The box was extremely heavy. You weren't even quite sure what it was filled with but it must have weighed at least seventy-five pounds or more. You struggled to hold it as you marched up the stairs, your legs quite loudly alerting you to the fact that they were not enjoying just how much exercise you were getting today.
It had been decided by everyone involved, that being Celestia and Bon Bon, that you really couldn't keep staying with them. It wasn't that you were a bad roommate or anything, in fact, despite what Bon Bon might have nagged you about every now and again, in the end she had actually been sad to see you go. Not as sad as Lyra though, from whom they'd had to tear you before you suffocated. Man that mare knew how to hug.
No. The reason you had to find a new place to live was Trixie. After you had first met and had that wonderful night in her wagon, she had been over to visit more days than not. It wasn’t long after that, at word from Celestia, the illusionist had received an official pardon. As much as some of the residents of Ponyville might not like it, they couldn't stay mad at her by royal decree. You had to admit there were some bonuses to a monarchy.
Now you had been provided, under Celestia's power, a new apartment on the upper floor of one of the many little houses along the town square. It was a simple little place with a straw roof and those cheerful little, slightly swedish looking design flourishes you'd always noticed on TV from your time in your world.
Of course it was also easily twice as big as you were used to back home. Your legs REALLY didn't like the fact that this also applied to the stairs.
You were still slightly amazed at just how ironic the title of the show you loved had turned out to be in the end. These ponies were anything but little, but by now you'd learned more intimately than you'd ever imagined that that certainly had its own special advantages....
Sadly, one of them wasn't the assistance of your new girlfriend-....Well....mare friend Trixie, who stood at the top of the stairs watching you with a little smirk.
"Yes servant, those items can go into my room. You may put them along the shelves I have designated."
You peeked at the blue mare around the massive box in your hands. "You know, just because we're dating doesn't mean I'm your servant."
She tilted her head in a way where you really couldn't tell if she was just being playful or not. "Really? Is that not what 'Boyfriend' means?"
You rolled your eyes, and with a groan you reached the top of the stairs, panting for breath. "I might also mention that this move in would go a lot faster with some help from your magic. I thought dating a unicorn would feature a bit more of that."
Her expression softened with a little chuckle, and she bent down to press her nose against yours. You'd gotten used to this particular method of affection over the course of knowing her. Apparently ponies didn't kiss each other on the lips often in public, it was far more acceptable the simply press noses against the object of your affection.
The fact that Trixie's muzzle was easily twice as wide as your head, did not make this easy the first few times round. You remembered the first time you'd bought her a milkshake at Sugarcube Corner she'd bowled you over like so many pins at the end of a lane.
There'd certainly been a learning curve to this odd relationship you found yourself in. You weren't exactly short in your world, but here Spike was barely shorter than you at all, and it had been quite an adjustment to suddenly being the shortest person in a relationship by a longshot.
Trixie had no such qualms about her size. She was easily one of the tallest mares in Ponyville, stretching quite a ways over your head. She'd have to bend down to rest her chin on your hair, which she often did if you were waiting on something, or just while sitting together. She often used her size to tease you, and seemed to revel in having so much power over her newest significant other.
"I could...But it's kinda cute how much you struggle with the stairs." She pressed against you a bit more as she leaned in. She smelled slightly of elderberries. You weren't sure if that was a perfume, or just how she naturally smelled, but you'd grown quite fond of it.
You scoffed. "Yeah....cute..." You tried to stay sarcastic, but her nosings were something it was quite hard not to smile at. You returned the gesture, and shambled past her with the box in hand. Thankfully Trixie hadn't actually had THAT much stuff. She'd only ever lived in a wagon for the past few years, and her nomadic lifestyle hadn't really endeared itself to collecting a lot of items. The downside however, was that she seemed to be fastidiously neat with the items she did have, which meant lots of 'Little' specifically marked boxes to be moved from point A to point B.
