Trixie's Forest Retreat

by crowscrowcrow

Rating: teen
Tags: Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Fluttershy, Slice of Life, Sad
Length: 314258

Following the events of Boast Busters, Trixie decides to hide from the town (and Rainbow Dash in particular) by taking cover in the Everfree Forest. Not every problem can be outrun, and sometimes facing them can have unexpected consequences.

Following the events of Boast Busters, Trixie decides to hide from the town (and Rainbow Dash in particular) by taking cover in the Everfree Forest.

Trixie discovers not every problem can be outrun, and sometimes facing them can have unexpected consequences.

Special thanks to:
Phaoray PrincessLuna123 Ryla
Nebulae Rethkir

Cover Art by:
Hakuno

Published 2014-02-16 01:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-09 02:40:49 UTC

Chapter 2 - Rain

Trixie boldly marched into Ponyville with her head held up high and a victorious gleeful smile upon her face while her horn glowed a strong orchid. That same orchid glow surrounded a thick rope leash that held secure a gigantic blue bear while she dragged it through the streets for all to see. “Behold neighsayers! The Great and Powerful Trixie! Has captured the dreaded Ursa Major for your unworthy eyes to gaze upon! Is there any who could claim such a feat? Twilight Sugarcube merely put a baby to sleep, The great and Powerful Trixie has vanquished her foe!”

She laughed loudly while her magic tied the leash around a nearby tree, making the massive creature kneel before her. Her hoof reached up to scratch the strangely transparent blue fur covering the beast’s chin. Trixie turned her head to look upon the gawking ponies all around her. The looks of astonishment made the mare’s chest swell with pride. “Now return Trixie’s belongings to her before Trixie sees fit to— Ew!” A moist dripple of drool landing on her head from the massive Ursa above her, apparently it was enjoying her strokes a bit too much.

She ceased her strokes and rested both hooves on the ground while she shook her head to clear the drool away. “Bring Trixie’s hat immediately, Ponyvillians!” Another drop fell upon her to her dismay, despite having stopped her caressing. She grumbled while moving out from under the Ursa and raised a hoof to make her next demand when more drool landed upon her snout and hooves.

She twisted around as gradually everything got dark and wet. “What in Equestria is going! …on?” Suddenly she felt cold, and her back ached while the sky and ground seemed to have switched places. Rain kept pattering away at her body, and she was just barely able to make out dark ominous clouds through the heavy foliage above her.

Trixie blinked against the rain and raised up a hoof to shield her eyes from the drops that found their way through the canopy. Her other hoof stroked along a rough root to her side as she tried to orientate herself. “T-that's right… Trixie is not in Ponyville.” Her voice wavered as she recalled her current position. Not yet! She quickly corrected herself.

She shivered from the cold while wiggling her soaked self free from the roots and scrambling onto her hooves, looking up at the sky. The clouds were dark, and the rain was heavy, but she could see them clearly enough. 'So it is day then?…?' She looked around the dark forest for a moment, then back up at the sky to check again. 'Really? Could have fooled Trixie.' She concentrated for a moment to summon up an illumination spell and let a gentle light bathe the forest around her.

The old gnarled tree Trixie had already been intimately familiar with, as with the leaf-covered muddy ground for that matter. She let her gaze wander further to take in the brown and dark green bushes with thick thorns and oddly colored but somewhat soft pink mosses on the tree roots. She swallowed a bit at the thought that if she'd actually dodged the tree, she might have run headlong into something worse.

Well that is not important right now, first let's find shelter. Maybe Trixie should backtrack to the edge of the forest first though... Let's see now. If Trixie hit the tree here, then that means Trixie came from… Turning her back to the tree, she lit up a particularly dense and thorny shrub and took a step back,. “What the hay? That can't be right.“ Trixie looked back to the tree and then to the shrub again.If Trixie came from there how did she pass through? She raised a hoof to her chin while she pondered the issue, then struck the ground. “Well it is clearly impossible, so Trixie could not have come from there.” She exchanged a quick nod in agreement with herself, deciding that hitting the tree must have disorientated her a bit. Bushes do not move about after all.

The light of her horn passed along the bush till she found an opening. She smiled at the little victory while trotting through it, keeping the tree she'd slept against to her back. An uneasy feeling came over her as she walked, as though something was not right. Everything looked different but then again it had been quite dark, and she'd come from the opposite direction. It was only natural she did not recognize the way.

A snapping sound to her right made Trixie’s ears stand up straight. She quickly jumped to the left and set her horn aglow, peering into the shadows.

“Show yourself! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands it!” She did her best to keep her nerves steady and appear confident. She thought: Mere foalsplay for a stage pony as Great and Powerful as Trixie.

The following moments, she heard nothing but the pattering of the rain: no footsteps, cracks or even any animal noises. She tilted her head a little at the realization. 'Is a forest always this quiet? Are there no animals here?' While she stood still in the rain, the cold slowly bit harder into her before she finally relented and resumed her course quickly. It was not, much but at least she was warmer while she kept moving.

Though her pace was much slower than when she dashed away from her pursuer, after half an hour of walking with no end in sight, it began to dawn on the greatest equine who ever lived that she really should be out of the forest at this point. The orchid light was much dimmer than before, as it became more and more difficult to keep up her spell, as well as to push herself to move forward.

Suddenly, a monstrous growl tore through the air right behind her! She spun around in fright, redoubling her efforts on igniting her horn to get a good look. If she was lucky, she could scare off the beast with the bright light. However, she saw nothing, so she zigzagged quickly, certain this time it was not her imagination.

The deep growl reached the perked up ears of the now alert unicorn once again. Her pale blue face turned red, and Trixie slapped a hoof against her face as she located the source of the sound. It had been a long time since her last extra hay smoothie.

Chapter 3 - Reinforcing

A low grumbling growl accompanied Trixie on her march through the forest. At first it was cause for alarm, but at this point just another point on her list as she muttered to herself. “Really... Does Celestia have it out for the Great and Powerful Trixie? Trixie only claimed to be more powerful than her once! ...Okay per performance... but still!”

The light of her horn slowly began a disconcerting flickering, which evoked an irritated sigh. “Great! What else can go wrong today!?” Trixie’s eyes went wide as she realized what she'd said, and quickly covered her mouth with a hoof No no no Trixie did not just say that!

Moisture beaded up at the corners of Trixie’s eyes while she just waited for the universe to one-up her again. Between being lost, hungry, cold, wet, humiliated, dispossessed, and outright terrified by the Ursa, it certainly had seemed to do its best to punish her for having the audacity to put up a performance.

She dropped to the ground and huddled up, tucking her legs tightly against her body. Trixie hid her head below her front hooves while she her eyes closed tight. She braced herself for whatever came next, but the pattering of droplets around her was all she heard. After several moments of chilling silence, she carefully opened one eye to glance around, then up at her horn seeing the familiar orchid glow still held strong. Trixie let out a breath she had not even realized she was holding. “Safe.”

As little a victory as not having another horrible thing happen to a pony might have been, it was just what Trixie needed to regain some confidence. “That's right, what is there to fear? The Great and Powerful Trixie needs only to take control of the situation.” She brought up a hoof to wipe her eyes clear. R-rainwater, she interjected in her mind.

Trixie went over the little checklist of her problems she'd made in her panic once again, but this time, sorting them into issues she could deal with right now and those that she just had to put off until later. “Shelter and food. Well those cannot be that difficult. Trixie is in a forest. Almost everything here should be food,” said Trixie with a forced smile. Though not all of it equally appetizing. A small shiver ran down her spine as she recalled some of the emergency meals she'd eaten while on the road when funds ran lower than usual, but this would be better.

Trixie trotted towards the nearest tree and glanced down at the soft pink moss that covered the roots. She pondered to herself if it would double as a good source of food before shook her head and decided against pressing her luck so soon after tempting fate. If she got sick, that would be just the kind of thing to make everything even worse.

A slow trot through the forest while she examined the various plants, bushes and roots, bit by bit, looking for any that she recognized as edible. Strangely, the flora in the forest was so different from what she was at least vaguely familiar with, as if it were an entirely different region.

She gazed down upon her collected bounty gathered together on the forest floor. A small hoof full of purple berries, some sand brown roots she'd dug up from the trees, a few black thorny vines, a blue flower, and a pile of the pink moss. She was not especially sure of herself that she'd actually found something she could eat safely among these.

“Okay Trixie, all you need to do is eat a bit of one of these and wait to find out if it has any harmful effect. It should be okay if Trixie only eats a tiny bit. She won't be ill long even if it turns out that way.” She nodded vigorously at her wisdom and leaned down, opening her mouth to try the first bite.

Five minutes had passed, with the blue-furred open muzzle still hovering over the pink moss, then Trixie swayed towards the roots, trying to bring herself to eat them instead, but she stayed just as frozen. Trixie shook while mentally flogging herself. Come on, just one bite! How bad could it be?! Don't be such a coward, the chances of any of these being that poisonous are… well Trixie doesn't know. That's not the point. Don't be so weak!

Weak, the word stung the show mare's heart, making her chest tighten and her breaths shallow. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to force the feeling back again. “N-no. Trixie is Great and Powerful!” She shouted at the top of her lungs without care of who or what might hear her. In fact she'd welcome any kind of audience at this point, even those Ponyvillians just to witness her.

While her determination still held, she brought her head down and devoured the makeshift meal before her. The taste was bitter and sandy, then it became sweet, light, and finally physically painful as one of the thorns dug into the roof of her mouth. Spitting out the thorny piece, she slumped back on her haunches, breathing quickly.

The growling of her stomach had stopped, and she actually felt a bit warmer, much to her delight, after her meal. Her mouth tasted weird, and there was the dull pain from the thorn that made her tear up, but the tradeoff had been, to Trixie’s satisfaction, a pretty good one.

It was then she noticed through blurred vision that the clear forest floor contained only the offending piece of thorny vine. She blinked slowly as she ran that revelation through her head again. Where was the rest of the food? She wiped away the tears brought on by the thorn to clear her vision, concentrating on brightening the light from her horn a bit more to search. But she could only find scraps and rested a hoof on her stomach. Way to go Trixie. You sure showed yourself, she grumbled annoyed with herself. Now if Trixie is sick, Trixie won't know what it was. Hay, if it was all of it Trixie might not even have to worry about it after tomorrow. She struck herself against her forehead hard enough invoke a yelp.

“W-well it does mean Trixie's hunger problem is solved. And if Trixie is fine, it means all of those were good to eat... except maybe the vines.” She pushed herself up on her hooves and whipped her mane out of her eyes. “That's right! The Great and Powerful Trixie has overcome problem number one! Now to find shelter! Or the way out.” Both required the same action anyway, and she was not partial to which outcome she landed on. Trixie set out to continue her way through the muddy forest with renewed vigor to find her goal. …or come up short and die trying.

Author's Note

It's interesting how hard it can be to start something but things get rolling once you got some momentum. ^^
Just too bad starting every chapter is starting something >.>
Oh well I hope you enjoy. ^^

Chapter 4 - Refurnishing

The rainwater of the forest formed small miniature rivers, running their natural course towards the lowest point. Some made simple puddles, and others created small streams that ran into a modest cave just at the bottom of a hill not too far ahead of the drenched unicorn.

Trixie stood silently half-hidden behind one of the trees while she observed the small cavern she had found. Her first instinct had been to gallop towards it to get out of the rain, but she thought better of it at the last moment and hid.

That had been a while ago, though it was not clear to Trixie how much time had passed while she watched the cave. Her ears were perked up, and her eyes glued to the darkness inside, trying to get any kind of hint as to its potential occupants.

She hoped that the cavern had at least a chance of being empty. She spared another quick glance down upon her only source of that hope: the streams of rainwater flowing slowly into the cavern. If it's that wet in there… would any animal really bother making its burrow there? She pondered briefly if she, The Great and Powerful Trixie, even wanted a shelter that was not good enough for the animals.

Beggars can't be choosers. She took a step away from the tree, then blinked and swiftly added, not that Trixie is one. She made her way towards the small cavern slowly and ignited her horn to shine a light inside, relieved to find it was in fact empty for the most part. Some water had pooled together here and there, but most of it seemed to drain out through a crack in the rock, which ensured the cave did not flood completely.

Wasting no further time to get out of the rain, Trixie trotted inside down the slightly inclined rocky slope. As much as she'd gotten used to the raindrops trickling down on her unprotected head the last couple hours, she felt infinitely better without them.

Laying down on the rough stone with a small wince, Trixie tried her best to get somewhat comfortable. “Really it couldn't be any softer for Trixie?” she complained, unable to find a good position. Pondering briefly, she got up on her hooves again and flashed a grin. One way or another, she was going to make this bearable.

Trixie headed back out into the rain. She returned a moment later, levitating as much of the pink moss she had been able to find. Stepping back into the shelter of the cave, Trixie shook the mosses vigorously near the crack in the stone, trying to get out as much water as possible before dropping it down onto the rocky surface of the cave.

She stared down with a look of glee at her makeshift pink bed, admiring her handiwork, before settling down on top of it. She let out a satisfied sigh, enjoying the soft feeling against her fur, which shielded her almost perfectly from the rock. “That's more like it!”

Her eyes shifted towards the entrance of her little shelter, watching the rain clatter down where it couldn't get to her anymore. A tired smile settled on Trixie’s face as she just enjoyed her new position for the moment.

She let her mind wander now that she finally had the time to think properly without an immediate worry to attend to. “This is nice... Trixie thinks she can stay here for a while.” She looked down at the damp pink moss, then rested her head against it, closing her eyes. Wait this is what makes Trixie happy now? Finding a slightly less moist place to be miserable? Trixie grimaced at the thought.

“Just yesterday Trixie had the softest of beds, her own home, her own show... Why did they try so hard to mess it all up for Trixie? Was the whole town in on it?” As she thought back on the day before, it seemed so far away. Trixie's show had just barely begun when some ponies near the stage immediately began to complain and criticize her performance without so much as giving her a chance to show what she could even do.

“Trixie is sure it was not Trixie's act; all the other ponies were smiling at The Great and Powerful Trixie. They laughed when Trixie defeated her challengers! The Great and Powerful Trixie prevailed! The audience loved how Trixie showed those arrogant ponies their place!” Her voice rose theatrically. She tactfully left out the part that she was the one who had issued the challenge in her monologue.

Trixie toned the volume back down to a muttering. “It's not as if it was Trixie's fault those two foals believed everything Trixie said…” It did not last very long however. ”How did they even find an accursed Ursa? Are those really that common here?!”

She could feel her blood boil at the idiocy of it all, almost screaming out, “Who brings an Ursa to town? Who knows how many ponies it would've eaten if Trixie was not there? But do they care? No!” She slammed a hoof down on the hard stone. “Sure, Trixie did not vanquish it! But Trixie stalled it long enough, distracted it from those two foals even.” She simmered down again, recalling her efforts in fighting the Ursa Minor, knowing she did not stand a chance. It had been horrifying, but she could not just leave it rampage, could she?

A rattling sound drew her attention. The hoof against the stone surface was shaking. She lifted her extended foreleg from the stone,and rested it over her muzzle to cover up her eyes with a whimper. Trixie thought she was a goner for sure, crushed like the rest of Trixie's things. She took deep breaths while trying not to think about it too much.

“In walks that Twilight Sugarcube after Trixie says she can't do it, and the mare does it. Everything Trixie could not do that, unicorn did in moments. Humiliating Trixie by rescu...” She froze when the word rolled past her lips. Wait... that... that's right isn't it? Would Trixie be dead without her? A long pause followed as she contemplated on the thought that had escaped her in the heat of the moment.

She did… But why would she do that? Did she not believe Trixie was the cause? As far as she recalled, the rest of the town had been quick to blame her for lying and tricking the duo into bringing the Ursa. Especially that cyan pegasus that hunted her down at the end.

An old itch came back to her mind as she recalled the flying mare. Oh hay, not again...Vapor Step? Nimbus Run? She shifted her hoof from her the top of her muzzle onto the moss and rested her chin on top. She gazed outside at the parting clouds and sighed. Figures that it would stop raining as soon as Trixie fi— Her eyes went wide as she gazed up through the thick canopy at the sky, the clouds clearing up and revealing a colorful spectacle stretched out across the sky. “Rainbow! And Dash!”

Author's Note

Almost late on my planned schedule of one a day >.>
But what's an hour or two right? I hope you will enjoy.

Also, be honest now... Is using 're' in the chapter title to get an R cheating?

Chapter 5 - Rainbow

“Why that little!” shouted Rainbow Dash, watching the fraudulent loudmouth try to make her escape into the night. Not if she had anything to say about it! She sunk through her hooves for a split second, then kicked off the ground and flared her wings, taking to the skies at top speed in hot pursuit.

“Just let her go,” said Twilight with such peace, that the tone was as surprising to her as the words themselves. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the blue trickster gallop away, the one that put all her friends, no the entire town, in danger. What the hay? She wants me to let her get away with this? Why? Glaring while trying to push down the hot feeling in her veins, she turned her eyes away from the fleeing mare and settled them on her friend for the answer.

Upon seeing her confusion, Twilight continued, “maybe someday she will learn her lesson.” She turned her attention upon the pair of foals that had caused so much trouble, shooting them a look that could burn through a tree. “Now about you two...”

With the town’s attention focused on Twilight and the duo, Rainbow Dash turned her gaze towards the road again. She blinked as Trixie appeared to have vanished somehow before her attention was drawn by a quick-moving silvery blur through the fields, puffing up little clouds of smoke.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head and raised up an eyebrow as she observed the spectacle. “What in Equestria is that pony doing?” She increased the power of her wing beats to fly up higher while down below, she could hear Spike demand he be punished as well with surprising glee.

She shook her head a bit while watching a distant orchid light rush through the forest before it suddenly went out. She could have sworn she'd seen one of the trees shake shortly afterwards. Chuckling to herself, she glanced down at the dispersing gathering below, pondering if she should say something, but shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, I'm sure it can wait.” She took off in a rainbow-colored streak back home to try and salvage what few hours she had left before the scheduled early morning downpour.

Rainbow Dash pushed the last dark cloud into place over Ponyville, raising up a hoof to her mouth to cover an irritated yawn. Whoever was responsible for missing yesterday afternoon’s drizzle had a lot to answer for, making her get up this early.

“Oh right, that was my assignment.” She'd tried to show up Trixie with her instant rainbow stunt, only to get caught in that little cheater’s tornado. Her eyes crossed a bit when she remembered how much trouble she had just trying to keep down her lunch, let alone try to fly and do her job, after that.

With a grumble, she folded her forelegs over her chest and kicked one of clouds. A flash of lightning crackled through it. Glancing towards the Everfree forest, or rather the mass of especially dark clouds that overextended from Ponyville to cover a certain section of the forest, her trademark mischievous grin crept over her face. “Worth it.”

Diving through the clouds, Rainbow Dash swooped down towards the small little hovel right below her. She spotted a small exodus of forest animals all skittering inside the cottage at the behest of what had to be the kindest pony she'd ever met.

“Hey Fluttershy!” Pulling up from her dive just in time to avoid smacking straight into the ground, she skidded to a halt besides her soft spoken friend.

Fluttershy stood beside the doorway of her house, holding it open for a family of mice. “H-hey Rainbow Dash...” A warm smile offered to her friend. “What are you doing here? N-not that you’re not welcome anytime, I mean I'd love to have you visit, I mean that you are visiting, not that you don't usually visit...” She kept tripping over her barely whispered words, only earning herself an amused grin from Rainbow Dash.

“Relax, Fluttershy, I know what you mean.” A brief thought of teasing her friend occurred to her, but it was quickly dismissed. “I just wanted to check on you, you know, with the Ursa and all.”

“Oh... I'm okay. It just charged right past here then floated back a little later. I can't believe somepony woke up that poor sweetheart.”

“Ooh yeah, that poor sweetheart.” She rolled her eyes. “You should have seen it try to eat Snips and Snails, it was just endearing. What the hay is wrong with that Trixie that she would send those two out to find an Ursa just so she can show off? She couldn't even do it!”

Fluttershy leaned down to nudge the last rabbit through the doorway reassuringly. “T-that's just awful. Did she really do that?” Heading inside as well once she was sure no more animals were coming to take shelter, she held the door open. “Uhm, would you like to come in too, Rainbow Dash?”

The first raindrops had begun to fall, darkening her fur into spotted blue. “Yeah sure, I got something good to share anyway.” Following Fluttershy inside, she shut the door behind her. “So you remember I told you about Trixie's show last night, right? Well it gets better: it was a dark and stormy night, just like this one...”

Settling down upon her couch, Fluttershy gave a quick glance outside at the downpour. “...But yesterday we had clear skies all day. Didn't we? I thought that is why you made th—” she got cut off halfway.

“Awh come on, are you trying to ruin the story?” Taking a seat besides Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash gave her a little nudge and flashed a grin. Letting her eyes travel to the window, she gazed at the ominous clouds, but her grin only widened at the sight.

“I'm sorry...” Tilting her head down, she allowed the long pink locks to shelter her. She knew what was coming by the look on her friend’s face.

“So as I was saying...” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat briefly, then resumed in her patented campfire story voice. “It was a dark and stormy night...”

Author's Note

Don't panic! We'll see Trixie again I'm sure ^^
I'm not quite sure if I am supposed to add every character that appears in the story as a tag or only the character playing the lead.
For now I'll just play it save and add Rainbow+Fluttershy tags.

It was pretty interesting writing this since it's so different from the previous chapters.
Using a different character, containing actual dialogue, spend even more time watching the show to see rainbows reactions and a time-skip.

I was actually completely unsure of how to skip a whole day ahead without doing a new chapter.
Luckily there was a nice lecture on the topic to help me get through it.
http://www.fimfiction.net/group/916/school-for-new-writers/thread/53300/lecture-scene-transitions

In other news it recently occured to me that I've been putting these notes in the bottom.
Which means that saying 'I hope you enjoy' doesn't really make sense if it's the last thing you read. Sooo

I hope you had fun reading! ^^

Chapter 7 - Retched

...Why is Trixie on the ground? Was the first thought that went through Trixie’s mind as she found herself staring at a rock jutting up out of the mud. The second was not so much a thought, rather the realization that an entire herd of stampeding buffalo had somehow found their way into her head some time ago.

Curling up on the ground, Trixie brought her hooves to her head, as every beat of her pulse seemed to threaten to make her head explode if she did not hold it in place. She heard some kind of long note from the world’s most annoying instrument the entire time.

A buzzing noise, as though she were at a restaurant ignoring other ponies voices in the background. She could tell it was speech, but the words blurred together incomprehensibly. A set of fuzzy blue hooves entered her vision, and the buzzing began again, louder this time. Why don't they just go away? Can't that pony see Trixie is tired? She just wanted to sleep.

Strangely, she could hear herself respond in that same buzzing. She was unsure what she'd said, just unthinkingly responding with something. It seemed to accomplish her goal, as the buzzing stopped. Trixie could see the blue hooves moved to the right, or up, she supposed, out of sight. Good...

She let her eyes close again, leaving her alone with the pounding in her head, and the unrelenting solo performance of whatever the heck that was. Her stomach turned, tearing Trixie from that much desired sleep, as she retched up the meager meal she had scavenged.

Pushing out a hoof to the ground, she tried to get up and away from the scene. She was only a few steps from her bed. She could rest there, but white fireworks flashed before her eyes as she did. It made her slump back down and cradle her head again, resolving not to move after all. With a push, she rolled onto her other flank.

It was not clear to her when it happened, but the buzzing was back, and twice as annoying. Something was touching her neck. Giving a slow swat at her neck, Trixie opened her eyes again. This time it was some fuzzy pink and yellow pony. Doesn't anypony have the decency to leave Trixie be? She spotted a fast moving rainbow-colored thing in the background.

To her relief, the yellow pony turned away from her and buzzed at the other one for a change, letting Trixie rest again through the throbbing. It seemed like they could not get enough of tormenting her however, as each time she had finally fallen asleep. it felt as though she barely got a few minutes in before the buzzing and prodding started again. And she had to listen to herself saying something or other back, or follow a hoof with her eyes.

It was a strange feeling, as if she was not really there, but just watching some mimicry of herself perform actions and commands that she could not make out. The only things that seemed to feel real were the pain and fatigue she had to struggle through just to earn a little more rest from her jailers.

This seemed to just go on and on much to the dazed unicorn's irritation, but she could not focus long enough to cast any magic to scare the pair off. Sometimes she woke with a horrible taste in her mouth. Usually it was the yellow pony that bothered her, with the blue one missing a few times, then she saw a snow white pony with a pink mane and what looked a bit like a red cross on her flank. The other two were behind her.

Trixie did not really pay much attention to the ponies, but there was always that far-too-bright blue sky right above them each time they woke her up. She could have sworn before that the canopy blocked out almost all light when she was trying to find her way, but now she was certain the sun had to be growing on the branches.

Opening her eyes once again at the prod of a hoof, she stared up at yet more trees, but they were different somehow. The wood did not stop; it was to her sides, above her, and seemingly all around. The bright sun was hidden somewhere behind it, or maybe it had set already; Trixie could not be sure.

“H-hello... Welcome back... Uhm if you don't mind... What day is it?” Blinking slowly, Trixie panned her gaze away from the wooden ceiling, settling on the fuzzy pony that spoke to her, or at least she thought it was speech, though she had never heard anyone speak so quietly.

...Day? Somehow the question felt incredibly familiar, but she could not place her hoof on it. “Sunday.” She remembered this well enough. Her show had been Saturday after all. Most exciting things in Equestria always seemed to happen on Saturdays, for some reason.

It seemed this pleased the pegasus, as she received a small smile before the next question followed. “What is your name?”

“...Trixie.” Again that strange feeling of familiarity “The Great and Powerful Trixie.” Raising up a hoof, she tried to soothe her aching head, but was puzzled to find she could not reach it. Something was in the way, and it did not feel like her hat. Trixie touched the cool wet thing, looking at the other pony.

Fluttershy beamed almost from ear to ear at the sight, a smile even Trixie could detect no acting in. “Oh! That’s great. I don't have to poke you now if you noticed that all on your own.”

The words were perplexing, but this was apparently a good sign, if it got the other pony that excited. What she was getting so thrilled over, Trixie did not understand. What kind of pony wouldn't know their own name? Let alone a pony that uses theirs as much as Trixie does?

Trixie wondered why that pony just sat there staring at her. Did she expect something else? Attempting to remember who it was, or even trying to raise her own questions, felt like such a bother. Each attempt at doing so got drilled out by the pounding in her head.

All she really wanted anymore was to just flee back into unconsciousness and hide from it all. Fortunately, it seemed her body agreed completely, and the other pony did not seem to mind or move when Trixie closed her eyes again.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed!

Special thanks to India and Wen for sharing their experiences with me for this chapter.
Could not have done this chapter without them because Google really was not helpful for this for once.

chapter 8 - Rude *

chapter 8 - Rude *

A small blue unicorn filly galloped through the door, slamming it behind her with a kick while tears ran over her cheeks. “All of them can go straight to Tartarus!” Trixie cried out, shaking on her hooves. Her words echoed through the small hovel. She shook off her starry, purple hat and flung it at a wall.

“Trixie?” A snow white pegasus with a blue mane, and a top-hat cutie mark, looked up from her sewing, startled. School should not have ended for a few more hours. “What's wrong, my little pony? Aw, come here.” She turned towards her filly and sank through her hind legs, spreading the front pair out towards Trixie invitingly.

Already dashing halfway across the room, Trixie buried herself into the embrace with such force, she could hear a grunt above her. “S-sorry...” She whimpered in a muffled voice, hiding her face by nuzzling against the fur. Soft caresses along her back seemed to brush away more of the trembling with each stroke.

Sly Nightsky looked down at the gently shaking Trixie, wrapped up in her forelegs, patiently waiting for the soft sobbing to stop while comforting her. “Shh It's okay... Did something go wrong at school?” Trixie opened her mouth to answer, but stopped as each thing she thought of saying brought on a quivering on her lips. Instead, she merely nodded in response.

Upon getting no answer, Sly sighed. Pulling teeth to find out what happened not a pleasant prospect. Suddenly, she perked up and showed a small grin while looking up to the ceiling. “Were they jealous of your nice hat?” she asked in a gentle tone, raising one hoof up to stroke Trixie's mane, but all she got in response was Trixie shaking her head. “Were they jealous of Trixie's cute face? Oh I know, maybe Trixie's pretty mane?” She felt Trixie squirm in her grasp. “Trixie's amazing eyes? Trixie's graceful tail? That beautiful coat of Trixie?”

“S-stop it geez!” Trixie's face burned red while she pushed away from her mother with her forelegs, but not managing to escape. Trixie and Sly each raised and lowered their gaze respectively, their eyes meeting in silence for a few moments “...You don't really have to stop you know...”

“How about you tell me what is wrong first?” Her mother shot back.

Trixie took a deep breath. “...They are all better than me.” Breaking eye contact, Trixie stared down at the floor. “They did not like my show at all... They did every spell better.” Her voice quivered as she spoke. “They said I didn't even know real magic, that it was all just tricks. 'Trixie's only Trickery!' ”

Sly pulled Trixie close again, scowling at the wall behind her. “W-well what do they know? I know you have the best magic!” The pegasus fidgeted with her hooves. “I don't understand what the difference is, it’s all magic, right? Who says real magic only comes from a horn.” She gave a glance over towards the bookshelf full of "magic books" she'd used to teach the little unicorn.

“Everyone else?” Trixie offered quietly, snuggling against Sly's chest. She'd been so excited when changing schools by the thought of having a whole new class to impress with her magic. She never imagined the difference in skill was so startling.

“... I'm sorry Trixie... I don't know any unicorn magic... But I'm sure that you can learn some from your classmates.” Sly went silent while she rested a lingering look at the crumpled up large hat by the door. “... You should take better care of that...”

Blinking slowly, Trixie groaned painfully as she opened her eyes, staring up at the wooden ceiling again. “That... does not look like Trixie's Wagon.” The throbbing headache made it difficult to focus for very long, but she caught another look at the room she was in. Why is Trixie in here?

Faint memories of being tormented by some ponies that just would not let her be spurred Trixie on to scoot to the edge of the bed and roll out onto her hooves. “Trixie can’t stay here. Who knows what they will—Waah!” Her knees gave way under her own weight, sending her hurtling to the floor with a thud.

Dazed from the fall, Trixie looked down at her legs, scared to see whatever they had done to her. In a panic, Trixie’s mind ran the gambit from anything like a curse or poison to surgical. She was relieved to find nothing was wrong with her legs, but it also puzzled her. What am I doing on the ground then if I’m fine?

Her ears perked up as she heard a creaking noise; her head snapped towards the open doorway, revealing the yellow, now not-so-fuzzy, pegasus. Ah. That's right, Trixie saw her before... I think. Staring up at her, Trixie found the other merely stared right back at her without saying a word. Deciding to break the silence herself then, Trixie spoke up. “Why is Trixie here? What have you done to The Great and Powerful Trixie!? Trixie will not be lenient if you do not release her immediately!” Wincing from her own shouting, Trixie decided maybe she'd tone it down next time, but she felt it was important to come out strong.

It certainly seemed to have done the trick as she watched her jailer give a surprisingly adorable cry and hurriedly retreat behind the door-post, whimpering. Trixie still has it!... It never worked that well before, though. Now that she thought about it, she had never heard of a jailer that would cover before a downed pony that merely raised her voice. “What is your name? Tell The Great and Powerful Trixie,” she demanded impatiently.

Fluttershy flinched as Trixie addressed her again “Um... I'm Fluttershy.”

“What was that?” Trixie blinked and rose a hoof to one of her ears, checking if they had fallen off halfway through.

“Um... My name is Fluttershy.” Letting her bangs fall in front of her face, the yellow pony hid even more of herself.

“Didn't quite catch that.” Trixie was fairly sure at this point it was not her hearing that was at fault. All she got back from Fluttershy this time was a squeaking sound.

Letting out a sigh, she raised a hoof up to press against her forehead, trying to ward off the oncoming headache of talking to the shy mare, only to find she'd set off a burning of a thousand suns where she touched. She hissed at the pain. Pulling her hoof back quickly, the pain subsided somewhat again, but her mood was even worse now. “Argh! What is wrong with you?! You were talking to Trixie before asking Trixie those inane questions! Ahhhh.” Closing her eyes tightly, Trixie had managed to rekindle her headache once again.

Trixie was surprised when she felt something soft press against her left side. It shuffled below her stomach, then lifted, helping Trixie to her feet and guiding her somewhere. Soon feeling the blankets against her fur again, She opened her eyes to find Fluttershy beside her, still looking terrified, but definitely the one that had helped her.

“I..I'm Fluttershy.”

Author's Note

I hope you had fun reading!

Drat I missed a day. Was such an important day too.
I will have to make up for it.

To be fair the days delay was to make a Tiny Trixie Filly!
I feel it was well worth it, we'll see a little more of her in the future, without the delays ^^

Chapter 9 - Reconnaissance

“Fluttershy?” Trixie repeated the name, receiving a nod in return. It was a fitting name; she had to admit that much. Climbing back into the bed with Fluttershy’s help, Trixie laid down in hopes of getting the pounding in her head to drop back down to the level it was when she'd woken up.

Trixie looked at Fluttershy, who had gone silent again, with mild annoyance, but she let it go for the moment. It was clear that she was no threat to her, even if she could easily overpower her in Trixie’s current state; she did not seem like the type.

She could tell that she had sustained some kind of wound which explained her headache. The real worry was her weakened, no, merely less powerful, state and the fatigue. “What’s wrong with Trixie?” She wondered aloud, trying to remember what happened.

Trixie noticed Fluttershy was flinch, then nervously scrapped her hoof along the rug. Finally, Fluttershy found her voice again. “T-Trixie … has a,” she swallowed, “concussion … I'm sorry … Nurse Redheart said to let you rest.” It was so quiet, Trixie could barely make it out. At least it seemed she was more reliable for aid then she was conversation.

“A nurse? So Trixie is at a hospital.” A shiver ran down her spine as she realized the only town nearby with a hospital for miles had been Ponyville. Her oncoming panic was interrupted by noticing Fluttershy shaking her head. “Trixie is not in a hospital? Are you a nurse?”

Both questions received another shake, and Trixie raised a hoof, feeling frustrated again, but quickly slammed it back down on the bed just before she'd touch the sore spot again. She felt her heart beat in her throat. Safe! Though just how safe, she'd have to find out. Her voice quivered as she asked, “Is this Ponyville?”

Fluttershy nodded at first, then upon seeing the terror spread across Trixie’s face, she quickly added, “B-but on the outer edge. We thought you would uh … Like that more … A small walk away …” Fluttershy looked at Trixie with wide eyes, as if she were as scared as she was.

“O-okay … Yes Trixie … Likes that, Trixie supposes …” So she now knew she was in Ponyville after all. But only on its very edge? It seemed like as good a compromise as she could ask for. It did, however, raise a few more questions. “What made you think Trixie did not want to be in Ponyville?” Perhaps she had said something to them; much of the previous day was a blur.

“B-because of the Ursa?” Fluttershy looked uneasy bringing it up to Trixie. “Oh I'm sorry. But I really have to get back to the animals, please forgive me. I only came up because I heard a crash. D-do you need anything?”

Trixie flinched slightly at the mention of the Ursa, pushing the thought back with a shudder. She tried to focus on Fluttershy's offer through the pulsing in her skull. “Trixie wants a mirror,” she said finally.

This appeared to take Fluttershy off guard as she blinked and tilted her head in confusion. “A mirror? Uhm… Okay …” Spreading her wings, she flew so slowly, she was almost floating up to the chimney mantle, fetching a small framed mirror for Trixie before taking her leave “T-try to sleep. It's okay now.”

Trixie took the mirror, but her attention remained on the skittish mare. She had seen pegasi fly often enough; their fast motions and freedom often reminded her of birds, but this little display of floating had been pathetic in comparison. Less like a bird, more like a … butterfly. She nodded. Lacking in one's race-defining trait, how sad.

She was about to turn her attention away from the doorway when she noticed Fluttershy had stopped just outside the door. This puzzled Trixie, especially as she seemed to be speaking with someone, or a least moving her lips; It was hard enough to hear her when she was standing right next to Trixie after all.

Trixie was slightly worried for as moment Fluttershy might be deranged, until she took notice of a second shadow, fortunately confirming there was somepony else there. Though this also seemed rather strange.

Why was there another pony waiting right behind the door-post? Why would the shy one be the only one to come in? … Oh no! don't tell Trixie that WAS the assertive one! Her head hurt just imagining Fluttershy's friend being even more shy.

The conversation seemed to conclude as Fluttershy walked away. The other pony must have turned to follow her, their tail swishing briefly into view. Trixie smirked, bemused at the sight. Well that is as much as Trixie will ever see of that pony, A rainbow tail… Huh? A sudden sound of ticking caught Trixie's attention. She glanced down to find her own hooves were shaking involuntarily, tapping the small mirror. W-what’s wrong now? Her chest felt tight, and her breathing became quicker.

She quickly looked back at the door. Trixie could not explain it, but something there had sent chills down her whole body. Biting the blanket and quickly pulling it over her, she stared at the door, but the feeling she had before ebbed away again. A couple of deep, slow breaths were taken, trying to calm her nerves. “R-relax Trixie, there's nothing there.”

Directing her attention back to the small mirror for distraction, Trixie began a spell to levitate it with her magic, but halted the attempt quickly when she felt pressure build in her head. Foal! That Fluttershy just told Trixie! Grumbling with her own foolishness, She lifted up the mirror in her hooves to get a look at herself, dropping it immediately in shock.

Trixie's horrible! Gasping for breath, she raised the mirror again, staring at the almost unfamiliar face within. Around the bandages and cold packs, she could see the swelling and purplish patches of fur, rather than its usual blue. She briefly took a moment to consider. That is weird. You'd only get that if mixed with… She grimaced, not finishing the sentence.

Trixie examined herself in the mirror carefully, giving a winch at the thought that what she saw was actually the good parts. Her eyes lingered on the bandages. She slipped the mirror under her pillow with a sigh, shifting to get more comfortable before looking through the room again.

She had not paid much attention before while trying to escape, but the first thing she took note of was the bird houses hanging from the ceiling and nests in the rafters. “What in Equestria …?” The bedridden unicorn was already fairly familiar with the bed itself, standing free on three sides in the middle of the room. It was made out of a butterfly-decorated green wood with quilted sheets, which also bore a butterfly pattern. Mhm, Trixie guesses Fluttershy knows it too, well of course she would.

She let her gaze sweep along the yellow walls; they were supported with sturdy wooden beams, only interrupted by a gray stone chimney that opened into an actual fireplace at the bottom. Some large dark-colored cloths were hung up on the walls in a few places. Trixie could just barely make out some light shining through Also for Trixie's benefit? Or to keep Trixie from knowing her surroundings …? In either case, she was glad not to have the sun in her eyes anymore.

What few shelves there were had been decorated with picture frames, a few books, and what looked like homemade drawings hanging on the wall that the head of the bed was set up against, perhaps from a friendly filly or from her host herself in her foal-hood.

The floors were simple hardwood, and decorated only by a small red oval carpet at the foot of the bed. Though there was barely room to even stand on the carpet due to a green trunk placed on top of it as well. Overall, Trixie felt it was actually rather cozy, if a little bit weird. She glanced back up at the birdhouses and noticed some veins grew along the ceiling as well. Curious … But it does fit in with the decor.

Trixie closed her eyes, feeling the strain starting to get to her. It was annoying to think that hitting her head could make her that sleepy for so long. Before she drifted off once again, a new scent made its way into her room; Somepony was cooking.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed!

I never quite realized just how amazing Fluttershy's house actually is though it is a little inconsistent between episodes.
It certainly was nice learning more about it in the process of writing this chapter.

There's been a question on my mind recently.
Is the desc for this story representative? Or did you come in expecting something else based from it? (Thanks for sticking around anyway if you did heh.)
I'd like to hear about this in the comments from anyone with the time.

Chapter 10 - Rambling

Counting out fifty bits from her pouch, Trixie floated the coins over at Fluttershy's request. Of course, the crafty pony had expected an outrageous sum for the time the successful showmare had lodged with her, but Trixie was hardly in any position to argue; a single shout would alert half of Ponyville.

As she placed each bit down on the table, the noise of the coins landing became louder each time, rising from a simple metallic clank to dull thuds, then finally to near-deafening stomps. When the sound stopped, the walls of the small farm shook and bent under the protests of the groaning wood.

Gasping, Trixie dashed out the door into the fresh air, leaving the yellow pegasus to her spoils, and spun around staring up at a gigantic blue bear. Its massive clawed paws rested upon the straw roof of Fluttershy's house, digging its claws into the wooden beams. Their eyes locked, and for a moment, they shared a stare of recognition, one in terror, the other in hunger.

The sight of the Ursa had the blue unicorn shaking on her hoofs; it had tracked her down and come back for more. Before she could even will her legs to obey, the house creaked and gave way under the Ursa's full weight, collapsing in seconds. The Ursa stomped over the flattened building on its way towards Trixie, snagging her with a large clawed paw.

Trixie let out a pained cry, feeling the sharp claws digging into her body. She stared at the massive transparent beast while it opened its maw to roar at her, giving her second look at the menacing teeth, easily the size of her head. She could feel its hot breath against her face, its last meal apparently a vegetable stand. Tears ran down her cheeks while it threw her into the air, allowing her one final look at the world before she fell into the waiting jaws.

Letting out a scream, Trixie thrusted her hooves forward in a desperate attempt to push the Ursa away, to live just one more moment, to find herself in a warm bed, staring down at a terrified wet Fluttershy, laying toppled over on floor next to her bed in a pool of something. A wooden bowl rolled away before it started to come to a spinning stop, finally resting upside down.

The fast breathes of both ponies were the only sounds in the air while Trixie stared down at Fluttershy in confusion, then quickly looked around. The Ursa was nowhere to be found, and she was back in the bedroom again. Her gaze returned to the trembling pony on the floor while a crushing guilt twisted her stomach.

“N-nightmare…” Trixie explained, laying back down just wishing she could disappear.

Fluttershy slowly got back onto her hooves. “T-that's okay… It’s my fault for trying to wake you up,” she whimpered.

Trixie winced, feeling even worse, but said nothing.

Once back on her hooves Fluttershy picked up the bowl. “I'll be back soon,” she said, heading out of the room, leaving Trixie alone again.

Time seemed to crawl by agonizingly slowly, leaving Trixie to look down at what she assumed was left of the vegetable soup Fluttershy had brought her. She pinned her ears back in shame. “It… it's not really Trixie’s fault, Fluttershy even said so,” she said, trying to reassure herself, but the words seemed so hollow. Trixie uttered a frustrated sigh. The rhythmic pounding in her head did not feel so bad compared to the pit in her stomach. Trixie soaked ponies before for her act, it’s no different right?

The door creaked, drawing Trixie's attention back to Fluttershy, who was carrying another bowl into room. She had a mop tucked below her left wing. Fluttershy was still a mess, small pieces of carrot, celery and onion sticking to her. Patches of her fur were wet and matted.

Fluttershy set the bowl down on the part of the blanket covering Trixie's lap, giving a nervous smile “It's a little cold, I'm sorry.” Then she changed her attention on cleaning up the floor quickly.

Trixie could not believe it. What kind of a doormat would get soup thrown at them only to bring another bowl before even taking care of themselves? And apologize for it while she's at it! It's so weak, so… Trixie's train of thought was derailed by the scent of the soup. The first warm meal she'd had in days was just too alluring not to lift up and bring to her lips immediately.

Fluttershy looked up from her task and caught sight of Trixie starting at her meal and flashed a warm smile, like she was watching a skittish squirrel accept a nut. Setting the bowl back down, Trixie's eyes met with Fluttershy's, prompting the pony to quickly return to work.

“…Why are you not mad at Trixie?”

“Huh? W-what do you mean?”

“Trixie more or less attacked you, wasted food and made a mess of you and your home. Doesn't it make you angry?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh… no. I know you did not mean too. I mean, I don't think you did. Accidents happen. Just like the Ursa.” Trixie flinched. “Oh I'm sorry, I should not have brought it up…” Fluttershy looked down at the floor.

Trixie swallowed nervously. “Did… did you mean that? You don't blame Trixie for the Ursa attack?”

“I only heard the story from Rainbow Dash, but… you did not bring the Ursa. And nopony got hurt. Uhm except you…” Fluttershy looked miserable bringing up another bad memory for Trixie.

Trixie scowled at the reminder of her humiliation, giving a glare at Fluttershy and opening her mouth to retort but then paused, her expression softening. “It.. it's fine.” Trixie gave a small smile. “Trixie knows you did not mean too.”

Fluttershy returned the smile, a warm honest smile just as Trixie had seen when she'd first woken up and displayed she had made progress after a few questions. It made Trixie feel strangely warmer somehow, it was pleasant.

“How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked.

Trixie blinked, lifting her gaze up from the smile to meet the examining eyes of the caring pegasus. “What? Oh. Trixie's head hurts, but she feels much better than before. It's not too bad if Trixie does not move much or casts spells… Or touches it.” In hindsight, it occurred to Trixie all of these things were completely obvious, as she had been told to rest. “Trixie has some questions, and you seem more talkative now.”

“Oh, uhm, what do you want to know?”

“What happened to Trixie?”

“You… Well… In the forest… Don't you remember?”

“Trixie remembers little, she was lost in the forest and saw a rainbow. The rest is a blur.”

“Trixie, I mean you, got into a fight with Rainbow Dash…”

This silenced the unicorn for a moment, trying to recall the fight. “…. You mentioned that name before. Trixie remembers she was interrupting Trixie's show with two other ponies. So how are you related to them?”

“They're my friends,” Fluttershy said with an obvious happiness in her voice. “Oh, but uhm… They should not have heckled you… I'm sorry.”

Trixie was taken aback with this news for a moment. She was resting in the house of a friend of the three ponies that had heckled her show, and one of them was apparently responsible for her concussion. Pushing away the empty bowl and covers she was resting under, Trixie’s expression hardened. “Trixie wants to leave, now.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!^^

I set out to write something completely different then what ended up actually in the chapter this time.
Not that I'm claiming I normally have all the details worked out for a chapter in advance but it does usually at least try follow my plot.
But nope Trixie and Fluttershy just kinda did their own thing this time, fine I'll get them to cooperate next chapter.
I bet Rainbow Dash is getting a bit bored of getting so little screen time lately.

Chapter 11 - Regained

Rainbow Dash held her hoof firmly planted against her face, hearing Fluttershy's attempts to introduce herself to Trixie. That pony seriously needed to work on being more assertive. She could not understand why this was so hard for her friend. It was not like she was expecting Fluttershy to shout at a dragon or anything — that was never going to happen — just to keep her voice steady for once.

“You found Trixie?” Fluttershy smiled delighted. “That's great. Where is she, Rainbow? What's wrong? You look ill…”

Rainbow Dash trembled. “There is no time, Fluttershy! Follow me quick, she's hurt!” Immediately she took to the skies again.

Rainbow Dash sighed quietly, letting her head lean against the wall as she stared at the door-post, not really looking at it however, as her mind was elsewhere. She thought back on the stressful trip they had getting Trixie here. Rainbow Dash had barely held it together. She could still hear the sickening sound echo through her mind from when her hooves met with the unicorn's skull.

“Trixie! Rainbow Dash, what happened to her?!” Fluttershy cried out, seeing the bleeding, passed out unicorn, and quickly kneeled down beside her.

Rainbow's ears laid down flat. “It was an accident! She kept yelling at me! I… I didn't mean…” She watched Fluttershy turn back to face her, staring in disbelief for a crushing couple of seconds.

“G-get a doctor,” she finally stammered, letting her attention return to Trixie. “I-I can't fix this. Now, Rainbow, now!” The urgency in Fluttershy's voice was so severe, Rainbow Dash did not even spare a word, immediately kicking off the ground to rocket towards Ponyville.

Shivering with the thought of what might have happened, she did not like the little show-off, but hurting her that badly had never been her intention. Rainbow Dash still was not entirely sure how it even ended up that way, she was there to -reluctantly- help take Trixie out of the forest. Well… I certainly managed to do that.

Letting her gaze fall to the floor ashamed, she was not even allowed into the room to avoid causing the weakened Trixie any more stress. When they heard the fall upstairs, Rainbow had been the first to get the door only, to freeze after a reminder from Fluttershy.

“She got lucky. It's bad, but if she gets plenty of rest she should be okay, keep doing the tests and if she does get worse come get me immediately.” Nurse Redheart packed up what remained of her bandage rolls into a small bag. “The first week will be most important. She must stay in bed; no activities,and no moving about, or she WILL get worse.”

It figured that the second they left Trixie alone, the first thing she tried was to get out of bed and accuse Fluttershy of holding her captive, getting more than a little stressed out in the process. The urge to march in there and give Trixie another piece of her mind was just barely overruled by the guilt of putting her into the position in the first place. It will be fine. Even if she's incredibly shy, I've never seen Fluttershy shy away from helping any living thing. Rainbow Dash grinned cheesily at her, self-proclaimed, hilarious wit.

“T-try to sleep, it’s okay now.” Fluttershy made her way out of the bedroom, finding Rainbow Dash standing there with a grin on her face, earning a confused look from the mare. “Are you laughing, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash tensed up, pulled from her thoughts to look at her friend. Of course she had to come right then. “What? No no, well yes but only because I thought of something awesome.” She tried to keep her voice down and gave a glance towards the door. “So how is she?”

“Not worse, but not much better either… At least she did not hit her head during the fall, and I don't think she will try it again soon.” Fluttershy moved past Rainbow Dash down the stairs. “Rainbow Dash, ponies are animals too right?”

This time it was Fluttershy that earned the look of confusion from Rainbow Dash “What? Uhm yeah, I guess?” She followed after Fluttershy, giving a swish of her rainbow-patterned tail as she did so, just glad to get moving again.

“Good, then I wasn't lying. I'm going to make her something to eat. Can you go into town and do something for me please? It won't take long.”

“Trixie wants to leave, now.” Trixie rolled onto her side and slipped out of the bed, careful not to move too quickly and set off fireworks in her head again.

“W-what? Why? Was it something I said? I'm sorry.” Fluttershy took a few steps backwards away from the bed. “Y-you really should stay in bed, doctor’s orders…” Fluttershy tried to protest.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need to explain herself.” Steadying herself on her hooves, a brief look of concern flashed over her face before she managed to mask it, taking careful steps towards the door.

“Trixie please, tell me what's wrong.” Fluttershy walked with Trixie, staying too close for the showmare’s comfort.

“You are friends with those ponies!” She snapped at Fluttershy, causing her to recoil. “How can Trixie trust you? You just want to keep Trixie here. Trixie saw Rainbow Dash. She knows your friends are here!” For what purpose she would be kept by the ponies that had the most reason to hate her she was not sure, but it could not possibly be good.

“W-we are not keeping you here Trixie, but well uhm… you just can't leave. I'm sorry…” Fluttershy said hesitantly. “It's not safe.” The ears of both ponies perked up when they heard fast wing-beats rising up the stairs.

“If Trixie is not being kept, then allow Trixie to leave! Otherwise, what is the difference?” Her head was swimming at this point, and a misstep caused her to nearly floor herself, if not for Fluttershy being so close by she could catch her.

“Oh oh, please be careful. What if you fall, what if you hit your head, what if you hit your head and you fall?” Fluttershy sounded terrified.

“Wow what's going on here?” Rainbow Dash landed nearby, shrugging off a saddlebag to the floor. She knew she was not meant to enter, but by the looks of things, the damage had been done anyway. “Where do you think you’re going?” She pointed a hoof at Trixie, then towards the bed. “Back to bed,” Rainbow Dash said, giving a glance at Fluttershy, who slipped away from Trixie and past her, but not paying the timid mare much mind.

Trixie's eyes went wide at the sight of Rainbow Dash, taking a quick unsteady step back. “Y-you stay away from Trixie! Trixie is leaving, y-you won’t ever see her again.” She bit her tongue. That sounded less like threatening and more like pleading, and she hated herself for it.

“…Wait.” Fluttershy stood by the saddlebags, her voice almost inaudible compared to the two loud ponies.

“What? No, I'm not just gonna let you walk out of here. Are you crazy?” Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof to tap the side of her head. “You could die!”

“…Wait,” Fluttershy's spoke looking from one to the other, pointing a hoof down at the bags.

Trixie swallowed hard. It sounded to her like Rainbow Dash was threatening her. She was really not allowed to leave, and if she tried, the violent mare would take her down again like before. “N-no you can't keep Trixie prisoner! Trixie did nothing to deserve this!” Tears swelled up in her eyes while she took another step back from Rainbow Dash.

“…Wait.” The pair still ignored the soft spoken pegasus.

Rainbow took a step forward. “I don't even know what you are talking about anymore. Are you even listening to me? You can't leave, or you'll die, and it will be my fault!” She stared down at the ever shrinking Trixie. What's wrong with that unicorn?

“…Wait.” Fluttershy shook a hoof, trying to get their attention while watching the increasing distress.

Trixie tried to take another step back, but her hind legs gave out on her, causing Trixie crumble to her haunches, shaking as she stared up at Rainbow Dash. “T-Trixie understands… Please don't hurt Trixie any more.” Crying openly with fright as she stared up at the mare, she could not remember much about their previous encounter besides rainbow colors and pain, both of which returning to her head.

Rainbow Dash looked puzzled with Trixie's reaction. “Okay good, if you understand,” she reached a hoof out for Trixie who flinched in turn, “then get back to be—”

“Waaait!” Fluttershy yelled, drawing the attention of both shocked mares to her. Fluttershy picked up the saddlebags, then knelt down besides the crying and trembling unicorn. “Shhh… It's okay.” Gingerly, she moved one hoof around Trixie, using the other to open up the saddlebags. “Look what Rainbow Dash brought you.”

Trixie shook from muzzle to tail while Fluttershy approached. Her head felt as though she'd been trapped in a vice. The soothing words calmed her down somewhat, while the hoof around her felt warm and comforting. Trixie Leaned against the kind mare and peered into the opened bag. Her eyes went wide.

Inside the bag was a supply of oats, a canteen, a rolled up parchment, but more importantly than any of those: a familiar star-patterned purple hat. Trixie's eyes locked onto the hat, then shot back up to Rainbow Dash, recalling what Fluttershy had said. She did remember seeing the blue pegasus bring the saddlebags in. “Y-you got this for Trixie?”

Rainbow Dash stared down at the pair while the events started to sink in and make more sense to her. “Uhm. Yeah I did. Your cloak's on the other side.” She nodded to the right saddlebag that was still closed.

Fluttershy fished out the hat, handing it to Trixie, who clutched it to her chest so tightly, it might have split in two if she was any stronger. Fluttershy motioned to Rainbow Dash and gave a nod down at the bag. “We were going to give the saddlebag to you once you were ready to leave, but… Well I guess you are ready now.”

A few quick glances were exchanged before Rainbow Dash knelt down as well, opening up the other bag. This one contained many of the same items, though the oats were replaced with hay, and the scroll with a small empty sack. Rainbow Dash pulled out the cloak and offered it to Trixie.

Trixie leaned closer against Fluttershy, feeling her shaking subside slowly in her embrace. Even Rainbow Dash seemed less scary than she had a moment ago. She reached out one hoof to carefully take the cloak, then held it just as tightly as her hat. She stared at the old clothes like they were the greatest treasure she could have asked for.

She felt strange. The entire thing did not fit in at all with what she'd expected from the ponies, but here they were. She looked at the pair of pegasi. She wanted to say something, but struggled to find the words: words she'd not spoken in so long they felt alien on her tongue, but at the same time so perfect.

“Thank you.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Longest chapter yet, did not plan on it being quite this long but I did not want to rob you guys of the resolution.
Since Trixie and Fluttershy Hijacked most of the chapter yesterday or half the setup for this would have taken place there.
Trixie finally catches a break,that does not involve breaking something physically.
We finally see Rainbow Dash again, she's still a bit of an antagonist but she's not doing it on purpose this time (nuance just isn't her thing), that's progress right?

Until next chapter^^

Chapter 12 - Realization

Trixie swept the floor of Fluttershy's cottage. She had never thought that such a mundane act could be anything but a bore, yet she could not help but smile as she worked. It felt good to be moving about again after being forced to stay in bed for what felt like forever. Though given how much of the day Trixie slept away, it was not really something she could object to, even if the few waking hours had been boring.

“Trixie can't believe she almost did not even let Trixie do this. The Great and Powerful Trixie—” She paused for dramatic effect. “—does not get winded from simple manual labor. Who does she think pulled Trixie's wagon?”

During the days that she had been bed bound, forbidden to read, and with nopony to talk to, the minutes had crawled past slower than Discord, and that thing was petrified. Fluttershy still made for a very poor conversationalist and often only had a small amount of time between doing chores, making it even harder to break any ice. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, had not come into her room again at all, supposedly for her rest.

Trixie reared the broom back for a moment, then swung hard to send the pile of dust out the door, scattering it to the wind with a satisfied smirk. “Another foe chased out by The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Her life of boredom had finally changed today. She'd gotten the okay to leave her room and wander around the house and garden, though Trixie had elected to stay inside the house for safety. Even if Ponyville was out of earshot, it could still be seen clearly, and it stood to reason if she could see Ponyville, it could see her.

Despite this, however, her magic was still off-limits for over a week, which was something she had agreed to initially, but when the headaches stopped, she quickly regretted it. Trixie threw an annoyed glare at the broom while she replayed her attempt to renegotiate.

“But Trixie is fine. These are spells every foal could do,” Trixie said.

Rainbow Dash hovered in midair, pointing a hoof at Trixie. “And every pegasus foal can fly, but even I know you don't go flying with a broken wing; it won’t heal right.”

“Well then Trixie is sure you'd be okay not flying for a week? In solidarity?” Trixie pointed down at the floor. Trixie grinned at the look on Rainbow's face. She knew full well no pegasus would agree to that.

“Oh…” Fluttershy looked up from her conversation with a pair of mice, that she apparently had voluntarily living in her wall. “Sure, if it will make it easier.”

Trixie drug a hoof down her face “Except that one, of course.” Fluttershy had not minded, but that was never the point she had been trying to make, now she had ended up accidentally grounding Fluttershy. Just to make matters worse, she could not complain about not getting to use magic if Fluttershy did not complain about flying.

Her eyes fell upon the saddlebags next to the door, giving a smile at the sight. They had been left there by Fluttershy as a constant reminder that Trixie could at any point pick up the bags and head out if she really wanted too. Though it was followed by the most talking she had ever heard from the shy pony for almost an hour straight about how it did not mean she wanted Trixie to leave, only that it was symbolic for the freedom to do so.

Trixie felt a soft grin creep up. “Perhaps Trixie's teasing her with a hurt expression was a bit cruel, but it was so effective in getting her to finally use that lovely voice, worth it.” Trixie paused a moment at her wording, tilting her head. Lovely? Mhm, well it was, Trixie supposes.

Trixie’s ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps that trotted along the meandering dirt road that lead to the cottage. Peeking out the door to check, she found Fluttershy, and just as she expected, in the company of Rainbow Dash, voicing her displeasure loud enough for Trixie to pick up on.

“Come on, Fluttershy, she's not even here. It doesn't count if she can't see you fly.” Rainbow Dash flew another impatient circle around the walking pegasus.

Fluttershy just smiled. “I'm sorry…” She then noticed Trixie in the doorway and waved. “H-hello, Trixie, still up?” Her eyes scanned over her patient briefly.

Trixie rested the broom against the wall. “Welcome home, and welcome respectively. Trixie is fine, Fluttershy. She won't fall down from one morning's work.”

“G-good…” Fluttershy passed over the threshold and glanced down at the freshly swept floor. “T-thank you, Trixie, for helping I mean.” She made her way to the kitchen with the groceries.

Rainbow Dash landed besides Trixie, getting a small flinch from her. She gave a hurt look in return. “I wish you'd stop doing that.”

Trixie recovered quickly. “Trixie does too. Trixie knows it's pathetic.” She looked at the rainbow-colored mane with a shudder, then stared at the floor.

“No, it's not that… It's a little awkward.” Rainbow Dash raised her hoof to scratch the back of her neck.

The both of them stood in silence for a moment before Fluttershy returned. “Rainbow Dash, are you staying for lunch?”

“Nah thanks, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash while she returned to the air. “I have a raincloud to deliver to AJ's, and Granny Smith promised apple-pie for speedy delivery; I’m almost late as is actually, so I'll see you guys later!” She took off at top speed.

Trixie's eyes went wide from seeing Rainbow Dash make it to the other side of Ponyville, cloud in hoof, in no time flat. “Wait, what? Was she always that fast?” Disbelief was written across Trixie’s face; she had to have been seeing things. She looked over to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy on, the other hoof, seemed to barely take notice. She just looked at Trixie in confusion “I-I'm sorry… You mean Rainbow Dash? Uhm… Well no, I guess she used to be slower in flight school… Why?”

“Not quite what Trixie meant. It was difficult to estimate distance when she flew straight up in the air during Trixie's show, but… if she can cover that much ground…” Her eyes drifted between the road to Ponyville and the Everfree Forest “…Trixie never stood a chance.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Chapter is a day late, I am ashamed.
Turns out that "I'll just take a quick nap before I finish this." When your tired can actually go wrong.

Chapter 13 - Regret

Trixie set down plates upon the table. “Trixie has actually been looking forward to this for a while now.”

“Oh… What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy while she carried a wooden plank with fresh bread over.

“Eating at a table, with company. It's funny, Trixie once thought breakfast in bed would be a great thing, but she tired from it quickly.” She glanced at the bread and licked her lips while she took in the scent. “Also solid food, glorious solid food.”

Fluttershy scraped a hoof along the floor. “U-uhm… Nurse Redheart said you couldn't have any for a day…”

“Oh, Trixie supposes that makes sense. Honestly, Trixie does not think she would have liked to chew anything with her head being on fire like that. How about you?”

“Uhm… No,” Fluttershy said.

Trixie waited briefly for the pony to say anything else while they decked the table, but when nothing came, she gave another shot at inviting the conversation. “So… do you like it here in Ponyville?”

Fluttershy gave a small nod while she brought a knife to the table. She dropped the knife next to the bread plank. “…Yes.”

“That's good… Do you often pick up stray ponies you find in a forest? Trixie has to wonder.” Trixie gave put on a somewhat forced smile while she tried to coax more of a conversation out of the cripplingly shy mare. Why does she have to be so difficult?

“Oh, no.” Fluttershy broke her gaze away from Trixie.

Trixie raised a brow as another attempt was shot down, then paused. She recalled stumbling across another way to get Fluttershy to speak more during the saddlebag incident. Perhaps that was worth another shot. Trixie raised her eyes up for a moment with a contemplative look, then uttered an overly dramatic gasp. “So Trixie could have eaten properly for two days already!” Her gaze returned to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy lowered her head and hid behind her mane as Trixie stared down at her. “W-well it… it’s just… I didn't I… I uhm.” Fluttershy shook on her hooves while she spoke.

Trixie rose her fore hooves off the ground, balancing on her hind-legs. “The Great and Powerful Trixie! For three whole days was given nothing but soup! Because you thought you should second guess a professional?” She towered over the quaking mare.

“I-I…” Fluttershy ducked to the floor, her eyes covered with her hooves. Words had left her voice all together and caused her to merely utter a soft adorable squeak.

Trixie's ears perked up as she listened to the odd sounds Fluttershy made while cowering beneath her. She stared down on the shaking Fluttershy and felt a tinge of regret stab her. “Trixie will tell you what she thinks about that!” She brought down her hooves on either side of Fluttershy's head gently then stroked the pink mane Fluttershy hid behind aside with her muzzle. “The best soup Trixie ever had.” She lowered her voice to match the soft-spoken pegasus and flashed her an impish smile.

Fluttershy lifted her hooves from her tear-struck face, staring at Trixie for a couple seconds, whose smile quickly faltered upon the sight. “Y-you're as bad G-Gilda.” Fluttershy's voice was barely above a whisper.

Trixie's chest felt two sizes too small while she stumbled away, struggling for something to say. The feeling was so strange to her. Why did she feel so terrible for her little prank? All she wanted was to get some response out of the shy mare, but not like this.

Fluttershy slipped out from under Trixie, avoiding her gaze while she ran out the front door and took flight.

Trixie ran after her, but froze in the doorway, unable to follow after her. “I- Trixie, Trixie did not mean too…”

She looked up after Fluttershy. Even outside, she seemed to stick to that almost floating method of flying. She was so much slower than Rainbow Dash, but it still only took a moment for her to vanish into one of the clouds above. Trixie turned back towards the half set table, slowly walking nearer. “Stupid Trixie! Why did Trixie have to tease her again?”

Trixie stomped her hoof against the kitchen floor, closing her eyes tightly. How was she supposed to know Fluttershy would take the joke so badly? She was grounded… If she flew, then Trixie… Trixie really messed up.

Feeling something warm streak across her face, Trixie lifted up a hoof to swipe at it. Opening her eyes, Trixie found her vision blurred by her own tears. It confused her why this was so painful. She was more than used to reducing ponies to tears on stage.

Trixie sat down by the table looking at the half finished setup of what should have been her best meal in days. Somehow, it did not seem at all appealing anymore. Trixie does not understand… it was just a joke. Why would she react like that?

Despite all of Trixie's efforts, she failed to understand what had happened exactly. Her best results still ended up at the fact she'd hurt Fluttershy, and for some reason, she just could not shake the thought at all of her crying face.

“Maybe Trixie should… get things ready… for when she comes back.” Trixie got up from the table and made her way into the kitchen. She carried out a bowl of fresh cut grass and flowers to put beside the bread.

The work distracted her for a little while, but soon enough she found herself stretching to find anything else to put on the table. “Water pitcher, berries, a carrot, another empty bowl in case she wants nothing… All that's missing is…”

Trixie turned her head towards the door, half expecting to have Fluttershy walk through right on cue, but the moment stretched out gradually to an awkward staring contest with the doorknob. Finally Trixie tore her gaze away. She placed one foreleg across the table, then rested her head on top with a sigh. Her free hoof rose up to tap herself on the head sullenly.

Maybe… Trixie should try to find her? But she flew up into the clouds, Trixie does not know any spells that can do that. Besides, what would happen if Trixie went looking, and Fluttershy came back when Trixie was gone? Trixie scratched through her mane, considering that maybe she should never have gotten out of that bed.

She was not sure how much time had passed when her ears perked up, catching the sound of wing beats outside. Quickly she got up from the table and made her way to the door to welcome Fluttershy back.

But something did not feel right, Trixie halted halfway across the room. It did not sound at all like the light hovering wing beats that had left. These were much faster, stronger strokes. The sounds of wings suddenly ceased. It was exchanged for hooves that crashed strongly into the dirt road, skidding through it, and knocking aside the pebbles, followed immediately by ever louder galloping.

Trixie could sense her body starting to shake while she backed away from the door, her ears pinning flat. Trixie's eyes widened while she stared at the door. “Oh no…”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.

At the moment I'm working on finding a couple proofreaders/editors to help me out.
If anyone reading this story happens to be interested in that, please let me know cause that would be fantastic.
Course I am approaching proofreader groups the conventional way too.

Chapter 14 - Rampage

The late afternoon sun shone down pleasantly on all of Ponyville with only a couple of puffy white clouds lazily drifting by. The warm weather perfect for a picnic, casual stroll, or as one pony preferred, a quick nap in the sky on one of those clouds.

Warm sunrays shone through the window, warming up the floor of Fluttershy’s cottage, and Trixie’s hooves as she crept away from the door. Many things raced through her mind in the couple of seconds in between the heavy landing outside and the sound of a hoof on the front door.

Trixie, being a storyteller, felt it was just plain wrong for the weather to be this beautiful right before she was going to die. She felt certain scenes like this, where the enraged antagonist stormed in, should come with dark overcast skies, rain and lightning.

For a brief moment, she had managed to convince herself that if the weather did not match, then surely neither did the situation. Surely the door was going to swing open and reveal a smiling face ready to let little mistakes go, then talk about it in the sunshine. But then the door opened and that last ray of hope quickly disappeared.

Trixie shook from mane to tail, staring up at the bright vibrant colors glistening in the sunlight, sharply contrasted against the clear blue sky. Such warm colors, yet still they chilled her down to the bone. “R-Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes quickly fixated on Trixie for a moment a look of surprise on her face as though she had expected not to find her, but it soon steeled into determination. She walked closer, letting each hoof land with enough force that Trixie could feel the tremors.

“Whoa, so you’re still here huh? Well, that saves me the trouble of looking for you!” Rainbow Dash said.

Trixie backed away, while Rainbow Dash closed in on her. “T-Trixie—”

“Trixie this, Trixie that! Can’t you speak like a normal pony!?” Her wings flared out, blocking the sunlight leaving Trixie in the shade. “Great and Powerful Trixie, huh? I bet you felt real Great and Powerful picking on Fluttershy of all ponies!”

“N-no!” Trixie tried to step back again, but found herself pressed into a corner trapped in by the wooden walls.

Rainbow halted just barely an inch away. Nearly all Trixie could see was the anger within her eyes. “Oh you can’t? Well I guess that’s just one thing you can’t do better, then. Was that your idea? Show Fluttershy that you are better than her too?”

Trixie reared up on her hind legs, feeling her back pressed against the wall. Her hooves raised to shield her face. Blurry memories of their last encounter rose to the surface while every fiber of her being screamed at her to escape somehow. “G-go away! Leave, leave Trixie alone…”

Two hooves struck against the wood next to Trixie’s head as Rainbow Dash pinned her to the wall. ”After what you did? Humiliating me, my friends, threatening Ponyville and taunting Twilight afterward. Fluttershy still told me to find you! This is how you repay her? You play with her, chase her out of her own house, and decide ‘well that was fun, Trixie will have lunch.’” She jabbed a hoof towards the set table.

Trixie could feel Rainbow Dash’s hot breath against her hooves while the voice vibrated through her bones. She trembled all over, trying her best to hide her head behind her forelegs, she could maybe take a few hits to the body, but her head was already feeling like it was about to explode. Her tears ran down her muzzle, and her voice cracked. “N-no, not my fault… Rainbow please… I-I didn’t me—”

”The worst part is. You aren’t even sorry for what you did. You didn't even try to ask me how Fluttershy was.” Rainbow pulled her hooves back from the wall briefly, then slammed them back down, watching Trixie flinch in response. “You’re just scared for what I’ll do to you!”

Trixie said nothing this time and just sobbed into her hooves. She wanted to claim she did care, but Rainbow Dash was right. She had not spent a single thought on Fluttershy’s condition or making it up to her since the door opened, but only cowered and tried to get out of whatever punishment she was to receive for her actions. As she thought about, her reaction to what happened in Ponyville had been the same: merely fleeing consequences whenever they loomed up, just like back home.

“Do you understand what you did wrong, Trixie? Don’t worry, I will make sure you do.” She leaned in closer to the shrinking Trixie, who sunk through her legs, trying to avoid her. “You’re scared of me, aren’t you? No matter how nice I act, no matter how much I might promise not to hurt you, deep down inside you’re terrified. You could not even look me in the eye this morning, you want to run and hide. And it feels terrible, doesn’t it?”

Trixie swallowed. She tried her best to summon up the courage to reply, but settled for merely nodding to the questions. Her whole body quaked, and she could not stop crying just being near her, despite absolutely nothing bad having happened to her yet. She just waited in terror for when the lecture was over and the punishment began.

“Good, I want you to remember that fear: that feeling that you are just a breath away from something horrible… 'Cause that is how Fluttershy feels, about everything, all the time.” Rainbow Dash pushed away from the wall, letting her forehooves land on the floor again. She turned away from Trixie. “The difference is Fluttershy is brave. She does her best every day to be kind to everypony, even if she’s scared. Even if it’s you, and you decided to torment her. Think about that.”

With a thud, Trixie slumped down the wall onto her haunches, still huddled up in the corner. Her hooves had slipped down from their defensive posture to stare at Rainbow Dash in shock. Had that been it all along? Fluttershy had not just been merely shy, but also actively scared of her? She felt a crushing pain in her chest at the thought of putting Fluttershy through what she had just experienced herself. Her eyes tearing up as she stared up at Rainbow Dash. “I-I’m… Sorry… I didn't think. I’m so sorry… Where is she, Rainbow Dash? I-I have… have to make this right, please. Y-you can do what you want afterwards…”

Rainbow Dash turned her head, looking down at the crumpled form of Trixie quivering in the corner as she pleaded. She stared at her silently for a moment before she finally pointed up a hoof towards the staircase. “She went through the window. She’s upstairs in her bed.”

Trixie scrambled onto her hooves, nodding at Rainbow Dash. “T-thank you…” She slipped past her and climbed the stairs. She quickly reached the second floor and looked around briefly. There was the door to the room she’d been staying in the past three days, but there were no other doors “What the… Where is the door to Fluttershy’s room...? Oh!”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

These two chapters were written pretty much back to back, I just had so much fun with them.
A bunch of different setups paying off at once, like domino's. <3
I've been working on my grammar and punctuation lately, I hope it shows.

At the moment I'm working on finding a couple proofreaders/editors to help me out.
If anyone reading this story happens to be interested in that, please let me know cause that would be fantastic.
Course I am approaching proofreader groups the conventional way too.

Chapter 15 - Return

Trixie stared at the wooden door that led into the bedroom she had been recovering in the past three days. She knew she was supposed to go inside and find Fluttershy, but she had no idea what she was even going to say.

Although she took a deep breath and did her best to calm down, her heart still pounded in her throat after the confrontation with Rainbow Dash. The idea that she would have to deal with her again after the talk with Fluttershy made her shiver, but she was not going to run this time.

It felt strange to realize that all this time she had been using Fluttershy’s room, completely unaware. Of course this had to have been intentional on the part of the pegasi, leaving her in the dark about what room she was in. Perhaps it was another one of those tricks to keep her from stressing out. That certainly proved to be the right call, as now Trixie was definitely stressing over it.

Thoughts and plans on what to say or do rushed in and out of her mind on how to act once she walked through that door: act like nothing had happened, scream she was sorry, explain it was a joke, casually mention she did not mean it, run back down and bring the food up, fall on her knees and grovel, accuse her of being too sensitive, make a gallop for the window and run for it.

She shook her head to clear it and sighed. “Why was half of that avoiding the issue entirely? Okay Trixie, before Rainbow Dash gets impatient… Wait no, Trixie is not here to stall for time. Focus on what matters.” She kicked herself in the shin for getting distracted from what had been her goal in the first place: Fluttershy.

Although she had made absolutely no progress in planning out her next move, she finally pushed open the door. The room was still darkened, but she could tell the sheet before the window was gently moving with the breeze. Almost nothing else in the room had changed except for one thing:, the pony in the bed.

Trixie’s hoof knocked against the wood of the open door. She could tell the noise made the figure under the blankets flinch. “Fluttershy… May Trixie come in?”

Silence hung in the air for several moments before the blankets were pushed aside, revealing the creamy pegasus underneath. Even in the dark, Trixie could still spot the moist fur on her cheeks. Fluttershy gave a nod. “It’s okay, Trixie.”

The door closed with a gentle kick before Trixie moved towards the side of the bed, looking down at the floor. “Trixie scared you. Trixie did not mean… Well, Trixie did mean to scare you… But only a little…” She could not bring herself to raise her gaze.

Fluttershy listened quietly to Trixie’s attempts at explaining herself. “Oh… It’s okay…”

That soft kind voice shook Trixie more than the scolding she had received earlier. “N-no…. It’s not okay. You have been nothing but good to Trixie. Trixie should never have done that. I-it’s just that… Trixie wanted talk with you more, but Trixie did not stop to think maybe you did not. It was selfish of Trixie… T-trying to force you.” Tears rolled down her muzzle and dripped to the ground.

While Trixie did not raise her gaze from the floor, she could see just a little bit of Fluttershy, noticing she had pushed the blankets away entirely and was now just laying on her stomach with her legs folded underneath her. “Uhm… I’m sorry Trixie… I don’t understand what you want… If I can’t say it’s okay, what do you suggest?”

“T-Trixie doesn’t know… I-it feels so hollow, you can’t just say it’s okay… Get mad at Trixie, yell at her, hit her, say you don’t believe her, throw her out, make her do something. Anything!” Trixie stomped her hoof against the floor.

Fluttershy shrank while she listened to the whole list of things she was apparently supposed to be doing, out of that list, there was only one she could possibly do. “Uhm… Trixie…? C-could you come here? If you don’t mind that is…” Fluttershy sat up on her haunches and patted a hoof next to her on the bed.

Trixie raised her head briefly to look at Fluttershy uncomprehendingly, letting her gaze drift following the softly tapping hoof to the bed. Once she understood, she felt her felt face flush, and she looked down again, thankful for the poor lighting. “T-Trixie… Trixie did say… Anything…” She climbed onto the bed and sat down besides Fluttershy. Trixie averted her gaze nervously, trying to ignore the warm feeling of being beside her.

“…You said you only wanted to talk more? Why did you not j-just ask me? … I’m sorry I did not realize you were feeling lonely… I guess you would be more used to having a crowd of ponies around.” Fluttershy tilted her head down slightly to let her mane fall between them. “I… Did not stay to watch your show… But I saw all those ponies smiling at you. I was not thinking, keeping you here all alone…”

“Y-you are doing it wrong… Trixie is supposed to say she is sorry, not Fluttershy.” She turned to finally look her in the eyes, only to find the pink curtain-like mane in the way. She was not sure if she felt relieved or disappointed. “Trixie is sorry. Trixie knows she made a mistake. Thank you for taking care of Trixie until now… Trixie will go.”

A soft giggle sounded from the other side of that pink mane. “That’s a lot of Trixie’s… But… How do you feel? Not Trixie, you.” With a tilt of her head, the mane fell to the side, letting their eyes meet.

Trixie opened her mouth ready to snap for being made fun, but held her tongue when she found Fluttershy looking at her. “W-what? T-Trixie… Tri… Uhm… I, I am sorry Fluttershy…” Her ears laid down flat on her head. She felt so very small and exposed without that shield, her name, in the way.

Fluttershy smiled at Trixie with that same lovely, kind smile, warming her up inside. “I forgive Trixie, and I forgive you… Are… Are you okay now?”

To her own surprise, Trixie felt herself lean against Fluttershy. Her eyes closed while she felt the warmth spread through her side. ”C-can I… Just stay like this for a little while? Please?”

“O-of course…” Fluttershy could see the dim light reflecting off the tears that ran down Trixie’s cheek. Fluttershy allowed one of her wings to spread out draped it over Trixie’s back, adding a bit of pressure to make the both of them lie down. “As long as you need.”

Trixie shook when she felt something very soft and warm fall onto her back. She soon realized what it was when she felt it push her down. She sunk through her hooves, laying besides Fluttershy. She reveled in the warmth surrounding her. Every cold night, every scary fight forgotten for just a little while. “Thank you…”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. ^^

Good news: editor acquired, quest complete.
The tricky bit is, I can either delay the story so it can be edited before posting. Or I can keep posting chapters till the story is done, while gradually editing the earlier chapters till the whole thing is extra awesome.
I've decided to go with the later option, just cause it felt a bit unfair to suddenly change the schedule up on you good folks.

That's all for today, see you next chapter ^^

Chapter 16 - Rival

“Wait! Wait! The Great and Powerful Trixie commands you to wait! Gah!” Whether Trixie tripped, or was tripped by one of the many critters swarming her from all sides, she did not know, but she suspected the latter. The large sack of treats, nuts and bread she’d been carrying cushioned her fall, but it also spilled the contents out all over the garden.

After her talk with Fluttershy, and the, in hindsight, embarrassing aftermath, Rainbow Dash had disappeared. Trixie had her suspicions that the open window might have had something to do with that, but she could not exactly accuse her of spying without inviting mockery.

The animals wasted no time in climbing and trampling their replacement caretaker to snatch up the food, and some even ate it while still seated on her back. Trixie could barely see a hoof before her eyes with all the feathers and fur bouncing around, but even through all the racket, she could still hear laughing from above her. “It is not funny! These animals are monsters!”

Trixie rolled away from the turmoil; the animals were more than nimble enough to get out of her way. She stopped only once she could see the sky again: mostly blue with the occasional cloud. One of those clouds housed the familiar demon. “You said Trixie would be done sooner if Trixie put all the food in one bag! You knew this would happen didn’t you, Rainbow? The Great and Powerful Trixie will not forget this!”

Rainbow Dash grinned widely. “Hey you said I could do whatever I wanted to you. I picked pranking. Besides I thought you were so great and powerful, but you can’t handle a few animals without your magic?”

For whatever reason though, the cursed mare’s visits were far more numerous now, and most of them involved messing with Trixie while she was trying to do chores for Fluttershy. She had since discovered the arrogant pony’s ego was as large as her's, though unlike her own, it was undeserved, of course.

Trixie scrambled onto her hooves and pointed one at the animals assaulting the sack. “Trixie thinks it is quite clear she successfully fed these beasts, despite your best efforts at sabotage. Trixie wins again! Why are you even here? Don’t you have a job?”

“Hey, do these skies look in need of clearing to you? That’s what I thought. Besides I need to wind down in between inventing the most awesome moves.” She stood up on her cloud, striking a pose.

A skeptical eyebrow rose up as Trixie listened. “What could you possibly do that would strike awe into anypony? You’re not even a unicorn. You practically start out handicapped.”

Rainbow Dash ignored the remark however. “Oh don’t you even pretend you have never heard of the Wonderbolts! They are only the second most awesome fliers in all of Equestria!”

Of course Trixie had heard of them. Even if she was not in the business of entertainment it was impossible to walk through a town without at least walking into a poster, but she had not heard they had been outshined. “The second? What team beat them?”

A wide grin on Rainbow Dash’s face made Trixie realize she had walked straight into it. “Why, me of course! Equestria’s number one flier, Rainbow Dash!” As though to prove her point, Rainbow Dash launched off the cloud fast enough to make it poof into vapor.

She flew three circles around Fluttershy’s house, shot up into the sky then dived straight down till Trixie was sure she would crash into the ground. At the last moment, a sharp turn rocketed the winged mare just inches above the group, through the pile of animals and coming to a complete stop right in front of Trixie. She tossed her the empty sack. “I hope you didn't blink; I would hate for you to miss out on what real awesome looks like.”

Trixie did her absolute best not to let on that she was impressed even a little bit, catching the sack with her teeth. “Oh good you’re back, Trixie was getting bored waiting. Maybe one should spend less time ‘resting’ and more time flying, preferably away from here.”

“Hey, at least I can prove I’m the best, unlike you. You just keep claiming you are so great and never put your bits where your mouth is.”

A smirk crossed Trixie’s lips. “You want Trixie to perform magic while she is recovering? That is almost as pathetic as challenging one to fly. You know what, fine if it will shut you up for one second… Trixie will show you a small taste of her power.”

Rainbow Dash skipped a beat on this, clearly not expecting to get Trixie to actually try her magic. “Wait, what? No, I got to go anyway. I don’t have time to watch you hurt yourself, hah. Maybe in the weekend.” She spread her wings, preparing for lift off.

“Don’t you dare run away from Trixie on this one. This won’t even be hard. All The Great and Power Trixie has to do is read your mind, and since it’s so simple, Trixie does not even need her concentration. ” She scraped her hoof along the dirt road briefly, then tossed the sack over it. “Think of a number, Rainbow Dash. Tell Trixie.”

Rainbow Dash hovered in midair while she watched the little act. “Think of a number, huh?” She looked down at Trixie unsure for a moment, but then shrugged. “Alright fine, number one!”

With a dramatic flourish, Trixie pulled the sack off the ground to reveal a single line drawn in the dirt, staring up at Rainbow Dash with the smuggest look any pony had ever managed. “Behold! Your one-track mind is an open book to The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“What!? How did you? That makes no sense at all. You can’t do magic like that… Can you?” Rainbow Dash started, but she recovered quickly. “Meh, it’s alright, not nearly as awesome as me, but I’ll give you a pass this time.”

With that, both ponies took their leave, one taking to the skies, and the other heading back inside the cottage. Although Trixie had been assured she could safely go outside without fear of being recognized from the town, she still preferred to take as little risk as possible, but would not reject any chore that took her outside.

As much as she resented Rainbow Dash for her constant pestering, there was something satisfying about it. She had noticed however that Rainbow Dash kept a respectable distance between them, something she was grateful for, though she’d phrased it as not having to smell the sweaty pegasus at the time.

Inside, she found Fluttershy tending to the critters that seemed to prefer to be indoors near their kind host, a sentiment that Trixie understood well. She had found that the animals were much better behaved when Fluttershy was around, with the exception of the one that glared at Trixie the moment she came in, a white grouchy rabbit. “Hello, Angel, and you too, rabbit.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 17 - Recounting

With all the animals fed, it was finally time for the ponies’ own breakfast. It was not clear to Trixie why the animals ate first, but she was not about to question her host. Setting the table was easy enough even without her magic, and soon she found herself enjoying a quiet breakfast with Fluttershy.

Before, Trixie might have tried to get the conversation started, but this time she just ate silently, waiting for Fluttershy to decide if and when to talk. Honestly, after bickering with Rainbow Dash, Trixie did not feel too bad about getting a little peace and quiet again.

Trixie observed the non-unicorn prepare her own food. How did anypony get anything done without magic? She tried to copy Fluttershy, but fumbled the bread, making it drop off the table, earning herself a look from Fluttershy. “Trixie meant to do that.”

A lingering stare switched between Trixie, her plate and the bread on the ground. “Oh, Okay.” Fluttershy returned to her meal.

If it was possible to sink through the floor, Trixie might have chosen that option right there. Normally, she had always come back from her chores to an already-prepared meal, since she usually took much longer than Fluttershy to feed the animals, but with Rainbow Dash’s helpful advice, Trixie was early this time.

Being the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria, Trixie had never needed to use her own hooves for anything delicate since she was just a filly. As much as she tried, she was unable to think of something that could help her save face. She let out a sigh and relented, picking up the bread for a second attempt. “Are you sure you are fine with not flying? Trixie would not mind if we push the date up a bit… To right now even.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no… It’s okay. I can wait till the weekend.” She moved to take another bite, but paused when laying eyes upon Trixie’s attempts to work hay in between the loaves of bread.

Trixie’s plate, and much of the table around it, was almost entirely covered with strands of hay, except for the actual bread. With increasing frustration, the depowered unicorn tried to catch the hay between her hooves and get it on the bread, but what little she actually got on was wiped off by her own hooves on the next pass.

After Trixie accidentally swept her bread clean yet again, Fluttershy softly spoke up. “Uhm… Trixie? Do you need any hel—”

“Help? The Great and Powerful Trixie never requires help!” A loud bang sounded through the room from Trixie’s hoof striking the table, scattering some of the more skittish animals.

Fluttershy leaned back away from the loud noises, her ears drooping. “Oh n-no.” She remained quiet for a moment, a look of contemplation on her face before she brightened again. “Not that kind of help. You know… Help like at a restaurant. ” She smiled at Trixie while she watched for her response.

Trixie’s anger melted under that warm smile, such an unfair weapon for such a weak creature to have. “That… Yes, of course.” She knew perfectly well that was not what Fluttershy had meant, but somehow she did not care. No, that was not true, somehow that actually made it better. "But... Maybe you could show Trixie how later? Just for research."

“T-then allow me, uhm, if you do not mind that is…?” Fluttershy got up and trotted over to Trixie’s side of the table to prepare her meal with practiced ease, her uneasiness clear from her sudden interest in small talk. “So uhm… You and Rainbow Dash were having fun again?”

Trixie watched silently, while Fluttershy clearly upstaged her. In no time at all, the hay was cleared from the table and neatly arranged between the two slices of bread. What had seemed like an impossible task just moments before was quickly dealt with. She was glad for the distraction the question posed. “Oh yes, we get along great. See, we haven’t fought at all since we started breakfast.”

“But, Rainbow Dash is not he— oh.” A blush showed on the timid mare when she realized she had walked right into Trixie’s joke. “… I just think… You have a lot in common.” She put down the prepared haywich on Trixie’s plate, then made her way back to her own seat.

“Trixie supposes you are referring to ambition. Many ponies have ambition. That is not exactly hard to have in common. It’s as meaningful as both of us having a blue coat.” Trixie had to keep her retort short, as hunger compelled her to try the freshly made haywich. Actually, who ever heard of fresh hay? It was like saying fresh dried fruit.

“… Oh. I’m sorry… That is true, but... There are more things. Rainbow Dash is brave, likes attention and loves to show what she can do… Aren’t you like that too?” Fluttershy shrank back a little, as though expecting another outburst.

Trixie declined to respond until she had finished with her meal however. “A foolhardy attention-seeking show-off…? Trixie can see the resemblance. What about you, Fluttershy? Actually, maybe Trixie should guess. Yes, that should be fun.” She leaned forward, staring at Fluttershy, analyzing her for a moment.

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably while she was being watched so closely, shielding herself with her long mane. “Uhm, you don’t have too. I-I just thought you’d make good friends…”

That interested Trixie. The choice of words brought a slight grin to her face. “Trixie has to wonder how much you told Rainbow Dash, or was she listening from the beginning? It does not matter. There is no use in trying to distract Trixie, manipulating another manipulator is not that easy.”

Fluttershy blinked uncomprehendingly.

“You do not like confrontation, so you use other methods to get ponies to act the way you want. It’s not a bad thing; it is the gentlest way to get your way. Trixie would say it suits you. Like changing a subject, claiming help in the restaurant sense, disarm their anger or appeal to a pony’s sense of guilt. Be so nice to them so that they want to be nice in return for fear of losing someone that wonderful. Really, Trixie Is impressed.”

“… What? B-but I don’t do things like that. I-I…” Fluttershy leaned back away from the table, looking surprised with the turn the conversation had taken, and not enjoying it.

Trixie observed for a moment before she shook her head. “No, you just want to be kind to everypony, Trixie understands that now. Trixie is sorry for implying otherwise… It is just so rare that a pony is just honestly, naturally that… Kind.”

Fluttershy’s looked at Trixie uncertainly, but soon showed a smile again. “Oh, uhm… thank you… It’s nothing really…”

“But it is. Trixie has traveled much, and everypony always wants something when they treat somepony this nicely. Except you, Fluttershy. Trixie… Well, Trixie wants you to know… She just wants to thank you. Trixie is not sure what would have happened to Trixie if it was not for you. Trixie would still be in that awful forest, she is sure. Even if the way Trixie ended up here was not pleasant. It was worth it.”

The blushing pegasus had retreated almost entirely behind her mane and showed no signs of wanting to get out of there any time soon. Trixie really should have guessed this was the way she would react to compliments.

“Oh no, you cannot speak anymore? Well, in that case perhaps Trixie should give a small demonstration of Trixie’s need for attention and showing off. While you calm down, Trixie will beguile you with a most fantastic tale.” She paused for a moment to concentrate for her magic, but her horn sparked and she hissed. She raised up a hoof to stroke her horn. “Ahhh, bad idea. Trixie will make do without… ”

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 18 - Regroup

“... Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon......”

It had felt good to give a small performance, but lacking her magic Trixie was not entirely satisfied with it. “It is an old story, but it has recently grown tremendously in popularity with the return of Princess Luna. Although Trixie is not sure it is fair to keep repeating only the tale of her mistake, the rest of the story needs to be told. Actually it is why Trixie came to Ponyville in the first place, this is where it all happened is it not?” she asked before awkwardly bringing a mug of water to her to wash down her meal.

During the course of the story, Fluttershy had shown herself to be an excellent, attentive listener. Though it took her a moment to shift gears once she realized she was supposed to be answering back. “Oh, uhm. Yes. Nightmare Moon came down to Ponyville… She was really scary before we helped her.”

Trixie hacked and nearly choked on her water, the cup clattering across the floor, when she heard Fluttershy’s reply. She struck herself in the chest and coughing repeatedly. “W-wah —Cough— What?! When you say ‘we’ you mean as in ‘we of Ponyville’, right?”

Fluttershy leaned forward “Oh! Oh my goodness, are you okay?” She circled around the table to pat Trixie on her back, trying to help clear up the coughing. “Uh well, yes? I guess all six of us were all of Ponyville, except maybe Twilight since she was only here to oversee the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration… But she stayed afterwards so I guess that counts?”

Trixie’s mind reeled, this had to be another one Rainbow Dash’s pranks. She quickly looked around her but she could not spot or hear the rainbow-maned prankster. Her attention immediately snapped back to Fluttershy, turning toward her and laying her hooves on her shoulders. “Y-you are not saying… What Trixie thinks you are saying, are you? The papers details were vague, overshadowed by Luna’s return, but they said the Elements of Harmony were responsible for Princess Luna’s reformation. Trixie has read about them they are magical artifacts. You were one of the ponies that found them? Trixie cannot believe this, what on Equestria happened? Where did you leave them? What do those things look like?”

Fluttershy wavered under the barrage of questions. “I-I think maybe I uhm should let you talk to Twilight? She knows all this much better than I do.”

Trixie pulled herself closer to Fluttershy’s face while she spoke, hanging on every word but irritated none of it answered a single question. She stared into the mares eyes till she recognized something, then quickly backed off. “Oh! Sorry Fluttershy, Trixie was just… Overwhelmed that is all.”

“It’s okay.”

“You are too nice to Trixie, but who is Trixie to complain? Could Trixie ask you some questions Fluttershy? Trixie would rather not have more ponies know she is here… Wait, Twilight? You mean Twilight Sugarcube? The unicorn that subdued the Ursa Major, no Minor, with her magic?”

Fluttershy gave an odd look for a moment. “Uhm Twilight Sparkle… But otherwise yes.”

Everything begun to slowly make sense in Trixie’s mind from that point on. “So she defeated that Ursa by using the Elements of Harmony? That makes sense then… Of course no unicorn has that much magical power on their own.” She paused when she noticed Fluttershy shaking her head.

“Princess Celestia took the elements with her when she left… ”

“Oh, Trixie understands… Perhaps Trixie should speak with her after all.” She blushed when she remembered she had been taunting the unicorn right before her escape, an awkward situation. “In any case, Trixie insists you tell her all about what happened.”

“Well… Okay.”

Trixie could not recall the last time she had listened to someone tell a tale, other than herself in rehearsal. It took patience, questions and the occasional encouragement to get Fluttershy to tell the whole story, interrupted multiple times by Trixie’s own inability to contain her surprise, but she’d finally heard all of it that she was going to get out of Fluttershy.

It was almost too insane to consider. She had ended up coming to blows with three of the bearers of the elements, and insulted another. No wonder they had been so sure of themselves when trying to upstage her. A small smirk on her face at the idea that she could now honestly claim to have defeated three out of the six elements… Her face soon turned sour however. The Element of Magic, her very cutie mark, had fallen to another. Twilight Sugarcube, no it was Sparkle, who had bested her in ways she had not even thought possible.

She had little grounds for protesting however when she recalled the difference in power between them that night. Still she could not simply give up the claim of most magical unicorn, if it was not true right now that merely meant she would have to make it true, without mentoring Princesses, fancy magic scholarships or entire private libraries.

With increasing worry Fluttershy stared at the uncharacteristically quiet Trixie, as the wordy unicorn had not spoken since she had finished her story. “Uhm Trixie? Are you okay?”

Trixie snapped out of her thoughts and blinked away a moment’s disorientation. “Huh what? Oh, yes Trixie is… Fine. She is just thinking about her next move. But Trixie will have enough time for that later. You make a fairly good storyteller you know that Fluttershy? It was nice to listen to you, though there are areas you could improve in.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I am not used to talking much.”

“Trixie knows. However since Trixie cannot practice her magic yet, she has a proposal. What if Trixie teaches you?”

“Teach me how to talk much?”

“Erm… In a way… But not quite. Telling a story is not like having a conversation, it is about painting a picture for your audience. Of course Trixie normally uses magic to help with that, but the same principles hold true without magic.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, okay. I guess I could give that a try… How do we start?”

Trixie smiled, her answer already prepared. “By revisiting the places of your story. It should be safe now that Nightmare Moon is no longer there. The day has only just started so… Shall we go?”

“O-okay… But… On two conditions. That is… If you don’t mind…”

Trixie raised a brow. “Conditions? Alright let’s hear them.“ She did her best not to let on she would agree to just about anything for the chance to see the location of the Elements of Harmony with her own eyes, and best of all with Fluttershy as her guide.

“First, you are not better yet… So be very careful.” Fluttershy gave her a serious look.

“Trixie agrees. What is the second condition?” She smiled pleased with the way this was going. Fluttershy and she would have some time away alone and no bratty pegasus that was going to intervene and bug her for a whole day.

“… Rainbow Dash comes with us.”

Of course.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

One near death experience in a forest is apparently hardly enough for Trixie. She's ready to get right back on the horse, or pony.
Good thing too cause at this rate having the word 'Forest' in the title was in danger of becoming false advertising.

Special Thanks to PrincessLuna123 for proof reading.

Chapter 19 - Road

Trixie looked up at the sky through the canopy, judging by the sun they had been walking for maybe half an hour through the creepy forest. At least the weather was bright enough that she could take a good look around now.

Strangely even in broad daylight the forest kept its oppressive atmosphere, as if the air itself tried to slowly strangle her. But things were different this time. She was The Great and Powerful Trixie again with her starry hat and cape proudly on display. Sans the actual magic, but she still felt a great deal better.

She tore her gaze from the path to, once again, look to her left where Fluttershy trotted alongside her, carrying a saddlebag containing their lunch. To Trixie’s surprise Fluttershy had become even more nervous in the forest, but the pony lived in a shack right on the edge of it, surely she was not afraid of it?

Over the course of the journey she had gradually drawn nearer to the timid pegasus, hoping it would give some comfort. Beyond that she tried her best to keep her mind off the forest by talking.

“Just how big is this forest anyway? The Great and Power-walking Trixie cannot believe the castle of the two sisters is this far away.”

“Well we’d be there already but SOMEPONY does not have wings. It’s a pretty short flight but the path there winds around a lot. But hey, if you want, Trixie, we could just take a shortcut right through the thick of the forest!”

Again, for the past half hour already, the loud pegasus answered her instead of the quiet one. Rainbow Dash had been flying circles around them and every attempt at conversation had ended up arguing with her instead. Fluttershy meanwhile had not looked at either of them the entire trip, constantly looking at the forest or the ground.

“Why yes that a fantastic idea, let’s leave the path and go trudging through an area you just got through telling Trixie she would not last a minute in. Trixie would think you aimed to finish the job.”

“Oh come on already. I wasn’t being serious, I was just joking around.”

“About the danger of the forest, leaving the path or killing Trixie? Cause that is a pretty important distinction.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and looked away. “Hey that is not… I’m… I’m gonna go scout ahead, you guys keep to the path.” She sped off over the trees, the canopy made it impossible to keep track of her.

Trixie smirked pleased with herself while she watched Rainbow Dash take off. It was not going to last for very long but she could try to get some conversation out of Fluttershy for a little while. She looked to her left, finding Fluttershy looking back at her for the first time since they entered the forest, and now she wished she hadn’t.

Staring back her she could see Fluttershy offering a weak smile, but something was wrong. It was nothing like her normal smile. It did not give Trixie that warmth in her chest nor that feeling of a small breeze teasing the fur on her limbs, instead her stomach twisted. Fluttershy was trying to hide something but Trixie could see it in her eyes, Trixie desperately wanted to break away from looking at them. But at the same time she had to know what was wrong, Fluttershy looked so calm and yet…

Her mind struggled to make sense of the expression. There were many emotions Trixie had learned to identify at a glance, seeing them often during her performances, anger, fear, jealously, annoyance. But none of them matched, yet she knew she had seen it before. Trixie froze, ice spread through her veins as recognition set in. It was a look she had not seen aimed at her since she’d left home, disappointment.

Trixie’s ears laid down flat against her mane, concealed below her hat, and lowered her head. It did not make sense, why did just one look from the timid creature make her feel this horrible? She had done nothing wrong, or had she?

She hated seeing that look in Fluttershy’s eyes, all the more because she knew she was causing it somehow. Her mind raced to find why. The arguing with Rainbow Dash had been going on for as long as their trip. Fluttershy had not been upset during that time, and even seemed to smile on occasion while they tore into each other. So that could not be it, not by itself. The only difference had been that this time the cyan wiseflank got fed up hanging around the two slow ponies and went to scout ahead, right?

“Trixie…?” Fluttershy’s soft voice almost too low to rouse her from her thoughts if she had not been staring directly at Fluttershy.

“Yes?” Trixie looked almost hopeful, maybe she could stop wondering. Her trance broken she resumed walking along the road, keeping an eye on Fluttershy.

“Don’t you uhm… Think that was… A bit harsh?” Fluttershy started up as well, the both of them heading down the path again, in the direction Rainbow Dash had flown off into.

“Harsh?” She had said much harsher things the past half hour ranging from belittling the Wonderbolts to calling Rainbow’s intellect into question, and each time she’d got at least as sharp remark back, going so far as to suggest Star Swirl the bearded was a dumb name.

“What… Trixie did not realize? But… You did notice Rainbow Dash reacted strangely, right?” Fluttershy sighed softly while breaking away to look at the cyan pegasus free sky. “She was upset… Don’t you care?”

Trixie swept her mane out of her face with a flick of her head. “N-neigh. She was making fun of Trixie. Why would Trixie care if she can’t take it when Trixie makes fun of her?” Trixie felt a stinging feeling in her chest, it was not fair. Why was Fluttershy taking Rainbow’s side in this? Why would she betray her when she was right there and could see they had both been arguing as much as the other?

“But… Rainbow did not say anything about the Ursa did she? Or… When you scared me.” Fluttershy’s gaze returned to the ground, another turn in the path loomed up ahead.

Trixie flinched at the memory and grimaced, averting her gaze away from Fluttershy. What was the girl playing at bringing that up just like that? Didn’t she realize Trixie was still scared and guilty about those? That she wanted nothing more than to forget about the events? Even if Fluttershy had forgiven her, it hurt to be reminded yet again. “What? No Trixie supposes she did not. Why even bring that up? Trixie does not like… To be…” Her voice died off half way through and she looked towards Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked back at Trixie, giving her a sad smile and a nod. The pair of them walked over the road and rounded twist, yet more of the empty road ahead.

Trixie coughed, her throat ached. “…How long?” She finally managed to get out, more to herself than Fluttershy. She started to trot and thought back on her encounters with Rainbow Dash. The constant visits to ‘annoy’ her, when had they started? Her pace quickened to a canter. She knew now she was not being guarded, yet Rainbow Dash was right outside her room? She broke into a gallop. “That annoying foal!”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 20 - Resolute

The school bell chimed clearly through the Hoofington streets, calling the unicorn colts and fillies to attention. Another school day had begun.

Trixie had found herself a seat in the back of the class still embarrassed with her introduction the day before, her only condolence that she had not been stopped when she ran out. But as she had returned to school it had become clear she had only delayed the rest of her humiliation, and possibly only made it worse by showing how much it got to her.

The day had only just started and already the teasing had picked up right where it left off. Even when it was not directly aimed at her, she could see some of her classmates imitate one of her spells, or tricks as they were now called.

It was a simple trick, let a pony pick a card then shuffle it back and divine which card they taken. But instead of a trick shuffle the unicorn colt preforming the trick had tagged the card with magic, blindingly obviously at that, and just levitated it out of the pack after shuffling. That did not seem to stop the laughing though, the point had never been to show they could do it like she did, just how pointless of a trick it was to a unicorn with actual magic.

Trixie let her head sink down on the table, hiding under her hat. Even if everybody could still see her, it was still close enough that she did not have to see them. At least she had been able to get a desk at the rear wall, hiding herself back there she was able to escape most of it during class, but she dreaded recess.

She snapped out of her various doom scenarios when she noticed someone talking to her. It was barely audible. She lifted her head to be able to peek out from under the brim of her massive hat at the pony that had taken the desk next to her, when did she get there? Trixie had not heard her approach.

At the desk sat a filly just a little bigger than herself, Trixie was almost sure she had not seen the pony the day before. Although it was entirely possible she had simply not noticed the filly, she seemed quiet while her mane and coat were in dull dark shades of purple and gray, making her easy to overlook. Almost nothing about the pony stood out, except for one thing. Or two actually, a pair of bright red fiery eyes that were completely out of sync with the rest of her.

A bright ruby red hue, almost like she was staring into a smoldering fireplace instead of another ponies eyes. Gah that’s right! This is a pony! She snapped to attention and broke out of the awkward silent stare. “Uhm hi! I’m sorry but… could you repeat that?” If there was a fireplace anywhere at this point, Trixie would swear it was in her cheeks, burning with embarrassment.

“Uhm… I-I said m-my name is Flitter Bouquet. You’re Trixie right?” Flitter Bouquet looked nervously at the smaller filly. “You uh, left early… But… I thought it was really cool, what you did I mean.”

Trixie blinked slowly, this filly thought she was cool? She did a quick glance around the room to make sure she was not addressing someone else, or had a group of snickering friends standing nearby. After failing to find either, her gaze returned to Flitter. “You did? Did you miss the whole part that came after?” The last question came out more accusingly than she had meant it.

Those red eyes swept down to the floor, Flitter shook her head slowly. “Well… No… It was not nice… But it was still really brave to make a whole show out of your introduction. Nopony else did.” She lifted her gaze back up to meet Trixie’s, giving a smile. “You didn’t see but… I just froze. It was really awkward…”

This was unexpected to Trixie, she had assumed everypony in her class would be mocking her, but it seemed she was not alone in setting up lousy impressions and actually found an ally. “You think I was brave? T-that’s one way to look at it I guess. Thank you.”

“Uhm actually… There is something else… I-I told my parents all about my first day. A-and… They thought maybe… I should uhm.” She bit her lip, closing her eyes briefly to take a deep breath. The next words so quick Trixie had trouble registering them. “Please teach me how.”

Trixie blinked and took a moment to collect herself. “Teach you what? How to do my spe—… trick?” She had to admit it felt nice to think someone was actually interested in learning how to do the tricks properly, but the purpose entirely escaped her.

“N-no I mean… how to be… brave.” Flitter spoke so quietly.

Trixie had to strain to make it out but it clicked soon enough. Perhaps in the end all parents thought the same way? A smile came to her face, looking over the shy filly and nodded. “I’ll try, but on one condition… My mom said I need to ask someone to help me learn magic, can you do that?” It was not like she really had much choice, Flitter Bouquet was easily the nicest of her classmates so far.

“Teach you magic?” Flitter seemed genuinely surprised but nodded with an excited smile. “I can do that, I can do some already but… I don’t want to show it here… If that’s okay.”

Trixie smiled back, sitting up straight at her desk and giving a look around the classroom. “I understand, I don’t really mind. Hey let’s use the recess to find a good spot?” She could not believe her luck, in one conversation the period she dreaded the most became the one she looked forward too. “Being confident is easy. Just believe you are worth their time, or keep telling it to yourself until you believe it.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A bit of a delay, ironically on the young Trixie chapter which I claimed would have no further delays.
To be fair it was not caused by the young Trixie story this time. But by me being completely unprepared for how much of a giant time and energy sink it is to try making the earlier chapters more grammatically accurate. I'm still not done. >.>
Knowing is half the battle though, I'll be more reasonable with my time. ^^
Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 21 - Reverb

Trixie galloped over the path through the Everfree Forest, her cape billowing impressively on her back. She could hear Fluttershy’s hoofsteps behind her, telling her the mare had no problem keeping up with her. It actually stung her a little to realize that Fluttershy, with saddlebags and all, was keeping up with her while she was running as fast as she could. Maybe she was not as recovered as she had previously thought. She did her best to push the thought from her mind, trying to dwell instead on how fortunate it was she did not need to wait. It was not working that well.

Since when is this about Trixie? Find Rainbow Dash. She finally managed to think of something else, but was not much better. At least she was back on track, trying to think of what she should say once she found the pegasus.

If Fluttershy was right, had all those stupid jokes and pranks been because Rainbow Dash felt guilty? Trixie had not even really considered the blue airhead might have feelings of her own. It was not really her fault though was it? For the first days she only considered Rainbow a terrifying monster, and even after that she was at best annoying with her constant presence. Wasn’t she?

Just what changed there anyway? She was going to kill Trixie in Fluttershy’s home one moment, and settles for pranks the next? It did not make any sense for the monster she’d made Rainbow into to act that way. Was she ever going to do anything? Was the whole point just to make Trixie as scared as Fluttershy?

Trixie was pulled out of her musings by catching a whiff of something truly awful, struggling to keep down the breakfast that Fluttershy had prepared for her. Luckily the scent passed quickly. Thinking about Fluttershy, Trixie suddenly noticed something important. When had her hoofsteps stopped?

She quickly turned her head to look behind her, checking for Fluttershy. Greatly surprised by the sight that greeted her, Fluttershy was still right behind her. There could not be more than a few meters between them, and she could clearly see every hoof strike the ground, yet she could not hear them.

“Fluttershy?” Trixie called out while running, discovering she could still hear herself just fine.

Fluttershy did not respond much when spoken too, she just gave her a curious look. Fluttershy looked like a fish while she mimed something. “…” Not a single word reached Trixie’s ears.

Trixie dug her hooves into the road, skidding to a halt. “What is going on here? Fluttershy can you hear Trixie?” Looking around, Trixie found the forest seemed different. Here and there between the trees and wild growth she could make out hewn stone, though mere ruined fragments of what they might have once been.

“…” The only response from Fluttershy, though she was clearly moving her lips. She could see the panic spreading across the mares face. Who knew how long Fluttershy had been aware of the lack of sound and calling out to the Galloping and Oblivious Trixie?

From the corner of her eye she could see Fluttershy’s dead silent approach, it sent chills down her back. Suddenly, she could hear the hoofsteps again as if they had never been gone. She could even hear her panting for breath after the long gallop. “Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy startled at the sudden noise. “Trixie? You can hear me now?”

“Yes. That’s strange… Stay there.” Trixie said, before she galloped a few circles around Fluttershy. “Can you still hear me?”

“Uhm, yes? Can you hear me?” Fluttershy did her best to follow Trixie while she circled but soon her eyes spun in their sockets, and she lay down to get the world to steady.

Trixie came to a halt raising a hoof to her muzzle while she pondered. Something had to have triggered the muted sound, but she was not sure what. Perhaps it was a spell, another one of the supposed natural things of the forest, or a very impressive Rainbow Dash prank.

She perked up her ears. “Wait… do you hear what Trixie hears?”

“Hear what?” Fluttershy looked puzzled.

“Exactly! Perfect silence, but look.” Trixie pointed to the rustling leafs above them. “We should definitely be able to hear that right?”

Fluttershy looked up at the branches, watching the wind play with them silently. “…Yes. Trixie do you thi—…”

Trixie grinned triumphantly at the muted Fluttershy, standing a few steps further away. So that’s it, what a strange thing. She walked closer again. “It’s distance, Fluttershy. Trixie does not know why, yet, but the sound stops after a few steps.”

With the mystery at least a little better understood, Trixie turned her attention back on the road. “As fascinating as this might be, it poses no threat if we stay close… Trixie feels we should keep going and find Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy nodded while the two of them resumed their trip, staying side by side this time. “This is… Not so bad actually. Just peace and quiet… Deep inside the most dangerous forest on Equestria.” She shivered and picked up the pace.

Trixie could not help but smile. Sure it was a bit weird to have the forest be so quiet, but now that she thought about it this might not be the first time she experienced it. Perhaps they were close to the area she had gotten lost in before, which also had to mean the scene of her meeting with Rainbow Dash was around here somewhere. She shook her head, trying to clear the fragmented flashbacks that came to her mind at the memory.

They kept a brisk pace between the two of them, trotting side by side through the forest. A smile spread across Trixie’s face, just allowing herself to enjoy the moment while it lasted. Pretty soon they would stumble across Rainbow Dash sulking in a tree or something and Trixie could have her talk. She knew somewhere in her mind she should be more worried about that meeting, but it seemed awfully difficult to worry about anything with Fluttershy so close by.

There was just one complaint Trixie had, the return of that horrid smell. It was much stronger now, even forming wisps of green vapor in the air over the next section of the path. It made their eyes water and Fluttershy froze solid. Trixie coughed, nearly retching. “Ughh, Trixie is going to be sick. What on Equestria is that horrible stench?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 21, you know I meant to make big deal out of chapter 20. But I might have somewhat sort of forgotten. >.>
Anyways, wow. My thanks to all of you fine folks reading right now, for giving me all the more reason to keep writing.
I'd still write it if it was just me, but that warm fuzzy feeling you folks add is a great bonus. ^^

the story now has a new tag. I don't think it will be a surprise to anyone.

Chapter 22 - Repeat

Trixie trotted along the dead silent path, trying to escape the horrid odor. It seemed almost amusing to her that the worst the forest had thrown at them was assault their nostrils, especially given how much Rainbow Dash had hyped up the dangers.

She paused when she noticed something amiss. While she had been distracted by the initial smell, she had not noticed when Fluttershy had left her side. Looking over her shoulder, she found Fluttershy stood still a couple steps behind her. “Come on, Fluttershy. Trixie does not wish to spend an—.”

“…!” Fluttershy screamed silently and pointed a hoof at Trixie. Her eyes were as big as plates.

Trixie blinked confused with the reaction, the sheer terror on Fluttershy’s face while she stared at her made Trixie shrink back. She bit her lip, had scared the mare once before but never this badly. She had not even done anything this time. What is this? Why is she scared? Is it the odor? Maybe it effects ponies differently?

Before Trixie had much time to think about it, Fluttershy suddenly kicked off into a full on gallop, charging straight for Trixie.

Startled with the aggression she brought up her forelegs to protect herself. “No! Fluttershy stop!”

“…—n you!” Fluttershy tackled Trixie, tumbling them both over the path. Right after the painful impact with Fluttershy, Trixie could hear wood striking against wood right next to hear head and something tearing. The world spun as they rolled, but she caught a glimpse of what she could only describe as living kindling. The timberwolf stood right where Trixie had barely a second ago, growling menacingly before the sound cut out again.

Trixie stared at the menacing creature shocked, taking a few quick steps back. In its jaws it held part of the collar of Trixie’s cape. She shivered at the thought what might have happened had not been for the quick rescue, looking back at the brave mare only to find the trembling Fluttershy.

She stared at Fluttershy for a brief moment. Then turned her gaze back towards the timberwolf while she stepped in between it and her, doing her absolute best to stop her own shaking. “You foul creature! Do you not know? Trixie is the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria! She will not stand for this! Begone!”

Her horn sparked up a pink glow while she aimed at it, starting up the spell for her thunder cloud. The attempt at magic only succeeded in making herself collapse, hot painful stars flashing before her eyes. She felt someone pull her up by her cape; Fluttershy was helping her to her hooves. “G-get up, get up quick! Run!”

The timberwolf raised its head to the sky howling, though they could not hear it actually do so. The implication was clear enough however, if it was howling there had to be more. Trixie could spot at least three more oblivious timber wolves casually walking between the trees, unaware of their companion’s call to arms. For now.

The both of them galloped off away from the first timberwolf, who looked over his shoulder towards his companions after getting no howls back. Thundering over the path, only to find one of the unaware wolves crossing it.

Trixie bumped her shoulder into Fluttershy’s, guiding the both of them off the path. They ran through the forest to avoid being spotted by the other wolves, but they could see the first timber wolf had stuck to the path. Its glowing green eyes fixed intensely upon them.

It seemed strange to Trixie the wolf did not pursue them directly, instead it seemed to take such a roundabout way to get to them. Her eyes went wide as she realized more and more green eyes fixing upon them, every wolf whose line of sight got passed by the first followed its gaze straight to the pair of ponies.

The chase was on.

“Trixie does not suppose you could tell them we are not food, Fluttershy?” Trixie asked while she ran besides the animal caretaker, pinning her hopes on the unlikely event Fluttershy simply forgot that option.

“N-no. Sorry!” Fluttershy jumped over a root. "Timberwolves are closer to golems than actual animals."

It was difficult to outrun the wolves in the dense forest, worse still when they had lost sight of the road. The forest was so dense it was hard to find their way through while staying ahead of the timberwolves, zigzagging between trees and ducking under branches. The most unsettling thing was it felt like they were running from nothing. Dead silence behind them, even as branches snapped and bushes were torn in half by the less than agile wolves.

Another glance back revealed they had somehow shook off three of the four timberwolves. Trixie grimaced, there was no way she was going to believe the other three simply gave up. She suspected the other three were going around to cut them off, however that did mean there was only a single wolf behind them now, with no way of signaling his companions.

Trixie called out to Fluttershy, quickly discussing her plan. “Now!”

Both ponies came to an abrupt halt and bit into Trixie’s cloak, pulling away from each other. The timber wolf ran head first into the tightly held line, struck in the throat while its own momentum carried it further forward. Its wooden head came off, the rest of it kept running briefly before collapsing into a pile of kindling.

With a wide grin Trixie brought a hoof down on the inanimate wood, savoring the victory. “Was there ever any doubt!” Swelling with pride for the triumph. She turned back to Fluttershy, surprised to find her not looking any less scared.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not even need her magic for this!” She proclaimed boldly, doing her best to calm Fluttershy down. The best way she could think of doing that was to appear completely confident. Tactfully ignoring for a moment she’d already be dead if not for Fluttershy’s ‘attack’.

“B-but there’s three more?”

She put on her best smile. “Not a problem, Trixie has got this under control.” Gah that’s right, how did Trixie forget! Taking in deep breaths to try and relax, all she needed to do was think of a plan. She had the time to come up with something to deal with three more timberwolves if she just thought about it.

Fluttershy showed a careful smile. “O-oh good… So you know what to do about them?” She pointed a hoof at Trixie again, or rather, as Trixie had some to realize, behind her.

Trixie felt like she should be feeling terror at this point, but really she was starting to get fed up with everything going wrong.

Of course they were right behind her, of course she could not use her magic, of course she had to insist they go into the giant scary forbidden forest, of course she had to chase off their guardian. Of course they tore into her beloved cloak, of course she’d led the one pony she actually cared about straight into a timberwolf hunting ground.

“T-Trixie? Are you okay?”

Trixie’s face had gone from her regular pale blue to red while she seethed over her luck, her hooves tore the ground little by little. When she finally heard the growling behind her, she turned around to glare the three timberwolves. “That is it! Trixie has had it! All Trixie wanted was one simple walk! And you couldn’t even let Trixie have that?! Do you know what? Fine! Trixie doesn’t care anymore what happens!”

The consequences be damned. Her horn sparked back to life, she could barely even see the wolves anymore between the painful stars and the red haze. She stumbled forwards half blind, her head feeling as if it would explode at any second. “You can all. Go straight. To Tartarus!”

All of her rage, energy and magic reserves channeled into the spell, ignoring the white hot pain that spread from her horn and drilled down her skull. The pink light of her horn shining brightly before it finally released as a barrage of wild beams arcing in the direction of the sound, splintering the remaining timberwolves. Leaving Trixie trembling on her legs, panting heavily for breath while the world twisted into weird shapes before her. “T-Trixie is Great… and pow—”

… Why is Trixie on the ground? … Déjà vu. At least this time she found herself staring at smoldering branches instead of a dull rock. The herd of buffalo seemed to have returned for another traditional stampede through her skull.

There was something else different as well, she felt warm. Someone was holding her. She could see long pink bangs draped over her own face, hanging in her field of view. It felt kind of nice, she could get used to this.

She knew she could look up to find a face to match that mane, but she just felt so tired. Surely it could wait a little while. Meanwhile she just kept staring at the smoldering wood, a soft smile on her face. Wait… did it just move?

It had to be her imagination, all those smoldering pieces were creeping towards each other like twigs in a maelstrom, a green glow connecting them together bit by bit. Her eyes went wide as she watched silently. Bigger, so much bigger.

T-that's... that's not fair...

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Bit of a bigger chapter today, Hurray ^^
Finally some action.

Chapter 23 - Redemption

Trixie watched in horror while the roots and branches of the scattered timberwolves drew together. Even more materials were drawn in from the surrounding forest, combining into a single massive timberwolf.

The process was slow, the materials floating into place bit by bit, but the intended result was clear already. A massive wooden frame stood tall amidst the smoldering wood fragments. Broken branches became teeth, leafs became a mane, fallen logs and bark became legs.

Fluttershy did not seem to notice, her mane shielded her from most of the world. While the noise, if it even made any, was muted again by the small distance. All of her attention focused on making Trixie comfortable, after she’d found nothing physically wrong with her, and waiting for her to regain consciousness.

No…. no no… Look over there, can’t you see it?

She wanted to warn her. Say something, move, move! Despite her best efforts, Trixie’s body refused to listen to her. She had stupidly, completely drained herself, leaving her capable of nothing more than laying there. Her work came undone before her eyes, turning into something even worse.

Tears started to run down Trixie’s cheeks, feeling so useless. She’d finally thought to have redeemed herself, only to be forced to watch helplessly, the creation of the beast. Feeling the warmth of Fluttershy’s embrace against her while she was cradled. Look ahead. Please, Fluttershy, look ahead.

“T-Trixie? Are you in pain? I-I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy whispered, the fur on the foreleg she’s used to support Trixie’s head was matted by the tears, drawing Fluttershy’s attention. She leaned closer to see if Trixie was awake, bringing her face into the unicorns field of view.

Trixie’s eyes swept up to meet Fluttershy’s, then swiftly switched between Fluttershy and the assembling timberwolf. Relief washed over her.

“A-are you okay? What are you looking… at… oh… my…” Fluttershy’s mouth hung open, watching the gigantic wolf come to life. A mute roar still enough to make Fluttershy shake all over in fear, its glowing green eyes settling on the pair of ponies. “B-but how?”

Fluttershy trembled while she watched the Timberwolf approach, then quickly got up and shook off the saddlebags. “I-I’m sorry Trixie…”

Trixie was laid down on the forest floor by Fluttershy, making her just barely able to see even the timberwolf’s wooden paws. She could hear the bags fall to the forest floor, unable to see the pony anymore. The significance hit her a moment later, Fluttershy was a pegasus; She could easily escape if she was not grounded by the bags, she was abandoning Trixie.

A flare of anger rose up in the unicorn, betrayed yet again. N-no, Fluttershy. You coward come back here! I-I will not… forget this. Tears running down her muzzle while she stared up in terror at the approaching timberwolf, the only thing she could still see.

No I don’t want to die! Will it hurt? Not here not now not ever! Please make it quick. Go away go away…

Her vision suddenly cut out, all she could see was a yellow blob, before it moved again. Staring in disbelief as the yellow came more into focus, hooves walking over her; the hooves came to a stop, standing between her and the timberwolf. She had never seen a set of legs shaking that hard in her life, but there they were.

“E-excuse me. M-m-mister wolf. W-we are not f-food.” Fluttershy’s voice was barely above a whimper.

S-she came back? Did she even leave? Thinking about it Trixie realized, she never heard Fluttershy actually leave. She watched a scared to dead Fluttershy try to reason with the massive timberwolf, but she had already admitted that she could not do so. Then what was she trying to do?

In any case the timberwolf did not seem impressed, it snarled and lunged forward. Fluttershy narrowly avoided the massive jaws, she came to a halt again just a few steps away. Fluttershy seemed to speak again, though Trixie could no longer hear it, and the timberwolf attacked her again. Once again Fluttershy narrowly dodged out of its reach, and out of Trixie’s sight.

Trixie could not bear to watch, but she had little choice in the matter. At first she was relieved when the game of lethal tag moved out of her line of sight, only to realize the uncertainty was even worse.

Did it get Fluttershy? Did Fluttershy get away? I-is it coming back?

It felt like she had been laying there forever. Left alone with just her headache and worries about the fate of herself and Fluttershy. She imagined Fluttershy; returning home safely, defeating the timberwolf, bringing reinforcements, getting eaten just a meter away. She gasped at the last image and tried to push herself up again, but failed. However, it seemed some small part of her had recovered, as she did succeed in moving a little.

She took a few deep breaths then tried again, finding she was too weak to stand. She rolled onto her back, getting a much better view of her surroundings. She dreaded what she might find. Her eyes went wide as she saw the timberwolf walking towards her, only for Fluttershy to run in front of it again and tempt the wolf into another chase.

Each time Fluttershy would distract the wolf and get it to follow her, clearly trying to lure it away from Trixie. Only for the wolf to get tired of chasing the swift prey and turn its sights back to Trixie, prompting Fluttershy to start over.

It was painfully clear this game was taking its toll on the creamy pegasus, Trixie could see the sweaty yellow fur glistening in the scarce few beams of light that penetrated the thick canopy. It felt like delaying the inevitable, almost like torture to wait and see what would happen first. Either the timberwolf would catch Fluttershy then move on to Trixie or Fluttershy would give up and the timberwolf would come for Trixie.

Perhaps, if Fluttershy holds out Trixie will recover enough to escape or help… Is that her plan? What can Trixie do?

She had to think of something, anything she could do to help. Something to make it all better, but she was so tired and weak. Great and Powerful Trixie indeed… I’m weak after all. She felt hope slipping away, she even saw Fluttershy make the occasional stumble from fatigue. Her movements noticeably slower than when Trixie started watching. Fluttershy was going to run out of steam long before Trixie could even bring herself to stand. But even with that expression of sheer terror on her pale face she did not look like she was going to give up, more like she was determined to die trying.

Please… don’t make Trixie watch her die, not her.

Trixie took a deep breath, resigning herself. There was one thing she could think of doing.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash was right, you really are brave… Trixie would have liked to get to know you better, to see what other wonders you were hiding… Thank you for everything… but you’ve done enough. Thank you for giving Trixie one more week, a great week. Trixie is sorry she cannot keep her promise, she won’t teach you how to tell a tale after all…

She turned head up at the canopy above, lamenting she could not see the sky. All the more because it meant there was no chance of someone spotting them from above. As vain a hope as it would have been, she’d have given just about anything to see another Rainbow streak. She would have settled for just the sky.

It would have been nice, one last time, even if it’s not the nightsky… That reminds Trixie. Rainbow Dash, you moron, Trixie would have liked to argue with you again, it was actually kind of fun. Is that was friends are like? Please take care of Fluttershy. Trix—… I… I am sorry. I’m going to hurt her again.

She swallowed, trying hard to keep from shaking too much. She stared up at the canopy for a few more seconds than closed her eyes, taking steady breaths.

How did you put it again Flitter Bouquet? It’s a great spell for beginners to start with, since it takes almost no energy, because it does nothing? Just some lights? Thank you for teaching me, I practiced it a lot, even years after I never stopped using it in my shows. I wish I could have been the bigger mare, I wish you could see it, The Great and Powerful Last Show. I still follow your instructions… “Remember happy colorful memories, and wish to share them.”

Trixie’s horn began to glow a soft pink, a spell so well known, so weak, that it did not even hurt to perform it. Small pink sparks rising up from her horn, shining brightly than changing in color as they streaked upwards and exploded into fireworks. The first colors pink, than mixed in yellow, than slowly each color of the rainbow mixed in with the light show setting off from her horn. A beautiful fireworks display rising up above and around her.

If there was one thing Trixie was even better at than boasting or magic, it was to get and keep the attention of anyone. Be they teachers, classmates, townsfolk, beautiful and exhausted cistus colored mares, or massive timberwolves.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

It was both difficult and fun to write this chapter.
I suppose if I added a Tragedy tag I could end the story right here.
I'm so pleased with this chapter I almost would do it.
But,I suppose it would not be right to just spring that all of a sudden.
Besides, then what was the point of all the planning that went into the following chapters?

If anyone spots any errors, I would greatly appreciate a mention of said error so that it can be purged with haste.

Chapter 24 - Rescue

Rainbow Dash relaxed on top of her cloud with a sigh, staring up at the blue sky. A nice cool breeze played with the scruffy ends of her prismatic tail and mane. The best discovery she’d made so far during her exploration of the Everfree Forest, an area where there was no sound.

When she had spoken to Twilight about it she immediately regretted it, what followed was a half hour monologue about some old dusty long dead unicorn. She could not remember the unicorns name very well.

”Obias Phonoph? Those aren’t words.” Rainbow Dash threw up her hooves.

“Either way, apparently back when the castle of the two sisters was still in use, he enchanted one of the gardens to make it one of the most peaceful places in Equestria. Isn’t that fascinating? This means his enchantment still works to this very day!” Twilight’s magic aura enveloped three more books, flipping through pages while explaining more about the magic behind it, but it was all egghead white noise to Rainbow Dash

Twilight had said it was called ‘The Royal Garden of Quiescence’, Rainbow Dash called it a good nap spot. She called it that, but she had yet to actually take more than half a nap there.

Her first attempt was cut short by a nightmare. She had dreamed of rolling off the cloud in her sleep and crashing into the Everfree Forest below. Badly hurt by the landing, and unable to cry for help due to the muffling enchantment. She never slept there again after that.

It felt like a silly thing to be afraid of. She had never rolled off a cloud during her naps since she was a filly, and even if she would she was almost sure she had a good enough grasp on her crashing problem these days to stabilize long before hitting anything. Still, she never managed to get to sleep again above the Everfree Forest.

Fortunately she thought up another use for her discovery. She preferred to think out loud, but she did not like ponies overhearing her. And so it was that the good nap spot had become a good thinking spot. Not that she often did much thinking. The last time was after the incident with Gilda, and it had not even done her much good. As far as that went the track record of this particular thinking spot was terrible. She had not come to any conclusions about Gilda, and she was not coming to any about Trixie either.

Her hoof struck a tuft of vapor off the cloud in a huff. “I thought I was getting somewhere, what gives? She was into it… Right? She did not complain to Fluttershy about being lonely anymore. Why would she say that all of a sudden? Did I screw it up again?”

She glanced towards the sun, judging the passage of time. She knew that at pace they had been going it should take Fluttershy and Trixie at least half an hour to catch up to her, leaving her with plenty of time to cool down. Trixie’s remarks played through her head again.

“It’s not like I wanted to almost kill her… It was an accident, could have happened to anypony right? Except maybe Applejack, she’d have gone all the way… Ugh what am I saying!?” She fell onto her back on the cloud staring up at the sky.

Her thoughts drifted back to her meeting in the forest with Trixie, a brief argument, her temper flared, then a horrible sickening sound that she not only heard but felt through her hind hooves. That warm wet feeling on her hooves, she felt her stomach turn at the memory. Afterwards she had spent an hour washing her hooves, but she never felt clean.

She absolutely had to make it right somehow, and Fluttershy had been giving her advice. It would have worked too, bringing the hat and cape would have gone great... But she only got to see Trixie’s genuine reaction to seeing her again, complete terror. Rainbow Dash had been too scared of making things worse, and focused too much on making sure Trixie did not make her a murderer, by heading out on her own and dying.

She only later realized what a terrible mistake it had been. The images of the crying, trembling unicorn begging not to be hurt again haunted her. How could she not have seen what was happening? Fluttershy obviously saw. She even tried to stop her multiple times, but at the time the soft pleas just did not register.

The only time she managed to forget the guilt even briefly was when she was angry, like when defending Fluttershy. But most of that anger ebbed away the longer she actually saw Trixie scared out of her mind while she jumped to all kinds of conclusions. “Maybe I… Maybe I really wanted her to be a horrible pony. So I could say she deserved it?”

She drug her hooves over her eyelids in frustration, giving a growl “Arrgh! I’m asking what’s wrong with her? No! What’s wrong with me? No wonder she hates me! If I get within hooves reach of her she freaks out, and she’s right!”

Even if she knew she was the problem that still did not help her much. “Chillax Rainbow Dash. At least you left Trixie with Fluttershy this time, instead of blowing up,” she sighed, feeling she finally managed not make things worse this way.

“I’ll talk to Fluttershy after this trip, she’ll know what’s up. Maybe this was not such a good idea… I guess I did not really think Trixie would be grateful for helping her get to the castle... but she seemed really annoyed instead. If she didn’t want to go she could’ve stayed ho–Woah!”

Rainbow Dash’s musings were rudely interrupted when a spark suddenly rose up through the cloud she rested on, and exploded into bright colors right in front of her. Kicking herself away from the explosion, she fell off the cloud, and quickly stabilized. Finding it was not the only spark, everything between her and the canopy was exploding into color. “What the hay? Who’s shooting at me?!”

She spotted another spark break through the canopy then dove through it to find her assailant, itching to unleash a week’s worth of frustration. Once she broke through she stopped dead in midair with her eyes wide in shock, disbelieving what she found.

The very first thing her attention was drawn to was the source of the sparks, Trixie, but how on Equestria she even got there was beyond Rainbow Dash. She should still only be half way along the road. The second thing was the largest timberwolf she had ever seen, stomping its way towards the downed unicorn. And finally Fluttershy who was making desperate attempts to get the timberwolfs attention, even bucking its legs, but going completely ignored.

A thousand questions flooded through her head, but she knew one thing for sure. “Oh no you don’t!” She beat her wings hard and nearly held them directly behind her, sending into a literally death defying nosedive. She pulled up only just in time to level out over Trixie, sparks still flying from her horn. She wrapped her hooves around Trixie midflight, and snatched her out of the gaping jaws of the timberwolf. A few powerful wing beats lifted them both up above the canopy. Fluttershy broke through the canopy a few seconds later, looking completely exhausted and landing on the nearest cloud wheezing.

Rainbow Dash swooped up to a nearby cloud. She tried to lay the still sparking Trixie down on it, planning to retreat to safe distance afterward, only to have her sink right through. “Ugh right, only pegasus ponies can do that. Plan B!” She hovered over the cloud and looked at the limp Trixie in her hooves briefly.

“Don’t freak out okay?” She was not even really sure if Trixie was conscious, but still a bit of warning upfront seemed appropriate. The next second she pulled her tightly against her chest and rolled in the air, pulling Trixie above her and folding her wings. She landed on her back upon the cloud, with a shaking Trixie slumped on top of her. There was no immediate response. But there was one thing that changed, the sparks finally stopped.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Rainbow Dash back in the spotlight.
We get her side of the story.
And a small demonstration of her awesome.

Chapter 26 - Recoil

Trixie rested quietly upon Rainbow Dash, waiting for the pair of pegasi to wake up. The brief nap had done wonders, just as Rainbow Dash had claimed it would. Her headache had cleared up and she felt more alert. Unfortunately, with both her headache and the adrenaline gone, it brought had back all her other senses to the forefront. Apparently there were many fun and interesting ways bushes, stones and bark could cut up a pony’s flanks and legs.

Trixie lifted her head to peer over the edge of the cloud, smiling when she caught sight of Fluttershy peacefully sleeping on a cloud a little lower. Luckily she was largely unharmed, the saddlebags seemed to have protected her during the chase. She owed her again. As she thought about it, she supposed she owed both of them now, or maybe she could consider Rainbow Dash even.

She understood that Fluttershy needed time to recover her strength, and honestly so did she. She had been unwilling to take the nap, but at the time she had been promised that as soon as she woke up she would get to talk with Rainbow Dash till they were ready to leave. It had not been exactly a mutual agreement, Trixie did not want to sleep and Rainbow Dash simply declared she would not talk to Trixie until after she woke up then said nothing more.

Supposedly Rainbow Dash could never sleep above the Everfree Forest, something or other about being ever vigilant when in the forest. Trixie felt rather silly for having believed her at the time, while she stared at the snoozing pegasus. She was sure the death grip around her body had actually gotten tighter since Rainbow Dash dozed off.

It was not exactly all bad though. In hindsight, Trixie was rather glad that her request to be put down on a tree branch had been denied, on the official grounds that Rainbow Dash did not trust her to keep her balance in her state. As embarrassing as it had been to rest up on the mare, she was actually pretty comfortable.

Rainbow Dash had turned out to be much more firm than she had expected, toned muscles hidden beneath her fur, and surprisingly warm, or maybe all ponies were that way and Trixie just never got this close to them? The only other pony she had gotten close to lately was Fluttershy. Who had been much softer to the touch. She was warm too, but not this warm.

She leaned further to her left to get a better look, then felt herself starting to slide and gasped. She pulled her hooves tighter around Rainbow Dash to stop herself. She felt Rainbow Dash grab her more strongly in return. Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, scooting back slowly so she was balanced again.

It was strange to think that just yesterday she would have sworn Rainbow Dash’s purpose in life was to torment her, and now she was glad to be held by her. As opposed to falling to my death. She watched the heaving and falling of Rainbow Dash’s chest, the rhythmic breathing relaxed her slowly after her near fall.

She hoped they would wake up soon, but why exactly she wanted that she had a tough time explaining. Sure she was a bit bored. But then would it not make just as much sense to wish for something interesting to happen?

What’s so different about these two? Is it because they were nice to me? No, plenty of ponies are nice to me, Snips and Snails were, right? Fluttershy, she was so timid it was annoying. But she was so kind, I just did not want to see her get hurt. She won’t get hurt if she sleeps, so that’s not a reason for wanting her awake.

She got sick of propping herself up, letting her head rest on Rainbow Dash’s chest while she pondered. A somewhat familiar thumping sound in her head, but this time it was not her own.

What about Rainbow Dash? She was a jerk to me. But I guess she did not really mean to be, after a while anyway. But why would that matter to me?

She took a deep breath, taking in a faint scent of rain and leafs. In a word she could describe it as a cool scent, it was pleasant. She nuzzled into the soft, scented fur, allowing herself to unwind.

It’s not really that complicated is it? I like them, quit trying to be so profound. She blinked when the last thought went through her head, she supposed it was true, and there was no point in overthinking it too much. She liked the odd couple.

With that realization she let her gaze travel up. Finding a set of magenta eyes staring back at her, Rainbow Dash was awake.

“F-finally! You kept Trixie waiting. Can’t you be trusted with anything?”

“Hey! I swear I never fall asleep here. It must be your fault somehow, know any sleep spells maybe huh?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie could put a dragon to sleep. But that does not mean she did so. Why would she?”

“I don’t know, you sure did not seem to mind too much. Which reminds me!” Rainbow Dash suddenly brought her muzzle up close to Trixie, staring into her eyes.

Trixie blushed at the observation and opened her mouth to rebuke, but she found herself quickly so close to the mare that she could feel her breath. Trixie just stared back dumbfounded, she had no idea how to react to this or what to expect.

Nothing else appeared to happen however, she just saw Rainbow Dash smiling at her looking incredibly pleased with something. She held her breath trying to figure out how this even related to their argument if it was what prompted Rainbow Dash to do this. After a moment of silence in which neither of them moved, she finally spoke up. “Is this it?”

“Is this what?” Rainbow Dash’s smile turned to a mischievous grin, realizing Trixie’s confusion and seeming to enjoy prolonging it.

“What are you doing? Or why did you stop doing it? Whichever.” Trixie huffed, she was sure now that Rainbow Dash was playing some kind of game with her again.

Rainbow Dash unwrapped her right hoof from around Trixie, it left her feeling chilly there. The hoof rain through the rainbow mane. “You have not figured it out? I thought you were supposed to be so clever, what was it you said? Read my one track mind like a book? Well don’t worry I’ll give you another hint.” She raised her hoof up to Trixie’s face running it along her glowing cheek and up to her horn giving a tap against it.

Trixie’s mind raced, what on Equestria was that trickster up to now? She felt as if Rainbow should have drawn her hoof back with a third degree burn after touching her cheek.

W-what? O-okay relax Trixie you’ve got this. What is she doing? She brought her lips right up to yours, and smiled. T-that could mean anything right? Next she strokes your face and horn as a ‘hint’. You woke up lying on top of her and she woke up watching you, nuzzle her chest. Celestia damnit. It can’t be what I think it is?

She let her eyes rotate between Rainbow Dash’s hoof, lips, and eyes. Her breathing quickened and she could swear the pounding in her head was back, just much quicker than before. It seemed Rainbow Dash had complete boundless confidence as she did not seem at all deterred by how long it was taking Trixie to take her hints or respond to them. If anything she seemed to enjoying watching her squirm.

Okay, okay breathe Trixie. Breathe! It’s only Rainbow Dash, she could mean all sorts of things right?

She has clearly recognized Trixie’s superior nature. She is clearly coming on to Trixie!

What? No breathe! Isn’t that a little fast? I suppose she did say she was the fastest in Equestria but who knew she meant it like that!

She did her best to stay calm and not give away too much of her thought process while she stared into the magenta orbs. Taking steady breaths while Rainbow Dash just looked curiously at her, so close by.

It’s only natural, Trixie IS the most powerful unicorn. She would be wise to make her move quickly before another does. Would it not be fun? Trixie would not be lonely, not that Trixie ever is, but she would be twice as not lonely! She is not as amazing as Trixie of course, but she is much like Trixie. Ambitious, quick witted, enthusiastic, talented, skilled, working hard for her show, excellent taste in fashion.

I am not that lonely! How does she even know I like mares?. B-but I do like those things about her. And she is fun to be around, if a little infuriating. How can she just smile at me with complete confidence that I’ll accept? Maybe. Maybe she is not serious?

She observed Rainbow Dash, giving a small hint of a scowl as she considered the possibility. If Rainbow Dash noticed she was not letting on. She just kept that mischievous smile waiting for Trixie’s final reaction.

Come now! If she was not serious Trixie would have spotted it right away! There is no way she can fool Trixie, she even said so herself. Trixie see’s right through her, she likes Trixie. Trixie already said she likes them.

I said I liked them, not that I like liked them. But, I guess it does sound… nice? But, I never thought about it. She can act mean, and she’s short tempered right? But, well. I-I guess on rare occasion, sometimes I get a little carried away too. With good reason but still, I guess I could handle that?

There is nothing The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot handle! That includes pretty prismatic pegasi that smell like fresh rain, and let Trixie use her as a bed. How much more obvious does she need to be? She clearly wants Trixie.

Well, she has turned out to be much more nice and fun than I gave her credit for. And I guess those are good points. Yes that makes perfect sense, why else would she be so nice lately? But why would she act like that suddenly.

Trixie is the most desirable unicorn. Besides she had not seen Trixie’s fireworks show before, and Trixie gave a grand show for the timberwolf, she saw that. The magical prowess of even a wounded Trixie is enough to steal any mare’s hearth.

But… Fluttershy saw it too, so it would have affected her too would it not? So would she not be disappointed if I did not choose her? I’d have to make a good decision.

Why choose? Trixie is great enough for everyone.

Trixie’s face went from blue to purple as her blush shimmered through her fur, it was painfully clear Rainbow Dash noticed this as she rose up a brow in response. Maybe it was taking too long, she had to hurry up.

That’s right! Well it’s something I will deal with later. I have to tell Rainbow Dash I accept!

That does not sound like something Trixie would say. In fact, forget saying anything!

Right!

With her mind made up she finally smiled back at Rainbow Dash. She took a breath as if preparing to say something, but instead pushed forward the last half of a hoof, planting her lips on Rainbow Dash’s.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Are these chapters getting longer? I think they are.
I guess that's also why they take longer to write.

Chapter 27 - Romance

Trixie kissed Rainbow Dash, she had taken care to make it a surprise with her little pretending to speak act. So it was no surprise to her that Rainbow Dash acted much like she had a moment ago, dumbfounded and completely unsure how to react. She did not even kiss back.

With a smug grin she broke the kiss, feeling glad to have gotten one over on Rainbow Dash after that confession. They stared at each other silently for a moment, and Trixie was starting to wonder if she had perhaps broken her.

What is taking her so long? Maybe I should have been less direct? But she was really direct. Trixie bit her lip, nagging feelings of doubt starting to surface. Trixie is the greatest, there is no way Trixie is wrong. She reassured herself. But all the hyping herself she had done in the heat of the moment was quickly escaping her. She knew this feeling, it was not the first time.

Rainbow Dash was completely silent, much like Trixie had been a moment prior. She could imagine what was going through the mares head right now. Maybe if she just waited it was going to turn out the way she imagined after all? Or at least the earth might split apart and swallow her whole.

Rainbow Dash finally moved, her teeth grinding together just a moment before she snapped. “Trixie, what the hay!?” Rainbow Dash screamed so loudly Trixie was sure it would wake Fluttershy, mute enchantment or not. “I was saving that, you pathetic thief!”

Trixie shrunk as much as she could while Rainbow Dash yelled at her, laying her ears flat against her head. The twisting feeling in her chest and gut turned to painful stabs. It was clear she had messed up, but she did not know why. What did half of that even mean? The thought that it had been a trick after all filled her body with a completely different kind of fire, she happily embraced it if it meant escaping from the pain. Sucking in a breath, she propped herself up on Rainbow Dash’s chest to get some altitude on her. She screamed back. “What is wrong with you! You confessed to Trixie first!”

“C-confessed?! I barely know you! What on Equestria made you think that?” She slammed a hoof against her own face, then swung it away in a grand gesture. “When I said ‘Fail more’ this is not what I had in mind!”

“Not five seconds ago you were in Trixie’s face caressing her horn telling Trixie to take your ‘hints’! What did you think Trixie was going to think you meant!” She felt that by now familiar warmth in the corners of her eyes, she clenched her teeth trying to push through it. Don’t cry, don’t you dare cry! “Was it just another of your stupid pranks?”

“Wait, what? No! Flinching! You mule, flinching! You finally did not flinch when I was near or touched you!” She threw up both hooves in frustration. “For Celestia’s sake! Just this morning you hated me. Are you that desp—Woah!”

Arguing while laying on top of the pony you are angry at, with nowhere else to go, was awkward enough. But when Trixie prepared to answer and tried to stomp her hoof down to add power to her point, in her haste she’d missed Rainbow Dash entirely. With neither pony holding the other anymore, it would have been hard for a healthy concentrating pony to keep her balance on a single pegasus in the sky, and Trixie was neither. Her hoof stomped onto the cloud itself and swept right through it, tumbling Trixie along with it, screaming in alarm.

Rainbow Dash quickly hooked her elbow through Trixie’s and pulled, just managing to pull her head above the clouds again. She looked down to find that the angry unicorn she had been fighting was gone, replaced by one much more melancholic.

“Rainbow Dash,” Trixie whimpered as she failed to hold back anymore, doing her very best to sound as commanding as she could. “Just let Trixie fall.” She could not even stay angry properly anymore. In hindsight not being scared of Rainbow Dash would have been a good milestone by itself, all she had to do was just ask Rainbow Dash what she meant or say she gave up guessing. But she could not even do that right and ended up ruining it too, by kissing the mare out of the blue and practically confessing herself, with terrible results. She had had enough of it, the unfamiliar feelings, the confusion, the hurt. This was going to be so much simpler.

Rainbow Dash stared down at Trixie in disbelief for a moment. They were on a cloud far above even the tallest of the Everfree Forest trees, and there was nothing below them but the canopy covering the timberwolf hunting ground. They were both aware Trixie was never going to survive the fall. Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth scowling at Trixie. “Fine,” she hissed. Then, she let go.

Trixie’s eyes widened to saucers. Her vision obscured by white clouds for a split second, then she saw the Everfree Forest rush towards her at a dazzling speed. It had not occurred to her before that moment, but she had never been this high up in her life, the wind rushed past her fur while the canopy approached the freefalling Trixie.

She felt her chest pull incredibly tight, but it took her a moment to realize it was not just fear this time. A set of cyan hooves closed around her front with an iron grip and within half a second the forest was retreating again while they shot back up into the sky.

One inelegant landing later had both ponies back on their cloud, panting heavily while hooking their hooves around each other again.

“Any more bright ideas?” Rainbow Dash snapped, but she got no retort back anymore, just feeling the unicorn shake in her grasp. She tried to keep her gaze averted and uninterested. Still seething for what the little thief had pulled, but much more for what she had tried as a solution. “Have you come to your senses? As if you really wanted to die, you weren’t ready back at the timberwolf and you sure weren’t now!” But she did cast a quick glance down at her.

Trixie had lost all fight in her. She merely shook all over while she pulled her hooves tightly around Rainbow Dash, as though she planned to never let go again. She was scared witless from the fall, burying her face into the soft cyan fur while she cried. Somehow something still told her she could seek comfort with the angry mare.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Trixie, it was becoming almost hard to breathe with the death grip the mare had on her. Her expression softened somewhat, giving a squeeze in return. “Come on, It was stupid. But, you didn’t think I was going to let you off that easy did you?”

“N-no. I’m sorry… but I can explain...” She glanced at Rainbow Dash, she looked conflicted and clearly struggling to stay calm.

“Oh really you can explain? This I got to hear.” The words harsh, but the tone much softer than before as the initial tide of anger ebbed.

I can explain? Really? No I can’t, and now I’m committed to it. If I want out of this I could just tell her I was afraid of what she would do if I rejected her. But that’s not true now is it. Besides I-I don’t want to hurt her. She was so thrilled I was not scared of her anymore, I can’t take that away just for a get-out-of-stable-free-card.

Rainbow Dash looked at the ashamed unicorn, who was clearly struggling to provide the explanation she promised, then let out a long sigh. ”Hey uhm. Look… That was a great prank. You got me good. Well done.”

Trixie blinked and looked up to Rainbow Dash in silence for a moment. What. What is she talking about? She clearly does not believe that. So why would she… oh. She shook her head in response to the offered out, but gave a weak smile in return at Rainbow Dash’s kindness. “Okay well… You are a stunt flyer right? So you know how you have that little voice inside your head that tells you can totally do that corkscrew through an open window?” She received an affirming nod. “Well you know how it’s not always right? But that’s okay because it’s not that voice’s job to be right, just to give you enough confidence to try? Imagine it being the Royal Canterlot Voice. Don’t tell anyone but, I-I uhm just a little carried away sometimes?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. Her eyes rolled with the explanation while she pictured it, then swooped back down to Trixie. She did not interrupt her though. It was only afterwards that Rainbow Dash realized, Trixie had dropped out of third person?

Trixie did her best to appear calm and collected, taking deep, if somewhat shaky, breaths. She told herself she was just explaining a simple misunderstanding, repeatedly. “I-I thought you were, erm. C-confessing to me.”

“While I barely know you?” Rainbow Dash caught the hurt expression Trixie’s face. ”Err look that does not mean I don’t like you at all, now at least. But you hated me just earlier this week right? Hey, I hated you. Back then! I mean I hated you back then.”

Even with Rainbow Dash’s best efforts put into damage control, it did not prevent the remarks from hitting Trixie like a bull. The worst part was that it had all been true. There was no way feelings changed that quickly, why did she ever think Rainbow Dash was confessing to her? And much more importantly, why had she been so happy about it?

“Even if you had all the confidence in the world making you do something stupid, that does not explain it. You barely know me either. Now I’m totally awesome and everything, but you don’t just love somepony all of a sudden.”

Trixie looked away. She wished she had her hat to disappear into, but it was still on the forest floor. She considered just shutting up, but she had dug this far down already, she might as well go for the full six feet. “W-well. I-I don’t know. I might be? I missed you, when you were sleeping I mean, I never miss ponies. And I h-have fun when with you around. I do not usually care how other ponies feel, but I cared that I upset you. I did not know what to call it… You’d been much nicer to me lately, and then you confessed. So I went with it.”

“I did not confess,” Rainbow Dash corrected sternly, though her voice softened while her hoof reached up to Trixie’s mane. “Look. I’m sorry. I guess this is confusing to you. But… What you are describing. It does mean a lot to me to know you feel that way, thank you. But that’s what Friendship is like.”

She’s not taking me seriously… maybe she’s right? It’s just friendship that I’m feeling? I-I guess I do feel the same way towards Fluttershy. She’s just as important to me, so it would make sense if that’s just how friends feel about each other right? But… Trixie raised her gaze up to meet Rainbow Dash, her eyes teared up as she asked the question on her mind. “Then why does this hurt so much?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

I actually have a good excuse for being late, but I'm not happy about it.
My pc had some major error and utterly refused to do do anything.
Fortunately I fixed it without losing any files.
Figures that it would die it on me right in between these two chapters ey?
Was it worth the wait? I think so. ^^

Chapter 28 - Redirect

“Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, am I interrupting?” The soft voice pulled the attention of both ponies towards Fluttershy in an instant, who let of a quiet squeak and hid behind her mane. She was seated on the cloud just a bit away from the pair, staring uncomfortably at the hugging ponies and trying to avert her gaze with a blush.

When did she get up here? H-how much of all that did she hear? Trixie had been so wrapped up in the moment she never noticed Fluttershy land on the cloud, and by the looks of things neither had Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash was first to find her voice. “Hey Fluttershy, T-Trixie was just a little upset over the whole thing with the timberwolf. Isn’t that right Trixie?” She gave the crying unicorn a squeeze, a friendly gesture to Fluttershy, and an unmistakable one to Trixie.

“T-that’s right. Timberwolf, yes. T-Trixie just had a nightmare that’s all. Don’t worry about it. How are you feeling, Fluttershy?” She gave her a quick once over, relieved to see Fluttershy relatively unharmed.

Fluttershy looked from Rainbow Dash to Trixie, then one of her eyebrows rose up. She was clearly not buying it. She knew far more than most about being upset, and this was not the fearful kind.“… Oh, okay then. I’m fine now, Trixie. I’m so sorry for scaring you both.” The duo of ponies breathed a sigh of relief, only for it to get cut off half way by that kind voice. “And don’t worry, I think I have some tea for ‘nightmares’. We’ll try some later, if that’s okay with you.”

Trixie glanced at Rainbow Dash, but went completely ignored as she just pressed Fluttershy a bit further on her health, and the events that took place. Trixie felt completely out of her element, and it was not merely the fact that she was on a cloud. She did her best to push it all out of her mind for the moment though. She was not sure if it was intentional, but Rainbow Dash was keeping the conversation going without a single lull while Trixie collected herself.

She was not sure if she was disappointed or grateful for Fluttershy's interruption. Her chest ached terribly from her confrontation with Rainbow Dash and it only seemed to get worse when she looked at Fluttershy. She did her best to force the dizzying feelings down as far a she could and drape her stage persona over them, fortunately she was pretty good at the later.

Once Trixie actually started to pay attention to what was said, the first thing she really noticed was not the things they were talking about. But how fluid Fluttershy was managing to speak. Her voice was still so soft, but almost none of the pauses or stuttering seemed to be there anymore while she spoke with Rainbow Dash.

“Okay fine I won’t go down there for your bags, Fluttershy. But then we can’t stay in the castle very long can we? We need something decent eat.”

Now that Trixie thought about it, how long had the two been speaking? She had not paid much attention to the time while she was recovering but it had to have been much longer than she had ever thought Fluttershy could handle engaging in conversation. Perhaps there was some kind of trick to it that she was unaware of.

“I know, Rainbow Dash, but it’s only a small flight. I’ll just fly back and get something to eat to bring back once we are there.”

Trixie looked from Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash. Really? They are arguing about food? I guess we did lose ours, maybe the timberwolf even ate it by now, along with my hat. A grimace spread across her face at the thought. She leaned over to the edge of the cloud to peer down at the canopy, trying to get her bearings on what area of the forest she would have to look for it if she ever decided to try.

“You want to fly all alone, all the way over the Everfree Forest and back, carrying supplies? How would we know if something happened? I’ll come with you.”

It looked like she was going to have some time alone to think over what happened. Maybe she could answer her own question. she was fairly sure Rainbow Dash did not have an answer for her, even if Fluttershy had not interrupted them before.

“We can’t leave Trixie alone all by herself, she was not well before and who knows what forcing so much magic did to her. Oh that’s right. How are you feeling Trixie?” Fluttershy’s attention was drawn back to the nearly forgotten Trixie. Her teal eyes finally settled upon her again.

Trixie startled out of her thoughts and looks from one to the other, both ponies stared at her awaiting her answer. She quickly smiled and reached a hoof up to flip her mane. “Oh, Trixie is just fine thank you, Fluttershy. The Great and Powerful Trixie could cast spells like that all day without breaking a sweat.” It was not lie, considering it felt like she was not The Great and Powerful Trixie in her current state.

“See? She’s fine.” Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to Fluttershy.

“I don’t know… She can’t fly, and what if the timberwolf finds her?”

“Trixie is right here, don’t talk about Trixie as if she is a small foal.” Trixie set her hooves against Rainbow Dash’s chest to prop herself up again.

“O-oh, I’m sorry Trixie… I was not thinking.” Fluttershy blushed with the reprimand. “B-but, well. You don’t want to be here all alone do you? Shouldn’t Rainbow Dash uhm… stay with you?”

Wait. What? She’s trying to get me and Rainbow Dash alone isn’t she? Ugh why does everythi—

“Actually, you have a good point Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash said, drawing the attention of both ponies.

“She does?”

“I do?”

“Trixie should not be alone right now. So! You stay with her, I’m much faster and I’ll be fine on my own. I’ll have our lunches here in 10 seconds flat. Not counting the time it takes Pinkie to make them. I’m not cooking.”

“Huh, me and—But, I thought you would, uhm. I mean O-okay, If that’s what you want.” Fluttershy looked taken aback but did not argue the point any further. “Is that alright with you Trixie?”

Trixie blinked, looking from Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy. She was going to get some proper time alone with her at the castle after all? Thank you Celestia, Trixie takes back that thing she said about your sense of humor “Yes. Trixie approves of this plan. Now could we maybe get going? Trixie’s bed is lumpy and hard.”

“Hey! I am not lumpy! Next time it’s a tree branch for you, then tell me you don’t want this awesome bed back. And you won’t get it!” Rainbow Dash pulled Trixie against her chest and with a few wing beats they were airborne again, carrying Trixie towards the nearby castle.

“So you admit to being hard?” Trixie smirked.

“Don’t think I won’t drop you again, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash shot back.

“Drop her? Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy flew next to them nearby to keep in range of the sound.

“Nothing! Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash gave a few quick beats with her wings sending her ahead of Fluttershy and once out of earshot, she remarked. “You know. She is the Element of Kindness, not gullibility. She's not going to ask, but she’ll listen if you want to talk to her honestly, I won’t be mad.”

Trixie merely nodded quietly as they descended towards the castle of the two sisters.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. ^^

So just to try something new. I'm gonna ask a question here.
Don't worry there are no wrong answers.
Do you feel the story desc should have mentioned a little more? Or did it give you just enough to go on?
Obviously most people reading this, you are all awesome btw, are still reading this even if the desc was vague, but I thought I'd ask. xD

Chapter 29 - Regal

Trixie slowly trotted through the ancient throne room, it was a complete time worn mess. And yet somehow it seemed easy to imagine how everything had been a thousand years ago. Most of the tapestry was still there, and in surprisingly good shape considering their age.

Why did I ever do that? Do I even listen to myself? ‘Trixie is the most desirable unicorn’ Indeed! What’s wrong with me. I get a little bit of praise and it goes right to my head.

Rainbow Dash had left almost as soon as Trixie’s hooves had touched the ground, apparently quite eager to leave. Trixie could not really blame her, and if she had the option she’d have preferred some time alone herself.

Or maybe the problem is that I actually do listen to myself. She got so mad at me. Why do I have to be such a foal.

She did her best to keep her attention on the castle itself, to keep from thinking too much. She admired the way it still stood after so long, but worried about the crumbled ceilings, and even more about those that had not yet crumbled.

Well of course I know why, I-I guess I just really wanted to believe that somebody actually loved me. Even at my lowest, or especially at my lowest. It just felt so good it had to be true, I wanted it so badly.

She paused nowhere in particular then just stared ahead, lost in her own mind. She felt like she was missing something important. She had found plenty of reasons to think favorably of Rainbow Dash, but then there was the reaction to the kiss. Even if it was a misunderstanding it had been much too strong, like she had done something unforgivable. It hurt to think she had ruined any chance of being on friendly terms with her again.

Rainbow Dash did so many things for me, even if I just scorned her for it at the time. In hindsight she was just trying to help. She saved me. It was so easy to tell myself it was out of love, not her guilty conscience. I just lied to myself. Maybe… she had a point? Is it really love? Do I really love her? Or—

“Uhm. Trixie? Do you like that painting?” Fluttershy asked, standing beside Trixie. Looking at the fractured large frame hanging askew on the wall, She did not get the appeal.

Trixie snapped out of the thoughts that snuck up on her, coming to realize she’d been staring at the same paled scraps of canvas for a while. “W-what? Oh erm. Trixie thought she recognized it. Yes. Anyway, do you think this would happen to Canterlot if it was abandoned?” Gah since when am I such an emotional wreck, get it together Trixie. It was a stupid misunderstanding. There’s no point in pining on it, just focus on this trip, on Fluttershy.

“C-Canterlot? I guess so? Though there is no forest around there. Oh, maybe the private garden of the galloping gala would overgrow the city! I would love to see that. All those wonderful creatures all throughout the city.” Fluttershy went quiet while she stared blankly at the painting, no doubt lost in her own thoughts this time.

Trixie could not help but smile while she watched Fluttershy speak about something with so much passion and then simply space out. She decided not to disturb her for a while, content to just watch her in silence. There was something so soothing that just radiated from Fluttershy, it seemed like no trouble at all to keep the calm around her.

That’s kind of cute. I did not know she liked that garden so much, she’s always so quiet.

Finally Trixie broke the serenity. “Do you like that painting, Fluttershy?” She smiled and kept her voice soft, trying not to disrupt her dream world too rudely.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. But I guess I see what you saw it in now.” Fluttershy smiled back with a blush.

Trixie giggled with the reaction and shook her head. “Yes it really speaks to the imagination, doesn’t it?” She turned to trot further down the halls towards what looked like the throne room. But she halted in her tracks when an unfamiliar sound rung out behind her, quiet but ever so sweet.

Still looking at the painting, Fluttershy laughed.

Trixie had often heard Rainbow Dash laugh, generally at her, but never Fluttershy. It was almost musical, and it ended far too soon when Fluttershy caught Trixie looking at her.

Note to self: Tell more jokes.

“Oh sorry, were you waiting?” Fluttershy lowered her head a bit, causing her pink mane to shield her while she made her way over to Trixie. She looked towards the throne room then back at Trixie.

Trixie tried to hide her disappointment behind an overly bright smile while she shook her head. “Oh no not at all, come on we have a lot of castle to explore. Did you know that a thousand years ago Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ruled together? They even have two thrones in the main throne room. From what you showed me though it seems Luna went to her own private throne room, since there was only one throne there. What do you suppose they needed three throne rooms for? Assuming Celestia has one as well.”

Fluttershy looked up through the fallen in ceiling, gazing up at the sky while she thought on the question. “M-maybe it was a compromise? They were sisters after all. Perhaps the castle was divided in two and they were not supposed to go into each other’s part? Like a private room?”

Stepping into the throne room, Trixie smiled. “Hey very good! See just being here you can start to imagine a story of how it was here.” She pointed to the pair of thrones. “Over there would be where they were together, but they each rule at different times so they would only be here in the mornings or evenings. Or I suppose during important events that needed them both, otherwise their own thrones were probably used.”

“Oh, that’s right. Princess Luna is nocturnal.” Fluttershy followed behind Trixie coming closer to the thrones. She glanced back towards the door. The room was so big it almost felt like it was outside, though that was no surprise as it was so easy to see outside through the broken walls while encroaching plants brought the forest inside. In that way, It was a reminiscent of Fluttershy's own home.

Trixie nodded to the question, unaware Fluttershy was looking away, her sights set upon the pair of thrones raised on a small platform above the rest of the room. With a giddy smile she climbed the steps and settled into the old chipped blue throne. It was a bit filthy but she was not about to let that ruin her chance. “Trixie always wondered what the world would look like from a throne, The Great and Powerful Trixie could get used to this!”

Fluttershy turned her attention back to Trixie and gasped. “W-what are you doing? W-we can’t do that, can we? Even if they are O-old they are still the Princess’s.” Her eyes shot up at the sun shining through the open collapsed roof as though she was expecting Celestia to come down that very moment.

Trixie laughed while waving a hoof dismissively. “Do not worry yourself, Fluttershy, if they cared for these they would not have left them behind. Come on up here, you have got to try this. Now, you have the Regal and Truthful Princess Trixie’s promise nothing will happen. Princess Fluttershy.” She grinned widely while motioning Fluttershy closer. Though she said that, still Trixie glanced up at the sky when she saw Fluttershy do so just to check she was not watching royalty decent.

“Oh uhm… that’s okay, I’m fine down here.” Fluttershy just smiled uncomfortably while Trixie looked down at her bemused.

“You cannot be serious how often would you get a chance to do this? It’s really comfy here, Princess Fluttershy. Look Princess Celestia’s throne even goes well with your coat color, as Princess Luna’s goes with mine, surely that is a sign that it is okay,” Trixie groaned while she leaned back in the throne, placing her hooves on the armrests.

“I-I don’t know… This does not seem right.” Fluttershy took a step away. Letting her eyes flick between Celestia’s empty throne and Trixie, she pinned her ears against her head.

Trixie paused and stared down at Fluttershy as she took careful step back. “Don’t be like that. That’s a direct order from Princess Trixie. Now get up here!“ Trixie tapped her hoof on the arm rest impatiently. Why did that pony have to be such a spoilsport? All she wanted was to have a bit of fun with her on some old thrones. Why is she being so difficult!

Fluttershy flinched as Trixie yelled at her, nodding a little and mumbling something so quiet Trixie could not make it out. She climbed up the stairs towards the throne, averting her gaze from Trixie. She no longer tried to argue.

Trixie smiled widely as Fluttershy gave in and went for the throne. “That’s the spirit! Welcome Princess Fluttershy.” She performed a curtsey from her throne. “Oh right. Princesses don’t do that.” She giggled and sat back down, looking out over the court. “See isn’t this fun?”

Fluttershy stopped before Celestia’s throne, fidgeting with her hooves as she just nodded. Her eyes cast down at the floor. She set one shaking hoof down on the very edge of Celestia’s old throne.

Letting her gaze sweep across the empty court, Trixie imagined royal guards, subjects, and even a jester. She returned her eyes to her fellow princess and watched while Fluttershy seemed to have trouble to get on the throne. “Huh? Do you need Trixies help? It’s not that high just hurry up and jump.” She looked puzzled at the trembling Fluttershy, then her face rapidly paled.

Good job Trixie make her hate you too. It’s a good thing there are only two ponies that will even speak to you. Just imagine how much work it would be if you had to burn any more bridges today.

Trixie felt her blood run cold. Struggling to form words to call out, her tongue felt frozen. Wait! Stop! Trixie leaped out of her throne towards Fluttershy, tackling her and sending both ponies sprawling across the floor. Trixie could hear the surprised cry from Fluttershy below her. “I-I’m sorry!” She hugged Fluttershy tightly. “I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 30 - Rueful

After Trixie tackled Fluttershy away from the throne, she broke down. Pinning the confused and frightened pegasus to the ground, Trixie was terrified she’d fly away before giving her a chance again. “I’m sorry! I am! Please don’t leave.” If I let go now she’ll leave!

It took Fluttershy a moment to realize what had happened, Trixie had attacked her out of the blue? “Ouch, wha? T-Trixie, Let me go!” Fluttershy struggled below Trixie on the courtroom floor, trying to escape from the crazed mare. Her wings flared up, giving a couple of quick beats.

Trixie’s felt her heart sink. “I knew it! I knew you’d try to leave! Please stay, I won’t do it again I promise! Just listen to me!” She just knew she had to convince Fluttershy. Her hold on the other mare grew tighter. The excitement and the tumble brought back the headache, her vision blurred for a moment.

Fluttershy stopped fighting, her teal eyes just stared up at Trixie frightened. She was not sure why Trixie was suddenly giving her an ultimatum, obey or be struck. But then why was she sorry? Because it had to be this way? “W-what? No this is wrong. I don’t know what I did, was I not fast enough? Is that why you are mad? Please just let me go, Trixie, I don’t like this”

“No I’m not mad, you are! Aren’t you? I-I don’t know. Just, I need to think, and you can’t leave till I do!” Trixie’s head throbbed painfully, in sync with her rapid heartbeat. With Fluttershy no longer resisting she tried to calm down, thinking of what to say. “I’m sorry. Really!”

“If you are sorry then let me go.” Fluttershy spoke softly.

Trixie bit her lip. “N-no, you’re gonna leave me too.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.

Fluttershy stared up at Trixie while she was pinned down. Her eyes took in each detail of the tense and shaking Trixie. She did not find what she expected, Trixie was not intimidating, she was not glaring at her or bearing her teeth. Instead she looked so small, like her world was collapsing around her.

Fluttershy’s expression softened at the sight. It was something she could recognize much better, a similar kind of upset as she had seen after she joined the pair on the cloud . She brought up her hooves around Trixie. “Shhh. Don’t let go then, just come here. It’s okay. I’m staying I promise.” She embraced Trixie and pulled her close, letting one hoof stroke her mane.

Trixie jolted when she felt Fluttershy pull her in, but eagerly accepted the warmth offered her, trusting Fluttershy’s promise. She closed her eyes when she felt the soft butter-yellow fur against hers, soothed by the touch and reassuring voice. “I’m sorry…”

“I know, and it’s okay. I don’t blame you Trixie. You’re not well.” She carefully petted Trixie as she spoke, looking at the unicorns horn.

Trixie didn’t notice the remark. She was much more relieved to hear Fluttershy say everything was fine. She still kept a grip on the mare, but it was much more gentle now, simply hugging her. She rested her muzzle in the pink mane, a scent of leafs , earth and sweat; It was to be expected after their ordeal with the timberwolfs, Trixie’s muzzle wrinkled. “I-I am sorry.” She repeated again, it was hard to think of something more meaningful to say.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I understand. Just calm down, I’m not mad at you. Rainbow Dash will be back soon, then we can just have some lunch, and after that we’ll go back home okay? Oh I should never have agreed to this.”

Trixie’s eyes shot open. “Rainbow Dash!” She looked at Fluttershy uncertainly, her eyes darting up at the sky then back to her. “S-she is mad at me. I did something wrong. I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Oh don’t worry. Rainbow Dash is not going to stay mad at you, why I’m sure she will forgive you if you apologize. What happened, Trixie?” Fluttershy just smiled warmly, as though whatever was bothering Trixie had long since been resolved and she was just waiting to tell her so.

Trixie blushed and lowered her gaze, staring at a tuft of grass that grew between the tiles. “U-uhm… I-I kissed her.” She could swear she felt Fluttershy tense up below her. She was unable to bring herself to lift her head to check her expression.

“Oh… my…” It was all Fluttershy managed for a while. She’d frozen completely, just staring at Trixie. It took a moment for her to register the gradually growing little tremors coming from the pony in her hooves. “Ah no! I’m sorry. L-look I was just surprised. I did n-not think that you would be uhm… W-well I don’t think Rainbow Dash is. Is that why you are upset?”

“I-I don’t know. It’s just Rainbow Dash got really mad at me. She did not hit me, but it hurt. I don’t want her to hate me.” Trixie closed her eyes tight, trying to push out the memory of how humiliating it had been to be so wrong and the fight that followed.

“Now you stop that right now. She does not hate you. I think I might know why she got mad at you.”

“You do? How do I fix it?”

“Uhm well. It’s not really something you can give back. You see, I’ve known Rainbow Dash for a very long time. Almost as long as I can remember. We went to Ponyville together, attended the same Flight school, Lived in the same district of Cloudsdale. Why I would not be surprised if we came from the same hospital, oh sorry.”

Trixie had managed to bring one eye up to look at Fluttershy, and the confusion about the tangent she went on was clear on her face.

“I-I’m saying, we’ve been friends forever. She’s very assertive, confident, pretty, passionate, and a fantastic flier. There were plenty of ponies I knew of that liked her, not in the friends kind of way either. We often talk, she never talked about any of them. I see her a lot, she’s always training, or working, or lazing, Oh uhm I guess I should call it resting, but I’ve never seen her with a special somepony.”

“So you’re saying she just has no interest in other ponies like that?”

“Well, that’s not really what I meant, though I guess that maybe is true, but what I mean is I don’t think she’s ever kissed somepony, before now.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 31 - Rarity

The ponies below looked like ants. Rainbow Dash felt the wind rush through her prismatic mane, relishing the cold gusts of the air through her fur. She zigzagged through the clouds effortlessly, while her eyes scanned her surroundings.

“Figures that the first thing I do after she shows she isn’t scared anymore, is give her reason to fear me. Way to lose your cool Rainbow, it’s not like she can read minds , even if she claimed she could.”

She dipped one wing and began a slow spiral down towards Ponyville. Taking flight had turned out to be a good decision, the cold high altitude air helped cool her head. She reached up one hoof to stroke along her lips.

“Still… that was not how I pictured it. I guess that’s what I get for being such a coward for too long huh? It’s as much my fault as hers, maybe more.”

“She was just confused, right?” She could still vividly see Trixie’s face staring at her in mild annoyance, then melt to confusion while she tried to figure out what the heck Rainbow Dash had been up to. It had been fun at the time.

What came afterward sent a painful stab through her chest to remember. Trixie had brightened up so much, her lavender eyes wide and shining. A prelude to what was to come as Trixie finally allowed herself to smile, brighter even than when she was reunited with her hat and cloak, and kissed her. “Y-yeah… confused sure. Everybody looks over the moon when they are confused. It’s not as if I hurt her feelings. I just corrected them, right? Right?” .

’Then why does this hurt so much?’ The words echoed through her mind, her stomach felt as if she’d eaten Sweetie Belle’s cooking.

Rainbow Dash sighed while she thought back on her snapping at Trixie, she had been so angry for losing something so important to what she at the time considered to be a prank. By the time she’d realized Trixie was sincere, or at least that Trixie believed so, she already had burned her down and scattered the ashes.

Rainbow Dash did her best to dismiss the notion, drifting off course to crash herself through a raincloud as though she hoped it would wash the thoughts away. It seemed to work. “How was I supposed to know she’d have no idea what friendship felt like? Ehh right ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’, I guess it was kind of obvious nobody would like her. ”

Somehow that thought did not sit right with Rainbow Dash, was Trixie really that unlikable? Had no pony ever tried to look past her venom, insufferable ego and antics for the pony underneath? The more she pondered it the more likely it seemed. Trixie was pretty horrible, and if Rainbow Dash was honest with herself, the only reason she had even tried doing anything with her was to help Trixie recover from the state she had put her in.

“Yeah she is all those things, but come on! She can’t always have been like that, right? Trixie is much nicer to Fluttershy. So there’s got to be a decent pony under that somewhere. Did she just never get a chance to show it? Would I have given her a second look if it wasn’t for how horrible I was to her? ”

The ground rapidly approached. She scanned for a good place to land. She also had a choice to make as to where she would go first. As promised she had not recovered Fluttershy’s saddlebags, making Sugarcube Corner one of her destinations. But she had never said anything about the other torn and ragged item, grinning while she glanced down at the purple, star-decorated hat held in her hooves.

“Who would have thought I’d get another chance at this? I’m not going to mess it up this time.”

Her hooves struck against the road, folding her wings onto her back. Around her ponies were going about their day as usual, shopping or dragging their goods to market. She was already at the first stop, trotting up to the fancy Carousel Boutique adorned in what Rainbow Dash assumed were fashionable colors.

Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. “Rarity? Are you allowing ponies inside yet? It’s been like a week.” She had not seen Rarity out in public ever since Trixie had turned the mares hair into some horrible green swamp rats nest.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash, I’ve reopened the store since two days ago.” Rarity’s voice increased in volume from behind the door until it swung open, revealing the pristine white unicorn. Her mane however was not its usual purple, but solid black. ”Come in come in! What brings you to my boutique? I was not expecting you, did you have a change of heart? Tea?” She turned and motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow.

Rainbow Dash stared shocked at Rarity for a few moments, then hurried inside after her. “Err well no, I told you before, you are never getting me in a dress. No way, no how! I’m here for something else.”

“Oh we will see about that, mark my words you will come around one day. So if not that then why are you here?”

Rainbow paused to set Trixie’s hat upon her head, grinning widely as she got close behind Rarity. “Oh You’ll find out. By the way, nice hair.”

Rarity stopped in her tracks and twitched. “It was the best I could do on short notice. Let’s agree right now that you never speak again of what happened with that wiIIIIITCH!” She screamed after she turned around and briefly mistook Rainbow for Trixie, stumbling back gasping for breath. “Where did you get that thing! And what on Equestria did you do with it! You should not treat a work of art like that, Rainbow Dash, even if it belonged to she who will not be named.”

Most of Trixie’s tricks during her show had been of short duration. Rainbow was merely made dizzy, something she recovered from within the day, and Applejack was swiftly untied. Unlike everypony else Rarity’s curse from Trixie had lingered long after the show, and the resentment clearly still very fresh in the now black-maned mare’s mind.

The reaction was just priceless to Rainbow Dash, roaring with laughter at the sight of Rarity’s face. She faltered once she caught sight of the dagger Rarity stared at her, doing her best to reign herself in, but still sniggering under her breath. “Timberwolf got to it, I figured you would know how to fix it up.”

“I beg your pardon? This is serious, Rainbow Dash, what did you do? Just because it belonged that horrible witch does not make it okay to torture a perfectly innocent piece of clothing!” Rarity’s horn flared up, lifting the hat off Rainbow Dash. Floating it towards her for inspection, it was filthy and ripped. “In fact, her wardrobe was the one redeeming quality of that Mane-Murdering-Mare. I don’t suppose you also found the witch’s cloak? It was a rather beautiful set that really should not be parted.”

Rainbow Dash could not really explain it, but she felt a flame ignite inside of her veins as Rarity spoke. “Her name is Trixie.” Any lingering giddiness had dropped from her voice.

“I suppose this can still be salvaged. And free of charge, I insist.” The hat flew towards one of the mannequins. “Yes I am aware of that, Rainbow Dash. It was pretty hard to miss with her repeating it over and over, I suspect she was trying to fool herself more so than the crowd.”

It gave Rainbow Dash pause, she was not sure why she was so angry at Rarity. She was being her usual generous self. “She’s not that bad if you get to know her.” What am I saying, I just got through screaming I did not know her barely ten minutes ago.

“Oh? Well then let’s get to know her shall we?”

Rainbow Dash blinked, did Rarity know she and Fluttershy had been harboring Trixie? That could not be right, the only one that should have been aware of it was Applejack, though that was more because Rainbow Dash was such a terrible liar. “Uhm how? It’s not like she’s been in Ponyville all this time or anything.”

“Not like that dear. You see, you can tell a lot about a pony by their clothes.”

“Most ponies don’t wear any, what’s that say?”

“That they don’t have a fashion sense, this one does.” Rarity lifted the hat with her magic and brought it back towards them, crystal blue eyes scanning every inch of it while it turned in her magical grasp. “Mhm that is interesting. Are you sure this is her hat?”

“I never said it was her hat, but yeah I’m sure. Why?”

“Oh, well it’s just that it looked much newer during the show.” Rarity raised a hoof to preemptively silence Rainbow Dash. “NOT because this is after you fed it to a timberwolf. We’ll be ignoring these new gashes for now.”

“Hey! I did not feed it to a timberwolf.”

“Right, you will have to explain after this. First, look at this area here. Do you see how it looks new on the outside? But if you look on the inside you can see it is in fact a tear that has been repaired.” She turned the hat inside out to demonstrate her point.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with the entire concept, but she did nod when she saw what looked like stitching where Rarity pointed. But there were so many others it was hard to tell which one she actually tried to point out. “Well yeah, but it’s got that all over the inside of that hat so what difference does that one make?”

“Very perceptive Rainbow Dash.” Rarity sounded genuinely surprised. “But that is actually the point. There is no difference. Every one of those tears, gashes and holes has been patched up meticulously. This hat is old, but it has been maintained extremely well. Now this tells us two things.”

“That she had a good tailor and new hats are expensive?”

“Err… no. But not a bad try Rainbow. The amount of damage to the hat tells us she is completely careless, and spares not a single thought to possible negative consequence of her actions, or ignores them, she’s just plain blind to them.”

Rainbow Dash raised a brow as she heard this. It did seem to fit somewhat with what she knew of Trixie. Trixie had done a lot of things, only to act nearly surprised when they worked out badly. Still, she had also seen her regret her actions, a lot. She was about to open her mouth when Rarity continued.

“Yes yes I know, this is hardly surprising given what we saw of her during that egotistical muleplay she called a show. But the next part is the shocker. See how this area here around these fixed tears the fabric breathes slightly more? It’s what happens when you continuously stitch and unstitch the same area.”

“Uh, yeah of course, Rarity.” As far as she could tell the fabric was the exact same, and how did fabric breath? She did not see any nostrils or mouths on it. She would have to discuss this with Pinkie Pie later when getting lunch, it seemed like the kind of thing that would be right for her. “So what does that mean then?”

“It means she does dwell on her mistakes, obsesses over them in fact, and she does her best to fix them. Trying over and over till the gash is properly repaired. Look at just how much effort she puts in to make sure it looks perfect again.”

“Or it means she just really likes this hat. She sure was in no hurry to repay Ponyville for the Ursa attack, or to apologize for the things she did to me, you, and AJ.”

“…Yes. But that simply means she only does it when she cares about the ones she damages and realizes it. She cares for the hat, so she go’s great lengths to fix it. If she actually ever cared about another pony I’m sure she’d obsess over that too, not that I expect that witch to care of anything but herself and her personal possessions. That lack of other ponies might be a good thing really. If she gets as attached to ponies as she does this hat, combined with her lack of foresight I imagine it would torment her a lot.”

Rainbow Dash swallowed uncomfortably while she stared at the inside-out hat. “So… What happens if that happens?”

Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment, as though it had only just occurred to her that Rainbow Dash, RAINBOW DASH, was sitting next to her staring at a hat, and actually was interested. “Uh well… You know the star pattern yes?” She turned the hat to demonstrate the varied sized and shaped stars.

“Yeah what about it?”

“Not all of those stars are part of the original design, you can tell they are out of place here and there if you look closely. There is a very simple reason for it. Take this star for instance.” She pressed her hoof on one then flipped the hat, pressing up through it to show the inside behind the star.

It was a mess, even Rainbow Dash could tell the repair attempt failed miserably on the inside.

Rarity continued. “This was probably something she did not have the skill to fix, or maybe simply could never be fixed, but even I can’t tell at this point. She tried though. And each attempt just made it worse, the surrounding fabric is torn, the threads are frayed, the stitches too tight. It’s a disaster, you can just about feel her desperation increase with each try. So finally she gave up, left the entire mess for what it was and stitched a pretty picture on it to hide her failure on the outside, and moved on. Sounds about right doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash stared at the back of the star, the implication left her feeling cold.

“So, where is she, Rainbow?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A wild Rarity appears?
You have no idea how pleased I was to get an obvious chapter title.
Apparently I got a bit carried away since this turned out to be the biggest chapter yet.
Also the first one to go over two thousand words. Dang.
Is Rarity right? Or is she about as reliable as a horoscope?

Chapter 32 - Regional

The sun shone through the long since collapsed roof of the throne room, warming the ancient stones, frayed rugs and the pair of ponies laying on top of them. Trixie had eventually been convinced to reluctantly let go of Fluttershy, however she did not mind their new position.

It was similar to the time she made up with her, both of them laying on their stomach side to side against each other, and one yellow wing draped over Trixie’s back. Trixie rested her head against Fluttershy’s mane while she listened to her talk.

“And that is why they became known as star-spider, kind of interesting that it has nothing to do with their mark isn’t it? They actually got those marks later in recognition.” Fluttershy smiled warmly while she recounted the tale.

Trixie nodded slightly while she stared at the crude drawing etched out in the dust, it was an illustration of a star-spider Fluttershy had made. A smile unfaltering on her face while she listened, wishing she had thought of something so obvious sooner.

“The animals here?” Fluttershy visibly lit up. “Oh there so many kinds. But this deep in the forest it is hard to find them. I think the only animals here are probably bats, oh and the star-spiders. I do not think they are very active this time of year though.”

“I-is that so, why is that?” Trixie felt something soft pressing down on her back and blinked giving a quick glance backwards, discovering a butter-yellow wing resting on top of her tattered cape. She gave a quick look towards Fluttershy, and was met with that warm smile.

“Well, that’s a long story.” Fluttershy winked, and let her wing press down while she sank through her legs guiding both ponies down to rest upon the carpet. One hoof reached forward to edge a spider like shape in the dirt cover the tile floor just beyond it, giving Trixie something to avert her gaze too. “You see the spiders, much like many animals, go through different periods of activity with the seasons. For example...”

Trixie stared down at the crudely drawn spider, grateful for having an excuse not to look Fluttershy in the face for a little while. She listened while Fluttershy told her all about the Star-spider seasons, personalities, and environmental effect. Trixie was sure many such other lectures could have followed, only requiring Trixie to name an animal to have Fluttershy tell her everything there was to know about it.

Heh, she never needed a lesson in storytelling at all. She just needs the right subject. At least I learned something.

If it was up to Trixie she would have just stayed there and listened to that soft enchanting voice the rest of the day. She knew she could not stall for time indefinitely though, even if Fluttershy was never going to push her. Trixie had gotten enough time to recollect herself again.

“Fluttershy? Thank you for sharing that with Trixie. Trixie thinks she can tell you now.” Trixie fidgeted nervously, her eyes lifting up from the spider to Fluttershy.

“Oh, are you sure? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Trixie.” Fluttershy was already looking at her, their met for the first time since Fluttershy had revealed a bit of her and Rainbow Dash’s past.

“Yes, it’s only fair do you not agree? You’ve told Trixie about your childhood friend, it is merely appropriate Trixie tells you about hers.”

“Uhm, I don’t see how… I mean… yes please go ahead.”

Trixie nodded. “Her name was Flitter Bouquet. The truth is, you remind Trixie of her. She used to be timid and shy. We met in magic school, second day of it actually. She did not have any friends and was drawn to Trixie’s natural stage presence, Trixie thought she wanted to have some of Trixie rub off on her.”

Fluttershy’s face turned a shade of pink, but she said nothing.

“P-presence, some of Trixie’s stage presence!” Trixie looked away as though the entire thing was beneath her, she still stole a sideways glance. “Don’t look at Trixie like that, she was just a filly.”

Trixie coughed and cleared her throat, doing her best to suppress her embarrassment. ”It may surprise you, but Trixie was not always proficient in unicorn magic. Flitter was more advanced in magic at the time than Trixie, but she lacked the confidence to show it off. It was funny actually, do you know what that timid ponies magic talent was? Fireworks, the kind of magic designed to draw attention.” She chuckled softly while she stared at nothing for a moment, remembering that uncomfortable adorable look on Flitter’s face when she admitted to it.

“Oh, I can imagine how she must have felt. Did you help her?”

“The Great and Benevolent Trixie did, in return she helped Trixie get a working understanding of magic. Naturally Trixie’s talent bloomed quickly, however it was more difficult to teach Flitter. She often relied on Trixie to do things for her, not that Trixie minded, so we spend much time together. Trixie decided to teach by example, and tried to encourage Flitter to follow suit.”

“That sounds difficult. What kind of things did she need you for?”

“Huh? Oh uhm for instance she was too shy to get in line for lunch, or just let other ponies go ahead of her. Which meant Trixie would have to lunch alone if she did not help her. Sometimes bullies. That kind of thing. Even if she was a slow learner, we had much fun together.”

Fluttershy smiled warmly as she listened. The similarities made it so easy for her to connect.

”Flitter was a good listener and Trixie a good talker. Trixie always had amazing stories to tell and Flitter helped her improve them. Back then Trixie did not have an audience yet, so Trixie was grateful to Flitter for always hearing her out. At the end of our talks Trixie would thank her for listening and, uhm.” She paused and looked up at Fluttershy somewhat unsurely.

“Why did you stop? Did I do something wrong?” Fluttershy looked worried.

“No, but, well… Trixie just wants to emphases this was perfectly normal where Trixie came from.”

