Nightmares

by unoservix

Chapter 12: Uncharted

Nightmares
———

Chapter 12: Uncharted

———

It seemed even the crickets had gone silent as Trixie pulled away from Twilight, buried her face in the purple unicorn's chest, and sobbed. Twilight did nothing, shocked into speechlessness. Around the clearing, no one else moved. Rainbow Dash finally managed to blink. "Did I...did I just see what I thought I saw?"

"If you saw Trixie plant a big ol' smooch right on Twilight's lips, then yes indeedy!" Pinkie chirped. "Ooh! This means I need to throw a 'Twilight Has a Girlfriend' Party!"

Applejack immediately stuffed a hoof in Pinkie's mouth. Fluttershy backed away awkwardly. "Um, I'll just, uh, well, I'll just, you know, leave you two alone...to, um...to talk?"

Twilight made no indication that the words had registered as her friends slowly backed away, and left her with a sobbing blue unicorn.

At the edge of the clearing, Spike immediately buried his face in his hands. "Oh, great, now they're gonna be impossible to live with."

"Oh, Spike, don't be ridiculous," Rarity said with a laugh she deeply hoped didn't sound too nervous, "I wouldn't make too much of that. One little kiss in the throes of passion doesn't mean much—"

"Didn't we just have a conversation about this, like, two hours ago?" Applejack spoke up.

Rarity pouted. "Fine. Well, I guess now we're just going to have to get over it, aren't we?"

Fluttershy frowned and fidgeted. "Um, well, if this all makes Twilight happy, I don't see why we should be so upset about it."

Rainbow whirled around in disbelief. "Y-You think Trixie is going to make her happy? Am I the only one who remembers what a giant boastful tool she was?"

"No, darling, you're not," Rarity sighed, "but if this is how it's going to be—"

Everyone went silent as Spike hopped up onto a tree trunk with an irritated look on his face. "Okay, look, I'm tired and I wanna go to bed, so I'm gonna make this quick." He crossed his arms. "I know better than anyone that Trixie is a pain in the neck. But all of you know that Twilight wants to be with her. And apparently Trixie does too. So if that's what it takes to make them both happy, well, whatever, I'll just learn to live with it." He frowned. "And since you're all Twilight's friends, I hope you do too. Okay? Cool." He gave them all a thumbs-up. "Glad we had this talk. I'm going to bed." And with that he hopped off the tree trunk and plopped down on the ground with a sigh.

No one said anything else as they stood back and watched Trixie and Twilight in the clearing.

———

It was another half an hour before Trixie managed to stop crying and just fall asleep, allowing Twilight to lift her up and carry her back home. And Twilight could hardly blame her. It was another exhausting night—and Twilight herself felt completely drained as she staggered into her own bed.

And sleep wasn't going to come anytime soon, because now her head was pulsing with so many thoughts and feelings it was hopeless to make sense of it all. When she thought back to what had just happened, all she could think of was the soothing warmth of Trixie's lips against hers and the thrilling rush of the feeling that this was what it had been like for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence—this was what it was like to be in love, and to be loved.

And none of that made any sense at all. The rest of Twilight Sparkle, logical, rational, ever-knowledge-seeking, had been knocked back on her heels, but it would not be shut out while her heart giggled like an idiot and turned her brain into mush at the memory of Trixie's kiss. Because none of this even made sense. Surely if she really was falling in love with Trixie, she would have recognized it sooner. Surely she would know why she felt this way in the first place. The books—like those trashy romance novels Rarity liked so much—all seemed to think it was just a mystical sort of...occurrence, impossible to explain or predict, and all you could do was be swept along by its irresistible tide. And Twilight couldn't stand that. There had to be some explanation.

She screwed her eyes shut and thought back to the last time she'd thought about being in love. That had been after her brother's wedding, and for a while it had gnawed on her a bit, wondering what it was like to have those feelings—and to be the object of those feelings. And, well, now she knew, and it was a crazy and dizzying experience.

To be the object of those feelings. She turned her thoughts towards Trixie—and only with great effort managed to get past the giddy memory of her kiss. Because that was something that also made no sense. It wasn't that long ago that Trixie hated her guts—and if she still couldn't do magic, then that must mean the Nightmare was still around, and that meant there was still something in Trixie's heart to nourish it. Which meant nothing was making sense now. Did that mean Trixie wanted to be something more? And as soon as she thought of that, her thoughts immediately turned towards what it would be like if Trixie was something more—and that made her face flush red and her brain started to go all mushy again and she could only roll over, groan, and try to get her thoughts under control.

