Chapter 2

Sleep came much easier with someone by her side, Twilight couldn't argue with that.  She was typically easily awoken, but with Pinkie cuddled up against her, she was quick to fall into a contented slumber that took some effort to get her out of.  It was in Pinkie's room that the two usually ended up crashing, since Spike had made it clear he wasn't comfortable with Pinkie spending the night.  Twilight remembered that embarrassing conversation all too well, and didn't want to push it any further.

As far as she knew, Spike, the Cakes, and possibly Applejack were the only people who knew about their relationship.  Other than that, Pinkie had respected Twilight's decision to keep everyone in the dark about it.  Why did anyone need to know, anyway?  It was no one else's business.

She wasn't thinking about that now though.  She was only just waking up, and had noticed that Pinkie wasn't in bed with her.  Pinkie did always wake up first, but she usually woke up Twilight so she could go back to the library and make Spike breakfast.  In fact, according to the cupcake shaped clock hanging on the wall, it was a few hours past the time she usually was awoken.

She wanted to find out what was going on, so she quickly changed into the clothes she had brought the night before and left the room, headed to the kitchen.  She had almost made it to the double swinging doors, when Pinkie suddenly burst out from behind them, holding a pretty big cake, with pink frosting and white icing around the edges.  She seemed excited, and Twilight looked from her to the cake, which read, in white icing, “Pinkie & Twilight!”

“Happy two month-iversary, Twilight!  I thought one month would be too soon to celebrate, but three months was too long to wait, so two months is perfect!”  Pinkie's smile was contagious, although Twilight thought a celebration was a little unnecessary.  In fact, she hadn't even remembered that it was two months since they had become a couple.

“That's sweet, Pinkie,”  Twilight leaned forward and gave Pinkie a quick peck, avoiding the cake as she did.  “But would you mind if I had an actual breakfast before the cake?”

“I thought you'd say that,”  Pinkie said as she stepped back into the kitchen, followed by Twilight.  “So I made your favorite, blueberry pancakes.  They should still be warm.”  Twilight suddenly took the cake from Pinkie, set it on the kitchen table, and then pulled her into a kiss.

“You're amazing, you know that?”

Pinkie giggled as she wrapped her arms around Twilight's neck,  “Thanks, I try.”

They kissed again, but it wasn't long before Twilight pulled away, deciding to get her breakfast before it got cold.

“We can spend the whole day together!”  Pinkie said happily as she took a seat at the table, “And the Cakes are out doing errands, they said they'd be gone for a few hours, so...”  Twilight glanced over her shoulder to see Pinkie watching her, smiling mischievously.  “We have the house to ourselves.”

“Sounds like fun.”  Twilight's own smirk matched Pinkie's as she sat at the table with a plate of pancakes, “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don't know... the Cakes have a thousand piece puzzle somewhere around here. That could be fun.”

Twilight laughed, “Yeah, sounds like a blast.”

As Twilight ate, Pinkie started to plan out the day.  “After the Cakes come home we should go out and do something fun... Oh, I know!  We should get out of town! Just for today, we could... go to the beach!   That sounds like fun, doesn't it?  And I wouldn't mind seeing you in a bikini.”

Pinkie looked like she was imagining it, and Twilight rolled her eyes.  “I hate to rain on your parade, but I don't even own a bikini.”

“That's fine, we can get one before we go.”

Twilight decided objecting the bikini idea would probably be pointless, so she didn't.  Now that she thought about it, getting out of town would be nice.  In fact, the last time she had been out of town was three or four months ago, when she had gone to visit her parents, so a change of scenery would be... wait.

“Oh, crap!”  Twilight suddenly stood and rushed her plate over to the sink.  “I forgot, I told my parents I was going to visit today.” She quickly trashed the remains of her breakfast and started to wash off the plate as quickly as she could.  “I have to go Pinkie, I can't be late, or they'll assume that's normal for me.”

She glanced at her girlfriend, who looked extremely disappointed.

“I'm sorry...”

“It's okay,”  Pinkie got up and gave her a reassuring hug, “I hope you have fun.”

“Okay... you too.”  She gave her a quick kiss, then headed for the exit.  Once she was gone, Pinkie sat back down in her chair with a sigh.  She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them, looking dejected.

About ten seconds later, Twilight re-entered.  “You... want to come with me?”

Pinkie sprung to her feet.  “I'd love to!”

