Things weren’t going as Rainbow Dash had planned. Tonight was supposed to be her big night. A night to shine as she showed all of Equestria why she was the current champion of the WBEs. Now the mood seemed to be... less than desired. She looked around the waiting area.

It was far too quiet. Nopony seemed to be talking to each other. Well, except for Derpy and Morning Dew. There should have been hushed whispers of other ponies commenting on how awesome Rainbow Dash was. Or ponies from the previous years saying what an honor it was to get a chance to go up against the legendary champion. Instead, it was just boring. Even Royal Blue didn’t seem up for a good-natured insult fight. He just kept looking at his cutie mark and sighing.

There were just too many new ponies here. The only returning competitors besides Rainbow Dash were Royal Blue and Sunny Lights. The former was a worthy rival who had almost beaten her last year. The latter had gotten too nervous and locked up on stage during the first round. All the other ponies were first timers in the top eight. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it would have been nice to have more ponies she knew.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to let this get to her, though. It wouldn’t be long now before she was out on stage. The audience would be cheering as she showed off her amazing moves. She would have to hold back a little, of course. Keep the good stuff for the end.

Trixie was standing by herself. That pony was up to something, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell what. Trixie had somehow been placed in the top eight without having to go through the preliminaries. That was practically unheard of. Even Rainbow Dash had to do the preliminarily testing the two years before she became champion.

Trixie seemed to be doing everything in her power to annoy Rainbow Dash. Like right now she was standing in the middle of the room and doing nothing. Not just lazily hanging around while waiting for the competition. She was doing absolutely nothing. She wasn’t even blinking. It was like she was locked in a life-or-death staring contest with an opponent only she could see. Rainbow Dash sighed and turned away. She wasn’t going to let Trixie ruin tonight either.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash turned to see who was calling her and nearly fell over when an orange blur collided with her.

“Scootaloo? Hey there, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash said as she pushed down the fanfilly and gave her a playful noogie.

“It’s so great to finally see you!” Scootaloo said. “You’re going to do amazing tonight. Look for me in the stands. I’ll be the one cheering the loudest!”

“Aw, thanks, squirt. Glad to finally have somepony here appreciating my talent,” Rainbow Dash said, then noticed the rest of her friends approaching. “There you are! I was wondering if you were going to make it in time.”

“Sorry, we took a bit longer getting together than originally planned,” Twilight said. “Rarity is getting some cotton candy with Sweetie Belle and should be here soon. Spike and Pinkie took their tickets and vanished this morning, though. Did they show up here?”

“You haven’t seen them yet? Yeah, they were—” Rainbow Dash quickly clicked her jaw shut. “Actually, I shouldn’t say anything. I don’t want to ruin their surprise. They are here, though. I saw them running around all excited during the midday break. I’m really glad that all of you are here.”

“Feeling nervous like in Cloudsdale?”

“No way! I was only nervous then because the Wonderbolts were there. Tonight is going to be a piece of cake, and I’ll be flying away with my third trophy. I’m just glad to have someone to talk to. It’s been crazy today. It all started when Trixie showed up.”

“Trixie is here?”

“Yeah. She’s been so annoying.”

Twilight looked past Rainbow Dash at the unmoving magician. “She doesn’t seem to be doing anything at all.”

“I know, and yet she’s still driving me crazy!”

“I’m glad she happens to be here, though. I’ve been trying to get in contact with her for some time. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

Trixie was trying her best to do nothing at all so that her bad luck had fewer chances to strike. She was having pretty good luck with her bad luck so far. Although, the good luck was likely just a front her bad luck was using to lure her into a false sense of security. It had been hours since her bad luck had returned. Soon, it would grow tired of waiting and spring out at her. Trixie had to be ready for it. It could come in any form, from anywhere.

“Trixie! Good to see you again.”

Trixie yelped and curled up into a ball. It was starting. After a few seconds of nothing happening, she risked peeking out at who had spoken. She was right. The bad luck was starting. She nervously got to her hooves. “Hello, um... Twilight, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m glad you remembered me,” Twilight said, smiling.

Twilight seemed to be friendly. Although, the last time Trixie had seen her hadn’t been under the best of circumstances. Trixie worked up her courage. It was time to prove she was over what had happened in Ponyville and was ready to move on.

“Twilight,” Trixie said, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for how I treated you and your friends. I let my ego get the better of me.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the others have gotten over it. Actually, once we found the ruins of your trailer, I think we realized we had treated you unfairly too. Well... except for Rainbow Dash. She was really worked up for some reason. Anyway, there wasn’t much left in your trailer that was salvageable, but we did find your hat and cape. Although, it looks like you replaced them already?”

“This?” Trixie said, gesturing to her hat. “It’s a poor replacement. The materials are nowhere near as durable. I’m surprised it hasn’t fallen apart yet.”