"Stupid feelings," she grumbled, and meant every word. Feelings needed to make more sense.

The princess had told her to try to see things from Trixie's perspective, and so Twilight shut her eyes and tried to do just that. No friends, all alone, with only Twilight there to offer her compassion and company—and so did that mean Trixie had fallen in love with the one pony who seemed to be on her side?

Twilight cringed. If that was true...what did that make her?

———

"So, is it just me," grumbled Razor Edge, "or was that a complete and utter failure?"

Nightmare Inferno stood with his minions deep in the Everfree Forest, flames flickering around the tall black stallion as his hooded followers picked branches and leaves off themselves. Lapis Lazuli watched him carefully, expecting an explosion of fiery rage—but instead it was nothing but stone-faced calm. It baffled her, as surely as Twilight Sparkle's unthinkable explosion of power baffled her. Hadn't their plan been foiled? Weren't they worse off now than they had been before ever setting foot in that blasted library? Had this whole sideshow with Trixie been for naught after all?

Inferno arched an eyebrow at Lazuli's quizzical expression. "What?"

"M-Master, I can't help but think that Razor Edge is right. What good possibly came out of any of this tonight?"

The trees rustled with a breeze, and then a sixth hooded pony landed in front of Inferno with a book under one of her legs. Whiplash threw off her hood and proudly presented her prize to him.

"Well, this, for starters," he chuckled, and hefted it with a puff of magic.

Lazuli looked around the clearing, and for once agreed with their disbelieving stares. "But...I thought we came out here to—"

"Lazuli," Inferno cut her off, with a crackle of his flaming mane, and the tall blue unicorn immediately went silent. "Do you remember that big hullabaloo over the royal wedding a few months ago? Where the changelings invaded Canterlot and all?" Lazuli and the others slowly nodded. "And I'm sure, being such smart ponies, you also remember how that whole mess ended—with a repulsion spell powered beyond all reasonable equine limits to fling the entire army out of Equestria."

More nods ensued, and Lazuli frowned. "But...how was Twilight Sparkle able to conjure up so much power?"

"The same way Princess Cadence and what's-his-name got rid of the changelings," Inferno said with a shrug. "A spell amplified by the arcane power of love."

Silence descended over Inferno's minions, before Pollux finally twitched. "The power of love?" he sputtered. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Inferno whirled around with a roar of fire. "Well, stupid or not, it happened here—and I have no intention of sticking around watching someone try to figure out how to wield a power she never knew she possessed."

Lazuli cringed as something else clicked in her mind. "Then...that means our failure here was even more devastating! If she can access this new font of power—"

"Oh, all of you, get over it," Inferno snapped, and the flames roared up from nowhere to surround the seven shivering ponies. "Opportunities amid obstacles. Isn't that what I'm always telling you? I would indeed like our pesky Element of Magic over there dead as much as the rest of you do, but this plan didn't work—and yet we've still got enough cards to make everything turn out fine."

Barbell stared at him incredulously. "Um, boss, what opportunity could we possibly have here?"

Inferno glowered back. "You'll know soon enough. You and your minions will stay here and keep an eye on our little lovebirds—and you will keep a low profile. And you," he turned towards Lazuli, "are coming with me back to Canterlot. We have some excavating to do."

———

If nothing else, Twilight Sparkle was right about one thing: sleep never came. She spent the rest of the night in a daze. Eventually her brain managed to just wear itself down into incoherent, intermittent bursts of giddiness and gnawing anxiety, punctuated by the occasional semi-conscious doze, and by the time the sun came up the only thing that could keep the exhausted unicorn functioning was a pot of coffee the size of Zecora's cauldron.

Bleary-eyed Spike shoved a plate of oats into her chest once she got downstairs. "Trixie's food."

"Wh-Why can't you bring it to her?" Twilight sputtered.

Spike stared back. "I think you two need to have a little talk." He gestured to the coffee pot. "Besides, I'm hanging out there, where the elixir of life is."

Twilight blanched. "Spike, you are way too young to be drinking coffee."

"I'm way too young to be telling our friends that they need to try to be happy for you too, but hey, who's keeping track?"

"What?" Twilight blinked. "My friends—my friends! They were there too! And—oh no, they saw—"

"Yeah, the look on your face was totally priceless," Spike said with a smirk.

