Much of Trixie's night before she finally fell asleep was spent brainstorming magic tricks. It had been quite awhile since Trixie felt like she might have a future in performing once again, so any ray of hope was better than none. When sunrise came, she had an extra spring in her step she hadn’t felt in months. All morning long she and Pinkie laughed and made small talk while helping the Cakes prepare the bakery for the morning rush.
All of her enthusiasm vanished however, when she found herself standing before the residence of her former nemesis. When Pinkie first dragged her to the intimidating crystal castle, Trixie didn’t have much time to think before being ushered inside. Now that she was on her own, it took her several minutes to work up the courage to climb those steps. Reluctantly, she raised her hoof and knocked on the door. Surprisingly, the sound carried well through the crystal, despite her less than forceful knocking.
Too late to change your mind now...
The door swung open revealing a bright-eyed Twilight Sparkle.
"Good morning, Trixie! We just finished breakfast, c'mon in!" Twilight turned and led the unicorn inside. Despite the friendly greeting, Trixie couldn't help but feel like she was walking on dangerous ground.
"Twilight! Look out! Trixie is right behind you!"
Both ponies turned on their hooves. Spike stood in a doorway, pointing frantically at the unicorn.
Twilight giggled. "I know she is, Spike. She's here to help out at the castle so you can take a break."
Spike's eyes narrowed angrily. "Oh, I see how it goes. First you get an owl to try and replace me, and now you're so desperate to get rid of me that you have to team up with your former enemy?"
Twilight stamped her hoof in annoyance. "Spike! That's not what's going on at all! Trixie is having a hard time right now, and she needs to earn some bits. I thought you could use a day off, so I invited her over so we could give the castle a good shakedown."
Spike's suspicious glare shifted from Twilight to Trixie, and then back again. He marched over to the unicorn and poked his claw at her chest.
"I've got my eye on you. If I even so much as think this is a trick to get back at us, I'll give you a taste of my fire breath!"
A purple aura surrounded Spike, plucking him from the ground. With little fanfare, Twilight dropped him gently at her hooves. The baby dragon looked away and crossed his arms defiantly.
"Spike, this is your chance to do whatever you want for the whole day. You can spend it here glaring at Trixie, or you could spend it outside doing anything you want."
Spike uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll go see what Applejack and Rainbow Dash are up to." He walked over to the door and opened it. "But Twilight, if she goes crazy again, all you have to do is call your number one assistant and I’ll take care of her quick, fast, and in a hurry!"
"I know I can count on you," Twilight said warmly. The dragon tottered off closing the door behind him.
Now, with just the two of them, Trixie and Twilight exchanged nervous glances.
"So what did yo—"
"Maybe we shoul—"
They stared at each other hoping the other would continue their thought.
Finally, Twilight spoke up. "I wanted to start in the library. I uhhh, don't know if you know how libraries work." Instantly, Twilight blushed. "Oh, of course you know how they work, I mean if you know how they're sorted and catalogued."
"I had a little experience in Canterlot, though I suppose I could use a refresher."
Twilight's eyes brightened. "You do? That's great! Basically, I'd like to clean and sort the east side of the library first, and then the west side." Twilight hurriedly shoved a feather duster at Trixie using her magic.
"Uhhh, okay. That shouldn't be too hard, I suppose."
Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly. “Great! Follow me and I’ll show you to the library!”
Applejack bit down into her treat sending a spray of crumbs flying out of her mouth. "Mmm, now that's good stuff right there!"
"Yeah! Who says you have to go camping to eat s'mores?" Rainbow Dash agreed.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike sat under the shade of a large apple tree, enjoying each others company, and a round of s'mores.
"Hit me up again, Spike," the cowpony asked, holding out a stick with a marshmallow on it. A burst of green fire engulfed the marshmallow, melting it to the perfect consistency.
"Not that you need an excuse or anything, but why are you here with us instead of at the library with Twilight?" Rainbow asked.
Spike stood up as tall as he could and pounded his chest with a balled up fist. "I marched up to Twilight this morning and said, ‘Twilight, I need a day off!’ Needless to say she begged me not to, and told me she would double my gems for the day, but I wasn't having it. So I came over here to hang out with you guys."
Rainbow fell over in laughter. "Yeah, I'm sure that's how it went down!"
Applejack let out a small chuckle. "C'mon, now. Tell us what really happened."
Spike’s shoulders slumped. "Okay, fine. Twilight thought it would be a good idea to hire Trixie so I could have a day all to myself while they get the castle clean."