“Okay?”

“Trixie would kiss Flitter, on her cheek.”

Fluttershy blinked then blushed. “A-and that was normal there, even back then? Uhm t-that’s great, I-I mean not that it’s bad here but uh, it’s not that ‘open’ even now. I mean well… Showing interest in another filly in front of your whole school? I guess you really were a good choice to learn confidence from.”

Trixie stared at Fluttershy uncomprehendingly for a moment, then once she realized it her cheeks burned. “What? N-no, no Fillyfooling, just kissing like that. It’s a sign of friendship, but Trixie learned it has different meanings in different areas.”

“Oh, is it? I’m sorry. Up in Cloudsdale only family members or special someponies would do that.” Fluttershy looked up at the sky as she spoke as if she expected to see the cloud city up above. She contemplated on the idea for a moment then looked back to Trixie with a smile. “I did not know it would be something filly’s elsewhere did because they were friends, I think it’s sweet.”

Trixie returned the smile. “Trixie thinks so too, however there was something she did not take into account. Trixie’s magic school was in Hoofington, but before that Trixie lived in St. Petershoof.”

“What difference does that make?”

“Well Trixie noticed Flitter would never return the gesture, she would just sit there and blush. At the time Trixie thought it was because she was shy. But they, uh, might not have had the same customs, it never really occurred to Trixie at the time.” Trixie coughed embarrassed while she suddenly found that spider drawing awfully interesting again to look at.

Fluttershy giggled softly and shook her head. “Well, did Flitter ever try to uhm ‘correct’ you on that? If it’s okay to ask that is.”

Trixie shrugged. “Trixie does not remember. So probably not.”

“M-maybe she was too shy to say anything?” Fluttershy offered.

“No.” Trixie said grimly, “she got over that eventually. Trixie remembers that very well.”

Fluttershy went quiet with the sudden shift in tone.

Trixie stared down at the star-spider drawing. “It was all just some stupid trick, as soon as she had actually learned a bit on how to be assertive she turned on Trixie. Maybe the custom was not different at all, and she just did not return it because she did not feel we were friends to begin with. Trixie thought she had done something wrong, as unlikely as that was, but whenever Trixie tried to make it up to Flitter she rejected it. Until Trixie took the hint, she’d just been using Trixie.”

“…I-I’m sorry. Are you okay, Trixie?” Fluttershy leaned down gently so she could look at Trixie’s face, letting her wing stroking along her back reassuringly.

With a grin Trixie raised her head to look at Fluttershy. “Of course Trixie is alright, it was so many years ago that Trixie is over it. Besides, the deal was to trade magic for courage and we each held up our end of the bargain. She just threw in an extra lesson, so Trixie came out ahead really. Don’t you think? It does not take away the fun times, it really does not…” Trixie felt it was so easy to say and sound convinced, after all she had practiced on herself over and over.

“Oh uhm, if you are sure. I can’t imagine how I would feel if that happened…” Fluttershy looked down at the tiles, a shiver ran over her back at the thought of Rainbow Dash turning on her like that.

Trixie smiled and nudged her muzzle against Fluttershy’s neck. “Come on you don’t get to be the one that’s depressed. It is nowhere near as bad as it sounds really. Even so, Trixie never told anyone before. It feels good to get to talk about it finally.”

Fluttershy was nudged out of her nightmarish thoughts, giving an appreciative glance at Trixie. “Sorry, you’re right. I just, I knew it was not going to have a happy ending when you started, but it got so sweet at the middle I got my hopes up anyway.”

“Sweet? Oh, I see.” Trixie blushed and chuckled. “Well that is just the mark of a genius story teller such as the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She grinned pleased, then brought her volume back down. “But seriously, Fluttershy? Thank you for listening.” Trixie leaned in and gave Fluttershy a kiss on her cheek, hearing a soft gasp from the timid mare.

Some soft thuds sounded nearby and something bumped against Trixie’s leg, her eyes sweeping down towards it. A muffin? Where did that come from? Trixie let her gaze follow the path of crumbs till it settled on a ripped paper bag, several more baked goods had spilled out of it. Standing over the bag, staring open mouthed directly at Trixie, was Rainbow Dash.

“This is not what it looks like!” Trixie immediately called out.

Cause THAT always works.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

You know for a pony that is aware of story tropes like Trixie, you would think she'd be better at avoiding them.
I guess it's like trying not to hit a tree when you are crashing, looking directly at the tree will make you crash into it.

Chapter 33 - Ruination

Rainbow Dash stared down the pair from amidst the scattered muffins and cupcakes she’d flown in for their lunch. She mentally tried to parse how much time had passed for her trip, did she accidently take a detour and come back years later? Why was Fluttershy cuddled up on the floor with Trixie, and why in Celestia’s name was Trixie kissing Fluttershy?

“It is not what it looks like!” Trixie could not have sounded more guilty if she’d tried.

The call shook Rainbow Dash out of her stupor, she could feel her heart race and her blood start to boil. “Are you kidding me! Not five seconds ago I was defending you! Do you realize what I had to agree to to get out of telling Rarity where you are!? Argh I can’t believe this.” She stomped a hoof down hard enough to crack the tile below it.

Fluttershy’s head shot up, looking from Trixie to Rainbow Dash and back. Her ears laid down flat against her head with all the screaming. The wing that had been covering Trixie snapped back and locked itself firmly against her side in fright. “W-wait.”

“No, Rainbow, Trixie swears this is different!” Trixie felt as if she was being choked, gasping for breath as she stumbled onto her hooves, and put a bit of distance between herself and Fluttershy. If she was not right next to her perhaps it would calm things down till she could explain.

“Different? So you were NOT just kissing Fluttershy?! My Flu—my best friend!?” Rainbow Dash’s hooves scraped instinctively across the floor as she took a position ready to charge, her wings flared out. ”Hay! Seconds after you supposedly loved me! No that was the idea wasn’t it? I reject you so you thought you’d get revenge using Fluttershy! What did you tell Fluttershy the same thing? She might actually believe you! That’s a new low Trixie even for you!”

“Trixie did no such thing! I-I mean yes the kiss. But that is not the point! Trixie did not tell Fluttershy that! Why do you always think the worst of Trixie?! It’s not fa—” Trixie paused and blinked as for a moment Rainbow Dash appeared to double.

Rainbow Dash seethed while she focused on Trixie, everything else felt unimportant while she stepped closer. “Because you keep proving that’s what I should do! I try to give you every opportunity, I really do, because it’s my fault you are hurt.” She pointed a hoof towards the quivering Fluttershy, she looked nailed to the ground. ”Is this your idea of revenge? For what I did? I don’t care what you do to me, I probably deserve it. But you leave Fluttershy out of it! That’s where the line is drawn!”

Trixie shook her head to clear her vision, a dull painful pulsing picked up through her skull after the act. She did her best to ignore it. “Trixie did nothing bad with her! Ask Fluttershy, we were just having fun!”

“How does that make it any better?!” Rainbow Dash’s chest felt as though it was on fire while she stared at Fluttershy, hot tears ran down her cyan cheeks. Fluttershy was completely frozen under Rainbow Dash’s stare. “She does not look like she was having fun! You’ve been lying from the start! I fell for it! I see how it is now, I thought you were different. But the second you stopped being afraid of me you showed your true colors! You really are just a terrible pony!”

“No! That’s not true! S-shut up! ”Trixie looked from Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy and stepped closer, reaching out a hoof towards Fluttershy. ”C-come wake up! Tell her! Flut—Gah!”

The moment she saw Trixie make a move towards Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash covered the distance and put herself in between the pair, swiping one hoof at Trixie that forced her to back away. “No, you are not getting near her, ever again.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth but no sound was coming out, or at least nothing that could over power the two ponies shouting at each other.

Trixie stumbled back, trembling while she looked at the pair of ponies, that now seemed so far away. Her vision blurred as tears came to her eyes. “N-no! This isn’t fair, Rainbow Dash! You said you would not be mad if Trixie talked to Fluttershy! You promised!” Trixie swept up a hoof and cleared the tears away, but to her surprise her vision remained hazy.

Rainbow Dash closed in on Trixie faster than she could backtrack, ending up face to face when she stopped. “That’s when I thought you actually had a heart! I did not think you would try to seduce her! For a moment I actually believed those things you said to me! I thought you were maybe just an unlucky good pony, but I was wrong!” Her entire body shook with rage.

Trixie backed up away from till she could feel the stone walls behind her, the entire thing was becoming awfully familiar all of a sudden as she found herself in a corner again. Mere inches away from an enraged Rainbow Dash, back then Rainbow had not been nearly this angry. “T-Trixie m-meant them. Trixie did not lie… Please believe Trixie! Trixie only wanted to know how to fix it! She’s sorry!” The tears were back, as were the buffalo in her head, but they did not hurt nearly as much as Rainbow Dash did.

“As if I would believe for a second you actually cared about anybody now!” She watched Trixie scamper away and closed in slowly, barely containing the urge to charge the cowering unicorn. ”You know what? I’m sorry Trixie.”

“Y-you are?”

“Distracting that timberwolf with your life, might have been the one selfless thing you would have ever done. I’m sorry I took that away! Maybe I should fix that!”

She was every bit as terrifying as Trixie expected her to be back then. Trixie reared up on her hind legs as Rainbow Dash approached closer, pressing her back against the cold ancient stone. Raising her forelegs to shield her face she found herself repeating the same words. “G-go away! Leave, leave Trixie alone.”

Rainbow Dash raised up, and struck her hooves against the cold stone on either side of Trixie’s head, glaring at her. “You think you are getting off so easy? You play your little game and get away with no retribution?!” She pulled her hooves off the wall and swung them back, poised to strike. To her surprise Trixie dropped her guard. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Trixie sobbed in terror while she looked at Rainbow Dash, but let her hooves hang by her sides. She could feel her pulse going insane, the dull thuds had become searing. She could barely see the hesitation in Rainbow Dash’s face through the stars. “T-Trixie changed her mind, do it. Do whatever you want if it will fix all this, but… don’t leave Trixie alone.”

“You, what?” For just a moment Rainbow Dash felt sorry for Trixie. But then she realized. Trixie was smarter than she was, manipulating her was easy, but it was not going to work this time! ”You think I won’t do it!? I’m not falling some cheap trick!” Rainbow Dash reared back, but then felt herself falling backwards, no not falling. A pair of shaking yellow hooves were wrapped around her chest from behind, pulling her back.

Fluttershy collapsed on the floor with a yelp of pain as Rainbow Dash landed on top of her. She held onto Rainbow Dash for dear life. “P-please stop, Rainbow Dash. It’s okay! It’s true!” Tears ran down her muzzle. “It was not what it looked like. Calm down.”

“F-Fluttershy!? I’m sorry! Are you hurt?” She felt her heart sink as she caught a glimpse of the mares face. She still did not understand what had been going on, but even the shadiest phrase she could imagine felt completely sincere coming from Fluttershy. She could feel the fire in her body drain away. Then the color drained out of her face as she looked up at the quaking unicorn still standing defenselessly propped up against the corner. “A-and I almost, why did nopo— Trixie!”

Trixie panted heavily while she stared down at the pair of pastel-colored spots laying on the floor. She could hear their voices, but all she heard was that weird annoying buzzing noise, maybe it would go away if she slept for a bit. She felt so completely, unreasonably tired. Barely aware of the fact she’d lost her balance, the stone floor came rushing at her. She had time for just one last thought before it hit her.

So that’s why Trixie is on the floor, maybe she’ll remember this time…

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

What was that thing Trixie was not supposed to have any off? Oh yeah Stress, this whole day was pretty damn stressful for her.
To say the least.

Also I learned something today, I'm putting it here as a cautionary tale.
Do not think to yourself. "It's 1pm I'll just play a bit of AoW3 before finishing this chapter." It will backfire and make you work past midnight.
Good thing I can claim to have been speaking about another time zone. >.>

Chapter 34 - Recess *

Chapter 34 - Recess *

A loud bell announced the start of recess, prompting all the little unicorn fillies and colts to abandon their desks, then rush for the door as loudly as only classrooms can. The teacher, a white unicorn stallion with a black mane and cutie mark shaped like a book and alembic named Strict Silence, stopped his lesson and grunted with all the commotion.

Trixie suspected that teaching was not really Professor Silence’s calling, at first she thought he might be more suited as a librarian. He certainly seemed to have a good name for it, but in practice he never tried to quiet the class down. He simply allowed for as much talking or fooling around as his students wanted, and would continue his lesson completely undeterred.

The reason for this was something Trixie had worked out over time. It had to be some kind of spell that simply stopped any sound, as it was not merely nonsense that he ignored, but also all questions or requests to use the little fillies room. The only time he actually responded was if a student was within a few hooves distance from him, and it seemed to annoy him.

Trixie would not have minded as much, if it was not for the fact that he also ignored all the teasing she had endured the past weeks. With the class now empty she approached Professor Silence till she was sure she was in his sphere and called out.

“Professor? I want to report on three students that are picking on me, my mom said you would know what to do.”

Strict Silence gave a wary sigh while he turned his attention to the straggler. “Miss Lunamoon, this school’s purpose is to sort out the wheat from the chaff in terms of magical abilities. Those with actual talent will be given recommendation to Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. What you describe is one of the ways we differentiate between the wheat and the chaff, that is simply the way of the world. If you are having trouble then I am sure you can figure out which of the two you are.”

“…Chaff?”

“You certainly will be with that attitude. You have made good progress since you started, don’t squander it on self-pity. Do not think that these things are static, they are relative. Wheat can easily become as worthless as chaff if it has to compete with higher quality wheat, so if the chaff works hard enough it… this analogy is breaking down. Do you understand? Either way shouldn’t you be elsewhere?” Without waiting for a reply he turned back to his desk and floated up a wheat sandwich with chaff.

He’s not going to do anything? Was that an analogy or was he just hungry? That did not help at all! I guess I should go find Flitter before recess is over.

She left the classroom and made her way towards the cafeteria, usually Flitter would be there letting everypony go ahead of her. Trixie could not believe how hard it was to get her to do much of anything. She already learned a spell from Flitter, but she had made no progress in getting her any more confident so far.

The cafeteria was a busy place, even if the school was not that big it was still the biggest gathering of foals she had ever seen.

On one side was the lunchmare’s counter. She always had something for sale, but the menu tended to vary a lot, and all the good stuff was in short supply. Trixie especially liked the peanut butter chocolate chip muffins when she could get her hooves on them.

Getting there late meant missing out on the specials for that day, and the staple menu was pretty bad, especially the oatmeal. Flitter Bouquet was almost always late, usually dead last and stuck with the oatmeal.

It had been their main focus for confidence training. Each lunch period they took turns. One of them would sit down at the table closest to the counter area, and the other would get their lunches.

Trixie served as example, with a confident stride and a quickening of her pace to get to the back of the line before another approaching pony just because she could. She would retrieve the coveted peanut butter chocolate muffins if they were there that day, one for each of them, or something else of the special list if she had to make do.

The plan was to have Flitter mimic Trixie’s approach and return with something special. But so far it always ended up with Flitter at the back of the line mumbling “excuse me” to the ponies that lined up in front of her while Trixie hoof gestured like crazy to get her to just get in line.

This approach meant that half the time Trixie had to settle for oatmeal, and she would accuse Flitter of making her miss out on a proper lunch in jest. On one occasion she could not laugh it off however, when she had to watch helplessly from her table as the last of her precious muffins got taken. She glared daggers at the continuously apologizing Flitter that day while she silently chewed her stale oats.

However, to Trixie’s surprise Flitter was not at her usual spot at the back of the line. Excitement filled her as she brought her attention to the menu, muffins were listed! “No way! You managed it this time!? Huh… Flitter?” The nearest table was empty, her friend nowhere to be found.

Trixie let her gaze sweep over the rest of the tables, looking for the dull gray and purple colors of Flitter. It did not take long to spot her, ironically Flitter's dull tones made her stand out all the more amongst all the vibrant colored ponies, much to her chagrin.

The good news, Flitter Bouquet was balancing a tray with two glorious peanut butter chocolate muffins on her back. The bad news, Flitter stood with her rump against a wall, and was surrounded by a very familiar trio of unicorns: Starlight, Sunny Days, and Moon Rock.

She dashed across the cafeteria towards the trio but stopped herself when she got within earshot, staring at the variously blue coated trio. Ah wait, what am I going to do? I can’t take them on, it never works, they’re way better than me. I’ll just get ‘trashed’ again, and Flitter along with me.

“Come on, ‘Bucket’, hand them over. We’re starving here, you wouldn’t let poor starving ponies waste away would you?” Starlight grinned. She stood directly in front of Flitter. Her purple mane slicked back. Trixie hated her, she always started everything.

“Yeah look at poor Sunny, she’s so hungry she can barely smile. You want to put a smile on her face don’t you, Bucket?” Moon Rock added in an overly sympathetic tone, giving Flitter the puppy dog eyes treatment. Or rather ‘eye’ as long, deep-blue locks covered the other one up. She was the smart one, and probably why the other two passed their first test with such high marks, she was also a horribly manipulative mule in Trixie’s estimation.

“What? Girls I have a lunch right here, I’m just wai—Oohhh, never mind I got it! So hungry I can’t think! And uh bucket!” Sunny Days giggled cheerily on Flitter’s right side, her short golden yellow mane shook as she did. Trixie… did not really have anything bad to say about her.

Flitter looked panicked from one to the other as they spoke, her gaze lingering the longest on Starlight’s Amethyst eyes while the others only got passing glances. They were just like Trixie’s. “I-I can’t, we n-need eat t-too, please? I-I finally got a special.”

“Yeah you got one because everypony else was watching the fight! That’s like cheating or something, Bucket! Everybody else already ate theirs and now we don’t get any while you haven’t even touched yours? I don’t think so.” Starlight leaned in closer. “Hand them over.”

“Don’t be like that Starlight, you know she’s saving them for her ‘marefriend’, isn’t that right Flitter? Where is Trickery at? Did you think you were going to get a reward for getting the special? Oh I know, a proper kiss? A date maybe?” Moon Rock’s sly smile crept up as she watched Flitter blush even through her dark coat and shake her head furiously.

“Is that all? I could kiss you and get the muffin, that’s a good trade.” Sunny Days laughed and leaned in, but received a swat to the horn by Starlight.

“Sunny! No! What’s wrong with you, we talked about this. Kissing is for colts. Geez what if somepony saw you, do you want to be a weirdo like Trickery? Forget this just gra—”

“BEHOLD! The Great and Powerful Trixie! New and improved! The greatest unicorn in Hoofington!” Trixie stood up on one of the tables, screaming at the top of her lungs while a shower of red, gray and purple sparks rained down around her. While all eyes were glued to her, more than she had ever seen, she raised up one hoof at the sky, or ceiling in this case. “Trixie has mastered magic! Who dares dispute her superiority? All those who doubt Trixie’s power better FLEE NOW.” She glanced at Flitter Bouquets eyes for just a second as she spoke the last words.

“What the hay! Trickery the best unicorn? Hah!” Starlight shouted, but getting all eyes of the cafeteria on her made her stumble for a second. “What are you looking at? She’s the weirdo on the table!”

Moon Rock for once did not try to follow up on Starlight, letting her and Trixie have all the attention.

Sunny Days laughed at the spectacle. “Ohh pretty lights! Huh not very colorful though! Oh oh let me try!” She jumped on an opposite table and set her blue horn a light with an orange light and levitated three plates, each with the orange glow around them to make more light.

Flitter Bouquet looked up at Trixie stunned for a moment by the crazy act, once she caught her eyes though she gave a small nod. The moment Sunny ran off to compete she escaped through the gaping hole left in their formation and made for the door, carrying the muffing outside to their secret practice area. She gave one look back as she passed through the door, watching Trixie’s flank give off a spark that was not part of the spell.

Standing on top of the table in the cafeteria with all eyes on her as she out preformed Sunny Days’s attempt at light magic plates with an explosion of tri-colored sparks. Trixie’s cutie mark sparkled into existence.

“Was there ever any doubt!?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

How did Trixie get her Cutie Mark?
Will we ever find out if she actually wakes up?
Is Sunny Days the mastermind?

Some of these questions may be answered,

Chapter 35 - Rehabilitate

Rainbow Dash never liked hospitals. They smelled funny, looked unwelcoming, were much too quiet, you never went to them for a happy reason, and she was not allowed to do anything. To make matters worse the sick and injured ponies there were a constant reminder that nopony was invulnerable, which might even include herself.

Some ponies also liked to complain about hospitals being sterile white. Rainbow Dash on the other hand did not mind that aspect, seeing as she was used to living in the clouds and sterile white just felt homely to her.

Of course, the Ponyville hospital was not white. It was not white at all. Instead the walls were green and blue, which Rainbow Dash could kind of understand. After all it was probably tailored to suit the residents of Ponyville, and when they looked around outside they would either see green hills or blue skies. But the ceiling was green! What kind of sense did that make? None that’s what.

She stared at the closed door leading to the room Trixie was sleeping in. She was not allowed to go inside again, just like before. Of course nobody had thought to forbid her from being right outside. Restlessly she swished her tail, leaning against the green wall of the hallway. Her head rested against the doorpost.

Chaotic memories of the previous day haunted her. She could still see Trixie standing there on her hind legs, defenseless and whimpering, while Fluttershy pulled her away. Then Trixie simply fell over, right in front of Rainbow’s eyes. By the time Fluttershy had let go it was already too late. No it would have been too late either way, it was my fault not Fluttershy’s.

Trixie had hit the solid stone floor hard, the sound was something that just did not go away. She left the first aid in the Fluttershy’s hooves and took off. Rainbow would have liked to think she’d never flown that fast to get help, but she was painfully aware of the fact she had flown like that three times in the past week, and each one had been her fault.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, if she concentrated she could hear Trixie breathing inside. That was as good a sign as she was going to get. Trixie had been out cold since her fall. Twilight had explained that was not a good thing, but that they would have to wait and see how it turned out. She might not even wake up again. Of course the doctor had said some doctor stuff, but it made very little sense to her and Twilight’s version was much clearer.

One of the hardest things had been trying to explain what exactly had happened when Nurse Redheart had taken the time to speak with them while Trixie was loaded onto a stretcher. What was particularly shocking though was that she had not gotten any of the blame.

“Fluttershy, what on Equestria happened! I thought I said no stress! Why is she out here in the Everfree Forest?”

“U-uhm I-its you see…”

“We're not sure! But, hypothetically speaking. In less than a day, say she blasted three timberwolves with her horn, was almost eaten by a huge one, had to watch one of her only friends nearly get killed while she couldn't move, was turned down when she confessed to somepony, panicked about losing her only two friends, then was almost beaten to death by one of said only friends. Would that count as stress if it happened, hypothetically speaking?”

“…” Nurse Redheart stared at Rainbow Dash in dumbfounded silence, and anypony else within earshot had much the same reaction.

“D-don’t blame her i-it’s j—”

“Blame her? I would have expected nothing less from Rainbow Dash than to treat everything like a big joke. Which is why I did not leave a potentially brain damaged patient in her care on her request! Fluttershy, I thought I could trust you! How did you let all of this happen? You know what, never mind there’s no time for this!”

Okay that might not have been the best way she could have said it, but she was in a panic at the time and only cared about getting any useful information to the nurse. She tried her best to sympathize with the nurse, just lashing out in a stressful moment surely, but it did not work one bit.

It bothered her that she was apparently expected to be some clueless clown that would naturally put a pony through Tartarus if left to her own devices. Yet what bothered her a great deal more was the pain on Fluttershy’s face when she realized she’d lost all of Nurse Redheart’s trust in one fell swoop. Rainbow had done her best to assure Fluttershy that it was not her fault, but Fluttershy didn’t seem convinced.

Trixie was taken to the Ponyville hospital directly this time, neither of them had dared to object. Even if Trixie had wanted to avoid Ponyville it was well out of their hooves now. The odds were she probably would have preferred being in a town that she thought might try to hurt her, than with a pair that had proved they would anyway.

Rainbow Dash looked towards the window, the sun had set and the moon was rising. Fluttershy and her had stayed in the waiting room for as long as they could, but Fluttershy had animals to take care off and had to leave once it got dark, even if she did not want to.

At some point she came to realize everything was dark. Rainbow Dash shook her head quickly and opened her eyes. She could not remember closing them. Her body was rebelling against the lack of the scheduled naps.

“I didn’t want to do this but you’ve forced my hoof.” Rainbow Dash said grimly, then walked towards the visitors center.

A few moments later, she returned with a mug of coffee. She almost never had it, it did not agree with her. The taste was too bitter and it made her miss her naps, but that was exactly what she was aiming for. Rainbow Dash sat down on her haunches and took a sip, making her shudder and stick out her tongue “Bleech! Okay enough of that, I’m awake! And I’m staying awa—huh?”

Rainbow Dash perked up her ears and listened carefully, she could hear a noise coming from the other side of the door. “But, there should be nobody in there except Trixie.” The mug was left on the ground while she reached for the door, carefully letting it swing open and stuck her head inside. She knew she was not allowed inside, but the noise was distressing and she could not just call a nurse on a hunch. She obviously had to check and make sure it was worth their time, yeah that was it. Nopony wanted a repeat of the last time she’d called the nurses in alarm because she thought she had heard Trixie stop breathing through the door.

The room was dark, unlike the hallway there were no lights on. It took a few moments for her eyes to get used to the darkness, but even than she still did not see an intruder. She looked from corner to corner, then she heard the noise again and homed in on it. Certain she heard it coming from the bed she snuck closer to it, till she was close enough that she could make out who was responsible for it all.

Trixie was twisting and turning in her, groaning weakly from under the covers. “No…don’t, please.. It’s nNuhm.” She swung a hoof out grasping at the air before it fell back down and she trembled. But her eyes were still closed.

Rainbow Dash looked down on Trixie, a panicked look on the unicorns face while she struggled against something invisible and mumbled in her sleep. A nightmare? I-I guess that makes sense, Fluttershy said she’s been having them. Should I get a nurse? I doubt they have medicine for night terrors.

She watched Trixie fight with her blanket, her fur clammy with sweat as she made another swing then curled up whimpering. It was hard to watch for Rainbow Dash, but it was not like she could shake Trixie awake. First of all she was not supposed to be here, and second shaking somepony with a head injury had to be the worst solution ever. She was not even sure if she could wake her, she’d been out for hours.

Rainbow Dash raised up on her hind legs and rested the front pair on the bed so she could get a good look at Trixie, she was definitely still unconscious. Nothing seemed to be physically wrong so she supposed it was really a bad dream. The struggling had subsided for the moment though.

Her eyes rested on Trixie while she thought it over, she seemed to have calmed down a bit again though her breathing was much faster. Okay so, I should go tell a nurse right? But after the last time they said not to call them unless she was either awake or dying for real. Maybe I should just get back to hall, or should I go get a nurse anyway?

Rainbow dash felt constricted while she watched the unconscious unicorn, her stomach ached at the sight of her, or perhaps it was the coffee. The sound of hoofsteps out in the hall made Rainbow Dash jump. She stared at the wall, following the owner of the steps behind it till it reached the door, then kept going without a pause.

“Ugh! Buck it, I’m going!” Rainbow Dash groaned, she’d find a nurse and drag them back here. What were they going to do, tell her to go home? She’d just hang out on the windowsill instead. She pushed herself away from the bed and began making her way towards the door when Trixie started struggling again and mumbled.

“Dmnt leave alnuhm”

Rainbow Dash froze in her tracks and looked back at Trixie, a hoof shot to her mouth. Oh no, did I wake her? I didn’t think I could wake her what did I… wait she’s not awake. She blinked slowly while she noticed Trixie struggle again, mumbling incoherently in content but it kept a pleading tone.

Trixie still looked the same as before and after Rainbow Dash propped herself up on the bed again to make sure she made a swing with her hoof at nothing. Then she settled down again to just shaking and quick breaths.

She seems kind of okay now. I guess it was just her reacting to my voice? The Doctor did say she might be able to hear or something. Okay I’ll go find that nurse then.

She dropped back down on all fours and trotted towards the door, but then paused half way across the room, a few seconds past, then Trixie started struggling and mumbling again. Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder at the weakly thrashing bed. I-I don’t suppose?

With a quick glance at the door, she turned around back to the bed and paused in front of it. “I’m doing something stupid again aren’t I?” Still she lifted her front up to it again, resting her hooves on the bed besides Trixie and observed. As she expected, Trixie’s thrashing lessened to just shaking when she could sense the pressure on the bed.

She knew what to wait for next and once Trixie made the grasp with her hoof again she extended her own, letting Trixie capture it. The effect was immediate. She could see it on Trixie’s face. The panic melted to confusion as she pulled the warm hoof against her chest instead of the nothing, then a smile spread as she calmed down fully.

Rainbow Dash was stunned, she had been more than ready for Trixie to have a seizure the second she touched her. But for once it was actually working out? The happy smile on Trixie’s face while she clutched whoever she thought she had so tightly was just too precious.

Glancing through the window, Rainbow Dash looked at the moon and estimated it was probably just a bit past midnight. She hooked a chair with her hind leg and pulled it closer, getting more comfortable. She yawned.

It probably won’t hurt to just let her stay like this for a little while. I’ll give her a few minutes then leave. Yeah.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Guilty Dash at hospital.
So good news, she's alive, you can call off the assassin now.
Also, since this is a long weekend, expect the next chapters fairly rapidly.
Strangely, for whatever reason many of the correction edits I've made did not save. I think I found them all again but it is annoying. >.>

Chapter 36 - Reverie

It was so dark. Trixie could not see anything, nor was she even sure if there was anything to see. The sound of her hooffalls echoed around her as she trotted along a cold surface. It felt like it might be ice. She briefly entertained the idea of licking it to make sure, but quickly dismissed it. She was in enough trouble wandering some frozen darkness as it was, without being stuck to the floor. She did not want to be here, wherever here was.

“Hello? Anypony? Show yourself, The Great and Powerful Trixie commands it!”

There was no reply other than the sound of her own voice. It seemed that she was the only pony that was in this chilly dark place, Trixie shivered. It was strangely familiar to her despite how alien it was. There had to be a way out, all she had to do was find it.

“Why even bother?”

“Who said that?”

“Trixie did.”

“Yes I, wait don’t be ridiculous I am Trixie! Imposter!”

“Are we really doing this? There is nopony else here, of course Trixie is talking to herself.”

“Oh, yes I guess that makes sense. Who else would I be talking to. It’s nice to have somepony intelligent to traverse with.”

“That’s not what that word means.”

“Oh don’t you start, if I don’t know what it means neither do you.”

“Fine.”

“It’s been a while since I had to though. I’d ask if you know how to get out of here, but there is no use in asking myself questions I don’t know the answer to is there?”

“That’s right. What is the point in finding another place anyway? It’s kind of peaceful and serene here, I don’t need to worry about anything.”

“But I am alone now, and look how cold this place is!”

“Since when was Trixie not enough? Trixie did fine alone for years.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not bothered by a little cold, it is cold at the top and she knew this from the start. Trixie remembers what happened the last time she went somewhere else.”

“…”

She did remember, she found some place that was warm some time ago. It was fuzzy but she could recall the things she’d found there. Warmth, lights, and laughter, but also that those things escaped her and were replaced by pain and fear, the cold came back and by comparison practically froze her solid till she’d learned to get used to it.

“I-I do not want to find those things again. It’s safer here, none of those hurtful things come here.”

“Trixie knows that. But, none of those good things come either. Is Trixie really okay with that?”

“That’s the whole point right? If I don’t have those things then I can’t miss them when I lose them. I thought that’s what you were trying to tell me.”

“Oh great Trixie has actually gone crazy, I’m talking to myself remember. It’s not like I can try to tell myself things I don’t already know. Or you or. Ugh Trixie’s head hurts.”

“Mine too.”

Trixie knelt down and leaned forward to rest her head against the icy floor and sighed, the first good use she’d found for the cursed thing. Arguing with herself was hard work.

Several minutes past, or maybe it was hours, or days, or seconds, she could not really tell.

It was so very quiet again. Maybe staying here was not such a bad thing. It did feel familiar in a way, as though she’d already spent a good portion of her life there until recently. But she was missing something so dearly, it hurt to think about it, maybe the feeling would numb if she stayed here long enough. Maybe that was what she deserved anyway.

“Trixie is the greatest pony!”

She blinked, her voice echoed around her again. That stupid boasting voice. “Be quiet.”

“There is nothing Trixie cannot do!”

With a grumble Trixie lifted her head from the cool floor. “Go away, it’s all your fault.”

“The greatest equine who ever lived!”

Trixie groaned as she pushed herself onto her haunches. “Is this Trixie’s punishment? Listening to her old lies forever?”

“Trixie deserves to be happy!”

“SHUT UP!” Trixie screamed and leapt up to her hooves, shaking all over as she took off in a gallop across the icy plains. It did not seem likely she could actually outrun her own voice but she was damn sure going to try anyway, she could do anything right?

Strangely enough it seemed to work. She was so busy gasping for breath as she ran herself ragged that there was no time left to speak.

Though she had effectively silenced herself, she should have known she could not be stopped so easily. If nothing else she was creative, especially in tormenting a pony. The darkness started showing images, flashes of her memory as she ran past them filled her mind.

She could see a small blue filly sitting alone at a desk, the rest of the class had lost all color. Until a set of bright ruby eyes drew her attention. “my name is Flitter Bouquet. You’re Trixie right?” Stop it!

Another showed that same filly climbing out of a dumpster while a trio of unicorns walked off laughing. She was scraped, bruised, stained, and had remains of apple peels stuck in her mane. It still only took one look for the filly to start laughing merrily, staring up at the ruby-eyed filly on top of the school roof that held two muffins up in triumph.

”No…”

As much as she tried to resist she could feel a warmth in her chest as she recalled the events, she wanted more of it. “Don’t please... It’s not something I can go through again.” She pushed herself to speed up her pace, turning at a sharp angle and running away from the image.

She closed her eyes tightly to avoid any more images. The darkness returned but her knee’s gave way causing her to collapse with a yelp as she braced for impact with the ice. It was cold and her head hurt badly after the fall, but at least she had outsmarted herself.

Trixie gasped as she felt something soft press against her left side and shuffle below her stomach then lift, helping Trixie to her feet and guiding her somewhere, soon feeling the blankets against her fur. A soft voice barely above a whimper followed. “I..I'm Fluttershy.”

Trixie’s eyes shot open as she made a grab towards the source of the voice but found nothing, it was dark again and the feeling of the blankets and soft pony were only lingering faintly on her skin. She could feel tears run down her muzzle. “No, bring her back. I-I want her here.”

She scrambled onto her hooves and galloped in the direction she thought she’d heard Fluttershy’s voice come from as fast as she could. She’d curse herself later for doing this to her, right now she only cared about trying to catch up to fleeting memory.

A bright star suddenly appeared directly above her. She stumbled and rolled over the floor ending up on her back with a pained groan while she stared up at the star, panting heavily from her dash. W-what is that?

There was no reply. Which Trixie supposed made sense, if she did not know the answer she could not exactly expect herself to answer it. The starlight felt strangely warm, it reminded her of that other place. “Y-you aren’t supposed to be here.”

She stared up at the star impatiently, if it was going to be her next trick for making her try to leave it better make it good. It did not seem the star was there to impress her though. It just shone above her, allowing it’s light to warm her while she rested on the icy floor.

“Buck it, I’m going!”

Trixie startled as the star suddenly spoke up and pulled away, vanishing all together and taking it’s light with it. That could not be right! It was supposed to show her something pretty again and entice her wasn’t it. She was supposed to reject it, it was not allowed give up and leave! “Wait! Don’t leave me all alone!”

Shakily she got to her hooves and galloped after the star’s last location. “I’m sorry, please come back. I-I’ll listen, I promise. You have Trixie’s undivided attention. Please, come back here, please.” She wanted to experience more of those sights and feelings so badly, nobody said she was going to have work for it! It wasn’t fair.

Almost just as quickly as it had vanished the light reappeared nearby and Trixie skidded to a halt, and swung her hoof up trying to capture it. It was too high though, and she could not reach it. Gasping for breath as she looked up at it, it felt so close by. She just had to gather enough strength to reach for it again. For now she was content just watching it’s light shine. “W-welcome back. So what have you got to show Trixie? She’s listening.”

Again nothing else happened, so Trixie reached for the star again quickly. This time she was sure she’d snatched it, but pulled back nothing again. Just the presence of the star was enough for Trixie though. She could rest in its light while she recovered from the fatigue. It clearly did not belong in this cold plain, so perhaps it knew the way out? Do I really want to get out? I-I think I do. In here all I’ll get are teasing memories but… out there, maybe I could find more? I’m scared though…

Just like that the star vanished again before Trixie’s eyes. She stumbled onto her hooves and trotted forward again. She was so tired now, she could not keep a good pace anymore and it was getting harder to keep her balance on the icy floor. “Come back, I-I’m sorry.” Tears flowed down her cheeks as she spoke, she’d missed her second chance too.

For the third time the star returned, this time though Trixie did not grasp for it immediately. She was so exhausted she could only collapse on her haunches and stare up at the warm light. “No wait! I-I want to go too, b-but I’m scared to go alone. Please. I-I just need a little… I just need a little help!” Weakly she reached up her hoof in vain again at the star, she knew it was pointless, as she was even lower and slower now than before.

To her surprise, she felt a heat radiate through her hoof as she pulled back the light towards her, clutching it to her chest. She did not understand, how did this happen? Why did she succeed this time? The questions melted away as she felt the heat spread throughout her entire body, while a final scene flashed through her mind as the heat reached her head.

A memory of Rainbow Dash accompanied the heat, her voice as warming as the star. “It’s not how many times you fail, it’s what you do after.” The light of the star began to break from white into multiple colors. All Trixie could do was smile. “you can trust me to be honest and loyal to my friends”.

Friends.

Author's Note

Thank for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Trixie is still not awake.
Can I stretch this out or what? I swear I am not trying to.
Instead we get to see things from Trixie's perspective.
Next chapter, I promise.
Still weekend.

Chapter 37 - Rebel

The first beams of sunlight crept across the walls of the Ponyville hospital, one by one the windows of each floor were invaded. Spreading the light through them and waking some of the ponies slumbering within. Finally it reached a room on the third floor, illuminating the chart that hung on the bed inside.

Trixie Doe.‘The Great and Powerful’
Suspected Trauma, Stress and Magic induced Brain Damage.
Coma, keep under observation.
In case of change alert Nurse Redheart.
KEEP RAINBOW DASH OUT!!

Trixie groaned softly as she came to. Her body ached all over as if she’d been run over by a minotaur, and her muscles protested even the smallest movement. There was a painful throbbing in her head that made her thoughts fuzzy. It took time and effort to make herself remember, and even then her memory only slowly trickled in. She could remember going on a trip with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but things got progressively worse.

At least the sensations of warm soft fabrics against her made her smile. There were worse ways to wake up after all. Maybe she just had a bad dream? She could feel pressure on her stomach, and something warm which she held tightly in her hooves.

She opened her eyes, but immediately closed them again with a soft hiss, it was much too bright. It took her several minutes of careful peeking and squinting to get a bit more used to it. It was lucky, or perhaps by design, that the bed was only half illuminated and allowed the top half to remain in the shade.

The first thing Trixie saw when she could open her eyes, without the risk of going blind that is, was the ceiling. However, it was not the ceiling that she was used to waking up to seeing. Instead this one was green? What the? Where am I? Why am I here? What’s that scent? She quickly stopped her line of questions as suddenly her head felt like somepony was trying to pierce it with a spear. Perhaps Trixie shouldn't think too much for now.

She took a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes again, slowly more memories drifted back. She shivered as she discovered the last thing she could remember, was being seconds away from a long expected beating by Rainbow Dash.

“T-Trixie changed her mind, do it. Do whatever you want if it will fix all this, but… don’t leave Trixie alone.”

B-but what happened after that? I-I guess she took me up on that offer then, everything hurts That could be true, but then she did not understand why she was in a different place. W-why am I not at Fluttershy’s? Did she beat me and leave me to somepony else? T-that’s not fair, it was supposed to fix everything! Trixie whimpered and fought through the ache in her foreleg to rub her eyes dry.

Mercifully a cloud blocked the sun, shading her room and allowing a chance to actually look around. While she was resting flat on her back she did not have much of a view, the room seemed rather barren to her though. But it was much larger than Fluttershy’s.

Carefully she lifted her head up. A dull pain came with the motion. Oh please is that all you’ve got? Like that will stop Trixie now, she’s had much worse. Trixie smirked and brought her eyes down to what was causing the pressure on her stomach.

All at once she became aware of a lot of things. Her eyes went wide as she realized what she was looking at. For one, she noticed that the warm thing she had clutched to her chest was a cyan hoof. For another, Rainbow Dash was half sitting in a chair, half slumped over onto Trixie’s bed with her head resting against her chest.

Her breath froze as she stared at the mare wide-eyed for several long moments. As far as Trixie could tell Rainbow Dash was asleep? What is she doing here? Where are we? What happened? Where is Flu—Gah! She closed her eyes tightly and whined as her headache intensified. She could barely manage to open one eye to look as she could feel movement immediately afterwards.

The noise had startled Rainbow Dash awake. After a brief moment of disorientation she had settled both magenta eyes on Trixie like a deer caught in a headlights spell. A particularly strong illumination spell that earned its name from the fact that, to an observer, the unicorns head was just one big light.

“I’m not supposed to be here! I mean, I’m not here!” Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed and made a mad dash for the door, slamming into it at full force before she realized it opened in the other direction, then she darted around the corner without even closing it.

"W-wha?" Trixie was startled from the sudden scream. Due to the grip she had on Dash's hoof, she was nearly pulled out of her bed as Rainbow Dash took off like a bat out of Tartarus. She had to thrust out both hooves and got lucky that the chair was there to catch herself on before she was entirely past the point of no return.

Trixie began to pant heavily as the seconds went by and she remained in her precarious position, Her forehooves held onto the chair, preventing her from falling, but any change would cause her to meet the floor face first. Trixie tried to push herself back and onto the bed, but was too tired. To make matters more problematic, her forehooves began to burn from the exertion, letting Trixie know they wouldn't keep her up for much longer.

“R-Rainbow Dash?” Trixie tried calling for her, but there was no reply.

Trixie craned her head to look towards the open door. “If you’re there, please come back. I’m going to fall.” If Rainbow Dash was there, it was clear she did not believe Trixie was actually about to fall from her bed. Ugh of course, really who would believe that? What kind of pony falls out of bed with enough time to ask for help in between?

She growled as she look towards the door, her vision getting blurry as the throbbing in her head gradually got worse. Her forelegs started to shake. Anger over getting abandoned just like that started to seep through. “Rainbow Dash! The Great and All-Knowing Trixie knows you are right around the corner, staring at the open door wondering how you can close it without her seeing it! Get in here now!”

That did it.

Rainbow Dash peeked her head around the doorpost sheepishly then gasped as she saw Trixie’s predicament and rushed in to help her back into bed. “Sorry! I didn’t know!”

“How could you not know! Trixie specifically told you!” Trixie glared at Rainbow Dash.

“Well I didn’t know you were serious. You say a lot of stuff!” Rainbow Dash countered and started to take steps back towards the door.

Trixie’s eyes flicked between Rainbow Dash and the door, confusion clear on her face. “Why are you trying to leave Trixie?”

Rainbow Dash looked unsure for a moment then trotted back to the foot end of the bed, she picked up the chart that hung from it and presented it to Trixie. “Doctor’s orders, see?”

Raising a brow as she read the chart, Trixie looked concerned. “Coma? Brain Damage? Keep out. What exactly d—you know never mind. This is atrocious how dare they call Trixie a doe? But at least they got the rest right...”

A proud smile appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face as she nodded. “You like that huh? I made sure they put it on there. Oh man, they were not happy I ‘corrected’ the chart with magic marker though.” She rubbed along her neck with her hoof as she tried to look elsewhere.

Trixie let her eyes switch back to Rainbow Dash, looking the obviously nervous mare over while she thought on the situation. Finally she signed and raised a hoof up to her forehead. “We’re in a hospital aren’t we?”

“...Yeah.”

“PONYVILLE hospital?”

“…Yeah.”

Trixie had her eyes trained on Rainbow Dash, no matter how much she tried to avoid looking directly at her. “After Trixie made it clear she did not want to go there?”

“…Yeah.”

Trixie let her gaze break away from Rainbow Dash, settling it on her fidgeting hooves in her lap quietly for a time while she took steady deep breaths. “... Did you do enough to me?”

The chart clattered to the floor, fumbled by Rainbow Dash. She stared at Trixie. “W-what?”

“Everything hurts, I’m in this hospital against my wishes, the chart is a day old and it was lunch time when you ‘caught’ me, so I’ve been out for three quarters of a day. I’ve not tested it, but I’m pretty sure trying magic would make me pass out again.” Tears begun to well up in her eyes as she raised her gaze up at Rainbow Dash. “Are you satisfied? Do I get another chance now?”

Rainbow Dash stared at Trixie in shock, her stomach tied in a knot that very second while she struggled to come up with words. “T-Trixie I—”

“What in blazes are YOU doing in here! Get out right now.” Evidently, Nurse Redheart’s rounds had begun. She stood in the doorway. she needed only to take one look at the crying Trixie to know she had been right in banning the prismatic tyrant.

“Oh horse apples!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew up to the ceiling.

Nurse Redheart picked up the chart from the floor and swatted at her with it, trying to chase her out of the room. But each time she nearly had her out the door there was a quick turn and the chase was back on.

“Rainbow Dash phis is a hosphital! Ponies need theiph phest!” Nurse Redheart called out while she held the chart with her teeth and made another stroke at the pesky pegasus.

“I know! So stop chasing me! I’m not leaving till I’ve settled this!” Rainbow Dash swooped over the bed, her eyes shifted from the nurse to Trixie briefly. “Hey! So” She was interrupted while she had to dodge a stroke from the chart

“as I was saying.” She called out on another pass by.

Trixie stared at the strange spectacle before her. Rainbow Dash trying to out fly an increasing number of nurses and doctors as more came into the room to try and chase the mare out. All the while Rainbow Dash would make a pass over her bed at every opportunity and try to continue their conversation. She had to piece it together bit by bit.

If nothing else, flying around and trying to dodge all those ponies after her seemed to help rather than hinder Rainbow Dash in her ability to actually speak. Even while she was being interrupted by flung bedpans, brooms and a Frisbee that might have once functioned as her patient chart. ”After all I, Wow! Did? You're the one asking me, yikes! For a chance? Heck have three! I'm just glad you don't hate me! This is getting, Hey! Old, I’ll come back later!”

“Oh no you won’t!” Nurse Redheart’s face was as red as her cutie mark. She was wielding a broom, wherever Trixie’s chart was she didn’t know.

Trixie’s head hurt from all the commotion, but it felt like it was easily the least important thing in the world while she shook with laughter at the antics taking place above and around her bed. She could hear Rainbow Dash join in and shook her head. “Hahah, you foal! Get lost before Trixie sees fit to best you a second time!”

“Oh as if you—Wow!” She narrowly looped around a broom. “Okay that was close! Get well soon Trixie!” With that she darted out the door with the gathering of ponies in hot pursuit, yelling so loudly Trixie had to wonder who let such loud ponies work at a hospital, did they not know the ponies here needed their rest?

One of the last ponies out the door had taken the time to hastily grab Trixie’s chart of the floor and throw it on the bed, not even bothering to hang it up properly. Trixie leaned forward and grabbed it, looking over the hoof print riddled, creased paper that was clipped to the wood.

Trixie Doe.‘The Great and Powerful’

She’s such a foal… but she can be really nice when she wants to be.

She grinned while she laid back down on the bed, staring up at the green ceiling. It took her a moment to fully comprehend what had just happened. Trixie felt a chuckle start to rise up from her throat, and soon after it blossomed into full out laughter. “It worked! It really worked! Trixie fixed everything, and Rainbow is giving Trixie another chance, no three of them! Maybe I’ll give that kiss back!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Three chapters in as many days so far, don't let anyone say I don't care about you folks, no matter how many evil cliffhangers I throw in at times.
Trixie and Rainbow Dash have their reconciliation. I've taken the liberty of starting up a betting pool for how long it will last.
All in all this was a lot of fun to write.
I'll see if I can get another chapter in tomorrow since I've got a day off.

Chapter 38 - Reference

The Ponyville hospital was quiet, serene and peaceful. Three sure-fire ways of telling that Rainbow Dash was nowhere near it. In Trixie’s mind they also doubled as signs that it was incredibly boring.

Shortly after Rainbow Dash’s stunt, Trixie received her second visitor, or her fifteenth depending on how she counted. The nurse that had chased Rainbow Dash out had returned. She looked a bit familiar and once she introduced herself as Nurse Redheart Trixie had remembered Fluttershy talking about the nurse when she was taking care of her.

“Oh so you are the one that left Trixie in the hooves of those two?” Trixie raised an eyebrow as she posed the question.

Nurse Redheart looked uncomfortable. She reached for Trixie’s chart. “Regrettably, yes. Fluttershy has a talent for caretaking and when she told me the story I thought I could trust her. And well honestly, I probably could have. If it was just her then I am sure you would have recovered by now…”

Trixie smirked. “But you failed to account for her friend? Trixie can see how she might be an… unpredictable factor. Trixie is surprised you have kept her away for an hour already, what did you do? Set up a magic barrier around the hospital?“

“Oh no nothing like that. Frankly I doubt a magic barrier would even slow her down for long. I gave Rainbow Dash a ball.”

“A ball?” Trixie looked incredulous. “How exactly is a ball stopping her from coming back?” It hurt Trixie a little to think she had been replaced so easily. Is her attention span THAT short?

Nurse Redheart gave a sly smile. “Oh it’s simple, I made a bet with her that if she could break the Equestria ball-bouncing record she was allowed in your room again. She’s pretty competitive you see, and coming back here without doing it would be admitting defeat.”

Trixie groaned. “Figures, she would just go for the challenge like a bull to red wouldn’t she?”

“Of course, but she will probably just give up when she realizes the record is over three hundred and fifty bounces, plus she needs a witness and nopony is crazy enough to just watch her bounce a ball for hours while counting. So I doubt we’ll see her again.” Nurse Redheart grinned, clearly rather pleased with herself.

Trixie was not quite as enthusiastic. “You realize she is no threat, or well intentional threat, to Trixie right? Not that Trixie cares one way or the other of course. And what about Fluttershy? Is she allowed to help Trixie here if not at home?”

Nurse Redheart shook her head ”No it would be irresponsible to let Rainbow Dash in either way, that pony is just not build for being indoors. As for Fluttershy, she is allowed to visit, but you will be in the capable care of the staff here. So don’t you worry, you are in good hooves now. I-I’m sorry it was ever any different.”

Trixie paused for a moment while looking the earth pony over. By the looks of it she was feeling guilty. ”Well it was originally your decision. However, you are in the employment of Ponyville itself if Trixie is not mistaken? Who should Trixie speak to regarding her damages?”

“Damages?” Nurse Redheart repeated with a surprised look, getting a nod in return from Trixie. “W-well I suppose, Mayor Mare would be the pony to speak to. Actually I did not mean to tell you this until later, but she has asked that she would be informed when you were well. I don’t know what it is about.”

Of course the local authorities were on to The Elusive and Fugitive Trixie the moment she entered the hospital. Trixie assumes the only reason she is not currently in jail is due to her injuries.

“Trixie has her suspicions.” She yawned and grimaced annoyed with her own fatigue. She had been so glad to finally get over that while staying with Fluttershy a few days ago, and now she was back at square one. “It can wait. When are visiting hours?”

Trixie groaned in annoyance while she stared up at the ceiling, she was not allowed to do anything. She could not read or move about, since apparently those were both things that they were pretty picky about when it came to head injuries. Of course these were restrictions she also had to deal with when she was at Fluttershy’s. Which had left Trixie with only one alternative, to talk to somepony.

Visiting hours were open. Sure hospitals were boring when she was all alone but Trixie had no doubt that time would go by much faster with some conversation. Even if Fluttershy had been a very poor conversationalist while Trixie was bedridden at her house, it had still been better than nothing. Besides, Fluttershy had actually gotten considerably better, or perhaps simply more comfortable, with speaking to her. So Trixie had impatiently counted the minutes till it was time.

However there was a problem that Trixie had not counted on.

“Ugh where is she? Trixie thought she would be here by now.” Trixie stared towards the closed door, she expected Fluttershy to step through there any second now, for the past three hours.

Grumbling, Trixie brought her hoof up to scratch at the itchy bandages on her face. She knew she was not supposed to do so, but she reasoned perhaps she had to balance out her luck by making sure Fluttershy’s arrival would coincide with her getting caught.

Whatever annoying entity had it out for her did not appear to fall for it however. With a groan she brought her hoof back down, but at least Trixie had gotten rid of the itch for the time being.

Trixie was not entirely sure it was merely boredom. She knew what it felt like to be bored. This was different somehow. She did her best to keep herself distracted by thinking about her show, going over some old spells, pondering how to get bits, even her imminent arrest. Yet Trixie’s mind constantly wandered to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Whether it was when she thought about what to talk to them with, recalling some event from the last few days, or simply wondering what they were up to.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Trixie started to feel anxious. “What is taking so long… if friends are in the hospital you visit them right? T-Trixie thought we were…” Trixie’s ears drooped as she considered the possibility. “…Maybe, they don’t think so?” A sharp squeezing feeling pierced at her chest.

“No! Come on Trixie! I-it’s only been three hours, and Trixie has no idea how far away the hospital is. Fluttershy probably has to feed the animals alone, if Rainbow Dash is busy with that dumb bet. It’s only natural she’s late.”

For a brief moment, Trixie considered the possibility that Fluttershy might be in the room next to her, Rainbow Dash had seemed pretty angry. No there’s no way, it was all Trixie’s fault. Rainbow Dash never has to get mad at Fluttershy. Trixie shook her head to get clear the horrible thought, feeling almost ashamed for even coming up with it, Fluttershy was a good pony.

Trixie took a deep breath, this was getting her nowhere. “Just because Trixie is lonely—no, alone, Just because Trixie is alone right now does not mean she has to be fixated on it. There are plenty of things Trixie can do.” She nodded a little too vigorously, scrunching her eyes with a whine as she aggravated her headache. Stupid rules. They won’t even give Trixie a painkiller because ohhh it would be so bad if Trixie can’t feel the pain, how would the doctor know if Trixie felt worse? Trixie’s feeling worse right now, what’s he gonna do about it? She sighed, trying to find something else to focus on.

Looking around the room, Trixie found there really was not much more to do than there had been since she woke up. Her hoof ran along the frame of the bed, letting it tap idly against it to create a simple rhythm. She smiled with her makeshift music. Maybe Trixie will practice this and do a performance during her show, Trixie never tried music before. Oh Trixie could get them to listen when they get here. Or maybe a private show for Fluttershy, since Rainbow Dash has an excuse not to visit for now, though Trixie thought she would have given up on the bet and just snuck in by now. Her resolve already forgotten.

After a little while of knocking on wood and listening to the dull tones, Trixie stopped, her forelegs were starting to cramp. “At this point Trixie would take Rainbow Dash crashing through the window into Trixie in stride!” She gave a longing look at the window, no such luck.

“Nothing there but smoke, of course. ”Trixie returned her stare to the door to resume willing it to open, but then blinked slowly. “Wait what?” Her head snapped back to the window, a massive solid black column of smoke spread out throughout the otherwise clear skies. “What on Equestria!?”

This is going to drive Trixie crazy if somepony does not come along soon and tell her what that is! It looks like there is a fire, a forest fire? Wait doesn’t Fluttershy live near the forest?

Trixie bit her lip. W-wait that’s right. Trixie would have expected Fluttershy to be here by now. Something must be wrong! She felt her breath quicken while she pictured Fluttershy’s house, which she sudden realized was incredibly flammable, going up in flames.

Trixie felt sick as her body began to tremble, she had to let somepony know. “Doctor! Nurse! Anypony! Hello?” Shouting at the door surprisingly had an actual effect, the door opened and an unfamiliar nurse stuck her head in.

“Is everything okay in here miss?” The nurse, an orange coated mare with a brown mane, looked Trixie over quickly, but upon finding nothing obvious wrong with her eyes drifted to the chart by the end of the bed.

“Yes yes Trixie is fine, but with her keen senses she had detected a great threat to ponyville!” She jabbed her hoof at the window.

“Okay miss calm down. My name is Nurse Manners and I can assure you there is nothing to be alarmed about. The smoke is far too high up to pose a health risk to anypony but pegasi and the source is nowhere near this hospital. You are safe here.” Nurse Manners put on a smile while she spoke in a slow soothing tone.

Trixie blinked, and was silent for a just a moment. I-is she condescending Trixie? She narrowed her eyes at the nurse. “Trixie is aware she is in no danger, even if the hospital was on fire The Great and Powerful Trixie would be just fine. But Trixie knows a pony that lives near there and wants somepony to check on her, right now.”

Nurse Manners rose up a brow at Trixie’s tone. “Miss…” She glance down at the chart. “Doe, please calm down. A lot of ponies have come in with concerns about the smoke and we are very busy attending to all of them. Everypony else here is worried about their friends and family too, we cannot simply send out a pony to every single one of them can we?”

“Lulamoon! The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon is not just everypony else. Trixie is not asking, she demands you send somepony to the cottage by the forest at once! This is important!”

”I assure you miss Powerful, everything is under control.” With a roll of her eyes Nurse Manners closed the door, leaving Trixie to her own devices.

“Come back here this instant! You cannot just leave without Trixie’s permission! Somepony has to go there right now!” No matter how much Trixie shouted at the door there was no further response.

Trixie shook with rage. “How dare you ignore Trixie! Fine!”

With a quick motion she threw the blankets off her and slipped her rear legs over the edge of the bed, shuffling into position to drop herself down. Trixie’s body already protested heavily against even these simple motions, her muscles stiff and aching badly. As Trixie sat on the edge she peered over it towards the floor, if she had to guess she would say it was about a two story fall straight down. Who in their right mind builds these beds that high!

Trixie swallowed nervously, it felt just a few minutes ago that she nearly collided with the tiles and now she was about to give it a second try. The thought of messing up the landing scared the weakened Trixie, she knew her body was prone to give out on her. It only took one more look towards the black smoke outside for Trixie to steel herself, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before letting herself slip off the bed.

Strangely the ground was an awful lot closer, or the fall much faster, as she felt herself impacting the tiles almost immediately and stumbled forward to maintain her balance. After a few awkward, shaky steps Trixie raised her head proudly. “Hah no mere bed can keep The Gre—no time for this!”

Trixie made her way towards the door at a fairly quick trot, actually impressing herself with her own resilience. This isn’t so bad. Trixie will be there in no time.

Once she stepped into the hallway, Trixie could hear the muffled sounds of distressed ponies coming from the main lobby. As much as she would have liked to get out as soon as possible, she had to at least check if Fluttershy was not among the group there.

The journey down the hallway proved to be much more exhausting than Trixie had anticipated, every aching step witling away at her stamina. Twice Trixie had paused to lean against the wall and take a break to catch her breath, she did not dare lay down and risk never getting back on her hooves. But she’d made it. To the staircase. “Oh come on, can’t it be a lift? On reflection Trixie does not relish the thought of using a lift during a fire, even if it is not here. Wait it IS not here right?”

A soft hiss escaped Trixie as she could feel another flared headache coming and closed her eyes tight, doing her best to clear her mind to just the essentials. Fire. Fluttershy. Find.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Trixie finally spends some time away from the Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, she's dealing with it well.

Chapter 39 - Revenge

If Trixie did not know any better, she would have sworn it was some evil conspiracy on behalf of Ponyville to get her a room on the second floor. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she was sure she actually did not know any better. It could be some evil cabal government that set it up.

Trixie was not about to let them win however. If nopony was planning to help her that just meant she never could have trusted them with the task in the first place. A lesser pony might have given up but not the Great and Powerful Trixie. One way or another she was going to get out, and find Fluttershy.

So get going already! Trixie stared down the staircase and swallowed. Okay here go’s. It’s just a staircase, that’s nothing compared to what Trixie has faced already. Encouraged, Trixie begun her climb down the stairs.

Walking in a straight line had proved hard enough, but descending stairs was a challenge. Each new step downward felt to Trixie like she was tumbling straight into an abyss before her hoof struck the step and grounded her again. After the first couple of semi controlled falls Trixie noticed the stairs contorting in weird ways, but she was pretty sure stairs did not normally do that.

It’s fine, the spinning is only in Trixie’s head, the world is still there. Just take it slow. But not too slow! The fire isn’t going to wait till Trixie g— Trixie’s next hoof had landed too far over the edge of the step and slipped down, sending her tumbling down the stairs. “Gah! Ooof!”

Trixie could feel she had hit something hard, but it was not the stone steps. Whatever it was she heard it grunt when she smacked into it. All she could see was a red blur. “Ugh what hit Trixie, a fire dragon?”

“Nnnope.”

Blinking a few times to clear her vision, Trixie realized what she had crashed into, the extended hoof of a huge, red stallion. From the looks of it, Trixie could guess he had been climbing up when she slipped and swung out a leg to stop her fall. She hung doubled over it, lifted off the staircase with such ease and stability that Trixie could have sworn it was a railing rather than a ponies leg.

“You caught Trixie?” Bringing up a hoof to rub her head, Trixie hoped the thumping in it would settle down soon.

“Eeyup.”

Glancing up, Trixie was met with a pair of concerned green eyes, examining her bandages before returning to meet her gaze. The seemingly immovable limb lowered back down to set her back onto the staircase, it still barred her way however. His eyes shifted down the stairs briefly then returned.

The meaning behind the gesture was clear to Trixie. “You are worried about Trixie?”

“Eeyup.”

“There is no need. Trixie was merely testing your reflexes. You can let her pass now.”

Trixie could see the huge stallion raising an eyebrow in response to the answer. She gave a sigh as she continued. “You don’t believe Trixie do you?”

“Nnnope.”

“Fine Trixie tripped, but she is fine now. Let Trixie go, she is in a hurry!” She scowled at the massive stallion. Trixie has no time for this, who does he think he is holding Trixie back? “Did you think Trixie would reward you for coming to her aid? She did not ask for it, now get out of Trixie’s way.”

There was no hiding the reluctance in the stallion, but he did move out of her way and continued up the stairs. Trixie resolved to be more careful with her descent.

It was strange to have a conversation with someone even worse than Fluttershy, Trixie had not thought it was possible. Though she supposed that while the red stallion might have been quiet, he had said as much as he needed to in order to get his thoughts across.

As Trixie reached the end of the stairs, she could hear voices coming from above her. The first she recognized as Nurse Manners. “Oh hello Big Mac, coming in for you final checkup? I’ll bet your happy to get back to work the next harvest, Applejack was in quite a fix I hear.”

“Eeyup.”

Trixie growled. Oh so Nurse Manners has time to give checkups to big, healthy stallions but not to check on a sweet mare that might need help? Trixie’s sees how it is! Still she was not going to climb all the way back up to give that nurse a piece of her mind. She had a much more pressing matter to attend to. Her attention was drawn towards the lobby where a small crowd of ponies had gathered.

Many of the ponies there were coughing and wheezing in an exaggerated manner as though they were auditioning for an amateur play set during a hay fever apocalypse. The doctors and nurses present were busy attempting to assure the newcomers the smoke could not possibly have affected them unless they had lost their wings on the way to the hospital.

Looking around, Trixie was unable to find Fluttershy among the gathered ponies. She turned her attention to the front door, simply walking right out, still dressed up in her bandages and hospital gown.

Once outside however Trixie realized a brand new problem.

“Wait… Where does Fluttershy live? Trixie does not even know where this hospital is.” Trixie thought on it briefly before she raised her gaze up at the sky. perhaps Trixie can just follow the smoke?

By the slow direction of the black clouds Trixie estimated direction she needed and begun her trip, keeping an eye on the sky. She actually felt a bit thankful for the thick smoke, as it blocked out the sun for her, making it much easier to move around outside while she was still sensitive to light. She never spared a thought at the notion that bright flames would be a lot worse.

Simply following the smoke back to its source seems like a good enough idea. If Fluttershy does not live where the fire is than Trixie would be satisfied. But, only works if the wind has been the same all day, if the wind has turned Trixie would not find the fire. Worse, than Trixie still would not know what’s wrong with Fluttershy, and would be even further away. Trixie came to a halt, reconsidering her options.

“Mhm okay what does Trixie know? Fluttershy lives on the edge of town, but Trixie has no time to walk around the whole edge. What else? She lives near the Everfree Forest. Ah! That’s it, the forest is only on one side!” She snapped out of her monologue right as she felt her headache creeping back up past uncomfortable and into painful, perfect timing.

Trixie searched the sky and soon enough found what she was looking for, Canterlot. A perfect steady point of reference. It could be seen from nearly all over Ponyville.

If Trixie keeps Canterlot on her left, she should find the forest edge of town. From there it should be easy to spot Fluttershy’s home, it’s the only building there. Pleased with herself, Trixie resumed her journey. By the looks of it she was going to have to cross the town first.

After trekking through a couple of streets Trixie was already regretting her decision, feeling as though she was almost dead on her hooves. It took half her strength to keep herself moving forward and the other half just to keep her eyes open, her pace had slowed gradually to a crawl as lifting each hoof took more and more effort.

Ugh… If Trixie had known, she would have slept during visiting hours. Instead of fight to stay awake, she could have used that fight right about now.

Trixie pushed herself onward, letting her hooves drag over the road while she tried to keep a straight line, lifting her head to confirm Canterlot’s position on her left still. Trixie can’t help but wonder, why does Princess Celestia do nothing to help? She just sits there. Her eyes lingering on the castle, Trixie did not spot the rock on the road and stumbled, crashing into the dirt road with a grunt.

Okay… Trixie had that coming.

Trixie could not bring up the energy to even be mad about the fall, even though it hurt. She did not even feel any real need to get back on her hooves. The hard dirt road just felt so very comfortable, like she had nothing to worry about if she just closed her eyes for a little while. J-just… five minutes? Trixie can rest for five minutes can’t she?

What is Trixie in such a hurry for anyway? To get to some house? Why can’t it wait a little while? Her eyes slid closed and she yawned. It was so alluring, all she had to do was forget for a little bit. Forget… forget what? Something, something important…

Suddenly it all clicked in Trixie’s mind and her eyes snapped open. “Fluttershy!” She shouted loud enough for a couple nearby ponies to stop and stare, Trixie did not even notice. Scrambling back onto her hooves, her head spun and the street looked so hazy. Trixie took a couple of deep quick breaths to steady herself.

That was close, focus Trixie! She scolded herself while she resumed her journey, stumbling through over the road towards the forest. Trixie’s eyes remained firmly on the ground, only gaving a quick glance at Canterlot occasionally, the rest of her time spend scanning for rocks. Trixie was not sure she could pick herself back up if she fell again.

Trixie felt as though she was in a trance. She was too tired to really think about anything to complicated as she just set one hoof in front of the other. It was only when she crashed into something that the trance was broken.

Blinking and disorientated, Trixie found herself on top of a yellow coated stallion, this one was even more comfortable than the dirt road had been. Unlike the dirtroad it was complaining at her.

“Watch where you are going, what’s wrong with you?”

Finally, Trixie felt something rise in her other than an overpowering need for sleep. She glared at the stallion while she hurriedly climbed off him. “Who dares trip the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie should smite you were you stand! Out of Trixie’s sight!” Although Trixie expected more resistance, the stallion looked up at her in shock and said nothing further, giving a few sideways glances while Trixie stared down at him.

“At least you know to hold your tongue when in the presence of your betters.” She took a few steps to the side and walked around him, continuing on her way. Something was nagging at the back of her mind though. What is this… why does Trixie feel like she is forgetting something? Fluttershy, fire, find. Mhm no Trixie is pretty sure that is all that is important… right?

A quick glance back revealed the yellow stallion was back on his hooves, speaking to what Trixie assumed were his friends. Perhaps they are worried about him, it’s not every day one has a run in with The Great and Powerful Trixie. However, when they all stopped talking and turned their heads to meet her gaze, Trixie felt chills.

Oh Celestia! THAT was it! I forgot about that!

As tired as she was she still quickened her step and tried to put some distance between herself and the group, she could hear the sound of slow trotting hooves behind her though. Trixie was sure she was being followed. She was in no state to bluff her way out of anything if they caught her, Trixie’s current outfit was not exactly intimidating, her mind racing to find some way to escape.

Quickly, or as quickly as she could manage. She turned a corner to get out of sight of the ponies behind her. Maybe Trixie can hide, or shake them if she goes out the other end of the alley. Or, oh come on! Trixie found herself looking at a dead end, silently cursing her luck while she turned quickly to make her way out of the alley and back to the streets, she bumped into the yellow stallion again.

“Whoops sorry ‘bout that Great and Powerful Trixie.” He scowled down at her.

“Trixie will forgive this once, now the—” As Trixie turned to her left to go around she found herself crashing into a green coated mare.

“Oh don’t be like that, we’re all just dying to see you try to smite something.” She gave Trixie a shove.

Trixie did not respond. Using the bit of momentum from the push Trixie spun to make a dash in another direction only to hit a second stallion, this one also yellow.

“Especially after you bailed on your last town wide performance, maybe you need some motivation though? What do you guys think?” He grinned as she spoke.

No no no! This isn’t fair! Uh Uh maybe She stared up at the dark sky and gulped, she could only think of one thing she could do. Though she dreaded the idea. Trixie tried to summon up some magic in her horn. Just a simple fireworks spell, that’s all, just a little fi—Gah! The only fireworks she managed to summon where the hot sparks that seared her vision after she tried to start the spell, closing her eyes tightly. She only barely managed to even keep standing.

“Trixie has no time for these foalish games! Let Trixie go right no-Uphf!” As she turned to make a blind dash away she crashed into a fourth pony like a wall, Trixie was well and truly boxed in. She bounced off the stallion and crumbled on the floor as her legs finally gave out after that last straw. She could hear the ponies inevitably closing in on her.

H-how bad could it really be?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Birthday and Dark Souls 2 related delay.
On the bright side I have the week off so I have some time to catch up.

Chapter 40 - Record

“Three hundred forty-eight... I was so close!”

Rainbow Dash had bounced the ball up in the air for what had to be a thousand times that day. She was going to make it happen! That record was as good as hers, and with it the sweet satisfaction of getting to see Nurse Redheart’s face when she got back to the hospital.

Of course Pinkie Pie had ruined both of her attempts. Even if she had not meant to it still left Rainbow Dash to start from the beginning yet again.

“As if that stupid dragon did not waste enough of my time already, not to mention how long it took to get there.” Rainbow Dash complained while she looked up at the sky.

It was still day but there could not be much more than an hour of daylight left. It would be plain impossible to keep control of the ball in the dark, which meant Rainbow Dash would not be allowed to visit Trixie.

“I’m sorry… it’s my fault.” Fluttershy looked down at the ground, she felt as though she had done nothing but slow the group down while they were on the mountain. Something that Rainbow Dash had been impatiently pointing out every step of the way.

After saying their goodbye's, the group split up, leaving just Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in front of the library. Their plan was to go back and relieve Spike of animal duty. Unfortunately for Rainbow, it was just one more thing between her and her next attempt at the record.

Rainbow Dash groaned while she few a circle in impatience. “Yeah I know, but hey!” She landed besides Fluttershy. “You redeemed yourself at the end there. That was awesome! I didn’t know you had it in you!” Rainbow Dash reached her hooves around Fluttershy and hugged her tightly. A few seconds passed before Rainbow's brain caught up with her actions. She hastily put some distance between them and gave Fluttershy a slightly too hard pat on the head like normal.

Fluttershy nearly lost balance from the complementary pat and stumbled forward, blushing while she scraped the dirt with her hoof. “I-it was not that special… I’m glad you think so though, I mean you can think so if you want but uhm Oh.”

“Oh come on! As if standing up to a, and I quote, huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon! could be anything but AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash leaped up into an aerial loop for effect.

Kicking at the dirt while she listened, Fluttershy blushed deeply. She kept her eyes turned down while she took a deep breath. “B-but uhm… you… I just…” Fluttershy struggled with her words until she abandoned the train of thought. ”I’m glad you aren’t mad anymore.”

“Mad? Oh that, don’t worry about it. Like I said, totally redeemed yourself. Now where is Spike at, I bet Angel has a saddle on him by now.”

“…Not what it was about…” Fluttershy mumbled under her breath.

“What was that Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said while she looked into the second floor window of the library, smirking at the mayhem.

Fluttershy startled. “Oh I Uhm said, so what was the count? You know, for the record?”

“Something like three hundred fifty, why?” It puzzled Rainbow Dash that Fluttershy had to ask. She had been harping on about the record challenge just a minute ago. And just five minutes ago Applejack had called Twilight over when she was at three hundred forty-five, with five left to go.

“Well uh. It’s just… This morning? When I came to warn you about the smoke. Pinkie Pie made you lose count right? But… you were at three hundred fifty-five before you stopped to talk to Pinkie.”

Rainbow Dash looked down at Fluttershy. “I was? Ugh So then I wasted all this time just now bouncing a ball for nothing?” It took a moment before the full implication sunk in. “Wait! I WAS!” Rainbow Dash shot away from the window and into a victory lap around Fluttershy. “Oh Yeah! I am AWESOME! Got it on my first try! Yes!”

Fluttershy smiled while giving a nod. “You definitely did Rainbow Dash. I’m sure Pinkie Pie will back you up too. So uhm, shall we get these little guys home? It’s getting awfully late.”

Hovering in front of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash waved her hooves excitedly. “No no this is perfect! I have a much better idea. Hang on!” She darted back up to the window and shouted through it. “Hey Spike! Change of plans, you are back on duty for a while!”

An exasperated cry came from inside the library. “Oh come on!”

However, Rainbow Dash paid it no mind. She swooped down and pulled Fluttershy off the ground by her hooves. “Let’s go see Trixie! I wonder how she’s doing. I bet she’s bored stiff by now hah.”

“Eep!” It took Fluttershy a second to get over the surprise when she was yanked up all of a sudden. However, she smiled widely once she understood the idea. “Oh yes, I am sure Trixie will like that. Though I doubt that she was bored, she probably slept all day. Remember, she is pretty weak right now and we’ll probably be waking her up. So please do be careful.”

“Awesome, so you don’t mind if we put off moving the animals?”

“Spike did such a good job today I’m sure my little animal friends won’t mind staying for a little while longer. Uhm, you did say she already saw you right? You are sure we won’t get a repeat of last time?”

“Trust me, I got it all under control. Trixie was actually really happy to see me, believe it or not. I thought for sure she would freak out, but actually it was just Nurse Redheart that did.” Rainbow Dash laughed.

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s great Rainbow, I guess you won’t need to hide this time. Are you okay though? You seem uhm, well it’s just, really excited about this? Did something happen?”

“Yeah! But uhm.... actually. I guess it’s just. Oh never mind we’re wasting time! ” Rainbow Dash brushed the topic off then led the way towards the Ponyville hospital with Fluttershy in tow, just barely managing to contain her excitement enough to keep her pace in line with Fluttershy’s.

“You actually did it!?” Nurse Redheart shouted, staring at Rainbow Dash. She looked towards Fluttershy expectantly, but she found her nodding. “But, but.” She stammered dumbfounded with the news.

Rainbow Dash grinned from ear to ear as she watched the look on Nurse Redheart’s face “Yep! Of course I did, I’m awesome! And I got Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to prove it. As if there’s any need for that Hah.” She pointed a hoof towards the stairs. “So! Same room as before right?” Without waiting for the answer Rainbow Dash flew up the stairs. Behind her she could hear both Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart follow her.

“Finally!” Rainbow Dash landed in front of the door to Trixie’s room. Okay Hm so what do I do now? Barge in and yell to wake her up? Sneak in and see if I can help with any more nightmares? What if she’s already awake? Oh forget it.

She opened the door and trotted inside with a smile. “Hey Trixie! Guess who just set a new Equestrian rec-Huh?” Rainbow Dash stared at the empty bed, then made her way back out to check the room number again. “Three hundred and one, yeah this is it. So…”

At that moment Rainbow Dash heard the two sets of hooves reach the top of the staircase and turned to look at Nurse Redheart as she finished her question. “…Where is Trixie?”

Nurse Redheart raised a brow with the odd question. “What do you mean where is Trixie? She’s in her room where she should have been in the first place.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, she was not sure what that was supposed to mean. If Trixie was in her room, but this room was empty. Then Rainbow Dash could only imagine that meant Redheart had moved Trixie before she got back. “What, so is this you plan B? I’m allowed in this room now, but Trixie’s room is a different one now? That’s not going to fly Redheart!”

“Rainbow Dash, first of all this is a hospital. You keep shouting and I will ban you from more than just a room.” Nurse Redheart said sharply, giving Rainbow Dash a stern stare. “Second, that is still Trixie’s room, if she isn’t there maybe she is powdering her nose.”

“Powdering her nose? What? That makes no sense, why would she be doing that? Does her nose have a rash? It looked fine this morning.” Rainbow Dash stared at Nurse Redheart in confusion. “Heck I know she did not bring anything so where would she even get powder?”

Nurse Redheart blinked with the barrage of stupid questions, just when she had finally gotten the last of the Black Smoke Syndrome Patients out the door. She scrunched her eyes and brought a hoof up to the bridge of her nose. “Ugh, Fluttershy, if you please?”

“M-me?” Fluttershy meeped quietly, but she was more than eager to do something for Nurse Redheart, wishing to mend the relationship with her. Still, she was not thrilled with having to explain a euphemism to Rainbow Dash. “U-uhm Rainbow? It’s uh… code, yes code. You know, like in cloudball? The coach would not tell you the play directly, but he’d tell you something unrelated that meant a play?”

“Yes? What’s that got to do with anything though? We’re not playing a game here, why bother with codes. It was a waste of time back then too, learning new codes every weak for that paranoid coach.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes just recalling the two hour strategy meetings, if she’d spend half that time on homework…

Fluttershy nudged Rainbow Dash to get her attention back. It was easy to recognize when she was losing the mare’s attention, giving a smile when the magenta eyes settled back on her. “Right, well it means she’s gone to water the flowers.”

“To water the flowers?” Rainbow Dash raised a brow.

“Yes.” Fluttershy looked a bit uncomfortable.

Shrugging her shoulders, Rainbow Dash started to make her way towards the stairs. “Well, you are right, those two are totally unrelated. Weird, I didn’t know she even liked flowers, let’s go find her then!”

Redheart sighed. “She is not actually… you know what forget it, it is the same location anyway.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

I always thought RD was such a jerk to FS in Dragonshy, it never sat well with me.

Chapter 41 - Retribution

The Ponyville hospital was usually a calm and serene place, or so they claimed. In the last day alone they had been terrorized by a rainbow colored invader, swarmed by coughing herds, and now it looked like they might have even lost a patient.

It fell to Nurse Redheart to explain all of this. While she stared down an annoyed Rainbow Dash.

“She was not outside, you said she would be.” Rainbow Dash pushed an accusing hoof at Nurse Redheart.

“Of course she was not outside. Did you really think Trixie is in any state to walk down a hall? Let alone climb down two flights of stairs and just stroll out the door to go take a leak? I would be amazed if she made it to the hallway without soiling herself, we have bedpans for that you know.”

Rainbow Dash was actually speechless for a moment. She understood it made no sense now that Nurse Redheart explained, but that also left her with a new question. “Wait so, you were lying? Then were is she?”

“Well, I never actually said that she was outside. I only suggested that she might be, you went to go check and by the looks of it you did not find her. Meanwhile I’ve been asking and looking around, it seems that nobody has seen Trixie since… Erm… this morning.”

“Then you knew she was missing the entire day!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Fluttershy trotted up next to Rainbow Dash from behind, panting softly as she finally caught up to her. By the look of worry on her face she’d caught most of the conversation. “T-that can’t be right.”

Shaking her head, Nurse Redheart looked apologetic while she continued. “No we only found out just now. You see we’ve been just terribly busy with all the smoke panic, and, well… Trixie might have been kind of forgotten. She was still listed as a coma patient so the nurse that was supposed to take care of her got temporarily relocated to panic control duty…”

“B-but that means… Trixie was all alone all day? She didn’t even get any food?” Fluttershy looked horrified.

“Right, I am so sorry about this Fluttershy. We don’t know where Trixie is right now, but she could not have gotten far on her own. I’ve already informed the rest of the staff and a search party is being formed. All we can say for sure right now is that she is not in the hospital or the garden. I don’t know how she managed to drag herself that far away, or what possessed her to do it. For all we know she might as well have been kidnapped.”

“Are you kidding me? All that talk, and you LOST her!” Rainbow Dash flew up to the ceiling while she felt a heat spreading through her body, glaring down at Nurse Redheart. “I can’t believe this! I-I should! I…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy flew up in front of her. “Oh uh, I’m sorry, but are you sure this is what you care about most right now?” She held a pleading look in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash simmered down a little as a different emotion started to fight for dominance. “Trixie, Trixie’s hurt and alone somewhere… in a town she is really scared of… I have to find her right now!” Without sparing another look at Nurse Redheart, Rainbow Dash Flew out of the nearest window like a bolt of prismatic lightning.

Speeding through the air, Rainbow Dash flew up above the hospital. She looked at the nearly setting sun and grimaced. “Okay I’ve got maybe half an hour of twilight left, no problem! I’ll find Trixie in ten seconds flat! Then never leave her alone again, or at least until she gets sick of it.”

Rainbow Dash kept a look out for the easiest feature to identify Trixie by from on high, her silvery blue mane. The fading light made searching more difficult than Rainbow Dash had hoped, even with her prized eyesight she could not simply scan the area from on high anymore.

Below on the ground several ponies could be seen spreading out from the hospital. Rainbow Dash guessed these were part of the search party then. “Is that all they could spare?” She began a swift glide, spiraling out from the hospital.

“Where could she have gone? Why did she leave in the first place? Maybe she was just hungry, but then they should have found her in the kitchen.” Rainbow Dash swooped over the houses, streets and fields. Now and then she had to climb up higher again before resuming her glide.

Though she spotted a great many things during her flight, so far Trixie was eluding her. “Weird, I’m already pretty far from the hospital. Trixie wasn't in any shape to make it this far, right?” Rainbow Dash felt her stomach turn itself into knots.

“Where the hay are you Trixie? Oh hey that’s a good idea! TRIXIE!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the top of her lungs, then hushed to listen for a response. She did not get one, but she did see everypony on the ground look up. “Oh horse apples. I guess If I keep doing that then everypony will know she’s here.”

“Come to think of it. Is that really a bad thing? Trixie was pretty scared of being seen by anyone in Ponyville but it’s not like they would just mob her if she walked through the streets.” The thought of the possibility left Rainbow Dash uneasy. She did not want to admit it to herself, but it scared her. “Please be safe…”

The light faded quickly, making it harder and hard to see. By this point Rainbow Dash had to fly so low that she was barely above the rooftops anymore. She was about to turn back to the hospital when she caught a strange scene from the corner of her eye as she passed an alley.

It was even darker in the alley, the shade nearly impenetrable. But Rainbow Dash was sure she had seen a pair of yellow coated stallions and a green mare had been gathered closely around something she couldn't make out on the ground. What puzzled her the most was that they appeared to be repeatedly kicking it. “Well you don’t see that every day. Must have been my imagination, I can’t think of any ball game you play like that.”

A cold feeling ran along Rainbow Dash’s spine. “T-there is no way, but…” dipping her left wing, Rainbow Dash circled back around for a second pass. An inescapable feeling of dread gnawed away at the back of her mind.. Her eyes stayed firmly trained on the dark alley, and she saw it again. Her hooves begun to shake. “No!”

Folding her wings back, she nosedived straight towards the alley. She pulled up into a horizontal charge with her hooves stretched out before her, colliding into the closest stallion and knocking him into the other two ponies.

Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt while she watched the trio tumble backwards, crashing into the wall with pained cries and groans.

“What they hay do you guys think you’re doing!? beating up on Tri… thi... this sack of… apples?” Rainbow Dash blinked in utter confusion as she felt her hooves sink into mushed apple bits on the floor. The revelation made her unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Now that she had a moment to actually look them over, Rainbow Dash noticed the three ponies lying in a heap were much more badly hurt than she had intended. Bruises and scrapes covered all of them, and she somehow had managed to give two of them black eyes! Rainbow involuntarily took a step back in shock.' W-what did I do? I didn’t mean to hurt them that badly!

“Uh Hey, sorry about that… but you got to admit that was really suspicious! Who the hay starts kicking a sack of apples in the middle of the night? What gives?”

“None of your beeswax that’s what!” The green mare shouted, rubbing her head with a pained expression.

“Who do you think you are, just flying into ponies like that? We did nothing to deserve that.” The yellow stallion with the black eyes grumbled. He did not sound all that convincing to Rainbow Dash though.

“Look I-I am sorry really I am, are you guys okay?” She took a step closer only to see the pony closest to her flinch away.

“Get the hay out of here! You psychopath!” The second yellow stallion, without a black eye, snapped at her. “Attacking honest ponies out of the blue who does that!?”

Rainbow Dash took a few quick steps back, trampling the sack of apples and nearly tumbling over the suddenly uneven terrain. Her wings flared out. “I, well, uh, Okay. Sorry!” She leapt up into the air and rocketed up towards the nightsky as quickly as her wings could carry her.

She cursed at herself as she flew. “What the hay is wrong with me! T-they didn’t do anything wrong. I could have just asked them what they were doing!”

The last slivers of light vanished, leaving the world in the grasp of Luna’s night. Rainbow Dash glided over Ponyville, looking down at the dark streets but unable to make out the ponies at all anymore. “It’s too late, I failed… wait maybe somepony else found her?”

Rainbow Dash set course back towards the hospital. It was not a very long flight if she focused, but her mind wandered. “W-well what if they actually had Trixie? I would have been in the right! But… they didn’t I just assumed. J-just like… ” She swallowed and went quiet, thinking of Trixie and Fluttershy.

The hospital was lit up like a beacon compared to the rest of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash landed by the front doors, trotting inside and taking the path towards Trixie’s room.

The door was already open, but inside Rainbow Dash only found Fluttershy who looked up at her hopefully. Rainbow shook her head slowly, a guilty pang in her chest as she saw Fluttershy’s expression. “I-I’m sure she is fine Fluttershy.” She moved next to Fluttershy and draped a cyan wing over her.

“Maybe the staff has found her, everybody should be getting back now that it’s this dark.” As much as Fluttershy tried to sound hopeful, it was easy for Rainbow Dash to tell her beloved friend was anything but.

The sound of hoofsteps down the hallway caused both pegasi to perk up and look towards the door expectantly. Nurse Redheart stepped inside, followed by a nurse Rainbow Dash did not know yet. “Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, this here is Nurse Manners. She says she might know something about Trixie’s whereabouts.”

“First I, I really want to apologize. I did not take her seriously, I am afraid this might all be my fault…” Nurse Manners looked miserable.

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof impatiently, every second wasted on more apologies was a second that could have been spent finding Trixie at this point. “Give it a rest already, just tell me where she is!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 42 - Rumble

Trixie’s attempt to escape the irate Ponyvillians had failed miserably, and even the most basic spell she knew had backfired. After blindly crashing into the fourth pony, Trixie’s knees gave out and she crumbled to the ground. Trembling while she heard the hooves drawing nearer.

H-how bad could it really be?

Hyperventilating, Trixie brought her hooves up over her head fearfully. T-Trixie just has to suffer through just one more beating and she will probably be allowed to continue on her way to find Fluttershy. All Trixie felt she had to worry about was surviving it. She swallowed, contemplating if begging them not to hit her in the head would be make it more or less likely to get hit there.

The other three so far had each insulted her when they blocked her path. The fourth was oddly quiet. “W-what? No witty remarks?” Trixie did her best to be brave, even if she was cowering on the ground and bracing for impact. Cowards, if only Trixie had her magic.

“Nnnope.”

Her ears perked up. Trixie definitely recognized that phrase. What is he doing here? What was his name again? Wasn’t he getting a checkup? Was it that quick? Was Trixie that slow? Did he follow Trixie? Was this his plan all along? Then why did he ca—argh! Trixie’s head felt as though it was being used for a pincushion.

Lifting up one hoof from her face, Trixie peeked up at the last pony. Between the white stars that dotted her vision, Trixie could recognize the huge red coated stallion from the hospital, carrying a big sack of apples over his back. There was something different though, his kind expression was completely gone. Replaced by a scowl that send chills down Trixie’s spine.

The green mare, standing on Trixie’s left, spoke up. “Wait. Your one of them apple kin aren’t you? Big Macintosh. Trixie here sure did a number on your sister if I recall right. So do you want in on this do you?”

Oh no… of course it is that little hayseed’s brother. Trixie felt her last sliver of hope sink.

“Nnnope.”

“Oh you don’t like this do you? What are you gonna do about it, Big Mac? Stop us all on your own?” The Yellow Stallion on Trixie’s right stepped closer to Big Mac.

“Eeyup.”

It was only then that Trixie realized. While it was terrifying to a see dark scowl like that on a stallion that large. Big Mac was not looking at her, but at the trio that surrounded Trixie.

Big Mac took a couple steps forward, standing over Trixie and in between the trio. “This ‘ere ain’t right, y’all know it.”

“The hay it isn’t, you know what she did! If you’re siding with her, you’re siding against Ponyville!” The closer stallion reared up and kicked his forelegs out and struck Big Mac against his neck, electing a grunt.

Trixie crawled out from underneath Big Mac and away from the trio. She found herself at the exit of the alley while Big Mac kept the others blocked from reaching her. “Don’t just stand there, get them!”

“Eeyup.”

Trixie original plan had been to crawl into the street and call for help, but she was not even sure which side of the fight they would join. However any thought of doing so was forgotten when she saw what happened next.

She already had a preview of just how strong the stallion was back at the hospital. Still, she was shocked to see the closest yellow pony slam into the dead-end wall of the alley from just a single hooved buck.

Unfortunately the other two were not scared off, and instantly learned not to stand behind Big Mac. Avoiding any further bucking by the massive but slow stallion.

The rest of the fight was almost painful to watch, though Big Mac was strong and sturdy he was definitely not build to dodge.

The war of attrition eventually produced a winner.

After a final head-butt, Big Mac turned around to face the prone unicorn. His face and neck were covered in welts and bruises. He was panting heavily while he looked her over, then Big Mac shrugged the sack of apples off his back, letting it drop to the ground.

“H-hey are you okay?”

“Eeyup.”

Despite her best efforts, Trixie was simply too exhausted to get back onto her hooves. Her legs shook with exertion as she gave it a final try, lifting her chest off the ground for a couple seconds before she crashed back down panting. Trixie looked up at Big Mac as he stopped in front of her, noticing the sack of apples had been left behind.

“…Your thinking of carrying Trixie, aren’t you?”

“Eeyup.”

Trixie weighed her options while she looked up at the stallion. On the one hoof he had saved her from harm twice already, and Trixie was not thrilled about the prospect of crawling the rest of the day and night through Ponyville. On the other hoof, she did not really know him, other than that he was apparently the brother of the earth pony that had tried to ruin her show with her friends.

“Wait that’s right. Your sister, she is friends with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy isn’t she?”

Big Mac looked surprised but he nodded. “Eeyup. Her name’s Applejack.”

“Does that mean you know where they live?” Trixie looked up at Big Mac, hope starting to resurface. “Can you take Trixie there?”

Big Mac pondered on this for a moment. His hoof scratched his chin while his eyes traveled to Trixie’s hospital gown then back to Trixie’s eyes, staring at into them calmly before speaking up. “Eeyup, but they ain’t home right now. Got to do with that there smoke.” He nodded up at the smothered sky. “Sweet Apple Acres ain’t too far from Fluttershy’s meadow, yer welcome to rest up there till they get back.”

It took Trixie a moment to get over her shock, but then she showed a careful grin. “Oh so you can talk now? Trixie almost thought she imagined it the first time. Sweet Apple Acres is your farm Trixie presumes?” She recognized opportunity when she saw it, and this was most definitely a good one. This is perfect! Way to go Trixie!

“Eeyup.”

Trixie stretched out a hoof towards Big Mac. “Trixie accepts your offer, but you must tell Trixie what you know on our way there.” Big Mac nodded and took Trixie’s hoof, helping the mare onto his back. Once Trixie was stable, he trotted out the alley, ignoring the stares it got them from the other ponies on the street.

“So uhm, you are not secretly taking Trixie back to the hospital?” Trixie asked a bit anxious, she was not really capable of resisting anymore now that she was being carried.

“Nnnope.”

Once again Big Mac was back to giving just one word answers, but Trixie felt no need to complain. It was comforting in a way, as so far it had proven true that everything the concise stallion said was condensed sincerity.

“You said they were taking care of the smoke? Do you think they will be okay?”

“Eeyup.”

“Are they safe?”

“Eeyup.”

Trixie rested her head against Big Mac’s shoulders, the rhythmic sway of his trot seemed rocking her back and forth. She felt so warm against his back. Fluttershy is safe. Trixie is safe. It’s, it’s all okay now... Her eyelids felt so heavy now that the constant anxiety had left her. She had been forcing herself to stay awake, to keep going, by sheer force of will most of the day, and now finally that will was no longer needed.

It was not quite clear to Trixie how long of a walk it had been. She was fairly sure she must have dozed off at various points during the trip as the scenery seemed to change every time she thought she’d blinked.

The first time, they were still in the streets of Ponyville. Trixie caught some of the stares curious stares, one pegasi that caught Trixie’s attention stared at her with one eye while the other stared at a cloud. How is she doing that? It did not truly matter, as the pony and streets were gone the next time she blinked.

A dusty path on the outskirts of Ponyville. Trixie could see farming fields and ponies hard at work in them, planting, harvesting, and plowing. They did not seem to take much notice except to give a friendly wave towards Big Mac from a distance then carry on working. Trixie closed her eyes again, for what she was sure was just a second.

The sound of creaking floorboards was the first thing Trixie became aware off. They were inside a rustic looking house, some pictures on the wall passed by Trixie’s vision. None were ponies that she recognized. Though when they passed through what Trixie assumed was the living room, her eye caught on a portrait hung in a prominent location. A mare with a purple coat and pink hair, standing beside a stallion with blue hair and a gray coat, it looked very well taken care off compared with the other artworks.

Finally, Trixie found herself staring up at something she had gotten somewhat used to seeing by now. An unfamiliar ceiling yet again. She also became aware that she was no longer on Big Mac’s back, but tucked into a comfortable bed with an apple motive pillow. Trixie’s woken up to worse places. This must be Sweet Apple Acres then.

Trixie yawned and turned onto her right side, noticing she had a clear view of the window. Outside Trixie could see apple trees as far as the eye could see. The sun was still high in the sky, indicating it was slightly past noon, and judging by the smoke trail it seemed like whatever Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and their friends were doing had not been finished yet.

I guess that means it’s okay to rest up for a while here. I wonder whe—”what the!”

One of the apple tree’s suddenly shook violently, the apples knocked loose and dropped down out of her sight. She pushed herself up a bit to get better vantage point, below the tree she could see Big Mac gathering up baskets with fallen apples. By the looks of things he had at least broken out the first aid kit before getting to work.

Trixie settled back down with a sigh. Don’t scare Trixie like that. Well at least Trixie knows where he is now. It was clear to Trixie that work still had to be done, much like at Fluttershy’s.

With all her most pressing concerns taken care of Trixie drifted off to sleep again, both from exhaustion and her body’s need to pour all its energy into healing. The hours passed quickly.

“What in tarnation are YOU doing in MAH bed?!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Good ol' Big Macintosh isn't a fighter, but you don't need fighting experience when you can drag a house on a leash.:eeyup:
Though somebody should really teach him how to keep his guard up.

In other news, This story just hit 50 fav's! :yay:
To say I am motivated would be an understatement.
To celebrate, I'll try to use this week to bring more updates, like this one.

Chapter 43 - Rut

Trixie’s well deserved nap came to an abrupt end. She was not entirely clear on what was actually said as she was asleep for half of it, but Trixie felt she had a fairly good idea just based on the context as she rolled over and groggily looked at the fuming Applejack. Trixie recognized her immediately, the ringleader.

Yawning, Trixie curled back up and pulled the blanket up to her shoulder, though this time she faced Applejack instead of the window. “Sleeping, or at least Trixie was.” She made a gesture with her hoof as though to shoo Applejack away for interrupting her, then closed her eyes again.

“Ah can see that! Ah mean why are ya here?! And get the hay out of there.”

As far as Trixie was concerned she had a right to be there. After all she was pretty sure it was Big Mac that had put her there, and that had to mean it was okay. “What is the big deal? Just go away already if you are not here to take Trixie home, err, to Fluttershy’s home.”

Applejack glared at Trixie and opened her mouth to continue her rant now that Trixie was at least facing her, but paused once she got a better look at the wounded unicorn. Applejack raised a brow. Though the unicorns attitude was still as nerve grating as the day she’d met her there was no denying she looked terrible. “Before that. What happened to yer face?”

“Friendship.” Trixie smiled proudly while she peeked out of one eye at the cowmare. She looked exactly the same as the last time Trixie had seen her, sans the rope hogtie. “Aren’t you glad?”

“Would ya stop speaking in yer gosh darned riddles? Ah reckon ya didn’t just climb in there on a whim.” Applejack jabbed a hoof at her bed, but not quite as eager to kick Trixie out of it now.

“It’s not a riddle. Oh Fine, Trixie forgot who she was speaking to. Your brother, Big Mac, took Trixie here. He’s been bucking all afternoon and Trixie is exhausted.”

Applejacks eyes widened a bit. “D-don’t you speak about my brother like that! He would nevah just, just. W-with a mare he barely met. A-and especially not in mah bed!”

Trixie blinked confused. “What on Equestria are you talking about? The Great and Eloquent Trixie is not sure she can find any smaller words to talk to you with. Just go and fetch your brother, maybe he can interpret for you. Which reminds Trixie, did he not tell you anything?”

Scowling at Trixie, Applejack controlled herself. “No, Ah just came home. Ah saw Big Mac wave but Ah reckoned he was just happy to see we made it back.” Applejack looked out the window. “Looks like he’s headed this way. Ah reckon it’s got to do with this here mess then.”

Applejack headed out of the room and reached for the door, pulling it nearly shut before she looked back. “You stay right there. We’re gonna get to the bottom of this barrel, and then Ah decide if Ah burry you in it or not.” She slammed the door shut.

Trixie winched as the loud slam hurt her ears, nor did it do her headache any favors. Augh, she did that on purpose. The little simpleton. At least that was kind of fun. They can sort this out among themselves. Trixie has a more important task. Smirking softly, Trixie closed her eyes again and nuzzled into her, for the time being, pillow.

In the past week Trixie had gotten to know more beds than she had in her whole life. It was getting to the point where she started to identify distinguishing traits between them. The hospital bed had been rather firm and itchy, while Fluttershy’s was as soft as the pony it was meant for.

What stood out most about this one was the strong apple and hay scent that came off of the pillow and covers. Trixie quite liked it, but also reminded her that she had yet to eat anything and the pillow was starting to smell awfully appetizing.

Through the floor boards Trixie could hear voices rise up. By the sounds of it Big Mac had finally caught up to Applejack, or perhaps more accurately it was the other way around.

“Big Mac! Do ya know anything about that home invader we got upstairs? She claims ya brought her here!”

“Eeyup.”

“Did you get into the cider reserves while Ah was gone? What in the hay is Trixie doing here?! Gosh darnit Ah knew Rainbow was lying! What did ya find her lost in the street and brought her home like some stray cat?”

“Eeyup. Just till y’all came back. She says sh—”

“Wants to go to Fluttershy’s house. Yeah I know. But why mah bed! What’s wrong with yers?”

“Nnnope, it ain’t proper. Ya can’t lay a mare in a stallions bed AJ.”

“Ain’t proper? Ah… well what about Granny’s or Applebloom’s then? Why mine huh? Just because it’s closest to the stairs?”

“Eeyup.”

“And err s-speaking of lay, ya uh, didn’t you know? She’s claiming is all I’m saying…”

It finally struck Trixie what had gotten Applejack so rattled a minute ago, before she could stop herself she burst out into a rib-cracking laughing fit. She could not wait to tell this to Rainbow Dash later, that was sure to get her going aswell. She might have to omit this when telling it to Fluttershy though.

“Darnit Trixie! Don’t ya know it’s rude ta listen in on other ponies conversations! Big Mac, this way.”

Trixie couldn’t hear the voices anymore after that. Perhaps they went into another room? Oh well it was fun while it lasted. Hm wait a minute. If Applejack is here then that must mean the others are back too right? Good Trixie can leave soon then. As fun as it is getting back at that little hayseed, Trixie has something better to do.

It occurred to Trixie that something was missing, she had been thinking a lot and her head was not exploding. Huh, a little rest sure helps. Come to think of it, the problem only really started when I tried to think and move. The doctor did say Trixie was not supposed to, maybe that’s why?

Staring out the window again, Trixie saw the sun was low in the sky. She estimated the night could not be more than an hour away. I wonder if they are home yet… I want to see them.

Below, the voices had become audible again.

“Ya can’t be serious.”

“Eeyup.”

Trixie could hear hooves climb up the staircase, then the door swung open revealing Applejack with Big Mac right behind her. Applejack looked extremely uncomfortable and only moved when she was given a push from behind.

Applejack trotted up to the bed and stared at Trixie for a few moments, then gave another quick look behind her towards Big Mac who did not move an inch. “Fine…” She picked up a pie tin from her back and set it down on the part of the blanket that covered Trixie’s lap.

Trixie blinked and looked down at the Apple-pie in her lap. It smelled positively divine, and was exactly what she’d been craving after the bed had teased her empty stomach. Trixie shifted to prop herself up against the pillow while she stared up at Applejack questioningly.

After taking a deep breath, Applejack spoke up. ”Trixie, Ah am sorry… Ah should not have yelled at a guest. Ah hear ya got one kind of Ponyville hospitality today. Ah reckon we owe it to show you the proper kind. Ah won’t lie. The plan was ta have Big Mac give you this, but I do mean it.”

This was not what Trixie had been prepared for. “B-but, I… Trixie thought you hated her?”

“Ah reckon ya paid yer dues.” Applejack scratched the back of her neck. “Now ah know yer wanting to go see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but it just ain’t right to have a guest leave Sweet Apple Acres hungry.”

“So, this is for Trixie?” She pointed down at the Apple-pie.

“Eeyup.” Applejack grinned cheesily as she imitated her big brother. “Think of it as a token of mah apologies to ya, or as just the best darn tooting thing ya’ll ever eat. I warn ya. Think carefully before ya decide to take a bite, Ya ain’t gonna want no other kinda pie ever again.”

Trixie didn’t need any further convincing. It was already hard enough just to keep her eyes on Applejack instead of the warm pie, a growl from her stomach was the final straw. Applejack had been right, this was the best thing Trixie could remember ever eating, with the exception of peanut butter chocolate muffins of course.

After eating half the pie, the crumbs of crust covered her muzzle as Trixie suddenly looked up to Applejack and Big Mac. It had completely slipped her mind there were other ponies in the room while she was stilling her hunger.

Blushing with embarrassment, Trixie wiped her muzzle clean, quickly licking the crumbs off her hoof afterward. “S-sorry. Trixie got a little carried away. It really is good.”

“Well Ah reckon that’s the greatest compliment one can have, so don’t ya worry about it, Trixie.” Applejack smiled.

An affirming nod from Big Mac followed. “Eeyup.”

Trixie became aware of the strangest sensation, it occurred to her she actually had a bit more to say. “Big Mac? Thank you, for, for absolutely everything you did for Trixie. Sorry if Trixie got you in any trouble…” She glanced over at Applejack in that moment. “But you helped Trixie a great deal, and she is… grateful. You don’t mind Trixie waited this long do you?”

“Nnnope.”

Trixie smiled at Big Mac, then turned her attention to his sister. “Applejack?”

Applejack wore a kind expression. “Yes sugarcube?”

“Trixie accepts your apology, and already ate half of it so that’s rather obvious she would think.” Trixie gave a small nod down at the half empty pie tin. ”And, Trixie isn’t sorry for anything.”

“Gosh darn it ya really wanna start this whole thing again?” Applejack rolled her eyes.

Unfazed, Trixie carried on. “Because Trixie does not think she did anything wrong. She answered your questions to the best of Trixie’s ability, even if you were rude about asking them or did not understand Trixie’s reply. Though it is true Trixie lost patience with you toward the end, she only suggested you talk to your brother about it.”

Applejack’s mouth hung open, trying to think of something to retort with. “Yeah well. What about yer rotten attitude?”

“You woke Trixie up. You can’t blame her being a little grumpy.”

“Gah, ya can’t just! Big Mac say something?”

“Nnnope.”

“Big help you are. Okay fine, Ah did not give ya an apology just so Ah would get one in return. If yer done eating we’ll take ya to Fluttershy’s home. Honestly yer a bigger hoof full than a vampire fruit bat infestation.”

“Wait not yet!” Trixie turned her attention back to the half-finished pie with renewed vigor.

A few minutes later they set out.

Big Mac carried Trixie again while Applejack accompanied them, carrying a saddlebag with apples. She said it was because she simply had a delivery to make there, and had something to discuss with Rainbow Dash, but Trixie caught more than a flew glances from Applejack to her and Big Mac. Heh, makes sense. She is his sister after all.

“So, do you often make house calls?”

“Nah, usually folks buy our apple products at the market. Sometimes we get orders ta fill though, them’s busy days Ah tell ya. Fluttershy is a special case, she takes the bruised apples that we can’t sell to ponies off our hooves, and gives them to her animals. Works fer us cause it means we ain’t stuck with them.”

Trixie would have liked to actually have a conversation while they traveled, but she could only fight off the constant fatigue for so long. By the time she woke up the surroundings had changed from endless apple trees to the familiar scenery of Fluttershy’s meadow.

Trixie immediately perked up in excitement as soon as she realized where they were. “We’re here! You can put Trixie down now, thanks for the ride Big Mac.” She slid off his back and with a sideways glance at Applejack, kissed his cheek. “Thank you again, Trixie is fine from here.” Applejacks jaw nearly hit the floor.

Big Mac just remained stoic and nodded. “Eeyup.”

Trixie turned and shakily made her way up the path towards Fluttershy’s house, the setting sun washed the quaint hovel in a warm orange light seeming to beckon the eager unicorn closer. She had finally made it, her heartbeat as rapid as a woodpecker while she hurried up to the door. Finally!

“W-well lets go Big Mac, right now.” She set two hooves against his barrel and tried to push him back towards the road.

“Nnnope.” He raised a hoof to pet his little sister on the head, then nodded towards the house.

Applejack dropped her saddlebags next to the path. “There, Fluttershy will find them just fine. Lets go.” Applejack gave him another push but was met with another nod. She turned around to get another look at what he was going on about. “Just what is so important about her n… Oh.”

Trixie knocked on the door of the dark house, everything seemed off about it. “Fluttershy! Trixie’s home, er back! Fluttershy?” She trotted up to one of the windows and peered inside, all the furniture and birdhouses were still there. But she could not find a single living thing.

Once it hit Trixie she started to see it everywhere, or rather not see it. All of the animals that usually were around or tried to trip her up were gone. “F-Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash?” She took a few unsteady steps back to stare up at the window that she knew led to the bedroom. It was closed. “T-this isn’t funny Rainbow Dash. Trixie is here, you’re supposed to be here. Why aren’t you girls? Where is everypony? I-it’s not fair. Trixie does not want to be alone anymore…” Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Trixie felt a hoof drape over her shoulder and quickly looked back to find Applejack besides her. “It’s okay sugarcube, I reckon them’s just a tad late. Ah know where Fluttershy keeps her spare key so why don’t you wait inside? Ah’ll stay with ya till they get here.” She glanced behind her at Big Mac and raised her voice some. “And Big Mac will go take care of that delivery he neglected to bring a stray home! Ain’t that right?”

“Eeyup.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Gosh this was a ton of fun to write. Apple Family accents are wonderful to play with.
Let's see how long I can keep this update streak going ey? Aiming for the whole week.

Chapter 45 - Reunite

Trixie felt as though she had somehow stepped into another dimension. A dimension where Fluttershy’s cozy house was dark and empty, where annoying cowmares were actually alright, and most importantly a dimension where Rainbow Dash was hugging her. A real hug, not a so-you-don’t-fall-of-cloud hug. Trixie had never felt so warm.

This is wonderful!

“Don’t be scared, Trixie. I-it’s just that I was worried. I’ve been looking all over for you!”

It took a few moments for Trixie to get over the shock, but once she did Trixie quickly slid her hooves around Rainbow Dash in return, holding on for dear life. As scared as she had been a few seconds ago, Trixie could not remember ever feeling safer than right then.

“You mule, we were so worried!” Rainbow Dash scolded while she squeezed Trixie tighter.

By the words Trixie could tell Rainbow Dash had not come alone, but heavy breathing and rapid thumping she could feel with their chests pressed together told her any others were not likely to arrive for a while. “Y-you were? I’m sorry.”

This is Wonderful!

“And just what in the hay was that about?” Applejack spoke up, her eyes firmly fixed on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up and her gaze snapped towards Applejack, becoming acutely aware she was being watched quickly tried to pry herself away from Trixie. “Gah, Applejack! Right, you were here. Err, hi? Come on, Trixie, let go.” Trixie was not about to simply let it end just because Rainbow Dash was embarrassed however, not when she had finally gotten what she wanted.

A few vain struggles later, Rainbow Dash resigned herself to her fate, bringing her hooves back around Trixie and looking sharply towards Applejack. “Not. A. Word.”

This is Wonderful!

“What are ya gonna do about it? Looks like yer stuck worse than a—”

“Applejack! Do us both a favor and don’t finish that. So uh, I guess I should answer your question. Trixie explained it to Fluttershy before. It’s some tradition back where she’s from, it’s for friends but not for uhh lovers. So uh yeah, don’t get the wrong idea.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah know that. That ain’t what Ah was asking about.” She pointed a hoof towards the comfortably snuggled up Trixie. “Just why was she… ya know, Ah guess it don’t matter right now, but Ah need ta talk ta ya later.”

“What’s wrong with right now? Come on don’t leave me hanging, AJ, that’s not cool. Trixie won’t mind. Right, Trixie?” Rainbow Dash glanced down at Trixie and poked her with a hoof, trying to snap her out of her little trance.

“This is wonderful!” Trixie cried out only to realize she had actually said it out loud and blushed furiously. “T-Trixie means U-uhm ahh… Trixie’s got nothing.” To her delight Rainbow Dash made no attempt to let her go again, even though she was a bit more susceptible to reason now.

Applejack looked at Trixie with a puzzled expression for a moment, then lifted her gaze to meet Rainbow Dash’s. “Don’t y’all mind me. Ah reckon Ah can show mahself out. Looks like Ah ain’t needed no more.”

“Woah, hold your horses, Applejack. What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash said concerned.

“Oh, don’t worry, Rainbow. Ah only mean Ah was just here ta keep Trixie company till y’all came back. And ya did.”

“Trixie doesn’t think that means you have to leave, won’t you stay for a bit?”

“Yeah, at least stay till Fluttershy gets here. I’m sure she’d like to thank you for playing host. Besides we’re gonna need a witness or else Trixie will never believe us!” Rainbow Dash grinned mischievously.

Trixie blinked. “Wait what?”

“Well when ya put it like that, Ah guess I can stay fer a little longer. Oh, long as yer here, Rainbow Dash, you got any idea how to get the lights on in this place?”

It only just then seemed to dawn on Rainbow Dash that the entire group on the couch all had to share in the vague light of just a single candle on the opposite end of the room. She looked around for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. “Not a clue.”

Trixie and Applejack groaned.

“Really Rainbow? Ya don’t know something that basic?” Applejack complained.

“Yeah, how can you not know that?” Trixie chimed in.

Flustered, Rainbow Dash gestured dismissively with her wing. “Hey what is all this? As if you guys know!”

“At least the ingenuity of the Great and Resourceful Trixie, and Applejacks voodoo, created what light we have now.” Trixie grinned widely as she spoke and give a wink at Applejack.

“Yup, Ah reckon it only took us half an hour tops in the dark.”

“Oh great, so now you are both boasting? Figures she would rub off on you, AJ.”

“Rub off on me? From where Ah sit yer ta one she’s rubbing off on, or onto.” Applejack laughed and pointed to Rainbow’s hooves that had been around Trixie again since the failed attempt to dislodge her. “Ain’t it a mite curious that ya been holding on ta her all this time?”

Trixie observed as Rainbow Dash blinked and looked down at to her for a moment, looking back with a nervous smile. Trixie’s still enjoyed the warm embrace more than anything. Oh why did she have to remind her? Accursed Applejack. Please don’t pull away, or well... Trixie guesses it was nice while it lasted.

“Hey, Trixie, do you like this?”

The question Rainbow Dash posed caught Trixie off-guard. W-what kind of question is that? She knows the answer right? Is she testing me? Do I tell her or not. Is she going to make fun of me? Despite her doubts, Trixie nodded. “The Great and Powerful Trixie approves of this.”

Rainbow Dash squeezed Trixie a little tighter. “Then you can stay like this for a while. Anything I can do to make you feel better is cool.” She returned her attention to Applejack. “Trixie’s had a rough week. But if you want to make fun of me for this I can’t stop you can I?”

“Oh, Ah don’t aim ta make fun of y’all. Ah understand perfectly. Is why Ah am here after all. Helping somepony recover is a noble thing Ah reckon.” Her eyes lingered on Trixie for a while, then mumbled. “Ah just hope y’all know what yer doing…”

“Course I do, I’m awesome! And noble!” Rainbow Dash grinned. With her image problems taken care of for the moment, Rainbow Dash concentrated on the next most pressing thing. “So, Trixie, what brought you here anyway? Did AJ pick you up from the hospital or what? I’m just saying, you’re supposedly to be too weak to travel you known.”

Trixie huffed. “Is there no end to the underestimating of Trixie? What part of The Great and Powerful Trixie are ponies struggling to understand? Trixie goes where Trixie pleases.” As though to illustrate her point, she hugged Rainbow Dash a bit tighter.

“What she is neglecting ta mention there, Rainbow, is that she broke outta her room then nearly killed herself on some stairs, and nearly got herself killed in a dark alley. If Big Mac hadn’t stepped in when he did, Ah hate to think what woulda happened. Ya should see his face right now, he was pretty shook up by the whole deal.”

“Big Mac was shook up? He didn’t look shook up to Trixie.”

“Well, he’s a stoic sort, but Ah can tell. It ain't every day he gets in a fight ya know? Mah brother’s the peaceful kind.”

“Hah! Big Mac got in a fight? Now that I’d love to see!” Rainbow Dash laughed at the thought, but quickly faltered under Applejack’s stare. “Eh, I mean, yeah, uh, fighting smiting. Boo!”

“Smiting is still a word, Rainbow. But Ah appreciate the sentiment. Ain't ya forgetting something though?” Applejack nudged the easily excitable pegasus.

Rainbow Dash blinked, and went over the conversation again briefly. “Oh yeah! Trixie, are you okay?”

“Trixie is fine. Thanks to Big Mac. He gave Trixie a lift to uhm… Sweet Apple Acres?” She looked towards Applejack, and after a reaffirming nod she carried on. “Right. He said Trixie could rest there till you all were back from dealing with the smoke, then took Trixie to Fluttershy’s home. Applejack came too of course; she was worried that Trixie was trying to seduce her brother.”

“Hey! Ah was no such thing!” Applejack colored scarlet and crossed her forelegs over her chest. “Ah just had sum apples ta deliver and y’all were headed that way so I came with. Ain't no more to it than that.”

“Suuure Applejack.” Rainbow Dash grinned. “That’s why you came right over today, even though you said you were going straight to bed after dragging Fluttershy up that mountain.”

“Quiet you. One more word and this here is war.” Applejack smirked.

“Oh please. I could take you anytime anywhere, heck I’ve beaten you so many times I don’t think I can keep track!”

“Oh is that so? Well since Ah can see yer busy fer a while than how bout we set a date fer next time then? How bout last day of autumn, before the Running of the Leafs?”

“You’re on!”

Trixie witnessed the exchange quietly, looking from one to the other before she settled on Applejack. “So uhm. Do you do this a lot, Applejack?” Trixie was not sure if she should try to approach this topic, but she had them both here now.

“What do ya mean, Sugarcube?” Applejack looked puzzled.

Trixie felt uncomfortable, but she had to know. “…Beat each other?”

“Oh sure, sometimes Rainbow Dash gets a tad bit uppity and she needs a reminder she ain't the best at everything. It’s all in good fun though it’s just between friends. There ain't no hard feelings afterward. Why I reckon it makes us better friends each time. Well unless it’s too close, sometimes we go on fer a week straight bout that.” Applejack smiled at Trixie than gave a look at Rainbow Dash as she piped up.

It relieved Trixie a great deal, though she still did not fully understand their phrasing. She had been worried a little previously but this confirmed it was perfectly normal. “Okay, Trixie understands.” Trixie had not heard of it before as something that happened between friends like that, but then it was not uncommon not to know about other local customs.

“Pfff, only sometimes? I feel like you’re saying I’m slacking off, AJ. Just 'cause I’ve been busy this week. You can see why right? I leave Trixie alone for a day and she nearly dies twice. Heck three times if you count their attempt at starving her.”

Applejack raised a brow. “Ah been meaning ta ask. Yer taking this awfully well, Rainbow. A tad bit too well Ah reckon. Yer not planning on doing anything crazy are ya? I somewhat expected ya to fly right out of here and yell at the hospital staff.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack with a surprisingly serious look. “Oh I don’t need to do that, AJ.”

“Ya don’t? Why?”

“Cause they will be coming through that door in a few minutes and try to take Trixie back to the hospital. I’m conserving energy.”

Trixie froze. She had completely forgotten about that. She had slipped out the hospital to get here; of course they were going to try to get her back, and probably make sure she stayed there. Trixie wonders if their straitjackets are any less comfortable than this gown.

She broke out of her thoughts when she felt Rainbow Dash nudge her gently, looking up into her eyes.

“So, Trixie, before they get here. There’s something I want to ask you.”

Applejack looked nervous, no good could come of this. “Rainbow…”

“Do you want to go back to the hospital, or stay here?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Turns out I really should not put off writing, or I end up doing so at 4AM to get a chapter done for the day.
Course it's not like it's the first time. Either way, yay new chapter.
Having 3 active characters speaking in a scene is kinda new to me. It's certainly a lot of fun to write.
I feel like I've been saying that a lot. I guess these 3 characters are just like that.

Chapter 46 - Rageshy

Wrapped up in their embrace, Trixie’s heart skipped a beat as Rainbow Dash told her she had a question for her. Ignoring Applejack entirely, Trixie stared up into those magenta eyes, with her ears stood up straight. A brief thought spared to the notion that she’d been able to feel Rainbow Dash’s heartbeat all this time. Th-that means she can feel mine to doesn’t it?

Trixie tried to swallow, but her mouth felt so dry. While Rainbow Dash took a breath, in that short window a dozen thoughts raced through Trixie’s mind. Is she going to? Can this day get any better? Trixie knew coming here was a fantastic idea! What do I do? Rainbow’s been so great all day! Well during the morning and evening anyway! This is wonderful! May—

“Do you want to go back to the hospital, or stay here?”

Blinking rapidly a few times, Trixie tilted her head. “THAT is your stupid question? What is with you and asking rhetorical questions tonight!”

“Stupid? Rhetorical?” Rainbow Dash looked taken aback.

“It means yer asking fer directions when ya already know the way, Rainbow.” Applejack filled in for her oblivious friend, while she scooted back away from the pair as far as the couch would allow.

“Yes that! See even the country bumpkin knows you’re a mule! No offence Applejack.”

“None taken.” Applejack tried to stay out of it any further.

“Trixie practically crawled here to see you two again and you’re asking if she wants to go back to that itchy, boring jail cell all alone? Can’t you just assume the accursed obvious?” Her angry rant was somewhat diminished in impact by the fact that Trixie, despite her anger, refused to untangle herself from Rainbow Dash.

“What’s with me? What’s with you?! I thought you’d be happy I asked your opinion, you liked it just a minute ago!” Rainbow Dash ears perked up then she pulled herself away from Trixie and trotted towards the door. “It’s not going to be like that twice. Fluttershy will visit, and I’ll visit as much as they let me. I promise. So I need to know what you want! You’re the one that said I should not assume things about you!”

Trixie stifled a whine as Rainbow Dash pulled away. “Can’t you just read the mood or something! Does Trixie have to spell it out across the sky in sparkly green letters? Of course Trixie wants to stay here!” Her vision of the room doubled and Trixie set her hooves on the couch cushions and shook her head trying to clear it. C-curses, not now!

“There was that so hard? I just wanted to hear you say it.” Rainbow Dash rested her hoof on the wooden door and ran it horizontal groove in the middle, checking the metal latch that locked the top and bottom parts together. She held the door in hoof while looking out the opening, enjoying the cool night breeze on her fur.

Trixie laid down on the couch to stop the room from spinning. She could see a cyan and prismatic blur standing at the door and stretched out a hoof. “Don’t leave. Trixie is sorry…”

“Hey, Applejack, could you do me a favor? Go upstairs and open the bed room window?” Rainbow Dash did not break away from looking outside.

“What? Well Ah guess Ah could do that.” Applejack looked unsure of the odd request, but rose up and made her way up stairs. A few moments later a soft, brief creaking could be heard from outside and upstairs.

It didn’t make much sense to Trixie, but each attempt at thinking about it just aggravated her headache further. Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash in confusion through one eye, she had closed the other to get rid of the doubled vision, then perked up her ears. What’s that sound? It’s coming closer. Hoofsteps?

Trixie could not really see outside, the candlelight in the window near the door made it impossible to look through it. However she was certain she could hear ponies approaching and soon could even hear voices.

“Well we can’t be certain that she is there, but if she was not I am fairly confident she would have flown back to inform Fluttershy.” Nurse Redheart spoke.

“Oh… I hope she’s okay. Rainbow Dash? Is that you?” The sound of Fluttershy’s voice brought a smile to Trixie’s face.

Nurse Redheart quickened her pace and trotted up towards the front door, the pale candle light caught her just enough that Trixie could see her. “Good there you are, Rainbow Dash! Why did you not report back after you got here? So is Trixie there? Rainb—”

Rainbow Dash slammed the door shut in Nurse Redheart’s face. “You are banned! Come back when you break an Equestrian record.”

Trixie flinched as the loud sound reached her ears and closed her eyes with a soft hiss. She could guess what would come next, and brought her hooves up over her ears. Sure enough she could hear the muffled sounds of an extremely angry Nurse Redheart coming from behind the door.

“Redheart, are you alright!” Trixie was not quite sure who the voice belonged to, but it sounded similar to the nurse she had spoken to in the afternoon just long enough to get ignored by her. Oh great she’s here too? Just what Trixie needed. She rolled her eyes.

“Open this door right now! Do you think you’re being clever?!” Nurse Redheart’s voice was nearly unrecognizable.

Rainbow Dash’s first response was to ignore her completely. “Fluttershy, take the window above you.” Trixie could swear Rainbow Dash was taking way too much pleasure in her defiant act. If she had to guess this was a grudge Rainbow Dash had been nurturing for a while.

“Up here, Sugarcube.” The sound of hooves hitting something up above soon followed, then a pair of voices, but it was too muffled for Trixie to make out. Especially with Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart’s faceoff taking place in right on the other side of the room.

“Calm down, ponies are trying to rest here. You keep shouting and I will ban you from more than just a room.”

The door shook under the pounding it took outside. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash carried on with another comment that on the face of it seemed fairly reasonable to Trixie, but she was pretty sure Rainbow Dash had an ulterior motive for.

“Rainbow Dash, I swear if you don’t open this door right now I will personally see to it that there are no comic books in your room next time you're in the hospital, or ever again for that matter!”

“Why don’t you go see if she’s powdering her nose outside!”

Trixie raised a brow. Now that one made no sense.

A hint of something yellow out of the corner of her eye quickly drew Trixie's attention. She spotted Fluttershy coming down the stairs, with Applejack not far behind. "Hey Fluttershy!" She waved excitedly at first, and slightly less so when she found out doing so made her head start to spin again. Quickly after this, Trixie dropped her hoof back onto the couch to steady herself. It seemed to pay off though as Fluttershy immediately came closer. Worth it.

“Trixie are you alright? Oh I was worried sick about you! Please don’t ever do that again! Uhm, if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy’s hooves were all over Trixie, much to her delight. It took a moment for Trixie to realize that Fluttershy was checking her for injuries and warning signals.

Nodding her head, Trixie gave a warm smile at Fluttershy. “Trixie is fine, Fluttershy, she is just a little bit dizzy.” Any thoughts Trixie might have had of controlling herself went right out the window, and she reached out her hooves around Fluttershy and pulled her closer. “I-I’ve missed you. Both of you. Why didn’t you tell Trixie anything?”

Fluttershy eeped softly as Trixie hugged her, giving a glance towards the door where Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart were still going at it with undiminished energy. She looked back down to meet Trixie’s eyes with a guilty look. “I’m sorry. You were not supposed to have any more stress, and I thought that telling you we were going to climb a mountain to literally wake up a sleeping dragon would be very stressful. ”

Trixie’s eyes went wide as plates. “YOU WENT WHAT?!” Trixie screamed loud enough to actually draw the attention of Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart away from their argument. “That is way worse than a fire! Why were you going there of all ponies? And who wakes up a sleeping dragon! Do you have any idea how lethal that is historically? Trixie knows over twelve tragic saga’s on that premise alone! And and Gah!” She winced as she brought her hooves up to her head trying hard to keep it from exploding. “T-Trixie’s fine! Don’t wor-worry. Just give her a, grahh, minute.”

“Whoa, Trixie, relax! None of those saga’s had me in it after all!” Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest in pride. “I’m so awesome that I kicked that dragon right in the face! Oh man you should have seen it!”

“Not helping Rainbow!” Applejack scolded.

Fluttershy shook her head. “But she is right, this is was nothing like those stories. This dragon was very understanding. We all made it back fine, see?” It did not seem to help much. Trixie closed her eyes trying her best not to think about the sheer insanity of their task, and how they went about it if Rainbow Dash was to be believed.

With everypony inside distracted for a moment, Nurse Redheart and Nurse Manners pushed the door open to a crack before Rainbow Dash caught on and pressed herself against the door to stop them from getting through. One hoof in the door was already making it impossible to close it again though. “Oh no you don’t!” While she was busy with pushing the door, Rainbow Dash looked towards the pained Trixie. “Hey, Fluttershy, I dunno try giving her a hug or something! Turns out she likes that! Maybe it’ll calm her down.”

“W-what? Uhm uh if you say so, Rainbow Dash.”

Trixie’s ears perked up at the brief exchange between the two pegasi. She did not feel like she needed any special attention to deal with her headache, after all Trixie had dealt with plenty of them already, but she was not about to tell them that! Best. Suggestion. Ever. All is forgiven Rainbow Dash.

Applejack joined Rainbow Dash in her efforts to keep the door from letting anymore ponies in. “Y’all reckon this is really such a great idea? How is this making it any less stressful on the gal? Cant y’all calm down fer five seconds?”

Following Rainbow Dash’s suggestion, Fluttershy climbed onto the couch. Trixie could feel Fluttershy sitting next to her, but the expected incredibly soft and warm embrace Trixie looked forward to did not happen. Growing impatient, Trixie peeked a glance towards Fluttershy. Trixie found her fidgeting uncomfortably while she looked at Trixie, self-consciousness written clear on her blushing face.

“Yes that is a very reasonable thing to say Applejack.” Nurse Redheart sounded only slightly less livid. “So if you would kindly subdue Rainbow Dash there, then we can have a calm civil discussion about just how much it hurts to get a door slammed into your muzzle. All I am trying to do is help that poor mare!”

Aww come on Fluttershy. It’s not hard. Uhm ahh... Oh got it! What if they come in? Will they take Trixie away? What if they start a fight? Could the noise attract big animals? Ahah, this is really working! The Great and Powerful Tr—Gaahhh! Trixie closed her eyes tightly as she felt a fresh searing pain pierce her skull and shook all over as she fought it. Soon she felt something besides shaking and pain, A gentle soft warmth all around her.

Fluttershy gasped as Trixie suddenly got worse before her eyes, and in an effort to help pulled the suffering unicorn into her embrace. Fluttershy could not be sure if it would really work, or if Rainbow Dash was pranking her. But it was not the first time that she’d calmed Trixie down like this so she did have something to go on. Already she could feel it worked as Trixie’s shaking diminished.

Meanwhile the struggle by the door had gotten more intense. The door was open by just one hoof still, and between Rainbow Dash and Applejack it was not about to budge, but Nurse Redheart and Nurse Manners had figured out it was a two part door and had their hooves feeling around the door for the latch. It was fairly easy to defend the latch, but it meant not pushing against the door which the nurses alternated their attention between.

Finally the latch connecting the doors was knocked loose, a triumphant cry came from the otherside of the door. It was quickly followed by an entirely different cry as the top half of the door was franticly slammed shut, the hoof in the door was only on the lower half.

“Ohhw! The muzzle again!? I’ve had it, Rainbow Dash!”

Trixie did not honestly pay it all much mind. She simply snuggled up against the soft fur of Fluttershy with a delighted smile, the throbbing in her head actually did seem to go away quicker. This is wonderful, totally worth it.

“Hey! You can’t pin that on me! What on Equestria made you think that was a good idea!? Of course it was gonna do that.”

“She’s got ya there ya know. That was mighty foolish, ya okay though? Ah didn’t mean ta hurt ya Nurse Redheart.”

“…I’m fine, it did not hit me as hard as I think it would have, like something slowed it do—Oh sweet Celestia! Manners! Bedside, are you okay?!” All resistance on the door vanished and it slammed shut.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other and gulped worried. Neither had any intention of actually hurting anypony.

“She’s not breathing!”

In a single motion, Rainbow Dash and Applejack pulled the door open and rushed outside. Where they found Nurse Manners flat on the ground with Nurse Redheart frantically pushed down on her chest, then checking her pulse and going back to pressing.

This time even Trixie could not in good conscience remain passive, even if she did not like Nurse Manners it was not as if she wanted the poor mare to die. Reluctantly she pulled away from Fluttershy and gave a nod to her. “Go, Trixie is fine.”

“Rainbow Dash! Come here, do what I’m doing! Don’t stop!” She repeated the pushing motion a few more times then let Rainbow Dash take over. While she gave Applejack the task of counting the number of pulses each minute.

“Okay good, keep doing that and—” The door slammed closed, and locked. “Ahum, okay good where was I? Ah yes. Hello Fluttershy, Trixie. I hope I didn’t scare you?”

“W-what? Uhm I-I’m sorry but shouldn’t you be taking care of Nurse Manners?” Fluttershy mumbled quietly.

“What in tarnation!? Ya aint hit! Yer muzzle is fine!” Applejack cried out from outside.

“I am sorry Miss Apple, but you have to understand you cannot keep a patient away from medical care.”

A rapid wing beat followed by a thud on the door revealed Rainbow Dash had discovered the door was locked. “Redheart! That’s cheating!”

“Oh as if you of all ponies is going to give me a lecture on pranking. Just admit I’ve outsmarted you.” Nurse Redheart showed that same confident sly grin Trixie had seen back in the hospital, though her poor white muzzle was bruised and bloodied this time around, making her look rather deranged.

Trixie had to admit it was true, the nurse had shown before that she was quite capable of using her wits to deal with Rainbow Dash. “Congratulations you’ve proven you are smarter than Rainbow Dash, you must be so proud.” Trixie gave a weary smile.

“That’s not very nice, Trixie…” Fluttershy whispered. “Nurse Redheart, you’re hurt. Won’t you let me take care of that?”

“I’m fine Fluttershy thank you. If it is all the same with you I would rather we just get this over with. You and Trixie follow me. We’re getting out of here. We need to run some tests, make sure Trixie is okay. Then get her prepared for her talk with Mayor Mare, and make sure she does not get lost again. If we hurry I will still have time left to burn every comic book in the hospital, just in case Rainbow Dash ever ends up there. Which, let’s be honest, is only a matter of time.”

It was not clear if it was the tone, the blood dripping muzzle, or the wild look in the mares eye, but Trixie did not like the sound of any of that. To be fair she’s been dealing with Rainbow Dash for a while, I guess that would drive anypony crazy.

“She is not going anywhere.” Rainbow Dash loomed up behind Nurse Redheart.

“Gah! How on Equestria did you get in here?!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “The bed room window? Duh.”

Outside, Nurse Manners and Applejack sat on the grass of the meadow, and just looked up at the stars.

“So yer name is Bedside Manners?” Applejack said, trying to ignore the slightly deranged speech inside.

“Yes Miss Apple.” Nurse Manners winced a little as she heard the racket going on behind them hit a peak.

“I reckon it would be bad bedside manners ta call those two insane?”

“Yes, but it it would also be pure honesty.” Nurse Manners gave a playful wink. ”So, how is dear Big Mac doing? He skipped his last physical, I was so disappointed.”

“Wait what?”

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart were at one another’s throats, the frustrations of the last couple days well and truly in full swing. Yelling and arguing getting ever louder and mere seconds away from fully exploding.

“You are crazy if you think I’m letting you take her back to that deathtrap you call a hospital! Look what you did: you starved her, let her leave, and near kill herself!”

“What you think that is any worse than near killing her yourself!? What we did merely counts a gross negligence, you are on full blown murder charges!”

“Are you kidding me! At least it took a week for something that serious to happen for us, you only needed a day! I hate to think what I’d find if I left her there a whole week!”

Fluttershy and Trixie sat on the couch clinging to each other while the shouting match gradually escalated. As much as she had seen the past week, even for Trixie this was genuinely terrifying. Trixie was sure this was going absolutely nowhere good, she’d like to say she had never seen Rainbow Dash so angry, but that was a lie, she knew it could get a bit worse still and dreaded it getting there. A gentle nudging from Fluttershy’s muzzle drew her attention. “F-Fluttershy?”

“Uhm Trixie, I… I’m sorry for what happened.” Trixie could barely hear Fluttershy’s soft gentle voice while the shouting match continued. “But uhm do you think you could maybe give me another chance? I promise I’ll try to do better this time so uhm… W-would you like to stay here again? It’s okay if you don’t want to. I-I would understand.”

Trixie stared at Fluttershy in disbelief, mouthing wordlessly before she just gave up and nodded. Earning a warm smile from Fluttershy, pulling her tighter into the hug before gently letting go.

“And another thing!” Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart said in unison. “If you don’t sh—”

“Quiet! Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves? Trixie is right here and you both know she is not supposed to get any stress. What could be more stressful than having two ponies that are claiming to know what’s best for her fight like feral dragons!” Fluttershy spoke up, barely as loud as a normal ponies speaking voice, but to Trixie, and anypony else in the room, Fluttershy might as well have been using the Royal Canterlot voice.

“But!” They both tried.

“No. If you both had just calmed down and talked about this nothing would have happened. But you were both so wrapped up in your petty grudges that you were only using Trixie as a way to get back at the other. And that is no way to for a caretaker to behave, look at her she’s scared.”

Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart were silent and stared at Fluttershy in shock.

Fluttershy lifted a hoof to stroke Trixie’s mane, and looked at her with that kind smile that made Trixie feel so warm inside. “Trixie has agreed to give it another try here. So there is no point in fighting any further. It is settled.”

“That, that is right. Trixie chooses to stay here one more time.” Trixie just barely managed to utter the words, but she felt she had to confirm the story.

A stern glare turned back on the stunned pair. “So now do you see how inconsiderate you were being? Apologize.”

“Sorry, Fluttershy.”

“My apologies, Fluttershy.”

“Not to me, to Trixie. And then to eachother. I’m waiting.”

“Hey, Sorry, Trixie… Sorry for the door, Nurse Redheart, and the yelling”

“Forgive me, Trixie… Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry for what happened.”

“That’s better. Now you two go outside and apologize to Applejack and Nurse Manners for roping them into this. I’ll put on some tea for everypony, and after that it’s time for bed.”

Trixie watched as Nurse Redheart and Rainbow Dash both turned around and trotted out side, dragging their hooves. Slowly she brought her gaze back up to Fluttershy, but it was still the same wonderful sweetheart staring back at her.

“What the hay just happened?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

This sadly marks the end of Update Week :raritycry:
But to make up for it, I present the longest chapter in this story to date, and probably forever.
I decided that since this was the last day I would just keep writing till the current conflict was resolved. So yay a bit of closure!
From today we're back on the regular updates of weekends and midweeks. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.:twilightsmile:
Onward to the next chapter, wednesday.

Chapter 47 - Retelling

Fluttershy had kept her word, not that Trixie ever thought otherwise, and brought out a tray with six brown clay cups and a rainbow colored teapot. Everyone was given a cup of tea and some very awkward socializing followed.

Nurse Redheart and Rainbow Dash had avoided looking at each other, and neither seemed particularly keen on saying anything while the other was there, but they still made token attempts at conversation to appease Fluttershy. Unlike Applejack and Nurse Manners, who seemed to have found a common interest in the topic of Big Mac’s treatment. Though Trixie got the sense that Nurse Manners was not grasping the true purpose behind Applejacks questions, and the clueless suitor even failed to notice the very forced smile plastered under the increasingly worried eyes.

Trixie had taken refuge near Fluttershy, the only one she thought would make for less awkward conversation. Of course at that moment Trixie had utterly forgotten how nearly useless Fluttershy was for conversing, even less so in the company of others. Trixie had just ended up making small compliments on the tea’s flavor and asked for a recipe, but half of it Trixie had already forgotten, and the other half she never even heard.

Fortunately, Trixie possessed the perfect excuse to escape awkward social situations, a concussion. While the uninteresting prattle went on, she found no reason to fight to stay awake anymore, and all the more reason to doze off as she drowsily slumped against Fluttershy. Trixie rested her head on Fluttershy’s shoulder while the sounds muffled around her.

By the time Trixie woke again, Nurse Redheart had downed her tea in what Trixie could only assume had to be a second degree burn inducing manner, or at least she judged so by how hot her own tea still was.

Nurse Redheart declared that they really had to get back to their shifts. Which prompted a small conversation regarding Nurse Redheart’s ‘restored faith’ in Fluttershy now that she’d proven she could stand up to Rainbow Dash in the case of another stupid idea. Trixie did not believe the excuse for a second, and she didn’t think anypony else did either. The odds of a blue moon event taking place twice were astronomical.

In either case, Trixie was happy to wave goodbye to the pair. It was not that she necessarily hated them, but as far as she was concerned they had done nothing but hinder her attempts to get back to the two ponies that actually mattered to her.

The cool night air roused Trixie enough to raise her gaze up at the stars, and gave a smile at their familiar twinkling. It had not really occurred to Trixie until just then, but she had truly missed the night sky. The past week had her sleeping so much she might have even given Princess Celestia a taste of what Luna had gone through. Maybe that is why she is playing with Trixie?

It took a moment for Trixie to realize, but Rainbow Dash stared at her and Fluttershy for a while now. Though Trixie was not quite sure what to make of her expression, but Trixie was convinced that at least meant Rainbow Dash did not appear to be angry with her.

“Oh, good morning there Trixie. Ya awake now?” Applejack had caught on, though whether she was the first, or if Fluttershy was too polite to comment, Trixie could not say.

Despite being found out Trixie made no attempt to get away from the warm, soft form of Fluttershy. Trixie yawned and grumbled softly. “You would think Trixie would wake up refreshed. Did Trixie miss anything?”

“Nah not really. But there is something Awesome I’ve been dying to tell you about all day!” Rainbow Dash had found her enthusiasm, and cranked it up to maximum. It amazed Trixie what a slight change in group composition could do.

“Oh? What is it? Do not keep Trixie in suspense.”

“Now hang on y’all maybe we should let Fluttershy tell this here story? Ah mean it kinda is her story ain’t it?“ Applejack motioned encouragingly towards Fluttershy. “Go ahead sugarcube.”

Fluttershy eeped quietly and hid behind Trixie. “Oh uhm, that’s okay Applejack. I-I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Rainbow Dash can you please?”

Trixie blinked surprised. She supposed it might have only been because she was right next to Fluttershy, but it still felt special to Trixie that she was apparently safe enough to hide behind. A warm feeling spread inside Trixie while she reached behind her to wrap a hoof around Fluttershy and gently pull her back besides her. “Don’t worry. If you do not wish to tell the tale, then Trixie will allow that. Though the idea of you telling the story does appeal to Trixie, Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy is right. She will just slow down the story if she tells it. It’s just not her thing.” Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy, then thumped her own chest. “No worries, Fluttershy, I got this! I’ll be sure to make it as cool as actually being there!”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement with Rainbow Dash and returned the smile. Strangely Trixie could swear she’d felt Fluttershy tense up briefly during Rainbow Dash’s defense of her. Trixie ran the comment through her mind again, then settled on the part she thought most likely coincided with it.

Rainbow Dash was already partway into the story. “So I was just ab—”

“Fluttershy will slow it down?” Trixie felt Fluttershy react beside her. There it is again…

“Huh? Well yeah? You know she’s not very good at this stuff. It’s kind of like in the story actually so just let me finish. You’re not supposed to interrupt till you can’t contain your excitement you know, or get scared, but this is not one of those stories.” Rainbow Dash waved the disruption away dismissively. “Now where was I? Eh the start is kinda boring anyway.”

Trixie looked from Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash, something seemed just a bit off. She was not sure what had happened today, but she would need to wait to find out.

“What are ya saying you can’t make the story exciting Rainbow? Ah mean we started with this huge cloud of black covering the sky ya know. How’s that not good enough?” Applejack interrupted.

“Huh well yeah okay I guess. Look do you wanna tell the story or something, Applejack?”

“Well I thought ya was gonna tell it proper. If ya can’t do that I’ll just have ta correct ya.” Applejack crossed her forelegs across her chest.

“Oh come on you’ll throw me off my game! That’s sabotage you know. Okay fine, actually I remember what was exciting about the start now. So it was morning, there was boring old smoke over Ponyville, and I was about to break the Equestrian Ball Bouncing Record! Pinkie Pie messed me up, but not before I got at least five bounces past the old record!” Rainbow Dash flew up in the air and did an impressive little loop in her excitement. “Course I did not realize at the time, I was distracted by Twilight telling us all about the dragon.”

Applejack visibly bit her tongue, though Rainbow Dash was telling what happened she was clearly not pleased with it.

Trixie was glad she already had her freak out moment earlier in the day. Now that she was holding hot tea it struck her as the absolute worst time to get the dragon news sprung on her. “Heh, so you were really taking that ball thing serious huh? Trixie was told about that.”

“Of course I was! I thought it was the best way to check on you. Turns out it was a waste of time I guess, but having documented proof that I am awesome in the record books is not a bad result either! I might decide to break so me more, like I saw the record for most cupcakes eaten is held by somepony right here in Ponyville, I bet I could challenge her to a—”

“Rainbow Dash, the story? Ya can brag plenty while yer keeping it going Ah bet.”

“Oh uh, Yeah I guess. Where was I? Oh yeah so I had the new reco—”

“Twilight told ya bout the dragon causing the smoke in the sky, then what?” Applejack took the risk to sip her tea, apparently fairly confident she could trust Rainbow Dash long enough to swallow a sip, it was an awfully short sip however.

“Oh uh. So we hear there’s this big dragon we got to defeat and we get some prep time, so I go right home for some war paint. I looked awesome! Or I’m pretty sure I did, there was a mirror on the mountain but I’d have to ask Rarity for it and she would totally never shut up about how she was right all along to bring all her stuff. So I couldn’t do that!”

“Ya ain’t gonna mention what the rest was doing?” Applejack raised a brow. “Besides, it was liquid rainbow on yer face, Rainbow, not paint. It was gone before we even left.”

“I said I would make the story awesome didn’t I? That means it must have the focus on the most awesome pony there. Besides what am I gonna tell her? That Rarity packed a scarf and Pinkie brought streamers or whatever? Come on AJ try to keep up.”

Trixie snickered a little, even if Rainbow Dash was atrocious it was at least amusing. Mirrors and streamers? Really? What did they think they were going to do? Seduce or throw a party for the dragon?! I wonder what Fluttershy brought, I’ll bet it’s an animal. The thought reminded Trixie that the story was supposed to be about Fluttershy, and that made her burn with curiosity for more detail. Perhaps it would also help her figure out why Fluttershy was reacting a bit strangely. “What about you Fluttershy? What did you do to prepare?”

“I-I tried to wear protective clothes. Rainbow Dash said it would just slow us down though… So I left it.”

“Yeah, not that it helped much though. Twilight insisted on taking Fluttershy along even though I told her not too. I couldn't believe you actually came. Or well, I guess we kinda dragged you along, literally. Mostly Applejack though, she had to drag Fluttershy up the mountain path cause she was too scared to fly or climb… or jump… or keep quiet in an avalanche zone. ” Frustration seeped from Rainbow Dash’s every word thick enough to smear on bread by Trixie’s estimation.

Trixie did not need to guess anymore at this point, she could feel Fluttershy practically turn into a wooden board besides her. She listened to the rest of the story though, and with the help of Applejack’s concentrated efforts to keep Rainbow Dash at least somewhat on track or fill in details she ended up with a fairly good understanding of the trip.

“And that’s when we got to the Dragon!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 48 - Rant

“And then Twilight said to be ready with the apples because of... Huh, come to think of it. I don’t get it! It was totally not gonna do anything!”

“Course it would’ve, Rainbow, if Ah hit him with a few apples it would distract him wouldn’t it?”

The pale moonlight reflected off the four ponies gathered in Fluttershy’s meadow. It seemed funny to Trixie that the last time she was out at night the moon had seemed such an enemy to her, lighting her up like a beacon while she made her escape. This time however, she was grateful for its light as she watched two of her friends bicker about whether or not a dragon could be hurt by apples.

“If he even feels it, yeah. But that’s not the point. Distracting him was Rarity’s and Pinkie’s job. So what was yours?”

“Look, why are ya picking on mah job? Yers was ta clear out ta smoke, and ya didn’t even need to.” Applejack huffed.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you were not supposed to feed them to him? I’m telling you. Why would Twilight say apples and not rocks?”

They are certainly animated, but in a strange way it’s… peaceful? Trixie was not sure how it worked, but she had not stopped smiling since the crazy story began. She gave a glance towards Fluttershy who sat closely beside her, softly giggling with the antics of the pair. The best sound in the world. I suppose that might help too. The tension Trixie had felt from Fluttershy before seemed gone, or perhaps she just could not detect it when she was not touching her.

She looked down at her tea mug. The water was barely warm anymore which was exactly what Trixie had been waiting for. She lifted the mug up shaky hooves, the gentle scent of raspberry wafted up from it. K-keep it steady, it won’t burn now if Trixie fails but… Without finishing the thought, Trixie felt her control on the mug slip away and quickly set it back down. Great.

“Huh, ya know maybe Ah was supposed ta do something like that.”

“I know right? Not that the plan even worked a bit like it was supposed to. It never does.”

Trixie sighed disappointed in herself, while she stared down at the filled bottom half of her mug then closed her eyes. Trixie will just try again in a few minutes, cold tea is fine too. The top half she had been able to drink by leaving the cup on the ground and leaning down, but she could not get to the rest like that unless the cup grew a couple of sizes to accommodate her muzzle.

“That still leaves ya with no actual job though.”

“Oh come on!”

The scent of raspberry became much stronger. Upon opening her eyes, Trixie discovered her tea mug being held up to her muzzle by Fluttershy. She wore a gentle, slightly apologetic smile, as if to excuse her unrequested interruption.

“Y-you don’t have to uhm… push yourself Trixie. It’s okay.”

“My job was to clear the smoke, I didn’t see any smoke so I was the only one that succeeded!”

“That’s what ya say bout weather patrol too, but it don’t mean ya did yer job just cause it didn’t need doing. In winter Ah don’t say Ah did my apple bucking just cause there’s no apples in the trees.”

Trixie looked from Fluttershy to the mug and back, then spared a quick glance at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be still engrossed in their argument. “This is humiliating. The Great and Powerful Trixie can drink a cup of tea on her own.”

Fluttershy shrunk back. “Oh, sorry, I-I didn’t mean for… Sorry.”

“Ah wait! But Trixie will allow it, just for practice.” Quickly, she nodded a little at Fluttershy and brought her lips to the rim of the mug. She could not stop the burning feeling in her cheeks while Fluttershy tilted the mug slowly. The tea was practically cold, but Trixie did not care about that at all.

“Just for practice huh? Heh yeah right.”

Trixie froze at the sound Rainbow Dash’s patented teasing tone. She doubted it was aimed at Applejack anymore, and a quick look confirmed it as she found both of them looking at her and Fluttershy. The burning in her cheeks was even worse now.

“S-silence! You uhm ah, yes! Ponies who do not even work do not get to speak!”

“What! Why does everypony keep saying that, I totally work hard! Speaking of hard work, how nice of you to help Fluttershy practice hers, Trixie.” She grinned widely.

Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash in the ribs. “Hush! Ya ain’t getting out of this that easy. Ya wouldn’t know hard work if it poked ya in the ribs.”

“Hey, you work pretty hard. So you’re wrong hah!” Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

Trixie smirked and pointed a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “That’s hardly helping you. Trixie has not seen you do any work all week.”

“Oh as if you have!”

“Trixie is on the verge of dea—deeefinately getting material for a brand new show. What is your excuse?” She did her best to keep a good poker face. Nice save Trixie.

“Pfff like a show is any hard work. You just get on stage and show off for a living. I do that every day, for free!” Rainbow Dash puffed up her chest and spread her wings. “Nothing to it.”

“Well Ah reckon she’s got a point there, Trixie. But I’ve got ya both beat, Ah get ta strut mah stuff at the rodeo, AND bring back a prize in mah free time, then get back ta actual work. So Ah guess that means ya both have to be quiet as all ya do is show off.” Applejack laughed while Rainbow Dash tackled her silently with a mischievous grin that spoke to how clever she thought herself for finding the loophole.

Trixie watched the pair wrestle on the grass, realization setting in slowly. “You… you really think that don’t you? That there is nothing to what Trixie does?” From the corner of her eye she could see Fluttershy shaking her head, though she did not speak up. Trixie was not sure if it was because she was being shy or because Fluttershy considered her job as an animal caretaker not actual work.

Applejack and Rainbow paused to look towards Trixie.

“Gee when ya put it like that, Trixie. Ah am sure there’s plenty a pony that likes yer shows and thinks it’s worthwhile ta spend bits on. Ah ain’t saying yer job is no good. Just that it ain’t much work.” Applejack smiled at her, clearly thinking the clarification made it all better.

“Yeah, like I said. I do that kind of thing all day.”

“No, you don’t,” Trixie said coldly. Her tone appeared to catch the trio off guard. Trixie spared a moment to turn towards Fluttershy, and gave her a smile just to reassure her she was not upset with her, then returned to the pair lying on top of each other. “Putting on a show IS a lot of hard work. Trixie sees now why you thought it was okay to disrupt her performance.”

Trixie put on a deliberately bad accent, and waved her hoof dismissively. “It’s fiiine everypony, she is only showing off and didn’t put any actual work into this anyway. Right? It’s no more consequential than stepping in a puddle, nopony worked hard on it. It’s not as if she put months of preparation into that show and gambles her livelihood on it.”

“Oh come on, Trixie. It ain’t like that. You were being a boasting show off. If you’d been humble bout it nothing woulda happened.”

“And that makes it okay? You both do the same thing, every time Applejack says their apple products are the best or Rainbow Dash claims to the best flyer in Equestria. What is the difference?” Trixie struck her hoof back down to the ground. “Of course Trixie was boasting, it was a show! The whole idea is to work your audience and get them excited, get them invested! Make them crave you to show them what you can do!

“Trixie is not claiming she has the hardest job in Equestria, and she truly loves what she does, but it is a lot of work. Did you see Trixie’s stage? The one your unicorn friend so happily tore the curtain from? Trixie does not merely magic that into existence, it had to be made. Every decoration, instrument, and hinge. Not to mention maintained, deployed, put away and dragged from town to town by hoof. That thing is heavy!” She looked at Applejack in particular towards the end.

“That is how much work goes into just the stage. Trixie spends months practicing every part of her routine: stories, boasts, illusions, tricks, magic, music, moves, presence, articulation, timing. It all has to be perfect when Trixie is on stage. It is all necessary to build up Trixie’s audience, if she fails in any part of it the illusion is broken, and ponies lose their high. It is the difference between an enjoyable show and a tell-your-friends-and-take-them-to-the-next Great and Powerful Show!” A familiar dull painful pulse throbbed in her head, getting steadily worse, but she had come this far she might as well finish it.

“It never ends, and Trixie knows you can relate to this Rainbow Dash. Trixie can never be satisfied with just the things she already knows. She has keep improving, find new stories to tell, learn more magic, tailor her show to the taste of the area. And you know something else? Even if Trixie nails every single bit of that, it is still scary to go up there on stage and face a whole crowd of strange ponies that are waiting to judge you, but you have to be or at least appear completely confident the whole time! It is the worst every time in those last few minutes leading up to when you have to step through that curtain, let alone when you have to deal with hecklers.

“But, Trixie would not trade it for the world. It… it…” She started to stumble over her words as she noticed the world had gone fuzzy before her eyes and shook her head. “It’s something… Agh.” There was no ignoring it any longer, the dull pain had worked its way up to a burning sear through her own foolishness. Trixie swayed and brought up a hoof to her temple, hissing softly as she closed her eyes.

“Hey! Trixie, are you okay?”

“Ya alright there, Sugarcube?”

Trixie was just about to lay down in the grass to prevent herself from suffering a fall, when she felt something wrap tightly around her, it was so wonderfully soft and warm. Trixie recognized it immediately, or who rather.

It did not take much time for her mind to clear as she only had one thought left in it. …This is wonderful. Trixie squinted, and was greeted by the blurry sight of pink and yellow, confirming her suspicion. She shifted her hooves away from her head and around Fluttershy, holding on tightly while her headache gradually faded. It might not have truly been any faster of a recovery than Trixie could have managed on her own, but it was one she infinitely more enjoyed. This is wonderful.

Trixie was not entirely sure how much time had passed, she was fairly sure she had been conscious the entire time though, it was just that she lost track of the seconds while in the embrace. By the time she started to become aware that she might have to let go at some point, her headache had already disappeared. Reluctantly, Trixie pulled away from Fluttershy and looked into her eyes. “Thank you.”

Fluttershy looked right back at her and smiled. “Oh, you’re welcome. Are you feeling better now Trixie?” She slowly withdrew and sat back down on her old spot beside her.

“Yeah is everything okay Trixie? Look uh, you were right okay?”

“Yup, we get it now don’t you worry Trixie. Sorry and all. Are you feeling alright?”

Trixie still felt a little dazed, but she was pretty sure they were all trying hard to appease her and not cause her any further stress. Even if her ranting had convinced any of them she was not going to find out now. It annoyed her to know they were going so easy on her, but at the same time it also gave her a bit of warmth.

“Trixie is fine now. You girls… are such foals. Thank you.” She gave a smile at the trio for a moment. “Now tell Trixie about this dragon, no more stalling!”

Rainbow Dash was quick to jump on it, seemingly as eager for a change of subject as Trixie herself. “Right! So after Twilight gave Applejack here the task of feeding the dragon if it was grumpy when it woke up, which is total nonsense cause dragons don't eat apples, just ask Spike wh—”

“Gosh darnit, Rainbow!”

I wonder if I will ever hear the end of this story.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 49 - Really

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Look, why don’t ya just skip over it then if ya ain’t gonna say it without derailing?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Fine, so Fluttershy is tasked with actually talking to the dragon. Because you know, she already does so well talking with everypony else that talking with a huge dragon is totally gonna work out.”

“Trixie thought Fluttershy had spoken to a manticore before. It cannot be that different?”

“I know right! That’s what we thought! But nope, turns out she’s scared to death of dragons. Err I mean like more so than usual I guess, but she was also scared of telling anypony about this before we got her up there.” Rainbow Dash struck her face with her hoof and dragged it down.

“Wait, you mean to tell Trixie nopony asked her? And come to think of it, wasn’t it really obvious she did not want to be there?” Trixie found it hard to believe they had literally dragged Fluttershy up the mountain without noticing.

“Well it ain’t like we didn’t notice, Trixie, but Fluttershy was our best chance fer dealing with that dragon without ending up like one of yer twelve saga’s. Sure she was a mite scared in getting there, but all of us were there to help her through it.”

Rainbow Dash brushed it off. “Yeah yeah just lemme get to the good part.” The thought of it seemed to have reignited her excitement and her impatience as she had trouble to sit still, even more than before anyway.

Applejack paused briefly to glare up at Rainbow Dash, then looked back to Trixie. “Almost all of us,” she muttered.

Trixie blinked in confusion and stared up at Rainbow Dash. Just what is all this?

“Alright so since Fluttershy was too scared, Each of us took turns going into the dragon’s cave. Twilight tried persuasion, Rarity charm, Pinkie Pie… well she was Pinkie Pie.”

Trixie tilted her head, this was the second time she’d heard something about the pink one that felt a bit off. “Trixie assumes none of those worked, then what happened?” If she was not looking right at the ponies she would have been sure they all got eaten as they went into the cave.

Rainbow Dash grinned. “I kicked its jaw!”

“…Trixie must be worse than she thought. She hallucinated for a moment that you said you kicked an actual dragon in the face and lived to tell about it.”

“Totally did that! And it worked too, he came right out of that cave!” Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof.

“You are trying to tell Trixie that you chased out a huge dragon with physical force? YOU chased that dragon off the mountain? There is nothing that you could say that Trixie would find harder to believe than that!” Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash incredulously.

“Oh don’t ya worry Trixie, that there dragon was in no hurry ta go anywhere. Why it roared at Rainbow so hard she fled straight outa that cave without even stopping ta look where she went. Crashed right into all of us, except Fluttershy who’d been hiding already, good idea in hindsight.”

“Hey! I did NOT flee! He just blew me away with his breath, which was horrible by the way. It smelled like some of that stuff Rarity keeps in jars to put on her hooves. Just, eww.” Rainbow Dash shivered, apparently somehow more disturbed by the idea of the jars than she was by the actual dragon.

Trixie noticed Fluttershy had retreated behind her mane, as though she expected something scary to happen in the next few moments. Is she scared of them fighting? Trixie will put a stop to that then She cleared her throat. “Whatever, just tell The Great and Powerful Trixie what happened next. Now!”

Rainbow Dash looked up from impeding argument with Applejack. “Huh what? Oh right yeah! So there we were, bravely fighting this massive adult dragon, and totally NOT running around like chickens. When he unleashed his most deadly weapon, his breath!”

Trixie gasped. “He tried to burn all of you? How did you survive?” She noticed Fluttershy had not improved either, and assumed this must have been the part she dreaded then. So that didn’t help at all…

“No no weren’t you listening? He just breaths out horrible smelling smoke, it’s just that he does it like a hurricane! He hit all of us and smacked us right into the rocks. We were totally out of the fight, or they were, I was almost back on my hooves when suddenly—”

Trixie eye’s widened. “Have you taken complete leave of your senses? Who’s ever heard of a dragon that can only breath smoke? Where did you think that smoke was coming from? On second thought don’t answer that! If anything he was still groggy and warming up his fire breath, since you did say he was sleeping when you got there. If he had been just a little more awake you’d all be pony barbeque!” Trixie could not believe what complete foals they had been. The thought that they were all just a literal breath away from death was insane.

Rainbow Dash actually dropped out of her cocky attitude for a moment, and looked concerned. “Hey Trixie, relax it’s okay. We got lucky I get it, don’t get so worked up or…”

Trixie blinked as she noticed the sudden change in Rainbow Dash, and found the same kind look in the eyes of Fluttershy and Applejack. It was only when her attention was not solely on the story that she realized what made them so upset. Trixie found she was hyperventilating badly and there was a tight feeling in her chest, her hooves were shaking. “I-I… y-yes of course. Trixie is not sure what happened. It’s only a story.” For just a moment, she pictured three empty spots in the grass were the trio were seated, then quickly shook her head.

“Ah reckon it is getting mighty late, what say we put off this story till another day?” Applejack offered.

“Wait, no. Trixie does not want to ruin it for everyone. Please continue, Trixie will be cool.” She stared at Rainbow Dash and gave a small smirk.

Rainbow Dash gave a groan. “Oh come on, I should refuse to tell you just for that you know.” She turned her attention towards Fluttershy. “I don’t know. Fluttershy, do you think this is a good idea?”

“Oh, me? Uhm. Yes. It’s probably less stressful to know the whole story? Uhm that’s just what I think so…”

“Well you are the expert, and it is pretty much your story so that’s two for two right there.” With a grin, Rainbow Dash settled back into her story. “So there we were, smashed against the rocks, I was about to get up and get serious of course. But then out of nowhere, Fluttershy appears!”

Trixie raised her brows. “Uhm, Rainbow Dash, you already told Trixie that Fluttershy was there, repeatedly.”

“No that is not what I mean. Get this! Fluttershy flies right up to that dragon and lands on his muzzle, and yells at him! I don’t remember it too well since my ears were ringing, but I know she made that dragon cry! She saved all of us!”

Trixie blinked slowly as she listened to the story of Fluttershy’s heroism, then burst out laughing uncontrollably. “Bhahaha! O-okay you! Hahah Good one! Like Flutter—Pfffhaha.” Unable to keep herself up, Trixie fell down and pounded the ground with her hoof until the worst had past. Trixie had tears her eyes from laughing so much as she looked up, wiping her left eye dry. “Okay come on, seriously now. What really happened?”

It dawned on Trixie that something strange was going on. ”…And why is nopony else laughing?”

As she looked around, Trixie discovered Fluttershy had retreated completely behind her mane, Rainbow Dash wore an cheesy smile, and Applejack was looking away while she tried to clear what sounded like a nasty cough.

“What?”

“I-it’s uhm… true.”

Trixie whirled around and found a furiously blushing Fluttershy peeking out with one eye from behind her mane. “W-wait so…” Words failed Trixie as her jaw hit the floor. “T-Trixie was wrong, THAT is even harder to believe.”

“It’s true, and it was awesome! Who knew she had it in her huh!?” Rainbow Dash was next to Fluttershy, she must have gotten there within the time it took Trixie to blink, both Rainbow Dash’s hooves around Fluttershy’s neck and chest as she held her tightly. “The most amazing thing I have ever seen! This week!”

Fluttershy wordlessly returned the hug.

Trixie looked back towards Applejack, who was simply nodding. “Ah couldn’t believe mah eyes and ears, but it really did happen. Though Ah reckon we ain’t gonna see her do it again, she was back ta normal pretty quick as ya mighta noticed. Ya did get a taste of it back with Rainbow and Redheart, but Ah say ponies don’t count.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up and she let go for Fluttershy to turn back to the Applejack and Trixie. “Woah now, it totally does for Fluttershy! In fact, I am even prouder of her for that! Stand up to a dragon is one thing, but stand up to the Rainbow Dash? You did great, Fluttershy.” She smiled brightly at her.

Fluttershy smiled back and nodded. “Thanks Rainbow Dash.”

The scene before her somehow made Trixie feel nauseous, a terrible feeling settled in her stomach though she was sure she was not actually sick. A question was burned on her mind. Didn’t Fluttershy betray you? Why are you happy? This isn’t right, is it? Still, Trixie had already ruined the mood several times that evening, and though she was forgiven so far she did not want to risk doing so again.

“So uhm… what happened after Fluttershy made a dragon cry?” The very words felt as though they were never meant to be uttered in the same sentence as they crumbled off Trixie’s tongue.

“Well, Ah guess I’ll fill ya in. Fluttershy comforted him, then explained he was a bother and told him to sleep somewhere else, so he did.”

Well that does sound more like something she would do. Crazy mares, all of them.

Applejack yawned and stretched out her legs. “Well, Ah reckon it’s bout time Ah hit the hay. Had a good time with y’all, we oughta do it again sometime.”

“Trixie approves of this idea. Perhaps bring some of the best pie too?”

“Heh, well Ah suppose.”

“W-wait, pie? Trixie can’t have solid food yet… I-I mean, sorry.”

Trixie’s groaned. “Aww, that’s not fair. Trixie already had some and nothing bad happened.”

“Nope no pie, Trixie, but Applejack can bring some for the rest of us. I’m sure Fluttershy can make some nice apple soup or something for you.” Rainbow Dash grinned widely.

“Well Ah reckon that’s fair, Ah will bring some next time.” Applejack adjusted her hat then paused a moment as she looked at Trixie, seeming to realize something was missing about her. After a moment however she continued her way toward the path, passing Trixie she whispered. “Don’t ya worry, Ah can slip ya a piece if they still try ta stop ya.”

Trixie’s ears perked up excited by the news and she quickly nodded.

“Oh yeah, Rainbow, if yer going home too, mind walking together fer a spell?”

“Yeah sure Applejack. I need to get going anyway. Will you two be alright?” Rainbow Dash took flight, but stayed near the ground.

Fluttershy nodded. “We’re fine, we’ll just go straight to bed. Uhm… have a good night girls.”

“Goodnight y’all. Come on Rainbow.”

“Right.”

Though Trixie would have liked the night to go on, in truth she could feel her body scream out for sleep already, of course it tended to do that a lot lately. “Goodbye Applejack, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash swooped back around and flew backwards while she looked at Trixie. “Heh, see you later, Trixie. Friends never say goodbye!”

Really? Trixie rolled her eyes. “See you later then!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

We may never know if RD is messing or a cheeseball.
Fun fact, nobody in the show seems to ever say goodbye unless they think it is for a really long time.
Except Fluttershy, which freaked Pinkie out pretty bad screaming "I'll never forget you!"
Just something to consider.

Chapter 50 - Revelation

At long last, one of Trixie’s most pressing questions was about to be answered. After returning inside with Fluttershy, she had stuck close to her in the dark, and finally prepared to ask the question that had been on her mind for so long.

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy paused and looked at Trixie, the faint light of the dwindling candle in the windowsill illuminated her smile. “Yes, Trixie?”

“Trixie has something she wants to ask.”

“Oh, uhm. Sure, I’ll try to answer any questions you have. What is it?”

Trixie shifted uncomfortably, it was difficult to ask but she finally brought herself to it. “How do you turn the lights on? We tried for an hour, but we couldn’t figure it out.”

Blinking, Fluttershy stared at Trixie, then looked around as if only now becoming aware that her house was dark as night. “Oh! It’s simple, you just have to ask nicely.”

Trixie blushed embarrassed. Ugh of course it was simple, now I look like a fool. “Uhm sorry. Please tell Trixie how to turn the lights on.”

Fluttershy giggled and shook her head. “Not like that. Hm I could show you, but I don’t think it’s nice to bother them if we don’t need them, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy looked apologetic, but then cheered up. “Oh, I have an idea. Are you hungry?”

It was not clear to Trixie how any of this was supposed to make sense. “Uh well, a little maybe. Why?” She stared at Fluttershy in the vain hope she might be able to deduce what was going on. I did it wrong? They? Is she teasing?

“I do have some apple broccoli soup left. I meant to eat it with Rainbow Dash, but we uhm forgot…” She looked down, and gently kicked at the ground, scrapping a hoof along the floorboards. She quickly snapped out of it. “Oh! Uh, only because we got so wrapped up in everything, I mean it’s not anypony's fault. Just so much happened and uh. Well... uhm. If you like we can have it?”

“Alright, Trixie is not sure how this relates to Trixie’s question though… But she’d be happy to have some more of that soup of yours, Fluttershy.” Though the reason still eluded her, any excuse to have some more of the talented mare’s cooking was a good one.

Fluttershy smiled. “Great, hold on I’ll see if we can get some light.” To Trixie’s surprise, Fluttershy walked back outside.

“Wait, where are you going?” Trixie called out confused, and quickly followed after her. She found Fluttershy standing around outside, speaking to herself.

“Uhm excuse me, do you think you could come inside for a little while? I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind.” Fluttershy looked up at, as far as Trixie could tell, just the sky. “Oh, thank you for understanding.”

Trixie worried about Fluttershy’s unusual behavior. “Fluttershy? Are you feeling okay? Why are you…” Her voice trailed off as she finally caught on.

What Trixie had initially dismissed as stars in the sky had turned out to be living creatures, and a small, but steady, stream of the flying little flickering lights made its way into the cottage. Their spread out small lights were not enough to illuminate the meadow, but their glow combined lit up the small hovel.

“F-Fireflies?” Trixie stammered.

“Oh you know them? Aren’t they just the most beautiful sight? I usually have some inside in the rafters, but I was not sure when we would be back so I asked them to go outside before I closed up. It would be just terrible if the poor dears got trapped inside and grew hungry.”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, Trixie often sees them at night when Trixie has made camp, but never like this.” She trotted back into the cottage, a gentle light from the glowing insects ensured it was easy to see everything. “This is amazing.”

“Aren’t they? I’m really lucky they are willing to help.” Fluttershy made her way into the kitchen to retrieve a metal kettle and set it near the fireplace. With a practiced ease, she lit the fire and hung the kettle on a hook over the fire. She made her way to the window, and blew out the candle. “You can rest on the couch while this warms up, Trixie, if you want to that is.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not… Actually that sounds pretty good.” Trixie climbed on the couch and laid down with a happy sigh. The soft pillows made it hard to fight to urge to go right to sleep. “Mhm Fluttershy? Trixie has another question.”

Fluttershy looked into the kettle for a moment before she made her way towards Trixie, and took a seat beside her. “Sure, what is it?”

Trixie had not actually thought about how to phrase the question, but she figured she thought a bit better under pressure, she didn’t. “Well uh… About the dragon story. Why do you let Rainbow Dash talk to you like that?”

Fluttershy blinked and leaned away a little. “Talk to me like what? I don’t know what you mean, Trixie.”

“Don’t pretend, Trixie knows many things. Especially when soft mares start tensing up whenever they are called slow. What is wrong?” Trixie said in a demanding tone. It only took her half a second to regret her tone of voice as she saw Fluttershy shrink back further. “No wait, sorry. Look, Fluttershy, it’s uh, okay to be scared… but Trixie wants to know what is bothering you, b-because… you are very important to Trixie. And she does not want to see you hurt.”

Fluttershy said nothing and retreated behind her mane.

Curses, was that too out the blue? Trixie waited for a few moments, but when no response came from Fluttershy she carried on. “Trixie has some idea of what is wrong. Why don’t you try to help fill her in? Is that okay, Fluttershy?” She received a slow nod. “You were slowing everypony down, and your friends were mean to you for it. Even though they were the ones that made you come?”

Fluttershy quickly shook her head. “N-no, well… yes. But most of my friends did not say anything about it… Applejack helped me a lot. B-but…”

Nodding, Trixie tried to help her along. “But Rainbow Dash was the one that hated you for it? She did sound very impatient even when telling the story.”

“S-she did not hate me, b-but I… I disappointed her, I could tell. I-it’s not her fault, I know I should have said something. The whole trip I knew I was slowing her down when she was in such a hurry. A-and, and… I don’t like disappointing her.” Fluttershy whimpered, Trixie could hear her sniffling behind her mane.

Trixie looked shocked, she had not been sure if Fluttershy would really open up. She quickly scooted closer and pulled Fluttershy into a hug, lending her a shoulder if she needed it, but stayed quiet herself. With her muzzle so near Fluttershy’s mane, Trixie smelled the scent of raspberry, but also a faint hint of dragon’s breath that made her nose wrinkle. It occurred to her she always picked the worst moments for this. Focus Trixie!

Shaking in Trixie’s grasp, Fluttershy’s forelegs moved around Trixie. “Sh-she’s really good to me, and I love her but I j-just… I am not as good as she is, she’s fast and brave while I’m slow and cowardly, b-but was that’s okay because I know she will be there for me no matter what. B-but I’m supposed to be a bearer of the elements now. I can’t slow her down anymore. I wanted to show her I could be brave for her.”

“I-its okay,” Trixie cooed while she let one hoof stroke Fluttershy’s mane and back. Ever since her plan to head into the forest and spend the day alone with Fluttershy, she had hoped she would learn to share with her, to get to know her more. An embrace had been just what Trixie would have hoped for when they were alone, but not like this. She just had an overwhelming desire to make everything alright for her, to protect her, but she was not sure how. S-so this is what it feels like huh, Rainbow Dash?

As Fluttershy continued, Trixie could feel her fur growing wet. "It...It was awful, all I wanted was to get off t-that mountain as fast as possible, but every time something else was making me do even w-worse. I wanted to be better for her, but all I did was prove what a coward I am. I-I let her down."

Trixie frowned while she listened, holding Fluttershy tighter. “Fluttershy, you are such a foal,” she whispered. “You’re scared that Rainbow Dash is disappointed and thinks you are a coward? Trixie does not think that is true. ‘Fluttershy is brave, she does her best every day to be kind to everypony, even if she’s scared.’ Trixie is convinced this is the truth.”

Sniffling, Fluttershy asked, “thank you, b-but what makes you think that?”

“Because that is what Rainbow Dash told Trixie, back when Trixie scared you…” Trixie bit her lip, she did not like to think about that, any of it. Well, except maybe the end of that. A soft smile played on her lips.

“S-she said that?” Fluttershy sounded less tearful, though Trixie had no way to check. She was sure Fluttershy had stopped crying however.

Trixie nodded. “She most definitely did, Trixie has the entire thing burned in her memory, and Trixie’s memory is already perfect by default so you know she is right!” She gently pushed away from Fluttershy so she could look at her. “Trixie knows Rainbow Dash trusts you. The two of you are the closest friends Trixie has ever seen!” It was the honest truth, but Trixie still decided it would be best to leave out that they were also the only friends she had ever paid attention to.

Fluttershy looked to be doing better, Trixie had never been so glad to be right. “B-but then why was she so mean today? Are you really sure?”

Smiling reassuringly, Trixie gave another nod. “Trixie is sure. Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Just talk to Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy looked down after the suggestion. ”Uh or Trixie will talk to Rainbow Dash. You'll see. You saw how proud she was of you didn’t you? Or felt it Trixie thinks might be more accurate.”

Fluttershy blushed and nodded slowly. “T-that is true. It was nice, she does not usually like to get mushy like that.”

“That was mushy?” Trixie looked surprised. All Rainbow Dash did was give her a quick hug. Maybe that’s not normal for friends after all?

“Uhm, well for Rainbow Dash yes. She is not big on touching.”

Is Fluttershy messing with Trixie? Though it is true Trixie has not seem them together now that Trixie thinks about it. But Rainbow Dash was wrestling Applejack just a minute ago. And sure Rainbow Dash stayed away from Trixie at the start, but that was when Trixie was scared of her. After that she seemed okay with Trixie being close, W-well… Except for that time Trixie got a bit ‘too close’…

Trixie tried to fight back the mixed feelings that came with remembering the painful and embarrassing moment, but she could feel her cheeks starting to burn. She could practically feel the touch of Rainbow Dash’s lips against her own again, stroking a hoof along her muzzle.

I wonder how it would be with Flu—

“Trixie? Are you okay? You look a bit, uhm, feverish.” Fluttershy leaned closer and reached up a hoof for Trixie’s forehead.

Startled out of her fantasy, Trixie quickly leaned back from the hoof. “Ack, Trixie is fine! Is that burning? Trixie thinks she smells burning, quick go check!” She waved a frantic hoof towards the fireplace.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, then she made a mad dash for the kettle, only to find it was just barely starting to get warm. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness. I guess it was just the firewood, the soup is fine.”

“Yes, soup, good.” Trixie ensured she remained facing away from Fluttershy. She could hear Fluttershy’s hoofsteps trail into the kitchen then return shortly afterwards. A brief glance revealed she balanced two empty bowls between her wings, and carried a ladle in her mouth.

Could you sound any less natural? Come on Trixie!

Once the thought had entered her mind however it proved substantially more difficult to shake it. Trixie watched Fluttershy fill the bowls with the ladle, but found her attention shift to the lips holding the handle before she quickly looked away again.

T-that’s not good is it? I’m supposed to be their friend. It’s like Rainbow Dash said. If I feel the same about them, then it must be friendship. But… I wasn’t sure then either. If only there was something I could do to confirm.

“Trixie, are you coming?” Fluttershy called out to her from the dining table. She had already moved the soup bowls there while Trixie was busy distracting herself. “Uhm if you like you can have it on the couch, but I am not sure that is safe… I’m sorry.”

“No, no it’s fine. Trixie is coming.” With a wobble, Trixie climbed off the couch and then made her way to the table, taking her usual seat. She gave a smile to Fluttershy before all of her attention was set on the soup, sparing the occasional glance up at Fluttershy as they ate, or drank.

The silence was finally broken as Trixie spoke up. “Say, Fluttershy? Is… is it always like that?”

Fluttershy looked up from her bowl, swallowing her mouthful. “The soup?”

Trixie shook her head. “The… Trixie is not sure what to call it. The whole evening. After the nurses left, it was very lively. With Rainbow Dash and Applejack trying to tell, or sabotage, their story about what you girls had been doing. Sharing all of those things, the drinks, laughs, arguments… physical things. All of it.”

“Oh, uhm well not the exact things, but it tends to be yes. When we get together as friends that is, it can be a bit, uhm, livelier if the others are there too. Tonight was only the four of us, though I think I liked it a little better this way.” Fluttershy gasped. “N-not that I don’t like it when it’s all of us, or less of us, or other friends than who were here tonight. They are all great and good fun, its just more peaceful, or uhm less difficult to keep track. I mean uhm…”

Trixie giggled and waved one hoof around the room. “It’s okay Fluttershy, nopony is here to be offended when you say you don’t like having them around.” She gave a playful wink.

“T-that is not… Oh, you are awful.” Fluttershy brought up a hoof to her muzzle as if to cover her mouth in shock, but Trixie could hear the giggles behind it.

“But what Trixie is trying to say really, Fluttershy.” Trixie began, then paused for a moment as she tried to collect her thoughts on the whole thing. “Even though… Trixie kind of ruined it a few times… it picked back up quickly, and well. Trixie had a really good time. It’s not often Trixie is not in the spotlight, but it was okay somehow. For a little while anyway, Trixie makes no promises for when she is better.” She crossed her hooves across her chest.

Fluttershy dipped down for another quick sip of soup. “That’s great, Trixie. I was not sure if it was a good idea to have you out there. You even fell asleep at the start, so you must have been so tired. But if you say that you enjoyed yourself, I’m happy we went through with it. I’m sure Rainbow Dash will like to hear it too. Oh, and don’t worry. You did not ruin anything, we all understand you are a bit weak right now.”

“Trixie is not weak,” Trixie grumbled, “she is merely less powerful than usual, but equally as great.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too… I know you are. Back in the forest when the Timberwolves found us. You were really impressive… Even though you were hurt… and got hurt even worse because of it. I’m sorry.“ Fluttershy half-hid behind her mane while she brought one eye up from the table, and settled on Trixie’s. ”I still have not thanked you for that, I’m sorry. Thank you for protecting me.”

While she looked back at Fluttershy, Trixie felt warm, but also something familiar yet strange, as though there had been something sparkling in the soup. “W-well… one could hardly expect a unicorn as Great and Powerful as Trixie to do anything less. Besides, you were very brave Fluttershy. You saved Trixie multiple times, and you stayed by her side even when you could have flown to safety and left Trixie to her fate. Nopony would have blamed you if you had. You have my eternal gratitude.”

“I-it was nothing, if it was not for Rainbow Dash things would have been terrible…” Fluttershy blushed, but then shivered as she mentioned the alternative possibility.

Trixie perked up. “That might be true, but she was there for us. So if you promise not to worry about that, Trixie will promise not to worry about the dragon. Deal?” She smiled as Fluttershy nodded in return. “Excellent, oh that reminds Trixie. When we were in the castle, you said Rainbow Dash has never had any interest in a special somepony?”

Fluttershy blinked puzzled, but nodded. “A-as far as I know, and I think she would have told me about it. She just is not the type I think. She’s far too busy training to be part of the Wonderbolts to even think about that kind of thing, I think.”

“Yes, like you said, she had plenty of ponies after her.” Trixie nodded a bit. “Trixie is curious though, Fluttershy. You never said anything about yourself so, Trixie was just wondering. Is it the same for you?”

Blushing, Fluttershy went even more quiet that usual. “I-is what the same?”

“Are you not interested in a special somepony, like Rainbow Dash?” By what Trixie had heard she figured it might be that both ponies ended up together by sharing a disinterest in pursuing a romance.

To Trixie’s surprise however, Fluttershy had turned red and retreated even further behind her mane, she could barely see her eye anymore. “R-Rainbow Dash, as a special somepony?”

Trixie blinked puzzled, and tilted her head quizzically. “What are you…? Oh! Hah no no, Fluttershy. Trixie means if you are like her, the same. You know.”

“Oh, oh! I-I see. Sorry I just was really surprised t-that’s all.” She shook her head, looking back down at her soup. “I uh… Well you know… I’m not good around other ponies. So I didn’t ever have one for Heart’s and Hooves day… Usually we just ‘hang out’, as Rainbow Dash calls it, and she shows me some new stunts.” By the look on Fluttershy’s face, Trixie could guess not all of those stunts had ended well.

“Trixie did not mean to make you uncomfortable, sorry. It was not a good thing to ask.” She followed Fluttershy’s example by returning her attention to the soup. Trixie’s mind wandered while she swallowed the warm liquid.

That was interesting. Trixie would almost think they are hiding something from her, but are they? Something does not add up… Don’t be silly, Trixie, what purpose would it serve to hide something like that from you? They are just friends, just like Trixie is their friend.

The thought looped Trixie back around to her original quandary. …Is it just friendship? Ugh, this would be much easier with something for contrast. She shook her head to clear it from the useless thoughts, it felt heavy. “Trixie is tired… Though she has been tired all day, in hindsight that is not worth mentioning.”

Fluttershy looked up from her meal startled. “Huh? Uhm, no it’s good to say how you feel. We’ll finish up here then get you back to bed, it has been a very exhausting day for everypony.”

“Trixie agrees.” Trixie nodded while she tended to her soup, idly playing with a floating piece of broccoli that bumped into a bit of sliced apple when suddenly, she had an epiphany: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were not her only friends anymore. That’s right! The Apples! Big Mac and Applejack! They are Trixie’s friends too. So then that means…

…Trixie is so dead.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Wow chapter 50.
I'm not sure what surprises me more:
That I wrote this many of them, or that you read this many of them.:yay:

As a little celebration, this chapter is a bit longer than usual.
The usual 1000 words + 50*50 words(2500) for 3500.
... Okay I admit I'm using numerology levels of logic there, this was not planned at all I just ran with it. >.>

Chapter 51 - Requiescit

In the morning, Trixie made her way out Fluttershy’s room, and down the concrete stairs. During her descent she scanned the room, she found Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sitting together on the couch already, they each took opposite ends. Trixie trotted up to them. They waved and smiled to her while she took the seat in the middle, smiling at each in turn, but then turned her attention to Fluttershy.

There was just this ever present aura of calm around the timid mare, yet she knew it was fragile, truly something to be caressed and allowed to flourish. Trixie stared into Fluttershy’s magnificent, mesmerizing eyes for a long moment, then let her gaze slide down the gentle features of her face, settling upon the lips that formed her warming smile.

Without hesitation Trixie found herself with her hooves around Fluttershy’s neck, kissing her tenderly. She felt Fluttershy utter a muffled eep in surprise, but then returned the affection. Her lips were as soft as she was precious.

A shocked cry from Rainbow Dash right behind her made Trixie break away from Fluttershy, turning around towards the outraged mare. Even below the fur Trixie could see her lean muscles tense and strain. Her wings flared out wide behind her, making her look even more imposing and strong. Trixie lifted her eyes up to Rainbow Dash’s face, the look of shock was turning quickly into anger. Rainbow Dash no doubt thought her war face was terrifying, but in a way she was cute when she was mad. It was something Trixie first noticed during their arguments, though she would have never admitted to it.

“You know what this means right?!” Rainbow Dash growled.

Trixie could already see Rainbow Dash pull her hoof back behind her, but smiled as she nodded in agreement. She felt no fear even as it collided with her face, hot stars dotted her vision as she was knocked onto her back.

The hurt passed away almost as quickly as it came while Trixie laid there. Above her she could see the sky, laying on her back upon the couch. Trixie smiled at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as they looked down on her.

“With that out of the way. The worst part was you left me out of something that awesome,” Rainbow Dash scolded. Then she leaned in with a mischievous grin, kissing Trixie passionately on the lips. They both held the kiss for what Trixie simultaneously felt was an eternity and far too short.

Rainbow Dash set her hooves against Trixie’s shoulders and pushed away, grinning down at her. Fluttershy’s hooves curled around Rainbow Dash from behind, and soon after Fluttershy peeked in over her shoulder, blushing so cutely.

While Trixie watched awestruck, Rainbow Dash turned her head towards Fluttershy, and received a kiss. They both squinted during the kiss, peeking at Trixie from the corner of their eyes. Trixie felt as though her heart would drill its way out of her chest.

Fluttershy broke the kiss with a soft gasp, leaving a glistening tendril connecting them, before she licked her lips with a blush. Rainbow Dash turned towards Trixie, and Fluttershy followed her example.

“So, think you can handle us both do you?” Rainbow Dash smirked while she shifted to the side slightly, allowing Fluttershy besides her, both looming over the excited unicorn.

“Trixie is Great and Powerful enough for two!” Trixie exclaimed, thrilled.

“Trixie.” Rainbow Dash said her name so lovingly, and leaned down to kiss her throat. Trixie blushed deeply. She was often told she loved to hear her own name, but she had no idea how true it was until that moment. Fluttershy followed Rainbow Dash’s lead, kissing Trixie as well, through on the left side. Trixie squirmed below the pair in delight.

Rainbow Dash pushed herself up on Trixie’s shoulders again, jostling her a little in the process. “Trixie” she repeated, and they leaned in to kiss her again, higher this time. With each repetition she lead the trail of kisses up higher, and her voice got a little louder. The constant pushing and pulling on her sore shoulders was a little painful, but nothing the blissful Trixie even paid attention too, closing her eyes.

“Trixie… Trixie… Trixie! TRIXIE!”

Trixie winced slightly as that last one was especially hard, she opened her eyes groggily to find Rainbow Dash had made it all the way up to her face this time. Though she could barely see the beautiful mare in the dark, it was enough for Trixie to lean up and claim the next kiss from those tasty lips.

It felt a bit different this time. Trixie could see Rainbow Dash’s eyes open wide during the kiss. For some reason Rainbow Dash was not kissing back, and Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Trixie broke the kiss. Mm why did she stop? …Why is everything so dark, Trixie thought it was morning?

So many things seemed off now, Trixie could have sworn they were on the couch, but she was in bed instead. Rainbow Dash was not even on top of her anymore but at the bedside. A terrible feeling settled over Trixie, making her even more anxious, before it finally hit her. Trixie’s eyes widened and she franticly looked down at the bed then up at Rainbow Dash who seemed to have recovered from the shock.

Trixie just wanted to kick herself, disappear, or wakeup. She quickly scuttled away from Rainbow Dash, wincing as she discovered her sore muscles protested heavily. “D-don’t be mad.” Trixie stammered while she crawled further backwards, only to see Rainbow Dash make a lunge for her.

“Trixie, no!”

With a scared yelp Trixie pushed herself back faster, and discovered she had run out of mattress to retreat to, toppling backwards off the bed.