Twilight whimpered. "They're not happy...?"

"One conversation at a time, Twi. I think you should go to talk to Trixie first." He pointed up the stairs. "The rest of us can wait."

Defeated by superior logic, Twilight reluctantly headed upstairs with Trixie's breakfast drifting after her on a cloud of magic. The blue unicorn was already there and immediately sought to avoid Twilight's gaze. The very air itself seemed to go still in awkward anticipation. Twilight grimaced. This was going to be difficult.

"Um," she started intelligently, "how are you feeling, Trixie?"

Trixie glanced at her quickly. "O-Okay."

"That's good..."

Silence descended over them both again. Twilight squirmed as she set the plate down on the nightstand.

"I, um," Trixie began, "I...don't know why I...kissed you last night." Twilight blinked in surprise and her heart began to feel like lead. "I was just...so worked up, and I looked at you and it...well, it felt like the right thing to do, and..."

Twilight blinked away her tears. "Y-You mean you didn't..."

"Well—"

"But—"

They both stopped and almost seemed to sigh simultaneously.

"It's just," Trixie resumed, "I didn't know what else to do. And the things you were saying sounded like...well, like that's what you meant."

"But it is what I meant!" Twilight blurted out, and immediately felt stupid.

"...oh..." Trixie shuffled her hooves—and then she eyed Twilight carefully one more time, before she sat up, groaned, and shook her head. "Oh for heaven's sake, look at me, stumbling over my words like a helpless foal. No wonder I didn't get much sleep last night."

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "You too, huh?"

"Let's make this simple," Trixie said with a sigh. "I...I don't really know how I feel about you, Twilight Sparkle. Because you're still the one that wound up ruining my life, but then you came back and saved my life. And you keep protecting me and showing me compassion and, well, I can't really forget that either."

"But the Nightmare's still there," Twilight added, ears flat, tears welling in her eyes. "So—"

"So I'm all messed up," Trixie said, "and I don't know what to think about you."

She looked back up at Twilight, saw the tears in her eyes, and smiled hesitantly.

"But...I'm willing to give it a shot."

Twilight blinked. "It...?"

"It. You. Us." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come here, you big dope—" and with that she yanked Twilight close by the mane and kissed her again.

Twilight sputtered incoherently for a moment, her face bright red. "O-Oh. Oh! Okay! I get it!" She smiled brightly. "Well, yes, let's...um..." She blinked again and her smile fell. "Err, what do we do now?"

Trixie tapped her horn. "Get my magic back?"

"Oh! Yes! That! Of course! Yes, yes, we'll figure this out. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to live without your magic. I'll find out what's wrong, and we'll fix it. I promise."

Twilight skipped back to her books with her heart practically beating out of her chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind all those intellectual doubts about the origin and the future of their relationship remained—and the way she'd behaved just now—but right now that was all completely irrelevant. Right now she was in love. And right now...

Right now, she needed to go tell her friends.

———

Princess Celestia had no idea when her most faithful student had gotten so saccharine.

She rolled up the latest letter from Twilight Sparkle and set it on her desk with a sigh. After all these years she'd almost come to look at Twilight as a daughter, and that made a strange maternal sort of possessive streak run through her mind at the thought of her little Twilight getting a marefriend. Of course, it was hardly her business to go prying into that—and besides, once she told Shining Armor about it, he would probably be much better at the "overprotective family member" role anyways.

Sickeningly sweet as her latest missive might have been, the solar princess had not failed to notice the hint of trepidation laced into her student's words. And it was easy to see why; Twilight had openly confessed that she didn't know how she'd up and fallen in love with Trixie, and this whole experience was new to her—and frightening, as it would be to any pony.

Celestia sighed as she stepped out onto her balcony and watched her sun in the morning sky. Ordinarily she would leave this sort of guidance to Twilight's actual mother—but with that Nightmare running around, that moved this little situation from a matter for mother and daughter to a matter of national security. At that, the princess felt a pang of guilt for having let Twilight take this burden onto her shoulders—but then, Twilight Sparkle had never been meant for ordinary things anyways. Ordinary fillies didn't accidentally turn their parents into potted plants.

As for the Nightmare, Twilight did seem confident that it was contained—if confused as to why it was still present in someone who purportedly had sort of perhaps fallen in love with her. At least if the Nightmare was contained, that was potentially one less problem Celestia had to worry about.

