on her like this, the mare usually was pretty good at giving Fluttershy some space when she needed it. Still, Fluttershy wasn’t exactly about to say no to Rainbow Dash either. For as bright as Trixie was right then, Rainbow Dash was always so colorful and she’d follow that rainbow trail anywhere. Even to places that Rainbow Dash might feel a bit embarrassed by. Fluttershy gave one final smile at Trixie. “T-talk to you later.” She left to go meet with the rest of the group. Oddly enough Rainbow Dash didn’t take her eyes off Trixie for one second. Was she really that concerned? *** Trixie finally emerged from the kitchen with a huge bowl full of mac’n’cheese and a jar of peanut butter both being lifted in her telekinetic aura. The looks everypony gave her were making her feel like she was a circus. She took a seat by Twilight and dug a spoon into the jar of peanut butter taking a massive bite before swallowing and saying, “The great and fed Trixie will now socialize.” Twilight rolled her eyes and whispered. “The weird food started already.” Pinkie Pie was staring at Trixie with a wide eyed grin. Somehow her smile stretched from ear to ear and was almost terrifyingly huge. “Looks tasty. I’ve never tried that combination before, but I have tried hot dogs, eggs, ketchup, and well you name it in man’n’cheese before.” Trixie stared at her. “Trixie is not sure what this ‘hot dog’ is, but it sounds… surprisingly tasty. Trixie thinks her taste buds might be broken.” Applejack nodded. “Ah don’t think that’s the only thing broken bout you.” Trixie glared at her. “And what is that supposed to mean, hayseed?” Applejack shot the glare right back. Twilight rose up. “Um, um, um girls. Please.” Applejack seemed to realize she bit off more than she could chew and looked away. “Sorry.” Twilight looked at Trixie and offered a patient smile. Trixie simply stared at her for what felt like the longest moment. Was she expecting something from Trixie? What could she be expecting? Trixie was completely clueless but maybe she was hoping she’d offer some mercy to the earth pony. “Trixie forgives the orange one.” Twilight’s smile faltered for a half second. That must have been the wrong answer. Judging by the looks from everypony else she realized this must have been some kind of test. Trixie did not feel up for any such things but in order to keep her safe place to live she needed to pass it. Unfortunately she had no idea what she was supposed to do or say. She glanced over looking at each of them feeling their eyes on hers. The only one who seemed helpful was Fluttershy who was mouthing something. Trixie attempted to read those lips, part of her skills as a magician included being acceptable at that. “Trixie is, is… apple… Apollo… geeze. Geese. Trixie is-“ Trixie finally got it. “Trixie wants to apologize… wait, she does?” ponies were now looking from her to Fluttershy, the extra attention seemed to have made the mare turn bright pink in her cheeks and lower her head so they couldn’t see her eyes. Trixie looked at Twilight. “Is that what Trixie is supposed to do? But why?” Twilight let out a sigh. “Because you were rude to her.” “But she started it by saying Trixie was broken.” “Yes and she apologized. So you should only say sorry back.” Trixie blinked dumbfounded. “This makes zero sense. Is this like some kind of greeting, like when one pony says hello, you must say hello back?” Twilight looked around. “See, she needs friendship lessons. This is why she’s staying with me.” Rainbow Dash cut in making a mock motion of punching her hoof into her other hoof. “More like she needs to be taught a lesson alright.” The hint was easily picked up by Trixie and she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. No, that rainbow colored mare was not going to get the chance, not when Trixie was in such a fragile state. She felt herself inching toward Twilight. Lucky for her Twilight actually seemed to catch on as well and was placing herself just in front of Trixie even if only a few inches. Twilight spoke in a tone that brokered no arguments. “Rainbow Dash! Leave.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “What?” Twilight met her eyes and Trixie had never seen such steel in them. At least not when it wasn’t aimed at her. Twilight added. “You are grounded from the library until you apologize.” Rainbow Dash stood up straight. “I just said what everypony was thinking!” Twilight glared at her. “Even I’m not stupid enough to not catch the threat you just made. Against my pupil and guest. Please leave.” Rainbow Dash growled. “You know what, FINE! I don’t want to be friends with a monster of a pony anyway. Fluttershy, come on.” Fluttershy looked up. “Um, um, b-but, I-“ Rainbow Dash was already halfway to the door. “Fluttershy.” Fluttershy lowered her head and stood up. “I’m sorry, Trixie.” The pair of them left and Trixie realized that even if Twilight had done the right thing, and kept her safe as she had promised, it only caused further problems. Rainbow Dash looked like she could have destroyed the entire library, now that she was angry and her anger aimed at Trixie how could she feel safe anywhere? Trixie looked up as the door closed gently behind Fluttershy. Twilight’s face was a steel mask not betraying any emotion. At least until the mask cracked and a look of hurt covered it. Trixie lowered her head. She was getting on Twilight’s bad side too. Trixie pawed at the wooden floor. “Is… is this why Trixie is supposed to say sorry?” Twilight patted Trixie’s back gently with a hoof. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash went too far. She’ll realize her mistake in a few hours and probably apologize by the end of the day. This time you didn’t do anything wrong.” Trixie felt so confused. How was she supposed to understand these rules? When she defended herself against Applejack’s insult she was in the wrong but when Twilight kicks Rainbow Dash out for threats of violence it was okay? This was not as easy to grasp as Trixie first thought. Lucky for her if she really wanted to understand more she was already in a library and could read up on it later. Unfortunately this had the negative effect of causing the whole meeting to feel sour. Trixie managed to barely learn everyone’s name before the conversations got too awkward and she excused herself to go upstairs and rest a bit. Nopony really argued with her or even asked why, maybe they assumed that even the greatest of unicorns sometimes needed a stress break. Worse than anything else, why was there this pinching feeling in her chest that made her want to cry, not that she would, but she wanted too. > Chapter Six: Of Clouds and Closets > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Six: Of Clouds and Closets Written by TheCrimsonDM It wasn’t until later that day Trixie found Twilight coming up the stairs. Twilight looked a little tired and promptly plop herself in front of the fireplace. Trixie watched Twilight for a good couple of minutes before she levitated a book from one of her shelves. There seemed to be a bookmark in place and she skimmed through it. Twilight asked, “Is it possible that six ponies might be considered crowded?” Trixie shrugged. “Trixie is used to large crowds. Is there a reason you ask?” “It says in my book that pregnant mares don’t do well in large crowds as instinct kicks in and they try to keep their unborn foal safe by staying in small groups of trusted individuals.” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you think Trixie trusts anypony?” Twilight opened her mouth then closed. “I uh… I trust them.” “And that applies to Trixie how?” “I thought trusted individuals meant ponies that were trustworthy…” “And why would Trixie consider those mares trustworthy when they have previously been hostile to Trixie?” Twilight looked conflicted. “I… I’m not sure. Now that you say it that way I feel really stupid. I just wanted everypony to be friends really quickly.” Trixie found a series of pillows she could use as a comfortable place to lie down on. “Trixie may not know about friendship but she thinks maybe it takes longer than a few minutes.” Twilight blinked. “Pinkie pulls off the whole friends in a few minutes thing… usually.” Trixie shook her head. “Trixie does not even know the first thing about friendship, so this was very poorly planned on your part. Do you really know what you are doing?” The room fell silent for a little while. Eventually Trixie gave up on hearing a response so she resorted to skimming through a few books herself. There was one in particular about how to ‘break the ice’ with new ponies. Generally Trixie did this by showing off her amazing magical skills but she was not willing to risk too much excitement. Trixie did not exactly enjoy that part of the pregnancy, but anything to keep Trixie Two safe. Twilight eventually spoke breaking Trixie from her reading, not that the book was really helping much. “I don’t.” “Don’t what?” “Don’t know what I’m doing.” Trixie looked up from her book. Honesty was not what she expected to be taking place here. “Oh?” Twilight let out a sigh. “Sure I raised Spike but I’ve never been pregnant and although I’ve done a lot of research I’ve always been distant from pregnant mares. So I really don’t know what I’m doing but I still want to help. It even seems you’re trying to understand friendship but I’m not doing my part very well.” Trixie stared at Twilight for a moment. She let out a sigh. “You are doing better than Trixie. She has not been as forthcoming with you as she’d like.” Twilight stared at her, but the looking n her eyes still seemed distant. “What do you mean?” Trixie looked over at the wall of books. “Trixie actually bedded a stallion while she was here. She suspects he is the father. Well… he would have to be after all Trixie usually prefers herself a pretty mare. This stallion was just so handsome, strong, and gentle. Perhaps too gentle.” Twilight stared at her. “Are you looking for him?” “Trixie’s father was never part of her life and she figured maybe she could try and have the father of her own child be part of its life. She is not keen on the idea of continuing a relationship with him though, if that makes sense.” Twilight frowned. “Not… really, but then again romance is not my specialty. That’s Rarity’s thing.” Things quieted down for a little bit longer. Looking up at the ceiling she realized just how curved this place was. The walls were rounded, the ceiling had designs and twists in it from the wood. There were a few balconies that led out to show different views of the town this place was amazing to look at. How had Twilight manage to get such a stunning home she couldn’t tell. It only needed a few paintings or posters of Trixie about and it would be a perfect home. Trixie let out a sigh and lowered her head. She was going to have to deal with the rightfully angry Rainbow Dash now. It wasn’t like the mare had known Trixie was pregnant, if she had maybe it would explain why Twilight got so defensive. Even Trixie didn’t expect that of Twilight. In fact it only made certain things more fearful in her mind. Trixie found herself thinking aloud, “Do you think Rainbow Dash might hurt Trixie?” Twilight snapped to attention. “Of course not. I won’t let her.” Trixie looked at Twilight. “So you think she might try?” Twilight bit her lower lip. “She is the most aggressive of us, I’ve seen her get into hoof fights before but I think she’ll respect my wishes on this. Even if she doesn’t I won’t let her get close to you.” “Why are you doing this?” Twilight smiled. “Because I honestly think that you need help and I want to do everything I can.” “You have to be getting something out of this.” Twilight shook her head. “Not anything I can think of. Other than maybe knowing I did the right thing in helping a friend.” “We have properly known each other for twenty four hours. Are we really friends?” Twilight beamed. “All the ponies you met downstairs, I became friends with them in less time.” All of them? Now that was a strange thing. Maybe Twilight got her kicks off on this whole friendship thing. That was far from the worst motivation. Still Trixie was sure there was something else, something Twilight didn’t tell her about. This was still the safest place for her, but that was only just above the idea of starving in a gutter somewhere… no, she couldn’t think about that. Her child was too important. Deal with the crazy pony being crazy and if things actually did take a turn for the worst she could scamper out of there, Trixie was after all, a master of disappearing acts. *** Rainbow Dash kicked another cloud with enough force to pop it. Her muscles were beginning to ache and her hooves hurt but she still had anger to burn out of her system. The look Twilight gave her, she’d never seen that before, and for what a little threat that she wasn’t going to make good on? Why would that bother Twilight so bad? It was just Trixie, not like it was somepony important even! She kicked another cloud and watched it pop into nothingness. If she kept this up she was going to hurt herself and she knew it. She didn’t care though she kept kicking and trying to get the anger to go away. It burned and stabbed at her heart. Why did it hurt? It was just anger. Rainbow Dash kicked another cloud and this time felt the pain in her hoof. She clutched it to her chest and whimpered. Moving it a little she felt the pain grow worse. “Yep… sprained.” The fact that her hoof was now sprained all because Trixie had to appear only made her anger worse. This was all Trixie’s fault. If she wasn’t there she wouldn’t have gotten into a fight with one of her best friends. She wouldn’t be so angry she was in pain, and she wouldn’t have a sprained hoof. Great, what was she going to do with her job now… well she did sleep a lot so it didn’t exactly change anything but that didn’t change the insult turned to injury. She’d been up here kicking the crap out of clouds for a good while now but it was finally time to give up. She didn’t want to hurt herself further. Instead she knew of one pony who might be able to help with the physical pain but sadly not the emotional. Rainbow Dash swooped down over Ponyville. She spied Twilight’s house in her path and took a wide detour around it. That was the last place she wanted to be just then. Instead she flew straight to a little cottage that was far out of town. Landing on the little hill the cottage sat on she felt the pain explode in her right foreleg. A cry of pain escaped her lips. The door opened immediately and Fluttershy stood there, her face half covered with the long pink mane. She eyed Rainbow Dash for a moment and then her eyes drifted to the leg Rainbow was favoring. Her eye showed that concerned and fearful expression. “Rainbow, you didn’t…” Rainbow Dash grunted. “Punch clouds until I hurt myself, no, I wouldn’t do that. I just uh… did exactly that.” Fluttershy ushered her inside and shut the door behind her. With a motion of her wing Rainbow was led to the couch where she crawled on it and laid down. Fluttershy was busy looking around through a nearby closet where a large assortment of oils, herbs, and ointments sat on various shelves. She pulled out one that had a white colored goop inside which made Rainbow Dash feel a little awkward to stare at. Fluttershy came back to the couch and sat down. “Show me.” Rainbow Dash reluctantly showed her the hoof and with careful gentle hooves Fluttershy began applying the ointment to the affected area. It was freezing cold at first. The more Fluttershy massaged the hotter it grew. Until it felt like Fluttershy was drawing burning lines across Rainbow Dash’s hoof and leg. At some point Fluttershy was just massaging the wound and all the pain was gone. Just a hot tingly feeling that Rainbow couldn’t say was bad. Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy as she worked her magic hooves into her leg. Eventually she pulled away and the leg became cold again. This wouldn’t do, Rainbow Dash hadn’t enjoyed that nearly long enough. “O-ow. Fluttershy, it still hurts.” Fluttershy’s lip quivered. “O-oh no, let me, um let try.” She returned to massaging the leg. “Is that b-better?” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Yeah, just keep doing that, for like, awhile.” Fluttershy’s lip curled up at the corner. If she caught on to what Rainbow Dash was doing she wasn’t arguing. So long as she had the opportunity she was going to milk a free Fluttershy massage for all it was worth. Of course there were other parts of her that she felt Fluttershy would be better off massaging but the idea of asking for that gave her the image of a terrified Fluttershy running away and not talking to her ever again. No, she’d keep those ideas firmly to herself. Fluttershy was a friend, just a friend… > Chapter Seven: Of Drinks and Dragons > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Seven: Of Drinks and Dragons Written by TheCrimsonDM Rarity sat at a booth in Sugarcube Corner with a fluffy whipped cream and oat smoothie sitting front of her. Applejack was on the other side with a cinnamon apple smoothie. Pinkie was on the opposite side with some kind of frozen drink that was pure pink with blue sprinkles in it. None of these were going to be exactly flattering for their figures but Rarity figured after a strange day a treat or two didn’t exactly hurt. “So,” Rarity started. “What do you all think about this new decision of Twilight’s?” Applejack didn’t look away from her drink. “Ah’m not too keen on it. After all Trixie did just barely use dark magic to take over the whole darn town.” Pinkie Pie added. “Yep, just like Discord did. Remember that?” Rarity glanced at her. “Don’t you find it strange that Twilight would react so strongly? Something is wrong here.” Applejack added. “When Rainbow Dash made that threat did you notice how Trixie reacted? It was like she was trying to hide behind Twilight.” Pinkie Pie frowned. “I don’t think it was very fun for Rainbow Dash to do that…” Rarity jumped in. “Neither do I, darling. But I feel Twilight might have gone a bit overboard herself. I do hope Rainbow Dash is okay after that, I’m sure her feelings were hurt.” Applejack took a sip of her smoothie before speaking. “Ah reckon she’ll be fine. Soon she’ll probably even apologize to Twilight but Ah am not so certain about Trixie. This situation is strange. If it had been Fluttershy Ah could see it, but Twilight?” Pinkie Pie added. “I wonder what kind of cupcakes Trixie likes. She seems to be a fan of peanut butter.” Rarity chose to ignore Pinkie’s contribution to the conversation. “That’s my concern as well, what if Trixie has done something to Twilight?” Applejack frowned. “Ah really hope not but if’n she did we can stop her.” Pinkie Pie added. “Oh just like how Discord messed with all of our heads? That was funny.” Rarity stared at her. “Why on earth do you keep bringing up Discord?” Pinkie Pie gave her a puzzled look. “Well, this just feels a lot like what happened with Discord you know? Like he used to be a bad guy and he did stuff far worse than anything Trixie ever did. Golly, even when we took him out of his stone prison he did bad stuff and just pretended to be doing it by accident. Fluttershy was able to make him change his ways though.” Rarity was the one frowning now. Maybe Pinkie had a point. What if Trixie really was trying to do better? If someone as evil as Discord could start to change his ways, why couldn’t Trixie? Still Trixie seemed completely clueless about everything almost as if she wasn’t exactly doing this by choice. Her mind still wondered about how she had been before coming to Twilight’s. She did seem a bit weak, and the food she was eating although strange was a lot. Maybe after some good food and when things calm down a bit on Rainbow Dash’s side Trixie would show more of who she really was instead of that persona she always kept up. Pinkie Pie added. “Besides it doesn’t help that Trixie pretty much says the opposite of what’s true all the time you know?” Rarity and Applejack gave her a look as if to ask her to explain further. Pinkie smiled and explained further. “Didn’t you notice it? It was like whenever she would say ‘Trixie has eaten all the time’ she was actually really hungry. Or ‘Trixie is not scared’ she was terrified. Its kinda silly how she can only say the opposite of what she means.” Rarity smiled. “Thank you, Pinkie. I think you might have just discovered the rosetta stone of Trixie.” Pinkie Pie grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you! I’m not sure what kind of rock that is but I’m sure my sister Maud would know!” Rarity smiled patiently. Pinkie was highly intelligent but it seemed to be by complete accident. She shook her head slowly and went back to her smoothie. Oh yes, sugar, lots and lots of sugar. She was going to regret this later. *** Trixie found herself moseying about the place looking for books to read. Despite being a library filled to the brim with books on practically every subject she couldn’t find just one to read. Meanwhile Twilight had busied herself research and Spike was doing chores about the place. Trixie’s legs felt restless and she felt almost trapped in here. There was a large part of her that just wanted to go out and be free but so many ponies posed problems. Not to mention the thought of Rainbow Dash coming back to confront her. Even if the little upstart did come back Trixie would defend herself next time. Even in her pregnant state never let it be said that her magic was not the best in Equestria. Even Twilight’s natural born talent came second to Trixie’s assuming Trixie ever wanted to show off her real power that was. With finding nothing else to do Trixie decided to turn to the one thing she always enjoyed in times like these. She made her way to Twilight who sat near the fireplace reading quietly to herself. “Twilight, Trixie is in demand of playing cards.” Twilight glanced up at her. “Oh, I think we have a few packs of those somewhere. Spike, where did you put them?” Spike stood up from his spot on the floor where he was scrubbing at a hoofmark, stretched his arms above his head and motioned for Trixie to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you where we keep the party supplies.” “Party supplies?” Spike shrugged. “Twilight assumes any gathering of more than two ponies becomes a party really quickly… and uh, knowing Pinkie Pie I can understand why. So we have a closet filled with games and other stuff for that.” Going down stairs they reached the lobby of the library. Off to one side was a closet and Spike opened the door to reveal a horde of different boxes. One shelf was lined with board games of all sorts. Spike skimmed through them. He laughed as he passed over a boxed version of ‘Twenty Questions’. “Twilight loves this one. She can’t help but to love a good riddle.” Trixie smiled. That would be good knowledge for the future. For now she helped him look with her eyes. Up near the top she spied exactly what she wanted. A set of cards. She pulled it down and Spike looked up at her. “So… what do you want with those? Looking to play Solitaire? I’ll play with you.” Trixie stared at him. “Isn’t Solitaire a single pony game?” “Not the way me and Twilight play it.” Trixie thought about that for a moment and decided against it. No she had different ideas in mind for the cards. In fact if he was so curious maybe she could show him just how great she really was. Trixie smiled. “The great and Powerful Trixie will show you what she has in mind. Follow her.” Trixie walked over to the table in the center of the lobby and sat down. She motioned for spike to sit across from her. He had to drag a stool over before he could be anywhere near eye level. He stared at her. “So… what game are we playing?” Trixie laughed. “Oh, Spike, this is not merely a game. I am going to show you real magic. Impressive and mind boggling tricks that nopony has known the secrets too for ages.” She pulled the cards out and shuffled them with her telekinesis. Once done she spread them face down for him. “Go ahead, pick a card, any card.” Spike gave her a caution look. She goaded him forward. “Do not fret, they won’t bite.” He picked a card and held it so he could see it. Trixie added, “Now don’t tell Trixie what it is.” With a flicker of extra magic she made sure that the card would stand out to her and only to her. “Now keep that card in mind and put it back face down.” He did so and she began shuffling the deck once more. She then stopped, spread the cards wide and found the one she was looking for. She pulled it out and set it aside. “No, no, no, it couldn’t be that one, too simple.” She pulled out a fake card. “Is this the card that was yours?”’ He shook his head. “No.” Trixie pulled another fake card. “Oh, then would it happen to be this one?” Spike shook his head again. “Not even close.” She set the deck down and frowned. Going back to the card she pulled aside. “Well it certainly couldn’t be this one could it?” She lifted the first card she pulled out up and showed it to him. His eyes widened slightly. “That’s it… but wait, you pulled that one out first.” Trixie smiled. “Of course she did. She just didn’t want you to think she had you so early in the game.” Spike smiled. “Nice trick. I was trying to learn that one awhile back but never got the hang of it.” Trixie’s heart skipped a beat. “You were trying to become a magician?” “Well… it sounded fun.” Trixie squeed. “An aspiring dragon magician after her own heart. Trixie approves. If you would like some assistance in practicing the trick, you have only the best mentor here to help.” Spike scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I tried to ask Twilight for help but she just couldn’t figure it out.” Trixie wasn’t sure whether to be upset that he considered Twilight a better tutor before her, or amazed that Twilight couldn’t figure out the most basic of magic tricks. Maybe illusions and trickery were just not the mares thing… actually that would make a lot of sense. Twilight did seem to be the honest sort as well as a bit more on the simple side. She sincerely doubted there was much hidden beneath Twilight’s surface. Something, but not much. Trixie instead chose to focus on a different aspect. The dragon boy was trying to learn her craft and clearly needed a helping hoof from someone who was the best unicorn in Equestria. She smiled down at him and said, “Twilight may not be able to understand the art of magic but Trixie, she is the most qualified pony in town to help out. Neigh, the most qualified pony in Equestria!” Spike wore a bit of a grin. “Well if you can help me learn this trick, maybe it will impress somepony.” “Oh when Trixie is done, you’ll impress everypony.” So they spent the next ten minutes or so practicing with Trixie showing him how you’re supposed to use a mark to show which card is the actual one. Normally a magician doesn’t reveal their secrets but this card trick had been exposed for so long it didn’t really count. Spike was getting the hang of it too, a lot faster than she expected. His eyes were truly astute to finding small details once he was told to look for them. So after only a short time he was reliably finding the right card that Trixie had picked and even caught it the second time Trixie cheated by using a little magic to obscure her card before he found it again. He could prove to be a perfect assistant if she should choose to run a show here. The front door swung open with the force of a hurricane making Trixie jump back with enough fright to actually fall on her side. She stared at the open door seeing the outline of a pegasus. Her heart was racing. No, it couldn’t be. Why would she be here so soon? Was she still that angry? The figure walked in and Trixie found herself staring at the one, the only, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash glared at her. “Trixie, I have something to say to you.” Trixie’s mind went blank. Her heart racing. Just four more weeks, that’s all she needed to be safe. Trixie didn’t even think about it as she cried out. “TWILIGHT!” > Chapter Eight: Of Rainbows and Crushes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Eight: Of Rainbows and Crushes Written by TheCrimsonDM With Rainbow Dash laying on the couch and having a back massage from her buttery fluttery friend she found her mind was still racing. The anger had faded a fair bit now but something still felt off. The way Twilight was so protective over Trixie was strange. “Why? Why did Twilight get so mad at me?” Fluttershy replied with a voice that oozed honey. “Mmm, I think she just wants to keep her pupil safe. Twilight’s never had a student before. Maybe she’s over protective?” Rainbow Dash buried her head into the pillow. At least having Fluttershy on her back caressing her with those soft warm hooves felt godly. It was like her entire body had become warm jelly. If Fluttershy wasn’t the best at this, then she didn’t know who would be? Not that Rainbow Dash would ever let anypony else try this kind of thing, or even let anypony know that she let Fluttershy do this kind of thing. It was very much their secret. Rainbow Dash felt a particularly pleasant spot being caressed and had to stifle an embarrassing noise coming from her mouth. “So… she’s mad at me. Like really mad.” Fluttershy hummed as she moved her hooves a bit lower onto Rainbow’s back. “W-well, maybe. B-but if I know Twilight she’ll forgive you if you apologize.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “But I’m too awesome to apologize for something so stupid. All I did was make a threat… it’s not like I was ever going to make good on it, she should just know that.” Fluttershy replied. “Do you think Trixie knows that?” Rainbow Dash was quiet for a moment. “Probably not.” Fluttershy’s hooves moved progressively lower and her beginning to get to some personal space territory. Not that Rainbow Dash minded, but she uh, she had to put up some kind of fight. For appearances sake. She didn’t want Fluttershy to think anything weird about her… even if the reverse wasn’t exactly true. Those warm, gentle hooves were a godsend on her lower back. So long as they stayed there Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have to force herself to say anything. Fluttershy seemed to pick up on her resistance even before Rainbow said anything as the hooves moved up on her back just a little. Just enough to show that Fluttershy was not meaning to go so low on purpose. It was almost painful to think Fluttershy didn’t to go any lower but Rainbow Dash had come to accept that by now. Fluttershy might have been her best friend but she wasn’t ever going to be anything more than that. Heck, Fluttershy had even dated other ponies once or twice so any interest that could have been there was clearly gone… great now she was angry and sad. Fluttershy spoke quietly. “You know what you need to do now, d-don’t you?” Rainbow Dash grunted. “Yeah… but I’m going to hate it. I just don’t understand why… and that is what bugs me the most.” Fluttershy paused for a moment before saying something that drove a spike through Rainbow Dash’s heart. “How would you react if somepony threatened me?” Rainbow Dash jumped up from the couch and into the air knocking Fluttershy down onto the couch. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe how stupid I freaking am. Your right! If somepony had said that to you I’d have killed them. What if… what if Twilight feels the same way about Trixie!” Fluttershy stared up. “Feels um… what?” Rainbow Dash hurried to the door threw it open and flew off faster than before. The massage oil quickly drying from the wind rushing around her. She had to make this right, and right now. She was such a dunce. Twilight was her friend and if she wanted to keep Trixie around and protect her then she could do just that and it was Rainbow’s job to help her not cause any problems. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What was the point of being the element of loyalty if she was going to throw that away just because she didn’t like Trixie… Oh by Celestia’s shining massive butt… Rainbow Dash felt like had become Gilda. *** Twilight heard first the thud from downstairs as something heavy fell. She stood up intending on running down to see what happened. Surly Spike had dropped something from the closet again, in fact opening that closet was kind of a hazard in and of itself. It was the blood curdling scream that sent shivers running through her body. Twilight didn’t even need to think as she teleported downstairs in a flash of pink light. She stood there witnessing a scene of horror. Rainbow Dash stood in the door way staring down at Trixie who was some feet away and lying on the floor. Spike was trying to help Trixie out but the look in Trixie’s eyes. The pinpricked pupils, the bulging eyes the grimace of pure terror. It set something off in Twilight and she swiftly made her way between the two facing Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash blinked a few times and attempted to speak. “I uh, look I have um,” Twilight cut her off. “Rainbow Dash! How dare you! How very dare you, burst back into my home, and and and,” Oh by Celestia, she didn’t’. “YOU!” She jammed a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “Did you push her?” Rainbow Dash blinked. “What no, no I didn’t do anything yet.” Twilight took a step forward. “YET?” Rainbow Dash lowered her head looking from Twilight to Trixie with obvious guilt on her face. “I just wanted to say-“ “SAY WHAT?” Twilight felt her body as tense as a string pulled taught, so taught it was about to snap. “What on earth did you want to say? Another threat?” “N-no, I’m sorry!” Twilight glared at her. “Oh, so now you’re sorry?” Rainbow Dash lowered her head further as she back up to the door way. “I am. I realized I did something bad and I’m sorry. I’m sorry to you and I’m sorry to her too.” Twilight watched Rainbow Dash for a moment. Her body language showed obvious signs of guilt. So maybe she really did feel sorry but the point is she had still put Trixie into a state of panic. Oh… oh no, panic was bad. Stress was bad. Twilight spun around and galloped to Trixie’s side. Trixie still looked a nervous wreck. Her breathing was rapid. She had to fix this and now. Twilight’s horn lit up and she cast a calming spell over Trixie. In seconds Trixie’s eyes returned to a normal state, her breathing slowed and her grimace relaxed into a frown. Twilight laid down and was already examining Trixie for any signs of danger or an immediate need for a hospital visit. Trixie stared at her. “Um… Twilight, why are you staring at that?” Twilight looked up to meet Trixie’s eyes. “Are you okay? How are you feeling? Any pain, any, anything?” Trixie shook her head. “Trixie is fine. She was just startled. She’s not even sure why now…” She looked over at Rainbow Dash who was standing in the door way looking a little lost. “Trixie forgives you.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. “Good, I was afraid that maybe I might have crossed another line.” Twilight’s head snapped back and glared at Rainbow Dash. “You did! At least with me. I’m glad you’re apologizing but I’m trying to keep this home as calm and safe as possible and you bursting in like that does not help.” Rainbow Dash lowered her head and stared at the floor. She pawed at it a few times. “I… listen, this whole thing is weird for us but I’m okay with it. I… I want to trust your judgment Twilight. If you want Trixie around then I’ll want Trixie around.” Twilight felt herself beginning to calm a little Rainbow Dash really was repentant after her actions this morning. She also couldn’t blame her too much for acting rash and fast like she always did. After all this was the pony that continuously broke through her windows for weeks just to say hi… actually she still did that on occasion, greatest flier in Equestria her hind quarters, how does one fly through the closed window like some kind of blind crow? Still they were friends and Twilight didn’t want that relationship to end just because of any current mission. “I’ll forgive you, but just do your best to help me keep a calm and relaxed atmosphere okay?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Y-yeah… Sorry again. I didn’t realize how close you were to Trixie. Seeing you like this now… I kinda get it.” Twilight felt a little strange by the way Rainbow Dash said that. Had she really caught on to what was happening? “What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash didn’t meet her gaze but she replied, “Well… you want to keep her safe right?” “Yes.” “And you like her?” “Well… I do.” That was an honest statement much to Twilight’s surprise. Rainbow Dash smiled. “I guess I should have figured you’d not only have to find a magical pony to date but you’d also be gay. I mean… it was kind of obvious.” What Rainbow Dash said wasn’t untrue but it felt awkward as if Twilight was missing something. “Well… thank you?” Trixie sat up and wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s neck bringing her into a hug. “Rainbow Dash, you approve?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sure, I mean, I’m not one to criticize.” Trixie smiled but it didn’t touch her eyes. “Oh, thank you. But please, keep this a secret, we aren’t ready to share it yet if you understand.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Fair ‘nuff. I’ll just leave you too alone now… um… am I still grounded?” Twilight was not at all sure of what was going on but she offered a weak smile. “No, you’re not. Just remember, it’s a library, calm and quiet.” Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and backed out the door. “Yep and boring too, see you girls later.” Twilight closed the door after her and relaxed. Trixie was still holding her. Not that Twilight minded that much, she was a fan of hugs from warm ponies but she felt like something had just happened. Something that went way over her head. She looked at Trixie whose face turned pink and she let go instantly. Twilight smiled at her. “Well that was exciting. Are you sure you’re okay?” Trixie nodded. “Yes… but um, how good is she at keeping secrets?” “When she means it, she’s the best.” Trixie let out a sigh. “Good because Trixie doesn’t want all of your friends to think we are dating.” Twilight blinked. “D-d-dating?” Oh… by the heat of Celestia’s sun… This just got a lot more complicated. > Chapter Nine: Of Lessons and Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Nine: Of Lessons and Love Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie found herself sitting on bed upstairs and attempting to read some cobbled together journal Twilight had about friendship. In all honesty all it was were copied collections of every letter Twilight had sent to Princess Celestia. Once a week… for just over a year. Trixie quickly finished them but they felt more like lectures and folk tales then actual sense. Trixie found herself asking yet another question as she studied them. “How exactly does realizing Pinkie Pie is psychic, relate to anything other than being terrified of her?” Twilight offered a patient smile. She’d been sitting in front of the bed answering such questions for fifteen minutes now. “It’s not about how she’s psychic it’s about how I reacted poorly to a new experience and failed to believe in my friend.” “Even Trixie doesn’t believe this and she has witnessed the pink pony’s strangeness first hoof.” Twilight was still offering that smile. The longer Trixie stared at it the more she felt like it was less friendly and more smug. As if Twilight was saying, ‘I’m smarter than you if you can’t understand this.’ It was really starting to grate on Trixie’s nerves. “And, how, pray tell did you learn about anything from Rarity being selfish, stuck up, and taking over Rainbow Dash’s contest like the mare she is?” Twilight frowned. A much better look for the mare, or at least one Trixie was more comfortable with. “Rarity isn’t… well she used to be a little more um… self interested. She has changed a lot since then. She’s learned that by taking care of others first she takes care of herself too.” Trixie felt herself frowning. “So she’s just a pushover who doesn’t care about herself now? How is that any better than being stuck on herself and acting like all unicorns have to be stuck up, rich, and elegant.” Twilight didn’t’ look like she quite knew how to answer Trixie’s question. “Um… I don’t…” Twilight bit her lower lip. “Well there have been times where Rarity has made certain comments towards Applejack, and me and… um… she is better now?” Trixie smiled. “Oh, maybe that will help Trixie understand better. What has Rarity said?” Twilight sat down. “I shouldn’t really say it out loud.” “Please, Trixie feels she might understand how Rarity grew into a better pony if she knew.” Twilight bit her lower lip, her eyes darted from side to side and then she nearly whispered. “I heard Rarity call Applejack a um… dirty pony once. L-like the derogative term… It was a long, long time ago but I think… maybe she was um…” Trixie’s smile grew even more. The poor unicorn in front of her had no idea there was a difference between dirt pony and dirty pony, this was getting fun. “So let Trixie get this straight. She used to say some very hurtful things about ponies she felt were under her, but it’s okay now because she has stopped?” Twilight nodded. “Well it’s not that simple but… mostly.” Trixie beamed. “Then Trixie will just have to stop saying hurtful things and she will be friends with everypony right?” Twilight looked concerned but replied. “I think that’s only the first step…” Trixie was finally getting it. Pretend to be a different pony. A ‘better’ pony. If she did that more ponies would frolic to her greatness and she could bathe in their warm loving glow. How had she not figured this out sooner? If she wanted to be important she had to give ponies a reason to love her, other than simply existing and being both the greatest, and best magician ever. She could do that, for those oh so needy ponies she could offer them some kindness in return. Or was it generosity. Oh did it matter? Twilight seemed displeased with her profound realization. “Trixie, I think this might take more work.” Trixie put a hoof to her chest. “Preposterous. You yourself are teaching Trixie of friendship, and you are the best equipped for such a task are you not. Trixie shall get the hang of this in her very next conversation.” Twilight’s cheeks turned a shade of pink. “B-best?” Trixie reached out and flicked the floof on Twilight’s chest with her hoof. “Oh, yes, yes you are.” Twilight took a step back her cheeks turning a deeper shade. “Oh, um, okay. So we’ll keep trying until you get it. I’ll invite somepony over soon and you can spend some time with them. Um… anypony you like so far?” Trixie felt satisfied with making Twilight feel awkward her victory, though small, was a fun one. “Fluttershy wasn’t so bad. She seemed friendly enough but that big doof Rainbow Dash dragged her away against her will.” Twilight looked away and at the bookshelf. “That was unfortunate. Of all my friends I felt her and Pinkie would be the best ones to start with but after realizing you don’t need so much excitement I don’t think Pinkie’s a great idea. At least not unsupervised.” Trixie offered a sly grin. “Oh you trust Trixie to be left unsupervised with your friends?” Twilight nodded. “Of course, you’re an adult you know.” Trixie blinked. “Oh… well Trixie supposes she is, isn’t she.” Twilight frowned again. “What does that mean?” “Trixie is hardly 18 years old, you know.” Twilight blinked. “Oh, so we’re pretty close in age then.” “Trixie supposes so.” Trixie hopped off the bed and walked over to Twilight’s bed. Twilight’s voice came out a bit broken. “Um.. everything okay?” Trixie looked under the bed and with a pull of her telekinetic aura she dragged out a few magazines of ill repute. “Trixie is just fine, but could she get some of that unsupervised time now? Or are you going to make her use the bathroom like a teenager.” Twilight’s face was a deep shade of red. “H-hey! Those are mine!” “Trixie knows, this is a library after all isn’t’ it?” “B-but those aren’t part of the library, they’re private!” Trixie opened one up to see the most delightful, terrible things. “Oh, yes, yes they are.” Trixie actually climbed onto Twilight’s bed laying on her belly as she flipped through the pages. “Not many stallions in these books eh?” Twilight’s face was so red it lost all traces of lavender it once had. “T-T-Trixie!” “Yes?” “Stop looking at those!” Trixie glanced up at her. “Oh, Twilight, do not worry, it’s nothing new for me. I’ve already done most of these-“ she flipped a page and her heart stopped. “-never mind.” She closed the magazine and set it down. “I will certainly look at these later but Trixie had no idea you had such diverse interests.” Twilight marched over and her aura surrounded the magazine lifting them up and away from Trixie. “No. Bad Trixie.” She placed them under the bed again. “Not for you.” Trixie giggled. “Oh you are delightfully innocent aren’t you?” Twilight stomped a hoof. “Twilight is not innocent!” Trixie blinked. “Did you just?” Twilight turned around. “Nothing in the past five minutes has ever happened.” Her horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of bright pink light. Somehow torturing Twilight as her ‘friend’ was actually more fun than tormenting her as an enemy ever could be. It was like playing with a cat’s ears. She could do this all day, and better yet, Twilight wasn’t’ actually a cat so there was no chance of her being scratched for her efforts to amuse herself… speaking of which. Trixie slipped those magazines back out seeing as how Twilight wasn’t going to be up here bothering her for at least a few good minutes. Spike seemed to have vanished at some point as well. Well idle hooves are Lord Tirek’s playthings as they say. *** Twilight sat downstairs sipping at a cup of tea while Spike was in the kitchen cleaning the mess from the meal this morning. She laid her head down and let out an exasperated sigh. That mare, she was more of a hooful than Twilight thought she’d be. It seemed the more comfortable she was here the more challenging she was becoming. This was frustrating to say the least and she was almost certain that Trixie was misunderstanding the friendship lessons on purpose. Not to mention the way Trixie kept touching her. It was weird… and felt good. Twilight shook her head. It was not the time to be thinking weird thoughts. Spike spoke up. “You fed up yet?” She couldn’t let him know how she felt. “No, I’m just tired.” “Okay.” Spike was using a butter knife to scrape some of the gunk out of the stove top. Something she found a little grating to listen too but knew needed done. What was she going to do? Introducing Trixie to her friends hadn’t gone according to plan, at least Trixie and Rainbow Dash made up even if it meant that Rainbow Dash now had the wrong idea of what was going on. Was it even worth arguing that idea? It’s not like she could convince Rainbow otherwise. When she got something stuck in her noggin she was worse than Pinkie… not that Pinkie was bad, or annoying, or anything negative. She was just… a lot to handle sometimes. They all were. Twilight was very bad at this whole friendship thing. She was far better at magic. How come Trixie couldn’t be here to learn magic instead? Twilight had no idea how to teach friendship, she hardly understood it herself. Was this friendship letter she wanted really worth it? The answer was yes. Yes it was. Any extra attention from Celestia was worth practically dying for. She’d even gone right up to a mean old dragon for Celestia’s love-er affection. This was not even close to a dragon. Spike intruded upon her thoughts. “You know Trixie was really quiet and scared when she first arrived.” Twilight replied. “Yes, quiet… I like quiet.” Spike laughed. “But she’s talking a lot more now. She’s even playful now.” Twilight glared at him. “Playful?” Spike looked at her. “Haven’t you noticed? She’s teasing you.” “Teasing?” “Yes, you know like something Rainbow Dash would do.” Twilight frowned. “Rainbow Dash doesn’t tease me like that.” “No she just puts whoopee cousins under your seat, give you magically disappearing ink in the middle of a serious study and moves your books to random places in the library and watches you until you figure it out and freak out.” Twilight stared at him. “So… what are you saying? Trixie and Rainbow Dash have something in common?” Spike let out a sigh. “Seriously? You can’t see it?” “See what? I’m failing to understand what everypony’s obsession with picking on me is.” Spike set his butter knife down, stood straight up on the counter and put his clawed hands on his hips. “What they have in common is they both like you enough to tease you. If they didn’t feel comfortable around you they wouldn’t tease you. Trixie would just be quiet and give you sharp mean comments, not try to goad you into your weirdly cute responses.” Twilight stared at him. “So… I… I’m succeeding?” Spike smiled. “At least you can say your Trixie’s friend.” Twilight stood straight up. “Spike, I need a letter and a pen. I have a letter to send, the first of many.” > Chapter Ten: Of Tricks and Tact > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Ten: Of Tricks and Tact Written By TheCrimsonDM It had taken only a little bit of time but Fluttershy was here now and Trixie wasn’t sure what to make of it. Trixie hadn’t really left the tree house since she arrived and although she felt the need to stretch her legs, maybe graze a little, she didn’t exactly want to go outside, especially not alone. Twilight’s fix for the issue, drag one of her friends into the library and then leave them alone in the second floor. At least the mare was quiet, but the issue was that Fluttershy kept staring at Trixie as if there was something stuck on Trixie’s face. Eventually even Trixie couldn’t pretend the silent stares weren’t a thing. She met the mare’s eyes and asked, “Why are you so insistent on staring at Trixie?” Fluttershy swallowed. “I um, I um, I… don’t know.” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? You mean to tell Trixie you are staring at her like she is some kind of abstract piece of art and you have no idea why?” Fluttershy’s lip quivered. “You’re so colorful.” Trixie blinked. “Colorful?” Fluttershy looked Trixie up and down. “Like really warm looking.” Warm, colorful, was this mare on some kind of fungi? The only time Trixie had ever experienced something like that was a case where she learned to not eat random mushrooms she found growing in the forest. Great so Trixie’s new companion was a hippie on some kind of substance. Trixie… could do worse for company. “Trixie will accept that you just like staring at her, but please, look at something else for five minutes. Even the Great and Powerful Trixie struggles with such attention for so long.” Fluttershy pulled her eyes away and looked down at the floor. “S-sorry.” Trixie let out a sigh. “Trixie is… sorry too.” Fluttershy was frowning. It was like the moment Fluttershy looked away the energy inside her began to drain. Was Trixie really so good to stare at? Well yes, yes she was, and the mare had already admitted to liking her magic show. Maybe this mare was not actually on some kind of substance but was an adoring fan met with the possibility of talking to and befriending her favorite magician. Who wouldn’t be stuck staring in such a position? Trixie got up and walked over closer to the mare. She plopped herself down right in front of Fluttershy, only a foot way. Fluttershy looked up again and locked eyes on Fluttershy. “O-oh, um, um, um.” Trixie offered a smile. “The Great and Powerful Trixie realizes you must be a true fan to stare at her so much. Tell Trixie, did you want something from her?” Fluttershy’s lip quivered and her eyes widened. Those cheeks grew a shade a pink and she was trembling a little. Somehow all of these signs only told Trixie that the mare was positively adorable. Something she’d missed earlier, probably thanks to Rainbow Dash’s mouth. Still she wasn’t displeased to have a cute mare so close. Fluttershy swallowed. “I um, I d-don’t know.” Trixie realized a fan wanting some fan service when she saw it. “Trixie loves all of her fans, especially those which such cute expressions. Please, if you have any desires of Trixie let her know. She’d more than love to accommodate them.” She attempted to bridge the gap by gently placing a hoof over Fluttershy’s. Fluttershy’s face went a shade of red and those wings shot out as if they had a mind of their own. Fluttershy closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.” Trixie laughed. “There is no need to apologize. Trixie finds your antics to be entertaining. She herself is the entertainer though, so if you want an autograph or to see Trixie perform feats of wonder just let her know.” Fluttershy cracked open an eye. “O-oh… is that… is that what you meant?” Trixie pulled her hoof back. “Of course it is what Trixie meant. What else could she be talking about?” Fluttershy’s wings relaxed a little. “Um… o-okay. I like magic tricks… c-could you do any?” Trixie giggled. “Of course Trixie can. Now where did Trixie put the material she scavenged from Twilight’s abode?” Trixie stood up and turned around. She trotted away from Fluttershy looking at a saddle back near the wall. It wasn’t until she had opened it up and pulled out a deck of cards that she was aware something was a little off. She glanced back to see Fluttershy’s eye wandering over Trixie’s cutie mark. “Oh, are you curious how Trixie received her cutie mark?” The mare’s face went deep red and she covered her eyes with her wings. “I wasn’t staring.” Trixie blinked. This mare was certainly strange. Was it so bad to look at another’s cutie mark… oh… she wasn’t looking at the cutie mark was she? Even Trixie wasn’t that dense. She turned around and walked over to where Fluttershy was and laid down. “Fluttershy was it?” Fluttershy squeaked out a noise that Trixie assumed to be a yes. “Trixie would love to show you some of the tricks she knows now.” Fluttershy spread the end feathers of her wings apart just enough to see Trixie. With a patient smile Trixie was shuffling those cards. “Trixie can perform all sorts of feats of wonder using magic. If you’d like, Trixie would be willing to spend the day teaching you all the ‘tricks’ she knows.” Fluttershy swallowed. Seeing as how Trixie didn’t reject her upon the realization of what was going on, she seemed to relax a little. The game was ahoof and Trixie wasn’t going to be the first one to make a move. Oh no, she was going to make this mare force her hoof and reveal her cards first. Once she did, Trixie might just enjoy herself some pegasus for dinner… assuming Twilight continued to politely bugger off for long enough. Now the real game had began. To get Fluttershy to make the first move. *** Twilight was busy with the water hose giving the flower garden a much needed bathing. Using Fluttershy to start Trixie’s friendship lessons was a great idea. The mare had single hoofedly tamed Discord, so she’d be able to do anything. Of course Spike who was busy pulling weeds on the other side of the garden was busy trying to contradict her. “You sure this was a good idea?” “Spike, Spike, Spike, Fluttershy is the most quiet, sensitive pony out there. If there is any one of my friends that I trust to help Trixie out of her shell and to become more gentle it is her.” Spike grumbled. “Yeah, so long as Fluttershy doesn’t find out Trixie is pregnant. If that happens you’re going to have a mess to clean.” Twilight glanced at him. “What do you mean? Wait, are you still on the whole Fluttershy devours unborn children thing? How many times do I have to tell you she doesn’t do that.” Spike rolled his eyes. “You know what, if you find any weird stains or puddles upstairs, you get to clean them. Not me.” What on earth was he on about? Whatever if it made him feel better. “Alright, that’s acceptable.” It was at that point Twilight recognized the snow-white pristine form of Rarity walking down the road towards them. Not deterred from her task of washing the flowers she continued to do so until Rarity appeared. Rarity’s first response was not the one she expected. “Darling, are you trying to waterboard your daisies?” Twilight took the hose off of them. They looked fine to her. They were so happy with being watered they were drooping from being sleepy. Spike took the first chance to look at the flowers. “See, this is why I’m in charge of taking care of the garden. I think you just killed them all.” Twilight frowned. “But the book said plenty of water. This doesn’t seem like too much for me.” Rarity giggled. “Oh, twilight, it’s plenty of water for a flower, not for a pony.” Twilight frowned. The only book she’d been able to read in time to help out today was more of pamphlet talking about flowers in such a way to teach kids how they worked. Even she had to prioritize her reading time especially with a pregnant mare in the house. Rarity rolled her eyes. “I’ll ask Applejack if she can help save them later. She’s surprisingly good with flower gardens I’ll have you know.” Spike agreed. “She helped e when we had those magical beetles come in.” Twilight felt out of place in this conversation. Could they return to talking about magical theory, or history of Equestria, or even just Princess Celestia, she knew a lot about those things. Still she was done watering the garden, by now Fluttershy and Trixie had surely had enough time to become friends. Of course Rarity was here now… why was she here again? Twilight looked over at Rarity. “Did you need anything?” Rarity only offered a small smile. “I want to get to know Trixie better.” “Oh Fluttershy’s doing that right now. I’m hoping they get to know each other really well and get really close.” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You left Fluttershy alone with Trixie?” “We left her alone with Discord, didn’t we?” Rarity bit her lower lip. “I still feel bad about that. What if he had hurt her?” “Discord is about chaos not evil, he wouldn’t directly hurt somepony. Historically all the battle’s he’s won have been by circumstance not him attacking anything.” Rarity was still frowning. “Even so I don’t like the idea of putting her in harm’s way.” “Trixie is not going to hurt anypony. She really wants to change for the better. Today she even felt comfortable enough to be playful with me.” Rarity gave Twilight an odd stare. “Define playful.” “Teasing, jokes, being a little silly… you know, like Rainbow Dash does.” Rarity put a hoof to her chin as if in thought. “Well she does somewhat remind me of Rainbow Dash. I suppose as we get to know her more we might see more similarities.” Twilight grinned. “See, even you have to admit it’s not all bad.” “I never said it was all bad, just that there was bad there in the first place.” Rarity shook her head. “What I mean is, there is a chance this could go wrong and I’d like to avoid that if at all possible.” Twilight nodded. “I agree, that’s why it’s Fluttershy up there instead of anypony else. She’s the best equipped to be Trixie’s second friend.” “Second?” Twilight smiled. “I’m her first!” Rarity looked down at the ground and furrowed her brow. “I… see. So she really didn’t have any friends before you. What made her consider you as somepony to help her learn then?” Twilight felt her body freeze. That was not a question she was prepared for. What was she going to say, that Trixie showed up in the middle of the night, soaking wet, homeless and desperate for help? If she did Rarity was going to press for further questions, besides that it might hurt Trixie’s ego, which wouldn’t be bad except for the fact that she really didn’t need the extra stress. If she just left Rarity alone though wouldn’t she start pestering Trixie about it? What could she do? Spike answered. “She came here in the middle of a storm soaking wet and homeless.” Rarity stared at him. “I see. Poor thing must really have had nowhere else to turn. At least she seems to have gotten to the right pony at the right time. Don’t worry, I won’t repeat anything you said. Discretion is a lady’s best friend.” Well… that was actually a lot simpler than Twilight gave it credit for. Now it was just time to check up on Trixie and Fluttershy. It ad been a good half hour now right? What could those two possibly get up to in that amount of time? > Chapter Eleven: Of Magic Tricks and Honey Lips > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter eleven: Of Magic Tricks and Honey Lips Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight came walking in upstairs much to nopony’s surprise she found Trixie sitting on the floor with a red face doing card tricks with Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s face was just about as red but neither of them said much. For a moment Twilight watched in silence as Fluttershy played the trick picking a card to which Trixie shuffled her deck and easily found it. It was a simple trick but one that made the two of them giggle. It was a little strange the way they looked at each other and what Trixie said afterwards only made it more awkward. . “Trixie is great at all sorts of tricks, is there any in particular that you might want to see?” Fluttershy swallowed and moved an inch closer. “Um, w-w-well, I um, c-c-can think of um,” her eyes drifted to Twilight and she slid herself away from Trixie. “Oh, T-Twilight!” Trixie groaned and glanced back at Twilight. “Hello, oh great disruptive one.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too. It seems like you two are having fun at least.” Trixie let out a low growl. “Trixie was about to have more fun, she is sure.” Twilight walked over, plopped herself down near them and smiled. “You know you can have fun with more than one friend at a time.” Trixie’s eyes bulged out of her skull, same with Fluttershy. This time it was Trixie who was stuttering. “T-T-Twilight, you c-cannot mean what T-Trixie thinks you do.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That you perform tricks for both of us. Sure why not?” Trixie swallowed. “T-Twilight, you said you were not interested in that.” Had Twilight really said she didn’t like magic tricks? Twilight wasn’t positive, though she might have said it once or twice. It wasn’t exactly a true statement she just preferred real magic but these little tricks were a nice distraction sometimes. “I haven’t experienced any in awhile, not since Spike tried.” Trixie stood up. “The little dragon boy! Twilight Sparkle, he is a child!” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “O-oh… you m-mean magic tricks, d-don’t you?” Twilight looked from Fluttershy to Trixie back to Fluttershy. “Well… yeah, isn’t that exactly what you two were doing up here?” Trixie stammered for a half second before finally saying, “Of course it was, but Trixie wasn’t sure if the dragon boy was ready to perform in front of crowds his skills are not as great nor powerful as Trixie’s were.” Twilight smiled. “Isn’t that why you’re helping him learn magic tricks?” Trixie jerked a nod. “Of course… um, Trixie feels a little fatigued though so maybe magic will have to wait. Just this once.” Twilight hadn’t even heard the hoofsteps up the stairs but she did hear it when Rarity spoke with a tone that was on the edge of caution. “Oh, really now, a few card tricks and Trixie is already tired? Darling, are you feeling well?” Trixie offered a first class grin. “Of course she is well, there are no changes to Trixie’s medical condition. Why would you suggest such a thing?” Rarity seemed quiet for a moment and then added. “If there was, would that help explain why you’re here at Twilight’s?” Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Of course not, Trixie is here for friendship, not because of any more pressing or stressful concerns. Especially not if Twilight is the only pony that could help Trixie with such things. You are asking strange questions, Rarity.” Rarity nodded. “And what kind of medical conditions would you happen to not have?” It was at that moment that Twilight picked up on what Rarity was doing. Trixie began to reply, “Trixie would certainly not be p-“ Twilight interrupted her. “Patient, Trixie is certainly not very patient sometimes. But we still like our friends even when they’re impatient.” Twilight tried to make as friendly a face as she could to prove to Rarity that she was being earnest. It wasn’t a lie but it stopped the truth from being dragged out by accident. Rarity stared at her. “Uh-huh… I suppose that is true but Trixie was saying something about what she wasn’t-“ Twilight cut in again. “I think Trixie has had enough excitement for one day, she’s really tired after all the fun she had with Fluttershy. I think it’s time you two left.” Rarity stared at Twilight. “Really now, darling, Trixie seems just fine. A little warm in the face but just fine.” Twilight couldn’t help but notice that Trixie was still casting nervous glances at Fluttershy with those red cheeks of hers. Fluttershy had stood up now but didn’t look much better. Hopefully they weren’t really sick and just having too much fun. Twilight still couldn’t risk Rarity manipulating the answer out of Trixie like that. “Rarity, I think we need to talk downstairs.” Rarity met her eyes. “Oh?” “Yep,” Twilight walked ahead and mostly gently pulled Rarity along with her using a bit of magic. Rarity followed not that she had much of a choice. Twilight left those two upstairs to do whatever it was they were doing. Once all the way downstairs and hopefully out of the earshot of Trixie and Fluttershy Twilight spun around to face Rairty. “Rarity… please don’t.” Rarity offered a confused look. “Whatever do you mean?” “I know what you are doing, and it’s not what friends do. Exploiting a weakness in Trixie like that, it’s not appropriate.” Rarity gasped and put a hoof to her mouth as if she had no idea what she was doing. “Oh my, Twilight, how could you think I would exploit one of our new friends?” Twilight met her eyes. “Rarity, I don’t know how you figured out how to trick Trixie into saying the things she doesn’t want too but I beg of you, don’t force her to say anything. I promise you, if there is anything else going on here, I know about it and I have made the decision to not share it with you girls yet so that Trixie can have the chance to learn to trust you all enough to do so herself.” Rarity stared at her in silence for a long moment. Seconds crawled by until Twilight was sure actual minutes had passed. Rarity did finally speak and her tone was gentle. “Are you sure she will trust us?” “No, but I think that it’s important to try. I need you to give me a chance, to give her a chance. I’m begging you, Rarity.” Rarity shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to beg me to give you a chance. If you trust Trixie that much than I will… I will try. I know there is something more going on, I think we all do, but we will wait until either things blow up in our faces or Trixie tells us herself. Should they blow up though, we will take whatever means necessary to keep you safe.” Twilight nodded. “I understand. This time though, I really believe Trixie is here for good reasons and that there is something amazing on the horizon for her. Hopefully for all of us.” *** Trixie had watched as Twilight pretty much forcefully dragged the nosey Rarity back down the stairs by her tail. It was a pretty funny site as Rarity tried to dig her hooves into the floor boards and even gave a few useless bucks to meet only thin air. It was good too because until Twilight interrupted her she had no idea what Rarity was doing but it dawned on her that she was about to reveal a powerful secret with a idiotic lie. Twilight might be trustworthy after all… a strange thing to say considering her history with trusting others. Trixie attempted to walk forward to go down the steps but she felt a wave of exhaustion and dizziness hit her. She wobbled in place a little. Was she really this tired from just standing up too long? A soft and warm feathery blanket wrapped around her back pulling her close to Fluttershy’s side. This not only helped stabilize Trixie but was warm as could be. The wing over her back had almost enveloped her entire body. “Thank you, Trixie is tired.” Fluttershy shook her head. “You’ve had an exciting couple of days. Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.” With Fluttershy’s help Trixie was brought up the stairs and aided into bed where Trixie was then covered up by a blanket. She was surprisingly much more tired than she thought she could be. Maybe she did need some extra rest now. Fluttershy laid her head down on the bed facing Trixie’s. “I um… I think I know what you were going to say to Rarity…” Trixie swallowed. “W-what was it?” Fluttershy offered a gentle smile. “I want you to be the one to say it… but um… I don’t mind.” “You don’t mind?” Fluttershy’s wing drew small circles into the bed sheet. “Um, m-maybe I kinda um… like it?” Trixie blinked a few times. So now she was being open with her. Only after her secret was almost spilled to rarity. What was wrong with this mare? “Why would you like it? Trixie is the one who should like it.” Fluttershy smiled. “I’m glad you do, not every mare likes it when that happens… um… d-d-do you mind if I ask you a q-question?” Trixie shrugged. “Sure?” “Is it a colt or a filly?” Trixie closed her eyes tightly. Yep, she figured it out. At least she liked it, for whatever that was worth or even meant in this context. Trixie felt something soft and warm stroke her cheek prompting her to open an eye. Fluttershy’s head was closer to her face now, much closer, those wide blue eyes were staring right into hers. The feathery tip of her wing was stroking her cheek. Trixie felt her breathing growing shallow. “If Trixie tells you, will you keep it a secret?” “Fluttershy grinned. “Of course.” “Trixie is having a filly.” Fluttershy’s grin widened but those eyes were half closed giving Trixie a look that she’d only seen from mares right before the kind of events that usually led to Trixie’s circumstance. Why was this mare suddenly so interested in her now that she knew Trixie was pregnant? Or was she always interested and just uncomfortable to let her know until now. She did mention liking Trixie’s colors… Fluttershy inched her face ever closer. Hot breath could be felt over Trixie’s muzzle. “I um… I like pregnant mares… like… m-more than normal ponies do. I think my f-friends think I want to have a b-baby myself? M-maybe I do?” Trixie smiled trying to ignore that honey scented breath. “That’s okay, Trixie is fine with all sorts of kinks. You may even say Trixie has some herself.” “L-like?” “Trixie might tell you later.” In a near whisper Fluttershy asked, “C-could I still ask you f-for a certain magic t-trick?” Trixie swallowed. She wasn’t sure how long Twilight was going to be busy downstairs this time. Chances were she’d be right back up in no time but what would she do if she was caught in the middle of performing some kind of private magical act. She had no idea but her mind and body were being numbed by that look in Fluttershy’s eyes. The kind of look that promised Trixie could do anything she wanted and the mare would only love her for it more. “T-Trixie thinks… yes.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “C-can you make um… my lips… warm?” Trixie’s lips were only an inch away. Instinct seemed to kick in and her head moved forward of its own accord. Their lips met. Warm, soft, and the taste of honey on Fluttershy’s lips were amazing. Fluttershy was very responsive and pressed the kiss back. Her lips parting just enough for Trixie to feel a tongue brush against her own. Heat flashed across Trixie’s body making her body squirm with need. Screw it, Twilight could come up right now for all she cared, but she needed more of this. Trixie needed all of Fluttershy. Trixie pressed forward but only found Fluttershy pulled away just as the sound of hoofsteps appeared on the edge of the staircase far below them. Fluttershy smiled warmly at Trixie and Trixie felt herself smiling back. A warm wing wiped any excess fluids from Trixie’s lips and Fluttershy used a hoof to clean her own. Fluttershy whispered. “I’ll come back for more m-magic tricks later.” Trixie looked up at her. “This show was too short, she would love for you to experience an encore later.” Fluttershy took a few steps back before flapping her wings and going downstairs just in time to meet Twilight. She flew past Twilight while saying, “I have to go, but Trixie is in bed. She looked really tired after such a big day.” Twilight replied. “Thank you, Fluttershy. I knew you were the right pony to help her out. If I can trust anypony to help teach Trixie about friendship, it’s you.” Well Fluttershy certainly knew how to teach Trixie something, but she wasn’t sure it was friendship. > Chapter Twelve: Of Lonely Clouds and Feeling Proud > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Twelve: Of Lonely Clouds and Feeling Proud Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash was flying around town in circles her mind moving as fast as she was. The idea of Twilight in a relationship was hilarious and growing more so by the second. The idea of her trying to hide said relationship was funnier still. However, the funniest thing about this was that she was dating Trixie. Sure even Rainbow Dash could understand that when it came to magical gay mares Twilight’s options were a bit limited. Her obvious crush on Princess Celestia was completely one sided from what Rainbow Dash could see and Twilight’s other choices were with mixed results or in the case of Lyra, the mare was already taken by a mare who ran a candy store. At least Twilight seemed happy with this but it meant that Rainbow Dash was going to have to be more careful around Trixie. She didn’t want to step on Twilight’s hooves again. It was a little challenging because Trixie was also super annoying. She acted like she was the coolest, hottest thing in town, when obviously it was Rainbow Dash who deserved that title. No respect for the greats, right? Oh well, at least Rainbow Dash could get all the adoration she ever wanted from Fluttershy. Speaking of which she spied the yellow buttercup on her way home from Twilight’s. She figured Fluttershy’s play date with Trixie probably went well. Rainbow Dash felt herself cringe when thinking of the word ‘date’ in the same sentence as Fluttershy and Trixie. Hang out, that seemed better. Fluttershy’s hanging out with Trixie probably went well. Rainbow Dash swooped down behind the unsuspecting yellow mare. Taking just a brief moment to enjoy the view from behind her. Rainbow Dash crept up slowly and silently until she was mere inches above her. Rainbow Dash put both hooves to her mouth, sucked in a huge breath and- “Oh hello, Rainbow.” Fluttershy didn’t even turn to great her yet she knew Rainbow Dash was there. She froze for a moment. “Um… hi.” Fluttershy looked back at her. Those eyes were practically sparkling and that smile was content as could be. It was like some kind of magical happiness potion had been consumed by the mare. Their eyes met and Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat. She felt herself inching forward, eyeing those soft, subtle lips as if they were a precious treasure she wanted to steal. It took effort but she pulled herself away and put a few feet of distance between the two with a few powerful flaps of her wings. Fluttershy continued walking and looked away from her. “How was your day?” Rainbow Dash felt her heart crumpling. Well it was going better. “It’s alright, you?” Fluttershy had a sing song tone in her voice as she replied. “It’s been both great, and powerful.” She finished that with a giggle. Those two must have really hit it off. It wasn’t unthinkable, after all Fluttershy was the kind of mare who could find a way to befriend almost any animal. Besides that Trixie seemed to be girly enough that Fluttershy could probably find some ways to relate, makeovers, dresses, all that gross stuff. Fluttershy hummed as she continued walking almost oblivious to Rainbow’s presence. This would not do, not in her town. Rainbow Dash flew around and then put herself in front of Fluttershy flying backwards so that Fluttershy would be forced to pay attention. “So, you figure it out yet?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened for a moment and then relaxed. “W-what do you m-mean?” Rainbow Dash grinned. Of course she did. “The real reason Twilight’s keeping Trixie around like a pet.” Fluttershy’s eyes grew conflicted as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t supposed too. “I’m… I’m not sure.” Yeah right, but if Fluttershy wanted to pretend to not know that was cool with her. Rainbow Dash just stretched her forelegs out and put them behind her head as she relaxed in her backwards flight. “Uh-huh. Well I know the secret, and let me tell you. It’s pretty freaking funny.” Fluttershy bit her lip. “It’s not funny. It’s… um… alluring.” Right, girly girls, any romance was a good one or something like that. Rainbow Dash figured Rarity knew the sayings better than her. Oh wait, what if Rarity found out, that would be the best. Of course Rainbow Dash was forbidden from telling anypony but the laughs she could have at Twilight’s expense… this was going to be hard. Fluttershy met Rainbow’s eyes. “D-do you still hate Trixie?” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I have to like, let that go right? I mean she did some awful stuff but I kinda figured she’s with a mare who has also done some awful stuff with magic.” Fluttershy nodded. “Who better than Twilight to help Trixie on the right path?” “Yeah, especially after that whole Want it Need it thing. I guess Twilight really is in the right place to help her but it’s still weird. Funny as tartarus but still weird.” Fluttershy smiled. “You can find it funny if you want.” The way she said it almost made it sound like Rainbow Dash shouldn’t be having so much fun at their expense. If this ended up becoming another friendship lesson she was going to scream. When was Twilight going to stop sending those letters to Celestia? Like, never? Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Well at least they’re happy together-“ With a crash Rainbow Dash hit something and felt herself rolling backwards. There was something boney and warm and soft entangled around her. Opening her eyes she found only a white fluffy abyss and tasted marshmallow fur. There was an image of a diamond mixed into that fluffy abyss. Next to the other side of her head a purple tail swished. Rarity sat up, her plump bottom shoving Rainbow’s head down. “Oh my, what was that? Fluttershy, what happened? I think I-“ One bite form Rainbow later and there was an ear piercing screech as Rarity jumped off of Rainbow dash and landed some feet away. “RAINBOW DASH!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Serves you right for sitting on my face.” Rarity’s eyes drilled into Rainbow’s. “I know you’re starved for affection and sexually frustrated but if you’re going to be biting my rump, at least ask permission first. Also we should do that indoors away from prying eyes.” Rainbow Dash stared at her for a long moment. She then sat straight up and jabbed a hoof at Rarity. “I was not doing that because of some weird idea.” “Of course not, darling.” Rarity said as she looked over at the newly formed bite mark on her left flank. “Oh my… you really are hungry if you bit so deep.” Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. “I am not. I have a perfectly normal and functional sex life.” Rarity met her eyes. “Darling, I appreciate the bravado but do not try to lie to me. There is no need. If all you want is some special attention you just need to ask.” Rainbow Dash grabbed at her mane and pulled. “Gaah! What’s wrong with you, we’re friends. You can’t just do that with friends!” Rarity smiled. “Oh? But Fluttershy does.” Rainbow Dash looked from Rarity to Fluttershy and back to Rarity. Oh god, oh no. She knew that Fluttershy had been with other mares before, dated once or twice, and even had this weird obsession with pregnant ponies but this… not this. She felt something stab her heart. Her eyes were stinging. Rarity’s eyes widened. “Darling, I’m joking. It’s a joke. Please don’t take it seriously. Fluttershy and me have never done such things. I was only trying to-“ Rainbow Dash glared at her. “One more word and I might just… just freak out okay! So shut it.” She flapped her wings once, twice and thrice to propel herself skyward. How dare Rarity tease her like that. Doesn’t she realize that some jokes go too far? She was going to have to… well she was going to go home and cry now. The worst part of it all was the fact that Rarity was right, even when compared to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash’s romantic life was as exciting as a rock. Sure she was cool, but clearly not cool enough. *** Rarity bit her lower lip watching Rainbow Dash fly away. “Oh my, I didn’t mean to do that. I thought she’d laugh… I’ll have to apologize now.” Fluttershy watched as well. “She gets really sensitive about her um… love life.” Rarity glanced at her. Did Fluttershy not pick up on what it was that really triggered Rainbow Dash? Or was she choosing to ignore it because the joke had involved her and an imaginary but not unwanted encounter with herself and Rarity. Either way Rarity still had to make this up to Rainbow Dash. Perhaps she should actually enact plan Flutterdash and get these two in bed somehow. If she was going to do that she’d need the help of the one pony in town who could pull of the impossible: Pinkie Pie. Of course she felt like she was forgetting something important in the moment. What was she doing before Rainbow Dash collided into her and then Rarity proceeded to make a donkey of herself? Oh right she was on her way to Fluttershy’s. Luckily for her the mare in question was right there in front of her and as clueless and innocent as ever. Rarity saddled up next to Fluttershy. “Darling, I was just on my way to your place. I just have to know how your day with Trixie went.” As they walked Fluttershy was looking down at the ground. “Um… it was fun…” Rarity could practically feel the hesitation coming from Fluttershy. “I’m glad to hear it, what did you two do?” Fluttershy’s lips curled up ever so slightly. “Magic tricks.” Well of course they would, Trixie was a one trick pony after all it’s not like she would do anything else. “How do you feel about her?” “Oh, um, f-feel? Like um… feel feel?” Rarity had absolutely no idea what Fluttershy was trying to ask but the pink shade in her cheeks were a telling sign she’d seen a couple times now. No, just… no. not with Trixie. She could go find some other random mare but not Trixie. “Darling, you do realize this is the same pony that summoned an Ursa Minor to destroy the town and enslaved the entire town. You do realize this right?” Fluttershy nodded, and then quickly shook her head. “She d-didn’t summon the Ursa Minor. Snips and Snails did that.” “And why do you think they did that? Because of Trixie that’s why.” “Actually it was Spikes fault.” Rarity stopped. “Excuse me?” Fluttershy glanced back at her. “It was Spikes f-fault. He goaded them into proving Trixie’s stories were r-real. Obviously they were j-just stories. P-part of the p-performance but um… they d-didn’t know?” Rarity smiled. “Of course darling… but Spike didn’t do that.” “H-he didn’t? I’m p-pretty sure he t-told me he d-did.” Rarity laughed. “My precious Spikey Wikey would never do something so horrid to our entire town and then allow the blame to be put on Trixie without shouldering any of it himself for well over a year.” Fluttershy frowned. “Um… I-I think he t-tried to take the b-blame but Twilight was insistent on n-not blaming him.” “And she was right to do so because he is faultless. Now please, let’s let these fantastic stories of yours rest. I have one very important question for you,” Rarity met Fluttershy’s eyes with a cold sharp stare. “What is she hiding from us?” > Chapter Thirteen: Of Cupcakes and Silly Sauce > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and it’s Twilight’s Problem Chapter Thirteen: Of Cupcakes and Silly Sauce Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash lay on Pinkie’s bed, a cupcake in one hoof and a pillow in the other. Today had been too much. She was universally very good at handling bad days, it was kind of her thing. This time though it was too much. Rarity might have been joking about having been with Fluttershy herself but the fact of the matter stood, Fluttershy had had more sexual encounters than Rainbow Dash, and not a single one of them were aimed at her. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes closed for fear that if she opened them her eyes might bleed wet tears that were clearly from eating too much sugar and not at all from the stabbing wounds in her heart. “Pinkie, I thought you said these were the special cupcakes, why does this still suck.” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “I know that I made the special ones peanut butter flavor. So I have no idea how come their not working on you, I used a whole lot of Pinkie’s Silly Sauce this time. Maybe you’re just too sad.” “I’m not sad.” “Sure you are silly, you only ask for those if your sad, or hurt, or bored, or in one of the more saucy moods. Not that you ever take me up on my offers for a one on one mare kind of party.” Rainbow dash swallowed. “Maybe I should.” Pinkie gasped. “REALLY?” “Well…” it wasn’t like she was ever going to get any from another pony. Heck Rainbow hated to admit it, in fact refused to admit it and the older she got the more scared she became of somepony finding out, but she was just as much a virgin as Twilight ‘freaking obsessed with her teacher’ Sparkle. Pinkie Pie’s nose nudged Rainbow’s cheek. “Do you really mean it? Can we really?” Rainbow Dash rolled away from her. “Maybe… later. Okay?” Pinkie Pie’s tone deflated. “Okay… at least your considering it now. Can’t wait for it to happen, if it does, that would be amazing, you’re like, really hot you know.” “Of course I am, I’m the most awesome pony in town.” She finished her cupcake in one bite. It was peanut butter flavored but it wasn’t very filling and it was far from having the effect it was supposed to. These special ones were supposed to give her the ultimate chill right? Maybe let her nap her trouble away? “You know Rarity offered the same deal.” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Really? Maybe we should invite her too then. Oh then it will be like a party, no wait we need at least two more ponies. A twosome, threesome or foursome isn’t a real party. Could we just invite everypony?” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Oh Celestia, Pinkie stop it with that idea already. I’m not even close to being in the mood.” Pinkie’s head nuzzled into the back of Rainbow Dash’s. “Oh come on, you sure?” Rainbow Dash complained. “Pinkie, you’re trying to take advantage of me.” “Well duh silly, after I’m through with you, you’ll be nothing but satisfied.” Rainbow Dash sat up and looked right at her. “PINKIE!” Pinkie grinned. “Made you look. Now turn that frown upside down, I’m not gonna do anything to you when you’re all mopey. I want you all happy first. Then I’ll work my pink magic all over you.” Rainbow Dash could feel her throat dry up. “Please tell me that isn’t what you named your-“ “Yeppers, that’s what I named it.” “I… why do I come here to feel better whenever I’m sad?” “Because you secretly have a crush on Fluttershy or you’d go to her but since your hurt over her you come here instead and Rarity likely caused it because she is sick and tired of you two not doing anything about it and she’s probably going to help me come up with an idea to hitch you two together in marriage later tonight and-“ Rainbow Dash had to shove the pillow down Pinkie’s throat to get her to shut up. Instead she just got a bunch of muffled talking. Still better than the rambling but accurate nonsense Pinkie was dribbling. If those cupcakes weren’t going to work she could probably fly home, normally she didn’t fly under the influence but there was clearly no influence to be had right then. Rainbow Dash sat up, spread her wings and hopped into the air. “Listen, Pinkie, I’m going to go home and like, watch a movie or something stupid. Thanks for the help but uh… have a nice night I guess.” Rainbow Dash flew off while Pinkie continued talking with her mouth full at the open air as if she had an entire scheme already in the works that might take years to finish. At least Rainbow dash didn’t have to hear it all. *** Rarity walked into the Sugarcube Corner and had a chance encounter with Twilight who already had a package and was about to leave. Rarity gasped. “Twilight!” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Rarity.” “What are you doing here?” “Buying a peanut butter muffin for myself and Trixie… oh and Spike. You?” “Um, I’m doing the same thing.” Twilight shrugged. “Okay, they smell a little weird but I was promised it’s the new formula Pinkie came up with and they should taste better than ever. See you later.” Twilight left out the door behind her and Rarity let out a sigh of relief. Okay, it was time to do what she was here for. Looking around she noticed quite a few ponies had peanut butter muffins. A lot of them were laughing talking to each other and had slightly glazed looks in their eyes. Pinkie’s new formula must really taste great, Rarity made a mental note to try it out herself later. She greeted Mr. and Misses Cake who were minding the counter as she went up the stairs. They knew exactly where she was going but not aware of her fantastic plans. Not yet. Once up the three flights of stairs she was at Pinkie’s door. She opened the door and burst in only to remember the last time she’d done this she had found Pinkie trapped in a very compromising position and need of some help… and a lot of lube. Thank Celestia that Pinkie was actually just sitting on the bed and staring at her cupcakes with the strangest look in her eyes and mumbling to herself. “What went wrong?” Rarity closed the door behind her. “Is something the matter darling?” Pinkie shrugged. “I guess not, just can’t figure out why these aren’t special. Oh!” her eyes lit up and she jumped off the bed, the treats bouncing into the air above her. She was quick to catch each cupcake in her mouth and swallow them whole, wrapper and all. Rarity could only imagine that either Pinkie had the digestive acid of a basilisk or she was going to have a very uncomfortable time when those wrappers came back out. Pinkie grinned from ear to ear as she stared at Rarity. “Is it finally time for plan Flutterdash?” Rarity grinned madly in return. “Why yes, it is time to finally ship those two and get them both to stop being so awkward and hurting each other’s feelings by mistake once and for all.” Pinkie bounced up and down. “I can’t wait! Oh I have so many ideas. From a surprise date, to breaking Rainbow Dash’s wing and forcing her to live with Fluttershy to simply locking them in a room until their done bucking each other’s brains out.” Rarity heard each plan, considered them for a moment but had to decline all of them. Even the last one only meant a shallow and awkward experience. No, this had to be the granddaddy stallion of all plans. The kind even Big Mac wouldn’t be big enough for and if anypony were to ask he was pretty big. In fact, perhaps Big Mac could help in some way. *** The sky was cast in its pink and purple hues as the loving light of the sun was closing for the night and the cold stare of the moon could be glimpsed upon the horizon. Twilight was satisfied that she had finally gotten home and even more so when she found Spike and Trixie playing solitaire together on the kitchen table. She set her basket of muffins down and listened in to the two talking. “Trixie does not understand how two player solitaire works. If you keep disagreeing with Trixie’s ideas we will never finish this game.” Spike grunted a reply. “Listen, I’ve played this game with one of the most intelligent and stuffy ponies in Equestria all of my life. I’m telling you if we put the two of hearts there we will never finish.” Trixie laughed. “Did you just refer to Twilight as stuffy? Trixie never would have suspected such a thing.” “Well she’s not much better to play with you know, only in her case I know she’s right and just want to feel like I’m actually participating.” There was silence for a moment before Trixie replied. “And pray tell where would you put the two of hearts?” Spike moved the card to a location, from where Twilight was she could see his move. It was decent but she could see a better one. She was tempted to interrupt but then she remembered being called stuffy. Let him discover his mistake fifteen turns from now himself. Trixie smirked. Lifted the card up and moved it around a little. “Trixie thinks she knows a better place to put it.” She then set it down exactly where Spike had. “There, perfect, just like Trixie.” Spike gave her a stare that said he was not amused. Trixie laughed again. “Trixie is only playing, she thanks you for your contribution. Now onto the next argument.” Spike stared at her for a moment a mixture of emotions on his face. Even Twilight wasn’t sure what he was thinking but if his earlier suggestion was anything to go off of, Trixie was teasing him in a playful way. Her way of connecting to ponies seemed to be to tease, anything else had been a hard fought victory. Spike sniffed the air a few times. “Hold up, do you smell muffins, muffins and… Pinkie’s room when I’m not allowed to bother her?” Trixie gave him a strange stare. “What on Equestria does that smell like?” Twilight walked in. “Probably like this.” She levitated the basket over to the counter and set them down. “Pinkie’s trying a new formula.” Spike stared at the basket for a moment, sniffed the air a few times, and then began laughing. “Oh my gosh. Did your really? I know what these are and always wanted to try them.” “What are they?” Twilight asked. “Oh just something special Pinkie uses to calm down.” Twilight beamed. “Great! Calming down is just what everypony needs after so much excitement today.” She levitated out three muffins and sat one down in front of each pony. “I was going to get more but they were so popular the store had run out.” Trixie sniffed at hers. “Why does this smell strange?” Twilight explained, “Don’t worry I’ve been told they are the best muffins ever produced by Pinkie’s very capable hooves. I’ve also tested them for poison.” Trixie stared up at her. “You did?” “Of course, I’ve tested all of your food so far for poison. Anything from pesticides on the flowers you eat to alcohol in your drink to more nefarious concoctions." Trixie blinked. “Isn’t that a bit… excessive?” Spike rolled his eyes and took a bite of the muffin. “Does, Twilight, look like a pony who does things in moderation?” Trixie chuckled to herself and lifted the muffin to her lips. “No, she seems like a very obsessive pony. Trixie wonders how Celestia dealt with her all these years. Pawning her off on Ponyville was probably the biggest break she’d ever had.” Twilight watched Trixie take a bit of the muffin and stared down at hers. It was true she was a bit excessive sometimes but Celestia wouldn’t just… dump her here. No she had only let Twilight stay because she had asked to… right? She really loved Celestia, heck she had even gotten Celestia to promise to marry her once… somehow. Only when Twilight was old enough and fully ready for, but still. Twilight took a bite of that muffin and noticed that besides peanut butter there was a really sweet and tingly taste. What in Equestria did Pinkie add to this? It was good. Good and… really calming. The small wound in her heart caused by Trixie’s accidentally mean words was quickly melted away and replaced by a warm sensation. Trixie had finished her muffin as well as Spike and was the first one to speak. “Trixie is sorry. She didn’t mean to say something that caused you pain.” Twilight looked up at her and saw genuine concern in her eyes and a warm smile that told her she spoke only the truth. “It’s alright. You were joking. It’s okay.” Trixie shook her head. “I’m kind of rude sometimes. I think it’s because it’s easier to do that than to let anypony close to me… but I want to learn about friendship, to get close to ponies…” Twilight smiled and felt her entire body melting with warmth. “That’s why you’re here, for me to help you learn. With you and me I’m sure we’ll do great.” Spike stared up at Trixie. “Did you just speak in the first person?” Now everypony was staring at Trixie, even Trixie was trying to stare at Trixie. *** “Voila!” Rarity declared as she finished adding a mark to the end of the planning white board with her marker. “The plan is complete.” The series of marker lines, words, and sticky notes swam around like a confused mess but all ended in one point. Rainbow Dash finally getting with Fluttershy in a way that would lock them together. It was a perfect plan and nothing could go wrong. Pinkie Pie looked happy about it too. “Plans, parties, puns, call me Pinkie Pie!” Rarity smiled at her. “It was wonderful work too, even with those cupcakes you made. Though I must admit they had more of a vanilla flavor to them than peanut butter.” Pinkie Pie stared at her. Eyes starting to widen and her grin twitching. “Vanilla… as in… the vanilla and peanut cupcakes I was making for the cupcake sale today…” “Well yes, but wait, weren’t those peanut butter muffins downstairs the sale for today? The ones that had a strange but alluring smell to them?” Pinkie Pie swallowed and that grin faltered for half a second. “Oh… the Cakes are not going to find this one as silly as everypony else in town.” Realization dawned on rarity faster than Rainbow dash flying into a window. “So you mean to say those muffins downstairs are your special formula? Pinkie’s Silly Sauce, made from Celestia knows what and magical ingredients that are probably not as healthy as they are calming.” She jerked a nod, her eye twitched. “Oh… I see… well at least the Cakes didn’t seem to notice… but…” Rarity rubbed her hooves together. “Neither did Twilight Sparkle, whom is feeding one of those cupcakes to Trixie as we speak.” She cackled. “If we were to spy on her, in this now more clear and enlightening state, she might just reveal her deep dark secrets!” Pinkie Pie shook her head so fast that a few pink curls went flying out, once she stopped her grin was back to normal. “Okie Dokie Lokie, I’ll just never tell the Cakes and everything will be just fine.” Rarity stood up. “Pinkie, we have bigger plans.” “Oh? What are we going to do tonight, Rarity?” “What we do every night, Pinkie. Try to take over the world! And I require your most fashionable sleuthing suit, immediately.” Pinkie jumped up. “I haven’t gotten to use those since King Sombra!” While Pinkie Pie literally jumped into her closet Rarity got to her work on her new plan. Those secrets were coming to her, and she was going to find out what Trixie was really doing here. She was sure of it. > Chapter Fourteen: Of Family and Dreams > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Fourteen: Of Family and Dreams Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie lay on her back upstairs staring up at the ceiling. Her entire body was warm and her heart even more so. Lying in reverse next to her was Twilight. Their heads were close to one another and Trixie could almost feel Twilight’s energy next to her. A warm, gooy, but organized presence. Twilight was speaking. “And that’s why I’ve always loved Celestia.” Trixie had hardly caught most of the story but that was okay, hearing pony noises made her feel like she wasn’t alone. “I, er, Trixie is happy about that.” Twilight laughed. “I don’t think I’ve told anypony that before. Or even how Celestia offered to marry me when I cried and begged her for three weeks straight.” Trixie blinked. She had missed that part didn’t she? “D-do you suppose she meant it then? Or do you think she just said it to make you stop crying?” Twilight frowned. “I… try not to think about that. I kind of locked myself in my room and sobbed after she refused my first proposal. By the time she was able to break in by taking down my magical shield she found me half starved and severely depressed. She explained to me that she only said no because I was only fourteen years old and that even though she was a princess and could do whatever she wanted, it was still highly inappropriate to have any romantic interests in a foal. She then promised to marry me after I turned twenty one and only if I was fully ready for it. She even said how doing so to keep me sane wouldn’t be the worst reason she got married to somepony.” Trixie’s frown deepened. “Trixie thinks… maybe you missed something.” Twilight shook her head. “Nope, she said she would marry me because she loved me so much that she wanted to see me happy and never be sad again. Of course she keeps trying to encourage me to date other ponies first. Get some experience as she says, but uh… I’m not that into Luna and I think Luna doesn’t like me that way either, she has other interests. Speaking of love, do you love anypony?” Trixie had to think about it. “Trixie isn’t sure. She likes ponies and is attracted to a fair few of them, yourself included, but Trixie doesn’t know if she loves any of them. It’s strange… Trixie has had her fair share of experiences but never really felt connected to somepony.” Twilight laughed again. “That’s sad. I’m not sure why I laughed. I’m sorry. I guess I understand. I’ve always loved Celestia but I’ve never had any experiences. I haven't even had my first kiss yet.” Trixie rolled her head over and realized Twilight was staring at her. “What have you done all these years to quell the sexual beast inside your soul?” Twilight giggled. “I’m not sure I’d call it that, but I have had certain urges… usually those magazines work. When they don’t I turn to writing.” Trixie blinked. “You write stories?” “Uh-huh. They’re all really badly written though so I hide them in my secret chest. I don’t ever want anypony seeing them.” Trixie felt sorry for Twilight. She was so stuck on the goddess of the sun that she never tried to even kiss anypony. Instead she was more sheltered, innocent, and distant from life than even Trixie could fathom. At first Trixie was afraid Twilight would want to use her body, but now she could see it, feel it, the thought had never once crossed the mare’s mind. Trixie leaned forward. “Trixie thinks some damage repair is in order.” Twilight swallowed and leaned a little closer herself. The air between them changed and Trixie was about to press forward, giving the poor mare a kiss when Twilight shot forward and kissed her instead. Their lips met, and then seperated as quickly as it began it was gone and Trixie was left clueless. She stared at Twilight who was giggling like mad now. “Trixie demands to know why you did that!” Twilight kept giggling. “You said you were attracted to me, so I thought you’d be good practice. That was fun!” Trixie rolled her head up to look at the ceiling again. She started laughing herself. Why was it so funny? Shouldn’t the fact they just kissed mean more or was it just some silly thing that friends did sometimes. Maybe it did mean more? Twilight admitted. “I tried to get my friends to kiss me once. I heard in sleepovers that when you play truth or dare you’re supposed to dare each other to do naughty things.” Trixie had never been one for sleepovers. “That was a game Trixie had played in her youth at the home.” “The home?” “Trixie was adopted at birth, along with a few other fillies and colts. Our mother was loving but we all knew we weren’t related from early on so some exploration was very much expected.” Twilight laughed. “I tried to kiss my brother once but Cadance stopped me from using my love potion.” Trixie burst out laughing. “Now that’s funny. Wait… you mentioned you had a sleepover. You of all ponies?” “Yeah it was with Rarity and Applejack. But instead of wanting to have any of that kind of fun they just argued all night. By the time we did get to have some peace my mood was pretty much ruined so I didn’t try it again… well until now.” Trixie scooted forward and rest her head against Twilight’s, feeling the soft warm fur of her friend. “At least Trixie could be your first kiss, this makes you very lucky.” Twilight nearly whispered. “Very lucky indeed.” *** Rarity’s lips worked in silence as she and Pinkie stared through the cracked open window at where Trixie and Twilight were laying. Spike had actually fallen asleep in his bed ages ago but these two were wide awake, had kissed, and were now talking about the time Twilight apparently tried and failed to take advantage of Rarity… this was probably the worst idea she’d had in ages. At least Pinkie seemed excited about this. Twilight finally moved pushing herself up. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry.” Trixie rolled over and lay in a lump on the floor. “Trixie is hungry, she is hungry for two you know. So feed her and her baby.” Twilight laughed. “I have some secret snacks in here somewhere. Let me get them. I hope the baby likes candy.” Trixie replied. “My baby loves candy!” Rarity swallowed and whispered. “Baby?” Pinkie Pie was whispering too but her excitement was barely contained. “Oh my gosh, she’s pregnant. I knew it. We should throw her a baby shower. But wait… how do we shower the baby?” Rarity ignored that comment. “Darling, I think I may have discovered Trixie’s secret and I may have also learned a good deal more than I bargained for. We should probably climb down before we watch those two going at it.” Pinkie nodded. “I agree, as fun as that would be to watch, I think it might be awkward to watch it together. I mean, unless your into that kind of thing.” Choosing once again to ignore Pinkie’s comment, they climbed down the grappling hook and once on the ground Pinkie retracted the tool and slid it into its holster. Rarity was starting to fully understand the situation and did really not like the connotations here. She’d screwed up and she knew it. Twilight was just trying to help a pregnant pony and Rarity and Rainbow Dash combined both were causing the kinds of problems that could be seen as destructive to their friendship. Maybe Trixie could actually stand to learn something, to grow and become friendly, just watching her with Twilight for a few minutes confirmed that she was at least very close to twilight… too close for comfort. Rarity then had another thought. “Pinkie, is your Special Formula safe for pregnant mares?” Pinkie giggled. “It’s no worse than eating grass. Just filled with magical ingredients, you know the smoke from a wisp, the weed of a dryad, just a hint of Fuzzies, you know the ones you touch and get dizzy from, just those kinds of things.” Rarity shook her head. “I… am going to hope that means it’s safe.” Pinkie shrugged. “Misses Cake demanded Pinkie’s Silly Sauce throughout her entire pregnancy. Helped with the mood swings.” Rarity smiled. “Well the twins turned out just fine so I’m sure it’s safe then.” Pinkie Pie then had to ask the question that sent shivers down Rarity’s spine. “So, how did Twilight knock up Trixie?” *** It was late into the night before Trixie found herself in bed and exhausted beyond belief. Twilight seemed to be just as tired as she was in her own bed. Staring up at the ceiling the warm feeling emanating throughout her entire being was starting to fade a little but she was still happy. This was the first time she felt like she had really connected with somepony in years. Explaining her foalhood was an odd one but Twilight seemed to be perfectly accepting of it. With spike already asleep and her own eyelids growing heavier by the second Trixie was already starting to envision the most magical of things. She heard Twilight speaking and it brought her back from the edge asleep enough. “Are you scared of me?” Trixie yawned. “No.” “Some ponies are… most ponies are.” Trixie pushed herself up. Ponies afraid of Twilight, preposterous. If anything they were afraid of Trixie after all the schemes she’d done and succeeded at. “Why on earth would anypony be scared of you?” Twilight replied, her voice cracked a little. “I’m powerful.” Was she boasting? Trixie did not feel like it was an appropriate time to boast about such things. “Trixie fails to see how your meager amount of talent would scare anypony.” Twilight rolled over in her bed. Hiding her face from Trixie’s. “Do you know the amount of damage I caused by mistake as a foal? There were so many times I had destroyed walls, or doors. So many accidental explosions or transformations. I think I turned my own brother into a frog once. Him, Cadance, even my own parents always looked at me like I was some kind of monster. Only Celestia ever really looked at me like a person. If it wasn’t for her, I might have become some kind of villain…” Trixie was too tired to say anything meaningful and wasn’t really sure what to say anyway. If she was being truly honest with herself she was a little intimidated by that amount of power Twilight had but she would never admit to it. She was certain even Twilight’s friends were aware of the danger. Twilight added. “I even scared the entire town when I nearly destroyed it. Twice.” Having everypony fear you… Trixie could say she related to that. She accepted that fear gave her power over other ponies but it still wounded her heart when she thought about how much better it was to have somepony actually like her, talk to her, kiss her… Trixie got up and out of bed. She didn’t have any plans on what to do to fix Twilight yet. Whatever strange magic had opened up the doorway to make the mare confide in her, it was working. Trixie walked over to Twilight’s bed climbed into it and slipped under the covers. She heard a gasp as Trixie wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s barrel and nuzzled into her neck. “Trixie thinks you should go to sleep. You are not scary, you are merely great, and dare Trixie suggest, powerful. Not as much as Trixie, but enough to be worthy of Trixie’s attention. Count yourself lucky as Trixie will mercifully help you sleep tonight.” Twilight was silent for a moment before letting out a small whimper. “Thank you.” Trixie was already falling fast asleep again. “You’re welcome.” *** Trixie found herself in the most magical of dreams. Lying in Twilight’s bed with Twilight in front of her, hot lips meeting with hers. Fluttershy’s hooves and wings came from behind Trixie to caress every part of her body not currently dominated by Twilight’s. Only when Trixie pulled away for breath did she stop kissing Twilight only to watch Twilight and Fluttershy begin kissing one another. This was a moment she could live in for eternity. Down at the foot of the bed stood a tall, dark and beautiful alicorn. Her dark blue fur and sparkling midnight mane captured her attention. The mare was giving a sly smile as she watched the scene on the bed. Trixie motioned for the mare to join them. The mare shook her head. “I would love to, but I fear it would be impolite of me to join.” Trixie shot back. “But it’s not impolite to watch?” “Watching is part of the job description. At least this is one of the better times.” Trixie frowned. “Better times? Job? Oh who cares, Trixie wants to return to her lovers-“ She turned to see two skeletons in bed with her. A unicorn skull landed on her chest and a boney wing landed on her flank. Oh Celestia no, where, what? The mare’s voice came out calm as could be. “My apologies, I may have interrupted your event.” A dark blue aura surrounded the skeletons and they vanished leaving Trixie alone in the bed very confused. Then came the pain. A sudden sharp pain from her stomach. She looked down at herself and saw something bulging from her belly. It was an odd shape, and a green baleful glow came from her stomach. Trixie rubbed at her stomach trying to figure out what it was. It was hard, and sharp and felt much like an amulet that had been taken away ages ago. The mare’s horn lit up and surrounded Trixie. The pain ceased and her stomach returned to normal. Trixie was shaking, her mind unable to process what was happening and her body aching. The mare spoke in a gentle tone. “its okay, Trixie Lulamoon. You will be fine, this is but a nightmare. Though you may have to apologize when you awaken.” Trixie looked up at her. “Why would Trixie apologize when she... Wait is Trixie-“ “-asleep?” Trixie’s eyes shot open and she was staring at a dimly lit ceiling. The soft pink light from a new dawn was coming through the window. She was cold, cold and wet. That must truly have been a horrible nightmare. At least she was okay… and in the same bed as a sleeping Twilight who was lying next to her, rump firmly pressed against Trixie’s flank. Why was she so cold and wet though. Lifting up the blanket Trixie discovered the cause from a puddle formed around her and Twilight and cursed herself. “Great, Trixie wet herself. Finally get in bed with a cute mare and wet yourself. Good Job oh Great and Disgusting Trixie.” > Chapter Fifteen: Of Babies and Revelations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Fifteen: Of Babies and Revelations Written by TheCrimsonDM: “Its okay, Trixie. I used to do that all the time. One time I was even taking a nap next to Celestia when it happened.” Twilight pleaded. Trixie was shoving the sheets, blanket, pillow cases and anything else that reminded her of the incident into the wash as hard as she could. She glanced at Twilight. If she continued to Remind Trixie of it, she was going into the washing machine as well. Twilight took a step back. “Um… okay. Well we both washed up so I’m um… I’ll leave you to it.” Twilight left Trixie to finish this task. Nopony said repenting was going to be easy but if they had dared, even for a moment hint at this being part of the process, she would have gladly chose to live in the sewers beneath Canterlot sneaking up like a molepony to steal pieces of food from the castle and growing an extra set of legs from the radioactive waste that surely existed down there. Once she had turned the washer on and trotted her way into the lobby of the library she was less than pleased to find six ponies where there should only be one. Twilight looked sheepish as she glanced at Trixie. “Oh, hey, everypony decided to come pay us a visit, isn’t that nice?” Trixie glared at most of them, except for Fluttershy. Fluttershy was still on the usable list so she could be left alone, but the others, they had earned Trixie’s pregnant ire for interrupting on this most horrid of mornings. They seemed to pick up on it pretty easily. Pinkie Pie was the only one still smiling. In fact Pinkie Pie was nearly giggling. Trixie shot her a dirty look. “What?” Pinkie Pie managed to say. “First time last night? Yeah, it hit my bladder hard too.” It took less than a second for a book to be grabbed in a purple telekinetic aura and flung forward with enough force to cause a concussion. It was stopped by a red aura and gently lowered. Twilight shook her head and spoke in a tone that bordered on motherly. “Now now, Trixie. You don’t throw books at friends. Lasers yes, books no.” Trixie glared at her. “Trixie can’t fire lasers, so she uses books against nosy ponies who should not mention a word about bladders again should they value the mouth Trixie so graciously put back on their face.” Twilight gave her a dirty look before looking back at her friends. “So what brings you all here?” Pinkie Pie spoke. “Rarity told everypony.” Rarity’s eyes widened. “T-told them that Trixie had something important to tell us, isn’t that right?” Trixie glared at her. “What, do, you, mean? Rarity laughed nervously. “Well… you have a secret don’t you? One that we’d all be okay with if we found out and even support you and your mood swings.” Rainbow Dash snickered. “Yeah, that’s the first of two secrets.” Rarity glared at her. “Rainbow Dash, I think you may have gotten the wrong impression.” Pinkie Pie giggled. “After what we saw last night, I could see it.” Twilights’ face turned bright red. “Oh no… you two, you didn’t spy on me again, did you?” Trixie shot a look at Twilight demanding an explanation. To which Twilight let out a sigh. “It’s a… tradition. We sometimes spy on one another. It’s only for our own well being but I think maybe… they saw something… from last night…” Trixie growled. “They saw nothing of any sort. Trixie is perfect, pure, and in complete control of all her bodily functions.” Twilight slapped a hoof across her own face. “I meant the kiss.” Trixie swallowed. “Oh… grape jelly.” Rainbow Dash whistled. “Grape huh, I always figured she’d taste like a lavender.” Pinkie added. “I thought of taffy.” Twilight’s entire face was a bright shade of red. “Listen, no matter what happened last night, it was um, a friendship thing. Right, Trixie?” Trixie shrugged. “It is what it is.” “You are not helping.” “Trixie does not need to help, these ponies of yours are snoops and spies. Why should she be involved in this mess?” Twilight pulled at her own mane. “Me and Trixie are just friends. I don’t know what happened last night, we were all kind of weird.” Spike came down the steps rubbing at his eyes. “Can you two keep it down, those special muffins hit a lot harder than I thought?” Twilight glared at him. “What are you talking about?” His eyes widened. “Oh… didn’t you figure it out? Isn’t that why you bought them from Pinkie in the first place?” Pinkie Pie laughed. “Of course silly, Twilight needed to calm down and so she bought some normal, not at all special or drug laced muffins. Nope, perfectly normal.” Twilight glared between the two of them. “I am not thinking about anything either of you said, ever again. I am also not buying peanut butter muffins again for as long as I live.” Things grew quiet for a moment just long enough for Applejack to cut in seeming a little impatient with the ramblings. “Consarn it, we came here for a real reason. Rarity told us all that Trixie is pregnant and that Twilight might be the dad… somehow. Anyway, we just wanted to say we’re here to support ya.” Trixie blinked. “Oh…” She thought about this morning. Between shaming herself and most of Twilight’s entire bed, and Twilight’s tail, and Twilight’s everything. Finding out those muffins were likely filled with a substance that although good, might not be the best one to use around others, and hearing that everypony knew her secret and were actually okay with it. Trixie felt like her morning had broke. Trixie turned around and began walking to the kitchen. “Trixie knows what’s wrong. She’s still asleep and that the tall dark alicorn who had refused her advances must still be around here somewhere.” Lucky for them, nopony even dared to question that sentence. Unfortunately Trixie wasn’t sure how to wake up from a constant dream but she did know one thing. She needed coffee. About as much coffee as her tiny frame could handle. A cup of hot coffee later she was satisfied at the kitchen table watching the other ponies file in filling up her space. Rarity was the first one to speak. “I’m sorry, darling. I should have guessed sooner what you were really here for.” Applejack added. “Ah know some ponies might be against such things, but Ah recognize there isn’t always a chance fer things to be done properly. So long as you love yer kids, love yer family that’s what matters.” Rainbow dash lifted up Twilight’s tail. “Huh… how did you knock up, Trixie?” Twilight slapped her hoof away. “Rainbow, unless you want to be missing some teeth I suggest keeping away from there.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Well whatever, I bet you two are going have a cute kid, just don’t ruin them with your weird everything.” Pinkie Pie added. “We have so many parties to plan for this!” Fluttershy glanced from Trixie to Twilight and back to Trixie. “I um… am happy for you.” Trixie laid her head down. “You all are very kind and accepting, but you might be missing a very important factor here.” Everypony looked at her giving her a chance to explain. “Twilight is about as much as a virgin as they come.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Of course she is. She’s waiting for your marriage to do the fun stuff right?” Trixie glared at her. “Then how in Equestria did she get Trixie pregnant?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “She obviously turned herself into a stallion with her spooky powerful magic, did her thing in a cup, used a turkey baster and filled up your belly with baby making juice.” Everypony nodded in agreement with Rainbow Dash except for Twilight who was staring mouth agape at the group. Trixie took a nice long drink of her coffee. Nope still asleep. “So, let Trixie get this straight. She is the only pony who is completely sane still left in Ponyville?” Twilight walked over to her side. “I think your right, or I’m asleep.” She lifted up the coffee pot, put it to her lips and drank greedily from it. “Nope, still asleep.” Pinkie Pie laughed. “Your both awake silly, how else would you have remembered Luna from your dream last night?” Trixie closed her eyes. “Trixie really wants this to be a dream.” Twilight joined her side. “Me too.” Fluttershy was somehow on the opposite side of Trixie already. “I um… I think I agree.” Oh by Celestia’s massive molars what did she do to deserve this? All she did was boast and rave, embarrass half of the elements of harmony in front of an entire town, work on a rock farm using the money to buy a dark magic artifact and then use the artifact to enslave the town torment ponies, and get pregnant by a handsome red stallion she’d hope she could see again. He made an excellent consort and at that point she might even consider keeping him around to help her forget the reality of where she was. This day really couldn’t get any worse now could it? The back door came bursting open and the big, handsome stallion in red came in. His eyes wide and pupils pinpricks. “Sis! They got loose!” She looked at him. “What in tarnation got loose now?” Trixie stood up and pointed a hoof at him. “YOU!” He stared at her. “You!” For a moment they stared at one another in silence before he shook his head and then looked at his sister, applejack. Oh… oh no they were related. “The beebats are loose and stinging everypony something fierce.” Applejack nodded, tilted her hat and led the way as the two left. Trixie sat there stunned. Defeated, and realizing that she was going steadily mad in this place. Twilight leaned over and whispered. “Do you know Big Mac?” Trixie swallowed and whispered back. “That’s THE stallion.” Twilight’s eyes widened slowly from the realization. She sat back down, and then with a voice a little too loud. “Your all right, I got Trixie Pregnant but we aren’t dating yet! Now thank you for your approval of my plans to sire a god like wizard successor but please leave. I have plans for my baby’s mama and they are very private!” Everypony looked a bit awkward about that revelation, unable to really argue with it they left. Fluttershy was the last one to leave, before passing out the door she looked back at Twilight. “Um… so um… you two aren’t dating?” Trixie nodded. “No.” Twilight nodded. “No. now please, Fluttershy. The door exists. It does still exist right? That too hasn’t changed massively along with my little world?” Fluttershy shook her head. “The d-doors still here. I’ll um, I’ll go.” She left and once the door was finally shut and the duo were completely alone Twilight looked at Trixie. “Do you have any idea how much chaos is about to happen once they stop being completely insane and dial the crazy back down to eleven?” Trixie swallowed. “Applejack is not going to approve anymore is she.” “Not with her niece or nephew in your belly, no.” Trixie laid her head down. “Why does Trixie do these things?” “Because you were as crazy as the rest of them. Welcome to the sanity club, we’re a whole number of two and half and will probably lose our sanity by the week’s end. At least we have coffee.” Trixie stared at her coffee. “At least we have coffee.” > Chapter Sixteen: Of Apples and Morning Sickness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and its Twilight’s Problem Chapter Sixteen: Of Apples and Morning Sickness Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie had had enough for one day. Of course the day had hardly even started and she was already stressed out enough to be feeling sick. No more special cupcakes for her, furthermore no more sleeping in the same bed as anypony, ever again. There was actually a growing list of things she was never going to do again, and she was only, just a smidgen less neurotic than Twilight or else she’d have written out the list in explicit detail. Instead Trixie focused on busing herself with something, anything to do. Now that everypony already knew her secret and was surprisingly accepting of her she might be able to venture outside without fear of random Rainbow attacks. Of course she wasn’t comfortable doing so alone as everypony else in town surly didn’t know yet. Trixie ground her teeth as she paced back and forth waiting for Twilight to be finished. What was Twilight doing? Showering, and while in the shower she was pretty much screaming. Not screaming obscenities, or even coherent words for that matter just noise. It was the kind of noise a mare makes when their entire world is turned not only upside down but inside out and they have to come to terms with just how insane all the ponies in their social circle really are. It usually was preceded by and followed by hyperventilating, dilated pupils, and the kind of pacing that burned holes in the floor. Speaking of which Trixie was carving a very nice trench in the floor herself. Yes, today was an awful one to be sure. Now she had to pretend as though Twilight somehow, using obscure transmutation magic, knocked her up. At least until Twilight figured out how they were going to work around the whole ‘Applejack will freak out when she finds out her brother got you pregnant’ thing. Honestly Trixie didn’t know Applejack nearly well enough to make any sort of judgment here but she did feel that Big Mac needed to know, eventually, in the safest way possible. For now, it was time to leave. As soon as Twilight was done with her mental break down. Seeing the bathroom door open and Twilight, looking relatively calm, it was time to leave. Twilight grabbed a saddle bag threw it over her back and walked to the door. “We’re leaving Spike here.” Trixie followed her outside only to be met by the warm rays of the sun and hardly a cloud in sight. At least the weather was nice. Twilight hooked a sharp left and Trixie followed her hoping they were going somewhere nice. Twilight glanced at Trixie. “So… all of Ponyville is likely aware of the situation that my friends invented. Don’t be surprised if we get questions about how we did it, or congratulations on the new-“ A white mare with a pink and red mane came trotting up. There was a rose on her cutie mark and she gave Trixie and Twilight a smile as she said, “Congratulations on having a baby!” Twilight sighed. Trixie stared at her. “How did you find out?” She blinked a few times as if the question was too obvious to warrant a proper response. “Well, Pinkie Pie did come by asking about flower arrangements for a baby shower.” “It’s been hardly a few hours since she found out!” Trixie exclaimed. The mare smiled. “Of course, isn’t she wonderful to care so much? By the way, are you two also getting married or is this more of a casual partnership?” Twilight groaned. “I hate this town.” The mare replied. “Oh don’t be like that. True love is wonderful. But if this is just you two decided to co-parent without any relationship that’s fine too. Why my cousin in Talltale lives with a stallion who got her pregnant but he’s as gay as they come.” Trixie also hated this town. If everypony in the town already knew they were going to be all over her in a matter of seconds… wait, if they all knew they’d be all over her. Trixie grinned as she hooked a leg around Twilight drawing her close. “Well we don’t want to spoil anything yet. Trixie is just so happy that Twilight is such a kind mare, also one with impeccable tastes in unicorns.” Trixie gave a wink. Twilight glared up at her. “Trixie, what are you doing?” “Why, I’m just placating our lovely follower here. She’s interested in us, isn’t that right miss…” “Roseluck.” “Miss Roseluck.” Roseluck smiled. “Of course I’m excited for you two. Me and the others are already planning the flower arrangements. We’ve already had our fainting spree and are now fully ready to help out.” Trixie blinked. “Fainting… spree?” Twilight’s horn lit up. “And we’re done here.” The world vanished in a flash of bright pink light and they found themselves somewhere on the edge of town. Trixie’s steps felt a little uneasy and the nausea came back with double strength. She looked over at Twilight who was staring out over the hill they were on which showed how large Ponyville really was. It wasn’t just some homes stuffed together in a small area, it was lots of houses all spread far apart with only a small cluster of them near the center. Twilight looked pleased with herself. “Well we’re finally away from most of the crazies.” Trixie could taste bile in her mouth. “Do you know anything about morning sickness?” Twilight looked over. “No, why-“ Almost as if by command, the torrent of vomit had begun. Well… at least it wasn’t the most humiliating thing Trixie covered Twilight in today. *** Applejack swung the net down on the strange and hideous hybrid of bat and bumble bee. With the thing in the net she tossed it into the cage with the others. These things were at least as big as a rat and could fly making them three times more nasty. At least they could make good honey but needed an extra careful eye placed on them. She looked to Big Mac who had just finished his round. “Big Mac, did y’all get them all on yer side?” Big Mac nodded. “Ayep.” “Good with everypony safe now, you can answer a question fer me.” He eyed her. “How exactly do ya know Trixie? And how does she know you?” He shrugged. “Listen here, Ah ain’t gonna take that shrug. It’s plenty obvious you two know each other somehow. That mare’s so stuck on herself she couldn’t even remember most our names till two days ago. So how did she remember you?” Big Mac stayed quiet but there was a squint in his eyes telling her he was hiding something alright. “Did she hurt you?” He shook his head. “Did you hurt her?” Another shake. “Then what in Tarnation did y’all get up to?” He opened his mouth as if to answer her when Applebloom jumped into the conversation. “She took over the entire town, Applejack. Big Mac kind of stands out in a crowd and so hed be easy to remember.” Applejack shot her glare as if to tell her to not interrupt again should she value having a butt that wasn’t red and stinging. “Big Mac.” Big Mac smiled. “Remember how Twilight turned you into a stallion?” Applejack blinked. “Oh… yeah, Ah do remember that. Why did you act all surprised to see her then?” “Ah didn’t know she was in town after that amulet thing.” Applejack frowned. Something about this mess felt off. She was clearly missing something but his argument made a lot of sense. She hadn’t exactly told him that she was back in town, nor that she was supposed to be her friend now. Though to be fair without having ever spent time with her friendship was not a thing she could easily say was taking place. Applejack would give Trixie a chance, maybe she was wrong here, it wouldn’t be the first time. However, if things kept being weird she’d have to say something. This wasn’t like how she caught Luna spying on Big Mac in his sleep… numerous times. This was something new and she could actually handle this one. Though she’d be careful. Trixie was carrying Twilight’s baby after all, didn’t want to risk anything weird happening there. Big Mac’s next words struck her as odd but sensible giving the circumstance. “Is she really having Twilight’s child?” Applejack nodded. “Ayep, as weird as it sounds. Rainbow Dash found out first, and then Rarity put the pieces together. Now we all know. A bit surprised but Ah reckon if Twilight wants good magical genes Trixie ain’t too bad a choice.” Applebloom stuck her head up in front of Applejack nearly knocking her back. “How is Trixie having Twilight’s baby? From what Ah’ve seen you have to have a boy and girl to do that and Ah’m pretty sure Twilight’s a girl.” Applejack felt her face starting to burn. “Um… well, you see…” she looked for help from Big Mac but he had ditched leaving her with the hard part. “Remember when we had the apples and the oranges talk?” “Ayep, and Ah remember how it applies to the pigs and sheep and cows and the ponies and the-“ “Alright, alright. Well Twilight’s an all powerful wizard pony. She can turn herself into a stallion if she needs too… or in this case just wants too.” Applebloom made a sour face as if the idea was physically impossible for her to imagine for a moment. Then her face lit up. “OH! Just like those weird comics Scootaloo keeps under her bed in her room. So Twilight got Trixie pregnant. Are they going to get married now? Are you going to be the flower girl or the bridesmaid, and is Rarity going to make the wedding dre-“ Applejack shoved a hoof over Applebloom’s lips as swiftly as possible. “Shhh, don’t say those the M word out loud. She will hear you and then our day is gonna be filled with nonsense.” There was a mad cackle from the woods nearby. “Oh no…” She scooped Applebloom up in her leg threw her on her back and checked to make sure the cages of batbees were secure. Then she ran. If she could make it home before the cackling mad marriage focused mare caught up, she’d be safe. Darn Applebloom for making her run from a hopefully imaginary Rarity. Speaking of which… Trixie was about to enter a world of annoyances and measurements. *** Twilight was still busy using a magical cloth to clean her fur. Trixie honestly felt bad about this one and was apologizing for the third time. Twilight shook her head. “A little vomiting is fine and perfectly normal. I’d much rather have you throwing up on me than my original fear of my friends finding out after Rainbow’s misunderstanding.” Trixie stared at her. “What were you so afraid of, Trixie thinks they were nice, absolutely out of their pumpkins, but nice.” Twilight frowned. “I was afraid that Rarity was going to start wanting to make wedding dresses for us. I know we’re not planning to get married but she might get carried away with the idea and then we’d be spending days modeling for them.” Trixie frowned. “She’d have to be able to adjust for Trixie’s size, you know Trixie will only get larger.” Twilight glared at her. “She won’t have to do any of that because we are not getting married.” Trixie smiled. “Don’t say that, Twilight. If it makes your friends happy, shouldn’t you do anything to please them?” Twilight opened her mouth to say something but closed it tight. She stared past Trixie as her eyes widened. There was a sudden sharp snap of something being drawn tight behind Trixie’s ears. She looked over behind her and saw Rarity standing there, a cloth measuring tape in her telekinetic aura drawn tight and straight as could be. “Did somepony say ‘wedding dresses’?” > Chapter Seventeen: Of Letters and Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant and Its Twilight’s Problem Chapter Seventeen: Of Letters and Love Written by TheCrimsonDM Several hours later Twilight was sitting, or forcefully being sat down in Rarity’s shop as she and Trixie both were being measured and fitted for dresses neither of them needed. Honestly, the only reason Twilight hadn’t corrected Rarity about who the parent was so far is because she was still trying to work out the damage control because saying ‘hey Trixie screwed your brother, now she’s pregnant and he’s going to be a dad, have fun,’ just didn’t have the right ring to it. As for Trixie she enjoyed the extra attention. Twilight was fairly confident that at this point it really couldn’t get any worse than this. No, really, pretending to be the parent to Trixie’s child was surely as low as it could get. Spike came in there with arms full of scrolls proving her wrong. “Twilight, you ‘hiccup’“ another scroll appeared. “Messages. From. Everypony.” Twilight tried to stand and was forced back down. Rarity replied. “Read with your horn dear, not with your hooves.” She grabbed the first one she could and opened it up. It was from Princess Celestia, and had a red ribbon on it. This meant an emergency. “My Dear Faithful Student. How much did you drink? I know you’ve had a problem with drinking once or twice in the past, but I fear maybe you may need some help. With that said please allow your new lover, consort, partner to read this next part. How much was she drinking when she impregnated you? Or how much was he drinking I should ask? Was it a lot. Should we throw an intervention? As her/his closest loved one, surly you would know if there was a problem. If there is tell Spike to send me a letter saying the word BANANAS.” Twilight growled. She opened another one. “Dear Twily It’s your bro here, living in the Crystal Kingdom is pretty fun but things sure are changing. Heard you had a sex change into a stallion and now your got a mare pregnant. Nice. How was it? Having a penis that is? Pretty nice right? Just be careful of getting random erections in public, you can’t really hide it and your wife might get pretty mad at you, even if it was her fault in the first place for nearly tripping in front of you and bumping her butt into your muzzle. Anyway, if you need any advice on how to please a mare. Let me know, I’m kind of a professional at this. Love Shiny.” Twilight’s growl increased. Rarity used a bit of magic to lift Twilight’s butt. “Stand please. Thank you, darling.” Twilight grabbed another. “Dear Twilight Sparkle. As your foal sitter, sister in law, and old friend I must say that I am… impressed. Honestly making such a big life choice to change gender is impressive. Going the extra step to get a mare pregnant was even more impressive. Though I have to wonder if maybe this was a little too fast, even for you. Also what ever happened to your crush on Princess Celestia, I know it was weird to think you liked the person that is your stepmother, but I learned to accept one day you and her would end up together. Now I suppose that might not be the case? Oh, unless you’re looking to expand your relationship. If you are, fair warning, Celestia is a bit hungry and might eat both of you at the same time, if you know what I’m saying. Anyway, best of luck, Princess Cadance.” Twilight’s growl was a small scream, an unending, never breathing scream. “Dear my sister’s student. You do realize that transmutation laws prohibit complete transformation into the other gender. I am certain you are aware of this so I can only picture a beautiful innocent looking Twilight carrying a massive scepter between her/his/its legs as well as the receptacle to receive one. Once you figure out more of what you are intending to be let me know so I can address you with the correct pronoun and then mock you accordingly. My sister seems to be a bit upset with this information though, and I can see why. If rumors are to be told truthfully, you are attempting to create the perfect wizard pony through genetic breeding. A very intelligent but dangerous game to be playing. I wish both you and your lover the best of luck. Also I am sorry she wet the bed on you, her dreams had devolved into nightmares before I could aid her. I shall continue studying her dreams when I am not studying another subject in Ponyville. Though… you may wish to sleep in different beds as I am uncertain I’ll be able to help her too much considering her relation to my other subject. Princess of the Night, Luna.” Twilight’s scream had gone up in decimals. She could barely hear Trixie’s voice over the sound. “Is she going to be okay?” Rarity laughed mockingly. “She is just having pre wedding jitters. I’m sure you know.” “Trixie understand. Also she needs a trashcan, immediately.” Without warning one appeared in front of her and while Trixie was busy attempting to hurl in a volume that was less than Twilight’s scream was loud, Twilight read the last letter. “To our loving daughter. Um…. What? We expected this of Shining Armor but he at least had the decency to get married before trying to get Cadance Pregnant even if that was by pure coincidence rather than any attempt at avoiding the acts leading to such a thing. You on the other hoof, we expected you to be waiting until marriage to have children and were certainly not expecting you to be the one impregnating your wife. We aren’t mad at you, just disappointed. Love Night Light and Twilight Velvet.” Twilight’s throat suddenly died out. She was still trying to scream. Her lungs just gave up on actually emitting any sound. It was after that everything went dark and she fell forward unconscious only to take the first breath in her sleep that she had taken in the past five minutes. She was wrong, so very wrong. It could always get worse. *** Trixie sat there after the measurements were all finished. “Are you certain she is alright?” Rarity had laid Twilight down on a sofa that seemed to appear from nowhere at all. Twilight was twitching in her sleep. At the very least she was covered by a blanket. “Oh she will be just fine, darling. I’m more concerned with you, how are you fairing?” Trixie put a hoof to her chest. “Trixie has never been better. Perhaps less hungry, but never better.” Rarity eyed her. “You’re still hungry, even after the morning sickness.” “Trixie is feeding two now you know.” Rarity nodded. “Of course. If you don’t tell Twilight, I do have some ice cream for you.” Trixie licked her lips. Big mistake when her mouth still tasted sour. “Why should she not tell Twilight?” “The poor dear is already stressed out and paranoid about everything. The last thing I want her to think is I’m purposely feeding you unhealthy foods.” Trixie smiled. “She is going to get bigger regardless of her diet. So let Trixie be fat and fed she says.” Rarity laughed. “You’re taking this in high spirits. Come this way.” Trixie followed her into the kitchen where she was greeted with a kitchen table to sit down at and awaited the ice cream. “Why should Trixie not be in the highest of spirits? She is going to have the most amazing child in all of Equestria, a pony to surpass her in every way.” Rarity pulled out a tub of ice cream and began scooping out some into a bowl. It was vanilla, the generic but still good flavor. “To hear you say somepony is better than you is certainly refreshing.” Trixie chose to ignore the snark in the comment. “Of course, it is a child Trixie produces after all, and so it must be the best child in the whole of Equestria.” Rarity smiled as she set the bowl in front of Trixie along with a spoon. Trixie wasted no time in filling her now empty stomach full of delicious ice cream. She could feel it inside her, she wasn’t the only one enjoying the ice cream. Rarity took a seat across from her and stared with a happy look in her eyes. “So is that how Twilight convinced you to let her do this?” “Trixie needed not convincing. One mention of a child and a safe place to have it, and Trixie was sold. Everything else is a bonus.” Rarity giggled. “Sounds like somepony might like Twilight more than she lets on.” Trixie swallowed the most delicious bite of food she’d had all day and gave Rarity as fierce a glare as she could. “Not that Twilight is bad, by any stretch of the imagination. But what are you implying?” “Oh, I’m sorry dear. I just so happened to accidently catch the first kiss you two shared last night. Honestly seeing Twilight do such a thing with somepony was… magical.” “Well Twilight certainly picked the best pony to share her first kiss with. Better than her brother at least.” Rarity coughed a few times. “I’m sorry, she what?” Trixie waived a hoof dismissively. “It matters not, for Twilight has a better pony to kiss. Trixie has no plans to stop her.” Rarity nodded. “So you like her back?” Trixie stopped eating to look at her ice cream for a long moment in silence. “Trixie… is unsure. There is another pony with whom Trixie would also like to kiss. Maybe two? Trixie feels out of all her possible lovers, Twilight is by far the best choice.” Rarity frowned. “Darling, I think Twilight really likes you. Even if she can’t admit it. You even heard her, she said that she wasn’t dating you ‘yet’.” Trixie felt a cold chill run down her spine. Had something changed so dramatically in the past two days that Twilight was sincerely considering the idea of them dating. Clearly not marriage but Trixie was none too pleased with the idea of a marriage past the initial wedding and the attention of all ponies eyes. No, she had not truly considered any idea of a ‘relationship’ with Twilight. It was just a kiss, just a snuggle and a few sweeter moments shared between the two right? Still her mind could not be entirely convinced of this reasoning now. What if Twilight had begun to grow attached to her, and what if Trixie felt the same for Twilight. She’d never really been in love before so she wasn’t sure what that would feel like. Fooling around, sure, it was fun, entertaining and could last a couple of weeks if one was careful to manipulate the situation just right, but something about this felt different. For the first time Trixie considered the idea of using Twilight, taking her innocence and then leaving her behind… and the thought made Trixie want to vomit once more out of disgust with herself, she could never do that to Twilight. Rarity reached out and gently patted the back of Trixie’s hoof. “This is new to you as well, am I right?” Trixie swallowed. “What if Trixie doesn’t want to hurt Twilight, does that mean she likes Twilight?” Rarity gave a knowing smile and Trixie realized they both might know the answer. Still there was another problem, two of them. Well… Trixie realized if she was really going to climb down this rabbit hole she needed to make sure there wasn’t going to be any complications down the road for her and Twilight. Trixie pushed herself away from the table. “Could you do Trixie a favor? She requires a conversation with two other ponies post haste.” Rarity smiled. “Oh and who would those ponies be?” “Fluttershy and Big Mac.” > Chapter Eighteen: Of Weddings and Bells > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Eighteen: Of Weddings and Bells Written by TheCrimsonDM Applejack was busy bucking apples off the tree. It had been an awkward and hard day’s work. An honest day’s work leaving her feeling strong and confident about her place here. The apple farm was a crazy place to live sometimes. For the most part there was plenty of job security here, ponies needed to eat after all, and they even had quite a few different types of sub-farms. From carrots to potatoes. The apple family was in charge of most of it. Still some days she did long for a more simple and quiet time. Or at the very least a day off. Working a farm was a full time job if ever there was one. Twenty Four hours a day seven days a week. Still she was proud her farm, her family and everything they’d accomplished together. Nothing, and she meant it, nothing was as important as family. It probably was why Big Mac was scared of mares. After all she was afraid of dating stallions because whatever stallion she got hitched too was going to become part of the family and needed to be a proper part of it. Unless she decided to invest more in mares. The idea of settling down with a particular mare had crossed her mind a few times, but she needed foals to keep up the farm work. In fact, choosing a mare might be better in that regard. In her few moments of free time she’d figured it out. If she married a stallion it would only mean one new child a year, assuming nothing went wrong. Workable but not good enough. If it was two mares, that could be her getting pregnant form a stallion with strong genes and her lover getting pregnant likely from Big Mac’s genes. Two children a year, for a few years, meant lots of ponies to keep the farm alive and well after Applejack’s passing many, many years from now. She had felt very secure about her plan. Only problem was when could she find free time for that kind of fooling around? She had as much time for that as Celestia had moles on her butt, which was to say none at all. She’d considered enlisting Rarity to help but that had only rewarded her with pleasurable, but awkward events. If Rarity even sniffed the idea of marriage brewing in Applejack’s mind she’d probably try to marry Applejack herself. Actually that thought didn’t sound too bad. Rarity was rather pleasant to look at and had proven herself willing to get dirty if she really needed to. Sure she complained the whole while but she’d still do it. Furthermore Rarity was family oriented, something Applejack appreciated a lot. Last but not least, Rarity wasn’t half bad at getting dirty in much more private ways. Applejack had to shake her head once she saw Rarity and Fluttershy talking to Big Mac some ways away. Something felt off about that, so ignoring any pleasant imaginings she had she went into stealth mode and hid behind a tree as she watched the trio. Rarity was sounding confident as ever as she spoke. “I know this is so sudden, darling, but Trixie really does seem to need your help with something.” Big Mac gave her a nervous look. “Ayep?” Rarity made a high pitched excited noise. “YES! I’m so glad you’re willing to come with us. Fluttershy here is requested as well. I’m willing to bet she requires help for planning her wedding with Twilight.” Fluttershy swallowed. “Um, are they… r-really getting m-married? B-but I just…” Rarity shook her head. “Well, Twilight hasn’t agreed to anything yet, but some conversation in which I did not manipulate her thinking at all with ice cream, and she seemed to realize just how much she and Twilight have grown close. She then got really weird though and asked you two to come. I’m sure she has some wonderful plans.” Fluttershy looked a little disappointed by those thoughts. Big Mac on the other hoof looked as nervous as could be, yet somehow sad. This was a strange situation, well okay the past few days have been strange but these ponies were certainly up to something and Applejack had made it clear. If there was anything more weird going on with her brother and Trixie she was investigating. Tipping her hat forward, she knew it was investigating time. She stalked the ponies out of the farm, all the way to town and through the streets, careful to stay quiet and behind them at all times. If she was caught whatever plans they had were likely to be cut short. She couldn’t risk that and not finding out the truth. Lucky for her, these ponies were about as able to catch on to what she was doing as pigs were able to fly. Up in the sky she caught a glimpse of Pinkie Pie. Wearing her Piggy Pie costume and riding a rocket through the air as Rainbow Dash was chasing after her screaming, “It was an accident!” Pinkie didn’t seem to be upset or in any danger. In fact she seemed to be enjoying the ride. So on it went as Applejack stalked her prey through the busy streets of Ponyville. Every now and then hearing gossip of Trixie and Twilight’s baby, a few ponies even just shortened it to Twixie. Strange name but she figured it fit well enough. Once she was at the shop she was careful to sneak up to the front door and listen in. Just in case she ever needed it, she had her emergency lasso tucked under her hat. *** Trixie marched back in forth in the little boutique. Its lavish curtains feeling a bit more imposing now that she was staring at the two ponies she had questions about. The two ponies with which she requested an audience sat there in front of her looking at her with confused and worried expressions on their faces. Rarity had been gracious enough to give them some privacy as she worked on the dress ideas in her room and Twilight was still unconsciously twitching on the couch behind her. Trixie met both of their eyes for a moment before saying, “Do either of you know why it is Trixie has called you here today?” They both shook their heads. Trixie grinned. “Trixie has clearly realized there is some interest from both of you going in Trixie’s direction and she would like to know how serious those interests are.” They both looked at each other a bit confused. Fluttershy was the first one to speak. “Um, I um… well… d-do you mean if we um… like you?” “Trixie knows that you like her, she wishes to know if you love her.” Fluttershy’s eyes bulged. “I um… I d-don’t know.” Trixie looked at Big Mac who was just as uneasy. “What about you, big sexy you.” He swallowed. “N-now hold up. Ah only, with you, the one time.” Trixie shook her head. “Trixie thinks you are both about as confused as she is. This is not good.” She paced back and forth a few times. “Trixie feels she needs to make a decision and stick with it, or make a few decisions and stick with all of them. How are you two for harems?” Both of them looked at each other than at Trixie. Trixie laughed. “Of course not with each other, with Trixie. Do you think Trixie would share either of you? No, she demands all of you for herself and herself only.” Fluttershy’s entire face was so red that Trixie was sure she might explode. Big Mac was already red but he did look a touch pale. This was an interesting response to say the least. Trixie stamped a hoof. “Alright, Trixie thinks this will work.” Big Mac swallowed. “Nope.” Trixie stared at him. “No? So you two are the jealous kind… I’m sorry Big Mac but you might be good at what you do, but Trixie does tend to favor mares. So if Fluttershy and Twilight agree to this than she will have to cut her losses for you.” Big Mac jerked a nod. “Ayep.” Trixie smiled. “Fluttershy, would you be interested in such a- Fluttershy? Are you okay?” Fluttershy seemed to be doing her best impression of Twilight. Unconscious on the floor and twitching. Seems she lost her. Oh well there was always later. Trixie let out a sigh. “Well at least we are alone for me to tell you the real reason I brought you here.” Trixie grew the kind of smile only a mare knowing that one of these ponies would pass out from such talks of depravity would have. “Big Mac, about the child of mine.” Big Mac met her eyes. There was a gentle hope in those eyes. One she didn’t expect to see. If anything she expected to see anger, confusion, or fear, not… excitement. Did he already know or suspect the parent? If so Trixie couldn’t’ very well keep her captive audience waiting the reveal. “It is not Twilight’s as you may have been informed, as well as half of Equestria as it turns out.” Trixie shook her head. “It is yours.” The smile that grew on Big Mac’s lips. It was unbelievable how comforting said smile really could be. “Ah… Ah didn’t think… Ah hoped… but Ah didn’t-“ Trixie shushed him. “Now, Trixie might not be able to be your lover, or marry you, or whatever your Ponyville traditions are, but she does want you to help raise the baby. Trixie Two The Revenge of Trixie should be able to have both of her parents around.” “A g-g-girl!” he gasped. He took a step forward. “Ah… Ah have a baby girl?” Trixie smiled up at him. “We do. Now apparently Twilight seems to be under the impression we should keep quiet about this because if it were to get out, your sister might have some sort of thoughts? Trixie doesn’t understand Twilight’s concern.” The door opened up and Applejack stood there with a lasso in her mouth swirling above her head. “Ah think Ah can make you understand, hussie!” *** With Trixie walking besides her, Applejack walked with one end of the lasso in her mouth and the other around Big Mac’s neck. Trixie was pretty complacent about following her for no reason whatsoever, or at least once Applejack offered apple pie she was. Applejack knew it got them every time. Trixie was almost excited as she asked, “So why foalnap your brother and ask Trixie to grace you with her presence?” Applejack grimaced. This was what she was going to have to deal with for the rest of her life now wasn’t it? “Good choice, Big Mac.” He was deftly silent. He knew the rules and exactly what was about to happen. No way he was getting away this time. Not that he’d ever gotten a mare pregnant before, but there was a scare once in his youth involving a certain teacher they all knew and loved. Unfortunately that turned out to be a misunderstanding, but if it hadn’t then Big Mac would have had plenty of foals by now. Applejack noticed the set of eyes on her from Trixie. “You haven’t answered Trixie’s question yet.” Applejack was busy holding a lasso in her mouth. “Ah’m doing the right thing, probably.” Trixie smiled. “Finally making it up to Trixie for bullying her on stage are you? So nice of you to finally do so. Trixie shall allow you this then.” Behind them Rarity was holding aloft in her blue telekinetic aura both a wonderfully fancy white dress and a nice black suit. “Oh I do hope your size hasn’t changed since I last measured you, Big Mac. Of course, I’d have loved to have that sort of time with you again.” Applejack growled. “Rarity, if you so much as look at him suggestively, Ah am not inviting you.” Rarity shrieked. “Please, Applejack. I must be invited. It’s not every day I get to enjoy such events.” Applejack was already having second thoughts about this. Maybe, just maybe this was a bad idea. Lucky for her Twilight wasn’t there or she’d stop them. *** Twilight woke up in a cold chill. The front door to the Carousel Boutique was ajar and Spike was sitting down and staring at the door with a smug expression on his face. Fluttershy was also nearby, unconscious and twitching. Such an odd thing for a pony to do, maybe she should call a doctor. Spike saw her and laughed. “You have no idea, do you?” Twilight looked at him. “No, I just woke up… and uh… wait, where is Trixie?” Spike laughed even harder. “Applejack found out who Trixie’s baby’s daddy was. Came in here, grabbed Trixie, and Rarity and the three of them went off to go marry the would be lovers.” Twilight stared at the door. “By Celestia’s… no, By Luna and Celestia’s incestuous secret romance, this is exactly why I told Trixie not to tell anypony yet. How the tartarus do I stop a wedding?” Spike looked at her. “Isn’t’ there a part where they ask if anypony objects?” Twilight swallowed. “Oh… no. Spike, I figured it out, we are trapped inside one of my trashy stories I write when I’m lonely.” He shook his head. “Already checked, this is reality.” “Then in that case, this is even worse. I can’t let somepony take Trixie away from me.” > Chapter Nineteen: Of Shotguns and Weddings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Nineteen: Of Shotguns and Weddings Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie wasn’t complaining having a beautiful mare help her into a wedding gown. What she was complaining about was this absurd scenario she found herself thrust in. “Are you positive this is a just a practice wedding?” Rarity fastened the straps on Trixie’s back. “Of course, Darling.” Trixie still felt uneasy about this. “Then why, pray tell, is Twilight not partaking and instead we are using Big Mac?” “Because Twilight is a little preoccupied with her sudden nap.” Trixie wasn’t sure if she was willing to believe all of this but she did know one thing. She was being fawned upon and that was more than enough reason for her to believe in Rarity and Applejack’s absurd need to practice a wedding. Trixie was far from certain she would actually partake in one but the attention never hurt. Using Applejack’s room being used for the dressing room was probably not the best choice because it was a bit small and smelled far too much of sweat. Rarity seemed to have completely lost any sense of smell the moment wedding was mentioned. That or the fact that the bed, after a good sniff, turned out to smell faintly of Rarity, implied the sweat was partially hers to begin with. Now, what would cause those two to sweat all over the bed? Trixie could only wonder. Of course Applejack had dragged Big Mac off to his room, one she recognized from sight alone even if it had been rather dark the last time she was inside it. She wondered if after this practice wedding here might be a practice honeymoon as well. She would enjoy that sort of practice very much. It wouldn’t be long now before she was brought out in full glory to whoever they’d managed to grab for this practice wedding. Her audience awaited her stunning beauty and brilliance. Oh how clever Rarity and Applejack must be to do a practice wedding… at least assuming they were to be believed. These ponies were not exactly the most sane. Once the preparations were complete a small knock at the door, coming from a tiny foal with bright red hair, was the signal they needed to began. Trixie was walked side by side with Rarity as they made their way through the simple yet warming home, down the stairs and then led to the backdoor where she saw much to her surprise several pews already set up, with an alter set up on the gazebo. Oh, this place made for a wonderful wedding. Not too many ponies though. Big Mac was there, dressed up in a fine tuxedo that seemed to complement his muscular and large form rather well. Oh, he did look fine in that suit. Practice was a good idea after all. Applebloom walked ahead of them tossing flowers this way and that. For their audience they had another small filly, this one looking a lot more like Rarity, it was probably Rarity’s child from some unknown teenage lover. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were there as well sitting in the pews next to one another. Pinkie was just behind them grinning like this was the best day of her life. A pretty decently sized audience for her current performance. Once Trixie was led up the aisle, all eyes rightfully on her she found herself on the alter standing in front of Big Mac. She smiled. “Trixie supposed practice extends to the honeymoon portion as well?” she gave him a wink. He swallowed and his eyes darted wildly from an old green mare who looked less like an apple and more like a pickle, to Applejack. Applejack shot him a dirty look then a kinder one to the old mare. “Granny Smith, would you like to start. We’re on a bit of a deadline here so let’s do the quick version.” Granny Smith let out a sigh. “Ah’d wished we had a proper wedding this time around. Guess we can always do another one later.” Applejack hurried her on. “Yes yes, now quickly before Twilight shows up.” Trixie looked at her. “We are just practicing are we not?” Applejack made a sour expression. “Um… no. This is a real wedding.” As the shock, and soon to follow horror hit Trixie, Granny Smith began. “We’re here to lawfully wed these two ponies. Big Macintosh, do you, take Trixie, to be yer lawfully wedded wife until death due you part?” Big Mac shook his head. “Nope.” Applejack growled. “Too bad, you don’t get a choice.” Granny Smith looked at Trixie. “Trixie, do you, take Big Macintosh, to be yer lawfully wedded husband until death due you part?” Trixie looked at Applejack. “No?” Applejack shook her head. “Wrong answer.” Granny Smith closed the book. “Unless any other ponies have any objections, Ah now pronounce you two-“ *** Spike was holding on for dear life to Twilight’s mane as Twilight teleported as fast as she possibly could toward Applejack’s house but the stress was making her magic a bit less sturdy than normal. So she could only teleport a mile or so at a time. This not only made it challenging to hold on, but he was getting a little teleport sick from it too. Spike was shouting between teleports. “Do, you, even, have, a, plan?” Twilight shouted back. “NO! I do not have a plan, but I know they are taking Trixie away!” “Away from who?” “From me!” Spike was quiet a moment. They were finally out of Ponyville Proper and in the woods. Applejack’s place couldn’t be much further now but Twilight’s horn was sparking. The last attempt at a teleport fizzled at the tip of her horn. Spike gently patted the back of her head. “Twilight, they can’t take her away from you if you don’t like her.” Twilight shot a look back. “I think I do! We kissed last night, and she listened to me talk about my feelings and didn’t judge me and when I was scared about how ponies are afraid of me she came up next to me and cuddled me.” “And then wet the bed if I remember correctly.” “She’s pregnant, she can get away with that.” Spike rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know bladder control was an issue with pregnant mares.” “It can be, it’s part of silent heat. I don’t know if Trixie has it, I haven’t checked. I might have to later, presuming I get there fast enough to still have a chance to look!” Twilight took off in a gallop considering her horn had failed to work for her. She was galloping as fast as she could and Spike also noticed that she was moving quite a bit faster than he’d ever seen her run. She must have been serious about this but why was she trying so hard to stop this? It wasn’t like she had never tried to date somepony before- Spike stood on top of her back. “Hurry Twilight, they’re going to marry her to Big Mac if we don’t stop them!” “You’re on my side now?” “Let’s be honest, you and Celestia was never going to happen, no matter how cute it was. This is the first time you’ve shown any interest in the idea of dating. If it gets you to stop being such a loner, and stop writing those creepy stories about your mentor, your friends, and your brother, than we should get there as soon as equinely possible.” In fact he had an idea on how to make Twilight run faster. He walked over to her rump looked at her tail and spat a small ball of fire. The end of Twilight’s tail caught flame and the look Twilight gave him was one of utter horror before she gave a yelp and began running faster still. It seemed she just barely had enough air in her lungs to yell, “Despite being a smart idea, I’m going to kill you for this once I rescue Trixie!” They ran. At one point Twilight even went off road to take a short cut. After all the time the two had spent working on these trees and helping Applejack with farming duty they knew this place in and out. This was a sure fire way straight to the Sweet Apple Acers that cut a couple miles off the road. *** Twilight was moving at a fast gallop for nearly two minutes before breaking free. There was the wedding. Everypony was there. Twilight noticed everypony stop and stare at her as she came running in. She knew what she looked like. Eyes panicked, tail on fire, horn sparking and fizzling. Twilight was clearly ready to cause bodily harm if needed to get what she wanted. She slid to a stop in front of the alter. Misplaced her speed and ran headfirst into the gazebo. Luckily doing no damage to it but her horn was stuck for a moment. She pulled it out and left a sizable hole in the wood as a result. “I OBJECT!” Applejack shot back. “You can’t do that.” “Yes I can, and I am!” “On what grounds?” Twilight stood up and felt Spike nearly fall off as he had to grab onto Twilight’s mane to stay up. “On the grounds that I LOVE HER!” Several gasps filled the area and Applejack stared right into Twilight’s eyes. “Are… are you sure?” Twilight glared at her. Then looked over at Trixie who looked absolutely beautiful in that dress. The mare was staring down at her with wide lavender eyes. “I’m sure.” Trixie sat down. “Oh… oh, Twilight. I uh… this is awkward.” Twilight blinked. “You… were you wanting to marry Big Mac?” Trixie shook her head. “No, I just hadn’t gotten around to asking you myself if you loved me or not. I asked Fluttershy and Big Mac if they did but they said no. You said you do love Trixie so… Trixie chooses you.” Twilight stared at her. “Choose me for what?” Trixie smiled. “Trixie chooses you, to have Trixie love you.” “I… what?” Trixie rolled her eyes. “You are quite simple sometimes. Trixie just said, Trixie loves you, Twilight.” Twilight sat down. “Oh, good. I don’t really know what I would have done if you rejected me. I might have blown us all up honestly.” Trixie swallowed. “R-really?” Spike replied. “She nearly killed herself getting here to stop this.” Trixie jumped up and squeed. A motion Twilight was not used to seeing form the mare. “Oh my gosh, you must really love Trixie to do such a wonderful, horrible thing. Trixie promises that so long as you love her like that, she will stay by your side.” Trixie looked over to Big Mac. “Trixie is sorry, maybe if you are still interested in sharing she might-“ Twilight shot a look at her that made it clear that whatever Trixie was about to say needed to stop. She was already frantic from a few days of absolute and uncontrolled chaos. There was no way in tartarus she was sharing Trixie with anyone else. Well… maybe Celestia… probably. Trixie stepped down from the gazebo and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight. “Thank you for rescuing your princess in distress.” Twilight wrapped a leg around Trixie’s waist drawing her closer. “If I am the hero here, what do I get for it?” Trixie met Twilight’s eyes. “A gift for my beautiful hero?” She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against Twilight’s. “How is that?” Twilight swallowed. “I’ll take that for now.” Granny Smith gave Applejack and Big Mac both the stink eye. “So, which one of you should be the one in trouble over this?” Applejack covered her face with her hat. “Ah… probably should. Ah reckon Ah knew Twilight might like her but thought if’n we were fast enough we could beat her to the punch and have some new foals on the farm.” Trixie looked over at Applejack. “Well, as crazy as you may be, Trixie does still intend to let the father be the father. She has no intentions on stealing away a child from him. Who would be so cruel?” Applejack mouthed wordlessly. “Seriously?” Trixie smiled. “Trixie truly is generous isn’t she?” Twilight gave Trixie a small squeeze. “Come on, even you know that was rude.” “She did just try to trick and then force Trixie into a marriage. She feels some rudness is well accounted for.” Rarity stood off to the side holding a bouquet. “Well… there goes the big plan…” Like a bolt of pink lightning. Pinkie disappeared from her seat behind Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Ran up to Rarity and kicked the bouquet into the air. It flew high, high into the air. A good thirty or so feet. It was almost like she had practiced the move for ages as she turned around and eyed Rainbow Dash. “Betcha ain’t fast enough to catch that.” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Oh really?” Rainbow Dash flew into the air snatched the bouquet and then landed back next to Fluttershy. “Oh, look at that! Owned!” Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash and then at Fluttershy. “Well now, Rainbow Dash. I didn’t know you wanted to be married so much. I wonder if there is a shy, yellow pegasus who might want to marry you?” Rainbow Dash’s face contorted as if she was trying to process something and it was taking a lot more work than it really should have. The expression almost looked painful before it relaxed and then fell. Rainbow Dash’s face grew pale. “The bouquet… I caught it.” She looked over at Fluttershy. “Does that mean I have to get married now?” Fluttershy looked up at her. “Oh… um… I… I think so.” “But… but who’s going to marry me? I don’t think I know anypony.” She was grabbing at her mane with her free hoof. “Ahhh, why did Pinkie do this?” Fluttershy reached out and gently put a hoof over Rainbow Dash’s lips to shush her. “I um… I-I know you d-don’t know anypony but um… I-I would… if um.. if you want… and you don’t find anypony you want to marry before… um..” Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy dragging her into an embrace. “You just made a promise and I am not letting you break it.” Fluttershy was frozen for a moment but embraced her back. “Okay.” Rarity sat down. “Well… that was-“ “Exactly according to plan!” Pinkie finished for her. “Yeppers. Of course they’re gonna be really awkward once they realize that married couples have sex.” Sweetie Belle stood up and asked. “What’s sex?” The level of power behind the smack that went into the back of Pinkie’s head was enough to force the mare to go into the dirt face first and leave her legs sticking up at awkward angles. Pinkie Pie replied. “Oh, sorry, forgot she was here.” Rarity’s hoof was actually smoking from the force of the blow. She blew on it. “I still won’t forgive you for this. Now I get to have that talk with my sister. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash must have heard as well because the way their faces were turning bright red as they attempted to look at each other but were looking away every few seconds made them look both entirely too innocent. Twilight was content with this situation. Now she could at least look at her new marefriend. Wait, were they dating now? A confession of love didn’t have to necessarily mean that did it? Oh… this was going to be weird. She needed to set up some charts and graphs immediately and figure out where they stood now and how it was going to work. For now, she mostly just laid into Trixie’s embrace and closed her eyes. “Twilight is tired.” Trixie rubbed at Twilight’s shoulder and replied. “Well Trixie is the best at being a pillow as well, so go ahead and rest, Trixie will watch you.” “That’s creepy… thank you.” “And Trixie promises not to vomit on you this time.” Twilight opened an eye. “I assumed that alrea-“ The green look on Trixie’s face made it all to clear this was a promise that was not going to last. Well… things were more or less what Twilight was coming to expect from her new life so that was something… *** Somewhere far far away from the new couples, sat a Draconequus in a throne made from rocks, glass, gold, and the skin of a very much still alive giant bat. The throne was actually strapped to its back as it flew through a dimension filled with floating islands, destroyed castles, ruins that time had forgotten and eldritch beasts of time immortal. Next to him sat an alicorn princess of the sun who was busy sipping at her tea and watching the television screen showing the events of said loving mares after a failed wedding. “Interesting, but why are you showing me all of this?” Discord sipped at his tea, drinking the glass instead of the liquid. “I thought you might find the events of these past few days entertaining. Even though I cut out some of the more interesting bits.” “You say that but you left the part where Trixie had pleasured herself on my student’s bed.” “I said interesting, not whatever that was.” “If you say so… but after my misunderstanding of the situation you decided to show me this. Why?” Discord looked at her. “Well, I thought you might have some ideas. If your student is to be wed, wouldn’t you want to know ahead of time. Especially since she’s marrying a mare who is already with child.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “I’m just confused, out of anypony, she had to choose her to love… wait did you have anything to do with this?” Discord laughed. “Who me? Couldn’t be. At least I didn’t do anything bad this time. Let’s not forget, romance is probably the most chaotic force in the universe, and I am no strange to chaos my dear Celestia. No stranger at all.” Celestia closed her eyes. “This is going to be a fine mess isn’t it?” “If it wasn’t could you call it a love story?” END OF PART 1 > Chapter Twenty: Of Lust and Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty: Of Lust and Love Luna floated outside the window staring through it to see the sleeping form of the most beautiful stallion in all of Equestria. His delicious red fur exposed where the blanket didn’t cover him. His golden mane messy, lonely and looking ready to stroke. There was nopony out there that could match his brilliance, his stature, and his gentle nature. More than anything else, the one time she'd been brave enough to talk to him, he did something nopony ever did for her, he treated her as an equal. Maybe to some stuck up sun butt of a princess that would be insulting, but for Luna, it was deeply romantic. It was in that moment she had fallen in love, but unfortunately her own cowardice had kept her from ever speaking to him again, instead choosing to stalk him at night and keep him and his family safe from anything even their nightmares. The window next to this room slid open and a tiny yellow head poked out with a red mane looking messy. Luna looked at her. "Applebloom, is it not time for you to be in bed?" Applebloom smiled. "Ah just wanted to check on ya and see if you were okay. It's getting cold out. If ya need a blanket just ask." Luna's lip quivered. She was such a coward she couldn't talk to her true love, but these ponies had already accepted her. She smiled as warmly as she could. "Thank you, Applebloom, but I am the princess of the night. I do not feel the cold." Applebloom smiled and went back in. "That's good. Ah'm having a hard time sleeping, would you sing me a song?" Luna shook her head. Such a simple thing for such a friendly creature. She flew over to Applebloom's window and began singing. A gentle soft song that she was sure everypony in Equestria had heard by now. "Hush now, quiet now..." Luna rarely got to sing for an audience, so seeing the smile on Applebloom’s lips was always amazing. She hardly even noticed that Big Mac's window had opened, ever so slightly, as if he too wanted to hear her melody. She didn't have the courage to talk to him, but she could sing, and sing she would. *** The Golden Oaks Library was usually quiet on nights like this. It wasn't too odd to find the new couple cuddling in front of the fire place. Twilight feeling the warm loving embrace of her blue surely magician and gently rubbing her belly where the miracle of life was growing inside. Trixie nuzzling the top of Twilight's head, every once in awhile planting a gentle kiss there. Twilight couldn't be happier sitting here if she tried. "Two weeks?" Trixie kissed Twilight's head once more. "Two weeks." Twilight giggled. "I'm in a relationship and I've been in one for two whole weeks!" Trixie's hoof slid down Twilight's back and toward her flank prompting the mare to move closer. "So... Twilight, when do you think you might be ready to go all the way?" Twilight sighed. "I... I don't know. I never even thought I’d be dating anypony besides Celestia." "But now you are." "And I'm in love with somepony besides Celestia." "Trixie is happy about that you know, for the first time in her life she's in love too." Twilight looked up and met those gentle purple eyes. "I love you." "I love you too." Silence passed between them for a moment before Trixie said, "You know, if you do want to be with Celestia too... Trixie is okay with it. On one condition." Twilight blinked. "Wait, you want me to date two ponies at once? Aren't you selfish?" Trixie smiled at her. "Oh, Trixie is selfish. So there is a condition. You must share Celestia with Trixie. After all, who could avoid lusting after the goddess of the sun and her very bountiful plot." Twilight shivered with delight thinking about Celestia's rear. Part of her wondered if maybe, just maybe Trixie's rear would become as glorious during this pregnancy. Though she wasn't really comfortable with the idea of dating more than one pony, it was very kind of Trixie to offer this option. Perhaps Trixie was scared that Twilight would choose Celestia over her and was giving her a safety net? It made Twilight feel bad to think there could be some possibility of that happening. Still, Twilight wouldn't just abandon Trixie for some random shot at any other mare, even if it was her Celestia. Twilight moved up a little and their lips met. It was a simple, gentle kiss. One that made Twilight's entire face light up and forget any of her other pressing concerns. Trixie's lips parted ever so slightly, invitingly. Twilight hesitated for a moment but took the invitation letting her tongue slip inside to meet with Trixie's. There was always a strange flavor to Trixie's mouth, something akin to blueberries. One that Twilight wanted to taste deeper. Trixie's hoof squeezed Twilight's flank reminding her of what they were doing. Twilight moved her hoof over to Trixie's flank and squeezed back. Perhaps, maybe, possibly, Twilight could just... let go and let Trixie have her wish for a deeper form of intimacy. With Twilight's body being pressed tighter to her lover's still she knew it was only a matter of time before she slipped up and just let Trixie have her. Twilight had saved herself for so long but she had never planned to be in a relationship with anypony besides Celestia, it wouldn't be so awful to just go with this would it? Spike's voice came out from behind them. "If you two keep making out like that, Twilight is really going to find a way to impregnate you." Twilight pulled back and took a deep breath. "SPIKE?" Spike was laying on the floor nearby, he was reading a comic book and not even looking at them. "Yes, Twilight, I am in fact, still here. Just as I have been the last five times you forgot." Twilight looked away and lowered her head. "S-sorry." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Why do you keep apologizing? It's not like we were doing anything more than kissing." Twilight returned to rubbing Trixie's pregnant belly. It was only just now starting to look a little different, and with Trixie past the scariest part of foaling they were in a safer place to be a little less cautious. Twilight had so much to think about, in fact she still hadn't really thought about how to tell Celestia that plans may have changed slightly. With her dating now, she wasn't sure that she'd be free to marry once she was twenty one. And the fact that her lover was pregnant of all things meant something entirely different for her too. Trixie was smiling down at her. "Twily, love, what are you thinking?" "With a baby on the way, is there going to be room for me in your life?" Trixie giggled. "Of course, our baby will have the best mommies and the best dad around." Twilight looked up at her. "Our baby?" Trixie reached out with a hoof and stroked Twilight's cheek. "Our baby. Trixie may be selfish but she can share a little sometimes." Twilight's lip quivered. "Our baby?" "That is what Trixie said." Twilight threw her legs around Trixie wrapping her up into a tight embrace. "OUR BABY!" Trixie returned the embrace. "It is so simple to please you sometimes... Trixie admires that about you." Twilight nuzzled in. "Wait, if it's our baby does that mean we need to get... married?" Trixie shrugged. "Leave that for Rainbow and Shy, we can move at our own pace." The fireplace was crackling with life and heat, but even if it hadn't been, Twilight would feel more than enough warmth from the love she shared with Trixie. Now if only Spike wasn't here to keep reminding her not to get carried away making out. Twilight let out a sigh, she really needed to take a nice private and hot shower. Detachable shower heads were her best friends when Trixie drove her crazy like this. Trixie leaned back. "Trixie needs a shower. Care to join her?" Twilight blinked. "I, um, well..." Trixie gave her a wink. "Trixie is feeling a little flustered from how attractive you are, she needs to take a very hot, very wet shower, but she'd like to have you join her." Spike spoke once again. "Twilight, she's asking you to have sex in the shower." Twilight glared at him. "I"M NOT THAT STUPID... I knew that." Trixie giggled. "We don't have to have sex per se, just... get close." Twilight gave her an inquisitive look. "Close? To sex? But I'd stay a virgin?" Trixie smiled. "Oh but of course." Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "Hmmm, it would keep me a virgin for marriage, and let me feel good at the same time. Very tempting." Trixie stood up. "Well like it or not, Trixie needs to take care of her needs in the shower, and she also needs help with washing her back. So you can join now, or wait for Trixie to finish. Your choice." Twilight bit her lower lip. "Okay, but I only have one question, answer it and I might join you." Trixie smiled at her. "Of course." "If for example, you and me were to get married... could I be the house wife?" Trixie blinked. "Why would you want to be the house wife?" "I just... it just sounds romantic. To have a hard working attractive mare come home from her show as the greatest magician of Equestria only to be greeted by a warm dinner made with love, a nice hot bath, and a bed already warmed up for them to enjoy." Twilight's heart was racing at the thought. Trixie smiled. "That sounds amazing." Twilight stood up. "So... is that a yes?" "You can have anything you want, Twily. If this makes you happy, than it shall be yours, so says the Great and Giving Trixie." Twilight smiled. "Okay, based on your response than I think I will join you for the shower." Trixie grinned. "Good, now Trixie only has one stipulation." Twilight looked at her. "Yes?" "Trixie gets first dibs on the shower head. You can have the sloppy seconds of shower heads." *** Rainbow Dash lay in Fluttershy's winged embrace on the couch as she closed her eyes and relaxed deeply into that feathery warm love. Fluttershy's house was usually quiet on nights like this and although Rainbow Dash loved excitement and noise, sometimes just taking a few hours to relax, close her eyes and drift in and out of sleep next to her partner was all she could ask for. Meanwhile Fluttershy was reading some romance book, her cheeks as pink as could be. Rainbow Dash had skimmed through a few passages of the book itself, and honestly she was confused. In the book it seemed like the main pony, Silverstone, was dating like, seven different ponies at the same time and everypony was in on it. In fact there were a few scenes involving three or more ponies all getting together and touching each other at the same time which made Rainbow Dash's shame meter rise to the top. How could Fluttershy read such... slutty romances? After once particular scene that involved ponies doing things with their butts that should never, ever be done. Rainbow Dash couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Fluttershy, what in Celestia's name are you reading?" "O-oh, um it's the Harem of Marecoast," Fluttershy answered. "And the main characters are all super slutty because?" Fluttershy closed the book with a little more firmness than Rainbow Dash expected. "They are not slutty, they are poly-ponies." Rainbow Dash stared at her. "Isn’t that a type of plastic?" "N-not quite... um so I've... researched this phenomena a bit. Some ponies just have too much love in their little hearts to only give it to one pony and so they need more than... one, or two... or three... h-honestly I'm comfortable most at two or three." Rainbow Dash looked at her. "So this story having so many makes you uncomfortable?" "Well, that's not what I meant... but also no? It's just a story. And um... very interesting." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "So you really are a secret pervert. Good to know. Well I'm just glad you’re all mine." Fluttershy let out a sigh. "Y-yeah... I am too. D-don't tell the others about these books please. Rarity understands, but um, I think the others might not g-get it." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes again. "It's cool, what else are fiancé’s for if not for keeping your dirty little secrets?" Fluttershy let out another sigh. "We've been engaged for two weeks and I d-don't think we've talked much about that." "I'm cool to marry you whenever. Want to get hitched tomorrow?" Fluttershy giggled. "You’re always fast, aren't you?" "Sure am, fastest flier in Equestria." Fluttershy stroked the tip of her wing across Rainbow's side. "I think we should wait a little longer than that. If we're going to spend the rest of our lives together we need to know more about each other first. And to accept those parts we might not fully understand, or even like." Rainbow Dash yawned. "I already know everything about you, and I accept it all." "You didn’t know I read books like this until tonight." Rainbow Dash cracked an eye open. "I guess not, but that's like... just a book." Fluttershy closed her eyes. "It's not just a book to me." Rainbow Dash looked at the book, its red cover and black binding looked very much like a book to her. "Than what is it?" "I'll... let you figure that one out yourself." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Oh come on I'm not that smart, give me a hint." Fluttershy looked at her. "This book is the hint. You can read it yourself if you'd like." "I think I might be grossed out by it. That or really bugged out. Just thinking about this poly-pony stuff is confusing me." Fluttershy giggled. "That's okay, it doesn't make a lot of sense to poly-ponies themselves sometimes. It's confusing, and maybe a little scary, but it's just how their hearts work." Rainbow Dash groaned and buried her head into Fluttershy's shoulder. "Flutters, I'm too tired for confusing weird stuff right now." Fluttershy kissed the top of Rainbow Dash's head. "Think about it tomorrow then. It's important to me you figure this out, before I agree to a date for our wedding." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, smelling Fluttershy’s scent and losing herself into it. "If I do that, you'll actually set a date with me? For the marriage?" Fluttershy nodded. "I promise, once you figure out this little mystery and fully understand it, I will marry you. Even if you want to get married that very moment." Rainbow Dash hated thinking too hard, but if it was important to Fluttershy it was important to her. "Fine." Fluttershy leaned in and whispered. "Also another hint, I am very, very, interested in sharing. After all, sharing is caring." "I get it, you'll share your books with me. Your creepy weirdo romance books filled with butt stuff." Fluttershy giggled. "N-not filled with it. Only one of the harem members is really into that. The others have their own um... quirks." "Oh and what's your quirk?" Fluttershy giggled. "Pregnant mares. Once we get you pregnant I might lose my self control a little." Rainbow Dash grinned. "Well not until we're married. No sex until then okay?" "Okay." "So the faster I can get married to you." "Oh, Rainbow, you don't need to marry me just for sex. I'm um... more open minded than you might think." It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash fell back to sleep dreaming of her Fluttershy and how much fun they would have once married. > Chapter Twenty One: Of Apple Coffee and Poly Juice > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty One: Of Apple Coffee and Poly Juice Written by TheCrimsonDM Morning came and Trixie woke up with a leg wrapped gently around her barrel and holding her against the soft body on her back. Looking over she saw Twilight still asleep and as cute as ever. It felt like this was going to be another crazy day but she'd gotten used to those by now. All of Twilight's friends were completely insane, but for the most part they were also completely harmless. both were things she could live with. What she couldn't live with was the feeling she was going to both vomit and pee at the same time. Trixie rolled over and got out of bed as quickly as she could. A quick trot downstairs and she just barely made it to the restroom to sit on the toilet and vomit in the trashcan. She had considering doing this in the opposite but wasn’t able to figure out how to explain why the trashcan would be filled with pee. Well, being pregnant had its drawbacks that much was for sure. After the morning ritual, she cleaned herself and got to the kitchen to see Spike and Big Mac drinking coffee and looking at hoofball cards. Trixie rolled her eyes at the cards, but smiled when looking at her baby's daddy. "Good morning handsome." Big Mac's cheeks turned a bit of a deeper shade of red. A blush, how cute on such a strong masculine type. Too bad she was already in a relationship or else she might just... repeat the same mistake that led her to being pregnant in the first place. She really cursed her morning brain and her ghost heat. She took a seat in the chair opposite of them and using some telekinesis made herself a cup of coffee. Part of her wondered if perhaps her baby girl was going to become a strong beautiful earth pony. Trixie smiled as she saw her coffee land in her hooves. "Applejack." Spike spoke up. "What about her?" "Oh, Trixie is just wondering if her baby will be as strong as Applejack is? Perhaps our baby," She made sure to meet Big Mac's eyes as she said that, "Will be as strong and beautiful as she is." Big Mac swallowed. "Maybe." "Or we might have a baby unicorn, wouldn't that be something?" Trixie giggled. "Oh, I can't wait. One year is such a long time to wait for a baby." Spike rolled his eyes. "It's going to be one year of you running to the restroom to vomit. And half the time missing." Trixie glared at him. "Trixie only missed... five times?" "Four, the fifth time you only peed yourself." Trixie glared at him. "Trixie does not pee herself. She is a proud mommy." Twilight’s voice came in from the doorway. "Trixie, I need my cuddles." A sleepy-eyed Twilight stumbled into the kitchen with a blanket still on her back. She took a seat next to Trixie and laid down on her side. Trixie rolled her eyes. "Such a needy mare this one." Trixie wrapped the blanket around Twilight and watched as Twilight actually fell back asleep next to her.  Spike laughed. "I'm glad to hear it-" he burped up a flame and a letter landed on the table.  Trixie was too quick in opening it and reading it. Usually, the letters Twilight got were basically boring shlock that could be ignored, but she did catch a glimpse or two of some dreadfully embarrassing things in the past.  "My dearest Student. I'm so glad to hear you’re doing well. These friendship letters about you teaching your new marefriend Trixie about friendship are just wonderful. You must really love her to keep sending me all these letters about her. Even from the moment she first entered your home, it was clear you had a fondness for her, and to hear you two will be raising a foal together is amazing. If you have any needs, or if Trixie has them, please be sure to let me know." Trixie stared at that. Something was a little off about the letter. Why was Twilight sending letters since the first night Trixie had showed up? Several long minutes went by as Trixie read that over and over again, as she took sips of her coffee. Spike carefully spoke, "You know, it's rude to read Twilight's personal mail." "Shh, Trixie is using her big girl brain." Several minutes went by before she looked over at Spike. "Spike... why was Twilight sending letters of Trixie's presence here to Celestia?" Spike shrugged. "I dunno, she said something about how amazing those letters would be. If she could teach you friendship then Celestia would clearly love her or something." Trixie closed the letter. "Aha, Trixie sees. Here, Trixie will not be reading any more of Twilight's private mail without permission." Spike took the letter and stared up at her. "You okay?" Trixie grinned as she looked down at her sleeping lover. "You know, if Trixie had heard about this two weeks ago, she might have been very with cross and mistrusting of Twilight. However, Trixie now only sees the genius inside her." Trixie also didn't admit to him that being used for something as simple as good writing material for Twilight's mentor was far from the worst thing Twilight could have done. Trixie had come in ready and willing to give her pregnant body to Twilight, but instead Twilight just wanted to send some letters.  