The Passing Storm

by Jade Crossroads

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Trixie, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 3072

Trixie gets stuck in the rain after the magic duel with Twilight, and somehow ends up in her rival's treehouse.

This is a short little oneshot I did as a collab with Mister Phoenix, who actually came up with the idea for it in the first place, but he wanted me to post it here.

The story starts with Trixie in a rainstorm, unable to find shelter.
When Twilight gets involved can the two get past their differences?

(told ya it was short!)

Published 2016-06-24 21:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-24 21:10:01 UTC

Chapter 1

The night sky hung over the small country town known as Ponyville, the day itself was long and tiring, but the night seemed to carry a heavier burden. First Trixie return wearing a strange necklace called The Alicorn Amulet and wanting to get rid of the pony that made her life a living nightmare. The purple unicorn known simply as Twilight sparkle.

It seemed as though somepony thought it'd be funny to add onto her misery when it began to rain. It soaked through her cape and her wizard's hat. The shining stars on it didn't seem to retain any of the glory they once held. Hadn’t she suffered enough? She had been humiliated, not once, but twice now, like Twilight had nothing better to do than ruin her life. She, Trixie was foalish and tried to believe that wasn't true, it was why she envied her after all.

Twilight was and had everything she could never hope to gain and something Trixie couldn’t accept. An embodiment of the one thing she loved more than anything, and could never truly master. With the amulet she had felt that she was truly powerful and great. Now, now she had nothing, but the soaked and now bedraggled cape clinging to her back further serving as a reminder that she had lost everything, except that, the clothes on her back. Her mane began to drip, the droplets finally reaching it as they fell from the brim of her hat.
She looked around, but nothing and no pony was around. Well, there was somepony around at least... a certain purple unicorn to be exact. She considered turning around before she saw her, but that meant retracing her steps, and Trixie wanted nothing more than to get out of Ponyville, and out of this rain. It didn’t really matter that she had nowhere to go, not until she the hat fall as a cover for her face. Wishing she was anywhere else the periwinkle unicorn quietly asked anypony that would listen if she could slip away unseen. Of course, her choice in style had never been made for that. She’d stand out anywhere, in any crowd. It used to be a source of pride, and even now she couldn’t part with the clothes she wore. They were a part of her now. A part a certain pony kept tarnishing in the face of the other ponies.

"Trixie!" A voice cried out into the gloomy air, breaking through Trixie’s thoughts.
The show mare looked over to where the voice was coming from and let out a sigh of frustration. There stood the pony she really didn't like, Twilight Sparkle waving her hoof to get the light blue mare’s attention. Trixie let out another sigh, with the sound of thunder closing in on the unicorn, she had no choice but to walk over where her enemy was and… put her pride aside to ask for shelter. That was undoubtedly what she would offer after all, but she might tease her with it, a few of the other ponies already had. Trixie was certain she’d only use every opportunity to further humiliate her and wound her already damaged pride.
Then the show mare smirked in the rain coming down harder. A thought came to her mind that made her just want to jump for joy.
’Wait. This is perfect, I could use this to find out how I can beat Twilight Sparkle once and for all’ Trixie thought with her grin continuing to grow.
With a plan in mind and set and ready Trixie began to run over to Twilight’s home, The Golden Oak Library.

"Hey, Trixie! What in Equestria are you doing out here in this weather?!" Twilight called out, with Trixie kicked at the dirt in front of her.

"I could ask you the same question." Trixie muttered, Twilight didn't miss the malice underlining the unicorn's words, she knew today had been an ordeal for both of them however, and chose to ignore it. It was the decent thing to do, even if Trixie wasn't the nicest pony in her books.

"You still haven't answered my question." Twilight pried.
"And Trixie is not going to!" Trixie replied gritting her teeth, she looked down at the ground, her dripping mane and hat covered her expression, but she looked up now and glared at the source of her latest failure. "It's all because of you that I'm like this! That Trixie is a no pony! Why don't you just leave the Great and miserable Trixie alone with her pity like you intended?"
Twilight was shocked, and took a few steps back. She was about to return the pony's remark with one of her own, but then she noticed something, at the corner of the blue show mare's eyes... It was, just as it was impossible, a tear. Now it could have been her imagination, or just the rain, but whatever it was, it made Twilight realize that her perceived enemy was a mess. She was lashing out, and she had every right to do so. That didn't excuse her language, but Twilight couldn't fight a pony that was already down. She had already beaten her once today, another time would only add insult to injury, and they both had done enough of that. It was time to stop the blame game.
She took that time to close the gap between them and steer the downtrodden mare towards her residence, the Golden Oaks Library.

When finally reached the doorway of the library, Twilight led Trixie Inside and abruptly shut the door. The wind was picking up and made it difficult, but fortunately only a little of the rain reached the doormat. She wished she could say the same for Trixie’s hat though. It was a sad little mop of purple sitting atop the head of the once proud mare.

