Trixie released another loud, drawn out yawn as she and Twilight stepped off the train into the already busy Canterlot Station.

“Could you please cut that out?” Twilight asked irritably as she pushed past throngs of ponies attempting to board the train they had just left. It seemed that her royal status was quickly forgotten when ponies were in a hurry, as they shoved past her with little acknowledgement.

“If you’re going to wake me up at such a silly hour, you can learn to deal with me being tired,” Trixie responded.

The pair began their journey towards Canterlot Castle, pushing through the noisy crowd of ponies beginning their morning commute.

“You can’t still be tired, you’ve had hours to wake up by now.” Twilight had to raise her voice over the din of the station.

“I’ll be tired until I get back to a bed, I’m at least 4 or 5 hours behind on my usual amount of sleep.”

Twilight only rolled her eyes in response, concentrating on weaving her way through the rapidly growing crowd in the station. She let out a sigh of relief as they finally pushed their way out into the pristine streets of Canterlot, escaping the claustrophobic conditions of the packed station.

“Please tell me Princess Sunbutt doesn’t have a lesson scheduled for me today?” Trixie whined, dragging her hooves as they made their way down the street. “There’s no way I’d be able to stay awake during it.”

“Princess what?” Twilight turned to look at Trixie.

“You never heard that one? It’s what some of us used to call her back in the school. Did you literally talk to nopony while you were there?”

“I did! Sometimes… anyway, she doesn’t have a lesson for you today, but there is some preparations you need to do, get your room in the castle and such.”

“Better be a comfortable bed in this room.”

“Let nopony tell you that you have a one-track mind Trixie.”

“I won’t!” Trixie said with a smile.

The pair made their way down the streets of Canterlot as the city woke up to begin its day. They were in the financial district of the city, and they passed many ponies opening stores to begin their trade for the day, walking around carriages delivering food and other commodities to the businesses. They continued on until they heard Twilight’s name being called out.

“Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!” An excited voice called.

The pair turned to find a young mare standing outside what appeared to be a small art gallery, its large glass windows displaying paintings of various well-dressed ponies encased in ornate gold and silver frames. The mare herself wore a dark beret on her head and a short, straight, brown mane framed her face. A frock speckled in splashes of every colour of paint one could think of. The frock ended just where her hind legs began, revealing a blue coat and a cutie mark of a red handled paintbrush, its bristles dripping with green paint. Her expression was of the utmost excitement, and she was visibly bouncing on the spot.

“If I could spare a moment of your time, Your Highness!” The artist requested, bowing her head. Even when bowed, she continued to bounce with energy.

“Uh, we are in a bit of a hurry,” Twilight responded. “Will it take long?”

“No no no, not at all Princess, I simply wish to present you with a portrait I made of you!” The eccentric mare spoke in a rapid voice.

“Oh, ok then,” Twilight responded, feeling both nervous and curious.

“Thank you Princess! Please step inside, I’ll be back in one moment!” The artist pony dashed inside the store, disappearing into a room at the back.

“Well well, aren’t you the popular little princess.” Trixie said with a grin as they walked inside the store. Twilight looked uncomfortable.

“It’s nice that ponies want to do stuff like this for me, but I really wish they wouldn’t make such a fuss.”

“Typical…” Trixie muttered, her voice agitated.

“What?”

“You get made a princess and all you can do is complain about the attention everyone gives you. Can’t you learn to enjoy something for once?”

“Not everyone likes being smothered with attention Trixie, I know that may seem hard for you to believe.”

“You could at least try to enjoy it a bit.”

Their argument was interrupted by the return of the artist pony, pushing a wheeled tray on top of which sat a wide canvas.

“May I present to you,” the artist announced with enthusiasm as she waved a hoof to the painting with a wide smile, “the beauty of Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight’s face suddenly turned the deepest shade of red.

The painting was a wide, body-length portrait of Twilight lying on her right side on what appeared to be red silk. Her head was propped up on a hoof, and her eyes looked out towards the viewer with a sultry half lidded gaze, her mouth curved up into a welcoming smile. Her other hoof lay on her hip, the curves of which had been very accentuated by the image. Her left wing was flared out to full length, flowing down behind her body. A brown background covered the rest of the image.  The high skill of the artist was evident, as the painting could have been mistaken for a photograph at a glance.

