…Really don’t have much to say right now. The thing that I’m planning on doing won’t be for some time. I will be releasing more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 13: The Honest Explanation
The rising sun greeted the tired unicorn as she roused herself from her slumber. She felt a sense of comfort as she remembered the dreams that played out in her mind. Images of the joy Trixie would express upon being reunited with her treasured cape and hat.
Twilight could see the tears of joy forming in Trixie’s eyes, and she felt a new warmth in her heart. She took one look at the cape and hat, which were still displayed on the mannequin and appeared to have a new sheen in relation to the being touched with the sun’s gentle rays.
The sudden rumble in her stomach reminded her that it was around time to gather something to eat. Stealing one last look at the outfit, the purple unicorn made her way down to the main floor of the library. Once the main foyer was coming into her view, Twilight was met with a rather surprising sight.
She saw that Trixie was already awake and she was sitting in front one of the reading tables that Twilight had set up. In front of her were two plates that were filled with what appeared to be pancakes. She was then greeted with the sweet smell of fresh blueberries, causing her mind to enter a sense of bliss. Trixie was still wearing the saddle but her tact had been removed. No doubt it was to allow her to eat her breakfast.
Though her mind urged her to get to the delicious smelling food, her body was still sluggish as it was trying to get up. She eventually managed to reach the table and took a seat in one of the chairs. She was a little surprised to find that Trixie wasn’t in a chair herself, but her tired mind and hungry stomach made it hard for her to pursue that train of thought. Instead, she began eating the blueberry pancakes that were in front of her.
Upon the first bite, Twilight’s taste buds were swarmed with a range of flavors that complemented each other perfectly. It was like she eating the fluffiest cloud she had ever seen, with the blasts of blueberry flavors going off like sonic rainbooms in her mouth. She couldn't help but let out a slight moan of enjoyment before her mind was able to stop her. Twilight felt a rush of embarrassment flood her body. and she knew that Trixie was able to see the obvious light pink ovals forming on her cheeks. However, when she looked at her blue counter-part; she saw that she appeared to be more focused on the plate in front of her. Thinking that she had avoided a rather awkward moment, Twilight decided to say, “These are really good. I’m surprised that Spike knew how to make such delicious pancakes.”
Trixie, in the most normal, matter of fact tone she was able to do, simply replied “Actually…I was the one who cooked breakfast. Of course your assistant helped me out due to the fact that my magic is restricted at the moment but the recipe is my own.”
Twilight almost choked on her pancake when she heard what Trixie had said. Her first thought was that Trixie was trying to pull a fast one on her, but the way she said it in such an off-hoof way pushed that notion out of her mind. Twilight had never actually pegged Trixie as a competent chief but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely that the blue unicorn would have at least some basic knowledge in terms of preparing a meal, considering that she used to travel a lot.
Strangely enough, Twilight felt a new sense of understanding towards Trixie. She believed that Trixie was actually just as skilled as she was, but, in the field of living on your own. Twilight for the most part lived a very sheltered life. She had everything that she needed and she was always under careful watch, whether it was her parents, her brother, her foal-sitter, or even the Princess. The first time she had to perform a task without supervision was the day she met her friends and moved to Ponyville. She could still remember those early days where she was unsure of what to do because she lacked that adult guidance. Trixie, on the other-hoof, had to take care and feed for herself for Celestia-knows how long, and while her magical abilities were not as strong as her own; she made up for it in her other traveling skills.
Trixie noticed the rather shocked expression that Twilight had, and felt a sense of pride forming inside of her. However, she was surprised to find that this new pride felt different then the one she had while on stage. While that one was more forced and fake, this new pride felt genuine and more humbling then she would have imagined real pride to be. She was also a little surprised to realize that it came from the fact that she was able to cause such a reaction in the purple unicorn. Trixie felt that she was the type of unicorn that was used to having everything in order and disliked unexpected changes, and her reaction to that bit of information showed an expression that was borderline adorable. Still, the blue unicorn felt glad about her small victory, and settled back in to enjoy the rest of the pancakes in silence.
Twilight, after recovering from the shock, also joined Trixie in finishing up the meals. Once the plates were cleaned off and put away, Trixie said to the purple unicorn “Your assistant had some urgent business to attend to at Canterlot so he won’t be around until after dinner.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and said “That’s just his way of saying he’s going over to Rarity’s place. I sometimes wonder if he spends more time helping her then he does helping out here?”
Trixie let out a mild chuckle before saying “He also told me to tell you that we are running low on food and that he finished all of his morning chores.” Twilight nodded her head and even her past annoyance by her assistant’s sudden disappearance was gone. Spike may have a major crush on Rarity but he was still responsible enough to be able to finish his tasks before taking off. The fact that the food in the library was getting low was to be expected, as her schedule said that it was time to make a trip to Sweet Apple Aces to get some fresh apples. Twilight would have gone to the local market, but she always preferred the taste of fresh apples.
So, with the prospect of enjoying fresh picked apples, gathering some new groceries, and a chance for Trixie to make peace with Applejack; Twilight gathered up her saddlebags. Trixie, seeing Twilight gathering her bags, made her way to back to where she had placed her reins. She grabbed the tack with her mouth and waited for Twilight to finish securing the rest of the harness. Trixie would have done it herself but due to the fact that her magic was unavailable to her and the fact that she wasn't that good with manipulating objects with her hooves, she decided to wait for help.