The other one, after all, was even more worrisome—because Twilight had dutifully reported Nightmare Inferno's return in her library. After Luna had briefly encountered it in Canterlot, Inferno had seemingly vanished, leaving the Royal Guard in a state of near-panic; then he turned up again in Ponyville, threatening to draw out Nightmare Storm. And he had retreated almost as soon as Twilight's friends had arrived, so obviously he knew that the Elements of Harmony could destroy him—and obviously he had the sense to avoid Twilight and her friends. Celestia had placed the Elements under triple guard just to make sure, but with no idea where he'd gone and no idea what he was plotting, she was at a loss for what to do next. They'd have to burn down all of Equestria to find him—and that was just what he wanted.

Instead, she paused just long enough to send off a quick reply to Twilight. Hopefully her instructions not to pursue Inferno under any circumstances would prove explicit enough for her to get the message.

The day's work was yet to begin, and so Celestia sat down on her balcony, closed her eyes, and focused on the next important task of the day. Her horn began to glow, her wings spread, and sinuous tendrils of magic reached up from the tip and wafted down towards the ground, far below. The very mountain itself creaked and groaned under her touch, but she pushed her way through regardless, sending the curls of light snaking down through the rock until they reached the point of greatest resistance.

It still felt solid and strong, like smooth, polished marble. After almost a thousand years, the barrier still held. And yet even from within that unblemished magical surface, Celestia could feel heat and darkness radiating. The barrier might perhaps be easier to maintain with Luna's help—but that was yet another task she would have to entrust to her sister.

It made her guilty, as she withdrew her magic and opened her eyes again, that she should hesitate at the idea of entrusting something to her sister. It certainly wasn't rational. Luna was back for good and had amply proven herself trustworthy. Nightmare Moon was decidedly a thing of the past. But old wounds healed slowly.

Celestia turned off from the balcony and strode back inside. Another lesson her student would have to learn.

———

Twilight Sparkle blinked in confusion as Rarity extended a hoof with a look of sheer superiority on her face. All of her friends were gathered around the library's table with steaming drinks, and the tension hung in the air like early morning fog.

"Five bits was our wager, ladies," Rarity said—and immediately, Twilight's ears went flat as Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack each begrudgingly deposited five gold coins into Rarity's hoof.

"You bet on it?" Twilight sputtered.

"Darling, please, it's been obvious for weeks that you've taken a fancy to her," Rarity scoffed as she counted her winnings. "The only question was when you were going to tell us. And of course, my keen sense for the romantic mind told me it would be as soon as possible—that is, today."

"Couldn't wait 'til Thursday, could ya, Twi," grumbled Applejack.

"Now now, dearest Applejack, don't be a sore loser."

Twilight's annoyed look faded away. "Spike said you weren't happy..."

The disgruntled looks and smug superiority drained away into nervousness and awkwardness. "It's not that we're not happy, darling," Rarity started, "we were just—"

"Surprised," Fluttershy spoke up.

"Unless this is, like, the most epic prank ever pulled in the history of pranking!" Pinkie Pie exploded, complete with a shower of confetti. She paused. "Is it?"

"No!" Twilight wailed. "I know this is weird, girls, but—"

"Heck yeah it's weird," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Twilight frowned. "You really aren't happy?"

Everyone fidgeted for a moment. "Ah'll tell ya plain, Twi," Applejack sighed at last, "ah think Trixie's a git. So if yer crushin' on her, ah reckon it's fair for me to think y'all need yer head looked at." She shrugged. "But ah guess ah can't stop ya, so, y'know, just do yer thing an' try not to get hurt."

Twilight's ears flattened. "That was a ringing endorsement, Applejack."

"Shoot, you would'a known if ah'd lied anyways."

"Wait, I have a question!" Pinkie exclaimed, leaping into the air and waving every limb.

"Down the hall, second door on the left," Twilight said automatically—

"No, not that!" She landed with a plop. "There's something here I don't understand!"

Rainbow frowned. "If this is about where foals come from, I am not having that conversation with you again."

"Oh, silly," giggled Pinkie, "everyone knows they're grown in vats in a giant subterranean complex deep underneath Canterlot."

Silence descended over the table as all eyes awkwardly bored into an oblivious Pinkie.