Twilight’s mouth moved wordlessly as she took in the provocative image of herself before her eyes, her cheeks burning.

“Its uhh… I uhh…”

“Ah! My work has left you speechless!” The artist observed, hopping with joy.

Next to Twilight, Trixie stood mouth agape. She paid no attention to the saliva that had begun to pool and drip from her mouth as she stared in awe at what seemed to be one of her dreams put to canvas.

“It’s certainly very good, but…”

“Oh no, you don’t like it!” The artist spoke with horror, her voice filled with a dramatic dread.

“No! It’s great! It just… conveys an image that I’m not sure matches me.”

“Ah, I see I see.” The artist regarded her work again. “If you’re not happy with it I won’t sell it. I’ll scrap it and go back to the drawing board.”

“SCRAP IT?!” Trixie yelled.

Twilight jumped in surprise from Trixie’s outburst, as she had been silent during the exchange so far.

“You like it Trixie?” Twilight asked.

Trixie mind fumbled for words as she realised she had just yelled out in surprise.

“Well… she clearly put a lot of time into it, you can’t just let her destroy it!”

Twilight regarded the painting again. It was true that, while embarrassing, it was also very impressive, and the painter had obviously sunk hours of time into its creation.

“You’re right…” Twilight spoke as she observed the picture’s impressive quality. “I would feel bad if you just discarded it,” she told the creator.

“But I couldn’t possibly sell a painting you’re not happy with princess.” the artist explained.

“Have it sent to the castle!” Trixie suggested.

“But… everypony there will see it!” Twilight cried.

“And? I’m sure most of them will be able to appreciate the wonderful work this artist did.”

“I had no idea you were such a connoisseur of fine arts Trixie,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow.

“What? You don’t think I’m a cultured mare? I appreciate all the finer things in life.”

Twilight sighed. “Ok, have it sent to Canterlot Castle, we’ll find a place for it.”

“Fantastic! To think! Some of my work, in the castle itself! I am overjoyed Your Highness!” The ecstatic artist cried.

“I’m… happy to have made you feel this way,” Twilight responded, still lethally embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Fantastic! I’ll have it sent as soon as possible!”

“Please, take your time!” Twilight responded. “Anyway, we have to get going!”

“Farewell your highness, thank you again a thousand times!”

Twilight dashed out of the shop, eager to get away from the mortifying situation.

“Well… that was a strange start to my day.” Twilight said as Trixie followed after her.

“See what I mean, you don’t appreciate anything, a mare spends hours painting a picture of you and you nearly let her destroy it.”

“Did you SEE that picture Trixie?” Twilight felt embarrassed just thinking about the image.

“Yes, I thought it was a very fine piece of art, clearly you don’t grasp artistic appreciation.” Trixie spoke in a smug voice.

“I… ugh, let’s just get going.” Twilight stormed ahead of Trixie towards the castle, wanting to forget about the situation as quickly as possible.

"Oh, hold on a minute I uhh... think I left one of my bags inside." Trixie dashed inside the shop. Twilight saw her speak quickly to the owner before emerging again.

"Nope, everything is here after all, lets go!"

*

Twilight and Trixie’s hoofsteps on the marble floor of Canterlot Castle’s entrance hall echoed as they walked its length toward Princess Celestia, who was awaiting them by the large staircase that sat at its end.

“Morning Princess!” Twilight greeted.

“Good morning to you too, Princess,” Celestia replied with a smile.

“I still haven’t gotten used to that,” Twilight said with a sheepish grin.

“It will come with time,” Celestia turned to Trixie. “Ah, and here is our new guest. Good to see you again Trixie; you’re looking a deal fresher than when we last met.”

“Can you please not keep bringing that up?” Trixie requested.

“My apologies,” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Please follow me, there is a lot of work we need to do in preparation for your lessons.” She began to ascend the stairs.

“Ughhh, do we have to do it now? Princess Sparkle here woke me up at a ridiculous hour so we could be here on time,” Trixie moaned as she followed.

