“... Trixie.”
She felt a hoof on her back, shaking her back and forth. She mumbled incoherently, flipping her head the other way.
“Trixie.”
“Whaaaaaaaaattttt?” she groaned, frowning. She was awake. Darn it.
“Girls’-day-out today,” Starlight’s voice chided gently. She felt her body roll toward the divet where Starlight was sitting. The magician sighed, rolling out of her sheets and against Starlight’s back, belly-up.
“Can’t you just give me a Peaceful and Restful five minutes?” she yawned, opening her eyes in slits. Daylight flooded into the window, reflecting off the crystalline architecture, refracting into rainbow colors, right into her corneas. She blinked the blind spots away.
Starlight smiled devilishly. “Nah,” she said, lighting her horn. One of Trixie’s pillows flew out from under her and nailed her in the belly with a sharp plap. “Get up.”
Trixie groaned once more, concentrating to light her horn. But as soon as the crackles started forming, she thought better of it, taking the pillow in her teeth and flinging it at her back. “Only if you get your butt of my bed,” she grunted.
“Fine,” Starlight said, standing. “I call dibs on the shower though.”
Trixie sighed, sitting up. “Heeey, you weren’t traveling across the continent.”
“True, but I was in a hospital bed for about two weeks. Internal bleeding is a pain.”
“Oh, I imagine.” Trixie slid off her bed, arching her back in a deep stretch and yawning. “Fiiiinnneee, but be quick.”
Shortly after Starlight closed the bathroom door behind her, the defunct unicorn reached into her saddlebags, pulling out what remained of her adventures… which wasn’t much. If anything, she had less than what she started out with. She still had the smoke bombs that she’d made in Vanhoover, and An Assessment of Legendary Creatures was still in good condition, albeit it had sustained some water damage from her trek through the Frozen North to find Envy. However, she had to curb the expectation that her mother’s amulet would still be there, and that she still had any materials to work with.
Frowning, she picked up the thick book, stroking through the pages, surprised that only a couple of them were bound together considering the damage. The section on the draconequus was still in good condition; in fact, it probably had the least water damage of the bunch, only crinkling the edges of the paper. She read over it once again, once again finding the mention of the Strait of Effervescence.
She hummed to herself. There wasn’t any doubt now that there were more draconequus out there other than Discord. In fact, that fact gave new credence to the author’s claims. If they could find the lost colony, then he would be able to be with his own race again. She couldn’t imagine what a relief it would be for him.
But her expression soured. Surely with Envy kidnapping him, he’d have figured the same thing. He couldn’t have been too pleased that monster was his reintroduction to his old tribe.
A sudden shiver went down her spine. What if Envy wasn’t acting alone? What if, like a thousand years ago, the draconequus sent her out to terrorize the ponies? She shook her head. No, that couldn’t be right. The circumstances were a lot different than they were before. Also, why wait a thousand years and some change to attack? Surely they could’ve done it sooner, and with more units than just Envy herself.
Trixie’s ear twitched as she heard the door to the bathroom open. She looked over her shoulder as Starlight walked out, a towel wrapping around her mane and tail. “I’m done!” the unicorn announced, the smell of the wash’s floral fragrance laced among the water vapor that rolled out of the doorway.
“Right,” she blurted, the word coming out more enthusiastically than she expected. But honestly, why wouldn’t she be excited? This would be her first shower in a couple weeks, and she craved the feeling of being clean once again. Without a moment’s hesitation, she flew to the door of the bathroom, slamming it shut behind her.
Although as soon as she did that, she had to wipe an immediate sweat from her brow. She knew that Starlight liked hot showers, but this was like a sauna near the surface of the sun. She sucked it up though, and moved to the mirror. She grabbed the hoof towel and wiped off the fog.
It occurred to her then that this was the first time she had seen her broken horn. And it didn’t look good. The crack that traced down her horn was closer to the crown of her head than Fizzlepop’s was. It was deep, and it tapered off just above the crown of her head. Out of morbid curiosity and swallowing away the pit in her stomach, she tilted her head downwards to see the inside more clearly. It was kind of looking into a cross section of a jawbreaker, but a lot more subtle. Toward the center was crusted over with blood, while the outward layers had already started to heal, a thin layer of velvet starting to reach into the wound.
She immediately wished that she hadn’t inspected it at all. It only made her more aware of what was missing, and a new type of pain swelled at—and past—the wound itself. She frowned. Maybe this was the whole phantom pain thing that amputees feel.