Closing her eyes tightly, Trixie braced for the impact with the wooden floor. She knew she had to avoid hitting her head somehow, but all she could do was bend her neck forward, taking the brunt on it. Which was not good either, and would still send most of the shock up to her head. Time seemed to slow down, but it did her no good beyond dragging out her end.

Really? I’m going to die by falling out of bed?
R.I.P. The Great and Powerful Trixie, she fell out of bed one morning.
This is the worst.

Trixie felt something snap shut around her like a vise, that someone had left out in the desert sun, and flipped her mid-fall. The impact against the ground followed just a split second later, but it was nowhere near as rough as Trixie had thought. Instead of crack, she heard thud and a grunt.

“Ugh, that hurt.” Rainbow Dash complained from below Trixie. “What part of ‘no’ did you not understand?”

Trixie’s heart was beating in her throat, fairly certain she had seen her life flash by for the twelfth time that week. Blinking slowly, Trixie found herself sprawled out on top of Rainbow Dash, the mares forelegs clamped tightly around her, just like on the cloud. The main difference was that instead of a soft cloud, they were on the hard floor.

“Uh… if it is any consolation, Trixie has mistaken Fluttershy’s rescue attempt as an attack before too. It’s not just you.” Trixie said sheepishly.

A bemused chuckle sounded below Trixie. Rainbow Dash released her grip on Trixie. “Heh, you know, that actually does make me feel a little better about this. Seriously though, you thought Fluttershy was attacking you at some point? Oh, and can you get off?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’? It wasn’t really a request.”

“Trixie is too sore.” Though it was true, Trixie did not even make a single attempt. Glad for an excuse to stay the way they were for the moment.

Rainbow Dash blinked, but allowed Trixie to rest on her for the moment. “Oh, I get it. I guess you would be. And probably weak from hunger too?”

It had not occurred to Trixie yet, the dull aching pain in her limbs distracted her, but she was starving. She had no idea how that could be possible, considering she had plenty of Fluttershy’s soup before bed, and she was not even that hungry back then.

There was something she was much more concerned about however. “Never mind that. What the hay are you doing back here? You only left a few hours ago. And why were you watching Trixie sleep? Trixie is pretty sure there are laws against that.” Trixie was not entirely sure if that was true, nor if she actually minded having Rainbow Dash show up in her bedroom at night. The last thought was quickly pushed to the back of her mind. “A-answer Trixie!”

“Hey, don’t make it sound like I’m a creepy pony, Trixie. I did not come back a few hours later, I came back the next morning. You’ve been asleep for over a day. Fluttershy said to let you rest, cause you probably needed it.” Rainbow Dash motioned a hoof toward the door. “She’s sleeping by the way, so no more yelling okay?”

Trixie tilted her head puzzled. Rainbow Dash had no reason to lie to her, and it matched up with her hunger. Still it was odd to think she had slept that long, usually she would wake up for short periods at least. “Oh. Maybe Trixie really did push herself too hard. You still did not explain why you were up in Trixie’s face like that.”

“You think? Heck I am pretty sure you would have slept for another day if I didn’t wake you up.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Anyway, we decided to take shifts, so that one of us would be up when you woke. I have the night shift since it was much easier for me to get some sleep during the day, you could say I am well practiced at it.” She grinned proudly.

“Oh, Trixie is well aware you are lazy.” Trixie grinned back at Rainbow Dash. “So then your job is to keep Trixie company for the night?”

“Huh, well I guess. I’m supposed to make sure you don’t freak out and get you something to eat.” She motioned to the bed. “The freak out prevention thing was part of that by the way. You were having a nightmare, I saw you really squirming in your sleep, burning up and mumbling. You looked pretty distressed so I figured I’d wake you from it, but you sure are a sound sleeper. So how bout we get you something to eat?”

Trixie knew Rainbow Dash had meant well, and that she would have no idea why, but she still stared daggers at her all the same. It was a good thing the room was dark, or Rainbow Dash would have been able to see Trixie’s burning face. Best dream ever, ruined. I’ll get you for this so bad.

“What?” Rainbow Dash stared up at Trixie in complete confusion. “You must have been pretty grateful for it, if you kissed me as soon as you woke up. Though I thought you’d have learned your lesson last time, Trixie.”

“That is not why!” Trixie blurted out before she could stop herself, “Trixie was dreaming and did not realize you were real that time!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Say what you want about Trixie, but she sure does have a lively imagination.

Chapter 52 - Room-service

Today had been a surprisingly interesting day for Rainbow Dash.

As soon as she’d left Fluttershy’s place with Applejack, the two of them had a conversation about what Trixie had been up to that day. The most surprising to hear was how Trixie had reacted when she got to the house, and neither of them were home. Rainbow Dash later spoke to Fluttershy about it, leading to the decision to make certain one of them would be around when Trixie woke up.

Another meeting with Rarity got her to agree to fix the torn-up cloak, but also a great deal of questions about Trixie. Though Rainbow Dash had not actually told the truth the last time either, she was fairly sure Rarity was on to her, but for some reason Rarity just flashed this disturbing, knowing smile as if she’d thought she figured out something especially juicy.

With Trixie out of commission, Rainbow Dash had watched the house while Fluttershy brought the animals back from the library. After which she got to spend what felt like a rare type of day, since Trixie demanded as much attention, a day alone with Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash had been sorely aware of how much she missed them. Though during the day she had caught herself on occasion looking towards the wooden staircase, or nearby empty chair, expecting, or maybe wanting, Trixie to be there.

It was also rare to have a good excuse to actually sleep during the day, and she happily abused it. Though it had meant cutting her day with Fluttershy short early. The same thing would have happened if Fluttershy was the one to take the nightshift anyway.

Once night fell, Rainbow Dash bid Fluttershy goodnight, leaving the cute mare to snooze on the couch, and made her way up to the bed room. Pulling up a chair, she tried to get herself comfortable at Fluttershy’s writing desk.

Why does she have that anyway? Did she expect to do a lot of writing?

Sitting still in a stuffy room was not one of Rainbow Dash’s strong points. There was no reason to think Trixie would actually wake up, so most likely she had just bought herself a very boring night. It had never occurred to her that she was going to be doing nothing.

In a sense it was similar to waiting for Trixie to wake up from her coma, but back then she had so many fears and worries plague her mind. This was much more peaceful.

Failing to get comfy in the chair, Rainbow Dash opened the window, then she flew out to retrieve a cloud instead. She set the cloud right outside the window, and climbed on, laying down with a satisfied sigh. That’s more like it. I’ll replace the curtains in the morning.

Rainbow Dash could see Trixie through the window, the moonlight providing enough illumination to make her out. She seemed to have dreamless sleep all day, judging by how little she actually moved. I guess that’s cause she was so exhausted. It’s probably for the best, all she ever seems to get are nightmares. It’s not fair on her… Heck some of those probably have me torturing her, and she’d be right. Her stomach twisted at the thought, and looked away.

I wish I could do something real for her. Yesterday was good like that. She seemed to really like it when she was hugged. It was kind of embarrassing, but if it makes her feel better… I think I’d do anything.

Sighing, Rainbow Dash let her gaze return to Trixie. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed strange. Trixie had not tried to get physical with either of them before, one misunderstood kiss notwithstanding, but yesterday she seemed so eager to be near them, and then there was what AJ had told her.

Was she always that unstable? Or did she get scared by those three, when she couldn’t defend herself? I-it’s my fault isn’t it? She couldn’t, because her magic didn’t work anymore. She swallowed, suddenly recalling the time when Trixie had asked her not to fly. If she was grounded she’d probably not deal with it well either, losing her pegasus features. Just the very thought made her sick.

But it’s different for me, flying is my special talent! Her special talent… is magic… Oh, right. Rainbow Dash decided she was terrible at making herself feel better about any of this.

Movement inside drew her attention, she could see Trixie was struggling under the blanket. Another nightmare? Rainbow Dash scowled. Leave her alone already! Within a second she’d flown back into the room and stood at Trixie’s bedside. She felt like she had to do something.

Her first attempts were unsuccessful, getting herself onto the bed did not stop Trixie’s squirming. And neither did touching her, if anything it seemed to make it worse. Woah, she’s hot. Rainbow withdrew her hoof from Trixie’s head. There was only one thing left to do that she could think of.

Okay, gently now, if I just wake her up a little she can go right back to sleep. She set her hooves on Trixie’s shoulders, and carefully shook her. “Trixie…” It was not good enough, so she tried again. “Trixie…” And again. “Trixie…”

Her every attempt seemed to be making things worse, she could hear Trixie mumbling in her sleep now while she squirmed. “Trixie.” Rainbow Dash tried a bit louder, starting to get desperate. She briefly looked towards the door, she couldn’t really yell without risking she’d wake up Fluttershy.

With Trixie still in an unrestful sleep, Rainbow Dash leaned in closer, reasoning she would sound louder without actually needing to yell. She shook Trixie’s shoulder again while she called out. “Trixie!”

Trixie stirred, her eyes opened half way while she stared back at Rainbow Dash. Yes! Mission successful. Okay now just stay quiet and she’ll fall ri— Her brain shut down as she felt a familiar sensation against her lips.

Trixie was kissing her.

Rainbow Dash widened her eyes in shock. Oh my gosh! J-just hold still! she’ll fall back asleep any second now, and think she was dreaming. Bear with it! Rainbow Dash did her best to stand completely still while Trixie’s lips pressed against her own, she felt so warm. How long are you planning to hold this kiss for!? Just fall back asleep come on!

However, Trixie seemed to grow more alert, and alarmed, by the second. She looked from Rainbow Dash to the bed and back, then rapidly pushed herself away from her.

“D-don’t be mad.” Trixie practically begged.

Rainbow Dash's chest ached at the tone in the scared mares voice. She felt miserable while she watched Trixie crawl backwards away from her, but then noticed she was getting awfully close towards the edge of the bed. It did not take a genius to figure out what would happen if she did not stop her right away.

“Trixie, no!” Rainbow Dash called out and made a lunge forward to grab her and prevent the fall, but she was too late. Trixie made the final push and toppled over. No! She spread her wings and with a single beat brought herself within range of the falling Trixie. She pulled Trixie tightly against her, and folded one wing against her back, letting the drag on the spread wing spin them, putting herself on the bottom first right before collision.

Rainbow Dash could see stars, and her head hurt like heck. She gasped for breath as Trixie had knocked the wind out of her when she broke her fall with her chest. Still, she had crashed worse before.

“Ugh, that hurt. What part of ‘no’ did you not understand?”

Even as grouchy as the pain made her, she could not help but smile anyway. I did it. She’s okay. I saved her… from something that only happened because of me… Good job Rainbow… Her smile faltered.

Understandably, Trixie had some questions about why she was there and how long she’d been out. All of which Rainbow Dash had to provide some answers too, while trying her hardest not to think about the kiss. She tried to offer her food, but Trixie just stared at her as if she was expecting something. Is it about the kiss? What if she thinks I’m mad about it? I should say something, anything. Make a joke, yeah!

“What?” Rainbow Dash stared up at Trixie in complete confusion. “You must have been pretty grateful for it, if you kissed me as soon as you woke up. Though I thought you’d have learned your lesson last time, Trixie.”

“That is not why!” Trixie blurted out before she could stop herself, “Trixie was dreaming and did not realize you were real that time!”

Rainbow Dash looked up at Trixie unsure of what to think. At first she had been ready to call Trixie out on making such a lame excuse, but she decided against it after seeing Trixie clamp her hooves over her mouth with such a miserable look on her face.

She dreams about me? Like that? It was a far cry from how Rainbow Dash had thought she features in Trixie’s nightmares. She tried not to think about it, but she had to admit she felt much better in the knowledge that she was not purely nightmare fuel. Though knowing she featured prominently in romantic dreams was not something she was comfortable with either.

The last time Trixie had somewhat accidently confessed something so personal, Rainbow Dash had been kind of a colossal jerk about it. Though she certainly felt she had good reason to at the time, in hindsight she really wished she hadn’t blown up at her for making a mistake.

“That… well that was something.” Rainbow Dash tried to sound casual.

“S-shut up. Trixie can’t help what she dreams about,” Trixie snapped at her.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. ”No, you can’t. I understand.” Though Trixie only thought she were dreaming that time, and if she actually has dreams like that… maybe she wasn’t confused after all?

They both stayed quiet for a while after that. As mad as Trixie had sounded about it, she still made no attempt or request to get off Rainbow Dash. I know she’s awake, she’s looking at me. Maybe she is waiting for me to say something?

The silence was broken by Trixie. “Rainbow Dash?”

Blinking, Rainbow Dash looked up at her. “Yes, Trixie?” Poor Trixie. I gotta keep calm. It’s not her fault. It’s kind of sad she still feels that way after everything though…

“Take Trixie outside.” She motioned towards the window.

Rainbow Dash blinked, then looked at the window, then back to Trixie. I don’t get it, but it’s not like she can go anywhere on her own. “Uh. Sure, hold on.” Though she said that, there was really not much need. She grabbed Trixie tightly, and after a rocky start flew out the window, Dropping Trixie off in the grass near the creek by the house. “Anything else?”

“Yes, Trixie is hungry. Bring her something to eat.” She sounded stiff, none of her usual flare in her voice, but it also was not shaky.

Raising a brow at the rude request, Rainbow Dash opted to indulge her. “Okay. You stay right here. I’ll get you something.” She spread her wings and prepared for lift off.

“Like Trixie has anywhere else to go.” Trixie sighed, then turned her head up, staring into the night sky while Rainbow Dash flew towards the house.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

chapter 53 - Rising

Trixie rested on her haunches while she stared up at the stars. She gave a sigh and closed her eyes, enjoying the cool night air. It helped her think, or at least it helped her calm down enough to think. At any moment, Rainbow Dash could return and she needed to have a plan before that happened.

The incident and spontaneous follow up had left Trixie embarrassed, confused, and angry with herself. The best she could think of to get out of the hole she was in, without digging any deeper, was to be as distant as she could manage. At least until she had her head sorted out. She had not even had time to reflect on her dream yet.

For whatever reason, Rainbow Dash had not been anywhere near as upset with her as she was the first time. On the other hoof, the majority of the problem had been that it was the first time. She had even allowed Trixie to hold the kiss for a very long time. Trixie could not help but wonder if perhaps she had been too hasty in retreating once she realized it was the real Rainbow Dash. M-maybe I should have gone for it?

Trixie started to get more frustrated the more she realized how perfect a situation it had been, the two of them alone at night, in the privacy of the bedroom, sharing an accidental kiss for much longer than accidental kisses had any right to exist. Now she was wishing she’d just grabbed Rainbow Dash instead of tried to escape and ruin the whole mood.

But, it’s still kind of okay isn’t it? I-I mean, she kind of knows now right? And she didn’t yell at me at all, so she’s okay with it now? Trixie could a feel a smile creep up on her as she indulged in the thought. A tingling spread across her fur where Rainbow Dash had held her to bring her outside.

Now that Trixie thinks about it… she didn’t push Trixie away yesterday either, and she even told Fluttershy to hug Trixie!

That had easily been the best part of the evening, getting so close to both of them for a while. Trixie wrapped her forelegs around herself in a giddy self-hug while she recalled the wonderful dream that followed the evening. Opening her eyes, Trixie looked towards the moon, a scarlet blush spreading across her cheeks. It was said that Princess Luna’s former duty was to visit ponies dreams, and that she sometimes would show ponies visions of the future. M-maybe that was one? Princess Luna is back after all.

Trixie smiled widely while she stared up at the moon. “Is it because Trixie slept all day? Trixie knew you would appreciate the irony! Thank you!”

“Heh, you’re welcome, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said from behind her.

Freezing up, Trixie quickly added the last of her little prayer silently. You will be in Trixie’s praises from now on. Thank you Luna! With that out of the way, Trixie turned around to find Rainbow Dash. She carried a tray on her back. “Oh there you are. Good, Trixie was getting worried you’d gotten lost.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head with a surprised look, but then grinned. “Hey, maybe I’ll just get lost these last few steps and take an hour to get there.”

“Pfft, as if Trixie would really be missing much. She is not even hungry enough to eat whatever you might cook up.” Naturally, it was in that exact moment that Trixie’s stomach growled. “…Maybe Trixie will humor you, and try some.”

With a laugh, Rainbow Dash set down the tray, and sat down besides Trixie. “That sure is nice of you. I’m glad you are feeling good enough to insult me again, I guess.”

The meal was nothing special, just some oatmeal, hay and two bruised apples. Trixie munched her oats while she eyed the apples suspiciously, then looked back to Rainbow Dash.

“What?”

“You are aware these are not meant for pony consumption right? What? Does Trixie look like an animal to you?”

“Huh? Fluttershy asked me the same thing about you before. So, yeah. You are, I guess?”

Trixie blinked, unsure if she’d heard that right. “Fluttershy asked you if Trixie was an animal? And you said yes?” She raised a hoof to her temple and rubbed it slowly while she took another bite. “Just, just never mind. Instead of giving Trixie migraines, give her something to drink.”

Rainbow Dash pointed towards the stream a few meters away from them. “Right there. I’m sure you can manage that one.”

Trixie raised her nose up in the air, giving Rainbow Dash a glance from a single half-lidded eye. “Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie can get her own water, but that’s not the point is it? You are here as Fluttershy’s proxy caretaker. Do you think she would refuse to get Trixie some water?”

“Wha, uh, I guess not.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine then.”

“That’s more like it,” Trixie said, after swallowing the last of her oats, and pointed to the bowl.

Rainbow Dash rose up to her hooves and picked up the bowl, then headed towards the water, but paused. “Oh I get it, you are going to abuse the hay out of this aren’t you?”

“Ohhh maliciously!” Trixie answered in glee.

“Great… at least you can’t demand much in the middle of the night.” Rainbow Dash scooped up some water and brought it back, setting it down besides Trixie, but she sat across from her this time.

Trixie grinned. “Is that a challenge?” She leaned down to drink her water while she pondered the situation, she had Rainbow Dash at her mercy for the time being, or at least she was playing along. Oh this is going to be good.

“Trixie? I don’t think I like that look on your face.” Rainbow Dash sounded a bit worried.

“The Gracious and Merciful Trixie assures you that she won’t make you do anything she won’t like.”

“Well, alright. Wait, what?”

“Nothing! Now let’s go!” Trixie scrambled to her hooves.

“Go? Go where?”

“To the forest of course! Fly Trixie over there! Trixie has decided that her next wagon will be made out of timberwolf wood, specifically that timberwolf, and before dawn!” She jabbed a hoof towards the forest.

“Errr, yeah no. That’s not happening.”

“What! But you said you would do what Trixie wanted! Ugh fine, how about we just get its head?”

“Still no.”

“You fly Trixie over there, and we taunt it from a tree?”

“No.”

“Just a flight over the forest?”

“Too dangerous.”

“Ponyville?”

Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof to her chin, scratching it idly as she considered it, then finally nodded. “Yeah okay, I guess that’s not too dangerous.”

“Fine… but you better appreciate the lengths Trixie was willing to lower her standards to accommodate you.” Trixie did her utmost best to look disappointed, trying to contain her excitement. She fell for it! Hah, as if she’d have ever agreed to that if Trixie led it with!

Trixie looked down at the hay she still had left, then placed the bowl over it to keep the wind from taking off with it. She was not about to finish her breakfast and risk Rainbow Dash coming to her senses in the meantime.

Sitting down on her haunches, Trixie reached her front legs out to Rainbow Dash with a huff. “Let’s get this over with then.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No not like that. You’d not be able to see anything. Turn your back to me, then spread your forelegs so I can get a good grip. I’ll go get a head start.” With that she flared her wings, then took off into the night sky, circling around in large ovals.

Following the instructions, Trixie spread her forelegs and gulped. Only now did it occur to her that she was going to be flying high above the ground. It had been a prospect that had not seemed so bad when she expected Rainbow Dash to be all she could see, but this way she was going to be looking straight down the entire time. She could feel her heart beating in her throat. Here’s hoping I’m not scared of heights! Maybe if I just lay down I can still get out of this, yeah that’s it I’ll just l—“Ahhh!”

Rainbow Dash swooped in with enough momentum to snatch Trixie off the ground and propel the both of them into the air. Her hooves slid under Trixie’s forelegs and connected over her chest, holding on tightly.

Trixie felt the ground vanish below her hooves, all she felt anymore was the cold wind, and the vise-like grip around her that pressed her back into Rainbow’s chest, radiating enough heat to ensure Trixie’s shaking could at least not be from the cold.

“Pretty awesome sight right, Trixie?”

“Y-yeah, you said it, great sights.”

“And you know what would make it even better?”

“Err nice comparative perspective from the ground?”

“No. Opening your eyes!”

With a just quick peek, Trixie already felt her head spin as she saw the tiny sea of lights below her. At first glance it was almost as if she was looking at the stars, but the patterns were all wrong and shaped like streets instead of constellations. She quickly closed her eyes again. “N-no, Trixie is pretty sure this is better.”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash sounded awfully pleased. “You asked for this, you better enjoy it! That was the deal right? You’d only ask for things you would like. So start liking it. Relax, I’ve never dropped anypony, ever.”

“That is a lie and Trixie knows it. You dropped Trixie before!” Still, she carefully opened one eye again. Strangely it seemed to her like the lights had gotten smaller. Trixie dismissed it as her imagination, after all she’d only gotten a minute glance the first time.

It felt weird to see the world from on high. Trixie was not used to anything higher than her own stage, everything was so small. She estimated that, if she fell down now, it would take at least an hour to hit the ground, give or take sixty minutes.

Trixie trembled with fright as she stared down into the sparkly abyss, her breathing quickened. T-terr-terrrible idea! She could tell the lights still kept getting smaller too, a shocking realization set in for Trixie: Rainbow Dash was still flying up higher.

“T-Trixie wants to go down!” She squeaked, failing utterly to keep her voice steady.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Trixie thinks she is so clever, a bit too clever for her own good as usual.
I feel like its much easier to write these scenes at night.
But I am not sure if that is actually related to the scenes, I just like writing at night.

Chapter 54 - Radiant

Trixie would never have guessed that Ponyville could actually scare her more from a distance than it ever did up close. But now that she was flying so high above it, she wished for nothing more than to be down in its streets on her own hooves. Rainbow Dash ignored her pleas to be set down, and there was nothing Trixie could do about it.

“Set Trixie down right now!”

“Are you having fun?”

Rainbow Dash had leveled out her flight path so Trixie saw the ground slowly shift, at first they’d been above Fluttershy’s house but by now they were above the town hall. Trixie could barely make out the town square she’d used for her performance.

“This is not funny! Let Trixie go!”

“Huh, this was fun and all but… you are pretty heavy you know. I’m not sure I can hold you long enough to fly back down.”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “No! Don’t let Trixie go!”

“Relax we don’t have to actually fly you know. We’ll just freefall for a while then I’ll start flying again. Oh before that though, ever wondered what it’s like to do a loop? It’s awesome!”

Trixie could feel Rainbow Dash fly up again, but the angle kept changing as they arched further backwards, starting up the loop. Trixie could not even see the ground anymore, first she was forced to look at the horizon and then to the sky, not that she had spared a single thought to either of those sights. “No no no stop it! Rainbow please! I’m scared!” She lifted up her hooves to cover her eyes.

With the both of them upside down on the highest point of the loop, next came falling back down. Trixie saw Rainbow Dash’s wings strike up beside her, sending the both of them down while she cried out. But instead of the terrifying plummet, they quickly came to a complete stop, and she just heard a soft ‘pompf’ sound.

Shaking, Trixie lifted one hoof from her eye and glanced around. She could see something white all around them. “A… a cloud?” She looked towards Rainbow Dash, who was grinning back at her a far too smug look on her her face.

“Scared huh? Relax we can rest here for a bit then fly back do—Oopfh!”

Trixie elbowed Rainbow Dash in the ribs as hard as she dared. “You jerk! Don’t play with Trixie like that!” She struggled against the previously iron grip, which had loosened a bit after the jab to the ribs.

Rainbow Dash felt the trembling Trixie attempt to roll over and quickly tightened her grip again. “Woah! Hey, stop moving so much! ”

“T-Trixie’s not supposed to stress…” Trixie whimpered. Her struggles simmered down to whimpers, tears coming to her eyes.

Drooping her ears, Rainbow Dash’s face fell. “I-I’m sorry okay? But you were trying to trick me, what did you expect?”

Trixie averted her gaze, quickly bringing up a hoof to clear her eyes as best she could. She just barely managed to look at Rainbow Dash from the corner of her eye. “T-Trixie didn’t even want to fly, she just wanted to hold you, m-maybe earn a real kiss...” The tears came back, and Trixie looked away again. “Trixie should have known…”

Rainbow Dash looked down at Trixie, then gradually loosened her grip on the upset mare’s chest. Letting one hoof shift up to Trixie’s head, She urged Trixie to look at her. Without being given the chance to clean up, Trixie looked like a mess.

“Hey… ” Rainbow Dash spoke softly, then gently kissed her forehead. She showed a smile when she saw the surprised, confused look on Trixie’s face. “I guess this would be much safer, if we both held on, right?” She briefly glanced down then meet Trixie’s gaze again.

Trixie was not quite sure what the kiss had meant, but she knew a hint when she heard one and quickly nodded. “Right!” Without Rainbow Dash holding her down, it was no trouble to twist and roll onto her chest. She gave a slight shiver as her previously warmed back was introduced to the cold air, but Trixie got over it quickly when she felt the warmth spreading through her chest; Trixie was not sure all of it was Rainbow Dash’s body heat either.

Wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow Dash, Trixie rested her muzzle against the mare's neck happily. After holding still for a moment, she gave Rainbow Dash an experimental nuzzle, and was answered with a hoof stroking through her mane.

“Trixie, you like the night right?” Rainbow Dash asked while she used the primary feathers on her right wing to wipe Trixie’s cheeks and eyes clear.

“…Among other things. Was Trixie that obvious? Why?” Trixie held her eyes closed while the soft, cool feathers brushed over her, the feeling was almost magical. It did not take long for Trixie to find herself smiling again while the feathers stroked her. She was sure they had already finished their job, and those last strokes were purely for her benefit.

“Well, I won’t pretend that this was my plan all along, but…” Rainbow Dash withdrew her wings, eliciting a small whine from Trixie. “You know how they say that you should not look down if you are scared of heights? How about you try looking up right now?”

“Who says Trixie is scared of heights? She will personally make them regret it,” Trixie grumbled a little, though she knew there was no real point in attempting to save face at this point, she still tried. Opening her eyes, Trixie looked up at the sky then uttered a gasp. “H-how long has that been there?”

Rainbow Dash smirked lightly, but let none of it sound through in her voice. “How long has what been there?”

“The sky!” Trixie swept her eyes across the vast openness above them, not a single cloud was higher than they were, allowing for an unfettered, perfect view of the moon, the stars, and even a gentle glow far away on the east horizon. “It’s beautiful.”

Trixie had never been so high up in her life. Only a few moments ago she would have thought being this high up one could touch the moon and rearrange the stars, but they did not seem any closer than way down on the ground. The only difference was that they were brighter, clearer. Somehow there were more stars up here, ones Trixie had not seen before, that were slightly fainter than the others.

“It’s been there all night you know.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. Her wings folded around Trixie, shielding her from the cold high altitude air.

Smiling, Trixie felt warmer already when she noticed the feathery appendages make their return. The soft feeling over her coat more than made up from the airheaded comment. “Are you trying to ruin this? It’s not working.”

Rainbow Dash stayed quiet, letting Trixie appreciate the view from their cloud.

As beautiful as the night sky was, it did not take long for Trixie to recognize there was something even more beautiful she could be appreciating in the pale light of the moon. She turned her gaze back to Rainbow Dash, she really was the best thing to look at, if only she was quiet more often. It was a shame she was going to have to ruin their moment, but maybe it could wait just a little longer.

Noticing Trixie staring at her, Rainbow Dash looked down, locking eyes with the mare. “What?”

Trixie just shook her head, and laid back down, nuzzling her muzzle along Rainbow’s neck. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, come on tell me.” Rainbow Dash urged.

Sighing, Trixie relented and spoke softly. “Trixie was just thinking, it’s a shame Fluttershy isn’t here too.” She peeked at Rainbow Dash, catching the surprised look on her face, clearly she had not been expecting that answer.

Rainbow Dash’s face was showing a bit of red even in the pale light. “W-what? Fluttershy?”

Trixie nodded. “Wouldn’t you want her here? Trixie thought you two were really close. She talks about you a lot you know.” She could feel Rainbow Dash tense up below her and smiled, doing her best to sound casual. “About how much she looks up to you, and Trixie thinks she makes some good points too.”

Rainbow Dash swallowed, and lifted her muzzle back up to the moon, avoiding eye contact. “What else did she say?”

Trixie forced a chuckle as she spoke, “well… that she wants to make you proud, but that she was really hurt when you scolded her on the mountain. She’s scared she will disappoint you again if she tells you though.”

“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes were back on Trixie in a split second.

“Trixie understands, you were in a hurry. Fluttershy was slowing everypony down, she was completely useless. It is only natural, she is such a scaredy-pony. From what Trixie heard it was like she was sabotaging you the whole way, she should have just stayed home!” Trixie laughed and shook her head while she poked at Rainbow Dash’s wings. “What kind of pegasus fails to fly? Just that cost you like an hour, taking her up a new path.”

“It’s not really her fault she’s scared of dragons.” Rainbow Dash growled. “If we’d all taken that path in the first place I’m sure she would have done fine!”

“Wasn’t it all her fault you were gone all day? She should have said up front that she was extra scared of dragons, but no, she wasted everyponies time, and only told you at the last second. It would have been one thing if she was scared, but she didn’t improve at all and was scared of absolutely everything. Hay she is a pegasus that was too scared of heights to step over a minor crevice.” Trixie giggled, while she could feel Rainbow Dash’s heartbeat sky rocket in her chest.

“How dare you talk about Fluttershy like that! She was trying! That’s all that matters! It was really brave of Fluttershy to even come along. She would rather try her best to face that mountain than let us down! Sure she faltered at the end but at least she tried! Hay not even that, she came through for us at the very end!” She glared at Trixie.

Trixie’s giggling died out as she looked towards the pair of magnificent, angry eyes, taking just a moment to appreciate them before she forced herself back on target. “If she was all of that, why didn’t you tell her? You were mean to her the whole trip and only changed your tune when she saved you. Trixie is new at this but, is that how you treat a friend?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to scold the next insensitive thing to come out of Trixie, but froze. “But, she, I-I just…just…” She went quiet as she looked at Trixie for a long while, though Trixie could tell it was not really her that Rainbow Dash was focused on.

“…I am a terrible friend,” Rainbow Dash finally said.

“Is that how it works? If you make a mistake you are a terrible friend? Then what does that make Trixie?” She nuzzled Rainbow Dash. “You know Fluttershy will give you another chance no matter what, but you should still apologize.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “You’re right! The second she wakes up!” She looked towards the moon. “Which I guess is in like six hours, aw come on!”

Trixie giggled and shook her head. “Well good, Trixie didn’t think you were really that callous, just that clueless.” She stuck out her tongue.

“Heh, that reminds me. You tricked me again didn’t you? You know what that means right?”

Trixie’s ears folded flat. “A-another crazy flight?”

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash grinned at Trixie. However, when Trixie reluctantly tried to roll onto her back again so Rainbow Dash could get a good grip again, she stopped her with a tight hug, pressing their chests closely together. “Hey… I think flying this way will be safer, you?”

Trixie blinked confused a moment, but then perked up immediately. “Right!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 55 - Regale

Once again, Trixie found herself far higher above the ground than any unicorn had any right or sense to be. Plummeting through the air straight down at what to her were dazzling speeds, she should have been terrified. In truth, she absolutely was, but she had promised to place her trust in the crazy daredevil that she held onto with all her might.

“Okay here we go! Get ready!” Rainbow Dash called out, then spread her wings fully, pulling up out of the dive and spinning into a loop, then another. She held on tightly to Trixie, who screamed out as they were half way through the first loop in terror, but by the time they were half way through the second loop the screams had turned to fearful excitement. Rainbow Dash stabilized into a straight path with the cheering Trixie below her.

“That was great! Trixie has never been so sick, or dizzy, or thrilled!” She laughed manically and tried her best to keep the world from spinning around her, and keep her breakfast down. Unlike Rainbow Dash, Trixie was completely untrained to handle the effects of the stunts, but that hardly mattered if she was not the one doing them. If anything, it just made it more fun. Though Trixie supposed that this could not technically be called resting, it was not like she was the one moving and she was at no risk of hitting her head on anything except Rainbow Dash, and she was already pressed up against her.

“Nah, that was nothing, these are just simple tricks, since I’m carrying you. But hey, I guess there isn’t a stunt in the world that I cannot make awesome just by doing it!” Rainbow Dash grinned, Trixie could literally feel that warm chest puffing up in pride.

Trixie’s heart rate was still skyrocketing. She could feel it pulse in her head, but it wasn’t bad enough for her to want to ruin their moment. However, sounds of voices and slamming doors below them drew Trixie’s attention. She could see lights coming on in some of the houses in the streets below and ponies wander into the street. “What’s wrong with ponies in this town, who gets up in the middle of the night? Do they always do that?”

“Nah, only on special occasions.” Rainbow Dash started a slow spiraling descend.

“Oh, what is the occasion?” Trixie had not heard of any particular events that were planned for Ponyville this week, then again she also did not exactly get out much lately. She leaned away from Rainbow Dash just a bit, trying to get a better look at what was going on. Strangely, she found the some ponies were looking up rather than doing anything useful.

“It’s the night of the screeching mare. She flies over Ponyville and her cries wakeup the townsfolk. It’s a new legend.”

Trixie’s blushed scarlet and her eyes widened as realization began to set in, she glared at Rainbow Dash. “H-how new exactly?”

“About two minutes.” Rainbow Dash grinned at Trixie and motioned down at the gathering ponies. “Want to go say hi?”

Tightening her grip around Rainbow Dash, Trixie quickly shook her head. “No! Oh look at the time. Trixie sure is tired. Let’s go home, right now.” The last thing she wanted was to have yet another crime to account for, she was pretty sure that disturbing the peace had to qualify. She tried to hide her face in the prismatic mane.

Trixie could feel the wind rush through her fur with decreasing speed while they flew back home. She could hear Rainbow Dash was gradually breathing heavier. A quick glance down confirmed they were out of Ponyville already. “Rainbow Dash, Trixie has decided she wants to stretch her legs. Put her down.”

Almost as soon as Trixie had said it, they swooped down to the ground, landing in the grass next to the path. “ah, yeah, ah, good idea.” Rainbow Dash panted and looked down at Trixie puzzled. “Well start walking then.”

Right below Rainbow Dash, Trixie rested with her back upon the grass. Her forelegs still hooked around the exhausted pegasus. Laying her head back against the ground while she looked up at Rainbow Dash; she looked wonderful, silhouetted against the stars. “Trixie can’t.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Why not? You did ask me to put you down right?”

“Trixie did, but you didn’t let go.” She smiled up at Rainbow Dash, who still had her forehooves around Trixie as well. “Not that Trixie is complaining. Staying here for a while is fine too, we have time.”

To Trixie’s disappointment however, Rainbow Dash quickly pulled away. Within seconds she felt the cold night air chill her fur again, she had not quite realized how cold it was at this hour when Rainbow Dash had been heating her up the whole time, but she certainly did now.

Rainbow Dash dusted off her hooves awkwardly. “Y-yeah, just testing. You know, those tests Fluttershy tried before, my job now. Right?”

Getting back onto her hooves, Trixie just grinned. “Oh, yes. Let Trixie know if there are anymore ‘tests’ to do later.” With that, she walked towards the road, swishing her tail at Rainbow Dash in passing.

All in all Trixie was incredibly pleased with how her night had gone, but as she walked she quickly rediscovered just how sore she was. Wincing, she looked back over her shoulder, but found Rainbow Dash was not in all that much better of a shape than she was in. Flying with a passenger must be hard. “Are you okay?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rainbow Dash grinned. “Of course I’m okay, I’m awesome.” she retorted, then regained some of the swagger in her step as she seemed to remind herself of that fact as well. “So there was this thing I’ve been wondering a while, you actually had a friend before right? Called Flitter? Fluttershy told me about her. They sound pretty similar?”

“They are Trixie supposes… A lot more than Trixie initially realized actually. Now that Fluttershy has shown she can be assertive as well. Speaking of which, why were you not angry when Fluttershy scolded you?” Trixie slowed her pace for a few seconds, bringing her next to Rainbow Dash.

“Why would I be? It was awesome. Sure it hurts a little bit, but she meant well. Sometimes I get a little carried away, and I’m glad I have friends I can count on to tell me that. Like you. I mean what else is she going to do? Concoct some insane masquerade scheme to make me see the error of my ways instead of just telling me?” Rainbow Dash laughed and shook her head.

Trixie laughed with Rainbow Dash. “Well maybe not! It’s just Trixie thought friends were supposed to get along perfectly.”

“No it’s not like that. Having a little fight does not mean you can’t be friends anymore. Like, take me and Applejack? We’re cool no matter how much we fight, and we kind of do that a lot. And really, how boring would that be?” Rainbow Dash’s wings flared out as she spoke, giving a few practice strokes.

“Trixie had not thought of it that way before. It’s not bad if you can resolve it like you and Applejack, just ‘bam’ and your friends again.” Trixie idly kicked a loose stone of the path, watching it bounce through the grass.

“Yeah. Though me and Fluttershy haven’t really had a fight since flight school, and even that would be pushing it. She is just so insecure, she wanted to drop out and just live on the ground. I guess you could say we compromised on that, heh.” Rainbow Dash looked up at the moon, then gave an aggravated sigh at the slow passage of time. “Sooo… Magic school huh? What’s that like?”

Trixie gave Rainbow Dash an incredulous look. “You are asking about school? That’s it, Trixie knew this night was going too well, but you’ve really messed up this time, changeling!”

“Oh haha real funny, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “If you don’t want to talk about it just say so. You probably got kicked out didn’t you, I mean you run a magic show.”

Trixie glared at Rainbow Dash. “You fool! Fine, Trixie will tell you just how wrong you are. For starters, would you run a flying show if you dropped out of flight school? No? Trixie did not think so.” She caught Rainbow Dash snickering, but choose to ignore it.

Though it was clear to Trixie now that Rainbow Dash had succeeded in riling her up, she knew just how to get back at the mare, adopting a lecturing voice. “Magic school serves two purposes. The first, is for young unicorns to learn basic magic that they will use the rest of their lives. The second, it is a place where particularly talented unicorns are scouted, and given recommendation for higher level magic education. Though technically the school is not required, and homeschooling young unicorns until they are ready to take an exam to get into a university is also acceptable. However, this has been speculated to have a negative impact upon their social skills and may cause them to end up as bookwo—“

“Stop! Please stop! I’m sorry okay!” Rainbow Dash cried out comedically, walking on two legs with the help of her wings, so that she could press her hooves against her ears. “Any more and I’ll die of boredom! And that is like the least cool way to die, second only to dying in your sleep! Huh, actually that might be the same thing.”

Trixie grinned. “Fine, Trixie will have mercy. But, for your information, Trixie was so talented that she got special private lessons, and graduated before anypony else in her class. She was well respected, eventually.” She added the last bit with a little involuntary grumble in her voice.

Rainbow Dash waved her hooves apologetically. “Alright, alright I believe you. It’s just that it seemed weird to me that you would be doing a traveling show. I always hear Twilight talk about how talented unicorns go on to do, well more magic stuff. Didn’t you?”

“Oh, Trixie understands your objection. Yes Trixie did not simply graduate then start doing a magic show. She did some ‘magic stuff’ jobs and studies first for several years, but ultimately Trixie realized she enjoyed the stage far more. Trixie does still do some studies in magic, but only from books in… her… wagon…” Trixie trailed off and her face turned pale, she froze in the middle of the road. “My book! Rainbow Dash, what happened to Trixie’s books? Did the Ursa destroy them?”

It took Rainbow Dash a couple of steps before she realized Trixie was missing, then turned around when she heard her cry out. “Huh? Uhm, I dunno. Fluttershy only sent me out to ask for your clothes. I guess if they survived then Twilight would have them down at the town library. That egghead just loves collecting all kinds of books, always reading too. Heh I bet she felt like it was her birthday if you had any books she had not read yet. By now she has probably read them all eight times though, and I’m sure she will give them back if you want them.”

Okay, don’t panic. Don’t panic! That Ursa was pretty heavy, Trixie’s wagon was a complete mess, but it might have... Well played Celestia. Trixie took deep breaths and did her best not to freak out any further. There’s nothing Trixie can do about it now. Worrying herself sick about it is just what Celestia wants, but ma—

“Trixie? You okay there? You don’t look so good. Want me to carry you the rest of the way? I guess we might have overdone it a little.” Rainbow Dash sounded worried, walking closer and setting a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder.

Blinking, Trixie was pulled back to reality. “Huh? Oh, no no. Trixie is fine. Just a little tired so she zoned out.” She struck up a quick trot towards the inviting cottage that loomed up over the hill, or on it really. “Don’t worry about the books either, they are just for eggheads. The Great and Powerful Trixie was well beyond needing them, she does not even care if they are destroyed or whole.”

“Uh yeah okay if you say so I guess.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and galloped to catch up to Trixie before she settled into a trot as well.

As they passed tiny bridge that stretched over the creek in front of Fluttershy’s house, Trixie stepped off the road and sat down in the grass next to an upside down bowl that held down some hay. “Hah Trixie knew this was a good idea.” She pushed the bowl aside and started on the rest of her meal.

“Hey I’ve been doing all the work, share some of that.” Rainbow Dash sat down besides Trixie.

Trixie smirked and pushed one of the untouched bruised apples over to Rainbow Dash. “Here you go.”

Rainbow Dash took a bite of the apple without hesitation, then sniggered when she saw the look on Trixie’s face. “They aren’t for sale, that doesn’t mean they aren’t for eating. It’s only because AJ cant afford to waste so much time haggling with ponies that try to get a better deal on a bruised apple, it’s cheaper to just give these away free to Fluttershy.” She took another bite, apparently really enjoying the taste.

Trixie blinked slowly, and realized she had not quite thought of that. “Oh, ugh, Trixie knew that. Oh speaking of Fluttershy. Trixie heard you two always have a date on Hearts and Hooves Day, how cute.”

Rainbow Dash nearly choked on her apple, coughing up some snippets and swallowing the rest. “W-who said that? We just hang out, that’s all. It’s not cool to be alone when everypony else is pairing up you know.”

“Oh Trixie can rela—aaay your opinions to other single ponies with a story someday. Yes that’s it. Though it surprises Trixie you had nopony try to ask either of you, though Trixie supposes Fluttershy might be hiding too much for that, but you had nopony ever ask you?” Trixie chewed her hay contemplatively while she watched Rainbow Dash, she was pretty sure the pegasus’s face was supposed to be cyan, but it sure wasn’t right now.

Rainbow Dash struck her chest with her hoof a few times to clear up the remains of the apple while she cleared her throat. “No, nopony ever tried. I was way too, err, awesome and ponies don’t like to get close cause, uh, I overshadow them so much you know?”

Trixie swallowed the last of her hay and raised a brow. “Right… And you never decided to go after somepony yourself either?”

“Well wouldn’t be fair on them would it?” Rainbow Dash grinned cheesily, then quickly bit into the apple again.

“No, Trixie supposes it would not be.” She reached for the last apple, taking a bite, it really did taste perfectly fine. Trixie couldn’t help but grin as she now knew all those apples were indeed good to eat. Glorious solid food.

Between the two of them, the meal was quickly devoured and after a few long discussions involving the Wonderbolts, various methods of flying through firework explosions, and what kind of legend the screeching mare would turn out to be, they decided it was late enough. Much to Trixie’s displeasure it was once again her body and mind that gave out first, and after nearly dozing off she felt Rainbow Dash slip her hooves around her again, holding her tightly then in a couple of powerful strokes they were through the bedroom window.

Rainbow Dash unceremoniously dropped Trixie on the bed. “Well, good night.” Without really waiting for a response she turned around and headed for the window, spreading out her wings again.

Reaching out towards Rainbow Dash, Trixie called after her, “wait! Uhm, it’s pretty late, so Fluttershy will be awake soon. Trixie thinks it would be a good idea to just stay here so you can talk to her. ‘First thing in the morning’ right?”

Rainbow Dash was already halfway through the window, but sat down on the frame while she considered the idea. “Huh, well I guess that’s true. I suppose it’s not really worth the effort to fly all the way back home if I have to come back here in a little while anyway.”

Trixie smiled confidently, trying to ignore the nights chill that came back. “That’s right, and as long as you are here. Trixie has a request.”

“This is gonna be another one of your ‘caretaker requests’ isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash groaned, placing one hoof on her forehead. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

“Well no, you are free to leave and find your own cloud to sleep on if that is what you are worried about.” Trixie made a dismissive gesture. She gave up on trying to beat the cold by force of will, and crawled under the blanket. “It is just, Trixie has a hard time getting proper rest, because she has nightmares a lot. Except twice, and both times seem to have been when you were near, so Trixie figures you must function as some kind of dream catcher.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head puzzled. “Uh, okay. So?”

Trixie blushed and grumbled annoyed that Rainbow Dash was being so slow, in fact she was pretty sure it was on purpose. “So, won’t you consider staying with Trixie tonight? To see if her theory is correct? J-just until Trixie falls asleep would do too.”

“Mhm, let me think about it.” Hopping off the window frame, Rainbow Dash ducked down to grab a piece of cloth from the floor, then flew up to hang it over the window. Afterwards, she flew over to the side of the bed and looked down at Trixie, who stared back up unsure of what to do next.

Is she buying it? Worse, is she on to Trixie? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, maybe Trixie is pushing her luck…

“Trixie, do I really look that stupid to you? I thought you’d have figured this out by now, I don’t like you tricking me.” Rainbow Dash glared down at Trixie.

Trixie visibly shrunk, slipping the covers up further to try and hide in reflex, even if she liked the angry look on Rainbow Dash, right now it still made her heart race for both reasons. “N-no, I didn’t mean too.”

Rainbow Dash folded her hooves over her chest while she stood by the bedside. “What do you want? Be honest.”

Trixie pressed her hooves together, fidgeting idly with them while she glanced to the door, the window, then the chest by the edge of the bed. None of them seemed particularly good methods of escape, with a resigned sigh she brought her eyes back up to meet Rainbow Dash’s. “…Trixie wants you to sleep with her.”

“Well, then scoot over.” She motioned for Trixie to shoo, which Trixie quickly followed up on. In one fluid motion, Rainbow Dash hopped onto the bed, and rolled onto her back, folding her hooves below her head as she took up the right side of the pillow. The night air did not seem to bother her at all as she stayed above the covers. She turned to look at Trixie and gave a smile. “Not that hard, was it?”

Thank you Luna!

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

This was supposed to be just a fairly short chapter, but leave it to RD and Trixie to thwart my plans.
At least I was having as much fun chronicling their exploits as they were in having them. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 57 - Remit

With a long stretching yawn, Rainbow Dash woke up, and discovered her back and the base of her wings felt terrible. She groaned as she rolled onto her side, taking her weight off her wings. Ugh, fantastic. You were supposed to stay for a little while, not actually fall asleep, genius.

A soft grumble sounded from beside Rainbow Dash when she moved.

Keeping her eyes closed, not yet ready to wake up, Rainbow Dash tried to fall back asleep. It was not as if there was any point in getting up now, or at least that was her excuse beyond simply not feeling like it. With the most pressing sensation taken care of however, she took notice of another. Unlike most of her body, which was exposed to the cool air, her chest and neck felt surprisingly warm and restricted. It felt comfortable enough for Rainbow Dash to ignore it for the time being.

It must have been morning, as the birds outside were already chirping and singing merrily. While Rainbow Dash did her best to tune out the noise, a series of wooden creaks drew her attention, soon followed by hoofsteps coming into the room.

The sound suddenly came to a complete stop, allowing for Rainbow Dash to try drifting off again.

“O-oh, my,” Fluttershy stuttered.

Rainbow Dash lazily opened up one eye half way, looking up at Fluttershy as she stood in the doorway. She gave a smile to her friend and raised up one wing to wave at her. Yawning as she spoke, “Morning Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy stood still with one hoof over her mouth, which puzzled Rainbow Dash greatly. She followed Fluttershy’s gaze back to the bed and blinked. Trixie had wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow’s chest and snuggled up against her in her sleep. The undisturbable unicorn’s lips were curled up in a blissful smile.

Even if they were both on opposite sides of the blanket, Rainbow Dash’s cheeks burned while she looked back at Fluttershy and quickly shook her head. “T-this is not what it looks like,” she hissed urgently.

“Y-you shouldn’t sleep in somepony else’s bed without permission.” Fluttershy turned without another word, then trotted back out the bedroom.

Rainbow Dash could swear she saw something glisten under her eyes, and struggled to untangle herself from Trixie. Once free she spread her wings and flew after Fluttershy quickly, catching up to her downstairs.

Fluttershy had her back turned to Rainbow Dash, and kept it that way while she walked to the fireplace. She prodded at the long dead charcoal, and only succeeded in kicking up a cloud of ashes. Fluttershy winced, then she turned back around and rubbed her eyes clean, leaving some black traces on her muzzle and slightly teary eyes. “O-oh, hey, Rainbow. I-I just thought I should get breakfast ready for you.”

Did she get ashes in her eyes, Or? Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Never mind, never mind just uh…h-hold on a second. Uhm, sorry for falling asleep in your bed, but I can explain. I didn’t just fall asleep on the job I swear. Trixie woke up and asked me to stay with her, for nightmares.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Trixie woke up? She asked you to uh… O-okay. Th-that’s great news.” She smiled warmly at Rainbow Dash, but to Rainbow Dash’s disappointment the expression soon changed to one of worry. “Oh no, she must have been so hungry then, did you find everything okay? Do I need to make more? Ah breakfast!” Fluttershy rambled.

“Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash tried.

“I need to make for three now, I better set another plate too! And and—“

“Fluttershy! Hey, relax. I got this. Trixie ate plenty, and I took her outside for a while until she was tired out, so she probably won’t wake up for a while anyway. That was one of her requests by the way, not my idea so don’t blame me.” She grinned at Fluttershy.

Breathing a sigh of relief with the rapid explanation, Fluttershy’s expression soon changed from worry to back to a smile. “Oh, good.”

Rainbow Dash looked Fluttershy over, and reached up one wing to brush the ashes out of Fluttershy’s fur, clearing her adorable face of the minor blemish. “That’s better. Oh, that’s right. I have something important I need to talk to you about.”

Fluttershy cooed softly as the wing brushed over her cheek, then blushed furiously. “O-oh? Uhm, what is it?” She gasped as Rainbow Dash stepped in closer to her quickly, and slid both hooves around her neck, pulling into a tight hug. “R-Rainbow Dash?”

“I’m sorry! I was so lame while you were doing your best to be brave the whole time! I-I never should have said those awful things, you’re cool, and brave, and, and. I’m proud of you for everything, not just the dragon, though that was totally awesome.”

Throwing her hooves around Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy returned the hug, pulling close as she shook. Rainbow Dash could only see Fluttershy’s wings tremble on her back while she held her. “Oh, Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy barely choked out.

They held their embrace for several minutes. For once, Rainbow Dash did not pull away and reveled in the soft feeling of Fluttershy’s embrace. She stroked over Fluttershy’s back comfortingly with one hoof, and nuzzled against her mane. “I’m sorry…” She repeated again.

“I-it’s okay, I forgive you. I just…. I really wanted to hear you say that.” Fluttershy hugged a little tighter. For such a gentle creature, Rainbow Dash was sure Fluttershy could strangle bears if she truly felt like it.

Holding one another for longer than either of them kept track of, it was only when a sudden noise came from upstairs that they let go of one another and backed up enough each give a puzzled look at the other, then turned their attention to the stairs.

Trixie stirred and mumbled softly, her eyes opened halfway. Mercifully, the darkened room was easy on her eyes. She licked her dry lips groggily while she looked beside her. To her surprise, that half of the bed was empty, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.

In an instant, Trixie sat upright in the bed and scanned the room. A-a dream? … Aw. Of course it was... Sighing, she let herself fall back down, turning onto her flank to claim the empty half of the bed back. After all it seemed silly to reserve it now.

Burrowing her head in the pillow, Trixie sighed and took a deep breath to calm down. A familiar scent found its way to her nose, it relaxed her. Mhm, fresh rain… Wait, it’s not raining. Trixie blinked puzzled and a brief investigation revealed it was the pillow.

Trixie let out a delighted cheer and pulled the pillow into a tight hug. The strong rain scent on it proof that she had not been dreaming after all; everything that happened with Rainbow Dash had been real, making Trixie giddy with happiness as a warm feeling spread through her chest.

It is true! T-Trixie really did, did, all that Her cheeks burned hot while she tried to hide herself in the pillow, but that only made her more excited. She replayed the memories of the previous evening back in her mind. Even if Rainbow Dash was a total talentless jerk, she somehow managed to make up for it, and then some.

Finally, Trixie forced herself to her hooves. She felt so refreshed, like she had not slept so well in months. She did not need a mirror to tell she was glowing, as she knew exactly why her night had been so good.

I wonder where she went? It’s not that late is it? Maybe she’s helping Fluttershy with the chores. The trip from the bed to the stairs was a short one, though to Trixie’s annoyance she could already tell it wore on her. At least she could take solace in the idea that Fluttershy’s cottage was much smaller than even the hospital wing.

Leaning against the wall to conserve her strength, Trixie made her way down the stairs, allowing herself a long yawn while she looked towards the fireplace. A smile on her face as she recognized Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash where both there, then nearly lost her footing in surprise as she realized what they were doing and slipped two steps before she recovered.

Trixie tried to scramble backwards up to the room, intending to give the pair some privacy, but it was too late. Both of them were staring directly at her, and the best Trixie could manage was an awkward little grin while she waved one hoof. “Uh… Good morning?”

Trixie laid her ears flat, she could see how uncomfortable they both were. Holding one another, each with tears in their eyes. Trixie assumed it must have been Rainbow Dash making good on her conviction to apologize to Fluttershy at the crack of dawn.

“T-Trixie is sorry, she will uh, just go back to bed. Probably still dreaming, hehe, yeah.” She shuffled about unsteadily on the stairs, trying to turn around.

Rainbow Dash spoke up first, extending a hoof up to Trixie to beckon her closer, keeping the other around Fluttershy. “Trixie, wait. Come down here.” She turned her attention back to Fluttershy while Trixie resumed her climb down stairs, unsure what she was needed for. “Fluttershy, I… I didn’t figure this out on my own. Trixie helped me realize.” There was a hurt tone in Rainbow Dash’s voice as she admitted to it.

Nodding lightly, Fluttershy smiled at Trixie while they exchanged a knowing look. “Trixie, thank you so much.” Moisture beaded in her eyes as she spoke.

As much as Trixie had hated to see Fluttershy cry the day before, these were altogether different in kind, and she could not help but smile satisfied. “What are friends for?” She paused before the pair, and looked towards Rainbow Dash questioningly.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You’ve been playing dumb haven’t you? You’ve got a pretty good handle on this whole friend thing already.”

Trixie shrugged and gave a sly grin. “Trixie had a lousy teacher, so she had to pick up some self-study along the way. On the other hoof, the flight lessons were pretty good.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look, which Rainbow Dash defused with a cheesy grin and an awkward laugh. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Trixie. Now how about you shut up before I change my mind. This is only fair after all…”

“What do you me—Woah!”

Without waiting for a reply, Rainbow Dash reached forward a hoof and pulled Trixie into the embrace as well. Fluttershy quickly caught on and slipped one hoof around Trixie as well, going along with the impromptu group hug and smiled at the pair.

Trixie’s body moved almost entirely on its own as she was pulled in, her hooves slipping around the pair of pegasi before she even realized what she was doing. A tingling warmth unlike anything before spread through her whole body as she was allowed to share in the moment, then she hugged both of them as closely as she could. Tears finally came to her eyes as well.

“T-thank you both. This is wonderful!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

The things you learn while trying to title a chapter.
Today's word "Remit" means to forgive. (Among other things, which are not relevant here.)
Trixie gets included in a moment she helped create. Dawww.
If RD had still been beside Trixie when she woke up this might be her best morning ever, actually it might still be.

Chapter 58 - Rainstorm

Gray clouds hung over all of Ponyville, the pegasi were hard at work completely blotting out the sky. The occasional strong gust of wind that bellowed through the streets gave small previews of what was to come later that day.

“Trixie does not understand,” Trixie said to Fluttershy while they trotted along the trees closest to Fluttershy’s home, seeking out loose or weak branches. “Nopony will be out during the storm, so why pull down the branches?”

“Uhm, because they might fall on somepony if we don’t.” Fluttershy answered, her gaze alternating between Trixie and the trees.

For a whole week Trixie had been confined to her bed again, a safety precaution after Trixie foolishly admitted she got tired quickly. Trixie had not been allowed to help out at all, instead Rainbow Dash would come around to help Fluttershy take care of the chores more quickly. With the chores taken care of, the three of them would spend the day together in various ways.

Sometimes it involved argueing with Rainbow Dash, or watching her practice, show off, and brag. Other times Fluttershy would arrange for something peaceful, like a minor excursion into the edge of the forest to see brand new animal parents and their offspring. Fluttershy checked on them to see if everything was alright apparently, and made small talk with the animals.

Those had been some of Trixie’s favorite trips, once she had been reassured it was just a regular forest, though it was adjacent to the Everfree Forest. The first time they had visited a family of bunnies, the second time badgers, the third time deer. The little creatures were just so endearing that it was easy to see why Fluttershy was so fond of her job, after a gentle introduction Rainbow Dash and Trixie had been brought in to see the animals up close.

Though Trixie had a lot of fun during those trips, she was a bit nervous about the next trip. Rainbow Dash’s complaints about boring animals had been met by Fluttershy with the promise of seeing wolves the next time.

“But nopony will be out here! The branches are going to fall anyway. This is useless work.” Trixie groaned while she rolled her eyes.

It was so annoying. Trixie had not been allowed to help with anything until the weekend, and when it finally arrived the main chore on the agenda was some completely pointless busywork. Somehow the whole town was in on the joke and Trixie just did not get it.

Fluttershy came to a stop, then looked back at Trixie. “Oh, if you want, you can go back inside, Trixie. It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Trixie shook her head. “No, Trixie will help you. It is just she thinks you are better helped by realizing you don’t have to do any of this.”

“Because everypony would be inside?”

“Right!”

“What if somepony is not inside? Maybe there could be an emergency, or a traveler?” Fluttershy continued along the trees, then pointed up at a cracked branch. “Ah, over there.” She spread her wings and flew up to tie a rope around the branch.

While Fluttershy was occupied, Trixie stared up at the ever-dimming sky. She knew that somewhere up there Rainbow Dash was hard at work as well. She had often joked that Rainbow Dash had no real job, but seeing so many pegasi fly to-and-fro, arranging the massive storm, was impressive. Trixie could not make out who was who, but she thought she caught the occasional rainbow-colored glimpse.

“Well, Trixie supposes that in that rare case, maybe it is not a bad idea.” She begrudgingly admitted, then grabbed hold of the rope that dangled from the tree branch. It did not take much effort to pull the loose branch down, just the weight or the rope itself nearly did the job for Trixie.

To the sound of dry snapping and rustling leafs, the branch tumbled down.

Fluttershy untied the rope, then led the way to the next tree. “Oh, that’s right. Trixie, Rainbow Dash will be staying with us tonight.”

Trixie’s ears perked up. “She will? Why is that, is she so tired out from doing actual work, that she doesn’t want to cook?” She laughed, but caught sight of Fluttershy giving her a hurt look that quickly made her change her tune. “Uh, Trixie means, why is she staying?”

“She said the storm was going to be pretty bad, and that her cloud home was not made to withstand heavy winds.” Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. “I think she forgets sometimes that I helped her study for her weather exams. Rainbow’s home is fine, and she knows it. She’s just worried about us.”

“Oh, maybe she’s making up for lost boasting time.” Trixie had not actually seen Rainbow Dash yet today. Usually she showed up fairly quickly, but with the preparation for the storm she’d been too busy to visit. Though Trixie would not say it, she missed the annoying, cute pegasus already.

Fluttershy giggled. “Well hopefully you will be a good influence on her, Trixie.” She spread her wings and flew up to another tree branch with the rope, repeating the process.

Trixie raised a brow, staring at Fluttershy for a moment, who just smiled back innocently. “Subtle, okay here goes.” It took a bit more effort, but another branch gave way under Trixie’s might.

“Very good, Trixie. Are you feeling tired at all?”

“No, not tired, but Trixie is growing bored of this task.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We can stop here I think, would you like to go back home?”

Trixie nodded. It was only a short trip back to Fluttershy’s cottage, and they even had the good fortune to have the wind at their backs on the return trip. Above them, the skies rumbled while the last few clouds were placed.

Almost seconds after entering the house, the rain began. Gently at first, but soon it came down hard. The first cracks of thunder followed soon after.

Fluttershy stocked the fireplace up to a nice roaring flame while Trixie carried over the kettle.

“Oh, thank you, Trixie.” Fluttershy placed the kettle over the fire and fanned the flames with her wings.

Trixie looked out the window. It was so dark outside she could have easily mistaken the day for the night. A lightning strike streaked across the sky. She trotted up closer to the window, scanning the air for any sign of Rainbow Dash. Even from inside, the windswept heavy rain and darkness made it hard to see anything. She did not like the idea of Rainbow Dash flying through all that in the slightest.

“She should be done right? Where the hay is she? Trixie is bored of waiting.”

A warm feeling spread over Trixie’s back, Fluttershy’s wing rested on top of her. She too stared out the window. “I know, Trixie… I’m bored too.”

The fire crackled behind them as they watched the storm rage outside. The lightning strikes got more frequent and Trixie felt as though the cold was trying to come through the glass. She leaned against Fluttershy, her warmth was comforting.

“Trixie will never let Rainbow Dash live this down. The ‘fastest flier in Equestria’, late.”

“S-she never was particularly punctual. If anything, I’ll bet she just stayed behind to do some extra work and left late. She was diligent like that for big storms in Cloudsdale too. This is the first one for Ponyville I can remember, so maybe she’s the only one with experience.”

“Yes, surely that is why she is late. She has no sense of planning, if she was in charge it’s no wonder the work ran late.” Trixie squinted at what looked like a vague dot in the sky, but it was gone as soon as she tried to get a better look. “So, she worked on the weather in Cloudsdale then, did you too?”

“Oh, no. I was studying for, well this.” She motioned around. “Rainbow Dash already had a part time job managing weather before she graduated, so it was a quick transition for her. I know she’s flown through worse than this, it won’t even slow her down.” Fluttershy sounded a bit stronger than usual.

Trixie briefly followed the gesture before she looked outside again. “Trixie is curious. If she worked for the Cloudsdale weather team, why is she here now? Did something happen?”

Flutterly spared a sideways glance at Trixie, then pulled her a little closer under her wing. “Nothing happened, Rainbow Dash always did great there. I’m sure she’d be captain of the weather team there if she didn’t give it up… I cost her that job.”

“You? But… how?” Trixie could not believe it.

Fluttershy swallowed uncomfortably. “W-well… I’m not a very good flier. This one time I actually fell off Cloudsdale, and I couldn’t even recover in time before I got to the ground.”

Trixie gasped in horror, her attention firmly on Fluttershy from that moment.

“O-oh, I’m sorry! I was caught, don’t worry! Nothing bad happened. A lot of good things happened actually, but my point is I was really bad.” She smiled weakly at Trixie then looked back out the window. “Rainbow Dash, she helped me, but I was still terrible. After I fell to the earth I discovered I really liked it, and wanted to just live down there. Earthponies and unicorns didn’t have wings, so I knew I’d never need to fly again. I wanted to quit flight school, I didn’t think I would ever graduate anyway, but she wouldn’t let me.”

“She wouldn’t let you do what you wanted?” Trixie stared at Fluttershy confused. Another strike of lightning made her wonder if the clouds were fighting some kind of war. Trixie blinked. “Wait. Fighting… You and Rainbow fought over that didn’t you? She said you two compromised.”

Fluttershy looked surprised. “She told you? Uhm, uh, yes. We did fight over it. Rainbow Dash refused to let me give up, and she offered a deal: If I really wanted to live down there, she’d come with me, but only if I could graduate flight school, otherwise she would not even visit me if I moved.”

“Trixie is pretty sure that is not called a deal, but an ultimatum.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Fluttershy just smiled. “If you say so, Trixie. I didn’t think it was fair of her to ask the impossible. It felt like a cheap trick to keep me from moving, but I didn’t want to lose her, even if we had a fight. So I ended up deciding to stay in flight school for a while. What she didn’t tell me at the time was that she would do everything she could to help me. When I showed up to school the next day, I saw Rainbow Dash before she saw me, and she looked so miserable and nervous. Once she saw I came, she was so excited! She supported me at every opportunity, gave me flight tips, pushed me harder, trained with me, and encouraged me.”

Trixie smiled as she listened to the story. “So you passed the exam, didn’t you? Flying colors?”

Fluttershy giggled softly and shook her head. ”Maybe not flying colors… but I did pass it. It took a while, but when I finally moved to Ponyville, no matter how often I told her she didn’t have to, Rainbow Dash came with me. She asked for a transfer to the Ponyville weather team, even though they don’t even have a quarter of her usual work load. She said it was perfect because it gave her more time to practice flying.”

“She really came? Just like that?” Trixie tore her gaze away from Fluttershy, then tried to make out the shapes in the dark sky again. No wonder she never has any work to do, she only took this job to keep her promise…

Nodding, Fluttershy looked out the window as well, a happy smile on her face as she reminisced. “Nothing could convince her otherwise. Rainbow Dash just said she’d stay true to her word no matter what. She’s just that kind of pony, loyal to a fault. Even though I know she gave up her job… I am really glad that she’s here. I-I don’t know what I would do without her by my side.”

It was so dark outside now that the majority of the window was taken up by the reflection of Trixie and Fluttershy, anything going on outside was only visible during the brief flashes of lightning.

Trixie stared at the reflection of Fluttershy while she told the story, all of her anxiety had cleared up. Although it was unclear to Trixie what exactly had possessed Rainbow Dash to go that far. Was it really that important to her that Fluttershy would learn how to fly properly? They both seem very happy with the final outcome.

A content look played on Fluttershy’s face. “At the time, I was really upset with her, but now I’m grateful. Even if I’m still a weak flier, I can actually fly now and it has allowed me to do so many more things even here on the ground. Me and Rainbow Dash can go on actual flights. And it even helped me save a good friend of mine once. I learned to fly, and that I can always count on her.”

“Heh, well. There’s nothing to be ‘bored’ about then is there? If Rainbow Dash said she’d be here, she’ll be here.” Trixie turned her back on the window. “It’s drafty over there, come on lets have something nice and hot ready for her when she gets here.”

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at Trixie, giving a nod in response. “You’re right. Oh, how about you go up to the bedroom? The chest at the hoof end of the bed has an extra blanket, could you bring that down?” Fluttershy turned her attention on the boiling kettle, pulling it out of the fire.

Between the two of them, preparations were soon complete. The couch had been pulled up closer to the fireplace, and a small table in front held three steaming mugs of hot chocolate. A blanket and two towels were thrown over the arm rest, and two drowsy ponies sat side by side upon the couch, waiting patiently.

With another roar of thunder, the door of the cottage swung open, revealing a completely drenched and shivering pile of feathers and fur that must have once been a pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A muffin goes to whoever can identify which episode the storm is from.

Chapter 59 - Rigid

The wind howled through the small cottage, bringing with it the rain and rumbling from outside until Rainbow Dash kicked the door shut. She was completely drenched and dripping cold water on the wooden floorboards.

Looking over the shivering mare, Trixie put on a smirk. “You’re late. So much for being the fastest.”

“E-excuse me!? I’d like to see you fly through that!” Rainbow Dash grumbled, and made her way towards the fireplace.

Fluttershy gently nudged Trixie in the ribs, then slipped off the couch, snagging one of the towels. “I’m so glad you made it Rainbow. The weather is just awful. Are you okay?”

With a jolt, Trixie pulled away from Fluttershy’s hoof, more so because it was ticklish than painful. “Ow, no fair, Trixie is right.” Still, she followed suit and took the remaining towel, carrying it towards Rainbow Dash.

“Of course I am, Fluttershy. I’m awesome after all. Thanks though.” Rainbow Dash half spread her wings while she stood before the fire, trying to catch some more of its warmth, and looked into the crackling flames. “I’m not late, Trixie. Just hush, I’m tired and not in the m—” Rainbow Dash followed her own advice as everything suddenly went dark for her.

Fluttershy had thrown her towel over Rainbow Dash’s head. “It’s okay Rainbow, you’ve done enough for one day, don’t move. Uhm, if that’s okay with you…” Fluttershy pulled the towel down to Rainbow Dash's mane, allowing her to see again; she greeted her with a warm smile while drying her mane.

Meanwhile, Trixie stood frozen behind Rainbow’s right wing. She had a towel as well, but she had not actually really thought this through. And now that she was there, she was not quite sure how to proceed anymore. It felt like it would be wildly inappropriate to just start rubbing it on Rainbow Dash. But Fluttershy seemed to handle it just fine, though the exertion brought a pink haze to her face.

Rainbow Dash did not try to object, giving Fluttershy and Trixie ample opportunity to do whatever they wanted. She took the opportunity to relax and finally catch her breath. “Mhm that’s not a bad idea, Fluttershy. My legs are so stiff I doubt I could reach above my knees right now, thanks.”

C-come on it can’t be that hard, I’ve been closer for less legit reasons than this! B-but that was a week ago, and I’ve not had any alone time with her since... It felt different somehow to be using her hooves and muzzle to brush over Rainbow Dash, than merely holding onto her. Trixie could not help but have her mind wander. She could start somewhere safe like Rainbow’s back, but then what was she going to do when that was dry? She couldn’t really go higher as Fluttershy was there, and going lower she’d end up on Rainbow’s rear. Trixie’s face burned up at the mere thought, it was a perfect excuse, but she really shouldn’t.

Trixie glanced over towards Fluttershy, hoping for any help, but she was too busy to notice Trixie’s silent plea. Actually asking for help was too embarrassing though, and she couldn’t just stand there doing nothing for much longer without looking like a complete idiot. Her eyes traveled along Rainbow’s back, trying to make any sort of plan, when she took notice of something that should have been obvious all along.

Wings! Perfect! Trixie smiled pleased, she could just take her sweet time drying off both wings, and even if Fluttershy wasn’t done by then she could move on to Rainbows back and still be totally safe.

Rainbow’s wings were half folded to her sides, so Trixie just draped her towel over the right wing, then set to work. She was not really sure how to handle wings, but it seemed a safe bet that she should avoid stroking too much against the grain. With that in mind she rubbed the towel into the soaked wings, hearing Rainbow Dash give a yawn or something. Heh, bet she wasn’t allowed any naptime.

Trixie noticed Rainbow Dash give the strongest shiver she had since she came in. For a pony that was normally so warm to be shivering from the cold was worrisome. I guess it’s because she stopped moving, better hurry this up.

Fortunately, Rainbow Dash was making it easy for Trixie as she spread both her wings out. With more easy access, Trixie draped the towel further over the wing, then rubbed through it along the base and covert feathers covering her biceps, reasoning it was best to start low and work her way up. She paid special attention to follow edge of the muscle groups and get in between the feathers, or pressing on them to get rid of the water. Now and then she gave an accidental tug on the feathers, but they were resilient and no worse for wear.

It was going perfectly, but then again it was something The Great and Powerful Trixie was doing, so she was really not that surprised with her progress. She’d made it half way up the wing when she heard something unexpected.

“T-T-Trixie, ah, w-what a-a—” Rainbow Dash moaned out with a ragged breath.

This prompted to Fluttershy look up from her task of drying off Rainbow’s chest, and look towards Trixie. Her face turned scarlet as she let out a gasp. “Trixie! Stop!”

Trixie froze completely. Looking at Fluttershy shocked, then to Rainbow Dash who was quaking on her hooves. She quickly let go and stepped away. “Sorry! D-did Trixie hurt you? She didn’t mean to! Are you okay?” She looked at Rainbow Dash with genuine worry, her gut knotted up with a terrible feeling of guilt. She’d been messing with those delicate wings, what if she injured them? What if Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be able to fly as fast anymore? Tears came to her eyes as she noticed Rainbow Dash was refusing to look at her, staring straight ahead into the flames instead. “H-how do we fix it? I’m so sorry.”

The silence was maddening.

Fluttershy exchanged a look with Rainbow Dash, giving a small nod. She finally settled on Trixie again, her face a bright red as she walked around Rainbow Dash. Once Fluttershy was beside Trixie, she looked incredibly uncomfortable while she struggled for words. “U-uhm, ah… N-no… Rainbow isn’t harmed.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Trixie fell onto her haunches. She felt a huge weight tumble off her shoulders. It took her a moment to realize though, that Fluttershy was still fidgeting with her hooves, and there was a question left unanswered. She looked over to Rainbow Dash, her wings had folded again, pressing hard against her sides.

“Y-you see, a-actually, that is uhm. Sometimes when a mare and a—no uhm.” Fluttershy retreated behind her own mane as she fumbled terribly with her words. “Pegasi wings… can be really sensitive.”

Trixie blinked, confusion and worry battling for control. “But, you just said that Trixie did not hurt Rainbow Dash.” She saw Fluttershy give a nod, somewhere in that pink curtain. “That makes no sense, are you saying Trixie just caused her pain, without harming her?”

“T-the… other… thing.” Fluttershy squeaked.

“The other thing? What does thaaaa-Oh Luna!” Trixie’s eyes opened wide, she felt as though she'd caught on fire. She looked back towards Rainbow Dash, who had so far made not a single attempt to turn around even a little. Panicking, Trixie rattled off apologies and excuses. “S-sorry! Trixie didn’t know! Y-you fly with those, how could Trixie know they’d have any more feeling than hooves!? Why wouldn’t you fold your wings if Trixie was doing something like that?!”

“W-wings just, uhm, k-kinda do that on their own when...” Fluttershy said so quietly that Trixie only barely caught it.

Staring at the ground, Trixie just went quiet, it was clear everypony understood it had just been an accident. By the sound of things she was not in trouble. But she still couldn’t believe what a stupid thing she’d done. Oh Luna I aroused Rainbow Dash! She thought panicked, but then froze for a moment as she ran through that notion again, and did her best to suppress a giggle. …Oh Luna… I aroused Rainbow Dash… She looked towards Rainbow Dash, feeling her cheeks burning up.

Trixie chuckled weakly. “Heh... well that was dumb huh? No hard feelings? Or well, no hard feelings that you didn’t enjoy?” Trixie got up on her hooves and scraped one along the floor embarrassed. The whole situation was so awkward she wanted to get past it as quickly as possible.

There was little change in either of the two pegasi. Rainbow Dash remained as if nailed to the ground, and Fluttershy just revealed a single eye to check on both of them.

Swallowing, Trixie tried to clear a lump from her throat, it wasn’t working. “H-hey, come on. You can’t be mad can you?” She made her way towards Rainbow Dash. She was used to Rainbow Dash yelling at her, even threatening her, or at worst trying to hurt her, but nothing was as unnerving as the silence.

“Rainbow Dash?” Trixie paused in her old position next to the right wing, though it was tightly folded this time. It confused her, she was sure the normally animated pegasus could hear her. Reaching out one hoof, she prodded her. “Are you mad?”

Fluttershy trotted up to Rainbow’s left side, giving Trixie a reassuring smile before she looked towards Rainbow Dash. “Dash? She really didn’t know any better.”

With no replies from Rainbow Dash, or even acknowledgement that she was there, Trixie felt her chest ache. She had to get a response somehow, the uncertainty was so much worse. She leaned against Rainbow Dash gently, the mares body felt cold from the rain, but she could definitely feel her breathing. “Please, say something.”

When Rainbow Dash did not respond again, Trixie looked over towards Fluttershy. Oddly, Trixie found the mare already staring at her. Fluttershy startled when she noticed Trixie looking back, and shot Trixie an uncertain look. “M-maybe just give her a minute, Trixie.” Fluttershy said, then leaned against Rainbow Dash’s left side. “Are you okay, Rainbow?”

Trixie trembled as the seconds ticked by. Had she messed up so badly that Rainbow Dash did not want to be her friend? As scary as Rainbow Dash was when she was mad, Trixie liked that better than this. Did she not even care enough to correct her anymore? Trixie’s ears pressed flat into her mane. “Get mad already! Please! D-don't ignore Trixie…” Her voice cracked. Anything was better than being ignored. She wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash, bracing to get thrown off immediately, but she did not encounter any resistance.

“Ah! T-that’s right! Rainbow Dash, Trixie uses one of her chances, okay?” Trixie noticed Fluttershy give a surprised look, which she had expected. But she was sure Rainbow Dash would know. She could only hope she would make good on her promise to accept them.

To Trixie’s delight, it actually did have an effect. Rainbow Dash finally moved and actually looked over her shoulder, but Trixie could not make out her face now that she was silhouetted against the crackling flames. “Chances?”

Nodding quickly, Trixie smiled relieved. “Yes! Trixie’s chances! In the hospital, you gave Trixie three chances for what you did to Trixie in the castle. So Trixie uses a chance now! T-that means you’ve got to forgive Trixie, and we’ll be friends again, right?” She looked up pleadingly at Rainbow Dash.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Clearly I have been too soft lately, so here's an evil cliffhanger.:trollestia:

Chapter 60 - Release

The storm had taken up most of Rainbow Dash’s day. It had been an exciting thing to hear that a missed rainy day the last week and prompted the management to order an actual storm. Rainbow Dash had immediately volunteered to lead the preparations, and as nopony else had any interest she got the position unopposed.

It had been a big surprise to discover that almost none of the pegasi on the Ponyville weather team had made a real storm before. Which had delayed the work in the first place, but not as badly as one of the weather ponies, Hail Wing, getting an injury when a gust of wind brought down a weak branch. Rainbow Dash was not sure what she was more angry about, that somepony had neglected to take the branch down, or that Hail Wing had decided to take an unauthorized break below a tree.

After Hail Wing was injured, and yelled at, Rainbow Dash had pulled a double shift in an attempt to make everything work. It was annoying, because she was supposed to swing by the Carousel Boutique. The delay made her arrive late, and Rarity was not even there. Which meant she had flown through the storm for absolutely nothing, and still had to get to Fluttershy’s while the storm was already in full swing.

It was disappointing that she was unable to get Trixie’s hat and cloak, but upon arriving she got over that very quickly, as the first thing Trixie did was mock her. Rainbow Dash stood on the doorstep completely drenched and cold to bone, and Trixie simply mocked her. At least Fluttershy had a nice welcome for her.

Grumbling annoyed while she made her way to the fire to warm up, she could hear Fluttershy’s voice very close by all of a sudden. Suddenly she was blinded by a towel.

“It’s okay Rainbow, you’ve done enough for one day, don’t move. Uhm, if that’s okay with you…”

For a couple of seconds, everything was black for Rainbow Dash. The world hidden away from her by the towel. Before she had time to complain however, the world came back into view, and the most wonderful sight greeted her: a smiling, and lightly blushing, Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash smiled back approvingly at Fluttershy. As soon as she had done so, Fluttershy set to work on drying off her soaked mane. “Mhm that’s not a bad idea, Fluttershy. My legs are so stiff I doubt I could reach above my knees right now, thanks.”

It was a complete lie, but nopony else needed to know that. For the past two weeks Trixie often had a monopoly on Fluttershy’s care and attention, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel more than a little bit envious.

While Fluttershy dried Rainbow Dash’s mane, the two of them kept eye contact for a lingering few moments. Rainbow Dash could not even feel the storms cold anymore, or at the very least it seemed completely unimportant while she stared into the magnificent approval-seeking eyes.

After a moment they each broke away. Rainbow Dash looked towards the flames, but she could feel her cheeks burning hotter than the fireplace, and stole another glance from the corner of her eye. She watched as Fluttershy redoubled her efforts on drying, with the cutest blush easily shining through her fur, it was much too light colored to hide the rosy glow.

Rainbow Dash had nearly forgotten that Trixie was in the room as well, but she got a reminder when she felt her right wing get weighed down by another towel. At first Rainbow Dash paid no real attention to it, until she felt Trixie start to rub her wings through the towel. The diligent hooves forced an involuntary gasp out of Rainbow Dash.

Biting her lip, Rainbow Dash tried not to make another sound, but she was unable to stop a shudder when Trixie’s hooves touched a particularly sensitive spot. To make matters worse it seemed to encourage Trixie, as she worked on the wings faster and harder.

Gaah, w-what is she doing!? Did she get impatient? F-Fluttershy is right here!

Rainbow Dash gave a quick glance down to Fluttershy, and fortunately found her completely focused on drying off the fur on her shoulders and down to her chest. The gentle strokes across her chest did absolutely nothing to help her calm down however, it only made her feel even better.

Nopony had tried to do anything like this to her before. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes tightly, fighting hard to keep her wings under control, but she was in a losing battle; her wings spread out fully. Trixie did not miss a beat and switched her attention the rest of the wing, now taking advantage of the fact she could more easily reach all those good spots.

There was no doubt in Rainbow Dash’s mind, Trixie had to be doing this on purpose. For the whole past week Rainbow Dash had avoided being alone with Trixie, always ensuring it was the three of them. Trixie had not tried to make more advances since then, but clearly she was sick of waiting if she was doing this right in plain sight while Fluttershy was just a bit occupied. If she tried to stop Trixie it would alert Fluttershy immediately, the thought alone was already enough to triple her heart rate.

Rainbow Dash was not sure how Trixie had figured out what to do exactly to drive her this crazy, the way she dug into her muscles just enough to make her want more before she stopped, then moved just a little bit and repeated the process. Even so, Trixie seemed to be at least a bit inexperienced, as the occasional tug on her feathers sent a small jolt through her wings. It was still more than enough to make her head swim. The longer it went all the more Rainbow Dash started to think strange thoughts, it may actually be a team effort, as Fluttershy’s gentle strokes complimented Trixie’s rougher approach, it also explained how Trixie knew to work a wing.

With a quickened breath, Rainbow Dash did her best to stay calm, but her every thought was starting to get dominated by the feelings emanating from her wings and chest. She felt as though she was burning up, kept right on the edge between sanity and the rising desire to just give the two teases what they wanted.

Rainbow Dash’s whole body quivered as a result of their ministrations. She just could not take it anymore, they won. Taking in a ragged unsteady breath, Rainbow Dash tried to speak up, she could not keep the pleasure out of her voice, nor did she even care to anymore, but it was so difficult to make her addled mind form words. “T-T-Trixie, ah, w-what a-a—”

“Trixie! Stop!”

Stop?! What the hay?! Trixie immediately stopped everything and by the sound of it even jumped away. Rainbow Dash felt her temper flare, were they really that cruel? To drive her insane like that, then stop all of a sudden? It felt so unfair. No no get back here you! I’m not fini—

Trixie spoke up, but to Rainbow Dash’s surprise there was no hint of teasing, instead it sounded more like complete panic. “Sorry! D-did Trixie hurt you? She didn’t mean to! Are you okay?” Freezing, Rainbow Dash blinked confused and looked towards Fluttershy, noticing her face was bright red. Meanwhile Trixie continued, sounding increasingly distressed. “H-how do we fix it? I’m so sorry.”

Y-you can’t be serious, this has to be a joke! The disbelief must have been written across her face as she saw Fluttershy staring at her, actual genuine concern and confusion clear as day. She looked back at Fluttershy, then gave a small affirming nod to indicate that she was alright, after which Fluttershy got up and walked around her towards Trixie.

Rainbow Dash could hear Fluttershy awkwardly trying to explain to Trixie the effects careless touches could have on a pegasi wing behind her. In nearly any other situation, she would have laughed at how clueless Trixie sounded during the exchange, and how stilted Fluttershy went about in trying to explain it without having to actually say anything. But now, Rainbow Dash could nearly feel her heart stop as the realization set in, none of it had been intentional. She would have given nearly anything to have the ground swallow her right then.

To make her humiliation complete, she still burned with the desire and thoughts of the pair, engraved in her mind after she had conjured them up a few moments prior. With a herculean effort she managed to fold her wings again, but she had to keep them pressed with all her might to stop them from springing back up again. Oh Celestia, how the hay did I get here…?

She tried to force her thoughts onto something else, anything else.

Anything, anything at all! Uh Uhm. Hail Wing! You stupid mule how dare you make me work two jobs! I even got late to Rarity’s because of that, and the weather was terrible! All for nothing!

Rainbow Dash was vaguely aware that something prodded her side, but she ignored it while she followed her train of thought, it seemed to be working as she felt more anger than need now.

I fly all the way through the biggest storm in Ponyville history, that I am responsible for making! Only to get teased by Trixie, and then teased by them both! Their stupid lovely touching and plotting It makes me so, so! Wait no, darn it! I’m back here again!

A warmth pressed against her right side, and before long, her left was also warmed up. Rainbow Dash snapped out of her thoughts as she tried to make sense of this. By the voices she could tell who were responsible, but it was not clear to her why they were pressing up against her.

A part of her tried to tell her they had only been acting to be clueless before and were back to teasing her now. The little voice and the two mares against her were quickly destroyed what little self-control she had regained during her distraction.

A set of hooves wrapped tightly around her neck, pulling her back down to earth. Once she actually was back to reality she could hear Trixie’s urgent pleading, “Ah! T-that’s right! Rainbow Dash, Trixie uses one of her chances, okay?”

Looking over her shoulder, she found Trixie was wrapped around her neck, staring up at her with tears in her eyes and a cautiously hopeful look on her face. “Chances?”

“Yes! Trixie’s chances! In the hospital, you gave Trixie three chances for what you did to Trixie in the castle. So Trixie uses a chance now! T-that means you’ve got to forgive Trixie, and we’ll be friends again, right?”

It was somewhat difficult to comprehend what was going on, not aided in the least by how close Trixie was right now, and how badly Rainbow Dash had to fight to keep from getting herself even closer. She looked towards Fluttershy, who was pressed up against her left side and looked less worried than Trixie, but much more embarrassed once they made eye contact.

Rainbow Dash found her eyes trail down before she snapped them back up to Fluttershy’s eyes. I-I have to get out of here! She racked her mind for options. She could run out into the storm, the cold rain should help, but then she would just get wet again and risk repeating this whole thing.

She looked towards Trixie, catching sight of the increasing fear creeping across her face. Feeling a familiar stab in her gut, Rainbow Dash quickly smiled at her. Fortunately Trixie had offered up the perfect out. “Chances! Hospital! Right! Don’t worry Trixie, everything’s fine now. Let go though, this is weird.”

Fluttershy spoke up, “oh thank goodness. See Trixie, she just needed a minute.” She gave a warm smile at them both. Fluttershy focused her eyes on Rainbow Dash, blushing as she made her next offer. “U-uhm… Rainbow, how about… If I take care of your wings?”

This prompted another hard fought squeeze of her wings by Rainbow Dash. “No! I-I mean, no. Thanks Fluttershy. Actually, I think I could really use a bath. Yes that’s it! A bath!” She wormed her way out from between the two as she quickly trotted backwards, catching a very disappointed look on Fluttershy’s face that she could not quite account for. “You two, uh, I dunno, something. I’ll be back soon after I’m warmed up.” She waved at the pair.

“But—” They each began.

“No time, too cold, bye!” Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew at top speed along the ceiling and smacked into the bathroom door with a yelp. She groaned annoyed and embarrassed to discover the door opened in the other direction, but quickly got inside and shut the door.

The next couple of minutes were spent mixing and matching with hot and cold water to get the tub to fill up without either freezing or burning her, and dismissively answering any questions that came from the other side of the door. Offers ranging from having her chocolate brought in to helping to wash her back, all of which sounded pretty good, but that was also part of the reason why they were refused.

The questions had ceased a while ago.

Once the water was good Rainbow Dash quickly climbed in, resting back in the hot water with a long sigh as she sunk through the foam that floated on top, her forehooves rested on the wooden edge of the tub. Rainbow Dash gave a long lingering look towards the door, and once she was sure she was not getting bothered again, she let her hooves slip into the water as well.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So it turns out I somehow, unwittingly unpublished the last chapter for a unknown amount of time. My apologies to the folks that were effected by that.
Now for some good news: since this is apparently a long weekend, I will be aiming to get an extra chapter out.
With any luck we just might get this little sleepover resolved this very weekend.:trixieshiftleft:

Chapter 61 - Residue

Resting on the couch, Trixie gave another look towards the bathroom door. She had been in there a number of times the past two weeks, but this was the first time she’d seen Rainbow Dash even acknowledge its existence. It had surprised her greatly when Rainbow hid herself in there.

It seemed that it was certainly not a normal occurrence as even Fluttershy had seemed worried about Rainbow Dash’s behavior. They had tried to get in and check on Rainbow Dash under the guise of any number of offers, but each was soundly rejected.

She tried to be nice, but she really didn’t want to see either of us.

With a sigh, Trixie looked away from the door and let her eyes rest on Fluttershy. Ever since they had given up on trying to convince Rainbow Dash to come or out, or let them come in, Fluttershy had been on the couch, busily preening her wings. It seemed like such an odd thing to be doing to Trixie. As far as she could tell Fluttershy’s wings were already very well kept.

Trixie recalled one of her conversations with Fluttershy about the animals in the meadow, at the time she had been told that sometimes birds would preen to calm down when they were feeling stressed. I wonder if the same goes for pegasi? But, then that would mean she is frustrated or something, wouldn’t it?

“Fluttershy? Trixie has a question.”

Looking up from her wing, Fluttershy blinked. “Huh? Oh, uh, sure. What would you like to know Trixie? I-It’s not about uhm… you know, is it?” A cute blush shone through on Fluttershy’s cheeks.

Trixie shook her head. ”No, or wait… no, at least not right now.” For a few moments, Trixie’s mind wandered on the possibilities for actually asking about that, but she’d have to spare Fluttershy for now. She gave an uneasy smile as she noticed Fluttershy staring at her with a dreading look. “Uh, forget that. Fluttershy, you offered to dry Rainbow’s wings instead of Trixie. So that means you know how to uhm, prevent Trixie’s mistake, right?”

Fluttershy nodded, stretching and folding one of her newly preened wing to illustrate her point. “Yes, for the most part. I think… I have a better idea of which parts are sensitive.”

“Could you teach Trixie?”

“D-do what?”

Trixie scooted closer and pointed at Fluttershy’s wing. “Teach Trixie what spots are sensitive, that way Trixie will know what she shouldn’t touch.” She smiled with the prospect of learning more about pegasi, or rather about two pegasi in particular.

“I-I’ll think about it.” Fluttershy blushed and returned to busily preening her wing for the third time. Her lips stroking flat each feather and arranging them in a perfect pattern, only to repeat doing exactly that again.

Time crawled by, but Fluttershy did not seem to return to the topic of her own volition. Though Trixie made good use of her time, carefully observing the methods Fluttershy was employing. She had always been great at learning by example, and this did not seem that hard after she was given repeated demonstrations.

Maybe she just is not sure how to go about it. I guess it would just come natural to pegasi to know what areas are sensitive, and they would not normally have to be taught.

“You said before preening is relaxing right, Fluttershy? How about if Trixie takes care of your wings, while you explain it.”

“Uhm n—” Fluttershy began while shaking her head, but was interrupted as Trixie continued.

“Then when Rainbow gets back, we can help her relax?” Trixie could see it now, the three of them on the couch with Rainbow Dash in the middle. each preen one wing properly, without repeating her mistake.

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, but still went with her original answer, shaking her head. ”I don’t think that is a good idea Trixie.” She looked uncomfortable.

“Oh, come on. Trixie would really like to know for next time.”

“N-no. What makes you think there will be a next time?” Fluttershy said, a little harsher than Trixie had expected.

Trixie folded her ears back. “But… Trixie just made a mistake… So, it would be good to know how to do it properly, right?”

”W-what I mean is. It’s not just about wings being sensitive Trixie.” Fluttershy took a deep breath, and looked a little more resolved afterwards. “Touching, and especially preening, another pegasi’s wings is… intimate. ”

“Oh!” Trixie exclaimed, and blushed. “Trixie did not realize… but wait. You were offering to dry her wings before!” Trixie raised an eye brow while she stared at Fluttershy, feeling fairly sure there was something she was not telling her. It was possible that Fluttershy had oversimplified her explanation for the sake of keeping it short, but it did not quite feel right to Trixie.

Fluttershy colored scarlet. “T-that was different. Rainbow Dash said she couldn’t do it herself remember? It was just to dry her wings.”

“Sure, but isn’t it also different if it’s just to learn how to do it?” Trixie grinned confidently.

Hiding herself behind her mane, Fluttershy whispered. “Let’s say I agree, and I let you practice. Do you really want Rainbow Dash to walk in while you are preening my wings?”

Trixie felt a brief stab of fear in her chest at the thought. She immediately forced it down, but just the fact that it had been the first place she went to deflated her confidence. She slumped on the couch, laying down with a sigh, and mumbled. “N-no… nevermind.”

Trixie, you foal. Don’t you trust her?

I do! But, she does not trust me… She will think I am is cheating on her again.

Nonsense! She has not gotten mad at Trixie since. We even had plenty of good times! The Great and Powerful Trixie is brave, not a coward!

Being careful is not being a coward. I already screwed up once tonight. I-I only have two chances left. Rainbow Dash did not yell at me, but she left immediately. She’s not in a good mood already, I don’t want to upset her more. I just… want to do something right.

She laid her chin down on her hooves and stared into the low crackling flames of the fire. It was not fair. Trixie could think of dozens of things Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had done for her, but she could not think of a single thing she had tried to do for them that actually worked the way she planned it to.

All Trixie does is depend on them, but she has not given anything back. Why do they even bother keeping Trixie around? Is it just because it’s their fault Trixie is hurt? Only because they pity Trixie? This train of thought was doing her mood no favors at all, instead she felt a stinging feeling in her chest while she considered the possibility.

While Trixie was contemplating the chance she was fooling herself, she remembered having a similar conversation once before. Applejack’s voice echoed through her head. That has got ta be the dumbest thing Ah have ever heard. Ah got half a mind ta put you over mah knee fer thinking of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy like that!

Trixie perked up, blinking as though she had just awoken a few seconds ago. Trixie should visit that little hayseed again sometime. She smirked and looked towards the three mugs that stood near the fire, the sweet scent of hot cocoa was alluring.

Looking back over to Fluttershy, Trixie noticed she seemed to have calmed down, as she was no longer preening her wings. Fluttershy held a smile while she rested her head on the armrest of the couch. Oh, good. Fluttershy is not upset with Trixie for pestering her.

A loud slam behind them nearly made Trixie jump through the roof and, landing on all fours, she spun around. Rainbow Dash was standing in the door opening of the bathroom, some steam clouds rolled out with her it to the ceiling. Trixie could see Rainbow Dash was already perfectly dry, towels were haphazardly discarded behind her on the bathroom floor, but other than that it was left in proper state.

Rainbow Dash smiled widely as she trotted into the room and took in a deep breath. “Ahh, fresh air! Well, kind of anyway, hah! Cool air I guess.” She spread her wings and flew over onto the couch, settling on the empty spot between Trixie and Fluttershy. She rested her hind hooves on the little table by the fire. “So what did I miss? Oh yeah! Chocolate, still got some?”

Trixie blinked, Rainbow Dash did not seem upset at all. Instead she was more cheerful then she had ever seen her, there was some kind of glow about her. It took Trixie a moment to recover before she pointed to the door with a smirk. “What is it with you and doors? Can’t you ever open one normally?”

“Hey, I usually try to take the window, but that didn’t work. Fluttershy’s bathroom has really small windows.”

“Oh, right, Trixie is sure it has nothing to do with that you did not want to get wet again.” She motioned towards the rain clattering against the window, but she could not keep her smile from spreading. Everything’s okay! It’s really okay!

Fluttershy smiled brightly reached for the mugs on the small table to divide the hot chocolate between them. “Of course, Rainbow, we weren’t going to start without you.”

Trixie smiled widely while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy chatted, she could not be happier with how it turned out. She stared at Rainbow Dash, admiring her new found energy. Grinning, a deep blush spread over Trixie's cheeks.

Trixie held her mug in her hooves, it was still pleasantly warm due to the proximity of the table to the fire. She took a sip and licked her lips. “Mhm this is great, Fluttershy.”

“Thank you, Trixie, but you deserve a bit of credit you know. You did help make it.” Fluttershy smiled warmly at her.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had been chugging the chocolate and finally let the mug sink back into her lap while she breathed a satisfied sight. “Ahhh, that was awesome. Good job you two then, heh.” She set the mug back onto the table, then stretched.

Following Rainbow Dash’s example, Trixie chugged a good few gulps of her chocolate as well, it was a wonderful feeling to have her insides warm up all at once. The sweet taste lingered in her mouth long after the last swallow, much to Trixie’s delight.

“Oh, would you like some of mine, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy offered, holding out the mug. “I’m not very thirsty, I don’t think I could finish the whole thing.”

“Really? Thanks, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash slipped a hoof around Fluttershy, hugging her while she hooked her free hoof through the handle. She brought the mug up to her lips to drink a few gulps, then returned the mug to Fluttershy.

Trixie noticed Fluttershy blushing while Rainbow Dash drank, then stare down at the mug before she took a sip herself again. The normally creamy mares cheeks seemed to be on fire as she did so. Though Trixie could think of a number of reasons why she might be, she settled on it just being the warmth of the drink.

Watching the exchange, Trixie contemplated offering her own chocolate as well. Rainbow Dash would like it, and maybe she’ll hug Trixie too? Trixie smiled at the idea of earning a bit of favor with Rainbow Dash, by doing something good for her. She froze when she realized something else though; Rainbow Dash would give the mug back. T-then, if Trixie drinks after that, it’s kind of an indirect kiss, isn’t it? Blushing, Trixie looked down at her half-empty mug, feeling giddy with excitement.

She sat up and scooted a little closer while she held out the mug. “Rainbow Dash, Trixie has had enough too, would you like hers?” To her delight, she saw Rainbow Dash’s eyes glisten at the offer.

“Oh man, must be my lucky night huh? What’s with you two not drinking as much? Heh, I’ll bet it cause you’ve had no work all day.” She laughed but then give Trixie a smile. “Seriously though, thanks, Trixie.” She slipped one hoof through the handle, and used the other to give Trixie a hug as well while she raised the mug.

Trixie nearly melted in the embrace, and snuggled up against Rainbow Dash for the brief moment it lasted. Trixie took in the sweet scent of honey emanating from Rainbow Dash’s fur, then blinked. Wait, honey? That can’t be right? She glanced up quickly at Rainbow Dash, who was still drinking, then nuzzled against her and found she really did smell like honey instead of her usual scent of rain. What the hay?

Distracted, Trixie startled when Rainbow Dash suddenly leaned away from her to set the mug on the table. Trixie looked on puzzled, then reluctantly let go of Rainbow Dash to claim her prize. Blushing heavily, she could feel her heart thump in her chest while she reached out to grab the mug.

It felt light, much lighter than it should. Trixie’s heart sank when she looked inside the mug and confirmed her fear: It was empty. “It’s gone?” She stared down into the empty mug, hoping maybe there were still a few drops she could make do with. Glaring at Rainbow Dash, she set the mug back down. “Why did you drink all of it?”

Rainbow Dash looked back at Trixie in confusion. “What? Uh, because you said you had enough? So I drank the rest. You did ask me if I wanted yours.” She smiled at Trixie uncomprehendingly while Trixie’s face fell.

“B-but, that’s… Trixie… didn’t mean…” She trailed off and shook her head while she slumped back on the couch. She wanted nothing more than to kick herself for being so stupid, one little mistake and she ruined her whole plan. Now she didn’t have anything: no chocolate, no indirect kiss, no warmth.

Why does it always backfire? It’s not fair… Trixie can’t even blame anypony else this time. She just said it wrong. That’s even worse! Mhm, it’s not all bad, Trixie found out Rainbow Dash smells weird today… Well that’s ju—

“Uhm, Trixie?” Fluttershy’s voice pulled Trixie out of her thoughts. She looked towards Fluttershy who held out her own mug out, keeping a caring smile on her lips. “Would you like the last of mine?”

Trixie’s ears perked up, her eyes meeting with Fluttershy’s, then looked down at the mug and blushed. She quickly nodded and took the mug with both hooves. “Thank you, Fluttershy!” Smiling while she looked down, swirling around the bottom of chocolate in the mug. F-Fluttershy, AND Rainbow Dash! Reveling in the idea for just a little longer, Trixie finally brought the mug to her lips and sipped the last bit of chocolate slowly. Even if the chocolate was almost cold, it warmed her up far more than when it had been hot.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash continued with undiminishable enthusiasm. “Alright that was good. Now! Who here would like to hear a good ghost story?” She coughed to clear her throat, then continued in a sinister voice. “It all happened, on a stormy night. Just. Like. This one. This, is the harrowing tale of The Screeching Mare!”

…Curse you, Rainbow Dash.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

The slumber party continues!

I always thought Fluttershy would have honey scented soap, how else do bears love her so much?

Chapter 62 - Recipe

Despite Trixie staring her sharpest daggers at Rainbow Dash, she told the story anyway. At least she had taken care not to identify the true origin of the tale. Instead, she spun an admittedly scary story about an earth pony that had tried to fly using a pedal-powered contraption and plummeted to earth as it came too close to the sun, screeching her head off until it discovered it could in fact fly. From that day forward it was said to fly screeching at night, looking for unsuspecting earth ponies or unicorns that were out after dark in order to teach them how to fly too, with no successful students thus far.

Trixie felt like the impact of the story was diminished by the fact that Rainbow Dash’s audience consisted of a unicorn that knew the truth, and pegasus already capable of flight. There was no doubt in her mind that Rainbow Dash was aware of this, as the grin on her face every time she looked at Trixie when she mentioned the words ‘screeching mare’ grew each time Trixie reacted.

Mercifully, the story was a fairly short one.

“And in the morning, they found the little unicorn… All over the street!”

“Right, and how come nopony has ever read about that in the newspaper?” Trixie smirked.

“Well, uh, the pony was the local news editor, so they couldn’t run the story.” Rainbow Dash beamed. A low growl rose up from her stomach, preventing Trixie from pressing on further and Rainbow Dash quickly followed up. “Oh man, I am hungry! I could eat a hay bail! Fluttershy, do we have anything good? Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash trailed off as she laid eyes on Fluttershy.

Quivering, Fluttershy had set her hooves on her ears somewhere during the story, and closed her eyes tightly. Only after a few pokes from Rainbow Dash did she lift one hoof off an ear and peeked out of one eye. “I-Is it o-over?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled while she nodded, reaching out one hoof to stroke through Fluttershy’s mane comfortingly. “Yes, Fluttershy. And hey, you made it all the way to the end this time. I’m pretty sure you are getting better at this.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. Sure she would have expected Fluttershy to be easily scared by ghost stories, but not stories where she was literally immune to the monster. It is because she used to be bad at it? Ah, yes. She did tell Trixie that she fell off Cloudsdale once. Maybe it brought back memories.

Still, as silly as it seemed to Trixie, Fluttershy looked just adorable as she took comfort in the hoof running along her mane. Beginning to reach out a hoof as well, Trixie glanced up at Rainbow Dash, and pulled back hesitantly. “So, about dinner. You should feel honored, because Trixie will make pancakes.” Trixie beamed proudly.

Rainbow Dash looked at Trixie incredulously. “Whoa, hold your horses! You aren’t allowed to do chores yet! And even more important than that: you can cook?”

Raising a brow, Trixie slipped off the couch and pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. “Ask Fluttershy. Trixie can do chores now, it’s been a week. Trixie even helped Fluttershy take down branches.” She puffed up her chest, proud to at least be able to act as if she was pulling her weight. “Now, instead of giving Trixie dumb looks, tell her what you want on yours.”

“Uhmm, Trixie… you can do chores, but I don’t think you should handle fire just yet,” Fluttershy said, making Trixie’s smile falter.

“But, pancakes.” Trixie offered.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy looked concerned, clearly insistent to keep Trixie away from anything that might hurt her.

“Relax, Fluttershy, I say we give her a chance.” Rainbow Dash gave Trixie a smile. “Syrup and Cinnamon, we’ll see if you are as good as you claim Trixie.”

That’s some sweet tooth. Maybe Trixie will get a taste, after Rainbow Dash has eaten it all. Trixie blushed lightly at the thought and quickly tried to press on. “Alright Trixie accepts!” Trixie turned to Fluttershy expectantly.

After staring at Trixie for a few moments, Fluttershy finally relented. “Okay… Strawberries please, Trixie. But please tell me if you need any help.”

Mhm, fruity. Trixie, quickly turned her back to the pair so they couldn’t see her face and laughed heartly while she walked away from the pair on the couch. “The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle some utensils! Don’t go anywhere! Trixie can make pancakes with her eyes closed!”

Feeling as if she was walking on air, Trixie trotted into the kitchen. This was going to be great. She could make something delicious and impress them both in a single go. “Alright, pancake time!” She called out loud enough that was pretty sure they could still hear her, then closed the kitchen door behind her and smiled while looking around.

Now… where does Fluttershy keep the cookbook?

With another growl from her stomach, Rainbow Dash gave a look at the kitchen door while she rubbed a hoof over it, trying to quiet the beast down. “Ughh, what is taking her so long? It’s been two days.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash, it’s barely been an hour.”

“I guess.” Rainbow Dash groaned. She had hoped to hear a call of dinner for the past hour, but all she got to hear from the kitchen was the occasional sound of objects falling, followed by a cry of increasing frustration.

Well, even if I am hungry, it’s nice to have some time with Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash smiled at her precious friend, sitting closely beside her. A look of worry was clearly written all over Fluttershy’s face, making Rainbow Dash wonder when she would finally snap and rush into the kitchen to salvage what she could.

Trying to keep both their minds off the kitchen, Rainbow Dash launched into a tirade about her day and just how everything should have gone. After Rainbow Dash had complained enough about hers to be sated for a while, and she was caught up to speed on Fluttershy’s day, there was a lull in the conversation.

“So uhm…. Oh yeah, Fluttershy, has Twilight dropped by?” Rainbow Dash asked, laying her head down on the armrest.

“Twilight? No I don’t think so. Why?”

“I asked her if she got any books from what was left of Trixie’s wagon. She said she’d look into it and come bring them over if she found them. I guess not then.” Rainbow Dash chuckled awkwardly and let her gaze travel through the room. Come on, Rainbow! You can think of something more interesting to say!

Her eyes fell on the bathroom door, still open. “Hey, Fluttershy, do you still make those honey soap and things yourself? They were really good.”

Fluttershy smiled at the praise and nodded. “I do, uhm would you like some to take with you, Rainbow Dash? I don’t mind.”

Scratching her chin, Rainbow Dash let her gaze fall back on Fluttershy. “Mhm let me think about that…” She paused and raised her hoof up higher, sniffing it. The honey scent was strong. Then looked to Fluttershy and leaned in, letting her muzzle run along the fur of Fluttershy’s foreleg, the soft fur tickled her nose as she breathed in. Sitting back up with a grin, Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“No, I definitely like it better on you, Fluttershy. A sweet scent like that it… suits you,” Rainbow Dash said with a blush, her eyes raising to meet Fluttershy’s. Rainbow Dash could feel her legs go weak while she admired the kind eyes, or eye rather as one was hidden.

Staring back at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy half-hid behind her mane while she tried to form words, but her attempts were interrupted when the kitchen door finally opened.

Trixie looked over the kitchen, it was a complete and utter mess. Broken eggs, flour, batter, gooey pancakes, and sugar were strewn across the floor and counter, and half of her face was white due to trying to wipe her mane, definitely not her tears of frustration, out of her face with a flour-covered hoof.

It had completely slipped Trixie’s mind that she had no magic, leaving her with only her hooves to perform all those complicated tasks. Which would not have been really that much trouble, if not for the annoying side effect of her injury: it affected her fine control over her hooves, so much so that she could not even make a hay sandwich without Fluttershy’s help.

Alright, so it had taken Trixie a little longer than she had planned, but nothing was going to stop her once she had made up her mind. Not even repeated and infuriating failure.

Her prize was standing on the kitchen counter, surrounded by charred early attempts: three plates with beautiful stacks of pancakes. One smeared with strawberry jam, the other covered with syrup and cinnamon, and the last with blueberry jam for herself.

Trixie beamed proudly at her achievement, then looked towards the cookbook she’d propped open against a pot. To her delight, they looked almost like they did in the book. Perfect on the first try Trixie! As if The Great and Powerful Trixie could possibly fail! Though she had yet to actually test them, they certainly looked the part.

Setting everything on a tray, Trixie hastily cleaned herself up, then pushed open the kitchen door and made her way towards the couch, ensuring everypony had the right ones.

“Great and Powerful Pancakes, just as Trixie promised.” Trixie exclaimed before she climbed back on as well and smiled brightly. While Trixie stared at the two of them expectantly, she noticed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were looking pretty heated.

“Heh, we’ll see about that!” Rainbow Dash smiled, and without hesitation dug in. To Trixie’s surprise there was no complaining about how long she had taken to get the job done.

Fluttershy looked at Trixie with an expression of great relief on her face. “Great job, Trixie. These look good,” She said, then took a bite.

Trixie could feel herself glowing with the praise. “Of course, this is mere foals play for Trixie. Oh, uh, but this is a, uhm, secret recipe, so you can’t go in the kitchen until Trixie has put the ingredients away.” She hoped that would keep Fluttershy out for a while.

After an hour of slaving away over the stove, Trixie nearly did not even feel like pancakes anymore, but her rumbling stomach quickly convinced her. She eagerly took her first bite and munched, then froze. She looked up from her plate to find Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy each had similar reactions.

These are absolutely moreish!

Trixie exchanged a look with the pair of pegasi that stared at her while they each chewed their mouthfuls, swallowed. Though not a single word was spoken, there truly did not need to be. They all knew, and that was enough for Trixie for the time being.

She did not even waste time to boast, and immediately dug back in, a bright smile on her muzzle.

Was there ever any doubt!?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So funny story... I honestly thought today was Wednesday. I've been 1 day slow this whole week because I had Monday off.
Which would be why this chapter is a day late, my bad.
I really should have suspected something when I heard people wish each-other a good weekend.

Alright be honest with me, did you know what moreish meant?
I sure didn't. It sounds like the exact opposite of what it means.
Isn't that great? :trollestia:

Chapter 63 - Rankle

What took over an hour to prepare lasted less than a minute, and soon the first empty plate clattered besides the empty cocoa mugs on the table. Rainbow Dash had finished first. Trixie was not entirely sure if she was racing them, but it was definitely something she would do. Trixie had happily indulged in challenging her on it, but was two bites behind.

With her mouth no longer full of pancakes, Rainbow Dash was finally free to talk while Trixie and Fluttershy were still finishing their own. “Whoa, I was sure you were just bluffing, Trixie. Who knew you could actually cook? I loved them!”

Trixie felt her heart skip a beat, the praise was sweet music to her hears, but not so much so that she choose to ignore the implied insult. She swallowed her last bite, and smirked. “So, you only let Trixie try to see if she’d burn the kitchen down? Hah, shows what you get for underestimating The Great and Powerful Trixie! That makes what? Three times that Trixie has come out on top over you? Trixie wonders if you will ever learn your place: below Trixie.” Winking at the oblivious Rainbow Dash, Trixie noticed Fluttershy nearly choke on her bite.

“Hah, as if! I am always on top! I’ll prove it right now!” Rainbow Dash grinned and prepared to pounce. Even though she started it, Trixie couldn’t stop the heat spreading through her cheeks. However, A swift tug on Rainbow Dash’s tail by Fluttershy made Rainbow Dash look back.

The brief exchanged look apparently was quickly understood as Rainbow Dash turned back to Trixie. “Oh right, my bad. I mean once you are better, wouldn’t want to be too rough with you till then.”

Compared to the others, Fluttershy had taken her sweet time with her meal. Though it was easy to tell she approved of it, she was just not as messy an eater. With what Trixie assumed must have been great willpower, Fluttershy resisted taking another bite immediately, after recovering from her coughing fit, asked, “They are really good Trixie, is that why you needed a minute?”

Although she was a bit disappointed, Trixie smiled at Fluttershy. She was always so caring and cautious. “Yes, yes that is it exactly! You cannot rush perfection, and Trixie is nothing if not perfection itself.” She swept her mane back with her hoof while she struck a pose to go with her boast, doing her best to show off for the pair.

Rainbow Dash burst into laughter while Fluttershy just smiled.

“You dare question The Great and Powerful Trixie?” She reached up for the brim of her hat to pull down to cover her eyes in shade for effect, only to find it was not there and faltered for a moment as she remembered it was gone. Her face fell while she stroked her hoof across her unhatted scalp.

Still laughing, Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof toward Trixie while she took a breath, readying her retort. But before she could do so, she felt a nudge from Fluttershy and looked towards her. Fluttershy stared up at Rainbow Dash, then briefly to Trixie before meeting her eyes again.

Taking a brief moment to look Trixie over more carefully, Rainbow Dash nodded to Fluttershy. Letting out another burst of laughter, Rainbow Dash called out. “Hey, Trixie! That’s cheating, you can’t just start right out daring a pony, you have to at least ask if they want to do truth first!”

Shaken from her thoughts by Rainbow Dash’s distraction, Trixie blinked confused at her. “Huh? What are you even talking about?” She looked toward Fluttershy for elaboration or a hint of some sort, but found her looking almost as surprised.

“Uh, Rainbow Dash, are you sure about this? I don’t think Trixie wants to play.” Fluttershy looked back to Trixie.

Rainbow Dash just grinned. “Oh, maybe you are right, Fluttershy. She is trying to back out, isn’t she? I guess she knows better than to challenge the champion!”

Puffing up her chest, Trixie huffed. “Hah! Champion of what? Anything you can do Trixie can do better, name your game.”

“Truth or dare! It is on!” Rainbow Dash called out with enthusiasm, taking Trixie by complete surprise. But before she could object Rainbow Dash followed up. “The losers must obey the winner for a whole day. Are you still sure you dare take up the challenge, Trixie? Pick one, Truth or Dare?”

Trixie opened her mouth to call a stop to this, but then quickly closed it again. Wait! Losers? That’s plural! She quickly looked towards Fluttershy who gulped and shifted in her place while she alternated between her two friends. Trixie let her eyes swap between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for a moment before she settled back on Rainbow Dash with a grin. “Obey for a whole day huh? Don’t come crying to Trixie when you… actually do come crying, it will amuse Trixie. Truth!”

For some reason, Fluttershy gasped as Trixie picked truth, and turned to Rainbow Dash, reaching out one hoof to her shoulder. “Uhm, Rainbow Dash, go easy on her. She doesn’t know yet.”

Grinning widely with Trixie’s answer, Rainbow Dash tilted her head when she was addressed, and she looked to Fluttershy. “What? But it’s perfect! I’d totally win”

What on Equestria? Do they know something Trixie does not? Trixie racked her mind, trying to figure out how a truth question could end the game so quickly. Huh, maybe she’d ask something impossible? Like to recount all decimals behind pi? But Trixie could just say she does not know and that would be true…

“Rainbow Dash, you don’t want an easy win do you? I uhm, I’m sure you would rather have a challenge… wouldn’t you?” Fluttershy smiled at Rainbow Dash while she appealed to her competitive side.

“… Oh alright, fine” She grumbled and scratched the back of her head while she put some more significant effort into her question. “Mhn… no, no….no…. Ahah!” Rainbow dash stared at Trixie with a wicked grin that sent a chill down her spine. ”Trixie, can you really defeat an Ursa Major?”

Blinking, Trixie was starting to get a feel for why truth questions were a bad idea. She glared at Rainbow Dash for a moment. “Trixie cannot…” She saw Rainbow Dash’s grin grow wider, but returned a smirk of her own. “…However, The Great and Powerful Trixie can!”

“Hey no fair, Trixie! You are not allowed to lie!” Rainbow Dash scolded with an insulted look on her face. “I even gave you an easy question.”

“Trixie does not lie, she told you the truth.” Trixie folded her hooves over her chest in a huff.

“Then prove it!” Rainbow Dash jabbed a hoof accusingly toward Trixie.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “How is Trixie going to prove it while she is her in her current state? Trixie is too weak. There are you happy? Trixie cannot do it now!” She snapped at Rainbow Dash, entering into a staring context with her while they each glared at the other.

Finally, Fluttershy’s voice broke through. “W-well, question answered. My turn. Truth or dare, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy squeaked as she suddenly had both of her friends stare at her. “I-if that’s okay with you?”

“Mhm, well okay I guess. I’ll let you off easy since this was your first time, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash stretched her limbs while she answered Fluttershy. “Dare!”

“I thought so. Okay, I dare you to… Let Trixie touch your hooves for a minute.” She said with a perfectly innocent voice.

Giggling, Trixie rolled her eyes. Of course Fluttershy would pick something completely harmless, Trixie should hav—Wait what the? Trixie froze when she noticed that Rainbow Dash had paled like a ghost after hearing the dare. Fluttershy smiled, yet Trixie could swear she saw an evil glint in the mare's eyes for just a second.

“N-no fair!” Rainbow Dash tucked her hooves below her body, wedging them between her fur and the couch. “We were supposed to take it easy the first round. Pick something else, Fluttershy!”

Trixie looked from one to the other in complete confusion. Either Rainbow Dash was a much better actor than Trixie had given her credit for, or this was really something she completely dreaded. “Oh, Rainbow Dash?” Trixie called out with a voice sweet like honey, and a bone-chilling grin on her lips. “Fluttershy only said to take it easy on Trixie’s first question, not the round. So will you give Trixie your hooves? Or will you submit?”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement with Trixie’s explanation. “She’s right you know. So… uhm, just say I win? If you don’t mind that is.”

Rainbow Dash was trapped on the couch with an mare on either side of her, each hell-bent on trying to break her. She closed her eyes tightly and shook. “No, no, you two are evil! This is cheating! Gah, fine!” She suddenly rose up and shifted so she half laid across the couch. Rainbow Dash’s back leaned against Fluttershy and her hind hooves extended towards Trixie, resting on the couch cushions. “I am not giving in, do your worst!”

Fluttershy and Trixie were both taken by surprise as Rainbow Dash agreed to the dare. By Trixie’s estimation she had gotten the raw end of the deal, staring down at Rainbow Dash’s hooves not quite sure what she was meant to do with them. While when she lifted her gaze she found Rainbow Dash practically cuddled up against a blushing Fluttershy who wrapped her hooves around the suddenly squeamish mare, supposedly to keep her still.

Well it was her dare, makes sense she would make sure she gets the best job. Trixie brought her attention back to the pair of hooves before her. Trixie reached out towards the hooves, but found Rainbow Dash pulled them away at just the last second, keeping a little distance between them no matter how often she tried. Finally Trixie looked up at Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Rainbow Dash, they’re only hooves! Stay still already! Or you lose.”

“S-shut up, I’m preparing.” Rainbow Dash retorted, but she did not sound particularly confident about it.

By this point, it was no longer an option to just let Rainbow Dash chicken out, as Trixie was much too curious about just what was up with her hooves that made her act like this. Trixie looked on for a moment longer, then stood up. “You want to do this the hard way? Fine, don’t think Trixie needs magic to restrain you.”

Trixie trotted over the laying Rainbow Dash till she was straddling her legs and dropped down, trapping the toasty mare beneath her. The sudden warmth against her stomach was pleasant, invoking just a moment’s pause in Trixie to appreciate the feeling before she focused on her goal. Rainbow Dash’s hooves had nowhere to go now.

Trixie looked over her shoulder at a very nervous looking Rainbow Dash, and a positively glowing Fluttershy that held onto her torso. Upon meeting Fluttershy's eyes, she grabbed Rainbow Dash a little tighter. Trixie smiled, assured Rainbow Dash was properly held down. “Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, Trixie will make sure you won’t lose your dare, she will to tend to your hooves a whole two minutes to make sure.”

Trixie smirked while she turned back and reached down towards the shaking hooves that tried to wiggle out from under her. “After all, nopony wants an easy win do they?”

“Don’t you dare!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Somehow, I don't think that Rainbow Dash is the champion of this game.

Chapter 64 - Reflex

Rainbow Dash knew she was doomed. Completely and utterly doomed. She was trapped, in multiple ways. Her sense of honor kept her from simply giving up to avoid the issue, and the two mares literally held her down.

Any moment now, Trixie was going to find out her secret. And knowing Trixie, that meant her life was basically over, because she would never let it rest. Rainbow Dash could not really see anything Trixie was doing, only having a good view of the mares back and mane, which made it even worse as she did not know when it was coming.

Looking back over her shoulder, Rainbow Dash shot the best glare she could manage at Fluttershy. “I will get you for thi—iiii!” She squealed and kicked reflexively as Trixie ran a hoof along her sole. Oh no, oh no, oh no!

“Rainbow Dash, you are ticklish? Hah, this is too good!”

Trixie laughed and gave another soft stroke with the toe of her hoof, sending shudders through out Rainbow Dash’s whole body. Involuntarily, she cried out again and did her best to squirm away, resulting in another impotent kick since the devilish unicorn was sitting on her legs, ensuring she could not defend herself.

“Scratch that, Trixie was wrong. you are REALLY ticklish.”

The glee in Trixie’s voice was downright frightening, but what was even worse was the slow careful experimenting that followed. No matter how much she tried to fight her reflexes, every minor touch made her flinch and struggle, and in turn make Trixie giggle.

Rainbow Dash squirmed. “D-darn it, Trixie! Quit messing with my hooves!”

“Never!” Trixie looked back over her shoulder, then tickled along the edge of the hoof, making Rainbow Dash spasm and howl with laughter uncontrollably.

During a brief lull, Rainbow Dash felt Fluttershy stroking her mane comfortingly. “Oh, uhm, don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, time already started, there’s only ten seconds left.”

“What!?” Trixie cried out alarmed and turned her attention back to the vulnerable hooves, within a split second Rainbow Dash arched curled up and fought against Fluttershy while she gasped for breath in between laughing fits.

Fighting to get away from the torture, Rainbow Dash tried hard to break free and buck Trixie off her. Unfortunately she was so weakened by the constant giggles that she was not really a threat to anypony, no matter how much she would have wanted to be, and Fluttershy was able to hold her.

Fluttershy quietly counted the seconds while she hugged Rainbow Dash tightly, keeping her from launching herself off the couch. “ten, nine, eight.”

Laughing for the longest ten seconds of her entire life, where she laughed, screamed, howled and strained against the two ponies with so much might that her limbs, lungs and jaw hurt, Rainbow Dash’s only chance was to try to keep count during them. “T-t, haha, t-thaahat’s ten s-seconds! S-stop!” The tickling finally came to a halt, and Rainbow Dash went limp on the couch panting for breath. “H-hah, see, y-you can’t beat, hah, me…”

Weezing, Rainbow Dash grinned pleased with herself. She’d done it, it was the absolute worst experience she had in recent memory, but she had withstood it. It was a good thing Trixie had spent most of the time just teasing her, as bad as that had been, it was nothing compared to those last ten seconds.

Above her, Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy come into view, her long mane curtained Rainbow Dash’s own face. “Uhm, I’m sorry, I miscounted… Actually there were forty seconds left.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide. She only said that to make Trixie get serious!

“Half way there, hang in there Rainbow Dash, y-you can do it.” She whispered, then gave a nod to Trixie. Rainbow Dash only caught Trixie’s grin for a moment before she turned her back to her again, and everything began again.

Another whole forty seconds, she had to endure that whole thing again for four times as long. Rainbow Dash started to hyperventilate at just the thought, there was no way. “W-wait! Nevermind, I gi—iii!” Her plea was entirely ignored.

“Forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight,” Fluttershy counted down while Rainbow Dash could feel Trixie take the hint and go to town on her hooves again, tickling her soles, scraping along the rim of her hooves, and cackling evilly all throughout.

Where Rainbow Dash’s first ten seconds had been spend trying to outlast the barrage, this time she only tried to do one thing, in between roaring with laughter and gasping for air, surrender and stop the madness. Trixie held through to her word however and dutifully ignored her every attempt at giving up.

Finally, long since after Rainbow Dash had lost all semblance of sanity, the tickling stopped, and she collapsed on the couch exhausted and heaving. Her heart felt as though it was trying to drill through her ribs and escape.

“I, hah, hate, hah, you both!” She barely forced out. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to gather enough focus to figure out how to get back at the pair. For the time being she enjoyed the comfort of Fluttershy’s hold while she recovered.

Fluttershy leaned into view again, her face turned serious. “Maybe next time you’ll think twice about being so late during a thunderstorm, without letting us know.” She pulled her embrace a little tighter, crossing her forelegs over Rainbow Dash’s chest.

Rainbow Dash blinked and stroked her forelegs along Fluttershy’s. “T-that’s what this is all about?”

Trixie, who had apparently turned herself around as she was now seated facing her, leaned over as well. “Well, maybe not what it’s all about.” Trixie grinned while she brushed her mane out of her face, she actually looked pretty tired from torturing Rainbow Dash, sitting comfortably on her legs still. “Trixie believes it should be obvious who is on top here, isn’t it?”

With a huff, Rainbow Dash sat up, reluctantly pulling herself free from Fluttershy, and pushed Trixie off of her. A satisfyingly easy task now that all her previous restrictions were lifted. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Trixie, the game is far from over!”

“Alright! Trixie’s turn at last. Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?”

“Doesn’t anypony else get a dare? Geez! Fine, I pick dare, but you can’t give the same dare twice so don’t even think about it.” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves over her chest with a grumble.

Trixie laughed and shook her head. “What would be the fun in that? Trixie has a better idea for you, miss ‘I am not cooking’. Trixie dares you to make snacks for all of us and bring them back here.” Pointing one hoof toward the kitchen, Trixie made a shooing motion with her other hoof.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but moved towards the kitchen. “I should have known better than to let you have any kind of power. We’re right back to room service again, huh? Just you wait.”

Fluttershy giggled and shook her head. “Are you going to be okay, Rainbow Dash? Uhm, how about I make some more hot chocolate while we wait?”

“Sounds good, Fluttershy, that will be a nice silver lining to this cloud.” She grinned while pondering. Okay, let’s see how they like hot sauce laced snacks!

As if reading her mind, Trixie called after Rainbow Dash. “Hey, they better be good! And remember to clean the kitchen when you are done!”

Looking over her shoulder and smirked. “Stop that darn it, as if I, the honorable Rainbow Dash, would ever have any plans to ruin the snacks or leave the kitchen a mess. Heck I barely intend to use it, I’ll leave it spotless, heh.” She pushed open the kitchen door, then gasped in utter disbelief as she laid eyes on the chaos within. “What in Equestria happened in here! Trixie!”

Trixie’s laughter told her all she needed to know.

Since the next turn belonged to Rainbow Dash herself, the game came to a brief halt while she got to work. Even if Trixie was a low down dirty cheat, Rainbow Dash carried out the dare as instructed, just with plenty of complaining while she did so.

Meanwhile, Trixie lazed on the couch, and Fluttershy made preparations of her own.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Three updates in as many days?
Maybe I'm making up for bailing on my promise to write another chapter last weekend. ^^
I am a little bit surprised just how much it takes to write a single dare.
But then again I guess I should know by now it will always take longer than I imagined.

Chapter 65 - Rotate

Eventually everything had come together, the three ponies, each with a fresh cup of cocoa, found themselves on a blanket before the fireplace. Several bowls worth of ‘carefully’ prepared snacks had been placed strategically between them. All of which did not require any actual cooking, but Trixie never said Rainbow Dash had to cook something, merely make snacks.

So it was that one bowl contained different kinds of fruit thrown together, another housed slices of bread smeared with various kinds of jam, and so on. While it had been satisfying to see Trixie moan in discontent about her lack of effort, Rainbow Dash still did not feel like it weighed up at all to the dares her two friends had put her through. The kitchen took absolutely forever to clean, but even that was much better than a seeming eternity of breathless squealing with laughter.

Raising up her chocolate, Rainbow Dash sipped while she alternated her gaze between Trixie and Fluttershy. She had to get back them, one way or the other, and she was going to find the perfect way before the end of the night. “My turn, Fluttershy, Truth or Dare?”

Without hesitation, Fluttershy responded. “Dare.”

It was no surprise to Rainbow Dash herself, but Trixie gasped in shock.

“Dare? Uh, Fluttershy, Trixie thinks you misspoke. Are you sure you didn’t mean truth? You realize you will have to do all sorts of crazy and humiliating things right? It, uh, just does not seem like something for you.” She stared at the timid pegasus incredulously.

Fluttershy shook her head and smiled. “I’m sure, Trixie. Dares are only for a little while, the truth is forever.” She turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash and gulped. “So… Dare.”

Rubbing her hooves together, Rainbow Dash grinned wickedly. Savoring the nervous guilty look on Fluttershy's face for a moment, she considered if she wanted to get back at her immediately, or let her sweat a little longer. “I knew you’d say that. Okay let’s see. I dare you to…”

Tapping herself on the chin, Rainbow Dash thought long and hard on what she wanted to make Fluttershy do. She could see Trixie and Fluttershy looking at her anxiously. Her reputation was riding on this dare, as there was no way she could keep her title of champion prankster if she did not top Fluttershy’s dare. Think Rainbow. Oh, you could have her run through Ponyville naked! Wait we’re always naked. Uh, guess I could have her shave first? That’s stupid!

Finally, she brightened up as the perfect idea stuck her. “Oh, Fluttershy? Do you remember that thing you were practicing? To talk with bees?”

Blinking, Fluttershy nodded. “Uhm, yes? It’s not really done though, I haven’t had any time to work on it lately.” Rainbow Dash did her best to contain her glee. Fluttershy had no idea, which was going to make this all the more sweet.

Trixie could not quite believe the weird turn this conversation as taking. Wasn’t Rainbow Dash supposed to be daring Fluttershy? Did Trixie pass out without noticing? What’s this nonsense about bee speak? “Talk to bees? That’s just silly, bees do not talk. Trixie knows that much, all they do is buzz. Oh, are you learning to speak buzz, Fluttershy?”

Hearing the question, Rainbow Dash laid down comfortably on the blanket, and picked up a peanut butter sandwich, settling in for the long haul.

Fluttershy giggled and shook her head. From the look on her face, Trixie could guess a small lecture was coming, Fluttershy always got this wonderfully enthusiastic look whenever she got to talk about animals. “Oh, no, Trixie. Bees don’t talk with noise, instead they talk with this amazing little dance routine. It is called ‘the waggle dance’ because the bee dances in a figure eight pattern. It is named that because while it dances in the direction of the food, the bee will wiggle its abdomen. Other bees watching the dance can tell all kinds of things from it, like how far away the food is. I’ve been trying to learn how to talk in their own language, because it’s hard to understand bees sometimes, so I thought if I could speak bee it might help.”

Trixie had to struggle to really pay attention to what was said. It was just so easy to get lost in the otherwise so reserved mares expressions and energy. Her eyes actually seemed to sparkle when she talked, or maybe that was the light of the hearth catching them just right, either way Trixie loved it. “Trixie was not aware of that, buzzing seemed more obvious… So, any luck with talking through dance then?”

“Oh…” Fluttershy deflated before Trixie’s eyes. “…No.” she said dejectedly.

Finishing the last bite of her sandwich, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “That’s okay, Fluttershy. It’s just because you haven’t gotten much practice in yet. You haven’t had time for it, but there’s time right now. Hey, why don’t you give us a demonstration?”

Fluttershy perked up and smiled. “Oh? That’s a great idea, Rainbow Dash. I’ll go get my bee costume.” She got up to her hooves and trotted towards the stairs.

Trixie tilted her head. “Really? You actually dress up as a bee?”

“Wait, Fluttershy. Forget about the costume.” Rainbow Dash smiled, and there was something in her voice that caught Trixie’s attention.

Fluttershy froze and looked back, blushing. “Uh, n-no I really should get the costume…”

Rainbow Dash’s smile spread, turning almost lecherous. “Fluttershy, leave the costume. I dare you to do the waggle dance, right now. Pretend there is honey on the stairs.”

Blushing scarlet, Fluttershy turned to face Rainbow Dash and backed up a few steps while she hid behind her mane. “A-are you sure you wouldn’t rather see the w-whole thing? It looks much, uhm, better, I swear.”

“Oh, I doubt that. Now, come on, Fluttershy. A dare’s a dare, or are you giving up?”

The exchange did not make any sense to Trixie, it seemed innocent enough. Why are they being so weird about a little bee dance? Honey on the stairs? What? She struggled to recall what Fluttershy had said about the dance, because clearly Rainbow Dash had to know what she was doing if it was making Fluttershy so flustered.

Trixie could see Fluttershy make quick glances towards her, before settling back on Rainbow Dash. “I-I-I… I don’t….” Fluttershy’s whole face was red when she sighed and lowered her head defeated. “…O-Okay.”

To Trixie’s confusion, Fluttershy walked in two little circles, one on the left, the other on the right. On the line the two circles met she always walked away from them, then would turn to the left or right, walking towards them to make the circle and start over.

“Trixie doesn’t get it, this is her dare? Trixie expected more of you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, don’t take it out on me. Fluttershy isn’t doing it properly yet.” Rainbow Dash grinned and pointed at Fluttershy. ”You know, Fluttershy, Trixie is right. You are not getting off this easy, come on there’s more to this dance.”

“D-don’t’ rush me…please.” Fluttershy mumbled as she turned towards them again.

Fluttershy looked just horrendously awkward, performing a dance with no rhythm, in a room with no music, to only the clip-clopping sound of her hooves.

She was still blushing heavily, but Trixie could see a look of resolve form on her face. Or was that resignation?

Just as Trixie was starting to get bored of the odd bet and looked towards Rainbow Dash to chastise her lack of creativity, but then a sudden movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked back towards Fluttershy, but only saw her turning back towards them again. Fluttershy’s blush was deeper than before.

It was only at the second pass that Trixie understood. When Fluttershy walked away from them again, she shook her rear from side to side in quick wooden shakes, sending her lush tail swaying behind her. Trixie felt her cheeks heat up, and a quick glance towards Rainbow Dash revealed she was blushing as well now, squeezing her wings tightly against her back.

“That’s more like it, Fluttershy. Hey, Trixie, do you suppose she should be buzzing to help her practice?” Rainbow Dash tore her eyes away to look at Trixie as she spoke.

Sparing only the sideways glance to meet Rainbow Dash, Trixie thought about it while she watched Fluttershy, noticing that she gave Rainbow Dash a glare. Fluttershy coughed as she began her wiggle portion of the dance again, causing Rainbow Dash to look over to check on her.

This time though Fluttershy swayed her hips much more fluidly and slowly, Trixie could swear this portion of the dance lasted a few seconds longer than earlier, then Fluttershy turned around again to circle back. Her eyes settled on Rainbow Dash, who was watching her with her mouth open, then she smiled.

Feeling a sense of recognition, Trixie smirked. “Eyes front, Rainbow Dash. It’s rude not to watch a show you’ve requested you know.”

Rainbow Dash apparently did not recall she’d asked any kind of question as she took no notice of Trixie’s lack of an answer. Rather she focused on the show Fluttershy was putting on. The timid mare gradually gained in confidence as each passing she strayed further and further away from the bee dance, keeping only the basic steps.

Trixie watched Fluttershy, she’d never have guessed she could move like that. The orange light of the fireplace danced over her fur in alluring patterns while she danced. A twirl made her mane swoosh along her face, hiding and revealing her eyes in turn, revealing a look of single minded determination while the curves of her body flowed with her resolve.

Rainbow Dash gawked with equal parts surprise and delight. Her wings unfurled as her full attention was drawn in by Fluttershy, knocking Trixie against the side of the head with the feathery appendage. It was barely worth the notice for Trixie as she found herself equally drawn to dancing mare. With her experience it was easy to recognize a pony taking joy in her performance, and Fluttershy most certainly was at this point.

It was as though Trixie was watching an entirely different pony, rhythmic, gyrating motions held her enthralled. To no beat but her own hooffalls, Fluttershy was completely immersed in her evolving dance. Her eyes swept over them with each turn, reveling in their reactions. The occasional quick spin send Fluttershy’s mane flying, and wafted the room in the sweet honey aroma of her shampoo.

Trixie had lost track of time, but panting softly, Fluttershy finally came to a stop. She stared at the two of them with a bright blush across her face as if she’d only just realized what she’d been doing. She tilted her head down to cover her face with her bangs.

Giving Rainbow Dash a quick prod with her elbow, Trixie clapped her hooves together in applause. Rainbow Dash took the hint and joined in on applauding Fluttershy’s performance with great enthusiasm, then called out, “Whoa! Way to go, Fluttershy!”

“That was some show! Trixie never knew bees were such great dancers, Fluttershy,” she teased. “Trixie did not think you had it in you.”

Fluttershy quickly trotted back on her old spot on the blanket and sat down, still hiding herself. “W-well, it was a dare. I had no choice but to do it…”

Trixie stared at Fluttershy while Rainbow Dash gloated about her dare being the better one or something along those lines. Mhm, so that’s what she meant before. Even though she was embarrassed to death, she definitely got into doing that, but Trixie supposes she wouldn’t normally get to try something like that?

Another thought suddenly struck Trixie which made her freeze up. If THAT is what she made her best friend do, then what is Trixie in for? She looked over to Rainbow Dash, worried.

As though she could read her mind, Rainbow Dash looked back at Trixie, and showed just the smallest of grins as if telling her she was right to be worried.

It was then that Trixie took notice of something else, as her eyes drifted away from Rainbow Dash’s eyes. She grinned while she swept her mane out of her face. “Going for a midnight flight, Rainbow Dash?” She motioned to the pair of magnificent wings, spread out in all their splendor.

For a moment, Rainbow Dash looked confused, then followed Trixie’s direction and looked to her sides. She gasped when she saw her wings and reached behind her to forcefully pull her wings against her back, blushing furiously while she tried her best to look unphased. “M-maybe later, let’s keep the game going, yeah.”

Fluttershy, upon Trixie’s mention, had peeked out with one eye from behind her mane. She stared at Rainbow Dash, one hoof held against her mouth while her face was burning up. “O-oh my, d-did…uhm, y-yes game.”

Laughing, Trixie reveled in the moment. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that any further humiliation she heaped on Rainbow Dash was definitely going to come back at her ten-fold when Rainbow Dash got her turn to make her do something, but she was already going to get hell, so she might as well not bother holding back.

With her wings managed, Rainbow Dash turned her full, undivided attention to an apple, as if it was the most important thing in the entire world. She bit off a piece with all the grace and natural behavior of an animated hard plastic golem. “Alright, so next is you, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, uhm, right. Trixie, truth or dare?” Fluttershy’s voice was softer than it had ever been, barely overpowering the rain outside.

It was all too obvious Fluttershy was trying to spare Rainbow Dash for the turn.

“Dare. Hit Trixie with your best shot.” Trixie said, a little more eager than perhaps she should have, but Fluttershy’s first dare had been so interesting to Trixie that she was impatient to find out what she could come up with next.

To Trixie’s disappointment however, Fluttershy dared Trixie to see how many cherries she could fit in her mouth. Even the juvenile humor that Trixie got out of that was dispelled after cherry number fifteen. Rainbow Dash did not miss the chance to take advantage of her inability to speak though.

“Whoa, Fluttershy, do you hear that?”

“Uhm, hear what? I don’t hear anything…”

“Exactly! It’s silence, I’d almost forgotten what that’s like. I wonder why it’s back now?”

“Mhpf puh!”

After a good twenty cherries, making a complete mess of her fur, and cement the fact that everything would taste like cherry for a week, it was finally Trixie’s turn again.

Trixie looked from Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy and back, weighing her options as she rubbed her hooves together. “Oh this will be good! Okay let’s see. To keep it fair, Fluttershy only has had one turn, so, Fluttershy, truth or dare?”

Fluttershy smiled a little nervously. “Dare.”

“Excellent. Trixie dares you to…” She stretched out the last word while she thought about it. This is Trixie’s chance to make her do something good! Oh, how about a lapdance? Too close to bee dance. Make her chase that annoying rabbit with a knife? A bit dark. Dare her to kiss Trixie? Trixie felt her cheeks flush.

“Trixie dares you to ki—” She froze, looking at Fluttershy she was reminded of her warning. Wait! Rainbow Dash will kill Trixie if she sees! A shiver ran down her spine when she recalled being pushed up against the cold walls of the castle. “—ill, kill a uh…” That will upset her! Trixie’s eyes darted to the corner of the room that Rainbow Dash and pinned her in for making Fluttershy cry. “Kill a, uhm, dust…bunny?” She could only hope that sentence made sense, while looking at Rainbow Dash anxiously for approval, there was no response other than mild confusion and irritation.

“Kill a dust bunny? You’re daring her to clean a single mote of dust? Ugh, I had to clean a whole kitchen, no fair.” Rainbow Dash huffed.

“Y-yes! That’s exactly it.”

“Uhm, okay.” Fluttershy got up to fetch a broom and sweep under the couch.

"Geez I expected something better from you, Trixie."

This game was going to be harder than Trixie thought.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A bit of a bigger chapter again. Fun times.

Chapter 66 - Refill

Trixie could not help but feel she had ruined the pace of the game after she chickened out on her planned dare, and tumbled all the way down to challenging Fluttershy to slay a speck of dust. The following dares had been nowhere near as interesting as the first two.

The only exception was Rainbow Dash, who had dared Trixie to be a maid for a round. Which apparently included referring to everypony as though they were above her, and bringing in new drinks. Afterwards, Fluttershy had dared Trixie to balance on one leg, which was a bit tricky, but she was given a pass after they remembered that it would be especially bad if she fell and hit her head. By this point they’d done away with actually asking for truth.

“Hey, Trixie, bring me some grapes.” Rainbow Dash shifted to lay on her side and propped her head up on one hoof.

“Rainbow Dash, they are right next to you, get them yourself.”

Putting on a mock scolding face, Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue. “Tsk-tsk, remember your place.”

Trixie glared, but still got up to trot over to Rainbow Dash, snatching up the grapes. “Yes, Miss Dash.” She held them out, only to find Rainbow Dash opening her mouth, and closing her eyes.

After a moment of Trixie staring at her with increasing fury, Rainbow Dash peeked up at her and stuck out her tongue, making a beckoning gesture. “Come on, you know what I want.”

Despite herself, Trixie felt her cheeks flush when Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue invitingly like that. Her mind wandered. She found herself staring at it for just a little too long, and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing, then lowered the grape vine enough for Rainbow Dash to eat some.

“Uh-uhm… Trixie, it’s your turn now.” Fluttershy reminded her.

Trixie perked up. “Oh, thanks Fluttershy.” She set the grapes down and considered her next move when she felt Rainbow Dash jab her side. Trixie groaned while she looked down at Rainbow Dash. “Fine. Trixie meant: thank you, Miss Fluttershy.” After committing the smug grin on Rainbow Dash’s face to memory, and plotting to make her pay for it, Trixie looked over to Fluttershy. To Trixie’s delight, she found Fluttershy blushing. Just because Trixie called her miss? Heh, so cute.

Now that it finally was her turn, Trixie got another chance to make up for her performance the last round. She had to get something good going. Her only solace was that Fluttershy had technically started it with her disappointing cherry dare.

That was weird, but now that Trixie thinks about it. It was so lame, maybe Fluttershy feels the same as Trixie? Is she trying to make sure Rainbow Dash doesn’t get upset? But then what was with the hooves thing? She definitely did not mind upsetting her that time. Somewhere, Trixie felt like thinking this much should have brought on a headache, but she felt a small triumph when nothing came.

Trixie knew she had to come up with something soon, but now Fluttershy’s behavior was puzzling her. The whole evening she's been switching between being perfectly nice one moment, and then, well Trixie does not want to say mean, but maybe ever so slightly less nice than usual? Ugh, if that is the worst Trixie can say about her, then surely Trixie looking too much into it.

“Come on, Trixie. It’s your turn.” Rainbow Dash helped herself to another grape.

Bringing her attention back to the present, Trixie smirked at Rainbow Dash. “Patience, Miss Dash. Trixie will get to it in her own time.”

Trixie looked to Fluttershy and gave a smile, resolving to do better this time. She glanced over to Rainbow Dash, who she was still right next to. Okay, so, something that doesn’t upset Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy… But is still great. How hard could it be? Uh, uhm…

Trixie could feel sweat beading in her fur while she tried to think of anything good. Make her go out in the rain? But she’d be wet, and we’d have to dry her and, and Trixie might… Okay not that. Uhm, Have her kiss Rainbow Dash? Trixie felt her pulse quicken at the thought, but shook her head quickly. T-that’s only once per game… Trixie would r-rather… She blushed and tried to banish the thought.

Trixie had been ready most of the round to throw Fluttershy a hard dare. But now that the pressure was on, all she wanted was something safe. Dare her to close the bathroom door? That was so lame even she winced at the idea. Trixie felt guilty about holding back again and picking something simple. Trixie shouldn’t feel this way, Rainbow Dash did not get mad at Trixie for Applejack, so… she’s okay now.. It’s not fair to her. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to risk it, Applejack wasn’t Fluttershy.

“Uhm, Trixie, are you okay?” Fluttershy’s soft voice pulled Trixie’s attention.

The words themselves were not what Trixie paid attention to though. She grinned, and pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. “Miss Fluttershy, Trixie dares you to scream, till Trixie’s ears hurt.” She found herself glancing at Rainbow Dash for approval.

Rainbow Dash wore a bored expression, but at least she wasn’t angry. “Well, that’s an improvement I guess, but we are going to be here all night now.”

Fluttershy smiled and took a deep breath, then screamed as loudly as a mouse in a library. “Aahhhhh.”

Trixie blinked, and raised a hoof up to rub her ears, making sure they were still there. “What the? Fluttershy, you talk louder than you scream. That’s not right.” She looked over to Rainbow Dash, but she was just snickering at this point.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Fluttershy said, even quieter.

“Told you. Hey, Fluttershy, come over here.” Rainbow Dash patted on a spot on the blanket near her and Trixie. “It will be easier if you’re closer. Though I’m not sure it will matter at all.” Then she turned to Trixie. “And don’t you think I didn’t notice you didn’t call her by her proper name, Trixie. Get on with it.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, it was getting annoying. “Miss Fluttershy talks louder than that.”

Nodding at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy sat down beside them and made herself comfortable. Trixie squirmed away just a little, keeping a bit more distance between her than Rainbow Dash did. Trixie shot a quick look at Rainbow Dash, then turned her attention back to Fluttershy.

Taking another deep breath, Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly and yelled with so much intensity that it would over power even the sound of a needle dropping. She looked at Trixie, seeming pretty proud of herself. “How was that?”

Trixie was not sure what to say for a moment then quickly raised up a hoof to her ears rubbing them again. “Uh, uhm. Ouch! Oh, did you say something, Miss Fluttershy? Trixie can’t hear you.”

“Whoa, that’s the worst acting I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen Applejack try to tell a lie.” Rainbow Dash laughed, and leaned in closer. “One more try, come on, Fluttershy, louder.” Trixie caught sight of that particular smile on Rainbow Dash’s face. Something was up. “Trixie, get closer, don’t make it harder for her.”

After staring at Rainbow Dash in distrust for a moment, Trixie leaned in closer and perked her ears. She was not actually sure what it would mean if Fluttershy did not manage to do it. She had tried and didn’t give up, but she definitely did not succeed. Maybe that’s good enough?

For the third time, Fluttershy took in a deep breath, but this time it was almost immediately followed with a loud, high pitched squeal that shook the windows and pierced Trixie’s ears painfully.

Folding her ears flat against her head, Trixie closed her eyes tightly with a hiss. She only peeked when the squeal died down, and saw Fluttershy holding her sides protectively. Fluttershy had recoiled away from Rainbow Dash, and was staring accusingly at her.

Rainbow Dash laughed loudly, her hoof was stretched out, and upon seeing Trixie she made a quick tickling motion in midair to demonstrate how clever she was.

Despite the ringing in her ears, Trixie felt a grin creep up on her face and shook her head. “Trixie should have known that you would know how to make a racket, Miss Dash.” She looked over at Fluttershy and grinned. “Should we make her pay, Miss Fluttershy?”

To her disappointment however, Fluttershy shook her head. “I-it’s fine. Uhm, so it’s Rainbow Dash’s turn now.”

Rainbow Dash recovered from her laughing fit, feeling very pleased with herself for giving Fluttershy a taste of her own medicine. Two seconds doesn’t really compare to sixty, but it will do. With that, she had salvaged at least one dull dare and turned it into something amusing.

She was not sure why, but for whatever reason those two seemed to absolutely insist on trying to bore her to death when it was their turns. Strangely, the problem only seemed to occur when they were daring each other. Rainbow Dash herself had gotten plenty of interesting or funny dares, even if she was the butt of the joke, and all of her dares were awesome.

“See, Rainbow Dash? Not so easy to come up with a good dare now is it?” Trixie teased while she turned to one of the snack bowls, selecting a slice of bread with strawberry jam.

“Hey, first of all, you are still a maid till I finish my turn, so that’s ‘Miss Dash’ to you, Trixie. Am I taking too long for you? Don’t rush me, or I’ll make you dry the roof.”

Rolling her eyes, Trixie shook her head. “That’s pointless, it’s still raining.”

“Exactly.” Rainbow Dash grinned, then turned her attention back to the problem at hoof. What is up with them, they have no problem messing with me. Hm, I don’t get it. Well maybe it’s easier to figure out what’s up with Fluttershy first. Normally she’s pretty clever, but she just made Trixie eat cherries and stand on one hoof? That’s not like her. She doesn’t usually do touchy dares, but she’s had no problem giving me that monstrous hoof dare. So she definitely is acting weird. Hay, Fluttershy nearly crushed my ribs when Trixie straddled me, what’s up with that? She lingered on the thought for a while longer, but was not making much progress.

“Trixie, could you refill our mugs with water, please? If you don’t mind that is.” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, sure, Miss Fluttershy.” Trixie set down her bread on the edge of the bowl and trotted off.

Then there is Trixie. She’s been pretty well behaved all week, and I don’t think she’s told Fluttershy about our flight, so that can’t be it. Her dares have been pretty good with me, but she really falters on Fluttershy’s. Not to mention she keeps staring at me when she’s supposed to be daring Fluttershy, maybe she would rather give me more dares?

“If she’s taking this long, one of us is probably in trouble, Miss Fluttershy.” Trixie called out on her way back from the kitchen, a tray held in her teeth. She smiled a little nervously. “She’s not gotten back at Trixie yet, so…”

“Oh, maybe, but she already dared you last round. So you are probably safe for this one,” Fluttershy said reassuringly.

Rainbow Dash, brought her hoof to her muzzle stroking it slowly while she watched Trixie return with a jug of water, refilling their mugs. Ugh, this is complicated, don’t they like each other? They’ve been living together for two weeks, you’d think they would be comfortable around each other by now. She blinked, and looked from Fluttershy to Trixie quickly. Wait, they totally get along when they are talking, Fluttershy barely ever stutters with her anymore. It’s just… that’s it! They aren’t used to teasing or touching one another!

“It’s such a pain to have to wait for her, Trixie always knew thinking was not her strong suit. Trixie supposes that’s something she’s not as fast in.” Trixie gave a grin at Rainbow Dash, then raised up her bread again, fumbling with clumsy hooves for control over it as she brought it to her mouth.

Grinning widely with her discovery, Rainbow Dash picked up a mug of fresh water to toast her succes. Of course! That’s the difference. They are totally used to doing that with me. Mhm, okay so I’ll just have to let them get used to it then? But how? I can’t just randomly tell them to start touching each other, oh wait, yeah I can! It’s my turn!

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 67- Reenact

Trixie could feel her hooves shake while she held up the toast. She contemplated briefly if she should just put it back down and avoid any risk of humiliating herself. After all, she could always try again in a few minutes. It was difficult to resist the glossy, tasty-looking strawberry jam now that it was so close that she could smell it though.

Before deciding, Trixie took a quick glance around. Rainbow Dash was apparently deep in thought, so deep that she had not even reacted to any of Trixie’s taunts. Honestly, that annoyed her a bit. She missed the jousting already. Fluttershy was lost in staring at Rainbow Dash, presumably dreading her upcoming dare.

They wouldn’t notice if Trixie put the toast back down, but she’d know.

Come on, Trixie! You cooked pancakes! This will be easy!

As ridiculous of an encouragement as that was. It actually did make her feel a bit better about it, though for convenience she left out how much of a mess she’d made doing so.

Leaning in, Trixie took a bite of the toast, then pulled back, munching on her reward in sweet satisfaction. Any victory was one to be savored as far as she was concerned, even if it was a small one.

Thinking about it, now Trixie felt a little disappointed Fluttershy had not seen her do it. She looked over to the cute pegasus, trying to think of some way to casually draw her attention. If she faked a cough it probably would get her to look over, but she wanted her attention on the toast, not her throat. …Okay maybe that wouldn’t be bad either. Trixie blushed.

“Say, Fluttershy, where did you get this jam?” She tried to use as casual a tone as she could. Smiling, she saw Fluttershy turn around, and brought up the toast to her muzzle to take another bite as nonchalantly as possible, even only using one hoof this time while she used the other to indicate the toast. “Trixie approv—Gah!”

In her hubris, she’d been paying far too much attention to Fluttershy, and had been talking while she moved the toast closer, knocking it right off her hoof with her own lips. As though in slow-motion, Trixie could see the toast spin in the air in front of her as it fell down towards the blanket they were sitting on.

No! Catch it! Catch it!

Reaching out both forelegs, she made a lunge for it and grabbed it right out of midair. Yes! Hah! Crisis averted! She boasted inwardly and looked down at the blanket, not a single speck of strawberry to be found on it, much to her delight. She puffed up her chest with pride for her feat, looking at Fluttershy.

“S-so, yeah, uh, what store?” Trixie did her best to appear calm, but she did not get a reply.

Trixie noticed that Fluttershy was looking at her, but not into her eyes. Her eyes were lower, and Trixie followed them. As she did, she became aware that something felt wrong, and sticky. There were her hooves, clutching the toast… against her chest. “Oh, great.”

Fluttershy raised her gaze up to meet Trixie’s eyes. “Uh, I think we have a little time before Rainbow Dash is done, come on.” She gave a kind smile while she stood up, then took a few steps in the direction of the bathroom.

Blushing embarrassed, Trixie nodded at the proposal. “Yes, Trixie thinks you’re right.” She glanced over at Rainbow Dash. She was fairly sure Rainbow Dash was going to take her sweet time, so they could afford a quick break. However, she found Rainbow Dash was no longer ignoring her, in fact she was looking right at her, with a wide grin on her face. Trixie felt chills while she locked her gaze with those mischievous eyes.

“Perfect,” Rainbow Dash said, more to herself than anypony else.

Trixie blinked, puzzled by Rainbow Dash's words, then, she braced, expecting to be ridiculed. “What?”

Rainbow Dash looked away from Trixie and settled on Fluttershy. “Wait up, Fluttershy, I have a better idea. I dare you to clean Trixie.”

“Uhm, Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry, but uh, we were going to do that anyway. Are you okay?” With great concern in her face, Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash. After a moment of confusion, she flashed an understanding smile. “You don’t have to feel pressured, you’ll have some extra time to think of a better dare while we’re gone.”

Smirking, Rainbow Dash added, “with your tongue.”

Both Trixie and Fluttershy colored scarlet, and looked shocked at Rainbow Dash, then at one another. Trixie still clutched her toast, though it was quickly turning into crumbs as she tensed up hard after the clarification.

“Would you like to give up?” Rainbow Dash asked, in a tone that said she was just going to make her do it anyway, since giving up meant she’d have to obey Dash for the day.

“But, that, that’s not fair. Y-you can’t uh…” Fluttershy protested, but she trailed off as her defense was definitely not working. If anything, it was just causing Rainbow Dash more amusement. “H-how about something else? Like, uhm, uhhh.”

Trixie observed awhile in stunned silence. She could not fathom what Rainbow Dash must be thinking. It was absolutely a terrible, horrible idea to get that close to Fluttershy. Trixie was completely sure she was not supposed to do that. She felt her chest tighten, feeling that sense of fear rear up again and cluttering her thoughts, coloring her memory. I-is she testing Trixie? Rainbow Dash w-will get mad if Trixie allows it? She said before to talk to Fluttershy, but then got mad when Trixie did.

Fluttershy was still trying to convince Rainbow Dash to try something else, but every attempt so far was brushed aside. Though if Trixie had to be fair, Fluttershy’s suggestions were terrible, such as a dare to have her fly a circle through the room.

“Uh, h-how about, a dare to juggle apples?” Fluttershy offered.

Trixie has to say something, yes, but what? I-it’s hard to think of something. I-it has to be part of the test? Oh! Trixie swallowed and quickly made her own suggestion, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “Trixie has a better idea. Why not dare Trixie to let you clean her? Wouldn’t that be better?” Smiling, Trixie pulled her hooves away from her chest, letting remains of the actual toast drop in the bowl. She motioned at the red jam covering her fur, standing out brightly in contrast against the light blue. N-now that Trixie thinks about it, this doesn’t sound half bad. She blushed at the idea.

Rainbow Dash perked up her ears. Trixie’s suggestion visibly caught her interest as she stroked her chin and looked thoughtful.

Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash closely, trying to work out if she had done good by the mares reactions.

However, before Rainbow Dash could reply, Fluttershy interrupted. “I-I accept.” She spoke a little bit louder than usual, calling the attention of both mares to her. Meeping quietly with the sudden attention, she hid behind her mane. Still, she had most definitely said she would do the dare.

“That’s the spirit, Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash grinned widely and settled in comfortably.

Wait, what? Trixie blinked, unsure if she had missed something. We’re going through with this? But, uh, okay okay. Relax, Trixie. She took a few deep breaths to stay as calm as she could manage. She noticed Fluttershy doing the same, who then closed the distance and sat down in front of Trixie.

Trixie shoot another look to Rainbow Dash, but she looked completely relaxed by this point. She, she is really okay with this? Is she telling Trixie something? Swallowing a lump in her throat, Trixie turned her gaze to meet up with Fluttershy’s. “S-so, a dare is a dare right, Fluttershy?” She shot a sideways glance at Rainbow Dash as she spoke, more intending to remind her than Fluttershy.

“R-right,” Fluttershy squeaked.

Doing her utmost best to sit still as a statue, Trixie watched Fluttershy lean in closer. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, both fear and anticipation rushed through her system. There was nothing she could do about it now, but hope that it was not a trick.

Fluttershy lingered with her nose just a few centimeters away from Trixie’s chest, and Trixie could hear her breathing in a long, slow manner. The pause while Fluttershy was so close just made Trixie’s nerves act up even more. She lifted her gaze away from Fluttershy, and settled on Rainbow Dash, who made no efforts whatsoever to stop them. It’s a dare, this is not on Trixie, right? She closed her eyes tightly.

After a few moments, Trixie opened her eyes again. Fluttershy had not moved a bit. It puzzled Trixie, but only for about as long as it took her to remember who she had before her. Oh, if Trixie is nervous, it must be even worse for Fluttershy? Trixie should say something, This is really awkward.

Trixie cleared her throat, drawing Fluttershy’s attention. “If we don’t hurry, The Great and Tasty Trixie is sure to never get the stains out of her fur. It is just a little cleaning, and nothing more than that. Animals do it all the time, right Fluttershy? Maybe you could demonstrate how they do it?”

“A-animals?” Fluttershy sounded puzzled, but definitely looked grateful for Trixie’s attempts.

“Yes, all week you’ve shown us how animals take care of their young, and Trixie knows she saw the little ones were cleaned by their parent’s tongue. Trixie was pretty far away at the time though, so could you show Trixie?” She gave a confident smile at Fluttershy, which was quite a feat considering she felt anything but.

“O-oh! Yes, of course. Uhm, well… t-that is called grooming. Typically it helps in hygiene, but it is also used to strengthen bonds between animals. There are different ways of doing it, some animals do so nearly in passing, some take up predetermined positions, others like to make it a mutual exchange.” Her hesitation slowly melted the longer she talked.

Trixie smiled and gave a few nods while she listened. “How would they go about it?”

“Well, it differs a bit, but for example they can initiate by pushing a cub to the floor, like so.” Fluttershy reenacted the behavior of the mother badger Trixie had seen, pressing her head against Trixie to nudge her over. It was nowhere near hard enough to actually knock Trixie over, but she obliged and ‘fell’ onto the blanket, looking up at Fluttershy.

Trixie chuckled. “So, cubs hate baths as much as foals then, if they have to be held down.”

Giggling softly, Fluttershy nodded. “They are pretty similar, getting started is the hard part, because they are so playful. After that they usually get into it, so they don’t need to be restrained anymore. Once the cub is captured, the grooming begins. For other adults it is usually limited to places they have a hard time reaching, but cubs don’t clean themselves yet. So the mother does most of it, she’ll trap the cub, then lick against the grain of the fur.”

Even though Trixie’d started the talk to get Fluttershy comfortable, she had gotten carried away and forgotten why she was doing it. Caught off-guard, she suddenly felt Fluttershy’s tongue drag along her fur. She inhaled sharply with surprise. “T-Trixie see’s, A-and is it just one lic—ah!” Her question was interrupted by the answer, as Fluttershy gave her another lick.

Trixie closed her eyes tightly, the spoken lecture had stopped entirely and they’d clearly moved on to the demonstration part. It was the strangest feeling, something damp and warm dragged along the fur of her chest, making her skin tingle and coat stand on end. Each lick left a warm trail in its wake that quickly cooled as the air passed over. The small chills made Trixie shiver, and hope for another lick to warm her up again.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Two chapters today, that's right. Just keep right on reading.
Heck I'll even make it easy for you: Next chapter!
No cliffhanger pains today.

...What are you still here for? Go! Unless you want to comment on this chapter in particular. Which is always appreciated. :raritywink:

Chapter 68 - Rephrase

Squirming underneath Fluttershy, Trixie breathed quickly. Fluttershy’s grooming tickled slightly, but more than anything it felt so good. Trixie’s mind was in conflict. This was definitely something she would have loved, but it also terrified her. That Rainbow Dash was allowing Trixie to experience it was confusing her badly. She hasn’t mhmm said anything yet, s-so this is okay? Rainbow Dash is okay with sharing Trixie with Fluttershy now? Is that it?

Trixie felt her heartbeat quicken, knowing she had Fluttershy’s complete attention all to herself for that moment. The sensation of Fluttershy's tongue slithering against the grain of her chest fur drove any other thought out of her mind.

Laying on her back, Trixie had her hooves free to reach out around Fluttershy, holding the caring mare while the grooming continued. Each new stroke relaxed Trixie a bit more, to the point that she could no longer recall what worried her about this situation. “Mhm. Trixie a-approves this…” she murmured, allowing one hoof to stroke along Fluttershy’s back.

She could hear the moist sound of Fluttershy’s tongue rhythmically lapping along her wet fur, and sensed the warmth of her body so alluringly close by. Trixie leaned in closer to give an affectionate lick along Fluttershy’s cheek.

Fluttershy uttered a soft gasp, then gave another few quick licks in rapid succession, invoking an electrified feeling in Trixie’s chest.

Encouraged by the answer of Fluttershy’s swift tongue, Trixie continued her show of affection, tracing her lips along Fluttershy’s coat and mane until she reached her ears, then gave a playful nibble. It felt so right. Finally, Trixie did not have to hide anymore, she could show how she truly felt about the wonderfully kind, soft mare.

“Uhm, Trixie? We’re done.”

Fluttershy’s voice pulled Trixie out of the moment. “Done?”

“Y-you’re clean, I’m happy you’re grateful, but, uhm, you can let g-go. If that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy blushed embarrassed. What Trixie had taken as a sign that Fluttershy wanted her to continue before, suddenly made much more sense as Fluttershy trying to hurry up and get it over with before Trixie got too carried away.

Trixie’s eyes opened wide as she suddenly realized what she was doing, and immediately let go of Fluttershy and pulled back in panic. “Sorry!” It took another moment before she recalled it was not just Fluttershy she had to worry about. Chills ran down Trixie’s spine. A quick turn towards her right revealed an annoyed look on Rainbow Dash’s face. “No! Trixie is sorry!”

Rainbow Dash looked on while she watched her two friends struggle with her dare, feeling incredibly pleased with herself for causing them that much trouble. She was grateful for her indecision earlier, as it allowed Trixie to make a mess of herself and subsequently provide the idea.

When they started talking about animals it was confusing at first, but soon enough Rainbow Dash caught on to the intention and smirked. Clever, Trixie. Though she was a bit disappointed that Trixie found a way to cheat her out of the amusement of watching Fluttershy take her first tentative licks while near dying of embarrassment. She could have interrupted them and made the whole thing more awkward if she really wanted, by calling attention to everything they were doing, but actually her plan was working out perfectly.

I’m a genius! And not the egghead genius either, hah, an awesome genius! All I have to do is sit here, and let them get used to each other. Mhm, actually this is a pretty good show. Rainbow Dash felt her cheeks flare, and preemptively squeezed her wings against her side, just to be safe.

When Trixie had offered to let Rainbow Dash do the cleaning, it had been surprising for a moment. However, when Rainbow Dash thought about it, she realized it just proved her suspicions: Trixie was comfortable with her doing it, and not Fluttershy.

Heh, well she certainly looks more comfortable now. Rainbow Dash stretched and leaned to one side a bit to get a better look. Lapping up the strawberry jam, Fluttershy’s tongue worked its way through the now slightly purplish colored fur, though each new stroke brought back Trixie’s pretty blue hue a little more. Trixie’s face looked positively blissful, though there was some confliction mixed in. Totally working, I guess that feels pretty good? Fluttershy did say cubs would get into it once the bath started I guess.

If she was completely honest though, it was working a little too well. Even though she knew she was making them do it, she could not stop the green-eyed monster from raising its ugly head. Still, the whole thing had been her idea, so she had to remember that getting Trixie and Fluttershy closer had been the whole point. Even still, she felt she would give her left wing at the moment to trade places with Trixie.

Averting her gaze, Rainbow Dash discovered it did not really do much for her jealousy, the wet sopping sounds only seemed to get louder and faster, she could swear she heard Trixie nearly moaning. You are imagining it, quit it! Heh, maybe I should help? No, I have to stay here and be bored or it’s pointless! She scowled annoyed at her own logic, but it made sense to her.

Well… come on, mission accomplished already, it can’t hurt to have some fun right? She faintly registered Fluttershy saying something, but it was only when she heard Trixie cry out in alarm that she turned her head to look. While Rainbow Dash was still largely lost in her own thoughts, she locked eyes with Trixie. Ugh, great, figures I’d think of that when it’s already over, great job Rainbow Dash. She thought, annoyed.

“No! Trixie is sorry!”

Huh, what? Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, whatever she had just missed, it upset Trixie a lot. She looked over to Fluttershy for a lingering moment, hoping to divine any information out of her, but she was too busy staring at Trixie to notice.

“You’re sorry?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Tearing up, Trixie nodded quickly. “Yes! T-Trixie did not mean to, to, cheat. Please believe Trixie.”

“You are worried I’m mad because you were cheating?” Rainbow Dash paused to consider this. Then recalled that Trixie had cheated a little to get Fluttershy over her embarrassment initially, though she was surprised that Trixie thought she would really mind that much. For that matter, it was weird that it took Trixie so long to apologize for it. “Why are you apologizing only now? It’s way too late isn’t it?”

Trixie’s eyes widened, folding her ears flat against her mane while she shrunk down, making herself as small as possible. “T-Trixie didn’t realize till now! Trixie swears! Don’t be mad at, Trixie, she is really sorry! I-it just happened.” She rattled off in quick succession, increasing desperation in her voice.

Rainbow Dash got on her hooves and trotted over, but when Trixie flinched Rainbow Dash came to a complete stop. “Whoa, slow down, Trixie! It’s okay. I’m not mad, see?” She looked over at Fluttershy, a quick examination showed that she was perfectly fine, so Trixie’s ploy seemed to have worked just fine for making Fluttershy comfortable with the dare. Smiling, Rainbow Dash sat down beside them. “Look, hey, I wasn’t going to tell you but… I wanted you to do that. I thought you and Fluttershy should get more comfy, you know?”

The look of disbelief on Trixie’s face was met with a chuckle from Rainbow Dash. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. You aren’t the only one that can hatch a scheme you know! I’m just better at it.” Rainbow Dash brushed her hoof on her chest, then held it out to admire the shine with a nonchalant look.

“S-so, it’s… it’s okay? You are okay with Trixie doing that? Are you really sure?” Trixie asked hesitantly, though her ears were starting to perk up again. Right before Rainbow Dash’s eyes, Trixie brightened up by the second as the words sunk in.

“Of course I’m okay with it.” Rainbow Dash smiled, and reached out a hoof to pet her reassuringly, Stripping that last bit of insecurity away from Trixie's expression.

Trixie looked as though she felt a thousand rock-filled saddlebags lighter. Beaming with joy as she got up and embraced Rainbow Dash tightly. “Thank you! Trixie was so worried!”

“Hah, you’re welcome, I guess.” Rainbow Dash returned the hug tightly, looking over Trixie’s shoulder towards Fluttershy with a smile. Though Fluttershy looked a bit shaken up, probably from Trixie’s outburst, she was smiling in relief.

For a supposedly injured mare, Trixie had a surprising amount of strength, every bit of which she seemed to be pouring into crushing Rainbow Dash after that with the hug. It had actually been over a week since Rainbow Dash had allowed Trixie to hug her, and she had to admit she’d missed it a little bit.

After holding the hug for a little bit longer then she was really comfortable with right in front of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash broke away and pushed Trixie off. “Okay, hey, that’s enough of that. What say we continue the game? Let’s see… Oh right. Hey it’s your turn, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy perked up. “Oh, me? Uhm, right.” She pondered for a few moments on what to do, then turned to the Great and Ecstatic Trixie. “Trixie, I, uhm, dare you to talk in first person.”

Trixie blinked, then glared at Fluttershy. “W-what? How long does Tr—do I have to talk like this for?” She asked, worried.

Fluttershy showed a sly smile. “Oh, not too long... only the rest of the evening.”

“Aw, come on!” Trixie grumbled.

Rainbow Dash laughed and winked at Fluttershy. “That’s more like it!”

Mission accomplished!

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

There are two chapters today.
If you read this one first, then you did it in the wrong order. (sorry about that.)
I am a tad worried if this will really work, or if I should have posted this chapter tomorrow to avoid any possible confusion.
Still, making you wait didn't seem fair.

I have good news, I have a vacation coming up. I should be able to write quite a bit.

These chapters were a lot of fun to write.
However, I also came to discover a weakness about myself.
As you might have noticed, these chapters were a tad late.
The reason for this, is that I had to make a decision about how to handle magic.
I was actually pretty much crippled on doing any writing until I had figured this darned thing out.
It's not like I needed to have it worked out for these chapters, because obviously there is no magic in them.
Heck, Trixie can't even do magic for a while.
It's just that it bothered me so much I couldn't do anything else till it was solved. :twilightoops:

Chapter 69 - Retract

After Rainbow Dash's awkward dare, the game seemed to pick up speed, despite the continued nervous habit of Trixie to continually look at Rainbow Dash before she dared Fluttershy. One round had Trixie daring Fluttershy to give Rainbow Dash a backrub, another had Rainbow Dash daring Trixie to give Fluttershy a good belly rub. She vehemently insisted that it was totally different, and that she hadn’t run out of ideas or anything. The good mood lasted for quite a while between the three.

As much as Trixie would have liked to keep her hooves on Fluttershy, she had to relinquish her turn eventually. After she asked what the next dare was going to be. Fluttershy responded with, as far as Trixie was concerned, the most adorable dare thus far, which apparently had been something they had not done since flight school.

Hold her like they used to, for the rest of the game?

While Trixie was at first puzzled with the request, she soon smiled as she watched the two of them. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had cuddled up together, their hooves wrapped tightly around each other. Fluttershy had her muzzle snuggled against Rainbow Dash’s neck.

Quite quickly, Trixie recognized the embrace. It was the same hold she had shared with Rainbow Dash while flying, which also explained why it had been one that the two friends had ceased using after graduating, since by that point Fluttershy would have been able to fly on her own. Both pegasi blushed heavily while they shared the embrace.

“Like this, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Y-yes, just like that.” Fluttershy rested her head against Rainbow Dash’s neck.

As much as Trixie adored watching them together like that, she also felt a little left out, and even more so when she realized this was supposed to last for the remainder of the game. She was well aware that it was her turn now, and she was supposed to make some kind of dare, but she did not want to ruin the moment.

Trixie can wait a little while, oh, what if Trixie dares to join in? We did that before, it felt really nice. She smiled warmly, recalling the group hug after the conclusion of the whole dragon incident. That certainly felt like a great dare, or well, maybe not that great of a dare, but definitely something she’d enjoy. However, she quickly remembered it was also Fluttershy’s dare, so she couldn’t copy it. Curses.

“Tri—I mean, I suppose you two were flying like that once?” Trixie winced a little, though she had been trying to talk in first person for Rainbow Dash on occasion, after so long it just did not feel natural anymore.

Rainbow Dash perked up suddenly, as though only now recalling Trixie was even in the room. “Oh! Yeah. Hehe, good guess, Trixie. ” She gave a few beats with her wings as though to illustrate the point. “I figured Fluttershy could use the experience of really soaring through the sky. Turns out I was right, we had a lot of fun didn’t we?”

Nodding, Fluttershy chimed in. “Yes, it was very, uhm, inspirational to get to fly like that with you Rainbow Dash. It was one of my favorite exercises. Though I still can’t fly as fast as you could back then.”

Trixie’s too, definitely the best way to fly. Trixie smiled at the thought, but did not interrupt, staring longingly down at the hooves the pair of pegasi had wrapped around each other.

“Mine too! And hey, I just happen to be that awesome, most pegasi are not as fast at their best as I was at my slowest!” Rainbow Dash puffed up her chest in pride. After a moment, she deflated a little again and looked at Fluttershy, pulling their hug a bit tighter. “But, I’m sure that you have what it takes to keep up even with me, Fluttershy. Just think how much you’ve improved already.”

Fluttershy just blushed and shook her head. ”O-oh, no, Rainbow Dash, I know you’re trying to help, but you already did that. I’m satisfied like this, really. Not everypony is as amazing as you are.” She added the last line a little softer than usual, tilting her head down but keeping eye contact with Rainbow Dash.

Trixie looked from one to the other, then spoke up, clapping her hooves together. “Well, Thanks for making it easy for me! That settles it then, I dare you both to do another flying lesson to—” Just before she finished her sentence, a clap of thunder shook the windows, making her flinch. She glared at the window. “Let Trixie finish! By which I mean, tomorrow! Once the weather is cleared up.” She smiled, it was not entirely according to the rules, but she did not feel like breaking the cute pair up just yet. After all, she needed a little more time to commit the image to memory.

Apparently, Rainbow Dash liked it enough not to call Trixie on her blatant bending of the rules, as she just smiled. “Hey, not a bad idea, Trixie.”

“Uhm, isn’t that against the spirit of the game? I’m sorry.” Fluttershy mumbled.

Trixie stroked her chin, looking contemplative. “Well, yes, a little bit. Okay, a lot, but do you really care?” She grinned while she watched Fluttershy shake her head in response to the question. “Tr—I did not think so.”

“Is it really that hard, Trixie?” Rainbow Dash asked, tilting her head while she looked at her. “Talking in first person? I mean, the way you talk. I thought it was just for shows. No normal pony talks like that you know.”

Smirking, Trixie brushed her mane out of her face. “Thank you for acknowledging that Trixie is no mere ordinary pony.” She paused for a moment, and grumbled. “Curses. That I am no ordinary pony.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled with yet another mess up on Trixie’s part. “Eh, it’s fine. We’re used to that by now I guess. Still, what’s up with that though? I’ve been wondering for a while now.”

Fluttershy stayed quiet, just content to remain in the embrace and just observe the conversation between the two. Though by the way her ears were perked up and at attention, Trixie could guess it was something she was interested in knowing as well.

Talking slowly and deliberately to avoid further mistakes, Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. “I happen to like it. You can say it is because it just sets me above others by default.”

Raising a brow, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “But, that is not the reason is it? Come on, you want me to believe you are trying to put yourself above Fluttershy and me? I don’t believe that. You’ve been terrified before and still called yourself Trixie. Though, you did talk normal other times… huh?” Rainbow Dash looked as though she had confused herself by this point.

Fluttershy giggled softly at Rainbow Dash, giving her a light nuzzle. “I think she means that you aren’t really consistent sometimes. Maybe you could explain that?”

Folding her hooves across her chest, Trixie tilted her head up and scowled with indignation. “What is with the third degree? Trixie talks however Trixie pleases.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Fluttershy looked apologetic. Rainbow Dash inhaled, but held it after receiving a look from Fluttershy. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just curious to know more about you, and I think Rainbow Dash was too. All we really know is that you have a magic show, while you already know so much about us.”

Trixie slowly slipped from her hostile pose. Her anger seeped away while she dropped one hoof back the ground, using the other to stroke along her elbow embarrassed. “Oh… Uh, Trixie is sorry. It’s just… normally when anypony is asking about Trixie… it is to only ‘unmask’ her, not because they actually care to know Trixie.”

Nodding, Fluttershy smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear that, Trixie. We’re not trying to do that.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy’s right, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash added.

Taking a moment to consider her situation, Trixie smirked and got up on her hooves, trotting over to the hugging pegasi pair. ”Well, I can make an exception, just let Trixie get comfortable first.”

“Well sure, Trixie, by the way you are talking in th—Whoa! Hey!” Rainbow Dash cried out surprised as Trixie set her hooves against both Rainbow Dash’s and Fluttershy’s shoulder then unceremoniously toppled them over with a push.

Fluttershy let out a soft squeak as she landed on her side with Rainbow Dash still in her embrace, but neither of them were hurt from falling over on the blanket. “T-Trixie?”

Meanwhile, Trixie climbed on top and got herself comfortable on her pegasi bed with a grin. “What? There is no rule that says Trix—I can only act if it is a dare.” She wrapped her hooves around the pair, or at least as much as she could manage.

Rainbow Dash protested, “Trixie, you can’t just randomly decide that!” She squirmed below the pushy unicorn.

“Do you want to hear Trixie’s story or not? Hush.” Though Trixie did her best to sound cool and collected, she could feel her heart pounding in her throat. she made sure to put a little more of her weight on Rainbow Dash than Fluttershy. Not merely because Trixie was worried she’d hurt Fluttershy, but also because she was still a little apprehensive about touching her without the convenient excuse of a dare, though the lack of any real retaliation by Rainbow Dash was quickly building up her confidence.

“Uhm, uh, okay, I think.” Fluttershy conceded. Rainbow Dash did not follow suit in actually saying she accepted it, but she did stop struggling, making it easy for Trixie to get comfy on the warm, soft fur below her.

“That’s more like it.” Trixie smiled genuinely pleased, then turned her attention to actually answering their questions. The lovely feeling below her did her concentration no wonders however. ”Well Trixie was uhm… I have to talk like this. Right so here goes. My reason isn’t that great anyway.”

“It better be entertaining, or next time you are on the bottom.” Rainbow Dash gave a nudge up into Trixie’s ribs that made her squeak.

“Quit that! Trixie is concentrating! I mean I am! So, I told you before that Trixie had a friend called Flitter, yes? Well back then I spoke, what I guess you’d call, normally in everyday conversation. But for her shows Trixie spoke normal, I mean abnormal, or ugh you know.”

Fluttershy looked confused. “Uhm, I think I understand, but… you said you were just a filly back then, right? You already had your own show?” She sounded somewhere between surprised and impressed.

“Oh! Did Trixie not mention that? Uh, I had a little show, but it was more like Trixie could do a few tricks for her classmates. Still, Trixie liked to put on a good performance and would become The Great and Powerful Trixie on stage! Wait, I did not have a stage, yet. Anyway!”

“Flitter really liked my act, and I don’t mean the tricks themselves, but the persona Trixie used for them. She wanted Trixie to use it all the time, so Trixie did.” She smiled.

Rainbow Dash blinked for a moment, then stared up at Trixie. “That’s all?”

“That’s all. Why, does that not answer your question? It’s just Trixie has gotten used to it.” Trixie looked down at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Did you really need to knock us over and climb on, just to tell us that?”

“Tri—I, probably not, but Trixie liked it better this way.” Trixie grinned playfully.

Staring intently at Trixie for a moment, Rainbow Dash finally moved on. “Fine, so what about when you actually did start talking in first person then?”

“Oh, uhm… Trixie is not sure if she should say. I mean, I’m not.” She saw Rainbow Dash shoot her a look that threatened some kind of retaliation if she weaseled out and sighed. “Oh alright, you both told Trixie not to talk like herself, so when I wanted to appease you I would try that.”

“Huh, okay.” Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment. “When did I say you shouldn’t be yourself?”

Trixie pondered briefly. “Trixie, no, I think it was maybe the third day Trixie was here or so, same as Fluttershy.”

Rainbow Dash nodded slightly while she looked in thought. “Well, I don’t remember saying that so, uh, could you forget about it? No offense, Trixie, but you are terrible at this whole first person thing. If anything, I think I like you better when you are being yourself. And, by the looks of it I don’t think I’m the only one.”

“Trixie?” Fluttershy drew Trixie’s attention, she looked almost cross-eyed . “I withdraw the dare. So, uhm, please, please talk normally again, forever.” She looked up at Trixie pleadingly.

“Well if that is what you really want me—Trixie to do.” Trixie laughed.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, though she looked as relieved as Fluttershy was. “Well, I guess it is my turn, I’ll think of something eventually. Trixie, you are not getting away with just one question if it’s that short to answer. Uhmm…” She paused while she looked Trixie over. “What is your horn made from?”

“That’s the best you could come up with? It’s made from alicorn.”

Rainbow Dash eyed Trixie’s horn. “What’s that taste like?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Trixie is really bad at this talking in first person thing, suspiciously so.:trixieshiftright:
At least it is kind of amusing to watch her struggle with it.
Still, I don't think the joke would age well for more than one chapter, and neither does poor Fluttershy.:flutterrage:

Chapter 70 - Rift

Of all the stupid questions Trixie had figured Rainbow Dash could ask, this one set her face ablaze instantly. She could not help but think of Rainbow Dash licking her horn to find out its flavor. It took Trixie a good few seconds before she could speak in anything but a stutter. “T-that’s the dumbest question Trixie has ever heard, how would Trixie know? It’s not like Trixie can reach it.”

Rainbow Dash looked genuinely intrigued by the answer. “Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense. Hey, Fluttershy, what do you think alicorn tastes like?”

However, Fluttershy had not taken much interest in the silly conversation, and instead she had closed her eyes while she held her embrace with Rainbow Dash below Trixie. She yawned softly as her name was called and opened one eye, following Rainbow Dash’s direction to Trixie’s horn “Uhm, blueberry?”

Seeing Fluttershy half asleep, Trixie for the first time that evening took note of the hour. Mhm, what time is it? Trixie can’t tell if it’s been a few hours or a month, but this is too soon for it end. Her only point of reference was that it was pitch black outside, but it had been that way since the storm started.

Rainbow Dash laughed and squeezed Fluttershy a little tighter before letting her go. “Hehe, blueberry huh? Let’s find out.”

Trixie’s eyes widened, suddenly she became astutely aware that Rainbow Dash was staring directly at her, and specifically slightly higher than her eyes, her horn. S-she can’t really be thinking of doing that! She gave a quick glance down at Fluttershy, but the mare just rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and watched Rainbow Dash’s antics without any concern on her face. No way! They both are acting like it’s no big deal!? “Uhhh b-but.”

Rainbow Dash suddenly squirmed away from Fluttershy, creating a rift in between them, and the unsuspecting Trixie fell right in, colliding with the blanket and one warm pony on either side. Fluttershy did not look pleased with Rainbow Dash for breaking her dare, though she still smiled at her, but the eyes did not match.

Looking at the downed Trixie, Rainbow Dash shifted to sit up, relatively towering over her. “Alright, well then, Trixie, I dare you to—”

For a brief moment, Trixie wondered if a pony could be taken advantage of in reverse, and she concluded that was probably what she was risking right now. “Wait! No!” Trixie called out, her face beet-red as she did.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Uh, Trixie, I haven’t even said what I want you to do yet. Besides what are you objecting for? It’s not like I’d change my dare just because you want me to.”

Trixie swallowed. “It’s just that… Trixie did not know the thing about wings, so perhaps you don’t know about horns? ” She looked up at Rainbow Dash uncertainly. As much as Trixie really liked the idea of Rainbow Dash, or Fluttershy for that matter, doing something so intimate, she did not want it to be out of an abuse of their ignorance.

“Know what about horns? You just use them for magic right?”

Well at least Trixie isn’t the only one clueless about other pony races. Smirking, Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, just like you only use your wings for flight.” She was so caught up in her snark that she failed to notice a pair of hooves wrapping around her until she saw the creamy yellow.

With Rainbow Dash out of reach, a sleepy Fluttershy had decided cling to Trixie instead. Her eyes were closed again.

Trixie could not really blame her, as the last dares had been overall relaxing and enjoyable ones, if significantly more physical, than the rest of the game. Trixie wrapped one hoof around Fluttershy, and remained resting on her back while she looked up at Rainbow Dash.

Grumbling, Rainbow Dash looked down at the pair now that Trixie had effectively stolen her spot. Though really, it was more like she’d inadvertently forced the trade herself.

Rainbow Dash had taken the time to put two and two together, and it was clear that she had worked out what she had been about to suggest by the blush on her face. “Got it. You could’ve said something, you know, Trixie.”

“Trixie did, you know.” Trixie retorted in a hushed whisper, and gave a glance over at Fluttershy. Trixie could not be sure if Fluttershy was asleep, but she definitely looked adorable like that. Then again, Trixie does not recall a time when she doesn’t. A warm feeling on her right side drew her attention.

Rainbow Dash had laid back down, and looked contemplative. “I guess Fluttershy is out, that just leaves us.” She whispered. Trixie noticed Rainbow Dash gave another look at her horn. “So it’s… uh… you know? Cause I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Twilight use it to fence or something.”

Trixie gave a soft grin. “Trixie doubts that, but yes it is. Why, do you still want to give it a try, Rainbow Dash?” She did her best to use an alluring tone, but she was sure it was not going to entice even the daredevilish mare to skip ahead so many steps.

“Heh, no thanks. Although, I guess it would be pretty good payback for your little stunt earlier.” She gave a nod towards fireplace, though it was so close by, they were practically on the same spot they’d dried Rainbow Dash off to begin with.

Blushing at the reminder, Trixie turned her gaze towards the fireplace. “Y-you could’ve said something, you know, Rainbow Dash.”

“I did, you know.” Rainbow Dash showed a wide grin.

“Trixie meant before she made you putty in her hooves. Although, Trixie cannot blame you for wanting to get a sneak preview.” She used her free hoof to sweep a rebellious lock of her mane out of her face, letting it fall to the blanket.

Rainbow Dash averted her gaze and busily cleared up an apparently nasty cough. “You know, Trixie, at the time, I, uh, thought you were doing it on purpose. Figures that it was just dumb blind luck that you were hitting the good spots.”

