My Little House Guests

by Spazzy Jamz

T.S. Squared Pt. 2 (or, Twilight and Tristan's Trixie Troubles)

Trixie Lulamoon stood laughing as Tristan and Twilight Sparkle exchanged looks of severe confusion. Trixie sauntered over to the two, fixing her cold stare on Tristan. She let out another dastardly chuckle and turned to Twilight.

"What are you doing here, Sparkle?" she interrogated. "Run out of people to humiliate back in Ponyville?"

Twilight scowled. "If anyone was doing the humiliating, Trixie, it was you." she spat.

Tristan pulled the enemies apart. "I'm sorry, but I'm confused." he said. "How the hell do you two know each other?!"

Trixie faced Tristan and narrowed her eyes. "Don't you ever listen, Shay?" she snarled. "I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am from the same world as your little friend here."

Tristan thought for sure that his brain would explode. He placed a hand on his forehead in hopes of suppressing the oncoming headache. "But that doesn't make any sense!" he cried. "Why didn't you tell me that before!?"

Twilight turned her attention to Tristan, her eyes widened. "Wait," she said, her voice hinting at suspicion. "How do you know her, Tristan?"

Tristan moved his hand from his forehead to the back of his neck. He smiled weakly at Twilight while nervously glancing at Trixie. "Heh-heh. Funny story." he replied, feeling like he was hardly able to breathe. "You see... uh... I...."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Out with it, Shay!" she demanded. "Tell her how you courted Trixie for no more than a month before you were bucked to the curb!"

Twilight's jaw dropped as she looked over to Tristan in disbelief. This discovery had rocked her to her very core. Tristan looked down to the museum floor in shame, but then snapped back up to face Trixie, who was standing cross-armed with a smirk.

"If I recall correctly," he began, "It was me who broke up with you. Being someone's constant verbal, and sometimes physical, punching bag gets tiresome after a while, you know?"

The blue-haired woman simply shook her head. "You're still just as whiny as ever, aren't you, Tristan Shay?"

"And you're just as much of a bi-"

Tristan's sentence was cut short from Twilight placing a hand over his mouth. "None of this explains how you're even here!" she snapped. Her voice became shaky from anger and pain, and the shaking began to spread through her body. Tristan slowly lowered Twilight's hand from his mouth.

"I'd like to hear this, myself, actually." he said, staring incredulously at his ex.

Trixie turned away from them. "After Sparkle had defeated that Ursa Major,"

"Ursa Minor." Twilight corrected angrily.

"No interruptions!" Trixie shot back. She took a breath and continued. "After that night, I had nowhere else to go. I had been run out of every town and city in Equestria. I was passing by the front gates of Canterlot when I overheard the guards talking about a rumor they heard about how Celestia had been taking vacations in other worlds. It was then that I decided to infiltrate the archives in hopes of learning such a spell."

Twilight's eyes widened. "But it's nearly impossible to get into the Canterlot Archives!" she protested. "How did you get past all the guards?!"

Trixie turned back again to face the dumbstruck couple. "The Great and Powerful Trixie needs not to explain!" she barked. "I searched all through the Starswirl the Bearded section. I was near the point of failure when I found it: the Trans-Dimensional Teleportation Spell. Nearly captured, I used every last ounce of my energy to escape.

"I awoke to find myself in a field near this city. After days of hiding and recollecting my energy, I was able to figure out how to use my magic again and make myself into one of the disgusting bipeds that walked this world. I also discovered that these pathetic humans are easily fascinated by even the smallest feats of magic, so I used this to earn money and eventually, a place to live." She smirked in Tristan's direction. "In fact, it was at one of my little shows that I met you, wasn't it, Tristan?"

Trixie approached him slowly, taking seductive steps towards her former companion. Her face came within inches of Tristan's as she raised her hand to his face. She brushed her fingernails gently against his cheek and let out a chuckle. "Too bad you had to end our little relationship." she said softly. "I was getting used to having my own pet human."

Twilight Sparkle couldn't hold back anymore. Something triggered in her head that unleashed a feeling that she wasn't sure she had felt before. Maybe it was the way she touched him, or the way she condescended Tristan to pet status. All she knew was that the floodgates had been opened somewhere inside her, and there was no stopping the force that followed.

"Get away from him!" she screamed. She threw her hand out in front of her and from it a powerful blast of magenta magic flew into Trixie, knocking her into a wall. Tristan's heart immediately skipped a beat from such a close encounter with Twilight's magic. Nearby museum patrons screamed and a frenzy broke out around them as they all ran for the exits. He quickly backed behind Twilight, trying to pull her away from Trixie, but the purple-haired woman wouldn't budge. Smoke rose from her attacking hand as Trixie picked herself up from the museum floor.

