//-------------------------------------------------------// Trixie's Lesson on Friendship -by Ponyzilla- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue Trixie’s Lesson on Friendship - Prologue It had been months after Trixie was upstaged by her so-called, “arch nemesis”. To Trixie, it may as well have been considered one of the worst and most humiliating days of her life. Every day since the incident, she’d repeatedly encourage herself to return to Ponyville in order to get her long-awaited revenge on Twilight Sparkle somehow, but at the moment, it seemed like an impossible task. Trixie wasn’t exactly in the best position. Ever since she ran away from Ponyville, she had nowhere else to live. She spent her days far away from civilization within an unknown forest. Her only companions were a brown squirrel that would bring her acorns every day, a white bunny that’d play with her whenever she needed to be cheered up and an owl that would ‘hoot’ her to sleep. Trixie wasn’t particularly good with animals, as the other critters seemed to want to keep their distance from Trixie. In fact, the only reason her current companions stayed by her side was because of a misunderstanding. When Trixie first entered the forest, she trotted in like a speeding bullet just to get as far away from Ponyville as quickly as possible, but unbeknownst to her, the animals were having a party of their own-- which involved the said squirrel, bunny and owl being bullied. When the animals heard and saw Trixie approach with a fierce look on her face, they all ran off, leaving the trio of animals alone, and because Trixie technically saved their lives, they felt forever indebted to her. However, even up to this day, Trixie still has no clue why the trio became her companions-- not that she minded their company, though. Trixie sighed to herself. It wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy the outdoor life. She had a lot more time to fantasize about her revenge on Twilight Sparkle and plus, she didn't have to stress for hours on what sort of tricks she'd have to perform for a crowd, but without a doubt, she still missed sleeping on a comfortable bed every night. She missed the taste of the Apple family’s famous apple cider, and most of all, she missed having the spotlight on her. Just as she was about to search for a comfortable area in the forest to sleep in, Trixie felt a hoof resting upon her shoulder-- which made her leap back and yelp. She turned around, and much to her surprise, there stood Princess Celestia. Like what many other ponies would do, Trixie bowed down and greeted the Princess. The royal mare smiled, lifted Trixie’s head up with a hoof and began to speak. “Hello, Trixie. It seems that you’ve enjoying life out in the woods, but judging by the tear that just fell down your face, I assume you much prefer living life in civilization,” Trixie nodded. “Well then, I suppose I picked an appropriate time to come by to give you a task.” Trixie gave the Princess a puzzled look. Performing tasks wasn’t exactly her thing, but the fact that the Princess related it to her current lifestyle intrigued her. “I am here to ask of you to learn and study the importance of friendship, and based on the results of my last pupil, I believe Ponyville would be a good place to start,” said the Princess. It took Trixie a while to process what Celestia had just said. As much as she wanted to live in Ponyville to get her revenge, she also detested the idea of being anywhere near Twilight Sparkle. She opened her mouth to object, but found that she couldn’t get the words out. She was given a task by royalty, it was near impossible to decline a task from a princess. “Any objections?” asked the Princess. Trixie shook her head. “That’s good to hear. In that case, allow me to explain the details. I will take you to Ponyville today, and I want you to get a good rest before you begin. You will be living with my other student and she will be helping you out with your studies as well as continuing her own. I will let her explain the rest to you, as it’ll be a good way to start off your friendship. Any questions?” “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands to know who she will be staying with,” said Trixie in a stern and authoritative tone. Princess Celestia giggled. “Oh, you’ll see soon, my little pony. I think you’re in for quite a treat.” //-------------------------------------------------------// Of All Roommates... (Twilight's POV) //-------------------------------------------------------// Of All Roommates... (Twilight's POV) Trixie’s Lesson on Friendship - Of All Roommates... (Twilight) “Ohhh, Spike, what should we do? The Princess is counting on me to take in her new pupil, and the library is a total MESS!” Twilight shouted in panic as she ran around the house, using her magic to levitate books into the correct places on the shelves. “She could be here at any moment! Oh, what am I going to tell Princess Celestia if the new pony decides to leave because of my unorganized chaos?” Spike calmly opened the front door of the library and