Twilight wasn't exactly thrilled about bringing Pinkie to meet her parents, but seeing how happy the invite made her, she knew it was the right thing to do. “I'm planning on staying the night, so you should bring clothes and whatever you need for the morning. Sound good?”

“Sounds great!”  Pinkie stepped back and did a little spin, her skirt twirling as she did.

“I'll meet you at the train station in half an hour.  We might be a little late, but I have to make sure Spike is set to spend the night by himself.”

“Okie dokie!”

Originally, Twilight had planned on reading during the two hour train ride, but she didn't even bother bringing a book along, now having her personal favorite conversation partner.  Pinkie wasn't always as  excitable and oblivious as she tried to make herself out to be. When the two were alone, Twilight could catch glimpses of a side to her that she typically kept to herself.  She had moments when she was  very deep, and the two would get caught up in discussions that Twilight couldn't usually have with her other friends.  Topics that were considered boring or unimportant, Pinkie was surprisingly interested in, and sometimes even familiar with.  Even when they talked about things that Pinkie wasn't knowledgeable on, she was able to listen to Twilight and form an opinion on the matter.

Right now, Pinkie was resting her head on Twilight's shoulder as she told her about a famous philosopher, Moonbeam the Thoughtful.

“Wait.”  Pinkie was suddenly struck with a thought, and Twilight paused her mini lecture.  “Was he friends with Starswirl the Bearded?”

“No, not really.  The two were living around the same time, so plenty of great minds had titles at the end of their names. But they didn't know each other.”

“Got it,”  Pinkie said cheerfully.  Before Twilight could pick up where she had left off, the train came to a stop, and Pinkie jumped to her feet.  “We're here!”  She scooped up her and Twilight's bags and slung them over her shoulder as she darted out of their train car.  Twilight chuckled and followed after her.

“So, we're going to your parents' house, and then lunch from there, right?”  Pinkie asked as Twilight stepped out onto the platform.

“Right.  If we take a taxi we can probably get there on time.”  Twilight was worried about being late, but more than anything, she was concerned about Pinkie.  “They live uptown, but um, Pinkie...”

Pinkie turned her head slightly, giving Twilight a quizzical look.

“I don't want them to know yet.  About us.”

“Okay!  We're just good friends.”  Twilight looked relieved, until Pinkie added, “Good friends who sleep with each other on occasion. ...Kidding!”

Twilight didn't look amused. “Yeah, don't say that.”

Twilight managed to flag down a cab shortly afterwards, and fifteen minutes later, they were at the entrance of an upscale gated community.  The houses on the other side were, basically, small mansions.  At the sight of them, Pinkie released a drawn out, “Ooooo.”

Twilight had to punch in a number on a keypad attached to the gate, and it slid open, allowing the taxi through.  Pinkie openly gawked at every house they passed, and when they finally stopped at one, she didn't conceal how impressed she was.

“Twi... you lived here?”

“Yeah, this is my old house.”

Twilight paid the driver and the two women left the car, Pinkie excitedly skipping up the walkway towards the front of Twilight's miniature mansion.  Twilight followed behind, and knocked on the door once she reached it, glad to see Pinkie hadn't taken it upon herself to do so.

A moment later, Twilight's mother answered the door.

“Twilight! Welcome back honey.  I see you didn't get our letter though...”

“Hi, mom.  What letter?

“Something came up at the office with your father, and he won't be home for a while.  He proposed we all have dinner later instead of lunch.”  Her mother's gaze looked past Twilight and fell on Pinkie.  “Is this a friend of yours?”

Pinkie enthusiastically waved.  “Hi Mrs. Sparkle!  I'm Pinkie Pie, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“I thought I'd introduce you to one of my best friends,”  Twilight explained, and her mom looked almost as enthused as Pinkie.

“I've heard a lot about you, Pinkie.  Glad to finally meet you formally, although I think I did see you at Shining's wedding.”

“Yep, that was me!  I helped with the reception.”

“You did an amazing job, it was a wonderful reception.”

Pinkie beamed at the approval, and Twilight was glad things were going smoothly between the two.  She decided to butt in though, “So, should we come back later then?”

“If you could.  I'm sure there's plenty you and Pinkie could find to do around the city.”