You managed to get the box into her room, gingerly placing it on the ground with an exhale, sitting on the ground for a moment to catch your breath.
You looked around. The room was still sparse, she only had a few boxes left to go, and it was still fairly empty. There was a bed, the largest Quill and Sofa (And apparently also beds if you asked nicely) had had in stock. It fit her comfortably, with enough room for you as well. Celestia had gotten you a place with two rooms, you supposed she might have been a little slow warming up to the idea of a pony and a human dating, but you had the feeling you were really only going to use this one. Winter was coming up, and there was really no better heater than snuggling up against Trixie's belly at night.
"Boyfriend-Servant!" Trixie called from the hall, unable to keep a bit of a mirthful chuckle from her voice. "We've still got more boxes waiting for your attentions! Chop Chop!"
You rolled your eyes again, giving a stretch before heading out into the hall. "As you wish, Mistress." You smirked at her before heading back down to her wagon.
"Ooooh!" Her eyes lit up with a little glint that let you know her ego had been stroked. "Mistress, I rather like this term." She puffed out her chest and turned her nose up. "Your Mistress improves of this new title. You may address me as such at all times."
You shook her head and turned to call back up stairs. "Not all the time, but perhaps on special occasions your majesty."
Trixie replied with something, but you were already too far away to make it out. You could banter later in any case, for now the main thing was getting all moved in. You climbed back into the wagon. It was a bit strange to see it so sparse. You hadn't been extremely familiar with the living space in general, but the few times you had been inside it had been very special, and there was a certain emptiness to seeing it so barren, it spoke of change, and just how odd your life had gotten lately.
You guessed in some respects you missed you old life back in the human world. But hey, here everyone was nice, there was the occasional magical adventure, and you got free room and board with the mare of your dreams, there really wasn't much at all to complain about when you go right down to it. There were plenty of people who would absolutely kill to be in your position and you didn't take it for granted.
The next box was marked 'Momentos'. It was remarkably smaller than most of the other boxes you'd moved that particular day. It almost seemed small enough to be something you might see in a human home. It wasn't much wider than you, and only about as tall as a fire hydrant.
You picked it up, and were shocked by how light it was. A frown crossed your features as you looked back to the house you were moving into. You could still hear Trixie talking, apparently she hadn't noticed you weren't responding just yet. You looked from there to the box and back again...momentos.
Apparently Trixie didn't have terribly much worth remembering. You'd have to fix that.
When you got back up the stairs, Trixie was still talking as though you hadn't even been out of earshot.
"And hoof rubs, maybe, on Fridays, that would be quite optimal. Oh and I think we should also go out to that new restaurant near the edge of town, the one that has that nice little outdoor area. I know you are small in stature, but we could probably pressgang a few ponies to help you carry me on a-"
You put a finger to her lips, you very nearly needed to stand on your tippy-toes to do it. "Or we could walk. Mistress permitting." You chuckled, one-handing the small box. "What's in here?"
Trixie's face got complicated for a moment as a frown crossed it. It wasn't a fake frown, like the kind she sometimes pulled when you had not obeyed her "Orders" quite right, but a genuine frown, one of those you rarely saw, usually whenever you asked Trixie about her past and she cared enough to actually think about it.
"Nothing," she said a little too fast, turning away and walking towards the room you had so graciously put all of her boxes inside. "It is just a box like all the others."
You frowned youself. It had been nice having Trixie as a marefriend but it would have been a lot nicer if she opened up to you every now and again. You decided to press and see what you could dig up.
"Come on now, it's gotta be something." You put the box down on a little table near the bed in the room as you followed Trixie inside. "Let's open it, eh? Maybe there'll be some nice memories, or pictures we can hang around the appartment, those walls are looking awfully baren. "
You felt the familiar warm-jello-ish sensation of magic around your hands as the box glowed a faint blue. Trixie's horn lit up and the mementos were ripped from your hands. With a clatter that made you flinch the box was thrown into the closet at the corner of the room, the door shut with more force than you'd ever seen the show mare put into much of anything.
