Great and Powerful Relaxation
Trixie woke from her late afternoon nap to find Starlight leaning against her star-patterned wagon, her soft pink-purple fur contrasting the darker violet of the magical cart. Twilight’s student had that worried, stressed look.
“Uh oh, let me guess,” Trixie offered with a heavy serious tone, leaning forward. “Thinking too hard again.”
Starlight snorted irritably. “That’s not funny, Trixie. You know it’s important that I try to understand those who come to me for advice. I can’t be a guidance counselor if I’m not understanding!” she cried out in dismay, throwing her arms up in the air.
Trixie giggled regardless. “I suppose it is a lot to think about, but I think I know just what you need,” she decided, hitching herself to the wagon and setting off down the path, towards the Everfree Forest. “Follow me!”
Starlight sighed and shook her head, uncertain and reluctant. Maybe she did have time for this now, but there were still so many things to think about…
Trixie didn’t slow down, apparently willing to go into the forest, with or without her. Starlight quickly trotted after her friend as evening drew near, the cloudy sky keeping the undergrowth dark.
“It’ll be dangerous to stay long past dusk,” warned Starlight from the side of the wagon. “So I hope what you have in mind isn’t far!”
Trixie stopped in her tracks, Starlight suddenly caught up. The magician turned and gave a sharp intense glare. “You have all the time in the world for things that stress you out,” she declared.
“So!” and her tone melted softly, “The Great and Considerate Trixie is taking some of that time of yours, and de-stressing you instead.” She reached out and patted Starlight on the pink nose with the underside of her blue hoof.
Starlight blinked in surprise, wriggling her nose. “If you’re this intense about it, I’m going to trust your judgment, Trixie.” It was the first time she didn’t sound unsure.
Trixie smiled triumphantly, trotting down the familiar track through the forest only a few dozen trees passing by… before turning left, into a narrow path between an imposing boulder and a tilted trunk.
“Uh, where are we going? Doesn’t this seem a bit of a hassle?” Starlight fussed, using her magic to help Trixie with sharper turns on the rough path, a soft glow brushing against the wagon’s wheels.
Trixie scoffed, tossing her mane. “Sometimes the most frustrating hassles lead to the most exciting adventures! Trixie knows you are curious where this takes us.”
Starlight blushed and didn’t respond. She was indeed curious, but less compelled by Trixie’s mystique for the moment, still trying to guide the cart’s momentum and-
Trixie stopped suddenly. “Here we are!” she whispered softly, looking around with a big smile on her face.
Starlight hummed. “That didn’t take long, what’s up?” and then she looked up too.
There wasn’t anything notable about this part of the forest. There was a slight gap where a tall tree may have fallen awhile ago. Four giant dark trees surrounded the little glade, with many smaller arching in-between. The grass in the center was bright green with dew, mist trailing across their hooves.
“So, mind telling me what-”
“Shh!”
Starlight sighed, looking around more, perking an ear. It seemed a bit more lively here than back down the trail. A soft breeze caressed her fur, and the rising symphony of crickets filled her ears, the croaking and ribbits of frogs soon joining in.
The darkening sky twinkled with the first stars of night. The shadows began to interweave, blurring the trees’ outlines, the rough bushes in the clearing becoming a mesh of brown and green.
Tilting her horn towards the sky, Starlight conjured a soft turquoise glow. “Afraid of the dark?” Trixie teased, a crafty smirk crossing her features, peering out from under the lip of her sorcerous hat.
Nervously shaking her head, Starlight dimmed the magic glow, until it was gone. She wasn’t about to let Trixie show her up. “Mind telling me yet what we’re doing?” she huffed.
Trixie stepped further into the clearing, still under the shadows of the biggest tree, its sprawling branches reaching down. Unhitching her cart, she sat down beneath the tree, before sprawling on all fours, giving a soft simple sigh.
Starlight crept towards her friend, before sitting her rump down with a huff, pouting.
The Great Magician tsk-tsked. “You don’t feel anything about this place?”
The Friendship Counselor sighed and closed her eyes. “I, I do… it’s just easy to be distracted by-”
“Then don’t be.” Trixie announced, as a matter of fact. “Focus on everything. Concentrate on nothing.”
Small creatures scurried through the underbrush. Starlight lifted a hoof and shuddered, but Trixie seemed surprisingly unphased… so Starlight sought to follow by her example. It wasn’t that she was afraid… she was just easily unsettled. “I wish I could be as calm as you, Trixie.”
