Chapters Clink… Clink… Clink…
Trixie looked to the source of the noise, the clinking having woken her from her great and powerful slumber. Her eyes were not met with the sight of her beloved cart, but instead a deep darkness through which she could not see the source of the clinking. She felt around with her hooves to see if she could figure out where she was, or at least the texture of her surroundings.
Trixie started wiggling her hooves, they seemed to have fallen asleep thanks to her awkward sleeping position. As they wiggled, she heard the clinking getting louder, serving only to annoy Trixie. She stretched them to and fro, the clinking turning into a dragging sound. After recovering feeling, she rose to stand on all four of her shaky hooves. Laying on the ground wasn't great and powerful at all, totally unacceptable for a mare of her caliber. Her hooves let her know that she was in fact standing on what appeared to be stone. Trixies surroundings remained bathed in darkness, she couldn't even see her own forehooves.
Further action had to be taken, this wasn't her cart at all!
She walked slowly forward, hoping to reach a wall where she could find some sort of switch, maybe there was a lightbulb here somewhere. Clink… Clink.. Pss…
“Trixie doesn't know who is making those sounds but you need to stop, right now!!” Hissed Trixie.
The sound bounced off the walls, the echoes along with silence let her know that she was probably all alone. Her anger was directed at nopony, but it helped her get her wits about her. She kept moving and bumped softly against another wall. She raised her hoof to rub her nose, accompanied by a clinking noise again.
Impossible, I just left the spot I was sitting!
Trixie moved her hoof from her nose and moved it to the wall in front of her, hoping to find a light switch or a door… anything to relieve her of this terrifying darkness. She ran her hoof across the wall, until she hit a gap. A gap! It went up and developed into what seemed to be a doorway, but it was blocked.
Blocked by a door, of course, Trixie!
This wasn't the cart door! It wasn't made of wood, and it didn't have peeling paint. Trixie started beating on the door, hoping that she could either knock it down or somepony would open it. She knocked harder, her hooves almost hurt from the impact.
“Open up! Is anypony there?! THIS IS TRIXIE LULAMOON, DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DONT OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT?!!” screamed Trixie, beating the door as she spoke.
A series of violent stomps followed, nopony had answered. Was she stuck? Maybe there was another way. As Trixie considered this the door started glowing softly, it painted the walls with its sickly.. Purple. Trixie took the moment to look around, the glow allowed her to see that she was indeed inside of a stone room. This thought was interrupted as the door opened slowly, but purposefully. Trixie couldn’t wait to see which sorry son of a bitch was on the other side, he would be incapacitated faster than his pitiful magic could open a stupid door.
Wait… magic.Trixie mentally facehoofed and warmed up her horn, a quick blast at the ready just in case it was some sort of pervert. She watched carefully, the door opened completely and a unicorn stepped through. Light flooded in, obscuring the pony from view, but Trixie could tell it was a unicorn by the purple glow coming from its forehead.
“Who are you?! Don't come any closer or I'll blast you! Trixie is an incredible magician and is not afraid to use it against you!” said Trixie as she stepped back, obviously very afraid but attempting to wear a brave face.
The figure took a step forward, its horn no longer glowing, seemingly unaffected by Trixies threats. It remained silent and stopped after entering the room completely. It sat on its flank and just stared, probably waiting for Trixie to do something. She wasn't going to take the bait, Trixie took one last look at the unicorn, her eyes adjusting to the light, and made a run for the open door! She wouldn't have blasted the unicorn under normal circumstances, but Trixie could tell there was something off about this pony. Under different circumstances Trixie may have asked their identity a few more times. She could have used a light spell to illuminate the unicorns face, maybe get a good look. There was one last thing she could have done, and Trixie realized that this in hindsight could have saved her a lot of embarrassment. That one last thing? Maybe she could have checked where the celestia damn clinking was coming from.
Trixie shot the blast, roughly aimed at the ponies face, and started running as fast as her hooves could carry her azure body. The blast seemed to connect with the pony, but the second part of her plan didn't work out at all. As soon as she reached the doorway, her hooves stopped moving but her face didn't. Trixie face planted hard, all of her momentum transferred into her snout as it slammed into the floor. Trixie tried to get up, but her hooves wouldn't move, a ring of pressure holding her back.
“Let me go!! HELP TRIXIE! THERE’S A CRAZY PONY!!” hollered Trixie, hoping that somepony would hear and help. She didn't really know why she was so afraid, it was a primal instinct. A deep fear focused on self preservation. Trixie had no idea how well her instincts were working, but she’d soon find out. Nopony responded, and Trixie had no idea where she was at all, she didn't even have time to consider such things as she heard a chuckle from the pony who had just been blasted.
“What was that, exactly?” the pony said between fits of laughter.
Trixie could tell by the voice that this was a mare. She immediately relaxed and caught her breath. She was safe, it’s just some mare. Regardless, Trixie had just embarrassed herself in front of some weirdo. Unacceptable!
“Yes, strange mare, it was an escape attempt. Trixie did not feel comfortable being locked in a dark room, idiot!” spat Trixie, hoping to cover her own mistakes with insults against the mare.
“Hey, its not my fault you didn't even bother looking at your hooves before trying to run away. I guess I can't expect that much out of you, can I?” countered the mysterious mare.
Trixie glossed over the fact that she should have a reason to look at her own four hooves, and zeroed in on the insult against her intelligence.
“Buck you! I’ll have you know The Great and Powerful Trixie is one of the smartest ponies around! Smarter than you, especially! Watch as Trixie performs the incredible act of leaving this nasty place.” said Trixie, backing up a little and rising to her hooves as soon as she felt the pressure lighten. She took a step forward, raising her nose to show the stupid mare that she wasn't worthy, and immediately face planting again. She looked back at her hooves and noticed there was a ring of metal surrounding them, with chains leading to the wall.
The mare devolved into laughter all over again. This laughter had a horrible pitch, nowhere near as pretty as that of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie recognized this pitch, vaguely. Like the floor towards her snout, the realization hit.
“Twilight!” Trixie said, turning her body to get a better look at her. She pointed her hoof accusingly at the purple Alicorn.
Trixies mind started running at a mile a minute, memories of the past few months coming back. In her confusion Trixie didn't even consider where she had been the day previous, but now she remembered. Trixie seemed frozen in thought.
“Are you waiting for me to monologue like a villain, Trixie?” smirked Twilight, still sitting calmly.
Twilight waited for her response, and after a a bit Trixie seemed to compose herself and regain her snooty persona.
“Where am I, Twilight, and why do I have chains on my hooves?” Trixie asked, false confidence evident in her voice as it quivered slightly.
“You didn't answer my question, Trixie. Bad Trixie!” Said Twilight, relishing in her power over Trixie. Twilight had information that Trixie wanted, and it felt delicious to deprive her of it. It was petty, but that just made it better for her.
“Trixie is not a dog, Twilight. Answer her question!” said Trixie, her fear morphing into anger, somewhat slowly. She tugged at the chains and tried to wiggle them off, they were probably toys anyway. Suddenly they glowed purple and started pulling Trixie towards the wall that she woke up near only minutes before. Trixie squealed in surprise, as she was dragged towards the wall by her hooves.
“I need you to sit still Trixie, I’ll at least have that if you aren’t going to answer my question.” smirked the alicorn. “And who knows, you might be a dog, depending on my mood. It’s probably best if you don’t tempt me.”
The chains finally stopped and Trixie was held flush with the wall, only about a foot of slack in them.Trixie was utterly confused, she didn't know whether to be afraid of Twilight or not. She didn’t seem like the type to hurt other ponies, even former enemies such as herself. She seemed like the type of goody four hooves that would pass out cupcakes instead, hoping to befriend them. Even so, Trixie would keep demanding answers until she got them, she was nothing if not persistent! Not just anypony could handle a traveling show of such greatness.
“Where is Trixie, Twilight! Why are you here?! What's going on!?” screamed Trixie, her desire for an answer as well as her emotions grabbing hold.
With a flash of purple magic, Trixie saw stars as it connected with her muzzle and her head was thrown back by the force of the impact.
“Don’t you ever raise your voice at me again Trixie, if you know what's good for you.” Twilight snarled, her face displaying the same aggressiveness of her voice.
Trixie was still in shock from the pain, Twilight's magic packed quite the punch. Her jaw ached, as if the bone itself was ringing, and radiated. It bathed her in shame, as if she hated the fact that she made Twilight angry more than Twilight for hitting her. She took a second to catch her breath and finally spoke up.
“Why the buck did you hit Trixie!? Let Trixie go!” screeched Trixie, her anger building as the pain in her face faded to a subtle throb.
Trixie struggled against the chains on her hooves, trying to push the cuff on her left hoof with the opposite limb. When that didn’t work she started quick yanks against the chain, hoping it would break or detach from the wall. It was all for naught as not only did the chains not budge, but they also began to glow purple again. This reminded Trixie that she was not alone in this room, and she looked back up to where the unicorn was standing. As soon as she did she noticed that this unicorn had wings! The flared, angry, wings were only visible for a second before the chains tightened even more, plastering Trixie spread eagle on the wall.
“My patience is running thin, Trixie! Because of that, I’m gonna start talking and I expect you to be quiet so we can get this over with.” growled Twilight, her voice low but venomous.
“And what is this , Twilight?! Where are we?! Trixie won't soon forg–” started Trixie, cut off as an arcane fist landed on her belly.
Twilight knocked the wind out of Trixie, hoping that would shut her up long enough to get started. It’s like she wasn’t even listening, she was about to explain just that, but Trixie couldn’t stay quiet. For now Trixie was just catching her breath, this was her chance. Twilight got comfortable and started her speech. Hitting Trixie was fun, but shattering her dreams would be infinitely better.
“Now that you’ve finally shut the buck up, I can tell you what’s going on!” said Twilight, clapping her hooves. Her mood flipped like a switch as she pulled out a long piece of parchment from under her wing.
“Okay… step 1…. Check! Step 2… Hmmm kind of? I should ask Spike about that one...” Twilight thought out loud, completely immersed in her list for a bit.
“Oops! I forgot step 1a… gag the victim. Victim is a harsh word, no worries, Trixie.” assured Twilight as her horn glowed once more.
A ball gag popped into existence, a simple teleportation spell thought Trixie. Trixie watched as the gag floated towards her and locked itself around her muzzle. She struggled against her bondage with renewed vigour, her muffled voice coming through as she shouted. Her hooves were starting to get sore from the way the cuffs were digging into them, and the position she was sitting in was not natural, so she fought on. Twilight didn't notice, she seemed to be reading over her checklist one more time before clearing her throat and beginning some sort of rehearsed speech.
“Under EQ 438 part a through b, I, Princess Twilight Sparkle declare one Trixie Lulamoon as a royal concubine. All rights and privileges previously belonging to such pony is hereby transferred to Twilight Sparkle, bound from now until death, or the relinquishing of the concubine for any reason at the discretion of its owner,” recited Twilight, her excitement bleeding through as she spoke.
Trixie tilted her head, muffling a quick “what?” through the gag. Her eyes darted between what she could see of her restraints and Twilight, realization hitting her slowly. Twilight watched her, fascinated by the way Trixies facial expressions shifted so fast. Finally, Trixies face shifted from confusion to anger, and subsequently understanding.
Ultimately her eyes rested on Twilight's list, the hoof cuffs seemed to disappear as she felt an invisible restraint wrap around her. This one wasn’t tangible, it would be impossible to fight this one. Twilight took it all in, Trixies body seemed to relax against the restraints as she hung limply.
Twilight could almost squeal in happiness, but that would ruin the mood so she mentally scheduled some squealing time in between her latest friendship report and bedtime.
“Any questions, Trixie?” smirked Twilight as she removed the magicians gag.
Please tell Trixie this is a joke…. The Twilight I knew wouldn't do this….” whispered Trixie, as if her voice itself was afraid. Trixie shifted against the chains, faintly tugging at them. Twilight took a moment to respond, seemingly deep in thought before she grinned sinisterly.
“You didn’t know me, Trixie. But don't you worry your ugly little head, you’ll get to know me a lot more intimately from now on!” Twilight tapped Trixie on the head, the restrained mare didn't even move. This was too much, this was official stuff! Trixie was royally screwed by royalty.
Back in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, there was a whole class dedicated to the laws of Equestria. Trixie didn't pay much attention in that class, there was a cute stallion there who just loved to talk about fireworks. Trixie happened to have quite the knowledge on such a subject. One could not run a respectable show without a good pyro display for the audience! But some of the older laws still tore her focus away from that stallion's flank, as sexy as it was. Some of them dealt with old wars, and sanctions against certain races, but some were all about the royalty of Equestria. Alicorns were immune from paying taxes, allowed a government pension, and usually allowed for a comfortable life as royalty. Trixie would have enjoyed such a life, but it did not come for free. The price of such an existence required a position as princess which required you to basically give up your life to serving Equestria.
All of that was quite boring, but the reason Trixie remembered it was because of one last little perk that came with being royalty. Royalty was allowed to keep one pony as a companion to help get through the tougher days. Companion was just a fancy word for some sort of slave, Trixie knew. And as a result Trixie knew that she would love to have one of those, at the time she thought she could use it to do her homework, but little Trixie was thinking too small. The older and wiser, but still youthful, Trixie of today believed she could use it to pull her cart and help with her show. It could cook, clean, and even massage the great and powerful hooves.
Trixie did not want to touch Twilights hooves. they may be royal but they were still attached to Trixies arch nemesis. Twilight had taken Trixies entire life, by humiliating her in front of the entire town and destroying Trixie's home.She went months without a place to sleep until she could raise enough bits to build a new cart. It wasn’t easy putting on such fantastical shows without a suitable backdrop, but Trixies natural performance abilities came in handy. Every moment she spent performing in front of tattered banners and broken down taverns was another reason to destroy Twilight. She quickly earned enough bits to buy the alicorn amulet, but she had to resort to physical labor. It would all be worth it though, she would remind herself, as soon as she had Twilight begging for mercy.
Trixies train of thought was derailed by a yank to the chains attached to her hooves. Trixie looked down and saw that they were glowing once again, the source of the magic glaring at her.
“Were you even listening, Tripsy?” Snarked Twilight, glaring at the blue mare.
“Why would Trixie waste her time listening to somepony like you?”
“Hmm I think I need to be careful with your head. You’re a lot more… challenged than I thought you would be.” Twilight pretended to think, tapping her hoof onto her chin.
“Trixie is much smarter than you Twi-oof!” grunted Trixie.
“Are you not understanding how deeply fucked you are? You're mine now Trixie, all those years, all of your stupid shows, your entire life, all of it is going down the drain.” said Twilight, gazing deep into Trixies eyes, waiting for the trapped mare to react.
“Trixie thinks your muzzle would fit well in a freakshow, it's even more horrifying up close.”
