Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Deep in the Whitebark Forest, a certain lavender mare was slowly trudging along. The winter chill that permeated the forest had numbed her skin and muscles long ago, but she couldn’t stop. Her goal was too important.

Finally though, her concentration wavered and she fell, tripping over an unseen root.

The mare attempted to rise, but her muscles refused to cooperate and as her tears of helplessness began to fall, the soothing embrace of unconsciousness began to consume her mind. Her final thoughts before she faded were an image of a certain azure pony and the words that she had never said to that pony because she had been too afraid.

As Twilight Sparkle lay unmoving in the middle of Whitebark Forest, the first snowflake descended from the heavens and kissed her cheek.

Nine Days Earlier

“Aww c’mon Twilight! Just one? Please!?”

“No Spike! If I give you one now it will ruin your dinner.”

“Hmph! Fine! But I’ll remember this the next time you need your tea heated!”

Twilight Sparkle gave the dragon an apologetic glance, but the dragon simply stormed up the stairs, a mix of frustration and melancholy obvious throughout his form. To the casual observer, Twilight was unaffected by the gesture, but anyone who knew Twilight knew that she hated telling the baby dragon no after everything he did for her.

It’s for his own good though, she rationalized. She had read somewhere that too many sapphires weakened a dragon’s digestive system. Not that the fact made her feel any better. A knock at the door disturbed Twilight’s brooding and with a final glace to the top of the stairs, she answered it.

“Muffins!”

“Oh, hello Derpy! I guess I have a package?”

“Muffins!” Derpy exclaimed emphatically, bobbing her head up and down while extending a package.

Grinning at the enthusiastic mail-pony, Twilight took the package. “Thanks Derpy!”

Derpy saluted and flew off at an unusual angle, narrowly missing a lamppost. Chuckling, Twilight closed the door and studied the package.

It was a simple affair. Rather thin, and wrapped in nondescript brown paper, held together with alabaster twine. Twilight immediately knew who it was from, and tore it open with a simple burst of magic.

Inside the package two pieces of paper lay on top of each other. One was a simple scroll, much like the ones she used to record her findings on the magic of friendship and send to Celestia. The other was a much thicker piece of parchment that, at first glance, looked like a map of some kind.

Ignoring the larger parchment, Twilight carefully unrolled the letter and began devouring it with her eyes.

Miss Sparkle,

I have done as you asked me to, and tracked the whereabouts of “The Great and Powerful Trixie.” It wasn’t easy, but then again, if it was easy you wouldn’t have paid my rather large fee. As per your request, I have kept my investigation as quiet as possible, so only you and I know what I’ve been doing. After fleeing Ponyville, Trixie apparently lived off the “land” for a while, stealing what food she needed to live. For shelter, she mostly slept in barns or porches until she was chased off by the owner. Eventually she found her way to a small town on the opposite side of the Everfree forest called St. Ponysberg and began to rebuild her reputation. Every night she would host a show and as more and more people showed up, her profits increased more and more. By the time she left, she had a new stage-cart and enough supplies to last her two weeks minimum. After that it seems like she tried to get as far away from Ponyville as possible. She traveled straight north, performing in any town she came across. After a certain point I lost her, but eventually picked her back up. Her popularity had risen and she had been performing in Detrot and Fillydelphia, attracting crowds of hundreds. At the time I write this letter, she is camped along the shores of Mares Lake and has been there for two weeks. It seems that performing nonstop finally took its toll, and she is taking a vacation. If past data is anything to go by, after this she will go back to the big cities to perform nightly. If you really want to find her, start there, then work your way out. Ask around. My job is done, but I have one final piece of advice. Forget her. I’m not sure why you wanted me to find her so badly, but going by what you’ve told me, she hasn’t changed a bit. If anything she is even more stuck-up than when you saw her. If that isn’t an option, I have enclosed a map of her movements. Do with it what you will.

Sincerely,

Detective Hoofson

Twilight read the letter three times just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, then turned her attention to the other parchment.

It was a map of Equestria, with a bright red line weaving over nearly the entire thing, beginning in Ponyville and ending at a lake far to the northwest.

Twilight quickly composed a thank-you letter to the detective and put it in the mailbox for Derpy to pick up later. She had known that her bits wouldn’t be wasted. He had come highly recommended.

Rereading the final part of the detective’s letter, Twilight wondered what she would do now. She hadn’t thought that far ahead when she asked Detective Hoofson to track down Trixie. She didn’t even know why she had asked him to do it in the first place. She thought back to the day she met Trixie and shuddered.

Other than Nightmare Moon, that Ursa Minor had been the most powerful thing she had fought, and if she hadn’t researched how to take it down beforehand Ponyville would have been decimated. At the time, she still hadn’t been sure if she could do it.

After Trixie ran away, Twilight had been worried. The wilds of Equestria were not friendly, and Trixie had run away with nothing, not even her hat and cloak.

Speaking of which…

Twilight made her way down to the basement of her tree home and opened a box she had magically sealed to keep out dust and mildew. Reaching inside she picked up the same hat and cloak. Both were a little dirty, and had rips and tears all over them, but even so the material was soft, and as Twilight rubbed against them, she inhaled a scent that made her heart skip a beat. She had been meaning to get Rarity to repair them, but had been too busy studying.

“Huh, well I guess I’m not doing anything today.” she mused out loud. “Plus this will give me some time to think about what I really want to do.”

Heading upstairs Twilight noticed that Spike was still in a mood. He had constructed a blanket fort using Twilight’s bed for the back wall, and multiple books for the other walls. Draped over the entire thing was Twilight’s own blanket, and outside the entrance was a small sign proclaiming “Dragons Only! Twilight Keep OUT!”

Spike had been in this kind of mood before, although the fort was new. Twilight simply sighed and headed over to her mirror to get her bits and brush her mane. She called over her shoulder. “Hey Spike, I’m going to run a few errands. Would you like to come?”

When no answer came, Twilight tried again. “Alright then, I guess I’ll just go to Rarity’s myself.”

Spike’s response was almost immediate. “What? Rarity’s? I would love to come Twilight! I guess I just didn’t hear you the first time I was uhh… cleaning! Yep that’s right. I was cleaning really loudly and I didn’t hear you!”

Finished brushing her mane, Twilight giggled. “Alright then Romeo, c’mon. I need to get something repaired.”

Forgetting his dark mood in lieu of curiosity Spike gave Twilight a confused look.

“But Twilight, you never actually wear anything. What could you possibly need repaired?”

Twilight knew that Spike wouldn’t understand why she needed to get the cloak and hat repaired; he had hated Trixie as much as any pony in Ponyville and she didn’t feel like getting quizzed the entire way to Carousel Boutique, so she simply shrugged.

“You’ll see.”

Spike shot her a suspicious look, but stayed silent.

“I’ll meet you outside in a moment Spike; just let me get my saddlebags.”

Spike nodded and headed downstairs.

As Twilight magically lifted her saddlebags onto her back and placed the items inside, she was hit again with that scent. It was the scent of jasmine and mint, but somehow it was more…energized. It was as if the aroma had an electric charge. Again, her heart skipped a beat.

Looking in the mirror, Twilight noticed she was blushing. She stopped a moment, wondering why she would blush at a scent, but quickly dismissed it as a random phenomenon. She trotted downstairs and out the door, stopping only long enough to give Spike a chance to climb on her back.

The journey to Carousel Boutique was uneventful, Twilight being wrapped up in her thoughts about what she wanted to do, and Spike daydreaming about Rarity. Reaching the extravagant building, Twilight was about to knock when a massive crash resounded from inside.

“Sweetie bell! What have I told you about playing on my ponyquins?! Scootaloo! No scooters in my boutique! Applebloom! That is delicate fabric, not a lasso!”

Twilight giggled then frowned. Rarity must have had to pony-sit the Cutie Mark Crusaders today. If she wanted the repairs done, she would have to get rid of them.

Opening the door to the Boutique, Twilight found that the destruction was far worse than she feared. Ponyquins were lying on the ground everywhere, and at least half of them had homemade “lassos” around their necks. The lush carpet of the Boutique had semi-deep indentions all around it, probably from a scooter.

In the center of this chaos, Rarity stood over a large piece of fabric that had its corners magically turned in to create a sack that was frantically struggling. Finishing the knot, Rarity looked up and spotted the duo.

“Twilight! Spike! What a delight to see you! I must apologize for the mess but a certain group of ruffians,” Here she glared at the struggling sack. “decided that today would be a good day to try out ‘redecorating.’”

From the sack a muffled cry of “Cutie Mark Crusaders Master Redecorators!” was heard.

Twilight thought for a moment before shooting Spike a mischievous look. “Hey Spike, how would you like to really help out Rarity?”

Spike hopped off Twilight and saluted. “I would love to! I’ll do anything to help out Rarity!”

Twilight’s eyes glinted. “Great! Then you can take the Crusaders and play with them somewhere far away from here!”

Spike’s expression immediately fell. “Wh… what? I don’t think I can…”

Rarity caught on to the ruse and put on her most imploring expression. “Pleeeaase Spike? It would me oh so much to me.”

The look would have been more than enough.

“Of course Rarity! Anything for you!”

Twilight acted immediately, magically levitating the bundle of Crusaders outside and pushing Spike out with her head. “Great! Alright then I’ll come and find you when I’m done here. Have fun!”

Magically slamming the door shut, Twilight sighed in relief and sank down to her haunches. Rarity did the same.

“Oh darling thank you sooo much! Those three are absolutely monstrous when they get in that mood.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I know exactly what you mean. I still find books in odd places from the last time I pony-sat them. I feel kind of bad for dumping them on Spike like that, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Rarity looked around the room in anguish. “My shop!” She exclaimed, teary-eyed. “I’ll never get this cleaned up in time to finish my dresses!”

Twilight had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the melodramatic behavior of her friend. “Rarity you know that I’ll help you clean up. It’ll be done in no time. What dresses are you working on though?”

Rarity beamed at Twilight, her despair seemingly forgotten in her desire to show off her latest creations. “Oh darling it’s simply fabulous! I’ve been commissioned by almost every mare in Ponyville to create dresses for the Ponyville Ball!”

Rarity trotted over to a large cabinet in a corner of the shop and pulled out one of the most beautiful dresses Twilight had ever seen. It was a semi-transparent white dress with topaz gems lining the bottom edge. Around the neckline topaz-colored thread was embroidered in an intricate pattern.

Rarity gazed at Twilight with an almost worried look etched on her features. “This one was commissioned by Lyra. What do you think?”

Twilight was almost at a loss for words. “I…It’s beautiful Rarity! Lyra’s going to love it! But…”

Rarity quickly interrupted her, her gaze morphing from worried to frantic. “But what?! Ohh is the stitching off in the…”

“Rarity.”

“…neck? Or are the gems at the bottom too much? Or….”

“Rarity!”

“…do you think it’s the wrong color? It’s the wrong color isn’t it?”

“RARITY!”

Startled out of her depressed reverie, Rarity gave Twilight a sheepish glance. “Sorry darling….I get a little worked up when it comes to the Ball eheheh….”

Again, Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It seemed to be more difficult this time. “It’s fine. I was actually going to ask about the Ponyville Ball. What is it?

To Twilight, it looked like Rarity’s mind went blank for a moment before she recovered.

“Oh. That’s right. You haven’t been in Ponyville long enough to attend one have you? The Ponyville Ball is hosted every three years during the winter solstice and is meant to allow couples to reaffirm their love for each other and allow single ponies to find the mare or stallion of their dreams.”

Twilight thought about this for a moment. “Why is it only hosted every three years?”

Rarity shrugged. “To be completely honest, I’m not really sure darling. All I know is that it’s the most romantic night of the year. Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t come here simply to chat. What do you need?”

Twilight snapped back to reality, remembering why she came to the Boutique in the first place. “That’s right! I need something repaired, but you have to promise to not tell anypony.”

At once, Rarity became conspiratorial. “Darling you have my word, but why would you need to keep a repair secret?” Rarity stepped alongside Twilight, a sly grin finding its way onto her face. “Is it for somepony you like?”

The red on Twilight’s face reminded Rarity of Big Mac’s coat. “I... I... I… No… er… I mean… maybe… but…” Twilight finally sighed in defeat. “I don’t know.”

Rarity regretted putting Twilight on the spot like that. “Oh darling it’s okay. I shouldn’t have pried. Um, who is it? That is if you don’t mind me asking.”

For an answer, Twilight magically pulled out the hat and cloak and handed them to Rarity, the blush on her face only growing stronger.

Twilight would later look back on this moment and giggle at the way Rarity behaved. At first, Rarity simply stared at the items, not understanding their significance. Then, recognizing the items, her mouth fell open a little and her eyes widened, whether in shock or horror Twilight didn’t know. Then Rarity spoke.

“Oh… my… Celestia. Twilight Sparkle! You have a crush on Trixie!?”

Twilight looked down in embarrassment and shuffled her hooves a little. “Like I said, I don’t know. All I know is that I haven’t gone a day without thinking about her and I kinda… hired a private detective to find her.”

By this time Rarity had regained her composure and gave Twilight a look of sympathy mixed with incredulity. “What was that last part darling? You’re beginning to act like Fluttershy.”

Twilight’s neck became the same color as her face and she rubbed the back of it with a hoof. “I… kinda hired a private detective to find Trixie.”

When no response came Twilight glanced up. Rarity was staring at her, seemingly calm except for a slight twitch in her right eye. “Twilight…sweetie… you do realize that kind of behavior borders on stalking….right?”

Twilight shot Rarity a resentful look. “It wasn’t stalking! I… I was just worried about her! I mean… she left Ponyville without any food or shelter and… and…” Twilight trailed off, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

Rarity instantly softened. Regardless of how she felt about Trixie, it was obvious that Twilight had feelings for her, and it wasn’t Rarity’s place to judge. She hugged Twilight and led her to a nearby couch that had escaped the Crusaders’ wrath. “Hush… shhhh… you just rest here and I’ll fix up these, alright? Everything will work out darling. I promise.”

Twilight nodded and hugged Rarity, her tears finally beginning to fall.

As Rarity trotted into her work room, Twilight lost all of her restraint, and silent sobs racked her body. She didn’t understand why she was crying, but she couldn’t stop. After a few minutes the sobs stopped, and after a little longer the tears did as well.

Twilight was exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. As she lay on Rarity’s couch, that exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she fell into a deep sleep; her dreams filled with visions of a certain blue mare and the scent of jasmine and mint.

As consciousness returned to Twilight, the first thing she noticed was a bright, blinding light. The second thing she noticed was a gentle, if somewhat uncomfortable heat on her face. Rising, she gently rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked for the source of the light and heat. Her eyes were drawn to the window of the boutique.

She noticed that Celestia’s sun was beginning to fall below the horizon and sighed. She hated letting the day escape her, but there was nothing for it now. Glancing around, she noticed that she seemed to be on the edge of a disaster zone; ponyquins and fabric lay in a haphazard manner everywhere.

The boutique flashed with a brilliant purple light, and a few moments later everything was neat and organized, not a single ponyquins out of place. Nodding in satisfaction at her work, Twilight tried to remember why she was at Rarity’s boutique in the first place. She remembered arguing with Spike about sapphires, then she got a package….

Twilight’s eyes widened suddenly, memories hitting her like Rainbow Dash crashing into her home. “Rarity? Are you there?”

A few moments passed before she received a reply, but the relief Rarity’s voice brought her was worth it. “I’m in here sweetie! Just finishing the final touches on your… project.”

Walking into the white unicorn’s workroom, Twilight immediately knew that Rarity was “in the zone, as it were.” She was bent over her sewing machine, rhythmically moving her hooves up and down as she finished a stitch. Twilight knew that conversing with Rarity when she was like this was pointless, so she simply began stretching out her muscles and waking her mind up.

“Aaaaaand finished! What do you think darling? Is it everything you wanted?”

Twilight glanced up to see Rarity flourishing a beautiful midnight purple cloak. Embroidered into the fabric were dozens of tiny sparkling silver and cobalt stars and the clasp where the neck would be was a stunning sapphire the size of Twilight’s hoof. The effect was completed by the light of the setting sun reflecting off each individual star, giving the cloak an almost ethereal look. Behind Rarity, on the sewing machine, sat a hat made out of the same material.

Twilight was stunned and speechless, but after a moment she noticed Rarity’s fragile expression and knew she had to do something. So she walked up and hugged her, whispering in her ear. “Thank you Rarity. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You outdid yourself.”

As Twilight pulled back, she noticed Rarity staring at her. “What? Is my mane messed up or something?”

Twilight expected at least a small giggle or something, but Rarity looked somber…melancholy even. “Twilight…sweetie, you know I would never judge you based on who you like or love, but… well… I’m worried. What will you do now? Unless you go looking for Trixie or something, then these will simply be reminders of her and, trust me on this, most of the time being reminded of someone you’ve lost is more painful than forgetting them.”

For the first time that day, Twilight knew exactly what she had to do. “Then… I guess I’ll have to go and look for her then, won’t I? I’ll never be happy if I don’t put this behind me.”

Rarity’s face displayed nothing but sympathy. “You do know there is a chance she won’t return those feelings….right?”

That thought pained Twilight greatly, but her expression betrayed nothing. “I know, but even if that happens, at least I’ll know for sure instead of having to wonder every day and night.”

Twilight’s mind began working fast. She knew that Rarity was about to argue against her going, and she would need every scrap of information she could think of to convince her.

“Alright Twilight, I understand. When will you leave?”

At first Twilight was stunned, but then she remembered that underneath all of the glamour and refinement, Rarity was one of the kindest and most understanding ponies she knew. “I might as well leave tomorrow. No time like the present….right?”

Rarity shot Twilight a brilliant smile and nodded. “I figured you would say that. Come over here, if you’re going to leave tomorrow, you’ll need some clothes to keep you warm. And some food for the journey. And….”

Twilight just followed and nodded. Tomorrow she would set out to find the mare of her dreams and regardless of whether it worked out or not, she knew that her friends would stand beside her and support her.

Chapter 2

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter Two

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were already open as Celestia’s sun was cresting the mountaintops of the land, and she sighed in frustration. Sleep had refused to take her that night, and while she didn’t feel any adverse affects right now, probably thanks to her nap at Rarity’s, she knew that later in the day she would regret it.

Her frustration was short lived though; the waiting was over!

As this thought occurred to her, a delighted grin materialized on her features and her magic went into overdrive as she began to groom herself, pack more items into her already packed saddlebags, clean the library, and fix breakfast simultaneously.

The packing and cleaning, however, were more out of habit than anything. Twilight had cleaned the library the evening before and she and Rarity had already packed the ‘essentials,’ which, according to Rarity, were thirty different outfits, a large assortment of cosmetics, and two or three fiction novels.

That last few items made Twilight involuntarily shudder. Who would intentionally read something that wasn’t true? Madness.

Twilight had tried to be tactful when packing with Rarity, but there are only so many ways to tell a friend that packing thirty dresses and any makeup on a long, most likely difficult journey was just silly.

Eventually the two friends had agreed on a list of items that included warm clothing, emergency food, maps, and, Rarity insisted, at least one extremely frilly dress.

“What?” Rarity asked when Twilight had given her an incredulous look. “Trixie may be an insufferable braggart, but that doesn’t mean she won’t appreciate you dressing up for her.”

Twilight had conceded, but only because she was too embarrassed to say anything.

Slowing down long enough to at least somewhat enjoy the grass pancakes she had fixed, Twilight went over a checklist that included such items as “Ensure checklist has everything that needs to be checked on it” and “Triple-check checklist” just to make sure she wasn’t missing anything.

Satisfied and full, Twilight only had two more things to do. The first was to pick out some books to take with her. Celestia’s Compendium of Edible Flora and Navigating by Night were the most important ones. The others were for pure enjoyment.

The second was to gingerly place Trixie’s cloak and hat into her bags. She had thought briefly about wearing them, but wearing something that wasn’t hers without permission wasn’t right, no matter how much she wanted to.

Besides, that intoxicating scent would have her drifting off and bumping into things. A lot.

Twilight pulled herself away from the scent and quietly trotted up the stairs of her tree-home. A certain baby dragon that she loved was curled up into a tiny ball and resting in the basket that served as his bed, his blanket on the floor beside him.

Twilight smiled at the small amount of drool dripping from his mouth. She had found him, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, asleep beneath Rainbow Dash’s house. They all looked absolutely exhausted, so she had carried the Crusaders to their respective homes with the help of Rarity, then took Spike home and tucked him in for a well deserved rest.

He was the hardest thing to leave behind.

Even though Twilight knew she would be back, she hated to leave Spike alone for so long. They had been inseparable since he was born, and at the end of the day Twilight considered herself his mother.

She had thought about taking Spike with her, but he was too young to be traipsing around Equestria especially considering the reason she was traipsing around in the first place. Instead, she would leave him here, give him some time off and let her friends take care of him. Hopefully he would understand.

Twilight used her magic to gently replace Spike’s blanket and walked over to her desk in order to write her baby dragon a letter.

Spike,

Before I say anything, I want you to know that you are the best assistant I’ve ever had, and even more than that, you’re the best friend I have. You’re always there when I need somepony (or dragon) to talk to, and even if you get mad at me, you’re always there for me. Thank you. But the real reason I’m writing this letter is to tell you that I’m going to be gone for a while. I’m not sure exactly how long, but it will probably be at least a month. I’m…going to do something that I really need to do. I’ll tell you about it when I get back. I’ve asked Rarity to look after you, so behave and don’t make googly eyes every time she’s around. I wish I could take you with me, but you’re still a baby dragon, and you don’t need to be running all over Equestria with me on a silly errand. I love you Spike. Be good while I’m gone. I’ll miss you.

Twilight Sparkle

P.S Please send the other letter to Princess Celestia. It tells her what I’m going to do. Thanks!

