Twilight Sparkle, Stunned
Ponyville: The Castle of Friendship
It was late one night at the Castle of Friendship, it's tall crystal spikes seemingly reaching up to touch the stars along with Luna's moon, which was shining bright in the dark skies illuminating the ground below in it's comforting glow. Almost everypony was fast asleep at this time. Almost. There was one particular pony that found herself unable to drift off into that land of slumber and fall into it's dark embrace. That pony's name was none other then Twilight Sparkle. You see, something had been bothering her since last night. Or to be more precise, somepony. Just yesterday, her new student Starlight Glimmer had struck up a unlikely friendship with the showmare, Trixie Lulamoon. And that particular pony was the source of Twilight's sleeping issues...
"Come on Twilight, get ahold of yourself." The Princess of Friendship chastised herself as she tossed and turned in her bed under its soft covers trying as hard as she could to call into the land of dreams. "Trixie's never bothered you before, so why should she now?"
But Trixie, as Twilight reminded herself was acting oddly. Maybe she was still just being paranoid like she had been yesterday but Trixie was acting rather... Off to say the least. You see, as soon as Trixie's show was over, Twilight had been expecting her to just skip town and head on to her next show in some place far away from the sleepy little town of Ponyville.
"You're quite right Twilight, you're just being paranoid." Twilight told herself before stuffing her face back into a pillow hoping to be heading into Luna's lands of slumber. But she never did. Twilight groaned and got up off the bed. A cold glass of milk, that was what she needed. Twilight opened the door to her personal quarters in the castle and trotted downstairs where to her surprise Starlight was already down there as well.
"You too huh?" Twilight asked in surprise as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Can't sleep?"
"Spike's snoring woke me up." Starlight admitted with a somewhat red tinge to her face. Twilight remembered that Starlight and Spike had rooms directly across from each other, so this end result wasn't really that far-fetched.
"So what's egging you?" Starlight couldn't help but ask as both ponies pulled up chairs at the dining room table and set their glasses of milk down as they sat directly across from each other.
"Trixie." Twilight admitted and Starlight quirked a eyebrow in surprise. That hadn't been the answer she's been expecting. Almost at once Starlight became protective of her newfound friend thinking Twilight was about to lecture her once more about being careful about who she chose to make friends with with.
"Don't tell me that me being friends with her is still bothering you?" Starlight growled defensively.
"No... No." Twilight replied. "It's not that. Not that at all..." She muttered to herself and Starlight's eyebrow rose even further.
"Then what is it?" Her student inquired in a curious manner.
"Its just... I was expecting her to leave last night. But she hasn't." Twilight replied to her and Starlight let a little giggle escape her.
"Twilight, you're being paranoid." She laughed at the lavender Alicorn but quickly had a glare get directed straight at her from Twilight.
"Knew it..." The Princess of Friendship muttered but Starlight walked over to her and out a foreleg around her shoulder in support.
"But..." Starlight began. "If it's really bothering you I suppose you could always go talk to her, right Twilight? Twilight?"
Twilight had finally fallen fast asleep. Starlight huffed, if that was what she got whenever she tried her hoof at giving advice why did she even bother?
Ponyville: Trixie's Wagon
The very next day, Twilight got up nice and early after she took her student's advice to heart and was planning to follow it directly to the letter. So with that in mind, she made her way through the streets of the small town to Trixie's wagon, which was still resting outside the town near Sweet Apple Acres like it had been for the two previous nights.
Knock! Knock!
With her hoof, Twilight used it to make two sharp knocks on the wagon's sole door. At first, there was no reaction So Twilight decided to knock once again.
Knock! Knock!
At this next set of knocks, Twilight heard a shout of "Alright already! Trixie is on her way so she asks you to hold your horses!"
Then, the door swung wide open to reveal the light blue maned unicorn wearing her trademark purple cape and wizard's hat with stars covering both pieces of clothing. Trixie wore a annoyed expression on her face from being woke up so early, (The sun was only now just beginning to rise.) and her mood wasn't improved at all from seeing Twilight.
"What do you want Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie asked, her voice coming out as almost a growl making Twilight take a step or two backwards. "Still suspicious of little old moi?"
Twilight winced. She supposed she deserved that one after how she acted towards the showmare a few days before.
"Yeah, good way to start off this conversation Twilight." The Alicorn mare thought to herself.
"No... No." Twilight denied. "Actually, to be honest I'm more curious about you then anything else." She then replied. If Twilight didn't know better, she could have sworn Trixie looked almost pleased and flattered at that statement more then anything else.
"Oh, is that all?" Trixie asked, her tone relaying that she was still somewhat suspicious of Twilight, who nodded back at her.
"Well, in that case Twilight Sparkle..." Trixie began, her voice going back into it's usual confidence filled air. "Trixie cannot blame you for being curious about me." She continued as Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Never change Trixie, never change..." She dryly mused.
"But Trixie must ask..." The showmare inquired. "What about me do you find... Curious?" She said in a flirtatious manner of speaking. Now Twilight was the one to quirk a eyebrow. That was odd, to say the least. She supposed it could be part of Trixie's natural demeanour but still...
"I just thought you'd be going to another town, for another show." Twilight replied. "Nothing more and nothing less, that's all."
