"Beeep. Beeep. Beeep."
Trixie slowly woke up, but she did her best to not open her eyes or make any movement yet. Princess Luna had told her she was safe, but she wanted at least to know what was going on around her.
"Beeep. Beeep. Beeep."
She already noticed something the princess has forgotten to mention and that was that she seems to be injured if the pain she was feeling was any indication. She quickly remembered her fall down the slope and her broken hind leg, which she could feel was in a cast. There was also other sources of pain all over her body, but those were more like pinpricks compared to her leg.
"Beeep. Beeep. Beeep."
Combine that with the strong smell of antiseptics and that annoying sound she kept hearing that can only be one of those heart monitors she heard about lead to the conclusion that she was in a hospital, which of course made sense. There was another question on her mind she really would like to find an answer for.
"Beeep. Beeep. Beeep."
Do heart monitors always sound that squeaky?
"Beeep. Beeep. Beeep."
"Oh for the love of Celestia! Pinkie Pie, please stop making that annoying sound!"
"But I'm bored."
"Believe me, darling, WE KNOW! But you are supposed to be quiet in a hospital."
"Aww..."
Trixie couldn't resist a small grunt and opened her eyes. She closed them quickly at first once her eyes got attacked by the bright light. "Never thought I would say that, but I'm really glad to hear your voice, Pinkie," she croaked out as she slowly tried again to open her eyes.
"Trixie!"
Living in the same town as Pinkie Pie has taught Trixie when to expect a hug from the party pony, and so she prepared herself as good as possible in her current state for the unavoidable. Sadly she was not prepared for the pain that went through her body, so she yelped in pain upon impact. Only when the hugger retreated did Trixie notice that the one who hugged her was not pink.
"I'm sorry, are you alright?" Twilight asked in a panic.
Trixie tried to move but hissed in pain. "It could be better, but I will live." A glass of water with a straw came floating towards her in Twilight's magic and she drank it greedily. "Thanks. But what happened? The last thing I remember was me hiding in a bush in the forest."
"We can only tell you what we heard about everything that happened," Twilight replied as she sat the glass down on the table beside the bed. "Apparently not long after you lured that Ursa in the forest the princesses arrived in Ponyville, and after they learned of what happened they followed you. They found the Ursa and together they calmed it down and put it to sleep. Princess Luna took the Ursa back to its cave and tried to figure out what happened while Princess Celestia went looking for you."
Trixie closed her eyes and sighed, a smile on her face. "So they arrived in town before something worse could happen." She reopened her eyes. "But how did the princess find me? I crawled into a bush in the middle of the forest when I couldn't run anymore."
"It seems they didn't tell Twilight and you everything about that amulet they gave you, darling," Rarity replied. Upon not receiving any comment she continued. "There was a tracking spell on it to locate it where ever it is. Thanks to this Princess Celestia was able to find you in a matter of minutes."
"A tracking spell? Why would they cast one on the amulet in the first place?"
"As a precaution," Twilight answered. "The princess told me that there was a former victim of the curse who went mad, ran away and took the amulet with him. She was never able to locate him, and without Princess Luna, she was unable to create a second one. Over a century later an archaeologist found the amulet in a cave, together with the remains of its bearer, and brought it to the princess. After that, she cast the tracking spell on the amulet so that something like this can never happen again."
"I see," Trixie mumbled. "So it was a precaution. But why didn't she tell you about it, Twilight?"
"She hoped that over time we would work out our differences and become friends, but didn't want to build it up on me keeping such a secret from you," Twilight said. "That's why she didn't tell me as well."
Trixie grinned. "I guess she was right in the end. But why are you all here? Shouldn't you be in the Crystal Empire?" Trixie blinked. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Nearly two days," Applejack answered. "It's Friday afternoon, and why shouldn't we be here? Ya are our friend and Ponyville is our home. The moment we got the letter from Princess Celestia yesterday morning we departed immediately. Princess Cadence even organized a non-stop train to Ponyville for us."
It warmed Trixie's hard that she had found friends who would leave everything behind to come to her after hearing about what happened. "Thank you all for coming, it means a lot to me. And sorry for worrying you."
"We are just glad that you are alright," Fluttershy said quietly before she turned towards the door of the room. "I'm going to inform the doctor that you woke up."
Trixie followed the pegasus with her eyes until the door closed behind her. While she was at it she took in the rest of the room. "Wow, it seems you had a field day decorating this room, Pinkie."
That was an understatement. The entire room was filled with various flowers, plushies and 'Get-Well' cards. Besides the chairs her friends had occupied there was barely any free room left, even the floor was in part covered in flower pots.
Pinkie started grinning and clopping her hooves together in excitement. "Can I tell her? Can I can I?"
Twilight giggled. "Sure, go ahead."