After another cab ride, Pinkie and Twilight went to explore the city, although Twilight already knew it rather well.  Pinkie was excited to visit various bakeries, sampling cupcakes from three of them before Twilight cut her off.  After that, they had a late lunch, went to the park, hung around there for a while, and then visited  a sculpture garden.  They headed back into the shopping district and  by that time, it was four.  Twilight was looking for one last place for them to visit, and as she looked, Pinkie reached for Twilight's hand, which she pulled out of reach.  Pinkie folded her arms and huffed.

“What's wrong?”

“You've been doing that all day!”  Pinkie was upset, and Twilight wasn't exactly oblivious as to why, but she acted like she was.

“... Doing what?”

“This,”  Pinkie leaned in to give Twilight a kiss on the cheek, and Twilight evaded it.  “See!”

Twilight looked away, “Why does it matter?”

“Because you're my girlfriend and I want to hold your hand!  And kiss you once in a while.”

At the word "girlfriend" Twilight nervously glanced around.  "Pinkie, not so loud...”

Pinkie glared at her, “We don't know any of these people, Twilight.  I get if you're not ready to come out to your friends and family, but no one here cares!”

“Well, I...”  Twilight shifted uneasily, “Maybe I don't want to come out.”

“Ever?”

“I don't know.”  That wasn't the answer Pinkie had wanted, and at this point, she looked very annoyed.   “I mean... I'm not as confident as you are, Pinkie.”

“Confident about what?”

Twilight groaned, “Can we not do this right now?”

“Too late.  What are you not confident about?”

Twilight wasn't one to do well under this kind of pressure.  She finally blurted out, “My orientation, okay?”

Pinkie looked stunned, but pulled it together and started counting out on her fingers, “Well, first off, you like women.  You like sex with women.  You like-”

Pinkie didn't get too far before Twilight corrected her, “No, I like you.  I like sex with you.  Maybe...”  Twilight hesitated, “Maybe it's just you.  And if anything were to fall through with us... I might go back to being normal.”

Pinkie was astonished, to say the least.  “Are you expecting us to break up?”  Twilight was regretting what she had just said, and before she could attempt to correct her mistake, Pinkie continued.  “Are you hoping we break up?  So you can go be normal?  If we're so abnormal together, why did you even...?  Ugh!”  Pinkie turned and stormed off, but Twilight chased after her.

“Pinkie!”  It was obvious she was trying to lose Twilight by going into the crowds and swerving through the stands that were set up around the street.

“Twilight Sparkle!”  The sound of someone calling her name distracted Twilight for just a moment.  She turned to look behind her, and that was all it took for her to walk right into a pillar that was attached to a nearby store.  She bashed her head into it and fell backwards, landing flat on her back.

“... so sorry Twilight.  I didn't mean to distract you, I just wanted to say hi.  Are you okay?  Wait... are you even conscious?  Twilight?”

It took some effort for her to open her eyes, and when she did, her vision was a little hazy, although it slowly returned to her.

“You're going to have a bump the size of a cantaloupe... Let me help you up.”

Twilight couldn't fully make out the figure standing over her, but her voice was very familiar.  As the woman took her by her hands and pulled her to her feet, Twilight's head was swimming, but she managed to stay upright.  Once she was standing, her vision fully returned, and her jaw dropped as she saw who had helped her.

“Trixie?”

Trixie, clad in a purple star-decorated hat and robe, was standing in front of her with a suitcase in tow.

“Hello.”  Trixie gave her a warm smile, which was strangely lacking in arrogance.   “How's your head?”

“A little sore, but I'll be fine.”  Twilight couldn't help giving her a suspicious look.  “Why did you help me up?  Don't you hate me?”

“Of course I don't!”  Trixie seemed taken aback by the idea, “At first, I'll admit, I was a little resentful.  But you helped me realize talent should always be accompanied by humility.  And also, talking in third person is overrated... but I digress.  You helped me become a better magician, Twilight.”

Twilight was shocked to hear this.  Trixie didn't despise her, and in fact, was grateful?  It was strange, but not outside of the realm of possibility.  In fact, she was hoping this would happen, since Trixie had great magical potential.

But this was distracting her from Pinkie.  She needed to find her, and explain herself, or at least say sorry for being so rude.  Pinkie was too important to her, she couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

“Actually, my career  has really taken off.  I have a performance here tomorrow, but all of the hotels are booked.”  Trixie waited for a response, but Twilight seemed to be zoned out.  “Oh, right.  You were chasing someone before you ran into that pillar.”

“Yeah... did you see where she went?”

“Yes, actually.  She took a right down that street over there,”  Trixie pointed in the direction Pinkie had apparently gone, “Would you like me to help you look?”

