Chapter 9: Matters Of The Heart
Coneigh Island was no stranger to festivities. The peninsula was the site of many amusement parks, had an extensive beachfront that attracted tourists during the summer months, and was generally the go-to place for fun and enjoyment.
Today, its capacity for fun was tested to the limit, when it had become ground zero for a genuine Pinkie Party.
And not just any Pinkie Party. Pinkie Pie had called in all her resources and all her fellow party ponies. Music played in every corner, in a dozen genres, enough to entertain anypony. Vendors from all over Equestria had been called in to serve up a mountain's worth of food and drink for all the guests. The amusement parks, game parlors and cafes had been opened for the public. Banners and posters hung everywhere, while a blonde pegasus in a Wonderbolt suit flew around and handed out balloons to anypony who looked sufficiently balloon-deprived. And there were ponies (and non-ponies) of all kinds and colors everywhere; locals, visitors, vendors, staff, and one wide-eyed VIP.
Trixie stared at the spectacle before her. For a moment, she could find no words. It was a party. No, it was a Party. An event that outclassed the Grand Galloping Gala in scope, if not taste. It was… garish, even a bit tacky, and yet… it seemed fun.
She blushed a little as she noticed that most of the banners and posters held her name, or depicted her cutiemark, or even herself in full. She had never ever been so narcissistic to show off to this extent (discounting that time, of course), but it seemed somepony had a different idea. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"How?" she asked hoarsely. She cleared her throat and tried again. "How in all Tartarus were you able to book Coneigh Island this quickly?"
"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said simply.
"Yes," Octavia concurred. "Apparently she, and I quote, 'knows a guy who knows a guy'. Like the music?"
Trixie's ears perked up as she managed to pick out a few sweet strains from the din. She swallowed hard. "It's…"
"It's some of the stuff we used to play, back in Canterlot," Octavia said. "Fun times, huh? You'll hear better from inside."
"Hey! Hey!" Rainbow shouted, her voice barely making itself heard over the crowd by the entrance. It seemed practically half of Equestria was here. "Guest of honor coming through! Make way! Make way!" Ponies turned their heads their way, and with a few cheers and a lot of flashing cameras, the crowd parted before them, with the exception of a wine-red mare who seemed a little too preoccupied with her drink to pay attention.
The four ponies walked down the path, everypony's eyes on them. Coco looked like she could die from embarrassment. Curiously, despite being the very center of attention, something she usually loved, Trixie was not in a good mood. As far as she was concerned, there was only one pony she wanted to meet right now; one pony who had some explaining to do.
And there she was. Princess Twilight Sparkle, resplendent in her blue dress, flower bouquet in her hoof, wings twitching nervously as though she was half trying to take off. She looked absolutely gorgeous. And a nearby sound system was playing that music.
It wasn't fair. This was psychological warfare. This was torture.
Trixie steeled herself and marched up to her enemy, fighting off the urges to run, or attack, or embrace her. The others hung back. "Well, well, well," she said as calmly as possible. "If it isn't Twilight Sparkle."
"Hi, Trixie…" Twilight said, blushing. "You look nice."
"Why, yes I do," Trixie said, lifting one sock-clad hoof to brush away a stray lock. The marvelous outfit fit her wonderfully, from the dress to the socks to the jewelry. The fabric hugged tight around her bodice, yet allowed her legs to move freely, just the way she liked it. She felt magnificent. By comparison, her usual hat and cloak seemed downright spartan and utilitarian. She wondered if Coco had made it herself, or if Rarity had had a hoof in it. Maybe they both had. "You look pretty good too."
"Thank you," Twilight said, blushing deeper. If Trixie wasn't so upset, she would have found it incredibly cute.
"So…" Trixie gestured around her. "Is this your latest attempt to snare Trixie's heart? A lavish jubilation to her honor? Do you really wish to spoil her rotten this way?"
Twilight shook her head. "Actually, no. This is all Pinkie Pie's doing. She's been itching to throw a party since we got here, and… well."
"This is her usual kind of party?" Trixie asked, arcing an eyebrow.
Twilight looked around at the activities and shook her head again. "No, this is actually excessive even by her standards. She's been preparing for this all week. I was worried what might happen if she didn't get to do it."
"Pies are weird," Trixie muttered. "So where's Cheese Sandwich? This whole thing stinks of his meddlesome antics."
An unusually large balloon descended from above – courtesy of the pegasus party patrol – and popped, disgorging a lanky party pony. "My ears are burning, somepony must be talking about me!" He took out a small spritzer bottle and soaked his ears. "Hey, Trixie! So glad you could make it! This party wouldn't be half as fun without you, seeing as it's kinda your party!"
"Cheese—" she began, but he put a hoof to her mouth.
"Before you say anything, I have something on my heart." He took a deep breath. "Trixie, you're bags of fun, and I'd love to be part of your growing circle of friends you apparently don't think exists…"
"Are you… breaking up with her?" Twilight asked.
