Of Two Minds

by CTVulpin

Chapter 4

Falling asleep with a case of Multiple Mental Occupancy proved to be less of a hassle than either Trixie or Twilight expected, but it wasn’t easy either. For the sake of appearances, the double-minded blue mare bedded down in Trixie’s stage-wagon which, while not truly uncomfortable, was not the kind of place Twilight was used to sleeping. It took her a bit longer than usual to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep, and even being the Passenger mind – a status that kept being changed up – didn’t seem to help. On top of that, the pair’s thoughts kept waking the other one up. Eventually, though, they were both able to drift off and get some real sleep.

Trixie was pleased to find that she was in control when she woke up the next morning; there had been so much control swapping the previous night that she’d lost track of her position. A chill ran down her spine as her thoughts turned unbidden toward the possibility that she and Twilight might begin to lose their sense of individuality if they remained the way they were for too long. Chasing that thought away, she stood up, located her hairbrush and hoof mirror, and began fixing what was probably the worst bed-head she’d had in months. Once her mane was styled to her satisfaction, she levitated her cape onto her back and tied it on. As she picked up her hat, a thought occurred to her and she decided to speak it out loud. “Trixie does not relish the prospect of spending the entire day indoors waiting for your pet to burp up a letter Twilight,” she said. Twilight didn’t respond right away, causing Trixie to frown in disappointment. After a few more seconds of silence from her mental tenant, Trixie began to get worried. “Twilight? Twilight Sparkle! Answer me!”

‘Muh… huh?’ the echoing mind-voice of the other mare sounded groggy, ‘Oh, morning Trixie. What’s going on?’

Trixie heaved a huge sigh of relief. Oh thank Celestia, she thought, You were just still asleep.

‘You were worried that something had happened to me?’ Twilight asked, ‘How sweet.’

“I was merely afraid of having to tell your mentor that your mind had become lost or something,” Trixie replied with an air of unconcern as she floated her hat onto her head, “Now, to see about breakfast.” She went to her little pantry box, which was beginning to run a little empty. She dug out a container of oats and regarded it for a moment.

‘Spike’ll be making breakfast in the library if he’s awake,’ Twilight noted.

Trixie lowered the oats and grabbed her mirror so she could shoot Twilight a glance. “Do you think he’d be willing to feed me?” she asked.

‘He’ll feed me,’ Twilight pointed out.

That is true, Trixie thought, and it would be nice to have a hot breakfast for once. She blinked and let Twilight take control of their body. ‘However,’ she added as Twilight peeked opened the top half of the wagon door to look around, ‘since you were in control for dinner last night, I insist on being the one who actually eats breakfast.’

“We both taste the food you know,” Twilight muttered, and then sighed and added, “But if it’ll keep you happy…” Twilight couldn’t see any ponies nearby, so she opened the lower door and stepped down to the ground. After closing and locking the wagon – all by magic to continue acclimating to the magic in Trixie’s body – she walked around to the library door and stepped inside. She found Spike in the kitchen in the act of hopping down from the step-stool in front of the stove with a plate in his hand. “Good morning Spike,” Twilight said cheerfully.

“Morning Twixie,” Spike replied with equal cheerfulness as he set his plate down on the kitchen table, “I hope you’re in the mood for wheat waffles, because I’ve got everything you’ll need for them set out.”

“Twixie?” Twilight said, giving the dragon a confused look.

“Yep,” Spike said, returning to the counter to reposition his step-stool in front of the waffle iron, “It’s such a hassle keeping track of which one of you’s in control, so I decided to combine your names into one that I can use for both of you.” He poured some batter onto the waffle iron and clicked it shut.

“It sounds more like you just replaced the ‘r’ in Trixie’s name with a ‘w,’” Twilight said.

“Well,” Spike said, “It’s either that or Trixie Sparkle.” Twilight frowned slightly. She wasn’t pleased, but she didn’t want to ruin Spike’s good mood at the moment, considering her current arrangement with Trixie.

“Speaking of Trixie,” the unicorn said, “I’m going to let her run things while we eat. Try to behave.” And that goes for both of you, she added mentally. Spike simply nodded his acknowledgment as he busied himself with moving the completed waffle onto another plate. Hoping she wasn’t about to unleash some kind of storm, Twilight closed her eyes and let Trixie take control of the body. The showmare opened her eyes and wrapped the plated waffle in her telekinesis magic. Spike cast a glowering glance at her, but released the plate into her control and turned back to the waffle iron.

“Thank you,” Trixie said, setting the plate in front of herself, “By the way, Trixie is willing to answer to the nickname. It’s rather cute sounding, like a little foal trying to get Trixie’s attention.”

“Thanks,” Spike said dryly, “Good to know that somepony approves.” Trixie smiled in satisfaction as she began to top her waffle with some berries Spike had set out in a bowl earlier. She paused when she laid eyes on the plate Spike had placed on the table when she and Twilight had entered. “What, pray tell, is that?” she asked, pointing at the yellow, vegetable-studded mass sitting on the plate.

“Huh?” Spike said, glancing over his shoulder, “Oh. It’s just an omelet. You know, slightly scrambled eggs with stuff in them?”

Trixie’s hoof recoiled from the plate in horror. “Eggs?” she exclaimed, “As in, bird eggs?”

