Pennington's Trixby Pennington InkwellChaptersIt Was a Dark and Stormy NightMorningsOut in the OrchardHeart AttacksA Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of ThatThe Iron PonyMaking Yourself at HomeThe End and Starting OverIt Was a Dark and Stormy NightIt was a dark and stormy night. Exactly the type of night that Pennington Inkwell loved the most. In his study, Pennington was working hard on a mystery scene in his upcoming book: Daring Do and the Alicorn Amulet. He had only returned from his own trip a few days earlier, and he was behind in his work with a deadline looming over his head. He knew that, with only a few chapters actually written on paper, he was going to be cutting this one close. Heh, don't I always? He thought to himself as he leaned back in his well-cusioned office chair, pushing himself away from the heavy desk. He let himself relax for a moment, sinking into his chair and flopping his head over the back cushion. He let his body fall limp as he focused on his other senses, trying to pull himself out of his story for a moment. His horn was starting to ache from hours on end of moving a quill across paper, and switching over to writing by hoof would only leave him with a similar ache in his ankle. So, for the moment, Pennington took a rest to enjoy the storm. The sound of the rain pounding on his skylight was roaring though the room. Pennington had filtered it out while he was engrossed in his work, but now he reveled in the sound of a thousand tiny drops of water assaulting the glass, trying to work their way in. Pennington had spared no expense on his skylight, though, having the two-way mirror enchanted to withstand forces up to a tornado striking his shop (in which case he would have far more to worry about than a broken mirror). So, the rain simply drummed away, creating a comforting undertone and bringing the air to a chill in the room. Pennington had lit a small wood stove that he kept in the corner (far from his manuscripts), and the popping and crackling occasionally overcame the rain. There was a light scent of wood smoke in the room, accompanied by the crisp freshness of the air being cooled again by the passing of the wind. The wind was shaking the glass slightly, and kept a light howl outside, one that made Pennington feel all the more comfortable that he was inside. As he did his best to take in the plethora of sensory inputs all at once, Pennington heard a new noise: one that was deliberate and purposeful: knocking. A definite series of knocks, coming from the "shop" part of his home. Pennington's eyes flew open as he could only imagine what kind of pony would be knocking at his door in this kind of weather. Granted, if he hadn't needed to work, he probably would have spent some time outside, himself, but he recognized his own insanity in wanting to be exposed to the raw elements. Any other pony wanting to do so would have to be absolutely insane! With a sudden burst of energy, Pennington jumped out of his chair and ran to the door to his study, sending the chair rolling back against the wall as he propelled himself forward. With practiced ease, he whipped his hooves in a complicated series of movements, undoing a dozen or so locks on the door. "HOLD ON!" He shouted as he ran out into the hallway. "I'M COMING!" He raced through the kitchen, opening the door to the front of his shop with magic without even missing a beat in his steps. As he finally reached the front of the store, he could see the light figure of a silver-haired pony through the window, her long, drenched mane covering most of her face. Pennington could make out a blue coat underneath all of the hair, and a light blue horn stuck out from the top of her head, marking her as a fellow unicorn. He didn't even think to check his memory for any matching colors, throwing open his front door to the storm. "Come on, get inside! It's horrible out there!" He placed a hoof around her shoulders and ushered her inside. The moment that he touched her, he realized that she was shivering badly. Without any kind of thought on the matter, he pulled her along to the back of the room, through the kitchen and back down the hall. "Th-th-thank y-y-you..." The mysterious mare whispered between chattering teeth. Her steps were stiff and shuddering, as if it were an effort for her not to curl herself up into a ball on the spot. "Don't thank me, yet..." Pennington's horn glowed brightly for a moment, and the dozen locks on the door to his study clicked open, magic being the only way to open it from the outside. "Let's get you warmed up, first!" He pulled the still-dripping pony into his study, thanking Luna that he hadn't been keeping any loose pages on the floor as puddles spread outwards from her hooves. He pulled open the front of the wood stove, urging her to sit close to it. "Here, this is nice and warm... I'll get you a towel." Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes underneath the hair covering her face. They were a dark, dark violet, almost closer to black or grey, and he was almost stopped still as they locked onto his, full of pain and shame. He paused for only a moment to stare back, but her gaze quickly shifted away and down to the floor. "T-T-Trixie i-i-is s-s-sorry..." She whispered. Finally, things began to click in Pennington's mind. The silver mane, the blue coat... He glanced down to her flank, where a blue wisp of magical energy was being overlapped by a star-tipped wand. This was the same Trixie who had humiliated many of Ponyville's residents, lied to all of her audiences to make herself look good, and inadvertently brought an ursa minor into town, causing wanton panic and destruction.. He didn't even hesitate with what he did next. He ran upstairs to his closet, picked out his favorite towel and bathrobe (the ones that Whipstitch had been forced to embroider his initials into when he won a bet), and ran back downstairs. This can get soaked and be just fine, and it's really warm... When he returned, he found Trixie, sniffling and staring into the fire. He slowly came up behind her, making a conscious effort to let his hooves clatter noisily against the hardwood flooring. She didn't move to look, only lifting a hoof to brush the remaining strands of hair out of her face. Pennington sat next to her, ignoring the puddle that left his rear as soaked at the rest of her body, and used his magic to pull her hair into the air before wrapping it with the towel. With another magical favor, he began to wrap the bathrobe around her. To his surprise, the still-shivering pony brushed it away with a hoof. "Trixie... is no beggar..." She muttered. "No, but Pennington is Trixie's host, and will get her warm and dry." He decided to address the fragile-looking pony on her own third-person terms. Once again, he tried to wrap the robe around her, and this time she didn't object, letting her hooves slip through the sleeves. When the rope had been tied around her waist, she adjusted it a little, then moved closer to the fire. "So, would Trixie care to tell Pennington what exactly she was doing out in the cold and the rain?" Pennington whispered. He tried putting a foreleg around her shoulders and rubbing to generate a little heat, but the motion seemed awkward, and he quickly went back to keeping his hooves to himself. With a small shrug, he considered going back to his desk to talk and work at the same time, but decided against it. He always made a point to place the needs of a real, living pony above the needs of his work. Trixie seemed to shudder at the question, her face turning downwards in shame, making Pennington sorry that he had ever asked. "Trixie... has no place to stay. Her cart was smashed by the Ursa, and she has been laughed out of every town that she has gone to..." Tears were quickly welling up in the once-proud mare's eyes. "So, Trixie came back to Ponyville, where she was first... first..." Pennington didn't have to be an author to know what the word was that she couldn't say. Humiliated. Destroyed. Shamed. He broke the touching barrier again, this time placing a hoof on her shoulder closest to him in an effort to comfort her. "Well, Trixie can stay here while she tries to get her hooves back underneath her..." Pennington smiled, despite the fact that his mind was screaming at him, asking what exactly he was thinking. He only had one bedroom, his privacy was one of his most prized possessions, and Trixie had a horrible reputation in Ponyville that would most likely reflect badly on Inkwell Commissions. But, on the other hoof, he always put a pony first, and Trixie was obviously desperate. He held no personal grudge towards the mare, her actions hadn't even effected him because he had been out of town on the day that she had appeared. The storm outside was still raging, and the first image, of her standing alone in the wind and the rain, head hung low, a complete and utter mess, refused to leave his mind. "Trixie simply needs to wait out this storm... After that, she will leave." Trixie whispered. "Thank you for letting her stay and be dry and warm." "Look, Trixie, You said yourself that you've been struggling since the ursa smashed your home. That was long before this storm ever set in." Pennington finally broke back into first-person speaking, trying to appear more open to her. "I am going to help you, just like a friend should." "You don't even know Trixie, why would you call her your friend?" The mare finally looked back up and turned to him, looking at him once again with those dark eyes, locking him in place. Pennington had seen violet eyes before, he had a pair of his own that he saw in the mirror every day, but these seemed different. It wasn't just that they were reddened from her tears and holding deep lines underneath from a lack of sleep, but there was something inside them. Something that was reaching out, asking for help when her pride refused to let her do so. Pennington felt like it was deafening, even without making a sound, and he knew, deep in his heart, that he wanted to answer that plea. From what he had heard about Trixie, she was a pony who refused to partake in anything that she considered beneath her, but here he was, dripping wet, mane and tail a mess, splattered with mud and the occasional leaf, and completely ashamed. Her spirit had been broken. "Well, if a pony hasn't given me a good reason to hate them, I always consider them my friend." He smiled and stood up, offering her a friendly hoof to stand, as well. "Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep, Trixie." Trixie looked at his open hoof for a moment, then let out a long sigh of defeat. "Just for tonight. When the storm is gone, so am I. The Great and Powerful Trixie takes no charity, only loans!" "Well, it's not much, but it's better than being out in the cold..." Pennington smiled as he lit a small lamp in the bedroom. The bedroom, as he said, was simple. It was in the upstairs of his home, where he actually had his living space, in a small room separated from the rest of the house. It had only a desk with a mirror, a neat, well-made bed, and a nightstand with a simple, glass oil lamp sitting on top of it. Everything had a fine layer of dust on it, showing that the room hadn't been occupied for at least a couple weeks. "I'm sorry about the dust, I just got back from a long trip, and I don't spend much time in here..." Pennington blushed a little as he pulled back the covers on the bed. "You can sleep here, though! It's warm..." He glanced up at the circular window above the head of the bed. "That shouldn't rattle too much in the wind." Trixie nodded, trying to avoid anything with dust on it, no matter how thin the layer. "Thank you, again..." She was now looking more like she normally did, having used Pennington's bathroom for more than an hour to shower off the mud and make sure that her mane "was in its proper manner," draped over the side of her head in a smooth, single curl. Pennington had to admit, she cleaned up nicely, and looked at least a dozen times better. He hadn't minded waiting for her, and he had managed to write an entire new chapter before she was finished. She was still wearing his bathrobe, he suspected for warmth, but he didn't mind. After all, that was why he had given it to her. She quietly untied the robe and slipped it back and off of her body with magic, letting the fabric slide over her back and across her cutie mark, an action that made Pennington blush profusely. He brought his focus to the lamp, trying not to let him see his embarrassment. Trixie didn't seem to notice, lifting the covers with the light pink-violet glow of her magic and climbing inside as she tossed the robe over the back of the chair sitting by the desk. When she looked back to Pennington, a confused look crossed her face. "Why are you blushing?" "Hm? Oh, the- the lamp. It's really hot... Makes my face all red." He muttered, pretending to wipe sweat away from his brow. Trixie certainly isn't shy... "Well, this is hardly the five-star hotels that Trixie is used to..." She seemed to catch herself being rude, and quickly gave him a grateful smile. "But, as you said, it is one thousand times better than being out in the storm... Thank you for letting Trixie spend the night here." "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to." Pennington smiled as the burning in his face started to fade. "And if you need a job, I'm sure that I could find a place that would let you work! We entrepreneurs are a close-knit bunch, so I know a bunch of ponies who have job openings!" He gave Trixie an optimistic smile, trying to fight the influence of the raging storm. Trixie smiled, but in a way that he hadn't seen yet. She seemed bemused by his bright outlook, and quietly settled down under the covers of the bed. "Trixie will leave in the morning... but thank you. For tonight." Pennington stood at the door, ready to leave, when he turned back around he was smiling. "And Trixie? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I am a writer, and it's really frustrates me when people talk in the third person..." "Oh, right..." Trixie nodded, looking slightly disappointed. "I am sorry." "No need to be! It's just a personal preference." Pennington relaxed a little when she finally began to speak normally. "Pleasant dreams, Trixie!" Trixie blinked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Yes... Uh... Pleasant dreams... Umm..." "Inkwell. Pennington Inkwell." "Yes. Goodnight, Pennington." With that awkward farewell, she pulled the covers up over her shoulder and finally settled into the bed. Pennington closed the door. As he did, the smile on his face grew wider as he came to three realizations. I just committed myself to letting one of Ponyville's most hated visitors stay in my home. I only have one bedroom... Guess I'm sleeping in my study on purpose, for once. There's a mare... In my house. Author's Note Well everyone, I thought that I would write this as a short prequel to "Happy Adventuring, Twilight!" For those of you wondering, this happens before the events in "Happy Adventuring, Twilight," so it stands alone, with no need to read any of my other stories! For those of you first-time readers, Hello! I hope you enjoyed this, I certainly enjoyed writing it! If you liked it, you can look into my other stories, or take a quick trip over to my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/PenningtonInkwell)! You can find exclusive info, insights into my work, and notifications about any and all updates to this and other stories! Anyway, I hope you liked it! There will be more coming soon! Happy Adventuring! -Pennington Inkwell MorningsWhen morning came, Trixie found herself awoken by birdsong and the light of the morning sun. She yawned as her eyes cracked open, sitting up in her bed with a smile. For the first time in weeks, she felt well-rested. She took a moment to realize that something was different. She had woken up in a bed. Not a park bench, not an alleyway. An actual bed. All at once, the events of the previous night came back to her memory. The rain, how cold she had been, how desperate she had been... The pony who had opened his door and let her in. She shook her head and slowly climbed out of the bed, making the sheets as neatly as she could. Trixie does not leave a mess... She would not wish to incur more of a debt than she already owes! She looked around the dusty room, now in the full light of day, and let out a long sigh. "This filthy room is hardly fitting for a mare was great and powerful as Trixie!" With a quick thought, the opened the window and began to work her magic, making the morning breeze cycle through the room and pick up the dust, then whisk it away to the outside. As the room became clean, her pride still refused to let her find the bare room acceptable. With a long sigh, she rolled her eyes. "It will have to do. Trixie is leaving, anyway." Semi-content, Trixie exited the room, quickly finding herself in Pennington's "living space." Trixie can hardly see how anypony could live in a place like this... The room was filled with cheap furniture, with large cushions filled with Trixie could only imagine was cheap stuffing. A large desk sat in the back corner, and seemed to be the only piece worth anything. The rest looked as if it had been rescued from some kind of dump and stitched and stapled back together. As she continued to look around, she did notice a nice-looking television, though, like the bedroom, it was dusty and looked underused. Trixie's nose curled up in slight distaste for Pennington's accommodations. Well, I suppose that it is a good thing that Trixie is leaving... Though Trixie supposes she should thank Pennington for letting her stay for the night. She looked around for Pennington's bedroom, but there didn't seem to be any other room except for the one that she had come out of and the hallway downstairs. She blinked in confusion, then shook her head. "He must have his room downstairs." With a confident nod to herself, Trixie opened the door to the hallway and trotted down the stairwell. There were no lights in the hallway, but seeing the stairs in the semi-darkness was an easy feat for the great and powerful- "Waugh!" Trixie cried out as she went to place her hoof on the next stair and met nothing there. For a heart-stopping moment, her hoof plummeted into inky blackness. When it finally collided with the floor, Trixie placed more weight on it than she had first intended, and she felt a small stab of pain shoot through it. She ignored it after she had caught herself, though she did check to make sure no one had seen her stumble. Unperturbed, she continued on her way, walking quietly past Pennington's study and into the next room. She hadn't gotten a good look into Pennington's kitchen the night before. Now, she wished that she hadn't. Pennington's kitchen was a disgusting mess of "instant ramen" soup. In a nightmarish cacophony of Styrofoam cups and dried noodles, with the remains of dozens of previous microwave meals scattered across every available surface. She gaped in shock as she saw half-eaten meals everywhere and white foam cups with metal spoons leaning against the rims. There was a sink with several more spoons sitting at the bottom, all obviously unwashed and greasy. The room had a smell to it, as well, one that Trixie recognized from the few times that she had brought herself low enough to actually eat the pre-packaged soup. It was a smell of hay and salt, the flavor of the soup and its main ingredient. As she spun around, trying to comprehend how a single stallion could make such a disgusting mess, she noticed that there was one place that was clean: Pennington seemed to take good care of his microwave. It had the only clean surface in the kitchen, and had a near-polished black surface that Trixie could see her own reflection in, and through the transparent door, she could see that the inside was spotless, as well. "Trixie! It's good to see that you're awake..." Trixie jumped out of fear when Pennington suddenly appeared in the door. "I would have cleaned up if I knew that I was going to have company..." Trixie was unsure of how to respond. Pennington had large, dark bags under his eyes, and the white-and-lavender orbs were bloodshot. His words were slow and slightly slurred, as if he had just woken up only seconds before. "It's... irrelevant. Trixie- I mean- I was just leaving..." She muttered, blinking quietly as she examined him more closely. Everything about Pennington radiated that he was tired, from his slouched posture to the occasional yawn every few seconds. "Did you... sleep last night?" "Oh, I got a few hours! I have a deadline coming up for my next book in a few months, and it's a process that I can't afford to waste any time on..." Pennington laughed as he yawned again. "I'll be fine once I have some breakfast..." Trixie nodded, trying hard not to insult him by not showing her disgust at his kitchen. Even so, she knew that her nose was crinkling up in a disgusted manner. She watched as he walked to a cupboard and pulled out another Styrofoam cup, identical to the ones all around them. He casually moved to the sink and peeled off the top, filling it with water without even needing to look. "Do you want some?" He looked back to Trixie as he placed the cup in the microwave. "I have plenty of ramen, but I think I have a little cereal, too." Trixie was about to say no, about to walk out of the door and leave, but a loud growling emanated from her midsection as her stomach lurched. "I really do not like that soup..." "Cereal it is!" Pennington opened three different cupboards with his magic, finally pulling out a brightly colored box. "I hope that you enjoy Fruity Hoops!" "That's for little foals!" Trixie cried, doing her best to hold back a smile at his sudden show of immaturity. "This is half sugar!" "Well, what's the point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes?" Pennington asked with a wink. Almost immediately after, he pressed his hoof against his mouth to stifle a yawn, making him look even more like a foal. At this point, Trixie didn't manage to hold back a small laugh. When the giggle spilled out from beneath her lips, Pennington raised a curious eyebrow, lowering his head and looking up at her to emphasize the action. This made Trixie laugh again, and this time she didn't hold it back, letting the sound pour out of her mouth and out into the air. "Well, good to see that you've cheered up from last night!" He chirped as he levitated a small carton of milk out of the fridge and into the air. "We don't have to eat in here, in fact, I never do! Why don't you just grab a bowl and follow me?" As the microwave began to ring loudly, Pennington picked up a spoon out of the sink and floated the steaming cup out of the black box. After taking a deep breath of the mist rising from the top, Pennington smiled and happily trotted back into the hallway. "Come on, we'll eat in my study! After that, we'll see about finding a place for you to pick up a job!" Trixie couldn't help but wonder if his upbeat demeanor was forced or honest. Regardless, she took the milk and followed him. As she walked, Trixie realized that this had been one of the first times that she had genuinely laughed since she had been driven out of Ponyville. Not a spiteful chuckle at how far she had fallen, nor a hopeless laugh of a mare condemned to live on the streets, with pegasi going out of their way to rain on her, but an actual, comfortable, joyful laugh at something that made her happy. While she still felt uncomfortable in the disgusting kitchen, something about Pennington's trusting lack of judgment made her at ease, and she began to wonder if she really wanted to just leave and go back to living on the streets. Her pride told her that she should, of course, but... she felt unsure, now. The laughter seemed to have changed things. Now, when Pennington wasn't rushing to get her inside, Trixie began to notice things about his study that she hadn't seen the night before. First of all, she saw at least a dozen locks on his door, a thick oak door that wouldn't fall easily to magic or sheer force. Whatever was in his study, he was certainly protective of it. When she entered the study: she was surrounded by Daring Do. Memorabilia lined the walls on every side, held in place by dozens of books about the same mare, many of which she could see were autographed and labeled "Special Edition." At just above eye level, red yarn stretched over their heads, creating a near-indecipherable web above their heads, held in place by pins in the walls. The pins also held up large numbers of pages of hoof-written scribbles, among which Trixie could see Daring's name repeated several times over. Her eyes flicked upwards as she looked to the roof, which was letting in large amounts of light, and she noticed a large skylight that took up the majority of the ceiling. Gleaming in the space between the skylight and the first plush toys of Daring Do, she saw something that completely and utterly stole her attention. A golden sword. Well, it looked gold, anyway, as if somepony had melted down gold, stirred in silver, and then etched complex swirling patterns into the blade as it cooled. The sword was thinner at the base, then grew to a wickedly curved, wider end that looked as if it could slice off a pony's head in one stroke. All in all, the study seemed a monument to Daring Do and her adventures. When she looked back to her host, he was sitting behind a large desk that appeared to be made out of some kind of darkly stained wood, and sitting in a well-cushioned office chair. His horn was already aglow, scratching a quill across what appeared to be only the newest addition to a massive stack of papers next to him while quietly spooning noodles into his mouth. The locks, his apparent talent for writing, this virtual shrine to Daring Do... I think that it's starting to make sense! Trixie walked straight up to the other side of Pennington's desk and placing a firm hoof on the surface, drawing his attention. "I know who you are, Pennington!" "Hm?" Pennington looked up from his work. For a moment, he didn't seem to register what she had said, then the realization came to him. His eyes widened and he paled, then slapped himself in the forehead. "N-no, Trixie! It's not what you think! I just-" "You're a fanfic writer!" Trixie grinned smugly as Pennington's words fell to a stutter, then stopped entirely. "I have never seen a pony take their fanfictions so seriously, but don't worry, I'm sure they're very good..." She winked at him as he continued to stare at her in disbelief. "And you're not the only one who likes Daring..." Pennington blinked at her in disbelief, as if it were impossible for him to comprehend how she had come to the conclusion. "Trixie is more than simply beautiful. She has a brilliant mind, as well!" She brushed a strand of hair from her face in victory as Pennington shook his head. "Just don't tell anypony, okay? I hate that I use someone else's characters in a story, published or not..." Pennington's face regained some of its color as he went back to work. Trixie nodded and, seeing no other chairs in the room, laid down on the floor to eat, placing her bowl on the tiled part of the floor and laying on the rug coming out from under the desk. It was a simple matter to pour the cereal and the milk, but when she realized that she didn't have a spoon, she realized that there wasn't much that she could do. All of Pennington's spoons seemed to be laying, unwashed, in the kitchen sink. With a shrug, she lifted the bowl to her lips, doing her best not to slurp. Ordinarily, her pride would never have let her stoop to such measures, but the fact that she had recently been willing to eat almost anything when she was out on the streets (she shuddered involuntarily as she remembered a few of her less dignified meals involving garbage cans) let her put that aside. "So, what do you do aside from writing fanfictions, Pennington?" She asked quietly before taking another long drink of the cereal. "Well, I have a few published books, but my real work comes from writing commissions." Pennington look up from his work at her, then back at the scroll that he was working on. Quietly, he put down the quill and walked over to where she was laying, dropping down to the floor next to her. "Ponies who aren't very good at writing come to me and tell me what they want me to write and how long they want it to be. I write it, and then ask them to pay me what I think it's worth." "I've never heard of a pony doing that..." Trixie glanced down at his cutie mark: two scrolls, each on either side of a large compass rose. "What about the compass on your cutie mark? That looks like Daring Do's cutie mark..." "Well, sometimes I have to travel to understand what exactly a pony wants me to write about... I've been to Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Appleloosa, Cloudsdale, and even spent a week camping in the Everfree Forest, if you could believe it!" As he laid next to her, Pennington looked straight into Trixie's eyes. Most ponies would have found it odd, but now that she thought about it, Pennington had always been making eye contact with her when he had been speaking. Making eye contact was an important part of the art of misdirection, so Trixie was more than used to having ponies look into her eyes, and she stared straight back. Pennington's eyes were a bright lavender, and Trixie could feel that they were looking for something, as if they could find out everything about her just by staring. It didn't make her uncomfortable, though, and she began trying to find a few answers of her own. The unofficial stare-down had begun. As she examined his eyes, she noticed a few things. First of all, she could see that the color of his eyes actually moved down a gradient from bright lavender to dark purple as they neared his pupils. She tilted her head slightly, and she could see that he had curiosity. It was puzzling to her why looking into his eyes gave her impressions of different emotions, but she could see his curiosity. It was like a desire to know everything, as if he would just drink in any kind of experience and file it away. As she kept looking, though, she saw something else... secrets. He looked ashamed, as if he had done something wrong. At this point, Pennington broke away the eye contact, blinking several times and shaking his head. "I-I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of staring..." He muttered, lifting the cup of soup to his mouth and downing the rest of its contents in a single attempt. He looked slightly shaken, but it quickly passed. "So, what were you doing out there in the rain last night?" Trixie blinked in surprise. For perhaps the first time in years, she wanted the attention to be on some other pony, but she was wondering more about Pennington. But, she was his guest, so she grudgingly admitted to herself that he deserved answers. "I... my trailer was smashed by the ursa minor. After that, all of Equestria seemed to know that my story about defeating an ursa major was a lie. I was laughed at, humiliated, and run out of town after town..." Trixie shook her head, refusing to let him see the pain of how low she had come. Her own voice betrayed her, though, wavering without her consent. It was only by sheer will that she kept it from cracking. "I've been living on the streets. It wasn't until last night's storm that I became desperate enough to beg for a place to stay..." "Well, if it were me, I wouldn't go around bragging about the time that I saw an ursa major... They're nasty." Pennington rolled onto his back, looking up at his skylight. "Terrible breath, they snore like the dickens... And in desperate need of a set of braces." Trixie's eyes widened. "You- you mean you've actually fought one?" She sat up on her front hooves, looming over him for an answer. "Fought? No! Oh, definitely not! Run away from? Maybe. Seen? Yes." Pennington talked as if it were an every day occurrence for him to come face-to-face with one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. "The first time I saw one was when I was just a colt. Some pony had checked out every book on ursa majors from the library, and I had to do a story about one for school. So, I had to go into Everfree and find one myself." A memory stirred deep in the back of Trixie's mind. "When was this... exactly?" "Well, it wound up being how I got my cutie mark... probably about fifteen, sixteen years ago? No! Fifteen. Fifteen years ago." Pennington raised an eyebrow again. "Why do you ask?" "Well, I started doing magic shows at a young age, in spite of those who would ridicule me for it..." Trixie rolled her eyes. "But when I started telling my story about the ursa major, I actually did a lot of reading on them. I took out every book on them I could find whenever I went to a library in any town... including this one." She gave him a sly grin. "So, it looks as if we may have met before, indirectly..." Pennington looked confused for a moment, then broke out into a wide grin. "You've got to be kidding me... Right? I mean, this would be an impossible case of serendipity if you were the one who helped me get my cutie mark, and then we somehow met again all of these years later..." He chuckled lightly. "I mean, that's more than just Deus Ex Machina, that's just crazy!" "Well, then I suppose you're crazy!" Trixie laughed again and laid back down, picking up the cereal and drinking the rest of it. "Because the Great and Powerful Trixie is only brilliant, not crazy!" "Well, she's the only pony I know who eats cereal without a spoon!" Pennington laughed. "Did you even grab a spoon for yourself?" Trixie felt her face flush slightly as Pennington finally noticed her lack of a utensil. "Well, it looked like they were all dirty..." "Oh, I would have gladly washed one for you! Just because I don't have time to clean my kitchen doesn't mean that I can't wash off a spoon now and then!" Pennington rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You know, Trixie, I can't see why anypony would hate you so much... If it doesn't overstep my boundaries, you're pretty, you're nice, and you seem to have a good sense of humor... Everypony says you're self-absorbed, but I just don't see it." Trixie felt herself blushing again. "Well, I've changed a lot living on the streets... Essentially had the conceitedness beaten out of me." "Well, I'm going to make it my personal goal that you don't wind up back on the streets! Which is why you can stay in that room indefinitely!" Pennington jumped back up onto his hooves, stepping towards the door. "Now, I believe our next order of business is to find you a job somewhere around town?" Trixie felt a comforting warmth in her chest as the stallion made it sound as easy as running down to the local supermarket. Something about his carefree demeanor, in spite of his secrets and her occasional depression, made her want to stay near the blue unicorn stallion. "You DO realize that everyone in this town hates me and probably wouldn't give me a job in a thousand years, don't you?" She asked as she rose to her own hooves. "Oh, come on! If I like you, how bad could you be?" He asked as he pulled open the door and gave a small bow, motioning for her to go first. "Milady..." "Careful, Pennington Inkwell... I may start to get a big head again if you treat me like that." She smiled coyly as she walked by him. "I don't believe it..." Pennington raised his hoof to his forehead in disbelief as he and a dejected-looking Trixie walked out of the candy shop. "Even Bon Bon said no! Bon Bon's the sweetest pony I know!" He looked