After the duel

by Charlie_K

New day

New day

Trixie was accustomed to waking up in all manner of ways. Having her door knocked on, her door being opened and told to get up and get to work or she was fired, roused from slumber via a bucket of ice water dumped unceremoniously on her head, to the sound of roosters crowing as they perched on her windowsill, and the countless times she would awaken due to horrible nightmares disturbing her sleep or even rolling out of bed and falling to the floor.

She knew many unpleasant ways to wake up. But awaking to the smell of something delicious being cooked was a new one. Not since home was this the morning routine.

"Good morning Trixie," a pleasant voice greeted her as she stirred.

Definitely not since home. What the hay was going on here?

She moaned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around to gather her senses. The first thing to come into focus was...books. Lots and lots...and lots of books. Where was she?

"Hello?" Trixie asked as she slowly stood up and looked around. As she did she came face to face with Twilight and nearly screamed in surprised. "Twilight Sparkle!? What...what are you doing here?" she asked.

"This is where I live. You're in the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville," Twilight said simply.

"You live..." Trixie paused in thought. Everything suddenly came back to her in a tidal wave of memories and she couldn't help but sit down and groan. "Last week was not a bad dream afterall. Oh how Trixie wishes it was," she moaned and hung her head.

Twilight didn't say anything in response as she watched her new friend, her demeanor like somepony recalling a night of debauchery in an alcohol-induced stupor; not that she was know anything firsthoof about that! But from what she'd heard it did seem like the two were similar to each other.

"It'll be alright," she finally said in a simple manner as she stepped closer. "Spike's making some breakfast right now. I hope you're hungry."

"A little..." Trixie replied as she looked up. No trace of smugness on Twilight's face. Noting to indicate a feeling of superiority. Nothing but a friendly demeanor about her.

"Pancakes are up!" Spike called from the kitchen.

"Best pancakes in Ponyville, you're in for a treat. Come on," Twilight said and lead the way to the kitchen. Trixie hesitantly followed and saw Spike standing on a stool and dividing up and passing out stacks of pancakes around the table on three plates; and all while wearing a pink frilly apron that read "Kiss The Cook." Trixie couldn't help bug giggle at the sight.

"Nice to see you up and around lazy bones, we were afraid you'd be sleeping the whole morning away," Spike commented as he finished dividing up the pancakes for each of them.

"Go easy on her Spike, it was a late night for everyone," Twilight pointed out. Spike shrugged before getting down to fetch the syrup, butter and anything else that they'd need for the pancakes. "Best eat up while they're still hot. We've got a lot of stuff to do today."

"Such as what exactly?" Trixie asked curiously.

"Well after breakfast I figured I'd show you a few of the spells I know to help you increase your magical potential. Then later in the day I was thinking we should go over to Sweet Apple Acres and see about helping Applejack. Plus it'd be good practice for performing a levitation spell," Twilight explained.

"But Trixie is already familiar with the art of levitation," she protested.

"I know that. I've seen you do it. But can you perform a multitasking levitation spell?" Twilight asked, before surrounding her stack of pancakes with a magical aura to use as a study aid. The pile was picked apart pancake by pancake, each of them spinning in a circle above the table before the pile was reassembled like a deck of cards being shuffled and set back down on the plate.

"Trixie is a showmare, remember?" she asked and decided to show what she knew. But a simple trick with her pancakes wouldn't be enough for that. She looked over at the other piles as Spike came back to the table. "If I may for just a moment."

Whereas Twilight had limited herself to her own pancakes Trixie had extended her magic to envelop all the pancakes and lift them up off their respective plates, stacking them nearly from floor to ceiling on their edges like a chain. The even ordered pancakes then began to spin clockwise while the odd ordered spun counterclockwise.

"Hey careful now!" Spike protested.

"Trixie is always careful," she replied and issued another magical command, now making the pancakes rotate end over end as they spun about. "Entertainment is the name of the game. Be it a flash of fireworks or a complicated display of magical dexterity, Trixie is well versed!"

The pancakes immediately flew high up and nearly hit the ceiling before coming back down, landing in neatly stacked piles on their respective plates just as they had been before. Twilight couldn't help but clap her hooves and smile in an amused manner. "That was entertaining!"

"Thank you. Trixie is..." she began but paused as she took a closer look at her stack of pancakes. "Strange. Trixie could have sworn there was one more in her pile," she said, shortly before feeling something come down and land on her horn. Turning her eyes upward she could just make out the edge of what turned out to be the missing pancake resting on her head.

Spike had busted out laughing and more or less fell off his chair and to the floor, pounding away at the wood as his body convulsed furiously. Twilight glared at him before giving an apologetic look to Trixie, however the sight of her sitting there with the breakfast good impaled on her horn as she looked up at it proved to be too much for her and her best attempts at controlling her giggling proved to be futile as her entire body shook. Trixie scowled at the two of them intently...before the contagiousness of their laughter got to even her and she found herself giggling at the silliness of it all.

Wordlessly and still afflicted with the giggles Twilight levitated the pancake from Trixie's forehead and added it to her pile, substituting it with one of her own to even things out.

"Syrup?" Twilight asked inbetween the giggles as she levitated the pitcher.

"Yes please," Trixie replied before magically picking through the assortment of present fruit and selecting a hoofful of blueberries to add to her stack.

Once the laughter had finally died down all parties could finally get to the business at hoof and actually enjoy their breakfast while it was still warm. Whether or not there was truth to Twilight's statement about the quality of Spike's pancakes she couldn't verify. But they were certainly the best she'd had in a long while, making it really easy to clean the plate and lean back with a contented sigh from feeling full.

