//------------------------------// // Twixie pt. 2 // Story: The 63 files // by punisher143 //------------------------------// Like I said, stories don’t always end. And this one has just started. Dusk groaned a little as he woke up and opened his eyes. He could tell he was in the main room of the library. He tried to remember why he slept down there instead of his room. Then the dream came back to him. ‘I don’t know why I dreamt of Trixie of all ponies, but it was still some dream. I wonder how she’s doing?’ Dusk was about to get up when he heard a light moan that wasn’t him. He looked down to find a familiar blue mare lying on him. His eyes widened when he recognized the mare. ‘T-Trixie?! Why is she-? That wasn’t a dream?!’ He thought as his mind raced at a thousand miles an hour. It was brought to a halt when Trixie fidgeted a little and smiled. ‘What have I just gotten myself into?’ Dusk ever so slightly started to edge his way off the couch and was surprised when Trixie hugged his neck. Even so, he stood up and positioned Trixie on his back and carefully walked upstairs into his room. Making sure not to wake the sleeping mare on his back, Dusk magically picked Trixie up and placed her on the bed. He sighed and started to walk away when Trixie stirred. “Dusk?” she asked and opened her eyes. When she saw Dusk looking nervously at her she smiled. “Good morning.” “Um, morning Trixie,” Dusk said. “Where are you going?” she asked and sat up. “Um, out?” “Oh,” she said sadly, “Can I come with you?” Dusk sighed and walked over to her. “Alright, we better talk about this now,” Dusk said and sat on the bed facing Trixie. “Talk about what?” Trixie asked already dreading the conversation. Dusk looked at his hooves and took a deep breath. “Last night… you said you love me.” Trixie blushed and nodded. “You kissed me and said you love me.” Trixie nodded again, blushing a deeper red. “Did you mean it?” “Of course I meant it. It took me a while to figure it out but I do love you.” Trixie scooted closer to Dusk and looked up into his eyes and felt her insides go cold at how uncertain they looked. “But you don’t love me back.” “…I don’t know,” Dusk said. That sentence nearly broke Trixie’s heart. “But, last night…” “I was kind of tired and I thought it was a dream. Obviously that wasn’t the case.” Trixie felt tears spill from her eyes. Everything seemed so perfect, but everything around her had come crashing down. Again. “W-why would you say that? I…I…” Trixie sniffed a couple of times before throwing herself into Dusk and cried into his shoulder. “T-Trixie?” Dusk said in surprise. “Why would you do that to me? Leading me on like that.” Trixie continued sobbing and felt Dusk’s forelegs wrap around her. “I didn’t mean to do anything like that. It’s been too long since the last time I saw you and I just don’t know how I feel about you.” Trixie sniffed a little. “What do you-?” “I just need some time to think.” Dusk pushed Trixie away a little and looked her in the eyes. “Ok?” Trixie wiped her eyes of tears. “If nothing else, can we at least be friends?” she asked. “Of course we can,” Dusk said and pulled her into a hug, “That’s the least I can do.” Trixie smiled as she hugged him back, thankful that she at least had that. After a minute Dusk let her go and she scooted away a little. “I have some thinking to do. You can stay here for a while if you want. The bathroom’s over there if you need to use it.” Trixie nodded and Dusk hopped off the bed and walked to the door. “I love you,” Trixie called after him, which caused Dusk to stop for a moment before he walked out the door. Trixie stared at the door for a moment before she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. “Is it really that easy?” Butterscotch asked. “Of course it is! Well, at least I think it is since I haven’t tried it myself, but still there’s no harm in trying.” Berry Bubble said. “O-ok, I guess I’ll try.” A bell rang throughout the store and Berry and Butterscotch looked over to see Dusk walk in, not looking all too well. “Hi Dusk! What’s got you so down?” Berry asked. Dusk sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ve…got a lot on my mind. I don’t suppose I could talk with you guys about it?” “Oh, sure Dusk,” Butterscotch said. “I have work to do, but I’ll be over when I can,” Berry said and leaned closer with a smile, “Do you want me to make you some cupcakes?” “Yeah, I’d like some,” Dusk said and waved Butterscotch over to a table. They sat down and Dusk put his face in his hooves with a sigh. “So um, what’s wrong?” Butterscotch asked after a moment. Dusk set his hooves down in front of him and sighed again. “I don’t suppose you know anything about mares, right?” he asked. Butterscotch’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Well, last night I got a visitor, a mare I haven’t seen for a long while.” “Oh really? That’s nice that you met up with an old friend. How is she?” “That’s kind of the thing, when she showed up she… kissed me and told me she loved me.” Butterscotch blushed and let out a little ‘eep’. A couple seconds later Berry walked over and set a plate of cupcakes on the table. “I don’t see what the problem is. If she likes you what’s to stop you from liking