"Let me finish," he said somberly. "Thing is, you're way too intense. I'm a fun guy, and you're a fun gal, but what you need isn't something I can really give you. I thought we matched pretty well, but it's just not going to cut it. Besides, Twilight genuinely loves you, whereas I honestly just fancy you."
Trixie pushed his hoof away. "That's it?" she asked.
"Yeah, sorry to come across as a little shallow, but…" He waved his hoof over his head. "I'm way in over my head here. And no offense, but I always got the feeling you were only dating me so you wouldn't have to deal with commitment." He smiled. "So… friends?"
"...Friends," Trixie said after some hesitation. "Mind you, I'm not good at keeping in touch."
"Don't worry, you won't lose me that easily." He grinned. Then his eyes widened and he gasped in childish wonder. "They have cotton candy! Wait for meeee!" He bounced off into the crowd.
For a moment, both mares contemplated with bafflement the pony named Cheese Sandwich. Trixie then shook her head vigorously. "Never mind that. I think you have something to tell me, Twilight."
"Oh?" Twilight blinked in surprise. "Oh! Right. Um, I love you."
Trixie gave her a dumbfounded look. "You set up all this just to tell me that again? I appreciate it, but I don't—" Her words were cut off when Twilight put a hoof to her lips.
"I wasn't finished, Trixie," Twilight said with a touch of annoyance. "Like I said, I love you. You've been on my mind for… well, I don't really know how long. It might have started when you left Ponyville the last time… or the first time. I don't know, it might have happened the first time I saw you, the novels talk a lot about 'love at first sight', though I'm not entirely sure that actually works, and…" She took a deep breath. "Point is, it's been going on for a while. For the longest time I didn't even know it was love – I just couldn't get you out of my head. But I love pretty much everything about you, I think, and now that I've actually gotten to know you better, I love you even more. Even if you're capricious and a tease and a little mean and you make up tall tales – and I love that, too."
Trixie didn't say anything.
"I love you," Twilight said. "But that's the thing, isn't it? It's just my feelings about it, and there are two ponies in this relationship. I don't know if you love me, and I can't make you love me. I can only do what I can to maybe make you happy, and maybe you'll fall in love with me, somehow. I wasn't trying to impress you with everything I did… okay, maybe a little, because it was kind of fun, but mostly I just wanted you to see how special you are to me."
Trixie carefully plucked a flower from Twilight's bouquet and nibbled on it. "Go on," she said.
"But that's not enough either," Twilight said. "And last night Pinkie Pie told me something. She was… she…" Twilight decided that it would not help her case to explain Pinkie's… whatever she had done. "She said that your wagon was important to you. That it let you be you, and that it was important for you to be you."
"It's broken now, by the way," Trixie said. Twilight looked shocked. "Never mind that for now. Deal with it later. Go on, go on."
"Ah… um…" Twilight took a breath and pulled herself together. "You're free, Trixie. You go wherever you want and do whatever you want and you don't call anypony your master."
"Except for the audience," Trixie pointed out with a smile.
"Except for the audience," Twilight agreed. "I like that. I guess that's why you were so torn up when—"
"Twilight?" Trixie interrupted. "Don't drag up the past. Okay?"
"Okay," Twilight said quickly. "I… it's like you're a bird, always flying free, and then I showed up and said that I loved you, and I acted like I had the right to just take you home and, and put you in a cage."
Trixie's eyes widened. Her heart started beating faster and she was feeling suddenly warm all over. "You got it."
Twilight nodded. "I think I do. Trixie, I would never hurt you. I love you. And… I can't simply make you mine, but will you… will you let me be yours?"
Trixie stared at the mare before her… this beautiful, loving, gentle mare whom a simple stage pony like her would never deserve, yet was giving herself to her so freely… and cursed herself when the first thing she thought was how much more dramatic this would be if it were night and fireworks burst across the sky. Instead it was just a sunny day. But Trixie had not become the pony she was by letting the weather interfere with her performance.
Trixie took one deft step forward, and laid her left foreleg around Twilight's neck while her right hoof rested against the right side of the mare's head, caressing her cheek gently. For one drawn-out second, she gazed into Twilight's eyes, noticing for the first time how similar in color they were to her own. Then she leaned in, and their lips finally met for the first time.
As it turned out, there were fireworks after all.
A while later, the two mares had retreated to a park bench conveniently placed in a hedge nook, keeping the hubbub of the party away a little. Twilight was curled up against Trixie's side, sighing happily as the magician stroked her mane.
"Okay, we're definitely going to have to work on kissing, Twilight," Trixie said. "You're not supposed to pass out when you do it. I'm not that good, honestly."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said, despite smiling wide. "You just excite me."
"Of course I do," Trixie said proudly. "But you're going to have to grow out of it, or you'll miss out. Particularly when it comes to the really fun stuff."