Twilight had to rewrite the entire letter once because her tears smudged the words of the original, but in the end she was happy with the result. The letter to Princess Celestia was short and to the point, simply stating that she was going on a journey to do something she needed to do. She wanted to say more, but she didn’t need royal guards tailing her and spying on her every move.

Okay, maybe that sounded a teensy bit irrational, but hey, you could never be too careful…right?

She placed the letters next to Spike’s bed, just to make sure he would find them, and, satisfied that everything she needed to do was taken care of, donned her saddlebags and headed out of her tree-home.

Only to be stopped by the one thing she had dreaded dealing with: a familiar voice.

“Hey Sugarcube. Where ya headin’?

Twilight stiffened and turned around slowly.

Next to her home stood her five friends, four sporting looks of disapproval, and one a look of sheepish guilt.

There was a reason Twilight never played Equestria Hold ‘Em. Her poker face was dreadful.

“Uh…hi guys! What are you guys up to? Me? I’m just going for a little walk. Yep…just a little walk to clear my head after that night of…uh…studying! Yep! That night of studying really took it out of me and I just need to…go…for..a…” Twilight trailed off when she realized her friends weren’t buying it. Applejack looked especially annoyed.

“Rarity already told us Twi.”

Twilight shot Rarity an annoyed look.

“Darling it wasn’t my fault! They forced me to tell them!”

Twilight wasn’t buying it. “Forced you huh?”

Rarity’s lowered her gaze and shuffled her hooves. “Okay, maybe ‘forced’ is a strong word. But they were very persuasive!”

Applejack interrupted before Twilight could respond. Her look of annoyance had morphed into one of hurt.

“Now we can assign blame later, but right now ah just want to know why you were gonna leave without tellin’ us! We’re your friends Twi!”

Rainbow Dash also piped up. Surprisingly, her usual look of cool indifference was replaced by an expression that mirrored Applejack’s.

“Yeah Egghead! Did you think we wouldn’t care!? That we wouldn’t worry!? You’re supposed to be the smart one for Celestia’s sake!”

Twilight backed away, her head lowered in shame and tears starting to form in her eyes.

“I’m sorry…I..I didn’t think…”

“Obviously you didn’t think! If you had you wouldn’t have tried to leave without saying anything!” Rainbow Dash had transformed from a hurt mare into an angry one. Tears were also forming in her eyes, and as she continued, her volume rose. “What if something had happened to you Egghead!? What if you had fallen off a cliff or gotten attacked by a manticore or something!? Huh!? We would have never known! We would have never known that our friend had died!! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED!!?”

Rainbow Dash broke down into sobs, and Fluttershy knelt beside her, placing her wing over her and whispering comforting words into her ear.

Twilight looked at her friends through blurred vision. Applejack looked like she wanted to do the same thing Rainbow had done, but was controlling herself. Fluttershy was comforting the sobbing mare. Rarity was still looking at the ground, and Pinkie Pie....was looking straight at her, a mix of sadness and disappointment etched on her features. Her hair hanging down in perfectly straight, pink locks.

“Why Twilight?” Pinkie asked, not a trace of her usual bubbly self evident. “Why would you leave without telling us? Did we do something? Were my parties not good enough? I know that at the last one the punch was a little too sweet, but I promise that it won’t happen again! I’ll try extra super-duper hard and make the best punch ever! I promise!”

Twilight was ashamed of herself. She hadn’t wanted to deal with her friend because she didn’t think they would understand. Sure, Rarity had, but Rarity was always the romantic in the group. She hadn’t even considered what leaving without a word would do to her friends.

“I’m so sorry everypony! It’s just that I knew you guys hated Trixie and…”

“Whoa Sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted, a confused look on her face. “what the hay does Trixie have to do with this?”

Twilight looked just as confused as Applejack.

“What? But I thought you said Rarity told you…”

Everypony looked at Rarity. Rainbow Dash’s sobs had dissolved into quiet tears and sniffling, so even she was paying attention to this new development.

Rarity gazed back at the five pairs of eyes with a guilty expression.

“Ahem, well darling I only told them you were leaving. They didn’t ask why so I didn’t tell them.”

Twilight stared at Rarity, her face flushing with anger. She was about to go off on her, but Applejack decided to have her say first. She didn’t yell. Instead her voice was low and cold, her eyes burning with a cold fire.

“Rarity. Ya’ll are the dumbest, most self-centered pony I know. Ya knew why she was leavin’ and didn’t tell us? Did ya ever stop and use your pretty little head for just a second and think that maybe, just maybe, that would make a difference? If Twilight has a good reason for leavin’, then we have no business yelling at her. I knew your head was filled with to the brim with all that frilly frou-frou stuff, but I didn’t think that your common sense had been pushed out by it. What the hay is wrong with you?”

Rarity simply backed away and looked at the ground again. She had nothing to say.

Disgusted, she turned away and looked at Twilight, her expression softening significantly.

“Alright, why don’t ya tell us then? Why are ya leavin’ and what does it have to do with Trixie?”

Twilight thought about lying for a second. Only a second though. She decided that the only way to handle this was to just come out and say the truth, even if her brain was completely against the idea.

“Well I..um…I kinda have feelings for her, and I want to go and see if they’re real or not, and if they’re real then I want to see if Trixie will return them.”

All of her friends stared at her for a moment, causing her face to blush a bright red. She thought that they were even angrier.

Then Rainbow Dash burst out into a deafening, relieved laughter.

“You! Hahahahahahah! You like TRIXIE! Ahahahahahahaha! That’s rich! That’s…hahahahaha…that’s….ahahahaha…..”

Twilight, while relieved that Rainbow wasn’t angry at her anymore, was a little put off by the fact that she found her…attraction…hilarious.

“Hey! What’s so funny about it! Haven’t you ever liked somepony?”

Fluttershy chose this moment to speak up. She hadn’t known what to think about the entire ordeal, but she had been sure there was something they were missing. This was it.

“Actually, yes. She has liked somepony, but unlike you she was too afraid to do anything about it.”

Rainbow immediately sobered up. “Hey! They don’t need to know about that!”

Pinkie bounded forward and pulled Twilight into a crushing hug, her hair regaining its normal fluffiness.

“Oh. My. Gosh. That is sooooooo cute! I can remember my first crush! He was a new colt in town and I had just moved their a couple of weeks before and I was throwing a party and he asked to dance with me and I was so flattered but then he left town and I was sad but then I met you guys and it was okay and then…”

Applejack pulled Pinkie away and gave Twilight a small, friendly smile.

“Ah’m sorry that we overreacted,” here she gave Rarity a withering glare “but when ya don’t have all the facts ya can’t really make good decisions, can ya?”

Twilight grinned at all her friends and sighed in relief. She was so happy that her friends didn’t hate her, and even happier that they understood. She was about to reply to Applejack when a howl of anguish split the air.

“TWILIIIIIGHT!!”

Six pairs of startled eyes whipped around to stare at the tree-home as a distraught baby dragon came running out. Tears were streaming down his face and his claws were clutching Twilight’s letter. When he saw Twilight he rushed to her without hesitation and threw his arms around her, burying his tearstained face in her mane.

“Don’t leave Twilight! Please! I...I don’t wanna stay here without you!!! P..please let me come with you! I’m not too young and I’ll be good! Just please don’t…don’t leave!!” His final words were cut off as his grief overpowered him, and sobs racked his body.

Twilight’s heart broke. She loved Spike more than anything in the world, and she couldn’t handle seeing him cry like that. At the same time though, she knew that if she didn’t do this, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

“Shh….hush Spike. It’s okay, I’ll be back. I won’t be gone that long. Shhhh.” Twilight let him cry himself out on her while she comforted him. Her friends just stared with sympathetic eyes.

Spike’s sobs subsided, and he tried one final time, looking up at Twilight with imploring, emerald eyes. “Please Twilight? Please let me come with you.”

“Spike…” Twilight hugged him. “I really want to let you come, but it’s too much to ask. You’re still a baby, you have to stay here.”

Spike stared down in anguish and defeat, his claw tightening over Twilight’s letter, and tears began to flow down his face again.

Twilight nudged him, a small subdued smile appearing. “Hey.”

Spike looked back up, trying hard to stem the flow of tears.

“Did my Number One Assistant send that letter to Princess Celestia yet?”

Spike sniffled and grinned, the use of his unofficial title, more of a pet name really, filling him with a sort of pride as he traveled back into his home.

“Not yet, gimme a second.”

As soon as the door had closed, Twilight sighed and fell to her haunches, unable to keep up the façade of strength anymore.

“I can’t do it.” She said, looking at her friends with dejected eyes. “I can’t leave him; I’m practically his mother!”

Rarity was aghast. “But..but darling, you told me yourself that this was driving you crazy, that you couldn’t stop thinking about her! Besides, I told you I would look after him, and I’m sure that the others will help too…right?” She glanced around at the other ponies.

Fluttershy was the first to react. “Oh yes. I’ll help look after him Twilight. You know I love baby dragons, and it won’t be any trouble at all.”

Pinkie Pie also agreed, hopping up and down, “Ooh ooh! Me too! I’ll throw him parties Every. Single. Day! He won’t be a saddie-waddie baby draggie for even one teensy-weensy second!”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were a little slower to agree.

“Ah’ll help when ah can, but workin’ at the farm will take up most of my time, so ah’m not sure how much help ah’ll be.” Applejack shrugged, simply stating the truth.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was torn. She wanted to help Twilight out, but dragon-sitting sounded so…boring. She began to voice this opinion, but was stopped by two things.

The first was a nudge from Fluttershy. The second was a look from Applejack that mirrored the one she had given Rarity.

Gulping, Rainbow Dash knew exactly what to do. “Yeah Twilight! I’ll help too!”

Twilight felt a gigantic weight lift off her shoulders. With all of her friends watching Spike, she knew he would be just fine. She stood and drew them all into a group hug. “Thanks girls. You’re the best friends I could ask for.”

“Hey!” Spike ran into the center of the hug, and latched onto Twilight, squeezing as hard as his tiny baby dragon arms would let him. “I want a hug too!”

Twilight smiled, feeling much more confident than she had that morning. “Oh Spike.”

Chapter 3

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 3

Twilight Sparkle would never move again. Ever.

Every single muscle in her body radiated tension and exhaustion, and the nice, soft, warm bed she was laying in made moving an extremely low priority. Twilight knew that she wasn’t exactly an athlete, but she never expected to hurt like this, especially after the way she had performed in the Running of the Leaves. So what was different?

Oh yeah. The massive hills, the biting cold, the heavy saddlebags, and those were just the physical problems. She also had to deal with the crushing loneliness. Even when she was young and chose to spend her time in the library alone, she knew that she could find company if she wanted it. Plus she had always had Spike. Out here, there was nothing to keep Twilight company except her thoughts.

Unfortunately, the way her brain over-analyzed everything made her thoughts annoying and unwanted. Even the ones about Trixie.

Especially the ones about Trixie.

Twilight groaned and pulled a pillow over her head, attempting to block out the thoughts. Sadly, these weren’t magical thought blocking pillows and did nothing to stop the thoughts or the blush that came with them.

Why did she like Trixie like that? It wasn’t as if Trixie had ever shown even a semblance of kindness towards her… and yet any thought of the show-pony made Twilight blush. She really had to figure out why, if for no other reason than to know.

Twilight removed the useless pillow from her face and stared at the ceiling. “Stupid heart, liking ponies for no reason at all. Mares even!” She paused. Did she have a problem with the fact that she liked mares? No… at least she didn’t think she did. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Miss Sparkle, your dinner is ready. May I enter?”

The thought of food gave Twilight a tiny burst of energy, and she called out in a hoarse, but enthusiastic voice. “Absolutely!”

The door opened and a hay-colored earth pony stepped through. She looked to be in her thirties, but her walnut hair was as dark as a filly’s and she radiated happiness. Her cutie mark was a bed. Twilight instantly liked her. As the mare set Twilight’s dinner on a table near the door she turned towards Twilight, the beginnings of a welcome on her lips.

“You must be the new arrival my husband checked in. I’m the co-owner of this inn and my name is… Oh my. Are you alright sweetie?” Her eyes had widened in motherly concern, and a confused Twilight turned to look at the mirror next to her bed.

Yikes! Her mane was unkempt and lifeless, her coat was dusty, her tail was matted together, with some parts sticking out at odd angles, and her eyes were dull and drooping. She looked absolutely terrible.

Laughing nervously, Twilight gave the concerned innpony a sheepish smile. “Um yeah, hehe. I’ve just been traveling a lot today and I’m really exhausted. I haven’t had a chance to take a shower yet.” A quick realization made Twilight roll off the bed quickly. She landed with a wince and tried to stammer out an apology. “O… oh gosh, I… I’m so sorry about your sheets. I was so tired that I didn’t even think about how dirty I was and…”

She was interrupted by the warm laughter of her host. “Ahahaha! Oh goodness, I’m sorry but that is hahaha… that is just adorable.” Recovering, she gazed at Twilight with twinkling eyes. “Honey, if your sheets were the dirtiest sheets I had to deal with in this inn I would be a very happy pony. Now, before you eat, why don’t you go take a nice, hot bath? I’ll have your sheets changed in no time.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say that she would take care of it, but the mare was already out the door. Normally she would have insisted, but now that she thought about it, a bath sounded absolutely wonderful.

She slowly walked into the attached bathroom, every step causing her muscles to protest, and quickly ran a hot bath. After a few moments she stepped in. She had barely gotten one full leg into the tub before the soothing warmth made her involuntarily sigh in relief.

Twilight rinsed the dust off her coat and out of her hair, then rested her head on the side of the tub. The hot water was relaxing her muscles and making her sleepy. She tried to fight the exhaustion, but with her muscles finally relaxed it was a vain effort. Her final thought before she passed into a dreamless sleep was “I hope I don’t drown…”

=================================================================================================

Twilight felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder and groaned. She knew that she hadn’t been asleep very long, and didn’t want to get up. “Go away Spike. I had a late night.” She tried to turn over and pull the covers over her head, but she realized that she wasn’t in a bed at all. And she was freezing.

Her eyes shot open in a panic, and she found herself staring into a kind, semi-familiar face.

“Sweetie you need to get into bed before you catch a cold. I’ve changed your sheets and put a few extra blankets on. It’s supposed to be colder than usual tonight.”

Twilight blinked, recent events coming back to her. “Oh… um thank you.” Twilight searched her brain for a name and drew a blank. “I’m sorry I don’t even know your name.”

The older mare just smiled, her eyes crinkling at the edges. “Oh just call me Ellie. Now really, let’s get you into bed. That water must be freezing.”

Twilight shivered, realizing the truth in Ellie’s words. “Alright, thank you for waking me up. How long has it been?”

Ellie helped Twilight out of the tub and handed her a towel. “Only an hour or so. I would have woken you up sooner, but a few new guests checked in and I had to tend to them.”

Twilight finished drying off and walked into the bedroom with Ellie. Her sheets were indeed clean, and there were two extra blankets on the bed, both the same color as Ellie’s coat. “It’s no problem Ellie. I shouldn’t have been such a silly pony and fallen asleep in the bath.”

Ellie took a final glance around the room, appraising it. Apparently satisfied, she nodded and took a final glance at Twilight. “Alright, well I’ve set out hot soup for you on the table.” She inclined her head towards the soup. “If you don’t need anything, I think I’m going to turn in for the night myself.”

Twilight had to force herself to look away from the steaming bowl of soup. “I think I’m good now. Thank you for everything Ellie.”

Ellie shot Twilight her beaming smile. “Don’t mention honey. It’s not everyday I get to act like a mother to my guests. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.” As Ellie closed the door, Twilight trotted over to the soup and began eating it as quickly as she could without spilling it. She was ravenous and the soup was absolutely delicious. Quickly finishing it, she got into bed and pulled all of the covers and blankets on top of her. It was very cold.

Between the warmth of the soup filling her body and the blankets providing a soft cloud of comfort, Twilight quickly felt her previous exhaustion catch up with her. That hour, while nice, had done nothing to reenergize her, and she knew that tomorrow would be even more traveling. The knowledge was sobering, and apparently Twilight’s brain agreed that she needed sleep. She was deeply asleep in less than five minutes.

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The brightness of the midmorning sun slowly brought Twilight back into consciousness. At first, she fought it, but as it became apparent the light wouldn’t go away, she gave in and sat up, stretching. Twilight smiled, feeling an unusual sense of joy, and it quickly grew into a giggle. She was refreshed and giddy and…

And then the hunger hit her.

A low rumble erupted from her stomach. That soup last night had been delicious, but it wasn’t very sustaining. Pausing only to brush her mane and tail, Twilight trotted lazily downstairs looking for Ellie. She saw her sitting at a table, conversing with the pony that had checked her in last night. Ellie saw her and smiled, waving her over.

“Hey sweetie! You look much better this morning. Have a good night?”

Twilight smiled back, taking a seat at the table. “Yes, I had an amazing night. I feel completely refreshed. Thanks again for getting me out of the bath. I really would have frozen last night.”

“Oh don’t mention it. I can’t just let my guests go and freeze, can I? It’s bad for business!” Ellie’s eyes sparkled with humor. “I bet you’re hungry aren’t you?”

Twilight didn’t want to be too insistent, no matter how hungry she was. “Well I could certainly use…” Her stomach had another plan, however, and let out another, louder, rumble. Twilight flushed red with embarrassment.

Ellie simply laughed merrily. “I’ll go and put something together. Why don’t you get acquainted with my husband here? His name is Hearthly, but everyone around here just calls him Hearth.”

As Ellie trotted away to make breakfast, Twilight took a good look at Hearth. His coat was a slightly darker gold than his wife’s, but his mane and tail were a pale reddish hue. Twilight couldn’t see his cutie mark. He spoke first.

“Hello Miss Sparkle. I’m sorry we didn’t get acquainted properly last night, but you looked very tired and I don’t have it in me to keep a tired pony from a bed.”

The stallion’s calm, polite demeanor reminded Twilight of Big Mac. “It’s no problem. I was absolutely exhausted last night; I don’t remember much to be honest.”

Hearth chuckled. “Everypony has days like that, nothing to be ashamed of. What were you doing that made you so exhausted? I would assume traveling since I don’t recognize you. I know every pony in St. Ponysberg.”

Twilight nodded. “You’re right. I’m from Ponyville.”

Hearth whistled, looking impressed. “Whew, you walked all the way here from Ponyville? That’s quite a feat. What brings you out so far?”

Twilight hesitated, not knowing whether she wanted to discuss the reason she was out here. She trusted Hearth though, and any information about Trixie would only help her. “I’m actually looking for somepony that I’ve heard passed through here a few weeks ago. Maybe you knew her. Her name was Trixie.”

Hearth thought for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. “Hmm, sounds familiar… Was her coat like a powder blue? And her cutie mark was like a wand with some sparkles around it?”

Twilight leaned forward, unable to conceal her elation. “You knew her? Do you know where she went? What did she do here? Where did she stay? Did she put on a show?

Hearth held up his hooves, trying to stop the flood of questions. “Whoa there… One question at a time. She stayed here actually, but I didn’t know her. Ellie handles the guests. My job is to keep the inn clean and keep all of the pipes and fireplaces and other stuff working properly. Ask her when she gets back.”

“Ask me what?” Ellie chose that moment to return from the kitchen, bearing a trey of grass pancakes and apple cider. Twilight’s mouth watered at the sight.

Hearth looked like he was glad breakfast had arrived as well, giving the pancakes an almost predatory look. “She wants to know about that show-pony that stayed here a few weeks back. The blue one.”

“Oh, you mean Trixie?” Ellie looked at Twilight for confirmation, but she was busy devouring the pancakes. Ellie smiled. She loved making other ponies happy.

After a moment, Twilight realized she was being exceptionally rude and glanced up, a guilty look on her face. “Um… sorry about that, I guess I was hungrier than I thought I was. Yeah, her name was Trixie. Did you talk to her?”

Ellie waved away Twilight’s apology. “It’s fine sweetie. I knew that you would be starving when you woke up. Anyway, I did talk to her. She was very… distressed when she came here. It looked as if she had been through some really rough times, so I let her stay here for a couple of days while she got back on her feet, free of charge.”

Twilight finished off her pancakes and gave Ellie her full attention. This is what she wanted to hear.

“I tried to get her to talk to me, tell me what happened, but all she would say is ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie was humiliated and run out of town by a certain pony and her friends.’ She seemed like she had a lot of hate in her. She stayed in her room for two full days; the only time I saw her was when I brought meals to her, and even then she refused to talk to me other than to thank me for the food. On the third day she seemed like a changed mare. She came down at breakfast and asked me all sorts of questions about the town and the ponies in it, and that night she had her first show right out there.” She nodded towards the front of the inn.

Twilight looked down, digesting the information. Run out of town? She left by herself! She gave Ellie an even look. “You said that she had a lot of hate in her… was it towards the pony that ‘ran her out of town?’”

“Well, like I said, she didn’t really talk about it, but that’s what I assumed.” Ellie noticed an unhappy expression cross Twilight’s face and looked over at Hearth to see if he saw it too. He was asleep.

Twilight shook herself. She could analyze that and be sad later, she needed to hear this. “So what happened at the show?”

“Well,” Ellie continued “I only saw a little bit of it, I had guests to attend to after all, but I hear that it went really well. We don’t get a lot of entertainment around here, so anything that’s remotely exciting gets a bunch of attention. At any rate she made enough to pay for a week here, which she did after the show. She seemed genuinely happy. It was almost as if she was a different pony. She was even humming to herself when she came down for breakfast the next morning. She had three other shows that week, and each one was more popular than the last. The day after the last show she bought a trailer and some supplies and left. You know what though? I’ll never forget what she said to me before she left. She came down with her bags all packed and she smiled at me and said: ‘The Great and… no, I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me Ellie. You helped me get my confidence back and I’ll always remember you. Thank you.’ And that was the last I saw of her. Really sweet pony, once you get past all the arrogance and pride.”