She hopped into the shower, and was glad to feel the water still have a little bit of warmth after Starlight had all but emptied out the water heater. She adjusted it to be a good 80 degrees, and massaged the grime out of her coat with a copious amount of body wash. She didn’t even want to think of the icky, brown water that resulted. But as she showered, she felt pounds of dirt wash out of her coat. As she got cleaner and cleaner, she realized how much she missed having a clean, soft coat.
But when she reached for the face wash, she habitually lit her horn, casting what would be a telekinesis spell. Instead of lifting the bottle, a shotgun blast of electric sparks bounced off the sides of the room. She jumped in surprise, dodging the sparkes until the last one faded away in the cloudy water below her. She cursed under her breath. It was going to be a while before her old habits of using her horn died.
She continued her shower, more cautiously this time, going in for one final round of body wash before the shampoo and conditioner. After a couple minutes of deep cleaning, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her mane with relative ease. However, the towel she’d wrap around her tail was giving her an inordinate amount of teeth-grinding frustration. She tried multiple times to sit and wrap, even on going on her back, but to no avail. She’d have to have either Tempest or Applejack teach her how to wrap her tail… but she couldn’t even begin to imagine the embarrassment. She knew neither of them very well, and having them that close to her bum would undoubtedly result in months of torturous awkwardness.
Pursing her lips, she stuck her head out the door. “Starlight?” she called.
“Yes?”
She could feel the cursed heat of embarrassment swell in her cheeks. “C-could you please help Trixie with her tail towel, please?”
“Yeah, just a second,” the unicorn responded with no hesitation, and her request was literally only a second. She came with both of her used towels floating beside her, walking into the bathroom with her. She placed the towels on the hanger to her right. “Well, turn around,” Starlight said, circling her hoof in a counter-clockwise direction.
Her cheeks baked more as she obliged, her muscles beginning to tense. She forced herself to breathe, and try the best she could to relax. I trust Starlight, I trust Starlight, she repeated in her mind as she felt her tail being lifted, the towel sweeping under her dock.
“... and… there. That should stay.” Starlight tapped her flank. “You can turn back around now, Trixie.”
The defunct unicorn cackled, trying to play up her embarrassment. “W-what? Are you not entertained by the Great and Powerful patootie?”
Starlight chortled. “I’ve had my fill of your entertainment, thank you very much.” She slapped her flank and then flipped around. “Now, come on! As soon as your mane and tail dry, we’re headed out to eat!”
“Okay!” she grunted through gritted teeth. Did she really have to hit her that hard? Rubbing her precious hindquarters until they stung no more, she walked out of the bathroom, picking up An Assessment of Legendary Creatures once again. “So Starlight,” she started. “Do you know anything about the Strait of Effervescence?”
The unicorn nodded. “It’s just south of the Griffonlands,” she explained. “There’s a little cut out of the land there, and mountains surround it. The mountains actually were actually mined for Ocean Sapphire, but an accident over there caused the Dragonlands’ miners to leave their plunder. It’s part of the reason why the water shines like that. Some of the jewels rolled into the ocean, and since it’s shallower and clearer over there, they reflect the sunlight.
Trixie nodded, wondering herself what the spectacle would be like. “So they left the plunder? Could it have been due to the Draconic Wars?”
“Yeah,” Starlight shifted on the side of her bed. “The mining happened before the battle. After the battle, though, the Strait became sacred land. No one has dared go near it since.”
The magician raised an eyebrow, setting the book down once more. “Huh. So how long did you study to memorize these fun facts?”
The unicorn gave Trixie a deadpan expression. “I didn’t have to. I live in the same building as Twilight for heaven’s sake! She talked my ear off about these things even before she called everyone in to talk about it.”.
Starlight gasped. “Oh! Speaking of which Twilight managed to recover your wagon!”
“Huh?” Trixie said before she could stop herself. She resisted the urge to facepalm. Her wagon! How on earth did she forget about it? “Oh!” she blurted. “That’s awesome… but why Twilight?”
Starlight shrugged with a smug smile. “I dunno, maybe because it was the right thing to do?”
“Ha.” Trixie huffed, sensing the sarcasm in her voice. “I thought that the Princess of Friendship was above currying favors.”
“You give her too little credit,” Starlight chided, tapping her shoulder. “She isn’t trying to one-up you at every turn. At least, not anymore.”
Trixie grunted, “Well, still doesn’t make me like her any better.”
The unicorn rolled her eyes, before they locked onto the book. “Anyways, could I see that for a minute? There’s something that’s been bugging me.”