The alicorn sighed, dropping her head along with her ears. Her satisfaction was waning. Trixie was starting to get some of her confidence back, despite being condemned to slavery. This would be a good point to lay the facts on her and start the spell. She should be ready by tomorrow! Twilight took a deep breath and began monologuing,
“Fine, fine, you’re not gonna take this seriously so I guess i'll just tell you what's going on. You seemed to stop even questioning where you were! This is not the sign of a smart pony, I would know.” said Twilight as she relaxed a bit.
“Afterall, it takes an incredibly intelligent mare to ponynap an infamous showmare without arousing suspicion. But that doesn't matter, what matters is that I get to keep you as a pet Trixie! Maybe you at least heard that part from my little contract speech?‘ Twilight grinned.
“Of course Trixie did. Trixie doesn't care! She’ll live in the lap of luxury, it might even be a bit better than living in my cart, except the bugs in this one are purple and a lot bigger.” said Trixie, waving her hooves as much as the chains allowed for.
“What part of the word slavery screams luxury to you?” asked Twilight, mildly entertained by how wrong Trixie was.
“The part where Trixie is a royal concubine, with a royal salary and guaranteed vacation days for life. Gosh Twilight didn't you read the stupid law before using it on Trixie?” laughed Trixie, happy to make fun of the purple mare.
“Well you're partially correct, Trixie,”Twilight chuckled.
“The best kind of correct!” interjected Trixie.
“But you forgot the slave part of the word slave, you'll be expected to follow directions 100% of the time. Or else there will be consequences, of course.” said Twilight.
“Trixie isn't afraid of fines, idiot. And if you think a strong mare like Trixie can't take a couple punches, you've vastly underestimated her.” said Trixie smugly.
"A strong mare, perhaps," said Twilight with a smirk. She charged her horn with magic, firing a jet of lavender light that knocked Trixie out cold, dropping her motionless body to the ground. "But a filly is another matter entirely."
Author's Note
This is the first chapter of my first ever story, please let me know if you have any suggestions, thank you!
Thanks to my very very very good friend The LewdChapter for helping me write this and editing all of it, he's the best.
Cling!
Trixie started awake, the metallic clash scaring her right out of the shallow slumber she was enduring. She looked up towards the source of the sound, none other than Princess Twilight herself. Twilight towered over the little filly, glaring down at her. Trixie was laying on a tattered blanket, barely enough to fit her hooves while tucked under herself. Despite the small blanket, and pony, the cage containing the beast was big enough for Trixie to stand up to move forward and back two steps.
“Wake up already! Pets don't sleep in, idiot. You have an incredible amount of work to do before the girls come over tonight.” said Twilight, pointing towards the door of the basement which had become Trixie's new home.
Trixie quickly wiped away the sleep from her eyes with a hoof as she rose in the cage, a yawn escaping soon after.
“Sorry Princess, I didn't… I didn’t mean to.” Muttered Trixie, staring at the ground hoping to avoid Twilights scowl.
Twilights scowl only intensified, she had almost no patience for the filly. Trixie just exuded annoyance, her crimes and acts still raw in Twilights mind. The same could not be said for Trixie, her mind was wiped with the spell that made her into a filly. This was on purpose, of course. Twilight knew what she was doing, and punishing an innocent filly for the crimes of another mare was just that much sweeter.
“No excuses, Trixie. Get going unless you want a strike so early in the morning?” Threatened Twilight. Trixie rushed through the hatch that Twilight had opened while she was speaking.
“No! Please no Princess, I’m ready to work, honest!” panicked Trixie.
She trotted to the doorway of the room, avoiding the junk and storage supplies that crowded it. Twilight followed close behind watching the filly exerting herself just to walk fast enough to keep up. Trixie's hair was a lot more frazzled now than it used to be as an adult. Her fur wasn’t as smooth and glowing, even her eyes seemed a bit more dull. Her collar looked fantastic, though, thought Twilight. It was a deep purple, matching her owners coat, with a small diamond shaped charm engraved with Trixies name on it. On the back, the charm had Twilights name and castle address, in case Trixie ever got lost. The salespony at the pet store insisted this was an important thing to have, he claimed that dogs got lost all the time around these parts.
“Umm… what should I do first, Miss Twilight?” asked Trixie, her eyes locked on the floor. Twilight smirked a bit, she was too afraid to even look at her owner. There was still work to be done, but she was already seeing plenty of rewards for it. Twilight stopped in her tracks, raising a hoof to her face and sighing.trying to get on my nerves.” sighed Twilight. She moved her hoof from her face, allowing her to look at Trixie who flinched at the sudden movement. Twilight smirked a lot more at that.
“Get started already, I’ll be going out for supplies and I expect most of the list to be done by the time I get back.” said Twilight, leaving the room.
Trixie listened as her hoofsteps grew softer and softer, and finally the boom of the castle doors. Twilight scared her, she had such a short fuse! Because of this Trixie tried her best to be a good pet, last time she got 3 strikes she could barely walk for two days. It was a vicious cycle, as more punishments led to more difficult accomplishing tasks. As a result, Twilight gave her 2 strikes over that period for moving too slowly. Just one more strike and Twilight would not be kind, but Trixie knew it was for the best. Trixie knew that she wasn't very smart, or useful, or even pretty for that matter. She was nothing when compared to her owner. Trixie knew that very well, but it was okay. That's what she told herself, at least. Twilight would help her become a good pet. The best pet!
With that thought, Trixie steeled herself for lots of chores and looked up at the list. The first thing on the list was a small picture of a broom, and next to it was a picture of the kitchen. “Clean the kitchen!” thought Trixie, smiling a bit because she liked being there. The kitchen was off limits to pets, but Trixie liked seeing how complicated pony food was. Twilight ate all kinds of foods, lots of different colors and shapes. This was in stark contrast to pet food, Trixie knew. Pet food was… red? Trixie was still learning her colors, but she was pretty sure red was correct. Colors were not her strong suit, but shapes came naturally. Twilight put different sticker shapes on Trixies tools to help her tell them apart. She was very organized like that, thought Trixie fondly.
After climbing the stairs she started her journey while looking around, she never tired of how pretty Miss Twilights home was. Before she knew it she was looking at the door to the kitchen.
“HEY! Trixie is that you?!” shouted a voice from the room adjacent, startling Trixie into dropping the bucket she was holding in her teeth. She scrambled to pick up the various tools and cleaning liquids that were now scattered all over the floor. Circle water… square water…. Triangle water… brush… Trixies mental checklist was interrupted as Spike stomped nearby, approaching the rushing filly before crossing his arms and locking eyes with her.
“I asked you a question, Trixie.” spat Spike, his gaze unrelentingly strong.
“Oh! Uh.. yes it is Trixie! That’s me...” mumbled Trixie quickly, forcing a nervous smile onto her face. Spike never punished Trixie, but she knew that he didn't like her at all and that was reason enough to avoid him.
“I thought I told the stupid little pet to stay away from the library.” said Spike, punctuating his sentence with a poke to Trixies forehead, just barely missing her sensitive horn. Trixie took some steps backward, putting her little pail on the floor in front of her in order to speak.
“I wasn't going to the library Mr. Spike… I’m s’posed to clean the kitchen, see.” replied Trixie softly, gesturing to the pail on the floor. She hoped Spike believed her, Spike had lied to Twilight before, telling her that Trixie had broken one thing or another. He would probably tell on her again, Twilight would think that she entered the library, and that would be strike 3! She felt the need to support her story.
“I even brought the triangle water, see! That one is only for metal stoves and stuff, not… not bookshelves.” said Trixie, she had learned that the hard way when she tried to clean a wooden stool with it, it started smoking! Trixie shuddered at the memory, that one cost her a long time out, she could still feel the flames licking at her hooves.
“It's not triangle water, dumbfuck. Its called detergent, which you would know if you could read.” Laughed Spike, pointing at the bottle in her pail. Trixie flinched at the bad word, and then looked down at the bottle as she started to tear up.
Its okay Trixie, its okay, just go clean and then leave…
Trixie picked up her pail once again and went into the kitchen, wiping her tears when Spike couldn't see her anymore. She looked around the kitchen, the sink was full of dishes with various bowls and utensils. Finally, the countertop was a mess, a fine layer of grime mixed with the white of flour. After taking a moment to compose herself, she placed the pail on the floor and retrieved the stepstool from the small storage closet. Twilight allowed her to use this stool to stand on when she couldn't reach anything. Trixie was very lucky, if her owner wasn't nice enough to let her use a stool, she would have an incredible amount of trouble cleaning well. Pets aren't allowed on the furniture, she knew. In no time at all Trixie got in the groove of cleaning, clearing the surfaces and spraying everything with her bottles. She rubbed the towel over the countertop and was satisfied with the shine after a bit of effort. She grinned, happy to think that she was useful.
I hope Miss Twilight likes my cleaning, last time she gave me headpats! Maybe this time she’ll do it again!
Trixie began humming softly, a simple tune she heard a bird sing once. Her memory was weak so she made up most of it, maybe someday she could see the bird and teach it her version. Her mind wandered as she finished up the plates in the sink, she thought of how nice it would be to go outside more often. She could see birds, and more ponies, and maybe meet other pets! Twilight spoke about the magic of friendship a lot, and even though Trixie didn't know much about magic, she knew lots about Twilight. Twilight loves friendship and books, as well as a clean home. Making friends with another pet would probably make her owner happy. And if Twilight likes something, then it must be really awesome! Sadly, Trixie wasn't allowed to touch books so she couldn't learn the wonders of those mysterious objects. It was okay though, Trixie trusted Twilight, so she didn't have to use a book to know that they were as awesome as Twilight said.
“Try to focus!” said Trixie, tapping herself on the forehead with a wet hoof since she noticed that all the dishes were done. She had been standing on her stool for a while, doing nothing, wasting valuable time daydreaming about making a friend. Trixie rushed to put the stool back and put all the supplies into her pail, before trotting through the doorway into the hallway, and eventually back to her room. The list on the wall had another two tasks to do, but they were easier than cleaning a whole kitchen. She decided to take out the trash first, and then polish the table.. Map.. thing that was in the room with the big doors. Twilight spent time there a lot, with other ponies. Trixie only knew because she could hear the ponies come through the front door from her cage. She wasn't allowed out while ponies came in.
Trixie grabbed a small cart that was in the basement and hitched it to herself as best as she could. Tying things was very difficult for Trixie, but she managed to tie it enough for her use. She galloped room to room, collecting each waste basket and putting it in her cart. There were a lot of them, but she finished quickly and was proud of herself for it. Spike seemed to be in his room, the castle only as loud as Trixies own hoofsteps. She approached the last room she needed, it was a room with a big table in the middle and chairs surrounding it. This was a very important room, Trixie knew. Twilight was here a lot, so Trixie would deliver drinks and things to her here often. Today she was here to dust though, killing two pegasi with one boulder, or something like that, thought Trixie. She packed up the waste bin into her cart and pushed it to the corner. After retrieving the feather duster, she began cleaning each throne meticulously from top to bottom.
Her mouth was starting to get tired, she had been cleaning all day but she knew that she had no time for a break. From what she could tell, the sun would be setting soon and Twilight would be home and ready to punish Trixie if she wasn't done with her chores. Twilight expected Trixie to be waiting in the cage by the time she got home, and Trixie didn't want to disappoint her.
She didn't need another strike, not at all. With that thought she hurried, her hooves moving as fast as they could. The crystal shone almost unnaturally bright after Trixie was through, but Trixie could tell that the table wasn't as bright in comparison. She wasn't allowed to touch the table, that was made very clear to her. But cleaning it doesn't count as touching, not at all. Twilight would be happy if she polished it! The ponies who visited would compliment her on her beautiful table, and then Twilight would reward Trixie! Trixie started running the feather duster over it, thinking about the various rewards Twilight could give her. She stood on her hind legs to reach the table, bracing herself with one hoof and using the duster with the other. She stretched further trying to reach the center of the table, standing on the tip of her hooves. Just a little more…..
“And I told him, where am I supposed to get 37 kilos of baking soda in the middle of yakyakistan?” laughed a bubbly voice from the doorway of the throne room. In fear Trixies back hooves slipped and she fell on her face, smacking her horn on the edge of the table on her way down. She didn't know whether to hold her aching nose or her ringing horn, choosing to nurse her horn she moaned in pain.
“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?! That was a crazy tumble, little filly!” screamed a pink mare, the one with the bubbly voice. She was already holding Trixie in her hooves, seemingly bending space to the point where Trixie did not remember being lifted. The mare ran her hoof through Trixies mane, cooing and then wiping away the tears that were forming on her eyes..
“You.. you scared me..” sniffled Trixie, looking away from the strange mare.
“Awwwww you are just the cutest! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? What are you doing in the castle?” said Pinkie Pie, with the biggest smile Trixie had ever seen. This wasn't all that impressive because she hadn't seen many before. Twilight and Spike didn't smile that often, but she knew Pinkies was massive. In a flash it turned into a scowl, only Trixies confusion preventing her from panicking at what would surely be a punishment.
“WAIT! What are you doing in the cutie map room? Wait!! Are you a burglar?! Are you trying to steal my chair?!” questioned Pinkie, shaking the filly softly as she held her a hoofs length away from herself.
“N-no, I was just cleaning them…. I promise. Please dont tell Princess Twilight, I wasn’t trying to steal anything Miss Pinkie Pie!” said Trixie, after analyzing the river of words that she was slammed with. Trixie didn't know this mare, so she was going to try her best to get on her good side lest she complain to Twilight.
“And, um, my name is Trixie. I belong to Princess Twilight Sparkle. My address is on my collar. ” Blurted Trixie, catching her breath after what seemed to be an automated message. Trixie didn't know where that came from, but pinkie seemed to have triggered her to say it.
“Oooh!! That was a cool voice! I can do one too! Dear Princess Celestia, today I met Trixie! ” shouted Pinkie, the voice was more of a scream than anything. While Pinkie was screaming, Trixie tried to wiggle out of her grasp hoping to run to her cage. Pinkie stopped just in time to come to her senses.
“Now that that's over, I wonder when the girls are gonna show up!” said Pinkie, placing the filly back down on her hooves. She was successful in distracting Trixie from the pain, all according to plan.
“The girls?” inquired Trixie, looking up at Pinkie and tilting her head slightly.
“My friends, silly!” said Pinkie, booping Trixie softly on her nose, “Twilight, Rarity, Dashie and Fluttershy. I bet you know Twilight at least.”Darn
Trixie turned and grabbed the feather duster from the table behind her, and galloped to the cart, hitching herself as quickly as her tiny hooves could move the buckles. When the final buckle clicked into place she pulled the cart out of the room. Leaving Pinkie just staring at how desperate she was to leave. Trixie was about to reach the front door of the castle, aiming for the door off to the right that led to the basement, when she crashed straight into another pony. The garbage in the cart went flying as Trixie went head over hooves launching the contents straight at the pony that she collided with.