Twilight sat there for a moment, not really knowing what to say. On the one hoof, as far as she knew, Trixie was happy. On the other hoof, she hated Twilight. Should she just go back to Ponyville and forget it? The thought felt like a hard lump in her chest.

Ellie watched Twilight’s face go from contemplative, to relieved, to agonized and back to contemplative. She didn’t know exactly what was wrong, but her motherly instincts wouldn’t let her leave it alone. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Twilight looked up, confused. She had forgotten where she was for a moment. “I… I don’t know what I want. I’m going to stay here for another night if that’s okay. I need to think about… things.” Twilight started towards the stairs but stopped. What good would staying in a room all day do her? “Ellie, does St. Ponysberg have any parks? Or just somewhere peaceful?”

It went against Ellie’s grain to watch a pony in distress passively, but she knew that some things were best done alone. “Sure sweetie, just turn right when you leave the inn and go all the way down that road. You’ll see a sign that says ‘St. Ponysberg Gardens.’ That’s as peaceful as it gets around here.”

Twilight nodded and began walking to the door, calling over her shoulder. “Thank you. I’ll be back later.”

Ellie watched Twilight leave with sympathetic eyes. Life was never easy, especially for a mare as young as Twilight. She hoped that everything worked out. In the mean time though, she had work to do. She cleared the table and began walking back to the kitchen, tapping Hearth on the head as she did so. “Wake up, lazy. There’s work to be done.”

Hearth just stretched deeply and yawned. “Already? What did I miss?”

Ellie smiled at her husband’s colt-like attitude towards work. “Not much, just the fact that the fireplace needs cleaning today.”

Hearth shuddered, dreading the work that he knew lay ahead. “Oh goody…”

=================================================================================================

Twilight walked the rustic cobblestone streets of St. Ponysberg with a heavy heart. What should she do? If Trixie really did hate her, then there was no reason to keep going. She would only open old wounds that had probably already healed. But… Ellie did say that Trixie hadn’t talked about anything specific. Maybe she had been wrong?

Twilight wished, more than anything, that there was a book for this stuff. She trusted books. Books were her friends. Books were helpful, and didn’t judge you, and kept you company when nopony else would and…

And were completely useless when talking about love.

Twilight stopped walking and looked up at the cloudless sky. Was this love? She had asked herself that before and she still didn’t have an answer. It had to be though… right? Why else would she choose to walk all over Equestria, trying to find a single pony that probably hated her for what she did even if it did save her life.

She sighed. Life was complicated.

Continuing on, Twilight soon reached the garden that Ellie had described. It was… the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Well… maybe second most beautiful, Canterlot’s garden was tended by two goddesses after all.

A stone fountain stood in the center of the garden, the water shooting gracefully into the air and turning the sunlight into rainbows. A stone path circled it and ran off in multiple directions, often looping around itself, giving the garden a graceful, flowing look. Every type of flower resided in the garden: orchids, roses, lavender, lilacs, jasmine and lilies, just to name a few. Tall hedges surrounded the perimeter of the garden, and were also interspersed throughout, making smaller, private “rooms” for couples that wanted to enjoy the beauty of the garden with each other. It was absolutely quiet, except for the gentle gurgling of the fountain, and the subtle clop of hooves against the path from other visitors to the garden.

Twilight slowly walked through the paradise, her troubled mind being soothed into peace by the beauty around her. The combined aroma of the flowers was sweet and lingering, but not overpowering.

She came to a part of the garden that looked older, the stone path was covered in moss, the grass was a little higher, and the flowers weren’t as neatly trimmed and controlled. It still had the peace of the rest of the garden, but it was as if it had been forgotten by the caretakers. Twilight kept walking and eventually came to a small oasis enclosed by the shrubs. A small pond reflected the sunlight, and a bench sat nearby.

As Twilight walked up to the bench, she could see that it was old, maybe older than the garden itself, and it had been worn smooth by years of weather. Taking a seat, she gazed across the pond and watched the water ripple as the wind caressed the surface. She felt… right. Like there were no worries in her life. She was completely at peace.

Closing her eyes, she reveled in the warmth of the sun reflecting off the water and she smiled.

Opening her eyes, she noticed a small circle of stones off to her right. A single flower stood within the circle and she felt almost compelled to go closer. It was a rose, each petal seemingly crafted by nature to be absolutely perfect. What made the rose special was its color.

It was a soft, powdery blue.

Twilight’s mind saw the rose and knew that it meant nothing. That it was simply a coincidence, an odd phenomenon. Her heart saw the rose and cried out in a myriad of emotions. Joy, longing, despair, love. Twilight felt all of these emotions build up inside of her. They built up inside of her until she thought she would burst. They overwhelmed her mind, and for a moment she stopped thinking with her brain and let her heart do the thinking.

In that moment, she knew that it didn’t matter whether or not Trixie hated her or loved her or even felt nothing towards her. It didn’t matter that they were both mares and it didn’t matter that she had no idea what she was doing. All that mattered was that Twilight saw her, even if it was just one, final time.

Twilight didn’t understand why, nor did she care. All she knew was that her heart absolutely, without a doubt, loved Trixie.

Chapter 4

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter Four

Twilight found herself lying on an extremely soft bed, softer than she remembered it being the night before. She snuggled into the warm embrace of the covers, attempting to recapture sleep but it escaped her grasp and she gave up. As her senses attuned to the world of the living, a scent struck her. It was familiar. More than that, it was the one scent that she had desired more than anything else for the past eight days.

The sweet, refreshing fragrance of jasmine and mint.

Twilight’s eyes shot open as she sat up and quickly searched for the source. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn’t in the same place she had fallen asleep. Dark wooden planks covered with rugs made up the floor, and the walls were little more than that. The room was small, maybe three ponies across and two wide. Where was she?

“I’m glad you’re awake Twilight. I’ve been waiting for such a long time.”

Twilight froze. That voice… she heard it whispered on every breeze that touched her. She dreamed about it every night. It was the voice of the pony she loved, and sweeter to her than any melody she had ever heard.

She turned her head slowly, as if moving too fast would make its source disappear, and sitting at a table she hadn’t noticed before was a pale azure mare with deep purple eyes that drew Twilight into their depths. The Great and Powerful Trixie sat less than ten feet from Twilight, and the proximity made her heart begin to race.

After a moment Twilight found her voice. “Trixie! B…but how… where…” Trixie raised a hoof, stopping her.

“Shh. Don’t talk.” Trixie got up and slowly walked over to the bed Twilight sat in. As she got closer, the intoxicating aroma made Twilight light-headed. Trixie’s hoof on her neck only intensified the sensation. “Oh Twilight… We have so much to talk about.” Trixie cooed in Twilight’s ear, the hot breath making her spine shudder.

Twilight almost gave in, but something was wrong. Something didn’t add up, and after being overwhelmed by emotions just three days ago, her brain wasn’t going to be silenced again. The realization hit Twilight with a crushing sadness.

Looking at Trixie with teary eyes she whispered the question she already knew the answer to, her voice only just choking out the words. “This… this is a dream… isn’t it?”

Trixie’s demeanor changed instantly. Her previously soft, lyrical voice turned harsh and angry. The intoxicating scent became a stench that made Twilight recoil, and the gentle, petting hoof became rougher and more purposeful. Trixie’s laugh was harsh.

“Of course it’s a dream you foal! In what other place would the Great and Powerful Trixie surrender herself to you? The Great and Powerful Trixie hates you, remember?”

As everything faded into black, Twilight let out an anguished cry. A cry that channeled all of her love, frustration, hatred, and pain into one, final word.

“Trixie!”

Twilight’s eyes opened, and she felt the wetness of tears sliding down her cheeks and onto her already soaked pillow. She buried her face into the pillow and held it there as forlorn sobs racked her body.

As the sobs diminished, Twilight was left feeling hollow. She lay unmoving for what seemed like hours, simply thinking about her past and her future.

After accepting her feelings in the garden, she had returned to the inn, giddy with her newfound knowledge. The next morning she had left, Ellie and Hearth providing her with extra provisions even as she denied needing them. Ellie had even refused payment.

“You’ve chosen a hard road honey, a road that most never take. I don’t need your bits, just promise me that you won’t give up, okay?”

At the time, Twilight had just smiled and hugged her. The kindness of the innpony putting a lump in her throat that prevented her from doing anything more.

The next day Twilight passed through two towns even smaller than St. Ponysberg. Asking about Trixie didn’t gain her much information, besides the fact that her shows had been very successful in both towns. Twilight stayed at an inn in the second town, but without Ellie and Hearth there, it felt cold and lonely.

Her days passed uneventfully, the burning in her muscles and the cold wind biting her flank being her only companions. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace. It seemed that Ponyville was always on the cusp of one disaster or another: a dragon one day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders missing another. The peace and consistency were... nice.

Peace was a relative term however. Twilight’s mind would not be silent for even a moment. It was constantly racing in order to try and predict what Trixie would do when she saw Twilight. In one scenario her mind had come up with, Trixie had instantly fell into her arms and they had participated in some actions that left Twilight with a furious blush. In another Trixie had completely shot Twilight down, telling her that she hated her and that she never wanted to see her again. Twilight had no idea what would happen, but that didn’t stop her mind from conjuring up the best, and worst, scenarios.

The light of Celestia’s sun rising over the horizon gave Twilight the will to move; she couldn’t let a silly dream stop her, could she? No, instead she would journey farther; close the distance and find out the true answer.

Going over to a small table in the room, Twilight unrolled the map she had left there last night and traced her progress so far. She had traveled an impressive distance, being a little more than half way to Trixie’s “vacation spot.” Twilight doubted that Trixie would still be there, but it was better than just wandering Equestria, asking random people if they knew where she was.

Twilight studied the route she would be taking during the next few days. It looked as if it was just more of the same hills, valleys, rivers and roads that she had dealt with before, at least up until a certain point. After that she would have to travel through a “Whitebark Forest.” Twilight frowned, and then shrugged. It couldn’t be any harder than traveling over what she had already… right?

She rolled the map up and put it back into her saddlebags, along with the rest of her belongings. She thought about leaving Rarity’s jacket out, but she didn’t think it was quite cold enough for it just yet.

After taking a shower and cleaning up the room, Twilight pulled out two apples and ate them. Breakfast wasn’t included with the room here, and while she did have a healthy amount of bits, she didn’t want to pay the ridiculous rates here. Satisfied that everything was in order, and with a mostly full belly, Twilight left the inn and continued on her way.

The hours passed, each growing colder than the last. After the third hour traveling, Twilight had to put on Rarity’s jacket and boots. After the fourth, she was shivering even through the clothes. Winter had finally settled in for the season, and it was settling with a vengeance.

Twilight thought about making a fire, but one of the first lessons she had learned was that making mobile fire was an extremely bad idea and she wasn’t willing to lose any more time. Her heart couldn’t take any more delays.

So Twilight let her mind drift and put her legs on autopilot. If she didn’t think about the cold it wouldn’t bother her. At least it wouldn’t in theory. Her first thoughts were of her parents. It had been so long since she had seen them. Sure she wrote them letters fairly regularly, but that was no way to communicate with her own parents. She missed them.

Then, of course, she wondered what her parents would think about what she was doing… what she was. Would they care if she liked mares? Would she care if they did? She knew the answer to that one at least. She wouldn’t care if Princess Celestia herself disapproved.

Twilight frowned. Would the Princess care? No… of course not. Celestia was the most understanding pony she knew. Back when she was living in Canterlot, Twilight went to Celestia about any problem she was having and the Princess helped her, no matter what. This would be no different.

Shaking her head, Twilight turned her thoughts to other things. She thought about what her friends were doing in Ponyville and what Trixie might be doing… wherever she was. She thought about science and philosophy and some of her past adventures. Eventually she wasn’t even thinking coherent thoughts; it was more just a blur of colors, numbers, and emotions flowing through her brain. And then she snapped back into clarity, registering her surroundings.

She was… in the middle of nowhere. Fields of grass and rolling hills spread out in every direction and the road was nowhere in sight.

Twilight stopped and looked around for a moment, her brain slowly connecting the dots. Then, when everything clicked into place, she panicked and began to run in circles, willing her brain to think of a solution.

After the fifth or sixth circle, her brain came through for her. Pulling out the map, she looked for a field of grass near the road she had been traveling on. Unfortunately, the map was not very detailed, and Twilight couldn’t find a field of grass anywhere near the road she had been taking. Twilight let out a shuddering sigh and racked her brain for ideas, attempting to stop the fear she could feel building up from consuming her.

Teleportation? No, she had no idea where she was, so she had no way of knowing which direction to teleport in. Plus it did have a limited range. Unfortunately.

Maybe she could go back the way she came. Which was… darn. Twilight facehoofed, wishing that she hadn’t run in circles.

As Twilight stood at the top of the hill, the wind started blowing and Twilight knew that whatever she decided to do, it would have to wait until the next morning. She was exhausted from traveling all day and after the sun set the temperature would go below freezing and if she didn’t want to have this journey cut short, Twilight would need a campsite.

She magically cleared an area of grass and made a small fire pit. Then she filled it with grass and shrubbery and lit it. After making sure it was stable and wouldn't start a massive grassfire, Twilight got out what camping supplies she had.

Her saddlebags had been too small to pack a full size tent, but she did have blankets and a sleeping bag. That would have to do. Twilight laid out the sleeping bag and stuffed it with the blankets, then put together a stew using the ingredients that Ellie had given her and let that start heating.

Having a clear goal had suppressed Twilight’s panic, but now, no longer having anything to do, it came back in full force. Best case scenario, she would find the road or a village or a landmark of some kind and get right back on track. Worst case scenario, she froze to death that night and never saw anypony again.

Twilight shook herself. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help her. Instead, she pulled out a book on wilderness survival and began reading while the stew finished.

It wasn’t anything compared to the food she had eaten in Ponyville or even at Ellie’s inn, but it was still warm and filling. After finishing and packing away her utensils Twilight burrowed into her sleeping bag and just watched as Luna’s moon rose over Equestria.

Twilight had watched this happen countless times back in Ponyville, but this was different. It was more peaceful, as if rising over this endless sea of grass allowed the moon to shine with a purer light. It was calming and beautiful.

Twilight soon fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, the cold unable to penetrate the sleeping bag. She didn’t hear the first howl.

Something caused Twilight to stir. She immediately knew that she hadn’t been asleep for very long, maybe an hour at most, and opening her eyes only confirmed that; it was still the middle of the night. She started to roll over the go back to sleep, but a snuffling noise caused her to tense up.

Listening closely, Twilight noted that it wasn’t one snuffling noise, but multiples and those noises were getting closer each second. She opened one eye slowly and tried to take a look around.

The sky, luckily, was cloudless, so the moon was able to light up her campsite fairly well. With her half-open eye, Twilight was able to see four hairy, muscular legs. They definitely didn’t belong to a pony and any other creature she could think of with legs like that was dangerous and deadly. Regardless of what it was, she didn’t feel safe while she was wrapped in her sleeping bag.

Twilight weighed her options. She could just lay there and hope that they went away or she could leap up and try to fight or make a run for it. She wasn’t much of a fighter, although in a pinch she could pull of some telekinetic levitation and slam things against other things, and if she just lay there, she wouldn’t be able to do anything if the unknown presence did attack.

That left leaping up and trying to run. Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to memorize where she left her bags. She didn’t care about most of what was in them, but she refused to leave Trixie’s hat and cloak. After remembering the general area of her makeshift camp, Twilight prepared to move.

She channeled magic through her horn, letting off a brilliant, blazing light in an attempt to blind whoever or whatever was around and got out of her sleeping bag as quickly as she could. She glanced over to where she had seen the leg and saw a massive, black-furred wolf holding its paws over its eyes.

Looking around, she saw that there were four of them. Four huge, hungry, killer wolves that could run faster than she could, hunt her by her scent, and would love to have her as a snack.

She was dead.

Fear and adrenaline pumping in her veins, Twilight magically lifted her saddlebags onto her back and galloped as fast as she could in a random direction. Anywhere was better than in the midst of those wolves, and that blindness wouldn’t last long.

She had covered about fifty feet when she heard the first howl. It was a howl of anger and hunger that chilled Twilight’s blood and made her stumble. She didn’t fall, but she knew that if she did she was dead.

She heard the wolves begin their pursuit; their huge paws hit the ground with a resounding thud and each thud was closer than the last. She wasn’t going to outrun them. Twilight racked her brain for spell she could use to defend herself with. Levitation wasn’t going to cut it, as soon as she lifted one, the others would rip her apart. The flash spell she used to daze them before might work again, but she wasn’t counting on it; she needed a spell that would make them run away or at the very least slow down. Then it hit her.

Fire.

She had to be careful though, she didn’t want to start a raging grass fire. Maybe just a small burst in the air would scare them off? Twilight didn’t know, but she had to do something. The burst of energy she had gotten from the adrenaline was running out.

Twilight concentrated, then sent a jet of flame into the sky that ignited the field around her for fifty feet. She looked behind her and saw that the wolves had stopped pursuing for a moment. The fire had worked! She doubted that another display like that would work again though. The next one would have to actually hit them.

Twilight took the moment to pause and rip off her saddlebags, tossing the food she had onto the ground. Maybe the wolves would go for the easy, fire-less food instead of her. Looking back at the wolves, she was surprised to see only two of them. What had happened to the others?

The answer came quickly, as she heard the growls behind her. She had taken too long to dump the rest of her food and now she was surrounded! Fear clouded Twilight’s mind, and she saw her life flash before her eyes. The years with her parents. The years with Celestia. Her life in Ponyville. Trixie.

Trixie…

Twilight’s eyes hardened. She couldn’t die here. Not in the middle of this Celestia forsaken field miles away from anypony else. She couldn’t die without seeing Trixie again. She wouldn’t.

The wolves began circling Twilight, victory and hunger gleaming in their vicious, yellow eyes. One howled. A cry of victory. They had Twilight cornered and they knew it. They didn’t care if she could conjure fire or not. It had been so long since they had last tasted pony.

One leapt at Twilight, his fangs aimed at her neck, the thrill of victory running through his muscles. And then he was gone, lost in the searing white cone of fire emanating from Twilight’s horn, the heat magnified by her fury. Not even the bones were left when the fire died.

The remaining wolves immediately backed off but didn’t run away. They were so close! They just had to wait for a weak spot.

Twilight buckled as the fire cone fizzled out. The amount of magic that had taken combined with her exhaustion and lack of sleep was forcing Twilight near her breaking point. She couldn’t pull off that move again.

The wolves saw her fall and howled. Their prey was weak! They would eat well tonight! They fell into a triangle around Twilight and began to move in. Twilight saw this and racked her brain again. What could she do?

She felt a burning pain on her flank and instinctively kicked out, eliciting a satisfying whimper of pain. Whatever Twilight did she had to do it now. Concentrating on a point near the horizon, Twilight focused the rest of her magic into a single spell.

The two uninjured wolves leapt at Twilight, but a moment before they landed, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Twilight reappeared about halfway to the point she was aiming for, her reserve of magic wasn’t able to get her the full distance. She should have just teleported sooner, but the thought hadn’t occurred to her. She collapsed almost immediately, breathing heavily.

Twilight knew she had to move --the wolves wouldn’t be put off by her teleporting away for long-- but her body wouldn’t let her. She was both physically and magically exhausted. Unconsciousness claimed her quickly.

Twilight awoke some time later feeling extremely sore, still exhausted, and freezing cold. A bleary look at the sky told her that dawn was coming and, sore or not, she had to move. Rising from the uncomfortable position she had collapsed in, Twilight was immediately reminded of the wound she had suffered. The burning pain was hard to mistake.

Looking back, she saw it was a claw mark that had barely missed her cutie mark. It didn’t look deep and, luckily, it didn’t look infected. Not that she could do anything about it if it was anyway.

Twilight turned her attention to the land around her and was greeted by the most beautiful sight she had seen in hours: trees. More specifically, a lot of trees. It was a forest. Whether it was Whitebark Forest or not, she didn’t know. But at that moment she didn’t care. Anywhere was better than these plains.

It took her about an hour to reach the first tree. One excruciatingly long, agonizing hour. Twilight had almost collapsed twice, and she didn’t know how much more her body would take without proper rest. She still didn’t feel safe though. Those wolves had been the scariest thing she had ever seen. Even worse than the Ursa Minor. At least she had been able to levitate him and not worry about being attacked from behind. Twilight shuddered thinking about how close she had come to death.

She couldn’t stop, not yet anyway. She would just go a little farther, and then she would rest. Just a little farther…

Twilight was still saying that after she had spent an hour in the forest. She had come to the conclusion that the forest had to be Whitebark Forest, considering all of the trees were birch trees, and she didn’t want to stop. She was so close. She was also afraid that if she stopped to rest, she wouldn’t get back up. She was so cold. Rarity’s jacket might as well have been made out of paper. She had thought about putting on Trixie’s cloak, but decided against it. She didn’t feel right wearing it.

Twilight was so exhausted that she was practically sleepwalking through the forest when she tripped over a protruding root. She hit the ground hard and just lay there, too exhausted to blink much less move. She felt the cold from the ground seep into her, and she knew that this was the end. She would never see Ponyville again. She would never see her parents, or Princess Celestia, or her friends ever again. She would never get a chance to tell Trixie that she loved her. The thought sent tears down her face and as they hit the ground and froze, Twilight faded into darkness, her final thought being an image of her love, The Great and Powerful Trixie.

As she lay there, the first snowflake of winter fell from the heavens, and kissed her cheek.

Chapter 5

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 5

Twilight awoke suddenly. What had happened? She didn’t remember falling asleep. Where was she? Looking around she saw she was in a dark hallway that extended as far as she could see in either direction, the only light coming from candles lining the walls every few feet. She shuddered; this place gave her the creeps.