"Okay, so mean old Nightmare Stormy Pants is only there because Trixie really really really really really really hates Twilight, right?" Fluttershy and Twilight hesitantly nodded. "But now Trixie is all, 'oh Twilight, ma petit choux-fleur, let us make ze romance!'" and she twirled around the room with her hooves on her shoulders, little red hearts drifting after her and popping.

Twilight pointedly ignored how all the blood in her body seemed to have gone to her face. "Pinkie, you had better be going somewhere with this."

"But it's weird!" Pinkie exclaimed. "'cuz that would mean she hates you and she loves you! At the same time! And, gosh, that's crazy even to me!"

"That is rather odd," Rarity agreed.

"And it's why I'm worried," Rainbow Dash said. "Because there's still something in her that wants to hurt you!" She wrinkled her nose. "And 'cuz she's Trixie."

Twilight frowned, and the look on her face sent a bolt of guilt racing across the room. "That's what confuses me too," she said, "because I don't want to think that this is all a lie to get me to let my guard down." She wiped away a tear. "That would be too cruel."

"Well," Fluttershy said with a reassuring smile, "I don't think she's doing that. And I'm very happy for you, Twilight." And with that she took a sip of tea.

The others looked around at each other and practically dared each other to disagree with Fluttershy. "It goes without saying, of course," Rarity said carefully, "that we're thrilled for you and we wish you the greatest happiness—"

"Even if yer taste in mares is terrible," Applejack added.

"But we are still very happy for you, Applejack," Rarity growled back, and then put on a smile. "We just don't want you to get hurt."

Pinkie popped up from parts unknown with a mile-wide grin on her face. "I can still throw you a party, right?"

Twilight smiled back dimly. "Thanks, girls."

———

Together, they picked their way through the winding darkness of the caves. The passages snaked their way ever deeper into the mountain, ever further below illustrious Canterlot, with the eerie rock walls lit up by the occasional torch and the flickering flames of Nightmare Inferno's mane and tail. At his side, Lapis Lazuli watched it all, never ceasing to feel some wonder—and some fear. These well-trod paths, tunnels with high ceilings and twisting paths liberally dotted with torches, were more than just abandoned quarries. This was a labor of centuries.

She glanced guiltily at Inferno. "Master," she said, "I must confess I'm not sure how you can stay so optimistic."

"And why's that?"

"We've tried to kill Twilight Sparkle twice now and failed both times," Lazuli said, "and now our other Nightmare is slipping away from us. Now our advantages of surprise and anonymity are gone. And we are still no closer to finding a way down into the darkest depths of this volcano." She pursed her lips. "We are running out of time."

Inferno arched an eyebrow. "Time, you say?"

"Yes, master."

The black stallion chuckled. "I guess you could say that. Oh Lazzie, what am I going to do with you...?"

Lazuli bowed her head. "I apologize, master—"

"No no, I have a better idea." He stepped in front of her and the flames of Nightmare Inferno's magic began to swell around them both. Lazuli looked around in mounting fear. "See, this work of mine has been guided all along by what you might call a voice. A voice from deep within the mountain. A voice that has called to me for hundreds of years." Red sparks began to fly from his horn as he bent his head down towards Lazuli; their horns touched and the blue unicorn gasped as a jolt of magic went racing down her spine.

Her eyes went wide as something else exploded into her mind—a rumbling, an angry, dull roar from far below their hooves. Something down there filling her mind with every ounce of its straining, furious will. Something down there that was trapped—and wanted out.

"And now," Inferno said with a grin, "you can hear it too."

"M-Master," she stammered, "is this—?"

"It's him." He turned around, the flames went out, and Lazuli struggled to stay on her trembling hooves. "I've heard him calling to me for centuries now. Demanding his freedom. Demanding revenge. And I can understand a feeling like that."

Lazuli took a moment to compose herself, her heart still racing. "B-But that doesn't...Twilight Sparkle and her friends—the Elements—they could still—"

"Oh yes, they certainly could," Inferno agreed with a shrug. "Of course, they'll first have to unravel my plan, then they'll have to find me, and then they'll have to stop me. And I've been at this for far too long to be stopped by the ol' Elements of Harmony. Not when we're this close. And not when I've got this."

From nowhere materialized in a puff of flame a book—the same book they'd taken from Twilight Sparkle's library. Lazuli peered at it for a moment and then blinked in disbelief.

"A...geological survey?"