back at Trixie with a shake of his head. "No offense, but you really are hated in Ponyville... All of the business owners around here are a tightly-knit bunch, so I thought that a recommendation from me might at least get them to think about it!" "Well, it is good to know that the rumors are true..." Trixie's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Is there anywhere else that we haven't tried?" Pennington cringed at the question, though he had been fully expecting it. "Well, yes... But- I don't know if either of us would be allowed in." "Hmph! Trixie did not become well-known throughout al of Equestria without entering a few places that she was not supposed to! Where are we going?" She trotted in front of Pennington, making him feel ashamed for his hesitation. "Sweet Apple Acres, just outside of town..." Pennington, who not only usually did the leading, but often refused to be led by anyone, deferred to Trixie. Uncharacteristically, he was acting nervous, and he knew fully well why. "Are you sure that we have to go there? I mean, I don't think Applejack needs any help! She usually has things covered pretty well. In fact, the Apple family hates to hire any kind of help! We're probably wasting our time..." At this point, Trixie looked back at him, coming to a stop. "Pennington, are you afraid?" "What? Scared? Me?" Pennington shook his head, rolling his eyes towards the sky. "Never! I just think that this is a waste of time! A bad idea! A disaster waiting to happen!" "But, not five minutes ago, you said that all of Ponyville's entrepreneurs were close... Don't you think it's worth a shot?" Pennington rolled his eyes, knowing that Trixie wasn't going to be catching on to his insinuations any time soon. "Look, Applejack and I have a few... tensions. We've mutually agreed not to like each other." Trixie blinked, then shook her head. "Well, either way, you said that we would have to try everything, so... We might as well. What harm could it do?" With that, she took off again, walking towards the edge of town. "Are you serious? You're serious, aren't you?" He asked under his breath before running to catch up. "Trixie! Wait up! You don't know what you're getting into!" Out in the OrchardTrixie watched Pennington grow increasingly nervous as Sweet Apple Acres appeared just down the road. She could see Applejack working out in the fields, just behind the fence, even within earshot. In a short flashback, Trixie grinned and chuckled at the memory of tying the proud pony by her hooves and stuffing an apple in her mouth. The smug memory helped to ease the sting of the fact that she was about to place herself subservient to the small-town farmer. "Look, I'm guessing that as much as Applejack dislikes me, she dislikes you more... So let me do the talking." Pennington whispered to Trixie, walking up to the fence on his own and letting her linger behind. "Howdy, AJ! How y'all doin' on this 'ere fine afternoon?" He spoke with a thick accent, mimicking her southern drawl almost perfectly. Trixie blinked with surprise at the well-done acting as he picked up a strand of grass and gently bit down on the end. His body seemed to relax out of its nervousness as he leaned against the fence, making him look as if he had grown up on the farm, rather than spent his life writing. He wouldn't be bad on the stage... Applejack looked up from the basket of apples that she had just finished bucking at the sound of Pennington's voice, then scowled as she recognized the source. "Whatever it is ya want, Penn, I ain't givin' it to ya!" She rolled her eyes and turned back to her apples. "And I know ya want somethin' or else you wouldn't actually be actin' civil for once!" She picked up the basket with a special saddle designed to hold one on each side and began to walk back towards the barn. "'sides, you'll only use that accent if you're trying to get somethin' from me! "Okay, you got me, Applejack..." Pennington jumped over the fence, putting away his façade of accent and mannerisms as easily as he had put them on. "But I'm here with a business offer! One that would be mutually beneficial!" "Ah don't wanna hear it, Penn..." Applejack replied, continuing to walk away. "Oh, come on, AJ! Just listen to me for a minute! I'll even put it into small words for you..." Pennington jumped up into the trees, hopping from branch to branch above her, occasionally dropping another apple into the baskets. "Look, I have a friend who needs a job, and you can always use an extra set of hooves around the farm, right? She wouldn't want much pay because she's already staying at Inkwell Commissions and doesn't need any money for rent!" "Don't you only have one bedroom?" Applejack interrupted, stopping to look up at the pony in the trees. "Well, yeah, but come on, I sleep in my study most of the time, anyway!" Pennington chuckled. Trixie blinked in surprise as she listened to the conversation. So... he gave me his room? His bed? Applejack's brow furrowed in thought. "As much as ah hate to say it, we are a little behind today... Who's the pony?" Pennington pointed a hoof back at Trixie, who was still standing in the road. "A pony who's changed a lot since-" "NO." Applejack turned away again, taking an even faster pace. "Ah'm not gonna give that mare the time of day, let alone a job on mah farm with mah family!" "Oh, come on, Applejack! You only have to talk to her to see that she's different now!" Pennington cried, jumping down in front of her from the trees. "Penn, ah knew that you were low, hatin' your own family and all, but ah didn't think that ya would sink down to her level!" "Now wait just a cotton-picking minute, Applejack!" Pennington cried, standing firm as she tried to shove her way past him. "First of all, I don't hate my family!" "Oh, really?" Applejack snapped. "Really, Mr. 'I don't need anypony?' Mr. 'never come to a family reunion?' Mr. 'I'll never work on a farm if my life depended on it?' You've never come to a single family reunion, you never visit any of us 'cept your own parents, an' worst of all, you won't even acknowledge that we're related in public! So, cousin, I would recommend that you get offa this farm ya hate so much and get back to your little city-slicker sideways-tilted shack you call a 'business' and to your little life of independence! It wouldn't be the first time you turned your back on family!" Trixie could hear every word of Applejack's onslaught from the street, and was trying her best to process everything that was being revealed about her host. So... Applejack really DOES hate him... And they're cousins? "Aren't you that mean unicorn who tied up AJ in front of the whole town?" A small voice asked to her left. She looked over and saw a small yellow filly staring up at her with a large red bow in her matching mane. "Well, yes..." Trixie muttered, doing her best to look sorry for the deed, despite the fact that she was having any kind of sympathy for the farmer right now. "My name is Trixie." "Ah'm Apple Bloom!" The little filly flashed her a large smile, thoroughly confusing her. "It's nice to meet ya!" "You don't hate me?" Trixie asked quietly. "Well, ya never did anythin' to me!" Apple Bloom chimed. "AJ had me stay at the farm that day to get some chores finished, so I never got the chance to hate you!" She looked out to the field, where Pennington and Applejack's argument was rapidly escalating. "They're at it again?" Before Trixie could respond, Pennington finally launched his verbal counterattack. "Well, you closed-minded, family-obsessed, country hick! At least I don't discriminate ponies by their cutie marks! I've travelled the world, learning more and achieving things that you could never do on your little down-to-roots orchard! I would never tell a pony that they couldn't write because their cutie mark was something else, but if one of this family's members happens to have a talent unrelated to Apples, you shove them aside and tell them that they can't help! The only time that you've ever come to ask me to join your little 'Apples Only Club' was when you needed a little unicorn magic or an extra set of hooves to work until you didn't need them any more! You act like just because I'm not an apple farmer, I turned down a giant mass of opportunities! I don't work for you because I was never welcome! I don't come to the family reunions because I don't want to be shoved to the side!" "Why do they hate each other so much?" Trixie asked, cringing as Pennington's angry voice echoed so loudly, ponies back in the town might be able to hear it. "Well, Penn's mom is my Aunt, but his dad was a... a..." Apple Bloom struggled for a word, then lit up as she remembered it. "Freelancer! He was a news pony who just moved from place to place, working for different newspapers. So, when Penn didn't get an apple cutie mark, he separated himself from the family. He feels left out, but AJ thinks that he thinks he's better than us... Which really seems to strike a nerve with her." She let out a long sigh. "Penn blames the family for the fact that his mom was always gone on work when he was little, and AJ just says that he should be glad to have his parents at all..." "Well, at least my dad wasn't a homeless bum!" Applejack shouted. "We all know Celia is the one who supported your family!" "Because you guilt tripped her into not leaving her job! 'For the family!' you cried! The family you love so much kept her on the road for weeks at a time!" Pennington screamed in return, shoving his face into Applejack's. "And my dad is NOT a BUM! He's a journalist!" "Well, it certainly seems like you got something more than just his horn! You enjoy sleeping on your desk, and he sleeps on park benches!" Applejack shouted in return, pushing up his horn to place their foreheads against one another, nearly making their searing glares meet physically. "Take that back, you uneducated wench!" Pennington screamed, slamming one of his front hooves into the bottom of her jaw, knocking her head upwards. "And he took the bait... Again..." Apple Bloom shook her head hopelessly. "You'd think he'd learn that AJ always waits for him to make the first-" "GAAH!" Pennington screamed as Applejack spun around and slammed both of her back hooves into his chest, sending him flying upwards into the tree branches. "-move." "Pennington!" Trixie cried, jumping over the fence and rushing towards the scene, fearing for his safety. She came to a stop as Pennington came flying back down out of the branches, landing squarely on his hooves. She saw him grab at his chest and grimace, and felt a surge of protective emotion will up in her chest. The sensation was unfamiliar, but it made her feel powerful. Using this new strength of will, she placed herself between the two, turning towards Applejack with her horn glowing and ready for anything. "You should be happy to even be related by blood to this pony! Penny isn't the kind of pony who would hold a grudge or pass unfair judgment! In the short hours I've known him, he's taken me in off the streets, given me a place to stay, given me food and proven to me that maybe ponies aren't really cruel at their heart!" She shouted, taking a defiant step towards Applejack. "The fact that he was able to put aside his pride and any self-respect he had and come to you, begging on my behalf when I clearly don't deserve it, shows that he's more generous and caring than I could ever expect you to be! Hire me or don't hire me, but I won't let you treat him like that!" She growled, stepping back until she was standing next to him, inspecting his wounds. It seemed mostly that he was covered in small scratches, but he seemed to be refusing to let go of his chest, and his breath was coming in short bursts. "Big sis!" Apple Bloom's voice called from the fence. "We gotta get today's wagon to market! Come on!" Applejack looked back to her sister, then at Pennington and Trixie. "Ah'm not gonna take orders from you, Trixie, and you're not welcome 'round here..." "Well, then... it's a good thing... we don't want... to stay." Pennington huffed, limping past her on only one of his front legs. Without being asked, Trixie pushed her head under his leg, forcing him to lean on her as they walked away together. As they neared the fence, they saw a large red stallion with straw-colored hair standing next to Apple Bloom. "Afternoon, Big Mac..." Pennington forced a smile through his apparent pain. The pony looked at Pennington, then at Applejack. "You hit her?" He asked with a calm, low voice. "Eeyup..." Pennington chuckled. "She hit you?" Big Mac asked again, still calm. "Eeyup..." Pennington replied just as simply. The stallion turned to Trixie, then back to Pennington. "Girlfriend?" Trixie felt her face flushing, and piped up before Pennington replied. "No, no, no... We're just friends... Penny here is just trying to help me find a job!" Big Macintosh looked at her, then at Pennington again, then back at her. "Shame..." With that, he turned and walked away. "See ya later, cuz." "I'll see ya around, Big Mac..." Pennington smiled as Apple Bloom waved and trotted after her brother. His breathing was beginning to slow down, now, though his breaths were still shallow. "Are you alright, Pennington?" She asked, trying to get a closer look at his chest. There didn't seem to be any more injury than the bruise rapidly forming, but she had no idea if he was hurt under his skin. She could easily have imagined Applejack breaking one or more of his ribs. "I'll be fine... We always pull our punches with one another..." He wheezed as he made a conscious effort to take a deep breath. "Moreso me than her..." "I'm not convinced. Let's get you back home to look more closely at that..." She began to walk back towards the town, letting him continue to lean on her. "You didn't have to go through all of that for me." "She insulted my dad... I was fighting for myself." Pennington shook his head. "You really think too much of me, Trixie." "Oh, shut up, Penny. For the first time in years, I felt like I wasn't putting up some kind of act back there..." Trixie muttered. "I meant every word..." This did seem to make Pennington stop arguing with her, and the two walked back to Ponyville in silence. When they finally reached Inkwell Commissions again, Trixie let out a sigh of relief. Pennington let go over her shoulders and opened the lock on the door with a key from his saddlebag. He had stopped grabbing his chest and started breathing normally by the time that they had reached town, but hadn't stopped leaning on her until now. As the doors swung open, he walked inside, his steps quiet as he tried not to put much pressure on his front hooves and, by extension, his chest. "Now, We need to get those cuts cleaned up..." Trixie muttered as they walked through the kitchen together. To her surprise, Pennington turned towards his study, starting to use the spell to open the locks from the outside. "Penny, where are you going?" "I'll be fine, but I have a deadline to meet..." He muttered as the door swung open. "So I'm going to get working..." "You'll be doing no such thing!" Trixie cried, picking him up with her magic and trotting up the stairs. "I'm not letting out of my sight until I've made sure myself that you're okay!" Pennington let out a long sigh as she pulled him through the air, rolling his eyes. "Why would you care more about my health than I do? I've had worse..." "I don't know, you need to start caring more!" Trixie smiled as she dropped him on his back on the couch in his living room. "Until then, 'Nurse Trixie' is in!" Pennington rolled his eyes and immediately tried to get up again, but Trixie pinned his shoulders as he took a closer look at his chest. She could see a large bruise already beginning to darken on the skin under his fur. "Alright, now... Tell me if this hurts..." Trixie gently pressed her hoof against the bruise, trying to feel for anything that was broken. "Ow..." He muttered, as if trying to be sarcastic. Trixie could tell that it was really was hurting him by the fact that his muscles tensed under her touch. "Oh, the pain... It's excruciating..." Pennington continued to drone, trying to play off the pain as nothing. Trixie rolled her eyes and applied more pressure with a sudden thrust downwards, digging her hoof into the bruise. This elicited a more appropriate response from Pennington, who "OW! What was that for?" Pennington snapped, trying to sit up again. "Perhaps you'll be more polite when somepony is trying to help you..." She muttered, noting that everything under his chest felt intact. Nodding to herself, she moved on to the smaller cuts and bruises from being thrown through the trees. "Trixie, I told you that this isn't necessary..." Pennington sighed as he consigned himself to his fate. Trixie found a small shard of a branch digging its way under his skin in one of his back legs. With a quick motion, she pulled it out, making him grunt in pain again. "You've got a few more notable splinters..." She muttered as she gave his body another once-over. "And a few of your cuts are still open. Where are your bandages?" "In the bathroom cupboard, middle shelf..." Pennington mumbled. "None of these need one, though..." "That's for the nurse to decide!" Trixie chuckled as she walked away. "Now, stay put until I come back..." Trixie walked quietly into the bathroom, her eyes peeled for the cupboard. It was simple to find, fixed to the wall just to the right of the mirror. She pulled open the wooden door and looked inside. She spotted the familiar brand of adhesive bandages: "Pony-Aid." As she pulled out the box, something caught her eye. "The box hasn't even been opened..." She muttered and rolled her eyes. "Stallions are always trying to act so tough..." After pulling off the cellophane and tossing it into the trash, she came back to the living room. True to her word, Pennington hadn't left the couch. However, his desk in the corner was open, there was now an open inkwell on the desk, and Pennington had a scroll and quill busily working next to him, scratching out words quickly and easily with his magic. "I really need to get this done, Trixie..." He muttered, dropping the quill the moment that he noticed her standing in the doorway. "You need to take better care of yourself... When was the last time you used one of these?" She asked, motioning to the bandages. "Well... Umm..." Pennington seemed to be pondering the question, but instead, the quill picked itself up again and began to write. "I don't know..." Trixie sighed and picked up the writing materials herself, moving them back to his desk. "Well, you're using them today." Without waiting for his reply, she moved forward and pulled out the remaining splinters one by one, making him grunt in pain every time. She could see that he was truly resenting having to stay still, but she tended to his wounds one by one, cleaning them with a damp paper towel and placing bandages on several that hadn't developed scabs already. "You know, I could go to another town to look for work..." She muttered. "I'd get out of your hair, and I might be able to find some pony like you... one that doesn't hate me so much. I'd hate to leave... but I can't just stay here forever!" "What are you talking about?" Pennington asked as she stepped away and let him sit up again. "You have a job!" Trixie shook her head. "But Applejack-" "Applejack can kiss my flank!" Pennington interrupted. "I've been needing an assistant for a long time now, anyway!' Trixie tilted her head in confusion. "Wait. So... are you going to give me a job here? At Inkwell Commissions?" "Well, when you put it that way, you're hired!" Pennington laughed, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I'll expect you in my study at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!" Trixie grinned and jumped forward, giving him a hug of joy. "Thank you, Penny!" Pennington tensed, and Trixie realized that, when she had given him such a tight hug, she had put a large amount of pressure on his chest. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" "It's fine..." Pennington wheezed. "After all, I have a nurse on call..." The two of them laughed for a long time after that, and Trixie began to feel like things were beginning to work out for the better... She would be earning her room and board, now, and working for the pony that she had enjoyed the company of even more than the last time she had found a mirror. Heart AttacksTrixie surprised herself with her eagerness in the morning, involuntarily rising before the sunrise to make sure that she was ready to start her new "job." She had no way of imagining what exactly Pennington would ask her to do, seeing as he spent most of his time in his study, scratching away with his quill. In fact, that was how he had spent the night before, in spite of her insistence that he try to get a good night's sleep in an actual bed. He had insisted that he had "work to do" and that she would need to be well-rested for her first day of work. I just hope to Celestia he doesn't ask me to clean out that awful kitchen... She thought to herself as she turned to the mirror in the bedroom to brush her mane. For some reason, her normal confidence in her beauty failed her as she viewed the blue mare in the mirror, nagging at her that she needed to try to be... more. She needed to be more for... For what? My first day as an employee at a job given to me out of charity? She scoffed at her own insecurity as she put the brush down, marking her morning grooming as done. She wasn't sure if the action was meant to boost her confidence or to rebel against her own feelings. I'm not going to get another chance at a first impression. I can't walk in here in the state that I did and expect him to think that I'm- Trixie blinked in surprise at how quickly her train of thought had turned towards Pennington. She shook her head, clearing her mind as best she could, and adopted a cheerful air as she walked out the door of the bedroom, ready to face the day. Trixie is perfect, and there is nothing that needs to be changed! She happily trotted down the stairs, fully believing in her cheerful attitude. As she neared the bottom, she even took note of the irregular step at the bottom, gleefully landing firmly on her own hooves. The fact that nothing had gone wrong yet and that she had only good things to look forward to gave her a cheery heart and a positive outlook. "Penny! Pennington! It is almost eight, and I'm five minutes early!" She chirped as she rapped her hoof against the door of his study, creating a loud knocking. There was only eerie silence from within. "Pennington?" She was less cheerful this time as she called out her benefactor's name, leaning against the door to try and hear some kind of response. When nothing came, she noticed a small ray of light shining out of a keyhole in the door. Is he still asleep? She asked herself as she leaned down to try and peek inside. What she saw horrified her. Pennington was slumped limply over his desk, quill and inkwell still laid out and ready to do more writing. Trixie would have thought that he was simply asleep if it hadn't been for two small problems with that conclusion: his body was heaving up and down rapidly in time to the sound of his erratic, shallow breathing, and his eyes were wide open, rolling wildly in their sockets, as if some kind of help could be found from the Daring Do effigies around him. "P-Pennington! Are you alright? Hold on, I'm coming!" She cried, grabbing desperately at the doorknob. To her utter horror, however, she found that the handle refused to turn, locked firmly in place by his own protective measures. You've got to be kidding me! She moaned inwardly, pulling at it with all of her strength. Pennington is dying, and I'm locked out! Almost unbidden, she felt an aura of magic floating out from the door, and she recognized it as a spell to unlock the protective measures on the other side. She recognized it almost instantly as a stereotypical password-lock spell, the same kind that she had once used to lock her own stage-on-wheels. She needed only to think of the right words, and she would be inside. The Great And Powerful Trixie! The lock refused to budge, and she nearly slapped herself for even trying her old password. W-Well, what is it, then? Pennington Inkwell? Quills and Scrolls? Ramen Noodles? She frantically tried to think of the things that she had seen that were important to Pennington. Daring Do? Gah, what is it? What's that author's name? The one who wrote those books... Scorching Quill! Still the lock refused to budge. She felt panic welling up in her chest as she ran out of ideas. "Well, then, I'm just going to have to break it down!" She muttered to herself, moving as far back as she could. Gritting her teeth in preparation, she summoned as powerful a burst of magical energy as she could and ran at the door, lowering her shoulder and approaching it horn-first. "Here goes nothing!" As she ran at the door, ready to unleash the energy on impact, there was a quiet clicking noise, and it silently swung open, letting her pass unimpeded. Trixie nearly fell on her face with surprise as she ran headfirst into the study, nearly colliding with his desk as she drew to a stop. With a massive exertion of will, she swallowed the magical energy back down from her horn and ran around the desk to where Pennington was still laying, wrapped up in some kind of fit. "Pennington- Penny, are you alright? Speak to me! Say something!" She tried to pick him up to sit his body upright in his chair, but the moment that she tried, she let go immediately, feeling that his body was entirely limp, like a corpse. Gathering her already shattered nerves, she forced herself to pick him up again, making sure that he was sitting upright in his chair and that there was nothing blocking his breathing, which was still coming only in short bursts. The only change that seemed to come over him was that his eyes had locked on her, rather than moving in rapid circles. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked in vain, trying to understand what was happening. "Is something wrong with your lungs? Do you need medicine? Is it a heart attack? A stroke? What's wrong? What about those shocky thingies they put on your chest, do you need those?" She mimed using a pair of defibrillators to try and convey her message. When she couldn't seem to get any kind of response, Trixie thought to what she had seen work so many times when a pony was suffering from some kind of medical emergency: CPR. "Penn, I'm going to try CPR, okay?" The question was rhetorical as she leaned forward, tipping his head back and making sure that there was nothing in his mouth. It was clear, with no obvious reasons for his trouble breathing. Okay, so you breathe into their mouth and press on their chest where their heart is, right? Without questioning herself further, she took a deep breath, used one hoof to pin his nose shut, and pressed her wide-open mouth against his. Trying her best to ignore the waves of nervous energy washing through her body, she exhaled into his mouth, feeling his chest swell beneath her as his lungs filled. All at once, Pennington's body started to life beneath her, rising up in a sudden swell and the air was nearly ripped out of her lungs as he inhaled deeply, gasping for the essential oxygen. Trixie stumbled backwards, gasping to refill her own lungs as Pennington bolted out of the chair, sputtering just as much as she was. He was the first one to speak, and from the moment that he opened his mouth, he spoke faster than Trixie had heard any pony speak before. "WELL! That was a shock, wasn't it? Certainly enough to get my adrenaline going! Knocked whatever was keeping me that way right out of my system! Mind you, when you said that you were going to try CPR, I was more than a little worried about you pounding on my chest! I mean, seriously, I'm surprised that you didn't try calling 9-1-1 or anything! Thank you SO much for not calling 9-1-1! This is my little secret, and I'd like it to stay like that! Are you okay? You look slightly disheveled!" Trixie was still blinking in surprise at his sudden recovery. In fact, he was jogging his way around the desk in small circles. "I- I'm fine... What happened to you?" "Oh, just a nasty little problem that I've had since childhood!" Pennington made a sudden transition from pacing to running in place "Basically, my brain wakes up, but my body doesn't! Causes a bit of discord between the two, really, and I'm frozen in place until I can wake up. Usually, it's accompanied by some kind of vivid nightmare, but this one was rather tame, just let me wake up to the real world! Honestly, I couldn't get myself scared enough to wake up, so I needed a real shock! Then you came in and started thinking I had a heart attack, and I was just thinking 'Please don't mess with my heart, it's the only thing working right!' I just needed some kind of a shock, really, and WHAM! What a SHOCK!" He grinned widely, then stopped for a split moment, if only to break the rhythm of his running. "Wait, how did you get in here? There's no way anypony could guess that lock!" Trixie blinked. "It- it just opened when I was about to break it down..." Did he just say that he LIKED the... Pennington shook his head confusedly, returning to pacing around the desk. "That's simply not possible! I mean, it may have been if you thought of the password just before you tried to break it down, which, judging from your build and stature, would also be impossible, but there's no possible way that you could have thought of the words 'Plethora, petrichor, parasol,' could you?" He suddenly turned on her with a glare of deep examination. "Could you?" "What? I don't even know what you said!" Trixie shook her head, wiping her mouth with her hoof. "They're three of my favorite words..." He muttered, breaking away his gaze and walking towards the door. "I want some ramen! Do you want some ramen, Trixie? Of course you do, you haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? Come on, let's have some ramen!" "PENNINGTON INKWELL!" She shouted, stopping him dead in his tracks. "I want a calm, understandable, slow explanation of what just happened!" Pennington took a deep breath, turned around, and sat down on his haunches. "Alright, Trixie... You deserve that much." He seemed to have finally calmed down, and he was quickly returning to a normal rate of speech. "Years ago, I began having the problem, even when I was just a colt... It's called Sleep Paralysis. Nopony knows why it happens, or how, but sometimes... I wake up, but my body doesn't, okay? Normally, I can only move my eyes, sometimes control my own breathing..." He looked down at the floor, seemingly ashamed. "My whole life, I've loved being my own pony: standing on my own. But then, I can't sleep at night because I'm scared stiff... Not being able to move is my greatest fear..." He looked up at her with a melancholy shrug. "Nothing I can really do about it..." Trixie shook her head. "So... have you seen a doctor about it?" "What?" From the look that Pennington gave her, Trixie thought that she may have thought that she just suggested sawing off his own horn with a butter knife. "Are you kidding? This is embarrassing enough!" Trixie stood up, walking over to him and placing a gentle hoof on his shoulder. "Penny, you looked like you were dying... and you scared the living daylights out of me. As your official assistant, I am giving you my honest advice. See a doctor." She put a tentative hoof around his shoulders, realizing that she suddenly saw him as much more delicate than she did yesterday. Where yesterday, he had taken a blow that sent him flying through the air and simply limped away, Trixie felt that if she even brushed against him with too much force, he might shatter like glass. "Well, let me at least choose my own doctor..." Pennington muttered. "I think that I know one who may be able to help... But can we eat, first?" Trixie smiled as Pennington seemed to have finally collected himself. "Sure. Let's have some of that horrible soup..." As they walked out, something was nagging at the back of Trixie's mind. The feelings that she had felt when their lips had met. Granted, it wasn't a kiss, considering the fact that she had been trying to save his life, but either way, it was too strong for her to ignore. "Penny... Did you feel anything... strange... when I was trying to save you? I mean with the mouth-to-mouth..." She felt her face flush as soon as she had spoken, and wished almost instantly that she hadn't asked. "Well... yes." Pennington spoke slowly, as if he were picking his words slowly and deliberately. "I think that it was very... exciting. It was very disconcerting, but in a good way. And it was certainly a shock..." Trixie thought for a moment, then smiled again. "So, you liked it?" Pennington took his own turn to think. "Well... yes." Trixie gloated quietly to herself. "Well, then again, there isn't a stallion in all of Equestria who wouldn't..." A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of ThatTrixie looked nervously around as she and Pennington walked together through the dark forest. When Pennington had told her that the "doctor" that he wanted to see lived in the Everfree Forest, she had immediately balked at the idea, but he had reminded her promise with a smug grin that she was quickly coming to hate. Eventually, they reached a small hut some ways into the forest. Still bearing his smug grin, Pennington gave a short series of knocks on the door. After a few seconds, the door swung open, revealing a zerbra with an array of gold jewery, from gold bands around her neck to large, hooped earrings. "Ah, Pennington, my dear friend! Have you come to go camping, yet again?" "Sorry, Zecora, but I'm not on a pleasure trip, this time..." Pennington shook his head. "I need a little medical help. Do you have the time for a check-up?" "You want me to see if you are sick? Wouldn't a trip to the doctor do the trick?" She asked as she stepped back to let them inside. "That's what I keep telling him..." Trixie muttered under her breath. "He needs real medicine, not some mystic voodoo-" "I've been having trouble sleeping!" Pennington shot Trixie a glare as he cut her off. The zebra was giving her a aggravated look, but continued on as if nothing had happened. "It's when I wake up, actually. Sometimes I can't move, sometimes I even have trouble breathing..." Zecora looked at Pennington, then nodded towards Trixie with a questioning glance. Pennington replied with a cringe and a shrug, as if asking her to simply bear with him. "Well, in this issue, I can assist. It sounds like a case of sleep paralysis!" "That's what he just told you..." Trixie muttered. She didn't like this zebra. She didn't know why, but she just didn't. "What you describe is not the symptom, but the condition! To aid you right now has become my mission!" She began pulling different herbs from around the room, tossing them together in a small bowl. "I have seen this kind of case a few times before... I can help you to stop it, but it cannot be cured." "Are you sure that there's nothing we can do to get rid of it for good?" Pennington asked. "If that was possible, I certainly would." Zecora replied. "Oh, great. Now they're rhyming together." Trixie rolled her eyes as both of them turned to glare at her. "Trixie, please! You're being rude!" Pennington whispered while Zecora continued to blend herbs. "Zecora is a very good friend of mine, and she's one of the ponies I trust the most! She knows more about obscure medicine and magic than any pony in Ponyville, and maybe even the majority of students in Canterlot!" "Pennington, do