//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Ein Sof Zealotry // by ZhaoZoharEX //------------------------------// Original Title: Just Between Friends This chapter is part of the older version of "Ein Sof Zealotry" and is to be considered non-canon in lieu of the pending rewrite. This along with the rest of the old story remain for the purpose of comparison. For the first time in many weeks, Twilight Sparkle woke up in the morning without the aid of an alarm clock. The night before, she had prepared for a trip to the Everfree forest and went to bed early. It wouldn’t be much of an issue if not for the fact she was planning on visiting a friend who was less than welcome among the community of Ponyville. Making sure to not wake Spike from his sleep, why couldn’t he sleep in once in a while, especially when Twilight didn’t need him for any particular task, she made her way to the kitchen to fetch something light to eat. The lack of need for coffee only confirmed to her how excited she was about the day. She opted just for an apple and stuffed some food of choice into the picnic basket. Trixie would certainly appreciate it, she was sure. Properly prepared, she set for her trip. The streets of Ponyville where almost empty, just as expected on early Saturday morning. Not that she feared being confronted about her destination, visiting Zecora was a common occurrence for Twilight, but the fewer ponies she met the fewer could take away time dedicated to today’s task. It didn’t take her long to reach the edge of Everfree forest. She didn’t hesitate in the slightest and dove right into the eternal dusk among the trees. She knew the path well and trusted herself to if not defeat then at least scare away any potential attacker, but she still paid utmost attention to her surroundings. Who knew, maybe Zecora was out on a stroll and Twilight would meet her there like many times before. This time, however, it wasn’t the case, and after an hour of walking Twilight found herself in front of Zecora’s hut. She knocked and used magic to open the door. Zecora still hadn't replaced the doorknob used to deceive Trixie. How she got into her own house like this, Twilight didn't know. The sound of boiling echoed through the spacious home and a deep melodic voice soon followed. “Trixie sweetheart, you’re back quick, it seems your training does the trick.” “Actually, it’s just me, Zecora. I thought I would drop by and check how things are going,” Twilight said with mirthfully. She trotted to the main room of the hut and found Zecora tending to a small cauldron to the side. “What are you brewing?” Zecora straightened up and smiled at Twilight, motioning for her to take a seat by a low table. “Just a tea, my dearest friend, but it will be a special blend.” She poured the tea into two cups and placed the cauldron near the fire to keep the rest warm. Then she joined Twilight by the table. “To me your presence is always treat. But it’s Trixie you want to meet,” she said flatly. Twilight cringed from dirty conscience, but tried to hold her ground. “It’s not like that. I came mainly because of her, but I wanted to see you too. You know that I enjoy your company.” “My dear Twilight, you can rest. My statement was just a jest. And I understand your feelings well, Trixie sure has her own spell. She’s been helpful all the time. Bad mouthing her is a crime.” “I’m glad you two get along well. I was worried her presence would burden you too much. Where is she, by the way?” Twilight asked and glanced around the room. There were now two beds, one with a cape and a hat lying on it along with some books Twilight brought Trixie last time she visited. Otherwise the place looked just like she remembered from her first visit two years ago. “She is out searching for flower, she should return in an-” Twilight never learned the end of the rhyme, albeit obvious one, because a knock was heard from the door of the hut. A creaking of the hinges sounded and then the newcomer spoke up. “Zecora? I found it! It was just where you thought it would be. I can’t understand how you remember location of every… Twilight!” It was a blur. One moment Twilight was watching Trixie walking into the room, levitating a herb pouch, the next she was tackled by blue and silver and held very tight. Not that she minded. It had been a long time and she was happy to see her friend too. “From all the reactions I imagined… Okay, this was pretty high on the list. How have you been, Trixie?” Twilight said, sporting a slightest blush. “Oh I’m so happy to see you again. You promised to visit. Why haven’t you showed up more? I have been feeling a bit lonely lately. No offence, Zecora.” The zebra just shrugged and chuckled as Trixie didn’t show any signs of letting go. “You know how it goes, Trixie. There was much I had to do, I will tell you all about it while we eat our brunch.” Twilight levitated a basket to where Trixie could see it, which meant behind Twilight’s back. “I’m