Trixie stared wildly at her attacker, infuriated. She drew back to attack, but made a realization and instead, burst into laughter. Twilight clenched her fists.

"What's so funny?!" she demanded. Trixie brushed herself off and began walking towards them again.

"Isn't it obvious?" Trixie called. "You have feelings for the human! You're in love with him, aren't you?!"

Twilight's eyes had sprung open in surprise. She turned to Tristan, who could do nothing but look back at her. Thoughts raced through Tristan's head faster than he could keep track of. He thought back to when he and Pinkie Pie were returning from the carnival and Pinkie had accidentally let it known that he had an admirer. Was it Twilight Sparkle all along?

"Is this true?" he asked, nearly breathless. Twilight's face began to turn red causing her to look away from him. She sighed and faced Tristan once again.

"Tristan... I-"

At that moment, Trixie had fired back a light-blue magic blast of her own, sending Twilight flying back several feet and landing on her back.

"Twilight!" Tristan called. He immediately ran to her aid, lifting her head and shoulders from the floor. "A-Are you alright?"

Twilight slowly stood back up. Her body shook as she tried to fix her stance. Tristan grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away once again, but despite her short-lived loss of equilibrium, she still wouldn't move from her spot.

"Twilight, we have to leave!" Tristan begged. "If we stay any longer, the police will-"

Twilight put a finger to his lips and stared into his eyes for a moment. She silently lowered her hand and returned her attention back to her foe, who stood ready to attack again.

"I didn't want to do this, Trixie," she said, beginning to walk in her direction, "But you leave me no choice. You need to be taught a lesson about bullying others."

Trixie's rage let loose as she fired multiple blasts of magic at her quickly approaching enemy. Twilight, without thinking, put up a magenta force field around her body, absorbing each shot Trixie made. The more the shield absorbed, the brighter it glowed. Trixie's facial expression quickly changed from enraged to frightened as Twilight closed the remaining gap. Trixie stood frozen with fear as Twilight leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Don't ever touch him like that again."

A split second later, the shield burst in all directions, leveling the surrounding displays and throwing Trixie into the furthest wall, knocking her unconscious. Tristan was lucky enough to be standing far enough back to only experience a shock wave that made lose his balance. He quickly regained his footing and dashed over to Twilight, who was wobbling from weakness. Outside, the speaker from a police car sounded.

Come out now with your hands up! We have the building surrounded! This is your only warning!

"Twilight!" Tristan said, panicky. "We have to get out of here now!"

Twilight nodded and pulled Tristan close to her as she used her last bit of magic to teleport them out of the museum just in time for the SWAT team to bust down the doors. Trixie, who had regained some of her consciousness, looked up to find multiple SWAT team members surrounding her and a police officer brandishing a shiny new pair of handcuffs.

Twilight and Tristan reappeared next to Tristan's car. Tristan checked around to see if anyone had noticed, but was relieved to find that everyone's attention was completely fixed on the scene outside the museum's entrance. He sighed and fished his keys out of his pocket. Twilight was swaying from the weak state she found herself in. Tristan opened her door for her and helped her in the car. Twilight would have thought this gesture chivalrous if she wasn't at the brink of fainting.

Tristan quickly ran around to his side of the car and hopped in, turning the key over and slamming the car into drive. He looked over to his passenger, who lay limp in her seat.

"Come on," he said, breathless. "Let's get you home."

Twilight shook her head slowly. "N-No..." she exhaled. Her voice was weak, but in good enough condition to carry sound. "F-Food..."

Tristan shook his head furiously. "We need to get home, Twilight. You aren't well."

Twilight shook her head also and slowly fixed her sitting posture. "I need to eat if I'm going to get any better." she replied. "I know it sounds weird, but somehow that works for me." Tristan gave her a doubtful look.

"But it's not even time for dinner yet."

Twilight gave Tristan an icy stare, causing him to laugh nervously. "Just kidding!" he said fearfully. "Just kidding."

Several minutes passed since the two escaped the chaos of the history museum and possible incarceration. Tristan had been doing his best to get to a certain restaurant that would do more than relieve Twilight's ailment. At least, that's what he hoped would happen.

They pulled into the parking lot of a Chinese buffet and parked at the closest available spot. Tristan got out of the car and hurried around to Twilight's side to assist her. Much to Tristan's surprise, Twilight had begun looking and feeling better. She exited the car on her own and, with the exception of a misstep, had begun to walk normally.