Muffled voices came floating down the hallway. Angry voices. Twilight investigated, and as she got closer the voices became clearer. They were familiar, but she couldn’t quite place them. Eventually a door could be seen embedded in the wall, flanked on either side by the flickering candles. Twilight thought about knocking, but instead put her ear to the door.

“Why won’t you leave me alone!? I just want to be happy, and you keep ruining it!” The first voice argued passionately.

“And if it doesn’t work out? What then? I get to deal with all of the sadness, the hurt, the anger… have you even thought about this? Oh wait! Of course you haven’t! You never do!” The second voice retorted, angrier than the first voice.

Twilight pulled her head away from the door and gave it a quizzical look. Were the voices the same? Twilight listened again.

“B… but what if it does work? What… what if everything works out? We would both be happy then! Isn’t that possibility worth it!? The voice broke down into forlorn sobs.

Twilight’s heart went out to the pony that voice belonged to. She wanted to comfort them and tell them everything would be alright. The other voice only seemed angrier though.

“It’s not even a possibility! Think for just a second! There’s no reason that it should work! What are you going to do? Just waltz up to her and tell her everything? Yeah, I’m sure that will work out beautifully!” Scorn dripped from the voice like acid.

“I love her!”

“You don’t even know what love is!”

Twilight didn’t know exactly what was going on, but she was tired of the way the other pony was being treated. She tried to turn the knob, but the door was locked. Twilight focused and ripped the door off its hinges with magic, anger giving her strength.

Jumping into the room, Twilight yelled out even as she searched for the source of the voices. “Leave her alo…” Twilight froze mid-shout. Staring back at her were two pairs of violet eyes. One pair was teary and forlorn. The other was disgusted and annoyed. Both pairs were staring at her in alarm.

Twilight Sparkle was looking at herself. Two of herself.

Twilight took and involuntary step back. “What… what… how?”

The angry Twilight Sparkle softened for a moment and held up a hoof. “Twilight, calm down… we can explain this.”

The teary-eyed Twilight Sparkle nodded in agreement, her sadness forgotten. “Yeah, just don’t freak out okay?”

Twilight sank down to her haunches and began to shake uncontrollably. She had finally snapped. She was crazy and she would never see her friends or Princess Celestia or her parents or Trixie ever again. She would just stay in this room and have conversations with herself all day, everyday. Teardrops fell from her eyes. She didn’t want to be crazy.

Angry Twilight let out a sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of annoyance however, but a sigh of sympathy. She came over to the shaking mare and put a hoof around her. “Alright now… shhh. You aren’t crazy, and you will see your friends again. Shhh.”

Twilight stopped shaking and looked up at angry Twilight. How did this… this copy know what she was thinking?

Angry Twilight chuckled. “I’m not a copy Twilight. Not exactly.” She stopped and glanced towards sad Twilight, the previous annoyance clear on her face. “Well come on! I’m not going to explain this by myself.”

As sad Twilight walked over, Twilight moved out of angry Twilight’s comforting grasp. She moved until both Twilights were in her vision. “Explain what?”

The two Twilights looked at each other. Sad Twilight smirked. “Well go on then! You are the smart one after all. You remind me of that every single day.”

Muttering darkly, angry Twilight shook her head and sighed. “Alright, fine. But you’re going to do your share of explaining the hard stuff.” Looking at Twilight, she continued. “Okay Twilight, I’m going to put this as simply as I can. I don’t know how you’re here, but that doesn’t really matter right now. What does matter is that you understand where you are. You’re in… well… you.”

Twilight gazed at angry Twilight with a blank look on her face. “I’m in… me?” She looked down at herself. “How is that even possible?”

Angry Twilight grimaced in frustration. “Okay, that was a bad way to put it. More specifically, you’re in your own psyche.”

Twilight met her even gaze with a look of confusion. “Okay, let’s say I am in my own psyche. Who are you two then?”

Angry Twilight gave her a sheepish smile. “Well… I’m your brain, and she,” Here she tilted her head towards sad Twilight, “is your heart.”

Twilight digested this information for a moment. Then she started pacing around the room, muttering half to herself, half to Brain and Heart. “Great! So I actually am crazy. What’s next? Is Trixie going to come through the door and toy with my emotions again? Is Spike going to come in here and, I dunno, breathe fire on me?”

Brain stepped towards her. “Twilight, I told you. You aren’t cra--”

Twilight cut her off. “No! Shut up! I’m either crazy or this is a dream!” Here Twilight hit herself with a hoof, eliciting a cry of pain. “And since I felt that, this isn’t a dream!” She sank to her haunches again, but, instead of crying, Twilight just sat there looking confused and forlorn.

Brain looked at Heart with a helpless expression. “Your turn.”

Heart looked back, aghast. “What am I supposed to do!? You’re her rational side. If she won’t listen to you she’s not going to listen to me!”

Brain closed her eyes, attempting to keep her composure. “Well we have to do something!” She said through gritted teeth. “She can’t stay here.”

“Hey.”

Brain and Heart turned to look at Twilight. She was giving them a questioning look. “What were you two arguing about before I got here?”

Heart spoke up before Brain could, sadness and hurt settling back onto her features. “That meany won’t leave you and me alone! We just want to love Trixie but she keeps bringing up the worst case scenarios!”

Brain became indignant. “Well that’s because you aren’t thinking about this at all! We’ve been over this before; she has no reason to love you! What have you done for her huh?”

Heart’s expression fell. She really didn’t know the answer to that. “W… well I… It doesn’t matter! Not everything can be solved with logic and reason and thinking! Sometimes you just have to go for it!”

Brain stomped her hooves in exasperation. “What are you even talking about!? Of cour-”

“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!”

Brain and Heart jumped, their argument forgotten. Twilight was angry. Very angry.

Seeing that she had their attention, Twilight continued through gritted teeth. “Now you both listen to me. If you really are my Heart and my Brain, it’s no wonder I’m crazy! Heart, Brain is right. You can’t justify things by just saying they’re true.” Brain shot Heart a haughty look; one that said “Hah! Told you!” Twilight took notice. “Don’t look so smug! You’re wrong too! Not everything can be justified with reason and logic. If you don’t believe me, just look at Pinkie Pie! According to logic, she shouldn’t be able to… to… to do anything she does! And yet I see it everyday!”

Heart and Brain looked at the ground, shuffling their hooves. They had both acted like foals, and they knew it. Twilight waited a moment, letting the shame sink in, and then continued in a softer tone. “Now listen, you have to stop arguing. I can’t take it anymore. I feel like I’m being torn apart.” Twilight looked away and shook her head. She wouldn’t cry now. She had cried too much over the past few days.

Heart and Brain looked at each other. They had been arguing for so long that they had forgotten how much it affected Twilight. Heart spoke first. “We’re sorry Twilight... we’ll stop arguing okay? We really do just want to help you; we just forget what that means sometimes.”

Brain nodded. “Yeah, we’ll either work out a compromise or we’ll just leave each other alone. You’re the one who’s suffering because of our mistakes. I should have seen that before.”

Twilight let out a shuddering sigh, getting herself under control. “It’s okay, I forgive you guys.” She yawned. Suddenly she was so tired. “So, let’s pretend for a second that I’m not crazy… how do I get out of here?”

Twilight watched her brain and her heart look at each other. She knew what was coming. Brain decided to deliver the news. “Well, we… ah… don’t actually know. Technically you shouldn’t even be here.”

Twilight knew that the news should have frightened her or made her sad or something, but the only thing she felt was tired. Infinitely, indescribably tired. She slowly sank to the floor, lying on her side. “Well you guys… you guys are no help.” She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open anymore. She felt… light.

Heart noticed what was happening and gasped, the sound causing Twilight to open her eyes. Heart was staring at her flank, eyes full of wonderment and fear. She glanced back herself and saw… nothing. Her flank was missing, as were her back legs.

Again, Twilight yawned. “Great. I really am… crazy.” She finally gave up trying to stay awake and rested her head on her front hooves. She heard the voices of her brain and her heart speaking, but she couldn’t discern which was which. They sounded so far away.

Finally, Twilight slipped into the embrace of sleep. As she did her body faded completely, leaving her heart and her brain alone once again.

Twilight awoke once again, but this was different. Everything hurt. Her head was pounding, her flank burned, and she felt woozy and lightheaded. She was also absolutely ravenous. The only positive thing she noticed was that the bed she was lying in was extremely soft and warm.

Wait…

Twilight’s eyes shot open and she surveyed her surroundings. She was in a medium-sized room that was sparsely furnished. The dark, hardwood floors were covered with soft, mint-colored rugs. The walls were made out of the same hardwood, and were bare except for three windows on each of the longer walls. The only furniture in the room was the bed she was lying in, a desk covered in papers, a stove, and a tub. It was as if somepony tried to make this one room into an entire house. A door was embedded in the far wall.

Twilight’s first thought was to find out where she was, and whose room this was. She slowly crawled out of the bed and put weight on her hooves, only to fall to the ground making a loud thump and causing her to moan in pain. What was wrong with her? She felt like she had been tossed down a staircase or three. The burning in her flank was the worst though. She looked to see what was causing the searing sensation.

A thick bandage covered her flank, held on by wrappings that went around her entire body. Now that she was focusing on it, she could smell the antiseptic. It wasn’t a professional job, but it looked like it would hold up. Twilight wondered why she needed a bandage.

The memory of the attack came back with a vengeance. The wolves, her fire, the claws… no wonder it burned. Twilight tried to stand again, but only succeeded in crashing back down to the floor. This time she let out a small yell as tears sprang to her eyes. Twilight was at a loss. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t use magic, she was in excruciating pain and she had no idea where she was. What was she supposed to do now? Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but before it did the door to the room began to open. Twilight looked up and held her breath; she didn’t know who—or what—to expect.

The door opened and The Great and Powerful Trixie stepped through, an uncharacteristic look of concern etched on her face.

Twilight could only stare in disbelief.

Trixie saw Twilight lying on the floor, and stepped towards her, her look of concern morphing into a look of pure worry. “Twilight, are you alright?”

Twilight’s mind refused to form a coherent thought. Trixie’s voice was like honey to her ears. She just stared, her mouth hanging open.

Trixie got closer. She was now only a foot away from Twilight. “Twilight? Can you speak? Do you know who I am? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off Trixie’s face. The showmare’s eyes drew her into their depths and held her there with a magic all their own. The lightheadedness form before was intensified because of Trixie’s proximity.

Trixie was at a loss. Concentrating, she gently picked Twilight up with her magic and put her back on the bed. Twilight, for her part, never lost eye contact with her. Trixie stood next to the bed for a moment longer, then turned to leave. She didn’t know what else to do; until Twilight managed to talk and explain what had happened, she just… had no idea what to do.

Turning broke Twilight’s eye contact, and it was as if a spell really had been broken. Twilight shook her head a little, then noticed what Trixie was doing. “No!” She and Trixie both flinched. Twilight had yelled a little louder than she had meant to. When Trixie turned, a quizzical look on her face, Twilight continued in a quieter tone, blushing as she did so. “Don’t leave yet…”

Trixie, luckily, didn’t notice the blush as she stepped to the side of the bed. “So you can talk. For a moment I thought you had suffered brain damage. How… uh… how are you feeling?”

Twilight shrugged, not making eye contact. “Not great… how did you find me? How long have I been out? Where am I?”

Trixie held up a hoof, stemming the tide of questions. “One thing at a time Twilight. You’re in my new trailer and you’ve been out for four days. At least, you’ve been out for four days since I found you, I don’t know how long you were out before that.”

Twilight shot Trixie a surprised look. “Four days? You… you took care of me for four days?”

Trixie was taken aback by the question. Twilight was malnourished, hurt, missing four days of her life, had no idea what was going on, and that was what she was surprised by? The notion made her a little angry. “What is that supposed to mean? You think The Great and Powerful Trixie should have left you there to die? You think that The Great and Powerful Trixie is cold and heartless!?”

Twilight withered under her gaze. “No! That… that’s not what I meant. It’s just…”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Just what?”

Twilight turned her face away from Trixie, steeling herself. When she was ready she looked Trixie in the eyes. “Do… do you hate me?”

It was Trixie’s turn to be surprised. That was not the question she was expecting. She paused for a moment, her mind searching for an answer. By the time she answered, Twilight was almost ready to cry. She knew what the pause meant.

“I hated you for a long time Twilight Sparkle. A very, very long time. For a while I even thought about coming back to Ponyville and finding a way to humiliate you for what you did to me. But… the more I thought about it and the farther I got away from Ponyville, the more I realized that you weren’t trying to show me up. You were just trying to protect the town and your friends. As much as I hate to admit it, and trust me, I hate to admit it, all of the humiliation I suffered I brought on myself with my boasting. So no, I don’t hate you.”

Twilight felt a surge of happiness rise up and engulf her. She hugged Trixie before she even knew what she was doing. Trixie’s coat was so soft… Twilight felt like she was hugging a cloud. The scent she had come to adore washed over her, stronger than ever. Twilight’s happiness turned into bliss. Then she realized what she was doing.

Twilight jerked back as quickly as she could, her eyes wide with horror. “Oh… oh gosh… I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me!”

Trixie was staring at Twilight, a dumbfounded look on her face. She didn’t know whether to be angry or happy or… she didn’t even know. For the first time ever, The Great and Powerful Trixie was at a loss for words.

Twilight shifted uncomfortable under Trixie’s stare, her face getting hotter and redder every second. She didn’t know what to do. What she did know was that if she didn’t do something she would probably lose any chance she had to tell Trixie her feelings. “Hey… um… do you know where my saddlebags are?”

Trixie replied, but it was as if she was far away. “Yeah, they’re under the bed.”

Relief washed over Twilight. She thought for sure that she wouldn’t have them. “Did you look through them?”

The question knocked Trixie out of her stunned state. Unfortunately, it knocked her back into an annoyed one. “No I didn’t look in them! What do you think the Great and Powerful Trixie is? Some common thief!?”

Twilight barely noticed. She knew that the look on Trixie’s face when she saw what was in her saddlebags would be worth it. “Bring them out and look in them! There’s something in them that I think you’ll want to see.”

Trixie almost refused, but something in Twilight’s eye made her rethink the decision. Magically pulling out Twilight’s saddlebags from where they lay under the bed, she undid the latch and looked in.

Twilight watched Trixie’s face intently. She saw how Trixie’s expression changed from annoyed to curious and from curious to disbelieving. Finally, Trixie did something that Twilight never thought she would see Trixie do.

She began to cry.

Trixie pulled the hat and the cape out of the bags with her hooves, teardrops falling onto the purple material. She stood there, her body shaking while she held the items close to her chest, like they were precious, fragile jewels.

Suddenly Trixie dropped the items and grabbed Twilight in a crushing hug. Twilight reacted without thinking and hugged her back, the previous feeling of bliss returning. She heard Trixie speaking through her tears of joy. “Thank you Twilight Sparkle. You don’t know how much this means to me. I promise I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

Twilight would ask about that later. For now, she hugged Trixie tighter and inhaled the sweet, refreshing scent of jasmine and mint. For now, Twilight was in heaven.

Chapter 6

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 6

“Trixie, you really don’t have to do this.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, but had her back to Twilight. “Nonsense Twilight. You can’t even walk. Besides, it’s not like I’m only fixing them for you. It is breakfast time you know.”

“I guess… just don’t go to any extra trouble because of me okay? I’m really not even hungry.” Almost instantly, Twilight’s stomach betrayed her, unleashing a massive rumble that caused Trixie to giggle. Twilight blushed a deep crimson, but whether from the embarrassing noises her stomach was making or the angelic tinkling of Trixie’s laughter she didn’t know.

Trixie turned around, a look of sympathy on her face. “Look, I know that you’re probably used to doing things on your own, but your injuries are pretty bad. If we weren’t out in practically the middle of nowhere I would take you to a hospital.” She stepped closer, unknowingly entrancing Twilight. “I’ll do the best I can to make sure you recover, but you have to work with me okay?”

Twilight realized that she needed to respond, but could only nod. Luckily, that seemed to be enough for Trixie, who turned away. Twilight gazed at the showmare as she walked away, awed and confused. This Trixie was so different from the one she remembered. She was so… nice now. It wasn’t a bad change by any means, but it was a drastic one.

“All done! Here you go. Hope you like blueberry.” Twilight was snapped out of her reverie by Trixie appearing in front of her, levitating two plates of delicious, steaming, blueberry grass pancakes covered in maple syrup. The proximity of the delicious looking food made Twilight’s stomach rumble again.

Twilight began to try and get off the bed when Trixie held up a hoof. “Um… Twilight? What do you think you’re doing?”

Twilight gave Trixie a sheepish grin. “Um… getting up so that I don’t get your bed dirty?”

Twilight got the impression that if she hadn’t been holding a plate of pancakes, Trixie would have facehoofed.

“Twilight, of all the dumb things… you can’t even walk yet. Besides, do you see a table in here? No, you don’t. Just enjoy your pancakes, and if you do happen to get some on the bed, don’t worry about it. I’ve learned a couple of cleaning spells in my time, okay?”

Twilight nodded dumbly and accepted the plate. While she looked at it, Trixie climbed onto the bed and sat across from Twilight, levitating her own plate of pancakes over to her. Twilight eyed the fork Trixie had provided warily. It had been a very long time since she had eaten without levitating her utensils. Twilight’s horn glowed dimly as she tried levitating the fork. Maybe if she only used a little magic…

The intense burning pain that followed brought tears to her vision and caused her to whimper softly.

Trixie reacted immediately, her voice heavy with concern. “Twilight! Are you okay!?”

After a moment, Twilight brushed away her tears with a shaky hoof and nodded. “Y… yeah. I’m alright. I don’t think I can use any magic though.”

Trixie didn’t know what to do. A unicorn unable to use magic was like a pegasus unable to fly. It was the worst thing that could happen apart from actually dying. Trixie watched Twilight as she tried to hold back tears of helplessness. She started to reach out a hoof and try to comfort Twilight, but she decided against it. There was nothing she could do.

Twilight shook herself. She was acting like a foal. Her magic would come back eventually. In the mean time, she would just eat like a pony without magic. Twilight picked up her fork and painstakingly cut a bite-sized piece out of her pancakes. Stabbing it almost violently, she brought it to her mouth and chewed.

These pancakes were amazing.

Twilight closed her eyes and savored the light, buttery flavor. They were even better than the ones Spike made. She stayed like this until she heard the sound of barely concealed laughter. Opening her eyes, she glared at the only pony the sounds could have come from.

Trixie’s pancakes were untouched. The mare had been too busy watching Twilight eat hers. “You… you don’t eat without magic a lot do you Twilight?”

Twilight’s glare intensified. “To be honest, no, I don’t. Why do you ask?”

Trixie shot Twilight an innocent smile. “Oh, no reason. Just wondering.” Then she began to eat her own pancakes, carefully avoiding Twilight’s death glare.

The two mares fell into a companionable silence after that. Each looking at the other when they thought they weren’t being watched themselves. Twilight steadily got better at wielding her fork without magic. Eventually, Twilight decided that she needed some answers.

“So, um, how did you find me?”

Trixie swallowed the last bite of her pancakes and was silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

“Well, to be honest I just found you on the road.”

Twilight blinked. “That… that’s it?”

Trixie shrugged. “Well yeah. I mean you were just lying on the side of the road with that nasty wound on your flank. You were covered in snow and your lips were almost completely blue. I… I thought you were dead when I first saw you.”

Twilight stared off into space for a moment, envisioning what Trixie had just told her. Had she really been that close to death? The thought made her shudder. “You said I was unconscious for four days right? How did I stay alive without food and water?”

Trixie looked away. Was she blushing? “Well… you… ah… didn’t. I did my best to give you water and liquid foods. It wasn’t easy but… well I couldn’t just let you die. I wanted to get you to a hospital but the snow is too thick for the trailer to get through. I did my best, but I’m not a medicine pony.”

Trixie’s embarrassment made Twilight smile. This Trixie was so different from the one she remembered. “Well, I’m alive so apparently you did something right.” Twilight’s face grew somber. She made sure she had Trixie’s attention and continued. “Thank you Trixie. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

Trixie glanced over to where she had set her newly reacquired hat and cape. Her eyes grew wistful staring at them. “How about we call it even? I never thought I would see those again. They mean the world to me.”

Twilight nodded, but knew that regardless of what the hat and cape meant to Trixie, saving her life still outweighed them. She would find a way to repay her in full, no matter what. “What makes them so important to you?”

Trixie shot Twilight a wry glance and smirked. She wanted answers too. “I’ll tell you, but you have to answer my question first. What are you doing so far away from Ponyville? How did you even manage to get that wound?”

Panic froze Twilight for a moment. She couldn’t tell the truth, not yet at least. “I… I was looking for somepony.”

Trixie eyed her skeptically. “You came all the way out here on foot to find a single pony?” Then her eyes flashed and she smirked again, leaning closer to Twilight. “Well… who is he?”

Twilight gave Trixie a confused look. Then the reality of what she had said hit her. Twilight flushed red immediately. “W… what makes you think I’m chasing somepony like that?”

Trixie rolled onto her back began to laugh uncontrollably. Soon tears started streaming down her face. “Ahaha! I knew it! You… you are so crushing on some stallion!” She laughed for a few more moments then calmed down, wiping the tears from here eyes. “Ahhhh, I’ve not laughed like that in a long time. I knew you weren’t as perfect as you seemed in Ponyville! You do have flaws!” She leaned towards Twilight again, a curious gleam in her eye. “Seriously though… who is it?”

Twilight turned away, trying to hide the answer she knew was apparent in her eyes. Trixie couldn’t find out. Not now. Not like this. “I can’t tell you. Not right now anyway.”

Trixie was relentless. “Oh come on Twilight! It’s not like I’m ever going to meet him. Besides, I saved your life remember?”