took a peek outside. “I don’t think she’s here yet. We’ve got time, Twilight. Even though you panic so much, you always manage to finish things on time!” Spike exclaimed in an attempt to cheer Twilight up, but it was no use. After running around so much, Twilight had already made a large spiral hole in the middle of a library. Spike walked over to the chasm, looked down, and found Twilight, sitting on her bottom with her hooves crossed across her chest. “Spike! Stop fooling around and help me up!” she ordered. Spike rolled his eyes, went over and grabbed Twilight’s handy dandy ladder (which, in fact, was bought just for this type of situation), adjusted it and finally, Twilight managed to climb out. Within seconds, she went back to cleaning the house. Hours later, the library was perfectly clean, Spike was out at Rarity’s boutique, and Twilight was quadruple checking everything on her list. “Organized books... check! Bought groceries for our meals... check! Double checking my list... check! Triple checking my list... check! Quadruple checking my list... check! Great! Looks like everything is under control.” Right as she finished her sentence, there was a knock on the door. “That must be her!” Twilight thought to herself as she clapped her hooves together in excitement. Getting a new roommate was like having a sleepover with somepony every single day. The idea of getting to braid each other’s hair, gossip and most of all, study together, seemed really appealing to Twilight. It didn’t even matter who was staying with her, she was fine with anybody... or that’s what she thought. Twilight reached for the door and opened it. “Hi, welcome to--” she stopped in her tracks. Right in front of the door stood a pony she did not expect to see. She gazed at the azure colored mare whose mane looked really dirty and was in need of a bath. “Ponyville?” Twilight finished her sentence. Much to her surprise, Twilight found Trixie gaping at her as well. To her, it meant that Trixie wasn’t expecting to live with Twilight. “The Great and Powerful Trixie absolutely REFUSES to live with the weak and puny Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie exclaimed. “Excuse me?” Twilight scoffed. “First of all, this is my house, and second, ‘weak and puny’? What’s that supposed to mean?” “It means that the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magical power surpasses Twilight Sparkle’s.” “Whether that is true or not, I still saved your life!” Trixie’s face turned bright red in rage. “T-Trixie did not need your help! You just went ahead and decided by yourself that Trixie was far too weak to defend herself against an Ursa Minor!” “Trixie, think of it this way. I didn’t decide to save your life! I saved every citizen in Ponyville’s lives because they were being threatened by an Ursa Minor!” Twilight argued. As much as she didn’t like Trixie’s attitude, she also knew having to take Trixie in was inevitable, so she at least wanted to get on Trixie’s neutral side. However, Trixie didn’t seem to catch onto Twilight’s attempt to end the fight. “So suddenly, the Great and Powerful Trixie’s life doesn’t matter to you?!” Trixie fought back. “No, that’s not what I mea--” Twilight was cut off by the appearance of Princess Celestia, who trotted up to Trixie’s side. “So I see this is off to a rocky start,” said the Princess as she let out a sigh. Twilight blushed in embarrassment. She didn’t want the Princess to think that she was unable to handle taking in Trixie. Twilight desperately wanted to impress the Princess, and she knew fighting with her new roommate wasn’t the best way to show her capabilities. “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, although you may be surprised about who my new pupil is, I still wish for you to get along with Trixie, but I’m not expecting the friendship to start right now. Every pony must work in order to get what they want. Although you two may have some quarrels and disagreements, I can guarantee the both of you at least have one thing in common.” said the Princess. Twilight nodded, but Trixie still wasn’t pleased. “How could the Great and Powerful Trixie POSSIBLY have something in common with a pony like Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie said with a scoff. “Well you know, for starters, we’re both unicorns with magical powers.” Twilight replied. Trixie was taken aback by this remark. In Twilight’s eyes, it seemed like Trixie was unable to fight back and kept her mouth shut. “Yes, that’s a good start. Well, I must be going now. There’s some sort of flood going on in Manehatten that I must help resolve. In the meantime, Twilight Sparkle, I hope I can rely on you to explain to Trixie about her studies.” said the Princess. “You can count on me.” Twilight gave a warm smile to the Princess as the latter flew away. After Celestia left, Twilight turned her attention back to Trixie, who was trying to avoid meeting Twilight’s eyes. She sighed. She was left with no choice but to play nice with Trixie. “How about you come on in and take a shower?” Twilight offered the azure pony with