Trixie looked from one mare to the other, wondering what was going on. Pinkie took a deep breath.
"I did nothing!"
"...huh?"
"I did nothing to this room," Pinkie said again. "Everything is just like we found it once we arrived yesterday."
"But... who..." Trixie stammered. She tried to levitate one of the cards towards her, but all she got was a splitting pain in her head.
"Don't try to use your magic, Trixie," Twilight said before she used her own magic to bring some of the cards over into Trixie's hooves. "You used up your reserves and burned out. The doctor said it would at least take a week of rest before you should try using your magic again."
Rubbing her head with a hoof Trixie nodded before she shifted the attention on the cards. Some of them looked like your usual get well cards you can buy in stores, but others were self-made with drawings made by children. Looking over the signatures she realized that they all came from citizens of Ponyville.
"They're all worried about ya, Trixie. Each time one of us went outside we got asked if you're alright," Applejack said with a smile. "They want to thank ya for savin' them."
"It... it was the least I could do... for accepting me," Trixie said with a smile, her eyes growing moist as she looked around the room at all the gifts she received
"Well, you earned it!" Rainbow said. "Not everypony would dare to face something they know they can't beat."
"Thanks," she said. "It wasn't the way I planned, but it worked and I'm mostly fine."
Trixie felt a hoof on her own and looked to the side at Twilight who looked at her in worry. "Trixie, are you sure you are alright?"
"As far as I can tell yes, besides the obvious of course. Why do you ask?"
"They had to take off your amulet to help you. They were afraid that either the magic of the amulet would interfere with their healing spells or vise versa. Princess Luna agreed, but once they were done you were already trapped in a nightmare. The princess told them it would be too dangerous to put it back on while you were already trapped."
Trixie blinked and for the first time since waking up, she realized that the familiar weight around her neck was missing. Looking down confirmed that the amulet was not at its place.
"...what happened?" Trixie asked hesitantly. She could see how Twilight was shifting around and that her eyes started growing moist.
"You were mumbling and thrashing around in your sleep, sometimes so much that we had to hold you down to prevent you from falling out of your bed. We tried waking you up but nothing worked. And then... you suddenly stopped, without any warning you just stopped. You lay there in bed without moving, and for a moment I thought..." Twilight trailed off, a tear running down her cheek.
Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twi was not the only one scared, even if only for a few moments until we realized you were still breathing."
A shudder ran down Trixie's spine upon hearing this and seeing the expressions on everybody's faces, especially Twilights'. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to scare you like this."
"It's not your fault, darling," Rarity said with a smile. "As long as you are alright everything is good."
Trixie smiled. "You have no idea how alright I am yet. You see, Princess Luna visited me in my dream and..."
"She did?" Twilight interrupted. "So that's why she left earlier."
Trixie blinked. "She was here?"
"Yepperoni!" Pinkie said from her place on the end of Trixies' bed. "She was waiting with us for you to wake up, but suddenly she stood up, said she has to go and disappeared."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "She teleported away, but otherwise that's what happened. I wondered what was going on at the time and-" Twilight stopped in midsentence and her eyes grew wide. She slowly turned to look at Trixie who was smiling.
Applejack looked from one to the other, confusion written on her face. "Twi? Did Ah miss something?"
Twilight kept staring at Trixie as she answered. "Princess Luna couldn't visit Trixie in her dream before, the curse was preventing her from doing so without endangering her mind. So either she did it either way or..."
It took the others a second to come to the same conclusion as Twilight did. They all looked at Trixie, waiting for her to confirm it.
Trixie slowly rested her head back on her pillow, her smile still on her face as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm free... It's finally over." The others cheered in joy for their friend and stepped closer to hug her as good as her condition allowed, and Trixie enjoyed every single moment of it.
~*~
Two weeks later Trixie was allowed to leave the hospital. Her left hind leg was still in a cast and made it hard to walk, but as long as she would be careful and not put to much pressure on it her doctor said she was free to go. Her magic has recovered quite well even if the doctor said to not overuse it for some more time to make sure her reserves could recover enough.
Her body was covered in smaller patches of shorter fur where the hospital had to shave to treat all the small injuries left from her roll down the slope after the Ursa got to her, but with enough time they all would grow back again.
Princess Luna has also been able to find out a few things about the attack. Apparently, when she brought the Ursa back to its cave she found a very angry mother, but once reunited with its kid it calmed down. Luna also found signs of heavy fighting around the cave. From this information and Cloud Chasers' statement of what she saw it's clear that someone distracted the mother while the baby got lured into town. Sadly there was no clue on the culprits, and it was unlikely that this mystery could be solved, much to Trixie's' chagrin.
Once out of the hospital Trixie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As much as she enjoyed the quiet of her room, besides the times Pinkie came for a visit, it felt good to be out in the fresh air again.