“Hah, Trixie just happens to be amazing at anything she does. Trixie thought even you would have caught on to that by now, Rainbow Dash. Afterwards, Trixie actually tried to get Fluttershy to teach Trixie what not to do.”

Raising a brow, Rainbow Dash looked fixedly at Trixie. “You did what?”

Staring right back at Rainbow Dash, Trixie did not answer immediately, but instead spent a moment to gauge her own reaction now that she’d admitted to asking Fluttershy for something intimate, and was at the receiving end of a stare. She was definitely still nervous about it, she could feel her heart beat quicken, but she did not feel that sharp sting of fear seize her lungs. “Trixie asked Fluttershy to teach her how to preen a wing. She refused though, and explained a little more about pegasi culture.”

“Oh, I see. I guess you wouldn’t know about that stuff huh? Hey, do unicorns have any culture stuff like that?”

“Do unicorns have culture? Really?” Trixie put on a mock offended face.

Rainbow Dash jabbed Trixie in the ribs. “You know what I meant!”

Trixie squirmed away and giggled, but knocked into Fluttershy in the process who gave a startled yelp and grumbled drowsily before she settled back down.

“Oh, sorry, Fluttershy, Trixie did not mean to wake you.” She shot Rainbow Dash a sideways glare.

“Its… Okay…” She mumbled so softly that Trixie had to actually guess what she’d said. At least it seemed to only be temporary as Fluttershy had relaxed again.

After looking at the drowsing pegasus for a moment, Trixie returned her attention to the awake one. “Well for one thing, Trixie would advise against going around licking horns to discover their flavor… in public.” She winked playfully. “Other than that, pegasi are the only ponies that have cities all to themselves, so race based culture is not a thing elsewhere, instead it is location based. Though Trixie supposes Canterlot comes fairly close to being a unicorn city if you go by population.”

“Really? Huh, I guess I will get to see some of that unicorn culture then when I go to the gala. Nah, I’ll be too busy with the Wonderbolts to pay any attention to that boring stuff.”

Trixie shook her head. “Oh, don’t bother. If the stories are true then Canterlot ‘culture’ is something Trixie would not associate wi—waaah?” It had taken a moment to fully register, but now Trixie’s jaw was practically on the floor. “You? In Canterlot? At the Grand Galloping Gala? With the Wonderbolts? You?”

“Uh, yeah? Twilight got us invitations. It’s weird actually, she only got two at first.”

“Twilight? Ah! Right! The whole personal student of Princess Celestia thing. Yes, that explains everything. Huh, except for one thing, you did not all get invitations originally? You would think the brand new bearers of The Elements of Harmony would be the kind of ponies to invite right away...”

Trixie paused for a moment to consider it, then shook her head. “No, actually it makes sense. The invitation list is probably drafted well in advance, before the elements were found, the gala is at the end of the year, so you probably would have gotten the invitations once the list was updated.” After solving the mystery, she smiled proudly at Rainbow Dash, trying to impress her with her knowledge.

Tilting her head , Rainbow Dash watched Trixie. “Uhm, okay? I don’t really care, Trixie.” She shrugged while being as blunt as a hammer. “It’s not an elements thing. I bet if we asked we could get you a ticket too, I’ll just ask Twilight have Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia and th—”

“No!” Trixie shouted loud enough that she felt a tremor to her left and winced, lowering down to a whisper. “Sorry, Fluttershy.” Each time she woke the mare up made her feel more guilty about it. Now that she thought on it, she probably woke her up a few times already without realizing. She looked at Rainbow Dash. “Uhm, no, but thank you. Trixie does not want Celestia to know about Trixie, promise Trixie you won’t let Twilight send any letters…” Her eyes widened. “Wait, she hasn’t already has she? After Trixie’s show?”

“Trixie? Are you okay? You don’t look so good. Far as I know Twilight does not really make reports on events, just on the lessons she’s learned so I doubt she told Princess Celestia about what happened. Still, she probably knows. I mean it’s not every day some big town threatening disaster strikes Ponyville. Huh, actually, I guess you are the second. Hah, I hope that won’t become a trend.” Rainbow Dash laughed, shaking her head.

Trixie remained quiet for a time while she collected herself. She couldn’t tell Rainbow Dash the truth. “Uhm, it’s just… Trixie does not want Princess Celestia to have a bad first impression of Trixie.” Her mind scrambled for a suitable change of subject. “Ah! It’s your turn, Rainbow Dash. You were stalling for time again?”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “What? Oh, right. Okay, let’s see… I dare you to lick your nose, the tip of it.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “That’s not even hard, what a waste.” She stuck out her tongue, first to taunt Rainbow Dash with an impish grin on her lips, then curled it up towards her nose. Try as she might though, somehow she was coming up just short, instead only managing to reach just halfway up her muzzle.

Grinning, Rainbow Dash watched Trixie embarrass herself. “Not even hard huh?”

“Wait, Trixie is sure she can do it.” Trixie frowned, and tried again, straining and trying to use the tip of her tongue to walk up. Even with all her effort, she only barely reached her columella, the very lowest part of her nose.

“Sure you can, you’re The Great and Powerful Trixie, right? So hey, that means if you don’t do it, it’s because you won’t, and not because you can’t, so I’d win the game.” Rainbow Dash chuckled and propped her head up on one hoof while she observed the struggle.

By now, Trixie was well aware that Rainbow Dash was trying to cheat her way to victory. She’d underestimated the winged prankster’s cunning. “Almost... there… just…” She blatantly lied. She had not made the least bit of progress, and she knew it. Trixie spared a sideways glance at Rainbow Dash, looking all smug and assured of victory. A draconequus idea popped into her head.

If she’s cheating, Trixie will just have to cheat harder. She smirked and suddenly turned her head towards Rainbow Dash. As they were laying against each other, Trixie was immediately within range, and gave Rainbow Dash a swift lick on the nose. “There! Just as you said. Trixie licked ‘your nose’. Better luck next time, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback and nearly tumbled backwards after the lick, she brought up her free hoof foreleg to rub her fur along her nose. She shook her head though. “Heh, nice try, Trixie, but I’m calling you out. This isn’t your nose.”

“Mhm, Trixie supposes you are right.” Trixie agreed, but then turned her attention to her left, using her hoof to gently poke at the sleeping pegasus. Speaking just barely above a whisper. “Pst, hey, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy stirred, opening half an eye. “Mhn, yes?”

Trixe swallowed, she had woken her up again, and this time it was even on purpose. “Can Trixie have your nose for a minute?”

Yawning, Fluttershy responded barely half awake. “Sure, Trixie, Ah, just bring it back when you’re done.” She closed her eyes again.

“Thank you.” Trixie smiled at her, then leaned in to give Fluttershy a gentle lick, then quickly pulled back. She could feel her cheeks flush while she looked back at Rainbow Dash. ”There.”

Rainbow Dash looked open mouthed for a moment before she found her voice again. “Hey! That’s cheating!” She paused at the accusation, then showed a grin while she laughed. “Hah, okay fine. I guess that was clever, we’re even.”

Giggling, Trixie nodded in agreement. Though she would not entirely agree they were completely even. After all, she just got away with giving both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy a lick. As minor as that might have seemed, to Trixie it broke some big barriers that she’d been skirting around, and the experiment definitely paid off. Rainbow Dash was not upset, though she was surprised, and Fluttershy, well she was fast asleep again, so Trixie could not make much of a judgment there.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So, what a horntease huh? Trixie hornblocked herself. :trixieshiftleft:

In related news, my vacation has started. So I expect to be able to bring some more updates. :yay:
Honestly, I did not expect this evening to go on for a month, but I regret nothing.
It's not over just yet though. Stay tuned.

Chapter 71 - Rhythmic

It was late at night. Trixie could tell, because the fireplace was mere embers, and the howling storm outside had withered down just heavy rains. The final flashes of lightning had brightened up the room in what seemed to her like a last ditch effort to impress the inhabitants of Ponyville. Whether that was by design, or just happened to work out that way, was something Trixie pondered.

“Something on your mind, Trixie?” Rainbow Dash rested right besides Trixie on the blanket, while Fluttershy was still snoozing on Trixie’s left.

Since it was technically Fluttershy’s turn, they had taken a break under the pretense of giving Fluttershy a chance to claim her turn, but also doubled as a nice chance to just enjoy the moment.

As far as Trixie was concerned, this really was a moment to be savored. The cold weather outside and the dying embers of the fire failed to warm the interior of the house properly anymore. The air was chilly, and they were already using their only blanket to lay on. This meant that the best way to stay warm was to stay close together, which suited Trixie just fine.

“For one, do you control what a storm does?”

“Nah, storms pretty much do their own thing. All we have to do is direct it to where it needs to go. If we had the option we’d not have all this wind, but it just kind of comes with the territory. That’s why it’s kind of exciting to work with them, you never really know what it will do and you have to adapt on the fly.”

“Heh, well no wonder Fluttershy said you were pretty good at that then. Trixie thought it was odd you’d have a knack for planning, but there really isn’t much of that involved is there?”

Rainbow Dash perked up. “She did? Well, uh, no. I mean, yeah. There is a plan, but no plan survives contact with the enemy. Anything else?”

“A few things. Like what Trixie will make you do after she wins this. Oh, and do you think a pink tutu would look better on you with your mane dyed green or purple?” Trixie smirked.

Shuddering, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Either, just so long as you don’t dye it light blue, because nopony could make that look good.”

“Hah, foal! Then Trixie will make it light blue! You will look so redicu—wait, hey!” Trixie yelled, then quickly clamped her hoof over her mouth and glanced over to Fluttershy, who stirred after the sudden noise. She carried on in a whisper, ”Trixie blames you for this, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash snickered and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, totally my bad. I should’ve known you’d scream after getting burned.”

Trixie huffed. “That’s better. For compensation, why don’t you do something you are actually good at, and warm Trixie up, she is cold.” Without waiting for a reply, Trixie shifted to rest her head on Rainbow Dash’s chest.

“Whoa, hey! Trixie, what did I say about treating me like a bed?” Despite protesting, Rainbow Dash did not really bother to push Trixie away, though she did crane her neck to look at the trespasser.

“You are not a bed, you are a pillow. Now hush or you’ll wake Fluttershy.” Trixie used the foreleg she had wrapped around Fluttershy to carefully pull her closer again, since she had moved slightly to get into her new position.

Fluttershy easily responded, pulling herself against Trixie again with a drowsy mumble.

Rainbow Dash raised a brow, but kept her voice down. “A pillow? Any more loopholes I should know about? Actually, never mind. Are you really cold?”

Averting her gaze, Trixie paused a moment while she thought her answer to the question over, which probably would have betrayed her motive in the first place. ”No… can Trixie still stay like this? It is more comfy, and Trixie likes it. It is what Trixie wants.” She raised her gaze up to meet Rainbow Dash again.

Visibly caught off-guard with her sudden honesty, Rainbow Dash stared back at Trixie for a moment. “I, uh, I guess. It’s not like you are heavy. So if this makes you comfortable, that’s fine.” She gave Trixie a smile, then let her gaze travel to Fluttershy. “I don’t think she will take her turn any time soon.”

Trixie smiled back, and shook her head, inadvertently rubbing her cheek against Rainbow Dash’s fur. “Probably not. Trixie has to wonder, does she always pass out during your truth or dare games?”

“Nah, but usually the games end a bit sooner. Besides, she’s had a long day, ensuring all the animals had good places to stay during the storm.” Rainbow Dash laid her head back down and just stared up at the ceiling.

Though Trixie was a bit disappointed she couldn’t see her eyes anymore, she quickly settled for just closing her eyes and listening to the mare’s heartbeat instead. The rhythmic sound relaxed her. “Trixie would have thought she’d bring them all inside. It seems like the kind of thing she would do.”

“She’s tried it before, but there are more animals than she can reasonably fit in here, so that means she has to pick and choose favorites, and that means disappointing others, and… well you get the idea. Fluttershy does not handle that very well.” Rainbow Dash chuckled sadly.

Surprised, Trixie perked up her ears in disbelief. “So the solution is to let no animals stay? That seems awfully draconian for Fluttershy… Wait that can’t be right, Trixie’s seen animals just today.”

“What? Oh, no if it was up to Fluttershy we’d be up to our ears in critters right now. Nah, it’s kind of system, uh, Fluttershy could explain it better than I can. Point is, there are animals in the house now, but they naturally get sleepy when the weather is bad. It’s a good thing too, since it gives us space so we can have ourselves a slumber party.”

“Right, that’s convenient, maybe they just aren’t party animals.” Trixie giggled, and Rainbow Dash joined in, filling the room with their mirth.

After they quieted down again, neither of them spoke for a time, leaving Trixie to her thoughts. She loved having the three of them together like this, it was so peaceful and warm, but above all else, she felt safe. She could feel Rainbow Dash’s breathing slowing down while the mare relaxed. Trixie whispered, “Rainbow Dash… are you awake?”

Rainbow Dash replied in a hushed tone, “yeah. Is something wrong?”

“It’s just… Trixie wanted to tell you this, Trixie had a really good time tonight. Thank you.“ Trixie swallowed, even though she felt at ease, it was still difficult to bring herself to share the next part. “It was Trixie’s first time.”

Rainbow Dash stiffened, and Trixie could hear her heart rate go up rapidly. “Whoa, what? W-we didn’t do anything, did we? We didn’t even have any cider, I should remember if anything happened!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Slumber party, Trixie’s first time at a slumber party. Get your mind out of the gutter, Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Rainbow Dash blushed, and quickly laid back again so Trixie couldn’t see her face. “So, uhm, first slumber party huh? Was it just not custom where you are from, Trixie? I remember you had some odd differences there.”

“No, that’s not it. Trixie and Flitter might have, if Trixie hadn’t screwed that up…” Trixie took a deep breath. “This might be hard to believe, but… for a long time, before Trixie met you girls… Trixie didn’t really have anypony.” Trixie stayed quiet after that, waiting to hear what kind of reaction Rainbow Dash had for her. Part of her was worried she might get mocked, but she was willing to take that risk.

Though Rainbow Dash took a moment to answer, she did not sound surprised. “So, you mean you’ve been alone? I, uhm, might have pieced that together already. I just didn’t want to believe it. Really, I was surprised to hear you actually had a friend before.” Rainbow Dash tensed when she said it, and quickly followed up. “Wait! I didn’t mean it like that, just that uh, well, you are weird, errr, rude, uhh, no, argh, come on!”

Trixie blinked while she listened to Rainbow Dash rapidly killing herself. Even if Rainbow Dash was trying to recover, there was a reason she went to those words first. “No, you’re right. It’s Trixie’s fault. Everypony else has friends, so it is Trixie, and she knows that. The one time Trixie thought she made a friend she was just being used, and Trixie has been used a lot since then.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Trixie in disbelief. “Were ponies just that nasty to you?”

“No, like Trixie told you already, Trixie was well respected. Before Trixie had her show, she used to, uh, well, do odd magic jobs here and there. When a job needed doing they used to be real nice to Trixie, because Trixie is the greatest unicorn” Trixie swelled involuntarily with pride of her ability, hampered only slightly by the fact that she could not demonstrate her point without her actual magic. “But, they didn’t really like Trixie. “

“You just said you were respected and ponies were nice to you, and that made you think they didn’t like you?” Rainbow Dash asked, with genuine confusion.

Trixie averted her gaze, staring down at the blanket. “Not always. It’s just Trixie realized why they were being nice. It’s not that they liked Trixie, but that they tolerated Trixie for her obvious talent.” She gave a slow sigh and let her ears lay flat on her head. “Trixie made that mistake a few times… but Trixie recognizes it now. It is like how the audience uses Trixie for entertainment, and Trixie uses them for bits. It’s easier like that… no high expectations.”

“Hey, Trixie, come on. That’s a really lousy way of looking at it.” Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Maybe, but it worked for Trixie. Or it used to, that is to say, until now. Trixie did not understand at first, but… it is different now. You and Fluttershy, you are… important to Trixie, more than anything else.” She raised her gaze back up to lock eyes with Rainbow Dash, swallowing nervously. “A-and Trixie just wants you to know… you girls really are the best thing that happened to Trixie in a long time.”

Speechless, Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around Trixie’s neck, holding her to her chest. Trixie was fairly sure she could see something glistening in Rainbow Dash’s eyes by the light of the dying embers.

Time passed slowly, but Trixie could think of no better place to spend it. Fluttershy was still wrapped around her chest, the sleeping mare’s soft form pressed up against her. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was holding her close. Trixie could hear the drum of her heart, and even feel it.

The gesture served well to keep Trixie from doubting herself, and she was content to relish the embrace for the rest of time, or until Rainbow Dash found her voice, whichever came first. Trixie used her free hoof to wrap around Rainbow Dash tightly.

Finally, after what must have been much deliberation and soul searching. Rainbow Dash shifted, taking in a deep breath, and spoke up. “I’m no good with mushy stuff, you know.”

Perking up her ears, Trixie could feel a small grin spread on her lips. “Trixie knows.”

Maybe, maybe Trixie could… She felt her heart skip a beat while she looked at Rainbow Dash. The last time, she’d chickened out with Fluttershy, but maybe she could give it a real try this time.

Sucking in a breath, Trixie gathered her courage, and looked Rainbow Dash right in the eye. She could feel her cheeks burning long before she’d even started speaking. “Rainbow Dash, Trixie dares you to… k-kiss her.” Trixie held her breath. She’d said it. She had really said it. She could hear a gasp, and felt Rainbow Dash’s heartbeat skyrocket.

Even in the weak glow of the smoldering fireplace ashes, Trixie could see Rainbow Dash’s face had turned as red as part of her mane. After Rainbow Dash got over the initial surprise, she spoke quietly. “Kiss… who?”

Trixie wished she had Fluttershy’s mane style to hide herself in right about now, but she settled for the semi-darkness of the room. Trixie tried her best to stay calm, and ignore the heated feeling rising up inside her. D-does she really have to ask? Damn it Rainbow Dash. M-maybe Trixie should bail out? Just say Fluttershy. If anything, Trixie took some comfort in the fact that Rainbow Dash was remarkably calm, given the circumstances.

She’s not mad! So, so Trixie can... She swallowed, her mouth felt so dry that she did not truly trust her voice anymore. “K-ki… uh, T…” Trixie gave up. Instead, she lifted up one hoof to motion towards herself. She struggled to keep eye contact, but finally broke it off to stare at their shadows on the blanket, as if it was the most fascinating thing, while she waited for Rainbow Dash to say something.

The following two seconds of silence felt like it lasted for two hours, when Rainbow Dash finally spoke. “Okay.” Rainbow Dash shifted to sit up, sliding Trixie from her chest to her lap.

She said okay! Trixie felt her chest thumping so hard she was worried she was deafening the pegasi. If they noticed though, they did not let on. Fluttershy was still snoozing, and Rainbow Dash was making no comment on it.

Trixie felt Rainbow Dash’s hoof below her chin, raising up her muzzle so their eyes could meet again. “Close your eyes, Trixie.”

Quickly following her instructions, Trixie closed her eyes. She felt so nervous, even though she’d already kissed Rainbow Dash twice, it had always been accidental and one-sided, and immediately followed up with drama. They were finally going to share a kiss. Trixie pursed her lips. All it took was a dare!

That thought gave Trixie pause however. W-wait, does Trixie really want our first shared kiss to be a dare? She felt her stomach turning into knots with uncertainty and nervousness, but anticipation was starting to get the better of her. It didn’t matter, all she had to do was enjoy it. She’d waited a week for this.

Feeling Rainbow Dash draw nearer, it took all of Trixie’s strength to keep herself from lunging forward and stealing the kiss. She wanted Rainbow Dash to initiate it this time. Trixie could sense her hot breath on her lips.

“Your lips look a little dry, Trixie.” Rainbow Dash whispered from so very close by that Trixie felt the words before she heard them.

Trixie’s ears perked up, her breath got stuck in her throat while she quickly licked her lips, moistening them up for Rainbow Dash. She trembled lightly with anticipation. Wait, did she mean she wanted Trixie to moisten them, or that she would do it for Trixie hers—

Though she had her eyes closed, she could sense a brief flash. Before Trixie could think much more on it however, she felt Rainbow Dash’s lips.

Trixie blinked, all she could see was shadow for a moment, before Rainbow Dash pulled back. Raising a hoof to her forehead, Trixie rubbed over the tingling patch of fur that Rainbow Dash had kissed.

She felt a pit open up in her stomach. “T-Trixie… never said… where?” She was barely able to utter the words as realization set in, staring at the impishly grinning face in front of her. The anticipation and nervousness evaporated into thin air, leaving just bitter disappointment to gnaw at Trixie’s chest.

“Uh, N-nope, Trixie didn’t.” Rainbow Dash laughed awkwardly.

Biting back her tears, Trixie nodded as stoically as she could manage. Woodenly, she pulled away from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and got up, trotting back to her old seat. She could feel her knees tremble as she walked. O-of course she’d do something like that! S-stupid Trixie.

Her enthusiasm deflated. She should have expected Rainbow Dash to get back at her for using a trick to get her way, but her chest still hurt, badly. T-Trixie didn’t want it anyway.

However, before Trixie got all the way to her seat, she was intercepted by Fluttershy, who wrapped her hooves around her neck and pulled her close. “Shh...it's okay, Trixie.”

No matter what Trixie tried, she couldn't stop the sudden fit of trembling that overcame her body, nor could she will herself to get out of Fluttershy's embrace. "T-Trixie is just fine, Fluttershy."

"No, you're not." Fluttershy shook her head, then turned to look at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, go upstairs, and think about what you’ve done."

Rainbow Dash rose up onto her hooves. “W-wait, what? Bu—” A clap of thunder cut her off, shaking the windows of the small hovel.

Fluttershy gave her a stare, that even in the near dark still compelled Rainbow Dash to comply. “I dare you. That was really cruel, Rainbow Dash. Don’t come back down until you understand that.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 72 - Recreant

With a bang, Rainbow Dash closed the door to Fluttershy’s bedroom behind her, leaving Trixie and Fluttershy to their own devices down below.

“Argh, that idiot!” She stomped her hoof against the floor.

It was completely unfair that she was taking the blame for this. The whole night had been just perfect, and then Trixie had to pull a stupid stunt like that. She’d offered up some sob story about being alone, then asked for a kiss, when any sane pony would have gotten the hint after the first two times.

“But I can’t say it’s on her now can I?! No, that would just stress her out some more! I’m sick of this.” She wanted to kick something, but everything in here belonged to Fluttershy, and she couldn’t start breaking her stuff.

To her relief, Rainbow Dash spotted the one thing in the room she could vent some frustration on, and flung the pillow from the bed against the wall with a dull thud. “Why? Why does she not get it? I don’t want to like her like that.”

Trixie had been nothing if not persistent, and somewhere Rainbow Dash had to wonder if her little improvised speech about failure did not have something to do with it. Still, it would have been one thing if Trixie constantly tried to kiss her, that was easy enough to deal with. However, what was the most insidious part of Trixie’s behavior, was that she was constantly showing good sides of herself.

Though, it wasn’t like Rainbow Dash hated the little minx, in fact she liked her a lot. There were many good things about having Trixie around, not least of all was just how much fun it was to have somepony that pushed back to play with. It reminded her a little of how things used to be between her and Gilda, but unlike Gilda, Trixie now even knew how to keep Fluttershy at ease. Even if it had taken some time, Fluttershy seemed comfortable to have her around by now too.

“She has friends now, isn’t that enough? Why does it have to be more than that? She’s had that stupid crush for weeks now. Just leave me alone, it’s hard enough already!” Biting into the pillow, she threw it up and struck it, sending it flying across the room into the other wall.

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the pillow and sat down beside it, staring down at her completely unharmed, fluffy nemesis. “We had a good time, and you just had to push your luck didn’t you?” Her voice quieted down, thinking back on the near disaster that took place.

At first, Trixie’s crush had been annoying and confusing. It even led to Rainbow Dash losing her temper and sending Trixie to the hospital, when Fluttershy seemed to be her next target. After that however, Rainbow Dash had found it a good method to control herself.

As silly as it was, as long as Trixie had that little crush on her, it meant she wouldn’t certainly not try anything with Fluttershy. For that reason, Rainbow Dash had allowed it to go on, besides she did not really have the heart to put Trixie through the stress of straight up rejection again while she was still recovering.

She set her hoof on the pillow, pulling it into her lap. Somewhere along the way, slowly, something had gone horribly wrong. When Trixie made the dare to kiss her, Rainbow Dash had not felt that sense of annoyance anymore.

Somehow, Rainbow Dash had gotten carried away in the moment, and her chest ached when she thought about it, how close she’d gotten to even for a moment giving up on Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash knew she really had been a split second away from giving in and actually kissing Trixie. It was only at the last second that a rogue flash of lightning brightened up the room for just a moment, and revealed that Fluttershy was not asleep at all. Fluttershy had been looking right at them with both eyes wide open, then Rainbow Dash had panicked, playing off the whole thing as a joke.

The muscles in her body quivered with anger while she looked back down at the pillow in her lap and punched it. “Why do you have to make it harder!?” It didn’t help.

She didn’t want to feel conflicted like this, she knew exactly what she wanted, so why was she for even a moment okay with the idea of being with Trixie?

“Some element of loyalty I am…” Rainbow Dash mumbled bitterly.

The more she thought about it, the more Rainbow Dash realized she’d been steadily allowing Trixie to get away with more and more before it made her uncomfortable. That particular train of thought was made Rainbow Dash grind her teeth.

It didn’t feel right, Rainbow Dash knew she was missing something. The anger did not go away or even subside no matter how much she abused the pillow. It wasn’t good. Perhaps she needed to talk to somepony about this.

“Maybe Rarity? She’s good at this stuff, but what do I even tell her? Oh hey, Rarity, listen I’m in love with my best friend, which I’ve not told her, but now maybe I’m gonna settle for the witch instead. What do you think?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Right, and after she’s done passing out, I’m sure she’d be totally reasonable, and tell me I’m mad.”

“Mad…” She paused, actually putting the problem into words, even sarcastically, did help her get a better grasp on it. Raising up her hoof away from the pillow, she stroked the creases out of it from her last hit. “…Who am I really mad at?”

She struck a hoof against her forehead. “Ugh, it’s so obvious. I’m the one betraying Fluttershy, e-even if we aren’t together, yet. This is all happening because I’m such a coward… what am I even afraid of? That she’ll say no, and tell me to go away forever? Like that will ever happen!”

In truth, what actually scared her the most was that Fluttershy would agree. Rainbow Dash knew Fluttershy was absolutely terrible at standing up for herself. If by some chance, she confessed to Fluttershy, and asked to be with her, would Fluttershy really be able to say no? The thought that she might be inadvertently forcing the one pony more important to her than any other, into being with her when she actually did not feel the same, was terrifying.

“Fluttershy might only agree because she’s scared she’ll hurt me, or that I’ll go away… and I’d never recognize it…” Her thoughts lingered on the events of the dragon mountain, which had only confirmed her fears.

Though Fluttershy was not much good at defending herself, she was much better at defending others. The only times Rainbow Dash had ever seen Fluttershy look angry were when she was looking out for somepony else. Which brought her back to how livid Fluttershy had looked, in comparison at least, when she send her up here.

“I, I hoped she’d be happy, but she was so angry…” Rainbow Dash swallowed while she recalled the glare she’d received. It made her chest ache. “Did she want me to kiss Trixie? N-now that I think about it…”

Over the course of Trixie’s stay, Fluttershy had always given Rainbow Dash advice on how to get on Trixie’s good side, and talked about how similar they were. Fluttershy even made the completely insane leap in logic to go fly over the Everfree Forest by herself, which would have left Trixie and Rainbow Dash alone together.

Even tonight, the very first dare Fluttershy made had been to let Trixie touch her hooves. Fluttershy had also made sure Trixie would stay with her, instead of return to the hospital, where Rainbow Dash would never have been banned from for life. It seemed almost too insane to consider, but given all that evidence there was only one explanation Rainbow Dash could conceive.

“Maybe… maybe Fluttershy supports Trixie? What if Fluttershy noticed years ago I like her, but she didn’t feel the same? She’d never tell me, but… she might just try to set me up with somepony else? Trixie is a lot like me, so maybe she thought…?” Rainbow Dash bit her lip, it made perfect sense to her, but that had to mean that Fluttershy really did not like her back.

Although it was a possibility Rainbow Dash had spent years trying to come to terms with, actually having good reason to believe it was true felt absolutely terrible. Fluttershy had always seemed to like it when they did things together, and Rainbow Dash had loved every moment they shared.

But maybe, she didn’t? She felt a sharp pain in her chest, and blinked the upcoming tears out of her eyes.

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash pushed the thought away. This would not do at all. She was Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash for crying out loud, and she was not going to sit around moping in the dark about her feelings. As a mare of action, that was exactly what she needed more of: action.

Rainbow Dash threw the pillow to the bed with a thud and sprung up on her hooves. “Right! All this dumb thinking is for eggheads. I just need to act!” She trotted right up to the door, and set her hoof against it.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 73 - Replay

With a bang, Trixie could hear the door upstairs slam shut. The sound seemed louder than any of the thunder that evening. Shortly after, a loud stomp shook the ceiling.

Everything had happened so fast that Trixie still had no chance to really orientate herself, but for the moment it was enough to just know Fluttershy was holding her while she broke down, crying on the gentle mare’s shoulder.

Fluttershy stroked Trixie’s back while she cooed reassuringly. “There, there, it’s okay.”

Normally, Trixie wouldn’t have allowed herself to cry like this, but around Fluttershy it seemed so unimportant to keep up a tough front. It just helped, to allow her frustration out at last. She knew she’d brought it on herself.

“T-Trixie is sorry,” she choked out between sobs.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Trixie. It’s okay to cry when you’re sad.” Fluttershy whispered, and ushered Trixie to sit down on the blanket.

Trixie obliged, then once she was seated, Trixie wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy tightly. “But, but Trixie ruined it, s-she didn’t mean to. Trixie really th-thought…” Her voice trailed off, and she buried herself into Fluttershy’s fur again. Trixie was not actually sure if she should go on, but she wanted to talk to somepony.

Fluttershy made no effort to talk, instead she merely focused on giving Trixie the support she craved, and waited patiently for Trixie to choose when she was ready to tell what was on her mind.

Under Fluttershy’s care, Trixie calmed down enough that she’d stopped crying. She just relaxed while she felt Fluttershy soothingly run a hoof over her back. “Sorry… Trixie’s okay now, thanks, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Trixie. Do you want to talk?” Fluttershy slowly let go of Trixie, and moved to sit by her side. “It’s not just about the trick is it?”

“Uhm, maybe, but…” Now that Trixie actually could think clearly, it occurred to her that Fluttershy had woken up at some point without her realizing it.

Trixie probably woke her up when she pulled away? Wait, no, then Fluttershy wouldn’t know what Rainbow Dash did, so does that mean she knows what Trixie did?

Her cheeks burned, she wondered just how long Fluttershy had been awake. For all she knew, Fluttershy could have been pretending from the start. “…how long were you awake for?”

“Oh, uhm, I was asleep for some of it, but you kept poking me, and you girls were really loud, so… I think at least for the, uhm, important part… since party animals.” Fluttershy sounded as though she felt a little guilty for inadvertently spying on them, though Trixie really couldn’t blame her, considering she was the one to wake her constantly.

“T-Trixie understands.” Even though Trixie would not have minded telling Fluttershy everything she’d told Rainbow Dash, the idea that she was overheard didn’t really sit well with her. After giving it some thought, Trixie shrugged lightly. “Well… that saves time Trixie supposes.”

Fluttershy nodded. “It was, uhm, really nice? Well the good parts I mean, not the bad parts. Wait, no, that it was nice to see you share something, even if it wasn’t so good, I mean pleasant, I mean, uhm.”

Feeling a smile forming, Trixie shook her head with a soft chuckle. It was just too disarming to see Fluttershy contort to make her comfortable. “Trixie knows what you meant, Fluttershy. Even if Trixie didn’t, she’d never be mad at you.” She gave a sideways glance at Fluttershy, though she was only able to make out her basic shape in the dark, and sighed. “Trixie made a mistake.”

Reassured, Fluttershy rose up to her hooves and turned around, trotting towards the fireplace to put a new log on top of the embers. “What do you mean, Trixie?”

Facing away from Fluttershy, Trixie remained quiet for a moment, simply unsure how she was going to broach the subject at all, or even if she should. “T-Trixie dared Rainbow Dash for a kiss, that was wrong… Rainbow Dash was right to punish her. It was just that… Trixie really thought the mood was right, but she was wrong.”

“The m-mood wasn’t right?” Fluttershy picked up a poker, and stoked the fire, causing light to gradually return to the room with a warm glow.

“No, well, yes, the mood wasn’t as Trixie read it apparently, but that’s not it. Trixie has been, uhm, pestering Rainbow Dash about this for a week. It was wrong of Trixie to try to push her feelings on Rainbow Dash… even if she really wanted it.”

“Uh, well. It’s good that you know what you did wrong, Trixie. You made a mistake, but that still doesn’t make it okay for Rainbow Dash to play along until the last second. If she had told you the truth, or, uhm, did that thing, right away… I wouldn’t have yelled at her for it…“ Fluttershy looked up at the stairs in contemplation for a moment before she turned back towards Trixie.

Trixie was not really convinced she did not actually deserve what she got, but she did not try to argue.

As Fluttershy stayed quiet, Trixie continued, slowly dragging her hoof along the blanket. “It was just that Trixie never felt that way before. You and Rainbow Dash were so good to Trixie, and she just felt so wonderful if you were around. Trixie wanted that all the time. Rainbow Dash tried to tell her that it was friendship, but later Trixie realized it was more than that when Big Mac and Applejack did not give her nearly the same feeling. Even though Trixie liked them, it was totally different from how she felt about you two.”

Every so quietly, Fluttershy whispered. “Oh, my.” Her face, illuminated by the growing fire, was red.

Trixie failed to notice the reaction as she carried on. “After the incident in the castle though, Trixie was so scared of coming near you, because Rainbow Dash was so angry. Trixie noticed that Rainbow Dash was really nice once Trixie paid more attention to her. Rainbow Dash let Trixie get closer over time, so, so Trixie thought she made progress, and she was over the moon.”

Fluttershy put down the poker, and made her way back to sit beside Trixie. “S-so you thought she, uhm, liked you too?”

Nodding, Trixie felt her chest ache. “Yes… Rainbow Dash told Trixie that nopony had ever tried to ask her out, because she was intimidating. Trixie figured she’d be happy to see Trixie didn’t back down, but she wasn’t, and Trixie can’t believe she didn’t see that. Trixie never should have pushed her on it.”

Breathing a soft sigh, Fluttershy shook her head. “It’s okay Trixie, Rainbow Dash can just be difficult to predict sometimes… I’m sure she does like you, just, uhm, maybe not in that way? I-I did try to tell you, sorry…”

Trixie nodded slowly. She really did feel a little better now that she’d finally been able to talk about it. Though she’d felt awkward in the beginning, once she’d gotten started it felt liberating to let it all out, and she didn’t even really think about what to say. “It was just so foolish of Trixie. Once Trixie can use magic, it is probably better if she leaves.”

The warmth of the growing fire behind Trixie felt soothing, light was returning to the room, pulling the various shapes out of the shadows. It took Trixie a moment to notice, but Fluttershy was staring at her with a deep blush, but didn’t say anything further. “Is it something Trixie said?”

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably, as though she knew something she shouldn’t. “Oh, Uhm, I-I was just thinking… I don’t think you should leave just because of unrequited love. You said you really like to be around, uhm, us… so why throw that away? Even if the feeling isn’t mutual, I’m sure Rainbow Dash would be okay with knowing you like her, uhm, a little more… I know I am…”

Far too late, Trixie covered her mouth with her hooves, as if she expected to retroactively stop herself from speaking. That was absolutely not how she had wanted Fluttershy to find out, if ever at all. Trixie sat frozen while she stared at Fluttershy, silently cursing herself while she tried to go over what else she had said.

Seeing Trixie starting to panic, Fluttershy gave a reassuring smile, and reached one wing out to wrap around her. “Uhm, Trixie? It, it’s okay, okay? I’m not upset, honest. Nothing’s different, but… I don’t really understand how you feel that way about two ponies. Can you help me? If that’s alright with you?”

The incredibly soft feeling from Fluttershy’s wing around her soothed Trixie enough to pay attention to the words, she looked up at Fluttershy in brief confusion. “Help you understand? But Trixie doesn’t understand it so well herself… It’s just how she feels. Trixie needs Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, like how Equestria needs the sun and moon… She knows how that sounds. T-Trixie’s selfish, and greedy, and irrational…” She trailed off and petered out, looking down at the blanket to avoid eye contact with Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stayed silent as she thought about it. She used her wing to stroke Trixie back, which ensured Trixie did not worry too much about how her slip up and explanation were received, since at least it wasn’t bad enough to make Fluttershy stop.

Finally, Fluttershy spoke up. “Well… you’re right, Trixie. It is really selfish, greedy and irrational…”

Trixie dropped her ears flat on her head and nodded slowly. Perhaps it would be for the best that she’d look for another place to stay, but she’d really hoped she could remain here with the two ponies that meant so much to her, even if it ached that she had no chance with them.

”…and you’re right, that’s what love is.” Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around Trixie and hugged her tightly. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of, or worried about, even if it is a little unusual. I, I guess it hurts twice then? Is that why you wanted to leave?”

“No! Uhm, no.” Trixie returned the hug, enjoying every moment of it. “Trixie just thought you wouldn’t allow her to stay, if she was like that.”

Fluttershy raised a brow, and adopted a kindly reprimanding tone that only she could pull off. “Trixie, you didn’t really think I’d kick you out for that? You aren’t some weird stranger, you’re my friend, our friend.”

Hearing it actually said out loud, Trixie blushed embarrassed that she had ever considered it a possibility. "O-oh, no. Trixie didn't think Fluttershy would ever do that, of course not... but... wouldn't it be weird? To feel like Trixie is checking you out? N-not that she ever would! But, uhm, hypothetically."

Fluttershy stuttered with a heavy blush, and her tail swished over her flank. “I, uh, I didn’t say that, b-but—” The sound of the door upstairs made Fluttershy stop, seemingly grateful for the distraction.

“Gah, it’s bright in here!” Rainbow Dash shielded her eyes with one hoof, blinking against the light of the fireplace. It didn’t stop her for long though, as she landed in front of the pair and gave a quick squinted look from one to the other. Rainbow Dash let her eyes linger on Fluttershy’s blushing face for a moment. “Everything okay? I’m not interrupting any strategy meetings am I?” She gave a grin.

Fluttershy blinked in utter confusion. “Strategy? Uhm, no? I wasn't expecting you back so soon, oh! N-not that I think you're dumb, or anything, really! It's just that-um-y-you kind of take awhile to r-realize when you do something wrong, not that you do it that often at all! But—”

“Oh good, then you won’t mind if I borrow Trixie for a minute?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes, ignoring Fluttershy's ramblings, finally managing to open them properly after getting used to the flames. “I should have realized it in the first place.”

Trixie nodded to Fluttershy to indicate she would be okay, and let go of her.

Getting up to her hooves, Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, sure. I, uhm, I’ll go make some tea. You girls take your time okay?” She gave a smile to Rainbow Dash as she passed her on her way to the kitchen. “I’m glad you understand, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash gave a forced smile back. “Y-yeah. I got it.” Turning her head, she watched Fluttershy disappear into the kitchen before she turned her attention fully on Trixie, and took a deep breath. “Okay, Trixie, I was, uhm, thinking a lot, and I want, uh, I guess, ah.” She reached a hoof to scratch her side of her foreleg uncomfortably. “Oh! Hey, it’s my turn. Trixie, truth or dare?”

Blinking ,Trixie was too surprised to answer for a moment, the sudden shift in direction caught her completely off guard. “…What? Trixie doesn’t want to play anymore, Rainbow Dash… Oh, Trixie gets it, she did ruin the mood before with that. You don’t need to demonstrate, Trixie understands now. Sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

With an impatient huff, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, that’s not it, come on, Trixie.”

“Okay, truth?” Trixie was not sure what Rainbow Dash was trying to accomplish.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Pick again.” Her patience appeared to be running thin.

“Fine, Trixie picks dare. What is this about?”

“I dare you to close your eyes, and don’t argue with anything that comes next.”

Trixie tilted her head with the strange request, though she gave a nod and closed her eyes. Whatever Rainbow Dash had in mind couldn’t be that bad, though the idea that she was not allowed to say anything back was annoying. “Alright, so what did you want to say to Tri—mpf!”

Wrapping her forelegs around Trixie suddenly, Rainbow Dash cut Trixie off with a kiss, a deep kiss. Pressing her lips against Trixie’s, Rainbow Dash showed no hesitation, taking advantage of her gasp of surprise to aggressively slip her tongue inside, searching out Trixie’s own.

Trixie’s eyes opened wide in shock. She wasn’t sure if this was really happening, but right in front of her was Rainbow Dash, eyes closed as she kissed her while Trixie was completely stunned. After a few seconds, she saw Rainbow Dash peek at her, worry starting to show on her face.

Rainbow Dash paused, and it dawned on Trixie that she had been completely still the whole time, naturally Rainbow Dash would think she was making a huge mistake.

Before Rainbow Dash could pull away, Trixie quickly wrapped her hooves around her and pulled her back into the kiss, answering it with burning enthusiasm. Trixie was not sure how long Rainbow Dash was going to allow her to hold the kiss, so she savored every single moment of it, knowing it was probably the last kiss she would ever be allowed to share with her.

For her part, Rainbow Dash gave her all to the kiss, holding it for as long as Trixie could manage.

Finally, Trixie broke away for air with a gasp, her whole face was burning up, as was Rainbow Dash’s for that matter. Somehow, Rainbow Dash did not even look winded after that while Trixie had to struggle to catch her breath. “W-what, wha, was that?” She immediately regretted asking, but she had to know.

“That was a kiss.” Rainbow Dash stated matter-of-factly while she looked at Trixie, letting her tongue run along her own lips as though experimenting with the taste of it. “I guess I can see why you were trying to get one, it’s not bad. From now on I’m saving my next kiss for my marefriend though.”

Trixie felt her heart sink, but nodded slowly. “T-thank you… for letting Trixie h-have this. You’ll make somepony very happy someday.” Feeling tears starting to come up, Trixie let her gaze drop down while she held Rainbow Dash in her embrace for a little while longer, taking comfort in her warmth.

“Of course I will, I’m awesome.” Rainbow Dash smirked and used one hoof to lift Trixie’s chin up, looking into her teary eyes, then slowly pulled in for a second kiss this time she was much more gentle while she let their lips meet once again.

For the first second, Trixie was too overwhelmed with shock to even think, and once her brain caught up to the full implication, Trixie overloaded completely, and everything went black before her eyes and her head swam. Trixie recognized the feeling, she was going to faint, but for the first time ever, it was out of happiness.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

It's been a while since Trixie passed out.
Isn't it amazing how once again, for the third time, it is because of Rainbow Dash?
Trixie probably won't mind so much this time though.
These chapters are tricky to write, but I'm so glad we've made it to this point.
The idea that Trixie doesn't understand you can breath while you kiss amuses me.

Chapter 74 - Rename

… why is Trixie on the ground? Blinking slowly as the world came back to her, Trixie watched the light of the morning sun beam through the window, leading her to guess the storm must have cleared up. Trixie found herself laying down on a soft blanket. Her back and side felt wonderfully warm, and she was not in any pain at all. Hm, Trixie is getting better at this.

Giggling to herself, she recalled her dream from last night, and blushed heavily. Rainbow Dash tricking Trixie into a kiss? Hah, she wishes! Still, it had been so real that Trixie could swear she could still taste Rainbow Dash.

Sighing wistfully, Trixie entertained the fantasy for a while longer. Gradually, the grogginess cleared up, and a low growl from her stomach brought Trixie the motivation she needed to get up. However, when Trixie tried to rise, a heavy pressure on her back pushed her back down onto her stomach.

“What the?” Upon inspection, Trixie discovered there was a cyan wing folded over her back, and almost instantly after, she also discovered that Rainbow Dash was sleeping right next to her. Startled, Trixie laid down flat, trying not to disturb her any further.

It was coming back to her now, all of it had been real, ever last bit of it. Excitement quickly bubbling up inside her, Trixie tried to decide what she was supposed to do now. She had never considered how to act when Rainbow Dash actually returned her feelings, as if that wasn’t obvious by her embarrassing reaction. The memory made her cringe. What happened after that? Rainbow Dash is still here, d-did we do anything else?

Blushing furiously, Trixie waited with impatience for the rest of her memories to come back, but it proved fruitless. Apparently she’d laughably passed out from a single kiss, then slept till morning. Nice job, Trixie. That was sure not to be incredibly awkward… Then again, they have seen Trixie knocked out more often than they’ve seen her awake anyway.

Trixie shook the thought from her head. This simply was not the time to be worrying about something like that. After all, she had something much more enjoyable she could be doing. Shifting underneath the wing, Trixie wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash, cuddling up against her.

As much as she wanted to, among other things, talk to Rainbow Dash right away, Trixie did her best to refrain from disturbing her. Despite herself, Trixie found a nagging fear that Rainbow Dash would wake up, only to tell her that it had been a joke. The thought made a pit form in Trixie’s stomach. She did her best not to worry about it while she settled for just waiting.

While Trixie waited, she occasionally stole a longing look at the sleeping pegasus. She wished she could go back to sleep, but her whole body was tingling non-stop, and she was far too excited for it now.

After a while, it dawned on her that somepony was missing. Wait, where is Fluttershy? Trixie perked up, and lifted her head to get a better look around, but she could not find her anywhere.

Maybe she got up before we did? That would make sense, she’s used to getting up early. Even if that were true however, it still left the question of where Fluttershy was. It was not unlikely that she was out tending to the animals after the storm, checking on them perhaps.

With a smirk, Trixie spent a little time trying to imagine how Rainbow Dash must have tried to explain to Fluttershy why she was unconscious again. Oh, maybe something like ‘I did not hit her! I hit on her! Totally different!’ would have been good? It’s too bad Trixie missed it.

A long yawn next to her quickly brought Trixie’s attention back to the present. She could feel Rainbow Dash stirring in her embrace as she waited with bated breath. It only took Trixie a second to decide she wanted to do something special when Rainbow Dash woke up, something to make sure she knew how much it meant to her. The only problem was that she had no idea what.

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest, Trixie tried to think fast. Unfortunately her mind was not cooperating and kept giving her ridiculous ideas like: singing to her, calling her some overly sweet pet name, kissing her awake like a ponytale princess, or ask if it was good for her too.

Groaning as she choked on being romantic, Trixie jolted a little when she saw Rainbow Dash slowly opening her eyes, clearly still groggy. Gah! Time’s up! Just pick one! Something sweet! “H-hey, good morning, uhhh, Sugarcube.”

Rainbow Dash blinked, and even half asleep she still sniggered and rolled her eyes. “Good morning to you too, Little Hayseed.”

As soon as she’d heard herself say it, Trixie had the overwhelming desire to facehoof herself hard enough to put her recovery back two weeks. Of all the things you could have called her! “S-shut up, uhm, Trixie meant to make you laugh! So hah, it worked.”

Chuckling, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Sure you did.” Her tone shifted to a more serious one. ”Anyway, how are you feeling? You gave us a scare you know.”

Laying her ears flat on her head, Trixie felt guilty for worrying the pair. “Trixie is fine, she just got a little too, uhm, excited. Uh, but in a good way. It wasn’t because something was wrong.” She felt her cheeks burning as she avoided Rainbow Dash’s gaze, looking off to the side. “I-it was your fault you know, doing that to Trixie, making her so happy.”

“Oh, I see. I guess that means no more kisses then, since you can’t handle them.” With a teasing smirk, Rainbow Dash pulled away.

Gasping, Trixie pulled closer against Rainbow Dash. “No! There is nothing The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot handle! She’ll prove it!” Even if she was joking, the thought of losing her again right away was just too much, and it brought back a paranoid fear. “U-unless… It, it was real, right? It wasn’t a joke? You don’t regret it?” Trixie struggled hard to keep a neutral face. If Rainbow Dash only felt sorry for her, then she definitely wasn’t going to say it if she looked as pathetic as she sounded.

After brief look of confusion, Rainbow Dash’s face softened, and she returned the hug tightly. “Hey, I’m sorry, Trixie. Maybe I shouldn’t tease you right now. I guess I didn’t get to explain much last night, huh?”

Trixie shook her head, though she knew just fine why that was. “So, explain?”

“Sure, well, I was thinking about it, and I just decided maybe I wasn’t being fair, you know? How do I know I don’t like being with you, if I never gave you a chance? I like having you as a friend, and well, I like you, I guess, you know? You’re cool.” Rainbow Dash started to look increasingly more uncomfortable as she approached closer to ‘mush’ territory, and apparently looking for something she could say to rescue her image.

While it had not exactly been a burning declaration of ever-lasting love, Trixie could not be happier, nor stop smiling as she nodded. “Trixie understands, she’s cool.” She giggled and shook her head. “So, then this means Trixie has a chance to show you a Great and Powerful Time. Perfectly clear. In that case, the first order of business is obvious!” Just as Trixie finished speaking, she quickly leaned in to steal a kiss from Rainbow Dash.

Taken off guard, it took Rainbow Dash a second to respond, but she soon answered the kiss. Once Trixie finally broke away, Rainbow Dash shot her a smile, and her voice held a playfully affectionate tone. “The Great and Powerful Thiefsie?” She pulled closer as she spoke, to claim a second kiss.

Trixie felt like she could burst into flames at any second, happily enjoying her second kiss that morning, though afterward she gave Rainbow Dash a frown. “That better not stick. You are as bad at pet names as Trixie, Dashie.”

“Dashie? Who’ve you been talking to?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. She gave a look the sunbeam shining through the window and blinked, following it out the window towards the partly clouded sky. She pushed away from Trixie. “Gah I’m late! I’ve got to get going, I’m supposed to help clean that mess up there up.“

“Awh, can’t you just leave it?” Trixie huffed, it did not seem fair to her she had to give up Rainbow Dash so soon already, even if it was for just a little while. “You already made the mess, your job is done.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Much like Fluttershy’s kitchen, the old storm clouds won’t clear themselves, and we can’t put Ponyville through another storm like that. Besides, thanks to a certain somepony I had such a rigorous practice session that this will be easy by comparison.” She gave Trixie an accusing look.

“Oh, uhhh, you’re welcome?” Trixie grinned cheesily, then rose onto her hooves. “Okay fine, but you can’t go to work on an empty stomach. Stay right there, and Trixie will get you something, she insists.”

After briefly pondering the offer, Rainbow Dash nodded. “Well, I can’t say no to that now can I? Actually I was a bit worried about being hungry my whole shift.”

“That’s the spirit.” Trixie trotted her way to the kitchen, swaying her tail much more pleasantly than heading off to do some housework called for. Just as she was about to reach the kitchen door, Trixie shot a look back at Rainbow Dash, who’s eyes quickly rose up to meet her own. Perfect!

Blushing, Rainbow Dash rose a hoof up to scratch the back of her neck. “Uh, is there, uhm, something?”

“No, Trixie just wanted to get one more look before she went.” She quickly stepped into the kitchen, and closed the door, leaning against it while she waited for her heart to stop trying to drill its way out of her chest. Calm down, Trixie! She did not really believe she would pass out from excitement a second time, but it made her hooves even less steady than they already were, and she needed those right now.

Starting with the easy part, Trixie set out to gather something to drink first, and quickly settled on some herbal tea. It was no problem finding the ingredients, as Fluttershy kept quite a few different tea flavors in stock, but finding the teapot proved more difficult.

It was not as if Trixie could not find one, she’d located one in a cabinet during her search, but she had a specific one in mind, the rainbow-colored teapot Fluttershy had used the night she returned home from the hospital. Despite her best efforts, it was nowhere to be found.

As she grew more desperate, Trixie even started checking in places she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be, in the cups, below the plates, and underneath the cupboard. Disappointed, she decided to settle for a boring green teapot instead.

With her procrastinating fulfilled, all that was left was figuring out what she was going to make, and how she was going to make it.

Apparently Rainbow Dash was curious about that as well, as Trixie could hear her voice calling out from the living room. “What are you making anyway?”

Trixie knew that as soon as she’d finished breakfast Rainbow Dash would leave, and it was with that realization that she felt a grin growing on her lips. Calling out in a perfectly innocent voice, Trixie replied.

“Pancakes!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 76 - Remedial

After seeing Rainbow Dash off, Trixie closed the front door, and made her way back into the kitchen. Excitement coursed through her with every step while she did her best to stay at least calm enough not to knock anything over. She prepared a tray with Fluttershy’s strawberry pancakes, some tea, and a few pieces of fruit.

This is the best!

The trip up the stairs was a little bit tricky, but by holding the tray in her mouth, Trixie managed it without tilting it too much. A few quick knocks on the door announced her presence before entering.

The room was dark as always, thanks to the cloths covering the windows. It was not something Trixie had actually thought about before today. She supposed she could get rid of them, since it turned out she was fine when she woke up in the sunlit living room.

Trixie set down the tray on the desk, then turned her attention to the sleeping pegasus, apparently she had failed to wake her up with her entrance. It was a rare opportunity for Trixie to actually be awake before both pegasi, the last time had been their ill-fated trip. Watching the soft relaxed features of Fluttershy’s face, Trixie smiled. It was a little strange to see Fluttershy with a neutral expression rather than alternations between smiling or frightened, but it was no less cute.

Fluttershy snoozed peacefully, but Trixie could see her face was red and puffy, and she had the blanket curled tightly around herself.

Oh no, it looks like she really is sick. Maybe Trixie should let her sleep for now?

Suffering a moments indecision, Trixie took a step away from the bed, and she considered if she really wanted to wake her up. Fluttershy never tried to wake Trixie, except that first week, and that had been incredibly annoying. Still, she couldn’t just decide to give her cold pancakes.

Trixie will just wake her up a little, and if she doesn’t want any, Trixie will let her sleep.

“Fluttershy?” Trixie reached out a hoof to the mare’s shoulder, shaking her gently. “Fluttershy?”

“Mhm… Trixie?” Fluttershy mumbled softly, half opening one eye to look at her.

Apparently, Fluttershy was a fairly light sleeper. When Trixie thought about it, she already knew that, as she’d done nothing but wake the poor mare up when she tried to sleep last night. It made Trixie feel worse about it now that she realized Fluttershy had probably been sick back then too.

Trixie kept her voice down. “Good mor—afternoon, Fluttershy. Are you okay?”

“Hey, Trixie… I’m fine.” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and gave Trixie a once over. “Oh. How are you? You collapsed last night.” Fluttershy did not sound particular energetic, but Trixie had to be fair to her, she did just wake up.

With a dismissive gesture, Trixie tried to look casual. “Trixie was just tired, she’s much better now! Dash said you might be sick, and, uhm, you do look a little ill.” She motioned over to the tray on the desk. “Trixie brought you breakfast, if you feel like it, should she come back later?”

Fluttershy looked confused for a moment. “Dash? Sick?” After a brief moment, her eyes shot open wide. “Sick! Yes, I-I was cold. Uhm, ‘cough, cough, achoo’. M-maybe you shouldn’t come near me, Trixie?”

Raising an eye brow, Trixie stared at Fluttershy skeptically for a few moments, before she burst out laughing uncontrollably. Clutching her sides, Trixie simmered down enough to raise a hoof up to clear the tears of laughter clouding her vision. “T-that, hah, was the worst acting Trixie has ever seen! Good one, Fluttershy! If you’re well enough to make jokes, then Trixie is sure you are well enough for something to eat. Hold on.”

Trixie turned around to fetch the tray, setting it down on the bed with a smile and a feeling of pride. “Strawberries, right?”

Fluttershy’s face was colored scarlet while she weakly chuckled along with Trixie. “T-that’s right. Thank you, Trixie…” she cast her eyes down at the tray of strawberry pancakes, seeming to take a great interest in it while she started on the meal, she didn’t look up once.

It felt great to see Fluttershy so absorbed in something she’d made for her. Though Trixie was concerned to see her precious friend look so heated, and worried she might be trying to downplay how sick she felt. “Say, uhm, Fluttershy? Trixie was thinking… how about you stay in bed today? Just to be sure?”

“Oh, uhm, no, t-that’s okay, Trixie. I-I feel much better already… and I can’t leave my animal friends alone after a storm like that, they’d be worried…” Fluttershy picked up the mug of tea from the tray, taking careful sips.

“Preposterous! You are clearly not well, Fluttershy. Besides, you deserve a day of rest. Trixie insists.”

Fluttershy finally lifted her gaze up to meet Trixie’s own. “B-but, what about the animals? They ne—”

“Don’t worry!” Trixie interrupted, and beamed her most confident smile. “Trixie will take care of everything! She knows what to do.” It was true, mostly. She had watched Fluttershy do all the chores and tasks before, and she was fairly certain she could manage them for one day. In fact, Trixie felt as though she could take on the whole world today.

“Uh, well… I-if you are sure… No. No, I can’t let you do that.” Fluttershy sat up straight, shaking her head. “The last time we did something when I wasn’t sure went r-really badly. ”

Trixie gave an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Fluttershy. This is nothing like last time. Trixie won’t even leave the meadow. Unless the timberwolves followed us home, Trixie will be fine.” She paused a moment to consider how she actually felt about taking on a timberwolf now, but she decided against it; The retrieval of her hat would have to wait a little longer.

Fluttershy still looked unconvinced. “I-I just… don’t think it’s a good idea.”

It was clear to Trixie by now that Fluttershy had no intention of letting her do this after the last fiasco, and even if she did allow it, she would worry the whole time. Still, Trixie couldn’t just let her run around if she was not feeling well. The most reasonable thing to do seemed to be to bend the truth just a little bit. “Okay, Fluttershy, Trixie understands. She will find Rainbow Dash and tell her what she needs to do. So, you just relax, Trixie won’t do anything.”

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy looked a bit taken aback by Trixie’s concession, but she didn’t question it. Something else was clearly on her mind though, as she fidgeted with her hooves. “Uhm, Trixie? Speaking of… Rainbow Dash, a-and… y-you.”

“Yes?” Trixie smiled expectantly. With any luck, Fluttershy might agree to let Trixie help if Dash was there, not that she is, but at least that’s only half a lie. Huh, maybe it doesn’t work like that?

Oddly, Fluttershy had put her full attention back on her plate. She was even bent over so far that her mane hid her whole tray along with her face. She was even more soft-spoken than usual. “W-what’s it… like?”

Trixie perked up in surprise, she could feel her face heat up. “S-sorry? Trixie, uh, does not understand the question, she thinks.”

Cringing, Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, uhm, nevermind! Just forget I said anything. T-thanks for breakfast, but I better, uh, s-sleep some more.” She immediately turned over onto her other side, but completely overlooked the tray in her lap, which she sent hurtling to the floor.

“No, wait!” Before Trixie could do anything about it, she heard the plate shatter and the mug rolling over the floor on the other side of the bed. She looked over at Fluttershy, shocked. It was completely unlike her to be so careless.

“Oh goodness! I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy whimpered, and tried to get out of bed quickly.

Setting her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, Trixie urged her back down on the bed. “Wait, it’s okay. Uh, Trixie will get it. Just relax, Fluttershy.” She was not quite sure how to take the odd behavior from Fluttershy. Is she delirious or something? No, she was fine just a second ago.

Fortunately, it did not take much to persuade Fluttershy to stay under the covers, and she soon curled up again on the bed, allowing Trixie to get to work on cleaning the mess up. Though she was distracted by the constant apologies from Fluttershy.

“I’m really sorry about this…” Fluttershy mumbled again.

“For the last time, it’s fine!” It was beginning to get on Trixie’s nerves. She lifted the last shard onto the tray, then rubbed a rag over the floor to clean up the remains of jam and tea. “It’s not like Trixie hasn’t done the same, at least you didn’t throw your food at your nurse, huh?” Trixie shot Fluttershy a sideways smile.

Finally, Fluttershy smiled lightly and shook her head. “I guess not, but that was my fault too.”

While Trixie tried to figure out how to get jam out of a groove in the floorboard, mostly by rubbing the rag along it and hoping something would stick on each pass, her thoughts kept going back to Fluttershy. She knew something was not quite right, and not all of it could be explained by a cold.

Fluttershy had gone quiet, facing away from Trixie.

There had to be something that was bringing this on, and Trixie’s best clue was the last thing Fluttershy asked for. Although it was kind of personal, and Trixie was not even sure if she really understood the question correctly. Still, it was worth a shot. “It is nice.”

“Uh, I’m sorry?” Fluttershy turned to look at Trixie in confusion.

Trixie thanked the shaded lighting in the room for letting her hide her embarrassment a little. “How it, uhm, feels when Trixie is with her… It is nice.” It was not exactly the most poetic she’d ever been, but she wasn’t exactly comfortable with gushing about Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked away again, resting her head on the pillow.

Trixie felt like kicking herself for making such a stupid assumption. “T-Trixie just, uh, thou—”

“J-just nice?” Fluttershy asked, though she remained still.

For a moment, Trixie was too dumbfounded to respond. Fluttershy had interrupted her? She knew it was just senseless rambling, but still, she would have never guessed. On top of that, she was actually asking about their relationship. It was not some silly misunderstanding on Trixie’s part. “Uhm, well, uh. It’s a little, uhm…”

Trixie had been vague, but now that Fluttershy actually appeared to want to know more about it, she was not quite sure how to proceed. She is really asking, so, it’s okay if Trixie tells her right? But why would she want to know?

Trixie gave Fluttershy a long look. She did not want to deny her one of the only things she ever asked of her, but it was still a little disconcerting to talk to her about. “Uh, well… we… stayed in bed for a while, c-close together.”

Though Fluttershy did not say anything, Trixie could see her ears perk up straight, indicating she was definitely listening with interest.

“We talked for a while, and then Dash, uhm, let Trixie, uhm, ‘retry’… Trixie didn’t faint this time.” Trixie wished she had some idea of what Fluttershy was thinking. It was maddening to talk to her without any real responses to tell her if this was really what she wanted to hear, or why.

Only barey audible, Fluttershy mumbled into her pillow. “U-uhm, w-w-what… was t-that, uh, l-like?”

Trixie felt as though she’d caught fire. “W-what’s k-kissing like?” Actually doing it had been nowhere near as difficult as trying to even imagine talking about it, but the question itself set off a light for Trixie. Wait! Trixie’s heard that before, that’s the kind of question a curious foal might ask… when they get past ‘the cooties’ anyway.

Now that she thought about it, it was perfectly normal for foals to have questions like that, even Trixie herself had wondered about it once. Usually answers like that were not sought with adult ponies, but with more experienced peers.

Though Fluttershy was no foal, and she was certainly aware of reproduction. The week of visiting baby animals proved that. …but that’s different isn’t it? Just a bit of biology. If Fluttershy had questions, Trixie doubts she would have asked anypony, she’s much too shy. Even if she asked Rainbow Dash, Dash wouldn’t have known till, er, a few weeks ago. Trixie would have blushed at the memory, but she was already scarlet.

Trixie raised her gaze back up to Fluttershy, who still was in bed, facing away from her. Did she get curious after… well, last night? Is this… Fluttershy’s ‘talk’? S-so that means, she’s looking to Trixie for answers? No wonder she’s so awkward!

It was a refreshing thought. Suddenly almost everything was starting to make sense, except Trixie was not entirely sure why Fluttershy would ask her instead of Rainbow Dash. The idea that Fluttershy trusted her enough to ask that sort of thing, while it was obviously difficult for the shy mare, quickly helped steel Trixie’s resolve to help her as best she could.

“It’s, uhm, hard to describe. It felt warm and soft, but not fuzzy soft. It was also, uh, moist, and tasted sweet, t-though that’s probably Dash’s sweet tooth.” Trixie paused for a moment to watch Fluttershy’s reaction. She could only tell that Fluttershy was still listening closely, and she had yet to tell her to stop. “Okay… there’s more to it than that. It’s exciting, feels weird, but a good weird, and it’s confusing. Trixie is pretty sure we’re probably kind of bad at it, but it’s fun. At least we avoided knocking our teeth together so, uhm, that’s good right?” Trixie gave a nervous chuckle.

Flattening her ears, Fluttershy gave a wince.

Trixie smirked a little. “Sorry, yeah that is not a pleasant thought, moving on. Uhm, after that Trixie made breakfast, Rainbow Dash helped. Can you believe it? She was actually pretty decent at it too, under Trixie’s amazing management of course.” Trixie smiled, though she was briefly brought down by the thought that Dash would be gone the rest of the day.

“After that, Dash left for wo—ondering what to do for our date!” Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. Nice save, Trixie! Fluttershy can’t know Dash isn’t here anymore.

“D-date?” Fluttershy shifted under the blankets.

Smiling brightly, Trixie nodded with excitement, happy to share the good news. “That’s right! Rainbow Dash is going to take Trixie on a date! That’s when two ponies go do something romantic together. Though, Trixie doesn’t know where or what, but Dash will tell Trixie when she’s, uhm, done thinking about it, yeah that’s it. Trixie can hardly wait. Though we’d probably have to discuss when we do it.”

Fluttershy, to Trixie’s great surprise, looked directly at her this time. It was difficult to tell in the shaded room, but something seemed off about her, yet oddly familiar. Fluttershy’s tone reminded her of the uncomfortable talk they’d had about wings for some reason. “I’d like to see that. T-the discussion that is. If that’s okay with you?”

“Huh? The one about the date? Uhm, sure?” Trixie blinked, it seemed like a very odd request. “Okay, that’s all Trixie can tell you right now, she better go and do, er, tell Dash to do the chores. You get some rest okay, Fluttershy?” With that, Trixie lifted up the tray and after a muffled goodbye left the room.

She’s just curious. What’s the worst that could happen?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So it turns out that vacation is actually really bad for my ability to keep a schedule, who knew?
I'm constantly losing track of days, hours and weeks. :facehoof:

Chapter 77 - Rhyme

Trixie pulled the front door shut, and slumped against it. There was no force on earth that could get her to set another hoof outside. She was utterly exhausted. Whose bright idea was it to make Trixie do all the chores?

The meadow was as good as a marsh after that much rain. Trixie looked down at her muddy hooves and legs with a sigh. A bath sounded really good right about now, but she didn’t want to drag mud all through the living room. Actually, Trixie would be fine with that, if Trixie didn’t have to clean it up afterwards. Maybe she should just stand here till she’s dry.

It was not exactly ideal, but Trixie was more than willing to finally solve a problem by doing nothing for a while. She leaned against the door, and closed her eyes with a soft murmur. Her thoughts wandered to the lousy day she’d had.

Doing Fluttershy’s work would have been a challenge to begin with, and to make matters worse she had been right about the animals worrying. The first animals that Trixie had tried to feed had refused to eat anything and just stared at her as if she was some strange trespasser.

It was so unnerving that she’d started to make excuses out loud. She even explained it was her first time, and that she was trying her best. Trixie felt like a complete fool, trying to justify herself to a bunch of animals. Strangely, once she mentioned Fluttershy had a cold, and that she was filling in, that seemed to placate them enough to start behaving like normal animals again.

Since she had figured out the trick, she had to take a minute each time to explain the situation for every chore she tried to do. Most of the animals apparently understood enough of it on some level, except for one. Trixie grumbled, “Angel? Hah. It must be an acronym for Annoying No Good Evil Lout.”

The accursed little rabbit kept glaring at her, and made it a point to follow her around for most of the day to make sure she knew how much he disapproved of her presence or something. That was not entirely unexpected, as he often did that to her to begin with. Trixie could not believe that of all the animals to pick from, Fluttershy apparently went with him. Trixie bets he was a gift from Celestia or something…

Fortunately he’d run off after a little while, though not for long. Apparently, he was feeling generous, because when he returned he had tried to throw things at her head. Trixie was certain it was no coincidence he consistently aimed at the worst possible place for her. She often wondered if the twice damned rabbit was watching her, with his big beady eyes, almost as if he was accusing her, or telling her she didn't deserve to be here. And surely it wasn't odd if Trixie thought the rabbit's name to be no coincidence, right? She wished she knew more about animals.

“Just you wait. The first thing Trixie will do with her magic is turn your fur hot pink.” She felt her lips curl into a smile while she imagined it. That was turning out to be a nice day dream. If she didn’t know Fluttershy, for some inexplicable reason, considered that monster her pet, then Trixie would have happily fed him to the bear instead of the usual honey. At least she didn’t have to deal with that long-eared rat anymore for a while.

A sudden knock on the door shook Trixie out of a half snooze, causing her to blink in confusion for a moment. This was new. The only pony that Trixie knew visited way out here was Applejack, or possibly Big Mac, if his sister felt alright with letting him come here unsupervised again.

However, it was not time for a new batch of apples yet. Trixie eyed the door cautiously, as if she expected to stare right through it. She did not like surprises, especially not the kind that Ponyville had for her. Relax Trixie! Nopony knows you’re here. Just calm down. Maybe it’s another friend of Fluttershy’s? Composing herself, Trixie called out. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon. I have a special delivery for Trixie Lulamoon. Oh hey! That rhymed!” A female voice on the other side of the door giggled.

But Trixie was not laughing. She could feel her heart racing in her chest with dread. N-nopony should know that name! Taking a few quick steps away from the door, Trixie did her best to take deep breaths. How do they know Trixie is here? Wait, it doesn’t matter, Trixie just has to… “S-she’s does not live here. Now shoo!” As she spoke, she inched over to the window to get a peek at her opposition.

Before the door stood just a single gray-coated pegasus, carrying a mail-saddlebag. Her mane was ‘styled’ if one could call it that, much like Rainbow Dash’s, except that it was blond. She held an envelope up on one hoof, looking at it. “Oh, but she said this was the address. Are you sure, miss?”

Trixie was not entirely sure what she was expecting to find. Whoever this was, she did not look threatening. There was something vaguely familiar about the gray mare, but Trixie could not place it. She? Maybe it’s from… No, it couldn’t be. After a moment of internal conflict, Trixie’s curiosity won out. “Oh, wait. You said Trixie? Hold on.”

“Yes, Trixie Lulamoon! Oh good. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”

Pushing the door open, Trixie was greeted by a smiling face, but that was not the first thing to catch Trixie’s attention. The mares eyes were all screwed up, looking in different directions. Trixie stared at her in confusion, before she noticed the mares smile faltering a little. “Oh! Sorry, Trixie did not mean to stare. Uhm, you had a letter for her?”

“I’m used to it, it’s fine.” The mare presented a clipboard and a pen on a string. Despite holding the clipboard, she spoke with a practiced ease. “Just sign on the dotted line.”

Trixie gave a nervous smile. “Heh, another rhyme?” She signed the paper as simply ‘Trixie’.

“Oh hey, you’re right!” The mailmare giggled while she tucked the clipboard back into her bag, then passed the envelope.

“Thank you, uuh?”

“Derpy.”

“Derpy. Have we met?” Trixie could not shake the feeling she’d met the pegasus before.

Locking her saddlebags, Derpy smiled and shook her head. “No. Well, not face to face anyway, but I’ve seen you before. You’d have remembered if we had, right?”

“Oh… Trixie’s show?”

Raising a hoof to scratch her other leg uncomfortably, Derpy scrunched up her muzzle. “The show, the ursa, the ponyback ride…”

Trixie winced a little, she really should have expected that, though the last one confused her. “Wait. Ponyback ride?”

“Oh, uhm, you know? After you attacked that mare?” Derpy looked uncomfortable. “A really big red stallion was carrying you through town.”

A vague memory of that trip from the hospital back home partially resurfaced for Trixie. She had not really been in the best state of mind by that point, but she was pretty sure she had not attacked anypony. Even if she had wanted to, there was no way she could have. “They say that’s Trixie? But she couldn’t be!”

Derpy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t really know the details… Hey, now you’re doing it too. That’s another rhyme.” Derpy smiled, then took a step away from the door. “Was there anything else, Miss?”

This was terrible, she already had enough trouble just being blamed for things she could remember, now there were things she didn’t too? The voice Trixie stirred from her thoughts, and she looked towards her bearer of ill news. “What? Uh, no. Thank you, uhm, Derpy?”

Giving a quick nod to indicate she remembered correctly, Derpy spread her wings. With an impressive feat of power, she actually managed to lift off, even with the heavy mailbags. “My pleasure. You know, I was warned about you, but you’re not as mean as they say. Well, see you!”

“Goodbye.” Trixie waved after the odd mailmare. The exchange had left her baffled. She had not been that nice to Derpy, yet apparently it was still much better than Derpy had expected, to the point that she even had felt the need to comment on it. Just what are they saying about Trixie? It was not a pleasant thing to think about.

Closing the door, Trixie turned her attention to the envelope, grateful for the distraction.

Without her magic, or Dash, to assist her, it took significant fiddling with the darned thing to open it. Though Trixie supposed things might have been at least a little easier if she could use her hooves for the job, but she didn’t want to get mud on the letter.

Nervously, Trixie unfolded the letter. There was only one pony she could think of that would know to send her a letter here. Trixie swears, if Celestia is forcing her away again, she'll— “Ponyville Hospital?”

Trixie blinked puzzled, and quickly read through the letter. “Dear Miss Lulamoon, I write to you on behalf of, blah blah blah, Heartfelt apologies, blah blah blah, physical and magical checkup, tomorrow at ten in the morning. Sincerely, Nurse Manners of—yeah okay whatever.”

Now that she got the gist of it, Trixie took her time to read through the letter a second time more slowly while she contemplated on what she was being offered. Apparently there were no strings attached, and she was simply asked to be examined. It would be good to have some kind of official word on how she was doing, and judging by the wording they may even be able to tell her when she could start using magic safely again.

Still, Trixie was not thrilled with the idea of going back to that place. Her last visit had left a sour taste, which Trixie could not blame on the hospital food, considering she was never given any. Not to mention she would have to walk through the town again. Also, the unexplained usage of her last name put her on edge. If they knew that, there was no telling what else they knew, and she was being asked to come to a place they had complete control over.

A slight grin played on her lips as she remembered an exception. Complete control? No, Trixie knows one pegasus they most certainly can’t. If she asked, Trixie was pretty sure she could get Rainbow Dash to come with her. Dash had proven she could keep her safe from anything, except from Dash herself. Maybe Trixie could even call it a date. Fighting ponies in an alley could be romantic, right?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 78 - River

A noisy landing outside disturbed Trixie’s nap. She blinked slowly while she tried to remember what she had been doing, besides leaning against the door and dozing off. Mhm, oh right the mud… Glancing down, Trixie was pleased to see the mud on her legs had mostly turned to sand. A few quick taps outside wi—”Whaaah!”

Without warning, Trixie’s support suddenly gave way, and she literally tumbled out the door. It all happened so fast all she saw was a rainbow-colored blur holding the door, before she fell into the mud.

“Whoa, that’s new! Are you alright, Trixie?” Rainbow Dash bowed over her with concern.

Taking a moment to examine herself, Trixie concluded she was just fine, but now her whole right half was covered in mud. She glared up at Dash. “You foal! Don’t you ever knock?!”

The concern on Dash’s face quickly turned to a grin, and barely suppressed mirth. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She laughed while she reached a hoof out to help Trixie up. “You were waiting for me, huh?”

“Trixie was not. Not intentionally anyway…” With a little help, she climbed back onto her hooves and looked down at her muddy coat with a grimace. “Just great. What are you being so cheerful about anyway? Trixie thought you’d be tired after working all day, or if not that, certainly from thinking all day.”

“That’s easy. I had a really boring day, and you amuse me.” Showing a teasing grin, Rainbow Dash motioned at Trixie’s dirty coat. “Hey it’s not all bad, at the spa ponies pay good bits for a mud bath you know, or so Rarity claims anyway.” She looked Trixie over for a moment then looked at the door. “Though… I guess Fluttershy wouldn’t like it if you go in like that.”

A sinister idea sprung to mind, and Trixie put on her most innocent smile. “Oh, well Trixie has a great idea for how to get rid of at least half of this stuff…” While Dash was still distracted, she lunged and wrapped her hooves around her, pulling her into a tight muddy hug.

“Gah! Hey lemme go! You’re filthy!” Dash struggled in Trixie’s grasp, beating her wings to try to escape.

“What’s wrong? At the spa they pay good bits for this!” Trixie laughed while she fought to keep a hold of Dash. While the both of them were concentrating on their impromptu wrestling match, they forgot one rather important part of the sport: keeping one’s balance. With a splash, both ponies ended up back in the mud.

Dash sputtered and spit up a mouthful of mud. “Blargh! You’re evil! That’s it! It’s on now!” To Trixie’s delight, it seemed Dash had already forgotten her reprimand the previous night, and was determined to see this ‘fight’ through.

“Was there ever any doubt!?” Trixie crowed. She was already a mess, so it wasn’t as if she cared about getting worse.

What began as a fight to stay cleaner than the other, quickly devolved into one to ensure the other was at least as bad, or worse off. After an epic showdown that, in Trixie’s estimation, might have made an Equestrian Mudwrestling record if anypony had been there to witness it, both ponies finally came to a stop. Due to the thick coating of mud Trixie could not even open one of her eyes anymore by the time she rested in the dirt with Dash holding her down.

“Is that, hah, the best, hah, you’ve got?” Trixie panted, exhausted, but grinning up at Dash.

Ever the athlete, Rainbow Dash barely even look winded. “Phu-lease, I told you I’d come out on top easily. I’ve had more trouble helping AJ hold down Winona for a bath.”

Since it was clear to her she wasn’t going to escape any time soon, Trixie changed tactics and wrapped her hooves around Dash. With a huff, she looked the other way. “You’ve merely won a battle, but the war goes on! Still…” She gave her a sideways glance from her good eye, and shifted her tone to a more alluring one. “To the victor go the spoils.”

With a confused look, Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Spoils? Ohhh, those spoils.” Pushing herself up, Dash ran her eyes over Trixie for a moment then stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise. “Yuck, you sure look like you’ve spoiled—Oompfh!”

Glaring daggers, Trixie jabbed Rainbow Dash in the ribs, drawing a grunt from her. “Trixie is not spoiled goods! Besides it’s not like you are any better, Dashie.”

Rubbing her sore side, Dash groaned at Trixie. “Ugh, don’t call me that. It’s not cool.” She gave Trixie one final surprise push into the mud, then climbed back onto her hooves. “Let’s clean this gunk off at the creek, Fluttershy would flip if we went in like this. Uh, okay, I guess she wouldn’t show it, but still.”

Trixie sputtered to get the muck out of her mouth. “Bleh. You know, you are really awful at taking hints.” Rolling over onto her hooves, Trixie got up with a shiver. She felt at least twice as heavy while she trudged after Dash towards the creek that ran through the meadow.

There was a small bridge built over the stream, ensuring the path to the cottage was free from wet hooves. Trixie had passed over it often, but it never really occurred to her to use the flowing water for anything. She simply associated it with yet another animal den, otters and weasels or something. Maybe Fluttershy’s rubbing off on Trixie?

To Trixie’s surprise, Rainbow Dash hopped in without a moment’s hesitation, chasing away a school of fish in the process. Dash waded in until the water came up to her shoulders, then ran her wings and mane through the stream, rinsing off and restoring her bright colors. It was a sight Trixie could watch forever.

“Trixie, are you just going to stand there forever?”

Blushing, Trixie snapped out of her trance and realized she’d been caught staring. she quickly shook her head. “S-shut up. Don’t you have any concept of a ‘moment’? You’re hopeless.” Following her example, Trixie leaped from the shore into the stream.

“Heh, that’s more like it. I happen to know you clean up nicely.” Rainbow Dash smirked as she watched Trixie jump.

Diving under water, what Trixie had expected to be nice water turned out to be nearly freezing. She surfaced with a gasp in shock and tensed up all over, pressing her legs against her body to vainly try to shield at least some small part of it. “C-c-cold!” She stared at Rainbow Dash, who had not shown a single sign of just how cold the stream was. “W-why are you f-fine!? Trixie thought the water would be nice!”

Rainbow Dash looked confused for a moment, but soon she started laughing. She rose one hoof to her head while she composed herself just enough to reply. “Are you kidding me? I’m a pegasus! We don’t get cold. Normal ponies would freeze to death twice over if they tried to fly half as high as we do!”

“T-tell Trixie s-sooner!” She turned around to get out as quickly as possible, trotting back onto the grass. Dripping with cold water, Trixie shivered as a cool gust of wind felt as though it might have been the breath of a Windigo. “T-this is the w-worst! Trixie’s g-going inside.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head while she looked up at Trixie from the water. “Come on, Trixie, it’s just a little water. Being cold is no reason to be such a baby.” She grinned while she swam on her back along the surface, spitting up a little stream of water. The sun created a miniature rainbow in the arch.

Feeling her eye twitch, Trixie glared Rainbow Dash. “O-oh yeah? Y-you sure went for the h-hearth fast last night!”

Coughing up the remains of the water, Rainbow Dash shifted to stand up straight with an embarrassed look on her face. “Hey! That’s totally different! I was really cold.”

Shivering, Trixie rolled her eyes, and turned away. “W-whatever…” There was no way she was going to spend any more energy on arguing. She was already tired, and now she could add freezing to the list. At least she was relatively clean after that. All that was left was avoiding the mud puddle in front of the door.

“Trixie? Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash called out from the stream.

Under other circumstances, a dip into the stream might have actually been nice. If the weather had been hot, or if she was on fire. Now that she thought about it, perhaps it was worth remembering the next time she had a migraine. This was not one of those times.

Trixie grumbled annoyed, but made no effort to respond anymore. She heard a splash behind her while she trotted back home. On some level, Trixie begrudgingly wondered if maybe she really was getting soft. Under Fluttershy’s care she’d gotten used to being nice and warm all the time.

Once she’d made it about a quarter of the way, Trixie’s thoughts were interrupted when something wet and cold fell on her back. Startled by the chilling sudden attack, she looked to her right as just as suddenly Rainbow Dash had appeared beside her. It took Trixie a second to connect the dots, but as she craned her neck to check, it became obvious Dash had draped a soaked wing over her. Apparently Rainbow Dash thought it was just hilarious, because she was smiling all the while. Great, like Trixie wasn’t cold enough.

Rainbow Dash trotted alongside Trixie, keeping her accursed frostbite-inducing wing on her back the whole time. “Is, uhm, that better?”

It took Trixie off guard. Not so much the question itself, but the sincere tone. She knew how Dash spoke when she was teasing or being sarcastic, and this definitely wasn’t it. Trixie let her gaze swap from Dash to the icy wing and back. “…Yes.” She smiled warmly, leaning against Dash as they walked the rest of the way. “Much better.”

Foggy clouds of steam drifted through the bathroom, as warm water poured into the tub.

“It should be ready in a minute.” Rainbow Dash pushed away from the faucets, dropping back on all four hooves.

“This was a great idea, Trixie approves.” Trixie looked into the tub, longing for the touch of the warm water. Breaking her gaze away, she looked back at Dash. “Say, uhm, Trixie thought… maybe it would be good to save some water, and share it?”

“Huh? Yeah sure.” Rainbow Dash smiled, then her eyes widened suddenly. “Oh! That’s right! Do you want to hear what I came up with? Wait. Actually, I had some questions I wanted to ask first.”

Blinking confused, Trixie took a minute to catch up. “Uh, what you came up with? Ah!” Trixie could feel her cheeks flush. “Do you mean for the date? Yes! Wait, no. There’s something Trixie has to tell you first. Fluttershy was curious, and she wanted to be there when we discussed this.”

Rainbow Dash raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Uh, Trixie, are you sure you understood that right? Speaking of Fluttershy, where is she? I thought she’d be back from her chores by now.”

Trixie puffed up her chest. “Do not doubt Trixie, she’s sure. It’s ju—Gah! That’s right!” She quickly reached forward and grabbed Dash by the neck, pulling her in closely while she whispered conspiratorially. “Listen, this is very important. If Fluttershy asks, you blew off work today and did her chores.”

“What? Trixie, friends don’t lie.” Rainbow Dash apparently felt the need to give her another lecture. Fortunately, like everything Dash did, they were fast.

Groaning, Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, of course they don’t.” She knew Dash meant well, aiming to teach her how to be better, but she didn’t want a lesson right now. “But Fluttershy was sick, and she had so many chores. She did not think Trixie could handle it, and she would only stay in bed when Trixie said you’d do her chores.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, and gave Trixie a smile somewhere between amusement and wonderment. “So… you did all of Fluttershy’s chores, all on your own, even though you’re hurt. Just so Fluttershy could rest up, and you want me to take credit for it?”

Finally Dash was catching on. “Yes.” Trixie answered without hesitation.

Dash pulled out of the conspiratory hold. “No.”

Trixie blinked in confusion. “What do you mean ‘no’? Trixie just got through explaining this. You don’t even have to lie, just say something like ‘Hey, Fluttershy, the chores are taken care of.’ That is all Trixie asks!”

“You’re missing the point. If Fluttershy was worried you couldn’t do it, then now you’ve proven you can.”

“But that means telling Fluttershy Trixie was lying to her! What if she gets mad at Trixie?” Though Trixie did not truly believe Fluttershy was really capable of getting mad, she knew the kind of sad, hurt look that Fluttershy would give, and that was even worse.

“Yeah, she’ll probably be upset. You should’ve thought of that before hoof.”

“But, but…” Trixie stopped trying. The look on Rainbow Dash’s face told her it was clearly useless. Trixie sat down on her haunches and folded her hooves over her chest. “Trixie thought you were supposed to be the element of loyalty, not honesty…” She grumbled.

Rainbow Dash smirked and turned her attention back to the bathtub, dipping one hoof in the water to check the temperature. “And I thought you were The Great and Powerful Trixie, not deceitful.” She pulled her hoof out of the water and looked at it for a moment while the water dripped down. “Huh, you know… On second thought, maybe you should check if it’s warm enough.”

The remark stung. Trixie glared at Rainbow Dash, but she was not about to argue with her over it. If Rainbow Dash was not going to cover for her, then Trixie supposed her best course of action was to tell Fluttershy before she found out some other way. Trixie will check on her after the bath, then tell her. If she sees Trixie is a mess she might catch on too soon.

Following Dash’s advice, Trixie helped get the bath ready. It was not as though she really needed to do much, merely dip her hoof in the water and nod in approval. “It’s fine. So what was it that you wanted to ask Trixie?”

“Oh, uhm. I was wondering. You see, I was trying to think of places we could go, but how do you feel about going into Ponyville these days? If you’re not okay with it, I can work with that, but I thought I should ask you before I overcomplicate it.” Once the water reached high enough, Dash took notice and turned off the faucet. “Alright, looks good.”

“Are you sure you can’t read minds a little bit too? Trixie was just thinking about that earlier today.” She looked down at the floor. “To be honest… Trixie does not feel safe in Ponyville… She spoke to the mailmare that came by, who heard a lot of bad things about Trixie.”

Dash nodded sympathetically, reaching out to touch Trixie’s foreleg. “Hey, I get it. You really have some of the worst timing for visiting Ponyville. First time an ursa comes, and second time a dragon. It’s not your fault, but it does get ponies talking, you know? It’s okay to be scared.” She gave a soft grin, and chuckled while she spoke, “hay, even I’m a little worried what will show up next if we go into town now.”

Trixie lifted her gaze up to meet with Dash’s, and just lingered there for a moment, drinking in the sight. For all the coolness obsessed teasing and joking around, Dash really did have a caring side to her that shone through at the best times. “But...” Showing a smile, Trixie leaned forward to warp Dash into a hug. “…You make Trixie feel safe. So, if it’s with you, Trixie thinks it will be fine.”

Returning the embrace, Rainbow Dash blinked surprised for a moment while she listened. “Trixie…” Her lips wore a warm smile while she leaned in closer, eyes half-lidded.

Feeling her heart skip a beat at the sight, Trixie mimicked the motions, forgetting all about how cold she was supposed to be. Their last kiss, just that morning, felt like it had been eons ago, and Trixie was eager to experience it again. She could feel the warmth radiating from Dash on her muzzle already before they even touched.

“H-hey girls! A-are you in here? Oh! Am I, uhm, interrupting? I’m sorry, s-should I come back later?” Fluttershy’s voice, despite being soft and sweet as usual, had all the romantic effect of a bucket of ice water. It made Trixie and Rainbow Dash swiftly pull away from each other, and turn to face her.

“F-Fluttershy, good you’re awake.”

“H-hey, Fluttershy. No, it’s, uh, fine. ”

Trixie gritted her teeth in frustration while she did her best to keep a smile on her lips. Lips that almost had met with Dash’s. Five seconds later! That’s all Trixie asks for! She tried to remind herself that it wasn’t Fluttershy’s fault, and that she was supposed to be happy to see she was doing better, still she had trouble shaking the resentment. “How are you feeling, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, much bet—” Fluttershy’s eyes widened when they ran over Trixie, spotting the remains of mud in her fur. “Trixie! Oh my goodness, what happened? Did you fall? Are you okay?” Fluttershy quickly came closer to examine Trixie. She ran her hooves through the mare’s mane, moving it aside and checking for any bumps or bruises on Trixie’s head.

Rainbow Dash seemed to have properly recovered. “She’s fine, Fluttershy. It’s just dirt. I was a little rough with her, I’m sorry.” She motioned to the prepared bath. “That should take care of everything though.”

With Fluttershy tending to her with such care and attention, Trixie couldn’t possibly stay mad at her. She reached up to Fluttershy’s hooves and gently brought them back down to the ground. Smiling, Trixie nodded. “Trixie’s actually feeling really good today, so don’t worry, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy looked relieved, and took a step back, giving Trixie some breathing room. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s good to hear you’re doing well Trixie. I guess I was just worried since you two were gone all day.” She gave a quick look around the bathroom, noting if anything was missing then turned her attention back to Trixie. “Uhm, okay well, looks like you’re all set. Do you remember where you can find everything, Trixie?”

“Trixie has it under control.” Naturally, it was not the first time Trixie had used the bath. At first it had taken a little getting used to, and finding the towels had taken longer than she cared to admit. She’d since proven she could manage without assistance, though Fluttershy still insisted the door stayed unlocked at all times, just in case.

“Oh, good. Just call out if you need anything okay? The floor might be slippery so be careful and—”

“Fluttershy, I’m pretty sure she can handle some water.” Rainbow Dash chuckled and shook her head.

Blushing embarrassed, Fluttershy looked away. “Oh, uhm, right. Rainbow Dash? I’m sorry to ask you for yet another chore today, but could you help me, uhm, get dinner started? If you don’t mind that is?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at Trixie for a moment, giving an apologetic look. “Yeah, sure, Fluttershy. I’ll help.” Trotting after Fluttershy, apparently content to cover for Trixie at least a little bit. The door closed behind them, leaving Trixie to bathe in peace.

Trixie was pretty sure Dash was only playing along to give her time to get cleaned up and have a proper conversation with Fluttershy. If she had to guess, it probably was her way of apologizing for bailing on her. Sighing deeply, Trixie climbed into the bathtub, at least the warm water was soothing.

There will be a lot for Trixie to talk about at dinner…

For the time being however, Trixie was more than happy to let the warmth wash over her tired limbs, and think of nothing else for a while.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A bit of a longer chapter today.
I'm sure nobody will mind. :yay:

Chapter 79 - Reliable

Trixie pushed her empty plate away from her with a satisfied sigh. Working all day had left her hungry as a horse, and she’d eaten three times as much as usual to compensate. The only one at the table that rivaled her on this was Rainbow Dash, though she tended to eat a lot anyway.

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, barely ate anything. Which Trixie could only attribute to her not feeling all that well yet.

All in all it had been a pretty peaceful, quiet dinner. Though Trixie was aware that was in part because if Rainbow Dash tried to talk about her day, she’d give Trixie away. Meanwhile she caught more than a few looks from Rainbow Dash of increasing urgency. Trixie knew exactly what that was about, it meant she was waiting for Trixie to fess up to Fluttershy, and losing patience.

Meanwhile, Trixie tried to stall. This was one of the best days she’d ever had, and she wanted to put off ruining it for as long as possible. She shifted nervously while she tried to think of something, anything, to talk about that was not related to anything that could lead to a conversation that did not touch on how their day had been. “Sooo, Fluttershy, Dash was about to tell Trixie what she had in mind. You wanted to know too right?”

Fluttershy, perked her ears up. “Oh, you really haven’t discussed it yet?” She looked surprised, but pleased while she nodded. “Yes, uhm, if you don’t mind?” She looked over at Rainbow Dash.

Briefly giving Trixie a glare with narrowed eyes, Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Fluttershy, smiling. “Oh, so Trixie was right? Uhm, well it’s kinda… cheesy, I guess… but if you really want.” She got up from the table and gathered the plates. “It can wait though. Fluttershy, I’ll handle the dishes on my own. You girls can just talk about your day, till I’m back, then I’ll talk about mine.” She stared directly at Trixie as she emphasized those words, then carried the dishes into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

Fluttershy gave Dash a confused look. “Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash… But, uhm, don’t you want to hear—Oh, she’s gone.” She stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned her attention back to Trixie, looking thoroughly puzzled. “I… I guess I was, uhm, sleeping so I don’t have much to tell… you two were t-together all day… so, uh, she already knows it all? But then what does she want to tell about hers?”

Trixie swallowed, nervously. There could be no doubt about it, this was Dash’s ultimatum, and she knew it. Either Trixie told Fluttershy right now, or Dash would. It’s not that bad right? Trixie only did it for her. Y-yeah… Not even her internal monologue sounded convinced of that, much to Trixie’s dismay. “U-uhm… Fluttershy? There’s something that, uh… about today…. Trixie thinks you should know…”

Perhaps that was not the wisest choice of words, because Fluttershy’s musing look stiffened into an uncomfortable, scared stare. “W-what do you mean? Did s-something happen?” Her eyes teared up while she visibly tried her best to stay steady. “Oh no, i-it’s the duck family isn’t it? I told Daisy that ducks weren’t supposed to make nests in trees! To come inside for the storm, but she wouldn’t listen! Oh, if only I’d asked her more nicely—”

“No! Wait, wait!” Trixie waved her hooves franticly. “Daisy is fine! She got down and joined the geese in the hollow stump, like you asked. All Trixie had to do was put the nest back in the tree. The animals are fine, really!”

The panic faded from Fluttershy’s face, and she breathed a sigh of relief, allowing her naturally serene look to return. “Oh, thank goodness.” Her gaze lingered on the window facing the forest for a moment, before she snapped out of it, blushing with embarrassment. “Ah, I’m sorry, Trixie. You were trying to tell me something?”

“Uhm, yes… Like Trixie said, she put the nest back in the tree, but she also gave Daisy food…” Becoming more hesitant to continue, she looked at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy waited patiently for Trixie to finish her story. A soft smile was on her face, but Trixie could tell she was still a little on edge, as though she still expected to hear something she was not going to like.

“…And Trixie gave food to the others too…”As Trixie thought about it, the way she went about telling Fluttershy was pretty terrible. By making such a big deal out of it she’d freaked Fluttershy out once already, and right now there were probably a thousand different things she was worrying about. The whole point was so that she wouldn’t worry…

Trixie closed her eyes for a moment, maybe if she didn’t look it wouldn’t be so bad. It didn’t help. She needed a different approach. Opening her eyes again she gave a big smile. “Ah, sorry. Trixie is making it sound like it’s a bad thing! Actually, what Trixie meant to say was. Trixie had such a great day, she feels fantastic!” She flexed comedically to accentuate her point.

Taken by complete surprise, Fluttershy giggled and shook her head. “Oh, well it’s good you are so energetic, Trixie. Just try not to overdo it, okay?” She contemplated for a moment, then gave Trixie a knowing smile. “Oh, I understand now. You cheated a little didn’t you? That’s why you were nervous?”

“A little?” Waving her hoof dismissively, Trixie puffed up her chest. “You’ve caught Trixie. she did your chores, and she did so perfectly, of course.”

Fluttershy laughed softly, and picked up her mug, bringing it to her lips. “Was there ever any doubt?” She asked with a playful tone, causing Trixie to giggle, then took a sip of her tea. “Ah, so that’s what Rainbow Dash meant when she said she’d been rough on you.” Fluttershy looked much happier with the realization. “She let you help. No wonder you were a mess! Oh, sorry, uhm, I didn’t mean it like, err, It’s just you had the mud, and, uh.”

Trixie waved the apology away with a grin. “It’s fine, you should have seen Trixie before she rinsed most of it off. You’d never know it was Trixie.” This was her chance, Fluttershy had already figured out most of it, and apparently she was delighted by it. “But, erm... well... Rainbow Dash kinda wasn't there... she had to deal with the clouds and stuff... But Trixie did everything fine, promise!”

Perking up her ears, Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, so you weren’t together all day?” Fluttershy paused as she said it, then set down her cup with a look that Trixie could only describe as pure disbelief. “S-she left you alone?” Fluttershy got up from the table, and stepped towards towards the kitchen door. From her angle, Trixie could barely see it, but it was with a stare that Trixie was half sure would burn the door down. It was scary to witness even the faintest hint of it.

It occurred to Trixie she better hurry and clear Rainbow Dash of blame. Quickly, she followed after Fluttershy. “No, no. It’s not like that. Dash was already gone when Trixie came to see you this morning. Trixie knew Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be back until tonight, but you needed rest.”

Fluttershy froze, and panned back towards Trixie, making her flinch briefly. Fortunately any trace of the anger from before was already gone. The disbelief was still there though, yet comprehension was shining through. “W-what? So… you lied about Rainbow Dash being here?”

Trixie nodded slowly. “Trixie lied…” Averting her gaze, she tried to avoid having to look at Fluttershy.

“Oh, Trixie… I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy whispered.

Confused, Trixie looked up, and found Fluttershy tearfully staring at her. “What? No, why? Trixie is the one who should be sorry! But…” She took a deep breath and stood up straight. “But, Trixie would do it again.”

Fluttershy shook her head urgently, and stepped closer. “N-no, don’t you understand? That was really dangerous! I know you feel really well, but that’s the most treacherous part. Head injuries make you very vulnerable, and heal slowly, but you will feel better before you actually are better.”

Trixie felt her bravado drain out of her, Fluttershy looked genuinely terrified.

“Nopony knew where you were. We both thought you were with the other. What if something had happened to you? What if you had tripped, or hit your head? Do you know what could have happened if you had a seizure, or overexerted yourself and passed out!? Neither of us would know to even begin looking for you, until Rainbow Dash returned in the evening!”

“B-but Trixie is fine, see?” Trixie offered, weakly. She couldn’t help but think what would have happened if she would have fallen out of the tree while returning Daisy’s nest that morning. Would Trixie still be laying there?

Fluttershy closed in another step, and wrapped her hooves around Trixie, pulling her close. Her voice was shaky. “Thank goodness you are, but, please, Trixie, please never do that again. I-I know it’s m-my fault… for making you feel like it was your only option, but I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt because of me again. I-I’m supposed to help you get better, not worse.”

Trixie winced as Fluttershy showed a surprising amount of strength in her forelegs, but her attention was firmly on what she’d said. It was starting to make sense now why Fluttershy babied her to such an infuriating extent, never allowing her to do anything.

Other than boredom, Trixie had never made any comments on her condition. For fear of being ‘detained’ even longer, she even downplayed it. Which meant all Fluttershy had to go on were a few simple tests, and Trixie’s word that she was okay.

The last time Fluttershy had given Trixie any leeway, Trixie had asked to visit the castle of the two sisters, within the Everfree Forest. Trixie barely had gotten the okay to do a chore or two back then, and she had quickly seized that inch to take a mile.

Fluttershy had trusted Trixie, even if she had stressed that Trixie had to be careful. Trixie had been too excited with the prospect of spending the day with Fluttershy, to actually follow that advice. In hindsight, the whole thing was a terrible idea from the outset.

It had not occurred to Trixie until now, but Fluttershy took a big risk, based solely on how much she trusted Trixie at the time.

A chill ran over Trixie’s back as she recalled the event. Everything had been going, relatively, fine until they met the timberwolves.

Mere wooden golems, yet they had been far more terrifying than real wolves. With Fluttershy’s help, Trixie had succeeded in taking out one of them, yet she had no choice but to force herself to use her magic for the other three.

Just remembering the act made Trixie’s head pound. It was not even a complicated spell, but she collapsed straight after using it. Even after she woke up, she was unable to move, and had to watch in terror while Fluttershy tried to distract the reassembled timberwolf alpha. The mere memory was so painful and frightening it served as a deterrent to ever using her magic again.

If not for Rainbow Dash, Trixie shuddered to think what might have happened. So much took place so rapidly, that Trixie had not truly spent time thinking on all of it. Only the major events had stood out to Trixie at the time, but now it occurred to her that afterward, Fluttershy had asked her how she felt.

For the second time, Trixie claimed she was just fine, and again Fluttershy took her word for it. Just how much has Trixie lied to Fluttershy so far? Trixie felt a heavy sensation in her stomach as she pondered the question. Even before Rainbow Dash, as far as Trixie knew, beat her up, Trixie had already been quivering on her last legs from just the stress alone. The hospital visit left little doubt as to how much damage forcing magic had done.

Then there was Trixie’s brilliant decision to break out of the hospital, straight after aggravating her condition in the worst possible ways, and take a stroll through the town. Thinking back on it, Trixie had to wonder just what the hay was wrong with her. It’s no wonder Fluttershy treats Trixie like a foal now…

Unwittingly, Trixie had proved to Fluttershy that she could not be trusted to know her own limit, at all. Of course she doesn’t listen when Trixie says she can do something… She was scared this whole time that something would happen to Trixie again.

It felt so wrong to have Fluttershy be the one apologizing, when Trixie was the one who’d been in the wrong. She wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy, enjoying the soft feeling of her coat against her own.

Shaking her head to regain her focus, Trixie spoke in a hushed tone. “This isn’t fair, Fluttershy. Trixie is the one who lied, why do you always make it about you? Let Trixie take the blame for once.” She let out a soft chuckle. “Trixie can’t promise she won’t worry you again, but she can promise she’ll be honest, okay?”

Trixie felt Fluttershy’s grip tighten, she didn’t even think that was possible. Fluttershy shook her head gently. “N-no, you don’t understand. If I hadn’t told you I was sick, then you wouldn’t have needed to lie.”

It was sometimes hard for Trixie to get a good read on Fluttershy, but this time her logic made absolutely no sense to her. “Uhm, Fluttershy? Trixie is happy you told her. It’s not your fault you caught a cold. Besides, uh, she kind of knew right away, remember?” tentatively, Trixie ran a hoof along Fluttershy’s back in an attempt to soothe her. It took a few tries to get used to the wings, each time she felt the feathers instead of fur, she had to steer away from them.

Fluttershy tensed up as Trixie spoke. “R-right… A cold… Sure…” She mumbled softly. Though Fluttershy stayed quiet after that for a while, she noticeably relaxed under the careful strokes. Finally she spoke up again. “I’m sorry…”

Feeling Fluttershy return to her soft self, Trixie felt a warmth inside her chest, celebrating her small victory. At least there is something Trixie can do right.

Gently, Trixie pushed away from Fluttershy, and showed her a warm smile, trying to coax out Fluttershy’s own. “Heh, it’s kind of funny actually… Rainbow Dash just got through bragging pegasi never get cold. Can you believe she tried to tell Trixie that right after she came home half frozen?” Giggling, Trixie shook her head with the notion.

Fluttershy gave back a weak smile. “W-well… she exaggerates a little, sometimes… I thought you knew.”

Smirking, Trixie looked at Fluttershy while she tilted her head curiously. “Heh, what’s this now, Fluttershy? Are you trying to set a record for the understatement of the century? Because that had to be a contender by Trixie’s count!”

Finally, a sweet sound that Trixie had been waiting for emanated from the kind mare before her, though whether her joke was that good or that cheesy Trixie didn’t know, nor did she care.

Trixie closed her eyes for a moment, recollecting some importance into her voice. “But, seriously… Fluttershy, Trixie promises she will try to be more honest with you, about how Trixie feels. She knows just where to start too, but it would be easier if Rainbow Dash was here for it so…” Trixie looked toward the kitchen door and called out. “Rainbow Dash! The Great and All-Knowing Trixie knows you are right behind the door, eavesdropping! Get in here.”

A startled yelp came from the other side of the door, followed by what sounded like hooves being smacked against a muzzle. A few seconds passed, before the door swung open to reveal Rainbow Dash, doing her best impression of casual. “Oh hey, you called?”

Grinning, Trixie rolled her eyes. “It does not take that long to do dishes, unless Trixie is doing them. The supposed fastest in Equestria has no excuse.”

“Pff, says you. Maybe I did them so fast I decided to take a nap while you girls were talking about boring stuff.” Rainbow Dash let her eyes trail down briefly to the hooves wrapped around the pair, then brought them back up with a teasing smirk. “Well, good to see you’ve kissed and made up.”

Perking up her ears, Trixie flashed a devilish smile at Fluttershy. She turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, and lifted one hoof up to tenderly stroke over Fluttershy’s cheek while she held eye contact with Dash. "Not yet, Dashie, we were waiting for you to join us before any kissing happened."

Oh the look on Dash’s face, Trixie would remember it for years. Her jaw practically hit the floor, staring wide-eyed at her friends. It clearly was going to take Dash more than a few minutes to piece enough of her mind back together for a retort.

Admittedly, Trixie’s bluff was quickly exposed due to Fluttershy’s reaction. She had gasped under the caress, and, like a traffic light, the mare’s face colored from yellow to beet-red within seconds. Fluttershy stared up at Trixie, clearly too shocked to break the hug they were sharing. With a few false starts though, Fluttershy managed to stammer at a barely audible level. "L-let's save k-kissing for another time, a-alright?"

Trixie had been ready for a lot of things, most of them involved Fluttershy hidding behind her mane and mumbling something far too quietly, but this took her by complete surprise. Did, Did Fluttershy just tease too? It actually made Trixie drop the ball for a moment as she just stared at Fluttershy in sheer astonishment. It was only when Trixie took notice of Fluttershy's rapidly alternative gaze that she remembered there was another target in the room. Following Fluttershy's stare, Trixie found Rainbow Dash, with the same look of amazement in her eyes, and ready for takeoff. Trixie smirked.

Upon catching Trixie’s gaze, Rainbow Dash flew up in the air and swooped towards them. She appeared to have caught on by this point, as her surprised gawk had turned to a smirking mug. “I hate you both, so much. Jokes should have punchlines you know, and me hitting you does not count.”

Trixie grinned up at her marefriend. “Oh, good, so that means you won’t be killing Trixie for this?”

“Hah, considering you got Fluttershy to join on a prank, I guess I’ll let you live. You might be a good influence on her yet, but I better get what you promised later.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, landing besides them. She wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy. “Way to go, Fluttershy! But remember, next time, poker face.”

Though she smiled with the praise, Fluttershy was still as red as could be. Rainbow Dash’s last comment was met with a uncomprehending tilt of her head, and a contemplative look soon after.

As far as Trixie could tell, Fluttershy appeared to be in deep thought on Dash’s advice. Perhaps she would take some time later to explain the concept to her. The idea of giving Fluttershy some acting classes actually was fairly appealing, it would make for something fun to do together.

For the moment though, Trixie had more important things to talk about. “Alright, enough of that. Trixie wanted to talk with you two about something. How about we head for the living room?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, sure. Is something wrong, Trixie?” She jumped up, spreading out her wings to fly toward the door.

“W-wait, please. I don’t understand…” Fluttershy mumbled, embarrassed. She shrank under their gazes as they both turned to look at her.

Quick as ever, Rainbow Dash spoke first. “What’s up, Fluttershy?” Though Trixie suspected they both knew what it was that Fluttershy was unclear on.

It was a little bit disappointing that Rainbow Dash got the first crack at explaining the whole thing to Fluttershy, but Trixie was fairly sure it would be pretty entertaining to see Rainbow Dash struggle with explaining a concept of deception to the naïve sweet mare.

Mhm, no wait. It’s not really fair to think she’s that clueless. It’s not as if she’s not been around Rainbow Dash most of her life, she’s bound to know plen—

“Uhm, well, it’s just… why would I poke her face?”

Trixie lost it.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed

I know I missed an update, enjoy a longer chapter to make up for it. :scootangel:

Chapter 80 - Reschedule

Trixie looked out the window, appreciating the setting sun as it colored the sky in a beautiful shade of crimson. Amusingly enough, she could look to her left and find that very same color, all over Fluttershy’s face.

The three of them had retreated into the living room and gotten comfortable on the couch. For some time, the conversation ran the gambit between explanations *Poke her face being the first of many*, snickering, and the occasional apology for the snickering.

In the commotion Trixie had not paid attention and sat down on the right end of the couch, while Fluttershy had taken the middle, which meant Rainbow Dash was all the way on the other end.

Truthfully, Trixie felt terrible for laughing at Fluttershy like that, but she really couldn’t help herself. Hopefully she’d have some chance to redeem herself soon.

In brief, Trixie told her friends about her meeting with Derpy, and the rumors that were apparently starting up. It only made sense to share her concerns, especially after making a promise to do so more often.

Fluttershy just shook her head. “That’s not very nice of them… But, uhm, it’s not as bad as it sounds, Trixie. There is not much that goes on in Ponyville, oh, not that it is a boring place, but it’s peaceful and quiet. Erm, most of the time that is. So ponies like to gossip a lot. I don’t think many ponies take it seriously… I hope.”

Rainbow Dash scowled, and for once seeing the volatile mare angry actually soothed Trixie. It was nice to have somepony else outraged on her behalf, it saved her half the work. “Just wait till I get my hooves on whoever started those rumors, I bet Rarity or Pinkie might know! There’s plenty of things somepony could say about you without making stuff up to make you look worse!”

Despite the unintentional dig, Trixie chuckled at the remark, watching as Fluttershy gave Dash a gentle nudge with her elbow that went completely unnoticed. “Thanks, Dash. Trixie thinks she has some idea of who might be responsible, but she doesn’t have any proof, or even a name.” She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, burying the frustration that came with the false rumors as best she could. “Anyway, other than that. Trixie received a letter from the hospital. They are asking Trixie to come in tomorrow for a checkup.”

“Hah, as if! They’re just sore losers.” Rainbow Dash huffed, clearly still irritated from the previous piece of news.

“Trixie still intends to go. She feels great, but Fluttershy has explained to Trixie that may be deceptive. So getting a diagnosis will take the guess work out of this. Heh, with any luck Trixie will be casting spells by the time she gets home.” Trixie said with excitement. Sure it was possible that she would be told she couldn’t, but that just meant the status quo remained, so she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Showing a soft grin while looking at Rainbow Dash, Trixie added. “Not that Trixie needs her magic to make you see fireworks, Dashie.”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash groaned. “Yeah, with any luck you’ll be better, so I can actually hit you when you say stuff like that.” She chuckled and gave Trixie a grin. “Enjoy it while you can, Thiefsie”

Wrinkling her nose in disgust with the terrible name, Trixie glowered while she looked Rainbow Dash in the eye, an unspoken staring competition starting between them as they had their back and forth. “Careful, or Trixie will see what other firsts she can stea—”

Raising a hoof to draw attention, Fluttershy interjected. “E-excuse me, I, uhm, H-hospital? In Ponyville? I-I mean… I don’t think anything will happen, but, uhm, ponies might say things? About the rumors?” Fluttershy developed a fresh coat of crimson in her face while she listened to her friends.

Fluttershy’s objection had them both break away at the same time, depriving the contest of a winner. “Huh? Oh! Yes, thank you, Fluttershy. Trixie was getting to that.” She gave Fluttershy a thankful smile for getting them back on topic, though she was surprised Fluttershy had found the conviction to interrupt them, however gently.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, wore an expression that said she declared herself the winner of the match. A look of smug satisfaction was clear on her face as she leaned back on the couch and observed Trixie.

Trixie opened her mouth to call Dash out, but her eyes drifted back to Fluttershy. Sighing, Trixie continued down the right path. “Trixie wishes to go, but Ponyville ‘hospitality’ is not something Trixie wishes to experience twice. So, uhm, she would rather not go to the hospital alone. The appointment is set for tomorrow morning at ten, though Trixie is not sure how long it will take.”

“So, uhm, you would like it if we came with you, Trixie?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes. Though, uhm, not you, Fluttershy…” Trixie tried to sound as tactful as she possibly could. “Not that Trixie does not love spending time with you, but rather... If ponies saw Fluttershy with Trixie… They would suspect Trixie is here, so they could find Trixie.”

“Oh… okay… I understand.” Fluttershy nodded slowly. “I, uhm, I am sure nopony would mind, but… if it makes you feel safer to keep it a secret for now, that’s fine.”

Trixie folded her ears flat against her scalp. It felt just awful to exclude Fluttershy with an excuse like that, but it was for the best.

Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Fluttershy and leaned over besides her. “Yeah, I’m real sure that’s the only thing, Trixie. It’s got nothing to do with you being worried about Fluttershy in case something happens, am I right?” The sarcasm dripping off her words was thick enough to clog a sink.

Fluttershy perked up, looking at Rainbow Dash a moment, then back at Trixie. “Is that true, Trixie? You’re worried somepony might hurt me if they see I’m with you?” She sounded equal parts incredulous and frightened.

Glaring at Rainbow Dash for a moment, Trixie nodded in defeat. “Fine, yes. Trixie already made you walk into one dangerous area, she is not keen on making you go into a second. If it’s the three of us, Trixie is sure nothing will happen. However, if we do, she is not sure what will happen the next time you walk through town alone, Fluttershy.”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms over her chest with a smirk. “But I can come? So you don’t care what happens to me?”

Trixie mirrored Dash’s infectious smirk. “Not one bit.” Staring back at Rainbow Dash, Trixie could not help but feel mischievous.

Fluttershy looked from Dash to Trixie, clearly aware they were going off on their own again. “Oh, uhm. I have an idea… if you want to hear it? I was just thinking… What if Trixie went alone, but me and Rainbow Dash follow from a distance?”

Snapping out of it, Trixie looked to Fluttershy, and considered it for a moment. “Oh… that could actually work much better. If something happens, then you two just happen to be there, like Big Mac was. Nopony would have any reason to think we’re together.”

“Oh, yeah. And if nothing happens, maybe you will stop being so paranoid.” Rainbow Dash quipped.

“Not likely,” Trixie muttered under her breath. She quickly perked up again though to avoid dampening the mood. “Good idea, Fluttershy. Once at the hospital we’ll see how much time it takes. If it’s over and done within a few minutes we can go home the same way. If it takes a long time, well, Trixie doubts anything bad will be happening in there, so you can both go to work and pick Trixie up later?”

Fluttershy nodded, smiling brightly with the acceptance of her suggestion. “Sure, Trixie.”

“Sounds good to me, I’ve got a shift tomorrow, but I should be able to squeeze in a quick escort mission. Hay, maybe I can pretend I’m working.”

“So business as usual then?” Trixie teased. Seriously, another shift? She’s done more work these past two days than the past two weeks. What’s up with that? She could only hope it was not going to be a regular thing.

“By Celestia, I hope it turns out you are fine.” Rainbow Dash said in a manner closer to a threat than a well-wishing. “Okay, so hospital visit resolved. Anything else you wanted to say? Or is it my turn?”

Trixie looked confused for a moment. “Uh, Trixie is done, yes. Your turn? What did you want to talk about?” No sooner had she said it, when the realization set in that she had yet to hear what Rainbow’s plan was for their date. “Ah! Trixie’s got it, yes, do tell.”

“Oh, yes, Rainbow Dash, how was your day?” Fluttershy smiled, getting comfortable under the wing that was still around her.

Thumping her chest, Rainbow Dash visibly swelled up with more pride than Trixie thought safe for any one pegasus. “I got promoted! You’re looking at the fulltime captain of the ‘Ponyville and surrounding areas’ weather team!”

Fluttershy gasped and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash, tightly. “That’s great, Rainbow Dash! Oh, I’m so glad to hear that, I—oh, no! I didn’t even make something special to celebrate! I’m so sorry, but I didn’t know.”

Trixie couldn’t help but smile while she watched her friends together like that. It seemed to her like she should just let them have this moment to themselves. To that end, Trixie resisted the urge to join in and make it a group hug, promising herself that there'd be better times for those soon enough.

Trixie knew how much Rainbow Dash’s shoddy employment had been bothering Fluttershy ever since she left the Cloudsdale weather team on her account. Looks like she got that captain position after all, Fluttershy.

Chuckling at Fluttershy’s panic, Rainbow Dash returned the hug. “Hey now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you in advance, would it? Nopony else knew either, well except the weather manager I guess.”

“Congratulations, Dash, Trixie is thinking you weren't very surprised about it?” Trixie finally chimed in.

“Thanks, Trixie. You’re right, it wasn’t a big shock, heh. I usually get to take charge whenever something big needs to be done, like the storm last night, or winter wrap up, that kind of thing. The only difference is that now it’s official. The last captain, Rainy Day, retired, and obviously recommended yours truly.” She brushed her hoof on her chest fur and looked at it idly while she spoke, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but there was no hiding the light of excitement in her eyes as she told the story.

Fluttershy was all smiles as she listened. “You deserve it, Rainbow Dash. Oh, I know just the thing. Since we’re going to town tomorrow anyway I bet I could get something together.”

Trixie grinned while she gave Fluttershy a gentle nudge. “Fluttershy, surprise parties don’t work if you say you are preparing them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this… Oh, I bet if I asked Pinkie Pie she would be happy to set it up.”

“Err, again, Fluttershy, if you say you have somepony prepare the party then it’s not a surprise party.”

Tensing up, Rainbow Dash looked around as if she expected something to explode. After a second she turned to Trixie. “Eh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Trixie. Pinkie Pie could tell you the time and place and still make it a surprise party.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow with the sudden displayed paranoia. Now that she thought about it, this ‘Pinkie Pie’ had come up in conversation before, and it was always something weird. “Again with the Pinkie Pie? Trixie is starting to think she is just another one of your old mares tales.”

“Oh yeah? I’m telling you Trixie, not a single birthday, sleepover, or celebration is about to take place in Ponyville, without Pinkie Pie somehow knowing about it. ”

Rolling her eyes, Trixie felt she was clearly being messed with by this point. “Yeah right, Trixie is not falling for it. Do you have any proof? Trixie has never even seen this mare.”

“You want proof? Alright fine, I happen to have the perfect thing!” Rainbow Dash grinned widely, but did not produce anything.

“…Well?”

“I don’t have it on me, it’s at home.”

“Sure it is.”

“Hey, I’ll bring it tomorrow. You can have it I guess.”

Trixie looked at Rainbow Dash, trying to read her face, but she could not get anything from it. “Trixie will hold you to that.”

Fluttershy looked curious about what kind of proof Rainbow Dash might have as well.

“Mhm, I’m pretty sure there was something else I was supposed to sayyy…” Rainbow Dash drawled while she scratched her chin, mimicking a thinking pose.

Trixie involuntarily inched a bit closer across the couch. Dash had kept her waiting for so long, and she was apparently still intending to draw it out even more. Grinding her teeth as she watched Dash, Trixie finally snapped. “Just tell Trixie about the date already!”

The grin on Rainbow Dash’s face grew impossibly wide. “Eager much?” After receiving Trixie’s best death-glare, she continued. “Okay fine, fine. First of all, I am not going to tell you what we’re gonna do, that would ruin the surprise.” She blew a raspberry in response to Trixie’s scowl. “However, how does the day after tomorrow sound? I’ll come get you at noon.” Laughingly, she added, “unless you have other plans.”

“U-uhm, a-actually…” Fluttershy raised a hoof. “I already, uhm, have something for me and Trixie that day so, uhm, maybe try for next week instead? I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

Both Trixie and Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a surprised look.

“Oh, you have? Uh, well I guess maybe the day after… no, that won’t work.” Rainbow Dash contemplated as she looked up at the ceiling, mentally going over her work schedule. “No… No… Maybe… Huh, I guess it would be next week.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. “I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking… There’s always so much more work after a storm, and there must be even more this time… but, uhm, you’d have lots of time to make plans?”

Trixie was speechless while she let it sink in for a moment. Not only had she just found out their date was delayed, and thus would have to wait even longer to find out what it was, but now she found out Dash was working all week? Would she even get to see her? She stared at Rainbow Dash, and felt her chest ache. Dash looked so far away all of a sudden, and Trixie wanted to just grab her to make sure she could.

“Yeah I guess, but… Mhm. I usually like to take the third day off, and it’s hard to get Captain Rainy Day to move free days around… Woah, wait a sec! I guess since I’m the captain now, I get to call the shots on who works when!” Rainbow Dash shot up straight. “Hah! Perfect! All I have to do is move the day around! I bet I could get Cloudchaser to trade.” She looked over at Trixie with a grin. “Got any plans for tomorrow afternoon?”

The hospital visit was scheduled for the morning, and Trixie was pretty confident that she would be done by the time lunch rolled around, there was no way it was going to take more than a few hours. “Trixie does now!”

Pulling away from an apparently catatonic Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash rolled off the couch and spread her wings. “Okay! This is more like it, I hate waiting around. I just have to hurry and talk to Cloudchaser before she goes to bed. See you girls tomorrow!” Without a moment’s warning, Rainbow Dash bolted out the door in pursuit of whichever poor pegasus she was about to rope into doing her job for her.

It happened so fast that Trixie did not even have time to say goodbye, much less try to sneak in a goodbye hug, or kiss if she could get away with it. Still, Trixie made no effort to contain her excitement as she watched Rainbow Dash fly off at top speeds. “Yes! That worked out perfectly! Don’t you think, Fluttershy? Fluttershy?”

There was no reply.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Gosh, chapter 80 already. Time flies.

Chapter 81 - Right

Trixie carried a bag of mice nibbles on her back. Making her way past the tiny food bowls, She did her very best not to spill too much. It didn’t really make sense to her, most mice would eat off the floor anyway, but she’d learned not to question it by now.

Although Trixie had done many of Fluttershy’s chores over the day, there was one that she had neglected. Though really, that was all Rainbow Dash’s fault, and totally not the result of her falling asleep on the job. If Trixie had not been disturbed, she surely would have gotten around to feeding the animals before dinner time.

As it stood however, bath time and an early dinner thanks to Fluttershy and Dash working together, had made Trixie forget about the animals evening meal. Which had been awkward to explain when Angel, who else, demanded food.

It was strangely quiet in the little cottage on the meadow. Or at least, that’s what it felt like, but Trixie could not put her hoof on what was different.

Mentally, she ran through a list of all the usual noises that were supposed to be there: animals busily scurrying about, the gentle sound of the wind blowing through the leaves growing on the roof, Fluttershy’s occasional cooing at her furry freeloaders. Actually, now that Trixie thought about it, that last one was missing.

Trixie looked over to Fluttershy, who was in the process of filling the food bowls for the rabbits with the kibbles of the ferrets. Exactly how Trixie could tell the difference between the two kibbles she did not want to think about. Rather, the important thing was that Fluttershy was clearly distracted.

Even without the slightly strange atmosphere, Trixie knew something was not right with Fluttershy. For a moment, the sweet pegasus had been completely spaced out, she even missed saying goodbye to Dash. Though to be fair, so had Trixie herself, but Fluttershy apparently stayed that way.

At the time, Trixie merely needed to poke Fluttershy to snap her out of it, and she was quickly assured that Fluttershy was just fine. Trixie was not so sure, and feared that perhaps Fluttershy was still a little sick. It had been a bit odd how quickly Fluttershy had recovered, and now it seemed that perhaps she had merely been putting on a brave face.

As long as Trixie was focused on Fluttershy’s face, she had to admit that Fluttershy did not look tired or sickly. Instead, she was wearing what Trixie could only call ‘Fluttershy’s thinking face’. It was easy to tell, as one of the few times that Fluttershy did not smile constantly was when she was lost in thought, which Trixie could only assume meant she was not thinking of cute animals. That wasn’t to say that Fluttershy never smiled while she was in thought, but merely that it was not as ever present.

Trixie observed for a little while longer. She liked how Fluttershy was comfortable enough with Trixie now to show Trixie her other sides, even if this one was unintentional. It was a nice change to see from her constant state of nervous tension around most other ponies, though angry Fluttershy was one side Trixie hoped never to be on the wrong end of. Still, she supposed she couldn’t just let this continue.

“Fluttershy? Are you sure you are okay?” Trixie set down the bag of mice feed in the supply closet.

“Mhm?” Fluttershy blinked a few times as she was pulled back to the present. “Oh, did you say something, Trixie?”

“Is something on your mind? You’ve not been this quiet since Trixie first got here,” she asked, before biting into a bag with a picture of carrots and lettuce, then dragging it onto her back. Fortunately they were pretty lightweight.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just I was thinking about, uhm, if it’s really a good idea to go out with Rainbow Dash, s-so soon I mean. Y-you’re still not well. I-I mean, it’s just, she’s kind of, uhm, reckless, and doesn’t think things through sometimes.” Fluttershy strategically turned to tend to the food bowls behind her, showing her back to Trixie as she spoke.

Trixie tilted her head while she listened, and grinned softly. “Heh, well that makes sense. You did mention before how much we have in common. It figures we’d share that too,” she said, laughingly. It was obvious Fluttershy did not think it was a laughing matter however. Trixie settled into a more serious, reassuring tone. “Trixie understands your concern, Fluttershy. Since Trixie will be at the hospital first, she will make sure to follow their advice on what they believe her limit should be, okay?”

“O-okay… I don’t mean to be a b-bother…” Fluttershy nodded, then returned her attention to the food.

Smiling, Trixie shook her head. “Fluttershy, even if you were a bother, Trixie would rather you speak your mind. Even if Trixie does not always like to hear it… it’s still good to hear from a more levelheaded pony.” It was not entirely true, only very specific ponies counted.

Fluttershy smiled back and nodded quietly. "Thank you, Trixie..." She turned her attention back to her work, then paused briefly, before she let out a gasp. “Oh my, this isn’t the right bag at all.”

Noticing that Fluttershy had finally caught on, Trixie giggled, pleased, and trotted closer with the correct bag already on her back. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, Trixie’s got your bag covered.”

To Fluttershy’s credit, she did not zone out again for the remainder of the evening. Working together, the small mistakes were quickly rectified, and all the animals were served their proper meals, with a side of apologies from Fluttershy. The return of the final missing sound had Trixie smiling, it just didn’t feel like home without it.

It was twilight by the time everything had been taken care off. Which left just enough time to prepare some tea before bed time. As was becoming a bit of a tradition, they relaxed on the couch, with a side table pulled up close to house anything that might stain the couch if knocked over.

During tea time, they shared in a little bit of small talk. To Trixie’s delight, Fluttershy just kept getting a bit better at it each time, though it was possible that was because all they had to talk about really were small things that happened around the meadow.

Fortunately, there was one other topic Fluttershy was happy to talk about too, if prompted.

“And that’s when Rainbow Dash just swooped in, and yelled at them so loudly even I got scared.” Fluttershy said with an embarrassed look. “She did that a lot, actually, but she didn’t just stick to yelling after a while… I-I mean, that’s only because it stopped working, n-not because she was violent.”

“Oh, yes Trixie understands. If she was all bark and no bite they’d just keep going. It’s good that Dash, uhm, ‘bit’ them.” She laughed. “In fact, Trixie had somepony try to bluff her before, if they’d actually followed up, Trixie may have respected them, but it just made it worse on them.” Trixie sipped from her cup, and tactfully set it back down on the table. It seemed she could prevent her hooves from shaking if she didn’t try to hold it the entire time. Mhm, in hindsight, Trixie supposes that’s what it means not to overdo it.

Using a neatly embroidered cloth, Fluttershy lifted the teapot to top off her cup. “Oh, that, uhm, that is a lot like what Rainbow Dash said. At the time. Though, err, not quite like that…” Fluttershy looked a little uneasy as she struggled for the right words. “….Did you mean, like, uhm, during your show?”

Trixie perked up her ears. “Show? Oh, uhm. M-maybe not exactly… but Trixie supposes you could say it is related.” Coughing nonchalantly, Trixie averted her gaze and looked out the window, the final rays of light were nearly gone. “Ah, look at the time. We better hurry. Trixie does not know about you, but she’s exhausted.”

Fluttershy slipped off the couch to carry the teapot to the kitchen, but when she heard Trixie speak she shot her a worried look.

Catching the look from the corner of her eyes, Trixie turned back to Fluttershy, giving a tired smile. “Not that exhausted. Trixie is just keeping her word. Anyway, why don’t you head upstairs? Trixie will take the couch.” Doing her best to help, Trixie followed after Fluttershy, carrying the empty cups.

Fluttershy objected, in her own passive way. “I’m, uhm, kind of used to the couch by now, Trixie. You can take the bed again. I only took it last time so you wouldn’t, erm, catch anything. Since you were both down here…”

Trixie looked at Fluttershy for a moment, then shook her head. “No, this really can’t go on like this. It’s your bed. You are the one who is sickly, while Trixie is fine now. She isn’t even bothered by morning light anymore.” She gave the cups a quick rinse before leaving them on the counter to dry overnight. There was no reason to risk handling a towel, if she could simply let time do the work.

“Oh, I don’t know… I would really just feel much better if you were in bed Trixie. If that’s okay with you? Besides, if you were at the hospital you would have a bed. Nurse Redheart expects me to give you the best care I can.” While she spoke, Fluttershy trotted across the room to climb back onto the couch, then motioned to the stairs. “Pretty please?”

Trixie recoiled a little, as Fluttershy gave her the cutest look she’d ever seen. It was very persuasive. N-no, Trixie must resist! Staring back at Fluttershy, Trixie did her best to keep her wits. “T-Trixie refuses. Trixie has already been on a hospital bed, and the couch is much more comfy!”

“Uhm, well, then that just means that the couch is fine, right? S-so you don’t have a problem with me taking it?” Fluttershy smiled while she made another motion towards the stairs. “Go on, Trixie. I’ll see you in the morning. If you wait too long, it, uhm, it will be dark.”

Trixie huffed. “Trixie insists, in fact.” Trixie climbed onto the couch and demonstratively plopped down on the cushions. “Trixie is not moving. This couch is now officially commandeered by The Great and Powerful Trixie! Fluttershy can go to her own bed.”

Blinking in disbelief, Fluttershy sat up straight. “Uhm, Trixie? Go, please? Don’t be like that…”

In response, Trixie simply got more comfortable on the couch. “No.”

“Trixie,” Fluttershy’s voice started to gain some authority to it. “Please stop, uhm, acting like a foal.”

Trixie made absolutely no efforts to get up, and simply closed her eyes. “Trixie will act like a foal if it pleases Trixie. Now go on, it will be dark soon, isn’t that what you said, Fluttershy?”

“Trixie…”

“No.”

“Are you s—”

“No.”

“W-well, I’m not going, s-so… you should. Or nopony has the bed.”

“Then Trixie supposes we’ll both be on the couch, it’s big enough anyway.” Trixie lazily opened one eye a little, making it look like she was about to fall asleep any minute, despite how adamant her refusals had been so far. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was starting to look worked up. “Unless, you go upstairs.”

“But, I, uhm, you, but…” Finally, Fluttershy just let out a long exasperated sigh. “…So you’re absolutely refusing to take the bed, instead of me? There’s nothing I can say to change your mind?”

“No.” Trixie smirked a little, this was exactly the sort of thing they’d talked about just a little bit before. One had to be willing to go through with a bluff if they were called on it, not fold under pressure.

Fluttershy got up from the couch and climbed down with another sigh. “Okay you win, Trixie. Come on then.”

“Uh, sorry, Fluttershy. What are you talking about?” Trixie lifted her head from the couch to get a better look at Fluttershy.

“Well, if you refuse to take it instead of me, and we’re both going to take the couch, we might as well just both take the bed. At least that way I know you’ll have a good night’s rest, and you’ll know that I will too.” She took a few steps towards the stairs then turned to look over her shoulder at Trixie. “Besides, we already know it will fit two ponies just fine.”

This had to be a trick, but it made so much sense. Trixie had definitely not expected Fluttershy to pull a compromise like that, though, in hindsight, making compromises was what she often did. Ultimately, it did accomplish her goal of getting Fluttershy to sleep in her own bed. After staring at Fluttershy warily for a few moments, Trixie got up and trotted after her. “Very well, Trixie accepts.”

“Thank you, Trixie.” Fluttershy smiled at her, then lead the way up to the bedroom. After entering, Fluttershy trotted over to the left side of the bed, and took a slow minute to crawl in and make herself comfortable. She was silent for a few seconds before she quickly asked, “Oh, I’m sorry, which side do you prefer?”

Trixie chuckled and shook her head. “Isn’t it obvious? Trixie is always right.”

Fluttershy blinked blankly for a moment, then giggled shaking her head as she caught on. “Oh, good. I like being… uhm… left over… erm, I’ve got nothing…” Fluttershy blushed.

“That’s alright, Fluttershy. Trixie can’t think of anything good either.” Trixie smiled, getting comfy on the right side of the mattress, then pulled the blanket up over them. Despite Trixie’s claims to the contrary, she felt the bed really was a thousand times more comfortable than the couch.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy had gone suspiciously quiet again, and a quick inspection proved she had her ‘thinking face’ on again.

What is she thinking about? Trixie could not be sure, but the moment of silence gave her time to really think about what she was doing. In her pursuit of ensuring Fluttershy would sleep well, it had almost escaped her attention. Trixie was in bed with Fluttershy.

Trixie felt her face ignite at the sudden realization, and quickly went over their conversation. It really had been Fluttershy that suggested it, not some misconstrued demand of her own. Granted, many ponies shared a bed for all kinds of reasons, and there only being one bed seemed like the most legit one.

On the one hoof, Trixie felt she should perhaps double check, but on the other she really liked their arrangement right now, and did not want to jeopardize it by making Fluttershy feel self-conscious. The way she’d proposed it really had been just a logical conclusion, two friends sharing the only bed in the house.

Trixie let out a long breath to try and relax herself. She was worrying over nothing. “Good night, Fluttershy.” It was nice like this, the bed felt warmer than previous nights, which made it even better. Trixie could get used to this.

“Huh? O-oh, good night, Trixie.” Fluttershy mumbled, then quieted down again. All of a sudden, she shot up straight. “Wait a minute!”

Startled, Trixie scooted away, and nearly sent herself over the edge. A frantic clamber got her back into the safe zone. “W-what is it?”

Fluttershy cleared her throat, then looked straight at Trixie. “I guess I’ll take what’s left then.” She beamed proudly.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 82 - Regular

The morning sun slowly climbed through the cloudless sky, radiating warmth to all the early birds out and about in Ponyville.

Letting out a long, drawn-out yawn, Trixie blinked groggily against the dim light. She’d forgotten to take down the cloth pinned over the window, but really, maybe she would leave it up after all. It was a much more gentle awakening than getting the sun in her eyes.

A strange, soft noise could be heard on her left. Breathing? A quick glance revealed Fluttershy was sleeping next to Trixie. A smile spread across Trixie’s lips as she noticed that Fluttershy was much closer than before, gently breathing into her ear. At some point during the night she’d scooted closer, which was just adorable.

An odd noise drew Trixie’s gaze a little lower. Fluttershy was chewing on something while she slept. She chews the blankets in her sleep? That’s just too cut—Gah! Wait a minute! Trixie’s eyes widened as she recognized the pale blue locks trapped in Fluttershy’s mouth. My mane!

Trixie was not sure what on Earth had possessed Fluttershy to take a bite out of her mane, but she had to stop her quickly. “Fluttershy? Hey, Fluttershy, wake up!”

The chewing stopped, and a confused pair of eyes fluttered open. “Mphmng, phmf… mnm?” Fluttershy paused as she was unable to form any proper words and glanced down, then turned beet red. She slowly raised her eyes back up to meet Trixie.

“Looks as though you left your side of the bed.” Trixie smirked, and gave a little tug on her mane. “Can Trixie have her mane back?” All she could do was hope that the damage wasn’t too bad.

Sputtering, Fluttershy quickly relinquished Trixie’s mane and covered her face with her hooves, practically dying with embarrassment. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Trixie pulled back her mane, and glared at Fluttershy with the intention of making Fluttershy feel her stare burn through those shielding forelegs. Of all the times for Fluttershy to show some odd new thing about herself, it had to be sleep chewing, on the most enchanting mane in Equestria, right before an important date.

“You will pay for this, Fluttershy…”

This isn’t so bad… Trixie thought. Nervously, she trotted through the market streets of Ponyville, carrying a saddlebag with the pleasant tune of some bits jingling to the rhythm of each step. … Unless they are lulling Trixie into a false sense of security… To the towns credit, she had not been physically assaulted yet, unless a, supposedly accidental, shoulder bump counted.

Instead, most ponies ignored her as they would any other unfamiliar mare. Some would even give her a polite smile, but Trixie could see the occasional double take by some. There was the rare suspecting glare by a few others, but fortunately nopony lingered. Instead they soon shook their heads and went about their own business.

It seemed to Trixie as though she was not being recognized. Now that she thought about it, most ponies had not seen her au natural; Even during the Ursa Minor incident she had benefited from the cover of darkness for the most part. When she was being carried through the town, she had worn a hospital gown, not to mention she looked awful that day. Any other time, she had been adorned in her distinctive, magnificent cape and hat. …currently torn up beyond recognition and missing in action respectively… Her chest ached, but she couldn’t do anything about it, not yet. At least her misfortune actually worked out in her favor for once.

Trixie absent mindedly paused by a random fruit stand filled with nothing but apples, though really it was just to have an excuse to stand still, and sneak a quick look behind her. The sight of a pale pink mane carefully weaving through the crowd brought a smile to her face. Though she couldn’t hear it, she was sure Fluttershy was mumbling apologies to anyone she thought she cut off.

Fortunately, ‘crowd’ was a too big a word to describe the turnout on the market, compared to some of the more bustling cities that Trixie had visited. A place like a shopping mall in Manehattan, now that would be an amusing situation to picture Fluttershy in. Trixie doubted she would ever get anywhere.

Even in Ponyville, Fluttershy would have fallen behind long ago, if it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash trotting right alongside her, and speeding things along whenever necessary. It was easy to tell when that was, as Dash had no problem loudly clearing a path.

"WHO JUST STOPS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD?! MOVE!"

It was easy to tell that Rainbow Dash was not used to walking through a crowd at all, as the frustration was painfully clear in her voice whenever she lost patience with the whole thing. Obviously, flying above the crowd was more Dash’s speed, but if she was constantly circling overhead like some kind of confused hawk, it would attract even more attention than her occasional outburst. Besides that, they would have lost Fluttershy somewhere at the start of town.

Though by this point, Trixie had to wonder if an escort was really needed, if she was not recognized at all, then the only way she could get into trouble was if she identified herself. It’s a good thing Trixie does not give out her name to every random pony she meets… wait. This might have proven to be a problem for any lesser pony, but Trixie was fairly sure she would be able to keep a lid on it as long as she remembered.

This won’t be hard, all Trixie… All I have to do is talk like a boring pony, I mean normal, no wait, definitely—

“Can Ah help ya, miss? Ya been standing ‘ere fer a while now.”

Realizing she was still staring at her friends, as if she had never heard of the concept of sneaking a quick peek, Trixie jerked her gaze back to the fruit stand. A painful little snapping sound vibrated through her neck. She was pretty sure that couldn’t be good for her, but it faded as soon as it came. “W-wha? Err, no. Just looking for now,” she said, pretending to be completely focused on the apples for sale.

“Trixie?”

Trixie froze up solid; her cover had been blown.

“Well Ah’ll be, Ah was just thinking 'bout ya.” Applejack smiled at her. “Ya looking much better, Sugarcube. Ah weren’t expecting ya to be out an’ about on yer own just yet. Ya ain’t pulling another harebrained stunt are ya?” Applejack chuckled while she picked up one of the apples. She inspected it briefly, then casually threw the apple over to Trixie. “On tha house, or tha farm Ah guess.”

The apple bounced off Trixie’s head, snapping her out of her frozen state. Trixie felt her heart beating in her throat after she was recognized, but fortunately it was only Applejack. Still, she gave a quick look around, apparently nopony else had heard or cared.

"CARROT TOP! YOU WANT THAT RAINSTORM OVER YOUR CROP THIS WEEK? THEN MOVE YOUR FLANK!"

Applejack gasped, and quickly walked around her stall. “Oh! Ah am mighty sorry ‘bout that, Sugarcube. Ah weren’t thinking. You okay there?”

Rubbing the brand new sore spot on her head, Trixie ducked down to pick up the apple. It was bruised worse than Trixie was. “Ugh, Tr—I should’ve known. Can’t trust a farm pony to go five minutes without throwing a fit, hootenanny, or produce. Good thing T—I have acquired a taste for your bruised apples, Applejack.”

Chuckling, Applejack shook her head. “Ah reckon that means yer fine then. Really, Ah ain’t rightly sure if that there was an insult, or a compliment, but Ah guess both are fitting.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, how come yer talking like that? It ain’t like ya, Tr—”

Trixie shot a hoof up, and stuffed the apple into Applejack’s mouth to interrupt her. She leaned in and hissed quietly. “Shh, Trixie is incognito,” she whispered, then quickly pulled away again. “See I told you it would taste just fine! A bruised apple is still worth every bit.”

Applejack chewed on the apple with a thoughtful look on her face while she observed Trixie. Finally, she swallowed, and tipped her hat back. “Ah guess Ah see what yer talking ‘bout. Alright, Sugarcube.”

“Thank you.” She had not heard Dash yell in a while, and a quick check confirmed she and Fluttershy were at a stall nearby, attempting to look inconspicuous. Trixie smiled, then something in her mind shifted gears as she realized: this was a perfect opportunity to try something new. “Hey, Applejack? How is the family?”

“Uh, they’re fine, Ah reckon? Why do you ask?” Applejack looked confused.

Trixie just frowned while she shook her head. “Come on, work with T—me. Like uhm, is Big Mac still injured?”

Applejack looked at Trixie with a look of complete confusion, though she played along. “Uh, well, no. Was just a few bruises, healed up real nice ages ago. Though Ah reckon if Granny Smith had found out he skipped his appointment he might’ve been in worse shape, heh.”

“Oh, Tr—ugh—I did not meet her last time, did I?” Trixie wished she was not so obviously bad at the whole first person thing, but it would have to do. A brief look over her shoulder revealed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had moved over to a water fountain, doing their very best to look casual while they talked. Keeping their distance, they threw sideways glances towards Trixie, waiting for her to start moving again.

“Nah, Granny was off to the school. Seems like Apple Bloom, that’s mah lil sis, ain’t paying much attention in class no more.”

Trixie nodded a bit, then pressed on. “Why do you think that is?”

“Heh, well that ain’t too hard ta figure out. She’s getting anxious ‘bout her cutiemark. Tha number o’ blank flanks in her class keeps getting lower. Ah hope she’ll get one soon, ah dun wanna find out what she’ll do if she’s tha last in her class. Why just the other day…” Applejack launched into story about her little sister’s clearly notorious impatience.

Trixie spent a few minutes talking with Applejack, during which she learned quite a bit about the Apple family, and their place in Ponyville. Apparently they had even played a big role in the founding of the town itself.

“Oh, ponyfeathers, Ah oughta get back ta work.” Applejack trotted back to her stall, giving a friendly wave to a waiting pony. “Coming right away, Ma’am.” She turned her gaze back to Trixie briefly. “Say, why don’t ya swing by tha farm later this week? Since yer so cleverly disguised ‘n all. I’ll introduce ya to the rest of mah kin. If ya’ll stay over fer supper that’d be even better.”

“That sounds good! Actually, I should get going too. Oh, before that, do you know any place that would sell soaps?”

“That’ll be four bits, Ma’am.” Applejack juggled her tasks as she helped her customer load some apples into her saddlebag, and thought on Trixie’s question at the same time. “Well, Ah reckon ya’d be talking ‘bout them fancy soaps, ain’t ya? Than ya could try tha spa over yonder. That’s ‘bout the only place Ah heard of.—Oh, Ma’am, yer change!”

“Thanks, Applejack. See you later.” Trixie smiled, then added, on a softer tone. “And, thanks, Applejack.” Letting Applejack chase after her forgetful customer, Trixie continued on her way.

Once she was fairly sure she was out of earshot, she let out a joyful squeal. Trixie did it! Trixie randomly bumped into a friend at a market, and had a casual talk! Even if it was such a simple thing, she felt giddy with excitement. It was the first time she’d ever had an opportunity to do that, and it felt great, as if she could go anywhere and just run into a friendly face.

“FOR THE LAST TIME, WE DON’T WANT A FREE SAMPLE! ONE MORE STEP AND I’LL SPRAY YOU WITH IT!”

Trixie smirked. By the sound of it, Rainbow Dash had well and truly had it with waiting around. Unfortunately for Dash, Trixie was perfectly aware she had the whole day free, so she did not feel the least bit guilty about taking her time. On the other hoof, Fluttershy probably did not mind the slower pace, and she knew what Trixie was after already.

So far, everything was going much better than Trixie had expected. However, before getting too excited, she had to remind herself that nopony knew it was her, and that was key. Her luck couldn’t hold out forever. Somewhere, there were at the very least three ponies that Trixie knew would be able to recognize her, and they had already proven they meant her harm.

Trixie looked around uneasily, then glanced back at Dash and Fluttershy. She sighed happily, seeing them tailing her brought a bit of peace. Even if something would happen, she could be sure she wasn’t alone for it.

With renewed courage, Trixie trotted up to the spa. It almost felt out of place, like it belonged somewhere in Canterlot, rather than in Ponyville. Trixie supposes the competition isn’t as fierce here. If that was the reason, Trixie idly wondered if that meant the quality of their products was below average. Mhm, well, even if that is so, it’s still a monopoly. She shrugged, and pushed through the door.

At a distance, she could hear Rainbow Dash's voice. "Oh, come on!"

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Let me just dash some hopes real quick (or reassure depending on your points of view), there is no spa ponies scene.

With that out of the way, the writing of this was actually a tad bit screwy, as I only later noticed the chapter was too big for my tastes. Fortunately, I already had a scene break in a good place, which in practice means that I've now got a good portion of the next chapter already written out, so expect it to follow up soon. I would post both of them both at once, but the last time I did that caused a bit of confusion. So I'm playing it safe with a day in between. ^^

Mind, this only means I'm posting this part early, cause otherwise both would have been up tomorrow when the whole thing was done. :scootangel:

Chapter 83 - Redwood

“Oh, come on!” Rainbow Dash said, as Trixie stepped into the spa. Groaning in displeasure, she leaned against the wall of the nearest house. “This is taking forever, isn’t she supposed to want to get to the hospital right away?”

“Uhm, well, w-we left early… because of this.” Fluttershy trotted up besides Rainbow Dash, and gave a quick look around. “You, uhm, don’t think we should go in there, do you?”

“Nah, what’s the worst that could happen to her in there? A hooficure?” Even though she said it dismissively, the very idea of one made Rainbow Dash shudder.

Fluttershy nodded, and brought her attention back to the spa door. “Oh, yes. You’re right… Lotus Blossom and Aloe are very nice ponies, but, uhm, i-it’s just… they are a little… talkative…” Fluttershy kept talking quieter and quieter, clearly feeling guilty for ‘badmouthing’ the pair.

“Who? Oh, that’s their names? I forgot you and Rarity go there. Huh, come to think of it, isn’t that a weekly thing?” Rainbow Dash tried to sound casual about it, but she had a fairly good grasp on Fluttershy’s schedule. Every week, without fail, those two went to the spa, and Rainbow Dash made sure to visit Fluttershy’s place right afterwards. So far, she’d never really been able to tell the difference, other than the relaxed expression Fluttershy wore the rest of the day.

“That’s true… I felt really bad about canceling on Rarity these past few weeks… but I couldn’t leave Trixie alone...” She gave Rainbow Dash an apologetic look as she spoke.

Rainbow Dash gave a soft nod. Even Though Fluttershy didn’t say it out loud, she understood there was an implied ‘or with you’ in there. Nurse Redheart would probably have found a way to mobilize the royal guard. “I guess, err, but now it should be fine, right?” It suddenly occurred to Rainbow Dash that she was planning to take care of Trixie for the rest of the day, unsupervised.

Fluttershy was quiet for longer than she perhaps should have been. Apparently she was thinking the question over, as she finally shook her head. “Well, uhm, n-not really… but it will depend on what the tests say…” She sounded hesitant, as if she was not convinced no matter what the test was going to say.

It hurt to see Fluttershy act that way, as though she did not trust her alone with Trixie either. In all honesty, the more she thought about it, the less Dash trusted herself with the task either. “…Maybe this was a bad idea… but I can’t call it off now, Trixie was so excited.” A warm feeling spread through her chest as she recalled the look on Trixie’s face. However that tricky mare managed to look so positively idyllic when she was truly happy, Dash would never understand. Rainbow Dash’d already been responsible for shattering that look once before, and she’d cross Tartarus before she’d let it happen twice. Laying her ears flat against her head, she turned to her precious friend. “Hey, uhm… Fluttershy. Do you… trust me?”

Fluttershy looked conflicted as she listened to Rainbow Dash, biting her lip while she thought it over. Upon that final question though, she surprised Dash, and stepped in close, throwing her hooves around her neck. “Of course I trust you!” Hugging dash tightly against her, Fluttershy shook her head. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make you feel like, like you’re, you know…”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the sudden warmth around her, but quickly returned the gesture, pulled one hoof around Fluttershy. The words did not even truly matter, just the action alone vanquished any feeling of doubt in herself that she had a moment ago. “Thanks, Fluttershy… I… I…” She coughed, and made a halfhearted attempt to pull away. “Ponies are staring.”

“O-oh!” Fluttershy reluctantly pulled away and blushed as she looked straight down at the ground, not even checking around. Which was a good thing too, or she’d have easily detected the lie. “U-uhm, just… just remember to go easy on her, a-and yourself. I don’t want either of you hurt… okay?”

“Got it. You can count on me, Fluttershy. Oh, hey, there she is.” Relieved with the legitimate distraction, Rainbow Dash let out an uneasy breath. That was such a stupid close call, she just wanted to bang her head against the wall for it. “Hey, uh, Rarity kind of already knows so… if you like, you could go to the next appointment, and bring Trixie with you?”

Fluttershy blinked as though it was the first time she’d ever heard of such a concept. “You mean, make an appointment for three instead of two? That’s a great idea, Trixie does seem like she would enjoy that.”

“Heh, I know, I’m a genius. Now come on, we can’t lose her.”

Trixie closed the door behind her, the pleasant jingling sound was gone, and her bags were heavier now, but she couldn’t be happier. All she had to do now was get to the hospital and figure out some way to commandeer one of their showers before Dash would return to pick her up.

It’s been so long since Trixie had her own shampoo. It’s too bad Trixie will probably have to hurry, or she would take her sweet time with this. Trixie trotted along the dirt streets, and a reflection in the window told her that her guardians were following behind while chatting with each other. It was difficult to tell from a glance, but neither of them seemed upbeat.

Feeling a sting of guilt, Trixie picked up her pace a bit. Perhaps she had been taking too much advantage of them for this trip. Hopefully she could make it up to them by sharing the news of the invitation to Sweet Apple Acres later today. Just the thought of getting to eat some more of the Apple familie's cooking had Trixie mouthwatering.

As Trixie passed by a dark alley, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Uhm, hello? I’m looking for a doctor, I see crooked.”

It sounded like that mailmare she’d met the other day. Though why she was looking for a doctor in an alley was a mystery to Trixie. If she delivered mail, she should at least know where the hospital was. What was her name… It was pretty, erm, unique… Derpy? Trixie felt a chill run down her spine as she looked into the alley. The memories of her last encounter with one came flooding back, forcing her to involuntarily take a step back.

There was a package set down a few steps into the alley, while Derpy searched the place. “Doctor, I see crooked?” Derpy called out again. She spoke loud enough that combined with the acoustics of the bare walls it was easy to hear her even from the main street.

Some of the ponies passing by behind Trixie snickered and giggled, continuing on their way. Trixie was starting to get a dreadful sense of what was so funny.

“Maybe it’s not here? But the address says nine point six… that’s ten, that’s nine… it should be here?” A frustrated sense of confusion was obvious from Derpy’s voice. “Doctor, I see crooked. Hello? Anypony?”

Another chuckle could be heard from another random passerby, and Trixie scowled, struggling to resist the urge to buck. They were laughing at the walleyed pegasus. A quick check revealed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash standing together on the other side of the street, ‘window-shopping’. With her backup confirmed, Trixie took a deep breath, and stepped into the alley.

Something seemed off about the whole thing. The first thing to grab Trixie’s attention was the package Derpy had left on the floor. Presumably it was what she was trying to deliver. Trixie read the address label.

Ponyville, Manestreet (9.6), Dr. I.C. Croquette

In disbelief, Trixie read the label again, twice more. She could feel her blood boil. Sure she didn’t really know the pegasus, but she seemed nice enough. What impudent foal thought this was funny!? Of course there was no return address.

The ponies in the street were unlikely to be the actual culprits, as none of them hung around. Whoever setup the prank was probably not around unless they were content to wait all day for the mail, just to watch Derpy unwittingly humiliate herself, until she figured it out. The idea that she wouldn’t be able to find the prankster just infuriated Trixie more. Just because she’s a little different?

“Docter, I se—”

“Derpy! Silence!” Trixie snapped, before kicking the package with all her might, aiming to send it across the alley. Unfortunately, it barely budged. The weight, sound, and painful feeling in her leg gave away it probably contained just a solid block of wood. “Ughrr!” Trixie hissed pained, doing her best to keep her voice down, and limped towards the mailmare.

Shocked, Derpy whirled around, her eyes wide as she watched Trixie stalk closer. “T-Trixie?”

It seemed wise to Trixie not to yell anymore, especially since she knew the sound in here carried too well. Despite her rage, she forced herself to a low tone, but she was unable to keep the anger out of her voice. “Trixie’s glad she caught you. Be quiet, Trixie doesn’t want ponies to hear. What kind of foal would fall for such an obvious ploy?”

“C-caught? Ploy?” Derpy’s ears folded flat against her head while she backed away from Trixie, her eyes growing ever wider. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t do anything, I didn’t tell anypony I swear.”

“What? Trixie doesn’t care about that. Don’t you get it? Trixie is here to put an end to your foolishness.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hoof. “Now, come here.” Trixie trotted towards the package in between them.

Trembling, Derpy flared out her wings the moment Trixie took another step, and leaped into sky. “No! Stay away!” With that, she immediately flew off with a speed that would probably have done Rainbow Dash proud.

The strange reaction caught Trixie off-guard. “Wait, what? No! Come back here!” she called after Derpy, pointing her hoof at the package, but she went completely ignored, or at least disobeyed.

“Hey, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash’s voice called from behind.

Trixie looked over her shoulder at her escorts. Naturally, they had followed her when she went into the alley, though a little later. Trixie looked from Dash to Fluttershy, then up at the sky. She was still not quite sure of what just happened. She only wanted to help. “Yes… Trixie is fine.”

“A-are you sure? Y-you look really mad…” Fluttershy trotted closer, and briefly glanced at the package that Trixie was standing over.

“Trixie is fine.” She gave the package another, though more careful, kick. More to release some frustration over the situation and her failure, than to actually damage the accursed thing. Then quickly turned around. “Let’s just go.”

“Go on ahead.” Rainbow Dash motioned towards the road. “We’ll catch up.”

It did not sit right with Trixie. While she walked she barely even paid attention to her surroundings anymore. Derpy reacted so strangely, as if she expected Trixie to just assault her in a dark alley. Where did she ever get an idea like…. Oh… curses.

Of course Derpy would think that. She was the one that told Trixie about that rumor in the first place. Though Trixie had thought that their meeting would have changed the mare's mind, apparently it did not change it that much.

It’s just a misunderstanding. Okay, Trixie, next time she comes to bring the mail you just have to clear this up. Should be easy enough. Now quit worrying about this and just focus on the ho—

“Gah!” Trixie’s muzzle collided with the thin air, causing her to stumble backwards and collapse onto her haunches while she got her bearings. Rubbing her sore snout, Trixie was pleased to find she had sustained two blows to the head today, and though they did hurt, neither brought on a headache.

She looked up at the oddly hard air. Upon closer inspection, Trixie realized she had located the glass front doors of the hospital. Which brought a completely new thing to worry about.

Oh, Luna! If Dash saw that, Trixie will never hear the end of it!

"BWUHAHAHA!"

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions.
Trying to be helpful with an abrasiveness nature is hard if ponies aren't desensitized to it yet.

Chapter 84 - Redundant

Sitting in the waiting room, Trixie absent mindedly turned the page of a magazine that must have been of considerable archeological importance at this point.

The Ponyville hospital. Trixie had a quiet chuckle as she recalled how fearful she was initially of the idea that she had ended up there, yet now it marked a safe haven. In hindsight, it really had made no sense to even suspect any hospital would be decorated the way Fluttershy’s bedroom was.

As soon as they had arrived, Fluttersy had to turn back to take care of the animals. Rainbow Dash stayed a while longer, and Trixie suspected it was to ensure the hospital was really safe, but then she made some obvious excuse and left. As much as Rainbow Dash was a horrible brat, she had been at Trixie’s side approximately half a second after her collision with the door, and helped her up. Trixie just wished she could have done so without laughing the entire time.

Surprisingly, neither Manners nor Redheart were involved with Trixie’s appointment. Possibly this had to do with them wanting to avoid any chance of running into Rainbow Dash. Instead, an elderly unicorn introduced himself as ‘Doctor Shot’, and announced he would help her through the magical portion of the test first. With a name like that, Trixie could only imagine he was awfully popular with the foals, fortunately she was not required to get any shots herself.

The tests themselves were boring, drawn-out repetitions of the simplest forms of magic, with wires attached to her horn. Apparently all they really wanted to examine was the flow of her magic, as Trixie was not even asked to cast a spell, merely to prepare to do so.

Such simple tasks felt like an insult. What insolence to make the most powerful unicorn in Equestria go through such menial trials! Trixie was tempted to simply begin casting spells for the sake of getting an answer quicker. Either she was fine and the tests could stop, or she was not fine; in which case she was at a hospital already.

Trixie had loudly complained about it of course, and fortunately nopony had tried to call her bluff, but the quiet smile and nod she got from Doctor Shot might actually have been worse.

The only thing that gave her the patience to carry through with it, was the thought that once she was done, she would get to finally get to spend some time alone with Dash. If possible, she preferred to do so without putting herself in a magic induced coma.

Even thinking of herself as the most magical felt more hollow than it usually did, because she knew full well that everypony knew Twilight Sparkle was her better, in terms of raw magical power. Most ponies wouldn’t even make that distinction…

Once the magic tests had concluded, Trixie was brought to the physical examination waiting room, apparently this was Nurse Redheart’s department.

To Trixie’s annoyance, she was unable to go straight in. Apparently, Nurse Redheart had neglected to clear her entire schedule for Trixie, thus she was with another patient for the time being.

The waiting room itself only housed Trixie, and a young, gray-coated unicorn filly who had already been there when Trixie arrived. It struck Trixie as odd. Why was there a lone filly in the hospital? Perhaps she was waiting on somepony? All she had with her was a brown paper bag.

With a sigh, Trixie put down the magazine. It was impossible to even pretend she had any interest in it. She felt like she’d be less bored if she just stared at the wall for ten minutes. However, it seemed somepony else had beaten her to the punch. The filly was staring at the wall with a zoned out look of boredom on her face.

This just will not do. A bored filly in the same room as the greatest entertainer Equestria would ever know? Unthinkable!

From that moment on, Trixie had made up her mind. Though without any actual magic she would have to be creative. For a moment, Trixie observed her surroundings. Since it was just a waiting room there was not much of anything, but there were one or two tricks she could do quite easily.

A short setup session later, Trixie was ready.

It had been a while since this was part of her routine, but Trixie was fairly sure she remembered how to juggle. The only trick to it was to account for the time limit on her motor skills. Starting with a stapler, Trixie gave it a few practice rounds before she added a matchbox, and finally, an empty paper cup to the mix.

For a few seconds, Trixie gave an admirable performance, but her lack of practice quickly made her fumble each item in turn. It took a desperate scramble to catch the stapler before it hit the floor, while the rest bounced off it.

A soft giggling from the otherside of the room caused Trixie to perk up her ears. She looked over to the little filly, holding her hooves over her mouth in an attempt not to let on she was laughing at her.

Trixie felt a smile form on her lips as she leaned down to gather the items back up, and gave the filly a glance as she did. “Oh, you like that, huh? Trixie is not very good at juggling anymore, but she bets she can read your mind. Want to find out?”

The little unicorn gasped as she was ‘spotted’ and looked to her left and right quickly to check if she was being addressed, then looked back to Trixie. “I’m not supposed to listen to strangers. My mom says.”

“Oh, well that’s very respo—wait, did you say listen? Wouldn’t it normally be talk?” Trixie blinked puzzled. She was fairly sure the expression was the same all over Equestria.

Shaking her head, the filly replied enthusiastically. “It’s listen. Mom says talking never hurt anypony, but listening can. She’s really smart!”

Trixie chuckled as she thought it over. It was a bit odd, but she supposed it did made sense in a weird way. “So you can talk, but you don’t have to listen when Trixie tells you to do something?”

“Yep!” the little filly squeaked.

“Trixie understands. Well, then Trixie won’t ask you to do anything. Do you still want to see the trick?” she asked, before writing a quick note, and folding it up.

The filly thought about it for a split second, then quickly nodded. “You are gonna say what I think? I wanna see!”

Smiling, Trixie lined up a row of six items on the floor in front of her: a stapler, matchbox, paper cup, magazine, coffee mug, and finally a pencil. “Well there is no limit to what Trixie can do, but how about we start easy. Can you think of a number between one and six?”

“I can think of lots of numbers!” the filly proclaimed proudly. “I can count all the way to a hundred! Sometimes. This one time, Miss Cheerilee asked if I could do math on the board, and she said did I good!”

Trixie giggled with the filly’s enthusiasm, noting how quick she was to get sidetracked. “That’s really impressive at your age. When Trixie was that old she only got to ten! So, if Trixie asked you for just one number, what would you say?”

With her options limited, the filly’s brow furrowed for a moment before she came to a decision. “Two, cause lots of good things come in two’s, or lots of two’s.”

“Two, is it? Trixie agrees that’s a good number. How many letters are in two?”

“T, W, O… Three!”

While the filly spelled out the numbers, Trixie motioned at the line of items and counted with the filly. “That’s right! Now what item do you get if you take the third one?” She let her hoof hover over the paper cup.

The filly pointed at the cup. “That one!”

Smiling, Trixie held out the note she’d written at the start. “Trixie bets you can read really good too. What does this say?”

Unfolding the note, the filly looked at the piece of paper with deep concentration. Though whether that was because the filly was not a good reader, or because Trixie’s mouthwriting was atrocious, she couldn’t say. “Mhm… You will choose the paper cup is what it says… Wait! I do have the paper cup!” She held up the cup with both hooves, her eyes wide in amazement as she gasped.

If only all of Trixie’s audiences were so easily impressed. Trixie smiled warmly while she nodded. “The Great and Omniscient Trixie, knows all!” She made sure to put some theatrics in her voice, it wasn’t as if she had much to fear if it was just her and the filly.

“What’s Oh-my-scent mean?” the filly asked.

Chuckling, Trixie briefly debated if she should correct her. “Heh, Omniscient, means all knowing,” she said, while cleaning up the floor and getting the items back on the small table at her side.

“Oh, but that’s redundant.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Taken off-guard by the comment, Trixie nearly dropped the stapler again. “Trixie begs your pardon?”

“You said the same thing twice. Mom says that’s called redundant.”

“Uhm, yes, Trixie supposes it is. She’ll watch out for that in the future, thank you.” Trixie was still not entirely sure what just transpired. Did Trixie just get corrected by a foal? She shook the thought out of her head. The last thing she needed was to get upstaged by her whole, tiny audience. “So, what’s your name?”

“Dinky, what’s yours?” Dinky said, and set the paper cup down, exchanging it for the brown paper bag, and sticking her muzzle inside.

Smirking a little, Trixie considered calling herself something else entirely just to see the reaction, but it seemed best not to confuse Dinky too much. “Trixie. What do you have there, Dinky?”

“Lunch! My mom made them for me.” She pulled out a blueberry muffin. “Good things in two, see?”

“That’s just one.”

“Oh, uhm, it was two before, but I ate one already.” Dinky blushed.

“You still have two halves.” Trixie laughed, switching seats so she was sitting next to Dinky, and looked down at the muffin. “Say, Dinky, want to see another trick? Trixie knows a good one.” She motioned to the muffin. “Can Trixie use that?”

Dinky looked from Trixie to the muffin and back, clearly weighing her options between having herself a lovely meal, and seeing another one of Trixie’s tricks. Finally, she put the muffin back in the bag and held it out for Trixie with an expectant look in her eyes. “Okay, Miss Trixie.”

A warm feeling swept through Trixie, one that she hadn’t felt in far too long, as Dinky chose her act over the meal. Of course she would give the muffin back right after the trick, but it was a clear sign that her audience of one was really enjoying her performance. Trixie’s missed this so much.

Trixie took the bag and briefly inspected it, turning it over and back, then set it down between them. “Alright, now prepare to be amazed at the power of—”

“Trixie?!” Derpy called out in shock, standing in the door opening of the examination room with Nurse Redheart beside her. Her wide eyes locked squarely on Trixie, then quickly to Dinky and back.

“Hey, Mom!” Dinky waved excitedly.

This was just too good. Apparently Trixie was going to get her chance to explain herself much faster than she anticipated. She even had the good fortune of running into, and getting along with, Derpy’s daughter, so this was going to be much easier than she thought it would. But first, the show had to go on, Trixie wouldn’t want to disappoint Dinky.

“Oh, hey, Derpy! You are just in time.” Trixie smiled at Derpy, then added, “Trixie is just about to make your muffin disappear.” She turned her attention back to Dinky, noting the shocked expression on her face at the idea of losing her treat. “Aw, don—Umpf!” Trixie got cutoff as Derpy bumped into her, snatching Dinky up in her hooves.

“N-no!” Derpy cried out. She looked incredibly panicked for a simple magic trick. She held Dinky close, and immediately flew off.

Trixie had not thought it was possible, but Derpy was actually even faster this time, even though she was holding the filly. The entire thing was over within less than two seconds, leaving Trixie shaken as she started to realize Derpy was not coming back. She looked down at the blueberry muffin she was left with. “I-it was just a trick. W-what did Trixie do wrong?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 85 - Reexamine

One moment, Trixie was having a nice time playing with Dinky, keeping the foal entertained while she waited her turn in the waiting room. The next found Derpy and Trixie exchanging a few innocent words, only for Derpy to panickingly grab the filly and take off. In her haste, Derpy had nearly knocked Trixie off of her hooves.

She tried to go over what she’d said to Derpy to upset her so much, but it didn’t make sense. All she spoke about to Derpy was the muffin, and she had left that behind. Though it was possible she left it behind because Derpy thought Trixie wanted it. Derpy couldn't have thought Trixie was trying to rob her, could she?

Looking down at the muffin in her hooves, Trixie felt her chest ache. She had just tried to be nice to Dinky and Derpy, but it somehow backfired again. Why is it so difficult? Trixie didn’t even do anything wrong this time.

“Trixie?” Nurse Red called out, drawing Trixie out of her thoughts.

She had almost forgotten the nurse was there. “Huh, yes?” Trixie blinked slowly, then raised her gaze up from the muffin to Nurse Redheart. To Trixie’s surpise, there was a very dark look on the nurse’s face, sending a chill down her spine.

“What is wrong with you? Picking on Derpy, of all ponies? She gets enough of that without you helping out!” Nurse Redheart snapped, the anger clear in her voice. “She told me such awful things about you, that I was sure you had a doppelganger, but here you are! I have half a mind to kick you out right now.”

Trixie’s eyes widened as Nurse Redheart yelled at her, and pushed herself as far back in her chair as possible. This was supposed to be a great day, but everything just kept going wrong. It was just too much for Trixie. She broke down. The image of the mare’s angry face started to blur. “T-Trixie didn’t do a-anything!” She choked out, feeling the tears run down her cheeks.

Freezing mid rant, Nurse Redheart quickly took two steps back. From the look on her face, she had been prepared for an argument, not this. She still shot back, but much of the venom had dropped from her voice. “W-what do you mean, you didn’t? I saw you, didn’t I?”

“S-saw Trixie do what?” She tried to wipe her eyes with her wrist as she spoke, but failed to make much headway in keeping her vision clear. “T-Trixie was just doing tricks for Dinky! Why does everypony keep thinking the worst of Trixie? Or saying Trixie’s done things she hasn’t?!”

It wasn’t fair at all. The list of supposed crimes Trixie had committed against ponykind just kept growing, but she knew she’d not done anything wrong. It was nearly enough to make her doubt her own sanity. At least if she was a psychopath this whole thing would make sense.

Nurse Redheart hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke. “I saw how worried Dinky was, why did you say you were going to make her disappear?”

“B-but Trixie never said that.” Trixie hiccupped, and held up the muffin for Nurse Redheart to see. “Trixie said muffin, not Dinky. This one, see? They don’t even sound the same.”

For a moment, Nurse Redheart was silent, but her expression ran through a gambit of emotions, first was shock, then came barely suppressed mirth, and finally, it settled on concern. “Oh Celestia. I-I guess that’s plausible… Well, If that’s true, than this was all a misunderstanding…” Though it sounded good, something in the mare’s voice betrayed she was not entirely convinced. Still, she offered a hoof to Trixie, and smiled kindly. “You look like you’re in need of a refill. How about we get you some water, would you like that?”

Though on some level, Trixie knew Nurse Redheart was trying to help, she loathed being condescended to. “Trixie is not a small foal,” she growled, and rubbed her eyes again. This was probably not her most intimidating moment, as proven by the very unimpressed look Nurse Redheart gave her. “…water sounds good.”

As it turned out, some water really did do Trixie a lot of good. It calmed her down, and gave her some time to compose herself, before Nurse Redheart led her into the examination room. There was no further talk of the misunderstanding, as neither of them were comfortable bringing it up again. It suited Trixie just fine, Redheart was not the one she wanted to talk to about it anyway.

The physical examination was not much more interesting to Trixie than the magical one had been. However, she had to admit it was a lot more complicated.

It started off with a few simple questions about her age and weight, and, after a skeptical look from Nurse Redheart, an actual weighing. The results were subject to a hefty protest, and swearing Redheart to secrecy on penalty of death.

Shockingly, not getting much exercise for a couple of weeks, coupled with eating better than Trixie was used to, had left her just a bit greater than she would have liked.

The first actual tests involved Nurse Redheart shining a little light in her eyes, ears, and mouth. Once Redheart was apparently satisfied, she moved on to testing reflexes with a small hammer, followed by asking Trixie to cough while she listened to her chest.

Though Trixie would never say so out loud, she kind of enjoyed the attention. It gave a nice feeling, to be touched. Even if it was completely mundane, it left a tingling feeling that made her want to swing by that spa again after this and get an actual massage.

That sounds pretty good actually.

Once the thought had entered Trixie’s mind, there was no getting rid of it. She barely took notice of the rest of the exam, and merely imagined herself laying down while those two spa ponies worked on her back. Though at some point during the fantasy, that Trixie could not remember, they had morphed into Dash and Fluttershy.

All too soon, Nurse Redheart’s voice ruined it. “Trixie? Hello? I said: We’re done.”

“Oh, right. Trixie knew that.” Feeling her face flush, Trixie quickly trotted to the door. “Well, goodbye!”

“Errr… Don’t you want to know the results?” Nurse Redheart called after her.

Trixie froze in her tracks. Of course, how could she have forgotten about that? “Oh, uhm, Trixie assumed it would be like the magic exam. You know, analyze date, err data! Results pending, all that.” She turned around sheepishly to trot back to Redheart.

Nurse Redheart shook her head. “You really were out of it. I already told you Doctor Shot would bring his results in any moment. He actually came in, greeted you, gave me the report and walked out!”

“Err, T-Trixie was, erm, preoccupied.”

Sighing, Redheart laid a file down on the table, flicking through the pages. “Clearly you were. Well, I can already tell you that, physically, you are in good health. Especially when considering you have pretty much just been lying in bed the past couple of weeks. Most earth ponies I examine would be jealous.”

Grinning, Trixie puffed up her chest with pride. “Well, Trixie is pretty amazing. She used to travel all around Equestria, you know, pulling a whole stage-cart no less.” It was a little strange to be boasting about doing physical labor that she hated, but any port in a storm.

Nurse Redheart rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. “Yes, well good news then, you are healing well. So well in fact, that you are now officially cleared for using basic level magic. You keep this up and you’ll be back on the road in a few weeks!”

“Hah!” Trixie cheered. “Trixie knew it! Magic at last!” Her first thought was to levitate the nearest object and swing it around in celebration, but the prognosis stopped her in her tracks. “…back on the road in a few weeks?”

“Well, yes. I know, you are in a hurry to leave, but I’m sorry I really cannot in good conscious clear you to take a trip like that as you are. But don’t worry, it won’t be long now. You will get to leave all this nasty business behind you soon.”

Trixie folded her ears back. “H-heh… yeah… Trixie can’t wait to get out of this one-horse town...”

“Now, I just want to stress that while you are recovering well, you are still especially vulnerable to blows to the head. Everypony is of course, but it is especially dangerous if you’re still recovering from a concussion. If you need a visualization, an easy rule of hoof is to just assume anything will hit you twice as hard.”

Trixie no longer had her full attention on the conversation, instead she couldn’t help lingering on those words. A few weeks….

Fortunately, the important stuff that Redheart tried to tell Trixie were all things that she already knew, thanks to Fluttershy. Even better, her trip here had proven that she was not in danger from minor impacts anymore, and the lack of a headache following the Derpy incidents indicated that stress was no longer going to bring about migraines either. “Trixie knows. Is there anything else?”

Nurse Redheart shook her head. “Nothing worth mentioning right now, just keep eating healthy, and try to get a little more exercise in. You can tell Fluttershy it’s ‘doctors orders’ if she tries to stop you, but don’t overdo it.”

“Trixie just wants to make sure, everything we discussed, you are not allowed to say a word about it, right?”

“Yes, everything we talk about, and your medical information, all of it is confidential.”

This was good, the less ponies had any real idea of what kind of shape she was in the better. Though there was not really a guarantee. Redheart could let something slip unintentionally, but more importantly than that, someone with sufficient authority could simply look into her file. “That is acceptable. That’s all then. Do you think Trixie could use a shower?”

Redheart looked caught by surprise, her eyes briefly ran over Trixie then she shook her head slowly. “Uhm, no? You look clean, and you smelled fine. N-not that it’s something I pay attention to! Just some patients have a, uhm, ‘musk’.”

Trixie blinked. It took a moment for the bit to drop, but once it did she drug a hoof down her face. “Ugh, not like that! Trixie is asking permission to use a shower!”

Redhearts snow-white fur did absolutely nothing to hide her embarrassment, the red in her face shone through like a beacon. “Oh. Oh! Yes, of course. Go right ahead!” She made a vague gesture with her hoof towards the door leading back to the waiting room. “Just keep going and take the second door on the right.” She seemed very eager to get rid of Trixie.

“Thank you.” Sniggering, Trixie made her way towards the door. Pausing at the threshold, she looked over her shoulder. As casual as she could, she asked her question, “Oh, uh, one more thing… Why did the letter refer to Trixie as ‘Lulamoon’?” This was it, she was going to find out just who was behind this, pulling unknown strings.

“Oh, well...” Nurse Redheart paged through the file and held out one of the pages.

Trixie recognized it as her patient chart, though it was marred with hoofprints and creases from the tough time it had when it was used to chase Rainbow Dash out of her room.

Trixie Doe.‘The Great and Powerful’ Lulamoon
Suspected Trauma, Stress and Magic induced Brain Damage.
Coma, keep under observation.
In case of change alert Nurse Redheart.
KEEP RAINBOW DASH OUT!!

It was mostly the same as Trixie remembered it, and a small grin played on her lips as she read the command to keep Dash at bay. It had not done much good. What drew her attention the most though was the fresh addition to her name, the most edited part of the chart by far.

“It was Nurse Manners’ idea. She felt just awful about what happened, and she was telling me about the argument you had with her. You know, before you left. She remembered you were upset that she called you ‘Doe’, and said it was the least she could do for you.”

Trixie looked down at the chart, then up at Redheart, then finally back down at the chart, staring at her corrected name, just as she had demanded. At last she had discovered who the mastermind was that knew her real name.

It was official, she was an idiot.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Chapter 86 - Ready

Carefully, Trixie stepped into the shower. It was not nearly as clinical as she would have expected a hospital shower to be. Instead it could almost be described as cozy, if one could ever describe a bathroom that way. Trixie supposes Fluttershy’s would qualify.

Currently, Trixie's day was not quite going as planned. Granted not all of the changes were negative. Applejack was a familiar face she had been hoping to meet up with again, and Dinky along with Aloe and Lotus helped Trixie start to think not everypony in Ponyville was actually out to get her. And to top off the pleasant surprises she had had, Trixie was even allowed to use her magic again!

Even so, many other things popped up that Trixie had not expected she would have to worry about. The rumors were bad enough on their own, but the misunderstandings with Derpy were sure to add fuel to the fire. As long as nopony knew who she was it was fine, but that couldn’t last forever. Those issues, however, paled in comparison to the best, and at the same time, worst news she had received that day: she would be fully recovered soon.

Shaking her head, Trixie resolved not to think about anything beyond enjoying her shower for the next ten minutes.

At last! This is going to be so good!

Trixie giggled with glee while she set the shampoo bottle down in front of her, adjusting its position by nudging it with her hooves until it was perfectly centered. Once she was satisfied, she planted her hooves on the floor of the shower. This will be the last time Trixie uses her hooves for anything!

Everything was ready.

She took a deep breath. It felt like she had not possessed her magic in years, and there was the nagging worry in the back of her mind that she would not remember how to use it properly. What would she even do for a living, no, with her life, if she couldn’t wield it perfectly?

The very first tingling that traveled through her horn felt intimately familiar, as though it was trying to tell her that she was fooling herself; Her magic had never left to begin with. Magic was who she was, after all. The gentle feeling grew to a warm glow. Trixie could see the walls shimmer with a comforting orchid reflection, her own personal aurora.

Keeping her hooves firmly on the ground, she lifted the shampoo bottle over her head. It could not even be called a conscious effort, the shine simply enveloped the bottle the moment she looked at it, and followed her every whim to a T.

Trixie simply could not stop smiling as she drew a long dark blue string of thick liquid from the bottle, releasing the scent of blue berries. In a manner using delicate balancing of force and direction, she allowed it to snake through the air towards her mane. Every slight motion within the glow was one she was intimately aware of, even after it left her field of view. Any lesser unicorn might have fumbled such a feat, or at least she assumed so; there were not many opportunities to observe another unicorn's showering habits after all.

As the last of the blue snake slithered out of her view, Trixie closed her eyes, she wouldn’t be needing them anymore. Concentrating all of her attention on just feeling her magic aura, she let the shampoo braid through her mane.

Although Trixie was loving the sensation of spreading the foam around, something was missing. Oh! Water! Well, let’s take care of tha— As fantastic and magnificent a unicorn she was, she had not the faintest idea where to find the faucet. …curses.

Begrudgingly, Trixie opened one eye. Easily locating the faucet, a tendril of her magic lazily slithered over to it, and let the warm water flow. The blow to her ego was soothed away along with the foam while the warmth washed over her, electing a long, satisfied sigh.

As long as Trixie was commandeering a shower, she supposed she might as well claim the rest of the room while she was at it. Though the hospital beds were below her standards, they were still more comfy than the floor.

Two floating towels rubbed the moisture out of her fur and mane while Trixie sat upright on the bed, just watching the dancing pieces of fabric with a smile. She did not truly need to use her magic to dry off, but that hardly mattered. One did not truly need to eat peanutbutter-chocolate muffins instead of gruel either.

If there was ever any doubt in Trixie’s mind, her short hiatus had confirmed her suspicion to a certain fact: Magic truly was the best of all things. How the other races even managed without it their entire lives was beyond her.

How long until Dash gets back here?

Now that she thought about it, how was Dash going to know where to even pick her up? Perhaps she should be out at the door, waiting for her. Although, it was not as if she was going to do any such thing before she was done here. Exchanging the towels for a brush and mirror, Trixie set to work on fixing her mane.

Although levitation was often considered a basic spell, it was deceptive. The actual difficulty of the spell increased exponentially with the number of items manipulated. Any more than two, and Trixie feared she might risk hurting herself again.

Staring into the mirror while long strokes tamed her mane, her mind wandered back to what Nurse Redheart had told her: in a few weeks her recovery would be complete. Originally, Trixie could not wait to get away, and her injury prevented that, but somewhere along the way she’d lost the desire to leave. More than that, it had been replaced by a burning need to stay.

She loved everything about staying with Fluttershy, even the odd chores. Accompanying the gentle mare on her daily routine was part of a serene ritual by now that she gladly went through. Tea time in a quiet peace, or sharing stories while smiling and laughing together, even complaining about her fumbling apologies, and countlessly more little things: all of it felt important, and Trixie didn’t want to do without.

No! Trixie is not just going to up and go. What are they going to do? Force the Great and Powerful Trixie to leave?

Watching her reflection bite on her lip, Trixie tried to reason with herself. Trixie wants to stay, but… once Trixie is better, she has no right to.

It was not a matter of being forced out. Trixie could not even imagine Fluttershy asking her to leave, nor did she even wish to, it was just too painful of an image for Trixie's mind to conjure up. However, she was painfully aware she was costing Fluttershy precious bits. Every day she stayed after her recovery would be blatant freeloading.

If Trixie tries to stay, she must contribute. Yes, that’s it! Trixie will just have to make bits somehow, then Trixie can easily stay… but what can Trixie even do? Her stage is gone, and even if she had it, everypony hates her. As if they would ever come watch a show to shower Trixie with bits, it won't be anything more than rotten fruit… if Trixie is lucky.

She watched her reflection's ears droop while she fruitlessly thought on the problem. Even if she somehow got back on her hooves, she was a traveling magician, which meant she would still have to leave to do her job. She might be able to come through Ponyville once or twice a year. Just the thought made her chest ache, she didn’t want to be away from them that long.

“Oh! Wait!” she exclaimed and perked up eagerly. Maybe Trixie can bring Dash along? She likes to show off, and Trixie is sure she’d make a good entertainer under her guidance! Trixie could be with her all the time! She wrapped her hooves into a self-hug, trying to contain her excitement with the idea.

Yes! And, and Fluttershy could, uhm, get some animals to join in the act! Or cook, something like that! Maybe she’ll even be confident enough to tell a few stories? The energy slowly left her again as she started to think about the logistics of it. Her brilliant plan meant making her friends give up their jobs in the first place, and somehow more than triple the profits of her show if all three of them were living off of it.

…Maybe not… Dash just got promoted. She probably makes more bits than Trixie ever did, and there’s no way Fluttershy would agree to leave the animals behind. Sighing, Trixie let the brush drop into her saddlebags, pulling out a comb instead.

It was depressing. She could not think of any good solution to her problem. Pushing the worry away, she focused instead on putting the final touches on her mane, ensuring it would be back to its full, stage-worthy glory for her date.

Conjuring up the image of what Dash’s face would be like, once she was done, brought a smile to her face. That’s right… Trixie shouldn’t worry about this right now. Dash is giving Trixie a chance, so Trixie has to show up at her best! She dropped the comb back into the bag and brought out a small spray bottle in its stead. There will be time to worry about this after Trixie makes sure Dash realizes this is the best decision she ever made.

Levitating the tiny perfume bottle in front of her, Trixie smiled with satisfaction. It was a lovely scent that was sure to wow Dash, or so she hoped. Finding the exact same mixture as the one that was lost to the Ursa attack had taken a few tries, but the spa ponies had been very helpful and patient with her.

Getting off the bed, Trixie spritzed the air in front of her with the small bottle and trotted through it, letting the familiar scent envelope her. It had a strong, lingering fragrance of West-Equestria Elm wood, and, for a little kick, there was a slight hint of campfire smoke weaved through it.

Smiling, Trixie sat and savored the memories the scent brought along with it.

Her stage and wagon had been made of the same resilient wood, stable and reliable until the end.

The smokey hints underlying the perfume brought up thoughts of her time on the stage. This same smell would surround her throughout her act as she hid her illusions and castings among the clouds of smoke she tripped from various panels on her stage. It was playful and unpredictable, something Trixie liked to think herself as.

After a moment, Trixie collected herself, she stared into the mirror with determination. “Okay, Trixie. This is it. Dash won’t know what hit her!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

At last Trixie gets to use her magic without killing herself, and it only took 86 chapters. We're making good time.:trollestia:
There were a couple of firsts for me in this chapter, it was fun to play around with.
Next chapter will have Rainbow Dash, I promise. :rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter 87 - Result

Trotting circles in the foyer of the hospital, Trixie shot a glance at the double door entrance every two seconds. Dash had yet to arrive, but she had a little bit of time left before the scheduled ending of the examination. Moments like this made Trixie wish she was not quite so brilliant, since clearly if she had finished her tests at the pace of a regular pony, she would not have had to wait in suspense like this.

Trixie is the best! Everything will go great! As far as Trixie knew, this was the best technique to build confidence, and she desperately needed it. All she had to do was just to keep repeating it until she believed it.

The date was going to start any minute, and Trixie had never felt so nervous, even her first show was not as important in comparison. Her whole relationship was riding on it. W-what if it goes horribly? Would she break it off right then? Or worse, what if it goes great? That would make her expect even more from the next date!

Trixie makes every moment unforgettable by default! Anypony would be lucky to have her! She chanted to herself.

She gave a tug at the straps of her saddlebag, refitting it for the twelfth time already. All her beauty products, and one muffin lunch bag, were held securely inside. They'd done their job wonderfully, any damage Fluttershy inadvertently caused was completely taken care of, and Trixie looked absolutely picture perfect.

Trixie is the most beautiful Unicorn, no, pony in Equestria!

In passing, she stole a quick glance at a mirror, her sixty-seventh, just to reassure herself she was still stunning.

Maybe Trixie should have gotten a dress? Don't be silly, with whose bits? Besides, where would Trixie even find one? But... wearing saddlebags to a date is not very romantic. Is it better to leave them here? If Trixie hurries she mi—

Rainbow Dash's voice sounded from right behind her. "Hey, Trixie, how di—Whoa!" As Trixie turned around, Rainbow Dash completely lost track of what she was going to say.

Trixie felt her heart leap, for once a plan actually worked out perfectly. Fighting her hardest to keep a casual look on her face, and her heart inside her chest, Trixie gave Dash a seductive smile. “Oh, hello, Dash. You’re early,” she said while sauntering over to her with a gentle sway of her tail with each step.

Blushing furiously, and still at a loss for words, Rainbow Dash looked disheveled in more ways than one. It was not as though Trixie had expected Dash to show up in a dress, or even with her hair done, but she looked the exact same as if she’d just flown through a tornado.

Letting her eyes briefly trace up and down over Dash, Trixie shot her an annoyed look. “How good of you to prioritize being on time.” Is she not taking this seriously?

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Rainbow Dash chuckled sheepishly, oblivious to the underlying meaning. “I wanted to be here when you were done, but I guess you were faster than planned, huh? Does that mean it went well?”