you really think that she's going to be able to do anything to help you?" Trixie whispered in return as she gestured to the tribal masks on the walls and the bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. "You need a real doctor, not a witch doctor!" Zecora's ears perked up on the top of her head, indicating that she had heard them. "While I can assure you that I am no witch, it would be wise for you not to be such a-" "SO, Zecora! What exactly is in this?" Pennington asked, giving Trixie a threatening glare and nodding his head towards the corner of the room. "I see a little heart's desire, some willow leaves... Is that poison joke?" "This herbal mix will save you from strife, and help urge your body to rise back to life." Zecora smiled as she looked over at Pennington. "As for the poison joke, that's simply for scares, to add some hilarity to your nightmares." Pennington smiled, then looked back at Trixie, who was sulking near the door. "This is normally a symptom of narcolepsy, but you've proven that is not the case, I can see. Any normal physician would find themselves baffled, but I've seen accounts of the cases, only few, as I've dabbled." She ground the herbs into a powder, then added a few drops of a thick liquid that turned it white. With a few quick gestures, she moved the bowl to a small contraption that pressed the powder into capsules, creating small pills. "Take one of these every night before bed, and your cases will slow. Perhaps stop, instead!" She gave Pennington a serious look, though Trixie could hardly take her rhymes seriously. "But if you take one too many, be very wary, the consequential insomnia could be even more scary! You'll be unable to sleep for hours, perhaps the whole night. Addiction could follow, and that's a far greater plight." Pennington nodded solemnly as Zecora put the pills into a small hollowed-out gourd, her version of a prescription bottle. "How much do I owe you for this, old friend?" "First, let me know if they work for you, see? Take them and report back with results for me." She gave him a light wink, then looked back at Trixie. "And next time, come alone, if it's not too much trouble. Your friend makes the room's bad energy double." "Hey!" Trixie stood up indignantly, ready to return with an insult before Pennington pushed her out the door. "I don't have to take this from you, you stripy little-" "Thank you, Zecora! I'll be back soon!" He called back as he swung the door shut with a grin. When they were out of her sight, he turned back to Trixie, looking legitimately angry with her. "Trixie! What is wrong with you? Zecora may be unorthodox, but there is no pony I would trust more with my medicine! She's been my guide through this forest on more than a few occasions, and we're lucky that she chooses to stay here, near Ponyville!" Trixie rolled her eyes at Pennington. "Look, Pennington, you really need to see a real doctor. A physician!" "Look, I have! Okay, I have seen doctors! They couldn't help!" Pennington suddenly turned on her, growing very angry. "So far, Zecora has been the only one who's been able to do anything for me! I've been to doctors, physicians, even sleep clinics! None of them were able to help me! And I hated it. I slept with breathing masks on, sat through MRI's, been assigned pointless medicines and placebos and been shrugged at by all of them! Even if they could help me, I'm having a very hard time giving you or your advice any kind of respect after the way you treated Zecora!" Panting slightly from his outburst, Pennington turned around and began walking away down the path. Trixie blinked in surprise as she ran to catch up with him. "You- you mean you've been trying?" "For a long time." Pennington nodded in reply. "I just never asked Zecora because I didn't want to bother her when she already helps me and gives me a place to stay when I'm coming by on my trips into the forest! She's really generous, and usually helps ponies without charging them any kind of fee... And I always thought that, if she did know a cure, it would be really hard for her to find and that she would still refuse to charge me for it..." Trixie blinked again in surprise. "You mean, you worried that you were going to get something for free?" "I worried that I was going to take advantage of her." Pennington looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Don't you understand that concept?" When Trixie shook her head, he looked at her as if she had just told him that she didn't know the alphabet the whole way through. "Some ponies are kinder than they ought to be. They give until it costs them personally... and they don't tell anypony. It's up to those whom they're giving to to recognize when they're taking too much and stop accepting it." Trixie nodded slowly as the concept sank in. As it did, a question began to rise in her mind. "Pennington... am I taking advantage of you?" She thought that she saw a coy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're staying in my house as a live-in assistant, making sure that my needs are cared for and that I can get my work done, and you're asking if you're taking advantage of me?" "I'm taking your only bedroom, living in your house... You gave me a job that you didn't need to create and you're taking time out of your life to make sure that I'm cared for. You're even here just to ease my fears." Pennington thought for a moment before he spoke again. "I wouldn't offer it if it wasn't mine to give." As they continued walking, Trixie continued to think. So, some ponies give more than they can afford to... and it would be my responsibility to know when to stop them... As they continued to walk, they finally emerged from the woods. Somehow, Pennington had found another path, and they had come out at a different place than they had come in. As Trixie looked around, she recognized the rolling fields of apple trees as Sweet Apple Acres. The walk back had felt longer, but Trixie hadn't imagined that they had gotten so far out of town. "I must have taken the wrong way..." Pennington muttered as he examined his surroundings. "Good thing I was craving apples..." He pulled a small sack of bits out of his bag and lifted it up into the air with him magic. With a thought, he sent it flying through the air, levitating through the trees and towards the Apple Family's house. Trixie could barely see the bag as it floated in through one of the upper windows. "What was that?" "Apple Bloom and I have a special arrangement, so that I can get apples without buying from her sister..." He grinned as he pulled an apple from a nearby tree and took a large bite. "And she can feel like she's helping her family sell apples when she's not very good at it!" Trixie smiled and plucked an apple of her own. "And how many did you just pay for?" "Six!" Pennington laughed as the two of them continued walking. "I knew you would want some..." Trixie took a large bite, letting the crisp flesh and sweet juice fill her mouth as she slowly chewed. "So, are we headed back to the shop?" "Well, considering we're both supposed to be working right now... I would say 'yes.'" Pennington had finished his apple in a few more bites and tossed a couple more into his bag. "That's my three. Grab two more for the walk home and we'll get going!" He glanced at the core, which was hovering in the air in front of him. With a shrug, he tossed it back into Everfree. Trixie looked around, then blushed slightly. "Would you mind carrying mine for me? I didn't bring my saddlebag. not that I want to take advantage of you, or anything." She winked at the last comment, showing that she now understood the idea. Pennington smiled and rolled his eyes as the opened up his bag and let her place two more apples inside. As they were about to emerge from the orchards, Pennington held out his hoof, indicating for Trixie to stop. As she looked around, she spotted something that he had already seen: Applejack, on the prowl. Well, actually she was just collecting apples from the trees, but it may as well have been the same thing. "If she catches us, she'll think we've been stealing apples to snack on..." He whispered. "I don't normally come this way, but... I just feel the need to pull one over on her now and then and get a little trespassing in behind her back." Trixie gave him a sly glance. "You knew exactly where we were in the forest, didn't you?" "Eeyup." He gave her a small wink. "Okay, when I say 'run-'" "Hey! What're y'all doin' in mah orchard?" Applejack cried, quickly advancing on the two of them. "RUN!" With a chortle of laughter, Pennington took off at a full sprint and leaped over the fence, leaving a flabbergasted Trixie behind. Trixie felt an irresistible burst of giddy laughter burst out from her chest as she took off running, jumping over the fence with equal ease. "Hey! Wait up, Penny! No fair!" As the two of them ran alongside one another, both laughing so hard, they were nearly tripping over their own hooves, Trixie felt as if nothing in the world could catch her. Not Applejack, not that stupid Zebra, not even her tattered reputation could ruin this moment, and not one of them could change how happy she was. Taking advantage or not... I want to stay here, most of all stay with Pennington. It's like the whole "ursa incident" never happened! He treats me kindly, which is more than I can say about most other stallions I've met... "Penn! Ah'll forgive ya 'cause you're family, but keep that snake of a girlfriend outta mah fields!" Applejack shook a baleful hoof at the two of them. Immediately, Pennington stopped running. Trixie nearly fell over her own hooves trying to slide to a stop on the dirt road, but Pennington had come to a complete stop. "Excuse me?" Pennington asked as he began marching back towards Applejack's farm. Trixie wasn't sure which surprised her more: the fact that Pennington had taken such great offense at the comment or the fact that he hadn't realized that Applejack was insulting her. She had dealt with hecklers in her early performing days, but she had become finely tuned to be set off at the slightest insult over the years. It may have simply been because she had been reduced so low while on the streets, but Applejack's comment was beginning to sink in, and a flame was beginning to ignite. "Y'all heard me!" Applejack replied with a stubborn look on her face. "Trixie's a snake, through and through! To be honest, since that's mah Element, even Ah'm surprised that you would associate with the likes of her, Pennington!" Pennington growled as he reached the fence, obviously keeping his temper only barely in check. "Take that back." "No!" His hoof raised from the fence, and Trixie felt almost certain that he was going to start another fight. At this point, she wouldn't have minded helping him get in a few punches. To her surprise, with his hoof just barely trembling with restraint, Trixie watched Pennington inhale deeply through his nose, make a deep retching sound in the back of his throat, and spit onto his hoof. "You. Me. Iron Pony Competition. Right now." Applejack's face broke out into a smug grin. "You do remember our current record?" When Pennington nodded, she repeated the action of inhaling, retching, and spitting into her hoof. "You're on. Our typical wager?" "You bet..." With a sudden lunge, both ponies grabbed hooves, making the spit and mucus mingle disgustingly to seal the deal. Trixie's momentary anger was washed away by a wave of confusion. "What's an 'Iron Pony Competition?'" The Iron PonyPennington and Applejack stared each other in the eyes, and from her perspective laying on a branch in a nearby tree, Trixie could swear that there was literally a spark of fire smoldering between them. "First one to touch the barn?" Pennington asked as he eased himself down into a jaguar-like position. The two of them were obviously about to race on hoof, seeing which one was faster. "You got it, Penn." Applejack winked as she stretched her legs. "Your girlfriend-" "We're not dating." Pennington looked uneasily up at Trixie, who nodded in reply. Even if the two of them did seem to be good for each other, Trixie knew that it was far too early to say anything like that. Not to mention that I'm probably just a burden to him... "Fine. That mare is going to call for the start, and Apple Bloom is going to judge the finish. Fair's fair, after all..." "And the race is one-way?" "Well, we both remember what happened when you tried turnin' on a bit at the obstacle course when we were foals, so sure! One way." Trixie could tell from Applejack's teasing tone that the incident was one of shame for Pennington, and her temper flared slightly at the unfair teasing. "For the record, you tripped me!" Pennington winked at Trixie with a mischievous grin, showing that he was joking. "Did not!" "Did, too!" "Did not!" "Oh, for pony's sake, you sound like a pair of fillies! GO!" Pennington and Applejack were off like a shot, taking only a few seconds to disappear over the hill. Trixie stood up in the branches, trying to see what was happening. Pennington and Applejack were neck and neck, though she could tell that both of them had slowed since their first boost of speed. She watched as, every few seconds, Applejack would begin to pull ahead, and then Pennington would catch up to her. After learning that the Iron Pony was a competition of physical abilities, she had taken her own assessment of the two competitors. Learning to identify important things about a pony on sight had been one of her keys to mastering show magic. Applejack was built strongly, and Trixie could tell just by looking at her that she was finely toned and tuned from years of farm work. Her back legs seemed to be her strongest, and she looked as if she had conditioned herself for hours of hard work and constant expenditure of energy, something that could both help and hinder her, seeing as it granted endurance but lowered her maximum strength. Pennington, on the other hoof, was more lithe. He was muscular, true, but Trixie could see that he hadn't devoted nearly as much time to his body as Applejack. He seemed to value agility and dexterity, and was light on his hooves. Trying not to let a few... unwelcome... feelings surface, she had noted that he was also well-toned, with a slightly more muscular build than she had credited him with at first glance. Pennington could put out a lot of energy and strength at once, but he obviously didn't have Applejack's stamina. As the race continued, Trixie shook her head in confusion. Pennington is fast, but he's obviously more of a sprinter. Applejack can outlast him, but she doesn't have his top speed... As they closed in on the final stretch, Trixie looked up in curiosity. They were still neck-and-neck, and she bit her lip in anticipation. In a moment, though, she heard Pennington's voice raise above the silence. Though she couldn't make out what he was saying, she saw him shift into a new gear, tearing away from Applejack in a full-on sprint. She heard Applejack, as well, crying out what she could only imagine were words of frustration as Pennington quickly closed the gap between himself and the barn. "Yes! GO, PENNY, GO!" She shouted, wondering if he could hear her. She got more and more excited as the distance grew smaller. And smaller. And smaller. "Okay, Penn... Slow down!" She muttered, trying to instruct him from afar. "Pennington, slow down! You're going to hit the barn! Pennington!" At the last moment before hitting the barn, Trixie watched as he jumped into the air and twisted his body, slamming into the wall with his side, well-braced for the impact. She cringed as he bounced back, stumbled for a few steps, then shook his head vigorously. With a grin, he did a small victory dance, jumping up and down in a circle. Applejack didn't even seem to be trying to finish, and was doubled over with laughter almost fifty feet from the barn, and Trixie could quickly see why as Pennington did his small dance. The barn had recently been given a fresh coat of paint. Trixie tried her hardest not to laugh as Pennington realized that a large portion of the right side of his body had been painted red, especially as he tried in vain to wipe it off with his hooves, simply thinning and spreading the color until the looked to be covered in splotches of muddy purple. Applejack simply laughed harder as he turned on her with a glare, then flopped back in the grass for a quick rest. Trixie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She knew he would do that, didn't she? Well, two can play at the prank game... "The next contest is the hay bale toss!" Apple Bloom announced as she motioned to two hay bales, both of which had been tightly lassoed with rope. Pennington rubbed his hooves together in anticipation, while Applejack still snickered every time that she looked at him. However, Trixie knew that Pennington would be the one laughing, soon enough. "Here, Penny! Use this one!" Trixie walked over to the one closest to him and leaned her hoof on it, with every bit as nonchalance that she could muster. It was a simple feat not to act like she was up to something, she had become very good at acting over the years. Applejack rolled her eyes and tugged on the rope tied around the other bale, bringing it to the starting point of the toss. "Since y'all won the first one, I'll be takin' the first turn!" Trixie couldn't resist a smug grin as Applejack began to swing the bale around, building up speed and momentum with ease. Just as she looked ready to make her toss, however, the rope snapped, sending the hay bale flying in the wrong direction. "Now what in tarnation?" Applejack cried as the bale landed a long distance away. "Now that ain't fair!" Trixie looked over to Pennington, who was obviously trying to hold back a snicker behind a simple grin. "Y- ahem- You're right, Applejack... Take another toss!" Applejack nodded and ran off to retrieve the hay bale. When she returned, she tried yet again to toss it with the shortened rope. With another tearing sound, the rope snapped yet again at its apex, sending the hay in the same direction. As Applejack groaned in frustration, Pennington openly laughed, stomping his hoof on the ground in joy. "A- AJ, I think you need a new rope..." If looks could kill, Applejack would have murdered Pennington with her ensuing glare as she marched off to retrieve the hay bale. She stopped abruptly, though, as an idea came to her. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her lasso and began spinning it around her head. "Ah've got mah own rope!" She grunted as she lassoed the bale. With a grunt, she jerked her head upwards, pulling the hay into the air, over her head, and almost twice as far in the other direction. "Now, beat that!" Both Pennington and Trixie immediately stopped laughing as Applejack struck a smug pose, crossing her legs and nodding towards the bale. Pennington shrugged and picked up his rope, taking the bale to the starting line. His eyes narrowed as he began to spin the bale over his head and he concentrated on building the momentum. He continued to spin it faster and faster, and then grunted with strain as he released it into the air. The bale flew freely through the air in a gentle arc, floating up and then back down again... and landing at least ten yards short of Applejack's throw. "YEEE-HAW! Looks like I win this one, Penn!" Applejack waved her hat in celebration, giving both him and Trixie a smug grin. "That's just a taste of what's comin'!" Trixie felt the flare of indignation rise again, and she felt very close to simply using her own rope to tie her up again, but she knew that doing so would hurt Pennington's purpose, which was to defend her reputation. So she kept her temper in check, but only barely. Just you wait... The hours passed with a mix of laughter and humiliation as the challenges and the pranks escalated. First Applejack tricked Pennington into bucking a zap apple tree, giving him a painful shock, then Pennington retaliated by "accidentally" letting off a burst of magical energy while the two tried to outdo one another in push-ups, sending her careening backwards. Applejack broke one of the ink bottles in Pennington's saddlebag with a stray toss of the horseshoe, and Pennington managed to somehow undo the straps to his saddlebag just before competing in the long jump, sending the ink-soaked bag flying onto her head, soaking her hat in splotches of ink. Applejack had nearly throttled him for this, but Trixie had levitated him into the air and out of her reach from the tree branches she had chosen to observe from. Of course, it would be a lie that Trixie hadn't been involved in more than a few of the pranks, but she had also been working on a small "surprise" of her own for Applejack. She had tried to tilt the odds in Pennington's favor a few times, especially since many of the "challenges" had been farm chores and rodeo such as apple bucking or lassoing. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom had a sharp pair of eyes, and had always spotted Trixie's magical aura moving objects on the course. In that case, Pennington had always willingly defaulted the point to Applejack. Trixie shook her head at the concept, pressing her hoof against her forehead. If he simply GIVES her the points, he doesn't stand a chance! Sportsponyship and fair play is all nice and dandy, but she clearly has the upper hoof! Somehow, though, Pennington not only kept up with Applejack, but beat her in many of her own competitions. The two were neck-and-neck by the time of the final challenge, with Pennington barely eking out a lead of 10 points to Applejack's 9. "Alright, since you're ahead, Ah'm gonna pick out this last one!" Applejack gave him a fierce look from under the brim of her ink-stained hat. Trixie had often seen that look on her own face: whenever she had thought of some new trick. "'Last one?' Does that mean you don't think you can tie it up?" Pennington chuckled between panting breaths. Trixie could see that he wasn't holding on well to the last shreds of his endurance. The previous contest had been a competition to see who could reach the top of the barn first. Pennington had taken the direct route, climbing on window sills, swinging on pieces that jutted out more than others, and essentially moving straight up. Applejack had gone around to a nearby tree, climbing up the branches with ease and moving much more quickly than Pennington. Seeing that he was about to lose, Pennington had taken a huge gamble: he leaped out into the air, grabbed the pulley for moving things into the attic, and swung his way to the top, landing with a loud thud on his back only seconds before Applejack reached the top. The effort had used most of his energy, and he had been forced to lay on the roof for at least ten minutes to catch his breath. Applejack rolled her eyes with a smile at Pennington's taunt, a bad sign that she was extremely confident. "Well, this here contest is simple! Ya just hold your breath! Whoever lasts the longest wins!" Pennington's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly glanced to Apple Bloom, who simply shrugged in response. "That's not even fair! She can see how out of breath he is!" Trixie hissed, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's a test of physical strength, so Ah can't say no..." Pennington took a deep breath, doing his best to slow down to a normal rate of breathing. "Fine... count it down." "Three... Two... One... GO!" At the word, both ponies took a deep breath and held it, their cheeks inflating to make them almost look like a pair of squirrels. Trixie leaned forward, doing her best to keep a close eye on Pennington. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving a muscle. He seemed lost in his own world, completely oblivious to the competition and the rest of the world. He was holding up remarkably well, as far as Trixie could see. As the seconds progressed, Pennington still didn't move, but Applejack seemed to be starting to worry. Her cheeks had slowly deflated over time as oxygen was removed and replaced with carbon dioxide. Pennington's had, equally so, but Applejack was beginning to look at him like one would look at a flying tortoise: with a mix of horror and surprise. She whipped her head to Apple Bloom, who simply shrugged again. "You picked it, big sis!" Trixie could have sworn that she saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of Pennington's mouth. At this point, though, both competitors seemed to be running out of steam, almost literally. Applejack began to trot in place in anxiety, and Pennington's cheeks begin to move in and out as his lungs passed though the motion of breathing without actually taking in any air. Applejack's race turned a bright red, and Pennington began to sink towards the ground like a balloon deflating. Applejack tried desperately to hang on just a little longer as Penn's hoof massaged at his chest, obviously in a small amount of pain. This has to stop, they're going to hurt themselves! Trixie thought to herself as she walked from branch to branch until she was standing above them. She grabbed Apple Bloom's attention with a wave, motioned to herself, then pointed at the ground. With a nod from the other judge, Trixie jumped from the branch, plummeting down and landing directly between the two. Pennington didn't react, his closed eyes still keeping him in his own world. Applejack jumped backwards, though, her eyes growing wide-open as she exhaled loudly and took in a huge gulp of air. "HEY! That... ain't... fair!" Upon hearing Applejack's voice, Pennington also let out his breath, gasping for air as if he had just come up from the bottom of the ocean. "Well, sis, I thought of it this way..." Apple Bloom spoke up a little at her sister's protest. "Trixie scared both of you, or, at least, she tried to! You and Pennington were holding your breath different, so he didn't get scared, but you did! It was fair to both of y'all!" "And I... Win!" Pennington thrust a hoof into the air in triumph. Trixie grinned in smug victory as she looked over to the orange pony. "I believe that you have something to say to the Great and Powerful Trixie?" As Applejack muttered something under hear breath, Apple Bloom's eyes grew wide and she took a step back. "AJ, you told me I was never supposed to say those words! Why do you get to?" Pennington snickered a little at the scene. "Because your sister's vernacular finds itself somewhat lacking in a means of releasing her frustration..." "Penn, you're using big words again..." Apple Bloom groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Trixie, Ah apologize..." Applejack spat the words through gritted teeth, obviously forcing the words. "The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts your apology!" Trixie gloated until a quick glance from Pennington cut her down a notch. "I- I mean... I accept your apology." "Well, we'd best not push our luck..." Pennington was wearing a grin even bigger than Trixie's, and he put a gentle, tired hoof around her shoulders and led her towards the fence. Applejack and Apple Bloom didn't make any sort of farewell, simply turning back towards the barn. "Pennington..." Trixie whispered as they climbed their way through the fence and back onto the road. "I have a feeling we're going to get the last laugh..." "We already did..." Pennington replied with a chuckle. "Well, then we're going to get another one... I peeled the apples on at least half a dozen trees." Pennington pulled back a little from her to look her in the eyes, a mixture of mischief and surprise in his eyes. The two of them laughed all of the way home, trying to imagine the look on Applejack's face when she saw Trixie's hoofiwork. Making Yourself at HomeAfter a week, Trixie and Pennington had fallen into a routine. She would wake up in the morning and either find him asleep on the couch or reclined in the chair in his study, refusing to move after a long night of writing. She would shake him awake and the two of them would have breakfast. Surprisingly, after a few days, he revealed that he actually didn't survive solely off of ramen, as she believed. He actually kept salads and other ingredients in high cupboards, and had a shockingly strong supply of lemonade in his refrigerator. After breakfast, Pennington would lock himself in his study and leave Trixie to tend to the counter out front, waiting for customers. Whenever one walked in, she would follow a set of instructions that Pennington had given her: to go and knock on his door. He would undo all of the locks and emerge without a word, obviously in some kind of deep "author zone." He would tend to the customer, and she would write up a short summary of their order, including a small multitude of criteria such as character, conflict, climax, and summary of the plot. It turned out, Pennington was a writer-for-hire, allowing ponies to pay him for his talent with words when they just couldn't figure out what to say. After they had placed their order, Trixie was surprised to see Pennington let them go without paying, claiming that they could pay him after their orders had been filled. After they left, Pennington would thank Trixie, lock himself in his study again, and go back to writing his novel. If a customer simply came to buy an already-published book, she would ring it up herself on the register. Occasionally, she would hear him calling her name from the study. She would open the door to reveal him sitting at his desk, waving at her to come closer. When she did, he would ask for her to bring him either more scrolls or more ink. She would always roll her eyes and leave, returning with the supplies. At the end of the day, she would turn the "open" sign around, lock the front door, and knock on his study again, signaling that it was time for him to take a short break after working for an entire day. Sometimes he would come out, and sometimes she would simply have to roll her eyes and fix herself a salad for dinner. Then, after eating, the two would talk for a short time, often about the things that they had seen and the experiences they'd had over the years. "The breath-holding?" Pennington had laughed when Trixie had asked him about the final contest. "A trick I learned while helping with an underwater archaeological dig. Even with scuba gear, it helps to be able to hold your breath for a long time." Trixie was surprised at how nonchalantly he mentioned this, along with talking about traveling to Saddle Arabia, Stalliongrad Prison, and even deep in the Everfree Forest. In return, she told him about seeing the sights of Equestria from her travelling stage. She was surprised at how much Pennington understood what it was like to feel the need to travel. They both talked about how it felt not to want to stay in one place, the hunger to see things that they had never seen before, and the sensation of walking in unfamiliar places. As they talked more and more, Trixie began to wonder how the author had been in so many places. "Well, I actually went traveling after I finished school. My best friend and I travelled across the country by train for a month and we decided to see everything that we ever wanted to. We basically blew all of the profits from my first book on that trip, but it was worth it." "Who did you travel with?" She asked, curious about who would go on such a an adventure with him. "Lily Ixia." Pennington had smiled as the took a long sip of the broth from his ramen, apparently lost in a flashback. "She and I grew up together here, and she was the only one who would be willing to go along with such a 'crazy scheme,' as she called it. So, after we graduated, we jumped on the first train out of town and set off on an adventure!" He chuckled at this point, shaking his head. "I wanted to explore, and she was just the tourist along for the ride." Trixie tilted her head in confusion. "You were traveling with a mare? Were the two of you..." "Oh, no! No." Pennington held up his hooves in surprised denial. "A lot of ponies thought we were, but it just wasn't meant to be... She wanted a life that was predictable and steady, but I wanted more than that, so the two of us agreed to just stay friends." Trixie had nodded in understanding, feeling a connection to him that hadn't been there before. Not only was he kind, but he was a kindred spirit, always moving, never wanting to stop. Somehow, though, being around Pennington made that desire go away. She wanted to stay, but only if Pennington was there. After dinner, Trixie would always have the evening to herself, to do as she wished. Sometimes she would simply go straight to bed, sometimes she would stay up practicing her magic. On a few precious nights, she would stay with Pennington in his study, laying by the fire and listening to the scratching of his quill mingling with the crackling and popping of the flames. The entire thing had a very soothing effect on her, and she would often doze for some time before Pennington would quietly mention that she should go to bed. She would nod and sleepily walk out of the room, feeling at a strange sort of peace. On this night, however, Trixie had decided to take up a hobby that she had practiced on the road before her humiliation. With a smile, she closed the door to the stairwell, knowing that Pennington was deeply involved in his work at the time, and would most likely sleep in his study again. With a smile, she walked to the desk in the corner of the room, which she had only recently discovered had sported a radio. She turned the knobs, feeling the machine come to life under her hoof. Good evening, everypony! The sun is low in the sky and Luna's moon is about to rise! It's looking to be a bee-yoo-tiful night! We can all thank Princess Luna for that! Now, it's seven o'clock and time for the nightlight playlist! This is DJ Star Shooter giving you the tunes to groove to! Trixie smiled as his voice faded and made way for an upbeat tune. She started tapping her hoof to the beat as it continued past the introduction and into the chorus. She smiled and began bending her knees, rather than tapping her hoof, putting her whole body into the action. Raising one of her front hooves from the ground, Trixie first pulled it in towards herself, then flung it outwards to propel herself into a spin that carried her almost two full revolutions. Without giving herself time to stop, she immediately continued to dance, moving first to the left, bending at the knees again, then moving to the right. She stopped caring about her appearance for once as she repeated the action, then began anew as her body moved to the flow of the music. She made up moves on the spot, letting one action spill into another and another as she felt the music moving through her. Her mane waved around her head becoming a mess which she refused to try to think about, and she only let herself care about one thing: what came next in the song. As she threw herself into another spin, Trixie saw a blue figure in the door to the stairwell. Immediately, she froze, her hair half in her face and the face behind it quickly turning a deep maroon. "No, please, don't stop on my account..." Pennington gave her one of his signature smug grins. "It actually looked really good! Where did you learn?" "A stallion in Fillydelphia gave me lessons whenever I would come to town..." Trixie quickly regained her composure, and brushed her hair out of her face, though the blushing remained. "It turned out, he didn't just want to swing with me on the dance floor, so I dropped him like a rock and taught myself the rest." At this point, she had a rather foolish thought. Well, I've already embarrassed myself, anyway... "I dance better with a partner..." Pennington's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, no... I don't dance. Never learned how, probably can't." Trixie rolled her eyes, slightly surprised at having finally found something that Pennington was afraid to do. "Well, then I can teach you! Consider it part of my payment for room and board." Pennington shook his head, but before he could deny her, Trixie had already grabbed him and pulled him into the center of the room with her. Almost perfectly, the song on the radio ended and morphed into a more slow-paced melody. She took his hoof and moved it to her waist as she led him in swaying back and forth. Pennington's movements and steps were stuttering and unsure at first, and his face was beginning to turn red, even as Trixie's blushing finally faded. "Just relax..." She whispered as she began to guide them in a slow circle. "I'll lead, you just follow." As his movements became more and more fluid, Trixie brought one of her hooves up and around his neck, pulling him closer and bringing their faces together. Trixie felt almost certain that he could feel the heat coming off of her face as it began to burn again. "These are... nice lyrics." Pennington muttered, eyes shifting downwards as he spoke. For the first time, Trixie listened to the actual words of the song that they were dancing to. I'll stand by you 'till the sun falls from the sky... I'll stand by you while the moon comes rollin' by... I'll stand by you! When your life is full of strife... I won't leave you, even if it costs me my life. Trixie smiled, this time honestly. "That reminds me... I never asked you why you stood up for me at Applejack's farm. I know that the two of you don't like each other, but that Iron Pony Competition was a lot of work to simply make a point..." Pennington smiled and finally looked Trixie in the eyes. "Well, I knew that it was the only way to knock that apple-headed nimrod down a few pegs... But it was really because I couldn't stand her calling you that. Snake is a name for somepony dishonest, disloyal, cruel and evil... And from what I've seen, you're not any of that." Trixie looked away this time, her face blushing harder. "You've hardly known me, Pennington." "Well, I think I've gotten to know you well enough to know who you are, Trixie! And I like her a lot better than everypony else around here seems to..." Trixie smiled, realizing what it would take to complete the moment. Her heart pounding, she prayed that the author shared the feelings that she was beginning to recognize. As the final notes of the song faded away, she pulled him a little closer and leaned forward, letting their lips embrace in a slow kiss. Pennington recoiled at first, looking at her with an expression of sheer surprise. "T-Trixie, I- I... I don't know what to say to that..." Trixie had felt suddenly unsure of herself at his reaction, but she felt a confirmation from him as she looked into his eyes, which were twinkling with excitement. "Well, why don't you just follow Big Mac's advice? Ask me..." She whispered, pulling him close again. Pennington looked unsurely to either side, then settled his eyes on hers. As he did, Trixie felt him grow more tense. "Well, we'll have no shortage of time together..." Pennington whispered with a smile. "Would you want to?" "You're the first pony to treat me like something more than simple trash or some kind of object... Of course I would." She replied, pulling him into another kiss. "Trixie!" Pennington called as he walked in through a back door to his shop. "I'm home!" "Penny!" Trixie bolted from the counter, where she had been waiting for customers. With an excited giggle, she grabbed him in a tight embrace, nearly tackling him to the ground. He had been gone for almost three weeks, apparently visiting with his publisher about something to do with the fact that his new book was almost finished. She still had yet to read it, and he kept it locked in a drawer in his study desk. "I missed you!" "I'm sorry, honey, but there was just so much to do! Copyrights, publishing rates, negotiations for royalties on book sales..." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he walked through into the kitchen, which was now clean enough to eat off of. "But, I think that I'm ready to finally finish that book. Did you-" "Yes! All of them." Trixie mimicked his smug grin as she knew what he was about to ask. "Well, what about-" "She picked it up yesterday!" Pennington raised a curious eyebrow. "Did Zecora-" "She came by, and I told her that the pills were working." Trixie winked. "Come on, Pennington! The Great and Intelligent Trixie was able to take care of everything while you were gone!" "Everything except that pesky third-person habit, apparently..." Pennington rolled his eyes and gave her a tight hug. "But I think I almost missed it, in a strange way." "Well, how could you not miss Trixie? She is your girlfriend..." With a smile, she leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her hoof around his shoulders. "And you are pretty behind in your dancing lessons. I hope you were practicing!" Pennington shook his flank with a smile. "Well, you know how much fun I've been having since we started learning swing dancing! But, for now, I need to get to-" "I swear, Pennington Inkwell, if you are about to lock yourself in that study of yours, I am going to knock you into next Tuesday!" Trixie gave him a chastening glare. "I've been alone in this shop for three weeks, and I need a little time out!" "But- But I just got home..." Pennington whimpered, giving her a pleading look. "But Pennington..." Trixie whined in return, batting her eyes at him as best she could. Pennington crumbled under her gaze, as always. "Fine... What do you say we try our luck in Canterlot? I'm sure we can find something exciting to do there..." "Yay!" Trixie grabbed him anew in another hug, then enthusiastically kissed his cheek. "Canterlot it is, then! I'll go get ready for our date!" With that, she ran upstairs to her bedroom. Pennington smiled as she left. He knew that she had been trying to act cute, and he had let himself be played like a fool, but he didn't mind. With a small groan, he arched his back inwards, hearing it pop and crack a few times. "Sleeping in a bed while I was gone was nice... I may just declare that we're staying in a hotel tonight so that we can each have one, because I'm not ready to go back to sleeping in my study... But she's worth it. I'd never want her to sleep without a bed while I had one." With a smile, he realized something. "I think... that a few permanent arrangements may be in order." The End and Starting OverThe morning was silent as Trixie's eyes flickered open. She slowly climbed out of bed, feeling more tired than usual. She had stayed up late the night before, trying to get Pennington to let her into his study. She knew the password by heart, now, but she had learned long ago to still only come in with permission, and he had refused to give her that permission the night before. He had insisted that he was only a few nights away from finishing the book, and that he needed to work alone, without distraction. With a long yawn, Trixie trotted down the stairs, approaching the study door. To her surprise, the door was open, just a crack, just enough to stop the locks from engaging. With a smile, she slowly poked her head into the study, peeking at Pennington. "Morning, Penny!" she chimed. To Trixie's surprise, Pennington wasn't in his normal position: asleep slumped over the desk or leaning back in his chair. Instead, the chair was empty, and there was no sign of the blue pony. She looked around, but Pennington wasn't in the room. There were an array of papers scattered across his desk, however, and everything looked as if he had left in the middle of his work. At this point, Trixie realized a rare opportunity. She had never read this book that Pennington was writing, he had never let her. Looking from side to side, she smiled and walked behind the desk, her curiosity running rampant. She looked around, trying to figure out the meaning of the mess of papers. Some were maps of Saddle Arabia, with paths drawn out and large areas circled in red marker. A group of arrows enthusiastically pointed to a place on the northern border of the country, and a note scribbles above it spoke "It's here!" She shook her head in confusion, moving on to some hoof-scrawled notes. Day 5 I'm really missing Trixie. I know that I've said it before, but it's still true. But I don't know if there's any kind of risk with this excavation, so I didn't want her to come. Not to mention, if she knew that her boyfriend was Scorching Quill, there's no telling what she would do! I'll tell her once I've published this as a novel. "Scorching Quill? Pennington is Scorching Quill?" Trixie's jaw dropped as the secret sunk in. The Daring Do memorabilia, the secrecy about his manuscripts, and the long trips to his "publisher" were all beginning to make sense, now. She pulled a copy of one of the Daring Do books from the shelf, turning to the author's biography in the back. Scorching Quill, though elusive to his fans, is no stranger to the dangerous expeditions of Daring Do! Some of his notable adventures include climbing Mount Neverrest, going deep-sea diving in the Mareiana trench, and spearheading several expeditions into the Everfree forest, including the group responsible for discovering a changeling outpost that had been used to smuggle their operatives into Equestria. Despite all of his achievements, however, Scorching can rarely be found until only HE chooses to appear to the press, and refuses to give an address for his fan mail. When asked why, he replied, "I want my fans to show their love by pushing themselves to greater heights, not sitting around and writing letters. They need to push the envelope, not seal it and send it away." While the personal life of this author may be a mystery, his actions speak for themselves. Scorching Quill is nothing less than the flesh-and-blood manifestation of Daring Do, the adventurer extraordinaire. As for his fans, he gives two words of advice. "Happy adventuring!" Finally, she looked up at the picture, a smug photograph of a red-coated pony. As she stared at the grinning face, her imagination replaced the red with blue. She recognized it after a few more seconds, and she nearly dropped it out of shock. Pennington was secretly the most famous author in Equestria. There was no denying it. With the shock driving her to action, she tossed the book aside and went back to his journal entry from what was obviously his most recent adventure. We think that we've found the Alicorn Amulet. This temple certainly is trapped well enough to hold something that powerful. If the legends are true, a unicorn wearing this thing would be the most powerful in all of Equestria... I've nearly died three times for this thing. The builders certainly loved their projectiles. But I'm not going to die. No way. I just pray that this isn't one of the ones I have to leave behind... Day 6 Still miss Trixie. She might be able to pull me out of this slump. I managed to reach the center of the temple today, or at least as close as I could come to it. The final way of stopping intruders is that the entire room is enclosed in gigantic stone slabs. Bringing in tools is impossible because of the traps, and I can't use any of my magic to break through them. I don't know how we'll get it... Day 7 We've almost done it. I can feel the power coming from the room, and I've brought in a few hoof-held tools in my saddlebag to try and break through the rock. That, combined with a series of magical blasts has proven to be somewhat effective. I haven't left the temple in almost 24 hours, I think... I can only guess that it's day 7. I can feel the amulet drawing me in, and for now, I'm using it to give me motivation to keep digging. It's messing with my head, even through the rock, but I'll let it, for now. Day ??? I did it. I broke a small hole. I can see the amulet in the center of the room. It glows on its own, giving off a little red light. I have to have it. I'm trying to grab it with a levitation spell. I have to have it. I already said that, didn't I? The "I have to have it" bit... I know that it's getting a stronger hold on my mind. I'll let it in just a little longer... until I have it in my hooves. I'm so tired from chiseling away the magical obsession is all that keeps me going. But if I sleep, I worry about what will happen while my guard is down. As long as I know it's affecting me, I can keep it from totally taking control. Trixie shook her head, trying to picture the normally calm Pennington, whom she had only seen living a quiet life in his study, sitting in the center of an ancient temple, battling the supernatural forces around him. She shook her head. Day 25 I'm home, now. Sorry for not writing, but everything has been insane, lately... I got it, but I blacked out after it was in my hooves. I think that the amulet wanted to be out of there just as much as I did, though. I woke up back in the camp, with the thing around my neck. All of the locals that we had enlisted to help us were panicking, saying that my eyes had been glowing an evil red when I walked out, but I don't remember leaving the temple... They said that after I came out, I passed out, and that they couldn't get it off. I undid the clasp with ease, though it took me a long time to do so... It just felt GOOD. It was so powerful, I could do anything that I wanted, destroyed anyONE I wanted. The legends were all true, and the power was nearly enough to overwhelm my faculty of thought. Taking it off felt like giving up everything I had, everything I worked for... But it was good to come home. Trixie was really happy to see me. I wish I could have told her the truth. Just a few more days, right after I send this away to be published. Maybe I can use the amulet. Just to cast a spell that will help me go unnoticed if my secret gets out... Day 26 (Night) I have to get rid of it. I'm leaving tonight to put it back in the temple. The last spell that this amulet is going to cast is to seal itself in the prison I freed it from! I'll leave a note telling Trixie that I left for an emergency in Canterlot. This thing needs to stay hidden. "Penning- Scorching, why would you throw that kind of power away?" She asked quietly, her brow furrowing in frustration. "Don't you know what you could do with something like that? What Trixie could do?" Immediately, she began looking around, gathering up as many notes and papers as she could. She could practically hear the amulet calling her name, calling her to be great and powerful once more. "I'll have to stop him.... And if I can't, I'll have to get it, myself!" She paused when she came to a large stack of papers, glancing over them in a matter of seconds. They looked like an excerpt from a Daring Do novel, detailing a wide array of traps in an ancient temple, and how Daring found her way through them in her usual fashion. It didn't take a genius to realize that these were the traps that Pennington had been talking about in his journal. If Trixie needs to retrieve the amulet on her own, then she will need this... She gathered up the manuscript, tied the loose pages with a ribbon, then stuffed it into a saddlebag that she found in the corner, along with the maps and Pennington's journal. If this temple really was so dangerous, she would need every piece of information she could find in order to survive. She hated to emulate that wretched Twilight Sparkle, but she was going to need to study. She hesitated at the locked drawer in the bottom right of his desk. That was where Pennington kept his emergency bits, in case something came up suddenly that he needed to pay for, and she was the only other one who could unlock it. If she couldn't catch up to him, she was going to need cash to get all of the way to Saddle Arabia. I'm going to come back, and with the amulet! I can pay him back... I'm just going to borrow it. If I can find him along the way back to Saddle Arabia, I shouldn't even need it. She nodded confidently to herself as she thought out the combination to the magical lock. Strategic, sophomoric, superfluous... "Scorching seems to have a thing for alliteration..." She muttered as the drawer slid open, revealing a large sack of bits. Trixie frowned uncomfortably as the reassuring weight fell into her saddlebag. She felt like this was wrong, but her reasoning overruled the uncomfortable feeling, and it was quickly washed away as she left the room, fully prepared for an adventure of her own. She had pondered bringing the sword that Pennington kept mounted on the wall, but to use such a primal weapon was below a unicorn of her caliber. She could feel her old self-assurance and bravado returning as she hurried back down the hallway and out into the front area, where she had spent her days as a simple greeter and secretary for the author, smirking at the fact that she would never need to stoop to such lows again. To her surprise, Bon Bon was standing in the lobby, looking as if she had been waiting for some time. "Trixie! Have you seen Pennington? I accidentally made too many of those cream-filled caramels he likes, and- Trixie?" She seemed confused as Trixie simply walked by. "Pennington's not here right now, and the shop is closed... You can leave the candy in the refrigerator, if you like." She grinned at the pony as she pushed open the front door, already too caught up in imagining what she would be able to do with the amulet. "I'm afraid that 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' is going on an adventure of her own... Make sure you lock up when you leave!" Using her magic, she tossed a key from her saddlebag into Bon Bon's, and turned back away. "No longer will Trixie have to rely on the charity of another!" She declared as she stepped out of the door, holding her head high and letting her mane float in the breeze. "I am going to stop Pennington or find that amulet, myself! Now then, I'm going to have to catch the first express train to Saddle Arabia to catch up..." Pennington took a long and deep breath as he stepped off the train and back into Ponyville. It had been a long and strenuous day, and he was glad to be getting back home. It was already after nightfall when the last train from Canterlot had pulled into Ponyville, and most of the residents had gone to bed. It was a beautiful night, though, the kind that Pennington didn't mind walking alone on. As he reached Inkwell Commissions, he could already hear his bed calling his name, and he almost passed his mailbox without checking for any new developments, but he was expecting an important letter. His heart skipped a beat as he saw a sealed scroll waiting for him, bearing a familiar mark of a crescent moon. Not waiting in his excitement, Pennington broke the wax seal and unrolled the letter, his eyes quickly scanning the page for the word that was the most important to him. ...ACCEPTED... Pennington Inkwell, This letter has been sent to express my personal congratulations to you for you acceptance into the Royal Night Guard. Your application was exemplary, and your performance in the combat examination even more so! You displayed an intrinsic resourcefulness and quick-thinking mentality that qualified you above and beyond those others who applied. Your psychological evaluation reflected that you could be "reckless and intuitively act independent of orders..." Pennington cringed and skipped ahead, remembering that he had allowed the psychiatric evaluator to realize that he had a rebellious streak. These so-called "shortcomings," are, however, more than countered by your recommendation from the New Lunar Republic, an organization for whom we in the Royal Canterlot Guard have the utmost respect, and the letter written by your combat instructor, Quick Strike, stated that your hoof-to-hoof skills, weapon combat, and magical ability are all above that of the average guard, and recommended your immediate placement within consideration for Princess Luna's personal guard. Pennington's heart skipped a beat. After the mandatory three months of service on the main guarding service, due to your expressed interest on your initial application, we would be willing to accept a renewed application and examination. If you are willing to accept the position as a Royal Night Guard please report to the Canterlot New Lunar Republic outpost for nighttime conditioning. Thank you for your application, and I look forward to seeing you soon! -Princess Luna Pennington chuckled, then laughed, then chortled upwards in his glee, staring up at the moon with a knowing grin. He'd been working long and hard for this, and it had finally paid off. A steady job... A normal paycheck. Trixie's been more than patient with me, locking myself in my study all day and night. With this, I can finally put aside writing and make it more of a hobby and less of a job. I'll have regular hours, and more time for us to spend together. Everything won't rely on me finishing the next novel as soon as possible. We can close up the commissions shop and move to Canterlot, maybe even get a real home, not one that's split by my business! Pennington chuckled to himself again, the initial ecstasy wearing off and giving way to something more settled: satisfaction. After all of this time, she's not going to have to worry about having to help run a business, and neither will I. I'll spend my nights protecting Luna, and my days with Trixie... She'll have a real home, not a place borrowed or a temporary stop. Pennington felt the smile plastered on his face refusing to go away as he placed his key in the lock of his front door. "You know, this letter would have just sat in the mailbox for days if I had tried to get all of the way to Saddle Arabia... I'm glad that I thought of something else... And the Museum of Magical History seemed happy to take the amulet off of my hooves!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the familiar scents of paper and noodles that filled his home, reveling in the familiarity and the sense that everything was going well. As he opened his eyes again, something on his front desk caught his attention. A piece of paper, obviously with a note scrawled on it, had been left on the counter top, along with a small key that Pennington recognized as the one that fit his own house. Curious, he picked the note up with his magic and began to read. Hi, Penn, Sorry to have missed you. I came by earlier with some caramels for you, but Trixie said that you were gone and the shop was closed. Pennington balked at the statement. Even when he was gone, Trixie knew what needed to be done and how to do it. She wasn't supposed to close the shop before normal hours were over. Anyway, I left the candies in the fridge. But, I just wanted to let you know that Trixie was hardly accommodating. In fact, she was downright rude! Seemingly walking out on her duties, she had two full-looking saddlebags, and she simply tossed me your key and told me to lock up the shop! Pennington, I have respect for you, but you need to do something about that mare. She hasn't changed, and she's going to drive away your customers if she keeps acting like this! She talked down to me, just like she did to the entire town from the first day. Anyway, the sweets are there for you (provided that she didn't come back and eat them, herself), and I left the key here. Concernedly, Bon Bon Pennington let out a long sigh as he placed the letter down, again, his enthusiasm somewhat dampened by the complaint from his friend and fellow entrepreneur. This hadn't been the first time that he'd gotten such complaints about Trixie, but this had been the first time in months. He took a moment to think, then shook his head and began walking towards his study. He was too tired to deal with this. "We're going to have a talk tomorrow, about both the bad reviews and the good news..." He muttered as he walked through the kitchen, his eyelids already drooping. He sighed again as he saw that his study door was wide open, obviously showing that Trixie had forgotten it to shut it before she left. "Another thing to add to the list of problems we need to talk about..." He muttered as he stepped into the room. The moment that he entered, however, he was wide awake. Everything was gone. Somepony had touched his desk. "No, no, NO!" He muttered as he sprinted across the room, immediately trying to see what was present and what had been taken. His entire manuscript was gone, having been pulled out of its drawer for a near-final evaluation and binding to the last few pages that he needed to write. After that, he would have been ready to send it to his publisher for digital transcription and printing. All of his work, left in his inner sanctum, had vanished. Immediately, his heart racing in his chest, Pennington checked his other drawers, praying that a well-meaning pony had misplaced it. One by one, each drawer proved itself to be devoid of the missing book. Desperate, Pennington checked his emergency drawer, where he kept his backup funds in case he couldn't reach his other accounts. There was nothing in that most secure of drawers in his inner sanctum. Only empty, mocking space. ...she had two full-looking saddlebags... "No... No, no, no, no, that's not possible..." He shook his head, jumping back up above the top of his desk to examine what else was gone. His journals, his maps, all of his information on the Alicorn Amulet... all had been swept away with his manuscript and his money. "It's not... TRIXIE! Get down here! I need your help!" Pennington was beginning to truly panic, now. Without those materials, there would be no way that he could recreate the novel, plain and simple. It would be hopeless. As he looked out the door of the study, no longer sure what to expect, only silence greeted him. The darkness of the night seemed to be creeping in through the doorway, growing chillingly closer. After a few more seconds of silence, Pennington shook his head and took off running again, his heart pounding against his ribs as the worst of thoughts began to play across his mind. Somehow, running made the fear grow exponentially, as if something were chasing him. He scrambled up the stairwell and raced through the upstairs living room, bursting into Trixie's room in a frenzy that would have woken up even the soundest of sleepers. He was met by an empty, poorly-made bed, and a room devoid of Trixie's personal belongings. It was just as empty as the night that he had first invited her to take it as her own. Pennington felt something in his chest shatter. It may have been his sense of security, it may have been his hope... but something fragile within the stallion was smashed into tiny fragments. His mind simply stopped functioning as the reality of what was happening settled in on him. She's gone... and she took everything... His entire body seemed to go limp, standing only out of habit. He didn't know what to think, anymore. He simply stood there, trying to comprehend what had happened as real. After a few minutes, he finally turned around and walked back downstairs, dragging his hooves in his depression. He slowly made his way back to his violated study, shutting the door behind himself and listening to the locks re-engage. Somehow still able to act in spite of the complete and total shutdown of his conscious thought, he placed a few small logs in the fireplace and started a fire with his magic. It didn't take long for the fire to grow to maturity, and Pennington slowly sunk down, first to his knees, then to laying on his side, staring at the flames. He didn't sleep, simply staring, trying to fight what he knew was true, rejecting what was real. It was a losing battle. By morning, Pennington hadn't moved. He hadn't slept. He was staring at embers as the sun began to poke its way in through the skylight, thoughtlessly intruding on his solitude. The shock had worn off sometime around four in the morning, and he'd finally accepted his betrayal at about five. Trixie had used him. He had been kind to her, and she used that to her own advantage. There was nothing that he could do about it, now. She was gone. Just like that. Pennington almost didn't hear the knocking on his front door. He honestly considered not moving, especially after the sleepless night. Maybe I should leave the shop closed today... "Hello! Is anyone here?" Pennington could barely make out a small voice shouting at the shop. It was obviously a little colt. Fillies and colts rarely came to him, and the jobs that they asked him to do usually took less than five minutes. He was trying not to admit it to himself, but a small, short project might be what he needed to start moving again. Maybe just one more commission. Then, I'll go to Canterlot and stay at the NLR until I can start as a guard... Leave this behind. He thought as he finally rose to his shaking hooves. Still dragging his steps, Pennington walked to the front room. Waiting for him behind the glass-paned door was, indeed, a young white-and-brown coated pony, whose brown-splotched face lit up with relief upon seeing Pennington unlock and open the door. "Good morning, sir! My name is Pipsqueak! I don't suppose that you could help me, could you?" The foal seemed slightly concerned as he looked up at Pennington's state. "I need help with writing a poem for my mother... It's her birthday tomorrow, and I wanted to make her something really nice... But I'm no good at writing..." He looked down in shame for a moment, then back up at Pennington with pleading eyes. "Do you think that you can write one for me?" Pennington blinked in surprise, then somehow smiled in spite of his pain. This "Pipsqueak" kid seemed to earnestly care about getting something nice for his mother. He didn't trust himself to be able to complete the task, so he was coming for help, rather than simply trying on his own. Pennington remembered his own mother for a moment. A member of the Apple family, his mother had spent a lot of time away from home, checking on all of the family's farms and scouting out places for new ones. She would always put things on "hold" in order to be home for mother's day. Pennington and his father would always try to get something to make the traveling easier for her, like a pillow or better saddlebags. The year that he had discovered his special talent, Pennington had written a story about the first time that she had taken him traveling with her. She had loved it, and still kept it with her whenever she had to leave. "Sure thing, Pipsqueak... But I can't do it alone. Come on in, I'll need your help. Tell me about your mother..." Pennington smiled as he looked at what they had written together. From his perspective, it was simplistic, but perfect for a child Pipsqueak's age. Pennington knew that his mother would have loved it, anyway, but Pennington had guided Pip through the needed rhythm, rhyme, and slightly improved vocabulary needed to set it above what he could have done on his own. Aside from his guidance, though, the poem was completely Pipsqueak's. "So... That's it?" He asked, looking up for Pennington's affirmation. "We did it?" "I'd happily give that to my own mother, Pip! I think that she's going to love it!" Pennington grinned as he blew on the scroll to dry the ink. "It's definitely done." "Great!" Pipsqueak ran to the other side of the front lobby, where he had set his saddlebag, and pulled out a smaller bag. Coming back, he tossed it up onto the counter, where it landed with the familiar sound of coins rubbing against one another. "Is this enough for it?" Pennington was surprised, to say the least. This entire time, the child hadn't even mentioned money, he just said that he needed help. Curious, Pennington opened the bag. Inside were ten bits, along with some assorted change. Pipsqueak had taken everything that he had saved to pay for this. "It's free, pal. Just make sure to tell your mom that you wrote it yourself, okay?" He winked and levitated the bits back down to Pipsqueak. "I don't want any kind of credit for this, you did all of the real writing!" Pip looked down at the bits in his hoof, then back up to Pennington with a huge smile. "Thank you, Mister Pennington! Thank you SO much! My mum's going to LOVE it!" He tucked the poem away in his bag, then began to walk towards the door. After a few seconds, though, her turned around. "Do you think that I could come back, some time? I think I like writing!" "Come back any time, Pip... I'll be right here in Ponyville." Pennington smiled. as the foal nodded and walked out the door. Helping Pipsqueak had really pulled him back to his own days before his cutie mark had appeared, when he was just a foal trying to find his place in the world. Discovering his talent had helped him feel like he was in control of his life, able to choose what happened to him and make it all his own. It had make him feel safer, more secure in the fact that he had control as long as he had a quill to write with. But, over the time that Trixie had been staying with him, Pennington's focus had shifted. Writing had become a chore, something that he had to do and get out of the way to spend time with her. He had even been willing to give it up for her, and it hadn't meant anything in the end. At the end of the day, he was an author, and not just one who wrote for the masses. One who helped the everyday pony that couldn't find their own words. He was the perfect adapter, able to change his world and his perspective to help others make theirs better. That's why I'm still in a small shop in Ponyville, isn't it? Why I kept my nom de plume a secret... because I wanted to stay here and help ponies on a personal level... Not to make money or have any semblance of a "normal life." I just can't settle for that. I need something out of the ordinary! Extraordinary! Maybe I needed to see that again when Trixie left... I don't need anypony. I don't WANT anypony. I just need my quills, ink, and paper... His eyes narrowed as he glared out the door that the mare must have invariably walked out on his life through. He did his best to be angry, but the renewed pain was still too fresh, and he felt himself caving in to an unbearable loneliness and sadness. Tears began welling up in his eyes, and he slumped himself across his desk, burying his tears in the fur of his front legs. But she broke me. She broke my heart... and I never want to see her again. If Trixie Lulamoon ever comes back to Ponyville... She'll get no kindness from me. Scorching Quill's eagerly anticipated installment in the "Daring Do" series, "Daring Do and the Quest for the Alicorn Amulet" was never published, much to the dismay of fans all over Equestria. Scorching could not be contacted for comment, and when later questioned about it, claimed that his original manuscript had been lost in fire, and was "Impossible to rewrite at the quality my readers deserve." This aside, there have been rumors of an original manuscript being bought and sold in black markets, changing hooves from time to time. Scorching himself has denied allowing any such thing to happen, but rumors continue. The Alicorn Amulet was unveiled at the Museum of Magical History, but was lost, as well, after a break-in and robbery almost a year later. Any connections between the donating benefactor, Scorching, and the robbery have been discounted or disproved. Again, Scorching could not be contacted for comment. Scorching Quill's lost manuscript will forever remain a mystery, and his fans will always wonder what kind of pain Daring Do must have faced in order to retrieve it. -Article by Front Page, Canterlot Weekly News.