She felt someone carefully bump against her flank and looked to her companion. "Come on, slowpoke. You had enough time to be lazy, now you need to move again," Lyra said with her usual grin on her face.
Trixie nodded and followed her friend down the road. On her way, she looked around her hometown. In some places, she could make out some of the damage done by the Ursa, but most of that has either been already repaired or was worked on. 'Good to see that everything is gonna be as it was soon,' she thought.
The two mares continued on their way slowly for Trixies' sake. The longer they walked the more Trixie noticed that something was missing, something crucial to every town and city.
"Lyra, where is everypony?" she finally asked as they got closer to towns square. "I have not seen a single pony since we left the hospital."
Lyra kept walking without turning to Trixie. "Maybe they heard about you getting out and ran away?"
"Ha ha ha, very funny," Trixie replied. She studied her friend closer and saw her smile, but it was slightly different from her usual smile. "You got that 'I know something you don't know' smile on your face... what are you hiding?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Lyra said quickly before she increased her tempo slightly until she reached the next corner that leads to towns square and waited. "Now come on, I'm sure we are gonna find somepony around here. I think I can even see somepony."
Trixie sighed. She knew that Lyra was hiding something, but she was not in the mood to argue with her until she finally spilled the beans.
Slowly Trixie walked up to the other unicorn and turned the corner. "Fine, keep your little secret for now, but sooner or later-"
"SURPRISE!"
Trixie came to a quick stop. Her mouth fell open as she stared in shock at the sight before her. The town square was practically flooded with ponies, many of which Trixie recognized from around town, with Twilight and their friends at the front. She wasn't even sure if she has ever seen so many ponies in one place since moving to town so many months ago. All of them were smiling or cheering for her, and looking up Trixie saw a big banner hanging above the mass with 'Thank you for saving Ponyville!' written on it in big letters.
"Told ya I can see somepony here," Lyra said from beside Trixie. "Hope you like the surprise."
Trixie was at a loss of words. "I... what is going on?" she finally muttered.
Pinkie popped up right behind her and threw her legs in the air. "What do you think it is, silly dilly. It's your party of course!"
"Pinkie is right, Ms. Trixie." The voice pulled Trixie out of her surprise and looking in the direction it came from she saw her friends stepping closer from the mass, with Mayor Mare at the front. "We all want to thank you for what you did. Without your help, it is possible that not everypony would be here today."
Trixie blinked. "You don't need to thank me. It was the least I could do after everything I did."
"Trixie," Twilight said as she stepped forward to stand beside the mayor. "You risked your own life to prevent the Ursa from doing more damage. No one should ever feel that something like this is necessary to ask for forgiveness."
"Twilight is right," Mayor Mare continued. "You could have stayed back like most of us did, and no one would have thought any bad about you. And on the other side, our behavior towards you has not been any better too.
"So it's not only a 'thank you' from us, but also an apology." The mayor moved to the side and pointed with her hoof at the gathered ponies. "We also got a present for you to show our gratitude, and we hope that you accept it." The crowd parted and revealed something hidden behind a cloak held by the hovering forms of Rainbow Dash and Lavender Lace.
Trixie kept standing in place until she received a light bump from Lyra behind her and slowly trudged forward. She walked past the gathered ponies until she stopped just a few meters away from the cloak the two pegasi held. Once she stood still the two pegasi looked at each other, nodded and let the cloak fall down. Trixie's breath caught in her throat and a shiver ran down her spine once she saw the present.
Standing before her was a stage, but it wasn't just a normal stage as her experienced eye quickly noticed. It was a mobile stage that can be transformed into a wagon like the one she used to own before her first incident with the Ursa so long ago, but slightly bigger than her old one. From her position, Trixie could see her cutie mark engraved all around the wooden stage, but otherwise, it was pretty dull.
"It may not seem like much yet," Rarity said as if she knew what was going through Trixies' mind, "but I already thought about a few improvements. Like some fabulous curtains or a different painting, but that is your decision, darling."
Trixie slowly walked up to the stage and ran a hoof over the wood. "It's... wonderful...," she mumbled just barely audible.
"You wanna know the best part?" Rainbow said as she landed beside Trixie. "That's only half of your present."
"What!?" Trixie yelled as she turned in shock to face Rainbow. "H-how can there be more? This is already more than I can accept!"
"She is right," Twilight said from behind, causing Trixie to face her friend. "We couldn't manage to get the second part done in time, or even to start it. Don't you notice that something is missing?"
Trixie moved her gaze back to the wagon. She didn't know what Twilight meant yet, so she took a closer look at it. She walked around the stage wagon and inspected it from all sides before she took use of some stairs on the side to climb up on the stage itself. She saw the gaps in the wooden planks that indicated where the stage would move itself to turn into a wagon again. Looking at the space which would be hidden from view once some curtains could be attached Trixie noticed what was missing.