a smile. Trixie scoffed. “Why? Do you think the Great and Powerful Trixie is going to dirty your poor books? Or are you simply pitying her? If that’s the case, then--” “No, that’s not it at all. I just thought that a warm shower might be a good place to wash yourself off and maybe start fresh. I don’t think you’re pitiful or dirty.” Trixie stared at Twilight with a skeptical look. “Trixie thinks Twilight Sparkle is trying to kiss up to the Princess by making yourself look good. Well, it’s not going to work. Keep in mind that Trixie is here solely to study and learn, not play around with you.” said Trixie as she stepped into the library. “However, since Twilight Sparkle absolutely insists on letting the Great and Powerful Trixie take a shower, then Trixie shall do so.” Twilight sighed and guided Trixie to the bathroom. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to put up with Trixie, but at that moment in time, for a split second (and ONLY a split second!), Twilight felt that having Trixie over wasn’t that bad after all. //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 1 (Trixie's POV) //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 1 (Trixie's POV) Trixie's Lesson on Friendship - Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 1 It was the morning after Trixie's arrival. The azure pony was sleeping soundly in the guest room next to Twilight's room. Her room was quite empty, but it was no surprise, considering she had been living in the woods prior to her stay. However, even though she didn't have a lot of possessions, she still had her starry hat and cape-- which were torn and ragged because she was unable to wash or re-sew them back together, but for some reason, she still felt compelled to keep them. Trixie tossed and turned on her bed, but it wasn't like she was having a nightmare or anything. In fact, she was dreaming. She dreamt that she had gotten her revenge on Twilight Sparkle by humiliating and exiling her from Ponyville. ... Dream world ... "Pah! Did you think really you could overpower the Great and Powerful Trixie?" Trixie said, followed by an evil cackle. Twilight was panting from exhaustion. The two unicorns had just finished a magic duel, which Trixie had won. She beat Twilight with a simple age spell-- a spell that nopony except Trixie could perform. Twilight collapsed onto the ground in defeat. Trixie walked over to the poor purple mare. "Any last words before I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, banish you from Ponyville?" Trixie smirked. Twilight looked up at Trixie with a look of fear in her eyes. After a long pause, she assumed Twilight was utterly speechless and took the silence as a cue to transport the purple pony out of civilization. Trixie's horn glowed out a beautiful blue color, sending out a blue aura that encased Twilight and flew her out of the town. Trixie let out a maniacal laugh as she proceeded to use her magic to summon a giant fish bowl to cover the whole town so that nopony was ever allowed to enter, nor leave. "Ponyville is under my control now!" declared Trixie. Just as the showmare was about to take off to plot her changes for Ponyville, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and much to her surprise, there stood Twilight Sparkle with a brave look on her face. Trixie let out a gasp. "How did you make your way back into Ponyville?!" Trixie asked Twilight with an angry tone in her voice. Twilight smiled at her. "With the power of friendship, of course!" the purple pony exclaimed. "Though, you wouldn't understand since you don't really have any friends." "Are you belittling the Great and Powerful Trixie?!" "No-- or at least, that wasn't my intention. I guess that last sentence came out differently than I had wanted it to. I really wanted to become friends, but gee, Trixie, you sure are making this hard for me." Twilight replied with a giggle. Trixie fumed. She didn't like Twilight's easy and happy-go-lucky attitude-- but that wasn't what angered Trixie. It was more like Trixie didn't believe that Twilight wanted to befriend her, especially after Trixie humiliated her. "Haha, very funny, Twilight Sparkle. Why would I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, want to befriend a commoner like you?" Trixie asked. Twilight shrugged. "I didn't think there'd have to be a reason to befriend somepony. I guess if you feel so strongly about not wanting to be friends, then I'll just drop the subject." Twilight replied as she turned her back on Trixie and walked away. Trixie blinked and stared at Twilight as she walked away. Trixie didn't expect Twilight to give up so easily. She had expected Twilight to know better than anyone that befriending somebody wasn't a simple as just *asking** the other party.