Now even if Trixie didn't personally care about that, she did realize this meant Twilight had misled her a little at the start of their relationship. Trixie had indeed been used by Twilight and so she was going to need to think of an adorable and perfect punishment for the mare. Something only Trixie could ever truly think of. Something that would only lock them even closer together and cement their relationship. Oh, Trixie was going to have fun with this. For now she looked at Big Mac with a different question. "So, Trixie is thinking. She is having our baby and although the name Trixie Two-" Spike interjected, "-The Retrun of Trixie." "-has a beautiful sound to it. She might actually have to settle for a Trixie Jr. Of course she noticed a strange obsession in your family with naming kids after apples. is this... perhaps an important tradition?" BIg Mac nodded. "It sure is. All our family are named after apples. Just how all of Pinkie's family are named after rocks. Pinkie aside of course." Trixie nodded. "Aha, of course, so Trixie was right... Trixie however does not know of any good apple names. If, perhaps, Trixie were to give her daughter a second name, would you have any suggestions?" Big Mac's eyes widened. "N-n-name?" She nodded. "Of course, this is our child after all. Oh, and Twilight gets a name too she supposes." Big Mac lowered his head a little. "Well... Ah have a few suggestions, but it depends on if'n it's a boy or a girl." Trixie nodded. "Trixie is sure she is having a girl. But... just in case, let's hear both." "Apple Butter, if'n a girl. Bright Apple if'n a boy." Trixie stared at him. "That's an odd combination. Oh, but Trixie has an idea. What about Apple Bright?" Big Mac's eyes sparkled. "Apple Bright... our little Apple Bright." Spike stared at him. "Aren't those kinda like the names of your folks?" Big Mac's eyes looked a little sad, almost as if there was some hurt to that idea. "Ayep." Trixie wasn't sure why the idea of his parents made him sad, but she did notice a distinct lack of parents during the sham wedding. If this was important to Big Mac, then by Celestia's flaming farts, it was important to her too. "Alright, Trixie Blank Applebright it is. The blank for whatever name Twilight comes up with... so long as it isn't Celestia." The three of them shared a short laugh at that idea. Of course Trixie was mildly concerned that Twilight might actually suggest that, but hey, Trixie could deal with explaining why that was weird to her lover later. After Twilight's punishment was done of course. She clopped her hoves together in excitement at the wonderful delights she had in mind. Now she just needed some rope and a feather. Twilight was going to regret using the Great and Pregnant Trixie. *** Rainbow Dash had noticed she was getting some increasingly awkward looks from Fluttershy the longer she stayed at the cottage, so she decided to leave instead. Of course, she took the book with her, she promised Fluttershy she'd read through it and try to learn more about this weird poly thing. Rainbow Dash had no idea why Fluttershy was so insistent on it but if it was that important, so important that their marriage depended on it then by Celestia as her witness she'd figure this out. Of course she would never openly admit it, but she also recognized she was about as dense as a rock so she needed some help. Only one pony she knew understood romance and although Rainbow Dash was hesitant to rely on this pony as no help ever truly came free from her, even if she was the element of generosity. Rainbow Dash landed at Rarity's and walked in to find the mare, as usual, by herself and working on some dress with so many frills on it a pony could drown on them. Rarity beamed at her. "Rainbow, Darling, whatever brings you to my little shop of wonders and delights? Oh, are you checking on the progress of your wedding dress?" Rainbow Dash turned and locked the door behind her. "Not exactly." Rarity blinked. "Oh my, is... is everything alright? Fluttershy didn't... didn't hurt you now did she?" Rainbow Dash glared at her. "What? No, why would she ever hurt me?" Rarity let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness, she's been known to break hearts on occasion. I know you’re important to her, but I fear even she might struggle with this relationship." From the sound of that, it made it seem like Rarity already knew exactly what Fluttershy was trying to hint at previously and now Rainbow Dash was even more invested. "Well no, and I really hope she doesn't do that because I don't know what I'd do if she..." Rainbow Dash felt the words catch in her mouth. For the past two weeks she'd lived out a blissful dream of romance, kissing on the couch, cuddling, sleeping in the same bed every night, yet she hadn't stopped to think about it for an instant. As the last two words escaped her mouth, she felt her heart sink. "... left me." Rarity trotted up and threw a leg around Rainbow's neck pulling her into a hug. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think such sad thoughts. Please, tell me what it is you need." Rainbow shook her head loose of the thoughts. "Right, so Fluttershy said she won't set a date for getting married until I can solve this mystery she gave me and talk to her about it. I have no idea what she wants me to figure out but she told me to read some of these weirdo romance books to figure out." Rarity nodded. "Well you certainly came to the right place. Please follow me." They made their way to the kitchen and Rainbow Dash pulled the three books from her saddlebags sitting them on the table as Rarity poured them each a cup of orange juice. Once Rainbow had her drink she took a sip and let Rarity examine them. "So, Rarity, I was trying to read these earlier but Fluttershy kept watching me and it was kind of creeping me out." Rarity nodded. "I see, these are quite the deviant little books now aren't they. But of course Fluttershy would be interested in these kinds of things." "It's always the quiet ones amiright?" "Quite." Rarity set them aside and took a drink from her glass. "So, tell me, what are your thoughts on these books thus far?" "So far, weird, creepy, and unrealistic." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Oh, can you explain?" "Yeah, weird because they’re all about like... multiple ponies doing things together at the same time... creepy because some of the stuff they do is just plain gross. Like... you’re supposed to pee in a toilet, or a cloud, or behind a tree, not... other places." Rarity giggled. "Well some ponies like their golden showers." "Now that's creepy." Rarity looked at her more seriously. "And why are they unrealistic?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Uh, isn't it obvious?" "Not as much as you'd like to think." "Because multiple ponies can't all date each other at the same time Rarity. There's a little thing called loyalty, and it kind of makes some ponies go crazy with jealousy." Rarity stared at her in silence for a long moment, only taking a few sips of her glass here and there. "So, let me get this straight. You feel that it is unrealistic for multiple ponies to have a lasting, loving relationship with each other because it's not loyal?" "Well yeah, and I mean, other than porn whoever heard of something like that?" Rarity let out a sigh and leaned back. "And thus I have figured out why Fluttershy tasked you with reading those books and figuring this out yourself." Rainbow Dash leaned forward. "Oh yeah, tell me why?" Rarity gave her a flat stare. "I'm not positive I should. It might be crossing a boundary that I may not be able to return from. Yet... I do disagree with Flutterhsy's method here. That shy mare can’t handle a conversation like this, I bet she could hardly even let you see those books.” “Yeah, she was shaking when she did and wouldn’t look at me or the books directly.” “And I feel another method would serve you better." "Another method, for what?" "Education, my dear." Rarity smiled. "Have you ever heard of the term poly-pony?" "Yeah, Fluttershy taught me that word last night. Freaking weird." "Okay, but some ponies really practice the things in these books. And from my experience, it requires even more loyalty and honesty both to make such relationships work in the long run, much more than simple monogamy." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Um, Rarity, monogamy isn’t simple." "You know, Applejack told me the same exact thing." "Anyway, what your saying is crazy. Like, how is it loyal to let your lover go touch butts with some other pony? Or the other way around?" Rarity smiled. "Because it requires true loyalty and trust to be able to allow your lover such freedom, knowing that when they’re done they will always come back to you no matter what because they love you." "I uh… I guess but it still sounds weird." "Another term in a similar vein is called an 'open relationship'" Rainbow Dash stood up. "I've heard of those. And I have no interest in that kind of thing. I'm fast, but even I'm not that fast." Rarity frowned. "So you would be against this kind of thing, completely?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I'm kind of selfish you know." Rarity nodded. "I see. You know, so am I, but I've found that being selfless sometimes can make a relationship's bonds deeper than before. However, I would advise if such things bother you, don't go risking your happiness over them." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Not like I have to worry about that. I mean, this all just crazy stuff found in Fluttershy's perv books." The look Rairyt gave her sent shivers down Rainbow Dash's spine. "You... might need to worry about it." Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Why?" "Because, darling, Fluttershy is a poly-pony." > Chapter Twenty Two: Of Gods and Plots > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Two: Of Gods and Plots Trixie chose to fully relax at home and laying on a blanket on the first floor. A book was open in front of her, one about mystery, romance, magic, and adventure. Of course, she was mostly reading to pass the time as Twilight really didn't have much in the way of entertainment but hey, if the mare decided she wanted to take a private shower for Celestia knows how long then who was going to stop her? Certainly not the pregnant mare. In fact Trixie didn't even bother to stop Twilight's shower when she had to pee, she did, however, make Twilight scream when she flushed the toilet and left her there.  Maybe that was a little too cruel? The door opened and Trixie pointed a hoof at the books. "Go ahead and take one. Twilight told me to have anypony requesting a book write the name down on that pad there." there was a desk with a notepad and a quill next to it. And since quills were a nuisance that only old ponies used Trixie had set a pen and a pencil both there too. A deep warm voice spoke. "Oh thank you, but I am not here for books exactly." The room was growing warmer as the mare walked in. Trixie heard the door close behind them. "Well Twilight's busy in a private shower, probably touching herself, you'll have to wait for her to finish." The mare laughed gently, each laugh making the room somehow brighter. "Oh, if I know her well she's probably found a way to use both hooves and some magic for such a daunting task." It was perhaps too bright to read and it was way too hot in here now. Trixie closed her book. "Okay, who is it that dares to make the room brighter, warmer, and tell Trixie how her lover chooses to masterba-" Celestia was sitting at the table in the center of the room smiling down at her. "Hello again Trixie." Trixie's eyes widened. "Oh my god... wait, do you know me?" Celestia frowned. "D... do you not remember being in my school for gifted unicorns?" Trixie clsoed her eyes tihgtly. "School... I..." The memories were nearly there, just barely out of her grasp. She reached for them but just as they seemed familiar to her they slipped away. Suddenly she could recall a face, an older gray stallion with pitch-black hair, his body and muzzle covered in scars. Yet despite the scars, he had the kindest smile she had ever seen. "Shadow Heart." Celestia's eyes widened. "Y-you remember him?" Trixie stared up at Celestia. "Not... not exactly. I remember his face, his smile but... who is he? Who are you?" "I'm the Princess of the sun." "Besides being a goddess, who are you?" Trixie stared up at her. "Why can't I remember school, or him, or meeting you before?" Celestia frowned. "I only know the answer to one of those questions." "And that is?" "A secret I'm afraid, and for your safety, let’s hope it stays that way." Celestia offered a smile but that smile no longer looked as warm as it did before.  Trixie was not going to let herself be intimated by some princess. "What are you here for?" "I'm here to talk to you and Twilight, the happy couple raising a beautiful baby together." Celestia giggled. "My, I never expected that or for Twilight to impregnate another mare. I should punish her for using magic so recklessly but in this one instance I will forgive her." Trixie stared up at her. "Well thank you for coming to visit, but I will warn you now. I am not giving Twilight to you. If she is deadset on you, I will share, but you are not taking her from Trixie." Celestia's smile faded. "Trixie, I’m sorry, I didn't mean for you to misunderstand. I am here to visit in kindness. If I'm being totally honest I am very happy with this. Don't get me wrong, I was fully intending to make good on my promise to marry her, and I would do everything I needed to please her as my wife, including more... private activities. I was not, however, looking forward to that day. As I had mentioned to her before I will marry her because marrying somepony you care about to keep their sanity so they don't destroy themselves or the entirety of Equestria is not the worst reason I would have married somepony." "You've married for worse reasons?" "Well I married for wealth once, I am still enjoying that gift. I married for a sexy body, and I made good use of our marital rites with them. I married for political reasons, once, and only once. I also married to get my wings." Trixie's eyes opened wider. "What was the last one?" "I married for political reasons once." Trixie shook her head. "Whatever, anyway, don't you love Twilight?" "Yes, but... I suppose once your a thousand years old romantic love just doesn't seem to work anymore. Sex is just such a... boring activity at this point. I'd rather explore a ponies mind, their soul, or their heart instead of their body." Trixie hummed. "Interesting, but you still offered to marry Twilight, knowing that you'd be the one responsible for taking her virginity. At least until I came along." "Of course, after all, Twilight is my most faithful student if she had ever asked me for anything, I would offer it to her if in my power. After all, she did bring my sister back to me, I'd say marrying the hero that rescued the princess is perhaps a just reward." Trixie shook her head. "I think you’re insane with the rest of them." "When the entire world is filled with insanity, and you are the only sane one, does that not make you the crazy one for being so different?" Trixie stared at her. "I'm not thinking about that." "That's what my sister said the last time I tried to hook her up with Twilight." Trixie laughed. "Well, I can see why. She is clearly in lust with my baby's daddy. After all she's stalking him." Celestia sat down. "Excuse me... my sister is doing what?" Trixie beamed. She just found a way to get back at Luna for letting her wet the bed with Twilight in it, not once but three times now. "Oh, you didn't know she was watching Big Mac sleeping every night?" "N-no I did not." Trixie laughed. "Why it's such a common occurrence that the entire Apple family will open up the window and say good night to Luna before going to bed. It's quite adorable in a way. Too bad she doesn’t have the courage to ask him out, or else she'd be inside his bedroom instead of outside of it." Celestia frowned. "This... sounds like unhealthy behavior." Trixie met Celestia's eyes. "Oh, but weren't you just saying how if your the only sane pony in a crazy world, aren't you the insane one?" Celestia's eyes narrowed. "My sister stalking some poor stallion is not-" "-absolutely insane?" Celestia puffed out of her nostrils. "I see you have no fear of showing your true colors around me still." "And why should Trixie, you may be a giant powerful goddess, but you are currently inside Trixie's home as a guest. One that Trixie will value and love with all her heart because Twilight does, but a guest nonetheless." It was then something different that happened to make Trixie question her choices here. Celestia smiled. "I admire that." "You... you do?" "Of course, so few ponies actually have the guts to treat me as an equal, and seeing that you do is very interesting. Would you be against having me in your home more often to visit?" Trixie shrugged. "Suit yourself." "Then I shall." Trixie put a hoof ther chin. "On one occasion. You must tell Twilight you love her, and give her a hug, every single time you visit." Celestia giggled. "Oh and what about you?" "What about me?" "Don't you want hugs?" Trixie glared at her. "Trixie swears to the goddess, if you turn out to have a pregnancy fetish too she will throw every single book in this library directly at your head." Celestia laughed. "Oh don't worry, I was only teasing. Though I do find pregnant mares to be beautiful I do not have any fetishes toward them."  Trixie laughed too. "Trixie thinks you are a little intimidating, but she would very much like to continue this conversation. Would you like some coffee?" Celestia nodded. "I'd love some, black." Trixie sucked in a deep breath before bellowing out, "SPIKE!" Several moments went by without an answer. Trixie pouted. "That lazy dragon." There was a quiet sound coming from the kitchen and the two of them looked to see Twilight standing there. She was shaking, her eyes were closed and her voice was tiny and fragile. "Spike went out with Rarity." Trixie stood up and trotted over to Twilight. "Twily, what's wrong?" Trixie threw her legs around Twilight pulling her in close. Twilight sat down and looked past Trixie at Celestia. "I'm... fine. I have you." Trixie shook her head. "You are surely not fine. You are shaking worse than Trixie did the first time she met your friends." Twilight lowered her head and whispered. "Celestia didn't want to marry me... that's fine." Trixie's heart skipped a beat. SHe pulled Twilight in closer. "Celestia, get your fat and sexy butt over here and fix her. Twilight cannot break on Trixie." Celestia walked over and wrapped her giant warm feather wings around the two of them. "Twilight, I didn't say that I didn't want to marry you." Twilight's voice cracked. "Oh, oh gods, no, Celestia doesn't want to marry me?" Trixie felt Twilight's body sink into her own and go limp as she began sobbing. "Twilight, shhh, Twilight, you um, you misunderstood right?" Celestia nodded vigorously making them both shake with her wings holding them so tight. "That's right. I um, I do want to marry you Twilight, I am looking very much forward to it." Trixie growled. "Again, Trixie is not letting you steal Twilight." Celestia tried to whisper. "What do you want me to say? Seriously?" A moment went past and Celestia let out a sigh. "Twilight, I'm sorry. You are right... I don't want to marry you." Twilight's body froze.  Trixie glared at Celestia as the giantess backed away. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Celestia pulled away and lowered herself to the floor, going so far as to lay her head completely flat on the ground. "Twilight... Trixie... I want to marry both of you." Twilight's body stood up and she looked over at Celestia. "You mean it? You really want to marry both of us? So... so... I can have both of you, forever?" Trixie looked back at Celestia. She was unsure of what to say. Honestly she could do worse as far as uncomfortable marriages go, but there was a concern she had. She was pretty sure that Celestia just lied, and the lie she made was going to cement the trio into a very awkward scenario. Well Trixie figured a little playful punishment was in order for toying with Twilight’s heart like this. "Fine, Trixie agrees to this but she gets Celestia's butt, you can have her front." Celestia's head shot up. "Excuse me?" Twilight looked at Trixie. "Oh silly, we don't have to split Celestia up like some kind of cartoon. What did you want us to draw a line on her with a marker to say which half is ours?" Trixie raised an eyebrow. "No, Trixie is talking about our threesome. Trixie will ride Celestia's butt like she was some kind of mount, and you can ride her face. Trixie is sure you will enjoy that mouth." Trixie glared at Ceelstia. "It seems pretty big if you ask her." Twilight's eyes widened. "W-wy would I ride her face?" Trixie laughed. "Oh, Twilight, we both have such wonderful, horrible things to teach you." She looked at Celestia. "Tell Trixie, have you ever had all of your openings filled at once? We may need a third party to help out with that. Is your sister available for the evening?" Celestia's eyes were wide and her face had gone from white to red in mere seconds. "My… s-sister? I… she’s stalking her soon to be husband I’m sure. I-I assure you I have had far more experience with such things than you... and... T-Twilight isn't ready for that." Trixie kissed the side of Twilight's face. "Oh, but she will be one day, and when that day comes, we both need to be ready for her. Welcome to the weird pony romance club. Population, you, me, Twilight, and a nice fluffy bed." > Chapter Twenty Three: Of Lies and Pies > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Three: Of Lies and Pies Rainbow Dash laid her head down on the table. "Oh goddess... are... are you sure?" Rarity was by her side and stroking Rainbow's back. "Oh, I'm positive. The last relationship she was in lasted quite a number of months before it came to a peaceful but sad ending. It was her and two other mares." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Why? That's... that's too many ponies? Oh Goddess, I can't do that." Rarity was still stroking Rainbow’s back. "I know, and I think that's why she wanted you to discover this now. Even if she is loyal to you, and never ever cheats on you, she'll still feel pulled toward others at some point. I am not positive how important this part of her is for her to express, but this might be..." Rainbow glared at her. "No, it's not a deal-breaker. It can't be..." "I know, darling." "She... she just isn't able to say no right? Like the idea of hurting somepony’s feelings is too much for her so she'll just say yes to dating multiple ponies?" Rarity bit her lower lip. "I... I shouldn't say, but no, Rainbow Dash. She is very much capable of breaking hearts when needed. It... I guess you would find out sooner or later. Fluttershy and Pinkie were part of that group. From what I understood the intimacy was great, Fluttershy enjoyed pretending Pinkie was pregnant, you know because she's a little more round in the middle, and Pinkie loved to do... I won't repeat what she loved to do. Anyway, they loved each other but Fluttershy felt the energy just wasn’t right so she broke up with Pinkie Pie. It hurt Pinkie for a long time but they remained friends." Rainbow Dash felt her heart stop. "Pinkie, and Fluttershy?" "Yes, and if I understood correctly, since Fluttershy believed you didn't have any real interest in her  she was hoping you and Pinkie could enjoy each other instead." Rainbow Dash grabbed at her mane and pulled. "WHAT? What is wrong with you all?" Rarity narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me, I didn't say I agreed with it, just that it happened." "So all this time, that PInkie's been flirting with me, it's because Fluttershy told her too?" Rarity nodded. "And I’m sure if you ask Fluttershy for permission, she'd still let you try Pinkie's candy, if you know what I mean." Rainbow Dash lowered her head back into the table. "Oh my goddess, your all insane, horny, nightmares." "Again, I didn't say it would be a good idea." "Then why did you tell me that?" "To let you know that Fluttershy is pretty open-minded. Which is something that if you choose to marry her, you'll have to get used to. Also, her eyes might drift to anything that smells pregnant within a fifty-foot radius of her." Rainbow Dash pushed away from the table nearly knocking her chair over. "Trixie is pregnant. You don’t think Fluttershy is trying to tell me this so she can... you know?" Rarity shook her head. "I am fairly certain that Twilight would never share, in fact I imagine that once she realizes that Celestia might have some interest in her still after promising to wed her, that Twilight's going to have to make a hard choice. I think she'll end up picking Triixe though, which I'm happy about as the poor mare really does need a gentle lover like her." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Great, now you’re talking about Twilight and Trixie." "I'm sorry... is there anything I can do to help you?" Rainbow deflated. "I don't know. I can't even go to PInkie's to try and cheer up with some silly sauce now because, turns out, the entire time she's been hitting on me was because Fluttershy told her to..." Rarity lowered her head. "I'm sorry. Please don't judge Fluttershy too much, dear. Her heart just works differently than ours do." "Oh so you’re a normal pony." Rarity smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't say normal, just very, very greedy when it comes to romance. If you must know, that is the real reason why the idea of me and Fluttershy would never work out. I'd get into hood fights every time she looked at somepony else." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "What am I supposed to do? This is too much for me, you know? I know I’m like super awesome but I can't handle Fluttershy... doing all that." "Talk to her, set some boundaries, darling. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of sharing her then tell her so." Rainbow Dash nodded. It sucked but she was going to have to take a stand here. If they were really going to get married then she needed to do this before hoof... which in retrospect explained exactly why Flutterhsy was waiting until after Rainobw Dash figured this out before getting married. Some ground rules were going to need to be set and some explanations had. It was going to be an awkward and long conversation. There was a knock at Rarity's door. Rarity hopped off her chair and trotted toward the door. "One minute, Rainbow Dash. That could be my sister or one of my clients. We'll continue this in just a moment." Rainbow Dash watched as Rarity opened the door and lo and behold, Fluttershy was right there. Rarity spoke gently. "Fluttershy, darling, is everything okay?" Fluttershy nodded with a smile. "Of course it is. Um, at least I hope it is." Rainbow Dash made her way to the door, every muscle in her body was sluggish and slow. It was better to rip the bandaid off now and just get it over with. It wasn't like Fluttershy would leave her just because Rainbow Dash was uncomfortable with the whole, sharing thing... right? Fluttershy saw Rainbow Dash and her smile only grew. "Dashy!" Without warning, Fluttershy ran past Rarity and jumped into Rainbow Dash knocking her over and laying on top of her. Fluttershy buried her muzzle into Rainbow Dash's chest and breathed in deeply. "Oh, Dashy, I know it's only been a few hours b-but I missed you." Rainbow Dash reached out with a leg and held Fluttershy's back. This feeling was nice. A soft warm body pressed against her own, the rise and fall of Fluttershy’s back, the way her little heart was racing, each beat felt against Rainbow's chest. She could stay like this forever. Yet she was going to have to ruin this beautiful moment one way or another. "Hey, Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked up at her from an awkward angle. "Yes, my love bird?" "Love bird?" Fluttershy giggled. "I'm still trying out nicknames.... is that one too silly?" Rainbow Dash swallowed. "No, it's good. You can be my Flutterbutter then right?" "Yes," Fluttershy drew a hoof down along Rainbow's chest. "Yes, I can." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. Rip the bandaid off, just tell her that it's not okay to share. Just say something, anything. Rainbow Dash tried to make her mouth move, she tried so hard but she just couldn't. This was absolutely stupid, all she needed to do was say a few words and that was it. Rainbow Dash ground her teeth together and then realized the reason why this was so hard. It had been many years since Rainbow Dash first fell in love with Fluttershy, many years since she first realized that her end goal in life was going to be to marry this mare. For all of Fluttershy’s gifts, her kindness, her weakness, and her faults. All of them were perfect and Rainbow Dash couldn't fight against that.  Rainbow Dash let out a quiet sigh. "So... your a poly-pony aren't you?" Fluttershy's body went rigid. For a long moment, there was silence. Rarity quietly locked the door and shooed herself away into the kitchen but Rainbow Dash could tell the mare was still listening in. The fact that part of her curly purple tail was sticking out from the side of the entrance into the kitchen meant Rarity was hiding behind the wall listening in. Well, she could listen if she wanted to. Fluttershy spoke in a voice so quiet Rainbow dash almost missed it. "I... I am." Rainbow Dash swallowed. "So... um... what does that mean... for us?" "I'm not sure." Fluttershy buried her face a little deeper into Rainbow’s floof. "I've never been married before." "Marriage is kind of a one-on-one thing you know, I mean unless you’re a princess then you can marry all the ponies you want, but like, neither of us are princesses." Fluttershy's voice shook as she spoke. "I know, it’s... it's going to make things complicated. I still love you, and I want to make you happy. Even... even if I have to... give up on..." "Being a slut?"  Fluttershy's head jerked up and her eyes met Rainbows. "W-w-what?" Rainbow Dash smirked. "I'm kidding." "That's not f-funny." "I... I know. I think I’m just really nervous." Fluttershy was still looking into her eyes. There was so much fear there, terror that Rainbow had hardly ever seen before. The way Fluttershy's ears were folded back and her wings tense against her back. The mare was just as scared as Rainbow Dash was. Rainbow let out a sigh. She had to be the big pony here, she was always the big pony... she could make a sacrifice if it meant Fluttershy would be able to relax. "I don't understand it, and I don't think I could ever make myself be with another pony, but... this seems really important to you." Fluttershy closed her eyes. "I... It's who I am." Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. She couldn't rip that bandaid off after all. "Just... don't tell me about it." "W-what?" "If you spend time with another pony, just... don't tell me about it and it's okay." Fluttershy laid her head down. "That doesn't sound healthy." "It's healthy, it's fine, it’s... normal. I'm not going to tell you not to be who you always were, just don't let me know and everything is okay." Fluttershy was still tense. Okay, that didn't work, Rainbow Dash was missing something here. Fluttershy whispered, "I want to be able to share everything with you, even the other ponies I might love." Okay, this was worse now. Rainbow Dash sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. How could she fix this? If only she could get married and love Fluttershy forever, everything would be okay. Fluttershy was perfect, wasn't she? She was supposed to be... which meant that Rainbow Dash was the imperfect one? No that didn’t sound right, clearly Rainbow Dash was too awesome to be perfect, but maybe she was too awesome? Sure, Rainbow Dash could roll with that one. "What do you mean ‘share with me?’" "I want you to know about them, and maybe... we could... me, and you, and another pony... at the same time?" Oh by Celestia's perfect butt, she was talking about threesomes now. Rainbow Dash felt herself caving, her heart was shriveling up and she needed to do something, anything. Rainbow Dash let out a quiet sigh. "If that's what you need from me, I can do that for you. Your my perfect lovely butterscotch. I would never deny you anything you ask of me." Fluttershy’s body began to relax. Yes, he was on the right track. "Does it bother you?" Rainbow Dash lied. "Nope, just think it’s weird, that's all." Fluttershy reached out with a hoof and wiped something wet away from Rainbow's closed eyes. "Then why are you crying?" "Because i"m happy, duh." Rainbow lied again. "We’re going to get married now that I've accepted you. Right?" Fluttershy was silent for a moment. "I... yes, I did make that promise. We can get married now.” Rainbow Dash kissed Fluttershy's lips, the taste of honey almost making her forget this new discovery, almost.  As they continued kissing Rainbow Dash's mind was racing. This was good, because she knew, once they were married any problems, or painful stabbing in her chest, or her mind reeling in horror from the idea of watching Fluttershy kiss another mare in a threeway would all just go away. It was like physical training. It sucked at first, and even hurt, but once one got used to it, they began to enjoy the burn, the pain, the... sweat from multiple mares. There was a saying that Rainbow Dash felt was very appropriate for this scenario when it felt like the world was burning down around you.  "This is fine." > Chapter Twenty Four: Of Messy Floors and Dirty Horses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Four: Of Messy Floors and Dirty Horses Rarity had heard it all and knew that Rainbow Dash was making a very big mistake. One that might end up destroying all the hard work she and PInkie put into this. She was not going to have her hard work, and their relationship go down the drain for nothing. Yet, she wasn't quite sure how to tackle this situation. If Rainbow Dash was going to be denying herself then it was going to be hard to break through that wall. After all, when it was discovered that Rainbow Dash had some reading challenges it took weeks before they could get Rainbow Dash to let them help, and even then it was really only Twilight who managed to break that barrier by using the Daring Doo series.  This was on an entirely different level. Rarity stepped out from around the hall and froze. She hadn’t heard them kissing. Yet here they were, two ponies laying on her floor, tongues so deep in each others mouths that Rarity thought they might trigger each other’s gag reflex. WIth both mares having very erect wings she was not entirely positive this makeout session might spiral out of control on her clean floor. Judging by the wet stains already left, it was already going too far. Rarity cleared her throat.  Neither of them paid attention. Rarity spoke gently. "Girls?" Again they weren't caring. Fluttershy's hoof was even sliding down Rainbow's flank going dangerously close to that tail. Rarity nearly shouted, "Girls!" The two of them stopped and looked over at her. Fluttershy swallowed. "Oh um... R-Rarity. I-I think me and Dashy should have f-first time together s-so could ou wait until after were um d-done. You c-can join the next um, round." Rarity's eye twitched. "Oh, okay, I'll just let the two of you have messy disgusting sex on the floor of my shop then. No worries." Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you." Rarity glared daggers at her. "Are you insane? Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, the two of you can't rut each other on my shop's floor. At least not during the middle of the day like this. If your so intent to lust after one another go do it at home, or at least ask to borrow my bedroom." Fluttershy's ears perked up. "O-oh that would be more comfortable, could we go upstairs an-" "NO!" The scream was enough to make Fluttershy flinch away. Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Um, what's going on?" Rarity stared at her. "Fluttershy was just about to take your virginity all over my floor is what. I do not want to be involved in cleaning the fluids or the blood left behind." Rainbow Dash huffed. "I am not a virgin... also... blood?" Rarity glared. "Get off each other, now." Fluttershy crawled her way off of Rainbow Dash and the two of them sat up looking at the floor with some shame in their expressions, not enough shame but at least a little. Fluttershy spoke quietly. "S-sorry, I just..." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Guess I wanted to do that more than I thought. Sorry, Rares." Rarity couldn’t remember what she was going to talk to them about now, she was fuming at their behavior. "I want you two, to leave. Go have sex at home, or under a bridge, or if you truly are shameless borrow one of Applejack's trees. I'm sure nopony will notice two pegasi making love in an appletree, but try to use my floor again without significant cause and reason and I will spank the two of you with a studded belt so hard you'd wish you were dead." The two of them nodded and quickly trotted out saying quick and minor apologies. Once gone Rarity looked at the stains on the floor. She did not have the time to clean this, but yet here she was. It was worse than the last time she made out with Applejack here... not that she was going to allow herself to think of that too much or else she might be the one in an appletree. *** It wasn't long before Rarity arrived at Pinkie's after shooing the confused lovebirds out of her home. She wasn't honestly too worried about things in the long run. Seeing them on the floor like that told her that they would figure themselves out and then probably get lost in bed somewhere for a good few weeks. For now Rarity was planning to give Pinkie a bit of a heads up before Rainbow figured out what she was doing and decided to ask some very confronting questions. With some luck Rarity found Pinkie Pie at the Sugarcube Corner, along with Applejack. The two were sitting inside in a corner and chatting over smoothies. Rarity decided to join them and smiled at the pair, "How are you two doing today?" Applejack smiled. "Been doing some work on the farm, saw Luna in the day for once, she was helping pick some apples off the highest trees fer us. Ah was wondering why some extra baskets were being filled. Tried talking to her and she done run off scared. Poor thing." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Awww, she's so cute when she's nervous. Sounds like she really wants to be part of the family." Applejack shrugged. "SHe's already a weird part of the family, Ah mean, even Ah open mah window to wish her good night." Rarity stared at her. "So... when did Luna's obsession with your brother stop being creepy and become normal?" Applejack took a drink of her smoothie before answering. "About when we realized two things, one; she wasn't doing anything besides watching him sleep or doing a few chores in secret, and two; she's a princess and we couldn't really do anything about it if we wanted to." Rarity nodded. "That does make sense. I suppose she could just sit down for dinner and join you and you'd have to accept it." "Honestly at this point, we'd all welcome her." Pinkie Pie leaned forward. "Awwww, Luna's stalking is so cute." Rarity bit her lower lip. "Pinkie, I fear we may need to talk." Pinkie Pie smiled. "Yeah, I know, why do you think I didn't leave a smoothie for you?" Rarity swallowed. "You know?" "Yeppers, you made a Pinkie Promise about a year ago to never tell Rainbow Dash why I was flirting so hard with her. You broke it." "Ah... I see... darling, I'm terribly sorry. I feel it was an important thing to bring up for Rainbow Dash, but I wanted to give you a heads up that she's going to come asking questions about it sooner or later." Pinkie Pie leaned back in her seat. "I know... I think I might be scared." Both Rarity and Applejack looked at her. Rarity asked, "Are you?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah, my heart's all fast and my chest feels tight and I'm imagining just how mad she's going to be. I guess I knew this would happen eventually but you know... like... I had hoped it wouldn't until after me and Rainbow sealed the deal." Applejack spoke next. "Um, do you two mind enlightening me as to what in tarnation yer going on about?" Rarity could feel her ears folding back against her scalp. "Pinkie, is it okay to tell her?" Pinkie Pie laughed but it was sharp and high pitched, unnatural sounding for her. "Oh with Rainbow Dash everypony's going to hear about it eventually. Short version, me and Fluttershy have sex sometimes. Used to do it a lot more before she broke up with me. Rainbow Dash didn't know and she'd probably going to be mad because I was trying to have sex with her too." Applejack face hooved. "My sweet baby Celestia, ayep, this is going to be one fine mess." Rarity nodded. "I'm afraid so. I'm thinking there will be a lot of hard conversations for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash that... hold up, Pinkie did you just say you still have sex with Fluttershy?" Pinkie nodded. "Last time was... a month ago? Got all in costume too. I dressed up as her, and she dressed up like me and we-" Applejack waved her hooves about. "Nope, stop, don't, talking is bad. Please let me keep mah sanity." Rarity smiled. "Probably for the best you keep what the two of you did secret. Now, you weren't planning to do anymore with her were you?" Pinkie smiled. "Only if Rainbow accepts Fluttershy's more open nature. Then it's threeway central." Applejack's eyes widened. "Pinkie, what is wrong with you? They’re going to be married mares." PInkie's grin only widened. "I know, means threesomes are easier to do. Trust me, I'm still trying to figure out how to achieve an orgy for all six of us. Maybe Spike too?" Rarity stood up. "You involve Spike, and I assure you I will tell the Cakes about that little Pinkie's Silly Sauce incident." PInkie's eyes widened and her ears folded back. "I um... maybe he could just take pictures of it?" Applejack covered her eyes with her hat. "Rarity, please make her stop talking." Rarity growled. "I would if I could, but we both know only Triixe ever managed that one." Pinkie covered her mouth with her hooves. "No please, I like having a mouth and Trixie making me watch her eat cupcakes was the worst torture ever." Applejack raised her hat a little. "Uh, speaking of cupcakes, me and Big Mac were wondering if you might be willing to make a special batch fer us again sometime. Really helped with our stress you know." Rarity groaned. "Darling, please." Applejack looked at her. "Well what else am Ah supposed to do, after all Ah'm in an awkward place too you know." Rarity sat down. "I... believe I am to blame for that. I'm sorry, Applepie, I didn't mean to put you in such a position." Applejack shook her head. "It's fine, just you know... questioning things." "Like what?" Applejack looked directly at Rarity. "Like... what am Ah to you?" Rarity's eyes widened. "Applepie, you are so very special to me." "Special in the same way that Spike is?" Rarity cleared her throat. "I have no idea to what you refer, and I would ask that you not mention that again. I am fairly certain if Twilight even imagined such things may have or may not have happened, she would not hesitate to kill me in the slowest, most painful way imaginable." "But...." "But when you give Spike a horde he tends to grow and it is hardly my fault if his temporary transformations require some special needs." Applejack shook her head. "And then you take his horde away so that he goes back to normal size and Twilight never finds out." "I never said I did that." "But..." "But nothing, I never said I did that." Pinkie Pie giggled. "You’re not denying it." Rarity looked around. "For the interest of my own well being and safety and knowing how our friends tend to like spying on each other I am going to hearby deny any and all charges of spending more personal time with a larger version of Spike that I do not actively create in sleepovers with a small treasure horde that does not currently exist in a secret chamber in my basement." Both Applejack and Pinkie pIe nodded in agreement. Rarity let out a sigh. "Honestly, are you two trying to get me killed? It's not my fault that Twilight has stunted the poor thing's growth so much that I sincerely doubt he'll get wings until she gets a castle and he has an accidental horde by proxy. But that dragon is half as smart and wiser than Twilight ever will be." They nodded in agreement once more. Rarity also grumbled. "I also did my research on dragon biology after I realized the poor dear was crushing on me. Turns out dragons tend to breed at fairly early ages when compared to ponies, but their first clutches of eggs usually get poached by predators and other dragons as they are too young to fully care for them. Probably how Spike ended up with Twilight in the first place." Pinkie Pie rasied a hoof. "Oh, oh, I know the answer." Rarity gave her a look. "Yes, Pinkie?" "Spike was actually a rock and Twilight created him from that. Like she literally made Spike. The current theory by her teachers is that Spike is some kind of familiar or golem. Or perhaps a creature made from part of Twilight's soul, if I had to guess probably the part of her that is wise, and a butt." Applejack snickered. "So what yer saying is, that Spike is a wiseass." "Yeppers." The trio shared a hearty laugh at that. At least things were getting a little more relaxed now. Still, Applejack had raised a question that she wasn't quite sure how to answer for herself. For now she knew what she felt. Rarity reached out and placed a hoof over Applejack's and squeezed. Once the mare looked at her Rarity spoke gently, "Applejack, my Applepie, you mean the world to me. I may not fully understand what it is that we may have, but I want to learn more about it. Would you be against meeting for dinner tonight to help me explore this a little further?" Applejack looked down at her smoothie. "Ah would like that, but before Ah actually agree, what are you going to do with Spike?" Rarity's hoof squeezed tighter. "Applejack, don't make me pick favorites, at least not yet." "Why, afraid Ah might lose?" Rarity squeezed tighter. "Since Spike doesn't pressure me to make choices... maybe." Applejack’s body grew a little tense. "Ah got it. So what yer saying is thinking too hard is stressful and what you need in yer life is somepony to help you feel relaxed." Rarity nodded. "I'm sorry if that came out wrong." "No, Ah get it. It's why Ah like Pinkie's cupcakes so much. Ah won't make you pick favorites yet, but if we keep doing this Ah might one day." Rarity nodded. "And when that day happens, I'll deal with the consequences then." Pikie Pie let out a quiet sigh. "This sucks. Everypony gets to have somepony to love and I just get to be all lonely. Maybe I should ask Maud to come visit again, at least she takes care of my needs." Rarity looked at Pinkie. "Who's Maud?" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Nopony you need to know about yet. Let's give it another six months and I'll introduce you all, you'll even forget who she is by then." Rarity nodded. "Okay, that's cryptic but okay." For now Rarity had dinner plans. "Oh, I'll need to pick out the perfect dress for tonight." Applejack swallowed. "Um... Rarity." "Yes, darling?" "Could you wear the red sparkly one?" Rarity's eyes widened.  "That one? But it's so... revealing." Applejack's cheeks were turning pink. "It looks nice on you." Rarity smiled. "Okay then, I will wear it just for you." > Chapter Twenty Five: Of Drunken Ponies and Improper Gods > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Five: Of Drunken Ponies and Improper Gods Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight had managed to break away from the awkward mess that was Celestia and Trixie making increasingly lewd jokes to mess with her. Most of them went over her head but even those she could tell from their tones were supposed to be very inappropriate. Asking them to explain the jokes was a mistake, as she quickly learned they usually did not answer her directly and when they did, Twilight ended up wishing that memory bleach was a thing. In fact she found solace in the one place she could which was on her balcony. For a long few minutes Twilight sat there reading in peace while listening to the mares inside with their ever increasing laughter. At least those two were doing well together. Though Twilight’s was racing back to what she'd heard Celestia say. She did her best to block it out and not think about it. Uncomfortable truths and Celestia did not belong in the same boxes in her mind, so she threw away the uncomfortable parts and kept only the Celestia parts. It had worked well for all her life so far and she was positive this philosophy had no side effects whatsoever.  Looking up at the sky she saw a rainbow-colored streak flying through the sky. It arced through the clouds and began a sharp turn toward her. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw how fast it was heading toward the library. Twilight stood up. "No, no, no, not the windows. Please not the windows, I just replaced them, Rainbow Dash!" The rainbow comet heading toward her home grew larger and she knew it was about to hit her home. It pulled back and stopped only a few inches away from her face. Rainbow Dash stood there with a grin. "Sup, chicken butt." "Rainbow, I am not the rear end of a fowl." Rainbow laughed. "Maybe not, but your rear end is pretty foul." Twilight glared. "I am going to shoot lasers at you now, and I don't know when I'm going to stop." Rainbow Dash sat down. "Hold up, before you go crazy again, I kind of need your help." "And you thought to ask it by calling me names and putting down my rump?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, your butt's a little chubby but it's also kind of nice to look at. I bet Trixie gets a lot of enjoyment out of it." Twilight wasn't sure if the compliment was better... or far worse than the insult had been. Another thing to lock away into the vault. "What can I help you with?" "Uh, do you know anything about this whole poly-pony thing?" Twilight sat down. "Oh goddess... unfortunately more than I'd like. I am now somehow engaged to both Trixie and Celestia. And as much as I enjoy that, they keep explaining to me how that will work in more private sessions and I am feeling very uncomfortable with the whole thing now. It's bad enough to think about doing that with one pony, but two, and at the same time? I don't know how Fluttershy does it." "So you knew Fluttershy was one?" "Yes, but I never asked her much about it. The relationship structure is quite common among the nobility in Canterlot." "Woah, like really?" Twilight nodded. "Yes, but I don't dwell in sexual circles so I am only now learning how that all works and I am quite horrified indeed." "Yeah, same here... I thought it meant Fluttershy was made out of some kind of plastic at first. Now I'm just... ugh... I think I told her I was cool with it, and I’m not so sure I am. I mean like, Fluttershy is perfect right, so if that's what she wants it has to be perfect too right?" Twilight reached out and gently squeezed Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Fluttershy is not perfect. Nopony is perfect. If you are lying to her about your feelings and get married while doing so, even I am not so dense as to not think it would cause some serious problems." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "So... what should I do?" "Talk to her. Tell her how you really feel." Rainbow dash met Twilight's eyes. "What if... what if she leaves me because of it?" Twilight offered a gentle smile. "If Fluttershy was truly that adamant about such a thing, I don't think she'd have agreed to marry you in the first place. But even if she were to leave you over it, then would you really want to be with her in the long run?" Rainbow Dash's body grew tense. "But I just wanted to be with her for so long now... I... I don't know what I would do if she didn't want to be with me anymore?' "Spend time with friends, I'll even go to a bar with you if you'd like. But I think you should be honest with her or else your already setting up your marriage for failure." Rainbow Dash leaned back. "How do you know so much about this?" "My sister-in-law is the goddess of love and I have been talking to her about my marriage to Celestia for years." Rainbow Dash leaned back. "Thanks, Twi." "No problem, if you need me, my door's always open no matter the time of day or night. I'll always have a place for you to stay if you can't be alone." "Twilight," Rainbow Dash spoke gently. "That means a lot to me. If... if things actually go south I'll do that... oh but um, question. You don't like the idea of sharing do you?" Twilight looked up. "Until tonight I never even thought about it. I'm not so sure I do, but the two ponies I love want to marry me so I don’t think I have a choice. Anything else though is asking way too much." "Good because I think Fluttershy likes Trixie... because you know, she's pregnant." Twilight glared at her. "Please do not try and tell me that Fluttershy is hungry for our unborn baby." "What?" "Spike keeps saying she's baby hungry, but I refuse to believe Fluttershy wants to devour unborn children like some kind of cultist." "Oh, no, that just means she wants to have a baby." "Sure it does, and me being hungry for cake means I need to potty." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Okay, Twilight. And don't let Trixie do anything with Fluttershy, please. I... don't  think I could handle it if she did that." Twilight nodded. "Of course, I would be rather upset if Trixie cheated on me." "Oh and Twilight, one more thing." "Yes, Rainbow?" "How do you know that Celestia really wants to marry you? Like... what if she's just saying it because you asked for it?" "Because, Celestia is perfect and will never do anything wrong, not ever." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, like, nothing nothing?" "Yes, nothing." "So she wouldn't say... completely abandon six young mares to fight Nightmare Moon by themselves while also lying to her student about Nightmare moon's return?" Twilight felt her eye twitch. "Nope." "Or force a group of young mares to go and piss off a dragon who's blowing smoke across Equestria, six mares who had no ability to face a dragon and only survived the encounter because Fluttershy turned out to have a superpower?" Twilight's eye twitched again. "Didn't happen." "What about ignoring her sister's need for a hug for so many years that it drove Luna into becoming an insane goddess named Nightmare Moon?" "I have no idea what you are talking about." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Twilight, I think I'm not the only one who needs to have an open honest discussion with a lover here. Like you said, if you not honest before hoof, you’re setting it up for failure. You wouldn't like... want to fail Celestia would you?" Twilight stood up. "Thank you for your input, but the mailbox you have reached is full." Rainbow Dash blinked. "What?" Twilight lifted Rainbow Dash up into the air and with a teleport sent her home to Fluttershy.  With Rainbow Dash gone Twilight then turned and walked back inside. "Twily needy drinky." Celestia and Trixie were inside and talking at the fireplace. Twilight glanced down at them and frowned. Rainbow Dash had mentioned a few things that Twilight had forgotten. More things were popping into her mind now, a lot more things. The way she sent Twilight alone into Sombra's den armed with a dark magic spell. The way that Tartarus was only defended by Cerberus and nothing else. The many smaller dangers that still existed across Equestria, knowing full well that Changelings existed and not taking Twilight's concerns about the Canterlot Wedding seriously in any capacity, despite Queen Chrysalis having done that exact move at least six times in the last three hundred years. Twilight reached her dresser opened it up and pulled out the bottle of Celestia Hellfire Whiskey she kept hidden for just such occasions. Opening the lid she put the rim to her mouth and barely noticed it as she heard Trixie speak. As the burning hot liquid washed down her lungs refreshing her and making her mind feel a lot more relaxed she heard Trixie's voice again. Twilight finished the drink and smiled. That was quite a bit of drink, half thte bottle was empty. Give it a few seconds and she was going to be in happy land. Putting the lid back on she put the bottle back and turned to see both Trixie and Celestia standing nearby.  Twilight blinked. "W-wha, can you teleport now?" Trixie was giving her a horrified look. "No, we walked up the stairs. You were chugging that bottle down like your life depended on it." Celestia gave Twilight a cautious look. "Twilight, I think I might stay the night if that's okay." Twilight giggled and stumbled to the side. "Oh, that sounds like fun. Can we like, do the sexy stuff on the bed then? I'm all hot and warm now." Trixie shook her head. "Not while you’re drunk no." "I drunk am not." Twilight froze, sat down, and spoke again, much slower. "I, am, not, drunk." Celestia's horn lit up and Twilight found herself floating in the air. "Let's get you to bed." Twilight flapped her legs about. "I'm flying! Trixie, look I'm flying, I must be an alicorn now." Once Twilight was laid on the bed she stared at Celestia and Trixie. "Oh... I'm not flying anymore." Celestia looked at Trixie. "Has she ever gotten drunk in front of you before?" "No, she hasn't... is she going to be okay?" "Yes but I'm going to probably end up using a detoxifying spell to sober her up soon." Twilight looked at Celestia. "Hey, Celly Belly." Celestia's eyes went wide and her face turned pink. "Excuse me?" "It's your new nickname. Celly Belly. You have a big butt, and I want to lay my head on it." Celestia closed her eyes. "I will take the compliment." Trixie giggled. "I like this version of her." Twilight looked over at Trixie and eyed her up. "Oh by Celestia's flaming teat, you don't know how hard it is for me to not have the sex wtih you. Your so hot and I love you so much." Trixie smiled. "Awwww, thank you. I'll have sex with you whenever you’re ready." Twilight smiled. "I'm ready now. I might even be drooling." Trixie raised an eyebrow. "I don’t see any drool on your lips." Twilight giggled. "Wrong lips." Celestia groaned. "Did she just use my name in vain?" Trixie shrugged. "Seems common enough to me." Twilight giggled again. "Oh, I have a better one. Luna shove my butt full of moon rocks and call me home." Celestia's eyes widened. "Excuse me!" Trixie rolled her eeys. "She's reading weird books again. Also, she got the quote wrong. It's um... far more vulgar." Celestia looked down at her. "There are books with such vulgar obscenities about my sister?" Trixie smiled. "Celestia, there are books detailing erotic scenes of you and your sister, together. Try not to be such a prude and just enjoy the love." "T-t-together! I mean... it's not like it would be that strange, we're a thousand years old and incest is really just, well after a thousand years it hardly phases me, and it isn't like me and my sister haven't had... never mind that, it's still improper when we are basically goddesses and a few ponies worship us." Twilight blinked. "You totally don't deserve to be worshiped." Celestia smiled. "Thank you." Twilight explained further. "You kind of suck.' Celestia looked over at her. "Excuse, me!" Twilight thought about it for a moment. "No... no I don't think I'll excuse you this time." Celestia sat down. "Twilight, what do you mean this time? Have you excused me before?" Twilight grinned. "Yes, in fact allow me to show you a list and chart of exactly why you kind of suck, but only kind of." Trixie sat down. "Heh, this is going to be great." > Chapter Twenty Six: Of Lectures and Princesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Six: Of Lectures and Princesses Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight had managed to procure a marker and a whiteboard so she could write down as she spoke. "Let me start, you originally were so neglectful of your sister that the only way she could get your attention was to turn herself evil. Instead of just apologizing and letting her run through her tantrum you freaking locked her away on the moon for a thousand years. Like... seriously? Why didn't you just give her your throne temporarily?" Celestia blinked. "Because she was keeping my sun away from me." Twilight rolled her eyes, felt dizzy and just said, "Oh no, she had your favorite toy, gotta banish her for a thousand years now." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Twilight, she was acting outrageous. It broke my heart to do that." Twilight stared at her. "Let me ask you this; how much time did you give her to calm down before locking her away?" Celestia bit her lip and looked away. "I... I had to confirm this with Luna when she was first returned because her mind was a lot sharper than mine, still is most of the time... I gave her about four minutes and thirty seconds..." Twilight blinked. "I'm... excuse me... what?" "Four minutes and thirty seconds." Trixie stared at her. "Wait, so Luna wasn't evil for like a few weeks doing evil things and ruling the empire and raising an army of dark beasts? She just went crazy and five minutes later you sent her to the moon?" Celestia lowered her head. "I... but she broke my castle and threw lasers at me." Twilight stared at her. "I throw lasers at ponies when I'm angry all the time. You don't see anypony trying to lock me on the moon do you?" Celestia lowered her head further. "Was five minutes really that short?" Trixie nodded. "That's... five minutes before you locked her on the moon? For a thousand years?" Celestia looked away. "it was my favorite castle though. And she broke it so she deserved to be grounded." Trixie stared at her. "Grounded, on the moon, for a thousand years? Are you serious?" Twilight sat up straight. "Well... screw the rest of the whiteboard." She looked at it. "Actually... no, too big." She shook her head form the train of thought she had about intercourse with a whiteboard but kept the marker close at hoof in case she needed it. "Onto the next agenda. Why did you send me to Ponyville and not even warn me that Luna was going to come back? Or furthermore, even try to stop her yourself?" Celestia raised a hoof. "Oh, because I wanted the celebration done properly and only you know my tastes." "And you didn't warn me because?" "Oh... um..." Twilight stared at her. "I only knew about Luna's return because I was studying nursery rhymes for a project." "Because..." Both Twilight and Trixie stared at her waiting for an answer. When one wasn't forthcoming Twilight cleared her throat. "Because?" Celestia sat up straight and Twilight could almost see the lightbulb appear over her head. "Because it was a test for you, my faithful student. That is why I failed to mention it to you even once, or the fact that I had a sister during our entire time togther. For ten years." Twilight groaned. "You know, if Nightmare Moon was truly evil she could have killed all of us. Instead she was... what was she doing? Testing us, playing with us? Besides the mountain slide, which obviously half of us could fly, she was relatively peaceful." Celestia frowned. "But Nightmare Moon broke my castle." "You keep saying that." Twilight shook her head. "Why didn’t Nightmare Moon try to kill us." A dark, and beautiful voice filled the room from the open balcony where an evening sky showed that night was quickly approaching. Luna walked into the room. "Because even in my most deranged of states the only pony I was truly angry with was my sister. Oh and don't worry about the sun dear sister, I lowered it for you." Celestia glared at her. "That's my sun." Luna took a step back. "Then, do so yourself at the correct time next time instead of talking to a... Twilight are you drunk?" "No, are you?" Luna ignored her. "Anyway, I am sorry for touching your sun, but our ponies cannot stay in the sun for too long or they will be hurt." Celestia grumbled. "Whatever." Twilight beamed. "Luna, come, sit, drink. I am talking about how Celestia sucks." Luna blinked. "Oh... you didn't make a song about it did you?" "No, should I?" Luna shook her head. "No, I tried that for years, I even changed my mane style so she would notice the music more. I fear Celestia has no taste for art." Celestia glared at her. "Your songs were all about cutting yourself and being sad, and how much I... suck." Luna beamed. "So you did pay attention." "And dying your mane black and then covering half your face with it is not a mane style, it is obscuring that beautiful face of yours." Luna rolled her eyes. "Ugh, no wonder I went to the dark side." Trixie giggled. "More like the emo side from the sounds of it." Twilight cleared her throat. "Everypony, please, my demonstration is far from over." Celestia groaned. "Twilight, I don't want to sit here and listen to all the reasons you dislike me." Twilight stared at her. "I don't dislike you, I still love you. Your sexy, your hot, your my mom, not the one that birthed me just the one who didn’t throw me at the nearest pony willing to take me away so they didn't have a walking disaster in their home." Celestia frowned. "Twilight, you don't mean that do you? I'm sure that Twilight Violet loves you." "Velvet." Celestia blinked. "What?" "Her name is Twilight Velvet." Celestia smiled. "Oh of course, and Night Bright loves you too." "Night Light." Celestia frowned. "Okay, so I have only ever met them... three times? Once when you were in the exam, two when they signed the adoption papers and three when Shining Armor got married." Twilight smiled. "Weird, that's the only three times I remember meeting them too." Trixie reached out with a hoof and stroked Twilight's. "Twilight... Trixie will be sure to be there for all of your life, important moments or dull moments, Trixie is here." Twilight nuzzled that hoof. "And that's why I love you. You and your adorable way of speaking." Twilight sat up straight again. "Oh... um, basically the point is, your not perfect, you have put me and my friends in danger numerous times, and you really should have given Luna like, at least a day to chill out. Turns out, she was able to totally chill in that time when she did come back." Luna cleared her throat. "I was not in the right mindset, I am sure that Celestia made the correct decision and we should never question her decisions. Ever." Twilight scoffed. "No, she is too old for that babying. We need to help her not hinder her and if that means calling her out on her BS, then that's what that means. I admit I've done awful stuff, so has Trixie but we all are working to better ourselves by admitting to our faults. Celly Belly can too." Luna snickered. "Celly Belly eh?" Celestia groaned. "Great, being lectured by my student, realizing I may have actually screwed up... a lot, and now being stuck with an all too cute nickname. Can this get any worse?" Trixie nodded. "Yes, but lucky for you I typically only have morning sickness in the morning." Trixie then looked at Luna. "Oh, and you, stop making me wet the bed. Please, Twilight does not appreciate it and neither do I." Luna looked from side to side. "I... I never." Trixie shook her head. "No, seriously, stop. Trixie does not appreciate it, and she does not care if you love Big Mac. Trixie says go for it, you two would make a cute couple, but please let Trixie sleep in peace with her lover." Luna lowered her head. "Okay... fine. I thought you'd be more jealous of him." Trixie shrugged. "He was fun, but if it's a long-term relationship, Trixie needs a beautiful, if not inebriated mare." Celestia's horn lit up. a golden light blinded Twilight for a brief moment and then she slowly began to feel herself growing a little cold. Soon the fog over her mind began to fade and she began to realize she couldn't quite remember how she got onto the bed or what in fact she was doing here. She looked around saw a whiteboard and read it. In big bold letters it read 'why Celestia sucks'. Twilight's eyes widened and she quickly wiped the board clean with a hoof. "Oh goddess, what did I do?" Celestia smiled. "Nothing." Trixie shrugged. "Nothing, besides spent a good twenty minutes explaining to us Celestia's various faults." Twilight stood up straight on the bed. "Celestia is perfect, she does not have faults." Luna snickered. "My sister is about as faultless as you are without mommy issues." Twilight laid back down. "Oh no... I'm so sorry. I was drunk, I didn't mean any of it. Please ignore everything I said and pretend it never happened. Please don't hate me." Celestia reached out with a wing and stroked Twilight's mane sending shivers of delgiht through her. "Honestly, for the first time in years, I think I might have felt some physical attraction to somepony as you were berating me." Twilight looked up at her. "W-why?" Celestia smiled. "Because so few ponies out there have the guts to tell me to my face what my problems are. A normal pony might be insulted, but after a thousand years of living I know my faults well, and I know humility. I also know that so many ponies are scared of me, some I feel awful about them fearing me." She glanced at Luna for a moment. "So when I do encounter ponies that are how you might say 'straight up' with me, I get very turned on. Especially if they're as good at berating me as you were." Twilight blinked. "Really?" Trixie smiled. "So, are you actually interested in this idea of a three way marraige now?" Celestia glared at her. "I never said I wasn't interested." Luna laughed. "Oh then all those times you told me how much you wished that Twilight would find somepony else and fall in love, or the times you literally got down on all fours and begged me to date her, or all the times you tried to get her friends to date her. Those were what exactly?" Celestia's eyes widened. "I... I do not know what you are referring to." Twilight lowered her head. The crushing pain came back but it was at least lighter now. She buried her face into the blanket. "I knew it. You don't love me." Celestia reached out and pet Twilight’s back. "I do too love you. Again, not in the way you might expect or even need, but I do love you. I just..." Luna snickered. "Let me guess, the whole adoption thing ruined it?" Celestia shrugged. "Honestly I'm a thousand years old, incest is mostly meh. It's not like it even causes many problems for offspring in our species." Luna frowned. "I... guess you are right. We don’t really care either way about incest anymore..." Celestia then looked back to Twilight. "I just don't feel attraction very often. So please forgive me if I'm slow on the uptake. I did make a promise and I intend to keep it if you desire, but should you find someone you'd rather be with I am okay with that as well." Twilight looked up at her. "Would you... still wait for me? If I don't feel comfortable doing a three way marriage? If... if I ever do decide to try and expand my interest, would that be okay?" Celestia smiled. "Of course. After all I sinceerely doubt I'll fall in love with somepony before your natural lifespan is over." Luna cleared her throat. "Celestia, that might be a while." "Shhh Luna. It's too early for that." Twilight looked at them. "For what exactly?" Celestia smiled. "You'll find out sooner or later. For now, focus on taking care of your life, being the best pony you can be for Trixie, and one day, when your ready, and only then, will I marry you so you can be my housewife." Twilight beamed. "I'll be the best housewife." Luna rolled her eyes. "I do not get why you would want something so mundane." Twilight giggled. "My entire life has been filled with insanity. Mundane sounds really nice." Celestia then looked at Luna. "Now, dear sister, please explain to me, why exactly are you here stalking some poor stallion?" > Chapter Twenty Seven: Of Tongues and Tails > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant  Chapter Twenty Seven:  Of Tongues and Tails Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash would have done pretty much anything to get out of the awkward situation she had gotten herself in. Twilight's advice was good, like way too good for a mare that had never actually dated before, but it was pretty clear from what Rainbow Dash saw, the mare didn't exactly live up to her own advice. Still she recognized the wisdom in it and decided it was time to go talk to Fluttershy. Going home and landing at the front door Rainbow Dash braced herself as she walked inside.  Inside Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy sitting on the couch in her usual position and reading a book. Actually, she was reading one of the three books Rainbow Dash had borrowed earlier. Since Rainbow Dash had left the books at Rarity's this meant either Rarity brought them here or Fluttershy brought them back from Rarity's. Either way it was possible this could spell trouble. Fluttershy looked up and met Rainbow Dash's eyes. "Dashy! Where did you go? You just flew away after we left Rarity's." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and looked down at the ground as she walked in. "I know." Fluttershy put a bookmark into her story and closed it. "Rarity actually mentioned to me that we might need to have another discussion about my... open nature." With her rear hoof Rainbow Dash closed the door and then walked over to a place on the floor near the couch. "Fluttershy, I... I talked to Twilight, and Rarity, and, and, and..." Rainbow Dash couldn't do it. She laid her head down. "Nevermind." Fluttershy sat up. "Rainbow Dash, we need to talk." Rainbow Dash's ears perked up. No, anything but that, that sentence only ever meant one thing. "Please, Fluttershy, don't leave me. I'll... I'll be cool with you doing whatever you want, whoever you want. Just don't leave me please." Fluttershy stared down at her. "Leave you? I... I just want to talk about what kind of cake we're going to ask Pinkie to make." Rainbow Dash's ears folded back. "O-oh...." Fluttershy frowned. "You’re not okay with the idea of me being with other ponies, are you?" Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. "I will be, I promise." "But you aren't right now." Rainbow Dash whimpered. "Please, Fluttershy, all I ever wanted was you. I don't want to share you, but if this is important to you, I'll put up with anything, just don't take my dream from me. Please don't take my dream from me." Fluttershy got off the couch and laid down in front of Rainbow Dash. She placed her hooves over Rainbows. "Rainbow Dash, I was fully aware of the fact that you might not be okay with this before I decided to marry you. I'm not going to force you into anything you're uncomfortable with." "S-so you'll just leave me instead?" Rainbow Dash looked up at her through blurry tear-filled eyes. Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm not going to leave you either. I wanted you to understand me better, to know who I am, what I am. Because if I have to give up on this part of myself, I want you to understand it's going to be a challenge for me. I might still look at other ponies, but so long as your uncomfortable with this, I will not act on any other interests." Rainbow Dash sniffled. "But I don't want you to change who you are for me." Fluttershy smiled. "One of us might have to change, and I think it would be easier for me to change than you." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But... isn't it bad to change yourself just to get married?" “Isn't that what you were just trying to do in order to keep me?" Rainbow Dash laid her head back down. "I don't know." One of Fluttershy's soft gentle wings reached out and began stroking through Rainbow's mane drawing lines of warmth and pleasure through it. "Shhh, Dashy, I promise I'm not going to leave you. As long as you make the effort to get to know me, and try your hardest to understand how I feel, I'm not going to leave you." Rainbow Dash sniffled again. "I love you, Fluttershy. I love you too much, it hurts sometimes." Fluttershy nodded. "I can understand that. I've been there before. Especially since it’s your first real-time being in love I want to make sure I'm extra gentle with your heart. I've made mistakes in the past, and I've hurt ponies that I still care for, ponies I still love, but I don't want to make those same mistakes with you." Rainbow Dash stared up at her. "You still love other ponies?" "Once I fall in love I always love the other ponies. Pinkie Pie is probably the hardest one to accept... since we're still friends. We get into arguments sometimes and I think it's because of the way I broke up with her. I think it's my fault." Rainbow Dash blinked a few times. "Does she still love you?" Fluttershy bit her lower lip. "I... I know she does. She's told me she does. I think she was really hoping that you'd grow to be more okay with the idea so that me and her could be together but also so she could be with you. Since your not okay I'll need to explain to her that, that's over." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. "So great, I'm hurting you and I'm hurting Pinkie Pie. Some element of loyalty I am." "Shhh, you can't help it, your just normal. What I want and what Pinkie want aren't normal things, so you can't be blamed for feeling the way you do. I would never hold that against you." "But you'd be happier with her if she feels the same way you do." Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I wouldn't. As much as I love her, me and her just couldn't be a single couple. It didn't work out. For you though, I fully believe that you and me could make a marriage work." Rainbow Dash sucked in a labored shaky breath. She wasn't supposed to cry, she was too awesome for that. This whole mess was just so confusing and it looked like no matter what she did, or what she chose, she was going to hurt ponies. "Anypony else I should know about?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Not as of the moment. I had considered trying to be intimate with one or two others but those were just ideas. Ideas easily forgotten." Rainbow Dash pulled her head back up. "You really do like lots of sex don't you?" Fluttershy's cheeks turned pink. "It’s m-more than that." "But it's still true." Fluttershy swallowed. "M-maybe..." "I hear you might also like... to do weird stuff too." Fluttershy lowered her head a little. "M-maybe..." "I don't think I could do weird stuff, you know. I mean the idea of sex by itself is scary enough already, but weird stuff is pushing it." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "Do you know how close I was to sleeping with Pinkie PIe before we got engaged?" "No." "I was super close, like, super super close. I almost just let her have her way with me after Trixie first came here but for some reason, I didn't. I guess I was too sad or scared. I think Pinkie really likes me..." Fluttershy met Rainobw's yees. "Do you like her back?" Rainbow Dash swallowed. "I'm not sure... I'd ask if that would be wrong but I think you'd probably understand if I did." Fluttershy nodded. "I would." Rainbow Dash lowered her gaze a little. "I don't want to hurt Pinkie PIe... or you." Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, Dashy." This threw Rainbow Dash off. "What's so funny?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Your so kind, you just can't stand the thought of hurting your friends, can you? Even when it puts you in awkward positions." "N-no that's totally your thing." Fluttershy leaned forward. "is it now?" "I... y-yes?" Fluttershy smiled. "Rainbow Dash, if you want to try it out, involving Pinkie Pie into our relationship a little, just as a trial run, I'll be okay with it. I'm sure Pinkie would be overjoyed, I bet she's feeling really lonely right now." Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip. "You know I haven't even talked to her since you and I got engaged. Just before that I kind of promised I’d have sex with her." Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed. "Now, now, let's not get too hasty. Only one pony is allowed to take your virginity, and that's me... um if you don't mind." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "I wasn't planning to give her my virginity. But..." Now Rainbow Dash was really considering this idea. Of being intimate with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy at the same time. That way nopony would have their feelings hurt and everypony would be happy.  "Ugh, why am I the one considering this now?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm not sure, maybe you’re more open-minded than you thought?" Rainbow Dash glanced up at her. "Did you plan this whole thing from the start? Your not that smart are you?" Fluttershy put a hoof to her chest. "Dashy, you wound me. Of course I’m that smart. I probably did plan it all from the start. From the break up with Pinkie to telling her to flirt with you to getting engaged in a random marriage, to where we are right now where you’re sitting here considering making a three-way relationship with me and Pinkie pie both." Rainbow Dash stared at her. "Oh please tell me your joking." Fluttershy only smiled in response and said nothing. Rainbow Dash lowered her gaze to the floor. "Oh, I'm so screwed." Fluttershy cleared her throat. "That is the goal." "Ugh, don't take advantage of me being stupid okay." "I would never. I only manipulate you so that you can be happier and more fulfilled. I'd never manipulate you maliciously." Rainbow Dash stared at her. "Please tell me that is a joke." Fluttershy only smiled patiently. "I'm so scre-" "Dashy," Fluttershy said gently, "If you keep saying that, I might not be able to be patient enough to wait for our honeymoon. I really want to do that with you, you know." Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Maybe I want you to." Fluttershy leaned in closer. "Only if you’re okay with it." Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Well... when are we getting married?" "When will the dresses be done?" "In like a week." Fluttershy's lips were so close her breath was touching Rainbow dash's lips. "then we'll get married in a week." Rainbow Dash inched closer herself. "That might be too long at this rate." "I agree." Their lips met and Rainbow Dash felt herself entering a losing battle. She was sliding into the beautiful, wonderful flavor of Fluttershy's lips. Their tongues met and greeted one another with a very warm welcome. If this kept up, Rainbow Dash was going to lose herself along with her virginity and at this point, she had been through too many ups and downs to really care. Let Fluttershy take it.  For a moment she half expected someone to knock at the door randomly and interrupt her but when nopony came to her rescue, Rainbow Dash resigned herself to her fate. This was happening and if she was being totally honest with herself, she was more than happy about it. Once Fluttershy had rolled Rainbow Dash over onto her back and began climbing over her, letting that all too slimy tongue slide its way down her neck, chest, and then her belly, Rainbow Dash couldn't even put up any resistance. She just gave in and let the wonderful, long-awaited moment come to her. This easily became the best night ever. > Chapter Twenty Eight: Of Release and Tension > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Eight: Of Tension and Release Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight had to say her goodbyes to Luna and Celestia as the pair left her home. It was sad but she was happy to get to know Celestia on a more personal level. Of course she was not at all happy about realizing that Celestia was not in fact perfect, nor to realize she had put up a very convincing argument for Celestia sucking, but at the very least Celestia did not punish her by sending her to the moon for a thousand years. She couldn't' be away from her Trixie for that long, it would kill her. Which brought about a very dark thought about what if Luna had loved someone before being sent to the moon… Better to lock that one in the vault along with the rest of the uncomfortable questions to only come out when blackout drunk. Now that it was late she was able to lay down and relax in bed. Luckily for her, she wasn't alone either. Trixie was laying next to her and had her leg around Twilight's barrel holding her close. Twilight was also happy to know that thanks to Celestia's sobering spell, she did not in fact have a hangover. Twilight breathed in the lilac shampoo smell of Trixie and moved closer to her mare.  Trixie spoke gently. "Today's been exciting, hasn't it?" Twilight giggled. "It sure has. Thank you for being there for me." Trixie rubbed her face over Twilight's chest. "Oh, don't worry about it. Trixie will always be there for you. You belong to Trixie after all and she treats all of her possessions with the best of care." "Trixie, I am not a thing to own... but you can own me if you like." Trixie was quiet for a moment before saying at length, "So, we're both going to marry Celestia at some point now?" Twilight almost shivered at the thought. "I guess so." "Trixie is not sure she is one hundred percent comfortable with that in retrospect but so long as you're happy." Twilight shook her head. "Why is it only my happiness that matters? Can't you and Celestia have an opinion too?" Trixie looked up. "Oh Trixie has her opinion, she just knows her chances if she had to contend with Celestia for your heart. She'd rather have a piece of you, if she can't have all of you." Twilight reached out and stroked Trixie's cheek. "No, Trixie, you don't know your chances. I think there's just something wrong with my brain so I want to sleep with my step-mom." Trixie giggled. "Then Trixie understands, she too had a small interest in her adoptive mother when she was younger, it faded with time but she can understand that." Twilight let out a sigh. "I also am not one hundred percent sure about this whole 'dating Celestia' thing. The more I let myself think about it, the more I realize maybe, just maybe, I really don't... I'm not sure how to phrase this." Trixie met Twilight's eyes with such a gentle look that Twilight couldn't pull herself away. "Take your time love." "I'm not sure if I really like Celestia, like as a person." Trixie only offered a gentle smile. "Then perhaps you really should spend more time with her. However, when you do, be honest with yourself. Trixie knows how hard that can be, but in a situation like this, Trixie thinks you need to be honest to yourself first and foremost." Twilight nodded. "I agree. Maybe you're right. There is no reason not to love Celestia or like her. She is very attractive and I do want to have some more intimate moments with her... but now that I'm thinking about all the stress in my life, almost all of it has somehow revolved around her. Maybe it's not even her, maybe it's me? Maybe I don't like the way I feel about Celestia and my desire to please her no matter what." Trixie nodded. "That too is understood, why if Trixie was not a perfect unicorn she might say she has been in a similar situation once or twice. However, Trixie is perfect so she will only need to please you." Twilight smiled. "I'd like it if you pleased me." For a long moment Twilight feared that Trixie wouldn't pick up on what she was trying to hint at. In fact the confused look in Trixie's face only made it stronger. Then like a lightbulb turning on realization spread across Trixie's eyes and mouth as she smiled. "Now?" Twilight swallowed. "If... if that's okay." Trixie pushed herself up and over Twilight awkwardly climbing on top of her. "Trixie is very interested in where this line of thinking will take us." She leaned forward, her lips going so close they were only a hair's breadth away. "Very interested." Twilight was the one to push forward and seal the kiss. Simple and small at first, but it wasn't long before Trixie's mouth parted just enough to invite Twilight's tongue to venture forth and say hello to Trixie's. Minutes went by as they made out on the bed, Trixie's hooves steadily sliding lower and lower on Twilight's body until they were on her flanks. Every part of Twilight's body was on fire, she could feel it as her body was involuntarily thrusting against Trixie's. Not to any avail as none of the fun bits were in contact, but Twilight's body knew she needed this more than she ever had before. Trixie finally pulled away and smiled at Twilight.  Trixie began sliding down over Twilight's chest planting a trail of kisses along the way. Down her neck, over her chest, across her belly and then only stopping before reaching the sweet spot to look up at Twilight one more time as if asking permission. Twilight swallowed and nodded for Trixie to continue. With one last kiss on Twilight's body the night was well underway for passion and excitement. There was no coming back from this, but Twilight didn't want to come back from it, she wanted more, she needed more. Lucky for her, Trixie was there and willing to give her everything her little heart desired.  It was the best night ever. *** The next day Twilight awoke feeling her entire body numb and tingly. She also felt sticky, all over kind of sticky. Looking over she saw Trixie was sleeping next to her back facing toward Twilight. There wasn't even any question as Twilight rolled over and wrapped her leg around Trixie's barrel holding her for a moment. Slowly Twilight slid her hoof down across Trxiie's side over her flank and squeezed that ever growing booty. Trixie gasped and Twilight quickly let go. "I'm sorry." Trixie looked back. "Did Trixie tell you to stop?" "N-no?" Trixie laid her head back down. "Then put your hoof right back where it belongs and squeeze to your heart's content. Trixie might just make some noises when you do." Twilight did as she was commanded and heard Trixie letting out tiny noises of pleasure from the simple touch. This was a lot more fun than Twilight could ever have imagined. Looking down at the foot of the bed she saw Spike's dog bed, the blankets were all a mess and the pillow out of place. He must have made a mess of his bed this morning...  Twilight let go of that rump and sat up. "Oh, by Celestia's Solar Sneezes, I think Spike was here all night.' Trixie closed her eyes. "Good for him, he lives here." "Trixie we had sex last night, like I think a lot of it." Trixie giggled. "I would say several hours is a lot of sex, but then again we both had a lot of needs to take care of." Twilight glared at her. "I think Spike was sleeping up here when we did." "And so? He was asleep." Twilight rubbed her hoof across her face. "I think he woke up during." Trixie's eyes widened. "Oh... so he may have heard you." "Heard us." Trixie blinked. "Trixie is not so worried about him hearing her, but if he heard you calling Trixie mommy and begging her to do things to you... that might be awkward for him." Twilight cringed. "I um... let's not speak about exactly what we did or did not do last night." Trixie rolled her eyes. "At least you did not ask to do anything gross or painful." Twilight got out of bed. "I'm going to have to apologize for an eternity to make this up to him." Trixie watched as Twilight trotted away. "Twilight, wait, Trixie wasn't done with her butt massage, come back here and grab her rump this instant! Twilight… Twilight!" Twilight was out of earshot by then as she made her way down the stairs and into the first floor where she heard noises coming from the kitchen. She walked over to see Spike sitting there drinking a cup of coffee. Rainbow Dash was near him too and she had a cup as well. Twilight walked up and smiled at them. "Good morning." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Oh geez, you were right, she looks like needs a hardcore bath after all that. And she smells like Trixie's funk too." Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. "Excuse me, I am not the one walking into people's homes first thing in the morning and telling them they smell bad." Rainbow Dash giggled. "No, but we did both lose our virginity last night. So uh, way to go champ." Twilight ignored her. "Spike... I'm sorry." Spike took a nice long drink of his coffee. "It's cool, honestly it's better than waking up to you calling out Celestia's name while you fiddle yourself." Rainbow Dash burst out into laughter. Twilight lowered her head. "I... I'm an awful pony aren't I?" Spike shrugged. "Tell you what, you really feel bad about it right?" Twilight nodded. "Just... awful." Spike smiled. "Good, I'll forgive you this once, but in return, I want a freebie." "A... please tell me that isn't something weird."  Spike rolled his eyes. "Ew, gross, I don't' have a mommy complex like you do. Unlike you, I'm actually normal... somehow. No I want to be able to get away with something without having any negative consequences from you." Twilight sat down. "Do you mean like a get out of jail free card, only for getting in trouble with me?" Spike nodded. "Yes, with no negative consequences for me, or anyone else that may get involved." Twilight stared at him in silence for a long moment. "You know what, I know I'm going to regret this, but... fine." Spike took a good long drink of his coffee. Set it down, admired how empty it was, and walked away. "Cool, I'm heading out." Twilight looked at him. "Um... Spike... did, did you actually do something bad? Is that why you asked? You didn't... eat any animals did you?" Spike glared at her. "What do you think I am, some kind of monster? I'm a dragon, Twilight not a monster." "Right.' Spike disappeared around the corner and shouted back. "No, I've just been mating with one of your friends is all." Twilight let out a sigh. "Whew, good. I thought you were a murderer for a moment." she turned around to face Rainbow Dash. "So why are you here?" Rainbow Dash was giving her a strange look. "Well, mostly I just wanted to brag about losing my virginity with Fluttershy, but uh... you sure you're okay with Spike doing that?" Twilight smiled. "What? Oh him meeting one of my friends, silly Spike, we meet with friends all the time." Rainbow Dash frowned. "So is that what you're going to tell yourself?" Twilight beamed even wider. "It's either that or I break my promise to Spike by breaking every single bone in Rarity's body, yes." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Point taken. So... how was it with Trixie?" "Amazing, I never knew I could feel so good. Trixie is very skilled at what she does, and I really hope that's a compliment." Rainbow Dash grinned. "Honestly, I have to say the same thing for Fluttershy. She's really good at it. A bit more aggressive than I expected, but hey, she can be gentle too when I want... but I don't know if I like it rough or gentle." Twilight thought about that. "Trixie wasn't very rough with me, which I'm glad for, I don't think I'd like that myself. It's still such a weird thing to think about, I think being gentle is the only thing that really makes sense." Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe you should ask Fluttershy to show you a few things." Twilight stared at her. "Seriously?" "No, not seriously." Rainbow Dash glared at her. "Seriously, the idea of sharing her even with Pinkie is hard enough but I'm willing to give her weird world a chance, a small, perfectly controlled, chance." Twilight nodded. "Good, now I have a request for you." Rainbow Dash grinned. "For giving me free coffee and accidentally helping me get hitched, I'll do pretty much anything.” Twilight smiled. "Great, so I'm going to go kidnap about fifteen cats that are in heat, and I need help putting them in Rarity's bedroom before she wakes up." "Um, twilight. Isn't that you know, a negative consequence?" Twilight shook her head. "Of course not, she didn't do anything bad with Spike ever, not ever. This is a prank and friends pull pranks on each other sometimes right?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together. "Ooooohhhhh... I can get behind this. Let's go, she sleeps late on Sundays but we only have a few more hours." > Chapter Twenty Nine: Of Dinner Plans and Romantic Demands > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twenty Nine:Of Dinner Plans and Romantic Demands Written by TheCrimsonDM Rarity sat in a bathtub in PInkie's room as the pink bubbly mare took an unprecedented kindness and gentleness with brushing her mane. A mane that had up until her hasty retreat smelled of cat urine, had chunks missing from it, and some bloodstains, she was not sure where the blood came from but between swinging every object available at a literal horde of pissed off cats who were all trying to have sex in her room as well as fight with each other and her, well... honestly this was not what she'd call this a good morning. The upstairs balcony doors opened and Fluttershy came trotting down the steps. "I got them all under control and out of your house. I um... I'm not sure but I think that might have been the entire population of cats in Ponyville. I counted sixty-eight of them." Rarity grumbled. "Well, I'm glad you decided to sit there and count them. Now, how did they get in there? Did Discord do this to me?