~Three Days Later, Crystal Empire~
"Are you okay, Twilight?" Trixie was concerned for her, watching as she cut her mane's length in half, despite the fact that it was its usual length. "I'm fine, never better. Just felt like a change of style, is that too much to ask for?" Twilight was being unusually snappy today, which further unnerved Trixie. She laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. She had watched helplessly as, over the last day, Twilight's spirit deteriorated. This had no direct connection to her magic, as trying to give her more didn't help. In fact, it seemed to have made it worse. She didn't know what to make of it. It was as if Twilight was a totally different pony now. So, she trotted off to write a letter to the princesses, the only ponies that might be able to help her out of this predicament.
Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,
Hello, this is Trixie writing from the Crystal Empire, and I'm worried about Twilight.
At first, I thought it would go away on its own, but her demeanor is getting worse.
I don't know what to do. As such, I'm cutting our visit short, and we will be arriving in Canterlot as soon as I can convince her.
~Trixie
With that, she rolled up the scroll and put Twilight's old seal on the scroll. That would get their attention, atleast. She trotted out the door, floating the scroll behind her. "I'm going out for a minute, my little Sparkle." she called out behind her before trotting to the post office. After she mailed the letter, she smiled, hoping everything would be fine now. Next, she went to the train station and bought two tickets to Canterlot on the next train. She sighed, returning to their room in the castle that Cadance had still been willing to supply when Twilight was discharged. She entered the room...
And stared in confusion. Twilight's mane looked off. She couldn't place it, but she knew it wasn't good, whatever it was. It wasn't the fact that it was cut, that she had already seen. "Twilight, did something happen while I was out?" She shook her head slowly, refusing to speak for some reason. "It's alright, you can talk to me." Twilight turned to face Trixie.
She looked completely normal. Trixie sighed in relief. "Come on, Twilight, vacation's over, we are going home." Twilight smiled, following Trixie as they left the room, carrying her book in one hoof. They made it to the train station without incident, boarded the train, and left. She gently put Twilight to sleep with a spell, not wanting her to notice when they passed Ponyville and kept going. Then, sighing, she went to sleep beside her, their horns touching.
"Trixie..." A soft growl woke her from her dreamless sleep wrought by weeks of disturbed sleep. "Where the buck have you taken me?" Without her being awake to sustain the spell, it had simply lasted until Twilight was well-rested. Trixie sighed, gently staring into Twilight's eyes. "I know you deny it, but you need help, Twilight. I brought you to the one pony I think could help you. Please, just...Don't be mad." Trixie looked down as she noticed Twilight had moved, and she was now nuzzling her ear softly. "Oh, Trixie, I could never be angry with you." She giggled, then walked off the train. Trixie followed. unease filling her mind as she noted the mood change in Twilight, yet again. Trixie took the lead after a while, leading Twilight to the palace. "Trixie...Why are we going to the palace? We aren't that important." Trixie shook her head. "Sadly, you are. I'm hoping that this encounter doesn't change us." Trixie plowed forward, opening the castle doors before she could hesitate.
And walked headfirst into Princess Celestia's chest. Trixie stumbled back in surprise, immediately bowing before the Goddess of the Sun. "Welcome, Trixie. I see you brought Twilight with you. Good." Twilight, however, didn't look so good. "Trixie, is this some sort of joke?" Trixie flinched at the pure venom in her voice. "No, my little Sparkle, I said you needed help. I brought you to a pony that I thought could help. Just like I said." Twilight grudgingly gave up that point to Trixie and followed. Trixie approached the princess with trepidation. "See what I mean? She isn't herself..." she murmured when she got close, out of hearing of Twilight. "On the train, she seemed angry, but by the time I had finished explaining myself, she was back to normal, like nothing had happened."