"Ooh!" Twilight squeaked, blushing. Yes, now that Trixie thought about it, it was almost unbearably cute. "I'll, I'll try my best." Twilight sighed again, while in front of them Pinkie Pie led a conga dance past, with a grey pegasus, a white unicorn, a navy blue pegasus and the drunken earth pony from before hanging on. "Trixie, do you love me?"
Trixie pretended to think about it for a moment. "Yeah, sure."
"Trixie…" Twilight insisted.
Trixie laughed. "Yes, Twilight, I love you."
"Really?" Twilight asked.
"Yes! Of course I do!" Trixie said.
"Really really?" Twilight insisted.
Trixie puffed herself up proudly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie says that our love will be spoken of in ages to come! We will be immortalized in song and story! We shall live forever in the stars!"
Twilight giggled and booped Trixie on the nose. "And what does the real Trixie say? The one who's not putting on a façade all the time?"
"She thinks you're being just a bit too clingy," Trixie said with a laugh. "I love you, okay? Or something close to it, anyway. At the very least, I can be happy with you. I trust you, Twilight." She ran a gentle hoof across Twilight's cheek, causing the mare to shudder a little. "I still don't really know why you love me so much, though. I'm not very nice, and I'm rotten friend."
"You're better than you think," Twilight said, sniffing Trixie's mane. It smelled like fireworks and magic, and made her heart race. "And your friends must agree if they're willing to go as far as they do for you."
"Heh," Trixie said. "If you say so."
"I'm a bit of an expert on the subject," Twilight said with a knowing grin. "I'll show you how it works."
Octavia stepped into the nook and looked at them. Vinyl was passed out over her back for some reason. "Oh, there you are. How did it go?"
"Just fine," Twilight said. "What's with your friend?"
"She's a lightweight," Octavia said. She poured the unconscious unicorn onto the park bench next to Trixie before squeezing herself in. "It'd be a huge smear on her DJ persona, so don't tell anypony, but… one bottle and she's out."
Trixie carefully checked Vinyl's hoof for a pulse. "One bottle of what, though?"
"Funny, Vinyl didn't think to ask that," Octavia said with a smirk. "So what's next for you two?"
"Who knows?" Trixie said blithely. "We could date, see the sights in Manehattan…"
"Trixie…" Twilight said. "My friends and I really need to get back to Ponyville. And… I was really hoping you'd come with me."
"Mmm… I'm not sure," Trixie said. She gently stroked Twilight's wing. "I've grown so fond of my friend, Coco Pommel. It wouldn't be fair to leave her all alone."
Octavia smacked Trixie on the head. "Stop being an idiot, idiot. You can keep in touch anyway, you know? Letters? Visiting? I wouldn't mind hearing more from you, either."
"Well…" Trixie considered.
"Don't you trust me?" Twilight asked.
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Well, when you put it like that…" She smirked knowingly. "Trixie is in need of a vacation. Ponyville is nice this time of year. Maybe I'll stay awhile. Until I grow bored and decide to travel again."
"I'll just have to keep you from getting bored, then, will I?" Twilight said with a playful smile.
"I guess you will," Trixie agreed, smiling back. "Of course, there might be room for one more pony in my wagon. I've never thought about it before, but traveling can get lonely sometimes, and my bed gets a little cold at night."
"Ooh," Twilight squealed happily.
"Right," Octavia said. She stood up and threw Vinyl over her back. "Time to get this girl up and running again, because she has to work in five minutes. See you later, Trixie." She started to walk away, then stopped. "By the way, Heartstrings lives in Ponyville."
"Really?" Trixie said, surprised. "Must have missed her last time I… uh, visited. What's she doing there?"
"Busking, last I heard," Octavia said. She shrugged and wandered off.
"Huh, nice," Trixie said. "She owes me fifty bits. Aagh, but then I'll have to explain why I had that evil amulet…" She groaned.
"No, you don't. I said I explained about that to everypony, didn't I?" Twilight said. "Now that I think about it, I didn't know then why she only said, 'Yeah, that figures'…"
A comfortable silence fell over the duo as they cuddled up against each other.
Cheese Sandwich wandered past, his hooves around both Minty and Surprise, who giggled. "…Not saying I'm into older ladies, but what do you say we try to bridge the generation gap? I'm definitely…"
"Hmph!" Trixie snorted derisively. "Cheese doesn't seem too broken up about losing me. At least I have you to fall back on."
Twilight rolled her eyes at what she hoped was Trixie joking again. "You know, most ponies would think that dating a princess was a big deal."
"I am a queen," Trixie pointed out. "A princess is, huh, just about enough for my standards."
"I'm not sure you still get to keep the title if you flee the kingdom," Twilight said. "And even if you do, I'm pretty sure the Diamond Dogs have impeached you by now."
"They're dogs," Trixie said derisively. "They'd have to find peaches first, and those aren't in season for another month."