“Trixie is perfect, as expected.” She gave her mane a flick with her hoof. “As you will come to find out. Shall we go then?” The lack of effort Dash put into her appearance for their date bothered her, but maybe she had been expecting too much from the tomcoltish mare?

The request restored some of Dash’s usual energy. “Sure thing! Right this way!”

Once they’d left the hospital, Trixie did not speak much for a time, mostly because there were too many ponies around for her to feel comfortable saying anything of importance, and she didn’t feel like making small talk.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was more than happy to make up for the lull in conversation, with what Trixie would describe as nervous babble. “It feels so weird to have the first day off instead of the third, normally I’m tired and just wanna go sleep on a cloud or something, or hang out with Fluttershy, which is basically the same thing. I mean it’s like, relaxing and stuff.”

Trixie just allowed Dash to ramble while she tried to figure out where they were headed. Surprisingly, they had not followed the road back into town, but went around the hospital and towards the forest that flanked half of Ponyville. we’re headed northeast? That’s toward that dragon mountain, isn’t it?

“I wonder if Nurse Redheart still even works at the hospital? I’ve not seen her, and she didn’t even write that letter. Maybe she got fired? Serves her right! Huh… actually, I hope not… even if she’s kind of a downer.” A hint of regret was clearly present in her voice.

The leaves of the trees obscured the sun, creating welcome, cool shadows for them to walk in. Trixie took the opportunity to walk a little closer to Dash, feeling confident they were away from prying eyes by now. “Trixie saw her, she did part of the exam,” she said reassuringly. “Trixie believes she wanted to avoid conflict, that’s why you did not see her.”

Dash looked relieved for just a moment, before she caught herself and grinned. “Oh, too bad. So she’s chicken, huh? Figures.”

Trixie smirked. “Yes, can you believe she wanted to keep the west wing of the hospital intact? What a coward. Anyway, she was actually pretty nice, for the most part, and told Trixie her test results. Nothing really new, but there is one little change…” she left the words hanging there while she moved a bit closer still, preparing a spell.

“Oh, yeah? What was that ab—Whoa, wha—umphf!”

An orchid glow around her muzzle made Dash freeze in her tracks, and despite a panicked struggle her head was turned to the side. Trixie wasted no time taking advanced of the perfectly aligned Dash, planting an eager kiss on her lips, quieting her down. Sadly, she could not hold the spell with that much force for long, before a soft pounding in her head told her she was approaching her limit.

Once the magic released, Dash didn’t bother to pull away just yet, but held the kiss for a little longer, making it clear she was perfectly okay with this. “Mhm, abusing your magic already? That’s so like you.”

Grinning, Trixie licked her lips nonchalantly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie just took what she wanted, and she did not hear you complain.”

“Never said I was, heh...” Dash’s grin looked forced as she went on, kicking against the dirt of the forest floor nervously. “I’m really glad that’s how you choose to use it, actually… I-I was worried you were mad at me.”

“Mad at you?” Trixie had not really given it much thought, but Dash could not possibly still think she would hold a grudge over that buck to the head, could she? “Did you think Trixie would take wreak vengeance upon you the moment she recovered her magic?”

Blinking stupidly, Dash looked completely confused. “Wha? Uh, no, It’s just, well, you didn’t talk much, and, I mean… well, look at you!” She made a gesture with her hoof toward Trixie. “You look wonderful! I just bolted through a cloud and called it a day! I saw you at the spa, and all I thought about was that you were wasting time, instead of figuring out why you were in there.” Averting her gaze, Dash folded her ears flat. “After I saw you all prettied up, for me, I just… I really liked that you did all that… I didn’t even think to put in some effort. I feel like an idiot…”

Trixie bit her lip. It was true she’d been annoyed with Dash, and had been short with her as a result, but she thought she hid it well enough. Though when she thought about it, Dash had an infuriating habit of seeing things she actively tried to hide. Trixie was not quite sure how that worked, as at the same time Dash was so terrible at seeing things she purposely left thinly veiled. “…Dash, it’s true. Trixie was mad at you.”

“I knew it.” Dash looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry, Trixie.”

“But…” Trixie brought a hoof to Dash’s chin, lifting her up to she could see into her eyes. “Trixie was wrong to think you put in no effort. Only yesterday did she ask about going on a date, and you worked so hard to make it happen the very next day.” She gave a soft smile, and mirrored Dash’s words. “Trixie really liked that you did all that.” To accentuate her point, she leaned in to steal a quick, brief kiss.

Surprise was clearly visible on Dash’s face, before it slowly turned to a grin. Her bravado made a stunning comeback. “Well, I am the fastest pegasus ever, but how can you even say that? You have no idea if I have anything planned.”

Raising an eyebrow, Trixie gave Dash a mock skeptical look. “Oh, please, even you wouldn’t be dumb enough to take out the greatest unicorn in Equestria, and not have plans.”

“Don’t forget modest!” Rainbow Dash laughed.

Giggling, Trixie nodded. “And modest! The Great and Humble Trixie, a shining example to ponies everywhere. Princess of Humility!” She struck her most regal looking pose, with one hoof held to her chest while she looked up at the sky with her eyes closed.

A sudden warm feeling on her back broke Trixie out of her pretense, discovering that Dash had wrapped a wing around her, Trixie felt her face flush.

Rainbow Dash grinned playfully. “How about you come and find out what I have planned for you then, your highness?”

“Just one moment.” Trixie lit up her horn, lifting the saddlebags from her back. Sliding them out from behind the wing, she held the bags suspended in the air behind her. Upon seeing Dash’s puzzled look, she smirked slightly, and explained. “They were in the way.” She pressed against Dash, enjoying the, now unobstructed, warmth that came with it. “Let’s go.”

Once Dash caught on, she pressed back against Trixie. Letting her wing rest on Trixie’s back, she slowly accelerated up to a trot, allowing Trixie to get used to the pace. “Right, this way.”

It took a little bit of getting used to for Trixie, she was not used to walking to match somepony else’s pace. But after a little trial and error they meandered through the forest, endearingly close together.

The forest was beautiful, and nothing at all like the Everfree had been, instead it looked peaceful and inviting, as though it really wanted ponies to come visit it. The animals were not as tame as they were around Fluttershy’s meadow, but Trixie spotted a few as they walked, some of which she believed she recognized. Is that Miss Chippymunk?

After a little while, with no end in sight, Trixie was starting to get overwhelmed with curiosity. “So, what’s first?”

“Uhm, this is first.” Rainbow Dash answered, unusually cryptic.

Trixie looked around briefly, trying to spy something through the trees. There was no telling what might be built out here, but she saw nothing. “This what? We’ve been walking a while, and all Trixie sees are trees.”

Trying to avoid eye contact, Dash cleared her throat awkwardly, her face growing redder by the second. “I-It’s a forest walk, okay?”

“A forest walk!?” Trixie could hardly believe it. She might have expected something crazy like: skydiving, mountain climbing, manticore wrestling, and while she was grateful to be wrong, she had to wonder where this changeling had stashed the real Dash.

Meanwhile, Dash’s face just kept getting closer to the red streak that ran through her mane. “L-Look, I get it, it’s stupid. I’ll just fly us there, I dunno why—”

Trixie nestled her muzzle against Dash’s neck while she rambled, feeling that wild mane tickling her nose. “It’s a wonderful idea.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Trixie and Dash finally started their date.
I'm excited that we finally got here. ^^

Writing wise, this will actually be an interesting exercise in applying some of the lessons I learned during the sleepover.
Mainly: "Limit the number of events, or it will take forever!"
Let's see if I can keep this below 10 chapters this time ey?:trollestia:

Chapter 88 - Route

Chapter 88 - Route

The whole forest was peaceful while they walked among the trees, taking in the sights and sounds of the woods. The canopy blocked much of the sun, but what shone through brought about beautiful shapes of light over the damp moss-covered bark and the forest floor.

Much of their time was filled by Trixie expounding in graphic detail the full horror of the tests she had to undergo. She made sure to emphasis that she barely made it out alive, after all, dying of boredom had been a legitimate danger.

Meanwhile, whenever asked, Dash vehemently insisted she had spent the entire morning doing paper work for her new position, but what the papers were actually about changed in each telling. It always ended in Dash making a dismissive comment, followed by another question on the tests.

At first, Trixie had suspected they were headed towards the mountains, which made her slightly fearful that rock-climbing was not entirely out of the picture.

M-maybe she wishes to show Trixie the cave of the dragon they chased out? Maybe it left something behind, like gems, or a ring Dash wishes to present to Trixie?

She couldn't tell if the horrors of the climb would be worth receiving such a gesture from Dash. Luckily, she didn't have to contemplate for long as Rainbow took a quick left turn, followed a minute later by another, leading them away from the mountains.

Slowly, it began to dawn on Trixie: they were walking along the edge of Ponyville. Whatever Dash had planned must have been on the other side, but she’d planned this roundabout forest route to spare Trixie another trip through the town itself.

Smiling with that realization, Trixie gave Dash another nuzzle as they took yet another left. In addition to the usual chirping and rustling, Trixie noticed the sound of a gently flowing river in the background.

“Enjoying yourself?” Dash asked, as she returned the affection with a stroke of her wing through Trixie’s mane, before it came to rest on her back again.

For any other type of trip, this route was just atrociously indirect, but Trixie was not going to complain about having to walk a little longer, if she got to spend it like this. Trixie did have one little issue though. As enjoyable as their walk was, the roots and uneven ground made it near impossible to walk next to Dash for more than a few seconds without tripping.

Trixie gave a small nod in reply to the question. “The view, sounds, scents, Trixie think it’s all just wonderful… Oh, and the forest is okay too, she supposes.” Winking playfully, Trixie watched Dash change colors.

Despite her obvious blush, Dash rolled her eyes. “You are such a cheeseball! Do you get all your lines out of those trashy romance stories?”

Trixie felt as though she’d been caught red-hooved. Her cheeks burned furiously. “W-what! No! O-of course not!” She scrambled for some type of defense. “Sure, Trixie knows a fair number of those types of stories, for her job! And yes, maybe she had spent more than a few nights reading novels that were perhaps not exactly Shakeahoof, but that hardly means… uhm, well, that is….” Trixie started to lose focus as the grin on Rainbow Dash’s face just kept getting bigger. She sighed. “…Trixie believes this hole is deep enough as it is now. Just bury her.”

“Hah! You totally do! Oh, oh, wait! Is that where you got all your ideas on romance from?” Dash was already chuckling just from the idea alone.

There wasn’t much point denying it now, though Trixie begrudgingly glared at Dash for asking. “Yes, okay! Are you happy now? Trixie never had a marefriend, or coltfriend, so she read about it instead!” she all but screamed indignantly, sure her face had to be on fire at this point.

“Ohmygosh! No wonder you had a plan for how you thought we were supposed to go about this!” Dash sniggered, that cursed grin never leaving her face. There was not the slightest attempt to hide the mirth in her voice. “Was that why you thought if you just kept kissing me it would work out eventually? That’s too good!” Dash burst out laughing.

“T-that was not what Trixie thought! And even if it was, it totally worked! Who are you to talk anyway? Trixie knows you don’t have any experience to begin with! All you’ve ever done is hang around Fluttershy and scare off suitors.”

“Hey! I got plenty of second hoof experience, thank you! Pressing your lips all over another pony works? Pfft, yeah right, you’re lucky you’re not bad looking, Trixie. Any pony else might have had you put in jail." Dash laughed, and took another left.

However, Trixie froze solid, and nearly dislocated Dash’s wing as she snagged on her neck while Dash tried to walk forward.

“Besides, Fluttershy scares off plenty of ponies on her ow—Ow! Hey! What gives?” She took a quick half-step back, and shook her wing loose while looking over her shoulder.

“J-jail?” How could she have forgotten about something so important? Trixie couldn’t believe what a fool she’d been. When she was told she would be better soon, her only thought had been of how to make some bits so she could stay with Dash and Fluttershy, but her problem was much bigger than that. “T-they’ll come to take Trixie away soon.”

“What?” Dash took another step back so she was besides her. “Whoa, Trixie, relax. I was only kidding, I didn’t actually report you for that or anything.”

Trixie lifted her head up to look at Dash, taking in the sight of the beautiful, worried pegasus, and committing it to memory as best she could. There was no telling how long she would have to do without that sight soon. “No, don’t you get it? Trixie is still a criminal.”

“Uh, oh, I kinda forgot about that.” Dash admitted, and raised a hoof to scratch the back of her head sheepishly. “You weren’t worried about it as much, so I guess it slipped my mind.”

Trixie wasn’t sure how much she really should be telling Dash, but she could really use somepony to talk to. How was she ever going to be more open with her if she didn’t put some trust in her? “…That’s because Trixie wasn’t so worried about the law, she still had trump cards to play.”

“Trump cards? Well why didn’t you say so? Don’t worry me like that geez.” Dash groaned.

“W-well… Trixie doesn’t really have them anymore.” She sighed, and looked down at her hooves to avoid Dash’s questioning look. In a near monotone, she explained her plan. “…One of the Elements of Harmony pursued and attacked Trixie, hurting her badly. It would be a big scandal if that got out. The Ponyville hospital allowed Trixie to be at the mercy of her attacker, and the incident repeated, which makes Ponyville itself responsible for Trixie’s suffering as well.”

Trixie could feel Dash tense up beside her. She couldn’t bring herself to look Dash in the eye to check, but she was sure she was hurt to be reminded of the incident. After a moment, she took the silence as a sign to continue. “When Trixie is taken to court, she would be able to reveal that, and claim she must be compensated. It would probably cause big problems for the element bearers and for Ponyville. The whole thing would take all the focus off Trixie as a villain, and make her the victim. Especially, if Trixie spins a horrible tale. Nothing too devoid of truth, just some tweaked details.”

“You, you wouldn’t, would you?” Dash asked hesitantly.

Trixie lifted her gaze up to Dash’s eyes. “Oh, Trixie would have. You’d never get into the Wonderbolts with a criminal record. Nurse Redheart would have been fired. Fluttershy would be an accomplice after the second time, and while Trixie doubts Fluttershy would get punished by the law, she would probably get her peaceful life ruined by journalists.” She rattled off the little list, then let out a long sigh. “…And Trixie would be so busy saving her own plot, that she’d only realize what she’d done afterwards.”

It took Dash a second to respond, presumably she was too shocked to even think straight after that. However, her eventual response was completely predictable: anger. “You’re going to do all that!?”

In any other circumstance, having Rainbow Dash angry at her would have been terrifying, and if Trixie was honest with herself, it still was a little bit. “No you foal! That’s the problem! Trixie can’t do that now that she actually cares what happens to them, to you! Now Trixie will just be on trial, they’ll bring out all the stupid rumors to wreck her credibility, and she’ll be guilty!”

Dash’s scowl broke up, as she gave Trixie a confused look. “Huh? Wait, so, what are you gonna do then?”

Faking a sudden keen interest in the leaves around her hooves, Trixie avoided eye contact. “Trixie doesn’t know… If Trixie runs, she can’t ever come back. But, if she stays, they’ll take her away anyway…” She couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking as she spoke. “T-Trixie’s scared, Dash.”

Familiar warmth wrapped over Trixie’s shoulders. With surprising strength, Dash’s wing pulled Trixie against her. “You’re not going anywhere.” There was not a single hint of doubt in her voice. “I promise.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 89 - Relief

Trixie could not have asked for more. Just a few simple words, and one wing around her. That was all it took. Simply knowing she had a real ally by her side made her feel so much stronger. Wrapping her hooves around Dash, Trixie held on tight. “Thank you.”

Not a single one of Trixie’s problems had been solved. She was not even given any hint as to a possible answer. By all rights, she should have been every bit as worried as she had moments ago, but she wasn’t. Instead, she felt as though, somehow, her problems had become that much more manageable. She could never have imagined, just how much of a difference it would make, to have somepony in her corner.

After a moment, she reluctantly let go of Dash, and pushed away. “But, what are we going to do?”

Dash shrugged. “I dunno.” Of course she would have no actual idea on what to do. Merely showing a look of determination, Dash grinned. “I just know nopony is taking you away. They’ll have to answer to Rainbow ‘Attempted Murder’ Dash first!”

Blinking in surprise for a moment, Trixie folded her ears flat. “Uhm, Trixie hopes you know that… s-she would never actually try that, erm ‘plan’, even in the past… The Cautious and Calculating Trixie would have come to her senses.”

“Heh, no you wouldn’t, but it doesn’t matter now. Don’t worry about it.” She had all the subtlety of a jackhammer, as per usual. “So, uhm, are you okay now? I mean… I dunno any of that legal stuff, but I’m sure Twilight could help, and there’s other… options.” Rainbow Dash looked characteristically scheming for a moment as she spoke, then shrugged as though it was too much trouble. “Eh, we can bust that cloud when we get to it.”

Twilight again. Why did she keep coming up so much? The full story of the Elements of Harmony, the location of Trixie’s books, and now legal advice. That was only counting the things Trixie needed from Twilight by now. Most, if not all, of which she was reluctant to go and ask her for.

If all Twilight did was give legal advice, that might work out, but based on what Trixie was told, Twilight had already proven she was not above using her position to ask Princess Celestia for personal favors. Trixie was not sure if she would classify as desperate enough to make a gamble like that just yet, but it was perhaps her best chance to stay in Ponyville.

Ultimately, Trixie had to agree with Dash’s sentiment. Trixie will ‘bust that cloud’ when she gets to it. She looked up at Dash. “Yes. Trixie is sorry for troubling you. Going one more day without a solution won’t matter, especially if it’s today… if you still wish to keep going?” she asked nervously.

“Pff, as if I would let you get off so easily! I put a lot of effort into this day, and you’re gonna suffer through it, whether you like it or not.” Grinning, Rainbow Dash motioned to the road ahead. “Come on!”

Trixie snickered, unable to control herself. Dash had a talent for making her feel better in the strangest ways. “Oh, curses. Well, Trixie supposes she’s stuck with you then. Let’s get this over with.” Following Dash’s lead, Trixie resumed the seemingly endless trek through the forest.

“Heh, and don’t you forget.” Dash smirked, but her face turned a little softer as she spoke while looking the other way. “Oh, uhm, one more thing… I’m used to you nagging all the time so, uh… you can do that more often, if something’s bothering you, I mean, you know.”

Briefly stunned, Trixie was only pulled out of the daze when she noticed Dash kept walking, and hurried after her. Once she’d caught up, she gave a quick nuzzle against Dash’s neck, and whispered, quietly enough to deny it, “Thanks, Dash, you’re the best.”

“Dash, you are the worst!” Trixie sprinted over the path through the forest at top speed, in a vain attempt to outrun the torrential waterfall that rained down upon them. She kept her saddlebags hovered over her head in hopes of at least saving her something of the manestyle she put so much effort into.

“How was I supposed to know!? Cloudchaser’s not scheduled to douse this part of the forest for at least two days!” Dash yelled back, both wings folded up above her head to shield herself as they galloped through the leaves.

Trixie groaned. How was it possible that Dash was this much of an airhead? She feared for the future of the weather team. “You foal! You switched those days with her yourself! THAT’s why she’s here now!”

“Oh yeah! Hehe, woops?” There was an irritatingly cheery tune in the mare’s voice. Dash leapt over a tree branch, sliding through the mud as she suddenly made a sharp left turn. “This way! We’re almost there!”

Trying to shield herself as much as possible, Trixie followed in hot pursuit.

From one moment to the next, the trees gave way to a grassy field, and the rain suddenly stopped. A quick look up confirmed the sun was shining brightly, and even the grass they were running along was perfectly dry.

Trixie skidded to a halt. Had she not been soaked to the bone, she might have thought she’d imagined the rain. Glancing over her shoulder, Trixie flinched away from what she thought to be a wall of water chasing after her, but it did not follow. It was as though she was staring at a murky aquarium just a few steps away from her. “That’s, uh, pretty localized.”

Trotting up next to her, Dash nodded. “Well yeah, it’s not like every drizzle is the same you know. These little ones are pretty easy to control. All you need to do is keep the clouds in the right place, control the humidity in the surrounding area, an—”

Menacingly, Trixie whirled around on Dash, leaning in close so she was face to face with her. She forced her words out between clenched teeth while water dripped down her muzzle. “Does Trixie look like she cares about the finer points of weather management right now?”

Dash flinched back as Trixie rounded on her, but quickly rediscovered that confident smirk of hers again while she listened to Trixie rant. By the look of bemusement on Dash’s face, Trixie could only guess Dash had considered the rain refreshing rather than annoying. “Whoa, relax, Trixie. It’s only water.”

Trixie glared at Dash, perfectly aware that she had already admitted pegasi were simply not bothered by any kind of weather. She pushed in closer, trying to make Dash step back as she yelled, “’Only water’ Trixie’s fla—mpf!?” A sudden kiss interrupted her rant, leaving Trixie too stunned to properly react.

Just as Trixie caught on, and tried to return the kiss, Dash pulled back, licking her lips with an impish grin while looking at Trixie. “Still mad?”

Blushing deeply, Trixie stumbled forward a step with the sudden lack of resistance. She wanted to yell at Dash for interrupting her, but it was absolutely no use; the fire that had been in her gut was firmly defeated by the invading army of butterflies. “Bwuh? Uh, uhm, y-yes. Trixie’s still mad, totally. S-so, you should, uhm, try again.” She scrapped one of her hooves through the grass.

“Mhm, I don’t know.” Dash drawled while she looked Trixie over examiningly. “You don’t really look mad…” She paused, teasingly letting the words hang in the air while she watched Trixie put on the best attempt at a scowl she could manage at the moment. “Heh, better safe than sorry.” Dash relented, leaning in for a second one.

Closing her eyes, Trixie felt a rush of warmth all through her body the moment Dash’s lips touched hers. It was a sensation she would never get used to, or grow tired of. Stolen kisses were one thing, but long, drawn-out shared ones like this had her head spinning. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Trixie was pretty sure there was something she was supposed to be upset about, yet if it was that important, surely she would have remembered?

Once they broke away, Trixie could not stop smiling. A warm fuzzy feeling had stayed behind in her chest. Upon opening her eyes, Trixie found Rainbow Dash staring back at her, half lidded, with the same smile. “…Trixie’s not mad anymore.”

“Heh, too bad.” Dash chuckled softly, then motioned over her shoulder. “So… what do you think?”

The question briefly confused her. “What does Trixie think of what?” She leaned to the side a little to look past Rainbow Dash. She had not actually paid any attention to her surroundings since escaping the rainy forest.

The lush green fields stretched on for a little, but then dipped downward and faded into the sandy shorelines of a small lake. Or perhaps it should be called a large pond, Trixie was not sure, but the bottom line was there was yet more water.

Before she had time to groan dismissively at the idea of going swimming, her eyes fell upon a spot on the beach directly behind Dash. A big white and red checkered blanket was spread out over the sand. Four stones held the corners of the blanket down, and in the middle stood a wicker picnic basket.

Trixie looked around briefly to try to find the owners, but when she discovered there was nopony else around, she swayed back so she was in front of Dash again with a quizzical look. “Did you… prepare that? Are we here to have lunch?” For the second time, Trixie felt as though this was not the same Rainbow Dash that she knew.

Dash looked a little unsure of herself, her smile faltered just slightly as Trixie questioned her. “Y-yeah, aren’t you hungry? It’s been a while since breakfast, and we walked all the way… Shall we?”

“So, no swimming competition, waterskiing, or fighting sharks? Are you sure?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. Even without the sharks, something was definitely fishy.

Dash laid her ears back and chuckled awkwardly. “I’m sure, but, uhm, hey, we could totally do those things if you want?”

Finally catching on to Dash’s discomfort, Trixie scrambled to say something positive “No, no! It’s fine! Great! It’s great! Trixie can’t wait!” Eager to show Dash she really did appreciate her preparations, Trixie pulled her towards the beach. “Let’s go. You’ve got to show Trixie what you brought! It’s just that Trixie didn’t think… well, you keep surprising her today. That’s all. Trixie didn’t really take you for a romantic, no offense.”

All of Dash’s energy was quickly restored as she followed along with Trixie, then dropped down on the blanket with a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I’m just full of surprises, huh? Speaking of which, I’ve got two more I want to give you. Though I guess you already kinda know about one of them, I’ll save that one for last.”

Trixie sat down besides Dash on the blanket, giving a few swift pats on the blanket to sort out a few lumps in the sand below so she could sit comfortably. Rainbow Dash was being mysterious again, and, to Trixie’s embarrassment, it was working. “Do not keep The Patient and Enduring Trixie waiting. What is it? Did you bake something? Trixie is not sure she is ready to go back to the hospital so soon.”

Shooting Trixie a mock dirty look, Dash turned to flip open the basket and reached inside, apparently she was just as eager as Trixie was to get this underway. “For the record, I didn’t make any of this stuff. Sugarcube Corner is famous for having awesome snacks, but when I came in Pinkie Pie curled up her tail, and her left hind leg turned to jelly, so, uh, actually, never mind. I guess you could just say she ‘recommended’ these to me.” She turned around to present Trixie her find.

“Really? Curly tail and a jelly leg? Are you messing with Trixie? She still does not believe that Pinkie pony actually exi—” Trixie’s eyes went wide, certain her jaw must have hit the blanket, as she stared slacked jawed at the treat Rainbow Dash was holding out.

There was simply no way, absolutely no way, that this was just dumb luck. She had to be a sleep talker, or mentioned it at some point, or more likely demanded it, but Trixie could not recall anything of the sort. It had to be a hallucination, yet there it was, plain a day!

After a moment, she found her voice again.

“Peanut butter chocolate muffins?!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Surprisingly, we're actually making good time.
Speaking of which, I sure was having a good time writing this. <3

Chapter 90 - Raconteur

The sky held an amusing duality. Right above the forest hung dark ominous rainclouds, while the sky above the rolling grasslands and lake the two had set up their picnic was crystal blue, dotted only by a few bright white shapes far off in the distance.

Resting on her back, Trixie drew out a long, slow yawn as she watched the clouds lazily drift by overhead. She shifted to get a little more comfortable on the checkered blanket, which in reality meant she scooted closer to the snoozing Rainbow Dash.

Lunch had been, for lack of a better word, ‘awesome’. Sadly, the picnic basket had not been stuffed full of Trixie’s favorite treat, but two and a half peanut butter chocolate muffins had been enough to temporarily satisfy her craving, allowing for lesser foods to get a fair chance afterwards.

In the time it had taken for Trixie to wolf down two muffins, Rainbow Dash was barely half way through the one Trixie had so graciously allowed her to have for the sake of experiencing true delight. Apparently Dash did not much care for divinity molded into solid form, as she declined to eat any more of it, favoring a plain old chocolate cupcake instead.

Heretic!

However, it was not as though Trixie could complain too much. Dash had been right to praise that sugarcube store. After all, they both ended up eating way too much, it was simply hard to stop. Though, the best part came afterwards. Drowsy from their meal, and knowing they had the whole day free, a nap was an obvious follow up.

Unlike Rainbow Dash, Trixie was not used to taking naps in broad daylight. Even if the past few weeks she had slept nearly entire days, she’d always been in a darkened room. Fortunately, that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the moment’s peace while Dash slept.

Shifting closer to Dash, Trixie sighed. But, it is a little boring now.

To entertain herself, Trixie went over the date so far. It was still weird to think that Dash had the presence of mind to avoid the town, and set up a walk through the forest, and a picnic. Granted, apparently Dash was not as good of a planner as she had made herself out to be, since ‘the captain of the Weather Team’ got caught by surprise when it started raining. Even though it went very differently than Trixie had expected, she still really enjoyed herself, despite, or perhaps because of, all their arguing. Though Dash also said something that, looking back on it, was pretty confusing. Apparently Fluttershy was scary? Perhaps she’d have to ask about it later.

Trixie scooted a bit closer to Dash again, and glanced over to her. Still so far away? Ugh, forget this.

Trixie rolled onto her hooves, got up, and quickly trotted over to Dash. Dropping down, She rested her head on Dash’s chest with a contented sigh. The sun-warmed fur felt even better than Trixie thought it would. Maybe she would be able to get a little sleep after all.

“Subtle.”

Trixie froze. Dash definitely should have been asleep, shouldn’t she? Clearly she wasn’t. There was no way Trixie could deny she’d done anything, so that just left one logical option in her mind: double down. “Silence. We’ve been over this. Trixie does what Trixie pleases.” As she spoke, she hugged Dash tightly to drive the point home.

Dash wrapped one hoof around Trixie, but otherwise remained in the same ‘snoozing’ pose she was in. “So this is what ‘pleases Trixie’ then?” Dash chuckled, causing her chest to shake below Trixie as she did. She stretched out her free limbs with a yawn, getting more comfortable. “Suits me. I don’t wanna get up yet anyway.”

“Y-yes, Trixie supposes so, even though you are hard and lumpy.” Blushing, Trixie looked for something to change the topic to. Fortunately, she had one prepared. “H-hey, uhm, what did you mean before? About Fluttershy?”

Dash groaned. “I am not—Huh? Uhm, when? I said a lot of stuff.”

“You said Fluttershy scared ponies, didn’t you? Trixie is pretty sure.” Trixie paused briefly as she realized how silly it sounded. “Actually, you probably said Fluttershy is scared of ponies, right?”

“Oh, that…” Dash stayed quiet for a moment, leaving Trixie wondering. Just as Trixie was about to ask if Dash had dozed off again, she spoke up. “Did Fluttershy say anything about that to you?” she asked while she lifted her head off the blanket, looking at Trixie with an unusual expression. She almost looked sad.

“Uh, no. Trixie thinks she would have remembered if she had.” Trixie had not actually expected Dash to react so seriously to a silly misunderstanding. Maybe it wasn’t a mistake? A second later, a different reason occurred to her that made her chest tighten. She just wanted to kick herself for doing the same thing she’d done on ‘screeching mare’ night. That’s twice Trixie ruined the mood by bringing up Fluttershy! Think of something better, Trixie!

“Hey, Trixie, you’re, among other things, a storyteller, right?” She gave Trixie a questioning look. “Does that mean you know lots of stories?”

That didn’t have anything to do with anything. Caught off guard, it took Trixie a minute to fully register the question. “What? Erm, yes?”

Dash laid her head back down, depriving Trixie of a view of her face. “There was this story my grand mare used to tell me, but I don’t remember it so well. Do you know the old mare’s tale of Hen Sell and Grey Tell?”

Of course, Trixie knew it. The story was old, but a classic. One of the many that still made the rounds now and then among other famous ponytales like: Red Hoof, The Princess and the Poor Pony, and The Gingerbread Pony

While the entire thing still utterly confused Trixie, she supposed it was as good a topic change as any and gratefully latched on. “Sure, Trixie knows the whole thing! The Eloquent and Captivating Trixie could tell the ponytale right now if you wanted. Oh! Or maybe you’d like to hear something a little more adventurous like—”

“Yes.” Dash interrupted, giving Trixie a squeeze to hush her. “Tell the story, the first one.”

It surprised Trixie that Dash actually wanted to hear the story, but she was not about to argue with her on it. Telling tales was pretty high up on her list of favorites after all. More importantly than that though, this was the first thing Dash had ever asked of her. Realizing she finally had an opportunity to do something for Dash for a change, her enthusiasm skyrocketed. “Trixie will!”

“Thanks.”

Trixie cleared her throat. “Well, first of all, it is important to understand that this story has been around for quite a while. Which means that some of the details may differ between regions, but more than that, it means Trixie has to tell you that this story takes place during the Great Famine. Most ponies today cannot imagine how awful it is not to know when you will have your next meal, or even if you will get one at all.” Trixie shivered, nuzzling into Dash’s fur for a moment before she recalled what she was supposed to be doing. “A-as Trixie was saying. It is a terrifying thing that has driven many a pony to desperate acts, and that, is where our story begins…” Her horn lit up, drawing the figures of two ponies into the air above them.

The harvests had failed, food was scarce, and winter was coming.

In the house of Ell, Chiming Bell, and her husband Wood Fell had what was possibly the hardest conversation they had ever had: How to survive the winter. There was simply not enough food for their family to make it through the cold months. At best there was food for two.

Though they loved their foals, these were difficult, different times. Even if they sacrificed themselves, their foals would starve the moment the food ran out. An even harder decision, of which foal to save in exchange for either of them, also proved fruitless, as single pony simply could not provide enough in these trying times.

Which finally led them to the hardest choice of all, to sacrifice their own foals so they could make it through the winter. We’ll never know who first came up with it, but they fought over it in turns, yet it was inevitably the only chance they could think of. Perhaps, in a few years, they could try to start a family again, during better times.

But even with the choice made, neither could bring themselves to do such a horrible deed. Finally what they decided on, was for Wood Fell to take the foals with him on his next logging trip into the forest, and leave them there. Perhaps if fortune smiled on the foals they would survive, but neither Chiming Bell nor Wood Fell could fool themselves into believing that comforting lie.

Unbeknownst to either of them however, was that one of the foals, Hen Sell, had awoken, and was listening in on his parents plans to abandon him and his little sister, Grey Tell, in the woods to fend for themselves. After waiting for his parents to fall asleep, Hen Sell snuck out of the house in the dead of night to gather bright white stones by the moonlight.

The following day, Wood Fell took the foals with him into the forest as agreed, and disappeared once they were far from home. With a heavy heart he took a detour, and returned to tell Chiming Bell the deed was done. But when he arrived home, he found the foals were already there.

Hen Sell had used the white stones to mark the path they had taken into the forest. Once his father disappeared, he’d taken Grey Tell by the hoof, and followed the markers back home, arriving in time for dinner, which was ‘curiously’ decked for two, but quickly corrected.

That night they fought, Wood Fell absolutely refused to attempt to take the foals with him a second time, feeling horrendously guilty for the act. Finally, Chiming Bell agreed to do it herself, and take the foals with her early the next morning, on a foraging excursion, even though it was long past the season to do so.

Of course, Hen Sell had stayed up to listen in this time, but when he tried to sneak out, the door had been locked.

In the morning, Chiming Bell woke her foals bright and early, sparing only some dry bread for breakfast, and they headed out almost immediately. Without a chance to gather pebbles, Chiming Bell thought Hen Sell had nothing to make a trail with. Yet again, once they were far from home, Hen Sell and Grey Tell found themselves all alone in the cold woods.

Grey Tell was upset, this was the second time her parents had ‘lost’ them, and she didn’t know how they were going to find their way home this time. Hen Sell proudly announced he had skipped breakfast, and used the bread to make a trail of crumbs to find their way back home.

Unfortunately, after they’d followed the trail for just a few paces, it came to a sudden halt. A group of birds were pecking up the crumbs, unconcerned with Hen Sell’s outrage as they fluttered past him to eat the last remaining crumbs before flying off to the safety of the trees.

They were lost.

Though they tried their best to find their way home on their own, even a full afternoon of sunlight was not enough time to get anywhere that they recognized. Tired and hungry, they sat down against the trunk of a tree for shelter. As the twilight set in, Grey Tell cried, no matter what Hen Sell tried to tell her.

Just as they thought all hope was lost, the flock of birds that had eaten the crumbs descended nearby. They seemed ashamed of their careless actions now that they understood how much trouble they’d caused, and brought in a small hoofful of nuts and berries that they’d found.

It was a meager meal, and hardly made up for even the bread that the birds had eaten, let alone the life line it represented, but they still thanked the birds for their kindness. As the last of the day light faded, the birds took to the sky again and vanished.

When the morning returned, so did the birds, but this time they did not bring anything. Instead, a large sparrow hopped onto Grey Tell’s shoulder, and stole one of her ribbons. Flying off a few feet with it, the sparrow dropped the ribbon to the ground, but when Hen Sell and Grey Tell tried to take the ribbon, the sparrow snatched it up and set it down a bit further away.

Hen Sell yelled at the sparrow, but kept trying to get the ribbon, until Grey Tell realized the sparrow was not taunting them, but leading them. Sure enough, after the sparrow ‘stole’ the ribbon many more times, it finally dropped the ribbon on the edge of a clearing within the forest.

As the pair of starving foals approached, they saw the most amazing thing: in the middle of the clearing, stood the most delicious looking house they had ever seen. The walls were made from gingerbread, the roof of candy canes, the windows of crystal clear sugar with sills of cake, and all of it held together with pink frosting.

Without a second thought, they broke off pieces of the house to still their hunger. Halfway through the meal, they heard a gentle voice calling from inside the house. “Gnaw, nibble, chew, swallow… Who’s eating my home hollow?”

The foals were startled, and tried to explain away the sound, as only silly foals would think to do. “It is just a gust of wind, that enjoys the taste of mint!”

The inhabitant was not fooled for a minute, and soon the door opened as an elderly mare slowly stepped over the threshold of her home to get a closer look at this ‘wind.’ Her eyes were not what they used to be, she could barely make out the two small shapes of the foals, but she quickly understood. She spoke in a kind tone. “Oh my, oh poor dear. Why are you all the way out here? Come, come inside. You do not need to hide.”

Once the foals entered the candy house, the mare was ever so kind to the poor lost foals. She brought them glasses of milk, pancakes with syrup, cupcakes, nuts and fruits, as much as they could eat. While they enjoyed their meal the kindly old mare talked with them about what had happened, and she soon learned of the famine, and their parents plan.

“Oh dear, that is simply too cruel I fear. Please, won’t you consider staying here?” She offered Hen Sell and Grey Tell the warmest of beds with pristine white sheets to rest their tired, drowsy heads.

The foals were overjoyed with the offer to stay with the sweet old mare, and gratefully accepted. However, what they did not know was that it was all an act. The caring mare was in fact an evil witch that enjoyed tricking and eating ponies that came to her home. As soon as the foals fell asleep she set her evil plan in motion.

When Grey Tell woke up, she discovered that Hen Sell was locked in a cage, and the kind old mare was cackling as she threatened to hex them both if Grey Tell did not do everything she told her to do.

The evil witch was not kind at all anymore, and demanded Grey Tell do all of her chores every day. Cooking, cleaning, rubbing the old witches knobby back, and shining her collection of golden bits till they shone brightly enough that even the witch could enjoy seeing them again.

Meanwhile, Hen Sell was given more and more food to fatten him up for the witch to cook and eat him once he was nice and meaty.

Because the witch could not see very well, every day she would demand Hen Sell stick his foreleg out through the bars of the cage so she could feel if he was nice and fat yet. But, Grey Tell gave her brother a branch she’d found outside while raking up leaves, which Hen Sell held out instead of his leg, fooling the nearly blind witch.

This ruse held for a couple of weeks, but then the witch grew frustrated that Hen Sell never gained weight. She was hungry and growing impatient, finally she decided she would just have to eat both Hen Sell and Grey Tell to satisfy her appetite.

The evil witch hatched her scheme. Grey Tell was ordered to heat up the witch’s large stove, and then check if it had the right temperature yet. The witch planned to push Grey Tell into the stove the moment she was knelt down before it to check the temperature gauge. But, Grey Tell knew what the witch was up to, and pretended she did not understand what the cruel witch wanted her to do.

Grumbling with annoyance at Grey Tell’s idiocy, the witch pushed her out of the way, demanding Grey Tell pay attention while she demonstrated how to do it properly.

To the witch's surprise, the moment she knelt down to show Grey Tell how, she was pushed hard from behind and tumbled into the stove herself! Grey Tell quickly latched the door to the stove shut and ran to Hen Sell’s cage while the witch… Trixie will just say she ‘melted.’

Once Hell Sell was free they quickly grabbed the witch’s gold, and as much food as they could carry, then ran away into the woods. After all, one can never be sure that a witch is truly defeated, they always could find some way to hex a pony, even after death if they linger.

After a few days in the forest, Hen Sell and Grey Tell were found by Wood Fell and Chiming Bell, who had been searching the woods ever since the first night that their foals had not found their way back home, deeply regretting ever abandoning them.

“With all the food and gold they would ever need, the Ell’s lived happily ever after.” Trixie let the image of the four ponies embracing among two rudimentary trees linger in the air for a moment before it slowly faded away. She drew her gaze towards Dash, smiling as she found Dash's muzzle was pointed towards the fading images. “What did you think?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how I remember it, I don’t think my grandmare ever told me about the witch ‘melting’ though, is that really part of the story?” Dash looked at Trixie with a smirk.

“Well, it depends on how foal friendly you want the story to be. Like Trixie said, it is an old tale, and ponies were pretty graphic back in the day. You really don’t want to hear some of the older variants of that scene, or you’ll never want to be alone at night again.” Trixie paused a moment as that sunk in, then gave Dash her best seductive look, complete with bedroom eyes. “On second thought… maybe Trixie will tell you after all.”

Laughing, Dash shook her head. “Oh please, as if you could say anything that would spook the master of spooky ponytales!” She let her head fall back onto the blanket again and sighed, staring up at the sky. “So, do you know why I asked about that story? Remind you of anypony?”

Trixie had to give it a bit of thought, folding her ears flat. “Uhm, well… maybe… but… why don’t you give Trixie a hint?”

Dash groaned. “Ugh, come on, it’s obvious. The kind old mare. She lives all alone in the middle of the forest. The animals lead the foals to her. She is really, unnaturally sweet and offers them shelter, doesn’t even scold them for the damage they did. You know?”

“What? You mean the evil witch?” Trixie raised a brow. She didn’t think she knew anypony that could pass for the villain of the story, though she supposed that technically she was caught earlier today with a muffin and a small foal. Would that count? Is Trixie a witch now? Wait, those are not the traits that Dash hinted at… “…Fluttershy?”

“Hah, I was starting to think I had to actually tell you. Yeah, Fluttershy.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on! You are not suggesting Fluttershy is the wicked witch of the forest, are you?” She laughed at the very idea.

Dash stayed suspiciously quiet while Trixie’s laughter slowly died off.

“Wait. Are you?” Trixie sat up straight, staring down at Dash. “Tell Trixie you are kidding.”

Looking up at Trixie, Dash averted her gaze. “Not me, but there’s ponies that feel that way. I mean, think about it… You know Fluttershy’s pretty different from other ponies. She’s not very social, hay, I’d be surprised if she even knows the names of ten ponies in this whole town. She does her best to be nice, but she is so shy she ends up just squeeking if she meets somepony new. ”

“Well that hardly makes her a witch now does it?” Trixie couldn’t believe she had to defend Fluttershy, the kindest mare in Equestria, from such a silly accusation.

Dash shook her head. “Of course it doesn’t. I’m just saying, Fluttershy is really kind, but she’s awkward around ponies she doesn’t know, acts way too nice compared to everypony else, and just comes off as faking it. She lives all the way out on the edge of the forest with a bunch of animals that she talks to! Almost never comes to the town unless she needs something. Ponies start talking, you should know.”

“Wait, but, no. That’s ridiculous!” Trixie simply couldn’t take it seriously. Dash had to be pulling her leg, but the look on her face as she spoke, it betrayed so much sadness and anger. Glancing down, Trixie noticed Dash’s hoof shake.

“When we first got here, what do you suppose ponies thought? Some weird pegasus mare that prefers not to fly just moved right in just out of town and started collecting animals, dangerous ones. Freaking ponies out with over the top acts of kindness, never getting angry, never confronting anypony and just giving a creepy smile whenever she manages to look anypony in the eye.” Dash looked Trixie in the eye suddenly. “Even you. When you first met her you thought she was manipulating you all the way. It wasn’t until you actually got to know her a little that you realized that wasn’t true. Which was after what? A whole week of actually living with her?”

Trixie blushed, ashamed. It was true. “O-oh, she told you about that?” Fortunately, Dash did not seem at all upset with her. When Trixie thought about it, perhaps that was because she’d figured out Fluttershy was just that naturally kind on her own, unlike the towns folk apparently. When Dash put it like that, Trixie had to admit it made Fluttershy look worse. “Is it really that bad? Trixie knew Ponyville was a stupid place, but they can’t all be awful?”

“Sure, it’s not like the whole town is convinced she’s evil. Plenty of ponies just think she’s a bit odd, but there’s still plenty that don’t like her at all, or suspect she’s some kind of candy housed forest witch! Hay, I’ve seen her go into town alone, and some ponies treat her well, but others are total jerks to her! Over pricing her food, cutting in line, it happens all the time!” She slammed her hoof down on the blanket.

The helpless frustration was clear on Dash’s face. Obviously she had tried whatever she could think of to make things work out, but it hadn’t gotten her results. Suddenly, Dash yelling at ponies on their way through Ponyville took on a different light. Maybe, they weren’t in Dash’s way. But Fluttershy’s?

Sighing, Dash relaxed a little. “Still… I guess I owe Twilight. It’s not much, but things have been getting better since she got here. Though, hooking Fluttershy’s name to Nightmare Moon didn’t help her any. It just made ponies wonder why the ‘supposedly shy scared pony’ was out there fighting Nightmare Moon. Can you believe it? It just made them more suspicious! As if rumors that Fluttershy is a friend of that freaky Zecora weren’t enough!”

Trixie blinked, that was a new name. “Zecora?”

Dash waved her hoof dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. Just, ugh. Look I’m sorry. I’m just running my big mouth, ruining everything. It’s just, it makes me so, so mad! If Fluttershy wasn’t such a scaredy-pony, or if they’d just spent some time with her they’d—sorry, never mind.” Dash sighed, looking dejected.

Remaining silent while she thought it over, Trixie finally decided to lay back down and pulled Dash into a hug that allowed for no protest. “Dash? Trixie is glad you told her about this… if you ever feel like running that big mouth of yours again, Trixie’s here.”

Putting up token resistance, Dash soon wrapped her hooves around Trixie while she listened, chuckling weakly. “Thanks, Trixie.”

Smiling, Trixie pulled in to kiss Dash on the nose. “Besides…. Trixie knows a sure fire way to convince even the worst of ponies, a way she discovered through personal experience."

Blushing, Dash perked up her ears. “Oh? What’s that?”

Showing an impish grin, Trixie laughed. “Buck em right in the face!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

My goodness, this chapter ran much longer than I anticipated.
Mostly, it is the fault of Trixie's story telling, but even if I delete the whole thing it's still 2.5k.:trixieshiftleft:
Besides, I kinda needed that story to have the rest make sense.

I considered the option of relying on everyone to know to the fairy tale, but that seemed unwise, especially with how many versions there are. On top of that, any excuse to have Trixie actually tell a story is a good one. She was at real risk of falling into the Informed Ability Trope:raritywink:

Funny thing, I absolutely loved fairy tales as a kid and knew tons of them. Who would have thought some of that knowledge was going to come in handy later in life? :rainbowlaugh:
I actually wanted to use a more obscure fairytale, but this one just hit too many notes perfectly to be denied the spot.

Chapter 91 - Rapids

To Trixie, time had lost its meaning. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been here, sharing a blanket with Rainbow Dash on the shore of Saddle Lake. Which was apparently what it was called, if Dash could be trusted to identify such things.

What she did know, was that she loved every minute of it. Curled up against one another, they’d talked, fought and joked around about things big and small. Trixie’s favorite part was hearing Dash telling her about some of her best stunts and how she planned to improve them, the sheer enthusiasm in the mare’s voice was invigorating. Though Trixie didn’t actually understand much of the technical terms Dash used, she got the gist of it enough to ask a question on occasion without sounding like a complete moron, or so she hoped.

In return, Trixie elaborated on her show, detailing some of her more successful performances. Of course she added the necessary bit of flare to the tale where appropriate, but ‘enhancing the truth’ a little bit was absolutely not the same thing as lying, or so she assured herself while doing her best to impress Dash.

“And that is when they presented Trixie with the key to the city.”

Only a little bit.

Rolling her eyes, Dash just nodded. “Yeah, I think I heard about that.” She glanced towards Trixie with a soft grin.

Trixie felt a hot flash sear through her. “O-of course! It was the talk of South-Equestria.”

“Just South-Equestria?” Dash asked, the grin on her face growing. “That’s pretty modest coming from you, I guess it wasn’t a big deal, huh?”

Glaring at Dash, Trixie levitated a globe of water out of the lake, then hovered it above them threateningly. “Either you drop it, or Trixie will.”

“You’re threatening me with water? Really?” Dash let out a mocking laugh, but paused when a single note rung through the air, causing her to look towards a nearby hill. “Woah, is it time already?”

Trixie recognized the sound as a pitch pipe, but she wasn’t sure why Rainbow Dash would care about it at all. “Time? Don’t tell Trixie you are a musician, Dash.” As far as Trixie knew, pitch pipes were only intended as a reference for musicians, not as some kind of signal, a regular whistle was much more effective for that.

Giving Trixie a look of surprise, Dash shook her head. “Nah, but you are right that it’s for musicians, or well, singers really.” As if on cue, a deep, harmonious voice rolled over the hill, soon joined by three others in order of pitch.

Trixie’s ears perked up involuntarily to listen to the sound, it was surprisingly beautiful. “Is that… an a cappella quartet? Trixie hasn’t heard one of those in…” She paused briefly to consider, but once she remembered, it didn’t sound quite as good as she planned. “…Actually it was just a year ago, but still, those are pretty rare.”

“A what? I mean, erm, yeah that!” Dash chuckled and nudged Trixie’s shoulder, then pointed up. “Trixie, do you mind? It’s getting kinda close.”

Disgruntled to be shaken out of the spell the melodious tones put her under, Trixie gave Dash an impatient glance. “Huh, what?” She looked up at the mass of water that slowly drifted dangerously close ever since she lost focus. “Oh that, yes.” She let the water flow higher into the air absent mindedly while she listened. It wasn’t her favorite kind of music, but it was the first she’d heard in months.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash filled her in on a few details. “They’re called The Pony Tones. They come here to practice. Well, usually it’s on Fridays, but one of their members couldn’t make it that day so they moved it this week. Do you like it?”

“Trixie does,” she all but whispered reverently, afraid to disrupt the music in the air. It was not a song she was familiar with, but it was catchy. With a smile, Trixie considered how appropriate it was to ‘find the music’ out in the middle of nowhere. She stared at the hill where the sound came from, apparently the quartet was on the other side. Trixie regretted not being able to see the singers, but at the same time she was grateful for being spared the trouble of hiding as two of those voices sounded familiar.

Dash smiled, her eyes didn’t leave the spellbound Trixie. “If you like, we can check them out next week too. I guess they’d be back at the park then though.”

Barely sparing a glance, Trixie replied. “At the park?”

“Yeah, there’s a, uh, wooden thing there, I dunno, a gazelle or something.”

“Gazebo.” Trixie chuckled softly, feeling a slight headache that she attributed to Dash’s silliness.

“Yeah! That! It’s where they usually practice at I think. It was taken so they came here.” Dash paid little attention to the singing herself, apparently more interested in Trixie’s reaction. With the music distracting her, Trixie did not think too much on it.

A false note made Trixie winch, and the singing died down. She could faintly hear somepony speaking, but she couldn’t make out what it was about. Well that’s a shame. Wait, what did Dash say? Tilting her head, Trixie looked towards Dash, she knew suspiciously much about these Pony Tones. “Do they normally practice at this time too?”

“Uh, I dunno.” Dash shrugged and reached for the picnic basket, pulling out a quarter full bottle of grape juice. “I guess they probably do.” Taking a swig, she offered the bottle to Trixie.

Trixie raised an eye brow, surely Dash did not think she was a foal. “So, you are telling Trixie they would normally practice on a different day, in a different place. That you have no idea when they practice. And they just happen to be here at the same time we are? That’s quite the coincidence.” She mused aloud while she took the bottle from Dash, downing the remainder.

Looking nervous, Dash put on a cheesy grin. “Heh, yeah.” Her eyes darted to the hill as the singing started up again, a look of relief on her face. Clearly she thought Trixie would back off and start enjoying the music again.

However, Trixie was not about to do any such thing. Though she was not clear on what kind of trick Dash had used for this, it was obvious this was somehow part of her plan. Tossing the bottle aside, she set her hoof against Dash and gently toppled her over. Trixie continued on to pin Dash down to the blanket, allowing Trixie to tower over her. “What do you take Trixie for? You think Trixie is fooled by this façade? You secretly ARE romantic!”

Either Dash was too surprised to resist, or she didn’t mind having Trixie on top of her. “What? No. I’m not.” She grinned up at Trixie with confidence. “Why, whatever could you be talking about?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Fine, be like that, but do not think Trixie will let you get away with this merely because you feign ignorance! The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be deceived!” She jabbed an accusatory hoof at Dash, narrowing her eyes. “Trixie’s on to you.”

Smirking, Dash let her gaze travel to Trixie’s hoof on her chest. “Well, you are definitely ‘on’ me.” Relaxing below Trixie, Dash folded her hooves under her head to get more comfortable, perking up her ears to listen to the singing. Her eyes briefly darted away from Trixie to look past her, then settled back. “Hey, Trixie? Remember that thing with your horn?”

“W-what about it?” Her face flushed. Trixie most certainly did remember the time Dash tried to get a taste of her horn, completely oblivious to what that meant to a unicorn until Trixie told her and made Dash back off. Of course, that had been before they were dating. Still, this was much sooner than Trixie expected to return to it.

“It just got me thinking. I don’t really know much about unicorns,” she said coyly, but then let the volume of her voice drop while leaning up closer to Trixie, nearly whispering. “So, you’ll have to teach me, sometime.”

A tingling feeling ran along Trixie’s spine as she did her very best to remain calm and collected, which was not helped by her racing heart causing a pounding feeling in her head. “S-sure.” This was perfectly normal, right? There was nothing wrong with sharing some information of that nature with her marefriend. It didn’t mean they would act on it straight away, even Dash wasn’t that fast.

“Thanks, so, first of all, I was wondering…” She looked past Trixie again. “What’s it mean when a unicorn’s aura is flashing?”

“What does… what?” Trixie blinked. She supposed that by now she ought to be used to things not going quite as expected. “Uh, well. It usually means a unicorn is overexerting themselves. It is pretty common among young unicorns that don’t have much magic power yet. The best Trixie could liken it to is your muscles getting shaky when you reach your limit. It’s like that.”

Dash nodded, still not looking at her. “I get it. So does that mean we’re about to get wet?”

Trixie tilted her head, puzzled. “Huh?” Though she did not mind answering questions, the silly cryptic follow-up annoyed her, and she became acutely aware the headache that had been gradually growing the past few minutes. Ugh, stupid questions giving Trixie a— She froze, and tentatively tilted her head up towards the sky. “Oh no.”

The large globe of water was still hovering right above them, surrounded in a rapidly flickering orchid glow. Trixie had completely forgotten about it.

“No, no, NO! Trixie’s mane is finally dry!” With the last of her magic, she tried to force the globe to move just a few meters in any direction, but all she succeeded in doing was shattering the delicate, already unstable, magic that held it.

Frightened, Trixie’s ears folded flat against her scalp as she watched the water plummet out of the sky. With only half a second to react, all she could think to do was burry her face in Dash’s chest fur.

*Splash!*

Before today, Trixie did not think there would have been much of a difference between heavy rainfall and falling water. She was wrong. It was like falling into a pool in reverse. From one moment to the next, she felt a borderline-painful impact, and was suddenly submerged in cold water. It lasted barely a second, then it was all gone, leaving her drenched from tail to shoulder.

…shoulder?

It was strange, the globe above them had definitely been big enough to cover her completely. Carefully, Trixie opened one eye, and flinched when all she saw was blue. Wait, that’s not water. She recognized them now, the soft cyan feathers that enveloped her.

The sunlight returned when Dash’s wings unfurled, shifting downward to Trixie’s back, bringing the rest of the world back into view. First the sky, then the trees, and finally Dash herself, still in the same careless position she’d been in a second ago. However, her face, unlike Trixie’s, was completely soaked.

When Trixie made eye contact, Dash tried to speak, but coughed up water instead. Hacking and coughing, she finally forced a few words out. “I wish my wings were bigger.”

It was obvious to Trixie that Dash had shielded her from the torrent, taking the brunt of it herself. Trixie shivered at the thought that all that water already stung a bit when it hit her back, she didn’t want to imagine getting hit in the face with it. “You are such a foal.”

It cemented just how right Trixie was to put her trust in Dash. She really could depend on Dash to come through for her, even though so far it often meant Dash putting herself in harm’s way instead.

In the grand scheme of things, being spared a little splash in the face wasn’t really that big of a deal, but the gesture still warmed Trixie to the core.

As Trixie thought about it, she came to realize why. In a way, this was much more significant. There was little doubt that Rainbow Dash was a brave and loyal pony that would quickly put her own life at risk to save that of another. So brave, that she would do it for anypony, just because it was the right thing to do. This, however, was trivial. There was no danger, no right thing to do. Dash herself had done worse things on occasion in good fun. There was no reason for Dash to act, but she simply did it because she cared that much for her.

“Trixie? Are you okay?” an anxious voice asked.

Trixie snapped out of it, suddenly aware she’d been lost in thought. Blushing, Trixie looked down at Dash. Perhaps it was that Dash always looked a bit disheveled to begin with, but she pulled off the drowned cat look well. Above all, Dash wore such a caring expression, one that usually went hidden under that much more familiar teasing grin. Before Trixie quite realized what she was doing, she’d already leaned down and locked lips with her.

Closing her eyes, Trixie decided she may as well go with her subconscious decision making, it clearly knew what she really wanted to do better than she did. Feeling especially adventurous, Trixie teased the tip of her tongue along Dash’s moist lips. To her delight, Dash caught on quickly, responding to the gentle coaxing by granting Trixie access.

It was as though there was a flame spreading through her whole body. Trixie had read about these kinds of kisses more than she’d dare to admit, the ‘prance kiss’. The memory of the first one she ever experienced was still so fresh in her mind she could remember the taste. They’d briefly shared one the first night when Dash gave into the bet, but had not since. Thus Trixie intended to make the absolute most out of this one, pouring all of her passion into it.

Since Dash was trapped on the ground, it was up to Trixie to decide when to end the kiss, which naturally was only once her lungs were burning from a wholly different kind of fire. Involuntarily breaking away for air, Trixie noticed to her mild annoyance that Dash, once again, did not even appear winded, but at least she was blushing as heavily as Trixie was. How does she do that? She can’t have that much air!

The thought only occupied her mind for a split second though, as there was something much more important she had to get out while she was still feeling courageous enough. She stared into Dash’s eyes, admiring their sparkling beauty in the sunlight. Already feeling her nerves playing up, she quickly gathered just enough air to whisper, “Dashie, Trixie loves you.”

A look of surprise passed briefly over Dash’s face, which clearly it had less to do with the fact Trixie loved her, than with Trixie actually saying it. Smiling up at Trixie, Dash replied as mushy as she would allow herself to be. “I know.”

Trixie knew it was as good as she was going to get, and she’d happily take it. Rolling her eyes, she rested her head down on Dash’s chest. Listening to the racing rhythm that joined the music already in the air as a result, Trixie smiled. “You are the worst at this.”

Finally, Dash moved her hooves out from under her head, wrapping them around Trixie instead, holding her close to her chest as she spoke. “I know.”

Held tightly in Dash’s embrace, Trixie closed her eyes. If she had the power, she’d make the moment last forever. Above, the sun’s warmth shone down upon them, drying their soaked fur. Below, Rainbow Dash’s warmth radiated through Trixie. She settled in comfortably while she listened to the greatest possible sound, a standing ovation from within Dash.

This is the best!

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 92 - Recompense

The sun was already nearing the horizon, casting a warm hue over Equestria.

Soaring through the sky, Trixie glanced down at the tiny dot that was Ponyville. Flying with Rainbow Dash was soothing, as though it put everything into perfect perspective, the world was so tiny in comparison to Dash.

Nothing was quite as liberating as the feeling of being held tight by her beloved while the wind rushed through her mane. As far as Trixie was concerned it was the perfect way to end their date. There was only one tiny little problem: it really was the end of their date.

Originally, the plan had been to walk back home, but their date had run long, prompting Dash to suggest they could pick up the pace from romantic stroll to death defying sprint in order to get Trixie home before dark. Trixie wasn’t sure why they apparently had a curfew, but it seemed important to Dash. Thankfully, Trixie had a much better idea, and just enough magic to pull off floating their baggage behind them.

Giving Dash a midflight nuzzle, Trixie let her eyes wander toward the fiery evening sky. With a smile, she noted that some of the colors matched up to Dash’s mane. Unfortunately, she couldn’t enjoy the view for long, as something a lot less soothing caught her eye. Trixie bit her lip and hoped that the flickering in her aura was just some kind of optical illusion, they were far too high above ground to for the spell to fail them now. “Dashie, land!”

“We’re not at sea, Trixie, of course there’s land!”

Trixie would have clarified, if she couldn’t hear Dash sniggering to herself. Despite that, Dash did actually launch into a dive towards the ground at top speed. Dash ensured a quick landing for the both them, and Trixie managed a ‘controlled fall’ for the luggage.

Dash looked over her shoulder towards the crashing sounds. “Oh, so that’s why. I thought you said you were ‘Great and Powerful’ enough to hover them till we got back?” She grinned impishly while she let go of Trixie, dropping her on her back in the grass with a thump.

Glaring up at Dash from the ground, Trixie folded her hooves below her head, mimicking the careless pose Dash had held before. Trixie did a mock impression of Dash’s voice. “I’m the fastest pegasus ever, I’ll get us back in ten seconds flat!”

“Hey! I sound at least twenty percent cooler than that!” Dash yelled over her shoulder while she inspected the crash-landed basket. “Man, I’m definitely not getting my security deposit back.”

Up until now, Trixie had idly wondered why Dash even had a picnic basket, it didn’t seem like the kind of thing she’d own, apparently that was right. “O-oh…” Trixie mumbled, folding her ears back. “Sorry. ” One more thing to add to the list of reasons Trixie had at this point to find some kind of way to make an income. Perhaps she could check if there was a reward being offered for her apprehension yet.

Keeping her back turned to Trixie, Dash stayed oddly quiet for a moment while she stared at the basket. “Eh, it’s fine, I guess. I should’ve known...” She didn’t finish, but simply sighed.

Sitting up, Trixie couldn’t help but cringe at the words. “S-sorry…” She slumped over, looking down at her hooves, dejected. Just a little bit longer. If only she could have gone without screwing up five more minutes, the entire date would have been a grand success, but of course she just had to go and exhaust herself on levitating half the lake for no good reason. Dash hadn’t even looked impressed with her display of magic prowess at the time. Why would she? She had a friend that could have lifted the entire lake. Stupid Trixie.

Too busy berating herself, Trixie had not even noticed Dash’s approach until she sat down beside her, and wrapped a hoof around her shoulders. “Hey, you’re not falling asleep on me are you?” Dash chuckled, but froze in the middle of it, her voice taking on a more genuine tone of concern. “Trixie, you know you should tell me if you get tired, right? I guess it has been kind of a long day for you.”

Trixie blinked, Dash was smiling, a little too brightly even. Maybe she had not messed up too badly after all? Or perhaps this was Dash’s way of giving Trixie an excuse for her failure. “Wha? Uhm… Y-yes, Trixie is a bit sleepy…” Glancing towards the basket, Trixie shrunk a little as she posed her question, not entirely sure she wanted the answer. “Aren’t you mad Trixie broke it?”

Although Dash only paused for a second or two, Trixie felt as though the silence lasted forever. “…A little bit, yeah.” Dash sighed, shaking her head. “I’m trying, you know. Not to, I mean… It’s not your fault. I just…” She fumbled her words, instead deciding to pull Trixie against her.

That had been surprisingly honest, if a bit disjointed. Stunned, Trixie wasn’t quite sure how to react. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time Dash got truly mad at her? Sure, they’d had their little arguments, but Dash had been a lot less fierce with her the past week, ever since the hospital. Has she been taking classes or something? That didn’t seem likely to Trixie, but Dash was definitely trying. Unable to think of anything good to say, Trixie followed Dash’s example, and slid her hooves around her, resting her head on the mare’s shoulder.

Dash relaxed some when Trixie returned the embrace, giving a smaller, though actually genuine, smile. “Sooo, hey, I just remembered I forgot to give you the second surprise.” Nopony was ever going to accuse Dash of being subtle, that had to be the most forced topic change in recorded history.

Giggling lightly with the absurd change, Trixie shook her head, about as eager as Dash to get on with it. “It was the, uhm, Pony Tunes, wasn’t it?”

“Pony Tones, but nah, that wasn’t it,” Dash said as she got up and trotted to the basket, rummaging through it before she pulled out a small, colorful square paper. “Here, this is for you.”

Grasping it with her magic, Trixie floated the square towards her. Apparently it was a photograph of Dash, Fluttershy, and Trixie herself, all sitting together on the couch with a few bowls of snacks near them, laughing about something. Her lips curled into a smile while Trixie observed the image, it must have been taken during their sleepover party. “…Wait, how did you take this picture?”

Dash wore a steadily spreading grin as she watched Trixie figure out the problem. “Remember when you asked for proof that Pinkie Pie is not an old mares tale? You’re looking at it. She took it, and, erm, confronted me about not inviting her. Apparently Twilight had a sleepover at her place too, and they didn’t invite Pinkie either. She claims she had the ‘bestest ever sleepover’ with Gummy, Winona, and Opalescence, instead though.” Catching Trixie’s confused expression, Dash elaborated. “They are pets.”

Tilting her head, Trixie stared at Dash uncomprehendingly, then looked back at the picture. “That’s… really, really creepy.” Whatever this Pinkie Pie really was, it was now high on her list of successful ghost stories that Dash had told her. “You know, normal ponies would have just introduced her to Trixie. Not bring photographic evidence.” Trixie was not entirely sure if it could really be called that if the picture was not of the pony in question.

“Oh! You would’ve been okay with that?” Dash sounded genuinely surprised. “Why didn’t you say so? I thought you didn’t want anypony to know you were here.”

“Ah, that’s true. Though, from the looks of it she is already aware of Trixie. Besides, Trixie has been meeting a lot of ponies lately anyway, most of which without incident.” Cringing, she recalled her trouble with Derpy and Dinky, but also a much happier bit of news. “Oh, that reminds Trixie! Applejack invited us for dinner sometime this week, to meet her family.”

Dash perked up. “Sweet. I’ll get that worked out next time I see AJ then. But, uh, you aren’t going to show off any more lasso tricks right? If you are though, at least make sure I can watch.” She grinned widely.

“Hah, Trixie will remember that.” She floated the picture into her saddlebags, as eerie as its origin might have been, she did really like the idea of having a photo of her friends. Besides, this had to count as the first real gift she’d ever gotten from Dash, right? That made it extra special. In fact, it was special enough to be kept in her hat! The gleeful thought lingered a moment, before she got a reality check, she didn’t have her hat anymore.

Looking at the horizon, Rainbow Dash shifted in place anxiously. “I guess we should get going. I wanna be back before dark.”

Trixie raised a brow. “What, you’re afraid of the dark now?” Still, she obliged and got ready to take off again, levitating her saddlebags onto her back with a grumble. Better not risk it for now.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Despite the protest, Dash set out on the dirt road as soon as Trixie was ready. Looking left and right along the edge of the forest. “I just don’t want to get caught out here by the headless horse. It dwells in the woods, but sometimes strays outside when it is attracted to the light of the setting sun. Ju—”

“—‘Just like this one.’ Yes, yes, Trixie gets it. Very nice.” She picked up her pace to keep up with Dash. It was blindingly obvious Dash didn’t believe the story, all the more because she did not show the signs of someone scared of getting jumped, like her eyes were not darting around at every minor noise. “Why don’t you just tell Trixie what is really going on. Isn’t that what you’re trying to teach Trixie?”

Dash held a steady trot once Trixie had caught up to her, and glanced towards her uncertainly. “I guess I had that coming. Fine. I’m supposed to bring the basket back before dark. If I don’t, something terrible is going to happen.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course it will. Fine don’t tell Trixie.”

“It’s true! If I bring it back late, damaged, and wet, that’s three strikes!” Dash had a surprising amount of actual panic in her voice, almost as if she actually believed what she was saying.

Up ahead at the end of the path, Trixie could see the warm glow of the hearth shine through the windows. Fluttershy was probably cooking something up for dinner. Since they were almost there anyway, she stopped. “Alright, this will do. Trixie can make it home from here.” She let her horn glow, catching Dash by the tail to stop her from running off.

“What? But, we’re not there yet, come on hurry.” Dash tried to pull her tail free.

Relinquishing her magic, Trixie shook her head. “Absolutely not. Trixie sees where this is going, if you are in such a hurry you’ll leave the second we get to the door. So… Trixie would, uhm, rather spend that time more wisely.” Her cheeks burned as she looked towards the horizon, those familiar colors were still there.

“What do you mean?” Dash came up beside Trixie, looking puzzled as she stared at the setting sun with dread.

“You know… Trixie wants to say good night, and then you can leave to return the basket, so you save time.” Obviously she wasn’t getting through to Dash very well, so she rephrased. “Properly say good night.” Just to make sure there couldn’t be a misunderstanding, she swished her tail affectionately against Dash’s own.

“Oh. I see. That’s a good idea.” Dash smiled as she turned to Trixie. “Have a good night, Trixie.” Immediately after, she turned away. Spreading out her wings, Dash got ready to take flight back the way they came.

Trixie just wanted to turn the accursed mare’s hair pink and blue right there. “Oh, for Luna’s sake! Get back here, and kiss Trixie, right now! You insufferable cre—umpf!” Before Trixie could finish her rant, she was interrupted by a wish granting Rainbow Dash, who looked incredibly pleased with herself.

S-she tricked Trixie! Stupid, silly… sexy… Trixie lost her train of thought somewhere in the process as they held the kiss, embracing one another for a final time that evening.

As far as Trixie was concerned, she could have stayed like this for hours, and it took every bit of her willpower to force herself to break away early. The surprised, craving look on Dash’s face was well worth the trouble. “Good night, Dashie.”

“But, already? I mean, uh, yeah. G-good night, Trixie. I better get going quick.” She blushed heavily while she bolted straight up into the sky, leaving only a rainbow streak behind.

Trixie grinned while she watched Dash fly off. “Second rule of showmareship, always leave them wanting more.”

Rainbow Dash soared over Ponyville, picnic basket in hoof. A glance at the last rays of sunlight told her that she only had a little bit of time left, or else she was going to face the worst punishment imaginable.

Finally, her destination came into view, and she swooped down as fast as she could. Skidding to a halt before a far too ornate door, she quickly tapped her hoof against it. “I’m here! Totally on time and everything!”

On the other side of the door Dash could hear machinery at work, no doubt in the process of constructing the instrument of her demise. She knocked again, harder. “Open up!” The noise stopped, replaced by rapid hoofsteps that quickly became louder, followed by a smooth metallic scrape of a latch.

A light chime of a bell rung through the air as the door opened. “So good to see you made it, Darling. Come in, come in. You simply must tell me everything.” Rarity beamed, far too giddy for Rainbow Dash’s liking.

Following Rarity inside, Dash looked around, spotting the infernal sewing machine. It made Rainbow Dash nervous just being here, but she supposed she might as well get the worst out of the way quick. “Uhm, Rarity, I kinda, maybe, through no fault of my own, broke the picnic basket you lent me.” She knew exactly where she was being led, an admittedly ‘cozy’ corner of the room that held a small round table flanked by two couches along the walls.

Rarity, for her part, was far too busy with removing what she called ‘inspiration’ from her tea corner, though to Dash it looked more like whatever random fabric she’d thrown in that general direction at the time. “What was that, Rainbow Dash? Just one moment, please. Oh, and do sit down.” A blue glow surrounded her tea set, setting everything up in rather impressive time.

“I said, the basket broke.” Dash repeated while she sat down on the couch furthest away from the sewing machine. It also meant she could keep an eye on the thing, though really, it was probably the least of her worries given where she was. Even though she was technically very comfortable on the couch, Dash had a hard time relaxing.

“What? Oh, that old thing? Please, Rainbow, you know I wouldn’t blame you for that.” Rarity smiled while she got herself comfortable on the opposite couch, pouring them both a cup of tea in the meantime.

Detecting a glimmer of hope, Dash sat up straight, maybe she could get out of this yet. “You don’t? So, does that mean I don’t have to, uhm, you know?”

“Be my manikin for the creation of a new line of ball wear for aristocrats?” Rarity finished for her, levitating a cup and saucer to her lap. “Is that what you were curious about?”

“Y-yeah, I don’t have to do that then, right? Rarity?” Dash tried to keep the cup and saucer steady, which hadn’t gotten any easier since the last time she was here.

“Well, I’m sorry, Darling, but I don’t recall quite saying that. Why, I would be absolutely lost if it wasn’t for your wonderful offer to assist me.” She smiled pleasantly, and looked over at the broken basket for a moment. “It’s just such a shame you made it back on time, I would have loved to see you model some new designs in public to get an accurate assessment.” She brought her own cup to her lips, peering over it at Dash like a cat to a mouse. “Oh, well. Now… why don’t you tell me all about how your date went?”

Dash had never made any such offer, it had been part of the deal for getting to borrow the picnic basket that she brought it back whole, or she’d be a live model. From the way Rarity spoke it was almost as if she anticipated the basket would inevitably be broken at some point. “I dunno what you are talking about. I’ve not been on any date.”

Rarity gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, of course, Darling. I meant to say… How did your friend’s date go? You know, the one who asked you to ask for courting advice? I am just positively dying to know how it turned out for this love-struck pony.” She never looked away as she spoke, making it painfully clear she was not, and never was, in the least bit buying this ‘I have a friend’ business.

“S-she’s not love-struck!” Trying to stall for time, Dash sipped her tea. Cinnamon flavored, one of her favorites, surprisingly sweet at that. She’s definitely pulling out all the stops, huh? She knew just what to lead with that would give Rarity what she was looking for, though Dash kept her eyes on her tea as she spoke. “Well… You were right, okay? She uhm, told me, that the pony she went to meet had put a lot of effort into making herself pretty. She really felt like a mule for refusing your offer…”

A horrified gasp from across the table drew Dash’s attention back to Rarity, who looked taken aback. “Oh, Rainbow, I am so sorry. That must have been just awful. But perhaps she will consider a makeover, just a small one, the next time?”

Dash gave Rarity a wary look. She still vividly remembered haunting images of all kinds of utterly ridiculous manestyles that would have doubled her wind resistance. Though what surprised her most were the final few words. “The next time?”

With an all too pleased, knowing look, Rarity reclined in her seat. “Of course, Darling, nopony who’s friend came to me has ever not gotten a second date.” She let her eyes roam over Dash, then to the empty basket. “With your figure, I doubt you are a comfort eater. Besides, ponies whose dates go bad don’t hop in on the deadline.”

It was a scary yet at the same time comforting thing to have Rarity on her side. “You mean friends of ponies, right?”

Rarity’s smile grew. “Of course, Darling.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 93 - Relish

“Fluttershy, Trixie’s home!” Trixie called out as she stepped over the threshold, dropping her saddlebags near the door. She couldn’t wait to tell Fluttershy all about her day, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw just how many animals had gathered inside the house, even for Fluttershy.

Strewn along the floor and the couch, fast asleep, was a mishmash pack of ferrets, bunnies, mice, beavers, and altogether too many more kinds of animals for Trixie to care about identifying. Her eyes were drawn to the awake rabbit sitting right at the very top of the heap, she’d recognize that accusing stare anywhere, Angel. “What is going here? Trixie demands to know! Where is Fluttershy?”

Naturally, all she got back was the smallest raspberry she’d ever been insulted with. “Trixie is not sure what she was expecting.” She grumbled, idly wondering how she could make rabbit stew look like an accident.

A familiar spot of yellow below the animals occupying the couch drew Trixie’s attention. She let a grin spread over her face, looking at Angel again. “Trixie almost forgot.” Setting her horn ablaze with magic, she lifted the blasted rabbit up in the air. “She can do this now.” One by one, she lifted the animals off the couch, and laid them somewhere on the floor, each new levitation revealing a little more of the creamy pegasus hidden underneath. The only creature Trixie did not put down was Angel, who was having a very animated, and one-sided, conversation with her. “Sorry, Trixie doesn’t speak rat.”

With the couch cleared sufficiently to make room for Trixie, she got herself a spot next to Fluttershy. She had planned on giving a gentle nudge to wake her up, but stayed her hoof. Maybe, she didn’t need to wake her up just yet, Fluttershy looked much too adorable while she slept. There’s no rush, is there? Relaxing besides Fluttershy, Trixie leaned against her a little to make up for the warmth of the animals she’d removed.

Since the fire was still burning, Trixie deduced this nap couldn’t have lasted all that long, but at least long enough to miss that it had been time to cook. Ugh, Trixie does not look forward to getting up to make dinner… oh wait! Trixie briefly looked up at her horn with a grin. She was so used to working with just her hooves now, that she’d nearly fallen back into the old manual routine.

Hah, The Great and Powerful Trixie is above manual labor at last! With building excitement, she levitated a log into the hearth, dropping it hard enough to make the flame give a brief roar while she extended a hoof toward the ceiling dramatically.

Inadvertently, she found herself pointing at the struggling, and still presumably swearing, rabbit, floating near the ceiling. “Oh, right.” Against her better judgment, she brought Angel back the ground. It would not look good if Fluttershy awoke to the view of Trixie holding her pet aloft.

Unnervingly, Angel just stared at her with malice in his beady eyes, before hopping off. Trixie assumed he must have been trying to give her a death glare, but he always looked at her like that, so she couldn’t tell the difference. This is going to bite Trixie in the flank one day, isn’t it? Trixie shook her head, clearing her mind. It was a ridiculous thing to be concerned about, she was a unicorn, he was a rabbit. There was nothing he could do, short of leading Ponyville to her.

Trixie briefly dreaded the thought, but it didn’t seem likely he’d do anything that would endanger Fluttershy, if what Dash had told her was true. Despite being an annoying, possessive pest, he was also quite protective of his owner. It was just too bad that he’d decided Fluttershy needed to be protected from Trixie.

With the most pressing distraction out of the way, Trixie gleefully worked her magic to deck the table, boil water over the fire, and cook something quick for dinner. Her determination not to move hit a brief snag when it occurred to her that all the actual food was in the kitchen, which she could not see into from where she was. However, being ever resourceful and cunning, she hit upon the idea of positioning a mirror against the doorframe, enabling her to lay eyes on the cabinets, and a second mirror to be able to see what to take out.

All in all, it was probably a much more exhausting task than actually getting up and walking over there, as it spread her magic woefully thin. It was already increasingly difficult to grasp objects the further away they were, let alone while simultaneously pulling some mind warping shenanigans with mirrors.

With sweat running down her face from the exertion, and a thumping headache for her troubles, Trixie watched the vegetable stew, boiling away happily over the flames. Trixie is triumphant! She could put the complicated magic to rest now, and settle down to simply skinning and cutting up the last few ingredients at her own leisure.

Trixie gave a soft sigh of bliss, satisfied at a job well done. A feeling of contentment embraced her body, along with something else oddly enough. Blinking in surprise, Trixie noticed Fluttershy sliding her hooves around her and pulling in close, nuzzling her coat. “Fluttershy?”

“Hmm, w-what?” Fluttershy drowsily replied, letting her head rest on Trixie’s back. Her first attempt at opening her eyes was followed only by blinking against the light of the fire, then closing them tightly again. She inhaled deeply, a soft smile playing across her lips. “Mhn, ratatouille, Nana?”

Trixie had to fight the urge to hug Fluttershy tight. She’s so cute when she’s sleepy! She settled for just giving her mane a stroke. “Not quite, but Trixie will see what she can do, Fluttershy.”

“T-Trixie?” Fluttershy’s eyes shot wide open, staring up at her for a brief moment, before she noticed she had her hooves wrapped around the unicorn and quickly let go, shuffling away. “S-sorry! I, I thought you were out! O-of the house I mean, not sleeping. I wouldn’t just touch you while you sleep, u-unless you had to be moved, or—”

“Fluttershy, first of all, Trixie understands. Second, it doesn’t matter, Trixie does not mind you touching her anyway,” she said this in as reassuring a tone as she could, only to feel her cheeks heat up when she realized how easily that could be misconstrued. Still, she felt there was no need to clarify, Fluttershy wasn’t like that. “More importantly, what on earth happened here? Trixie had to excavate you from a mountain of critters.”

Fluttershy took a keen interest in the pot over the fire, she didn’t even look at Trixie as she spoke. “O-oh, I, uhm… I don’t really know. I’d run out of things to do, and, well, I thought maybe I’d just have a quiet moment to myself…” She trailed off and looked down at her hooves, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Just, erm, r-relaxing… Then Angel wanted a massage.”

It was not entirely clear to Trixie how this current situation was explained by this, but she knew to let Fluttershy work through it at her own pace. She would just have to be patient. Fortunately, she had something to keep her busy, stirring up the stew.

“After he was satisfied, he hopped off, and I thought I could, uhm, relax some more… but then he came back with Mr. Beaverton who wanted one too, and after Salley was already waiting, and it just kept going… untill… well… t-this.” She motioned around the room, just about every stray animal in the vicinity was asleep there. Now that Trixie took a closer look, they all seemed very relaxed.

“Huh, Trixie didn’t know you could do massages, Fluttershy. It seems yours are very popular.” Though Trixie had to wonder if Fluttershy’s hooves didn’t ache after all that, by the sound of it she’d pretty much dozed off after overworking herself. Stupid Angel, stealing away the only moment Fluttershy had all to herself, and for what? Working her to death as a masseuse? If Trixie had her way sh—huh? From the corner of her eye, Trixie saw Fluttershy look over at her, but as soon as Trixie turned around, expecting Fluttershy to speak, she immediately looked away again. Weird. Maybe Trixie imagined it?

“I-I guess so. It’s nothing special… I did a course on physical therapy, back in Cloudsdale, and I’ve just had a lot of practice with it since.” Fluttershy actually spoke a little bit louder than usual, and Trixie could swear she detected a hint of actual pride buried below all that humility.

“Trixie will have to remember to ask you for a treatment someday then, but first we better get you something to eat. By the looks of things you must be starving after all that.” As she spoke, Trixie filled up a bowl and held it hovering in the air before Fluttershy. “Trixie had a big lunch, she can wait. Besides, Trixie has so much to tell you!”

Fluttershy pulled the bowl towards her, taking in the scent with a nostalgic smile on her face. Suddenly, a realization struck her like thunder. Fluttershy looked up at Trixie, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Magic! Your magic is back! That’s wonderful! Oh, I was so worried you’d be disappointed.” Even though her cheering was barely at the volume a regular pony would speak at, the enthusiasm in her voice was palpable.

Grinning widely, Trixie nodded. It was great to see Fluttershy so excited, it was rare enough of a sight to begin with, and it felt amazing to know she was the cause. With a flourish, Trixie sent out a small fireworks spell to accompany her. “Was there ever any doubt?! Trixie is every bit as magnificent as she always was!”

“Oh, my. Does that mean you are all better, already?” Fluttershy looked doubtful, clearly aware that Trixie may have bent the truth just a tiny bit for the sake of creating a dramatic effect.

Toning it down a bit, Trixie remembered what it would mean when she was fully recovered, and scraped her hoof along the cushions. “Perhaps Trixie was a little hasty… she cannot use her high level spells yet, and Trixie gets a headache if she uses her basic magic too much. Erm, so she assumes. Trixie most certainly did not foolishly try to levitate half a lake for an hour! And what even gave you that impression?”

“I-I didn’t say anything?” Fluttershy shrunk back just slightly, but visibly relaxed again soon after. Turning her attention to the stew, she blew the wisps of hot vapor off it.

“Oh, uhm. Never mind then.” Trixie chuckled sheepishly. “Anyway! Trixie has been waiting to tell you, did you know Dash fancies herself a secret romantic? Trixie never would have thought! She had the whole date planned out, Trixie was amazed she only screwed up twice! Hah.” Laughing, Trixie noticed Fluttershy tensed up visibly, and busily blew at her stew again.

Going over what she just said, Trixie realized she was mocking Fluttershy’s best friend. Trixie winced and reined herself in, dropping to a more modest tone while she rubbed along the fetlocks of her hooves nervously. “Uh… Trixie didn’t mean to say Dash was a fool… It… It was actually really thoughtful. She took Trixie on a nice peaceful stroll through the woods, a-away from the town, and, and she was so nice to Trixie.” Her cheeks burned as she told the story, it was even now hard to believe it actually happened.

“That’s nice.” Fluttershy mumbled quietly, staring into her bowl.

Trixie folded her ears flat as she heard Fluttershy’s response. The difference was subtle, but her voice was not quite as warm as it usually was. “D-Dash took Trixie to a lake.” It seemed wise to skip over the accidental rain part of the story, Fluttershy might think she was still badmouthing Dash. “She had a whole picnic prepared, just waiting for us. Dash even had Trixie’s favorite snacks! Trixie doesn’t know how she found out, but it was the best Trixie ever tasted! Oh, and she somehow got this band of singers to sing songs while we were there.” Trixie stared off into the distance as she recalled it, how Dash had thought of it all she’d never understand. “We spent the rest of the day there, talking about all sorts of things.”

Despite Trixie’s efforts, Fluttershy still seemed disquietingly on edge. “That’s good.” She blew on the stew again, and, seemingly satisfied, tasted a bite.

It was making Trixie nervous, she hadn’t meant to offend Fluttershy. Originally she had thought Fluttershy would have been excited enough by this point that Trixie could get into some of the more juicy details, but clearly her opening had been terrible. She needed a bit more time to think of how to salvage this. Scooping out a bowl of soup for herself, Trixie simultaneously took the pot off of the fire to avoid any risk of burning it.

“Magic… is really useful, isn’t it?” Fluttershy sounded a little bit better, much to Trixie’s relief.

The question took Trixie off-guard, but Fluttershy sounded more like her old self, so she was happy to answer. “It is, Trixie is glad to have it back. Any longer and she may have gone insane. Though, can you keep a secret? There are some annoying drawbacks to it.” Trixie tilted her bowl a little to allow Fluttershy to look within, she’d scooped too shallowly, and only managed to get herself a vegetable soup, rather than stew. “Magic just does what you make it do, but you can’t really tell what level of resistance its encountering very well, unless it’s something easy like being blocked entirely. Which means it’s hard to tell if you are scooping thick stew, or just tasty water.” Giggling, Trixie shook her head while she held the bowl straight in her hooves again. “It’s not a problem if you can see what you’re doing, of course.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Fluttershy perked up and scooted a bit closer, leaning in to look into Trixie’s bowl. “Does that mean… it’s like feeling numb?” She asked tentatively.

Pleased to see Fluttershy getting more comfortable, Trixie quickly nodded. “Yes, that’s a good way to put it, Fluttershy.” It was fun to finally get to talk about magic, and provide some real world examples in the process. They really hadn’t talked about it much before, so Fluttershy’s interest surprised Trixie. It occurred to her that Fluttershy had likely avoided the topic while her magic was still on the fritz, to avoid hurting her feelings. “It is why most unicorns require direct line of sight with the object they want to manipulate, but it is ultimately a limitation of the unicorn, not magic itself. For example, Trixie can use mirrors to direct her magic. That is harder than it sounds, because it’s not like bouncing a beam of off mirrors. In fact…” Trixie continued her impromptu lecture, levitating one of the mirrors towards her to assist in the explanation.

As she was not being interrupted, Trixie assumed it was all clear to Fluttershy as she went on. Trixie was so caught up in her description of the theory and every day application in her show of indirect manipulation, that she didn’t notice Fluttershy had gone oddly quiet. It wasn’t until she heard a strange sound that she thought to investigate, in between demonstrations.

Fluttershy was much closer to her now, and… sniffing her mane? Trixie rapidly lost her train of thought. “So teleportation… to… impossible… uhm, Fluttershy?” She wasn’t sure what was going on with the timid pegasus, everything about her seemed a little bit off tonight.

With a surprised squeak, Fluttershy looked up at Trixie, her muzzle still nearly nestled in her mane. her cheeks burned crimson as she quickly sat up straight, nearly head-butting Trixie in the chin as she went. “Y-yes?” She very briefly made eye contact with Trixie, then brought her attention back to her own bowl and quickly ate a few bites, conveniently allowing her mane to fall between them.

Trixie tilted her head, unsure what to make of the situation. Fluttershy wasn’t usually quite so clingy, but she didn’t appear to do it entirely consciously. One option came to mind as a possible explanation for the strange stolen glances and attempts to get nearer, was that Fluttershy had finally snapped and completely surrendered to Trixie’s natural charm after she’d seen just how glorious her magic was. As much fun as Trixie could have with that thought, she quickly dismissed it, she’d already learned her lesson the first time. It actually made her feel a little proud of herself.

Err, wait. How long has Trixie been watching Fluttershy eat in complete silence? About a minute or more? Clearing her throat, Trixie decided that maybe she was not in a good state of mind to be thinking about this. After all, she was tired, not to mention in the mood, from spending the best day ever with Dash, and perhaps just a bit from abusing her magic. Even a genius level intellect like her own could make bad decisions under those circumstances. “Sorry, Trixie zoned out. It’s been a long day. For both of us by the sound of it.”

“Y-yes.” Fluttershy replied softly. Her attention remained firmly on her bowl.

Another short answer. Trixie did not like this at all. Fluttershy was her precious friend, they lived in the same house, and slept in the same bed. They’d been happily chatting a minute ago. Why was she being so different now? Trixie felt her chest ache dully. This talk was something she’d looked forward to, but Fluttershy’d been so distant ever since Trixie insulted Rainbow Dash. What does she want Trixie to do? Trixie already apologized, and said good things about her. This isn’t fair.

Taking a deep breath, Trixie tried to relax. Fluttershy was sure to have a reason for the way she acted. Perhaps Trixie had simply missed a hint of some sort. What was it that Fluttershy talked about before she changed? Something about that evil bunny. Yes, he wanted a massage, and then demanded she did the same for the other animals? Trixie frowned, there was definitely something wrong with that story. That doesn’t sound right… Angel is a jealous little fur ball, who kicks a fuss if anything threatens his position as official pet. There’s no way he’d demand other animals get the same treatment he does.

Angel Bunny was a terror as far as Trixie was concerned, but she had spent enough time around the little Tartarus spawn to know there was method to his madness. She knew he was demanding, but also protective of Fluttershy, and more than a little possessive. So why would he make her do more work? Was the massage not good enough, and he wanted her to practice? A brief look around the room allowed Trixie to put that possibility to bed, the animals all looked like it was great. Trixie can rule out possessiveness, so that just leaves protection… Protection from what? Having no work? Hehe. Trixie did her best not to laugh out loud.

Fluttershy said she was relaxing, then Angel came and gave her more work, and brought all these animals. By Luna, that must have taken her forever… This struck Trixie as significant. “Uhm, Fluttershy? How long does a massage session last?”

Trixie smiled as she saw Fluttershy peek around her mane with a confused look. “Uhm, about ten minutes, sometimes longer.”

Blinking slowly, Trixie looked around the room again, making a quick estimate of the number of snoozing animals and multiplied, then did it again because it couldn’t be right. …WHAT!? There’s no way! Even together, Trixie and Fluttershy did not usually finish the chores with enough time left to spare to blow a couple of hours before dinner time. Granted, they were never in any hurry, and often took little breaks to talk, have tea, or just relax a moment in general. The more Trixie thought about it, the more she realized it might be possible if Fluttershy worked continuously, but then she’d literally been working all day. No wonder she fell asleep…

Folding her ears back, Trixie stared down into her own bowl. “Trixie is sorry.”

“W-what? Uh, for what? I mean.”

“Trixie didn’t pay attention. You were so tired, and Trixie didn’t even notice… She just kept talking, but she should’ve just let you rest, right? Sorry. I-it’s just Trixie was really excited.” Some friend she was, perhaps she was wrong to pull the animals off her as well; Angel had tried to stop her.

“O-oh. Oh, no, that’s no—uhm. It’s okay. I’m sorry too.” Fluttershy hid behind her mane, speaking even quieter than usual. “I should have told you. sorry.”

“Trixie’s glad to see she’s not the only one that struggles with that sometimes.” Smiling, she brushed her mane out of her face. “Let’s just go to bed?” As she suggested it, Trixie shifted, ready to get up, until she felt a hoof on her foreleg.

“W-wait.” Fluttershy pulled her hoof back. “I, uhm… I’m not done so… I guess you can talk some more, if that’s okay with you?” She motioned down at her bowl. Suddenly her eyes went wide. “Oh! A-and it tastes really good. Thank you. I’m sorry. I forgot to say so before. Oh, Please don’t be upset.”

Just like that, Fluttershy had returned. Giggling, Trixie shook her head. “Trixie will overlook your wickedness just this once, Fluttershy. You did come up with an excellent idea after all. Trixie will provide dinner and a show!”

“Oh, my. A whole show? I uhm, I better eat slowly then.” Fluttershy wore a smile that Trixie could detect just a hint of mischief in.

Trixie kicked off her story by a tale of horror of what she had to go through in the hospital, and of her magic show for Dinky, though she left out the part of what happened afterwards, figuring it was not the kind of story she wanted to tell before bed.

After that, Trixie made sure to tell Fluttershy how helpful the bits she’d given her had been, allowing her to afford a few beauty products. To demonstrate her new shampoo, Trixie originally planned to offer her mane to Fluttershy, but discovered the scent had rained out during one of the two deluges she’d suffered through. To compensate, she brought her saddlebags closer and let Fluttershy have a whiff of the strong blue berry scent from the bottle itself.

While it was a little awkward to tell the story of why she had dropped half the lake on them, as part of explaining why the scent was gone, it did give Trixie a nice segue into the moment she got to share with Dash afterward, blushing heavily as she spoke.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was predictably hiding behind her mane, unable to make eye contact. However, something else did catch her eye. “Angel? What are you—No, stop!”

Trixie's head whipped away from Fluttershy and to where she was staring. Looking in front of herself, Trixie just managed to catch Angel as he kicked her neglected, steaming soup up and into her face. It was pretty amazing to Trixie, as time seemed to stand still as she helplessly watched the fuming liquid inch towards her face. She even had time to blink once and get out a stray thought.

Please, let Trixie not wake up from another coma.

Trixie's world turned into nothing but burning.

Collapsing onto the soft mattress, Trixie grumbled. “Trixie is going to exterminate that little rat!” Her face still ached. It was a dull kind of ache, but Trixie was just sure it was going to be difficult to fall asleep. At least she wasn’t burned badly, if that cowardly rabbit had acted earlier she might not have been so lucky.

Fluttershy whimpered, and scooted a bit further under the blankets as if trying to hide. “Oh, please, Trixie. Don’t be mad at him. H-he didn’t mean any harm. I’m sure he didn’t know it was hot.”

“He most certainly did! It’s lucky Trixie’s bowl had been cooling this whole time or Trixie might have been seriously hurt! What is Trixie saying!? It did hurt!”

By the time Trixie had been able to see again, Angel was nowhere to be found. Fluttershy had acted quickly and come to her rescue with a soaked towel to cool and clean Trixie’s face. If there was ever the slightest doubt in Trixie’s mind that Angel was pure evil, it was gone now. Though Trixie’s brief search to find him ended up fruitless, she would bide her time. He couldn’t hide forever.

“I-I know. I’m really really sorry, Trixie. He’s never done a-anything like that. I’ll talk to him, I promise.” Fluttershy apologized for what was probably the hundred time that evening. Though to be fair, Trixie had been threatening to end that rat for at least as many times.

Letting out a deep sigh, Trixie laid down besides Fluttershy. “See to it that you do. Trixie leaves it to you.” She conceded, still seething with rage, but she did not want to continue having this conversation another hour.

Trixie could feel Fluttershy shake lightly on her half of the bed while she curled up. “Y-yes, I will. Sorry… U-uhm. G-goodnight, Trixie.”

Trixie’s stomach seemed to twist in on itself. It wasn’t really fair to keep yelling at Fluttershy for something that Angel had done. Taking a few deep breaths, Trixie waited for her pulse to steady, speaking only once she was sure she wouldn’t sound angry. Fluttershy didn’t deserve to have the last words she’d hear before sleeping to be coated with rage. “…Good night, Fluttershy. Sweet dreams.”

In a way, Fluttershy’s exhausting schedule of the day was a good thing. Trixie was sure that Fluttershy would have laid awake for hours over this if her body had not demanded she’d sleep.

Trixie herself though, was left trying to spot new patterns in the grooves and knots of the ceiling. What occupied her mind most was what she might have done if she had not been blinded, but the more she thought about it, the more she was relieved that she had been. Rabbit stew was not as pleasant a thought as it had been when she was still in pain.

Fortunately, Trixie had more pleasant things she could think about. If she was lucky, she might even end up dreaming of them. The corners of her mouth curled into an involuntary smile as she recalled Rainbow Dash’s response to her confession. ’I know’ She chuckled. Can’t she go a minute without trying to sound cooler? She’s so cute.

Feeling Fluttershy hook a hoof around her, Trixie froze and held her breath. Carefully, she tilted her head to peek at Fluttershy. To Trixie’s surprise, Fluttershy was not awake. She simply snuggled up against Trixie in her sleep, nestling her nose in Trixie’s mane.

It was a little awkward, Trixie wasn’t sure how she should respond. It didn’t seem right to wake Fluttershy for this, as it wasn’t as if Trixie didn’t like it, but it felt a bit like taking advantage of her. I-if she likes to sleep like that, who is Trixie to argue? Besides! Fluttershy had a hard day, waking her up wouldn’t be right. Uh, yes, that’s it. Trixie should just let her do as she likes!

Gleefully pleased with her brilliant logic, Trixie heard Fluttershy breath in deeply, followed by a soft smacking sound. Glancing over, she felt her heart stop. Oh, no, not again! Her beautiful silvery locks, were trapped in Fluttershy’s mouth. Thankfully spared of chewing, but it was a terrifying prospect.

’Waking her up wouldn’t be right’ Huh? Great, who’s taking advantage of who now? Trixie should have seen that coming… Oh, what the hay. Twisting onto her side, Trixie wrapped one hoof gingerly around Fluttershy, and closed her eyes. Let’s call it even.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

A chapter that's a bit longer than I am used to, mostly because I wanted the chapter to end on them going to bed. I thought I did not have enough material for multiple chapters so I kept writing till it was done... I was wrong. ^^;

Chapter 95 - Ruminate

Canterlot.

It was every bit as beautiful as Trixie had always been told it would be. The very city itself sparkled in the sunlight, and everywhere Trixie looked she saw adoring faces soon to be admiring her obvious talent.

Above, the sun shone down on her ever brighter. It’s light reflected of every surface, and in the eyes of each pony. What began as pleasant warm weather got worse every passing second, until not even her hat could shield Trixie from the light and heat. Trotting blindly, Trixie collided against something painfully hot and tripped backwards onto her haunches. Through squinted eyes, she could barely make out a set of white furred knees that came up to her horn.

“There is a very special place in Tartarus for ponies like you, Trixie.” Celestia smiled without warmth down at her. The sun’s hatred boiled in her eyes, scorching everything in her sight, but Trixie was unable to look away from her. “And if you come back, I’ll send you there myself.”

Her entire being gripped with fear, Trixie fell to her knees before the fiery sun goddess. “N-no! Please forgive Trixie!” She sniveled while somepony grabbed her mane and painfully dragged her away as she pleaded for mercy.

“Please...” Trixie awoke with a whimper while her heart beat in her throat. Opening her eyes, Trixie found herself looking directly at the headboard. Something was forcing her to crane her neck by pulling on her mane, causing her quite a bit of discomfort.

A quick glance revealed Fluttershy was the culprit, once again. Quickly, Trixie’s eyes scanned what little of the room she could see before breathing a sigh of relief. R-relax, Trixie. It’s over now. It was just a s-stupid dream. Even if the dream was over, she could still faintly feel the burning sun on her face, or maybe that was the soup.

From the corner of her eye, Trixie stared at the window. Even though the cloth blocked out the morning sun, she knew it was there, trying to get in. Wasn’t Luna supposed to be guarding Trixie’s dreams? Was this her way of warning her? Is it getting harder to breath in here?! Trixie felt herself starting to hyperventilate and tried to sit up, but was stopped by a tug on her mane, reminding her that Fluttershy was there.

Though it was not exactly painful, it was still a pretty awkward position to be stuck in. “Fluttershy,” she hissed in between ragged breaths, receiving another tug in response. “Fluttershy, let go.”

“Mphy?” Fluttershy muttered drowsily around Trixie’s mane while she peeked out of one eye. Upon catching sight of Trixie, She shot up wide awake, guilty tears forming in her eyes. “Mphy! Mm—Bleh! Trixie! I-I’m so sorry. Oh my goodness! I didn’t mean to hurt you. Oh, please stop crying.”

Free of Fluttershy’s grip, Trixie forced herself to take proper breaths while listening as Fluttershy rattled off apologies for biting her mane again. She considered stopping her, but maybe a little bit of panic would make her less likely to repeat her offense in the future. That last one stumped her though. “Excuse you? The Great and Powerful Trixie does not cry.”

“O-oh, but, uhm…” Fluttershy petered out and just stroked a hoof along her own cheek while she gave Trixie a look.

Raising an eyebrow, Trixie mimicked the gesture. Her cheeks were wet. “Oh, great. Just what Trixie needed. Look, that wasn’t you Fluttershy it was… Erm…” Trixie paused. There was no way she could admit to a mere dream reducing her to tears; she was supposed to be a grown mare, and greatest magician in Equestria. “Trixie had something in her eye, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. “O-okay. I believe you.”

“If you need her, Trixie will be fixing her mane, again.” With hurried steps, Trixie trotted out of the room and closed the door behind her. Once she was out of earshot, she dragged a hoof down her face with a groan. Great, now Fluttershy thinks Trixie is a wuss.

Despite the rough start to her morning, Trixie quickly found herself in a great mood. Dropping her brush in the sink, she took in one last moment to savor the blueberry scent that hung in the bathroom. In the mirror, the pinnacle of perfection smiled back at her before she took her leave.

Right outside, Trixie encountered Fluttershy, apparently waiting her turn. “Oh! Trixie didn’t realize you were out here. Why didn’t you say anything? Trixie would have hurrie—actually, on the other hoof, you cannot rush perfection.” She smiled proudly while she ran a hoof through her mane as she stepped out of the way. “All yours.”

“Oh, no… I… uh…”Fluttershy trailed off while she stared wide-eyed at Trixie with a look that was some curious mix of awe and dawning horror. As soon as her path was clear, she rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. It was nearly impossible to hear Fluttershy’s voice through the thick wooden door. “Y-yes, thank you.”

That was… odd. Trixie mused while she trotted her way into the kitchen. As though of their own accord, plates, cups and coasters flew off the shelves and neatly arranged themselves upon the table under Trixie’s watchful, and more than a little gleeful, eyes. “This is so easy now! Oh, maybe we’ll have breakfast before the animals today.”

Though it was usually Fluttershy’s chore, Trixie had a score to settle with a stack of hay and some loafs of bread, both of whom she was currently giving her smuggest grin as she put them down on the table. “Tremble before the might of Trixie! You will never humiliate her again!” Within seconds the cowardly ingredients obeyed her will and arranged themselves into two perfectly aligned haywiches.

Beaming with pride, Trixie set out on a mission to exert her regained superiority over every other task she could remember. Closets pulled open, feed bags swam through the air, bowls arranged themselves in all the right locations, and Trixie could not stop smiling while she stood reared up on her hind legs, directing all the actions with her hooves like the world’s greatest conductor.

Just a few days ago, attempting to perform all these tasks by herself took her the entire day, yet now she had completed their entire routine by the time Fluttershy came trotting outside with a confused look on her face. “Trixie? Do you know why… oh… my.” Her eyes veered up to the sky as the Trixie hung up the last balls of birdfeed.

Trixie rounded on Fluttershy with delight. “Why, yes! Trixie knows exactly why she is amazing. Everything is done! We have the whole day to ourselves! Isn’t that great?” Fluttershy’s appearance gave Trixie pause. The mare always looked naturally picturesque, but never quite like this. Huh, did she do something with her mane today?

Fluttershy's eyes darted around the meadow, settling on each animal enjoying its morning meal briefly, before finally coming to rest on Trixie again. Fluttershy fidgeted with her hooves, a nervous habit of hers Trixie knew all too well by now. “Y-yes. Great. I can’t believe you did all this, Trixie.” She did not sound as ecstatic as Trixie had hoped, but she did look impressed.

Smiling, Trixie watched as Fluttershy wandered around the field as she inspected the various animals, offering assistance, but naturally Trixie had done everything perfectly. Afterwards, it was finally time for their own breakfast.

As was often the case, their morning meal was peaceful, but this time Trixie got to entertain herself by taking care of the mundane tasks like handling the tea while comfortably seated. “When are we going to see the wolf cubs? Next week when Dash is done working? Trixie’s never seen them little. Since we have the day off, maybe we could sneak a peek? Oh, wait, come to think of it… Didn’t you say we were going to do something special today? You made Rainbow Dash move our date and everything.” Once Trixie remembered, she could barely contain her excitement while she stared at Fluttershy expectantly. Whatever it was, it had to be amazing if Fluttershy would demand her schedule be kept.

Flustered, Fluttershy shot to attention and stuttered. “O-oh, u-uhm, uhh, th-that is… I, erm… M-maybe. D-d— uhm…” Finally, she ended up just making that adorable little squeaking sound before she shut down entirely. By now she’d lost all capability to even look Trixie in the eye, and retreated behind her mane, blushing.

Though Trixie liked to think that she was used to most of Fluttershy’s quirks by now, this was a new one. Or if not new, at least one that she’d thought they’d grown past by now. All she did was ask what Fluttershy had planned, didn’t she? That shouldn’t have been too hard to talk about.

Whatever was going on, Trixie knew what an under pressure, nervous Fluttershy looked like. If Trixie didn’t try to relieve her somehow, she’d clamp up for Luna knows how long. Showing her best smile, Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “No rush, Trixie can wait, okay? Do you like your haywich?”

All Trixie got out of Fluttershy was a careful nod before she bit into her meal, clearly not ready to talk yet.

“That’s good. Trixie knew you would,” Trixie said before following Fluttershy’s example. As she ate, she observed her quiet companion. Even now, the poor thing was all tensed up, and stared down at nothing while she ate. Lowering her voice, Trixie asked, “More tea?” Her offer went ignored, or rather unheard, as Trixie expected. Mhm, What is she thinking about?

The minutes crept by slowly while Trixie waited, and attempted to appear as though she was not at all getting impatient. Though by now, Trixie suspected Fluttershy was not about to say what was on her mind any time soon. That has to mean it’s something unusual then? She wouldn’t be this timid if she wanted to go look at animals or something, right?

The more Trixie thought about it, the more the word ‘unusual’ seemed to apply to Fluttershy lately. It was not merely yesterday evening, but the past few days. Fluttershy seemed to be both more forward, and paradoxically at the same time more timid than usual. She’d asked to be present when Trixie and Dash discussed their date, and was interested in knowing what kissing was like, but when Trixie actually talked about the date afterward, Fluttershy was not as interested.

Mhm, that’s right isn’t it? She started being weird ever since the sleepover… Fluttershy said she was cold, but Dash said pegasi don’t get cold. Was she lying? Don’t be silly, Trixie saw her, she didn’t look good. Trixie felt a gnawing sense of uncertainty. Yes, she had seen Fluttershy’s face was red and puffy, but she was perfectly healthy in the evening. How many illnesses made a pony look like that, then cleared up in a day? It didn’t add up.

Something must have happened to make Fluttershy act this way around her. Racking her brain, Trixie went over what they’d done during the sleepover. If she was honest, she had not really put any thought into that night since each time she tried the very first, very distracting, memory was of Rainbow Dash surprising her with a kiss, and finally agreeing to give her a chance. Trixie could feel her cheeks burning while her heart raced just from recalling that night, but she did her best to push past it and think of what else had happened. W-well… there was Trixie’s stupid kissing bet, Dash didn’t like that. Fluttershy yelled at her tricking Trixie, and then, uhm… Trixie talked with Fluttershy about how much they meant to her. Fluttershy was confused, and wanted Trixie to help her understand, but she said she was okay with Trixie lov— Her eyes slowly widened to the size of dinner plates as the memory unfolded before her.

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably, as though she knew something she shouldn’t. “Oh, Uhm, I-I was just thinking… I don’t think you should leave just because of unrequited love. You said you really like to be around, uhm, us… so why throw that away? Even if the feeling isn’t mutual, I’m sure Rainbow Dash would be okay with knowing you like her, uhm, a little more… I know I am…”

Far too late, Trixie covered her mouth with her hooves, as if she expected to retroactively stop herself from speaking. That was absolutely not how she had wanted Fluttershy to find out, if ever at all. Trixie sat frozen while she stared at Fluttershy, silently cursing herself while she tried to go over what else she had said.

Seeing Trixie starting to panic, Fluttershy gave a reassuring smile, and reached one wing out to wrap around her. “Uhm, Trixie? It, it’s okay, okay? I’m not upset, honest. Nothing’s different, but… I don’t really understand how you feel that way about two ponies. Can you help me? If that’s alright with you?”

If her heart rate had been through the roof before, now it was reaching for clouds in a fright-filled gambit to escape. She stared shocked at Fluttershy as she absent mindedly chewed on her bread. That’s it! That is what’s happened! Resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to smack her face into the hard wooden table for her massive oversight, Trixie rapidly ran through her folly in her head. She’d accidently confessed to Fluttershy, in a moment where they both thought Dash was not interested in her, then the very next moment Dash had returned and claimed Trixie.

At the time, Trixie thought Fluttershy’s accepting reaction was just simply Fluttershy being Fluttershy, but what if it wasn’t? Hadn’t Fluttershy been a little too okay with finding out Trixie liked her that way? Her only question at the time was how Trixie could like two ponies, but she never questioned that Trixie liked her. What if Trixie’d foolishly gotten Fluttershy’s hopes up, and then immediately ditched her for Dash?

Trixie swallowed uncomfortably, feeling as though her throat was closed off. A-and then Trixie went and tried to talk to her about how much fun Trixie had with Dash, completely ignoring her feelings… She bit her lip while she watched Fluttershy eat quietly. Trixie is the worst!

When she looked at it like that, everything made sense to her. The unusually cool reaction to the talk about the date, the stolen glances, the times she subconsciously drew nearer. At the same time it explained why Fluttershy had been trying to be more distant, breaking away each time she noticed she’d gotten closer, and acting more uncomfortable. Of course Fluttershy would feel terrible about her feelings if she thought she was disrupting a relationship. Although… Trixie and Dash had been getting their moments interrupted with uncanny frequency by Fluttershy, maybe she wasn’t all that averse to disrupting them? …The date. She never had anything planned, she was trying to make us move it to next week? Who knew she was that cunning? In a strange way, Trixie felt more respect for Fluttershy, despite her attempts at sabotage. Trixie figured she would probably be more upset, if not for the fact that most of Fluttershy's attempts at sabotage had backfired, and the few that did anything only resulted in a delayed kiss or two.

So, that was one issue taken care of. She now knew what the problem was, but that still left the actual problem. It would have been much easier if it had been something relatively minor, like say the return of the ursa. Trixie had never considered how to deal with a hurt and jealous Fluttershy, and she’d gladly take the ursa instead at this point.

Finally turning her attention back to her meal, Trixie swallowed her last bite, then closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. Once she was sure she was not in imminent danger of suffering a stroke, she looked across the table. Fluttershy was still slowly nibbling away at her food, but noticed Trixie this time as she looked back at her apologetically.

Trixie opened her mouth her mouth to speak, but wordlessly closed it again when she noticed something that had escaped her when Fluttershy had been avoiding her gaze. Since when does Fluttershy wear makeup? She blinked slowly while she looked at the subtle touches of mascara and eye shadow. The makeup wasn’t heavy, instead it merely highlighted her natural beauty. Had Trixie not spent the last weeks in close quarters with her, she would never have even noticed it was there. Trixie knew that the cabinet behind the bathroom mirror contained some beauty products, but they looked like they’d never been touched, leading her to think they’d most likely been gifts.

Realizing she’d been staring, Trixie shook her head. She cleared her throat. “Fluttershy? Trixie has a question.”

“Oh, uhm. Yes?” Fluttershy put down her half-eaten haywich.

Though Trixie did not really have much of a plan for what she was going to do about this. More than that, she could still be wrong. She’d just have to start by getting some confirmation from Fluttershy, then go from there. “Trixie has been thinking… You didn’t actually have anything planned for today, did you?”

Fluttershy eeped and stared at Trixie like she’d just been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. “N-no I, uhm, I thought w-we could go see t-the d-ducklings?”

Trixie raised up a skeptical eyebrow, though she couldn’t help but smile. “Ducklings? Trixie doubts that. Trixie is sure it must have crossed your mind during all that time you took trying to think up an excuse, that you had to invent something grave enough to warrant your behavior.” She took a sip of her tea, letting the words linger briefly. “That wasn’t it.”

Fluttershy looked to be burning up while she tried to retreat behind her mane again, stammering quiet noises that Trixie could only assume were apologies of some sort.

“Trixie’s had some time to think about this,” she said while getting up, trotting around to the other side of the table as she spoke, “and she believes she understands now. You were a little jealous, weren’t you?”

Fluttershy visibly shrank under the accusation and hid her face in her hooves.

Right on the mark. Trixie paused beside Fluttershy. “Trixie didn’t want to believe it, but you’ve been doing this stuff on purpose, haven’t you? Were you that mad you were ignored?” Fluttershy wouldn’t speak, but she folded her ears flat against her mane, which told Trixie all she had to know. Though she could see Fluttershy shaking, and shifted to a softer, understanding tone while she took a seat next to her. “Fluttershy, Trixie’s not mad, okay? C-could you… uhm… help Trixie understand? Trixie doesn’t think you really meant to act this way, or you’d have come up with an actual plan, right?” She slid one hoof gently around Fluttershy’s shoulders, pausing only briefly when Fluttershy flinched at the first touch before she settled down.

Without coming out hiding, Fluttershy whimpered. “N-no. I-I j… I just. I d-didn’t know what to do. I was scared I’d be a-all alone. and… a-angry.” Her sobs drowned out her voice as she shook in Trixie’s grasp, hiccupping. “I-I’m s-so sorry. I tried to b-be happy for you, really, but it hurt so much!”

Trixie’s chest ached as though she’d fallen three stories down onto a hedgehog. She’d unwittingly caused Fluttershy so much pain and anxiety. “Hey, c-come here.” Pulling Fluttershy into a hug, Trixie lent her a shoulder while she stroked along her back. “Trixie understands, this is new for you, right? You just acted on impulse.”

Fluttershy sniffled and gingerly pulled away till she could look at Trixie. “Y-you don’t hate me? B-but I—”

“Of course not.” Trixie interjected impatiently. “Trixie loves you, even if you did something crazy. It… well, it makes Trixie a little happy to know you care that much, if that makes any sense.” She blushed furiously. In all honestly, she probably should have been angrier with Fluttershy, but when she looked at it like a sign of affection, she simply couldn’t. “Sometimes love just makes you do crazy impulsive things, right?”

Wincing slightly, Fluttershy nodded as she looked away for a moment. “Y-yes, stupid impulsive things you h-hate yourself for…”

Trixie chuckled softly while she gently lifted Fluttershy’s muzzle till she looked at her again. “Trixie is intimately familiar with those, you know. She’d never hate you for them, and… they aren’t always bad.”

Looking into Trixie’s eyes, Fluttershy tilted her head slightly with a puzzled look on her face. “Uhm, Trixie? What do you mea—mpf!” Her eyes shot open wide as Trixie kissed her without warning then pulled away, leaving Fluttershy to stare at her in shock. “B-b-but?” she stammered, failing utterly to get out more than one word.

Licking her own lips, Trixie savored a taste as mild as the soft pony herself, and smiled at the sight of Fluttershy so completely flustered. Though Trixie couldn’t hide her own scarlet blush, despite her attempt to act in control. “You have no idea how long Trixie’s been fighting that particular impulse.” The continued look of shock on Fluttershy’s face gave Trixie a nervous clawing feeling in her gut. “T-Trixie’s saying, d-do you, uhm, want to try?”

Fluttershy shook all over while she visibly tried to piece her mind back together. “B-but I, I m-m—uhm…” Fluttershy went quiet again, her brow furrowed. “W-what about Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy finally managed to force out what few words Trixie imagined laid heaviest on her mind. Those words had, in fact, laid heavily on Trixie's own thoughts earlier as well.

Letting out a breath she’d not even realized she’d been holding, Trixie felt a tremendous sense of relief wash over her. If she had been wrong on this one… the thought was too frightening to even consider. “She’s told Trixie before that she was okay with Trixie doing this. If you’re not comfortable, we can wait till Dash gets back, and then talk about it. Would you like that?”

Fluttershy’s eyes looked as though they were about to pop right out after that, but she quickly shook her head. “N-no.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

This is kind of a scary chapter to put up... Please don't lynch me, yet. :fluttershyouch:

Chapter 96 - Regurgitate

At least… Trixie is pretty sure Dash is okay with this…

Trixie had to admit she had not asked Dash since they started actually dating, though Dash had given her plenty of hints during the slumber party.

She could feel her cheeks burning while she recalled the intimate dare that had Fluttershy licking the jelly off of her chest while Rainbow Dash watched. Trixie had been so scared that Dash was testing her, that she had offered to make Dash do the cleaning instead, but Fluttershy surprisingly accepted to do it before Dash could react. Despite Trixie’s fear, once it started she had quickly lost her mind to the wonderful feeling of Fluttershy’s tongue. It was only when it came to an abrupt and disappointing end, when the haze had disappeared over her mind, and she could think clearly, that terror enveloped her. Once she’d realized she had ended up enjoying the very intimate moment far too much, in front of Dash no less, she panicked. But, Dash was completely fine with it. She had even straight up told Trixie it had been her plan to get the two of them to do that all along when Trixie tried to apologize. Or plead for mercy, really.

In her mind, Trixie ran over what exactly had transpired.

Rainbow Dash approached Trixie. “Look, hey, I wasn’t going to tell you but… I wanted you to do that. I thought you and Fluttershy should get more comfy, you know?”

“S-so, it’s… it’s okay? You are okay with Trixie doing that? Are you really sure?” Trixie asked hesitantly, though she perked up her ears again. She felt better by the second as the words sunk in.

“Of course I’m okay with it.” Rainbow Dash smiled, and reached out a hoof to pet her reassuringly.

Trixie smiled dreamily, she could swear she felt Dash’s hoof run through her mane for a moment, reassuring her she wasn’t doing anything wrong. A quick glance behind her revealed they were still alone however. Trixie felt her heart sink a little, but she told herself she’d see Dash again soon.

The gentle tingling on her mane teasingly faded away, it felt like a sign to Trixie that she should stop worrying about this. Dash had said this was perfectly fine, and that had barely been a day ago. Granted, a few things had changed since then, but Trixie didn’t deem it necessary to bog Fluttershy down with such minors details; she looked conflicted enough as it was.

Though Trixie had offered to immediately get Dash involved in the talk, she had realized it was exceedingly unlikely that Fluttershy would want to do that at all. The only thing that could be called a bit surprising was how vehemently she rejected the idea. After that however, Fluttershy kept this indecisive look on her face that was bothering Trixie.

But really, what is Trixie expecting? That Fluttershy will just proclaim she wants half of Trixie’s attention from now on? Trixie frowned at the thought, that didn’t sound like Fluttershy at all. Maybe she was going about this all wrong? Fluttershy was rarely proactive, so perhaps what she needed was for Trixie to be more proactive herself?

Thinking about it, whenever Trixie had tried to trick Rainbow Dash into doing something, she’d gotten spurned, but when Trixie was honest about what she wanted, Dash usually rewarded her. Fluttershy had finally been honest about her feelings, so Trixie reasoned the right response was that she had to get some kind of reward too.

Trixie can do that. Smirking lightly, Trixie led by restoring the neglected hug they shared to its proper tightness, eliciting a squeak from the gentle pony in her grasp. Tellingly, Fluttershy made no effort to escape Trixie’s hold, spurring her on.

Excitement coursing through her veins, Trixie nuzzled Fluttershy’s neck, and exhaled a warm breath through her soft, honey-scented fur, receiving a slight shiver from Fluttershy in return.

Despite how well things were going, Trixie was as nervous as she could be. This was not at all helped by the realization that she actually had no idea what to do now, as she was clueless on what kinds of things Fluttershy liked or disliked, physically at least.

Well, what she lacked in knowledge, she would just have to make up for in enthusiasm! Trixie stretched one hoof out to touch the floor behind Fluttershy while leaning into her, guiding the pegasus gently down to the ground until she was on top of her. Her face felt like it was on fire at this point, and by the looks of it so was Fluttershy’s, who held her eyes closed tightly.

Trixie leaned on the outstretched leg, allowing herself to admire the adorable mare below her for a lingering moment. Some part of her expected to wake up any second now while she ran a slow trail of kisses along Fluttershy’s throat and muzzle, until she caught her lips again. Blissfully, Trixie found Fluttershy wasn’t as frozen solid this time, though she was predictably timid and stirred below her.

Just as Trixie attempted to coax Fluttershy to try and deepen the kiss, Fluttershy struggled below her, and turned away. Smiling with the display of bashfulness, Trixie shifted some of her weight onto Fluttershy, and reached for her muzzle to guide her back, whispering, “It’s okay, Fluttershy. Trixie promises you’ll like it.”

“T-Trixie, please…. S-stop.”

Perking up her ears, Trixie froze in place, half a feather away from Fluttershy’s lips. “S-stop?” She could feel the color drain out of her face as she pushed herself away.

Pinned to the ground by Trixie, Fluttershy stared up at Trixie anxiously. Her pupils were like pinpricks, before she broke eye contact, looking off to the side.

Trixie felt as though she’d been struck in the stomach, and scrambled onto her hooves, taking a few quick steps away from Fluttershy. “D-did Trixie hurt you?” She asked, almost hopeful that she had, but she knew that wasn’t the problem. “Trixie’s sorry! S-she just thought… thought that…” What had she been thinking? That Fluttershy needed to be pushed past her boundaries? That she’d be into it once she got a taste of how great Trixie was? Each answer that past her mind just made her feel more disgusted with herself.

It was getting hard to breath while Trixie watched Fluttershy roll over onto her stomach, refolding her wings in the process. Once Fluttershy looked at Trixie, Trixie quickly looked away, avoiding her gaze. In doing so, Trixie caught sight of the door, and the next thing she knew, she made a dash for it.

Trixie’s lungs felt like they were on fire as she leaned heavily against the rough bark of an old oak. She slumped down at its roots while she gasped for breath. She had not even made it all that far off the meadow, which was another thing she could blame her recent inactivity for. Just a little further ahead, Trixie spotted another oak tree, and immediately felt as though she should have kept moving just a little longer to rest at it instead. The tree looked withered and dead, with open cracks and holes in the bark. It felt much more appropriate for her situation.

Folding her forelegs in front of her, Trixie rested her head on them. It was pathetic, even when she was running away she didn’t do that good of a job. She wasn’t even sure why she had fled, perhaps just to spare Fluttershy from having to flee her home a second time. It was a nice thought to entertain that she was just acting in Fluttershy’s best interest, but really, Trixie knew she was just scared to face her right now.

Looking back on it, Trixie could scarcely believe how she dismissed it when Fluttershy set her boundaries so clearly. It had just felt so natural to go a step further, she did it all the time with Rainbow Dash.

…But, Fluttershy isn’t Rainbow Dash. Trixie knew Dash is fast at everything. Fluttershy’s the opposite… Trixie knew that too. She blew a lock of hair out of her face, but it proved futile as it just swung right back into her vision. Trixie should have gone slower… No, Trixie should have stopped immediately. Could that be why Dash was so angry with Trixie the first time she thought Trixie tried to ‘seduce’ Fluttershy? She knew Trixie would trample over Fluttershy’s limits? If she had been allowed now, that had to mean Dash trusted her to do right by Fluttershy.

Trixie sighed dejectedly and shook her head. She wanted to rush right back home and talk to Fluttershy, but perhaps what she ought to do right now was just cool off in the breeze until she could put that plan into action with a clear head. She was sure Fluttershy didn’t want to see her for a while anyway.

A soft rustling beside her made Trixie perk up her ears.

“Uhm, is this seat taken?” a soft voice asked, barely louder than the wind.

Shaking her head in response to the question, Trixie said. “It’s not.” A quick glance from the corner of her eye confirmed the owner of the voice, as Fluttershy settled down in the grass next to her. Trixie felt her heart leap, though she quickly returned her gaze to the patch of grass in front of her.

A long silence followed.

As Trixie tried to think of what to say, she found her mind wandering to small things she hadn’t noticed before. The rustling of the wind through the leaves was the only sound Trixie had heard when she was alone, but now a gentle noise of the breeze playing through Fluttershy’s feathers was added to it. It felt strangely soothing, just having Fluttershy nearby, even if they didn’t speak.

Trixie turned her head to catch a glimpse of Fluttershy, and found her staring off into the distance, apparently taking an interest in the dead tree. After a moment, Fluttershy noticed Trixie looking, and smiled at her quietly, then motioned to the tree.

It wasn’t clear to Trixie what was so interesting about a lifeless piece of wood, but just seeing Fluttershy smile did her a world of good. From the corner of her eye, she caught a sudden blur of motion, and turned just in time to see something fly into a hole just above one of the branches.

Narrowing her eyes, Trixie stared at the hole, waiting to get a better look at whatever had just hidden itself. Suddenly, a white, heart-shaped face popped up from the hole, it briefly looked around before it flew off back into the forest.

Once Trixie was watching for it, she noticed it happen again, apparently the dead tree was a small hive of activity, but then why had she not heard it sooner? Now that Trixie thinks about it… she can’t hear it now either. Perking her ears, Trixie could only see the birds coming and going, but eerily, they didn’t make a single sound.

Confused, Trixie turned to look at Fluttershy to ask for answers, only to find Fluttershy was already observing her with an amused smile. “They’re barn owls, Trixie,” she replied to the unspoken question. “They have small serrations on the edge of their flight feathers, and lovely soft down feathers, which breaks up the flow of the air, reducing the noise they make.”

“But, Trixie thought owls only come out at night?” Though it was not as if Trixie was entirely unfamiliar with owls, she often heard them hooting in the middle of the night when she was trying to sleep, but she never took the time to find out anything about them.

Fluttershy nodded. “They are usually nocturnal, yes. Sometimes they hunt by day, but other birds may bully them into only using the night. If that doesn’t happen though, like here, owls can enjoy the sun too. Though, it takes a while before they realize it’s okay here.” Fluttershy looked saddened for a moment, then turned away from Trixie to stare at the tree. "I guess you could say… they are scared by how they’ve been treated, and it takes a bit of time for them to get used to something new… even if it’s something wonderful. If you try to wake it up in the morning it will just be scared and confused."

Trixie felt a dull pain in her chest as she looked at Fluttershy, then slowly panned her gaze over to the tree, another owl landed and scurried into one of the crevices. “Trixie supposes that it’s no use just telling an owl there’s nothing to be scared of… the best thing to do is just let them go at their own pace?”

“That’s right. If they do try, and find out they are welcome during the day, some owls will adapt. But, it’s also not really the same for every owl. Sometimes owls will just stay nocturnal, no matter how long they stay somewhere safe like here, and there’s no way to tell in advance.” She looked over at Trixie hesitantly. “It’s just something you have to be prepared for, either way, when dealing with owls.”

Meeting Fluttershy’s gaze, Trixie stayed quiet for a moment, then she scooted a little closer to her so their shoulders met, but then stopped. “That’s fine, it doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. Trixie thinks night owls are just wonderful too, even if they are harder to see.”

Fluttershy didn’t reply, but Trixie could feel the pegasus leaning into her just a little more, resting her head against her neck.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So, this might be a fun exercise for comments. What heck are they talking about? :rainbowlaugh:

Chapter 97 - Ruthless

The afternoon sun lazily drifted through the sky. Its warm rays shone through the windows of the small room in a way that would have been idyllic, if Trixie was not currently preoccupied with biting a pillow. Her eyes scrunched shut as she bit harder, doing her best not to scream.

From the moment Trixie had realized she was back in Ponyville, she had expected to be arrested, captured, or chased right back out. That was in the best case scenario. A much greater fear was to be faced with angry ponies eager to take their frustration out on her, which had turned out to be entirely justified when she nearly got beaten up after limping her way out of the hospital. However, even in her darkest moments had she never contemplated the possibility that she would be actually tortured!

“Graah! Trixie will tell you anything you want!” Trixie cried out in pain as her tormenter seemed intent to all but shatter her spine.

“P-please stop saying that, every single time, if that’s okay with you.” Her executioner mumbled while she shifted her hold on Trixie for whatever sinister purpose she had devised next.

Trixie could feel the rim of a hoof working to force itself in between her spinal disks, before a foreleg wrapped around her throat and pulled up from the couch while driving the hoof into her back harder. Trixie was completely sure no pony was ever meant to bend like that! It was molten agony that spread into every cell in her body. It was pure malicious cruelty! It was absolute complete and total—

*Pop!*

—Bliss~. Wonderful, magnificent nirvana flowed through her entire form while she melted under Fluttershy’s hooves, slumping back onto the couch with a long, appreciative moan.

“Oh… my…” Fluttershy all but whispered. Though Trixie couldn’t see Fluttershy, the blush was so obvious it even colored her voice. “Even miss Jane wasn’t as tense as you, Trixie.” Mercifully, Fluttershy didn’t ease up even while speaking, prolonging Trixie’s stay in paradise.

After their little owl talk, they’d spent a bit more time outdoors just appreciating the fine weather in their own corner of the woods. Since Trixie had taken care of most of the chores already, they found themselves with plenty of time on their hooves, and no great ideas on how to spend it. Fortunately, Trixie had an epiphany, and asked Fluttershy to give a demonstration of her massage technique.

By now, Trixie understood perfectly why all the animals were passed out when she came in the previous night. This was the best thing ever.

It was difficult to really think when everything in the world just seemed to become fuzzy and warm, but Trixie tried to at least pretend she was keeping up her part of the conversation. She was pretty sure she knew who Jane was anyway. “Mrm…The scrub jay’s stressed?” Being a bird did not sound anywhere near stressful.

“Oh, yes. See they do this thing called, uhm, ‘caching’. they like to plan ahead and hide food all over the forest for a rainy day. But, if somepony watches them when they make a cache they get nervous, because they think their food will get stolen, so they dig it up, and pretend to hide it somewhere else a bunch of times to throw off the ‘thief’.” Fluttershy rattled on enthusiastically while she described what she apparently found fascinating and endearing behavior, but to Trixie sounded like complete paranoia bred into an entire species. Trixie supposed she could relate a bit better to why the bird was so stressed, with so many animals around there was nearly no way not to be spotted while hiding something.

Smiling wearily, Trixie relaxed below Fluttershy while she just listened to the story that accompanied the, by now at least, lovely massage. If she had been told a few weeks ago that Fluttershy would ever try to talk her ears off, she’d have died laughing. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Jane. “Mnmmm… It must be hard to be constantly paranoid about some invisible danger,” she blinked briefly, then added, “that isn’t really there.”

Rubbing what felt like liquid joy along Trixie shoulder blades with her hooves, Fluttershy giggled softly. “She’s just a little nervous.”

If Fluttershy’s comments were any indication, the stress of being a crazy bird was nothing compared to the stress that came with being a traveling magician, among a few other things. Trixie wasn’t sure if she liked the implication that she might be too stressed, but on the other hoof it did lead to the best massage she’d ever had, not that she could currently remember another one, or recall much of anything really as the warm feeling through her body lulled her into an ever more drowsy state. Soon, she wasn’t even able to keep her eyes open anymore.

Drawing out a long yawn, Trixie stretched out her forelegs until she felt the satisfying crackle in her joints. “Mhmm… how long was Trixie out?” She couldn’t remember falling asleep, but she had not felt so refreshed in years.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” Fluttershy smiled while she closed up her book. She sat beside Trixie on the couch. As the only clock in the house was located in the bedroom, Fluttershy took a quick look at the square of light cast across the floor by the nearest window, estimating the time. “Uhm, just an hour or two I think. A little longer than I expected but… I didn’t want to wake you up; you looked so peaceful.”

Trixie blinked slowly against the light. “Trixie appreciates that. Trixie had no idea you were so good at this, sorry she fell asleep.” She let out another yawn and turned to get more comfortable. It wasn’t as though they had any real plans for the day, so a nap was a valid a way to spend time as any. Although, something in the words Fluttershy chose felt off. “…Did you need Trixie for something?”

Fluttershy gave Trixie a look of surprise, but she nodded. “Well, yes. It could wait though, it’s just… Remember the spa?”

“The spa? Uh, yes? What about it?”

“Well, my friend Rarity and I—Oh, you know Rarity, right? You, uhm, dyed her hair once.”

“Trixie has a vague recollection of her vandalizing Trixie’s stage.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Go on.”

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably in place. “O-oh, right, erm… W-well… We usually go to the spa once a week. It’s lovely. I was just thinking. I haven’t had time to go since you arrived, but since you are feeling so well, I thought maybe you would like to come with us next time?”

“Go to the spa with the three of us? Uh, Trixie’s good. Thanks though, Fluttershy. You two can go by yourselves.” Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. It was bad enough to go back to Ponyville again, but to go there specifically to meet up with somepony that didn’t care for her and spend a day together was too much to ask.

Ears folding flat, Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. “Oh… that’s okay. I guess I can skip this week too.”

“Well, if you are sure.” Trixie shrugged while she peered out the window at the sky, hoping to catch sight of any rainbow-colored blurs. “…Wait a second.” Trixie sat up and looked at Fluttershy. “What do you mean skip this week too? Why are you skipping appointments with your friend? Are you mad at her?”

“Oh no, I would never be mad at her. It’s just, uhm, well… I’ve been, erm… busy.” Fluttershy consistently avoided any chance to look Trixie in the eye while she was trying to explain.

Trixie was about to protest, as she had practically been Fluttershy’s shadow this week, so she knew it was a lie that Fluttershy had been busy, but bit her tongue at the last moment. Oh… she’s talking about Trixie, isn’t she?

A clashing sense of heat and cold washed over Trixie. She’d never considered Fluttershy might be putting her own life on hold to take care of her. Although Fluttershy didn’t strike Trixie as a pony that was all that social to begin with, there were clearly some things she’d stopped doing for her wellbeing. It was at once a wonderful and a miserable thought to contemplate, and Trixie bit her lip as though to punish herself for enjoying the idea.

“Oh wait. Trixie remembers seeing they offered, errr, hooficures? Yes, Trixie believes a proper visit may be in order. Besides, Trixie would like to speak with the white pony.”

Fluttershy perked up visibly. “Oh! That’s great, I’m sure you will li—“ She hushed in surprise while she stared at Trixie. “Speak to Rarity? I, uhm, why? I-I mean, it’s good that you want to, but… why?”

Given how horrible the first, and last, meeting with Rarity went, Trixie had some idea of why Fluttershy was cautious of Trixie’s motives. “The Great and Perceptive Trixie is not blind to patterns. Rarity is another one your friends that interrupted Trixie’s show, yes? As are Dashie and Applejack; Trixie has come around to liking them. It is Trixie’s suspicion that she will get along with Rarity too.” She stated matter-of-factly, but added in a softer tone of voice, “After another fight anyway.”

For a moment, Fluttershy could only stare at her while she processed the words. Finally, Fluttershy beamed her biggest smile and wrapped Trixie in an unexpected, but cherished, hug. “You want to make up with Rarity? Oh! That’s a great idea. I, uhm, I should probably tell her first. That we’re coming I mean.” She glanced towards the door, then bit her lip and looked back to Trixie. “Oh, uh, I’ll go a little later.”

Trixie returned the embrace with glee. “If Trixie had known you’d react like that, she would have asked to speak with her sooner!” She smiled while her eyes lingered on Fluttershy’s lips for a long moment. Trixie felt her cheeks burn at the thought of getting another taste, but after what happened in the kitchen, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Loathing herself for her spinelessness, Trixie averted her gaze, looking toward the door. ”It… It’s fine. You can go now, Trixie promises not to do anything crazy while you are gone.”

Coward.

Releasing her hold, Fluttershy slipped away from Trixie. “Are you sure?” She sounded just as hesitant as Trixie felt, but Trixie still gave a simple nod. “Okay… I’ll be quick. If you like you could, uhh, take a nap?”

Reluctantly, Trixie let go, allowing Fluttershy to get off the couch. “Trixie just woke up.” She smirked and waved towards the door. “Just get going, Trixie is sure she can manage being alone for an hour without burning the house down, maybe even two hours on a good day.” Trixie chuckled, but upon noticing that Fluttershy didn’t, tried to disguise it as clearing her throat. “Ahum, Trixie means nothing will go wrong. Take your time. Trixie will not move from this couch, promise.”

Ugh, why did Trixie say that! She lamented her rash promise as she rolled over on the couch to stare at the ceiling. It had barely been a minute since Fluttershy left, and Trixie was already bored to tears.

In hindsight, that had probably been one of the reasons Fluttershy wanted to go later, presumably after Rainbow Dash got here in the evening.

Actually, Trixie isn’t even sure if Dash will come by today. She just does whatever she likes. Oh wait a moment, Her cheeks flushed as she felt her lips curl into a lecherous smile. She likes Trixie.

Once she was on that train of thought, it was difficult to get off it. Her mind wandered to Dash’s tightly toned body, how warm it felt up close, how much Trixie loved to look at it, and a few other things she was getting increasingly interested in as the couch beneath her began emitting a ridiculous amount of heat. At least, Trixie was quite sure it was the couch's fault for how smoldering she felt at the moment.

Trixie was not sure when, but at some point in her fantasy the coat color had changed to yellow, and the previous hard muscles below gave much easier, lending itself to a much softer touch. It was different, but it felt no less wonderful to Trixie. Her only thought was to show just how much she loved being together.

She imagined running her hooves up and down the soft coat, picturing pink locks framing the blushing face looking back at her. Fluttershy was so sweet, Trixie couldn’t go without getting a taste, licking her blushing cheek with a mischievous smile.

T-Trixie, please… S-stop.

With a jolt, Trixie sat up straight on the couch. Her eyes wide open as she looked around wildly.

Trixie raised a hoof to her head while she lowered back down on the couch with a sigh. “Curses…”

Despite all the time they spent together today, neither of them had spoken a single word about what happened in the kitchen. Trixie had been glad to avoid the subject for the most part, but now she found herself wishing they had cleared some things up. She wasn’t even really sure what her relationship with Fluttershy was now.

They’d kissed, or rather, Trixie had kissed Fluttershy, but there was nothing different from how they normally acted. If anything, Trixie felt even more compelled to be restrained now than she did when she was trying to hide her feelings in the first place.

Trixie rolled over and buried her head in the couch pillows, a faint scent of honey lingered. We’re… well… Fluttershy loves Trixie. Trixie loves her too… but she’s so strange. Maybe Rainbow Dash is strange? Trixie is pretty sure we went by the book, but Dash made fun of Trixie for that, so maybe it’s not how we’re supposed to anyway? She groaned in annoyance. Why does this have to be so hard?

One thing she knew for certain was that she’d gone too far, but she still had no clear idea of where the line was. After the incident, Trixie made sure not to initiate anything, hoping that Fluttershy would take the lead instead. They’d just ended up talking.

…Maybe the spa thing was her trying to start something? She never asked anything like that of Trixie before… so, is it her attempt at setting up a date? Trixie felt a smile creep up on her. That could be a thing. She’d pretend Rarity is coming, but Rarity ‘cancels’ and then it’s just the two of us? The warmth swiftly returned to Trixie’s chest as she pictured it. That’s right, she’s a jealous little cutie so of course she’d want to have a date too.

Feeling restless, Trixie slid off the couch and trotted small circles in the middle of the room. It did not really help with the feeling. Trixie should do something nice for Fluttershy. A rewa—uhm… just something nice, for her taking initiative like that. A brief glance out of the window revealed the was sun high in the sky. It should be about lunch time. What if Trixie has lunch ready when Fluttershy gets back? That’s an innocent reward right? Though it did technically mean she wasn’t on the couch, Trixie was sure she wasn’t really expected to stay there, merely to stay out of trouble.

As Trixie stepped into the kitchen, she paused with a heavy feeling in her stomach, staring at the spot she’d pinned Fluttershy.

Shaking her head, she got to work on preparing something to eat. Anything would do really, and with her magic back in action it was not even challenging. Which was a good thing too, as her head definitely wasn’t in the game, constantly battling with the lingering feelings of uncertainty.

Since Trixie said she wanted to talk to Rarity, Fluttershy might not have her cancel now; she clearly liked the idea of Trixie making up with her. So, does that mean Trixie sabotaged our first date? That’s no good. If it even was a date. Trixie winced at the thought while she broke some eggs above the frying pan.

Catching on that she was moping, Trixie stretched her magic to levitate over one of the mirrors she’d used the previous evening. Staring at herself, Trixie said aloud. “You are The Great and Powerful Trixie! You have half your magic back, and two of the most amazing mares ever! Quit being such a whiny loser and think of something!”

An orchid glow wrapped around the kitchen knife, dicing up vegetables while Trixie glowered at her reflection. “Easier said than done. What’s Trixie supposed to do? Set up a date herself? She doesn’t know any good restaurants, theatres or anything entertaining around here. Even if Trixie did, she can’t go into Ponyville. What? Is Trixie supposed to hope random entertainment will just come knocking on the door? As if she would get that lucky.” She fumed while scraping the shredded greens off the cutting board and into the waiting omelet.

*Knock knock*

Trixie perked up her ears, and slowly panned towards the direction of the front door, her eyes widening in disbelief. The timing was just too perfect. “No way!” With a swiftness she usually only reserved for escaping gigantic star bears aiming to eat her, Trixie dashed for the door to greet fortunate destiny.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Considering how Fluttershy massages bears, Trixie should count herself lucky.
Could it be Cheesy Sandwich three seasons early? :trollestia:

Chapter 98 - Ripping

Trixie rushed towards the front door. She ran through a list of possible entertainers in her head, crossing a few off with each step. The Wonderbolts were rather unlikely to be in this area of the woods, so they were out, but if she was lucky it might be a musician of some sort, looking to trade a tune for a meal.

Musician, that struck Trixie as the most likely. There were many more ponies that had a special talent involving music than there were actual jobs for musicians. Some of whom adopted a similar model to herself, traveling around, spreading song and tale like the bards of old to make a living. Though, unlike musicians, there were plenty of actual jobs for magicians, as natural magic talent was far less prevalent.

Excitement coursing through her veins, Trixie pushed the door open. She briefly considered if she’d remembered to take the frying pan off the stove, she was pretty sure she did. The only real question left in her mind was which instrument the visiting pony played. On the other side of the door, she suddenly found herself eye to wall-eye with a familiar pegasus. “What kind of—What? Derpy? You’re not entertaining!” She groaned, annoyed with herself for getting swept up in thinking everything had fallen into place perfectly for once. Since her first ‘plan’ of sorts failed, she immediately set to work on coming up with a new one.

Maybe Trixie could teach some of these birds to sing in a choir? No, that’s silly; animals can’t do that. There might be a spell of some sort that can simulate music, but Trixie doesn’t know one. A brief glimpse of her stay in the hospital flashed through her head, showing a very bored magnificent unicorn making rudimentary music by tapping her hoofs on the bedframe. Uh, let’s put that in the ‘maybe’ pi—

The sound of somepony clearing their throat drew Trixie’s attention back to the door. Coming down out of her scheming mode, Trixie looked Derpy over. She’d completely ignored the very uncomfortable looking gray pegasus in the doorway for a while now. Flustered, Trixie did her best to recover some semblance of polite conversation. “Ah! Derpy! Right! What are you doing here?” Trixie resisted the urge to headbutt the doorframe for asking such a stupid question. At least Derpy didn’t seem to mind.

“H-hey, Trixie. I, uh, I’m just delivering the morning mail. I-I just need somepony to sign here.” Derpy looked awful. She had bags below her eyes, and her face was white as though she’d seen a ghost. Her hooves trembled lightly while she held out a clipboard. A brown, paper package stood next to the doorframe.

Trixie nodded awkwardly as though it was some sagelike wisdom. Fortunately, it gave Trixie a few seconds to try to compose herself. She had Derpy here now, and she had to apologize somehow for what happened, but she had no real idea of how to go about that. Derpy was obviously here for work, so it would be strange to suddenly bring up what happened at the hospital, wouldn’t it?

Sensing she was expected to say something, Trixie glanced up at the afternoon sun, noting it was well past midday. Settling her eyes back on Derpy, something didn’t seem right, and she had to make conversation somehow or she’d never get a chance. “It’s too late for the morning mail, Derpy.” Given that Trixie knew at least one pony liked to give Derpy impossible deliveries with a block of wood, it did not surprise her that the pegasus looked so tired. Poor thing. She looks like she’s two deliveries from collapsing.

Derpy nodded, and Trixie noticed the shaking got a little worse. "Y-yes, it's just—Dinky was sick, H-headaches, and I needed to get her looked at. I swear. I missed breakfast so I could get the mail done in time, but—"

Trixie frowned, unsure if she really believed the story. Dinky hadn’t looked ill at all when Trixie saw her yesterday, but these things were unpredictable, right? However, she didn’t dwell on it after she heard that Derpy hadn’t eaten anything all day, that seemed like a terrible idea. Her eyes widened slightly as inspiration struck. This is it! She quickly raised a hoof, motioning for Derpy to stop. “Say no more. Trixie knows exactly how to deal with you.” She pushed the door open all the way and turned to trot back into the house.

This was perfect! Trixie could see it now: Her first omelet was practically done, so she could let Derpy have it. A good lunch would invigorate Derpy, and maybe even make up for the muffin Trixie had inadvertently come into possession of, which would lead right into the perfect chance to talk about how Dinky was doing, finally clearing up their misunderstanding.

It took Trixie a moment to realize that she was not being followed, and glanced over her shoulder at Derpy, still nailed to the ground at the doorstep, and looking increasingly anxious. It was understandable, she was already running late after all, and taking a break might feel irresponsible. “Trixie assures you, this will be over quickly.” With an impatient flick of her horn, she drew an orchid glow around Derpy, pulling her into the cottage.

The strange ethereal sensation of a tug on her magic, and the sound of hooves striking against wood, caused Trixie to glance back a second time, noticing Derpy had braced herself against the doorframe to prevent being dragged inside.

Although Derpy had been nearly motionless throughout their talk, at the sight of Trixie’s magic wrapping around her, she suddenly became shockingly animated! Struggling and beating her wings as though she were trying to fly out of a hurricane. “No!”

“It’s for your own good.” Trixie tried to reason with Derpy, but seeing her fight that hard weakened her concentration enough for Derpy to break free from the spell. Suddenly lacking any pushback, Derpy hurtled through the air, crashing into the wooden fence that bordered the path, sending letters flying everywhere while she tried to untangle herself.

Dumbstruck, Trixie just observed for a moment while Derpy clumsily got to her hooves, and rapidly tried to sweep the letters back into her mailbag. Maybe this had not been her best idea. At least Derpy looked to be okay. “You foal, be careful!” Trixie cautioned while she took a step forward, drawing her magic around the rebelling letters. A simple telekinesis spell prevented the wind from carrying the letters away, levitating them into a stack instead.

Without warning, Derpy screamed and shot up into the air, preforming an almost impressive, if entirely accidently, couple of loops before getting her bearings and taking off toward the sky.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding!” Suddenly very aware of how bad letting Derpy leave before they’d cleared this up could be, Trixie gasped. “Get back here!” All she had to do was cast a quick levitation spell and drag the pegasus back to her, but Derpy was already nearly at the edge of Trixie’s range, making the spell much more difficult than it should have been.

Surrounded in an orchid glow, Derpy nearly stopped in midair despite her rapid wingbeats. She looked back at Trixie. “L-lemme go! I swear I won’t tell anypony you’re here!”

“That’s not the point!” Trixie screamed back while she strained hard to keep Derpy in her grip long enough to convince her. Each time she spoke her grip on the gray mare lapsed, but she had to say something, and make it count. “If you’d just calm down for five minutes we can get this out of the way!”

Dropping the letters, Trixie focused all of her attention on maintaining the spell. Sweat ran down Trixie’s forehead while she watched a frantic Derpy slowly creep further out of range. “Don’t be scared of Trixie!” The spell flickered, allowing Derpy the few vital hoof lengths she needed to cross Trixie's limit and break free, leaving Trixie to watch as Derpy sped off towards Ponyville.

Trixie stomped her hooves on the ground. “No! Come on! Trixie knows you heard her!” As expected, she was completely ignored; Derpy did not even look back. A frustrated groan escaped Trixie while she watched helplessly as the gray dot disappeared from view.

“Seriously? Again?! This is just repe—What smells like burning?” Trixie sniffed, catching a whiff of smoke. “Eggs!” She spun on the spot, galloping back towards the kitchen. “No no no no no!”

Trails of smoke crept along the ceiling of the living room, and filled a good portion of the kitchen as Trixie burst inside. her heart beat in her throat while she franticly waved a hoof around to dispel the smoke and get a visual on the damage.

What she found was not what she expected. The pan with the eggs was no longer on the stove. Apparently she had remembered to move it after all. Instead, it sat on the counter, perfectly fine. However, a roll of paper towels was ablaze on the counter, and being scattered around by a bunny that was frantically jumping up and down on the fiery paper.

Trixie narrowed her eyes, raising her foreleg to her mouth to shield from the smoke. “Angel! What did you do now!?” As powerful as the drive was to roast him on his own fire was, she had bigger things to worry about: the fire was rapidly growing, flames licking at the wooden walls and leaving black marks already.

Fighting back panic as she stared at the rising flames, she set about casting the first spell that came to mind to deal with the situation. The black smoke near the ceiling swirled into a single cloud right above the stove. While she channeled the spell, Trixie cringed in pain; it was much more advanced than the basic spells she was supposed to limit herself to.

A small crackle of lightning ran through the cloud.

No lightning! Rain! It’s just a little change, come on!

A clap of thunder announced a short, but heavy shower onto the violently hissing stove and counter, barely extinguishing the flames before it ran dry. Weather magic had never been her strongest school. Mercifully, she was not trying to water a field.

Collapsing onto her haunches, Trixie gasped for breath while she cradled her head, trying to ignore the drumming headache of victory.

As hard as it was to see straight at the moment, Trixie could not look away from the dissipating raincloud, savoring the few moments she had with her creation. Weather magic of that caliber was an act of conjuring something up from scratch, or transforming existing elements into new forms. It revolved around changing actual reality to ones whim, something easy for a chaotic creature like Discord, less so for a unicorn.

Trixie, though talented and amazing, had about as much luck with conjuration as a normal Unicorn, despite her talent being magic itself. The amount of power it took to make more than a simple small thundercloud was just exhausting, and made Trixie feel a bit proud that she’d actually made one in her current condition. She’d even done it without using her more hidden talents. Maybe all the injuries and magic exhaustion she had been going through recently had increased her magic stores a little? She liked to think so, though thinking was becoming a problem due to the pounding of her head.

Heh, maybe Trixie has grown even more powerful? She resolved to test her new found powers at some point, for now she would be satisfied with just making the room stop spinning.

In the moment it took her to recover, she caught sight of Angel, staring at her briefly. “Just you wait!” she threatened, only to see him make his escape while she was incapacitated.

Whatever had possessed the rabbit to stick to his ‘burning’ theme for tormenting her was obviously staring to backfire. The pristine white fur that Fluttershy put so much effort into maintaining was scorched here and there.

Once she felt vaguely steady again, Trixie rose up to her hooves. Naturally, Angel was nowhere to be found again, but that was about what she expected. The kitchen was a mess, though funnily enough, nearly burning it down still didn’t match up to the disaster area Trixie had left behind that time she attempted to make pancakes without her magic.

Snickering at the imagined victory, Trixie set about restoring the kitchen to a presentable state. Mostly, this just meant she had to take care of the water, which was easy enough for somepony as amazing as herself… as soon as she had her magic available.

Not content to just sit around, Trixie returned to the front door. On her way there, she glanced at the mail she’d scattered through the living room when she’d rushed through there to deal with the fire Meh, at least the wind can’t get it here. Trixie will deal with it later. She had something much more interesting that she wanted to get out of the way first.

The large brown package still temptingly stood by the door post.

Trixie read the return address. Ponyville Library? Why does that sound familiar? Shrugging, Trixie reached for the letter that came with the package. Fluttershy. Well that makes sense at least... Wait, does it? She jabbed the package with her hoof, it was heavy. Did Fluttershy order all this? What is it?

Her curiosity was nearly overwhelming. Maybe Trixie should open it? She would have signed for it, right? She reached out a hoof towards the brown paper, running it along the surface tantalizingly. Just as she started to try to squeeze a small part of her hoof between the wrapping, Trixie quickly pulled away. “What are you thinking Trixie! You can’t just nose through another pony’s mail!” she scolded herself loudly while she looked around.

Seeing as nopony was nearby, she tore her hoof through the paper. “Woops! Look at that. Somehow this package was torn when it arrived! Trixie guesses she'd better make sure nothing is broken!” Glancing around once to confirm there was no objection, Trixie peered through the tear, and discovered books. Huh, well duh. Trixie is not sure what else she was expecting… Let’s see here… ‘Tempting the Draconequus’. Wait, what!? Trixie’s cheeks flushed. She’d read a copy of the book a few times. It was great for certain moods, but much more steamy than she had thought Fluttershy would be able to handle.

Carefully she dragged her hoof down a bit further, eliciting the ripping sound of paper a second time. "Seems like Trixie is all butter hooves today..." she mumbled, greedily peering at the next book. ‘Forbidden Apples’! Fluttershy! Beet red, Trixie remembered the ‘plot’ of this one: it was a story about a spicy apple farmer finding unconventional ways to sell her wares. One that Trixie now couldn’t help but see a little bit of Applejack in while she did her best not to imagine what Fluttershy was thinking when she ordered this one.

"Something, something, woops..." Trixie mumbled, giving up any pretense of what she was doing. Ripping the paper a little more, Trixie felt heated while she tried to guess at what else Fluttershy would be into, maybe she could get some good hints from these books. She brought the next title into view. ’Three's company’!? Trixie’s eyes widened, it was much more niche. O-Oh my Luna! No wonder she was so interested!

Her face positively on fire, Trixie quickly tore down to the next title in eager anticipation. ’The magic of slight of hoof’ Improving your technique, Flutt—Huh, wait a second. She blinked slowly while she read over the title again. Trixie knows this one too, but... this is just a textbook for stage tricks. Has Trixie's amazing personality convinced Fluttershy to try her own hoof at performing?

It didn’t make sense, what on Equestria was a dull book like that doing among steamy romance novels? Unless… Trixie smacked her hoof against her forehead.

“These are Trixie’s books!”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Sadly, my plans for a double update were foiled by illness. :ajsleepy:
I'll have to try for it next week instead. :rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter 99 - Rupture

It was fortunate that nopony else was around to see Trixie make an utter fool of herself by mistaking her own books for Fluttershy’s. As embarrassing as that was, the blow to Trixie’s ego was reasonably soothed by the windfall of having her little library at least partially returned to her.

Sipping a cup of water, Trixie lounged on the couch while she examined the books, her muscles aching, but slowly recovering from the effort of dragging them all inside. She was regretting going through the extra effort of piling both the books and stray letters onto the coffee table before taking a break.

Sadly, Trixie could tell there were a good few of them missing, and even some of the ones before her looked pretty badly damaged. These must have been the only ones that survived in a legible state… At least that means ‘it’ was also destroyed. She breathed a sigh of relief, but failed to shake off the cloud of anxiety that loomed over her. It was strange, things were going well, and good news kept piling up, yet there was a clawing in her mind at every unguarded moment. Attempting to find something, anything, to use as a distraction, her eyes traveled to the one letter that had come with the package.

A simple folded letter had been inside the package, written on high quality parchment. It struck Trixie as a bit too much extravagance for a mere note, and she concluded that whoever wrote it was either desperately out of all other cheaper alternatives, or had no real grasp of the value of a bit.

A more entertaining thought was that she, The Great and Powerful Trixie, was simply so important, that no lesser paper would do.

Grinning to herself as she imagined what high praise the letter might contain, she reached for it. Flipping open the letter, Trixie scanned the first line.

Dear Fluttershy,—

With one fluid motion, she swiftly folded the letter back up, returning it to the table.

Although she had technically already messed with Fluttershy’s mail, this felt like going one step too far. Peeking into a package containing her own books, though she didn’t know that at the time, was on a different level than reading private mail.

She stared at the pricey parchment for a couple of long seconds, then picked it up again. Trixie won’t read it, but seeing just the last line is fine, right? It’s not like that is the content.

Your faithful friend,
Twilight Sparkle

Putting the letter away once again, Trixie felt a shiver run along her spine. Of course it would be that spoiled little miss perfect! Being the private student of Princess Celestia must have been awfully lucrative. Who signs a letter like that?!

Taken by surprise with her own anger, Trixie took a mental step back. Huh, where did that come from? As long as Trixie had been here, she’d heard nothing but good things about Twilight Sparkle. Except for the occasional friendly insult by Rainbow Dash.

Well, there was her smug, annoying face. That underlying air of superiority, as Twilight had casually explained Trixie failed to vanquish a mere Ursa Minor, rather than an Ursa Major. That right after Trixie looked death straight in the eye and was still shivering in horror, the first thing out of that mare’s mouth wasn’t a word of encouragement for attempting to stand up to it, but a put down.

Seething, Trixie jumped off the couch. Quit it! She saved Trixie. At the last possible moment… what good fortune, or did she wait? Another shiver crawled along her spine as she contemplated that dark possibility. Trixie also couldn’t be sure how many of the heroic things she’d heard about Twilight were true, or whether Twilight had manipulated some events to make herself look better. For a pony that had refused to challenge Trixie the first time, when it was just a small audience, she certainly made a perfect show out of besting her when the eyes of the whole town were upon them that night.

Trixie quickly shook her head. She knew she was not being fair. It just felt so much easier to pin the blame of her misfortune on somepony, and Twilight just happened to grind her nerves a little. There were any number of ponies she could hold responsible, such as Snips and Snails, but it was difficult to be angry with clueless foals. …Actually… No, it isn’t. Curse them!

With her every other thought, Trixie found somepony else that had a hoof in her situation that she could get mad at. Though on some level, she recognized that she was straining the links sometimes. For instance, she was fairly sure that it maybe didn’t quite make sense to be angry at the bakery she got her lunch from, just because it had been a factor in deciding where to station her wagon.

Since she was obviously not getting any more relaxing done, and because sweet memories of the bakery’s alluring treats reminded her that it was lunch time, Trixie decided she should get back to being productive. She still had a good deal of planning to do after all. First order of business, salvaging her eggs.

Trixie arrived at the kitchen to find the eggs submerged in a frying pan full of rainwater, and most of the kitchen wet. An irritated grumble escaped her as she remembered Angel’s idiocy. Whatever had he been thinking?

Once again, Trixie found herself assured to the superiority of magic. A task that would have been a week of backbreaking physical labor, or so Trixie estimated, was reduced mere minutes with a simple water manipulation spell. Drawing the water out into liquid tendrils, Trixie redirected it into the sink.

It was simple enough, but after overexerting herself once already, Trixie made sure to take it slow this time.

While she restored order to the kitchen her mind wandered back to her encounter with the mail mare, between the fire and the books, the ditzy pegasus had slipped her mind until now. What is Trixie going to do about Derpy? It looks like she agrees with those rumors now. Maybe Trixie should give up… She breathed a heavy sigh, making friends was harder than she thought. Of course, asking for help would have been easy, but she really wanted to prove to herself she could do so on her own now. If she was this bad at it, she could only hope she’d do better with Rarity later, for Fluttershy’s sake.

Taking another sip of water, Trixie felt a sting of sorrow in her chest when her mind brought up Trixie's last image of Derpy, the pegasus fleeing, disheveled and seemingly panicked for reasons Trixie couldn't understand. It was almost like Derpy had thought her life depended on getting away from Trixie. What kind of a monster had the rumors made her out to be? Almost serenely, a sense of clarity came over her, carrying a terrifying revelation. What if she told the rest of the Ponyvillians Trixie is here?!

Abandoning her kitchen duty, Trixie quickly made her way back to the living room, she had to get eyes on the road as soon as possible! To come up with some kind of plan, and most definitely, not panic!

As Trixie stood by the door, trying her best to peek through the window every few seconds without revealing herself, her eyes fell on the nearly forgotten pair of green saddlebags standing packed and ready beside the door frame. Several weeks ago, after Trixie nearly died of fright at the hooves of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy had prepared them to assure Trixie that she was free to leave. Although at the time Trixie was too weak to actually leave the timid mare’s care, it had soothed her a lot to know that they were there.

Over time, the saddlebags had become practically part of the furniture, and were easily overlooked. But now… As far as Trixie knew, they still contained enough supplies to last her for at least a week. Trixie is mostly okay… so… she could take them, and run? It was a mere token of a suggestion, as her chest started to ache badly at the idea of leaving Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She’d sooner attempt to vanquish half of Ponyville, than to be forced to do without the pair.

Trixie swallowed hard and glanced towards the window, half expecting to see the glow of torches coming over the first hill.

It’s been a while, why haven’t they come for Trixie yet?

The expected crusade had failed to arrive in a timely manner. Not that it would have been a very successful crusade, as Trixie kept a vigilant eye out, and had already decided on at least three different hiding spots, and two escape routes. The worst part had been the constant tension, but by now even that was losing its edge a little, which was scary in and of itself, but for different reasons.

Were they waiting to strike under the cover of night? Did they have some other plan she hadn’t accounted for yet? Maybe the town thinks Derpy is crazy, and won’t listen to her anyway? She does seem to get pranked an awful lot after all so… Catching herself in the act of actually hoping Derpy’s standing with the town was that bad, Trixie felt her stomach turn.

There wasn’t much she could do about Derpy, or for that matter, anything else, right now. She’d have to wait for Fluttershy to come back, and discuss it with her. Of course, after hiding the more saucy books in the back of one of Fluttershy's closets, Trixie was too nervous to do anything else, and had wound up brooding on the couch, which was practically the same as waiting for her return anyways.

Perhaps Trixie could move into Rainbow Dash’s home and lay low there for a bit? Trixie felt a little warmer as she considered the thought of spending a few nights at her place.

Wait, Fluttershy said Dash lives in a cloud house.

Reality came crashing back down to earth. Only pegasi could walk on clouds. Maybe she could spend a few nights with the Apples? She certainly liked them, but also didn’t know them all that well, though she knew them to be friendly, good ponies.

A stray thought sent a tremor of horror through her whole body. What exactly would happen if a crowd of witch burning ponies show up on Fluttershy’s doorstep, and Trixie is not there? It was too terrifying to consider. Sure, Dash had assured her that not everypony in town thought so poorly of Fluttershy, but the kind of ponies likely to be found in an angry mob were surely not the most tolerant or reasonable.

Confronted with that possibility, Trixie quickly decided that she would rather take her chances with the mob. That settles it, there was no way Trixie could just leave without taking Fluttershy with her, but then that means we have to somehow account for all the animals, and the food, and… Uhg. Her head throbbed painfully. It had been a while since she’d hurt herself just by thinking, or maybe it was the on setting sheer panic. It could also have been the lack of any food in Trixie's stomach, as lunch had long since passed while Trixie's growing panic kept her glued to the window.

Forcing herself to take deep breaths, Trixie did her best to stay in control. Her efforts slipped away as a sudden awareness of how long Fluttershy had been gone on her trip to Ponyville set in. What if something happened? Is that why the mob isn’t here yet? Did they get Fluttershy?!

Jumping off of the couch, Trixie began nervously pacing back and forth. It couldn't have taken Fluttershy this long to talk to this Rarity pony, right? Even if she was against meeting Trixie again, Fluttershy wouldn't have argued, if she was even capable of that. So where is she?

Scenarios of just what might be keeping Fluttershy away started making their way into Trixie's head, and when the clock tower at the edge of Ponyville suddenly began to chime, she found herself galloping towards the door. Trixie was just reaching for the front door when suddenly it swung open, causing Trixie to careen through. With a surprised grunt, Trixie crashed straight into the pony in the doorway, sprawling them both across the garden path outside.

“T-Trixie?” Fluttershy asked, looking dazed from the crash. “Are you okay? What’s wr—”

“Fluttershy!” Trixie cried out, and immediately pulled her into a tight hug. “You’re okay!” She’d never felt so glad to see her. Just holding the mare to her chest, Trixie could feel her headache ebbing away. A quick scan of their surroundings revealed there was still no sign of any angry mobs in hot pursuit, so presumably they were safe, for now.

“W-what? Why wouldn’t I be?” Confusion palpable in her voice, Fluttershy instinctively returned the hug. “Did something happen? You’re shaking.” She gently pushed Trixie back a little bit, allowing room for her inspecting gaze to roam. Finding nothing obvious, she locked eyes with Trixie again. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she regarded her quietly, then showed a comforting smile while she brushed her satin-soft feathers across Trixie’s cheeks, wiping away moisture. “It’s okay. Did you have another nightmare?”

Glancing briefly at the glistening beads that stuck to Fluttershy’s feathers as they moved away, Trixie quickly shook her head. “No. No, it’s not that. Trixie just… Trixie has to talk to you. Inside.” With more effort than she cared to admit, she forced herself to let go of Fluttershy and lead the way in.

Closing the door behind her, Fluttershy must have taken notice of the sudden addition of all the letters and a few innocent books to the table. “Trixie, uhm, why are these here?”

The living incarnation of serenity, Trixie calmly directed Fluttershy to take a seat on the couch. Fluttershy daintily sat down and gave Trixie a nervous smile. She's probably a little spooked, ramming into her and saying 'we need to talk', just after agreeing to try dating is never a good sign. Trixie needs to be calm, and explain this delicately to prevent any further worries.

"Would you like some tea before we start, Fluttershy?"

"O-oh? No thank you, Trixie. U-unless you want some? I could—"

Trixie quickly shook her head. "No, no. Trixie is just fine. Doing great, almost no problems at all..."

"R-right...w-would you like to take a seat and start? Y-you had something important to say, right?"

Laughing a little, Trixie nodded, while wondering if her laugh was a bit more high pitched than usual. She didn't want to freak out Fluttershy by sounding panicked when she wasn't, after all.

Sitting down, Trixie made sure there was a hoof length or two separating them. Though, Trixie doesn’t want her to think Trixie's too panicked about being close. She then wiggled over so they were touching. But, Trixie also doesn’t want her to think she’s pushing, or that Trixie is so worried that she needs support right now. She then shuffled away a single hoof length. Nodding in satisfaction, Trixie looked up and into the confused face of Fluttershy.

"R-right—" Trixie coughed to clear her throat. "So, well, Trixie's had some issues come up. You know Derpy, right? Of course you do, sorry." Was it getting warm in here? "So, Trixie was making eggs for when you came home, and Derpy showed up with the mail. She was kind of sick looking and thought Trixie had tried to kidnap her foal before, and—"

"—Wait, Derpy thinks you kidnapped Dinky?"

Why is there no air in this room? “N-no! Well, yes! But Trixie didn't! And then Derpy wouldn't come inside for eggs! So Trixie tried to drag her in, but it didn't matter anyways because Angel had set fire to the kitchen and—”

"—The kitchen!? Oh my, how horrible! Is the poor dear alright?"

"Y-yes...? Derpy should be okay, she crashed into the fence outside while the fire was going on, so Trixie is pretty sure she wasn't burnt at all."

"I...I meant Angel. And why did Derpy hit her head into the fence?"

Huh, those look familiar. Trixie thought, as little black dots started moving around her vision. "She was trying to not get dragged into the house for eggs. S-s-so Trixie let go of her, thinking Derpy must have been really busy, and she smashedintoitandnowwehaveallthismail!" Trixie's hoof shot up rapidly, pointing to all the mail on the table.

"Umm… what? Trixie, you're getting a little hard to—"

The room was getting suffocating, causing sweat to start running down her forehead. Trixie brought up a trembling hoof, wiping her forehead off, and then her cheeks, as she could somehow feel it trickling down them as well. M-must be from not eating lunch yet.

"B-but that's not all! Derpy knows where Trixie lives now! So she can bring an angry mob here, and Trixie could go, but what about you? AndTrixiedoesn'tknowhowtowalkoncloudsatall!"

"Trixie, a-are you crying? Just calm down and—"

"ItsnowonderCelestiahatesher! Trixieisbringingyoudownwitherand—"

"No pony hates you, Trixie. A-at least, I think that's what you said? I need you to calm down a little, and—"

"Trixieiscalm! She just doesn'tknowwhereanyponylives so themailshereforever! Andshecan'tfeedallyourpets
whenwehavetoleave! Shedidn'tmeanforthistohappen! Andshe'ssosorryforallofthisFluttershybut—"

Trixie mouth was suddenly forced shut. Trixie could barely see what was holding it closed due to how dark the room had kept getting as she talked. A gentle, but insistent voice worked its way into Trixie's ears.

"Look at me, Trixie."

Blearily, Trixie tried to focus on the black and yellow spot in front of her. Wiping her eyes helped a little, but she was feeling a bit tired for some reason, and the room was swaying lightly.

"Trixie," The gentle voice spoke again, "Just listen to me. Breath in. Now out. Now in. Now out."

Trixie followed Fluttershy's instructions, and after a few moments, realized Fluttershy had stopped talking, and was breathing in sync with Trixie. She could feel a soft puff of breath caress over her muzzle and neck each time Fluttershy breathed out, and could only guess that she was feeling the same from Trixie.

Slowly, the world started to come into focus again, and the yellow blur in front of her reverted to a pair of large blue eyes kindly looking into Trixie's own. Flutters eyes were gentle, but focused, almost refusing to let go of Trixie's, just as Fluttershy's hooves remained firmly around her muzzle.

Trixie's breathing normalized, she hadn't even been aware it was abnormal at all before this. After another moment of shared breaths, Fluttershy stopped. Slowly, she removed her hooves from Trixie's muzzle, but not once did her eyes disconnect from Trixie's. Trixie's own eyes never strayed, beyond the occasional blink. Then, as if there had been some kind of trigger, Fluttershy broke the trance. She gently booped Trixie on the nose with her own, leaving a warm feeling along Trixie's muzzle, before looking to the side.

"W-what was that?" Trixie shook her head, and wiped the few remaining bits of moisture off.

"O-oh, just a, uhm, breathing exercise. A-are you alright now, Trixie?" Fluttershy was staring at her again, though a slight hint of red bloomed from her cheeks. Fluttershy’s eyes were still pretty to Trixie, but didn't command her attention in the same way they had less than a moment ago.

"She's much better, Fluttershy, thank you." Trixie smiled and let out a calming sigh. She wasn’t quite sure why Fluttershy had been so enthralling, but whatever it was, it worked.

"I'm glad. I was afraid you were about to pass out on me. Now, if you're really okay, could you please tell me what had you so worried?"

With a nod, and a lick over her dry lips, Trixie began anew, telling Fluttershy everything.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

I've tried working on two chapters this week. Actually kind of liked it. It has occured to me that I could write the main story chapters as normal, and work on a filly trixie chapter on the side as kind of a bonus to be thrown in whenever it completes. I'll have to see if that works out, but if so, I'd probably be less strict about knocking Trixie unconcious before putting up a filly chapter. :rainbowlaugh:

A well deserved shoutout to Phaoray, who put up with me for over eight hours to get this delivered to you in all it's glory. If you happen to enjoy Trixie centric stories, I heartily recommend checking him out. :trixieshiftleft:

Chapter 100 - Restoration

As always, Fluttershy proved to be a wonderful listener, and had allowed Trixie to finish unopposed. Not even recounting the tale of Angel’s attempt of burning down the house had gotten any argument out of Fluttershy, but it did provoke a quick promise to have a talk with him about it the next time Fluttershy found him. She only interrupted now and then to ask for clarification, especially when Trixie was attempting to explain why Derpy was being completely irrational.

By then, Trixie was not quite so sure she was in the right anymore; Fluttershy’s shocked expressions during her attempts to help Derpy had already shaken her confidence, even before Fluttershy asked a few damning follow-up questions, such as ‘did you try, uhm, not yelling at her?’

With her 'defense' for her behavior with Derpy being picked apart, Trixie decided a change of topic might be best. She quickly brought the topic around to sharing her concerns on what might happen once her recovery was sufficient, that the Mayor would have her arrested. Although Fluttershy did not appear to take Trixie’s fear of an unfair trial very seriously, apparently fully convinced justice would be served, like the sweet naïve pony she was.

Finally, Trixie arrived at the most disturbing matter. As she told Fluttershy all about the imminent attack she was expecting from Ponyville now that Derpy would have told them Trixie’s location. Strangely, it had not seemed to phase Fluttershy much. In an attempt to impart the horror, Trixie dramatically tried describe the scene of angry ponies, carrying pitchforks and torches, storming their little cottage and dragging Trixie to a pyre.

“And they will set it on fire and chant some weird earth pony tradition chant about burning witches!” Trixie waved her hooves around franticly.

Fluttershy’s expression had slowly been changing while Trixie explained, and she looked away from Trixie as she started to shake. Clearly she was finally getting the idea, though Trixie had disliked needing to be so detailed on such a gruesome subject with her. But, to Trixie’s complete surprise, Fluttershy rung out the cutest little giggle, and tried to hide her muzzle in her hooves. Her shoulders gently shook with laughter, despite Fluttershy's best attempts at containing them.

Stunned, Trixie uncomprehendingly blinked at Fluttershy for several seconds before giving her a harsh glare. Fluttershy was much too relaxed, giggling even. Trixie had expected Fluttershy to panic, so she’d tried to down play the danger initially, but she’d never have expected to be laughed at! These were big issues! Why was she laughing!?

“You are not taking Trixie seriously at all!”

“Oh,” Fluttershy suppressed another giggle to the best of her abilities, “S-sorry. I-it’s just, I thought you were kidding… Where did you, erm, get those ideas?”

“Get them? This is what happens! Everypony knows that! We have to get out of here, maybe hide out at the Apples, or run away. Something like that?” She couldn’t believe this was even a question.

“So, uhm, how many ponies have you seen b-burned at the stake?” Fluttershy winced a little just at the notion.

“Trixie’s seen over—uh…. Well… Trixie’s… heard about it?” As she spoke, Trixie looked out the window, checking for any late arriving angry mobs, and, more importantly, avoiding Fluttershy's gaze.

From the corner of her eye, Trixie saw Fluttershy staring at the couple of books that she’d deemed safe enough not to hide from her. “You’ve… heard about it? How many cases can you recall specifically?”

“T-that’s not important. Why does it matter how many Trixie can name off the top of her head?”

Fluttershy spread out one wing and ran a primary feather over the spine of a book in the middle of the pile. “And, uhm, what about stories?”

A blazing fire seemed to rise up through Trixie’s neck as she came to realize what Fluttershy was aiming at, and the worst part was she couldn’t really argue with it. “A-a couple, maybe. Look, just because it happens in books and stories doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen in real life!”

Fluttershy flinched and snapped her wings back to her sides, quickly shaking her head. “N-no, of course it may have happened once, somewhere, but… I just don’t think anypony in Ponyville ever would.”

Trixie crossed her forelegs over her chest and frowned. “What about the ponies that tried to attack Trixie? Who knows what they’d have done to Trixie if Big Mac hadn’t been there.”

Hiding behind her mane, Fluttershy whispered, “y-you think they’d have burned you?”

“Well… uh, no...” Trixie admitted. “But, they could have k-killed Trixie.” An involuntary tremor ran through her body as she thought back to how frightening it had been, how helpless she’d felt. Biting back tears, she directed her attention to Fluttershy again. “If…if it was just Trixie… that’d be one thing, Trixie might escape, but what if… what if they decide to take care of the other ‘witch’ while they are here?”

Fluttershy tilted her head confusedly. “Uhm, I’m sorry. What do you mean?” Trixie just stared at Fluttershy meaningfully, causing Fluttershy to wilt and lay her ears flat. “…Oh… Did Rainbow Dash tell you?” After receiving an affirming nod, she sighed. “S-she shouldn’t have done that…”

“Trixie, erm, outwitted her. She didn’t intend to tell Trixie. It’s just Trixie, uh, deduced it, then tricked her into telling the rest an—” Trixie’s rambling halted as she saw Fluttershy smile at her.

“I-it’s okay. You don’t have to cover for her. I’m sure she only told because she thought it was better if you heard it from her. It’s, uh, silly, isn’t it?” Fluttershy gave an awkward, sad chuckle. “But… since you know now… It was never any secret where I was, and, well… Nopony has ever tried to come here to hurt me, so…” she trailed off and just looked at Trixie.

“…You’re saying Trixie will be safe here, because if they were too scared to come here and deal with just one ‘witch’ all this time, then there’s no way they’d try to tangle with two?” Although the idea was completely outrageous, Trixie found the notion that the town's ponies were as scared of her and Fluttershy as she was of them, strangely comforting.

“Oh! No no.” Fluttershy franticly waved her hooves while shaking her head as though she were physically fighting the concept off. “I just mean the ponies aren’t as bad as you think. N-not that they are scared of me—us, of us. They’re just nice. Or, uhm, nicer.”

Eyebrows raised, Trixie truly doubted any claim that the ponies were any nicer than she gave them credit for. She had witnessed their darkness first hoof after all, such as how quickly they could turn on a pony, even their own fellow townsponies.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to go kicking against whatever delusion Fluttershy had convinced herself to interpret their actions as; it was obviously some sort of coping mechanism. “…Yes, of course. How silly of Trixie. They are just good ponies who’d never try to lead some kind of witchhunt.” She forced a laugh and waved a hoof dismissively. “Trixie doesn’t even know why she was thinking that before.”

Tilting her head, Fluttershy sat stunned with a confused look on her face for a couple of seconds, ending with just a smile and nod. “Oh, uh, good. So, uhm… are you okay now? About the pyre I mean?”

“Yes, thank you. Trixie just needed a, uh, alternative view on the situation…” Sure, it had not been exactly how Trixie had pictured the outcome of the conversation, but she had to admit she was feeling much better with this new outlook on her life. Even if it hadn’t really been her intention to be feared, and the prospect worried her a little in terms of getting anything done later. In particular, she could think of at least one pony who was clearly afraid of her, that shouldn’t be. “So, what do you think about Derpy?”

“Well… She seems afraid of you, now.” Something in Trixie’s face must have betrayed that the comment hurt, as Fluttershy quickly rambled on, “b-but that’s okay! It’s only a, uh, misunderstanding, right? So you just need to talk to her.”

Trixie groaned, exasperated. “That’s what Trixie has been trying to do all this time. It doesn’t work! How is Trixie supposed to tell her anything if she just keeps thinking Trixie’s mad at her!? If she’d relax this wouldn’t be so excruciating!”

“T-Trixie? I, uhm, know you’re frustrated, but, erm, could you maybe… not… yell? If you don’t mind, that is?” Fluttershy asked, mostly hidden behind her mane. To her credit, she managed to remain on the couch, despite Trixie’s outburst.

“Uh, right. S-sorry. It’s just… Trixie hates this… She tried to talk to her several times, but it always backfires somehow.” Trixie slumped against the back pillow of the couch, laying her head back to stare up at the ceiling. She loathed herself for scaring Fluttershy too, but it was difficult to pay attention to how she spoke sometimes. It had never been a problem before, or at least not one that Trixie had cared about.

“It’s okay.” Fluttershy soothed. Thoughtfully tapping her hoof against her chin while she pondered, Fluttershy mused quietly, “a dark alley, the hospital, the edge of the Everfree Forest…”

Perking up one ear, Trixie glanced over at Fluttershy. “What?”

“Oh, I was just thinking… It might not be entirely your fault—I-I mean, uhm, not that it is mostly your fault, or, uhm, no, I’m not saying it is b-but,” Fluttershy stuttered, and pointed to the door. “I-I just mean, you never met Derpy somewhere that she felt comfortable; all three of those places are kind of scary all on their own, right?”

With a twitch of her eyebrow, a tinge of annoyance sparked inside Trixie, but it mostly died when Fluttershy actually offered an interesting point. “Go on.” Her curiosity piqued, she quickly sat up straight.

“Well… Maybe it would be better if you spoke to her somewhere she felt safe? If she’s in her comfort zone, she won’t panic so easily, and you could apologize to her?” Fluttershy gave a hopeful smile.

“That… could work.” Trixie returned the smile. “Yes, yes! It’s genius. Trixie just has to talk to her when she’s comfortable!” Of course it had been a brilliant idea to talk to Fluttershy about how to deal with a scared pony, she had tons of experience! “Thanks, Fluttershy. Oh, but, where? This is the most comforting place Trixie knows, and it didn’t work.”

A blush shimmering through, Fluttershy nodded. “I-I’m happy you think so, Trixie. Uhm, well… Derpy doesn’t, y-you know, live here? Maybe we could go and visit her at her home? I’m, uh, pretty sure she doesn’t have a cloud home, because of Dinky.”

“Right! A pony would naturally feel more secure at home—“ Trixie paused, although these days she often considered this place to be her home, and really wanted it to be, she knew deep down that it wasn’t, it was solely Fluttershy’s; Trixie merely recovered there in lieu of the hospital. However, had Fluttershy just let on that she considered this Trixie’s home too? A warm feeling ignited in her chest, and quickly fanned out upward to her cheeks. A lovely, glowing emotion left her happily grinning like a complete idiot. She could feel her tail attempting to wag a little, and did her best to squish the urge down. Despite her best efforts, Trixie failed, and she hoped Fluttershy didn't notice what her rebellious tail was trying to indicate. She worked to at least sound natural as she continued the conversation. “T-Trixie approves of this plan! So, where does Derpy live?”

“I’m not sure…” Fluttershy’s tone of voice felt a little off, and she preemptively hunkered down on the couch. “But, I’m sure that Mayor Mare would know?”

It was as though a bucket of ice water had been dropped on Trixie, chilling her to the core as she gave Fluttershy a look of disbelief. “W-what? Trixie can’t ask her! Haven’t you been listening? She’s the one that’s trying to have Trixie arrested or locked up or something!”

Surprisingly, Fluttershy didn’t shy away as Trixie ranted, giving her an empathetic look instead. “D-don’t you think that, uhm, i-it’s better to… get it over with? At least you’d know what the, err, ‘result’ is. You’re just eating yourself up over it now… I—I just think you’d be happier.”

“Happier? But, what if Trixie is thrown in jail? Or banished? Or burned!? Or, or—” In the middle of listing off her nightmares, Trixie’s breath caught as she suddenly felt Fluttershy pull her into a hug.

Holding Trixie in a warm embrace, Fluttershy was so close to Trixie that even her whispered voice was loud and clear. “—or what if you just have to pay a fine? Or do a little community service? Or promise not to lie again? If you turn yourself in, that might even help.” She slackened her grip, pulling away just enough so she could lock eyes with Trixie. “W-won’t you please consider it?”

Trixie should have loudly protested, to push Fluttershy away and scold her naivety, but instead all she could do was return the hug. While Trixie was held snugly in her embrace, for some reason it was impossible to think of all the fears she’d had a moment ago. All she cared about was the sweet mare that made her heart beat so rapidly that her only fear was that it might explode.

After inadvertently assaulting Fluttershy in the kitchen, Trixie was sure Fluttershy wouldn’t be comfortable with having her close again for a long time, if ever. Rarely had she been so glad to be wrong.

Trixie could feel Fluttershy’s warm breath on her lips, she was so close, and staring almost expectedly at her. It would be so easy to just inch forward a tiny bit.

“Trixie?”

N-No! Snap out of it, Trixie! With every ounce of willpower she possessed, Trixie forced herself to stay put. She couldn’t make the same mistake twice, betraying Fluttershy’s trust and pushing her boundaries again. As she wound down, she became vaguely aware she was supposed to be giving an answer, and slowly nodded. “Y-yes… b-but only for you, Fluttershy.”

Blushing, Fluttershy shot Trixie a delighted smile. “T-that’s wonderful. Oh, I just knew you’d be brave. N-now, uhm, i-is there anything else you want? T-to talk about, I mean.”

Without thinking, Trixie eagerly nodded. There definitely was something Trixie could think of that she wanted! After the clarification registered with her, she faltered. She could perhaps still venture to ask about it, but she was scared of pushing Fluttershy too far too quickly. “T-the Great and Fearless Trixie, uhm, w-would liiike,” she drawled while her eyes darted across the room, looking for an excuse until they settled on the table. “To know what this l-letter is about! Yes, that!” She pointed to the simple, folded letter that had come with her books. “It’s for you. Trixie didn’t read all of it—didn’t read it! Trixie means she didn’t read it!”

If only she wasn’t such a magnificent liar, then maybe Fluttershy wouldn’t have released her to go get the letter. At least the look of concentration on her face while she read the letter was cute. “Oh, it’s from Twilight. She says Rainbow Dash asked for your books, and she is sending them here. Uh, oh, I guess you knew that already, sorry.”

Trixie just smiled impishly. “There may have been some subtle hints Trixie has picked up on.” Talking to Fluttershy had worked out much better than she thought it would. Although she was not exactly thrilled with her suggestion to turn herself in, it made a certain amount of sense. If any other option presented itself however, Trixie had little doubt she’d go with whatever it was instead.

A content smile found its way to Trixie’s lips when she found the most pressing worries in her mind were now much more manageable ones like ensuring she figured out something fun to do with Fluttershy, how much she missed having Dashie interrupting her every five seconds, and some looming sense that she’d have to figure out how to make a living at some point. Maybe she’d share that last one later, there was no rush.

Giggling softly, Fluttershy read on, showing a puzzled frown. “Oh… uhm, Trixie. Did you have any, uh… weird books?” She looked at Trixie over the edge of the letter.

With her face set ablaze Trixie stuttered and stumbled, embarrassed to death that Twilight would mention such a thing in the letter. “N-no! Of course not! M-maybe some um, reading material unfit for foals, but that isn’t weird! A-and Trixie is sure Twilight has some too!”

Fluttershy blinked, and glanced at the letter again. “Oh, okay, it’s just that she says she gave all the books back, except one that had a ‘weird magic field’. She just wants to run some tests first. Uhm, also… There were… ones that were destroyed beyond r-repair, I’m sorry, Trixie… Twilight did her best, but they didn’t all survive.”

A weak, involuntary chuckle rose from Trixie’s throat before she even became fully aware of it. “Hehe… what?” She must have misheard, it couldn’t be true, not now.

Passing the note to Trixie, Fluttershy got off the couch, offering an encouraging smile. “Oh, please don’t worry. I’m sure Twilight will be able to help you find copies of the books you liked,” Fluttershy said, then made her way into the kitchen. “I’ll get lunch started, or, uhm, finished? Could you set the table, please?”

It was a fair bit past lunch time already, but her rumbling stomach was the least of Trixie’s worries as she made some vague affirming noise while snatching up the letter.

Dear Fluttershy,

You are probably wondering right about now why there is such a big package on your doorstep.

You see, a couple of days ago, Rainbow Dash crashed through my window visited the library, and requested I ‘fork over’ what remained of the books recovered from the stage wagon that was destroyed during the Ursa Minor attack.

Naturally, my first instinct was to check her for any concussions with her if I had understood her correctly.

The books had been delivered to the library, though how she came to be aware of this, and why she wanted them, I do not know. Either way, I had come into possession of them earlier that week, and properly filed them away, precise alphabetical order, then library style (first word, excluding ‘The’, ‘A’, or ‘An’). With the exception of a number of books either too badly damaged, or books in need of repair.

However, due to Spike misplacing the checklist, —I gave it to her, she just doesn’t remember -S— I was unable to find them all on the spot, and promised I would have them delivered to her house.

