Chapter two
Trixie woke up late in the morning feeling horrible.
"Oooargh... Trixie feels like she got run over by the train..." She groaned, managing to drag herself upright on the bed she was on.
Just then, the cobwebs in her head began to clear, and she remembered how broke and wasted she was. She was about to sob again, but she also reasoned that since she was broke, she wan't supposed to be on a bed. In a hotel room. Alone and sore.
The alarms that started ringing in her already sore head gave her the impression that some stallion had whisked her away while she was drunk and had his way with her. The unicorn mare was sore everywhere, but she attributed that to her drunken state last night.
Right before Trixie could put a hoof on the mystery of whether or not she was scarred for life, the bathroom door opened and the stallion from last night walked in, looking refreshed and slightly damp. Steam was rising from him in small wisps and he had a look of contentment in his eyes. That is, until he realized that Trixie was awake.
Seeing him, Trixie realized that he had saved her last night and let her stay in his room.
"Umm, hi... Trixie?" He asked, to which she nodded.
Time passed for a good five seconds before the silence was broken.
"Thanks for helping Trixie out... Trixie's not usually like that unless Trixie reels in a lot of money from a show. Not like Trixie has one anymore..."Trixie said, looking down and saying the last part in a whisper.
The stallion cocked his head to the side in slight amusement and pity; he had heard what she was spewing out last night and thought it was just a story designed to get free drinks. He knew how to read ponies well, and he had even heard what she said under her breath. Putting two and two together, he made a decision.
"So... You just gonna stand there, or you gonna freshen up? I don't have all day and hence neither do you."
Trixie's eyes lit up at what she was told that she would be allowed to stay a little while longer with her saviour. Without a second thought, she jumped in to have a warm shower, nearly knocking away the stallion.
He chuckled at her antics while a part of his mind was annoyed.
Why are we helping this horse? We cannot eat her, she is not a priority, the only use i is for mat-
"Shut up..." The stallion growled, getting Trixie's attention.
"Umm, did you say something to Trixie?" She called over the sound of rushing water.
"Nah, just keep on doing your thing." The stallion answered, forcing a smile.
"Correction; she's a pony, you insolent reptile. So am I! Either you're losing your memory or you're telling me that you don't know what you've been bonded to for life... Also, even if her only use to you is for mating purposes, that's not gonna happen, you perv." The stallion said in his mind.
You still haven't answered my question, halfblood. Why is she under our protection?
"Must everything make sense to you? You've done things that I only understood after years. I can do things that you figure out in hours... Let me tell you this once; I just want to help her get back on her four hooves and then we leave to gather the rest of the pieces, okay?"
I do not see why she deserves sympathy from us, but I will let you carry on.
"Let me? I can do whatever I want, thank-you-not-at-all! This is my body, remember that-"
OUR body, you fool!
"You giving me sass, reptile?! Remember that I have saved this body from countless deaths with or without your help! Remember that I beat you down with my own hooves in that dungeon! REMEMBER THAT I CHOSE NOT TO SCOURGE MY BODY OF YOUR ESSENCE BECAUSE I WANTED TO PROTECT OTHERS AND YOURSELF! REMEMBER THAT I! AM! YOUR! TRUE MASTER, DAMN IT!" The stallion roared to himself.
"Umm, a-are you o-okay?" Trixie stammered, looking at the stallion with fear and worry in her eyes.
The stallion opened his eyes-he had been closing them- and found out that he was radiating red waves of heat and magic off him. He took a few breaths to calm himself, lest he answer her with a voice not his own.
"Yes, i'm fine." He managed to squeeze out of his mouth.
"We will talk of this later, Scarclaw.
As you wish... Crimson Flare...
"Finally, you get it right!"
"Umm, okay? Well, what next?" Trixie asked, quite unsure of herself.
"Hmm... I never really thought of that much... Do you have a source of income?" 'Crimson Flare' mused.
"N-not anymore... Trixie used to have a travelling show." Trixie said, looking down, "Trixie reeled in a bit of bits from that."
"Well, what happened to it?" Crimson Flare asked, already knowing the answer.
"Trixie got shown up by some unicorn called Twilight Sparkle during Trixie's last show... After that, everyone started mocking and avoiding Trixie. Trixie's thinking of working on the Pie's rock farm. Humiliating..." Trixie explained, gaining some of her spirit back.
"Do not lie to me, Trixie. Give me the truth." Crimson growled, making the unicorn gulp in fear.
"O-okay, Trixie'll say what... Really happened." She began, stealing an unsure glance at her saviour, who had an eyebrow raised.
"Trix-I... I boasted a lot about my magical prowess, meanwhile I could only do stage magic. I... Told a little lie-
"The truth!" Crimson all but roared, making the unicorn flinch and suddenly find out that the floor was infinitely more interesting than the stallion's face.
"Okay, I lied a lot! A whole lot! I said I could vanquish an Ursa Major, and when an Ursa Minor was brought by my fancolts to help disprove any doubts... I froze. It was the single scariest moment of my life. I thought I was going to die... Then Twilight calmed it down and proved that she didn't even need awesome magic to have her friends... I left after everyone noticed I was a liar..."
Crimson had seen his share of sappy tales of woe, and this one definitely fell in one of the least interesting ones, but after all he had seen, he was sure it was the most believable.
"Hmm... I'm gonna give you a choice, right now. Either I take you back there, where you'll accept any punishment they decide to dish out on you-"
"Nooooo!" Trixie squeaked, eyes wide as saucers as she looked up at her saviour with tears in her eyes.
"Be quiet..." Crimson growled, feeling his killing intent rising.
He was sure that Trixie felt it too, because she immediately shut up and continued her observation of the floor.
"-and probably earn their forgiveness. Or not; I haven't seen which kinda ponies the are. Or, you can follow me to the rock farm where I'll drop you off. It doesn't seem like it's a bad place, plus you'll stew in there for a while, hopefully giving you the backbone you so desperately need to keep you from being a snivelling coward."
Most ponies would think that Crimson's words were harsh, but he was in reality just giving her the hard facts. He wasn't some messiah to shield her from the truth; he was going to help her accept it. Even if she didn't want to.
The wise words of the Thestral Half-blood. He was a worthy opponent and ally.
"Yeah, he was... He's rubbed off on me, the awesome bastard. He always knew he would."
"But b-both choices are horrible.." Trixie whispered.
"Take it or lose it, mare." Crimson finished, walking towards the door.
"In five... Four... Three... Two... One..."
"Wait! I... I want... To ask for forgiveness..." Trixie said, catching up with him and walking beside him.
"Hook, line and sinker."