Eyes closed, she thought. Keep those eyes closed.

The two cockatrices hissed loudly at each of lost travelers: one light blue pony wearing a cape and hat and a subtle brown, long and leaner pony. At the right moment, they would be no match for their mighty gaze.

Great idea, Starlight, she thought, we should have never split up in here! We have to get out of here! But how will Trixie distract them? Maybe some of her famous stage magic could help.

“Listen to me, Mudbriar,” she told him, “on the count of three, Trixie will set off a smoke cloud, which might give us just enough time to run right of this forest.”

“Got it,” he replied.

“Okay,” she said. “One…”

The cockatrice felt much closer than she thought, but she dared not open her eyes to risk the chance of stone imprisonment.

“Two…”

Almost right on them. Just a bit closer…

“Three!” she yelled, throwing down the cloud. Smoke was enveloping the surrounding around, confusing the mythical beasts, which gave a small window for the two to escape their demise.

Mudbriar led the way out of the deadly passage, with Trixie not too far behind. It was easy enough to backtrack, at least for the moment, but once they hit a clearing with a hollow tree, eight different paths shot out each looking as ominous and unpromising as the next.

“Do you know which way we went in?” he asked, looking at her, then down a few of the roads.

Trixie’s mind went blank. Every path looked the same! What if this all just an elaborate trick set by the monsters in this forest? Or even a nightmare that Princess Luna is watching over right now?

Behind them, they heard these things take flight. It was now or never.

“That way!” she said, ultimately picking a random direction, hoping to lose them first.

Both ran down the dark and mysterious path, which only seemed to get smaller and more entangled in branches. Mudbriar jumped and ducked surprisingly nimbly through the foliage, and Trixie was doing well too.

Until a branch snagged onto her cape.

The sudden stop almost made her fall face first, but she caught herself and started struggling on the wall of branches. She was making no progress, and the monsters were closing in.

Mudbriar had turned himself around and tried his best to help Trixie get unstuck. But even with his help, they weren’t getting anywhere. So, he had an idea that he knew she might not like.

“Take off the cape.”

“What?!”

“Take it off,” he said again. “It’s no use. The cockatrices could be here anytime!”

“But…” she started. Losing this felt like losing a part of her, but he was right, it’s either this or she turns to stone.

She ducked out of the hat and cape, running away from the loud screeching of the cockatrices, who likely were growing very impatient. No telling of how close or far they were, they just needed to run. And run they did, for what seemed like days. In fact, the cockatrices soon became the least of their problems.

“Umm…” she said. “Where are we?”

Mudbriar looked at her. “You said to go this way,” he said, impatience rising.

Trixie sheepishly faced away. “Well…”

Mudbriar facehoofed. “I should have known better…”

Trixie scoffed. “Well, excuse Trixie for thinking on the spot!”

Mudbriar sighed with exasperation. Stone imprisonment sounded better than being lost right now. Nevertheless, he pushed onward and walked down the path and peeked into some trees.

Trixie looked at him, confused. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t we try to backtrack?”

“And risk finding the cockatrices again?” he replied sharply. “No, thank you.”

“How else are we going to find them?” she shot back.

“Easy,” he said, brushing back a large leaf, which revealed a small clearing surround by trick trees on one side. “They are going to find us.”

Trixie stood still; her complexion obviously confounded. “But what if they are waiting for us?”

“Maud and Starlight are pretty smart…” he told her.

Trixie took note of his unhelpful response. “That doesn’t answer my question!”

“Trixie,” he said. “Quite frankly, I don’t think you know your way out of here, so you can’t lead us out.”

“Trixie has fine intuition, thank you very much!”

“Regardless,” he said. “I don’t know my way around here, so I can’t either. The best idea we have is to stay here and wait for them.”

Trixie wanted to argue but realized that he did have a point. “I-I’d rather go and… Ugh! Fine,” she conceded. “They are probably looking for us…”

“Then it’s settled,” he said. “Now come here. It’s best not to stay directly on the path. This clearing offers some protection on the far side. Nothing will penetrate through these thick acacia trees.”

Trixie groaned as Mudbriar went stick-obsessed again. Something about this forest must fascinate him.