* "F-fine! Trixie didn't want to become your friend anyway!" Trixie shouted back at her. "Trixie was right! She really didn't want to befriend me. Nopony would give up so easily. Twilight Sparkle must've been lying to me. This is exactly why Trixie does not want nor have friends. A simple lie can hurt a pony! ... Wait a minute, a lie?" Trixie thought to herself. ... Suddenly, the showmare woke up from her dream-- which still turned out to be a nightmare in the end. She sat up on her bed, and recapped what she experienced while she was asleep. "Did Twilight Sparkle really think she could win the Great and Powerful Trixie over just by asking her?" she thought to herself. "I always knew that pony wasn't as smart as everypony thought she was, but Trixie didn't expect her to be *that** oblivious!" Trixie scowled and gritted her teeth in rage. It wasn't like Trixie really didn't want to have friends. Somewhere in deep in her brain, she knew she was getting tired of being so lonely all the time. However, it was more like *Twilight was making it hard for Trixie to open up to her. Trixie was so entranced in her thoughts that she didn't hear the sound of knocking on her door. "Trixie, may I come in?" a familiar voice came through the door. Twilight was probably the last pony Trixie wanted to talk to, but nevertheless, she knew even if she objected, Twilight wouldn't listen. "The Great and Powerful Trixie allows you to enter her room." Trixie replied. Twilight opened the door, and walked right in. "Good morning. I see you're up pretty early. Did you get a good night's sleep?" Twilight asked with a big grin on her face. Just seeing Twilight Sparkle so happy aggravated the showmare. "Trixie's dream was wonderful until you came in." "Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" "Yes, you could say that you were the reason why the Great and Powerful Trixie woke up." "Well, if you're still tired, I guess I could let you sleep--" "Trixie is fine. She is no longer tired." Trixie replied sternly. Twilight was left speechless and the grin on her face dissipated. There was a moment of silence in the room, when suddenly... GROOOOOOWL... Trixie's stomach let out a cry of starvation. Twilight giggled as Trixie blushed in embarrassment. "I guess I'll just go and get Spike to make breakfast for us." Twilight smiled. "Spike...?" "Oh right! Spike was out of the house yesterday and came back when you fell asleep. I guess it's no surprise you don't know of his existence yet! He's a baby dragon, and my number one assistant." Twilight explained. "Twilight Sparkle keeps a DRAGON in her house?!" Trixie exclaimed. "A baby dragon, Trixie. You must be really hungry. It seems to be affecting your thought process. I better go find Spike. In the meantime, why don't you curl up with a nice book?" offered Twilight. "Very well then, since Twilight Sparkle does not seem to have anything else of interest in this house." Trixie replied. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Trixie got up and followed her. The two trotted downstairs into the main area of the library. Trixie took a seat on a comfy looking sofa with a 'Daring Do' book as Twilight headed for the kitchen. However, a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Just as Trixie was about to get up to answer the door, Twilight came speeding out of the kitchen. "Aha, uhh, Trixie? Do you mind leaving the room for juuuuust a moment?" Twilight asked nervously. Trixie gave her a puzzled look. Was Twilight too embarrassed to have whoever's visiting see Trixie in her house? Nevertheless, Trixie complied and moved into the kitchen with her book. At first, Trixie was planning on eavesdropping, but when she entered the kitchen, she found a little purple dragon flipping pancakes while humming a pleasant tune to himself. However, the dragon's back was facing towards Trixie, so he hadn't noticed her yet, much to the showmare's relief. Trixie didn't want to catch Spike's attention, so she just sat down on the floor, cautious about not making any noise. If Spike caught her, she'd most likely have to converse with him, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Instead, she wanted to hear what Twilight was saying to the mysterious pony at the door, so Trixie made every attempt to hide from Spike. Trixie watched Spike carefully. She wanted to make sure she was behind him and out of his line of sight at all times. Whenever Spike bobbed his head to the left, she'd do the same. Whenever he took a step back, she'd slide away as well. After repeating the process multiple times, she heard a familiar voice from behind. "What are you doing?" the voice asked. Trixie stopped in her tracks, turned around and found Twilight standing right behind her with a confused look on her face. It seemed that Trixie was too busy dancing around to have heard anything from Twilight's conversation. "Oh hey, Twilight! Just making breakfast. It'll be ready in a minute." Spike replied, still with his back turned. "No, not you." Twilight sighed. "I'm talking about Trixie." Almost immediately, Spike dropped the pan of pancakes onto the ground. "T-Trixie? You mean the arrogant and--" Spike stopped in his tracks as he turned around and found himself staring directly at the showmare. "I mean... the brave and uh, somewhat cowardly Trixie?" Trixie scoffed. "For your information, pesky little dragon, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not 