Moving the Stars

Moving the Stars

Story 2

Interlude 1: Growing Bonds

By: FluttersIsAwesome

Aside from the altercation with my former students, the night went over quite well. The food was amazing, and it was nice to actually spend some time with Trixie without having to worry about the barrier between teacher and student. She didn't know it, but I truly savored those times when she wasn't my pupil, but my friend. However, one thing still had power over the outcome of that night: Trixie's love of alcohol.

I should've known better than to let her have her own bottle of Marine Luster. Before I knew it, she was piss drunk and spouting out all kinds of random gibberish.

"Astro... can penguins throw toffee rolls?" was the last thing she said before I decided it was time to call it a night.

Shaking my head, I picked her up. "Let's get back home, you're too damn drunk to stay here."

She struggled a bit, but in her intoxicated state there wasn't much she could actually do. "Whaddya mean, I'm fine!" It was hard to suppress my laughter as her speech was fragmented by hiccups, but somehow I managed.

Knowing that her pride would never allow her to be seen in this state, I decided to take the less crowded way back home so nopony would see the "Great and Powerful Trixie" riding on her mentor's back, hopelessly drunk. I wasn't too sure about leaving her in the manor alone, but I had no choice since I had business to take care of. As I tried to get her to sleep, her struggling got more difficult to handle. However, after a bit of protest, she finally conceded and let me put her to bed. "Get some sleep, Trixie. You're gonna need it."

If she hadn't already fallen asleep, I was sure she would have said something. Seeing her look so peaceful put me at ease. Looking at Trixie without a sarcastic, angry, apathetic, or troubled expression on her face always helped me to relax. Smiling, I reached back and pulled her blanket over top of her. "Good night, Trixie."

As I turned to leave her room, a soft, quiet voice came from behind me. "Good night, Astro."

Nothing could wipe the smile off of my face as I quietly closed her door and walked down the stairs. The mansion was always quiet at night, and I enjoyed taking walks before going to bed. Tonight, however, was no ordinary walk. As I opened the back door onto the balcony that overlooked Lake Equen, Oceana was leaning on the rail waiting for me.

"Is she alright?"

Turning to hear, I leaned my back against the railing. "She's fine, just drunk."

She giggled a bit to herself. "How sweet of you to bring her home."

I shrugged. "Well, I wasn't about to leave her there. What kind of teacher would I be if I did that?"

Seeing her scowl was a rare sight. "When did you start caring about what your student thinks of you?  Until now, you've acted like Trixie was just a narcissist in need of an attitude adjustment. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Oceana knew I didn't smile without legitimate reason, and had learned to keep quiet when I did. "It's simple, friend; Trixie has gone through that very adjustment." My smile did not leave my face, even as I turned to her. "Do you know why I'm teaching Trixie in a different manner than my previous students?"

"I never even realized you were."

I nodded earnestly. "It's also part of the reason that I kicked out the other three. It was perfect; my other students constantly belittled Trixie while they were all living in the mansion, out of all four, Trixie was at least interested in actually learning magic, and I felt that she would learn more easily if it were just she and I. Kicking the others out was only logical."

I heard a small popping sound come from her as she tilted her head. "You're dancing around the subject, Astro. What are you trying to say?"

"You know what she's like, right?"

"No, I don't. You forget, she and I don't see eye to eye." She was no longer scowling, but she was still sporting quite the unattractive frown. "Honestly, I think she's jealous."

Now it was my turn to ask questions. "Trixie? Jealous? Filly, you have lost your mind-" I never knew Oceana could hit so hard. In a matter of seconds, I was on the floor with a sharp pain in my left cheek.

"For all the wisdom you posses, you are one foolish colt."

Standing up slowly, I rubbed my cheek a bit. "Blimey... what the bloody hay was that for?" I wanted to say more, but the uncharacteristically cold gaze I was met with shut me up instantly.

"For being so thickheaded. You need to start paying more attention to Trixie's feelings, Astro. She may not show it, but I think she feels a great deal of affection for you."

I stared at her pensively for a moment. "You're gonna have to elaborate, because I honestly have no idea where you're getting these assumptions from."

With a sigh, she sat down on the chair behind her. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. Do you remember the first time you actually took her to meet me?"

"How could I not? Trixie constantly groaned at me the entire time."

As her hoof flew towards me again, I cringed. However, a wave of relief washed over me as it simply hovered in front of my forehead. "Do you realize why she was groaning and griping so much?"

After a moment of thought, all I could do was shake my head.

"Because you wouldn't shut up about me! Trixie is egotistical, this is true, but even I wouldn't want to hear you ramble on about another pony the way you did. If you ask me, Trixie had every right to be upset at you."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with her 'affection'?"

With a loud "ugh", she continued. "Believe it or not, Astro, she does look up to you. She may be defiant, but that's only because she wants your attention." She took a moment to rise, and with each word she jabbed her hoof into my chest. "You need to start being nicer to her. All she wants is for you to acknowledge her, and you won't even give her that."

A long paused followed her rant, and the only sound that came out of either of us was the slow, rhythmic breathing as her chest rose and fell. The silence gave me time to think, and slowly I pieced together everything that Oceana had said, and realized that she was right.

"I'm glad we could have this talk, Astro. I'll leave you to your own devices now." Jumping off of the railing, she fell down to the lake. As the ripples from her splash dissipated, the lake became as if she had never made contact with it.

I was awakened by a loud splash outside. "Stupid mare..." Turning over in my bed with a splitting headache, I began hearing hoofsteps slowly approach my room.

Then the creak of a slowly opening door was heard. "Trixie? Are you awake?"

I decided to play possum so he would leave me alone, but as I heard him come closer, I shut my eyes in case he decided to look.

I wasn't sure what to think after he pulled his little stunt.

As he took his lips away from my forehead, I picked up on a small mutter. "I'm sorry for being so hard, Trixie. You really are amazing, but I was just too blind to see it."

My hoof met his body and he stopped.

"Trixie... why are you groping me?"

Drawing black quickly, I receded underneath the sheets. "Didn't mean to grab your flank... I just wanted you to listen."

"Well, you got my attention."

With a tremendous blush and closed eyes, I managed to form my thoughts into words. "Could you... stay in here tonight?" I didn't actually want him to sleep beside me, but I wanted him with me, so I did my best to deal with it as I felt my bed move.

"Are you sure you want me in here?"

Wrapping my arms around him in a hug, I smiled softly. "I just wanted to spend more time with you before we became student and teacher again."

My eyes met his as I was pulled from under the sheets by his embrace, and in contrast to his usual ice-cold stare, his gaze was soft, kind, and almost loving. "Trixie, from now on, we're always friends. Teacher and student can come after that."

Hearing this made me feel relieved for some reason, and I laid my head on his chest as I closed my eyes. "You'll have to tell me what Oceana told you tomorrow morning. Seeing you be this soft is... surprising to say the least."