also glad that you dropped that third person speech pattern,” she said and smirked as the hooves dug into her back in response. “It was a stupid habit and I see it now,” Trixie mumbled and finally let Twilight go. “Will you need me today, Zecora?” she asked as she turned to face her host. “I think I will be alright, go and spend day with Twilight.” She busied herself with sorting the herb pouch Trixie brought, and didn’t even lift her eyes. “Ok, thanks! Come on Twilight, I know a perfect place where we can have our picnic. I found it quite recently and think you will love it!” Trixie grabbed Twilight’s hoof and all but dragged her out of the hut. Twilight threw a bewildered gaze at Zecora, who chuckled in response and left the two unicorns to their devices. The two mares walked deeper into the forest with Trixie on point leading to the place she had in mind. While trailblazing, Twilight couldn’t help but notice an anxious expression the former showmare was sporting. “Is something wrong, Trixie? You seem a little worried,” Twilight asked in concern. “It’s nothing, just that whenever I go out into the forest like this, I start to worry about the monsters. Manticores aren’t too much of a problem, but I’m always afraid that a bunch of Timberwolves are going to pop out and try to attack me. It’s hard to take them down you know, since they regenerate themselves.” Even though her fear of the creatures within the forest was justified, she still tried to hide her uncertainty. Twilight on the other hand nonchalantly lit her horn and used her magic to uproot a whole tree. Then she snapped it in half, which resulted in a look from Trixie that was a mix between astonished and terrified. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about anything today. You can pick your jaw up now,” Twilight said with a grin. “Okay, if you’re trying to make me jealous…. It worked.” With a giggle from both unicorns, they continued onward until they reached a clearing. Trixie gestured her friend toward the middle. “Here it is. I found this place and thought it would be nice for our brunch,” she said with a smile. “It is very nice.” “What do you have packed?” “Nothing too fancy, but I have a few sandwiches, some juice, a couple of fruits and I even brought a few slices of cake saved from Pinkie Pie’s recent party.” “Ooh, sounds good! I’ll help set things up.” Trixie grabbed the basket in her own magic and galloped to the middle of the clearing. The run took just few seconds, since it wasn’t the biggest of spaces. Confined from the underdark of the forest by raspberry and rose bushes with the exception of the small path they took to arrive, and small spring on the farther end, it brought a sense of sanctuary to anypony who happened upon it. She quickly pulled a blanket from the basket and spread it on the ground, putting the assorted food out right afterwards. She made a point of levitating all contents of the basket at the same time, showing her magic truly improved. The expectant look she was giving Twilight was evidence of that enough. “Impressive, Trixie. When I remember that just over a year ago you had difficulties with tying a rope around that Ursa’s fingers, I admit you really improved.” “Haha. Do you have to constantly tease me, Twilight? Especially with that? I thought I was the snarky one here,” Trixie huffed and plopped down on the blanked, leaving enough space for Twilight. The other unicorns bit her lip in shame at her behavior. She finally realised how sensitive the matter of magic was for Trixie. “I’m sorry. I crossed the line there,” she said and trotted to the blanket. Before she laid down, she gently nuzzled Trixie as an apology. Trixie blushed slightly and sighed in resignation. “Do you know how hard it was for me after I left Ponyville? Everything turned against me…” Trixie ran fast and far into the night before stopping. She took some time to regain her breath and decided to take a rest wherever she currently was. Neither was she used to so much physical strain, nor had she gotten her sleep yet and the stress of meeting Ursa didn’t help her state. She leaned back against a tree and wrapped her forelegs around herself to fend of the cold of the night. That reminded her of her current predicament. “Let’s see. Trixie is out, with nothing, her trailer is ruined and she can’t even return to pick whatever is left. Thank you kindly, Twilight Sparkle. Your spells are amazing, but your timing sucks big time!” She laid on the cold ground and placed her head on her hooves. If there were a manticore three feet in front of her, she wouldn’t notice it in the thick darkness, therefore she opted to spend the night there. It wouldn’t help to fall into some gorge. Among her shivering her mind wandered back to the night’s events. “How can she be so powerful!” Trixie shouted into the night. “She could think up and pull off such sequence of spells on the spot while Trixie has to plan everything! And to top it off