her back?” Berry asked. “That’s the problem, I don’t know how I feel about her. I had mostly forgotten about her until she showed up last night! What am I supposed to do?” “It’s funny, I was just talking with Butterscotch about something like this. Do you want me to tell you what I told him?” Dusk looked at him curiously. “Well, if the issue is not knowing how you feel, why not wait it out? Give it a couple of days and see what happens.” Dusk sighed and took a cupcake. “I guess that makes sense, but I’m worried about her. I could see the heartbreak in her eyes when I told her I didn’t know how I felt. It’s so weird, she was so confident when I last saw her.” Dusk took a bite from the cupcake and rested his head on a hoof. “Well you can ask Rarity for advice. I’m sure she could-“ “NO! No no no, I am not asking Rarity for help on this, she’ll be way to biased on this!” “What do you mean?” “Just trust me, it’s not a good idea. Not to mention I’m not sure how she is with grudges.” “Grudges?” This time it was Butterscotch who asked. “It’s a really long story.” Dusk finished the cupcake and reached for another one. “Well… why don’t you tell us about her?” Trixie woke up from her nap to find she was still alone. She sighed, got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom. Her heart ached a little, but she just let it go. Life goes on and she reminded herself that she had another job to do in a few days. If Dusk was going to make up his mind, he’d have to do it soon. Trixie watched the bathtub fill with water and shut it off when it was high enough. After testing the water temperature she slipped into the tub and sighed as the heat sank into her. Trixie sank under the water for a second before coming back up. She brushed her wet mane out of her eyes and relaxed against the back of the tub. “Oh Dusk,” she whispered and closed her eyes. She could still dream after all. Trixie lay in the tub and subconsciously cleaned her coat when somepony knocked on the door startling her out of her thoughts. “W-who is it?” she asked. “It’s Dusk.” Trixie’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of Dusk’s voice. “Are you ok Trixie?” “Yes I’m fine. I’m just taking a bath.” “Oh, that’s good. Do you mind if I come in?” “W-WHAT?!” If her heart skipped a little earlier, now it very nearly stopped. She swirled some of the water around and blushed. “Well, I guess it’s ok, but it’s kind of embarrassing.” The door rattled for a moment before Dusk walked in and smiled at the furiously blushing Trixie covering her face with her hooves. “Hi Trixie,” he said as he shut the door and walked closer to the tub causing Trixie to sink into the tub, “I’m sorry to burst in like this. I just wanted to talk to you.” “I-It’s fine,” Trixie managed to whisper out before picking herself up in a confident manner, “I mean, why wouldn’t you want to spend time with a unicorn like me?” “Yeah, I guess you’re right, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Dusk said and leaned over the edge of the tub, “I don’t suppose you’d mind if I joined you?” “W-what?!” Trixie barely had the time to exclaim that before Dusk entered the tub and hugged her, “I- wha- buh-“ “Shh,” Dusk said and placed a hoof on Trixie’s lips. “Let me say this before I lose my nerve.” Trixie nodded and Dusk moved his hoof. “I was thinking about earlier, you know what I mean right? Well, I thought about it and I’ve decided.” “Decided?” Dusk just smiled and kissed Trixie. Trixie yelped in surprise before sinking into the kiss. Trixie wrapped her hooves around Dusk and pulled him in closer. ‘Oh Dusk…’ “Dusk darling, are you in?” Trixie snapped out of her fantasies and yelped a little. She watched the door and was glad she had locked it. She heard hoofsteps come closer and stop in front of the door. Trixie wisely decided to keep quiet. “Dusk, are you in there?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She splashed some water in the tub. “Oh, have I…come at a bad time?” Trixie splashed one more time. “Oh um… ok. I’ll leave Spines downstairs, thanks for letting me borrow her for a while. We’ll talk later dear.” Trixie waited until the hoofsteps faded away before releasing her held breath in a sigh. ‘Something always happens just when it’s getting good.’ She thought and sank under the water. “And that’s more or less what happened, at least from what I know.” Dusk had finished explaining about Trixie and what happened afterwards to Berry and Butterscotch. “I remember her now, she’s that magician pony,” Butterscotch said, “It’s nice to know that she was alright after she left.” “I always thought I was one party behind, but I couldn’t remember why,” Berry said and ate another cupcake whole, “I have to work on a party for her.” “What am I going to do guys? I don’t know how long Trixie’s planning on staying here and if Rarity or Applejack find out about her there’s going to be trouble,” Dusk said burying his face into his hooves. “What about Rainbow Dash?” Butterscotch asked. “Eh, Rainbow Dash has always been a wild card. For all I know she probably forgot about Trixie.” “Well I say do what I said earlier: wait it out and see what happens. Rarity told me once that jumping into a relationship is never a good thing, it’s