Twilight's legs ached as she walked over to her favorite resting spot, an old willow tree that grew near the stream running through the middle of the academy's garden. It was only her first week in Canterlot, and the biggest problem she'd found herself facing so far wasn't even the material she'd been given to study. It was the act of carrying all that material, in the form of books, all around the campus every day. The strain, however, released as the filly dropped to her side and rolled over. The saddle bag slid off her back to a resting spot in the soft garden grass.
She wanted to take a nap. The cool autumn breeze and quiet serene atmosphere were conspiring to put her to sleep. She shook her head a few times, and the feeling was gone as quickly as it had come. Twilight was determined to learn as much as she could about the arts of magic, no matter what it took.
A faint glow emitted from the pony's horn, as she used one of the first spells she'd learned, and opened the latch of her satchel. She pulled out her current favorite text book. She used the spell once more to flip to the page she had left off at during lunch. "Ah, the basic arts of telekinesis, volume one, chapter fifteen" the filly said as her eager eyes began searching the pages of the text book. Her absorption of the material was soon interrupted by a high pitched voice greeting her.
"Hi!"
The voice startled Twilight. She looked up, closing the book as she did. The owner of the greeting was a blue, fair-haired unicorn of Twilight's own age. She carried a dark purple satchel, and walked in a notably proper position. She was obviously very popular.
"My name is Trixie" the pony continued. "We have morning studies with Miss Twin-tales together."
Twilight stood up. She wasn't sure what to say. Rarely did she take part in conversations, even before she'd come to study in the academy. Now, being in a face to face colloquy, she was helplessly unaware of how this level of interaction was supposed to go. She settled simply with "Hello", greeting the other pony with an almost corky smile.
"Some of the other fillies and I are having a study group tonight," Trixie continued, taking note of Twilight's awkward demeanor. 'She's new here… give her time.' She returned the smile.
"So, I was wondering. Since we have a class together, would you want to come and hang out with the other fillies?"
Instead of answering though, Twilight looked down at her hooves.
'Maybe this is it, maybe this is my chance to make some friends and finally ge-'
"Well, if you want to," Trixie said, interrupting Twilight's train of thought, "it's apartment thirty-two, in the dorms east of the garden." The blue filly turned and started to walk away, but stopped a moment later and turned her head. "Come around nine, and we'll have snacks" she said, before continuing in the direction she'd come from.
Twilight looked up, smiling once again, though she regretted doing it so late.
'This is my chance.'
She took a quill and parchment out of her satchel, and used this opportunity to practice her telekinesis penmanship.
TRlwxIe
Aqplwent E2
EᵰsT αF GarηϕσΠ
ĄʀʘȠƊ 9
'It needs a bit of work.' She frowned, putting the sloppily written note back in her bag. 'It's like mom says, all good things come to those who wait.' The filly settled back to the soft grass, opening her book to the page she'd left off on.
The purple pony walked down the hallway of the apartment building she'd been told to meet at. Twilight wore her saddle bag. In it lay only one book, her favorite of all the study material she'd been given. Her eyes never left the floor, except to check the number on the door as she walked passed. The décor of the hallway was simply astounding to Twilight; something she'd never seen before. Since the princess had taken her on as her personal protégé, Twilight's stay at the campus was drastically reduced in price. The Sparkle family was grateful for every penny of assistance. The dorm she stayed in wasn't top of the line, especially for a building in Canterlot. However, compared to this, it may as well be just somepony's trash stall. The walls were decorated with elegant paintings by master pony artists. Twilight recognized one from one of her books as Pablo Pinto-casso's take on the abstract mind. The hall had various end tables. Resting on them were vases, platters, and other objects representing the regal presence of the building. The atmosphere was so overbearing to the little filly that she almost passed the apartment door.
'Dorm thirty-two… here we go.' Twilight raised a hoof to knock on the door of the apartment, but she became nervous. Her hoof remained suspended for a time before she lowered it again.
'What if they don't like me, what if I brought the wrong book, what if-'
The door opened.
"The group's inside silly." In the doorway stood the unicorn Twilight had met earlier that day. Blue coated, with a lighter tinted mane and tail. Smiling in the dim light, she looked at Twilight. She was very beautiful, but there was something different about that beauty. It wasn't like the beauty she saw in her mother. Neither was it that of celebrities she'd seen strolling through the streets of Canterlot. It was different… but she couldn't put a hoof on it.
"Well, come on" Trixie said, leading the other filly into the dorm room.
Twilight shook herself from her daydream and followed. The beauty of the hall was in no comparison to the majesty of the room Twilight now found herself in. Drapes of violet and gold hung over the large windows opposite the entry way. More amazing works of art decorated the wall, and the carpet felt as though it was made of silk. The door opened into a large living area, and in the middle sat three young mares. Twilight assumed they were the same age as her and Trixie, as each were close to their size. They each sat on a pillow, and adjacent to them were saddle bags with noticeably noble designs.
"This is Tree-song, Moon-dancer, and Milly-Breeze." Trixie introduced her friends to Twilight, who respectfully nodded toward each of them.
"Everypony, this is Twilight Sparkle, the one that grew the dragon egg."
"Oh, so you're the one everyone's been talking about! Did it really break the roof? Your dragon I mean." Moon-dancer's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh, well yes, he did. I didn't mean to make him grow so fast… he just sort of did on his own."
The other ponies chuckled at Twilight's innocent demeanor.