“Go to your room, Trixie. I’ll be there shortly.” said Twilight calmly, not even looking at the filly who had begun shivering at the mere sound of Twilights collected voice. Too afraid, she stood as still as she could. This lasted only moments until Twilight grabbed her in her magic and raised Trixie to eye level. With fire in her eyes, Twilight looked the tiny filly right in the eye and spoke again,
“Don't make me repeat myself, Trixie, I'm not sure you'd survive the consequences. ” Whispered Twilight as Trixie burst into tears. Twilight put the crying filly down, and it immediately dashed to the basement doorway. A trail of tear drops punctuating every sob that emanated from her, both fear and immense disappointment in herself fueling her distress.
Twilight had already taught Trixie the true meaning of fear, but tonight Twilight was aiming for something different.
Punishment.
Author's Note
Hi! Thank you for reading, I'm really glad that there are people who want to read what I'm writing. If you have any suggestions or ideas, feel free to comment and tell me.
Special thanks to everyone in the HR discord, as well as LewdChapter and Abby specifically!
Sniff…. Sniff…
Trixie held onto the tattered blanket, its graying edges stained with the results of her past transgressions against Twilight. Tears darkened it, the occasional droplet of blood speckled it with red in certain places. Despite this, she loved the blanket, and she even spoke to it occasionally on particularly lonely nights. It would wipe her tears, and hold her secrets. Trixie knew nothing else that would be willing to do that for her. As such, she did her best to keep it in good shape. It was there when she first awoke in her cage, in rough condition. Still, Trixie washed it whenever she could, and was careful with the particularly frayed edges that could catch and rip further.
But at that very moment, Trixie just embraced it. Much like herself, the blanket had flaws with its stains and ragged edges. But she didn’t care how dirty it got, it was her only comfort from what was to come. Twilight still had not come down to the basement, leaving Trixie to theorize what would happen. Last time Trixie messed up, she had spilled a whole cup of apple juice all over her owner’s favorite reading chair.
Trixie was forced to act as a footrest for the rest of the night, Twilights heavy hooves laying on her back was a phantom sensation Trixie had ever since. Her stubby hooves still trembled at the memory, she could still feel the electric shocks coursing through her. A tiny falter on Trixies stance resulted in plenty of shocks to burn into her mind. That was a result of such a small accident, some spilled juice. Today she had managed to spill an entire cartload of garbage onto Twilight, and she was sure that Twilight would know all about the filly’s interaction with Pinkie Pie.
She hugged the blanket tighter, shivering. Twilight would surely do something horrible to her, but she knew that it was for the best. Trixie was only punished when she deserved it, and in the end it would make her a better pet. Trixie reminded herself of this a lot, she was thankful that Twilight was so willing to help. This didn't help the fear or the shivers though, instead amplifying them as she thought of just how much more she still had to learn.
Trixie looked around her cage for the millionth time, its chrome metal bars keeping her safe. As long as she was in here, nopony could hurt her. But she knew that the lock opened for Twilight, as it did every morning. She was not ready for her arrival, beginning to think about how she could minimize the punishment. Maybe if she…
She might send me to the pound!
This thought exploded into her mind, overshadowing every other fear. Twilight had told her about the pound. It was where bad pets went, pets who were so unruly, and so useless that there simply was no other option. At that point of Twilight’s speech, Trixie was already covering her ears and cowering in a corner of her cage, afraid that if she kept listening it would happen to her. She didn't know what happened to the pets who went there, but Twilight had said a big word when discussing the end goal. She said that they would give the pet a… a.. Trixie couldn't pronounce it. But Twilight described it as putting something in the pets brain! Trixie didn't think that she could handle having something inside her brain. The pound was shrouded in mystery, so Trixie dreaded ever having to go there. But today, she had made a monumental mistake, maybe something that Twilight would consider pound worthy.
At this point, Trixie’s side was sore from laying on the wire of the cage, but she didn't care because she needed her blanket to hug. She batted at a small thread on the edge of the blanket, her mind racing so fast that it just stopped, focusing on that tiny strand. It was so small, but it was still part of the blanket, and Trixie knew that if she removed it the whole blanket would be worse off. It was miniscule, and somewhat unimportant, but it was still worth something. Trixie thought she might be a little bit like that strand, but she didn't know for sure what she was worth.
This castle was the blanket, and yet Trixie didn't actually believe she was worth as much as the thread. The thread was a part of something, and at best Trixie was just an accessory. Removable at will, and replaced with some other.
Maybe it's for the best, if Mistress sends me to the pound. Maybe after they fix me, I can be a good pet for the Princess… Or they could replace me… I wonder how long it’ll be before they put me down..
Trixie was spiraling, her fear replaced with a deep sadness. Disappointment in herself reigning supreme, convincing her that she deserved such treatment. A good pet would probably get more food, Trixie had not earned a full bowl since she could remember. Only half servings, sometimes less. One time, Trixie recalled, Twilight had given her a piece of pony food. It was a chunk of cookie, crunchy and lightly dusted with sugar. Trixie bit off half of her piece, the flavor storming her mouth with texture and sweetness that she never had experienced. A smile was instantly plastered on her face, her eyes closed in ecstasy. Trixie remembered that experience fondly, Twilight was going to throw the cookie in the trash but she was kind enough to offer it to her pet. That was the only time that Twilight ever rewarded her, though. Trixie believed that if she was a good pet, she could be rewarded more often. She didn't deserve it though, she knew she didn't. She batted the thread another time, before rolling over on to her back and spreading her hooves. This was thwarted when her hooves hit the wall of the cage, and she placed them onto her middle.
Trixie was just starting to doze off, her blanket clutched closely to her chest when the unmistakable sound of hoofsteps began emanating from the doorway to the basement. Trixie remained still, hoping to delay the inevitable. It was all for nothing, as she heard the steps approach the cage, and finally the click of the lock.
“Come out, Trixie. It's time.” said Twilight. She was sitting on her flank a few steps away from the door of the cage. Her head was tilted slightly, casually staring at the little filly in the cage. Twilight seemed very calm, a distinct lack of anger on her face, just a simple small smile.
Trixie took this as a good sign and got up, tucking her blanket neatly into the corner of her cage. She walked towards Twilight, tentatively with her head lowered in a mixture of shame and fear. Trixie stepped out of the cage, stopping just a few hooves from where Twilight was seated in order to await her sentence. Trixie hoped against hope that it would just be more chores, or maybe something as light as the spray bottle. She knew it wouldn't be so, but she chose to believe that it might for her own sanity.
“Do you know why you’ve earned a third strike, Trixie?” asked Twilight, her voice sounding legitimately chipper.
“Uhh.. Yes Miss Twilight… I spilled trash all over my owner… and the ground too...” Trixie peeked up at the princess. Twilight seemed unconvinced, her face falling. Trixie scoured her brain to get more reasons.
“And I didnt finish cleaning the throne room… and I didnt clean Spikes chair.. Ummm” Trixie was stumped, and Twilight didn't look satisfied at all. She chose to stay silent, she could only make things worse if she kept talking.
“It seems like you dont, I dont know what I expected if I'm being honest. You're not known for your intelligence afterall.” giggled Twilight, rising to her hooves and beginning to circle the little filly. Twilight read in the newest volume of “Pouncing Predators” that circling prey was a good way to scare them into staying still until it was too late. It seemed to be working since Trixie was shaking, seeming to shrink in on herself.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to tell you Trixie.”
Twilight stopped after making a half circle around the filly, remaining behind her. Trixie was too scared to move, only flinching when Twilight started petting her mane. Her hoof stroking from Trixies head all the way down to her mid back. In a second her soft stroking stopped, Twilight's hoof was raised and launched towards the back of Trixies head. Trixies front legs gave out and she face planted, knocking her horn on the ground harshly. She squealed in pain, clutching her horn and nose.
“You got caught!” screamed Twilight, lifting the squirming Trixie in her magic and immediately slamming her back down. She pressed Trixie into the floor with her magic, keeping her head facing upward. She leaned in and looked her in the eyes, piercing and full of anger.
“Pinkie saw you! She told the rest of my friends, Trixie!” said Twilight. In frustration Twilight used her magic to send Trixie sliding towards the wall where she made a thump noise on impact. Trixie was trying to catch her breath in between sobs, her face still throbbing from falling on it.
Twilight began pacing, considering her options, as well as the root of her problem.
“I wasn't ready to tell them Trixie, you're not ready! I needed a quiet obedient pet to help smooth it over, it would have been easier that way.” Twilight paced around while Trixie cowered in the corner of the room. “They'd understand that what Im doing is for the best! Afterall, its best to ask forgiveness rather than permission...”
“I’mreally sorry Mistress, I didn't mean to!” cried Trixie softly.
“It doesn't matter Trixie, the fact remains that you disobeyed me, and ruined my plans. Go to the bench.” Said Twilight, her horn lit menacingly. Trixie had gotten over her pain at this point, and heard the command loud and clear.
“Th-the bench?” squeaked Trixie, getting to her hooves, hoping she had misheard. Twilight closed the distance between herself and the scared filly, raising her hoof as if to strike her.
“I didn't know your ears were defective too, Trixie. I’m not going to repeat myself.” threatened Twilight, her hoof ready to strike.
Twilights voice was like ice, which made Trixie bound to the bench in the corner of the room towards the bench. It was a simple wooden table, but only wide enough to fit the fillys body. It had leather straps for her four hooves, as well as a small pillow for her head. Twilight had only strapped the filly on it twice, both times left Trixie in too much pain to move. Twilight was quite adept at using whips and other instruments. Trixie got to the bench and stood on her hind legs to reach the top, hopping to try to reach a strap and pull herself up. It took a couple hops but her fear fueled her efforts, finally succeeding and sitting on top. She composed herself, staring at the wooden platform, afraid that she might make Twilight angrier if she did anything else.
Twilight was watching in mild amusement, the filly’s hooves were so stubby! Watching Trixie climb the bench was a cherry on top, Twilight was going to levitate her onto the bench but watching her climb was much funnier. Regardless, it was time for business, lighting her horn and approaching the scared foal.
“Lay down and put your hooves into the straps Trixie, it's time for a quiz!” said Twilight. Trixie was a bit stunned by the sudden chipper attitude, but it made sense with what Twilight was about to do to her. Sometimes Trixie thought that Twilight enjoyed hurting her, but she knew that she was only doing it to help Trixie become a better pet. She slipped her hooves into the straps and layed on her back, where Twilight fastened them tighter than expected.
“Ouch...” grunted Trixie softly.
“You're gonna need to be strapped in extra tight tonight Trixie, wouldn't want you hurting yourself right?”
“Yes, Mistress.” whispered Trixie, nodding her head softly. Trixie was still gripped with fear, but she knew that this was for her own good. She chose to put on a brave face with the help of a small mental chant.
I'm a brave pet, Trixie is brave. Trixie is brave. Trixie is brave.
With another flash from Twilight's horn, the bench started to tilt, squeals of fear erupting from the victim binded to its surface. Trixie's head was lowering, and her back hooves going upwards. It stopped soon after, the straps holding Trixie in place so that she would not fall. Twilight placed a thick towel onto Trixies mouth, and her magic levitated a small watering can over near the fillies head.
“Whhtf ghnng hn” asked Trixie, trying to speak through the towel.
“Well, we're starting your quiz of course! Are you ready for the first question, Trixie?” asked Twilight, waving the watering can around as she spoke. Trixie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she would try her best to do well on the quiz, swallowing her nervousness. She nodded.
“Great! The first question is: Who am I?” said Twilight, wiggling the watering can near Trixies head.
“ Prnfess Twnlnght” said Trixie, trying her best to articulate her words well enough through the towel.
“Good pet,” praised Twilight, putting the watering can down and patting Trixie on the head. “I’ll remove the towel so you can respond better, but as soon as you answer incorrectly its going back on, ok?”
Trixie didn't know what was the purpose of the towel, but agreed nonetheless by nodding.
“The next question is a tough one, what kind of Princess am I?” inquired Twilight, a sly grin on her muzzle. She knew that Trixie would answer this one incorrectly, her mind wasn't exactly the clearest at the moment.
“Umm…you're not green...” wondered Trixie outloud, racking her brain for a good response. “I… I don't know my colors Mistress..”
In a flash the fillys muzzle was covered by a towel, and water poured onto her face. Water overflowed from her mouth and nose, her passageways inundated. Her hooves flailed uselessly, pinned down by the straps, and her screams coming out as gurgles. After 5 seconds Twilight stopped the flow and stopped to watch filly squirm. Water was still in her airways, Twilight noticed, but she knew just how long she could leave it there before causing brain damage.
Trixie kept screaming, the lack of constant water flow was helping her spit out the water, but the towel made it harder. She could feel herself drowning, her lungs screaming almost as loud as herself, begging for air. The shock of the situation making it even worse, Trixie’s panicked senses making the burning in her chest worse. With her hooves restrained, she could do nothing to satisfy the fight or flight instinct that kicked in, no matter how hard she tried.
Finally, after a couple seconds Trixie was able to get rid of enough water to breathe again, at which point Twilight removed the towel.
“Wrong answer, Trixie, obviously! I didn't ask what color I was, I asked you what kind of Princess. Did you enjoy getting it wrong?” said Twilight smugly, refilling her watering can absentmindedly.
Trixie shook her head as much as she could, tears running down her face mixing with the water.
“No Mistress, please don't do that to me again, I'll be good!” cried Trixie, managing to mutter out the last word before devolving into sobs. Twilight smirked a bit before petting Trixie, running her hoof down the wet fur on the side of her face. Trixie flinched at the touch, opening her eyes to see Twilights soft smile. For a second, Trixie's hopes were raised. Maybe Twilight would let her out, the punishment was over! It was a tough one, to be sure, but she could take it.
“Aww, you poor thing, I didn't ask you to be good. I asked you to give me the right answer!” whispered Twilight, raising the towel again where Trixie could see. “Try again.”
At the sight of the towel, Trixies hopes vanished. In a panic she tried answering again, hoping to get it right out of fear of getting the water again.
“ThePrincessOfFriendship!!” shouted Trixie, saying it as fast as she could and then closing her eyes in preparation for the towel. When it didn't come, she peeked out of the eye closest to Twilight, and saw that the princess was holding something small on the frog of her hoof. It was a deep brown and squared.
“Good job Trixie! Now open your mouth for your prize.” cheered Twilight, putting her hoof to Trixies mouth. Trixie obeyed, allowing the small square to enter her mouth. It started melting almost instantly, and her mouth was assaulted with the sweet taste of chocolate as she rolled it around. She let out a small “Mmmm” in happiness.
This must be pony food too!
“Thank you Mistress!” said Trixie enthusiastically, the sweet taste of chocolate still lingering in her mouth. For a moment, her worries were erased, only the happiness of pleasing her owner filling her mind. She looked up at Twilight happily, reveling in the moment for a second.
“Just two more questions and we’ll be all done, Trixie! The penultimate question is: Friendship is also known as what?” said Twilight, sitting on her haunches.
