PETS (Pain Entering Trixie's Skull)

by applejackofalltrades

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Trixie
Length: 1120

Why did Starlight ask Trixie if she wanted any PETS? What a silly question.

Originally written for a Quills and Sofas speedwriting panic, PETS tells the story of Trixie, who doesn’t know how to feel about Starlight’s questions, especially when it comes to the one about pets.

PETS. Not pets. PETS. Trixie is not a pet pony!

Thank you to the people who read this beforehand and left comments ^^
Note: Only like, three things were changed from the original version of this story. This is pretty much exactly as it was written for the panic :)

Cover: Screenshot edit done by yours truly

Published 2021-03-02 01:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-03-02 01:40:01 UTC

PETS

Pain Entering Trixie’s Skull.

That’s surely what she meant by PETS, right?

There was nothing else it could mean. Why else would Starlight have asked if Trixie wanted any pets? Of course, the answer was no. Trixie did not want any pain to enter her skull. Well, no more than what had already been there.

No, it couldn’t have been Starlight implying that she wanted some kind of animal companion, possibly one to co-raise with Trixie. That would be ridiculous. Trixie was many things; she was great, and most certainly powerful, but she was not suited for pets. She was a travelling magician for Celestia’s sake! Emphasis on travelling.

So when Starlight asked if Trixie wanted any more pain to enter her skull, she laughed and said no. She said that her regular migraines were hard enough to deal with already. Trixie smiled and moved on from the conversation. She pretended not to notice the way Starlight deflated a little bit.

After all, even if she had really meant a pet, as in the type of pet that one might keep in their house, then the answer was still no. Trixie was not ready to take care of animals, she wasn’t even good at taking care of herself! Plus, Trixie was willing to bet that the pet might really cause PETS.

But even after convincing herself that she was making the right choice, Trixie couldn’t stop herself from doubling back. Starlight looked so insistent! Why would she be so curious about Trixie’s opinion about pets, anyway? Surely, she hadn’t been trying to be the pain in Trixie’s skull.

Still, Trixie lay in her crowded caravan and stared at the roof. First, Starlight had invited Trixie to live in her room at the castle. She swore that Twilight would be okay with it. Even made a ‘Pinkie Promise’, whatever the hay that was. But Trixie had said no. She didn’t want to risk annoying Twilight. They never really got along, anyway.

Then, Starlight offered to buy Trixie a bigger caravan; one where Trixie would have more space to spend time with her friends. Starlight had made sure to include her own name into the equation. Trixie refused; her caravan was already perfect, even if a little crowded.

But now, with the whole pet situation, Trixie pouted. Starlight meant so much to her. She meant more to her than anypony else in the world had ever meant to her. It was all moving too fast for her, if it was even moving at all. There was no doubt in Trixie’s mind that Starlight liked her. Really liked her.

Where it really got messy was trying to figure out what she thought about Starlight.

Trixie huffed and rolled over. Was Starlight even awake? It was the middle of the night, but Trixie couldn’t sleep, and it was all Starlight’s fault. She definitely had to give her friend a piece of her mind. It wasn’t fair that she could live in Trixie’s mind without any consequence.

“Oh ponyfeathers. Starlight is the Pain Entering Trixie’s Skull,” Trixie whispered to herself as she left her caravan.

After Trixie ever so graciously declined Starlight’s offer to move in (well, it was a little less than graceful, admittedly), Starlight had insisted she at least park her caravan near the palace. And that is how Trixie was able to spend less than two minutes walking to the castle.

Determined to be as obnoxious as possible, but not risk waking Twilight up, Trixie closed her eyes and focused her magic into her horn. She had been practicing her teleportation spell and so she tried to teleport right into Starlight’s room.

It didn’t work.

Trixie groaned audibly and banged her head on the door. Surprisingly, the door opened mere moments after the loud thud, and Trixie fell through the doorway. It would have been weird if it was unlocked, but it was even weirder when Trixie noticed the door glowing magenta. And that only ever meant one thing.

“Trixie? What are you doing here?”

Trixie remained lying on the floor snout-down for an extra moment, suddenly needing to gather strength. She inhaled deeply and looked up with a forced smile. “Twilight. Trixie was just popping by to see if Starlight was around.” She snorted a bit and stood up and mumbled. “Well not exactly popping by, I didn’t do the stupid spell.”

Twilight gave Trixie a friendly smile. “Ah, I think she’s up in her room. I’m not sure she’s awake.” She turned to the direction of Starlight’s room. “Speaking of, why are you awake?”

“Trixie was doing some late-night thinking, that’s all.” She rubbed her nose with a hoof, definitely feeling the impact from before. Starlight definitely had to be the PETS. “And what are you doing awake?”

Twilight giggled like an excited filly. “I was just doing some late-night reading. I got a new series of books recently - world atlases! They talk more in-depth about the communities far beyond the reach of the furthest corners of Equestria, and provide a more modern view of their societies. I was really looking forward to—”

Trixie cleared her throat. “Okay, that’s great, but Trixie needs to speak to Starlight.”

Twilight coughed a bit and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I got a bit overly excited there,” she mumbled with a sheepish blush. “Um, but are you guys having some kind of issue?”

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

Twilight turned her head a bit. “Come on, Trixie. I’m the Princess of Friendship, remember? I can tell something’s wrong. You don’t have to talk to me about it, but I’m here to listen and mitigate the situation if that’s what you need.”

Well, that would certainly help. And Trixie was starting to feel unsure about her plan; Starlight did not like to be woken up. “Okay, fine. You may help. But only because I care too much about Starlight’s sleep to wake her up right now.”

Twilight smiled knowingly and raised an eyebrow. “Right. Well, how about we talk in the sitting room and I can get you some ice for your nose? It’s getting kind of red, you know.”

Red? Well, that was fantastic. Of all of the lucky things that could happen to Trixie, that was the unluckiest. “Sure, that would be great,” she mumbled as she followed Twilight into the living room. “And can you get me something for my head? I have this massive PETS right now.”

“Pets?”

Trixie snickered and rubbed along her muzzle. “We’ll get to that.”

Author's Note

Here’s another short one! Had a lot of fun writing this one, even though I went into it having no idea what to write.

Hope you enjoyed ^^