"There's not enough living space... not enough room for a bed, or a cupboard to store food or anything... at least if I don't take any preps for a show with me."
Twilight nodded. "You are right, and that's why a second wagon will be built, only for living arrangements. We already started planning, but since there was no way to build it until you got released we thought it would be best to wait for your approval." Trixie just stood on stage, staring slack-jawed at Twilight who continued. "And if you are thinking about that two wagons will be too heavy to pull, that's also taken into account. Princess Celestia offered to cast a featherweight spell on the two wagons once they are finished to make them easy to pull once somepony is attached to the harness, and she suggested a spell that let you only grant certain ponies permission for the spell to work to avoid somepony running off with it."
Trixie continued staring for a minute until she got off the stage, walked up to Twilight and pulled her into a hug, tears streaming down her face.
"Thank you," she said quietly before she released Twilight and looked at the crowd. "Thank you all so much! I... I don't know what to say..."
"Seein' your happy face is all we need, sugarcube," Applejack said. "But if ya really want to thank somepony there are three that deserve it the most."
"Applejack is right. Come on you two!" Twilight called out until two familiar ponies stepped forward. "Fuchsia and Lavender are the ones to came up with the idea, and offered the knowledge on what would be necessary."
Trixie stepped up to the two mares and pulled them into another hug. "Should have known this was your idea. Thank you so much."
"Hey, with how you spoke about buying a new wagon one day there was no way we wouldn't at least mention it," Fuchsia said.
Lavender nodded in agreement. "It was the first on our mind. And after everything you did for us, it was the least we could do."
"But," Twilight said from the side, causing the three to release each other, "even after finding the perfect present it nearly didn't happen, the cost for both wagons was just too high. That's when somepony else stepped in." She pointed at the crowd that made room for a stallion with a filly by his side.
"Mr. Rich..."
Filthy Rich stopped short before Trixie. "Indeed. Ms. Trixie, I can't thank you enough." He pulled his daughter closer to his side. "Not only did you protect us all, but you even saved the life of my little Diamond. So when I heard that the one thing standing in the way of your reward, I had to step in and help. No matter the cost, nothing is more important to me than my daughter."
He raised his hoof to pull out an envelope of his pocket and offered it to Trixie. "This is another present for you from me. I still believe it is by far not enough to thank you, but it is a start."
Trixie took the envelope in her magic and looked it over. There was nothing to indicate what might be inside, it was a plain and simple envelope you can buy at every mail station. Without waiting any longer Trixie opened it and looked over the content. Within seconds her jaw fell down and she sat down on her haunches.
"Y-you can't be serious! There is no way that I can accept this!"
Stepping closer, curiosity written on her face, Twilight reached her friend. "What is it?"
"It's the owning certificate for my cottage," Trixie said. "He gifts me an entire house!" A murmur went through the crowd upon hearing that. Filthy Rich may be known to be a pleasant kind of rich pony, but also for being one that does not just give something away.
"And the ground it stands on," Filthy Rich added, causing another surprised murmur to rose from the gathered ponies. "This is only a copy of the original document that I keep at home, but the original will be delivered soon to you."
As the last words left his mouth Trixie was there, throwing her legs over his shoulder with another stream of tears running down her cheeks. "Thank you," was all she said.
Filthy Rich was surprised by the sudden hug he received from Trixie, but soon enough he gave in. "It's a pleasure. And if you ever need help, my door will always be open."
Trixie nodded, but before she could say anything else she felt someone else poking her leg. Letting go of Filthy Rich she looked down and saw Diamond Tiara looking at her.
"I want to thank you as well, but I don't know how besides a simple 'thank you'," she said, looking down at her hoofs.
Trixie smiled at the filly and pulled her into another hug which she replied. "You don't need to thank me," she said as an idea hit her and she whispered the rest into the fillies ear, "but if you really want to I know something. Try to be nicer to the crusaders and the other kids, they are good fillies and colts and don't deserve what you are doing."
Diamond Tiara looked to the side where the crusaders and some of the other kids were watching. She was silent for a few minutes before she replied. "I... I will try."
"That's all I ask for."
Trixie let go of the filly and looked over the crowd. "Thank you all so much for this, I really appreciate it. Once I'm fully recovered I would like to do a show here in town square to show you how much I appreciate it, and it's gonna be the best show I have ever done!"
The crowd cheered, and many came forward to thank her in person.
While she was enjoying the attention of the crowd Trixie thought back over the last year. How she has fallen after the incident with the alicorn amulet and how her entire life changed after she swallowed her pride and returned to ask for help. She has worked hard and has been forgiven. She has found friends, true friends who would not leave her behind, a place to call home and has even reconciled with her past.
And she would do everything in her power to enjoy this new life.