“Ooh I know this one Princess! Friendship is magic!” said Trixie, her little hooves wiggling in their bonds excitedly. Trixie smiled widely and looked up at Twilight for confirmation, which she found along with another treat.
“Great job Trixie! Here's your treat.” said Twilight putting the treat into the fillies waiting mouth once more. Once again, Trixie was overcome with joy, even despite the circumstances surrounding her bondage. She swirled the chocolate in her mouth, trying her best to savor it and make it last as long as possible.
“We're almost done, so here's the last question," said Twilight. Her tone shifting into a growl. "What is the Princess of Friendship without any friends ?”
Trixies grin fell right off of her face, watching as Twilight's favorite whip materialized in front of her forehoof. Twilight's magic gripped the towel firmly onto Trixies face and started pouring water. The all too familiar sensation of water entering her mouth and passageways started again. Her limbs and neck struggling even harder than before, in her panic she did not feel the various muscles she was pulling with her movements.
Her eyes were shut in fear, but were quickly shot open when she felt a searing strike on her soft underbelly.
“I. Can’t. Lose. My. Friends. Trixie. ” grunted Twilight, each word punctuated with another strike from the whip. Twilight could see the welts that were appearing after every hit. Twilight's rage manifesting as red lines all over Trixies belly, visible even past her soft blue fur. All the while, the water was still pouring onto Trixie's face, her screams and sobs melding into one. Every impact spurred Trixie to struggle more, her brain forcing her to do her best to escape the pain. Instinctually, she needed to prevent herself from drowning, the strikes only making it worse. The straps held strong though, her lungs burning along with her belly. She could feel her consciousness fading away, lack of oxygen finally getting to her after 30 seconds straight of water flow.
Twilight stopped the flow of water and watched as the filly coughed out what water she could. Her sobbing came quickly, eyes closed, whole body shivering. Twilight put all her instruments down, leaning into Trixies ear.
“I can’t lose my friends, Trixie.” said Twilight, removing the rag and unstrapping the fillys hooves. Trixie didn't move out of fear, choosing to use her hooves to dry the tears from her eyes. A futile attempt considering she was drenched in water, and the tearing sensation she felt when she moved too much as a result of the welts. Twilight levitated the filly off of the bench and onto the floor, she squealed in pain as every move hurt her belly. She was breathing heavily, the change in position from laying down to sitting on her haunches putting stress on her back. Trixie stared at the ground, feeling Twilight's eyes bore into her.
“The Princess of Friendship is nothing without her friends, Trixie.” said Twilight, her tone serious, and still angry.
“And you risked that...” whispered Twilight, getting to her hooves to get more personal with the scared filly.
“Lucky for you, along with being your owner, as well as a princess of Equestria, I used to be the personal student of Celestia herself. I knew exactly how to smooth things over, it wasn't all that hard either! You are, after all, the pony who enslaved them and tried to take over Ponyville. They agreed that rehabilitation was the only alternative to prison,” monologued Twilight, stroking Trixie's wet mane all the while. She was full of it of course, Trixie would at worst be given community service. But Trixie would eat it up, she knew.
Trixie didn't know who Celestia was, or what her owners friends were like. Most of all she didn't remember taking over Ponyville. The only thing she understood was that Twilight had saved her from prison, which cheered her up a bit. She was still too afraid to look up, though, she knew Twilight wasn't done speaking.
“I’ll rehabilitate you, Trixie. I won't let anyone take you to prison, okay?” said Twilight softly, pulling the little filly into an embrace.
Trixie squeaked a bit in pain but quickly leaned into the hug. This was the first physical interaction she ever had with her mistress without involving whips or canes. Much like the chocolate, she reveled in it, astounded by how her fear and pain managed to float away when she was held. She didn’t know what the word rehabilitation meant, but Twilight was going to keep her out of prison. If it meant she could stay here with her owner, Trixie decided that she would do whatever it took. Even if it meant punishment like today. She burst into tears again, feeling a warmth in her chest, she thought it might be love for her owner.
Miss Twilight was right, Im becoming a good pet! Good pets love their owners….
“I'm sorry you had to punish me Mistress… I’ll be good.” whispered Trixie into Twilights chest fluff, hugging her tighter despite the pain it caused her.
I’ll be good.
Author's Note
This chapter was fun to write! I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, please let me know if you have any suggestions for me!
Clunk Clunk
Trixies tower of blocks collapsed, scattering the blocks all over the floor. Trixie giggled a bit to herself. This tower was a lot taller than the other ones she had managed to make. She started collecting the blocks, being careful to grab each and every one of them. Twilight would not be happy otherwise, and Trixie really wanted to make her owner happy. She was the one who allowed her to use the blocks, after all.
Trixie had trouble grasping things, as a unicorn, her fine motor skills for grasping things were not well developed. Consequently, she kicked all the blocks to the same general pile and then used her mouth to place them all into its plastic container. The container had three multicolored balloons on it, which Twilight told her meant it was from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie had arrived with many gifts for Trixie, claiming that it was for the missed birthdays. Trixie didn’t know her own birthday but was ecstatic to receive gifts. Twilight informed the filly that she could have one gift, but the rest would stay in the closet until behavior improved.
Trixie was disappointed, but she found her disappointment overshadowed by the sheer joy she felt to receive even a single, small gift. Trixie was finishing up cleaning the blocks when Twilights hoofsteps were heard not far from the doorway. She hurried to get the last, rectangular, block into its spot but it slipped out of her mouth and onto the ground. By the time she grasped it in her mouth once again Twilight was already standing in the doorway glaring at the filly with a block in her muzzle. She sighed and put a hoof to her head before speaking.
“I told you to clean those up a while ago, Trixie. Why isn't it done?” said Twilight.
“I was having lotsa fun, Mistress, I… I’m sorry.” apologized Trixie, shuffling her hooves nervously. Twilight approached and lit up her horn, Trixie immediately flinched at the pale lavender light, but Twilight only used it to levitate the block into its box and lift Trixie. She looked into Trixies eyes and spoke slowly.
“You're coming with me to the pony pet play date, and I expect you to be on your best behavior, is that understood?”
Trixie nodded quickly, after which she put the filly down onto the floor. Trixies hooves were splayed out in fear, she wasn't used to floating in midair, but she sat on her haunches as taught as soon as she touched the floor.
“Since you're still having trouble following directions, im gonna make it easier for you.” said Twilight, her magic grabbing hold of the collar on Trixies neck. Trixie let out a small squeak as soon as she felt her throat compress, afraid that she might be trying to choke her again.
“Im sorry Mistress” croaked Trixie, gagging in between her sentence. “What did I do…?” Trixie kept struggling, using her forelegs to try to loosen the collar.
“Oh hold still, this won't take much longer!” shouted Twilight, deep in concentration weaving the spell into the small crystal charm on the collar. She had to hold the crystal away from Trixies throat or there could be difficulties with the spell. Removing the collar would probably be safer but Twilight decided it wasn't worth the effort.
Finally Trixies collar was released and Trixie took deep breaths. She held a hoof to her head and the other on her throat, catching her breath. After a bit Trixie looked back to her owner who was waiting on the filly to relax.
“You're so dramatic, Trixie! It was a simple sudo remote spell, with a bit of electron manipulation sprinkled in.” said Twilight smugly. Trixie used to be rather magically talented, Twilight was proud of taking that from her.
Trixie tilted her head slightly and tried to make sense of what Twilight had just said, before giving up. She chose to stay silent hoping that wouldn't make Twilight as mad as pretending to understand somepony as powerful and intelligent as her. She focused on examining the surface of the floorboards, hoping Twilight would speak soon.
“Now, let's test it! Trixie speak!” commanded Twilight, quite excited to test out the new crystal charm.
“Umm… What do I say, Miss?” asked Trixie, fear apparent in her voice. Twilight didn't like it when Trixie asked questions.
“Good pet!” said Twilight clapping her hooves, “Trixie dance! ”
Trixie knew this command, Twilight had asked her to do it many times before. The “dance” involved hopping on her back hooves while wiggling her forehooves. It was horribly humiliating, but Trixie knew that failing to obey would mean more timeout. She got up onto her four legs and pushed herself onto her rear legs. She wavered a bit but managed to get solid footing. As Trixie started her little dance, Twilight subtly nudged her left hoof a bit, throwing the little filly onto her back and knocking the air out of her.
“Tsk, tsk, Trixie. It's time to test my spell, are you ready?” Asked Twilight, a mischievous grin present on her face.
“N-not yet Mistress, let me get u-” Trixie said, rolling over onto her side before being interrupted when her crystal activated. It glowed a sharp yellow before it sent an electric shock down the straps of the collar. Trixie wasn't expecting a shock of this intensity and her body refused to obey her. She squeaked and braced herself as best she could, but it was over as fast as it had started.
“Oww..” moaned Trixie, putting a hoof to her neck where the color sat. In reality her whole body hurt but she didn't know what to clutch, her neck being the most obvious choice in her mind. She rolled over onto her side, resting for a bit. All the while Twilight was analyzing the spell on the crystal, the shock should have lasted much longer… She looked at the clock and realized it was time to go.
“Fascinating crystal, don't you think Trixie? Maud helped me pick it out last time she came to visit Pinkie!” cheered Twilight, quite proud of imbuing a little crystal with remote activation and energy discharge spells.
“Y-yes Mistress, very fac…. Fascu..” mumbled Trixie, trying to prevent more punishment for disagreeing with her. Twilight lost her patience almost immediately, mispronunciation like that was worth at least 20 minutes of time out. There was no time though, she had to be there on time for things to go according to plan. She turned to exit the room and spoke.
“It’s time to go, get your leash” said Twilight coldly.
Trixie turned onto her limbs, still tingly from the shock. She trotted to the wall where her owners tools were, and saw the box of blocks nearby. They were sitting under a whip that Twilight called Bellatrix. Twilight really liked that whip, it was enchanted with the ability to cause massive cuts, but heal them with no scars afterward. The pain stayed, though, Trixie knew. She shook the memory from her head and focused on the blocks.
“Mistress can I take the blocks..?” asked Trixie demurely, avoiding eye contact. Twilight was already in the hallway, levitating some things into a cart.
“Fine, but hurry up! The girls are waiting. ” responded Twilight. Trixie was quite excited, maybe the other pets would want to play with her blocks too. Trixie had never met another pet, but today was the day.
Of course, none of those pets have a Princess of Equestria as their owner. Thought Trixie smugly.
Trixie quickly gripped the leash in her mouth and balanced the box of blocks on her back. She trotted quickly to catch up to Twilight who was near the main castle doors, loading things onto a cart with her magic. Trixie waited patiently next to the cart, the leash hanging out of her mouth.
“Hmm.. juice… cookies… That should be everything! Trixie! Stand right here.” said Twilight, pointing at a spot in front of the cart and in between the hitches. Trixie nodded silently and moved. As she was getting into place Twilight took the leash from Trixies mouth with a bit of magic and attached it to her collar, also putting the box of blocks into the cart. Trixie shivered at the feeling of Twilights magic on her neck, it felt cold and buzzy. Like a swarm of bees was caressing her neck, pulling on the symbol of her submission. The feeling spread all around her barrel as Twilight attached the metal harness, locking the little filly to the cart.
“See you later, Spike. We’re off to see the girls!” hollered Twilight across the castle before stepping through the doorway. Trixie tried to follow, the leash being pulled taut, but the cart was heavy in comparison to her small body. She dug her hooves into the crystal floor as hard as she could, managing to get the cart moving very slowly.
“Hurry up Trixie, you really want me to use your collars new feature?” said Twilight, warming the crystal to coax the filly. Trixie felt it, and pulled the cart enough to build some momentum.
“N-no Mistress.. Argh.. i’m doing it, see?” grunted Trixie, not too keen on the idea of feeling the shock all over again. With the momentum she was able to keep it going, the uneven soil proving to be a much bigger challenge than the smooth crystal. Despite this she put in her best effort, fueled by the threat of punishment. Shocks were not the only thing Twilight would administer, she had no shortage of tools.
Twilight trotted a bit ahead of the filly, the handle of the leash floating near her shoulder. Trixie did her best to keep up, and Twilight seemed satisfied by the effort. She took a moment to think about where exactly they were. It was the PPPD, but it was also going to be most of the girls first opportunity to see the new Trixie. The better Trixie, Twilight told herself. Some of them might not agree though, she knew that already. She’d already had a long discussion with her friends the day that Pinkie saw her new pet, and it didn’t go too well. Twilight enjoyed having control of each and every situation, which was why she was so angry with the little filly in her care. Despite having no control, even of her own body, Trixie was able to snatch all of Twilight's control over the narrative.
“C-can… can we take a break, Miss?” said Trixie, her breaths haggard and labored Twilight turned to look at the filly, examining the sad state of her pet. Her hooves were covered in soil, and her whole body was drenched with sweat. She was panting, and looking longingly at her owner, hoping for a miracle. Twilight chuckled slightly and gave a warm smile, approaching the filly and conjuring a small towel. She wiped the fillys face softly, taking care not to press too hard. Trixie melted under the warm ministrations of her owner, happily surprised that she had switched behaviors so quickly. She grinned up at Twilight, still catching her breath, but ready to thank her.
“Th—”
“Absolutely not. Slow down again and it'll be 2 days with no food,” hissed Twilight coldly, turning on her heels and trotting on.
Trixie was shocked, even despite the gem on her collar not going off. She took a deep breath and continued on, she was going to march until she collapsed. Trixie hadn't eaten a full meal in weeks. She didn't have a solid grasp on numbers but she knew it had been many nights. When Twilight was feeling generous the little doggy bowl was filled only halfway with something Twilight called Woofer Chow as well as few oats. Trixie loved hunting down each and every oat and leaving it for the end. It was like a little treat for finishing her food. Her stomach grumbled, aching almost as much as her hooves after such a trek pulling this cart. Twilight wasn't as generous recently, Trixie could still see the bottom of the bowl in between the kibbles. Not a single oat either, Trixie checked thoroughly before each meal and turned up empty hooved.
“I'm getting tired of speaking to you Trixie, hurry up! ”growled Twilight, her nerves overtaking her. They were very close to the park, she wasn't totally sure what to expect.
“Yes Mistress!” gasped Trixie in between breaths, hoping desperately that they were close to their destination. Her mind was too preoccupied with working through the fatigue of pulling the cart to think about where they were going. She had considered it before they left the castle, and was excited to meet other pets like her. Despite this she didn't know whether they would be very nice, but there was only one way to find out. She would find out soon, she noticed as the small group of trees lining the path was starting to thin out. Off to the left Trixie could see Pinkie Pie along with some other ponies sitting on a picnic blanket.
“Hey girls!” yelled Twilight, waving a hoof to the collection of ponies, who waved back. Trixie did not recognize any of them but she was glad to finally be at the park. She could feel her legs shaking from the exertion.