In what I assumed to be a gambit to reserve her cool reputation, she instead demanded I had them delivered at your address. I hope it does not inconvenience you.

Please note that some of the books may be of a por sensitive nature, which I was not aware of at the time, and it may be best to leave the books wrapped up until Rainbow Dash retrieves them. I don’t know how Rainbow found out about this, but no matter what books happened to catch her interest, I’m just happy she’s taken any interest in reading. In the likely scenario event that she only takes the books that she was too embarrassed to ask about with her, could you send the remainder back to me?

Addendum:
In a happy accident, last night’s storm led to an impromptu sleepover at the library with Rarity and Applejack. It was so much fun that I am thinking about making it a regular event, but they seemed less enthused by this offer. I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to poll the rest of our friends, what do you think?

Ah, but I’m getting off track. During the night, I paradoxically recovered my check list due to the tree crashing through my roof sudden strong drafts in my bedroom making a complete mess of everything. Also, I learned that Trixie may still be in Ponyville, and that Rainbow Dash knows where she is. I suspect the books are probably for her. Because of this, I will make sure to restore all the books I can before sending this.

Addendum Two:
I regretfully have had to declare several books as ‘unrecoverable’. I know this must be a very painful experience for Trixie, please give her my condolences.

Also, during the restoration process, my Weather-Damage Detection spell picked up some strange magical interference from a book titled ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. I’ve decided to hang onto the book for a little while, so it will not be included in this shipment.

Originally I thought it might have been some kind of transmogrification spell, but almost all reversing spells that I know have not paid off. Still, I am almost sure I am not looking at the real book. Come to think of it, It might be some type of illusion spell? Well, I never really had to study that school, Spike. It always struck me as a better idea to just learn how to really do something, as opposed to learning how pretend I could do it. It’s just pointless, but maybe I should brush up on it? I’m really curious now. Wait, why are you still writi—She never gives any kind of sign. Hey, Fluttershy? Could you do me a favor and destroy this letter when you get it? Twi wants me to edit it till it looks proper, but it’s only a note. Thanks! -S

Your faithful friend,
Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 101 - Rent

Staring blankly at the letter, Trixie’s whole body felt numb.

No… this can’t be happening. Not now. Why couldn’t it be destroyed?

Slowly, she raised her gaze to the kitchen door, allowing the letter to fall the ground. Just a moment ago she’d been all but starving, looking forward to whatever Fluttershy would come through the door with, but now, her stomach felt like lead.

It’s all over... M-maybe it would be best… If Trixie just told Fluttershy herself? No, what’s the point?

Eyes watering, Trixie slumped down on the couch, folding her hooves over her head in a futile attempt to stave off reality as it came crashing down. Twilight had her book, and knew of the illusion. The letter was at least a day old. There was no way she hadn’t figured out what it really was by now.

T-there’s nothing Trixie can do…

It wasn’t fair, but then, nothing in the world ever was. Especially when it came to the cards it liked to deal Trixie. Trixie whimpered into the couch pillow, all she wanted to do anymore was just lay there. Idiot. Weakling. Failure… She twitched an ear at the last deprecation, for whatever reason, it made her think of Dashie. What would she think if she saw Trixie giving up without a fight?

No. Pushing herself away from the couch, Trixie quickly wiped her cheeks. No. Trixie is not taking this lying down!

Trotting quick circles around the table, Trixie pushed her mind into overdrive. Okay, first. If Twilight knew, Trixie would not be here right now. The letter says she doesn’t really know illusion spells. That’s good. Even if she’s crazy powerful, she can’t just ‘brush up’ on an entire field of magic in a couple days. The enchantment should hold out for a little while, Trixie has time!

All she had to do was use that time, and come up with a plan, or make something up on the fly. One thing was for sure, Trixie had to finally do what she had been putting off for as long as she’d been here: talk to Twilight.

She mentioned that she filed the other books, so that must mean the book is in the library too. If Fluttershy is right, the ponies won’t attack Trixie, but that’s assuming a lot of things. Never mind! This is no time to think about avoiding risks. Get to Twilight’s, spin some story, get the book. She knows something is up. What is a reason to hide a book? Freezing in her tracks Trixie called out, “A Diary!”

“Trixie? Did you say something?” A familiar, sweet voice rung out from the kitchen. At about the same time, there was a rapid series of knocks on the front door, sounding oddly musical.

“Nothing!” Trixie had to fight to keep the panic out of her voice while she stared at the front door in terror.

“Oh, could you, uhm, get the door, please?”

“L-leave it to Trixie!” Trixie’s attempt to swallow felt like scrapping a dry log through gravel. Fluttershy obviously believed there was nothing to fear, as she so casually asked Trixie to tend to the visitor, but Trixie was practically sure this was her end. Holding the doorknob for as long as possible, she quietly hoped that whoever was there would give up and leave.

If only they hadn’t been so loud, then maybe they could have thought nopony was home, and left them alone. Perhaps they still would? A second round of knocks shattered that little delusion. With a shaking hoof, Trixie opened the front door. “…What?”

Bouncing in place right before her eyes, was a pony with one of the craziest poofy manes Trixie had ever laid eyes upon, colored head to hoof in the most eye blistering pink tones known to ponykind.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I’m only allowed thirty words around you! Soooo, I’ll need this back in like thirty-two weeks. Oh! Even better! You could just give it to Rainbow—” Out of nowhere, a kitchen timer sound rung out, shaking Pinkie Pie’s head as though it was what made the sound.

Raising a hoof to her head, Trixie’s temples throbbed while she tried to make sense of what she was looking at. “What?”

Pinkie Pie looked at her wrist, which was completely bare, but apparently whatever she thought she saw was not to her satisfaction. Frowning as though displeased for a split second, Pinkie then looked to Trixie and grinned widely before raising up on her hind legs. Reaching behind her back, she pulled out a solid black piece of fabric, tied in a bundle, and gave it to Trixie. Pinkie Pie then made ‘goodbye’ gesture, before literally bouncing off down the road as though the gravel path were just a particularly amazingly textured bouncy castle.

“What?” When the bouncy pinkie thing was out of sight, Trixie could only conclude that she had to be delirious, and promptly turned around, heading back inside the cottage, shutting the door behind her. Ever so slowly, she glanced down at the black bundle still magically held to her chest.

Pulling on the string that held it together, the bundle folded out into a black cat suit, complete with hood. “…What?”

“That was delicious. Trixie is glad you were still able to use the eggs, Fluttershy.” Trixie smiled while she floated the dishes into the kitchen.

“Oh, well, you worked so hard on them. It just didn’t feel right to let them go to waste.” Fluttershy smiled, rinsing off the plates.

After Trixie’s run-in with what she had always assumed to be some fictional character Rainbow Dash liked to make up stories about, it had taken her a while to get her head back in the game. Fortunately, lunch had been just about ready, and a good meal had done wonders for Trixie’s powers of reasoning. Not that it helped much with making sense of what happened, and Trixie had decided to just throw the suit into the closet next to her books and forget about it. There were more pressing matters that demanded her attention.

Fortunately, she was much better equipped to handle them now. It was amazing how much difference a full stomach made. “Fluttershy, Trixie has a request,” she said, while taking the cleaned plates to the cabinets.

“Oh? Uhm, I’ll try, what is it?”

“Trixie wants to visit Twilight, today. To thank her for the books, and, well, for saving Trixie…” She allowed her voice to crack at just the right time. “Trixie was not very nice to her last time we met.”

Fluttershy looked up from the dishes, surprise written over her face. “Oh! Yes, if that’s what you want. But, I, uh, I don’t think Rainbow Dash will be here today… Are you sure you’re okay with just the two of us? I mean, with all the… well…”

Smiling, Trixie shrugged. “It was just paranoia speaking. Trixie is sure you are right, and nopony will try anything against us. It’s high time that Trixie stopped hiding from phantoms.” With a flick of her horn, the last of the dishes were safely stored away. “In fact, Trixie is so sure. Could you just give her some directions? It’s probably better if Trixie speaks to her alone anyway.”

“N-no, I’m sorry, Trixie.” Fluttershy shook her head, catching Trixie by surprise. “But, I’d be happy to guide you there. I-I hope you don’t mind… I’d be so worried if I knew you were out all alone.”

It was a kink in her plan, but only a minor one. “Sure, Fluttershy. Thanks. Oh, this works out well, maybe you could show Trixie around Ponyville a little bit afterwards?”

“Uhm, are you okay, Trixie? You don’t have to prove anything… I believe you when you say you’re not scared anymore.” Fluttershy briefly bit her lip, then turned her attention back to the dishes, only to find they were all gone. “Oh.”

“Too much? We’ll see how it goes then.” Trixie slid beside Fluttershy, and continued. “Trixie would like to at least know where the Library, Spa, and Mayor’s Office are.” Snaking one hoof around her, she added in a sly tone, “And, maybe a restaurant you like?” Trixie watched with a grin as she saw Fluttershy hide behind her mane, but Trixie was pretty sure her ears were turning a telling hue of pink.

Against her every instinct, Trixie pulled away, leaving Fluttershy her space. “Trixie is ready when you are,” Trixie said, as she casually trotted back into the living room.

Trixie stared up at the Golden Oaks Library. A tree, hollowed out one way or another, yet somehow still green, and furnished with all the trappings one would expect to see had it been any other building. Just from a glance, Trixie could tell it was a place Fluttershy might have given her left hoof to live in, had it been located anywhere less populated. Part of her had to wonder if the leafy cottage had been inspired by this library.

Trixie was glad to have finally arrived, Stretching her aching limbs, Trixie resolved that perhaps she’d been doing too much walking these past two days. More importantly than that, walking through the streets made her feel nauseous and jittery without Rainbow Dash nearby. As wonderful as Fluttershy was, Trixie did not think her capable of smacking a pony upside the head at a moment’s notice if she needed to. Still, she had to take the risk this time.

“Do you like it?” Fluttershy asked.

Trixie shot Fluttershy a smile, then shrugged her shoulders. “It’s nice, but Trixie is not a fan of its location. So, this is the place, right? Twilight Sparkle actually lives here?” A brief nod was all the confirmation she needed to knock on the door.

“Spike!”

“Yeah, I’m on it.”

The voices coming from inside were vaguely familiar, though Trixie was sure she wouldn’t have recognized them had she not already been told what to expect. Trixie impatiently tapped her hoof while she waited for somepony to answer the door already, taking the time to look around.

Although they had avoided the market streets this time, Trixie was surprised by how few ponies they had actually met along the way. As Fluttershy had suggested, nothing bad had happened. The worst they’d gotten was a stray glare, and that pony might have just suffered from indigestion, though Trixie was not convinced.

One thing was for sure, Ponyville had succeeded in humiliating Trixie once again, by making her look like a fool to Fluttershy for being so scared of walking through the streets. Perhaps that was their plan? Make her look crazy while luring her into a false sense of security?

Before she could think any more on it, the door opened, and a small dragon stood before them. “Hey, Fluttershy what bri—Whoa! Trixie?! What’s she doing here?”

Trixie remembered him now, he was the instigator, goading his friends to upstage her. Oh, she had things to tell him alright, she could tell him exactly what she was doing here after his meddling, but now was not the time. Swallowing the bitter mouthful of verbal venom she threatened to spill, Trixie put on her best smile. “Oh, you remember Trixie. You’re Spike, right?” As if she would have remembered his name had it not been shouted loud enough for half of Ponyville to hear just now. From the corner of her eye, Trixie noticed Fluttershy smiling at her.

“Yeah. I am.” Spike folded his arms over his chest as if to say ‘what of it?’.

Obviously, he didn’t trust her. Trixie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Is your… owner? Here?” Trixie ventured a guess. She’d heard of the upper-class keeping some of the strangest pets, and it wouldn’t surprise her to learn that Celestia’s protégée had a pet dragon, much.

Narrowing his eyes, Spike glared at her for a long moment, then turned his attention to Fluttershy, and gave her a questioning, though much friendlier, look. “So, I guess you’re here about the books, Fluttershy?” Pointing at Trixie with his thumb, he said, “I’ll get Twilight, I’m sure she’ll be real interested in your… pet?”

“Y-yes, oh, but, uhm, no. Trixie’s not—” Fluttershy tried to clarify, but Spike just winked at her and turned to fetch Twilight.

Though Trixie glared at Spike in retaliation, he had unsportingly turned away from her, so he couldn’t see, and ran back inside the library. Coward! “What a cute dragon,” Trixie forced out through grinded teeth, “Just too bad he’s so ‘lively’…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Trixie.” Fluttershy tucked her tail as she entered the library ahead of Trixie. “Please don’t be mad. They don’t know anything yet. M-maybe I should have gone ahead and explained first?”

Upon reflection, Trixie concluded that perhaps this had been what had taken Fluttershy so long when she went out to talk to Rarity. If the dragon’s reaction was anything to go by, then it would take some convincing to get anypony to talk to her. “It’s fine. Trixie does not need help with this.”

The inside of the Library, or ‘Twilight’s house’ Trixie supposed, was surprisingly roomy. Shelves had been carved into every available space on the wooden walls all around them, housing hundreds of books. Curiously, dozens of books were strewn across the floor in a disorganized pile as well.

“She’s what?!” yelled Twilight from somewhere below. Apparently, the tree had a basement, which was a strange thought. “Why didn’t you say so!”

A moment later, a slightly bewildered looking Twilight showed up. “H-hey, Fluttershy… Trixie.”

Spike followed closely behind Twilight, still looking vaguely annoyed at Trixie. However, now it was a shared burden, as Twilight earned herself the same ireful stare. Perhaps it was not something personal after all.

“Twilight.” Trixie gave a small nod in greeting, then held her tongue. Trying to ignore the sudden dry feeling in her throat, Trixie did her best to smile while she looked Twilight over for any sign of how much she already knew.

Glancing from Trixie to Twilight, Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably in place. “Hi, Twilight. Uhm, sorry for dropping in like this. I hope it’s not a bad time? Are you busy? You look busy, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, allowing her mane to cover half of her face again.

Trixie smirked, watching Fluttershy look even more nervous than she was herself. It was too bad she was so prone to hiding her sweet face. Without really thinking about it, Trixie reached out, and brushed Fluttershy’s mane to the side. “Relax, Fluttershy, it’s a public library. It’s her job to be busy with us.”

As Trixie exposed her, Fluttershy eeped quietly, nodding faintly in response while they locked eyes.

Twilight raised her eyebrows. “Oh, is it?” she asked with an annoyed tone, but her own attitude seemed to surprise her, especially when Fluttershy shrunk away and gave her a look somewhere between trepidation and apology. Twilight’s expression softened the very next moment. “Ah, I’m sorry. I just, well, I wasn’t expecting anypony. Uhm, would you like some tea? Spike was just making some.”

“I am?—Ouch, hey!” Spike said, rubbing his left arm after a swift tap from Twilight’s hind leg corrected him. It drew his gaze first to his owner, who directed him to Fluttershy with a brief nod. Apparently he caught on. “Uh, I mean, I am. It’s tea time.”

Trixie observed the pair of them, until a soft nudge on her shoulder caught Trixie’s attention. Fluttershy briefly met her gaze, then looked at Twilight and Spike again.

Fluttershy whispered, “Y-you’re, uhm, g-glaring…”

“What? Oh.” Trixie quickly forced a smile before turning back to Twilight. She just caught sight of Spike as he disappeared through a doorway, most likely leading to the kitchen. “Tea? What good timing. Shall we then?”

“Right, so, uhm, follow me,” Twilight said, leading the two of them towards another room. This one consisted of a fireplace, a small table, and once again, shelves upon shelves of books. Apparently, this was where Twilight entertained guests. Although it looked like part of the main library as well. Does she not have any rooms without books? Must be hard to figure out what rooms are public and which are private.

As Trixie attempted to keep track of the layout of the treehouse, she was pleased to find it was not all that complicated so far. The main rooms on the ground floor were simple, large, open areas with little to hide but a few staircases and doorways. To Trixie’s surprise, there were few actual doors, she had only counted two: the front and back door.

An awkward silence hung over the table they’d gathered around as they waited for the tea.

Fed up, Trixie decided to just get it over with, starting with the most recent thing. “So, Twilight. Thanks for, uh, taking care of Trixie’s books. To be honest, Trixie never expected to see them again.”

Twilight perked up. “Oh! No problem. I’m sorry I couldn’t fix all of them. But, I think I may have copies of a few here at the library. I could try to order some of the, erm, ‘others’, if you like?” Suddenly, and while clearly making sure to avoid eye contact, her face gained a pink tinge. A few long moments passed once again in uncomfortable silence. "What's taking Spike so long?"

Almost just as eager to avoid that topic as Twilight was, Trixie nodded. “Y-yes. Taking forever.”

“Oh, uhm, should I help him? He’s just a baby dragon,” Fluttershy offered with a spark in her eye and a surprising eagerness in her voice that she usually reserved for animals, though Twilight didn’t seem phased by it.

“He can handle it, but I’m sure he’d like a little company,” Twilight said, smiling while she nodded to the doorway.

Fluttershy was nearly half way across the room before she apparently recalled there had been other ponies at the table she left. “Oh, uhm, sorry, I-I’ll erm, be back soon?”

Giving a bemused smirk, Trixie waved her off. “What is it with you and ill-mannered creatures? Go on then. Trixie demands honey in hers, remember that.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but quickly clamped it shut as a red tinge graced her cheeks. She then quickly turned and headed for the kitchen, leaving Trixie a bit confused.

Trixie had a hard time looking away, and allowed her gaze to linger. She traced over Fluttershy's wings with her eyes, and only felt a 'slight' bit of guilt as she watched the Pegasi's shapely flank turn the corner and exit her sight.

"Ah-hem!"

A rosy warmth glowed inside her cheeks while Trixie turned her attention back to the table. Despite her embarrassment, she was unable to stop smiling. It was her first genuine smile since she’d left the cottage.

Locking eyes with Twilight again, two things stood out to Trixie: First, that the temperature of the room had suddenly dropped; Second, any semblance of a smile Twilight had before, was gone.

Oh, great. She’s got an eye on Fluttershy doesn’t she? Gah, Trixie would give anything not to have to deal with that now! Figures that Trixie would step into a minefield the second sh—

“So, why are you really here?”

—…or that. Is it too late for Trixie to go back to the love rival thing?

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 102 - Recant

As soon as Fluttershy had left the room, there was a sudden shift in tone. Pleasantries, however awkward they had been, were immediately dropped. In some ways Trixie felt that was a blessing, as it had been just a façade of friendliness. Now she had a much better idea of where she really stood.

From the outset, Trixie knew just stopping by for tea and biscuits had been an idea doomed to fail. It was the 'best case' scenario, and she had never had one of those hoofed over to her, so why would she expect this time be any different? As far as Trixie was concerned, Twilight was part of an ongoing effort to ruin her life. If she was a willing or unwilling part of that effort didn't matter to Trixie.

Trixie knew that to Twilight, she was just another minor villain. One that, unlike the others, had the poor manners to stick around after being defeated. All the other ‘villains’ that Trixie had heard about: Nightmare Moon, Gilda, and the dragon, each had skipped town moments after their ‘downfall’, Trixie had to assume that Twilight didn’t quite know what to do with her right now. And uncertainty was an opening Trixie knew how to exploit.

Either she still holds a grudge over Trixie putting on a show, which would be ideal… or she actually did manage to break the illusion already. There’s no way she could have though, is there? Even Trixie can’t be that unlucky.

“What do you mean ‘why are you really here’? It’s not nice to put ponies on the spot like that, but…” Trixie paused and rubbed her elbow nervously, avoiding Twilight’s gaze for a moment. “I know we started off on the wrong hoof, but I was hoping we could… well…” She met Twilight’s eyes again. “…Be friends?” If Dashie and Fluttershy were right, then the study of friendship was why Twilight was in Ponyville. Trixie could only hope that this was good enough bait to lure Twilight away from her suspicion.

The completely flabbergasted look on Twilight’s face was priceless. Her mouth hung open and her eyes attempted to take over her whole face. Trixie sincerely wished she could have snapped a picture, if only doing so would not have hurt her credibility, not that she had a camera.

“Bwah? But, I—you. What?”

Putting on her most innocent face, Trixie carried on. “I know you didn’t seem to like my show, and you could have humiliated me, but you didn’t. Unlike the others who tried to ruin it, you just left. That was ... nice of you.” Trixie leaned over the table, bringing herself a lot closer to Twilight, who pushed back a bit into her seat. Twilight's reaction reminded her of a rat backing away from a snake. Wanting to run, but not willing to let the snake out of its sight.

Trixie smiled, keeping her amusement at Twilight's reaction hidden as she continued. " Then, when nopony else would have, you saved me! You didn’t let the Ursa Ma—Minor crush me. You are an amazing Unicorn, Twilight.

“Before you, I never even thought it was possible for a pony to be so good at magic, and you were so humble about it. Then today you sent me my books, and I just had to come and see you. Not in a weird way! Just to thank you, for everything.” It was easy to smile, though Trixie had to actively force it away from ‘smug satisfaction’ and towards ‘grateful’.

Twilight's face was burning up, and she continuously shuffled her hooves quietly, as if kneading the seat cushion in anxiety. Huh, who knew the Princesses’ student would have such a bad poker face. Trixie watched Twilight struggling to regain her stern composure while she stuttered incoherently, ”B-but, I, uhm, w-well. You, erm. W-what about that t-thing you said? You know ‘show-stopping ability’? I thought you were angry?”

“Oh… that…” Trixie bit her lip, slumping back down on her haunches. She allowed her gaze to trace the wood grains in the floor. “I… was jealous, okay? Please don’t hold that against me. How would you feel if you met somepony who was better at everything? Who could easily replace you if they felt like it? I felt threatened. I-I’m sorry… but, I’ll understand if you don’t want to be friends after that?” Keeping her head tilted down, she stared at Twilight from under her eyebrows.

Twilight averted her gaze, an agonizing, contemplative look on her face. “I…well, I suppose I do understand what that feels like, a little. After finding the elements, Luna went to Canterlot while I…” Twilight’s eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head. A moment later, her eyes met Trixie’s gaze again. Annoyingly enough, they were filled with a renewed determination. “I chose to stay here, with my friends. They are very important to me. I won’t let anything happen to them. That’s why I have to ask you again: why are you really here?”

For one brief moment, Trixie felt her carefully maintained mask crack, slipping out one stray glare at Twilight. She quickly adopted a hurt expression. “I-I don’t understand the question? I’m here because we have mutual friends, and I thought we could get along?”

Clearly losing her patience, Twilight jabbed a hoof toward one of the doorways. A gesture which Trixie took keen notice of. “Trixie, I have your book. I know what you are like! It took me a while to work it out, but there is no way I will let one of you near my friends.”

Feeling the color drain out of her face, Trixie stared at Twilight wide-eyed. It’s a bluff! Don’t fall for it! Keep a cool head, Trixie! Find out what she really knows first. One of the things Trixie’d learned during her stay with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, was that she was an awful liar and actor when flustered. She had to remain in control.

It wasn’t difficult to well up a few tears, all Trixie had to do was imagine she’d be forced to leave her precious pair. Suitably sad looking, she shuffled backwards, away from Twilight. “Y-you know? I-I never thought… O-Okay! I admit it…” Trixie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as though to steady herself, then gave Twilight a fierce look. “I like mares! I-is that so bad?! You didn’t have to snoop through my books to figure that out! What are you going to do? Tell them? They already know!”

“Hah! I kne—wait what?! No! No no!” Twilight quickly waved her forelegs as though to ward off the conversation. “I don’t have any problem with, with well, being like that!” Her face was as red as a tomato while she attempted to clarify. “W-whatever a pony does in private is well, uh, a-as long as nopony’s hurt, I—Look that’s not what this is about! I meant the Jekyll and Hyde book!”

Trixie had to fight not to show a grin. She just loved watching Twilight dance in the palm of her hoof. It also helped that the prudish mare was surprisingly cute when squirming, though that was a thought that she rapidly suppressed. The next part was easy enough. Trixie shot Twilight a blank look, tilting her head to the side as though she thought looking at it from a different angle would help. “… The one about the potion brewing stallion? I never finished it. It was, erm, not to my ‘tastes’ if you catch my meaning. Was it that bad though? I know it had some violent passages.”

“No! It’s—you know! The illusion enchantment? I unraveled a few fragments of it already. It’s some kind of spellbook, but it’s wrong.” The almost pleading desperation in Twilight’s voice rose, almost as though she truly believed the true contents of the book had merely slipped Trixie mind, and she was hoping to jumpstart Trixie’s memory.

Just fragments? Hah, not as powerful as you thought you were, Twilight? Trixie blinked, staring at Twilight with a puzzled look. Shooting a smile, she leaned in with interest. “A hidden spellbook? That sounds great! What kind of spells did it have? Do you think it might have something to do with Orion Oreo? Inkwell? Oh! Maybe Starswirl the Bearded? Ah, wait. I guess the book wouldn’t be from that long ago, the story is only two hundred years old.”

Taken aback by Trixie’s enthusiasm, Twilight shook her head a little. Clearly unsure of how to proceed, she latched onto Trixie’s questions. “What? Well, uh, I don’t know. I can’t read any of the pages in full. As far as if any of those ponies wrote it… I guess it actually could be, if somepony placed the enchantment on the book later, or if it’s a copy, or maybe if the illusion changes every few centuries... But why would anypony want to hide a book like that? It’s unicorn history.”

“Well, it’s only an illusion spell. Nopony who’s serious about magic uses those, right? Maybe it was just a prank?” Trixie offered, resisting the urge to bite her tongue for blaspheming against her own magic specialty. “I just mean, any magician worth their bits would have used a transmogrification spell.”

“That’s what I thought too!” Twilight said, smiling. The first genuine smile Trixie had seen out of the mare directed actually at her. “The first thing I tried was applying the third and fifth principles of alternation by Ravine the Stoneweaver.”

“Oh, but if it was only an illusion, wouldn’t that end up turning the book into a tacky lamp?”

“It did, but I didn’t know at the time it was just an illusion.”

“Did you try using Hoofdir’s theorem?”

“You mean to restore it to its original form? Yes, but that also restored the enchantment. But that gave me an idea, I could try evading illusion entirely, and just remove the enchantment itself. The same way Teal Mithril describes in his book ‘inane and impractical solutions to unusual problems’.”

“And that worked? I’m more familiar with his contemporary, Evening Star, and she was not very positive about his methods.” Despite herself, Trixie found that she actually was having fun discussing how to crack the book with Twilight. It was only now that she realized how much she’d missed having some pony to talk to about magic that didn’t involve her bragging about it.

“He was pretty unorthodox, so at first I didn’t bother with it. I had just figured out it was probably illusion magic, so I tried to work with that first. The problem was that I don’t know much about illusions, so I didn’t get very far before I decided to try a more unconventional approach. It worked. The only setback was that the enchantment was more complex than I thought. So it only revealed small bits.”

Trixie stared at Twilight. For a moment, she felt actual awe. “That can’t be right. If it’s that complex it should have repaired anything you tried to unravel, unless you threw ridiculous amounts of magic at it!” Although she’d known Twilight was powerful, she hadn’t expected her to be strong enough to effectively brute force her way through the problem. It was practically cheating.

“Well, sure, it tried that, but it isn’t too difficult to overload. If you can use Hoofdir’s theorem, you can also overload an enchantment a bit.” Twilight chuckled as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

Trixie wasn’t quite sure if it was false modesty, or an honest misunderstanding of just what was considered ‘normal’ levels of magic. “Actually, I can’t use it. It’s purely theoretical.”

Twilight paused, giving Trixie a surprised look. “You don’t know the spell? But… you suggested it?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Of course I know the spell. There is a difference between knowing it, and having the raw magic needed to cast it.”

“Oh, right. I guess I never really had that problem,” Twilight mused, looking up at the ceiling while stroking her chin. “I hadn’t even thought about that. So, on what level can you cast?” She focused on Trixie again as she asked the question.

It was not lost on Trixie that the look on Twilight’s face was different. They weren’t simply discussing spells now. Trixie was being studied. Under most circumstances, having the undivided attention of somepony would have been great, but this was uncomfortable. “Trixie does not want to talk about it,” she said, folding her hooves over her chest.

“Why not? You had some nice tricks during your show. Although, thinking about it, they weren’t very magic intensive. Were you pacing yourself? I guess you did just arrive in town.”

‘Tricks’ she called them! Trixie gritted her teeth while she glared at Twilight.

Twilight clapped her hooves together. “Oh! And where did you study magic? I saw you had a few books, but you can’t be entirely self-taught, right? Did they have a magic exam? What was your result? Oh, I think I still have one do—”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not owe you an explanation!” On the one hoof, Trixie knew that if she could get Twilight to dismiss her actual magic prowess, that would be to her benefit. However, every fiber of her being screamed in protest at the thought of allowing anypony to look down on her.

Twilight jumped, startled by the sudden outburst. Confusion streaked across her face while she stared wide-eyed at Trixie.

Trixie knew exactly what this was about, another attempt by Twilight to show off how much better she was than her. Oh sure it looked innocent enough to ask about her schooling and abilities, but there was no way that anything she said was ever going to compare favorably to ‘Celestia’s personal student.’

The friendly atmosphere they’d been building up gradually drained from the room. That was, until Twilight did something unexpected.

“I’m sorry, Trixie. I shouldn’t have pushed you.” Twilight lowered her head shamefully. “It’s no excuse, but sometimes I get a bad case of tunnel vision when I find something interesting.”

Trixie blinked. High and mighty Twilight was apologizing? It didn’t quite line up with how she had expected her to react. At the end of the day, Twilight was holding all the cards. She didn’t need Trixie, so why would she be at all interested in patching things up with her?

Something in her face must have given away Trixie’s confusion, as Twilight gave Trixie a sheepish smile. “Please don’t hold it against me?”

Recognizing her own line from before, Trixie smirked. “When you put it like that, Trixie doesn’t have much of a choice, does she?” Trixie suddenly realized that at some point she had slipped back into third pony. Fortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to mind the change. As long as Trixie made a good first impression, it shouldn’t matter.

“Thank you.” Twilight smiled, and looked over her shoulder in the direction that Spike and Fluttershy had gone. “They’ve been gone a while. Maybe I should go check on them.”

“No need. Trixie is sure the delay is caused by Fluttershy attempting to excuse Angel’s behavior while he was here last week.” Trixie rolled her eyes, exasperated. “At least it is nice to know it’s nothing personal. He just hates everypony, erm, and dragon.”

“Hah, Spike was going on for days about that. I don’t think anything could convince him to look after Angel again. To be honest, I don’t think those animals needed any looking after, but we just wanted to put Fluttershy at ease. Well, as much as possible anyway. Considering…”

Trixie laughed. “Considering that you were about to go fight a dragon? Which, by the way, is the worst idea Trixie has ever heard of.”

“We never meant to fight it! Just negotiate with it! How do you even know about this? Come to think of it. Where have you been these past couple weeks?” Twilight asked.

“Couple weeks? Huh, you’re right. It feels like it’s been much longer.” Trixie mused on it for a moment before she recalled the actual question. “Ah, anyway. After Trixie’s departure, she… was injured. Dashie, erm, Rainbow Dash found her, and got Fluttershy involved. Trixie has been enjoying Fluttershy’s hospitality ever since.” Technically, none of those statements were lies. Which was the best kind of lie.

“Oh. They never mentioned it to me.” The look on Twilight’s face betrayed hurt, and a little bit of suspicion, though she tried to smile.

“They knew that Trixie did not wish anypony to know she was still in Ponyville. Though Trixie stayed at the hospital for a bit when the dragon mountain thing was happening. She was given a very colorful retelling of the events that took place in the evening. Trixie still can hardly believe you all survived… Hey, did Fluttershy really… you know?”

“Really what? Oh! Yes! She scolded the dragon! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. If it wasn’t for everypony else corroborating the event, I would have thought I’d imagined the whole thing.”

If there was any lingering doubt in Trixie that Fluttershy, Dashie and Applejack had been playing a prank on her with that wild dragon story, it was gone now. “So is that just a thing now? Are you girls sent out to deal with random problems?”

“Oh, I hope not. I lost a whole day's worth of studying. Not to mention it completely threw off my weekly schedule. I can’t just plan in a spare ten ‘emergency’ hours to shift around every week… or can I?” Twilight scribbled down some quick notes, apparently revising and editing it several times while she furrowed her brow in concentrations. “Okay. No. Maybe. Yes? No. Unless… Well, I can get it down to maybe once or twice in a season. What if I…”

Apparently, the idea of being sent out to literally do Celestia knows what had Twilight more concerned with how it would affect her schedule, than the actual danger involved. Trixie gawked at Twilight while attempting to wrap her head around how this unicorn functioned with screwed up priorities like that.

Trixie cleared her throat to catch Twilight’s attention. “But, Fluttershy mentioned that the princess took The Elements of Harmony with her. Aren’t you just normal ponies without those?”

Glancing up from her notes, Twilight looked momentarily disorientated. “Wha? Oh, that. I’m sure she’ll provide them if there is a need for it. Just look at the situation with the dragon. Princess Celestia knew we could manage without them. I’m sure she has everything under control,” Twilight said, with absolute certainty.

“Right…” Trixie realized she shouldn’t have expected anything else. It must have been reassuring to have such unwavering faith in somepony, but Trixie isn’t so sure… Trixie let Twilight get back to her notes. She stared down at her hooves, slowly drawing circles over the floor while she thought about it.

Normally, the notion that a team of six special ponies took care of Equestria’s problems and shouldered the danger themselves would have been nice, if only she didn’t love two of them. Trixie could only hope she was worrying over nothing. It had only happened twice after all.

“Trixie? Are you okay?”

Shaken from her thoughts, Trixie looked up to find Twilight staring at her, looking concerned. Trixie briefly considered telling another lie for the sake of avoiding any potential confrontation, but the fear weighed too heavily on her mind to pass up the opportunity.

“No, Trixie isn’t. How can you be so sure? What if you need the magic suddenly?” Sucking in a deep breath, Trixie puffed up her chest to look more imposing. “Do your friends have a choice?” You can gamble with your own life, but Trixie won’t let you drag Fluttershy and Dashie down with you.

Twilight frowned. “I’d never force any of my friends to do anything. They choose to help me. I didn’t even have to ask for it. Hay, I tried to tell them I’d rather deal with it on my own, and they didn’t listen.”

Trixie fought to keep her scowl to a minimum, grinding her teeth to stop herself from blurting out her thoughts. Wouldn’t force them? You dragged Fluttershy up that mountain!

Apparently taking her silence as compliance, Twilight’s expression softened. “Look, I understand if you think it is insane —I sure did—, but I learned something special about the Elements of Harmony when we found them. The magic does not go away just because we don’t have them, the magic of friendship is inside of us, it always will be.” Twilight smiled earnestly while she gestured towards the window. “Just a few days ago, I learned that friends can be an amazing source of strength. Fluttershy showed us exactly how strong she could be for us. Do you see?”

‘Friendship magic’… It did sound insane. But what really worried Trixie was how completely Twilight appeared to have bought into it. She sounded like some kind of cult leader, or follower, considering the leader would have to be Celestia. Does she only teach blind faith? Trixie is glad to have dodged that bullet!

Forcing a smile, Trixie nodded faintly. “Riiight. Trixie understands perfectly.” Although Trixie tried, the small ember of hope that Twilight would be able to put her mind at ease died.

Still, Trixie couldn’t fight Twilight openly on this. No good could come from it, and she needed Twilight’s trust —or at least avoid her ire— for a while.

As long as Trixie had Twilight in a talkative mood, she might as well take advantage of it. “Speaking of the ‘magic of friendship’… Trixie was hoping that you could tell her about what happened with Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy told Trixie much, but there were many magic questions Trixie had that she was unable to answer. Especially about the Elements of Harmony. Could you tell Trixie your version of events?”

Twilight beamed enthusiastically, pulling two books off the shelves as she nodded. “Of course! We’ll start at the beginning: the tale of the two sisters!” She presented the first book, an illustrated version of the story.

Trixie caught the title of the other book from the corner of her eye: Predictions and Prophecies. She settled in for what undoubtably would be an extensive essay worth of information.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 103 - Roundabout

Twilight’s talent for story telling was, in Trixie’s professional opinion, a train wreck. Like a true academic, Twilight merely reported her findings and the process she’d used to arrive at her conclusions. It was not a terribly engaging story, but it was at least excruciatingly informative. Amidst the sea of seemingly endless detail, Trixie had to fight to keep herself from drowning, and retain something in the process.

At some point during the lecture, Trixie very briefly caught sight of Spike and Fluttershy. Spike took two steps into the room, took one look at Twilight, then he made an immediate about-face and marched right back out of the room. Fluttershy was one step behind him, but she was quickly, and quietly, ushered out.

It was a good thing Trixie already knew much of the general gist of the story, or she wouldn’t have been able to follow the events. Still, she had to conclude that Fluttershy was right. Talking to Twilight about this was enlightening.

Especially interesting was the part about Nightmare Moon’s destruction of the elements. Somehow the six of them had created new ones on the spot.

“So, that is what you meant before? When you told Trixie that the Elements of Harmony are inside you?” Trixie asked, looking down at a scroll with six illustrations of the new elements. Receiving a simple nod from Twilight in return, Trixie carried on. “Huh…Perhaps those shattered stone globes were never more than mere conduits in the first place, in which case, perhaps the same is true for the tiara and necklaces now?”

“Yes, that is possible. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to run any tests. For instance, it would be interesting to know if the physical representations are all that are needed to use the elements, or if the original bearer is the requirement.” Twilight flipped through the pages of her book. “It doesn’t look like anypony has ever tried to find out anything about it, or at least it is not written down,” she said with a note of disapproval. “Hay, nopony even knew what the sixth element was!”

Trixie perked up. “Are you sure about that?”

“Of course, listen…” Twilight dragged ‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide’ towards her, and read aloud. “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery.”

“Trixie is not sure that is true. Doesn’t the story say that Princess Celestia used them to banish Princess Luna a thousand years ago? She must have known what the sixth element was. She seems to know a lot about them, actually…” The more Trixie thought on it, the stranger it became. Celestia knew what Twilight needed to bring out the elements, but withheld a lot of vital information. There never had been an official explanation for Celestia’s disappearance that fateful night.

“I… hadn’t thought about that,” Twilight mumbled while she stared down at the page. She looked as though she’d just discovered that putting two and two together produced three, and she had to make sense of it.

Staring at the suddenly silent Twilight, Trixie wished she hadn’t opened her big mouth. Oh no, this is something Trixie has to stay as far away from as possible. Trixie pulled the book away from Twilight, prompting her to remember Trixie’s existence.

“Hey!”

Trixie gave a disinterested shrug. “What? It’s obviously a thousand years out of date. Trixie is not surprised. The only two ponies that could have given any updated information were either on the moon, or had very painful associations with the elements. Of course they wouldn’t be available for interviews.” Trixie pushed the book back onto the shelf it came from. Which wasn’t hard, since it was the only one with any room on it. “So, that makes you the expert, and Trixie already knows you don’t know anything.”

“I don’t know anything?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Well excuse me for not having a comprehensive grasp of some practically mythical magic artifacts that I’ve spent barely ten minutes worth of time with!”

“Trixie is just saying it’s kind of a pattern. Elements of Harmony, dragons, weird spellbooks. You didn’t know more than a little bit about any of them, but you take those in stride.” Trixie threw her hooves up in the air. “But Trixie says she beat an Ursa Major, and all of a sudden you have to check every little detail.”

“What? That doesn’t logically follow, does it? Is that what this is about? You’re sore that I fact checked you? It’s not like I planned to bring it up.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I only looked it up because you intrigued me. Shouldn’t you be happy you had such a big impact on your audience?”

“Oh, that is such, erm. That is so, ugh.” It was difficult to be a blowhard when somepony just took the wind out of her sails like that. So inconsiderate. Begrudgingly, Trixie folded her hooves over her chest, and looked off to the side. “T-that’s one way of looking at it… Trixie supposes… Did you really?”

“Of course. I said it before. Don’t you remember?”

It wasn’t really how Trixie had ever pictured influencing another pony. Her shows were definitely intended to inspire, but only awe and respect, not learning. “…Not so much. It’s all a bit blurry,” she lied. Even now, she could remember everything crystal clear. The shaking of the ground with each thunderous footstep, the deafening roars, the monstrous teeth… Trixie quickly shook her head, trying to ignore the cold chills that ran down her spine. “Yes, blurry… Probably due to the concussion. For the longest time, Trixie thought your name was Twilight ‘Sugarcube’.”

Twilight snerked, quickly raising a hoof to her mouth. “Sugarcube? I never took you for a country pony, Trixie.” She quickly tried to recover. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing. You must’ve been hurt badly.”

“Please, as if something like that could ever be more than a minor inconvenience to The Great and Powerful Trixie.” She shook her head with a chuckle, then briefly looked toward the door Twilight had inadvertently pointed to a while ago. Presumably, her book was in that direction. “By the way, what did you mean before? When you said something was wrong with the spellbook?”

Twilight blushed with embarrassment. “Oh, erm, well… I, I guess I should apologize for that too. I kind of assumed that you already knew what was in it. Heh… So I didn’t go into detail. I’m sorry for accusing you like that, Trixie.”

“Trust Trixie, she is used to false accusations by now. It would be a nice chance for Trixie to actually know what is going on for a change.”

She cleared her throat, and went silent for a moment while she held a contemplative look. “It’s… difficult to explain. They are spell formulae, but nothing like I’ve seen before. It’s a bit like reading a book without vowels. Things that should be there, aren’t. It looks wrong, but it might actually work. I just… I can’t really think of why anypony would want to.”

Trixie tried to appear relaxed, by forcing herself to think about the last time she watched the sunset from Fluttershy’s bedroom window. It actually worked pretty well, as she found herself softly smiling. “You’re being vague again. Come on, you’re a smart unicorn, just say what you think.”

“Sorry. I suppose that, well… just keep in mind that this is only speculation, because its only showing part of the spells.”

“Understood. Spit it out already,” Trixie said impatiently.

Looking extremely uncomfortable, Twilight nearly whispered, “Well, uhm… I think… these spells, or well, at least some of these spells… are meant to hurt ponies…” A pale look of nausea clung to her face. “C-can you imagine? Magic isn’t meant to be used that way, but I think the author of the book disagrees.”

Trixie swallowed nervously. She finally found out how much Twilight knew, but just how much she could piece together from just fragments was frightening.

Catching on to Trixie’s reaction, Twilight quickly shook her head. “Ah! No, don’t worry, Trixie. It’s nothing like your show. You just roughed them up a little. I am talking about real harm, like… well, I don’t want to give any examples. It makes me feel queasy just having the book here, but tomorrow I’ll have Spike take it to the post office and send it to Princess Celestia. She’ll know how to break the illusion, and what to do about this.”

“S-send it tomorrow?” Trixie asked, pale faced.

“Honestly, I’d much rather have Spike send it by dragon flame. Just so this thing is out of my house by tonight. But, I don’t know what kind of reaction the book might have to that. For all I know it could self-destruct!” She paused briefly, with a look of shock on her face, then sheepishly added. “Erm, which I guess could have also happened while I was experimenting on it.”

There was no actual chance of that happening, but Trixie wasn’t about to tell Twilight that. “Yes, good idea.” At the very least that gave her a couple more hours to figure out something she could do about it. Other than engaging Twilight in mortal combat, and cement her place in history as worst pony ever. Like what? Ask her nicely to give it back when she’s done? Fool! If Celestia finds out Trixie has a book like that… She shivered, then noticed Twilight staring at her.

“Trixie? Hello? I asked, where should I say you found the book? Do you remember? The more details the better.” Twilight held a quill, posed to strike the parchment she was apparently using to document Trixie’s description.

“Uh, well, erm, you see… Trixie is not sure. When a pony travels as much as Trixie does, it is unfeasible to remember every little shop and merchant. Trixie’s selection of books tends to rotate, selling off old books to afford new ones, so there is no telling.” Trixie nodded, trying to keep a neutral face.

Unperturbed Twilight scribbled something down then looked up at Trixie again. “Alright, so what towns have you visited? Just a general list will do.”

Trixie felt sweat running down her forehead. “Uhm, it, uh, escapes Trixie right now.”

Twilight raised a brow, but remained pleasant. “…okay, how about a direction? Did you come from the west? East?”

Providing Twilight with a route she had traveled wasn’t something Trixie wanted to do. It was much too easy to track down her old life if she told the truth. She could lie. Of course she could. But, if she gave Twilight a false list than it would be trivial to ascertain she had not actually been to those towns. To start with, she was not exactly low profile at the best of times. On top of that, if she were asked even basic questions about any unknown towns it would be obvious she had not visited them.

“Trixie thinks it may help jog her memory if she sees the book.”

“Uhm.” Twilight sounded unsure for a moment, regarding Trixie quietly for a moment before she nodded. “Okay. Follow me.”

It was a relatively short trip. Trixie was proud to discover she had, for the most part, deduced the books location correctly. The one thing she had not counted on though was the underground cavern that was apparently passing for a basement.

Judging by all the strange technology, wires, blackboards, beakers, and suspiciously flammable looking liquids, Trixie concluded the basement had to function as some sort of laboratory. Part of her wondered if this was part of the original building, or if it was built specifically for Twilight.

Trixie’s eyes were drawn to the worktable pushed up against the far wall. ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was laying right there in plain view. Funnily enough it was surrounded by several other books, propped open and displaying various different magical equations, presumably related to Twilight’s efforts for cracking the enchantment.

Well. That was easier than Trixie thought it would be. So this is where she’s keeping it.

Feigning a moment of clarity while she observed the cover, Trixie brought a hoof to her forehead. “Ah! Yes, of course! Trixie met a traveling merchant on the road west of Ponyville. He was really stingy and rude when Trixie asked to see his wares and… erm…” She looked up at Twilight uncertainly.

Shooting her a confused look, Twilight tilted her head. “What?”

Fighting to contain her grin, Trixie gave her a worried look. “Trixie, uh, may have helped herself to some compensation for his unacceptable behavior.“ As Twilight raised an eyebrow, Trixie defensively added. “He was charging way too much! It is not Trixie’s fault! So when he wasn’t looking Trixie pulled one of his books out of his bag. It wasn’t even worth it, because Trixie didn’t like it.” She huffed, as though blaming the merchant she stole it from for not telling her it was a boring story.

“I-I’m sorry what? Actually, you know what. Never mind. What did he look like?”

“Oh, uhm. A unicorn stallion with a brown coat, blond mane, green eyes. Trixie remembers pretty well because she remembers pitying him for being so generic.” She grinned sheepishly as Twilight simply stared at her. “What? He started it! Trixie was perfectly nice until she lost patience with him.”

“So you stole his book?!” Twilight blurted out, much louder than Trixie expected.

“Erm, yes. Though Trixie prefers to think of it as involuntary compensation.”

Composing herself, Twilight pressed a hoof against the bridge of her nose, carefully stroking away an impending headache. “You stole a book, most likely containing illegal spells, from what may or may not have been some kind of evil wizard? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you might have actually lucked out when you just fell off the face of Equestria for two weeks after pulling a stunt like that.”

Before Trixie could reply, Twilight suddenly gasped and covered her mouth with her hooves. “Wait! That’s not why you were hurt, is it? Did you get attacked?!”

Oh, you don’t know the half of it. The alluring prospect of the look that would be on Twilight’s face if she told her about Rainbow Dash’s outburst was nearly tempting enough for Trixie to reveal how close Twilight actually was. Shaking with barely contained mirth, Trixie shook her head. “No, of course not.”

“Are you sure? I mean, well. What did happen?” Twilight stepped closer.

Trixie took a half step back. “A tree. Trixie was running in the dark and hit a tree.” She would have to remember to give herself a pat on the back later for just how many honest answers she was giving Twilight. She most certainly had done exactly that, it just wasn’t why she had a concussion… or maybe it had contributed. Huh, Trixie should consider that. It might make Dash feel less guilty.

Curiously, Twilight did not seem convinced. In fact, she looked terribly concerned. “A tree. Trixie, I, uhm… It’s not that I don’t believe that is what you remember. I do not think you are lying, but have you ever heard of memory spells? What if you were attacked and your attacker erased the deed from your mind after he realized you did not have his book at the time?”

Ugh, great. She rolled her eyes. “Trixie is quite sure nopony has been messing with her head.”

“So you wouldn’t object if we checked? I think I might be able—” She took another step closer.

A hot flash of anger coursed through her veins. Trixie snapped at Twilight “No!” It came out a lot harsher than she thought it would, causing Twilight to freeze. “Trixie is not consenting to letting you experiment on her! Have some sense of privacy will you?”

It slowly dawned on Trixie that, in her efforts to spin a story that would get her off the hook, she had made several claims that would raise alarm bells for anypony that considered memory spells a viable possibility. A uselessly generic description, an uncorroboratable and unreasonable explanation for her injuries, poor recollection of previously visited locations, and now refusal to allow examination.

Hm, Trixie might be able to use that for something? She could not think of any way that could be useful, which only left her to conclude she was being an idiot. Too caught up in her immediate needs to consider the consequences of what she was doing. That sounded awfully familiar.

“I, yes, sorry…” Twilight deflated and pinned her ears back. “Of course it is your choice. I was only worried you might be in trouble… I don’t really want to think about what would happen if the owner of this book caught you.”

Trixie stiffened, there it was again. “It, uh, it’s fine.” She tried to avoid looking directly at Twilight. “Well, when you put it like that… Good thing Trixie didn’t get caught then.” Her mind raced, looking for anything she could say to look somewhat less suspicious.

Twilight did not look the least bit reassured.

Just great. This wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t just happened to be dealing with the one pony in Equestria that considered absolutely every obscure and next to impossible piece of magic to be just as likely to be in any unicorns arsenal as she would a basic levitation spell…

Wait, that’s it! For the briefest of moments, she felt a sly smile flash across her face before it was rapidly disguised as a mere weary smile.

Sighing softly, Trixie sat down on the floor, and motioned for Twilight to do the same. “Look. Trixie appreciates your concern. But you and Trixie both know that spells like that are incredibly complex. Not every unicorn is like you. Those are simply not spells that most unicorns could even think of doing.”

The embarrassed blush on Twilight’s face, accompanied by a hint of poorly disguised pity, told Trixie she was making some progress. Still, she retained a look of worry. “Well… but… even if it is rare—”

Trixie shook her head. “Why would any supposed ‘evil wizard’ go through the trouble? They wouldn’t, they’d have just killed Trixie.” She briefly glanced up the stairs, ensuring they were alone, then stared down at the floor. She kept her voice low. “It would’ve been easy… Trixie was hurt really badly. One more tap to the head would have done Trixie in. It makes no sense to assume somepony would beat Trixie to the brink of death, and then decide to go through all the trouble of changing her memory, before leaving her to die in a forest. Over a book.”

“I’m sorry.” The sympathetic look on Twilight’s face was surprising. “You’re right. Nopony would do… well… that… I hope.”

At the very least Trixie had thought Twilight would be skeptical of her story, but perhaps she knew more than she had been letting on. Trixie has to wonder if Dash or Flutters let something slip by accident, it wouldn't be the first time... Or perhaps Applejack? Dash did say that cowpony was bad at keeping secrets.

“Not without suffering the worst case of indecision Trixie has ever heard of at least.” She smirked, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. When that failed, she motioned back to the staircase. “Can we get out of here? That book is giving Trixie the creeps.”

“I agree, lets go.” Twilight lead the way back up the stairs, with Trixie close on her tail. “I think I have everything I need for a full report now. Let’s see if we can figure out what happened to Spike and Fluttershy.”

Weaving a web of lies was tiresome business. At least Trixie got a slight bit of catharsis out of the notion that she herself had now joined the apparently popular club of ponies accusing her of things she had not actually done.

The Great and Powerful Trixie. Wanted for fraud, reckless endangerment, assault, foalnapping, terrorism, witchcraft, and now... book theft.

Chapter 104 - Recommend

The small table in the library easily fitted the four ponies, or three ponies and one dragon as it turned out. Trixie had ensured she was seated on the same side of the table as Fluttershy, leaving the other side to Spike and Twilight.

It was amazing how much a simple thing like a mug of hot strawberry flavored tea with honey could do for a pony. Trixie felt calmer and warmer with each sip she took. Planning out how to manipulate Twilight was so much easier with a good cup of tea and Fluttershy by her side. She savored the sweet taste while shooting Fluttershy an appreciative smile.

Fluttershy, ever so easy to embarrass with the smallest compliment, blushed and nodded towards Spike as if to pass off the praise. Trixie did not feel quite ready to say something nice to him yet, especially not something that might be actually true.

Although Spike had asked what they were doing in the basement, Twilight had made it clear she did not wish to speak of it any more than was strictly necessary for her report to Celestia. A sentiment that Trixie could get behind. The conversation quickly turned to the more mundane things of life, such as the weather. In particular the bad storm that had struck Ponyville earlier that week.

Twilight had confessed she was more than a little grateful for the company of Applejack and Rarity that night, as Spike had been in Canterlot that night, and she’d dreaded being alone during her first big storm in Ponyville.

“Come on, Twi. I’m sure you’d have been so busy reading every book on weather making that you wouldn’t even notice it.” Spike assured her.

“Well sure I’d have used the opportunity to learn more about meteorology, but that doesn’t mean I would have been at ease, Spike.”

The atmosphere was reminiscent of the evening she’d listened to the dragon story. Although the occasional quips and snark between Twilight and Spike could not hold a candle to the ruckus of Rainbow Dash and Applejacks constant one-upmareship. It was nice.

As far as Trixie was concerned, if she just disregarded the feeling of impending doom, she was honestly enjoying herself. Though one thing bothered her. It wasn’t something she could have noticed when it was just the two of them, but now… Twilight never took her eyes off of her for long, as though she were distrustful of her.

Well, if she likes to watch so much… She felt her lips pull into a sly smirk. “It is a shame storms like that do not happen more often.” She mused while sloshing around the tea in her cup as she spoke, then aimed a lingering look at Fluttershy. “It certainly sounds like it had a way of bringing ponies closer together,” she said, scooting against the timid, and now blushing, mare.

“I agree, but you don’t need storms to have a slumber party!” Twilight sounded excited, and completely clueless.

For a unicorn that was so unsettlingly powerful and knowledgeable, Twilight certainly couldn’t read a mood to save her life. Unless of course, she was deliberately trying to make this weird. Fortunately, Trixie had a hard time getting angry about anything while she was so near Fluttershy.

“If you’re going to have any more, can I at least have my own room?” Spike deadpanned. Though it took him all of two seconds to change his mind, and to sound a lot more eager. “Unless Rarity is coming! Is she?”

Twilight giggled, but shook her head while she gave Spike an apologetic look. “I offered already, but I think those two might need to get trapped in here during a blizzard before they’ll agree to have another slumber party. At least until they’ve had a while to recover.”

'Recover'? Just what on earth did they do? Trixie made a note to press Applejack on this later. It should be easy enough if she really was awful at keeping secrets.

“Oh, uhm, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “Have you seen Rainbow Dash today?”

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight echoed quizzically. “I think I saw her flying overhead this morning, but now that you mention it… I’ve not seen much of her at all lately. I suppose she must have been working a lot of overtime to earn that promotion.”

Trixie grinned, knowing full well that was not why Rainbow Dash had been busy. “Ah, she told you about that?”

Twilight said, “No, but Pinkie Pie is planning an ‘ohmygoshyougotpromotedDashiecongratz!’ party. So I think it is a safe bet. Although on second thought, she might just be hoping that if she throws a party for it, the event will happen. That does sound like something she’d try.”

Although that got Twilight some strange looks from Trixie, the others at the table did not even flinch. Instead, they started to actually talk about the party as though they were looking forward to it, and how long it had been since the last one.

It was just one more data point that Trixie could use to justify her suspicion that Ponyville’s heroes, and the town as a whole, were simply insane.

While most of the topics they covered were completely innocuous, soon the inevitable happened. Twilight brought the topic back around to how the last two weeks had been for Trixie. The way she phrased it was as though she showed concern and interest, but it was not lost on Trixie that there was only one relevant difference between the last time she’d asked and now. Fluttershy’s presence.

If Trixie had been lying, then checking with Fluttershy would be an easy way to find that out.

Fortunately, Fluttershy was no more eager than Trixie had been to provide the painful details of her stay. Which in retrospect was amusing Trixie, as Twilight likely had no idea that the secret she was trying to probe for was not one that would hurt Trixie, but Rainbow Dash.

Instead, Fluttershy neatly confined herself to filling Twilight in on Trixie’s condition and treatment. Though she kindly always checked Trixie for approval before revealing any personal information.

Trixie herself mostly kept quiet, making exceptions only to praise Fluttershy’s accommodations for her, conscious of the fact that anything she said could be construed as guiding Fluttershy. There was no mistaking that this conversation was only for Twilight’s benefit, and the more confidence she could put into it the better.

“So, uhm, she’s doing much better now, thank goodness.” Fluttershy wrapped up, and turned to Trixie with a smile. “You’re even helping around the house now, right, Trixie?”

The surprised look on Twilight’s face tittered somewhere between amusing and insulting. Trixie did her best to just smile and nod. “But of course, a mere trifle for one such as Trixie. It doesn’t hurt that it allows Trixie to spend some more time with you either, Fluttershy. Trixie just really wants to show you how much she appreciates your kindness. One way…” She glanced briefly at Twilight, then looked back at Fluttershy, giving her a seductive look. “…Or another.”

Fluttershy only managed to squeak something in reply, and quickly retreated behind her mane.

Across the table, Twilight looked on in confusion, alternating her gaze between the two of them, then finally looked at Spike as though expecting him to have an opinion.

However, Spike had tuned out the yammering ages ago, and just stared dreamily at a picture he held in one hand, while the other supported his head.

"So, what are you going to do now, or well, once you've recovered?" Twilight asked.

Trixie felt a cold chill. She really should have seen that question coming. Though even if she had, there would have not been an easy answer. After all, she had no idea herself yet. Each time she should have thought on it, she ended up putting it off, dreading that eventuality too much to really think about it. "T-Trixie, uh, supposes maybe she will go back to trying to, erm, accomplish her dream."

Twilight perked up, apparently very interested. "Oh, what's that?"

Even Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane with one eye, looking at Trixie with curiousity.

It was no real surprise, as Trixie had not spoken about this. Not to Fluttershy, nor anypony else, before. In truth, she much preferred to keep it that way, but there was value in sharing it, or at least a small part of it, right now. It opened up the chance for Trixie to get something else she needed from Twilight.

Trixie took a deep breath, carefully thinking over how she wanted to go about this. “To perform for Princess Celestia.”

“Ah, of course.” Twilight nodded. “I’ve heard that is the desire of a lot of showponies. That and being a star, though one is often linked to the other, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. Only the best entertainment is good enough for the princess. To be able to say ‘I’ve preformed for royalty’ is a mark of accomplishment that distinguishes that artist from their peers.” Parroting what was common knowledge was easy enough, though she had to struggle to keep her voice steady as she continued. “It, it opens doors that were closed before.”

Fluttershy quietly asked, “So, uhm, does that mean you planned to go to Canterlot? A-after Ponyville, I mean.”

Trixie held off shuddering at the thought, taking another drink of tea to calm herself down. Not unless Trixie suddenly develops a death wish. “Well, yes and no. You do not simply go to Canterlot to get famous.” Trixie chuckled and raised a hoof to affectionately brush Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. “Everypony else has that same idea after all. It is much better to get invited, come highly recommended by someone of status, or at least to come in with an already established reputation to get a leg up on the competition.

“As you know, Trixie came to Ponyville to learn about Nightmare Moon. That story is what Trixie planned to use to build up her name, and garner enough attention to get an invitation to Canterlot.” Sighing, Trixie looking down at the table. “This whole thing put a bit of a hitch in Trixie’s plans though. It’ll be ages before Trixie can replace everything she’s lost, and carry on where she left off.”

Twilight looked uncomfortable while she listened, staring at the two of them. “I’m sorry to hear that Trixie…”

Now, let’s set her off. Giving a smile, Trixie shook her head. “It’s fine, Twilight. There’s nothing you can do.” Letting her eyes linger meaningfully on Princess Celestia’s personal student.

Given how insultingly blatant Trixie was trying to take advantage of Twilight, it would be lucky if she didn’t get kicked out right then and there. In one fell swoop, she’d cast a whole different kind of specter over her sudden, overly friendly, visit.

To Twilight’s credit, she seemed to pick up on the unspoken suggestion, judging by the glare she was giving Trixie. “Oh I get it. Gee, if only there was somepony here with a direct tie to the princess, right Trixie?” If she made any effort to hide her sarcasm, she wasn’t doing a very good job.

Oh that’s a nice expression. Yes. Isn’t Trixie just so impudent, Twilight? There’s only one response.

“W-what?” Fluttershy looked taken aback by Twilight’s response.

Twilight did not break eye contact with Trixie, but answered the question. “Trixie thinks she can just ask me to use my connections and get her into Canterlot. It’s not going to happen Trixie.”

No, it isn’t. “Why? What is so wrong with that?” Trixie asked indigently while she stared down Twilight. “Trixie knows you send letters to the princess. Surely you could drop her a little line about what a great show you saw Trixie put on?”

“You mean aside from the fact that is abusing the trust Princess Celestia puts in me? Well let me see, first of all those letters are about the study of friendship, not whatever entertainment happens to be in town. Second, even if I am sorry for accusing you, I will not be guilt tripped into something so dishonest. Third, it isn’t fair to everypony else. What about all the ponies that don’t happen to bump into me?” Twilight actually looked angry with Trixie for even bringing it up.

“What about everypony else? Can’t Trixie just luck out? It’s how things go in Canterlot too! Somepony gets ‘discovered’ by somepony with influence, how is that fair on everypony else?” Trixie asked, letting a little desperation enter her tone.

“The upperclass ponies there have a frame of reference. What am I supposed to compare you too? I have no idea what other magic acts even look like.” Twilight replied, though she didn’t look quite as mad anymore.

Watching Twilight take a deep breath, Trixie mirrored the action, just staring at her with a conflicted look, rather than interrupting.

After a moment of silence, Twilight continued. “Look, Trixie… I’m sorry. But you can’t expect to be taking shortcuts through life. Just imagine that I actually convince Princess Celestia to come and watch your show, would you really feel fulfilled? Knowing that the only reason you are on stage is because I took pity on you, instead of your own merit?”

Trixie broke eye contact, staring down at the table, but she said nothing.

“For what it’s worth… I thought your original idea was a really good one.” Twilight sounded kinder this time. “Telling Princess Luna’s story? I’m sure that would get the attention of the princesses eventually, if you did it well. Wouldn’t you much rather succeed like that?”

“…Yes.” Trixie said quietly. Feeling a set of hooves wrap around her, Fluttershy pulled her into a hug. “T-Trixie is… sorry. You’re right, Twilight,” she said, raising her head with a resigned sigh.

Twilight showed an understanding smile, and seemed to briefly consider. “You know… actually. I was going to mention you to the princess anyway. Not about your show, but, because you helped with the book, and I felt like maybe I could even include you in this week’s friendship report, after today.”

Trixie returned a weak smile, but shook her head. “No, you made a good point. Trixie would much rather earn her place on Celestia’s stage herself. Without any help besides Trixie’s own strength, and a well-earned reputation.” She puffed up her chest proudly, but then quickly deflated. “A-actually, Twilight, could you do Trixie one favor? Please, don’t mention Trixie at all, for anything... It would mean a lot to Trixie if the first time Princess Celestia hears about Trixie is when Trixie’s reputation is for having an amazing show worthy of that attention, rather than when it is tainted by the ursa or rumors. Is that okay?”

From the corner of her eye, Trixie could see Fluttershy giving Twilight a pleading look on her behalf as well. It warmed her chest to see she had the sweet mare’s support.

Nodding quickly, Twilight wore the biggest smile. “Of course, Trixie. I’ll leave you out of the reports. I’m happy to see you’re so determined. If you need any more information about Nightmare Moon later, be sure to let me know.”

“Trixie will,” she said, while carefully sliding her foreleg around Fluttershy, Trixie momentarily buried her muzzle into Fluttershy's mane, hiding the Discord-like grin she was now wearing. It was the grin an opponent wore after winning a long chess game. Getting control over her mouth, which only wanted to laugh, Trixie added in a soft tone, “Thank you.”

Too easy.

One pot of strawberry tea and a plate of sliced cake later, Trixie and Fluttershy stood near the front door, preparing to leave.

“Thanks for stopping by.” Twilight smiled as she opened the door with her magic. “You’re welcome to come back any time.”

Trixie returned the smile, nodding. “We will! Trixie still isn’t through with you and your insistance on transfiguring rocks into hats. Trixie keeps telling you. You should be using small fruit. It takes way too much magic to change the texture and weight.”

Twilight shot Trixie a playful glare. “And I keep telling you. Rocks are much less complicated, because they are homogenous. It’s easier to use more magic than it is to account for the structure of a complicated base object.”

“Just because it is more complicated doesn’t mean it’s not better! This is exactly what Trixie means when she says trading efficiency for convenience is what is wrong with magic today.”

Nearby, Spike rolled her eyes, and gave Fluttershy a pleading look. “Can we please never have them meet again? It’s four times as bad as normal.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Fluttershy looked from Twilight to Trixie as they argued. “I don’t really mind but… I just wish I could understand what they were saying.”

“I do a little, and you’re not missing out on anything, Fluttershy.” He said, exasperated. Running a clawed hand over the scales atop his head, he added. “Although, I wouldn’t mind not getting hit with rocks each time the spell fails.”

Chapter 105 - Report

The stroll through Ponyville had been relatively uneventful so far. Ponyville always kept her on edge, and she imagined it would every time she went into it for the next... let's say... couple years.

She needed this little break though, after nearly giving herself a bad headache from thinking through all the possible problems and pitfalls visiting Twilight could have delivered. Still, she couldn't help repeatedly thinking back to her meeting with Twilight Sparkle and Spike, and evaluating how successful she had been.

Okay, so Trixie did not get her book back, but that was to be expected. She also forgot to ask her about the law. Curses. That could have been useful right now.

As agreed upon, Fluttershy was serving as Trixie’s tour guide, and the next stop after the library was the mayor’s office. Trixie had no intention of going in there today, but it was good to know it’s location for when she felt a little more confident. Whether that meant to have more confidence in her chances for an acquittal, or to fight her way out, she had not yet decided. Perhaps both.

Actually, this works out. Trixie can return to the library later with the excuse of seeking law advice, maybe even magic advice. Once there, it shouldn't be hard to get Twilight to spill how Celestia reacted to the spellbook. She's pretty dim for somepony so bright.

Despite knowing her act couldn't have gone any better, something still didn't sit right with her. A nagging feeling was scratching at some dark corner of her mind, telling her she was missing something important. Could she have missed something? Twilight wouldn't send anything about her now, not after that little redemption act. Trixie even had the complete story of Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. Every little detail at that, all the way down to the dresses Rarity had forced on Twilight right after meeting her.

Trixie can't help but wonder just how dull her letters must be... Does Celestia actually read them?

Any potential suspicion about the reason for her visit had even been shifted to unscrupulous ambition.

So why is Trixie this on edge?

She tried to disguise her look of worry as mere pensiveness. As far as Trixie was concerned, she was in the middle of enemy territory, and there could be no show of weakness. Now that she thought about it, she really should be spending less time zoned out, and more time observing her surroundings.

Giving her head a quick shake, Trixie reordered her priorities.

While scanning the street, Trixie noticed Fluttershy was looking at her, and smiling. "Is there something on Trixie's face?"

“Oh, no,” said Fluttershy, returning her gaze to the road ahead. “It’s just… I-I’m really proud of you, Trixie.”

That was a surprise.

“What do you mean?” asked Trixie. Her resolve to focus on the ponies around them forgotten.

“It’s just, I saw you were really trying. T-to be nice, I mean. Even though it must’ve been hard for you not to yell, or get angry.” Fluttershy struggled to find the right words, looking away.

“Are you suggesting Trixie has a short fuse?” Trixie grinned.

“Oh no! I wouldn’t, I’d never—” Fluttershy halted as she caught sight of Trixie’s face, then blushed. “T-that was mean.” Still, she was smiling as she said it.

Trixie sniggered. “Well, Trixie is proud of you for catching on. You’ll get there yet. Now, Trixie believes you were in the middle of flattering her? Do go on.”

Fluttershy gave her a look that could almost be described as a glare, if it were performed by a two month old puppy. “I think I, uhm, forgot the rest.” She then looked ahead, wearing the kind of tense smile that made it clear she was trying very hard to look neutral instead.

“Aww, come on.” Trixie whined, speeding up her trot to get slightly ahead of Fluttershy so she could look her in the face. “You’re not mad, are you? Trixie was really looking forward to this part. Wasn’t The Great and Saintly Trixie a shining example of humility and forgiveness? She didn’t even accuse the dragon thing of ruining her.”

Although Fluttershy didn’t speak immediately, she did see fit to look at Trixie again after that, nodding in response.

Waiting a couple of a seconds for a response that never came, Trixie huffed. “You know Trixie hates the silent treatment. It’s not fair of you to tease her with the promise of praise only to then hush up. Is it because we’re in public?” A sly grin spread over her face. “Ohhh, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re afraid of what you might do if you think too long on how amazing Trixie is. Trixie sugge—”

Fluttershy colored pink, and quickly shook her head. “S-stop it. Fine, you were really friendly. I think Twilight liked you; she doesn’t usually get to talk about magic. A-also, I liked the way you, uhm, d-did…t-things…” Her voice got progressively softer, and her face redder.

“Things?” Trixie asked, bemused.

It wasn’t very specific, unless she took into account what kinds of 'things' Trixie did at the library that could, and did, make Fluttershy react like this.

“Ah, things,” said Trixie. A lecherous smile played on her lips while she took a half step closer to Fluttershy, nearly touching her as they walked. “That is good to know,” she whispered.

A massive understatement if ever there was one. That one simple, stuttered sentence was enough to set Trixie's heart racing.

Although it only ranked in the top five of things Trixie was especially scared of, hurting Fluttershy was one that had her second guessing her every action ever since the blunder in the kitchen. She had no clear idea of what she was allowed to do. It was as though she were lost at sea with no indication of land in any direction. Until that one simple sentence, approving of her.

It wasn't a lot, but it was a start. Trixie could hardly wait to get home.

"Oh, there's the Mayor's Office," Fluttershy said, pointing out the building.

"Great." Trixie looked at the building just long enough to commit its location to memory. "Next."

“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Who thought it was a good idea to put one pony in charge of the whole region? How the hay did Captain Rainy Day put up with all this?”

Leaning back on the hind two legs of the chair, she stared up at the grained wooden ceiling of the weather management office. Absurdly, the weather team office was ground bound. It had never bothered Dash before, as it only served as a general area for her to fly above to meet up and hear what needed to get done. Yet apparently there was a lot of work that actually went on inside too.

She had a desk now. A desk. She’d never had to spent a day in her life behind a desk. Three heaps of paper were stacked on top of it. The one on the left was incoming weather orders and schedules, the one on the right was probably finished work that needed to be filed, and the heap in the middle had better be for setting on fire for all Rainbow Dash cared to deal with it right now.

“Who even knew this job was for the region? I didn’t sign up for this. I only ever did the weather for Ponyville.” She glared at the empty chair at the other side of her desk, imagining she was calling the former captain out. She’d done that a lot lately.

“This is not what I had in mind…” A glance at the clock told her she had about half an hour to get to the west district, but her wings still ached from flying all over the east district an hour ago.

Flying was supposed to be fun. Even when she was working it used to be fun to fly around. But this was just grueling, even with her speed she only barely managed to scrape by and get all the work done.

She had to oversee all the pegasi as they worked, not to mention giving directions for what needed to get done. Dash had figured the other teams knew what they were doing, but everypony just looked at her, or waited for her to fly by and give them orders before they did anything. Which in practice meant she was flying all over the place, her only ‘breaks’ being when she was dealing with the paper work in the office.

She had the urge to kill whichever pony kept dropping papers off to the office in the morning. Dash just 'knew' they were purposefully getting here while she was gone, just so she couldn't have somepony to yell at. It was all very unfair.

Every day she read through all the requests and schedules, then planned out the weather patterns, sent orders for the clouds required in advance, and blew her time waiting there to receive them when they arrived. Somehow, that was even more exhausting, but at least it gave her wings a rest.

Rainy Days must have been insane if she thought Rainbow Dash could plan her way out of wet paper bag. The urge to just push all the stupid boring papers off her desk was held at bay only by some small part of her brain that kept reminding her she would have to clean that mess up, and it would take another hour to sort it back into piles. Although, it might not even make that much of a difference.

Rubbing her eyes in a vain attempt to regain her focus, Rainbow Dash let her head fall on the desk with a heavy thump and a groan. She could just see the window from there, and the alluring blue sky above.

“I wonder what Trixie and Fluttershy are up to…”

That was probably the worst part. She barely had time to sleep, let alone visit her friends. She wasn’t even sure anymore if she’d ever have free time again.

Lifting her head up high, Dash surveyed the mountain of paperwork, and took another look at the clock. She really had to get going. “Just chill, Dash. This is just a busy week. You’ll have loads of free time after this, right? Right?”

With a heavy sigh, Rainbow Dash pushed herself off her desk, then headed for the door.

She was going to make this work. She had to make this work. Rainbow Dash would never get done in by something as uncool as mere work. Especially not if her predecessor had done it all without an issue. In fact, she was going to do it twice as good.

If only she wasn't so very tired.

Home at last.

“Ugh, Trixie can’t feel her hooves!” Trixie complained while she staggered to the couch. Her legs ached and shook in protest every time she forced herself another step forward.

Aside from the tour, they’d also briefly visited the market place. Applejack had been friendly as ever, and she even managed not to throw anything at Trixie this time.

“You did really well, Trixie,” Fluttershy said encouragingly. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked if you wanted to go home early.”

If Trixie didn’t know better, she’d swear Fluttershy was being sarcastic.

Why hadn’t she accepted Fluttershy’s offer to go home sooner? Oh, yeah, because she didn’t want to admit she couldn’t walk as far as she was used to.

“That does it. Starting tomorrow, Trixie is exercising.” With that resolution made, she crashed down on the couch. She groaned as at long last her body got its well-deserved rest. Resting on her side, she pulled up her legs against her body, enjoying the warmth. She could swear she heard a very soft snort of amusement from Fluttershy, as Trixie did her best impression of a ball on the couch.

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea, but, uhm… Please try not to tire yourself out, okay, Trixie? If it’s not too much trouble. Applejack will be expecting us for dinner.”

“Right. Trixie forgot about that.”

Perhaps she would count the trek to Sweet Apple Acres as exercise for the day. It was a fairly long walk to go back and forth. It was an alluring proposition, especially since she didn’t want to even think about doing anything strenuous right now.

Trixie knew she should have been helping Fluttershy unpack the groceries. And she would have, if it wasn’t for the aching in every muscle below her horn. By the noises of shuffling and shelving in the other room, it sounded like Fluttershy had it under control anyway.

Without even thinking about it, she closed her eyes. Just five minutes.

The scent of hot chocolate. Trixie would recognize it anywhere.

Stretching out with a long yawn, Trixie felt something soft brush along her fur. Opening her eyes, she blinked against the light, then noticed a blanket had been folded over her at some point.

On the nearby table stood a single mug with a thin wisp of steam flowing up from it. There was also the extremely strong smell of garlic in the air, of which Trixie hoped was coming from the rolled up burrito on the plate next to the mug, as opposed to the mug.

Almost immediately upon spotting it, her stomach growled loudly as though to make it absolutely clear she either ate that right now, or it was going to pack its bags and leave. A threat which Trixie didn’t dare to call a bluff on.

It was only when she was about half way through her meal that Trixie remembered this couldn’t have just magically materialized.

“Fluttershy?”

“Oh. Yes, Trixie?” Came a voice from right beside her.

Leaning over the armrest of the couch, Trixie spotted Fluttershy on the floor, reading a book.

“What are you reading?” she asked, before taking another bite.

The question startled Fluttershy, her cheeks colored as she looked up to meet Trixie’s gaze. “Oh, uhm, well, it’s one of yours.”

Trixie felt a hot flash soar through her face. Gah! How did she even find them?! Right, it's her closet! As rapidly as she could, she tried to think of excuses as to why she owned a book like that. Research? A two for one deal? Inherited? Twilight got it wrong? Yes! that one!

Apparently noticing her distress, Fluttershy drooped her ears, adopting a guilty look. “O-oh. I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have taken it without asking, but, well… I didn’t want to wake you up, and it looked so interesting,” she said while turning over the book so Trixie could read the cover.

The Comprehensive Guide to Equestria's Wildest Wildlife: From Alps and Basilisks to Yetis and Zaratans.

That mare was going to be the death of her one day. She had to be doing this on purpose.

"Ah, yes, of course. Great book," Trixie said, with the most strained neutral voice she could have possibly managed. Before she could say anything even more stupid, Trixie bit into her burrito again.

Fluttershy either was unaware, or pretended to be unaware for Trixie’s sake. Simply looking back down at the book as she turned back to the page she’d left off. “Oh, it is. I always wanted to read it when I was younger, but my parents said it would give me nightmares. And, uhm, they were probably right.” She sounded ashamed of being scared of monsters as a filly.

Trixie idly pondered what Fluttershy might have looked like back then. It was hard to think of her as any cuter than she already was. “Don’t worry about nightmares. Trixie will keep you safe.” Leaning over the armrest, she grinned playfully down at the scaredy-cat. “Trixie could hold you all night, if you like?”

“I-I meant at the time,” Fluttershy stuttered, her face bright red.

Nodding, Trixie gave Fluttershy a little pout. “Oh, well, the offer still stands.”

She waited for a moment, but Fluttershy slowly retreated behind her mane and buried her muzzle in the book. Trixie noted that despite this, Fluttershy's ears were attentively swiveled in her direction as opposed to being pressed to her skull. And, she was fairly sure no actual reading was taking place. She took this as a good sign to tease juuust a little more.

Trixie smirked. “No? Well, next time Trixie will just have to ask Twilight for a scarier book.”

Fluttershy just squeaked.

Chapter 106 - Rummage

After causing Fluttershy to completely lock up, Trixie eased off on her teasing, returning her attention to her meal. She knew it was perhaps just a little bit mean, but it was just so much fun to tease her. It wasn't really bullying if Fluttershy liked it too, right?

Trixie allowed Fluttershy a little time to piece herself back together before she asked, “So, are you liking the book?”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said. “I haven’t been able to put it down… Do you like the, uhm, ‘wilder’ wildlife? I’m not sure if that sweet manticore is still in the forest, but we might see him if we stay by the edge.”

“Erm, that’s sweet of you, but Trixie is too tired to risk her life at the moment.” Glancing down at the page, Trixie noticed Fluttershy hadn’t gotten much further into the book than ‘Chimera’. Fluttershy was either a slow reader, or she was fascinated by the first animal made up out of multiple animals that the book mentioned.

“Manny isn’t dangerous,” Fluttershy said a little defensively.

’Manny’?

“But, I understand. Maybe I’ll ask if he can visit us instead. Oh, but I don’t want to bother him... and some animals will be afraid to come here if they can smell a manticore has come through…”

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Fluttershy, for all her quiet serenity, was still one of those six crazy ponies.

Somewhere in her mind, Trixie turned off the part of her that was screaming at the insanity of the notion. Experience taught her that her sense of sanity would return soon enough, but it certainly made it easier when dealing with this in the moment.

“Right," said Trixie. “Let’s steer away from bringing too many monsters here. Ponies will start talking.”

Of course, Trixie knew that it was far too late to worry about that now. It was already decided that Fluttershy must be keeping dangerous animals around the house. If anything, that belief was exactly what made the cottage so safe.

Fluttershy just nodded faintly, and returned her attention to the book, finally turning to the next page.

Not moving from her spot, Trixie compelled the mug of hot chocolate to come and offer its sweet contents to her. It was a little cooler than Trixie would have liked, but she supposed she had only herself to blame. On the plus side, that meant it was easily drinkable.

“Hey, Fluttershy? You said you wanted that book when you were a filly, right?”

“Uh-huh.” Fluttershy nodded while reading on. Trixie recognized the picture of a cockatrice at the top of the page.

“Huh, so it’s an old book.” Trixie mused, completely missing the glare Fluttershy shot at her. “That explains why some of it is wrong.”

Apprehensive, but curious, Fluttershy asked, “Wrong? Like what?”

Sipping from her mug, Trixie pointed down at the book. “Well take the cockatrice. It says that if it hears a rooster’s crow it will die immediately, but that didn’t work at all. When you think about it, it doesn’t even make sense. A mere ponytale. If it really was so easy to kill one than surely none would be left by now. The sound does scare them though.”

“Oh, uhm… really? I guess maybe they just wrote down everything they could find. W-wait, why were you—”

“Anyway!” Trixie cut in, then levitated the book off the ground and held it up above the couch. “How come you’re down there? Trixie can make room.” Without waiting for an answer, she popped the last bite of her burrito into her mouth and shuffled to the side.

Despite mewling some small sound of protest when her book, or technically Trixie’s book, was taken away, Fluttershy gave in to Trixie’s demands. Once on the couch, she made herself comfortable, about one hoof length away.

“So…” Fluttershy began, glancing up at the book, then back at Trixie. Though she closed her mouth again, seeming to reconsider whatever she was going to say. “Uhm, do you have a favorite?”

“A favorite?”

“You know,” Fluttershy said, motioning up at the book. “A favorite creature?”

“Trixie hadn’t really thought about it. Do you have one?”

Fluttershy nodded. “So far, I think I’d want to meet Cerberus the most.”

Trixie blinked. “Cerberus? The three-headed dog? Uhm, not that Trixie is surprised by your choice, but why that one?” She held the book in between them, willing the page to flip to the stylistic image of the gigantic, monstrous dog, standing tall before a large gate.

“Because, well… I haven’t read the whole book, but… Don’t you think his story is the most sad?” Fluttershy reached out to stroke a hoof over the frightening image.

“Sad? Fluttershy, it’s a monster. It guards Tartarus. Can you imagine how scary he must have been to get that job?” Trixie asked incredulously. “Seriously, it’s not just a big puppy.”

“But, that’s just it. Tartarus is such an awful place, and Cerberus is always there. Even though he didn’t do anything wrong… What is the difference between being a guard that may never leave, and being imprisoned there?” Fluttershy looked as though she was about to cry.

Trixie felt like kicking herself. Of course that would be how Fluttershy saw it. It was no use to tell her that it was a monster, Fluttershy already knew that, and still wanted to help it. “Look, uh, if Trixie is ever in Tartarus, she’ll be sure to tell Cerberus to take a day off and visit Ponyville, okay?”

Showing a small smile, Fluttershy nodded. “Thanks, Trixie, but I don’t think either of us will ever be anywhere near Tartarus.”

Trixie hopes that is true.

“Yes, Trixie supposes you are right.” The pages of the book moved on their own accord, back to the page Fluttershy last read. Trixie ensured that it remained hovering in midair. “Say, it’s been a while since Trixie last read this… you don’t mind if Trixie reads along with you, do you?”

“Oh, of course not. It is your book after all.” Fluttershy stayed quiet for a moment, then added. “Uhm, Trixie? M-maybe… you could… mention if there’s something the book has wrong? I’d like that.”

“Trixie would love to.” It was a rare opportunity that Trixie ever got to be the one that knew more about an animal than Fluttershy did. Even if the vast majority of the book was accurate, it would still be fun to surprise Fluttershy with a bit of trivia now and then.

“Thank you.”

“Just tell Trixie when to turn a page.”

As Trixie already knew the book, and was a much faster reader, it struck her as a good idea to allow Fluttershy to set the pace in this endeavor as well. Which gave her a good opportunity to observe something much more interesting than the book, Fluttershy’s face. She looked adorable when she was concentrating.

Trixie was sure that Fluttershy must have been not entirely unfamiliar with all the creatures listed, because some entries took her much less time to read. For instance, the cragadile barely got a couple of glances before Fluttershy indicated she was done. Not that Trixie minded at all.

Once or twice, Fluttershy caught Trixie staring. Whenever this happened, both ponies responded with a blush, and a swift change of focus back to the book.

Fluttershy was so tantalizingly close by, that merely breathing in deeply would almost be enough to touch her. Trixie’s mind kept bringing up the idea of just slinging a foreleg around her, until she forced her thoughts onto something else. It would not be long before her thoughts strayed to the suggestion again though, and it was sounding more convincing each time.

Finishing off the last drops of her hot chocolate, Trixie was running out of ways to distract herself. Her gaze found Fluttershy instead of the book again. A deep yearning to touch her, even if just a little, kept growing each passing moment.

What if she doesn’t like it? But she was okay with it during tea at Twilight’s. Or she was too nice to comment. Twilight was there, maybe she just felt safer?

So distracted was Trixie with her own thoughts, that she barely registered Fluttershy motioning with her hoof to have the page turned. It was only after a few exaggerated motions, and Fluttershy shooting Trixie a puzzled look, that Trixie caught on.

“A-ah! Sorry. Trixie was, uh, dozing off a little.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Uhm, it’s probably best if we get some rest when we get to the next letter… If that is okay with you?”

“Yes. Sounds good to Trixie.”

Fluttershy motioned with her hoof again, and Trixie turned the page absent mindedly. The next image showed some kind of tiny, insect-like bird with four wings. Which Trixie figured ought to keep Fluttershy entertained for a little while.

Come on, Trixie, you’ve gotten this far. Just, I dunno, do a yawn and stretch. It’s a classic. If by classic you mean obvi—Oh?

Catching sight of movement, Trixie put her mental war on hold, and glanced down towards the couch. The previously empty zone in between them now had one single creamy hoof resting on the imaginary line.

Trixie swallowed nervously. There was no telling if the hoof had simply landed there in an inattentive moment, when Fluttershy lowered her hoof after spotting the strange bird, or if she purposefully had put out the invitation for Trixie to notice.

It’s Fluttershy! She’s not going to get any more obvious than this!

Painfully aware of just how much of a wishy-washy coward she was being, Trixie carefully slid her hoof over Fluttershy’s. And Fluttershy… pulled her hoof away, startled by the sudden contact, opening what felt like a crushing void in Trixie’s chest as she did so.

After locking eyes with Fluttershy for just a brief moment, Trixie looked away. “S-sorry… Uh, Trixie didn’t notice, and—” Her breath caught, as she felt Fluttershy hook her hoof around Trixie’s. Shooting Fluttershy a surprised and questioning look, Trixie only caught sight of Fluttershy smiling nervously for a brief second, before she quickly turned away and let her mane fall in between them. Her grip stayed exactly where it was however.

Staring down at their entwined hooves for a long moment, Trixie felt a warm cozy feeling traveling up her foreleg and through her chest. Smiling, she returned her attention to the book, turning the page whenever Fluttershy squeezed.

There wasn’t any further need for words between the two mares. Which was a good thing considering Trixie wasn’t sure Fluttershy even had an audible voice right now. It was strange how few things were really needed to make an evening feel perfect. Just the quiet twilight of the setting sun, a loved one, and a book about the most monstrous creatures ever to roam Equestria, to share of course.

As the sky grew darker, and it became harder to read, Trixie ventured a courageous attempt at a basic light spell. Shining a soft orchid light upon the pages while they read on.

The next page featured a phoenix. One of the most magnificent images in the book, it was even in color! A beautiful red and golden bird that rose with its wings spread across the page from a fireball. It was so lifelike that it seemed to brighten and warm the room a little all on its own.

Tearing her eyes away from the book, Trixie noticed to her surprise how clearly she could see everything in the room. Her light spell was not supposed to be that powerful. Not that she doubted her own ability to create a bright light if she wanted to of course, but this light was enough for her to think it was nearing dawn.

Looking out the window, Trixie noticed the sun rise. Had they really been up all night already? It felt much too soon, but she couldn’t argue with the facts. Ever brighter light washed across the world.

She gave Fluttershy a gentle nuzzle. “Hey, we better get some rest. Unless you’d like to explain at dinner that Trixie kept you up all night? Dashie would be jealous. Actually, that sounds like fun.”

Before Fluttershy could respond, a bright beam of sunlight shone through the window. Its heat scorched the floor in the middle of the room, then, the light slowly coalesed into a bright, white form. Blinding beams quickly turned to flesh, and before Trixie could react, Princess Celestia was standing in front of her.

Her eyes locked onto Trixie with a molten fury. Trixie could feel Fluttershy starting to breath heavier next to her, which in turn caused Trixie to feel even more panicked. Within Celestia's magical aura was held a book. The cover was smoldered and twisted beyond recognition just by being in her presence, but there was no doubt as to which one it was. "Did you think I would not find out, Trixie?" Her mere voice held enough heat to singe the couch as she spoke. The smell of smoke was becoming more and more prevalent as Celestia stared Trixie down.

Frozen with wide-eyed terror at the sight of Celestia with the book, Trixie trembled while she wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy. Mercifully, Fluttershy hugged her back while muttering unintelligibly. With only the slightest shift, Celestia's eyes moved to look at Fluttershy. Trixie literally felt the heat lessen as she glanced away, but her heart nearly froze over as she saw the mix of regret, and resolve within the Princess's glowing eyes.

“T-Trixie…” It felt like how she might have to start a sentence, but she had no idea what to say next.

“P-Princess?” Fluttershy managed to choke the word out. “Wh-what ar—”

With a flash of golden light, Fluttershy froze stiff, then vanished right out from Trixie’s grasp. Suddenly off balance, Trixie tumbled off the couch, crashing down at Celestia’s hooves.

"Oh, Trixie, why is it that you always feel the need to drag others down with you?" The heat returned as Celestia's eyes found hers again. This time though, Trixie was far too numb to even notice the heat.

Seeing no answer was forthcoming, Celestia continued. "Once again, I have had to stop you from hurting somepony. She may be a traitor, but I will never lose a pony to you if I can help it.

"And now," Celestia shook the book, its pages nearly ablaze now due to the heat, "My student has shown you for the creature you really are.

"Why," Celestia said, almost wistfully to herself. "Why did I ever think a monster like you deserved freedom? Which other elements have you begun to corrupt? I understand Kindness would like to see Tartarus, perhaps Loyalty needs to join her as well? Is Honesty in need of help overcoming your lies and twisted half-truths!?"

“N-no, p-please.” Trixie prostrated herself before Celestia, her entire body shook violently. “T-Trixie’s f-fault.” She dared not look directly at the sun goddess.

Celestia ignored her plea.

“I was too merciful.” She pulled Trixie off the ground, pulling back painfully on her mane to force Trixie to crane her head up and look into her face.

"Where light touches, your dark ambitions cannot hide, Trixie. I see your intent, your lies, your murderous nature, I see it all now. This book was the last piece I needed to see just how truly lost you are to the world."

The scorching heat was already too much to bear. Trixie’s tears evaporated from her eyelids before they ever reached her cheeks. Trixie could barely see, there was so much light, so much pain from the pressure on her mane. So much heat. Celestia seemed to guess her thoughts as she spoke, "You haven't even started to feel what real heat is, Trixie. Here, let me show you...”

Trixie awoke, desperately gasping for air. For a terrifying moment, her lungs felt as though they were on fire, The heat radiating off of her body was unbearable, and she desperately tossed the covers off of her. After several panicked minutes, the cool night air finally began to cool her down, causing her panic to slightly fade.

Panting heavily, Trixie found herself forced to look at the shadowy headboards of the bed again by somepony pulling on her mane. She didn’t even need to check to know that Fluttershy was responsible. Whatever the fascination that mare had with her mane had to stop, or at least be less destructive, but right now it felt more reassuring than anything.

There was darkness all around, but Trixie remembered what had happened now. She was home, this was Fluttershy’s bedroom. That’s right. They’d finished the ‘C’ list of creatures, then gone straight to bed.

She could feel the soft mare, safely cuddled up in her grasp. Trixie hadn't even realized she was clinging to Fluttershy, having just been concerned about removing the intense heat. Funny enough, Trixie was finding the warmth from Fluttershy to be soothing as opposed to unbearable.

By some miracle, her thrashing had not wrenched Fluttershy from her sleep. Trixie pulled Fluttershy against her as tightly as she dared, quietly sobbing with relief. She’s okay! It was just a dream.

Rationally, Trixie knew that The Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, was exceedingly unlikely to suffer any severe punishment. She was too important. But, that didn't stop the fearful pattering in her chest.

After a couple of long moments, and with some magical assistance, Trixie pried herself free from Fluttershy. She rolled out of the bed, and crashed on the ground, wincing as her elbow impacted the solid wooden floor. She could have sworn the bed was closer to the ground. Trixie bit her tongue to keep quiet, then she scrambled her way out of the bedroom as quietly as possible.

The nightmares were getting worse. It could not be mere coincidence that the worst of them had started right as her life was taking such a wonderful turn for the better. If they were omens, then did that mean she was putting Fluttershy, and Dashie, in danger with her selfishness?

N-no, that can't be it. T-Trixie deserves to be happy, doesn't she? The words rung just as hollow and false as they had in the hospital.

Trixie paced small, nervous circles in the living room, struggling to calm down.

A scuffling noise on the stairs froze Trixie in her tracks. Had she woken up Fluttershy with her hoofsteps? Of course she had. What was she even thinking, stumbling around in the living room like a drunken centaur at this hour? Whatever hour it may have been.

“Sorry, did Trixie wak—Ugh, it’s you.” Trixie growled, watching the treacherous rabbit hop down the steps. He stopped once he saw her however, ensuring he stayed just high enough on the stairs to stare down at her. Those evil, beady, little eyes glinting at her from the darkness.

“Go away before Trixie feeds you to ‘Manny’. Where did you even come from?” She hissed at the rabbit.

He didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t answer. He was a rabbit! More importantly, he just sat there staring at her, silently judging like he was some kind of grand arbiter.

Somehow, he’d gotten back into the house. Then again, Trixie was not sure he was ever actually banished from it in the first place. So much for that ‘talk’ Fluttershy said she had with him. More likely was that Fluttershy had merely told him to avoid her until she’d cooled down enough not to make good on her threats.

She wasn’t going to let him get to her. All Trixie had to do was just ignore him and focus on what really mattered. Without really thinking about it, she started pacing again.

Maybe it won’t be so bad. P-Princess Luna is on Trixie’s side, right? Or is she? Shouldn’t Trixie be seeing her, instead of just nightmares? It’s not really known how she works in the dreamscape, or even if she really do—Is he still standing there?!

From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Angel, still on the stairs as though he were above her. Grinding her teeth, Trixie looked away again.

But it was so real! There’s no way these are just normal dreams! Even so, would she help Trixie? What if she’s only using Trixie to distract her sister while she puts her real plan in motion? It doesn’t matter, Trixie can only rely on Trixie anyway. Then think of something you can do!

Looking up from her concentrated effort of wearing a circular groove into the wooden floorboards, Trixie saw Angel still looking down on her. “What!?” She snapped at him. A split second later, she flinched, laying her ears flat against her head. Fool! Fluttershy’s asleep!

She was not the only one who noticed, as Angel looked over his shoulder up at the bedroom door.

A tense couple of seconds passed. No noise came from the bedroom.

Trixie let out a breath she had not realized she’d been holding, sighing with relief. She found it was a little funny that, even with Fluttershy’s potential banishment on the line, it felt so important not to stir Fluttershy from her slumber.

Apparently equally assured of Fluttershy’s continued rest, Angel looked back at Trixie.

Feeling the brief moment of unspoken agreement between the two of them, Trixie almost smiled, but she caught herself. The despicable creature deserved no such recognition. A sentiment he appeared to share, as she once again found herself on the foul end of his glower.

Not to be outdone by a rodent, Trixie scowled back at him. “What do you want from Trixie? You think this is funny?” she hissed under her breath. She had to fight to keep her voice down.

Aggravatingly, he didn’t react at all to her question. Instead, he looked away, and began cleaning his fur. Trixie swore it was his way of implying she was less important than a spot of dirt on his fur. His wretched pristine, white, fur. Arrogant little rat.

Now that she thought about it, it was the same pure white as that of Princess Celestia. Perhaps he truly was her agent. It would certainly explain why his preferred method of torture was attempting to burn her.

“Just leave Trixie alone.” It didn’t come out as commanding as she had hoped, more like a plea. Naturally, it went unheard.

Trixie shuffled in place, torn between her desire of leaving the room just to get away from him, and her need to show no weakness before him, or her, or both. After staring at the agent quietly for a time, she whispered, “It’s not fair. You cannot punish Trixie just for being here.”

Angel stopped, and looked in her direction again, tilting his head.

“Trixie is trying to be good!” She stage whispered, stomping one hoof down on the floor with a dull thud. “J-Just because you don’t like her, or think she’s a bad influence. Trixie is just trying to be happy, and she’s happy with her life now! Don’t try to take that away, Trixie won’t let you! Won’t let anypony!”

Breathing faster, Trixie felt her legs wobble, and gave another stomp against the floor in hopes of forcing the weakness out of her bones. “Trixie deserves to be happy! D-deserves a c-chance.” She faltered, struggling to swallow while she did her best to believe her own words. She’d long since stopped talking to Angel. “S-she does!” Too loud.

In the silence that followed, not a peep was heard from upstairs for a time. But then, soft noises came down the stairs. Startled, Trixie’s eyes darted up to the top of the stairs, fighting to see in the darkness. But, to her confusion, she found nopony there. Tracking down the noise, she caught sight of Angel, just as he hopped down the last step, and made his way into the kitchen.

Finally alone, Trixie rested her head against the couch. “She does…”

There was no telling what the hour was, but it was pitch black outside. As though not even the stars had seen fit to make an appearance. Everything felt wrong. The gnawing feeling of unease that had been with her before dinner was back with a vengeance, carving a rough picture of Twilight Sparkle.

Why had she ever thought it would be okay to leave the book with her? Because she thought she had Twilight fooled?

You idiot!

Twilight was smart, frightfully so. They’d spoken long enough for Trixie to have a faint idea of how much knowledge she possessed, so why had she assumed she would be so easily deceived? It made much more sense to assume Twilight was merely acting the fool to lull Trixie into a false sense of security.

And Celestia was certainly no fool; she’d ruled Equestria for centuries, and Twilight was her hoof-picked apprentice. Surely the student would have to be at least half as cunning. There was no way that such a fumbling performance had actually fooled her.

T-this is bad. She is going to tell Celestia the book is Trixie’s! Even if she doesn’t, Celestia should know scrying spells to use on it, or something! Oh, why did Trixie leave it behind?

She'd been a fool. Twilight had fed her exactly the right lies to make it seem as though it was safe to abandon the book. To get Trixie in trouble Twilight would need her name, location and the evidence. Now she had all three.

If Trixie is to fix this... The easiest of the three to remove would be location... but that means Trixie has to run away. She'd already determined that she would rather take on all of Ponyville than abandon Fluttershy and Dash, but facing Princess Celestia... She quickly shook her head. No running!

She could attempt to intercept the book somehow, but she had no idea where the post office even was. And even if she did, she would still be confronted with Twilight, who probably had no intention of handing it over if Trixie just asked nicely.

The only thing she could think of was silencing Twilight. An exceedingly terrible idea which even in her near state of panic was blindingly obvious to Trixie as something that would end really really badly.

Sinking through her trembling legs, Trixie covered her head and closed her eyes. Maybe, if she was lucky, this was all just another bad dream. All she had to do was wake up, and everything would be just fine.

That's when she felt a rabbit foot kick her in the side.

No such luck.

Trixie is going to kill that thing. As soon as she’s figured out how to deal with Fluttershy in the aftermath. Opening her eyes, Trixie saw Angel take a few hops back away from her. Apparently judging himself to be at safe distance, he turned around to glare at her again. Same as ever. Trixie returned the glare. “Still alive, too bad, huh?”

Catching a glint of something in the dark, Trixie broke away from her glaring contest. It was just a hoof length away from her, but it was difficult to make out. It almost looked like… “A glass of water?”

It made no sense, she was sure she hadn’t gotten it, or had she? Perhaps she blacked out, or was so in thought that her magic just acted on its own to soothe her dry throat? Now that she thought about it, her throat did feel awfully dry.

Reaching for the glass, Trixie stopped herself. Slowly, she looked back towards Angel, who was watching her intently with those evil little eyes glistering in the darkness. “Did you do this? For Trixie?”

Angel turned his head away from her and closed his eyes with a huff, as though to say it wasn’t because he liked her or anything.

“How nice of you. Some ‘water’ for Trixie.” She reached out her hoof and smacked the glass away. She couldn’t see it, but she could hear some kind of liquid splash across the wooden floor, and the dull grinding sound as the glass rolled away. “Did you think Trixie would fall for it? Hah!”

In two quick hops, Angel disappeared into the darkness. Apparently he’d realized his scheme had failed to make her drink… Well, whatever was really in that glass. Probably hot sauce, if he was sticking to the theme.

Feeling strangely reinvigorated by the minor victory, Trixie rose up to her hooves, kicking the glass under the couch. What had she even thought she was doing, laying down in defeat like that? There had to be a way out of this!

There must be something else! Maybe, maybe Trixie could finish that story about Princess Luna, and hope it counts for something?

Now she was just getting desperate.

Wait! Maybe Fluttershy will know what to do. Trixie leapt up to her hooves. She’d nearly forgotten, she didn’t have to solve the problem all by herself anymore; Fluttershy had been a great help before. Although, that did mean she would have to tell Fluttershy everything. Her intestines tied themselves in knots just at the very idea. Besides, it meant getting Fluttershy involved, but what choice did she have?

First thing in the morning, she’d come clean with Fluttershy, and hope they would have some brilliant insight that she, Trixie, was missing.

For right now however, she didn’t feel at all like going back to bed. Her nerves were eating away at every fiber of her being.

Igniting her light spell, Trixie trotted over to the closet she’d used to stash her ‘less savory’ books in. If this is Trixie’s last night as a free mare, she might as well make the most of it… Ugh, that’s pathetic.

She tried not to think about what it said about her that this was the best idea she could come up with while she rummaged through the closet. With a spark of magic, she pushed aside the few hastily stacked together boxes, revealing her precious book stash in the soft glow of her horn.

Well… what do you feel like having tonight, Trixie? A pirate story perhaps? Something a little more medieval? No, it has to be—Huh. What is that thing?

Trixie’s eyes were drawn to the black bundle that rested on top of the stack. It was difficult to spot the pitch black thing in the darkness, but now that she’d noticed it, a quick telekinesis spell pulled it out of the closet.

A few small tugs, and the bundle unfolded. Immediately, Trixie remembered why she had this thing. The crazy pink pony had given it to her the day before and acted all annoying about it. Bleh, she was so hyper, and what even made her think that Trixie would ever want a black cat suit? It is so not Trixie’s color, it should be purple at least, with stars. What good is it if it would make Trixie nearly… impossible… to see…

It was in times like these that Trixie really missed Rainbow Dash, because right now, there was simply no way she could facehoof herself hard enough.

Chapter 107 - Rumor *

Chapter 107 - Rumor *

Ever since Trixie first arrived, the professor had been reading through some papers. He'd made it a point to get them out right after she sat down, rummaging through his drawer to find them, and not saying a word to her. This left Trixie to slowly spiral down the maddening path of anxiety. One which few little fillies could endure for long in total silence, or stillness.

Trixie shifted uncomfortably on the small stool she’d been directed to. It felt unnaturally cold inside the office of Professor Silence, almost cold enough to make Trixie reconsider her stance on whether or not the second floor was really haunted. It was sunny outside, wasn’t it? Wait, where are the windows? There weren’t any, just the same dull gray stone walls on all sides, as though she’d walked into a tomb. She hoped that the office was just made to look this way to upset any little fillies that were brought into it, or maybe because the professor was just bad at decorating. He couldn't really be a vampony, could he? Trixie attempted to work up enough saliva to wet her suddenly dry throat as her eyes darted around the room. The office sure looked right for a vampony...

Aside from being obviously a vampony’s tomb, the office looked a little like how Trixie imagined a study of some evil, old overlord would look. Though the professor was old, far older than Trixie could ever imagine being, she still felt it safer to keep to her vampony theory for the moment. The shelves on the left wall were filled with stacks of timeworn books, scrolls, and even a globe. On the other side, she noticed something that actually didn't fit her books descriptions of a vampony’s lair. There were in fact, several non-creepy pictures pinned to the wall. Trixie easily recognized one of the ponies on the wall: Princess Celestia, The Ruler of Equestria, she was flanked by about a dozen ponies on the steps of some large building, posing for a group photo.

As she stared at the photo, Trixie felt a little warmer just by seeing the smile on the Princess’s face. Hopefully Trixie would get to see her in person one day, if her mom ever made good on her promise to take Trixie to the Summer Sun Celebration. Honestly, Trixie would settle for an autumn, winter, or spring celebration too. So long as the princess was there.

With a tinge of jealousy, Trixie glanced at the other ponies in the picture. A young stallion standing on Princess Celestia’s right caught Trixie’s eye. There was something about him that felt familiar. He had fur nearly as pristine white as that of the Princess, though it was sharply contrasted by his charcoal mane. He was wearing the biggest, proudest smile Trixie had ever seen on a pony. Apparently it was contagious, as Trixie found herself smiling as well.

The sound of somepony clearing their throat brought Trixie’s attention back to earth. She locked eyes with Professor Silence, who brandished a single eyebrow slightly higher than the other while he regarded the expression on her face. Her smile quickly faltered as Trixie remembered why she was here. To be fair, she’d been nearly sure she was completely forgotten until now, it wasn’t that strange that she would forget too, wasn’t it? She certainly had the attention of the professor now though, and Trixie wished she could go back to being ignored.

“So,” The professor gestured towards the door, “What caused this violent transgression to occur?”

Frozen in place, Trixie just stared at him, barely daring to blink. What had he just said?

After a moment, the professor sighed, and rephrased. “What exactly transpired in the concourse?”

She stayed perfectly still, trying to make the least bit of sense of the words that came out of his mouth.

“...Oh, for Celestia's...” He placed a hoof over his eyes for a moment, letting a frustrated growl escape him. Then, the professor raised his voice, speaking slowly, as though to a donkey, he accentuated every word. “What caused you to decide to injure Miss Starlight?”

Trixie jumped at the suddenly loud sound of his voice. After a few seconds of mind numbing terror passed, Trixie realized she had been asked a question. But to answer it, she'd have to speak, meaning she was going to make a noise beyond running away in this cold, dark, creepy office. It felt so strange to have to actually be expected to talk to him. Trixie then noticed the professor's frown deepening, and realized she had probably been staring at him like a muffin caught in a breakfast rush for over a minute now. Panicking, she quickly rattled off the events of the day: Starlight had provoked her, Trixie told her to get lost, and finally about Starlight’s attempt to get at Trixie by attacking Flitter. “Or, uhm, she would have, if I had not stopped her!” She’d pre-emptively dropped out of third person for the time being, anticipating a backlash if she wouldn’t.

“By making her collide into the ceiling, and attempting to throw the filly out of a second story window?” As he spoke, a quill danced across one of the papers, no doubt recording the details of the morning. “Do you realize what that means?”

Trixie swallowed with difficulty while she rubbed her hoof along her elbow nervously. “T-that I am in a lot of trouble… What’s going to happen?”

Ignoring her question, Professor Silence asked his next one. “How did you do that?”

“W-what?” Trixie tilted her head slightly, unsure what she was meant to say.

He tapped his hoof down on the papers in front of him. “Miss Lulamoon, at your previous assessment, you were hardly above the level of a class clown. Today, you were able to lift another student off the ground, by yourself, from considerable distance.” he leaned over his desk, staring down at her as though she were a misplaced comma in an essay. “Why have you been hiding your aptitude for telekinesis spells?”

Trixie wasn’t sure what surprised her more, that she had yet to be lectured on endangering another student, or that she was being accused of hiding her abilities. The idea that she would have done anything less than show off felt like an insult. “I didn’t hide anything. I only learned how to do it last week!”

A single cocked eyebrow on the professor's face betrayed his state of mind.

“I practiced. A lot.”

Professor Silence stared at her for a few long, quiet moments, then slumped back into his chair.

“All weekend.” She added.

Ignoring her, the professor's cold, jade eyes strayed from Trixie’s, snaking their way down her body in a manner that sent a chill down the little filly’s spine.

Shifting uncomfortably on her little stool, Trixie just watched the older stallion, blatantly staring at her flank. She shifted her tail to cover herself up, and felt her heart thump faster in her chest. Her legs ached with a need to get away which she didn’t understand. Suddenly, Trixie was struck with a horrifying realization. But, surely he would never think of doing something like that to her, even if she’d deserved punishment.

It slowly occurred to her that she was at his mercy. Even if she screamed, his muffling spells would probably keep her cries as captive to the room as she herself was. Flitter would be right on the other side of the wall and never even hear a thing!

T-teachers aren’t allowed to do that, r-right? Trixie pushed herself as far back on the stool as she could go. There’s no way he’d try to, to spank Trixie! Even her own mother only ever threatened to do that jokingly, and she had to do something really bad first!

Professor Silence however, did not seem the least bit interested in spanking her. Instead, he kept staring, seemingly lost in thought while Trixie's own thoughts were going crazy. The ONLY good thing about this, in her mind, was that he couldn't be thinking of draining her blood. The book said vamponies only did that to a pony’s neck, and he clearly wasn't staring at her neck at the moment.

Trixie started debating in her head the merits of blood drain versus butt pain, when a sudden glow caught her eye.

Looking back at the professor, Trixie saw a sickly green aura lifted up his quill. The quill then began scribbling it across the parchment again. “Your cutie mark. When did you get it?”

“L-last week, sir.” Trixie answered quickly. She felt some of tension ebb out of her limbs as she slouched forward. It had only about inspecting her mark? Thank Celestia!

He simply nodded, the scribbling quill finished before she was half way through giving her answer, as though he’d already predicted it. “Interesting…”

Trixie wasn’t quite sure what he would find interesting about it. Sure, she was absolutely thrilled about getting her cutie mark, but few other ponies had cared. One of the downsides of getting her mark so publicly was that everypony already knew how she’d gotten it, so she only had the chance to tell the story to mom, and Flitter, of course. “D-don’t you want to know how, or what it means?”

Looking up from his papers, the professor gave her a look that could have nearly passed as weariness, then shook his head. “I don’t care for your opinion on the matter, Miss Lulamoon. We’ll see. For the next two weeks, after school, you are to come to my office and follow my instructions for one hour. You are dismissed.” His attention drifted back to the papers in front of him. The quill scribbled down a few more lines.

“T-that’s it? But, Professor, uh, w-what about Starlight?” Trixie cautiously asked. Immediately after she’d spoken, she wished she had the good sense not to remind him.

The quill came to a brief halt as he raised his gaze up just briefly. “What about Miss Starlight?”

Taken aback, Trixie stared at him in disbelief, before briefly looking towards the door. She imagined that Starlight was probably still on the other side somewhere, cradling a broken nose. “A-aren’t I in trouble?”

He followed Trixie’s quick glance to the door, then shook his head. “Only in the sense that you got caught. Try to be more mindful of your surroundings next time.” Stroking his hoof along his chin, he added, as though it were a mere after thought, “Do try to avoid causing serious harm. There is only so much that can be passed off as ‘roughhousing foals’.”

Trixie blinked uncomprehendingly.

Her confusion was apparently picked up on, or maybe vamponies could read minds, as Professor Silence gave her an impatient look. “Miss Lulamoon, we’ve already had our little chat about wheat and chaff, and I resent having to repeat myself. Now, go home, and be here tomorrow.”

Trixie dared not breath another word, fearing to break whatever fragile charm had compelled him to let her go. She hopped off the stool and swiftly made her way back to the door. She paused for only a moment, looking back at him as though she felt all of this would make sense if she literally viewed it from a different angle.

It didn't help, and after a moment Professor Silence seemed to catch on that she was still in his office, and looked up from his papers with an annoyed expression on his face.

Trixie's blood froze in her veins and her eyes widened as their gazes met. Trixie was sure he’d decided right then and there to help himself to a chilled beverage! She quickly pulled the door open just enough to slip through it, then shut the door in the same motion. In her haste, she’d slammed it much louder than she anticipated. The feeling of relief to be out of the office was rudely interrupted by a high pitched scream right next to Trixie, making her leap for the ceiling with a startled cry.

"Eek!"

"Gah! Flitter? What on Earth!?"

Flitter had apparently been waiting for Trixie in the hallway. Judging by her wide eyes and frozen ridged stance, she had not been expecting any loud noises to announce Trixie's return.

"S-sorry," Flitter managed to squeak out, trembling on her hooves while she glanced around skittishly.

Trixie sighed. She couldn’t be angry with Flitter for being on edge on the supposedly ‘haunted’ second floor. How Flitter managed to still be scared after she spent an hour cleaning up here without any signs of some filly-devouring ghost trying to eat her was beyond Trixie. Although… Starlight was nowhere to be found. Heh, Trixie should be so lucky. “Forget about it. Come on, we’re leaving,” Trixie said while she made her way to the stairs.

“R-right!” Flitter quickly caught up to Trixie, glancing at her uncertainly. Once they were back on the ground floor, she finally asked, “so… are you in trouble?”

Contemplating the question for a moment, she gave the only answer she could. “Trixie is… not sure…”

Trixie yawned. She hadn't slept well after all the stress of the previous day. Even if she had, the first class that morning was about the early history of magic. Specifically Unicorn magic. For the most part it consisted of a very boring, very long, lecture on how poorly organized early magic used to be, and how it was eventually formalized into schools.

The only part that was even vaguely interesting was the mention of a few schools eventually being forbidden, but the professor didn't go into any detail, so Trixie once again found her head almost hitting the table. A jab or two from Flitter managed to stir her awake when the professor was walking by, and Trixie would give a groggy nod of appreciation to Flitter each time.

Considering how useless what they were studying was for modern times, Trixie found it impossible to care. When she could focus her thoughts, her mind kept wondering back to her 'punishment', if she could even call it that. An hour of detention each day for two weeks? He can't be letting Trixie off that easily, can he?

"Did you hear about Starlight?"

Trixie perked up an ear as she heard a green coated filly two desks to her left speak in hushed tones to another filly. Trixie should probably have known their names by now, but she just had never taken much of an interest.

"She got hurt yesterday, right? What happened?"

"Broke her nose. They say she fell down the stairs."

Folding her ears back, Trixie suddenly felt very self-conscious. She hadn't meant to hurt Starlight... Okay, she had. But she was angry at the time! Even if Starlight had it coming, Trixie didn't feel as victorious as she had in the moment. Not victorious at all actually, more like she'd done something wrong. Ridiculous! It was her fault for threatening Flitter! A-at least Trixie thought she was...

According to Flitter's account, Starlight had not done anything to her, aside from make some very awkward conversation. Of course, it was possible that was because Trixie was supposed to witness whatever Starlight was going to do to Flitter, but she couldn’t be sure.

“And you believed that? That’s not the real story.”

“What do you mean?”

“She got into a fight with somepony on the second floor!”

Although she was not really paying attention to her babbling classmates, Trixie’s ears once again perked up attentively. A cold chill ran down her spine as she realized there was another small thing she had not taken into consideration at the time. What would her classmates think if they figured out what she’d done?

“Yeah, right! If she was up on the second floor. I’ll bet the ghosts got her!”

“Do ghosts break noses? Sounds more like she got scared and ran into a wall.” The conversation broke down into laughter.

Oh, right. Her classmates were idiots.

Chapter 108 - Research *

Chapter 108 - Research *

The second floor, home of the ‘filly-hating ghost’.

Trixie bit into her cucumber sandwich with a satisfying crispy crunch. She’d have liked it better if she’d gotten something a little less bland, but there was only so much she could expect from Flitter whenever she threw her out among the den of wolves that was the cafeteria lunch line.

Beside her, Flitter was staring at her untouched meal.

Flitter, to her credit, had been getting just a little bit better. That was to say, once she was finally in the queue, she had stopped nervously slipping out to head back to the end of the line. Something which Trixie had praised her endlessly for.

However, Trixie had noticed that Flitter hadn’t eaten well lately. She preferred to just stare down at her food with a vacant look. It was no use to ask her what was wrong, she never gave a straight answer, but Trixie had a good idea of what it was.

It had been nearly two weeks since the incident. Starlight still had not shown up for school.

Moon Rock had taken it upon herself to bring Starlight her homework each day, and Sunny Days encouraged the class to sign a get-well-soon card. Even Trixie and Flitter had signed it when Sunny came to their desk with it. If it had been anyone but Sunny, Trixie might have thought she was trying to guilt trip her for saying they weren’t really Starlight’s friends.

The first week, Starlight’s absence had worried Trixie just as much as it had worried Flitter. Trixie’s thoughts had even been plagued by ridiculous ideas, like apologizing to Starlight for protecting Flitter, or visiting her at home to see how she was doing. Fortunately, Trixie had the good sense to first visit the school nurse, Miss Tea, to ask about Starlight’s condition.

Originally, Miss Tea refused to tell her anything. After all, it wasn’t her business, but no mere adult could withstand The Great and Persuasive Puppy Dog Eyes. After feeding the nurse a tearful story about how worried she was, the nurse relented, and gave what she must have thought to be a reassuring answer to Trixie. Apparently, Starlight was just fine! According to the nurse, though Starlight did have a bloody nose for a day or two, she’d never broken anything! She was just at home to recover from the ‘shock’!

Trixie took another big, forceful, bite out of her sandwich. She still could hardly believe she’d ever been the least bit concerned for Starlight. All this time, the sooty simpleton had been taking advantage of a convenient excuse to skip school for a while. Trixie had practically given her a vacation! And felt bad about it! She glared at the window, imagining throwing the fool out of it when she got back just to retroactively make her ‘recovery’ worth it.

I’ll bet she had a good laugh when she saw I signed that card. I totally fell for it. Maybe it was a mistake to tell Flitter? She seems really broken up about it. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get angry?

It was difficult for Trixie to understand Flitter sometimes. She was so quiet and reserved in public, but blossomed when the two of them were alone. At least, usually she did. But, ever since Trixie had told her about Starlight’s trick, she was just so subdued.

“Moon Rock said that Starlight will be back this Friday,” Flitter said suddenly.

Trixie perked up. She didn’t remember Moon Rock saying anything of the sort in class. “She did? So she’s finally stopped faking it then.”

Flitter’s brow furrowed, though she stayed quiet, and just stared at her food. Trixie knew that expression.

A few weeks back Flitter had loaned a colt named Dew Hill two bits, and he’d never paid them back. Most likely he’d just forgotten about it. But every time Flitter spotted him on his own in class or at the lunch table, she’d stare at him, and furrow her brow. Then, when one of his friends joined him, she’d sigh and get on whatever she was doing previously, but as soon as she was alone with Trixie she’d rant, in her own way, about him forgetting the loan.

There was no doubt about it, that look meant Flitter had something to say, and felt she had found the perfect moment to say it. If only she could work up the courage to do so before the moment passed.

With bated breath, Trixie stayed completely still. Afraid that a single motion might make Flitter feel like her moment had passed. Silently, she waited for her friend to spill the beans.

“Uhm, Trixie?” Flitter asked quietly, hugging her legs against her own body. “…Are you sure she is faking it? W-what if the nurse just told you what you wanted to hear?”

Trixie quirked an eyebrow. I see. So that’s what was bugging her. She’s worried I’m jumping to conclusions. As if I would ever do that. “Trixie is sure that between the nurse and Starlight, Starlight is more likely to lie. Adults don’t lie. Besides, you know what she’s like. Hay, just think. These past two weeks nopony has bothered or teased us. And Starlight has been gone for two weeks. Therefore, Trixie would like to think that it must have been Starlight goading them into it.”

“I guess, but… well… You didn’t see her cry.”

It was true. Starlight was still in shock when Trixie had been ushered into the office, and she was gone by the time the professor was done. Only Flitter remained in the hallway. The story Flitter told afterward was that Starlight had broken down crying while Trixie was getting her ‘lecture’. Far too kind for her own good, Flitter had tried to help Starlight get to the nurses office, but was swiftly pushed into a wall for her efforts. After which, Starlight quickly left.

“No,” Trixie said. “Trixie has trouble picturing it to be honest.” She stroked a hoof along the brim of her hat nervously. “It’s just… I dunno… easier. To think she’s just a jerk, I mean.”

“Well, she probably is.” Flitter gave her a playful nudge, earning herself a smile from the great and powerful filly. “But, that doesn’t mean you have to be too. I, uhm, well I just think maybe… you really scared her. I was scared, and you were on my side.”

“Trixie isn’t sure if those are compliments or not.” She threw Flitter a cocky grin.

Frowning, Flitter pushed Trixie off balance. “You are awful! I meant maybe you scared her straight!”

Offering no resistance, Trixie sprawled across the floor. Getting comfortable on her back, she gazed up at the clouds through the windows. “Okay fine. I am sorry. I get it. It would be nice if maybe they left us alone now. I won’t start anything by saying she faked being hurt, that’s what you want, right?”

“Y-yes. I’d like that. Maybe we can all just… you know… ignore each other. I wanna be able to eat in the cafeteria again sometimes. W-without looking over my shoulder.”

Trixie nodded, bringing her gaze back down towards Flitter. “Fine. Trixie didn’t realize you weren’t satisfied having only the roof and second floor to ourselves.”

“T-that’s not it. It would just be nice, sometimes.” she grumbled cutely. Her eyes flicked to the door that lead to the professor’s office. “Isn’t your detention almost over? We can stop coming here then.”

“It is. Just two more days.” Blowing a lock of hair out of her face, Trixie folded her hooves below her head. “It was your idea to have our lunch here anyways. Shouldn’t you have been scared of the ghost like everypony else?”

Flitter smirked a little bit. “You are the ghost. I don’t mind you haunting me.” Flitter's face reddened several seconds later, impressing Trixie a bit. It takes a lot of red to get seen through a dark purple coat after all.

“Muhaha,” Trixie laughed, as eerily as she could manage. “Is that how a ghost would laugh? Wait, do ghosts laugh? I should find a book or something on that. Where do you suppose we could find one? Flitter?”

Flitter held her face in her hooves. Her ghostly laughter must have been too scary for her.

“Well, never mind. You should hurry and eat up. Class starts in a couple minutes.”

“R-right.” A reddish glow appeared around Flitter’s sandwich. It was an unsteady affair, but she still managed to bring it to her mouth for a bite.

Beaming with pride, Trixie clapped her hooves together enthusiastically. “That’s great, Flitter. You are getting better each time!” Within the red aura, Trixie watched the tapestry of Flitter’s magic weaving and churning. It was a strange sensation, something she could see, yet not see at the same time. “Try to… I dunno… ‘flow’ more slowly.”

“L-like this?” Flitter’s muzzle scrunched up while she tried to follow the very vague command.

Trixie shook her head. “No, that’s ‘drag’ It’s different. It’s like, uh, just keep trying stuff!” It was frustrating, but she didn’t have the words to describe it. So the only solution was to make them up herself, and try to convey what she meant through trial and error. “No. No. Try to, umm...angle it more? No… Mhm, no. Yeah! ...no, you lost it.”

After about the twelfth ‘no’, Flitter finally managed to change something which the sandwich shook a little bit less.

“Yes!” Trixie cheered.

“Thanks, it does feel better” Sweat running down her brow, Flitter smiled gratefully at Trixie while she brought her sandwich in for another bite. She managed exactly two bites before the aura flickered and petered out, dropped the sandwich in her hooves.

“Ah. Are you okay, Flitter?” She leaned in, her eyes focused on the filly’s horn. There wasn’t anything she knew of that she could do to help.

“I-I’m fine. It’s just… you know… really hard to change random things.” She wore a much more relaxed expression now that the bread was in her hooves.

“Oh, uh, do you want Trixie to stop asking you to?” Trixie rubbed her fetlocks along her foreleg nervously.

Flitter quickly shook her head. “No. It really helps. But, it’s just hard to change. That’s all. I learned the other changes, right? They are easy now. Uhm, well, as easy as magic can be anyway. I’ve got The Great and Powerful Trixie as a tutor, what could be better?” She beamed.

“That’s the spirit!” Trixie pulled a suddenly squirming Flitter against her and held out one hoof pointed towards the sky. “Today levitation. Tomorrow the world!”

The school bell announced that the world was done waiting for two tardy fillies.

“Trixie will be glad when this is over,” she said while climbing the stairs up to the second floor. School was over for the day, but for Trixie that merely meant it was time for detention.

Flitter followed alongside her. “Me too. It’s no fun going home alone… ”

Nodding silently, Trixie paused in front of the door that would lead into the professor’s creepy office, staring up at it with a sickly feeling in her stomach. The nerves right before going in were always the worst part, like stage fright.

It was nice of Flitter to accompany her there every day. It made Trixie at least a little more at ease, even if she had to leave right after dropping Trixie off. Trixie knew it was inconvenient for Flitter, not to mention frightening for the little scaredy-cat, but she did it anyway. It was great to have a good friend like her.

“S-so, uhm.” Flitter began, scratching her hoof along the floor. “This is it, then. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she said, staring at Trixie expectantly.

Trixie snapped back to reality. “Of course.” She smiled at Flitter and pulled her closer, planting a quick kiss on her cheek. As usual, Flitter didn’t return the gesture, but she was just like that. “Later, Flitter!” she said as confidently as she wished she felt, then entered the office.

The heavy door slammed shut behind her, but she only knew that because of the vibrations through the floor. The actual sound was completely gone. Trixie wasn’t sure how this spell was performed, but the entire office was deadly silent. She knew she should be hearing Flitter’s hoofsteps fading away, but it was gone too. As was her own breathing. Even the faint rustle of her hat against her mane each time she moved her head. All of it gone, like she wasn't even there. It never got any easier, even after two weeks she was not the least bit used to it. She didn't want to get used it, that feeling of not existing.

Trotting across the office, Trixie saw Professor Silence was already behind his desk. He was not exactly waiting for her. On his desk were today’s tests. They were the only thing he had eyes for. The way his quill struck out at the parchment was more like a scalpel than a writing instrument, carving out everything that he deemed wrong with his patient.

She nodded respectfully to him, even though he did not appear to be watching. Trixie didn’t want to take chances. She sat down on the small stool in front of the desk and waited to be acknowledged. It was a pointless bit of ritual, as it went the exact same each time. He was going to ignore her for a while, then tell her to do the same thing he always did.

There was very little she could do for entertainment while she waited. Maybe she'd finally work up the courage and bring that book next time. A school book of course. There was no way he could object to that, right? She wouldn’t be very entertained, but if she just pretended to be it might annoy the professor enough to hurry up.

Bored, she let her eyes roam along the office walls. It was still every bit as foreboding as it had been upon first glance, but Trixie found that the longer she looked, the less scary it became. The old globe in the corner was no different from the one they’d used in geography class at her old school. Well, a little dirtier maybe.

Similarly, the shelves were still full of books and scrolls. The scrolls were still a mystery, since she wasn’t about to grab one, but by now Trixie had had the time to actually read some of the spines. It wasn’t quite what she had expected.

None of the books were about how to hide your fangs, or endure sunlight. Instead, they were pretty normal books. There was a segment with history books, though Trixie could swear they were just for show, the professor was probably old enough to have witnessed the events. Two dictionaries, an atlas, and an almanac, all of which looked exceptionally boring.

Things picked up a little when Trixie discovered one shelve was dedicated to fiction, and even better, they were all books the librarian wouldn’t give to her yet. Books that her mom wouldn’t let her read because they were too scary. Even if Trixie wasn’t allowed to read the books, she knew of them. They were classic horror stories, with titles such as ‘Dracula’, ‘Frankenstein’, ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, ‘The Raven’, and others which Trixie wasn’t as familiar with. It was strange to think that the professor actually had a hobby. Trixie had to wonder if he read them like normal ponies, or if he read them and rooted for the monster?

But the best books were —where else?— on the top shelves. Magic books. Some of them she recognized as their school books, including those for the coming years. ‘Magic 101’, ‘Magic 102’, but a bit further were titles she couldn’t even pronounce. They had odd symbols and letters, or maybe they were another language. Now that she thought about it, that could be what the dictionaries were for. She wanted to get her hooves on those someday, they were no doubt going to be interesting.

She caught a blur of motion from the corner of her eye, and quickly dragged her gaze away from the shelves.

Without raising his eyes from the parchment, the gloomy stallion gestured towards the crate in the corner of the room. Whatever attention he was affording her waned a moment later. Trixie didn’t bother to nod this time. They both knew she was perfectly aware of her task.

Stepping in front of the crate, Trixie glared down at her nemesis. The accursed box had been the bane of her existence for two weeks. On her first day of detention, she was told to lift the crate up for an hour. If she could do it, her detention would end immediately. She barely managed to lift it for a few seconds the first time.

With a smooth motion, she swiped her hat back, and sparked her exposed horn to life. She captured the crate in a gentle glow, then clenched her teeth as she focused on dragging it across the floor towards the middle of the room. How is this still this hard!? Every time, she was sure she would have a much easier time with the weight, and every time, she’d sorely overestimated herself somehow.

Clenching her teeth, Trixie willed the crate up into the air, forcing it to slowly rise toward the ceiling. It felt so heavy. Just the mere effort it took her to get it into the air would have killed a lesser pony, or so Trixie liked to think.

Today was going to be the day! She had been at this task for two weeks. It was downright embarrassing that she still could not do it! She was The Great and Powerful Trixie for crying out loud! Over the course of her detention: she had shaved every useless little thread from the telekinesis spell, but that only brought her up to five minutes of levitation. A far cry from the hour she required. She’d practiced day in and day out, Which had gotten her another five minutes. She had even taken time out of her day to observe other unicorns as they lifted objects around town. Her fellow students, teacher, construction workers, random passerby’s who’s groceries ‘mysteriously’ fell out of their bags. Trixie had closely observed their magic techniques. It had taken a lot of effort, copying what she deemed usable, refining what worked, experimenting with different approaches she’d seen, and of course practicing even more until she was too exhausted to even use her magic for anything else anymore. She’d even taken to eating lunch with her hooves again just to save up energy.

Trixie glared up at the crate as she held it aloft, sweat already ran down her forehead as she fought to keep her hold on the thing. It didn’t make any sense. She was the best. She KNEW she was the best. Of course, she had thought she was the best two weeks ago too, when she could barely push a notebook across a desk. But this was different, she had really worked on this. Originally, it was just about escaping detention early, but now… NOW it was personal. It was a battle between The Great and Powerful Trixie and Cratos —she had decided her nemesis needed a cool name— and she was going to win this time!

What time was it? Her legs were getting shaky. She knew that logically it didn’t make any sense, she was not actually using them. It had to be at least forty minutes, right? She really should have glued a clock to the crate before she started.

The important thing was she was doing it! She held the accursed Cratos captive in her gaze through sheer force of will, and momentous effort. She’d never allow him to soil the ground again in her presence! At least not for an hour. She wasn’t even tired. Well, not extremely tired anyway. Only like super tired.

The clattering sound of a pencil falling to the floor echoed through the otherwise unnaturally silent office. It rolled against her hoof.

That couldn’t be right, why was there sound now?

“Ah,” Professor Silence said with a trifling hint of amusement. “Miss Lulamoon, would you get that for me? I can’t see it from here.”

He had to be kidding! She was in the middle of something here! Barely suppressing a growl, Trixie quickly glanced away from the crate to glare at the professor. There was a wooden cup on his desk that held numerous pencils. One which Trixie knew had not been there any of the other times she’d been in his office.

No sooner had she looked away than she felt the magic holding up the crate falter. Screaming, she leapt out of the way barely a second before the heavy crate slammed into the ground with a deafening thud. Or at least it sounded really loud after not hearing anything at all for a while. Her heart beat in her throat while she stared at the heavy crate, occupying the exact spot she’d been just a second ago.

That was close! Why was it above her? Did she do that? Wait, how long had it been? There was a clock on the wall behind her she could check.

Twenty minutes. Twenty lousy minutes. That was the fruit of her labor.

Open-mouthed, Trixie stared at the lying, dastardly clock. Until she heard Professor Silence clearing his throat. At once, she whirled around and pointed a hoof at him. “You! What!? Why?!”

The professor looked up from his desk, wearing a disapproving expression. “Do try to adhere to the basic rules of sentence structure, Miss Lulamoon.” A thin smile played on his lips when Trixie closed her mouth and puffed up her cheeks. “Did you acquire the pencil? I do re—”

“You sabotaged Trixie!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Rising up from his chair, he leaned forward over the desk. “Sabotaged?” he echoed, and stared back at her. Besides him, a parchment unfolded while the quill jotted down something that Trixie couldn’t see. “I merely asked you to pick up a pencil.” As he spoke, the pencil raised from the ground, and floated in front of her as though to demonstrate he was speaking the truth.

Her blood boiled. In all the time she’d been here, he had never even had a pencil in the room. “You don’t even use those! You can’t just distract Trixie like that!”

“Why?” His eyes never strayed from her own.

Trixie was quickly coming to realize who she was yelling at, and that this might not be the best of ideas. Still, some far bigger part of her was screaming inside with outrage over being asked such a stupid question right after being nearly killed! Let alone interrupted. “Because the spell will fail! You can’t do two things at once!”

The professor stayed quiet, and merely quirked an eyebrow at her. He slumped back into his chair and pressed his hooves together. He seemed to be waiting for something, though Trixie couldn’t hazard a guess as to what it could be.

The quiet scribbling of the quill was grating Trixie’s last nerve. What could he even be writing? They were both just staring at each other.

It was strange, why did he decide to mess with her now? She only had two days left. If he was going to mess with her, why not start immediately? And why did that stupid pencil keep floating into her field of view no matter where she craned her neck to look around it?

Fed up, Trixie raised a hoof to smack the pencil away, but froze mid swing. She stared at the floating pencil, while in the background she clearly still heard the pencil scribbling. Slowly panning her gaze back towards the table, she watched the quill dancing across the page.

“…Two?” Trixie breathed in disbelief.

He wasn’t even looking at either of them, she knew for a fact he’d locked eyes with her this entire time.

“An astute observation,” he said. The pencil placed itself back into the wooden cup with its brothers, and the quill halted. “Did you think yourself master of telekinesis, merely because you could lift a crate? Please, you could not even look away without losing control.”

Trixie felt her face burn up. Was he a mind reading vampony after all? Or had he just guessed by her attitude? “That’s not true! Trixie has carried her books without looking!” She stomped her hoof.

To Trixie’s unending satisfaction, that actually caused the briefest glimpse of surprise to flash across the professor’s face. Though he looked disinterested a mere second later, Trixie had already decided she was going to count that as a victory.

“Trixie will be taking her break now.” She announced, then turned to leave the office.

She was prepared to ignore him if he tried to tell her to stop, but all she heard while walking away was the sound of the quill resuming its duty. Technically, she had to do anything he told her to her to do during her detention. She’d just assumed the only thing she had to do was lift the crate since he’d never given her any other orders, until today anyway.

It was a dirty trick, to make her drop her guard until he could distract her at the last moment. When she thought about it, she couldn’t even really object to him doing it again, which just made it even nastier.

When she was out of the office, all the sound dropped away again before she could slam the door.

She slammed it anyway.

Chapter 109 - Riled

It was way too early in the morning for Rainbow Dash’s tastes. The sun was barely peeking above the horizon. To make matters worse, her earlier hours made it much easier for Celestia to personally torment her every day. The sun just happened to shine in her eyes on her way to work now. Every. Single. Time. She began to wonder if saving Equestria twice (Hey! That dragon had to count, right? It was huge!) was enough to ask for a slight change in where the sun came up in the morning. She could deal with that after a nice nap, but not in the morning. Especially now that she wasn't getting enough sleep in the first place.

Luckily, Dash was prepared for all weather types, if you were looking for a spot in the Wonderbolts you had to be. So, like most mornings since she was 'promoted', Dash was flying blind. Quite literally, in fact. She'd memorized most of the path to the weather office to the point that she didn't really need to see it, and thankfully going to work so early meant it was very unlikely for her to crash into another Pegasus. Of course, this approach to her problem would have been suicide in Cloudsdale. So, chalk one up to living in a mostly Earth pony town.

The ironic thing was, in the afternoon Ponyville would be in the shade. At least, until Dash called in the other weather teams to spread out the clouds to their designated areas. Right now, Most of Ponyville was overcast by the delivery of rainclouds that arrived the previous evening, but that only covered the actual sky, not the horizon where the blasted sun was tormenting her from.

A quick peek down revealed she was just passing over Rose Luck’s flower shop, which meant she was nearly at her destination: the weather team office. She had an hour or so of dull paper work, then it would be time to make her rounds and get everypony up to date, and then... She shuddered. Anything would be better than another day of this.

Would it be wrong to hope for a disaster to strike Ponyville? Nah, she was pretty sure that was a perfectly reasonable thing to wish for. Just a small one, like, maybe if Nightmare Moon came back to turn just mornings into night. Or, the dragon came back for its hoard. Or, the ursa came back to eat Trixie.

Actually, that last one sounded kind of bad, but Dash fully intended to save Trixie, obviously. It wouldn’t even be hard, bears couldn’t fly. She could just take Trixie up to a cloud, and keep her there until the ursa got tired and wandered off. Yeah, that was a great plan. Hopefully it would take a day or two before it gave up, which would give Dash the perfect excuse to just lay on a cloud for two days. With Trixie on top of her. On second thought, maybe that wouldn’t be quite as naptastic as she’d originally thought.

Her cheeks burned. Must be because of the sun, yeah.

For completely unrelated reasons, she found herself looking forward to dinner at Applejack’s place tonight. She’d really missed hanging out with her friends. Normally, she would have tried to visit Fluttershy’s house at the very least, but even just stopping by was more effort than her body was willing to put in at the end of the long days. Honestly, just dragging herself up to her own bedroom was hard enough, she’d defaulted to the couch once or twice already.

She felt awful for not seeing anypony, especially the pony she was supposed to be marefriends with. But, at least she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it much longer.

Trixie would be there. A small smile found its way to her lips as she thought about her. She had not seen her in what felt like years. What was it? A week? Two days? A month? Too long at any rate. Given how clingy Trixie could be, she felt a little sorry for leaving her alone for so long. Hopefully the dinner would be enough to tie them both over for a while. Besides, it would be fun to see the pushy blowhard try to get through dinner without stepping on anypony’s tail. Actually, that was her pushy blowhard now, wasn’t it? Should she be telling her friends she was dating her? Meh, it was too much effort to think about. If it came up, then future Dash could be the one to deal with it.

However, Fluttershy would be there too. Even if Dash told herself she didn’t have time to visit the cottage, that was only partly true. If she really wanted to, she could have made the time, just like she was doing for tonight. “Ugh, I am the worst. What am I dodging Fluttershy for? Nothing's really different, right?”

No, that wasn't true. Something was different, and she knew exactly what it was. Fluttershy had, through setting her up with Trixie, rejected her. But then, Dash always knew that was gonna be an option. Hay, she wasn’t even sure if Fluttershy was interested in mares. Not for lack of trying of course. But if somepony thought it was hard to get Fluttershy to say her own name, they’d never tried to steer a conversation with her toward a personal question. Dash could have sworn Fluttershy was born with bright red fur whenever she even tried to approach the subject. It was impossible.

“She sure looks cute, erm, funny that way though,” Dash thought aloud with a smirk.

Her smile quickly faltered as she felt the familiar stinging feeling in her chest. Dash bit her treacherous lip; she was supposed to keep smiling! She wasn’t supposed to be this pathetic! Why did it bother her this much? She knew from the start it might not happen! Were her stupid feelings too stupid to understand that?

On the other hoof, it was kind of Fluttershy’s fault. She’d cheated! Everything would have been fine if she’d just let things be. They had a good thing going, right? Sure, just hanging out with Fluttershy hadn’t been everything Dash hoped for, but it had been good enough. They had fun, didn’t they? Maybe one day she’d even pony up, and tell Fluttershy how she really felt.

The aching in Dash’s chest got worse.

Dash was supposed to get around to bringing it up on her own terms, when she was ready for the consequences. It was unthinkable that Fluttershy would cheat and reject her preemptively like that. But she had, and it hurt. It hurt every time she looked at Fluttershy. She didn’t want to feel that way! She didn’t want to be forced to fake a smile now!

Dash smacked herself across the muzzle as hard as she could. “Get a grip!”

Any less awesome a pegasus might have sent themselves down into a spiraling crash if they’d tried that in midflight. With pride, Dash reconfirmed she was indeed awesome. Still, her cheek stung like mad! Maybe next time she’d not hit herself quite that hard. As soon as that thought registered, Dash smacked herself again. “No pussing out!”

This was exactly why she didn’t want to be around Fluttershy for a while. She was still her closest friend, but Dash couldn’t trust herself not to do something stupid. She was pretty sure she would be perfectly fine in a week, she was too awesome to be broken up for any longer than that, and if that meant using her job as an excuse to avoid seeing her, then fine. She’d be totally over it soon. Though, just as Fluttershy must have planned, Trixie had helped her immensely with that.

As annoying, loud, and clingy as Trixie could be, Dash had to admit she really did like spending time with her. Though in hindsight, and with a little help from Rarity, Dash figured out she should probably have offered to go on a date with Trixie, instead of jumping straight to ‘asking’ Trixie to be her marefriend right off the bat. Apparently that was much more in line with giving somepony a chance. Not that it really mattered at this point. Besides, it was fun. There was no denying Trixie was immensely eager to make the most of their relationship, and her enthusiasm was infectious. So, in a way, it was a really smart thing to do, right? Dash thought so, at least. And she was looking forward to seeing the clingy blue mare again tonight at Applejack's.

“Huh, actually, I wonder what Trixie will obsess more over tonight, me, or the apple-pies. Gosh those are great. Just thinking about it m-Ouch!”

Gah, it stings to talk!

Dash rubbed her sore cheek. If she’d hit herself any harder, she might have had trouble stuffing her face with apple-pie tonight. What was she even thinking when she accepted that invitation for dinner? It made it obvious that she could make time if she wanted to. So much for avoiding Fluttershy.

Meh, she was probably over thinking this whole dinner thing. It wasn’t as if she was expected to be alone with Fluttershy tonight. Though she probably would have to talk to her. Fluttershy would want to hear all about her new job. As would everypony else for that matter. Dash hoped they were prepared for a long rant. Actually, that was going to be awesome. There was no way the week she was having wasn’t the worst week in history, but that also meant she could use it to outdo Trixie and Applejack in their ‘toughest job’ contest.

Dash felt a grin creep along her lips. It didn’t make up for all the lousy work, but it was a small point of light in the dark that she was going to milk for all it was worth. Trixie and AJ would have to admit defeat and shut up, and Fluttershy would probably try to make her feel better.

Daydreaming was a great past time. Before she knew it, Dash found herself landing in front of the weather management office. Slowly, she set one hoof against the door, taking a deep breath. She was solemnly aware it would be her last gasp before work officially started, then, she pushed the door open.

“Aaaaah!”

A loud, ear piercing scream tore through the tranquil skies.

“That sounds like Twilight!”

Dash took a moment to admire just how much lung capacity an out of shape librarian like Twilight had, as the scream had yet to stop. Then, Dash realized just what this scream meant...

“Oh yeah! Score!” Dash looped into the air, hoof pumping in victory. A scream like that could only mean something was wrong! Sweet! “Oh!” She managed to abort her victory dance half way through the second routine, as a couple of ponies were staring at her from the ground. “Uh, I mean, I better go see what’s wrong!” She launched herself away from the boring paper work, and toward long awaited adventure!

At break neck speeds, Dash crashed through the window and tumbled into the library, taking out a few shelves of books along the way for good measure. Dramatic entrances to help screaming ponies needed things like that, she reasoned. Though, oddly enough, the screaming had stopped. “Guess she must have run out of steam. Twilight! Spike! Hello?” she called out while trotting through the library. Everything seemed to be in order, minus her awesome entrance. She had kind of expected to find some giant hole in the wall, or ominous looking giant crystal in the middle of the room, or something.

Her ears perked up at a faint stumbling sound coming from below. It rapidly got louder until the basement door slammed open, revealing a disheveled Twilight. Right behind her was a wheezing, thoroughly out of breath Spike. If Dash had to guess, he was responsible for getting her to stop screaming.

Before Dash could say anything, Twilight noticed her and yelled, “It’s gone! She took it!”

Tilting her head in confusion, Dash asked, “Uh, took what? Whoa!” In a split second, Twilight was upon her and shook her by the shoulders. This had to be a really big deal if Twilight was this out of whack. Maybe somepony had stolen an ancient artifact, and Twilight was tasked with catching the culprit, who was zooming away a speeds only a pegasus like Dash could catch up to! Maybe she'd lost some awesome, secret amulet that makes a pony faster than ever! Maybe—

Twilight pressed her face uncomfortably up against Dash’s own as she spoke. “The book! There’s no telling what she—Rainbow Dash, you’re okay? Good. Did you see her? We have got to find her right now! Before it’s too late!”

And just like that, Dash practically felt her eyes glaze over with disinterest. “Wait. This is about a late book? Twilight, come on! I thought there was a real problem.” She sighed with crushing disappointment.

“It is a real problem! Do you have any idea what Princess Celestia will do to me if she finds out I let this happen!?” Twilight yelled and pushed herself away from Dash, then ran towards the front door. “Quick! Maybe we can still catch her in time!”

Just great. A real disaster would have been a valid reason to blow off work, but this was just a minor nuisance. One that only made her late for work. Her schedule —Oh Celestia, The Rainbow Dash had a schedule!— was already tight as it was if she wanted to be able to fit in dinner at the Apple’s farm. “Look, Twi, I don’t have time for this. Do you have any idea how many weather forms are waiting for me right now? I swear, they multiply if they’re left alone for five minutes. I gotta get going.”

Screeching to a halt by the library entrance, Twilight flung open the door. “What? No, you don’t understand. It’s—Ah never mind! No time!” Without another word, she raced off faster than Dash had ever seen her run before.

“Huh, that egghead has some moves if it comes to her books. Oh, hey, Spike. You okay there?” She waved at the panting, dragon-shaped rug that lay on the floor. A single reptilian eye moved to look at her, but nothing else. “Yeah, you’re fine. Hey, could you tell Twilight I don’t need those books anymore? Thanks pal, catch you later.”

She briefly considered taking the door, but it only felt right to take the window out again.

It must have been nice to have a cushy librarian job, if Twilight could afford to freak out over a late book. What did Twilight actually do all day? Sleep in the library? That’s what Dash would do anyway. It sounded like a dream job. Literally.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Dash pushed open the door to her office. She nearly tripped over the pile of mail that was heaped on the floor. “Gah! Heh… I guess I can just use that in the story tonight. Future Dash has all the luck.”

She gave one last look out toward the Everfree Forest, hoping she might see something blue and sparkly moving through the trees. Sadly, all of Ponyville was peaceful and quiet. Too bad, she’d really had her heart set on that two day cloud camp out with Trixie. Though, Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure how Trixie would actually react to meeting the ursa again. Although Trixie never said anything about them, it was no secret that she still had terrible nightmares. Dash and Fluttershy had agreed not to talk to Trixie about it unless Trixie brought it up first. They had to be about the ursa, right? Going through that had to terrify almost anypony. And no matter how Trixie boasted, she was a lot more sensitive then she liked to let on. How would Trixie react to seeing it again? Dash felt her chest tighten as she tried to picture her ideal napping scenario again, on a cloud above the ursa. Except, this time it featured a mortified Trixie that held on to her for dear life, begging Dash not to drop her.

Biting her lip, Rainbow Dash dragged her gaze away from the Everfree Forest. “You know… Another boring day isn’t so bad.” she muttered while she stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her.

The first rays of sunshine tried to worm their way through the stalwart cloth that shielded the cozy bedroom from the world outside. Their best efforts formed mere inoffensive pinpricks of light that speckled the dark cloth, and would never have been able to stir even a light sleeper from her slumber, nor offend the eyes of a weakened patient.

In the tranquility two ponies lay curled up against one another. Though only one of them was actually asleep. Trixie peeked at Fluttershy from between her eyelashes, certain the mare would wake soon. If not awoken by time, then by something, or somepony, else.

Sooner or later, Twilight would discover that the book was missing. In fact, Trixie was sure she had heard a faint echo of a scream reverberate just a little while ago.

Honestly, it had been remarkably easy to break into the library. Some of the windows weren’t even closed. That had initially smelled like the most obvious of traps, but in truth, whoever was in charge of the library’s security was merely oblivious. Trixie supposed that would change after last night.

Trixie carefully ran a hoof from Fluttershy’s shoulder down to her elbow, and smiled as she watched Fluttershy mumble in her sleep. Whatever reaction Twilight might have, Trixie didn’t have to deal with it just yet, allowing her time to just appreciate her good fortune.

Oddly, ever since Trixie snuck back into bed, Fluttershy had not attempted to eat her mane again. Granted, Trixie had not slept either, so maybe Fluttershy only attacked when she was asleep? That was weird.

A loud banging on the front door shattered the stillness. Quickly followed by Twilight Sparkle’s voice. “Trixie! I know you’re in there!”

She sounds a little agitated. Trixie closed her eyes and prepared to look groggy when she felt Fluttershy stir. She had to pretend as though she was only just waking up as well after all. Perhaps she ought to feel more nervous, but she'd spent the last four hours perfecting her alibi, and planning out how to reason Twilight away from immediate suspicion. It would be simple.

“Just a little…” Fluttershy mumbled, and nuzzled against Trixie, trying to retreat back into dream land.

Another shout outside shook the windows. “Open this door! Fluttershy! Are you okay?”

It must have gotten through to Fluttershy as she startled awake. “T-Twilight?” There was another brief moment of quiet, then Fluttershy squeaked and rapidly pulled her hooves away from Trixie. “O-oh!”

Trixie knew it was bound to end, but she was still disappointed to feel Fluttershy retreat. Opening one eye, she watched Fluttershy slip out of bed and trot toward the window. “Ugh… it’s too early. What does she want? Trixie does not wish to be disturbed.” Although she said that, she still rolled out of bed and trotted towards the stairs. Loud, angry hoof beats could be heard from downstairs as Twilight continued to yell up for Fluttershy. “Trixie will go save the door.” She faked a yawn, grumbling a little as she made her way to the bedroom's doorway.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy pushed aside the makeshift curtain, and opened the window. “U-uhm, Twilight? Is something wrong?” It was simple for Trixie to detect the tone of fear in Fluttershy’s voice. Twilight showing up at her doorstep at the crack of dawn was probably official Element of Harmony business, or at least some sort of animal related emergency. Either way, it probably would involve something scary.

“Fluttershy! You’re okay! Where is Trixie?”

Pausing at the bedroom doorway, Trixie briefly looked back to Fluttershy when she heard that question.

“T-Trixie? W-Well. Uh, she’s, erm… around.” Fluttershy’s face turned bright red as she stumbled over her words, searching desperately for some answer to the question without having to say they were both in the bedroom.

“Around? That’s not—Look, never mind! Just don’t move from that spot, I’m coming in!”

Trixie wasn’t quite sure what Twilight’s plan was, but it struck her as an excellent idea to hurry up and open the door before it got blasted off its hinges. With a quick sprint to get herself line of sight on the door, and a hint of magic, she unlocked it. Another, quick tug of her magic opened it. When a blast of arcane death didn't immediately shoot through the door, Trixie decided to carefully approach.

Twilight stood a few paces away from the door, looking clearly surprised when it just opened on its own. The glowing of her horn betrayed she had been in the middle of casting something. It was difficult for Trixie to tell from so far away what exact spell, but it looked suitably advanced for ‘Celestia’s Student’. It didn’t look like anything destructive, but perhaps some form of teleportation?

Stepping off the staircase, Trixie gave Twilight a confused look. “Twilight? Trixie’s here. Is some—Whoa!”

With a flash, Twilight was suddenly about half a straw’s breadth away from Trixie’s face. There was a stray twitch in Twilight’s right eye. “Where is it?”

Flinching away, Trixie tried to force her throbbing heart back down out of her throat. Some part of her brain couldn’t help but point out she’d made the right read. Teleportation. Nailed it.

Chapter 110 - Raid

Out of the many possible ways Trixie had imagined this scenario going down, very few realistic ones of them had included Twilight literally being snout to snout with her in a flash. And none had accounted for the mad look in the unicorn’s wide, unevenly-twitching eyes. It unnerved Trixie to be this close to the mare right now.

Although Trixie was going to take full credit for accurately predicting that Twilight’s spell would be teleportation, she would put off celebrating her own genius for the moment. Right now, she didn’t dare indulge in a single distraction. Who would have thought that stealing a magic book could get Twilight to act like that? This was turning out to be a much more dangerous plan than Trixie had originally thought.

Swallowing nervously, Trixie asked, “Where is what? Twilight, are you feeling alright?” As she spoke, she very briefly looked past the furious mare, and toward the faithful saddlebags that were still propped up against the doorframe. To her chagrin, Twilight didn’t appear to have noticed the gesture.

This wasn't quite the Twilight she had expected to deal with. Yes, she figured Twilight might be angry and accuse her, but she didn't think she'd be... well... unstable. Could she even be reasoned with like this? Still, Trixie had little choice but to stick to her original plan. If Twilight thought she knew where the book was, then she was sure to waste no time with little formalities like illegal searches. All Trixie had to do was to make sure it was the wrong place, then use that against her.

Strands of Twilight’s mane stuck up at different, frizzled angles. And with the way Twilight clenched her jaw, Trixie could almost hear Twilight’s teeth grinding together like millstones. “The book! I know you took it!” Twilight made a vague gesture towards the front door as though to indicate where Trixie stole it. “Where is it? How did you even do it?!”

It was a little bit funny to hear that question. Trixie had asked herself that same question several times afterwards. Sheer luck maybe. A dark night, a dark cat suit, and an open window was all it took. Upon returning, Trixie’d wrapped the book up in the black fabric, and hidden it in the closet, along with the books she didn’t want Fluttershy to see. It was the best she could possibly have done on short notice, or so she told herself.

Upon hearing the word ‘book’, Trixie looked towards the saddlebags that stood by the front door, allowing her eyes to linger for just a moment, then quickly pulled her gaze back to Twilight. “You lost the book? How did you—Wait! You’re blaming Trixie for this? It was in your house!”

Twilight glanced behind her for a split second after she noticed Trixie’s eyes wander, but immediately locked eyes with her again. “Don’t you play innocent with me. You’re the only one that knew I had it! You’ve already told me you stole the book once, so what would stop you from doing it again? Of course you are the first suspect!”

In hindsight, that really had been the worst possible cover story.

Trixie rolled her eyes. She was going to have to work with it. “As if Trixie would be dumb enough to tell you she has a history of stealing books, right before stealing a book! What do you take Trixie for? Any sane pony would have made up a different story if they were going to do that.” Very briefly, she glanced back toward the bags again.

Twilight clearly noticed, but stopped herself from looking this time. “That might have been convincing, but you don’t exactly have a history of making well-thought-out decisions, Trixie.”

The self-righteous little know-it-all. Trixie gritted her teeth. Twilight couldn’t be merely referring to the ursa if she spoke of multiple decisions. It was clear to Trixie that, after she’d left the library, Twilight must have spoken to somepony about her. The hospital staff? Applejack? Dash? Somepony more damning? She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying something foolish. She glanced past Twilight towards the bags again.

Trixie had no way of telling how much Twilight truly knew. Except that, for all her posturing, they wouldn’t be talking like this if Twilight was actually convinced she was dangerous. Though Twilight looked ready to end Trixie the moment she gave her a reason. A distraction. That’s what was needed. Something to throw Twilight off beat, to make her doubt further.

It wasn’t hard to make herself look scared, or rather, allow herself to show it. “Twilight, please. Trixie has nothing to do with this. Trixie even has an alibi. Trixie swears she was merely enjoying her beauty's sleep until you interrupted by nearly breaking the door down!”

"Beauty sleep?” Twilight glanced around before pointing a hoof towards the couch. "No, Trixie, I don't think I interrupted your sleep at all. I don't see any blankets or pillows out, so you clearly weren't sleeping last night, now were you?"

“No, not beauty sleep, Twilight, her 'beauty's' sleep.” Giving Twilight a more mischievous look, Trixie briefly glanced up the stairs. “Trixie was with Fluttershy. All night.”

It took a moment for the gears to turn in the little nerd’s head, but then her demeanor cracked. “W-what?” She gave a nervous look up the stairs, and her eyes lingered briefly while a blush shone through on her cheeks. “S-so when you say I, uh, interrupted…?"

"Trixie was enjoying watching Fluttershy sleep, she wrinkles her nose in the cutest little way. And it' s so sweet how she curls up to Trixie and takes her in her hooves. Just between you and Trixie, she's even been a little rambunctious a few times, using her wings to—"

"N-never mind! I don’t want to know!” Twilight said, pulling her ears down with her hooves.

Trixie gave a sly smile as she watched Twilight lose her composure. “Will that be all? Trixie would really like to get back to bed. But, if you like, we could ask Fluttershy to support Trixie’s story?” She motioned toward the staircase.

“N-no. No that’s fine. I think I’ll, uh…” Twilight trailed off, and although her face was practically on fire, it was easy to tell she was thinking over what she’d just learned. With any luck, Twilight might just be too flustered to stick around. Unfortunately, she regained some of her previous confidence, straightening herself up as she shook her head. “No. That… won’t be necessary. You could have slipped out while she was asleep. So her testimony wouldn’t be convincing. You had all night after all.”

Of course that would have been too easy. Trixie thought, though she was not truly disappointed. She’d still achieved her original goal. Twilight was plenty distracted, and looked much less frightening than before when she could have passed for somepony that had escaped from a mental institution.

While she pretended to think of an answer, Trixie made sure to take a moment to cast her gaze past Twilight, and settle on her saddlebags again for just a moment. There wasn’t any real need to provide a workable defense, but merely to sow the wrong suspicion.

Taking her silence for defeat, Twilight actually appeared to improve a little now that she established herself as in control. “I knew it. Now then.” Twilight turned away from Trixie and faced the doorway. After a moment, a glow enveloped the saddlebags by the door as Twilight drew the bags in. “I have a feeling I know what’s inside these.”

Trixie flashed a victorious smirk, but quickly dressed a distressed face overtop of it. “Hey! Those are Trixie’s! You can’t just rifle through Trixie’s things! Put it down!” she snapped.

Paying her no heed, Twilight dumped the contents of the bags onto the floor.

Out tumbled a supply of oats and hay, a canteen, a rolled up parchment, and a small half-full sack that jingled as it hit the floor. That last one surprised Trixie, as she was sure the sack was supposed to be empty. But, there was no trace of the book that Twilight so clearly believed had to be in there, even as she shook the bags a few more times, it yielded only some sand and a few animal hairs.

The confident look on Twilight’s face quickly turned to confusion, then she peered in the saddlebags as though she wasn't convinced they had actually emptied. “Wait, that’s it?”

Although Trixie knew from the start the book wouldn’t be in there, she was as confused as Twilight was when the pile on the floor missed something important. She scanned over the scattered items with the same fervor as Twilight. Where is Trixie’s cloak?

After the timberwolves tore her cloak to tatters, she couldn’t bring herself to look at it. The sight of the shredded cloth was too painful, not only because of how precious it was to her, but because it dragged up the agonizing memories of how she’d stupidly put Fluttershy in danger, and everything that followed. She’d stored the cloak away. At least until she was well enough to fix it again, if she even could. It should have been in there. Where else could it be, and how long had it been missing? When was the last time she looked at it? She couldn’t recall.

Trixie tried to force down the on setting feeling of panic. Despite her efforts, her breathing became ragged, and her chest felt as though it was shrinking. She tried to remember that odd breathing exercise Fluttershy walked her through. She pictured the large intensely focused blue eyes that had been so impossible to look away from while she regulated her breathing as best she could. She didn’t have much time to think on it, Twilight demanded her attention.

“Looks like I got here just in time. You already have supplies ready and waiting to go for your escape! When were you planning on leaving? A day? An hour? You’d have gotten away with it too, but you didn’t count on my new spare-emergency-time schedule, did you?” Twilight had a look of smug victory about her. The type of look that could only come when a crazy idea had paid off in spite of the neighsayers.

Trixie looked at Twilight with genuine confusion. This wasn’t right, Twilight was supposed to be ashamed she was wrong. Instead, she seemed to be more... vehement to prove that she was right.

The rapid-fire questions bounced off Trixie’s skull while she gave Twilight a unfocused look. Now that she mentioned it, Trixie had seen Twilight make some harebrained attempt at planning a schedule that would incorporate random unpredictable emergencies, but that was only a day ago, and it was insane. “You actually made one? By Luna, it’s no wonder you’ve gone mad!”

“Don’t change the subject!” Twilight snapped. “You’re caught red-hooved! Now why don’t you just make it easy on yourself and tell me where the book is? It’s of no value to you anyway. If you could read it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Trixie glared at Twilight and poked the mare’s chest with her hoof. “Those bags are for when Trixie is better! You can’t just say it’s proof that Trixie was going to run! What do you know about Trixie? Nothing!” Trixie bit her lip. That last comment had gotten away from her, and she could only hope Twilight wouldn’t look too closely at it. She could read the book just fine, but Twilight had clearly decided the lack of resistance had to mean Trixie didn’t know any spells she could use to defend herself with against little miss royal student.

Annoyingly, Twilight was probably right about that. Trixie knew she didn’t stand a chance against her. Not when she was injured, and it wasn’t even sure if she would when her recovery was complete either. Trixie hated to admit it, but Twilight’s magic power was too much. As infuriating as being looked down upon was, she couldn’t think of anything good to say.

There was one small silver lining to it all though, this had to mean Twilight had discarded the possibility that Trixie had anything to do with dark magic. Initially, Twilight had clearly been in a panic when she still considered it possible that some evil wizard was living with Fluttershy. Her relief upon seeing Fluttershy unharmed made it clear she honestly thought the ‘evil Trixie’ might have hurt her. But now, any real sign of worry was gone from Twilight’s face, and every passing moment she grew more assured that Trixie was merely a cheeky thief. Trixie felt a swell of anger bubble inside her at the mere notion, but suppressed it.

Staring Twilight right in the eye, Trixie spoke up as confidently as she could manage, “Trixie did nothing wrong.”

“You expect me to just take your word for it?” Twilight said, returning the glare. During the following staring competition between the two of them, Twilight actually appeared to improve a little now that she obviously considered herself in control of the situation. Where before the look in her eyes could be described as unhinged, now it held some kernel of sympathy. She took a step back, giving each of them both some breathing room. “Look, Trixie, I get it now.”

That was exceedingly unlikely, but there was no harm in humoring her. “Do you now?”

Twilight nodded. “You’re a magician. You showed us a lot of great tricks. But, you wanted to know more than tricks, right? So, when I told you about how powerful the spells in the book might be, you took it. I’m sure you didn’t actually mean any harm, but you really didn’t think about the consequences again, did you?”

Tricks?! Trixie kept silent, yet she felt her blood turn to hot lead. It was the second time Twilight referred to her magic that way, but this time the fool showed no intention of stopping.

“I suspect that you thought that you could learn some new tricks from the book now that you knew it was actually about spells. You probably didn’t even consider that you couldn’t read it, or maybe you thought it would be easy to undo the illusion. That’s why you stole it, right? It wasn’t really malice, you just wanted to study real magic.”

“Real magic?” Trixie all but hissed through her clenched teeth. A warning, dangerous tone seeped into her voice, like a snake’s rattler.

Twilight was treating her like a common criminal without so much as a trial. Not only that, but she mocked her ability, like she was some crippled unicorn to be pitied! Trixie felt her muscles tensing. The whole thing had to be some pathetically transparent attempt to make the Great and Collected Trixie lose her cool. Despite knowing this, her temples throbbed. She had to be strong. Twilight's ruse was never going to work.

In a painfully oblivious manner, Twilight started to speak again, her tone making Trixie think of the way an adult spoke to a child. “You’re really smart Trixie. You know a lot of different fragments of advanced magic theory. But, we spent a whole afternoon talking magic, and it’s obvious you are self-taught, or poorly homeschooled I guess... Anyway. If you just give back the book, not only will I forget any of this ever happened, but I’ll help you study. We’ll fill in all those gaps, and then I’m sure you’ll have no problem with actually using advanced spells, not just simple tricks.”

There was no doubt about it. Twilight had to be taunting her. No pony was that socially inept. If she truly had any intention of helping Trixie, surely she would have offered it when they’d just shared an afternoon as friends. Or at least, Trixie had fooled herself into thinking that maybe they were, or could be. It was a trick. It had to be. Twilight just wanted her to confess and take Dash and Fluttershy away from her!

Her malicious mockery of Trixie complete, Twilight smiled smugly as she extended her hoof toward Trixie. “What do you say?”

From the shocked look that came over Twilight’s face, it was clear to Trixie that she’d utterly failed to hide her anger. Her whole body felt as though it was burning on the inside while she bared her gritted teeth at Twilight. “You! You insufferable, arrogant, bloated fool! The Great and Powerful Trixie is twice the magician you are! How dare you come in here and accuse Trixie! Call her a thief! Degrade Trixie’s mastery of the arcane to mere trickery!? It’s not even theft, it’s not your book! You stole it!” She shook on her hooves with indignation.

Taken aback, Twilight took a hurried step away from Trixie. Trixie took some satisfaction in the look of panic on the mare’s face. “W-what? No. I didn’t steal it, Trixie. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Weakness. It set something off inside her mind. Trixie rapidly closed the distance between the two of them. If Twilight thought she was getting off easily she had another thing coming, she’d pay. Trixie didn’t know Twilight very well, but there had to be something between their meetings and the stories about her that could be used. It didn’t have to be true, just something that she was insecure about. Something that would hurt. “Oh, of course not. You’re just so special, aren’t you? It’s not wrong if it’s Princess Celestia’s special student doing it! Stealing from or threatening some lower-born pony is simply ‘justice’, isn’t it? What did you do to deserve that fancy scholarship? You probably were just born into some noble family, or plain blind luck! Because it sure isn’t your skill at magic!”

“I… what? Huh?” Twilight just stared at her, flabbergasted. It wouldn’t surprise Trixie if this was the first time she’d ever gotten criticism if she just froze up like that. The annoying thing was that it also made it difficult to estimate what, if any, parts got under her skin. After a few moments of what looked suspiciously like actual serious thought being given to her accusation, Twilight shook her head. “Trixie, that doesn’t make any sense. Yes, I was the luckiest filly in the world to get chosen by Princess Celestia, but that doesn’t mean I get special privileges. I still wo—”

Just like that, Twilight provided exactly what Trixie needed, something to home-in on. She quickly interrupted with a haughty laugh. “Please! As if you have the first idea what life without royal privilege looks like. You haven’t encountered the first bit of hardship in your life. Not even the consequence of making a tough decision. If you want something you need only send a single letter, and bam! Six tickets to Equestria’s most exclusive event! You’re so used to it you don’t even recognize it anymore. Like that dragon slave of yours.”

“He is not!” Twilight yelled, her eyes wide. “Don’t you talk about Spike that way. He’s… he’s my number one assistant,” she said, but her eyes briefly strayed down as though she were already aware of how poor that sounded as a defense. When she met Trixie’s eyes again, her gaze had steeled. “You leave him out of this.”

Trixie smirked as she leaned in closer, clashing horns with Twilight. During her illicit adventure, she had made sure the library’s residents were actually asleep, and one especially interesting thing had caught her eye at the time. “You’re ‘assistant’, you say? Is that what we’re calling unpaid labor now? You treat that poor miserable dragon like a dog, and his only recourse is to grumble at you under his breath! Why, Trixie bets you probably have him sleep in a dog bed! You don’t care the least bit about your slave.”

By now, Trixie saw the outrage reflected in Twilight’s face. The flared nostrils. The clenched jaw. The dark scowl. That small spark in her eyes of self-questioning uncertainty that fueled the need to fight back and deny. Mirroring Trixie’s own posture, Twilight pushed back against Trixie’s horn. “Spike chooses where he sleeps. I have a whole extra bed and he snubs it! You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just like with the ursa major.”

This wasn’t going as great as Trixie had hoped. Not that she had any actual plan when she started. This mare just infuriated her so much! “Well, you! You’re…” she said, drawing a blank.

“Oh, uhm, I-I’m sorry. But, uh… I moved… Is that okay, Twilight? There was so much noise, n-not that I’m complaining, but, well… I just thought…”

The soft voice drew Trixie’s eyes to the top of the stairs. Fluttershy looked down at the two of them with confusion and guilt written all over her face. Part of Trixie wondered how this entire situation must look to Fluttershy, and another part considered how easily she could turn her against Twilight.

"Oh. Hey, Fluttershy. It’s okay now, I’ve got everything under control. I'm sorry, but could you stay there for a moment?" Twilight said, turning her attention back to Trixie. “I just have to make sure Trixie doesn’t try to run, again. I’m sure she has the book somewhere.”

Trixie snarled and stood her ground with barely enough room to breathe between the two of them. She refused to back down from that pompous unicorn. “Trixie has the mind to beat that sun worshipping, self-righteous muzzle of yours into the—"A sudden hint of inspiration sparked up in her, that might actually work. They were really close together. Even if Twilight’s magic was insane, Trixie was pretty sure she was much stronger physically than the measly book worm.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy quietly crept down the stairs as she kept her ears pinned back. Clearly she didn’t like the atmosphere between them, but she was trying hard to kindly defuse it as she smiled cautiously. "B-books? U-um, well, there's the shelf over there, a-and the one in my room…”

Smiling despite herself, Trixie couldn’t take her eyes off the timid creature as she tried to offer her own books, as if they’d make any kind of substitute for the one that was actually missing. It was just so endearing to watch her try. It might actually work too.

“…A-and Trixie's are in the c-closet," she mumbled quietly while she pointed it out for Twilight.

Trixie’s eyes widened. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks in an instant. Fluttershy knew about the books she’d hidden in there?! Worse, she was telling Twilight about it.

Et tu, Fluttershy?

Author's Note

First all, I am so sorry to have left you all hanging like that for a month!

I truly have no proper excuse. I didn't get hit by a car or something. I just completely failed at bringing up the focus to write anything. Fortunately it passed a few days ago, and I've got a double update to make up for it a little. :unsuresweetie:

You know what's funny? How much Twilight really grows over the series. Season one Twilight is quite different from her more matured, royal self, and I don't mean just the wings. She's impatient with others, antisocial, easily stressed, and quite resistant to changing her mind among other things. Such fun! :trollestia:

I love the cute little nerd,and all her shortcomings. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 111 - Rabid

Author's Note

Warning: This is a double update! Turn back a chapter if you haven't read the previous one yet.

Still here? Okay, carry on.

Chapter 111 - Rabid

With horror, Trixie realized she’d forgotten to cloak her face in disinterest after the shock of Fluttershy’s unwitting betrayal. She quickly tried to twist into a bemused grin, but it was already too late. Twilight just exchanged a knowing look with Trixie for a moment before she turned her attention back to Fluttershy and motioned to the closet.

"The closet, eh?" Twilight repeated, and shot Trixie a brief glance, then smirked.

“Over there?”

"W-well, yes. B-but you shouldn't go through it without Trixie's p-p—"

“Thank you, Fluttershy.”

Twilight’s voice shook Trixie from her daze, and she found herself giving a sideways glance at the closet. What? No! She quickly returned her gaze back to Twilight, but the damage had been done. To her horror, Twilight was staring right at her hiding place. “T-there’s nothing in there. Hey! Get back here!”

Ignoring her, Twilight made her way toward the closet.

Meanwhile Trixie could hardly breath as her mind raced. It was as though she’d suddenly been dunked in freezing water, her body felt numb and sluggish. It was difficult to think straight in between nearly every part of herself screaming at her own idiocy. She had to do something, anything! “W-wait!” she yelled, and stumbled after Twilight as fast as she could. She managed to catch up and put herself in between Twilight and her destination. “Hey! Don’t you walk away from Trixie! Just who do you think you are, violating Trixie’s privacy without a shred of evidence?!”

Twilight paused as Trixie blocked her way. She looked remarkably more collected than she had a moment ago. “Obviously I am about to find some. Step aside, Trixie. I’m sure you’ve got nothing to hide, right? I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason why the book is gone that has nothing to do with you.” She sidestepped in an attempt to get around Trixie.

“Trixie has no idea what you are talking about. Uhm. Wait, wait! What about the pony that Trixie got the book from in the first place? He knew about it. W-what if he followed Trixie to see where it went?” She said, while consistently mirroring Twilight’s every attempt to walk around her.

Looking frustrated, Twilight stopped moving and glared at Trixie. Still, she did appear to consider the option for a time, then nodded. “That is possible. I’ll be sure to test out that hypothesis.” With a flash of her horn, Twilight’s aura wrapped around Trixie. “In a moment.” keeping Trixie locked in place, Twilight stepped around her.

“No! Let Trixie go!” She pulled against the magical hold, but no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t get Twilight’s magic to budge in the slightest. Not without a high level counter spell that would most likely make her pass out just from trying it in her current state. Very briefly, Trixie considered doing exactly that, and hope it would force Twilight to abort her search in favor of a trip to the hospital. No, that’s stupid! It will only delay her.

Behind her, Trixie heard the distinct sound of the closet door creaking open. She bit her lip till it stung painfully. What was she going to say? Perhaps she could try to spin a story that she was being set up? Or even pretend that the book just magically appeared there? These were all terrible ideas. The only thing she could do now was fight Twilight, if only she could see her.

Meanwhile, the sounds of books, boxes, brooms and whatever else was being moved around continued on unabated. Panicking, Trixie fought against the magical bonds with all her might, straining her every muscle as she shook and thrashed as violently as the omnipresent glow around her would allow. All she had to do was turn around. How hard could it be?

Rock hard did not begin to describe it.

A faint glimmer of magic made the fur on Trixie's neck stand on edge. But, she couldn't tell what spells Twilight was casting if she wasn't allowed to turn her head to observe the actual spell. Trixie redoubled desperate, hopeless struggle against the holding magic to stop Twilight, but all she managed to do was cause her joints and muscles to ache.

By the sound of books opening and closing, Trixie could only guess that Twilight had already found the spellbook, and was now in the process of magically checking the rest of the books she had hidden away for more illusion enchantments.

She had to stop her! She didn’t know how, but she had to. It didn’t matter how much it hurt, she had to break free right now! Trixie clenched her teeth so hard she could have crushed coal into diamond while she fought. Despite the pain, Trixie's horn began sputtering uselessly, emitting little sparks as she tried finding some kind of crack in Twilight's magical hold. Even if it sent her back to the hospital, she had to break free!

“T-Trixie?” Fluttershy trotted down the rest of the stairs in a hurry. “Twilight! S-something’s wrong with Tri-Uwah!” In her haste, she tripped on her way down and crashed, sprawling out at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately she only had two steps left to go.

“Ah! Fluttershy, are you okay?” The sound of several books dropping unceremoniously to the ground was followed by an audible cringe, coming from the librarian mare. Still, she quickly abandoned the books in favor of speeding past Trixie, and helping Fluttershy off the ground.

“Look!” Fluttershy pointed at Trixie.

As soon as Twilight turned around, she gasped and the glow around her horn vanished. “Trixie! What are you doing!?”

As the magic around Twilight dissipated, so did Trixie’s restraints. The moment she lost the spells support, her legs buckled and she crashed to the floor. Trying to right herself just sent another aching wave through her body, so she stayed slumped to the ground. Dazed with her sudden success, Trixie stared at Twilight and Fluttershy for just a moment. Trixie’s free! Quick! In an instant, Trixie recalibrated her options. Twilight was on the other side of the room. Twilight was a hard target. The book was right behind Trixie. The book was flammable. This was her last resort.

Her neck felt stiff as a board, and even creaked, as she turned towards the books behind her. Her eyes darted along the ground and scattered books in search of the black cloth and the spellbook while she readied a fire spell. Twilight might catch on the moment she saw the flames, but Trixie would only need to hold out a couple of seconds.

It wasn’t there.

Trixie blinked, then quickly looked back at Twilight. Twilight didn’t have it either. Her brain felt like it was exploding. This didn’t make sense. “What?”

The next second, Fluttershy was beside to her, and wrapped her in a hug. Then immediately retreated at Trixie's gasp of pain, “Sorry! Sorry!” she whimpered. “A-are you okay? Where does it hurt? I-it looked painful. What ha-happened?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. It was only a simple holding spell. It can’t hurt a pony unless they do something monumentally stupid. Like say: keep fighting it instead of holding still, but even then it essentially only bruises.”

“S-she’s right. Trixie is fine,” Trixie said, shooting Twilight a brief glare. Trixie turned her attention to Fluttershy, and pulled her back into the hug. A dull ache through her protesting limbs told her that was a bad idea, but what did they know? The soft, warm feeling of Fluttershy against her fur was much better medicine than taking it easy. And, far more importantly, she felt like it was the only thing that currently kept her from breaking down into blind hysterics. Where is the book!?

“Okay, Trixie. Where is the book?”

Trixie gave Twilight a look that could have petrified a gorgon. “Excuse Trixie?” At least this confirmed that Twilight did not have it, which was good. But then, who did? The only thing Trixie could imagine was that she misremembered where she’d hidden it. Perhaps she had a sudden stroke of genius and moved the book before going to bed.

“You had to be really insistent on escaping if you hurt yourself on a basic holding spell. I am pretty sure you know perfectly well the odds of breaking free are slim to none unless you exceed the force originally put into the spell. What else could possibly be so important as to drive you to try that?” She explained it with an infuriatingly lecturing tone.

“U-uhm, girls? C-could you maybe… n-not…” Fluttershy sputtered miserably to no avail.

Trixie’s blood ran cold. Even now, Twilight was still on this? That she was technically right had nothing to do with this. Now she was just being unreasonable! “Let it go already!” She yelled while she forced herself to her feet, leaving Fluttershy on the floor as she took a few unsteady steps towards the unicorn-pitbull hybrid. “Why would Trixie resist? Gee Trixie isn’t sure! Maybe it was because you were holding Trixie against her will while you rifled through her personal things? You megalomaniacal sociopath! Why do you keep hounding Trixie? You’ve found nothing!”

“I know it has to be you! You were in my house. I show you, and only you, the book, and suddenly it goes missing. There isn’t any other explanation that makes sense!” Twilight glared at her with steely determination, but she couldn’t hide the shimmer of hurt in her voice. “I thought of you as a friend.”

Trixie just shook her head, making her face look hurt, and a touch perplexed. "Do you do this to everypony you meet? Nothing in your story of working to stop Nightmare Moon mentioned you accusing your new 'friends' for being spies with her, or working with her in anyway. But, they were all there when she woke up, weren't they?"

“If any of them had been named ‘stars’ then maybe I would have considered they were responsible for what happened. Of course I didn’t accuse my friends! What does that have to do with anything?”

Trixie pointed a hoof at Twilight in an accusatory manner "Trixie just wanted to try to be your friend! What did she do to get on your bad side like this!? Is this really all about you 'thinking' Trixie stole a book?"

Literal steam was coming out of Twilight's nose at this point, making Trixie a touch concerned about being immolated in fire. Ironic for that dream to come true through her student. she thought wryly.

Much like Trixie's had a moment before, Twilight’s hoof shot out. But, unlike Trixie's, Twilight's actually made contact, pushing the unicorn a little. Twilight pushed with every word she screamed out.

"ONCE A BOOK THIEF, ALWAYS A BOOK THIEF!"

Growling, and feeling a bit sore from the constant pushes, Trixie rammed her head against Twilight's hard. Twilight fell back, actually falling over with a pained yelp from the sudden headbutt.

Ignoring the pain, Trixie glowered down at the lavender mare. "How dare you! Trixie stole a book, and now you brand her a monster for it! Are you going to blame her every time something goes missing for now on!? You paranoid fr—"

PPPSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!

Trixie and Twilight both screamed out in shock as a line of water came between them. It was icy cold! They both leapt away from one another to escape the stream. Trixie glanced over to where the water was shooting from, only to receive a nasty shock. Fluttershy was there with a hose, giving her and Twilight the closest thing to a glare that Trixie had ever seen on her face.

"S-so, c-can we please stop this now?"

"Fluttershy! You don't understand! She—" Whatever Twilight was trying to say was cut off as a blast of water shot into her face.

"Hah! Serves you right! You... umm...?" Trixie trailed off in confusion as she was introduced to the torrent of water as well, but it wasn’t quite the same. Glancing down at the stream, Trixie saw Fluttershy was indeed hitting her with water again, but was only shooting at her chest, soaking her fur and forelegs as it dripped down. No matter how she looked at it though, it was all together incredibly ineffective at actually forcing her to be quiet. She gave Fluttershy a questioning look.

"W-well," Fluttershy started, continuing to hold the gushing hose pointed at Trixie, splattering the cold water against her chest the entire time. "I can't hit you in the face, Trixie. I-I don''t want you to get hurt again. S-so could you, maybe, please, stop talking for a little bit?"

Twilight finally stopped coughing up water. "Gah… Okay, okay, I'm willing to talk, just stop-ARGH!"

Twilight was cut off again by the hose.

"O-oh... S-sorry Twilight." Fluttershy mumbled with a blush. She stepped on a bend in the hose to stop the water. Her blush only deepened when she found both unicorns were now silently staring at her. Neither of them was willing to risk another shot of water, and that meant waiting to see what Fluttershy had to say.

After a few false starts, Fluttershy finally summoned up enough courage to talk to the pair of drenched and shivering mares. “T-Twilight, you hurt Trixie, a-and I know you're scared. I can't even imagine how bad it was to wake up and find out somepony went into your home. But, that's no excuse for how you're acting.”

Fluttershy swallowed nervously as she briefly looked at Trixie. “T-Trixie. It wasn’t r-right of you to t-talk about Spike like that…” She looked as though she had more to say, but held her tongue while Trixie merely nodded.

Trixie and Twilight exchanged nervous glances with each other. It was amazing how much could be conveyed with a single look between ponies in the same bind. Cease Fire. No sudden moves.

“I-I’m really sorry about this,” Fluttershy motioned at the hose and the pool of water the three of them were standing in, her eyes remained aimed at the puddle, avoiding both of them. “B-but… Rainbow and I t-tried really hard to make Trixie feel safe here… s-so, I don’t think it’s a good idea to come here and p-pick a fight. If that’s okay…

“N-now, I think it'd be best for you to go home, Twilight. I-I hope you feel better, and that you find the book your looking for, but I need to take care of Trixie right now. U-unless you're not well enough to go home. Do you think you'll be okay to go home?"

Twilight just nodded her head, eyeing the hose in Fluttershy's hooves warily.

"O-okay, I'm glad to hear that. I'll speak to you later, Twilight."

Twilight nervously smiled and nodded again before heading to the door. Once reaching it, she turned towards Trixie one last time.

"I'm still going to keep an eye on you, I don't trust—"

She yelped as Fluttershy shot her with the full force of the hose, causing her to careen out of the doorway and land in a wet heap by the fence outside.

"I'll see you later, Twilight."

Then Fluttershy shut the door.

Trixie waited with bated breath for a little while, but she did hear a set of soggy hoofsteps pacing around in circles outside, accompanied by unintelligible muttering through the thick door. Twilight was still out there. Probably working as hard as Trixie was to understand what just happened. Trixie hoped she went away soon. It made her nervous.

“So, uh, can Trixie speak now?” She glanced down at the hose. It remained motionless.

“O-oh, yes. It’s okay now, Trixie. I… well… I’m sorry. I didn’t know how else to separate you two… it works for the—”

“Animals.” Trixie finished for her. “Yes, Trixie gathered as much.” She chuckled lightly, it wasn’t even surprising anymore.

“…I was going to say, the times that Rainbow Dash gets in a fight.” Fluttershy folded the hose up to trap the water as best she could.

Caught off guard, Trixie blinked rapidly. “Huh? Really?”

Fluttershy blushed. “N-no.” She admitted, and swiftly turned around, then followed the hose back to the faucet, shutting it off properly.

Trixie trailed behind her with bemusement, dripping water all over the carpet from her soaked fur. She knew Fluttershy had intervened mostly to keep Trixie from getting hurt. But there was one little detail that seemed out of place. "Be honest with Trixie. You just did that last shot at Twilight because it was fun, right?"

"W-well...m-maybe a little" Despite Fluttershy’s best efforts to hide it, Trixie caught a glimpse between those pink locks, of a smirk.

A sudden knocking on the door made Fluttershy squeak and clutch the hose to her chest. “I-I didn’t mean it. I-it was a j-joke. I’m really sorry.”

Trixie rolled her eyes as Fluttershy’s moment of heroism fell through, and made her way to the door. As bad as her day had been, she figured it couldn’t get much worse anyway. Exactly as that thought passed her mind, she suddenly pictured an angry mob with torches and pitchforks. Still, she opened it anyway. Bring it.

Rather than an angry mob, it was only Twilight. Though Trixie wasn’t convinced that she was the lesser of the two evils. Far from it.

“Hey,” Twilight said flatly. She let her gaze drift from Trixie, to Fluttershy, and finally to the flooded floor. To Trixie’s surprise Twilight’s horn suddenly lit up, and before she could do anything she was engulfed in a flash of bright magenta. Half a second later, Trixie warily blinked the pink spots from her eyes while she heard Twilight say. “I’m sorry.” Followed by the sound of teleportation.

Gah! What did she do this time? It took Trixie a few dazed moments of investigation to really notice what had happened. Fluttershy was still here, Trixie herself was too. All the water had evaporated from floor, carpet, and fur. Twilight was gone.

Further inspection also revealed that the saddlebags whose contents Twilight had dumped onto the floor were back by the doorpost, and were filled with everything that had fallen out of them. Granted all the supplies were in the wrong place, and organized alphabetically, but it was the thought that counted.

With a long sigh, Trixie dropped down onto her haunches. It was over. Twilight had bought the story of her innocence, or at the very least deemed it more prudent to act as if she had. Either way, Trixie felt a massive weight fall off of her shoulders.

It left only one tiny-little-inconspicuous problem. She’d lost the actual book. Trixie knew on some level that it would be something she would lose her mind over as soon as the euphoria of having survived wore off, but that was something for future Trixie to worry about.

For now, present Trixie crawled onto the couch, barely recognizing that Fluttershy was asking her something. She was just too exhausted to reply.

Good luck to you, Future Trixie.

With that last thought, she curled up, and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 112 - Reheat

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 114 - Reanimate

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 115 - Refreshing

The trek to Sweet Apple Acres felt shorter than Trixie remembered. It hardly took any time at all before Trixie and Fluttershy were strolling along the winding path between the apple trees. However, the scenery didn’t change for ages after that. Just more and more apple trees on all sides.

“Gah, are we there yet? Trixie’s hooves are aching.”

“I’m sorry, but I think we’re about halfway through the orchard… Uhm, do you want to take a break?”

Trixie groaned, but she didn’t slow down. “No. Trixie’s fine. Just this trip didn’t feel as long the first time, then again… Big Mac was carrying Trixie that time.”

“Oh, that was nice of him,” Fluttershy said in what might have been a quarter of a tone lower than normal. Trixie couldn’t quite tell.

Just a little too late, it dawned on Trixie that she knew Fluttershy was the jealous type. “Erm, Trixie supposes so, but he was so sweaty. Trixie wouldn’t have put up with it had it not been the best way to return to you as soon as possible.” It was still an alien notion to get used to, that such a sweet thing could harbor feelings like that. Then again, didn’t jealously usually stem from insecurity? Fluttershy had that in spades.