The magician shrugged. “Go right on ahead. The Great and Powerful Trixie has read all that she needs to from that book.”
“Thanks,” Starlight said, levitating the book toward her, and taking it to her bed. She lay down, fanning through the pages until she stopped at where Trixie thought she was looking for. Frowning, Trixie lay on her bed too, on her side. A few minutes passed until Starlight gave an exasperated sigh, closing the book with a dull thud.
“Anyways,” Starlight said. “I think your mane and tail are dry enough to take out of the towels now.” She undid the towel on her tail en route to the bathroom once more. “Let’s get the rest of the way ready, and we can head out.”
Trixie nodded, loosening the towel on her mane. She took it off and tossed it aside, reaching into her saddlebags. She fit her hoof around a hairbrush, taking out a portable mirror in the other. She brushed her hair on autopilot, a faint pout forming on her lips. What was there to do in the Crystal Empire? The only other times that she was there, she’d just be too tired to do anything too interesting; it was a long ride. But now that she wasn’t that exhausted, her interests were piqued.
Starlight stepped out of the bathroom, her complexion a bit more… glowy than Trixie remembered. She was beautiful, but it was a long time since she’d seen her this way. Perhaps she just took her looks for granted?
“So,” the unicorn started. “I’ve had a hard time deciding. After we grab some grub, should we go to the massage parlor before or after we go out and have fun?”
“Before!” Trixie blurted, her heart jumping.
Starlight cocked her head to the side. “You sure? We could also do it later to wind down and relax after today.”
Trixie laughed. “Starlight, darling, I have walked across the continent. A massage sounds wonderful.” She raised her eyebrows.
Starlight gave Trixie a sheepish smile. “I guess to the massage parlor it is then!”
It wasn't long at all before they were out of the castle and strolling the streets of the Crystal Empire. It may have been her excitement, but Trixie noticed that the atmosphere was a lot less tense. Even though it had only been a short while since she'd first arrived with Boggs, the atmosphere was bubbling with life as ponies went throughout their day with carefree smiles. Only a select few ponies looked her way, but the glances were brief and often aimed at the crown of her head. She'd give a sheepish smile before their gazes finally turned away.
But other than those select few, she was invisible. It may have been because of the citizens' busy schedules, or perhaps Trixie's appearance wasn't as odd as she figured it would be. But for once, it felt nice to not be at the center of attention. Normally she would've craved the curious eye, but after all she had been through, she found a moment's relaxation to be supremely enjoyable.
Not before grabbing a bite to eat, they headed across the way to the massage parlor. It was a little way out from the residential district, just barely touching the commercial district where there were mostly empty buildings, run down by time.
"You sure this is the right place?" Trixie asked tentatively, gesturing to the building. "It seems… sketchy."
Starlight nodded confidently. "Of course. I went out with Twilight one time while we were visiting. They really find a way to make you melt under their hooves."
Trixie frowned. "Okay…" she mumbled, giving a glance over the building once again. The paint on the brick was sunbleached and peeling. The sign was faded and nigh unreadable. She couldn't imagine a princess like Twilight coming to such a place like that looked this shabby, but if Starlight said so…
They walked in through the double doors, and the atmosphere immediately changed. The walls were painted a warm brown, adorned with rustic double candle sconces, giving a relaxed and homely atmosphere. The inside was clean and spacious, and somehow looked bigger than what it seemed from the outside.
A pink pony with grey eyes appeared at the counter in front of them. “Starlight Glimmer!” she welcomed in a kindhearted alto. “It’s been a while!”
“Sorry, Rose Quartz!” Starlight replied, rubbing her foreleg with a hoof. “Had a lot of work in Ponyville.”
“Ah.” Rose Quartz smiled as she nodded, raising a hoof to her chest. “Then shall we get you a comprehensive? It works wonders on hard workers like yourself.”
“Definitely,” Starlight moaned preemptively, her posture melting. “Two, actually,” she added, stepping aside and gesturing to Trixie.
Trixie was expecting Rose’s smile to disappear as soon as she saw her. But to her surprise, it only became bigger. “I don’t think that we’ve met before!” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “My name is Rose Quartz, and you are…?”
“T-Trixie,” the defunct unicorn stammered.
“Pleasure to meet you!” The masseuse stood up on her hind legs, extending both hooves out to take one of her’s. Trixie’s heart skipped a beat as she accepted the brief but confident hoof shake. When it was released, she took a small step back, mystified. Everyone that she’d met previously had some dirt on her, some inhibition. But Rose was absolutely oblivious to her, and what she did in the past. Trixie relaxed. It was… a nice change of pace.
