9 - A Great And Powerful Partner (Twilight)
“Eyes On You”
Chapter nine: A Great And Powerful Partner
(Act One Finale)
Trixie volunteered to handle the school visit that day – as Twilight was too busy taking care of Rainbow. She wasn't sure what went on in there - some kind of magic show from what she could hear - but Trixie emerged with a smile on her face and the children cheered and waved for her as Twilight had never seen them.
For her part, Rainbow was distraught. She said she promised to keep what Trixie had said between the three of them, so as not to cause 'any more damage than she already had'. Twilight assured the poor pegasus that they were okay, and that she hadn't done anything wrong, but Rainbow simply smiled and pretended to take the words to heart. In reality, she was hurting. Twilight could see it, but there was nothing she could think to say or do that could fix her, other than to constantly tell her that it was 'okay'...
The following day, Pinkie Pie held one of her trademark Pinkie Parties, the same one that Twilight had agreed to clean up after a week before. Trixie opted out – which wasn't too surprising, considering her first experience. Rainbow Dash was there though, and all of a sudden she seemed to be back to her usual self – laughing, playing and smiling along with the rest of her friends. Twilight spent much of the evening trying to figure out what had changed, or whether Rainbow was just pretending for her benefit, which seemed a lot more likely... She never did get an answer, but Pinkie Pie, at least, seemed to think she was still 'the usual Dashie'.
Over the next few days, Twilight saw very little of Rainbow or her other friends, since she spent pretty much every waking moment in Trixie's company. They practised walking around the library and even sneaked out at night a couple of times to take a walk near the forest, away from the prying eyes of Ponyville. Trixie's leg grew a little stronger every day, as did the bond of trust between she and Twilight. Before long, moving together was as easy as... well, dancing.
Late one night, the two mares set out on one of their walks. This time, Trixie seemed eager to take the lead, and Twilight was all too happy to follow her...
“So, where are we going?” Twilight asked as she and Trixie trotted over the bridge leading out of Ponyville proper.
“Just a little further,” Trixie said with a smirk. “You'll see.”
Twilight gave her a sidelong look. “You're awfully mysterious all of a sudden.”
“Trixie is always mysterious. That's part of her job.” The showmare put her nose in the air proudly.
With a chuckle, Twilight turned back to the trail ahead. “If you say so, Miss Great and Powerful.”
The night was a little chilly, but Trixie had chosen to leave her cape at home. She always did when they went out like this – it tended to get in the way. It didn't really matter though – the closeness they shared kept them warm enough.
Their walk soon took them off of the trail itself and up the slope of a rolling hill. When they crested it, Trixie slowed down and finally brought them to a halt.
“This is it?” Twilight asked, glancing around as Trixie lifted herself free. It seemed to be... just a hilltop.
“Not quite,” said Trixie. She took a step forwards and her horn lit up with a purple light. Twilight furrowed her brow in question for a moment, before a bright flash forced her to cover her eyes.
When she came back to her senses, she saw a covered basket laying in the middle of the hilltop. “...A picnic basket?” she guessed, stepping up alongside Trixie to get a better look.
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Very observant, Sparkle. Now help me unpack.”
As the showmare lifted out a checkered blanket and laid it out on the grassy ground, Twilight regarded her questioningly. “Well, this is a surprise... Is there some kind of special occasion or something that I missed?”
“It's just a picnic,” said Trixie coolly. “Trixie doesn't need a special occasion – she sees ponies do it all the time. And aren't you forgetting something?”
Twilight blinked at Trixie as she finished unloading the contents of the basket – a flask, two mugs and a pair of wrapped sandwiches. When Trixie had finished, she vanished the basket with another flash and looked at Twilight expectantly. “Well?”
“Well what?” said Twilight, cocking her head.
“The summoning spell,” Trixie deadpanned. “You're not impressed?”
Twilight's eyes went wide. “Oh! Of course – well done, Trixie!”
With a roll of the eyes, Trixie stepped forwards and laid down atop the blanket. “Whatever. Trixie is sure she'll find somepony else who appreciates her awesome magic.”
Twilight felt her face heating up. “N-No, I appreciate it, Trixie!” she said hurriedly, jumping forwards to stand beside her. “Thank you for this, really!”
