Twilight Sparkle was on the edge of her seat, both figuratively and literally. Sweat was running down her head as her brain was working overtime, trying to make sense of the ridiculous situation it had been presented with. She had tried looking at the problem from every available angle, used every mathematical formula she knew of, and even consulted a dozen books, but was still no closer to solving the mystery. At one point she had tried contacting an expert, but the only response she received was that it was useless, and she should just give up. But Twilight refused to give up! No matter what her books or that expert say, there had to be a way! Twilight refused to believe that she was about to lose to the likes of Pinkie Pie!

“Twilight, I think you’re running out of time,” Pinkie said as she watched her foe with mild amusement. “Wowzers, you were right! This game is hard on the brain! I’m gonna need twice as much sugar than I usually have tonight.”

Pinkie’s comment didn’t register with Twilight. All she could focus on was the fact that Pinkie Pie, a self-proclaimed beginner, was just one move away from putting her in checkmate. And no matter what strategy Twilight came up with, no matter how hard she thought, the result would always be the same.

‘How did I not see this happening?!’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘I thought Pinkie was just making sloppy, amateurish moves, but all this time she’s been setting up for this endgame! What kind of secret genius is she?’

“Twilight, the clock-”

“OKAY!” Twilight exclaimed, using her magic to grab her final pawn and move it forward one square. ‘Here goes nothing… Might as well just get it over wit-’

“Aha! Got you now!” Pinkie exclaimed as she moved her bishop to claim Twilight’s last pawn.

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she beheld Pinkie with an expression of shock, and slight rage. ‘S-She just wasted a perfectly good opportunity to trap my King! What’s more, now I have an opening to counter-attack! Do you mean to tell me… after all this time…’ “You really didn’t see it?”

“See what? That I just got your last lil’ guy?”

If Twilight’s hoof connected with her face any harder, she would have been at risk of gaining a concussion. ‘Of course… I should have known it was just all dumb luck that the pieces ended up that way.’ Breathing a heavy, calming sigh, Twilight composed herself, and moved her King back one square. “Okay, you’re move.”

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike called out from behind the purple mare. “Isn’t Rainbow’s train gonna be here soon?”

Twilight and Pinkie both turned their attention to the clock hanging on the wall beside them. “He’s right!” Pinkie said with a gasp. “We’ve gotta get to the station so we can welcome Dash back and get our souvenirs!” Pinkie noticed the look that Twilight was giving her and gave a sheepish grin. “Mostly to welcome her back, though.”

“You’re right. We should put this game on-hold for now.” Twilight used her magic to stop her gaming clock and to create a force field to cover the board. “Spike, could you grab the letters Rainbow Dash had forwarded here?”

“Sure can,” Spike said with a salute, turning around and running upstairs to their bedroom. When he returned a few moments with a small box of envelopes in his claws, Twilight used her magic to place the box on top of her back. “Why does she have so many letters, anyway?”

“I’d wager most of them are from her fan club,” Twilight answered with a role of her eyes. “Did you notice how many of them had hearts? That means that they’re either from her fan club, or…”

“… Or what?” Spike asked, noticing that Twilight seemed to have trailed off.

“Er, well… let’s just say that Rainbow Dash attracts more than just the admiration of children…”

Noticing the confused look on Spike’s face, Pinkie Pie decided to help out by explaining things more clearly. “She gets lots of letters from ponies that wanna take her out for a night on the town!”

Spike immediately understood what they were saying. “Ooooh…” When he gave it a bit of time to sink in, he made a gagging expression. “Gross.”

Twilight giggled as she made her way towards the library door. “You won’t think the same when you’re older, and those dragon hormones of yours start to kick… in…” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Come to think of it, I wonder when that will even be?”

After a long moment of silence passed, where Twilight simply stood still, assuming her ‘deep thinking’ pose, and Pinkie Pie simply stood still, looking like a statue, Spike decided to speak up. “Uh, Twilight?”

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts, remembering what she was supposed to be doing. “Er, right! Well then, to the train station!” The three friends left the library and began to make their way towards the nearby train station, where they could already see their other friends waiting for them.