“Can I get you something to drink, Hot Chocolate maybe?” Twilight asked causing the mare to give a small smile.

“Yes please, that does sound nice.” Trixie said, taking off her wizard coat and hat. She looked down at them though, she never took off her cape, her hat sure, but she felt… Oddly vulnerable without them. There wasn’t much point in wearing them right now though, as sopping wet as they were. Unless of course she wanted to catch a cold.

“Do you have anywhere Trixie can put her things?” The show mare wondered as she began to look around her. I guess that’s the reason she’s so smart, err an egghead… She lives in a library.

“Yeah, just hang them up in the next room to your left, hopefully they should be dry in the morning!” Twilight replied from the kitchen.

Trixie walked over to the room to her left carrying her clothes with her magic. The clothes line stood, with the silver mane unicorn began hanging her clothes and humming a small little tune. There was a quiet knock at the door, followed by Twilight entering, a kind smile on her lips.

“Hot Chocolate is ready. We can drink it next to the fire.” Twilight suggested, nodding out the doorway before leaving the room.

“Thank you.” Trixie whispered to herself.

Trixie entered the living room of the library feeling somewhat naked, she sat on a red pillow next to the fireplace while Twilight moved over the cup of hot chocolate. Trixie accepted the beverage with her own magic, but kept shuffling about like she was uncomfortable.

“How do you live without wearing anything. I feel… Naked.” Trixie said, before taking a slip of her drink.

“It isn’t hard, ponies, dragons, griffins do it all the time, but it makes you different, makes you special, that you can enjoy something that others cannot.” Twilight replied.

“Like your magic ability?” Trixie asked before thinking. “No, I didn’t mean-”

Twilight waved her off, there wasn’t any reason to leave that question unanswered, and she deserved an answer. When Twilight thought about what she was going to say she realized she wanted to tell her.

“Well yes and no. For me to learn all that, took years of studying and never talking to anypony else besides Spike. I lived for my entire filly hood never having a friend outside of my family, never sharing jokes with, playing with, or just having great time. The one thing I always regretted about not having friends as a filly, was the sleepovers. I was always too busy then to throw one, much less go to one. I was so caught up in my research I forgot about the more important things. Like friendship.” Twilight said, her eyes drifted to the ground.

This made the Great and Powerful Trixie feel bad for her. She and invited her into her home, and had come out into the pouring rain to do so, even after all she had done that very same day. That’s when it clicked.

“You do realize, Twilight,” Trixie commented, “You did invite me here, and it’s not like Trixie can be going on her way anytime soon, so… What do you say that we throw our own little Slumber party?”

“That would be the greatest thing ever!” Twilight clapped her hooves with glee, beaming that smile that nopony could refuse.

“So how is this going to work? I.. I haven't really been to a sleepover before. What are we supposed to do?” Trixie said, returning to her usual great and Powerful self.

“Easy with the Slumber Party book I have!” Twilight cheered, causing Trixie to raise her eyebrow.

“Slumber Party book?” Trixie repeated, more acting like it is a question.

“That’s right, How To Have Your Own Slumber Party 101!” Twilight said, her voice sounded so joyful almost like that of a school filly.

“This is a step-by-step guide on how to have the absolute best slumber party.” Twilight said, not seeing Trixie’s worried look.

“Alright then, and you said you’ve had this the entire time and never tried it before?” Trixie asked, slowly.

“Kind of. The last time I try to have one, two of my best friends kept fighting through the whole thing!” Twilight cried out in despair.

Trixie chuckled. “Of course, you didn’t catch any analytical data to support the fundamentals of a proper sleepover did you?”

“Nope. Err, not really anyway…” Twilight replied rubbing the back of her neck and trying not to blush from embarrassment. There was one thing she never liked to admit, and that was the inability to get results the first time. She knew she had high standards for herself, but why shouldn’t she?

“Ha! I guess there is one thing you can’t do!” Trixie cheered, raising her mug and laughing. Twilight was not happy to be the butt of the joke, however, it was nice to hear the other unicorn laugh. It had been a hard day, for both of them.

“Ugh!” Twilight grunted, exasperated. It just best not to fight with her.

She didn’t invited Trixie inside just to start arguing with her, but nopony, nopony said anything about her research skills being flawed. Maybe what they both needed was a change in topic, but what? It wasn’t as if they could share many numerous things in common. Then again, not all of her friends could relate to her devotion to studying the unknown to gain more knowledge.

Who was to say she couldn't find a way to get along with Trixie, if not in general, for as long as the rain lasted. The way it beat against the roof and the windows, and the sound of thunder growing ever stronger made it seem like it would never end.

“So, Trixie, I hear you’re a traveling pony right?” Twilight asked, hoping to shift the focus somewhere else.

“You already know that The Great and Powerful Trixie is the best stage magician of all time!” Trixie boasted causing Twilight to regret her question straight away.