“Yes, yes,” said Trixie dismissively. “Sit down, will you?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. She padded around to find a comfy spot, then laid down on her front alongside Trixie, wondering what she was up to. She watched as the showmare poured two mugs of apple juice from the flask, taking one for herself and passing the other across. Twilight took it with an uncertain smile and sipped it as she waited for an explanation...
“...Nice night,” Trixie commented.
Twilight frowned at her.
She didn't have to say anything – Trixie got the gist of it just from that look. She sighed. “Alright... Trixie has something to tell you, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh?” said Twilight, smiling expectantly.
Trixie's eyes fell to the blanket. “It's actually something that Trixie should've told you a while ago... Do you remember when Trixie said she was 'just passing through' Ponyville, to go somewhere else? That... wasn't completely true.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “I kind of figured that out,” she muttered. “Go on.”
Trixie closed her eyes for a moment before looking sideways at Twilight. “Trixie was on her way here to meet somepony.”
“...Somepony?”
“You,” said Trixie abruptly. “I was coming to see you.”
Twilight's heart leapt. “O-Oh, really?” she said, trying to sound casual. “What for?”
“I'm getting to that!” Trixie snapped. She cleared her throat and looked out towards the starry horizon in thought. “I guess I should just show you...”
Trixie's horn lit up again with the very same glow as before. A flash of light, and a small, brown-papered envelope appeared in midair. It hovered slowly down to land in front of the showmare, where she stared at it for a long moment.
Then she lowered her nose and pushed it over to Twilight. “Go ahead.”
Grasping the thing in her magic, Twilight eyed it curiously. There was no address other than the word 'Trixie' on the front, elegantly horn-written. With a quick glance at Trixie to check that it was okay, Twilight magically reached inside and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Unfolding it revealed an entire letter written in the same scrawl. She shone a little more hornlight on it and leaned in for a better look...
“...'Dearest Trixie'?” she read aloud, furrowing her brow. She glanced across at the showmare. “Are you sure it's okay for me to--”
“Yes,” said Trixie shortly. “Please, just read it.”
Twilight blinked at her, then nodded and turned back to the letter...
Dearest Trixie,
I know that it's been a while since we last spoke, so I hope that this letter doesn't come as too great a surprise. I didn't know where to find you – I never do – so I hired this courier to track you down. I trust that he made good time delivering this to you, and that it hasn't arrived too late.
I've enclosed something that I think you'll find quite interesting. You recognize the seal on the invitation, I assume? The Royal Seal of Princess Celestia herself, given in person. Naturally, it wasn't too difficult a task – I just pulled a little of the old charm and she was eating out of my hooves...
“Princess Celestia?” Twilight muttered. She looked up at Trixie. “What is this?”
“Keep reading.”
...I'm sure you'd love to hear the juicy details, perhaps we should meet up for dinner when you get to town? That is, unless you're thinking of not showing up. I suppose that wouldn't come as too great of a surprise though – even if you could find somepony to partner with you, which I doubt, there still wouldn't be any competition between us, would there?
Well, teasing aside, I know you can't resist a challenge, so consider this a formal one. Trixie Lulamoon – my partner and I shall await thee in Manehattan. If the courier did his job right, you should have plenty of time to find yourself a partner and meet us there. Don't be late.
Oh, and don't worry about paying me back for the ticket – the look on your face when I thrash you in front of the entire Big City will be more than payment enough.
Yours always,
~Flaire
As Twilight finished reading, she flipped the letter over, just to make sure there was nothing more. The other side was blank.
“Vexatious, isn't he?” Trixie spat.
Twilight turned to her with raised eyebrows. “Vexatious? I didn't think anypony else knew that word...”
“I learned it especially for him,” said Trixie darkly.
“...I take it you don't like this... Flaire, then?” Twilight guessed.
Trixie scoffed and snatched the letter back a little more forcefully than necessary. “Don't like him? He's the bane of my life! Such a stuck-up, arrogant, self-obsessed ba--”
“Yeah,” Twilight interrupted. “I think I get it.” With a huff, Trixie turned to stare down at the letter in silence. Twilight shook her head and frowned. “An invitation, the Royal Seal, Manehattan... What's this all about, Trixie?”
“Isn't it obvious?” said Trixie, throwing her a quizzical look. “The Manehattan Display – the biggest, most popular magic show in all of Equestria? Don't tell me you haven't heard of it...”