Trixie stood there, staring at the door for a few minutes, before turning back to you, realizing you were staring at her, unsure what to think. Her face suddenly grew less tense as her ears folded.
"I-I'm sorry...it's really nothing, can we just keep moving in? Please? We haven't gotten any of your stuff yet."
There was a moment of silence, Trixie never said please for anything. She must have really wanted to move on from what just happened to employ a word that you didn't even know existed in her vocabulary.
As much as you wanted to press her for more details, seeing her standing there with her ears at half mast was more than enough to make you drop the subject. You walked over and put a hand on her side, stroking gently.
"Alright, we can. I haven't got much stuff, but maybe my 'Mistress' can help me out with some magic this time, since I moved all of her stuff in. Do you think?"
Trixie's ears rose and she smiled. "Well, since you did such a good job, Servant, I could see my way into helping you a little bit in that regard. The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't often debase herself by using her magic for such rudimentary tasks, but for you I shall stoop."
She walked out of the room and started heading down the stairs. You looked back at the closet for just a moment before following her. If she ever wanted to tell you about it she would, in the mean time you would let her have her privacy if she wanted.
You really didn't have very much at all. Your worldly positions from your clandestine shopping trip a few months back amounted to your hoodie, with Trixie's cutie mark on the side, your wallet full of useless money and a pair of jeans. You'd had a cellphone with you, but whatever had brought you to Equestria apparently wasn't tech friendly, the device had been fried within an inch of its life, and even if it hadn't you doubted that there was an Apple store around to help you convert the thing to magical power in any case. Twilight was currently studying the remains, but it was pretty far gone, you didn't think she'd get much out of it.
Besides that you did have a few things from your time staying with Lyra and Bon Bon, occasional knick-knack picked up at markets, little bobbles, and some clothes Rarity had made you. She'd found out it really wasn't that hard to make human clothes. She really just had to make them the way she did for Spike and scale the proportions accordingly. After that it was just a matter of style. She actually managed to do hoodies pretty well, after some advice from Pinkie Pie who inexplicably knew a rather large amount about hoodies....that and the fact she happened to own a giant flavor flav clock astounded you to the ends of the earth and back.
You'd even gotten her to make Trixie some clothes. She hadn't been very warm to the idea at first, but if Rarity was anything she was a champion of romance. She couldn't resist helping out a new couple, even if it was an unorthodox one. She'd made Trixie some non-magician clothes, including a hoodie of her own, with a similar copy of her cutie mark emblazoned on the side. You could match now, if you wanted ot.
All of these things that made up the whole of your Equestrian worth fit into two boxes; one with the paltry items from your human world, and another with the stuff you'd gotten during your time in Equestria. Both were human sized, and Trixie hefted them easily up the stairs in the grip of her magic.
"There we go, your things." She chuckled as she reached the top of the stairs, she handed you one box. "Would you like to put them on 'Your' room or 'My' room."
You still weren't sure how Trixie managed to add air quotes to words without any kind of grasping appendage, but she had such an expressive face that you could practically see them hanging on the words as she spoke.
"Well." You smirked. "Wouldn't it be unbecoming of the 'Servant' to keep his things within his Mistress's room? I'd imagine such a thing would be frowned upon in polite company would it not?"
Trixie paused for a moment. You wouldn't say she was clingy, but you could tell that she hadn't had extreme amounts of friendly contact in quite some time before you, she liked you too be close as much as possible. "Well," she said clearing her throat. "While this is a perfectly valid point, I should think that the Mistress can decide whatever she likes, regardless of social norms." She sidled up next to you, her expression softening. "I'd like you to put your stuff in my room, if the servant is okay with this arrangement."
You chuckled and nodded. "Somehow I think I won't mind."