Trixie gently put a hoof on Starlight’s. “You can be,” she reassured, her voice soft and comforting. “Just relax. Okay?” She smiled gently.
Starlight chuckled, shaking her mane. “You know, sometimes it seems like you’re my guidance counselor instead.”
“Well, I guess that makes us even,” Trixie remarked dryly, looking up at the canopy.
Starlight laughed softly. She leaned back against the tree, smiling deeply. She started to pay attention to her surroundings now, instead of dismissing them anxiously.
The loud hoot of a nearby owl pierced the air overhead. Yet somehow it was not startling, just a part of the music of life around them. The cool earth and soft leaves comforted the soft under-soles of her hooves. She found herself roosting down with legs tucked under on all fours, relaxing.
Trixie the Powerful suddenly leapt into the center of the clearing, twirling elaborately, forelegs extended, gazing up at the trees and the stars.
“The Great and Fated Trixie was stranded here for many days, but it felt like a lifetime!” she revealed with much angst in her tone, posing while balanced on one hoof. “I had been chased off by a huge ferocious beast!” Trixie reared up on her back legs, gritting her teeth and jutting out her forelegs menacingly.
The Friendship Counselor was transfixed, staring slack-jawed and leaning forward, shoulders hunching, mesmerized as the magician’s story unfurled, surprised by this revelation.
Trixie pointed to the largest tree with a wide arcing sweep. “I hid up in the dense canopy, while the hungry creature raided my wagon’s pantry, tore up the roof, and destroyed an opposing front and back wheel!”
Starlight gasped in dismay. “What did you do?” She almost asked why nopony looked for her to help… then she averted her eyes, remembering how very, very alone Trixie’s days as a roaming magician were... for so very long.
Trixie’s expression of horror was replaced with smug sureness. “I survived!” she declared, twirling her cape dramatically, hooves on her hips.
“I hadn’t noticed,” Starlight snarked, eyebrow and hoof raised. “Maybe you could elaborate?”
Trixie moved closer to Starlight, putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder, gesturing around them. “The Great and Resourceful Trixie foraged for berries and nuts, and gradually gathered supplies necessary to repair and reinforce her wagon. This grotto became her home. A place of wonder and peace. The fear and anxiety that had entrapped Trixie’s heart wore away, replaced with a warm blanket of patience, hope, and calm.”
The trailing glow of a bright green will-o-the-wisp flickered right across from the ponies, more glowing magical sprites fluttering out from the undergrowth, as twilight fell and the moon rose. The branches shuddered, the wind blowing more aggressively, creaking and swaying, the animals chirruping and thrumming as night descended.
“Do you understand now why I brought you here?” Trixie asked, bending over and staring at the mushrooms and insects glowing at the center of the glade, a myriad of colors.
Starlight breathed softly, smelling the warm air, feeling the softness of the soil. “I think so… it’s because this place feels like a home.”
Trixie hummed and shrugged. “Yes and no. I mean, it did become my home for awhile, of course.”
The magician sat down in the center of the glade, looking up at the tree branches reaching out towards the moon. “This is where I learned how to breathe deep, and relax, in spite of everything.”
Starlight couldn’t resist. “You’re not always relaxed, Trixie,” she reminded, as gently as she could.
Trixie chuckled eloquently. “But I am right now,” she assured, beaming a Great and Powerful smile.
Starlight giggled. “Yeah. I guess this place is nice… and I probably wouldn’t have given it a chance if I was out here on my own. I’m so used to doing things immediately, not waiting...”
“Trixie wanted to give you the chance to experience this. Please rest in this mystical forest glade, anytime your heart is in need of warmth.”
The pink-purple pony wrapped the azure-blue pony in a tender hug, as the moon glowed softly overhead. “Thank you, Trixie. For showing me the magic of this place, and being patient with me.”
Trixie cooed happily, enjoying the moment, until a loud hoot startled her. “Oh yeah, and there may have been some slight exaggerations in the tale I told.”
Starlight smiled, cuddling up close to the cunning magician, feeling strangely safe, out here, in these dark woods. She wouldn’t usually go out here on her own, preferring the dull patterns of indoor life, but a bit of natural serenity is what she needed.
As the night darkened further, and the unicorns drifted into slumber, the counselor realized that there was still much to be learned from this mysterious wandering magician she was grateful to call friend.