It Was a Dark and Stormy NightIt was a dark and stormy night. Exactly the type of night that Pennington Inkwell loved the most. In his study, Pennington was working hard on a mystery scene in his upcoming book: Daring Do and the Alicorn Amulet. He had only returned from his own trip a few days earlier, and he was behind in his work with a deadline looming over his head. He knew that, with only a few chapters actually written on paper, he was going to be cutting this one close. Heh, don't I always? He thought to himself as he leaned back in his well-cusioned office chair, pushing himself away from the heavy desk. He let himself relax for a moment, sinking into his chair and flopping his head over the back cushion. He let his body fall limp as he focused on his other senses, trying to pull himself out of his story for a moment. His horn was starting to ache from hours on end of moving a quill across paper, and switching over to writing by hoof would only leave him with a similar ache in his ankle. So, for the moment, Pennington took a rest to enjoy the storm. The sound of the rain pounding on his skylight was roaring though the room. Pennington had filtered it out while he was engrossed in his work, but now he reveled in the sound of a thousand tiny drops of water assaulting the glass, trying to work their way in. Pennington had spared no expense on his skylight, though, having the two-way mirror enchanted to withstand forces up to a tornado striking his shop (in which case he would have far more to worry about than a broken mirror). So, the rain simply drummed away, creating a comforting undertone and bringing the air to a chill in the room. Pennington had lit a small wood stove that he kept in the corner (far from his manuscripts), and the popping and crackling occasionally overcame the rain. There was a light scent of wood smoke in the room, accompanied by the crisp freshness of the air being cooled again by the passing of the wind. The wind was shaking the glass slightly, and kept a light howl outside, one that made Pennington feel all the more comfortable that he was inside. As he did his best to take in the plethora of sensory inputs all at once, Pennington heard a new noise: one that was deliberate and purposeful: knocking. A definite series of knocks, coming from the "shop" part of his home. Pennington's eyes flew open as he could only imagine what kind of pony would be knocking at his door in this kind of weather. Granted, if he hadn't needed to work, he probably would have spent some time outside, himself, but he recognized his own insanity in wanting to be exposed to the raw elements. Any other pony wanting to do so would have to be absolutely insane! With a sudden burst of energy, Pennington jumped out of his chair and ran to the door to his study, sending the chair rolling back against the wall as he propelled himself forward. With practiced ease, he whipped his hooves in a complicated series of movements, undoing a dozen or so locks on the door. "HOLD ON!" He shouted as he ran out into the hallway. "I'M COMING!" He raced through the kitchen, opening the door to the front of his shop with magic without even missing a beat in his steps. As he finally reached the front of the store, he could see the light figure of a silver-haired pony through the window, her long, drenched mane covering most of her face. Pennington could make out a blue coat underneath all of the hair, and a light blue horn stuck out from the top of her head, marking her as a fellow unicorn. He didn't even think to check his memory for any matching colors, throwing open his front door to the storm. "Come on, get inside! It's horrible out there!" He placed a hoof around her shoulders and ushered her inside. The moment that he touched her, he realized that she was shivering badly. Without any kind of thought on the matter, he pulled her along to the back of the room, through the kitchen and back down the hall. "Th-th-thank y-y-you..." The mysterious mare whispered between chattering teeth. Her steps were stiff and shuddering, as if it were an effort for her not to curl herself up into a ball on the spot. "Don't thank me, yet..." Pennington's horn glowed brightly for a moment, and the dozen locks on the door to his study clicked open, magic being the only way to open it from the outside. "Let's get you warmed up, first!" He pulled the still-dripping pony into his study, thanking Luna that he hadn't been keeping any loose pages on the floor as puddles spread outwards from her hooves. He pulled open the front of the wood stove, urging her to sit close to it. "Here, this is nice and warm... I'll get you a towel." Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes underneath the hair covering her face. They were a dark, dark violet, almost closer to black or grey, and he was almost stopped still as they locked onto his, full of pain and shame. He paused for only a moment to stare back, but her gaze quickly shifted away and down to the floor. "T-T-Trixie i-i-is s-s-sorry..." She whispered. Finally, things began to click in Pennington's mind. The silver mane, the blue coat... He glanced down to her flank, where a blue wisp of magical energy was being overlapped by a star-tipped wand. This was the same Trixie who had humiliated many of Ponyville's residents, lied to all of her audiences to make herself look good, and inadvertently brought an ursa minor into town, causing wanton panic and destruction.. He didn't even hesitate with what he did next. He ran upstairs to his closet, picked out his favorite towel and bathrobe (the ones that Whipstitch had been forced to embroider his initials into when he won a bet), and ran back downstairs. This can get soaked and be just fine, and it's really warm... When he returned, he found Trixie, sniffling and staring into the fire. He slowly came up behind her, making a conscious effort to let his hooves clatter noisily against the hardwood flooring. She didn't move to look, only lifting a hoof to brush the remaining strands of hair out of her face. Pennington sat next to her, ignoring the puddle that left his rear as soaked at the rest of her body, and used his magic to pull her hair into the air before wrapping it with the towel. With another magical favor, he began to wrap the bathrobe around her. To his surprise, the still-shivering pony brushed it away with a hoof. "Trixie... is no beggar..." She muttered. "No, but Pennington is Trixie's host, and will get her warm and dry." He decided to address the fragile-looking pony on her own third-person terms. Once again, he tried to wrap the robe around her, and this time she didn't object, letting her hooves slip through the sleeves. When the rope had been tied around her waist, she adjusted it a little, then moved closer to the fire. "So, would Trixie care to tell Pennington what exactly she was doing out in the cold and the rain?" Pennington whispered. He tried putting a foreleg around her shoulders and rubbing to generate a little heat, but the motion seemed awkward, and he quickly went back to keeping his hooves to himself. With a small shrug, he considered going back to his desk to talk and work at the same time, but decided against it. He always made a point to place the needs of a real, living pony above the needs of his work. Trixie seemed to shudder at the question, her face turning downwards in shame, making Pennington sorry that he had ever asked. "Trixie... has no place to stay. Her cart was smashed by the Ursa, and she has been laughed out of every town that she has gone to..." Tears were quickly welling up in the once-proud mare's eyes. "So, Trixie came back to Ponyville, where she was first... first..." Pennington didn't have to be an author to know what the word was that she couldn't say. Humiliated. Destroyed. Shamed. He broke the touching barrier again, this time placing a hoof on her shoulder closest to him in an effort to comfort her. "Well, Trixie can stay here while she tries to get her hooves back underneath her..." Pennington smiled, despite the fact that his mind was screaming at him, asking what exactly he was thinking. He only had one bedroom, his privacy was one of his most prized possessions, and Trixie had a horrible reputation in Ponyville that would most likely reflect badly on Inkwell Commissions. But, on the other hoof, he always put a pony first, and Trixie was obviously desperate. He held no personal grudge towards the mare, her actions hadn't even effected him because he had been out of town on the day that she had appeared. The storm outside was still raging, and the first image, of her standing alone in the wind and the rain, head hung low, a complete and utter mess, refused to leave his mind. "Trixie simply needs to wait out this storm... After that, she will leave." Trixie whispered. "Thank you for letting her stay and be dry and warm." "Look, Trixie, You said yourself that you've been struggling since the ursa smashed your home. That was long before this storm ever set in." Pennington finally broke back into first-person speaking, trying to appear more open to her. "I am going to help you, just like a friend should." "You don't even know Trixie, why would you call her your friend?" The mare finally looked back up and turned to him, looking at him once again with those dark eyes, locking him in place. Pennington had seen violet eyes before, he had a pair of his own that he saw in the mirror every day, but these seemed different. It wasn't just that they were reddened from her tears and holding deep lines underneath from a lack of sleep, but there was something inside them. Something that was reaching out, asking for help when her pride refused to let her do so. Pennington felt like it was deafening, even without making a sound, and he knew, deep in his heart, that he wanted to answer that plea. From what he had heard about Trixie, she was a pony who refused to partake in anything that she considered beneath her, but here he was, dripping wet, mane and tail a mess, splattered with mud and the occasional leaf, and completely ashamed. Her spirit had been broken. "Well, if a pony hasn't given me a good reason to hate them, I always consider them my friend." He smiled and stood up, offering her a friendly hoof to stand, as well. "Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep, Trixie." Trixie looked at his open hoof for a moment, then let out a long sigh of defeat. "Just for tonight. When the storm is gone, so am I. The Great and Powerful Trixie takes no charity, only loans!" "Well, it's not much, but it's better than being out in the cold..." Pennington smiled as he lit a small lamp in the bedroom. The bedroom, as he said, was simple. It was in the upstairs of his home, where he actually had his living space, in a small room separated from the rest of the house. It had only a desk with a mirror, a neat, well-made bed, and a nightstand with a simple, glass oil lamp sitting on top of it. Everything had a fine layer of dust on it, showing that the room hadn't been occupied for at least a couple weeks. "I'm sorry about the dust, I just got back from a long trip, and I don't spend much time in here..." Pennington blushed a little as he pulled back the covers on the bed. "You can sleep here, though! It's warm..." He glanced up at the circular window above the head of the bed. "That shouldn't rattle too much in the wind." Trixie nodded, trying to avoid anything with dust on it, no matter how thin the layer. "Thank you, again..." She was now looking more like she normally did, having used Pennington's bathroom for more than an hour to shower off the mud and make sure that her mane "was in its proper manner," draped over the side of her head in a smooth, single curl. Pennington had to admit, she cleaned up nicely, and looked at least a dozen times better. He hadn't minded waiting for her, and he had managed to write an entire new chapter before she was finished. She was still wearing his bathrobe, he suspected for warmth, but he didn't mind. After all, that was why he had given it to her. She quietly untied the robe and slipped it back and off of her body with magic, letting the fabric slide over her back and across her cutie mark, an action that made Pennington blush profusely. He brought his focus to the lamp, trying not to let him see his embarrassment. Trixie didn't seem to notice, lifting the covers with the light pink-violet glow of her magic and climbing inside as she tossed the robe over the back of the chair sitting by the desk. When she looked back to Pennington, a confused look crossed her face. "Why are you blushing?" "Hm? Oh, the- the lamp. It's really hot... Makes my face all red." He muttered, pretending to wipe sweat away from his brow. Trixie certainly isn't shy... "Well, this is hardly the five-star hotels that Trixie is used to..." She seemed to catch herself being rude, and quickly gave him a grateful smile. "But, as you said, it is one thousand times better than being out in the storm... Thank you for letting Trixie spend the night here." "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to." Pennington smiled as the burning in his face started to fade. "And if you need a job, I'm sure that I could find a place that would let you work! We entrepreneurs are a close-knit bunch, so I know a bunch of ponies who have job openings!" He gave Trixie an optimistic smile, trying to fight the influence of the raging storm. Trixie smiled, but in a way that he hadn't seen yet. She seemed bemused by his bright outlook, and quietly settled down under the covers of the bed. "Trixie will leave in the morning... but thank you. For tonight." Pennington stood at the door, ready to leave, when he turned back around he was smiling. "And Trixie? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I am a writer, and it's really frustrates me when people talk in the third person..." "Oh, right..." Trixie nodded, looking slightly disappointed. "I am sorry." "No need to be! It's just a personal preference." Pennington relaxed a little when she finally began to speak normally. "Pleasant dreams, Trixie!" Trixie blinked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Yes... Uh... Pleasant dreams... Umm..." "Inkwell. Pennington Inkwell." "Yes. Goodnight, Pennington." With that awkward farewell, she pulled the covers up over her shoulder and finally settled into the bed. Pennington closed the door. As he did, the smile on his face grew wider as he came to three realizations. I just committed myself to letting one of Ponyville's most hated visitors stay in my home. I only have one bedroom... Guess I'm sleeping in my study on purpose, for once. There's a mare... In my house. Author's Note Well everyone, I thought that I would write this as a short prequel to "Happy Adventuring, Twilight!" For those of you wondering, this happens before the events in "Happy Adventuring, Twilight," so it stands alone, with no need to read any of my other stories! For those of you first-time readers, Hello! I hope you enjoyed this, I certainly enjoyed writing it! If you liked it, you can look into my other stories, or take a quick trip over to my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/PenningtonInkwell)! You can find exclusive info, insights into my work, and notifications about any and all updates to this and other stories! Anyway, I hope you liked it! There will be more coming soon! Happy Adventuring! -Pennington Inkwell
MorningsWhen morning came, Trixie found herself awoken by birdsong and the light of the morning sun. She yawned as her eyes cracked open, sitting up in her bed with a smile. For the first time in weeks, she felt well-rested. She took a moment to realize that something was different. She had woken up in a bed. Not a park bench, not an alleyway. An actual bed. All at once, the events of the previous night came back to her memory. The rain, how cold she had been, how desperate she had been... The pony who had opened his door and let her in. She shook her head and slowly climbed out of the bed, making the sheets as neatly as she could. Trixie does not leave a mess... She would not wish to incur more of a debt than she already owes! She looked around the dusty room, now in the full light of day, and let out a long sigh. "This filthy room is hardly fitting for a mare was great and powerful as Trixie!" With a quick thought, the opened the window and began to work her magic, making the morning breeze cycle through the room and pick up the dust, then whisk it away to the outside. As the room became clean, her pride still refused to let her find the bare room acceptable. With a long sigh, she rolled her eyes. "It will have to do. Trixie is leaving, anyway." Semi-content, Trixie exited the room, quickly finding herself in Pennington's "living space." Trixie can hardly see how anypony could live in a place like this... The room was filled with cheap furniture, with large cushions filled with Trixie could only imagine was cheap stuffing. A large desk sat in the back corner, and seemed to be the only piece worth anything. The rest looked as if it had been rescued from some kind of dump and stitched and stapled back together. As she continued to look around, she did notice a nice-looking television, though, like the bedroom, it was dusty and looked underused. Trixie's nose curled up in slight distaste for Pennington's accommodations. Well, I suppose that it is a good thing that Trixie is leaving... Though Trixie supposes she should thank Pennington for letting her stay for the night. She looked around for Pennington's bedroom, but there didn't seem to be any other room except for the one that she had come out of and the hallway downstairs. She blinked in confusion, then shook her head. "He must have his room downstairs." With a confident nod to herself, Trixie opened the door to the hallway and trotted down the stairwell. There were no lights in the hallway, but seeing the stairs in the semi-darkness was an easy feat for the great and powerful- "Waugh!" Trixie cried out as she went to place her hoof on the next stair and met nothing there. For a heart-stopping moment, her hoof plummeted into inky blackness. When it finally collided with the floor, Trixie placed more weight on it than she had first intended, and she felt a small stab of pain shoot through it. She ignored it after she had caught herself, though she did check to make sure no one had seen her stumble. Unperturbed, she continued on her way, walking quietly past Pennington's study and into the next room. She hadn't gotten a good look into Pennington's kitchen the night before. Now, she wished that she hadn't. Pennington's kitchen was a disgusting mess of "instant ramen" soup. In a nightmarish cacophony of Styrofoam cups and dried noodles, with the remains of dozens of previous microwave meals scattered across every available surface. She gaped in shock as she saw half-eaten meals everywhere and white foam cups with metal spoons leaning against the rims. There was a sink with several more spoons sitting at the bottom, all obviously unwashed and greasy. The room had a smell to it, as well, one that Trixie recognized from the few times that she had brought herself low enough to actually eat the pre-packaged soup. It was a smell of hay and salt, the flavor of the soup and its main ingredient. As she spun around, trying to comprehend how a single stallion could make such a disgusting mess, she noticed that there was one place that was clean: Pennington seemed to take good care of his microwave. It had the only clean surface in the kitchen, and had a near-polished black surface that Trixie could see her own reflection in, and through the transparent door, she could see that the inside was spotless, as well. "Trixie! It's good to see that you're awake..." Trixie jumped out of fear when Pennington suddenly appeared in the door. "I would have cleaned up if I knew that I was going to have company..." Trixie was unsure of how to respond. Pennington had large, dark bags under his eyes, and the white-and-lavender orbs were bloodshot. His words were slow and slightly slurred, as if he had just woken up only seconds before. "It's... irrelevant. Trixie- I mean- I was just leaving..." She muttered, blinking quietly as she examined him more closely. Everything about Pennington radiated that he was tired, from his slouched posture to the occasional yawn every few seconds. "Did you... sleep last night?" "Oh, I got a few hours! I have a deadline coming up for my next book in a few months, and it's a process that I can't afford to waste any time on..." Pennington laughed as he yawned again. "I'll be fine once I have some breakfast..." Trixie nodded, trying hard not to insult him by not showing her disgust at his kitchen. Even so, she knew that her nose was crinkling up in a disgusted manner. She watched as he walked to a cupboard and pulled out another Styrofoam cup, identical to the ones all around them. He casually moved to the sink and peeled off the top, filling it with water without even needing to look. "Do you want some?" He looked back to Trixie as he placed the cup in the microwave. "I have plenty of ramen, but I think I have a little cereal, too." Trixie was about to say no, about to walk out of the door and leave, but a loud growling emanated from her midsection as her stomach lurched. "I really do not like that soup..." "Cereal it is!" Pennington opened three different cupboards with his magic, finally pulling out a brightly colored box. "I hope that you enjoy Fruity Hoops!" "That's for little foals!" Trixie cried, doing her best to hold back a smile at his sudden show of immaturity. "This is half sugar!" "Well, what's the point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes?" Pennington asked with a wink. Almost immediately after, he pressed his hoof against his mouth to stifle a yawn, making him look even more like a foal. At this point, Trixie didn't manage to hold back a small laugh. When the giggle spilled out from beneath her lips, Pennington raised a curious eyebrow, lowering his head and looking up at her to emphasize the action. This made Trixie laugh again, and this time she didn't hold it back, letting the sound pour out of her mouth and out into the air. "Well, good to see that you've cheered up from last night!" He chirped as he levitated a small carton of milk out of the fridge and into the air. "We don't have to eat in here, in fact, I never do! Why don't you just grab a bowl and follow me?" As the microwave began to ring loudly, Pennington picked up a spoon out of the sink and floated the steaming cup out of the black box. After taking a deep breath of the mist rising from the top, Pennington smiled and happily trotted back into the hallway. "Come on, we'll eat in my study! After that, we'll see about finding a place for you to pick up a job!" Trixie couldn't help but wonder if his upbeat demeanor was forced or honest. Regardless, she took the milk and followed him. As she walked, Trixie realized that this had been one of the first times that she had genuinely laughed since she had been driven out of Ponyville. Not a spiteful chuckle at how far she had fallen, nor a hopeless laugh of a mare condemned to live on the streets, with pegasi going out of their way to rain on her, but an actual, comfortable, joyful laugh at something that made her happy. While she still felt uncomfortable in the disgusting kitchen, something about Pennington's trusting lack of judgment made her at ease, and she began to wonder if she really wanted to just leave and go back to living on the streets. Her pride told her that she should, of course, but... she felt unsure, now. The laughter seemed to have changed things. Now, when Pennington wasn't rushing to get her inside, Trixie began to notice things about his study that she hadn't seen the night before. First of all, she saw at least a dozen locks on his door, a thick oak door that wouldn't fall easily to magic or sheer force. Whatever was in his study, he was certainly protective of it. When she entered the study: she was surrounded by Daring Do. Memorabilia lined the walls on every side, held in place by dozens of books about the same mare, many of which she could see were autographed and labeled "Special Edition." At just above eye level, red yarn stretched over their heads, creating a near-indecipherable web above their heads, held in place by pins in the walls. The pins also held up large numbers of pages of hoof-written scribbles, among which Trixie could see Daring's name repeated several times over. Her eyes flicked upwards as she looked to the roof, which was letting in large amounts of light, and she noticed a large skylight that took up the majority of the ceiling. Gleaming in the space between the skylight and the first plush toys of Daring Do, she saw something that completely and utterly stole her attention. A golden sword. Well, it looked gold, anyway, as if somepony had melted down gold, stirred in silver, and then etched complex swirling patterns into the blade as it cooled. The sword was thinner at the base, then grew to a wickedly curved, wider end that looked as if it could slice off a pony's head in one stroke. All in all, the study seemed a monument to Daring Do and her adventures. When she looked back to her host, he was sitting behind a large desk that appeared to be made out of some kind of darkly stained wood, and sitting in a well-cushioned office chair. His horn was already aglow, scratching a quill across what appeared to be only the newest addition to a massive stack of papers next to him while quietly spooning noodles into his mouth. The locks, his apparent talent for writing, this virtual shrine to Daring Do... I think that it's starting to make sense! Trixie walked straight up to the other side of Pennington's desk and placing a firm hoof on the surface, drawing his attention. "I know who you are, Pennington!" "Hm?" Pennington looked up from his work. For a moment, he didn't seem to register what she had said, then the realization came to him. His eyes widened and he paled, then slapped himself in the forehead. "N-no, Trixie! It's not what you think! I just-" "You're a fanfic writer!" Trixie grinned smugly as Pennington's words fell to a stutter, then stopped entirely. "I have never seen a pony take their fanfictions so seriously, but don't worry, I'm sure they're very good..." She winked at him as he continued to stare at her in disbelief. "And you're not the only one who likes Daring..." Pennington blinked at her in disbelief, as if it were impossible for him to comprehend how she had come to the conclusion. "Trixie is more than simply beautiful. She has a brilliant mind, as well!" She brushed a strand of hair from her face in victory as Pennington shook his head. "Just don't tell anypony, okay? I hate that I use someone else's characters in a story, published or not..." Pennington's face regained some of its color as he went back to work. Trixie nodded and, seeing no other chairs in the room, laid down on the floor to eat, placing her bowl on the tiled part of the floor and laying on the rug coming out from under the desk. It was a simple matter to pour the cereal and the milk, but when she realized that she didn't have a spoon, she realized that there wasn't much that she could do. All of Pennington's spoons seemed to be laying, unwashed, in the kitchen sink. With a shrug, she lifted the bowl to her lips, doing her best not to slurp. Ordinarily, her pride would never have let her stoop to such measures, but the fact that she had recently been willing to eat almost anything when she was out on the streets (she shuddered involuntarily as she remembered a few of her less dignified meals involving garbage cans) let her put that aside. "So, what do you do aside from writing fanfictions, Pennington?" She asked quietly before taking another long drink of the cereal. "Well, I have a few published books, but my real work comes from writing commissions." Pennington look up from his work at her, then back at the scroll that he was working on. Quietly, he put down the quill and walked over to where she was laying, dropping down to the floor next to her. "Ponies who aren't very good at writing come to me and tell me what they want me to write and how long they want it to be. I write it, and then ask them to pay me what I think it's worth." "I've never heard of a pony doing that..." Trixie glanced down at his cutie mark: two scrolls, each on either side of a large compass rose. "What about the compass on your cutie mark? That looks like Daring Do's cutie mark..." "Well, sometimes I have to travel to understand what exactly a pony wants me to write about... I've been to Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Appleloosa, Cloudsdale, and even spent a week camping in the Everfree Forest, if you could believe it!" As he laid next to her, Pennington looked straight into Trixie's eyes. Most ponies would have found it odd, but now that she thought about it, Pennington had always been making eye contact with her when he had been speaking. Making eye contact was an important part of the art of misdirection, so Trixie was more than used to having ponies look into her eyes, and she stared straight back. Pennington's eyes were a bright lavender, and Trixie could feel that they were looking for something, as if they could find out everything about her just by staring. It didn't make her uncomfortable, though, and she began trying to find a few answers of her own. The unofficial stare-down had begun. As she examined his eyes, she noticed a few things. First of all, she could see that the color of his eyes actually moved down a gradient from bright lavender to dark purple as they neared his pupils. She tilted her head slightly, and she could see that he had curiosity. It was puzzling to her why looking into his eyes gave her impressions of different emotions, but she could see his curiosity. It was like a desire to know everything, as if he would just drink in any kind of experience and file it away. As she kept looking, though, she saw something else... secrets. He looked ashamed, as if he had done something wrong. At this point, Pennington broke away the eye contact, blinking several times and shaking his head. "I-I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of staring..." He muttered, lifting the cup of soup to his mouth and downing the rest of its contents in a single attempt. He looked slightly shaken, but it quickly passed. "So, what were you doing out there in the rain last night?" Trixie blinked in surprise. For perhaps the first time in years, she wanted the attention to be on some other pony, but she was wondering more about Pennington. But, she was his guest, so she grudgingly admitted to herself that he deserved answers. "I... my trailer was smashed by the ursa minor. After that, all of Equestria seemed to know that my story about defeating an ursa major was a lie. I was laughed at, humiliated, and run out of town after town..." Trixie shook her head, refusing to let him see the pain of how low she had come. Her own voice betrayed her, though, wavering without her consent. It was only by sheer will that she kept it from cracking. "I've been living on the streets. It wasn't until last night's storm that I became desperate enough to beg for a place to stay..." "Well, if it were me, I wouldn't go around bragging about the time that I saw an ursa major... They're nasty." Pennington rolled onto his back, looking up at his skylight. "Terrible breath, they snore like the dickens... And in desperate need of a set of braces." Trixie's eyes widened. "You- you mean you've actually fought one?" She sat up on her front hooves, looming over him for an answer. "Fought? No! Oh, definitely not! Run away from? Maybe. Seen? Yes." Pennington talked as if it were an every day occurrence for him to come face-to-face with one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. "The first time I saw one was when I was just a colt. Some pony had checked out every book on ursa majors from the library, and I had to do a story about one for school. So, I had to go into Everfree and find one myself." A memory stirred deep in the back of Trixie's mind. "When was this... exactly?" "Well, it wound up being how I got my cutie mark... probably about fifteen, sixteen years ago? No! Fifteen. Fifteen years ago." Pennington raised an eyebrow again. "Why do you ask?" "Well, I started doing magic shows at a young age, in spite of those who would ridicule me for it..." Trixie rolled her eyes. "But when I started telling my story about the ursa major, I actually did a lot of reading on them. I took out every book on them I could find whenever I went to a library in any town... including this one." She gave him a sly grin. "So, it looks as if we may have met before, indirectly..." Pennington looked confused for a moment, then broke out into a wide grin. "You've got to be kidding me... Right? I mean, this would be an impossible case of serendipity if you were the one who helped me get my cutie mark, and then we somehow met again all of these years later..." He chuckled lightly. "I mean, that's more than just Deus Ex Machina, that's just crazy!" "Well, then I suppose you're crazy!" Trixie laughed again and laid back down, picking up the cereal and drinking the rest of it. "Because the Great and Powerful Trixie is only brilliant, not crazy!" "Well, she's the only pony I know who eats cereal without a spoon!" Pennington laughed. "Did you even grab a spoon for yourself?" Trixie felt her face flush slightly as Pennington finally noticed her lack of a utensil. "Well, it looked like they were all dirty..." "Oh, I would have gladly washed one for you! Just because I don't have time to clean my kitchen doesn't mean that I can't wash off a spoon now and then!" Pennington rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You know, Trixie, I can't see why anypony would hate you so much... If it doesn't overstep my boundaries, you're pretty, you're nice, and you seem to have a good sense of humor... Everypony says you're self-absorbed, but I just don't see it." Trixie felt herself blushing again. "Well, I've changed a lot living on the streets... Essentially had the conceitedness beaten out of me." "Well, I'm going to make it my personal goal that you don't wind up back on the streets! Which is why you can stay in that room indefinitely!" Pennington jumped back up onto his hooves, stepping towards the door. "Now, I believe our next order of business is to find you a job somewhere around town?" Trixie felt a comforting warmth in her chest as the stallion made it sound as easy as running down to the local supermarket. Something about his carefree demeanor, in spite of his secrets and her occasional depression, made her want to stay near the blue unicorn stallion. "You DO realize that everyone in this town hates me and probably wouldn't give me a job in a thousand years, don't you?" She asked as she rose to her own hooves. "Oh, come on! If I like you, how bad could you be?" He asked as he pulled open the door and gave a small bow, motioning for her to go first. "Milady..." "Careful, Pennington Inkwell... I may start to get a big head again if you treat me like that." She smiled coyly as she walked by him. "I don't believe it..." Pennington raised his hoof to his forehead in disbelief as he and a dejected-looking Trixie walked out of the candy shop. "Even Bon Bon said no! Bon Bon's the sweetest pony I know!" He looked back at Trixie with a shake of his head. "No offense, but you really are hated in Ponyville... All of the business owners around here are a tightly-knit bunch, so I thought that a recommendation from me might at least get them to think about it!" "Well, it is good to know that the rumors are true..." Trixie's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Is there anywhere else that we haven't tried?" Pennington cringed at the question, though he had been fully expecting it. "Well, yes... But- I don't know if either of us would be allowed in." "Hmph! Trixie did not become well-known throughout al of Equestria without entering a few places that she was not supposed to! Where are we going?" She trotted in front of Pennington, making him feel ashamed for his hesitation. "Sweet Apple Acres, just outside of town..." Pennington, who not only usually did the leading, but often refused to be led by anyone, deferred to Trixie. Uncharacteristically, he was acting nervous, and he knew fully well why. "Are you sure that we have to go there? I mean, I don't think Applejack needs any help! She usually has things covered pretty well. In fact, the Apple family hates to hire any kind of help! We're probably wasting our time..." At this point, Trixie looked back at him, coming to a stop. "Pennington, are you afraid?" "What? Scared? Me?" Pennington shook his head, rolling his eyes towards the sky. "Never! I just think that this is a waste of time! A bad idea! A disaster waiting to happen!" "But, not five minutes ago, you said that all of Ponyville's entrepreneurs were close... Don't you think it's worth a shot?" Pennington rolled his eyes, knowing that Trixie wasn't going to be catching on to his insinuations any time soon. "Look, Applejack and I have a few... tensions. We've mutually agreed not to like each other." Trixie blinked, then shook her head. "Well, either way, you said that we would have to try everything, so... We might as well. What harm could it do?" With that, she took off again, walking towards the edge of town. "Are you serious? You're serious, aren't you?" He asked under his breath before running to catch up. "Trixie! Wait up! You don't know what you're getting into!"