she looks cute while doing it.” The jealousy and other emotions she didn’t quite recognise veiled her mind and brought tear into her eyes. But since she couldn’t interpret them otherwise, she saw everything as masked anger. She pounded her hoof into the ground and mumbled through gritted teeth, “Trixie will show her that she IS great and powerful! Twilight Sparkle will pale next to Trixie’s fame! She will beg to witness Trixie’s show.” She lay there for some time, her crying subsiding to occasional sobs. She wiped the remaining tears and returned to a position suitable for sleeping. “Trixie must just try harder. She lost everything here, but she still has savings in… Canterlot. Celestia damn it! Trixie will have to walk the whole way there. Just you wait, Twilight Sparkle, just you wait!” “I’m sorry Miss Lulamoon, I’m afraid I cannot give you the permit to perform here in Trottingham.” “You have GOT to be kidding me! This is the fourth time in a row Trixie’s been denied the permit to perform. Every city, every town she goes to, she can’t get work! Trixie is running out of money and she can’t find work!” “Well you see, your show has been said to be potentially dangerous and from what I’ve heard, you aren’t the best role model either. As Mayor of Trottingham, I have to make sure my city and its citizens are safe.” “You can’t do this to Trixie! What is she going to do to make a living? She doesn’t have too many other options! Doesn’t that mean anything?!” “I’m sorry, Miss Lulamoon, but I will have to ask you to leave now.” “But-” “Now! Don’t make me call security.” “...Fine! have it your way, but the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie will make a great and powerful comeback!” “I highly doubt that.” Trixie dragged herself back to the inn she was staying at. Ever since her visit to Ponyville, she had a hard time finding work. Every place she went to would reject her from performing. They caught wind of her incident in Ponyville and turned her away out of fear of bringing more Ursas or any other menace to their home. Once she got into her room and closed the door, she hung up her cape and hat before plopping face first into her bed. Maybe I’m just not meant to be a showmare. I have this magic, but I can’t use it for much of anything. Even when I could find work, I didn’t do much else than simple tricks. Trixie rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. It was dark outside due to the overcast of clouds starting to rain, and she didn’t bother with turning on her bedside lamp. The sound of the pouring showers outside was the only audible noise to the unicorn. The clouds are weeping for me too it seems… Maybe I should try a change of pace. If I can get a real job, maybe I can save up for a tutor. Yeah. That way, I can learn real legitimate magic, not some stage tricks. Maybe… Maybe I can impress her with what I learn instead. “Wow. I didn’t know you had it so rough after that first visit to Ponyville.” “It’s not a problem. Really, I needed a wake up call to show me just how little I knew about magic. Now, I see you finished with the meal. Shall we head back to Zecora’s?” “I don’t think we will get there before the evening, Trixie,” Twilight said with a smirk. “Although, you finding this clearing saved us a lot of searching. It’s exactly what we need.” “Need for what exactly? I thought you came just for a brunch,” Trixie said with uncertainty. “This.” Twilight opened her saddlebag and levitated a big hardcover book to Trixie. “I told you we would build you a temporary home. And the time has come,” she said and clapped her hooves happily. Trixie took the book in her hooves. “Build Your Own Log Cabin.” She threw a questioning glance at Twilight. “Wouldn’t we need some material to build a log cabin?” Twilight sighed and lighted her horn. “I thought that my demonstration back there would be clue enough. Well, here it goes again.” She pointed her horn at a random tree in the second row around the clearing and with a flick of her head uprooted it. It landed with a tud in the middle of the clearing, the leaves shaking for few more second. Twilight pointed her horn at her other saddlebag and two axes flew out. The leaves went through another shaking exercise as the tools hit the trunk. “Just one more question, Twilight. Why didn’t you bring the first tree with us? It would come in handy,” Trixie smirked, determined not to show more amazement at Twilight’s magic than absolutely necessary. Twilight trotted to the tree and removed one of the axes with her magic, levitating it above her head. “You can go back there and bring it if you want. Beware the timberwolfs though,” she said as she was cutting off one branch after another. Trixie shuddered at the idea of the beasts and the hard work bringing the log would be and instead grabbed the second axe. “Can I have a twee to pway with too, pwease?” she cooed at Twilight. Were Trixie not waving a potentially lethal tool in her magic, Twilight