"Delicious," she stated.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Spike asked rhetorically as he began to gather the dishes.

She watched as Spike went about getting the dishes ready to be washed before turning her focus back to Twilight as she sat there, also watching her assistant work.

"Um...Twilight Sparkle? Are you certain that being back in Ponyville so soon is a good idea? My departure was not exactly under the best of circumstances," Trixie pointed out. "It could be...dangerous to stay here."

"You don't have to worry Trixie. I know that your last visit here wasn't...nevermind that. I've been in Ponyville long enough to get to know most everypony very well. I really don't think that they'll hold any long term grudges agianst you now that you're free of the Alicorn Amulet. Magic and ancient talismans are an everyday occurrence in Equestria. They can't rightly blame you for being under the control of an artifact that should've been locked up somewhere secure," Twilight tried to reassure her.

"You are far more certain than I am. My actions were still my own unfortunately. Simply being under the effects of the Alicorn Amulet is not a defense and I admit that fact," Trixie replied.

Twilight nodded. It was good that Trixie recognized these facts and admitted to them. If she could admit her wrongs to the town then it would another good step for her, but she had no intention of forcing the showmare to do anything. Instead she would just try and help her along the way and see how things progressed on their own, perhaps providing a little helpful guidance here and there.

"You're my friend now Trixie. I won't let anypony do anything to you, and neither will the rest of my friends," Twilight said as she continued the reassurance. "Now how about those spell books?"

---

"This is harder than Trixie anticipated."

Right after breakfast Twilight had brought Trixie to the section of library that housed the various spell books she had access to, ranging from beginner's guides for foals just starting out in learning the art of magic to the more advanced books detailing complex theories and multi-step processes, to books devoted to the topic of theory and the science behind magic rather than its practical application in everyday situations.

Trixie had wanted to see the advanced material immediately, believing she was fully capable of performing them with ease. Twilight on the other hoof knew better after asking for a list of spells Trixie knew.

It wasn't that Trixie's magical talent was limited in nature, to the contrary she had a significant level of magic to perform even complex spells. The problem was the extent of her skill was limited. The spells that she knew, she knew very well and had practiced, polished and refined them to a considerable degree. But those spells were limited in number and related mostly to her act and a few basic skills. Everything else she'd more or less neglected and had to learn from scratch.

Twilight watched as Trixie panted and slouched, tired from her practices. Normally it wouldn't be a big problem but she was being taught what was more or less a basic spell.

"Why are you so much more capable of deploying such a spell?" Trixie asked.

"Well..." Twilight paused as she thought over what to say without it sounding insulting. "I don't really know. Maybe it's because I studied magic in general rather than showmareship and how to entertain others. I'm...not exactly the most socially accustomed of ponies you'll ever meet."

Trixie nodded in response to indicate she'd heard what she said but said nothing further. If Twilight had to guess she'd say it was due to dissatisfaction at not being able to perform the spell with the same ease as she could what she was intimately familiar with. Didn't she remember that these things took practice and patience?

"Maybe we should just take a break. You could still be distracted from the last few days and it might take some time to fully clear your mind. There's no telling the full extent of what the Alicorn Amulet did to you, mentally or...physically..." Twilight said as she tried not to stare at how skinny the other unicorn was.

"Perhaps you are right," Trixie replied as she more or less dropped to her haunches and sighed.

"Listen Trixie, if there's one thing I've learned in my time here in Ponyville, it's that sometimes you actually have to put down the books...I can't believe I just said that...and actually get out in the sun and the fresh air and experience things firsthoof. Maybe a nice day out will clear your head and help you focus better," Twilight suggested.

"Perhaps," Trixie repeated and gave a nod in agreement.

"That's good. We'll head out in a minute, I just need to grab something."

Trixie watched as Twilight approached what looked like a coffer chest, magically raising the lid and levitating a number of bits before depositing them in a leather pouch which was fastened around her neck by two leather straps tied in a knot.

"Alright I'm ready to go. Now we can grab something from Sugarcube Corner if we get hungry," Twilight explained as she stood by the door and waited for Trixie to join her.

"I hope that this is a good idea," Trixie mumbled as she approached and readied herself to face the town.

"Don't worry so much Trixie, it's a brand new day in Ponyville. What could possibly go wrong?" Twilight asked.

Comments

[interested1]

angry mob scene imminent.

[Oddboy]

"What could possibly go wrong?"

In the dark, deep reaches of the cosmos, Murphy, father of Discord, chuckles evilly as he hears someone utter the forbidden Words, and he knows that it is once again time to troll some poor, unsuspecting bastard.

Poor Twilight. You never, ever say something like that.

Upvoted the story.

[proverbs]

Those five words. If any of you know the "Challenge Accepted" meme, we'll one of them goes like this. A man is walking in rain storm and he says "This day can't possibly get any worse." And then it switches to the Challenge Accepted guy dressed up as God with the caption "Challenged Accepted". The moral of the story is never say "What could possibly go wrong" or "Things can't get any worse" or any thing of the like. Because it always can get worse. So Twilight, you just sort of screwed yourself.

[Snowdrifter]

"Don't worry so much Trixie, it's a brand new day in Ponyville. What could possibly go wrong?" Twilight asked.

Something tells me we'll be finding out...

[Skydasher]

With those 5 words things will get worse. Lets see... Dash will come in and "save" twi twi from trixie and she will run again and twi gets mad and goes after her with her friends asking what wrong with her?