“The Manehattan Display?” Twilight repeated, raising her eyebrows again. “O-Of course I've heard of it! I've been a couple of times myself, when I was younger... it's a wonderful event! But I don't remember needing an invitation. Unless--” She broke off and glanced at the letter. “Are you saying you've been invited to compete?”
“That's exactly what I'm saying,” Trixie hissed. She vanished the letter and rested her chin moodily atop the blanket.
Twilight leaned in a little closer. “What's the matter? You don't want to compete?”
“Are you kidding? Any unicorn would give their left hoof to get in on that show,” said Trixie. She cringed a second after the words left her mouth, and Twilight felt a pang of empathy. “...Stupid choice of words... but you know what I mean. I really want to compete.”
“Then what's the problem?” asked Twilight hopelessly.
Trixie closed her eyes tight and screwed up her lips. “...I have to win,” she pouted.
Twilight backed away and blinked. She didn't have to ask 'why?' – it was pretty obvious that she and Flaire had some bad blood between them. But what she did have to wonder was why Trixie thought 'having to win' was a problem. Wasn't this the pony who was convinced that she was the Greatest, most Powerful unicorn in all of Equestria?
“...No offence, Trixie, but that doesn't seem very--”
“Great and Powerful?” Trixie offered.
“--Very you,” Twilight finished.
Trixie huffed. She didn't even bother dragging her chin off of the blanket before casting another summoning spell. This time, a small, red slip of fancy-looking paper appeared before Trixie. She passed it to Twilight.
'She is pretty good at that spell,' Twilight mused as she took the slip with her own magic. It was, without a doubt, an invitation to compete in the Display, with the Royal Seal itself pressed in the corner. It was addressed to 'Trixie Lulamoon and her partner'...
“The Manehattan Display is a partner-based event,” said Trixie sadly. “That's the problem.”
Twilight lowered the slip and eyed her curiously. “You mean you couldn't find a partner?”
Trixie scoffed. “Of course I could find one. If I just asked, I'm sure ponies would be practically lining up...”
“So... why don't you?”
“Because I don't want just anypony to be my partner,” said Trixie, throwing her a glare. “Some second-rate unicorn off the street would just slow me down. The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a Great and Powerful partner if she's going to win the Display.”
“Oh...” muttered Twilight. That made sense, she supposed – Trixie wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. But-- “Wait a second...” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Trixie raised an eyebrow meaningfully. The pieces fell into place.
“Oh no, you don't-- You can't mean me?” said Twilight fearfully.
Rolling her eyes again, Trixie picked her chin up and turned to throw Twilight a 'seriously?' look. “If I didn't mean you, we wouldn't be having this conversation.”
Twilight shook her head. “B-But I-- Why me?”
“Why do you think?” said Trixie. “You vanquished an Ursa Minor by yourself. I've never met anypony else who can do that. So, when I got that letter a few weeks later, you were the first pony I thought of.”
Twilight let out a breath, somewhere between a drained sigh and an exasperated huff. “You went through all this just to ask me to be your partner in some contest?”
Trixie glared. “It's not just 'some contest'! It's important!”
“Obviously important enough to risk your life going through the Everfree forest,” said Twilight darkly. Trixie drew back in surprise as Twilight went on. “Couldn't you have just written me a letter or something?”
“N-No, I couldn't!” she threw back. “Do you think it was that easy, asking for your help? Especially after you showed me up?”
“Trixie, you know it wasn't like that--”
“I know!” huffed Trixie, shooting to her hooves. She frowned at Twilight for a second before turning away and trotting over to the other edge of the blanket. “But that's not what it looked like, back then. I was... angry with you, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight's face found its own frown as she stared at the back of Trixie's head. “...But you came back here anyway. What changed?”
“Nothing,” Trixie hissed. “I couldn't ask you when I got here either, remember?”
Twilight cocked her head. “I don't understand...”
Trixie sighed and hung her head. Confused, Twilight got to her hooves and trotted towards her. She stopped when the showmare turned to look at her determinedly. “Trixie thought that it would be easier if she saw you in person. But it wasn't... Seeing you again just made things worse...”
“Oh, Trixie...” Twilight made to take another step forward, but the azure unicorn just shook her head dismissively.
“But that was before. Trixie understands properly now...” She fixed Twilight with an earnest stare. “You said that sometimes, strength is having the courage to just ask your friends for help. Well, I was weak back then, and we weren't friends. That's different now...”