Twilight gave up on trying to change the subject onto something lighter than the questions she had about the things that happened today. She wouldn’t drive the light blue unicorn away and ruin the only chance for a friendship with her just to keep a straight face, she thought, releasing a defeated sigh.

“What did it feel like, when you held the Alicorn Amulet?” Twilight inquired, holding her breath. Would Trixie bother answering her question, was it too soon to ask?

Trixie bit her lip, “Trixie thinks it best if she just left.” As if to emphasize her point, she started to get up.

“No, don’t go. It far too bad out there. I just wanted to know about Dark Magic so I can become a better student because of it.” Twilight said

“Well I guess it best to talk to somepony about this.” Trixie reluctantly said.

“Well, in a way… It was more like the Amulet had a hold over me per say, but I guess you’re asking about before that and despite that.” Trixie looked down at her cup of hot chocolate held by her hooves now, there was still a little steam emitted from it, though it had cooled down considerably.

Twilight only nodded, taking another sip from her own mug.

“I was full with anger and hate. I just heard something calling to me, like a ghost that whispers in the cold wind that fills the night air. While I continued to bear I began to hear it louder and clearer until it was shouting right in my ear. I had no choice but to listen to it, wearing a cloak shielded me from the chill that blew heavily on my spirit.”

“Well it sounds like an excuse, but it controlled me and everything I did. I wasn’t myself. It blinded me to the point where I only wanted revenge which meant I needed to see you on the floor of defeat.” Trixie explained, tears falling from her eyes.

“I know how you feel. I once used Dark Magic to get what I need. When I used it the power was unbelievable and well I fought it so it wouldn't control me, but I almost lost if it wasn’t thanks to friendship I may have.” Twilight admitted, not meeting Trixie’s eyes.

Trixie doesn’t choose to pry, and instead looks out the closest window. Meaning to determine how much longer it will last, but also to busy herself, she sees that the rain has almost come to a stop.

“I guess there is nothing really stopping you” Twilight said, watching the latter trot towards the exit regretfully. Trixie does to her credit stop just at the door.

“You mean you have nothing else to try and use to keep me here?” Trixie inquires jokingly, before she covers her grin with the serious expression she’d had the rest of her visit.

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie has places to be, don't think I’ll won't return to put you in your place one of these days.”
“We could be friends, seeing how much we-” Twilight began, but she was quickly interrupted by Trixie’s insistent denouncement.
“We're not friends! We're enemies, this is the last time something like this will happen. I’m not even sure it should have.” Trixie assure her, or tried to.
“Do we have to be enemies though? I get that you don't see us being friends, but... why do we have to lean one way or the other?” Twilight asked. It didn’t make sense to her, just a moment ago they seemed to be on better ground. Trixie seemed to flip a switch for no reason, but maybe she was right, maybe it was a little too soon to expect any real change. It was worth asking though, and wasn’t altogether unfathomable. She could kill Trixie’s hate with kindness.
“Do you fully trust me?” Trixie asked after a moment’s silence.
Twilight, surprised by the question took a step back. She thought about it. She trusted her enough to invite her into her home, but she hesitated with her answer the longer she thought about it. Did she trust her? “ Umm... Well, that depends on…”
The Great and Powerful Trixie tapped her hoof on the ground in front of her as she turned back to face Twilight. “Well?” she asked knowing full well what answer she would get.
“No, I don't trust you. I don't know why, but I just can't trust you.”
Then I guess, we can't fully be friends. This was fun, but the storm is clear. So Trixie will be taking her leave now”

“Well there is really nothing that is any stopping you.” Twilight said, just when Trixie place her hat back on.
“Goodbye Twilight Sparkle, this was ‘fun’ but, Trixie has places to be, don't think won't return to put you in your place one of these days.” She finishes with a sinister smirk.

So with little more understanding of each other than they had before the storm, the two unicorns go their separate paths again. The bleakness of the storm has fully lifted from the sky, but the weight of its strength and the gloom form it hasn’t yet left the presence of and chances wasted.

Spike haphazardly stumbles down the stairs after taking a cat nap to wait out the storm. He drags a blue blanket with him as he pulls on Twilight’s mane to get her attention.

“Hey, Twilight?... Didn’t you have company over? I thought I heard voices, and there’s still an extra cup out on the table and there’s a puddle of water out by the front door... So who was it?”

“I’m not sure.” Twilight replies, not wanting to bother him, and with Trixie, who could ever be sure what you’d get? Not much transpired between them the entire time she was taking shelter at her castle, and yet, something seemed to weigh her down.

“Meh, whatever. I’ll get your breakfast ready” Spike said leaving to the kitchen.

Twilight let out a small sigh, turning to look out the window, wondering what would happen, if she fell for the darkness like Trixie. Twilight hoped that the show mare was alright, after the rock farm and how Twilight put Trixie’s life of track. It best to let the past be the past, but Twilight rubbed her head before seeing a small note. Her eyes read over the small piece of paper and smiled.

Fin.