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I already asked him. Instead, he implied something that made me shiver... you might need to leave town for a few years." Rarity glared at her. "Now why would I dare to leave town? For a few years at that." "He um, implied that Twilight might have discovered her son's innocence was um... taken by a certain alabaster mare." Pinkie Pie butted in. "Ooooo you’re in trouble." Rarity swallowed. "I see... missing some of my hair, covered in cat urine and scratches that I am fairly certain are already infected and left a trail of blood all over my house... And now I need a professional cleaner for my home." Fluttershy nodded. "You'll need an expert cleaner for your home. It's going to be expensive." Rarity swallowed. "Honestly, I think I got out lucky all things considered. So long as Twilight's wraith does not extend from this point or becomes any worse, I think I can still live here. Should it get any worse I will be taking the first train to who knows where." Pinkie Pie made a suggestion. "My family down south would take you, they're pretty good at taking in mares in bad places and helping them out." "Thank you, darling, but if I wanted to work as a slave on a rock farm, I would have  stayed with the diamond dogs." Pinkie Pie frowned. "Hey, that's mean." "It's true and I think Trixie agrees, but... I'm sorry if it offended you." Fluttershy leaned over the tub and sniffed Rarity a few times. Her nose crinkled. "O-oh, um... PInkie, use the double strength shampoo." Pinkie Pie giggled. "She still smells bad? I think I got used to it." "N-not bad... just um... musky." Rarity groaned. "Honestly, did Twilight seriously use every single cat in Ponyville? Did my transgression warrant that much effort?" Fluttershy stared at her. "Um... yes. Yes it did." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Despite knowing how dragons age and breed and stuff, I back up Fluttershy on this. You probably deserved a lot worse. I mean, if you'd tried that with my sister Marble, I might have turned you into cupcakes and fed you to your family." Both Rarity and Fluttershy stared at Pinkie in silence for a long hard minute.  Pinkie Pie giggled. "Kidding. I'd be upset, but if Marble trusted you enough to have sex, well then I'd be proud of her. She's only ever had sex with one pony before." Fluttershy swallowed. "Isn't this the same sister that has never once seen a pony besides your family?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeppers, oh wait, I suppose she did meet Trixie. But it wasn't with Trixie." Rarity cleared her throat. "Pinkie, we are tabling this discussion now and forever. Please do not ever bring up the idea of your sisters having sex again." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Okay, well I'll just do as I've always done and keep it in the family then." Rarity groaned again. "Noooo, Pinkie, shut up! You’re ruining me with your incest." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Eh, it's not for everypony. We should probably ask Applejack more about it. I hear the apples don't fall too far from the trees if you catch my drift." Rarity stared at Fluttershy. "Please, help me, I think I'm a prisoner here." Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "No, you can stay. You deserve this." "Noooo. this is the worst possible thing." Fluttershy looked over to Pinkie. "Um, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash is willing to try us." Pinkie's eyes widened. "As in all three of us?" Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, but we should move a little slow. She's not comfortable with it." "Got it, no double teaming Rainbow until after she's used to it." Fluttershy nodded again. "That's about it." Rarity leaned back in the bathwater and let her mouth go underwater so she could blow bubbles of frustration. Why was it, that on her day off, when she got to sleep in, that everything had to go so right with everypony else but so horribly for her. *** Celestia leaned back in her chair at the breakfast table. Before her a morning feast unlike any other. From apple pie, to pancakes, and even a delightfully pink cake in the center of the table. It was everything she could ask for in the morning. From across the table, she saw Luna sitting there already muzzle deep into some pancakes. It was such a peaceful morning and her thoughts were drifting back to the day before. Now she was engaged to two ponies. Not something she hadn't done before, but still better than her harem which she disbanded a good few hundred years back out of boredom. Yet for the first time in her life, she was intrigued by the prospect. It turned out with just enough alcohol Twilight was quite the little firecracker, and she wanted to know more about what was in that mare's heavily guarded brain. Of course, there was still the concern of Trixie. Seeing her again had stirred some older memories and painful experiences. Hearing that Trixie's memories were a lot worse than she knew was terrible. It had to be done to save Trixie's mind, to save her soul right? Removing those memories of Shadow Heart, his teachings, his kindness, his friendship, all of it had to go to make sure Trixie was safe right? Yet as it always did, memory spells faltered, and Trixie could start remembering things soon. She'd have to keep a close eye on her so she could keep that secret down. Yes, she could see herself spending more time with Twilight. After all, it was just a single teleport for her to go there and come back. In all honesty, it was like Celestia had blinked and days turned to months, and months turned into well over a year. How long had it been since she spent the kind of quality time she needed to with Twilight? Too long. As her adopted mother, future betrothed and mentor it was her job to spend more time with her. So she had already set it up on her schedule to visit at least once a week. Luna spoke up breaking the train of thought. "Celestia... I'm sorry I broke your castle." Celestia offered a kind smile. "It's okay, dear sister. It's not like I didn't have a dozen of those things anyway." Luna swallowed her bite of food and looked down at her plate. "I know you hate it when I play with your toys." Celestia let out a sigh. "I do... but I'm also possessive so I should really share more. You are my dear little sister after all and I'm sure you won't break all of my things if you play with them. If you'd like you can try lowering my sun again tonight, with my permission this time." Luna's eyes sparkled. "REALLY!" Luna looked just as happy as she did the first time Celestia let Luna play with her dolls. Of course unlike that experience, Celestia sincerely doubted that Luna would shatter the fragile porcelain figures by trying to play house. The sun wasn't that fragile after all... hopefully. "Yes, really. I should grow up eventually." "Oh-oh can I use your private bath too! Your's is bigger than mine." Now that was crossing a line. "No." "What if we took a bath together?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I... well if we did, we would have to use mine as yours wouldn't fit the two of us properly." "Oh good, could I wash your back?" "Yes, I suppose you could." Luna's eyes met Celestia's and she recognized the look. "Could I wash other parts of you?" Celestia swallowed and looked away. "Dear Luna, aren't you forgetting about some handsome stallion you like?" Luna grumbled. "Curses, you remembered that after all." "I am not one to easily forget such things. Now tell me, have you spoken to Big Mac yet?" Luna lowered her head. "I've wished him good dreams a few times...." "What about a one on one conversation? Anything from the weather to what he likes most about you?" Luna shook her head. "No... I'm afraid he won't like me." Celestia rolled her eyes. "Assuming he is not gay, which I will never make the mistake of ruling out a sixteenth time, I am sure he would love to speak with you." "Really?" "Really." Luna beamed. "So I get to raise the sun, take a private bath with you washing all of your body with mine, and talk to Big Mac. I am overjoyed dear sister, I do not deserve to be so happy." Celestia chuckled. "Of course you deserve all of those things. You are a wonderful, beautiful- wait did you just say you'd wash my body with yours?" Luna stood up on her hind legs declaring, "My entire body shall be a sponge for you, covered in soapy water bubbles to be rubbed quite vigorously against your flesh." Celestia’s face hooved. "Great.... well it wouldn't be the first time." "And it shall not be the last." Luna stated as she rested her forelegs on the table. The smile she wore was so wide and playful, it was a smile Celestia would cherish until the end of time. "I can already sense it, your dry old bones are starting to come to life with sexual energy again. THis shall be so much fun. Assuming I am not married soon, we may even start up the harems again." Celestia stared at her. "I... Luna, you cannot be serious." "OH, but of course, and I know of some wonderful consorts we can have. I hear the pink pony is free of any entanglements. She could be our cream filling and we her wafer cookies making a delightful treat." "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about." Luna smiled. "We're going to make an Oreo cookie with the pink pony, we are the cookies and she is the cream filling sandwiched between us." A little draconequus appeared on Celestia's shoulder laughing. "It wouldn't be romance if it wasn't complete chaos." Celestia glared at Discord. "I hate you, I hope you know that." > Chapter Thirty: Of Dumps and Dragons > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty: Of Dumps and Dragons Written by TheCrimsonDM Rarity couldn't bear this torment any longer, first it was a horde of cats in her bedroom, then her dresses came to life and began attacking her, finally she found incriminating messages scrawled on her walls in magical energy lines about revealing some hidden truth about Sweetie Belle. Rarity could only be glad that Sweetie was out and staying with her parents for some time. Rarity was no longer in a playful mood, and she couldn't tolerate this any longer. So there she was marching over to Twilight Sparkle's treehouse for a confrontation that would either result in Twilight relenting her torture or in her immediate demise, either way she'd be free of this curse. Opening the door Rarity walked in and saw Twilight sitting there at the table and staring directly at her with a cool expression on her face. Almost as if she was expecting this. The realization made her shiver and Rarity spun around to leave but found a red aura forcefully drag her inside. The door shut and locked behind her and Rarity was set down in front of Twilight who was tapping her hooves together. Twilight smiled. "Rarity, this is a surprise, why did you come to visit me?" Rarity was stuck here now, and unlike Twilight she couldn't teleport places. Looking around she also realized her only potential safeguard, witness, and secret special friend was not here. Well she might really die now. "I'm here to ask you to stop pranking me." Twilight's grin grew. "Oh, am I doing that now? Why would I be doing that?" Rarity glared at her. "I think we both know exactly why you’re pranking me. And I believe Spike told you there should be no negative consequences. These count as very negative consequences." Twilight leaned forward on the table. "Now, why would I do something like that? It's not like you violated my trust at all is it?" Rarity met her manic friend's eyes. "You are right, I did violate your trust, and for that I apologize. Yet I think this has gone on long enough. I am sick of this and I haven't even done anything with Spike in weeks." Twilight smiled. "Oh then where is he right now?" "Clearly you sent him off somewhere to get him out of your hair while you threatened me." Twilight's smile waved. "Tell the truth, Rarity. Where is he?" "How should I know?" "So you really don't know anything about the green roses that he was carrying with him to a certain restaurant?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Who in Celestia's green Equestria would ever design something as awful as green colored roses?" Twilight blinked. "But... what about the emerald hooflet?" "I will admit, emeralds have a nice shine to them but still green." "The green lipstick I found on his neck?" Rarity's eyes widened. "GREEN LIPSTICK! OH THE HORROR!" Twilight slumped forward. "So... you mean to tell me, you’re not the one he's been sneaking off to do the dirty pony hustle with?" Rarity was the one frowning this time. "Excuse me, I will admit that me and him may have done a few more adventurous things in the past but I have only been intimate with Applejack the past few weeks." Twilight grumbled. "Then who the Tartarus is sleeping with my baby?" "I should be the one angry here, he didn't even tell me he had a side affair." Twilight glared up at her. "Side, affair?" "I meant, an affair, period." Twilight growled. "I am not going to let you off the hook yet, but so long as you aren't doing anything with him currently, I will cease and desist with my pranks." "Thank you... also, I suppose you should know he is certainly old enough to breed for a dragon." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Just because he could speak full sentences as well as I could by the age of two years old, and he has memories of a time before I turned that rock into a dragon does not mean he is old enough to breed." Rarity blinked. "He has memories from before you created him?" Twilight nodded. "It is strange, but I do as I always do with the strange and unfriendly truths." Rarity frowned. "You ignore them." "Ignore what? I already forgot what we were talking about. Oh that's right, who the Tartarus is screwing my kid." Rarity shrugged. "Green is such a tacky color choice too. Must be some evil pony, probably Queen Chrysalis." Twilight's eyes widened.  Rarity stammered, "Twilight, I'm joking, surely she wouldn't fall for Spike. Of any pony I'd probably think Carrot Top, I heard she liked the color green once." Twilight stood up. "That WHORSE!" "Twilight Sparkle, language!" Twilight growled. "I'll kill her." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Oh come now, do you honestly think Spike has only been with two ponies?" Twilight’s eye twitched. "Excuse you?" Rarity smirked. "Before I explain further I require something from you. How exactly did you find out my little secret?" "I've seen the hints for a long time now, but I was ignoring them until Spike told me he was intimate with one of my friends. He didn’t' have to say who." Rarity laughed. "No, darling not that, I meant how did you find out about Sweetie Belle?" "Oh easy, I was looking through the birth certificates for some ponies in Canterlot, realized for some reason Sweetie Belle's was there instead of you know, here in Ponyville. Meaning she was born up there, I thought that was weird until I saw who the mo-" Rarity's horn lit up and shut Twilight's jaw. "One more word and I suspect you'll lose that cute mouth of yours. Trixie might be furious with me if you did." Twilight's magic swiftly overpowered Rarity's and left a stinging sensation in her horn. "Try that again and I'll have to explain to Sweetie Belle why you were turned into a flesh cube. As well as what a flesh cube even is." Rarity glared at Twilight. "Fine. I'll explain my piece now, but do not ever dare to mention that secret of mine. If you do our friendship will be over in a heartbeat." Twilight's ears folded back. "R-really?" Rarity kept her glare firmly on Twilight. "Oh, Twilight, I think you should know by now that appearance is everything to me. Well maybe not everything, but it carries a great deal of weight with me. So keep your mouth shut on that, and I'll tell you all about Spike's various interests." Twilight nodded and took a seat at the table again. "Um, Rarity, why do you say that like there's a lot?" Rarity giggled. "Oh my, Twilight how clueless are you? Spike's had a lot of experience with a lot of mares, I think he's had more temporary lovers than even Fluttershy." Twilight raised an eye. "So... three?" Rarity laughed. "Oh my no, Fluttershy is our town bicycle for mares... don't tell her I said that, please." "Bicycle?" "The town bicycle, every mare has had a ride." Twilight lowered her head. "Oh... and Spike has had... more?" "I'm certain in a few years we'll start to notice more than a few newborn foals have draconic like features. Unfortunately and fortunately for those mares, our laws specifically only target ponies so they can't get in trouble but... they also can't get child support." Twilight swallowed. "Oh gods, I'm a grandmother?" "Probably. Just wait, I'm pretty sure Daffodil’s daughter is going to start breathing fire here in a few years." Twilight buried her head into the table. "Oh, Celestia what has my world come to?" "Welcome to Ponyvile, sane population: you." "I thought he was still my baby dragon..." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Spike's learned a nifty trick to change his size at will. Very entertaining, though even in his small form he's not exactly lacking." Twilight raised her head. "Speak once more, about sex with Spike and I will cut your tongue out and eat it." "Oooo, so scary for a mare who couldn't even tell her son was sleeping with half the population of Ponyville and a large number of ponies in Canterlot." Rarity put a hoof to her chin. "Though I must admit I have to speak with him about something involving that. I think I've made up my mind about Applejack and I don't think I can keep him around much longer." "Oh, that's good to hear, you stop sleeping with my kid so you can sleep with one of my best friends." Rarity laughed. "Oh, Twilight. I'm pretty sure that sentence applies to about half of us." Twilight looked up. "I think I am growing to understand a new feeling: hate." "When you do go to the dark side I will give you cookies. We have them here." The door opened and Spike walked in. He had a pair of keys in his claws. "Twilight, if you keep locking the doors, the library won't see any patrons. Like seriously, we're running a business here." Twilight groaned. "Just kill me now." Rarity looked over at him. "Spikey Wikey, we need to ta-" Spike interrupted her. "Rarity, we need to talk." Rarity blinked. "I... we do? What about?" Spike scratched at the back of his head. "Well... mostly about how I'm breaking up with you." Rarity fell forward onto the hardwood floor. "W-what?" Spike looked at her. "You kind of treat me like garbage." Rarity looked up at him. "SPIKEY WIKEY! I don't treat you like garbage." Spike gave her a flat look. "I have spent at least fifteen minutes, every day, for the past month cleaning your hooves when you step in mud. You have actually gone out of your way to come here to my house with a single speck of dirt on them to demand I clean them for you." "I thought you liked that?" "You also have openly flirted with other men in front of me." "S-so... you’re pretty open too." Spike raised an eyebrow. "I do not talk to you about those though. I also don't make out with others in front of you." Rarity's lower lip quivered. "That only happened once... twice. I'm just too generous okay." Spike shook his head. "What about forcing me to stay awake all night helping you with your dresses when I'm clearly too tired to stay awake.' "Um... you... like helping others? Twilight does that to you!" Spike looked at Twilight. "And she replaced me with an owl so I could get some sleep. I don't see you trying to get help from anyone else." Rarity laid her head down flatly. "But... but... you can't break up with me, what will you do?" Spike laughed. "I'll go date somepony else, in fact..." He looked at Twilight. "Hey, Twi, I'm going to be out tonight, might not come home." He walked over to Twilight and gave her leg a hug. Twilight returned the embrace. "Spike... you’re so much more mature than I thought you were... please don't leave me." Spike let go. "I won't leave you until you’re ready, Twilight. I promise.” Twilight smiled. "Thank you... but um... can you... not talk to me about your activities. I don't think I can handle hearing about them." Spike smiled. "Unlike Rarity here, I have some tact. Love you, see you later. Oh and I made some stew for you and Trixie to eat tonight, it’s in the fridge. Microwave it for three minutes and it should be fine." Spike turned around and walked away leaving the two of them there. Rarity felt her heart dying inside as she watched the love of her life walk away from her. How could he betray her like that? No, it wasn't betrayal, he was right, Rarity treated him just awful and she deserved this. She looked over at Twilight and realized Twilight was smiling. There was a tear in her eye but she looked happy. Rarity had to ask, "Why are you happy about this?" Twilight sniffled. "Because my little man's grown up so much." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Great, so what now?" Twilight lowered her head. "I don't know. Who’s going to sing me a lullaby to go night-night now? Well Trixie will, she has such a beautiful singing voice." Rarity grumbled. "And you thought Spike was the child?" > Chapter Thirty One: Of Invisible Princesses and Apple Pie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty One: Of Invisible Princesses and Apple Pie Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie was sitting at Sweet Apple Acers and watching as Big Mac was bucking some apple trees. He was certainly a strong handsome thing wasn't he? Beside her sat Luna. Or more accurately hiding behind a barrel that was not quite large enough to hide her, sat Luna who was peaking over the top to stare at Big Mac. Her face was flushed pink and she was licking her lips as if she saw a delicious treat she wanted to steal away in front of her. Trixie rolled her eyes. "Everypony knows your here and leering at Big Mac. Just go up to him and ask him out already." Luna looked at her. "Shh, I am not here. See there is a perfectly good barrel in front of me." Applejack came over, picked up the barrel threw it onto her back and walked away without batting an eye at Luna. Trixie giggled. "Oh, so well hidden that Applejack couldn't even see you when she took your hiding place away." Luna stared at her. "Shut it. I am so stealthy she simply didn’t see me. For you see I have discovered the trick to being invisible.' Trixie stared at her. "Oh and that is?" "To stand still. If you stay still ponies can't see you." Trixie stared directly at her. "Uh-huh. Okay, well you can keep being a coward, but obviously the apples accept you. If you just asked, I'm sure Big Mac would say yes to a date." Luna went back to staring at her object of lust. "Why are you being so encouraging, didn't he leave you with child?" "No, Trixie took a child from his penis and is going to raise it as a co-parent. Trixie is here to learn more about the apple family and their culture, after all Trixie's baby is part apple and deserves a family. A big, loving, warm family." Applebloom's voice popped out of nowhere. "That's really sweet of ya, Ah think yer a good pony sometimes." Trixie looked to her side and down at Applebloom. "Sometimes?" "Well yer also kind of stuck on yerself but Ah guess Rarity is too, and Applejack seems to like her well enough." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Do not link Trixie up with her please. She makes fantastic dresses but she is so strange sometimes." Luna added in. "I believe the most terrifying is the pink one. She honestly scares me. I believe she will kill us all one day." Both Trixie and Applebloom looked at Luna. Applebloom swallowed. "Let's not think about that." Trixie nodded. "Agreed." Applejack returned with the barrel and set it down in front of Luna. Luna quickly attempted to hide, very poorly behind it. Luna couldn't even try hide her massive plot behind if she wanted too. Luna looked up at Applejack. "Thank you, but why did you bring my hiding place back to me?' Applejack shrugged. "Big Mac said you were looking scared without yer barrel so he told me to give back to you. He's a bit sweet on you if you haven't noticed." Luna's lip quivered. "He asked you too? My lovely handsome knight asked you to bring back my hiding spot so that I could admire him from afar without worry?" Applejack nodded. "Ayep." Luna smiled. "Then it is settled. I shall talk to him. Later. When I have more confidence." Trixie laughed. "Your such a big baby, it’s no wonder Celestia worries about you." Luna glared up at her. "I am neither big nor a baby." Trixie smiled. "Oh? Trixie doesn’t think either is necessarily a bad thing. Especially if you keep an open mind." The look Luna gave her was just priceless. Trixie would forever relish that look of shock until the end of days. *** Twilight sat next to Rarity inside of her boutique. Rarity had decided to begin digging through some random boxes in search of Celestia knows what. Honestly, it was feeling like they were just wasting time here. "Rarity, we should be tailing Spike to find out who he's sleeping with." Rarity looked back at her. "I am trying, but we need something important first. I already have the rope, the cloth and the chloroform but I can't seem to find my ski mask at all." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you think we're going to do to this mare?" Rarity sat down and looked back at her. "I was under the impression we were going to get her for daring to take our Spikey Wikey away from us." Twilight grumbled. "Away from me, you don't get to have him." "Right, and I didn't want him, until he broke up with me. Now he has to be mine. Surely you understand these things, you are a mare after all.” Twilight shook her head. "Being one does not mean I understand being an obsessive weirdo." Twilight looked over at the pile of materials Rarity had procured. "Besides, I was just going to use magic to teleport her to my basement anyway. Like, seriously, did you think I needed to drag somepony through town with rope? I have chains and hoof cuffs in my basement from my last experiment with Pinkie." Rarity looked back at her. "Oh, in that case I think we're fine." The door opened and the little bell chimed making Rarity spin around as her blue aura shoved her illicit materials back into a trunk. A mare walked in with green apple colored fur and a teal colored mane. The two diamonds on her flank as a cutie mark told Twilight she had some involvement with precious metals. The heart shaped jade necklace around her neck was another sign of such connection. However, Twilight could honestly say she had never spoken to the mare before. Rarity took a look at her and for a moment looked puzzled before her eyes widened. "Green Diamond! Oh my, darling I'm so sorry, did I forget when you’re dress would be ready?' Green Diamond shook her head. "Nuh-uh Miss Rarity, I'm early. I just was walking by and realized that I really wanted to say thank you for making a dress for me. I know it’s your job and all, but you’re so talented that it means so much to me you'd make something for me. If I was even half as good at making jewelry as you are with dresses I'd be so happy." Rarity smiled. "Really it's no problem, and I think you are very talented at what you do. You’re still young so you'll have plenty of time to practice and get better." Green Diamond beamed at the compliment. "Thank you! Miss Rarity's it’s sure been weird living on my own now, but it's also really fun. I even met a cute stallion, I never would have had the chance if I was living my parents still." Rarity walked over. "Awww, that's so sweet. I hope you and him have a long loving relationship." "Me too! I really love him. I never loved anyone before, I think I might even give him my first kiss... that's not bad is it, Miss Rarity?" Rarity shook her head. "Not at all, you’re a young adult, and it's not like you’re going to get pregnant if you are careful to avoid heat seasons. So go crazy I say.” She jumped in the air. "Thank you, Miss Rarity. This really means a lot! Oh, and I got a new shipment of emeralds a few days ago. Would you like any?" Rarity put a hoof to her chin. "I think I would, I have an idea for a dress involving them. Please bring them by when you come to pick up your dress." Green Diamond turned and trotted toward the door. "Oh I will, good bye, Miss Rarity and her friend." With that Green Diamond was gone and Twilight was left sitting there with a mixture of confused feelings. This mare was clearly a little younger than her, but seemed a bit inexperienced with life. It reminded Twilight a lot of how she was when she first moved to Ponyville. Yet this little intrusion had cost her precious time, time she did not have to waste on finding out who was screwing her baby dragon. Rarity smiled as the door fully closed. "She's a sweet heart, I've had an arrangement with her for years now to help me get some precious gemstones, the kind that usually don’t grow around Ponyville. Or when I'm too busy even the more common ones. I'm glad to hear she's dating." Rarity giggled. "Her first kiss huh, now that's sweet." Twilight glanced at Rarity. "We are wasting valuable time. Time I could be using looking for my prey." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, let me close up and we will go find this hussie who took Spike from us." Twilight growled. "Me, not us." "Oh, Twilight, I'm not so selfish as to not include you. It's not just me, it is indeed us." Twilight was going to kill her by the end of the day, wasn't she? *** Trixie was inside the kitchen of Sweet Apple Acers and had finished eating the slice of apple pie she was given and was grinning with a happy belly. She could almost feel it, Trixie Two: Dawn of Trixie... no she couldn't just keep calling her that in her head. Trixie smiled as she rubbed her belly. "Applebutter." Applejack coughed a few times from where she sat nearby at the table. "Did you just say Applebutter?" Trixie smiled. "Big Mac helped come up with the name... Trixie just liked the sound of it, not that Trixie wanted to see him smile or anything... even if he looks so happy when he does." Applejack gave her an awkward stare for a long moment in silence before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "Well Ah reckon Ah should have expected that. So what's her full name?" Trixie still hadn't gotten a name from Twilight and if she didn't get one by the time she popped the baby out then she was just going with the default. "Applebutter Trixie Twilight the Second." Applejack stared at her. "Now ain't that a mouthful of molasses." Trixie glared at her. "It’s still a working title. Twilight has yet to give a proper suggestion for Tri- Applebutter's third name." Applejack nodded. "It's got to be hard fer her. Filly can hardly make up her mind about what color of pen to use when writing an essay, let alone the name of an unborn foal. Whatever she chooses will be there fer life, or until the filly decides to change her name." Trixie smirked. "With a name so perfect, how could anypony wish to change it?" "All Ah'm saying is that sometimes ponies change their names to better fit their cutie marks. And although Ah fully suspect yer daughter... mah niece is going to have an apple related cutie mark she might decide something like, Magic Apple or something later on." Trixie's eyes widened, in fact they even sparkled. "A stage name." "A what?" Trixie was about to stand up, felt a little lazy and decided to stay put. "A stage name! Applebutter is going to have a stage name growing up! She'll be mommy's little assistant and we'll go on amazing tours together. Always coming home to Twilight so she can do whatever boring thing it is housewives do." Applejack rolled her eyes. "One: Being a housewife doesn't have to be boring. Two: If that's what Twilight wants you should be more respectful of it." "Trixie is respectful. She has not told Twilight that she should choose to do more than just babysit the house all day. Perhaps Trixie could help her start up a business at home, unless we still live in the library by then, in which case she already has a job." "Is there a reason you want Twilight to do more than just be your housewife? Ah mean if that's what she really truly wants, shouldn't you let her have it?" "Trixie wants Twilight to be happy, and she knows that if Twilight is stuck at home all day she might get bored, and bored ponies think, and thinking ponies realize they made a mistake in getting married. Trixie does not want to become Twilight's mistake." Applejack reached out and squeezed Trixie's hoof. "You are not going to become Twilight's mistake. Ah was a little confused by this whole mess at first, but now Ah can see why she loves you so. Yer special to her in ways nopony else can be. Try and keep that in-" Applejack's eyes drifted over to the corner of the room where Luna stood staring at them. Trixie looked at her and the back to Applejack. "Did you just realize she's been there the whole time?" Luna spoke quietly. "I have mastered the art of standing so incredibly still that I have become invisible to the naked eye." Trixie looked at Luna. "Um... we can see you." "No you can't. I'm sure I'm invisible." Applejack ran a hoof down her face. "And this is the second mare that is part of the family." Luna looked around slowly. "This always works at night, when the shadows can envelop me completely." Trixie looked at Luna. "It's not night." Luna smiled. "Tis still a feasible idea. Watch, I shall stand perfectly still and nopony will see me." Big Mac took that moment to walk in, took a look at Luna and beamed. "Howdy, Luna." Luna's horn lit up and she teleported in a flash of dark blue light. It was then that Trixie noticed the other half of the pie she was about to get too was gone as well. The hussie just stole her pie! > Chapter Thirty Two: Of Spies and Pies > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Two: Of Spies and Pies Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight was stalking about town hiding inside a very inconspicuous bush with Rarity by her side. They were close enough that their sides were forced up against one another. It was also perhaps the first time Twilight had really gotten a good sniff of Rarity's scent and although she always believed Rarity to smell good, somehow she smelled even better now. Spending time with Trixie must have had some kind of side effect and now she wanted nothing more than to go home, drag Trixie upstairs and enjoy a deep love making session. Of course she had more important things to do, like finding out who's been sleeping with her baby and killing them, slowly, in her dungeon. Perhaps even turning them into cupcakes, though that might be another pony's job description. She partly wondered if Pinkie would be willing to help out. Speaking of which she finally found Spike, and he was with Pinkie as they left a small narrow offset. Pinkie was licking something off her lips and smiling as Spike walked with his claws behind his head as if he was trying to look casual. Twilight hissed. "Secrets and lies. That's what they're up to." Rarity narrowed her eyes. "I'm pretty sure they're up to something a little more personal than that." Twilight ignored her, as Rarity’s input was only as good as it was to find the one giving Spike all these gifts. They stayed quiet as they listened to Spike and Pinkie talk. Pinkie giggled. "That was good, thank you kindly, Spike." Spike shrugged. "All in a day’s work for a handsome dragon such as myself." "Oh don't go getting too full of yourself now. You were just helping fill me up a little is all." Spike smiled at her. "Heh, maybe you need filled up a little more?" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Probably, but we ran out of frosting." Spike pouted. "Yeah, sorry about that, I kind of got it all over your face too didn’t I?" Pinkie shrugged. "Not the worst thing I've licked off my own face." Spike laughed. "I'll bet, anyway, I have a date with you know who." Pinkie jumped for joy. "Oh really! Have you kissed her yet?" "Not yet, but I'm hoping soon. I really like her, so I’m kind of staying away from intimacy from a lot of other mares right now." "Oh but you won't leave me out will you?" "Sorry, Pinkie. I have to leave you out of this too. I might be in love, so I hope you understand." "I do, but I'll miss my hot dragon filling." Spike laughed. "So will the others, but what can I say, when I'm in love I want to put all my focus toward who it is." "It's okay, I think Rarity is probably mad, but she'll get over it, she's dating Applejack too." Spike sighed. "I hope she does. She deserves to be happy too." Pinkie giggled once more. “I might get a chance to date somepony soon myself.” Spike looked at her. “Oh yeah? Let me guess, Rainbow and Flutters are going to drag you into something weird.” “Fluttershy always drags me into weird things. I just hope she doesn’t do what she always does.” Spike shivered. “Yeah me too. She’s a bit… self destructive isn’t she?” “Does it count as self destruction when she breaks another pony’s heart?” Spike and Pinkie parted ways with Spike walking further away and Pinkie walking towards them. Just as Pinkie walked past she nearly whispered, "Try and be gentle to her, okay Twilight?" Twilight's head snapped back to stare at Pinkie ready to use a spell to knock her out if she needed to silence her, but Pinkie was already gone. That mare, she always did freak Twilight out. It was rumored once that if Pinkie ever went insane, she'd try to kill them all and Twilight would probably be the first to go as she represented the largest threat, so some part of Twilight was ready, always ready to completely annihilate Pinkie a second time if she had too... or more rather a forty sixth time if she had too. Since when did killing Pinkie Pies become such a mundane task for her? Twilight shook her head. No more clones, not ever. From there Twilight dragged herself, the bush, and Rarity after Spike. She was going to find out who this mare was. Who cares if Spike was 'in love' he was not supposed to do anything suspicious or strange, or sexual. Of course some of that conversation that Pinkie had with Spike made her feel uneasy. It almost sounded like Pinkie Pie and Spike had... no, she put the thought into the vault along with the other thoughts she had about such things. She needed to focus, only to focus on her current and most important of tasks. Going further into town she caught sight of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy trotting down the street side by side. They looked happy as could be and when Fluttershy leaned over and pecked Rainbow Dash on the cheek, Twilight felt herself squee as Rainbow Dash's entire face turned red. Rainbow Dash glanced around nervously before returning the kiss. Clearly she wasn’t used to public romance yet, then again, neither was Twilight. The idea of being kissed in public was almost embarrassing, but it also sent shivers down her spine she couldn't ignore. Shivers that ran from the tip of her horn all the way to her tail and made her desire the warm fur, loving embrace, and hot love of Trixie. Twilight shook her head to clear the thoughts out of her head. After all it was hard enough to stay this close to Rarity so close that warm fur was pressed hotly against her side even their flanks were touching. Rarity's soft, very well rounded flank. Rarity cleared her throat. "Twilight, I believe that you are in a relationship with one, no two other mares already. It probably isn't wise to expand your interests just yet." Twilight growled. "I'm only staring because your fat butt keeps pushing me." Rarity scoffed. "My, fat, butt. Excuse me, who's the one who keeps rubbing theirs against mine, and looking like they’re about to just break down and start touching themselves in the middle of town." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't.... probably wouldn't do that. At least not when anypony was watching me." They continued onward for several minutes before they reached a diner where Spike made his way to a table and climbed up onto the chair. Opposite of him was the Green Diamond mare from earlier. She smiled at Spike and he smiled back at her. Their eyes locked and it didn't take a genius to figure out what this mare was to Spike. Yet Twilight would give her time to commit the sin before punishing her justly for it. Rarity gasped. "Twilight, this isn't good. She's so young, and a virgin." Twilight grumbled. "And that means what exactly?" "I also think she's never had a coltfriend before." "Oh no, I feel soooooo bad, her first date has to be with my kid. Like I'm really going to forgive her just because she has a sob story." Twilight watched as the two of them leaned forward over the table. Spike stood up so he could get closer. He reached out with a scaled claw and gently stroked her cheek. They spoke quietly and Twilight couldn't quite hear what either of them were saying. What she did notice though, was that Spike had grown. By several inches, and perhaps it was over night, or at least over a week. He was taller and his belly was getting a little smaller. Twilight didn't want to admit it, but perhaps her baby dragon was really... growing up. The two of them kissed. It was a light, gentle kiss on the lips and Twilight's anger flushed out of her system almost immediately. The look in Spike's eyes, it was a gentle and deep love. One that she'd only seen on a few ponies before, and one that kicked her anger to the curb. A good number of the mares eating outside the diner were casting hateful glares not at Spike but at Green Diamond yet neither of them could see the ponies around them. They were lost in each other’s gaze, in each other’s eyes, in each other’s love. Twilight let out a sigh. "We should leave..." Rarity glanced at her. "Oh, are you not going to foalnap Green Diamond and murder her?" "No, I don't think I am. That was her first kiss wasn't it?" Rarity's lip quivered. "Yes... yes it was." Twilight shook her head. "Spike looked like he was really good at that." "Well he's had some practice. And judging by the mares around their table, it probably involved all of them." Twilight turned the bush and Rarity around. "I'm driving us home. We're done here." Rarity looked at her. "Driving? Darling we are hiding in a bush not riding some kind of cart." Twilight shrugged. "Same principle applies. Let's just go before I start feeling guilty over this." She said that but she knew it was already too late to not feel guilty over this. Great, she came in angry as could be, and now was feeling horrible. She had to come to terms with this didn't she? That Spike was really a mature, sexually active dragon and that she had somehow missed him having sex with like half the town before finding a pony besides Rarity to love. Something struck a chord in her when she thought about that. She was with Trixie, and Celestia, so she shouldn’t feel bad or like an invalid for not having the same experiences right? Yet she only even kissed Trixie. She was starting to realize that perhaps this was a little unfair, she had two lovers and deserved to try them both out didn't she? Trixie even gave her permission to do so? So what was Celestia doing by denying her still to this day? Twilight's horn lit up. "Actually you can get home on your own." Twilight vanished with a teleport that took her plus the bush with her. She ended up on her balcony and looking over the town. With the bush still around her she realized that Rarity might have been left in a bit of a rough place. When she heard Rarity screaming, "TWILIGHT I"M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She smiled. A little last bit of revenge for Rarity's sin, perhaps. Celestia's voice came out from behind her. "Wow, sounds like you must have made her angry." Twilight twisted herself around and saw Celestia there in the flesh. The exact pony she wanted, no needed right then. Now, she just had to figure out a way to convince Celestia to make out with her. > Chapter Thirty Three: Of Tongues and Kisses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Three: Of Tongues, and Kisses Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight stared at Celestia as she sat on her bed. Celestia was currently in the middle of talking about some inane thing that Twilight couldn't even remember anymore but she just loved hearing Celestia's voice so much that she would listen to it for ages. Celestia was on the floor right in front of her, her lips only a couple feet away, somehow, just somehow Twilight had to get those lips and put them against her own. If she could do that, she could die happy, well maybe not, she had a new baby on the way, but she could live happy. Celestia was finishing, "And that's when I put the banana inside and Luna completely freaked out. It was so funny, you should have seen it. Well maybe you'd have been too embarrassed to join me in laughing, but I assure you it was hilarious. What do you think?" Twilight answered. "That your voice is so pretty." Celestia blinked. "Twilight... have you been listening at all?" "Yes, to the sound of your voice. It's so pretty," Twilight smiled. "Please, don't stop talking." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "You have been sitting there, listening to me this entire time and not hearing a single word have you." "It's okay, I like it when you talk to me. It makes me happy." Celestia smiled and shook her head a little. "I suppose I like talking to you too. But I've talked enough now. It's your turn. Tell me, whets on your mind." Twilight blinked. "Oh, I'm trying to figure out how to get you to make out with me, but I haven't figured out the best strategy yet. I could just launch forward and kiss you, but you might get surprised, I could beg you to kiss me but that feels too awkward to do. So I'm still trying to think of it. Perhaps we could eat a bowl of spaghetti and each grab the same noodle in our mouth accidentally bringing our lips into contact for a kiss." Celestia laughed, it was such a deep, rich, and warm sound. "Oh, Twilight. Always making molehills into mountains. Why don't you just ask me to kiss you?" Twilight's ears folded back. "No, I don't think I can do that. You'd say no. It needs to be more romantic." Celestia rolled her eyes. "Okay then, how about this. Twilight Sparkle, will you kiss me, pretty please with my shining sun on top?" Twilight's eyes widened. "D-do you really mean it?" "If it will get you to pay more attention in the future, I'll kiss you as much as you'd like." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "And if you beg hard enough, I might kiss you anywhere you'd like as well." Twilight swallowed. "Where else you kiss me if not my lips?" "Oh, Twilight, you have more than one pair of lips I could kiss, lick, or put my tongue inside." Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh, goddess, oh no, I didn't mean, but that, I've only, Celestia!" Celestia laughed some more. "Think it over some, and come to beg me when you’re ready. I shall be waiting for your groveling. For now though." Celestia leaned forward, her face only mere inches away from Twilight's. "Will you kiss me?" Twilight swallowed. She leaned her head forward. She wasn't really going to do this was she? Of course she had permission from Trixie, heck Trixie had an intention to do this with Celestia too. Still she couldn’t believe she was about to do this. Celestia's breath felt so hot, so warm, and smelled like dandelions. Twilight's favorite food. Twilight closed her eyes and leaned further still. She felt it. Hot lips pressed against hers. Huge lips that made her feel more like a foal than a full grown adult. She leaned into the kiss feeling Celestia's lips press back. The heat was intense, going through Twilight's face, down her spine and ending somewhere she'd rather not say. A wing wrapped around the back of Twilight's head keeping it in place as Celestia continued kissing her. This feeling was pure magic, and never wanted it to stop. Twilight opened her mouth to try and get a breath of fresh air to cool herself down and instead found herself inhaling a massive burning, slimy appendage that took over the entire space in her mouth. Twilight froze for a moment confused as to what happened and realized that the thing was Celestia's tongue. Celestia was tongue kissing her! The further back the tongue went the more heat spread through Twilight’s body, it was so big it held her own tongue down so she couldn't even kiss like she did with Trixie. The tongue reached into her throat and pressed against the roof of her throat, brushing the tonsils and triggering a magic button. A magic button that had one singular purpose. Twilight yanked her head away from the foot long tongue leaned over the edge of the bed and did her best impersonation of Trixie when she suffered morning sickness. Including vomiting all over Celestia's hooves, chest, and some of her neck. At the very least, Twilight didn't vomit into Celestia's mouth, that would have been awful. Celestia swallowed and spoke carefully. "Ah... I haven't really made out with a normal mare in awhile, I forgot laryngeal spasms, er gag reflexes were a thing..." Well Twilight wouldn't forget it, not ever. *** Rainbow Dash found herself sitting next to Fluttershy inside of Pinkie's room up in the top of Sugarcube Corner. The look Pinkie was giving the two of them made her fur stand out on end. Pouted lip, halfway closed eyes, a slight red blush on her cheeks. It was enough to make Rainbow Dash feel naked, not that she ever really wore clothes but still. The fact Pinkie's tail was raised and swishing back and forth only made her want to scream. Fluttershy was wrong, this wasn't okay, it was hot, it was sexy, but it was also absolutely terrifying. Fluttershy didn't seem to have any objections herself as she sat there. She looked pleased as punch and was waiting for something. What she was waiting for Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly sure. All she knew was that this was an awkward situation at best. Fluttershy finally spoke, "So, we're doing this." Pinkie Pie grinned. "I'm green if you are." Fluttershy shook her head. "You learned Rarity's safe words?" Pinkie Pie giggled. "How did you know what her safe words were?" Fluttershy smiled but Rainbow Dash had lived with her enough now to almost recognize the smile. It was a smile of secret pride, she wasn’t going to comment or explain herself but she was proud of the reason behind it. It was a smile Rainbow Dash was slowly growing to hate. It made her feel inadequate and stupid. Like she wasn't smart enough to figure it out so she wasn't allowed to know. It was almost like Fluttershy was being smug. Great, now Rainbow Dash was in a bad mood. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, "Well, Champ, we're here for you. You get to have your pick between us." Rainbow Dash could already feel her face growing hot. It was hot in here right? It wasn't just her, right? "Why do I have to pick just one?" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Dashy! We meant you need to pick which one of us to kiss first, and then you get the other one. I'm okay being second." Fluttershy smiled. "And I'm okay being second, it might be kind of um... hot, to see you two." Rainbow Dash wanted to keel over and die. This was the opposite of anything she'd ever felt, or thought of before. Honestly how was she supposed to pick one, or even do this? This was one too many ponies to be kissing at once. Yet, she could see it in Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy was really excited about this, clearly she was depraved enough to want to see Rainbow Dash making out with Pinkie. Then again, Rainbow Dash was a little curious about what that would feel like. After all she had considered it in the past, she just didn't act on it. Well now was her chance, and better yet she was being given direct permission from her fiancé to boot. Rainbow Dash swallowed. "I'm doing this for Fluttershy, so... I'll uh, I'll pick Pinkie first?" Pinkie Pie's grin only grew. "Awwwwww, thank you!" Fluttershy licked her lips. "Don't hold back on my account, go as far as you want." Oh, great, now she was virtually telling Rainbow Dash to have sex in front of her. Was that the end goal? To have sex in front of her, or with them both at the same time? Sure Rainbow Dash was awesome but that seemed too awesome even for her. The sacrifices one made for marriage. Sexy, plump, pink sacrifices. With how close Pinkie already was it didn’t take much for Pinkie to lean forward, her muzzle nearly brushing against Rainbow's. She whispered so quietly that Rainbow Dash was sure Fluttershy couldn’t hear her. “If your not comfortable, just say the word, I’ll stop this.” Rainbow Dash already knew the truth. She couldn’t stop at this point even if she wanted too. “I’m cool.” Pinkie giggled. “You always were.” Pinkie’s mouth was only an inch away from Rainbow's lips, her hot, sweet smelling breathe falling upon Rainbow Dash's face. Rainbow felt a little dizzy, and really hot. For a moment she looked at Fluttershy who only nodded to give her approval. Rainbow Dash leaned forward, their lips brushed against one another and For a moment Rainbow froze. Electricity shot through her muzzle and down her spine and she felt her body being pulled closer, her lips pressing harder against Pinkie's as they kissed deeper. Pinkie's hoof reached up and grabbed Rainbow Dash's shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. Rainbow reached out with a hoof and squeezed Pinkie’s fluffy thick side. Pinkie's lips parted and she felt a hot, wet tongue reach out seeking a friend to play with. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and gave Pinkie's tongue that very friend it sought. Frosting, Pinkie Pie tasted a little like frosting and cotton candy. She wasn't even sure which was Pinkie's natural flavor and which was due to her diet. Either way she was losing herself as the hot wet tongues met and played with each other. Nervous, careful movements at first, which slowly grew to become stronger more confident movements the more Rainbow Dash kissed. Pinkie Pie fell forward knocking Rainbow Dash onto her back yet their lips never once parted. With Pinkie pie on top of her, Rainbow's hooves sought something they could hold and found their way to Pinkie’s bountiful flanks, big, soft, and squeezable. Pinkie moaned through the kiss from the touch. It sounded so much more honest, less restrained and quiet than Fluttershy's moans. This was insane, Rainbow Dash wanted more. So much more. A few minutes were lost to the kissing, and Rainbow Dash had even forgotten where she was. All she could focus on was the hot, heavy body on top of her, the way Pinkie’s butt felt in her hooves, and the heavy panting from their side. It took a moment but the heavy panting became irregular and had a few sharp intakes of breath. A soft, muffled moan made Rainbow Dash freeze. She looked over to Fluttershy to realize Fluttershy was laying on her stomach watching them, her hooves having slipped underneath her going toward Fluttershy' rear and... they were moving. Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy for a good long moment. Was this really happening? Did she just lose herself that much? Pinkie pie recaptured her attention with a move of her tongue and then pulled away just enough to whisper, "Let her have her fun while we have ours, she likes this kind of thing." Rainbow Dash did not sign up for this. "Pinkie, I did not sign up for this." Pinkie pie giggled. "Neither did I, but hey, it makes Flutters happy, and we both love her. Let her do her thing, she's not hurting anything other than my floor, and I'm pretty sure that it’s already dirty if you catch my drift." Rainbow Dash would have retaliated if not for the tongue which was slid back into her mouth. Rainbow hesitated for all but a second until she realized that there was no way to argue with this. She was too deep now and she was enjoying this way too much to stop. Giving into her lust completely she figured she might as well enjoy how nice and big Pinkie's butt was some more. Pinkie’s hooves landed on Rainbow's erect wings stroking them gently and making Rainbow Dash moan from the effort. Rainbow Dash had already lost and all she could think of as she lost herself to Pinkie’s love. Just before she lost herself completely Pinkie pulled back just far enough to whisper. “Kissing only, this is our first session and I don’t want to go too awful far… yet.” Rainbow Dash could agree to that. Ignoring the total pervert next to them who was enjoying the make out session way too much and wasn’t even directly involved. Rainbow Dash was becoming weird. > Chapter Thirty Four: Of Showerheads and Warm Beds > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Four: Of Showerheads and Warm Beds Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight sat in the shower with Celestia pressed closely behind her. Celestia's hooves were running shampoo through Twilight's mane and humming joyfully as if nothing happened. Meanwhile Twilight only felt an increasingly heavy sense of disgust toward herself. How could she vomit over Celestia, over the best princess? What kind of monster did that to their fiancé and lover? Celestia spoke as if she could read Twilight's mind. "Oh hush, Twilight. It's not your fault, it was mine. It had been so long since I've made out with somepony I forgot that unless they had prior experience it was challenging for them. Do you honestly think you’re my first lover to purge themselves all over me after I went too deep?" Twilight glanced back at her. "I don't know." Celestia giggled. "It's okay. If you hadn't been so inexperienced and were into stallions it might not have been such a problem." "Why's that?" "Because if you'd had experience with orally pleasing a stallion, you'd be much more capable of handling my tongue." Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh Celestia! No!" Celestia moved the shower head to spray at the back of Twilight's head. No matter how good it felt as the hot water ran down her scalp and neck she still felt greasy inside. Celestia spoke gently. "Well if there is one good thing, my tongue is pretty big, which means it can do a lot of pleasurable things other mares can't do." Twilight closed her eyes as the water moved up to the top of her head making it run down over her face. "What do you mean?" "There are other places my tongue can go that would feel very nice. Some holes need something big, and hot, and wet to fill them." Twilight gasped. "NO! Your tongue is too big to go there! It simply wouldn't fit." "Hmm, Twilight, I suppose if we are lovers now, I have the right to ask you some more sensitive and personal questions. So, tell me, has Trixie popped your cork yet? Spilled forth your virginal red wine?" "What does all that mean?" "Has she broken your hymen?" "Oh... after all the violence my body's been through in fighting, exercising, nearly dying from numerous giant monsters, I don't actually have one anymore. And that was from before I had sex with Trixie." "I see, but has she put anything inside you? Toys perhaps?" "N-no... Trixie said if she did that without training my body first it would hurt, and no matter how much it might feel good after that, she couldn't bear to ever hurt me... I might have kissed her after that." Celestia giggled. "Oh my, she's very careful with you. I do hope she's not too careful though." "Um... Celestia?" "Yes, Twilight." "Am I good enough for you?" Celestia's wings reached forward and the shower head moved onto Twilight's chest. Those wings wrapped around Twilight pulling her back and all of a sudden Twilight found herself laying on her back with her head resting on the lower half of Celestia's barral with two massive legs flanking her head on either side. From here Twilight could see Celestia's smile. "Oh, Twilight. It was never a question of if you were good enough, it was a question of whether I would be good enough. I'm not really too interested in these baser pony instincts much, occasional fling, or desire to be a mommy here or there aside... at least until you kissed me. Something about you really makes me want to try some more adventurous paths." Twilight smiled. "Really?" "Yes, and to keep it all fair, I will perform any act I do with you upon Trixie if she wishes. That way the three of us can all be equal." Twilight frowned and looked away focusing on the shower head which was moving toward her barrel and cleaning her bellybutton. "If that's true, than should I do anything I've done with Trixie to you too?" "That is only fair I suppose." The shower head was moving dangerously low. It was between Twilight's legs now. In fact Twilight noticed that Celestia's tail had moved up between Twilight's legs more like a snake possessing its own will than a normal tail. Celestia smiled. "Would it be alright if I begin leveling the playing field so to speak?" Twilight swallowed. "Um... you... you'll be gentle right?" Celestia spoke in a quiet and warm voice. "Twilight, I'm doing this all for your sake, I want you to feel happy. I will be as gentle as you need me to be. I always will." Twilight swallowed. Well... Trixie was going to have to deal with this arrangement. Perhaps Twilight would get to enjoy seeing what kinds of things Celestia would do with Trixie in person. Oh, and that could even be a great learning opportunity. She could study the act close in person and learn how to be a better lover. Yes, this would be a great idea that couldn’t possibly backfire. Not ever. "Twilight, is it okay if I continue?" Twilight shook her head. "Oh, sorry, yes, please do. Your already running water over me and I'm kind of needing this now." The tail and shower head moved in tandem and Twilight was only able to let out a small eep as her world was thusly consumed by pleasure and heat. *** Luna let out a sigh. She couldn't keep doing this, no matter how wonderful the apple pie was. She needed to go home, go to bed, and stop almost falling asleep while laying down in a dirt field and watching three ponies do their best to farm. Trixie wasn't much help either sitting under a sun umbrella and studying them. She had a notebook and pen but the sound of her scribbling only made Luna more tired. It was like listening to her sister write letters to Twilight late at night while Luna laid in Celestia’s bed, it was utterly relaxing. Trixie finally let out a huff. "Luna, you have to speak to him. Even if you just say hello, you know Big Mac has feelings for you, and Trixie is sure he's hurt that you’re too scared to talk to him even now. Trixie is positive he feels like he's failed you somehow." Luna yawned. "I know, I'm awful. If only I was a bolder pony, a better pony, like you." Trixie gave her the strangest look. "Did you just say Trixie was a better pony? Trixie... no, I thank you for the compliment. However, Trixie must assure you that you are wrong, you are a good pony, just scared." The sun was only just starting to set out here and Luna looked none too ready to raise the moon. Yet Trixie watched in awe as Luna's horn lit up on the horizon opposite of the sun the moon became just barely visible. Luna shook her head and the aura stopped. "There, that will let it continue rising until I am able to rest." Trixie reached out and gently pet Luna's hoof. "You should really get some rest. If you need, Trixie will let you use the spare bed at home." Luna shook her head and rose up to her hooves on unsteady legs. She took a step and wobbled a little. “Curses, I've only been awake for three days, why am I so tired? Cannot that unicorn stay awake for weeks at a time?" Trixie stood up beside her. "If you’re referring to Twilight, than yes. She can stay awake for some terrifying amounts of time. Still she suffers from the process. Perhaps you should rest here?" Luna shook her head. "I am fine. I will... go rest at Twilight's place. Let us go." Luna stretched out her wings and gave a pitiful flap of her wings that didn't do much more than fan Trixie. Luna yawned once more and closed her eyes. Her body began stooping forward and Trixie gasped as she realized Luna was falling. With quick thinking she captured Luna in a telekinetic aura and held her up. Luna wasn't quite as heavy as she once thought she'd be, so carrying Luna inside wasn't going to be much problem for her. Carrying her all the way home however was not happening. Trixie arrived at the door only for Big Mac to walk out, from the worried look on his face, Trixie felt he already had a firm grasp of the situation. Trixie smiled. "We need a big bed to lay her on. Luna's taking a nap." Big Mac nodded for her to follow. Trixie did so and carefully brought Luna inside without ever once slamming Luna's head into the ceiling or the doorframe. She also didn't get a heated look from Big Mac for doing so. Not at all. Bringing Luna inside she carried the quite asleep and not at all bruised alicorn upstairs, totally not hitting the stairs with each one of Luna's hooves as the mare was simply too tall to easily take upstairs. Trixie also didn't get frustrated with the process and accidently lift Luna so high that Luna's horn got stuck in the ceiling. Once again, Big Mac did not glare at her for it. Not at all. Finally Trixie was able to lay Luna down on Big Mac's bed and cover her up. She smiled at the sleeping alicorn and glanced at Big Mac. "You better not have any illicit plans for a sleeping and vulnerable princess." Big Mac was still not glaring at her. "Nope." Trixie smiled past his totally not rueful looks. "Not at all?" "Not at all." "Good," Trixie walked to the door. "Though, Trixie thinks if she woke up to a handsome stallion guarding her in her sleep, much like she's done to him over and over again, she wouldn't be too upset. She might even be flattered." Going outside into the main hall she passed by Applejack. "Big Mac is not planning anything nefarious with the sleeping Luna. Trixie promises." Applejack gave her a strange look, and then quickly trotted to Big Mac's room throwing open the door and shouting. "Big Macintosh!" Trixie was satisfied with that conclusion. If he was going to totally not give her mean glares, she was totally not going to sic his sister after him for a crime she was positive he'd never commit. One that Trixie guessed Luna probably hoped he would, but alas, Luna would have to wait to actually have the guts to ask Big Mac to rut her into gentle oblivion. For now Trixie's work was done here, it was time for her to return to her home, her people needed her. Well okay, her unicorn lover and her dragon friend needed her. Still, it was more than she ever had before. In fact, thinking about the idea of going home to a loving family was... new to her. Just outside she saw her escort arriving just on time. It was the mare everypony loved to look at, Rarity. Rarity offered a kind smile. "So, did you have fun on your playdate, darling?" Trixie rolled her eyes. "Of course, but not as much fun as Big Mac had with Luna in his bed." Rarity's eyes widened for a moment and then lowered. "Took him long enough didn't it? Well at least that's settled and those two can finally begin dating. I will need to prepare yet another set of wedding clothes I hope. I only dread how challenging it will be to make Luna's. Still, I find the challenge exciting." Trixie followed Rarity as the two of them left the farm. "Oh, I bet Luna finds something quite exciting too." Rarity laughed. "Oh hush now, let those two be and leave your mature comments behind. For now. We shall get all the dirty details from her later." Trixie smiled. Rarity had no idea she was only being fooled. Chances were Big Mac and Luna weren't going to do anything and Luna would run away scared too talk to him. Still, it would be fun to tease Luna some more. Setting up jokes like this far in advance was challenging. How did Rainbow Dash and Twilight master the art of the prank? > Chapter Thirty Five: Of Sexy Trios and Lingering Questions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Five: Of Sexy Trios and Lingering Questions Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie had finally arrived home as she entered into the library. It was warm in here. Too warm. Trixie also noted that nopony else was in here, she was alone on the first floor. Well she couldn't very well have that. She was the great and powerful Trixie and deserved to have company and not be completely alone. She trotted up the stairs and found it only got warmer still. In fact just as she entered the top floor she noted that it got real hot, enough to sweat. Once in there she found the reason why. Twilight and Celestia were sitting in front of the fireplace, Twilight was laying beside her with a white wing covering most of her small body. Celestia's head was leaned over and their lips were meeting for soft, gentle kisses. Anger flew through Trixie's veins. They were kissing in front of the fireplace. In front of her fireplace. Trixie marched up to them, making sure each step was heard loud and clear. Twilight looked over and her eyes widened. "Trixie! Trixie, why are you mad? What’s wrong?" "What’s wrong?" Trixie asked. Celestia's eyes looked guarded as well. "I was afraid you might be a little upset, but I didn't think you'd be this angry." Trixie stopped only a few feet from them. Her eyes glaring daggers into each of them. "Twilight Sparkle, you dare have to ask what is wrong? When the two of you are sitting here making out like it is nopony's business?" Twilight's ears folded back. "I thought, I-I thought it was okay..." Trixie growled. "It is not okay. Are you daft?" Twilight flinched. "I'm sorry. I-I won't do it again. I'll never kiss her again, so long as you’re not mad at me. Please don't be mad at me." Trixie growled. "You will continue kissing her and you will like it, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight looked up at her. "I will? Why, why are you mad? I'm confused." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "As am I, why would you be so angry yet want Twilight to keep kissing me?" Twilights' eyes widened. "Oh goddess, oh no, please, Trixie don't leave me. Don't leave me over this. I'll throw away all my feelings for Celestia, but don't leave me." Trixie sat down. "How are you both such idiots? Can you not simply understand why it is Trixie is so angry?" They both shook their heads. Trixie closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Maybe they were both daft after all. "Trixie is angry because it is clear now that you setup this 'playdate' so you two could fool around without Trixie. It is not fair to leave Trixie out, she wants to fool around with the two of you as well." Twilight made a strange noise and when Trixie opened her eyes she saw Twilight's left ear was standing up with the other was still down and her eye was twitching. Celestia was smiling. Twilight spoke carefully. "Your angry, because you think, I sent you away so I could hog Celestia to myself?" Trixie nodded. "Of course, and although Trixie understands why you'd do that, she is upset because it is unfair." Celestia laughed. "Oh, Trixie, I have only arrived a couple of hours ago, and this whole event was quite improvised. We were waiting for you to get home so you could join in." Twilight's eye was still twitching. "You... I... this... AHHHH!" She shook her head violently and her ears went back to normal. "Okay, okay, calm down Twilight.” Twilight looked directly at Trixie. “Trixie, I would never send you away to just ‘fool around’ behind your back as you put it. This really was a spur of the moment sort of thing, and to make sure we're all even I asked Celestia to stay so you two could make love and I can study it." Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Oh... okay then. Trixie apologizes for her earlier anger. She was in the wrong." She then looked at Celestia. "Trixie has also been standing up all day and is tired. Can we use the bed to make love?" Celestia smiled. "Of course, it would be much more comfortable for you there. And Twilight is quite excited to see how I please a mare." Trixie smiled. "Good, because after today, Trixie is a very horny pony and needs something to grind her hips against. Your face looks like an acceptable place." Twilight blinked. "Wait... you’re just. Okay with this? Just like that?" Trixie shrugged. "Trixie knew from the moment she said she loved you that you were going to do this eventually, so long as you share, Trixie is okay with it. Now if only you'd let Trixie share Fluttershy or Big Mac the world would be hers. Alas, she will settle for Celestia." Celestia rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." Trixie smiled. "You’re welcome, you truly are a lucky pony to get to sleep with Trixie." Twilight nodded. "I am." Trixie looked at Twilight. "No, Twilight. You are special. Trixie is the lucky one to get to be intimate with you, not the other way around." Celestia offered a small smile. "Well at least your heart's in the right place. Perhaps I am lucky, after all most mares would be very jealous if their lover tried to get another pony involved. Even if herds aren't as rare as they could be it’s still uncommon now in days." Trixie looked up. "Yes, and let it be known that the alpha shall always be Trixie, until it is Twilight's turn to be the alpha. Perhaps ifs she studies our lovemaking she will feel more confident becoming our alpha?" Celestia licked her lips. "Oh, I would like to have an alpha very much. Especially if Twilight was the herd alpha, taking us whenever she wanted, however she wanted. I think I could live with such an arrangement." Trixie looked at her. "Trixie thought you weren't interested in sex." Celestia put a hoof to her lips behind Twilight's head and then nodded toward Twilight. Trixie got the message. Celestia was pretending to be much more interested in sex than she really was, to make Twilight feel validated. Such a sweet response, Trixie wasn’t positive it was healthy, but it was a loving gesture nonetheless. "Oh, Trixie sees, Twilight has triggered something in you, revived your sexual nature. Well, she does have a certain appeal to her. Especially the noises she makes when you lick her horn." Celestia's smile grew. "Oh really? Perhaps after you and me finish, we focus on Twilight... together." Trixie grinned. "That sounds like the kind of show only a true stage mare could pull off. You have just won Trixie’s attention." *** Rainbow Dash lay there on the bed staring up at the ceiling as the sky grew increasingly dark outside. On her left side she had snuggled into her a very welcome Fluttershy. On her right side she had a slightly less welcomed but still enjoyable Pinkie Pie. Both of them were relaxed, eyes closed and breathing deeply into Rainbow's chest. It took a long while before Rainbow Dash was even sure what to make of this new situation. She'd just got done making out with both her fiancé and long time crush, and her best friend outside of Fluttershy. What was probably worse was just how much she recognized that Fluttershy enjoyed all of this. As fun as it was during, now that things were calming down and she was relaxing, she was no longer too sure she was down for all this. Somehow she felt dirty, her soul felt icky. Like she shouldn't have enjoyed doing that. How in the world did Fluttershy manage to do this kind of thing, and worse yet desire it as something preferable to normal relationships? Was this just a feeling Rainbow Dash could get used too? Would she have to get used too it? She wasn't all too sure anymore. Thinking about it, realistically she was just waiting for Rarity to finish the dresses so they could get married, but if this was the kind of thing Fluttershy expected from her wife... Rainbow Dash would do anything for Fluttershy. She knew it deep in her soul, and with every ounce of her body. With every muscle she had. Each time she flinched when Fluttershy raised her voice, to each time she thought Fluttershy frowned in her direction, and every time that Fluttershy seemed to disapprove of something Rainbow Dash did. Rainbow Dash would do anything for Fluttershy, no matter how much she had to sacrifice in the process. Hopefully this thing with Pinkie Pie wasn’t a sacrifice, hopefully it was something a whole lot better. Rainbow Dash had to stop herself. She was going into the negatives and she decided that it was only because she was so new to this whole thing. Sex, kissing, dating, being in love, all of it was so new she needed to find her boundaries and knowing her, she'd smash through them to prove she really was as tough and awesome as she claimed to be. Of course maybe there were things she didn't have to be so awesome about? If that was possible. Still looking over at Pinkie Pie and seeing how happy she was, it made Rainbow Dash consider how much Pinkie Pie had really wanted this. She knew Pinkie had been chasing her tail for some time now, but she didn't think it went any deeper than mere sex. Seeing her now, she realized that it was a completely different story now. Pinkie Pie moved her muzzle up a little and spoke in a near whisper, so quietly that Rainbow Dash almost missed it. "I love you, Rainbow." Rainbow Dash's heart cracked. Pinkie Pie was really in love with her. Even if Rainbow Dash wanted to try and go back to normal now it was too late, Pinkie pie had fallen in love. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and did her best to pretend to be asleep as her mind raced to find a solution, but no matter how much she thought about it. She could only think about how hurt Pinkie Pie would be if Rainbow Dash pushed her away now. She couldn't do that, not to Pinkie Pie. Not to her best friend. She let out a sigh and took a step in what she guessed would be the best direction to solve everypony's problem. To make everypony happy with the situation. One that would make sure she didn't betray anypony she loved. "I love both of you so much." Just like that, Rainbow Dash made her bed, and was now lying in it. Okay technically she was lying in Pinkie's bed, but that was probably the same issue. It wasn't until her brain stopped to think about it that she realized she might now have to get married to two ponies and not just one. She wasn't even sure if that was legal. Well herds were a thing but she wasn't sure herds could marry, and they were more or less weird anyway... That meant that Rainbow Dash was weird now. She spent most of her life trying to be cool not weird, and here she was, now a big proud weirdo, with her two weird lovers, and doing weird things... and maybe, just maybe, that icky feeling she felt, that sliminess in her soul wasn't so bad. Maybe she could get used to it, or perhaps she even liked it. Yeah, she was becoming weird, and it was clearly Fluttershy and Pinkie’s fault. Well if she was going to be weird at least she could be weird with them. > Chapter Thirty Six: Of Shadowed Dreams and Apple Streams > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Six: Of Shadowed Dreams and Apple Streams Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie looked at the chalkboard showing a doodle of a pony with waves coming off its horn to show it was casting magic. A gray stallion with a black mane and tail stood there, his body was covered in scars but he had the warmest smile she'd ever seen was on his lips. His horn had cracks running through it but he never seemed to be in pain. His dark robes were emblazoned with the image of Celestia's sun on his flanks. A ruler levitated in his dark gray aura as he spoke. "So, you see when unicorns use magic, they are channeling their manalobes inside their brain, which grabs hold of their soul." he circled the ruler to the heart inside the pony's... stomach. "You see the soul is a malleable thing, capable of losing a great deal of itself before needing to rest and regenerate. So long as even a sliver of a soul remains inside of a pony they can regain their magic energy." Trixie raised her hoof. "Oh, oh, is that why when unicorns used to move the sun and moon they would lose magic forever? They were using too much of their soul?" He chuckled. "Oh that old myth. Let me tell you, that is just a myth, Trixie. You see ponies are not that stupid. We can be, but we usually aren't. They would actually rotate a group of six unicorns every day and let them rest for a week before going back. So long as a pony didn't keep doing that job for months there was no visible damage to them or their souls." "But... why does the book say that unicorns would do that until Celestia showed up?" He smiled softly. There was something to it though, something akin to pain. "It is true that a few unicorns did burn out their souls before we figured it out and stopped that. But just like a hoofball player who sustained an injury, we don't force that player to keep running on a broken leg until it’s unusable, we let them heal so they can play again. It’s much the same." He shook his head. "Of course, this is why we offer more... accurate history once you get older. The tale you grew up with is just there to help Celestia." Trixie thought about it for a moment. She put a hoof to her chin and then smiled. "Oh, I get it. It's a good way to keep Celestia in power because if ponies thought we didn't need her for the sun and moon, we might not need her at all." His smile vanished all at once. It was the first time she'd ever seen Shadow Heart frown. He looked left and right, the class was empty and it was just the two of them since she was struggling with history and needed a little extra help. "Trixie... it is usually best not to say such things out loud this close to Celestia's presence." "But why not? I mean, we still need her either way, imagine what would happen if ponies attempted to rule again. It would be like a disaster." "That very well is the problem. Some ponies out there want to claim her power, but it sounds like you and me both realize that even if we could technically live without her, it would be disastrous." Trixie nodded. "Of course." "So that's why we don't encourage deeper learning of pre Sister history until your older and then only if you select that class as a special credit like you have yourself." Trixie beamed. "I only took it because that spoiled brat is in the other class I wanted to be in. Starswirl's Historical Timeline." Shadow Heart chuckled. "Oh my, you mean Twilight Sparkle, don't you? That poor filly, I know all too well how horrible it can be too have those expectations placed on you at that age. Not to mention she's trying to raise a child too." Trixie's mood was soured. "A child, who actually solved a math equation faster than I could, I might add... if he wasn't five years old I'd shoot him with lightning." Shadow Heart offered his warm smile again. "Would you really?" "No... but I would think about it really hard." He chuckled. "Well I'm glad to hear it. Now, let me get on to what is perhaps the scary part of this lesson in the history of magic involving the Pony Soul. Dark Magic. Dark Magic has a particular taint to it, one that can leave permanent scars on the minds, and souls of ponies it encounters. Ponies who dabble in the darker arts need utmost caution as they risk using up all their soul magic as well." Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Wait, if dark magic can destroy a pony's soul, and that sun and moon raising spell can destroy a pony's soul... does that mean that raising and lowering the sun requires the use of dark magic?" He gave her a patient smile. "Oh, is that what your theorizing?" Trixie stood up. "Um... another question. Does dark magic have a color? Like a weird color that isn't normal to the color of their aura?" He nodded. "Yes, usually it's a dark green, a sickly green that some call balefire green. Of course ponies who are great at dark magic will still use their normal aura color, its only inexperienced ponies who have the balefire green color which indicates part of their soul is being burned away. Usually not enough to cause lasting damage, but... that's not always the case." "Hmm... so... does that mean Celestia..." Trixie looked around nervously and then shut her mouth. "Never mind." He offered a small smile. "To answer your question, one that is better not openly asked, probably yes." She looked down at her hooves on the table. "O-oh... but... does that mean... if she you know... is dark magic actually... evil?" He looked around once more as if expecting to see anypony else in this room who might not like his answer. "I am required by the educational board to tell you yes. As for the truth of the matter, well... you'd have to figure that out on your own. Draw your own conclusions about the world we inhabit, but be careful there are always eyes and ears listening for what might be considered descent. Celestia is the only ruler we could ask for, but sometimes she makes mistakes too." Trixie had a lot to think about after that class. She wasn't sure what she was going to do but she was going to think when she got back to her dorm room, that was for darn sure. The real problem was that she knew Shadow Heart worshiped Celestia, perhaps more so than most, but he had this strange way of viewing her, not as a perfect creature or a god, but one that was flawed but needed by ponykind. What could that mean? *** Luna took in a deep breath. The bed smelled of apples, sweat, and a little of musk. Her mind was spinning a little as she took in the deep rich scent. It wasn't until she opened her eyes to see she was not in her bed that she realized something was amiss. She was in fact, inside of Big Mac's bed and with a blanket covering her she felt like maybe she'd crossed some line not meant to ever be crossed. Sitting up she looked around in the darkened space to realize she was indeed all alone. The worst part was she was still very tired. She crawled out of the bed and made her way to the door wondering how she got into there, and more over why her head hurt so much. It was like she'd been hit in the head several times and she wasn't not a fan of this feeling. Opening the door she noticed there was a small dent in the top of the door frame. Going out into the hall she saw a hole large enough for her horn to go in, on the ceiling. What happened here? The apples were always so clean and well kept. This was a strange sight indeed. Going down the stairs they creaked her under her weight and she hissed a curse as she realized she was trying to be quiet so she could sneak out. Walking past the open entrance to the kitchen she heard Applejack's voice from inside. "Luna, you should join us fer dinner, we just got done making it." Luna glanced over and saw the whole apple family sitting at the table and looking pleased to see her. Her initial response was to cast a spell of invisibility and flee. Yet her horn merely fizzled and she got a headache. She must have been really tired. Running also sounded like far too much work just then. Luna let out a sigh and gave in. She was going to have to do the awkward thing, at least she would get free food out of it. "Alright, I shall join you. I am hungry anyway." Luna wasn't exactly comfortable but she was tired, her head ached, and she was hungry. She could only fix one of those issues right then, and with her magic being on the fritz for some reason she figured she would eat first, magic later. Going to the table she watched as Applejack pointed to a seat where a plate with some steamed vegetables and a slice of apple pie were already waiting for her. Luna sat down and looked around for a moment, it seemed Applejack was not exactly honest as some of their plates already had some food missing but Luna was too hungry to care. Taking a bite of some food she could taste the love, affection, and skill that had gone into the vegetables. The carrots were savory, moist, and hot. The potatoes much the same. Luna was surprised that after just a few seconds her plate was empty and she was already on to the apple pie and eating it as easily as she breathed, so sweet, with a crisp crust and hot moist insides. It was like making love to a mare, only it tasted better. Applejack cleared her throat. "You uh, you like the food?" Luna swallowed her last bite of pie before speaking with enthusiasm. "I am most pleased by this meal, it is perhaps one of the best ones I have ever had. Even the chefs in Canterlot cannot compare to this." Applejack grinned. "You know all of us here work to make dinner together, even Big Mac helps out. Ah know he worked extra hard to make something nice fer you after how you've been feeling today." Luna swallowed. "Oh... thank you. You are all so wonderful, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart." Applejack leaned back letting Luna have a much clearer view of Big Mac who was beside her. Big Mac offered a kind smile. He met Luna's eyes and for a moment Luna was lost in them. He was so close, so close and wide awake. She could just reach out and touch him, he was real, and she was closer than ever before. Yet despite wanting to say something, anything really, she found her throat would not produce a noise. She swallowed. Looked away and down at her plate and using all of the power in her body managed to nearly whisper. "Thank you, Big Mac." It was then she noticed that somepony had placed more food as well as a second piece of pie down for her. That was thoughtful, she was far from full, but she didn't dare ask directly for a second helping. She was not in the castle, and had to respect the fact others might not have enough food to feed an alicorn. So the refill was very much appreciated. So much so she only just barely heard Big Mac's magical voice as he replied, "Yer welcome." Well Luna was enjoying some extra food, and she wasn't going to contest that. Eating dinner with them, even if she was a bit more on the quiet side felt nice. She was able to listen in as the apple family held conversations about Applebloom's school, Granny Smith's health, Big Mac's work on the farm and even Applejack's misadventures with her friends. Something began to occur to her as she listened in on the various conversations swirling about. There wasn't any silence here. Every time she enjoyed dinner with Celestia there was always so much silence between the two of them, it was almost as if she was eating by herself. Here though, there was so much noise, energy, and love. It made Luna feel lonely to think her own dinners were generally so quiet. Yet there was something wonderful about being able to share dinner with these ponies and for once not be so lonely inside. Something that made her happier than she thought possible from such a simple act. Applejack soon turned the conversation towards Luna. "So, Luna, what are yer thoughts?" Luna looked down at her. "My apologies I seem to still be waking up, what was the question again?" Applejack smiled at her and shook her head. "About Big Mac's back problem. Says he's throwing his back out and needs a break, Ah think he's faking it." Luna looked over at Big Mac. His green eyes met her for a moment but quickly looked away as a small smile grew on his lips. "Hmm, I suspect he may need a very capable pony who's experienced in back issues to take a look at it. Perhaps a massage is in order. After all the physical labor can cause some painful knots if one does not take care of themselves." Applejack grinned up at her. "Oh, and are you any good at giving massages?" Luna nodded and went to her glass of water for a drink. "I am quite skilled at them myself. Why do you ask?" Applejack's grin grew wider still. "Maybe you should give Big Mac a massage then, if yer so skilled that is." Luna spoke. "It would be my pleasure, after all the free food it is the least I can- did you just say that I should give a massage to Big Mac?" Applejack met her eyes. "Ayep." Big Mac was covering his face with a hoof now, clearly quite embarrassed by his sister's antics. Yet then again, Luna was also quite embarrassed by this turn of events herself. Still she didn't want to lose the opportunity to get closer to her handsome crush. "I... I would love to help him out with his back problems." Of course Luna was absolutely horrified at the concept, but she wasn't going to stop now. No she'd just reach out and... touch... the most sexually appealing stallion in all of Equestria... was it hot in here? It was hot in here. Clearly Celestia's sun was too bright and she had to turn it down, she was not at all blushing furiously because she was going to touch... those big, rippling muscles. Oh no, what did she just agree too? > Chapter Thirty Seven: Of Apples and Sacks > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Seven: Of Apples and Sacks Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie woke up, her entire body was far too hot. She looked around and realized on either side of her she was being smothered by nasty smelling, warm but far too sticky and sexy ponies. Twilight on her right, and Celestia on her left. She rubbed down at her belly feeling the bulge that had just barely begun as her little bean... no their little bean was already growing. She giggled at the happy thought of her little unborn baby, Applebutter. She let out a reserved sigh and sat upright. These ponies were going to out sex her soon enough. Climbing out of bed she noticed it was hardly morning still. Seriously, how did they all pass out after that? Perhaps a side effect of Celestia’s hot steamy love... speaking of which she noticed that parts of the bedsheets were singed now. They'd have to replace the sheets now. Going down the two flights of stairs she had to wonder what other mysterious would wait for her down there. Once all the way down to the first floor of the library she saw a surprising figure in the kitchen. Luna sat there drinking some of the stale leftover coffee and staring off into space. Trixie walked over to her side and sat next to her. "Good morning, Trixie assumes you are suffering emotional turmoil over your crush." Luna's lip quivered. "I'm too big." She looked at Luna. "You are quite large, but surely that wouldn't stop him from loving you. Big Mac cares not for your looks, but for your heart." Luna swallowed. "I tried giving him a massage." "Oh?" "And I think I broke him when I sat down on his um... apple-sack." Trixie nearly choked. "You did what?" "I was working on his shoulders, sitting behind him, I moved up a little and sat down on something warm, and very squishy and the sound he made. I did not realize stallions could make such noises. I used healing magic immediately, and after assured that he was fine and that he could still provide children... I ran away." Trixie looked over at the coffee pot. "If Trixie was not pregnant she would offer to get drunk with you." Luna lowered her head and gave a little shake. "I am a total failure, how could he ever love me now?" Trixie reached out and stroked Luna's back. "You are not. Trixie knows that he will forgive you and she suspects he loves you too. You two just need to come out and say it." Luna looked down at her. "Are you sure? What if he rejects me?" "He would never." "What if... he accepts me only because he's afraid of me?" Trixie's hoof froze for a moment. The reaction only lasted a second but it was enough for Luna to catch it and look away. Trixie was quick to explain, "I'm sure he loves you too. His entire family is waiting for you and him to get hitched." Luna let out a sigh. "What if they are only accepting me because they're too afraid to reject me? Perhaps I have truly become only an invasive presence in their otherwise perfect lives." Trixie pulled her hoof back and sat up straighter. "Do you really think that Applejack wouldn't tell you if you were? Come now, Luna, you know the apples, they're all too honest for their own good." Luna smiled. "It is one of the best qualities about them. Perhaps you are right, but how on Equestria will I ever be able to tell him the truth? I love him so much, but I am so scared he'd reject me. I... have not handled rejection well in the past." Trixie waved a hoof. "So what if you go nightmare moon again, Twilight and friends will save you. But, trust me, you are not going to be rejected. Trixie is sure of this." Luna let out another sigh. "Okay, you are right, I should be more courageous. I will never get what I want if I only cower from the truth. Speaking of which, you had an interesting dream this morning." Trixie stared at her. "I... oh, right that." She only now recalled the dream about her in a school and being taught by Shadow Heart. Lessons on the working of dark magic and possible theories. "Trixie is not positive that was just a dream." Luna looked at her, "I am fairly certain that was a memory myself. But who was that strange stallion? He seemed familiar but I cannot place why." Trixie nodded. "He seemed very friendly but Trixie is unsure exactly who he was. A teacher sure, but what influence did he have on Trixie's life? And why can't Trixie recall him or her foalhood very well... well Trixie knows the answer to one of those questions." Luna raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" "Yes, apparently Celestia had erased, or blocked some of Trixie's memories involving him, she says this is for Trixie's safety but he was so friendly and interesting, why would it be for her safety?" Luna shook her head and looked away. "Perhaps because he was more accurate than Celestia cares for. Alicorn magic is not exactly a positive force, we just happen to be mostly immune to the effects of dark magic. Mostly." Trixie looked over at the coffee in her cup. "Trixie sees. So to keep up appearances, Celestia may have done something she shouldn't?" Luna's hooves tightened on the counter. "For all the aid you've given me, despite my earlier selfishness, I will look into this for you... if you desire." Trixie nodded. "It might be nice to have an alley here to help Trixie recall her illustrious past. Thank you." Luna smiled once more. "Just, if I do discover something ugly, please do not hate my sister for it. She has made mistakes, we all have, but she always tries her best to keep Equestria safe." Trixie nodded. "Of course, isn’t that what most of us do? I mean most of us here in this group, not say the random news pony." Luna laughed. "Of course. Besides it would seem from what I can tell there are scars of dark magic upon your soul, I fear not all not all of them are fresh either. Twilight’s soul didn’t seem in any better condition when I first met her either. But Twilight does seem intent on helping you so I shall endeavor to aid as well. After all, isn't that what friendship is for?" Trixie beamed. "Trixie thinks it is. She's still learning friendship you see." They shared a small laugh at that. Both of them having been a little bit estranged from the idea of friendship, but still wanting to learn more about it. Together they could probably work faster than apart so Trixie was more than happy for the help. After all, things were steadily growing more insane as time passed. She wasn't sure where things were heading but she was positive wherever it was, was going to be absolute insanity. Well she'd been there before at least once, she'd welcome it again, because this time Trixie had friends to join her. *** Applejack shook her head as she stared at Big Mac from the tree she was currently trying to get the last annoying apple off of. Just one apple was stuck up there no matter how hard she bucked the tree. What she wouldn't give for Luna's help now. "So, how’s yer baby maker?" Big Mac groaned. "Ah'm better, alright." She shook her head and kicked the tree again. "Ah'm sorry you had to suffer like that. At least Luna patched you up. She looked terrified though." He lowered his gaze as he kicked a tree behind him sending a cascade of apples down into the buckets around them. "Ah feel just awful. Ah really like her, and now she's scared she hurt me." "She did hurt you. We all heard that noise you made." He stared at her. "Ah didn't make any noise." "Sure you didn't, and Ah am not currently in an estranged relationship with a snooty beautiful mare." Big Mac smiled. "You planning to marry her?" Applejack's eyes widened. 