“Still, if Dash of all ponies starts to get all lovey-dovey and mushy…” Spike shuddered at the very thought of it. “I need some guy friends.”

“Well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Twilight told him. “I can’t picture Rainbow Dash settling down just yet. She strikes me as the kind who likes to fly freely, without another pony tying her down.”

“The fierce wind that cannot be tamed!” Pinkie exclaimed, grinning widely.

“Er, yeah. Let’s go with that.” As the three arrived at the train station’s platform, they were greeted by their other friends. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were all waiting together for the train to arrive. “Hi everypony,” Twilight greeted cheerfully as she approached her friends.

“Afternoon, Twi,” Applejack responded as she turned to face the purple mare. “Train should be gettin’ here any second now. And boy, have we got news for y’all!”

“Oh?”

“We’ll tell you after Rainbow Dash is here,” Rarity said, exchanging a smile with Applejack. “This is something we want everypony here for to announce.”

“Oh, here it comes,” Fluttershy informed everyone, pointing a hoof towards the train approaching the station. She turned her attention to the pink pony standing at the ready with her party canon facing where the train would pull into the station. “Um, Pinkie Pie, I don’t think you should stand so close to the-”

“Oh, it’ll be fine!” Pinkie Pie reached into her canon and pulled out a football helmet to place onto her head. “See? Pinkie Pie always thinks of safety first, and fun a very close second!”

A purple glow around Pinkie Pie and her party canon pulled the two away from the edge of the platform, placing them beside Twilight as the train began to pull into the station. Pinkie pouted, but then quickly recovered as the train’s doors began to open. After a few ponies left the train, the one that the six friends were waiting for came out next… only, she was wearing something that took all of them by surprise. The rainbow-maned mare herself was also surprised by the sudden stream of confetti blown her way.

“Oh, hey guys!” she said to everypony after the initial shock of being suddenly assaulted by colourful pieces of paper was out of the way. “Uh… what’s up?”

The five mares all looked at each other, hoping that somepony would step up and ask what Rainbow Dash was doing wearing the hat and cape that belonged to a certain showmare that they were all familiar with. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to, as Spike was quick to step up to the plate.

“Uh, Dash? What’s with the clothes?”

The pony looked at her purple cape, and then back up to the six friends. “Ah, right. These.” She motioned a hoof over her cape, covering the entirety of her body, and her hat, lowered so that it obscured a good portion of her face. “Actually, I have a surprise for all of you.”

Pinkie Pie gasped and hopped closer to her friend. “You got us some of Baltimare’s unbeatable out-of-this-world so yummy it’ll make you weep with joy fudge?!”

The blue pony took a step back from Pinkie Pie’s sudden closeness and hyperactivity. “Uh… no.” Pinkie Pie deflated and backed away solemnly. “Actually, something… kinda cool happened during my trip.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Something seemed off, besides the hat and cape of course, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. “Something involving… you-know-who, I’m guessing?”

“Er, yeah… Y’see, I kinda met Trixie in Baltimare, and I… Um… I kinda lost a bet against her, so now I’m her…” The blue mare trailed off into a mumble, which clearly fell on deaf ears from the looks she got from the five mares and one dragon in front of her. “I’m her… s-servant… I-It’s just a stupid lil’ wager thing, it’ll only last a little while.”

“Ye’re Trixie’s servant?” Applejack asked, her eyes wide with surprise. “What exactly do y’all mean by that?”

“Uh, you know… Helping her set up her shows, fetching her drinks… massaging her stupid back…”

“She can’t make you do that!” Rarity protested.

“I lost a bet. I don’t really have much choice.”

“Well then, how about we make a bet of our own?” Applejack asked, looking around the platform area. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Oh, she’s getting her trailer from a car further down. She should be here in-” The sound of a firework being set of startled everyone present. “… Now.”

The group of friends turned to see a familiar wooden structure moving their way. It was… dirtier than the last time they remembered seeing it, and seemed to be on its last legs, but it was unmistakeably the trailer that belonged to the one and only showmare who had passed through not so long ago, wielding an amulet that gave her incredible powers, and caused stirred quite a bit of chaos within the town.

