Trixie's Lesson on Friendship

Trixie's Lesson on Friendship - Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 2 (Twilight's POV)

"Ughhhhhh!" Twilight grumbled as she flopped onto her bed. She had just excused herself from breakfast. It wasn't like she had an appetite anyway. She sighed to herself, and flipped onto her backside. She stared hard at the ceiling for a moment and began to think to herself.

"Way to go, Twilight! You sure gave Trixie a good impression of what breakfast is supposed to look like here. Start off the morning with a storm of arguments and outbursts, followed by a silent and awkward breakfast. Oh yeah, and be careful; don't argue too much or else you'll disturb the perfectly balanced awkward aura in the air during breakfast!" Twilight gently smacked her hoof against her forehead multiple times. It had been less than a day, and Trixie was already being greeted so harshly. Twilight continued to chastise herself for a few minutes until she heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Spike...?" Twilight assumed it was her lovely assistant based on the lightness of the knock, but was surprised when she heard a certain showmare's voice speaking through the door instead.

"Twilight Sparkle, the Great and Powerful Trixie demands to start her friendship studies now." said Trixie. Twilight bolted straight up on her bed.

"You want to start your studies now? So soon? You've barely had breakfast!" Twilight replied.

"Yes, well, Trixie figured that the quicker she'd get her studies finished, the sooner she'd be able to leave this little... treehouse." Twilight slitted her eyes. Trixie had just called her library filled with books-- books that took nearly her life time to find and collect-- a treehouse.

"Well, Trixie," Twilight said with an irritated tone in her voice. "Fine. I guess the sooner you're out of the house, the better. The first person we should talk to is--"

"Pause for just a moment. Did you just say, 'we'?" Trixie asked, interrupting the librarian in the process. The lavender mare rolled her eyes, unimpressed with Trixie's behaviour.

"Trixie, I doubt you'd get anywhere with your studies if you visited areas all by yourself. All you'd do is end up fighting the residents. After all, you did embarrass about half the town with your 'tricks' last time you were around."

"That was not Trixie's fault! Your little pony friends embarrassed themselves!"

"Oh yeah, I'd like to hear you say that in front of their faces." Twilight replied with a scoff. Trixie didn't reply for a while, which worried Twilight. The purple pony almost considered opening the door to check on Trixie, to see why she wasn't replying with a stubborn argument like she normally would. However, just as Twilight's hoof met her bedroom door handle, she heard a loud sigh coming from the other side.

"Fine. The Great and Powerful Trixie supposes Twilight Sparkle may tag along in Trixie's journey around Ponyville, but don't think of this as more than a tour around the town. Trixie is not looking for 'horseplay', she wants to leave as soon as possible, and all you are doing is assisting Trixie in doing so."

"Like I haven't heard THAT before..." Twilight thought to herself. "Okay, if you're willing to comply, I suggest the first pony we visit is Applejack. She's the most honest and accepting pony around. She won't demand an apology like Rainbow Dash, but like most ponies in Ponyville, she probably expects one from you. And this time, offer up a proper apology." said Twilight while opening the bedroom door, revealing the clearly bored showmare, who was leaning against a wall with her two hind legs crossed, with one hoof placed on the side of her face and the other hoof tapping impatiently against the wall.

Twilight didn't even spit out one word at Trixie as she slowly trotted past her. Trixie followed her and quickly walked in front of Twilight, as if they were in a race. However, as Trixie reached the stairs, she lost her balance, and began to tumble down the stairwell. She rolled like a ball, and let out 'ows!' and 'oofs!' on the way down. Before she reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight's horn glowed a bright purple as she used her magic to levitate Trixie to prevent her from hitting the hard ground.

"Be careful." said Twilight, who skipped passed a dazed Trixie, who was sitting on her bottom, swaying around back and forth as if she were seeing stars.