“No speaking unless spoken to, Trixie. Don’t ruin this,” whispered Twilight before hitting Trixie with a small spell. It dried her out and made her look less ragged. Trixie felt her fur shift slightly and nodded to Twilight. She wasn't sure what to expect, but keeping quiet seemed like the easiest way to prevent herself from doing something stupid. Trixie knew she was stupid, Twilight reminded her about that fact a lot. Trixie pulled the cart the last little bit without much trouble, it was the home stretch. Her foalish excitement overpowered her nervousness, allowing her the bit of bravery she needed. She was now face to face with many new ponies, if she could count she’d know there were 5. They all seemed to be looking at her, emotions ranging from intense fascination to shivering fear to what seemed to be concern. The concerned one spoke up, her voice was very beautiful Trixie noticed.
“Why, Ah think that carts a bit big for you little filly. Ya need some help?” she said in a wonderful accent that seemed to tickle Trixies ears. She got up off of the picnic blanket and started walking towards Trixie but did not reach the cart before Twilight spoke up.
“No, no. She's okay, the cart is enchanted to be very light. Please bring it over here and I’ll unhitch you Trixie.” she said, pointing to the ground near the blanket. Trixie started moving, the cart following with almost no effort at all, showing the other ponies that Twilight was telling the truth.
“Well, that's awful fancy and all but why not just pull it yourself Twilight?” asked an orange pony, leering at Twilight.
“It builds character! At least, that’s what Spitfire keeps telling me,” said another pony dismissively. She was a pegasus with a rainbow mane, floating above the cart and digging through its contents. “Hey, did you bring the cider or not, Twilight?!” Trixie was quite intimidated by the floating pony, she had never met a pegasus in real life. Or other ponies for that matter, other than Miss Pinkie Pie.
“Nevermind the cider, darling, were here to meet Trixie.” said the fascinated pony, her purple curls bouncing as she spoke. She got to her hooves and approached Trixie, the straps falling off of Trixies barrel. She stopped a bit away and gestured for Trixie to come closer. Twilight watched closely, hoping Trixie would behave. Trixie froze, she didn't want to disobey, but she was terrified. What if the unicorn was tricking her?
Twilight had done it before, she offered a treat but tased her when she wasn't looking. Trixie decided the punishment would be much worse than whatever this nice looking Unicorn could do with no tools in her hooves. She walked forward, her head bowed in submission. She flinched when she felt a hoof on her chin, raising her head to look into the Unicorns eyes before removing her hoof.
“Hello there, Trixie. Do you know my name?” asked the pony softly, in a kind tone. Trixie shook her head, her hooves were shaking with nervousness.
I don’t know… I dont know!! D-did Twilight teach me her name? Am I supposed to know? I just got here and I already messed up...! Mistress is gonna put me in time out forever.
“She doesnt know us Twilight? Does she have any memory of any of us?” asked Rarity, her voice neutral but demanding.
“Nope, none at all.” proclaimed Twilight, her hooves crossed and eyes closed with pride. “Memory magic is very intricate Rarity, but with a bit of research and practice I pulled it off.”
“What did you practice on?” said Pinkie, tapping on Trixies head softly. Trixie enjoyed it, it was soothing somehow.
“Frogs, it took a few tries since I was having trouble preventing the Myst Catalyst from damaging the Amygdala.” said Twilight while helping Rainbow unload the things from the cart.
“You were testing on animals?! ” screamed the yellow pegasus hiding behind the pony with the cool accent. It could barely be called a scream, thought Trixie, it was more like a harsh whisper.
“Nothing to worry about Fluttershy, it was harmless and I fixed them before I put them back.” said Twilight, waving a hoof towards Fluttershy.
“That's probably why Fernando kept asking Frank out on a date! Twilights spells are turning the frogs gay...” whispered Fluttershy to nopony in particular. Applejack gave Fluttershy a weird look before speaking up, concern evident in her voice.
“Let’s not talk about this here filly like she's not sitting right there.” she said, glaring at the mares. Twilight looked unconcerned, but relented nonetheless.
“Sure, where are the other pets then? She can go play with them.” asked Twilight, removing the leash from Trixies collar.
“They’re over by the river but are ya sure about that Twilight?” questioned Applejack gesturing to a river just past a hill.
“Oh, don't worry! Trixie wont run away, will you?” said Twilight, booping Trixie. Trixie flinched harshly at seeing Twilight's hoof, but then nodded in fear. The rest of the girls were shooting Twilight a weird look, the way she flinched bothering them. Even Rainbow stopped chugging her cider to see what had gotten into her. Trixie hesitantly walked away from the cart before looking back at Twilight.
“Shoo, go find the others!” said Twilight, a reassuring smile on her face. Trixie nodded and trotted towards the hill, even though she didn't know what she was looking for. Twilight looked back to her friends, one of them would know something was up. She made eye contact with AJ and confirmed this. Trixie would pay for this, but it was as good a time as any to try to explain her cruelty.
“So….” said Twilight, a nervous smile on her face as she sat down onto the picnic blanket.
“Is flinching a side effect of this memory spell, Twi?” inquired Applejack, pointing an accusatory hoof at the trotting filly.
“No. She’s just nervous about meeting new ponies, is all!” answered Twilight, her resolve hardening as everything was back on track. Her plan could continue without AJs favor. She used her magic to grab one of the sandwiches that Fluttershy always brings.
“Well… she was very quiet, Applejack… I would be nervous too.” spoke up Fluttershy, hiding behind her mane as she spoke. She could tell AJ was rather angry. Applejack sighed, calming herself for a second.
“Fine, fine. Tell us about Trixie, Twi.” said AJ, glaring at Twilight still. Twilight perked up as soon as she heard, teleporting a book from the cart into existence and clapping her hooves softly. The rest of the ponies gathered around Twilight, seemingly fascinated with hearing more about Trixie.
“Well, as you girls know I've had Trixie for about 2 weeks already, and i've been raising her in a rather unconventional way.” said Twilight, using her horn to conjure a display for the girls to watch as she spoke. On it was displayed a mare silhouette which shrunk to the size of a filly.
“What I didn’t tell you all is that I've been utilizing rather harsh training methods, I can't say that it's been 100% kind, but I'm pretty sure it's working.”
“N-not kind? What are you doing to Trixie?” said Fluttershy, her voice shaking. Everypony else nodded in agreement, slightly shocked at this.
“Nothing too bad, I've been of course adopting some military style reformation. Rainbow can attest to its effectiveness, right?” said Twilight, gesturing toward Rainbow as she finished her sandwich. Rainbow immediately flapped her wings and saluted.
“Ma’am, yes, Ma’am!” chanted Rainbow, “It sure helped me!” She used to be a loose cannon but now... she's still kind of a loose cannon, so maybe she's a work in progress. The display switched to the silhouette following commands and mopping floors.
“With a little discipline, Trixie can become a productive member of society! Of course, it's not easy disciplining her. The real Trixie shines through occasionally, so I need to nip it in the bud. A little... corporal punishment… as some might put it.” said Twilight, her tone trailing off at the end.
“You hit her?!” growled Applejack, glaring into Twilight's eyes. Twilight was unphased, she gave AJ an angry look before continuing.
“Yes, yes I did. I’ll do it again too, if it's necessary. You saw how Trixie harnessed the alicorn amulet, you know what she is capable of.” said Twilight, glaring right back at Applejack. The others were watching in awe, none of them moving to stop the altercation. All of them except Pinkie, but she wasn't clear of all hostility towards Twilight.
“What gives you the right to hit a defenseless little foal, Twilight?! That's not nice.” shouted Pinkie, a quiet, calm anger on her face. Quiet and calm were not Pinkies usual demeanor, and it showed.
“Well I'm not doing it for fun, Pinkie. It's a necessary evil, or else a far more dangerous evil might arise!” responded Twilight, her resolve softening. Pinkie didn't buy it, and pushed harder.
“AHA! So you admit you are evil!” said Pinkie, pointing an accusatory hoof at Twilight. Everypony sighed, Twilight putting a hoof to her forehead.
“Anyway, I dont think its right for ya to be disciplining Trixie like that, Twi.” said Applejack, “Raising a filly isn't somethin’ ya can brute force. It takes patience, hurtin’ somepony isnt gonna do anything but make them scared of ya.”
Twilight wavered for a second, before putting her hoof down and making eye contact with Applejack, determination fueling her.
“You don’t understand, Applejack, you couldn't possibly. Trixie was just getting started, you can't imagine what she had planned for Ponyville. The amulet was corrupting her mind slowly, but its an exponential corruption. Alicorn level magic, mixed with the pure evil that that amulet exudes, Trixies actions would reach war crime very quickly. Eventually… eventually you all might have died. I… don’t know what I would have done without you girls… I….” cried Twilight, her voice breaking at the end, tears filling her eyes. Rarity closed the gap between them and embraced her as Twilight devolved into sobs.
“Its okay darling, we're all still here, we're not going anywhere.” cooed Rarity, stroking Twilights mane in an effort to comfort her. Rainbow ambled up to the two and joined the hug before it broke. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack in various states of apprehension. Twilight lifted her tear soaked face off of Rarity's shoulder and looked at them, hurt that they didn't join the group hug. Applejack spoke up first.
“We’ll be fine, Twilight. Were not in any danger right now, that filly that you're ‘raising’ is.” said Applejack, making air quotes with her hooves. Rarity let out a frustrated sigh.
“Now's not the time Applejack can't you see-” said Rarity before being interrupted by an angry Pinkie.
“Now is totally the time! Twilight’s raising a filly right now .” Pinkie pounded her hoof on the floor, emphasizing her point. Rainbow shifted to face Pinkie directly and make eye contact.
“Look, Trixie was an evil mare, willing to enslave an entire town! Like Twilight said, we don't know what she may have done if she had the amulet any longer. If a bit of simple discipline is all we need to prevent that, then I say Twilight should do it.” argued Rainbow, concern apparent in her voice. Pinkie glanced at Applejack, who was surprisingly angry, she looked ready to start a screaming match. Despite this, she wasn't the one to speak up next.
“That's not Trixie.” hissed Fluttershy, who up to this point was silently hiding behind Applejack but was now standing proudly front and center, “ Trixie was a misguided, corrupted mare. This is an innocent little filly who knows nothing. She doesn't deserve this, Twilight, and you know it!” Fluttershy yelled, this injustice too much for her heart. She couldn't always stand up for herself, but standing up for a little foal was a lot easier. Before anypony could react, a high pitched scream came from the hill. They could see Trixie running as fast as her little hooves could carry her, screaming in terror all the while. Chasing her was Winona, with angel riding on her back. Trixie reached the bottom of the hill and leaped towards Twilight, hiding under her. Angel was still riding Winona and laughing maniacally as she ran in circles.
“They were chasing me, please make them stop Ms. Twilight!” begged Trixie, hugging Twilights right foreleg as she shook. Twilight stood there nervously for a moment, before Angel jumped off of Winona and splayed himself on the grass in laughter. Twilight knew this was a good opportunity to show some kindness in front of the others.
“Don't worry, they wont hurt you, they're just playing.” said Twilight as she picked the filly up with a hoof. Fluttershy and Applejack grabbed their pets as everyone laughed, Trixies sprint was quite cute. The other three animals followed closely behind, and with that the argument was interrupted. The fire in Fluttershy burnt out, and everyone had expressed their opinions. It wouldn't be productive to talk about Trixies past with her being present.
“Ah think I’ll be taking my leave everypony.” said Applejack tilting her hat and pulling on Winona's leash.
“Yes, this seems like a good time to end the play date, wouldn't you agree Twilight?” chimed Rarity. The mare nodded and they started packing everything up. In no time at all, Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight headed towards town. AJ, Fluttershy and Pinkie instead set off towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Author's Note
Hi! Thank you for reading! I've had a lot of comments and theorizing, its been a blast. I hope you all are enjoying my story so far, and I hope to continue adding to this fic until I'm done.
Scratch… Scratch…. Scratch…
The quill scraped at the list, methodical in its rhythm as Twilight knocked things off of her checklist.
“Collar, emergency information, weekly stipend...” she mumbled to the pony across from her, who was sipping some tea and reading over an identical list.
“What’s this about a stipend, Twilight?” asked Rarity, her typical red glasses sitting on her muzzle. Rarity's interest in the topic was a relief to Twilight, seeing as the rest of her friends didn't really want to be involved with Trixies servitude. Rainbow being the exception, under the illusion that it was sort of a military arrangement. Twilight shifted in her seat, straight into ‘lecture mode’ as Rainbow lovingly put it.
“Well, all royal pets are entitled to 250 bits per week for their services, this stipend was held in a private account that their owners could not touch. Historically, this was so that their pay could not be held ransom, and prevent some complex tax structures. Interestingly enough...” Twilight continued, but Rarity was used to her long rants, and was focused a bit more on the amount of bits that was. Due to deflation, 250 bits was a lot more nowadays, even her high end clothing was only about 120 bits. Easily a month's worth of wages for the average pony.
“... and after the treasury got involved, the stipend was set to accommodate the ponies family or chosen benefactor.” finished Twilight, finally stopping for a breath. Rarity cleared her throat before responding, some incredulity in her voice.
“Thats a lot of bits for a single pony, wouldn't you agree Twilight?” she said, noticing that Twilight was quite nonchalant about such quantities. Twilight put the list down and waved a hoof,
“Those wages were set a looong time ago, plus the royal treasury has no shortage of funds, I mean just look at Celestia's golden chariot.” replied Twilight dismissively. “Anyway, since I can’t be involved with that money I was hoping you could accompany Trixie to the town square this afternoon?”
Rarity snapped to attention.
“A shopping spree!?” squealed Rarity, already considering all the booths she would take Trixie, and her large bag of bits to.
“Exactly.” said Twilight, rolling her eyes and giggling a bit along with her friend.
Rarity and Twilight chatted for a little while longer before it was time for Twilight to leave for her appointment with Celestia in Canterlot. Twilight began stuffing her saddlebags with the scattered sheets on the table, mentally checking off an imaginary list yet again as she trotted to the door in the front room. She spotted Trixie sitting next to the door, her bag of blocks on her back and her leash in her mouth seemingly ready to go. Twilight put on her fake smile, the false kindness she had to show Trixie in front of her friends was hard to pull off. Trixie of course knew it was all a trick. Twilight would switch back to her cruel demeanor as soon as they were in private.
She’d pay Trixie back, each and every perceived slight was more fuel for Twilights contempt. Trixie could never enjoy her rare times outside of the castle, the fear of what would happen when they returned ruined everything. As a result she was not ready to go, she stared at the ground hoping Rarity would not notice, showing off her fear to the others wasn't acceptable either. It was hopeless, she’d be punished no matter what she did, she was resigned to it.
After a moment Twilight merely brushed the foal aside, softly of course, and announced the plans for the weekend.
“You’ll be staying with Rarity for the weekend, Trixie. Only until my trip to Canterlot is finished.” announced Twilight.
