Nightmares

by unoservix

Chapter 22: I'll Be Coming Home

Nightmares
———

Chapter 22: I'll Be Coming Home

———

Spike hated the cold. It wasn't hard to see why, really; anything related to reptiles wasn't going to enjoy a drop in temperatures. A dragon, even a baby dragon, had a much easier time withstanding winter than a lizard or a snake, but that didn't mean Spike couldn't—or wouldn't—complain endlessly about the cold. And as the days shrank, the trees turned golden and red, and the temperature began to drop in the days of late fall, that meant Spike had a whole lot of complaining to get started on.

Of course, Ponyville had work to do, freezing baby dragons or not. There were leaves to run, crops to harvest, orders to fill, and the whole town had to settle the accounts of spring and summer before the snow came and the land renewed itself for a few months under frozen skies. And there was work for Spike to do, too.

He made his way down the leaf-strewn streets of town, a dragon with a purpose. Fall was pretty, even if it was winter's warning shot, but it was also a time of urgency. Stuff had to get done before the snows came. The weather team was busy putting together the winter storms that would bring the cold, and in the meantime, everyone else was busy with work of their own.

Spike glanced down at a hill beneath the clouds, where Rainbow Dash was hovering over another pony. The blue pegasus on the ground, surrounded with papers and charts and her wings still bandaged up and healing, had been sent from the Royal Guard's custody to Ponyville. "Community service," Princess Celestia had called it. Either way, the pegasus named Whiplash was stuck under Rainbow Dash's supervision—and RD was a ruthless taskmaster. Rarity had asked her why once; it turned out that Rainbow's trust, once lost, was difficult to regain. But no one could say that Whiplash wasn't trying to regain it.

Spike waved to Rainbow Dash; she waved back, said something to Whiplash, and then rocketed off towards the town square. Spike grinned at the sight. Everything was coming together perfectly.

It had taken a lot of subterfuge, to use one of those cool big words Twilight used sometimes, to get this whole thing going. He'd never actually been sneaky about using the magical enchanted link to Canterlot before. He'd also never had to cough up letters from Princess Celestia quietly, which was an interesting skill he now possessed. But it was all going to work out.

After all, not everyone always gave Spike the credit he deserved. He wasn't totally clueless. He could pick up on lots of things. And he'd noticed, for the past few months, that Twilight Sparkle was kind of out of sorts. She wasn't miserable—except for that time when the Cutie Mark Crusaders had managed to get some poison joke up into the rain clouds somehow, but then everyone had been miserable—but there was something missing, a piece of the puzzle that wasn't fitting into place. And Spike wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what that was.

And, not being stupid, Spike knew that this was sort of a risk. But it was a risk worth taking. Making Twilight happy was worth it—and, really, what were the odds that this wouldn't work? Thus it was that Spike went back into the library and tried to drag Twilight out for what he called a walk.

Twilight stared at him skeptically. "Spike, I'm still behind on my studying."

"But it's a nice day out! And winter's gonna start soon and then we're gonna have to stay indoors all day, and we'll look back and say, 'gosh, I sure wish we'd taken more walks before all the snows had come,' and then you'll be sorry!"

Twilight blinked. "Since when did you care about—" She paused and then a sly grin spread across her lips. "Oh, I get it. You just want an excuse to go see Rarity."

Spike blushed. Technically that was kind of true in a sense but right now it was only secondary! Ancillary, even! "Well...fine, yeah, so what?"

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose a break wouldn't hurt. And I guess we need to let your inner Romeo out every once in a while."

"That's the spirit! Come on."

———

Ridiculously poorly-concealed crush on Rarity or not, Twilight Sparkle could always tell when Spike wanted something and wasn't willing to come right out and say it. And today he apparently wanted something somewhere in town. Probably he saw some huge piece of chalcedony or something—he'd developed quite the taste for quartzes recently—and this was an elaborate plan to con her into buying it. But that was alright. She would play along for a while and then deliver the finishing blow with a stunning lecture on the importance of needs versus wants.

They headed down the street together, winding towards middle of Ponyville. Twilight frowned in surprise at the sight of a small crowd starting to form in the square, around one of the staircases leading up into the town hall.

"What's going on there?" she asked.

Spike shrugged. "Let's go check it out."

Twilight made her way closer. "Is the mayor giving a speech or some—"

She jumped in surprise at the sound of an explosion—and in the air above the square erupted a dazzling display of fireworks. The ponies in the square cooed appreciatively as glittering light fluttered down over them.