“Chicken eggs,” Spike clarified, fishing his new waffle off the iron, “Fluttershy gives me the ones her chickens lay that she can’t sell to anypony else.” Trixie found herself unable to respond, as her mouth was hanging open while one eye twitched in an expression of disgust. Spike raised an eyebrow as he turned around and saw her look. “What? I’m a dragon,” he said, “I eat all sorts of stuff: grass, flowers, eggs, gemstones, lemon worm muffins…” Twilight gave herself an imaginary face-hoof as Trixie continued to simply stare. “Besides,” the dragon continued, taking his seat across from the blue unicorn, “Eggs are used in all kinds of baked goods: cupcakes, muffins, bread, and donuts just to name a few. You did know that, right?”

“I… I…” Trixie stuttered, regaining the use of her mouth at last, “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

‘Well I haven’t,’ Twilight said, a little impatiently, ‘so move aside and let me eat.’ Trixie complied without saying a word, and as soon as Twilight was in control, she gave Spike a slightly disapproving look. “That wasn’t very nice you know,” she said.

“What?” the baby dragon said innocently, “I was trying to help her understand. It’s not my fault that she’s obviously never taken the trouble to find out what goes into her food.” Twilight wasn’t sure if she completely believed that explanation, but Spike’s expression seemed genuine to her, so she let it slide and applied herself to eating her waffle.

---

By the time breakfast was over, Trixie had come to grips with the idea of edible eggs thanks to being exposed to Twilight’s casual acceptance of the three omelets Spike had consumed during the meal alongside his share of the waffles. Twilight had tried to help her along by drawing parallels between the use of eggs and cow milk, but Trixie simply couldn’t see her logic. To the showmare, milk was produced specifically to provide nutrition, whereas eggs seemed only a step away from eating the bird itself. Faced with that logic, and surprised to be out-done, Twilight had backed off and left Trixie to her own thoughts. Now that breakfast was over and she wasn’t distracted by hunger, Trixie’s mind returned to the thought she’d been voicing before Twilight had awakened. ‘Twilight,’ she said, ‘I’ve been thinking; it might be best if we leave town until the Princess can restore us.’ Twilight stumbled in surprise and lost her grip on the waffle iron, which she’d been the in the middle of returning to its place in the cupboards, only to restart her magic and catch it a split-second later. 'Impressive,’ Trixie said, ‘Your magic is progressing quite well, my student.’

Thanks, Twilight replied flatly, putting the waffle iron away. “Spike,” she said to her assistant, “Trixie and I need to have a talk. Do you mind cleaning up by yourself?”

“No problem Twixie,” Spike said, busying himself with washing the dishes. Twilight shot him a frowning glance at the nickname, and she thought she heard Trixie’s self-satisfied chuckled in the back of her mind. She went out into the main room of the library and made a quick circuit to insure the door was locked and that nopony was hanging near the windows or by Trixie’s wagon before sitting down by the central table.

“You want to go out?” she asked, staring at the statue in the center of the table and imagining Trixie’s face on it, “I thought you said you’d rather stay here, out of sight, rather than having to spend a long time as the passenger mind.”

‘What, is Trixie not allowed to change her mind?’ Trixie snapped. ‘I’ve put more thought into things since then,’ she continued in a level tone, ‘and I’ve realized that there isn’t much reason for me to take control if we simply sit here. You still need to work on adapting to my magic, and if I’m in control I’ll probably just end up getting on your… assistant’s nerves. Besides, if we go somewhere else we won’t have to worry as much about other ponies catching on to our present predicament.’

“If we left, we’d have to take Spike with us,” Twilight pointed out, “not to mention my body; I want to know the minute Princess Celestia’s ready for us. And what do you mean by ‘we won’t have to worry about other ponies catching on?’”

‘I can easily pass off your moments of control as part of a routine,’ Trixie said, ‘I am the Great and Powerful Trixie after all, one of the best actresses in all of Equestria. And being able to get back on the road performing for other ponies will do a world of good for my patience with Spike, I’m sure.’

“Even so,” Twilight said, not sure if she believed the entirety of Trixie’s claim, “I promised Pinkie Pie I’d help her out with Gilda. Even if I hadn’t made a Pinkie Pie Swear over it, I still refuse to back out of a promise to a friend.” Trixie fell silent, and after a moment Twilight stood up and walked to one of the bookshelves, considering the matter resolved and dropped. She grabbed a book on a high shelf in her magic and began pulling it out when Trixie spoke up with the mental approximation of a shout.

‘Trixie demands some fresh air!’ Properly startled, Twilight lost control of her telekinesis and the book fell onto her head. The strict and seemingly arbitrary rules of Multiple Mental Occupancy translated the involuntary, pain-induced closing of her eyes as the signal to allow for a control swap, leaving Trixie as the one to rub the bump forming behind her horn. “Right,” she said with a triumphant grin, “my larder is running a bit low, so I’ll settle for a simple trip to the market at the moment.”

She made it halfway to the door before Twilight brought up a point that gave her pause: ‘What sort of treatment do you expect the ponies at the market to give you?’

“I would think they’d be willing to sell to any pony with bits to spend,” Trixie replied, but her voice betrayed her uncertainty. At best they’ll just overcharge me… she admitted silently, frowning at the front door, ingrates… Twilight fought back the desire to come to Ponyville’s defense, since Trixie’s reaction was what she’d been shooting for. Trixie lowered her head and began to pace, deep in thought. Twilight tried to follow along, but the showmare quickly lost her in a mess of half-formed ideas. The general tone was easy to determine: how to make use of Twilight’s standing in the community despite Trixie’s distinct appearance. “Twilight,” Trixie said at last, removing her cape and hat, “Do you have any experience with illusion spells?”