Twilight stared at the book, attempting to read while the Blue Annoyance prattled on about...something. She shifted on her padded rump, attempted to focus on the page in front of her face. Both foals sat beneath the shade of a spreading oak whose leafy, green arms sheltered them in its shadow.
"And if you fail the test, they shave off your tail and your mane!" The junior magician reared up so high she tripped and fell back on her derriere, the star-spangled pull-up she was wearing taking most of the fall. She bounced right back up. Twilight turned a page and her ears twitched at the volume. She paused in her reading to nibble at the plush, green carpet of grass the fillies were seated on.
"And you get put back in diapuhs!"
Twilight raised an eyebrow and poked at the pull-ups adorning Trixie's waist.
Trixie huffed. "Dese are big filly pants. Mommy said so."
"De're diapuhs, Trixie."
Trixie stuck out her tongue. "Big filly pants!"
"Are not."
"Are too!"
"Are not!" Trixie trampled her hooves on the ground.
Twilight looked back at her book. Gave the page a loving stroke. "Okay, okay. Dey're big filly pants. So, if you fail da test, you get put back in diapuhs?" She looked back up from the tome at her forelegs.
"Yep!"
She gave the book a glance, avoided Trixie's gaze. Her eyes shifted. "Yeah, dat...dat'd be bad. Though I wouldn't have to stop reading to go potty..."
Trixie stared at her. "You worry me sometimes." Then she smirked. "But you have to go back to being a baby so no weading!"
Twilight released a long sigh. "That would be scary if it was true."
Trixie stomped her hoof. "It is twue"
"True. Trrrue. Say it with me. True."
"Twue."
Twilight shook her head, sent purple strands of her mane into her eyes. "Say your name."
"Trixie! Trixie likes saying her name! Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!"
"Alright. Now say true."
"Twue."
Twilight threw up her hooves. "It's da same sound!"
The grin on Trixie's face grew flat out devilish. "Say 'the.'"
"Da."
"No, the. The."
Twilight lowered her horn, pointed it right at the other filly. Trixie stepped away and then plopped down onto her belly, rolling over onto her back to scratch at her sides. "How do you know it isn't twue?"
"Tr-Just nevah mind. I know it isn't twue cause I wead da wulebook!" She paused. "Now you made me do it!"
Trixie rolled over on her back and wiggled in mirth. After a few moments she stopped the laughing fit. "It's in da secwet wulebook."
Twilight's eyes never wavered from the text of her book, but her tail did lash the ground. "Dere is no secwet wulebook. Why would there be a secret rulebook? If it's secw-secret how do you know about it?"
Trixie scratched her chin. "Cause, um..."
Twilight lit her horn, stuck out her tongue and struggled to move a page. She gave up and moved it with her hoof. "Take your time. I know it must be hard work coming up with a lie."
Trixie glared. "Yeah, well, we all know who bwoke the candy bowl last week."
Twilight's cheeks crimsoned. "Dat was an accident! Nopony saw dat! You can't pwove anything!"
Trixie smirked. "I don't know what happened to the candy bowl, Ma'am," she lilted in a mocking imitation of Twilight.
Twilight's lower lip trembled. Unshed tears shone in her eyes. "I was just tryin' to pwactice my levitation..." She sniffled, her ears drooping back. Sensing she'd gone much too far even by her standards Trixie lit her horn, conjuring a small burst of colorful lights. "Tah-dah!" She reared again.
Twilight giggled, wiping at her eyes. "Dat was cool! How do you do dat!"
Trixie screwed up her face, her muzzle wrinkling. "I dunno." She curled up on the ground, blades of grass tickling her tummy. "But for real, they hang you up by your tail if you fail the test!"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Big Brother said that you just have to take it again."
"You have to take it again while hung up by your tail!"
Twilight snorted at the mental image. "So, how'd you get a hold of da secret rulebook?"