'somewhat' cowardly--" Trixie found herself being cut off by an unfamiliar raspy voice. "Yeah, she's a total coward. You were overestimating her, Spike!" exclaimed a blue pegasus with an awesome rainbow colored mane. Rainbow Dash was hovering in the air right next to the kitchen window. "Rainbow Dash! Play nice." Twilight scolded Rainbow. "Oh come on, Twilight. Trixie was a total coward, and I doubt even you can deny it with a straight face. I still find it really funny how she tried to embarrass me, but Twilight, in the end, you showed her who's boss! I mean, even though she humiliated me in front of a huge crowd, I still didn't run away like somepony did. And to think, it was only an ursa minor! That's too funny!" Rainbow couldn't control her laughter. She was tumbling in the air while grabbing her stomach with her hooves. Trixie felt absolutely infuriated. "How could Twilight Sparkle be friends with such a... such a... fiend!" the azure pony thought to herself. Just as she was about to open her mouth to fight back, Twilight butted in. "Rainbow Dash, STOP IT! Sure, Trixie ran away from the ursa minor, but think about it, who wouldn't? The only reason why I didn't run away was because I had a resolve to save Ponyville! I wanted to protect my friends. With such hostility from strangers, Trixie probably didn't have the same thought train as I did. In fact, if I didn't have you girls as my friends, I might've ran away from the bear as well! Plus, it's not like you did anything either." Rainbow was taken aback by Twilight's argument. Trixie just stood there, mouth wide open from what Twilight had just said. "Twilight Sparkle is arguing for my sake..." she thought to herself. She shook her head. "She must be trying to get on my good side. Well, it's not going to work!" "I see. So I guess you must think I'm the coward." Rainbow Dash replied angrily. "No, Rainbow! That's not what I meant!" "Then what did you mean?!" Twilight was left speechless by Rainbow's rebuttal. Even Trixie knew that Twilight couldn't take back what she had said before. It was even possible that Rainbow thought Twilight had called her worthless. "That's what I thought. You know, Twilight, if you think you're so great, you should've ran away like Trixie and let us all get crushed under buildings. That's what 'Great and Powerful' ponies do, right?" Rainbow argued as she shot a piercing glare at Trixie. The showmare could feel Rainbow's glare going through her body like a powerful laser beam. Now furious, Trixie found herself shouting back at the cyan pegasus. "For your information, the Great and Powerful Trixie didn't run away with the intention of destroying the town of Ponyville. She ran to save her own life!" "But you still left the entire village to die! And also, who asked for your opinion?!" Rainbow shouted back. "Did Twilight Sparkle not explain this all to you just a few moments ago? She clearly stated that ponies like you were being so hostile, so Trixie had every right to run! On the other hoof, Twilight Sparkle chose to save her now clearly ungrateful pony friends because she wanted to protect you! But judging by how you all ran away, in Trixie's eyes, it seems that you didn't want to save her! You all did the same thing as Trixie. You all selfishly attempted to save your own lives!" Rainbow jumped back, absolutely speechless. Trixie just crossed her hooves and made a loud "hmph" noise. Rainbow, whose face turned into a deep shade of red, opened her mouth again as if to argue back, but Twilight got between the two. "ENOUGH!" the purple mare shouted. "It's not anypony's fault, and nopony ended up getting hurt that day either. Rainbow, you are not worthless, and Trixie, thank you for defending me, but you have no right to accuse my friends. Now that we've got that covered, let's just stop fighting, make up and become frie--" "Wait a minute. You think I can forgive this fraud with an unbearable attitude that easily? Nuh uh, Twilight. We can end the fight here, but there's no way I'm befriending this arrogant pony without an apology." Rainbow replied with a scoff. Twilight blinked a moment. She looked over to Trixie, and gave her a slight nudge. Trixie knew what Twilight wanted her to do. The silver maned mare sighed. "Fine, one apology, but don't expect more, ungrateful pegasus! ... The Great and Powerful Trixie supposes that she is... also unsatisfied with her own behaviour." said Trixie, who was clearly trying to avoid using the word, "sorry." "You can that an apology?" Rainbow said crossing her hooves. "The Great and Powerful Trixie said she would only apologize once. Don't get your hopes up." Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. We can call that an apology, but that doesn't mean I've accepted it. You know, I heard from Spike that Twilight was taking in a new pupil of Celestia's-- to study the magic of friendship. Assuming that this 'new pupil' is you, I'll be that one pony that'll get in your way, the one that's hard to break. When you're ready, I'll be in Cloudsdale, expecting a proper apology." said Rainbow with a smirk. Trixie gritted her teeth as she watched Rainbow fly away from the library. Finally, Trixie let out a sigh and turned towards Twilight, who had a smile on her face. "That was pretty impressive! Even though Rainbow's acting so hostile to you right now, she still implied that she's giving you a chance for her to warm up to you!" Twilight exclaimed. Trixie noticed something wrong in the purple pony's tone of voice. Clearly, Twilight was still upset over the fight against Rainbow Dash, but Trixie decided to ignore it for now. She had plans to bring it up later, though. The two trotted back into the kitchen, where Spike was still making breakfast. "Yes, well, speaking of which, the Great and Powerful Trixie demands for the logistics on what she must do in order to fulfil the Princess's request." ordered the showmare. "Oh yes, that's right. I almost forgot! Well then, allow me to explain. The Princess wants you to interact and hopefully, befriend citizens of Ponyville. Every time you encounter a friendship lesson to be learned, she wants you to write a letter to her, explaining your findings." said Twilight. "Is that it?" "Trixie, it's not that easy to come across a friendship lesson." "Maybe for somebody like Twilight Sparkle." "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" "Twilight, I think that's enough fighting for one morning." said Spike, who had just put down two plates of pancakes for the two mares. "Spike! We weren't fighting. We weren't fighting, right Trixie?!" Twilight shouted angrily at the azure pony, who jumped back in her seat in fear. She had no choice but to shake her head. "You see, Spike? You were worrying over nothing." "Take it easy, Twilight. I was only joking." Spike replied, with his mouth full of gems. "Oh... joking... right." Twilight sighed, and stabbed her fork into the pancakes. Trixie stared at Twilight for a moment. It was strange to see her so sad. Trixie considered saying something for a moment, but in the end, she decided not to. Within seconds, silence filled the room. Author's Note: Okay, first of all, yes I did incorporate part of 'Magic Duel' into Trixie's dream in the beginning. Second, do pay close attention to whenever Trixie begins dreaming, as I plan to use that to show some of Trixie's character development. Thirdly, yes, I know this was quite rushed, but I'm not exactly great at pacing, so feedback or constructive criticism would be great (and please be specific. Don't just say, "your pacing sucks" ... I mean, you're free to comment with whatever you want, but I'd still prefer for the readers to expand on what I did wrong. Don't be nice!) Finally, Twilight's overreaction at the end... Yes, it means something! She's not just in a bad mood because of that brief exchange with Rainbow. You guys will see later, but for now, just don't forget that Twilight is really sensitive when it comes to fighting (yay, I actually have a plot in mind! 8D). Expect a chapter tomorrow. For now, I'll be working on something else. I'll try to make these chapters longer as they go. But for now, thank you for up voting and favoriting. For those who gave me down votes, sorry that my writing style / story isn't working out for you, and it'd be appreciated if you explained why the story didn't suit you. Thanks! //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 2 (Twilight's POV) //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 2 (Twilight's POV) 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. //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 3 (Twilight's POV) //-------------------------------------------------------// Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 3 (Twilight's POV) Trixie's Lesson on Friendship - Lesson One: Welcome to Ponyville! Pt. 3 (Twilight) "Trixie, where are you going?" Twilight questioned the showmare, who was walking in the direction of the library. "Heading back, of course. Where did you think Trixie was going to go?" Trixie replied with a scoff. Twilight let out a concerned sigh before running in front of Trixie to block her way. "Oh, Trixie, you can't go back yet. You still have to introduce yourself to--" Trixie put a hoof up to cut the lavender pony off. Twilight shot her an unimpressed look. "Twilight Sparkle, The Great and Powerful Trixie has tagged along with you for the majority of the morning, and within that time, Trixie has only formally introduced herself to one of them, while the other pony-- the one with no decency-- came up and attacked Trixie. She feels that she needs some rest before going out again and meeting the rest of the mongrels that you call your friends." Trixie turned around again, and trotted off towards the library once again. Twilight was left speechless by Trixie's ignorance. She could feel a tiny bit of anger budding inside of her. Before long, Twilight decided to let it go, and followed the blue unicorn back to her home. When she arrived at the library, she saw Trixie idly standing around, tapping one of her hooves. "Uh, Trixie? Is something wrong?" Twilight asked, confused as to why