After the 'trip', the two unicorns headed off to Sweet Apple Acres to meet Applejack. Trixie was dead silent on the way to the farm, but Twilight was not surprised. She figured that even if Trixie had the guts to say something rude to Twilight, she'd be able to tease her with what had happened only moments ago. By this time, the purple unicorn had also figured out that Trixie's number one saying was, 'If you don't have anything rude to say, then don't say it at all.'

Twilight giggled to herself. She had to admit, Trixie looked rather cute when she blushed furiously after her little downfall. Trixie gave Twilight a confused look, but the lavender mare chose to ignore it. When the two arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, they were immediately greeted by a little Apple Bloom along with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Hey Twilight!" Apple Bloom said enthusiastically. Twilight smiled at the young little filly.

"Hi Apple Bloom, is Applejack--" Twilight found herself being cut off (yet again) before finishing her sentence, but this time, she was interrupted by Sweetie Belle, who let out one of the loudest gasps in all of Equestria history. Twilight cocked her head in confusion, and stared at Sweetie Belle. It didn't take her long before she realized... it must've been Trixie.

"T-TWILIGHT!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "IS THIS THE SAME PONY THAT YOU UPSTAGED WITH THE WHOLE URSA MINOR THING?" Trixie shot laser beams out of her eyes at Sweetie Belle. Twilight couldn't help but giggle. Sweetie Belle's voice was loud enough for the entire village to hear.

Trixie let out a loud 'hmph!' sound, looked over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and began to speak loud and clear for everypony in her vicinity to hear. "Why, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie never knew you were friends with such creatures--" Twilight immediately used one of her hooves to cover Trixie's mouth.

"Ahahaha, sorry girls. I almost forgot that Trixie and I have some business to take care of with Applejack, soooo we better get going now." Twilight told the Crusaders sheepishly as she proceeded to drag the showmare towards the Apple family's barn. Trixie let out muffled screams while kicking as Twilight forcefully took her away. "We'll be sure to drop by another time! ... Or not."

When Twilight made sure the two were far away enough from the Crusaders, she turned and gave the azure mare a concerned look.

"That was a close call back there, Trixie," said Twilight. "You almost lost your chance at making your first friends!"

"Why should I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, befriend anypony that does not appreciate her magical talent?" Trixie replied, stopping to put her left hoof on her chest while raising her right hoof in the air as if to emphasize her self-proclaimed 'greatness'. Twilight stopped as well and turned around to face the showmare. The lavender pony placed her two front hooves on Trixie's shoulders and stared straight into her purple eyes.

"Look, Trixie. As Princess Celestia's loyal student, I'm responsible for your studies. I'm even responsible for the house you live in, the bed you sleep on, the food you eat, and most importantly, I'm responsible for you, and like any teacher, I'd really hate to see you so inept at making friends. I understand that many ponies remember you as the 'cowardly showpony that ran away after an ursa minor attack', but you need to put all of that behind you if you want to proceed in your studies. So please Trixie, this'll probably be the only time I'll ever want something this big from you. I'm begging you to at least try to move on from the incident and get along with other ponies."

Trixie blushed a little bit. She looked tried to escape Twilight's gaze, but it was no use. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Trixie sighed. She brushed Twilight's hooves off of her shoulders, and began walking up to the Apple family's barn once again with her chin held up high.

"F-fine. Trixie supposes she could try a new... technique." Trixie replied. Twilight smiled, and followed Trixie. When the two reached the barn, just as Trixie was about to stick out her hoof to knock on the door, it suddenly swung open, squished Trixie against a bale of hay, and a flock of chickens hopped out of the barn. Twilight just stared at Trixie as she heard a familiar cowpony's voice coming out of the building.

"Now y'all get back in 'ere before I call Fluttershy over to give y'all 'the Stare'." Applejack threatened. Within seconds, the chickens all rushed back into the barn. When Applejack made sure all of the chickens were there, she slammed the door shut. "Applejack: 1, naughty animals: 0." she said while clapping her hooves together to get the dirt off. The orange pony turned around, and jumped back the moment she saw a certain showmare hugging a bale of hay with Twilight standing next to Trixie.