Trixie ran around in circles, dust and dirt kicked up in her wake, making little brown puffs explode from the earth. Some of the dirt sprayed on Twilight's book. She groaned and wiped it off. The Blue Annoyance continued to prance. "I had to fight off ninjas!"
Twilight wiped off the last of the dirt. "No you didn't."
But Trixie was too caught up to stop. "And the ninjas was ridin' dinosaurs!"
Twilight lifted her eyes up to the heavens above. "What kind?"
"T-rexes!"
"Of course dey were." Twilight snapped another page of her book, her horn briefly sparking long enough for her to do it. "Not brontosaureses or pterodactyls. T-rexes. Da only kinda dinosaurs dere ever was. T-rexes."
Trixie jumped up and down. "Are you gonna let me finish?"
Twilight flipped the book closed. Not that she was done. Not that she was even half-done. "Fine. So, you had to fight off dinosaur riding ninjas to find da secret rulebook which tells what happens when you fail the last test of da year."
"Yep!"
Twilight settled herself so she was right across from the Blue Annoyance. "And what happens if you fail?"
"They cut off your tail and put you back in diapuhs and you have to be a baby again and you have to retake the test while hangin' by your tail!"
Twilight held up her hoof. "Once it grows back?"
Trixie stopped. "...Yeahhhh."
"So, why were you looking for da secret rulebook?"
Trixie flopped down onto her back again. Twilight joined her. Puffy, white clouds drifted by like scoops of vanilla ice cream in a blue bowl. Twilight vaguely wondered when lunchtime was. Trixie had gone so still it looked like she was napping. The sun was warm on their coats. An orange butterfly floated on the breeze, the wind pushing open its wings. It lighted on Twilight's nose. Twilight tried to stay as still as she could. The beautiful insect tickled her snout. Wonder filled Twilight's heart.
"I got locked in da basement!"
Trixie's shout broke the peace. The butterfly darted in the air, flapped away.
Twilight closed her eyes, counted to three. Then to six. Then to nine.
"How'd you get locked in da-in the basement?"
Trixie launched onto her back legs, waving her forelegs so much an adult might have thought she was begging for "upsies." "Cause I was, um, looking for da, um, Gingerbread Pony that twotted away last Hearth's Warming."
"I don't think he trotted away, I think da teacher ate him."
"I found him! He lives in the basement!" Trixie turned, clapped her hooves. "The magic of Hearthswarming made him come alive!"
Twilight rolled onto her side, rubbed herself against the ground to get at an itch. "Then, will you show me him?"
"He, um...he moved. To the Crystal Mountains where Santa Hooves lives."
"I know where Santa Hooves lives!"
Trixie came back down, bouncing on her padded rump and whipped the air with her tail."But do you know Santa Hooves?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. Her right ear twitched. "Everypony knows Santa Hooves."
Trixie stuck out her tongue. "But are you best friends with him?"
Twilight snapped her head around, glared at the Blue Annoyance. "You are not best friends with Santa Hooves! No. Uh-uh. No way."
"Yes way!" Trixie trampled the ground. "Trixie is totally best friends with Santa Hooves!"
Mrs. Bright Spring trotted up towards the shouting filly. "Oh, dear. Is everything okay you two? You're not fighting again, are you?" She lowered herself onto her tummy. "Just don't yell and use quiet, good words."
Trixie threw herself at Mrs. Bright Spring, hugging her neck. Mrs. Bright Spring nuzzled her. "Are you alright, little one?"
"No! Twilwight doesn't believe me when I said I'm best friends with Santa Hooves!"
Mrs. Bright Spring took her little forelegs into her big ones, stared into her eyes. "Dear. Do you, do you think you're best friends with Santa Hooves?"
Trixie nodded. "Uh-huh! That's why he always brings Trixie such great presents! And we talk to!"
Mrs. Bright Spring let go of her forelegs. "Oh, dear. Oh dear, oh dear. I think we might need a class on pretend and reality. Oh dear, oh my." She slowly trotted away.