“Did Twilight not tell you that earlier? Not to worry, darling, we’ll have a great time together!” assured Rarity, approaching the filly and firing up her horn to take the bag of blocks off her back and the leash from her mouth, clearly uncomfortable with the leash being attached to her at all.
Trixie flinched at the sight of her horn lighting up, only Rarity noticing since Twilight was fiddling with her saddlebags. Rarity brushed it off for now, shooing Twilight out of the shop with her hooves.
“Shoo, or the train will leave without you!” said Rarity, pushing her through the door but not before Twilight shouted back at the filly.
“Behave yourself Trixie! I’ll be back soon!”
Twilight didn't really care, Trixie knew, she just wanted to get rid of her for a while. Thats what was happening, this was probably a test. A trial run before Twilight got rid of Trixie forever, probably to the pound. Trixie considered for a moment what it would be like, a life without Twilight. Trixie hated Twilights short fuse, and her desire to hurt her, but Twilight always gave Trixie plenty of attention. Positive or negative, it still satisfied something within Trixie. She didn't want to go to the pound…
“Wonderful, now we're all alone!” said Rarity, derailing Trixies train of thought and immediately sending it into a dark tunnel of fear that she was all too familiar with.
Trixie took a step back and looked up at the marble white mare in front of her in fear, she had no idea what she was capable of. As Rarity turned and grabbed a dark gray bag, Trixie wondered if she could fit through the gap in the window.
“I’ll show you to your room and we can have some lunch before we head out for the shops! What do you think, does that sound like fun darling?” said Rarity, a warm but tentative smile on her face.
Trixie didn't know where the shops were, but she nodded anyway. She expected Rarity to take her to the basement, just like her room at hom- at the castle, but found that Rarity was leading the way to an actual bedroom.
It was beautiful, it had a big bed with a closet and some rolls of fabric sitting in the corner atop the plush carpet. Despite that Trixie was disappointed to see that there was no pet bed for her. At least the carpet looked softer than the stone floors at the castle. Rarity placed the gray bag on the bed and started pulling things out, Trixie was afraid it was filled with Twilights instruments of pain and looked away. Eye contact only made Twilight angrier, and she didn't know whether Rarity was similar in that respect or not. Rarity turned quickly, causing Trixie to quickly look up in preparation for something being thrown at her. Twilight enjoyed tossing books at her to take back to the library, they were heavy and Twilight was strong.
“Twilight brought all sorts of odd things, I'm definitely not using this water bowl!” exclaimed Rarity, Trixie peeked behind her hooves in confusion. Rarity noticed her confusion, and apparent fear and put it down, before speaking softly.
“Its okay, I won’t hurt you.” Said Rarity reaching a hoof out to reassure her, Trixie squeaked at the touch but didn't move. Rarity took the opportunity to pull the filly into a hug, she seemed to freeze up slightly, not used to a kind touch. Rarity pulled away slowly and spoke,
“I’ll prepare some lunch for us while you settle in, take your time! I’ll just be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Trixie was still a bit confused. She did not think Rarity would hurt her as much as Twilight did, but she didn't expect this. She turned to the bag that Rarity left on the bed and looked through the contents, she found her blanket, tattered as always, along with other supplies. There was lots of woofer chow, Trixie hadn't seen that much in a very long time. On one of her hungriest nights she managed to squeeze her way into the storage closet in the basement and sequestered a small amount of it for emergencies trom the bag. Oddly enough it had an image of paw prints all over it. Sadly, she was caught trying to squeeze her way out after eating her fill from the bag.
Trixie didn't get to eat again for 3 days, even though she apologized many times. She put everything back in the bag and grabbed the bag of food in her mouth since Rarity had clearly forgotten it. Pet food wasn't even prepared in the kitchen, giggled Trixie. She trotted carefully towards the entrance to the home, careful not to dirty any of the floorboards or break anything. Her hooves didn't look dirty to her, but Twilight said that her eyes didn't work as well as a real ponies, and she regularly had to clean the floor after walking on it.
In the kitchen she saw Rarity manipulating multiple utensils with her magic and placing two plates on the table, filled with spaghetti and accompanied by some bread.
“Two plates?” mumbled Trixie before she could stop herself, slapping a hoof onto her mouth which knocked the bag of chow onto the floor. She removed her hoof for a moment to blurt out, “Sorry, sorry! I’ll be quiet.”. Now staring at the ground where her woofer chow sat.
Rarity was a bit stunned, she didn't expect Trixie to be so vocal, but sought to answer her questions anyway. She expected such weird behavior, anyhow.
“Yes, darling, only two plates because Sweetie belle hasn’t returned from our parents’ yet. You’ll meet her soon enough, not to worry!” she chirped, trying to sound casual for Trixies sake. She spotted the bag of dog food and felt her heart ache, she saw the bag within Trixies overnight sack but she didn’t put any thought into what it was for.
Rarity didn't know if this was the worst thing she’d see this weekend, but it was already far worse than expected. She got up quickly causing Trixie to flinch slightly, yet again giving Rarity a punch in the gut. Deciding against using her magic to take the bag she approached the filly and grabbed the bag, giving her an attempted smile but it looked more like a solemn apologetic look to Trixie. Trixie took this a sign that she was disappointed in the filly, and spoke to explain herself before Rarity could say anything.
“Sorry, it won't happen again… please don't muzzle me?” whispered the filly, staring at the ground, her tummy grumbling, “my bowl is too small for the muzzle...” almost under her breath.
“Nonsense! No filly will be eating out of a doggy bowl in my house!” Harrumphed Rarity, launching the bag into the garbage before trotting to the table once again.
“You’ll be sitting with me, at this table, eating the food I made just for you . No buts!”
Despite eating at a table being a foreign concept to the filly, she obeyed and walked towards the chair Rarity was referring to. She climbed up and tried not to touch anything, looking at the seat of the chair she hoped Ms Rarity would calm down. She was obviously not happy. Rarity sat down, picking up the fork in her magic and digging in, trying to make Trixie more comfortable by being the first to eat. Trixies belly grumbled once again, yet she made no effort to touch the spaghetti sitting in front of her.
“If you don't like it, that's okay darling, but at least try some first.” she said, already considering other things to make for the filly, Sweetie used to be this way so it was no surprise.
“Y-yes Miss.” said Trixie, as she was taught to every day by the shock collar whenever she forgot. It was smart like that.
“Mmmm...”
“You should really use your fork, Trixie, I need to teach you some table manners! Go ahead, try this time with the fork.”
“I… Okay.” the collar gave a warning vibration, it would not be so kind next time.
She attempted to grasp the fork with her front hooves, sandwiching it between them, clearly struggling to even hold it not to mention using it to pick up noodles. With every moment with Trixie, Rarity felt worse and worse for the little filly. This was clearly neglect! Judging by the fact that the filly thought she was supposed to eat dog food, Twilight did not feed her correctly.
Rarity picked the fork up in her magic and Trixie watched in awe as the fork danced around expertly, collecting noodles and carrying them to her mouth. She opened and the food was gently placed, allowing her to get much more. Despite the clear sound and light of magic, Trixie was not as afraid as she normally was, the wonderful flavor flooding her with happiness and it showed.
“Have you ever used your horn, Trixie? Did Twilight ever help you use it?” chatted Rarity, hoping to spark some conversation. Trixie shook her head silently as she swallowed her latest noodle victim.
“Mistress says only ponies use magic. One time she told me she could take it off but I asked her not to.” chirped Trixie, the food clearly improving her mood. Another scoop floated up to her mouth, which Trixie gladly accepted, a warm glow on her face.
“Sank fou for da food Miss Rarity,” she mumbled through a mouthful of noodles, finishing once again and speaking more clearly. “I like pony food a lot, I wish Miss Twil...”
Rarity noticed and decided to finish eating later, she knew exactly what to do to cheer the filly up. She got to her hooves, Trixie starting out of her trip into deep thought.
“You're definitely welcome for the food, Trixie. Now,” Said Rarity trotting out to the living room, moving the furniture out of the way to make an area to work in. “let me teach you to use that horn, will you?”
Trixie hopped off the chair and followed Rarity, watching as the furniture was shrouded in her blue aura and moved effortlessly.
“Pets aren't sposed to use magic Miss Rarity” said trixie, skeptically. This was sure to be a trick. First Rarity allowed her to sit at a table, then she gives her pony food. Now she was gonna teach her to use magic? Twilight was gonna pop out from behind a wall any moment, she could feel it.
“I wont tell if you wont!” said Rarity, in a singsong voice. Rarity levitated two small spools of thread onto the coffee table she left in the middle of the room. Trixie chose not look this generous gift horse in the mouth and went to stand at Rarity's side, the mare smiling reassuringly down at the diminutive filly. What used to be a mighty magician was now a small, scared filly, learning to use her magic once again.
“Step 1, relax. Place your hooves at least shoulder length apart and point your head a bit lower.” Trixie attempted to comply, spacing her hooves out and tilting her head.
“Wonderful, I think we should start with some warm ups.” she said, “Try to feel your magic, something like a warmth in your center”
Rarity was no magic master, but training Sweetie provided her the skills for this. Trixie had her eyes closed in concentration, her magical levels warming faster than Sweeties had ever done at that age.
“I can feel it!” announced Trixie, pride in her voice, she looked up catching a glance of approval from her trainer.
“That was quite a bit faster than I expected, Trixie!”
“Sorry...” apologized the little filly quickly, deflating just as promptly.
“No, no its fine darling! It just means you're a great student, and we can move on to the next step.” cleared up Rarity, patting the fillies mane.
I think Miss Rarity is just a really good teacher!
“Now, try to move the warmth, concentrate on willing it towards your horn. Be careful, wouldn't want you to singe the gowns!” instructed Rarity, gesturing to the few gowns sitting in the room for storage.
Trixie got to work and tried to move it, feeling the magic pulsing and flowing like a liquid. She was having an enormous amount of fun, and she managed not to ruin Rarity's patience as fast as she thought she might!
Trixie willed the magic to her horn, and after some encouragement from Rarity, the small spool was floating. It shivered, and shifted, but it floated around the room as Trixie focused.
“Impeccable!” shouted Rarity, lifting the filly in a hug once the spool was on the floor. Trixie melted into the embrace, her stiffness and fear disappearing, her soul filling with pride and happiness she was not aware was possible. She wrapped her hooves around Rarity's withers, enjoying the moment. Rarity realized she was getting caught in the moment and waited for her grip to weaken in order to put the filly down.
“Marvelous work darling, are you feeling okay?” questioned Rarity, brushing Trixie's disheveled mane out of her face. Trixie stiffened again, realizing what she did was way out of line.
“y-Yes Miss, sorry for touching you… do I need to be… punished?” squeaked Trixie, staring at the ground, her ears flattened and nervousness plastered on her face.
“Absolutely not Trixie,” said Rarity, still not used to Trixies expectations of what a guardian was like. “There will be no punishment, only celebration!”
“Celebration?”
“But of course! Such magical success, and exertion for that matter, must be rewarded with a treat from SugarCube Corner!” said Rarity, already magicing a poofy hat from a mannequin nearby for the trip.
“A r-reward? Really?” said Trixie, almost a whisper, staring in awe at the kind mare.
“You're an inquisitive filly, but yes! Just give me a moment to freshen up. A lady must look her best for such an occasion. Once we get you a treat we can head to the shops too. ” said Rarity, leaving the room and the filly alone.
Trixie sat, excitement bubbling, her belly full, she couldn't remember ever feeling like this. Miss Rarity was truly the kindest pony she had ever met, she was surprised Twilight was friends with a pony like her. Maybe she would rub off on Twilight somehow, Trixie hoped.
For now she would just enjoy this chance, pretend to be a real pony, pretend to believe she deserved Rarity’s kindness.
With a click of the lock, Rarity and Trixie set off to sugarcube corner, the leash lie safely within its gray bag along with a food bowl under the bed. Her collar the only reminder of her status, but it weighed nothing at all to her now.
The birds were singing beautifully today, Trixie thought.
Author's Note
Hi! Sorry for not posting for moooonths, but I hope you like this chapter! School is out and I dont have any programming projects to do like the other one that I spent my time on last winter break.Link
Click.. Click.. Click.. Click..
Celestia's shoes clicked on the marble flooring of the castle, a hurried, nervous clicking. Unusual for the Princess, but today's trip to the meeting room wasn’t usual either. She entered the courtroom, an informal meeting between Twilight and herself was scheduled today. Celestia was looking forward to it, she assumed it was simply an update on her studies. One never stops learning, even as an Alicorn.
But that was before she heard the news. Whispers, at first. Talk of Twilight adopting a unicorn filly. At least that's what the dependable outlets reported, only 2 days ago. The magazine and gossip factories put their own spin on it, claiming that Twilight had stolen the filly, or conjured one up with her new Alicorn magic. Of course that was ridiculous, Twilight would never steal a pony, nor could she create life. Despite these reassurances Celestia had a bad feeling about this meeting, Twilights letter mentioned some very old laws.
She hoped to Faust that her faithful student hadn't gained a… certain attraction.
“Princess!” squeaked Twilight, jumping to her hooves and bowing, only to be stopped by Celestia's soft magic nudging her back to standing.
“We spoke about this Twilight, we are equals now.” she said, reaching the open chair in front of Twilight, instead of the throne that sat mere feet away.
“You'll always be my teacher, Princess!”
“And you'll always be my faithful student, even if you finish all the biscuits before I arrive.”
They laughed together, another familiar event. After a bit of chit chat, catching up, Twilight began to explain what was going on.
“You mentioned EQ 438, if I recall correctly?” prodded Celestia, sipping her tea as she went for the elephant in the room.
“Yes, yes, I did! It's an interesting law, it stood out to me back in Royal Civics 220, probably because of its age. One of the oldest laws in the book, one could even argue it was common knowledge before Nightmare. Isn’t it interesting how most laws from then were changed, even scrapped only years after Luna was banished?” said Twilight, finally stopping for a breath.
Celestia raised an eyebrow, Twilights little monologue almost sounded accusatory, Twilights behavior was perplexing.
“EQ 438 is… it's a remnant from a different time. My little ponies enjoyed it, they offered themselves to it. I assure you it was not as bad as it appears.”
“They did? Why?” Asked Twilight, putting down the research she had written for this very conversation.
“Luna and I were battling the gryphons, keeping them from capturing a vital farmland a bit south of current day Baltimare. On the north front the Yaks were pressuring us as well, seeking to pillage our stores while we were occupied in the East. We had to split, Luna would handle our troops in the north, and I would keep the Gryphons at bay with my battalion.”
“Our ponies did not enjoy the same times of peace as the modern day. Long days working the fields and rearing foals for the majority of mares with only a few stallions here or there. Most of the able bodied stallions and colts were in the front lines, colts providing logistic help while the stallions fought.”
Celestia sighed, a bittersweet smile on her face.
“They did it for their foals, and their foals foals. We stand on their withers. Twilight.”