Twilight was the first to approach the trailer, her friends following to show that they had her back. Flaring her wings and clearing her throat, Twilight announced in an authoritative tone: “Trixie! We know you’re in there, and we want to challenge you for Rainbow Dash’s freedom!” There was no response for a few seconds. “Well?”

Finally, the door to Trixie’s trailer opened up, and the six friends backed up as they prepared to come face-to-face with…

“R-Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, beholding the rainbow-maned, blue-coated Pegasus now standing before her, looking down at her friends with barely-contained laughter… which then broke out completely.

“Oh wow, I can’t believe that actually worked!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, falling onto her back and holding her stomach as she continued to laugh so much her sides began to hurt. “You thought… You thought I had actually gambled my own freedom away? Man, you guys are so gullible!”

“Hold on, ah don’t understand,” Applejack said, turning to her friends. “If that’s Dash, then who’s that?” she asked as she turned to the other blue-coated pony standing behind them.

Twilight also turned to face her, a deadpan look on her face as she figured it out. “You can’t be serious.”

A cloud of smoke emerged around the mare, hiding her from sight as she channelled some magic into her spell. She felt her mane changing and used her magic to remove the dye she had put into it, and also to remove the lighting effect she had put into her coat to make it match the same shade as Rainbow Dash’s. Finally, she removed the earpiece that was connected to Rainbow Dash’s microphone and cancelled her voice-manipulation spell.

As the smoke vanished, standing before the group of friends in a proud, confident pose with a victorious look on her face, was none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie herself. “Trixie told you not to doubt her abilities, Dashie. Even your friends could not see through her flawless disguise.”

“I still say you got my accent wrong, and you kept adding words I never said,” Rainbow Dash said, extending her wings and flying over to Trixie. “Not to mention you got my colours completely wrong. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have pink in my mane.”

Trixie waved a hoof. “That was not pink, it was light-red.”

“Uh, guys?” The two stopped their private conversation and turned to face the six unfortunate victims of their little prank. Five of the faces they saw were either shock, confusion, or a mix of both. Twilight seemed to have an exasperated, yet curious look. It was Spike who had called out to them. “What’s the deal? Why’re you and Trixie… acting like friends?”

“An’ what was the big idea trickin’ us all like that?” Applejack asked, coming out of her surprise and starting to feel a little angry at her friend, partially for worrying her, but mostly because she couldn’t believe that Rainbow Dash would pull a prank literally the moment she returned to Ponyville. ‘Though ah guess ah should’ve expected it, ta be honest.’

“Oh, that. Juuuust a little wager me and Trixie had,” Rainbow Dash explained. “She thought she could easily trick you all into thinking she was me, and I told her there was no way you guys’d fall for it.” Rainbow Dash suddenly crossed her forelegs and narrowed her eyes at her friends. “Thanks for that, by the way. Nice to know you guys know your friend so well.”

Fluttershy timidly rose a hoof. “Um, I… kind of thought that she was acting a little off for Rainbow Dash, but I… I didn’t want to say anything and risk offending you, so I-”

“So you’re not her slave or anything then?” Pinkie Pie asked, receiving a shake from Rainbow’s head. “Shoot! I was gonna throw you a ‘Rainbow got her freedom back’ party!”

Rainbow Dash and Trixie exchanged knowing grins, and moved closer together as the former wrapped a wing around her partner’s body. “Actually, Pinkie Pie, you might still get that party after all. ‘Cause Trixie and I are actually…” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, considering how to best word this. “… Going out,” she decided to settle on.

She was very amused by the reactions that it received. With the exception of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, her friends seemed to have been turned to stone… In fact, Rainbow Dash entertained the idea of drawing moustaches onto each of them, until she saw Spike throw a claw into his face and shake his head with a groan. “I need more guy friends…”

After shaking Applejack and Rarity to free them from their shock-induced paralysis, dumping some water over Twilight to cool her down, and allowing Pinkie Pie to explode from joy, Rainbow Dash decided to help Trixie move her trailer to a nice spot somewhere in Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie had run off to prepare for a party that was to take place that evening, and the others, bar Fluttershy, who was just as agreeable as Rainbow Dash had predicted, each said that they needed some time to let the news sink in… but all offered their congratulations nonetheless.