Twilight whirled, her blush being replaced by a flush of anger. “Hey! I thought you said we were…” Twilight stopped when she realized Trixie was just joking. It was evident in the amused expression on the showmare’s face.

“There’s really no sport in teasing you Twilight. You’re too gullible.”

Twilight was astounded. She never would have pegged Trixie as a pony who would tease others, especially not after what happened in Ponyville. She voiced her curiosity. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what caused you to change so much? You were kinda… um…”

“A jerk?” Trixie filled in helpfully.

Twilight looked down, but nodded. They both knew it, no point in lying about it.

Trixie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Twilight… what you did to me in Ponyville… broke me. It broke my spirit. After the anger left I just felt… nothing. It was like I was dead inside. But then I woke up. I started seeing the sunrise again; I started feeling the wind on my face again. I was… reborn… I guess. It made me realize what a foal I had been. So I changed.”

Twilight stared at Trixie as the silence stretched. She had… broken her? But… she had only done what she had to. Trixie noticed her expression. “Now Twilight… this is why I didn’t want to tell you. It wasn’t your fault. I… wasn’t a very nice pony back then. If anything, I should thank you… again.” She beamed at Twilight.

Twilight beamed back, her heart fluttering. Maybe she should tell her now…

“Hey Trixie…”

“Hmm?”

“I… that is to say…” Twilight couldn’t seem to get the words out. Doubts were slithering around her mind like dark, constricting coils. She redirected the question, hating her cowardice. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask me? I think it’s your turn.”

“Oh.” Trixie contemplated for a moment, staring at nothing. “Oh yeah, how did you manage to get those wounds? I mean, with your magic I would think you could take care of yourself.”

Twilight suppressed a shudder and briefly recounted her encounter with the wolves. She told it quickly and quietly, not leaving anything out but not emphasizing anything either. Especially not her fire cone. When she finished Trixie simply stared at her, unmoving.

Twilight endured the piercing gaze as long as she could before she decided to speak. “What? What is it!? Why are you just staring at me?”

Trixie blinked, seemingly coming out of a trance. She looked awed. “Y… you produced fire hot enough to completely incinerate a grown wolf? Even the bones? That’s… that’s… incredible.” Trixie got up from the bed, unconsciously levitating both of their empty plates as she did so and heading towards the door.

As Trixie went outside, Twilight could feel the cold chill her flank, even from inside. What was Trixie doing? Why was she acting so… odd? Trixie came back in a moment later, a fine powder of snow dusting her coat. She carried two newly cleaned plates but was still in that odd trance. Twilight could hear her faintly muttering.

Twilight needed to get through to her. Trixie’s behavior was scaring her just a bit. “Um, Trixie?”

Trixie didn’t even acknowledge her.

Twilight tried again, louder this time. “Trixie!? Are you okay?”

Again, Trixie didn’t even bat an eye as she busied herself putting the cleaned dishes away.

Twilight tried a final time, this time yelling as loudly as she could. “TRIXIE!” The exertion caused her headache to flare up, but if it got Trixie out of this… this daze, then it was worth it.

That got a response. Trixie jumped a little bit and gave Twilight a confused yet annoyed look. “What!? Why are you yelling?”

Twilight waited until the pounding in her head was just a dull ache before answering. “You were in some kind of trance or something. I tried to get to you in a more reasonable tone but you just ignored me. I got sc… well, I was worried.”

Trixie’s annoyance evaporated immediately. “I’m sorry Twilight, it’s just… well, when I saw what you did to that Ursa Minor, I knew you were powerful. But… magic like that is… is… incredible! I would be lying if I said was wasn’t jealous.”

Twilight shook her head. She knew what she was capable of normally, and that definitely wasn’t it. “I could only do that because of how desperate I was. If I hadn’t I would have died.” She spoke quietly. That memory still frightened her.

Trixie noticed. “Ah, I’m sorry Twilight. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a guest that wasn’t here simply to see me do magic tricks. My social skills are somewhat… lacking.”

Twilight simply shrugged. “It’s okay. I get like that too. Sometimes Spike has to hit me with a pillow just so that I’ll answer his questions!” The memory made her smile sadly.

“I wish I could go back. I miss Spike and Rarity and Fluttershy… I miss everyone.”

Trixie came over and sat on the bed again, placing a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Well, I’ll tell you what. When this snow clears I’ll take you back myself alright? I’ve been meaning to go back to that area of Equestria anyway.” Trixie frowned, momentarily in thought. “That won’t interrupt your stallion chasing will it? I would hate for you to have come all this way for nothing.

Twilight smiled. “That won’t interrupt it at all. I don’t think um… he’s… around here anyway.”

A devious grin crossed Trixie’s face. “You just don’t want to tell me who he is. I bet you know exactly where he is!” She paused, then continued in a mock-ominous tone. “Don’t worry though. The Great and Powerful Trixie has her ways of finding out! Mark my words!”

The giggles at the end of her statement really ruined the effect, and soon both mares were laughing.

As their laughter died down, Trixie unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn. “Oh… I’m sorry Twilight. I haven’t really gotten much sleep these last few days. Not just because of you.” She added, seeing Twilight’s face fall. “I’ve been working on new tricks for my act and too often I stay up really late practicing.”

Twilight giggled again. “I do that when I study. I just lose track of time and then I don’t get to sleep until morning comes! I’ll move if you want me to… it is your bed.”

Trixie yawned again, shaking her head. “Nonsense Twilight. The bed is big enough for both of us, and you need your rest if you want to recover.”

As Trixie climbed onto the bed beside Twilight, Twilight felt her heart begin to race. She was too close, Twilight couldn’t handle this. “Tr… Trixie, really it… it’s no problem. I’ll just…”

She was stopped by Trixie’s hoof. “Shh! Naptime!” Trixie rolled over and pulled the comforter over herself, making sure to leave Twilight enough should she want any.

Twilight lay there, reveling in the proximity of Trixie’s body. That glorious scent had overwhelmed her again and she inhaled deeply. Twilight didn’t notice when her eyelids began to droop down. She didn’t even notice when they closed completely. Her entire being was focused on Trixie lying next to her. She smiled dreamily. Things were finally beginning to look up.

Chapter 7

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 7

Twilight awoke slowly, her mind sluggish and foggy. She was warm, comfortable, and for the first time in days, she felt… safe. Stretching her stiff limbs, she sat up and yawned. The first thing she noticed was that Trixie was no longer lying next to her. The second thing she noticed was that she really needed to find a bathroom.

She looked around the trailer with bleary eyes and spotted her love sitting at the desk, staring at her hat. Clearing her throat, she spoke, her voice raspy and dry. “Morning, Trixie.” Twilight coughed. Her throat felt like a desert. How long had she been asleep?

Trixie jumped a little; she had been very focused on trying to answer a question she had thought of. A look of worry crossed her face when she heard the cough. “Morning Twilight. Are you okay?”

Twilight shook her head, still coughing. “Water?” She asked weakly.

Trixie grabbed a pitcher of water from the fridge with her magic and poured a glass for Twilight, offering it to her gingerly.“Don’t drink it too fast, you’ve been asleep for a while and you’re probably dehydrated.”

Twilight nodded and took a sip. Then another, then another. After two full glasses, she cleared her throat and tried to speak again. Her voice was mostly normal, if a little scratchy. “Thanks Trixie. How long was I asleep this time?” Sarcasm crept into her voice. “Another four days?”

Trixie smiled at Twilight’s tone. “No, this time you were only out for about fourteen hours.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Fourteen hours!? But… it was still morning when I…” She glanced at one of the windows lining the walls of the trailer. Only the pitch black of the night showed through. She turned her gaze back to Trixie, her eyes reproachful. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

Trixie simply rolled her eyes. “Twilight, in case you’ve forgotten, you’re still recovering from some of the worst injuries I’ve ever seen. That means that you need plenty of rest. Besides, what would you have done if I had woken you up? Sat there for hours on end, twiddling your hooves?”

Twilight was about to argue more, when a certain pressure reminded her of what she really needed. She blushed, embarrassed that she had to ask her next question. “Um… do you… do you have a bathroom?”

Trixie’s eyes lit up in amusement as she tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle her laughter. “Yeah it… it’s in my second… my second trailer.” She finally broke down and laughed. After a moment she calmed down and spoke again. “I’m sorry Twilight. I wasn’t laughing at you, it’s just… well… you get embarrassed really easily. Anyway, yeah, my bathroom is in the trailer just behind this one. You can’t miss it.”

Trixie watched as Twilight’s blush grew redder and redder. She gave Twilight a confused look. “Well? Aren’t you going to…” The problem finally hit her, and her face became almost as red as Twilight’s. “O… oh… You still can’t walk… can you?”

Twilight shook her head, avoiding eye contact. She was too embarrassed to speak. Trixie rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, feeling like a foal for laughing. “Sorry Twilight… I shouldn’t have laughed. I’m going to pick you up with magic, okay?”

Twilight nodded again and Trixie’s horn began to glow with its signature azure hue, lifting Twilight’s body effortlessly. Twilight inhaled sharply. She had never been picked up by another unicorn’s magic. The effect was… amazing. It was as if Trixie was lying next to her again, but ten times stronger. It felt like Trixie was touching her soul.

Twilight’s heart started racing and her mind became fuddled. She couldn’t think straight. She did notice that she was outside and that there was snow on the ground, but she couldn’t feel the cold. Then she was inside another trailer, and the feeling ended. She gasped, trying to catch her breath. Everything was blurry, and Trixie sounded distant. She saw Trixie’s lips move but could only hear mumbles. “Wh… what?” Twilight asked dazedly.

This time she heard Trixie clearly. “I asked if you were alright! What’s wrong?” Trixie’s face was full of concern.

Twilight shook her head gently to clear it. “I’m fine…” She looked around and saw they were in a small bathroom. “Um… I think I can handle it from here.”

Trixie reddened again. “Ah… yes, of course. Just um, call when you’re finished.” She left the bathroom quickly.

Twilight closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. What was that? It had been so… intense. Why hadn’t she felt it the first time she was picked up by Trixie?

Oh yeah. She had been too busy staring into her eyes.

Twilight shook her head again; She could analyze what had happened later. She took care of her business and called out to Trixie, who came quickly and carried her back. Being prepared this time, Twilight didn’t become overwhelmed by the feeling; Though it still made her blush and lose focus of the world.

Carefully depositing Twilight on the bed, Trixie stood there for a moment as the silence between them stretched. “Well… that was awkward.” Trixie joked, trying to break the silence.

Twilight nodded meekly. “Yeah… So… uh… when did you get another trailer?”

Relief flooded Trixie. A new topic. “Well, after I bought this one and started doing shows again, the bits kinda started rolling in and I decided that I needed a little more room on the road. I actually have a third trailer, but that one is my dedicated stage.”

Twilight beamed at her. “That’s great Trixie! I’ll have to see your show sometime. It sounds like it’s amazing.”

Trixie smiled back at her. “Well, I actually have one scheduled in Manehatten soon. You can come to that one.”

Twilight accepted almost immediately. “I’d love to!” Then she realized what Trixie had said. “Wait… how soon? And how far from Manehatten are we?”

Trixie climbed onto the bed with Twilight. “We’re less than half a day’s travel away from Manehatten and the show is in a week. I’m sorry, but I had scheduled this before I found you.”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not a problem, I’m just surprised that we’re that close. You must have traveled all four days I was unconscious.”

“Well, my original plan was to get you to a hospital where you could be properly taken care of, but the snow eventually got too thick.” Trixie explained. “I’m hoping that it will be clear enough in a week to move on, or there won’t be a show.”

Twilight smiled at Trixie, trying to alleviate her fears. “Well, in a week I should have my magic back, so even if the road isn’t clear, we can make it clear!”

“If I do that, then I won’t have enough magic for my show, and I’m not going to let you melt miles and miles of snow barely a week after your recovery.” Trixie’s mouth was set in a stubborn line. She was taking this “caretaker” thing very seriously.

Twilight almost argued again, but decided against it. If that happened, it’s not like Trixie could stop her from helping. Instead, she cast her gaze around the room, looking for another topic to talk about. The hat and cape were the first things that leapt out at her.

Trixie noticed her looking and sighed. “I guess you still want to hear the story behind those, don’t you?” She waited for Twilight to nod before continuing. “Alright, but you have to agree to two things before I tell you. First, what I tell you doesn’t leave this trailer. I don’t talk about my past a lot, and I don’t want people to know it. You’ll see why when I tell you. Secondly, I want you to answer a question that’s been bugging me.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, confused. “Um… okay. You can trust me to not tell a soul Trixie. I wouldn’t betray you like that. What did you want to ask?”

Trixie’s face turned grave and contemplative. “When I woke up, I started thinking about everything you told me. About how you got here, why you came here, and where you’re going. One thing didn’t add up, and I’m surprised that I didn’t catch it before. I guess I was caught up in actually having somepony to talk to. Anyway, my question is: why were you carrying my hat and cape, newly repaired I might add, on a journey to look for a stallion you like?”

Time stopped for Twilight. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. This was her greatest fear: a question that she couldn’t answer without revealing herself. She had to think of a way to answer it. “I was… uh… wearing them?” The words were out of Twilight’s mouth before she realized what was happening. “Yeah! I was wearing them since they were so comfortable and warm.” Twilight offered Trixie a shaky smile, willing her to believe her story.

Trixie wasn’t going to be persuaded that easily, however. “You weren’t wearing them when I found you, and they’re in almost perfect shape. Barely a speck of dirt on them.”

Again, Twilight answered without thinking, focusing instead on not having a suspicious look on her face. “Uh… yeah. I was really, really careful when I was wearing it because it cost me so many bits to fix. And I didn’t sleep in them because I didn’t want them to get wrinkled. When the wolves came they were in my bag and I just grabbed it and ran.” At least it wasn’t a complete lie.

Trixie thought about his for a moment, studying Twilight with narrowed eyes. Finally, she sighed. “I’m sorry Twilight. I shouldn’t be interrogating you about something as insignificant as this. I’ve spent most of my life not trusting anypony so my manners are a little… rusty.”

Physically Twilight just smiled and waved a hoof in the air. Mentally she was ecstatic. “It’s no problem Trixie. I would have told you that earlier if I thought it would worry you so much.”

Trixie shook her head and was silent. As the silence stretched on, Twilight thought Trixie was worrying about it again. Then she spoke. “Ever since I can remember, I was an orphan. My first memory is throwing a block from something I was building at another foal because I liked him. I never knew my mom and dad.”

Twilight put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to Trixie.”

Again, Trixie shook her head. “No. I want you to know. I need you to know.”

Twilight nodded silently and removed her hoof.

Inhaling deeply, Trixie continued. “It was hard for me to fit in; I was the only unicorn there. I also didn’t get my cutie mark while I was there. Everyone else got theirs when they were eight or nine. They taunted me every day. Some days I handled better than others. I learned that when I cried, the taunting got worse.”

Twilight interrupted, her voice sympathetic. “Didn’t the adults do anything about it!?”

Trixie gave her an even look. “They did when they saw it, but they were old and they couldn’t be everywhere at once. One of the worst days I can remember was when I went back to my dorm one night. All of the adults were already asleep, and I thought the kids were too or I never would have gone back there. Four of them held me down and the rest spit on me or called me names. They didn’t stop until I had no tears left to cry. I think that was the day that finally broke my spirit. I never cried again, and eventually they left me alone. What fun was it if I just gave them a dead look?”

Twilight hesitate for a moment, then crawled across the bed and sat next to Trixie, putting a comforting hoof around her shoulders. She expected Trixie to pull away, but instead she leaned in, taking comfort from Twilight’s embrace.

“One of the caretakers noticed how I was acting and called me into her office. I remember going in there, feeling nothing. Not even the adults could do anything to me anymore. I didn’t care. A box was sitting on the table with my name on it, and she told me to open it. Inside were the hat and the cloak. She told me it had been with me when I was dropped off at their door, along with a note that said to give it to me when they thought I needed it.” Trixie’s voice turned bitter. “I guess it never occurred to them that I might need them more than some hat and cloak! That maybe I needed love more than I did some useless clothing!!” Tears began to course down her face. Trixie didn’t try to wipe them away.

Twilight said nothing. She just held Trixie tighter.

Breathing deeply and composing herself as best she could, Trixie continued. “At the time I loved them, the hat and the cloak. I wore them everywhere. Of course, I was the outcast. I wasn’t allowed to have nice things. They came for me one day when I was coming back from the bathroom. Three of them blocked the hallway in either direction and the leader, a brown colt named Acorn, demanded that I give them to him. I told him that he would have to take them off of my dead body.”

Twilight felt Trixie shudder in her arms. “I’ll never forget the look on his face Twilight. He gave me this sadistic smile and whispered: ‘That’s the idea.’ Then he rushed me. He slammed me against the wall and put his hoof against my throat. I couldn’t breathe. He was two years older than me, bigger by almost a full head; I could never hope to match his strength. I felt myself going unconscious, and I knew that if I didn’t do something, Acorn would kill me. The next thing I remember is falling to the ground, gasping for air. Somepony screamed and I looked up. Acorn was across the hallway, his head twisted at a weird angle. I killed him Twilight. I… I…” Trixie broke down into sobs.

Twilight held Trixie close, gently stroking her mane and whispering to her. “Shhh, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t have a choice. Shhh.”

After a few minutes, Trixie sniffed and pulled away from Twilight, as if she was ashamed of herself for seeking comfort. She continued, almost in a whisper. “Everypony left me alone after that. I would lay awake at night, waiting for the police to come and get me, but they never did. I woke up with nightmares for months after it happened. Eventually I left. Everypony whispered behind my back constantly. Now they called me names in secret, but I still heard them. Names like ‘murderer’ and ‘insane.’ I couldn’t take it anymore. The only possessions I took were the hat and the cape.”

Twilight tried to comfort Trixie again, but again she pulled away.

She continued in a monotone voice. “I got my cutie mark a year later. I was performing on some street corner in some city out in the country because I was starving. It was nothing big, just basic levitation and other spells that I had taught myself. Nopony was paying me any attention, so I started shouting out, like I do at my acts now. Ponies started paying attention, and the more ponies that paid attention, the more bits I got.” Trixie rubbed her cutie mark absentmindedly. “I didn’t even notice it until somepony commented on it at a show the next day. I was so happy.”

Trixie turned and looked at Twilight through bloodshot eyes. “The hat and the cloak were the only things I had to remind me of my parents. Even if they didn’t love me, I still treasure them. I couldn’t believe that I lost them. But then you brought them back.” She hugged Twilight again. “Thank you... and thank you for listening to my story. It… it felt good to get that off my chest.”

Twilight hugged Trixie back, her heart in her throat. “I… I’m so sorry for what happened to you Trixie."

Trixie pulled back, a small smile dancing across her lips. “I’m not. If all of that hadn’t happened I never would have become a performer. I never would have traveled around Equestria, or seen the Princesses or… or met you.” Trixie sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hooves. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. How does tomato soup with some daisy sandwiches sound?”

Twilight smiled at Trixie. She was amazed at the amount of strength it must have taken Trixie to overcome this. She was even more amazed at the fact that Trixie told her. She glanced at the hat and cape that Trixie loved so dearly, feeling the anger boil up inside of her. What kind of parents abandon their only child? Those aren’t parents… they’re monsters. She shook her head. She shouldn’t dwell on it.

“That sounds delicious Trixie.”

Trixie simply smiled back and nodded.

Chapter 8

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 8

Twilight gaped in awe. Manehattan was huge! Not even Canterlot could compare to the sheer size of the city and the vast number of ponies that traveled the streets. Sure, Canterlot had been much more extravagant than Manehattan was, but at least Twilight felt bigger than a bug in Canterlot.

“Done gawking yet, Twilight?” asked a teasing voice that Twilight had become very familiar with over the past few days.

Twilight turned, meeting Trixie’s amused gaze with her own. “Hey! You may be used to these gigantic cities, but I’m not! Even Canterlot wasn’t this huge and it certainly wasn’t as crowded.”

Trixie just giggled. “Well, we won’t be going far into the city anyway. I’m supposed to set up my stage on the edge of the city. They don’t trust that my magic won’t make a building fall down or something.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “You’d think they would trust me a little more. It’s only the fourth time I’ve performed here.”

A cold wind blew over the hill that Trixie’s trailer was sitting on, chilling both mares. Twilight huddled deeper into the blanket that was draped across her. “Well, let’s go ahead and set up down there; I’m freezing.”

Trixie’s horn lit up as she moved the wheels of the trailer magically. She gave Twilight a sympathetic glance. “You can go inside the trailer, you know. It won’t hurt my feelings; I don’t think you should be sitting out here anyway. You’re still not fully healed.”

Twilight shot her a glance that Trixie had become very familiar with recently. It was a look that said: ‘I know exactly what I’m doing and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t question me.’ Trixie held up her hooves in defeat. “Alright! Alright! I was just trying to be nice. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you end up getting a cold.”

Twilight stuck out her tongue but stayed silent. Her thoughts went back over the last six days.

They had been much more interesting than Twilight had expected. Trixie had talked to her every day, and Twilight found that she and Trixie had a lot of interests in common. Trixie wasn’t quite the bookworm that Twilight was, but she still enjoyed some of the sciences like astronomy and psychology. They both enjoyed music, and had spent hours talking about the newest songs from Octavia and DJ Pon3. Mostly Twilight had talked about her past: her time in Canterlot, her apprenticeship to Celestia, how she came to be in Ponyville. Trixie had been awed and told Twilight as much, but Twilight had denied being anything special. She just wanted others to treat her as a normal pony.

Twilight had spent a ton of time trying to walk again. She had succeeded, but sported multiple new bruises from where she had fallen over and over again. Trixie had wanted to help her, but Twilight had refused. Foolish as it was, Twilight had wanted to get back on her feet by herself. She had succeeded, mostly. She still had to hobble like an old grandmother, but at least she could walk.

