//------------------------------//
// The Routine 
// Story: The New Tales of Trixie and Twilight 
// by Little Jackie Papercut 
//------------------------------//

	Spike pulled himself out of bed with a loud yawn, just as he did every day.

He scratched at his scales a little as he stretched away some of the sleep, just as he did every day.

He half-stumbled down the stairs, rubbing his eyes, just as he did every day.

He walked right under those brilliant beams of light, ignoring the two unicorns locked in battle, and proceeded toward the kitchen to get himself some breakfast, just as he did every day. "Good morning, Spike," Twilight called to him, still focused on her opponent.

"Pleasant... day today," Trixie added through the strain of maintaining her attack. Spike mumbled back the usual greeting as he ate. He glanced at the clock; it would only be a minute or so now.

At first the battles had been pretty quick, with one of them taking the element of surprise and overpowering the other almost immediately. More recently, though, both unicorns had been better-prepared, and their power had been almost equal. Now one of these sparring matches could stretch on for several minutes, until it was a wonder they hadn't both collapsed already.

Spike raised an eyebrow as Trixie cried out. She was usually just a little more stoic about losing. He stood, and walked back out of the kitchen. "Didn't sleep well?" he asked. Now he saw that it hadn't been a cry of defeat; Trixie had just amped up the power, backing Twilight against a bookshelf.

"Pinkie Pie... reintroductions... all night," Twilight gasped as she tried to match Trixie's power, without much success. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the surge faded. The unicorns found themselves on even footing once more, and then it was Trixie who was backing up. A moment later, Trixie's spell faltered, and Twilight let up as the blue mare's face hit the floor.

"Trixie? Are you alright...?"

Both Twilight and Spike paused to listen for a moment, and heard the unmistakable sound of snoring.

"Heh... I guess Trixie is even more tired than I am," Twilight commented. "Can you get the things for my to-do list for today? I'll just take her to bed, and then we'll head to Applejack's."

Spike gave a salute and began to collect items as Twilight carried her roommate upstairs.

Twilight entered the room and proceeded to Trixie's bed. Cautiously, she lowered the sleeping pony onto the bed, giggling slightly as she let out a particularly loud snore. The showmare had insisted on bringing in a new bed, rather than use Twilight's spare, and admittedly, it was obvious why. The spare was worn and beaten lumpy, uncomfortable and funny-looking, owing in no small part to the abuse it had seen at the hooves of Applejack and Rarity. Trixie's new bed was much more appealing.

It looked so soft... and warm...


~#~#~#~


Spike paused and looked up from his task. He thought he heard something, but it was difficult to tell. Straining to listen, he craned his head in the direction of the sound.

There it was again, a faint thumping. "Twilight? Is that you?" He followed the noise back into the main room of the library.  As it repeated itself, he realized that it was coming from the door. Somepony was knocking, just barely.

"It's open," Spike called.

The knocking stopped, and there were several moments of silence. Spike was about to forget it when the door creaked open, uncertainly, painfully slowly, and Fluttershy poked her head in.

"Oh, hello, Spike. Is Twilight home? I wanted to congratulate her," the pegasus said.

"She should be down in just a moment," Spike said, then scratched his head. "What?" he added under his breath. Congratulate Twilight? On... a new roommate? "She's putting Trixie to bed. They didn't sleep last night."

"Oh. Um." Fluttershy looked very uncomfortable now. Moreso than usual. "That's... nice. I can come back..."

"Fluttershy. Get in here," Spike said, rolling his eyes.

The mare squeaked and ducked out the door, returning a moment later with a covered basket in her mouth.

"...huh? What's that?" Spike pointed at the basket, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, when I heard, I thought, I should bring them a special gift basket," Fluttershy said, setting it down. "Should I take it back? I just thought it might be good for, you know, them, to share and, um..." She trailed off.

"...no, I'm sure they'll like it," said Spike, even more confused now. "And if they don't, I'll take it!"

This provoked a squeak from the pegasus, her face reddening noticeably. "Oh, no, I'm afraid that wouldn't be... I mean you wouldn't like it. Trust me." She giggled nervously.

Spike shared the uneasy gesture, then glanced up the stares. "Sure is taking her a long time," he said. "Maybe we should go get her."

"G-get her?" Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably in place.

"Alright, if you say so," Spike said, walking around behind her and pushing her toward the stairs. At his urging, Fluttershy picked up the basket again and stepped forward, ascending to Twilight's bedroom.

"Hey Twi," Spike said as they entered the room, "Fluttershy just came by to..."