After finding a nice spot just on the edge of Ponyville, in a lot that had been empty for so long that the mayor had pretty much given up on trying to sell it, the two decided to take a quick break before exploring Ponyville together.

“Well, that went well,” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the trailer, closing the door behind her. “At least no big disasters happ-”

“Went well my hoof!” Trixie exclaimed as soon as the door was shut. “That prank may have helped to calm Trixie’s nerves a little bit, but the Great and Powerful Trixie thinks she may have overestimated her own heart! She thought for sure that a fight would break out at any second, and then Trixie would have to leave you after only a day of us… being together…”

Rainbow Dash was surprised, to say the least, to see Trixie acting this way. The showmare always had a calm, cool appearance, even when hungry or tired. It occurred to Rainbow Dash that maybe Trixie was just putting on a tough front all those times, to protect herself from others, but if that were the case, why drop that defence now?

‘Does she… Is she showing me her true self because she trusts me?’ Rainbow shook her head. ‘No way. We only agreed to go steady yesterday, there’s no way she can have that much faith in me… right?’

“The pink and yellow ones aside, the rest of your friends didn’t seem all that thrilled to hear the news of you dating Trixie.”

“Aah, they’ll be fine,” Rainbow said in a confident tone. “They just need some time to think it over ‘cause they’re eggheads… and Applejack. Trust me, if they didn’t start a fight with you when they first saw you, you’re in the clear.”

Trixie scoffed. “Do not underestimate what lengths ponies will go through to humiliate others. Maybe they just want to wait until you’re not around, have you ever considered that?”

Rainbow Dash grabbed a hold of Trixie’s shoulders and gave the Unicorn a stern look. “Look, if it was somepony else, I’d have made sure that wouldn’t happen. But these are my friends, Trixie, and I trust them.”

“… But they-”

“But nothing. I’d trust them with my life if I had to. Isn’t that enough for you to trust them, too?”

Trixie was silent for a few seconds as she thought about it. “Trixie… cannot trust them that easily,” she said, quickly continuing when she saw Rainbow Dash about to speak up. “But Trixie will put her faith in what you say about them, for now.”

Deciding that that was the best she was going to get out of her, Rainbow decided to accept it and release the showmare. Trixie, however, had other plans, and used her magic to force Rainbow’s forelegs to lock around her neck. “Hey, I thought you wanted to see Ponyville.”

“It can wait. If we’re going to this party later, then the Great and Powerful Trixie demands your attention now.” Trixie leaned forward and locked her lips with Rainbow Dash’s, closing her eyes as she opened up and sent her tongue into action.

Rainbow Dash pulled away for a moment to speak. “Wasn’t our time in the train enough for ya?” she asked before going back in.

Trixie pulled back. “Not by a long shot. You have quite an addictive taste, Rainbow Dash.”

The two continued their tongue-wrestling session for a few minutes, with Trixie trying her hoof at toying with Rainbow’s wings, and Rainbow Dash offering guidance to the inexperienced mare on what parts felt good and which parts were painful.

When the time came that Trixie wanted to move onto the main event, Rainbow Dash stopped her and backed away. “Hold on.”

“What now?” Trixie asked in an annoyed tone. “Anypony would feel lucky to have the Great and Powerful Trixie even consider touching them in such a way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, the sarcasm heavy in her voice. “I was just thinking, we’ve got the party after this, right?” Trixie nodded. “Well, my place has a shower. If we’re gonna continue, I think it should be there.”

Trixie considered the proposal, and then nodded in agreement. “Fine, just let Trixie cast the cloud-walking spell…” Trixie’s horn lit up, soon followed by her hooves. When the light faded, Rainbow Dash grinned and lunged at Trixie. “WAH!” Trixie was caught off guard as Rainbow Dash swept her off of her hooves, grabbing and carrying her in her forelegs as she flew out of Trixie’s trailer and into the air. “RAINBOW DASH, WARN TRIXIE BEFORE YOU DO THAT!”