“We should meet up after the competition. Maybe in town square? I can get your things back for you then.”

“Thank you. I would like that.” Trixie smiled. This had gone easier than expected, and she would be getting her outfit back. It seemed this meeting wasn’t bad luck after all.

“You seem a bit nervous. Can I get you some punch?”

Trixie froze. Here it came. “N-no, that’s quite alright. I’m fine.”

“Nonsense. You’re here all by yourself instead of with the other contestants. And you practically fainted when I greeted you.” Twilight levitated a cup full of punch from a table and brought it in front of Trixie. “I always find a nice cool drink a great way to settle the nerves.”

Trixie looked at the cup of punch. Twilight was just being polite. It would be rude to refuse now and may even come off as Trixie not being sincere about her apology. At the same time, Trixie couldn’t just not use her magic and instead bite onto the cup. It would be suspicious. There was only one thing to do. Trixie used her magic to take hold of the cup. The cup instantly shattered and spilled the punch on the tiled floor.

“Oh my!” Twilight said. “Trixie, I’m so sorry. I—”

“Not your fault,” Trixie said, as she backed away from the ever-spreading punch spill. “Like you said, I’m just feeling a bit nervous. I’ll get some punch on my own. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

“Okay then. See you after the competition.” Twilight waved and walked back towards her friends.

Trixie waved weakly and then went back to stepping away from the punch. This was a fall waiting to happen.

“Are you alright?” Derpy asked Luna.

Luna peaked over Derpy, then quickly ducked as Twilight walked past. “Hmm?” she said, noticing Derpy had raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, yes. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it looks like you’re using me as a shield, but I don’t see anything dangerous I’d need to protect you from. Just Miss Dash and her friends. We should go talk to them. They’re nice ponies.”

“No! I mean, not right now. I’m still a little nervous talking to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I’ll speak with them after the competition though.”

“The Elements of Harmony?” Derpy said, then gasped. “Are they a league of super heroes?”

Luna really wished she could keep her big mouth shut today. The worst part was they kind of were.

Rainbow Dash watched Twilight return. “So, have a nice chat with that show pony?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on, Rainbow. Don’t be so hard on her. She seemed like she really wanted to put what happened behind her.”

“If she wanted to do that, then she shouldn’t have come here.”

Twilight sighed, shook her head, and then looked between her friends. “Rarity isn’t here yet? The line for cotton candy didn’t look that long.”

“Oh!” Rainbow Dash said. “If she has food on her, then she won’t be able to get in. There’s a food detector on the door here. Come on. Let’s go see if she’s outside the room.”

Applejack grumbled again as she followed. “Another one of those things? I don’t see why they’re needed. It’d be pretty obvious is somepony was carryin’ outside food onto the field.”

“Yeah, they’re totally a scam,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Sweet was really upset when they were added.”

“Who’s this Sweet?”

“Sweet Soufflé. She’s the president of the WBEs and the former champion. She’s super cool. I’ll have to introduce you to her. I’m not sure where she’s gone off to, but she should be in here during the halftime show. You should come meet her. I’d be way better than watching the lame band they’ll have performing.”

Rainbow Dash reached the double doors leading out to the hallway and saw Rarity standing there. However, the group of ponies’ attention was drawn to the ball of cotton candy standing next to the annoyed-looking Rarity. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo approached the cotton candy.

“Sweetie Belle?” the two Crusaders asked in union.

The cotton candy ball hung her head in shame. “I fell into the cotton candy machine.”

“I have no idea how she managed it,” Rarity said. “The worst part is I was charged double for her. You’re right, Applejack. The prices here are obscene.”

“I just wanted to see how it worked,” Sweetie Belle said. The cotton candy vibrated as Sweetie Belle ate the candy around her head. “It still tastes good, though.”

The two fillies giggled at their happily-eating friend.

“Come on, girls. We should go find our seats,” Twilight said.

“Good luck, Rainbow Dash! You’re going to do awesome!” Scootaloo yelled. The rest of her friends also wished Rainbow Dash good luck before leaving.

Rainbow Dash was feeling much better now. Who cares if the competitors weren’t very lively this year? She still had her best friends cheering for her, and she was going to show them why she was the champion. Nopony was going to bring Rainbow Dash down. Not even that show pony, Trixie.

Trixie slowly moved away from the punch spill that was snaking its way towards her. She was running out of room, though, and soon backed into a recliner. The recliner lurched and expanded, launching her into the air. Trixie landed in the punch bowl, causing it to slide off the table. The punch bowl zipped around the room, bouncing off things like a pinball, while Trixie cried out in terror. It was amazing luck that Trixie narrowly avoided crashing into anypony. Finally, the punch bowl came to a stop near Rainbow Dash. Trixie woozily tried to stand up but ended up slipping. Rainbow Dash sighed. It was like Trixie knew exactly what to do to annoy her.