“Trixie?!” Rarity stammered.
Vinyl huffed and rolled her eyes. “What’s the big deal?”
“She turned my mane green! Green!”
Octavia snickered. “Well it’s not worse than being stuck in here. And besides, how bad can she be?”
“Bad,” Rarity said. “Very, very bad.”
“She’s not too bad, she’s just... odd,” Vinyl said, scuffing at the snow. “Whatever. We’re good friends, she’ll help.” She raised her hoof and knocked it against the door. Her fur stood on end as another gust of freezing wind blasted against her.
There were shuffling sounds from inside, then silence. “Leave! The great and powerful Trixie will not take visitors at this hour!” a rough voice called out.
“Must’ve woken her up,” Octavia said.
Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “Trixie, it’s me! Vinyl! Open the door, I need some help!”
“Vinyl?” Trixie asked. Vinyl listened carefully as the door made a little click. It swung inward, and a blue head popped out. Trixie’s mane was frazzled, and there were creases beneath her eyes. “Ah, Vinyl. Trixie is pleased to see you again. What are you doing here?”
“Train broke down,” she said, nodding to the station. “Listen, I’ve got a little... problem, and I really need your help. Can I come in?”
Trixie eyed her over, sighed, and opened the door fully. A warm gust of air blasted Vinyl, making her shudder. “Yes, come in,” Trixie said. Vinyl stepped past her, stepping into the small home. It was cozy, quaint, and inviting. Trixie led her down the hall and into a dim room that held a couch and a coffee table.
Vinyl sat on the couch, and so did Trixie. Her hat and cape sat atop a rack in the corner. “So Trix, what’cha been up to?”
“Trixie has been busy. The show business is beneath her now, especially after that petty squabble with the ponies of Ponyville. Trixie would have thought that they would know what show business is in the first place. She supposes she was wrong.”
“You were wrong about many of things, you self absorbed psycho unfashionable--”
“Quit screaming,” Octavia said. “You’re giving me a headache, and I don’t even have a head.”
“Anyway,” Trixie continued. Vinyl smirked and listened. “How does the DJing fare?”
Vinyl chuckled. “Eh, it’s got its ups and downs. Right now, I think it’s a down. Trixie, when the train crashed, it blew a magic gasket.”
Trixie’s eyebrow shot up. “You came to the right magician. If it’s magic advice you seek, the great and powerful Trixie will know what to do!” She struck a pose, held it, then sat down again.
“Right, I knew you were my mare!” Vinyl exclaimed, bouncing. She smirked and nudged Trixie on the shoulder.
Rarity scoffed. “You actually think she knows anything about magic? I’d be surprised if she knew how to cook.”
“You’re so ignorant,” Vinyl whined. When Trixie gave her a look, she sighed. “There was a magic leak, and the two other ponies who were with me, Rarity and Octavia, got tossed off the train. Err, well their bodies did, anyway.”
“Let Trixie guess. Their minds were put into yours, and you don’t like either of them. Trixie does not blame you. That Rarity mare has a stick up her plot.”
“What did she just say!?”
“Nah, that’s Octavia,” Vinyl said, leaning back.
“What did you just say!?”
“Well either way, Trixie does not think she wants either of them in her home, and she can only assume that you do not want them in your head,” she said. Her horn lit up, and she floated a coffee mug up from the table, taking a sip. “Trixie knows a little about this, but not much unfortunately. Lately, Trixie has been turning her attention to... other matters.”
“Like what?” Vinyl asked, licking her lips as Trixie took another sip.
“Would you like some? Trixie can whip something up quickly.”
Rarity hummed. “Is she being hospitable? This is odd...”
“Nah, thanks though. Um, so what ‘other matters’ are you talking about?” she asked.
Trixie grinned, setting her coffee down. She stood and gestured for Vinyl to follow her. They walked to the window and took a seat. “Trottingham is having problems recently, and it is up to Trixie to stop them. She is respected by the townsfolk for her... achievements. You see, Trottingham, nestled in these Celestia-forgotten woods, has problems that they would not like the world to hear of. Everypony here is also a coward.”
“Vinyl,” Octavia said, “We don’t care. We just don’t care. Get us out of your head so that we can get back on the train.”
“I’m trying,” she said with a frown. “Continue.”
Trixie nodded, watching as one or two ponies scurried down the snowy road, looking over their shoulder frequently. “Trixie is surprised that so many ponies went out tonight to see the train. She supposes that some family members were on it. You see, Vinyl, this town is is plagued by... wait...”