Twilight pursed her lips.
The showmare stepped closer, until the two of them were barely a hoof's distance apart. “It has to be you, Twilight. Trixie-- I mean, I can't do this alone...” She lifted her good hoof and extended it towards Twilight. “...Please.”
The word had just about the same effect as a buck to the stomach, made even worse by what Twilight knew she had to say next...
“...I'm sorry, Trixie,” she muttered. “I can't...”
Trixie's gaze fell to the ground, and her hoof slowly followed. “Trixie was afraid you would say that.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Let me guess – it's because you don't want to be famous?”
“It's a little more complicated than that,” Twilight muttered. “But... yeah. Please try to understand, Trixie, it's not that--”
“Oh, I understand,” Trixie threw back with a glare. “I guess you're only helpful when it suits you, after all.”
“That's not true!” said Twilight desperately. “I'd love to help, but what can I do? I'm the Princess' student, I can't go showing off in an event like that!”
“Why not?!”
“Because--” Twilight broke off, feeling her face begin to heat up. She closed her eyes and turned away. “...I just can't.”
The silence that followed was awful. She wished that Trixie would say something, anything, to make her feel like less of a cruel, selfish pony. When she finally chanced open her eyes though, Twilight saw that Trixie had her back turned completely.
“...I thought we were friends,” the showmare grumbled.
Alarm bells went off all through Twilight's body, and she felt a sickening feeling in her stomach. “Please, don't do that,” she begged, even as her vision started to grow foggy. She tried to blink it clear, but it did little good.
Trixie stayed silent.
Twilight bit her lip, trying to think of the right thing to say, or do. Anything would have done right about then, but she just... couldn't. “I... I--” she stammered. It was too much... All energy left the poor, lavender unicorn, and she fell to her haunches in the middle of the blanket.
Pressing her chin into her own chest, Twilight hoped to pretend that this was all just a dream. A bad dream where she wouldn't even help her friend when asked. A tear escaped her eye...
'Why am I feeling this way?' she wondered hopelessly. 'Why am I crying?'
“...Twilight?”
She screwed up her eyes at the sound of the showmare's voice. Trixie probably didn't even want to be her friend anymore. Twilight wouldn't blame her. “I'm sorry, Trixie...”
“...No,” said Trixie. “That's not fair.”
Twilight shook her head. Trixie was right – it wasn't fair at all, for Twilight to say 'no' based on such selfish reasons. And they were selfish, she couldn't lie to herself about that... She just wanted to go home, pull her pillow over her head and--
Something warm and fluffy brushed against Twilight's fetlock. Craning open her eyes, she saw Trixie sitting in front of her – with a hopeless look on her face and with one hoof reaching out to rub softly against Twilight's.
Trixie paused, staring into her eyes for the longest time before finally leaning forwards so that their necks crossed in a hug. Twilight drew a sharp breath... Trixie had never hugged her before... Why now, of all times?
“I... didn't mean it,” Trixie muttered quietly. “That was a stupid thing to say...”
Twilight choked – kind of a half-laughing, half-sobbing breath. “No, you're right...” she huffed, hanging limp in Trixie's grasp. “Some friend I am...”
Trixie went quiet again, but she didn't pull back. The cuddle was reassuring enough to hold back Twilight's tears, and she managed to get by with only a few sniffles. “...This really matters to you, doesn't it?” Twilight asked, dreading the answer that she knew was coming.
“...More than anything,” said Trixie.
There it was. Twilight breathed a lazy huff and wrapped her hooves around Trixie's back, squeezing her eyes shut as she braced herself. Having heard Trixie say that, there was really no other choice...
“...Okay,” Twilight said simply.
She'd expected to suddenly feel a lot different – a lot better – but she didn't. She didn't feel anything at all. Maybe because she wasn't sure that Trixie had heard...
Twilight gulped down her reservations and pulled back from the embrace. Feeling this, Trixie did the same. Her eyes weren't tearful, but they definitely had a certain shine to them... She gave Twilight a questioning look.
“Okay,” Twilight repeated.
“...Okay?” said Trixie, cocking her head.
Twilight leant forwards and touched her nose against Trixie's, so that all she could see were the showmare's shining, amethyst eyes. “Okay,” Twilight said, with as much fervour as she could muster.