Twilight couldn't help but laugh. "You know, it's things like this that makes me realize that I'll never be able to discount anything you claim."
"Good. Trixie is supposed to keep you wondering, because Trixie is wonderful." Trixie grinned impishly and wrapped her hooves around her lover. "And so are you, my love. Now, let's see if you can keep from falling apart when I kiss you this time…"
"So it all worked out, then?" Coco Pommel asked. She, Rarity and Spike were currently strolling idly across the outer party grounds as the sun started to approach the horizon.
Rarity was balancing a stuffed toy on her back, courtesy of Spike; the ball-throwing booth operator thought that he had been smart by banning telekinesis, but failed to account for the improved precision afforded to a species with proper grasping claws. Rarity thought that the toy was a bit garish, but loved it nonetheless. "Oh, yes," she said. "I couldn't hear what they said, but the kiss at the end spoke volumes. They're an item now, I'd bet my next lineup on it."
"Bleh," Spike muttered.
"Oh, Spikey-Wikey, don't be that way," Rarity admonished. "Surely you saw it coming."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," he complained. "I'm gonna have to move into the basement or move out or something. And I'll have to deal with Trixie everyday."
"Trixie's not so bad," Coco said. She grinned. "She's a sucker for hay shakes, by the way. She'll do anything for them."
"I'll remember that," Rarity said with a mischievous grin. "Oh, it's a shame we had to split you two apart, though. You've been a great friend to her."
"We'll still be friends," Coco said. "I'll just have to stay in touch, one way or another. And it was nice to get acquainted with Miss Melody… I mean, Octavia. She said she'd spread word of me to her contacts in Canterlot, and that might mean some serious work."
"Nice!" Spike said. "Guess you're getting something out of the deal after all."
"So when will we be seeing your own designs, Coco?" Rarity asked. "You're a good seamstress, but I can tell that you'll want to break into the big league eventually."
"Well…" Coco began.
"…Ah'm just sayin', any stallion ah'm interested in better accept they're gonna live an' work on the Acres, because ah'm not budging on that," Applejack said, strolling past. Rainbow Dash followed her, carrying Pinkie Pie on her back as the party pony blew on a noisemaker and threw confetti into the air. "Not ev'ry stallion wants that kinda life, see?"
"AJ, there's a difference between dating and getting hitched for life," Rainbow Dash said. "You can have fun now and then. You know fun, right? What we're having now? Right, Pinkie?"
"Yeppers peppers!" Pinkie cheered, blowing her noisemaker again. "Oh, hey girls and Spike! Are you having fun?"
"Yes, thank you," Coco said happily. "I've never had a party like this."
"Neither have we," Rarity said. "I doubt we shall see a party of this scale again."
Pinkie grinned. "Is that a challenge? I think it is! Giddyup, Dashie, we have work to do!"
"Oh, just have some cake and relax for once, Pinkie," Rainbow muttered. "I have enough work waiting for me back home. C'mon, AJ."
Applejack shrugged. "Yeah, yer right, we've done our chores. If Twilight still ain't hooked up by now, I ain't helping no more."
Rarity smiled and turned back to Coco as the other group wandered off in search of more excitement. "I'm sorry, dear. You were saying?"
"Oh, nothing important," Coco replied. "I'll think about your suggestion, but right now I just want to take the opportunities I've been given. It'll give me a chance to visit Ponyville, too."
"You're welcome anytime," Rarity said. She suddenly sighed. "I'm a little sad, though."
"Why's that, Rarity?" Spike asked.
"Oh, all this love and romance and flowers and candy and singing has just made it so clear to me how empty my own love life is," Rarity complained. "When will Rarity get her soulmate? When is it my turn?"
"Oh, I'm sure your time will come, Rarity," Coco reassured. "I just know he's out there, somewhere."
"Yeah…" Spike said under his breath. "Closer than you think."
The sun set majestically against the Manehattan skyline. Fluttershy admired the sight from her perch on the big ferris wheel, leaning against a handsome beige earth pony stallion with a long beard and oddly yellow-tinged eyes. If asked, he would introduce himself as Doctor Oxide, or however his name was pronounced: a specialist in probability theory, Brownian motion, and the quantum impact of butterfly behavior.
"So you knew all along?" Fluttershy asked.
The stallion chortled. "I had a certain feeling, my dear. That little blueberry is quite adept at stirring up chaos. A real troublemaker, that one."
Fluttershy frowned. "That's not nice to say."
"I meant it as the purest of compliments," Dr Oxide said gregariously. "I do so appreciate a pony who can make things interesting. Not that you're not interesting, of course, Fluttershy."
"No, I see what you mean," she said.
"And of course it made the headlines," he said. He took out a copy of the Manehattan Gazette from… well, he must have taken it from somewhere, since newspapers don't appear out of nowhere. It bore the headline Royal Rumble Of Romance! and had a large picture of Trixie, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich facing off on Trixie's stage, as well as a smaller picture of Twilight looking awkward. "What, you thought something like this could happen right in the Big Orange without anypony noticing? Preposterous."