better to ease yourself into it. In fact I’ll gladly lend my help if you need it.” “I’ll help too. That is, if you need it,” Butterscotch said. Dusk smiled at his friends. “Thanks guys, though I don’t think there will be any problems as long as Rarity and Applejack don’t find out about Trixie.” Dusk looked out of a nearby window to check the time. “It’s just about lunch time. I had better go check on her,” Dusk levitated a couple of cupcakes over to him and stood up, “I’ll talk to you later guys and thanks for your help.” “It’s no problem! Remember to come by if you need help!” Berry said waving. “Good luck.” Butterscotch said. Dusk waved back and left Sugarcube Corner. Berry stopped waving a second later and sat quietly with Butterscotch. “Um, Berry, when are you going to visit your family again?” “In a few days actually,” Berry answered with a smile, “Why do you ask?” “I uh…wanted to come with you.” “Of course you can come!” Berry dragged Butterscotch into a hug. “I’m sure Inkie would be glad to see you.” “I-I hope so.” “Put the chair down!” Trixie yelled at the dragoness. “No way! I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m not letting you go anywhere until Dusk gets back!” The two had been locked in this stalemate for a while, Trixie holding up a (admittedly weak) magic shield and Spines holding a chair over her head, when the front door opened and Dusk walked in. “Trixie, I’m back and…what is going on here?” “Dusk, thank Celestia you’re here! Can you please call your pet off of me?” “I am not a pet, I’m an assistant!” Dusk set the cupcakes down and levitated the chair out of Spine’s claws. “Spines stop it! I can explain what’s going on.” Spines crossed her arms and looked between Dusk and Trixie. “Ok, so what’s going on?” Trixie lowered the shield and walked over to Dusk. “Well…it’s actually kind of complicated. You see-“ “I’m in love with Dusk,” Trixie said and leaned against him, which caused Dusk to stiffen up a little and Spines’ eyes to widen, “So I’m going to stay here for a while.” Spines stared at Trixie for a moment before looking at Dusk. “She’s not serious is she?” Dusk stepped away from Trixie and stared at the floor. “I have no reason to believe she’s dishonest, although it’s a little more complicated than that.” Trixie’s demeanor sank a little at that. “When did you get back here anyway? I thought you were helping Rar-“ Dusk’s eyes widened in shock, “Oh no, please tell me Rarity didn’t find you.” “Rarity dropped me off a little while ago and I found her when she left.” “I was taking a bath at the time and when I got out your…dragon attacked me.” “For a very good reason! How do I know you’re not planning anything against Dusk?” Trixie pressed her face against Spines’. “And why would I do such a thing to the colt I love?!” “That could be part of your plan!” “ENOUGH!” Dusk screamed and pulled the two away from each other by their tails. “Look Spines, I’m still on the fence about all this, so until I figure things out please try and play nice with Trixie.” “But-“ “Do you trust me Spines?” “O-of course I do! Why would you…” Spines looked into Dusk’s serious face for a few seconds and sighed, “Alright, I’ll play nice, but the second she tries something bad I’ll be on her.” Dusk smiled and nuzzled the little dragon. “Thanks Spines.” “Yeah yeah, I suppose you want some lunch?” “That would be nice. And uh…” Dusk motioned to Trixie who had picked up her cloak off the floor. “I’ll make her one too. I hope you know what you’re doing Dusk.” Spines walked into the kitchen and Trixie went back upstairs. Dusk looked between the kitchen door and the stairs a couple times and sighed. “I hope so too.” Rarity trotted cheerfully through Ponyville’s market enjoying the nice day. She hadn’t planned on going through the market, but, well, why not? She passed by Applejack’s cart and stopped for a moment. “Howdy Rarity, how ye doing today?” Applejack asked. “Hello to you too Applejack, I’m doing wonderful. Inspiration struck not too long ago and Spines was such a dear coming over to help me. How about you?” “Ah’m doing alright, just set up the cart and said hi to Dusk. Not much else has happened today.” Rarity gave Applejack a confused look. “What, But isn’t Dusk still in the library?” Applejack shook her head. “No, I saw Dusk heading toward Sugarcube Corner not too long ago.” Rarity rubbed her chin in thought. “Then who did I…?” Rarity’s eyes widened and a smile crossed her face. “Oh Dusk, trying to hide things like that from me.” “I’m not following.” Rarity smiled at Applejack and nuzzled against her. “Don’t you see Applejack? Dusk is hiding a fillyfriend from us! Oh I just have to know who it is.” “Settle down there sugar cube,” Applejack said and pushed Rarity away, “even if he is hiding somepony from us it’s none of our business.” “Oh of course dear, but I’m still curious as to who the mare is. Ooh, maybe I can still meet her if I hurry back!” “Rarity, ah don’t think that’s-“ Applejack started but Rarity either didn’t hear her or didn’t care as she took off toward Dusk’s house. “Please don’t cause any trouble,” she said and sighed. “That was a great lunch Spines, like always,” Dusk said and picked up the plate magically and walked to the