"Not just any geological survey," chastised Inferno. "A survey of this very mountain. Its caverns, its quarries, its passages. The most complete known record of the subterranean passages beneath Canterlot."

Lazuli blinked again. "What on earth was that doing in a little village library?"

"Oh, Lazzie...where's the first place you'd think to look for the most extensive map in existence of all of Canterlot's darkest secrets?"

"C-Canterlot..."

"Precisely." He flipped it open and scanned through the pages. "Celestia's magic may be too powerful to penetrate outright, but fortunately for us, she's not omniscient." He swept a wing over the blushing Lazuli. "Come on, Lazuli, we've got some exploring to do."

———

If there was one good thing to all of this, it was that a frazzled, love-struck Twilight Sparkle was much more generous with the gems than usual—which was precisely why Spike was munching on a hunk of jasper the size of his fist.

It was soothing, to an extent, but it only papered over the troubles churning in the back of his mind. At the end of the day, he was happy if Twilight was happy, and if Twilight was happy with Trixie, well, Spike would forever be confused about that but he would just learn to live with it. Spike had learned to roll with most of the punches Twilight had sent his way—you didn't get to be "number one assistant" if you didn't—and although this one was way bigger than usual, well, he could work with it. Maybe Trixie wouldn't be so bad either. And hopefully neither of them would be all cutesy and mushy and annoying, because that was where Spike drew the line.

On the other hoof, it was kind of troubling that Twilight's friends were so uneasy about the whole idea. Pinkie was obviously on board with any conceivable excuse to throw a party, and Fluttershy was probably physically unable to be unhappy about one of her friends finding love. But Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and his beloved Rarity were an entirely different story—and one that set Spike's teeth on edge.

Eventually they would all get used to it. He'd gotten used to Trixie, eventually. They would too. If Trixie really did share Twilight's feelings, then she'd have to make some sacrifices of her own to make this whole thing work—like not being such a giant jerk—but then again, Trixie had fought down the Nightmare twice for Twilight's sake, so maybe she was serious too. And either way, Twilight had mentioned before that she wanted someone around to talk about magic with—and even if nobody was ever going to be as interested in the thousands of different ways one could magically levitate a rock as Twilight Sparkle, at least she would have that. Spike could hardly begrudge her that.

But they'd have to get there first. Spike sighed and popped another chunk of jasper into his mouth. That was the hard part.

———

It wasn't every day that Princess Celestia paid a visit to Twilight Sparkle's humble library and sent the purple unicorn into a panic with her mere unannounced presence. Eventually Twilight managed to calm herself down enough to listen as Celestia soothingly laid a wing over her.

"Awfully jumpy tonight, my faithful student," she said with a reassuring smile. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No, it's just, I wasn't expecting you to show up—"

"That's how an unannounced visit works, Twilight." The princess led them both to the library's main table. "After I read your last letter, I felt a visit might be in order."

"W-Why?"

"Well, first of all, to congratulate you," Celestia said, and gave Twilight a tender hug. "When I sent you here, I was only expecting you to make some friends, not to fall in love—but now that you have, I'm thrilled for you. A whole new dimension of happiness awaits you."

Twilight's ears went flat. "I wish my friends felt the same way."

"They don't approve?"

"They're...confused. And kind of freaked out, I think." Twilight frowned and cast her eyes towards the floor. "And so am I, to be honest. I...don't know where all these feelings came from." She shook her head. "I didn't see this coming at all."

Celestia smiled knowingly. "No one ever does."

"And I don't understand how the Nightmare can still be there," Twilight went on, and Celestia's smile faded. "If it depends on hatred to survive, then what does it mean if Trixie acts like she loves me?" Twilight looked up at her mentor with tears in her eyes. "Does it mean she's lying?"

Celestia brushed her student's tears away with her wing. "Oh, Twilight, you already forgot what happened when Inferno tried to bring the Nightmare back up. Would Trixie have resisted him if she were just lying?"

"Then I don't understand, princess."

"Of course." Celestia pulled her faithful student close. "Emotions are complicated, Twilight, and contradictory ones can exist in the same heart at the same time. Even emotions as powerful as love and hate. You've read the history of the Nightmares; you should understand now why so many of them began life as spurned lovers." She tilted Twilight's chin up to meet her gaze. "But if love is in the mix, then obviously all is not lost. You must only remember to nurture it."

"I know," Twilight said, "but, it's just, I've never felt this way before, and I don't know how this happened. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that she was glaring daggers at me."