"The princesses know, then?" she asked. "What did they say?"
"You know, I came here with a most curious pair of girls," he said, seemingly ignoring her question. "Called themselves Sunny Daze and Moonlit Nights, I think. Don't know where they went, but they seemed quite intent on enjoying the party. Said they had looked forward to something like this for a while." He chuckled. "Oh, the princesses? Oh, I suppose they're happy that Purplesmart Sparklybutt is finally growing up. Wouldn't know. Didn't ask."
"I see," Fluttershy said. "I suppose things would have become too complicated if they had gotten involved directly."
"Mmm," he said. "That's admittedly their standard excuse for, well, everything. Haven't you ever wondered why Twilight has to do all the work all the time? On the other hoof, it was quite a sight to see all of you giving it the ol' college try. A real team effort, yeah? Remind me to hire you all next time I go a-courtin'. And that's of course why we had to keep the pink one out of the game."
"The pink… Princess Cadence?" Fluttershy asked. She realized that they had been up by the top of the ferris wheel for quite some time now, even though it seemed to be turning. She didn't mind, though; the view was wonderful and she was in good company. "Yes, I suppose she'd want to get involved somehow."
"Oh, you don't know half of it," he said with a laugh. "She can smell a love situation across half of Equestria. She's like a shark, except she doesn't eat the pony she finds. I hope. Anyway, if she had gotten involved, she'd have tried to run the whole show, and where's the fun in that? Not to mention what her husband might've done if he found out that his little sister had run off to Manehattan to hook up with a showgirl. No, we had to keep them out of the loop. Some misdirection, a little interference. Locking Cadence in a closet, metaphorically speaking… and literally speaking, once or twice. Sending Shiney Hiney to look for possible minotaur incursions to the west, or fetch a bundle of left-hoofed spears from the armory. And so on and so forth."
Fluttershy couldn't resist laughing. "You're incorrigible."
"Now, I think you've proven that quite wrong, my dear," he said, giving her a pat on the head. "I did have some fun, though. So… did you have fun?"
She thought about it. "Yes, I did. It was tough at times, and… Twilight got really heartbroken a few times, but all in all, it was fun. Even if I didn't do much."
He smiled warmly at her. "I think you did more than you'd believe. You usually do."
As night finally fell and the moon rose, a great barrage of fireworks was loosened on the sky, to the delight of almost everypony below.
And in a discreet, out-of-sight nook in the gardens, two lovers paid them no mind at all as they held each other tight with no intention of planning to let go in the nearest future.
"Twilight?"
"Yes, Trixie?"
"I hope you're aware that you'll have to live with me on a regular basis from now on."
"Yes, that's what I've been hoping for, Trixie."
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."
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Oh, please be a sequel. Please be a sequel. This story was amazingly written, have a mustache
, ya know what? Make it two! 
Yay! Happy ending!
Hooray for Twixie! Also surprise Discord... also Surprise! Seriously this was a fun story the whole way through.
I'll see you at the next chapter.
That was super cute. Well done!
It is quite powerful when Trixie refers to herself in the first person, using "I". You can feel her vulnerability in those precious moments.
Thanks for this story. I'm always happy with a fun, well-written shipfic.
I never really doubted that Twilight would get her mare, though.
It was only a matter of time.
the last part can be changed
"Twilight"
"yes trixie?"
"just so you know im a stallion"
the end
My god that was great xD, loved the bit between discord and fluttershy. And lolol cadence the love shark
This story was simply DIVINE
This is so well written, so well thought out, and so well EVERYTHING
It all ads up to a perfect Twixie story
No, the whole thing doesn't click in my mind. Trixie has no reason to love Twilight.
5040953
After all, Trixie does say
Who said that she did?
which could mean that trixie leaves twilight after two weeks to go on the road again.
Unless Twilight and her friends lock trixie inside of the castle for twilight to keep.
you are a machine, mooncalf.
I love this series so much. You earned a follower.
Classic.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
Jezus.
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
If I ever say that again I'll stab myself in the eyes with rusty spoons.
Hmn, so Cheese's participation is to politely exit out of the romantic competition? Probably about the best we could have hoped for.
Well, there we go, smooches all around. 'bout time.
Lyra knows Trixie? I like it.
Hah!
You can lead a horse to another horse, but you can only force them to drink for so long before this metaphor breaks down.
So, Discord was playing his own part? Interesting.
I guess that in the end, the booby prize for successfully romancing Trixie is that you successfully romanced Trixie.
All in all, fun story.
5043394
I never said it made one or the other /better/.
If you get hit with a warhammer you're just as dead as if you were stabbed in the llung with a rapier.
Which leads to some tense and scary moments in The Monster In The Twilight by Georg. Trixie is finesse, and Monster runs on the mantra of "Magic is pain. pain is power. power is magic."