"Hah! Their loss!" Rainbow said, as she jammed another s'more into her mouth.
Spike started munching on his s'more as well, though his eyes were locked on the ground.
"Hey, Spike. Iff’n this is yer day off and you're s'posed to be enjoying it, why are ya actin' like a filly that's dropped her snow cone?"
The dragon ate the last bit of his treat and then dismissively kicked a rock. "I don't know, Applejack. It just seems strange having Trixie do my job for me. What if she's better at sorting and cleaning than I am?"
"Uhhh, Spike..." Rainbow began.
"I mean, Trixie has magic! If she knows where a book is in the library by memory, she could fetch anything Twilight needs way before I could! How am I supposed to compete with that? What if Twilight decides she doesn't need m—"
A friendly hoof wrapped it's way around Spike's back, interrupting him. "Now hold on a minute partner. Twilight ain't about to go replacing you. Does that sound like the Twilight Sparkle you know?" Applejack asked.
A small smile crept upon the dragon's face. "Yeah... you're right."
"Heck yeah she is! Now let 's finish these s'mores. When we're done I've got a great idea for a prank we can pull on Pinkie Pie," Rainbow said, thrusting her hoof toward her friends.
Applejack bumped her hoof. "Count me in! I still owe her for the itching powder in my bed!"
"Me too!" added Spike, bumping both of their hooves with his claws.
"Uhhh, where does this one go?" Trixie asked, holding a book aloft with her magic. Twilight trotted over to get a better look.
"Let's see... Polynomials. That should go over here."
Twilight walked over to one of the bookcases on the north side of the library. Trixie followed closely behind, watching intently as the purple pony tried to find the correct spot.
"Polynomials, Polynomials, Polynomi— whoops!"
While walking alongside the bookcase, Twilight accidentally bumped against the ladder Spike used to reach some of the higher books. She resumed her search without much thought, but Trixie glanced up at the ladder. A pile of books were precariously placed at the top. Unfortunately, the bump Twilight gave the ladder unbalanced the stack.
"Twilight, look out!"
"Huh?"
Trixie lunged and pushed Twilight out of the way just as the pile of books buried her. A dull pain echoed through the unicorn's head.
"Oh gosh! Trixie, are you okay?" Twilight asked as she pushed the books aside. The unicorn slowly rose to her hooves as her eyes focused.
"N-never better."
Twilight Sparkle looked speechless. "Wow, I... I don't even know what to say. I didn't even see the books up there. Thanks."
Trixie smiled ruefully. "I probably could have saved myself a headache if I had thought to grab them with my magic."
Twilight gave a quick look around the library. "Hey, we're making good time right now. Why don't we take a break. Would you like a glass of lemonade?" Twilight offered.
"Sure."
With that, Twilight left for the kitchen. Trixie hopped out of the pile of books, making for the nearby table. She scarcely had time to take a breath before a glass of lemonade appeared before her.
"Here you go."
Trixie flashed Twilight a thankful smile and took a small drink.
"So, uhhh, Trixie. You seem kind of... different," Twilight started as she took a seat across from the unicorn.
Trixie lowered her glass. "Don't sound so shocked, Twilight Sparkle. I tried telling you and your friends that I've changed. I should probably be grateful at least Pinkie Pie believed me me enough to forgive and help me."
"Well, what happened? I mean, a pony like you can't change at the drop of a hat. I feel like there's something you're not telling us."
Trixie stared at the floor as she frowned. "Imagine waking up tomorrow and finding out your horn doesn't work. The one thing that makes you who you are, your cutie mark, no longer means anything."
Trixie's hoof hit the table in anger. "I can't perform anymore! Nopony wants to even hear me out! My cutie mark and my special talent are completely useless!"
Twilight jumped at the sudden outburst. "Trixie... I'm, I'm sorry."
Looking down at her lemonade, Trixie let out a long sigh. "Don't be. Performing wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. I find myself in limbo. While I performed, ponies treated me like a queen, but they never did so out of respect or admiration. They did so out of fear. Fear that I would make them look like fools."
"Well, not to be rude, but you seemed completely fine with that the last two times you were here."
Trixie's frowned deepened. "And what did it get me? I had an artifact of tremendous power, power like nopony had seen before! You and your friends beat me. Not by using a greater power, but by making a fool out of me. I became envious of you and your friends. The few times I could get a pony's ear in a performance, I couldn't bear to do the horrible and embarrassing things I did before."