Trixie blinked. It took her all of two seconds to figure it out, and her eyes went wider than Twilight had ever seen them. The glistening didn't go away, nor did the wetness in Twilight's own eyes...
“W-What?” Trixie muttered. “But you were--”
Shaking her head ever so slightly, Twilight pushed harder against Trixie. “It doesn't matter. I... I care about you, Trixie. And, if this is really that important to you, then I care about it too.”
Twilight couldn't see Trixie's cheeks, but judging by the look in her eye, they were probably just as red as Twilight's own. The showmare gulped, blinked, then pushed back. “N-No!” Trixie said. “I care about you too, and you already said you don't want to! I won't let you ignore that just for me!”
Twilight pushed back even harder, evening up with Trixie. She stared determinedly into the showmare's eyes for the longest time, not daring to blink. The words hung on the tip of her tongue. She could've held them – let Trixie have her way. But at the same time, she couldn't...
“...Just try and stop me,” Twilight said.
Something clicked within her. What, where, why or how, she didn't know. But something clicked. The same, exact thing happened to Trixie – Twilight could see it in her eyes...
Slowly, she tipped her head downwards and closed her eyes, not quite sure what she was doing. Trixie followed suit. Their horns brushed together – magic sparking between them – until they finally came to a stop, side by side, as Twilight and Trixie pressed their heads up against each other and a long awaited silence fell over the hilltop...
'...Some picnic,' Twilight thought.
* * *
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Huzzah, update! I absolutely hated this chapter when I first wrote it. Now I just dislike it a lot
Please criticize and feedback so I can make it better! If you'd like to, that is... 
Only complaint I have, is that it's a little difficult to find out whether or not it's Trixie or Twilight running away & tripping over the blanket.
Some picnic, indeed.
Have to wonder why Twilight's initial response was "I can't...", not sure if Twilight was just nervous about it or if there's something else going on.
Well, now to practice a lot for the show itself and not get distracted too much by the less than necessary feelings that just emerged
Lovely chapter
Although I agree with Kapuchu - did Twi or Trixie run away and/or slip and fall? Wasn't exactly clear.
Nice.
Glad to finally know what that letter was about.
It was another groovy chapter and can't wait to read the next. I don't know why, but this chapter seemed off. Not a clue why. Can't even point out examples. It could just be lack of sleep and rage at games but whatever.
Great chapter. Keep it up.
So Twilight doesn't want the fame? Well if only there were a costume she could wear to disguise her identity. Perhaps a costume from the show?
1819622 Yay! Very happy to hear it
1819724 Ah, well that's a quick fix. Thanks for pointing it out! It was Twilight, by the way
1819727 I like to leave some things up to interpretation - wondering is good! Thanks!
1819896 Thank you! It was Twilight that ran away and tripped, I changed the wording to make that a bit clearer (but I'm going to take another look later as well)
1819903
Thanks!
1819948 I thought it seemed 'off' as well. And, same as you, I can't quite figure out what I don't like about it
Thank you for the comment!
1820351 Some kind of costume or disguise might be in order, yes. Maybe some magic? We'll see! Thanks!
So that's what the letter was about. Interesting. Completely different from what I thought the letter was about, but infinitely better.
Should I still be concerned for Dash? Because I am...
...What?
Are you Serio...
Oh, that's nice.
Only thing I saw.
an drained sigh
When I saw this chapter was released, I couldn't stop fangirling...
I just need to say that I am in love with this series right now.
It's just SO adorable (and I'm the type of person who'd obsess / fangirl over cute & adorable things for hours on end. My friends tend to give me strange looks whenever I scream about my love for Twixie)
You're the one who also made me make severe changes to my 'favourite pony' list. I used to be absolutely in love with Pinkie Pie, and now I'm like, in love with Trixie. Twilight is my second favourite, then it's Pinkie, followed by Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and finally, Rarity. Weird how I have Trixie on my list. :|
Anyway, onto the actual story...
I really enjoyed how Trixie stopped referring to herself as, "The Great and Powerful Trixie." in all seriousness and everything. I like how she's starting to use "I" more often, and it just really shows how much she's opening up to Twilight.