But the warm smile turned into a thoughtful frown. “Hmm… the movement in right leg was a little stiff. Do you have any pain or soreness in that shoulder?”
Trixie paused. She moved her leg and indeed, there was a pang of pain. “Yes…?”
“And not the other?”
Frowning, Trixie moved the other. “Not necessarily.”
Rose Quartz nibbled at the tip of her hoof, which was polished in a transparent gloss. “That’s on your dominant side, so we’ll just have to pay special attention to that. But you’re in for a treat with comprehensive!” She let her hoof down, turning to the door behind her and opening it. “I’ll let my associate know,” she announced over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her.
Trixie leaned to her right, now a little too self-conscious. She glanced at Starlight, an eyebrow raised in nervous curiosity. “Comprehensive?”
Starlight nodded. “Yeah, you’re going to love it! They find muscles that you didn’t know needed to be worked on. You feel like you can run a marathon afterward.”
The magician frowned. “How could it be any different from a normal massage?”
“You’ll see!”
The masseuse cracked the door open, smiling at the both of them as she stuck her muzzle through the space between. “You girls can come on back.”
Lifting her lips in a knowing smile, Starlight led the way to the back room to the left of the counter. Trixie followed. Around the corner, the style of the room was the same, but five different hourglass-shaped beds lay a few feet apart from each other, holes around the midsection and head. The sheets hugging around them were a bright white, no sign of staining in sight. Starlight went to her bed and Trixie went to the one to the right of it, feeling the cushioning. The material was cool, forming into the shape of her hoof before slowly pulling back into form.
“Whenever you’re ready, feel free to lay down, face down first.”
The voice came from the other side of the bed. She looked similar to Rose Quartz, but her jaw was more hardened, and she was a tad bit larger. “My name is Strawberry Stream, Rose’s older sister. Nice to meet you.”
“Trixie,” the magician greeted, climbing into the bed. “Nice to meet you too.”
Strawberry Stream smiled, rolling over a cart from behind her. “I’m going to place a pad your shoulder for a couple of minutes. Are you allergic to menthol?”
“No,” Trixie answered, shaking her head.
Strawberry nodded, grabbing a pad stuck to a plastic handle in her mouth. She set it gently on Trixie’s shoulder, the smell of the menthol clearing out her nostrils as she tore off the handle, and the pad stuck to Trixie's coat. It was damp, but the menthol quickly cooled down the area around her shoulder. The cold feeling crawled up to her mid back down to her shoulder as the pad appeared to melt onto her, spreading the menthol gel further. She shivered as the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
But the pain in her shoulder was all but gone at this point, and a new relief washed over her. She'd been dealing with that since about the time she arrived at the Crystal Empire the first time. Since then, it had become white noise to her; it was barely noticeable. However, she was now beginning to be free from pain that she had accepted as normal, and it was deliciously sweet.
It only took a couple more minutes for the menthol pad to completely melt onto her. At that point, Strawberry wiped the excess with a cloth that was only just bigger than her hoof, and the area only got cooler.
But then Strawberry started the massage. Of course there was the starting pain, but when Trixie was truly relaxed, the masseuse worked her magic. She rubbed deep into her tissue, starting at mid-back, then going up to her shoulders. She let out a girthy moan as the masseuse dug deep into the joint, working out the knot that had built up there.
As the masseuse worked down toward her flank, things got more erogenous. Orgasmic tingles coursed up her spine as her hooves pushed into her flank, massaging inside and out. She bit her lip to try to keep quiet but to no avail. With every circular movement, she couldn't help but to squeal a bit. She could hear Starlight snicker each time, replying often with a subdued, "Shut uuuuuuupppp!"
But she was beginning to see why it was called 'comprehensive'. Strawberry hadn't missed a single muscle up to this point. She dug deep and shallow, up, down, left, and right. Besides the obvious no-zones, there wasn't a place below her chin, barring the back of her head and ears, that she hadn't been to. It was unorthodox, but it was pure bliss all the same.
When the massage was finally over, Trixie felt like she was given a new pair of legs. The joints moved fluidly as she walked around the room, laughing with giddiness. "You were right, Starlight! The Great and Powerful Trixie could run a marathon and an Iron Mare!"
Starlight and the masseuses chuckled in unison. "I'm glad you feel that way." From her unstrapped saddlebag, she procured a nylon coin pouch, handing the lot over to Strawberry. "Just be glad you're not footing the bill this time."