"Well. That was weird." Trixie pouted. "Why does nopony believe Trixie when Trixie says she's best friends with Santa Hooves!"
"Cause you're not. You are not best friends with Santa Hooves!" Twilight stomped the ground. "And dere is no secret rule book! And you're a big liar!"
"Am not!" Trixie pawed at the ground.
"Liar, liar, flank on fire!"
Trixie charged and Twilight spun out the way. Trixie, unable to stop in time, thrust her horn into the tree. She grunted and groaned, trying to pull it out. Twilight stared, then laid down and opened up her book. Trixie whined.
Twilight closed her eyes, released a puff of air from between her lips and then wrapped her forelegs around Trixie, yanked her out. Trixie was thrust onto her backlegs and tumbled onto Twilight. Twilight yelped and the two fell down onto the earth. Twilight squirmed under Trixie until she knocked her off. She shook herself and, grumbling, sat down with her book. Then, she opened it and began to read.
The Blue Annoyance threw herself on the ground and flailed her legs. Twilight had thrown worse tantrums in the bookstore. That week. What kind of bookstore had a book buying limit?
Unimpressed, she started back where she'd left off. Trixie's piercing yells, unfortunately, made it difficult to concentrate and she didn't yet know any silencing spells.
Trixie sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "I don't really know Santa Hooves."
"Uh-huh." Twilight turned a page.
Trixie curled up close to her. She didn't move away. Trixie pouted. "I'm sorry I lied."
Twilight heaved a sigh and wrapped a tail around the other filly. "It's alright, Trixie."
Trixie smiled, rested her head against Twilight's side. "I don't like it when other Ponies don't pay attention to me." Her bottom lip slightly shivered.
Twilight set aside the book. Again. Counted to five. Counted to ten. "Do you remember the story of the Sheep Who Cried Wolf?"
Trixie frowned. "Those other sheep were mean."
Twilight shook her head. She was starting to feel dizzy. "Dey didn't believe him cause he lied."
Trixie's eyes widened. "You mean, if Trixie keeps lyin' she'll get eaten by a wolf?"
Twilight faceooved. "Yes, Trixie. Wolves eat little fillies that lie."
Twenty Years Later
"...And that's why Trixie has had a reoccurring nightmare of being eaten by a wolf!" Trixie stood at the thresh hold of the castle, levitating up the therapy bill.
Twilight closed her eyes, brought a hoof up to her chest pushed it out, trying to push away all her problems. But when she opened her eyes, Trixie was still there. Twilight took the "bill" in her magic, examined it. She cleared her throat. "Trixie. There's no seal from the Therapist's Guild on this. Your therapist could be unlicensed of course, in which case you should find a new one. Therapists are not medical doctors so they don't sign MD at the end of their name, unless they're psychiatrists. Are you on some sort of medication?"
"Do illegal ones count?"
Twilight rubbed a spot just below her horn. "Just gonna power right through that one. In addition, I can't be held responsible for you misunderstanding a foals' story most four year olds can correctly interpret. Also, did you ever consider changing your behavior so as not to worry about liar eating wolves?"
Trixie pointed an accusatory hoof. "There are no liar eating wolves! You lied to Trixie!" She put her hoof down. "Ohhh. That doesn't feel good on the other end."
"Oh my goodness, I think we've had a breakthrough." Twilight patted Trixie's shoulder. "I don't practice much, but I am a licensed therapists. I'd be willing to give you free counseling sessions." She gripped Trixie's shoulders. "Please don't make me make this a royal order. I hate having to make those."
Trixie rubbed her chin. "You mean, you'd have to listen while Trixie talks?"
"I would be professionally required to do so."
Trixie clapped. "Can we get started now?"
Twilight stepped aside. "Just come on in. I'll get the tea started."
Author's Note
I really enjoyed Twi and Trixie's interaction in Of Discipline and Mercy.
