Trixie groaned softly. She was curled up in a ball on the couch, with her arms wrapped around her knees. With Sunset asleep, Luna gone, and the street outside being chillier than the mythical Windigo, there wasn’t much else that could be done. There was food, but Trixie had already eaten and wasn’t particularly in the mood to force herself, especially when ice cream was conspicuously absent.

“I’m going to go out for a bit,” Sonata said suddenly. Trixie looked up just in time to see her get up from the other end of the couch and stretch. “Don’t eat all of the Sugar Bombs. Those are tasty.”

“What? But, hey, wait!” Trixie scrambled to her feet as Sonata casually strolled out of the room. “You can’t go out!”

Sonata paused in the doorway and glanced back with a blank look on her face. “Why not?”

“Because Luna told us to stay, remember?” Trixie hissed.

“Pfft, she’s not my teacher anymore,” Sonata shot. With a smirk, she turned and walked over to the coat rack by the entrance. “Besides, what’s she gonna do? Put me in detention?”

Trixie glared at the siren’s back. “Luna is still the responsible adult here, we should listen to her.”

“I’m older than her,” Sonata countered simply as she started pulling on the cold-weather gear the Enclave had lent her.

A retort died on Trixie’s lips as she realized that, being a magical monster from Equestria, Sonata might actually be telling the truth there. Shaking her head, Trixie rallied quickly. “Either way, Luna is a Vice-Principal, meaning she’s in charge here. You can’t just-”

Sonata groaned loudly and fixed Trixie with a thoroughly annoyed look. “Listen, Twixie, you’re not Adagio, so I don’t have to do whatever you dumb little humans say. I’m getting out of here before Miss Crazypants wakes up and tries to stab me again!”

“Don’t call her that!” Trixie snapped. “And you’re the dumb one. Sunset is staying here with us, so she’s still going to be here when you get back, you moron!”

“You’re the moron!” Sonata zipped up her oversized coat and reached for the door handle, but Trixie darted forward and grabbed her shoulder. “Hey, let me go!”

“No! Luna said to stay here!” Trixie insisted. “You can’t just leave me here on my own!”

Sonata slapped Trixie’s hand away and rounded on her. “It’s not like you were doing anything anyway! Why don’t you do something useful instead of just sitting around and sucking your thumb?!”

“Like what?!” Trixie half-shrieked.

“I don’t know, figure something out!” Sonata shot. “You came second in the Battle of the Bands, you can’t be that useless!”

“That was a singing competition! One that you rigged!” Trixie retorted.

Sonata rolled her eyes and groaned loudly again. “Ugh, you are so dumb. Didn’t you always keep going on about how you’re a great and powerful magician? Practice some magic tricks or something.”

“How is stage magic going to help the Rainbooms?!” Trixie demanded.

Sonata shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re your friends, you figure it out.” She wrenched the door open and gave Trixie a contemptuous look. “I thought you stupid Canterlot Wondercolts were supposed to be all about the power of friendship and all that dumb mushy stuff” Sonata smirked viciously. “Oh well, I guess you just suck at being a friend. Enjoy sitting around and moping while your friends are in danger.” She giggled as she stepped outside and slammed the door.

Trixie stared at the door, utterly dumbstruck, as a few errant snowflakes whirled around her ankles. Sonata’s words had hit harder than any insult she had endured before.

In a daze, Trixie wandered back into the lounge and dropped onto the sofa. “I’m not a bad friend,” she muttered to herself. “I’m not. Stupid Sonata. What does she know about friendship?” Trixie noticed that her hands were trembling and clamped them on her knees to try and stop them. “I’m not moping,” she insisted to herself. “There’s nothing I can do to help. It’s not my fault, I’m a magician, not a soldier. How are card tricks supposed to help in a war?!”

Trixie sat bolt upright as a realization flashed across her mind. She wasn’t a fighter, but cardistry wasn’t the only trick up her sleeve. Sleight of hand, misdirection, illusion, and a small arsenal of smoke bombs and fireworks were up there too. With a little practice, and maybe a bit of tweaking, Trixie knew that she might actually be useful. There wasn’t anything she could do about a war with magical monsters, but her skills could certainly help when it came to surviving in a dangerous world.

“I’ll show you!” Trixie spat, Sonata’s smug expression burning in her imagination as she surged to her feet. “I’m not going to let some idiot fish insult me. The Great and Powerful Trixie will not stand for it!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 139 - Luna's Resolve Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 12 Minutes