Trixie was lounging around her house. "Trixie applauds you, Twilight Sparkle. You have figured out the mystery of the century. Of course, there's something wrong!" Trixie responded sarcastically. Twilight arched her eyebrow, and gave the showmare an expectant look, hoping that she'd show what was bothering her. Fortunately, Trixie got the clue. She rolled her eyes, and proceeded to pack a kick towards the direction of the library, and sure enough, a force field appeared. Twilight was caught by surprise. "What the-- I didn't do that!" the lavender pony replied. She went over and tapped the barrier, which, once again, revealed itself to the two unicorns' eyes. However, this time, Twilight noticed that the force field was a light sky blue color. Finally, Twilight put two and two together, and figured it out. "RARITY!" she shouted. Sure enough, the barrier in front of her began to collapse. Twilight held her chin up, feeling slightly accomplished for figuring it out. She looked over at Trixie, who seemed like she was trying to look unimpressed by filing her non-existent hoof nails. Twilight decided to ignore her, and opened the door of her home. As soon as she walked in, she was saw her five best friends. Four of them sat on the ground, while Rainbow Dash was in the air with her back facing the ground. Twilight looked shocked. Oh, Trixie's not going to like THIS... Finally, Pinkie decided to break the silence. She bounced up to Twilight, and shoved a tray of delectables in her face. "Hiya, Twilight! Would you like some cupcakes? Some of them may look like they imploded, but don't worry! They all taste-- whoa!" Pinkie was shoved aside by Rarity, who looked aggravated. "Darling, Rainbow told us the whole thing. Where is that uncouth ruffian? I need to give her a piece of my mind!" Rarity growled. "Rarity! Don't call her that! She's here to study the magic of friendship, and she can't make any friends if all of you are unwilling to put the past behind yourselves!" Twilight huffed. Applejack trotted up to Twilight's side, and put a hoof around her. "Well, Ah, for one, think she's changed a lil bit. She didn't try anythin' 'round the barn, and plus, she gave me an apology. Ah personally think everypony deserves a second chance," said Applejack. "I don't think she's that bad either! I really hope we can be friends!" Pinkie replied, still happily bouncing around the room. "She hasn't done anything to me, so I don't see--" Fluttershy found herself being cut off by Rainbow. "I don't get why you guys are accepting her! She's probably like, the biggest loud mouth in ALL of Equestria! She's so arrogant and inconsiderate, and plus, she's a braggart!" Rainbow fought back in an attempt to get her friends to rethink about their decisions. "Sound like somepony familiar?" Applejack snickered. Rainbow's face turned red. "Well I, for one, agree with Rainbow Dash! She ruined my hair! She turned it green! She EMBARRASSED me!" Rarity cried. Pinkie giggled. "Oh, Rarity! Come on! I still remember when you stuck your head in a garbage can! Ooh, ooh! And the time you thought... a gigantic boulder... was a diamond!" Pinkie said in between her laughter. Rarity's face began to turn red as well. The white unicorn turned away, speechless. "Well then, ah say it's settled! We'll all give Trixie another chance before we're so quick to judge, agreed?" Applejack declared. Pinkie and Twilight nodded without hesitation, while the other three were more reluctant. However, after a moment of thought, they all agreed. "Well, Twi, bring 'er in!" Applejack commanded. Twilight stepped outside of the library, ready to call Trixie in. However, she saw the showmare was standing next to a baby carriage, performing silly magic tricks in front of it. Twilight looked over at the mother of the foal, and saw a big smile on her face. I never knew Trixie was good at tending little foals like that... Twilight thought to herself. Before long, she could feel her own lips curling into a grin. "Well, looky there. Looks like she's definitely changed for the better!" Applejack exclaimed. Twilight turned her head around, and saw all five her best friends, staring at the same sight. They all watched Trixie for a while. When she was finished with her performance, she waved to the mother and walked towards the library. However, Twilight and her friends didn't react fast enough. "W-what were you all doing?" Trixie shouted from a distance. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie squealed simultaneously. "Watching you, of course," Rainbow Dash teased. Twilight saw the showmare begin to blush. "At least The Great and Powerful Trixie did something kind and endearing for another pony while you all sat there, watching and doing nothing!" Trixie gloated. "What was that?! You wanna fight, missy?!" Rainbow growled. She was on her hind legs, pretending to throw punches with her front hooves. "Very funny, rainbow one. You think you can win against magic?" Trixie challenged. "Bring it on!" Rainbow shouted as she charged towards the showmare. "Oh, Celestia," Twilight face hoofed herself.