He was interrupted by a loud gasp from Fluttershy, who promptly dropped the basket and bolted down the stairs. Spike stared after her, totally nonplussed. He started to call out to her, but she was already long gone. He gave a helpless shrug to nopony, then turned back to the bed.

Twilight had collapsed, her hindlegs dangling off the side of the bed, body draped over Trixie's still-slumbering form. "Geez, you must've really been wiped," he said, pulling the mare's legs up onto the bed as best he could before draping a blanket over the two. He eased himself out of the room, not wanting to disturb the sleeping ponies.

Back downstairs, he found the door hanging wide open. He shook his head with a sigh, then closed it and started wandering around, tidying up the library as he waited.


~#~#~#~


Upstairs, there was a yelp, followed by two thuds.

Twilight picked herself up off the floor, panting slightly as she recovered from the shock, followed closely by Trixie. Twilight gaped for a moment, then shook her head, massaging her forehead with a hoof. "I must've fallen asleep," she said. "How long was I...?" She now directed her gaze toward the clock and gasped. It had been two hours! "Oh no, I'm running late! Sorry for waking you Trixie I gotta go see you later!"

Twilight rushed out of the room and down the stairs, half-stumbling in her haste, leaving a confused Trixie behind her. Trixie looked at the clock as well, shrugged, then idly let her eyes wander the room. They came to rest on a covered basket next to the door. Curious, Trixie picked it up with her magic and examined it.

There was a note attached, reading, To Twilight and Trixie, I hope you enjoy, um, if it's alright with you, that is. Trixie found it odd that the last part was written smaller than the rest of the message, but shrugged it off. She decided that if it was for her to enjoy, she might as well start now. With a smirk, she lifted the cover off the basket.

Blushing scarlet, she set it back down, slid it under the bed, and backed away. "The consideration is appreciated, mysterious note," she half-coughed, "but Trixie thinks you may perhaps be getting ahead of yourself..."


~#~#~#~


"I hope Applejack isn't mad," Twilight muttered as she made her way toward the farm on the edge of town, Spike perched on her hindquarters.

"She won't mind THAT much, will she?" Spike shrugged. "It's not like it'll be the first time somepony has shown up late."

"This is different, Spike. Remember how you reacted when Trixie came back?"

Spike nodded slowly. He still wasn't really sure if he liked having the braggart around or not, but at least he was used to her now; she had become just another part of their lives, like the rest of Ponyville. When she had first shown up, on the other hand, he had wanted her gone at any cost, especially after Twilight started to act more friendly, offering her tea, even settling down for a chat after their frequent spontaneous duels.

"Applejack just found out Trixie's living with us," Twilight explained. "She might think I'm showing up late because I'd rather spend time with Trixie, and knowing how Applejack feels about Trixie, I don't think she'd be happy about that."

Spike had to admit, if there was one thing that could drive a wedge between the friends, it would be Trixie.

As Twilight approached Sweet Apple Acres, she was greeted by the sounds of applebucking. "Applejack?" she called, drawing near to the orchard. "Are you here?"

There was a momentary pause in the kicking, and then an unenthusiastic "Uh-huh" from the same general direction.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Twilight continued as she stepped through the trees and caught sight of the farmer. "I guess I overslept..."

"Right. Overslept." Applejack snorted. "Ah don't reckon ah'd sleep so easy these days, 'fah were you, not sharin' space with a snake. But good fer you, ah guess."

"Applejack, please..." Twilight started, but Applejack just gestured to a basket. With a remorseful sigh, Twilight picked it up and started collecting apples.

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, broken only by thumping sounds, of hooves against trees, and of apples into baskets. Twilight glanced at Applejack a few times, starting to say something but holding her tongue when she saw the irritated, somehow distant look on her friend's face.

It was Spike who finally spoke. "C'mon," he said, poking at Twilight. "I thought you wanted to talk to Applejack about Trixie..."

Slowly, Applejack came to a halt, fixing her eyes on Twilight. "Well then, talk," she said, after a moment's hesitation. "Ah've been waitin' ta hear it."

Her features were perfectly stoic. The coming of this conversation, Twilight knew, must have bothered Applejack quite a bit, perhaps more than Twilight's own tardiness, yet apart from an understandable coldness, Applejack didn't seem really hostile.

"You trust me, right?" Twilight asked cautiously. Before anything else, she needed Applejack's trust. Without that, there wasn't going to be any peace again for a long time.