Her magic was a completely different matter. Attempting to use it for anything gave her an agonizing burning pain right behind her horn. Trixie wanted to take her to the hospital but Twilight wouldn’t let her; not yet at least.

Twilight came back to the present as Trixie brought the trailer to a stop. They really were at the edge of the city. There weren’t even sidewalks going to and from the area Trixie had been assigned to perform in. The fact made Twilight a little indignant. Trixie, however, was not so perturbed. “Alright then!” She exclaimed, clapping her hooves together. “Setting up won’t take long, then we can explore the city.”

Twilight looked at her sidelong, surprised that she wasn’t annoyed with the performing area. ‘She really has changed,’ Twilight thought, a small smile lighting her face up. Turning, she hopped down from the trailer without thinking and landed with a grunt, collapsing to her knees.

She heard a gasp from behind her. “Twilight! Are you okay?” Trixie was by her side almost instantly, a concerned look on her face.

Twilight slowly stood, grimacing from the pain. She gave Trixie a weak, wobbly smile. “I’m okay, just didn’t think before I jumped off.” Trixie hesitated, worry still etched on her face. Twilight took a breath, composing herself, and gave Trixie a reassuring look. “Really, I’m fine. Go set up the stage.” Trixie hesitated a moment longer, then nodded and trotted off towards the stage and began disconnecting it from the other two trailers.

Twilight marveled at the speed and ease with which Trixie set up the stage. It was connected to the other trailer by a single, thick wooden beam that latched onto the back of it. The stage’s wheels had a contraption attached to them that connected them to the other trailer’s wheels, much like a train. It was how Trixie was able to move all of the trailers with minimum effort. The trailer that the stage connected to was connected to the main trailer that Twilight and Trixie had been sitting on in the same way.

Trixie set up the stage quickly, her movements precise and practiced. When she was finished, Twilight couldn’t tell that the stage had once been connected to the trailer at all. Wooden slats came down on all four sides, hiding the wheels and making the bottom of the stage look solid. A wooden scaffold was suspended on either side by wooden beams and held the mechanism for the curtains. The curtains themselves were a soft magenta color and made out of a light silk. Thick enough to hide whatever was behind it, but light enough to flow and ripple in the wind. Designs and patterns on the curtain gave it a shimmering, ethereal look when it did ripple.

Trixie gave her work a final, appraising look before nodding, satisfied. Turning, she smiled at Twilight. “Ready to see Manehattan?”

Twilight nodded eagerly; she wanted to see what the city had to offer. Trixie began to walk towards the city, but glanced at Twilight and frowned. “Hang on a second,” she said, heading towards the main trailer. “I forgot something.”

She returned a few moments later wearing a light purple sweater that complimented her coat wonderfully. She was magically floating another sweater next to her, this one a dark grey. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Trixie, you do know that I’m not eight, right?”

Trixie just flashed Twilight her sweetest, most condescending smile. “Yeah, but you’re still wearing this. I don’t need you to have a cold on top of hobbling around like an old pony.”

Twilight scowled but consented. Outwardly, Twilight kept up a façade of annoyance, but in reality her heart was fluttering. Could Trixie feel the same way? Twilight shook her head violently, pushing the thoughts away into the deepest recesses of her mind. She couldn’t stand to think about that; it was foolish.

They picked a random street and started down it, walking side-by-side; Trixie matching Twilight’s slow gait with her own. “So, what do you want to see first?” Trixie asked, looking at Twilight sidelong.

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t even know where to begin. It seems like there’s so much to see. I’ll just follow you.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, sighing. “Twilight, you really need to stop being so selfless. Remember, I’ve been here many times and have seen most of the city. Just think about somewhere you want to go. I’ll handle getting there.”

Twilight stopped, thinking. “Well… how about the library?”

Trixie giggled. “I figured you would say that. C’mon, it’s this way.”

The two mares set off, Trixie slightly in the lead. They walked in companionable silence, Twilight being too enthralled to keep up a conversation. They reached the library after a half-hour, and Trixie noticed Twilight stop next to her. Turning, she had to hold her hoof over her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter.

Twilight was standing in place, frozen. Her mouth was open in awe and her eyes were as big as the plates she had been eating off of for the past week. The Manehattan Public Library was the biggest library she had ever seen. Its three stories promised enough books to keep Twilight entertained for years! Trixie could have sworn that a little drool dripped from the edge of Twilight’s mouth, but perhaps it was just a trick of the light.

At first, Trixie thought Twilight was just exaggerating, but as the minutes ticked by she became genuinely worried. “Um… Twilight? Are you okay?” She waved a hoof in front of the stunned mare’s face. Twilight didn’t respond.

Trixie sighed and face-hoofed. She knew that Twilight was into books, but jeez! She hated to have to do this but desperate times call for desperate measures. Trixie’s horn lit up and a single tiny thread of electricity jumped from it to Twilight, stinging her on the flank. Painful, but effective.

Twilight jumped into the air, yelping loudly. Bystanders on the street stopped what they were doing to glance up, but it wasn’t the oddest thing they had seen on the streets of Manehattan, so they went back to their own business.

Twilight flushed. Whether from embarrassment or anger, nopony knew, not even Twilight. “What did you do that for!?”

“Twilight, you were drooling,” Trixie replied dryly, turning and walking towards the library.

Twilight reached up to feel the corner of her mouth and her blush deepened. Rather than respond, she followed Trixie up the stairs and into the library as quickly as possible. Trixie waited for her just inside.

The library was even more magnificent inside. The walls were layered with dark planks of ebony and the floor was a soft, red carpet. The entire library was set up in a circle, with the books lining the walls all the way around. Only the ground floor had traditional rectangular shelves. The other two floors were open in the center. Twilight would have squealed in joy if she hadn’t been in a library.

Trixie watched Twilight’s face for a moment, then turned to survey the library herself. “Now Twilight, don’t take too long in here. I know you love libraries, but it’s already kind of late, and I do have a show tomorrow, alright?” Trixie turned to see if Twilight had heard her, only to find that the space her friend had occupied was empty. Trixie face-hoofed again. There was no way they were seeing anything else in the city today.

Trixie thought about going after Twilight, but soon realized that it would be futile. Even crippled, Twilight could navigate a library faster than she could. Trixie took a seat next to the checkout desk and just relaxed. Twilight would come around soon. At least, she hoped so.

Two hours later, Trixie was in a zen state. She wasn’t quite asleep, but she wasn’t awake either. Her mind was filled with images of the tricks she would perform during her show the next night, the faces of her audience, the sounds of their awe. Performing was Trixie’s life, and she loved it with every fiber of her being.

The images evaporated when a hoof gently shook her. She opened her eyes to see a very ashamed-looking Twilight Sparkle. The purple mare wouldn’t even meet her eyes.

“I… I’m sorry Trixie. I didn’t mean to get so... absorbed.” Twilight shifted on her hooves, embarrassed that she had made her love wait for so long.

Trixie blinked and stretched out her stiff limbs, hearing them creak and pop. She smiled lazily, still half in her zen state. “It’s fine, Twilight. This evening was for you, after all.”

Twilight finally looked Trixie in the eyes. There was no trace of the annoyance she had expected there, much to Twilight’s surprise. “I… I guess. Are you ready to head back?”

Trixie nodded. “If you are, I am; what time is it? I don’t want to be up too late. I do have my show tomorrow, after all.”

Twilight glanced around for a clock. She found one above the desk. “It’s eight-thirty. If we hurry, we can make it back to the trailer in half the time it took us to get here.”

Twilight thought she saw sympathy flash in Trixie’s eyes for a moment, but if she did, it was gone instantly. Trixie just nodded and the pair walked out of the library, heading for the place they called home.

Twilight was exhausted. Seeing the massive amount of knowledge stored in the library had given her a burst of energy, but now that she was outside, all of that energy had left her. Her muscles felt tired and flimsy, like overcooked noodles; she knew that she had overdone it.

Her exhaustion made it hard to walk in a straight line, and she often caught herself leaning on Trixie. At first she was able to catch herself before she put too much weight on the mare she loved, but it slowly got more and more difficult to stay upright. When she thought she couldn’t handle it anymore, Trixie leaned against her on her own, saying nothing. Twilight simply blushed, grateful.

The journey back to the trailer took the pair longer than it had earlier that evening, but Twilight hardly noticed. By the time they arrived at the trailer, she might as well have been sleep-walking. Only Trixie kept her from falling to the ground. Trixie lifted Twilight into bed, a small smile on her face. She joined her not long afterwards. They were both extremely tired, and tomorrow night was Trixie’s show.

Twilight woke to find herself back in Trixie’s bed. She didn’t remember how she got there but that wasn’t surprising. She had gotten used to not remembering getting in bed. She did, however, remember the library, and how she had slighted Trixie. She still felt bad about that. Then she noticed that she was holding something very warm and very soft.

Twilight froze. She knew exactly what she was holding; she just didn’t want to admit it to herself. Opening her eyes, her worst fears were confirmed: Trixie was asleep in her arms. Twilight became conflicted. On the one hoof, having Trixie in her arms fulfilled so many fantasies she had dreamt about since she had started traveling with her. On the other hoof, not only was it wrong to hold her while she was asleep, but if she woke up it would be extremely awkward. With a gentle, regretful sigh, Twilight slowly released Trixie. The showmare didn’t stir.

Relieved, Twilight got up slowly. Her limbs ached fiercely and she could barely walk, but it got easier every day. She tried to levitate a book that she had apparently left on the floor before she had left yesterday. The searing pain still affected her. She dashed away her tears angrily. Why couldn’t she use magic!? Why!? She shook with helplessness.

A month ago, Twilight would have said she was unable to live without magic. Now, she was forced to. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, she rationalized; after all, she could be dead. Twilight grimaced as her tears dried. If she was dead, she couldn’t be with Trixie. She wouldn’t —couldn’t— let that happen.

Trixie awoke a short time later to the smell of blueberries. She smiled, her eyes still closed. Blueberries were her favorite and only one pony could be fixing them. She opened her eyes and followed Twilight as she paused to read a cookbook, then put what she had read into action. “You don’t have to fix breakfast for me, you know,” she said, sleepy humor in her voice.

Twilight jumped. “Trixie! You weren’t supposed to wake up till I had this ready!” She took a breath and smiled. “And yes, I do. You’ve fixed breakfast for me for the last week. The least I can do is fix it when you have a show to do.”

Trixie thought about insisting, but something made her stop. Some… sixth sense told her that Twilight really wanted to do this. Who was she to complain? She simply stayed silent and smiled.

Twilight painstakingly followed the cookbook to the letter, determined to make the best pancakes she could. When they were finished, she brought them over the Trixie, effectively serving her breakfast in bed. She waited nervously for Trixie to take a bite.

“Mm… these are really good, Twilight!” Trixie paused just long enough to praise Twilight, and then dug in. She was ravenous.

Twilight let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. She had been so nervous that her cooking skills wouldn’t be good enough. She was glad it had paid off. She put two pancakes on her own plate and climbed onto the bed, digging into the delicious pancakes herself.

After finishing her breakfast, Trixie began to make her final preparations. Her show might not be for hours, but she had learned from experience that preparing early saved her more trouble than it caused. Twilight did the best she could to help.

Eventually, both mares ran out of things to do. Everything was as perfect as it could be, so they relaxed, alternating between talking to each other, reading, or simply relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet.

As the hours passed, however, Trixie began to pace and mutter. She went over her mental checklist at least four times, making sure she had forgotten nothing. Twilight noticed and couldn’t help teasing her. “I don’t believe it,” she started. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is nervous!? I never would have guessed!”

Trixie stopped in the middle of her pacing, an absent look on her face. “I am not nervous, Twilight Sparkle. I am simply… ensuring that everything will go as planned.” She began her pacing again, faster than ever.

Twilight had spent enough time around Trixie in the past week to know that she was extremely nervous. She walked over and stopped Trixie’s pacing herself, placing a hoof on the showmare’s shoulder. She spoke softly: “Trixie, you’re the best showpony I know. You’ve gone over everything at least ten times. Everything is going to turn out fine. Your show is going to be a huge success. I promise.”

Trixie sighed and sank to the floor, “I know Twilight; you’re right. I just can’t shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen. I just know that I’m going to mess up a trick or forget a line or something. I… I guess I’m scared.”

Twilight smirked, a gleam in her eye. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m out there then. You would never let me see you mess up, would you? I wouldn’t ever let you forget it, either.”

Trixie’s eyes flashed. She knew a challenge when she heard one. “Oh, you’re on, Twilight Sparkle. I’m going to put on the best show ever and make you eat those words.”

Twilight grinned; she knew that would work. Trixie always responded to challenges. What she didn’t know is what Trixie would say next. “Thanks, Twilight. That really did help. You’re a good friend. The best.”

The words cut Twilight to the core. They made her endlessly happy and eternally miserable all at the same time. She felt the heat of tears welling up behind her eyes, and hurried to the bathroom in the other trailer. On the one hoof, Trixie thought of her as her best friend. On the other, Trixie only thought of Twilight as her best friend. Nothing more. She allowed herself to cry for five minutes before deciding that enough was enough. She washed her face, erasing any trace of tears, and headed back to the main trailer where the pair simply talked away the few hours left until show time.

Twilight was, luckily, at the front of a massive crowd. Apparently, Trixie was extremely popular with the residents of Manehattan. The field was absolutely packed. Somepony had even set up bleachers in the back so the unfortunate ponies that had arrived late could still see the show. She could feel the crowd’s tension behind her and could hear the jostling of ponies. She was so relieved to be in the front row, away from the press of bodies. The view of the show would be great, too.

Finally, it was showtime. The lights all around the field dimmed to black, and a glowing smoke began to roll over the stage, illuminating it and giving off an air of mystique. A bright purple flash blinded the crowd, and when they looked again, Trixie was standing there, wrapped in her hat and cape, head bowed. Trixie didn’t move a muscle, but a deep, resounding voice resonated across the entire field, seemingly shaking the world:

“Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts, Mares and stallions! You are here tonight for one reason and one reason only: to be amazed!” The crowd roared its approval, but was cut off as the voice continued. “Watch in awe and wonderment as the one, the only, The Great and Powerful Trixie tricks your senses and takes you to a world where conventional laws are turned on their heads! Welcome to the world of Magic!” The crowd roared again, deafening Twilight. She hardly noticed though; she was entranced.

Suddenly, a spark appeared on the outer edge of the smoke, catching it on fire. The fire burned quickly, heading towards Trixie hungrily. As it drew closer it changed colors, going from a crimson red to a mystic purple. Just when the crowd thought she would be engulfed, Trixie shot out a magical bubble around her, extinguishing the flames and causing them to turn into sparkling, ethereal butterflies. The crowd ooh’d and aah’d. Twilight would have joined them, had she not been speechless; the act was beautiful.

Trixie floated into the air and looked down on the crowd. Her eyes glowed a bright, icy blue. She slowly raised her hooves to her sides. When they were perpendicular to her body, she opened her mouth, and out of it came pure snow; it streamed over the audience, too high to touch them, and then fell all at once. Some ponies in the crowd screamed, but when the flakes touched the crowd, they vanished. It was an illusion of the highest caliber and flawlessly performed. Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off of Trixie.

Trixie floated back down and hovered a foot above the stage. She curled herself into a ball and waited there, seemingly doing nothing. When the crowd began to murmur, she quickly unfurled, unleashing a gigantic sphere of magic from all around. Its fiery hue lit up the night sky, masking the very stars themselves from sight. As the sphere touched each pony, they glowed. No pony was the same color as another, and a thousand conversations broke out at once as friends and family conversed about what color they were. Twilight glowed a brilliant, icy blue that radiated from her form as if she were made of light. Many ponies around her had to shield their eyes so they weren’t blinded.

As she waited for the audience to die down, Trixie floated back to the surface of the stage, losing all color and returning to her normal form. She closed her eyes and began to hum. It was quiet at first, easily absorbed by the noise of the crowd, but after a moment, the sound grew to overpower even the loudest pony. The curtain behind Trixie began to slowly flutter even though there was no wind, and suddenly the stars and patterns that covered the curtain came to life and began to race around the audience, leaving trails of gold and silver in their wake. Twilight was the only pony focused on Trixie and not the patterns weaving around her head. That’s when she noticed something was wrong.

She heard a groaning noise and at first thought it was Trixie herself, caught up in the humming that made the patterns come alive, but she soon realized that it was something much less enthralling than that. The groaning sounded like wood. Twilight glanced above Trixie and swore she saw the wood moving. She wondered momentarily if it was part of Trixie’s act, but dismissed the idea. As much as she loved Trixie, she still wasn’t that powerful. She could only handle one illusion at a time, no matter how amazing they were.

Twilight was so focused on the beam that when the worst happened, her body acted instinctively. The beam fell. Hundreds of pounds of weight threatened to crush Trixie’s bones. Twilight’s horn lit up brightly, putting Trixie’s illusion to shame. The searing pain hit her like a knife to the forehead, but she didn’t stop as she had before. If she did, then Trixie was dead.

She heard herself scream Trixie's name even as her magic strained to hold the beams. She felt a liquid run from the base of her horn down her face. It was only when it reached her mouth and she tasted metal that should could identify the liquid.

Blood.

It felt like Celestia’s sun was right behind Twilight’s horn. The pain was the most intense she had ever experienced. She collapsed to her knees and felt her tears mix with the blood running down her face. She still held the spell. She heard herself scream Trixie’s name again, but had no idea whether or not she heard. Her eyes were shut tight with the pain.

She fought the pain and the blackness that came with it until the end. She had to keep the beam suspended or Trixie was dead. She felt herself fall to her side and felt her head slam to the ground. She still held the spell. The pain moved from behind her horn to encompass her entire body. It felt like she was being burned alive. She still held the spell. Only when the blackness grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into unconsciousness did she release the spell. Even then, she heard herself cry out Trixie’s name one, final time.

Chapter 9

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 9

Pieces of conversation pierced the blackness that engulfed Twilight’s mind. Some voices she recognized, others she didn’t.

“…nothing we can do.”

“Fix her!”

“…her comfortable...”

“She’s gone. You’ll just…”

“Twilight… no… please! No!”

The last voice lifted the veil. Twilight could finally see and move. Had… had she heard crying? Why would anypony be crying and saying her name? Twilight tried to focus on the thought, but it slipped away. Her mind was grey and fuzzy. Twilight frowned but shrugged; she couldn’t seem to bring herself to care. Instead, she took stock of her surroundings.

She was in a vast sea of green. Clear blue sky met crisp green grass at all horizons save one. Light shone everywhere but Twilight could not find Celestia’s sun anywhere in the sky. A gentle wind rolled across the land, making the grass dance, but Twilight couldn’t feel it. In the distance, directly in front of her, stood a massive stone structure that towered over the flatland surrounding it. Its grey brick contrasted heavily with the vivid colors of the area, and Twilight knew that she ought to have felt a sense of foreboding coming from it. Instead, she only felt peace. Her hooves moved of their own accord, drawn to the structure by some unknown force.

Every so often Twilight thought she heard voices. When she tried to focus on them, however, her mind went blank. She yawned; all she really wanted to do was lie down in the soft grass around her and take a nap. Her hooves wouldn’t stop moving, though, and brought her ever closer to the bleak-looking landmark.

Time seemed to mean nothing in this place. Twilight was unable to tell if it was hours or seconds that were passing; the only constant was the building. Phantom voices continued to tease her ears, seemingly carried on the non-existent wind; Twilight mused that in other circumstances she would be annoyed, but right now she only felt sleepy and muddled.

After what could have been an eternity or a moment, Twilight reached the base of the structure. It was even more massive than she had previously thought. Each weathered, grey brick was twice as big as she was and the structure itself stretched up as far as she could see. The structure did not cast a shadow that Twilight could see. A small door was embedded in the wall she faced and, to her surprise, an earth pony sat next to it, calmly chewing on a piece of hay. Twilight’s hooves brought her closer but it was the earth pony that spoke first, his voice warm and soothing.

“Twilight Sparkle: It certainly took you long enough to get here.” He chuckled. “What happened, you stop to smell the daisies?”

Twilight studied the stallion. His coat was a light grey, reminding her of a storm cloud, and his mane was the deep black of a starless night sky. His body was muscular, but not overly so, and he carried himself with an air of superiority. His eyes were the most striking thing about him. Two deep, emerald pools drew Twilight into their depths. She noticed that he did not have a cutie mark. He was a stallion that wore his presence like a cloak around him. Under normal circumstances Twilight would have been intimidated.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked, drawing closer. “And how do you know my name?”

Again the stallion chuckled, his voice seeming to resonate in the air around her. “Oh come now, Twilight. You haven’t figured it out yet? I thought you were smarter!”

Twilight felt her indignation rise momentarily before being whisked off by the fuzziness. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ she thought briefly. “Sorry, It’s just… my mind is fuzzy or something. I can’t focus.”

The stallion nodded. Was that pity in his eyes? “Ah, of course. I apologize, sometimes I forget what this place does to… other ponies. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Death.”

Twilight shot Death a quizzical look. “Death? Like… death Death? Like the end of life Death?”

Death smirked, clearly amused by Twilight’s description of him. “Indeed: I am the Keeper of Souls, the Leader of the Lost, the Gate-Watcher, the Eternal Judge; it is I who watches over this place.” He gestured around him, indicating the sea of grass.

Twilight struggled to comprehend. The fuzziness was like a film around her brain that she constantly had to cut through, only to have it grow back twice as thick. Her apathy was gradually turning into annoyance; she needed to think! “What… uh… what is this place exactly?”

Death looked away from Twilight. His gaze was fixed on something–somewhere–far beyond his gaze. “These are the Fields of the Lost: the place between life and death, where souls wander until they can accept their fate.”