"So, Twilight, I haven't seen you in the dorms before. Do you stay at home during the school year" Milly asked.
"Um, no… I'm staying in the dorms north of the cafeteria."
Tree-song and Moon-dancer cracked a smile.
"You mean that commoner barn shack" the green and brown pony asked, a grim smile cracking further on her face. "I wouldn't let my pet's pet stay in that dump."
The other ponies started to giggle, except for Trixie, who looked towards
Twilight with a concerned expression.
Twilight started to become nervous. "Well, um it's, not a barn. It-it's a-" she stuttered, but was cut off before she could dig herself into a hole.
"All right girls. That's enough messing around. I think we're all here, so let's get started." Trixie gestured a hoof toward a small table on the other side of the room. It was covered in bowls and small pastries. "There are some snacks over there if you're interested."
The purple filly gave a fake, but reassuring smile, as she took a seat on an open cushion. "I'll, uh, get some after a bit. We really should get studying." Much to her surprise, Trixie sat next to her on the pillow. Trixie smiled at her. The blue unicorn opened her book on levitation. "Alright, what chapter is everypony on?"
"Four"
"Three"
"I'm on five!"
The other mares stared at Twilight, awaiting her answer. Twilight looked down to her hooves, and confessed in a monotone voice.
"Um, well I just started on the last chapter… chapter, um, 16"
The other filly's jaws dropped, and Tree-song burst out with laughter.
"Bahaha! What a little bookworm!" She fell back, holding on to her ribs. The other ponies where quick to follow, letting out loud, hurtful cackles toward the now teary eyed Twilight. It soon became too much for the little pony to bear, and she burst out of the room. The only thing holding back her tears was her focus on getting out of the building. The art that had so impressed her minutes before now became a meaningless haze as she galloped down the hall. When she finally was outside, she fell onto a small stone bench and released the held back emotions. Tears flowed down her blushed face as she sobbed.
'I knew it. I knew no one would like me. I knew I could never make any friends.'
The little pony spent the next few minutes releasing the pain in the tears that streamed down her reddening face. A hoof on her shoulder startled Twilight. She looked up to see Trixie standing over her.
"You left your bag" she said, pulling the saddlebag off her back. "It still has your book in it." Trixie put her hoof back down and looked into Twilight's glistening eyes. "I'm… sorry about that. I didn't want that to happen. I didn't expect it too either." She tried her hardest to put meaning behind the words so Twilight would know she was being sincere.
Twilight sniffled as she wiped her tears and picked up her satchel.
"Thank you" she said, looking back up, "for bringing back my bag." She quickly looked down again.
"I could walk you back… to your dorm" Trixie suggested.
The purple filly returned her gaze to the blue unicorn in front of her. Her presence was both humble and powerful. She was both strong and gentle, and to Twilight she was becoming a beacon of light in an ever darkening tunnel. The moonlight behind Trixie reminded her of how she appeared in the light of the doorway, a beauty unmatched by any she'd seen before.
"Alright" she said with a soften smile.
The two ponies walked down the path by the light of the moon, and the occasional lamppost dotted along the streets of the academy. They walked side by side, looking over to each other every now and again with slight school girl expressions.
"So, are they going to be alright alone in your room" Twilight asked, breaking the silence.
"They'd better be, for their sake!" Trixie laughed. "I just can't believe what bullies they were being though… and how rude they were to you, especially since you're new."
Those last words stung Twilight a bit. Was she only treating her nice out of pity?
"Well, I like you, Twilight Sparkle, regardless of what the others might think. You seem nice, and I think it's a shame you haven't found your place yet."
Twilight blushed at the complement. 'OK, it's not just pity.'
The pair came to a split in the path.
"Do we go left or right" Trixie asked, turning to the purple unicorn.
Twilight pointed a hoof to the left path, and the two continued on with Trixie slightly in the lead. Twilight's gaze soon left the walkway and turned to the filly leading her.
'So beautiful, so majestic'
Twilight's face reddened slightly as she caught herself staring at the other mare's figure. However, as her eyes passed down her friend's body, she noticed something she hadn't expected. Trixie didn't have her cutie mark.
'What? How could somepony be so confident, so well spoken, so brave, and so courageous without even discovering her special talent?'
She was so caught up in thought that Twilight nearly ran into her friend, who'd stopped in front of her dorm's doorway.
"This is it right" Trixie asked, looking back at her.
"Y-yes" the young pony said, walking around Trixie to the door. Before she opened it, a flood of the all the emotions she'd just experienced hit her. She turned and faced Trixie as her eyes began to water-up again. She sprinted forward, burying her head into her friend's shoulder. It took all the strength Twilight had to hold back the tears.
"T-t-thank you" she cried out, "for being there, f-for me." Her resistance to the crying caused her to stutter.
Trixie could only smile at the shaking filly as she laid her head on hers, stroking her soft mane with a gentle hoof.
"Shhh" Trixie gently whispered. "It's okay. Everything will be alright. You'll be fine… just calm down."
Twilight couldn't hold back any more. She released her tears as she had on the bench mere minutes before, like a dam cracking under pressure. She was shaking badly, so she held onto her friend tightly, trying to stop her shivers.
"I-I've nev-v-ver h-had a f-friend before."
Trixie simply repositioned herself, resting her chin on Twilight's shaking forehead, gazing up at the star filled sky.
"Patience, my dear. Good things come… to those who wait."
Edit Note:
A special thanks to Kitzsune and Fortrest for help with editing and finalizing this version.