Trixie looked around, squinting. Her ears flicked up and down, left and right. “Do you hear that?” she asked.
Vinyl held her breath, but everything was silent. “Uh, no...”
Trixie pressed her hoof to Vinyl’s mouth, causing Octavia to gasp. “She tastes so strange...”
“It’s a hoof, what’d you expect,” Vinyl muttered.
“Shh!” Trixie commanded. She was staring at the room’s doorway intensely. “You don’t hear that? Trixie hears it clearly...”
“Trix, all I hear is--” There was a loud bang. “Huh.”
“Vinyl, get out of Trixie’s house, now.” Trixie got behind her and pressed her hooves to Vinyl’s flank.
Her cheeks turned a bright red. “Trixie, i-it’s a bit early for this, isn’t it?”
“Trixie does not have time for this, you must go!” She pushed harder, but Vinyl did not budge.
“Alright, you’ve got some answering to do.” Vinyl sighed, but stepped forward, sending Trixie’s face right into the darkness. Vinyl’s eyes flew wide, and she jerked away. “Way too early.”
“Ooh, I felt that,” Octavia said with a gasp.
“Indeed,” Rarity said, “I never thought I’d let Trixie into my home, much less my--”
“Okay, first of all, it’s mine. Secondly,” Vinyl said, turning to Trixie. She was a deep red, but frantically pushing Vinyl onward. “I still need these freaks out of my head.”
“Well Trixie has a bigger problem right now, so if you will please get out--”
A shadow flashed in front of the doorway, and Trixie froze. Vinyl blinked, turning back to the hall. “What?”
“Shh! Shut it! Vinyl, you’ve gotten dumber over the years, Trixie swears!” she whispered with a scowl. She pushed Vinyl aside and trotted up to the doorway, peering into the hall. She looked both ways, then carefully turned and motioned for Vinyl to step back.
Vinyl sat by the window and shrugged.
“What’s happening?” Rarity asked.
Vinyl thought. “Can you see?”
“I can,” Octavia said. “Now why is your friend being... weird.”
“I dunno. I told you she was strange.” Suddenly, the glass shattered, sending shards into her side. Vinyl flew to the ground, coughing and squirming beneath a heavy figure. She swung her hooves, landing only a few blows. Whatever was above her was heavy, pressing down on her chest.
When she looked up, a pair of bright red beads locked with her own ruby eyes. A huge, furry paw was on her chest, pushing the air out of her. “Hey! Get off you freak!”
Trixie scrambled into the hall, yelling, “Stay there! Trixie will be back!”
Rarity screamed. Octavia huffed. “Well she’s helpful--ouch!”
Vinyl felt it too, wincing as sharp claws dug into her fur. She flailed her hooves, but was pinned in seconds. This figure bent low, breathing on her. Its wet, black nose pressed to her own, and she could hear it growl.
“You smell like dog!” Vinyl screamed, tucking her hind legs up and bucking the wolf-pony in the gut. It yelped and stumbled back, giving her just enough time to push herself off the glass. She coughed again, gripping her chest as it bled.
“Well you smell like meat!” it growled in return.
She blinked, looking it over. “W-what?”
It leapt, pinning her down again and sinking massive canines into her shoulder. All three of them screamed. Vinyl thrashed and winced as tears formed in her eyes. “Trixie!” she screamed. “Now would be a great time to help!”
“Trixie commands you to back away!” Trixie shouted as she galloped into the room. The monster clenched on Vinyl’s shoulder, tearing a chunk out of her. Vinyl screamed, her eyes rolling up. She saw Trixie running in with a torch, waving it in the thing’s face. It snarled and growled, its fangs dripping red, but it leapt from the window and darted away through the snow. One or two screams echoed outside.
Trixie, the torch still in her magic, bent down and nuzzled Vinyl. “Alright you, hold on. Trixie has just the thing for this.” She tossed the torch out the window, and it died with a fizz. She then darted into the kitchen, and returned cursing, a roll of gauss in her mouth.
“Trixie has run out of her potions. The best she has is this,” she said, using her magic to unravel the gauss. “How are the others?”
“Tell her to shut up and fix the wound!” Octavia said.
Rarity groaned. “Just tell her to shut up!”
“They’re fine,” Vinyl croaked. She watched as Trixie came down from above, carefully wrapping the bandages around her shoulder. Vinyl sighed, limp in Trixie’s hooves. “You still owe me dinner.”
Trixie grinned, ripping the gauss. “Trixie did not expect your sense of humor to hold up.”