"Come one, come all," cried a voice—a voice that made Twilight freeze in disbelief, "and feast your eyes upon the magical marvels and arcane talents of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"N-No way," Twilight whispered. She looked down for Spike—but he was nowhere to be seen. And instead, up there at the head of the crowd, standing on the staircase with her cape billowing behind her, was none other than Trixie.

Twilight's jaw fell open. She would have recognized that confident grin and those dazzling violet eyes anywhere. There was no wagon, no stage, just Trixie, her magic, and a duly impressed crowd—but as the fireworks faded away, so too did the crowd's eager faces, as they began to remember just who the Great and Powerful Trixie was.

"Yes, it is I, traveling showmare extraordinaire," Trixie said with a bombastic sweep of her cape, "and Trixie must confess it's a bit strange to be back here in Ponyville. I'm sure, after all, that I need no introduction to the likes of you! It turns out my illustrious self has something of a history in this humble little hamlet. However!" She doffed her hat and bowed her head. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is as modest as she is magnificent," Twilight blinked in shock as she made no effort to acknowledge the giggles in the audience, "and is willing to let bygones be bygones! After all," she shrugged and tossed her hat back onto her head, "let's be honest, an Ursa Minor rampage is pretty much just Tuesday for this place."

"Yeah," someone muttered, "that's probably true."

"Glad to hear it!" Trixie thundered. "Now, my monumental mastery of the mystical arts promises you quite a show today, but we have a bit of housekeeping to take care of first. You see, winter is fast approaching and as Trixie can tell you, trudging around in the snow as a traveling showmare is no fun, no fun at all. And so I announce that I am ending this year's touring season here, in Ponyville!"

Twilight's jaw dropped again and now her brain seemed to trip over itself. Trixie was back in Ponyville? Staying back in Ponyville? Was this a dream? Was Spike about to come wake her up and ruin everything?

"Of course, you may ask yourself, 'why have you chosen to spend the winter in Ponyville, O Great and Powerful Trixie?' And the answer, as it always seems to be, is simplicity itself. You see, yours truly must humbly confess to a bit of unfinished business here, and there's no season like winter to get that sort of thing done."

Twilight felt her heart speed up. There was only one thing that could mean, but what—

"Now then!" Trixie went on, and the sky began to flicker with tendrils of pink light. "I've told this story all over Equestria, from Los Pegasus to Manehattan, from Vanhoover to Appleloosa. It's a story you fine folks should recognize in all its parts and in its entire cast. And while I can't guarantee that every word is completely one hundred percent true, I can promise you something true in its soul—and a rollicking good time, too!"

"We'll see," snorted someone at Twilight's side. She whipped around to find Rainbow Dash there with a skeptical look on her face. "Oh, hey Twi."

"Wha—what's going on?" Twilight squeaked.

"Looks like your marefriend came back, is what's goin' on," said another voice, and Twilight turned again to find Applejack on her other side, with a knowing smile. "Ain't ya gonna go say howdy?"

"I-I—"

"Oh, give her a moment, darling," chuckled Rarity's voice, and Twilight turned a third time, to find the elegant unicorn behind her—with a bouncing Pinkie Pie, a smiling Fluttershy, and a triumphant-looking Spike in tow.

"We are on the cusp of the most spectacular 'Twilight's girlfriend is back from weird inexplicable self-imposed exile' party in the history of—"

Rainbow promptly shoved a hoof in Pinkie's mouth. "I dunno about you," she said, "but I wanna hear the story."

Twilight looked around between them all, utterly lost. Spike rolled his eyes and turned her back towards the impromptu stage, and the swirling light overhead. The lights began to wink out, one by one—and in their stead rose the familiar dark shapes of the Everfree Forest, its gnarled branches reaching out over the quickly hushed crowd.

"Now," Trixie intoned, as glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness and glowered at the shivering crowd, "this is a story about ancient conspiracies, about dark emotions, and about evil villains. But," her eyes scanned over the crowd, and Twilight felt her heart stop as Trixie's gaze seemed to settle on her, "it's also a story about love. About how you can find it in the weirdest places. And," her horn lit up, and a ghostly image of the familiar Nightmare Storm began to coalesce behind her, "about how powerful it can be..."