'What in tarnation are you trying to pull? If'n you say that word, she's going to-" A wailing shriek like that of a banshee was heard over Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac laughed. "Think you can outrun that?" Applejack let out a sigh. "Nope." Big Mac looked up at the lone apple stuck in the tree. "That sure is one mighty stubborn apple." She looked up at it herself. "You know, Ah've had just about enough of this." She kicked the tree again, harder. The apple shook in place but stayed. Big Mac laughed. "An yer supposed to be the strong one?" "At least I don't squeal like a stuck pig when somepony sits on my apple-sack." He glared at her. "Count yerself lucky you don't have one to worry about." She paused to think about that. What would she do if she was born a stallion instead of a mare? Well have a sensitive pouch to protect was clearly one thing but maybe Rarity would have been more interested in her earlier too. She shook her head. It was just weird though, not like she was planning to ask if Twilight could temporarily transform her into a stallion later... surely not. Applejack kicked the tree again. The apple was still firmly stuck up there. She nearly screamed as she grabbed her hat and threw it to the ground. "Tarnation, this apple just won't budge. It’s more stubborn than Luna. Come on, get down here you git!" The apple for its part, did absolutely nothing. Big Mac walked over to the tree she was working on eyeing the apple suspiciously. "You know... that apple just ain't right. It should have come down by now right? It's as red as red could be." Applejack grumbled. "As red as yer face is when you see Luna's behind." "Hey... that' ain’t fair." Applejack smirked. "Life ain't fair, but it can be funny." Another howling shriek came over the Sweet Apple Acers along with the gust of wind. Applejack swallowed. "Big Mac, Ah think you awoke the beast." Big Mac shrugged. "Ain't me she's after." Applejack picked up her hat, flicked her tail over it to dust it off and placed it back on her head. "Well what are we going to do about that apple? It just won't budge no matter how much we try pushing, pulling or convincing." Big Mac turned, gave the tree a mighty buck, and still nothing. Applejack shook her head. "This ain't hardly fair. The apple needs to come down and join its family but it just won't budge." Big Mac stared up at it. "Yer right, but Ah ain't sure what to do about it at this point. Ah can't be any more direct with the apple or else Ah might hurt it." A blue aura surrounded the apple and plucked it from the tree bringing it down to the apple rest in the bucket. The two of them turned to see Rarity standing there, her face flushed, and sweat on her brow. She smiled at them manically. "Sometimes you need to be direct, just tell the apple what you want, and then it'll work with you. Isn't that right my dear?" The way Rarity looked at her gave her the shivers. "Howdy, Rares." Rarity walked over. "Now, who, said, wedding?" Big Mac raised a hoof. "Ah didn't say wedding. Ah said, Marry." She snapped at him. "I don’t care for the specifics. I need more marriages now!" Applejack let out a sigh. "Celestia Darn it, Rarity we don't need more-" The look that Rarity gave her was so harsh it could have set the tree on fire. Applejack wisely decided to shut her mouth before actual beams of fire and death shot out of those eyes. Rarity spoke gently, but each word was sharpened like a dagger. "More, marriages, now." > Chapter Thirty Eight: Of Needy Magicians and All Too Eager Hooves > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Eight: Of Needy Magicians and All Too Eager Hooves Trixie watched feeling a little bit flustered as Twilight and Celestia sat at the kitchen table enjoying a snack. Celestia sat behind Twilight practically devouring the tiny unicorn with her body and making most of Twilight disappear besides her head and neck with those wings. Twilight was busy eating a dandelion sandwich and giggling every now and again. Even if Trixie was a little frustrated that only Twilight got such attention she was happy for Twilight. This was a like a dream come true for the small pony. Still her thoughts pulled back to some of the recent discoveries that had been made. From Celestia tampering with Trixie's memories, to Celestia's initial disinterest in sexual or romantic activities, this felt off. Like perhaps it was all going too well? She had to make a mental note to ask Rarity for her opinion later. Not that Trixie didn't think she was always in the right, because clearly she was the most impressive of unicorns second only to her unborn foal. She still wanted a more... romantically inclined mare to offer their advice on this situation. As for Luna who was back out on the loose, probably stalking Big Mac again, Trixie was unsure of that situation too. She had given her advice, be direct with Big Mac, just rip the bandage off and let whatever was meant to happen, happen. Yet she had a small fear that perhaps Luna was right. Assuming Big Mac really didn't have any romantic inclination to Luna, then he might just agree to it out of fear, not even fear of Luna herself but fear of hurting the poor mare's feelings. Which made Trixie wonder if perhaps the bun in her oven wasn't the product of something similar. She rubbed at her belly curious if perhaps, Big Mac didn't enjoy the act that had led to this turn of events. She let out a sigh, she needed to be praised. "Twilight, am I attractive?" Twilight murmured. "So warm." Trixie glared at her from across the table. "Twilight, Trixie asked you a question." Twilight blinked. "Oh. um... you are the most beautiful unicorn in all of Equestria." Trixie smiled. "Thank you." Twilight let out a sigh which sounded more relieved than anything else. Perhaps she wasn't actually paying attention, but it didn't matter because Trixie got what she wanted... no, actually she still felt a bit down. If that didn't work than what could Trixie do to raise her self-esteem? Perhaps she'd have Big Mac or Luna praise her. Or she could just ask Fluttershy too, the mare was obsessed with pregnancy like some ponies were ice cream. In both cases some form of licking was likely to be involved. Well if Twilight couldn't make her feel better and watching how cozy those two were was not exactly the best use of her time she figured she might as well go somewhere and bug somepony else. She stood up and declared proudly. "Trixie is going to pester your friends... our friends. Perhaps Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have some need of her brilliance?" Twilight nodded. "Everypony needs your brilliance. They'll be happy to have you." Trixie beamed. "I'm glad you agree my love. Toodaloo." Trixie trotted off feeling content that bothering love birds was the right course of action for a day where she needed all eyes on her. *** Rainbow Dash was leaning back on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage as the homeowner herself was busy making some tea. Her mind adrift in the thoughts and feeling she'd been exposed to. Sure she still felt a bit icky over the whole scenario, but she couldn't help but to love both Fluttershy and Pinkie. It was almost with a heavy heart she had to admit that she wasn't entirely positive this would work in the long run, at some point somepony was going to get jelly and she was terrified it would be her who ruined everything. Rainbow Dash didn't want to spoil their good moods, they seemed so happy with this situation, but she was still scared that eventually she might get jealous and ruin it all. Of course Fluttershy had told her that was only natural to sometimes feel jealousy in a relationship like this but the important thing to remember was honesty about her emotions... something she'd been so catastrophically bad at so far that she went from getting engaged to her dream mare to being engaged to two of her best friends at the same time... Not that it didn’t come with its own set of benefits that was. Fluttershy finally returned to the couch after what had felt like an eternity of waiting for her there. Once seated Fluttershy set down a cup of tea for Rainbow Dash and one for herself. Rainbow couldn't help it, she had to lean into Fluttershy's side and nuzzle into that soft warm neck. For a moment Fluttershy froze, but quickly enough a yellow wing that wrapped around her was as gentle and warm as ever before. How could Rainbow Dash be worried, when it felt so nice to be here like this? Rainbow Dash picked up her neat and took a sip of it. Tasted like pumpkin spice. An odd flavor for a tea, but then again she really only drank tea at Fluttershy's house, and only because Fluttershy so rarely had anything else to offer, not that she'd ask her to change anything. Fluttershy spoke gently. "So, we're getting married now. Like, really getting married." Rainbow Dash nodded. “Sure sounds like it." "Where are we going to um, live?" Rainbow Dash looked over at her. 'Um... what?" Fluttershy's wing tightened around her. "W-well I know that um, you've been staying with me quite a lot but um, I mean... married couples usually live in the same house... like... live together." Of all the things that Fluttershy could have asked her, honestly, Rainbow Dash was prepared to be asked to have things shoved up her butt at this point, but this... was the hardest question she'd ever had to think about. "I... don't know." Fluttershy took a sip of her tea. 'I see... well um... neither do I." Rainbow Dash thought about it for some time in silence as they drank their tea and cuddled on the couch. "I don't want to interrupt your life at all... but I like staying here." Fluttershy paused for a moment, it looked like something was on her mind. "You don't interrupt my life, Dashy. You make my life complete. I couldn't imagine being married to you and not living together. I just... don't... want to live up in the sky where it's scary, and I could fall, and no animal friends could visit me... oh no, am I being selfish?" Rainbow Dash laughed. 'Well that settles it, love. You and me are staying right here. I... guess I'll need to bring more than just a toothbrush here won't I?" "What about your mansion?" "It can be moved, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "I'll just move it nearby so that we can use it as a guest house or something." Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, okay. I d-didn't think about that. Now we just have one more question." Rainbow Dash looked up at her, but Fluttershy's eyes didn't quite meet with Rainbow's. "What's up?" Fluttershy let out a quiet breath. "Where is Pinkie going to stay?" Ah, that was the real question, wasn't it? This relationship had a lot of questions that rolling around on Pinkie's kisses did not answer... not that it hurt. "I guess... huh..." Fluttershy took a sip of her tea as if confirming Rainbow Dash's concern. Rainbow continued. "Her lifestyle doesn't really suit yours too well. It's kind of chaotic. We might need to get a bigger house for the three of us." Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh. "I was afraid of that. I d-don't want to move." Rainbow Dash felt a creeping fear crawl up her spine. “You don’t have to move. I’ll do anything for you. Um, Pinkie can… visit?” Flutters pulled away a little. "You don’t want this do you?” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “I do want this. You want this, so I want this. End of story.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "Maybe we could just add to this house? Like a new room or something for Pinkie to play in?" Fluttershy offered a weak smile, but it didn’t quite touch her eyes. "That might work. Then I'd have both of you here, all the time, and would never be lonely again." Rainbow Dash stroked Fluttershy's cheek with a hoof. "Have you been lonely before?" Fluttershy offered a weak smile. "Why do you think I let animals live inside my house?" "Ah... gotcha. Well in that case, the three of us should totally live together, right here, forever and then you'd never be alone again." Fluttershy gave Rainbow Dash a quick kiss on the cheek, but her body still felt tense against Rainbow Dash. "Thank you." "No problem." Rainbow Dash was about to go back to her tea when there was a knock at the door that startled the two of them. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. Knowing the rules of bad timing she was positive she knew just who it was. Rainbow hopped off the couch and trotted to the door opening it up and saying before looking, "Hey, Pinkie-" Trixie stood there, looking mildly unamused. "Does Trixie look like the pink pony of chaos to you?" Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and turned around to go back to her place at the couch. Trixie followed suit. Fluttershy's eyes lit up when she saw Trixie, those eyes trailing straight to Trixie's midsection, even Rainbow Dash couldn't miss the way Fluttershy's lips parted ever so slightly, her legs spreading just an inch and her tail lifting. Great, now that she'd been living with Fluttershy long enough she could tell hewn Fluttershy was turned on. Was this going to happen every time a pregnant mare was around her? Was Rainbow Dash really just supposed to sit here and deal with Fluttershy oogling other mares? She bit that thought and shoved it back down. Yes, if she wanted to marry her dream girl, she’d have to deal with it. Trixie took a seat on the far end of the couch, seemingly having no idea that Fluttershy was casting quick glances to Trixie’s slightly larger rear end. Trixie spoke merrily. "So, how are the engaged couple doing? Well... one of the soon to be too many engaged couples that is." Fluttershy gave a sideways look at Trixie, then noticed Rainbow Dash's glare and forced her legs closed. "Um, we're doing f-fine." Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash. "And you?" Rainbow Dash took her seat next to Fluttershy, wrapped a protective leg around Fluttershy's waist. "We're doing fine." Trixie nodded. "That is good to hear. Trixie on the other hoof is not doing fine. She feels... off today." Fluttershy sat up straight. "Oh no, do we need a doctor. Rainbow Dash, hurry-" Trixie interrupted her. “Emotionally, not physically. Trixie feels healthy she's just... emotionally off today." Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Oh, I thought you were always perfect." Trixie glanced at her. "Would it surprise you if Trixie said she is merely near perfect." "Surprisingly, no." Trixie let out a small huff. "Thank you for the vote of confidence Rainbow Bright." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You’re welcome, Prickly." Fluttershy's ears were folded back. "Um... I... I think you’re perfect." Rainbow Dash was getting a bit moody now herself, nopony was supposed to be perfect for Fluttershy, nopony except for Rainbow Dash and maybe, just maybe Pinkie. Trixie had no place in their relationship. Especially not with the way Fluttershy's eyes would linger toward Trixie's rump like it was a piece of candy she wanted to... Trixie let out a sigh and leaned back. "Please don't patronize Trixie today. She is... she's feeling down today. This relationship with Twilight and Celestia is awkward and she can't help but to feel something is not right here and she is worried about it. She thought being praised and ogled would help, but Trixie does not feel better yet." There was a lot to take in with that sentence but Rainbow Dash only focused on one thing. "You came here to be ogled?" "Yes, is that surprising? But despite lingering eyes, Trixie doesn't feel better, she feels worse in fact." Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash. "You're staring too you know." Rainbow Dash looked away sharply. "I am only trying to figure out what my fiancé finds so interesting about you." Trixie shrugged. "Trixie doesn't understand it either, but apparently being with child means Fluttershy will stare. It is strange, but not unwelcomed... but it's not what Trixie needs. Perhaps Trixie needs to focus on her friends instead. How are you doing today?" Rainbow Dash folded her legs over her chest. "Fine." Fluttershy licked her lips. "Um... well... she uh... she might not be doing fine. She might need some help." Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash as if asking for permission for something but Rainbow had no idea what she was looking for. Anger boiled up in Rainbow Dash’s mind, she wanted to retort with a rude comment about how horrible that was to think about. She then remembered this was a part of Fluttershy and that anger vanished immediately, replaced by something that felt far, far worse. A cold gripping fear that told her if she was too strict she might lose Fluttershy altogether. She looked away and spoke quietly. “I’m okay. Thanks f-for the offer?” Fluttershy let out a sigh. "I'm not doing fine then. I um... I need some help." Trixie looked at her. "Trixie came here so she could get help, not to help you." Rainbow Dash looked over at her but noticed that Trixie had only paused to look at the cup of tea on the table. She then added, "But friends help each other. What can Trixie do for the two of you?" Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash again with expectant eyes. As if asking, no, begging for a question to be answered and Rainbow Dash really, really couldn’t allow herself to say yes to this. Of course, maybe she was wrong? Right, Fluttershy wouldn’t be trying to ask for something that would hurt Rainbow Dash’s feelings right? No, Rainbow Dash knew she wasn’t always the brightest pony of course she was misunderstanding this. "One minute, Trixie. I think me and Fluttershy need to uh, have a conference call." Rainbow Dash led Fluttershy away. Once safely out of earshot in the kitchen Rainbow Dash turned to face Fluttershy. "Okay, give me the lowdown, what do you want?" Fluttershy's tail was wagging like a dog. "Um... could we... you and me... and her... you know?" Rainbow Dash sat down promptly. Oh, oh Goddess Celestia, she was asking for this wasn’t she. No, not this, Fluttershy could ask for anything else, with anypony else, but not Trixie. "Are you... are you seriously asking me that?" Fluttershy nodded ever so slightly, looking more fragile than her mother’s china. Rainbow Dash’s entire body was shaking. She… she already knew her answer. Yet she knew a way to maybe get out of this. “What ab-b-bout Twilight and Celestia?" Fluttershy's ears folded back. "Oh... I um... I forgot they... you know." "They've been obsessed with each other for weeks now and you forgot, just continently, that they were dating." Fluttershy lowered her head. "I... I didn't think she'd be upset." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Oh, little crazy Twilight not upset that you want to buck her soon to be wife. I’m sure if she found out you ever did anything, even kissed Trixie, she’d probably kill both of us for good measure." Fluttershy's head shot up straight. "What? No, that's not what I, oh my. N-no, Rainbow, I just wanted to give her a massage." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" Fluttershy nodded. "Y-yes. and then after she leaves, I'll uh... need you to go upstairs with me. For a more private massage." Rainbow Dash had to pause, was her own jealousy so strong she misunderstood so gravely? Maybe, maybe she was too jealous. She still wasn’t totally okay with a massage, and the fact that Fluttershy was hinting that she was going to enjoy the massage too much was… gross. The only ponies that Fluttershy should be getting her kicks off about should be her and Pinkie. Still… a massage was harmless right? "Fine, but only a massage." Fluttershy trotted back to the kitchen looking far too happy to be laying her hooves all over another mare. This... this was an awkward position to be in. Yet Fluttershy kept true to her word, she really did just give Trixie a massage, and for Trixie's part she seemed to enjoy it. The only pony in this house who was not enjoying themselves, just so happened to be Rainbow Dash. > Chapter Thirty Nine: Of Apples and Shadows > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirty Nine: Of Apples and Shadows Written by TheCrimsonDM Luna wasn’t sure of what to do. It had seemed that Twilight's library had become the place to hang out in lately. She could always come here, find a book to read, drink some coffee and spend time with friends or family as her sister was spending a lot of time here as well. Much to Luna's surprise many of the townsponies came to visit Twilight quite often, from the cute little teacher, to the adorable tiny mayor, to the incredibly teeny sisters of their friends. Each pony that came to visit was small, cute, and friendly. Or perhaps she was just very large and imposing looking. Luna cared not for self reflection and instead focused on waiting for her loving sister to finally descend the steps. She looked blissful and her body radiated a kind of warmth she hadn't felt since a few months ago when Celestia had accidentally fallen into Luna's bath and they stayed there washing every part of each other’s bodies until... hmm, good as those memories were, she briefly wondered if Celestia was going to be opposed to another bath like that now she was engaged to not one, but two unicorns. Celestia saw her and beamed. "Dear sister, what brings you here to the Golden Oaks library?" Luna blinked. "I've been here all day, Celestia. In fact I was enjoying Spike's presence here." Spike was off in the corner reading a book titled, 'Dark Magic and the Secrets to Unravel Them.' he waved a clawed hand. "Sup, Sunbutt." Celestia narrowed her eyes. 'What did you call me?" Luna giggled. "More like what did your precious student call you a few minutes ago? Before you made her scream so loud that the entire neighborhood likely heard it." Celestia's face went red in a second and she looked away sharply. "I don't know what you are referring too." Spike did his best, lazy, impersonation of Twilight. "Sit on my face, Sunbutt!" Celestia gasped. "You heard that!" Spike laughed. "And you owe me three bits." Luna grumbled as she summoned forth three golden bit coins and tossed them at Spike who caught them easily enough. She swore that he actually grew a centimeter the moment he touched them. "You are right, she did own up to it." Celestia let out a sigh. "This is not fair, making bets about my love life." Luna smiled at her. 'Oh come now, Celly Belly, don't you think I of all ponies would not know more about your love life? Surely Twilight has a ways to go before she catches up to me." Celestia licked her lips. "Well... I wouldn't mind increasing your knowledge a bit la-" it was then that Celestia seemed to remember that Spike was in the room as her eyes widened and she cleared her throat before looking away. "-increasing your knowledge about how to be tactful later." Spike shrugged. "Princest, awesome, I don't care. I got money to throw in the pile and a book to read." Celestia walked to the kitchen. "I'm going to get some coffee seeing as Twilight drank all of her booze already." Luna decided to follow her. "That is what I said earlier." Once in the kitchen Celestia sat down, used her golden aura to pour herself a cup of coffee, now lukewarm and took a sip of it. Black. She looked over at Luna. "Did... did he just say he had a pile of gold somewhere?" Luna nodded. "Well you know dragons. They tend to horde, its how they grow I'll have you know. The growing process for a dragon is more about learning how to maintain and safeguard a horde than it is about physical aging. Some reports suggest that dragons have pre-memories from before they were hatched from an egg." Celestia took a bigger drink of her coffee. "But he came from a rock. I personally painted his rock." Luna nodded. "And hence he's a golem... or something. Honestly, Twilight's weird and I don't question her magic too much anymore." That seemed to be a sentiment both of them shared as they remained quiet for a long moment. Luna figured it was too late in the morning to want to stay awake much longer. Her sleep cycle had been so completely bucked by the past few days. She took a seat poured herself another cup of coffee and listened as the door opened from the front of the library, the familiar jingle told her somepony was here. Or perhaps Spike had left. Hearing Spike’s voice told her the truth. "Hey, what's up? Oh, you’re looking for her, huh? Yeah she's in the kitchen." She wondered who could be here. They were obviously looking for Celestia if Spike told them to come to the kitchen, but she wasn't sure who would be doing just that. When she saw a pair of ponies in the hallway she knew she was entirely too wrong. Big Mac and Applejack stood there. Big Mac's eyes met with Luna's and for a brief moment she could tell he held no ill will toward her, unfortunately she had to look away, it was too painful to see the warmth in there. Applejack tilted her hat, "Oh, Princess Celestia, howdy." Celestia replied. "Howdy." Applejack gave Big Mac a shove and he stumbled into the kitchen. He spoke quietly, "P-Princess Luna. Ah uh... Ah came to tell you something." Luna let out a defeated sigh. "I was afraid of this. I went too far didn't I?" He shook his head. 'N-not at all. Ah uh... what Ah mean to say is that Ah... Ah um... Ah l-like..." Applejack gave him another shove. "If you don't come out right here and tell her, Ah'm going to personally gild you." Luna sat up straight. "Don't do that, I need those." Applejack looked at her. "Oh, what for?" Luna felt her face burning up. "I um... it's private." Big Mac swallowed. "Ah like you, Luna." Luna's heart skipped a beat. Did he just... say he liked her? "S-surely you only mean as a friend, after all I've done, you couldn't have more than that for me." He shook his head. "No, Ah... Ah think Ah'm in love with you." Oh no, it was becoming hard to see. What was wrong with her? She opened her mouth to speak but only a squeaking sound came out. She shook her head and closed her eyes. Her entire body was trembling now and she could feel it as hot streams ran down the sides of her face. It took everything she had to speak her next words, words she never thought she'd be confident enough to speak. "I love applepie." Applejack cleared her throat. "Do you mean you love Big Mac?" Luna nodded. "That one, I mean that one. Big Mac. I love him." She felt a soft, warm hoof at the side of her face brushing away some of the tears. She opened her eyes only to stare down into Big Mac's kind, gentle face. He was smiling, his hoof was so soft. This was it, the moment she'd been looking forward to for so long now. Nothing could ruin this, nothing at all. Celestia smiled. "Great, you fell in love and even better, it's with a stallion who's done incest with his sister before. So he won't judge us for sleeping with each other." Luna shot her a horrified look and before she could say anything, an apple flew out as hard as a cinderblock and hit Celestia's horn slamming down over it all the way to the base of her head. Applejack stood there with an outstretched leg and looking mad as could be, before blinking and withdrawing her leg and then taking a step back. "Ah uh... Ah'm gay, so me and Big Mac never did, um not that we would if I wasn't." Celestia plucked the apple off of her head. "I see. My apologies, I was hoping... oh never mind. I hope you forgive my rudeness. Now, I have some frustration to take out on something. I think Chrysalis needs to be set on fire again." Okay, so one pony could ruin the moment. But it didn't matter she loved Big Mac and he loved her back. Everything was going to be okay now... so long as Celestia didn't murder her would be step-family. *** Somewhere in a dusty, dark place, a lone wizard, ex-teacher, and still proud student of Princess Celestia walked among rows of towering ancient books. Shadow Heart's scars covered his entire body, a dark memory of the time he sacrificed everything to try and save his family from an Ursa Major, and although he slew the beast, his family wren already gone. Still he had fond memories of the foal he found and tutored. The one who almost took his place as the next dark protector for Celestia. At least, until Celestia found out and decided that even if they were learning the dark arts to fight the dark arts, it was almost tantamount to treason. So here he walked in the ancient archive. Deep under Canterlot, so deep it was buried beneath the mines where Celestia's slaves had once worked. Back when she had slaves that was. Just like the mines this place was long forgotten, hidden, and abandoned. Just like all of Celestia's dark secrets that made her feel uncomfortable. He figured he probably belonged here. He would be forced to stay here too. Until the day he found it. The one book that Celestia had ordered him to find. It was an old tome, one so old that it was before even Celestia and Luna were born. Protected by dark magic, written in virgin blood... which was gross. Bound in pony flesh... even more gross. And sealed by the urine of an ancient pregnant dragon... probably impossible, and even more disgusting than the other two. It was called the Ponynomicron, and it was said to house the very spells that first created ponykind, the world they lived on, and the sun and moon which revolved around it. It also had a nifty spell to make alicorns but that was a moot point. It just so happened he had found the tome last week and boy did it stink. It was in his satchel at the moment, and he was going to deliver it to the princess later that night. He was actually just exploring the place for fun at the moment. Sure it was dark in here, and smelled like old people, but he was okay with that because it was quiet. This book would help him redeem himself and allow Celestia to give him a new title. Sure she was never going to let him be a teacher again, and he figured that was actually for the best. But, he could redeem himself and perhaps seek out that filly who'd he'd inadvertently ruined her life. He never meant to harm her, but Princess Celestia saw to finishing that particular loop. Still he would make amends to her too, assuming her memories weren’t totally screwed from Celestia's memory spells. Well at the very least he could enjoy the time he had left down here, because he never planned to come back. Not now that he had the book Celestia wanted, and the spell to retrieve lost memories. He was so happy he began singing to himself. "Ooooooohhhhh, I'm a lumberjack and that's okay. I sleep at night and I work all day!" The book in his satchel added, "He's a lumberjack and he's OOOOOOOOKAAAY!" In unison they finished. "I sleep all night, and I work all day!" He laughed. "Oh we have fun, you and me, little cursed disgusting book you." The book replied. "Honestly, I think I'm just a figment of your imagination for being in these archives and alone for like, ten years, but hey, I won’t tell Celestia if you don't." "Good idea. she'd probably think I was crazy!" > Chapter Forty: Of Pickles and Peanut Butter Kisses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty: Of Pickles and Peanut Butter Kisses Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie could feel it. Something felt different about today. She woke up in bed next to her loving, sleeping, and beautiful marefriend and knew that today was going to be weird. She wasn't even sure why or what just yet, but she knew it. Going downstairs to get some coffee something to eat. Spike was already down there and reading the newspaper. She took a seat. "Good morning, Spike." "Good morning, Trixie." She looked at the paper. "You reading anything good?" "Meh, mostly boring stuff about Ponyville. I mean, I guess one thing is exciting." Trixie poured herself a cup of coffee, filled it with sugar, cream and some more coffee. After sitting down she took a drink and hummed. "Oh, and what is that?" "Seems that someone found out that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are getting married." She blinked. "All three of them, to each other?" "Yeah, it’s becoming a real scandal. Oh well, they can deal with that themselves. I guess Rarity will be excited though." Trixie nodded. "Trixie must agree, she will be excited. Still, something feels off today, and Trixie is not sure what or why." "You too huh?" He set the paper down. Pulled out a fancy card covered in rainbows and bunny rabbits. "Here, this is for all three of us." She took it. It was an invitation to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's wedding. She let out a quiet squee. "Twilight will be so happy, after she wakes up of course." Spike rolled his eyes. "You know I've just moved to the first floor now that the two of you began screwing each other’s brains out." She pouted. "Sorry for interrupting your private life like that. Trixie is happy though, she loves her little Twilight and will make love to her any chance she gets." Spike rolled his eyes. "That much seemed obvious. Still you’re right. Something feels off about today. I looked outside, it's bright and beautiful like always, but I can feel it. Maybe this wedding coming up on Friday is an omen." She looked at the invitation. "Friday... wait a minute, that's only five days away. Spike! This may be a serious problem." He looked up at her, then went back to his morning paper. "Why?" "Because neither Trixie, nor Twilight are prepared for such a wonderful event. We can't go looking like this? We'd look like just normal plebs, and Trixie is the Great and Fancy pony." "You’re the Great and everything pony. By the way how is Trixie Two: Trixie in 3D, doing now?" "You mean Applebutter?" She rubbed at her still growing belly. "She's doing wonderfully. I may need more apples for her though." He shrugged. "Well those aren't in short supply here." Trixie took another sip of her morning elixir. She wanted something to nibble on too. Using her telekinesis she opened the fridge pulled out the pickle jar and levitated it over to herself before opening it and grabbing one of the sweet and sour green delicacies. Taking a bite she smiled, this was almost perfect. She then used her magic to grab the jar of peanut butter dragged that over and then dipped her pickle into it. As it turned out, the mixture of peanut butter and pickle was just what hit the spot. She could easily ignore the looks of horror Spike gave her when this tasted just too good. He forced himself to look away. "You know what, you can just have that entire jar of peanut butter to yourself. You've pretty much just ruined it." "Thank you, Spike. You are so considerate." He rolled his eyes. "No, I am sane but what does that matter in a town full of crazy ponies?" Twilight's voice came from the entrance nearby. "Not a great deal, I'm afraid.” Trixie looked over. "Yay, my Twily is awake!" Twilight walked over, pecked Trixie on the cheek and then went about getting her own cup of coffee. "Do you guys feel like today is a little off?" Okay, now Trixie was worried. If it was just her and spike that was one thing. But if three ponies were feeling the same way, then she was concerned. Two ponies was an accident, three ponies was a thing. Spike sipped at his coffee. "I think today is probably going to suck then." Twilight took a seat nearby Trixie. "Why's that?" He took a drink of his own coffee. "Because both me and Trixie felt the same way." That made Twilight frown. "You know, it's not very scientific to say that because three ponies in the same household feel weird that something is bad. Maybe we're all just coming down with a cold?" Trixie nodded. "Or we're all just about to witness more insanity. You know your friends, my love." Twilight nodded. "That I do... I expect something is going to explode today... would it be too much to ask you to stay home today?" Trixie looked at her. "Trixie is afraid it would be. After all, you and Trixie need to go to Rarity’s today. With Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash being married on Friday, we need proper dresses." "What’s wrong with the ones we have? I like my green one?" Trixie giggled. "Of course you do, and for a simple occasion such as your birthday or a friendly get together that green dress is simply marvelous on you. The problem, love, is that this is a wedding. We must be fancy for this gathering, or else we will look like the worst party. Trixie refuses to be the worst at anything, especially parties." A pink head popped out of the toaster nearby and Pinkie Pie asked, "Who said parties?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Pinkie. False alarm." Pinkie Pie sighed. "It always is. Today just feels so weird, I must be off my game." Her head went back into the toaster and disappeared. Trixie stared at the toaster very hard. Unplugged it, levitated it to the trash can and dropped it in there. "We can get a new one of those." Twilight rolled her eyes. "If you throw away everything Pinkie interacts with we are going to have no furniture." "So just to be clear, everyone else saw that. The pink one just summoned herself into our toaster? Is she some kind of demon?" Twilight shrugged. "I always thought she was more like a gypsy myself. A Gypsy Bard perhaps." Spike nodded. "That or a sorcerer." Twilight giggled. "I could see that, perhaps a wild sorcerer. Personally I prefer the wizard class myself." Trixie stared at them. "No, seriously, this is strange and wrong. She should not be able to do that." Twilight looked at her. "Listen, Pinkie is Pinkie. She does weird things and we kind of just have to accept it and not think too hard about it or else we'll go mad. I once saw her drive Queen Chrysalis insane from her antics." Spike shivered. "Let's not talk about that shall we?" Trixie grumbled as she took another bite of her peanut butter pickle. "I don’t like weird things... but I guess I like Pinkie..." Twilight stroked Trixie's back. "There you go. Just accept the madness and you'll get used to it in no time. It's just like that thing we did last night, where I had to relax and just accept it before it began to feel good." "That is quite different, and you asked Trixie to show you how that stuff worked... it was a lot of fun though. Next time it is Trixie's turn." Twilight met her eyes. "If you think you’re up for it, then I'd love to give you the same pleasures." For a moment they stayed like that. Staring deeply into one another's eyes, feeling each other’s love their sheer gaze alone. Trixie had finally found the one thing she'd never thought she'd be lucky enough to have. She found a home, and a family. Trixie felt herself leaning forward, her lips were cold, and they needed the warmth of Twilight's to feel better. Spike cleared his throat. "Girls, I'm right here." Twilight waved a hoof. "Close your eyes then." Trixie smiled. "You know exactly who's the boss here." Twilight leaned forward. "Yes, it is me." "Oh really?" "My house, my rules." Trixie's lips were only centimeters away from Twilight's. "Then Trixie should be a good girl shouldn't she?" "I don't know, I like it when you’re naughty sometimes too." Their lips met and electric tingles across Trixie's face. This was pure bliss. If only this moment could last forever. Of course like all good things the kiss had to end eventually. It ended when Twilight pulled back making a sour face and she quickly looked away. "Oh goddess. Peanut butter, and pickle juice. I'm-" She covered her mouth with her hooves. "Maybe we should wait until you brush your teeth." Trixie giggled. "You’re a wimp." She went back to her morning meal feeling a small victory. Maybe she should feel bad, or guilty even, but honestly it was just perfect that when Twilight tried exert power over her, she'd get punished with the most delicious combination of tastes. She just needed to acquire Trixie's wonderful taste... perhaps Twilight needed to get pregnant too. *** Celestia stood in her office walking back and forth while staring at the fireplace where she'd tossed the vile singing book. She was neither a lumberjack, nor okay, and she was most certainly not a tranny. At least she wasn't the last one for most of her life. She ignored the bright smile and proud eyes of her old student, Shadow Heart. He was happy as could be having delivered the package, and she was shocked he'd managed to do it. Then again, he did unlock immortality some time ago, much like the Doctor down in Ponyville, her old apprentice was never going to die of age so he'd have to have found it eventually. She just figured it would take another decade or two. She finally turned to face him. "Thank you for finding that thing. I needed to prepare the ritual fire for it in my office... why in my Equestria was it singing though?" Shadow Heart shrugged. "Honestly, I thought I was hallucinating that part, so I just kept singing with it." She shook her head. "Well, you’ve redeemed yourself. Now what will you do?" He looked at her. "Why, serve faithfully under you of course. I have learned the errors of my ways, and although I know you won't allow me to teach again, I would ask you help find a use for me." She frowned at that. She knew he didn’t have much out here. His family was long gone, the one pupil he'd taken under his hoof was now pregnant, had memory loss, and dating her newest apprentice. Finally he was as he had always been, truly faithful and loyal to her. Maybe not always to her exact word, but to her spirit. He would serve her until the day he died, and although she desired to give him freedom, he would likely not handle that well. He needed someone to give him a purpose... she just, didn't have much use for his talents at the moment. That was why she put in him a teacher role in the first place. A mistake she would not repeat. She smiled as she found another idea. "I have one. My first task for you is to serve my sister. Princess Luna has returned and she may need some of your more... lucrative abilities. Once she wakes up this evening I'll assign you to her. Once you've finished any all tasks she has you may return to me, unless I call for you sooner. Is that understood?" He nodded. "I have always wanted to meet Princess Luna. This is going to be so much fun!" Sure it would, and Luna was going to get to experience her nightmare of trying to aim a tactical nuke at a single pinprick on the wall. Celestia wished her sister luck. > Chapter Forty One: Of Morning Mistakes and Raining Emotion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty One: Of Morning Mistakes and Raining Emotion Written by TheCrimsonDM It had been a little over a month since Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had seriously started dating. Ever since their sudden engagement Fluttershy had found her once lonely and empty house to be all too full with Rainbow Dash constantly being there. It wasn't that Fluttershy didn't like having Rainbow Dash around, it was just that the longer she stayed there, and the closer the wedding got the more Rainbow seemed to change. They were set to be married in just five day's time and Rainbow Dash seemed even more antsy than usual. While Fluttershy was busy brewing tea and trying to think of the best way to help keep the animals safe during this upcoming storm, Rainbow Dash walked in for the seventh time in the last hour. Fluttershy looked at her, with a patient smile. Rainbow Dash looked down and away. "Hey, uh, Fluttershy. I was just wondering if you know, you could give me a hug?" "Again?" Fluttershy replied dryly. She caught the look of hurt in Rainbow's posture and quickly added. "Sure. Come here." Rainbow Dash walked over, her entire body was clearly tense, and Fluttershy wasn't sure what was going on with her. Still she gave Rainbow Dash a quick hug and then went back to her tea. "So, the storm is coming soon, what are you going to do today?" Rainbow Dash stared at her. "I'm going to spend it with you of course." Fluttershy looked at her. "But, don't you have work today?" "Nope, took this week off for us." Fluttershy blinked. "O-oh..." there went her plans for some privacy. She might still be able to get some alone time if she played her cards right. "W-well I'm planning to help out the animals today, so I'll be gone all day. It'll be kind of boring, but I enjoy it." "Cool, so when do we leave?" Fluttershy looked at her. "What do you mean, 'we'?" Rainbow Dash offered a weak smile that didn’t reflect in her eyes. No those eyes looked fearful. "I'm going with you to help right?" Somehow hearing that did not foster feelings of warmth in Fluttershy’s chest. In fact all it did was slightly annoy her. She’d been planning this day for a week now to get some peace and quiet, and to de-stress. No hugs, no kisses, and- Rainbow Dash spoke quietly. "I love you." Fluttershy let out a sigh. "I love you too." -no need to validate Rainbow Dash’s emotions. Rainbow Dash's wings were about as tense as they could get. It was... not an attractive trait to see Rainbow Dash so tense, all the time. It was like ever since that makeout session with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash had been stressed out. Fluttershy had to admit to herself she promised to just keep her polypony stuff down or get rid of it if she had to for Rainbow's sake, but the longer they stayed together the more she realized she needed some breathing room and some extra attention. Pinkie was going to be a great help with that, but Rainbow just wouldn't give her a break. Fluttershy opened up one of the fashion magazines she borrowed from Rarity and took a sip of her tea. It opened up to a stunning mare with brown fur and golden mane. She had the kind of curves to die for, and was wearing a white saddle that was positively sexy on her. Fluttershy didn’t intend to stare as hard as she did, but it was undeniable that she would have offered this mare her body if she somehow appeared in front of her. Rainbow Dash looked from the magazine to Fluttershy. Her smile crumbling as she did. "So... um... you like saddles?" Fluttershy hummed. "Sometimes. I also like the mare wearing it." "O-oh..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "Do, you want me to wear one?" Fluttershy looked over at Rainbow Dash. Ignoring the positively weak poster she had at the moment she couldn't deny Rainbow would look good in a white saddle. It would complement her blue fur quite well. "I could enjoy that." She went back to her magazine. Just as Fluttershy was getting a good eyeful of this mare Rainbow's wing reached over and pushed the magazine down covering it up so Fluttershy couldn't enjoy it. Fluttershy looked over and just as she did Rainbow Dash leaned over and kissed her on the lips. For a moment Fluttershy paused, confusion and annoyance battling inside her. she gave up and kissed Rainbow Dash back. After a few minutes of that Fluttershy all but forgot about the magazine, the tea, or weird behavior from Rainbow Dash. Once they pulled away Rainbow Dash was looking a little more relaxed. She whispered. "I love you." Fluttershy nodded. “I love you too." Rainbow Dash offered a smile, it wasn't as strong as she'd like, but at least she was looking a little more relaxed. Rainbow Dash walked away, something tucked under her wing. It was a shame that Rainbow Dash wasn't quite the same as she'd been before. Not as powerful, stoic, or confident. Something had changed in her, and all the parts Fluttershy loved had simply up and vanished. Perhaps one day they'd return, but until that day she'd have to deal with this nonsense. She went back for her magazine but found it completely missing. She stared at the table in silence for a long moment. It only occurred to her after a long moment that Rainbow Dash had just stolen her magazine and absconded with it. Fluttershy let out a low growl and went back to her tea. This was the third time Rainbow Dash had done that, the first time it was one of her adult pony magazines that Fluttershy kept hidden under the bed. The second time one of her books, and now it was her fashion magazine. Wasn’t Fluttershy allowed to have any sexy mares to stare at early in the morning? What was wrong with Rainbow Dash? At this rate, Fluttershy was going to be forced to stare at mares in real life. What would Rainbow Dash do then? Steal the mare and try to hide her someplace? Fluttershy would like to see Rainbow Dash try. Today was going to be a weird day, she could feel it. *** Rainbow Dash had just enough time to pop over to Pinkie's and back before she went out with Fluttershy to help the animals or whatever it was she was going to do. Some part of her didn't want to leave. The longer she stayed with Fluttershy, the more she felt like Fluttershy was less interested in her. She was still cool right? Still too cool to care about, or need Fluttershy's attention right? She just kept stealing things, and checking up on Fluttershy constantly because she knew Fluttershy's attention was better served on her than some slut in a fashion magazine... okay, maybe she wasn't as cool as she tried to be. She flew onto the balcony of Pinkie's loft on the top of Sugar Cube Corner and opened the door. She found Pinkie easily enough sitting by a table and putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Rainbow Dash flew down to her and took a moment to look at the puzzle. It showed a wilting flower, kind of depressing for a puzzle if she asked herself. Still it was Pinkie's weird puzzle to put together, not hers. Rainbow Dash put her hooves to her lips intent to get Pinkie's attention with a whistle. Just before she could Pinkie Pie looked back up at her. "Morning, Dashy! How are you doing?" Rainbow Dash had the wind taken out of her sails. She landed behind Pinkie. "Just coming to check up on you." "Is it because we're lovers?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Or because we were friends first? Point is I'm just here to say hi." Pinkie Pie looked back at her puzzle. "Glad to hear it. Wanna help me build a puzzle? With the storm planned for today my plan is to do all these puzzles." "All of them?" Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof toward the nearby wall where at least twenty boxes of puzzles stood. Some were simple at only fifty pieces, a few were three thousand piece nightmares. "You’re going to do all of these, tonight?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeppers, my record is doing eighteen of these in one night. Imma beat that record like a dominatrix tonight and make cupcakes out of it." "I don't think cupcakes made out of puzzle pieces sounds tasty or healthy." "Hmm, you’re probably right. Smoothies it is!" Rainbow Dash giggled. "I love you, Pinkie. You’re always so crazy." Pinkie Pie turned and smiled warmly at her. "That's the first time you've really smiled, or laughed today isn't it?" Rainbow Dash took a step back. "Pffft, I've been smiling, and laughing like, all day. When you live with the love of your life how could you not?" Pinkie's smile never wavered, but her eyes somehow looked sad. "That's what I'd like to know. Is everything okay, Dashy?" Rainbow Dash lied. "Yep, never better. All happily ever after and all that." Pinkie looked back at her puzzle. "You know, if you need a new space, a safe space, to just relax and be friendly in, you can stay here tonight doing puzzles with me. Just the two of us." "Is that all we'd do?" Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if she was excited or terrified to hear Pinkie's answer. Pinkie smiled. "That's all I have planned, if you want to do something different, just let me know. I'll do whatever you want, because I love you." The offer didn't seem like some kind of double entendre, it just felt like an earnest and happy offer. One that Rainbow Dash could take or leave. She already had plans to stay in with Fluttershy all night, cozying up to a fireplace and cooking marshmallows. Yet there was a part of her that thought, perhaps, just perhaps Pinkie's offer was better. At least she didn't have to worry about Fluttershy’s eyes wandering all over the darn place that way. Rainbow Dash caught that last thought and held onto it. She came here for a reason and this was it. "Pinkie, is it... normal for couples to look at other ponies while dating?" Pinkie waved a hoof. "I'd rather look at you than anypony else, but if you’re talking about the occasional glance that's normal. Its only when ponies start staring that it gets worrying." Rainbow Dash nodded. "What if... Fluttershy was to start staring at other ponies?" “Is she?” Pinkie asked. “Well… magazines and stuff…” Pinkie hummed for a moment. “Well… for normal relationships that’s not a problem, like sometimes you just want to look at porn, or watch a movie with a hunk of an action star in it. That one strong germane actor comes to mind, Arnold Shorts or something. But if she’s making you uncomfortable with it. That’s not okay.” Rainbow shook her head. “I’m cool, she’s cool, we’re all cool.” Pinkie bit her lower lip. "Rainbow... there are... other reasons me and Fluttershy didn't work out. I don't think she can help some of her traits. She's just got too much love to give, but if she's not making you feel good, maybe you should take a break? I mean you’re getting married in five days, we should try and be extra careful with each other’s feelings." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Right, she's just... got too much love." "Rainbow Dash, my offer stands. Even if you decide you want to come over in the middle of the night, I'm here for you." Pinkie Pie smiled so warmly that it almost hurt to see. Before Rainbow Dash could reply Pinkie Pie wrapped her up into a tight, warm hug. It was so warm and safe in Pinkie's embrace. Rainbow Dash had to hug her back. Pinkie Pie kissed the top of Rainbow's head gently. "I know you want to spend time with Shy. So I won't hold my breath or anything, even if I am really good at holding my breath, but I just wanted you to know that my home is open to you any time day or night." Rainbow Dash nuzzled into that soft pink fluff. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." > Chapter Forty Two: Of Broken Wings and Dripping Ceilings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Two: Of Broken Wings and Dripping Ceilings Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie and Twilight had just gotten done letting Rarity practically molest them for their sizes in order to get measurements for her dresses. Trixie knew that this was going to happen sooner or later but her baby belly was already making such things a bit more embarrassing than she'd care to admit. At least nopony would judge her for that, it was only natural after all. Once she'd given birth to her little Applebutter she could work on getting back into shape. For now she was just walking home side by side with her loving marefriend. This little town she'd hated and feared some time ago was quickly growing on her. One of the most tragic elements had to be the town's lack of any sort of magician. Sure any town would be honored to have her appear, but to lack any and all sort of magical talents was just a shame. She knew that she must stay and give these ponies the kind of show that, well maybe they didn't deserve it, but she was generous. Along their way towards home she noticed something was still feeling off about today and she couldn't quite place what, or why. Each step toward her home had her feeling increasingly antsy about something. Everything was going so well wasn't it? At least three of their friends were getting married. The other two were in love with each other, she thought that was true at least, and she herself was in love with Twilight, and engaged to both Twilight and Princess Celestia. Even Luna and Spike were in their own respective relationships. What could be wrong? Wasn't everypony happy? Off in the distance she could see something strange starting to take place. A mess of gray clouds covering the sky. Twilight followed her stare and groaned. "I forgot they were planning to have it rain here." Trixie let out a sigh. "That must be why Trixie feels so weird today. She's not the biggest fan of rainstorms." Twilight nuzzled into her side. "Why not? It's thanks to a rainstorm that we got to meet right?" Trixie smiled at her. "Trixie supposes you are right.” The two of them quickened their pace a bit to get home. Once there they came to realize they were alone. Which was never a bad thing. Given the state of the storm as well she figured that they probably weren't going to be bothered at all tonight. Trixie licked her lips. This could be a good chance to get in some extra special time with her lover. But first she needed something to drink. Orange juice sounded good. Orange juice and peanut butter, not mixed together just a jar of peanut butter on the side and a spoon big enough to eat it. They'd had to get extra stores of Peanut Butter for her cravings lately, but that was fine. Trixie had earned it by being such a good friend and talented lover. At least one of those two things had to be true. Sitting down in the kitchen Twilight followed in after her took a seat and stared at the window. "You know. One of the first big storms we had here in Ponyville turned into my first ever sleepover. It was with Rarity and Applejack. That turned out to be a fricking nightmare." Trixie looked at her. "Did you just say 'fricking'?" Twilight's cheeks flushed pink and she looked both ways. "We're alone, I can curse if I want... if you’re okay with that." Trixie giggled. "Trixie is fine with it. She'd like to 'frick' with you later. Perhaps in a few minutes, we have a perfectly good table after all." Twilight giggled. "I'd like that too." Trixie ate her peanut butter in silence for a moment. "So what happened in your sleepover?" "Basically Applejack and Rarity got stuck at my house, fought with each other all night, and a tree crashed through my window." Trixie gasped. "That's horrible. I can't imagine those two fighting, not for real anyway." "They do seem to love each other... I never would have thought that would happen." Trixie thought about it for a moment. "Romance is like a jigsaw puzzle. A pony needs to find someone who not only matches them but fills in the spaces that they lack. Trixie thinks those two complete each other very well." Twilight nodded. "I like to think we do the same thing." "Oh and what does Trixie fill in with you?" "Well, you’re a lot more sociable than I am, even if your still rebuilding that part of your life, your also more sexually confident, but you also are really sweet and take care of me." Trixie smiled. "Thank you, Twilight. Trixie could say the same thing about you." Twilight nodded. "You also fill me up in other, more um, private ways." Twilight nodded to a nearby bowl of vegetables, specifically at the cucumber. Trixie licked her lips. "Oh, Trixie sees now. Trixie will enjoy this moment with you. Let no one interrupt us in our peace as Trixie helps fill you up." *** Rainbow Dash was in the woods with Fluttershy. They were busy checking up on the various animals, including the birds to make sure none of them needed help before the storm hit. They’d been here for hours and Fluttershy still wasn't done yet. The sky above them was turning a dark gray and she could smell the rain water in the air. They needed to hurry before someone got hurt. Looking down At Fluttershy who was helping a massive horde of rabbits build a little dam around their warren entrance Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. Fluttershy looked kind of hot. She looked serious, yet happy, confident in herself and her abilities to help the small forest critters. Rainbow Dash admired her, she knew for a fact that she wasn’t very confident here with helping the animals, but that was fine because Rainbow Dash was cool enough to make up for any lack of confidence. The flash of lightning up above them was followed almost immediately by a thunderous crack so loud that it hurt her ears. Fluttershy leapt up off the ground and wrapped her legs around Dash's waist. This would have been fine, but with Dash having her ears covered with her hooves she was already a bit off balance. Fluttershy's extra weight threw her completely off balance and the two of them when flying into a nearby tree, Rainbow slammed into it hard and then the duo fell a good ten feet into the bushes with Rainbow Dash landing on her back. Her back exploded with pain, and as the explosion melted into a steady aching burn, she lay there, her breath stolen away from her. She looked down and saw that Fluttershy looked a little dirty with a few twigs and leaves in her mane but was otherwise fine. Fluttershy opened her eyes. "Dashy? Dashy, are you okay? What happened?" Rainbow Dash sucked in a cool breath of air through gritted teeth. She was strong, some stupid landing wouldn't stop her. She rolled over and stood up. Looking at her wings, there was a trail of blood there, dripping into the earth. She tried to move her wing and screamed in pain as searing agony carved into her wing. This wasn't good. Fluttershy's ears folded back against her scalp and her eyes widened. "Dashy, oh no. I hurt you, didn’t I?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a hard landing. I'm good. What about the rabbits?" "Their fine, we just finished. Now we can go home." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Good, because I think I need to lay down." She was feeling a bit dizzy all of a sudden. She began to fall to her side, but found a soft and warm pony there to hold her up. Fluttershy was there for her. "Let’s go, on our legs." Fluttershy nodded. "Okay, before the rain-" Just like the heavens themselves heard their plan and decided to point out exactly where they were wrong, rain drops began to fall down over them. Fluttershy finished lamely, “-starts.” They... were quite a bit a ways away from the cottage. In fact Fluttershy's home was on the opposite side of Ponyville, and Rainbow Dash couldn't fly so going to her own home was impossible. This meant that they'd have to try get to one of their friends. Only two places were nearby. Rarity's and Twilight's. Since Rainbow Dash already knew what Rarity and Applejack's plans were for the evening. And the fact that the two of them were on Applejack’s farm, this meant the only thing left was to go to Twilight's house. Someone would have to be there right? They began walking and even if she could use her legs, each step jostled her wing and made her squint in pain. Hopefully Twilight had a healing spell of some sort up her sleeve. The walk into town was painful and it was obvious that Fluttershy could tell each step was painful for Rainbow Dash, it was even more obvious that she felt guilty over. It wasn't the worst pain she'd been in because of one of her friends. Applejack had messed her up more than this in a fight before. It still hurt though and she wanted to go home, home, however, was not happening tonight. The rain poured down on them, growing heavier and harder with each moment. They couldn't be too far from Twilight’s by now right? They were both soaking wet and the rain slamming into Rainbow's open wounds burned. She just wanted to be somewhere dry. It was too bad that Pinkie's was far away. Fluttershy spoke quietly, making her hard to hear over the sound of the pounding rain. "I'm sorry. I'm such a screw up, I'm always hurting you somehow." "No you’re not, your perfect and it’s my fault, it’s always my fault, I'm sure." "I promise I'll find a way to make this up to you." Through the thick sheets of rain Rainbow Dash saw it. Twilight's library, and the lights were still on in the first floor. Once they got to the door Fluttershy had to be the one to open it as Rainbow's entire body was starting to lock up from the pain. They went inside and closed the door behind them. Rainbow Dash moved forward. She could hear something from the kitchen. A squeaking noise and some kind of grunting. What was Twilight doing? Trying to fix a broken table? Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen. Well it wasn't Twilight who was doing something, it was Trixie. Twilight was laying on her back on the table, grunting and squeezing the edges of the table with her hooves as if her life depended on it. Trixie was by Twilight's legs and using a cucumber to... oh goodness. Rainbow Dash might have passed out. She fell to the floor and everything went white for a little bit. When she was asked later she was going to claim it was just the pain that made her pass out. She would also swear she passed out before she saw anything uncomfortable, weird, or otherwise private. She was going to do her best to burn that memory out of her head forever. At that moment though, she was too busy being passed out to do anything. > Chapter Forty Three: Of Stormy Shy and Rainbow’s Plight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Three: Of Stormy Shy and Rainbow’s Plight Written by TheCrimsonDM Needless to Trixie felt pretty embarrassed about being caught with Twilight on the table. Twilight even more so. Sure they had found Rainbow Dash passed out and bleeding at the entrance to the kitchen, but just as they had finished their work on the table they looked over to see Fluttershy watching them. She was opening her mouth and clearly trying to speak but nary a sound actually came out of her lips. They were all pretty embarrassed. Fast forward a good ten minutes, and they were all upstairs by the fireplace. Rainbow Dash was bandaged up and had her wounds cleaned. Fluttershy was looking at the floor and not speaking, and Twilight was in the shower probably trying to clean the sin away. Trixie was plenty embarrassed sure, but she was more upset not by the stalkers in her home, but rather by Fluttershy herself. It was concerning to say the least the look that Trixie saw in Fluttershy's eyes when they noticed they were being watched. It wasn't simply shock, it was interest. That, was something she probably wasn't going to mention to Rainbow Dash, not ever. Nor the continuous sideways glances that Fluttershy gave her, and then the entrance to the staircase where Twilight had left. It was like Fluttershy was trying to work up the courage to do, or say something. Fluttershy finally spoke at long last. "H-how long will she b-be in there?" "Probably not as long as you'd like." Trixie replied dryly. Fluttershy's ears folded back. "I-I, w-what?" "Never mind that. Trixie was just... making a cucumber sandwich with Twilight, and that's a very private thing for us." Fluttershy nodded. "I'm so sorry. Rainbow Dash was hurt, and its storming outside, and, and, and I didn't expect to see that!" "You certainly enjoyed it." Trixie had to admit some part of her enjoyed giving a performance to Fluttershy, that part of her she set on fire and threw into a vault in the back of her mind. Fluttershy lowered her head. "You two just looked, um, so happy... that's all." "Sure thing." Trixie believed that about as much as she believed wearing the Alicorn Amulet was a good idea. "Tell Trixie something though, did Rainbow Dash see? Us making the cucumber sandwich that is?" Fluttershy shrugged. "I um, I think she passed out from blood loss." Rainbow Dash chose that moment to start stirring next to them. She cracked an eye open and stared up at them. "Hmmm, why does it feel like I spent the night drinking?" Trixie smiled down at her. "Because you ran out of blood and passed out." "Oh, that's, not very cool." Trixie smirked. "That's okay, I could make you a cucumber sandwich to help you feel better." Rainbow Dash sat right up. "NO! I mean um, like.... I don't do cucumbers right? That's what cool people say?" Trixie giggled, teasing a vulnerable and nervous Rainbow Dash was surprisingly fun. Unfortunately misses buzz-killington had to enter the room. Twilight spoke from the doorway, "Sorry, the last cucumber was used, um eaten..." Fluttershy shivered, and Trixie couldn't tell if it was from horror or fear. Because Trixie did indeed eat a cucumber sandwich, after she was finished. In retrospect that was probably pretty gross. Rainbow Dash scooted closer to Fluttershy. "It's cool, I'm cool, everything is cool. We'll just go home now." As if to cue the level of stupid that would be, a bright flash of lightning outside was followed by a tree shaking thunderclap made her freeze up. Twilight took a seat next to Trixie. Her mane was done up with a towel and it was about the sexiest thing she'd ever seen. That clean, still warm fur was just begging to be fluffed up and rubbed against. Trixie had to remind herself she was in polite company, or well company at least. Rainbow Dash leaned into Fluttershy's side. "Well, I uh... can we stay the night then?" Twilight nodded. "Of course you can. I already set up a bed for you in the antechamber on the first floor." Fluttershy asked, "Why so far away? Didn't Applejack and Rarity get to have a bed upstairs near yours when they did this?" Twilight nodded once more. "Yes, but you see, I wasn't having er, intimate relations with a pony back then. Now I kind of want my privacy." Fluttershy lowered her head. "O-oh, that's okay, I mean... if we're not good enough..." Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "Fluttershy, you and me are also having these intimate relations, I think having our own space would only be fair." Somehow that didn't seem to cheer up Fluttershy. Trixie really didn’t want to know why. There were some lines she didn't cross, this was one of them. Of course Fluttershy's ears perked up. "Oh, Trixie, your belly is looking full of life. You’re positively glowing!" Trixie looked down. "Trixie is rather fantastic isn't she?" "Oh but you are. You'll be the best mommy." Trixie smirked. "Yes, yes Trixie will." "I bet you need extra care and attention right now too, after all you’re doing such a hard job." Trixie rubbed a hoof on her chest fluff. "Trixie truly is. Building a baby in her tummy is quite the challenge." Fluttershy leaned in closer. "I b-bet you need somepony to help massage your hooves, or um, your back, or, or, or your belly." "Ha! Trixie does need all those things doesn't she? She is such a talented and special mommy." Fluttershy leaned closer still. "I could, help with that. I'm pretty g-good at massages. Ask Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash growled. "Fluttershy, what are you doing?" Twilight beamed. "Oh thank you, Trixie always complains that I'm good but I could be better at massages. Would you really help?" Rainbow Dash and Trixie both shot Twilight a look of surprise. Trixie spoke. "Are you quite sure? Wouldn't you get jealous?" Twilight shook her head. "Why would I be jealous? She's just offering a massage, Trixie. Friends do that." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Not when their baby hungry they don't." Twilight groaned. "Fluttershy is not hungry for the flesh of children, seriously what do you think she is some kind of witch? She's what, going to foalnap someone's kid and boil them in a stew?" Trixie was pretty sure that someone had explained to Twilight what baby hungry meant, and that Fluttershy wasn't baby hungry, more... mommy hungry. Trixie had to stop this before Rainbow Dash blew a gasket, and Fluttershy crossed a line she couldn't return from. Trixie stood up. "Trixie is going to take a shower, she does not need a massage. Thank you for the offer, but Trixie must decline." She gave a wink to Rainbow Dash as she left, hoping that Rainbow Dash would get the message, that she wasn't going to let anything too awkward occur tonight. Fluttershy groaned. "N-not fair..." Twilight perked up. "Oh, hey, if you’re offering a free massage, can I get one?" Trixie smiled as she left. "Go ahead and give Twilight one. She's earned it." As Trixie left she heard Fluttershy speaking, even if she sounded a bit disappointed she did say, "I, think that's only fair." This was going to be a pressure cooker tonight and Trixie was really hoping it didn't just explode like everything else in her life did. These ponies were too good for that to happen. They weren't bad ponies like Trixie had been, they only deserved good things. *** Rainbow Dash had watched with some amount of heated jealousy as Fluttershy got her hooves all over Twilight's undeserving back. At the very least the light in Fluttershy’s eyes had dimmed and her face was a mask of concentration rather than pleasure. If it had been Trixie beneath her, well Rainbow Dash might have thrown a punch and she's not sure who at. Trixie at least seemed to be on the same page, that Fluttershy was acting weird and needed to be stopped at all cost. The fact that Rainbow Dash had to stop her at all was the issue. Like, seriously it was freaking Trixie. Sure she was pregnant but it was still just Trixie. Why was Fluttershy being so weird? Was this going to be a constant problem with Fluttershy? Did Rainbow Dash have to worry about this? Her anger was quickly fading as a familiar old feeling came back. A sour, poisonous feeling that was so heavy it weighed down her soul. She felt... guilty. This wasn't how she thought her perfect life with Fluttershy was going to work. She knew she'd be a little jealous, she was always a little jealous, but she figured it would be over things that were clearly not going to happen, but the way Fluttershy looked at Trixie sometimes, like Trixie was some kind of holy object to lust after... It made her doubt Fluttershy, and that feeling alone hurt her more than anything else. Rainbow Dash didn't think anything would happen between Fluttershy and Twilight if she just left them alone for a little bit. So she got up and walked to the stairs. She was going to leave these two be and perhaps check up on Trixie. Maybe a one on one conversation was exactly what she needed. Some kind of confirmation that Trixie wasn't ever going to do something weird with her future wife. Once she was all the way downstairs she made her way to the bathroom and knocked on it a few times. She didn't hear the sounds of a shower. She did hear a response as Trixie said, "What is it?" Rainbow Dash almost turned and left. She shouldn't be here... she should just leave. "It's me." "Oh, Rainbow Dash, come on in. We need to talk." Rainbow Dash felt herself cringe. Somehow hearing those words made this feel more painful. She opened the door and stepped in, before she realized that Trixie was sitting on the toilet and reading a magazine. Rainbow Dash shrugged. Rarity often times had no boundaries either. She closed the door behind her with a rear leg and went to the mirror to stare at her own reflection. "Sup?" "No, Rainbow Dash, Trixie wants to know what is up with you?" "With me?" "Yes, how are you feeling?" Trixie asked this with such real concern in her voice that it threw Rainbow Dash off. "I'm good, I guess." "Are you quite sure?" Trixie flipped a page in the magazine. "You didn't seem fine upstairs." "Yeah, well I'm fine." Trixie glanced over at her. "Trixie doesn't think you are. Or at least, she wouldn't be in she was in your horseshoes." "Why? What’s to worry about?' Trixie flipped the page again. "Fluttershy is to worry about. I'm not that stupid, I might fall for flattery, but I know a mare in lustful heat when I see one. I do not want Fluttershy trying to damage my home, so you have nothing to worry about from me. I love my Twilight and only her. Celestia is a sacrifice I make for Twilight." Rainbow Dash stared at the mirror in silence hearing that for a long silent moment. Finally she found the words creeping out of her voice. Crawling out with as much pain as desperation. "Thank you." "No need to thank me. I'm not some kind of harlot. Once I find a mare I love, I settle down. Even if I did have my share of fun with Celestia my hope is that Twilight will grow out of her sooner or later... or at least that she'll keep me around if she doesn't." Rainbow Dash looked into the mirror. She no longer saw the proud, awesome and too cool for school flier she was used too. She saw someone who was weak, fragile, tired, and most importantly hurt. It wasn't just the physical pain her wing was in, her heart was aching too. Normally she'd confide in one of her friends, Fluttershy was the first one, the only one she told her deepest pain too, if not her, Pinkie Pie, who would help her get her hooves on some special cupcakes to chill out, failing them Rarity was always a good ear for weird problems. None of them were here, and all of them had their hooves so wrapped up in this mess, manipulating strings to make Rainbow Dash feel one way or the other that she just couldn't find any way to feel comfort in talking to them. She needed someone not connected to this mess. Someone who hadn't spent the better part of years trying to get her to hook up with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, or both of them. She needed... Trixie. She glanced over at Trixie. "I... I need your help." Trixie smiled at her. "Well I'm here for you. This might take awhile so, light an incense and take a seat, let's talk." "Why would I need to light an-" Rainbow Dash covered her nose and nearly screamed. "What is wrong with you?" Trixie smiled. "Trixie ate a cucumber that seems to have disagreed with Trixie's stomach." > Chapter Forty Four: Of Fires and Drowning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Four: Of Fires and Drowning Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash had lit the incense and sat there, spilling her heart out to Trixie. Once a perfect stranger, and although a friend, just stranger enough that she could trust her. It wasn't the first of such talks, and she realized it probably wouldn't be the last of them. Still she was surprised to see Trixie was hanging on her every word. Even if she was pretending to read a fashion magazine, it seemed much more habit than disinterest in Rainbow Dash. Once Rainbow Dash had finished spilling her guts. She sat there feeling drained, and tired, and hurt. She just didn't know what to say any more at that point. "My entire relationship with Fluttershy and Pinkie was orchestrated by Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy herself. I know that when you have a crush one someone your friends are supposed to help, but this feels like it’s gone well beyond that, like, like some kind of evil plot to get me hitched to two different ponies. The worst problem is, I actually love them both." Trixie nodded. "Trixie understands. If she'd been in your place. Having some pony manipulate her life, her choices, her decisions, she'd have such a deep sense of mistrust with them she'd never be able to get over it. She may even grow to hate that pony, swearing vengeance on them forever. If by some chance she actually loved them at some point to top it all off... well, let's just say Trixie is not as strong as you." Rainbow Dash could tell there were some darker undertones to that line, but she felt like perhaps now was not the best time to be asking her what she had meant. She just made a mental note to check up on Trixie more often and perhaps bring her some peanut butter muffins from Pinkie's special oven. "Your plenty strong, Trixie. I like that about you." Trixie smiled at her. "Thank you, Rainbow. Though for once this is not about Trixie. It is about you. And Trixie needs to know, do you think these ponies manipulated you for selfish reasons?" Rainbow Dash responded all too quickly. "I know for a fact that Pinkie Pie would never do that." "Just, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash opened her mouth. No words came out. All she wanted to say was ‘of course not, Fluttershy, and Rarity would never use her.’ Never have plans that were too selfish and designed only to please them while hurting Rainbow Dash. That's all she had to say right? Right? How come she couldn't say that? How come it hurt so bad it was like some dragon had clawed its way into her chest, breaking the bones and was ripping her still-beating heart out for her to see? How come her eyes were burning? She closed her mouth and rubbed at her stupid water eyes. There was a flush of the toilet and a moment later she felt two warm legs wrap around her and pull her into an embrace. "There, there," Trixie whispered. "This is an awkward situation for anypony to be in, especially someone as cool as you are. And Trixie would mistrust all three of them herself, but the fact you do trust at least one of them is a great thing." Rainbow Dash sniffled, great now she must have allergies. "Why's that?" "Because it means you can fall back on Pinkie if you have to get somewhere more... safe. Emotionally safe." Rainbow Dash nuzzled into Trixie's chest. Those hooves caressed her back gently. Rainbow Dash nearly whispered. "You mean, if I decide to... leave? I can still have Pinkie?" Trixie's embrace tightened. "Trixie did not say that... but... that is also true. Trixie simply meant if you felt overwhelmed by all this, you could probably stay with Pinkie for awhile to recover. It sounds like you really trust her." Rainbow Dash sniffled. "I... I guess I do. Does that make me a bad pony?" "With the display Fluttershy is giving us right now, Trixie doubts it. Trixie still says that this isn't as bad as it could be, even if Fluttershy is too... interested in ponies she should stay away from, she hasn't actually done anything yet. Perhaps her offer for a massage was truly an innocent offer?" Rainbow Dash pulled away. "Do you really think that?" Trixie met Rainbow Dash's eyes. "Trixie thinks we should give her the benefit of the doubt at least. But do not worry, Trixie will not betray your trust. You are as dear a friend to Trixie as Twilight is." Rainbow dash smiled. "Thanks." Trixie beamed at her. "Good, now clean yourself up, and let’s go back to the party." Clean... Rainbow Dash suddenly realized something that sent shivers down her spine. "You didn't wash your hooves... did you?" Trixie winked at her. "Oops, did Trixie forget to do that before getting her hooves all over your back, smearing invisible germs there? Must have slipped Trixie's mind." "You are evil, aren't you?" "Trixie has her moments." *** Not only did Trixie feel like she'd been pregnant for a whole year already, she was also hungry. It was later into the evening and Trixie found herself at the mercy of the burning fires before her. Only a single stick with a flaming marshmallow being held aloft by her telekinetic aura were there to defend her from the flames. Yet the marshmallow was failing as it burned, cracked, and blackened. It had to withdraw, and as it did, the flames kept pursuing it until she blew them out with her magical breath of wind. The burnt oozing carcass of her once brave and fluffy friend lay there, ready, willing, and vulnerable to her lips. She snatched the marshmallow into her mouth and moaned as the sweetest hottest and most delightful treat pleased her to her core. She just really wished that Fluttershy hadn’t been staring at her while she did. It was of course only then that Trixie had the most brilliant of ideas. "Twilight, love, you can teleport right?" Twilight nodded. "Yes, it is one of my favorite ways of transportation." Trixie nodded at Rainbow Dash. "I think maybe Rainbow Dash is a bit tired and might be more relaxed at home. Could you teleport these two love birds home?" Twilight frowned. "I mean... I guess so... I like their company though." She looked over at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Do you two want to go home?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "I think I would." Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm enjoying it here. I'd like to stay." Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy. "Are you sure you don't want to come home with me?" Fluttershy met her eyes, there was a hard look in them, one so rarely seen in the usually soft spoken and pushover pegasus. "No, I'm quite sure I'd like to stay. You can go home if you want." Trixie wanted to groan. She thought for sure that would work. Instead all she saw was Rainbow Dash look about as shocked as if a skunk had teleported in front of her. Her ears folded back, and her head lowered, she looked down at the floor. "I'll... I'll stay." It was such a small thing that Trixie almost missed it. Rainbow Dash didn't just back down, she was defeated. Her will was completely crushed by Fluttershy's. What was Fluttershy even thinking? She wasn't going to get anything out of this. Not at all. There was perhaps a real challenge coming and that sickly feeling that today was going to go real wrong real soon came back. Trixie really wanted this night to be over now. Even toasted marshmallows weren't going to fix the disaster that was about to unfold between these two. Their wedding was only four days away too. She really, really hoped this was just pre-wedding jitters. Trixie whispered to herself. "Please, Luna, let this be another nightmare." she waited for a few seconds and got no response. Nope, not a nightmare, this time it was real. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash really just had a micro fight in front of her, and Rainbow Dash lost. Looking at Rainbow Dash, she couldn't possibly imagine what it would be like to be in her horseshoes. If Twilight had done that to her... Twilight snuggled in closer to Trixie and whispered. "Trixie, I don’t know why, but for some reason I get the feeling I need to tell you how much I love you and that I'd never do anything to hurt you." Trixie nodded. "I know, Twilight. I trust you." Rainbow Dash pushed herself up off the floor and began walking to the staircase. "Hey, I'm going to go to sleep. I'm feeling tired... Fluttershy... would... would you like to join me?" Her voice sounded so weak, like she was begging Fluttershy to hear her. Yet Fluttershy was only staring at Trixie. A look of obsession and interest that Trixie could never return. Fluttershy spoke. "I'll join you in a moment, Dashy." The way Rainbow Dash scrunched up her face as if she'd bitten into something sour was too painful to watch. She turned her head and began walking down the stairs. Trixie couldn't watch this, she didn't know what she could do. She felt powerless, this whole kind of situation was outside of her scope, but she was learning to pick up on emotions a lot better, and the actions that created them. Trixie couldn’t do anything directly, but she could at least take away Fluttershy's reason for staying. "Trixie is going to bed too. She demands that nopony bother her except for Twilight." She walked over to the stairs and walked up them leaving only Twilight and Fluttershy alone by the fireplace. The fact that Fluttershy was clearly watching her go up the stairs was... not as pleasing as she'd liked. This time it made Trixie feel kind of dirty. She almost wished she could see what was going on inside Fluttershy's mind but she knew that whatever it was, she did not in fact want to know about it. Crawling into bed Trixie let her eyes close shut and her mind begin to drift away. Hopefully this was a one-time thing. That Fluttershy would figure what was going on, and how she was hurting Rainbow Dash. This seemed almost impossible that Fluttershy could be this cold toward Rainbow Dash. There was simply no way this was really her. It was like she was a changeling in disguise. Trixie might allow herself to believe that too, if she hadn't seen Twilight's anti-Changeling defense system in person. *** Fluttershy was finally left alone with just Twilight once more. Sure, she'd rather have been left alone with Trixie. At least there was something beautiful, stunning, and magical to look at. Instead she was alone with Twilight. Twilight was giving her an odd look that she couldn't quite place. Twilight spoke gently, in a hushed tone. "Fluttershy, you just broke Rainbow Dash's heart." Fluttershy felt the pain of her actions stab her in the chest. She knew it too. Usually she had been good about keeping her emotions down about Trixie. Keeping her lust in check. Yet no amount of role-play with Pinkie was going to satisfy her craving to enjoy every ounce of pregnant flesh a mother had. Still, that wasn't even the real reason she was avoiding Rainbow Dash. In the past month or so since they'd begun dating she could count the number of times she'd had to really enjoy peace and quiet on the number of appendages she had. It wasn't that she didn't love Rainbow Dash. Of course she did. She just... wanted some space. The more she stayed with Rainbow Dash, the more certain thoughts and questions began to run in her mind. The kinds of questions she could not outrun forever. She closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. "Pinkie would have supported me." Twilight replied. "What?" Fluttershy opened her eyes. "O-oh, nothing. Just... I know I hurt Rainbow Dash. I'll make it up to her later. I just need a moment away from her." Twilight frowned. "You need to be away from her? But aren't you getting married on Friday? You'll be spending a lot of time with her then wouldn't you?" Fluttershy looked back at the fireplace. It was starting to die down now, the roaring flames filled with heat and energy were cooling. Without another log to add to the fire it would soon die down to mere embers and from there be extinguished. Its heat and passion never to be rekindled without entirely new logs and a new fire. "Yeah... that will be a lot of time together wont it?" Twilight pawed at the floor. "Didn’t you want to get married to her?" Fluttershy looked back over at Twilight. "I do. I think it would be nice. We'd have a happy, nice, life together. But... I can't shake this feeling. Do you think she really loves me, for me?" Twilight blinked. "I don't think I understand." Fluttershy offered a weak smile. "She helped me out with the animals today. I didn't even exactly ask her to. I mentioned that I was going to do it, and she just offered to help. I was kind of hoping to do it alone. Still it wasn't so bad... until she began complaining about it." "Oh, I see." "I don’t think she even really likes the animals, or appreciates how much I like them. At least Pinkie would have talked to them and tried to make friends. Rainbow Dash just sort of... does what I tell her too... all the time... without ever pushing back..." "She was pushing back tonight." Fluttershy looked once more at the dying flames. "No, not really. she just gave in. I could ask her to do anything, to let me do anything, and she would just accept it... and if I'm b-being totally honest. I hate that." Twilight's ears folded back. "Why do you hate that? Isn't that wonderful?" "No, it's not. The Rainbow Dash that I fell in love with was this strong, independent mare. One who did whatever she wanted, and would fight for what she thought and believed in, even with her friends. She used to be like that with me, trying to push me to be brave, arguing with me about silly unimportant things. Ever since me and her started dating that changed. I know she's scared of losing me, but maybe I'm scared if she doesn't mare up... she might lose me." Twilight looked down. "Oh no... Fluttershy... I... don't hurt her, please don't hurt her." "I don’t want to." Fluttershy offered a weak smile. "I just want her to push back, just a little. To show me who she really is. Not what she thinks I want her to be." "I heard you always break up with ponies." Fluttershy cringed at that. "I... don’t always do that." "Please don't break up with Rainbow Dash." Twilight met her eyes. "I want you to both be happy." Fluttershy smiled. "I know. I want us to be happy too." What she didn’t add, was that it was possible, that perhaps them being happy, and them being in a relationship, weren't in fact one and the same thing. She looked once more at the fire. "We should probably add another log to the flames." Twilight shook her head. "It’s getting late. Maybe we should just let the fire die out?" Fluttershy nodded. "You’re probably right." > Chapter Forty Five: Of Confrontation and Deflation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Five: Of Confrontation and Deflation Written by TheCrimsonDM Twilight had said goodnight to Fluttershy after the fire had completely died out. In the relaxing sound of rain pitter-pattering against the windows she made her way up to the top of the loft and crawled into bed with Trixie. Once inside she snuggled up as the big spoon and breathed Trixie's delightful scent in. She smelled a little of ash and lavender, with a trace of blueberries. Trixie hummed to life. "Finally joining me my love?" Twilight nodded. "Of course. It's late and I need my cuddles." Trixie wrapped a hoof over Twilight's and squeezed. "Good, that makes two of us." For a minute or two Twilight lay here. Her body was tired but her mind was racing. The things she'd seen tonight, and the things that Fluttershy said to her had her very, very concerned. If this wedding didn't happen she wasn't sure what would happen. She couldn't imagine two of her friends breaking up and still being... friends. Even if Fluttershy and Pinkie had proven that wasn't the case she was still terrified of the possibility. Why couldn't every pony just be happy, forever and ever after? Trixie spoke quietly. "Is something wrong?" "Maybe... um, Trixie can I ask you a personal question?" Trixie snuggled a little closer. "You always do, if it's too personal I'll tell you to be quiet like always." "When you made out with Fluttershy that one time... would you do that again?" "No." That was reassuring, not that Twilight was worried about that in the first place. "Do you mind if I ask why?" Trixie let out a sigh as if the question annoyed her. "Isn't it obvious?" "I want to hear it." "Because it would hurt you, and I love you too much to hurt you... that's the biggest reason. The second is, that as fun as that was, I feel that now that I know more about Fluttershy, I wouldn't like it anymore." "Is it because she keeps staring at your butt?" "The fact that you noticed that means it must be very obvious. I know what she's trying to do but she won’t succeed. I will not do anything with her." Twilight nuzzled in. "I know you wouldn't. Is it... creepy to stare at your butt? I like staring at it." "You can stare because we're dating and I allow it. She cannot because she's dating one of my friends and Rainbow Dash does not like it." "Oh, that makes sense." Trixie giggled softly. "You’re so innocent sometimes. You must know all of this inherently but you sometimes sound so surprised by the answers." "Dating is new to me, there are so many rules, and situations to keep in mind... besides which, I have a bigger question." "Yes love?" "Am, am I abusing your trust?" Trixie's body tensed up. "No, of course not? Why would you say such a thing?" "It's just that I watched Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash tonight. I think maybe, Fluttershy isn't being very responsible with Rainbow Dash's trust." "And you aren't upset with me or Fluttershy about her... abuse of that trust?" Twilight had to think about that for a moment. "No, not, not for the reasons you might think. I trust you not to do something to hurt me. If everypony wants to look at you like you’re sexy and hot, than that just means I have the most beautiful mare in the town to be my special somepony right? So why should I be upset about that?" "Good opinion, odd but probably healthy." "But I am upset because what Fluttershy's doing is hurting Rainbow Dash and I don't know how to fix it. Fluttershy is acting like she's... not interested in Rainbow Dash anymore. I don't know why. I’ve never seen Fluttershy like this before." "Because neither of them are a very good suit. Rainbow Dash is obsessed with Fluttershy, and Fluttershy is... well secretive and manipulative are two words one might use. It was why I gravitated toward Fluttershy at first, because I can relate to both of those traits very well. The longer I stay here though, the less I want to relate to them, the more I'd rather relate to you, or Rainbow Dash, ponies who are usually very honest and upfront about who and what they are." Twilight nodded. "That makes a lot of sense I guess. I never would have thought of Fluttershy as manipulative though." "She's a true master of it, that's why." "I see... and you?" "Don't tell anypony, but Trixie is a mere student in the ways of manipulation. Perhaps it is best she remains only a student and never becomes a master." "Maybe... but am I abusing your trust?" "No, you are not." Twilight sucked in a quick breath through gritted teeth. "What about with Celestia? You don't love her right? But you’re letting me... do what I want." Trixie rolled over so that she could face Twilight. Even if they couldn't see each other in the darkness, she could feel Trixie's eyes upon her as the tips of their muzzles touched. "You’re going to pay for making me roll over when I was comfy you know." "I know." Trixie adjusted herself. "Listen, Twilight. You are right, I am not the biggest fan of sharing you with Celestia. I am, however, willing to make this sacrifice under the conditions we have already discussed, and should I ever need something from you, I expect you to at least try to do it for me. Not anything stupid, but if it was important to me… I’d expect you to at least consider it." Twilight swallowed. "Like what?" "Like letting me shove cucumbers up your butt." Twilight giggled. "Oh come on, that was... just... fun, right?" "Yes, but it serves my point. I may ask you to do something for me one day you might not like. Perhaps it will involve breaking me out of jail, or standing up to Celestia for my sake, or killing my dad. Whatever it is, I'd ask you at least try to help me if it is really, truly important." "Your dad? You never talk about him." "And it will stay that way. My mom died in child birth and he dipped. All I will say is that I'll be a better magician than he'll ever be. I'll make my birth mother, my real mother, and you proud of me." Twilight leaned forward and kissed Trixie on the lips. "Too late." "Is it really?" Twilight giggled. "I'm already proud of you." Trixie’s eyes lit up. “R-really?” Twilight nuzzled her snout. “Of course, mommy is so proud of her sexy little magician.” Trixie returned the nuzzle. “Tell me more mommy.” From there, things got a little steamy. Twilight wasn’t entirely positive why Trixie liked to call her mommy, but it always seemed to get her nice and warm. Twilight could live with the consequences of such a response. *** Rainbow Dash had laid in bed, awake, heartbroken, and worried. She got into an actual fight with Fluttershy. A fight with her and Rainbow Dash lost. She just lost her nerve completely and backed down. It was by pure luck that she had Fluttershy's attention in the first place, she couldn't risk losing her by something as stupid as Fluttershy wanting to stay awake a little longer right? Rainbow Dash could just, go to bed, by herself, again... How many times had this happened lately? In the past week alone it felt like she was going to bed by herself more and more. The marriage was coming up soon. That would have to fix things right? After they were married Fluttershy would clearly put more interest back into her. This was just pre-wedding jitters. They weren't slipping away from each other, not so soon. Not after she finally got what she wanted... she got a mare who would look at other ponies in such a way that should only be reserved for Rainbow Dash. A mare that would want to sleep around if given the choice but had chosen to stay with just her and Pinkie Pie. A mare who had manipulated her and Pinkie both into some kind of three way relationship... Rainbow Dash grabbed at the sides of her head and kicked her rear legs. She wished she could just go fly. If she could do that then she wouldn’t have to think too hard. But that stupid jerk had to go and break her freaking wing... Wait, Fluttershy was the one to break it. Fluttershy wasn't a stupid jerk. She was just a slutty cheater. No, wait she wasn't that either. Rainbow Dash rolled over. determined to get out of bed and, read maybe? The door opened and she let out a sigh of relief. Finally, Fluttershy could come in here, apologize for the fight and fix it all. She would certainly do that. As Fluttershy closed the door and got onto the bed Rainbow Dash looked over to see her dark silhouette crawl under the cover. Yet... Fluttershy stayed on her side of the bed. It was just a few feet away but it might as well have been miles. Rainbow Dash eventually had to scoot over and wrap a leg around Fluttershy's waist. Fluttershy laid a hoof over Rainbow Dash's leg and squeezed gently. "Sorry, d-did I wake you? I was trying not to." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, its fine. I can't sleep without you anyway." "I see." Somehow the way Fluttershy said that was less cozy than expected. Still she inched closer. "Let me help you get to sleep then." Without warning Fluttershy pressed her lips against Rainbow Dash's. It wasn’t a gentle peck either. It was heavy, hot, and she could feel some tongue trying brush against her lips. Rainbow Dash shrugged. It was a good distraction right. She opened her mouth and let that tongue come in to play. A few minutes went by with a sloppy make out session before Fluttershy pulled away and was gasping for air. Rainbow Dash was breathing hard too. "Nice." Fluttershy swallowed. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. Did you ever notice how hot Trixie is?" And just like that it felt like someone had shoved the entirety of the frozen north up Rainbow's marehood. "No, no I have not." "She is. She's so colorful, and bright. I just want to, well do things with her." "Yeah well... please don't." Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. "What would you do if I did?" Rainbow Dash's heart sank. This was not a question she wanted to think about, let alone one that she felt Fluttershy should be asking in the first place. "Please, Fluttershy. We agreed to just be you, me, and Pinkie. That’s all I can handle." "So... if... maybe I were to hold her, you'd be upset with me?" Rainbow Dash pulled back a little. "Fluttershy, stop." "What if I kissed her on the lips?" "Please, Fluttershy." "And what if, what if you and me made love, and I imagined you were her?" Rainbow Dash sat upright and reached over to the lamp to turn on the light. "What in tarnation is wrong with you? That's right, I'm using Applejack's swears now. That’s how upset I am." Fluttershy looked at her. She didn't look sad, or mad, she looked... hungry. "What are you going to do about it?" "I'm going to ask you to sleep on the other side of the bed is what." "Oh yeah, and then what?" Fluttershy wasn’t getting it. She wasn't in her right mind or something. Whatever it was, Rainbow Dash had had quite enough of it. "Fluttershy, I don’t want to fight with you. Please, just stop this." Fluttershy blinked. "Rainbow... please, I think I need this." "Need to pretend that I'm Trixie while we make love?" "Yes. You can call me Twilight if you want." Rainbow Dash blinked. She had to play that back a few times in her head to make sure she actually heard it right. She'd heard once that Fluttershy and Pinkie would actually dress up in costumes of each other to make love to themselves, that was heck'n weird alright, but this, this was just insulting. It was also really, really weird. Still the look in Fluttershy's eyes made it clear, this was important to her. Rainbow dash bit her lower lip, looked away for a moment, and then back at her. Could she bite this bullet? Suck up and just... do this? "I... is this what you really want?" Fluttershy nodded. "I... I'll do it once. Just once okay." Fluttershy's eyes narrowed and she sat up right. "No! You aren't supposed to agree to this." "Than what am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do? What can I do to be good enough for you?" "Ugh, Rainbow Dash, you just, need to be you." "I don't know who I am when I'm with you." "And that's the problem!" Fluttershy closed her eyes. "Maybe I really should make out with Trixie again." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "I... what?" Fluttershy opened her eyes. A wicked smile grew over her lips. "Oh, does that make you mad? Are you mad at me? Disapproving of me? Yes, I made out with Trixie, and it was super hot, and it was sloppy, and all over this bed we're on right now." Rainbow Dash's stomach was churning. It felt like she ate some of those rotten cupcakes Applejack and Pinkie Pie made once. "You’re just saying that to make me upset. I don't know why, but you just want me to be upset. I clearly did something wrong and your punishing me for it." Fluttershy slammed a hoof into the bed. "No, I want you to be mad at me. To stand up for yourself and just act like yourself for once. Also... I did actually make out with her on the bed, but that was a long time ago." Rainbow Dash's head was feeling dizzy all of a sudden. "Fluttershy... why, why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" "Because I thought you'd be mad at me, but you just look sad." Rainbow Dash looked away. "I..." She closed her eyes. Enough was enough. Even she couldn't lie to herself at some point. She got out of the bed. "Just, stay in here tonight. I'm going to sleep on the floor out there or something." Fluttershy watched her. "Aren't you mad at me?" "I don't even know. I think I'm just, disappointed." She left Fluttershy in the room alone. This was going to be a long, long night. She also wasn't planning to stay here. She had somewhere safe she could be, Trixie was right. She needed emotional safety, and Fluttershy was anything but safe. > Chapter Forty Six: Of Broken Dreams and Bad Nights > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Six: Written By TheCrimsonDM Trixie walked through the abandoned crystal mines deep below Canterlot. The crystalline walls sparkled with ethereal light. She feared they would need a lantern or a light spell at first but it turned out that these miens were glowing with magical rocks. She had no idea a place like this could even exist. Just ahead of her wearing bright orange robes walked her mentor, Shadow Heart. He was smiling like always. "You know this place is special, and it is the largest reason Canterlot was built where it was." Trixie nodded. "It sure is pretty. But, why don't we mine here anymore?" He continued to smile as he answered. "Oh, there are good reasons for that. Once upon a time, Celestia was forced to banish her own sister to the moon, scholars believe that there was a massive war that led to many deaths. There hasn't been much evidence found for this but it was a thousand years ago so finding such would be challenging. Of course the question remained, what to do with those that followed Luna, worshiped her even? Well they were causing an uprising, damage, and other acts of destruction and chaos. So it was with a heavy heart that Celestia had built a special task force to find these rebels, to capture them and lock them away. Due to the damage done during the battle with her sister she was busy trying to build a new home, and so she took the captured rebels and forced them to work in the mines as well as construct the foundations of Canterlot. There were many injuries and deaths as a result but in the end, she did abandon the mines as a way to show she would no longer result to such tactics for her own means." Trixie chewed on that for a long moment as they continued walking. "So, they were like slaves? Celestia used them to build the city of Canterlot, and then... just forgot about them?" "She didn’t forget about them. This place is hallowed ground, more like a memorial than forgotten. She deeply regrets her actions but you must keep in mind, these were the dark ages. The world was far more violent, deadly and filled with dark magic. Sometimes extreme measures were needed in order to protect those she loved and cared for. For example there used to be five tribes of ponies under Celestia's rule." "I know there were the crystal ponies, but I haven’t heard of a fifth tribe?" "Yes, there were gem eyed pegasi, whom she loved very dearly. Of course the changeling swarms managed to annihilate them. It was one of the few genocides that Celestia had to bear witness too. Between Sombra slaughtering all the Crystal Ponies, and the loss of the Gem Eyed Pegasi, Celestia had to take a hard stance on some things. The last few hundred years of peace we've been able to enjoy are solely due to these hard actions she's made." Trixie could hardly imagine what it would be like to have a fourth tribe of ponies, let alone to have them completely vanish over night. There hadn't been a very large threat to Equestria in hundreds of years even. She really hoped that nothing bad like that could ever happen again. Surely with the peace they've had, nothing dark and spooky would ever return. They walked past a few tunnels going off to the sides. Up ahead there was a large pit. It seemed they were heading toward it. Shadow Heart continued his lecture. "For as much as we've enjoyed the past few hundred years of peace though, we do have to admit that Celestia isn't perfect, that this peace is only temporary. One day a dark evil will arise, or return. Once this happens Celestia may not be enough to actually save us. So it is with heavy hearts that some of us who are loyal to Celestia beyond words, make hard decisions in the absence of light to keep this country safe and to keep her sun forever shinning." Trixie looked up at him. "Is that why we're here?" Shadow Heart nodded. "Yes, we are on one of those very tasks right now. Taking care of the things lurking in Celestia's shadows so that she may continue to let her beautiful sun shine down upon those that deserve peace and prosperity." The closer they got to the pit, the more uneasy Trixie began to feel. There was a chill in here, one she hadn't felt before. It went through her fur, skin and even her bones. It was like it was freezing her very soul. They reached the edge of the pit and Trixie's eyes widened. The pit was filled with hundreds... no, thousands of pony skeletons. Earth pony, pegasi, unicorn, even some she wasn't quite familiar with were all down there. Something dark, and purple was slithering around a lot of the bones, like some kind of slime. Shadow Heart stared down at them. He was still smiling somehow. "You see this, this is the pit the dead miners ended up in. Now that the flesh had decayed their pain and remorse were left to linger until a new threat began to grow in the shadows of Canterlot. In Celestia's shadow there was a brewing darkness she didn't even realize existed, and if she had, she probably wouldn't be able to take care of. Her guilt would be too much to do what was needed to stop this threat before these dark emotions transformed into a more corporeal and real threat to destroy the Equestria she built." "What, what do you mean?" "Give or take a few decades, these skeletal ponies would rise up to destroy all those they blamed for their deaths." Trixie blinked. That was impossible. The dead couldn't come back, necromancy, ghosts, zombies were all myths. Yet somehow she knew, she could feel it in her soul that his words were true and that the cold she felt here was just the beginning of something so much worse. His horn lit up and two barrels of black tar like oil appeared next to him. "Take one of these, we're going to be pouring this stuff into the pit in a circle. Then I'll light it on fire and put their souls to rest. It's been magically imbued with Celestia's holy light and should burn away the dark magic here so they can finally pass on to the next plane." Trixie nodded. This was what she signed up for, and if it was going to make this frightful cold go away and stop something even worse from happening later on. She could do this. She just wished that Celestia was aware of what they were doing and that they were doing this to help her. Maybe one day. *** Trixie opened her eyes. That was an awkward dream, or perhaps a memory. She wasn't quite sure which, but seeing Shadow Heart again, even in the context of that dream made her happy. She wondered if perhaps Shadow Heart was still alive. If he was, she'd want to go meet with him again someday. In fact, she had just the mare who could help out with that. She rolled over and began pushing Twilight's shoulder, rocking her back and forth. Twilight's eye cracked open. "Mmm, Trixie... did you wet the bed again?" Trixie wished she could be surprised that this was Twilight's first response. "No, Trixie just had an important question for you is all." "What is it? I'm trying to sleep." "Trixie wishes to meet someone again. Do you know anyone named Shadow Heart?" "I don't know, sounds familiar but I'm really tired. I'll help you find him in the morning, sleepy times now." Well Twilight was practically useless here like this. Trixie closed her eyes. "Okay, fine. We will talk tomorrow. Good night my love." "Good night." Just as Trixie began to drift off to the world of dreams herself she heard something. The sounds of hooves gently clip clopping up the stairs. They grew close to the bed and stopped. Trixie was going to be pissed if she opened her eyes and saw Fluttershy watching her sleep. Seriously, what was wrong with the filly? Trixie opened her eyes and saw Rainbow Dash. "Dashy?" Rainbow Dash looked down at her own hooves. "Hey, sorry to wake you. I need Twilight's help." Trixie sat up. "Are you alright? Does your wing hurt?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No." "To which question?" "Just... no." That wasn't a good response. Trixie began shaking Twilight's shoulder now. "Twilight, wake up. Rainbow needs us." Twilight opened her eyes and sat upright looking tired. "What?" She looked over at Rainbow Dash. "Does your wing your hurt?" Rainbow Dash simply shook her head this time. Something was really wrong. It had been all night, and she was actually scared this might be the worst possible thing. Twilight leaned forward. "What do you need?" Rainbow Dash pawed at the floor. "Could you... take me to Pinkie's? You can teleport right?" Twilight blinked. "But Fluttershy is downstairs isn't she?" Rainbow Dash didn't seem to want to respond. However, Trixie recalled their earlier conversation and she knew exactly what was going on. Trixie looked at Twilight. "I think she just needs to be in a safe... area. Fluttershy's not really giving that to her right now, but Pinkie can." Twilight looked conflicted. "You two... didn't break up did you?" Rainbow Dash's grimace came with a small painful croak. She spoke but her words came out slow, pained. "I don't know." Twilight nodded. "Okay, I don't know what's going on, but Trixie seems to think you'd be better off with Pinkie right now, and maybe I agree." She climbed out of bed, yawned and then walked over to Rainbow Dash's side. "Trixie did you want to come?" Trixie looked at Rainbow Dash. "Did you need me too?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I just need Pinkie." Trixie looked back at Twilight. "Go on ahead. I'll stay here." Twilight nodded, her horn lit up and then in a pink flash of light the pair of them were gone. This left Trixie alone in the bedroom, all by herself. The sounds of rain pitter pattering against the windows kept her company, but she wasn't sure she could really go back to sleep without Twilight. She laid back down, some part of her wanted to go, but teleportation wasn’t exactly good for the baby, or the baby mama, it usually made Trixie want to throw up. So she'd wait for her special somepony to return home. Part of her wondered though, what Fluttershy had done to prompt such a response from Rainbow Dash. *** Twilight teleported herself and Rainbow Dash to Pinkie’s room. They first appeared on the top of the second floor loft, looking down at Pinkie's room. It was dark in here but the shapes of Pinkie's furniture and her bed could be made out. Rainbow Dash leaned into Twilight’s side and gave her a hug. An odd experience that Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of. Rainbow Dash never hugged people. "Twilight?" Rainbow Dash whispered. "Don't go yet, please?" Twilight nodded and held her back. "I won’t leave until I'm sure you'll be okay." "I... I have a question, and I wanted to talk to you about it without Trixie around." Twilight felt herself growing apprehensive. That wasn't usually a good sign. The only thing she could think of was that somehow Fluttershy had convinced Rainbow Dash to expand their little group, and Twilight was going to have to reject the proposal. "What is it?" "Do you know if Trixie and Fluttershy ever... kissed?" Twilight leaned back. "Once, yeah. Before me and her started dating. Trixie isn't too proud of it, but sure it happened." Rainbow Dash looked down. "How did you find out?" "Trixie told me." "I... see." Twilight had to ask. "How did you find out?" "Fluttershy told me, just barely." Twilight's heart stopped. She had to pull away and take a step back. "You mean you didn't know? You've been dating Fluttershy for a month and you didn't know she had done that with Trixie?" Rainbow Dash's lip was quivering. "I know right... I'm an idiot." "No, you’re not an idiot, Fluttershy is. I don’t know why she wouldn't tell you." "She only told me to make me angry." "Why would she want you to be angry?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I don't know, me and her got into a fight, and then she told me that. I don't know why she wanted me to be angry with her. I just... felt hurt. Used." Twilight nodded. "I would too. Trixie told me pretty soon after me and her began dating. She said it was probably rude of her to do that, but with how Fluttershy kept looking at her, she wanted me to know that even though something had happened between them she wasn't going to leave me for Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash looked away. "And you trust her? "With everything I have." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. "I wish I could say the same about Fluttershy." Pinkie’s voice came out from behind them. They both looked over to see Pinkie Pie standing on the staircase looking tired and wearing a pajama top and nightcap. "Maybe the three of us should take a break then?" > Chapter Forty Seven: Of Love and Remorse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Seven: Of Love and Remorse Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie Pie in dead silence for a long moment. Only the sound of the rain outside was there to comfort her. Twilight was there too, but the words Pinkie had said were enough to make them both freeze. Rainbow Dash eventually had to speak up. "Take a break, from both of you? But why?" Pinkie offered a weak smile. "Because we just sort of jumped into this. I knew you weren't comfortable with it, and I just wanted you so bad I ignored that... and I'm sorry. I'll understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, it's fine. I... I love you. I also love Fluttershy. I just don't understand why I would take a break from both of you." Pinkie Pie blinked. "Because your stressed out, you look really sad, and I don't want to make you feel any worse. I feel lucky just having been able to be with you until now, but I understand if you need to take a break from me too." If Rainbow Dash wasn't already sitting down she'd have to sit. Instead she just opted to lay down. "But you’re not the one who hurt me. All you ever did was try to help me. You've listened to me complain about my stupid feelings for Fluttershy for years... even though I knew you'd had feelings for me." Pinkie Pie offered a small smile. "I know, and I know Fluttershy is really the one you’re in love with. So if you take a break from her, there's no reason you'd want to still be with me. It might just make you more sad." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, you know what, screw Fluttershy. I came here because I love you. Not because I love her. I agreed to this mess because I love you. If I'm taking a break from anyone it's going to be her, and not you." Pinkie Pie just stared at her in silence for a few minutes letting the sound of drizzling rain fill the silence between them. "You mean you'd... choose me?" "Well when I pull my head out of my own butt for five minutes, yeah. I realized that even if you wanted to be with me for a long time, you never really pushed for it. You also didn't seem too keen on that make out session we did either. Unlike Fluttershy who had no problems with it, you seemed almost as uncomfortable as I did." Pinkie Pie offered a weak smile. "That's because you weren't happy with it. I thought, maybe it was because you just wanted to have Fluttershy, and didn't want to share." Rainbow Dash looked down. "That's true too, but... I just don't like the whole, confusing mess that Fluttershy's love life seems to be. Maybe I'm just not cool enough for it, but I'm not cool with it." "That's why I'm offering to let you take a break from both of us. If you’re not cool with this, than I want you to do stuff you are cool with, because your well, really cool." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I'm glad you see it that way. Because I'm cool with you." Pinkie Pie blinked. "I... thank you. I love you, Dashy." Rainbow Dash grinned. "I love you too, Pinkie." Twilight took a step back. "Okay, this is more information than I ever wanted. Um, are you going to be okay here?" Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Yeah, I’m good now. Thank you." Twilight nodded. "Okay, Pinkie, I have to tell you a few things before I go. First-" Pinkie interrupted her. "First; her wing is broken but you used a regeneration spell on it. It'll take until morning until it's all better so I need to be careful with it. Second: she still needs rest so we should go to bed soon. Third: she's had a really bad night so I should be extra loving and fluffy with Rainbow Dash. Did I miss anything?" Twilight shook her head. "Good night you two." With a flash of pink light she was gone. This left Rainbow dash and Pinkie all alone in the dark room. Pinkie Pie yawned. "Let's get to bed, you need rest, and I have cuddles to give." Rainbow Dash stood up and followed her. "Anything else you want to offer me?" As they made their way downstairs Rainbow couldn't miss how well rounded and thick that rear end was. Like a pillow in its own right. Pinkie Pie giggled. "Lots, but I'm not going to push you to do anything you’re not comfortable with." "What if I want something?" Pinkie Pie glanced back at her. "Then you'll have to make the first move, champ. Otherwise you'll only get cuddles." Make the first move... Rainbow Dash could do that. They reached the bed. Pinkie put her forelegs onto it and was busy pushing blankets around. "Hmm, I might need more pillows." Make the first move. Rainbow Dash reached out with a hoof and stroked Pinkie's rear. Pinkie jerked forward and looked back surprised. "You, you made a move!" Rainbow Dash nodded. "You told me I had to make the first move right? Now it’s your turn." *** It was early the next morning. Fluttershy had hardly slept. After she ended up pushing Rainbow Dash away she could only lay there and think about what she'd done. She should have told Rainbow Dash about the kiss ages ago, but when she first started dating Rainbow Dash she was scared that perhaps Rainbow would have left her if she found out. As time went on it was clear though that Fluttershy could do pretty much anything and Rainbow would just accept it. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and now that she'd pushed that boundary past its limits she realized how much of a mistake she'd made. Even worse was the fact that when she did get out of the bed and stumble into the first floor of the library. She noticed that Rainbow Dash wasn't in here. She went to the kitchen, maybe Rainbow Dash had woken up already. There was still a light rain going on outside but it seemed for the most part the storm had passed, but the skies were still cloudy and murky as could be. Inside the kitchen she saw Trixie and Twilight at the kitchen table. Still no Rainbow Dash. Maybe Rainbow was in the restroom. It was early enough after all. She walked over to the table and took a seat. Both Trixie and Twilight were giving her some odd looks. Looks that made her feel even guiltier for her behavior. She was going to have to do a lot to make up for last night. A cup of coffee was set down alongside a bagel in front of Fluttershy. She took a small nibble of the bagel. "Thanks... um, about last night, I'm sorry." Trixie nodded. "Thank you for apologizing." Twilight added. "But, were not the ones you need to worry about." That sent a shiver down Fluttershy's spine. "I'm... not? Um, speaking of Rainbow Dash, where is she?" Twilight frowned. "I… don't think I should tell you." Fluttershy’s eyes widened. "You mean she's not here?" The smile Trixie gave her was positively evil. "No, she's not. She left last night. Had Twilight take her someplace safe… away from you." If words could leave stab wounds on the heart, those words certainly did that. Twilight shot Trixie a glare. "Trixie, that wasn't very nice. You could have phrased that better." Trixie nodded. "I could have. I didn't. But I could have." Fluttershy didn't feel too much like eating at the moment. She did drink some coffee. "Do, do you think she left me?" Twilight's face screwed up. "I, I'm sorry." Fluttershy offered a small smile. It wasn't genuine; she just didn't know how else to react knowing full well that it was her own darn fault that Rainbow Dash would leave her. She could have chosen to be a different marefirend. Or perhaps to just lay the groundwork out flat at first. Or to take things slower, not let Rainbow Dash practically move in with her. Or agree to marriage, a concept that in retrospect just didn't fit with her own life. She wasn't even sure what it was that she wanted at this point. Trixie spoke a little more gently. "I think she might break up with you." Fluttershy nodded. "I deserve it. Maybe some part of me even wants it. I just... I feel bad for Pinkie because she was really looking forward to being with Dashy. I guess that's over now." Twilight cleared her throat. "Actually... Pinkie, might, just maybe, be okay?" Fluttershy looked up at her. "I guess so. She can handle heartbreak well. I'll be sure to spend some extra time with her so she's not sad about Dashy leaving us." Trixie looked at Twilight who seemed to be struggling with something, then looked back at Fluttershy. "No, what she means is, that we think Rainbow Dash will still date Pinkie, just... not you." Fluttershy blinked. "I... n-no, that's impossible. Pinkie wouldn't do that." Twilight looked down at her cup of coffee with distant eyes. "I'm going to lose half my friends due to a break up aren't I?" Trixie rubbed her shoulder. "No, of course not. It'll just be awkward for awhile is all." Fluttershy stood up. "Why do you two keep acting like Pinkie would leave me for Dash? Or that Dash would leave me for Pinkie? Or, or however it is you think this would work?" The guilty look in Twilight's eyes said it all. She didn't have to tell Fluttershy where Rainbow Dash was, she knew. Fluttershy ran out of the kitchen, to the front door and threw it open. It was muddy, and wet, and raining but she didn't care. She spread her wings and flew up into the air faster than she'd ever flown before. She had to get to Pinkie’s and now. She flew as fast as she could, ignoring the shouts from behind her. She was going to talk to them. If she apologized they wouldn't do this right? They wouldn't both kick her out of their lives right? She wouldn’t have to be all alone again… right? She saw it nearby. The three story tall building of Sugarcube Corner. She flew to the balcony and landed. She was soaking wet by now but she didn’t care. She went to door but before she could open it she saw the door open in front of her. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were standing there. Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Your right, she was here." Pinkie Pie nodded. "I knew she would be... good morning, Fluttershy." Fluttershy was panting. Flying that fast was a lot harder on her than she thought. "Please, don't, leave, me.” Fluttershy coughed a few times, those coughs broke into sobs. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me." Rainbow Dash lowered her head and looked away. Pinkie frowned. "No build up? Just apologizing and begging right out of the gate? You must have really screwed up." Fluttershy already knew that much. "Rainbow, please." Rainbow Dash looked at her, for a moment there was sympathy there, but that sympathy quickly eroded into a glare. "Fluttershy, just go home." "But, but we're getting married soon." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "After last night, I need to take a break from you. So no, we're not getting married soon. I already got all my stuff out of your house, I’ll be staying at home for awhile." Fluttershy felt her heart dying inside, but she couldn't argue with her. Just last night she was contemplating leaving Rainbow Dash, and now she wanted Rainbow back because Rainbow Dash was leaving her, what kind of mess was she? She looked at Pinkie Pie. "What... what about you?" Pinkie shook her head. "Me and Rainbow are going to work on our relationship for now... so... I'm sorry." Fluttershy wasn't going to sit there humiliated, thrown away, and realizing just how badly this was all her fault. She flapped her wings a few times and took off in a slow steady flight toward her home. It was going to be lonely there again, but she'd done this to herself. Was this what she really wanted? To upset Rainbow Dash so much that she got dumped? To make Pinkie break up with her? No, she just wanted Rainbow Dash to be herself. Well she got her wish. It was too late to fix anything now. > Chapter Forty Eight: Of Bunny Piles and Recovery > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Eight: Of Bunny Piles and Recovery Written by TheCrimsonDM It had been a few days and Rarity was getting really worried now. Not only had Rainbow Dash told them all a few days ago that the wedding was cancelled, nopony was able to get in contact with Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash had been spending time with Pinkie Pie, as well as on her job. Point in fact today Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were going on a date to take a walk in the Everfree Forest... probably a bad idea, but it was cute they were doing something. The problem was with Fluttershy. Nopony would tell Rarity what happened and what was going on with Fluttershy herself. Now Rarity was going to visit Fluttershy's house again. This time dragging Applejack along. She'd been here once every day since she found out, but no matter how many times she knocked on the door, Fluttershy wouldn't answer. This time was going to be different. Once at the door Rarity decided to knock. After a couple of minutes, and few shouts to try and get Fluttershy's attention she took a few steps back and nodded at Applejack. Applejack took the cue walked up to the door, turned around and with a powerful kick broke the door open. They took a few steps inside. The place was dark, and had a faint smell of animal urine. Rarity briefly wondered if Fluttershy had even bothered cleaning in the past few days. Search as they might, they couldn't find Fluttershy on the first floor. So they went up the stairs to the second floor and straight to Fluttershy's bedroom. The smell of animals was stronger there, and the door was cracked open. A series of tiny squeaking noises made Rarity a little worried. She pushed open the door and her jaw dropped. In the dimly lit room, with the only light coming through the shielded windows she saw a pile of rabbits at least as tall as a pony just laying on top of one another. They all looked over at the intruders and were quiet as could be. For a moment she feared this might be some horrid copulation ritual, but that fear was removed quickly when she realized they were pretty much just relaxing in a giant bunny pile. Applejack whispered. "She ain't here?" Rarity scanned the room again. She caught the hint of a pink tail sticking out from underneath the bunny pile. "Fluttershy?" Fluttershy's voice replied, it was muffled but she could hear her from under the pile of dozens of rabbits. "I'm here." "Good Sweet Baby Celestia," Rarity swore. "Why are you underneath all of those rabbits?" "I'm trying to absorb their fluffy love through mass cuddling." Applejack asked, "Is it working?" Fluttershy replied. "I think some of them peed on me." Rarity grimaced, that sounded horrible. "Get out from that pile now, we're going to give you all the love you need... and a bath." The rabbits gently moved and wiggled as Fluttershy slowly climbed out of the pile. Her eyes were filled with red streaks, her cheeks damp and her nose dripping. She looked like she either had a cold or a severe bunny allergy. Her wings were dirty and feathers stuck out in awkward places indicating she hadn't done any preening in ages. There were a few black stains from where she once had mascara on and it had run down her face. Applejack swallowed. "Fluttershy, Ah am saying this out of love, but you look like crap." Fluttershy nodded. "I, I must be ugly. Another reason why Rainbow Dash l-left me." That last sentence was all the proof that Rarity needed. She wasn't sure what happened to cause it, but it didn't matter. They were all still friends in the end, and Fluttershy was hurting. "Come with us darling, we're going to make it all better." Fluttershy lowered her head and she shuffled forward. "O-oh, um, you can leave now bunnies. Thank you for trying." The rabbits moved like a tidal wave scurrying across the floor, past Rarity and Applejack and then out toward the door they'd broken open. Rarity could see the damp floor where they’d all been piled up on. She agreed, a few of them had probably peed. Once Fluttershy got close the reek was strong. Rarity's nose scrunched up and she almost covered it with her hoof. She did not want to look rude though so she did her very best to breathe was little as possible. "Come on, let's get you in a bath so you can get cleaned up." The trio quickly made their way to the bathroom. Which was thankfully a lot brighter than the bedroom, and cleaner to boot. She turned on the hot water going into Fluttershy's oddly circular wooden tub and opened the window a crack. She nodded at Applejack. "Darling, could you... open the windows in Fluttershy's room? We need to air this place out a little. We'll fix her door later." Applejack nodded. "Ayep, Ah'll be back in two shakes of a rattlesnakes tail." With her gone Rarity helped get Fluttershy into the tub and the first thing she did was dump a bucket of warm water over Fluttershy's head. Fluttershy smelled awful. She smelled like animal urine, sweat, and sadness all wrapped up into a tiny confined space. So using plenty of shampoo she got to work with scrubbing Fluttershy's head. Her face, her mane, even behind her hears. She wasn't going to rest until Fluttershy smelled like a spring flower. By the time Applejack returned Fluttershy's head, neck and shoulders were all washed and cleaned. Though she was still sitting there with her eyes closed and had lowered her head to that she could rest her chin on the edge of the tub as water drained down her chin fur and over the edge. Rarity nodded at the towel nearby. "Applejack, please use that towel to dry her head and face. I'm still pulling, things, out of her wings." "What kind of things?" "The kind of round little nasty things that I'd rather not think about as I'm pulling them out. Let's call them Rabbit coco puffs." Applejack smirked. "Gross. Well glad Ah don't have yer job." "No, but you have one, please get to it." After Applejack dried up Fluttershy's face, Fluttershy opened her once bright and beautiful green eyes, they were dull and a muted green now. In fact Rarity would surmise that all of Fluttershy was a muted color now. It was clear that Fluttershy must have been pretty depressed if it was affecting her color pallet. It took a good half hour on the wings alone, the rest of Fluttershy took the remainder of an hour. Especially since the more Fluttershy moved the more sluggish her motions became. Eventually though, Fluttershy was cleaned up. She was clearly feeling down, but cleaned. Applejack returned. "Hey, Ah fixed the door, and got Twilight to help clean the house with magic. Twilight didn't really want to see Fluttershy though... Ah'm uh, Ah don't like that." Rarity frowned. "Me neither, it means she knows more than I do about what happened." Fluttershy was still being dried off by a towel held in Rarity's aura. Fluttershy spoke quietly. "I, hurt Rainbow." Rarity bit her lower lip. She was afraid of that. It was the only conclusion she could come to. Still it was hard to hear. "It'll be okay, darling." Fluttershy shook her head. "No, it won't be. I hurt her. I should have just told her I wanted some privacy. I didn't, and I just... we got into fights, at Twilight’s house, and I told her that I made out with Trixie, and Rainbow Dash didn't even get mad, she just... got sad." Applejack spoke up. "You uh, you did what with Trixie now?" Fluttershy shook her head. "It was a long time ago, before Trixie and Twilight dated. It would be fine if I didn't use that to make Rainbow angry... or at least try to." There was a part of Rarity that was afraid of this happening from the beginning. A part of her that knew that Fluttershy went through lovers like most ponies went through sliced bread. She had given herself hope that a marriage could fix that, but maybe that was actually the mistake. Still it had happened and Fluttershy still needed somepony to help her. "It's okay, we're here for you." Fluttershy looked up at her. Those eyes even sadder than before. "She picked Pinkie Pie over me." "I... I know." "And Pinkie picked her over me." "I know." Fluttershy lowered her head and closed her eyes. A shudder went through her whole body as a weak, tired sob escaped her lips. "I thought, with how close me and Pinkie were, she'd still be with me." Applejack spoke up. "Sugarcube, whatever happened in the past doesn't matter right now. Ah think you should stay with me on the farm fer awhile. We have applepie, Luna, and family." Rarity looked over at Applejack. "Darling, I was going to offer that." "Ah know, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie hang out at yer place a lot more than mine. Ah can convince those two to give Fluttershy some space to recover. Clearly she can't do this on her own." Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm f-fine. The bunny pile wasn't so bad. It was warm." Rarity nodded. "I agree, I'll come to check up on her every day and help with preening." Fluttershy lowered her head a little more. "Okay." It was hard seeing Fluttershy like this, but she'd seen Fluttershy heartbroken before. Before too long Fluttershy would find some beautiful mare to try and hit on, probably succeed, and then break their heart. So long as it wasn't another one of their friends, than who cared. Actually, maybe Rarity did care. This behavior was not healthy and it was clearly self destructive. There had to be something Rarity could do. She couldn’t stand by and keep letting Fluttershy do this to herself, and to others. Applejack smiled. "Fluttershy, Ah ain't pressuring you or anything, but you ever think about going to a counselor? Ah know a good one who can help." Rarity looked at Applejack like she was a miracle worker. Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm not crazy." Applejack reached out and pet the top of Fluttershy's head. "Neither was Ah, but when my parents died, Ah needed the help. Ah think it wouldn't just help you feel better now, it would help you feel better later on." Rarity stared at her. "You never told me you went to a counselor before?" Applejack only offered a smile. "Ah don't talk about my folks too much, or how it affected me or the rest of mah family. Ah don't need to because Ah have so many good things to think about now. Such as mah lovely diamond, and my friend Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked at them. "Are you two still my friends? After what I did to Rainbow?" Applejack nodded. "Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" Rarity nodded. "Best friends." That seemed to be enough to make Fluttershy sob. She shook her head and wept. No tears came out but she cried still. "I don't wanna be a bad pony anymore. Please, help me. Oh goddess, help me." Applejack and Rarity both hugged Fluttershy tight, holding her in their legs. Rarity whispered. "That's what we're here for. To help you." Applejack added. "And yer not a bad pony. Not anymore than the rest of us. You had a bad night, but that doesn't make you a bad pony." Rarity knew she was right. They'd all done something awful or another to each other at least once. It didn't mean they were bad ponies. Twilight wasn't some evil wizard who would manipulate and use curses on her friends just so she can write a stupid letter. Trixie wasn’t some self absorbed mare who would destroy all in her path to find some false glory, Rainbow Dash wasn't so competitive that she'd beat up her friends to win some stupid race. And Rarity wasn't so stuck up and snobbish that she'd steal Rainbow Dash's biggest moment away from her every time just to show how perfect she was, only to put herself and Rainbow Dash's heroes lives at risk. They were all capable of doing screwed up things, but that didn't make them evil. It just made them ponies. Foolish, crappy ponies, but ponies none the less. And the best part was they could all stand to improve themselves, even Fluttershy. > Chapter Forty Nine: Of Recovery and Reconnection > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Forty Nine Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were both enjoying themselves while sitting on Pinkie's balcony and watching the clouds lazily drift in the sky. All set on predetermined paths to move at certain speeds, they all looked so pretty. Of course not as pretty as Pinkie herself, as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned. Still she couldn’t deny that she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her heart from time to time. It wasn't just the the beak up, it was fear, fear that she might lose Pinkie in the same exact way. Pinkie Pie leaned her head onto Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "You know, Dashy. Just because we're dating doesn't mean we have to change you know? Like, we can still be the same old ponies we always were, but if we do change that's okay too." Rainbow Dash nuzzled into Pinkie's mane. "Yeah?" "Yeppers, and I know you’re scared of losing me. Of pushing me away. But I want to make it clear, that I love having too much attention from my friends. So you don't have to worry." "Thanks, Pinkie." "No, thank you. I didn't think I’d be lucky enough to keep you. This means the world to me." Rainbow Dash smiled as she held Pinkie close to her. "Just us two?" "I don’t need anypony else, just you." That was an answer that Rainbow Dash could live with. *** It was feeling like a much better day out here in Ponyville, and Trixie couldn't help but to enjoy it. With Twilight by her side, the two of them were currently on their way toward Sweet Apple Acers. At first Twilight was against the idea, but Trixie managed to convince her to come by simply declaring she was going with or without her. Twilight was unlikely to let Trixie go by herself for a few different reasons, not the least of which involved the fact Fluttershy was there. It was a quiet walk but a warm one. Still Trixie wasn't feeling the best about this visit herself. She had to do this regardless of her own desires, it still sucked. "Twilight, Trixie still feels guilty over this." Twilight nodded. "So do I. I feel like there had to be something I could have done to fix it. Like I missed something and it made a huge mess." The two of them felt guilty over this, yet Trixie could say with some clarity that neither of them should feel guilty. It wasn't like they went out of their way to break up Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. No those two did that to themselves, yet it was at their home it all came to a crashing end. So of course they felt bad. Even if Rainbow Dash seemed happier with Pinkie, it was not what anyone had expected. Well at least she heard Luna was staying there quite frequently, she even had a new friend with her. That was something that Trixie was interested in learning more about. Luna was always kind of a loner, so she was excited to see who it was that could befriend the nighttime princess. Sweet Apple Acers appeared in the distance. The first thing Trixie noticed was that Fluttershy was out by the trees and picking a few of the hard to reach apples off the top of the trees, bringing them down and putting them into the giant bucket of apples. Applejack nodded approvingly of Fluttershy's help. Once the two of them got closer Fluttershy landed and looked at them. She couldn't quite seem to meet either Twilight, or Trixie's eyes. Trixie spoke first. "It would seem your doing good on the farm, Trixie is impressed." Fluttershy squeaked out a response. Applejack rolled her eyes. "Of course she's doing good. She's a great farmhoof." Twilight added. "So how is it staying on the farm?" Fluttershy lowered her head and looked down at the ground instead of answering. Applejack pet the top of Fluttershy's head. "She's doing better here. You know the state we found her in. Still Ah think it'll take a few more days before she's really talking again." Fluttershy closed her eyes and then managed to squeak out actual words instead of sounds. "I'm seeing a therapist now." Twilight offered a small smile. "That’s good to hear." Fluttershy lowered her head further still. "I'm sorry. I was awful in your home." Twilight looked at Trixie as if asking for help with how to respond. Trixie cleared her throat. "You still have one up on Trixie, all you did was act mean and break up with Rainbow Dash. Trixie enslaved the entire town. So, we'll forgive you." Twilight snapped. "I could have come up with something kinder than that." Fluttershy raised her head a bit and looked at Trixie. The lust that had been there previously had faded. She just looked sad, but at least she was smiling. "Thank you, Trixie." As much as Trixie wanted that to mean Fluttershy was doing a lot better, she quieted up after that and eventually vanished into the house. Applejack didn't seem worried, in fact she was smiling. "She's spoke more just now than she's spoken since she first came here." Twilight frowned. "I hope she gets better soon." Applejack nodded. "Me too." Trixie glanced at Applejack. "So how are Luna and her new friend?" Applejack smiled. "Much to my surprise, they’re both great. Ah don't reckon I've seen a pony so happy except for Pinkie Pie. I've even caught her new friend singing to himself a few times. He might look like he lost a fight to a blender but he's happier than most ponies have any right to be." Trixie laughed. "Well if he's that ugly it's nice to hear he's happy about it." Still something felt a little off by the description. The air in front of them took on a dark blue tint and out from the nothingness stepped two ponies. One was the dark, beautiful form of Princess Luna, the other was a small unicorn stallion, taller than Trixie but inferior to Princess Luna. Trixie felt herself shaking as she stared at him. His gray fur complemented his dark mane. He wore bright orange robes. Everywhere his flesh was exposed, his neck, face, and hooves were all covered in scars. Luna spoke. "Thank you for the help, I didn't think I'd be able to handle all of those giant rats by myself. Well in a timely fashion at least." He chuckled and shook his head. "No problem, Princess Luna. It was an honor to serve by your side, and I guess you could say we won that rat race." She laughed. "And you’re just delightful to talk too. Honestly, whatever did my sister not see in your skills?" He looked over. "Oh its old history, I'm just glad to still of some use to y-" his words got caught in his throat as he saw Trixie. "Trixie?" Instinct came over Trixie and she galloped to him. She jumped into him and wrapped her forelegs around him nearly shouting, "Shadow Heart! You’re alive!" He hugged her back. "Trixie! You remember me? Oh thank the goddess, I thought she took that from you too." Trixie knew he was talking about Celestia. "She did, but I've been remembering things. I don't even know why I'm hugging you, but I'm happy. So happy to see your okay." Twilight stammered. "You mean Professor Shadow Heart is the stallion who mentored you? But, he's one of Celestia's older apprentices!" Shadow Heart looked past Trixie and at Twilight. "Trixie, did you and your rival become friends?" Trixie finally pulled away. "Oh, you could say that. I prefer the term lovers though." Applejack whispered to Twilight. "Uh, is it just me or did Trixie just lose her third-person speech all of a sudden?" Twilight nodded. "I agree, she slips out of it from time to time, but rarely this consistently." Trixie glared at them. "I can use whatever accent I want. I am the great and powerful Trixie after all." Shadow Heart laughed joyfully. "You seem happy. I'm glad for you. You also seem to have picked up a little weight too." Trixie took a few steps back and puffed up her cheeks. "No, I didn't. Well I mean, I guess I did, but it's my beautiful perfect baby's fault. Applebutter will be the best version of me out there." He sat down. "Pregnant?" he glanced from her to Twilight and then back to her. "Don't tell me Twilight used a gender-swapping spell to... you know?" Trixie rolled her eyes. "No, it was her boyfriend who knocked me up." she pointed at Luna. Luna’s entire face went red. "I-I um, well... I didn't start dating Big Mac until after he already did that so..." Shadow Heart laughed. "It sounds like you've entered into a very strange place in life. But at least you seem happy. That's all I could ever ask for." Trixie beamed up at him. "I am happy. Happier than I ever thought possible in my entire life." Shadow Heart reached out and pet the top of her head. "Well let’s just hope that everything stays happy for you. I'm glad you remember me, but perhaps there are a few things that should remain forgotten right?" She shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I don't remember them." He glanced at Luna. "About what we had discussed earlier?" Luna smiled and nodded. "I approve. I hadn't realized Trixie was the apprentice you had mentioned, she is not such a bad pony. Even if my relationship with her is a strange one." Trixie stuck out her tongue. "You’re the strange one." Applejack looked over her shoulders. "Please don't tell me Celestia is going to show up now? She kinda scares me." Luna shook her head. "I already told you, my sister forgave you for the apple incident. She's not evil or anything." Trixie returned to Twilight's side and nuzzled in. "Trixie truly is happy here. With friends, family, and you." Twilight wrapped a leg around Trixie and pulled her close. "I'm happy too. Now, I want to get to know my predecessor if you don't mind sharing." "Trixie is great at sharing." "You literally ate every pickle in the house last night." "When it's not food-related, she's good at sharing." Shadow Heart whispered to Luna, in such a quiet voice that Trixie almost missed it, in fact she doubted anyone else even heard it. "Speaking in third person. It could be a side effect of the spell Celestia used." Luna nodded. "I agree. Let’s just keep an eye on her and figure out what to do from there." "Thank you for the help, Luna." "She's family, I don't have a choice." > Chapter Fifty: Of Pie and Pasts > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty: Of Pie and Pasts Written by TheCrimsonDM Sitting down at a picnic table behind Applejack's house with a delicious slice of pie in front of her, and a lovely fiancé by her side, Trixie was happy as could be. Of course it wasn't just the pie, or her lover making her happy. In front of them with his own slice of pie sat her old mentor, the closest thing to a father figure she'd ever had, and one of Celestia's previous pupils, Shadow Heart. Shadow Heart, with his face looking more like cracked earth from all the scars was smiling warmly. It made her heart soar to see him so happy. Twilight seemed absolutely enthralled as he was going on about some story from his youth. "So that's when Celestia made the biggest mistake I'd ever seen. One that would have lasting consequences for a very long time." Twilight gasped. "She made a mistake?" Shadow Heart laughed. "Oh yes she did, she introduced me to the mare who'd become my wife." Trixie giggled. "Oh such a horrible mistake indeed. Accidently hooking ponies up for marriage. One could write a terrible story about such a thing, perhaps even her and Luna accidentally marrying a bunch of ponies themselves." Twilight gave her look that said she was going to be grounded if she kept interrupting. Shadow Heart continued. "Yes, it was a mistake, but the good kind. I don't think she minded me retiring to get married and have a kid. In fact, she actually joined us for dinner once a month or so. She was a regular part of the family, my daughter even called her Auntie Celly. It was adorable." Twilight smiled warmly. "I knew she did good things too." Shadow Heart met Twilight's eyes, something in his look had changed, Trixie wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking. "Oh, you have reason to suspect she does anything else?" Twilight stiffened as she sat upright. "N-no, of course not. She’s perfect as perfect can be. She’d never make horrible mistakes, or nearly kill me and my friends, or ruin my mind and life." Shadow Heart was still smiling as he shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. "Seems like you've seen a glimpse into the real Celestia. As much as we may love her, she is still a pony at the end of the day, and sometimes ponies do things they regret. It is of course, our job to help prevent those regrets, or fix them once they happen when and where we can." Twilight glanced over at Trixie. "I guess so... but I'm happy here." Twilight's hoof landed on Trixie's. "Even if Celestia didn't introduce me to Trixie herself, I think I kind of understand how that might change your perspective on things." Shadow Heart took a bite of his apple pie. "Mmm, Sweet Apple Acers has always had the best pie. Don't let anypony tell you different." Trixie took a bite of her pie and agreed whole heartedly. Of course she was looking around for somepony in particular and saw them. Luna was over by some trees and talking to Big Mac. The two of them were both red in the face and not able to look at one another directly, but they were talking. It was adorable how slow they were taking their relationship. Trixie was always in the mindset of getting her prize early though, so she was glad to have already taken her prizes from Twilight, and looking at how happy Twilight looked in this setting, she was sure that Twilight agreed with her. Trixie looked down at her plate, she was half way through her pie and she knew that as nice as this moment was, there were questions and concerns she had. Ones that she'd knew she would never get an answer if she didn't ask now. She looked back up at Shadow Heart to see that he was looking at her. Concern was written in his eyes. She met those eyes with a steely gaze of determination. "Shadow Heart, Trixie needs to ask you something." He let out a quiet sigh. "I knew you would. You surely have a lot of questions." "What did Celestia do to Trixie, and why?" He closed his eyes, his smile fading for a moment as he seemed to contemplate something. "Trixie, she saved you. That's what she did. As for why, it's because this time, I was the one who screwed up." Trixie hated the vagueness of that answer. "Trixie's mind was messed with here, she demands to know more." He blinked and looked at her. "Trixie, it really would be best to forget about that part of your history." "Well Trixie cannot. And if she's going to continue with attempting to date both Celestia and Twilight at the same time she cannot afford to let go of this." He stood up with sudden speed and his eyes widened. That smile completely gone. "You're dating Celestia?" Trixie wrapped a leg around Twilight's waist pulling her closer. "We both are." His pupils shrunk a little. "Is... isn't there a little bit of an odd... problem with that? A problem with um… how close she is… you know…" Trixie nodded. "Yes, she's a giant and pleasing her really does take the combined effort of both a pregnant Trixie and a hapless Twilight." Twilight glanced at her. "Hey... I'm getting better at the sex." "Yes," Trixie licked her lips. "You most certainly are." That made Twilight's face turn a deep shade of red as a blush blossomed over her cheeks. She looked down at her own plate which was empty of pie as she'd eaten it long ago. Shadow Heart seemed to force himself to sit back down. "And there's nothing else that would make that awkward?" Trixie blinked as she looked at him. "No, why would there be?" He bit his lower lip. "Damn it, Celestia, just how much of her memory did you take?" Trixie narrowed her eyes. "That is a good question, how much of Trixie’s memory did she take?" He shook his head. "Not important right now. So long as you’re happy, that's all that matters. I will... speak with her though. Make sure she understands how important it is to make you happy. You deserve it." Trixie didn't like this run around. It felt like she was being handled, but she wasn't going to be able to force him to do anything. No, she'd have to work her ways elsewhere. In fact she had some ideas of how to get stolen memories back, but she still had to keep in mind, her most important task was to her unborn foal, to her Applebutter. She rubbed at her belly, she would wait to discover her own personal mythos if she had to for her sake. Twilight was looking down at her plate now. "I, um, well hey, you know maybe Trixie might have lost some of it when she put on the Alicorn Amulet? That's how she got herself pregnant after all." Trixie shot a glare at her. "Oh, make it sound like Trixie just does irresponsible things and gets pregnant while not in a sober state of mind." Twilight looked at her. "That is what happened though." "Sure, but it still sounds rude. Trixie prefers to say that after wearing the Alicorn Amulet, she was gifted with the love of a giant stallion and a baby." Twilight rolled her eyes. "It takes away all responsibility towards you." Trixie nuzzled into Twilight's side. "Now you're getting it." Shadow Heart laughed. "I'd have assumed you were fighting just now, but the way you two smile and look at each other. You’re both horribly in love." Trixie glanced at him. "We are. Trixie- I love Twilight Sparkle with all of Trixie's heart." Twilight giggled. "And Twilight loves Trixie with all of her heart." Trixie glanced back at Twilight. "Speaking in third person is my thing." Twilight put a hoof to Trixie’s chin lifting it up and turning to face her. "Maybe it's something I stole from you." Trixie blinked. Their lips were dangerously close, she could taste Twilight's breath upon her lips. Trixie's entire body was growing tingly from the contact, she was so close, yet it seemed so far. For a long moment Twilight just stayed there, staring into her eyes, not moving an inch. This was torture, couldn't Twilight just do something already? Twilight's head shot forward and their lips met for a quick, but furious kiss. Once Twilight pulled away she was blushing even more yet, Trixie had realized that she lost that engagement. She was okay with losing though, because when Twilight took charge, she went from sexy to divine goddess sexy in a heartbeat. Trixie scooted closer to Twilight and nuzzled in. This was her rightful place, and she'd not give it away for the world. No secrets, no amount of memory loss, no nothing would take this away from her. It was only after a few seconds she became increasingly aware of the fact they were not alone. Trixie glanced at Shadow Heart. "Sorry, Trixie and Twilight are still very much a thing." He only smiled in response. "Don't worry about it. Just seeing you happy is all I could ever ask for." He was too kind, so kind in fact that Trixie found herself not trusting him fully. Sure she had positive memories of him and knew he was a good stallion at heart, but she also knew something was wrong here. She couldn't quite place it either, but she would accept it, for now. The mystery would unravel itself one way or the other eventually, and once it did she would have her answers. His smile faded a little before he asked a question that seemed to send shivers down Trixie's spine, "You said you got pregnant while wearing the Alicorn Amulet?" She nodded. "Trixie did, why?" "Although I'm sure your fine from any further corruption, I'll ask Luna to double-check later, I need to ask how you found the Alicorn Amulet?" Trixie bit her lower lip. "Trixie... can't remember." He nodded. "How did you discover it in the first place?" "Trixie... can't remember." He leaned back in his seat and tapped his hooves together. "Do you recall anything about the Alicorn Amulet?" "Not really, it's like Trixie found it, in some merchant's office, put it on and then she woke up later running away from Ponyville without the amulet, vague... images still in her mind of what it was like wearing it. Almost like when a pony wakes up from a dream, Trixie doesn't remember everything about it, or everything before it, or everything from when she wore it. She can hardly even remember the rock farm she was working on to get the money to purchase it... though Trixie suspects she didn't actually purchase it." Twilight's body had stiffened once more. She looked down at Trixie. "Trixie, are you okay?" Trixie nodded. "Trixie is fine. She has you, she has Applebutter, she has friends and a home." Shadow Heart let out a sigh. "I suppose I can't keep all of our secrets from you, not if they'd already put you at risk like this." Trixie looked at him. "What do you mean?" Shadow Heart nodded. "Do you remember being my assistant?" Trixie could recall a few very vague memories, and one very striking one of helping him as he sought after and defeated the dark things that Celestia chose to ignore. "Yes, we fought the darkness, the shadows cast by Celestia's holy light." He nodded. "One of those tasks we had was to archive ancient artifacts. One such artifact was of course the Alicorn Amulet. You had touched it, and its power had infected you. Something I didn't catch, but it happened. We had attempted to destroy the amulet, but it got lost somehow. I feared we'd never find it again, or maybe I was hoping we wouldn't let that dark thing remain in the shadows forever I say. It would seem you had bonded with it though. Celestia was supposed to remove it from your heart and your mind, to keep you safe you see, but it seems she failed." Trixie looked over at Twilight. "Maybe she failed, but Twilight succeeded." Twilight smiled softly. "Thank you." He looked over at Luna. "If you don't mind, I'm going to ask Luna to examine your heart and mind for any leftover traces of darkness. I just want to make sure you are safe." Trixie's nightmares about her baby came to the forefront of her mind. "The amulet won't have affected Trixie's baby would it?" He offered a weak smile. "I, don't think so, but I can have Luna check." Trixie nodded. "Please, Trixie couldn't bear it if anything happened to her baby. She needs her baby." Twilight added. "We need our baby. I'm going to be a mommy too you know." Trixie nuzzled back into Twilight's neck. "Yes, you will be. Trixie promises." > Chapter Fifty One: Of Hate and Spite > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty One: Of Hate and Spite Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie knew that today was a stupendous day. She'd woken up, gotten ready for her Saturday, a day where the she didn't have to attend a thousand classes and deal with miss smarty pants Twilight Sparkle. She could be free to pursue her own objectives, her own life, her own goals. After all she served a higher purpose, one even more important to serving their god princess Celestia. Trixie had done what she did every morning after waking up. She ignored the mess her floor was in from clothes, shoes, and books to go focus on brushing her mane in the mirror and to put on some makeup. After all she needed to be presentable if she was going to show just how important she was. Not that she could tell anyone about how important she was, but they should still know by virtue of her existence. Once prettied up she left the room and locked the door behind her. No need to let any of the pranksters here at the school have a chance to mess with her room. There might also be a few dark secrets in there that she'd have to silence a pony if they'd discovered, and no it wasn't the back massager she kept hidden under her bed. It was a few of the reading materials that Shadow Heart had imparted onto her. Going out into halls she was remiss to find that it was rather empty in here. Despite what ponies on the outside might expect, the older you got here in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns the less ponies were left. The trials at the end of every year were tailored to each pony and challenging. She had heard rumors of Twilight's last trial from the year before and shuddered to think the mare was forced to fight a manticore all by herself. Not that she couldn't do it. She was Trixie after all, and as Shadow Heart's student she could probably defeat an Ursa Major all by herself if she wanted too. After all he had done that. So why not her as well? With a trot in her steps she made her way through the quiet halls of the dorms and down to the courtyard. The school itself was adjoining the castle, so that Celestia could keep a closer eye on the students. It also meant that there was an amazing courtyard here for her to explore and meet with various nobles, other students, and if lucky Princess Celestia herself. In the courtyard she found it was mostly empty of ponies but where it was empty of ponies it was filled with life and beauty. Giant hedges forming walls on either side of cobbled roads. Arches built into the sides of the hedges would reveal water fountains, statue gardens, and even watch towers to oversee the entire hedge garden. Though she had been warned to stay away from one particular lookout tower. Lookout 11-11, was rumored to be haunted and with what she'd learned the hard way, such rumors were not to be taken lightly, especially now that her eyes were open as some would say. Still she had a special place all to her own that she enjoyed spending time in to practice her tricks. It was a small section of the courtyard that led to a large water fountain that had a statue carved into the shape of Canterlot mountain. She could always find some solace and some peace there. Going there today was no different than any other. She took a seat on a bench nearby the fountain and relaxed as she let the sunlight warm the fur on her back, and the gentle breeze carry a cool sensation from the nearby fountain. It was utterly relaxing here. Which was why it was the perfect place to practice her art. As her horn lit up she summoned forth a swirling mass of dark gray clouds larger than herself, larger than Celestia even. Lightning spat out of the sides of the cloud threatening to burn and smite any fool stupid enough to cross its path. She practiced with moving the mass of dangerous clouds around keeping them contained and not unleashing their full danger. A voice crawled out from behind her like a smooth blade being cut across her leg. "What are you doing?" Trixie glanced back at the purple unicorn who stood there with a pair of square rimmed glasses on her face, and her eyes staring judgmentally down at Trixie. "Oh, it's you. Twilight." Twilight huffed and walked toward the swirling mass of clouds and lightning. "How very astute of you... fellow student. You know you can't practice dangerous spells here." Trixie glared at Celestia's pupil. "I can do what I want. Nopony is here." "I'm here." "Like I said, nopony is here." Twilight's lip curled up into a devious smile. "Well I suppose if I were to leave that would be true. After all, you don't even have a name do you? Just some country bumpkin to get in my way." Trixie's eye twitched. "Excuse me, Miss Smartypants." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I am no doll, and you are not excused. Now drop this foolish attempt at wizardry now and maybe I will not tell Princess Celestia on you." Trixie stood up on her bench, standing taller than the annoying Twilight before her. "I am not going to stop practicing just because you tell me to, tattletale." Twilight was only a few feet away from the storm now. Yet she turned to fully face Trixie. "I may be a tattletale, but at least I get to be Celestia's pet. What do you get to be? Some forgotten scrap that hangs around clinging to some hope you might become something here?" Trixie roared. "Why are you such a bitch?" "Because you are always causing trouble and I am sick of cleaning up your messes. You unleashed a horde of mutant frogs the other week, and guess who got to kill them all?" Trixie smirked. "I was freeing them from captivity like a hero." "You unleashed magical constructs that could have hurt somepony. I spent all night wiping them out." Trixie's smile faded significantly. "You... killed them?" Twilight's smile seemed to grow more genuine. "Ah, now you’re seeing my true power. You couldn't hope to stop them with your meager..." She waved a hoof at the vortex of lightning death next to her. "Whatever this is. So I had to clean up your mess like always. If it's a problem, I will destroy it." Trixie's anger soared. She really had tried to free the frogs before they could be dissected by some horrible experiment. To hear that her attempt wasn't just crushed but it was murdered enraged her. Trixie wasn’t going to let this fly. "How dare you!" Twilight met her eyes, there was a flash of baleful green light in those hateful eyes. "Oh, did you actually like them? Is that why some of them had name tags? Like Greeny, Smellybelly, Twibutt Smartypants, or even dare I say, Trixie Two? I had fun spending my time slowly killing Trixie Two." Trixie roared. That was it. She was going to make that bitch pay. She dragged the lightning storm over toward Twilight and unleashed the spell's furry into a blast of lightning and thunder so loud, so destructive that it sent a shock wave that knocked Trixie back off of her bench. Yet she saw it, a purple blur flew out to the side as it exploded and sent Twilight flying over into the nearby hedge. Trixie rolled over onto her back and stood up. The ground had a massive crater in it yet, Twilight was gone. Good riddance too, that stuck up noble could take her history and shove it where Celestia's sun don't shine. The hedge shifted. Trixie's eyes widened and she saw a purple leg stick out of it. Followed by another and then soon Twilight's head came out. Twilight's face had black streaks across it, as well as a few burns on her side and legs, her glasses were cracked and her mane brunt at the edges yet she looked otherwise untouched. That was Trixie's most powerful spell and it hardly effected Twilight. Twilight crawled out of the hedge. Her horn glowing with an angry red light. "You, you, you CUR!" Trixie spun around to try and flee but found there was no other exits to this part of the courtyard. It was the most unused part of the maze and so it was just the two of them. Trixie wasn’t going to get any escape. She spun around to see Twilight marching toward her with angry steps. Rage clearly expressed upon her snarling face. Her eyes glowing green. Trixie's ears folded back. "Twilight, I'm sorry. It was an accident. Your right, I shouldn't be practicing dangerous magic out here." Twilight continued to march. "I will hurt you." Trixie stepped back. "Please, forgive me. I'm sorry." Twilight's horn summoned forth a sphere of green hateful light. Trixie wasn’t sure what that energy ball would do, but she knew she didn't want to find out. She took a few more steps back. Twilight continued a slow steady march toward her. Soon Trixie’s rump brushed into the wall of the hedge maze. Twilight cackled. "No escape now. No one to save you this time. No Celestia to stand up for you and cover up for your mistakes like she always does." Trixie blinked. "W-what do you mean by that. Celestia doesn’t even know me." "You would think so, but no," Twilight growled. "All I hear, is how proud she is you've come so far. I hate it. She should be proud of me. Me! Not YOU! Who are you anyway, some random pony from some backwater town that nopony cares about?" Trixie pressed herself hard against the shrubbery. It was clear that Twilight didn't just hate her for the messes that Trixie made. For some reason, and she couldn’t fathom why, Celestia knew her name, not only that, Celestia actually approved of Trixie. Was Trixie truly amazing? She liked to boast sure, but to catch Celestia's eye was something she couldn't fathom. Twilight was only a few feet away. That green malevolent ball of energy floating above her head. The heat coming off of the green orb was intense. It was like a miniature sun and Trixie was suddenly positive that if it touched her, she wouldn't just be hurt, she'd be melted away. Trixie fell to her haunches and pressed her back firmly against the shrubbery. "Please, Twilight. I'm just trying to be a good pony. I'm just trying to keep Celestia safe from the shadows, just like professor Shadow Heart. I just want to serve the good of Equestria. Please don't hurt me." Twilight glared hateful daggers into Trixie, so deep was that hatred it penetrated her very soul. "I will do as I please. I am princess Celestia's pupil, her protégé, her chosen!" The ball of energy grew ever closer. Sweat fell down Trixie's face from the heat and the fear. The orb was going right for her horn. Trixie's horn. A cold breath of air covered the entire area and the heat from the orb was sucked away in an instant. The orb itself vanished and Twilight gasped. Her breath was pulled from her lungs as a white steam, and soon Twilight stumbled backward, clawing at her throat and trying her best to suck in breath. Yet she couldn’t breathe. Trixie knew what this was, she'd seen it before. She looked to the entrance to the courtyard and Shadow Heart stood there. Just behind the hedges, almost entirely blending into one of the shadows. If Trixie hadn't seen him do this before, been besides him standing in the shadows in the past, she would not have been able to see him. As it was it was hard to focus on him, as if her mind wanted to look anywhere else besides directly at him. Soon Twilight fell over, unconscious. The cold air vanished in a sudden flash and the normal warmth of the sun returned. Trixie stared down at Twilight, was she dead? Twilight sucked in a deep breath in her sleep, and soon was breathing like normal. She was only knocked out with the spell, and as she breathed in and out her wounds left by Trixie's spell healed themselves as if they were never there. Trixie looked over to where Shadow Heart had been and noticed he was gone. She got the message. She had been saved but she needed to follow in his hoof steps and get out of here too. She prayed that when Twilight woke up, her anger would have cooled. Not only cooled, but perhaps that she would think this all a dream. Destruction in the courtyard aside, ignoring the crater and the scorch marks, she could hope that Twilight would forget all about this... hope, but hope was often times foolish. > Chapter Fifty Two: Of Broken Brains and Broken Drains > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Two: Of Broken Brains and Broken Drains Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie sat there staring at the cup of tea she had. Her mind still piecing itself back together. She must have dozed off for a moment, that had to be a dream. Twilight being vengeful, vengeful enough to hurt her? Shadow Heart saving Trixie from the shadows. Celestia being proud of Trixie's apparent lack of skill? No, something was wrong here, that was just a weird dream brought about by the recent trauma she'd had. Still looking around the kitchen inside of Applejack's house, she noticed that Twilight was staring at her. Those sweet, gentle, and concerned eyes could never hate her… right? "Trixie, are you okay?" she asked gently. Trixie nodded. She looked away and down at her tea. She thought for a moment and then knew she had to ask. "Twilight... would you ever... have you ever attempted to hurt Trixie?" Twilight frowned. "I don’t think so... I mean, I know we got into some arguments at school and all, but I don't think I ever tried to really hurt you. It'll never happen again though, I love you too much." Trixie looked at her. They were alone in the kitchen, perhaps she could ask some questions now. "Did Celestia ever talk about me when we were at school?" "I think she mentioned you once or twice. She seemed happy about the progress you made. She was always so happy with her students' successes." Twilight giggled at the clearly happy memory. "It was nice. She talked about everypony like that though." Trixie nodded. Perhaps this was a dream after all. Or it could be a memory? One that was removed from both her and Twilight right? If that was the case was it possible that Twilight would remember all of a sudden one day and try to hurt her again? No, that couldn’t happen. Not with her unborn child on the way. Trixie couldn’t risk anything bad happening. Not even stress. Twilight's frown deepened. "I... I had a weird dream once though. Back when we were at school. A dreamt about me getting really mad at you. Jealous even. I think in the dream we got into a big fight, but I don't remember how it ended." Trixie felt a cold shiver run down her spine. "In that dream, did I throw a lightning cloud at you?" Twilight's frown managed to deepen some more. "Y-yeah." "Did you make a red energy orb, one that was going to melt my horn off?" Twilight's eyes widened and she pulled away. "Y-yes... Trixie. That was just a dream. I didn't even remember it until now. Why would you know about it?" Trixie took a drink of her tea. "That's a good question." Twilight reached out with a hoof to try and touch Trixie, perhaps in a gesture of reassurance. "Trixie, I would never, ever try to-" Trixie's horn lit up and stopped Twilight's hoof. She gently pushed Twilight's hoof away. "N-not right now, Twilight. I think I need a moment... I'm sorry." Twilight lowered her head. "I... I'm so confused." "Me too. We'll figure this out together, and what lies Celestia is hiding from us." Twilight looked at her. "Celestia?" Trixie nodded. "You don't remember killing my frogs do you?" Twilight flinched. "I'd never hurt a frog. Oh goddess, don’t tell Fluttershy that I'd do that. She’d hate me." Trixie offered a weak, fake smile. "Trixie hated you for it too... but Trixie thinks that maybe, Celestia didn't just mess with Trixie's mind. She might have messed with yours as well." Twilight looked down at her cup of tea. "I... of course, she wouldn't. Even if she did, it would be for my best interest." "How would you know, if you can't remember and make that judgment call for yourself?" Twilight's lip quivered and she closed her eyes for a long moment. She opened them up again and stared at the tea as if it was an island she desired to reach but was so very far away. "I don't like this conversation. It... it hurts to think about. Especially after how close I've gotten to her... it just makes me think twice about everything. I am not allowed to think twice." Trixie nodded. "I understand. But, what Trixie can assure you, is that even if she needs a moment to be... untouched, she will never think twice about you." Twilight looked up at her. "I'll never think twice about you too. I promise!" Trixie smiled. "That’s good. It means we have chosen each other. Through good or bad, Trixie thinks you were the best choice she ever made." "You’re my best choice first!" Twilight said. Trixie giggled. "I'll let you win this battle my love. You've earned it." Twilight smiled. It was weak, but it was honest. It was clear she had serious doubts in her eyes, but then again so did Trixie. In fact Trixie feared that perhaps what they were soon to discover was going to be much more than either of them could handle. She prayed that the truth wouldn't tear them apart, not her and Twilight. She deserved at least one good thing in this world. *** Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh as she gave the faucet one quick and underpowered kick. The faucet was supposed to be spitting out water, and she'd been working on this all day on the Apple family farm. She'd so far failed. She always failed. Still she had a toolbox nearby and was determined to figure out why water was not coming out of the faucet. If she could get water here, they could get the hose attached and then well she wasn't sure what was going to happen after that. She was just trying to focus on the task before her. Applejack was good at keeping her focused, it was one reason she was still here. The more focused she was, the less she thought about Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie. Still the detestable fountain wouldn't turn on and send out the water she needed. No matter how hard she stared at it, it just wouldn't do as she pleased. It was about time she gave up, if water still wouldn't come out she'd have to hang her head in defeat and tell Applejack she failed her. Applejack's voice came out from behind her, warm and soothing. "You okay sugarcube?" Fluttershy turned to face her. "I-I can't fix it." Applejack walked over to the base of the pipe where it went into the wall. She pointed a hoof at a small lever. "Did you try that?" Fluttershy walked to the lever feeling like nothing she could do would fix this mess. She pushed the lever with a hoof. The pipe rumbled for a moment and then water came pouring from the faucet not a minute later. Fluttershy stared at the faucet. "I-I fixed it!" Applejack nodded. "Ya sure did. You just forgot t’ turn the water back on is all." Fluttershy jumped for joy a few times as Applejack turned off the faucet. Once Fluttershy was done with her victory jumping she looked Applejack in the eyes. "I fixed something!" Applejack smiled warmly. "Ayep. Seems yer learning a few things here." Fluttershy trotted in place. "I never fixed anything like a pipe before. I always asked Rainbow Dash to come and help with that stuff. I'm like, a super mare now!" Applejack snickered. "Learning to be self-sufficient feels nice, doesn’t it. Now if only Rarity had the same feeling, she just gets mad because she gets dirty. Not that she doesn't like getting dirty sometimes mind ya." Fluttershy was still overjoyed with her victory. She had defeated the dreaded broken pipe and now could return to her quiet empty home victorious. Her quiet, empty home... There were still some things that she couldn't fix. Her joy over her triumph faded quickly as she realized that it still didn't fix the same problem she'd had for some time now. The same problem that was going to continue plaguing her for some time more. Maybe even for the rest of her life. Applejack's smile faded as she watched Fluttershy. "Sugarcube, what's wrong?" Fluttershy sat down and let out a quiet sigh. "It's not fair." "What's not fair?" "I'm alone." Applejack walked up to her and gently put a hoof over Fluttershy's shoulder. "No yer not, you got friends here. Me and Rarity still love ya." Fluttershy met those bright green eyes for a moment only to feel guilty and look away. "You get to be with Rarity. Twilight gets to be with Trixie. Pinkie gets to be with Rainbow Dash. Who do I get?" "Sugarcube, I'm sure you'll have a special somepony again." "Yeah, and how long will it last? A day, a few days, a week?" Fluttershy shook her head. "All my relationships fall apart. It's always my fault too. Something is wrong with me, and I just keep screwing everything up. Why am I such a screwup? Applejack, what's wrong with me?" Applejack took a seat beside Fluttershy. "You know, being single fer a minute ain't the worst thing in the world." "It sure feels like it when I look around me and all I see are happy ponies, in love, and able to enjoy themselves. Yet even when I have a mare who loves me more than anything in the world, I just screw it up by becoming... well... a meanie." Applejack let out a low whistle. "Ah think meanie is a bit too nice of a word." "I don’t feel like swearing, even if I deserve it." "Fluttershy, Ah'm sorry." Fluttershy lowered her head in defeat. "I know... everypony's sorry." "No, Fluttershy, Ah mean Ah am personally sorry. So is Rarity, and probably Pinkie Pie too." Fluttershy glanced at her friend. "How come?" "We sort of forced you and Rainbow Dash together. We thought the two of you would be happy as could be, but we never stopped to consider why the two of you never started to date normally. Maybe we were wrong to make these plans, to manipulate the two of you like that. Sure you two were happy at first, but Ah reckon once the lust was gone, the two of you just didn't fit." Fluttershy looked away from her and out into the field of apple trees in front of them. They were endless, easy to get lost in, and filled with surprises once one got far enough in them. "Maybe... but I think maybe it was both of us. The parts of Rainbow Dash I loved were the strong, masculine, heroic parts. But after she started dating me, she became so... scared, so weak. It was like dating myself. heh... and I hate myself." Applejack cringed at that. "Ah know. Maybe it was a bad time to start dating Rainbow Dash is all. She never really dated anypony before, right? Not seriously. So of course she was scared of losing you." "And I made that fear come true." Applejack wrapped a leg around Fluttershy's waist and pulled her close so that Fluttershy could rest her head on Applejack's shoulder. "Maybe, but you were suffering too. Maybe one day the two of you can be in a better place to date each other, but Ah reckon right now is a time for you to focus on building up yourself. Get to know yerself, learn to love yerself, and maybe the next time you start dating, it won't end so sad." Fluttershy put a hoof over Applejack's chest fluff and stroked it. Applejack tensed up a little. "You're really smart, Applejack. I just wish somepony could be here for me now though." Applejack responded but her voice sounded a little tighter. "Ah know the feeling, but me and Rarity will help out, as friends." Fluttershy closed her eyes. "I know you will. Thank you... you won't tell anypony about what I said right?" "Nope, and Ah won't make any magical promises either, otherwise Pinkie would find out, and Ah suspect she's one the last ponies you want to know how torn up you are inside." Fluttershy nodded. "Thank you." Fluttershy let her hoof fall back to the earth and Applejack seemed to relax. Fluttershy was worried about that, it made her feel like her presence was so toxic that just a touch made Applejack afraid of her. Perhaps there was something more to it, but she didn't care at the moment. She was just hurt inside and really hoped that things would improve. Maybe one day she could even talk to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie again, she hadn't even done that since the breakup. She feared they might not ever talk again either... but she still had Applejack and Rarity. She still had friends. > Chapter Fifty Three: Of Pinkie Time and Broken Mind > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Three: Of Pinkie Time and Broken Mind Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash lay on Pinkie's floor staring up at the ceiling. She was tired, bored, and a little down. Often times if she let her mind wonder she'd start thinking about Fluttershy, but she wasn't the only one, Pinkie was more torn up over Fluttershy than she let on. It was clear that they both loved Fluttershy, and the breakup had hurt both of them in a way Rainbow Dash couldn't even begin to understand. Yet as hurt as she was, she had to remind herself that this was actually the second time that Fluttershy and Pinkie had broken up. She wasn't sure if that made it easier, or far worse. Pinkie Pie was over by her writing desk. The desk itself was a strange one as the edges of it were carved to look like cupcakes and trails of frosting. It was even painted to seem as such. The frosting was a fun choice but this had to have been some kind of special order, Rainbow Dash couldn't imagine that this would be a popular design. Pinkie glanced back at Rainbow Dash who was still lying on the floor and watching her. "You okay, Dashy?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. You?" "I'm perfect! I mean, not actually perfect, nopony is perfect, but with you around I feel perfect, and that's all that matters right?" Rainbow Dash giggled. "Whatever you say." Pinkie Pie looked back at the paper she was writing on. "Hey, Dashy. If you need any more of my special cupcakes just let me know." "I’m good for now. I'll let you know if I get sad enough for one again." Pinkie nodded. "You know things are kind of weird now." Rainbow Dash looked back up at the ceiling. "You can say that again." "It's nice to have you hanging with me like this again though. Makes some things feel more normal." "Yeah, I guess this is pretty normal isn't it. If I'm not busy wasting time at your place I'm... well I don't know where else I'd go." Pinkie Pie picked up her pen in her mouth and began writing something. She finished after a few minutes and set it down. "If you’re not comfortable here, you can let me know." Rainbow Dash rolled over onto her side feeling herself being as lazy as ever. "Nah, I'm good here. I mean, unless you want me to leave you alone or something." Pinkie Pie shook her head. "No, I'd rather have you around." "You’re not going to leave me are you?" It was clear from the way Pinkie's back stiffened that she was taken aback by the question. She spun around in her chair. "Oh no, Dashy. Do you need cuddles? I won't leave you I promise. Do you need cuddles? I'm good at cuddles." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, I mean, if you want to, I'm not going to stop you. But I just wanted to ask." Pinkie Pie looked back at her paper. "Mmmm, I can't decide if I should finish this and then cuddle you, or cuddle you and then hope I remember to do this later." "What are you even doing?" Pinkie Pie leaned back in her chair. "I'm trying to find a new formula for a new cake. All my ideas are just so... not Pinkie. So I'm trying to find one that is very Pinkie." "Sounds hard." "It is. I don't just come up with crazy plans in the moment I'll have you know, well not usually. I usually have to spend days, or even weeks studying, practicing, and scheming to make my spontaneous plans work." "That doesn't sound spontaneous." Pinkie Pie giggled. "That's the trick. I'm sure Trixie would appreciate the thought." "Oh what and I'm not smart enough to appreciate it?" Pinkie jumped off her chair and trotted over to where Rainbow Dash was before laying down next to her. "I didn't say that. Did I say that? Oh no, I didn't mean to say that." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You didn't say that." "Then why would you think that? I just... I don't know if you understand what it's like to put a lot of work into a party before it ever comes up, that way you can look like you knew what you were doing all along." Rainbow Dash looked up at her. "Pinkie, I literally practice doing flight maneuvers all the time. I think I can understand." Pinkie bit her lower lip. "Then maybe it's me who doesn't understand?" "What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie's gentle blue eyes seemed to melt into Rainbow Dash's. "I want to understand you, to get to know you more than anypony. To know what you’re thinking and feeling. Maybe you could tell me more about what it's like to practice for flying stuff?" Rainbow Dash beamed up at her. "Would you like that? I'm going to be talking about myself for a long time you know." Pinkie Pie reached out and placed a hoof over Rainbow Dash's. "Of course I would. I love listening to you talk about anything. You don't even have to talk. You can just be there, and I'd love you no matter what." Rainbow Dash's lip quivered for a moment. "Thanks." Those words seemed to hit somewhere deep inside of her and she felt herself being weak, but maybe it was okay to be weak in front of Pinkie. After all, Pinkie had seen sides of her that nopony else was privy to. Not once did Pinkie ever judge her for these things either. She was always just there for Rainbow Dash. There for Rainbow Dash to make her feel good, to feel better about herself. A strange thought occurred to her then. "Pinkie, you do a lot of stuff for me. Is there anything I can do for you?" Pinkie Pie smiled. "What, like now?