It was in the evening when Twilight spotted her.
She'd been sitting there for a while outside the Everfree Forest, contemplating the stars and doing some late-night reasearch on animals, when the other pony came into view. Twilight recognized her instantly: that hat, that cape, that flowing silver mane. The last time the librarian had seen her was years ago, but there she was, striding forward with a smug grin plastered across her face, her saddlebags bouncing up and down in time with her speedy gait.
Why did she return? And for that matter, why did she leave in the first place? Twilight no longer had time to ponder things, as the mare in question stopped in front of her and smiled, levitating her hat and cape off and laying down in front of the Element of Magic. Without a word, she opened up her saddle bags and removed a small square box, setting it on the ground between her and Twilight.
Twilight set down her book. "Trixie, what are you doing here?"
"Well, The Great and All-Powerful Trixie knows she was bested by you last time, but now she has returned to prove that she really is the greatest magican of all."
"And how are you going to do that? A battle to the death?"
"No." Trixie opened the box and drew out two decks of cards. "Trixie will beat you at 'Witches and Wizards.'"
The purple unicorn put a hoof to her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. "...'Witches and Wizards?' So you've given up on being a real magican now?"
Trixie's eyes, so full of fire moments ago, were now hid from view as she hung her head. "After you...proved yourself a greater magican than Trixie, it was too much to bear. Trixie ran away...devestated...all the way to the other side of Equestria. She tried being famous again where nopony knew her, but no matter where Trixie went, there were more whispers of you. Twilight Sparkle this, Twilight Sparkle that. Trixie couldn't stand it. She was going mad." Twilight could hear something akin to sadness in her voice. "So Trixie came back. To stay, but only if..."
"But only if what?"
Trixie looked like she wanted to say more, but she shook her head. "Nevermind. You know how to play Witches and Wizards, right?" Trixie shuffled the two decks and placed them on the ground side by side.
Twilight nodded, levitating a deck towards her. "How much ante?"
"Trixie will tell you at the end of the match." There was something in her voice that made Twilight feel sympathy.
The purple unicorn shrugged off the emotion, however, already concentrated on winning Witches and Wizards. "Sure...whatever." She and Trixie both drew ten cards off the top of their decks and held them up to their faces. "I guess I'll go first?" Twilight played a Lightning Elemental and her opponent put down Elven Warlord, destroying Twi's card with a hypothetical axe. That meant Trixie won the first 'duel,' as it was called in the game. The librarian put down a Spell of Crystalline Binding, while Trixie cancelled the effects of the card with 'Reversed Fates,' keeping Twilight from drawing for the next two turns, negating the effects of her binding spell, and winning the second duel. With a growl, Twilight attacked Elven Warlord with her Storybook of Twisted Fairytales, but Trixe deflected the attack and retaliated, winning yet another duel.
Twilight picked up on her opponent's continued victories. "Trixie, is my deck rigged?"
The showmare gasped. "Are you kidding me? Trixie would never do that! I want this to be a fair match."
Without another word, they resumed the match. Now that the first three skirmish-like battles were over, the real war could begin. Twilight discarded Love's Labours Revenge and Dark Knight so she could draw five new cards, ones that she was glad she now had. "I attack your Elven Warlord with Enchanted Scimitars; then I play Endless Night, which prevents you from attacking because none of your battle units can see."
"Ah, but you forget! Trixie always has a secret up her sleeve." She put down three Witches and Wizards cards, flipping each one over as she annouced what they were. "Night Vision, Manticore's Ghost, and Insight. Night Vision allows me to attack with Mantiore's Ghost and obliterate your Scimitars, while Insight lets me see your hand. Turn them around, please." Twilight sighed and spun her hand around, waiting for Trixie to stop staring. "Alright. You can play now, but there's no way you'll beat me."
The purple unicorn grinned. "Au contraire, Trixie. Things are just beginning!"