Trixie chuckled, almost at some private joke.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has her own... Reasons for sticking around." She answered.
"And that is?" Twilight asked, continuing to press forwards.
"My, my." Trixie replied in a teasing tone gesturing to herself in mock offense. "Awfully inquiring today, aren't we Twilight Sparkle?"
Again, for the second time there was a hint of a flirtatious tone that could be detected in Trixie's tone of voice.
"Well, I suppose I thought you were supposed to be smart enough to figure it out for yourself." Trixie continued. "But alas, I guess not."
"Figure out what?" Twilight asked, now really confused. Trixie's only response was to chuckle once again.
"My, my..." She teased. "Should I have to spell it out for one such as yourself? I guess so!" Trixie remarked before getting in Twilight's face, a little too close for her liking.
"You're the reason I'm sticking around town." Trixie revealed, even as Twilight's jaw dropped considerably. "Do I have say anything more? To put it simply, I. Like. You!"
"That incident with the Manticore and me trying that trick of the Great Hoofdini's? That was me trying to impress you, show you how much I've learned!" She continued, her voice raising into a yell of fury and heartbreak. "Getting your student as a friend along the way was simply just a unexpected bonus!"
Twilight said nothing, as she was too stunned to speak. Trixie... Liked her, as in like liked her? It simply didn't make sense! It didn't compute with anything in Twilight's little world. Never before had Trixie shown any signs of anything other then thinking Twilight as a rival... Or had she, and Twilight had just failed to notice?
"Now if you excuse me, the Great and Heartbroken Trixie needs to be getting back to her beauty sleep!"
With that, and a swish of her cloak along with a small sob, Trixie vanished back into her wagon and slammed the door shut leaving Twilight alone, her jaw still agape.
"You... You never had to impress me." Twilight whispered softly, but her sentence of course went unheard by the pony it was directed to.
Twilight wandered back to the Castle of Friendship, her mind in a daze with her thoughts focused on nothing but Trixie. How could this have happened between them and she not notice? It certainly added a new dynamic to their relationship, that was for sure! Her thoughts still wandering, Twilight entered the Castle's kitchen, where Starlight Glimmer was already up and getting ready for the day.
"I assume you took my advice. So, how'd it go?" She asked cheerfully, but when she saw Twilight's expression her face fell and she walked over to her.
"What's wrong?" Starlight asked kindly.
"Trixie... Likes me." Twilight answered, still stunned.
"Wait, as in like likes you?" Starlight asked in shock, and received a nod from Twilight. "Well, that's good... Isn't it?"
Twilight smiled at her friend's optimism.
"My student, always looking on the bright side of things..." She mused.
"Well, don't you like her back?" Starlight inquired and she received no answer making her voice become more serious. "Twilight, don't you like her back?" She repeated.
"I... I don't know." Twilight murmured. "I... I... This is so new to me. I'm still beginning to understand friendship but... but dating and love-lifes? That's... That's still beyond me." She replied, beginning to go into full freak out mode. Starlight once again put a hoof around her shoulder.
"Listen, take some advice from yours truly." She began even as Twilight used a breathing exercise that Princess Celestia had taught her to calm herself down. "If I was you, I'd try this thing with Trixie and see how it goes. Who knows? You may end up liking her back."
"Thank... Thank you." Twilight whispered before Starlight's gazed bored into her, almost as if it went into her very soul.
"But be warned, if you break her heart, I'm coming after you, my teacher or not and mind controlling you into liking Trixie back." She growled, and her expression told Twilight (Who was swallowing nervously by this point.) she wasn't kidding in any way whatsoever.
Later that day, Twilight returned to Trixie's wagon only to find the showmare packing things up and getting ready to go off on to the next destination on her tour of Equestria. Twilight quickened her pace and got to the wagon just as Trixie was ready to hitch herself to it and get ready to leave town.
"Hey, wait up!" Twilight called out to her. When Trixie spotted her, her eyes narrowed and she let out a small huffing noise as she flipped her mane at Twilight.
"What, come to stomp on Trixie's heart some more Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie asked sarcastically. Twilight shook her head in a "No" manner.
"I wanted to catch you before you leave, wanted to tell you something." Twilight panted, exhausted from her running.
"Oh really? Well I'm sure it can wait to whenever I return." Trixie snapped. "Trixie is sure nothing can be that important that you must tell me this instant." She said sarcastically.
"I... I wanted to ask you out." Twilight replied, still panting. "On a date, I mean."
Trixie's eyes widened even as they glistened with tears of joy which she quickly wiped away with with a hoof. Nopony could be allowed to see her cry, she had a reputation to keep up after all.
"R-Really?" Trixie stammered out, and when Twilight nodded once more, Trixie pulled her into a hug. Later that night, Twilight found she slept very well indeed, her insomnia issues resolved.
END
Author's Note
Okay, here's the first of those three promised one shots. Believe me, writing this thing on a tablet was a pain in the butt. Anyways, this was one of those cases where I liked the original episode that this functions as a mini epilogue to but this idea wouldn't leave me alone. While it does share some similarites with my first romantic one shot, Giving it a try I hope they're different from each other in most places. Anyways, this probably isn't my best work, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same!
Edited edition: Most grammar errors fixed and now has cover art.