"I think you were just faking sick so you could get an early dinner." Tristan joked. Twilight glared back at him and huffed. "What? I'm kidding!" he said. Tristan figured he was going to have to make a mental note on saving the jokes for Pinkie Pie.

Tristan held the door open for Twilight as they walked into the restaurant. The smell that hung in the air was enticing to both of their stomachs, almost like lunch didn't even happen. The waitress came over with menus and directed them to a table right next to the multiple buffet counters. The waitress took their drink orders and walked back towards the kitchen as Tristan and Twilight quickly attacked the buffet.

Twilight piled her plate up with as much fried vegetables, rice, and noodles as it would hold. Tristan returned to the table with some as well, but also sneaked a few things in with it, hoping it couldn't catch the attention of the ever observant Twilight. The two sat down and began eating. Twilight had brought in her notebook and was scribbling something down on one of the pages.

"Doing research on the awesomeness of Asian cuisine?" Tristan asked. Twilight Sparkle let out a soft giggle.

"No." she replied, not lifting her eyes from the page. "I'm preparing a letter to Celestia for assistance on getting Trixie out of trouble." Tristan nearly choked on his food.

"Are you kidding me?!" he asked, shocked. "You and Trixie try tearing each other apart and now you want to help her?!"

Twilight finished writing and shut the notebook. "If Trixie had been practicing the transformation spell for a while now, she knows that at any moment, she'll turn back into a unicorn." she lectured. "We honestly can't have an inter-dimensional incident right now, can we? Besides, Celestia will know just what to do with her."

Tristan sighed and picked up one of the hidden morsels he had on his plate and ate it quickly. The flavors exploded onto his taste buds and he let out another sigh, this one from pure pleasure. He quickly picked up another one and inhaled it.

"What's that?" asked Twilight. Tristan finished chewing and swallowed.

"General Tso's chicken. It's so go-" Tristan slapped a hand over his mouth, but he already let the identity of his secret delectable be known.

Twilight stared blankly at him for a second and an awkward silence took place. Twilight looked back down at her food and scooped up another forkful.

"Don't let Fluttershy know." she said. The two burst with laughter and they both finished their plates. They went back up for seconds and devoured them just as quickly as the first.

"What did you see in her, anyway?" Twilight inquired. The waitress brought out their bill and some fortune cookies while Tristan fished around for an answer.

"I'm honestly not even sure anymore." he replied. "I think I was just desperate at the time."

Twilight nodded. She didn't completely understand the attraction he found in Trixie, but she didn't want to know any of the details, either. Twilight looked over at the fortune cookie and picked it up, observing it at every angle.

"What's this?"

Tristan picked his up as well. "It's a fortune cookie." he explained. "There's a small piece of paper inside that has a fake fortune written on it." He cracked open his cookie and showed her the paper for demonstration. Twilight Sparkle cracked hers open as well, delighted to find that her's, too, contained a fortune. "You gotta eat the cookie after you read it." Tristan continued, "Otherwise the fortune won't come true." He let out a small chuckle. "But they really aren't meant to be taken seriously."

Twilight read her fortune aloud. "You'll find love where you least expected." She blushed a little and placed the paper in her polo's pocket and took a small nibble of the cookie, making a dissatisfied face. "They call this a cookie?" she asked.

Tristan laughed a little and read his. "A life changing event is headed your way." He scoffed a little and threw the fortune down on the plate. Kinda late for that, isn't it?

With dinner paid and their stomachs full, Twilight Sparkle and Tristan now sat in the car, both relying heavily on their seats' backrests. Twilight groaned, holding her stomach as if she feared it would explode at any given second. Tristan related to Twilight's pain as he rubbed his own stomach.

"Well," Tristan began, "What do you wanna do now? We still have plenty of time before we have to be home." He checked the time on his phone. It had only been four hours since they left the house, but for him, it felt like an eternity.

Twilight removed the itinerary from her polo pocket and checked off the two museums, lunch, and dinner. She expected to not have gone through most of her list in such a short amount of time, but she also didn't count on having an encounter of the Trixie kind.

Frustrated, she crumpled up the paper and pitched it into the back seat, crossing her arms. "I don't know." she huffed. "Trixie completely derailed the schedule."

