“I think you should be able to handle that one Twilight… Twilight?”

Twilight blinked as her awareness was dragged back to the throne room, where she and Celestia stood alone. She looked up to see Celestia’s concerned face gazing down on her from above a stack of parchments.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Twilight murmured, her tone anything but certain.

“Is something on your mind?” Celestia asked, standing up from her throne and approaching the young princess. Twilight looked up at her former mentor.

“It’s nothing serious, it’s just… what do you think of all this business with Trixie?”

“I’m afraid you may have to be a bit more specific,” Celestia answered with a smile. “Let’s talk outside.” She walked to a pair of gold-framed glass doors leading out onto a balcony overlooking the castle grounds. Twilight followed behind.

As Celestia swung the doors open, the cool, high-altitude air breezed across Twilight’s face. She approached the balcony’s rails, and took in a deep breath of the fresh air. The view from the balcony would have petrified any height-fearing pony, as the throne room was located in one of Canterlot’s many tall towers, which hung over the side of the sheer cliff the castle was built upon. Hundreds of feet below, a river flowed by, disappearing into the distant horizon. The view used to make Twilight uneasy in the past, but as she got the hang of using her new wings, the dizzying height was almost no bother to her now… almost. Celestia sat to her side, patiently waiting for the new Princess to share her thoughts. After a few moments, Twilight began again.

“What I meant was, do you find anything suspicious in the way Trixie has been acting?”

“I can’t say I have, but then I have only been in her presence for a short amount of time since she returned, and she wasn’t exactly in a clear state of mind at your birthday party. Why, have you noticed something odd in your time with her?”

“Well, she’s acting… nice to me. Well, somewhat friendly, nice may be a stretch, but still. She genuinely seems like she wants to be my friend, but after what she did before I can’t help be suspicious.” Twilight hung her hooves over the railing, gazing out to the distance.

“And I believe it is very wise of you to keep your guard up around somepony who has wronged you in the past. Only a fool would immediately forgive and forget.” Celestia fell silent for a few moments, as though her own words had an impact on herself. Twilight noticed the smile slip from her face as she too gazed out into the horizon.

“To forgive a pony who has wronged you is to decide that their friendship and trust is worth the risk that they may wrong you again.” Celestia’s tone had lost its normal warmth and direction, and it now sounded as though she was simply talking out loud than giving advice to a pony right next to her. A few more moments of silence passed, before Celestia’s smile crept back on to her face. “Think about Discord,” she said, the warmth returning to her tone as she turned to look at Twilight. “I have taken a big risk in allowing him freedom and even board here at the castle, but his help far outweighs any mischief he might cause, even if I’m certain he will cause more.”

“Well, I really do believe Trixie is sorry.” Twilight responded, stepping back from the railing and raising a hoof to her chin. “She doesn’t seem like a truly cruel pony to me. She wasn’t herself when she was under the amulets influence, but I just don’t understand why, after she went through all that just to get back at me, why she would want to suddenly be my friend.”

“Well, it may be worth trusting her, so that you may one day find out.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I think you have more to gain than to lose in this situation. I have not known Trixie for many years, but from what I do remember of her, I don’t believe she would be plotting something truly terrible. Besides, I think you have handled far greater dangers than Trixie Lulamoon in the past.”

“That’s true,” Twilight agreed, the embarrassed smile that always appeared on her face when Celestia praised her spreading across her lips. “And besides, what can she possibly get up to right under your nose?”

Celestia chuckled at this remark.

“What?” Twilight asked in response to Celestia’s amusement.

“She managed to get up to plenty of trouble under my nose when she was here before!”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. She’s a natural troublemaker, even when she was young. But she never did anything truly awful.”

“So, do you think she is really interested in coming back here just to learn? Especially if she caused all that trouble when she was here, and then just up and left one day?”

“Well, I’m going to take her request at face value. I am eager to teach her if she is eager to learn, and so long she says that’s what she wants, I’m happy to oblige.” Celestia’s gaze went back out to the horizon, but this time the smile only grew wider on her face, and the tone of her voice now sounded as though a laugh threatened to jump out of it at any moment. “I do believe Trixie genuinely liked to learn, and she is quite naturally gifted at many forms of magic. It just seems that a combination of impatience and a short fuse led her to going her own way. I also don’t think I need to tell you that she most certainly did not like to be told what to do, or when!” At this last remark the laugh finally escaped Celestia’s lips.

“You certainly don’t!” Twilight joined Celestia with a chuckle of her own. “It’s just so strange though. She just popped up in Ponyville one day, and she won’t tell me why she was even there, but keeps saying that I will find out eventually, which makes me very nervous.”

“I’m sure Trixie is aware enough to realise that is suspicious behaviour. If she was truly trying to hide something, I would think she would have the tact to at least come up with an excuse. To me, that kind of behaviour sounds more like she actually wants to tell you something, but for some reason she cannot, not right now anyway.”

“Asking you about her has just made me even more curious and confused!” Twilight whined, propping her head up on her hooves on the balcony’s rail. This elicited another laugh from Celestia.

“Just be patient. Give Trixie some time, and take the risk of her friendship if you think it’s worth it.”