The two of you set about making your newest living space more homely. Though between the two of you you couldn't have filled a house by any means. One room in one apartment was easy enough for you to fill together. Though you only had a few things to your name, Trixie had a lot of show props and tricks of the trade hidden in her small amount of boxes. At first you tried to be of help, hanging things on walls, taping posters up, but if you put anything at your eye level, you soon realized that Trixie would have to stoop to see it. This earned a playful roll of the eyes from your mare friend, and she quickly set about doing most of the work with her magic.
This of course didn't stop her from teasing you along the way, she was Trixie after all. She was always going to be a tease
She'd occasionally ask for help hanging a string of flags from her cart along the wall, though you know fully well she could have easily accomplished this with her magic. When you came over to help, she'd giggle at your attempts to reach the nails she'd placed along the far wall. Then you'd feel that warm, jello-like touch of magic and find yourself floating in the air just high enough to reach.
She'd hold you there until she was satisfied with your placement, and she was very picky. You heard many variations of 'Up' and 'To the left' along with 'No, my left' and 'They are not the same left! I mean...you know, diagonal!'. Eventually Trixie decided to help you.
Still holding you up in the air she braced her front legs against the wall on either side of you, and guided you with her muzzle. She smirked a little bit as you brushed, her warm chest pressing against your back and her rather large muzzle gently nudging you hand, probably more than was necessary, her warm breath washing over it every now and again as she kept you at it until she was finally satisfied.
There was a pleasant surprise later in the day as the sound of a cart pulled up outside. It was some movers, apparently Twilight had gone around town and asked if any citizens of the town had any spare furniture for their newest resident. While you were sure in a gossipy town like this word had gotten around and not everyone would approve of your admittedly odd lifestyle, they were also bound by the laws of hospitality. If there's a new resident in town, you give them something, that was just the Ponyville way.
You hadn't realized just how bare the living room was until you saw the couch they'd brought. It was easily more than large enough to serve as a bed for the average human, and would easily fit you and Trixie comfortably. There was a loveseat as well, along with a few stools and spare tables. It wasn't anything particularly lavish, in fact some of the items had holes in the cloth, but it was more than enough to make you happy.
Though apparently the movers had only been paid to bring the furniture, and had not been given any extra to take it up stairs. After they left, you and Trixie were left staring at a pile of furniture that probably weighed more than you did several times over, far too heavy for Trixie to move with her magic, and way more than you could possibly ever lift. Even one of the stools looked like it could do some serious damage to you if it fell wrong.
"So...this is a pickle..." You said, not sure how else to put it. You might have cursed in the past, but apparently here in Equestria they had no idea what such words meant, and whenever you used one somepony, without fail, asked you to explain what it meant. It had gotten awkward explaining what the earth equivalent of 'Pony-feathers' was.
"A pickle?" Trixie tilted her head. "I'm pretty sure it's a lot of furniture."
"What? You don't have that saying in this universe? I'm pretty sure I heard at least one pony say that at least once."
You caught her smirking at you.
"Oh you are such a jerk."
She giggled and bapped you lightly with a hoof. "But I'm your jerk, who is also your mare-friend, and who is also in this 'Pickle'."
You shrugged. "True, well what are we going to do. Do you think we can get a few stallions to help out?"
Trixie shook her head. "No. A bunch of ponies already gave us free furniture, I think asking for more help isn't 'Good Manners'." Her ears wilted. "We're already in pretty bad standing as it is."
You put a hand on her side and stroked her fur gently. She blushed a touch, but perked up. "It'll be fine...I have an idea actually..."
"Oh, you are such a jerk." Trixie said between strained breaths.
"Less talking more pulling!" You pushed the couch from behind, but you were pretty sure it wasn't doing much. It had been easy enough to get Trixie's rope from her magic show and tie it into a makeshift harness around her muzzle, looping the back around both legs of the couch. Now it was a simple matter of her pulling it up the stairs.
"You mistress disapproves of this highly! You will be punished later!"