sink. “Thanks Dusk, you appreciate my cooking, unlike somepony else,” Spines said and looked toward the main room. “Spines…” “Yeah yeah, I know. What’s she doing anyway?” “I’ll go check.” After setting the plate in the sink Dusk walked into the main room to find Trixie reading a book. She looked up when she heard Dusk approach. “What are you reading?” “I don’t know,” she answered and closed the book. “So... about earlier…” “I still need time. You understand, right?” “I know.” At that point somepony knocked on the door. Dusk and Trixie shared a look before Dusk went to answer it. “Hello Dusk, I-“ just as quickly as Dusk opened the door he had shut it and looked back at Trixie. “It’s Rarity!” “Who?” “Just get out of here for now!” Dusk opened the door and smiled at Rarity, “I’m sorry about that Rarity, you startled me.” “It’s quite alright Dusk, I just wanted to ask you something.” “Really?” “Mhmm, you see I heard from Applejack that you went to Sugarcube Corner earlier and it was around that time that I dropped Spines off here.” “Oh?” “And when I did, somepony was taking a bath here.” “I’m sorry, but is there a point to this Rarity?” Rarity smiled knowingly at him. “It’s ok if you want to keep your fillyfriend a secret Dusk. I was just hoping I could meet her sometime.” “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Look, an old friend is staying over for a while is all. I’d introduce you but you just missed her,” Dusk motioned with his hoof behind the door to punctuate the words, “and you two probably wouldn’t get along anyway.” Trixie just stood there thinking during all of this. ‘Why would he want me to leave? If that’s one of his friends, wouldn’t it be easier to introduce me to… oh right, I did kind of humiliate some of his friends the last time I was here wasn’t I? They probably wouldn’t listen to me if they’re still mad. But how do I get out without her noticing me?’ She saw Dusk’s hoof motion and suddenly it was all clear. ‘THE WINDOW!’ “Just missed her? What is that supposed to mean?” Rarity asked. “It means just that,” Dusk said and didn’t flinch when he heard a crashing behind him, “You just missed her.” “What was that?” “Oh that was Spines, she probably dropped something. Spines, quite dropping plates!” “I didn’t drop anything!” Dusk looked behind him at that and saw Trixie stick her head in through a broken window and grab her cloak. His eye twitched a little and he turned back to Rarity. “Well anyway, you can see she’s not here,” Dusk said and his eye twitched a little at the sight of Trixie casually walking behind Rarity, “Maybe you’ll meet her later.” “I certainly hope so, if she’s so great that you’re going to such extents to hide her. We’ll talk later Dusk,” Rarity said and turned to walk away. Dusk waited until she was out of sight before he closed the door and sighed. ‘Hopefully Trixie will stay out of trouble.’ “The target is in my sights. She left the library about two minutes ago. Current status: wandering the park aimlessly.” “Um Berry, why are we following Trixie?” That was indeed what they were doing, following Trixie in a bush. “That’s simple Butterscotch, it’s so we know what she’s like. You can’t throw a party for someone if you don’t know what they like.” “Well, I guess that makes sense, but why are we in a bush?” “…I like bushes. OH, I think she’s doing something!” Trixie looked back at the, to be frank, very conspicuous bush following her and walked toward it. “What are you two doing?” she asked. “We’ve been compromised!” Berry shouted and grabbed Trixie by the cloak and pulled her into the bush. “What are you doing, let me go!” Trixie yelled and was silenced by Berry’s hoof. “You’re Trixie right? I was curious about you since Dusk talked about you,” Berry said. Trixie removed the hoof from her mouth and blushed slightly. “Dusk talked about me?” “Yeah, and he reminded me that I haven’t thrown a party for you yet, which is why I brought you to Sugarcube Corner to ask you what you like!” “W-what, but we’re in the park.” “Not anymore.” Berry stepped out of the bush and Trixie stuck her head out to find that she was somehow in the middle of Sugarcube Corner’s kitchen. “What, but we were in the park! We didn’t move at all! How did we-?” Butterscotch stepped out of the bush and looked at Trixie. “It’s…best not to ask,” he said and walked toward Berry followed shortly by an incredibly confused Trixie. “So Trixie, do you like cupcakes?” Berry asked. “Uh, about the same as any other pony I guess.” “That’s good, because I wanted you to try a whole bunch of cupcakes I have just made.” Berry walked over to the oven, took a heat pad in his mouth, and took a fresh tray of cupcakes out of the oven and set them on the counter. “I still have to frost them though, so I hope you don’t mind waiting.” “T-that’s alright.” Berry smiled and put another tray into the oven and set the timer to ring. "It's weird though isn't it? I totally did not see you coming today. Do you think so too Butterscotch?" "Oh yes Berry, and although it was unexpected I can't help but find it exciting." "Oh where is that stupid powdered sugar? It just cannot be found." "I don't know, maybe it's where it would be found?" "It is possible, although the alarm clock had