Out in the OrchardTrixie watched Pennington grow increasingly nervous as Sweet Apple Acres appeared just down the road. She could see Applejack working out in the fields, just behind the fence, even within earshot. In a short flashback, Trixie grinned and chuckled at the memory of tying the proud pony by her hooves and stuffing an apple in her mouth. The smug memory helped to ease the sting of the fact that she was about to place herself subservient to the small-town farmer. "Look, I'm guessing that as much as Applejack dislikes me, she dislikes you more... So let me do the talking." Pennington whispered to Trixie, walking up to the fence on his own and letting her linger behind. "Howdy, AJ! How y'all doin' on this 'ere fine afternoon?" He spoke with a thick accent, mimicking her southern drawl almost perfectly. Trixie blinked with surprise at the well-done acting as he picked up a strand of grass and gently bit down on the end. His body seemed to relax out of its nervousness as he leaned against the fence, making him look as if he had grown up on the farm, rather than spent his life writing. He wouldn't be bad on the stage... Applejack looked up from the basket of apples that she had just finished bucking at the sound of Pennington's voice, then scowled as she recognized the source. "Whatever it is ya want, Penn, I ain't givin' it to ya!" She rolled her eyes and turned back to her apples. "And I know ya want somethin' or else you wouldn't actually be actin' civil for once!" She picked up the basket with a special saddle designed to hold one on each side and began to walk back towards the barn. "'sides, you'll only use that accent if you're trying to get somethin' from me! "Okay, you got me, Applejack..." Pennington jumped over the fence, putting away his façade of accent and mannerisms as easily as he had put them on. "But I'm here with a business offer! One that would be mutually beneficial!" "Ah don't wanna hear it, Penn..." Applejack replied, continuing to walk away. "Oh, come on, AJ! Just listen to me for a minute! I'll even put it into small words for you..." Pennington jumped up into the trees, hopping from branch to branch above her, occasionally dropping another apple into the baskets. "Look, I have a friend who needs a job, and you can always use an extra set of hooves around the farm, right? She wouldn't want much pay because she's already staying at Inkwell Commissions and doesn't need any money for rent!" "Don't you only have one bedroom?" Applejack interrupted, stopping to look up at the pony in the trees. "Well, yeah, but come on, I sleep in my study most of the time, anyway!" Pennington chuckled. Trixie blinked in surprise as she listened to the conversation. So... he gave me his room? His bed? Applejack's brow furrowed in thought. "As much as ah hate to say it, we are a little behind today... Who's the pony?" Pennington pointed a hoof back at Trixie, who was still standing in the road. "A pony who's changed a lot since-" "NO." Applejack turned away again, taking an even faster pace. "Ah'm not gonna give that mare the time of day, let alone a job on mah farm with mah family!" "Oh, come on, Applejack! You only have to talk to her to see that she's different now!" Pennington cried, jumping down in front of her from the trees. "Penn, ah knew that you were low, hatin' your own family and all, but ah didn't think that ya would sink down to her level!" "Now wait just a cotton-picking minute, Applejack!" Pennington cried, standing firm as she tried to shove her way past him. "First of all, I don't hate my family!" "Oh, really?" Applejack snapped. "Really, Mr. 'I don't need anypony?' Mr. 'never come to a family reunion?' Mr. 'I'll never work on a farm if my life depended on it?' You've never come to a single family reunion, you never visit any of us 'cept your own parents, an' worst of all, you won't even acknowledge that we're related in public! So, cousin, I would recommend that you get offa this farm ya hate so much and get back to your little city-slicker sideways-tilted shack you call a 'business' and to your little life of independence! It wouldn't be the first time you turned your back on family!" Trixie could hear every word of Applejack's onslaught from the street, and was trying her best to process everything that was being revealed about her host. So... Applejack really DOES hate him... And they're cousins? "Aren't you that mean unicorn who tied up AJ in front of the whole town?" A small voice asked to her left. She looked over and saw a small yellow filly staring up at her with a large red bow in her matching mane. "Well, yes..." Trixie muttered, doing her best to look sorry for the deed, despite the fact that she was having any kind of sympathy for the farmer right now. "My name is Trixie." "Ah'm Apple Bloom!" The little filly flashed her a large smile, thoroughly confusing her. "It's nice to meet ya!" "You don't hate me?" Trixie asked quietly. "Well, ya never did anythin' to me!" Apple Bloom chimed. "AJ had me stay at the farm that day to get some chores finished, so I never got the chance to hate you!" She looked out to the field, where Pennington and Applejack's argument was rapidly escalating. "They're at it again?" Before Trixie could respond, Pennington finally launched his verbal counterattack. "Well, you closed-minded, family-obsessed, country hick! At least I don't discriminate ponies by their cutie marks! I've travelled the world, learning more and achieving things that you could never do on your little down-to-roots orchard! I would never tell a pony that they couldn't write because their cutie mark was something else, but if one of this family's members happens to have a talent unrelated to Apples, you shove them aside and tell them that they can't help! The only time that you've ever come to ask me to join your little 'Apples Only Club' was when you needed a little unicorn magic or an extra set of hooves to work until you didn't need them any more! You act like just because I'm not an apple farmer, I turned down a giant mass of opportunities! I don't work for you because I was never welcome! I don't come to the family reunions because I don't want to be shoved to the side!" "Why do they hate each other so much?" Trixie asked, cringing as Pennington's angry voice echoed so loudly, ponies back in the town might be able to hear it. "Well, Penn's mom is my Aunt, but his dad was a... a..." Apple Bloom struggled for a word, then lit up as she remembered it. "Freelancer! He was a news pony who just moved from place to place, working for different newspapers. So, when Penn didn't get an apple cutie mark, he separated himself from the family. He feels left out, but AJ thinks that he thinks he's better than us... Which really seems to strike a nerve with her." She let out a long sigh. "Penn blames the family for the fact that his mom was always gone on work when he was little, and AJ just says that he should be glad to have his parents at all..." "Well, at least my dad wasn't a homeless bum!" Applejack shouted. "We all know Celia is the one who supported your family!" "Because you guilt tripped her into not leaving her job! 'For the family!' you cried! The family you love so much kept her on the road for weeks at a time!" Pennington screamed in return, shoving his face into Applejack's. "And my dad is NOT a BUM! He's a journalist!" "Well, it certainly seems like you got something more than just his horn! You enjoy sleeping on your desk, and he sleeps on park benches!" Applejack shouted in return, pushing up his horn to place their foreheads against one another, nearly making their searing glares meet physically. "Take that back, you uneducated wench!" Pennington screamed, slamming one of his front hooves into the bottom of her jaw, knocking her head upwards. "And he took the bait... Again..." Apple Bloom shook her head hopelessly. "You'd think he'd learn that AJ always waits for him to make the first-" "GAAH!" Pennington screamed as Applejack spun around and slammed both of her back hooves into his chest, sending him flying upwards into the tree branches. "-move." "Pennington!" Trixie cried, jumping over the fence and rushing towards the scene, fearing for his safety. She came to a stop as Pennington came flying back down out of the branches, landing squarely on his hooves. She saw him grab at his chest and grimace, and felt a surge of protective emotion will up in her chest. The sensation was unfamiliar, but it made her feel powerful. Using this new strength of will, she placed herself between the two, turning towards Applejack with her horn glowing and ready for anything. "You should be happy to even be related by blood to this pony! Penny isn't the kind of pony who would hold a grudge or pass unfair judgment! In the short hours I've known him, he's taken me in off the streets, given me a place to stay, given me food and proven to me that maybe ponies aren't really cruel at their heart!" She shouted, taking a defiant step towards Applejack. "The fact that he was able to put aside his pride and any self-respect he had and come to you, begging on my behalf when I clearly don't deserve it, shows that he's more generous and caring than I could ever expect you to be! Hire me or don't hire me, but I won't let you treat him like that!" She growled, stepping back until she was standing next to him, inspecting his wounds. It seemed mostly that he was covered in small scratches, but he seemed to be refusing to let go of his chest, and his breath was coming in short bursts. "Big sis!" Apple Bloom's voice called from the fence. "We gotta get today's wagon to market! Come on!" Applejack looked back to her sister, then at Pennington and Trixie. "Ah'm not gonna take orders from you, Trixie, and you're not welcome 'round here..." "Well, then... it's a good thing... we don't want... to stay." Pennington huffed, limping past her on only one of his front legs. Without being asked, Trixie pushed her head under his leg, forcing him to lean on her as they walked away together. As they neared the fence, they saw a large red stallion with straw-colored hair standing next to Apple Bloom. "Afternoon, Big Mac..." Pennington forced a smile through his apparent pain. The pony looked at Pennington, then at Applejack. "You hit her?" He asked with a calm, low voice. "Eeyup..." Pennington chuckled. "She hit you?" Big Mac asked again, still calm. "Eeyup..." Pennington replied just as simply. The stallion turned to Trixie, then back to Pennington. "Girlfriend?" Trixie felt her face flushing, and piped up before Pennington replied. "No, no, no... We're just friends... Penny here is just trying to help me find a job!" Big Macintosh looked at her, then at Pennington again, then back at her. "Shame..." With that, he turned and walked away. "See ya later, cuz." "I'll see ya around, Big Mac..." Pennington smiled as Apple Bloom waved and trotted after her brother. His breathing was beginning to slow down, now, though his breaths were still shallow. "Are you alright, Pennington?" She asked, trying to get a closer look at his chest. There didn't seem to be any more injury than the bruise rapidly forming, but she had no idea if he was hurt under his skin. She could easily have imagined Applejack breaking one or more of his ribs. "I'll be fine... We always pull our punches with one another..." He wheezed as he made a conscious effort to take a deep breath. "Moreso me than her..." "I'm not convinced. Let's get you back home to look more closely at that..." She began to walk back towards the town, letting him continue to lean on her. "You didn't have to go through all of that for me." "She insulted my dad... I was fighting for myself." Pennington shook his head. "You really think too much of me, Trixie." "Oh, shut up, Penny. For the first time in years, I felt like I wasn't putting up some kind of act back there..." Trixie muttered. "I meant every word..." This did seem to make Pennington stop arguing with her, and the two walked back to Ponyville in silence. When they finally reached Inkwell Commissions again, Trixie let out a sigh of relief. Pennington let go over her shoulders and opened the lock on the door with a key from his saddlebag. He had stopped grabbing his chest and started breathing normally by the time that they had reached town, but hadn't stopped leaning on her until now. As the doors swung open, he walked inside, his steps quiet as he tried not to put much pressure on his front hooves and, by extension, his chest. "Now, We need to get those cuts cleaned up..." Trixie muttered as they walked through the kitchen together. To her surprise, Pennington turned towards his study, starting to use the spell to open the locks from the outside. "Penny, where are you going?" "I'll be fine, but I have a deadline to meet..." He muttered as the door swung open. "So I'm going to get working..." "You'll be doing no such thing!" Trixie cried, picking him up with her magic and trotting up the stairs. "I'm not letting out of my sight until I've made sure myself that you're okay!" Pennington let out a long sigh as she pulled him through the air, rolling his eyes. "Why would you care more about my health than I do? I've had worse..." "I don't know, you need to start caring more!" Trixie smiled as she dropped him on his back on the couch in his living room. "Until then, 'Nurse Trixie' is in!" Pennington rolled his eyes and immediately tried to get up again, but Trixie pinned his shoulders as he took a closer look at his chest. She could see a large bruise already beginning to darken on the skin under his fur. "Alright, now... Tell me if this hurts..." Trixie gently pressed her hoof against the bruise, trying to feel for anything that was broken. "Ow..." He muttered, as if trying to be sarcastic. Trixie could tell that it was really was hurting him by the fact that his muscles tensed under her touch. "Oh, the pain... It's excruciating..." Pennington continued to drone, trying to play off the pain as nothing. Trixie rolled her eyes and applied more pressure with a sudden thrust downwards, digging her hoof into the bruise. This elicited a more appropriate response from Pennington, who "OW! What was that for?" Pennington snapped, trying to sit up again. "Perhaps you'll be more polite when somepony is trying to help you..." She muttered, noting that everything under his chest felt intact. Nodding to herself, she moved on to the smaller cuts and bruises from being thrown through the trees. "Trixie, I told you that this isn't necessary..." Pennington sighed as he consigned himself to his fate. Trixie found a small shard of a branch digging its way under his skin in one of his back legs. With a quick motion, she pulled it out, making him grunt in pain again. "You've got a few more notable splinters..." She muttered as she gave his body another once-over. "And a few of your cuts are still open. Where are your bandages?" "In the bathroom cupboard, middle shelf..." Pennington mumbled. "None of these need one, though..." "That's for the nurse to decide!" Trixie chuckled as she walked away. "Now, stay put until I come back..." Trixie walked quietly into the bathroom, her eyes peeled for the cupboard. It was simple to find, fixed to the wall just to the right of the mirror. She pulled open the wooden door and looked inside. She spotted the familiar brand of adhesive bandages: "Pony-Aid." As she pulled out the box, something caught her eye. "The box hasn't even been opened..." She muttered and rolled her eyes. "Stallions are always trying to act so tough..." After pulling off the cellophane and tossing it into the trash, she came back to the living room. True to her word, Pennington hadn't left the couch. However, his desk in the corner was open, there was now an open inkwell on the desk, and Pennington had a scroll and quill busily working next to him, scratching out words quickly and easily with his magic. "I really need to get this done, Trixie..." He muttered, dropping the quill the moment that he noticed her standing in the doorway. "You need to take better care of yourself... When was the last time you used one of these?" She asked, motioning to the bandages. "Well... Umm..." Pennington seemed to be pondering the question, but instead, the quill picked itself up again and began to write. "I don't know..." Trixie sighed and picked up the writing materials herself, moving them back to his desk. "Well, you're using them today." Without waiting for his reply, she moved forward and pulled out the remaining splinters one by one, making him grunt in pain every time. She could see that he was truly resenting having to stay still, but she tended to his wounds one by one, cleaning them with a damp paper towel and placing bandages on several that hadn't developed scabs already. "You know, I could go to another town to look for work..." She muttered. "I'd get out of your hair, and I might be able to find some pony like you... one that doesn't hate me so much. I'd hate to leave... but I can't just stay here forever!" "What are you talking about?" Pennington asked as she stepped away and let him sit up again. "You have a job!" Trixie shook her head. "But Applejack-" "Applejack can kiss my flank!" Pennington interrupted. "I've been needing an assistant for a long time now, anyway!' Trixie tilted her head in confusion. "Wait. So... are you going to give me a job here? At Inkwell Commissions?" "Well, when you put it that way, you're hired!" Pennington laughed, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I'll expect you in my study at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!" Trixie grinned and jumped forward, giving him a hug of joy. "Thank you, Penny!" Pennington tensed, and Trixie realized that, when she had given him such a tight hug, she had put a large amount of pressure on his chest. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" "It's fine..." Pennington wheezed. "After all, I have a nurse on call..." The two of them laughed for a long time after that, and Trixie began to feel like things were beginning to work out for the better... She would be earning her room and board, now, and working for the pony that she had enjoyed the company of even more than the last time she had found a mirror.
Heart AttacksTrixie surprised herself with her eagerness in the morning, involuntarily rising before the sunrise to make sure that she was ready to start her new "job." She had no way of imagining what exactly Pennington would ask her to do, seeing as he spent most of his time in his study, scratching away with his quill. In fact, that was how he had spent the night before, in spite of her insistence that he try to get a good night's sleep in an actual bed. He had insisted that he had "work to do" and that she would need to be well-rested for her first day of work. I just hope to Celestia he doesn't ask me to clean out that awful kitchen... She thought to herself as she turned to the mirror in the bedroom to brush her mane. For some reason, her normal confidence in her beauty failed her as she viewed the blue mare in the mirror, nagging at her that she needed to try to be... more. She needed to be more for... For what? My first day as an employee at a job given to me out of charity? She scoffed at her own insecurity as she put the brush down, marking her morning grooming as done. She wasn't sure if the action was meant to boost her confidence or to rebel against her own feelings. I'm not going to get another chance at a first impression. I can't walk in here in the state that I did and expect him to think that I'm- Trixie blinked in surprise at how quickly her train of thought had turned towards Pennington. She shook her head, clearing her mind as best she could, and adopted a cheerful air as she walked out the door of the bedroom, ready to face the day. Trixie is perfect, and there is nothing that needs to be changed! She happily trotted down the stairs, fully believing in her cheerful attitude. As she neared the bottom, she even took note of the irregular step at the bottom, gleefully landing firmly on her own hooves. The fact that nothing had gone wrong yet and that she had only good things to look forward to gave her a cheery heart and a positive outlook. "Penny! Pennington! It is almost eight, and I'm five minutes early!" She chirped as she rapped her hoof against the door of his study, creating a loud knocking. There was only eerie silence from within. "Pennington?" She was less cheerful this time as she called out her benefactor's name, leaning against the door to try and hear some kind of response. When nothing came, she noticed a small ray of light shining out of a keyhole in the door. Is he still asleep? She asked herself as she leaned down to try and peek inside. What she saw horrified her. Pennington was slumped limply over his desk, quill and inkwell still laid out and ready to do more writing. Trixie would have thought that he was simply asleep if it hadn't been for two small problems with that conclusion: his body was heaving up and down rapidly in time to the sound of his erratic, shallow breathing, and his eyes were wide open, rolling wildly in their sockets, as if some kind of help could be found from the Daring Do effigies around him. "P-Pennington! Are you alright? Hold on, I'm coming!" She cried, grabbing desperately at the doorknob. To her utter horror, however, she found that the handle refused to turn, locked firmly in place by his own protective measures. You've got to be kidding me! She moaned inwardly, pulling at it with all of her strength. Pennington is dying, and I'm locked out! Almost unbidden, she felt an aura of magic floating out from the door, and she recognized it as a spell to unlock the protective measures on the other side. She recognized it almost instantly as a stereotypical password-lock spell, the same kind that she had once used to lock her own stage-on-wheels. She needed only to think of the right words, and she would be inside. The Great And Powerful Trixie! The lock refused to budge, and she nearly slapped herself for even trying her old password. W-Well, what is it, then? Pennington Inkwell? Quills and Scrolls? Ramen Noodles? She frantically tried to think of the things that she had seen that were important to Pennington. Daring Do? Gah, what is it? What's that author's name? The one who wrote those books... Scorching Quill! Still the lock refused to budge. She felt panic welling up in her chest as she ran out of ideas. "Well, then, I'm just going to have to break it down!" She muttered to herself, moving as far back as she could. Gritting her teeth in preparation, she summoned as powerful a burst of magical energy as she could and ran at the door, lowering her shoulder and approaching it horn-first. "Here goes nothing!" As she ran at the door, ready to unleash the energy on impact, there was a quiet clicking noise, and it silently swung open, letting her pass unimpeded. Trixie nearly fell on her face with surprise as she ran headfirst into the study, nearly colliding with his desk as she drew to a stop. With a massive exertion of will, she swallowed the magical energy back down from her horn and ran around the desk to where Pennington was still laying, wrapped up in some kind of fit. "Pennington- Penny, are you alright? Speak to me! Say something!" She tried to pick him up to sit his body upright in his chair, but the moment that she tried, she let go immediately, feeling that his body was entirely limp, like a corpse. Gathering her already shattered nerves, she forced herself to pick him up again, making sure that he was sitting upright in his chair and that there was nothing blocking his breathing, which was still coming only in short bursts. The only change that seemed to come over him was that his eyes had locked on her, rather than moving in rapid circles. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked in vain, trying to understand what was happening. "Is something wrong with your lungs? Do you need medicine? Is it a heart attack? A stroke? What's wrong? What about those shocky thingies they put on your chest, do you need those?" She mimed using a pair of defibrillators to try and convey her message. When she couldn't seem to get any kind of response, Trixie thought to what she had seen work so many times when a pony was suffering from some kind of medical emergency: CPR. "Penn, I'm going to try CPR, okay?" The question was rhetorical as she leaned forward, tipping his head back and making sure that there was nothing in his mouth. It was clear, with no obvious reasons for his trouble breathing. Okay, so you breathe into their mouth and press on their chest where their heart is, right? Without questioning herself further, she took a deep breath, used one hoof to pin his nose shut, and pressed her wide-open mouth against his. Trying her best to ignore the waves of nervous energy washing through her body, she exhaled into his mouth, feeling his chest swell beneath her as his lungs filled. All at once, Pennington's body started to life beneath her, rising up in a sudden swell and the air was nearly ripped out of her lungs as he inhaled deeply, gasping for the essential oxygen. Trixie stumbled backwards, gasping to refill her own lungs as Pennington bolted out of the chair, sputtering just as much as she was. He was the first one to speak, and from the moment that he opened his mouth, he spoke faster than Trixie had heard any pony speak before. "WELL! That was a shock, wasn't it? Certainly enough to get my adrenaline going! Knocked whatever was keeping me that way right out of my system! Mind you, when you said that you were going to try CPR, I was more than a little worried about you pounding on my chest! I mean, seriously, I'm surprised that you didn't try calling 9-1-1 or anything! Thank you SO much for not calling 9-1-1! This is my little secret, and I'd like it to stay like that! Are you okay? You look slightly disheveled!" Trixie was still blinking in surprise at his sudden recovery. In fact, he was jogging his way around the desk in small circles. "I- I'm fine... What happened to you?" "Oh, just a nasty little problem that I've had since childhood!" Pennington made a sudden transition from pacing to running in place "Basically, my brain wakes up, but my body doesn't! Causes a bit of discord between the two, really, and I'm frozen in place until I can wake up. Usually, it's accompanied by some kind of vivid nightmare, but this one was rather tame, just let me wake up to the real world! Honestly, I couldn't get myself scared enough to wake up, so I needed a real shock! Then you came in and started thinking I had a heart attack, and I was just thinking 'Please don't mess with my heart, it's the only thing working right!' I just needed some kind of a shock, really, and WHAM! What a SHOCK!" He grinned widely, then stopped for a split moment, if only to break the rhythm of his running. "Wait, how did you get in here? There's no way anypony could guess that lock!" Trixie blinked. "It- it just opened when I was about to break it down..." Did he just say that he LIKED the... Pennington shook his head confusedly, returning to pacing around the desk. "That's simply not possible! I mean, it may have been if you thought of the password just before you tried to break it down, which, judging from your build and stature, would also be impossible, but there's no possible way that you could have thought of the words 'Plethora, petrichor, parasol,' could you?" He suddenly turned on her with a glare of deep examination. "Could you?" "What? I don't even know what you said!" Trixie shook her head, wiping her mouth with her hoof. "They're three of my favorite words..." He muttered, breaking away his gaze and walking towards the door. "I want some ramen! Do you want some ramen, Trixie? Of course you do, you haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? Come on, let's have some ramen!" "PENNINGTON INKWELL!" She shouted, stopping him dead in his tracks. "I want a calm, understandable, slow explanation of what just happened!" Pennington took a deep breath, turned around, and sat down on his haunches. "Alright, Trixie... You deserve that much." He seemed to have finally calmed down, and he was quickly returning to a normal rate of speech. "Years ago, I began having the problem, even when I was just a colt... It's called Sleep Paralysis. Nopony knows why it happens, or how, but sometimes... I wake up, but my body doesn't, okay? Normally, I can only move my eyes, sometimes control my own breathing..." He looked down at the floor, seemingly ashamed. "My whole life, I've loved being my own pony: standing on my own. But then, I can't sleep at night because I'm scared stiff... Not being able to move is my greatest fear..." He looked up at her with a melancholy shrug. "Nothing I can really do about it..." Trixie shook her head. "So... have you seen a doctor about it?" "What?" From the look that Pennington gave her, Trixie thought that she may have thought that she just suggested sawing off his own horn with a butter knife. "Are you kidding? This is embarrassing enough!" Trixie stood up, walking over to him and placing a gentle hoof on his shoulder. "Penny, you looked like you were dying... and you scared the living daylights out of me. As your official assistant, I am giving you my honest advice. See a doctor." She put a tentative hoof around his shoulders, realizing that she suddenly saw him as much more delicate than she did yesterday. Where yesterday, he had taken a blow that sent him flying through the air and simply limped away, Trixie felt that if she even brushed against him with too much force, he might shatter like glass. "Well, let me at least choose my own doctor..." Pennington muttered. "I think that I know one who may be able to help... But can we eat, first?" Trixie smiled as Pennington seemed to have finally collected himself. "Sure. Let's have some of that horrible soup..." As they walked out, something was nagging at the back of Trixie's mind. The feelings that she had felt when their lips had met. Granted, it wasn't a kiss, considering the fact that she had been trying to save his life, but either way, it was too strong for her to ignore. "Penny... Did you feel anything... strange... when I was trying to save you? I mean with the mouth-to-mouth..." She felt her face flush as soon as she had spoken, and wished almost instantly that she hadn't asked. "Well... yes." Pennington spoke slowly, as if he were picking his words slowly and deliberately. "I think that it was very... exciting. It was very disconcerting, but in a good way. And it was certainly a shock..." Trixie thought for a moment, then smiled again. "So, you liked it?" Pennington took his own turn to think. "Well... yes." Trixie gloated quietly to herself. "Well, then again, there isn't a stallion in all of Equestria who wouldn't..."