You hid your smirk behind the armrest as she looked over her shoulder. It wasn't hard, the thing came up to your neck. "So long as I get to be punished on a couch I'll take it. Heck." You couldn't resist tossing a little sauciness into your voice. "I might even like it."
Trixie made a slightly embarrassed noise, and got back to pulling. The stairs were a challenge, but you were making good progress so far. Your pushing was fairly useless, but at least it kept the couch on track, and took the smallest amount of pressure off the ropes. You really didn't fancy the idea of them snapping and sending a couch the size of a clydesdale shooting down the stairs and onto your much smaller, much more breakable body.
There was a plus however, in that from this view, you had a rather wonderful view of Trixie's rear end.
You were a self declared ass man, and to be frank, Trixie fit nicely into your inclinations towards the behind. Being a performer, she wasn't chubby, but years on the road without the healthiest food in the world had taken it's toll on her her hips. The stairs did absolutely lovely things to her curves as she worked her way upwards. Her haunches rose and fell in a wonderful ballet of soft, squeezable blue rump.
Trixie looked over her shoulder again just in time to catch you staring. It was your turn to blush now.
While you expected some kind of reprimand for the ogling, instead she gave a saucy little smirk and gave her tush a little shake.
"You know, we would probably get this upstairs faster if more blood were going to your muscles instead of elsewhere."
Your blush got five times hotter. Trixie giggled, and your job became that much harder as she moved her hips WAY more than necessary up every step. It was quite hard to focus on anything else.
Your 'Torture' lasted for more stairs than you cared to count, before you finally, breathlessly, reached your floor and got the couch into the apartment proper. From there it was a simple matter getting into the center of the living room.
Trixie immediately flopped onto it, panting. You followed shortly and found yourself quickly enveloped by her large hooves and snuggled against her chest.
"You do know we have more furniture to move, right?"
"Your mistress is aware of this yes. Your mistress does however, approve of snuggle breaks for servants."
You paused to think about this for a moment, taking it into mock consideration as the rise and fall of her breath as she cooled down pressed against your back.
"I can agree to these terms." You nodded finally.
"Good." Her hooves tightened around you a hair possessively. "It is not as though you would have had a choice in the matter, but your acceptance makes snuggles far better."
You rested against her for a while, you weren't sure how long. She was even warmer than usual from the exertion of getting the couch up the stairs, that slight smell of elderberries was stronger than it had been before, maybe that was her equivalent to how a human might smell after a long workout. You liked it.
"Trixie? " you asked, after you both had dozed for a little while in each other's company.
"Hmm?" she murmured sleepily.
"Where were you from, originally?" Your mind flashed back to that box of 'momentos."
Her hooves tightened again, but this motion was less possessive, it was more like how a child might hug a teddy bear when asked something complicated.
It took her a few minutes before she finally answered. "Lots of places."
Your curiosity had been piqued, you couldn't resist probing just a bit further.
"But I mean is there any place in particular, an...original place, you know, with family and things. I don't know much about Equestria Geography, but I know some things." You paused and took a guess. "Are you from Canterlot?"
She shook her head. "No...no not Canterlot..."
You tried again. "Manehatten?"
She shook her head.
"Well throw me a bone. I mean, I can probably rule out Cloudsdale unless you're going to reveal you've been a pegasus this whole time."
That actually got a chuckle out of her as you lay there together, as the sound petered out it turned into a sigh.
"Do you really want to know?"
You nodded. "I do, I mean...we are living together, and we've done...things, I think we should get to know one another at the very least."
The room was quiet for a moment. You could hear the sound of the couch springs creaking as Trixie shifted slightly.
"I'm from the Hallow Shades."
You blinked. "The Hallow Shades? Where's that?"
Her hooves rubbed at your chest lightly, an idle, nervous gesture. She was so large she could have done a lot of damage to you with those hooves if she wasn't careful, but she'd learned, and the way she touched you now held no danger.