Leading to a devilish escape by Trixie... and Monster turning a Hive into guncotton.
5043491
... You realize "Trixie does not trust wheels" was just to display how fucking crazy the Alicorn Amulet made her?
minty and surprise? G1 Rocks!!!
Shady: If you think so... sorry I'm in it
... shady, i lovr you're personality more than waffles
SHADY: well, I guess i at least have a personality
...
Maybe closer than she thinks, Spike. Don't fall into the same mistaken train of thought Twilight did earlier.
Great story. I'm surprised with myself for having kept up with it.
I don´t think they have to move together right away, but i think they had their dates aready and well i think i just think about Coco here.
Because it wasin english i think i understood some thinks wrong the first moment, like if a Character said somethign which maybe was not that serious, but it turned out really good again.
I think the story is oeof the better onesi had read in the last time, sadly it is the end already but i thought i would happen rather soon.
I would like a sequel, but then maybe even with an adoption too if you don´t mind, it was somehow a bit to fast for me, but the speed would allow children i think.
I don´t know if i like the little scene with Fluttershy, but i read it rather fast. Was it Discord and did he say that Clesestia and Luna were spying on them? even Cadance? I just hope that they didn´t do anything of the stuff in the story, i don´t like it if they are involved in everything.
5040953
For that part well, i think i know what you mean, she doesn´t know her, i would say she just want to start dating her for real, that she love her is maybe a sudden change.
This story was fun to read, and had excellent great character interaction, and comedy.
I don't agree with how fast Trixie turned around and declared her love for Twilight though. Okay, Twi learned something about romance and her love interest's character - and as a result, Trixie decided that she loves her.
Twi's got tons of friends to Trixie's one: Coco - who was also Rarity's friend. It felt like Trixie got her shields melted by 'concentrated friendship power', or something to that effect. I guess I find myself wishing that Trixie succeeded in running away from the Twilight Army, and had a final one on one with the persistent Princess.
What I liked best about the story was how lavishly characterized Trixie was. Her intelligence, her wit, her beauty was all wonderfully expressed, and it was pleasurable just reading her parts.
Until the next Trixie adventure!
Okay, what was Trixies warning about? Also, what the smeg is this Dimondia that keeps getting mentioned.
Also this:
Oh come on spike! She handed that one to you on a silver platter! What the buck are you waiting for?! A written invitation?!
5043931 Yes
Discord, you sneaky matchmaker, you.
Great fic. Love the little references. However there are a few characters that I'm unfamiliar with (Sunny Daze and Moonlit Nights) or references to mysterious characters (same ones?). Also the introduction of Cheese was a bit surreal, but that only lasted that chapter.
Was there also a little hint that Octavia and Pinkie Pie are sisters? So easy to overlook, wondering what other little tidbits are hidden in the story.
Anyway, a fun read. Kept me interested.
Greenthumbed!
5044747
Ask yourself this: If Discord decides to attend the party in a clever disguise, who else in his social circle might decide to do the same? Who might pick those thematic aliases to be a little less noticeable?
Good question... I'll leave the interpretation to the readers, though. Given that it has little impact on the story, it can be either or, as you prefer.
5044721 Someone suggested early on that Cadence would show up and take action, but that would have been far too easy, and none of the protagonists would have learned anything.
5043931 Dimondia is a kingdom populated almost exclusively by Diamond Dogs. Trixie was their queen for a while, although technically the term 'prisoner' fits better; she later managed to escape with the aid of Rainbow Dash. It happens in the MLP comics.
5043738
Well, no, not exactly. One of the cliches I wanted to avoid was the idea of the immediately reciprocated affection - that A confesses to B, and B immediately confesses their love back. It's too easy, and I wanted to draw the story out and make it about the characters overcoming the hurdles in their way. Twilight loves Trixie, but Trixie rejects Twilight from the start, and throughout the story she keeps her at a distance, even when she's playing along.
Truth is, Trixie doesn't love Twilight, at least not in the same way that Twilight loves her. But there are many forms of affection. And Trixie wants companionship, she wants happiness and friendship and appreciation and affection. She just also wants to be free and be herself, and she fears that she can't have the former without sacrificing the latter, and if she gives in to Twilight's demands, she'll just be the princess' little possession, not the Great and Powerful Trixie, a person in her own right. And it's not until Twilight realizes Trixie's needs and makes it clear that Trixie can trust her not to hurt her like that, that she accepts Twilight into her heart for real. (Of course, they're technically still just dating.)
Ugh, my drama teacher in college said that a script writer should never explain their writing and instead let the story speak for itself. Sorry for preaching.
Trixie's got more friends than she knows - Coco Pommel, Octavia, Rainbow Dash, Cheese Sandwich, Maud Pie, Lyra. Coco was, from the very start, in the game to protect Trixie and interfere if anything went out of control. It's just that Trixie's not entirely in touch with her own feelings, and she deals with problems she can't handle by avoiding them and running away. They weren't so much planning to drag her back as they just wanted to convince her that giving Twilight one more chance to prove herself wasn't dangerous. Had she decided to walk away anyway, that would have been that.