A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of ThatTrixie looked nervously around as she and Pennington walked together through the dark forest. When Pennington had told her that the "doctor" that he wanted to see lived in the Everfree Forest, she had immediately balked at the idea, but he had reminded her promise with a smug grin that she was quickly coming to hate. Eventually, they reached a small hut some ways into the forest. Still bearing his smug grin, Pennington gave a short series of knocks on the door. After a few seconds, the door swung open, revealing a zerbra with an array of gold jewery, from gold bands around her neck to large, hooped earrings. "Ah, Pennington, my dear friend! Have you come to go camping, yet again?" "Sorry, Zecora, but I'm not on a pleasure trip, this time..." Pennington shook his head. "I need a little medical help. Do you have the time for a check-up?" "You want me to see if you are sick? Wouldn't a trip to the doctor do the trick?" She asked as she stepped back to let them inside. "That's what I keep telling him..." Trixie muttered under her breath. "He needs real medicine, not some mystic voodoo-" "I've been having trouble sleeping!" Pennington shot Trixie a glare as he cut her off. The zebra was giving her a aggravated look, but continued on as if nothing had happened. "It's when I wake up, actually. Sometimes I can't move, sometimes I even have trouble breathing..." Zecora looked at Pennington, then nodded towards Trixie with a questioning glance. Pennington replied with a cringe and a shrug, as if asking her to simply bear with him. "Well, in this issue, I can assist. It sounds like a case of sleep paralysis!" "That's what he just told you..." Trixie muttered. She didn't like this zebra. She didn't know why, but she just didn't. "What you describe is not the symptom, but the condition! To aid you right now has become my mission!" She began pulling different herbs from around the room, tossing them together in a small bowl. "I have seen this kind of case a few times before... I can help you to stop it, but it cannot be cured." "Are you sure that there's nothing we can do to get rid of it for good?" Pennington asked. "If that was possible, I certainly would." Zecora replied. "Oh, great. Now they're rhyming together." Trixie rolled her eyes as both of them turned to glare at her. "Trixie, please! You're being rude!" Pennington whispered while Zecora continued to blend herbs. "Zecora is a very good friend of mine, and she's one of the ponies I trust the most! She knows more about obscure medicine and magic than any pony in Ponyville, and maybe even the majority of students in Canterlot!" "Pennington, do you really think that she's going to be able to do anything to help you?" Trixie whispered in return as she gestured to the tribal masks on the walls and the bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. "You need a real doctor, not a witch doctor!" Zecora's ears perked up on the top of her head, indicating that she had heard them. "While I can assure you that I am no witch, it would be wise for you not to be such a-" "SO, Zecora! What exactly is in this?" Pennington asked, giving Trixie a threatening glare and nodding his head towards the corner of the room. "I see a little heart's desire, some willow leaves... Is that poison joke?" "This herbal mix will save you from strife, and help urge your body to rise back to life." Zecora smiled as she looked over at Pennington. "As for the poison joke, that's simply for scares, to add some hilarity to your nightmares." Pennington smiled, then looked back at Trixie, who was sulking near the door. "This is normally a symptom of narcolepsy, but you've proven that is not the case, I can see. Any normal physician would find themselves baffled, but I've seen accounts of the cases, only few, as I've dabbled." She ground the herbs into a powder, then added a few drops of a thick liquid that turned it white. With a few quick gestures, she moved the bowl to a small contraption that pressed the powder into capsules, creating small pills. "Take one of these every night before bed, and your cases will slow. Perhaps stop, instead!" She gave Pennington a serious look, though Trixie could hardly take her rhymes seriously. "But if you take one too many, be very wary, the consequential insomnia could be even more scary! You'll be unable to sleep for hours, perhaps the whole night. Addiction could follow, and that's a far greater plight." Pennington nodded solemnly as Zecora put the pills into a small hollowed-out gourd, her version of a prescription bottle. "How much do I owe you for this, old friend?" "First, let me know if they work for you, see? Take them and report back with results for me." She gave him a light wink, then looked back at Trixie. "And next time, come alone, if it's not too much trouble. Your friend makes the room's bad energy double." "Hey!" Trixie stood up indignantly, ready to return with an insult before Pennington pushed her out the door. "I don't have to take this from you, you stripy little-" "Thank you, Zecora! I'll be back soon!" He called back as he swung the door shut with a grin. When they were out of her sight, he turned back to Trixie, looking legitimately angry with her. "Trixie! What is wrong with you? Zecora may be unorthodox, but there is no pony I would trust more with my medicine! She's been my guide through this forest on more than a few occasions, and we're lucky that she chooses to stay here, near Ponyville!" Trixie rolled her eyes at Pennington. "Look, Pennington, you really need to see a real doctor. A physician!" "Look, I have! Okay, I have seen doctors! They couldn't help!" Pennington suddenly turned on her, growing very angry. "So far, Zecora has been the only one who's been able to do anything for me! I've been to doctors, physicians, even sleep clinics! None of them were able to help me! And I hated it. I slept with breathing masks on, sat through MRI's, been assigned pointless medicines and placebos and been shrugged at by all of them! Even if they could help me, I'm having a very hard time giving you or your advice any kind of respect after the way you treated Zecora!" Panting slightly from his outburst, Pennington turned around and began walking away down the path. Trixie blinked in surprise as she ran to catch up with him. "You- you mean you've been trying?" "For a long time." Pennington nodded in reply. "I just never asked Zecora because I didn't want to bother her when she already helps me and gives me a place to stay when I'm coming by on my trips into the forest! She's really generous, and usually helps ponies without charging them any kind of fee... And I always thought that, if she did know a cure, it would be really hard for her to find and that she would still refuse to charge me for it..." Trixie blinked again in surprise. "You mean, you worried that you were going to get something for free?" "I worried that I was going to take advantage of her." Pennington looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Don't you understand that concept?" When Trixie shook her head, he looked at her as if she had just told him that she didn't know the alphabet the whole way through. "Some ponies are kinder than they ought to be. They give until it costs them personally... and they don't tell anypony. It's up to those whom they're giving to to recognize when they're taking too much and stop accepting it." Trixie nodded slowly as the concept sank in. As it did, a question began to rise in her mind. "Pennington... am I taking advantage of you?" She thought that she saw a coy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're staying in my house as a live-in assistant, making sure that my needs are cared for and that I can get my work done, and you're asking if you're taking advantage of me?" "I'm taking your only bedroom, living in your house... You gave me a job that you didn't need to create and you're taking time out of your life to make sure that I'm cared for. You're even here just to ease my fears." Pennington thought for a moment before he spoke again. "I wouldn't offer it if it wasn't mine to give." As they continued walking, Trixie continued to think. So, some ponies give more than they can afford to... and it would be my responsibility to know when to stop them... As they continued to walk, they finally emerged from the woods. Somehow, Pennington had found another path, and they had come out at a different place than they had come in. As Trixie looked around, she recognized the rolling fields of apple trees as Sweet Apple Acres. The walk back had felt longer, but Trixie hadn't imagined that they had gotten so far out of town. "I must have taken the wrong way..." Pennington muttered as he examined his surroundings. "Good thing I was craving apples..." He pulled a small sack of bits out of his bag and lifted it up into the air with him magic. With a thought, he sent it flying through the air, levitating through the trees and towards the Apple Family's house. Trixie could barely see the bag as it floated in through one of the upper windows. "What was that?" "Apple Bloom and I have a special arrangement, so that I can get apples without buying from her sister..." He grinned as he pulled an apple from a nearby tree and took a large bite. "And she can feel like she's helping her family sell apples when she's not very good at it!" Trixie smiled and plucked an apple of her own. "And how many did you just pay for?" "Six!" Pennington laughed as the two of them continued walking. "I knew you would want some..." Trixie took a large bite, letting the crisp flesh and sweet juice fill her mouth as she slowly chewed. "So, are we headed back to the shop?" "Well, considering we're both supposed to be working right now... I would say 'yes.'" Pennington had finished his apple in a few more bites and tossed a couple more into his bag. "That's my three. Grab two more for the walk home and we'll get going!" He glanced at the core, which was hovering in the air in front of him. With a shrug, he tossed it back into Everfree. Trixie looked around, then blushed slightly. "Would you mind carrying mine for me? I didn't bring my saddlebag. not that I want to take advantage of you, or anything." She winked at the last comment, showing that she now understood the idea. Pennington smiled and rolled his eyes as the opened up his bag and let her place two more apples inside. As they were about to emerge from the orchards, Pennington held out his hoof, indicating for Trixie to stop. As she looked around, she spotted something that he had already seen: Applejack, on the prowl. Well, actually she was just collecting apples from the trees, but it may as well have been the same thing. "If she catches us, she'll think we've been stealing apples to snack on..." He whispered. "I don't normally come this way, but... I just feel the need to pull one over on her now and then and get a little trespassing in behind her back." Trixie gave him a sly glance. "You knew exactly where we were in the forest, didn't you?" "Eeyup." He gave her a small wink. "Okay, when I say 'run-'" "Hey! What're y'all doin' in mah orchard?" Applejack cried, quickly advancing on the two of them. "RUN!" With a chortle of laughter, Pennington took off at a full sprint and leaped over the fence, leaving a flabbergasted Trixie behind. Trixie felt an irresistible burst of giddy laughter burst out from her chest as she took off running, jumping over the fence with equal ease. "Hey! Wait up, Penny! No fair!" As the two of them ran alongside one another, both laughing so hard, they were nearly tripping over their own hooves, Trixie felt as if nothing in the world could catch her. Not Applejack, not that stupid Zebra, not even her tattered reputation could ruin this moment, and not one of them could change how happy she was. Taking advantage or not... I want to stay here, most of all stay with Pennington. It's like the whole "ursa incident" never happened! He treats me kindly, which is more than I can say about most other stallions I've met... "Penn! Ah'll forgive ya 'cause you're family, but keep that snake of a girlfriend outta mah fields!" Applejack shook a baleful hoof at the two of them. Immediately, Pennington stopped running. Trixie nearly fell over her own hooves trying to slide to a stop on the dirt road, but Pennington had come to a complete stop. "Excuse me?" Pennington asked as he began marching back towards Applejack's farm. Trixie wasn't sure which surprised her more: the fact that Pennington had taken such great offense at the comment or the fact that he hadn't realized that Applejack was insulting her. She had dealt with hecklers in her early performing days, but she had become finely tuned to be set off at the slightest insult over the years. It may have simply been because she had been reduced so low while on the streets, but Applejack's comment was beginning to sink in, and a flame was beginning to ignite. "Y'all heard me!" Applejack replied with a stubborn look on her face. "Trixie's a snake, through and through! To be honest, since that's mah Element, even Ah'm surprised that you would associate with the likes of her, Pennington!" Pennington growled as he reached the fence, obviously keeping his temper only barely in check. "Take that back." "No!" His hoof raised from the fence, and Trixie felt almost certain that he was going to start another fight. At this point, she wouldn't have minded helping him get in a few punches. To her surprise, with his hoof just barely trembling with restraint, Trixie watched Pennington inhale deeply through his nose, make a deep retching sound in the back of his throat, and spit onto his hoof. "You. Me. Iron Pony Competition. Right now." Applejack's face broke out into a smug grin. "You do remember our current record?" When Pennington nodded, she repeated the action of inhaling, retching, and spitting into her hoof. "You're on. Our typical wager?" "You bet..." With a sudden lunge, both ponies grabbed hooves, making the spit and mucus mingle disgustingly to seal the deal. Trixie's momentary anger was washed away by a wave of confusion. "What's an 'Iron Pony Competition?'"
The Iron PonyPennington and Applejack stared each other in the eyes, and from her perspective laying on a branch in a nearby tree, Trixie could swear that there was literally a spark of fire smoldering between them. "First one to touch the barn?" Pennington asked as he eased himself down into a jaguar-like position. The two of them were obviously about to race on hoof, seeing which one was faster. "You got it, Penn." Applejack winked as she stretched her legs. "Your girlfriend-" "We're not dating." Pennington looked uneasily up at Trixie, who nodded in reply. Even if the two of them did seem to be good for each other, Trixie knew that it was far too early to say anything like that. Not to mention that I'm probably just a burden to him... "Fine. That mare is going to call for the start, and Apple Bloom is going to judge the finish. Fair's fair, after all..." "And the race is one-way?" "Well, we both remember what happened when you tried turnin' on a bit at the obstacle course when we were foals, so sure! One way." Trixie could tell from Applejack's teasing tone that the incident was one of shame for Pennington, and her temper flared slightly at the unfair teasing. "For the record, you tripped me!" Pennington winked at Trixie with a mischievous grin, showing that he was joking. "Did not!" "Did, too!" "Did not!" "Oh, for pony's sake, you sound like a pair of fillies! GO!" Pennington and Applejack were off like a shot, taking only a few seconds to disappear over the hill. Trixie stood up in the branches, trying to see what was happening. Pennington and Applejack were neck and neck, though she could tell that both of them had slowed since their first boost of speed. She watched as, every few seconds, Applejack would begin to pull ahead, and then Pennington would catch up to her. After learning that the Iron Pony was a competition of physical abilities, she had taken her own assessment of the two competitors. Learning to identify important things about a pony on sight had been one of her keys to mastering show magic. Applejack was built strongly, and Trixie could tell just by looking at her that she was finely toned and tuned from years of farm work. Her back legs seemed to be her strongest, and she looked as if she had conditioned herself for hours of hard work and constant expenditure of energy, something that could both help and hinder her, seeing as it granted endurance but lowered her maximum strength. Pennington, on the other hoof, was more lithe. He was muscular, true, but Trixie could see that he hadn't devoted nearly as much time to his body as Applejack. He seemed to value agility and dexterity, and was light on his hooves. Trying not to let a few... unwelcome... feelings surface, she had noted that he was also well-toned, with a slightly more muscular build than she had credited him with at first glance. Pennington could put out a lot of energy and strength at once, but he obviously didn't have Applejack's stamina. As the race continued, Trixie shook her head in confusion. Pennington is fast, but he's obviously more of a sprinter. Applejack can outlast him, but she doesn't have his top speed... As they closed in on the final stretch, Trixie looked up in curiosity. They were still neck-and-neck, and she bit her lip in anticipation. In a moment, though, she heard Pennington's voice raise above the silence. Though she couldn't make out what he was saying, she saw him shift into a new gear, tearing away from Applejack in a full-on sprint. She heard Applejack, as well, crying out what she could only imagine were words of frustration as Pennington quickly closed the gap between himself and the barn. "Yes! GO, PENNY, GO!" She shouted, wondering if he could hear her. She got more and more excited as the distance grew smaller. And smaller. And smaller. "Okay, Penn... Slow down!" She muttered, trying to instruct him from afar. "Pennington, slow down! You're going to hit the barn! Pennington!" At the last moment before hitting the barn, Trixie watched as he jumped into the air and twisted his body, slamming into the wall with his side, well-braced for the impact. She cringed as he bounced back, stumbled for a few steps, then shook his head vigorously. With a grin, he did a small victory dance, jumping up and down in a circle. Applejack didn't even seem to be trying to finish, and was doubled over with laughter almost fifty feet from the barn, and Trixie could quickly see why as Pennington did his small dance. The barn had recently been given a fresh coat of paint. Trixie tried her hardest not to laugh as Pennington realized that a large portion of the right side of his body had been painted red, especially as he tried in vain to wipe it off with his hooves, simply thinning and spreading the color until the looked to be covered in splotches of muddy purple. Applejack simply laughed harder as he turned on her with a glare, then flopped back in the grass for a quick rest. Trixie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She knew he would do that, didn't she? Well, two can play at the prank game... "The next contest is the hay bale toss!" Apple Bloom announced as she motioned to two hay bales, both of which had been tightly lassoed with rope. Pennington rubbed his hooves together in anticipation, while Applejack still snickered every time that she looked at him. However, Trixie knew that Pennington would be the one laughing, soon enough. "Here, Penny! Use this one!" Trixie walked over to the one closest to him and leaned her hoof on it, with every bit as nonchalance that she could muster. It was a simple feat not to act like she was up to something, she had become very good at acting over the years. Applejack rolled her eyes and tugged on the rope tied around the other bale, bringing it to the starting point of the toss. "Since y'all won the first one, I'll be takin' the first turn!" Trixie couldn't resist a smug grin as Applejack began to swing the bale around, building up speed and momentum with ease. Just as she looked ready to make her toss, however, the rope snapped, sending the hay bale flying in the wrong direction. "Now what in tarnation?" Applejack cried as the bale landed a long distance away. "Now that ain't fair!" Trixie looked over to Pennington, who was obviously trying to hold back a snicker behind a simple grin. "Y- ahem- You're right, Applejack... Take another toss!" Applejack nodded and ran off to retrieve the hay bale. When she returned, she tried yet again to toss it with the shortened rope. With another tearing sound, the rope snapped yet again at its apex, sending the hay in the same direction. As Applejack groaned in frustration, Pennington openly laughed, stomping his hoof on the ground in joy. "A- AJ, I think you need a new rope..." If looks could kill, Applejack would have murdered Pennington with her ensuing glare as she marched off to retrieve the hay bale. She stopped abruptly, though, as an idea came to her. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her lasso and began spinning it around her head. "Ah've got mah own rope!" She grunted as she lassoed the bale. With a grunt, she jerked her head upwards, pulling the hay into the air, over her head, and almost twice as far in the other direction. "Now, beat that!" Both Pennington and Trixie immediately stopped laughing as Applejack struck a smug pose, crossing her legs and nodding towards the bale. Pennington shrugged and picked up his rope, taking the bale to the starting line. His eyes narrowed as he began to spin the bale over his head and he concentrated on building the momentum. He continued to spin it faster and faster, and then grunted with strain as he released it into the air. The bale flew freely through the air in a gentle arc, floating up and then back down again... and landing at least ten yards short of Applejack's throw. "YEEE-HAW! Looks like I win this one, Penn!" Applejack waved her hat in celebration, giving both him and Trixie a smug grin. "That's just a taste of what's comin'!" Trixie felt the flare of indignation rise again, and she felt very close to simply using her own rope to tie her up again, but she knew that doing so would hurt Pennington's purpose, which was to defend her reputation. So she kept her temper in check, but only barely. Just you wait... The hours passed with a mix of laughter and humiliation as the challenges and the pranks escalated. First Applejack tricked Pennington into bucking a zap apple tree, giving him a painful shock, then Pennington retaliated by "accidentally" letting off a burst of magical energy while the two tried to outdo one another in push-ups, sending her careening backwards. Applejack broke one of the ink bottles in Pennington's saddlebag with a stray toss of the horseshoe, and Pennington managed to somehow undo the straps to his saddlebag just before competing in the long jump, sending the ink-soaked bag flying onto her head, soaking her hat in splotches of ink. Applejack had nearly throttled him for this, but Trixie had levitated him into the air and out of her reach from the tree branches she had chosen to observe from. Of course, it would be a lie that Trixie hadn't been involved in more than a few of the pranks, but she had also been working on a small "surprise" of her own for Applejack. She had tried to tilt the odds in Pennington's favor a few times, especially since many of the "challenges" had been farm chores and rodeo such as apple bucking or lassoing. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom had a sharp pair of eyes, and had always spotted Trixie's magical aura moving objects on the course. In that case, Pennington had always willingly defaulted the point to Applejack. Trixie shook her head at the concept, pressing her hoof against her forehead. If he simply GIVES her the points, he doesn't stand a chance! Sportsponyship and fair play is all nice and dandy, but she clearly has the upper hoof! Somehow, though, Pennington not only kept up with Applejack, but beat her in many of her own competitions. The two were neck-and-neck by the time of the final challenge, with Pennington barely eking out a lead of 10 points to Applejack's 9. "Alright, since you're ahead, Ah'm gonna pick out this last one!" Applejack gave him a fierce look from under the brim of her ink-stained hat. Trixie had often seen that look on her own face: whenever she had thought of some new trick. "'Last one?' Does that mean you don't think you can tie it up?" Pennington chuckled between panting breaths. Trixie could see that he wasn't holding on well to the last shreds of his endurance. The previous contest had been a competition to see who could reach the top of the barn first. Pennington had taken the direct route, climbing on window sills, swinging on pieces that jutted out more than others, and essentially moving straight up. Applejack had gone around to a nearby tree, climbing up the branches with ease and moving much more quickly than Pennington. Seeing that he was about to lose, Pennington had taken a huge gamble: he leaped out into the air, grabbed the pulley for moving things into the attic, and swung his way to the top, landing with a loud thud on his back only seconds before Applejack reached the top. The effort had used most of his energy, and he had been forced to lay on the roof for at least ten minutes to catch his breath. Applejack rolled her eyes with a smile at Pennington's taunt, a bad sign that she was extremely confident. "Well, this here contest is simple! Ya just hold your breath! Whoever lasts the longest wins!" Pennington's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly glanced to Apple Bloom, who simply shrugged in response. "That's not even fair! She can see how out of breath he is!" Trixie hissed, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's a test of physical strength, so Ah can't say no..." Pennington took a deep breath, doing his best to slow down to a normal rate of breathing. "Fine... count it down." "Three... Two... One... GO!" At the word, both ponies took a deep breath and held it, their cheeks inflating to make them almost look like a pair of squirrels. Trixie leaned forward, doing her best to keep a close eye on Pennington. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving a muscle. He seemed lost in his own world, completely oblivious to the competition and the rest of the world. He was holding up remarkably well, as far as Trixie could see. As the seconds progressed, Pennington still didn't move, but Applejack seemed to be starting to worry. Her cheeks had slowly deflated over time as oxygen was removed and replaced with carbon dioxide. Pennington's had, equally so, but Applejack was beginning to look at him like one would look at a flying tortoise: with a mix of horror and surprise. She whipped her head to Apple Bloom, who simply shrugged again. "You picked it, big sis!" Trixie could have sworn that she saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of Pennington's mouth. At this point, though, both competitors seemed to be running out of steam, almost literally. Applejack began to trot in place in anxiety, and Pennington's cheeks begin to move in and out as his lungs passed though the motion of breathing without actually taking in any air. Applejack's race turned a bright red, and Pennington began to sink towards the ground like a balloon deflating. Applejack tried desperately to hang on just a little longer as Penn's hoof massaged at his chest, obviously in a small amount of pain. This has to stop, they're going to hurt themselves! Trixie thought to herself as she walked from branch to branch until she was standing above them. She grabbed Apple Bloom's attention with a wave, motioned to herself, then pointed at the ground. With a nod from the other judge, Trixie jumped from the branch, plummeting down and landing directly between the two. Pennington didn't react, his closed eyes still keeping him in his own world. Applejack jumped backwards, though, her eyes growing wide-open as she exhaled loudly and took in a huge gulp of air. "HEY! That... ain't... fair!" Upon hearing Applejack's voice, Pennington also let out his breath, gasping for air as if he had just come up from the bottom of the ocean. "Well, sis, I thought of it this way..." Apple Bloom spoke up a little at her sister's protest. "Trixie scared both of you, or, at least, she tried to! You and Pennington were holding your breath different, so he didn't get scared, but you did! It was fair to both of y'all!" "And I... Win!" Pennington thrust a hoof into the air in triumph. Trixie grinned in smug victory as she looked over to the orange pony. "I believe that you have something to say to the Great and Powerful Trixie?" As Applejack muttered something under hear breath, Apple Bloom's eyes grew wide and she took a step back. "AJ, you told me I was never supposed to say those words! Why do you get to?" Pennington snickered a little at the scene. "Because your sister's vernacular finds itself somewhat lacking in a means of releasing her frustration..." "Penn, you're using big words again..." Apple Bloom groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Trixie, Ah apologize..." Applejack spat the words through gritted teeth, obviously forcing the words. "The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts your apology!" Trixie gloated until a quick glance from Pennington cut her down a notch. "I- I mean... I accept your apology." "Well, we'd best not push our luck..." Pennington was wearing a grin even bigger than Trixie's, and he put a gentle, tired hoof around her shoulders and led her towards the fence. Applejack and Apple Bloom didn't make any sort of farewell, simply turning back towards the barn. "Pennington..." Trixie whispered as they climbed their way through the fence and back onto the road. "I have a feeling we're going to get the last laugh..." "We already did..." Pennington replied with a chuckle. "Well, then we're going to get another one... I peeled the apples on at least half a dozen trees." Pennington pulled back a little from her to look her in the eyes, a mixture of mischief and surprise in his eyes. The two of them laughed all of the way home, trying to imagine the look on Applejack's face when she saw Trixie's hoofiwork.
Making Yourself at HomeAfter a week, Trixie and Pennington had fallen into a routine. She would wake up in the morning and either find him asleep on the couch or reclined in the chair in his study, refusing to move after a long night of writing. She would shake him awake and the two of them would have breakfast. Surprisingly, after a few days, he revealed that he actually didn't survive solely off of ramen, as she believed. He actually kept salads and other ingredients in high cupboards, and had a shockingly strong supply of lemonade in his refrigerator. After breakfast, Pennington would lock himself in his study and leave Trixie to tend to the counter out front, waiting for customers. Whenever one walked in, she would follow a set of instructions that Pennington had given her: to go and knock on his door. He would undo all of the locks and emerge without a word, obviously in some kind of deep "author zone." He would tend to the customer, and she would write up a short summary of their order, including a small multitude of criteria such as character, conflict, climax, and summary of the plot. It turned out, Pennington was a writer-for-hire, allowing ponies to pay him for his talent with words when they just couldn't figure out what to say. After they had placed their order, Trixie was surprised to see Pennington let them go without paying, claiming that they could pay him after their orders had been filled. After they left, Pennington would thank Trixie, lock himself in his study again, and go back to writing his novel. If a customer simply came to buy an already-published book, she would ring it up herself on the register. Occasionally, she would hear him calling her name from the study. She would open the door to reveal him sitting at his desk, waving at her to come closer. When she did, he would ask for her to bring him either more scrolls or more ink. She would always roll her eyes and leave, returning with the supplies. At the end of the day, she would turn the "open" sign around, lock the front door, and knock on his study again, signaling that it was time for him to take a short break after working for an entire day. Sometimes he would come out, and sometimes she would simply have to roll her eyes and fix herself a salad for dinner. Then, after eating, the two would talk for a short time, often about the things that they had seen and the experiences they'd had over the years. "The breath-holding?" Pennington had laughed when Trixie had asked him about the final contest. "A trick I learned while helping with an underwater archaeological dig. Even with scuba gear, it helps to be able to hold your breath for a long time." Trixie was surprised at how nonchalantly he mentioned this, along with talking about traveling to Saddle Arabia, Stalliongrad Prison, and even deep in the Everfree Forest. In return, she told him about seeing the sights of Equestria from her travelling stage. She was surprised at how much Pennington understood what it was like to feel the need to travel. They both talked about how it felt not to want to stay in one place, the hunger to see things that they had never seen before, and the sensation of walking in unfamiliar places. As they talked more and more, Trixie began to wonder how the author had been in so many places. "Well, I actually went traveling after I finished school. My best friend and I travelled across the country by train for a month and we decided to see everything that we ever wanted to. We basically blew all of the profits from my first book on that trip, but it was worth it." "Who did you travel with?" She asked, curious about who would go on such a an adventure with him. "Lily Ixia." Pennington had smiled as the took a long sip of the broth from his ramen, apparently lost in a flashback. "She and I grew up together here, and she was the only one who would be willing to go along with such a 'crazy scheme,' as she called it. So, after we graduated, we jumped on the first train out of town and set off on an adventure!" He chuckled at this point, shaking his head. "I wanted to explore, and she was just the tourist along for the ride." Trixie tilted her head in confusion. "You were traveling with a mare? Were the two of you..." "Oh, no! No." Pennington held up his hooves in surprised denial. "A lot of ponies thought we were, but it just wasn't meant to be... She wanted a life that was predictable and steady, but I wanted more than that, so the two of us agreed to just stay friends." Trixie had nodded in understanding, feeling a connection to him that hadn't been there before. Not only was he kind, but he was a kindred spirit, always moving, never wanting to stop. Somehow, though, being around Pennington made that desire go away. She wanted to stay, but only if Pennington was there. After dinner, Trixie would always have the evening to herself, to do as she wished. Sometimes she would simply go straight to bed, sometimes she would stay up practicing her magic. On a few precious nights, she would stay with Pennington in his study, laying by the fire and listening to the scratching of his quill mingling with the crackling and popping of the flames. The entire thing had a very soothing effect on her, and she would often doze for some time before Pennington would quietly mention that she should go to bed. She would nod and sleepily walk out of the room, feeling at a strange sort of peace. On this night, however, Trixie had decided to take up a hobby that she had practiced on the road before her humiliation. With a smile, she closed the door to the stairwell, knowing that Pennington was deeply involved in his work at the time, and would most likely sleep in his study again. With a smile, she walked to the desk in the corner of the room, which she had only recently discovered had sported a radio. She turned the knobs, feeling the machine come to life under her hoof. Good evening, everypony! The sun is low in the sky and Luna's moon is about to rise! It's looking to be a bee-yoo-tiful night! We can all thank Princess Luna for that! Now, it's seven o'clock and time for the nightlight playlist! This is DJ Star Shooter giving you the tunes to groove to! Trixie smiled as his voice faded and made way for an upbeat tune. She started tapping her hoof to the beat as it continued past the introduction and into the chorus. She smiled and began bending her knees, rather than tapping her hoof, putting her whole body into the action. Raising one of her front hooves from the ground, Trixie first pulled it in towards herself, then flung it outwards to propel herself into a spin that carried her almost two full revolutions. Without giving herself time to stop, she immediately continued to dance, moving first to the left, bending at the knees again, then moving to the right. She stopped caring about her appearance for once as she repeated the action, then began anew as her body moved to the flow of the music. She made up moves on the spot, letting one action spill into another and another as she felt the music moving through her. Her mane waved around her head becoming a mess which she refused to try to think about, and she only let herself care about one thing: what came next in the song. As she threw herself into another spin, Trixie saw a blue figure in the door to the stairwell. Immediately, she froze, her hair half in her face and the face behind it quickly turning a deep maroon. "No, please, don't stop on my account..." Pennington gave her one of his signature smug grins. "It actually looked really good! Where did you learn?" "A stallion in Fillydelphia gave me lessons whenever I would come to town..." Trixie quickly regained her composure, and brushed her hair out of her face, though the blushing remained. "It turned out, he didn't just want to swing with me on the dance floor, so I dropped him like a rock and taught myself the rest." At this point, she had a rather foolish thought. Well, I've already embarrassed myself, anyway... "I dance better with a partner..." Pennington's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, no... I don't dance. Never learned how, probably can't." Trixie rolled her eyes, slightly surprised at having finally found something that Pennington was afraid to do. "Well, then I can teach you! Consider it part of my payment for room and board." Pennington shook his head, but before he could deny her, Trixie had already grabbed him and pulled him into the center of the room with her. Almost perfectly, the song on the radio ended and morphed into a more slow-paced melody. She took his hoof and moved it to her waist as she led him in swaying back and forth. Pennington's movements and steps were stuttering and unsure at first, and his face was beginning to turn red, even as Trixie's blushing finally faded. "Just relax..." She whispered as she began to guide them in a slow circle. "I'll lead, you just follow." As his movements became more and more fluid, Trixie brought one of her hooves up and around his neck, pulling him closer and bringing their faces together. Trixie felt almost certain that he could feel the heat coming off of her face as it began to burn again. "These are... nice lyrics." Pennington muttered, eyes shifting downwards as he spoke. For the first time, Trixie listened to the actual words of the song that they were dancing to. I'll stand by you 'till the sun falls from the sky... I'll stand by you while the moon comes rollin' by... I'll stand by you! When your life is full of strife... I won't leave you, even if it costs me my life. Trixie smiled, this time honestly. "That reminds me... I never asked you why you stood up for me at Applejack's farm. I know that the two of you don't like each other, but that Iron Pony Competition was a lot of work to simply make a point..." Pennington smiled and finally looked Trixie in the eyes. "Well, I knew that it was the only way to knock that apple-headed nimrod down a few pegs... But it was really because I couldn't stand her calling you that. Snake is a name for somepony dishonest, disloyal, cruel and evil... And from what I've seen, you're not any of that." Trixie looked away this time, her face blushing harder. "You've hardly known me, Pennington." "Well, I think I've gotten to know you well enough to know who you are, Trixie! And I like her a lot better than everypony else around here seems to..." Trixie smiled, realizing what it would take to complete the moment. Her heart pounding, she prayed that the author shared the feelings that she was beginning to recognize. As the final notes of the song faded away, she pulled him a little closer and leaned forward, letting their lips embrace in a slow kiss. Pennington recoiled at first, looking at her with an expression of sheer surprise. "T-Trixie, I- I... I don't know what to say to that..." Trixie had felt suddenly unsure of herself at his reaction, but she felt a confirmation from him as she looked into his eyes, which were twinkling with excitement. "Well, why don't you just follow Big Mac's advice? Ask me..." She whispered, pulling him close again. Pennington looked unsurely to either side, then settled his eyes on hers. As he did, Trixie felt him grow more tense. "Well, we'll have no shortage of time together..." Pennington whispered with a smile. "Would you want to?" "You're the first pony to treat me like something more than simple trash or some kind of object... Of course I would." She replied, pulling him into another kiss. "Trixie!" Pennington called as he walked in through a back door to his shop. "I'm home!" "Penny!" Trixie bolted from the counter, where she had been waiting for customers. With an excited giggle, she grabbed him in a tight embrace, nearly tackling him to the ground. He had been gone for almost three weeks, apparently visiting with his publisher about something to do with the fact that his new book was almost finished. She still had yet to read it, and he kept it locked in a drawer in his study desk. "I missed you!" "I'm sorry, honey, but there was just so much to do! Copyrights, publishing rates, negotiations for royalties on book sales..." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he walked through into the kitchen, which was now clean enough to eat off of. "But, I think that I'm ready to finally finish that book. Did you-" "Yes! All of them." Trixie mimicked his smug grin as she knew what he was about to ask. "Well, what about-" "She picked it up yesterday!" Pennington raised a curious eyebrow. "Did Zecora-" "She came by, and I told her that the pills were working." Trixie winked. "Come on, Pennington! The Great and Intelligent Trixie was able to take care of everything while you were gone!" "Everything except that pesky third-person habit, apparently..." Pennington rolled his eyes and gave her a tight hug. "But I think I almost missed it, in a strange way." "Well, how could you not miss Trixie? She is your girlfriend..." With a smile, she leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her hoof around his shoulders. "And you are pretty behind in your dancing lessons. I hope you were practicing!" Pennington shook his flank with a smile. "Well, you know how much fun I've been having since we started learning swing dancing! But, for now, I need to get to-" "I swear, Pennington Inkwell, if you are about to lock yourself in that study of yours, I am going to knock you into next Tuesday!" Trixie gave him a chastening glare. "I've been alone in this shop for three weeks, and I need a little time out!" "But- But I just got home..." Pennington whimpered, giving her a pleading look. "But Pennington..." Trixie whined in return, batting her eyes at him as best she could. Pennington crumbled under her gaze, as always. "Fine... What do you say we try our luck in Canterlot? I'm sure we can find something exciting to do there..." "Yay!" Trixie grabbed him anew in another hug, then enthusiastically kissed his cheek. "Canterlot it is, then! I'll go get ready for our date!" With that, she ran upstairs to her bedroom. Pennington smiled as she left. He knew that she had been trying to act cute, and he had let himself be played like a fool, but he didn't mind. With a small groan, he arched his back inwards, hearing it pop and crack a few times. "Sleeping in a bed while I was gone was nice... I may just declare that we're staying in a hotel tonight so that we can each have one, because I'm not ready to go back to sleeping in my study... But she's worth it. I'd never want her to sleep without a bed while I had one." With a smile, he realized something. "I think... that a few permanent arrangements may be in order."