“Technically,” he added, taking note of the structure. “The weave and patterns of these are local only to the Everfree, and it is abnormal for a tree of this size to grow off of the path and warp to this magnitude.” He walked over to it and bumped it with his hoof, sounding solid. “Sturdy as ever,” he told her.

Trixie was on the verge of exploding, which wasn’t only Mudbriar’s fault; it was mostly Starlight’s. her day of helping and hindering irked her the most. How easy would it have been to take the day off? She focused back onto Mudbriar, who was still fascinated by the foliage and forestry and in mid-explanation of another seemingly useless fact about the hardiness of the protective tree. She interrupted him.

“Look, Mudbriar,” she told him, breaking his sermon and focus. “Trixie has had quite a day today and she would like to rest for a bit. So, if you could keep your lesson to yourself, Trixie would appreciate it.”

“Oh,” he replied. “Okay.” That was a polite way to say: ‘shut up’.

Trixie softly spoke to herself. “All, Trixie needs now is some peace and—" Trixie was interrupted by nature as she faceplanted into a small patch of mud, which left the imprint of a mask onto her.

And that was the straw that broke the pony’s back.

Trixie groaned and turned away, flinging the mud off her face. She screamed out to nopony in particular. “Oh, Trixie has had enough!” She dropped down onto the ground a few feet back and internally felt a hint of regret as she felt how cold and brittle this forest’s ground was. However, she hid any hint of it and instead shouted back at Mudbriar. Surprisingly, it was not another insult: “What a disaster today was!”

He hesitated slightly. “…I’d ask you what happened but…”

“First,” Trixie yelled immediately, “my best friend doesn’t even make any time for this party because she has to ‘help the students’.”

“That is her job…”

“Second,” she spoke, practically ignoring his outbursts and venting her anger, “whatever time she did make was mixed up and meaningless! We didn’t even get to make that special cake properly! I had spent weeks badgering Mrs. Cake for her recipe and that was the only night she could teach us! But noooo…”

Mudbriar stayed silent.

“Starlight couldn’t even make ONE minute work!” she continued. “And every time anything seemed to be going right, she swooped in and ruined it!”

Mudbriar began digging a small hole in the dirt.

“Not to mention the fact that we’re lost in one of the most dangerous forests, at night, with no way to signal our friends, off the path, and more importantly, Trixie has lost her signature cape and her hat!” she vented. “If a timberwolf came and ate us, that would be great. Trixie wants to hold the record for the worst day imaginable…”

Mudbriar held up a hoof. “During this time of year, and not to mention that it’s already night, timberwolves will typically be sleeping or planning for hibernation, which would be quite late, I might add,” he interjected. “So technically, the chances of us being attacked by a timberwolf are nonexistent.”

Trixie facehoofed and sighed. “Trixie wasn’t looking for an explanation.”

“Hmph. Well, at least get your facts straight…”

Trixie groaned, knowing it was going to be a long night. She rested her head onto the ground, as a gust of wind blew through the forest, which sent a chill down her spine. Reflexively, she folded her front hooves over her, shivering slightly.

“Trixie is just fine,” she mumbled to herself. “The wind will stop eventually…”

She waited for a minute, which soon became two. Three. Five. Ten. It showed no signs of stopping. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse. If only she had her cape…

“Curse this unnatural weather…” she heard Mudbriar say, who didn’t seem to be faring any better with this cold.

It all seemed like a sick game. Out of all the possible options of ponies that could get lost in this forest, it had to be the two that would have the most trouble getting along.

However, Trixie tried to keep her mind calm and ignored the chilling wind and rustling leaves. Her hat would have helped to dampen the noise and her cape could have functioned as a blanket, but she lost both of those in the escape. She closed her eyes and tried to nod off. She tossed and turned to find a comfortable position, but nothing worked. It was no use. That left her with only one idea, but she didn’t like it at all.

Trixie stood up walking over to Mudbriar. “Okay,” she said, “normally Trixie wouldn’t do this, but it appears that we’re at an impasse.”

“Technically,” Mudbriar corrected, “‘impasse’ isn’t the correct word to use in this scenario…”

“Regardless,” she said, her very small amount of patience actively wearing thinner. She took a deep breath and finished her thought. “I take it that neither of us expected tonight to be this cold, and Trixie certainly can’t rest by herself in this… abnormally cold weather, so we need to take drastic actions.”

