A Scented Savior

Lamentable Loneliness

Chapter 2

She was moving. No, that couldn’t be right, she was just asleep a few moments ago and she clearly wasn’t sleep-walking. If Trixie had the energy she would have kicked up a fuss and tried to get down but instead just lay there and sighed. At this moment, it felt like twenty bulls were ramming their horns violently against her skull and like someone had set fire to her flanks. A familiar scent filled her nostrils, and it certainly wasn’t the repulsing, stagnant odour of blood and rain that seemed to stain her fur now. No, it was the scent of... apples?

That couldn’t be right. There was no way.

When she’d passed out, she caught a dull and fading glimpse of orange and she’d heard a voice but couldn’t react until now; it was a western and friendly tone. In Trixie’s mind, there was no way the pony saving her could be who it was. She believed said pony hated her but as she turned her head after tightly clenching shut her eyes from the pain, her suspicions were proved true.

It was, in fact, Applejack.

Fighting back the intense pain and now sudden urge to vomit she grunted, hitting the pony lightly with a hoof, “What are you doing? Trixie doesn’t need help from a farm pony...”

Her voice was weak and pained, but it still held some feigned dignity. The blue pelted magician didn’t want to be seen as a push over, and certainly didn’t want to seem like a worthless excuse of a pony in front of someone as noble as Applejack.

“For some reason, Ah disagree...” The apple scented mare carried on ahead, “And Ah didn’t plan to leave y’all to be eaten by some Timberwolves or somethin’ “

Trixie sighed and swallowed back, “Can you at least let Trixie walk on her own? She’s fine to do that... And where are you taking Trixie? No one in Ponyville wants her...”

There was a strange bitterness in the way she said her name, but she seemed to cheer up a little when the ginger pelted pony let her walk (or more like limp) on her own, “Thank you.”

“Ah’m taking you to Sweet Apple Acres with me, and as much as Ah don’t want ya around either, Ah’m not going to be cruel.” She grimaced slightly, “Ya can sleep in the barn, and when you’re better, you can help around on the farm.”

With an agitated snort she looked to the ground. While she didn’t want taken in, and especially not into a barn, this was better than dying from being hunted, the cold, starvation or infection.

“Trixie supposes that’s fine by her...” She paused before carrying on, “Thank you Applejack...”

Tugging at her lips there was a proud kind of smile on the farmer’s face as she adjusted her hat in the silver moonlight, “its fine Trixie. We need to hurry home, it’s late.”

She picked up the pace and the unfortunate and wounded mare struggled to keep up with the agony running through her flanks, stomach and lungs.

After a while they arrived and Applejack took her into the barn and scattered some hay on the ground, before telling her to wait. Slumping down and ignoring her pained and now bleeding flanks she did as she was told and waited for the other mare to return. Her amethyst eyes examined her new ‘home’ with caution. Besides the occasional squeak and rustle from a mouse’s movement, she knew by sound that she was alone again and the near silence of the room made her head begin to spin and she felt woozy. By the time Applejack returned she’d passed out again.

Cantering over and bucking the door shut the ginger furred pony pulled a blanket she’d brought over Trixie and nudged her cheek with some genuine care. This situation was one she hoped to avoid, since she couldn’t just leave the collapsed pony on her own in case something was to happen to her, but it meant she couldn’t go to sleep. Begrudgingly she settled down beside Trixie and rested her head on her hooves and sat quietly, sighing.

This could be a rough time for both of them.