Fluttershy gave Trixie a puzzled look, then looked ahead again. “Uhm, okay…”

What does that mean? Trixie watched Fluttershy silently for a while, mentally tearing her mane out, until Trixie narrowly avoided an apple tree that came out of nowhere. Which was clearly it’s fault, and not in any way inattentiveness on Trixie’s part. After that, she made sure to watch the path instead.

“Trixie? About, uhm… about Rainbow Dash…”

Trixie stumbled a step. “Yes?”

“After... well, everything we talked about today. I think, maybe we shouldn’t tell her? About the book I mean. Rainbow Dash is a wonderful pony, and I’m sure she will want to help if we tell her, but… she’s not exactly, uhm…”

“Smart?” Trixie offered with a smirk. “Yes, Trixie supposes you may be right. Dash would be liable to fly right up to Twilight, vigorously defend Trixie, and doom her in the process by loudly shouting everything she knows in an misguided attempt to help.”

“That’s an awful thing to say, but, uhm, yes.”

“Trixie wasn’t looking forward to having that conversation twice in one day anyhow.” She shrugged.

“I understand.”

“Trixie can still tell her about Twilight’s accusation, though, right? We’ll just leave out that she was on to something.”

“Yes that’ll be fi—oh, my…” Fluttershy visibly shrank and froze in place, causing Trixie to come to a concerned halt. “There’s going to be a lot of yelling, isn’t there?”

“What are you tal—Oh.” Trixie had not taken into account just what Dash was going to do once she knew. The mere memory of Dash arguing with Nurse Redheart already hurt her ears. “…Yes, this will not be pretty.”

They silently resumed their journey through the orchard.

Truthfully, Trixie would be kidding herself if she tried to pretend she was not actually looking forward to it. On the other hoof, it had never been her goal to sow discord between friends. She was already responsible for straining the relationship between Redheart and Fluttershy, and she didn’t care to repeat the experience.

Trixie tried to take her mind off the inevitable clash that was lying in wait by looking around. But there was nothing to see except the seemingly endless rows of apple trees, leafs, grass, and dirt. Finally, she caught a glimpse of something different off in the distance, away from the path. She only got to see it in between the trees. Some kind of decrepit, derelict treehouse. Before she could get a good look however, it vanished. Probably hidden behind another row of trees, Trixie surmised.

That place is a deathtrap. Trixie hopes nopony goes there anymore.

“Trixie? Was it really necessary to make Angel pink?”

Tearing herself away from attempting to stare through the tree line, Trixie nodded. “Yes,” she said shortly. “But… it was probably a mistake to use transformation magic.”

“What?”

“It still hurts Trixie to use spells like that, it would have been better to use a simple illusion spell instead. Trixie is exceptionally gifted at illusion magic of course, but then the pink fur would have worn off in as little as a week. Transformation is permanent, which is why Trixie went the extra mile,” she said, with as much pride in her voice as any masterful magician. “Well, permanent, until such time as Trixie, or a unicorn of equivalent power, sees fit to undo it.”

“You mean it won’t grow out?”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “…Curses. That’s a thing fur does, isn’t it? Gah! If Trixie had thought about that she woul—Eeek!”

The ground vanished right out from under her hooves. Within half a second she was looking down at the tree tops and still rising. A set of strong forelegs clamped around her chest, and a very familiar, much missed warmth pressing up against her back. “Dashie!”

“I thought I told you not to call me that?” Rainbow Dash grumbled, but she didn’t sound as annoyed as she was trying to make herself out to be. She soared up toward the nearest cloud then looped onto it.

“Puh-lease, Trixie knows you like it, Dashie.” It felt like far too long since they’d been on a cloud. Or, technically, Dash was on the cloud, and Trixie on top of Dash, but such little details hardly mattered.

Dash snorted disapprovingly. “Maybe I’ll just dro—” Dash paused and sniffed the air.

The sky was gorgeous as ever, but Trixie was much more interested in the sight behind her. Taking advantage of Dash’s convenient inattention, she squirmed and rolled over. She even managed it without slipping and falling, though Dash caught a hoof in the ribs.

“Do you sm—Umph!” Dash groaned and glared down at Trixie. “It’s not too late to drop you, you know, Thiefsie.” Dash huffed.

“You’re not going to drop Trixie.”

“Try me. We’re not that high, and I know apple trees are great at breaking a fall.”

“How do you—Ah, Trixie understands.” She smirked, and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash. This had to be Dash’s idea of spending a little bit of time together before dinner. Maybe even to get a few things out of their system before we have an audience? Trixie’s face burned at the thought. Dash had shown a surprising amount of forethought since they started dating, so this must have been part of the plan. A private moment to themselves.

That’s what Trixie loved about being with Dash. When they were together, things were simple. It was nice and obvious what Dash wanted, even without the spontaneous abduction to the nearest cloud. There wasn’t any nervous second guessing herself, no need to attempt to read into unspoken signs. This one she could just grab the mane of, pull close, and kiss if she so felt like it. Which Trixie most certainly did.

“Uhm, girls? Is everything okay?” Fluttershy hovered in the air beside them, just a bit higher than the cloud. She looked down at the two of them with an awkward expression on her face, clearly not comfortable interrupting, or seeing them, like this.

Oh for the love of…

Rainbow Dash noticeably tensed up below Trixie, as if she hadn’t considered at all that Fluttershy was able to fly as well. “H-hey, Fluttershy. Long time no see, hehe. You mind going on ahead? We’ll catch up at dinner, or something.”

“Oh, but I, uhm…” Fluttershy stared at Dash for a long uneasy moment. “Okay… I’ll see you girls soon.” As she said the last words, she gave Trixie a strange look, then dropped out of sight.

What Fluttershy had hoped to accomplish wasn’t clear to Trixie. Nor what that look was supposed to mean. Maybe Trixie is supposed to tell Dash about Fluttershy now? She leaned away to look over the edge of the cloud and saw Fluttershy trotting along the road down below again on her own.

Perhaps she is lonely down there? Trixie should tell Dash.

As soon as she returned her attention to Dash however, Trixie quickly forgot what she was supposed to be talking about. Finally she was face to face, just a snout length away, with the beautiful creature that had eluded her for what felt like centuries. Maybe this was the time for a quip, but as she was drawn closer to her lover’s lips, she settled for something more truthful. “Trixie missed you.” It was silly just how happy it made Trixie to anticipate kissing the brash airhead.

“Cheesy,” Dash said with a smirk, though Trixie felt the pegasus tighten her hold. Despite her token cool comment, Dash craned her neck to lean in for a kiss as well. Before they could actually meet, Dash pulled away all of a sudden. Her nose wrinkled. “Gah! Seriously, what is that smell?”

Confused and disappointed, Trixie glared at Dash. “Quit stalling! Trixie doesn’t smell anything.” She wasn’t about to allow Dash to tease her with denying a simple kiss after all this. But when she leaned in to claim her prize, Dash pulled away again.

“It’s you!” She said, covering her muzzle with her left wing. “Garlic? Really, Trixie? Is this payback for me not splashing myself with flower water last time?”

“What? No! Uh, well, Trixie had some yesterday for dinner, but—Are you suggesting Trixie doesn’t brush? Don’t be ridiculous!” She huffed, but she could feel her face turning red with embarrassment. This wasn’t right. She knew she’d brushed her teeth before bed. Dash had to be exaggerating just to make fun of her!

“You sure? It doesn’t smell like it was from yesterday.” Dash’s eyes actually watered. If she was faking it, she was a much better actress than Trixie had given her credit for.

“Of course Trixie is sure! She didn’t even eat anything today except…” Her face paled half way through the sentence. She couldn’t believe she’d been this stupid, this thoughtless. “…except when Trixie had yesterday’s leftovers for brunch.” Between Twilight’s visit, and her own confession to Fluttershy, her otherwise brilliant mind had not spared her breakfast another thought. It can’t be that bad, can it? Fluttershy would have noticed and told Trixie… Unless she’s too polite to saying anything! Gah, figures!

Rainbow Dash pulled a face. “Uh, ew? You—”

“Shut up.” Trixie interrupted. “Just, just put Trixie back on the ground, so she can sink through it.” Averting her eyes, Trixie couldn’t bare another moment of this. Obviously she’d smelled at least mildly repugnant the whole time, and Dash had only commented on it when it became too much to bare.

Although Dash made some token attempt at talking her out of it, Trixie was having none of it. The mood was fully soured as far as she was concerned, and she just wanted to get downwind of Dash as soon as possible before she actually died of shame. Relenting to Trixie’s muffled demands, Trixie having covered her mouth and squirmed as far away from Dash's face as possible without falling off of her, Dash swooped the two of them back down to the ground.

“Oh, hello girls.” Fluttershy greeted the pair as they caught up to her, apparently she’d been walking slowly until they joined up. She looked from one to the other, then settled on Trixie as she spoke. “That was fast.” She returned her eyes to the road ahead, but not before Trixie noticed a smile on Fluttershy’s lips.

At least one of us is happy…

The remainder of the trip was uneventful. Trixie lingered behind while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy talked. Trixie wasn’t sure what the conversation had been about, something to do with Dash’s new job, and probably something to do with animals. She was too distracted with attempting to smell her own breath.

“Hey, y’all!” Applejack waved at them from the front door of the farmhouse. “Good to see ya could make it. Ah trust there weren’t no trouble finding tha place?”

“Hah, as if I’d have trouble finding the place the cider is made. I could fly here with my eyes closed!” Dash took to the air as she spoke, proudly puffing up her chest as though it were a true achievement.

Applejack merely rolled her eyes. “Reckon that’s what’s got you crashing into mah trees then, ain’t it? Ya should try flying with yer eyes open some time.”

Trixie refrained from commenting, afraid she would make anypony else gag with her bad breath if she spoke. This is awful. Should Trixie just not talk to anypony all night? It wasn’t supposed to be like that. Better yet, Trixie wasn’t going to allow a silly mistake to ruin her whole evening. She straightened up and trotted toward the house.

Leaving the blustering pair to their own devices, Trixie walked past them. She threw Applejack a simple hello in passing, which got Applejack to give her a quick nod in return before reengaging Dash in their argument, which had somehow devolved into a hoof-wrestling match. One which, by the looks of it, Fluttershy had been roped into judging.

Trixie paused before the threshold. “Hey, Applejack, what color is your toothbrush?”

“G-green.” Applejack grunted.

“Thanks.” With that, Trixie quickly stepped inside before applejack would catch on to her intentions. The sweet smell of apple pie was the first thing to greet her the moment she stepped over the threshold. At least, Trixie figured it had to be apple pie; How many other baked goods had apples in them after all?

The Apple family’s homestead hadn’t changed since Trixie’s last visit a week ago, or so Trixie assumed, but she still had a hard time finding her way around. Some features of the rooms were vaguely familiar, like the colors and one of the paintings, but much of it she didn’t remember at all.

Well, Trixie wasn’t strictly conscious when she passed through here the first time she supposes.

What she did know was that bedrooms were one floor above her. It did not take long to find the stairs and only slightly longer to locate the right door. As expected, most of the other doors were bedrooms, but the last one took her into the bathroom.

“Excellent, now then… red… yellow… green!” She held the toothbrush aloft in her magic with a smirk. Sure, using somepony else’s toothbrush wasn’t the most pleasant prospect, but it was still leagues above the thought of letting her whole night be ruined by some bad breath. Certain sacrifices had to be made. Such as some of Trixie’s dignity and Applejack’s privacy. That evened out, right?

“It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.” Trixie told her wonderfully grinning self in the mirror. “Maybe Trixie won’t even tell her.”

The sound of somepony stampeding up the stairs alerted Trixie to the fact that Applejack had perhaps caught on.

Curses! Too soon! Where is the lock on this thing?! Trixie fumbled with the door while the hoofsteps drew closer. A brief inspection revealed there wasn’t even a doorknob on the stupid thing, let alone a lock! It was nothing more than a heavy push door that swung both ways, as though nopony in the Apple family had ever heard of privacy. Trixie lit up her horn. This better work!

“Trixie!” Applejack called out before a dull thud announced she’d ran into the door. “What tha hay? This door ain’t got no locks.” Two more thuds followed before the sound was replaced by that of a hoof banging on the door. “Trixie! Ah know yer in there. Ya got till tha count of three ta open this door before Ah buck it down, ya hear?”

“Hah, good luck!” There was no doubt in her mind Applejack could kick down a simple door under normal circumstances, but this was no ordinary door anymore. Trixie flinched as the first kick shook the walls and knocked over the glass with toothbrushes, tumbling them all into the sink. Maybe taunting Applejack had been a bad idea. Another few kicks like that and the house might come down!

“Ah mean it!”

"Uhm, uh. Trixie's just... Will need a moment to open the door for, uh, reasons." Maybe she could just gargle with some toothpaste real quick instead, or something.

Trixie could hear wingbeats outside the door, and the banging stopped. There were voices in the hallway but Trixie couldn’t quite make them out until Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Uh, Trixie? What are you doing? This isn’t cool, or uh, well, I mean, it’s kind of cool that you got AJ to admit I’m stronger than her—”

“—Ah said no such thing! Ah had ta go! Ah didn’t say ya won!”

“Hey, a forfeit is a loss, AJ. I’m in the lead!” Although Trixie couldn’t see it, she just knew Dash was doing some ridiculous midair loop with a smug grin on her face. “Hah!”

“It don’t count if it’s sabotage! That’s cheating!”

“Says who?”

“’Says who’!? Ah-Ah don’t rightly know how ta respond to that!”

What a shock that Dash would take any excuse to win. Trixie had to clamp her hooves around her muzzle to keep from laughing too loudly.

After what Trixie could only imagine had to be a moment of silent dirty looks between the two ponies in the hall, Applejack spoke to her again. “Anyhow, Trixie, there’s better ways ta fix this, ya know.”

“Fix what?”

"Yer garlic breath! What, ya figured Ah can't smell nuttin’ but apples?"

Oh, great. She noticed too. Trixie felt her face burn up. "Well, that's what Dashie told Trixie."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Oh, did she now?"

Going by the tone of voice, Trixie estimated Applejack would be busy with Dash for a moment. It was now or never. Once again, magic proved to be the absolute best thing in the world. It took no time at all to quickly rinse the brush, squeeze some toothpaste over it, and begin brushing her teeth. All the while, she could hear Applejack and Dash yelling at one another right outside, conveniently masking any noise she was making.

"Look, AJ, I can't help it if that's what it looks like. You’re always on about those things, and you have them for EVERY meal! What else was I supposed to think?” Another moment of silence passed. ”Uhm, you know what? I didn’t say that. Nope. I said you always smell like apples! Totally different thing."

A dull slap, as though somepony’s hoof collided with their own forehead, sounded through the door. “Sure ya did, Dash.” Another knock on the door. “Trixie? Do ya know what’s the natural enemy of garlic? Apples.”

Dash groaned. “See! This is what I’m talking about. Apples are your answer to everything.”

“It aint mah fault that tha apple is tha most versatile fruit in Equestria, Rainbow. Fer yer information, the polyphenols, which are one of them compounds that act like antioxidants, found in yer every day apples break down tha smelly sulfur compounds in garlic. So—why you looking at me like that?”

“… Egghead.”

“Darnit, Rainbow.”

Most of the unexpected apple science lecture had gone over Trixie’s head, but the key point stuck with her. Frozen in place, she stared down at the green toothbrush handle sticking out of her mouth, then slowly panned her gaze toward the door. You’ve got to be kidding Trixie. she spat the thing out into the sink.

“You’re telling Trixie that just eating apples would have cleared up her breath?” The realization slowly sunk in that if she hadn’t done anything, the problem would have solved itself. Most of the dinner would no doubt be comprised of apples. “Uh, right. Trixie knew that. Trixie’s just… getting some water. She’ll come out now.” The night was still young, and Trixie had already made a fool of herself twice. She shook her head, hastily cleaned and placed the toothbrush back in its holder, and then made her way to the door.

“Water, huh? Well, let’s talk no more of it. Now can ya unlock or unbar tha darn door?” she knocked on the door impatiently, obviously anxious to see her toothbrush unharmed.

Trixie chuckled as she pushed open the door and trotted out. The glow of her horn dulled. “Trixie didn’t do anything to the door,” she said while she grinned at a stunned Applejack who was still knocking on a piece of solid wall three feet to the left of the actual door, “you just misplaced it.”

Chapter 116 - Rural

The Apple family dining room was packed. Trixie had expected Applejack and Big Mac to be there, but she soon learned there were two more members of the household she had not run into upon her first visit. A rambunctious little filly that had an aversion to sitting still, Apple Bloom. And, an elderly mare named ‘Granny Smith’ that looked as though archeologists might take keen interest in her.

The seating arrangements had left Trixie seated in between Granny and Apple Bloom. If it were up to Trixie, she’d have been seated in between Fluttershy and Dash, but that seat was already taken by Applejack. Trixie was sure this whole thing had to have been Applejack’s way of getting back at her. Now that she thought about it, that also explained why she was not next to Big Mac.

Just over a stupid toothbrush?

Both of Trixie’s neighbors ‘helpfully’ identified the various different apple-themed goods that were on offer upon the table for her. Trixie was painfully aware that she had once wondered sarcastically how many things one could make from apples. Of course she should have known she would end up with the answer placed right in front of her. Apple pie. Apple Fritters. Apple bumpkins. Apple strudels. Apple tarts. Baked apples. Apple brioches. Apple cinnamon crisps, and even a few caramel apples. Most of those were not even things Trixie was aware existed before tonight.

This can’t be healthy.

Although Trixie had the strong impression the Apple family intended to show off as many apple related recipes as possible, she still had the sense that the apple pie was the specialty of Sweet Apple Acres. Her mistake was wondering it aloud, as the old fossil took it as an invitation to yammer on even longer.

“Ah, yer a sharp one, ain’t ya? Got the right end of tha branch there, youngling,” Granny Smith said while setting down her mug of apple juice; What else? “Why, it’s a proud Apple family tradition. Each branch o’ tha family has their own specialty. Fer us it’s apple pies. Sell em all over Equestria ya know. All the way out to Cajun Swamp.”

Rolling her eyes, Trixie rested her head on one hoof as the old mare launched into yet another tirade on the whatever of whenever. Ugh. Why is she talking to Trixie? The only thing Trixie could think to do was to tune out the prattle and focus on anything else.

Across the table, Rainbow Dash was in the middle of complaining to Applejack about what an awful week she was having. Despite how rough Dash apparently had it, she sounded strangely pleased about it. Almost as though she was telling a joke, but the bags under her eyes told of how serious she actually was.

“Alright, alright. Ah’m sorry fer saying ya ain’t got a real job, Dash.” Applejack waved her hooves in a gesture of surrender that made Dash’s grin spread even wider. “Take it from me though. If ya got such a tough time, Ah reckon ya oughta get some help. Ya know we’re all there fer ya, right?”

“Heh, that’s great an’ all, AJ, but I don’t think you’re qualified for the job.” Dash spread her wings as she spoke to illustrate her point. “Anyway, thanks for offering, but I totally got this. It’ll die down at the end of the week for sure. I hope.” Dash let out a long yawn.

“U-uhm,” Fluttershy mumbled, “if you like maybe you could, uh, join us for dinner? N-not right now, I mean, we are, but, well… After working and-oh, n-nevermind.”

“Oh.” Dash scratched the back of her neck as she looked away from Fluttershy. “That’s, uh, I’ll think on it. Sooo… oh! Hey, did anypony see Twilight? She was all freaked out this morning about an old book or something and tried to make me come with her. Hah! You should’ve seen her run, never thought she’d be that fast.” She chuckled unconvincingly.

Trixie couldn’t believe her ears. A gruesome feeling took hold of her chest. “Wait, what!?” She smacked her hoof on the table, drawing the attention of everypony else. Well, all except one…

Granny didn’t even flinch. “Ah know! Darn tooting that Longhorn bit off more than he could che—”

“Not you!” Trixie snapped at the old mare, then turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash who stared back at her with as much surprise as the rest. “You mean to tell Trixie she suffered though Twilight’s psychotic accusatory episode, while you could have been there the whole time to beat some sense into her?!” Trixie glared at her supposed marefriend.

“What? I don’t know m-Wait, you’re angry at me?” Dash tilted her head as though she hoped Trixie would make more sense from a different angle.

“Yes! Because, because…” Trixie struggled for the right words to express the sick feeling she had inside.

Trixie’s first thought was of something she had already graciously forgiven Dash for, or at least forgotten to yell at her for it. The whole thing had been Dash’s fault from the moment the accursed featherbrain just had to go against Trixie’s wishes and request the books back, which had led to Twilight discovering her spellbook. As stupid as it had been, Dash had done that for her. It wasn’t what she was truly upset about. She couldn’t have yelled at her for that anyway, not without admitting she was trying to hide the book.

But now it turned out Dash could have stopped the whole catastrophe this morning and chose not to? Trixie felt as though a dagger in her back had been twisted. “Because, because Twilight tried to take Trixie away! You knew! So where were you? You promised Trixie you’d stop anypony!” Trixie glared at Dash.

Rather than showing any signs of understanding, Dash just looked even more hopelessly lost than before. “That doesn’t even make any sense.” She briefly looked at the rest of the ponies at the table as though she expected anyone to clue her in. When that didn’t happen she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. “Okay, look. Trixie, you probably just had another nightmare. There’s no way Twilight would do that. She’s my friend. Hay, aside from me, she’s like the safest pony you could possibly be around. I swear.”

Trixie felt as though she was about to scream before Applejack nodded and chimed in. “It’s true. Ah don’t rightly know what ya are on about, but Twilight’s one of tha most obliging ponies Ah ever did meet. Why Ah’d say—Oh, ya need sum’thing, sugarcube?”

Fluttershy drew her hoof back from Applejack’s shoulder. For a moment, it looked as though she was seriously reconsidering speaking up now that everypony at the table was looking at her. “U-uhm, sorry, b-but… Trixie’s right. I-it was all a big misunderstanding, but Twilight thought Trixie stole one of her books.”

“Somebody stole a book?” Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’ll set her off, I guess… Uh, wait. I though Twi was out to get a late book?”

“Ya reckon you heard her right, Dash? Sounds like ya tuned out after tha word ‘book’, ain’t that right?”

Dash punched Applejack in the shoulder. “Heh, maybe a little, but I don’t think she said it was stolen.” She turned her attention back to Trixie and briefly looked her over. “I am sure Twilight never said you stole it, Trixie. What happened?”

Maybe it had been wrong of Trixie to get angry at the pegasus. Going by her tone and concern she was showing, Trixie was starting to believe she really didn’t have any idea what Twilight had set out to do. “Well, she just showed up at the cottage at too-early-o-clock, screaming for Fluttershy to open the door. It didn’t end there though.”

And so, Trixie began to spin her tale. She tweaked a few small detail here and there, but otherwise a perfectly functional account of Twilight’s invasion of their home. As Trixie continued, Applejack and Rainbow's eyes widened in surprise, and Fluttershy had to nervously nod to them whenever a part of Trixie's story seemed a little too farfetched for them to believe about Twilight's behavior.

Naturally, she also filled her audience in on what other accusations Twilight had levied against her. And, of course, Twilight’s horrible, autonomy-violating use of her magic to paralyze a perfectly innocent Trixie so she could rifle through her stuff for evidence to ‘arrest’ her with.

“Trixie never thought she was claustrophobic, but that experience taught her better. It was as though Trixie was buried alive above ground.” Her hooves traveled to her throat. “Trixie couldn’t breathe unless Twilight let her. Even breathing wasn’t Trixie’s own anymore. It was terrifying.”

With gritted teeth, Rainbow Dash had been listening relatively quietly to the story thus far, but not anymore. “That does it!” Dash interrupted and flew up into the air with such force that she sent her chair clattering across the floor. “Just wait till I get my hooves on that, that, whatever!” She punched one hoof into the other as though to practice for what she had in mind. Without another word, she made a beeline for the door.

She would have gotten away with it too, if not for Applejack’s quick reflexes. The moment she flew overhead, Applejack bit down on her tail and yanked her straight back down to the ground.

“Ow! Hey! What gives!?” Dash tried to fly up again, but Applejack kept a firm hoof planted down on the pegasus’s tail.

“Now hold on there! It ain’t right to just go kick up a ruckus. Just what did ya plan on doing?”

“I dunno, how about beat some sense into her! Like I should’ve done in the first place!” She yanked on her tail. “Let me go! Or else—”

“Or what? Ah’m gonna be first?” Applejack said coolly as she met Dash’s death glare.

Although Trixie had secretly hoped Dash would be angry, actually seeing her on the verge of beating another pony senseless was nowhere near as fun as Trixie had imagined it would be. Especially not one that didn’t have anything to do with it.

Trixie watched as Dash worked to formulate a response. Knowing Dash, it was not going to be a nice, verbal reply. No, with Applejack and Dash, Trixie was well aware that they both preferred to let their actions speak for them. This would have been fine, if the situation wasn't already so volatile. Before Dash could finish deciding on her response, Trixie had already abandoned her seat and wrapped her forelegs around her from behind, pulling Dash back down to the ground. “Dashie, stop!”

“Oh, come on!” Dash struggled against Trixie’s hold, but faltered when she recognized who was holding her. “Trixie?”

As Trixie held on tightly, she could feel the rage in Dash dwindle and subside. It was still there, just under the skin those tense muscles flexed, fighting as much against themselves as they did Trixie. Finally, they relaxed, and the wings stopped beating, allowing them both to settle on the ground. Not that long ago, Trixie’d witnessed Fluttershy do the same, in that Celestia-forgotten castle. It was a strange sensation, the burdening realization that she was afforded the same kind of trust now by Dash. That she could quiet her wrath.

“Thank you,” Trixie mumbled while rested her head against Dash’s back, feeling the soft feathers shift against her face. “It… Trixie knows she shouldn’t say this, but… Trixie’s happy you are so angry. So livid on Trixie’s behalf. Trixie’s sorry for thinking you didn’t care, she was wrong. Just, don’t hurt anypony?”

Dash looked over her shoulder at Trixie. “But I… She can’t just...” She grumbled, then let her gaze travel to Applejack and the rest of the ponies staring at her as though they were watching a powder keg with an unseen fuse. “I, uh… I’m sorry, I guess, AJ. I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

“Dang right ya wasn’t.” Applejack chuckled and took a step backward, getting off Dash’s tail. Briefly, her eyes trailed off to meet Trixie’s, giving her a strange look, then she settled back on Dash. “Now Ah ain’t saying Twi was right, but Ah reckon we’d best hear tha whole story before we go storming tha bastille. As ya can see, Trixie’s still here.”

Nodding, Trixie chimed in, “Yes, that’s right. Trixie has like half a story left.”

Rainbow Dash folded her hooves over her chest then sighed. “Fine. You can let go of me now, Trixie.”

With a little yelp, Trixie quickly drew her hooves back. She was sure that she was not ready to explain in front of everypony that she’d much rather hold on forever. After an awkward sequence where everypony returned to their seats, Trixie resumed her story.

Fortunately, the next part of the story involved Twilight getting splashed in the face by Fluttershy, which, judging by the huge smile on Dash’s face, pleased her to no end. The rest of the story had her looking much more relaxed.

There were more things that Trixie would have wanted to tell Dash, such as her anxiety and how well Fluttershy had helped, but she was not comfortable with showing weakness like that. It might have been okay if it was just Dash and Fluttershy, but the Apples were there too.

“So then Twilight came back and magicked away all the water and mess. She left for real after that.” Trixie had decided it would be in her best interest to include Twilight’s attempt at making things better. She wanted to be seen as the innocent victim after all, and few things raised suspicion in a listener quicker than learning later that there was another side to the story.

Amongst the ponies at the table, the reactions to the story differed a fair bit. Fluttershy was hiding herself behind her mane ever since Trixie expounded on her riot control skill with a water hose. Big Mac wasn’t particularly expressive. The little filly was laughing it up in her seat, clearly too young to understand the gravity of what happened. Trixie initially blamed comic books that played situations like that for laughs, but then she quickly realized that made her old and shook the thought from her head. Speaking of ‘old’, Granny Smith had fallen asleep somewhere during the middle of the story. Which left a tensed-up Applejack who kept looking over to the final member of the group, a strangely calm Rainbow Dash. She had been unnervingly quiet during the entire second half of the story.

Applejack was the first to venture a brave attempt at contact. “Rainbow? Ya feeling alright?”

“Of course I am, AJ.” Dash answered surprisingly chipper. “It’s just like Shy said, just a silly misunderstanding.” Trixie was too focused on Dash to pay attention to who it was, but she heard several sighs of relief around the table.

“Really?” Trixie asked. “Trixie thought you’d still be, uh, never mind.” Something told Trixie she really shouldn't be trying to poke the embers of Dash's wrath if she wasn't ready to deal with accidently rekindling the flames.

Apple Bloom piped up, "Is it time for dessert yet? Nopony's eaten anything in hours!"

Although it was an exaggeration on the filly's part, it was true that even before Trixie began her story most of the ponies at the table had already eaten their fill and had merely been conversing over a drink and the occasional snack. Still, the comment left her wondering, if the apple pie already on the table didn't qualify as a dessert, then what did?

Applejack looked around the table for a moment then nodded. "Sure, lil sis. Just as soon as we clear tha table. Ya can go an' help yer big brother with the dishes."

"Awh, but normally ya just let Winona lick tha plates clean."

Trixie's hooves shot up to her mouth to prevent the sudden escape attempt of everything she'd just eaten off of the plate in front of her. Judging by the green faces on the pegasi, they had a similar reaction. What kind of insan—

"T-that ain't true! Uh, well, it is," Applejack's face turned red as an apple. "but we still wash it afterwards!"

With a massive, red hoof, Big Mac ruffled the giggling filly's mane as he walked past her seat. "Very funny. Now quit messing with our guests an' come along."

"But it ain't mah turn!" She pointed a hoof at the sleeping Granny Smith. Trixie could only guess this meant the old mare was supposed to be drying plates right about now. "Can't somepony else do it?"

"Nnnope."

"U-uhm, a-actually." Fluttershy stood up from the table and gave Big Mac an uncertain look. "I'd be happy to, uh, help... if that's okay?"

Before Big Mac had a chance to respond, Apple Bloom was standing in her seat, facing her big brother and Fluttershy. "Sure ya can! Applejack always says we gotta treat our guests right, that means ya getta do what you want. Ain't that right?"

"It don't quite work like that and ya know it." Applejack shoveled what scraps remained on the plates into the biggest bowl on the table. "Fluttershy, ya don't have ta trouble yerself."

"Oh, no. I really don't mind. I always do the dishes by myself, I’m sure it will only be a minute with two of us." Fluttershy gathered up the empty plates. In the meantime, Big Mac had balanced the trays and bowls on his broad back. Fluttershy smiled at Apple Bloom. “Maybe you could keep Trixie company for me?” she asked, before she followed Big Mac into the kitchen.

For some reason, that exchange earned Trixie another odd look from Applejack. Trixie paid it no mind and decided to focus instead on finishing off her mug of apple juice before it would be taken away.

“Sure!” Apple Bloom sounded just a little too excited with that trade.

“Hey, I’ve an idea. We should invite Twilight to come join us. That’s fine right? I’ll go get her.” Dash pushed her chair away from the table and moved to get up, but found Applejack’s hoof on her shoulder.

“Now hold on there.”

"What? I'm fine, AJ." Dash said through clenched teeth.

"Ah know ya are. That’s why Ah’d like yer help getting these here scraps to the pigs." She motioned at the two bowls of leftovers on the table. “Reckon us two are the only ponies left that can handle that job.”

Apple Bloom raised her hoof. “Hey! Ah’m a big pony, Ah co—Uh, Ah mean, yeah. Just ya both.”

Trixie snickered with the filly's rapid change in tune, but didn’t say anything. She could appreciate a bit of opportunistic rhetoric. “Yes, Trixie agrees. Just cripples, fillies, and elderly here.” She was probably well enough to carry all of that out just by herself, but she didn’t see any particular reason to shatter the illusion that she was too injured to help. It was much less work.

“Ugh, fine. Let’s go, AJ.” Dash grumbled, but dutifully carried out one of the bowls while Applejack handled the door.

Chuckling, Trixie leaned back in her chair and enjoyed another drink.

No sooner had the door shut behind them or, without skipping a beat, Apple Bloom turned to Trixie. “So ya beat up mah sister and her friends?”

Trixie sputtered and coughed as she nearly inhaled the entire mug. “W-what?”

The cool night air rushed through Rainbow Dash’s mane and fur during the short walk from the porch to the pig pen. It felt good to be out of the house for a moment. She couldn’t really be sure if it was Applejack’s intention, but she felt just slightly less murderous.

“We oughta do this more often. Ah like having some more folk over.” Applejack reared up on her hind legs and rested on the fence, dumping out the first bowl.

Absent mindedly, Dash stared into her bowl while she waited for Applejack to get out of the way. It was mostly all junk, but there was still one good apple in there. “I guess.” Rainbow Dash palmed the apple, then emptied the bowl over the pig feeding trough, then quickly backed away to catch up to Applejack. “This is disgusting.” The place smelled like, well, a pigsty. What was she even still doing here? She should be taking this chance to fly over to the library and give Twilight a piece of her mind, among other things.

Chuckling Applejack pushed down on the old water pump nearby, rinsing off the bowls. “Yeah, Ah know, but it helps grow tha apples.”

“Yack!” Dash stuck out her tongue and scrunched up her muzzle in revulsion. “You should’ve told us that before we ate them!”

“Best lose that attitude, Dash, or there ain’t no food ya’ll wanna eat when ya know how it’s made.”

“I know how pizza is made, and I still like that.”

“No, ya don’t. Ya know what ingredients are in it, but Ah mean where them ingredients come from. Like say, tomatoes ain’t that dif—”

“Ya-ya-yah!” Dash interrupted, pulling her ears down against her head. “I don’t want to know, okay? You are not ruining pizza for me!”

“And don’t get mah started on tha cheese.”

“Alright! Quit it!” She dropped the bowl to the ground and took to the sky. “Forget this, I’m gonna go find Twilight. To, uh, invite her.”

"Then why are ya bringing that apple with ya?" Applejack stacked the bowls, then rested her shoulder against the water pump as she looked up at Dash.

For a moment, Dash tried to hide the apple behind her back, but all that got her was a raised eyebrow from Applejack as though to say ‘really?’. "What? If she was asleep, I was gonna use it to get her attention."

"Sugarcube, throwing that apple at her window would break it."

"Only if you threw it hard." Dash stared down at the apple. Why did Applejack have to make this complicated? You weren’t supposed to think these kinds of things through, but just do them.

"Were ya gonna throw it hard?"

"....Maybe..."

"Couldn't ya just fly up to her window an' knock?"

"Ohhh... thanks, AJ. That's an even better idea!"

"Right... so, you dun need the apple now, right?"

Maybe she didn’t, if she actually meant to just wake Twilight up. She weighed the apple in her hoof. It was a bit heavier than a tomato, maybe a little harder, but it would work. "I still do."

As though she were reading her mind, or perhaps her none-too-subtle throwing practice, Applejack said, “Hitting her with tha apple when she opens the window ain’t exactly asking her to tha farm."

"Only if I throw it at her hard."

"Are ya gonna throw it hard at her?"

"....Maybe…"

They both stared at one another for a few long, silent moments. It was blindly obvious that Applejack knew exactly what Rainbow Dash was planning, or at least had a close enough guess that she knew not to approve.

"Dangit, Rainbow, ya can't go off the rails like this. Just give it a night to sleep on an' clear yer head. Before ya go ‘round throwing apples at Twilight’s."

Rainbow gave off a low growl, then threw the apple at Applejack. “It’s just about the stupid apple? Fine, take it! I didn’t need it anyway.”

To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, Applejack deftly dodged the projectile and made an impressive leap up at her, snatching her tail between her teeth. The sudden added weight sent them both crashing into the ground.

Applejack kept hold of the tail. “Ain’t bout tha darn apple. Yer clearly mad ‘bout tha whole thing, and ya were talking ‘bout beating sense into her, weren’t ya? Ah ain’t letting ya run off tha hurt a friend, or any pony fer that matter. Yer not supposed ta do that!”

"What?” Dash glared at Applejack, and flew up just enough to feel the pull on her tail anchor her to the ground while she looked down on her. “I’m supposed to just stand by while one of my friends yells at and hurts my marefriend!? You just want me to let Twilight get away with that?"

Rainbow's wings were beating more and more agitatedly throughout their talk, only now getting the force to start dragging them both into the air. Applejack looked nervous as she felt her hooves leave the ground, but held firm to Dash’s tail.

"Ah'm not saying let her get away with hurting yer mare...wait—marefriend?” Applejack nearly lost her grip. “Oh. Well, Ah… Ah didn’t think y’all would, uh. Not that there’s anything wrong with… well, ya know. Just surprised is all, Ah thou—”

Great, this was even worse than getting lectured. “Really, AJ? Right now!?”

Dangling below from Rainbow Dash’s tail, Applejack’s face turned even redder than it already was. “Right! Yer right, Ah’m sorry. But, uh, Ah suppose that explains a thing or two right about now. Reckon Ah really shoulda seen that coming. What with how y’all been shacking together I mean. Or her an Fluttershy, with the way they were cuddling up ta one'nother when—“

“By Celestia, do you never shut up!? Let go, AJ!" She made a genuine attempt to shake herself loose from the clingy and rapidly rambling busybody. The ground kept getting further away. “What do you even mean when you say you saw it coming? Two mares hanging out doesn’t automatically mea—Look, I would give anything to end this conversation before you make any more of an ass out of yourself. Can you please get back to blathering about Twilight?”

“Ah...look, this ain’t easy fer me either, okay?! Ya kinda just dropped that on me all of a sudden! This is your fault too.” Neither of them spoke while they avoided looking at one another. Finally, Applejack spoke. “So, ‘bout Twilight…”

“Oh, thank Celestia.”

“…Ah’m just saying, go at her when you aren't likely to break her muzzle. Let her tell her side of this to you. All Ah’m asking is that you don’t go flying off into trouble right this second. Come on down, enjoy some dessert in good company, then have yerself a good night’s rest. See how ya feel ‘bout rearranging her face in tha morning, all right?"

From this high up, Dash could see the faint lights and many dark shapes that made up the night-time Ponyville. It was an easy, straight flight from here to the bushy shape that represented the library, if it wasn’t for about an apple sack worth of terribly embarrassing deadweight hanging from her tail.

“Gahh.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Really? That was your big speech? I don’t even feel like going over there anymore anyway. All I can think about is how your mouth managed to fit ALL FOUR of your hooves in it.”

“Well, Ah’m sorry if Ah was taken just a smidgen off guard by that. Ya think yer gonna put us back on the ground any time soon? Mah hooves are really getting tired.”

“Just answer me one question.”

“What now?”

“Apples for dessert?”

Chapter 117 - Rotten

“Could you repeat that for Trixie?” Leaning back in her chair, Trixie pressed her hooves together above her stomach. “Trixie isn’t sure she heard you correctly.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “Ah said. Yer tha one who beat up mah sister an’ her friends, right?”

Trixie sighed. She was barely alone with the little filly for half a second, and she was already being accused of hurting somepony. Of course, this accusation actually had some merit. “Trixie assumes you are referring to what happened during The Great and Powerful Trixie’s show a few weeks ago? Yes, Trixie took them down a peg.”

Trixie hadn’t really paid attention to the filly before now; Too wrapped up in her own sulking at first, and after that in her retelling of the dreadful morning. She was cute, Trixie supposed, and somewhat reminiscent of a warm fire with her red mane, orange eyes and yellow coat. Those eyes in particular. They held the kind of fearlessness that could only come from youth, or foolishness. If there even was a difference.

It slowly dawned on Trixie that she was the enemy here. No doubt Apple Bloom had heard the same stories as the other townsfolk, and went through the extra effort to find out every detail on how Trixie humiliated her big sister with her own lasso. If there was one thing she’d come to learn about the Apple kin, other than their obsession for apples, it was the importance they placed on family. Even Applejack’s misguided and repeated attempts to keep unapproved mares away from her brother testified to that. So then, what could be going through the little one’s mind if she was confronted with an enemy of her big sister?

Trixie leaned in a bit closer to the small, yet defiant looking, filly. Revenge?

Apple Bloom sized Trixie up before meeting her gaze again. "Ya don't look like what they say ya should."

Trixie blinked. That hadn’t been the response she expected. “What do they say Trixie should look like then?”

“Well, ya know,” she said while drawing a big triangle over her head with her hooves. “Big, purple hat and cape with stars? An’ Ah think some pony said yer supposed to have glowing, red eyes, but Ah guess that’s wrong.” Apple Bloom looked her over a moment again. The disillusionment was clear on her face. “Do ya have horns or fangs?”

Trixie giggled despite herself. Perhaps she should be upset over how her appearance had apparently mutated in the public mind, but it was just far too ridiculous to see the filly ask those questions with a serious face. “Heh, Trixie has a horn,” she said, tapping her horn, “so they got that right. Not what you were expecting?”

Apple Bloom looked at the plain, regular unicorn horn, but it was clearly not what she had in mind. “Ah guess maybe Ah thought you’d look, Ah dunno, more evil?”

“Trixie hates to disappoint a fan, but she isn’t evil.” Trixie smirked. If she could believe the filly, then that explained why she had no trouble walking around town. The simpletons merely couldn’t recognize her without her precious performing paraphernalia. Now that she thought about it, the one time she had gotten into trouble had been after she loudly announced who she was. It was convenient, but still, Trixie wasn’t happy about how easily she was forgotten. Replaced by some pathetic construct.

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Yeah, yer not evil—”

“Obviously.” It was nice to hear somepony say it once in a while.

“—Yer just rotten.”

Trixie felt something crack, probably her tolerance for foals. “What? Trixie is not rotten. What happened to treating your guests well? You, you,” she paused briefly to search for the worst thing she could think to say, “you little filly.”

Apple Bloom glared at her upon being called little. “Maybe Ah am little, but Ah’ll grow and ya’ll still be rotten!” She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at Trixie.

Gritting her teeth, Trixie retracted any previous admissions of cuteness for this brat. It wasn’t much of a punishment. “You aren’t worth Trixie’s time. Trixie will talk to your parents about this and let them deal with you.”

Surprisingly, that threat worked much better than Trixie had anticipated. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, then she lowered her head respectfully, staring at the ground. Just like that, she wasn’t giving Trixie any more lip.

Pushing past her surprise, Trixie nodded approvingly. “That’s better. If you behave like that maybe Trixie won’t even tell them about that little outburst.” She didn’t get any response back, so she carried on the conversation on her own. “Trixie bets you get that fire from your mom’s side, don’t you? All you Apple girls are so quick to speak your minds and never hush. Surely she taught you to respect your elders?”

Apple Bloom faced away and appeared to have stopped paying attention to her. Which was rude, but ignoring was still significantly better than insulting her.

The serene silence was refreshing, only soured slightly by the snoring old fossil on Trixie’s left. Somewhere outside, Dash was yelling, but Trixie couldn’t make out what it was about. An educated guess would suggest it was probably about Twilight.

Trixie shrugged. It was not as if she could stop Dash from doing whatever she wanted. She had already told her not to hurt anypony, that had to be sufficient. Instead, she turned her attention to the moping filly beside her. It didn’t feel right to see the fiery thing so subdued. Perhaps she was too hard on her. “Don’t sulk. It wasn’t as though Trixie was actually planning to make good on that threat anyway.”

The relative quiet didn’t feel as serene anymore. A heavy feeling settled in Trixie’s stomach. She didn’t mean to make the filly upset, not really. She honestly liked fillies; they were so easy to awe with a few tricks. An encounter with The Great and Powerful Trixie ought to leave a filly in wonder, not misery.

“No, really. Trixie is serious. For starters your parents must have heard all the rumors too, and Trixie wasn’t expecting much sympathy. Besides, Trixie has no idea who your parents even are. So why don’t we try and get along? Dessert will be here soon. Trixie can’t wait to see what an Apple family dessert looks like. Trixie is thinking something with pears?”

“Shut up,” a tiny little voice pleaded.

Tough crowd. Ignoring it, Trixie clapped her hooves together. “You can’t hide it, Trixie knows you are looking forward to it as much as she is. Though Trixie supposes you probably know what it is. You’re lucky to have family dinners like this every evening, and—” Trixie’s breath caught in her throat. “F-family dinner… Uh.” Biting down a feeling of dread, Trixie looked around the table again and did a quick count of the chairs. She came up two short.

“Please, just stop.”

Trixie felt her blood drain from her face as the blindingly obvious finally sank in. “T-Trixie… Trixie’s so sorry.” She stammered, staring at the dispirited filly. Trixie wasn’t sure what she was meant to do in situations like this. Run away? She chastised herself for that one. Hug her? After Dinky, Trixie really wanted to avoid any more misunderstandings involving her and foals. Get an adult? She was an adult.

She couldn’t just do nothing. Not when right beside her there was a sad filly trying very hard not to look it. Maybe there was one thing she could try, but it was much harder than any of the other ideas she’d had.

Hesitantly, Trixie reached out, and placed a gentle hoof on Apple Bloom's back. "Trixie's sorry, she didn't know. But, hey, at least you have your family, your friends, and this place to live. When Trixie lost her family, she didn't have any of that. So, you know, it’s hard, but there is a bright side."

"S-so what!?” Apple Bloom snapped, swatting at Trixie’s foreleg. “Ah'm supposed to feel better ‘bout mahself ‘cause a rotten liar like you ‘claims’ ta have had it worse!?"

Trixie pulled her hoof back, startled with the outburst. "What!? No! Why must you twist Trixie's good intentions like that!"

The two glared silently at one another. Trixie couldn’t figure the stupid filly out. She sure didn’t look sad anymore though, if she ever was. The filly looked about as angry as Trixie felt. It had clearly been a stupid idea to try and reach out to the filly, in either connotation.

“Don’t talk to me no more. Applejack’s right, ya are rotten!” With that, Apple Bloom turned her back on Trixie.

“Applejack said that?” Trixie’s voice cracked. That couldn’t be true, they were friends, or so Trixie thought. They talked in the market, Applejack gave apple pie, they were having dinner in their home. These were friend things, right? It felt as though she’d been stabbed in the chest. Trixie pushed back the stinging feeling.

It took her a moment to realize she’d utterly missed her window to respond as the door to the kitchen swung open. Fluttershy and Big Mac returned to the dining room, carrying bowls of ice cream.

“Who’s ready for dessert?” Fluttershy smiled as she set down a bowl in front of Apple Bloom. She must have caught sight of her face as she nearly fumbled the bowl. “Oh, I, uh, I mean, once everypony else is here. I didn’t mean we should eat right now, u-unless you want to? Uhm, I’ll go see if I can find them.” She hurriedly took a few steps toward the outer door before it opened on its own accord.

“Ain’t no need fer that, Fluttershy,” Applejack said as she stepped through the door, followed by Rainbow Dash. Neither of them looked comfortable. Applejack stared at Trixie until she was kicked in the hind leg by Rainbow Dash, prompting her to keep moving to the table. Settling down on her chair, Applejack noticed the desserts and nudged Rainbow Dash. “Oh, good! Just what we need, ain’t it, Rainbow?”

What was that about? Trixie couldn’t help but be reminded of what Apple Bloom had told her. What was Applejack thinking just then? It was possible Applejack noticed her sister was looking down, and was deciding whether or not to call Trixie on it.

Meanwhile, Big Mac woke up Granny Smith. “Who? What? Is it dessert already?”

“Eeyup.”

“Yeah, something else to put in your mouth.” Rainbow Dash said while she smirked meaningfully at Applejack. She turned her attention to the sweet last course. “Are these apple slices? Who serves ice-cream with apple slices?”

“Yah ain’t gonna let that go are ya? Look at least the ice-cream’s vanilla, ain’t you pleased? Oh, Ah know, how bout Ah get ya some blueberries instead?” Applejack wore a playful grin.

Trixie tended to her own dessert. A simple examination revealed that besides icecream, the table now held several sauce boats with various flavors. After Applejack’s offer, she scanned the table for the blueberry sauce, but frowned as there did not appear to actually be any. Tease. Perhaps Trixie will settle for cherry…

“What makes ya think I like—” Dash paused, and then elbowed Applejack. “Shut up.”

Fluttershy pushed a metal sauce boat across the table, filled with butterscotch. “U-uh, will this do, Rainbow Dash?”

Dash visibly lit up as she pulled the butterscotch sauce boat toward her. “Hey yeah, good idea, Fluttershy.” She poured enough on to drown the ice-cream itself. Part of Trixie had to wonder if that actually combined well, but Rainbow Dash was obviously sure it would be great.

Ah right, Dash likes sweet things. Trixie smiled as she watched the suddenly much more enthusiastic pegasus stuff a spoonful of mostly butterscotch in her mouth. It looked far too sweet, but Rainbow Dash was giving Fluttershy an appreciative smile, so it must have been to her liking. It was nice of Fluttershy to remember Dash’s preferences, though now Trixie found herself wishing she’d thought of it herself.

Speaking of enthusiasm. Apple Bloom seemed to have cheered up enough to stir up her ice-cream into a milkshake with her spoon while resting her head on one hoof. It wasn’t much of an improvement, but it was a step above angry glaring.

“Bah, this stuff’s so cold it always makes mah teeth itch. Back in mah day the icecream was perfect fer eating, and it used ta be snow scoops with syrup, not this new-fangled dairy stuff.” Granny Smith nudged her bowl warily.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Granny, ya ain’t got teeth no more, ya just got yer dentures. Ya’ll be fine. Just like ya was the last time, an’ tha time before that, an’ tha time before that…”

“Eeyup.”

Somepony remind Trixie to try her hoof at a real ursa major, if Trixie ever gets to be that old. Trixie shook her head while she enjoyed her cherry flavored dessert, with just a hint of the occasional slice of apple. Passively, she listened to the chattering going on around her. She leaned back in her chair, just smiling. All of her worries left behind for the moment.

Distracted by conversation, Trixie wasn’t sure how much time passed, but dusk had set in. Ice-cream had made way for drinks as the evening wound down.

“So, Dash,” Applejack turned to her friend, “were ya planning on telling the rest of us?”

“Uh,” Rainbow Dash blushed and shot a quick look at Trixie, then back to Applejack, “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

Trixie tilted her head. Dash was acting strange all of a sudden. “What are you girls talking about? Trixie demands to be included.”

Applejack pulled her mug towards her with a grin. “Ah am sure ya do.”

“I don’t know if this is the best idea, AJ,” Dash said while she looked across the table at Granny Smith, who was busily talking Big Mac’s ears off. Trixie overheard a few snippets of a spirited, if overly fanciful, tale of some kind of Sass Squash creature.

By the sudden look of uncertainly on her face, Applejack clearly shared Dash’s trepidation. “Ah. Uh, Granny?”

“—Pumkin soup fer months! Huh, wha?” Granny Smith blinked slowly as she turned her attention to Applejack. “Did ya say sumthing, young’un? Speak up.”

“We was just discussing about, uhh, that mare at the sweet shop, uhh.”

"Bon Bon?" Apple Bloom offered. "Ah like her. She's been giving us more candy than we pay fer lately."

"Yeah, that’s it. Bon Bon." Applejack nodded woodenly before she turned her attention back to Granny. "Her an' her friend, Lyra. There's some rumor going about they might be going out."

Just some gossip over a couple? Boring. Uninterested, Trixie rested her chin on her hooves and prepared to tune out the conversation, but then she caught sight of Rainbow Dash. For whatever reason, she was giving her an apologetic look. What the hay? Confused, she looked back to Applejack.

Granny Smith wasn't much more attentive. "Outa town? Awh fiddlesticks, now where am Ah gonna get tha caramel? More an' more young'uns try to seek their fortune in tha big city these days. Ah well, maybe they'll move back here when they've found themselves a nice stallion. Them city folk could use a taste of the country. Why Ah re—"

“No, that ain’t what Ah meant.” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. “They’re a couple. Like, what’s it called,” she shot a glance at Rainbow Dash, “fillyfoolers?”

“W-what are you asking me for?” Dash’s cheeks brightened while she glared at Applejack.

The pieces were falling together for Trixie. Wait, why are they so awkward? It’s as though there is something going on between them. She shook her head. That can’t be right, Fluttershy and Dash both said Dash never dated anypony... But, now that Trixie thinks about it, Applejack and Dash have been acting weird ever since they came back.

“R-right.” Applejack quickly looked away and fumbled with her hat, keeping the brim in between her and Dash. “So Ah mean ta say they’re, uh, dating.”

“Oh, Ah knew that. So?” Granny Smith looked decidedly nonplussed.

“Ya, ya knew? And yer… yer okay with that?” Applejack looked puzzled. “Then what was that stuff ‘bout them finding a stallion?”

“Fer tha foals, of course,” Granny said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Didn’t we have this talk before? Ah reckon Ah lost track if it was yer turn or Apple Bloom’s. See, when a mare and a stallion love each other ve—”

“No, no! We’re good on that part, Granny, really!”

Was she really going to… Right at the dinner table? Trixie felt an involuntary shudder crawl down her spine. She wanted to get away from the threat of that topic immediately, even if it meant settling for a lesser evil. “Trixie believes that what those bumbling goons are trying to ask is how did it used to go in your time if two mares were shacking up?”

Fluttershy turned pink from the neck up.

Granny smith raised her eyebrows. “Is that all? Well quit with yer gabbing then. Ya shoulda just asked. Ain’t like it weren’t a thing back in the day. Ya see Ah know all ya young’un are used to yer newfangled modern ways, but that don’t mean it’s old fashioned tha… uh. What was Ah talking about?”

Trixie resisted the climbing urge to do anything she might regret. She’d gotten caught up in another conversation with Granny Smith. Applejack and Dash would pay for this dearly.

Big Mac cleared his throat. “Family.”

“Uh wha? Oh! Thanks, sonny. Ah knew that. See nowadays it’s tha norm tha fer two ponies ta have relations just with one another, but ain’t used to be like that. Sure, some ponies preferred it like that back then too, but Ah am sure y’all noticed ol’ Big Mac here is mighty outnumbered.” She nudged him in his side, drawing an uncomfortable cough from the large stallion who averted his gaze from the otherwise mare-riddled table.

Trixie couldn’t tell if he was blushing, but only because his fur was already red as could be.

“Well folks noticed that back then too. There just weren’t enough stallions ta go around. Weren’t no good ta carry on like that or there weren’t gonna be ‘nuff young’un in the next generation ta keep tha land afloat. So standard practice in the day was fer group relations ta happen. One stallion coupled with several mares ta be a family together. Weren’t no problem since—”

“Had it!” Applejack interrupted. “We had that talk, Granny. Move on, please.”

“We did?” Apple Bloom looked puzzled, but was quickly shushed by her big sister.

“Trixie’s heard of it before. Big families like that were called herds. They all worked together to take care of each other and their foals.” As soon as she’d said it, she noticed the stares from her three friends and squirmed as she felt a fire light in her cheeks. “What? Trixie knew a family like that once. It’s not Trixie’s fault you louts are so sheltered.” She quickly turned back to the elderly mare. “A-anyway, what’s all this got to do with the question?”

Granny Smith had somehow managed to fall asleep in the intermediate time and startled awake with a snore and a moment of disorientation. “Question? Ah tha two mares? Well, ain’t nothing to it. Big families like that, some mares weren’t as interested in the stallion after he’d, uh, done his duty. Weren’t nothing wrong with it. Ah don’t rightly see how it’d work these days though if it’s just two mares like ya said.”

“Ah ain’t sure ‘bout that neither now that ya mention it.” Applejack looked mighty relieved to have gotten through the whole thing relatively unscathed. “Maybe I’ll ask sometime.” She said while she shot another glance at Rainbow Dash.

Trixie stared daggers at the cheeky interloper. If it was part of her vengeance for her toothbrush then it was going a step too far for Trixie to stomach. Even if Trixie had little right to be upset if Dash chose to include another pony in her life, at the very least Trixie felt she should have been asked first.

Before Trixie had time to decide how to handle the swelling anger inside, Granny Smith leaned across the table, taking Applejack’s hooves into her own. Her voice softer and kinder than before. “It’s okay, child. Ya ain’t got to chase ‘round the henhouse with yer family. This ain’t ‘bout some mare in a sweet shop.” She paused, and looked over to the emptied out butterscotch sauce boat next to Dash. “Although… Maybe it ain’t so far off, is it?”

Applejack sat dumbfounded as she slowly processed the words, and her face get redder by the second. “W-what? N-no, Granny. It ain’t ‘bout that! A-Ah wouldn’t, Ah’d never…”

“Pfft, my patootie. Like y’all just suddenly got a hunkering fer ancient history! Hah. Ya two been hanging about together thick as thieves ever since that whole nightmare moon business. Ah’m old not blind!” Granny laughed as she let go of Applejack and leaned back into her seat, her eyes resting on Rainbow Dash. “A pegasus, ey? Why Ah reckon ya could pick the apples right outa the tree, like ya did with Appl—”

Applejack stood up and slammed her hooves on the table hard enough to shake the room. “Ya really are going senile! Ah ain’t like that! Ah would NEVER be like that! There Ain’t nothing going on with me and Dash. Trixie’s the one looking fer tha pot of gold!” She pointed a hoof at Trixie.

Eyes wide, Trixie could barely believe Applejack was blowing up like that. A blue blur of motion just to the left of Applejack caught Trixie’s attention. Any further words were lost to her from the moment she realized what was coming.

“Hay! Big Mac’s the only one I’d ev—Ompf!” Applejack doubled over after catching a particularly vicious jab in the stomach from Rainbow Dash.

While the downed earth pony tried to suck some air back into her lungs, Rainbow Dash dusted off her hooves. It took her a moment to realize the rest of the table was staring at them with their jaws slack. “You all saw it, she was hysterical. You can thank me later.”

That was so not a ‘calm down’ tap. Trixie’s chest tingled warmly, and she shot Dash a quick smile. This was much more in line with how Trixie had imagined having one’s honor defended would feel like. She was so distracted by the feeling, that she paid little attention to what had been said. It took her a moment to register something was off.

“D-did she say… oh… my.” Fluttershy vanished behind her mane.

The rest of the table did not share Trixie’s reverie, but a dead silence hung in the air all the same. Even after Applejack recovered and climbed back into her seat, nopony spoke. Applejack, whose eyes were the size of pinpricks, kept staring at her grandmother as though she feared she would be told to fetch a switch any moment now.

Although Granny Smith had looked shocked initially, she had settled down into a half-lidded, stern glower. She held a deep frown while she stared over her clasped hooves, regarding her granddaughter.

Even Trixie was uncomfortable and she hadn’t even done anything wrong.

A moment ago, she wouldn’t have given the elderly mare any consideration. The old coot had seemed brittle, pathetic, and given to yammering on about utter nonsense with no apparent sense of her conversation partner’s interest. But now, there was something commanding respect just emanating from her. Everypony in the room felt it. Not even Rainbow Dash tried to say anything.

Finally, Granny Smith cleared her throat. “Applejack, dearie, Ah reckon ya owe yer friends here a few words.” She motioned over to Rainbow Dash, then looked over to Big Mac briefly before she continued. “After that, Ah’d like a few with ya both mahself, in private.” Her voice sent a shiver down Trixie’s spine.

Trixie understood why Granny might want to speak with Applejack, but she wasn’t sure why Big Mac had to be a part of it too.

Applejack lowered her gaze, and merely nodded timidly. “Yes, ma’am. Ah’m sorry.”

“Ta them, not me, an' look 'em in the eye.”

Trixie couldn’t shake how wrong it felt to see Applejack act so uncertain and timid. Applejack was supposed to be stubborn and headstrong. It was as though the bold earth pony had been reduced to a foal. She didn’t like seeing her like this. At all.

Applejack fidgeted with her hooves in her lap. She sucked in a breath, then finally forced herself to raise her eyes up to meet Rainbow Dash and then Trixie in turn. The bold Apple mare looked as though she was on the verge of crying. “Ah am sorry. A-Ah didn’t mean ta…” Her voice died down as she let her gaze drop again. “…Ah don't know what came over me.”

What? It made little sense to Trixie. Sure, it was embarrassing to have your grandmother misunderstand you like that, but was it really something to get so angry over? Up until that moment, Applejack had been just fine. “It, uh, It’s… Trixie forgives you.”

“Pfft.” Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder with enough force to make half the table wince, then leaned back in her chair. “Please I totally get what you were doing.”

"Ya do?" Applejack's pupils shrunk to pinheads. Her ears folded flat.

"Yeah. You just thought I'd feel better if I got to hit somepony, right? Thanks, I needed that. Ought to hold me over for one night at least, hehe." She slung her hind legs onto the table. Her eyes met with Granny Smith's. With a jerky motion, she swung them all the way back under the table, trying to pass it off as though she merely meant to just dust the table off... with her rear hooves... "So, uhh. Hey, have we got anymore icecream?"

That definitely wasn't it. Trixie knew better, though she wasn't quite sure if Dash did or not. Something was wrong with Applejack, but it obviously wasn't Trixie's place to pry. Especially not right now.

“Ah’m 'fraid not, Dashing.” Granny Smith said as she looked about the table. “Where does a skinny mare like ya keep it all? We used ta have a pig that ate like that, Mister Oink, or was it Betsy? Ah think Besty was tha cow? Liked ta go and bother the rooster.” She droned on and on like nothing had ever happened.

Honestly, Trixie was sure that the old mare's moment of lucidity had been temporary. She appeared to have forgotten all about the incident.

Regardless, the merry mood did not return and the evening quickly wound down.

“Thank you for having us. T-to dinner, I mean. It was lovely.” Fluttershy respectfully nodded to the gathered quartet of Apples in the doorway.

Trixie reveled in the cool night air. As enjoyable as the dinner had been, for the most part anyway, her lack of sleep was catching up to her quickly. Stifling a yawn, she noticed Applejack was still avoiding eye contact. “Yes, Trixie feels we should try this again.”

“It was cool.” Dash stretched out her wings, allowing the evening breeze to rustle through her feathers.

“Y’all come back soon, ya hear?” Granny Smith was every bit as cheerful as she’d been before. A quality she shared only with Big Mac, as he’d been completely stoic the entire evening.

“Eeyup.”

The two remaining Apples, Applejack and Apple Bloom, were clearly not in high spirits, though they had tried not to let it show, both of them were awful actors. Presumably it ran in the family. They said their goodbyes before they were ushered inside by Granny Smith.

At the last moment, Granny Smith paused and turned to Trixie. Her eyes flicked between Rainbow Dash and Trixie while the rest of the Apples vanished from view. “Before Ah forget again. Ah reckon Ah don’t understand it too well, but…” she showed a grandmotherly smile. “Y’all be good to eachother.”

Trixie glanced over at Rainbow Dash briefly, who gave her an uncertain look in return.

“It’s all right.” Granny Smith preempted them. “Ya ain’t got ta say anything if yer not ready to. It weren’t right ta be outed like that. This’ll be the end of it. Ah do hope ya don’t keep all this from yer friends fer too long, Ah’m sure they’d like ta know.”

A warm feeling spread over Trixie’s back. She didn’t even have to look to know that Dash had wrapped a wing around her. Trixie’s stomach tied itself in knots. Before now, Dash always avoided showing any affection to her in public.

Leaning lightly against Dash, Trixie rejoiced in the moment. She couldn’t even feel the night air anymore as an overwhelming warmth radiated through her. The thought of actually letting anypony else know about them had not crossed Trixie’s mind, but it felt like a natural procession. Flashing a smile at the old mare, Trixie gave her a friendly nod. “Thank you.”

“Pish posh, y’all have a good trip. Ah’ve gotta go give somepony a talking to.” Granny Smith shrugged and reached for the door, halting just short of closing it. “Ah, one last thing… Suppose ya were looking to ‘expand’, Ah’d just like ta say there’s a reason mah grandson’s named Bi—”

“Aaand that’s our cue! Come on, we’re going!” Dash pulled Trixie along and snagged Fluttershy midway through her gallop away from the old farmhouse.

As far as Trixie was concerned, she had had enough of Apples for one night.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. They're all crazy.

Author's Note

A bit later than usual, but a bit more too. That's a fair trade, right?

We'll check back on the Apples at some point, but feel free to jump to conclusions. :raritywink:

Chapter 118 - Reasonable

The stars dotting the clear night sky shined a gentle light on the fleeing trio's escape from the Apple homestead. With barely a nod of agreement between the two mares vying for dominance during the flight, they plunged into the darkened orchard. If not for the moon shining between the apple trees, their escape might have ended up much like Trixie’s attempt a month ago, crashed into a tree. As it was, they could make their way fairly easily.

Although the night had not quite gone as it should have, Trixie couldn’t be happier. Maybe that meant it actually had gone normally? Trixie had not been invited to enough social events to be able to contrast and compare.

However, she was reasonably sure that fleeing the scene was not standard practice for such an occasion. Which was a shame, since she considered herself an accomplished escape artist.

Once they'd reached the other edge of the orchard, Rainbow Dash finally slowed down and allowed for a brief rest while she looked over her shoulder. "I think we lost her."

"We were never followed, genius."

“Because we were too fast.” Rainbow Dash had that stupid grin on her face, which she only wore when she was goading her.

The only winning move was not to play, but it was too late for that. Trixie groaned and rolled her eyes. “Yes, let’s go with that. You outran a little old lady with a bad hip. Be proud.”

"She's hurt?" Fluttershy gasped.

"She's old," Trixie corrected, "there's a difference."

Fluttershy threw a brief look with Rainbow Dash, who was busily flexing a sleeping wing and trotting ahead. Noting she was alone in this, Fluttershy gave Trixie an uneasy look. "That's, uhm, not very nice, Trixie."

After tonight, Trixie knew more about being old than she would ever wish upon her worst enemy. In excruciating detail, Granny Smith had shared with her the ins and outs of weather prediction through creative use of arthritis, among many other things, and an outlandish claim of weather 'creation' by doing it all in reverse.

Trixie shuddered at the thought of ending up like that one day. "No, it really isn't. Hopefully somepony will have perfected an anti-aging spell by then."

"Uh, that's not what I—"

"You girls coming or what?" Rainbow Dash called out from half way down the road. Apparently she had finally realized she was not being followed.

“What, are you scared to be alone in the dark, Dashie?” Trixie teased as they made their way over to her.

“As if.” Dash turned her back on them and resumed walking, ensuring she stayed ahead of the pair just enough to appear independent. “I just figured you two scaredy-ponies wouldn’t move a hoof forward if it wasn’t for me.”

“Oh, so good of you to keep us safe.” Trixie said mockingly as she kept Fluttershy by her side and followed after Rainbow Dash.

“Just hurry up.” Oddly, Rainbow Dash didn’t bother to engage any further.

It took Trixie a moment to realize that she may have actually hit the nail on the head. Dash hadn’t bothered to accompany them during the day, but now that it was night she was walking them home in the dark. There wasn’t any reason for Dash not to fly straight to her own home and get some much needed rest, unless she really was trying to guard them. Or perhaps, Trixie in particular.

Is it because of what Trixie said at dinner? A dull stinging feeling pierced Trixie’s chest as she thought back to how she’d yelled at Dash for not being clairvoyant. How else was she supposed to know what Twilight was planning?

A gentle nudge to her shoulder brought Trixie back down to earth.

“Are you okay? Do you feel too tired?” Fluttershy looked worried.

“Huh? No, Trixie was just thinking.” Smiling, Trixie shook her head. Putting Fluttershy at ease, she kept walking.

“If you say so. We’re almost home.” Although Fluttershy was a little overbearing, it was a nice to be reassured she cared for her.

A warm sensation spread through Trixie as she looked from one lovely pegasus to the other. Rainbow Dash’s protection. Fluttershy’s support. In their own way, each showed how much they cared for her. The cool night air was no match for the warm and fuzzy feeling inside of her. Trixie wouldn’t trade it for all the bits in the world.

Trixie still had to tell Dash about her and Fluttershy. The setting during dinner hadn’t exactly been comfortable enough for her to bring it up, but now… this felt like a good time. If she could only figure out how to broach the subject.

Watching Dash forge a path ahead through the darkness, Trixie swallowed uneasily. It’s never like this in any of the stories. Is Trixie supposed to just say something like: Hey, Dash, you’re cool with it if Trixie and Fluttershy do it, right? Gah, that’s terrible! Hay, Fluttershy probably would die on the spot if Trixie said something like that.

Fortunately, she had the whole trip to think on it. With the serenity of the pale moonlight and refreshingly cool night air rushing through her mane, Trixie was positive she’d think of something before long.

“Dashie?”

Rainbow Dash groaned, not even bothering to look back. “I keep telling you do—”

“Don’t call me that. Yes, yes, Trixie knows. When are you going to accept Trixie will not listen? Honestly, Trixie would have thought you’d be smarter than this. You’re just annoying yourself.”

Stumbling, Dash looked over her shoulder with a disbelieving look on her face. “What? How did this suddenly become my fault?”

“Trixie just got through explaining that.” She huffed as though it was painfully obvious.

“Gah, whatever.” Dash returned her attention to the road ahead.

Trixie gloated over her victory. It was just too bad that Dash wasn’t looking anymore. “Anyway, Trixie wants to talk to you.”

“If I say no, will you not talk?” Dash sounded agitated and tired.

“It’s about the three of us.”

To her satisfaction, Trixie saw Rainbow Dash’s ears perk up. She clearly had her attention.

Fluttershy eeped and mumbled in Trixie’s ear. “I, uhm, Trixie, you mean…?”

Nodding at Fluttershy, Trixie continued. Despite how confident she was that there would be no problem, she couldn’t completely overcome her nerves. “Trixie meant to tell you straight away, but you’ve been so busy that she didn’t find a good time.”

“Heh… yeah, sorry about that. I’m sure I’ll have more time soon. I hope.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked up at the mass of clouds hanging over the middle of Ponyville. A drawn-out yawn escaped her before she shook her head. “Anyway, what did you want to tell me?”

"W-well, you see. Trixie and Fluttershy have grown umm...closer over the last few days. Really close." To accentuate her words, Trixie leaned in and gave Fluttershy a tender nuzzle, causing Fluttershy to go redder then she already was at the conversation.

“That’s cool.” Dash shrugged without even looking over her shoulder. “So?”

"S-so, Trixie was hoping that you'd be okay with this? I-it won't affect how Trixie's feels about you, Dashie! It just means that, well, Trixie would get to be together with the two ponies she cherishes the most in this world."

“Why wouldn’t I be? I thought we went over this already.”

“You are?” Trixie utterly failed to keep the relieved tone out of her voice. She heard Fluttershy gasp, reminding her she was supposed to be acting confident. She gave herself a few seconds to recover by clearing her throat. “Trixie means, of course you are.”

Trixie couldn’t tell if Fluttershy was blushing at all, as most colors for her were faded due to the pale moonlight. The only thing that was obvious was that her eyes were huge.

Finally, Fluttershy found her voice. "R-really?"

“What is with you two? Were you expecting me to be surprised or something?” Dash flared her wings and flew up a few feet above the ground. With a practiced ease, she spun around and flew backwards ahead of them. Her front hooves moved behind her head as though she were leisurely laying back in midair. “If anything. I’m surprised it took this long. You two LIVE together, for crying out loud.”

Although Trixie had been almost entirely sure this was going to be fine, it was still only almost. While she felt relieved to know her fear had been unfounded, the thought that she had doubted Dash for no good reason left a shameful stain. They had talked about it before, after all.

She’s not hurt that Trixie asked her again, is she? A sideways glance revealed that Fluttershy was too stumped to formulate a proper response. The sight made Trixie feel just a bit better about this. Of course Trixie trusted Dash. This is merely to reassure Fluttershy.

“So well uh, just to be clear. Trixie means she and Fluttershy will uh, do stuff, together. You know. Without you, u-unless you want to-uh, Trixie means, well... she hasn't really talked about that yet.” Trixie’s cheeks felt like they were on fire.

“Oh, ‘stuff’, huh?” Rainbow Dash suddenly showed a lecherous grin. “Got any plans then?”

Trixie was sure she was soon to be in danger of setting the orchard on fire with the heat radiating off her face. That horrible tease. “W-well, no, not as such. We’re, uh, planning to go to the spa, though. But, the rude white pony will be there too.”

“Rarity now too? Oh my gosh.” That shiny grin on Dash’s face only grew wider. “Well, you don’t waste any time, do you? You know, that would almost be enough for me to set hoof in a spa, but I really can’t skip out on work again. I can’t fault your taste, though.”

“N-not like that, you cretin!”

“Heh. Sure, if you say so.” Dash made an exaggerated shrugging motion.

Trixie turned her head away with groan. “You’re the worst.”

As fluid as water, Dash slinked her way back into Trixie’s vision and reached out her one hoof to flick her horn. “Hey, I’m not the one who’s trying to get so ‘close’ to so many mares.” She said teasingly.

Fighting back the searing feeling in her cheeks, Trixie was catching on now. Dash was making fun of her. Well, two could play at that game. With a sly smirk she leaned in closer to Rainbow Dash. “Well what was Trixie to do? Her only lover ‘dashed’ out on her for a whole week. Of course she’d go looking for warmth elsewhere.”

Not quite ready to give up her play thing yet, Dash made another probe at Trixie. “What have you and Fluttery been doing?"

A squeak fit for a mouse told of Fluttershy’s embarrassment.

Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Dash’s eyes flicked over to Fluttershy. “Actually… on second thought,” Dash zipped over to Fluttershy and patted her on the head. “I don’t want to know how she corrupted you like this, unless you wanna tell me?” She grinned again as she brought her face closer to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy made a noise that would have alerted dogs had it been any higher. “But, uhm, no, I, uh, wh-what I mean to say, or erm.”

Although Trixie hadn’t been much of a fan of it when she was being teased. Now that she saw Fluttershy squirming, she was unable to resist. Trixie moved closer and wrapped one foreleg around Fluttershy’s neck. “Oh, don’t be shy. Tell her about all those long nights we shared together in your bed. Trixie never knew nights could be so warm.”

Despite her mouth opening and closing, no sound came out. Frozen stiff, Fluttershy stood in the middle of the road, trapped between two ponies dead set on making her die of embarrassment. The two ponies best for it, no less. She was akin to a mouse wedged between two particularly playful cats.

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof in front of Fluttershy’s face. After getting no reaction, she turned her attention back to Trixie. “I think we broke her.”

“You think? She’s clearly overheating.” Trixie giggled and took a few steps back from Fluttershy. Afterwards, she snagged Dash in her magical grasp and dragged her away as well. “Let’s give her a little time to cool off. There’s, well, uhm, Trixie wants to talk with you about this some more… Be serious.”

“I make no promises.” Dash landed in front of Trixie once the telekinesis had faded. “What is it?”

Scratching at the ground, Trixie suddenly felt a lot more self-conscious. It had been so much easier while they were messing around. “It’s just… Trixie’s never been in something like this before, and she knows she’s going to make so many mistakes with this. Like how to divide her attention, and, and Trixie wants you to know she is going to screw this up a couple times before she gets it right."

“Whoa, what did that mood ever do to you?”

Trixie gave Dash a confused look. “…What?”

“You killed it dead. You know, like you killed the… Eh, forget it.” Dash waved it off and cleared her throat. “Right, okay, serious. I keep forgetting you have no experience at any of this. Look, it’s gonna be fine okay? Don’t bother trying to spend equal time with everpony. Just make sure you’re spending quality time with everypony.”

Trixie blinked, then blinked again, then rubbed ears, then rubbed her eyes. Finally, she was forced to confront reality. “Did… did you just say something actually reasonable?”

“Heh, don’t get used to it. That particular nugget of wisdom was something my mom used to say. I guess it stuck.” Shrugging, Dash threw a glance towards the mass of clouds in the north.

Trixie had to squint to make out what Dash was looking at. Cloudsdale? Isn’t that where she’s from? Maybe her mom still lives there. “She sounds nice. Your mom.”

That Tartarus-forsaken grin was back. “She’s taken.”

Author's Note

The end of the Apple Appetizer Arc (I just made that up, don't worry about it). Let's see if I've gotten any better at keeping these nights to a reasonable length.... Though it included a few extra long chapters, I think it averages out to about five chapters. Yay, progress. :yay:

Chapter 119 - Rejoice

The following morning, it was a beautiful day in the meadow. The sunshine felt warmer. The clouds were fluffier. The colors were more vibrant. The wind was breezier.

Trixie wanted to dance, sing, or whatever other cliché she could think of.

Ever since last night, she’d been on cloud nine, and refused to come down. Even if she tried, she couldn’t stop smiling to herself while she practically skipped along the grass, holding a cloud of bird seed aloft. Some of the birds impatiently pecked away at the cloud, while others waited for Trixie to spread out globs of it into the various bird houses.

Before she knew it, she found herself humming a merry tune. All was right with the world.

Well, perhaps not all, but Trixie felt she could easily take on any world problem ever. Bring on the ursa minor, she'd wrestle it into submission with one hoof!

Nearby, Fluttershy was taking care of the rodents. She still looked a little pale and her reactions were slower than usual. Presumably, the poor thing still hadn’t quite recovered from the merciless teasing of the previous night, but she was doing much better. At breakfast, she even managed a few words already, and throughout the day she’d gradually improved to the point that she was now happily striking up conversations with a muskrat.

Trixie might have felt just a smidge bad about teasing her like they had, if it hadn’t been so much fun!

Sadly, Rainbow Dash was long gone. She’d escorted them home, but then took off. It was a disappointment to Trixie that they didn’t get to spend any time together, not in private anyway. It hadn’t been a total loss however. As Applejack had promised, the apples helped against garlic breath. Which meant Trixie had gotten the sweetest, butterscotch-flavored goodnight kiss ever.

Trixie’d never slept as soundly as she did that night. Speaking of which, she’d even woken up with her mane intact for a change. Perhaps Fluttershy’s mane mangling was finally at an end.

Licking her lips, she could almost still taste the kiss. It was sickeningly sweet. How does she stomach it? Ponyville better have a good dentist. It was amazing that Dash wasn’t pudgy. She reasoned that all that flying around must burn a crazy amount of calories.

She wasn’t sure when she would see Rainbow Dash again. All she knew was that Dash expected her to drop everything when she did show to pick her up. The implications had Trixie giddy. If Dash planned to pick her up that had to mean another date.

A little grin played on Trixie’s lips. Even though Dash was completely cool when Trixie told her she planned to date Fluttershy too, it was not lost on her that Dash’s request, or demand, clearly meant she was to be given priority over anything Trixie might be doing with Fluttershy at the time.

It wasn’t an unreasonable request, since Dash couldn’t plan her free time for a while due to her job. But to Trixie it meant that Dash wanted her, and it was a powerful feeling.

Taking care of the animals was almost second nature to Trixie by now. It was trivial to dish out the food with a little help of her magic. While day dreaming, she almost didn’t realize that she’d already finished the chores.

On her way back to the cottage, she noticed Fluttershy was still busy with the rodents. It would probably be faster if she didn’t keep talking to them.

As she passed Fluttershy, Trixie paused to listen in on what could possibly be so interesting.

“Oh, uhm, about two or three litters a year, of six to eight each. I guess you’d be looking at about eighteen?”

The muskrat stared at Fluttershy in complete shock. It’s little mouth hung open wide as though it had just realized its life was officially over.

Seeing as the conversation was probably over, Trixie approached and on a whim, wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy while she looked at the small rodent. “Hey, Fluttershy. Let Trixie guess, it’s the little guy’s first breeding season?”

“Eep!” Startled, Fluttershy ducked down low, which just made Trixie lose her balance and tumble forward till they were both on the ground. The commotion chased off the critter. A little struggle end up with both ponies on their sides in the grass, trying to find somewhere to place their hooves without stepping on the other’s mane. “Oh, uh, hello, Trixie. Sorry. Yes, sometimes the younger ones have questions when they finally find a mate.”

“Uh, Trixie was kidding.” With a spark of her horn, she lifted Fluttershy off the ground. It was far easier to get back to her hooves when only one of them was down. “Trixie’s done by the way.”

Fluttershy wobbled in the air, hooves paddling aimlessly as though she wasn’t sure where the ground had gone and hoped to swim back to it. To Trixie’s amusement, the wings stayed clamped onto the pegasus’s sides. “Oh!” Her face turned red and she grappled for a different subject. “U-uhm… done with what?”

“The chores, Trixie’s fed all the animals while you were, uh, educating.” Trixie smiled proudly. It had been far too long since she had felt good enough to do any real showing off, and even though feeding a bunch of critters in record time was a far cry from her usual performances, she'd take what she could get. Besides, since she was trying to impress Fluttershy, something related to animals might actually be the best thing.

“Already?! But, I…” Fluttershy franticly looked from one animal to another, all of which were eating happily. With an unsettled look on her face, she settled back on Trixie. “Uhm.”

The magic holding Fluttershy aloft gradually faded, allowing the girl to get her hooves back on solid ground.

"Yes! A small feat for--" Trixie’s smile faltered slightly when she noticed the distress on Fluttershy's face. “Trixie is sure she did it correctly… right?” Perhaps Trixie should have paid a bit more attention while working, but she couldn't imagine she'd have made any mistakes.

Quickly flashing a smile, Fluttershy nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Of course you did. Uhm, Thank you, Trixie."

"Hah, naturally, Trixie is great at everything she tries." Trixie puffed up her chest to look even more impressive. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been something about the way Fluttershy behaved that wasn’t quite right.

Well, there was plenty of time to worry about that after breakfast. Maybe Trixie would try to probe Fluttershy on it while they were enjoying the spa later today.

Mornings were the worst.

Every single one of them was always far too early in the day for Rainbow Dash’s tastes. It was even worse, if that was even possible, when she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Normally, she never would have bothered to get up turning such horrendous hours, but she had to go to work, again.

“Ugghh,” Dash groaned while she reluctantly kicked her blankets off. “I knew I shouldn’t have hung around for that long.”

As nice as it was to have somepony else cook for her, it didn’t actually save her any time. It was easy enough to heat something up and scarf it down. Her regular dinner barely took ten minutes start to finish.

Dinner with her friends though, now that was time consuming as all get out. It wasn’t like she could just eat her fill and leave to go to bed. No, of course not. She had to sit at the table and chatter like she had nothing better to do.

That wasn’t to say she did not enjoy herself. On the contrary, it had been a great time over all. Just that it made a rough morning even rougher. In hindsight, perhaps she should be glad there wasn’t any cider at dinner. With how she was feeling now, adding a hangover might actually kill her.

Once she was capable of any kind of thought besides ‘mornings suck’, the conversation she’d had with Applejack came back to the forefront of her mind. Twilight had been a jerk to Trixie. Dash was supposed to sleep on it before deciding if she wanted to punch her in the muzzle for doing that.

Well, she’d slept on it.

“Alright, let’s see… Yup. Still wanna kill her.”

“Welcome, Miss Fluttershy,” said the pink spa pony in what Trixie could only assume was some kind of Germane accent. “Miss Rarity is already in the sauna. She claimed to require a, uh, head start on relaxation this time.”

“Oh, thank you, Aloe.” Fluttershy looked surprisingly at ease.

Trixie supposes she really does come here often.

“Is this your plus one? Miss Rarity mentioned there would be a—Oh, hello again, miss. So wonderful to see you again. Were you pleased with the mane-restoration shampoo?” Aloe inspected Trixie's mane without any apparent regard for how that might be a sensitive topic. What if somepony were to overhear and come to believe Trixie did not naturally look this magnificent?

Fortunately, there was nopony around that might have misunderstood the implications of such careless questions. “It worked perfectly,” Trixie gave a sideways glance at Fluttershy. "every time."

Fluttershy blushed.

"Such a relief! After Miss Rarity complained that it had not worked for her at all we were so worried that--"

"Yes, yes." Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. "That is all very interesting, but Trixie is not here to discuss hair products."

Briefly, Aloe looked disappointed. She nodded and put up a professional smile. "Yes. Of course. Please come this way."

Unaware of the look Fluttershy gave her, Trixie followed after Aloe.

Although Trixie really was not interested in having a conversation, one thing that the talkative mare had mentioned did catch her attention. Rarity said it didn't work? Her mane looked perfectly fine the last time Trixie saw her. It was clear this Rarity must have held some unreasonable standards. Of course, what else was Trixie expecting from the mare that publically declared that any unicorn without a fancy dress was a poser?

She wasn't looking forward to this meeting.

Trixie had been inside the Ponyville spa before, but she had not gotten any further than the front desk at the time. Unsurprisingly, there was more to the place than just a small store and a pleasant scent. It was obvious that they were making do with that little was available in a rural earth pony town, but she had to admire how clean and sophisticated they had managed to make the place. Sparkling white beds. various mud baths without a spot of dirt on the surrounding tiles. To top it off, the walls and other surfaces showcased various elegant decorations and designs.

“Huh, this place isn’t half bad.”

Aloe smiled half-heartedly. “Well… Thank you, miss.”

Fluttershy peeped and shot a hasty glance at Aloe. “Uhm, if you think that now, Trixie, just wait until you, uhm, try some of the, uhm… some of it. Yes, it. You’ll never want to leave. It’s such a lovely place.”

Showing a much more radiant smile to Fluttershy, Aloe nodded. “That’s so nice of you, Miss Fluttershy. I was just talking with my sister the other day about how much we missed having you with us lately. It’s such a joy to work with a pony that’s practically done the moment she walks in. Not like some of the reconstruction jobs we get sometimes. Oh I could tell you even though—”

Given how clean everything was, Trixie had to wonder how they did it. She couldn’t imagine it was all done by hoof. Yet, she had not seen any unicorns around. Maybe she ought to give them a bit more credit. “It’s hard to believe you managed to do all this with just earth ponies.”

“—It’s a passion project sometimes we—I-I’m sorry? Uhm.” In complete bafflement, Aloe gaped at Trixie while Fluttershy cringed.

“What?” Trixie asked.

Aloe glared at Trixie for a moment longer. She opened her mouth to speak, then quickly closed it again and took a small sprint forward toward the heavy wooden door they’d been walking toward. “Oh, look, we’re here! That’s the sauna! Head on in. Lotus Blossom will take care of you from here. I have to go and, uh, get your bath robes pressed, or something.” With that, she pushed her hoof against the door, allowing the shimmering, hot air to waft out. “Lotus, all yours!” Without even waiting for a reply, she took off.

Rude. Still, Trixie wasn’t about to let a little unprofessionalism ruin her day. It was far too good for that, after all. The pleasant warmth of a stone-heated sauna just a few steps away was also doing wonders for retaining her good mood.

“Aloe? You’re supposed to take over!” Lotus Blossom called after the pink spa pony, but then directed her attention to Trixie and Fluttershy. Putting on a bright smile she quickly waved them inside. “That silly filly. Please, come in.” A moment later, she closed the door behind them to keep the hot air in.

“Fluttershy, darling! So good to see you made it.”

Relaxing in the middle of the bench opposite of the door, Rarity sat with her hooves folded out before her. Somehow, she’d managed to settle into an elegant pose that had her looking like a queen, even while she was sweaty.

How long did it take her to find that pose, and how long has she been holding it for? Still, Trixie had to make the begrudging concession that the mare had a certain flare.

Fluttershy sat down besides Rarity “Hello there, Rarity, I’m ever so happy to see you. You’ve, uhm, met Trixie. Before, I mean.”

“Ah, yes.” Rarity said shortly. She gave Trixie look that was cold enough to chill even the sauna. “The witch.”

Trixie smirked. “Naturally, Trixie’s reputation precedes her.” She took a seat next to Fluttershy. Witch? Heh, that might have been insulting, if it wasn’t what’s keeping ponies from messing with her now.

“Uhm, Rarity?” Fluttershy turned to her friend, but didn’t say anything further.

“Ah, right...” Rarity gestured towards Lotus Blossom, who poured a ladle of water over the hot stones in the middle of the room. With a hot sizzle, the water turned to warm vapor. Taking a deep breath, Rarity closed her eyes, then exhaled slowly. “Wi—Trixie. I’ve agreed to meet you, Trixie, but here are a few ground rules. Well, one, actually...” Her expression darkened. “If you get near my mane again, I will undo your very existence, are we clear? ”

Trixie rolled her eyes. Of course the little drama queen would make such a huge deal out of a simple illusion spell. There was no way that green rat’s nest illusion had lasted for longer than a few hours. “Aren’t you being a little overdramatic?” Before she could say anything more scalding, her eyes caught Fluttershy throwing her a pleading look as though Trixie was moments away from kicking a bird’s nest from a tree. She couldn’t bring herself to say another ill word. “Ah, Right… Trixie won’t mess with your mane.”

“Good.” Rarity slowly stroked a hoof through her mane, and Trixie could swear she could see Rarity’s lips move as though the mare was whispering reassuringly to her locks. Locking eyes with Trixie again, Rarity spoke. “I’ve heard a thing or two about what has been going on the past month or so… It must have been dreadful. How are you doing?” Much of the cold had left her voice.

Blinking, Trixie took a moment to process the sudden swing. She’d been ready to deal with more anger than this. “Uh, well, Trixie’s able to do some magic again this week, so… pretty good?”

“I’m glad. Even if you are a witch, you perhaps didn’t deserve that much misfortune. It is so tragic to lose one’s magic, even if it's only temporary. If you need any help with that, I shall.”

Laying it on a little thick with the ‘witch’ talk, isn’t she? Even so, that’s the first nice thing she’s said to Trixie.

With the loss of her magic, there was a feeling of loss and helplessness that came with it, but it was always hard to share that feeling with anypony that had no magic of their own. They’d simply not understand. “That’s… nice to hear. Thank you.” Trixie cautiously smiled. Perhaps this wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. "It was a pretty poor time for Trixie, being reduced to a mere earth pony like that."

Trixie heard the sound of water hitting the floor, and noticed that Lotus Blossom had missed the coals. Trixie supposes she really did need her sister to take over for her.

“Uhh,” Rarity shared a brief look with Fluttershy, then hastily smiled and changed the subject. “Now! I’ve heard about your little rant, the one about how you felt we’d ruined your show, in detail. You wouldn’t believe how talkative Applejack can get after s’mores and a tree-sap-removing scrub, but never mind that. My point is that I understand you may have been upset at Applejack and Rainbow Dash for storming the stage, but, I want to remind you that it was you who called me out.”

Trixie bristled. “It was you that started heck—”

Rarity raised a hoof, silencing Trixie. “Tut, tut. I was not finished. I’m sorry for insulting your, uh, performance style. The lady-like thing to do would have been to simply take my leave. However, I make no excuses for anything else that happened.”

Granted, that was already more than Trixie had expected, but it still left her feeling… not exactly outraged, but irritably curious. “What about Trixie’s curtain? You tore it from her stage.”

With a haughty laugh, Rarity waved it off as though it were unimportant. “They were so tacky! I fully intended to give you new, more fashionable, ones after the show.”

Trixie bit her tongue. That's supposed to make it okay!? You arrogant little—You don't just go around destroying things you don't like! Granted, they were pretty low budget curtains.. and Trixie had been meaning to replace them after she came into some more bits.. Forcing her attention back to the conversation, Trixie asked, “Trixie thought you made clothes?”

“I do. Fabulous clothes at that. But, trust me; I can cut a piece of fabric into a square.” Rarity laughed, and Fluttershy even managed an audible giggle.

Trixie felt her face burn up. She was going to give Trixie new curtains? She’d been so angry over that act of ‘vandalism’ when all along it had always been meant as some kind of prelude to meeting with the selfless unicorn again. “S-so, Trixie supposes that means you changed your mind after Trixie turned your hair green?”

Rarity’s laughter ceased. “Yes, well, no. Of course I was upset that you humiliated me on stage like that.” She ran a hoof through her mane again, inspecting the points. Her voice grew more strained. “But, I still would have been much more forgiving had you not forced me to wear a wig every time I wanted to go outside. For a week!”

Leaning away from the noise, Trixie quirked a brow. “What are you blathering about?”

“I tried EVERYTHING to get that horrible mess you’d made under control! Dyeing, bleaching, curling, straightening, ironing! Every single hair tonic that I could get my hooves on. Nothing worked! I even considered burning before I came to my senses. I had to dye my beautiful, innocent mane black, because it was the only color that would stick!”

“Well, of course.” Trixie tilted her head in confusion. How this was supposed to be news to her wasn’t clear. “The glamor spell adds a simple translucent sheen to the object. Light green, in this case. It’s much less power intensive than changing or overwriting the actual color. If the base color is too dark, the illusion won’t be able to tint it. Dying it completely black is an effective, if somewhat extreme, way of negating the recolor effect.”

“I-illusion?” Rarity stammered.

Not paying much attention, Trixie was looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling as she tapped her chin. “Mhm, what Trixie doesn’t get though is why you’d be in such a hurry to do something so drastic. The spell would have worn off in an hour or so anyway.”

Holding a hoof to her head, Rarity swayed unsteadily. “OooOooOhh!” She cried, followed by a dull thud as she fainted onto the floor.

“Uhm, Trixie.” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves nervously. “I’m proud of you for, uhm. I know your trying, I mean, and it’s good to be honest, but… sometimes…”

Trixie buried her face in her hooves with a groan. “Trixie gets it.”

A hissing noise drew their attention back to Lotus Blossom, who poured another ladle of water onto the hot stones, then opened the door briefly to shout. “Aloe! Bring the ice pack.”

“We have a ‘White Towel’?”

“Yes...”

“Again!?”

Author's Note

I'm awfully late, and I feel awful about that. Sorry folks. :ajsleepy:

Chapter 120 - Redefine *

Chapter 120 - Redefine *

"Trixie, stop playing with your food."

"But, mooom, I have to practice."

The breakfast table was covered in the faint glow of Trixie's maturing magic. Everything that was not nailed down, was floating erratically above the tabletop. At least, everything that wasn't currently slipping out of Trixie's magical grasp.

She would show up that stupid, dusty, old professor. The only problem was that her detention was ending today. Which, now that she thought about it, was a strange ‘problem’ to have. In any case, she had about a day to learn how to manipulate multiple items.

It was frustrating to no end, for every item she picked up, two seemed to fall. The wood cups clattered. The cherry tomato's bounced and rolled. The leafs of lettuce drifted back down to the table just slow enough that Trixie never quite realized she'd lost control of them until moments later.

Watching the chaos unfold, Sly Nightsky shook her head. "I'm sure you do, sweetie, but you also have to eat." She stretched out a wing to guide the tomatoes away from the table’s edge. "For that matter, so do I. The long shift is just the worst on an empty stomach. How about if you just practice on the playing cards for a bit?"

Trixie pouted, but quickly realized she wasn’t going to get her way as her mom herded the various foodstuffs back into place. Of all the things her mom decided to be strict about, it had to be this. “Ugh, fine…”

Sulking, Trixie popped a piece of bread in her mouth and chewed while she lifted up the deck of cards. It wasn’t even heavy. It was childishly easy. Even though the deck of cards consisted of fifty-two individual cards, Trixie only had to levitate a single ‘object’, the deck. The ease with which she could do that only made what followed even more annoying. While it was simple for her to use her magic on the deck as a whole, as soon as she tried to cut the deck…

The aura around deck flickered and several of the cards escaped her grasp, flopping down inelegantly on the floor.

“Guuuh! This sucks!”

“Trixie!”

After a week of ‘healing’ Starlight had returned to her usual spot three rows in front of Trixie. From the moment she arrived, the rest of the ponies in the class had been nothing but abuzz with questions about ghosts and tall tales about fighting dragons.

Starlight didn’t even have to say anything, she was just being handed legends and while she didn’t actually say any of them were true, she certainly didn’t bother to deny any of the more heroic ones. To Trixie’s unending annoyance.

With each new tale, Starlight would look over her shoulder, catch Trixie's eye, and smile. One of those dirty ‘look how many friends I’ve got I’m so much better than you haha’ smiles. It was infuriatingly easy for her to do this, considering Trixie was spending a great deal of time trying to melt a hole through the back of Starlight's head with just her eyes.

Trixie wished she could travel back in time, if only so she could have actually thrown the lying blank flank out of the window. Perhaps she could still do that now actually, as long as she didn’t get caught.

Trixie shook her head. Thinking about it was one thing, but actually doing something bad to another pony, even a lowlife like Starlight, was just not in her nature. The Great and Powerful Trixie was the hero of the story, and heroes didn’t generally go for revenge.

Well, unless it’s justice.

Once the class actually started, things mercifully died down and settled back into the usual boring rhythm. As uninterested as Professor Silence was at keeping order during class, at the very least his material was hard enough today that Moon Rock took it upon herself to silence the class. She did so by threatening to let Sunny Days follow the first foal to open their mouth, for the rest of the day.

That might not have sounded like much of a threat to the uninitiated, given that Sunny Days was easily the friendliest of the terrible trio, but she had a level of enthusiasm and energy that could only be described as madness-inducingly annoying if she went unchecked for too long.

For all of their failings, Starlight and Moon Rock did manage to keep a lid on Sunny, and bring the filly just south of unbearable.

There was one small silver lining to this whole web of lies by omission, at least Trixie could be sure now that Starlight would never tell the truth. The actual story, of getting smacked around by a filly half a year younger than her, was far too damning now that everypony was expecting Starlight to have been facing down diamond dog packs, nursing wounded wolverines back to health, or negotiating for dragon gold taxation.

Stupid Starlight. Who wants to be popular through lies anyway?

Still, Trixie felt a small twinge of jealously as she watched Starlight bask in attention. It looked nice, and nopony else seemed to be the least bit concerned that all those stories couldn’t possibly be true.

The bell signaled the end of school for most of the class and the start of the final showdown between Trixie and Cratos, the wooden crate waiting in Professor Silence’s office.

Although it wasn’t quite a one on one match anymore, considering that a new challenger had appeared. The, as yet unnamed, sneak-attacking pencil. Like a ninja. Maybe it was okay for Trixie to have a tough time coming up with a good name for the pencil if it was a ninja. You aren’t supposed to know a ninja’s name, or something, right?

“Trixie? Earth to Trixie?”

“Wah?” Trixie snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Flitter, who was wearing Trixie’s hat. “When did you..?” Trixie reached a hoof up to stroke over her mane, finding it distinctly hatless.

“Geez, you were pretty out of it.” Flitter giggled while she tilted the stolen hat back. “I was going to ask to borrow it, but after the third time I thought I’d just take it… uh, if that’s okay? If it’s not okay, you can have it back now. I mean.”

If it had been anypony else, Trixie would have refused without a second thought, but in this case she had to think about it. She could probably trust Flitter to bring it back, but what could Flitter want with her hat? Maybe she just wants to feel great and powerful for a bit? It does look pretty cute on her…

“Uh, Trixie? You weren’t still dwelling on what happened in class, were you? You shouldn’t care about what stories they tell. I know you’re the greatest unicorn ever. Everypony else will see it too! Or, uh, they’d be blind. N-not that I’d blind them! I mean they would have to be, or else, uhm.” Flitter blushed and stumbled over her words until nothing she said came out as proper phrases anymore.

“Heh, thanks, Flitter. Trixie knows she is the greatest, and most powerful, of course, but it is nice to be reminded now and then.”

“Uhm, so… can I?”

“Huh? Blind them? Well, Trixie supps—Oh, the hat? Yes, yes.” Trixie scrambled to recover some semblance of competency and proclaimed, “Yes! Trixie will lend you her hat, but you are to take good care of it.” She wagged a hoof at Flitter warningly. However, much of the intended threat was lost due to her inability to stop smiling.

“I will!” Flitter saluted with the most serious face she could manage.

Turning to resume her quest toward detention, Trixie’s mood quickly withered when she caught sight of the trio loitering by their lockers just ahead. Starlight, Moon Rock and Sunny Days were discussing something, homework by the sounds of it. Curses, Trixie thought they’d have gone home already. Maybe they’ll just let us pass with a few insults?

Starlight rolled her eyes as she slammed her locker shut. “Ugh, I can’t believe you, Moon. Who died and made you teacher’s pet? What’s so important about learning how to tint glass?”

“First of all, I am not a teacher’s pet. And no, just because he actually talks to me does not make me one.” Moon Rock flipped through the pages of her book without looking at Starlight. “Second, you say that like it’s a bad thing, but academic performance is twenty percent talent and fifty percent work ethic, so it would be good to get into the habit now.”

Sunny Days was standing beside them, but her mind had long since left the building as she just stared out the window with a longing expression on her face. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she was back, perky as ever. “What’s the other thirty? Is it enthusiasm? Sports? Long walks outside in the sun with—Oh, hey! It’s Trickery and Bucket!”

Moon Rock let out a long, tired sigh while she slowly lowered her book. “I should not even dignify that with a response, but it is nice to see you actually interested in studying for once. The other thirty is a good recommendation from your previous educational institution, obviously. it’s not Trickery and Bu—Oh.” Even Moon Rock’s dark blue fur couldn’t hide her glow of embarrassment. She was not accustomed to being wrong, especially not when correcting Sunny Days.

“Educa-what? You could just say ‘school’ you know. You’re not sounding smarter just because you’re using bigger words.” Starlight fell silent when she noticed Trixie and Flitter Bouquet coming towards them. Her eyes widened when her gaze met with Trixie’s and an involuntary shudder was quickly stamped out as she trotted into the middle of the hallway to obstruct Trixie’s path. “Oh, good, just who I wanted to see!”

“Finally, an outlet. This week’s been so stressful without you, Starlight.” Closing her book, Moon Rock fell in line besides Starlight. She showed an unusual amount of enthusiasm, considering for the whole week neither Trixie nor Flitter had any trouble with her. The eye that was not obstructed by her bangs alternated between Trixie and Starlight expectantly.

Meanwhile, practically bouncing, Sunny Days took a spot in front of Flitter. “Miss us? We missed you! Well maybe not exactly miss, I mean, we didn’t try to hit you or anything. Oh, hey! Nice hat!” She said while looking at Flitter, who promptly tilted her head down to hide behind the wide brim of Trixie’s hat.

Trixie stopped a step away from Starlight. Sparing a brief glance to the other two, Trixie then focused her attention on the the purple-maned blank flank before her. Really, we run into them now? They didn’t seem to be waiting for us, so it’s just coincidence? I wonder how much Starlight told them… It doesn’t look like they know.

Starlight wore an arrogant smile, but her face was pale, and her eyes kept occasionally darting to Sunny and Moon as though to ensure herself they were still close by.

There was no doubt in Trixie’s mind. Starlight was scared. A strangely tingly feeling spread through Trixie’s limbs as she came to that realization. Her lips curled into a wry smile. She hadn’t really considered how Starlight might be feeling after their last encounter. Flitter had mentioned she’d seen Starlight cry, but Trixie hadn’t believed it, until now.

“Running a little late, Tricke—”

“Starlight.” Trixie interrupted just a bit louder than usual, startling the filly. She stared unflinchingly at the little coward. “You’re in Trixie’s way.” It was a terrifying gamble to make, and Trixie had to fight hard to look calm and confident on the outside. Good thing she was well practiced at acting sure of herself.

“W-what?” Eyes wide, Starlight had to take a moment to get herself back on the rails. “Just who do you think you are? That’s the whole point.”

“Awh, I can’t see your face, Bucket. Here, let me help!” A yellow glow surrounded Trixie’s hat while Sunny lit up her horn. The hat floated up before the color surrounding it abruptly changed to an orchid shine. “Huh? It’s stuck?” Sunny’s horn glowed brighter, but the hat stubbornly stayed on Flitter’s head.

Only a faint shimmer of orchid magic came from Trixie’s horn while she stared Starlight down. Thwarting Sunny was trivially simple, it barely required any magic on Trixie’s part. She’d seen Sunny’s telekinesis spell before, and knew how terribly inefficient it was. “Starlight.” Trixie broke eye contact for a brief moment, looking up at the ceiling, then brought her gaze back down to meet that of Starlight. “Now.”

Starlight flinched and took a quick step back. “Woah, hey! I-I just wanted to, uh, say thanks for the card! Yeah!” She roughly shoved Sunny out of the way, sending the unprepared blond tumbling.

“Gah!” The magic tug of war game ended when Sunny lost her balance and fell. “Ompf! What?” Sunny blinked, confused.

Starlight wasted no time stepping away from Trixie, and into the spot that Sunny had just been occupying. Trixie spotted a look of relief on Starlight's face and did her best not to grin at the thought of how little a few hooves of space mattered for her ability to levitate Starlight. This urge to grin was pressed down into a visible frown as Trixie noticed just where Starlight was standing.

The look of relief on Starlight's face quickly turned to panic when she realized she was now standing in front of Flitter, affectively barring her way instead of Trixie's. Her face turned even paler after she shot a lingering look at Trixie. “You too, Buc-Bouquet. I, I just hadn’t had a chance before now. Yeah. Nice hat by the way, uhm, well see you!”

Starlight hastily stepped aside again, nearly trampling Sunny in the process.

“Ow! Hey, watch it!” Sunny squealed as Starlight stepped on her mane.

“Sorry!”

Moon Rock, who was conveniently already out of the way since the start, looked dumbstruck. Her eyes locked on the unfathomable display Starlight was putting on.

Trixie hadn’t felt this good in… well, a week. Perhaps she ought to see how far she could push this newfound respect. The dumpsters had gone so long without a filly being thrown into them by Starlight, Trixie was sure they’d appreciate an ironic revival.

A gentle prodding at her side caught Trixie’s attention. Flitter was peeking up at her from under the brim of her hat. Barely louder than a mouse, she spoke, “You’re going to be late.”

“Ah, right.” Trixie nodded. With the way now clear, Trixie, with Flitter in tow, walked past the trio. She did her best to act casual, and not let on that her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Once they were a couple of feet away, she let out a relieved sigh. I can’t believe that worked.

Just after they passed the corner of the hall, Trixie could hear Moon Rock speak up. ”Starlight, what the hay is wrong with you?”

Complete silence.

Somehow, the professor’s office always felt a few degrees colder than it was out in the hallway. Like stepping into a basement. In a basement it would have made sense, but Trixie knew that this office was on the top floor, and, moreover, was facing the sunlit side of the school.

For once, Trixie didn’t care about what time it was while she held Cratos, the defiant box, aloft. As always, it was much more difficult than she remembered it to be. Stupid confidence always telling her she wouldn’t have any trouble this time.

If she held it for an hour, she’d won the wager and her detention would be over. Of course, this was the last day of detention anyway, and in a hour she would be free either way. That wasn’t what she was doing it for anymore.

However, the time limit was unimportant, she was merely waiting for the ‘ninja’ to strike. Or rather, hope that it wouldn’t. Either way, she wasn’t going to be caught off guard again.

The sound of her own breathing betrayed that the muffling spell had been lifted, and a moment later a pencil clattered on the ground.

Trixie gritted her teeth and kept her gaze firmly on Cratos. Of course this would happen. “Trixie has to get it?”

“Well, since you are offering.” Came the mocking voice of the professor. As if he would have gotten it himself if she hadn’t said anything.

Taking a few deep breaths, Trixie steadied herself. All she had to do was keep the stupidly heavy box in place first without looking. Just like she’d do when carrying her books to school. Maybe she could just imagine carrying the books of the whole class.

On second thought, that sounds really heavy.

First things first. Trixie made sure the box was not directly above her. The last thing she needed was to be worried about crushing herself. Once she was sure it was safe, she closed her eyes, concentrating just on keeping her spell going. The lack of shockwaves and thunderous noise told her she was successful.

That is it! Just keep that part running! Now, where is the pencil? Carefully, she opened her eyes while she kept feeding energy into the spell, keeping it exactly as it was.

The pencil had rolled against one of the stool’s legs.

Steady now. A faint glimmer of orchid magic glowed around the pencil. Steadyyy. She dragged the pencil across the floor slightly while lifting up one end.

The box slipped from her magic hold.

“Gah! No!” She whirled back around and poured all of her magic into pushing the crate back into the air. “Stay!”

A bemused chuckle coming from the desk made Trixie’s cheeks flush. “Shut it! Trixie can do this!”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt. Any unicorn your age ought to be able to. If you’re having trouble, perhaps you could ask Miss Rock to tutor you? I understand she already does so for two other students.”

Moon Rock! Trixie would not be caught dead going to her for help!

But each attempt Trixie made at picking up the pencil went accompanied by her losing control of the crate. So far she’d managed to catch it before it hit the ground, but it was so hard to keep going. Sweat was pouring down her forehead as she once again looked away from the crate and tried to divide her focus between it and the stupid pencil.

This isn’t working! What if… what if Trixie throws the crate? That was an idea. A desperate one, but it was not all that different from catching it as it fell. If she couldn’t do both at once, then maybe…

Trixie wished she had her hat right about now. Just to feel a little more powerful.

With a jolt of magic, she flung Cratos up into the air and instantly dispelled her magic, then she turned and cast her telekinesis on the pencil with full force. The pencil whizzed up as though it somepony had stepped on its tail and shot up onto the desk.

At the very moment the pencil was above the desk, Trixie dispelled her magic and turned back just in time to see the box drop right past her. Her eyes widened, and her horn nearly exploded with light as she wrapped every shred of her magic around the speeding crate and violently yanked it up.

Panting heavily, Trixie stared in disbelief up at the crate, hovering just before her. She got to it in time. “I did it?” A slow turn of her head confirmed that the pencil was on the desk. “I did it!”

“Congratulations.” Professor Silence applauded while Trixie smiled from ear to ear. “You’ve brute forced your way through a problem that called for finesse. You must have some earth pony blood in you, mhm?”

“What?” The joy drained out of Trixie’s face.

“The point, Miss Lulamoon, which I am sure must have eluded you or you would not be patting yourself on the back, was to manipulate two objects at the same time, not to start throwing them around one at a time.” He rubbed his temples as he spoke, like the sheer stupidity of what he had just witnessed was giving him a migraine.

Dumbstruck, Trixie stared at the professor. “But, the box! Trixie—"

"Oh, yes, that. You certainly have some muscle, like an Earth pony even. But you show no finesse, or even the rudiments of a unicorn's dexterity with their magic. I am sure you will have a good career in lifting cargo as a dockworker. Or perhaps you dream a little bigger, and wish to take some mud pony’s job of helping others move in and out of houses?"

“B-but!” Her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She’d won! Didn’t she? Why did she feel like she’d failed miserably? Trixie lowered the box back to the ground. Even merely putting it down gently created an abrasive thud.

Professor Silence, meanwhile, had picked up the pencil and returned it gently in the cup along with its brethren. “I thought you might have some inkling of potential, but I’ve seen enough.” He looked at the clock then waved a hoof toward the door unenthusiastically. “You’ve wasted over an hour and seven minutes of my time already, you know the way. Get out.”

Trixie wanted to scream, but she felt herself teetering on the edge of wailing. Her lips trembled. If she said even a word she felt as though she’d break some final barrier and break down. She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her like that.

Without a word, Trixie turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Complete silence.

The professor sighed as the blue filly left his office, then looked down at the crate she had left in the middle of the room. He wasn't even entirely sure how many weights he'd added to it in the last week, but he was sure their loss was noticed at the school's gym by now. He would have to get some help moving it this time, or unpack what was in the crate itself.

It was just too heavy for his magic, let alone, his muscles. He didn't feel bad about that though.

After all, it was beyond the magic of any unicorn he'd ever met to lift now. Well, every unicorn except one.

Chapter 121 - Racist

Rarity had taken a nasty fall, but fortunately the staff appeared to know how to deal with her. A little bit too well actually. The ice pack Aloe brought had a convenient hole in it for Rarity’s horn, and Lotus Blossom had procured a stretcher at some point when Trixie wasn’t looking.

They’d taken the unconscious unicorn out of the sauna for some fresh air to help her recuperate.

The one thing Trixie had most trouble wrapping her mind around was how calm everypony else appeared to be about this whole thing. Rarity was hurt! Didn’t they care?

Fortunately, Fluttershy had caught on to Trixie’s distress, and she had taken the time to explain the fashion mare’s quirks.

“So, this is normal?” Trixie asked incredulously, for the third time.

Fluttershy nodded, again.

“Crazy, all of you.” Trixie muttered while she laid back down on the wooden bench of the sauna. At least she was already in the perfect place to let that new-found tension melt away. Although the spa ponies were both gone, a little spark of magic brought the ladle to life, which easily poured another splash of water onto the hot stones.

About to make a comment on the do-it-yourself spa, Trixie hushed when she noticed Fluttershy was fidgeting with her hooves. It wasn’t something Trixie had known originally. But, she quickly caught onto the fact that it meant Fluttershy had something she wanted to say. A vague feeling of déjà vu crept over Trixie while she resolved to quietly sit and wait until Fluttershy felt comfortable enough to speak.

After a moment of relative silence, during which only some muffled conversation regarding ice water could be heard outside, Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Uhm, Trixie? Is it okay if I ask you something, uh, maybe not so nice? I’m sorry.”

Trixie perked up, surprised. “You have Trixie’s curiosity, go on.”

Avoiding eye contact, Fluttershy ran a hoof stiffly through her hair as though she was trying to play this off as a casual thing. “Well, uh, how come you, erm… Do you… only like some ponies? More than others, I mean.”

After a brief moment of bafflement, Trixie smiled. She knew what was going on here. Scooting toward Fluttershy, she wrapped her foreleg around the soft mare and pulled her close. “Awh, Fluttershy, Trixie’s so sorry.”

Fluttershy tensed up as Trixie suddenly pulled her in. She gave Trixie an uncertain look. “You are?” Fluttershy looked immensely relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried.”

“It’s Trixie’s fault.” She eased up on the hug and with a flicker of magic brushed Fluttershy’s mane out of her face, granting an unfettered view of the cute, if somewhat sweaty, visage. Trixie’s eyes traveled down to Fluttershy’s lips. They looked so soft and inviting. “Trixie didn’t mean to be so distant.” With a struggle, she resisted the urge to claim them, and met Fluttershy’s eyes again. “It’s just… Trixie doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

Blinking in confusion, Fluttershy asked. “I, uhm, I don’t really understand. What do you mean?”

“Well, you are such a wonderful pony. So kind and loving. Trixie really wants to show you how amazing you are!” Words failed to properly described how she felt about Fluttershy, but they would have to do for now. It was so easy to praise the sweet creature, but equally as hard to force herself to go on. Trixie didn’t like to admit she had faults, especially not to a pony she desperately needed to be impressive for. Still, she pressed on. “But, you are so delicate, and Trixie feels as though you’d shatter if she comes on too strong. It’s simple with Dashie, Trixie can read her pretty well, but Trixie doesn’t know how to tell what you are ready for or what you want. What if she does something wrong and pushes you too far again? Still… Trixie didn’t realize you’d feel this left out if Trixie was too hesitant.”

Although Fluttershy’s face was a red as a tomato, she looked no less confused as she stammered, “That… that is, uhm, oh, woah, but it… it’s not, uh, what I wanted to-I mean. What about Aloe and Lotus Blossom?”

Now it was Trixie’s turn to be confused. What did those two have to do with anything? Sure they were somewhat above average in looks, but Fluttershy couldn’t possibly be so insecure that she’d think The Great and Powerful Trixie would lower her standards that much. “Huh? Is that what you were worried about? There’s no reason to be jealous of them, Trixie’s not even interested in them. They’re only earth ponies.”

Fluttershy stammered. “Jealous? But, uh, what? Only earth—That! That part. I mean.” Her eyes were wide as though she had just seen a ghost. Perhaps she had, because she had just as much trouble formulating a sentence. “You, they, why? Uhm.”

Trixie let go of Fluttershy to give her some air. She looked like she needed it. Though exactly why was lost on Trixie. Her chest tightened as she considered that she might have done something wrong by admitting she needed more to go on from Fluttershy. “Are you mad at Trixie?”

“Yes. I mean, no. I mean, a little? Oh, I don’t know.” Fluttershy held her hooves to her head, like she hoped to stop it from spinning. “Why do you, uhm, hate earth ponies?”

“…What?” Trixie quirked a brow. “That’s the most ridiculous thing Trixie has ever heard. Trixie does not hate earth ponies at all.”

“O-oh. You don’t?”

“Of course not—”

“I’m sorry.”

“—Trixie pities them.”

“…What?”

“You know,” Trixie said while she pointed at her horn. “They can’t do magic. It’s sad.”

"And why, umm...don't you feel the same... way about Pegasi?"

"Because you actually have something to make up for it?"

"W-what?"

"Wings! You have wings! Trixie's seen you use them to pick up cups and other things like a Unicorn uses levitation. You can fly as well! What do Earth ponies get? Nothing! They are Unicorns without horns."

"B-but that doesn't make it right f-for you to—"

"Trixie doesn't treat them badly, Fluttershy. She pities them a little is all. It's why she always makes sure to hold back against them. You saw how dizzy and sick Trixie made Dashie in her show, yes? All she did was tie up Applejack. If anything, they should appreciate the efforts Trixie goes through to not hurt them." Trixie wore a proud smile as she described how nice she’d actually been. “Life is cruel enough without magic, Trixie doesn’t wish to add to it, more than needed.”

Fluttershy’s face held a look somewhere between disbelief and astonishment. “I can’t use magic either.”

“Oh!” Trixie quickly reiterated. “No, no! But you have wings! Remember? That’s at least a step up. But, they have to use their hooves and mouth for absolutely everything.” She smiled as she finished clarifying.

However, Fluttershy wasn’t smiling. She looked almost pained as she spoke. “So, pegasi are ‘at least a step up’? But, it’s still a step below unicorns, right? I-I remember you told Dash once that pegasi start off, uhm, ‘handicapped’. Was that what you meant?”

“Yes, exactly.” Trixie nodded. “See? It’s nothing mean.”

“But, but it is mean.” Fluttershy pleaded.

“Why is it mean when Trixie says she’s better than a pegasus, but it’s okay for you to say you’re better than an earth pony?” Trixie had to admit the difference might have been less obvious than between a flightless earth pony and a pegasi, but she still felt confident she could make the case magic was better than wings.

“I don’t say that! I’m not better than anypony!” Fluttershy hastily cried out and waved her hooves as if she tried to physically throw the notion away. “Nopony is better than anypony else.”

“What are you talking about? Of course some ponies are better than others. Trixie is right here.” She rested a hoof on her chest while she adopted an almost regal pose. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is better than any pony. She’s already demonstrated a little bit of that during her show, remember?”

Completely aghast, Fluttershy could only stare at Trixie. “B-but...”

Starting to catch on to the frankly frigid mood in the sauna, Trixie tried to smooth things over. “Look, do we really have to talk about this? Trixie would much rather get back to what we were talking about before… you know, about us.” Trixie coaxed in a sweet voice. It was clear that she was making Fluttershy upset, and Trixie didn’t care about this argument anyway.

“About us?” Fluttershy blinked.

“Yes, you know, uhm.” Trixie pressed her hooves together nervously, wishing she didn’t have to go through this a second time, but it was too important to her not bring it up again. “You never answered Trixie. What do you, uh, h-how far is okay, Trixie means.”

“Uhm, Trixie, this is important.”

Trixie nodded wordlessly. Her stupid stomach did backflips while she waited. Just a little something to go on would set her mind at ease.

Fiddling with her hooves a little, Fluttershy nervously glanced over to the door before continuing. “You were going to talk with Mayor Mare, but, uhm, you know she is an earth pony. She won’t like you if you talk like that.”

“You’re still on this?” Trixie asked with a scowl. “Stop ignoring Trixie.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened and locked onto Trixie's as her ears clamped to her skull. “I’m not. I mean. I don’t mean to, b-but you’re not taking this seriously…”

“Trixie is the one not taking it seriously?!” Trixie yelled, but as soon as she saw Fluttershy flinch, she bit down on her hoof to shut herself up. As frustrated as she was with Fluttershy, seeing her react like that felt as though someone punched Trixie in the stomach.

At that moment, the spa door opened, and with a gust of cool air came Rarity. “So sorry, girls. I just needed some air. Then I figured I could make some arrangements while I had a chance to talk to Lotus and—” She froze as she looked at Trixie and Fluttershy. “Is, is everything all right in here?”

“Just perfect.” Trixie couldn’t stand to be in this room anymore. She had to get out. “Trixie is going to get some air too,” she said while passing Rarity, then quickly closed the door behind her to avoid any further questions.

Compared to the Sauna, it was practically cold out here in the hallway. Hastily, Trixie trotted away from the door. Once she felt she was far enough away, she leaned against the nearest wall. The cool stone felt good against her damp fur. If she needed to cool her head, she may as well literally do it. She smirked a little at the thought while she rested her head on the wall. Her eyes closed while she thought back on just what went wrong. Why were they fighting?

Trixie didn’t do anything. she thought bitterly.

This wasn’t how Trixie pictured today going. She’d been nice to Rarity, wasn’t Fluttershy supposed to like that? Okay, so Rarity fainted at the end, but that was apparently a common thing. Surely Trixie wasn’t being blamed for that?

Fluttershy was so difficult to read. Trixie couldn’t tell how to impress her, or what she wanted.

Well, apparently she wanted to talk about earth ponies. Trixie thought she’d explained herself well enough. Of course earth ponies were not as good as the rest. So why did Fluttershy have to keep harping on that, instead of listen to Trixie when she was trying so hard to be open with her?

Trixie sighed and turned slightly to roll her forehead over to a fresh, cool patch of wall. It helped.

An unconvincing cough stirred Trixie out of her thoughts. She half opened one eye to find the two spa ponies standing nearby. Each of them apparently carrying laundry. Perhaps it was their fault. If they hadn’t been earth ponies the conversation never would have gotten so off track.

Trixie glared at the pair. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, miss,” answered Lotus Blossom with a smile. Aloe, however, did not even wear her fake smile. Lotus used one hoof to point to the sauna, and with the same motion she also conveniently barred Aloe’s way. “Was it too dry inside? I apologize, I’m on my way right now.”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t too hot.” Trixie smirked a little, but obviously neither of them would get the joke. With a wave, she dismissed them. “Trixie will be along shortly.”

“Very well, miss. In the meantime, this is for you.” Lotus Blossom grabbed the pile of laundry resting on her back.

With her teeth, of course.

Upon closer inspection, it was not just a random pile of laundry. After Lotus let it unfurl, she was holding out a bathrobe for Trixie.

“Ah, yes.” Trixie took the bathrobe from Lotus. With the use of magic, obviously. It was no trouble at all to slip into it, and it actually was rather comfy. For one thing, it did wonders in keeping the comparatively cold air at bay, which had gradually gone from refreshing to chilling the longer she was out here.

Just as the pair were about to move on, Trixie stopped them. “Wait. Trixie has a question.”

“Yes, miss?” Lotus Blossom turned to face her again. Aloe paused as well.

Trixie looked the pair over. Clearly, one of them was displeased, but then, Trixie supposed that dragging a unconscious drama queen through the spa would put a dent into anypony’s mood. However, it wasn’t important how they felt, Trixie was much more preoccupied with checking if she’d done something wrong. “Has Trixie said anything that was false to you?”

Lotus Blossom and Aloe looked at one another for a moment, a meaningful couple of expressions were exchanged between them. After a second, Lotus shook her head. “Uhm, no, miss. Not as such…”

Trixie smiled. She knew it. Fluttershy was just worrying over nothing. “As Trixie expected.”

Aloe turned to Lotus Blossom and scowled. “Oh, sure. We’re but ‘mere’ earth ponies, aren’t we, Lotus?”

“Aloe, hush. I’m sure she meant nothing by it,” Lotus hissed at the more irate spa pony. The next moment, she wore her smile again.

While Trixie observed the pair, she was struck by the realization that she might actually like Aloe better. At least she could tell what that mare was feeling, while Lotus Blossom only showed what she wanted Trixie to see. Trixie pointed at Aloe. “You, explain.”

Ignoring a pleading look by Lotus, Aloe appeared to actually grow two sizes as she received express permission to voice her opinion from a customer. “Oh! I’d be happy to!”

“Aloe!”

“Oh, calm down, I’ll be nice.” Aloe sighed as though she was asked to settle for a bowl of ice-cream instead of a barrel. “Besides, I can’t exactly stay mad if she’s here asking us about it, can I?”

Trixie got the sneaking suspicion this might have been something of a bad idea.

“Basically, when you say things like: I can’t believe an earth pony did that. It sounds like you mean you have lower expectations of earth ponies than you do of pegasi or unicorns. Do you understand?”

“Of course.” Trixie nodded. “Go on.”

Aloe blinked. “What?”

Talking a little slower, Trixie repeated. “Trixie understands it sounds that way. Where are you going with this?”

“Uh, well, uh, that is to say…” Aloe stammered, and looked to Lotus Blossom for help.

Lotus Blossom chimed in. “She means language like that implies earth ponies are lesser than the other pony tribes. Some ponies may take exception to that kind of thing.”

“Oh, now it all makes sense. You don’t like it, and she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.” Trixie chuckled. It was so obvious in hindsight. Fluttershy didn’t like to see anypony upset, so naturally she would be opposed to Trixie saying something that reminded earth ponies of their misfortune.

“Yes, exactly,” said Aloe, actually smiling at Trixie again. “I’m so sorry, Miss Trixie. I was wrong about you. After all the rumors going around I just assumed you were doing it on purpose. I shouldn’t have kept quiet.” As she spoke the last line, she threw an impish smirk at Lotus Blossom.

Perhaps it is the same for pegasi. That’s why Fluttershy was upset.

Lotus Blossom groaned. “Fine, I was wrong. This time. Do not forget she asked you for your opinion. You are still not to go give Roseluck a piece of your mind, unless she asks for it.”

All the pieces were falling into place for Trixie. Now all she had to do was figure out how to fix it. Trixie supposed that if Fluttershy liked it better if she didn’t say things like that around her, she could do that.

Smiling, Trixie trotted back to the sauna, leaving Aloe and Lotus Blossom behind as they squabbled over something banal.

Just before Trixie wanted to open the door to the sauna, she heard a sound. It was a bit like Fluttershy’s voice. Though Trixie couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, she was fairly sure she had caught the word ‘Trixie’ in there somewhere.

It’s not really eavesdropping if it is about Trixie, is it? A quick look behind her showed that Aloe and Lotus Blossom were still nowhere near done. Lotus Blossom actually had turned red in the face by this point.

“What do you mean you talked to him about it!?”

Yeah. Trixie had a few moments.

Magic was such a wonderful thing. It allowed for so much utility. Such as when she found herself on stage with a bit more of a crowd than she was used to, a simple sound amplifying spell the size of a bit, placed strategically before her mouth, would ensure even the peanut gallery could enjoy the sweet sound of her voice.

Conveniently, placing one of those same small fields on the door in reverse proved perfect for listening in.

“I don’t know… Trixie looked really mad at me...”

“Well, you were having a fight, darling. It is expected.”

“But, I don’t want to fight with her.”

Hearing that, Trixie felt a little warmer. Of course she doesn’t.

“Even so, you can’t apologize for disagreeing with her. She was in the wrong, not you. Honestly, Fluttershy, I don’t think you should even bother. It sounds like she’s done nothing but be nasty to everypony.”

Trixie made a mental note to put Rarity on her list, and to find some way to mess with Rarity’s mane again at the earliest opportunity. It wasn’t hard for Trixie to picture the two ponies inside. Rarity was probably sprawled out like some kind of queen, dispensing ‘wisdom’ to a curled up Fluttershy.

“O-oh, but… that’s not true. She’s really trying to be nice… I mean, she is. Really. It was a rough start… She really doesn’t mean it.”

“Fluttershy, please, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you sure you haven’t hit your head too? I just talked with her, and the hostility boiling just underneath the surface of that mare is palpable. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice she made no effort to return the favor when I apologized to her; She is not sorry. Not for any of it.”

What did she have to apologize for? And, so what if she didn’t really like Rarity? Acting as if she did had to count for something! It certainly did for Fluttershy, she was praising Trixie for trying.

“…”

“Maybe this little spat will finally motivate her to leave and stop taking advantage of you. She’s been mooching off of you for a month.”

Trixie was beginning to suspect that Rarity didn’t really want her around any longer than strictly necessary. Trixie was okay with this if it only involved Rarity, but it was quite clear that the unicorn, despite acting somewhat civil earlier, wanted Trixie gone from Ponyville entirely.

It figures. She acts forgiving when Trixie is in front of her, but, when Trixie's back is turned, tries to poison Fluttershy against her. Has she been saying the same things to Dashie? Trixie glared at the door. She almost never heard Dash talk about Rarity. Was it because of this? Of course Dash wouldn’t mention her then. She would get that little fashion diva for this! But, not right now.

She sighed, releasing some of the tension in her muscles. This was something she would have to deal with later. Fluttershy would not be happy if she went off on Rarity in front of her. Especially with their fight earlier.

Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Trixie won’t let anybody try to take her away you, from both of you. Twilight already tried and failed; Trixie'll be damned if she lets some prissy unicorn succeed.

Trixie gritted her teeth, deciding to get in there before more damage was done. She already had one hoof on the door, and was just about to throw it open, when Fluttershy suddenly spoke up.

“S-she’s not! She was just really hurt before, but now she’s been helping around the house, a lot. I never even asked her to; She just wanted to do something. Nice, I mean, for me. And, uhm, the animals like her too, or, well, they do now that she can remember who eats what. Angel even stopped trying to set her on fire—“

“I’m sorry, what?”

“— And now that her magic is recovering she’s so good at dealing out the food it barely takes five minutes…”

Her timid knight in shining armor. Trixie smiled, and her hoof slipped off the doorknob. She wouldn’t mind hearing a little more of this. Don’t stop now.

“Well, pardon me for doubting you darling. But, If that is true, why do you look less than enthused?” Rarity gasped. “Ah! She’s not feeding the small animals to the big ones, is she?”

“Oh! No, no! It’s nothing like that! …It’s nothing, just… I miss it.”

Trixie blinked. Huh?

“Why, whatever do you mean?”

“Well… Trixie’s doing her best to finish our chores quickly, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but… I don’t want them to be over quickly. It’s not just a chore that needs doing, I like doing it. To just take my time and chat with my animal friends while I’m taking care of them…”

“Ah, I understand. You’ve tried to tell her, but she won’t li—”

A sudden tap on her shoulder made Trixie drop the spell in fright. “Gah! Don’t sneak up on Trixie like that!” she said while spinning around.

Before her stood Lotus Blossom, wearing her trademark smile. “So sorry, Miss Trixie. It’s just that I need to be in there right now.” She motioned to the door that Trixie was blocking.

Didn’t she catch Trixie?

“Ah! Yes.” Trixie hastily stepped aside.

“After you, Miss Trixie.” The implication was clear. Lotus Blossom knew what Trixie had been up to, and although she didn’t say anything about it directly, this was about as obvious a ‘cease and desist’ as one could get.

Regaining her composure, Trixie returned the smile and entered the Sauna, shortly followed by Lotus Blossom.

Trixie supposed she ought to say something modest to announce her arrival.

“Fear not! Trixie has returned!”

Chapter 122 - Retrieve *

Chapter 122 - Retrieve *

Homework, the bane of every student.

Trixie chewed on the end of her pencil while she stared up at the dull text book floating above her bed.

How magic could be this boring was well and truly beyond her. What kind of pony found themselves with the power to alter the fabric of reality, and then decided the best course of action was to figure out seven different ways to reheat a piece of toast? All of which also made the toast inedible!

Perhaps a better question was what kind of pony would put it in a textbook. Only a cruel, sadistic pony for sure.

Trixie nodded. Yes, she was going to add whoever had done this to her list.

Oh, yes. She had a list now. Any pony on that list would rue the day they’d crossed her! Someday anyway.

After examining the cover, She put the textbook down and floated her notepad up to her face. She paused only to consider the exact place to add this person. A few quick squiggles with the pencil on her lips, and she was done.

Trixie admired her work.

Trixie’s Great and Powerful Revenge List:
Strict Silence (Professor)
Starlight
Cratos (and his little ninja too.) (Trixie won anyway!)
Moon Rock
Stodgy Jotter (Guy that wrote ‘Magic for Foals Volume II’)
Shiny Pebble (Trixie tripped over it on the way to school.)

Okay, maybe the list was growing a little fast, and maybe some would say it wasn’t exactly healthy to plot the downfall of half a dozen pony’s, let alone inanimate objects, but it made her feel better, so what was the harm? This way, whenever somepony angered her, she could simply write the name down and then no longer need to think about them, without running the risk of forgetting she was mad at them.

It had been a little over a week since she’d been ‘released’ from detention. Much of said week was spent stewing and raving, and it wasn’t until she’d hit upon the idea of making that list that she calmed down a little.

She knew it didn’t really make sense, but it felt like she was doing something about it. Like she was taking control of the situation when she wrote it down like that.

“Trixie!” her mother called from the kitchen. “I forgot to buy butter. Can you go on an errand for me?”

Well, her homework wasn’t going anywhere and any distraction was a welcome one.

Trixie dropped the notebook on her bed and sat up. “Okay, mom!”

She unceremoniously ditched her text book and went to grab her hat, only to find it wasn’t there.

Oh, right. Flitter still has it.

So far Trixie had not asked about her hat and Flitter hadn’t mentioned it, but she was beginning to worry. Flitter wouldn’t be too cowardly to tell her if anything had happened to it, right? Trixie really hoped Flitter hadn’t lost it.

On her way out, Trixie swung by the kitchen to collect the grocery bag and some bits to fund her little expedition.

In the kitchen, Sly Nightsky had already put the bag and bits on the table. She was tending to the stove, making what smelled like spaghetti. “Ah, there you are, sweetie. You know where to go, right?”

Trixie nodded. “Yep. It’s that place you say the health inspector must get their new horseshoes from.” She didn’t really get how that worked, since she was pretty sure the dairy shop didn’t sell any horseshoes, but adults did a lot of things that didn’t make any sense.

Her mom’s face reddened. “Erm, maybe you shouldn’t mention that while you’re there, okay?” Sly chuckled awkwardly. “Well, get going. Stores close in half an hour.” With a fluid motion of her wing she pushed Trixie along.

“Okay, okay. Trixie’s going.”

The trip to the market wouldn’t be all that long, so long as Trixie kept a good pace.

With a little bit of luck, she might even be able to leverage this errand to get out of cleaning later. Not that it was a lot of work, not anymore anyway. Back when they still lived in St. Peterhoof they had a house that was a pain to clean. But, with only four rooms in total, the Hoofington house was way easier, and it didn’t even have a second floor to worry about.

Trixie came to a sudden halt. Her eyes narrowed as she came face to face with an old enemy.

There, in the middle of the road, defiantly staring at her was the shiny pebble.

Aha! Found it!

After giving the pebble a dirty look for a while, Trixie noticed passersby were starting to stare at her. With an unconvincing cough, Trixie tried to look as normal as possible while she picked up the pebble and dropped it into the grocery bag. Maybe she’ll have her showdown later, when there were less witnesses.

“That’ll be five bits,” said the cream-colored, earth-pony mare behind the counter.

Trixie tilted her head. “You mean two bits.” Her mom had only given her two, so clearly that was how much butter was supposed to cost. Maybe the sales pony thought she could pull a fast one on a little filly? Then she didn’t know the Great and Powerful Trixie.

The contested packet of butter sat on the counter between them.

“Nope, five,” The earth-pony mare repeated and blew a black strand of hair out of her face. “This is traditionally made, high quality, organic butter.”

“Oh,” Trixie looked at the packet. Perhaps she had gotten the wrong kind. “Uh, where is the two bit butter then?”

“It’s all five bits, or more.”

“That can’t be right! Look, uh,” Trixie scanned the cashier’s nametag, then groaned internally, “Buttercup, really? Anyway, Trixie isn’t paying five bits for butter!”

“Heh. Well, you’re welcome to try the next town over.” Buttercup chuckled. “You’d be surprised how few ponies run a diary store around a unicorn town.”

“Trixie will pay twenty bits, or nothing!”

“Not that I’m going to stop you from paying twenty bits if you want… But, I, uh, I think you meant two bits.” Buttercup scratched her head. “You’re not too familiar with haggling, are you?”

“No haggling, a wager. Trixie meant what she said. Twenty or nothing.” She smiled smugly up at the mare. “How do three to one odds in your favor sound?”

Buttercup leaned over the counter as she inspected the little filly with a skeptical, green-eyed, stare. “Look, I’m not going to gamble with a filly just to—” She paused as her eyes caught sight of Trixie’s grocery bag. She gave a hard look, but when Trixie didn’t back down, her face adopted a calculating expression. “Give me a minute.” It was easy to guess what Buttercup was thinking, she was practically counting on her hooves. She stood to lose five bits, or make four times as much. All she had to do was calculate her odds and consider if she liked them.

Trixie waited patiently for the earth pony to finish. She already knew the outcome herself. If one stood to quadruple one’s money a simple one-in-four, or twenty-five percent, chance to win was already fair. The offered wager was two-in-three, or sixty-six percent. In short, the odds were over twice as good as they should be for the clerk.

Apparently mental arithmetic was not sufficient, as Buttercup produced a sketchpad and scribbled on it with a pencil for a moment before she read it over again slowly. “Okay,” Buttercup nodded and turned her attention back to Trixie. “Just so we’re clear, if you refuse to pay after this, or raise a ruckus, I’m not selling anything to you ever again,” she pointed at the grocery bag, “OR your mother. Don’t think I didn’t recognize that bag. Now, are you sure you wouldn’t rather just pay the bits? It’s an awful big gamble for such a little filly.”

Well, Trixie could walk away now and retrieve the three bits she was short from home, then run all the way back and possibly find it closed. Or, she could keep going and risk being eighteen bits short, and then find a new place to buy dairy products from in the future. Her mom would kill her.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not gamble,” she said and watched as the mare behind the counter smirked and reached out a hoof to pull the butter back. With a dramatic flair, Trixie reared up on her hind legs, bringing her on eye level with the mare. “Trixie always wins!”

Looking utterly unimpressed, Buttercup sighed but left the butter where it was. “Is that so? I do hope your school knew what they were doing when they stopped teaching statistics, but who am I to judge? Alright, fine, how do you want to do this? Have you got a die on you?”

“Please, Trixie does not need something so mundane. Besides, who is to say the die is not weighted?” Trixie rested on hoof on the counter to help keep her balance while she was standing up. As nice as she felt it looked, it was darned difficult to keep upright. “Rather, can Trixie borrow that?” She pointed at the pencil and sketchpad.

“No magic,” Buttercup stated firmly while she pushed the two items over to Trixie. “If I see as much as a spark I’ll assume you’re cheating.”

Trixie frowned. “The Great and Truthful Trixie had no intention of using her magic like that, but fine.” She tore a piece from the notebook with her teeth and scribbled something on it, then folded the note several times. With a smile, she pushed the crumbled note into the middle of the countertop. “Keep an eye on that.”

Looking puzzled, Buttercup nodded. “I see it. Now what?”

Trixie dropped back down on all fours for a moment and stuck her hooves in the grocery bag. It was so stupid she couldn’t use her levitation for this. She pulled out one of the bits and the pebble from the road, placing both down on the counter, next to the butter.

“The game is simple. Trixie has guessed one of these three items. There is a one in three chance that she will be correct. Now, you select two and we’ll play.”

Buttercup looked at the butter, pebble, and bit. Her eyes also periodically flicked to Trixie’s horn, but it remained unlit. Finally, she sat down and stroked her chin while she watched Trixie. “I see… I thought it was strange you’d take such bad odds. You think you’ll have better odds than one in three because you figure that you can predict what I, the ‘greedy’ store clerk, will choose, do you?”

Trixie smiled. “Perhaps. Are you ready to choose?”

Buttercup held up a hoof as she looked down at the objects again. “No, give me a minute. It’s too simple. You’re trying to trick me.”

“Perhaps,” Trixie merely repeated while she rested her hooves on the edge of the counter.

It was almost too simple. Trixie didn’t truly have to do anything while she watched Buttercup strain her mind. It was easy to imagine that a greedy person would pick the butter and the bit, leaving the worthless rock. The simple counter would be to pick different, but Buttercup had to have realized by now that Trixie might have figured the same thing, and actually guessed with that in mind.

That kind of thinking very quickly spiraled into a never ending series of ‘if she knows that I know that she knows that I know that she knows…’

Meanwhile, Trixie enjoyed the obvious mental struggle Buttercup was going through. One might have thought she’d be in suspense herself, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Buttercup finally made up her mind. “Rock and Butter.”

“Are you sure?” Trixie’s smile broadened.

“Uh, no, wait.” Buttercup looked down again then quickly up. “Wait, yes! I’m not letting you pull something so obvi—uh, wait.”

And just like that, the spiral began anew. This time factoring in a filly’s smile that may or may not have meant something.

Trixie regretted not bringing anything to read for this. On the other hoof, if she had her textbook she’d be a lot more bored than she was now.

“Yes. Rock and Butter. I’m not changing it.” Buttercup said, confidently.

“Okay,” Trixie said and reached over the counter to push her pebble and the butter off to the side, leaving just the crumbled piece of paper and the lone bit between them.

“Now what?”

“Now Trixie will open the paper,” she reached for it, but Buttercup intercepted her.

With her left hoof, she knocked Trixie’s away while simultaneously grabbing the wad of paper with the other. “No!” The look of shock and surprise on Trixie’s face brought a grin to Buttercup’s. “Weren’t expecting THAT, were you?”

“Hey! Wait!” Trixie cried while she reached out for the paper, but was easily held at hoof’s length by Buttercup.

Holding Trixie at bay, Buttercup kept one eye on Trixie’s horn and the other on the unfurling the piece of paper. “Ahah! ‘Bit’ I knew it! Thought you c—Wait, what?”

Still on the counter between them, lay the predicted, lonesome bit.

Buttercup gaped as she read the paper again then looked down at the bit again. “But, but why were you struggling then?”

Smiling smugly, Trixie straightened out her chest fur. “Trixie just really wanted to see the look on your face.” Trixie swept her hoof across the counter, sweeping the pebble, butter, and bit into the waiting grocery bag.

Buttercup turned red in the face with embarrassment and anger. “You! You little!”

“Oh, brighten up, Muttercup.” Came an unfamiliar female voice from behind Trixie. A lanky pegasus with a red mane and light orange fur flew overhead and landed behind the counter, wrapping a wing around Buttercup who turned even redder. “Aren’t you supposed to only charge two bits anyway? I keep telling you that ‘unicorn-tax’ is not okay.”

“S-shut up, Blossom!” She tried to push the pegasus away, but she didn’t appear to be trying hard enough to actually break free. “She’s the one that started it!”

Trixie huffed, “You hit Trixie!” she said while holding up her ‘grievously injured’ left foreleg. “It was revenge.” While she spoke, she levitated the grocery bag and prepared to make her escape before Buttercup broke free.

“She’s got you there, you know.” Blossom grinned and just wrapped her forelegs around her captive to secure her even more. “Besides, don’t you know who that is?” she asked while pointing her remaining free wing at Trixie. “That one’s little Flitter’s friend, right?”

“Oh?” Buttercup relaxed and actually leaned back against Blossom as she looked at Trixie again. “You know Flitter?”

Already half-way to the door, Trixie stopped and turned around. “Flitter Bouquet?” Trixie replied, puzzled. “Uh, yes? Why, do you know her?”

“Of course we do, she’s one of ours,” Blossom laughed and took to the air again, causing Buttercup to tumble over backward with a cry as her support suddenly vanished. This time, she landed beside Trixie. “Why don’t you come have dinner sometime? So the rest of us can finally see you? You’re all she’s been going on about ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’.”

“Pff! Flitter almost never talks.” Buttercup chimed in from the back as she got her hooves under her again.

“I meant relatively!” Blossom called over her shoulder. Her attention quickly returned to Trixie. “So, anyway, what do you think? Flitter would like it I’m sure.”

Trixie felt as though something was going on she wasn’t catching on to, but she nodded all the same. “Sounds good to Trixie. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Oh, yes, I’m positive. Not right now, of course, I’m sure you have dinner waiting on you at home already. We’ll discuss a good time, and then Flitter can officially invite you at school once we’ve worked out the details, alright? Alright.” Blossom had wandered off back to the counter already and quickly claimed the pencil and sketchpad to write it all out on.

Rolling her eyes, Buttercup leaned on the counter as she looked at Trixie past the cheerful pegasus. “Blossom, if you’re going to go nuts anyway and be a pain to everypony, maybe you should think about inviting her family too? Misery loves company.”

“Oh! Good idea!” Blossom whirled back around on Trixie and smiled brightly. “You’re all invited! Uh, you should probably bring that up at home yourself, see if they would like to come. Just so I have some idea of what to plan for: how many ponies are there?”

“Two. Mom and Trixie.” Now that Trixie thought about it, she should probably hurry back home or dinner was going to be cold.

“Oh…” Blossom’s smile faltered briefly before she noted it down on the pad, afterwards her smile had returned. “Well, the two of you are more than welcome then! Pass on the—I-I mean, forward the invitation to your mother, okay?”

“Trixie will. Thanks, see you then!” Trixie waved then ran toward the door.

“Wait!” Buttercup called out just as Trixie was on the threshold. “How did you know what I’d pick? Was it just luck?”

Without slowing down, Trixie looked over her shoulder, flashing a magnificent smile. “It was easy. Hasn’t anyone told you before…?” She answered just before moving out of sight. “Never gamble with a magician.”

With a steely gaze, Sly Nightsky stared her daughter down across the dinner table after she listened to Trixie tell the story. “So, you were disrespectful to an adult, gambled, CHEATED, and refused to explain yourself?”

“Uh, well, when you put it like that…” Trixie scratched her neck awkwardly. She put on her best smile. “But, Trixie got the butter? And an invitation, so she couldn’t have been that mad!”

“I’m disappointed in you, Trixie.” Her mom shook her head. “That’s only because you got lucky and they happened to be your friend Flitter’s… uhh… they happened to know her. If it wasn’t for that do you know what could have happened!? You were surrounded without knowing it, and you had no exit plan at all.”

Looking down at her hooves, Trixie’s chest ached. She hated letting her mom down. The rest of the lecture was not quite right though. Blinking slowly, Trixie met her mother’s eyes. “Uhm, mom? What else did Trixie do wrong?”

Tapping a hoof to her chin, Sly looked thoughtful. “Well, for starters you had no way of ensuring that this Buttercup character would not deny having made any kind of wager after you’d won. Between some little filly and a store clerk, who is going to be believed? You should at least have had somepony near enough to overhear the wager being made.” She shot Trixie a mischievous grin. “Ideally, you could even have a stooge back you up. If it looks like the crowd is on your side you usually get your way.”

Stooge. Trixie knew that term. It stood for an audience member that was secretly a partner of the magician on stage. They were good for providing a seemingly unbiased perspective, while in reality they merely acted in accordance with the magician’s wishes.

“What else?” Trixie asked. It was rare for her mother to wear an expression like that, as though she were the cat that ate the canary.

“Well, the most important thing is to always be aware of your surroundings.” Her mom grabbed a spoon and drew a rough shape of the store in Trixie’s mashed potatoes. “From the counter you’d have to keep an eye on what routes are available to you. Do you see how there are three exit points? The front door, the back door, and the window. In order of most desirable.”

Trixie nodded, though she hadn’t noticed the backdoor while she was there, it made sense that Buttercup had some way to get to her stock without having to walk around from the outside. “They blocked both doors, so… you’re saying Trixie should have dived through a window?”

“No, no!” Sly chuckled and got up from her seat while she drew a crude map of the street in her own potatoes and pushed her plate toward Trixie. She moved over to Trixie’s side of the table, wings outstretched in excitement as she moved. She stood behind Trixie and wrapped one leg affectionately around her while she used a wingtip to point at the mashed-potato-window, and then at the street map.

Since when did her MOM play with food? If Trixie tried that she’d be in so much trouble.

“That’s only a last resort. It will make a lot of noise and you’d be in the middle of the street, not to mention it really hurts. Glass is hard when you run into it and sharp when you fall onto it. Hah, don’t even ask how you are supposed to get the shards out! I only did it once, and I’m still finding splinters.” She shuddered. “Seriously, you’re way better off doing just about anything else, including just giving in, because sometimes escaping is more trouble than it’s worth. Obviously talking your way out is the best.”

“Right, talk, okay,” Trixie replied, puzzled. It wasn’t exactly rare for her mom to talk about her past, but it was always pretty mundane stuff or stage performances; where was this glass story all this time? On top of that, wasn’t she supposed to be getting punished? Instead, she was getting… this? Trixie was alright with that! She smiled and hugged her mom’s foreleg while she listened to her.

“Exactly what to say and how to say it depends on the situation. It’s not as simple as it always being right to try and reason with somepony. Sometimes it’s much easier to bluster or get angry, some will back down from confrontation if you are scary enough. Your father was downright terrifying if he wanted to be, just a glance could send somepony packing…” Sly’s voice trailed off, and she looked down at Trixie, letting their eyes meet. Feathers tickled Trixie’s face as Sly brushed her mane away. “You have his eyes, you know.”

“Trixie noticed that.” Trixie smiled proudly, recalling how easily she’d made Starlight back off.

“Oh, you have?” Sly smiled down at her. “Good, but remember that it’s not always the right approach to show strength. Sometimes, showing weakness will get you much better results.”

Trixie quirked a brow. “Trixie does not believe you. Flitter does that all the time and it never gets her out of trouble.”

“Well, that’s not true, is it?” Sly smirked. “I hear a knight in shining armor quickly comes to the rescue when she acts like that, isn’t that right?” She booped Trixie on the nose.

Trixie felt her cheeks catch fire and huffed. “T-Trixie is not a knight.”

Sly folded her wings around Trixie. “Of course you are, if you weren’t wearing armor this would drive you crazy.”

With the wings, came a warmth and softness all around Trixie that had her practically purring. “Mhmm, what would drive Tri—Ahaha!” A sudden, ticklish, assault by fiendish hooves on her sides left Trixie laughing maniacally while she tried to escape her seat. “Aha! No! Hahah!”

“Oh, my mistake.” Sly grinned as she let her hooves rest on Trixie’s shoulders. “I guess you weren’t wearing armor after all. Well, I hope you remember that next time you get yourself into trouble, you can get hurt just as easily as everypony else.”

Trixie leaned back in her chair, gasping in relief as she could breathe properly again. “T-that was dirty… Shouldn’t you have just told Trixie not to get into trouble?”

“Why? Are you going to listen? I sure never did, and it’s starting to look like you’re a chip off the old block. I’m saving a lot of time this way.” She gave Trixie a tight hug before letting go and trotting back to her own seat. “Besides, if you are going to get yourself into a mess anyway, I’d rather use that time to teach you how to get out of it.”

“So, that’s what that was about?” Trixie pointed at the mashed potato map. “Trixie appreciates it, but she still doesn’t think pouting will get her out of trouble someday.”

“Heh, you’d be surprised. Now finish your plate. I want that whole store eaten before bed.”

The playing cards fell to the floor once again, accompanied by a frustrated groan.

For once, the groan wasn't from Trixie.

"Why won't this work!?" A red-faced Flitter stomped her hoof down on the tile floor of the filly's bathroom. "It makes no sense! I can levitate a deck with ease, but I can't cut it in two?"

Trixie snickered while she listened to Flitter rant, it was cathartic. Finally she got to see what the timid thing looked like when she was actually frustrated past the breaking point. "Trixie told you it was harder than it looked, you didn't really think Trixie would fail if it was easy?"

“Uh, well, no…” Flitter gathered the cards back up in her hooves and cut the deck manually, then frowned. “It’s just this is so easy with our hooves, but with magic it’s like trying to do it one-hooved, it can’t be done.”

Trixie pushed open the stall door and made her way to the sink. A quick flash of magic got the tap running for her. “It feels that way. Trixie’s been trying forever and it just does not work. Trixie knows she saw the professor do it, but maybe it was some kind of illusion?” She threw up her hooves in vexation, inadvertently throwing water around. “Gah! If only Trixie had paid attention! She could’ve read his stupid magic and figured out if it was a trick.”

“No, it wasn’t a trick,” Flitter said while she held the cards up with one hoof and used her magic to lift the top half of the deck. “Remember that time you got your cutie mark? When—“

“No, Trixie doesn’t remember that at all,” Trixie deadpanned while interrupting Flitter. “What was that like?”

With a hurt look on her face, Flitter scowled at Trixie.

Trixie wilted a little. “Sorry, Trixie didn’t meant to…” She sighed. “It’s just that Trixie’s not used to not making any progress at all… She’s supposed to be good at this.” It wasn’t entirely true, she also had not made much progress during her detention, which had been equally frustrating, but a little progress was still something.

Flitter’s expression softened. “It’s okay… I was just going to say that it’s not a trick, because I saw it before. Sunny Days was trying to compete with you, or uhh, join in… I’m not really sure which… But, she was levitating three plates at the time, remember?”

Did this mean Sunny Days was above Trixie in magic ability?

“NO!” Trixie cracked the porcelain in the sink as she slammed her hooves down. “Trixie is NOT worse at magic than freaking Sunny Days!” She growled while giving herself a hateful glare in the mirror. How could she let this happen?

Behind Trixie, the sound of cards hitting the tiles could be heard again.

“I-I didn’t mean that! J-just, you know, she did it once. Oh, my, that looks, uhm, broken.”

Trixie wasn’t paying attention to the damage, she was too busy with magically picking up the cards from the floor, or trying to. Although Trixie felt as though she ought to absolutely be able to handle ten cards at once after hearing such horrible news, she did as terrible as ever. Each second item she picked up meant losing her grip on the first.

It didn’t take long for Trixie to lose patience with it again.

“Graah! If that airhead can do it, why can’t Trixie?!”

“S-so, uhm, d-did your mom want to come?”

“Huh?” That question was so incredibly out of left field, that it actually left Trixie momentarily speechless. By the time she’d made sense of it, the fire of impotent rage that had been burning inside her before had faded. “Oh. To dinner you mean? Yes, she wants to come.”

“Good,” Flitter looked nervous, but flashed a relieved smile. “I, uhm, I was hoping you could come this Friday? I mean, if that’s a good time for you?”

“Trixie is pretty sure that will be fine. Do, uh, do we need to bring anything? Trixie isn’t sure how this kind of thing goes.” She gathered up the cards one by one then held the deck aloft in her magic. She still felt silly that she could hold the whole deck, but not two cards.

“No, I don’t think so. Just, you know, you two.”

“Okay.”

“Okay...”

They both stared at one another in silence for several long, increasingly awkward moments.

Trixie cleared her throat. “Ahum, thanks, for the invite... and, you know… Trixie feels better.”

Showing a bright smile Flitter nodded. “No problem! So, uhm, what do you want to do next?”

“The same thing we do every time Flitter: try to take over the world.” Trixie rubbed her hooves together manically.

“Okay, ” said Flitter, without missing a beat, “And after that?”

“Well, Trixie supposes we’ll go find Sunny Days and experiment on her.”

“Uhm… what kind of experiments?”

“You know, to find out how she manipulates multiple objects like that.”

“Oh, but, uhm… Couldn’t we just, you know… ask her?”

“Mmm,” Trixie hummed as she considered the option, stroking her chin as she did. “No.”

“Okay.”

Chapter 123 - Roll

“Fear not! Trixie has returned!” Trixie shouted while she all but kicked down the sauna door with her entrance. Trixie was rarely opposed to a little bit of an entrance, but the door’s hinges must have been particularly well oiled, as the door swung practically without friction and banged against the wall much harder than she had intended.

Despite Trixie’s reassurance that there was nothing to fear, both Fluttershy and Rarity shot up, startled by her entrance. By the looks of things, Trixie was pretty sure she’d given Rarity something of a heart attack. Trixie was okay with that.

Roll with it.

Even though Trixie was as startled as everypony else by the noise, she wasn’t about to let on that she’d made a mistake, leading her to confidently strut into the room as though it had all been part of the plan.

Holding both hooves to her chest, Rarity glared at Trixie. “Are you out of your mind? Who enters a room like that?”

While Rarity ranted, Trixie wasted no time in claiming herself a seat in between the two of them, one pointedly closer to Fluttershy. Things were off to a flying start, but then, Trixie’s actual concern for what Rarity thought was at an all-time low after she’d overheard how the mare really thought of her. Tilting her head slightly, Trixie put on a face of incredulity as she looked at Rarity. “Who? It’s Trixie, don’t you remember? Well, they do say the mind is the first thing to go. You know, with age.”

“Oh, you witch!” Rarity said, red-faced. Rather than engage Trixie any further, however, she directed her attention to Fluttershy. “You see? This is precisely what I meant.”

Fluttershy tried to vanish behind her mane while Rarity and Trixie looked at her.

A sizzling splash of water on hot stones subtly reminded everypony that the blue-furred spa pony was also in the room.

“Oh, yes,” Trixie said while clapping her hooves together. “Trixie meant to bring this up. You were right, Fluttershy.”

“I, I was?” asked Fluttershy, revealing a single eye through the pink curtain of her mane.

Trixie pointedly ignored the raised eyebrow by Rarity and continued on. “Yes. Trixie was just talking with the eart—uhm, with Aloe and Blossom, and they’ve helped her realize she was… insensitive. But, it’s all sorted out now!” Trixie added with a bright smile. “Isn’t that right, Aloe?”

“Yes, miss Trixie, you and Aloe had a discussion,” Lotus Blossom gently corrected. “Much was cleared up.”

Trixie blushed and did her best to ignore the amused look Rarity was giving her. “Y-Yes! Exactly! Thank you, Lotus Blossom.”

“Oh, don’t feel bad, darling,” Rarity drawled with an insufferable smile. “I’ve heard the mind is the first thing to go.”

Before Trixie had time to think of a proper rebuttal, she heard Fluttershy speak up. “That’s great, Trixie. Don’t worry, I used to mix Aloe and Lotus up too,” she admitted with a pink blush while she looked over at Lotus Blossom. “I, uhm, I think everpony does that for a while.”

Trixie quickly forgot all about the little verbal joust between her and Rarity, Fluttershy was on her side, that was all that mattered. Smiling brightly at Fluttershy, Trixie nodded. “Yes, they do look alike, don’t they?”

Fluttershy looked distinctly less comfortable as she was asked to agree with that observation. “Uhm? Like, twins, yes?”

“Exactly.” Trixie folded her legs below her as she spoke. Curiously, Fluttershy looked as if a gigantic weight had fallen off her shoulders as she let out a relieved sigh. Trixie wasn’t really sure why. “So, as Trixie was saying… She’s sorry for saying those things in front of you. She understands now. You’ll forgive her, won’t you?”

Fluttershy briefly shared a look with Rarity. No doubt it had to do with Rarity's earlier accusation that Trixie was never sorry. Her attention quickly returned to Trixie, where it belonged. “Of course. Oh, I'm such a loudmouth... I should've known you were just confused. I'm sorry for blowing up at you like that while you were trying to be open.”

Sensing an opportunity, Trixie scooted closer to Fluttershy and wrapped her forelegs around the adorable, soft, mare hugging her tightly. Even while sweaty and clammy from the sauna it still was the best feeling in the world, just a little grosser. "Trixie forgives you. We... We'll just talk about 'that' again later, okay?" Trixie was dying to continue their conversation, but not while Rarity was staring daggers at her.

Fluttershy returned the hug, clearly more than happy to put the whole thing behind them. “Okay.”

Although Trixie really didn’t want to let go, once Fluttershy pulled back, she reluctantly let go as well. On the bright side, she was still sitting very close to her. And Trixie had no intention of scooting back to her previous place. So, for the time being, she could enjoy her new position.

Rarity’s left eyebrow crept up as she watched, but she held her tongue. Instead, she directed her attention to Lotus Blossom and requested more steam.

Things took a remarkably calm turn after that. As though per some unspoken agreement, the conversation moved on to less contentious topics, mostly between Fluttershy and Rarity. Naturally, it was about Rarity’s latest story from her boutique.

“So, I was in the verge of my deadline and busy stitching the ruby buttons when Sweetie Belle barges in and begins to cry as though her world is ending.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Apparently her school is merging their two classes into one. There haven’t been enough foals going to it to justify two classes, so that’s hardly a surprise.”

“Oh, my… I’m sorry to hear that. But, uhm, why was she so upset?”

Rarity chucked. “Oh, the poor thing, she misunderstood. She thought that ‘only one class’ meant that her class would be disbanded and she’d lose all her friends. It was easy to explain once I knew that of course, but she was so distraught it took me the better part of an hour to just to calm her down enough so she could tell me what was actually wrong.”

“Awh, that poor thing. It’s good of you to take the time to help her, Rarity. Even though you were so busy. She’s lucky to have a sister like you. So, uhm, everything turned out okay?”

“They did, oh you should come by for tea next time and I’ll show you! The rubies go so well with the jades it’s just a sight to behold! It breaks my heart to think I’ll have to ship the last of them off at the end of the week.”

Even if Trixie didn’t care at all to hear about the snobby fashionista’s bragging, she didn’t want to fight in front of Fluttershy again. It wasn’t easy to hold her tongue, but she was perfectly content to just silently enjoy Fluttershy’s company, and ignore Rarity’s.

Before long, Lotus Blossom announced it was time to move on to the next event.

Compared to the sauna, the air in the large circular room they were led to was cool. Fortunately, the bathrobes and towel turbans did a good job of keeping the cold sufficiently at bay to keep Trixie comfortable.

In the middle of the room were three sparkling clean, pink spa beds.

“Please, lay down and get comfortable,” Lotus Blossom said while motioning toward the beds. “Miss Rarity, Quake will be here shortly.”

“Quake?” Trixie immediately claimed the middle bed, which earned her an irritated look from Rarity, but no actual retaliation. Trixie ignored her. As a result of Trixie’s quick thinking, Fluttershy ended up on Trixie’s left and Rarity on her right. No way that Trixie was going to leave it to chance that she’d end up anywhere but next to Fluttershy, even if the beds were spread far enough apart that they may as well be sitting on opposite sides of the room. It was the principle that mattered.

“Quake is our best masseuse, Miss Trixie, she’s very talented,” Aloe said, apparently appearing on Trixie’s bedside out of nowhere.

“Gah! Oh! Aloe, right?” Trixie looked over her shoulder at the nodding mare. “Is that what this is then? Massages? Trixie approves of this idea.”

Just remembering the massage she’d gotten at the hooves of Fluttershy was enough to elicit a warm purr from Trixie. She didn’t think it could get much better than that, but if it was half as much fun she’d still come away satisfied.

“All in good time,” Rarity chimed in, immediately making the small hairs on Trixie’s neck rise. “After all, Quake isn’t here yet, and you didn’t think we’d just lay here doing nothing, did you?”

“Actually, Trixie did think that. Trixie is fairly sure the e—experts, Aloe and Lotus, will be doing all the work.” Trixie heard Aloe giggle. A glance to her left showed that even Fluttershy was smiling at her now. The heat from the sauna seemed to come back in Trixie’s chest at the sight.

While they waited for Quake, Rarity began another conversation with Fluttershy. At least, Trixie assumed so, considering the way that Rarity's eyes were aimed in Trixie's direction, but seemingly peering through her to the mare on the other table. Trixie honestly preferred this over the fake smiles and small talk Rarity had done with her in the sauna.

Like last time, it was Rarity that did most of the talking, apparently unfazed by the lack of contribution from anypony else in the room. In fairness, Trixie supposed this was only natural for somepony who expected to carry a weekly conversation with Fluttershy.

Once Quake arrived, Trixie found herself surprisingly unbothered by the whole thing. Though, it wasn't so much Quake's presence, as to what occurred after her arrival. Much of the credit for her continued good mood absolutely had to go to Aloe. While Rarity was tended to by Quake, and Fluttershy by Lotus Blossom, Aloe had apparently lucked out and been allowed to tend to Trixie herself. A task which she performed with admirable skill.

The sauna hadn’t been bad, but it wasn’t that different from a particularly humid summer day. However, this was pampering on a whole new level. The massages were just the start. A rejuvenating mud mask and two refreshing cucumber snacks came into play a few moments later, though that last one earned her a curious look from the spa ponies, and some mumbles from Rarity. Apparently the cucumbers were Applejack's favorite part of going to the spa, who knew?

Aloe meticulously filed down the rough edges on Trixie’s hooves and horn, working away the small chips and cracks that had developed thanks to Trixie’s long treks. Although Trixie was convinced she was a stunning beauty either way, she loved the new smooth feeling.

However, Trixie’s absolute favorite had to be the massage. Perhaps there was something to the theory that even earth ponies had a kind of magic, because Aloe most certainly had magic hooves. Trixie practically melted into the bed while the world took on a warm, fluffy quality.

The whole world just felt so perfect while she lay there. It was enough to make her consider that perhaps she had been too hasty. She couldn’t even really summon up the energy anymore to be angry at Rarity.

If they really did this every week, it was no wonder to Trixie that Fluttershy was so soft to the touch.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, even it was far too soon. Trixie would much rather have stayed, but still she allowed herself to be ushered into the next room.

The room was large, much larger than any of the other rooms, and right in the middle stood a gigantic tub that would sooner pass for a swimming pool than a bath. Trixie couldn't even begin to imagine how they heated up so much water, or where it came from. Was the whole place just built around it?

While Trixie was distracted, Fluttershy had already slipped into the water. It was then that Trixie noticed something else. It was quiet.

"Uh, where is Rarity?" Trixie asked while she looked around. For the longest time now, she'd been somewhat used to the constant background noise of the white pony's babbling, but now she was nowhere to be found.

Fluttershy lifted one hoof out of the water to point to the door they'd just come through. "Oh, she's still with Quake. Their sessions are a little longer, and, well, she was a little late, remember?"

"Ah, yes, of course, Trixie remembers." Trixie said while she hastily made her way up the steps to reach the water's edge. "What, uh, what are we supposed to do here? Trixie notices the staff isn't around."

Fluttershy gave Trixie a confused look. "Uhm, we just have a bath. W-well, not just a bath. I mean, they have scents and soaps and minerals and... uhm, I... I don't really know how it's different... I think it's just a regular bath, uh, with company." As she spoke, Fluttershy clearly became more and more self-conscious about the whole thing, and she kept sinking deeper into the water until it came up to her muzzle.

Trixie couldn't shake the feeling that this was a scene straight from one of her more questionable books. Just her and Fluttershy, all by themselves, bathing together in privacy. These types of baths always ended up with the participates becoming more dirty than they started.

A fire ignited in her cheeks, and Trixie tried to banish the thought from her mind. She wasn't very successful. It didn't help that Fluttershy somehow still managed to look absolutely adorable, even with wet fur and a towel on her head. Stop it!

Trying to clear her mind, Trixie took a step away from the edge and trotted onto something soft. Looking down, she discovered Fluttershy’s discarded bathrobe. The fire spread from her cheeks to her entire face.

“Trixie? Are you not coming? Is, uhm, is it a problem? That I don’t know what this is for? I’m sorry. I could go ask Lotus Blossom, if you want me to?”

“What? Oh! No, no, it’s fine.” Snapping out of it, Trixie tested the water with one hoof, and, finding it comfortably warm, quickly lowered herself into the bath. "Whatever it's for, Trixie's pleased to have you all to herself for a while. Alone. In a bathtub." Trixie winked.

Fluttershy responded, but her muzzle was so deeply hidden in the water that all Trixie heard was mumbles and bubbles. She grinned.

"Trixie's thoughts exactly."

Author's Note

All better. :yay:
Back to our regular schedule.

Chapter 124 - Retaliation

After graciously getting a few moments to recover from Trixie's last attempts at flirting with her, Fluttershy broke the silence. "It is nice here. I, uh, I like to talk with Rarity in quiet places like this, W-well, she does most of the talking, but still... You're a lot like her, I-I mean in how you like to, um, talk. but... you stopped talking around Rarity all of a sudden, a-and it worried me a little. Are you okay?"

Seeing as Fluttershy was worried, but now recovered from her teasing, Trixie took a spot next to her. The question provoked a deep sigh from her however. "Ugh... Trixie's sorry, Fluttershy. She thought this would be easier. Maybe this was a bad idea." Giving the things she'd overheard, Trixie tried to measure out her next words carefully enough that it wouldn't be obvious she'd been eavesdropping, "Rarity clearly doesn't want Trixie here." She stopped just short of adding aloud: or with you

"She's just a little... well... protective." Fluttershy looked down and rubbed her hooves together awkwardly beneath the surface of the water. "I'm sure she'll come around if she gets to know you better. Can't you try talking to her some more? You got along with Twilight so well after you girls started to talk about magic."

"Oh, yes, we got along so swimmingly that Twilight gave Trixie a personal demonstration in magic the following morning," Trixie remarked with more of a barb than she had intended. Fluttershy froze and Trixie raised a hoof to her forehead with a groan. "Sorry... you're right. Maybe Trixie just needs to find something she has in common with Rarity too. But, Trixie isn't sure if she still wants to get along with her..."

Protective. Trixie supposed that was a fair word to describe Fluttershy's friends. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Rarity; they all had been merciless when they felt as though Fluttershy was under threat by Trixie. And, if she was honest with herself, Trixie felt the same way. It was just so natural to feel the overwhelming need to protect the sweet, timid mare from anything that might hurt, or take advantage of her.

"Maybe Trixie will try again... Trixie may have found something we have in common after all."

"That's great." Fluttershy beamed happily at Trixie, but then quickly backpaddled. "Oh, but, uhm, only if you're comfortable with it! I-I mean, you shouldn't force yourself to if you, uhm, would rather try later, if at all. J-just do what you want, okay?"

Trixie smirked. "Oh, alright, Trixie'll just do as she wants." Right after saying this, she snuck a foreleg around Fluttershy's waist below the water level and pulled her closer. Fluttershy tensed up, but Trixie stopped once they sat beside each other, shoulders lightly pressing against one another. "Is this okay? It's all Trixie wants, today."

Fluttershy kept her eyes down at the water, but after a moment she finally nodded. "T-this is okay. It, uhm, it's nice." She smiled cautiously while she looked up at Trixie. "Just this, right?"

Trixie could finally breathe easy. "Right." Trixie confirmed with a pleased smile, giving Fluttershy a playful squeeze before relaxing again. This could work. If Fluttershy was bad at signaling what she wanted and too hard to read, then Trixie would just slowly experiment. Day by day.

At last, Trixie had a solid starting point. No more second guessing her every move, it was obvious now. She could at least be this close to Fluttershy, which was perfect for Trixie. It was likely she would be okay with more, but Trixie resolved not to push Fluttershy too quickly. A few days of allowing her to get used to the idea of nearly cuddling up to Trixie, in front of other ponies no less, and then Trixie would test where the new line was again.

“So, uhm, do you like this?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Of course Trixie does,” Trixie replied, “You’re so soft, Trixie could stay like this forever.”

Fluttershy looked away, obscuring her face. “O-oh, I-I meant the, uhm, the spa day.”

“Oh,” Trixie blushed. “Uh, yes, Trixie likes it.”

“That’s good.”

Peace and quiet.

Trixie had nearly forgotten what it was like to just relax without the background noise of constant chatter. It was so pleasant, that Trixie was actually reluctant to break the silence, but she would have to soon. The last thing she wanted was to be walked in on midway through the conversation she was planning and watch Fluttershy clamp up.

Of course, there was always a risk of Fluttershy doing that anyway, if Trixie approached it poorly. It figured that as soon as Trixie had a good opportunity to talk with Fluttershy, she didn’t quite know how to phrase what she wanted to say. Granted, the longer she stayed quiet, the longer she could bask in the fact that she had Fluttershy literally in her grasp. That alone was a victory that made Trixie’s insides turn to mush.

Fluttershy coughed softly and looked toward the door. Sooner or later, Rarity was going to join them again, and then it would be too late.

Trixie cleared her throat. “Say, Fluttershy? Trixie really is having a good time, but how do you feel about doing something with just the two of us later this week? We can go out and do something fun together.”

“Sure.” Fluttershy smiled. “If you’re feeling confident in going out in public now, I’d be happy to go somewhere with you, Trixie. Something fun? Maybe, uhm, you’d like to meet another friend who can help? We could get something to eat at Sugarcube corner, I’m sure we’ll find Pinkie Pie there.”

“No, Trixie didn’t mean—Wait, Pinkie Pie?” Trixie paused briefly to consider the advantages of finally having a proper meeting with what so far had been just some sort of pink apparition. She shook her head. “Never mind. No, Trixie meant just us, together. You know… a, uh, a date?”

“O-oh! I’m sorry. I thought… uh, what did you have in mind?” Fluttershy swallowed nervously.

Trixie took that as a yes and perked up. "Great! Well, Trixie isn't quite sure what we're going to do yet, but something nice." She tried to sound confident despite the fact that she had been failing catastrophically at coming up with anything. It did not strike Trixie as likely that Fluttershy would have much to contribute, but she could really use any kind of direction. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"S-suggestions?" Fluttershy held a look as though she was asked to come on stage and wanted little more than to vanish from the spotlight. "we, uh, we could have tea?" she offered.

Trixie chuckled. "Trixie is 'proud of you for trying'." She winked, causing Fluttershy's face to vanish behind her mane. Curses. She thought Fluttershy was kidding, but perhaps that really was her first serious suggestion? Laughing at her was obviously the wrong thing to do. Trixie made a mental note to encourage Fluttershy the next time. It couldn't be easy for someone so shy to talk about this kind of thing. "Uhm, do you have any other suggestions?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

Trixie never wanted to let go, but she guessed Fluttershy would have an easier time recollecting herself if she withdrew for now. Reluctantly, Trixie let go of Fluttershy and moved a little bit away from her. The act earned her a brief, surprised glance from Fluttershy, which Trixie returned with a smile before she retreated again. "It's okay. Trixie has a better idea." Trixie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would help if Trixie thought out loud?"

Fluttershy's ears perked up, which Trixie took to mean she had her curiosity.

Looking away, Trixie leaned her head back against the edge of the bath and let herself sink down a bit further, getting nice and comfy while she mused. “Gosh, if only Trixie could make up her mind. There’s just so many things she’d like to do with Fluttershy, but Trixie can’t be sure if she’d like any of them.”

A sideways glance revealed a confused expression on Fluttershy’s face. “I, uhm, are… are you okay?”

Unperturbed Trixie went on, seemingly staring up at the ceiling. “A picnic sounds like a good idea, but Trixie already did that with Rainbow... And Trixie wouldn’t want Fluttershy to think that Trixie cannot be more creative… Perhaps dinner at a restaurant? Too many ponies staring…” The fact that she didn’t have a bit to her name also didn’t help that last one, but she wasn’t about to admit to that.

By now, Fluttershy was just plain staring. “Oh, I see,” Fluttershy brightened. “These are all the things you’ve been thinking about?”

“It has to be something she’d like… But Trixie doesn’t know too much about nature, well, aside from what she’s told her. Something peaceful would be a good bet though.” As she spoke, Trixie sneaked a peek at Fluttershy and noticed she was smiling while she listened to Trixie.

That has to be a good sign. Now then…

“Or maybe she’d like something completely different? What if Trixie tried to take her to the Roller Derby?” Trixie offered, while keeping a close eye on Fluttershy.

The idea was, of course, terrible. Trixie had known it would be, but what she really cared about was to see Fluttershy’s reaction. The curious thing was that Fluttershy didn’t stop smiling at all. She just sat there, listening to Trixie’s silly suggestions without any negative response at all.

Does she actually like Roller Derby? Trixie blinked. That couldn’t be right and she knew it. “Uh, or maybe go hiking to that cave the dragon was in?”

Fluttershy still gave her just an encouraging smile.

This wasn’t working out at all like Trixie thought it would. Fluttershy was supposed to nod, shake her head, frown, or something! Anything that would give Trixie a clear indication what Fluttershy thought of her ideas, but instead she was just being polite!

Trixie’s shoulders slumped as she sighed dejectedly. Her little plan was useless and she just felt silly now. She couldn’t just stop now though, she had to think of someway she could spin this so that wasn’t completely ridiculous or she would look like a fool in front of Fluttershy! She threw out two more random suggestions to stall for time. “Perhaps a visit to the city, Trixie’s heard there is a shop that sells good muffins. Or maybe karaoke?”

Trixie stared at Fluttershy while she tried desperately to come up with some kind of excuse. What if Trixie says she was testing Fluttershy? Testing what? Think of something curse you! Look at her, she’s so adorable and she’ll be expecting Trixie to have a good reason!

“Or maybe we should just stay in and read a nice book.” She still hadn’t thought of anything good. Trixie can’t lose face like this! Huh, speaking of face… Trixie actually noticed something shift in Fluttershy’s during that last remark, but she looked just the same as before. Perhaps it was only her imagination?

Trixie blinked, then did her best to look as if she wasn’t staring while she spoke. “Actually, Trixie might have had a good idea with the roller derby. It shouldn't be too hard to sign us up for it.”

For just a moment, it looked as though the corners of her mouth dropped a little then quickly pulled back up, but into a somewhat wider smile than before, almost as if to make up for the brief drop. At the same time, her eyebrows shifted downward a tad. Trixie was sure there were other subtle changes, but these were the ones she noticed this time.

“No, Trixie doesn’t even know where to find a Roller Derby. Maybe we could go into the forest and try to spot some of the more skittish animals?” This time, she clearly spotted the change on Fluttershy’s face.

This little back and forth game went on for a little while longer. Trixie was intentionally given out both good and bad ideas to help her figure out the ridiculously subtle system that was Fluttershy's responses to each. Tiny eye twitches, a teeny change in breathing for half a second, it was maddening for Trixie, but, oddly reminiscent of her younger days with Flitter.

The changes in her expression were annoyingly subtle, but made the difference between a polite smile, and a genuine one.

Once Trixie felt pretty sure she could tell the difference more often than not, she ran a few ideas past Fluttershy that she wasn’t sure about. Finally, Trixie ran out of ideas, and still, Rarity hadn't made her less than welcome entrance.

"Trixie wonders if that marshmallow got stuck to the spa table. Quake was pressing down on her pretty hard, like a s'more."

The lightest of giggles from Fluttershy made Trixie realize she was still talking out loud. Might as well milk it while I can.

Trixie gave Fluttershy a mischievous grin as she spoke. "Oh well, at least Trixie has a pretty view like this all to herself."

Fluttershy's now reddened face only spurred her on.

"Lips like those, it amazes Trixie that nopony else had ever tried to claim them." She inched closer to Fluttershy. Fluttershy in turn made an audible gulp and pressed against the back of the bath. Still, Trixie's face moved closer.

For a brief moment, Trixie kept her muzzle inches from Fluttershy's own, noting how quick her partner’s breathing had become. In that second, Trixie almost broke her word, but the knowledge of what that would do to Fluttershy's trust in her kept her back. Slowly, Trixie's muzzle worked its way around Fluttershy's face and to her ear. With a gentle breath which noticeably bristled the fur it touched, Trixie finished her teasing.

"Too bad Trixie promised not to... at least, for today,"

Unfortunately, the opening of the door signaled that their private time was over. Trixie quickly pulled away from Fluttershy, sloshing a bit of water over the edge as she leaned back against the tub again too quickly. Still, Trixie felt like she deserved to pat herself on the back for getting both a much better idea of what to do for their date, and some sense on how to read Fluttershy. Not to mention a bit of teasing.

“So sorry for the wait, girls.” Rarity practically sang as she approached, levitating her robe open and stepping out of it as she neared the bath. “I just had to talk to Lotus Blossom about, what was it, the new seaweed wrap treatment that they are introducing soon. Oh, it’s going to be positively divine!” She waded into the water. “I hope you weren’t having too much fun without me?”

“We were just doing some thinking,” Trixie replied cryptically. She could hear the hoofsteps of the spa ponies clatter across the stone tiles behind her. Apparently everypony was deciding to come in all at once. “Since you are here, Trixie is sure you can name what this part of the treatment is for?”

Rarity showed a superior smile. “Hah, well I should think it would be obvious, but blah blah blah…”

Trixie found herself tuning Rarity out practically on reflex. It wasn't as if she actually cared in the slightest what the bath was for. While Rarity droned on, Trixie took the time to consider if Rarity really was just that into seaweed wraps that she’d take so long, or if she’d been interrogating the spa ponies about their interactions with Trixie. Each were plausible, but Trixie favored the latter explanation. Yet another show of how little the prissy pony apparently trusted her.

Oh, what does Trixie care? Trixie has better things to do than to worry about her.

Trixie could feel herself getting agitated again already. her pulse was starting to beat like a drum in her temples, a clear sign to her that being friends with Rarity was going to be a lot easier said than done at this point. But at least the perfect pony to calm her nerves was right next to her. With just a little push, she floated the brief few hoof lengths over to Fluttershy and snaked one hoof around her waist beneath the water level.

With a soundless gasp, Fluttershy’s eyes widened, but she didn’t make any effort to move away. Instead, she stayed perfectly still.

Encouraged, Trixie gave Fluttershy a gentle squeeze. The feeling of having the soft, skittish mare in her grasp again was just what Trixie needed. Already she could feel her anger subside, and although her heart rate stayed up, it was for much different reasons.

A curious tingling sensation enveloped Trixie, but what it was didn't register in her mind until much too late.

“Give the poor dear some breathing room, Trixie. Besides, I know a pony who might take it the wrong way were you to cling to her like that.” Rarity’s voice held a sufficiently colder tone that Trixie failed to tune them out like the rest of her droning.

All at once, Trixie felt herself pulled away from Fluttershy by the magic that had surrounded her. It was so sudden that she didn’t even think to put up any resistance as she found herself parked neatly by the edge of the bath, exactly evenly spaced out with the other two ponies.

Channeling her magic, Rarity gave Trixie a disapproving look. As though she was disciplining a foal with a timeout while Trixie stared back completely bewildered. A silent moment passed between them before Rarity turned her attention to Fluttershy. “Ah, that reminds me, where is Rainbow Dash?”

Trixie clenched her teeth as the entrapping magic faded away. It wasn’t painful, or even very far, but this was the second time in as many days that Trixie was denied her liberty. First Twilight, and now Rarity. Why were they all so dead set on taking her happiness away? Her chest ached as she looked across the seemingly endless gulf that now was in between her and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, for her part, looked confused and conflicted by the whole thing, and she was only pulled out of it by the realization that she was being spoken to. “O-oh! Uhm, working, I think? Why?”

Was that a veiled hint that Rarity knew about Dashie too? Was she going to try to take everything away? Just who did these ponies think they were? Did they think they could do it because Trixie was weak? She wasn’t weak! Maybe she’d have to make that painfully clear.

Let’s see Rarity or anypony else try to push Trixie around after this!

While Trixie fumed, she spared a quick thought on what kind of horror she could bestow upon the diva to cement her superiority and keep the wretched mare out of her affairs. A sly grin played on her lips as she hit upon the perfect idea.

Keeping one eye on Rarity, Trixie scooted up next to Fluttershy again. “Maybe we should visit her after this, Fluttershy?” she said, shooting Rarity a taunting smile as she slid her hoof around Fluttershy’s waist.

Fluttershy looked nervously toward Rarity, presumably anticipating what reaction this would provoke.

With an exasperated roll of her eyes, Rarity's horn sparked to life. "Maybe I was too subtle." —But before she could cast the full spell, Trixie zapped her horn with a small jolt, snuffing out the light that had been building there— "Ouch!" Rarity immediately reached her hooves up to soothe her aching horn.

Trixie smirked with self-satisfaction, turning toward Fluttershy. "You were curious about unicorn magic right? Well, like you said before 'magic is really useful', but there are some drawbacks." Her wicked grin widened as she looked back to Rarity. "For starters, all magic uses the horn, and it's awfully sensitive when it's filled with magic. Isn't that right, Rarity?"

Rarity glared in response and tried to charge up her spell once again. By the looks of things she was still trying the same telekinesis spell that had shoved Trixie away the first time. The only difference was that this time she looked tenser, as though waiting for something.

Just as quickly as before, Trixie lit up her horn, but this time Rarity tilted her head to swiftly move her horn away. Trixie merely aimed for her face instead, and zapped her again, making Rarity yelp and close her eyes, once more interrupting the spell. “Sorry, did Trixie break your concentration?”

“Oh, you witch!” Rarity whined teary-eyed, rubbing the zapped cheek.

“Obviously, even a unicorn not as gifted as Trixie would realize to keep their horn safe, but that’s no good if they can’t deal with a little surprise.” Trixie didn’t even take her eyes off of Rarity this time while she addressed Fluttershy. It was just too much fun to see the ivory-white face turn so sour.

"I, uh, maybe you should, uhm I mean, maybe not?" Fluttershy mumbled as she tugged on Trixie's foreleg.

"Be at ease, Trixie has it under control," Trixie said while she patted Fluttershy. "Gathering energy for magic into one's horn takes time. The amount needed to move a pony through water is much more than to deliver a pinprick, so Trixie will always be faster. Of course, a pinprick like that isn't even good enough to pop a balloon, so it would only work on particularly prissy unicorns." She added with a smirk as she glanced over at Rarity again.

To Trixie’s surprise, Rarity didn’t look as though she was about to cry. Rather, she had a look of grim determination that really did not line up well with the diva persona she’d been putting on thus far. Without a word, the same sapphire glow sparked up again , but even slower than before.

Although Trixie could tell the makeup of the spell was somewhat different, it was still very clearly a telekinesis spell. Deciding not to wait it out, Trixie simply zapped Rarity a third time, striking her other cheek, causing a curious ripple effect.

Rarity flinched as she was struck, but she did not drop the spell again.

Rapidly, Trixie loosed another three stings, the first one was as ineffectual as the other, while the other two were intercepted in midair by the growing cloud of magic that was now spreading out in front of Rarity and steadily encroached towards Trixie.

“Cat catch your tongue?” Rarity said mockingly as she fed more magic into the cloud. “If you’re not going to finish the lecture, I will. It only takes a little bit of magic to defend against those stings, and it is no trouble at all to start defensively, like feeding magic into a shield for example. Then you can take that same magic, and direct it to your original purpose. It’s just slower.”

Trixie bit her lip. It was true, of course, but she hadn’t expected some small town gossip girl to know that. Techniques like that were usually reserved only for unicorns that had exceptional control of their telekinesis, like herself. How could Rarity do it?

It didn’t matter how. What mattered was she had to react quickly. Fortunately, Trixie had the benefit of not having to ward off any interruption attempts, allowing her to quickly build up a cloud of magic herself to meet that of Rarity halfway.

Over the water between Trixie and Rarity, the orchid and sapphire telekinetic clouds clashed and pushed against one another in a contest of will, Each one looking to consume, or roll over the other to reach their intended targets. How did she always end up in these situations? When Trixie got out of bed this morning she hadn't expected she would get into a magic-wrestling match.

Despite her initial surprise, Trixie quickly realized this was an excellent opportunity to show off in front of Fluttershy. All she had to do was show Rarity her place again, and ignore the building pressure in her head.

"On another note," Rarity continued, "The sensitivity of a horn is hardly just a flaw like Trixie seems to think. While it would be unladylike of me to say any more than this, a unicorn's horn is much the same as ruffling through a pegasi's wings. A bit uncouth of an example, but I am a little pressed at the moment."

Fluttershy, observing from the sideline, meekly offered her opinion. “T-that’s really, uhm, n-nice to know? A-and this is pretty, but uhm, I-I don’t think I’m that curious anymore. Y-you can stop now. Please?”

Trixie didn’t pay much attention, she was too busy fending off Rarity as she poured more and more magic into the spell.

Telekinesis was a basic spell, so Trixie was technically allowed to use it despite the fact that she was still recovering from her concussion, but the amount of magic she had to feed into it at this point just to keep up with Rarity had already pushed it several categories above her permitted level.

The painful pounding in her head was back, making Trixie clench her teeth in a bid to resist the urge to cut her losses. Fortunately, Rarity appeared to have reached her limit and the sapphire glow didn’t appear to be getting any stronger. Unfortunately, it wasn’t getting any weaker either, and wouldn’t until Rarity gave up or her magic reserve ran out.