Celestia seemed to find that particularly amusing. "Well, that was before the events of the past few days, wasn't it?" Twilight nodded slowly. "Then it seems you've nothing to worry about, my faithful student."

Twilight frowned at the floor. "I guess I just wish I could tell what was going on in her head, so I'd know."

Celestia rose to her feet with a majestic sweep of her wings. "On which note," she said, "that brings me to the other reason why I came here. Trixie is upstairs?" Twilight nodded again. "Good. I must be undisturbed until I come back down here."

Twilight tried not to go into a panic until at least her mentor had gotten up the stairs. It didn't help that Celestia's advice was essentially to just stop thinking so hard about it. The day Twilight Sparkle stopped thinking was the day the earth stood still. And if she was going to go venturing into a vast and mysterious world of emotions about which she knew nothing, then she was loath to leave behind her intellect—the one thing that could help her through all this.

Nonetheless, on the castle balcony seemingly a lifetime ago, Celestia had told her to never give up on trying to see things from Trixie's perspective. And bizarre as it felt now, with all these crazy emotions fouling up the calculations, she tried to do just that—hampered by the lack of certainty she felt as to what was going on inside Trixie's head, but determined all the same to make it work.

So what was Trixie? A pony without friends, trapped, all alone, faced with a power she had once embraced that now threatened to destroy her. And yet Twilight had shown her kindness and compassion, the likes of which she might not have seen from anyone else. And so she...fell in love?

Twilight shuddered. The whole thing made her feel profoundly creepy. And yet she knew she wasn't trying to take advantage of Trixie's vulnerability. She knew her own sincerity. Did Trixie?

The thought was too much to bear. Twilight slumped against the table and moaned in frustration. Maybe it made sense if Trixie really had fallen for her, but not the other way around. She had never expected this. It hadn't even occurred to her that it might be possible.

On the other hoof, there were the princess's other words to consider—to take this relationship and nurture it. And so she thought of that—what it might mean, what it would be like to actually be dating somepony. And that...was just a big blank. She had nothing. She glanced around the library forlornly. There were books here about how to get somepony to fall in love with you, but nothing here to tell you what to do after you did. And even Twilight wasn't so desperate as to think that Rarity's romance novels would be of any help.

It was another half hour of pointless fretting before Princess Celestia descended the steps, her snow-white hide practically aglow in the flickering candlelight. "My work here is done, Twilight," she said with a bow of her head and a smile. "Trixie is already asleep. Good night."

Princess Celestia headed out to the balcony and took to the air, and that left Twilight with nothing to do but crawl into bed for a fitful night's sleep. For such a happy emotion, love sure was causing her a lot of stress.

———

"Back already?" asked a surprised Princess Luna as the solar sister alighted on the balcony of Canterlot's castle. "Surely Twilight Sparkle needs a longer lecture on the delicate nature of love than that."

"Most likely," agreed Celestia with a smile, "but someone else will have to deliver it. Someone like her mother."

Luna glanced off in the direction of Ponyville, worry evident on her face. "And the Nightmare?"

"If you mean Nightmare Storm, that one is contained," Celestia said. "Trixie was only as cooperative as she had to be not to annoy me, but between the suppression spell and Trixie's own emotional conflicts, there is little for Nightmare Storm to do but wait for her next opportunity." She frowned. "And as for the other...?"

"The Royal Guard reports that it has lost Nightmare Inferno's scent," Luna said with a sullen look. "He could be anywhere in Equestria."

"And the search in the underground caverns?"

"Fruitless. Shining Armor himself spent the better part of the day exploring the caves personally and found nothing but bones."

Celestia nodded. "Very well."

Luna cleared her throat as Celestia brushed past her towards the door. "How is Twilight faring?"

At that, Celestia had to smile. "Oh, just as we expected."

"How troubling."

"Twilight will be alright," Celestia said, "although I cannot say how her relationship with Trixie will go."

Luna frowned. "Does she not share Twilight's feelings?"

Celestia headed inside. "We will see, Luna."

———

Comments

[RTStephens]

You know, it's hard not to think of Celestia and Luna as some chessmasters moving pieces around at a whim when they displayed the same type of attitude in the show. Just what are they up to?

And now we begin the glorious awkward stage of the relationship of Twilight and Trixie! As if it weren't awkward enough!

And now a greater evil is being revealed? How ominous...

Great stuff! Keep at it!