Trixie never tried to stop her; never lifted a hoof to keep her from racing back into the bedroom and locking the door. Never mentioned any more threats, no long winded rants and raving and there were no sneering condescending lectures. In fact, Trixie simply smiled when Twilight bolted into the guest room and slammed the door shut. There was no frantic pounding or shouting- there was simply silence.

And that silence is what scared Twilight the most. Trixie had a superiority complex, that was true, but she also wasn’t stupid. No, Trixie was holding onto some secret; some ace in the hole that only she knew about- something that was enough to keep Twilight at her mercy.

It was psychological, Twilight realized, pressing a perky ear against the door, to try and listen to Trixie’s behavior inside of the cottage. She was going to take her sweat time and let Twilight sweat it out. Let her mind come up with the worst possible scenarios, and she was going to die a million deaths before Trixie even got started. Or maybe Trixie was making it up as she went along and Twilight was already doing herself in.

Still, from what Twilight could discern, Trixie had no plans to assault Twilight directly. She could hear Trixie clip clopping around the kitchen, muttered to herself here and there, and recited the occasional spell. After a few moments, it dawned on Twilight that Trixie was rehearsing; a revelation that became concrete when she heard a tremendous bellow that rippled through the tiny cottage.

“BEHOLD; THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE….Hmm…BEHOLD! THE GREAT AND AMAZING TRIXIE!....No no, Trixie likes that powerful in there. Hmmm BE AMAZED AT THE ASTONISHING MAGIC FEATS OF THE ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING, GREAT AND WONDERFUL TRRRRRRRRRRRRIXIE!!! …No no, too much. Too much. The saucy and sexy Trixie? MMmm you know it girl, tee hee. Oh oh! BEHOLD THE PRESTIDIGITATION OF THE POWERFUL TRIX- Naaaw, too many syllables. Lets see…” Trixie rambled past the secure door. Twilight rolled her eyes. Evil mastermind, Trixie was not. Still, it amused the purple pony to know that Trixie struggled with simple, mundane things like everypony else- time included, when Twilight heard a sharp gasp from the other side of the door.

“Oh, how about the MIRACULOUS MAGICS OF THE GRE- OH PONY FEATHERS, THE TIME!!! Trixie is going to be the late and sorry, if she doesn't put some spank in her flank! AHEM! T, Twilight Sparkle! The great and powerful Trixie has an intervi…errr, ENGAGEMENT with…erm…a DRAGON! Yes! Trixie must slay a DRAGON! When she returns, your torture shall begin! You, have, been WARNED! …h, help yourself to anything in the fridge. “ Trixie sputtered, and with that, the blue unicorn beat a hasty retreat out the front door.

The cottage had been silent for nearly thirty minutes before Twilight opened the door to her bedroom with a gentle click. There were no awaiting tricks or traps. No magical sentries waiting for her to attempt to leave. There was nothing, other than a turned over chair which toppled to the ground with Trixie’s wild race from the cottage. While the curiosity to explore Trixie’s domain scraped and clawed at her, Twilight wanted to leave much, much more. The purple mare turned towards the door and paused for a brief moment to pick up the fallen chair and push it under the table. She was fleeing for her life, sure, but there was no reason to leave a mess. Quickly, Twilight rocketed out of the cottage so fast it would have made even Rainbow Dash proud.

The surrounding area was absolutely and utterly beautiful, lush green grass with a cute garden of multicolored flowers circling the cottage, a hoof trodden dirty road that lead from the front door to the sweet smelling forest surrounding the place, and a lovely little water fall that trickled down from a high hill and formed a little trickling creak. It all most reminded Twilight of Fluttershy’s home- only there wasn't a narcissistic maniac running lose in Fluttershy’s place. The glance around was a brief one, as Twilight Sparkle found herself in the dense forest that populated the parameter of Trixie’s home only seconds later. She leapt off the dirty road, zigging and zagging, doing her best to leave a complicated, confusing trail and put as much distance between her and Trixie as possible. It was late afternoon, when the purple pony finally stopped for a rest. She’d been running from for hours, never stopping to look back, and only pausing to catch her breath every few seconds. She’d hoped, by this point, she’d run so far into the forest she was running out of it, and when she finally turned to measure her progress, the unicorn’s muzzle dropped to the ground, and her eyes went helplessly wide.

Twilight was standing at the forest’s edge, and there, in front of her was Trixie’s cottage. Clever. Very, very clever. Twilight had to admit it. She really did. It was a vexing circle. A difficult enchantment to master but one that was invaluable for keeping ponies in place for long periods of time. Twilight had studied them before, but never had time, or a decent reason to place her knowledge into practice. It was a simple concept, more or less.

First you decided the radius of your circle, then you enchanted the area, usually leaving behind totems or a fetish to help empower the enchantment. (Usually Twilight would consider it a hex, or a curse, but that was getting into technical terms and then it just boiled down to what was politically correct in the magic community) The enchantment would be placed, and any pony wandering into the area would find themselves helplessly and utterly lost. Compasses would spin around wildly, North would become East, then East would become South and then South would become North, as if the land was shifting and twisting and turning on it’s own, just to keep you lost. It was a very difficult spell to master, and Twilight- was trembling at the idea that Trixie’s grudge would have lead to her mastering such skills, had to admit- she was very impressed.

With a drawn out sigh of defeat, the tired unicorn slowly dragged herself back into the cottage and sat down. She was tired. Very tired. Whatever spell Trixie had cast on her had lingering effects, and it even seemed to be effecting her own magic. She didn’t think she could even cast a magic compass spell if she wanted to, and teleporting was right out. No, Twilight had to come up with a plan, something clever to escape this place, and teach Trixie a lesson once and for all. Briefly, for a moment, Twilight let the idea of violence flicker through her mind. When Trixie returned, she could pounce her, catch her off guard, and then…

And then…what? Knock her out? Hold her hostage? Beat her silly? Twilight felt sick at the concept, and shook the nasty idea away. She wasn’t like that. She would NEVER be like that. Regardless of what Trixie did to her, she would keep to who she was, and never turn into somepony she was not. Sadly, the mare slipped into the guest room she’d been using and flopped down on the bed. It was a puzzle. A riddle. A homework assignment. She was good at those. Using your environment, and what you’ve learned so far, devise a way for Pony A to escape cottage B. Use No# 2 pencils, and show your work.

Twilight shook her head and gave a groan. She was tired. Definitely tired. Very very tired. To tired to think straight and too tired to devise a plan, but time was running out. Trixie would be home soon, and then the torture would begin- whatever it was Trixie was planning on doing to her. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes, wishing her friends were there to support her. Pinkie would start telling silly jokes, and keeping her optimistic. Rainbow would be doing what she could to keep the group’s energy up. Rarity would be the disconcerting eye, looking for details and anything Twilight might have missed. Applejack would be the strength, the pony able to hold the entire group on her back with her honesty, and Fluttershy would remind them there was never an end to kindness- regardless of how dark things looked.

Now, more than anything, Twilight needed her friends. Any of them would do. And then it hit her: square in the face. It crept in slowly at first, swirling around while Twilight was thinking about all she’d learned, all that had happened, Ponyville, and all of her friends…but it grew and grew, hanging just outside of reach, until Twilight gasped and sat up.

The mare had an idea.

But more importantly.

Twilight, had a plan.

Author's Note

Ok, we're up to the cute! Tune in next chapter to start going "Awwww" ;)
And yes. This is a Twixie fic. ;)