Mudbriar turned to look at her. “Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”

“Yes,” Trixie said with very little enthusiasm, “we have to conserve heat by… getting closer.”

Mudbriar lifted a hoof. “Technically,” he said, “the term you’re looking for is ‘cuddling’.”

“Trixie knows that!” she spat back. “She just refused to use that word is all!”

“Cuddling is not necessarily a romantic term,” he clarified.

“What it is and what it isn’t doesn’t matter!” she snapped. “What matters is that we must.”

Mudbriar smirked. “Slow down there, Trixie,” he joked. “I’m taken.”

“I-I meant that…” she stammered angrily, “You know what Trixie means!”

Mudbriar chuckled but stopped after Trixie gave him a death glare. He knew she wasn’t the easiest of ponies to get along with and he knew to badger her didn’t help matters.

Trixie calmed herself before speaking to him again. “Since you seem to be so excited to… share a close proximity with The Great and Powerful Trixie…”

Quite the contrary, he thought.

“…she will have to lay down some ground rules.”

All of this was sounded rather formal; it was only a close cuddle between two acquaintances who shared no intimate feelings whatsoever and purely for a survival purpose to distract both from the abnormally cold and windy weather as their friends searched for them, he thought.

Or maybe he was looking too deep into it.

She cleared her throat. “First, we go at Trixie’s speed, not yours.”

“Ok.”

“Second,” she added. “This is strictly to stay warm, not anything else.”

“Ok.”

“And most importantly,” Trixie said, shooting him a look before this whole uncomfortable ordeal. “Do NOT try anything stupid.”

Mudbriar raised a hoof in the air close to his face. “Of course,” he said. “I promise.”

Trixie sighed and walked by the sitting Mudbriar, finally resting alongside his left side, and rolling over to her right, as Mudbriar followed suit, albeit slowly as any wrong move would likely result in pain from the irritated Trixie.

Nothing much happened for a good thirty seconds, save for a whoosh of the tree leaves every time a particularly stronger wind came through. They had rested behind a stone which provided some protection, but the howling wind would leave a biting chill every so often.

Trixie folded her forelegs, breathing softly, and had one back hoof tapping, showing signs of impatience.

Mudbriar sat still as a stone.

She cracked. “Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked. “Embrace the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Without any hesitation, Mudbriar grasped Trixie, pulling her close, providing her a pocket of warmth against his chest.

Trixie held her breath for a moment, tensing up. She was expecting the worst; a frigid and unwelcome monstrosity. What she got was quite the opposite. Dare she say it would have been warmer than her cape. She relaxed and released her breath. It probably looked a bit awkward, but it was certainly better than trying to rest by herself.

“Is… this okay?” Mudbriar asked, sounding a bit unsure.

Trixie was taken aback by this strange, but oddly welcoming cuddle. “Y-yes,” she said, a bit shaky, but matter of fact. “This is fine.”

“Would… you like to get more comfortable?” he asked.

Trixie stopped. Did she? Or did she just want to get this night over with? That was it. Tell him.

“Yes.”

Wait, what? Why did I say that? Tell him that this is already too much!

“Yes, please.” Gah!

“Okay,” he said. “To make this better you need to…”

Trixie rolled over to meet him in the eye. What am I doing?! Trixie, stop!

“…face me…” he said, somewhat confused. “Okay, now place your…”

She shuffled her back hooves, out of instinct, to intertwine them within his. For Celestia’s sake, please stop me!

“Now…”

She nestled her head underneath his chin, her mane offering a soft, pillowy substance for both her and Mudbriar. Why am I doing this? And how do I know what he’s going to say?

Mudbriar chuckled. “I feel like I don’t even need to say anything…”

Trixie blushed slightly, trying to hide it under part of her mane, but he noticed her and gripped her body a bit tighter and pulled her closer to his chest, prompting a small eep from Trixie.

“Too much?” he said, releasing some pressure.

Trixie, who was usually arrogant and confident, only managed to spit out a sheepish response.

“N-no!” she said. Why do you feel so light and giddy right now? This is Maud’s boyfriend! Don’t betray her trust! Ohh, but why is he so good at this? Ah, why do I care?! I shouldn’t like this. This doesn’t feel right! This isn’t right! This. Isn’t. Right.