The princess nodded. "I see. Well, then. I'll be keeping my eye on her. Until I know more, though, you are both welcome to stay in Twilight's old rooms. It's plenty big enough for two ponies. Please, follow me." With that, Princess Celestia turned and trotted regally into the castle. Trixie followed, with Twilight behind her like a scared foal. "Um...Who's that? Is that...the..." she gulped in fear. "Princess?" If she could cower in fear while moving, she probably would have. "Twilight, I told you, you have nothing to fear from the princess. You'll be fine." Twilight giggled as Trixie continued trying to comfort her. She sighed, happy, and concentrated on following the princess. It took them what seemed like eternity to Trixie but was more like ten minutes to get to Twilight's old room. Though room felt like the wrong term.
There were books everywhere. It was, at Celestia's order, in the same state Twilight had left it when she went to live in Ponyville. A few books laid on every table, a testament to her studying habits, and there were plenty more on every bookcase in the room. Celestia smiled as Twilight bounced with pure joy, rushing past them to look at the books. Her gaze saddened by the time Trixie caught up. "Your brief descriptions remind me more and more of the kind of breakdown Luna endured before turning into Nightmare Moon. I'll be watching this very closely, you have my word on that. But, also, you have nothing to fear from Twilight Sparkle unless she somehow breaches the self-inflicted magic seal, which would lead to a catastrophe. As you know, alicorns are unmatched in flight or magic by any other race of pony. However, Twilight Sparkle embodies magic. Her soul is pure mana, an inexhaustible resource for her. If she were to access it, and what I fear came to pass, I don't know if I could even stop her. She is more powerful than any unicorn in all history. Even Star Swirl the Bearded would pale in comparison. But, anyway, I'm sure you would like to spend time with Twilight, so I'll leave you two alone." With that, Celestia walked away, and Trixie entered the room, closing the door behind her.
She was immediately attacked by a purple blur, swift kisses flying all over the shocked pony's body. "Urgh..." While in that state, she was kissed all over, from the tips of her ears to the tips of her hooves, as Twilight ran wild with happiness and love. Some areas were avoided out of courtesy. That done, she jumped and crashed on top of the mare, bringing her back to her senses. She giggled, still feeling Twilight's lips on her entire body, a fuzzy feeling of warmth and love. She nuzzled Twilight's ears gently as they laid there.
After an hour or so, which involved a lot of mane-stroking and giggling kisses, there was a knock at the door. Twilight looked up at the door as Princess Celestia walked back in, chuckling at the scene once her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. "Alright, now, I thought I would remind you two that dinner is serving soon. There are a few maps of the castle somewhere in here, I know, so I'm sure you can find your way. Each one has my personal chamber marked in red, and this room in purple, for reference points." With that, she walked out, presumably heading to the dining room. Trixie lightly stroked Twilight's mane again, then dragged herself to her hooves, sensation not quite returned, and pulled Twilight up behind her before retrieving a map from one of the desks. She blushed when she realized that a few of the tables had moved and a book or two had flown haphazardly around the room while they had enjoyed each other's company.
At dinner, everything seemed normal, exceptions being the princesses' presence, the fact that the table was way too long to be practical, and the fact that Twilight seemed to be eating everything her hooves could reach. Trixie thought it was cute and giggled, only then catching the solemn eye of Princess Celestia. She immediately got a little more serious, but couldn't help a little happy grin from staying on her face. She had nearly forgotten why they were there. Almost as if...But nopony would dare...She shook her head roughly to get ahold of herself, admonishing herself for even thinking it. Twilight had almost no magic to draw upon, other than what Trixie had given on her own, and besides, her horn hadn't lit up once during the whole time they had been in the castle, other than simple levitation spells, that seemed to come increasingly easy to her.
The piece finally clicked for Trixie, a shocked expression sliding over her face. Twilight, however little, was regaining magical talent. How much longer could it be before the seal broke and all of Twilight's mana returned, full strength? Her happiness was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced with dread. It was inconceivable that this could happen so quickly. Nopony could break a seal like the one on Twilight without outside help, or a force of will that seemed impossible from the way Twilight was acting like a filly all the time.
Another realization hit Trixie, almost worse than the first one. Twilight was acting like a filly. All. The. Time. Meaning either she was acting for some reason, and doing a really good job, or the way her memories had left had completely broken her mind, leaving only whatever this was. Trixie almost threw up, and quickly excused herself from the table. If what she thought was true, then Twilight needed attention, and now.