"It's a little place east of Canterlot...A forest town, wreathed in trees, not many ponies know it by name. It's incredibly small...and pretty secluded. "
You nodded, listening. "And you were born there?"
"Yes..." She continued. "On the first day of spring actually, in one of the cabins of the Hallow Shades. It's not a thriving town like Canterlot or Manehatten. Most of what ponies do there is grow luminescent moss."
It was strange, Trixie sounded like...well...Trixie at that moment. She didn't sound like The Great and Powerful Trixie, or your 'Mistress' just Trixie.
"The trees are really thick, probably magic. There's never much light in the Hallow Shades, so the moss is important. Candles would be dangerous in a forest like that, all dry and ready to catch all the time, so the moss is useful. It became pretty 'vague' in Canterlot, so you could make a fair living sending jars of it out east. It never loses its glow."
"Your parents did that?"
Her hooves tightened a bit more. "Yes..."
"You haven't talked about your parents much. When was the last time you saw them?"
Trixie sighed "Years probably. I left when I was very young, right after I got my cutie mark."
"And how did you get it?" You'd always been curious, but never found the right time to ask.
Trixie sounded distant. "My father used to work with wood in his spare time. He made me a little toy wand. My magic wasn't strong back then, but there was this earth pony in some books he kept around, who used a wand to do magic, don't ask me how. I used to play with it all the time....One night, when it was particularly dark. I took the wand out, and I covered it in moss. The trees are so thick in the Hollow Shades, that you can't see the stars. I'd read about them though...so I made one of my own. The other foals liked it...so I put on a show for them." She chuckled a kind of wistful chuckle. "Those books, stupid, stupid books had little magic tricks earth ponies could do on the back cover. Illusion somre than anything. So I used my wand and some misdirection and became a magician. I got my cutie mark that night."
You pressed back against Trixie's belly a bit more. "That's a wonderful story."
Her wistful voice hardened a touch. "No. Not really. I left afterwards."
You felt the shift in her demeanor. "Why?"
She bent her head down and nuzzled against you hair, her breath ruffling it slightly. "Can we...can we please get back to moving furniture? I think it'll be dark soon."
You didn't want to end the conversation there, but you could tell when Trixie was clamming up. It was best not to try and force it, it would come when it came.
"Alright."
Trixie loosened her hooves enough for you to get free, and you climbed onto the floor with her in tow.
Trixies' mood brightened as you moved the rest of the furniture up the stairs. THankfully there was nothing as big as the couch to move, the stools could be handled by balancing them on Trixie's back while you held the legs and walking up the stairs in tandem. You did a similar trick with the loveseat and tables. This sadly, put you even closer to Trixies prodigiously pleasant posterior.
While taking up one of the tables, she made a point to stop far too quickly at the top. This sent you walking face first into her soft, pleasantly warm rear end. It was wider than you were at the shoulders, and came up right to face level. You kept walking probably a bit farther than was necessary and sank in farther than you were willing to admit.
Trixie, for her part, pretended to be offended and walked off to place the table in the room with a huff. This did not however, stop her from bumping you playfully with her hip as she passed.
She seemed quite determined to get you back for basically making her a beast of burden on the stairs. She asked for help moving the love seat into the corner, and as you got it into place a shift in her stance pinned you totally and utterly to the wall against her flank with little hope of rescue. She pretended not to hear your fur muffled protests as she took an amazingly long time surveying the seat's placement. Occasionally slight change in her step put more pressure against you. She kept this up until you stopped struggling and accepted it, finally walking away, but not without drawing the full length of her hip against your chest, and caressing your chin with her tail.
Towards the end of the move in, your thoughts were far from furniture, but you kept them at bay for the time being. The sun was starting to set, and there wasn't much else to do. All your possessions had been put away, and Trixie's stuff had been hung and placed around the room to give it a sense of 'Lived in'n-ness'.