Twilight’s forehead creased, her mind working in overdrive to try and think through the film. “So… I’m… dead?”

Death’s eyes flashed as he reestablished eye contact with Twilight. “Bingo.”

Twilight took an involuntary step back. Dead? She couldn’t be dead! She was still young! And… and… there was something else; something at the edge of her mind that she couldn’t quite grasp. She couldn’t die! Twilight shook her head violently and turned on Death, determined to get answers before she forgot her questions again: anger gave her mind the edge it needed to form thoughts. “How did I die? Why can’t I think? What are those voices I keep hearing? Tell me!”

Death was silent, holding Twilight’s gaze; she suddenly felt very cold. Death didn’t seem so friendly anymore. He spoke, his voice quiet and menacing, “Regardless of how friendly I seem, Miss Sparkle, you would do well to remember who I am: I will not tolerate disrespect, no matter how frightened or confused you are.” Twilight’s gaze dropped to the ground and she backed up another step, suddenly fearful. Then the air lightened and Death returned to his previously relaxed form. His voice was back to its warm, soothing tone.

“You’re having a difficult time thinking because you aren’t completely dead. Your soul is trapped here in limbo and can’t decide whether or not it wants to give up the fight. The ‘fuzziness’ you described? That is death. Death is, above all, an escape from all of your mortal worries and troubles. As for your other questions… those are not for me to answer.”

Twilight trembled. Now that the fog had a name, she was afraid of it. She didn’t want to be touched by death. She didn’t want to die. She glanced up as the wind she couldn’t feel blew over the field again. Again she heard the voices. Twilight strained to make sense of them but they were too distant, too muffled. She sighed and noticed the massive structure once again. She had forgotten about it upon meeting Death. Twilight was willing to bet he had that effect on everyone. “What’s in there?” she asked, indicating the structure.

Death glanced over his shoulder. “It has many names. Some have called it Paradise. Some have called it The End. Me? I call it Death’s Embrace. It is the final resting place of all ponies. When souls are finished wandering these fields, they come here.” He shook his head in a sympathetic gesture. “Not even the mighty alicorns can resist death when it is their time; Death claims everypony in the end.”

Twilight stared at the tower for a few moments, and then glanced back at Death. “Are… are you going to force me into the tower?”

Death shook his head back and forth slowly, his emerald eyes never leaving Twilight’s. “Contrary to popular belief, I am not a reaper; I am simply a guide. You will enter the tower when the time is right for you.”

Twilight studied Death’s face, looking for any sign of deception. “What are the alternatives?”

Death looked away again, fixing his gaze on the same far-off point as before. “There is only one alternative, and that is to become an eternal wanderer. You would spend the rest of eternity wandering these unchanging fields, slowly becoming consumed by the ‘fuzziness’ you described until you were no more than a shell being controlled by the puppet master that is death.”

Twilight felt a coldness grip her being. She figured that without the film it would be sadness or maybe fear. She didn’t know. “There’s no other option? None at all?”

Again Death shook his head, but remained silent. Twilight bit her lower lip in concentration. She could feel death gripping her mind harder than ever. It wanted her. “Wh… what happens… inside the tower?”

Death chuckled. “It’s been a very long time since anypony asked me that. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you.”

Twilight was incredulous. “What? Why not?”

Again the air chilled and Death’s face became menacing. “I just can’t. You will simply have to accept the answer.”

Twilight gulped. That cold feeling from before was definitely sadness. This was fear. Death morphed back into his normal state and Twilight looked at the sky. It was so beautiful out here… maybe she should just become an eternal wanderer…

What? No! Twilight shook her head violently. That was the film of death talking. She didn’t want to become a shell. If there was really no other option… the tower seemed to be her best bet. Twilight sighed. “Fine, I don’t want to become a shell. Allow me to enter the tower.”

Death stepped closer to Twilight, bringing the space between them to a mere two hoofsteps, and stared at Twilight. “Do you understand that once you enter that tower there is no turning back? You will die. There will be no in-between limbo; you will be truly dead, period.”

Twilight gulped again, though whether it was from the proximity of Death or the statement he had just made she didn’t know. “I… I do.”

Death’s stare lingered for a moment, searching for any doubt. Finally he nodded. “Very well. Wait a moment and I will open the tower.” He walked over to the door and placed his two front hooves against it. He began to chant in a deep, dry voice. The voice put all of Twilight’s nerves on edge and cut through the fog like a razor: this was the true voice of Death. The volume rose with each passing second, forcing Twilight to cover her ears. The voice resonated throughout the fields, causing Twilight’s teeth to vibrate; then it stopped.

Death removed his hooves and let out a deep breath as the tower doors opened with a massive groan. He turned towards Twilight, his face carefully arranged in a mask that showed nothing. He bowed. “May Death’s Embrace grant you the peace you seek.”

Twilight slowly got up. She looked at the door to the tower, expecting to see some kind of room, but all she could see was darkness. Pure, infinite darkness. She took slow steps forward, feeling called towards the door. The darkness promised peace… an escape… happiness. She gingerly put one hoof inside the threshold, testing the darkness. It felt surprisingly warm. It was like stepping into a warm relaxing bath after a hard day of studying: it was divine.

Barely suppressing a yell of glee, Twilight Sparkle lept into the Void of death and was consumed.

Twilight floated in the sea of dark warmth. The fuzziness was gone, but she couldn’t remember why that was a good thing. She couldn’t remember anything. She was… happy? No, that wasn’t right. She was… nothing. She didn’t feel anything, she didn’t remember anything, she was just… there.

Twilight heard soft, comforting whispers of “Welcome Home,” and “We love you.” She relaxed, drifting in a sea of comfort and love: this was pure bliss. Then the tendrils came. They were slightly darker than the rest of the nothing and moved towards Twilight slowly. Twilight’s first reaction was to frown and try to remember what emotion she should feel, but the soothing voices assured her that everything would be alright. As Twilight relaxed, the tendrils reached her and embraced her in a cocoon of darkness. The comforting voices were cut off and Twilight was left completely and utterly alone.

A single, thread-like tendril snaked down from the cocoon directly above Twilight’s chest and entered Twilight’s body. Once inside, it began to systematically erase everything that distinguished Twilight from the Void. It began with her flesh and blood and bones. Those were useless in the Void: in the Void everyone was everything; the Void was a collective. Next, it went for her mind: thoughts and memories also meant nothing; the Void had the experiences of an infinite amount of people to draw from. A single individual’s memories were simply harvested and stored for the use of the collective Void. Finally, the tendril went for Twilight’s soul: It was the one thing that set living ponies apart from dead ones; it was the one thing that must be eradicated. The tendril dove in, determined to do its duty for the Void.

The first thing it noticed was the light; where the normal pony’s soul was dark and shriveled by this time, Twilight’s soul was still glowing. It was merely an ember, but it was still unsettling. Steeling its resolve, the tendril attacked, bashing itself against the light. Then everything exploded.

A white, purifying fire flowed through Twilight; it exterminated the tendril and dissolved the cocoon around her: It rebuilt her flesh and bones; it pumped fresh, life-giving blood through her veins; it rushed through her entire being, making her glow. When the fire reached her brain, Twilight screamed: she was bombarded by thousands of memories at once. Twilight saw a pony in her mind’s eye; she knew it was a mare, but didn’t know how. Her azure coat was pristine and her mane was the most beautiful color of white-silver Twilight had ever seen.

Another memory took its place: the same mare was standing over her, caring in her eyes. Twilight was asleep, but she heard the pony say: “I know who you really love, Twilight Sparkle. I promise I’ll wait for you.”

Another memory: Twilight and the azure mare were walking on the streets of a city leaning against one another. Twilight was almost dead on her hooves, but the other mare looked happy and content. The smile on her face was one of pure ecstasy.

Twilight was overrun by thousands of these memories at once. Her mind screamed out a question: ‘Who is she!?’ An unknown force supplied an answer: Trixie.

Trixie. Twilight remembered everything: She remembered starting her journey, meeting Ellie and Hearthly, fighting the wolves, being cared for by Trixie. She remembered how she had traveled with Trixie and talked with her about everything. She remembered how she had ended up in the Fields of the Lost. She remembered why she couldn’t die; she remembered why she wouldn’t die: she loved Trixie with all of her being, and not even death would stop her from going back.

Twilight’s eyes shot open. She was still surrounded by the darkness of death, but the fire that had coursed through her veins was making a protective shield around her. Massive tendrils of darkness were throwing themselves against her barriers, determined to break through and rip the pony that had made a mockery of death to shreds: nobody defied the collective Void.

The tendrils smashed themselves against her barrier again and again with no success: Death couldn’t conquer pure love. The darkness howled, the sound piercing straight into Twilight’s mind and causing her to scream out in pain. Her focus wavered and the darkness seized the chance: it smashed through her weakened barrier and wrapped itself around Twilight, cutting off her air and making it impossible to move. She struggled as hard as she could but it was hopeless. She couldn’t fail now… she… she had to get back to Trixie… she…

A new blackness flickered at the corners of Twilight’s vision. How Twilight could distinguish this blackness from the new she didn’t know. What she did know was that she was about to fall unconscious. She would never see Trixie again.

Then she was flying at an impossibly fast speed. The darkness morphed into impossibly bright light, and a massive shuddering rumble shattered the peace of the world once again: Twilight was back in the Fields of the Lost.

Twilight lay in the soft grass for what could have been an eternity. Her mind was free from the film that had previously lain over it and she could feel the wind on her flank and smell the fresh scent of the grass. She could remember Trixie. Twilight would have lain there forever if a voice hadn’t startled her back into focus.

“In all of the time I have served as Death, never has the tower rejected a pony: never. I don’t know what you did, Twilight Sparkle, but apparently it is not your time to die.”

Twilight rose to her hooves unsteadily and focused her gaze on Death, who was standing only ten paces away from her and staring at her with unconcealed disbelief. She smiled broadly, overjoyed. “So… that means I can go home?”

Death composed his features and looked at Twilight with a gaze that could only be described as admiration. “I suppose so.” His expression suddenly turned somber. “Something you should know, however: you don’t die and come back to life unscathed. When you go back to the world of the living you will lose something; I’m not sure what, but rest assured, it will be something precious to you.”

Twilight just smiled again, baffling Death. “Death, there’s only one thing in the living world that is precious to me and I don’t plan on losing her any time soon. I’ll come back here and bring her back myself if I have to.”

Death laughed loudly. “I would love to see that for myself. A pony that not only escapes the clutches of death but pulls her lover back as well? Then I will have seen everything. Live well Twilight. Rest assured that I will see you again someday: as I said, nopony escapes death.”

Twilight nodded, “I’ll come back when I’m ready to die,” then her face twisted in agony: pure pain was rushing through her body. “What… what’s happening to me!?” she screamed through gritted teeth; not even death itself had been this painful.

Death looked on, a small tinge of sympathy evident in his eyes. “You don’t come back to life without any pain Twilight. It will get worse before it gets better.” He smirked. “It will be worth it though. After all, life is worth living, or so they say.”

Twilight screamed again: she couldn’t handle this; she didn’t even have a feeling to compare it to. The worst pain she could imagine paled in comparison to this. Slowly the pain lessened and Twilight began to fade. The last thing she heard was Death chuckling in his dry, jaded way.

Twilight opened her eyes immediately only to shut them again, silently whimpering in pain; the light was too much for her to handle. Agonizing minutes ticked by as she allowed them to adjust, then she opened them again.

A white plaster ceiling was the first thing she saw. The orange rays of Celestia’s sun cast long, thin beams of light across it. Twilight almost moved, but then mentally analyzed her body: she didn’t seem to hurt anywhere, but she didn’t seem to really be able to move, either. She experimentally tried to lift her left forehoof, only to realize there was a weight on it. Twilight gingerly turned her head to see what it was, nearly grunting with the massive amount of effort it took to simply accomplish the small task.

Lying on her hoof was the head of the one pony in the world Twilight wanted to see. Trixie looked terrible, even in the embrace of sleep. Her eyes were red and had dark circles under them. Her silvery mane was disheveled, and the sheet under her head was stained with fresh tears. She must have just fallen asleep. Twilight hated to wake her but she couldn’t wait any longer: she had to talk to her.

Twilight tried to call Trixie’s name but she couldn’t form words; her throat was desert dry. She looked around for some way to get Trixie’s attention but saw nothing. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and put all of her will into her left forehoof. She was able to slide it out from Trixie’s head fraction by fraction. When the hoof was completely removed, Trixie’s head gently hit the sheets below and she stirred, mumbling quietly.

Twilight waited patiently for Trixie to look at her, then waited again while what she was seeing registered in her mind. Trixie didn’t move. Tears began to stream down her face again and she slowly reached a hoof up to Twilight’s face, stroking her cheek gently. “Twi… Twilight? Is… are you really awake? This isn’t a dream again is it?”

Twilight smiled and shook her head slowly. Trixie hesitated a moment longer, then freaked out. She ran out into the hall screaming for the nurse and the doctor. When they came into the room they were in disbelief. When they hesitated a moment too long, Trixie galvanized them into action, magically lifting them closer and yelling at them. Mentally, Twilight giggled. ‘She must have really been worried… she’s cute when she’s angry’

A few hours later, Twilight had been refreshed. Her IV’s had been reinserted, she had been given water and fresh blood. The doctor told her that he had taken everything out when he pronounced her dead. He had tried his best to bring her back to life for almost an hour, but eventually it had seemed like a lost cause. He was at a loss for what had happened.

With fresh fluids, she actually felt pretty good. She didn’t feel good enough to walk out of the hospital, but for a mare that had been to death’s door and back she didn’t feel too bad. At least she could talk again.

The doctor insisted on running test after test in order to make sure Twilight was alright. He said that he would be able to perform more thorough tests when she was able to walk, but for the moment everything looked fine. With that, he left Twilight and Trixie alone together.

For a while, Twilight and Trixie just stared at each other: one in disbelief, the other in longing. Twilight spoke first. “So… how are—” She was cut off. Trixie had suddenly grabbed her in a tight hug, whispering in her ear.

“Don’t ever do that again Twilight… don’t die again. I can’t lose you; I won’t lose you. I… I…” She began sobbing into Twilight’s coat as Twilight held her, stroking her mane and whispering in her ear. Eventually Trixie’s sobs quieted and she composed herself, but when she tried to pull away, Twilight held her tighter, speaking quietly.

“I won’t lose you either Trixie. I… I meant to tell you this a long time ago but I never had the courage. I love you Trixie. I was never looking for a stallion when I left Ponyville: I came looking for you. After you left I couldn’t stop thinking about you, about how confident and beautiful you were. I was scared to tell you, but… well, death changes things.” She released her grip on Trixie and held her away from her so that she could look in her eyes. Trixie was staring at her, an unreadable expression on her face. Twilight suddenly got nervous.

“A… and well… I understand if you don’t return the feelings… I… I mean I just wanted to tell you so that—” She was cut off by Trixie’s lips on her own. Her eyes fluttered and her mind stopped working. She sat there, unmoving, too stunned to do anything else. It ended all too quickly. Trixie smiled and gave Twilight a loving look, responding softly.

“I know Twilight… just… I know.” She kissed Twilight again, and Twilight melted into Trixie, kissing her back. This was bliss.

When the doctor came to check in on Twilight two hours later, he found Twilight and Trixie asleep, arms wrapped around each other lovingly. He smiled knowingly and closed the door quietly.

Chapter 10

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 10

The hospital room was dark when Twilight woke up. She lay there, motionless, as she allowed herself to become fully awake. The only sounds in the room were the constant beeping of the heart monitor and the breathing of a sleeping mare. Twilight gazed at the sleeping pony next to her and felt her heart swell with love; Trixie lay beside her, her hooves wrapped around Twilight lovingly.

The showmare mumbled Twilight’s name in her sleep and Twilight smiled, kissing her gently. Trixie shifted slightly and hugged Twilight closer, a dreamy smile on her face. Twilight returned the gesture, feeling her heart skipping beats; she still couldn’t believe how things had turned out. She had to be the luckiest pony in Equestria.

Over the past three days Trixie had only left Twilight’s side to use the restroom, much to the doctor’s agitation. He believed that Twilight needed bed rest and that Trixie was preventing that. Twilight told him that she preferred Trixie being with her but he refused to listen. Twilight stifled a small giggle as she recalled what had happened when he tried to make Trixie leave her side. The glare Trixie had given him would have frozen Celestia’s sun and Twilight had learned some new words that day. Needless to say, it wasn’t a problem after that.

Her gaze lingered on Trixie for a moment before finding its way to the wall clock suspended above the door. Illuminated by Luna’s moon, Twilight read the clock and sighed quietly. It was three in the morning. She had been in the hospital for three days and every night she had woken up at some insane hour. She had no idea why, but she didn’t mention it to the doctors or to Trixie. They would only worry and she was tired of making ponies worry.

Not that their worrying was unjustified. It’s not often that a pony dies and comes back to life, especially when said pony comes back to life seemingly unscathed. Test after test had been run on Twilight just to see if she had suffered any damage to her body or brain, but they had all come back saying she was fine. Her last test was supposed to run today, and if it came back clean he would decide when she could go home.

Home. The word made tears form at the corners of Twilight’s eyes. She missed Ponyville and her friends so much. She missed Rainbow crashing into her house on an almost daily basis. She missed Applejack’s down-to-earth attitude and Fluttershy’s timid kindness. She missed talking with Rarity about Canterlot. She even missed Pinkie Pie’s…randomness. Most of all, though, she missed Spike. She wanted to go back to Ponyville and lie in her own bed and never leave. She wanted to start some kind of life with Trixie, even if that meant just lying with her in her bed all day every day.

A dark part of her mind whispered evilly, ‘What if she doesn’t want to stay in Ponyville?’ Twilight frowned. Of course she would want to stay in Ponyville...right? The dark part of her mind whispered again: ‘She wants to become a world-famous magician; she can’t do that if she stays in Ponyville.’ Twilight looked at the serene face of her sleeping love, denying it. Trixie would want to stay with her. Trixie loved her...didn’t she?

The dark part of her mind had one, final point: ‘You can’t give her the dream she’s always wanted. She may be happy for a few months,or even a few years, but eventually she’ll want to be back on the road and she will leave you!’

Twilight stared at Trixie, watching her chest rise and fall. It wasn’t true…she could make Trixie happy. She could do shows in Ponyville or…or find something else that made her happy. She wouldn’t leave Twilight...she...she couldn’t.

Twilight fell back into a troubled sleep, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. She knew that she was lying to herself. Trixie would want to go back on the road eventually, and Twilight would have to choose between the love of her life and her friends.

She didn’t want to make that choice.

When Twilight woke again, a bright and blinding light was shining onto her face and she could hear voices. As she became more aware of her surroundings: the first thing she noticed was that she was alone in the hospital bed. Trixie was gone.

Twilight’s eyes shot open and she rose quickly, giving herself a headache. The light blinded her unprepared eyes. “Trixie!?” She called out, fear creeping into her voice. She wouldn’t have left already…would she? Maybe she decided it was too much trouble…

A hoof touched her foreleg and a familiar voice answered her, soothing her fears. “Twilight! Shh…I’m right here. What’s wrong?” Twilight almost sobbed in relief and threw her forelegs around Trixie, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light.

“I…I thought you had left. I was…scared.” Twilight could feel tears running down her face but she didn’t care. She hugged Trixie tightly and inhaled the intoxicating fragrance of jasmine and mint that she had come to adore.

Trixie held Twilight as she sobbed into Trixie’s mane. She didn’t understand why Twilight was so upset, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Twilight was upset. Trixie cooed into Twilight’s ear soothingly, and when the sobs subsided, Twilight pulled away.

Twilight sniffed, wiping away the final traces of her tears. “I...I’m sorry Trixie.” She mumbled, embarrassed by her behavior. “I shouldn’t have overre—” Trixie’s hoof stopped her from saying any more.

“Hush. It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize to me,” Trixie said tenderly. She smiled and pulled Twilight into a gentle kiss. A kiss that promised she would always be there, no matter what. Twilight melted into the kiss, her heart soaring.

The deep sound of a stallion clearing his throat startled both of them, causing them to jerk apart. Deep blushes warmed both of their faces.

The doctor coughed, clearly embarrassed himself. “Sorry ladies, this will only take a moment.” He walked forward and drew a needle from his jacket pocket. “I need another sample of blood, Twilight. It’s for the last test we need to run.”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed and she stepped between the doctor and Twilight. “You’ve already taken blood from her twice. What happened to all of that?” she demanded. Nopony was going to hurt Twilight without a good reason, not as long as Trixie could do anything about it.

The doctor sighed. “We need fresh blood. This test only works on blood that has been out of the body for less than an hour. I’ll have to hurry just to get it to the lab in time for the test. I promise that this will be the last time I need to take anything, alright?”

Trixie wasn’t going to give up so easily. “What’s the test for? I’ve never heard of a test that needs fresh blood.”

The doctor closed his eyes in frustration. “I would really rather not talk about it until I have the results. It would only worry both of you. I admit that it’s probably a useless test but I would still feel better if we ran it. She did die, remember?”

Trixie tensed her muscles. She didn’t like being reminded of how she had almost lost Twilight and she definitely didn’t like having secrets kept from her. She inhaled to tell the doctor exactly where he could shove his needle and his test but a hoof on her shoulder stopped her.

“It’s alright Trixie; the needle doesn’t hurt that much anyway. I’ll be fine, okay?” Twilight’s voice was quiet but insistent. She knew how close Trixie was to the edge, and she really didn’t want her getting thrown out of the hospital. Looking at the doctor, she held out a foreleg. “Just…make it quick, okay?”

The doctor nodded. He was a fourteen year veteran and he was an expert at giving shots. The process was quick and efficient, not that it made it hurt any less. As the needle pierced her skin, Twilight let out a small cry of pain that almost broke Trixie’s heart. It took all of Trixie’s will to not slam the doctor against the wall with her magic.