Silence fell again between the two ponies. Trixie finished her lemonade and rose to her hooves. "Thanks for the drink. Maybe we should get back to the shelving?"
"Huh? Oh uh, yes, of course," Twilight said as she too stood up. Trixie felt a sting of shame at the pitiful look the alicorn left her with.
“Comets for Casuals!"
Trixie caught the book with her magic. Scanning through her bookcase she found the spot almost instantly and plugged it in. "Got it! What's next?"
"That's it. We're done!" Twilight announced.
Trixie crumpled to the ground and took a deep breath. "Never in a million years would I have guessed this would have been more stressful than working on Applejack's farm."
Twilight landed next to the unicorn sprawled out on the floor. "Well, a library requires mental and physical concentration. Sometimes when I get through writing an essay, it feels like I've spent an entire week on Applejack's farm."
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever spent a week on Applejack’s farm?”
Twilight’s face went beet red. “Well… no. Only a day or two.” Twilight extended a friendly hoof toward the unicorn. Taking her up on the offer, Trixie pulled herself up with a grunt. In Twilight's other hoof was a pouch of bits. "Here you go. I'd definitely say you earned it.
As much as she hated to admit it, Trixie enjoyed actually working for her money. Seeing Twilight’s smile and the obvious impact that she had on the library left a small warmth in her heart. "Thank you, Twilight."
"Huh? For what?" the alicorn asked, tilting her head curiously.
"For giving me a chance to prove myself."
"I'm just glad this wasn't some crazy trick to somehow get revenge or something. Also, I..." Twilight started.
"Huh?"
"I hope you're able to perform again one day."
Trixie's mind wandered back to her newly modified cape and hat waiting at Sugarcube Corner. "Yeah... maybe one day." Without another word, she walked to the door and opened it.
"See ya around, Sparkle."
Once again, Trixie avoided Mrs. Cakes venomous glare and made her way to Pinkie's room. She had quickly learned that guessing what lay on the other side of the door was an impossible affair, left to ponies smarter or stranger than her. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and opened the door.
The first thing to catch her eye was Pinkie Pie gnawing on her tail.
"Should I even ask?"
Hearing the unicorn's voice, Pinkie's eyes lit up. She spat a small pink glob onto another, larger pile of pink goop. "Heya, Trixie! Don't mind me, I'm just digging this bubblegum out of my tail."
"And why is there bubblegum in your tail?" Trixie asked, shedding her saddlebags.
"It was just a prank. Don't mind me, the shower’s all yours," Pinkie said before stuffing her tail back into her mouth.
"Sounds good to me."
What Trixie intended to be a shower, quickly turned into a bath. During the course of the day, she had used muscles she never knew existed. A soaking hot bath was exactly what she needed to chase away the soreness in her body. Walking back into the bedroom, she saw the pile of bubblegum now sitting in the trash. Pinkie herself was sitting on the bed, reading a letter by her lamp's light.
"I guess you got it all out?"
Pinkie looked up from her paper and smiled. "Yup! Just takes a little time."
Trixie walked over to her pullout bed and plopped down. She intended to ignore Pinkie and her mysterious paper. Before long, however, the curiosity started to eat at her. Slowly, she peered over the side of the bed to try and get a better look at the mysterious parchment. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could tell by looking at the back of the paper itself.
"What are you reading?" she finally asked.
The pink mare lowered the letter, meeting her with a smile. "This? It's just a letter from my folks back home."
"What? Back home? But I thought they were your family," the unicorn said, pointing at the closed door.
"Who? The Cakes? No silly, I just work for them and they let me stay here. If they were my family, they wouldn't have to write me a letter!" Pinkie giggle snorted.
Trixie thought about the kind of ponies Pinkie's parents had to be to give birth to such a crazy mare. Unfortunately, Pinkie returned to her letter without any further explanation.
"Have they arranged for any wild and raucous parties?" Trixie asked, trying to goad more information out of her. Pinkie rolled her eyes.
"Hah! Yeah right! They don't do parties very well. Lemme tell ya, being a rock farmer doesn't exactly mix well with being a party pony."
If they weren't stuck in her head, Trixie's eyes would have fallen out and rolled across the floor. "R-Rock farmer?"
Pinkie folded up her letter and placed it on the nightstand.. "Yup. Everypony in my family is a rock farmer, except me. What about your parents?"
Trixie felt a twinge of shame. "My parents? They are... well, they are nobles in Canterlot. They pulled some strings and got me into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."