“It’s your own fault!” Rainbow Dash responded. “You made me impatient! Just hold on tight! We’ll be there soon!”

Trixie did indeed hold onto Rainbow Dash as they flew… for all of three seconds, before she realised how stupid she must have looked, and quickly let go, taking advantage of the wind blowing her mane to hide her red face from the Pegasus carrying her.

Later that day, down at the Golden Oaks Library, Rarity arrived with the intention of helping her friends set up the party to congratulate Rainbow Dash on her newfound love… only to find that the job had already been done, with the once quaint and quiet place now looking like the aftermath of a children’s birthday party.

“Oh my,” she said as she stepped inside, getting the attention of everypony else present, which was everypony except for the guests of honour. “I’m terribly sorry, girls. If I had known you would be here sooner, I would have also left early to help you all set things up.”

“Think nothin’ of it,” Applejack said, walking over to Rarity and laying a gentle nuzzle on her cheek. “It was already like this when ah got here, an’ ah was the first ta arrive.”

“Pinkie set it all up on her own,” Twilight said, giving the pink mare a mild glare. “Whilst I was busy preparing the checklist for setting up a surprise party that she completely ignored.”

Pinkie Pie, wearing a fake moustache and a hardhat, with a mug of coffee in one hoof, responded: “Leave it to the professionals, Twilight.” She took a sip of her coffee and gave a pleasant sigh. “This may just be my best party yet. Or, maybe tied second with that time Spike lost his last baby tooth. Or tied fifth with the time I thought Sweetie Belle found her Cutie Mark but it turned out I was just dreaming? Boy, was my face red after that! Hey, speaking of faces turning red, anypony remember when-”

“So, any idea when Rainbow Dash and… you-know-who, will arrive?” Rarity asked Twilight, cutting off Pinkie’s rambling in the background.

“Well,” Twilight began, “The party is scheduled to start in fifteen minutes, but knowing Rainbow Dash, that doesn’t mean a thing to her. She has a tendency to just show up whenever she feels like it.”

“True that,” Applejack said, nodding her head along with Rarity and Fluttershy. “Why, the amount of times we arranged ta meet up for a race an’ then she shows up late…”

“Or all of the times she agreed to model for my new fashion line and then never shows up at all,” Rarity said, huffing a kicking a stomping a hoof onto the floor.

“She, uh… She’s better now, but in Flight School, she used to cut class with me to go watch the Wonderbolts.”

“You?!” Rarity asked, completely shocked by the revelation. “Fluttershy darling, you used to cut class? That I can hardly believe.”

“Lemme guess: she dragged ya along without asking ya, didn’t she?” Applejack asked, but her only response was Fluttershy averting her eyes and scuffing a hoof against the floor. “Ah thought so. Anyway, what’re we all gonna do ‘bout… y’know…”

“Well I think-” Twilight began, only to be cut off by a knock at the door. “She’s here early?”

“Makes sense,” Applejack said. “A Pinkie party means best cake in all of Ponyville, after all.”

“Now remember, girls, this is really important to Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said in a stern tone, though she wasn’t sure if anypony had actually heard her. “S-So I think we should… show our support and… and even if you-”

“Hey guys!” Rainbow Dash greeted as Twilight opened the door. “What’s up?”

Rainbow Dash walked into the library, followed by Trixie, who once again struck out to Twilight. This time it wasn’t her odd way of speaking whilst acting like Rainbow Dash, but something about her seemed strange. Twilight couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, though.

“This place is a little cramped for a party, isn’t it?” Trixie asked, looking around and examining the main room of the library. “And isn’t a library an odd place for this sort of event anyway?”

“Well Twilight lives here,” Rainbow Dash said. “So it’s also her house.”

“And Sugarcube Corner can’t be used tonight ‘cause the twins are taking their naps!” Pinkie Pie added, hopping over and placing party hats onto both mares’ heads. Rainbow’s was a blue one, and Trixie’s a rainbow-striped one, each one with a pink love heart on the front.