This is… soooo right… Soooo riiiight. Oh, sweet Celestia, this is soooo right.

Her demons in her head vanished and now it was on. Out came the soft, fluffy, and snuggly Trixie, a side she never knew existed.

“Trixie… wants… more…” she said quietly.

“Huh?” Mudbriar only heard a whisper and wanted to make sure he took things slow. Any wrong move with Trixie could be unfavorable. She wasn’t the most easygoing of ponies and usually stuck to her grounds.

Best to… wait, what is she doing?

She had moved her head closer to his, closed her eyes, and nuzzled his cheek with hers, softly humming.

Mudbriar’s face grew an intense shade of red as he tried to keep his cool. W-what’s happening? Why the sudden proximity and affection? This can’t the same pony from a few minutes ago.

Trixie opened her eyes and placed her hooves around him. She had never felt so carefree and lighthearted and desperately needed more attention.

And that was what she was going to get, one way or another. She gave him a command:

“Pet me.”

“Huh?”

“Pet me,” she reiterated. “Please…”

“O-Okay,” Mudbriar said shakily. Had Trixie’s sudden transformation broken him? Why was she so willing and cooperative now? Best not to toy with this; give her what she wants…

He placed his hoof on her mane, slowly stroking from front to back, every so often applying a bit more pressure and changing speed. He was met with a soft purring from the serene Trixie, who five minutes would have assaulted this stallion for trying anything of the sort.

Trixie’s tail happily swished around. Whatever feeling was enveloping her, it was amazing. She got to thinking: What was so special about Mudbriar? Why did she feel so welcome and cared for in his hooves? Maud must know how to pick them.

It was at this point that she felt a bit guilty that she was closely cuddling and nuzzling with Maud’s boyfriend, but…

What she won’t know won’t hurt her, Trixie thought.

Releasing her grip from him, she buckled her front hooves slightly, moved closer to his chest, and began nuzzling him again.

Mudbriar wrapped his hooves around her into a warm embrace, brushing her mane, this time being very delicate, smooth, and slow to ensure a peaceful and caring atmosphere in this creepy, haunting, and deadly forest.

Trixie, after basking in the pure delight of another Mudbriar petting session, first broke the silence, offering a compliment: “Trixie commends you on your cuddling ability.”

Mudbriar chuckled. “You’re not half-bad yourself…” he said.

Trixie moved her hoof up to his face. “You’re right. Trixie is pretty good. Better than most, she’d admit. Tell me, is there anything she can’t do?”

Mudbriar brushed back her mane out of her face. “Keep her clothes on in the Everfree.”

Trixie shot him a playful look and a soft jab into his chest. Sure, she felt a bit guilty about cuddling her friend’s boyfriend, but how could she have resisted?

She grew curious about the other two. Hopefully, they weren’t in too much of a panic.

“How long until they find us?” Trixie asked him.

He shrugged slightly. “Who knows?” he said. “We might have to stay all night like this.”

Trixie giggled. “I like the sound of that,” she said as she nestled underneath his chin with a very big smile on her face as Mudbriar reached over her and pulled her tighter.

Listening closely, she could hear his soft and metronomic heartbeat, which soon lulled her into a deep slumber.

Mudbriar stayed awake for as long as he could, feeling overprotective, but soon fell victim to pure exhaustion as he closed his eyes and immediately slept.

On the opposite side of the forest lay two ponies: a light purple unicorn and a gray earth pony with a faded purple mane.

Starlight raised her head slowly, wondering about something.

“How long until they find us?” she asked.

Maud pulled her back down and yanked her closer. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

Starlight giggled as the two came close again, but she persisted with her previous thought. “Seriously,” she asked. “How long until they find us?”

Maud enlightened her; stone faced as ever. “Maybe they’re doing the same thing.”

“Trixie and Mudbriar?” Starlight said in disbelief. “Yeah, good one. Trixie won’t let anypony come close to her.”

“Anything can happen,” she added, rolling onto her back.

“Yeah,” Starlight said, rolling onto hers as well. “Anything can happen…”

The breezy weather seemed to slow down as the two leaned into each other to watch the stars in the recently cleared night sky.