Pinkie's eyes went back into her head. "That sounds really familiar. Oh wait! Twilight went there! That's where I remember hearing it! Did you and Twilight share a class together?"
"I never saw her. Wherever she was, I was either in a separate class, or I had already left."
Pinkie rolled upside down on her bed while keeping her eyes glued to Trixie. "Left? Did you graduate early?"
Trixie shook her head sadly. "No. My parents... they never thought I would amount to anything. No matter how well I did in school, they would always expect more. One day in the middle of the night, I took the savings I had kept from my allowance and ran away. I told myself after I became famous all across Equestria, I would return and tell them they were wrong, Trixie Lulamoon is somepony." The resolute tone in Trixie's voice faded to one of sadness. "Seeing where I am now, however, maybe they were right."
Pinkie gasped. "No! You can be somepony! You just gotta try again! I bet if you tried really hard and practiced magic, ponies from all over Equestria would come see you."
Trixie's eyes drifted to her crumpled cape and hat in the corner. "I appreciate the sentiment, but that's far easier said than done. I'm not sure I'm good enough to perform for a large crowd. Besides, if I were to perform for such a crowd, I would need at least another pony to be my assistant."
"Then we'll practice together!" Pinkie proclaimed, standing on her back legs.
"Wha-what?"
Pinkie pounded her hooves together. "You heard me! We can do magic together! I can be your partner!"
The first gut instinct Trixie felt told her to scream out no! Pinkie Pie struck her as scatterbrained, loopy, and not quite there mentally speaking. The more she thought about the offer however, the more it made sense.
Anypony who can bake such elaborate goods, and help run a bakery surely has to be responsible enough to learn a few magic routines.
"I suppose we could try learning a few tricks together. I'm not altogether sure this is quite in your skillset though."
Pinkie's eyes widened. "What do you mean? My special talent is throwing parties and having fun! A magic show is totes a party, and I'm sure we can have fun doing it," Pinkie said, falling back on all fours.
Trixie bit her lip. “You certainly have a way with ponies. Maybe you and I could do a few routines and see how it goes.”
Pinkie Pie jumped on her bed with glee. "This is gonna be so fun! I’m telling you, Trixie, we can be the best magicians Ponyville has ever seen!"
The excitement bubbled over in Trixie's heart. For the first time in quite a long time, a small ray of hope seemed to shine inside her. Without thinking, she fell onto the bed and giggled like a school filly. Needing little prompting, Pinkie followed suit laughing as if somepony had used a cheesy pun.
"I suppose we should get some sleep for now," Trixie finally said. Slowly, she crawled off the side of Pinkie's bed and nestled into the pullout bed. She stared at the ceiling and waited for Pinkie Pie to turn off her lamp. After a few moments, a pair of blue eyes stared down at her as Pinkie craned her neck off the side of her bed.
"You know... you don't have to sleep down there if you don't want to..."
Trixie put on a trivial smile. "It's not too bad on your back if you lay just right. Besides, I couldn't dream of taking your bed from you."
"You wouldn't have to! My bed is really big! I don't even take up half of it."
A small twinge of pain shot through Trixie's back. Thinking back to their laughing fit, the bed did seem rather large for just one pony.
"I'm not sure I should..."
Trixie was given no further opportunities to protest. Pinkie took her hooves and pulled her onto the bed in one smooth motion. "We'll try it for one night and then you can choose whether you want to keep doing it. Deal?"
Trixie nodded. "That sounds fair to me."
Pinkie smiled and wiggled her way under the covers. Trixie followed suit, pleasantly surprised that there was more than enough room between them to fit another pony if they had to.
Craning her head to the right, Trixie couldn’t help but smile at the mare sitting next to her. “Pinkie, I just wanted to say, thank you so much for all you’ve done for me. For the first time in months, I feel like there might be a place for me in this world once again.”
Pinkie smiled brightly. All of a sudden, her eye went blank, then started fluttering. Her ears started flopping wildly, and she let out a huge sneeze that shoved the bed against the wall another couple inches. Pinkie lifted the blanket, covering the blush on her cheeks. “S-sorry…”
Trixie let out a soft giggle and rolled over in bed. “Good night, Pinkie.”
Giving no warning, Pinkie turned off her nightstand lamp. “Good night, Trixie.”
Partners in magic. This is certainly not how I envisioned my stay in Ponyville going.
A content sigh from her roommate was the last thing Trixie heard that night.