"Come on Trixie, say something, please, you have me worried sick."

Trixie sat in silence on a stool in the library foyer, her head hung low over the wooden table before her, a position in which she had sat for the better part of an hour since the two arrived home from The Everfree Forest. Twilight's attempts to converse with her thus far had received only weak nods or shakes of the head. The blue mare's eyes looked as though they threatened to burst into tears at any moment. She turned her head to look at Twilight, an expression of deathly gloom dominating her face, the curl of her mane hiding the dampness in her eyes.

"I... I'm sorry," she eventually whimpered under her breath.

"Sorry? For what?" Twilight inquired, approaching the dejected pony.

"I was so useless... I just froze like a little filly..."

"No Trixie," Twilight countered, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "It was completely understandable what happened to you, anypony would have been terrified in that position."

"You weren't..." Trixie argued.

"Of course I was! Just because I was able to help you doesn't mean I wasn't scared. And if Fluttershy wasn't there I don't know what I would have done."

"Yeah right," Trixie groaned, turning her head back to the table. "You still acted, you were still able to carry me to safety as I passed out like a useless log. It was pathetic, you defeated that Ursa Minor by yourself without a problem before," Trixie stared at the table in front of her, moisture running down her cheeks.

"I couldn't have just froze up and let something happen to you or Fluttershy. My friends being hurt terrifies me far more than anything else, so I immediately acted. I couldn't bare to lose any of them, and I would have been horrified to lose a new friend too."

Trixie looked again at the beautiful purple unicorn smiling back at her, those deep, purple eyes brimming with care and intelligence, and she was suddenly overcome by a wave of emotion. Her tear ducts flooded, and she flung her head into Twilight's shoulder, who responded by curling her hooves around the weeping unicorn's torso, pulling her into a strong embrace. She sat with Trixie for several minutes as she sobbed wordlessly into her shoulder, holding her tight, hoping that she was providing some comfort. It was hard to know as Trixie had constantly hid her feelings behind a grin or a smirk. Twilight felt a little hopeful in seeing the magician finally express some true emotion outside apathy or joking laughter. Eventually, Trixie's sobs began to become more spaced apart, until finally she lay silent on Twilight's shoulder, save for her heavy breathing.

"Feel better?" Twilight asked.

Trixie only nodded in response as she wiped her eyes with a hoof. "I think I'd like to just head to bed right now."

"Sure, let's go."

The pair trudged upstairs, the weight of the long day proving heavy on both of them as they ascended the steps leading to their shared bedroom. Upon entering the room, Trixie immediately began to wander towards her own bed, causing Twilight to pause suddenly as a thought crossed her mind.

"You know Trixie..."

"Hmm?" Trixie turned to the sound of her name.

Twilight hesitated for a moment, wondering if her next suggestion was really appropriate. After a brief internal debate, she decided it was at least worth asking. "If it makes you feel better, you can share my bed with me again tonight..." Twilight suggested in a meek voice, a light blush forming on her cheeks. She did not know why the gesture made her feel so embarrassed. It's a perfectly normal, friendly thing to do... right? she wondered.

"Oh... umm..." Trixie scratched the back of her neck with a hoof as she pondered the unexpected offer. She briefly forgot her misery as she considered spending another night in Twilight's bed.

"Sure... I'd like that," she agreed with a smile.

The sight of Trixie smiling again banished any doubt Twilight had about the suggestion, causing a grin to spread across her own lips.

Trixe crawled under the warm covers on the far side of the bed, as Twilight manipulated the nearby lamp with her magic. Darkness entered her vision as the light went out, and she could only hear Twilight shuffling under the blanket next to her. As her pupils slowly adjusted to the darkness, the shape of two purple eyes entered her vision.

"Twilight?" she whispered in the darkness.

"Yeah Trixie?"

Twilight felt a hoof fumble around under the sheets in front of her, and she reached out to it. Upon successfully identifying Twilight's hoof, Trixie took it in two of her own.

"Thank you," Trixie murmered under her breath.

"Don't worry, its what friends are for."

The exhaustion of the day soon overtook the pair, and they drifted to sleep hoof in hoof.