"Left hoof, right hoof. Left hoof, right hoof." This had been the mantra that Twilight had muttered to herself since Canterlot Castle, and had carried her along all the way to the edge of the Everfree, her brow tensed in concentration. Pretending to trot had quickly proven itself much harder than actually trotting. Fortunately, as she neared the tree she had been looking for, she thought she had it down.
Because of this, as Twilight quickly approached the large, sturdy oak, she simply stared at the normal set of branches she would phase through, instead of remembering that she could no longer fly.
Wham!
The tree shook from the impact, quickly waking up the yellow bat pony that dwelled within it. No matter how fast she woke up though, it wasn't going to help Fluttershy, who froze in place, just before letting go of the branch she was on.
Trixie was the next to come into the clearing. On most days, if she was in Ponyville at least, she wandered the Everfree in search of the stupid fillies who trotted in, or for truly nefarious monsters to slay... if she thought she was strong enough. Today though, she had been told to come an hour before sundown to where she normally met Twilight and Fluttershy. And she did find them, with Twilight groaning on the ground, while Fluttershy twitched, her eyes shocked open. "Can Trixie please get an explanation?"
Twilight looked up, rubbing her muzzle as she let out another bitter groan. "I forgot I was given a body and walked straight into Fluttershy's tree."
Trixie slammed a hoof against her face. "And let Trixie guess. Fluttershy got scared and fell out?"
Fluttershy glanced away as her face turned slightly pink. "I-it's nice to see you, Trixie."
"It's nice to see you too. Now, can Trixie get another explanation, like finally being told why you wanted her tonight?”
Twilight attempted to wrap a hoof around her low hanging friend, swinging through her, just like so many ponies had done with Twilight over the past few months. Once she was back on her hooves, she beamed at Trixie. "We hoped you would come to the Grand Galloping Gala with us!"
"The what?"
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Trixie and Twilight blinked a few times as they watched the ponies in front of castle, including their own friends, start randomly singing and dancing. Trixie bit into her cheek. "Is this normal for them?"
"Not from what I've seen." Twilight shook her head. "At least it means we can be the first ones in the gala!"
Trixie rolled her eyes. "You will be the first."
Twilight stopped for a moment. "Are you not coming in?"
"Trixie is one spirit who knows better than to ask to be exorcised, unlike somepony."
A deep blush came over Twilight's cheeks as she began to chuckle. "I promise, I won't go doing anything like that again. It still means a lot to me that you saved me. That's why I wanted to bring you to this, as a thank you to a good friend."
Trixie took a deep breath in while trying to ignore something in her fluffy chest that was fluttering. "Trixie supposes she must accept this gift then, or else be called a buffalo giver. I'm not going to become visible though, so you get to be called crazy."
"Deal!" The two trotted into the room, and looking around herself, Twilight immediately wanted to step right back out. She had thought the almost fifty ponies outside were all that were attending, but she was horribly wrong. The social elites looked over at her, and she could feel their judgemental thoughts and the pressure of simply being in a nice, gothic dress, instead of having things like large peacock plumage out of her outfit. Slowly, she started to shake, a cold sweat breaking over herself.
Trixie noticed the unsure steps as she floated alongside her friend. She bit into her cheek, before her eyes glowed bright. Twilight's vision soon changed, with all of the socialites' clothes suddenly disappearing. "N-now you're the best dressed, so ignore them."
Twilight held a hoof to her muzzle, stopping herself from bursting out with laughter. A tear came down the side of her face, a smile widening on her face. It was only when she got to a table when she actually broke down, sobbing. Trixie paled and lowered herself beside Twilight. "Twilight? Is it something Trixie did?"
Twilight turned to her, the smile having not faded as the tears wouldn't stop. "N-no, or, at least, it isn't anything bad you did. I... I just realized how much everypony has done for me. Applejack forgave me for all the trouble I caused her, Rarity tried to give me a new outfit the first time we met, and then there is Fluttershy, Sunset, Celestia, and," turning to the kitsune behind her, "you."
"You all have truly accepted me. I can call all four of you my friends, knowing that not only can I trust you, but that you trust me, almost… almost unconditionally. It... it's something I never had, even when I was alive. I... I just wish I could do something to say thank you. To pay you all back for all you’ve done for me."
Trixie stopped for a few moments before wrapping her hooves around the wraith. "Shut up. That is what friends do, and don't you dare make Trixie's gifts seem like favors, because they weren't. I... I truly want to see you do better, and..." Trixie cursed at herself, unable to quite figure out what it was that was building within her.
Twilight got most of the message though, using a spell taught to her by Cthulhu and Celestia to wrap her hooves around the ghost, ignoring the fact that to everyone else, she was touching nothing. "I won't, promise. It just... it means so much to me. Thank you."
Trixie's breathing stopped as she felt the warm hooves. She hadn't been held like this since she left her home on her mission almost ten years ago. She shook her head before forcing herself out of Twilight's arms. "Alright, that's enough of that."
"But Trixie-"
The kitsune thought fast and cut Twilight off. "Do you want hugs, or to learn about my race?"
Twilight could only think about hugs for a single second before shouting, "Tell me! Finally!"
Trixie floated to the other side of the table, breathing a sigh of relief as she managed to push the fluttering in her chest to the side.