———

It was another hour before Trixie's tale came to an end. Twilight's ability to function mentally had returned shortly before the story began, and for the most part Trixie's rendition of the tale appeared to be reasonably accurate—although Twilight didn't exactly recall riding a quarray eel to safety in the collapsing caverns of Canterlot. And those skeletons seemed a little bigger and nastier in Trixie's telling than they seemed to be in Twilight's memory. And Trixie hadn't exactly been that swashbuckling...

Interspersed with magic tricks and the illustrated story in the air, Trixie wound the tale to a climactic conclusion, as the two unicorns descended into the darkness of dreams to confront their mutual nemesis. Twilight watched with a hint of a smile as the blue magician found a different way to end the story than the way theirs actually had. That was too personal—and besides, a big telekinetic fight worked just as well.

"And that, fillies and gentlecolts," Trixie concluded with a flourish, "is how our story ends."

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and Twilight let out a little sigh of relief as Trixie doffed her hat and took an elegant bow. That, at least, was one good thing about Ponyville: they didn't really hold grudges.

At Twilight's side, Rainbow Dash arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Did she really defeat a manticore with her bare hooves?"

"No," Twilight said, "that was probably dramatic license."

"I dare say she's got a right to take some liberties in the service of a more exciting tale," Rarity huffed. "Although the part with the swarm of fire-bats did strain my suspension of disbelief just a little."

"An' the part with the basilisk," Applejack added.

"And the part with the rampaging dragon skeleton!" Pinkie chirped.

"Hey, that part actually happened—" Twilight began to protest.

Fluttershy stirred. "But you didn't summon an army of vengeful spirits to tear the dragon apart bone by bone, did you?"

"...well, no." She shrugged. "Like I said. Dramatic license. The important stuff was all there."

"For the first time, in fact."

Twilight whipped around so fast that Spike flew off her back, and there she found the Great and Powerful Trixie with an amused smile—and that was all it took to send Twilight racing over to her, to throw her forelegs around the blue unicorn and kiss her.

"Well," Trixie said with a smirk, "that's one way to be welcomed back."

"You...you're really staying here?" Twilight asked. "You're really back—"

"We'll talk about that later, bookworm," Trixie interrupted—and a moment later a storm of confetti came sweeping down from the heavens and Pinkie Pie bounced into the sky.

"Trixie's back!" cried Pinkie, and she landed with a mile-wide grin and dragged the two unicorns into a bone-crushing hug. "Now Twilight can stop being mopey-dopey!"

Trixie arched an eyebrow. "Mopey?"

Twilight's ears went flat. "A little. At first."

"And thank goodness you're staying here for the winter," Rarity added. "Marching around in the snow this winter will be simply dreadful. Right, Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said with a shrug, "we're supposed to make it really blustery and snowy this year."

"Guess the two of you will just have to cuddle in the library with hot chocolate and apple pie for three months, huh?" added Applejack, with a knowing grin. "Sounds awful." A look of horror flashed across Pinkie's face. "Um, except for a party every so often, of course!" Applejack hastily amended, and the giddy look returned on Pinkie's face.

Fluttershy simply smiled warmly and said, "Welcome back, Trixie. We missed you."

"Speaking of which," Pinkie interjected, and reluctantly released Trixie and Twilight from her grip, "I think it's about time for—"

"A party?" Twilight interrupted.

"A party!" Pinkie cried. "Come on!"

She took off in a blur of pink towards Sugarcube Corner, and the rest of Twilight's friends set off after her. Twilight paused for a moment as she lifted an uncharacteristically quiet Spike back onto her back.

"You guys all knew she was coming back, didn't you?" she asked.

Spike smiled sheepishly. "Well, um, you could say that..."

"It was his idea," Trixie said with a wave of her hoof. "He sent me a letter about how winter was going to be awful this year and how I ought to think about hunkering down somewhere." She arched an eyebrow at him. "Persuasive little guy."

"Not that it took much in the way of persuasion," Spike added. He fidgeted for a moment. "Just...don't be all dumb and mushy and gross all the time, okay? I still live there too."

Twilight swept Spike up in a hug. "I'll see what I can do."

"Seriously, if you two start baby-talking all the time, I will burn the library down no matter how cold it gets outside."

"Of course you will," Trixie said with a patronizing pat on the head.

Twilight glanced down the street, in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. "I suppose we'd better go find Pinkie Pie, huh?"