Silence followed, a moment of remembrance if not a moment to process what this all meant. Twilight in her all of her analytic skill couldn't make the connection as to what that had to do with 438.
“How does 438 relate to all of this, Princess? Was it a cover for some war enlistment tactic?”
“Of course not! Ponies fought willingly, or not at all. It is our duty to defend them, after all. I swear to you that I fought for them, I fight for them everyday. Their sacrifice and efforts are an accelerant for this fire we call a monarchy. You and I Twilight, we are the fuel. We burn so that they may bask in the warmth of our deeds.”
“So...”
“I instituted 438 shortly after King Grover united the gryphons, and ceased their efforts to acquire our stores. Luna returned to the eastern front, both fronts having taken their toll on our ponies, and dare I say, worst of all Luna.” Celestia seemed to deflate, reliving hard times was not high on her list of desirable things to do that day.
“Luna didn't transform for at least 350 years after the unification of Griffonstone.” questioned Twilight, referencing her notes and looking around for another document. Celestia placed her hoof on Twilights, giving her a meaningful look.
“Lunas defense was hard fought, not a day went by without an attempted raid or infiltration, for over 80 days. Not to mention the raids at night, Luna did not rest. Alicorns of course have a much higher resistance for that, but one weakness we cannot escape is that of the soul.” Celestia continued,
“Luna depended on me for companionship, we held each other up, two pillars holding the pressure of Equs. As cheesy as some might say that sounds, it was hard on her. She expressed to me that she did not want to leave me again. Her royal assistants did not provide what she needed on those tireless nights of watch. In that moment I decided that we each needed something more than an assistant for situations like these. A companion to help us through those dark nights, and act as a pillar for ourselves.”
Celestia brushed a crumb from Twilights muzzle, pausing for a moment as Twilight absorbed the history lesson.
“And so you just chose one, to keep forever? This law, it doesn't allow for much autonomy, nor does it grant much opportunity for anything other than serving as companion?” Questioned Twilight after a moment, the accusing tone back and slightly weaker.
“Well, we needed them for a long term, they needed to be their for my sister when I could not. At a moments notice. They of course receive a pension, and have a retirement age, various terms that are granted. It's really not as sinister as you are implying Twilight, they came willingly even. These companions lived a life of luxury compared to those on the battlefield or the crop fields. At least at the time when the law was used they did.”
Twilight tensed.
“So many questions, and yet I can tell that you already know the inner workings of this policy, if your research is anything to go by.” Said Celestia, leveling her gaze with Twilights. “You have 6 wonderful friends, and a loving family. Are you in need of more companionship, my student?”
Twilight shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
“Well, no. Its less of a companionship and more of an… adoption.” she replied, averting her eyes.
“My apologies, it's only that I thought much worse before you arrived today. The rumors are not as… innocent as the truth.” chuckled Celestia, quickly deciding to move on.
“In fact, I don't know the entire truth, tell me more about this filly you adopted?”
“Her name is Trixie, and she's a little blue Unicorn. She was pretty rowdy when we first met but I managed to train some discipline into her.” responded Twilight. “Her home was destroyed by an Ursa Minor near ponyville and she later returned having been affected by the Alicorn Amulet. Her parents were nowhere to be found, so I nursed her back to health, both physically and magically.”
“And you chose to use 438 to keep her safe and off the streets.” blurted Celestia, leaning in to hug Twilight. “I knew you had not strayed from your path!”
Twilight pulled away a bit, to look away from Celestia.
“Well, more like I used it to make sure her parents could not take her back if they ever showed up… Trixie was not raised very well, if at all. I had to teach her basic manners myself,” said Twilight, now tapping her front hoof in nervousness. “And keeping her in line has been a lot more stick than carrot.”
Celestia took a moment to pause, considering the morals of depriving a parent of their foal. Of course if what Twilight says was true, then it clearly was not a matter worth thinking twice about seeing as the filly was in the path of an Ursa Minor.
“It's a noble effort, Twilight, but I cannot determine that until I meet the filly now can I?” responded Celestia, cautious optimism present in her voice.
“Sure! I’ll bring her around to meet you soon, once she's a little more behaved. You know how fillies are at that age.” said Twilight, happy to see that Celestia was buying it.
“I definitely do, and if shes anything like you I recommend you acquire some body armor.”
The princesses laughed together, rumors dispelled and a well woven story put in place. A half truth, nothing she had said was false. She’d slowly acclimate Celestia to the truth that her friends knew.
For now things were going just as planned.
Author's Note
This chapter was a lot harder to write than the rest cause I've next to no idea how to write dialogue and this was mostly dialogue, it was a short one though. I say that and yet most of my chapters are very heavy on that haha. Anyway, Its probably not the best chapter but I'm trying really hard, and am hopefully moving onto more interesting, less expositiony things for the next few chapters. Please let me know if you enjoyed, and if theres something you wanna see in my fic/things you dont like.
Author's Note
Hello! Thanks for reading! I was actually totally not planning on finishing this, but I got some comments and messages from people, and it encouraged me to keep going. I hope you like it! Please let me know if theres something you like or dont like about this chapter, its pretty fuzzy and warm. Also comment about what you would like to see!
Relaxation
Rrrrriiinnnnggg
“Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner, where the sweets are sweet and our prices are sweeter!” shouted Pinkie Pie from her perch behind the register, attending to a customer. Rarity placed herself behind that customer, making sure Trixie followed. The filly seemed to be afraid to step on the tiled floor of the store, rubbing her hooves vigorously on the doormat before tentatively entering. She now stood next to Rarity, looking around a bit before locking eyes with Pinkie and immediately staring at the ground.
“Trixie!” shouted Pinkie once again, spooking the filly. She squished herself against Rarity's hoof, seeming to shrink and trying to hide behind it. Pinkie sent the customer on their way with a bag of goodies, focusing on Rarity and the filly.
“Never seen you around here, Trixie! And without Twilight! We need to celebrate!”
“Indeed, we’re here to celebrate Trixie’s first magic lesson. She did such a great job that a treat was in order.” responded Rarity, while poking at Trixie, hoping to get her to greet Pinkie as well.
Trixie blushed, a sheepish grin on her face as she kept her eyes on the ground, Rarity chuckled a little at her.
Trixie needs to get out more, she’s like a mini Fluttershy!
Pinkie had already begun to dig around in her shelves of sweets, looking for something.
“In that case she needs something magical!” said Pinkie, retrieving a cupcake with dark blue frosting and the shape of a star on the top. It was covered in sparkly sugar, one of the best things Trixie had ever seen. Her mouth watered at the sight, having peaked as soon as Pinkie held the object of her desires toward her.
“Looks delicious, we’ll have that and a hot tea for myself, please and thank you.” said Rarity, levitating her purse and placing the bits on the counter. Pinkie boxed the cupcake and tried to hand it to Trixie, but Trixie flinched and backed up a few steps. Pinkie noticed and scouled for a second before recomposing herself and stepping from behind the counter and lowering herself to Trixies level, who was looking away, behind Rarity's back hooves at this point.
“A-alright...” she said, allowing Pinkie to put the box in her hoof. Pinkie patted Trixie on the head, congratulated her, and spun back into place behind the counter.
With this Rarity and Pinkie began discussing why Trixie was out and about, which led to another conversation about the cake twins, and foalsitting in general. Trixie just stood there, holding the cupcake box and looking around the store. The place was immaculate, with colorful sweets decorating the walls and counters. For that reason she chose not to move, she might dirty the floor. After a moment Rarity directed Trixie towards one of the booths to their right, where Trixie approached and placed her box on top of. She didn't know whether she was allowed to sit in the chairs so she just stood next to the table.
“Don't want to sit?” questioned Rarity, already taking a seat herself, her tea floating in her magic. Trixie looked up at her, confusion on her face. She wasn’t used to being asked what she wanted. It was usually whatever Twilight wanted, the princess regularly reminded her that an owners opinions were the only worthwhile things to focus on.
“Do.. do you want me to?” asked Trixie, hoping that Rarity would allow her to get off of the cold floor. When Rarity nodded, Trixie started climbing the side of the booth, her short legs preventing her from hopping on like a normal pony would. After getting comfortable she set her gaze back onto her own hooves, this was only her second time sitting at a table like a real pony, and she wasn't totally sure what was expected of her. She wanted to make sure Ms Rarity didn’t regret her generosity.
“Hurry and eat up, Trixie! We've got a lot of shopping to do before sunset!”
Trixie perked up, remembering there was a cupcake awaiting her, having never eaten one she was very excited. She reached for the box before pausing for a moment. Maybe she could save it for later? She didn't know when she would have the opportunity to eat pony food again. Suddenly Rarity's magic enveloped the box, opening it and leaving just the cupcake behind. Trixie gazed at the confection, her mouth watering at the sugar covering its exterior, and the scent it gave off was irresistible. It reminded her of the piece of chocolates that Twilight had given her during her last lesson. She used her new magic to tear a piece off of the top, a bit of everything on it, and put it in her mouth.
“Mmmmm” moaned Trixie, savoring the flavor of creamy chocolate, and the soft moisture of the bread. It was just a small piece, but Trixie could not get over the assault on her taste buds, her tummy grumbling with desire for more.
Rarity watched, somewhat fascinated by Trixies ability to handle such a small piece so finely. Her skills were way beyond that of a normal filly, and she didn't even know it. More importantly, though, she noticed just how much Trixie was enjoying her morsel. She felt a pang in her heart, the poor thing probably never got treats, she was so thin and small after all. She would have to change that, foals are supposed to be pudgy so they can grow into strong ponies.
“Fank fou mf Rarity,” said Trixie, swallowing mid sentence. “Pony food is delicious, I hope Ms. Twilight doesn't mind.”
Rarity scoffed, “Don't you worry about anything darling! If she gives you any trouble I’ll take care of her.” chuckled Rarity, dabbing at Trixies face with a napkin, her face was covered after devouring half of the cupcake. Trixie got a hold of herself and decided to save the rest, maybe she could squirrel it away for safekeeping. For one of those nights where the food bowl was as empty as Ms. Twilights patience for laziness.
“I.. I already have a blanket Ms...” said Trixie quietly, hoping that they could leave the marketplace soon. There were so many ponies, and some of them stared at Trixie, and not in a good way.
“But Trixie, you’ve said that about everything so far? Twilight sent us here to purchase items for you, there has to be something that you need!” replied Rarity, careful to keep her tone calm. Trixie was easily spooked, she had learned.
“I’m sorry... ” Trixie tried to think fast, maybe if she thought of something they could leave faster. She looked around, there were stands everywhere, ponies negotiating with customers and- There it was, something she actually wanted. Something in her subconscious told her that it was perfect, she had to have it. Trixie pointed at the booth, gesturing to Rarity, who was able to spot exactly what the little filly wanted. They approached, Trixie in awe and anticipation, ran straight into a wagon before hurrying to the stall. Rarity was a bit more hesitant, she could tell why Trixie was gravitating towards it, but didnt know how Twilight would react. Oh well, if its Trixies money, Twilight can’t confiscate it, she thought.
“A fellow designer, I see!” said Rarity, turning on the charm. The shopkeeper grinned, and responded in a foreign accent.
“Yes ma'am! Just passing through these parts and thought id set up my wares. Anything you're interested in?”
“In fact there is! Trixie here was eyeing that little number right there, next to the vampony costume.” replied Rarity, nudging the filly forward, out of her stupor.
“The.. the blue one… I think it's blue...” said Trixie, pointing at the display. The shopkeeper grabbed it and handed it right over.
“As you can feel, it's made of fleece, a deep blue color I like to call ‘starry blue’ and can be yours for only 25 bits!” he said, hoping to make the sale. Trixie looked up at Rarity, she didn't know how much 25 bits was, or if she had enough for that. It sounded like a lot to her, but she hoped against hope that she could have it.
“We’ll take it, if you throw in the matching blanket.” haggled Rarity, a glint in her eye. She knew it wasn't made of real fleece. It was clearly a cheap alternative, but Trixie really wanted it and that was enough for Rarity.
“I-I already have a bl-” mumbled Trixie, but she quickly shut down and stared at her hooves as soon as Rarity shot her a glance. Trixie knew this one, finally. Despite knowing that it meant trouble for her, she was comforted by the fact that Rarity made a move she could read.
“Deal!” uttered the shopkeeper, already passing the items using his wing, right into Rarity's magical grasp. Rarity gave him the bits and turned to leave.
Trixie followed closely, mouth shut tightly. Rarity noticed as they walked back, Trixie was sensitive and not very good at reading situations. It seemed to her that her isolation was to blame, things not said explicitly were usually not understood by the little filly.
“Perhaps some snacks, maybe a new toy, Trixie?” asked Rarity tentatively.
Trixie stayed quiet, not even looking up as she was spoken to. She shook her head and kept her eyes glued to the ground. Rarity sighed.
“I’m sorry Trixie, I just wanted to make sure you got your money's worth. You understand, don’t you?” said Rarity, nuzzling the filly. A tender gesture, reserved for Sweetie up to this point, thought Rarity. Maybe she was starting to warm up to Trixie.
Trixie froze, as she usually did, before contemplating what Rarity said. It wasn't a threat, or a promise to hurt her later, or even an insult. She looked up, risking it all.
“I’m sorry for interrupting you, Miss.” she squeaked out, “It won’t happen again...”
Rarity struck a dramatic pose before placing the hat on Trixies head, careful not to bump her horn.
“Don't you worry about that, darling. We should head home, it'll be dark soon!” replied Rarity, already trotting towards her home. Trixie adjusted the hat, it was a bit big on her, but she already felt attached to it. She couldn't wait to put her new belongings in her cage! Trixie hurried to walk at Raritys side, balancing the hat on her head as if it was second nature. As they passed more stalls she noticed that the shopkeepers were looking at her once again. They were clearly just admiring her new hat, but the attention still put a little hop in her step.
They approached the shop a little while later, Rarity thinking silently to herself about what they would do for the rest of the weekend. She hoped to pamper Trixie just a little more, and try to show her a life outside of a cage or basement. Sweetie would be home tomorrow, hopefully she would take to Trixie quickly. Celestia knows Trixie needs somepony more her age. Trixie needed to learn what it was like to be a filly, unaware and uncaring for the demands of Twilight. Perhaps she could borrow Trixie more often, for playdates with Sweetie and the other cmc… with that thought, they reached the door, Trixie wiping her hooves furiously on the doormat.
Rarity entered first, closing the door behind herself after Trixie entered. Trixie stood in place, hoping Rarity would give her a command. She didn't know what to do, was she allowed to put her new things in her bag, was she going to sleep indoors tonight? She was unsure and anxious, despite Rarity's immense kindness, its unfamiliarity was really hitting her. She snuck a look up at Rarity, who was seemingly still pondering something important. When Twilight looked like that, it was usually before she revealed what slight Trixie had committed against Equestria in her failure to clean or tidy something. Rarity didn't look that way at all, Trixie got the sense that she was planning something less painful.