Twilight wasn't sure at first, but finally decided two pairs of eyes were better than one.  “That would be great.”

The two started their search, and Twilight had quickly forgotten she needed to return to her parents house to have dinner.  Finding Pinkie was too important, and that's all she was focused on.  Trixie seemed equally fixed on helping Twilight find her, and they went from street to street, looking through shop windows and peering down alleyways.  The sun set faster than she had expected, but Twilight continued to look, despite the only available light source being streetlamps.  Trixie had stayed by her side the entire evening, but seemed to be losing hope.

“You seem determined, Twilight, but... I think we should call it a day.”

Twilight sighed, “That seems like our only option.” She gave Trixie an appreciative smile, “Thanks for keeping me company.”

“You're very welcome.”

She remembered earlier, Trixie had mentioned something about all the hotels being booked.  “Do you need a place to stay?  I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind if you roomed with me for one night.”

“That's very generous of you! As long as it isn't any trouble...”

“No, no trouble.” Twilight looked around, trying to get an idea of where exactly she was, and realized that her neighborhood wasn't very far.  “Come on, I actually live pretty close by.”

The walk to her house was rather quiet, and Twilight didn't mind one bit.  She was worried about her relationship, and needed some time to think.  As she walked up to her doorstep, she decided she would take the first train back to town tomorrow morning, and try to find Pinkie.  She would most likely be at the Cake's house, and Twilight would try her best to make things right.

Twilight had knocked on her door without realizing it, still focusing her mind on her problem, but when her mother answered, Twilight snapped back to reality.

“Oh, hello.”  Twilight's mother raised an eyebrow as she noticed Trixie, “What happened to your other friend?”

“We had a little argument... which is why I didn't make it to dinner.  I'm sorry,”  Twilight motioned towards Trixie, “But I ran into Trixie earlier, and we were wondering if she could spend the night.”

“A... sleepover?”  Twilight's mother looked astonished, and then suddenly clapped her hands together in excitement.  “My daughter is having a sleepover!  The first one since...  scratch that, I'm pretty sure this is the first one.”

“Mom...”

“I never expected you to be such a social butterfly, sweetie!  I'll make some cookies for you girls!”

“Mom, I'm twenty.”

Her mother had already gone off into the kitchen, and Twilight turned to Trixie, slightly embarrassed, but Trixie was smiling.

“Your mother seems nice.”

“Thanks.  She is, but I don't think all of that was necessary.”  Twilight went inside and headed towards a large spiral staircase.

Trixie shrugged as she walked in after her.  They reached her room, which was a little ways down the hallway on the second floor.  Once they both were in, Twilight closed the door behind her, then sat down on her bed.  Trixie sat beside her, and the two started to chat.  The conversation started out as simple getting to know you sort of questions, but it eventually turned towards magic.  They talked about spells for a while, until Twilight retrieved a book from a nearby shelf to show her a spell, and Trixie told her that was one of her favorites.

It turned out Trixie was very well read, and the two had plenty in common as far as favorite authors went.  It was interesting, suddenly becoming friends with someone who had seemed so... unfriendly.

Twilight hadn't realized what time it was until it was already ten, and she was surprised at how fast the time had flown by.

“Wow, it's already pretty late.”  Twilight guessed her mom had made cookies, but had heard the two chatting and didn't want to interrupt.

“Yeah... I don't mean to be rude, but I'm pretty bushed.”  Trixie yawned, proving her statement.  “Where should I sleep?  In here with you?”

They did have a guest room, but Twilight saw no problem with letting Trixie share her bed.  It was queen sized, and there was plenty of room for the both of them.  “Sure, why not?”

The two got ready for bed, Twilight changing into pajamas and Trixie simply removing her cloak and hat, since she said she hadn't brought anything to sleep in.  Trixie fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, and it didn't take Twilight much longer to pass out.  She was exhausted, but made sure before slipping into sleep, that she and Trixie had plenty of space between them.  In fact, Twilight was practically on the edge of her side, trying to give Trixie plenty of room.

“... Hello.”

“Hi there, Mr. Sparkle!  I'm Pinkie Pie, it's nice to meet you officially.”

Pinkie was glad to see Twilight's dad was still dressed, so he probably hadn't been sleeping, although he was giving Pinkie a strange look.

“I'm Twilight's friend.  Sorry about the time, but I need to talk to her, if that's fine with you.”