I guess it's pretty obvious she's my favorite pony. (Well, her and Twilight in shared first place.) I also identify a great deal with her, so a lot of her reasoning comes from myself.
I was a little worried I'd end up shilling her too much as the best pony ever, frankly. I think I averted that, thankfully.
5043730
Celestia is always watching. Remember the ending of Magical Mystery Cure?
But no, unless he was blatantly lying (and since when has Discord ever lied?) it's safe to assume that neither he, Celestia or Luna interfered at any point (though they may have been ready to swoop in should Twilight start to go critical). Discord just made sure that Cadence couldn't interfere.
Sequel might or might not happen in the fullness of time. Babies doubly so.
Thanks to everyone for reading! Sorry I didn't respond to your predictions, hypotheses and wild guesses, but I didn't want to risk giving out spoilers. If your prediction came true, consider yourself told "You're a smart person for figuring that out ahead of time, and probably very attractive as well." If not, disregard the first part.
Now for my next project, I will perfect my recipe for peanut omelets.
Wait, I did that already. (Bacon. The secret ingredient was bacon.) Then I guess I'll write something instead.
5045152 well ok thx, i think it is normal for me to get something wrong one in a while, maybe because i speak German normaly. Well ok, it is better for me to know how it was supposed to be.
Like i mabye said, i didn´t liked one specialm story where Twilight transformed a Human without asking into a animal, he started to complain and then all of his friends were mad at him for not let Twilight do what she want. In the middle of the story he wanted not to talk to her anymore and she forced him to stay with her magic.
Good reasons or not, i somehow don´t like it if the Unicorns force the other Characters to anything and didn´t get any punishment for that. Do you maybe know what i mean with that?
Well thank you for the answer, the story was a good one no doubt, i just have a few things where i suddenly get alarmed if i read special thigs. But the way you told me about it, i think i am ok with it. I can´t explain it better right now, but i know if there is a good reason and if they get at least scolded, i am even fine with that
5045273 Yeah, that sounds like decidedly unacceptable behavior from Twilight, and it would require some severe explanation and justification for me to not just drop that story on the spot. Twilight is supposed to be a hero, and being a hero is somewhat contingent on not doing horrible things. Unless the story explains why she's doing things that are unacceptable, it's not good.
Not sure why you brought that up, though.
A very unique Twixie story. Enjoyed every chapter and imo your best story so far. Keep it up friend!
Pinkie Pie has the indomitable need to party harder.
5045152 Man, first there was Nightmarity and now this. Some really bizarre stuff happens in those comics.
5047711 To say nothing of when they went to a mirror universe where Sombra was good, Trixie was humble, the princesses were evil and the Mane Six were criminals.
Or when they joined a pirate crew.
Or when they foiled a jewel heist.
Yeah, the comics are weird, but fun.
5048858
I... what?!...I... have no words.
Halfway through this chapter I threw up my arms and ran around randomly hugging things.
You did a good job of setting up Twi letting Trixie know that she figured her out and what that meant.
Welp, this is certainly Twixie fic of the year
Every single chapter was brilliant, every single character was written great and were enjoyable, and their relations to Trixie actually believable. And you avoided nasty cliché tropes like 'RD, AJ and Rarity wanna kill Trixie on site' or 'Trixie is so guilty over the ursa incident she turned over a new leaf of modesty and humble...ity...'
Add to that excellent spelling and grammar and the fact it didn't end too soon nor drag out too long, and this is so far my all-time favourite Twixie fic I have seen yet
Only thing that would make it better is if I could physically jump in there and squeeze in-between the two at night 
5050526 Well, the "hate on sight" cliche bugs me severely, because it's an ill fit with their show portrayals (even when they dislike somepony, they at least try to be civil, and don't resort to violence unless it's actually necessary) and lessens their character.
And Trixie is capable of being modest when she feels that it's necessary, though for her it's more akin to admitting that she's not completely perfect and may have a few flaws and might not be entirely too different from most other ponies, maybe. On the other hand, she'd likely find false humility to be an even greater insult than false pride. I can easily see her demanding that Twilight stop pretending to be average and nothing special, and start embracing her greatness for once.
Thanks muches!
5050946 Indeed, that is *exactly* what happened!
That was a great and powerful story
Well done I enjoyed it completely 
look forward to some of your other works. 
5063349 Possibly loosely inspired by that joke from Airplane!, though I doubt I was consciously trying to make a reference.
And I now realize I wasted a perfectly good opportunity to make an actual Airplane! reference:
Hmm... no, it's not really an improvement, is it?
5074508 I was so worried the management would bust me for the lyrics. Still, I think I managed to get across some deeper meanings with it.
