~~Two weeks later...~~
Applejack's eyes fluttered open. Most ponies around town were probably moaning and dragging themselves out of bed. But waking up early for Winter Wrap Up had never been particularly difficult for Applejack. She was a farm gal; she woke up early every morning for chores anyway.
Waking up was one thing but actually getting out of bed would be another thing entirely. The Great and Powerful Trixie was a snuggle sleeper: she had a tendency to cosy up to AJ during the night such that the earth pony would often have to disentangle herself from the unicorn come morning.
"Trixie?" she whispered, nudging aside a lock of cornflower blue mane and kissing the sleeping magician just below the horn. Trixie scrunched her nose.
"Mmmmhm-mmm... Applejack?" she murmured, her brow furrowing but her eyes still closed.
"Ah'm here, sugarcube. Time to wake up. We got a long day ahead of us."
"Mmm-mmmnn... nuh-uh... the trick to eating pine cones is to just start chewing and not stop 'cos... if you stop then you'll lose momentum... here... Trixie will show you..." Trixie nuzzled groggily against Applejack's chest and drifted back to sleep.
Applejack stifled a giggle. Trixie didn't have nightmares anymore but her normal dreams were plenty bizarre enough to make up for it. AJ tried playfully blowing into an azure ear. It twitched and a low grumble rose from Trixie.
"You awake, yet?" smiled AJ, teasing Trixie was her absolute favourite past time these days. She leaned forward and nibbled Trixie's ear gently.
"Gaaah..." Trixie's legs squirmed around, kicking at the blankets. She slowly lifted her head and blinked blearily at AJ, "Mmmm-mmm... five more minutes," her head flopped back down again.
Applejack grinned, "Breakfast is ready," she said in a soft sing-song voice.
Trixie lurched awake, scampered across the mattress like a wounded animal desperately fleeing a hunter and tumbled out of bed dragging the blankets with her. After a loud thump followed by a mad scramble she leapt to her feet, "Good morning, Applejack! Come on! Breakfast is ready!" cried Trixie, excitably, wearing the blankets like a replacement for her usual cloak.
"That it is," she beamed warmly, "And after breakfast Ah got somethin' real fun for us to do together."
"You do?" Trixie wriggled free of the blankets and trotted across the room to retrieve the new and improved cloak that Rarity had made for her last week, "Excellent. And what marvellous things will you entertain Trixie with today?"
"Well, today's Winter Wrap Up so... we're gonna spend the whole day working hard with no magic whatsoever," Applejack chuckled as Trixie blustered at this for a moment.
"Damn, damn, damn... Trixie forgot that was happening today," Trixie puffed out her chest, "Well, prepare to fall deeper in love with the Great and Powerful Trixie and her myriad of talents because this unicorn is no stranger to hard work. Trixie hauled her caravan half way across Equestria on her own. She can certainly handle a single day of wrapping up winter! Why, Trixie, in her magnificence, could probably wrap up winter single-hoofedly!" Trixie waggled her eyebrows at AJ to let her know she was kidding.
"Ya really think ya can handle it? You were struggling a little bit yesterday when ya were helpin' me clear snow," said Applejack, "A certain somepony ran off to foalsit the CMC first chance she got, if Ah recall correctly."
Trixie blushed and shuffled her hooves, "It'll be okay... even boring chores can be fun... as long as we can do them together."
Applejack leapt off the bed and swept Trixie into her arms, "Yer too darn cute sometimes, ya know that? Ah think Ah'm startin' to reconsider yer request for five more minutes in bed."
"Can't resist Trixie's charms, huh? The Great and Powerful mmmph-" Applejack shut Trixie up with a deep kiss. It was going to be a long day and AJ needed to recharge her emotional batteries with copious amounts of Trixie.
"Ahem."
Applejack reluctantly pulled away, "Dang it, Mac! How many times Ah gotta tell ya not to come barging into my room!"
Big McIntosh sheepishly withdrew the head he had poked into the bedroom ,"Came to tell ya breakfast's ready," said the stoic red stallion from the hall.
"Ya don't have to come up here an' tell me that!" snapped Applejack. She always got a bit edgy when somepony interrupted her when she was getting her fix of Trixie, "Ah could smell that food from halfway across Ponyville," ninety percent of what Mac said was implied rather than openly stated. Applejack knew full well that the real reason he was up here was to badger her to get ready for Wrap Up because he knew if she had her way she might end up lying in bed with Trixie for another hour.
"Come on, sugarcube, let's get moving."
"Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!" Apple Bloom scampered into the room at her usual break-neck pace, "Snips and Snails asked me to ask you if you could teach them more magic tricks and Ah said Ah would but only if me an' the Crusaders could come too 'cos we wanted to be Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians!"
"Anypony else wanna come bargin' into mah bedroom?" asked a rather frazzled AJ.
Granny Smith's wrinkled face poked in through the door, "How much longer are you two lover birds gonna take? Yer pancakes're gettin' cold!"
Applejack sighed. She'd have to spend the night in Trixie's caravan again if she planned on securing even an iota of privacy for the two of them.
"Apparently Trixie's not allowed to use magic for the whole day but maybe she can teach you lot some card tricks tomorrow when the sun comes out," laughed Trixie as she trotted downstairs with the rest of them, glancing over her shoulder and tossing a wink AJ's way.
"Awww! But Winter Wrap Up is so boring," whined Apple Bloom, "Tell me another story so Ah'll have something to entertain the rest of the Crusaders with later!"
"Hmmm... did Trixie ever tell you about the Snowmare?"
Their cheerful voices faded away as they marched downstairs. Applejack dug her scarf and another one for Trixie. She paused. Was she forgetting anything? Trixie's hat! She plucked it off the hook and paused for but a moment to stare out the window. Beyond the misted pane lay all of winter waiting to be cleared. Sweet Apple Acres was covered by a thick blanket of snow hthat shone bright and crisp, despite the sun not having risen yet, as the lights of the farmhouse played on its surface. Usually she looked forward to the end of winter but this time...
Mah first winter with Trixie's over so soon... still... Ah'm sure by the time winter comes 'round again next year Ah'll have plenty of new stories to tell.
"Y'all had better not have started those pancakes without me or there'll be heck to pay!"
-The End.-