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Sure, I got nothing better to do." Pinkie pie glanced at the bed. "Well... um… there is one thing. It's kind of weird though, is that okay?" "Why are you asking me if it's okay? I love you because you’re weird." Pinkie Pie stood up, walked to the bed and jumped onto it. She looked over at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow began to sit up expecting Pinkie to ask her to come join her. Pinkie spoke. "Stay there. Well, I mean, if you need a better view you can get closer." "A better view of what?" Pinkie Pie scooted herself toward the edge of the bed, and spread her legs open. "I just... want you to watch me for a while. You can make yourself feel good too if you want, but... would you watch me? I have a bit of a voyeurism kink." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she realized what Pinkie was about to do. She swallowed. "Okay, just watching, I can do that." Pinkie was right, this was weird, but it was the kind of weird that Rainbow Dash could get behind. *** Trixie and Twilight were on the balcony of the Golden Oaks library, though she enjoyed her lover's presence at all times, Trixie was feeling apprehensive at the moment about Twilight. Trixie had just gotten done gathering her courage and explaining the memory that had returned to her while at the Apple Family Farm. The look of wide-eyed, pinpricked pupil horrified expression that Twilight had on her face was enough to convince Trixie that Twilight in fact had no idea that event had happened, or of all that had transpired. Twilight blinked. "I... T-Trixie. Are you sure that was a memory? C-could it just be like a waking nightmare? Or something bad but not you know, real?" Trixie bit her lower lip and looked away. She couldn't look into those eyes and speak. It hurt her to think that Twilight too had suffered from the same problems, the same curse that Celestia had inflicted upon her. "I'm almost positive. I've had these flashes of memories returning to me ever since I wore the Alicorn Amulet. I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that while wearing the amulet I had sex with Fluttershy or something." Twilight pulled away. "Please don't make jokes like that.” Trixie laughed bitterly. "Sorry, I guess I'm just preparing myself for whatever horrible thing I remember next." Twilight lowered her gaze a little. "Trixie, I would never do something like that to you now. You know that right?" "I do." "Then... then why should it matter if maybe I did something so evil, so long ago. Something I can't even really remember very well." Trixie looked back to Twilight. Twilight was shaking, her ears pressed back against her scalp and her eyes staring at the wooden floor beneath them in silent horror. Trixie wasn't the only one suffering here. Though she would rather that she was the only one to suffer. Twilight didn't need this, but Trixie knew that keeping this memory a secret, would have destroyed them as surely as Fluttershy keeping her secrets destroyed her and Rainbow Dash. Trixie spoke as carefully as she could. "Twilight, Trixie loves you. No matter what happened in the past. Perhaps your right, perhaps this doesn't matter to who we are now, to what we are now, but Trixie feels that it's important to find out why we have these memory gaps." Twilight glanced back up at her. "You know, I d-don't like to talk about it much. But... there are some things I can't remember from when I was in school. Things that just... they're just like a blur to me. Like, I know I had a group of friends in school, but I can't remember any of them, who they were, their names, or even their faces. It's like, I try to recall them and there's this giant wall. A big, flaming wall of heat and pain, and I can't get past it." Trixie shivered herself at the description. She really hoped that Celestia didn't have some dark history that they were both a part of, but at this point she was all but certain that Celestia had screwed with their minds. Only Trixie was overcoming those barriers, and that was only because of the Alicorn Amulet seemed to have broken something in her head. Twilight bit her lower lip. "Like, you know I lived in a giant tower after school was over right?" Trixie nodded. "Trixie had asked about it once, Spike explained that you lived there, and that you might have left the crushed remains of some Moon Dancer's gift on the floor." Twilight blinked. "What's a moon dancer?" "Trixie figured it was some kind of strange unicorn ritual in Canterlot. Much like the rain dancers." Twilight shrugged. "Point is, I don't remember hardly anything about the tower. I lived there with Spike. I wrote letters, I researched, I watched the moon at night and the stars, but I did nothing else that I can remember. I don’t remember even having my parents or my brother over for dinner. I can't even remember what my bedroom looked like there. Well... vaguely." Trixie looked out over the balcony. "Maybe you and Trixie should go there sometime. See what mysterious are left behind." Twilight swallowed. "I'm scared." "You're scared of your old home?" Twilight nodded. "What if, what if there's a reason I so easily abandoned it. Some reason I can't remember much about it. Some dark mystery that I should never unravel. Trixie, I don't want to go there alone." Trixie reached out and covered Twilight's hooves with her own. She squeezed them gently and waited until Twilight looked up and met her eyes. "Trixie will not let you go alone. She will be right there beside you, every step of the way." Twilight's lip curled up in a small smile. "Y-you will?" Trixie leaned forward and gently kissed Twilight's lips. Once she pulled back she made sure to nuzzle Twilight's nose once or twice before speaking again. "Trixie will be there for you. Always." Twilight moved her head forward, her face going into Trixie's neck and hiding there. "Thank you." "You’re welcome, love." "Don't tell anypony about this please. I don't want them to know I'm more broken than they thought." "Trixie will keep your secret safe." For a long moment after that, the two of them held each other. Holding hooves and nuzzling one another as the sun in the sky began to slowly sink down over the horizon. Somehow, despite the fact the sun was going to bed for the night, Trixie had this uneasy feeling that Celestia herself was wide awake. It was an uneasy feeling and one that Trixie had no recourse for how to deal with. So she just stayed with Twilight, hoping, praying that the two of them would get through any dark mystery, any horrible secret, or traumatic past together. > Chapter Fifty Four: Of Bathroom Trips and Religious Trips > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Four: Of Bathroom Trips and Religious Trips Written by TheCrimsonDM Rarity had made her way to the window looking out over the dark moonlit view of Sweet Apple Acers. From Applejack's window she could see trees going on for what felt like an eternity. Her heartbeat galloped at the sight. It wasn't just the sight, but the smell of Applejack's sweat, and the musky scent of their earlier physical labor hung in the room making her head a little dizzy with the mixtures of what should be disgusting vile aromas but only made her feel more heated than she should be. Glancing over at the bed, Applejack was still asleep and looking as peaceful and beautiful as an angel. Those freckles, and that relaxed expression. It was a simple charming beauty that Rarity could never get enough of. If only she looked as beautiful without makeup on as Applejack did, oh but she could dream. Looking back out to the window she placed a hoof against the cool glass and wondered what Luna was doing at the moment. She was a creature of the night after all, and she'd been spending far too much time in the day. Surely she must be sleeping somewhere, though, considering how quiet Big Mac's room was, it was not in there. Still she got to enjoy the quiet of the Sweet Apple Acers, the kind of quiet and serenity only found on nights such as these. A slight pinching sensation in her bladder her told her that she woke up for more reasons than to just enjoy the silence of the night. She quickly trotted to the door, opened it up and left closing it behind her. It was dark in here at night but she could make out where the bathroom door was without having to use any magic light up the environment. She made her way to the bathroom, trotted inside and shut the door behind herself. The moonlight filtered through the window here on the second floor of the apple farm so she could see well enough to make out the toilet. Rarity walked to the toilet, took a seat on it and shivered. They were using those fluffy seat covers, and it was warm, meaning somepony had just been in here. The seat was also bit soft and lumpy. She wondered briefly if they'd mind her taking a late night shower to clean herself from the thought of touching somepony’s butt by secondary contact. Well she ignored it and let herself go. A sharp female voice ring out. "Hey!" Rarity froze. "H-hello?" The voice replied once more. "What in the Moon's Frozen Prison do you think you’re doing?" Rarity looked around. It was dark in here, but not so dark she'd miss somepony. The voice was coming from somewhere around her and she couldn't see where. "Oh no, it's true. The house really is haunted by the spirits of Applejack's parents. Please, don't hurt me. I promise I really do love your child." The voice spoke again. "You are sitting right on me." Rarity looked down and it was only then she noticed two things. One the toilet seat was in fact just the normal porcelain one with no nasty fuzzy seat covers to see. Two, she was currently hovering a foot above the toilet and her aim was more of a miracle than on purpose. "O-oh by the sun, I'm sitting on the ghost. Please don't possess me and make me dance like a weirdo at the dinner table while singing about bananas." The female voice growled. "I... forgot that I can turn invisible if I hold really still in the dark." The light flickered on and Rarity saw it as two dark blue legs materialize beneath her. She looked behind herself to see Luna sneering down at her. Rarity looked forward again, her business was thankfully completed so she hopped off of Luna's lap and onto the floor. "I see... What were you doing invisible in here?" "The same thing you were." "Ah, that explains why it smelled weird... um..." She trotted to the door. "Good night, Luna, let's speak of this never shall we." Luna called after her. "Aren’t you going to at least wipe or wash your hooves." Rarity shut the door behind her and made her way back to Applejack's bed. No, she'd rather not think about what just transpired. This was just a weird dream, yeah that's it, just a weird, disgusting horrible nightmare that she wanted to wake up from. *** Celestia walked through the quiet halls of her castle in Canterlot, her mind going back to older days, and the many, many mistakes she'd made over the years. Nightmare Moon, Shadow Heart, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle and even Trixie Lulamoon. It seemed like no matter what she did, she was cursed to have those close to her, those that she loved, to be consumed or corrupted by dark forces. Even if she could fix and save a few of them, there were losses that even her heart could not stand. Sunset Shimmer stood out among the most terrible and that accursed mirror that took her from Celestia was still locked up here in the castle. A thing of beauty and corruption, it stood there mocking her, as if to tell her that it stole away one of her own and would never, ever return her. Celestia swore that one day she would get Sunset back, and on that day she would destroy the mirror and it wouldn't matter how long, or how hard it would be to gain Sunset's love again, she'd do it. After all, unlike Lulamoon, wasn't Sunset named after her? "Note to self," Celestia spoke aloud to nopony in particular. "Don't name foals utterly stupid names when you sad." Her peace was broken by the sound of something metal clattering to the floor nearby. Her senses flared and her wings spread wide as she prepared for battle. She didn't know who it would be, Sunset returned from the void, Trixie having lost her mind to the power of the Alicorn Amulet, Twilight having finally had enough of Celestia's crap, Discord making love to one of her servants again... okay the last one was not exactly a threat except for on a moral level, but by her own name that counted. Celestia's horn lit up with golden light as she made her way toward the sound. It came from a nearby room. One of the many guest bedrooms which were largely left untouched a great majority of the time. Used almost entirely as an excuse for servants to clean something, and for a few less than appropriate behaviors. None of which she would admit to herself. She didn’t often partake in such activities, the last time being awhile ago with her student and Trixie herself. An occurrence that Shadow Heart pointed out might be a mistake, well she'd handle that if that ever turned out to be the case, for now she had a threat to deal with. Celestia opened the door and let her golden light illuminate the insides of the room. After seeing what was in there, she realized she might have preferred it dark. Golden armor had been tossed to the floor, two pairs of it. The bed had a blanket on top of it which just barely covered the hips and flanks of two of her stallion guards who were looking at her with wide, horrified expressions. The way one of them was laying on top of the other, clearly indicated that they were already in the middle of an activity that she wished she could burn from her memory. "Windstriker, Cloudkicker." They both nodded. "Y-your highness." She let out a sigh and grabbed the door handle. "You may proceed, just don't make such a loud noise next time. You startled me half to death." she closed the door and locked it for them before turning away and leaving that guest room and its current occupants far behind. She had better things to focus on than that at the moment. To be fair, it was some twenty years ago she herself had a chance encounter with a handsome, and very flirty magician in one of these rooms. An encounter that was perhaps better left unspoken, hidden pleasures and tricks only worked if one did not look too hard for the secrets behind them. Speaking of performances, Twilight was not bad with her performance. She was quite fun in fact. Inexperienced yes, but her willingness to learn was never forgotten. She briefly wondered if it would be in bad taste to go and bother her student, and fiancé for a quick one on one. Then again with how late it was, Trixie would surely be there, but then again, she wasn't bad either, perhaps a quick one on two would be more fun. In fact she knew quite a few magic tricks and for a magician, it seemed her skills were great both on and off the stage. Celestia had to pause though. She did have other things to attend too and walking around fantasizing about being stuffed like an Oreo cookie by two unicorn mares was not one of those things. No she had a duty to perform before the night was over. She just had to find Shadow Heart. She rounded the corridors, walking through the marbled floors, past paintings and tapestries depicting her greatest victories, friendships and allies, and checked room by room for her pupil. Eventually she found herself in one of the rooms commissioned not by her, nor her sister, but rather by the council of EUP. They demanded that her servants have a place they could have worship when most of them were going to be stuck here working day in and day out and living in the servant quarters. She reluctantly allowed this. Walking in she felt awkward as could be. Sure she acknowledged she was a god amongst ponies, and actively discouraged worship of her when she could, but ponies would be ponies. The chapel was long, filled with amazing and graceful images of her. With a mural on the back showing her and her sister working together to raise the sun. A new addition and one that she was at least more in favor of. The hall ended with a raised platform and a pedestal where a thick golden covered book lay closed. She had peered in on these worshipers in the past, knowing that she needed to make sure that her own people were not too fanatical. They were not, in fact most were fairly casual with their worship, but it still felt awkward when she just wanted to be close to her citizens, but a thousand years of work still couldn't remove godhood from her veins. Nothing could do that. This hall was empty save for one person, a figure wearing a dark gray robe with the hood drawn back. She could see him from here. Shadow Heart's gray fur, covered with the scars from the battle of Hoofington a constant reminder of another one of her failures, but of his ultimate and final sacrifice. She shook her head trying to clear herself of the thought, she needed to speak with him as she knew that the memory spells were coming undone and soon enough, it could cause more problems than was worth. Maybe he had a suggestion on what to do, mistakes aside, his council was still good. She walked over to him, and he opened his eyes and looked at her before she got within five feet of him. "Princess Celestia, it's quite odd to see you here I must admit." She nodded. "I agree. I don't feel entirely comfortable in a place that is dedicated to worshiping me or my sister as the 'goddesses'." "You know the current statement on the religion is that you and your sister are avatars of the sun and moon goddesses respectively. Not that you two are the exact goddesses." "Do you think most ponies that come here to worship make that distinction?" He chuckled to himself and looked back to the mural of her and her sister. "Nope, not one bit. You have to admit though, you carry all the traits of a god." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just because I am immortal, raise the sun, can revive dead ponies, and will shepherded their souls from this life to the next one as well as having the ability to make other alicorns does not mean I am a god." "Oh, and what would make you an actual god if none of that is the proof we need?" She paused for a moment. Then shrugged. "I guess I'd need to live in a castle made of sunlight sitting on top of the clouds or something." He cleared his throat. "Your castle may not be made of actual sunlight, but Canterlot does sit above the lowest cloud layer." "Fine, consider me a goddess, I don't care, why would I care?" she looked sharply up and away and gave out a huff of frustration. "Alright, I will do just that. But I get the feeling that you didn't come here to argue religion with me." She peered down at him. "No, I did not. I came for advice." She lowered her head a little to make herself seem more approachable. "I fear Trixie is recovering her lost memories. This could be dangerous for her." He let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Celestia, I love and respect you, as much as any stallion could. I need to tell you though, what you did was wrong. I understand that they were on dark paths, but removing their memories was not the solution. You had to know that those kinds of spells don't last forever." "I did, and I expected to be able to just fix things if they happened to begin to remember." "But to do so now, you'd be caught for it. Even if nopony could really stop you, or even punish you for your actions, the mistrust that would build between you and Twilight if you tried it again would be so much as to threaten the safety of Equestria?" She nodded. "Yes, I can't just erase her memory at this point because it would destroy the relationships I've built with these ponies." "So, when you make a mistake and need to make up to your friends what do you do?" She smiled. "I know the answer to this; I make a decree that I am correct, and then go eat cake until I forget the stabbing pain in my chest." He let out a sigh. "Or you could just apologize?" "That would be what mortals do, I am a princess." Seeing the unimpressed look in his eyes she added, "Or I could just apologize?" "That sounds like a wise decision." She let out a sigh and looked back at the mural. "You know a real god wouldn't screw up as often as I do." "Perhaps not, but maybe that's just your path? To make mistakes is only natural, it’s how you make up for those mistakes that really sets us apart from the dark forces that would threaten to destroy all you have made." She nodded. "I suspect you tell the truth… I could also just run away from my mistakes and just dump all of my mess on Twilight’s shoulders?" “That… might lead to the entirety of Equestria falling apart. Probably shouldn’t do that.” She laughed nervously. “I’m joking. It would take hundreds of years to train her correctly.” Time that she would have for certain but still… "Oh, and that book I returned for you. Did you find a use for it?" She let out a defeated sigh. "Well I had planned to give it to Twilight for her to study. I believe it would have some hope in turning her into an alicorn." "And that's changed?" "Trixie took one look at the book, told Twilight it was filled with dark magic and they both politely hoofed it back to me." He chuckled. "Seems our little Trixie has once again shown she has some wisdom to her." "More so than me?" "Sometimes." Celestia scoffed. "I have all the wisdom, all of it. I have more wisdom than I have cake. And I have a lot of cake." They both shared a laugh at that statement. It was good to have him around again, his council was useful. She wasn't quite sure she could tell her sister about all the things she'd done. The dark decisions she'd made in order to keep the world safe. Yet she knew that one day it would all come out in the open and she would have no choice. It was getting close to time for her to make some hard decisions but after talking to Shadow Heart she suspected she had a better idea of how to make better decisions at the very least. > Chapter Fifty Five: Of Mirrors and Coffee > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Five: Of Mirrors and Coffee Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie knew something was wrong with Twilight Sparkle. That fight was too dangerous, and too unlike her. Sure Twilight was full of herself, and a total jerk sometimes, actually most of the time. Still it was completely unlike her to be threatening, dangerous, and to kill frogs tormenting them just to spite Trixie. Even Twilight wasn't that evil. No, something was very, very wrong and she had to get to the bottom of it. After all, she was one of the ponies who was there to protect Equestria from the shadows. Who would she be if she failed to notice and act on something like this? Trixie had in that sense followed Twilight for the past few days. Trixie's invisibility spell was truly excellent and so Twilight had no idea that she was being watched. Not while she walked through the halls, not while she fiddled herself in her room with a calculator, and not while she entered a secret chamber hidden behind a painting of Celestia wearing a golden cloak and crown. The secret room behind the painting had a strange ancient mirror that seemed to stand apart from anything else in the center of the room. Twilight had walked up to it, the round vanity mirror looking reflective, beautiful, but giving off a cold energy, the kind that sent shivers down Trixie's spine. Twilight spoke as she approached the mirror. "Today has been awful. Celestia went on a ten minute, and forty three second long rant about Trixie's most recent test. The stupid mare barely got a B plus and Celestia acts like that's such a good thing. I got an A plus and what do I get? Ignored!" Twilight stood there, staring at the mirror for a moment. Trixie watched her, concerned for her own safety as well as for Twilight's. The air in here was cold, freezing in fact, and it took extra effort from the invisibility spell to keep her own breath hidden as it would have come out in a visible fog otherwise. Twilight cackled. "Now that, that is something I hadn't thought about before." She rolled her shoulders playfully. "I look so good with a pair of wings on don't you think?" For a half moment Trixie's entire body tensed up, afraid Twilight had seen her somehow. Yet it was pretty clear that Twilight wasn't talking to her. Yet the only other thing to talk to in here would be Twilight's own reflection in the mirror. That thought unsettled Trixie beyond words. After all, this was a pretty clear indication of corruption, if she'd ever seen any. Twilight's back straightened up and her ears twitched. "You don't say?" Trixie had to get a message out to Shadow Heart about this. He was the only one capable of really dealing with dark magic. She might have been brave enough to stalk Twilight, and finding out about Twilight's dark secret was important, but she also knew she was a fool now. She hadn't really expected Twilight to turn out to be evil, she just expected Twilight to be stuck up and rude. Twilight put a hoof on the mirror's surface and pushed the mirror sideways a little. Her eyes widened and then a cruel smile grew over her lips. "I see, you were right. The mirror does reveal all truth, now doesn't it?" Twilight's horn lit up and Trixie felt something wrap around her neck. She looked down to see a red aura, much like collar wrap around her neck and yank her forward. The illusion spell dropped and Trixie was dragged forward. The red aura around her neck tightened just enough to make it hard to breathe, and it pulled with such force that no matter how hard Trixie tried to pull away from it, it continued to yank her forward, toward Twilight and the mirror. Trixie had to act fast, she wasn't going to get a second miracle this time. She activated her magic, and used a last resort spell she was told to activate if her life was ever in danger, or her soul. A lavender beam shot from her horn and into the ceiling where it passed through harmlessly. Twilight laughed. "You can't even summon enough energy to use an energy beam. Pathetic. I don't know why this mirror even wants to bother with you." Once Trixie was within a few feet of Twilight she could only stare in abject horror as Twilight turned slowly to face her. "Trixie, you've been a little spy now haven’t you?" Trixie swallowed. "Please don't hurt me." "I might, be willing to go easy on you. If you tell me why you've been spying. Be honest now." Trixie had to think of a clever lie. "You're so strong and powerful. I-I want to be like you." Twilight laughed. "That can't be true." She glanced into the mirror. A frown spread over her lips. "It is... huh. Who’d have thought it was possible. Well I suppose I can grant her wish then, she wants to be like me, I'll show her what made me as powerful as I am." Trixie was pulled in front of the mirror and forced to face it. The image in the mirror was of herself, and for a moment she wondered if this mirror could really be so bad. Then the image in the mirror moved on its own and spoke. "Oh ho, see, I told you there was an intruder in here with us." Twilight nodded as if she heard the mirror all too clearly. The mirror version of Trixie's eyes turned green. A baleful pale green energy glowed around its neck slowly forming into something altogether different. Soon it formed into a strange amulet with a bright red gem in the shape of an alicorn. "The Alicorn Amulet, the source of power stolen from the dark goddess Nightmare Moon herself and channeled into usable form. This is my gift unto you, and may you use it to become the truly powerful pony you were meant to be." Trixie tried to pull away as the mirrors surface rippled. A peach-colored hoof extended from the mirror presenting an amulet, the very same one that was in the reflection. Trixie pulled away. "N-n-no." A red aura surrounded the amulet and it whipped out going around Trixie's neck like it had a will of its own. She could feel it as her soul began to burn with cold energy. The tendrils of frozen knowledge and power shot out and pierced her soul, violating it and writhing deeper into her mind and magic than she knew possible. She fell back from the mirror and grasped at the amulet trying her best to pull it off of herself but it wouldn't move. The hoof pulled back into the mirror and the image of a corrupted Trixie began laughing. A moment later Twilight joined in. Trixie hissed as she felt her world being surrounded by frozen blackness. At the very least she knew that she'd already sent out the signal. Soon Shadow Heart would hear it, come to her aide, and if he couldn’t save her, she was at least sure he could put her down before she did too much damage. Such was the way of corruption, if you couldn't purify it, you must destroy it. Trixie's world was washed away by the darkness as the untold power of the amulet consumed her. *** Trixie woke up in a sweat. The first thing she did was look at her surroundings. Back in the Golden Oaks Library, with Twilight sleeping soundly, peacefully next to her. Trixie rubbed at her face with her hooves trying to get the sweat off of her face. Another nightmare, at least she didn't pee herself this time. Looking over, Spike was sleeping soundly on the floor nearby in his dog bed. The sun was only just a distant reminder on the horizon as this was far too early in the morning to wake up. She climbed out of bed and decided it was better to wake up now than to pretend to sleep anymore. She'd tell Twilight about this dream later, after all she was worried that this could be a very bad indication of what happened in her past. It took a little while but she eventually had a nice cup of coffee and watched as the sun slowly began to rise on the horizon. The air nearby grew cold for a moment and felt tense, then with a pop of energy Luna appeared in a flash of dark blue light. She looked around, met Trixie's eyes and asked, "Could I have some coffee?" Trixie shrugged. "Go for it, all Trixie needs is one cup to start her day." Luna nodded, walked to the coffee pot lifted it up and examined it for a moment. She then opened her mouth and proceeded to pour the pot of coffee down her throat. She didn't stop until almost all of it was gone. She then set it back down and took a seat nearby. "So, my night was weird, how was yours?" "Trixie could say much the same." Luna nodded. "I got peed on." Trixie coughed and sputtered for a moment. She looked up at Luna and met those eyes, she couldn't tell exactly what Luna was thinking, or feeling. "So, Big Mac does have some kinks. Well Trixie will admit being peed on isn't the worst thing, in fact it could be quite fun if done with the right partner." Luna swallowed. "It was Rarity." "What was Rarity?" "Rarity peed on me." Trixie looked down at her cup of coffee. "Okay then... does Big Mac know?" "No." "Should he know?" "I hope not." Trixie let out a sigh. "Trixie isn't the best at these things. Did you at least enjoy Rarity's... shower?" Luna cleared her throat. "I don't want to think about that. It's not like she did it on purpose even." Trixie looked up at her. "How in Celestia's name does a pony accidentally pee on you?" Luna looked away from Trixie focusing on the table. "I was completely still, she couldn't see me." "Not this nonsense again." Trixie drained the rest of her coffee. "You and pee have a bad relationship and have left a sour taste in my mouth." Luna's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, what?" "Stop talking about weird things, Luna." Trixie stated. "If it was an accident then just forget about it. If you liked it, ask Big Mac to pee on you. Whatever you do, don't talk to Trixie about them. She's busy enough as is trying to forget she remembered that Twilight used to be evil." Luna nodded. Then her entire body grew tense. "She was evil?" "Yes, she was evil. Was involved with dark magic, and then gave Trixie the Alicorn Amulet, it was Twilight's fault that the Alicorn Amulet not only came into this world but also that Trixie was originally corrupted by it in school. Furthermore Twilight doesn't remember this because Celestia stole her memories, and now Trixie isn't sure how to fix this mess." There was a sound from the entrance to the kitchen. A gasp. Trixie spun in her chair to look and saw Twilight there. Her eyes wide, her lip quivering. Trixie reached out with a hoof. "Twilight, Trixie was going to tell you as soon as you woke up." Twilight closed her eyes shut tight, tears rolled down her cheeks and her horn lit up. In a flash of red light Twilight was gone leaving Trixie alone with Luna. Trixie looked back at her empty cup of coffee. "Great, and now Trixie just screwed up her relationship." Luna lowered her head. "I think it's my fault." "No, Trixie is just stressed out and this is all Celestia’s fault." "No I mean, if I wasn't invisible Rarity wouldn't have peed on me." Trixie picked up her glass coffee mug, was about to throw it at Luna. She instead turned it upside down and stuck it on top of Luna's horn to hang there like an ugly Hearth's Warming Eve ornament. Luna blinked and looked at her. "W-why did you do that?" "Stop being mopey, you need to help Trixie make Twilight feel better." Luna let out a sigh. "Okay." > Chapter Fifty Six: Of Idiot Gods and Mushroom Tea Hogs > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Six: Of Idiot Gods and Mushroom Tea Hogs Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie looked all over the house. She looked in the bathroom. In the basement. Under the bed. All she found were some pornos and a snail with two feathery wings and a rainbow-colored shell. She escorted the snail outside and that's when she saw it. Twilight was outside, just a purple dot in the distance but one she could make out easily enough and Twilight was walking away. Trixie's heart sank as she watched. She didn't know where Twilight was going, or what was going to happen to them. She wanted nothing more than to talk to Twilight and to somehow fix this. It felt like this was all her fault. She looked over at Spike who had woken up a few minutes prior. "Spike, is she going to leave Trixie?' Spike gave her a blank stare. "Are you joking?" Trixie shook her head. Spike groaned as if in pain. "You crazy mares. No she's not going to leave you. She feels like a monster learning about what she did to you. She’s not going to leave you, but she might do something stupid." Trixie stood up. "No, she can't. Trixie needs her." Spike met her eyes. "Hold up, what do you think she's going to do?" "Something stupid." "Okay, but what do you think that means?" Trixie's ears folded back. "Trixie... isn't actually sure." He shook his head. "Look, I know her, she's my mom after all. She's probably going to go stuff her face full of cupcakes or cry on one of her friend's shoulders. Or take over the entire town with mind control spells. She’ll be fine. She just needs to work through this her way." "And what will Trixie do until then?" "What you normally do, be lazy, eat our food, and look pretty for when Twilight comes home to take you." Trixie stamped a hoof. "Haha, very funny, mister the dragon." He shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a comedian." She stuck her nose up and walked away. "Well Trixie is going to go downstairs, eat some pickles and peanut butter and do her makeup." He rolled his eyes. As if he'd understand how hard it was to make herself presentable for her loving fiancé. It took hard work, especially when she was pregnant. Though to be fair, being pregnant didn't always feel too much different than she normally did. She hoped that would last because she was going to be like this for a whole year. Luna had remained in the kitchen and was currently sticking her head into the fridge. Trixie watched her with some manner of horror as Luna's face was stuck into a bowl of pudding. She pulled her face out, covered in chocolate pudding. "Want some?" Trixie knew that it must now be filled with Luna's dark blue fur by now. "Not anymore." Luna shrugged. "More for me than." Trixie grumbled, pulled out a jar of pickles and then went to her place at the kitchen table and to the jar of peanut butter she'd left out. At least she could enjoy a good meal. Though hearing Luna eat like a pig directly out of the fridge behind her was unsettling. Luna had also drank all the coffee. Luna was a bit of a household nightmare wasn't she? The back door opened and Celestia walked in. She looked at Luna and then Trixie. "Hmm, anypony see Twilight." Trixie groaned. "Don't talk about that. She’s upset." Celestia frowned. "Ah, first fight?" Trixie glared at her. "Not the first one, but certainly one of our earliest." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?" Luna pulled her head out of the fridge. "It means that Trixie remembered how Twilight got corrupted by dark magic in school, then forced Trixie to be corrupted by dark magic, and how Trixie's entire life was ruined by the Alicorn Amulet." Trixie shot a glare at Luna. "Wow, you have zero tact, don't you?" Luna shrugged. “I’m sleep-deprived and hungry." Celestia's eyes widened. "Twilight knows." Luna nodded. "Yep, she knows and she probably realizes that it's all your fault. Honestly you have the worst luck with your students going to the dark side. At least none of mine ever did." Celestia growled. "That's because you ended up either killing or marrying all yours." Luna shrugged. "When you have only had two students, there can only be two options." Celestia turned to face Trixie. "Where is she? I need to comfort her." Trixie laughed bitterly. "So you can remove our memories again? Trixie thinks not." "No, I wasn't planning to do that yet." Trixie jabbed a hoof at Celestia. "HA! Trixie knew you couldn't be trusted." Celestia puffed up her cheeks. "Just tell me where our mutual fiancé is." Trixie folded her hooves over her chest. "Trixie doesn't know, and even if she did, she wouldn't tell you." Celestia looked at Luna. "Where is she?" Luna smiled cruelly. "Oh, you think I know your student better than you? Where does she go when she's emotionally upset?" Celestia's ears folded back. "I... I don't actually know." She let out a sigh and walked into the kitchen fully shutting the door behind her with a flick of her tail. "I'm awful at mentoring, loving, and friendship aren’t I?" Luna rolled her eyes. "Considering you just suggested you were planning to erase Twilight and Trixie's memories, yes." Luna held out the bowl of pudding. "Want some?" Celestia raised an eyebrow at the pudding. "You've been eating directly out of the bowl again, haven't you?" "Well of course I have. I didn't expect them to have an alicorn-sized bowl here, but here it is." Celestia stared at her. "That's... that's not an alicorn-sized bowl. That's a mixing bowl. You aren't supposed to eat out of it." "But it's just my size." Trixie decided to ignore the two idiot gods. She had pickles, peanut butter and a hungry baby to care for. Though her mind did wonder to worrying about her lover. She really hoped that Twilight would be okay, and that she could get help from one of her friends. Trixie knew that Twilight was going to need it, after all, Trixie could understand that level of guilt very well. *** Twilight had wondered through the town. Her mind was almost blank with the horror of her past actions. She kept telling herself it couldn't be true, it was just some hallucination that Trixie had experienced or perhaps just a nightmare. A normal old-fashioned nightmare. She told herself this, but there was a problem with it. Somehow, deep in her gut, she felt like this was true. That she really had been corrupted by dark magic, had been evil, had done horrible things to Trixie. Had... been the one to ruin Trixie's previous life. The woman she loved, the woman who was pregnant and going to start a family with. Twilight had done irrevocable damage to in the past. It wasn't even just that event, Twilight knew she'd not had good relations with Trixie before the pregnancy thing. She knew deep down that a large part of her had just hated Trixie, and she never understood why, or where it came from. She blamed it on Trixie's personality, on her stage performance, on her arrogant boasting or how she used dark magic so willfully to one up Twilight. Yet deep down Twilight had always known it ran deeper than that. She always knew it ran deeper than that, and all these past memories of hers that were gone. The ones she had decided to never question too hard, now were finally forcing themselves to become a problem. She had no idea what to do, or where to go. She pondered going to Pinkie’s but she didn't want to bother the happy couple. She could have gone to Rarity but she and Rarity still weren't on the best of terms after the whole Spike thing. Applejack was always there for her, but she lived so far away. There was only one friend who might be able to help, and it was one that she hadn't wanted to consider up until now. With a resigned sigh, Twilight looked up and found herself already here. At the front door to Fluttershy's house. Twilight lifted a hoof, and gently knocked on the door a few times. She hoped that Fluttershy wasn't going to hate her for her actions, but she wasn't sure that their own bond had healed yet either. There were so many rifts in her friendships lately, it felt like everything was being torn apart, and she didn't know how to fix any of it. The door opened and Fluttershy stood there. She wore her hair tied into a ponytail, and offered a warm smile to Twilight. "Twilight, I didn't expect you to come visit me. N-not yet anyway." Twilight lowered her head and stared at the dirt beneath her hooves. "Can I come in?" Fluttershy nodded and took a few steps back. "Of course, please do. I'm m-making tea if you want some." Twilight walked forward and entered the house. It was a lot brighter in here than she expected, and it looked fairly clean too. She followed Fluttershy over to the kitchen, and was a little surprised to see a sway in Fluttershy's hips. From the kitchen she heard music playing, but it was far from what she'd have expected. It was classic rock. Fluttershy gestured to the table and chairs were Twilight climbed up and took a seat. Once there she waited patiently trying to ignore the pain in her heart as Fluttershy poured a cup of tea for her from the kettle on the stove. She set the tea down in front of Twilight and offered a smile. "D-don't drink it all too fast. It might hit you harder than um, n-normal." Twilight sniffed at the tea. It was sweet but there was a hint of an earthy smell to it. "Fluttershy, what kind of tea is this?" "The feel good even if you’re really sad kind." "So it's drugs." Fluttershy gasped. "Of course n-not, who do you think I am? Some horrible Pinkie, I mean monster?" Twilight gave her a level stare, then gave up and went to the tea. She took a sip of it. Still hot but it wasn't half bad for flavor. She could however, taste mushrooms in it. It only occurred to her a moment later what that might indicate. Her eyes widened and she went back to staring at Fluttershy who was drinking her own cup of tea across from Twilight. "What did you put in here?" Fluttershy smiled. "Why, does it taste bad?" "It is drugs isn't it?" "Would that be such a bad thing if you feel sad right now?" "No, it wouldn't, but I want to know if the plan is to get high or not before I do." Fluttershy’s eyes widened. "T-Twilight I was joking. Of course it's not drugged. Those are Gem Mushrooms, not the um, fun kind. If you r-really want those... I um... might know a mare." her eyes darted to the side guiltily. Twilight let out a sigh of half relief, half disappointment. "Okay then. Why is it feel good tea?" "Because it's well documented that mushrooms and honey will make you feel better when you’re sad." Twilight blinked. "Documented by who?" "Hippy Dippy Monthly. The magazine run by the stallion Hippy Dippy himself. I also found some healing crystals to put around my home as well as sagebrush to burn to help clean the negativity from my life and soul." Right... this version of Fluttershy again. "You um, enjoy your alternative healing methods don't you?" Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, Twilight. The Practice of Mental Alchemy, or PMA for short, is a well-documented and scientifically proven method. It also doesn't hurt my parents were actually friends with Hippy DIppy. Did you know they were part of his commune?" "No, I didn't. I didn't even know you had parents." Fluttershy looked down. "I don't. I also don't have a brother that I loathe. What I do have, is good memories, friends, and... um... good music I guess." "Is the music another thing you got from the parents you don't have?" Fluttershy nodded. "Now you're getting it. And yes. It is. The little cloud home used to be filled with happy smoke that would make ponies giggle, as my parents, Rainbow Dash's parents, and a few other couples would exchange keys with each other or just all go into the bedroom and lock the door for secret stuff." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That's weird. What were they even doing?" Fluttershy giggled. "O-oh, n-nothing I assume. Just um, being adults?" Twilight shrugged and took a big drink of the tea. It didn't really make her feel better but somehow Fluttershy's company did. Fluttershy seemed a bit different, a bit better than before. Twilight wasn't going to bring up Fluttershy’s recent past, but it was nice to see her feeling better. Fluttershy let out a small sigh. "Twilight, I'm sorry." "Sorry about what?" "I went into your home, and caused a big mess. It was entirely my fault, and I see that now. The fact it took you this long to even come visit me proves how much I messed up. I hope you can forgive me one day." Twilight smiled. "Of course I can." "And... maybe... you can um..." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Can what?" "S-share... Trixie?" Twilight glared at her. "Do I really have to leave?" Fluttershy raised her hooves and laughed nervously. "I was joking." Twilight took another sip of tea. Thought about it for a moment. "I'll ask Trixie about it." Fluttershy stood up. "No, Twilight I was just j-joking. D-don't do that. She’ll hate me." Twilight met her eyes. "Maybe. Or maybe she'll think it sounds like a fun idea now that your single." Fluttershy's entire face turned bee red. "I, uh, um, wh, what?" Twilight giggled. "No wonder Trixie like teasing me, this is kind of fun." Fluttershy sat down and began fiddling with her ponytail. "O-oh no... this is so embarrassing." Twilight smiled around her cup of tea. No, this was great revenge. She had to stop herself and think for a moment. Maybe this wasn't the best thing to do to get their friendship rekindled. Twilight let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, I think I'm just in a weird place right now... is okay if I talk to you for a little while?" Fluttershy met her eyes. "You can talk to me about anything." "Thank you." Twilight proceeded to bare her heart to Fluttershy. Telling her all about the recent memories Trixie had, about how painful it was to think she'd hurt Trixie so badly. How she blamed herself for all the things that happened to Trixie. Most of all, how scared she was to finally confront the idea, the fact that she had large missing chunks of her memories from before Ponyville. Needless to say, there was a lot to get off of her chest. And Fluttershy listened patiently to all of it. > Chapter Fifty Seven: Of Godly Cleaning and Spiritual Healing > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Seven: Of Godly Cleaning and Spiritual Healing Written by TheCrimsonDM It was going to be one of those days, at least that was what Trixie was saying to herself as she paced around the library. Apparently Celestia and Luna had decided now was as good a time as any to go upstairs and lay down on the floor taking a nap. This left both Trixie and Spike staring at their bulbous well-rounded butts and trying to think about how best to work around them. Trixie had the broom and Spike had the dustpan. Trixie let out a frustrated whine. "This is annoying. Are we not supposed to be surprising Twilight with a clean and tidy house?" Spike shrugged. "Sure, but we can't really move them. They weight like five hundred pounds each." Trixie smirked. "Is that not a ton?" Spike gave her the most level look she'd ever seen. "No, a ton is two thousand pounds, not one thousand." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Great, go ruin Trixie’s joke by being smarter than her." Spike laughed. "Not my fault if you don't know how much is in a ton." Trixie began sweeping. "Well one thousand pounds of pony is still too much pony if you ask Trixie. Perhaps they need to diet." Spike was following behind her and collecting what she missed into a dustpan with a smaller hoof brush. "Oh don't get me started. If one of them were sick, or got hurt, we'd have to get a lift to carry them to the hospital." Trixie giggled. "Trixie could probably lift one of them with her magic." "Even Twilight can't lift one of them with her magic without getting a nose bleed. Please don't try that." "Trixie is pregnant, she is avoiding any strenuous work." They cleaned up some more around the two napping princesses. "They feel more like pieces of furniture to clean around then ponies. Perhaps we should put cushions on them and use them as a couch?" Spike laughed. "Nah, Celestia's back is to flat and bony. Maybe Luna, but Celestia makes a better coffee table." Trixie giggled at the thought. "Yes, put some books, and food. Oh wait, she is the princess of the sun, does that mean she will keep Trixie's coffee warm if she sets it down upon Celestia's back?" Spike nodded. "Pinkie Pie, once fried up some eggs using Celestia's butt as the stovetop." Trixie giggled madly. They were doing good work despite having two boulder sized ponies taking up the middle of the room. "Trixie may need to experiment with that. She did notice that Celestia's thick rear was a great pillow, and quite warm. Perhaps Trixie and Twilight could use Celestia more as a bed instead of a table. Once finished we could use those hot buns as pillows for our exhausted heads." Spike glanced at Celestia. "Man, I'm kind of jealous. Don't get me wrong, I'd never cheat on Green Diamond, but Celestia's hot. Like real hot." "Trixie did very much enjoy that booty of hers. We made a princess sandwich." Spike groaned. "I didn't want to know what you did. Now I can’t stop picturing Twilight underneath her and ew." Trixie laughed some more. "Go take a seat on the new couch if you’re so squeamish. Luna's fluffy belly seems like a good place to sit." Celestia growled. "Will the two of you, please stop talking about how big we are." Both Trixie and Spike looked at one another and broke out into a fit of hideous laughter at Celestia's expense. It was perhaps, just a little more enjoyable given the recent discoveries Trixie had made, but still seeing her feel so uncomfortable was a delight. The poor princesses had no idea what they were in store for. Not at all. *** Twilight had enjoyed her stay at Fluttershy's and spent some quality time with one of her dearest friends. It had been a long time since she had, and a longer time still since she had gotten to see one of the sides of Fluttershy she didn't share very often. Sure there certainly was scientific merit to some magical crystals and ritual magic, such as burning incense. Still it was filled with as much garbage as it was truth and filtering between the two was always a real challenge for her. It was one reason she struggled so much with alchemy and illusion magic. Anything that didn’t revolve around pure, cold logic was a struggle for her. Even emotions were sometimes a challenge. Of course she'd long since learned her lesson about such things. From Pinkie's psychic might, to Zecora's ritual magic and alchemy, she'd learned that there were merits, and truth hidden in the world of the spiritual. It was all the fluff they put on top of it that made no sense to her. Like how exactly did one pony come to the conclusion that waving a burning incense stick around while saying some supposedly magical words about healing, would in fact heal emotional trauma? The fact that it had worked on her made her shiver in fear. Fluttershy had simply offered her services, just a kind offer to help out and like a fool Twilight had taken the offer. She walked through the town while her mind went back to what happened. Fluttershy had pulled Twilight's chair out from the table and lit an incense stick. Twilight felt like a fool sitting in the chair as Fluttershy walked around her waving an incense about and chanting in an almost musical voice, "By the light, and by the love of the goddess who watches over us, let your soul be healed of the affliction of pain and torment caused by the trauma of your past." Twilight had almost spoken up. Almost asked her if this was really going to make her feel better. She stopped as she felt something, like a strange jelly going over her brain, she felt her mind numb and her limbs grow weak. For a brief moment she feared that Fluttershy had secretly drugged her instead of openly trying to drug her. Yet not a moment went by before she felt something, she couldn’t describe it very well, all she could say is it was like a golden light being poured over her mind, and directly into her soul. It was warm, tingly, and she felt her heart rising from its sorrow and self-pity. Then she remembered everything. It was just an instant and yet she could recall it all. Her body, heart and mind worked in horror as she recalled everything she'd done in her high school days. She remembered all of her old friends, she remembered the weird mare who was obsessed with her named Moon Dancer, she recalled the way she would bully and abuse her five unicorn friends into compliance, her experiments in dark magic, and even all the awful things she did to Trixie. Even things Trixie herself may not have remembered yet. Twilight also recalled how everything ended. She had to leave Fluttershy’s place immediately after that so she could have some time to herself to think. There were new truths discovered, new facts about Trixie, Shadow Heart, and most importantly about Celestia herself that had Twilight rethinking everything she ever thought, felt or desired. No matter how much she thought about it though, she could only come to one conclusion. She had to cut things off with Celestia. Soon, before Trixie found out anything about Celestia that was going to damage their potential relationship. Besides, Twilight's obsession and frothing love for Celestia had cooled into a general appreciation, but mistrust. Twilight couldn't feel the same love she'd had for her before, and now deeply regretted the things she'd done with Celestia. The things she'd by proxy dragged Trixie into as well. Twilight's sins were never going to go away now. She could use a good drink, too bad all her liquor was back at home. *** Well cleaning the library had gone well, Trixie was finished and Spike's help was invaluable. Now she could sit down and try to relax. Specifically, she was lying on the bed she shared with Twilight. It was so strange to think that just a short while ago she was sleeping in her own bed away from Twilight, and now she could hardly get any rest at all without Twilight being right next to her. In fact she was so restless she had mostly managed to only roll over a few dozen times and was unable to sleep. She was pretty tired after cleaning so much. She even helped organize some of the books up here according to Twilight's maddening standards. She really needed a nap. Trixie rubbed at her belly. "It's going to be a long Journey Apple Butter." She felt the small growing life inside of her twist and turn. It was still such a small thing but she could feel it inside of her. It was a living being she carried inside of her. A precious and fragile thing that required her to keep it safe, well fed, and comfortable while it grew into a pony. The thought alone brought a smile to her lips. She still couldn't believe it sometimes. She was a mommy. A voice spoke from nearby. It was Celestia. "It never gets old you know." Trixie looked at her. "What doesn't?" "Being a mother." Celestia walked over to the side of the bed and laid down beside it. She still managed to be taller than Trixie even though Celestia was lying on the floor. Trixie blinked. "It doesn't?" Celestia shook her head. "No, it's always magical. To know that you’re creating a little life form inside of you, a precious thing that needs you, so much more than anyone else, it needs you to survive." Trixie stared at her. "It sounds like you've experienced this first hoof." Celestia offered a weak smile. "I'm a thousand years old, you think I haven't had at least a dozen children?" Trixie bit her lower lip. "I've never heard about any of them." Celestia stared at Trixie's exposed belly. "That's because I have to keep them safe. I often wish I could be a normal pony, or retire from being a ruler, so that I could have children and simply raise them in peace like a normal mom. I did try that a couple of times early on in my empire... it ended poorly." Trixie looked down at her own belly giving it a gentle rub. "Really? How could it end poorly? You have guards, an army, and a giant castle to keep them safe." Celestia's eyes grew distant. "Problem is, no matter what I do, as the ruler of the country, the kingdom, the empire, I will always be targeted by enemies. Ponies who seek to manipulate me, destroy me even. The first few time i had kids I did try to raise them myself, but always, an enemy would find a way to get to them." "That's horrible." Celestia's wing reached out toward Trixie's belly, it paused for a moment and she looked at Trixie for permission, Trixie nodded. Celestia's wing began gently massaging Trixie’s belly fur. "You know I've experienced a lot of horrible things in my lifetime. I've been impaled by spears. I've had my guts torn out of my body. I even got decapitated once. Nothing, and I mean nothing was as painful as losing my children." She shook her head and her muzzle crinkled up as pain spread over her face. "So I learned the hard way to keep them safe I always had to hide them. To separate them from myself, give them to an orphanage, or to a trusted pony to raise. I would watch you know, from the shadows I'd keep my eye on them to make sure they were okay. Occasionally try to do something to help, give them a present, perform a miracle. Anything I could do that would keep me secret but help them out, but I never get to be there for them like I'd want." Trixie reached out and placed a hoof over Celestia's wing. "You can be here for this one." Celestia met Trixie's eyes. "I can?" Trixie nodded. "You can." "But I've done such horrible things to you, to you and Twilight both." Trixie offered a weak smile. "Trixie thinks she and Twilight have done horrible things to each other too. So long as you promise to never do those things again, Trixie feels you may have a place here." Celestia lowered her head and let out a tiny whimper. "I'm so sorry, Trixie. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you or Twilight sooner." Trixie rolled over to face Celestia. "It's alright. If things hadn't turned out the way they did, Trixie wouldn't have been able to get a baby in her tummy, and Twilight would never have fallen in love with her. As painful as it was, as much as we hate not remembering things, Trixie thinks that things did end up in a good place." Celestia looked up and met her eyes. "Thank you, Trixie. I know you're going to discover things, things that I will need to continue to apologize for if Shadow Heart and Luna are to be believed, but I hope you can forgive me for them." Trixie smiled. "Of course, you’re basically family after all." Celestia smiled. "Yeah... that's true." > Chapter Fifty Eight: Of Dark Wings and Fixing Things > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Eight: Of Dark Wings and Fixing Things Written by TheCrimsonDM Trixie's chest erupted in cold fire and fury. Her eyes strained to open as blinding pain swarmed around in her mind. She and Twilight were both held aloft in a golden aura in some dark stone room. She knew the copper taste of her tears felt wrong, not salty but matalic. Glancing at Twilight who was in much the same position she noticed Twilight's eyes were crying a sick runny mixture of tears and blood. Though Twilight was in worse place than Trixie. On Twilight's back were a pair of black feathered wings that still had blood dried to her fur from where they had grown out of her back. Trixie had a pair of her own feathered wings, but she could hardly remember how they got there, or how the two of them got here to begin with. In front of them Trixie saw Celestia and Shadow Heart. Celestia's eyes were stern and hard, her expression unbreakable. "Shadow Heart, you know that I fully blame you for making me do this." Shadow Heart stammered a response. "Celestia, you were the one who told me I should keep an eye out for an apprentice. You can hardly blame me when I finally find one that understands my position." He was sitting at a table and fiddling with the Alicorn Amulet. "Honestly I have no idea how this thing came to exist here. Did you not throw it into a portal going to some forgotten wasteland?" "I did, but I suspect a darker force is at work here." "I see, one of your daughters." Celestia snarled. "She, is named Sunset, and you will not refer to her as a daughter, student, or otherwise." Shadow Heart nodded. "Understood." Celestia's horn was glowing softly with a golden light, the light grew more powerful and the aura around Twilight grew brighter in response. Twilight let out a scream of agony as blades of golden light struck out and carved chunks from her flesh on her back around the wings. Dark slimey chunks hit the floor and fizzled for a moment before turning into black shadows. Celestia spat a curse. "You can't turn yourselves into alicorns yet! Not yet!" Shadow Heart flinched at the sudden fury in her voice. "Celestia, this wasn't something you could have foreseen." She shot a glare at him so hot that the edge of the table actually caught fire. "I have to see though. I didn't see my sister turning evil, I didn't see Sunset, I didn’t see Twilight and now I might lose Trixie too!" He patted out the flame with a hoof. "No, you will not. Trixie did a good job in alerting me as soon as this started. We can save them." "What about the three dead guards?" "You can revive them." "I... I already did." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have to do this. You know what I'm going to have to do to fix this mess." He bit his lower lip. "I... I know. You can't risk allowing them to remember the darkness. I wish there was another way but maybe one day we can remind them." She spat to the side, and the mucus that landed on the stone floor caught flame. "The two of them took my frigging leg." Trixie blinked. Her body was still racked with pain but she couldn’t believe anything was wrong with Celestia's leg. There was one, two, three... there were only three legs. One of Celestia's rear legs was missing with a burned stump left behind near the flank. Trixie muttered through the pain. "I'm... sorry." Celestia blinked and she looked over at Trixie. "Oh gods no, you’re awake. Trixie, go to sleep, you can't be awake." Trixie coughed a few times, something wet and metallic tasting worked its way up her mouth and onto the floor. It was a mixture red and black slime. "S-sorry. I... I t-tried to b-be good. To h-help. Was I good?" Celestia's eyes softened. "You were good. You were the greatest, and most powerful student I've ever had." Trixie offered a weak smile before the words sunk in. "H-had?" Celestia bit her lower lip. "After this, you both will graduate." Trixie's vision began to fade. "Great, and powerful." Celestia whispered. "I just wish you would be able to remember it all. Including me." Shadow Heart spoke gently. "Maybe one day she will." Trixie glanced over at Twilight. Her eyes were open but it was clear she wasn't actually home at the moment. The golden aura tightened and grasping tentacles of gold light wrapped around the wings on Twilight’s back tight. The tentacles began to pull and a sick, wet snap sounded in the room. Trixie thankfully averted her eyes just before she saw it. A moment later a pair of dark black feathered wings landed on the floor, sizzling and dissolving into dust. Just as the darkness consumed her she heard Shadow Heart speak. "You know this won't actually change what they've turned themselves into. Only pause their growth." "It'll have to be enough. Neither of them are supposed to ascend to godhood yet." Trixie blanked out of consciousness. Which was good, because she was pretty sure that she was the next one to have her wings removed. *** Trixie opened her eyes with a start, her breathing ragged and her mind still reeling with the horrible memory she just regained. She dearly prayed that she wouldn’t remember such an awful event ever again. Prayed, but was unsure it was possible. She listened into the sounds of the room around her. She couldn't sense it, but she heard them. Just a little ways away, Twilight and Celestia were speaking in a quiet, but clear tone. Twilight was speaking, "If she finds out, I don't know what she'll do." Celestia replied. "I didn't realize it was that important to her." "I didn't know until I met her, but I think it might be more important than even me. I... I get you bond in different ways with ponies, but you can't just assume that everypony is okay with... that kind of thing." Celestia let out a sigh. "Is it really so wrong of me? I really enjoyed Trixie, and I think that bond you speak of is a large part of it? Is it wrong of me to want to show her how deep my love really is?" Twilight let out a sigh in a mimic of Celestia. "Yes, it is. It's weird and gross. You, are weird and gross." "Excuse me! I am the princess of the sun." "Goddess or not, that's still weird." "Zeus didn't think so." "Zeus turned into a bird and raped a pony, I don’t think his morals should be considered in any respect." "You make an interesting point. Perhaps I've just become so old that morals really don't mean much to me anymore." Twilight sounded disappointed more than anything else. "Anyway, that's why I've made up my mind. I hope you can forgive me.' Celestia replied. "Do... what do you think Trixie wants?" "Well regardless of what she wants now, she shouldn’t date you anymore. Neither should I." "But... that's not fair." "No, what you've done is not fair. All of it. Yes, I screwed up, I screwed up bad but that didn't give you the right to concede to my foalish demands to be intimate with you and Trixie. You should have just said no, and been done with it." Trixie could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was Twilight really breaking up with Celestia, not only breaking up with Celestia but also stating that she wouldn't share Trixie either? Trixie wasn't sure if she should feel honored, sad, or scared. Or perhaps a mixture of all three. There was a pregnant pause of silence. At length Celestia finally spoke. "I understand. Should you, or Trixie change your minds, I will continue being intimate with you two, but I suppose I'll... find something to do with myself." Twilight then added in a sharp tone. "You will not stop visiting us though." "Oh, I won't will I?" "No, after the ways you've screwed up, you will continue to visit at least once a week, and spend as much time with Trixie and Apple Butter as possible. I will even butt out of it if you need some alone time, so long as you respect the boundary." Celestia spoke but she had a warm tone to her voice. "Thank you, Twilight. I was afraid you'd just... remove me from your life entirely... thank you." Twilight huffed. "You better take care of her, I know where you live after all." "So does the entire country." The two of them shared a small laugh and then silence followed. Trixie listened in and then heard the sound of a magical pop in the air and then silence for another long few seconds. Soon hoofsteps followed and Trixie watched from her position on the bed as she saw Twilight's head poke up from the staircase leading to the loft. It wasn't long before she was all the way up and then saw Trixie staring at her. Twilight was smiling despite herself and her cheeks turned bright pink as a furious blush took over her face. Twilight cleared her throat. "How much of that did you hear?" Trixie stared at her. "Enough to realize you are selfish after all... and that you picked Trixie over Celestia." Twilight smiled. "Nothing else?" "That for some reason you desire Trixie and Celestia to bond?" Twilight nodded. "Yes, it'll be good for the two of you." "Why?" Twilight walked over to the bed. "You did a good job cleaning the house and organizing my books. It was just the treat that I needed after remembering all the horrible things i did to you as a teen... I'm sorry, Trixie. I hurt you, and it was wrong of me." Trixie reached out and pet the top of Twilight’s head. Twilight nuzzled into the touch like a cat. "It's okay, Trixie forgives you. She was not exactly the best to you either. But you remembered everything?" Twilight nodded. "More than you perhaps." "How did you do that?" Twilight offered a weak smile. "Trade secret." "And about why you desire Trixie and Celestia to bond?" Twilight's smile faded a bit. "O-oh, hey, Fluttershy may have meant it as a joke but she wants to have a threeway with us. I... might be interested in that idea. Would you like something like that?" "You’re avoiding Trixie's question." Twilight looked down and away. "You’re avoiding mine too." Trixie frowned. "Fine, Trixie thinks that could be... fun. She'll think about it. Now answer Trixie’s question. Why should she and Celestia bond?" Twilight bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tight. "Please don't make me tell you." "If it's important, shouldn't Trixie know?" "I think you do too, but I want her to tell you. Maybe that's wrong of me, but I want her to tell you because it would mean so much more if she told you than if I did... if... if you really want me to, I will. I refuse to lie to you, or to keep secrets, so... if you press me... I'll tell." It was clear that Twilight was hurt by this secret. Trixie stared at her in silence for a long, hard minute before she finally made up her decision. "Trixie will allow you to keep this secret for now. She trusts your judgment, but if Celestia refuses to explain than Trixie will need an answer." "If that bi- er... pony, refuses to tell you the truth, even after bonding with you, than I promise I will. You deserve to know whether she has the guts to tell you or not." Trixie nodded. "Good. Now, Trixie feels you deserve some sort of reward for your bravery and for choosing Trixie. Come up here and Trixie will reward you. You need only sit on Trixie's face." Twilight's entire face went red. Though clearly embarrassed to the core, she still climbed up onto the bed and Trixie got to work making sure that Twilight was deeply rewarded. It didn’t hurt that Twilight returned the favor with just as much interest as Trixie had in giving it. > Chapter Fifty Nine: Of Shadows and Cleansing > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifty Nine: Of Shadows and Cleansing Written by TheCrimsonDM Fluttershy was recovering fairly well after her break up. The damage she caused may never heal, not completely and it would certainly never be forgotten but she could still push onward and try her best to get things back into working order. Her home was clean and safe, she was helping out on Sweet Apple Acers for something constructive to do, and she was enjoying some time with Twilight, Applejack and even Rarity. So things weren't quite as horrible as they could have been. Point in fact today she was going out and about shopping. She'd stopped off at the food market to pick up some fresh veggies and a few tuna fish. She moved onto the 'nerd' section and was surprised to see the vender with the manga and doujinshi was in today. She found a few used volumes of Sailor Pony and although she'd read the entire series numerous times by now, she didn't have these volumes in her personal and very private collection. Grabbing a volume of Pony Ball Z didn't hurt either. She also checked out the Hippy Dippy stall where some mare who had red stained eyes and smelled quite wonderfully like a skunk was selling various crystals, incense, and under the counter some sillyweed, not that she didn't purchase some sillyweed, nor was it hidden in a secret compartment in her saddlebags surrounded by incense to conceal the smell. She wouldn't do that, not at all. Finally she found herself walking by instinct alone looking for a snack. Her hooves carried her all the way to the street across from the Sugar Cube Corner before she froze. It only occurred to her at the last moment that as much as she might want a cupcake or two, she couldn't just waltz on in anymore. For all she knows, Rainbow Dash might spit on her cupcake. No she needed to go somewhere else. Well there was always Donut Jo's. She traveled in that direction and stopped in to pick up a bag with a few donuts, they wouldn't taste as good as Pinkie's cooking but they were certainly a close second. She was halfway home, with saddlebags filled with, well everything she could need, when she rounded a corner and stopped short before she ran into two ponies she was hoping to avoid. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were walking side by side, with Rainbow's wing draped over Pinkie's back and holding her close. The three of them stared at one another in complete silence for a long moment. Fluttershy tried to speak, she did her best to work her courage up but she realized she wasn't worthy enough to even make a sound in their presence. She still managed a tiny squeak. Pinkie Pie smiled warmly at her. "Fluttershy! I haven't seen you in like, forevah!" She moved forward as if to jump and hug Fluttershy, a feeling that Fluttershy found herself deeply desiring despite the fact it would probably ruin her donuts. Rainbow’s wing clamped down and held Pinkie still. "Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie looked confused for a moment but then her smile faded. "Oh, right, no touching. Sorry, Dashy." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "It's cool, you just have too much love to give..." "No," Pinkie Pie shook her head. "That's no excuse. I just forgot for a moment. I won't do it again." Hearing those words was like a knife in Fluttershy's heart. Was she just using that as an excuse for herself? No, she really was a poly-pony, but she was also a horrible pony outside of that. Rainbow Dash pulled Pinkie to the side a little and made as if to walk past Fluttershy. Fluttershy couldn't let this chance go away, she had to say something, anything. She knew she couldn't fix what she'd done, but she couldn't let their entire future end in such a rotten way. "I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash froze and looked at Fluttershy. "Sorry?" Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry. I did such horrible things, to both of you. I know I can never, ever make up for them. I-I don't even know if I should try. But, I promise I'll never do anything bad again. I'm not asking you to take me back, I know that what we had, what we were is gone, but... but... can we still be friends?" The next few seconds felt like the longest moment of her entire life. She expected Rainbow to hit her, to curse and scream, or to ignore her and walk away. Instead she heard Rainbow Dash speak. "You're right, you can't make up for what you did. I won't even ask you to try. Just... try and be a better pony and we can still be friends." Fluttershy opened her eyes. "R-really?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, no more manipulation, no more lies, no more doing hurtful things. If you can work on that, work on yourself I think we could still be cool you know?" Pinkie Pie grinned. "I'd like to still be friend’s too!" Fluttershy's lip quivered. She felt her leg moving as if to step forward and hug them but she held herself still. She took in a deep breath, held it for a moment and released. She gave on curt nod and spoke. "I promise." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Good, now that awkward stuff is over we can all be friends again." Fluttershy smiled at her. Pinkie Pie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And friends are really good at explaining why you'd go to Donut Jo's instead of Sugarcube Corner when we both know you prefer cupcakes to donuts." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Looks like you weren't loyal to the brand, Fluttershy." Fluttershy sat down. "I, but, we weren't. What?" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Donut worry about it, I'll forgive you." Fluttershy felt so confused, but she'd rather be confused and happy any day than to be sure and depressed. Things may never return to normal per se, but at least this was going to be happier than before. That was all she could really ask for now wasn't it? *** It had been a few days since Trixie had witnessed Twilight's break up with Celestia. Even though she had made Celestia swear to come and visit them, it had yet to happen. Instead Trixie found herself sitting on the first floor near one of the tables and trying her best to read a book about fish and how best to prepare them for eating. It turned out that Twilight loved fish, and Trixie was not going to let her fiancé be wanting for good food... also Twilight couldn't cook but that was a completely different reason and not at all connected to Trixie's decision to practice the art form. It was quiet recently and things felt like they were slowly changing. She wasn't sure if it was for the better or the worse yet, but Trixie was positive it was changing regardless. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that perhaps she wasn't ready for all these changes, but so much had changed in her life already that she figured it couldn’t really change that much more from here. She rubbed her belly and allowed herself a smile. Change wasn't always bad after all. Twilight had popped in once or twice to visit her as she flittered about the house doing Celestia knows what. Actually Celestia probably didn't know any better than Trixie did, but Twilight was still moving around like a maniac pony. She'd reorganized her entire book collection at least twice since then, forcing Trixie to try and figure out what the current organizational structure was and failing entirely. She’d had to ask Twilight where this book was, and really hoped Twilight didn't figure out why Trixie was looking into cooking. Point in fact Twilight poked her head in from the kitchen. "Trixie, have you seen the spatula?" Trixie nodded but didn't look at her. "Upstairs under the bed." "Why is it there?" "Remember last night?' She could see it without having to look as Twilight's face fell. "O-oh, yeah. That was fun." "You might want to wash it." Twilight trotted past her and went to the stairs. "I'm going to cleanse it in holy fire before I use it for food." Trixie went back to her book trying to find a good way to distract herself. She was just barely getting back into her book too when the front door burst open. Trixie grumbled. "The Librarian is busy cleaning a spatula and the kitchen. If you need a request there's a box there with some paper." Shadow Heart's voice cut out in the air with the warmest and most gentle tone she'd ever heard. "I think she can't grant my request." Trixie dropped her book and looked up at him. "Shadow Heart!" He walked in letting the door close behind him. His scarred face was smiling down at her. "Did I interrupt something?" Trixie nodded. "You interrupted Trixie’s boredom. Trixie shall thank you for this." He chuckled to himself as he made his way to the table and took a seat opposite of her. "So, I've heard some updates from Celestia about this situation here. How's Twilight doing?" Trixie glanced at the stairs almost scared she might come down at the wrong time and get the wrong idea. "A lot better than Trixie expected. Trixie thought that she would be heartbroken over this break up but she actually seems more confident and free than before." "Well recovering all of your lost memories would do that to you." Trixie glanced at him. "How did you know that?" "I'm still Celestia's student, one of her pupils, and one of her most faithful servants. She still talks to me about such things." Trixie nodded. "Trixie is glad to hear that. How is Celestia doing? Trixie is concerned about her too." "Honestly? She's terrified of you." Trixie leaned back. "Of Trixie? But what did Trixie do to deserve that?" "Nothing. She's just scared to get close to you. She's lost a lot over the years and you two are important to her." Trixie frowned. "Trixie still doesn't know why Celestia would care about her." He offered a warm smile. "I can't really say. That's up to her do." "That's what Twilight keeps saying too. Trixie hates being patient." He looked down at the book she was reading. "Learning to cook for your fiancé?" "Trying, after all Twilight is garbage at cooking... not that Trixie would ever tell her that." He smiled. "Reminds me of my wife. She learned to cook for me entirely because I was so bad at it. Still she always smiled and told me it was good and ate everything I made for her no matter how much she hated it." Trixie scrunched up her face a bit. "Trixie... knows you lost her. Trixie doesn't remember how or why though." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, with all the stories you tell about the Ursa Major you defeated at Hoofington I was pretty sure you knew." Trixie shook her head. "Trixie has, bits and pieces of memories." He leaned back. "Well, I guess I can tell you. It was an awfully long time ago after all. I once had a family, settled down in a city called Hoofington. I had a daughter too. She'd be about your age now. It was all going great too, except that one day an Ursa Major came to town, it was enraged, and had destroyed a few villages before it got to us. It was a towering beast, so large that it stood larger than most any skyscraper in the city. Nopony could hope to defeat it, and Celestia was running late dealing with a crisis involving one of her former students." "And what happened?" "The monster killed them." He said this calmly, coldly. "It destroyed my home, killed my family. It was going to kill thousands more too before it was done. Problem is, I was Celestia's protégé, I was her pupil and her most powerful student to that date." he gestured the scars on his face and what little of his forelegs were exposed under his robes. "I got these scars from the spell I used. A spell so powerful that it nearly killed me but it allowed me to slay the Ursa Major. It took everything that I had, but I vanquished it. Of course the cost was too high. Dark magic like that has a tendency to leave scars not just on the body but on the soul. Celestia spent countless months personally taking care of me. She had the best healers to work on me, she visited me constantly, and she gave me a purpose. I don't think she ever forgave herself for not being there, but she couldn't help it. Even a god can't be everywhere at once." Trixie bit her lower lip. "Trixie is... I-I'm, so sorry to hear that." He offered a weak smile. "It's okay. Now you've been told twice. Perhaps that was the only thing you remembered of me was that story. Your mind was hanging on to the idea of that story to try and keep me in your mind." "Perhaps?" Twilight came rushing down the stairs. "Trixie Lulamoon! What on earth did you do to my spatula, not only is it bent, it smells funny!" Trixie smirked. "Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you know exactly what Trixie did to it." End of Part Four > Chapter Sixty: Of Threeways and Break Aways > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty: Of Threeways and Break Aways Fluttershy woke up. For a long moment she just lay there, staring up into the dark ceiling and feeling the warmth of the two bodies on either side of her. The soft sounds of them breathing in their sleep. The way the smell of their scent still lingered in the air after the busy night of intimate fun they'd had. It was enough to drive a filly crazy. Except Fluttershy just felt hollow.  Oh she'd had a lot of fun. Of that she couldn't deny. Yet laying there at the moment she just felt empty. No matter how much fun she'd had, she knew that this wasn't the love she wanted. Her mind filtered through thoughts of Rainbow Dash. Of the memories she had of them together. How happy they were when they were first engaged, how cute she looked after their first kiss, of what the afterglow of Rainbow losing her virginity was like. The memories shot spikes of pain through her chest, yet as the pain began to fade, she just felt empty again. Looking at the two friends with her she may have loved this moment, but it was not good enough. It never would have been good enough. It only cemented the mistake she'd made originally that much more. Still, even she couldn't deny that both Twilight and Trixie looked beautiful in their sleep. Fluttershy climbed out of bed, careful not to awaken the two ponies who had been her lovers tonight. She would normally just leave without leaving a message, but since they were her friends, she thought that would be too rude. She borrowed a piece of paper and one of Twilight's pens. She wrote a quick thank you note, and told them she loved them before slipping the note onto Twilight's nightstand. After that Fluttershy opened the balcony door, slipped out into the night and flew away. She wanted to just go home. This wasn't quite like her experiences with Pinkie or Rarity in the past. Where usually if she was unfortunate to wake up in the middle of the night she would just go home, or she might stay awake cuddling them. No, she still felt like an intruder in Trixie and Twilight's life, even though this recent experience proved otherwise, she couldn't' shake the feeling. As Fluttershy flew through the night sky she found herself drifting off toward the Sugarcube Corner. She wasn't sure why, but she just felt like if she saw the building she would be okay and could go home. She saw the building up ahead and flew toward it. There was a large cloud sitting next to the balcony for some reason, a stray she figured. She landed on the balcony. Her heart was racing. This was the closest she'd gotten to the Sugar Cube Corner in weeks. Reaching out with a hoof she was about to knock on the door, then she lowered it again. No... what was she doing? She shouldn't be here. She turned around to leave and saw something that made her heart freeze up. Rainbow Dash was sitting there on the cloud right next to the balcony. On top of her lay Pinkie. How had she missed them? Did she just not see them? Looking over at the cloud that was sitting next the balcony and how Rainbow's wing was laying on it she realized they must have been using it to stargaze and she just missed them. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "Fluttershy?" Fluttershy's wings shot out. She turned to leave, jumped into the air and flapped her wings as hard as she could. All she could do was mutter, "I'm sorry." As she flew away as hard and as fast as she could. This time going straight home.  Once she was home she landed at the front door and fumbled with the handle for a moment. "Stupid, spupid, Fluttershy!" She cursed herself. "What did you think would happen? You just go to check up on them and everything's okay? NO! You stupid, fat, ugly, horrible, cheating, monster!" Her hoof slid off the door handle and she just gave up. She pressed her forehead to the door and let out a quiet sob. "All I did was ruin their time together. That's all I'm good for. Is ruining the things I love." She just stayed like that. Sobbing against her front door for several minutes. She noticed the air felt warmer but didn't focus on it too much. Her heart was a destroyed mess. How could she do anything but sob like the pathetic pony she was? When something warm wrapped over her back she nearly jumped. Looking around she saw a giant white figure next to her. She could hardly believe it, or the warm wing that had wrapped over her back. "C-Celestia?" Celestia offered a weak smile. "I think I can relate to 'ruining the things I love'." Fluttershy felt even worse. Not only did she do something stupid out of pain, but she also got caught sobbing here by Celestia. Yet Celestia was still holding her. The warmth and comfort from Celestia's wing was more than she could have asked for. She leaned into it and did her best not to sob anymore. She failed. A golden aura wrapped around her door handle and the door was opened. Celestia spoke quietly, but her voice was so warm that she couldn't deny it. "Shall we go inside? You don't have to tell me what’s wrong, but I think we could both use a pony to cuddle." Fluttershy nodded. The two of them went inside. Closed the door behind them and then went to the couch where they just laid there cuddling the rest of the night away. Somehow having a pony with her, a pony who was so warm, so loving, and so gentle just made her sleepy. Yet she knew that Celestia had said something that stood out to her. "You... you said you can relate to me?" Celestia nearly whispered. "I caused problems for Twilight, and for Trixie. Now Twilight's threatening me to make me tell Trixie the truth, and I just don't know how to handle it. If she finds out, she might never forgive me." Fluttershy nuzzled into Celestia's neck. She was so warm. "I just tried to visit my exes and they caught me. I ran away... after all, I've hurt both of them so badly, I have no right to visit them." Celestia's body seemed to only grow warmer still. "I see. It seems we both hurt ponies we care about very much." Fluttershy yawned. Her body was falling asleep thanks to the warmth of Celestia’s next to her. Celestia yawned in return. It seemed she was just as tired. Celestia spoke quietly. "I just don't know how to tell Trixie the truth." "The... truth... about... what?" Fluttershy was almost asleep, so she wasn't certain she heard Celestia correctly, but she could have sworn that Celestia said, "The truth about me being her birth mother." *** The next day Twilight sat at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and reading Fluttershy's note yet again. She and Trixie had woken up without Fluttershy there, and if not for the letter they'd be concerned. Fluttershy was very kind in her letter, and even explained when she wakes up like that in the middle of the night, she can only get to sleep by going to her own bed. Poor filly, it sounded like her anxiety must be as bad as Twilight feared. The recent events surely didn't help. Of course that was when Rainbow Dash came walking into the kitchen alongside Trixie. Trixie was looking misplaced, and confused. That was never good, even if it was common. Rainbow Dash on the other hand looked upset, shaken. "Twilight, I need to talk to you. About Fluttershy." Twilight just looked at her. "Oh... frick me in the butt." Trixie snapped to attention. "Finally! I've been begging you to let me do that for ages." Twilight glared at her. "Not now, Trixie." "Well duh, I don’t want Rainbow Dash to see you're first anal." Twilight did the wise thing and ignored the crazy. "Rainbow Dash, what's wrong?" Rainbow Dash walked in and took a seat across from Twilight. "Me and Pinkie were laying on a cloud last  night, stargazing and cuddling and you know, that romance stuff. Then Fluttershy just lands on our balcony out of the blue, goes to knock on the door but stops all of a sudden. She then sees us, and before I could ask her what was wrong she just apologizes and runs away." Twilight frowned. "Oh... that's not good." "I chased after her too. If I didn't see Princess Celestia there comforting Fluttershy I would have talked to her. But she was in good hooves." "Wait," Twilight's eyes widened. "Princess Celestia was there. Why would she be there? It was the middle of the night." "I don't know. It was like she was watching Fluttershy. She was following her all the way to our place so I assumed she just kept following Fluttershy home." Twilight's eye twitched. "D-does that mean..." Trixie was sitting down by the doorway. "Yeah, that means Celestia was spying on our house and followed Fluttershy when she left in the middle of the night while we slept." Now Rainbow's eyes were wide and alert. "Why was Fluttershy at your place while you two were sleeping?" Twilight stared at her. "Um... um... sleepover?" The look of confusion melted into one of pain. The expression Rainbow Dash made, as she closed her eyes shut tight and her muzzle scrunched up, she looked like she'd just been stabbed in the heart. "I-I see... F-fudge... maybe I should have just let her do what she wanted in the first place." Twilight looked down at her coffee. "No, you made the right call. You and Pinkie both." "Then what the frick was last night?" Rainbow snapped, but she didn't sound angry. She just sounded in pain. Twilight looked over at Trixie. Praying that she had some kind of answer. Trixie let out a sigh. "Rainbow Dash, what me, Twilight, and Fluttershy do in our private time is no longer your concern. You're free of that. Let her go and just focus on Pinkie." Rainbow shot a glare at Trixie, but her eyes were glossy and wet ruining the look. "How is it not my concern when she shows up at my doorstep in the middle of the night. I didn't move in with Pinkie so that she could just... I thought something was wrong. Tartarus, the way she was crying in front of her front door, I knew something was wrong." Trixie frowned. "Maybe she wasn't ready for this." Trixie shook her head slowly. "We asked her if she was, but maybe she wasn't." Twilight had so many things to think about at the moment. She could only really focus on one at a time. With Rainbow Dash present she had to focus on that one. "Okay, Rainbow Dash, we really did have a sleepover. It just... got very mature. I didn't think you'd find out." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "You didn't think I'd find out. So you thought it would be okay to screw my ex, to let Trixie screw my ex, when Trixie is the entire reason we broke up in the first place, so long as I didn't find out?" Twilight very quickly shut her trap. That was not the right thing to say. Trixie joiend Twilight's side. "Twilight, honeybunny, please do us both a favor and shut up for five minutes." She focused on Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, hun, please don't listen to Twilight. She's scared right now and saying things she doesn't mean." Rainbow took in a deep steadying breath and then let it out. "Fine, I don't care. It's whatever." Trixie shook her head. "No, it's not whatever. We hurt you, and we're sorry. This was not our intention when we invited Fluttershy over for the sleepover. However, I am going to point out that we do not regret our actions." "And that's supposed to make me feel better?" "No, nothing will make you feel better. You're still hung up on Fluttershy and you need to have a conversation with her. Not with us." Rainbow Dash stuck her nose up in the air. "Whatever, I'm leaving. I wanted advice and I guess I got it. Later, you sluts." She marched out of the kitchen, and a moment later they heard the front door open and slam close. Twilight groaned. "I screwed up didn't I?" Trixie let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, but at least you have me to lie our way out of things. Goodness, hopefully she buys half of what I said, and maybe talking to Fluttershy will help her feel better. That or she just gets into either a hoof fight or a makeout session and ends the stupid." Twilight stared at her. "None of those things you said are going to fix this. In the name of Princess Sunbutt, if she finds out that we all agreed to the threesome ahead of time she's really going to snap." Trixie smiled. "Oh don't worry, Fluttershy's very good at being discrete." Twilight buried her head onto the table. "Oh, we're all screwed." > Chapter Sixty One: Coffee Tables and Rainbow’s Labeled > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty One: Coffee Tables and Rainbow’s Labeled Written by TheCrimsonDM Fluttershy had woken up covered by the warmest, softest, and fluffiest of fur. It took her several minutes to fully understand the situation but it turned out she was actually in Celestia's embrace on the couch. It took a few minutes for her memories of the night before to start coming back. Eventually she had to pull out of Celestia's wonderful embrace, it was morning and she had things to do. The first order of business was feeding the animals and making a pot of coffee. After doing those two thing she could sit down and with a cup of coffee in her hooves she did her best to wake up. Trying not to think about her blunder last night. She failed. She just knew that this was going to backfire somehow. She went to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie's, they saw her, and she ran away from them. She just panicked last night, she didn't think about what she was doing at all. Now she was sure this was going to have some horrible consequences. It wasn't long before Celestia stumbled into the kitchen. "I smell coffee." Fluttershy giggled. She looked just as tired as Twilight did in the mornings and was hunting for her favored prey, the coffee pot. Fluttershy pointed a wing to the coffee pot. "Coffee is there, cups are in the cabinet above it." Celestia quickly got to work making herself a cup of the morning elixir. Once having one she took a seat next to Fluttershy and drank greedily from it. Her eyes widened and she stared outside. "The sun! Oh... Luna must have seen to it again." Fluttershy wasn't sure she liked the sound of the sun goddess suggesting her sister was doing her work for her. "How are you feeling today, Princess Celestia?" Celestia took another drink of coffee. "Exhausted, but I'm waking up. Thank you for last night." "No problem. Any time you need me, I'm here for you." Fluttershy reached out and put a hoof over Celestia's giving it a gentle squeeze. Celestia offered a warm smile return. "I might just take you up on that offer." There was a knock at the front door. Who could be here this early in the morning? Fluttershy got up and walked to the front door. Once she opened her breath was stolen away. "Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow Dash's cheeks were pink around the edges, and there was a mild look of panic in her eyes. "You, you screwed Twilight and Trixie last night didn’t you?" Fluttershy sat down. She worked her mouth in silence for a moment. Then tried to find her voice again. "Excuse me?" "You, screwed, our, friends." Fluttershy just stared at her. This was about as far from the conversation she expected to have with Rainbow Dash than she expected. She eventually had to pull herself together well enough to say something, anything. The only thing she could think of was a simple question. "How is that any different' than what I usually do?" Rainbow Dash blinked. She was clearly taken aback by Fluttershy's honest, and rather blunt question. She sat down. "I... but... it's... you slept with Trixie! She's the reason we broke up." Fluttershy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before exhaling. "No, Rainbow Dash. She isn't." "I... I didn't mean-" "No, I don’t care what you mean. It's unfair of you to put any of the blame on Trixie." Fluttershy opened her eyes and met Rainbow Dash's. "I am the reason we broke up. The blame is squarely with me." Rainbow Dash just sat there staring at her. "I... why did you come over to my place last night? Why would you do that?" "Because I was weak, and thought if I just saw you, I'd feel better. I didn't." Rainbow Dash cringed. "B-but... aren't you sorry?" “Of course I am, but what use is it apologizing anymore. I screwed up, we broke up, now I'm just trying to put things back together and so are you." Fluttershy felt surprisingly calm and clear headed this morning. She thought for sure she'd just screw this all up somehow like she usually did but so far so good. Celestia's voice purred form above her. "Rainbow Dash, I didn't expect you to be here." Rainbow Dash looked above Fluttershy at Celestia who was now standing right behind her and still drinking a cup of coffee. Fluttershy gasped, "H-hey, that's my cup of coffee." Celestia smiled. "Oh, I know." Rainbow's eyes widened. "You, and her... after last night... d-don't tell me she and you-" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay? Me and Fluttershy slept together, that's all that happened." Fluttershy shot the solar princess a glare. "You are as bad as Twilight." Celestia nodded. "Oh, yes and you slept with Twilight last night too. But I would hope I was better than her." Fluttershy groaned. "Rainbow Dash, don't listen to her." Rainbow Dash glared at Fluttershy. "You, you... you whore!" She flapped her wings and began flying away. Fluttershy felt that remark in her soul. She just watched as Rainbow Dash flew away from them. Her heart ached for her, she wanted to try and chase Rainbow Dash down, explain what Celestia meant. Yet it didn't stop the simple fact from being that Fluttershy did indeed have a very passionate night with Trixie and Twilight. Fluttershy let out a sigh and looked back at Celestia. "At least you can make it so that we're not liars." Celestia stared down at her. "I don't understand." "She thinks you and me had sex." Celestia hummed. "Mmm, yes... it would probably be more fun if you were awake anyway wouldn't it." Fluttershy's ear twitched. "W-what does that mean?" "Sorry, it was a joke. Sorry... if you want to have intimacy I can give that to you." Fluttershy closed the door and walked back to the kitchen table. "I have a kitchen table, a slight headache, and Rainbow Dash thinks I’m a whore. I think you can just take me on the table." Celestia followed her. "I’d love to have a Fluttershy for breakfast, but I have one request." Fluttershy glanced at her. "Yes?" "Would you go to lunch with me?" Fluttershy just stared at her. Was Celestia offering a quick screw and a date? Well... alright then. "Sure, it sounds f-fun." "Thank you, And don't worry, I'll pay for it." Well at least she knew where she was getting lunch today. After they were done stress testing the table that was. It had been some times since Fluttershy last used the table for any more skillful activities. *** Trixie sat there, staring at the bookshelf. One of the many in Twilight's little library. In her telekinetic aura she held aloft a feather duster and was trying to clean the shelf. Trying was the operative keyword because every time she tried she swore she saw something move behind the shelf. Trixie kept using the feather duster, and something would move. Originally she was a little frightful, likely suspecting a spider. Fluttershy had explained how large the spiders in ponyville got. Then she noticed it wasn't behind the bookshelf per say, it couldn't be, the bookshelf was built into the wall. It was behind the books. Nudging them into awkward places as she worked on them. Twilight came along and looked at the bookshelf. "Trixie, you can't just hit the books with the duster. You're knocking them out of place." Trixie shot her a dirty glare. "I am doing my best." Twilight backed off. "I-I see... um... good job then... please don't abuse my books." Trixie grumbled. "Trixie will be gentle with your books." "Okay, thank you. I have a weekly report to make, and it’s going to include a complaint about spying." Twilight went up the stairs leaving Trixie alone with the bookshelf. Now she was mad. Spider or not, she was not going to have Twilight thinking she was incompetent. She waited, and waited, and waited some more. The books moved. She swat the books with the duster. The books still moved. She growled, grabbed the books and began yanking them off of the shelf, tossing them over her shoulder. "Show yourself you vile spider!" There was an empty space behind the bookshelf. One that didn't have any spider in it. In fact, it had a large, ancient book. Trixie's horn lit up and dragged it out toward her. She looked at the cover, but it was unreadable. "What... why... how!" She opened the book and began reading. There was information here she couldn’t believe. From something called a mirror pool, to the unicorn amulet. Worse yet, it seemed to have the locations of both of these things written down. Much to her surprise she saw something she wasn't sure what to make of. It said the Alicorn Amulet was located Underneath Zecora's hut, three feet in front of her bed. Twilight came back down the stairs. She saw the mess of dozens of books. "TRIXIE! What did I tell you?" Trixie ignored her. "There was a spider." "Oh... did you get it?" "No. She found a book instead. Twilight, what is a Zecora?" Twilight joined her side. "That's a zebra that lives in woods. She's not a Zecora, her name is Zecora." Trixie nodded, fully understanding what this meant. She showed the page to Twilight. "You must do two things. One, burn this evil thing. Two, tell this Zecroa to hide the Alicorn amulet somewhere new. Trixie does not wish to know where it is located." Twilight stared at the book wide eyed. "I... what is this book?" "It was hidden behind the bookshelf." Twilight groaned. "Not another one! This place really needs to just like, explode and be burned down. There are so many secret dark magic books here. I can't seem to find them all... wait, did you just... tell me everything you found out, instead of keeping it a secret?" Trixie glared at her. "And what else would Trixie do when it comes to her love and happiness?" Twilight smiled. "Nothing. Because Trixie is perfect." "Exact-" Trixie was cut off by a quick kiss. Twilight took the book and then proceeded to trot back upstairs. "I'll dispose of this right away. Oh and Celestia said she's spying on you not me." Trixie nodded. "Good, so long as she's not spying on you." Twilight reached the top of the stairs. "Oh and please pick up your mess. And organize the books correctly this time." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Trixie will... wait, did you just say that she's the one being spied upon?" > Chapter Sixty Two: Sunny Days and Mommy Play > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty Two: Sunny Days and Mommy Play Fluttershy found herself at one of the local diners with Celestia in front of her. They'd both ordered a daisy sandwich, and Fluttershy was drinking some raspberry iced tea. This was a nice place she liked to visit from time to time but she didn't come here often. It just felt like the most relaxing atmosphere to bring the ruler of Equestrian too. Given that pretty much everyone was staring at them, Fluttershy realized that there probably wasn't a relaxing place for Celestia. Celestia let out a sigh. "I should have used my transformation spell, I apologize for the extra attention." Fluttershy shook her head. "No, it's quite alright, Celestia. I'm just glad to get to spend time with you." Celestia smiled. "Thank you." Fluttershy had remembered more of the details from the night before and she was realizing she might have learned something she wasn't supposed too. "Celestia, may I ask a question?" "Given the fact that the last twenty four hours have been a little surprising for the both of us, why, yes, yes you can." "Why haven't you told Trixie the truth yet?" Celestia's eyes widened for a moment, and then she closed them and let out a sigh. "I see, you did remember me saying that last night... To answer your question, me and Trixie have had some intimate moments when I was dating Twilight and her. Though I usually wouldn't see any problems with such a... bonding activity. It was pointed out to me that most ponies might find the idea appalling. I'm afraid I won't just lose her... I'm afraid she'll hate." Fluttershy had to give her credit there. This was a particularly unique experience and she couldn't very well deny that most ponies would lose their collective minds if they found out they got done screwing their own mother. Though for some reason she had the feeling Trixie might be a unique case. Fluttershy leaned back. "I think Trixie might just be happy to get to know you." Celestia put the sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. "Mmm, needs bacon." "Oh um, I think they have hay bacon here, we could ask them to-" Celestia shook her head. "Never mind. I'll survive. Real bacon is not easy to come across." Fluttershy blinked. What did she mean real bacon? Hay bacon was real bacon. Celestia let out a sigh. "You may be right. Twilight's threatening me too. She stated if I don't tell Trixie she will. So either way the secret will come out... I just wish I could burry my head into the sand some days." Fluttershy understood that feeling perfectly. "I have a few hidey-hole’s if you want to hide. I could join you in them." Celestia smiled. "How about we do that. After our lunch. After this morning's exercise I am quite hungry." Fluttershy smiled. "Me too." Celestia and Fluttershy both took a few bites of their food. Eventually Celestia asked, "How about you? You seem to be upset with regards to your exes." Fluttershy nodded. "Of course I am. I loved them. I may not have been a good pony, I probably still am not a good pony, but that doesn't mean I didn't care about them. The fact we're all trying to be friends is tough." Celestia reached out with one of her massive wings across the table and used it to stroke Fluttershy's shoulder. The sensation was warm, fluffy, and loving. Fluttershy couldn't help but to lean into it. Celestia spoke quietly. "I've not had much experience in dating these past thousand years, but if I can help in anyway, please let me know." Fluttershy thought about it for a moment and then came up with an idea. "Could we do this more often?" "Lunch?" "Lunch, cuddling, time on my kitchen table, everything that comes with spending time with you." Fluttershy wasn't sure if what she was hinting at would fly by Celestia. Or worse yet, if Celestia might reject her offer, but it was worth trying. Celestia smiled. "I would love too. However, I fear I must explain that you may not be the only pony I'm spending 'table time' with." Fluttershy looked up at her and smiled. "Is it okay if you're not the only pony I'd be spending that kind of time with either?" "Of course, if I'm going to be having 'table time' with others, you should too." Just hearing that level of acceptance made Fluttershy's heart soar. She found herself locking eyes with Celestia. Her heart was racing like crazy and her stomach was fluttery. Oh no, she might be falling for Celestia. *** Rainbow Dash just lay there, huddled into the fetal position on Pinkie's floor. She knew she was supposed to go do something today, anything really, but her heart felt like it was breaking inside. Seeing Fluttershy like that had hurt her. It was good to see Fluttershy happy, of that she was certain, but to see her happy and having sex with other ponies, ponies she knew, now that hurt and she hated herself for it. Trixie and Fluttershy were right, it wasn't her business, but it still felt like it was. Pinkie had come up and opened the door. "You okay, Dashy? I'm on my fifteen so I thought I'd stop by and say hi." Rainbow Dash spoke quietly. "Thanks." Pinkie Pie took a seat next to Rainbow Dash and snuggled into Rainbow's back. "There, there, sweetie. It'll be okay." Rainbow Dash was pretty sure that was the problem. It was okay. Things were just fine, and that bothered her. She hated herself for it, she hated it so deeply. Why did she still care about Fluttershy like this? Still care about what Fluttershy did, or in this case who she did. She sniffled and did her best to keep her poisonous thoughts inside. "Thank you." Pinkie ran a hoof down Rainbow's side and then back up. A soft, stroking motion that made Rainbow Dash want to melt into her. "You mean the world to me, Dashy. If I could just take your pain, I would. I would take it all. Break ups are never fun." Rainbow Dash rolled over to look at Pinkie. Pinkie's bright blue eyes and her patient smile were always there to make her feel safe. "Pinkie, why do I still care?" "She's your first love, you'll always care." Pinkie closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them up. They were wet, glossy. "You know how I'm friends with every pony?" "Y-yeah, that's like your thing." "There is one pony I'm not friends with." Rainbow Dash blinked. "R-really? Who could not be friends with you?" "M-more like I couldn’t stay friends with them... the first pony I ever fell in love with, the first one I dated. I was so in love, but they ended up cheating on me. We broke up, but I just couldn't stay friends with that one pony. I... I don't think I hate them, and it's been years since that happened but it still hurts. I'm just glad they moved out of Ponyville." Rainbow Dash stared at her. "So... you're saying I might not be able to stay friends with Fluttershy?" "No, Dashy. I'm just saying that I understand how painful it is to have your heart ripped out the first time. At the very least, Fluttershy didn't actually cheat on you. She broke your heart, and she was totally a meanie doodoo head, but Fluttershy is not a cheater. So I think one day you and her will be best friends again." Rainbow Dash sniffled. "I love her though." "So do I, but we can hurt for her together right?" Rainbow Dash met Pinkie's eyes. Somehow hearing that, knowing that they both shared this pain, it made Rainbow Dash's heart feel lighter. "Thank you, Pinkie." Pinkie Pie grinned. "No problem." She leaned down and kissed Rainbow Dash on the lips. "Now are you ready to go out and help today." Rainbow Dash blinked at her. "Help... with what?" "Did you forget you promised to help Rarity and Applejack today?" Rainbow Dash shot upright. "You're right!" Rainbow Dash jumped toward the balcony on the second floor and then paused. "Hey... Pinkie." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Yeppers." "Did it ever seem odd that you have like, the perfect entrance and exit for a pegasus?" "So does Twilight." "Yes, but Twilight moved into someone else's home. This is your place." Pinkie simply shrugged. "Meh, means you have easy access to my warm place." Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Heh, thanks... see you later, love." "See you soon, hopefully in my bed." Pinkie gave her a wink. Rainbow could feel it as her face lit on fire from the flirt. Oh she was still awful at romance stuff, but at the very least, she was happy to know she was welcome here. She was going to fully enjoy coming back here to take Pinkie on her bed later. For now, she did make a promise to help Rarity and Applejack move some stuff today, she just hoped she wasn't too late. *** Twilight had come back downstairs to see Trixie sitting by the table, reading a magazine. The books had been picked up off the floor, and then shoved into a pile near the bookshelf. Not even on the bookshelf, just near it. Twilight groaned. "Seriously, Trixie, I love you but if you're going to help out, please do." Trixie rubbed at her slowly growing belly. "Trixie's having back problems and her hooves are sore." Twilight lowered her head. "O-oh... I'm sorry. The doctor said it was rare for mares to have such issues, but that you might considering how uh... large the father is." Trixie flipped a page in the magazine she was holding in her hooves. "Mmm, yes. He is quite large. Too gentle, but quite large indeed." Twilight was picking up on some of these double entendres now. "Trixie, I don’t want to hear about Big Mac's penis." Trixie gasped. "Oh my, Twilight, whatever made you think something so dirty. I was talking about his height, his length, his girth as a pony." Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I thought you were talking about his penis. I'm not good at sex talk yet. I'm so sorry, please forgive me." Trixie smiled warmly. "I'll forgive you, if you help Trixie with the books please." Twilight nodded. "Of course I will. I made a baseless accusation and jumped to conclusions. I'll take care of the books, it's the least I can do for my love." Trixie purred. "And can you stick your butt out toward me while you do." Twilight faced the bookshelf. "I kind of have too, you’re sitting opposite of the bookshelf. Why would you want me to stick my-" Twilight looked back at her and saw Trixie's eyes drawing invisible lines all across Twilight's rear end. "Well at least you're staring at me." She glanced at the cover of the magazine Trixie was reading. "What is that?" "Oh this, it's an issue of Mommy Daughter Love. You want to read it?" "That's a weird title. Oh, is it one of those magazines for new parents?" "I sure hope no new parents are using this as reference material. Though I have a fetish here, I am never going to practice this with our daughter. Maybe if I ever met my real mom and she was like, super hot or something." Oh Trixie had no idea just how 'hot' her real mom was. Not yet at least. Twilight was making quick work of the bookshelf. Once finished she turned to face Trixie and began walking to her. "Trixie... about your mom..." It hurt to do this, but Twilight felt like it was about time. If Celestia was going to continue spying on them and avoiding a direct conversation with Trixie then somepony had to tell Trixie what was going on. Twilight joined Trixie's side and looked at the page Trixie was reading. It was a large blown up image of two mares, one looking close to her mid to late thirties and one that was freshly eighteen. The older one was holding the younger one and doing something uncouth with her hooves. A caption next to it read, ‘Mother helping her daughter massage after a breakup.' Trixie purred. "Yeeess, do you think you could do you're mane in a bun and pretend to be my mommy so we can try this?" Twilight decided that this was the worst moment to reveal Trixie's real mother's identity. In fact, she might just stay shut about it for some time. After all if this was something Trixie liked... they'd just end up in bed with Celestia again wouldn't they? Twilight stammered. "If you give me a freebie, I'll do whatever you want in bed." Trixie looked at her. "Do this, stick it in my butt, and say the words, 'mommy loves your tight butt'." Twilight's eye twitched. "Please stop talking." Trixie closed the magazine and stood up. "Mmm, okay. I'll just go upstairs then. See you soon, love. Oh and my back and hooves feel much better now." She walked away leaving Twilight sitting there. It only slowly dawned on her that not only was Trixie insinuating she wanted to spend some more romantic time with her, but Twilight realized that Trixie's hooves or back didn't stop her from putting books away because her magic was working just fine. Twilight had just been duped. Twilight could go upstairs and be angry, but that would get Trixie what she wanted. Twilight could upstairs and give Trixie what she wanted anyway. Or Twilight could stay downstairs and not give Trixie her attention, but that meant Twilight would just be frustrated at that point. "You win this time, Trixie." Twilight spoke under her breath as she began ascending the staircase to please her demented lover. "Mommy’s going to spank you for being a naughty filly." > Chapter Sixty Three: makeup and marshmellows > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty Three: makeup and marshmellows Written by TheCrimsonDM Rainbow Dash was side by side with Applejack trying to move various boxes out of Rarity's basement. It was easy work for someone in as good of shape as she was, but it was still boring and mildly annoying. Looking at Applejack as they walked up she had to admire the mare for her sheer strength but at the same time felt bad because she had been so late. "Sorry, AJ." The two of them reached the top of the stairs with the last of the boxes. "No problem, Sugarcube. Ah'm sure you had yer reasons." Once there they set the boxes down for Rarity to inspect. She had a clipboard with her so she could track everything coming up here. "Hmm, yes. And what were those reasons, darling?" Rainbow Dash laughed. "I was being so awesome I just forgot." Rarity looked at her. "And the tear-stained eyes have nothing to do with it?" Rarity was sharp, really sharp. Rainbow Dash thought she'd used the right amount of makeup to look normal but to also hide the shame of her breakdown. "Pfft, yeah, onions." "Onions. Onions made you cry so hard that you'd put makeup on to try and hide it from me and Applejack?" Applejack laughed. "Rares, not once have Ah ever seen Rainbow Dash wear makeup. Maybe yer just seeing things?" Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "How can you tell?" Applejack took a side step. "Wait, seriously?" Rarity reached out and lifted Rainbow's chin with a hoof. "Because I'm a lady, and ladies know all these tricks. I must say you've done a good job, but I fear I'm just better at makeup than any of us." Rainbow Dash felt her heart still shaking a little. She tried to be strong though. If not for her own sake, for that of her friends. "I'm fine. Just... stupid stuff over Fluttershy." "Do you want to talk about it?" Rainbow Dash met her eyes. "Do I have to?" Rarity shook her head. "Of course not. You never have to do anything you're not comfortable with." Rainbow Dash nodded. Then thought about it for a moment. She let out a sigh. "I'm being a big baby about this. I know I am. But finding out that Fluttershy, Trixie, and Twilight all hooked up kind of hurts." Rarity lowered her hoof to the floor. Rainbow missed the warm contact on her chin. "Darling, that's just awful. How did you find out?" "I asked her." Applejack cringed. "You shouldn't ask yer ex what they're up to. If they say nopony you feel sad fer 'em, if they say somebody, you get hurt. There ain't no good way around that question." Rarity threw both her legs around Rainbow Dash in a big overwhelming hug. "There, there. This is all new for you, and it must be so painful. Yet you still came here to help move my stuff. I'm so proud of you my little Dashy." Rainbow Dash thought that maybe, just maybe Rarity was laying it on a little thick but it still worked. She nuzzled into Rarity's shoulder and just melted into that embrace. She didn't realize just how badly she needed a hug. Even Pinkie had tried to hold her, and though she felt good from it, she just needed to stay in somepony's embrace for a while. "Then Fluttershy hooked up with Celestia and... I just... I feel like what happened with me doesn't even matter if she could move on so quickly." Rarity was still holding her. "Shhh, let it all out. I'm here for you." If Rarity wanted to hear it all, then she could. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, and words just wouldn't stop tumbling out. All the pain, the confusion, the hurt that she'd tried to keep in. Even more her secret desire to make things work with Fluttershy again and her realization that such a thing might never be possible. She let it all out in one steady, flowing stream, along with her tears. By the end of it, she was sobbing into Rarity's shoulder and was a big mess. The makeup had failed to hide her pain, and now it was all plainly on display for them to see running down her face. Yet through it all, Rarity and Applejack both hugged her. held her. Listened to her. She was thankful to have such good friends. > Chapter Sixty Four: Of Cake and Treaty > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty Four: Of Cake and Treaty Written by TheCrimsonDM It was another day, and Twilight had found herself down at Sugarcube Corner with Trixie. Trixie was busy looking at the peanut butter muffins. "I want the special muffins." Pinkie was behind the counter and offering her a nervous smile. "Those were limited time, they will never be here again, do not speak of them." Even Twilight knew that was an odd response, but then again she had found out what was in those muffins in the first place. Magical cures aside she looked at Trixie. "Get some normal muffins, we'll make special ones together some time." Pinkie's eye twitched. "I said stop talking about them please." She glanced at the door going to the kitchen. "Misses Cake would be a little unhappy if she found out what made them special." Trixie blinked. "Because you used the herbs and spices from KFC?" Pinkie glared at her. "NO, I did not." Twilight decided it was time to stop this foolish conversation before somepony began shouting nonsense. there was already too much nonsense in her life as is. "Okay okay, we'll take two peanut butter muffins, a peanut butter cupcake, and an oatmeal smoothie for me." Trixie looked at her. "Mmmm...." "mmmm what?" "Mmmm, smoothie." Twilight blinked. "Oh come on, use your big girl words." "no." "Then no smoothie for you." Trixie frowned. "Fine... can I have one too?" Twilight beamed. "Make that two oatmeal smoothies." Trixie giggled. "Yay." Pinkie giggled as well. "Seems you two get along really well." Twilight reached out and wrapped a leg around Trixie's. "I would hope so. Even if we haven't set the date yet, we're engaged to be married. Soon." Pinkie nodded toward the half circle booth in the corner. "I'll bring it out when it’s all done." Twilight led Trixie to their usual seat. Turned out this was the seat the group usually sat at. From her experience as soon as one of them got here, the others wouldn't be too far behind. Twilight loved her seat here but she knew Trixie was a little uneasy still. "So, how ya feeling?" Twilight asked. Trixie lowered her head. "I wanna go home." "But why, we just got here." Trixie let out a sigh. "I just don't feel social today." Twilight could understand that. Trixie had bouts of social anxiety, and she would be lying if she didn't own up to part of it being her fault. The other sides came from some experiences that Trixie had refused to speak on. Twilight reached out and placed a hoof over Trixie's. "We're safe here. I promise." "Thank you." Trixie looked up at her. Those violet eyes looked so fragile sometimes. Yet she knew there was a strength behind them, one that Twilight admired. The front doors opened up and Twilight blinked as she watched Celestia and Fluttershy walk into the shop. Fluttershy looked even more anxious than Trixie did. Her ears folded flat against her scalp, and her eyes darting left and right. Celestia nodded to where Twilight was. "Go on, sit with them, I'll order for us." Fluttershy didn't even try to stay by Celestia's side and nearly galloped over to Twilight and Trixie. she took a seat next to Trixie and looked down at the table. "Please, don't ask." Twilight smiled knowing she couldn't keep that promise. "Celestia forced you here because she's hungry?" "Yes." "For cake?" "yes." Looking over she watched as Pinkie's eyes widened after Celestia said something. She nodded and then Celestia made her way over to the booth. She couldn't quite fit behind the table so she just took a seat next to the table. Being a giant was not always an easy task. Twilight looked up at her. "Celestia." Celestia smiled. "Twilight, Trixie." Twilight spoke up. "Is there anything you want to say?" "Is there something I should say?" Twilight nodded at Trixie. "Yes, and I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by the response." Celestia's eyebrow raised. "Really? A... positive one?" "More positive than even I'm prepared for, but we'll figure it out.' Celestia nodded. "Perhaps there is something I would-" The door opened and Rainbow Dash's voice filled the air as she nearly screamed. "Fluttershy!" Twilight cursed their luck. How was it, that just when Celestia was finally going to say her piece, at long last, that there was a screaming banshee of a friend to come in and ruin it. Fluttershy was trying to hide her face with her hooves. Not really doing much other than blinding herself. Rainbow Dash marched over. "What are you doing in here?" Then again looking at Trixie's baby belly, it was becoming clear that she was with child and the entire town must have known at this point who the father was. A few of them still argued it was Twilight herself, and she had to very politely explain how biology worked on multiple occasions. Ponyville, home to the crazies. Still Rainbow Dash was going to be a problem. Rainbow was shooting a rather mean glare at Fluttershy. "So, you came in here, and you're just what, snuggling up to Trixie?" Twilight opened her mouth to say something but Fluttershy cut her off. "Rainbow Dash, I am here because Celestia wanted to get something sweet to eat. I would never come here, ever again, if it was my decision." Rainbow Dash seemed taken aback by that, much of the anger in those eyes fleeing as she took a step back. Her voice had grown weak, tired. "Yeah... that makes sense. Sorry I jumped the fence on... that." Fluttershy shook her head. "No, you have every right to criticize my presence here. As soon as we eat I will leave with Celestia and everything will go back to the new normal." Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "I wish it could go back to the old normal." "Me too," Fluttershy said. "But I kind of ruined that for all of us. We'll figure out this whole friendship thing eventually, but right now it’s sensitive." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Is... is it okay if I join you girls? Just for some company? I miss hanging out." Twilight smiled, but she left the decision up to Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave a shy nod, and Rainbow Dash took a seat next to Twilight. The booth was getting rather full, rather quickly. It wasn't long before Pinkie came out with everypony's food, including a milkshake for Rainbow even though she hadn't ordered anything. It made everypony feel more easy about the tense situation they found themselves in. Friendship was a challenge some days but Twilight was positive they’d get through this maze of pain somehow. The conversations turned light, mostly about daily routines, jobs, etc. it wasn't all that bad. In fact Twilight would dare say it felt normal for once. Rainbow Dash was talking, "So I had to go back to Las Pegasus with all of the old ladies. Beg Potluck or whatever his name was to give them a second chance, and he uh, wasn't very nice about it. A bit of bribery, and threat of violence, got him to agree though." Trixie was staring at her, though there was something odd in her look. Like every muscle had gone tense, and she was on the verge of something. Twilight briefly feared that she was about to throw up, too many cupcakes might have been a mistake after all. Celestia interrupted. "That name sounds familiar, are you positive it wasn't actually Jackpot that your thinking of?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah that one. Old magician guy, looks exactly like Trixie for some reason." Celestia purred. "Now he was a stallion of some... repute in his youth. Chasing all the young maidens, or even princesses when he dared." Twilight looked again at Trixie. She was glaring at Rainbow Dash, her teeth bared into a snarl and her horn glowing lavender. Oh no, something was wrong. "Trixie?" Trixie hissed. "Take me home." Twilight swallowed. "Home?" "Home now, Twilight. Before I do something regrettable." Everypony was looking at them. It felt like she was in a bad place. A tense place. And somehow Twilight felt guilty for ruining the good mood. Her horn lit up and she looked at everypony. "I'm so sorry, I... I'm sorry." Trixie spoke once more. "And don't ever, ever mention that vermin’s name around me again." Twilight's horn lit up and she and Trixie teleported home. Once there Twilight watched as Trixie looked at the round table in the living room and unleashed a bolt of purple lighting at it. The table was knocked over. A black burn scorch mark was branded into the table's side. Twilight watched in mild horror as Trixie let out a scream. Her voice sounded so frustrated, so angry, and as the scream slowed down, molding into a horrible weeping sob. She watched Trixie fall to the floor. Tears streamed down her face as she cried unrelentingly. Twilight joined her side. Still a little worried about Trixie's outburst, but she snuggled up next to her and Trixie nuzzled into her side. Her body was trembling as she sobbed. "I hate him." Trixie said at length. "But... but why?" She buried her face into Twilight's neck. Wiping tears and snot into Twilight's fur. They were going to need a shower soon. "He abandoned me." Twilight was starting to get the pieces of the puzzle. A puzzle she really, really didn’t want to see the full picture of. "I'm sorry." "He was supposed to be my dad. Supposed to raise me. He, he wouldn't even talk to me. I wanted... I wanted to be a magician just like him. So he couldn't ignore me. Then I wanted to be one better than him... but failed so horribly." Twilight wrapped her leg around Trixie's back. "No, Trixie. You're better than him. Better than any magician I've ever known." Trixie sobbed and sniffled. "I just wanted to be close to daddy, and he hates me." Twilight couldn't believe that. There was no way a stallion could hate their own child. That a parent could... Twilight closed her eyes and nodded solemnly. She understood. At least in part how this felt. How being abandoned by your parents felt. Twilight held Trixie close and let her sob. Today wasn't going to be a happy fun day in the sun like she had planned. But not all days had to be fun. Sometimes a pony just needed to be sad and hurt for a day. > Chapter Sixty Five: Of Bubbles and Trouble > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixty Five: Of Bubbles and Trouble Fluttershy sat there, she'd watched the scene unravel like a movie. Feeling distant to it. Twilight and Trixie just up and vanished leaving the others behind to be bewildered by their sudden disappearance. Though Fluttershy wasn't stupid. Judging by the tone that Celestia had used, and from Trixie's reaction to the name Jackpots. She figured that Trixie's father must have been this pony, some ill begotten rendezvous for Celestia, and a sour if not painful memory for Trixie. Though what was it that caused Trixie to be hurt so badly by that name that she'd demand a quick exit? Looking at Celestia now, she could see the fear and concern in her eyes. Perhaps afraid that if Trixie hated one parent, she might hate the other as well. This event had not at all helped with Celestia's current challenge. Fluttershy reached out and squeezed Celestia's hoof. "Hey, it'll be okay." Celestia offered a weak smile. "I'm sure it will be." Rainbow Dash was looking between the two of them seemingly a little confused by the whole ordeal herself. She did as she usually did when things were a challenge for her and blew out a sigh. "Weirdo, fine I won't talk about some random magician that just so happens to look exactly like Trixie." Fluttershy stared at her. "Have you not figured it out?" Rainbow Dash blinked. "What?" Fluttershy shook her head. About to dismiss it, but she saw something in the corner of Rainbow’s eye. They’d been down this road before and it was time Fluttershy started being honest with her friend. "Jackpots is probably Trixie's dad, and Trixie is an orphan." Rainbow Dash blinked. "Oh cool, so she can go meet her dad now right?" Fluttershy repeated. "She is an orphan." "Yes, because her dad... oh..." Rainbow's mood fell and she looked a little hurt herself. "Man... that has to hurt." "I'm sure it does. Yet I know for a fact that she would love to meet her mother, I'm expecting she hasn't had a good experience with Jackpots." Celestia looked a little relieved to hear that. "You know," She said almost in a whisper. "I've heard he has a few children, and anytime one of them seeks him out he's rather... distant with them. I can imagine this being painful for Trixie." Fluttershy gave her as gentle a look she could. "Yes, but if she were to meet her mother, then her mother wouldn't push her away now would she?" "No, no she would not." Celestia spoke with some authority on the subject. "Though her mother might be a coward, she would never push her own loving daughter away. She may have even attempted for years to close the distance between herself and her daughter unknowingly." Rainbow Dash blinked. "I mean... maybe, but like, how are we supposed to know if we don't even know who her mom is? I bet its some earth pony." This time Fluttershy did not let on that she thought her ignorance was adorable. "You're right. We don't know. But if we did, we'd help bring the two of them together right?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Heck yeah we would. Filly deserves a good mom at least." Celestia spoke quietly. "She does." It felt nice to just talk to Rainbow Dash like this again. As a friend trying to solve problems that didn’t involve their personal relationship. Maybe if this kept up they could even… no, Fluttershy banished that thought for now. She wasn’t ready to even consider trying to ask if Rainbow and Pinkie would ever be that close again. She had her Celestia, and honestly, that was all she wanted at this point. As the mood began to sink Fluttershy hoped this was not going to be the trend of the day. After all, there were other things to do today than be sad. Maybe she could find a way to cheer everypony up. Somehow... oh if only she was some kind of princess of friendship or something, then maybe this would be a lot easier. Instead the most she could rely on was a purple unicorn with a penchant for being crazy and selfish at times. Some 'element of magic' she was. Fluttershy sipped at a smoothie in silence as she worked the problem through her brain. Surely there had to be some kind of way to fix things. Some way somehow. *** Trixie sat there staring at the fireplace, and enjoying the warmth ebbing off of the flames. She blew a raspberry at the fire and let out a sigh. She was still stressed out and Twilight had to leave on some royal errand or some such. This meant she was all alone and trying to keep herself occupied. Well there was no time like the present to have fun. Her horn lit up with an orchard light and she put a little effort into the spell. A bubble, glossy wet and translucent grew from the tip of her horn. It expanded to the size of an apple before she let it go and watched it drift upward into the air and floated around. It wasn't a great spell, it was fairly useless in fact, but it was fun. She made another bubble, and then another. Soon she had created dozens of bubbles all drifting through the air, bouncing into each other and popping, or splitting off and creating more smaller bubbles. She summoned another bubble, larger than the others. Now standing in a room full of bubbles she made one that huge. Larger than her own head, then larger than her body. It continued to swell up as she created it. It was the size of a wagon before she was done and let it go. "Haha!" She stated. "I am Trixie, the Bubble Magician, fear me and my kingdom of bubbles, the bubble minions will come to rule over your peasant land." She made more bubbles, these ones in the shapes of ponies half her size and had at least ten of them in a row before she then created spears for them. Setting the bubbly spears beside them. She bumped into the large one and feared it popping. Then she realized that it was made of sturdy stuff. She pushed it with a hoof and an amazing idea came to mind. She jumped into it, for a moment it pushed back but then she sunk into the bubble and was allowed into its protective walls. Now inside the giant wagon sized bubble she faced the door and laughed louder. "I am the Bubble Queen!" The door opened and Twilight Sparkle walked in. "Trixie, sorry to bother you but have you seen my... my... um." Her eyes were wide as she saw hundreds of bubbles floating in the air. The ten loyal bubble soldiers and their spears faced her, spears lowered. Trixie put a hoof to her chin. "Oh my, Twilight Sparkle, we meet again. This time you shall not win. For I, the Bubble Queen have summoned forth my army of bubbles to take over your land." Twilight blinked. "W-what?" "Go my minions!" Trixie cried as her horn lit up and the bubble soldiers drifted and bounced toward Twilight. Twilight blinked and watched. One of them raised its spear and poked Twilight with it. She looked down at the bubble. "Um..." Trixie growled. "You have raised your defense stats. There is no way their spears can harm you now I see. Then take this!" The spear poked Twilight in the snoot. She rubbed at her nose and backed away. "Trixie!" "Aha! The Bubble Queen has found your weakness, Twilight Sparkle!" She looked at her soldiers of sudsy wrath. "Boop the snoot!" Twilight yelled as the spears poked and jabbed at her face. She ducked and weaved valiantly. Yet a few blows got through, making her snort and giggle with each poke. Eventually she went on the offensive. Parrying with her horn, and then popping spears and solders alike. Once the ten soldiers were dealt with Twilight faced Trixie in her fortress of bubbletude. "Now we end this, Bubble Queen... uh... oh, it’s time to burst your bubble." Trixie clapped her hooves together excitedly. "Catchphrases and one liners! Yay!" Twilight giggled. Then reared up and once she landed on all fours she charged. Her horn hit the bubble, but it didn't pop. She pushed in, inch by inch she sunk into the bubble. Then she was sucked in entirely and landed at Trixie's hooves. "W-what?" Trixie grinned. "Welcome to bubble, my name is bubble, may I take your bubble?" "Trixie, how come it didn't pop?" Twilight stood up and walked around. "This is... is... This is amazing!" "Isn't everything Trixie does amazing?" "No, Trixie, really this is a sustainable bubble. You could in theory use this to go underwater. Explore places with toxic air. Or just to look cool. Or, or, the possibilities are endless!" Trixie blinked. "Twilight, it's just a big bubble." Twilight stared at her. "No its not. It's a powerful spell, and it’s amazing, and it’s your bubble." Twilight walked to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You are amazing, great, and powerful." Trixie's entire face was burning up, she felt like a lit match and she swallowed. "Thank you..." Trixie looked around. "So... how do we get out of here?" Twilight blinked. "You... you don't know?" "No, I didn't even expect it to be this strong." Twilight shrugged. "Well let's try walking out." Twilight walked to the edge of the bubble, pushed against it, and then found it was a rather durable surface from the inside. She pushed again, nothing. Twilight frowned. "Hmm... how do you get out of here?" Trixie smiled. "I have an idea." Twilight looked at her. "Oh?" Trixie's horn lit up and a beam of lightning shot out of the tip of her horn. It slapped into the side of the bubble, bounced off and hit Twilight squarely on the horn. Twilight yelped and shook her head. Her horn was singed and her mane was frayed, sticking out on ends. Trixie giggled. "Oops." "And it's magic resistant. Great, so it's even more powerful than I thought..." "Well at least we're not alone. We have each other." Trixie purred. "You trapped me in a bubble, poked me in the nose, and then shot me with lighting... eh, I guess that means we have to get married now.” Trixie giggled. "Exactly." "But for real, how do we escape?" Trixie shrugged. "I have no idea. It's a bubble, Twilight, it'll pop eventually." It was then that Spike walked up the stairs. "Hey, you two are making a ruckus up here. What's going-" He saw the giant bubble, and the hundreds of smaller ones surrounding it. Trixie smiled. "I am the Bubble Queen, face my wraith dragon boy!" The bubbles moved like a swarm and blocked off his escape. Spike stepped forward. "Oh yeah, what can the Bubble Queen do?" She grinned. "I have captured your mom, the Twilight Sparkle is mine now. Can you rescue her, dragon boy?" He walked up to the big bubble. "Yeah... I think so." He breathed fire onto the bubble and it popped. It broke into thousands of smaller bubbles that filled the room. So many bubbles were unleashed that Trixie was unable to see through them. Only feeling the tingle and the tickle as they popped against her fur. She shook her head. "Spike!" Spike laughed. "I guess I burst your bubble didn't I?" She growled. Not only did he actually burst the bubble, he also stole Twilight's one liner. How dare him. She let out a sigh. Then a giggle. "That was fun." Twilight grumbled. "My room... is filled... with bubbles." Trixie nodded. "You're welcome." > Chapter Sixty Six: Bubbles and cuddles > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Sixty Six: Bubbles and cuddles Twilight sat there, staring at the bubbles as they seemingly swarmed around her and Trixie. Spike had fled the room the moment the explosion of bubbles happened. Yet now she was starting to think perhaps she should have followed. Trixie was pressed against her. "Um, Twilight, love... that's not normal." "What did you do?" "I made bubbles. I am the bubble queen." The bubbles began to swell. Once again Twilight found a bubble growing around her, consuming their world and locking them in. While she screamed in frustration at dealing with bubbles. She heard Trixie cackling. Twilight shot a glare at her as the bubble surrounding the two of them pushed the smaller ones away. "What is wrong with you?" Trixie cackled. "I am both great and powerful, for I am the bubble queen. Fear me ponyville, for you shall be covered in my bubbles!" Twilight groaned. "Celestia darn it..." *** Along the walk home Fluttershy had caught a glimpse of a very strange and unique event going on with Twilight's home. Bubble's were frothing and pouring out of her various windows. In fact, it seemed every window in the home was pouring out hundreds of bubbles some as large as her head. Celestia smiled. "Ah I see, she finally decided to use the cleaning spell I taught her for her home." Fluttershy let out a sigh. "It looks so weird, but it looks like fun." "It is quite fun, works on ponies too." She gave Fluttershy a wink. Fluttershy could only imagine what kind of fun they could have with bubbles. Her mind showed her an image of a pool, but instead of water it was all floating bubbles that could hold a ponies weight. Kind of like a ball pit, but hopefully cleaner. She'd worked at a restaurant with a ball pit once... the things she'd seen... oh the horror. Going on their way home Fluttershy began to wonder a few things about the princess that she was currently... dating? Oh that was a question in itself wasn't it? Well she'd focus on that later. Poly ponies were not always the easiest things to organize, at least in her experience. She sometimes wondered if she should ask Twilight to help organize her relationship charts but honestly at this point she'd annihilated almost all of them and was still healing from that mess. "Princess Celestia," Fluttershy spoke quietly. "You can just call me Celestia. Even in public." "Have you ever had a job?" Celestia raised her eyebrow. "Ahem, my job is the Princess and Ruler of Equestria." "I-I meant a normal job." Celestia laughed. "I have done this for over a thousand years. I feel that by now it is quite normal." Fluttershy puffed up her cheeks. "I meant a job normal ponies would do." Celestia giggled. "I'm teasing." Flutter shy’s heart skipped a beat. Celestia was teasing her. It was a little mean, but more playful. Yet it was exactly what she wanted. Celestia snorted and a small bit of steam left her nostrils. "Jobs. It's an interesting prospect. I am a thousand years old so I can assure you that I have certainly had many, but mostly for choice out of boredom. I've worked the forge to craft my own armors and blades, I've tilled the fields to grow my own crops, I have... well I have plunged toilets before." Fluttershy blinked. "You, plunge toilets?" "Yes, well... I had to find out what it was like at some point. It was rather fun if not nasty." Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my." Celestia looked down at her. "I'm sorry if that grosses you out a little. I'm sure you've only ever had peaceful... um... wait, Fluttershy, do you have a job?" Flutter shy’s eyes widened. "O-of course I do." "Doing what?" Fluttershy looked at the ground. "Things..." "Things?" "Things." Celestia nodded. "I see, well I hope that your 'things' are going well." What Fluttershy did not tell her was that Fluttershy's job per se, was whatever odd jobs she could find and bumming money off of her parents. Oh she did work. She helped out on Applejack's farm. In Rarity's boutique on the weekends so Rarity could get a couple days off. She had been a spa pony for a few weeks until she got fired for flirting. Then she started a pet grooming service but not enough people in Ponyville had the money, or the care for well groomed pets. Finally she attempted to become a vet, and the local vet/doctor promptly accused her of being a fool... and she almost caused an octopus to die, so... she stopped doing that. Fluttershy let out a final sigh. She needed to be more honest, if she wasn't she would just repeat the same mistakes that led to her losing Rainbow Dash in the first place. "Celestia... I don't have a stable job." Celestia reached out with a wing and covered her back. It was so warm to the touch, like a heated blanket, and smelled faintly of cinders and ash. "I know, and I'm thankful you were honest with me." "I make enough to survive, but it's a struggle. I often times borrow money from my parents... I hope that's not... too pathetic for you." Celestia chuckled to herself. "You are not pathetic, my dear Fluttershy. I am not much better. However, if you ever need money, just ask. I'm sure I can find a way for you to earn it if you really desire." "Thank you." "By the way, what is the worst job you've ever worked?" Fluttershy's ears twitched. "Oh... that's a bit forward." "Come on, tell me." Celestia nudged her side. "Please." THey were almost to Fluttershy's home by that point. In fact she could see the little cottage up on top of the hill, yet it felt so far away once she realized she'd have to answer this question. Well honesty was her new policy, and even if she wasn't named Applejack, she'd put on a cowpony hat if it made her more honest. "Mcfluries." Celestia looked a little confused by the response. She looked back at Fluttershy's cottage as they slowly made their way up the hill. Silence crawled between them for several seconds. Finally, at length, Celestia asked, "What's Mcflurries?" Fluttershy blinked several times. Looked up at Celestia and her jaw dropped. "You can't be serious." Celestia deadpanned. "I'm afraid so." Fluttershy looked back at the nearing cottage. "It's a popular fast food chain of restaurants." "Fast... food... oh, oh wait. I've heard of this. It's an establishment that caters to ponies offering subpar food at cheap and fast rates." Fluttershy looked at her. "Have you never eaten at Mcflurries before?" "Oh heavens no. that's like asking me to wear a saddlebag. Fluttershy, darling, I'm a princess." Fluttershy looked back at her own little castle on the hilltop and wondered. Was Celestia secretly a snob? She smiled to herself realizing that she was not in fact a perfect princess but she wouldn't say anything... yet. Fluttershy opened the door and stepped inside. "So, Celestia. We're finally home. had a nice date, and even a good conversation. Is there anything you'd like to do?" Celestia smiled warmly. It felt as if the entire world was becoming warmer. Perhaps a little too warm. Fluttershy had to take a few steps back from the goddess currently radiating a few too many degrees of heat for her comfort. Sun goddess, can't live without ‘em, don't always want to hug them. Celestia blinked. "Oh, sorry, I was enjoying the smell of your home. Did you ask me something?" "My home smells?" "Not in a bad... it smells okay most of the time. Like animals and lemon fresh cleaner." "Yeah... they uh... leave messes sometimes. I clean them. It smells like cleaning." Celestia watched as three squirrels ran up the side of the all into a little hole near the ceiling. "Do you ever imagine that you could have just collected cats and been a normal crazy cat lady?" "I do, but cats are kind of mean. So I prefer anything other than cats." "I see. Crazy animal lady it is." "This is true." Fluttershy turned toward her kitchen. "Let me get us some tea. This has been a fantastic date." Celestia agreed. "Quite amazing indeed." Once inside Fluttershy looked at the window that had been left open. Just outside she could see the town of Ponyville. If she looked hard enough she could even see Twilight's tree library. Though she had to stare really hard as something was obscuring it. A strange cloud perhaps. Celestia peered over the top of Fluttershy's head. "Hmm... interesting." Fluttershy tried to ignore the fact that her head was being used as a chin rest. Or the fact that she could see right up Celestia's nose and could see a booger that really, really needed taken care of and some nose hairs that were in need of trimming. Where was the royal nose picker when you needed them? She glanced back at the library. Her mind began to understand more of what she was looking at. Oh no... Fluttershy spoke quietly. "Are those bubbles?" Celestia nodded, pushing Fluttershy's head down with the motion. "Why yes, yes they are. And they seem to be growing." A single, massive bubble the size of a house floated above the town and inside it Fluttershy saw Trixie and Twilight. Trixie was standing on her rear legs and making a dramatic pose while laughing, though the words she was saying were unintelligible. Twilight was rubbing at her face as if this was the most humiliated she'd been since the casadiaincident... so much cheese... not enough mops. Celestia purred. "Should I go rescue them now, or should I let them have fun for a little while?" Fluttershy groaned. "What if Trixie gets hurt?" "Oh, you're right. I'll go save them now. Toodaloo love. Hope to see you later." With a wink, and the opening of the back door, Celestia took off into the sky like a hero. A hero with a giant horn that was primed and ready to pop a giant balloon... or bubble. Oh... Celestia's help was going to be a mess. > Chapter Sixty Seven: Of Mothers and Daughters > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is pregnant: Chapter Sixty Seven: Of Mothers and Daughters Celestia stood there staring down at Trixie and Twilight. They had gotten them back into the library tree that Twilight called a home and Celestia was mostly just confused as to exactly what happened. Looking at them she also felt perhaps a little something else stirring in her loins. It wasn't her fault. Twilight and Trixie sat there soaking wet and sticky. Their fur was matted down and shiny from all the bubble residue, Trixie’s mane in particular was rather beautiful when wet. Though Twilight's wasn't bad either. Celestia was currently using a towel to try and clean their faces at least. One towel for each of them. "So, you were making bubbles with your horn because?" Trixie groaned. "Because Trixie is bored and Twilight was being sad." Twilight snapped. "Was not." Trixie scoffed. "Was too." "Was not." "Was too." Twilight glared at the towel in front of her. "Was, not.” Trixie hummed. "Was not." Twilight nearly shouted. "Was too!" Trixie merely smiled. "Okay, have it your way love." Twilight laughed. "Good, now that we're... oh my Celestia, I just fell for that." Celestia and Trixie shared a laugh at Twilight's expense. Twilight joined in a moment later. As the three of them were filled with bubbly laughter, Celestia was still left with a bubbly question. "So, you made bubbles. A lot of bubbles. I actually was not aware you could use that much magic." With Trixie's face now dry, Celestia moved onto her mane. She did the same for Twilight. Trixie let out a sigh. "Trixie was not aware either. She just sort of started having fun and then it got out of control." Celestia smiled. It was still deep inside of her after all. The secret power that Trixie had locked away, her hidden potential. This was a good thing, because it meant that perhaps one day, far in the future perhaps, but one day for sure, she could help Trixie unlock her full potential. Her full magic, and become the mare she was meant to be. After all this was Celestia's daughter and she was going to turn her into an alicorn somehow. Looking over at Twilight, Celestia had the same idea there too, but that was delayed. "Twilight, have you been studying any good books lately?" Twilight shook her head. "No." Trixie giggled. "But she's been studying bad ones." Twilight's eyes widened. "Trixie hush, she doesn’t need to know that." Celestia giggled. "OH come now, I'm practically your mother, Twilight." Twilight glared at her. "And you shouldn't be the one to be talking about mothers to me." Celestia felt a small pain her chest from that. "Twilight, just tell me what you've been reading. Please." She moved the towels down to their chests now that their heads were dry. Dry but still sticky. It made her think of the last time Celestia and Luna had worked together to... use a mare. The mess left behind was more than the servants had asked for and at least one of them quit on the spot. At the very least that mare had been pleasured beyond her wildest dreams. Oh, good times. Twilight let out a sigh. "Fine... I've been reading up on how to sexually please pregnant mares." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "That's the naughty book you've been reading? Twilight, seriously that's just educational material, and here I thought you were looking at porn." Trixie shrugged. "She has some but its rather vanilla. Trixie's porn is better, its all about moms and their daughters." The towel cleaning Trixie dropped to the floor. Celestia’s eyes widened. "I... you do?" Trixie nodded. "Trixie did not experience a relationship with her mother. So perhaps she finds the idea attractive? Trixie would love to have met her mom at least once." Celestia's heart felt like it was stabbing with pain, like needles were protruding from her heart and stabbing into her organs. "I thought you didn't like your parents." "No, Trixie doesn't like her father. He is a jerk, and does not deserve her attention." Celestia picked up the towel in her golden aura and got to work in cleaning her some more. Celestia had to think about that. He mind drifting back in time to old memories, ones that influenced her current life, her choices, and her decisions. *** Celestia lay in her bedroom. She had to take a vacation for the last couple months of her pregnancy, but considering her height, and her obsession with cake, she had managed to work through most of the pregnancy without anyone knowing any difference. Of course her partner who had helped create the foal was nowhere to be found, he was a fling, a one time thing but he had not wanted anything to do with this. She figured he would at least want the fame that came from having a daughter that would one day be crowned as a princess. Yet even that had only seemed to scare him away. Well she didn't need him. She didn't need him at all. All she needed were those around her. Which included her faithful student. She looked over at the stallion, his gray fur was covered in scar tissue, fresh scars that were from the attack of the ursa major, the one he had scarified everything to kill... the one that killed his family. He was sitting next to her. Holding the smallest bundle of life she'd ever seen. Wrapped up in a lavender cloth with yellow trim. a tiny blue face poked out of it, eyes closed and sleeping. He was wearing the biggest smile she'd ever seen since he had his daughter. "She's beautiful." Celestia looked down at her baby girl. "She is. She's so beautiful." Shadow Heart looked up at her. "Have you thought of a name yet?" Celestia looked down at the tiny blue creature he held so gently. "I had thought about naming her Luna." "Luna... Luna... oh as in your sister?" "Yes, but my sister is far, far away. I do not wish to curse her with that name." Celestia's memories of her sister Luna. Of the fateful battle that had her sealed on the moon for an eternity, lost away from Celestia forever... one day. One day she would free her sister, she would have too. Even if Luna returned as Nightmare Moon, even if Nightmare Moon killed her, she couldn't keep her sister locked away forever. Her guilt would destroy her. Shadow Heart's voice came out gentle. "Do you want to hold her again?" Celestia nodded. "Please." Shadow Heart carefully handed the tiny foal to Celestia. In her giant legs the foal was so small, so tiny. She was such a fragile little thing, her slumbering face so beautiful it reminded her of the moon. Reminded her of Luna. Celestia giggled softly as she came up with an idea. "Trixie Lulamoon." Shadow Heart purred. "That's a lovely name." Celestia thought back to the last time she had a foal. It was centuries ago. So, so long ago. She had thought she could keep her secret and safe. To live a double life with her baby. Then one day there was an accident, her daughter had been lost in a house collapse. There was no evidence to point to foul play, but she had had her suspicions about a particular noble who wanted more power than he was worth. A king of some gem eyed pegasai. Well she didn't actively seek revenge, but when the changeling horde arrived, she may have arrived later than was strictly possible... no, she couldn’t take grim satisfaction in watching him lose everything he loved, he knew, he held dear. An entire species was wiped out that day. She had arrived late but it was not on purpose, the changelings were smart and had fooled her into thinking the threat was elsewhere. Celestia glanced at Shadow Heart. Her horn lit up and a golden aura covered him. He shivered but once it was gone he relaxed. "You are indeed you." He nodded. "Good call. Please, check me with that changeling detection spell anytime I should leave your sight." She looked down at her baby. The worst possible fate she could ever imagine was something happening to her baby... She glanced at Shadow heart who had recently lost his own family. "Shadow Heart, I need your advice. I've always needed your advice but never needed it more than I do now." He looked at her. "I know what you’re about to ask, Celestia I would be honored to help out. Yet, if I took the child as my own, raised her myself, someone would know. They would assume I was the father." She shivered again. "Well I suppose that is the advice I needed." "And the shadow cult are still seeking a way to free their moon goddess." "Yes, I know." He looked at the tiny foal once more. "I know a way to keep her safe. The same way you did with the last one." "She lived a happy life, never knowing me... yet I watched her, every step of the way. I watched her have kids, her kids have kids." Celestia looked up at the ceiling of the room she was in. Far, far away from the castle, form civilization. "Yes, you are right. This will work. Shadow Heart, take her, please and do not tell me where she goes... I... I can’t know." He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "I will, and I will keep an eye on her. When she is eighteen, I will tell you where she is, and then you can decide if you would like to reveal yourself to her at that time." She nodded. "Thank you, Shadow Heart." Shadow Heart took her baby from him. That was the last time she would see Trixie again for some time. The next time she saw Trixie though, she would recognize her on the spot. *** Years had passed since the events that forced Celestia into wiping the memories of her daughters. Her adopted daughter Twilight and her birth daughter Trixie. it had pained her. It was even worse to know that Shadow Heart had taken her baby and taught her the ways of darkness. To combat it or not, he had still betrayed her trust, betrayed it in such a way she might never forgive him for. She turned him loose in the darkness to search for a book, one that would force her children into alicorns when she felt the time was right for their evolution. That way nopony could hurt them ever again. The memories were strong though, even as she stood there staring at the sun as it set for what might very well be the last time over the world of Equestria. At the very moment her student Twilight, her adopted baby girl was out there making new friends for the first time, and being a crazy silly pony trying to prepare for the end of the world. The end that Celestia couldn't dare tell her the truth too. Nightmare Moon would be freed. But not by some mystical folk lore or legend. No, she would be free because Celestia had made a mistake. She stood on a lone grass hill watching the sunset. Behind her was a mare wearing a hooded cloak. A fragile and frail mare, one that would be easy to snuff out the light of. She had certainly considered it multiple times in the past hour, yet she had not done so. Celestia spoke. "So... you will spare her if I free your goddess." The mare spoke with a cold voice absent of emotion. "The moon goddess shall be free. If you free her now, your daughter will live. If you fail too, she will be freed later, but at the cost of her life. Trixie will die." Celestia cursed her luck. This was the kind of thing that Shadow Heart was here to prevent, he was always stopping these threats before they became real. She wasn't cut out for this anymore. The sun was only just barely a blip on the horizon now. Celestia's horn lit up. "I will do this. I only have one request to ask after you spare her." "You are in no position to make requests." "I think I am, without me your goddess will never be free no matter how many of my children your cult kills." The mare frowned. "What is your request, make it reasonable." Celestia's horn lit up bright. The sun vanished from the sky and the moon appeared. the image of the mare's face in it vanished and the air around her grew suddenly very, very cold. "Please, kill all the members of this dangerous shadow cult." The mare hissed. "This will not happen." Celestia chuckled. "i wasn’t asking you." The mare replied. "Have you lost it? We are the only ones here." A deep, succulent voice purred from behind both of them. "Deer sister, you free me and ask me to murder some evil cult that threatens the safety of my world? No, let me rephrase that. You are giving me the gift of slaughter. I think I will take you up on your promise. My niece will be safe, these silly cultists don't realize that by threatening your daughter, they put my family at risk." Celestia smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Luna... I love you, and I'm sorry." Luna laughed. "No amount or love or apologies will free you from me. Now go to your sun, be locked there for a thousand years. I will keep my niece safe in the meantime." The hooded mare let out a sharp scream of pain as a shadow passed over her. Am moment later she was gone. Never to be seen again. Celestia let out a sigh as the shadow them moved her. "I'm sorry, Twilight. Trixie. I hope you both live happy lives in the moonlight." *** Celestia stood there staring at Trixie. The memories of her past had washed over her, leaving her with the knowledge of why she kept her secrets, but also of how futile they were in the long run. Trixie looked up at her, confused and concerned. "Celestia? is everything okay? You’re crying." Celestia sniffled and wiped a wing at her face clearing it of the tears. "Trixie, I am so very, very sorry for all that I've done to hurt you. I cannot hide my shame anymore." Twilight reached out with a hoof but Celestia took a step away. "Celestia?" Celestia spoke quietly. "Trixie Lula moon, your mother isn't dead. Your birth mother is alive, and she loves you very, very much. She may be a coward, she may be a traitor to her own blasted kingdom. But she loves you... I love you." Trixie blinked. Slowly she began to understand. Her eyes widened. "A-are you trying to tell Trixie, that you, Princess Celestia... are Trixie’s mom? My mommy?" Celestia whimpered. "Yes..." > Chapter Sixty Eight: of Mommy and Memory > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Sixty Eight: of Mommy and Memory Celestia stood there, her heart was pounding out of her chest. Her face was feeling hot. Her breathing was shallow and fast. Trixie just stared up at her with wide almost terrified eyes. She spoke quietly. "Mommy?" Celestia knew there were all kinds of tactical solutions here to fix this. She could say 'just kidding, I’m a horrible pony' she could apologize profusely, 'I’m sorry I dumped you in an orphanage, please hate me now' she could teleport out of there and go cry in Fluttershy’s lap for hours, 'Fluttershy, my baby girl hates me.' Instead of any of those well placed or thought out plans, Celestia chose the best one possible. She hyperventilated, felt dizzy, and then fainted. Yes, the best response to telling a pony who had severe abandonment issues that you were their mother, had had sex with them multiple times now, and caused their abandonment issues to begin with. Oh Celestia never wanted to wake up from this very well thought out and well planned fainting. *** Celestia stared at the letter Twilight had sent her. The only thing she could think in her mind was simple, she found herself repeating the words out loud multiple times as she sat in her room by the fireplace. 'she did what?' The letter was a detailed explanation of the events that transpired once Trixie came to Ponyville wearing the Alicorn Amulet. The destruction she caused. The pain she spread over the town. The heartache left behind. More than that, the way Twilight assumed she was somehow better than Trixie. Of all the stupid, idiot, blasted things that she could see her daughter doing. Turning evil and destroying the town was not one of them. For fudge's sake, Twilight once removed Celestia's leg in a spout of dark magic infused madness. Even that was easier to predict then her daughter getting the Alicorn Amulet and going crazy Sombra all over the entire town. Celestia had to reach out to the only pony she knew that could help her. She had called in the big guns. Both of them. The door flew open and slammed into the wall, both Princess Cadence and Luna ran in. The door shut behind them and they looked at her. Cadence spoke first. "Who hurt Twilight?" Luna replied next. "Who broke your precious rubber ducky?" They looked at one another. Cadence spoke up. "This is code 'oh crap cakes I need help'." Luna nodded. "Yes, the one we use hewn our rubber ducky is destroyed by evil villains." Cadence shook her head. "No, it’s used when Twilight's hurt." Celestia sniffled. Then laid the letter down. Then wailed. "My baby became a super villain! Waahhh!" Cadence and Luna ran over to her. Celestia wept and sobbed as they both took one side and held her tight. She couldn't help it. Her heart was so broken. She failed her daughter numerous times now, this was the absolute worst thing though. She had read the letter. It was the most painful thing she'd ever seen in her life. Like a thousand tiny blades digging into her chest, ripping and tearing at the flesh, the bone and the meat until her heart was left bleeding and exposed. Luna read the letter on the floor. Cadence followed her. Cadence read part of it aloud. "And just because the mare's wagon was destroyed and she was left homeless and forced to work on a rock farm she thought she could come here and destroy the entire town? What gives? What is wrong with this pony?" Cadence’s eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, is Trixie okay?" Luna gasped. "This is the name of your daughter is it not?" Celestia sobbed. She buried her face into Luna’s neck. "I don't know! I ru-ru-ruined her life!" Luna and Cadence wrapped their wings around Celestia and held her tight. Candace purred. "Shh, I'll check on her in a minute. I can find her and I'll make sure she's okay." Celestia shook and trembled. "She can't know who I am. She can't." "I won't let her. I have ways to... encourage safety." Cadence kissed Celestia on the cheek and then walked away. "I'll fix this. No mare was ever dangerous when pregnant after all." Celestia looked at her. "What do you-" Cadence vanished in a puff of magic and pink light. This left Celestia and Luna staring after her. Luna whispered. "That one scares me, she does not really have the power to make ponies pregnant does she?" Celestia sniffled and shook her head. "Of c-course not. Not unless they only recently had s-sexual relations. But my baby is pure and untouched. I'm sure she's a virgin and waiting for the right stallion or mare. So Cadence c-can't make her eggs s-super fertile." Luna nodded. "I agree. If the mare is named after me she is likely just as shy as I am. Lulamoon... such a pretty name." Celestia nuzzled into her sister's neck. "Oh Luna, I’m such a failure of a mom. I hurt her. I abandoned her. She lost her home and her life, and her everything and I'm just so, so awful. Look at this letter, look at how Twilight treats her. They should be sisters, not enemies!" Luna snuggled close to her. "Oh I think sometimes sisters are enemies, we should know that very well. Of course, there is always hope for them to become the best of friends as well." It took nearly an hour but a pink light flashed in the room and Cadence reappeared. "It is done." Celestia looked at her. "What is done? Is she safe?" "Yes, she is safe as safe can be. She will not put herself in danger anymore, and I even helped steer her in the right direction for ultimate safety. Give it... three weeks? Yeah, three weeks tops and she will be living with Twilight Sparkle and the two of them will be happy as can be." "R-really?" "Yes. Until then I will keep an eye on her. She's in a hotel right now, I've got my... staff, watching her. Feeding her, and treating her well. She doesn't even know that I exist." Cadence giggled. "Oh she's going to be such a wonderful addition to our family." Celestia swallowed. "Thank you." "Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you can call her your baby girl and she can call you mommy." Celesta didn’t think that would ever happen, but she had some small, tiny hope that maybe, just maybe one day it could. That her baby girl would be happy, friends with Twilight, and able to call her mommy. Though it wouldn’t be safe for her to know who Celestia was. No, not ever. Celestia sniffled but she was already feeling better. Cadence’s horn lit up and three tubs of cake flavored ice-cream appeared beside her. "Now, who's ready for some feel bad ice cream?" Celestia smiled. "m-me." The rest of that night was spent eating ice cream, crying, and then eventually violating Cadence’s marriage to Shining armor... the last one Celestia could at least say was a pre-existing condition and part of the nuptial contract he signed. It still felt awkward without him there. Maybe they would invite him next time. A little family bonding never hurt any pony, point in fact, Celestia found that family were much better at these... tasks, than other stranger ponies. There was a saying she was fond of after all, incest runs in the family. *** Celestia woke up to feeling something cool brushing against her forehead. Her body ached and her cheeks felt wet and cold. She lay there, her eyes closed and her mind lingering on old memories for some minutes as she listened to the world around her. She heard breathing, and whispering, and the sound of air whooshing nearby followed by the gentle breeze that cooled her face. Trixie's voice came out gentle and quiet. "How long will she be like this?" Twilight replied. "Honestly, I have no idea. I know I got my panic attacks from her, but I haven't seen her have one since the last time some pony made a sugar free cake." "Really, over that?" Trixie let out a sigh of disappointment. "Of all the ponies in the world, Trixie’s mother is the biggest lame pony... hehehehe, Trixie’s mommy... Trixie has a mommy." Celestia's mind slowly began to remember why she was currently laying on a hard surface and passed out. Tactical fainting. Worked every time... okay no, it never worked, not even once. Though at the very least she could say she was warm there, there was a soft pillow under her heat that smelled like Trixie and a warm blanket over her back tucked into her sides. Sooner or later though, she'd have to open her eyes and face the music. The music of the situation she put herself in. This was all her fault. The blame belonged to nopony else. None at all. All the things she shoved deep down, all the pain, the doubt, and the fear all shoved down into her chest making her feel like she was going to die. Yet she wasn't that lucky, she was immortal after all. Slowly Celestia opened her eyes and looked around. Trixie was sitting in front of her, holding a fan in her lavender aura and waving it at Celestia's face. Twilight was over by the fireplace boiling a pot of water on it. Trixie wasn't looking at her, but the way she looked had Celestia confused. Trixie was smiling. Trixie glanced over at Celestia and their eyes met. Celestia quickly closed her eyes shut tight. Trixie giggled. "Oh my gosh! She’s awake. Mommy, you’re awake." Celestia cracked an eye open. "W-why do you sound happy about that?" "Because I get to talk to you now!" Trixie giggled. "Oh we have so much to talk about. Oh, oh, can you teach me to braid my hair?" Twilight groaned. "Trixie, you already know how to do that." "I want mommy to teach me!" Celestia looked up at her. "You... you sound happy?" "I am happy! Oh I'm so happy. Oh, oh! You’re going to be a grandma! Grandma Celestia! Oh Mommy! This is going to be so happy. We'll be one big happy family!" Celestia raised her head. Oh she felt like her entire body and head was in pain. Yet her heart felt light and fluffy. "You really don’t hate me?" Trixie shook her head. "Of course not. Do you know how many years I’ve wanted to meet you? And, and to think you and me already knew each other. Oh this is even better than the way I always imagined it." Celestia stared up at her. She moved her leg and found it wasn't able to move. there was something soft, but strict restraining her legs. She couldn’t' see under the thick red blanket very well but she saw some kind of red silk rope around her legs tying her down. Did... did Trixie really think that tying her up would work. Celestia channeled some magic to her horn and felt... nothing. Nothing at all. Okay, now she was starting to panic. "Trixie... why am I tied up?" Trixie stared at her. "Oh Mommy, can you call me baby? Or sweetie, or, or whatever you'd call your baby?" Celestia smiled as warmly as she could. "My little moon, could you tell me why I'm tied up?" Trixie grinned. "Oh, Luna came over and helped with that. I'm so happy your here. Unlike my dad, who ditched me and basically told me he would call the cops if I tried to talk to him again. You actually stayed here, you made love to me, you care about me. I'm so, so happy... but I also realize that we're going to have to have a serious talk. A very serious one." Celestia couldn't help but notice that Trixie was speaking in the first person for quite a long time now. She wasn't going to mention it, but she was starting to think that perhaps the third person speech was connected to her abandonment issues. Still... to tie up the ruler of Equestria and to... "Where is my magic." Twilight called out. "Magic blocking ring on your horn. That was my idea. I'll have tea for us in a minute, promise." Oh... crap, Twilight was in on it too. Celestia cleared her throat. "Okay, well I love you, Trixie. You’re my little moon." "Yay!" Trixie clapped her hooves together. "Okay, real talk now. Tell me how you feel about Fluttershy, do you love her? Do you plan to marry her? Is she going to be my step mom? Oh that might be kind of weird." Celestia thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. Yes, yes she would have rather been captured by Queen Chrysalis and trapped in a changeling cocoon than answer any of those questions. Too bad that was never going to happen. She resigned herself to her fate. "Okay, let's talk. I think I really like her, maybe love her. I don't know about marriage… I’m more into harems myself, but harems need more than just one Pegasus… and no, even if I do marry her she won't be your step mom because that would be weird." > Chapter Sixty Nine: Of Mommy and Marriage > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is Pregnant Chapter Sixty Nine: Of Mommy and Marriage Celestia let out a sigh of defeat. She was still tied up, but they were at least ginning her a straw to drink green tea from. Luna had come in and joined them at some point, she had dragged her boyfriend Big Mac in here to watch her humiliation. In addition to this, Trixie had asked some of the strangest, oddest, and weirdest questions she had ever heard in her life. Anything from what her favorite color was, to if she thought Trixie was more sexy with her mane in a ponytail or not. Eventually the question of Cadence came up and Celestia could finally reveal the scenario behind Trixie's arrival and stay here. At least what little of it she knew. She expected Trixie to be upset, but instead it only made her smile more. Trixie rubbed at her baby belly and giggled. "Trixie is pregnant because you were heartbroken over Trixie's distress... heartbroken and asked Cadence to help out. You got your daughter pregnant to make her feel better and keep her safe. You are the best mommy in the whole world." Celestia blinked. "The way you phrased that makes it sound like I am the most evil villain of all time." Trixie giggled. "Oh no, you are perfect. We're all such a big happy family. We only need Cadence and Shining Armor here to make it perfect." Twilight was sitting next to Trixie and wrapped a leg around her waist. "So... you ready to ask the big favor?" Trixie smiled. "Yes. Yes, and more yes." Trixie looked at Celestia. "Will you marry us?" Celestia blinked. "I... yes, yes I will." Trixie and Twilight smiled. Luna let out a soft chuckle and Big Mac just looked awkward. A couple of minutes of silence went by, Celestia drank from her tea nad pulled at her restraints. Darn it, Luna was good with these things. They didn't hurt at all, in fact she had tied one between Celestia's legs that was feeling quite... nice. Yet there was no way she could escape from these. Twilight cleared her throat. "Celestia, you said you would marry us." Celestia nodded. "And I will." Trixie looked from side to side. "Um... forgive Trixie for being awkward, but are you not supposed to say some things now, like 'do you take so and so to be your blah blah'?" Celestia stared at them. Then she started to realize what they were all waiting for. She nearly spat her tea out as she started coughing. "You can't be serious, you want me to marry you right now? No build up, no ceremony, just me marrying you right now?" Twilight nodded. "We have thought about it, a lot. We will have a public wedding as well. But we don't want to be in the same situation Fluttershy and Rainbow had." Celestia spoke up. "I can wait, even if we do this tomorrow I can wait for the proper set up." Twilight blinked. "You can? I didn't think you'd want to be tied up that long." Celestia glared at her. "What do you mean?" Luna laughed. "We mean you’re going to be tied up until you marry them. If you'd rather wait a day or two for the proper set up you can. We’ll help clean you when you go to the rest room and feed you and everything until then." Celestia wriggled. "You little! I'm gonna get you for this!" It was useless though she was trapped here. Forced into marrying her step daughter, and birth daughter then and there. No chance to run away and hide. She let out a sigh and after couple of minutes of struggling had to give in. "I will do this but you better free me the moment I am done." Trixie smiled. "Of course we will, mommy." Celestia growled. "Trixie, do you take Twilight Sparkle to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Trixie nodded. "I do!" Celestia looked at Twilight, trying to do her best to tell her with her eyes alone that she was not going to forget this anytime soon. "Do you, Twilight Sparkle, take Trixie to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do." "Good, I now pronounce you homosexuals, you may kiss the gay." Luna huffed. "Oh come now, be serious, your more gay then either of them." "Fine. I now pronounce you two completely insane, you may now kiss the clinically crazy." Twilight glared at her. "Celestia! You owe us this." "Fine!" Celestia let out a sigh. "i now pronounce you two wife and wife, you may now kiss your bride." Trixie practically threw herself at Twilight, their lips meeting in a deep, wet and noisy kiss. One that... didn't stop. Once Trixie was on top of Twilight and the kissing involved tongues. She realized this was probably where she should leave. She looked at Luna. "I think they need some privacy." Luna nodded. "I agree. Come with me." She and Big Mac stood up and walked away. Celestia was left there. "Luna... Luna! Untie me darn it! LUNA GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!" Luna and Big Mac left her alone, tied up and forced to watch as Twilight and Trixie consummated their new marriage... Celestia would ask what she did to deserve this, but honestly she already knew the long, long list of sins she had committed. She accepted her punishment, she just wished she had some popcorn for the show. *** Rarity was in her boutique, Applejack was nearby along with Spike. Applejack was wearing the most amazing black and white dress that Rarity had ever conceived of. Lace running all over the place, heart shaped cuts on her flanks, and the way it hugged close to that masculine figure was enough to make Rarity consider tearing the dress off of her and digging into the sweet apple pie hidden beneath it. Spike was here otherwise she might actually go through with this plan. Spike handed her some more black lace. "Rarity, I think you should trim up the part on her midsection." She looked. "Where?" He pointed. "There." "Oh Spike, there's nothing wrong with... oh... right. Okay thank you for pointing that out." She got to work fixing a tiny, miniscule error that nopony else would have caught in a million years. Yet Spike seemed to have an eye for such things. It really did make him a great assistant. Of course she would have liked to have more but alas, Twilight almost murdered her for that once. Applejack stood there but she was looking impatient. "Rares, as much as Ah like being yer dressup toy, this has been going on fer almost two hours now." Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "oh, my Applepie, don't worry about it. We're almost... almost..." Something scratched at the back of her skull. Rarity's ear flopped down, her eye twitched and her tail uncoiled itself sticking out straight on end, and then recoiled itself. Finally she sneezed. Applejack and Spike stared at her in abject horror. Rarity's perfect smile faltered, and she found herself letting out a low, dangerous growl as she interpreted the signs of that... Rarity Sense. Applejack whispered. "What uh... what just happened?" Spike took several steps back. "Oh crap, don't tell me... someone just got married without telling her. I've this before, but I'm not sure what the sneeze means. If it was a cough it would Pinkie, a blink Fluttershy, but a sneeze..." His eyes widened and he ran to the door screaming, "Twilight! Run!" Applejack took a step back. Rarity's horn lit up and several pins shot right into the floor next to Applejack's hoof. Rarity hissed, "Now, now, darling. Do not move an inch while you wear my new creation. I wouldn't want you doing something to hurt it, or yourself." Applejack swallowed. "Please don't hurt me." "I won't hurt you. I love you." Rarity cackled. "But Twilight and Trixie... no, no I won't hurt them either. In fact let them betray my trust like this. Friends forgive each other for such things don't they?" Applejack simply swallowed. "I asked you a question." "A-Ah think so..." Rarity nodded. She reached out with a hoof and stroked that soft, warm cheek of Applejack. She met those wide, terrified eyes. "That's a good girl, yes, friends forgive each other. So I'll let them enjoy consummating their marriage in peace. However, starting tomorrow, we will have bells, dresses, and if Celestia wills it fire." "W-what's the fire for?" "For their marriage of course. Their public marriage, I will plan, dress, and explode everything!" Applejack simply stood there and swallowed. "R-Rarity, yer scaring me." Rarity looked at her. "Hush, shhh, don't be scared. You didn't betray me. You have always been mine." "And Ah might have peed a little." "That’s also fine, I will clean up the... in... my dress?" Applejack nodded. Rarity's eye twitched. This time not from Rarity Sense, but from pure, boiling rage that she somehow kept inside. "Please, darling, take that dress off... now." As Applejack got undressed Rarity walked over to the wall covered in a nice red tarp, turned around and then kicked it as hard as she possibly could. The entire tarp waved and wiggled just enough to reveal a few more of these hoof sized holes in her wall. There, much better. Now she could focus on cleaning up the mess. She looked at Applejack who was only halfway out of her dress and looking at her like a scared cat... oh, the mess was larger now. "And here I thought it was Trixie's job to make a mess out of my floor." Rarity let out a sigh. "Just, go lay down on the couch and stop looking scared. I do not hurt ponies when angry, I am neither Pinkie Pie or Twilight Sparkle. I destroy reputations, decorations, and walls." Oh the plans she had for those two though. If they dared to fight back, well she had some dirt on them that might help convince them to agree to her mad, beautiful wedding plans. For now though, she was going to grab the mop and bucket. > Chapter Seventy: of Happily Everafter and Harems Everlasting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie is pregnant Chapter Seventy: of Happily Everafter and Harems Everlasting It had been nearly a year since Trixie and Twilight got married in what may be one of the most unorthodox marriages ever heard of. Of course since then she has spent the time getting to know her mother Princess Celestia, living with Twilight, and spending time with her new family the Apples. When the time did finally come to give birth the most magical, best, and beautiful little colt named Apple Butter came into this world. Soon after that Trixie realized she had two parents trying to figure out how to make this who situation work. In fact Twilight and Big Mac were still trying to figure it out, but Trixie cared not for she had her wife, her baby, her baby’s daddy, and even her mother… oh and her aunt Luna… Incest had already happened in this family she wasn’t going to try and question how mucked up the marriage between Big Mac and Luna was going to be for their family tree. It could not be that horrible… okay so yeah, her aunt did marry the father of her baby but that’s… uh… Auntie Step-mom Luna… There were some days Trixie almost lamented giving up on hard alcohol... Almost. At the very least she can say for certain now that the Alicorn Amulet seems to have had little to no ill effect on her baby. Apple Butter was moving around and doing just fine in fact. But there were still other things for her to consider. As Trixie stared at the pile of lavender feathers that covered the bed. She realized those concerns were far more grave than she considered. She sucked in a deep breath and then hollered at the top of her lungs. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” One bright pink flash of teleporting light later and Twilight was in their bedroom. “Trixie, what’s wrong?” Trixie jabbed a hoof toward the bed and hissed through clenched teeth. “What do ‘you’ think is wrong miss smartypants?” “First off, my name is not miss smartypants that was my doll. Second, I don’t see a problem.” “You are shedding! In the bed! Again!” “I am not! I was preening!” Twilight did a double take and then cringed. “Oh… but uh, that is quite the mess.” “How is Trixie supposed to be the best house wife in Equestria if you are going to shed all over her nice bed and ruin all of her work. Please clean this mess and find a better place to ‘preen’ thank you.” Twilight lowered her head a little. “Sorry… sorry. Being an alicorn is weird now. I still haven’t gotten used to it.” “I know love. Neither have I. As fun as those wing tips are in bed, those feathers are quite the mess to clean. I do not look forward to the day that Celestia turns me into a goddess.” “Well hopefully that’s not for some time. I want more babies.” Trixie blinked. “M-more?” “Yes, I found a spell that will turn me into a fully functional stallion, and I want to have a HUGE family. I’m thinking like ten of them.” Trixie sat down, looked at the bed, then back to Twilight. “Well… Apple Butter is over at their dad’s for the weekend… want to start making a bigger family?” Twilight’s horn lit up, and in mere moment’s Trixie could see her full standing devotion toward the idea. “Let me make up for the mess.” “Trixie loves you.” “I love you too.” *** Celestia had to be honest with herself. She’s made lots of mistakes. More than she could ever truly account for. But she and Fluttershy had come up with a single plan to try and fix something for once. It may not work but it was better than doing nothing. She had gathered Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash altogether in a room with her in the local pony inn. A place she also just so happened to own but that was not on the table, she was hoping all three of these mares would be though. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were still blinking at her offer. Clearly taken aback and slightly confused by it. But she watched as realization and understanding slowly filled Rainbow’s eyes. Rainbow Dash coughed a few times clearing her throat. “A-are you serious?” Pinkie Pie nodded. “Really, truly, very, serious?” Celestia smiled and placed a hoof on her chest floof. “I am. There are rules, regulations, and of course responsibilities, but I will take care of all of them so we can focus on fun and love, not boring tidbits.” Rainbow let out as sigh. “It’s been like… a year. My heart was destroyed.” Celestia reached out with a wing tip. “I know, but we have spent the last year trying to prove to you that this will not happen again. You will be loved. Only loved.” Rainbow glanced at Pinkie. “I’m… well I’m down for this if you are?” Pinkie Pie gasped. “I didn’t want to say anything since you might say no, but like, this has always been my dream!” Rainbow smiled and looked at Celestia’ “We’ll do it. Me and Pinkie will join the Royal Harem.” Celestia smiled. “Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, you are all now in the royal harem, to celebrate, I have a rather considerably large bed for us to… cement this new found relationship.” Needless to say Celestia was happy, and the rest of this day was going to get hot, even for her the goddess of the sun… of course she was going to have to explain that ‘royal harem’ included a few other members of royalty but that came later. The end