Swashbucklist would have my hide if Spike didn't get his allotted screen time with Trixie. Though they do have an interesting chemistry, so it worked.
It's a bit of a balancing act to make sure everyone gets to play their part. I don't think I got it exactly right, but...
I wanted to review this for a while now.
Trixie is well done here, kinda how i pictured her in most ways. Thought the whole romance seem messy. Twilight kinda creep me out; I'm not going to lie...
I think a one point you had it open for a third and very interesting option involving Coco.
to me she seemed to wanted what was best for Trixie. With how Cheese and Twilight acted I was expecting Trixie to look more to Coco Pommel and have the fic make that change but... never happen. Still Great fic and I'll be looking forward to more.
Okay, finished this. Loved it loved it loved it! Discord, *Blasts with the Elements of Harmony and then Matrix of Leadership* I hate his guts, what can I say? :D But this is Twixie fic of the year, as 5050526 said.
5075785 i don't understand where it came from or what it means, I just think it's funny
5075832 Yeah, I'm aware that Twilight's deep infatuation made her rather creepy. One of the core premises for the story was that Twilight would be passionately in love but not know how to deal with it properly. She'd be full of this bubbling, uncontrollable loving feeling and trying to share it with Trixie as directly as possible, with predictable results, and it wouldn't be until she learns what's really important that she makes real progress.
As a few commenters have said, there's no real lead-up to it and it's just there from the very start, but I don't think as many readers would have been hooked if the story spent the first two chapters with Twilight puttering around Ponyville doing inconsequential things as she slowly realized her feelings in a more natural pace.
Coco was meant as a friend from the very beginning, though you're not the only one to see such a connection. Seeing as how I did establish how Trixie needed trust and understanding from her partner and Coco was arguably the one who understood her best, I suppose it made sense.
5075945 Words cannot tell how flattered I am. We'll see what EQD says, though. Apparently they've overhauled their process a bit, so maybe I have a chance.
As for Discord, I figured he could be fun for the denouement, and Fluttershy kept saying "We're not like that" so much I had to throw in a little tease. Plus explain why the whole ordeal didn't attract a lot more attention.
He's fun in limited doses, but he gets a bit too invasive if left to his own. I'd much rather use Pinkie Pie for casual wacky, since she has better defined constraints.
5091136
Twilight: So let me get this straight. You, Rainbow Dash, want me to dress up in academic robes, and then you shill me as 'The smartest pony in Equestria' in front of Trixie...
Rainbow Dash: Yeah! I figure it's like being an athlete for eggheads, and who doesn't like an athlete?
Twilight: And you, Rarity, want to dress up as a Royal Equestrian Guard and start coming on to me in front of her just to drive home how attractive I am? And both of your main selling points is that I'm single?
Rarity: Honestly, I just want to see how I look in an outfit like that. But it's hardly worse than any of our other plans, is it?
Twilight: ...True.
Pinkie Pie: If it's any help, I can help you with your poetry! Turns out 'purple' does rhyme with 'hurple' and 'curple'! Who knew?
Twilight: Okay, I'm pretty sure that if I start writing poems about Trixie's butt, she'll kick me.
5096806 49.8 seconds. Spike is good at tea.
Finally free, finally got time and finally managed to read this God blessed piece of work.
AND I GOT NOTHING SMART TO SAY!
This-- This is just a great fiction. One of the best.
Bravo señor. Bravo.
5109842 As well as being surprisingly fragile, to the point that swinging it too hard could sometimes break the blade. All that "folding the metal a thousand times" hype becomes less impressive when you realize it was the only way for them to beat out as much as possible of the impurities their crappy metal had.
For blade analogies, I'd call Twilight a claymore, Trixie a rapier, and Rarity a scalpel.
And Twilight is Superman. Makes sense, no?
Applejack is Wonderwoman, Rainbow Dash is the Flash, Rarity is Green Arrow, I have absolutely no idea who Fluttershy would be, and Pinkie Pie is Ambush Bug. And Spike would be Jimmy Olsen.
Finally finished this, and man was is good. Ten out of ten. Hundred out of hundred. Top of the line.
Mmmm, I love finishing a truly great fanfic. Now I want to write something totally awesome as well.
Good job, Mooncalf. You are a rare and wonderful creature.
5109976
Eh, they sacrifice some resilience for their crazy sharp edge. They are actually more likely to bend than break, though, which is more often than not preferable. The real problem is that a severely damaged hamon can ruin the entire blade. Anyway, it comes down to priorities and compromises.
As for the crappy metal, that's got more to do with a lack of good iron deposits. As I understand it, Japanese steel, when properly processed, wasn't particularly bad and a high-quality blade is still a high- quality blade. Rather, the Japanese method doesn't lend itself well to mediocrity. Still, yeah, European iron age swords were folded as well, so it's not as exclusive as many people think.
Like all dedicated weapons, the katana does what it's designed to do. It's neither inherently superior nor inferior.