Also, I felt like Twilight snapping was just a little bit of an overreaction (just a little bit!). I can see why she denied, and I can envision the scene in my head, but honestly, if Twilight were to be guilt tripped like that, she wouldn't respond in an impatient manner, but then again, this is fan fiction. I'm only commenting on this because you seem to be making everypony's behaviour canonical, so I just wanted to point it out. However, I suppose her reaction depends on what the reason is (as to why she didn't want to accept Trixie's partnership invitation)
One more thing, this may just be me, but I felt like the whole, "we're not friends, we're partners" scene happened a little too quickly. Again, this depends on Twilight's reason for refusing, but really, I read the part over and over again, and every time, all I see is Twilight crying to herself with guilt washing over her thoughts at the same time. Finally, she trips, and after a brief exchange, she agrees to the partnership. Frankly, I think that if Twilight's reason meant that much to her, she'd think it through before finally agreeing. Twilight's the type of pony who'd be way more than willing to help her friends, and I imagine if she were to be guilt tripped like that, she'd either accept after a brief moment of thought, or she'd reject and run away (which happened in this scene, but she didn't make it all the way home).
Other than that, everything is good!
Well anyway, I can't wait for the next chapter. Keep up the good work!
1820582 Dont worry, I was Fangirling too and im a guy
I really like ware this is going cant wait for more!
Much of my thoughts are mirrored with what Ponyzilla above me said. I thought Twilight's thought process from hot to cold and then back to hot was a little confusing and nonsensical.
Other than that, a sweet update and a cute ending! I'm looking forward to this competition and how these two will interact within it!
I see no problems here, at least, nothing no one else has mentioned.
A rather intimate gesture at the end there. Well on to Manehatten then.
Who Want's to bet that Twilight will assist with Trixie under the fake identity of Dusk Shine
(Oops, missed some comments!)
1757479 Ah, Festival! I'd almost forgotten about that one. I was really enjoying it too
Now that I think about it, I've never read a completed Twixie fic 
Well, not a long one anyway - Adored was a one-shot (and pretty good, worth a look). Weird...
1752853 Yeah, pretty intense - I'm still not sure whether I want to go back and rewrite that flashback. Glad you liked the cape bit though, I thought it was pretty cute
Thanks!
1793252 Yes, surprisingly few! Most of the ideas bouncing around in my head include a love triangle of some kind. Granted, they aren't very good ideas... Still, I think love triangles are a good way to add some drama and tension into a story. The problem is finding a way to give it a happy ending (which is a problem I look forward to overcoming). Thanks for the comment, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
1797797 Cover your ears, Fluttershy! This isn't that kind of story!
Or is it? Hehe, seriously though, that's a possible resolution I've only seen explored once - the three characters in a love triangle ending up together I mean - and only as a minor part of the story. It could happen, I suppose, but I'd probably want some more practice before I gave it a go (EDIT: By that, I mean writing practice 
). Thanks for the suggestion, you've got me thinking about it now. Molestia help us all! 
1820569 Yay! Glad you liked the letter - I was worried that I'd played it up too much. And yes, you should still be concerned for Dash, that was another worry - that people would think I was sweeping it under the rug and being done with it. Come to think of it, I had a lot of worries with this chapter
Thanks for the comment! And for pointing out the grammar error too!
1820582
I have a fan? Squee! Thanks very much for your comment, it really brightened my morning and it's just the kind of feedback I was looking for as well. First off, I'm glad I got Trixie up there on your favourite pony list. She's definitely on mine - I always look out for Trixie stories to add to my 'read later' list (and rarely get around to reading ...)
I'm also very happy to hear that you liked Trixie's change in speech - she's definitely opening up to Twilight and I'm glad I could show it. And you're absolutely right about Twilight overreacting. I took a look back over the scene this morning and it does seem very out-of-character, even considering her reasons. I am trying to stick to canon when it comes to capturing the characters, and most of the time that's not so hard. Usually, when they fall out-of-character, it means I've taken the scene in the wrong direction, so I need to re-do it. But I'll have a go at clearing up what I have before I go that far, I'm confident that I can fix it.
I'm going to re-write that part shortly and slow it down a bit, whilst making Twilight's thought process a little clearer and more realistic. Snapping and impulsive decisions don't really suit her. Again, thank you so much for the feedback! I'll let you know when it's done!
1820885 Awesome, glad to hear it!
1821100 Yeah, I'm definitely going to take another stab at it this morning and see how it goes. Hopefully the ending will still be just as cute
And I'm looking forward to writing the competition, it should be a lot of fun. Thanks for the comment!