just stopped earlier." "Um, Berry Bubble, what does that have to do-" "RUN!" The timer rang out. "Oh silly me, I didn't set the timer right." Berry laughed and set the timer correctly this time. “What was that about?” Trixie asked. “What was what about?” “That conversation you two just had. I think it was about…powdered sugar or…something… you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about do you?” Berry and Butterscotch stared at Trixie for a moment and Berry smiled widely. “Do you like chocolate cake?” Trixie sighed. “Yes, yes I do.” “So, what is going on with you and Trixie?” Dusk looked over at Spines confusedly. “What do you mean?” “Well don’t get me wrong, I get how romance works, but… Trixie? Really?” Dusk sighed and rubbed his face. “It’s really complicated Spines. She showed up last night and said she loved me and I don’t know how to feel about it.” “So…your plan it to do…what exactly?” “I don’t know Spines, right now I’m just playing it by ear. So please don’t-“ Dusk was interrupted by the door opening and Trixie walked in with one of the most emotionless faces Dusk had ever seen. “Uh, are you ok Trixie?” “Your pink friend is insane,” she said as she closed the door and took her cloak off. “You ran into Berry Bubble? What did he do?” “He had me try a bunch of cupcakes for some party later. He also had some weird conversation about powdered sugar with some yellow pegasus.” “Heh, that’s Berry Bubble for you, always treating cupcakes like an art form. How long ago was this?” “I was there for hours. *sigh* Is dinner ready yet?” “It’ll be ready soon, so no complaining,” Spines said. “Don’t worry, I won’t.” Spines nodded and walked into the kitchen. “Hey, your pink friend…he-“ “Berry broke the laws of physics again didn’t he?” Trixie was surprised at how casual Dusk sounded. “Y-yes, he-“ “It’s best not to think about it. He has this thing called Berry Sense, and when I tried to figure out… let’s just say it didn’t end well.” “What do you mean?” “Have you ever had a flower pot, anvil, hay cart, and a piano dropped on your head in sequence?” Trixie stared wide eyed and shook her head. “That is just one of several things that happened to me. Really, it’s best to just accept it.” Dusk turned and started toward the kitchen. “Hey Dusk,” Trixie started. “Yeah?” “…Nothing.” Dusk stared at Trixie as she walked past him. He shook his head after a moment and followed her in. There was an uncomfortable silence over dinner that night that continued when they went to bed. Dusk had gotten the guest bed ready for Trixie earlier and they settled into their respective beds. Dusk fell asleep and woke up a few hours later when someone entered his bed. He looked back and saw a light blue in the darkness. “Trixie?” “Um… I can’t really sleep. Do you mind if I sleep with you?” “U-uh, I guess not…” Trixie smiled and, after getting under the covers, scootched over to Dusk and hugged him. Dusk stiffened up uncomfortably as Trixie nuzzled against him. “Thanks.” After an uncomfortable ‘uh,’ Dusk very slowly wrapped his forelegs around Trixie. She hummed happily and settled closer to Dusk. He didn’t know why, but the feeling of Trixie’s breath and the rise and fall of her chest was very soothing to him. He could feel his heart beating slightly faster as he fell asleep with this light blue mare in his arms. ‘I might be able to get used to this.’ Spines was the first one to wake up the next morning and reacted the same way any child would at the sight of an older brother figure asleep in a bed with a mare: disgust and quickly leaving the room. She got started on breakfast downstairs while upstairs Trixie stirred awake. She blinked a couple of times at Dusk’s sleeping face and sighed happily. About a minute later Dusk woke up to Trixie lovingly stroking his face. “Good morning.” “Uh…g-good morning.” Dusk realized that he was still hugging Trixie and quickly retracted his forelegs. “Um, how are you feeling?” “Happy and in love,” Trixie answered and her smile dropped, “You?” “Still on the fence. Sorry.” Trixie placed a small kiss on Dusk’s cheek and smiled at Dusk’s blushing face. “That’s ok, we’re still friends right?” Dusk nodded. “Then I can live with that for now. I still love you, but I can wait.” “Breakfast is ready,” Spines called from downstairs. Trixie coughed and moved away from Dusk. “We uh, better get going.” Dusk nodded and Trixie got off the bed and walked toward the door. When she got there she looked back. “Dusk…” “Yeah?” “…Nothing.” Dusk stared at Trixie as she walked and shook it off a second later and followed her. Breakfast was better than last night’s dinner. “Berry, we need more muffins!” “OK, Mrs. Cake!” It was a busy day as usual for Sugarcube Corner and Berry was hard at work baking up a storm. While he was doing this, he ran over several party ideas in his head. ‘What kind of would Trixie like? She didn’t specify which cupcake she liked best, so should I just make one of each? I know, I’ll ask her later! I wonder what Pinkie would think?’ was the basic train of thought from him. He set a tray of muffins on the counter, giving his favorite mail pony the usual share, and noticed Rarity and Applejack walk in. “Hi girls, what can I do ya for?” Berry asked as the two mares walked up to the counter. “Oh not much Berry, I just heard you were thinking up another party. It wouldn’t happen to do with Dusk and a certain mare, would it?” “Yer gonna have ta excuse Rarity, she’s convinced herself that Dusk has some secret fillyfriend or something, and unfortunately she’s chosen me to be her… um…” “My confidant dear.” “Yeah sure.” “Aw girls, I can’t say anything like that, it’s a secret. Besides, Dusk said you probably wouldn’t get along with her anyway.” Rarity gave Berry a weird look. “Dusk said something like that earlier. Why wouldn’t we get along?” “I don’t know, I think it might be because he thinks you’d be mad at her for turning your hair green.” “Turned my hair green?” Rarity’s eyes widened in realization. “Uh oh.” “Her? That traveling showmare that nearly destroyed the town?” “Who?” Applejack asked scratching her head. “That magician who caused that Ursa to attack a year ago? She tied you up with your own rope?” Applejack stared at her confusedly. “You really don’t remember do you?” Applejack tapped her chin a couple times. “Nah.” “Nah! What do you mean nah?!” “Rarity, calm down a little,” Berry said hoping to calm his fashionista friend. “Calm down a little? Why should I calm down?!” “What’s Rarity freaking out about this time?” The three turned to Dusk who had just walked into the bakery. “Dusk, I’m so sorry, it just slipped out,” Berry said. “What slipped out?” “Oh nothing, just that you might be cavorting around with that magician. Would you care to explain?” Dusk’s eyes widened at the question. “Um… no?” “Who is she talking about?” Applejack asked Berry. “This mare,” Berry said and held up a picture of Trixie standing smugly next to a horrified Rarity with green hair. “Oh… nope, still not ringin’ any bells.” “Really, am I the only one who remembers what that mare did?” Rarity asked. “No, I remember it just fine, but you do remember that ponies can change right?” Dusk asked. “I find it highly doubtful that a braggart like her could change drastically enough for you to like her.” “You’re not even giving her a chance!” At this point pretty much everypony in the bakery backed away from the arguing pair except for Berry and Applejack. “G-guys, calm down,” Berry begged. “Please give me a reason why I should. For all I know she could have you under a mind control spell.” “That’s just ridiculous! I’ll have you know that there are several symptoms of mind control that even the pony under its influence can figure out if they pay attention, and I definitely know that is not the case here.” “But then why would you-“ “I don’t know ok? But you know what, even if I did know how I felt about her, that still doesn’t change one thing about all this.” “Oh, and what would that be?” “Guys…” Applejack started. “You’re a hypocrite!” “I’m a what?!” “Dusk, Rarity, please stop.” “A hypocrite! How many times have you gone on about ‘the magic of romance’ and ‘how great having a special somepony would be’, but the moment I get in that position you act like this! What does it matter who I choose as long as it makes me happy? You should just be glad I found somepony to begin with!” “W-what?” “But you know what, this whole thing is pointless anyway since I still don’t know what to think of her. Your opinion has been noted.” Dusk turned and started walking to the door. “We’ll talk later Rarity.” “Dusk, don’t you walk away from me!” Rarity yelled, but Dusk didn’t turn around and walked out of the bakery. Rarity huffed a little and walked to the door too. “Rarity…” Berry started to say as Rarity walked outside. Berry looked at Applejack worriedly, “Applejack, what just happened?” Applejack sighed and looked at the door. “Trouble. Come on, we better go.” “So, you don’t remember me at all?” Trixie asked the rainbow maned mare. She shook her head. “Nope, I don’t remember you. Should I?” Trixie thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I was just wondering. It’s nice to meet you anyway.” “Uh, ok. I gotta go now, come on Ditzy.” Rainbow waved at the gray mare next to her and took off. “Ok, Rainbow Dash!” she said and took off as well only to immediately crash into the ground. “Oops, my bad!” she laughed a little and took off again. Trixie stared at the retreating pair before walking down the street. If nothing else, she was glad to come to Ponyville again, it’s really nice when it’s not getting attacked by some random monster. Trixie wondered what she could do and decided to go to the park. That pegasus, Rainbow Dash she thought her name was, said there would be a rain storm later so she’d have to take advantage of the nice weather while she could. “You!” Trixie perked up a little and looked around until she saw Rarity trotting toward her. ‘Oh no, this isn’t good.’ She thought to herself and said out loud, “Um… hi?” “Don’t you ‘hi’ me. You have some explaining to do,” Rarity said with just a hint of anger in her voice. “A-about what?” Trixie asked. “You and Dusk.” Trixie’s eyes widened and Rarity knew she had her. “What about us? We’re just friends.” “That’s not what I heard. I heard you were infatuated with Dusk.” “I-infatuated?! Well, I guess… but what does it-“ “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe it.” Rarity started circling around Trixie, her eyes piercing into the blue mare. “Exactly how long have you been gone and how long have you been here?” “A year and two days respectively, but-“ “Do you really think that’s enough time for everypony to forget what you’ve done? It’s not even that you turned my hair green, that’s nothing compared to the Ursa.” “That wasn’t my fault!” “Not directly, yes, but this is beside the point. Why exactly would you fall for Dusk of all ponies?” “I don’t know, it just kind of happened. Is it so wrong to love someone?” “Yes, if it’s for the wrong reasons, and for you I don’t know how to feel.” “I assure you, I love him for the right reasons, and if you have a problem with that I don’t know what to tell you.” Rarity stopped circling and stared Trixie right in the eye. “I don’t believe you.” “Wh-“ “Has Dusk ever said or done anything to show he ever reciprocated your feelings?” “Well…” “I hate to say this, but if he hasn’t yet he probably never will. It might be best to cut your losses while you can.” Trixie looked down at the ground and felt tears come to her eyes. After all, she did have a point. “But…I love him.” “Even if you do, you’ll just end up hurting yourself if he doesn’t return your feelings. Trust me dear, it’s better this way.” What happened next was something Rarity could never have seen coming. Trixie hit her across her face. The left side of Rarity’s face stung as she stared at Trixie, tears falling down her face. “Dusk warned me not to talk to you. I didn’t think it’d be because you would be right.” With that, Trixie ran away sobbing lightly. ‘Well, she took that harder than I thought,’ Rarity thought rubbing her cheek, ‘I hope this works.’ Rarity was about to go home but was stopped when Berry and Applejack ran up to her, the latter looking pretty angry. “We just saw Trixie running away, what did you do?!” Applejack nearly yelled at Rarity. “We just had a little talk is all, but I don’t think she took it well.” “She’s heading into the forest,” Berry said sadly. “Well, maybe we should go after her?” “Oh no, you caused enough trouble today. I ain’t lettin’ you out of my sights again.” The skies started to darken as several pegasus ponies moved dark rain clouds into position in the sky. “I’m going to go find Dusk,” Berry said and started galloping away. Applejack put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder and pushed her along. “You’re coming with me. What were you thinking?” Rarity didn’t say it out loud but her face pretty much said it all. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’ Rain. Trixie hated rain, or at least right now she did. She found herself where she had been a year ago, crying her eyes out as she lay next to a river. She once again lamented at how her life, which had seemed so perfect a couple hours ago, had come crashing down again. This time there wasn’t any anger, only sorrow. Trixie stared into the river, a small magic shield protecting it from the rain. She looked into her reflection and started thinking. After all, reflections don’t judge you based on what you did in the past, they only show the now. So maybe, when you’re reflecting on the past, you should look into your own as well. Who knows… “Trixie?” Trixie’s eyes widened when a familiar purple unicorn appeared in the water. …someone may be reflecting on the same thing. “Dusk?” Trixie looked over at Dusk who was dripping wet from the rain. He sat down next to her and watched the rain hit the water for a few moments. “What are you doing here?” “I… heard from Berry that you talked to Rarity earlier,” Dusk said and looked at Trixie, “I don’t know what you talked about, but-“ “Save it.” Trixie’s sudden outburst startled Dusk and she sat up and looked at him angrily, “Why did you come here anyway?” “I was worried about you. Did you really expect to run away like that and I wouldn’t come after you?” The look on Trixie’s face spoke plenty of her answer. Dusk sighed and motioned for Trixie to come closer, which she very slowly did. “Um… your friend said-“ Trixie started and stopped when wrapped a foreleg around her. The rain came down harder. “Look Trixie, I don’t know what you two talked about, but if Rarity is as good a friend as I know she is she’ll accept any choice I make. This included.” Trixie blinked a couple of times and looked up at Dusk. “This?” “Well… if you don’t mind me asking, when did you start liking me? I just realized I never asked you that.” “Oh well, I guess it was a little after Discord got out. I was in the crowd during your award ceremony.” “R-really?” Dusk asked in surprise and Trixie nodded. “You have no idea how much I wanted to march up there right then and give you a piece of my mind. I don’t know why I didn’t at the time.” “So you’ve had at least a few months to think this over huh?” Trixie nodded again and Dusk pulled her closer to him. “I wish I had that kind of time.” “For what?” “You know, all of this. I still don’t know what to think about this, but I guess I could try this.” Dusk turned fully to Trixie, with her doing the same, and he placed his other hoof around her and looked into her eyes. “W-what are-?” Dusk wiped a strand of her wet mane out of her eyes and smiled at her. She