Rarity caught a familiar scent in the air and gave the two guests of honour a suspicious look. “Rainbow Dash, did the two of you shower before coming here?”

Rainbow Dash froze in place, and Applejack brought a hoof to her chin as she examined the Pegasus more closely. “It does look like that, but what’s so strange ‘bout showering before coming to a party?”

“For Rainbow Dash? Everything,” Rarity replied.

“Hmmm, ya got a point there.”

“Well, we had to shower because we-” Trixie began to explain, but was cut off by Rainbow’s wing extending and covering her mouth.

“Because we, uh… got soaked by all the rain?”

“It was raining?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Huh, how’d I miss that?”

“I’ve got it!” Twilight shouted, causing everyone to jump and turn their attention towards her. “Trixie cape! The collar is up!”

Trixie’s eyes widened and she quickly brought a hoof up to hold onto her cape’s collar. “Eheheh… W-What are you talking about? T-This is how the Great and Powerful Trixie always wears her collar…”

“Nope, she’s right!” Pinkie Pie shouted, popping up behind Trixie with a magnifying glass. “Hmmm, very suspicious… What are you hiding?”

“N-Nothing! The Great and Powerful Trixie has nothing to hide!” Pinkie Pie grabbed the collar and pulled it down, so fast that Trixie could not do anything to stop it. “Hey! What are you-”

“Ah-hah!” Pinkie exclaimed as hse held her magnifying glass over a small purple mark on Trixie’s neck. “I knew it! It’s… Actually, what is tha-” Pinkie dropped her magnifying glass and turned to Rainbow Dash, who was now backing away nervously with a sheepish grin on her face. “You gave Trixie a hickey!”

“She what?!” Applejack shouted, looking at the Pegasus with a disbelieving look on her face.

“You jest!” Rarity shouted in an excited tone, running over to Trixie to confirm it for herself. “Oh my goodness, she really did!” A light bulb went off in Rarity’s head, and she turned to Rainbow Dash with a sly, knowing grin. “And I think I just figured out why the two of you showered before coming here.”

It took a moment, but Applejack managed to quickly put the pieces together herself. “Oooh…” Applejack approached Rainbow Dash with a grin of her own. “Ah see. You two were gettin’ all lovey-dovey while the rest of us were gettin’ ready ta throw y’all a party. Well, ah guess this confirms this ain’t another one of yer pranks.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Trixie with an annoyed look on her face, whilst Trixie simply shrugged and used her magic to pull up her collar again, her own face turning red. “Don’t look this way, Dashie! Trixie told you not to defile her skin like that!”

“Let’s see… Hickey, hickey…” Twilight flipped through her book entitled Modern-Day Slang and You, and found the entry that she was looking for. “… Ewww! Why would you do that?!”

“Trixie and Dash sittin’ on a cloud,” Applejack began to sing, causing Rainbow Dash to fluster and turn red.

Suddenly, the Pegasus calmed down as she looked at her friends. “Wait, so you guys are okay with this?”

The teasing stopped, and a silence passed over the group. Trixie walked over Rainbow Dash for comfort, though she made sure to make it seem as though she was just choosing a spot to stand and picked that one completely at random.

“Well, Rainbow Dash, I did some thinking before coming over here,” Rarity said, looking her friend in the eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” Applejack added. “An’, well, we may not exactly have the best history with Trixie… but the Apples are known for their friendly hospitality towards others! An’ hay, if we can form peace with the buffalo or with Discord, ah reckon ah can give somepony like Trixie a fair shot.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Quite so. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time spent with all of you, some more than others…” Rarity glanced over at Applejack for a second, before turning to Trixie, “… It’s that we should try to accept one-another, even if we have our… differences. And I am willing to ‘bury the hatchet’, as it were, if you would offer the same courtesy.”

All eyes were on Trixie as she stared at the other Unicorn for a few seconds, before raising a hoof and examining it, seemingly uninterested. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will agree to this compromise.”

“Still though, Dash an’ Trixie…” Applejack shook her head and gave an amused sigh as she regarded the two. “Somethin’ tells me things ‘roudn here are gonna get a might more loud from now on.”