As the night wore on, Twilight lost all track of time. She was tied with Trixie in winning Witches and Wizards, and things were getting fast and furious. The two had fallen into a mode of simply reading the name of their card and waiting for the next pony to play, Twilight and Trixie after, and since both unicorns knew what every card in print was it did not hinder progress at all.
"Fool's Locket!"
"Twisted Branches!"
"Raging Tempest!"
"Scavenging Eagle!"
"Revitalization Potion!"
"Archaic Golem!"
"Lexicon of Serenity!"
"Torrent of Acid!"
"Deadly Plague!"
"Mountain Rescue!"
"Hanger 218!"
"Chrono Twister!"
"HOLD IT!" Twilight levitated Chrono Twister up to her face."You can only use Chrono Twister when your Scientists have perfected Time Control and you own two Historical Sands Replicas!"
"Trixie doesn't remember that! And besides, Hanger 218 doesn't protect your Fifth Legion from my Nightmare Moon's/Luna's Seventh Brigade's Corruption Ray!"
"Wha--that doesn't apply here! I played Winged Guardian seventeen hands ago, so I'm still safe for one more turn."
"Not if you'd let Trixie play Chains of Ensnarement!"
"AAAGH!" Twilight put her head in her hooves. "What do I have to do to get it through that thick skull of yours? You can't play Chains of Ensarement when my Triumphant Key is in play! It's as impossible as you are!" She was starting to get angry with Trixie.
Trixie's eyes blazed, but then her temper settled and she tried to hold back tears, game forgotten. "P-please don't yell at me, T-t-twilight...Trixie's sorry..."
Suddenly, the purple unicorn was sorry for her sudden outburst. "Oh, Trixie! I didn't mean to yell at you! I'm sorry." She scooted over the cards and put her hooves around Trixie, who tensed and then hugged her back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry with you. It's just a card game."
At the words 'just a card game,' the showmare suddenly began crying uncontrollably. She squeezed Twilight even tighter than before and put her head on the other unicorn's shoulder. "N-no it's not just a card g-game! T-Trixie made a...a promise...and if she loses this game, sh-sh-she has to l-leave...and Trixie doesn't want to leave! Trixie doesn't ever want to leave you!" Her nearly unintelligible speech dissolved into more sobbing, and Twilight sympathetically ran her hoof through Trixie's mane, almost near to tears herself. She couldn't stand to see anypony cry, especially not someone like Trixie.
"Sh...it's okay...you don't have to leave...but who did you make a promise with?"
Trixie floated over a contract. "H-here...read this..."
Twilight read over the paper in disbelief. "'This hereby states that, after playing one match of Witches and Wizards with Twilight Sparkle, the librarian of Ponyville and the Element of Magic, The Great and All-Powerful Trixie, if the outcome of the match is a loss on her behalf, must remove herself from Ponyville immediately, never to return, send messages to, or meet with anyone from that town!' Signed...P-P-P-Princess Celestia?!?!" Twilight was horrified. All her life she'd looked up to the princess, and now her idol was outlawing someone the unicorn was close to!
Trixie wiped her eyes gently. "The...Princess doesn't approve of...of me."
The purple unicorn stood up. "Well, we're going to go see her."
"Wh-what?!" Trixie shot up. "There's no doubt that Trixie will get arrested on the spot!"
"Not if you're with me." Twilight shut her eyes and concentrated, before opening them again and staring down at Trixie, who was clutching the purple unicorn's forehooves and crying.
"Trixie doesn't want to leave again! Her life fell a-apart after she left..." The azure mare blubbered something out, and when Twilight asked her to repeat that, her voice was barely a whisper. "I...I tried to commit suicide."
"WHAT?!" Twilight's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Nothing will ever get that bad, Trixie!"
"Pl-please don't make Trixie...please don't make Trixie leave! She c-c-can't bear to live on her own again!" Trixie clung even tighter to her once-rival, bawling her eyes out.
"Trixie...would you like to stay at my house?"