“Well I have to now don’t I? It’d be like leaving a book unfinished if I never found out!”

“Well then, I think you have found your answer!” Celestia laughed again.

“I think I’ll go visit her later, before I leave tomorrow. Maybe I can get some more answers.”

“I did say to be patient Twilight; I would not go pressing her for more answers so soon.”

“No, you’re right, I have a better idea! Does Trixie have a fireplace in her room?”

*

“Trixie?” Twilight spoke through the wooden door as she tapped a hoof on it. A heavy feeling of Déjà vu swept over her. She thought back to earlier that day when she was hammering on Trixie’s room in the inn. When no response came, a smile spread over her face as she realised she was going to wake the irritable unicorn up once again. The thought was quite satisfying.

“Oh Trixie!” she called again, louder, this time with a jovial tone to her voice. Again, no response. She placed a hoof to the door and pushed. To her surprise, it swung open. It seemed in her haste to get to bed, Trixie forgot to lock the door. The grin on Twilight’s face widened as she crept into the room.

Twilight could hear Trixie’s soft breathing from the large four poster bed at the back of the room. She took in the room around her, noting that Trixie had been put up in some particularly luxurious surroundings. Likely more of Celestia’s attempts to encourage Trixie to stick to her decision to return to education. When she reached the side of the bed, she found the blue unicorn sprawled on her back on top of the sheets. She had not even managed to pull the covers over herself before she passed out. Twilight supressed a giggle at the sight, caused by a mixture of Trixie’s ridiculous laziness and anticipation of what was coming next. She approached the side of the bed and stood up at its side, resting her front hooves on the mattress. Twilight inhaled, taking in as much air into her lungs as she could before…

“TRIXIE!” she yelled.

“GAH!” Trixie yelped, throwing herself upright on the bed. She looked around, her face panicked. “What the-?”

Twilight fell back into a sitting position on the floor as she released a torrent of laughter. The look on Trixie’s face was priceless.

“YOU!” The magician yelled as she took in the giggling Twilight at the side of her bed. “Are you serious? Did you really come to wake me again in the same day?!”

“Sure did!” Twilight said with a wide smile in between laughs, which were abruptly cut off as her face was struck by a thick, soft object hurled toward her at high speed. She yelped, and looked down to see one of the pillows Trixie had been lying on at her hooves. She then looked up to find Trixie had retreated under the blanket of the bed, her head facing away and resting on the beds remaining pillow.

“Maybe you should remember to lock your door if you don’t want unexpected visitors,” Twilight suggested, her voice thick with mirth.

“Maybe you should get out of my room, now!”

“Aww, but I came to say goodbye.”

This caused Trixie to turn back around and face Twilight.

“You’re leaving?” she asked, the anger suddenly disappearing from her voice.

“Yeah, I have a lot of business up here in Canterlot, but Ponyville is still my home. I’ll be visiting here a lot though, but I came to tell you we can still keep in contact while we are apart. We’ll write to each other!”

“Sending letters?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it just be faster to wait until you came back?”

“Not if you are using dragon fire!”

“Dragon fire, but who has… oh, you mean the one you keep in your house?”

“Yeah! Spike has been helping me send letters to Celestia from Ponyville for a long time now. We could easily do the same to keep in touch.”

“But how do I send them?” Trixie asked, sitting up in the bed.

“See the fireplace over there?” Twilight pointed to the unlit brick fireplace on the left side of the room. “Celestia will cast an enchantment on it for you, so any letter you toss in there will come through Spike!” Twilight’s face dropped as she realised what she had just said. “Try not send too many too often!” she added quickly.

“Does it only work with paper?” Trixie asked, a sly grin appearing on her face.

“Yes! It only works with special parchment that Celestia will give you, so don’t try tossing anything else in there.”

“Bah, that’s no fun.” Trixie pouted and crossed her fore hooves across her chest.

“Just, try not to send more than one a day at most.

“What makes you think I’ll have something to write in a letter to you every day?”

“Well you don’t have to, but I’d like it if you kept me up to date with what Celestia is teaching you, I’d love to hear what you are learning.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll write you some letters.” Trixie yawned and retreated back under the covers. “Now, can you please let me go back to sleep?”

“Sure, I’ll see you again when I’m back in a week or so.” Twilight turned to leave the bedroom.

“Twilight, wait.”

“Yeah?” Twilight turned back to Trixie.

“Are you leaving tonight?”

“No, tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, well…” Trixie was hesitant, as though she was struggling with what to say next. “Come see me before you leave tomorrow.”

“Really? I’ll be leaving pretty early, I’d have to wake you up again.”

“Well, I’m giving you permission to, this one time.”

“Hah! How could I possibly refuse that?” Twilight accepted, clapping her hooves together in glee. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, bright and early!”

“Great… can’t wait. Now get out!”

Twilight left the bedroom, and moments later heard the clicking of the door being locked. She smiled at the sound. She began making her way to her own bedroom, her mind racing as to why Trixie wanted to see her before she left. Maybe she finally had some answers for her? As she walked, Twilight became suddenly aware of how excited Trixie seemed to make her. There was definitely something intriguing about the brash magician that Twilight was drawn to, and she was eager to discover more about mysterious Trixie.