This was good, as it meant Rarity couldn’t push any more than she was right now, while Trixie knew she was still capable of going higher. Just… a little more. The orchid glow shone a little brighter still, and began to gain ground, devouring the sapphire as it went. Steadily at first, then faster and faster as Trixie kept increasing the spell’s output.

Trixie grinned while she watched Rarity lose more and more ground, sweat running down the prissy unicorn's face from the exertion. The only question now was what Trixie actually wanted to do with her; Well, that, and what that warm feeling on her upper lip was.

Briefly, there was a little popping feeling, inside her head.

Uh oh.

All at once, her head felt as though it was about to explode. The world suddenly became slanted, and the field of magic she’d been so carefully maintaining shattered and Rarity capitalized on the opportunity, immediately making another magical grab for Trixie.

For a moment all Trixie could see was the huge, semi-transparent fog of Rarity’s magic bearing down at her. Then, she felt herself roughly jerked to the right. Despite a few sunspots, the world’s colors returned, along with a very warm and soft feeling on the right side of her body.

“Rarity! S-stop!” Fluttershy pleaded as she held Trixie, having pulled her out of path of the incoming tidal wave of magic. “Oh no, she’s bleeding. Trixie, are you okay?” she asked while she gently touched Trixie’s nose, then pulled back with red stains on her fur.

“A broken nose?” Rarity asked while she dropped the spell. “But, but I haven’t even touched her yet. Ah, not that I planned to... I mean, such barbarism just wouldn’t be—Ahum, regardless, Aloe! Would you be so kind as to call a doctor?”

“Yes, Miss Rarity.”

“Doctor? But, but,” Fluttershy’s ears drooped. “Y-yes. I think we better go back to the hospital, Trixie,” she said while rising out of the water and offering Trixie a helping hoof out of the bath.

“Trixie’s nose is fine,” Trixie grumbled. “Just a headache.” Which was true, but still, even as she said that, she had a hard time taking her eyes off of the red patches of fur on Fluttershy’s foreleg. That couldn’t be good, but now that she wasn’t using her magic, her head didn’t feel as bad. Besides, Trixie couldn’t put Fluttershy through another humiliation by admitting Trixie had gotten hurt on her watch again. “Trixie just needs some air, and cotton.”

“I-I'm not sure if-"

Doing her best to pull her gaze away from her own blood, Trixie looked into Fluttershy's eyes and gave her an awkward, but reassuring smile. "Trixie promises you, it will be fine. She remembers our talk a few days ago. If this gets any worse, she will come right back to you and we'll go over to the hospital, but she thinks both of us would rather avoid that trip from happening if we can. Okay?"

“Oh, uhm, okay.”

Fluttershy helped Trixie out of the water, but when she tried to follow Trixie stopped her.

“Stay, Trixie will be right back.” A little headache and a dizzy spell weren’t enough reason to pull Fluttershy away from her spa treatment. She reached up to her nose in an attempt to keep the blood from trickling onto the clean floor too much.

Fluttershy looked hesitant, but slowly nodded. “I’d rather, uhm, but if that’s what you want… Ah!” She paused as Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder.

Rarity shook her head. “Come now, can’t you see she’s trying to save face by acting tough? Aloe, please go with her. She’ll aimlessly roam around the building otherwise. Help her find some, uhm, cotton, was it?”

“Can do.” Aloe stepped towards Trixie and led her out of the room. “Right this way, miss.”

A little bit annoyed, Trixie gave a short nod. It wasn’t as though she could claim she’d find her way around in a strange place.

Knitting her brow, Fluttershy watched Trixie slowly walk away on three hooves before glancing over at Rarity. “Uhm, Lotus, could you, maybe, help her too? If that’s okay?”

“Uhm, I don't think—” Lotus stopped speaking as Fluttershy briefly looked over at her before turning back to Rarity. She then quickly set down the basket of soaps she was holding. “Certainly, Miss Fluttershy. I think we have a first aid kit in the lobby, We’ll be back in fifteen minutes or so.” She trotted out to meet Trixie and Aloe and ushered them out the door a little faster than Trixie was comfortable with.

With a bang, the double doors that led into the main bath area closed behind Trixie. She flinched, the loud noise didn’t help her headache any. “Gah, was that really necessary? What’s the rush? Trixie’s not in danger of dying. Though she might be if you keep trying to push her off her hooves like this!”

“Oh!” Lotus looked over at Trixie as though she’d momentarily forgotten she was there. A stab right in the heart of Trixie’s pride. “I’m so sorry, miss. It’s just I felt it best we give them the room sooner rather than later.”

Trixie quirked a brow. “Did you hit your head too?”

Lotus scowled a little, but said nothing of it. “Either way… We’ll go get that first aid kit. Actually, I’ll do that. Aloe, go get a mop.” And with that, she was off.

“Sure,” Aloe set off in the opposite direction, but she paused briefly to examine Trixie. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so hot.”

Trixie wanted to snap at the clueless ditz. Even covered in blood, Trixie was sure she looked attractive, regardless of what this stupid mare thought!

When Trixie didn't reply, Aloe gave her a gentle poke, causing Trixie to growl at her. Did she not think that maybe the trail of blood, Trixie's rapidly cooling soaked fur, and fluctuating headache might have killed her mood for stupid chitchat? Was the insipid twit going to stand here and prod at her while Trixie bled herself lightheaded! Sadly, those last items on the list currently made her feel up to very little besides sinking through her hooves and taking a nice rest against the door. She just groaned and waved Aloe off with her hoof before closing her eyes.

Author's Note

Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!

I'm so glad this chapter is done. Mostly because I felt progressively more horrible every time I realized that a day had passed when I didn't complete it yet. Sorry folks, I'll try harder. ^^;

It's tricky to write two awesome ponies being catty at eachother. To soothe any hard feelings between myself and Rarity fans. Here's a picture of Rarity looking absolutely adorable!

Chapter 125 - Revealed

Trixie wished she could say that this was not how she imaged her day would turn out. Bleeding out on a cold floor with a splitting headache, unknown amounts of freshly inflicted brain damage, and worst of all, a wounded pride. But the truth of it was that this was exactly how she pictured this meeting would end up.

A part of her just wanted to go home. She could get away with that, right? Simply leave, crawl under the covers at home, and let Fluttershy enjoy her spa day with Rarity. It wouldn’t be hard to explain herself once Fluttershy returned to the cottage and found her.

“They’re gone.”

Trixie perked up an ear. That sounded like Rarity. She placed an ear against the door, enabling her to better make out what was said.

“Now, Fluttershy, are you alright?”

“M-me?” Fluttershy sounded confused.

“But of course, I can tell something is wrong, darling. You’ve been acting strange ever since she started living with you.”

“…”

“It’s alright, dear, you can tell me. It won’t leave this room, I promise. I only want to help.”

“…”

“She’s blackmailing you, isn’t she?”

“W-what? No.”

“Come now, it’s practically text book. ‘both of us would rather avoid that trip from happening’ she said! That’s barely one step removed from ‘would be a shame if something were to happen to it.’ Why else would you be so insistent on letting her leech off of you? I know you’d rather not cause any trouble, but this is serious, Fluttershy. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Stop it.”

“That witch is not here now. She won’t find out. Please, just tell me what’s wrong. I can help!”

“Well, uhm, if you really want to know. You are.”

“E-excuse me?”

“You’re what’s wrong. Or who’s wrong. Or, or, doing wrong.” Fluttershy’s voice built up in volume as she went. “What were you thinking? Having some magical hen fight with Trixie when you knew she’s not supposed to! I thought you would be patient with her? What happened to that?”

“She started it.”

“The first thing you said to her was ‘witch’! You are a grown mare, act like it!”

“She groped you!”

“She hugged me!”

“Semantics. You were clearly uncomfortable, so I helped.”

“Aggravating her concussion is not helping! I’m supposed to take care of her and no matter what I do or where I take her some other horrible thing happens to her! I didn’t think you would be one of those things! That’s why I agreed to this in the first place! But you’re every bit as impulsive as Rainbow Dash!”

The conversation, if Trixie could call it that, came to a halt, leaving just the sound of somepony's heavy breathing.

"I realize you are upset, darling, but that is no reason to yell at me like I was some sort of dragon."

“I’m not treating you like a dragon! I’m angry because you are my friend.”

“Just like you were angry at Rainbow Dash, Red Heart, and Twilight?”

“How do you know about that? Wait, no, don’t change the subject!”

“Fluttershy, please.”

“No, you were really rude. I’m sure you were trying to help, but Trixie is not dangerous to anypony but herself.”

Although that was definitely said in her defense, Trixie felt as if she’d been stung. It was a little unfair to make a comment like that just because she had overexerted herself in an impromptu magic duel. Or nearly set the house on fire when she was home alone. Or panicked and ran away from the hospital and into trouble… upon reflection, maybe it wasn’t entirely unfair.

It was quiet for a time, and Trixie could only imagine what was going on in there or what kind of looks were being exchanged.

After a small eternity, Trixie heard Rarity let out a deep sigh before continuing in an apologetic tone. “Fluttershy, I never wanted to fight. I apologize. I’ll admit it was unbecoming of me to antagonize her the way I did; Trixie just got under my skin, but that is no excuse for my actions. I honestly forgot she was still recovering or I never would have been so direct.”

“It’s okay, as long as you understand. But, you don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Yes, I do.” Rarity interrupted. “I realize you want me to talk to Trixie instead and I will, but I betrayed your trust, and I’m sorry for that. However… I worry about you.”

“Me?”

Rarity’s voice softened. “Of course, you’ve been acting strange lately. In the past week and a half you’ve taken it upon yourself to, well, let’s call it ‘voice your opinion’ to a dragon, Rainbow Dash, Red Heart, Twilight, and now myself.” She paused briefly as though to consider how she wanted to broach the topic. “I am delighted to hear you speak out more, I’ve always thought you should be more assertive… But, this seems like an awful lot of change in a very short amount of time… So, I hope you understand if I worry about you?”

“O-oh, uhm, I… I guess that’s true. I-I don’t normally, erm, speak up so much.”

“I thought perhaps that you may have been under a lot of stress over the past few months? After Nightmare Moon we have been given some new responsibilities after all. And let's not forget to mention the ursa attack, or that incident with Gilda, and us dragging you up that mountain... Any pony would be stressed out by now, darling." Rarity paused, apparently getting some sort of nonverbal response from Fluttershy, then added hesitantly "And then there is Trixie.”

Fluttershy must have given her a look, because Rarity quickly backpedaled. “No, no, I don’t mean Trixie is directly responsible. A-although I admit I previously believed she might have been, but if you say she’s not forcing you to do anything, I trust you. However, maybe something related to her arrival. For example, it might just be stressful for you to be around another pony, any pony, for entire days at a time. I mean, it is no coincidence you live as far away from the rest of Ponyville as was feasible.”

"T-that's just cause... uhm... animals..."

"Uhuh, and nothing else?"

"...Maybe a little."

Trixie would have liked to listen in on the rest of the conversation, but the clip-clop of approaching hooves had her quickly jerk away from the door to appear as though she was definitely not up to anything suspicious again.

Aloe had made it back, carrying a mop, some towels, and a fresh bathrobe.

"Miss Trixie? Are you still with us?"

"Sorry to disappoint you." Trixie smirked and took the bathrobe, getting back on her hooves while holding one towel against her muzzle. Another set of hoofsteps announced that Lotus was on her way back as well.

As it turned out, the spa ponies had a lot of practice dealing with fainting related incidents.

Trixie wasn't entirely sure where it had come from, but she found herself comfortably resting on a cushy, water-proof couch. She had to pinch her nose and was told to keep her head tilted forward for ten minutes, but she had a nice, cool icepack to help speed that along. Not only that, but she also had a magazine to pass the time.

It was just too bad that the couch was placed much too far away from the door to eavesdrop.

Rarity ran her hoof along the rim of the bath, quietly considering the new information she had been presented with.

Fluttershy had calmed down, and together they'd discussed some potential causes of her stress. Although Fluttershy was far too nice to outright say it, Rarity felt confident in concluding it was primarily Trixie's presence. Which came as no surprise.

What was surprising however, was the true story of just how Trixie had ended up under Fluttershy's care. It had taken some assurances that anything Fluttershy told her would not leave the room, but finally it made sense why Fluttershy felt so passionately about Trixie's wellbeing.

Oh, Rainbow Dash, you brash feather brain.... Why did you have to go and do a thing like that?

If she hadn't sworn to secrecy, she'd have some choice words for that little wonderbolt wannabe. Given the situation however, she couldn't argue with Fluttershy's desire to keep Trixie where she could see her and away from harm. Which sadly meant she couldn't get the biggest factor of stress out of her friend’s life. Thus, there was only one thing left to do.

"There's no helping it then," Rarity said after her deliberation, "However, I simply must insist you attend our weekly spa meetings again from this point out. You really ought not skimp on them when you've been accumulating so much stress. Even if it means bringing Trixie along." She caught the uncertain look Fluttershy gave her and gently waved it off. "Yes, yes. I'll be nice. I don't have to like her to be civil. If that's what it takes to get you to unwind then I'll gladly invite her too."

"Thank you."

"Anything for you, Fluttershy." Rarity leaned her head back on the edge of the bath, breathing a contented sigh as the status quo was finally restored.

A minute or two passed while Rarity continued to mull over what she had learned. Worse yet, something kept nagging at the back of her head. Something to do with Dash beyond her crazed actions, and also having to do with a source of Fluttershy's stress.

Rarity opened her eyes and gasped. The loud sound drew Fluttershy's attention and caused her wings to shoot up in alarm.

"R-Rarity? A-are you okay?"

"Uh-heh-heh-heh. Yes, darling, I just feared I...I may have left Opal without water while I was away. But no, I clearly remember filling her bowl before coming here."

"O-oh" Fluttershy nodded, relaxing back into the water again. "That makes sense."

Only to you, my dear. Still, how could I forget about something so important and juicy as my best friend dating my other... good friend, as it were. I suppose there is yet another major source of anxiety in Fluttershy's life now than just a blue squatter in her house.

Rarity knew she had to play this delicately. Fluttershy was a sensitive soul and getting the timid mare to willingly talk to her about dating Rainbow was going to take some careful work. Perhaps if she asked about another pony’s romantic life first? But what other pony apart from Rainbow and herself did Fluttershy spend a great deal of time around?

Turns out the witch might be of some use to Rarity after all.

"Forgive the sudden curiosity, darling." She smiled warmly over to Fluttershy, who returned it with equal measure. "But, since she arrived, has Trixie shown any interest in anypony?"

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side curiously. "Interest?"

"You know." Rarity waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Interest."

"Meep!"

Rarity looked on in confusion as Fluttershy's face turned bright red and slowly sunk into the water until just her tightly shut eyes were above the waterline.

"Darling? She hasn't been telling you any vulgar stories on the matter, has she?"

A few seconds later, Fluttershy's face reappeared above the water. "W-what? N-no."

Rarity couldn't hide the disbelief from her voice. "Is that true? You're sure there isn't anything you want to get off your chest? I'm all ears."

Fluttershy was squirming as she tried answering Rarity “W-Well... I could, uhm, use some advice… I m-may have a, erm… a… d-date...”

Rarity's eyebrows rose and she broke out into a happy smile. "Really, darling? That's wonderful! Aaand...a little off subject, but we can go back to talking about that blue witch later."

“Don’t call her that, please.” Fluttershy glared at her.

“Ah, right. Sorry. Sorry. Trixie, of course. I’ll get used to it soon I swear. Anyway, let’s forget about Trixie and talk about your date.”

Fluttershy gulped at that. "A-actually...i-it m-might be-w-with.."

"Yesss?" Rarity struggled to contain her excitement, yet couldn't help but lean in closer. She felt so happy for her friend. Finally, after waiting for so long, Fluttershy felt confident enough to tell her about Rainbow and their relationship.

Fluttershy didn’t respond. Or rather, she didn’t answer the question. She did give Rarity an uncertain look, as though she wasn’t sure if she could survive forming the words to the answer.

Rarity backed off, giving the poor dear a little time to collect herself. “Oh, it’s alright, Fluttershy, you should not feel obligated to tell me. Although… I’ve heard that Rainbow Dash was seen doing something awfully suspicious lately.” Rarity suppressed a smirk as Fluttershy immediately perked up at the mention of the name, she was so endearingly transparent. “Apparently she was seen preparing a picnic for two. The two of you are close right? You wouldn't happen to know the name of this lucky stallion?” Rarity leaned in a little closer to Fluttershy, her lips straining not to curl into a gleeful smile. "Or...mare?"

Fluttershy looked as though she resided in a boiling pot rather than a bubble bath; Still, she nodded.

"Really?" Rarity said, feigning surprise. "Anypony I know?" Of course, she knew about the little tryst between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy already, she had helped Rainbow arrange that picnic after all. Even though Rainbow had managed to avoid naming any names, Rarity couldn’t think of anypony else that fit the bill.

Again there was a nod, though by this point Fluttershy had retreated behind her mane.

"And does this dear, sweet pony that stole the heart of that little prismatic ruffian have a name?" If only she could get Fluttershy to confide in her, then she could finally TALK about it. It had been absolutely dreadful, having to pretend she was ignorant all this time while all she really wanted was to discuss the wedding dresses she had in mind for the two of them.

Perhaps that was just a little hasty, but she'd been struck with inspiration the day before and found just the perfect way to meld the soft yellows and pink with the bright rainbow spectrum in a way that was just to die for.

"W-With..." Fluttershy paused and lowered her gaze down to her shifting hooves, and occasionally glanced at Rarity with a look of uncertainty.

It was a look that Rarity was fairly familiar with, for her it was a warning that she'd have to hurry. If Fluttershy wasn't coaxed to proceed before she stopped making eye contact entirely then Rarity ran the risk of never hearing the answer.

Giving Fluttershy a knowing look, Rarity said, “I imagine the date went well?”

The only real question is whether to have the ceremony at Rainbow Falls or Blossom Valley. The vibrancy of the first would require a different shading, but I'm sure the result would be—

"....I-I heard it went well for them..." Fluttershy replied, but her voice didn’t hold the kind of nervous excitement that Rarity would have expected. Rather, she sounded artificially neutral.

"I....beg your pardon...?" Rarity felt suddenly off balance. It wasn’t unlike Fluttershy to talk about a personal matter by pretending she was talking about a pony she knew, but this almost sounded as though she was serious.

"W-well...they told me a little about it...b-but I-um...d-didn't pay much attention..."

Rarity could feel the blood drain from her face. There was no way she was THIS wrong, was there? "And the 'they' you are referring to would be...?"

Fluttershy sucked in a breath of air through her teeth, and after a moment finally managed to bring herself to answer in the same almost detached fashion. "Rainbow and Trixie…"

Rarity had heard about the pit falling out of somepony's stomach, but never imagined it could happen to her in a luxurious hot tub. She mused at how, despite being in the water, a great deal of her body suddenly felt cold to the point of numbness.

“Uhm, Rarity?” Fluttershy gently poked her foreleg.

The little touch was enough to snap Rarity back to reality, she fixed Fluttershy with an intense look as the news came into sharp focus again. "R-Rainbow Dash WENT OUT WITH THAT WITCH!?"

Fluttershy shrunk back, folding her ears as Rarity screeched. "Y-yes?"

Rarity couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All that time she’d spent advising Rainbow Dash on how to make sure it would be a perfect date for her and Fluttershy! The peaceful stroll through the forest to let her enjoy nature! The solitary picnic to keep her anxiety of crowds at bay! The music! Oh, Celestia, the music! She’d painstakingly picked out the songs that best matched what she knew of Fluttershy’s taste. All this time and effort, wasted!

Now that she thought about it, Rainbow never actually said who her ‘friend’ was dating, she’d merely mentioned that she’d want to stay away from other ponies. Naturally, Rarity had assumed this meant a shy pony, but in hindsight it could apply to a fugitive too. She’d been tricked! Bamboozled! Hoodwinked! "That Cad! That little multi-colored monster! Consorting with that blue-haired demon, why—Wait... why were you asking about dating advice earlier, darling?"

Fluttershy looked as though she’d rather be back in the dragon’s cave than in the room right now. Nervously, she repeatedly pulled the ends of her locks in some transparent effort to give her an excuse not to look Rarity in the face as she mumbled. "O-o-oh… u-uhm… I… k-kind of have a d-date in two days. It’s not, uhm, important, I… and…"

"But...with who...?" Rarity had to put a hoof on the edge of the bath to steady herself. It felt as though her whole world was tilted at an odd angle. If Dash and Fluttershy were not dating, then who could Fluttershy possibly be going out with? She’d always expected those two to end up together, that was why she’d not even bothered to inquire with Rainbow just who she was taking on that date when she’d spoken to her.

The look of nervous resignation on Fluttershy’s face made it clear she must have decided there was no way she was going to get out of this interrogation. She wrapped her hooves up in her mane as she answered, "T-the u-um...b-blue-haired demon?"

Rarity felt an involuntary twitch in her left eye.

“…”

“…”

Rarity stared at Fluttershy. Her jaw so far down that she could taste the strawberry bath foam, which tasted nothing like strawberry. Fluttershy, naturally, had crossed her tangled hooves, and completely hidden her face behind her mane.

Her mind was blank for an eternal minute.

It had to be a joke, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine just what she’d done to deserve to be the victim of such a horrible prank. It had to have been a truly terrible deed if Fluttershy would trick her like this. Perhaps Rainbow put her up to it. It seemed like the kind of thing she might do to get payback for being used as a mannequin. No, even if she had, there was just no way Fluttershy would ever manage to lie like that.

Rarity’s stomach tied itself into a knot. That was right. Fluttershy wouldn’t lie like that. So, either Rainbow Dash had taken extensive acting classes, acquired a lot of pink and yellow hair dye, and some colored contact lenses… or… or…

With a sudden splash, Rarity thrust her head below the surface of the water, causing Fluttershy to flinch back in surprise. Safely encapsulated by the water, Rarity’s frustration was made manifest.

Large pockets of air bubbled to the surface, accompanied by a muffled, surprisingly high-pitched, sound.

After the bubbles stopped, it took another ten seconds before Rarity finally rose above the surface again. With one hoof, she brushed the soaked strands of hair out of her face. “Before you ask, Fluttershy… No, no, I’m not…”

The sound of the door opening almost escaped Rarity’s notice, but she quickly looked over her shoulder with a feeling of inescapable horror. Fortunately, it was only Lotus Blossom, carrying a bucket and mop. Luckily, she was alone. If Trixie had been behind her, Rarity wasn’t sure what she would have done, but she was feeling lightheaded already just thinking about it.

As soon as the door closed, Rarity spoke. “Lotus.” Her voice sounded strained.

Lotus set down the bucket and gave her usual smile, oh so blissfully unaware of the crime against nature that had just been revealed. "Yes, miss Rarity?"

"Be a dear and fetch me the waterproof fainting couch?"

“I’m sorry, miss. Unfortunately, it is in use by miss T—” She cut herself off midsentence as she caught the look in Rarity’s eyes. “Uhm, another customer.”

"Oh… what poor luck. Well then, Fluttershy?" She turned to face her again, the rest of the room seemed to dim around the shaking pegasus. Oh, wait, that was just her vision signing out.

"Y-yes?"

"Could you be a dear and make sure I do not drown?" She’d just managed the words, before the last bit of light faded from the room.

"W-what? O-oh!"

Another splash.

Aloe had cleaned up the blood in the hallway and opted to stay with Trixie while she recovered. Meanwhile, Lotus had wandered off to do something or other; Trixie hadn't cared enough to ask.

Given the circumstances, Trixie had to conclude this was actually pretty nice. Aside from the magazine, she passed the time by chatting with Aloe a little. Primarily about the most interesting topic they had available, Trixie herself.

About halfway through spinning Aloe a story, a scream came from the next room that sounded as though somepony had rolled a piano over the tail of a helium-inflated cat. Curiously, Aloe didn’t seem to react to it. Perhaps she’d imagined the sound? In any case, the show had to go on, and Trixie soon forgot all about it.

"That's how Trixie single-hoovedly defeated three whole packs of timberwolves, through the strategic sacrifice of her magnificent hat!" Trixie might have taken some minor artistic liberties with the story of how she lost her hat in the everfree forest. "Of course Trixie will retrieve it as soon as she's given the timberwolves enough time to lick their wounds."

Aloe had a bemused smile on her face. "It wouldn't be sporting otherwise, right?"

"Exactly! See, Trixie knew you would get it."

“Of course.”

With her story concluded, Trixie’s attention was drawn back to the towel she’d been holding against her muzzle, there wasn’t any fresh blood on it. A quick inspection told her she was officially back in business. “Ah, finally. Trixie knew it was just a minor thing.”

Aloe perked up. “That’s great. Mostly because I couldn’t make out a word of that whole muffled story and it was getting really awkward to be nodding at random.”

Trixie twitched. “It’s a good thing Trixie knows you’re lying, or you’d be in trouble.”

“Ditto.”

“Whatever that means. Look, thanks for making sure Trixie didn’t pass out and all that, but can Trixie go back inside now?”

“Technically, Lotus never said anything about keeping you out here in the hallway. I just assumed you were cooling off after that whole thing with Miss Rarity.”

Trixie supposed that was true. “It was a rhetorical question,” she said while rearing up on her hind legs and resting her forelegs on either of the double doors, ready to push them open.

“Uhuh.” Aloe replied while picking up a basket with a bowl of cucumber slices, some jars of unknown origin, and various shampoo bottles. Trixie recognized Rarity’s cutie mark on several of the containers. They looked awfully expensive compared to everything else in there. “I’ll just drop this off then find Lotus.”

“Give it to Trixie,” she said while wrapping her magic around the basket.

Aloe quickly let go and gave Trixie a hesitant, puzzled look. “Uh, okay? Well, I’ll just go find Lotus and tell her everything is fine then.” Aloe trotted off, sparing just a brief look back before leaving Trixie to her own devices.

This left Trixie a moment to herself to consider how she was going to actually approach this whole thing. Was she just going to walk back in like nothing had happened? Should she even bother going in there? Now that she thought about it, perhaps it was better if she just went home and left it to Aloe to inform Fluttershy of her whereabouts. But then again, she already volunteered to bring the basket inside and she’d look foolish if she gave it back to Aloe. More importantly than any of that, Trixie supposed that leaving would mean letting Rarity win.

That settled it.

With a mighty shove, Trixie swung the doors wide open. The loud bangs of each door hitting the walls reverberated through the room. Trixie grinned smugly as she saw Rarity turn around in the bath, clutching her chest as though it had imploded.

Grinning ear to ear as she trotted closer, Trixie proclaimed. “Fear not! Trixie has returned!”

“Really, Again!? You witch!”

“Oh, don’t look so grouchy, you’ll get more wrinkles. Look—” She lifted one of Rarity’s bottles out of the basket and shook it while she approached. “—Trixie has something for your mane, won’t that be nice?” She smiled.

“If you come anywhere within a hundred hooves of my mane I will end you!” Rarity scowled, then she glanced over at the bottle and her eye’s widened. “Gah! Put that down! It takes a month to import!”

“Alright, alright, geez.” Trixie slid the bottle back into its place and set the basket down on the edge of the bath . Well, so much for that peace offering.

“How did you even get your hooves on this?” Rarity asked while she fussed over the contents of the basket.

Before Trixie could answer, Fluttershy’s adorable head poked out from behind Rarity. She looked a little shook up for some reason. “Are you, uhm, running an errand for Aloe? That’s nice of you. I-isn’t that nice, Rarity?”

Rarity had her muzzle in the basket as she rummaged through it, but a gentle prod had her look up. “Oh. Oh, yes. Yes, of course.” She took a moment to collect herself, apparently reassured that everything that was supposed to be in the basket was still there. “Thank you for bringing this over. Now, how are you feeling?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is exactly as advertised, and you’re welcome.” Trixie wasn’t quite convinced Rarity actually cared. It felt more to her like the prissy unicorn was humoring Fluttershy. However, there was something different about Rarity now that Trixie couldn’t quite place. Where before Rarity had been cold and mostly attempted to ignore Trixie’s existence, now she had a look of almost predatory hunger.

That’s probably not good.

Speaking of hunger, Trixie hadn’t had a bite to eat since breakfast and she was feeling peckish herself. Fancy places like this couldn’t possibly expect their customers to starve all day, could they? There had to be snacks around somewhere.

Oh, right. Trixie did see something to eat.

It didn’t seem like a good idea for Trixie to take her eyes off of Rarity when she was so strangely focused, despite what her stomach wanted.

Luckily for Trixie, Fluttershy gently tapped Rarity's shoulder before starting to whisper into her ear, distracting her enough to let Trixie quietly walk over to the bowl of cucumbers and popped one of the pieces into her mouth.

Trixie was impressed though, the room seemed almost designed to make soft conversation easily heard, but she could barely make out a word as they quietly whispered back and forth, their eyes glancing over to Trixie every so often. Were they talking about her?

Trixie raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t nice to whisper in front of somepony and she hadn’t expected Fluttershy to do so. On the other hoof, Trixie supposed she had probably interrupted whatever private conversation the two were having when she barged in a moment earlier. She could forgive a few last words in private.

Levitating a few of the cucumber slices out of the basket, Trixie trotted over to the far side of the bath, as far away from Rarity as possible, and climbed back into the bath at last. The nice warm feeling of the water was a welcome relief after laying on the cool floor the past few minutes.

“Wi—umm...I mean, Trixie, darling!?”

Glorious. Trixie supposed it was too much to ask to be allowed to enjoy this for long. “For crying out loud, yes! Trixie is, in fact, a hundred hooves away from you! Now let her enjoy the complimentary cucumbers in peace!”

“C-complimentary cu—Trixie! Forget about that! Listen, I regret how this day has gone thus far. Come over here so we can do some mare talk.”

That was a surprising thing to hear. Trixie looked over at Rarity, eyeing the mare suspiciously. “What about the ‘get near my mane again and I will end you!’ thing?”

Rarity’s face briefly showed an uncomfortable look, but she quickly smiled and waved the comment away as if chasing off a fly. "Ah-hahaha! It was just a joke, darling! Water under the bridge! I barely even remember it!"

Now that was definitely a lie. Whatever Rarity was doing, Trixie didn’t trust it. Rarity had been at her throat when she left the room and wasted no time in attempting to poison Fluttershy against her in her absence. This was just too sudden a change. "A minute ago you were all 'I swear I shall never forget this!' and now you want to talk while grinning at Trixie like a school filly. What is this?"

Rarity levitated over some of the cucumber slices that she’d shooed Trixie away from earlier and held one out for Trixie while biting into the other. She didn’t seem to enjoy it much, but she still acted as though she did. "Mhm. Times change darling, harsh words were said, it’s something of minor importance we can discuss another time. Like say after we get to know each other a little better, yes? So! With that out of the way, let’s chat, shall we?"

Hesitantly, Trixie took a bite of the cucumber as she listened to Rarity. She couldn’t exactly find fault with the reasoning. Perhaps it had been a mistake to focus the initial conversation on their disagreement. "W-well, Fluttershy wanted to set this meeting up so we could talk, so—"

"So!" Rarity said, slapping her hooves together loud enough to overbear Trixie's voice. "Are you dating anypony by chance?"

“U-uhm...perhaps...?” Trixie nervously looked over to Fluttershy, who was doing her best impersonation of a drowning pony. Her ears were all that remained above water, but she refused to acknowledge anything happening.

Rarity noticed the look and leaned in closer to Trixie. "Oh that’s just wonderful, what a lucky pony that must be. To get the Great and Powerful Trixie all to herself like that. Why, I’d have been certain you’d be too much to handle for just one pony.”

"Well, of course. Trixie’s more than enough mare for two… " Trixie knew Rarity was playing to her ego, but that didn’t do anything to dissuade the warm fuzzy feeling in her chest at the sound of praise. Or, at least she thought it was praise. “Wait, are you calling Trixie fat?” She pulled away from Rarity and gave her a skeptical look.

“Perish the thought.” Rarity said without breaking eye contact, though Trixie wished she had. “No, darling, but given that you said two… Might you be dating another pony as well as this first one you just mentioned?" There was a certain intensity on Rarity’s face that Trixie had a hard time placing. She felt tense, like a rat trap.

Trixie shifted uncomfortably in the water. She wasn’t sure what Rarity was getting at, but she was being too friendly and much too interested for this to be a line of conversation Trixie wanted to follow. Hopefully she could just give a vague answer and steer the direction of the conversation elsewhere. "Uh. Well… that might be the case, but you—"

"And would these ponies be Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?" Rarity interrupted.

"W-well...T-trixie isn't sure they'd like her to just—"

With a horrified expression, Rarity clapped a hoof over her mouth and looked between Fluttershy's ears (her nose had just made a brief appearance before re-submerging again) and Trixie . "What's this!? A ménage à trois? Between the three of you!? Oh, how scandalous! How primitive and debase of you! And with such an innocent angel like Fluttershy involved with two arrogant show offs!"

Of course, of course she would do something like this. Trixie wasn't sure how or when Rarity had figured it out, but she clearly only asked for confirmation to make a scene. The sudden turnabout momentarily left Trixie speechless, while Rarity rambled on about just how shocking this supposedly was. The fuzzy warm feeling inside had long since corroded into molten fury as Trixie pushed herself up out of the water to tower over Rarity. “Trixie knew you’d do something like this! Well if you think you can stop us then—”

"Stop you?” Rarity blinked, somehow even more appalled at the suggestion of putting an end to the whole thing then she was at finding out about it. “Why, I wouldn’t dream of it! Come! Sit! I simply must know ALL the details of this, Trixie! Don't keep a friend waiting on something this juicy!"

Confusion and anger didn't mix well. Trixie found herself trying to not let the former override the latter, but this damned mare was making no sense. "What? No! You... what? Don't try to confuse Trixie! She knows your game! You just want to tear us apart like before!"

Rarity tilted her head with a confused look on her face. "My game? I'm afraid I don't quite follow you. Why would I want to separate young lovers? I never did such a thing in my—" Rarity froze, and her snow-white face somehow became even paler as she quickly looked back and forth between Trixie and Fluttershy. Finally, she managed to breath out, "Oh, no. I did, didn't I?"

Beginning to feel awkward just standing above the water, not to mention cold, Trixie sunk back into the bath. She observed Rarity for a moment as the mare seemed to realize she had quite literally torn Trixie away from Fluttershy with her telekinesis which led to their little magic duel in the first place.

“I'm so sorry, girls.” Rarity said, with a slight tremor in her voice. “I didn't realize at the time you two were... I mean, who would have thought, right?” She chuckled weakly.

Trixie looked Rarity over. She seemed sincere, but she could just be a good actor. However, if she really didn’t know at the time, that had to mean she found out recently. Trixie shot a look over at Fluttershy, who was still pretending not to be there.

Maybe it’s not Rarity that she’s hiding from after all. She let it slip while Trixie was gone? Does she think Trixie is mad at her for it?

Trixie made a note to talk with Fluttershy later, for now she had Rarity to contend with. “Even if you didn’t, that’s no excuse. You had no reason to react like that.”

“Well… actually,” Rarity lightly tapped the tips of her hooves together sheepishly. “I maaay have been under the mistaken impression that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were together… And perhaps I jumped to a few conclusions. Like, say for example, I may have thought you were trying to get between them… Oh, Celestia, I had no idea how right I actually was.” She fanned her reddening face.

“That’s, well, uh…” Trixie felt her cheeks burn as she pictured the mental image Rarity inadvertently painted. “T-Trixie supposes she understands. You were just trying to look out for your friends, yes? That, that’s fine. Trixie might have done the same then.” She cleared her throat, eager to get the conversation elsewhere. “Sooo, do you suppose Fluttershy needs resuscitation by now? Trixie volunteers.”

Rarity hid the lower half of her face behind her foreleg, but she failed to hide the smirk. “Yes, I’ll bet you do.”

A large air bubble popped on the surface, emitting a faint meeping sound.

Chapter 126 - Ragging

All was well with the world. Trixie had everything she could desire at the moment. A cushy easy chair to lounge on. A cozy warm bathrobe to snuggle up in. A servant meticulously washing and styling her mane in the little sink at the head of the chair. And, most importantly, something to brag about to her captive audience.

Sometimes Trixie forgot that she was a genius without peer. Of course, her incredible talents were so amazing it was only natural she would surprise herself every once in a while. Everything had gone precisely as she predicted that it would.

"When Trixie first spoke of actually meeting with you, she had told Fluttershy from the start we'd get along, but only after another fight." Trixie smirked at Rarity's doubtful expression. "You remember that, right, Fluttershy?" She tried to turn her head, but surprised Aloe with the sudden movement, and was hindered by a slight tug on her mane.

Admittedly, this realization of her own brilliance had only dawned on her a good half hour of idle chatter later. Most of which involved satisfying Rarity's curiosity and getting her caught up to speed on just how the three of them had ended up in this 'unthinkable' arrangement.

Given that Trixie was finally doing most of the talking, she was surprised to discover that the overly talkative Rarity turned out to also be a decent listener when she put her mind to it and wasn't too busy finding fault with everything a pony said. Trixie liked her better this way, maybe the mare ought to be quiet more often. This observation was definitely objective and not at all because she was still just the tiniest bit bitter about getting humiliated in front of Fluttershy who, now that Trixie thought about it, had been even quieter than usual during the entire conversation.

In any case, eventually this led the conversation to the day before and Trixie's uncanny prediction of the spa meeting's result: A fight and reconciliation.

Fluttershy, her frothy mane being tended to by Lotus, glanced at Trixie from the corner of her eye then quickly closed it again as though she was afraid of getting foam in it. She blindly looked back up at the ceiling with a contemplative look on her face. "Oh? Uhm... now that you mention it... You did say something like that, I think?"

"See?" Trixie said triumphantly as she whipped back around to Rarity, inadvertently yanking on her own mane again. "Eek! Be more gentle!" she scolded Aloe, who obligingly rolled her eyes.

Lifting the cucumber slice off of her right eye, Rarity offered a silent but apologetic look up to Aloe before turning her attention to Trixie. "Yes. A master stroke in self-fulfilling prophecy, I'm sure. Though, I cannot help but wonder if things might have gone differently if you didn't start off with the expectation of a fight?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" Trixie asked, settling back down in her chair. "The Great and Perceptive Trixie just noticed that it happened a lot. It's not as though she wants to fight everypony she meets. It's not Trixie's fault that other ponies are lousy at meeting new ponies."

A muscle in Rarity's face twitched, but she smiled. "Well of course not, darling. Getting back to the whole prediction thing, tell me about the future, would you?"

"The future? Like lasers?" Trixie asked, confused. "It's not that kind of prediction."

"No, no." Rarity waved her hoof impatiently. "Your future. Fluttershy mentioned something about a date?"

"Did she now?" Trixie glanced over at Fluttershy, who was very pointedly avoiding her gaze. "Trixie doesn't remember you saying anything, Fluttershy... So that means it happened while Trixie was gone? Talking behind Trixie's back, mhm?" She teased Fluttershy for a moment but then turned back to Rarity. "That certainly explains why you were suddenly so interested."

"Oh, no absolutely not! I just thought we should try to get along and, uhm. Oh, alright. I may have been just a little bit more motivated knowing the three of you were… let’s say involved." Rarity gave Fluttershy an apologetic look. "Sorry, darling. I didn't mean to let it slip."

"I, uhm. It's okay." Fluttershy nervously tapped her hooves together. "W-we weren't talking. Not behind your back, I mean. Well, you were gone, but it wasn't bad. Ohh. I just wanted to ask Rarity for advice."

"Ah, that kind of advice." Trixie smirked. It was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one that had been nervous about how to handle their date. She'd spent plenty of time worrying about it on her own, so she could only imagine how it was effecting Fluttershy. It was no wonder she'd reached out to a friend for help. It must've been nice to have that option. Trixie turned to Rarity. "So, did you have any good pointers?"

"I... may have been a little distracted." Rarity blushed. "It was a bit of a shock, you see. At the time, I mean. I'm completely over it now. Oh, no no no, that just sounds like it was something awful. I only meant to say that it demanded my full attention. Yes. So I was distracted." Just when Trixie thought Rarity would devolve into endless rambling, she suddenly regained her composure and asked. "Why? Were you looking for some help yourself? I understand you have some unique challenges for most conventional dates, but one type of date you two could certainly try is to make a ‘you’ thing an ‘us’ thing. If you are, by chance, looking for ideas?"

"What? No. What makes you think that?" Trixie bristled at the implication that she didn't know what she was doing. Was Rarity trying to embarrass her? "The Great and Powerful Trixie has everything under control."

Rarity regarded Trixie with a raised eyebrow as Trixie defended herself, but she quickly adopted a smile. "Oh, my mistake, darling. I suppose I had you confused for an ordinary pony. You could see how, for a regular pony, it would be a bit of a challenge finding something romantic to do with a particularly sensitive partner in a strange city full of less than amicable ponies and no bits to their name, yes? That's on top of all the regular first date jitters like trying to make a good impression, getting to know the other pony, and so on." She broke eye contact with Trixie and finished with: "But, as I said, my mistake." She closed her eyes and leaned back to rest her head into the small wash-table at the end of her chair, letting the spa pony on duty rinse the shampoo out.

Trixie grit her teeth. She knew Rarity was toying with her, but that didn't stop her stomach from turning itself into a tight, balled-up knot as Rarity laid out many of the problems and pitfalls that Trixie knew she was faced with. Rarity so casually mentioned all of those things Trixie had questioned herself about that it might not be a stretch to assume the smug hag actually had some answers too. Still, if she asked any questions now it would be as good as admitting she was just some regular, run-of-the-mill pony in need of help. She'd rather die.

“Oh, I simply cannot image embarrassing myself on a first date.” Rarity drawled.

Trixie snapped her gaze back to Rarity, who now had a foreleg resting across her forehead in a manner that only befitted a true drama queen.

“Why, of all the worst things that could happen, that is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!”

Trixie didn’t think it possible, but somehow her stomach managed to find a way to add one more twist. She was sure this was Rarity trying to make her feel worse on purpose. After all, Nopony used a phrase like that wantonly.

It might have seemed innocent enough, but Trixie understood. Rarity was trying to establish dominance by lording her supposed expertise over her. She wasn’t going to fall for it!

Suddenly, it dawned on Trixie that Rarity’s cruel teasing wouldn’t just be affecting her. There was collateral damage in the sense that any pony listening that had a first date coming up would be having the jitters just like Trixie. No, worse than her.

Did she forget that Fluttershy is in the same boat as Trixie? That poor, cute thing! Trixie can use that!

Trixie quickly turned and felt a sharp tug on her mane as Aloe was still working on her, invoking a half silent curse from the both of them. Trixie ignored the muttered apology that followed from Aloe and fixed her attention on Fluttershy. Who, if she was on the verge of breaking down like Trixie expected, was hiding that surprisingly well.

While Fluttershy did quickly look away and pretended she hadn’t been staring at Trixie, she didn’t look like she was worried. Well, not more worried than usual anyway. She still had that same nervous look about her she got every time Trixie spoke with Rarity.

It didn’t make sense. If anything, a pony as sensitive as Fluttershy ought to be in tears by now with insecurity if even the great Trixie was feeling nervous. Was it possible that Trixie was more easily affected than Fluttershy? Trixie refused to believe that. But then, there was only one other option, wasn’t there? Rarity must have said something to her after all.

Whatever Rarity told Fluttershy… It must have been good.

The realization was both a blessing and a curse. It was good to know there was an answer to her problems, but then Rarity really did have the answers. This meant she couldn’t ignore her as easily. The thought of having to swallow her pride and come crawling back to the waiting unicorn was too much to bare.

Trixie briefly entertained the thought of asking Fluttershy later, but quickly dismissed it. She couldn't stand the idea of making herself look foolish by admitting she needed help. Especially not in front of the sweet filly she most desperately wanted to impress. The Reliable and Desirable Trixie always had everything under control!

Wait a minute. Trixie smiled slyly as she realized Rarity had left an opening.

She leisurely leaned back in her chair and glanced over at Rarity. “The worst possible thing? If it worries you so, what do you do to alleviate that?” Trixie did her best to sound casual, she could not let on how nervous she actually was or Rarity might realize she was being tricked into giving advice without Trixie actually asking for any.

Rarity’s ears perked up as Trixie addressed her, and with one eye she briefly regarded Trixie’s carefully composed, relaxed features. After a moment of deliberating silence, she finally answered. “Well, a spa day is a good start of course. Looking my best not only helps me feel confident, but shows that I valued the other’s opinion enough to take the time to do so.”

“First impression and all that?” Trixie asked. This didn’t seem useful at all considering she’d already met Fluttershy.

“Not exactly. Unless it is a blind date, you already made your first impression when you first met them. Still, if you’re on a date, you obviously made a good one already. No, it’s about showing you care.”

“Trixie can’t believe that is all you do? There’s a lot more involved, isn’t there?” She did her best to sound almost disinterested, inspecting her newly manicured hoof as she spoke.

Rarity smiled. The kind of smile that a filly might have when a supposedly empty cookie jar had one left after all. An evil cookie. That kind of cookie smile made Trixie feel uncomfortable. “Ooh, no. Of course not.”

A slow sweat drop worked its way down Trixie's brow.

Rarity must have caught on that she actually wanted to know and had tried to trick her. Trixie's mind raced, she had to think of something to either keep Rarity from revealing her incompetence to Fluttershy, or somehow convince Rarity that she was mistaken. There was no telling what kind of evil blackmail she might be subjected to. Rarity had shown a suspicious amount of interest in her relationship with Dashie and Fluttershy, what if she wanted a piece of that pie? Trixie wasn’t sharing!

Trixie glared at Rarity.

The whole time that Trixie was slowly driving herself up the wall, Rarity was looking at her. At first she wore that look of devious delight, but it gradually faded. She shifted in her chair. First turning towards Trixie a little more as though she wanted to devote her full attention, but then thought better of it, and withdrew letting her eyes drift up to the ceiling. A strangely contemplative look on her face.

“You’re right, you know, I do a lot of things to prepare for a date. Most of which I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy.” Rarity mused.

Trixie raised a brow at this.

“Oh, I know what I should be doing. There are all the usual platitudes of course: relax, be yourself, have confidence, etc. That’s all well and good, but it’s a lot harder to live up to when you really like this other pony and failure is not an option. So what if they happen to like ‘swamp green’ and I think it’s just awful? I’m not going to mention that if I’m trying to make a good impression!”

Trixie was starting to feel that maybe this wasn’t about her anymore

Rarity waved her forelegs in the air. “Maybe I’ll just decide to change instead! I don’t have to tell them I ever felt like it was the kind of color that is only good for cragodile camouflage. It’s not lying if I didn’t tell them I felt differently yesterday, right? If I decide to change on the spot, I’m still being myself! My new self. If they wouldn’t have liked the old me but like the new me then we all win, right?”

Despite how sudden the conversation had turned to this, Trixie nodded . “Yes, that makes sense.”

“In the heat of the moment, perhaps.” Rarity sunk back into her chair with a long sigh. “But ponies can’t change just like that, darling. I could delude myself for a time perhaps, but it wouldn’t really be me. Swamp green for clothes? Ew ew ew.” Rarity looked revolted and a little green it the face, as though the only thing that held her back from actually barfing was the realisation that that would be especially unladylike. She cleared her throat. “Besides, imagine yourself in the other pony’s horseshoes, would you want a pony who’s only pretending to be somepony you like? Or would you rather know the real pony and then decide if you like that pony or not?”

“Nonsense.” Trixie scoffed. “What difference does it make how somepony acts as long as their adoration for Trixie is real?”

“You mean besides the fact that your admirer would be lying to you?” Rarity asked, appalled. “Do you really have so little regard for the truth?”

Trixie folded her forelegs. “Is that a crack at Trixie’s show?” She supposed she should have been expecting something like this.

“No, no, dear,” Rarity said, exasperated. She glanced over at Fluttershy for a moment before returning her attention to Trixie with a curiously friendly expression. “Forget it. Now what were we talking about?”

“Trixie believes you were lamenting your failing love life,” Trixie snapped.

A twitch in Rarity’s right eye momentarily fractured the pleasant expression she wore. “How uniquely eloquent… Yes, I suppose I was, wasn’t I? It’s a shame they don’t serve drinks here; I could use one,” she said while turning away from Trixie.

That was random. Trixie thought. Granted, given how warm it was in here, she wasn’t opposed to the idea of a nice glass of icewater right now. “That Trixie can agree with.”

Rarity didn’t reply. That had to mean Trixie had won. Strangely, Trixie couldn’t quite remember what it was that she’d been victorious in.

After a few minutes of silence, Trixie picked up on the fact that Rarity hadn’t said a single word. Sure, Trixie meant to make sure Rarity wouldn’t say anything about her insecurity, and she definitely accomplished that, but still… this didn’t feel like a victory somehow.

A soft cough directed Trixie’s attention back to Fluttershy, who met her gaze and nodded towards Rarity.

Trixie gave her a confused look and silently mouthed ‘what?’.

All Trixie got in response from her was a sorrowful look with those big blue doe eyes.

Clearly, something was wrong. Trixie’s finely tuned senses could tell that much right away. Aside from the sounds the spa ponies were making as they went about their business, it had not been this quiet all day. Which was odd, given that Rarity would not shut up for the life of her before.

Somehow Trixie was apparently the bad guy in this scenario.

Normally, Trixie wouldn’t think twice about this kind of thing, but Fluttershy was expecting her to do… something. It would have helped if she’d been more clear on exactly what Trixie was supposed to be doing.

The silence was clearly part of the problem, Trixie would tackle that first.

“Sooo...” Trixie stretched out the word uncomfortably long as she tried to find something to follow it up with. “Nice, uh, weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Maybe she should have stretched it a little longer.

“Yes.” Rarity replied without so much as opening her eyes.

She talked! Mission accomplished! A wave of relief washed over Trixie, she had solved the problem by cunningly asking Rarity a question. Now things were back to normal.

Curiously, the silence returned right away. Of course, that was only natural if nopony was speaking, but Trixie thought there was supposed to be a conversation happening now.

“Trixie, uh, supposes we can thank Rainbow Dash for that now? She’s in charge of weather now you know.”

“I know.”

Again the conversation died.

Over the next few minutes, Trixie made a few other, equally banal, attempts at striking up a conversation, with equally lousy results. Even though Rarity clearly wasn’t ignoring her, she also wasn’t making any effort to reply with anything more than necessary whenever Trixie addressed her.

It was frustratingly clear that Rarity didn’t want to talk to her. She wasn’t quite giving her the silent treatment, but she might as well be. This would have suited Trixie just fine, if only it wasn’t apparently her job now to do something about it. Trixie would rather be argueing than this.

That gave Trixie an idea.

“Trixie saw some pony in a swamp green dress earlier today. It was so lovely, Trixie wonders why it’s not used more often.”

“What? Who?” To Trixie’s delight, Rarity actually looked at her with interest this time, if only for a moment. “Wait, you didn’t actually see anypony, did you?”

The corner Trixie’s mouth pulled up into a smug grin. “Trixie saw plenty of ponies. None of them were wearing such a dress though.” The confession earned an ireful glare from Rarity. “Are you going to ignore Trixie again?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“You were one to two words short of giving Trixie the silent treatment. Trixie says that’s close enough.”

“If you thought that was bad I once went two weeks without saying a word to my mother.”

“What did she do? Dye your mane green?”

“Goodness no, she didn’t listen to me, so I thought I might as well not speak to her then.”

“Wait, really? You ignored her because she disobeyed you?”

“No no no. I never said that. I said she didn’t listen.” Rarity quickly corrected. “I had an eye for style at an early age, and my mother… less so. She would often ask my opinion, and naturally I was happy to advise her. Imagine my outrage when I discovered she would zone out almost as soon as I’d begun speaking!”

“That witch.” Trixie deadpanned. “Is that why you were not speaking with Trixie too?”

“In part.”

“Trixie can’t help but notice you are speaking to her properly now.” Although Trixie wasn’t quite convinced it was an improvement, she did feel better. Perhaps that was because, in the corner of her eye, she could see Fluttershy’s smile.

“Oh, I suppose I am.” Rarity with mock surprise. “But then, I can hardly accuse you of not listening anymore, can I? Not since you so hamfistedly tried to bait me with that awful, awful color.”

Trixie smirked. “How do you know Trixie didn’t actually like it?”

“Darling, I’d accuse you of a lot of things.” Rarity had that cookie monster look in her eyes again. “A. LOT. OF. THINGS. But your sense of fashion is one thing I actually like about you. Don’t try to ruin it.”

“So it was simply too unbelievable that the Fashionable and Discerning Trixie would have poor taste? Trixie can live with that.”

“Oh, now… I wouldn’t quite go that far.” Rarity said while exchanging a look with the two spa ponies in attendance. “As I understand it… you do favor Eau de Garbage Fire.”

“Oh, har har.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Now Trixie knows you are lying. The only thing Trixie bought here was a wood&smoke fragrance.” She said triumphantly.

Aloe coughed.

Lotus Blossom carefully studied the label on a bottle.

Fluttershy found a keen interest in the condensation on a nearby wall.

Rarity just gave Trixie a long, meaningful look.

A creeping sensation of something being very wrong crawled up Trixie’s shoulders. “What?”

“Darling,” Rarity began hesitantly, “how do I put this delicately… Earlier, you said you wore this ‘fragrance’ on your date, yes?”

“Of course! It’s a lovely scent!” Trixie said a little louder than she meant to.

“And you prettied up, yes?”

“You said before it is showing you care. Trixie cares, so of course she did.” She folded her forelegs across her chest.

Rarity nodded. “Yes, very good, but… How did you say Rainbow Dash reacted again?”

Trixie puffed up her chest. “She was stunned of course, and mentioned that Trixie looked wonderful. As any pony with eyes would.”

Curiously, Rarity seemed to wait for her to go on.

“And, uh, that she liked the effort Trixie put in?” She cautioned, feeling less confident.

“Mhm,” Rarity looked uneasy, but spoke up. “So, anything missing?”

“Well, she didn’t mention the perfume.” Trixie noticed a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Wait, you're not suggesting… That she left it out on purpose?”

Rarity gave a half smile. “Well, Rainbow might not be the sharpest needle in the pincushion, but even she realizes on some level that telling one’s date ‘you smell weird’ is a faux pas.”

A fire ignited in Trixie’s cheeks. She didn’t want to believe it, but maybe Dash really hadn’t liked it? “But, that’s nonsense! It’s the smell of the stage! The hard wooden planks, the fireworks! It’s perfect! Who wouldn’t like it?”

“Trixie, darling, did you mean to smell like a stage show or a mare?”

“Trixie doesn’t like your tone!” Trixie said with the serenity of a trodden upon cat. “And she is not about to take relationship advice from somepony who gets ignored by her own mother!”

Exchanging hateful glares with Rarity, Trixie tried to remember why exactly she had gone through the trouble of getting the hag to speak to her again. Of course she should have expected Rarity was just going to use the privilege to embaress her somehow.

“Very well, I’m sorry.” Rarity said suddenly.

“What?” Trixie blinked.

“I did not mean to upset you and I may have gone a little bit too far there. I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Rarity extended her hoof towards Trixie. “Friends?”

As far as Trixie could tell, Rarity seemed sincere. It didn’t make a great deal of sense to Trixie, but she shook hooves anyway. “Uh, sure. Friends… Why are you being weird?”

“I’ve never met anypony quite so… challenging to be around. Half the things you say just set my teeth on edge. However, Fluttershy tells me you don’t do it on purpose, so I’m trying to take that into account.”

“Ah… Trixie, uh, sees? She supposes?” It was a strange sentiment, but apparently it bought her the benefit of the doubt. Still, Trixie couldn’t just let an accusation like that fly by. “But what has Trixie ever said to you?”

“Really?! You—” Rarity paused and closed her eyes, slowly rubbing her temples for a moment before looking at Trixie again. She spoke calmly, “Every personal thing I’ve told you, you’ve used as ammunition in the short time we’ve spoken. You mocked my love life, you taunted me with my dislikes, and you even brought my mother into it.”

Trixie blinked, dumbstruck. “...Uhhh, Oh. The, the, uh, the swamp green thing… that was just a joke.” Even as she said it, it struck Trixie just how feeble her excuses were. At the time, she had not given a second thought to the comments, but now she felt miserable. “Ah! But Trixie didn’t make fun of your overly expensive imported bottled soap.”

“Or at least you hadn’t.” Rarity groaned, laying her foreleg across her eyes as though to block out the stupidity. “I would tell you to think before you speak, but what would be the point? We tell Rainbow Dash that and it never helps with her either. I suppose that means you deserve each other.”

“Trixie can’t deny we make an excellent pair” She smirked for a moment, but then folded her ears back. “Look… Trixie is sorry.”

Rarity froze, then slowly lifted up her hoof to look at Trixie with a look of bewilderment. As though she’d just seen a fish sing. “You. You are?”

This wasn’t quite the reaction Trixie had expected. “What? Is something wrong?”

Rarity snapped out of her daze and shook her head. “Ah, no. No. It’s just… I’ve never heard you say that without sarcasm before.” Her lips curled into a playful smile. “I wasn’t even sure if you were capable of apologizing for anything.”

“Heh. The Great and Powerful Trixie’s talents are wide and varied.” Trixie waved her forelegs about in a failing gesture to look impressive while lying down.“But, don’t get used to it, a good magician won’t show her audience the same trick twice.”

“I suppose that means any chance of getting you to apologize for ruining my mane is officially out the window then, mhm?” Rarity raised a single brow.

“No,” Trixie flashed an innocent smile, “but Trixie can tell you she has no intention of doing so again.”

Rarity released a mock sigh and shrugged her shoulders. “That will have to do I suppose.”

“Well...” Trixie thoughtfully stroked her chin as she appeared deep in thought. “As an encore for her adoring audience, Trixie will divine one positive thing about you. How about that?”

“Oh?” Rarity’s ears perked up and it was clear she was giving Trixie her full attention. “Do go on.”

“Your telekinesis.” Trixie faked a cough to try and covered her mouth in an attempt to hide the shameful red of her cheeks. She still wasn’t quite over her defeat earlier. “It was very impressive. N-nothing compared to Trixie in her prime of course, but to be able to contend with the Great and Powerful Trixie at even a mere fraction of her magnificent power makes you a remarkable mage. How did you learn to do that?”

“Would you believe a self defense class?” Rarity adopted what Trixie could only assume had to be some sort of martial arts fighting pose, but she suffered the same problem as Trixie and failed to make it look impressive while laying down. “While rescue via handsome prince is of course preferable, it is not always terribly expedient.”

“You learned fine telekinesis control in a half hour class?” Trixie raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, that.” Rarity waved it off. “I’ve been working with fabric since I was a filly, I suppose I just got a lot of practice. You should try wielding a sewing needle, a pair of scissors and three sheets of fabric at the same time… Not that I am suggesting I could do that from the start of course. I worked my way up to it.”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “You’ll have to show Trixie that sometime.”

“Why I’d be happy to. I’ve no doubt that you’ll be dropping by soon,” Rarity said with an air of mystery. “I have to say, you should perform this ‘routine’ more often. I’m sure there are more audiences who will adore it.”

“What routine?”

“You know. Conjure up an apology and divine something nice to say about somepony. I’m positive you will be a hit.”

Whether that was a sincere comment or an insult Trixie couldn’t quite tell. Yet, if Rarity was making an effort to give Trixie the benefit of the doubt when she said something off color, perhaps Trixie could return the favor. On the other hoof, that could be exactly what the crafty unicorn wanted her to think.

Ultimately, Trixie just smiled and nodded. “Trixie will keep that in mind. Before any of that though, Trixie feels she must ask… how did that thing end? With your mom?”

“Ah, well…” Rarity looked surprised but she smiled at her. “We reconciled of course. My mother might not have understood a thing I said, but she still asked me because she wanted to spend time with me and it was all I would talk about at the time…Well, or now for that matter.” She blushed and cleared her throat.

“Good.” Trixie smiled. There were few things she wouldn’t wish upon enemies, but everypony deserved a mother’s love. “Do you still do that?”

“She visits.” Rarity said simply. “Say, could you do me a favor?”

Although Trixie was a little apprehensive, she nodded. “Trixie is willing to entertain your request.”

Rarity clapped her hooves together. “Excellent, excellent. You won’t regret it I’m sure. See, I actually may have checked a wrong box on a form at some point and ordered a vial of myrtille perfume. It’s not my kind of fragrance, but I feel like it would suit you perfectly. Would you be willing to take it off my hooves? If you don’t like it, just throw it out.”

Trixie could feel the fire in her veins rekindle as prepared herself to react when Rarity tried to rag on her choice in cosmetics again. It took her a moment to realize that Rarity was waiting on an answer, without ever getting to that part. “Uhm. Well, when you put it that way… Trixie supposes she can do you this favor. As a friend.”

Rarity held a look of refined satisfaction. “Wonderful, thank you, darling.”

Chapter 127- Reply

Fresh air at last.

Trixie squinted against the sun while attempting to navigate her way through Ponyville’s streets. It was refreshing to feel the cool breeze caress her fur after spending so long cooped up in the spa. Like everything else in there, they seemed to import the atmosphere from some foreign land as well, a hot one in this case.

Admittedly, Trixie could not argue with their results. Especially while looking over her shoulder at the somehow even more radiant little cutie that followed her. Fluttershy’s fur had always looked soft, but after they left the humid building her fur had finally dried and gained the kind of slight puffiness to it that one could normally only find on the world’s cutest puppy. It was no small task for Trixie to restrain herself from hugging her in public.

After the spa treatment was over, Rarity had stayed behind for some reason, but helpfully encouraged the two of them to leave without her. A sentiment that Trixie greatly appreciated as she all but pushed Fluttershy out the door.

While Trixie was not in a particular hurry to return, she had to admit she really really enjoyed getting pampered the way she had been in the spa. Of course, Trixie would prefer to do so with just Fluttershy by her side, but she could tolerate Rarity’s presence if that’s what it took. It had taken some time, but they’d found some common ground in their mutual passion for fame and fortune through their trade.

Fluttershy had agreed to let Trixie try her hoof at getting them to their destination this time. Admittedly, this would have been a much bigger responsibility if Trixie could not see the gigantic building she wanted to go to as soon as she stepped out the door.

Ponyville Town Hall stood alone in the middle of the plaza. It was easily the tallest building around for miles, even when discounting the spire tacked on top of it, which Trixie felt was cheating anyway. Aside from its height, the building also had a distinctly different make than most of the others in that it was round as a tower rather than square like the surrounding shops.

Maybe this was a bad idea. She didn’t really have to go there right now. Maybe it would be better to just wait for a… Trixie wasn’t really sure what passed for law enforcement around these parts. Sheriff? Police? Royal Guard? Lynch Mob? Filly Guides? Trixie had no idea.

Anyway, she could probably wait for one of those to drag her in there. This was basically turning herself in. Innocent ponies didn’t turn themselves in, did they? No. Why was she doing this again? She should just go home.

“Uhm, Trixie? Should we be going? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to. We can stay here, that’s okay too.”

Realizing she’d been listlessly standing still in the middle of the road, Trixie took a couple of swift steps forward. “Oh, yes! No! No, Trixie was just… admiring the building, yes. Trixie was definitely not at all getting cold hooves about this whole thing. She just, well, thought it would be a longer trip.”

“But, uhm, you knew it was right there… You looked at it before we came in and you said—”

“That Trixie would go there as soon as we were done! Trixie knows!” Trixie turned around an threw up her hooves in frustration, causing Fluttershy to flinch back with her ears flat. A bucket of icewater couldn’t have been more sobering. Trixie carefully brushed Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. “Sorry, Trixie didn’t mean to shout at you.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t scared, just, uhm, startled. Cause, the yelling.” Fluttershy offered a kind smile. “If you just want to prolong the trip to town hall a little bit… Maybe we could take a detour through the market? I think Applejack is working her stall today too. If you want to.”

“Yes, perfect.” This way she’d have some time to collect her thoughts and steel her nerves. Besides, there was nothing wrong with deciding to see a friend first. It was totally not running away if she planned to return later. A tactical retreat, yes. “It’ll be nice to talk with good old Applejack. Speaking with Rarity was exhausting.”

“I don’t know how you and Rarity do it. There was almost more yelling than talking. It’s confusing.” She pawed at the ground for a moment, then looked back to Trixie. “I can’t really tell if you are friends or enemies. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, well allow Trixie to enlighten you,” Trixie said while she nimbly slid up besides Fluttershy and slipped a hoof around her. She was every bit as soft and fluffy as Trixie imagined, but like a true professional it only distracted her for one or two forevers. “You see, it’s not the same between unicorns as it is for everypony else. We’re very intricate. Earth pony relations are simple, Pegasi ones are a little more flighty but still quite simple. However, between unicorns it is like a constant chess match, except you can’t see all of the pieces.”

Glancing briefly at Trixie’s hoof, Fluttershy looked around nervously as other ponies passed by. “C-chess? I, I don’t I think I understood your answer. I’m sorry.”

“It’s a board game that—”

“I know what chess is.” Fluttershy muttered under her breath.

“Never mind! Of course you do! It was a joke. Haha.” Trixie chuckled awkwardly, she hadn’t really expected Fluttershy to say anything, but perhaps she shared Trixie’s hatred of being condescended to? She’d have to try to keep that in mind. “What Trixie meant to say was, it’s complicated.”

“Uhhm...”

The look of profound confusion on Fluttershy’s face left Trixie to reconsider her strategy. It probably wasn’t wise to try to explain it all to her. As a pegasi, she probably wouldn’t understand and even if she did it wasn’t the answer she wanted. No, Trixie already knew the answer she actually wanted to hear. “Yes, we are friends.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Fluttershy showed that lovely smile again, confirming that Trixie had made the right choice.

The trip to the market was short, and it did not take long to find Applejack’s stall. After all, the only thing one had to do was follow the sound of—

“Get your delicious nutritious apples here!”

Well, that.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the little hayseed hard at work.” Trixie said amiably while trotting up to the stall. Applejack wasn’t alone either, that little sister of hers was there as well, looking decidedly bored. “And the miniature edition too! What luck.” That earned her a glare from the little filly.

“Howdy-doo, strangers.” Applejack tipped her hat. “Well, don’t the two of ya look nice ‘n clean. Y’all still —whatchamacallit?— incognito?”

“No, Trixie is about to speak to the mayor anyway so allowing her cover to be blown five minutes early won’t matter.” Trixie didn’t mention the reverse was true. It served as a little bit of extra incentive not to chicken out and to actually go see the mayor. If everypony knew who she was anyway, she might as well turn herself in. Not that that was what she was doing, of course. She was innocent.

Fluttershy offered a quiet nod. She might have said something, but if so the clamor of the market drowned it out.

“Oh? Well, good luck with that, sugarcube. Can Ah interest ya in some apples? A good apple always calms mah nerves.”

“You know Trixie can’t afford any,” Trixie groaned. She wasn’t even really sure what she was doing here. Well, that wasn’t true, she was stalling… at a stall. “Unless you take payment in amazement and wonder.”

Applejack rubbed her chin as she considered the offer. “Well, Ah ain’t one to usually go fer this kinda thing, but Apple Bloom’s been grouchy all day.” She said while tussling her little sister’s fiery mane, who deftly ducked out of her reach. “So, Ah tell ya what, if ya make her smile, Ah’ll consider it payment. How ‘bout that?”

“Ah ain’t grouchy, Ah’m bored.” Apple Bloom yawned and leaned her head against the side of the stall. “Why’d Ah think this’d be fun anyway? All ya done is stand here yelling apples fer ages. Ain’t like a sideshow’s gonna help.”

Trixie had not expected Applejack to take her seriously, and she wasn’t all that interested in performing a trick on the spot. However, seeing as Apple Bloom was so dismissive of her it was practically a challenge to her talents. Besides, any chance to show off in front of Fluttershy was a good excuse.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie gracefully accepts your offer.” She winked at Fluttershy briefly and then turned her attention to the little bored filly. “Apple Bloom, yes? What if Trixie told you she can tell the future?”

“Ya’d be a liar,” the filly deadpanned.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack scolded.

“What? It’s true.” Pointing a hoof at Trixie, Apple Bloom stared up at her big sister. “Y’all know it’s what she does. Fer a living no less. It’s a rotten thing ta do, ya said so yerself.”

“Ah, uh, look it ain’t as if… What Ah mean is...” Applejack turned back to Trixie and gave her an uncomfortable smile. Two apples were plucked from the baskets on either side of her and pushed across the counter. “H-here ya are. Ah reckon she’s more lively now, so, uh, ya earned it.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow as she witnessed the exchange. Applejack’s obvious discomfort stung as she hadn’t denied the accusation at all and was clearly trying to get rid of Trixie. Magically grasping the offered apples, Trixie inspected them idly. “Trixie’s not sure about these, they look rotten” she said coldly, locking eyes with Applejack.

“Land sakes, Trixie, ya really want ta get into this? Right here?” Applejack pushed herself away from the counter. “Yes, Ah said it. Ya happy now? T’was before Ah actually talked to ya, alright? If it’s all ta same to ya Ah’d rather not get into any arguments with ya.”

“Oh, That changes everything.” Trixie smiled smugly. “Trixie will forgive you for failing to recognize her greatness on first sight. At least you know better now.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, the little brat.

“Ah sure do think more highly of ya now than Ah did then. That’s the truth.” Applejack said with a crooked smile. The poor mare must have been working harder than Trixie thought, given how much she was sweating.

Trixie passed one of the apples to Fluttershy. “That’s good enough for Trixie.” She bit into her apple while she looked down her muzzle at Apple Bloom. It wasn’t very nice of her to make her doubt Applejack. No tricks for you.

“But maybe...” Applejack looked and sounded as though the words had escaped from a grueling prison and were spreading the word of all her darkest secrets. “Ah mean, uh... ”

A treacherous piece of apple threatened to choke Trixie and it was only through valiant struggle that she managed to expel the fiend. Her attention swiftly turned from apple to Apple. Treachery in all! “What?”

Applejack scratched the back of her head while pointedly avoiding eye contact with Trixie. “Well, Ah mean… Ah get that yer passionate ‘bout yer job ‘n all. ‘N Ah reckon it’s true ya work hard, which is good, Ah respect that, Trixie… It’s just…” Applejack looked like she was bracing herself to light a powderkeg. “Them stories bout yerself that ain’t true? Ah still dun approve.”

Apple Bloom had the smuggest face Trixie had ever seen on a filly.

Trixie returned the half eaten apple to the counter. She’d never liked apples. They could look all nice and shiny on the outside, promising sweetness, but still taste bitter when you took a bite. “Trixie thought we’d talked this over already.”

“No,” Applejack shook her head. “Yer the only one that talked. Ah don’t want ya ta misunderstand, Trixie, ya said a lotta things Ah hadn’t thought about, but it weren’t no discussion. Ah weren’t comfortable saying what Ah thought at the time, on account of the fact that ya had a long day ‘n excitement was clearly bad fer ya. Frankly, Ah still ain’t sure Ah want to get into it.”

It was a strange sensation, Trixie thought she would have been more outraged to have somepony she trusted betray her like that. All this time, Applejack had fooled her into thinking they got along. That they were friends. Yet, she wasn’t burning with rage, no, she was calm. Cool. Cold. “Get into it.”

“Phew, well, since ya asked ‘n all... ” The tone of relief in Applejack’s voice indicated she’d all but left her fallout shelter. “Ah had a long time ta think bout what ya said that night. Like how boasting is part of tha show ‘n that it weren’t no different from me when Ah’m selling apples. Ah reckon that’s true to a point. But, there’s a difference between saying these apples are the finest in Equestria and saying these apples will cure whatever ails ya, right?”

“Of course.” Trixie said shortly, the tension in her body causing her to press the ridges of her hooves into the ground. She could scarcely believe she was standing here listening to Applejack compare her to a common snake oil salesmare. As if Trixie hasn’t suffered enough indignities for one day. Trixie thought she could count on others; what a mistake. She should have learned this by now, nopony is actually on Trixie’s side. Trixie was just fooling herse—

The sensation of the deep rigid cold in her body melting under a gentle warmth spreading from her back derailed Trixie’s train of thought. A quick glance revealed Fluttershy’s wing wrapped around her. Although Fluttershy didn’t say anything, Trixie didn’t need any words to know the sweet thing had sensed her distress. Offering up a smile, Trixie leaned into her carefully, seeking comfort beneath her wing.

“By tha same token, Ah just can’t abide the notion that yer going ‘round telling folks things ya know ain’t so. Yer a great magician. Ya made mah bathroom dissapear in mah own house fer Pete’s sake! Ah reckon yer show’s plenty amazing when yer just being truthful ‘bout yerself.” She tapped her hoof on the wooden counter. “Also, there’s the part where ya called us up on yer stage. Now Ah get how ya felt, we were jerks. Weren’t right of us to heckle ya like that when we coulda left, ‘n Ah’ll even say a slice a humble pie was just what we ordered.”

“That’s right.” Trixie nodded. “That was always a popular part of Trixie’s show, taking ponies down a peg when their talent gets compared to that of The Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“But ya were a tad too mean-spirited in the way ya went about that…” Applejack added. “In fact, it wouldn’t kill ya to be a little nicer in general. Ya never even apologized fer any of it, even though we did. In fact ya said once ya ain’t sorry fer anything.”

“So, in conclusion, Trixie is a lying jerk.” Trixie deadpanned.

“Consarnit, Ah didn’t say that!” Applejack looked exasperated. “Just cause Ah think ya have a few faults don’t mean Ah don’t like ya. We’ve all got some.”

“In that case,” Trixie turned away from the apple stall, unfortunately slipping out from under Fluttershy’s wing in the process. “Just because Trixie is leaving doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you.” With a whip of her tail, she walked away with her nose held high. She was better than this.

“Trixie, come on now.” Applejack called after her.

“It, uhm, I’m sorry. I-I’ll talk to her.” Fluttershy assured Applejack before she left as well.

Meanwhile, Trixie stomped off. The marketplace wasn’t that big but the sooner she got to the other side of it the better. If only ponies didn’t keep obstructing her progress. “Why is it so busy anyway, don’t these dirt ponies has somewhere better to be than in Trixie’s way?” she muttered to herself while pushing through the crowd.

Trying to keep up with Trixie’s rapid pace proved too difficult for Fluttershy; she lagged behind.

The constant sound of ponies all around her was driving Trixie up the wall. Peace and quiet, that’s what she needed to process this nonsense. As much as she enjoyed performing in front of a crowd, she’d always made sure her wagon was nearby. It’s walls were made of thick wood that dampened the outside world, creating a small bubble of solitude. She warned even her staunchest admirers she was not to be disturbed when she isolated herself in there.

But her wagon was gone, and the peaceful haven of the cottage was too far away.

Reaching the edge of the market place, Trixie’s eyes fell upon the buildings that now barred her way. A few main roads funneled noisy ponies in and out of the square, but there were less traveled paths, the alleyways between the buildings looked quiet and inviting.

Without pause, Trixie slipped into the shade of the nearest alleyway and turned a corner. From here she was out of sight and the noise of ponies shopping for carrots was slightly muffled as well. It wasn’t ideal, but short of breaking into somepony’s basement Trixie didn’t think it was going to get any better.

That would be wrong, right?

Actually, there was a better way. Trixie had been forbidden from casting spells for so long that she had nearly forgotten she could do that now.

Oh, wait. Duh.

Her horn lit up, spreading a faint orchid light that soon dissipated and took all the noise in the world with it.

Well, all the noise outside of her little soundproof bubble at least.

“That’s better.” Trixie smirked while inspecting her work. “A little trick that Trixie picked up from her old professor. Did you know he never actually taught Trixie how to do this, Fluttershy? Trixie copied it. That’s just how amazing she is. Anything you can do, I can do better, indeed… Fluttershy?”

Trixie looked around. Even with the shade, there were not a lot of places to hide in the alley, and Fluttershy wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Fluttershy? Oh, come on! You were right behind Trixie!” Trixie stomped her hoof down impatiently as she trotted back a few steps towards the market place and tried to spot the familiar pink and yellow tones.

Obviously, it was no use. Yet one more problem she was going to have to add to the list of things she had to think about. Maybe the answer would present itself. Trixie trotted further down the alley again.

Now that she knew she was alone, the place seemed darker and colder than before. Even the silence of her spell felt eerie, and Trixie’s thoughts involuntarily wandered back to when she’d left the hospital. A trio of ponies had cornered her in an alley much like this one.

This was a bad idea.

From the corner of her eye, Trixie caught movement behind her.

“F-Fluttershy?” Trixie whispered with a tremor as she quickly turned around.

Of course, it wasn’t Fluttershy at all. Instead, Apple Bloom stood in the middle of the alley, flapping her gums. It was a silly sight, given that Trixie couldn’t hear anything she was saying while the spell was active.

Apple Bloom seemed to be getting pretty heated as she kept making more grand gestures and stomping her tiny hoof on the ground. It was actually kind of amusing, though Trixie’s smile seemed to agitate the little filly further.

After savoring the weirdly adorable display for a while, Trixie decided that Apple Bloom’s impression of an angry goldfish was starting to become rather one note. The filly wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down however.

This wasn’t quite what Trixie had in mind when she went looking for some peace and quiet, but having just one filly distracting her was much easier to tune out than a whole town. The chances of her finding a more secluded spot were slim anyway. She was actually kind of nice to look at, like an angry little lavalamp. Trixie watched the filly’s antics while allowing her thoughts to return to her original objective.

First things first. Trixie appears to have lost Fluttershy. It was definitely a problem, but if Apple Bloom apparently had no problem finding her then Trixie could assume Fluttershy would reach them eventually. Most likely she was just trapped in a near endless loop of apologizing and yielding the right-of-way to every pony she met.

Essentially, all Trixie had to do was wait. Much like how as a filly she was told to stay put in the event she ever got lost.

That just left the Apple family.

It was painfully clear that all the mares of that family just loved to give their honest opinions on things. As evidenced by Apple Bloom’s continued yapping. Trixie wasn’t sure what she was saying, but it probably was no less insulting than the things Applejack told her. Trixie didn’t understand where it came from. Trixie thought Applejack was her friend. Why were they trying to hurt her feelings with lies? If Applejack really felt that way, she should’ve said so from the start, not snake their way into Trixie’s good graces only to backstab her later.

What is with ponies fighting with Trixie today? First Rarity, now this. Is Trixie wearing a kick-me sign?

Actually, now that she thought about it, Applejack had mentioned something like that. Something about keeping her opinions to herself to spare Trixie any extra stress during her recovery. Trixie had dismissed it at the time as an obvious lie from that traitor, but maybe it did fit.

Trixie nodded slowly. She was better now, so Applejack felt she could talk to her about it? If doing so sooner would have affected Trixie’s health, then that could only mean Applejack cared about her, right? Otherwise she wouldn’t have waited.

Come to think of it… didn’t Trixie tell her to speak her mind?

Trixie bit her lip as she thought about the things she accused Applejack of afterwards. Sure, the simple farm pony had said some things Trixie disagreed with, but… maybe. Rarity had said similar things, and it couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

It was an awfully convenient thing that two ponies both said the same thing to her on the same day in the same way. Oh, sure maybe they were right. Maybe they were just trying to help Trixie with some friendly advice, or maybe...

They are conspiring against Trixie!

She shook her head, attempting to dispel the dark thoughts.

No. Applejack wouldn’t have said anything if Trixie didn’t ask. Besides, there’s no way they’d know Trixie would even go to the market today.

That was, of course, unless Fluttershy was in on it too. After all, she suggested going to the market! What if this had all been some elaborate ruse!? All her supposed friends were actually playing some kind of trick on her. They didn’t care. They were just trying to manipulate Trixie! Trying to make her change her ways through petty deceit!

Trixie’s chest ached fiercely at the thought of such terrible betrayal. Maybe that was why Fluttershy wasn’t here; they realized Trixie had seen through their trickery! Tears welled up in her eyes as she clutched her chest. She couldn’t breathe!

No! Stop it! Stop thinking like this! This isn’t—This is different! Don’t panic! Wait, that’s it! Panic! That’s all this is! Calm down!

Easier said than done. Her mind raced in every which direction, piling on more and more ‘convincing evidence’ and spinning further out of control. Slight pauses in Fluttershy’s speech became incriminating proofs of disingenuous intentions. Seemingly innocuous teasing compliments from Rainbow Dash became backhanded.

The sudden sound of approaching hoofsteps startled Trixie, causing her to lose concentration on her silence spell. With a soap bubble pop, all the sounds of the world came rushing back to her. The whistling of the wind, the murmur of ponies, the squeaking of wheels, and the sobbing words of a small little filly that was burying her face in Trixie’s chest.

“T-thanks.” Apple Bloom choked out while Trixie stared down at her in complete befuddlement.

What? Why? Huh!?

The overwhelming sensation of confusion quickly overshadowed every other emotion previously swirling in that overboiled witches cauldron she called a brain.

Apple Bloom hated her, right? Why was she clinging to her and crying? Was it a trick? Did Trixie do something she wasn’t aware of? Did something happen?

Trixie looked past Apple Bloom into the market crowd in a silent, desperate plea. Someone save Trixie! What is she supposed to do about this!? No pony came to her rescue, or even appeared to notice her predicament. At a complete loss, Trixie sat back on her haunches and wrapped a hoof around the shaking filly and stroked her back awkwardly. “T-there there.”

Thankfully, the gesture seemed to have some kind of effect as the quakes that ran through Apple Bloom reduced to mere tremors. “Ah...Ah never told nopony this before.”

Oh, thank the lucky stars! Perking up her ears, Trixie kept stroking the filly’s back while she waited for Apple Bloom to tell her this thing. Whatever it was, maybe she could piece together what on earth was going on.

However, Apple Bloom didn’t say anything else for the longest time. Finally, she pushed herself away from Trixie and wiped her eyes, regaining some of her bolterous composure in the process. “Ya tell anyone else, and Ah’ll never forgive ya. Ya understand?” she said with a hint of threat in her voice. The surprise must have been clear on Trixie’s face, as Apple Bloom quickly followed up with a less presumptuous tone. “S-sorry. Ah guess ya wouldn’t.”

Nothing made any applebucking sense.

Trixie wanted to just grab the filly by the shoulders and shake her till she started acting normal again! But, whatever the heck was going on, whatever happened, it looked like it was some kind of good thing? Apple Bloom seemed… friendly?

Of course, Trixie could ask… But, it looked as though Apple Bloom thought Trixie knew what she’d done. Whatever that thing was, it was positive, and admitting she had no idea what the thing was felt like it would jeopardize whatever was causing this sudden amiability.

No, admitting Trixie was clueless was not an option!

“Trixie, uh, won’t tell… naturally.” She ventured, carefully. It seemed to please her as she showed a smile. It struck Trixie that this was the first time the filly had ever smiled at her. It was a melancholy feeling, as she had no idea what she’d done to earn it.

After another moment of this, it suddenly dawned on Trixie that she was currently in the back of a dark alley, holding a little filly whom she had no relation to. She most definitely didn’t need any additional misunderstandings adding to her already dismal reputation!

As soon as she realized it, she let go and took a quick step back. “W-well! How about we go find Applejack? Yes! That! Trixie is sure she must be worried sick.”

Fortunately, Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Ah reckon yer right.” She allowed herself to be led out of the alley by Trixie. As she trotted after her she spoke up. “Ya really ain’t as bad as most ponies say… Sorry fer taking so long ta figure out.”

“That’s alright,” Trixie said while she navigated her way through the market with the filly in tow. “Most ponies don’t take the time to talk to Trixie.” By now, she’d worked out that whatever happened must have involved Apple Bloom having a weirdly one-sided conversation with her while she was outside the sound barrier. Somehow or another, the filly had failed to notice that Trixie wasn’t hearing a word she said.

“Yeah, yer right.” Apple Bloom said as though she’d just received some kind of golden wisdom. She had a thoughtful look on her face as she mused to herself. “Maybe… somepony should just talk to her too...”

“Her?” Trixie asked, then quickly bit her tongue. Stupid! What if she told Trixie about this pony!

“Zecora, the witch.”

Phew, close one. Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. “What is it with you ponies and witches? Oh!” Just as she was speaking of witches, Trixie spotted the most adorable ‘witch’ in all of Ponyville, trying in vain to get out of a crowd of ponies gathered before a busy stall.

“I-I’m sorry, could I just—Oh, that’s okay, I’ll go after, uhm, c-can I, maybe? Oh, dear.”

Trixie reached behind her to take Apple Bloom’s hoof in hers to ensure she wouldn’t lose the filly then turned her attention to the crowd. “Move!” With all the tact of a magically shielded minotaur, Trixie forcefully parted the sea of ponies as she marched straight at Fluttershy, grabbed her and plowed her way straight back out again. “There you are, Fluttershy. Trixie was worried that... well exactly this was happening. You realize you have wings, yes?”

Struggling to keep up with Trixie’s pace, Fluttershy babbled something only half coherent due to her voice consistently getting drowned out by the shouting merchants and haggling customers they passed, but Trixie surmised it was about Fluttershy preferring not to stand out too much by flying if she could help it.

Not much further away Trixie recognized the unmistakable apple stall and trotted right up. “Hey, Applejack! Is this yours?” She asked while magically lifting up a flailing Apple Bloom, depositing her behind the stall in her old spot.

“Hey!” Apple Bloom shouted while she ran around the stall back to Trixie, “Do that again!”

“Apple Bloom! Ya run off like that again ‘n ya can forget about getting yer own apron next time!” After determining to her satisfaction that her little sis was fine, Applejack turned back to Trixie with a smile. “Sorry fer tha trouble, Trixie. Mighty kind of ya to help her get back.”

“Ah could’ve found mah own way back.” Apple Bloom protested without even missing a beat while Trixie levitated her off the ground again and floated her over the stall a second time. “Ain’t like Ah need an escort ta go anywhere else.”

“Hush, you.” Applejack plucked her impudent sister out of the air and planted her firmly back down on the ground. “What possessed ya to go chasing after them anyways?”

Trixie decided to interject. “Applejack, Trixie has decided you may not be entirely wrong.”

Applejack raised a brow. “Uh, thanks?”

Ignoring the gesture, Trixie pressed on unabated. “So Trixie has decided to allow you to witness a once in a lifetime performance.”

“Right now?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“Yes! The Great and All-knowing Trixie has been working on a new act. Your participation is vital.” She could tell Applejack’s apprehension a mile away. A fair sentiment perhaps, considering the last role Trixie imparted onto her during a performance. “Fear not! All Trixie requires is your ear—Get your hooves away from there!” Trixie snapped as Applejack swiftly covered her ears.

Applejack didn’t relent. “Not till ya tell me what ya want with mah ears! Ah like ém tha way they are.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Just, ugh, forget it. Trixie was only going to say something nice about you, okay?” Even as she said so, it was clear Applejack stayed wary, but lowered her guard at least some as Trixie continued. “You… let’s see… You did some really nice rope tricks, for an earth pony. Not many could rival that… Maybe even including Trixie, which might be why she humilated you instead… That wasn’t right of her, and Trixie is sorry.”

After listening to Trixie’s entire spiel, Applejack immediately turned towards Apple Bloom. “Alright, spit it out. What’ve ya done with the real Trixie?”

Chapter 128 - Reimburse

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. Most of the clouds had been cleared or moved to adjacent regions that were scheduled for rain. Well, probably scheduled for rain anyway. Rainbow Dash might have given up on the whole ‘reading requests’ thing a little bit and just moved the clouds about at random. So far, nopony seemed to have noticed the difference.

But they were going to notice this.

Rainbow Dash did a final airborne pass, gleefully rubbing her hooves together as she oversaw the fruits of her labor. She’d skimmed a few clouds off of the top of each ‘order’ she had pushed around today. Not enough to really be missed, but just enough for what she had planned.

A large, puffy, and friendly-looking white cloud was positioned directly above Golden Oaks Library.

“Rainbow Dash?” A familiar voice called from below.

Right on time.

“Oh, hey, Twi!” Rainbow Dash called down with a wide grin. “What do you think?”

Twilight trotted out the front door, trying to get a better look at the spherical cloud. “Uh, it’s pretty, I guess? But, What’s it doing here?” She had a disheveled look about her, as though she’d been up all night.

“It’s a funny thing about clouds,” Rainbow Dash mused. “They're all white and puffy, right? But when we’re moving ‘em we gotta be real careful, cause how we feel can make the cloud feel too. It’s funny, right? Feeling clouds?”

“I, I guess?” Twilight looked confused, perhaps being this tired made her slower than usual. However, soon enough comprehension dawned on her and she switched over to her lecturing face. “I’ve read about this before. A pegasi’s emotional state can influence the properties of the clouds they come into contact with. It’s sometimes used to produce the desired weather conditions, but it is considered unreliable because it is hard to alter your mood at will. You can’t just decide to feel sad whenever you need to make a rain cloud for example.”

“Uh, yeah, all that. I was totally gonna say that, for sure.” Dash scratched the back of her head. She’d gone to school for this stuff and she still barely knew what Twilight was talking about. Still, the gist of it matched up to what she remembered. “Like I said, clouds are funny things.”

“That’s great, Rainbow Dash, but I’m really busy right now. Can we do… whatever this is… some other time? I’ve got bigger concerns than clouds at the moment, I’m sorry.” Twilight turned around to head back inside.

Rainbow Dash zipped past her and then up towards the cloud. “Come on, Twi. We’re almost done!” Hovering beside the puffy whiteness, she pressed a hoof against it. Almost immediately, the color of the patch she touched changed to a dark gray, which quickly spread through the rest of the cloud.

A rumbling sound started up and within moments, the happy puffy cloud had turned into a huge thundercloud, swollen with moisture and crackling with righteous thunder. There was no other cloud so ready to burst in the history of Ponyville, and it was positioned directly above Twilight’s tree library home.

With a clap of thunder, rain started pouring down, soaking Twilight along with everything within twenty feet of the library.

Twilight stared wide-eyed at the transformation. “That’s incredible! How are you doing that so easily? Did you figure out how to separate the weather manipulation component from the emotional trigger? We should study that! Stay right there. I’ll go get my electrodes and--”

“What? No!” Rainbow Dash dragged her hooves down her face. “How is this not obvious? I’m mad at you!”

Already halfway back to the door, Twilight turned around to face Rainbow Dash again. She slicked back her soaking wet bangs, revealing a confused look on her face. “Mad at me? Is this about that request for cloudless nights on Fridays? It’s for stargazing and astronomy studies. Did you know Luna has been moving the--”

“No!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Gah, this is all AJ’s fault!”

“Applejack?” Twilight looked even more lost than before. “”How did she get into this?”

“I knew I should have just bucked you in the face immediately, now it’s all weird cause it’s been like two days already.” She ignored the sudden step back and concerned look on Twilight’s face. “She was all ‘Golly, Dash, Ah dunna thinka ya oughta be hastay, ey?’, so I slept on it. I was still mad in the morning, but not so mad that I wanted to actually hurt you, so, so, well this!” She pointed back up at the stormcloud and its relentless downpour.

Twilight relaxed a little upon hearing Dash had apparently given up on the whole face bucking plan. “Oh, good. Well, not good, but, uh, thank you. Look for what it’s worth, I think it makes a good practical demonstration of your feelings. Much better than hitting me. I can’t stress that enough… Now, what are you mad about?”

“Trixie! I heard what you did to her and… and well,” She looked back up at the thundercloud and stared at it as though she was trying to remember just what her plan was. “I guess I thought I’d feel better.”

“Do you?” Twilight asked while blinking against the rain as she tried to look up at Rainbow Dash. “You don’t look like you feel better.”

Dash shook her head violently. “No! But, I’m sure I will any second now. It'll definitely kick in once you’re cold and miserable.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and turned around. “Okay, have fun. I’m going back inside. Where it’s warm and dry.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash darted down to fly alongside Twilight as she trotted towards toward the door. “Come on, Twi, you’re ruining it! I worked hard on this!”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said while stepping over the threshold, leaving the rain, “but it’s not my fault your big revenge plan is foiled by foliage. I know I went a little too far, but my mind hasn’t changed. I’m sorry I accused her without any solid evidence, however I am almost sure she was involved with that spellbook somehow. Now if you don’t mind, I’m in the middle of an intense investigation to prove it. No thunder cloud is going to keep me from bringing this book thief to justice.”

Dash hovered outside the door, trying to ignore the rain beating down on her as she glared down at Twilight. “Oh, yeah? Well, well , I bet if I leave it here you’ll be sorry!”

“If I am, I’ll let you know.” Twilight shut the door.

The Ponyville Town Hall.

Apparently, seeing the mayor wasn’t as simple as merely walking in and demanding to speak to her. No, of course not. Trixie should have expected she would be detained immediately for daring to do so.

Okay, technically a waiting room was not a jail cell. At least they brought you water and bread in jail. No, a waiting room was all the boredom, uncomfortable furniture, unsavory fellow inmates, and outdated reading material, without the fun of a metal cup to rattle along the bars.

Trixie absentmindedly took a bite from one of the sweet apples Applejack had given her to sustain her through these trials. Well, maybe not specifically for that purpose, but she was very insistent that Trixie had earned them after returning Apple Bloom. The filly had been in a much better mood than before. After all, that was the deal, even though Trixie had no idea why they were apparently friends now.

It was all good, though; Trixie liked apples and Apples. They had a straightforward, rustic quality that Trixie could appreciate. Even more so than other fruits and earth ponies.

“I-I’m sure everything will be fine.”

In the seat next to her sat her unshakable pillar of support. For all her assurances, Fluttershy had the kind of poise and cool that really made Trixie look at ease by comparison. It wasn’t any wonder, considering that Fluttershy took to conflict like a duck to tartar sauce.

Trixie pulled Fluttershy against her with a flourish. “Of course it will. Trixie will even keep the yelling down to a minimum, just for you. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Their eyes met for a long, uncertain moment before Fluttershy finally nodded. “Okay, but… maybe you should have brought Rainbow Dash? I… I don’t think I can…Uhm... I’m sorry.”

“Dashie would just share Trixie’s jail cell. We need your non-threatening presence.” Trixie wished she had something more reassuring to say, but the truth was she too would have felt a whole lot better if Rainbow Dash was with them. Unfortunately, her office was empty when they swung by on the way here, though they did spot a large thundercloud being moved through the sky. It seemed a safe bet to assume Dash was far too busy with managing that.

“The mayor will see you now,” a dull-colored mare said, motioning towards the ominously looming door at the far end of the waiting room. “Alone. Quietly.”

Trixie narrowed her eyes at the impudent clerk. “Who are you to presume to tell The Great and Powerful Trixie in what manner she is to approach or conduct herself. Trixie will do as she pleases!” She turned to grab Fluttershy, but one look at those big, worried eyes of hers and the flash of indignant anger in Trixie crumbled into concern. Maybe she shouldn’t be dragging her into more trouble than was necessary. “You, uh, hold down the fort here. Like we planned! Yes. Trixie will talk to the mayor one on one.”

“But, I, uhm, Weren’t we going to…Mpf?” Fluttershy meekly protested till Trixie gently silenced her with a hoof against her lips.

“Shh.” Trixie would have given the world to hush Fluttershy in a slightly different way, but she didn’t want to break her again. “You secure the perimeter,” she turned back to glare at the clerk as she finished with extra emphasis, “Like. We. Planned.”

The clerk rolled her eyes in defeat and slinked off to whence she came.

Triumphant, Trixie made her way to the door, taking one last look back at Fluttershy. She looked like a lost puppy. Flashing her a reassuring smile, Trixie said, “Trixie will be right back.” Then, she pushed through the door.

The sight that greeted her had Trixie feeling as though she’d stepped back through time. The office was eerily quiet and shadowy, the shades were drawn. A large desk featured prominently in the middle of the room, behind which an older pony flipped through papers with a casual disinterest.

In front of the desk was a stool, presumably meant for Trixie to sit on, providing a stark contrast with the large, comfy chair the mayor was settled into. It did not escape Trixie’s notice that the seat of the chair was higher than that of the stool, meaning a seated visitor would always be looking up at the mayor. An obviously transparent intimidation tactic.

All of these things might have made an ordinary pony break their stride. However, no normal ponies had ever attended regular after school magic classes in the profoundly creepy office of Professor Silence. Trixie knew she had to strike quickly. If she didn't establish dominance, then it was likely her next few nights would be in a jail cell.

Without slowing down, Trixie trotted past the stool towards the desk. Once there, she reared up and placed her front hooves on the edge of the desk, raising herself up higher. With a smirk, she stared down at the surprised face of the mayor. “You’ve waited long, but at last you have the privilege of meeting The Great and Powerful Trixie in person. Rejoice!”

“Ahhh,” Mayor Mare flinched back and held her head in her hooves with a pained grimace, “Shhh. Shhh. Didn’t Miss Sugarplum tell you to be quiet? Oh, my head.”

Trixie blinked. “Are you drunk?” Any atmosphere of intimidation the room might have held was quickly deflating.

“What?” Mayor Mare said, flabbergasted. “No!”

“Fine fine, not now obviously.” Trixie rolled her eyes. Cranky ponies were such sticklers for detail. “Now you’re just hungover.”

“No, I’m tired! I’ve not had a wink of sleep in weeks. Do you have any idea what I’ve dealt with? The Sunrise Celebration preparation and fall out. Nightmar—I mean, the return of Princess Luna. sleepless apple farmers, whom I am understanding much better now by the way. Abusive griffons. Cranky ursa majors. Honest to goodness dragons roosting nearby and—”

“Minor,” Trixie interjected.

“—What?”

“It was an ursa minor.” It was also just a minor correction, but Trixie figured it had to help her case to point out she couldn’t be accused of bringing a full on ursa major down on the town. “And it didn’t even really do anything… well... except...” Trixie lost steam as her wrecked wagon came to mind.

“I feel as though you may be missing the overall point, Ma’am.” Mayor Mare pushed her glasses a little higher up her nose as she seemed to finally focus on Trixie for the first time since she entered the room.

“There’s no need to blow it out of proportion. Besides, you say all this as if you had to deal with all that, but Trixie is certain you were not even involved in any of that. It is unbecoming of you to take credit for handling the princess, the ursa or the dragon. You should try to be more honest.”

Stuck somewhere between outrage and incredulity, the mayor stared openmouthed at Trixie. After a few soundless false starts, she finally found her voice again. “...I’m sorry. Did you really just? You know what, never mind. No, I am not ‘taking credit’ for the act of ‘dealing with’ those events themselves. I don’t know why I am even explaining myself. Did you think everypony just shrugs this off? I’ve had a near non-stop conga line of ponies in here each time asking about everything from decreased property value to crisis management plans —Have you ever tried planning for the unexpected? It can’t be done!—, and deductible therapy bills. Or, on some rare occasions, hysterical purple ponies demanding I sign a form to turn the library into a fortress and refuse to leave till the early morning!” Mayor Mare stood in her chair and breathed heavily. She looked out of focus again, seemingly suffering some sort flashback.

“Erm, Trixie had nothing to do with any of that.” She cautioned. “Especially that last one.”

“Huh?” She snapped back to reality and slowly sank back into her seat. “Right, yes. Sorry. It’s been a, well, a stressful couple of weeks.”

“Through no fault of Trixie’s. Let’s keep that in mind here.” Trixie urged.

“Yes,” Mayor Mare echoed tiredly. “I mean. Yes. Uhm, why are you here again?”

It dawned on Trixie that not only had she lost her momentum, but she also didn’t have a plan. In hindsight, formulating an approach before she actually went to visit the mayor would have been the sane thing to do. Sure, she’d thought to bring Fluttershy, but moral support didn’t equate to a plan.

It had never crossed her mind to actually prepare for the most important part!

She could feel sweat starting to dampen the fur on her forehead as she tried her best to look more in control than she felt. At least the mayor didn’t seem any more on top of things than she was. “Well, you, uh, you asked for Trixie. Yes! Nurse Redheart told Trixie you asked to be informed when Trixie was well; Trixie is informing you.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” The mayor actually offered up a smile. “That’s good then. Did the ursa injure you? I was never informed how you ended up in the hospital.”

There was an interesting idea. If she claimed the ursa had hurt her, they probably wouldn’t pile any heavy punishment on top of that, would they? “Yes, it was the ursa’s fault.” She was pretty sure that only Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy knew the truth anyway. Besides, it wasn’t really lying. If the ursa minor had never shown up, none of this would have happened. “It was definitely the ursa’s fault.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to see you’ve recovered so well.” Mayor Mare’s eyes held an alert glint that definitely wasn’t there before. She pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it.

Trixie’s ears perked up. She could make out a metallic sound, like cuffs.

After a moment, the mayor reemerged, holding a notebook that she proceeded to flick through. “Now, as I understand it, during the attack your… ‘stage wagon?’ was destroyed. Naturally, I’ve taken this into account already, but I wasn’t aware you were hurt...Mhmm.”

“Trixie, uhm, appreciates that...” There was an uncomfortable lump in Trixie’s throat as she watched the mayor write something down in the notebook. “Don’t forget that Trixie came here.” That was it then. She’d done all she could think of to express any possible mitigating circumstances. She just had to hope that wasn’t only a thing in novels. Why didn’t Trixie remember to steal a book on law while she was breaking in anyway?

“I can see that,” the mayor mumbled while she studied her notes.

Part of Trixie nagged at her to pull a disappearing act. To try and avoid any punishment. But, that wasn’t what she was here for. Taking a shuddering breath, Trixie closed her eyes. If she was going to stay in Ponyville, no stay with Fluttershy and Dashie, then there was only one thing left for her to say. “Trixie will accept whatever you deem appropriate...”

“Well, that makes this easier.” The mayor clapped her notebook shut and the scraping of wood indicated the drawer opened again. “Alright, here are your bits, ma’am.”

A clear, metallic clinking sound hit the tabletop.

Trixie blinked stupidly at the sack of bits and gems between them, glimmering in the faint light of the room. Dumbfounded, Trixie pried her gaze away from the treasure pile, looking Mayor Mare in the eyes. “...Really?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The notebook received a final few quilmarks then disappeared into the drawer, which promptly shut.

“That,” Trixie swallowed and looked around, expecting some sort of SWAT team to come out of the walls now that her guard was down. When no such teams appeared, she turned back to the mayor. “That’s really it?”

“Yes,” the mayor replied, tilting her head in confusion. “Unless I missed something? Oh, of course, don’t worry about the hospital bill.”

“So…” Trixie went quiet as she struggled to find a diplomatic way of asking what she really wanted to know. She couldn’t find one. When she couldn’t control her nerves any longer she snapped and started just rattling off a list. “No prison time? No stoning, or public shaming? No—”

“Ma’am!” Interrupted the mayor, her eyes wide in shock. “We both know what those two colts did was wrong, but do you really think they deserve something as bad as that!? You said it yourself, ultimately the ursa was at fault here.”

“You can’t be—You’re just messing with Trixie now!” She pointed her hoof at the bag of wealth. “That’s Trixie’s? Trixie is to take it and go home?! What about Trixie lying about defeating an Ursa Major!?”

Scrunching up her face, Mayor Mare took off her glasses and rubbed her temples. “Ma’am, I don’t know how the laws work where you are from, but in Ponyville it is not illegal to tell tall tales. There’d be nopony left. Now, I am very busy. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. In my office, that is. Preferably not within earshot either, but I can’t compel you to comply with that.”

With cautious optimism, Trixie lifted the bag off the table. It was heavy. As heavy as she thought a bag like that should be. Not that she’d ever seen that much wealth put together in her life. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Mayor Mare had her sign a receipt, and that was it.

The implications were slowly hitting her as she trotted out of the office and back into the waiting room. Only Fluttershy was there, still looking every bit as nervous as before.

And then, Trixie woke up.

That is to say, she woke up to the notion that this was all really happening.

It was real.

Trixie didn’t have to go to jail, or Tartarus, or Saddle Arabia. She wouldn’t have to leave the two ponies that had come to mean the world to her. She could go home with Fluttershy. She didn’t have to be so scared anymore.

Trixie had more bits than she knew what to do with. Finally, she could stop leeching off of Fluttershy’s kindness. She didn’t have to feel so guilty anymore.

“Trixie?” Fluttershy was suddenly standing mere inches away from her, eyes wide with concern. “Trixie, what’s wrong? What happened Are you okay?”

It was only when Trixie saw herself reflected in Fluttershy’s eyes that she understood the worry in the sweet filly’s voice; Tears of relief were streaming down Trixie’s cheeks as she felt so many fears just wash away. Struggling for words, She couldn’t think of any way to express the sheer joy welling up inside her except for one: Trixie leaned in and kissed Fluttershy. “Trixie is not okay.” Her voice cracked pathetically, but she didn’t care, “She’s Great... and Powerful.”

Author's Note

How good it feels to finally be here.

This is where I'm concluding Trixie's Forest Retreat, but a sequel is coming soon.

Trixie has come a long way since that fateful skull fracture in the first act. With this last chapter the last few threads of her original fears and obstacles back then have been severed, putting her in a new and much improved situation. One you could describe as a happy ending.

Of course, we all know there are plot lines still running that could potentially mess that up in the sequel, but here? It's a happy ending, and it always will be. I like that.

Though a sentimental reason like that is nice, it's also pretty convenient to start a 'new' story with new tags and a new tone on the desc page. I struggled with that for a while now as Trixie's situation changed so much from the start that the desc didn't cover the content and couldn't without just spoiling the first half of the story.

~~I'm also looking forward swapping from a Teen tag to an Mature one. Not because I plan to start writing hardcore clop or anything, but because it sure will feel good to take guess work out of chapters that might be a little too close to a very vaguely defined line. (Or in case I actually want to write some hardcore clop, don't judge me!~~ :trollestia:~~)~~
Edit: Nevermind, that actually came with more strings than I thought it would. Live and learn. Teen it is. ^^

Thanks for reading folks. :yay:

Chapter 1 - Running

Trixie blinked some of the remains of her magical smoke out of her eyes, hearing the thundering of her own hooves upon the road below her while she fled away from the townsfolk as fast as she could into the dark purple glow of the night.

A loud angry voice rose up behind her. “Why that little!” She glanced back just long enough to spot the winged mare take to the skies and fly in her direction. The sight spurred her on to run even faster. She recognized that voice as the loud, multi-colored foal whom she’d shown up earlier, but not before getting an impressively clear display of just how fast the pegasus was. Trixie was sure she was pursued by her after that. She could only hope to make it as far away as possible. At least that way, when the rainbow mare would eventually catch up and drag her back, Trixie would make that trip as long as possible before facing the townsfolk again. She dropped her ears flat in fright at the idea of being dragged back to town.

“Just keep going! Maybe she will lose Trixie in the dark!” She immediately chastised herself for the foolish notion. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and the stars lit up her enchanting white mane and tail like a beacon. She felt a pang of bitter regret at the thought that she’d lost her hat and cape somewhere in what remained of her carriage. Their purple color and star motif would have camouflaged her quite well. The only place she could see that was actually dark was the forest to her left. “Wait that’s it! Trixie just needs to make it to the trees!”

She did not waste a single moment to even look back as she swerved towards the tree line. A light orchid glow surrounded her horn to summon up quick puffs of smoke as she tried to keep herself from being too easy of a target. As she galloped past the first tree, Trixie flashed a triumphant smile. She had made it!

Trixie weaved through the trees quickly as she dashed deeper into the darkness of the forest, extinguishing the orchid glow to blend into the black. She was completely certain she had shaken the cyan pegasus. “Haha! That foolish foal was outwitted by the Great and Powerful Tri—OOf!”

In her haste to outsmart the pegasus by ceasing to emit light in the dark forest, she had also made it impossible to actually weave out of the way of the trees and smacked straight into the rough black bark of what she estimated was surely the sturdiest tree in all of Equestria. She bounced off the tree and collapsed at its roots. She curled up to cradle her poor muzzle with her forehooves.

“Ah! Trixie will not forget this! You! You! Uhm...” She tried to recall her pursuer’s name, but she had not truly paid any attention to it. She did however recall the name of her friend, having heard it just after her humiliation. That would just have to do for now. “...Twilight Sugarcube.” Still, she just knew that not being able to remember the pegasus pony’s name was going to nag at her all day.

Trixie rested on her back uncomfortably on the hard roots of the tree that had toppled her. She was breathing heavily to catch her breath after her galloping escape. She shifted her body to slip in between two roots till her blue fur laid down upon the cold forest floor, and actually felt a bit of relief with her new position. Trixie stared up at the just barely visible night sky through the heavy canopy of the forest.

Excellent! There is no way those foals will find The Great and Powerful Trixie now! Trixie boasted inwardly of the results of her genius idea. Just as planned of course. She fought the urge to crow of her victory out loud for the moment, however. Although she was well hidden, the ponies might still hear her.

Her eyes shifted back and forth, trying to make out anything in the darkness like the shapes of approaching ponies or lit up horns through the trees. After some time, Trixie was finally satisfied that it was indeed impossible to tell that she was here, so she allowed her mind to rest on another thought: Well... it is good that The Great and Powerful Trixie has triumphed over her foes... but Trixie can’t see a hoof before her eyes, and creating light would be counterproductive to her escape... Perhaps it is best if Trixie remains here until daylight and gathers her strength. She nodded slightly at her own train of thought and stifled a yawn while closing her eyes, not that it really made that much difference in the darkness.

The events of the night had been so terrifying when she was driven out of her bed to battle a raging Ursa Major by those foolish colts. If that Twilight Sugarcube could do it, then surely the Great and Powerful Trixie could have had those colts wait till morning like Trixie commanded. Nopony would have the energy to fight after spending the day performing feats beyond imagination! Not even Trixie! I mean, The Great and Powerful Trixie! …Oh, who is Trixie kidding… The memory of her rude waking forced a yawn from her. Trixie began to realize just how exhausted she was from her performance of unimaginable feats: bravely holding of the line against the Ursa, escaping the ungrateful town and that prismatic pony.

Thoughts and worries of the ungrateful Ponyvillians tracking down the Great and Powerful Trixie played through her head. What would they do if they caught her? Just how close were they right now? They were probably looting her poor wrecked carriage and dividing up the spoils to pay for a couple of minor claw marks on that roof the Ursa Minor briefly rested its paws on.

Trixie was starting to feel sleep overtake her while she pondered on that second feat. That blasted name on the tip of her tongue. Prism Crescent? No. It was something... to do with... her act... was it not...? The answer escaped for the day as the last of Trixie’s resistance was overcome, setting her drifting off between the rough tree roots deep in the Everfree forest.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed^^

Chapter 6 - Rage

Rainbow Dash cleaved through the top layer of the unnatural cloud covering over the Everfree Forest, leaving a multi-colored streak in her wake. She loved the cool feeling of the moisture on to her fur combined with the winds. It cooled her down while she raced to the next cloud to puncture. Normally, she thought only of doing it faster.

She was much more distracted today, however, with her mind continuously drifting back to her conversation with Fluttershy. Things had been going so well as she told her animal-loving friend about the Ursa's rampage. Rainbow Dash had spent a good deal of time telling her all about the actual Ursa, exaggerating its ferocity and danger to the town, before telling of the way the Ursa was vanquished and Trixie driven off.

Rainbow Dash should have smelled the trouble coming when she'd seen the worry on Fluttershy's face when she mentioned that Trixie had fled into the forest. However, she had been much too busy complaining about Twilight's apparent lack of caring and just assumed it had worried her friend too.

“I just thought if I was gonna have to get up early and get wet 'cause of her, then so should she!” Rainbow Dash had protested, trying to convince Fluttershy she'd done nothing wrong.

Fluttershy looked down at the floor, scraping her hoof along the wood. “But... it's the Everfree Forest... She's all alone in there... I don't think anypony deserves that... And you made it worse?” Raising her head just enough, Fluttershy looked Rainbow in the eyes. “Didn't you say that nopony ever comes out? ...Except us...”

Kicking through a particularly wet cloud brought Rainbow Dash back to reality. ”One look, and the perfect prank feels like the worst thing in the world. How does that pony do that?” Her stomach felt like she'd taken one of Applejacks bucks, just thinking about the disappointment in her friend's eyes. As if she was bullying that braggart.

“It's not fair! Why do I have to feel bad just because that blowhard got herself into trouble? Just cause I didn't stop her? Twilight even told me not to!” Rainbow Dash racked her mind for reasons she could levy against her feelings, but each one just felt hollow in comparison when she tried to imagine using them on Fluttershy.

Floating still in midair, she brought a hoof to her face. “Nopony ever comes out, except us huh? Oh that was subtle.” She dragged the hoof down, her eyes rolling. ”She did not expect me to just clear the clouds did she…?” Flying up higher, she observed the clouds below. She estimated it was thin enough at last for a single dash to part the clouds.

Stalling for time while she tapped her hoof against her head, she scrunched up her eyes. “Come on! There's got to be something you can say if you go back empty-hooved right? Anything that would make Fluttershy accept that Trixie is fine where she is?” She pictured herself talking to Fluttershy for a moment, then opened her eyes with a sigh. “Fine.” Diving down at breakneck speed, Rainbow Dash ripped through the cloud cover, tearing it in half with a final swoop.

Rainbow Dash turned back to admire her handiwork while the clouds slowly drifted apart. The heavy moisture in the air broke the light, making it seem as if the blur of her mane and tail had remained frozen in midair. Staying quiet, she stared at the colors, just appreciating for a moment how awesome she could be, even unintentionally.

“Rainbow! And Dash!”

Rainbow Dash blinked as she heard that grating voice below her. For the briefest of moments, she considered pretending she had misheard, before diving through the parting clouds towards the source of the sound. “Trixie?”

Trixie's ears perked up. Her head snapped towards the sky in shock as she heard her name called. Hooves slapped before her mouth while she stared up with wide eyes. Seriously!? Of all the times to blurt out loud! She was not sure how long the pegasus had been on her trail, but this was clearly no accident as far as Trixie was concerned.

She weighed her options between hiding, fleeing, and confronting Rainbow Dash. Trixie had bested the pegasus once before, though she was not entirely sure she could do it now. But to flee or hide from just one pony was clearly a sign of weakness. No, Trixie would have to come out with a strong bluff, or warning rather, and scare her off to get reinforcements. That should wo—

“Hey, are you gonna stay in there? Looks wet.” Rainbow Dash stood right at the entrance of her little cavern, her head tilting while she observed Trixie. She gave a chuckle at the sight of her predicament.

Startled by the interruption, Trixie scrambled to her hooves.No! Trixie wasn't ready yet! “And just what is so funny?!” she yelled with as much strength as she could muster, letting her horn glow up. She rose to stand tall, but the low ceiling collided painfully against her head and horn, making her quickly lower down again, the orchid light dying out with a flicker.

The sight seemed to amuse the other pony greatly as the chuckle broke into full out laughter while Trixie rubbed her head and glared up at Rainbow Dash. “Stop laughing at The Great and Powerful Trixie! She will not stand for this!” Moisture beaded up at the corners of her eyes despite her best efforts. Please, just let her go away. I don't want this.

Rainbow Dash raised up one hoof to wipe the tears of laughter from her eyes, while waving the other in front of Trixie. “Okay, ahaha, okay stop, just stop!” Clearing her throat, Rainbow Dash stifled her laughter. Though Trixie could tell it was just barely contained. The corners of Rainbow Dash’s mouth constantly crept up, before she'd catch herself and attempt to put on a straight face again. “Phew! So you've been roughing it huh?”

Trixie's eyes narrowed while she watched the mocking pegasus, unsure of how to respond with something that would not result in another volley. the best and easiest way to stop the laughing was probably to anger her. Taking a few deep breaths, she steadied herself. “What tipped you off? The fact that you chased Trixie out of town without a bit to her name? You cowards.” Shooting Rainbow Dash a cool glance, Trixie did her best to look smug.

That seemed to do it, Rainbow Dash turned from snickering to nearly snarling. “Hey you are lucky you got off that easy! If it were up to me, you'd pay for putting all of Ponyville through that!”

That was more like it; anger she could deal with. “Oh you would make Trixie pay? For what exactly? Trixie was there, and the only thing that Ursa destroyed was Trixie's home. It barely even scratched a roof of Ponyville!”

“Serves you right for bringing it here doesn't it? You almost destroyed everypony’s home, but just ended up destroying your own! Twilight says there is a word for that: Ironing!”

Now it was Trixie's turn to laugh. She quickly seized upon the opportunity and climbed out of the cavern, getting face to face with Rainbow Dash. “It's pronounced 'Irony,' and it's not the right word for it even IF Trixie had brought the Ursa to town; it is poetic justice you foal!” A confident smile returned to her face It was amazing how easy it was to manipulate a country pony. “If that Twilight Sugarcube told you that, then she is as ignorant as you are! If she had not interrupted Trixie, she would have shown that incompetent unicorn some real magic!”

She saw Rainbow Dash spin around, turning her back to Trixie. With a feeling of triumph for driving the loud pegasus running away, she added. “That's better. You ru—” She did not get any further. Her eyes went wide as a set of hindhooves rapidly closed in on her face.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed!

Read about how to do small flashbacks and doing a little practice for it here. I wonder if it came over as intended.

Since we're back on Trixie perspective we don't get to see much of rainbow's motives or thoughts aside from inferring.
Fortunately Rainbow is pretty straightforward ^^
I have the urge to imply the rational behind the characters actions heavier but I hear giving the reader some credit is much more sensible, I can't argue with that ^^
Probably implying it a tad too heavy at times as it is >.>

Considering if I should end this story here and tell the rest in a new continuation story. Or keep it all within the same story, though I am not sure what to do with the tags at that point. Any advice on that would be appreciated I'm not sure what is the norm.

Chapter 25 - Roused

What’s that sound? Why is there sound? The last thing Trixie could remember was the roar of the timberwolf, signaling it was right next to her. Is Trixie… Dead? She had never given much thought to the idea of an afterlife, or how it might feel to be dead.

There was still a pounding in her head, drowning out her other senses. She was dimly aware that her body was in pain, but it did not seem important anymore if she was dead anyway. She could sense she was laying on something warm and soft, her ragged cloak acting as a blanket.

This is not so bad… Maybe Trixie should not have been so scared of dying.

She perked up her ears listening to the strange noise, the sound was familiar to her. Somepony was crying and talking in between sobs, it sounded like her own thoughts repeated back to her out loud. Maybe that was what people meant when they said you could see your life flash by when you died? Trixie had imagined it a little flashier.

“I-I screwed it up again… Why does everything I try backfire?”

That’s right… Everything Trixie’s tried failed, or made it worse. Like with her show, her escape, the animals, this forest trip, or… Fluttershy.

“I never should have hurt her, I’m a terrible pony.”

Or Rainbow Dash... She was only trying give Trixie someone to talk too, and Trixie just chased her away.

“I try so hard to make it better, but I just mess it up. I nearly got her killed.”

Trixie was so busy catching up she never noticed the timberwolf. Trixie led Fluttershy right into danger.

“I’m sorry, I really really am. I’m sorry for everything.”

Maybe Trixie should have said that when the Ursa attacked… It’s too late now.

"And I know I should be actually telling you this, but I just can't.... This is my only chance to get it off my chest. You'll never hear it with the mute spell thing around here."

Trixie should te—Wait. What?

Trixie’s eyes opened, the bright sunlight greeted her. It took her a moment to get used to the light, all of the trees that had been shielding it were gone. She could see the sky, sun, clouds, and cyan fur. Her eyes lifted up slowly, a feeling of dread spread through as she began to realize where she was. The prismatic mane came into view next, cementing her fear. She trembled noticeably while she brought her eyes up just a bit more, looking right at Rainbow Dash’s face.

Her first instinct was to scream and scramble away, but the scream died in her throat when she noticed something she’d never seen before, Rainbow Dash was crying? Her mind was racing, she tried to figure out what was going on. This was the same strong and confident pegasus that she’d been afraid off?

Somehow she did not look quite as scary now. The voice Trixie had heard played through her mind again. If that was not Trixie, then… Rainbow Dash felt like this too? She had realized already that the cyan pegasus felt guilty, given her reaction when she threw her near death experience in her face, but not that it had been effecting her this much all along.

She was not even sure how she ended up here, but slowly the memories came back to her. All about her last moments of terror with the timberwolf then getting snatched up off the ground. She might have passed out after that, thinking the timberwolf grabbed her. But from the looks of it, somehow she had her vain hopes granted. She was alive, saved by the prismatic pegasus.

“One second later, and I really would have finished you off by bringing you here…” Rainbow Dash mumbled, her magenta eyes staring up at the sky. She was clearly unaware Trixie was awake, and by the sound of it unaware of how the silence effect actually worked.

She felt a painful stab of guilt in her chest. She did not truly know how to deal with this. Normally she would humiliate any pony that wronged her, but that did not feel right anymore. Maybe… Trixie could try like with Fluttershy?

It took her a moment to actually work up the courage. Rainbow Dash had gone quiet and all Trixie could hear anymore were her breathing and heartbeat, as she had been laying with her head on the pegasus’ chest. Perhaps this is not such a good idea. Should Trixie stay quiet, act like she is asleep? No! This is what Trixie tried to find her for in the first place, don’t be such a coward! Finally she pulled her hooves around Rainbow Dash in a hug, it felt strange to have her hooves dig so easily through the cloud that was carrying both their weights.

“Woah what’s this? Maybe she woke up?” Rainbow Dash blinked the tears out of her eyes quickly and put on a goofy grin as she stared down at Trixie. She motioned towards a cloud lower down with her head.

Trixie followed the motion and smiled widely once she found what Rainbow Dash was trying to show her, Fluttershy was sound asleep on a cloud below them. Good, she made it. Her attention turned back to her supposed tormentor. “You know, sound still works in a few hoof radius.”

Rainbow Dash paled immediately. “I-Is that so? Well that’s erm… convenient I guess. So did you errr have a nice nap?”

“Trixie heard all of it.” She was tempted to let Rainbow Dash squirm with that knowledge for a while, but pulled tighter instead. “It’s okay… Trixie… Trixie is sorry. Sorry for saying those things, for everything... She thought of you as just a monster, you aren’t. You saved Trixie… Saved me… Thank you, thank you so much. T-Trixie thought she was ready, she was wrong.” She broke into tears and averted her gaze quickly. Of course she would snap right in the middle of her little speech, why did she ever think otherwise? “T-Trixie can’t do a-anything right, it’s pathetic.”

Rainbow Dash stared down at Trixie in disbelief for a moment, then shifted one hoof up from Trixie’s back to stroke her mane. ”H-hey uhm uh… S-shhh it’s okay,” she spoke awkwardly, trying to mimic Fluttershy’s tone. It did not last very long. “Ugh I can’t do this! It’s not cool. Trixie, if you failing all the time also made you fail to get yourself killed then I’m glad! Keep failing!”

Trixie shrunk as Rainbow Dash’s went from the almost mock soothing voice to straight up scolding her. She was about to push herself away, but then she felt Rainbow’s Dash tighten her grip on her, warm wings wrapping around her.

“You’re such a foal. You failed to beat my dare, so you beat me. You failed to leave Fluttershy’s care, so you stayed and got better. You failed to take it easy, so you helped around the house. You failed to beat the Ursa, so you stalled until Twilight came. You failed , and you apologized. You failed to beat the timberwolf, so you risked yourself and send that signal. You failed to die twice, so you can keep on failing. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing! It’s not how many times you fail, it’s what you do after. And every time I’ve seen you fail, you immediately adapt! And do the best you can, even if it’s maybe not the right thing, you never gave up, and I think that’s pretty awesome!” Rainbow Dash voice rose in strength, taking deep breaths as she finished her rant.

Trixie looked up into the pure magenta eyes of the pegasus, not a hint of dishonesty to be found in them. She felt soft cyan feathers sweep along her muzzle wiping her tears away. “You… really think so?”

“Hey I may not have gotten the Element of Honesty, but you can trust me to be honest and loyal to my friends.” Rainbow Dash gave a cheesy grin at Trixie. “And I suppose there is enough of my awesome to go around for one more, what do you say?”

Trixie blinked slowly as she let the words sink in, repeating one phrase back to the pegasus almost sure she misheard. “Friends?”

Rainbow Dash grinned at the unicorn on top of her. “Sounds good to me, Friends. Now get off me will you?” She laughed, it was not as if Trixie could even if she wanted.

Friends

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 44 - Reinterpret

It was dead silent in Fluttershy’s house, normally there would be an almost constant soft skittering and chirping from the small animals that lived there in the back ground. Now all the only sound was the breathing of two ponies.

Applejack had found the key as she promised and let the both of them, and the apples, inside. Neither of them had ever wandered around in Fluttershy’s house when it was dark however, and it took an embarrassingly long time to find out how to turn the lights on.

“Ugh this is taking forever! Trixie thinks it is better to just sit in the dark.” Trixie had made a fairly rapid attempt to cover up her small break down and insisted she merely had gotten viciously assaulted by a roaming speck of dirt to the eye.

“Ya can’t just sit in the dark waiting fer somepony, that’s down right creepier than a twelve legged spider in a bathtub. Well unless yer Pinkie Pie I reckon, but she turns the lights right on when ya get there. It still freaks everypony out though, or maybe it’s the screaming surprise part.”

Trixie stared blankly at Applejack for a moment. What in the hay? “Yeeesss well, Trixie supposes you have a point. This would be so much easier if we had some actual light.” She tapped what looked like a small shaded lamp with her hoof, but she had no idea how to turn it on.

“Well how bout ya make some light with yer horn then? I seen yer show ya could make lots a lights.”

Trixie bit her lip. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not give sneak previews.” She set the lamp back down and tried to spot anything else within hoof distance she could examine, trying to avoid triggering another headache by moving about too much.

Applejack raised a brow. “Really, you pick right now to decide you don’t want to show off anymore?”

“Right, just hush and figure out how to make light on your own. She’s your friend right, how do you not know how to turn her lights on?”

“Yer the one that’s lived here fer a week, don’t ya know where Fluttershy keeps the candles or something?” Applejack squinted at what she guessed might be bookshelves, letting her hoof run past it to feel for anything different.

Trixie shook her head. “Trixie was not awake at night, nor during the day for that matter. This is actually the first time she has seen Fluttershy’s house in the dark. It’s… eerie.” Though Trixie was sure it was less to do with the house, and more with the disturbing lack of so many familiar elements.

Rummaging through the shelves, Applejack replied. “Ya sleep that much? I figured ya might be a bit spoiled, but I hadn’t pegged ya fer being that lazy.”

“The Great and Diligent Trixie is not lazy! Rainbow Dash ki—c-came across Trixie in the forest. Something had hit Trixie in the head, Trixie does not remember it very well. She went to get help. It turned out Trixie had a concussion, it’s what is making Trixie so tired till she is better.”

“But it’s been a week. Surely ya can’t be that bad off now.”

Trixie stayed quiet for a moment as she considered her options. “Trixie… relapsed. She pushed herself too hard. It’s was just that Trixie did not want to be a burden so she tried to help in ways she probably should not have.”

Applejack looked over her shoulder at Trixie’s silhouette. “Well that explains the hospital gown Ah guess. That mean yer tired right now too?”

“Exhausted.”

“Ya know you could take a nap if ya wanted. Ah don’t mind”

“Don’t underestimate Trixie. She is not—Ahah!” With a cry of triumph she produced a candle from a drawer in the small table the shaded lamp stood on. “As usual if Trixie wants a job done well she should do it herself!”

“Real impressive, so how are you gonna light it if ya can’t use yer magic?” Applejack came closer, and stubbed her hoof on a table leg in the dark. Uttering some choice country flavored swears Trixie had never heard before, and she’d have commented if she was not distracted by something else.

“Trixie never said she could not! She just will not. Now make yourself useful and just do some earth pony voodoo to light this thing.”

“Earth pony voodoo? What in blazes, ya mean hard work?”

“Yes that. Hop to it, Trixie did her part.”

After giving Trixie a glare, which was rather ineffective given that neither could really see the other, Applejack took the candle from Trixie and made her way over to the hearth. She quickly found a flint and tinder and struck a few sparks.

Trixie winced lightly as the first spark caught her by surprise and closed her eyes tightly. “Ack! Give Trixie a little warning next time. Shouldn’t you do that outside or something? What if you burn the house down.”

Applejack slammed the flint down on the stone bricks of the fireplace, the sparks illuminating her scowl briefly. “Ya can tell me to do the job, or how to do it. Pick one.”

“Err, however you do it is fine. Trixie cannot be bothered to micromanage your every move.”

A few sparks later a soft, warm glow flickered through the room. The light revealed all the stools and table legs that the pair would have sworn kept moving about just to hit them in the shins while they walked, of course now they all kept perfectly still.

Trixie smiled, the room did not look quite as alien anymore now that there was a little light. “Hey you actually did it, Trixie is impressed with your performance.”

“Heh, you know something that actually sounded genuine fer a change.” Applejack picked the candle up and carried it towards the table. “I reckon we can just sit here for a spell and wait fer ‘em here.”

“Wait, Applejack, Trixie has a better idea.” She pointed towards the windowsill next to the front door. “Do you think we could put it there? For good luck.” Trixie watched Applejack lift up an eyebrow.

“Fer good luck? Ah don’t rightly know what yer on about there Trixie. We would waste like half the light there. And there’s nothing ta sit on.” Applejack looked over at the window then back at Trixie, a questioning look clear on Applejack’s face.

Trixie smiled and trotted up towards the window. “Well, it’s a travelers custom. Or you could say a non-travelers custom really. Lighting a candle in the windowsill is said to bring good luck to travelers and help guide them back home safely. Course travelers is a bit loosely defined, runaway foals count for example. Just anyone that is not home and might need a little help returning.”

“And you believe that’s true?”

”Well… maybe Trixie does not, but it can’t hurt? What Trixie does believe is that it is a symbol that the ponies left behind really want their loved ones to come home. Trixie has been on the other end before and well… It feels really nice to see a small warm light signaling the end of a tiring journey, to know there is a pony there eagerly waiting to...” Her voice trailed off as she just stared outside at the night sky.

Trixie only snapped out of it when she heard a small clank nearby. She glanced down to find the candle in a holder on the windowsill, then looked back to find Applejack nearby giving her a smile.

“Ah reckon it can’t hurt neither.”

“Thank you.” Trixie mumbled softly and returned the smile.

Applejack pulled on Trixie’s tail. “Come along then. I reckon we earned a rest after all that trouble. We got a good view from here too.” She trotted across the room and climbed onto Fluttershy’s large couch, and Trixie followed her example.

Laying on the couch, Trixie stared at the weakly flickering flame quietly. The light barely reached them there.

After a while of observing, Applejack broke the silence. “Ya really do love ‘em don’t ya?”

Trixie flinched startled. “W-what no! Trixie, uh… Trixie… d-does… I-it doesn’t feel right to deny it.” She averted her gaze to avoid showing her face to Applejack. Though she did not exactly expect ridicule from the mare at this point, she had not taken a single opportunity yet.

“It’s okay ya know, Ah love em too.” Upon hearing that Trixie’s breath stocked and she looked back to Applejack who smiled softly. “Like Ah do all mah friends and family.” Trixie breathed a sigh, but she could not quite place the feeling she got after hearing that. She found herself letting out a little chuckle.

“Ah reckon ya are a better pony fer it. When I saw ya in town ya were just a big show off, but since ya spend been with them yer doing much better.” Trixie’s ears perked up, she had some idea of why that was.

“But yer taking it a bit far aint ya? Breaking out of a hospital ta come back here? Ah can’t imagine what possessed ya ta do such a thing.” Applejack shook her head.

Trixie pondered the question. What was I thinking… Even if there was a fire what was I going to do? I just was not really thinking straight because… “...They did not visit Trixie.” She choked out the words, it hurt just to say them. “T-Trixie was so worried. She thought something must have happened to them, b-but that’s not the worst part. Trixie hoped something had happened.”

Applejack gasped. “Why in tarnation would you wish something like that upon yer friends?”

Rubbing her eyes, Trixie tried to hide her tears. “Because otherwise, it meant they were not Trixie’s friends! So when Trixie saw the smoke she convinced herself they were in trouble, and went out to help.”

“Oh Trixie… that has got ta be the dumbest thing Ah have ever heard. Ah got half a mind ta put you over mah knee fer thinking of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy like that! As if they would ever just pretend to be somepony’s friends.”

Trixie just nodded and stared down at the floor, her shoulders shaking lightly. “Trixie knows it was selfish and stupid. Nobody told Trixie anything, but she should have trusted them. Just yesterday Rainbow Dash was mad cause she did not trust Trixie, and now Trixie does the same thing.”

Applejack rested a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “Well its good ya understand where ya went wrong. It’s okay ta make mistakes Ah reckon. Ya gotta look on the sunny side; It’s just one more way we learn, and besides nopony got hurt. Though Ah reckon there’ll be a spot of chaos at the hospital. Bet ya they are as worked up as a beehive with no comb, but that aint mah problem thank Celestia.” She chuckled.

“You’re right, Applejack. Thank you for listening to Trixie.” She perked up a bit. “Trixie can see now that some good things came out of her mistakes this time. She got to eat the best pie in the world, and meet you.” Trixie showed a smile again, thinking about the positives really was helping. ”And your BIG brother.” She let her eyes slid half closed and looked dreamily as Trixie said those last three words.

She could practically feel Applejack tense up beside her. “Whoa! Ya stay away from mah brother ya hear? Ah mean it! A-and none of that stuff like before neither!” Applejack huffed with narrowed eyes while her face ran red. If Trixie had to guess she was remembering their departure.

The dreamy expression melted into a wide grin on Trixie’s face. Teasing the naïve cowmare was just too much fun. “You’re talking about that kiss aren’t you? Well don’t you worry. If you like Trixie can proof to you she won’t go after him.” She leaned in closer as she spoke.

“Ya can? Ah doubt that. Let’s see it then.” Applejack said, her eyes ran over Trixie searchingly.

With that, Trixie pointed towards the candle in the windowsill, and once Applejack turned her head to look at it Trixie leaned in the rest of the way to plant a kiss on Applejacks cheek in the same manner she had with Big Mac.

“Whoa!” Applejack recoiled and tumbled off the couch, crashing into the ground. Fortunately it was not all the high. She laid on her back with her hind legs still on the couch, staring up at the lightly grinning Trixie. “W-what the hay does that prove? Ya just go around kissing random ponies ya don’t know? Have some self-restraint mare!”

Trixie’s grin faltered, feeling a sting in her chest at the remark. Her ears folded back against her neck. “N-no, it’s only for friends. Sorry! Trixie thought it might be more fun showing you this way, sorry…” She pulled her gaze away from Applejack and settled it downcast on the pillow she was sitting on.

Applejack stayed on the floor for a moment while she thought about this, then climbed back onto the couch, taking a seat next to Trixie. “This another one of yer customs Ah take it?”

“Eeyup…”

Hearing the imitation, Applejack smirked a little. “Ah see how it is… Okay then. Ya done this with yer other friends too? Like Fluttershy?”

“...Eeyup.”

“Oh mah. How ‘bout Rainbow Dash? Ah can’t see her going fer something like this.”

“Nnope”

“Ah figured. It’s a tad strange since we don’t have that custom round these parts but, if Ah understand ya right. This means ya would like me ta be yer friend?”

“Eeyup.”

“Ya realize ya really should explain this sorta thing first right? Why Ah could’ve misunderstood entirely.”

Trixie just nodded and did not say anything further.

Applejack blushed but leaned in closer, much to Trixie’s surprise, and placed a kiss on her cheek. Meeting Trixie’s surprised gaze as it rose up to meet her, Applejack just nodded and turned her head a little.

Smiling brightly, Trixie kissed the exposed cheek. At the same time, she heard the front door swing open with such force that it cracked the wall. In the door opening stood a completely out of breath Rainbow Dash.

“TRIXIE!?”

Rainbow Dash galloped inside and skidded to a screeching halt half way through the room, her wide eyes locked on the kissing mare. Even in the dim candle light it was blindingly obvious what was Trixie was doing.

As if stuck in a nightmare, Trixie cried out again. “Rainbow Dash! This is n—”

“Not what it looks like?” Rainbow Dash finished for her, in a tone of voice that Trixie could only interpret as pure malice. As Rainbow Dash quickly closed in on her, Trixie curled up on the couch, shaking. Applejack watched on in stunned silence, unsure of what exactly she was looking at.

As Rainbow Dash got close Trixie closed her eyes tightly. “I-It’s true, I swear,” she whimpered. Trixie flinched when she felt a hoof on her head, bracing for what followed. What followed went against everything she was expecting, Rainbow Dash was petting her. She felt a weight sink down on the couch besides her, followed by the distinguishing high heat of Rainbow Dash’s body when she pulled Trixie against her.

“I know, Trixie, I know. I’m so sorry.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Alternate title: "Never what it looks like."
As promised. Another day another chapter.
Enjoy while it lasts cause by the end of the week we're going back to the regular schedule. ^^
Trixie is getting better at this socializing thing.
I have to ask. Did anyone get worried for a minute when RD showed up?

Chapter 56 - Redemonstrate *

Chapter 56 - Redemonstrate *

On the roof of the school, Trixie and Flitter feverishly discussed yet again what had them going for almost all of yesterday: Trixie’s brand new cutie mark. With that the number of blank flanks in their class had shrunk to just four, and one of them was causing the pair endless amusement.

“Did you see the look on Starlight’s face in class today? I was sure she was trying to burn the mark right of my flank with her stare!” Trixie giggled.

Flitter Bouquet laughed and nodded. “Yes! She is so jealous. But well, she should be, you’re really pretty, uh, yours is really pretty I mean! T-tell me again what it means? And what it was like?”

Trixie blinked briefly, but forgot all about it when she was offered another opportunity to tell her tale she immediately struck a dramatic pose. She sat up on her flanks with one hoof on her chest and the other stretched to the sky. “There I was! All eyes upon me, casting my most powerful spell!”

Flitter snickered at the mention of the spell. “You are going to keep calling it that huh? It was just some sparkles.”

Trixie paused in her dramatic reenactment to quickly look back down to Flitter. “Of course! Because it is the only spell Trixie knows, so it is automatically Trixie’s most powerful spell! And also Trixie’s most awesome spell, but it will always be that, no matter the thousand new ones Trixie will learn soon.”

“Come on you can’t possibly say that. I’m sure you will get loads more awesome spells, ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’. What if you learned to move the sun?” Grinning, Flitter paged through their homework assignment, a history lesson on Princess Celestia.

Flashing a cheesy grin at the stage name, Trixie sat back down. “Doesn’t matter. Don’t you get it? I have my cutie mark because my best friend taught that spell to me. Sparks is the most awesome, because you taught it to me! What could be more awesome than that?”

Flitter blushed and stared at Trixie, then quickly looked back down at her book. “Y-you're just saying that, any spell would have done.”

“Any spell that you taught me.” Trixie corrected sternly, then moved over to sit next to Flitter, looking down into the book. “Wow, you sure are diligent, Flitter, but she can’t be more interesting than me.” She reached down to close the book, and gave a grin.

Giggling, Flitter shook her head, and pushed the book away. “No, you’re right. What could be more interesting than The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Hey, if you keep calling me that, I’ll start talking in the third person too! You’ve been warned.”

“Is that supposed to make me do it less, or more? The way you talk when you are like that has something special.” Flitter smiled she locked eyes with Trixie. “I-I like it.”

“You do? Uh I, I’m glad. I never really thought about using it for anything other than a show though. Doesn’t it sound weird? If I start talking like: Trixie is the greatest unicorn in Hoofington.” Trixie looked unsure at Flitter, feeling a bit silly.

Flitter, however, smiled widely as Trixie put on her voice. Her eyes sparkled like sun-struck firerubies. “Not at all!” She brought a hoof to her chin stroking it contemplatively. “Mhm there’s something missing though, you aren’t really feeling it are you? Oh I know!” Flitter picked Trixie’s hat off the roof, giving a sly smile while Trixie blinked confused. She slung it on Trixie head, pulling the brim down over her eyes. “Try it again, please?”

Trixie was not quite sure what to think, but she had rarely seen Flitter so enthusiastic about something. Come to think of it, I’ve not done one of those shows since the first day I got to school. Until yesterday, but I guess she did say she really liked the first one, and the second one by the looks of it! She took a deep breath, then grinned as she lifted her head, raising the brim of her hat to uncover her adoring audience of one. “The Great and Powerful Trixie, would never deny a request! Especially not from her number one fan!”

With a gleeful cheer, Flitter sat back down and motioned for Trixie to continue.

Clearing her throat, Trixie sprung up on her hind legs. “There Trixie was! Trapped in the middle of the necromancer's den, undead ponies on all sides! Her loyal companion, Flitter The Daring, carried the treasure, but she was cornered by two of the ugliest zombie foals she had ever seen, and the necromancer herself! Even for a pony as Great and Powerful as Trixie, there was only one way out. The dreaded terror of zombie ponies everywhere, the mighty sparks spell!”

Trixie threw her front hooves into the air, knocking her hat back enough to reveal her horn in the same motion, and send out an array of red, gray, and purple sparks. “Within moments they were all enthralled by Trixie’s magnificence, and they drew closer! It was then that The Daring Flitter made her tactical retreat, awaiting The Great and Powerful Trixie’s arrival at their base.

“But something magnificent happened that day, as Trixie stood there, mere moments away from being swarmed by the dreaded Sunny Days’s hoards, she recognized something! For Trixie was wise beyond her years. She had already learned that all magic tricks had a trick, and how to spot it, but! What Trixie discovered that day, is that magic too is but a trick, and that fateful day… Trixie saw the trick! Hidden deep within the necromancers dark magic!” An orchid glow enveloped Trixie’s horn, and soon it spread to slowly encroach around her hat while her face contorted in effort.

Flitter cheered for the story at the appropriate moments and gasped comedically at the mention of dread necromancer Sunny Days, but her next gasp of surprise was completely genuine. She watched Trixie’s hat float up off her head almost half a hoof, before it flopped back down, but it had definitely moved. Her eyes darted to Trixie’s hooves, but they were held out in a wide dramatic gesture towards the horizons. “Wow! How did you do that?”

Panting heavily from the effort, Trixie sunk through her kneels with a wince as she impacted against the roof. “The Necromancer, revealed her secret without knowing. Only the trained eye of a master magician, such as The Great and Powerful Trixie, could have unraveled its mysteries. Within seconds she overpowered the necromancer with her own spell, far more powerful and grand in scale!”

Giggling, Flitter let the blatant lie pass unopposed. It was clear to both of them that Sunny Day’s was much better at the telekinesis spell, but it was definitely a spell neither Flitter nor Trixie had any idea how to use just yesterday. “Way to go Great and Powerful Trixie. I bet they will never show their muzzles again.” She applauded.

Trixie took a bow, then dropped back onto her haunches, taking deep breaths while she smiled at Flitter. The little demonstration had been exhausting, but Trixie was sure it was not a problem of magic power. “How is it that hard? Sunny can’t have that much more magic, and she had like three plates up for ages. I’m sure I must be doing something wrong.”

“Wait, aww you stopped.” Flitter let out a disappointed whine. “Wasn’t it fun?”

Trixie smiled. “No it was fun, but it feels weird. I don’t think I’ll stick with it.” She paused when she saw the disappointment on Flitter’s face. ”Mayyybe I’ll try it a bit more later, for you. I just want to figure this spell out, I know I am missing something.”

Smiling, Flitter shrugged. “It’s too bad you can’t ask Sunny for advice, but it’s already amazing, Trixie. You could just wait until we get to that lesson you know. Because there is no way they will let us leave school without knowing that.“

Trixie stroked her chin while she stared up at the sky thoughtfully. “Mhm yes, too bad… but I’ll bet she’d be willing to give another demonstration.”

Packing up her books in anticipation of the bell, Flitter shook her head. “Sunny isn’t too bad, but she still doesn’t like us remember? Besides, Starlight and Moon Rock are going to be there too. Hah, maybe they will all give a demonstration, if you ask nicely.”

A grin spread across Trixie’s face. “Ohhh, good idea, Flitter. They do all know that spell.”

Flitter looked at Trixie with a worried expression. “Uhm, I was kidding, Trixie. There’s no way they’d help us just because we asked them nicely.”

“Maybe not, nicely.” Trixie scrambled onto her hooves, then picked up her backpack. “Come on ‘Trixie’ has a great idea. Actually, you hold this okay?” She pawned off her backpack on Flitter before she led the way down off the roof and back into the school building

“Trixie, wait! Where are you going? You know we can’t go in yet, they will be waiting for us.” Flitter called after her friend.

Normally they would wait until after the bell and arrive at class a little bit late, to avoid Starlight and her friends. Professor Silence never said anything about tardiness, and Moon Rock absolutely refused to be late to class, so it was the easiest way to avoid them. It did have the minor side effect of Trixie and Flitter missing the start of every lesson, and no one ever wanted to fill them in.

There was not much left of their recess, and Trixie ran around quickly with a nervous Flitter right behind her. She was not sure where the three fillies she meant to find hung out, but they always seemed to find them sooner or later. It only took a short time for Trixie to hear them.

“Oh hey it’s Bucket and Trickery! What a drag, we don’t usually have to see you losers before the bell.” Starlight’s voice actually carried a more hateful tone than usual.

Trixie grinned as she spotted the trio gathered together in the hallway by their lockers, or at least Moon Rock’s locker. The sizable stack of books and scrolls within the open locker gave its owner away.

Moon Rock shook her head annoyed. “What did you finally learn how to tell time? Starlight, don’t bother, we only have a few minutes left.”

“Aw but we never get to play with them before class! Yesterday was so much fun, normally they just run away!” Sunny Days piped up.

Trixie looked over her shoulder at Flitter, smiling at her confidently. “Flitter, we are not going to miss the start today! Let’s go.”

Starlight raised a brow. “What so is this your new little plan? You learned yesterday you cannot outrun us, so you are not even going to try?”

Raising her voice theatrically, Trixie leaned in closer to Starlight. “Run? That you even still dare to show your face in public is astounding.” She let her eyes sweep down to the auspiciously empty fur on Starlight’s leg. ”Why would The Great and Powerful Trixie have to run from a mere blank flank? Is that why you are staring at Trixie, to see how it is done?”

“What?! H-how dare you, you! Oh, it is on!” Starlight seethed while she pulled her tail over her flank. An amethyst glow sparked up around her horn, then around one of Moon Rock’s books. She flung it towards Trixie, but it lacked the speed to actually hit her.

Trixie leaned to the side and watched the book as it flew past, or rather the aura around it. “Is that the best you can do? No wonder you don’t have a cutie mark. This won’t even be hard, I’ll see you in class Flitter. Be sure to take some notes for me.” She grinned smugly at Starlight.

Flitter nodded a little. “U-uhm, O-okay.” She gulped while she looked at the other three ponies, a worried look on her face, but she did not question it. Though she was on her way to the class, she could not help looking over her shoulder.

Sunny bounced up and down, her orange glow already around her horn and three more books “Oh oh let me try next!” Sunny chirped and sent the books flying, catching Trixie off guard as one struck her shoulder, another her chest and the last missed.

“Hey! Those are mine, be careful! Sunny, let go!” Moon Rock called out. “Starlight, calm down come on! She’s taunting you can’t you see that? She’s trying to make us late!”

“Shut up!” Starlight snapped at Moon Rock. “If you are not going to help, then get to your precious class.” She charged up another spell to throw a book.

Grinning widely, Trixie stared into Starlight’s eyes. They shared the same amethyst color, yet somehow their magic aura was different. Trixie’s orchid glow shone brightly as she pulled her hat back, summoning up a small barrage of bright red sparks that she sent at Starlight and Sunny Days. The affect was short, but it blinded them just enough to throw off their aim.

“Ugh fine, I don’t even care anymore. If you break any of those I’m taking yours!” Moon Rock growled at Starlight and Sunny. She stared briefly at Trixie, but was forced to look away when the sparks came. She turned towards Flitter, a calculating smile spread over her lips. Moon Rock trotted past Flitter, then she briefly stopped to look at her. “Hey Bouquet, come on, or we’re going to be late. It seems we are the only ones that still care.”

Flitter snapped out of her surprise. “Uh, uhm. R-right.” She mumbled and walked with Moon Rock toward the classroom.

Trixie, Starlight and Sunny Days stayed behind, continuing their minor barrage of each other, before finally resorting to hooves. It would be almost ten minutes before they too entered the class room, exhausted and bruised from their epic battle. Forunately, there really was not that much damage young fillies could actually inflict on each other.

Trixie was easily the worst off of the three, but she also carried the greatest smile while she sat down beside Flitter. With a short orchid glow, she slid Flitter's notebook in between them from across the desk.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So now we know. It's all Flitter Bouquet's fault, everything.

It was fun to have a scene of Flitter when she's alone with Trixie after they've been friends for a while.
Also it occurs to me I should have used one of those pony-creators and made some models of the characters, 'cause rereading chapters to find out what they looked like is a bit of a pain.
Live and learn.

Chapter 75 - Replacement

Things had not gone quite as Trixie had planned. She wanted to make the pancakes because it took her so long to make them, which meant Rainbow Dash couldn’t leave her just yet. It was only when she was actually in the process of collecting the ingredients that she found a flaw in her plan, she was alone in the kitchen anyway.

As far as Trixie could tell, Rainbow Dash had stayed in bed like she’d told her to, but that meant she was missing out on her all the same. Even if the idea that Dash was in the next room was a little better than knowing she was up in the clouds somewhere, Trixie hadn’t realized it had practically the same result.

“Trixie?” Rainbow Dash called out from the living room. “Is this going to take as long as last night?”

“Uhm, maybe?” Trixie looked toward the kitchen door, then back at her small gathering of egg yolks , milk and flower in the bowl before her. She was nowhere near ready yet. Gah, is she on to Trixie already? Curse that impatient striking dolt! Trixie paused a moment to consider her choice of words with a smirk, but quickly was brought back to reality when Rainbow Dash spoke up again.

“Yeah, I thought so. I really don’t have the time for that, Trixie.”

The door opened, and Rainbow Dash trotted inside. She still had a head full of bed hair. Trixie was not sure how Rainbow managed to get her mane even wilder than usual, in her sleep. It also made Trixie consider how her own mane might look right now. Unfortunately there were no mirrors in the kitchen she could sneak a peek at. More importantly, she had to think of something now that Rainbow Dash was showing a remarkable sense of responsibility. Maybe she got sick of all the cracks at her job? Gah, focus, Trixie! “Uh, well, what are you going to do then?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I guess I could swing by Sugar Cube Corner on my way to work, and pick up something.”

Laying her ears flat, Trixie nodded. “That’s fine… maybe Trixie will have pancakes ready for lunch, will you be back by then?” Maybe it was better this way, since she was not even sure she could make lightning strike twice and produce another batch of actually edible pancakes.

“I doubt it. Well, I mean, yeah, if all we had to do was clear the clouds away, but a lot of them have to be relocated to other areas. It’s a pain.” As she spoke, Rainbow Dash walked up to Trixie and glanced into the bowl. “Whoa, you’ve been here a while and you’re only this far?”

Trixie grumbled. “Oh be quiet. Genius cannot be rushed. Besides, if Trixie had her magic she could have been done by now.” Frustration seeped into her voice while she stomped a hoof down on the floor, and mumbled. “If Trixie wanted to hurry anyway…”

Grinning, Rainbow Dash turned to face Trixie. “Hah, I knew it! You were stalling!”

Startled with the deduction, Trixie quickly shook her head. “Nonsense! Trixie was doing no such thing! What would be the point?”

“Mhm, good question.” Rainbow Dash looked contemplative for a moment while she glanced around the kitchen. Her eyes lingered on the green teapot, then the gathered ingredients, before she settled on Trixie again. “I bet you figured if you kept me weak and hungry long enough, then I would blow off work? Something like that, huh?” She chuckled.

It gave Trixie pause. That wasn’t a terrible plan all things considered, better than her own at least. Except of course that Rainbow Dash was onto it already, so it wasn’t going to work either way. Dash had boasted before that she was better at scheming than Trixie, and it was starting to worry her that this was lending credence to that idea. Has Trixie been underestimating her? She is so much harder to trick now.

“So, what’s next?” Rainbow Dash said.

Trixie blinked slowly as she was brought out of her thoughts and looked at Rainbow Dash standing there, as if she expected something. “What?”

Rainbow Dash pointed to the bowl. “What do you need next?”

Trixie raised a brow, and huffed. “You doubt Trixie? She knows how to make pancakes just fine. What do you care? Go bust some clouds already.”

Rolling her eyes, Dash held a steady hoof out towards Trixie’s face. “You think I don’t know? Come on. Yeah, you know how to do it, but you can’t do it, right? You said it yourself, if you had magic you’d be done already.”

Surprised, a brief flash of anger flared up in Trixie. Her magic handicap was not something they talked about, and to be reminded of it, more than she already was, hurt. “Trixie can do it! She did it just fine yesterday, and you liked it!”

“It took you like two hours! Not to mention made a huge mess!”

“What, so you want to do it instead of Trixie!?”

“No, I wanted to help!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t need help! She can do this just fine without you arou—” Trixie froze midsentence as the actual meaning suddenly hit her. “Wait! Wait, wait, wait. YOU want to cook, with Trixie?”

The sudden switch seemed to catch Rainbow Dash by surprise as she watched Trixie do a complete flip. “Uh, yeah?”

Trixie eyed Dash suspiciously for a moment. “Trixie thought you said you don’t cook?” That actually sounded like a wonderful idea to her. She would get to spend time with Dash and show she was good for something at the same time. In hindsight, it was lucky that she fumbled the recipe so much last night, because she had to remake it often enough that she came to know the steps by heart.

“But I never said anything about helping somepony cook.” Rainbow Dash made a dismissive gesture with her hoof, looking a bit embarrassed. “I do stuff like that sometimes, like I help Fluttershy document the butterfly migrations.”

Trixie allowed herself a moment to conjure up an image that fit that revelation. Fluttershy she could easily picture doing something like that, but Dash? That was a strange idea, though if she really had helped Fluttershy with such a task before, than perhaps she was serious this time too. Trixie quickly shot her a smile. “So what did you plan to help Trixie with? You don’t know how to cook right?”

“True, but neither does your magic, does it? You just tell it what to do. It’s like that.” Rainbow Dash gestured to the bowl. “So, what do you need next?”

“Uh, one spoon of sugar?” Trixie pointed to the sugar jar, and watched as Rainbow Dash quickly took a scoop and threw it in the batter. Though Dash did so with ease, Trixie knew her own attempts had littered the countertop with sugar before she’d managed it. She pushed the butter towards Dash. “Three spoons of butter, and pinch of salt.”

“Alright, while I do that, how about you get a pan ready?”

“Sure.” Trixie set out to retrieve one of the pans from the cupboards. She was starting to catch on to the idea. Dash would do the things for Trixie that needed a bit more finesse than she was capable of without her magic to aid her. Meanwhile, Trixie could handle the more coarse tasks and keep track of what needed doing. It was almost like having actual magic again, though much more pleasant company.

While they worked on making the batter, Rainbow Dash was able to fill Trixie in on where Fluttershy actually was.

“Well, after we decided we should just let you rest, she said she was feeling cold. So she decided to go sleep in her own bed for the night. Which is fair I guess since she’s not been able to in a while, heh.” Rainbow Dash gave Trixie a glance, then returned to heating up some butter in the pan. “Besides that, she’s probably still asleep, she’s not really used to being up that late.”

Trixie stirred the batter with a large wooden spoon while she listened. “Oh, Trixie hopes she’s not gotten sick. She will go check on her when we’re done. Oh! Trixie will bring her breakfast in bed!”

“Heh, good idea. She’ll like that.”

In practically no time at all, the smell of freshly made pancakes wafted through the house.

It had gone fantastic, though Trixie had a little trouble getting Rainbow Dash to stop ‘taste testing’ every time they managed to make one. Fortunately that problem sorted itself out once Dash had filled up a little, and she wasn’t starving anymore.

As much fun as it had been, they still had a schedule to keep. Once they had the three stacks of pancakes ready, it took barely ten seconds for Rainbow Dash to wolf it all down, then she announced she was heading out immediately.

“Wait!” Trixie abandoned her only half finished plate to chase after Dash quickly.

Fortunately, Rainbow Dash heeded her request and paused at the door , turning to face Trixie. “Yeah, sorry to dine and dash, hehe, but I really gotta get going.”

“Not so fast! Trixie didn’t get to thank you properly yet.” She paused in front of Rainbow Dash, feeling more nervous than she did for her first stage show.

“Thank me for what? We both made it, we both ate it. Seems fair to me.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

Trixie swallowed. She was so close to Dash now, but it felt like it would be weird to just grab her. She kicked her hoof across the floor while she tried to gather up the courage. “It’s just… uhm.” She hesitated. come on, Trixie! You’re already dating, of course you get to ask that! “Trixie was just thinking, maybe it would be fun to go on a date?”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash looked confused, though Trixie was almost sure she also could read intrigue in those gorgeous eyes. “Go on.”

“W-well, it’s uhm, well you know. A date date. Like go eat something, see a play, something like that?” Trixie could feel her cheeks burning up. She had never actually asked anypony on a date before, and her only consoling thought was that she knew Rainbow Dash was as new at the whole thing as she was, as evident by the sudden shift from cyan to pink in her face.

“O-Oh, uhm, that sounds, uh, yeah. Hey, leave it to me okay? You already took care of this ‘date’ after all. We ate something right?” She gave a chuckle and motioned with her towards the table. “It will give me something to think about while I’m pushing clouds.”

Trixie briefly looked back at the table, then turned back, smiling brightly. She nodded enthusiastically. This was just perfect. Everything was going so well she was worried she might still be asleep after all, but she sure knew one way to find out. “Excellent! Oh and one more thing…” Trixie gave Rainbow Dash a seductive look while she leaned in, and kissed her. “Thanks… for being Trixie’s magic.”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

So, Rainbow Dash may be a hipster who does things 'ironicly'.:rainbowwild:

Chapter 94 - Reprove *

Chapter 94 - Reprove *

Checking herself in the mirror, Trixie smiled slyly as she confirmed her large hat covered up the aura of her horn perfectly. "Bye, Mom!" Trixie called over her shoulder while she dashed out the door, excited for another day of school after her grueling weekend. She had not been this eager since her first day, and this time nothing was going to ruin it.

On the corner of the street, her best friend and number one fan, Flitter Bouquet, was already waiting for her. She looked uncomfortably skittish of the ponies passing her by, as though she wanted nothing more than to be invisible, but she was there as promised. A look of relief washed over her face when she caught sight of Trixie, and waved at her. “Hey, Trixie.” She smiled, gaining the look of excitement she reserved just for her. Flitter’s fiery eyes roamed for a moment before she raised a brow. “Uhm, did you forget your books?”

Trixie had been prepared to patiently wait for Flitter to notice the distinct lack, but she’d clearly underestimated her attention to detail. Grinning, she struck a magnificent pose with her hoof pointed up. “Trixie is traveling light today.”

“Oh, that’s great. I-I mean I like it, but, uh, I dunno if the teacher will...” Trailing off, Flitter’s eyes widened once she caught sight of the books floating above them in the air. “W-what, but how? You could barely move my notebook last time!”

It was true, when Trixie first stole the spell off Starlight and Sunny Days, she had been worse than a mere amateur at it. Of course, that was entirely to blame on those foals using such a terrible version of the spell. It had taken Trixie the better part of a day to figure out that half the things they did to make it work were useless.

Reveling in the sheer awe on Flitter’s face, Trixie lifted her hat to show her glowing horn. “Isn’t it obvious? It is because Trixie is Great and Powerful, right?” To accentuate her point, she enveloped her aura around Flitter’s book belt, pulling it up into the air as well. It was a bit tougher to hold all of it in the air, but Trixie managed. She’d practiced her flank off the past weekend, and it paid off spectacularly as Flitter actually cheered in broad daylight, drawing the eyes of everypony on the street to her.

“That’s amazing, Trixie! I can’t believe you actually learned their spell just like that! I—o-oh!” Suddenly aware of all the ponies watching her, Flitter quickly wilted to a mumbling mess. “S-sorry, I, uh, too loud. Sorry.”

Trixie suppressed a sigh while she watched, but she had to admit Flitter had done much better than she expected. Fortunately, she knew exactly how to come to Flitter’s rescue. Trixie quickly rearied up on her back legs and spread her forelegs out in a grand gesture. “Hah, mere foal’s play for The Great and Powerful Trixie! Behold!” She closed her eyes and focused on setting of the sparks spell to get all eyes where they belonged, on her.

It was oddly quiet. Trixie heard none of the expected oh’s and ah’s. Opening her eyes, Trixie saw some ponies looking at her with confusion while others walked away. It quickly became clear that the sparks that should have been in the air were not there. What the hay!?

Pouring more magic into her sparks spell, Trixie was absolutely sure she was setting off a fireworks show in the middle of the day. She could feel it. Why aren’t they showing up!? The growled and tried even harder. All around her, her audience was quickly losing interest in the two silly fillies and went about their usual business. Only Flitter was still staring at Trixie uncertainly, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. “U-uhm… N-nice… pose? It’s very commanding.”

Sweat ran down her face as Trixie tried even harder, still with no result. It was maddening. What’s wrong? Why can’t Trixie do this!?

Flitter narrowed her eyes as she peered just slightly above Trixie. “Trixie? Is your hat supposed to be sparking a little? I can’t see it too well.”

“Trixie’s hat!” In one fluid motion, Trixie struck her forehead with her hoof for her idiocy, then swept it up along to pull her hat back revealing her horn just as it emitted a last spark. At least this one made it to the air uninhibited, but it was nowhere near the show she had actually intended to do. “Right! Problem solved! Ahem, round two!” She concentrated on the spell again, but all she heard were a number of dull thuds all around her. The books were laying in the street, defying her obvious talent. “Oh come on!”

A few quick attempts to pick the books back up only resulted in an orchid flicker around them before it died off again. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t do it. Trixie’s heart pounded in her chest with fright, she could barely see the defiant books anymore as the world became blurry with tears. “F-Flitter,” she choked out, falling to her knees. “T-Trixie’s magic is broken!”

It wasn’t fair. She’d finally figured out how to use real magic and now she’d lost it. She’d be a laughing stock. The school would expel her. Her mom would have to move to some earth pony town to fit in. She’d never see Flitter again.

Eyes wide as though she was witnessing something unreal, Flitter just stared at the trembling Trixie. “B-broken?” She looked at Trixie, then down at the flickering books. “Oh!” Wrapping her hooves around Trixie, she hugged her tightly. “It’s normal, Trixie. I swear!”

Trixie was already halfway through imagining how she might have to pretend her horn was just a really nasty bump on the head. Flitters warmth brought her back to the present though, calming her down a little. “N-normal? But it’s broken.”

“I’m sorry. I forgot you don’t know much about magic...” Flitter shook her head with a pained look on her face. “You’re just tired, okay? It happens if you use magic too much.”

“…Trixie’s just tired? But Trixie’s been doing it all weekend.” Despite her minor protest, Trixie felt a little better already. If this wasn’t freaking Flitter out, that had to mean she really was already familiar with it. “Trixie knew that,” she muttered.

“All weekend? My mom can’t even use magic that much.” She smiled while helping Trixie back on her hooves. “Geez, you can’t even exhaust yourself without doing something amazing. It’s not fair for the rest of us you know.”

Shooting Flitter a rapidly improving smile, Trixie quickly wiped her tears off on her fetlocks. “Gah! My ego. Trixie’s only weakness, how did you know?” She recoiled theatrically. Puffing her chest in pride, Trixie gave her spell another try. She just barely managed to stack the books before it ran out. “Trixie supposes that will have to be it for the morning show.”

Watching Trixie stack the books, Flitter grabbed her book belt. “I’m a little jealous now. It took me an hour before I could make a spark after I ran out the first time, you know.” Flitter chimed in. “My mom made me do it so I would know what it felt like. I guess she was right to tell me first, or I guess I’d have been scared too.”

“T-Trixie was not scared! She was just surprised, that was all…” She trailed off and looked away. “Still, uh, thanks, Flitter.”

The clear, unmistakable chiming of the school bell broke up the conversation. Both fillies looked towards the source of the sound, then to locked eyes before shouting in unison, “we’re late!”

Detention.

Trixie couldn’t believe it. She’d never gotten detention before! Okay well there was that one time, but smoke bombs can be volatile; It could have happened to anypony! Either way, she was stuck after school, at school, which considering how excited she had been to get to school was surprisingly awful.

With a grumble, she swept a small pile of dirt and trash through the hallway. The broom they’d given her to use had to be old enough to have swept up what was left of Nightmare Moon after the battle a thousand years ago. A real piece of history. Maybe it had magic powers of its own after being around that long?

Holding it out in front of her, Trixie stared at the old rickety broom for a moment. “Yeah, Trixie doesn’t think so.”

“Talking to yourself already, Trickery? You look ridiculous.”

She’d recognize that grating voice anywhere. “Starlight, if Trixie wanted to hear your opinion she’d have dragged her hoof down a chalkboard.”

“Awh, don’t be like that. Starlight even brought you a present. Look,” Starlight said in a mocking tone as she mimicked Trixie’s speech. With an impish Grin, She levitated a dustbin into view. “You looked so bored that Starlight figured you must not have enough to do, so here you go!” Before Trixie could stop her, Starlight scattered the contents all over the freshly swept floor.

“Hey! Trixie just cleaned that!” she yelled, glaring at the aggravating pony. It was then that Trixie took note of a surprising detail: Starlight was not with Moon Rock nor Sunny Days. Catching sight of that, Trixie reigned in her temper so it just barely shimmered through in her voice. “What happened to your friends?”

“None of your business. That’s what.” Starlight inspected the empty bin, ensuring she’d gotten everything out.

Trixie couldn’t be sure where they were, but if they’d been anywhere nearby Starlight wouldn’t have been so defensive about it, which had to mean… She’s alone. Trixie grinned. “Oh, Trixie understands. They finally got tired of hanging out with a blank flank.”

With a clatter, the dustbin rolled across the floor. Starlight glared at Trixie, letting her know she hit a sore spot. “They don’t care, they’re my friends. So what if I haven’t found my talent yet. At least I know I won’t get mine doing something lame like you. Table dancing? Hah.”

“Are they? Sunny Days would hang around with any random pony that asked her, she doesn’t know any better. And, Trixie saw Moon Rock ditched you last time to go to class. To class. Need Trixie say more?” As expected, her taunts made Starlight bare her teeth, but that was not all. It was more subtle, but Trixie could see something flicker in Starlight’s eyes that Trixie could not quite identify. Somehow, it reminded her of how Flitter had looked that morning, standing alone on the street before Trixie arrived.

“They, well, uh. Hey, Moon Rock thinks class is important, okay? And she’s right! I shouldn’t have wasted my time on a nopony like you!”

Trixie stepped in closer to Starlight, causing her to step back. “No, she knows you aren’t important. You know why right? Only loser ponies get their cutiemarks last, because they get the ones that nopony else wanted!”

“Shut up!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “That is not how it works! I-is it?” Taking panicky glances around, Starlight took another step back, fighting back tears. “S-shut up!”

Immediately, Trixie stepped forward again. “It’s no surprise is it? After all, even your name shows how ordinary you are, Starlight. Did you know there are more stars than ponies?” Trixie watched Starlight slowly crumble with each cutting word, and it felt magnificent. Her mind reeled for something else she could throw at the crying pony. Anything to push her a little further and get another reaction. Glancing down the broom still in her hooves, Trixie put on a look of mock sympathy as she held it out towards Starlight. “Here. Maybe you can get a cutiemark in handling trash, seems fitting.”

“Shut up! Shut up or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what?!” Trixie boomed as she reared up on her hind legs, startling Starlight as one hoof just barely missed her on the ascent. Glaring down at the shrinking pony before her, Trixie dropped back on all fours. Victorious, she turned away from Starlight, trotting back to her chore as she tried to ignore the rush in her veins. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not scared of you, Blank Flank.” As a final jab, she simply returned to work, taking care of the other trash.

Shaking, Starlight trotted backwards till she hit a wall. She simply stood there for a little while as Trixie ignored her. Wiping her eyes and cheeks dry, Starlight took the hint and made herself scarce. Just as she was about to turn the corner Starlight muttered, “I guess you’re not,” her tone darkened, “but I know somepony who is.”

“What was that supposed to mean?” Trixie glanced in Starlight’s direction, but she was already gone. With Starlight out of sight, Trixie hoofpumped. Hah! Trixie won! That was amazing! The grin on her face felt almost painfully wide as she swept the trash onto a pile. It didn’t seem like such a bad chore now that it doubled as an insult.

Annoyingly, her limbs had started shaking after she’d calmed down a little, the broom felt heavier than it had been before, which did not help her in getting her work done any quicker. Still, she couldn’t be more pleased with herself. Just wait till Flitter hears about this! She wi— Trixie dropped the broom. “Flitter!”

Dashing through the hall, Trixie tried to recall where the professor had sent Flitter to. If only she had actually paid attention, but all she remembered was that he’d split them up. As she passed the staircase, Trixie skidded to a halt. If her chore was to clean the ground floor, then didn’t that mean he’d put Flitter on the second floor?

She had never actually been on the second floor, as generally students were not supposed to go there. It was rumored that it was haunted, though teachers climbed the stairs frequently enough that Trixie doubted that. Originally Trixie had proposed spending recess there, but Flitter was terrified of the ghosts getting them. Of course the professor would see to it that Flitter would spend detention in the worst possible place.

Trixie nearly tripped over the last step as she immediately caught sight of Starlight at the end of the hall, right next to Flitter. She must have made a lot of noise coming up, as Starlight turned her head away from Flitter, and gave a glare directly at Trixie.

Trixie was too far away to do anything but watch, or so Starlight must have thought. “Get away from her!” Trixie screamed, setting her horn a blaze and lifting an extremely shocked and struggling Starlight clear of the ground, slamming her into the ceiling.

“T-Trixie?” Flitter looked almost as shocked as Starlight. Judging by how calm Flitter looked, Trixie decided whatever Starlight had planned to do, she intended to wait till Trixie could see her do it. Which meant she’d made it in time.

“It’s okay, Flitter. Trixie’s got this!” With that, she pulled Starlight towards her, keeping her struggling in midair. Trixie couldn’t be sure how much magic she had restored after just one afternoon of not using any, but right now she felt as if she could launch Starlight to the moon and not even break a sweat. “Did you think Trixie would let you!?”

Trembling, Starlight ceased her meaningless struggle, staring wide-eyed at Trixie. Blood ran down her muzzle after the impact, but she was much more concerned with Trixie. “H-how? You can’t do this! Put me down, please.”

“Oh, Trixie will put you down, alright!” She glanced towards the window, then back to Starlight, who followed her gaze, paling instantly.

“No!” Starlight shrieked, tears in her eyes. “Please!”

Flitter stood nailed to the ground while she watched the entire thing take place.

Trixie bared her teeth at Starlight, fire coursed through her veins. How dared Starlight act like she was the victim, just seconds after seeking out Flitter to hurt her. “Do yo—”

“Miss Lulamoon,” a dull voice drawled right behind Trixie, but it was loud enough to startle her.

Everypony froze, apparently none of them had heard him coming, but as Trixie turned around she saw Professor Silence. He was looking down at her, then glanced briefly up at the floating Starlight with what could almost pass as only mild disinterest. Quickly, Trixie dispelled her magic, dropping Starlight down on the floor with a thud and yelp.

He stared at the three of them quietly for a time, not one of them dared to move. He’d never spoken to or interfered with the students before. After a moment, his eyes settled on Trixie. “Step into my office.” With that, he turned around and trotted into a nearby room.

All the heat was gone from the hallway. He’d barely spoken, but the very fact that he had said anything at all… it terrified Trixie. What had she just been about to do? Throw Starlight out of a window? How much trouble did that get a pony into?

Sensing that delaying was likely to get her into even more trouble, Trixie dragged her hooves over the threshold. She briefly looked at Flitter and Starlight, it might be her last chance to see either of them. A green glow shut the door, cutting them out of Trixie’s sight.

Turning around, Trixie found herself in a large office with files and various books ordered and neatly arranged perfectly straight. By the wall stood a large desk, a stack of papers on one side that Trixie recognized as last weeks tests. Taking a seat at his desk, Silence motioned to a small stool. “Sit.”

Trixie gulped.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Wow, it feels like it's been forever since we've had a filly Trixie chapter. I'll try to get that done a little more frequently.
Speaking of frequency, I've decided to dial back to one chapter a week for the time being, but that might have been obvious already. ^^

I wonder what the penalty is for giving a bully a bloody nose? Somehow I feel like it's probably a heavier punishment than a bully giving a victim a bloody nose. >.>

Chapter 113 - Rethread

Author's Note

Double update. :yay:

Hop back to the previous chapter if you haven't read it yet.

Enjoy.

Chapter 113 - Rethread

Trixie struggled with a lump in her throat. Even now, Fluttershy still appeared to trust her not to be evil. “It… well…” She struggled to find her voice. Each nightmarish scenario where she was torn away from the ponies she loved had involved some outside influence, but Trixie hadn’t considered she might be the one to drive the wedge herself. She should lie. It made no sense not to. She was going to make Fluttershy hate her. “…Yes.” Trixie stared down at the couch, unwilling to look at Fluttershy’s reaction. Trixie felt numb and her hooves shook, she feared what was coming next.

“I-I’m sorry, Trixie, but, uhm… I don’t believe you. You don’t act like you’re a bad pony. Uh, okay, the lying and stealing was pretty bad… but I mean, other than that... I’m sorry. But, just because you know some spells you shouldn’t doesn’t make you a bad pony. It’s how you use them, right?”

A stay of execution. Somehow that was actually worse. Sighing, Trixie shook her head. “You don’t get it. This isn’t something that you can apply consequentialism to.”

“Uhm?”

“It, it means to judge an action as good or evil depending on the outcome. Like say, Applejack has a strong buck. If she bucks a tree for apples, that’s a good act. If she bucks a pony in the face for a laugh, that’s a bad act.”

“Oh, okay… but, it works like that for magic too, right?”

“For regulated magic, yes it does. But nearly all accounts of 'free' magic Trixie knows of involves the pony eventually becoming evil, or at least twisted enough that they need to be dealt with, in one way or another. Even with the best of intentions, the magician eventually changes, unless they are truly exceptional. It… it is magic that literally can make monsters out of ponies. That’s why it’s banned, obviously.” Trixie tried to keep the concepts and details simple. All she needed to get across was that it was something bad. Maybe she’d give a more nuanced explanation later, if Fluttershy inexplicably still wanted to see her.

“Well… You’re not a monster.” Despite all of Trixie’s ravings, Fluttershy actually looked calmer than she had before.

“You don’t know that. Trixie doesn’t even know that!” She pressed her hooves against her head, allowing the book to drop off the couch. “Trixie is completely sure she’s perfectly reasonable, but sometimes she thinks everypony else is crazy. That can’t be a good sign, right? …She—"

“Trixie, I—Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt? I just have a question.”

“Tri—uh, what?”

“You keep doing this. You stress over something you think is awful, like your, uhm, double crush,” Fluttershy’s face lost some of its serenity as her cheeks flushed, “or mobs of angry ponies, or weird magic. You try to convince me how terrible it is, then look at me almost like you want me to say you should leave.” Her hoof scrapped across the couch cushions, and her muzzle angled down. “D-do you want to leave? It’s okay if you do, I-I mean, I understand I’m boring, and you have a life to get back to. I just… I don’t understand why you want me to tell you to?”

Trixie knew Fluttershy was doing it again. That thing where Fluttershy just reacted as if everything would naturally work out for the best. Life wasn’t that kind. “How can you not tell Trixie to leave? All she does is make your life a mess. Ever since Trixie got here you’ve been attacked by timberwolves, lost Nurse Redheart’s trust, spent Trixie doesn’t know how many bits on some mooching blue stranger, and now you’re an accessory to a crime if anypony finds out you hid the book for Trixie!”

“You’re not a stranger, Trixie.” Fluttershy's voice cracked. Trixie could feel a comforting hoof coming to rest on her shoulder before Fluttershy spoke again. “You aren’t being fair to yourself either. Most of that isn’t even true. It was my decision to go into the Everfree Forest. I was wrong. Nurse Redheart was right to be m-mad at me… It wasn’t nice… but I learned from that. I’m the one that told Dash to go looking for you, s-so it was my fault you were hurt, t-twice. Of course I would pay for you, it was the least I could do. You already know this, so why are you trying to take the blame again?”

It wasn’t going to matter. Trixie had wanted, yet at the same time not wanted, to get it over with. The thought of Fluttershy abandoning her too scared her. But, Trixie already knew on some level that, no matter what she said, Fluttershy wasn’t going to kick her out. Even though she really should.

“All Trixie does is eat your food, occupy your bed, and contemplate when to betray you so she won’t go to jail! But not without still finding the time to yell at you, your best friends, random nurses, and the mail mare of all ponies. That is when she isn’t actively committing more crimes to pile onto her already impressive rap sheet.”

Fluttershy vehemently shook her head. “You are supposed to eat and rest. You even volunteered to help with the chores, you didn’t have to do that. It was a nice thing to do... Sure you can be a, uhm, a little loud, but that’s okay. I know you’re worried about jail, but I’m sure a little bragging isn’t that bad a crime… Stealing from Twilight… It wasn’t right, but if you just give it back, or even just drop it on her doorstep, I’m sure that’ll be it. But… That’s not what this is really about, is it?”

Trixie's eyes were looking anywhere but at Fluttershy now. At least this time she managed to keep her breathing in check, she didn't want this to end with her fainting again. At least, not if there was still a chance to stay. Sighing in frustration, more at herself than anything else, Trixie dared a small peek at those caring and now fiercely determined eyes of Fluttershy's.

The worst of it was that Trixie recognized how much she trusted Fluttershy. She couldn't point out the exact moment, or reason it happened, but if Fluttershy said something would be okay, it was very hard for Trixie to keep arguing that it wouldn't be. The knowledge both warmed and chilled her. There was no doubt in her mind that Fluttershy would look past whatever awful things she said; that Fluttershy would still love her. Just as there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to lose this argument too.

A part of her mind quietly reminded her that if this didn't end now, with just words, it would only end later in a much worse way for all of them. Why did these thoughts always come to here at times like this?

Trixie’s eyes stung, and her vision blurred. Crying was so pathetic. Turning her back to Fluttershy, Trixie rubbed her eyes. “Y-you’re such an idiot. You think this is about stealing? Trixie used to do things that would give you nightmares. Trixie knows spells that Princess Celestia herself would, and has, banished ponies for. No matter how badly Trixie wants to stay here it’s going to end badly. I-isn’t it easier if you realize this now? Trixie is a bad pony.”

“T-that’s enough, Trixie. I… well… I…” Fluttershy’s voice faltered. Finally speechless.

All Trixie could hear was her own heartbeat. The urge to turn around and check if Fluttershy was still even there was just barely suppressed. Trixie felt like she didn’t have the right to demand anything from her, including a reaction. That didn’t make the waiting any less agonizing though. It’s funny, Trixie thought it would have felt a lot better to share this. Wasn’t it supposed to be good to get things off your chest? Maybe it doesn’t count if the listener dies of a heart attack.

“If... if that’s true. You really must have been h-horrible.”

Sharp words, like knives in her chest. To hear Fluttershy speak them was unbearable. “You finally wised u—“Trixie tensed up when she felt Fluttershy’s forelegs wrap around her. A gentle embrace that Trixie could easily break free from, if only she could manage to will a single cell in her body to resist the much welcomed touch.

“I… I don’t really know what to do about that. But.. I know that I don’t care. That’s not the Trixie who’s been here with me, with us. Rainbow Dash is just as quick to do something wrong sometimes as you are. Neither of you are bad ponies, you just make bad decisions sometimes. As long as you learn from them…” Fluttershy held onto Trixie tighter, pressing her body against the unicorn’s back. “And I think you have, don’t you think so too?”

Reaching up to hold Fluttershy’s forelegs in place, Trixie felt secure and safe in the gentle embrace. She could feel Fluttershy’s chest heave with each breath in a slow, pacifying rhythm. “What would it matter? That doesn’t fix anything,” she muttered under her breath.

“D-do you mind, if I, uhm, ask you something? Are you happy here?”

Her chest tightened, and it took effort to keep her voice steady. “Happier than Trixie has ever been.” She nuzzled Fluttershy’s hooves. “T-Trixie’s never felt so wonderful as you and Dash make her feel. It doesn’t even matter what we’re doing. Trixie hates manual labor, but if she’s doing it with or for you, then it just feels right. And… and it makes Trixie happy somehow. If Trixie has to talk, then you’re always there for her. We don’t even have to talk, just looking at you or knowing you're near makes Trixie feel light as air.” Unthinkingly, Trixie had let her gaze drift upward as she spoke. With a smile on her face, she found herself staring at the ceiling rather than the couch. “Trixie finally has... has all this. She never wants to leave, but…”

Soft, golden wings gingerly wrapped around Trixie from behind. Fluttershy let the feathers run smoothly along Trixie’s fur. “But… you’re scared. Scared that it’ll be taken away somehow, or that we’ll leave you, aren’t you? I know you are, because we keep having this same talk. When you see a problem, all you can see is how it will lead to you losing everything. That’s why we keep coming back to this point. You’re going in circles, Trixie.”

In dazed silence, Trixie listened to Fluttershy. Has Trixie really been doing that all along? That was crazy talk. She didn’t want to be alone again, so of course she would be on the lookout for ways to stop that from happening. All those dangers couldn’t have been just in her head. But, maybe one or two are? “T-Trixie… Trixie is scared. It’s been a long time since Trixie really had something to lose, and it frightens her. Trixie loves you so much, but what if you were suddenly gone?”

The hug tightened firmly. “Trixie, I promise I’ll always be there for you. I’m sure Dash will too. Nothing will ever change that, okay? Even if, uhm, if you were to really go to jail… We’d visit you every day until you got out, and then everything would be back to normal. Okay? N-not that I think you will go to jail, but if you were… S-so, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“But what about if—”

“Trixie.” Fluttershy interrupted. “You’d never let us go right?”

“The sun would burn out before Trixie’s affection.” She said firmly.

“Do you believe me when I say Dash and I won’t leave you?”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Do you trust me?”

Trixie nodded.

Fluttershy gave Trixie’s mane a gentle nuzzle, and Trixie could feel Fluttershy’s warm breath stroke through the fur on her neck with each word. “Then believe me, no matter what happens. We will deal with it together. You’ve nothing to be scared of, because we’ll find a way. Okay?”

“O-okay.” Trixie repeated. She twisted around so she could wrap her forelegs around Fluttershy in return. Even if she was sure they would face incredible obstacles, just knowing that the three of them would face them together lifted such a heavy burden from her shoulders. Nuzzling Fluttershy’s shoulder, Trixie tried to hide her treacherously moist face. “Thank you.”

“Any time Trixie… But I’ll be counting on you too.” As she spoke, her hoof stroked Trixie’s back. Each stroke left a soft tingling feeling in its wake. A gentle pressure on top of Trixie’s scalp told her Fluttershy was resting her head on top of her. It felt so comforting, Trixie never wanted to move again.

“…Fluttershy?”

“Yes?”

“…Trixie’s still a little scared.”

“Y-you know, Trixie. You’d never guess, but… I know a thing or two about being scared.”

A chuckle escaped Trixie before she realized it, and with it some the tension that was keeping her on edge tagged along. “Heh, Trixie is shocked. You realize Trixie can’t see you wink, right?”

Fluttershy giggled softly. A wonderful sound. “It’s good to hear you can still laugh. You don’t have to be so tense, it will just make the voice inside worse. It’s better if you try to stay calm. Take deep breaths. Think happy thoughts. Or even just retreat somewhere quiet if you need to.”

“Voice?”

An obvious shiver passed through Fluttershy as she spoke. “T-the voice that tells you that you can’t face the world today, and makes you want to stay home instead of go shopping. That says your friends don’t really want you around, so you really shouldn’t push your luck by visiting them. Or that somepony is staring at you because you look funny in some way, so better to make your way home as fast as you can and see if it’s something you can fix, or at least hide with your tail or mane. The voice who assures you that when you hear somepony laughing out of sight, it’s because they are laughing at you.”

Some of the examples Fluttershy raised were alien to Trixie, but she recognized the concept. Doubt, anxiety, and fear wreaked havoc inside her at times. To describe that overwhelming sensation as merely a voice… It was an oversimplification of how it really felt, but it wasn’t without merit. Still, it wasn’t quite like that, but Fluttershy’s description was oddly detailed. These must be Fluttershy’s fears.

“That voice is always there, because it’s a real part of you. Even if you try to beat it, it won’t go away entirely. It takes something out of you to keep fighting it back, and sometimes you don't have anything left to give. That’s when it’ll win.”

Trixie looked up at Fluttershy, though she couldn’t quite see anything more of her than the bottom of her muzzle. “So, what do you do about it? It sounds hopeless.”

“Pick your battles. Maybe it’s not that important to keep walking on the same side of the street when another pony is coming from the opposite direction. It’s okay to pretend you’re looking for something so you don’t have to worry about how long you’re supposed to look a pony in the eyes when they pass you. But when it really matters, never let it win. If your friends really need you, that’s when you have to use everything.” As though to illustrate her point, Fluttershy pulled Trixie against her with surprising strength. “And never forget, your friends are there to help you too.”

Not to be outdone, Trixie squeezed Fluttershy’s waist as hard as she could. “Trixie will remember this. Thank you, Fluttershy.”

While she basked in the warmth that radiated through her, Trixie let her mind wander. It was strange how she didn’t see something so obvious until it was pointed out to her. She had been getting help from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for as long as she’d been here. They always managed to talk her down from her, perfectly legitimate at the time, paranoia. Even if they hadn’t always managed to solve the problem, they managed to make Trixie feel better, and be more fit to fight back the next time doubt reared its head. Even so, Trixie already knew she wasn’t going to be good at following Fluttershy’s advice. It was far beneath her to lose. So what if that bit of fear in her would never fully go away? Trixie would grab it by the throat, and never let it go.

A rasping, sputtering sound from above drew Trixie’s attention.

“T-Trixie, hah, l-let go, hah, please.”

Snapping back to reality, Trixie quickly unwrapped her hooves from Fluttershy’s waist, then held them up as though to show she was unarmed. “S-sorry! Sorry! Trixie was—She didn’t—Sorry!”

Fortunately, the damage was nothing that a few deep breaths didn’t fix, accompanied by a barrage of less than helpful excuses, oaths to better herself, and apologies from Trixie. It had to have been an act of mercy when Fluttershy requested a cup of tea to recover and gave Trixie something to focus her attention on that didn’t involve fawning over the nearly asphyxiated mare.

By the time tea was ready, all the nerves in the now strawberry scented room had dropped back down to manageable levels.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Trixie had just about mastered the art of keeping the guilt out of her voice this time.

Fluttershy nodded, and took a sip from her cup. “I’m perfect. I-I mean, perfectly okay, n-not that I—I’d never—I’m okay. Yes. I’m okay, Trixie.”

“Good. But, if there’s anything else Trixie can do, you’d tell her, right?”

“Well… uhm, there is one thing…”

“Anything! You name it.”

“I had some questions I couldn’t ask before. about… well… about a lot of the things you said.” Her eyes drifted to the spellbook that rested on the nearby table, then back to Trixie.

“…Oh.”

Maybe next time Trixie would be a little more careful about giving into spur of the moment last minute, not-quite-deathbed confessions.