“Would you like to sleep in Sweeties room, or with me, Trixie? I know it's hard to fall asleep in a strange place, I won't mind!” said Rarity, interrupting Trixies thoughts. Trixie considered the question, she wasn't used to being given a choice, today was full of surprises. She batted a piece of her mane, deciding that she did not want to impose on Miss Raritys sleep.
“S-sweetie's room is okay Miss... uh-unless you want me to sleep somewhere else. Ummm wherever is okay, with-with me!” struggled Trixie, her usual grasp of speech crumbling under the questioning gaze of Rarity. Rarity was so hard to read, her facial expressions not relaying a single shred of information as to what she really wanted her to do.
Rarity just guided the filly back to Sweeties room, Trixies things waiting for her on the bed from earlier in the day.
“I’ll be in the other room, if you need me, don't hesitate.” she said, placing some of the shopping and other bags on the floor nearby before exiting.
Trixie grabbed the bag holding her half of the cupcake and her new clothes. She was very excited to show Twilight these things, she hoped her owner would like them. It clashed a bit with her glowing collar, but it felt good to wear it. Trixie went up the stairs and back to the room she was first introduced to, and spotted the gray bag from the morning. Deciding there was nothing useful in it, she grabbed her new blanket and curled up on the floor in front of the bed.
The carpet was so much fluffier than her usual spot at the castle. It felt nice not to feel the bars digging into her side. She began contemplating her day, it was so exciting. She learned magic, had spaghetti, cupcakes, and she even bought clothing. These were all things a real pony did, and Trixie loved the fact that she got to pretend for a day. Trixie hoped to keep practicing her magic, maybe Twilight would teach her? She didn’t know if it was appropriate for a pet to do such things, Twilight regularly reminded her of a pets limits. Pets don’t sit on the furniture, they only speak when spoken to, they address their superiors with proper titles. These were rules she had been taught all of her life. Despite this, she was never told anything about magic, she didn't even know she could do magic. Trixie remembered how proud Rarity was when she levitated the spool. Her chest filled with warmth, today was a good day.Today was a good day.
Psst… Psst… PSST!!
Trixie awoke to the shove of a hoof, roughly pushing her off of the makeshift bed she had on the carpet.
“Wake up!” growled Rarity, her magic enveloping Trixies blanket and launching it across the room. Trixie was already standing, her head down, almost bowing to Rarity in apology.
“I’m sorry Miss, it won’t happen again…” said Trixie, almost whispering. She had no idea what ‘it’ was she was apologizing for.
Rarity's magic flared and Trixie flinched, shielding her head.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” cried Trixie, already bracing for a blow. She backed up slightly, right into Sweeties bed. As her flank thumped into it she realized she had nowhere to go.
“What are you sorry for, exactly?” chuckled Rarity, seemingly amused with Trixies immediate apology. Trixie was still holding her head, shaking slightly.
“S-sleeping too long!” squeaked Trixie, terribly confused. Wasn't this the pony that took her for a cupcake just yesterday? She took a peek upwards, looking at Rarity for the first time that morning. Rarity had a scary look on her face, like she was enjoying this.
Just like Twilight.
Rarity struck Trixies face, the impact of the magics physical force was all too familiar.
“Who said you could look me in the eye, Trixie?! Did you forget who you are? Did you forget what you are?”
Trixie could feel herself floating away. She trusted Rarity, she was so kind to her, and here she was acting the same way Twilight always did.
I must have done something wrong.
“T-Trixie is s-sorry.” cried the filly, clutching the side of her face and staring at Rarity's hooves.
“Oh? Is Trixie sorry? Well, Rarity’s not.”
Rarity started leaving the room, but not before Trixie felt the familiar warmth of magic enveloping her and lifting her. She braced her body, Twilight liked doing this too, preparing for the inevitable slam into a wall or surface. The feeling of floating, unable to control her balance or anything always threw her off, the feeling was something she could never get used to.
Rarity walked down to a door that Trixie had never seen, and they descended to a basement not unlike the one Trixie called home. Rarity put her down on what appeared to be a heap of old fabric, stained with brown all over. Trixie stared at the fabric she was sitting on. Rarity was digging around in a chest out of view.
Trixie wondered if she was going to be punished, Rarity didn't seem to mind eye contact just yesterday. She remembered Rarity's promise clearly, she wouldn't be hurt here. And yet, her cheek pulsed with proof to the contrary. Rarity appeared holding a single hoof cuff, and gestured to Trixie, to hold her hoof out. In just a few moments, Rarity roughly chained Trixie to a ring on the wall, just like the first day she woke up in Twilight's castle. It was all coming back to her and the panic set in.
She didn't want to be in the dark again.
“I won't do it again! I’ll wake up very early, as early as you want Miss!” shrieked the little filly, reaching for Rarity's hooves that were so comforting just yesterday. Rarity took a step back, out of her reach as the chain pulled taut.
“This isn't what this is about, darling.” Chuckled Rarity, a deep, dark laugh. “No, no, this is about something far more important than your sleep schedule!”
Trixie stared at her hooves again, she didn't understand. The flip in behavior was too sudden, it must have been her own fault.
“What did I do? Trixie won’t do it again, she promises!” She said, as if attributing her misbehavior to somepony else. In Rarity's hoof appeared a whip, white with diamonds on the handle. Its tip looked vicious, Trixie could tell from experience.
“You're damn right you won’t.” she growled, striking Trixie on her withers, leaving behind a red welt visible even through Trixies dull blue coat.
Trixie screamed, she didn't know why, there was nopony who would help her. Nopony ever did. She struggled against the hoofcuff, pulling it taut from the wall but it didn't budge, she was far too weak.
“Please!! I’ll be good… I’ll be good...” sobbed Trixie, resorting to cowering. Rarity lowered her weapon, seemingly only for a moment, her face shifting from anger to a scathing humor.
“Do you know why I’m doing this?” almost laughed Rarity, “Well, I always knew you were pretty stupid but I thought you’d at least take a hint, Darling!”
Trixie switched to staring at her hooves, if she didn't do anything she might avoid being hurt again, the pulsing welt on her back reminding her every moment.
“Trixie was bad.” the filly responded, looking deeply ashamed, again as if she was speaking to someone else's misbehavior.
Rarity quickly raised the whip again, the filly cowered again covering her face with her hooves, and landed 2 strikes onto her side.
“Wrong! Answer!”
Trixie squealed in pain, her sobs getting louder as she clutched her side with the free hoof. She pathetically looked up, hoping to see some mercy on Raritys face. Finding none, her sobs turned to quiet squeaks and sniffles. There was no getting out, and nothing she could do.
“I’m punishing you because you failed the test, sweetie. When Twi brought you over, I was supposed to show you a good time.” said Rarity, smudging Trixies tears with the handle of the whip.
“Twilight thought that her training was thorough enough, that you would follow the rules she beat into you. You ate pony food, you sat in a chair, you learned magic!” shouted Rarity.
“Do good pets sit on the furniture, Trixie?” questioned the mare with the whip, almost laughing.
“N-no Miss.” responded Trixie, trying to sink into the ground.
“Well, since you know that that is against the rules, you must have consciously chosen not to follow them. I guess I’ll just let Twilight know and let her handle your punishment. I was going to punish you myself but I think Twilight will do a better job. She will absolutely love to hear all about what we did!” said Rarity smugly as she saw Trixies realization.
“NO! PLEASE!” Trixie caught herself at the last second, “Please Miss.” she said submissively. Rarity stopped.
“Yes Trixie?” asked Rarity, the smug smile plastered on her face almost audible. Trixie stared at her hooves. Tears streamed down her face and her hooves shaking from a combined fear of the dark as well as at the knowledge of what was about to happen.
“P-lease… Sniffle… Please punish Trixie.”
With that, Trixies mind was elsewhere, watching her body crumple under a strike to her back. Twilight was very good at magic but Raritys strikes seemed to be more precise and well aimed. 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 10 Trixie lost count quickly, she could only count to 11 before her mathematical skills failed her.
“If you want me to punish you, you’ll count them out loud!” hissed Rarity, using the handle of the whip to hit the fillys muzzle.
“Sorry! Trixie doesn't know how to count that h-high… please don't hit her muzzle again!” begged Trixie, raising her hoof to cover her nose. For a moment, there was no more violence, confusing Trixie, before she could build the courage to look up she heard Raritys laughter strike her ears.
“You don't know how to count higher than 11?!! Bwahaha!” laughed Rarity, a shrill terrible sound that made Trixies ears flatten in shame. “Were gonna be here a long time if you can't count!”
With that she shot the whip quickly and struck the filly in the exact same spot as before, causing her to recoil in pain.
“I can count! I can try!” begged Trixie, hoping that the whip was the only tool Rarity would use. That hope didn't last long.
“Oh, no, darling. It's fine, i'm sure I can find something else for us to entertain ourselves with, don't you think?” replied Rarity, turning towards the chest in the side of the room.
“L-like what, Miss?” asked Trixie hesitantly, weakly rubbing the welts that she could feel from her chained up state.
“Something a bit sharper!” said Rarity, quickly levitating some small knives. “Can you at least count the number of knives, Trixie?”
“1… 2… 3… 4… AGH” screamed Trixie, clutching her right hoof. It was already leaking, Trixie had never seen her own blood come out so eagerly, and it made her woozy.
“Too slow! It's 5, you're such a silly foal!” said Rarity, “Let's get you fully acquainted with all of them!”
“P-please don't cut my horn Miss… I’ll be good. Please, please. I’ll be very obedient and I'll wake up on time. I…” Trixie's voice died out, turning into quiet sobbing, using only a single hoof to wipe her face as far as the restraints would allow her, the other one was coursing with blood. Rarity watched the pathetic Trixie cry, the knife was still near her horn, she was going for the final blow.
“Oh, I can't possibly stop now! Little Topaz here hasn't had her chance to bless you with her touch.” giggled Rarity, the filly shook a bit more before stopping. Defeated, Trixie took her hoof from her eye and stared down at her hooves again.
“I’m sorry Topaz, I know it's not fair. Do you… do you want to cut Trixies other hoof instead of her horn? I-if you do that, it will be harder to walk, and it might hurt more. Trixie wont move, please don't hurt her horn. Trixie is sorry…” apologized the filly, offering up her clean foreleg to Rarity, and Topaz.
Trixie crumpled in pain once again, as far as her restraints allowed. Sobbing, but tears no longer appeared. She was all cried out. Rarity decided it was time for the finishing touches on this little piece.
“Answer my fucking question!” shouted Rarity, kicking Trixie in the side to punctuate her sentence. Trixie squealed, clutching her side, and then squealed again when her damaged hoof came into contact with her fur.
“Trixie is sorry!” cried the foal, her entire body was throbbing, it only grew worse when another kick landed on her neck.
“That doesn't answer my question!!” hissed Rarity again, anger building. For a second Trixie forgot the question, but the fear of more pain sharpened her mind.
“It's enough! It's enough, please Miss I’ll be good! Please…” cried the filly pathetically, looking up into Raritys eyes hoping to garner the smallest bit of mercy. For a moment, it seemed to work. Rarity backed up, put Topaz down, and took a deep breath. In a flash Rarity had pinned Trixie to the wall, putting pressure on the fillies cuts, and a sharp pain in her hurt hoof.
“You should be begging for more, Trixie!” growled Rarity into her ear, “You are a very bad pet, and you have disobeyed direct training from Twilight Sparkle herself. Your only purpose in life is to serve her, and if you mess up any worse, you will have failed that singular task. Do you know what happens when she deems you a failure Trixie? DO YOU?! ”
Trixie devolved once again into sobs, wishing this would be over. She wished to be elsewhere, she wished she hadn't messed up this way.
“Trixie is sorry, so so sorry! Please forgive her Miss, please!” begged Trixie, screaming in pain. Rarity slammed the handle of Topaz, which had reappeared in her magic, into Trixies head.
“Still. Not. Answering. My Questions.” struck Rarity, the thuds making Trixie dizzy. Trixies mind too frazzled to formulate an answer.
“Beg for more! Beg!” said Rarity, still in Trixies face.
“Please Miss Rarity, p-punish me. Teach me to be a good pet! I don't want Mistress to get rid of me, I’ll d-do anything.”
With that, Rarity put the filly down. The shackle on her hoof was unlocked, and Rarity gave the filly an odd look, before tilting her head and speaking.
“Wake up.” said Rarity.
“W-what? I don-” questioned Trixie before being interrupted.
“It’s okay.” said blank faced Rarity.
In a moment, the basements surroundings changed, as if it was spinning.
“Wake up, it's okay.” said the mare once again. This time Trixie felt someone holding her, but she couldn't see anything.
Trixie no longer felt the shackles on her hoof, and Rarity was still looking at her with a blank look on her face. Finally, it all clicked, none of this made sense and Trixie was sure that it couldn’t be real.
Trixie paused, the world was frozen, just like Rarity. She knew it couldn’t be real, Rarity was not like Twilight. She was very forgiving, she hadn’t hit Trixie at all before this. She approached Rarity and watched as the mare shrunk. Confused, Trixie got even closer to examine her, the fact that it was a dream filling her with a small sense of bravery. In a few moments the mare was even smaller than Trixie, and soon she had finished morphing into a mini Trixie. It curled itself into a ball, sobbing, confusing the real Trixie even more. She reached out, hoping to comfort it.
“It’s her fault!” cried the other Trixie. Trixie patted her on the head, before responding.
“Umm.. who?”
“HERS! Make them stop hurting me, it's not my fault!” screamed the other, pointing into the nothingness of this environment.
“There’s nothing there…” she responded, stroking the crying foals mane.
“THEY KEEP HURTING ME! I'M A GOOD PET! ITS HER, IT-” her screams were interrupted by her crying, “It’s… It’s somepony else being bad. I’m good. I’m a good pet. It’s not me. Make them… make them stop...” she cried, at this point Trixie was holding the other, and stroking her mane with her own eyes full of tears. The other stopped crying and gave a final look up at Trixie, before fading away. Trixie felt herself doing the same, and closed her eyes.
It’s not me.
“It’s just a bad dream, it's okay Trixie. You're safe now.” cooed a disembodied voice. And with that, Trixie woke up. Holding her was Rarity herself, but they were both back in Sweetie's room, and Trixie was bundled up in her tattered blanket as Rarity cradled her.
“Its alright Trixie, nopony is going to get rid of you. You have my word, it's just a dream.” The now real Rarity whispered, rocking the filly softly. Trixie let out a fierce sob, burying her face into Rarity's fur. Rarity held her tighter, she could feel the fillies' pain, her emotions were a mess, but she had to stand strong for now.
“Miss Rarity, you were hitting me and you told me I was bad and that I failed a test and then you used Topaz on me and...” her voice devolved into another sob.
“It's okay Trixie, you’re safe. You’re safe.” whispered Rarity, reassuringly.
Author's Note
HI guys I know its been a long time since I updated, writing is hard! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for something you wanna see.