could only give off a little ‘uh’ as Dusk leaned closer to her. ‘There’s no way this is happening. I have to be drea-‘ Trixie thoughts stopped almost immediately when Dusk kissed her. Trixie’s eyes shot wide opened at the action and closed her eyes and pressed harder into the kiss. Dusk pulled away and wiped away some wet mane out of his eyes. “Wow, that was nice,” Dusk said. Trixie laughed a little and hugged Dusk’s neck. “Really, ‘nice’ is all you could come up with?” “Were you hoping for ‘mind blowingly amazing’?” “Maybe.” Trixie’s smug smile made Dusk laugh and he kissed Trixie again. Neither of them noticed the rain anymore. “I could get used to this,” Dusk said and stroked Trixie’s face. “Get used to this?” Trixie asked. She was going to say more, but… “I love you Trixie.” Dusk said those four magic words. “What?” “Yeah, I could get used to saying that too. And before you say anything, yes I mean it.” “Really?” Dusk couldn’t tell because of the rain but Trixie started crying in joy. “Yes and I’ll say it as many times as you want.” Dusk hugged Trixie closer and stared into her eyes. “I love you Trixie.” Trixie sniffed a little and she kissed Dusk again. “I’m not dreaming this time right? That would be too cruel if I am.” “Don’t worry, you’re not.” Trixie smiled and rested her head against Dusk and laughed a little at the reflection of her and Dusk hugging. “You know, we’re going to catch a cold if we stay out too long. We should probably go home.” Trixie snuggled against him and let out a soft ‘mhmm’. “Ok, hold on.” “Wait what?” No sooner had Trixie asked that than she was surrounded by a white light. When it faded Trixie found they were in back in Dusk’s room in the library. “What- how did you?” “It’s a simple teleportation spell. I could teach you if you want.” Trixie laughed a little and let Dusk go. “Thanks but no thanks. The Great and Powerful Trixie prefers to learn on her own, although you’re more than welcome to point me in the right direction.” “I’d be more than happy to. I have to say, I kind of missed that attitude of yours.” Trixie took off her wet cloak, shook her mane out a little, and smiled slyly at Dusk. “Oh, so you prefer a mare with attitude? I guess we both chose right eh?” “Oh quiet you,” Dusk said and nuzzled against Trixie before walking to the bed. “You’re going to bed now?” Trixie asked walking over to him. “It’s hard to tell because of the storm but it is getting late. You can sleep with me again if you want.” Dusk got on the bed and had the wind knocked out of him when Trixie quite literally pounced on him and playfully bit him on the ear. “You’re really active.” “I can’t help it,” Trixie said and let off a quiet squeal of joy and kicked a little, “I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Dusk lifted her off him enough for him to roll onto his back and hugged Trixie’s waist. “Yeah, the last couple of days had been kind of crazy, especially our first little make out session.” Trixie smiled and leaned down toward Dusk. Out of all of her fantasies, the feel of Dusk’s heart beating with hers was something she never could have imagined. “So you did like it?” she asked and was overjoyed when Dusk nodded, “Well then, want to do it again?” Her heart was beating at a thousand beats a minute when Dusk kissed her deeply and Trixie quickly licked his lips. Dusk granted her access and the two of them quickly set about exploring each other’s mouths, moaning the whole time. Dusk rolled Trixie over without breaking contact. After another minute or so of kissing, Dusk pulled away and he and Trixie stared at each other breathing heavily. “Dusk…” >In accordance with Clause 893, the following scene has been edited out and placed in the Red Files. For the full unedited scene, view the required file< Trixie slowly woke up and was a little surprised somepony’s hooves wrapped around her. She fidgeted a little and the hooves started stroking her stomach. She dared to look behind her and saw Dusk smiling at her. “Good morning Trixie,” he said. Trixie’s response was to lunge at him and kiss him deeply. “Morning,” she said when she was done and licked his cheek. “So, are we still set for later?” “A day of relaxation at the park, followed by a nice lunch and Berry Bubble’s party for you? Yeah, we’re good.” Trixie kissed Dusk again and rolled on top of him. “That’s good. I love you so much, you know.” Dusk smiled and kissed Trixie on the forehead. “I love you too. I better go let Berry know everything’s good now.” Dusk then whispered, “Though chances are he already knows.” “Oh you’re not going anywhere yet big boy. I have something planned for you right now.” Trixie slowly got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, keeping an eye on Dusk. “Aren’t you coming?” When Dusk understood, he got up and followed her. When he caught up to her they nuzzled each other and giggled as they entered the bathroom. Sometimes, bad things have to happen in order to appreciate the good things to come. And there's part 2. I might add more later, but for now screw it. I'll probably update the chapter name when it's added. Oh yeah, and there's a really obscure reference that most of you probably won't get. If you do catch it, I'll love you forever.