//------------------------------//
// Chapter 114 
// Story: Unshaken 
// by The 24th Pegasus 
//------------------------------//



Trixie: 11 Votes



After a moment, Kestrel spied Trixie hopping out of her wagon and heading towards the lake shore, a well-worn book held in her magic. Curious, Kestrel leisurely strolled across the camp after her, taking a moment to make sure Trixie wasn’t taking care of any private business before approaching the magician. She found Trixie sitting in a flat, grassy space down by the water’s edge, where the reeds thinned out enough to reveal a mother duck and her ducklings swimming across the water, enjoying the summer day. The magician’s magic touched the cover of her book, ready to open it, before she spotted Kestrel out of the corner of her eye. The glow on her horn faded, and she turned to watch Kestrel approach, though her nose quickly rankled at the smell of Kestrel’s cigarette.

“Trixie wishes you wouldn’t do that around her,” she said, frowning at Kestrel’s cigarette as the pegasus sat down next to her. “It stinks like nothing else.”

Kestrel just shrugged and drew on her cigarette. “I’m surprised you ain’t used to the smell by now,” she said. “You been with us long enough to know that most all of us smoke, to certain extents.”

“If you don’t get killed running away from the law, then I’m sure smoking will be the end of you,” Trixie said. “I’ve heard that it can give you lung cancer if you smoke enough.”

“Pfff, uh huh. And some ponies are born with ‘bad blood’ that makes ‘em feel ill all the time.” Trixie’s warning didn’t dissuade Kestrel from tossing the cigarette away, though she did take only one more draw and then touched the end against her duster, extinguishing the ember before she tucked it away for later use. “Ain’t nothin’ gets me movin’ like a good hit from a cigarette. Not even coffee. Besides, I ain’t ever heard no doctors sayin’ that they’re bad for you. Some even say you should treat asthma with ‘em.”

“Somehow, Trixie doubts that you see a doctor for a yearly checkup,” Trixie mused, and she crossed her forelegs over her book. “But Trixie supposes that you didn’t come over here to talk about your smoking habits. What can she help you with?”

“I just wanted to see how you was doin’,” Kestrel said, nodding toward Trixie’s shoulder, where a mostly-white bandage darkened by a faint trace of brown covered her graze. “Gettin’ shot for the first time’s an experience. You can get shot a whole bunch throughout your life, but you ain’t ever gonna forget the first time. So I just wanted to make sure you was handlin’ it alright.”

Trixie glanced at her bandage and a faint twinge of pain crossed her muzzle as she rolled her shoulder. “It stings, but Trixie will survive. She’s been through worse.” She put on a proud smile, though it faltered when Kestrel raised an eyebrow. “Erm… well, if I must be honest, Kestrel, it was kind of scary. I’m not too proud to admit that…”

Kestrel shook her head and patted Trixie on the back with her wing. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong in admittin’ it. Honestly, I’m happy to hear that. What we do is scary, and at any given moment, everythin’ could go wrong. That’s just how life is when you’re wanted. And if you pretend otherwise, then you ain’t gonna be livin’ very long.”

“Well… I suppose that’s good to know,” Trixie said. Then some of the tension disappeared from her shoulders as she realized Kestrel had given her the okay to open up about how she really felt, and she shook her head. “I’m going to be honest, Kestrel. I wasn’t prepared for that many ponies to be shooting at me. I’m not sure how cut out I am for a life of gunslinging and running. When I first wanted in on the job in Rock Ridge, I was just hoping to make some quick money. But now I’ve got a lot more than I bargained for…”

“Sure, you got more than you may have been bargainin’ for, but think ‘bout all the good that came with the bad,” Kestrel said. “You got ponies that are lookin’ out for you, you got someplace to be where your talents are appreciated, and you got the chance to get more money than you probably ever made bein’ a scam artist on the road.”

Trixie pouted at that. “Trixie is not a scam artist, she’s a magician…”

“You’re a valuable member of the team, and the part you played yesterday in that little setup with Rough proves it,” Kestrel said, ignoring Trixie’s interjection. “You may not be the best at shootin’ or complicated magic, but you got a talent for grabbin’ ponies’ attention when you need to. It worked yesterday, and it’s gonna work in the future. The Gang needs you as our showmare, ‘cause frankly, you’re the best we got at it.”

The words seemed to inflate Trixie somewhat; the praise puffed out her chest and raised her head. Even Kestrel, who was far from an expert in the art of reading ponies and telling them what they wanted to hear, knew that the best way to appeal to the magician was to appeal to her ego. “Well… Trixie supposes there is nopony else like her in all of Equestria.”

“And it’s a good thing we got the one and only right here with us,” Kestrel said. She allowed herself a little bit of a smile to lighten the mood, but then she put on a carefully measured stern expression. “I’m gonna be honest, Trixie. Right now, we’re ahead of the game. We got time to enjoy ourselves a little, take a quick break from all the action we got up to yesterday. But sooner or later, there’s gonna be ponies houndin’ us. We’re gonna have to leave Hoofston and hope we end up someplace a little safer than where we’re at now. And if the Pinks ever get ahold of one of us, they’re gonna try to get everythin’ they know outta ‘em. It ain’t gonna be pretty. But so long as we stick together and trust one another, then we ain’t got anythin’ to worry about. You understand?”

Trixie slowly nodded. “Trixie’s good at making a quick getaway when she needs to,” she said. “The Pinks will have to try extra hard to bring her in alive.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” Kestrel nodded once, and then her eyes drifted down toward Trixie’s book. “What’s that you got there?”

“A journal,” Trixie said, one of her hooves idly running down the spine of the book. “Trixie—I keep track of where I’ve been and what I’ve seen. It’s a habit I started when I first set out on the road. It’s… useful for getting my thoughts together after a long day. And now that I’m traveling with a band of criminals and outlaws, it gets more use than you’d think.”

“Whatever works,” Kestrel said. Then, teasingly, she added, “You write anythin’ ‘bout me in there?”

Trixie frowned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“That’s why I’m askin’.” Kestrel laughed and added, “What ‘bout Rough? I bet you got plenty of things written in there ‘bout him.”

To Kestrel’s surprise, a rosy blush began to build on Trixie’s cheeks. “What Trixie writes in Trixie’s book is Trixie’s business!” she protested.

Stifling amused laughter, Kestrel shook her head and stood up. “Alright, alright. You do you, Trixie. I’ll leave you to it.” Then, snorting, she turned around and walked away, chuckling to herself all the while. “Somepony’s gonna get a ride on the ring-dang-do ‘fore too long, at this rate.”



Trixie’s loyalty to the Gang has increased.



[NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]