(Okay, I kinda messed up. I should have put the continuation of this story here, but it’s actually it’s own multi-parter called Who Rules?: The Wager. This is a bridge to that story. No clop in this bit, just plot. Please, follow through to that other tale. Sorry for the mixup.)

Bridge.

by Nom deCheval

She entered the throne room as quietly and reverently as she could. For the two months that she had been studying at the castle, she had done her best to learn everything that The Princess had to teach. Sat by her side as she lectured. Stood watch as she performed her own miraculous feats. Stayed awake to study when she was on her own.

There were very, very few that she considered close to her, but The Princess was more than that. The Princess was everything that she aspired to be. Everything that she hoped she could one day reach.

And even though The Princess was expecting her, she always felt it best to enter quietly in case she caught her in the middle of something. And there often times seemed to be something, even if she could never figure out what it was.

Curiosity was getting the better of her, and she hated it when ANYTHING got the better of her. But The Princess did things at night sometimes. Things that she hadn’t been able to see or hear, but she could just...sense it. There was almost too much of nothing happening for there to actually be nothing happening.

Of course, she would never directly confront The Princess about it. That might jeopardize everything she had been working towards. She did have her own plans and ambitions, after all.

Peeking around the corner, she saw The Princess off to the side of the room, studying a book or paper of some sort. Good. The Princess was here and she was alone, which meant that this was a good time to show up--even if she was supposed to be here almost ten minutes earlier.

She stepped out into the room, holding her head up high, not making a dramatic entrance, but not hiding herself anymore, either. Still, she waited on The Princess to speak first, rather than disturb her reading.

“You’re late.” The Princess said before she could take four steps.

“Am I? I thought that this was the correct time.” She lied.

“You’re lying. I don’t know why you continue to do that around me.”

“Princess, I hold you in the highest regard. You have been nothing but kind to me and advanced my magics considerably since I first arrived.”

“Have I?” She saw The Princess smile. “Well, I can’t take all the credit.”

“All? Perhaps not, but you can know that it is your guidance that has taken me to the next level. Made me think of magic in ways that I’ve never considered before.”

“Good. I do try.”

“If I may ask, what is it that you are reading so carefully, Princess?”

“This? Oh, it’s...an agreement...that my sister and I have been working on. I wanted to make sure that everything was in order with it before I finalized it. And it certainly does seem to be exactly what I hoped.”

A pen appeared out of nowhere, floating down to the parchment on the table. It scribbled across, leaving behind the name of The Princess, magically binding the document. With sudden drama, the paper floated into the air, coiling itself into a scroll, and disappearing with a magical implosion.

“And so it begins...” The Princess said softly.

“What begins, Princess?”

“Hmm. Oh, nothing you need to be concerned about. But there is something that we need to discuss.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve been studying here for over two months now, and my sister and I both agree that it is time to let you stretch your wings--so to speak. Give you an assignment to call your own. Do you think that you are up to that?”

“An assignment?” Her eyes lit up and she primped up her head in anticipation. “Just tell me what it is, and I will do it!”

The Princess laughed.

“It’s nothing so dramatic. We want you to go and handle something for us in Ponyville. I believe that you are familiar with the place?”

“Ponyville?...” Her voice trailed off as she thought of that town. Of the ponies that lived there. Especially...her. “Yes, I know the place.”

“And you know of Twilight Sparkle?” The Princess asked.

“...I do.” She answered.

“Well, do you think that you are equal to what she can do?”

Her eyes bugged out. “Equal? The Great and Powerful Trixie is more than her equal! I would say that I am the greatest magician in all of Equestria.”

She looked at The Princess, who smiled looking down at her. “Er...mortal, magician, anyway. Trixie meant to say ‘mortal magician.’”

The Princess was genuinely smiling. It always amused her to hear the little unicorn talk of herself in the third person. It was so...cute.

“Well then, let me tell you what you are going to be doing.” Princess Celestia told Trixie, laying out her assignment for the coming future. All the while a thought kept running through The Sun Goddess’ mind:

If Luna finds out about this, she’s going to be very, very angry...

Continued in Who Rules?: The Wager (On sale now!... Well, readable. For free. Here.)