“Humor? Nah,” she said, weak. “I’m just... hungry...”
Trixie froze. She blinked, taking in a deep breath. “Vinyl, lay on Trixie’s couch.” She helped Vinyl up, slinging her foreleg over her neck and aiding her limp across the room. Vinyl slowly laid down on the couch, putting her hind legs up and leaning back.
“Were you hungry before?” Trixie asked, putting a pillow behind Vinyl’s head.
She shrugged and gave a weak laugh. “I dunno. I’m always hungry.”
Trixie swallowed. “Yes, well, Trixie... will be back.” She turned and left the room. Moments later, she re-entered with a long strip of red meat in her magic.
“Aw, what is that?” Vinyl asked, coughing.
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Trixie finds plenty of stuff on the tracks, do not blame her. She is the town’s sole werepony hunter, she needs this.” She brought it up to Vinyl’s nose, and the sweet smell of fried bacon wafted through her nose.
Vinyl’s mouth watered, and her stomach growled louder than the wolf. “Well, maybe one bite...”
“Vinyl...” Octavia said, “don’t you eat that. Don’t.”
“I agree,” Rarity said. “That’s disgusting.”
Vinyl bit her lip. “Ah, whatever,” she said, leaning up and tearing a small bit off of the strip. Trixie scowled, looking away as Vinyl munched on the meat. “Hey, y’know, it’s not bad!”
“Trixie... she will go get a painkiller. Just eat,” she said, setting the meat down and leaving.
“Aw yeah, ‘bout time we got food.”
Octavia sighed. “I bet his name was Rob.”
“Mmm, I don’t know why you guys hate this stuff!” she said, sucking in the long, slender piece of dry meat into her mouth.
“I don’t know, Octavia... it isn’t awful,” Rarity said. She paused, then added, “But perhaps you should have asked her just what piece of meat you’re eating...”
Vinyl stopped, her eyes wide. Her eyes fell, inspecting the slim meat in her mouth. Then, she shrugged and continued eating. “Eh, it tastes good,” she said, finishing it.
Trixie entered with a glass of water and a bottle of pills. She aided Vinyl in swallowing one of the little red capsules and chugging the water. “Trixie thinks that you need sleep. This pill should take care of that.”
“What’re you gonna do about the window?” Vinyl asked, inspecting the damage. Glass littered the floor, letting snow blow in.
“Ah, yes. Do not worry about that, Trixie will be back.” She turned and left yet again. Minutes passed, and she entered again with a strained face. Her magic dragged in a large window into the room, levitated it up, and stuck it right in the frame. She sat, panting. “Trixie... has spares...”
“Huh. Cool,” Vinyl said, breathing out. She laid back and closed her eyes, and was out in moments.
Vinyl’s eyes slowly opened, letting light sting them. She squinted, blinking the light away. Trixie had successfully cleaned the window, and was nowhere to be found. Vinyl was still on the couch, sunken into the soft, plush comforts.
She yawned, stretching her paws out either way. Wait... paws... Her heart missed a beat as she saw her white paws. She brought them to her face, looking them over. They looked like the paws of that monster the night before. Her eyes widened as she licked her teeth, running her tongue across her sharp, elongated teeth.
She looked down, and found her body bulked by excess fur. Her tail was firm, with a mix of blue and black fur.
Her heart was pounding. “H-hey guys?”
“Mmm, Vinyl, hush,” Rarity said sleepily. Vinyl paled. Rarity sounded too real. Vinyl’s ears flicked, and she began to pick up on a soft snore. But Trixie wasn’t in the room...
She looked left, where another head, fur white and blue-black mane neatly swirled, snored away beside her. Her eyes traced it down, and found it attached to her body. Vinyl’s head snapped left, where, dangling off the couch, another head, this one white as well, snored lightly with her tongue limp in her nose. Octavia, her mane styled as it always was, was snoozing.
“Aw man,” she muttered, biting her lip. “It was bad enough when they were in my head... Now I gotta actually listen to them!”
“Vinyl...” Octavia muttered, “Stick a hoof in it...”
“By Celestia...” Then, she grinned. An idea struck her. Stifling a chuckle with a paw, she reached over and poked Rarity with a claw.
“Huh, that’s what I thought...” she said. Her grin grew as she leaned over, stuck her long, flat tongue out and licked Rarity on the cheek. It was fun and tasty. She chuckled and rubbed her cheek. “Aw man, that feels amazing.”
Octavia groaned. “Did somepony just lick me?”
Vinyl snickered. “This is awesome.”