"As long as I can put my saddlebags down first," Trixie piped up. "Spike, why don't you go ahead and tell them we'll be a few minutes?"

Spike glanced between the two of them for a moment, and then nodded and ambled off. Trixie cracked a smirk. "So I guess this means your friends are okay with me after all." Her smirk faded. "Or they're insane."

"It's not an either/or," Twilight mumbled.

Together they went back to the library, and found that Spike and Twilight's friends had steered clear. Instead they headed upstairs, to the familiar room where Trixie had spent her convalescence. She tossed her saddlebags at the end of her old bed. "I was serious about everything I said up there," Trixie began. "I'm staying the winter in Ponyville."

"So...you're really back?"

"Of course I am."

Twilight was motionless for a moment—and then she flung herself into Trixie's embrace and kissed her with every ounce of loneliness and despair that had welled up in her the past few months. Trixie blinked in surprise as the purple unicorn pulled away with tears in her eyes. "You came back to me," she whispered. "What...what changed your mind?"

Trixie looked away awkwardly. "I really have been telling that story all over Equestria," she said. "Oh, by the way, if someone asks you about the time we defeated a basilisk and then made out on top of a mountain, just smile and nod and pretend you know what they're talking about."

"What?"

"Dramatic license."

Twilight blinked. "Okay...but..."

"But back to your question," Trixie said, "I told the story and a little foal pointed out at the very end that we saved the world and then we pretty much broke up, and that was kind of stupid. And I realized eventually that she was right."

"We broke up?"

"Well, yes, pretty much. But I kept thinking about it, and about us, and," she fidgeted, "this is going to be really hard for me to say..."

Twilight pulled Trixie close again. "You don't have to—"

"Yes I do." She took out a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I...I realized that I was...scared, of the way you loved me, and how serious it was. And I left and I thought it would be all okay. But," she scratched the back of her head, "I've had admirers and flings before, but no one has ever loved me the way you do—giving up your own happiness to ensure mine."

Twilight frowned. "I-I was happy—"

"That's not what your friends said," Trixie interrupted. "And..." She shuffled her hooves awkwardly. "Jeez, this is harder than I thought." But before Twilight could say anything, she put a hoof over the purple unicorn's mouth. "But the more I went around telling this story, the more I realized that somewhere inside me, there's still that scared filly who wants to be loved. The one that I didn't want to be there. But if that's the case," she sighed, "I guess it's pretty stupid to go running away from the one pony who really loves me, huh." She smiled and nuzzled Twilight. "So I'm here for the winter."

"Just the winter?"

"I'm getting back on the road when the touring season starts up again." Trixie smirked. "Gotta be me, y'know."

"B-But...you're gonna leave—"

Trixie put her hoof over Twilight's mouth again. "No," she said. "I went around Equestria thinking there would be nothing to tie me to one place, but I guess that's not really true. I'm spending my winters here. With you."

Twilight blinked. "But...how will that work?"

"We'll figure it out as we go. Put that 'School for Gifted Unicorns' education of yours to work, eh?" She shrugged. "This is what I am, Twilight. I go around the country putting on shows so ponies will love me—and I know there's one that loves me more than anyone else." Trixie frowned. "Isn't that who you said you love?"

Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes and threw her forelegs around the blue unicorn. "You had to ask?"

She savored the feeling of closeness and warmth that had been missing for all these months. And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

———

It turned out that marching all over Equestria was actually pretty exhausting, and the chaos and merriment of a Pinkie Pie party was no help either. And so, stuffed full of cake and pie and punch and thoroughly worn out, Trixie had pretty much immediately gone to sleep in Twilight's bed.

Twilight was perfectly happy with that. She was perfectly happy with everything right now. Trixie was curled up comfortably against her side, sound asleep, and Twilight put her head down on the sheets and enjoyed the feeling of her even breaths. A whole winter together. Maybe even more. Maybe Twilight could go with Trixie on a leg of her tours or something. Maybe Trixie could stay in Ponyville a bit longer and refine her magic, and put on ever more dazzling shows. Maybe this, maybe that...

And maybe this was really what Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had, and what Princess Celestia had meant when she'd promised Twilight that these feelings would bring her happiness. She looked over at Trixie and never ceased to feel amazed at how strong her feelings were. No wonder the Changeling Queen had been overwhelmed by Shining Armor and Cadence.