would find her extremely cute. “When you ask so nicely, I can’t say no. Just get further from me with that axe.” It wasn’t long and the sound of two lumberjacks working filled the clearing and the close surroundings. Then one of them went silent. Twilight turned around to find out what was going on. “Are you taking a pause already, Tri-” Her mouth stayed open in utter disbelief. Not only wasn’t Trixie resting, her tree was already prepared to be used for building. “Another tree, please,” Trixie said happily and twirled her axe in the air. “I… How come you can work with tools so well?” “It’s not so different from a pickaxe and I have lots of experience with that,” Trixie stated smugly. “Where from, if you don’t mind me asking?” After a day of work, the unicorn mare was called back into the house. It was a hot day, but she did her best to work through the sun and it payed off having done the work of two ponies. “You must be parched, dear. Would you like something to drink?” “Oh, yes please, Mrs. Quartz.” “Set yourself down at the table and I’ll have dinner ready in about 10 minutes. Here is some water until then.” “Thank you.” Trixie sipped the ice cold water from the glass, savoring the refreshing liquid as the other members of the family came in. A stallion sat down across the table from her with a grin on his face. “Was a very good day today. I gotta say, I’m happy to have your help round here. A good worker gets a good pay too.” “I try Mr. Igneous Rock. I have the money I need saved up.” “You did say today was your last day right? We’re going ta miss ya when you do leave. Might I ask why you’re savin’ up that money?” “A while ago, before I came here, I used to be a showmare. I would travel and perform, using my magic to entertain. My special talent is magic and for awhile I thought I was a prodigy. But recently, I met an… acquaintance who taught me I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. It’s hard to explain without knowing magic yourself, but I just didn’t feel whole anymore. For most of my life, I was self taught and I think that’s why. So I want to seek a tutor in Canterlot and learn more.” “Oh?” “Yeah, I want to show my acquaintance how much I’ve learned since I saw her last.” “I see. Are the two of you close?” “I’m afraid not. At least not as much as I would like. See, we didn’t meet under favorable circumstances and… I was kind of arrogant at the time. I want to see her again and thank her for setting me straight again.” “Well, I hope it works out for ya.” “As do I. I should be leaving for Canterlot not long from now.” “Until then,” Cloudy Quartz came back. ‘Let’s enjoy a nice dinner.” “Ya don’t have to tell me twice. Girls! Dinner’s ready!” The family all settled together and ate. After dinner was done, bellies full after a hard day’s work, the girls washed up and prepared for bed. It didn’t take long for Trixie’s eyes, heavy from exhaustion, to close and for her to fall into a restful sleep. The next morning, she woke up to her alarm clock which she set the night before to get up at the crack of dawn. Still a little drowsy, she did her morning routines, brushing her teeth, showering, and carefully walked downstairs. “Mornin’ miss Lulamoon,” Igneous Rock said. “Good morning sir,” Trixie said stretching. “Sit down and have some breakfast, I have something to show you.” She did as he asked and sat down. His wife laid a plate of pancakes in front of her as Mr. Rock rustled through the newspaper. “Uh, let’s see here. No. No. Ah, here it is. Take a look.” He handed the paper to the unicorn and her eyes widened as she read an ad placed by a magic tutor. “Midnight Spell… Canterlot…. Wow, this I have to check out.” “I thought you’d like that. Should be your first stop when you get to Canterlot.” “This helps quite a bit. Thank you.” “You’ve been a great help around here, miss Lulamoon, and a good worker deserves a good pay, just as I said. We’ve been a bit short handed since our youngest daughter left the farm. We miss having her around here, but I wanted her to pursue something she likes and I feel she wouldn’t find it here in this boring old rock farm. Shoulda seen the look on her face the day she got her cutie mark.” “Was it three balloons?” “Yes. How’d you know?” “Uh, lucky guess. Anyway, thank you for everything.” “My pleasure. If you ever need another job, feel free to come back.” Their work continued with great success and before the sun began setting, the rough building stood where nothing used to be before. There was still much to do, but they decided to leave it for the next day and head back to Zecora’s hut for the night. “I’m glad to see that you are back, and in Everfree didn’t lose the track,” Zecora welcomed them as they entered. The day of hard work took a lot out of them and they were barely dragging their hooves at this point. “I made some meal for when you come, your tummies sound like witch drum.” “Thank you, Zecora,” Twilight said and followed it with a