The End and Starting OverThe morning was silent as Trixie's eyes flickered open. She slowly climbed out of bed, feeling more tired than usual. She had stayed up late the night before, trying to get Pennington to let her into his study. She knew the password by heart, now, but she had learned long ago to still only come in with permission, and he had refused to give her that permission the night before. He had insisted that he was only a few nights away from finishing the book, and that he needed to work alone, without distraction. With a long yawn, Trixie trotted down the stairs, approaching the study door. To her surprise, the door was open, just a crack, just enough to stop the locks from engaging. With a smile, she slowly poked her head into the study, peeking at Pennington. "Morning, Penny!" she chimed. To Trixie's surprise, Pennington wasn't in his normal position: asleep slumped over the desk or leaning back in his chair. Instead, the chair was empty, and there was no sign of the blue pony. She looked around, but Pennington wasn't in the room. There were an array of papers scattered across his desk, however, and everything looked as if he had left in the middle of his work. At this point, Trixie realized a rare opportunity. She had never read this book that Pennington was writing, he had never let her. Looking from side to side, she smiled and walked behind the desk, her curiosity running rampant. She looked around, trying to figure out the meaning of the mess of papers. Some were maps of Saddle Arabia, with paths drawn out and large areas circled in red marker. A group of arrows enthusiastically pointed to a place on the northern border of the country, and a note scribbles above it spoke "It's here!" She shook her head in confusion, moving on to some hoof-scrawled notes. Day 5 I'm really missing Trixie. I know that I've said it before, but it's still true. But I don't know if there's any kind of risk with this excavation, so I didn't want her to come. Not to mention, if she knew that her boyfriend was Scorching Quill, there's no telling what she would do! I'll tell her once I've published this as a novel. "Scorching Quill? Pennington is Scorching Quill?" Trixie's jaw dropped as the secret sunk in. The Daring Do memorabilia, the secrecy about his manuscripts, and the long trips to his "publisher" were all beginning to make sense, now. She pulled a copy of one of the Daring Do books from the shelf, turning to the author's biography in the back. Scorching Quill, though elusive to his fans, is no stranger to the dangerous expeditions of Daring Do! Some of his notable adventures include climbing Mount Neverrest, going deep-sea diving in the Mareiana trench, and spearheading several expeditions into the Everfree forest, including the group responsible for discovering a changeling outpost that had been used to smuggle their operatives into Equestria. Despite all of his achievements, however, Scorching can rarely be found until only HE chooses to appear to the press, and refuses to give an address for his fan mail. When asked why, he replied, "I want my fans to show their love by pushing themselves to greater heights, not sitting around and writing letters. They need to push the envelope, not seal it and send it away." While the personal life of this author may be a mystery, his actions speak for themselves. Scorching Quill is nothing less than the flesh-and-blood manifestation of Daring Do, the adventurer extraordinaire. As for his fans, he gives two words of advice. "Happy adventuring!" Finally, she looked up at the picture, a smug photograph of a red-coated pony. As she stared at the grinning face, her imagination replaced the red with blue. She recognized it after a few more seconds, and she nearly dropped it out of shock. Pennington was secretly the most famous author in Equestria. There was no denying it. With the shock driving her to action, she tossed the book aside and went back to his journal entry from what was obviously his most recent adventure. We think that we've found the Alicorn Amulet. This temple certainly is trapped well enough to hold something that powerful. If the legends are true, a unicorn wearing this thing would be the most powerful in all of Equestria... I've nearly died three times for this thing. The builders certainly loved their projectiles. But I'm not going to die. No way. I just pray that this isn't one of the ones I have to leave behind... Day 6 Still miss Trixie. She might be able to pull me out of this slump. I managed to reach the center of the temple today, or at least as close as I could come to it. The final way of stopping intruders is that the entire room is enclosed in gigantic stone slabs. Bringing in tools is impossible because of the traps, and I can't use any of my magic to break through them. I don't know how we'll get it... Day 7 We've almost done it. I can feel the power coming from the room, and I've brought in a few hoof-held tools in my saddlebag to try and break through the rock. That, combined with a series of magical blasts has proven to be somewhat effective. I haven't left the temple in almost 24 hours, I think... I can only guess that it's day 7. I can feel the amulet drawing me in, and for now, I'm using it to give me motivation to keep digging. It's messing with my head, even through the rock, but I'll let it, for now. Day ??? I did it. I broke a small hole. I can see the amulet in the center of the room. It glows on its own, giving off a little red light. I have to have it. I'm trying to grab it with a levitation spell. I have to have it. I already said that, didn't I? The "I have to have it" bit... I know that it's getting a stronger hold on my mind. I'll let it in just a little longer... until I have it in my hooves. I'm so tired from chiseling away the magical obsession is all that keeps me going. But if I sleep, I worry about what will happen while my guard is down. As long as I know it's affecting me, I can keep it from totally taking control. Trixie shook her head, trying to picture the normally calm Pennington, whom she had only seen living a quiet life in his study, sitting in the center of an ancient temple, battling the supernatural forces around him. She shook her head. Day 25 I'm home, now. Sorry for not writing, but everything has been insane, lately... I got it, but I blacked out after it was in my hooves. I think that the amulet wanted to be out of there just as much as I did, though. I woke up back in the camp, with the thing around my neck. All of the locals that we had enlisted to help us were panicking, saying that my eyes had been glowing an evil red when I walked out, but I don't remember leaving the temple... They said that after I came out, I passed out, and that they couldn't get it off. I undid the clasp with ease, though it took me a long time to do so... It just felt GOOD. It was so powerful, I could do anything that I wanted, destroyed anyONE I wanted. The legends were all true, and the power was nearly enough to overwhelm my faculty of thought. Taking it off felt like giving up everything I had, everything I worked for... But it was good to come home. Trixie was really happy to see me. I wish I could have told her the truth. Just a few more days, right after I send this away to be published. Maybe I can use the amulet. Just to cast a spell that will help me go unnoticed if my secret gets out... Day 26 (Night) I have to get rid of it. I'm leaving tonight to put it back in the temple. The last spell that this amulet is going to cast is to seal itself in the prison I freed it from! I'll leave a note telling Trixie that I left for an emergency in Canterlot. This thing needs to stay hidden. "Penning- Scorching, why would you throw that kind of power away?" She asked quietly, her brow furrowing in frustration. "Don't you know what you could do with something like that? What Trixie could do?" Immediately, she began looking around, gathering up as many notes and papers as she could. She could practically hear the amulet calling her name, calling her to be great and powerful once more. "I'll have to stop him.... And if I can't, I'll have to get it, myself!" She paused when she came to a large stack of papers, glancing over them in a matter of seconds. They looked like an excerpt from a Daring Do novel, detailing a wide array of traps in an ancient temple, and how Daring found her way through them in her usual fashion. It didn't take a genius to realize that these were the traps that Pennington had been talking about in his journal. If Trixie needs to retrieve the amulet on her own, then she will need this... She gathered up the manuscript, tied the loose pages with a ribbon, then stuffed it into a saddlebag that she found in the corner, along with the maps and Pennington's journal. If this temple really was so dangerous, she would need every piece of information she could find in order to survive. She hated to emulate that wretched Twilight Sparkle, but she was going to need to study. She hesitated at the locked drawer in the bottom right of his desk. That was where Pennington kept his emergency bits, in case something came up suddenly that he needed to pay for, and she was the only other one who could unlock it. If she couldn't catch up to him, she was going to need cash to get all of the way to Saddle Arabia. I'm going to come back, and with the amulet! I can pay him back... I'm just going to borrow it. If I can find him along the way back to Saddle Arabia, I shouldn't even need it. She nodded confidently to herself as she thought out the combination to the magical lock. Strategic, sophomoric, superfluous... "Scorching seems to have a thing for alliteration..." She muttered as the drawer slid open, revealing a large sack of bits. Trixie frowned uncomfortably as the reassuring weight fell into her saddlebag. She felt like this was wrong, but her reasoning overruled the uncomfortable feeling, and it was quickly washed away as she left the room, fully prepared for an adventure of her own. She had pondered bringing the sword that Pennington kept mounted on the wall, but to use such a primal weapon was below a unicorn of her caliber. She could feel her old self-assurance and bravado returning as she hurried back down the hallway and out into the front area, where she had spent her days as a simple greeter and secretary for the author, smirking at the fact that she would never need to stoop to such lows again. To her surprise, Bon Bon was standing in the lobby, looking as if she had been waiting for some time. "Trixie! Have you seen Pennington? I accidentally made too many of those cream-filled caramels he likes, and- Trixie?" She seemed confused as Trixie simply walked by. "Pennington's not here right now, and the shop is closed... You can leave the candy in the refrigerator, if you like." She grinned at the pony as she pushed open the front door, already too caught up in imagining what she would be able to do with the amulet. "I'm afraid that 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' is going on an adventure of her own... Make sure you lock up when you leave!" Using her magic, she tossed a key from her saddlebag into Bon Bon's, and turned back away. "No longer will Trixie have to rely on the charity of another!" She declared as she stepped out of the door, holding her head high and letting her mane float in the breeze. "I am going to stop Pennington or find that amulet, myself! Now then, I'm going to have to catch the first express train to Saddle Arabia to catch up..." Pennington took a long and deep breath as he stepped off the train and back into Ponyville. It had been a long and strenuous day, and he was glad to be getting back home. It was already after nightfall when the last train from Canterlot had pulled into Ponyville, and most of the residents had gone to bed. It was a beautiful night, though, the kind that Pennington didn't mind walking alone on. As he reached Inkwell Commissions, he could already hear his bed calling his name, and he almost passed his mailbox without checking for any new developments, but he was expecting an important letter. His heart skipped a beat as he saw a sealed scroll waiting for him, bearing a familiar mark of a crescent moon. Not waiting in his excitement, Pennington broke the wax seal and unrolled the letter, his eyes quickly scanning the page for the word that was the most important to him. ...ACCEPTED... Pennington Inkwell, This letter has been sent to express my personal congratulations to you for you acceptance into the Royal Night Guard. Your application was exemplary, and your performance in the combat examination even more so! You displayed an intrinsic resourcefulness and quick-thinking mentality that qualified you above and beyond those others who applied. Your psychological evaluation reflected that you could be "reckless and intuitively act independent of orders..." Pennington cringed and skipped ahead, remembering that he had allowed the psychiatric evaluator to realize that he had a rebellious streak. These so-called "shortcomings," are, however, more than countered by your recommendation from the New Lunar Republic, an organization for whom we in the Royal Canterlot Guard have the utmost respect, and the letter written by your combat instructor, Quick Strike, stated that your hoof-to-hoof skills, weapon combat, and magical ability are all above that of the average guard, and recommended your immediate placement within consideration for Princess Luna's personal guard. Pennington's heart skipped a beat. After the mandatory three months of service on the main guarding service, due to your expressed interest on your initial application, we would be willing to accept a renewed application and examination. If you are willing to accept the position as a Royal Night Guard please report to the Canterlot New Lunar Republic outpost for nighttime conditioning. Thank you for your application, and I look forward to seeing you soon! -Princess Luna Pennington chuckled, then laughed, then chortled upwards in his glee, staring up at the moon with a knowing grin. He'd been working long and hard for this, and it had finally paid off. A steady job... A normal paycheck. Trixie's been more than patient with me, locking myself in my study all day and night. With this, I can finally put aside writing and make it more of a hobby and less of a job. I'll have regular hours, and more time for us to spend together. Everything won't rely on me finishing the next novel as soon as possible. We can close up the commissions shop and move to Canterlot, maybe even get a real home, not one that's split by my business! Pennington chuckled to himself again, the initial ecstasy wearing off and giving way to something more settled: satisfaction. After all of this time, she's not going to have to worry about having to help run a business, and neither will I. I'll spend my nights protecting Luna, and my days with Trixie... She'll have a real home, not a place borrowed or a temporary stop. Pennington felt the smile plastered on his face refusing to go away as he placed his key in the lock of his front door. "You know, this letter would have just sat in the mailbox for days if I had tried to get all of the way to Saddle Arabia... I'm glad that I thought of something else... And the Museum of Magical History seemed happy to take the amulet off of my hooves!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the familiar scents of paper and noodles that filled his home, reveling in the familiarity and the sense that everything was going well. As he opened his eyes again, something on his front desk caught his attention. A piece of paper, obviously with a note scrawled on it, had been left on the counter top, along with a small key that Pennington recognized as the one that fit his own house. Curious, he picked the note up with his magic and began to read. Hi, Penn, Sorry to have missed you. I came by earlier with some caramels for you, but Trixie said that you were gone and the shop was closed. Pennington balked at the statement. Even when he was gone, Trixie knew what needed to be done and how to do it. She wasn't supposed to close the shop before normal hours were over. Anyway, I left the candies in the fridge. But, I just wanted to let you know that Trixie was hardly accommodating. In fact, she was downright rude! Seemingly walking out on her duties, she had two full-looking saddlebags, and she simply tossed me your key and told me to lock up the shop! Pennington, I have respect for you, but you need to do something about that mare. She hasn't changed, and she's going to drive away your customers if she keeps acting like this! She talked down to me, just like she did to the entire town from the first day. Anyway, the sweets are there for you (provided that she didn't come back and eat them, herself), and I left the key here. Concernedly, Bon Bon Pennington let out a long sigh as he placed the letter down, again, his enthusiasm somewhat dampened by the complaint from his friend and fellow entrepreneur. This hadn't been the first time that he'd gotten such complaints about Trixie, but this had been the first time in months. He took a moment to think, then shook his head and began walking towards his study. He was too tired to deal with this. "We're going to have a talk tomorrow, about both the bad reviews and the good news..." He muttered as he walked through the kitchen, his eyelids already drooping. He sighed again as he saw that his study door was wide open, obviously showing that Trixie had forgotten it to shut it before she left. "Another thing to add to the list of problems we need to talk about..." He muttered as he stepped into the room. The moment that he entered, however, he was wide awake. Everything was gone. Somepony had touched his desk. "No, no, NO!" He muttered as he sprinted across the room, immediately trying to see what was present and what had been taken. His entire manuscript was gone, having been pulled out of its drawer for a near-final evaluation and binding to the last few pages that he needed to write. After that, he would have been ready to send it to his publisher for digital transcription and printing. All of his work, left in his inner sanctum, had vanished. Immediately, his heart racing in his chest, Pennington checked his other drawers, praying that a well-meaning pony had misplaced it. One by one, each drawer proved itself to be devoid of the missing book. Desperate, Pennington checked his emergency drawer, where he kept his backup funds in case he couldn't reach his other accounts. There was nothing in that most secure of drawers in his inner sanctum. Only empty, mocking space. ...she had two full-looking saddlebags... "No... No, no, no, no, that's not possible..." He shook his head, jumping back up above the top of his desk to examine what else was gone. His journals, his maps, all of his information on the Alicorn Amulet... all had been swept away with his manuscript and his money. "It's not... TRIXIE! Get down here! I need your help!" Pennington was beginning to truly panic, now. Without those materials, there would be no way that he could recreate the novel, plain and simple. It would be hopeless. As he looked out the door of the study, no longer sure what to expect, only silence greeted him. The darkness of the night seemed to be creeping in through the doorway, growing chillingly closer. After a few more seconds of silence, Pennington shook his head and took off running again, his heart pounding against his ribs as the worst of thoughts began to play across his mind. Somehow, running made the fear grow exponentially, as if something were chasing him. He scrambled up the stairwell and raced through the upstairs living room, bursting into Trixie's room in a frenzy that would have woken up even the soundest of sleepers. He was met by an empty, poorly-made bed, and a room devoid of Trixie's personal belongings. It was just as empty as the night that he had first invited her to take it as her own. Pennington felt something in his chest shatter. It may have been his sense of security, it may have been his hope... but something fragile within the stallion was smashed into tiny fragments. His mind simply stopped functioning as the reality of what was happening settled in on him. She's gone... and she took everything... His entire body seemed to go limp, standing only out of habit. He didn't know what to think, anymore. He simply stood there, trying to comprehend what had happened as real. After a few minutes, he finally turned around and walked back downstairs, dragging his hooves in his depression. He slowly made his way back to his violated study, shutting the door behind himself and listening to the locks re-engage. Somehow still able to act in spite of the complete and total shutdown of his conscious thought, he placed a few small logs in the fireplace and started a fire with his magic. It didn't take long for the fire to grow to maturity, and Pennington slowly sunk down, first to his knees, then to laying on his side, staring at the flames. He didn't sleep, simply staring, trying to fight what he knew was true, rejecting what was real. It was a losing battle. By morning, Pennington hadn't moved. He hadn't slept. He was staring at embers as the sun began to poke its way in through the skylight, thoughtlessly intruding on his solitude. The shock had worn off sometime around four in the morning, and he'd finally accepted his betrayal at about five. Trixie had used him. He had been kind to her, and she used that to her own advantage. There was nothing that he could do about it, now. She was gone. Just like that. Pennington almost didn't hear the knocking on his front door. He honestly considered not moving, especially after the sleepless night. Maybe I should leave the shop closed today... "Hello! Is anyone here?" Pennington could barely make out a small voice shouting at the shop. It was obviously a little colt. Fillies and colts rarely came to him, and the jobs that they asked him to do usually took less than five minutes. He was trying not to admit it to himself, but a small, short project might be what he needed to start moving again. Maybe just one more commission. Then, I'll go to Canterlot and stay at the NLR until I can start as a guard... Leave this behind. He thought as he finally rose to his shaking hooves. Still dragging his steps, Pennington walked to the front room. Waiting for him behind the glass-paned door was, indeed, a young white-and-brown coated pony, whose brown-splotched face lit up with relief upon seeing Pennington unlock and open the door. "Good morning, sir! My name is Pipsqueak! I don't suppose that you could help me, could you?" The foal seemed slightly concerned as he looked up at Pennington's state. "I need help with writing a poem for my mother... It's her birthday tomorrow, and I wanted to make her something really nice... But I'm no good at writing..." He looked down in shame for a moment, then back up at Pennington with pleading eyes. "Do you think that you can write one for me?" Pennington blinked in surprise, then somehow smiled in spite of his pain. This "Pipsqueak" kid seemed to earnestly care about getting something nice for his mother. He didn't trust himself to be able to complete the task, so he was coming for help, rather than simply trying on his own. Pennington remembered his own mother for a moment. A member of the Apple family, his mother had spent a lot of time away from home, checking on all of the family's farms and scouting out places for new ones. She would always put things on "hold" in order to be home for mother's day. Pennington and his father would always try to get something to make the traveling easier for her, like a pillow or better saddlebags. The year that he had discovered his special talent, Pennington had written a story about the first time that she had taken him traveling with her. She had loved it, and still kept it with her whenever she had to leave. "Sure thing, Pipsqueak... But I can't do it alone. Come on in, I'll need your help. Tell me about your mother..." Pennington smiled as he looked at what they had written together. From his perspective, it was simplistic, but perfect for a child Pipsqueak's age. Pennington knew that his mother would have loved it, anyway, but Pennington had guided Pip through the needed rhythm, rhyme, and slightly improved vocabulary needed to set it above what he could have done on his own. Aside from his guidance, though, the poem was completely Pipsqueak's. "So... That's it?" He asked, looking up for Pennington's affirmation. "We did it?" "I'd happily give that to my own mother, Pip! I think that she's going to love it!" Pennington grinned as he blew on the scroll to dry the ink. "It's definitely done." "Great!" Pipsqueak ran to the other side of the front lobby, where he had set his saddlebag, and pulled out a smaller bag. Coming back, he tossed it up onto the counter, where it landed with the familiar sound of coins rubbing against one another. "Is this enough for it?" Pennington was surprised, to say the least. This entire time, the child hadn't even mentioned money, he just said that he needed help. Curious, Pennington opened the bag. Inside were ten bits, along with some assorted change. Pipsqueak had taken everything that he had saved to pay for this. "It's free, pal. Just make sure to tell your mom that you wrote it yourself, okay?" He winked and levitated the bits back down to Pipsqueak. "I don't want any kind of credit for this, you did all of the real writing!" Pip looked down at the bits in his hoof, then back up to Pennington with a huge smile. "Thank you, Mister Pennington! Thank you SO much! My mum's going to LOVE it!" He tucked the poem away in his bag, then began to walk towards the door. After a few seconds, though, her turned around. "Do you think that I could come back, some time? I think I like writing!" "Come back any time, Pip... I'll be right here in Ponyville." Pennington smiled. as the foal nodded and walked out the door. Helping Pipsqueak had really pulled him back to his own days before his cutie mark had appeared, when he was just a foal trying to find his place in the world. Discovering his talent had helped him feel like he was in control of his life, able to choose what happened to him and make it all his own. It had make him feel safer, more secure in the fact that he had control as long as he had a quill to write with. But, over the time that Trixie had been staying with him, Pennington's focus had shifted. Writing had become a chore, something that he had to do and get out of the way to spend time with her. He had even been willing to give it up for her, and it hadn't meant anything in the end. At the end of the day, he was an author, and not just one who wrote for the masses. One who helped the everyday pony that couldn't find their own words. He was the perfect adapter, able to change his world and his perspective to help others make theirs better. That's why I'm still in a small shop in Ponyville, isn't it? Why I kept my nom de plume a secret... because I wanted to stay here and help ponies on a personal level... Not to make money or have any semblance of a "normal life." I just can't settle for that. I need something out of the ordinary! Extraordinary! Maybe I needed to see that again when Trixie left... I don't need anypony. I don't WANT anypony. I just need my quills, ink, and paper... His eyes narrowed as he glared out the door that the mare must have invariably walked out on his life through. He did his best to be angry, but the renewed pain was still too fresh, and he felt himself caving in to an unbearable loneliness and sadness. Tears began welling up in his eyes, and he slumped himself across his desk, burying his tears in the fur of his front legs. But she broke me. She broke my heart... and I never want to see her again. If Trixie Lulamoon ever comes back to Ponyville... She'll get no kindness from me. Scorching Quill's eagerly anticipated installment in the "Daring Do" series, "Daring Do and the Quest for the Alicorn Amulet" was never published, much to the dismay of fans all over Equestria. Scorching could not be contacted for comment, and when later questioned about it, claimed that his original manuscript had been lost in fire, and was "Impossible to rewrite at the quality my readers deserve." This aside, there have been rumors of an original manuscript being bought and sold in black markets, changing hooves from time to time. Scorching himself has denied allowing any such thing to happen, but rumors continue. The Alicorn Amulet was unveiled at the Museum of Magical History, but was lost, as well, after a break-in and robbery almost a year later. Any connections between the donating benefactor, Scorching, and the robbery have been discounted or disproved. Again, Scorching could not be contacted for comment. Scorching Quill's lost manuscript will forever remain a mystery, and his fans will always wonder what kind of pain Daring Do must have faced in order to retrieve it. -Article by Front Page, Canterlot Weekly News.