Trixie. Tristan’s mind still wasn't able to fully grasp what had happened at the history museum. It all seemed too unreal, especially the fact that ex-girlfriend ended up being a unicorn from Twilight’s realm. Tristan’s thoughts then went to a specific moment of the confrontation. He looked over at Twilight and Trixie’s words echoed in his head.

“You're in love with him, aren't you?!”

Tristan stared blankly at Twilight. He wanted to ask her about it. He wanted to know for sure, but he stopped himself. Not right now, he thought.

Tristan leaned up a bit and tried smiling at his grumpy companion. "The day's not completely ruined." he comforted. He tapped the steering wheel in thought. A few minutes passed until Tristan had an epiphany and started the car. As he shifted into reverse, Twilight fixed her posture and rebuckled her seatbelt, giving Tristan a look of confusion.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see." Tristan replied with a smile. He drove the car out of the parking lot and down a few blocks to Twilight's surprise destination. Her eyes lit up as she saw the city library come into view. It was a three story building that had the external appearance of a courthouse, with white granite columns and a large flight of steps leading up to the library's double doors. Twilight's excitedness had returned, despite the unfortunate turn of events at the history museum.

Tristan, relieved that he had saved the day, pulled over next to the curb near a parking meter. Grabbing her notebook, Twilight quickly got out of the car and stood by while Tristan inserted a generous amount of quarters, buying them a couple hours of time. The two traversed the steps and entered the library, Twilight letting out a small gasp upon witnessing the book covered walls. Tristan led her over to the history section, hoping to pick up where they left off at the museum.

Twilight zipped through book after book, keeping notes on the most important dates of American and world history. Tristan was surprised to find that he himself was even learning a thing or two. Twilight finished the books that Tristan had brought her a while later and she dubbed her history lesson complete. Tristan returned the books to their rightful shelves before taking Twilight up the stairs to the section of the library that kept the classical literature, a personal favorite of Tristan's.

Tristan was more than eager to show off some of his favorite authors. Books containing the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and many other literary pioneers lined the table at which Twilight sat. Her eyes widened a little at how much Tristan was throwing at her, but she knew that she could handle it. She saw the same kind of giddy fascination in Tristan's eyes as he rapidly explained why each author was critical to the formation of modern literature. Her heart fluttered as she watched.

Tristan finally pulled out a last book. It's cover was worn heavily and the spine hardly held the pages in place. He gently carried it over and took a seat across from Twilight, who was already skimming through the first volume. Tristan searched through the pages carefully, being ever so gentle as to not rip the already aged and fragile paper. He smiled as he came to his destination and cleared his throat. The sudden sound stopped Twilight's writing and she cocked her head to the side, paying close attention to the words Tristan read.

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

"One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

"And on that cheek, and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart, whose love is innocent."

As Tristan placed the open book on the table, he noticed that Twilight Sparkle was staring at him in amazement. She seemed almost in a trance, her mouth barely hanging open.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Twilight snapped out of her daze that the poem had put her in, blinking a few times before replying.

"Tristan..." she said softly, "T-That was beautiful!"

Tristan chuckled a bit, then turned the book around for her to read. Twilight leaned over the book, reading back the poem in her head before Tristan's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Lord Byron." he said. "It's my favorite poem."

Twilight rapidly flipped to an empty page in her notebook and copied down the poem word for word. She turned back to the page she was at before, anxious to continue.

"Are there any more like those in here?" she asked excitedly. Tristan laughed more.

"Of course!" he replied, excited to find that someone liked the poem as much as he did. "This book of poetry is packed with them. I can check it out for you to read later, if you want."

"Oh, absolutely!" Twilight beamed. She grabbed the book from her table and laid it next to her on the seat. She continued to skim through the remaining books while Tristan played aimlessly on his phone. After a while, Tristan stretched and heard an announcement over the library's intercom, stating that it was closing soon.

"Have we really been here that long?" he asked aloud. He checked his phone to find that it had been six hours since they left the house. He jumped and returned all the books back to their spots and pulled Twilight along to the front desk downstairs.

The librarian at the desk took her time checking out the book and reminded Tristan of an overdue book he still has. After multiple promises of its return, they finally managed to leave just as one of the other librarians locked the door behind them. Outside, the sky was turning a magnificent shade of orange and there was but a few clouds in sight.

"Huh," Tristan said, "It's been getting dark earlier recently." The two walked back to their parked car just in time for the meter to expire and climbed in. Twilight retrieved her crumpled itinerary from the back seat and went back over it again.

"It actually has." she confirmed. "We'll have plenty of time."

"For what?" Tristan said, giving a confused look.

"You'll see." Twilight replied, with a smile.