“How in the world did the two of you even… you know…”

“Get together?” Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod from Rarity. “Well, it’s kinda a long story… Y’see, it started when…”

Trixie felt something tugging on her cape, and turned around to see Twilight Sparkle motioning her to move towards her. Deciding to let Rainbow Dash take care of the storytelling, Trixie silently moved away to see what the librarian Princess wanted. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle?”

“First of all Trixie, congratulations to both you and Rainbow Dash. As her close friend, my books tell me it is my obligation to tell you that you had better make her happy, and that I will…” Twilight stopped for a moment to think. “… Oh! That I’ll hurt you if you make her cry!”

Trixie turned back over to Rainbow Dash, who was now explaining how she drove away the jerk that they had run into at the ice-cream parlour. She then turned back to Twilight. “Seriously? You think that one would cry over something that Trixie does?”

Twilight blushed and gave a small chuckle, before clearing her throat and resuming her stern conversation. “Also, you might not notice that Spike’s not here.” Seeing Trixie’s look of confusion, Twilight decided to explain. “Small, purple dragon?”

“Oh,” Trixie said. “… Isn’t ‘Spike’ a dog’s name?”

“… Anyway, the reason for that is that he still… hasn’t quite got over what you did to him the last time you were here. Or what you did to me.”

Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Yes, well, Trixie is still surprised that you seem to be okay with it.”

“I’m sure he’ll warm up to you, in time. But for now, could you please be careful with how you act around him? He has a tendency to get worked up easily, especially when he’s already in a bit of a bad mood.”

“So… what exactly do you want Trixie to do?” Trixie asked.

“Just… tone down the whole ‘Great and Powerful’ thing, just for a little while, whilst he’s around.”

“You ask Trixie to-”

“Please?” Twilight interrupted, sensing protest coming from the showmare. “It’d really mean a lot to me, as a friend.”

Trixie furrowed her brow, but gave the thought some consideration. ‘Friendship with a Princess… Trixie could milk that quite well. If Trixie does this favour for her, then…’ Trixie smiled and raised a hoof to pat Twilight on the back. “Very well then, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie shall try, but it will be difficult, so she cannot promise you anything.”

Twilight smiled back. “Thanks, Trixie. And if there’s anything I can do to-”

“Well, if you insist,” Trixie said, making Twilight frown when she realised that that was Trixie’s aim all along. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will be performing a show this coming weekend. Your presence in the crowd would be very much appreciated.”

Twilight’s frown faded. “Oh, you just want me to attend your show? Well, of course. I’ll be happy to.”

Trixie tilted her head for a moment in confusion. ‘She’d be happy to? What-’ Shaking her head to clear the thought, Trixie simply nodded and began to walk back to the other mares.

“Wow, Trixie!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she hopped in front of the approaching mare. “You like, owe your life to Dash, don’t ya?!”

“W-What?”

“The way you were falling from that building, and then Dash swooped in like Supermare and caught you mere seconds before you hit the ground! And then you used your magic to teleport back to your hotel room where Dash treated your injuries, and then…”

Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash, who was slowly side-stepping away. “Dashie… what exactly did you tell them?”

“Just, uh… y’know, putting a little ‘oomph’ into the story, like you said,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Hey, at least I didn’t say I defeated a giant bear!”

“True, but you seem to have omitted the detail where the Great and Powerful Trixie made you scream so much the neighbours had to file a noise complaint,” Trixie said with a sly grin, resulting in an immediate explosion of red on Rainbow’s face, and a small puddle of blood forming by Rarity’s hooves as she reached for tissues to wipe her nose.

“Oh… my…” Rarity said as she looked over at Rainbow Dash, and excited look on her face, though it disappeared when Rainbow shook her head, refusing to tell said story.

“Well then, everypony,” Pinkie Pie began, grabbing a nearby jukebox and smacking it. “Let’s get this party STARTED!” Music began to fill the room.

“Hold on everypony!” Applejack shouted, causing the music to screech to a halt. “Rarity and ah have some news of our own that we wanted ta share!”