“Gee thanks for the company on the journey to Canterlot Twilight, it was so nice of you to make sure I got here on time.” Twilight spoke in a mocking tone.

“You think I’m going to thank you for dragging me out of bed that early?”

“It seems you two are getting along well.” Celestia observed with a smile.

“I suppose for Trixie this is what counts as getting along,” Twilight agreed.

“What, would you rather I complimented you all the time? Told you how wonderful you are? Paint pictures of you,” Trixie snorted out a laugh as she spoke the last suggestion, recalling Twilight’s embarrassment at the image.

“In any case,” Celestia interrupted, “It will only take about an hour, I just have some things I need you to sign and some other secretarial duties. After that I can show you right to your room.”

“Let’s get on with it then.” Trixie trotted after her new teacher.

*

Trixie sat with her face mashed into a hoof as Celestia pondered over the large amount of tedious sheets that Trixie had just finished filling out. Trixie was sure the process had taken far longer than an hour. Twilight had long gone to take care of whatever business had brought her here, and Trixie realised how much she missed arguing with the egghead. It was infinitely more interesting than the task at hand. As she was thinking about Twilight, her mind wandered to the painting of her they had been shown earlier. A smile formed on her face as she daydreamed about the provocative image of the normally innocent bookworm.

“…now the only thing is to show you to your room,” Celestia announced.

“Huh… what?” Trixie looked up, breaking out of her daydream.

“I said we are done, I can show you to your room now if you’d like.” Celestia levitated a small silver key from the table that the various forms, now neatly stacked and stamped, were resting on.

“Please! Had I have known drinking that first cup of punch would have led to this…” Trixie released another loud yawn.

“I’d say it was an overall positive turn of events.” Celestia replied with a smile.

“Not sure I could agree so far, I feel like I’m going pass out.”

“Well, let’s see if your new room can brighten your view on the situation a bit,” Celestia said with a smile.

“Gladly.”

Trixie followed Celestia out of the throne room, where most of the morning’s deeds had taken place. She guided Trixie through the castle’s many halls until they reached a tall wooden door with a gold plaque sitting in its centre with the words ‘Trixie Lulamoon’ engraved upon it.

Celestia levitated the silver key into the keyhole in the door’s ornate silver handle. With a click, the door unlocked.

“Go ahead in,” Celestia gestured with a smile.

Trixie pushed the door open and was met with a welcome sight. The room was amazing. A queen -sized, four poster bed with red silk sheets and gold curtains sat at the far end of room, enough to fit at least four ponies at one end comfortably. The room itself was at least 2 or 3 times larger than the room back at the inn. A vanity mirror encased in a shining gold frame sat on a large desk to the right side, holding various creams, perfumes and other beauty products. A large table sat in the centre of the room, surrounded by four comfortable-looking cushioned chairs. A window with a chest high cushioned sill took up a large amount of the left wall, framed by thick red curtains. It looked out over the grounds of the castle. To its left, a large stone fireplace had been built into the wall, containing wooden logs in its cavity. A clock hung over the fireplace. A door sat to the right of the bed, between it and the mirror.

“Through there is the bathroom,” Celestia pointed to the closed door. “If you need anything else, I’m sure any of the castles servants will be happy to oblige.

Trixie took in the stunning room before turning to Celestia. “I think I’m going to like it here,” she said.

“I figured as much,” Celestia smiled. “Welcome back Trixie, I’m always glad to see another pony willing to learn. Our lessons will begin early tomorrow, but you won’t have to get up as early as you did today, I can promise!”

“Fantastic, thank you! Now, if you don’t mind, I have to catch up on the sleep Twilight made me miss.”

“Of course, rest well Trixie. We will speak soon.” Celestia left Trixie alone in the room, closing the door behind her.

Seems going back to Ponyville has worked out far better than I could have imagined, Trixie reflected, smiling as she walked over to the soft sheets of the bed and feeling their cool, welcoming texture. She jumped up onto its mattress, and groaned in pleasure as she lay back, sinking into its delightful softness. It was only moments before she was fast asleep.