massive yawn. “We will probably just eat and go to bed if you don’t mind.” She walked slowly to the table, but stopped in the middle of her journey. “Wait. Where am I going to sleep? Uh and will you allow me to stay the night?” “Trixie has got the guest’s bed, for two it has been tonight set,” Zecora answered calmly and served Twilight a nice helping of mushroom soup. They both concentrated solely on the food they were dealing with so they missed the blush on Trixie’s face completely. “Works for me. We can fit there comfortably. Right, Trixie?” “Mmmmhmmm,” came the muffled reply from Trixie who was rummaging through the beddings to put them into order and to hide her true thoughts about the subject. As they finished their meal, they could really do nothing else than to venture to the bed just like Twilight said. After a while of shuffling around Trixie decided that taking some risks was in order and wrapped her hooves around Twilight. That of course didn’t go unnoticed. “Trixie? What are you doing?” “Umm. The nights in Everfree get a bit cold and since you aren’t used to it I thought we could hold each other. For warmth,” Trixie whispered because she didn’t trust her voice to stay steady at normal volume. “Oh I didn’t realise that. Thank you, Trixie,” Twilight beamed and returned the embrace without hesitation. She didn’t mind really. The morning came too early for Trixie’s tastes and Zecora’s early riser habits broke the blissful state Trixie was in. She didn’t dare to complain lest Twilight would wonder about the night too much. There was work to be done anyway. “I asked Zecora to buy various items you could use in your new home. Having a house is one thing, making it inhabitable is another. If I just knew where she put them. She left before I could ask her… A-ha! Here they are!” Twilight levitated several bags from the top shelf of the storage closet. She opened them and searched the contents. “Cookware, bedsheets, blankets, components of furniture - I hope you like puzzles, Trixie!” “Can’t get enough of them,” Trixie muttered, not happy to be robbed of the source of warmth. “Grab some breakfast and we will be on our way. We need to finish it today, ponies would wonder where I went if I didn’t return by the evening,” Twilight said with a bit of annoyance at the prospect of returning to Ponyville. As they set to the journey back to the clearing, Trixie was forced to carry all the bags along with the basket with their lunch. To her surprise, balancing several objects of uneven weight caused her much less problems than she expected it to. Twilight noticed it too. “Looks like your tutelage helped you a lot. Sorry it had to end. I will do my best to be a sufficient replacement.” You’ll be more than sufficient, I’m sure of that, Trixie though. “How did you even become Midnight’s student? Was it hard to convince him?” “Not really. He was quite desperate to get something else to do than just his research,” Trixie said with a small smile. “He was actually eager to get started just as I was.” “Did you have to learn a lot? He can be really thorough when he wants,” “You have no idea. I showed him some of my spells and he forbid me from using magic until I learnt to do so properly.” Trixie cringed at the memory of gruesome two weeks without being allowed to use telekinesis. “I started from the scratch, just like a little filly. Now I am thankful for that, but back then it was driving me insane.” “I can’t imagine everyday life without magic. Midnight has some strange teaching methods for sure,” Twilight said and shook her head. “I won’t force you to anything like that. Anyway, we are here. Let’s get to work.” As the sun shone its last golden rays and the moon was beginning its glow, Twilight made it back to Ponyville to keep up appearances there; if she was gone for too long, others would start to get suspicious, or at least she thought they would. Before she got to her library home though, she ran into Applejack. “Oh, there ya are Twi. Where ya been?” “You know, out of town, helping Zecora.” Twilight strained her voice trying to keep the grumpiness to a minimum. “Ya shoulda seen how hectic our family reunion was. Ya wouldn’t believe how quickly we built that barn.” You wouldn’t believe how quickly two unicorns could build a log cabin, Twilight sarcastically thought. “Look, as much as I’d like to stay and chat, I’m exhausted!” AJ shrugged and went about her business as Twilight walked inside her home. Dragging herself upstairs to her bed, she saw that Spike was asleep. Well, it looks like Spike took care of things like he was supposed to. Having a hard time keeping her eyes open, she decided to skip her evening shower and just plopped onto her bed, only for her muzzle to hit something hard as it connected the pillow. “Ow! What the…” She felt underneath the pillow and found a small amulet in the shape of Scintillant’s halo, along with a note. She opened the note and read the words to herself. “In five days…”