“Quite right,” Rarity said as she walked up to Applejack’s side, allowing the farmer to wrap a foreleg around her neck. “You see, during our date last night, I asked Applejack if she would consider moving in with me. And of course, she said yes!”

The announcement was met with a round of applause by everypony else in the room. “Congratulations,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Way ta go you two!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “Took ya long enough…”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie offers the two of you her blessing.”

“Thanks y’all. It’s been a bumpy ride, trust me.” Applejack received a nudge from Rarity. “Okay Pinkie, y’all can get back ta settin’ this party in motion now.”

“You heard her!” Pinkie said to her jukebox, which soon began resuming the music that it had started to play before.

The party lasted a good few hours, with everypony taking turns to introduce themselves to Trixie and get a chance to properly know her, before the fun and games got started. As soon as it was all over, everypony went their separate ways as they began to head home, with the exception of Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

Rainbow wanted to fly beside Trixie until they reached her trailer, since her cloud home could easily be reached from anywhere anyway. “Man, that party was great! Don’t ya think?”

“It was quite fun, Trixie will admit. It’s a nice breath of fresh air from the parties they hold up in Canterlot. So much as one firework, and suddenly you’re a nuisance.”

“Yeah, those type of parties really don’t sound like fun at all. And I’m glad everypony’s cool with us. It’s…” Rainbow Dash stopped as Trixie’s trailer came into view… along with the red paint on the front, which spelled ‘LOSER’ across the door.

Trixie continued forward, walking around her trailer to see what other damage had been done. ‘FRAUD’, ‘LIAR’, and a crudely drawn ursa minor bear had been painted on the other sides, along with the words ‘GET OUT’, which perhaps stung Trixie the most.

“Who could have done this?” Rainbow Dash asked herself as she flew around the trailer to survey the damage. Her rage began to build, and she had to hold herself back from kicking something in anger. “Who the hay did this?! There’s no excuse for messing with somepony’s home like this!”

“It’s okay, Dash,” Trixie said, quite calmly considering the situation.

“But-”

“I said it’s okay!” Trixie shouted, startling Rainbow Dash. Trixie took a moment to regain her composure. “… Look, this was to be expected, right? Trixie has only revived her reputation in Baltimare so far, but fear not! As soon as Trixie’s reputation is revived through the rest of Equestria, cases such as this will become a thing of the past!”

“But it’s still your home, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said, landing in front of Trixie and placing a hoof on the side of her marefriend’s face. “There’s nothing okay about this! If somepony did this to my home, I’d-”

Rainbow Dash was stopped by Trixie moving forward and suddenly kissing her on the lips. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, not getting any deeper than a simple, closed-mouth peck on the lips, before Trixie pulled back and gave Rainbow Dash a stern look. “Trixie will be fine, Dashie. Do not trouble yourself over this. Today went better than expected, so why ruin it now?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I… Fine, if you’re alright with it, then I’ll let it slide…” Rainbow Dash began to flap her wings, gaining lift from the ground and ascending into the air in front of Trixie. “Well, I guess this is good night then…”

“Yeah…” The two averted their eyes from each, looking away and remaining silent and motionless.

“Y’know, a goodbye kiss should be a bit more awesome than that.”

“You think so?” Trixie asked as she saw Rainbow Dash land. “Then, how about this?” Trixie moved in again to kiss the Pegasus again, this time the kiss being returned by the other party. After a few seconds, they pulled away again. “How’s that?”

“… Still not quite there.”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin, as if in though. “This could take a while. I don’t suppose you would want to come inside Trixie’s trailer for a bit?”

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow Dash said, following as Trixie lead the way into her trailer, and closing the door behind her. Learning from past experience, Trixie used her magic to erect a soundproof barrier around the trailer. The door remained shut that entire night, neither mare emerging until the following morning.

Author's Notes:

To save any confusion on the chapter titles, chapters will be posted in 'arcs'. So the first 'arc' was the 'Chance Encounter' arc, which lasted for three parts. Some chapters will be single parts (such as chapter 4), and this chapter is the start of the next multiple part arc, the 'Welcome To Ponyville' arc.