Applejack drew a heavy sigh. "Yeah, Twi. Ah trust ya. Ah told ya that yesterday. Sorry fer bein' a little snippy, but, well... ah know you can understand. Jus' talk, okay? Ah'll listen."

Twilight nodded. "That's fair. I guess I should start at the beginning. It started a month ago, about a week after Trixie apologized..."

"Whoa whoa whoa hold up," Applejack said, waving both forehooves frantically. "Trixie apologized?"


~#~#~#~


A week had passed since the big duel and subsequent rematch between Twilight and Trixie. Ponyville was blissfully quiet again. Twilight was just making sure everything was in order in the library before getting herself ready to meet with the mayor, to arrange for the sponsorship of a group function for the foals of Ponyville (Rainbow Dash had mentioned camping, an idea that fascinated Twilight; it was like an extension of a slumber party!).

"Spike! I'm going over to Town Hall, I'll be back in a few minutes!" she called, opening the door as she approached it. Spike called back a confirmation, and Twilight stepped out the door.

She had only just cleared the entryway when a rustling sound caught her attention. Spinning in place, she looked around for the source and saw nothing. Several tense seconds of watching and waiting passed, before finally Twilight gave a shrug and turned to resume her errand.

It was at this point that Trixie burst out of a shrub beside the door and tackled Twilight with a cry of "TWILIGHT SPARKLE! TRIXIE CHALLENGES YOU!"

Twilight was knocked off balance and, reeling, fired a lockup spell in the direction of her assailant. At the same time, Trixie used her advantage to charge up something big and hurl it at Twilight. The two spells collided and cancelled each other violently, sending both unicorns flying, to collapse in the dirt.

Twilight was the first to stand, panting from the shock and from the strain of the cold start for her magic.

"Trixie? What are you doing?" she asked, as near a shout as she could manage. "I thought you learned your lesson last time! Why are you attacking me now?!"

Trixie, however, was laughing as she picked herself up off the ground. It wasn't even remotely like an evil laugh. It was more like a sound Rainbow Dash might make; perhaps a little harsh, but ringing of genuine mirth. "Because," she said, "it was fun."

Twilight had no idea what to say about that.

"You see," Trixie continued, "for Celestia knows how long, and especially when my mind was clouded by vengeance, I forgot how enjoyable it could be to have a good contest. A sparring match... a bit of exercise, with a winner and a loser, but no real stakes. It wasn't until I realized that I might lose to you that I began to feel that thrill. And, well... I hardly have any other sparring partners, so I thought..."

"You thought you'd come challenge me again," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "But, Trixie, you forgot something."

"And what's that?" Trixie asked, grinning broadly.

That grin was replaced with a look of shock as a pinkish-violet aura closed around the blue mare, curling her body up into the shape of a wheel. "You forgot that without any power boosters, I'm way more powerful than you," Twilight said, rolling the wheel alongside her as she made her way toward Town Hall. "It's great that you want to be friends, I think, but maybe sparring with me wasn't the best plan?"


~#~#~#~


Applejack removed her hat and used it to suppress her laughter. Spike also snickered from Twilight's back.

"Since then, we've dueled at least once a day. Well, except for that day she hurt herself," Twilight concluded.

"So... so ya jus'... rolled 'er up and wheeled 'er out, an' she still came back for more?" Applejack asked.

"Well, yeah," Twilight said, giggling a little herself. "Turned out she was onto something. She got a lot stronger just from trying to beat me, to the point where she was actually winning more of those spontaneous matches than I was... at least until I got stronger too, and learned how to anticipate her. Now we're about even and the duels are actually a lot of fun."

"An' she wants ta be friends," Applejack mused. "Whoo Nelly, ah never thought ah'd see the day THAT happened."

Twilight nodded calmly. "Applejack, I swear to you, Trixie has changed. She's not the petty bully who tied you up the first time she came to town or the crazy villain who made a mess of things last time. She's just... trying her best, you know?"

Applejack considered that for a minute. "Ah s'pose... ah can understand that. Alright, then. You tell Trixie she's got one shot at wipin' the slate clean. Next time ah talk to her ah'll decide whether ah wanna try bein' friends or not."

"Thank you, Applejack," Twilight replied. "I'll tell her right after we're done here."

"Hey, what's keepin' ya? Go tell her now." Applejack shrugged. "You've helped enough fer now."

Twilight glanced back at Spike, who nodded. "Alright then," she agreed. "If you don't need any more help, I'll be heading back. Thanks for listening, AJ."

With a polite bow, which Applejack returned in kind, Twilight made her way out of the orchard and down the road once more.