Trixie suppressed a shudder when she saw the size of the pouch. It could fit five hundred bits easily. That could get her a lifetime supply of candied cherries, repairs on her wagon, and have money to spare for a tour.
Most of the afternoon was spent at a nearby festival. From what Trixie gathered, it was semi-annual, celebrating the freedom from Sombra’s rule. And appropriately, the main edible there was rock candy in the shape of crystals. When she tried one out, she almost broke her teeth, the candy tasting of pure sugar. She prepared herself for the eventual heartburn it would give her.
After purchasing enough kites for the entire city of Ponyville, Starlight dragged her to most of the tossing games available. Trixie tried a couple tosses, nearly burning down the attraction when she forgot that her horn was defunct. She apologized to the stand runner for his singed eyebrows, but the guy was so shocked that his only response was a broken whimper. Needless to say, she sat out the rest of the games, nearly falling asleep as Starlight missed every single shot even with a horn. Her face reddening, she nearly threw down the rest of the rings she had one play, but instead curtly set them down on the counter before walking away, grunting in frustration.
Relieved to walk away from the bit-eating games, they decided to take to the next attraction: a small roller coaster, which apparently wasn’t there all year. When Starlight asked about the process, the fact came up that it was very easy to put up and take apart, just with a little bit of binding magic to keep it safe and together. Upon hearing this fact, her knees started shaking, but Trixie was so enchanted by the contraption that she dragged her friend with her. After waiting too long in line, they rode down sheer slopes, near sideways turns, and through one loop-dee-loop. Trixie held her hooves up in ecstatic glee, enjoying the wind and the gut-punching acceleration, while Starlight screamed at the top of her lungs in terror. Once they were done, Starlight couldn’t stand up straight, and they agreed to rest for a few minutes before they started again.
The next available bench they saw was unfortunately far away from the festival. They walked into the next district, the screams from the people riding the roller coaster fading into the distance. At that point, Starlight could walk reliably, but they were committed to find somewhere to sit.
That place was a shuttle stop abutting a cemetery. It was the most ordinary part of the empire that Trixie had seen; there was minimal crystals here. Instead, the cemetery behind them had beautiful green grass that rolled along small, rippling hills. Flowers and small trinkets adorned the base of the headstones, catching the wandering eye. It was gorgeous in a somber way, and the most reverent place she’d been in thus far. Not even the Mirenite church houses during service were this eerily peaceful.
But a little way off, a familiar pony caught the corner of her eye. Opal walked out from behind one of the headstones, reading over their content. She wore a dark dress, the color striding the line between deep navy blue and black. It shimmered in the sunlight when as she moved, but she finally stopped at one headstone. She sat down, bowing her head as she mumbled to herself.
Trixie’s heart sank, about to look away when their eyes met. She waved at her somberly, but then gestured to her to come. Her heart sank, kicking herself for staring at such a tender moment, but she stood, turning to Starlight. She started saying her name when she realized that her body was slumped against the back of the bench, mouth wide open as her head bent back onto the crest of the bench’s back. She frowned, taking her saddlebags, then walking toward the headstone where Opal sat.
“Hi,” Trixie said tentatively, trying not to be disrespectful.
“Hi,” Opal greeted in return. She gestured toward the headstone. “I’d like you to meet someone.”
Smiling awkwardly, Trixie sat next to Opal, reading over the headstone. It was a small one that barely stood from the ground, cursive lettering spelling out the name:
Here Lies Honeycomb
998-1002
“She was my niece,” Opal explained, her glassy eyes meeting Trixie’s. “The one that you remind me of.”
Trixie’s heart plummeted in her stomach. She remembered her saying something like that when they had first met… but she never imagined that it would bring up such a painful memory. She slouched her back, bowing her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know…”
“It isn’t your fault,” Opal reciprocated swiftly. She rested a hoof on the magician’s shoulder. “I’m just glad I could save you.”
A pang of ice hit her chest at the emphasis. “You don’t… blame yourself, do you?”
The inkeep’s hoof fell away from her shoulder, her face going slack, her eyes becoming shallow. “I…” Her body quaked as her confident facade shattered. She slammed the hoof down, not out of anger, but rather, it was the same as a rousing slap; she was clawing her way out of an abrupt damnation. She stood swiftly, turning away. “I have to go,” she blurted, galloping off in the other direction.
Trixie’s heart tore in two, nauseous guilt settling in her stomach. “Opal!” she called, but to no avail. She was gone.