1821445 Great! I guess I'm just being silly again then. Thanks!
1822952 Yay for intimacy! Expect more soon
1824346 Dusk Shine? Well, that's better than what I had... in retrospect, I guess 'I-light Twarkle' isn't much of a fake identity...
1820582 1821100 >>Anyone else who might be interested!
Chapter 9 re-written! Starting from when Trixie says “Why do you think?”, I've made some minor (and some slightly less minor) changes to the scene. Personally, I think it's better, but I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks. Is it better or worse? And is it 'there' yet, or do I need to re-write some more?
No need to re-read if you don't want to though - the plot is the same, but the scene is a bit more in-character.
1825254
Whoa...I like that...A lot. I kind of miss the part where twilight shook the earth with her magic but...that didn't/doesn't really fit.
I wonder if Twilight will ever explain her reasons for not wanting to go at first. I'm imagining something to do with not wanting to make Celestia look bad if Twilight messed up or something.
And great now that you tell me I do need to worry about Dash...I'm really worried about her. Where's a SoarinDash story when I need one?
(Subliminal request is transparent
)
MUCH better~ Twilight is definitely the type that's willing to help with just about everything, but when it comes to something she just absolutely can't do, she'll fret over it, and ESPECIALLY when it comes to doing something that only she can do. Twilight's super modest and just kind in general, so she'll fall for guilt trips (no pun intended). You've captured that aspect of her pretty well. :3
Also,
"All energy left the poor, lavender unicorn, and she fell to her haunches in the middle of the blanket."
Oh my Celestia, I imagined Twilight, standing still in one place and then suddenly tipping over onto her side. Her legs don't collapse on her or anything, she just falls over. Splat. That's it. It's weird, that was the first thing I thought of. xD Nevertheless, it made me laugh.
Keep up the good work! Looking forward to chapter 10 ~
Wow. I don't think Rainbow Dash will like hearing about Twilight and Trixie going off to some competition together.
At least now, Trixie and Twilight are very good friends.
Til the next chapter.
The rival is now revealed!
And Trixie hugged Twilight! 
Here I thought last chapter was emotional.
What a picnic. Really brought them closer and sealed their friendship. And it was as moving as it was adorable
1824530 Mwhahahahahaha! Molestia watches you while you clop to Twixie, Rainbow Dash
I really enjoyed that re-write. It was a nicer scene between the two. A tad more...d'aww inducing and definitely one of my favorite scenes in a Twixie fic.
Gah, I'm even more excited for the next chapter now!
Ah, excellent! And a magic show? Twilight, you'll need Trixie's help with that!
Twilight is the strongesh unicorn in Equestria, and she knows it. My guess is that that the reason is she thinks she can't compete in such compitition. IF she really wanted it, she could crush the opposition.
Dawww alert!
.... wow what a turnover of events in such a short little scene. 
Things have just hit the breaking point of awesomeness
I was going through some songs to help fit the moment, and I think this one so far hits pretty close to home. Idk
I really like how you give the brief little overview of what happened between chapters. It lets you move the story along at a quick pace, while giving us the feeling that the relationship is advancing at a normal pace, and not rushed through like other stories tend to do. Well done.
2835897 Thanks! I don't know what the technical term is, but I think of it like a time-lapse. It's kinda tricky to get right, actually - since you have to be careful not to skip over important relationship development. But it's easier (and infinitely more effective) than having several chapters of filler which say basically the same thing.
I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
The second chapter earned my like, this chapter over achieved for my favourite.
It is really hard for me, two of my favourite pairings, Twilight x Trixie and Rainbow is in love with Twilight. I can´t decide which i wanted to be together, but since this is mostly about Trixie, i want her to be together with Twilight.
And so finally the letter comes out to play, and Twilight, after some conflicting emotions between the two of them accepts. Let's hope stage fright doesn't bubble up in her later on, or that Rainbow Dash crashes the proceedings either.
5074808
Um, Rainbow isn't in love with Twilight in this story. (Well, I haven't finished the story yet, but so far, it doesn't seem like she is.)
2362812
Next to Starlight actually.
8226489
starlight does not count in my book, I really think she should not have been added to the show.
8708776
Hell of a stance to take against the best pony.