“Uh... sure.  She's upstairs, in her room, but she might be asleep.”

“Thank you!”

Pinkie darted passed her father, and took the stairs two at a time to get to Twilight's room.  Twilight's father shrugged as he watched her go, and walked off.

“Twilight!”  Pinkie didn't bother knocking, she simply burst through the door, and flicked on the light.  “I thought about it, and I...!”  Pinkie's eyes widened as she looked at Twilight's bed.  “Forgive you...”

Twilight woke up quickly at the sound of Pinkie's voice, and when she saw her in the doorway, she tried to sit up and greet her, but an arm around her stomach kept her down.  “What the...?”

She looked to her side, and saw Trixie, topless and still asleep, clinging to Twilight.  Twilight looked down at herself, and found all she was wearing on her chest was a bra.    “Oh... shit!”  She  immediately turned back to Pinkie, who seemed to be frozen on the spot she was standing.  “Pinkie, this isn't what it looks like!”

Pinkie backed out of the room, and suddenly took off down the stairs.

“Pinkie, hang on!”  She threw Trixie's arm off of her, and sprinted after Pinkie, but she made it to the front door before Twilight could reach her, and left.  Twilight went outside after her, not caring about being in a bra.

“Pinkie!”

She had disappeared, and Twilight had no idea which way she had gone, it was too dark to search.  She went back inside and shut the door, then leaned up against it, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor.  She sat there for a moment, but finally, figured she should go back upstairs and see what exactly had happened with Trixie.  She stood and made her way towards the staircase, until she heard a familiar popping sound come from behind her. That was the sound casting the teleportation spell made...

“Well, Twilight Sparkle, we are finally even!”  Trixie laughed as Twilight turned to face her.  She was fully clothed now, cloak and all, and had a triumphant smirk on her face.“You ruined the great and powerful Trixie's career, and Trixie ruined your relationship.”

“You did this on purpose?”

“Of course! You didn't think someone as amazing as Trixie actually wanted to be your friend, did you?”  Trixie laughed once again, “It was all part of a clever ruse!  And Trixie would never stop talking in third person!”

“How did you...?” Twilight felt sick at the thought of losing Pinkie, all because of a misunderstanding.

“Trixie did her research, that's how.  She discovered your relationship, and after weeks of acting lessons and planning, well... all it took was a little improv, and the rest is history.”

It was all sinking in.  Twilight's first love now hated her, and there was no explaining what had happened, since it all seemed so impractical.  And it was all because of this... conniving bitch standing in front of her.

“Trixie, you've done some pretty obnoxious things,”  Her fists were clenched, her tone low and threatening.  “But this is the worst.”

Trixie's eyes narrowed at her as Twilight's hands started to glow a deep purple.  “Is it a magical duel you're after? Trixie accepts!”  Her own hands began to glow, and she raised them to cast a spell, but Twilight was faster on the draw.  A small blast of magical energy shot forth, Trixie cast  a  deflection spell, and the magic shot back at Twilight.  She sidestepped the spell, and waved her hand again, sending a larger blast of magic towards her opponent, who extended her hands and conjured a magical shield in front of her.  Twilight wasn't deterred, and kept up her assault, waving her hands frantically, but precisely, as she cast more spells at the shield.  Trixie looked determined to keep her shield up, and Twilight, equally determined to bring it down.

Trixie was sliding backwards with the force of the spells, until she couldn't slide anymore, and finally, was backed against the wall.  Beads of sweat were starting to form on Trixie's brow, and Twilight appeared to be taking out her anger through her attacks, each one stronger than the next.  Finally, the shield broke, and Trixie was left pressed up against the wall, and completely vulnerable, even if only for a few moments.  Twilight didn't hesitate, and with the cast of another spell, Trixie's wrists and ankles were suddenly magically bound to the wall, held there by an invisible force.

Twilight walked over, and pulled back a glowing fist, prepared to let it fly.

“No!  Not Trixie's face!”

Twilight hesitated, and finally, decided she wasn't worth it.  Resorting to violence was something she didn't want to make a habit of.  So, with a sigh, her hands lost their glow, and Trixie was released from her magical binds.  She collapsed onto the floor, and Twilight even offered her a hand to help her up, which Trixie cautiously accepted.

“Get out of here, Trixie.”

Trixie eyed her for a second, then turned on her heel and left, shutting the front door behind her.  Twilight hoped she would never have to see her again.