Twilight kissed Trixie's forehead, and then levitated over a pen and parchment. A few weeks ago, Princess Celestia had asked for a report on what Twilight had learned from this all—about the bond with her friends, about the nature of love, about the magic that ran through it all...when she was ready, of course. And the ache was still too raw to write about. But now the pain was gone, now her friends were with her, now the one she loved was by her side, and now she knew what it meant to be in love.

And the princess was waiting. Twilight turned towards the parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia...

———
End

Author's Note:

eek it's done

thanks be to you, my loyal readers, for sticking with this thing despite all the setbacks and long spells between updates and my ineptitude over FIMFiction's machinery and whatnot. there may not have been a whole lot of you, but you've got it where it counts.

eventually i intend to write a story that's set after this and continues to explore Twilight and Trixie's relationship, although as a smaller part of a much larger story. eventually. first i have to go do adult things, like surgery and employment. but i hope to spend the rest of the summer getting started on that.

for now, have some schmoopiness, and happy travels! c:

Comments

[RTStephens]

Yay! All finished and wrapped up nicely!

I like this compromise that Trixie was able to come up with. It's not perfect, but then not much in life is. I'm sure Twilight will do plenty to convince her to stay a little longer...

Very well done story! I'm glad you stuck through to finish the whole thing. I can understand the frustrations of long stories and the urge to quit halfway through.

Congratulations on a fun ride!

[anAngryHamster]

It's hard to believe it's finally over. This is easily one of the best fics I've read on this site and I say that with absolute sincerity.

[Reisentanith]

This didn't show up in my Favs when it updated... weird, But great to know it had a conclusion!

[Avox]

I decided to search and see if this fic was up over here, and whaddaya know! It is!

Keep writing awesome stories, man.

[Angius]

Well earned like+fav.

Bravo, sir, bravissimo.

[Phaoray]

finally read the last few chapters of this, was kinda bleh on seeing it end so I delayed it for awhile. I'm quite happy with how this story went, Trixie and Twilight had some pretty good concerns when going into a relationship and with all the shit happening to them throughout the story. Glad to see that had a pretty good ending. I also liked how you wrote the little group of minions the Nightmare had at his disposal throughout the story. Some had more character then others, but I got a pretty good feel for them throughout. Can't wait to see what you do next, specially if it involves Trixie.

[Mihoshika]

4647509 No... It was previously a diarchy, until Luna's banishment, in which it became a monarchy.

[Neutral Mike]

This story is magnificent! This is one of the best fics, I have ever read.

[Voidwalker]

First things first: Yay for Wiphlashs community service!

So. What's left to say that wasn't already said by someone else or even myself before? Hm. I loved how the romance evolved. There were actually a lot of points at which I felt pity for Twilight, considering if she wouldn't be better off without Trixie - guess I've to put myself in the same line as Rainbow and AJ there.
As for their 'solution'... to be honest - from the first moment the word 'compromise' fell, I somehow thought it would end like this. Hm. No, that doesn't really fit. I feared, it would end like this. I would like to wish them the best of luck, I would like to think that Twi somehow will manage to survive three-fourths of the year without her beloved. But I simply can't. The reason is simple. Their decision is mature, realistic, probably even wise.
But once you bring reality into it, my mind tends to tear it apart. With doubt, fear and pessimism. I'm pretty good at that, really. I know what jealousy can do to a loving mind. I've seen how longing alone can tear your sanity apart, piece by piece. How being apart for to long can weaken. You. Your feelings. Your trust. Your feeling of self-worth. Twilight is socially awkward, often insecure, especially, if she's dragged into the open and out of her comfort-zone. Even with her friends around, trying to contain her, trying to comfort her, to distract her... I easily can see her getting lost in this.
With choosing a realistic solution, I only see her world crumble and burn.

If I could put that aside for a moment - I can't, but speaking hypothetically -, and this tale would've ended at chapter 21... this story would've been in serious need for a 'sad'-tag. With this last addition, though... it's... yeah, realistic. Not happy, not shiny, not sunny, no nothing. But it doesn't deserve the 'sad'-tag anymore. That's something, at least.

And since I don't want to end this comment on such a depressing note: I stick to what I said earlier. This is easily one of the best adventure-tales I've read thus far, with magnificent OCs, spot-on characterization, a well-build romance and a fantastic pacing throughout each and every chapter.

Thank you!

[TheVirtuousOne]

I hate how sometimes you really have to look for a gem to find one, but when you do its SO worth it time to delve into this i guess