Once the reins had been secured, the two unicorns left the house and made their way towards Sweet Apple Aces. They traveled in a comfortable silence with Twilight thinking about her plans for the day, and Trixie wondering where they were going next. The residents of Ponyville had gotten used to seeing the former show-mare walking around town with that get-up, which was something that Trixie was thankful for. She had earlier been worried about the possibility of dealing with the whole town against her.
Eventually, the two reached the apple farm and Trixie was surprised to see such a large collection of apple trees. She had never realized that this was here the last time that she was in Ponyville, and was now wondering if there were any other land-marks that she had overlooked. She didn’t have long to ponder that as she saw a familiar orange pony trotting towards them. Trixie saw the look on her face was a mix between suspicion and curiosity, but she was unable to get further knowledge due to the fact that Twilight started making her way towards her friend, and was pulling on Trixie’s reins to follow.
Eventually, the three ponies had managed to close the distance and were now waiting for somepony to break the ice. Twilight was nervous about trying to get Applejack to forgive Trixie for what had happened. Rarity was easier due to the fact that she knew about Twilight’s unsure feelings for the blue unicorn, but neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash had such knowledge. Still, this was something that was going to happen sooner or later, and it was as good a time as any.
Attempting to break the ice, Twilight said “How are you doing today Applejack?” She tried to make her voice sound pleasant enough but she was worried that it might have sounded nervous to the orange pony. Trixie remained silent though, even if she was allowed to speak she was unsure as to if she would even say anything in the first place.
Applejack for the most part, was still dealing with a mixture of emotions inside of her. On one part, she was still annoyed by the way Trixie showed her up during her last visit, but the time between that event and today was long enough that those feeling were lessened. She had also heard from her sister Applebloom, who heard from Sweetie bell that Rarity had already forgiven the showpony, and Applejack knew how much of a drama queen her friend was. Maybe it was time to try and start making amends.
Putting on her best friendly face, the farm pony said “Howdy there Twi. I’m doing fine as usual.” Applejack returned her attention to Trixie and said “Hello there as well Trixie.” Trixie was a little surprised by the friendly greeting from the farm pony and managed to give a small smile through her tact. The three mares returned to their silence before Applejack said “Twi…do you mind if I talked to you private like?”
Twilight was a little curious as to what Applejack wanted to talk about so she looked over and saw a nearby tree with some shade. She turned to Trixie and directed her attention to that tree and said “Stay there for now while I talk with my friend.” Trixie, thinking that Twilight was going to try and smooth things over before allowing her a chance to talk with Applejack merely nodded her head and made her way over to the tree.
Once she was out of earshot, Applejack said “Did you really have to tell her to go to that tree?”
Twilight nodded her head and replied “As long as she wears that Saddle, she is to do anything I ask of her. However, she is also supposed to always stay by my side, unless I tell her to go somewhere.”
Applejack, glad that the conversation was on the saddle, decided to take the incentive and asked “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that there saddle. Is it really some form of punishment?”
Twilight knew that at some point she was going to have to explain the deal behind the Saddle of Servitude and she was glad that it was being asked by her honest friend. Besides, there was a bit of an irony to Applejack asking her, considering that the original idea of the Saddle of Servitude came from earth pony adviser's who grew up on a farm.
Twilight took a small breath and said “Yes Applejack. The Saddle of Servitude was a punishment that allows the guilty party to, for a lack of a better word, pay off the crime they committed to the victim. During the time frame there are three ponies that are involved, the victim, the guilty pony, and a third pony called the Overseer.”
Applejack was a little confused by the concept of the third pony and asked “I can understand that Trixie is the guilty pony and you are the victim, but what in the hay is this here ‘Overseer’?”
Twilight responded, “The Overseer is a third party pony whose job is to make sure that the victim, the guilty party, and the bystanders are all following the rules. The Overseer is also the only pony who knows how long the Servitude lasts.”
Applejack interjected by saying “Wait a minute…you mean to tell me you have no clue how long Trixie going to be like this?”
Twilight nodded her head and replied “Yes…it helps make sure that the victim doesn’t abuse their control over the guilty party by making them do more work than they would normally do.”
Applejack nodded her head in agreement and was about to move on to another topic when a thought entered her mind, and she asked, “I’ve got one more question, when Trixie first came back to Ponyville and Dash had wanted to slug her, you told her that it would be bad.” Twilight nodded her head and motioned for Applejack to continue “Well…I was wondering why that was.”
Twilight was about to answer, when she heard a voice in the distance shouting, “This is what you get for humiliating me in front of the town!” The earth pony and the unicorn turned their heads and saw Trixie slumped on the ground with Rainbow Dash standing above her. Even from the distance, they could just see the red mark on Trixie’s cheek where they assumed that Rainbow Dash must have hit her.
A cold feeling surfaced within Twilight, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft “oh no.” Before Applejack could inquire about that ‘oh no’, the air around the area became suddenly cold and frigid. Rainbow Dash was rooted to the ground and the two mares made their way over to her. Before they had a chance to try and figure out what happened, a massive voice sounded in the air saying “THY PONY HAS BROKEN THINE RULES!!!”
Well…things have gotten a bit more interesting, haven’t they?