After he was finished, he nodded to the two mares and trotted out of the room at a brisk pace: he hadn’t been kidding about needing to hurry to the lab.

Trixie closed the door with magic as soon as the doctor had left and turned to Twilight, concern in her eyes. “Are you okay Twilight? I know you don’t like needles.”

Twilight rubbed her foreleg gently. “Yeah, I’m alright.” She smiled at Trixie, laughter in her eyes. “I thought you were going to kill the doctor. He’s just trying to help, you know.”

Trixie grinned wryly. “Well, he needs to find a way to help that doesn’t involve hurting you, then. Nopony is going to hurt you without good reason as long as I’m around.” She noticed that Twilight was still rubbing her foreleg and smirked. “You want me to kiss it and make it better?”

Twilight gave her a sidelong glance and grinned mischievously. “No. I want you to kiss me and make me feel better.”

Trixie returned the grin and climbed onto the bed, pushing Twilight onto her back. Twilight squeaked in surprise, but was quickly silenced by Trixie’s lips on hers. Trixie kissed her passionately, hungrily. She needed Twilight. She needed Twilight right now. After a moment, Twilight broke the kiss, needing air, and Trixie moved to her neck, kissing and nibbling gently. She smiled when she heard Twilight’s gasp and felt her hooves tangle themselves in her mane.

Twilight had lost all ability to think. All she could do was lie there and let Trixie do as she pleased. Not that she had a problem doing that: she was in a world of bliss. All she could see were stars as Trixie slowly worked her way down Twilight’s neck. She moaned softly. She wanted this… she needed this.

Then the door to the room opened and a nurse stepped through, pushing a cart of steaming food. “Breakfa—whoa! I’ll uh…um…I’ll just…just leave this here.” She hastily left the room, an extremely embarrassed blush heating up her face.

Trixie stopped kissing Twilight and looked towards the already closed door. Twilight let out a small sound of annoyance at Trixie’s sudden stop, but then realized what had happened and looked towards the door with Trixie. Trixie looked down at her lover and examined the position they were in. Then she started giggling. Twilight watched her for a moment, and then joined in. Soon they were both laughing uncontrollably, tears running down their faces.

Trixie attempted to speak through her laughter. “I...I guess we shouldn’t be…shouldn’t be doing this in a hospital!” Twilight couldn’t speak; she was laughing too hard. She simply nodded her agreement.

After a moment both mares were only chuckling sporadically. Trixie magically pulled the cart over to the bed and set up breakfast for herself and Twilight. This morning it was scrambled eggs with a piece of toast and a muffin. The aroma of the delicious food made Twilight’s stomach rumble. She was starving and began eating quickly, barely tasting the food.

After a few minutes of silence, Twilight glanced up and found Trixie staring at her, amusement and passion in her eyes. Twilight held her gaze for a few seconds then looked away, the heat rising in her face. She heard Trixie giggle softly.

“You were certainly enjoying yourself!” Trixie teased. “But then, that’s to be expected when you’re being pleasured by The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Twilight’s blush deepened at the word “pleasured” but she kept silent, choosing instead to continue eating her breakfast. Trixie simply giggled and let Twilight finish in peace.

After the plate was cleared, Twilight placed it on the cart and looked out the window wistfully. The sun was shining brightly and, as far as she could see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She was so tired of this hospital room. She was tired of the wires connecting her to various machines; she was tired of being watched all day and night by strangers; most of all, she was tired of having absolutely no privacy. Trixie, of course, noticed.

“You know,” she began nonchalantly, “there’s a balcony on this floor that looks out over the city park. We could leave a note for the doctor and head over there. If you wanted to, I mean.”

Twilight beamed at Trixie. The idea of getting out of this room, even if they were still in the hospital, excited her more than it probably should have. “I would love to! This room makes me feel so…constricted.”

Trixie nodded, happy that she could make Twilight happy. She found a pad and pencil and began writing down their plans. She hoped that it wouldn’t cause too much fuss; the doctor did say there was nothing wrong with her physically or mentally. A thought crossed her mind and she frowned. “Twilight…can you walk?”

Twilight looked at Trixie then at her own legs. “I…I don’t know. I should be able to but…well, only one way to find out.” She braced herself and slid out of the bed, shaking her head when Trixie tried to help. If she couldn’t walk on her own, there was no point in going out there.

As she slowly put weight on each leg she grimaced: every leg was stiff from inactivity and each one protested, giving Twilight a burning, tingling sensation. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but eventually she was standing completely on her own, tensing and relaxing her muscles to work out the kinks. She grinned at Trixie. “See!? I’m fine. I feel even better than I did before I—” She cut herself off, the smile falling from her face.

Trixie’s expression turned into one of stony nonchalance. At least, that’s what she was going for. What it actually looked like was an expression of deep emotional sadness. The time right after Twilight had saved her had scarred Trixie more than she cared to admit.

Twilight looked away, ashamed. “Trixie…I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking and—” Trixie cut her off.

“It’s fine, Twilight.” She leaned forward and kissed Twilight softly. “All that matters is that you’re okay now.”

Twilight blinked. She would never get over how Trixie could make her mind go blank and her tongue twist itself into a knot just by kissing her. She loved that feeling. Shaking her head slightly to clear it, she smiled at Trixie. “So…uh…about that balcony?”

Trixie giggled. “Follow me.” Her expression became somber. “Oh, and Twilight? If you need to rest or slow down, please say something…okay?” Trixie’s gaze was imploring.

Twilight nodded, throwing her forelegs around Trixie’s neck and whispering into her ear. “I will, Trixie... thank you for worrying.”

Trixie flushed, and then led Twilight down the cream-colored corridors of the hospital. Pictures of Manehattan, flowers, and rural landscapes dotted the walls every few feet. Every so often Trixie would glance back, making sure that Twilight was okay. Knowing how much Trixie cared made Twilight’s heart swell with love. She really was the luckiest pony in Equestria.

Eventually they reached a set of heavy glass doors that led onto a large, open balcony that looked over the city. They were on the sixth floor, so the view stretched over nearly the entire city. Twilight walked over to the railing and inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of fresh air and basking in the warmth of the sun. The air itself was chilly but Twilight hardly noticed; she was intoxicated by this small freedom. Laughing, she turned to Trixie. “This is great! I didn’t realize how much that room was affecting me.”

Trixie smiled but stayed silent. She was content to just watch Twilight enjoy herself. She magically pulled over one of the larger chairs that was sitting on the balcony and took a seat, relaxing. After a final glace at the cityscape, Twilight joined her. Silently, the two embraced each other and watched the world go by. Minutes turned into hours, and Celestia’s sun moved slowly across the sky, painting it with brilliant streaks of orange and pink.

Twilight sighed contentedly and snuggled into Trixie, yawning. “I…I love you Trixie,” she said sleepily. Trixie smiled, glancing down at the drowsy unicorn and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you too, Twilight,” she said, gently stroking Twilight’s mane with a hoof. Twilight replied, but it became more of a mumble as sleep finally took her. Trixie gently lifted Twilight with magic and carried her back to her hospital room, tucking her in carefully. She gazed at Twilight’s face, watching as her eyes fluttered. Trixie wondered what Twilight was dreaming about. Was it her? Ponyville? She would have to ask one day.

The door to the room opened quietly as the doctor walked in. Trixie glanced at him sidelong as he joined her by Twilight’s bed. “Did your test reveal anything?” she asked quietly, almost whispering.

He nodded, a grim look on his face. He turned back towards the door and motioned for Trixie to follow him. Minutes later she walked back into the room, tears running down her face. She gazed at Twilight again. Her love was so peaceful and happy…she didn’t want to ruin it…not right now. She quietly climbed into bed, being careful to not wake Twilight up. She smiled as Twilight wrapped her hooves around her body and mumbled something.

The news could wait until tomorrow. For now, she would just lay here and listen to Twilight’s steady breathing. She would dream about the life she would have with Twilight and think about how Twilight would take the news tomorrow. She had no definite answers, but what she did know was that no matter what, she would be there for Twilight.

Always and forever.

Chapter 11

Teardrops and Snowflakes

Chapter 11

Twilight awoke suddenly, sweating and panicked, and called out Trixie’s name. Sweeping her gaze around the room frantically, she tried to remember where she was. Slowly recognizing her surroundings, she relaxed and realized that somepony was calling her name in a concerned voice and holding her tightly.

“Twilight! Twilight, relax! I’m right here, hush… everything is okay; it was just a bad dream.” Trixie was frightened and worried. She hadn’t slept at all that night; she had been far too distressed by the news she had received about Twilight’s condition. Luckily, Trixie found a certain kind of pleasure in watching her love sleep. It was so cute when she mumbled something dreamily or nuzzled against her. Needless to say, Twilight suddenly changing from a sleeping angel to a frightened mare shouting her name was startling.

Twilight threw her forelegs around Trixie’s neck and hugged her tightly, tears of relief streaming down her face. “Oh, it was awful, Trixie! I dreamed that I was chasing you through the Everfree Forest and… and then you fell down a cliff and you were just hanging there, screaming for help and then… and then…” Twilight sniffled and shuddered. “It was so real! I thought that I had lost you!”

Trixie smiled, stroking Twilight’s mane comfortingly. As much as she hated Twilight having a nightmare like that, it was cute that she worried about her the way she did. “It’s okay Twilight. I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Twilight sighed, feeling the tension melt away from her body as she snuggled deeper into Trixie’s embrace. It felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I’m glad,” she replied simply, nuzzling Trixie’s cheek. Bliss flowed through Twilight, and she closed her eyes, resting her head on Trixie’s chest and listening to her heartbeat.

They stayed like that a few moments, simply reveling in the other’s company. After Trixie was sure that Twilight had calmed down, she glanced at the clock above the door. Illuminated by the fading light of Luna’s moon, it read 6 AM. “Hey Twilight,” she began softly, “why don’t we go and watch the sunrise from the balcony?”

Twilight was already half asleep again. “Mmm… hmm?” she mumbled softly. “Yeah, that sounds good.” She wasn’t really aware of what she was agreeing to, she just knew that agreeing meant that she would be as close to Trixie as she could for as long as possible, and that’s all Twilight ever really wanted.

Grinning at the utter adorableness of the drowsy mare, Trixie carefully got out of the hospital bed and helped Twilight down, then magically gathered up two thick blankets; she had a feeling that it was going to be freezing out on the balcony.

Leaning on each other, the two mares made their way down the empty corridors. Small fluorescent lights placed periodically on either side of the hallway ensured that neither mare stumbled. Reaching the glass doors, Trixie draped both blankets around her and Twilight, who mumbled her thanks sleepily, and magically opened them. A blast of frigid air made Trixie flinch slightly, but Twilight didn’t seem to notice the cold. Pulling up the same chair the two had shared yesterday, Trixie warmed it slightly with magic and turned it to face the glowing horizon.

Wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, Twilight and Trixie snuggled together both out of a need for warmth and a need for the other’s love. Trixie could sense Twilight slowly slipping away into the throes of sleep, and softly roused her, not wanting her to miss the sunrise. “Twilight, try to stay awake sweetheart, I don’t want you to miss the sunrise.”

For a moment, nothing happened, and Trixie almost tried again, but then Twilight made a sound that could only be described as a mix between a whine, a whimper, and a moan. Yawning deeply, her voice was heavy with sleep. “Mmm… okay Trixie… I’ll try,” she mumbled, “but only because I love you.”

Trixie suppressed a giggle, and kissed Twilight on the top of her head. “I love you too, Twilight, even if you are a silly mare sometimes.”

“Hey!” Twilight protested, turning to look Trixie in the eye. “I’m not silly!”

This time, Trixie couldn’t suppress her giggle. “Of course not! Who would ever say that you were silly!?” she exclaimed.

Twilight looked as if she were about to reply, but at the last minute she thought better of it and instead quickly leaned forward, kissing Trixie deeply. Surprised at first, Trixie quickly recovered and began to kiss Twilight back, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight lovingly.

After what seemed like an eternity, Twilight broke the kiss, her lungs crying out for air. Breathing heavily, Twilight laid her head back on Trixie’s chest, basking in the afterglow of the kiss. “Trixie?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?” Trixie answered, equally quiet. Her own breathing was heavy, and her cheeks were burning with a fierce blush.

“When I’m allowed to leave here…” Twilight began hesitantly, “will you come back to Ponyville and stay with me? Forever?” She kept her voice as neutral as she could, not wanting Trixie to know how much the question – and its answer – meant to her.

Trixie, however, wasn’t fooled. “Twilight,” she said, gingerly forcing the purple mare to meet her eyes, “I had already planned on coming back to Ponyville with you and staying there. I can’t imagine living without you anymore and…well, as long as you want me, I’ll stay with you. No matter what happens.”

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears of joy that threatened to spill out; those words were all she had wanted to hear since she had first set out in search of Trixie, following a feeling that she couldn’t even name. Those words lifted her spirit to the highest reaches of the sky and drowned it in bliss and ecstasy. Twilight threw her forelegs around Trixie’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered in Trixie’s ear softly. “You just made me the happiest unicorn in all of Equestria.”

Trixie chuckled softly, returning the hug. “No I didn’t, you silly mare!” she exclaimed, causing Twilight to pull back and look at her questioningly. “I’m the happiest unicorn in all of Equestria!”

Twilight stared at Trixie for a moment, then grinned mischievously at her, leaning closer. “Well, how about we just be the happiest couple in Equestria then?”

Trixie leaned in even closer, and kissed Twilight gently. Pulling away, she grinned back. “That sounds perfect, Twilight. Absolutely perfect.”

As the two kissed again, Celestia’s sun finally rose over the horizon, casting its warming rays of hope and beauty over the land of Equestria and over two caring lovers who were oblivious to the world.

Hours later, Twilight and Trixie were back inside Twilight’s hospital room, enjoying a lunch of daffodil-and-daisy sandwiches with hay fries and telling stories. Twilight was in the middle of telling Trixie about Fluttershy’s stare. “Well, she might be really timid and meek most of the time, but if one of her friends is in danger, she’ll do anything to save them. One time, we had to stop a dragon from sleeping near Ponyville because he was smoking up the air and we could barely breathe. All of us tried to stop him, but nothing seemed to work. He had us backed up against a rock, about to eat us, when out of nowhere Fluttershy comes up and just stares him down and tells him how he wasn’t going to hurt her friends. It was actually really intimidating. The dragon left almost immediately.”

Trixie swallowed the last of her sandwich and shook her head. “Wow, you have some of the most interesting friends, Twilight. Did she really stare down a dragon?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, and another time there was this cockatrice that—” A knock at the door interrupted her. “Um… come in?” she called, confused. Nopony had ever knocked on the door before; why would they start now?

The doctor walked in, glancing around the room. When his gaze fell on Twilight, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, hello Miss Sparkle. Are we doing alright today?”

Twilight shrugged. “As well as any other day, doctor. I can’t wait to go home though. Any idea when I’ll be able to?”

The doctor gave Twilight a distracted smile. “I don’t know off hoof, but I’ll look at your charts today and if everything checks out, you should be able to leave very soon.” He turned his gaze to Trixie, creasing his forehead. “Miss Trixie, may I have a word?”

Trixie stared at the doctor for a moment, and then looked at Twilight, who shrugged. Trixie sighed and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Twilight nodded in response, taking a bite of her sandwich.

The doctor nodded at Trixie and led her into the hallway, taking a moment to make sure the door closed firmly behind them. Trixie opened her mouth to ask what this was all about, but the doctor silenced her with a gesture and led her into a nearby break room. He ensured that the door was firmly closed and, satisfied, sighed. “Alright, now that I’m sure nopony will be eavesdropping, I was wondering how Twilight was taking the news. It seems to be rather well from what I saw. You must be even more important to her than I thought if you could make her feel okay about such a… unique condition.”

Trixie listened to the doctor with a growing sense of dread. Eventually, she had to look away. The doctor, of course, noticed. Narrowing his eyes, his voice took on a tone of suspicious skepticism. “You… you did tell her… right?”

Trixie shifted awkwardly under his gaze. “Not… uh… not yet, no. I was waiting for the right time.” She winced as the doctor facehoofed.

“Are you kidding me!?” he exclaimed, “I told you that the sooner she found out the better! Do you think that I don’t know what I’m talking about!?”

Trixie narrowed her own eyes, becoming indignant. “You’re asking me to ruin her life and break her heart; that’s not something I’m willing to do on a whim! I love her, and I’m not going to hurt her any more than I have to!”

The doctor sighed, rubbing his eyes with a hoof tiredly. “You’re right… I’m sorry. However, believe me when I say that the sooner a patient finds out news like this the better. It gives them more time to… to cope.”

Trixie turned away, trying to hide her fear. “Twilight will “cope” just fine… you’ll see.”

The doctor’s voice was quiet and resigned as he responded. “Would you, if you were in her place?”

Trixie was silent for a moment, and then walked to the door. “I’ll… I’ll tell her soon. Alright?” she said, her voice mournful. She didn’t bother to wait for an answer before leaving.

Walking back towards Twilight’s room, Trixie felt her heart breaking. She didn’t know exactly how Twilight would react, but she knew that she would be crushed. As she reached the door that led into Twilight’s room, a single tear slid down her cheek. She was about to crush the hopes and dreams of the one pony she had ever truly loved, and Trixie wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her heart and opened the door.

Twilight was standing at the window, staring out over the city. Hearing the door open, she turned and, seeing that it was Trixie, beamed at her. “Did you hear the doctor Trixie!? I should be able to go home soon!”

Seeing Twilight’s broad smile almost shattered Trixie’s resolve. What right did she have to obliterate Twilight’s happiness?

“Trixie?” Twilight began, her voice full of concern, “is everything alright? Are you okay?”

Trixie looked at the ground and grit her teeth. The doctor was right, it was better to tell her now and let her begin to live with it than to wait until they were already in Ponyville. “I’m… I’m fine, Twilight,” she said, looking up and smiling at Twilight sadly. “I… I have some news for you.”

Twilight walked over and hugged Trixie. She could sense that something was wrong, she just had no idea what it was. “Alright, what is it?” she asked.

Trixie led Twilight over to the bed and gestured for her to sit down. Twilight obeyed, sliding close to Trixie and snuggling against her. Both were silent for a few moments, Trixie gathering her thoughts and steeling her resolve, Twilight allowing Trixie to move at her own pace.

Finally, Trixie sighed. It was now or never. “Twilight,” she began, “you know that I love you more than anything else in the world, right?”

Twilight giggled. “Yeah, but I bet that I love you more!”

Trixie couldn’t help but smile at Twilight’s words. She refused to be distracted though; this was too important. “And… you know that I’ll always love you, no matter what… right?”

Twilight frowned. “Um… yeah… Trixie, what’s this about? Are you okay? Is something going to happen to you!?” Twilight’s voice was panicked. The idea of anything happening to Trixie was too much to bear.

“Twilight…” Trixie’s eyes glistened, but she forced herself to continue. “Last night the doctor came to the room. You were asleep. He had the results of the blood test they performed.”

Twilight wiped away one of Trixie’s tears as it slid down her cheek and nuzzled her softly. “And? What did it say?” she asked softly.

Here was the moment of truth. “It said that… that you have no magic left in your body, Twilight. Your blood is as normal as an earth pony’s.” Trixie tensed as the words left her mouth. She didn’t know what to expect; would Twilight be angry? Would she break down into tears?”

Instead, she laughed. “So… I’m an earth pony now?” Twilight said, grinning. Her voice was full of sarcasm. “Come on Trixie, if you’re going to try and prank me, at least make it believable!” She hugged Trixie sympathetically. “It was a nice try though. Pinkie Pie would have been proud!”

More tears slid down Trixie’s face. She didn’t blame Twilight for not believing her, but she had to make Twilight understand that she wasn’t kidding. Staring at Twilight solemnly, she tried to stop herself from sobbing.

Twilight met her gaze. After a few seconds she began to tremble. “You… you’re not kidding, are you?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“No.” Trixie’s voice was barely a whisper.

Twilight began to rock back and forth slowly. “No no no no no…” she said, her voice quiet. Getting up from the bed, she turned to face Trixie. “No! You… you’re lying! You have to be!” She looked at the plate she had eaten her sandwich off of, concentrating on it. “Lift up,” she whispered, her voice desperate. “Please… lift up!

Twilight slowly sank to the floor, still staring at the plate. “Please…” she whispered, “lift up!” Tears clouded her vision and she began to silently sob. She felt Trixie embrace her and Twilight leaned into the embrace. “It’s not there,” she whispered, her voice cracking, “My… my magic… it’s just… gone.”

Twilight felt her world shatter. Magic was everything to her. Magic was her life. Her special talent was magic! What was she supposed to do now!? Tears of agony and despair fell from her eyes as she cried into Trixie’s chest. At first she wailed, but after a few minutes her throat became sore and she sobbed silently. What would Celestia think? Twilight was her number one student but she was nothing without magic! Would Celestia care about her anymore? Would her friends? What if they thought she was a freak? What about Trixie?

The thought made Twilight pull away from Trixie. She stared at Trixie, her eyes teary and red-rimmed. “You… you don’t think I’m a freak… do you? You still love me… right?”

Trixie reached over and brushed Twilight’s mane out of her face with a hoof, gazing at Twilight with sympathetic eyes. “You aren’t a freak Twilight,” she whispered soothingly, pulling Twilight back into her embrace, “and like I said before, I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

Hours later, Twilight had cried herself to sleep. Trixie held her gingerly, watching as her chest rose and fell. “I’m sorry Twilight,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.” Trixie didn’t know whether or not Twilight would ever be able to get her magic back, but what she did know was that Celestia herself wouldn’t be able to make her leave Twilight, and that she would do everything in her power to make Twilight happy again.

No matter what.