"Well, howdy there, girls! How can I help y'all?" Applejack greeted the two.

"Hi Applejack, Trixie and I just came to visit. You know, to see if you needed any help. You remember Trixie, right?" Twilight replied with a smile. Applejack shuddered.

"Oh, right. Trixie. That rude lil pony that tried to show off in town square? The same pony that tied me up and stuffed an apple in my mouth. Yep, I remember that Trixie alright. Crystal clear." Applejack answered with an irritated tone in her voice. She walked up to the blue mare, who was still stuck in the hay. "What'cha here for? Got a guilty conscience?" the cowpony asked smugly. As soon as the words left Applejack's mouth, Trixie angrily and hastily removed her face from the hay, spat out the little bits and pieces that got into her mouth, and shot daggers at Applejack.

Trixie took a deep breath in, and much to Twilight's surprise, the showmare simply exhaled without muttering a single bad thing about Applejack under her breath. Instead, what came next was completely unexpected.

"Trixie... apologizes for tying you up with a rope. Indeed, Trixie bares a guilty conscience, and has come here today to make amends." Trixie replied slowly. Twilight's and Applejack's jaws dropped. It took the two friends a moment to process what the blue mare had just said. Twilight saw a smile creep onto Applejack's face. The cowpony opened her mouth, which made Twilight cringe. The librarian was expecting Applejack to act the same way Rainbow Dash did only a few hours ago.

But Twilight couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of threatening and putting Trixie down, Applejack began to laugh. She walked up next to Trixie, and put her arm around her.

"Well, I gotta admit, y'sure have changed, Trixie. I guess I can forgive ya'. No hard feelings, sugarcube. A good 'ole apology does the trick!" Applejack said sweetly. Phew, that was close, Twilight thought to herself as she wiped a bead of sweat away from her forehead.

"Why don't you gals stay for lunch?" said Applejack while bucking a large rectangular meal table with a red and white checkered-style tablecloth on it towards the two unicorns. Next, Applejack began to throw apple-related foods onto the meal table. "We've got apple cobbler, apple fritter, apple pie, apple juice, apple cider..." Applejack went on. Trixie gave Twilight a nervous look. The lavender pony nodded as a signal to run away.

The two unicorns ran until they made it back to the centre of Ponyville. They panted, trying to regain their breaths. However, what came next did not help the two in any way.

An excited voice came from nearby, and it got closer by the second until a pink pony popped out of nowhere and tackled Trixie to the ground. "OOH! OH MY GOSH, TRIXIE, YOU'RE HERE!" Twilight raised an eyebrow, and stared at the two mares on the ground.

"Pinkie, how did you know--"

"Pinkie sense, DUUHHH!" said Pinkie Pie, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "One eye twitch, two eye flutters and three leg spasms means that Trixie has arrived!"

"Uh..." Twilight muttered, dumbfounded. However, she let it slide. Pinkie was just being Pinkie.

"Excuse me, Twilight Sparkle, but is there a chance you can tell your little pink friend to get off of The Great and Powerful Trixie?" Trixie asked impatiently. Suddenly, Pinkie gasped loudly.

"OH MY GOSH. I ALMOST FORGOT! I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF BAKING SOME--" Pinkie was cut off by a loud explosion in the background. The sound came from Sugarcube Corner, to be exact. "... Cupcakes. GOTTA GO!"

Twilight just smiled at her friend as she quickly trotted off towards the bakery. Twilight turned around, and saw Trixie right in her face. She jumped back in surprise.

"Twilight Sparkle, please tell me those were the last of your friends." said Trixie, who almost sounded like she was pleading. Twilight chuckled nervously. The showpony glared at Twilight.

"Well..." said Twilight. Trixie let out a loud grumble, and trotted off to the direction of the library.

To be continued.