//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Temple of the Stars // by OrphiusOlyandra //------------------------------// I rolled my eyes as Trixie muttered something under her breath yet again as she gazed at the mess Gilda and I had made. There was no need to use emotion reading magic to know the showmare was annoyed at us, and considering how she avoided looking or talking to me in any shape or form, I did not wish to press the issue. As far as I was concerned, she was an idiot for believing whatever it was she was thinking. In fact, any words that came out of her mouth were probably stupid wastes of time and air. “There was a reason why I never bothered reading her mind and just stuck with emotions,” smirked Nightmare Moon from inside my mind. A quick glance to my right told me the lazy gryphon was still out cold and I resisted the urge to slap her awake. From what Nightmare had seen in Teotore’s mind, there was something else going on and that did not bode well for either of us. Whatever it was the gryphons were up to, they had to be stopped. The sooner the better. All we had were a couple of images and fragments to go from. Normally it would be enough for a goddess to find the location, but being gone a thousand years was definitely a hindrance. Stupid gryphons, they just had to form a monarchy and rename their towns. There was a groan from beside me, and I glanced down. Gilda’s eyes flickered open only to immediately close again with a pained grunt as the light shone directly into them. I knew there was a reason why I moved the lamp there this morning. Turning the page of my journal, I let my eyes skim the words before me as she shifted and turned like a dragon coming out of hibernation. Probably just as grumpy, if that ‘hangover’ disease was as bad as Celly made it sound. After a moment, Gilda’s eye opened more firmly, and fixed a glare on the lamp. Her claw shot out and knocked it over, but not putting the flame out. At the clattering sound she clenched both claws to her head and moaned. After a moment she said something, so softly I wouldn’t have caught it if I wasn’t an alicorn. “Water...” she croaked as she faced the wall. I held out a bottle of alcohol for her. “Here.” She took it and clumsily fumbled it to her beak. The moment it touched her tongue she spat it out and threw the bottle at my face. I caught it with a chuckle and put it back down on the table before sitting back as I waited for the eventual tirade of colorful language. “You suck so much fucking dragon cock.” She slowly pushed herself to standing, and her bloodshot eyes fixed on me. Off to the side, Trixie began coughing as she thumped her chest. “Less than thou, considering We hath been on the moon for a thousand years,” I replied. She snorted, but then winced in pain and put a claw to her head. “I bet you made up for it the night you got back. Those guards probably limped away when you were done.” “Really? Thou art still on about that? Thou hast no new material? We are disappointed.” “I’m hung-over,” she shrugged. “Wait till midday, then I’ll have something better.” She glanced over at Trixie. “Hey Trix. You bashed your head pretty hard. You alright?” The unicorn fixed us with a glare and muttered something under her breath. “What? What’s your goddess damn problem?” Gilda sat down slowly and frowned. “It’s not like I’m the one who knocked you out.” All the response Gilda got was a small shake of Trixie’s head as she turned back to the book she was reading. The gryphon frowned. “Trixie, I’m as hung-over as fuck. Goddesses damn it, even my swearing is shit right now. So please, just tell me why you’re pissed. Is it because I lied to you about the pony killing thing?” A fireball flew towards Gilda, forcing her to scramble out of the way. “The fuck was that for!” she shouted, her hangover forgotten until the sound of her voice brought pain back. “Owe...” she muttered. A second fireball was aimed at my head, but a simple reflective barrier sent it towards Gilda once more. She barely reared back away from it in time. “The fuck is it with me and getting set on fire?” She shot a glare my way, and I merely shrugged innocently. “Whatever, fuck the both of you,” she muttered and turned away. “Where’s my bloody knife?” She asked herself. Really? Am I surrounded by idiots? “Still in our spine, obviously.” She turned around with a look of surprise on her face. “How are you standing?” Trixie muttered something vicious, but we both ignored her. I rolled my eyes. “Yes, there is absolutely a knife in our spine.” She stared at me confused for a second before she recognized sarcasm. “Whatever,” she muttered as she looked around the room. “It’s in your sheath!” Trixie snapped. “Right there, in your sheath you fool!” Gilda winced at the sound of her voice, but checked the knife under her coat. “Thanks,” she muttered and fell to the floor gracelessly. “I need a bloody drink.” I tossed the open bottle in her direction. “Of water.” She glared at me as the alcohol splashed all over her. “You suck.” “Thou insults are oddly lacking today,” I chuckled. “I hope you die screaming in pain as a changeling worms its way up your ass and pushes your heart out your mouth,” she said flatly. “Unless pony biology has completely changed these past thousand years, that is not even remotely plausible.” I slammed my head against the table. “Thou art an idiot.” “And the changeling’s on fire,” Gilda added. “And the dragon from earlier is shitting in your face. And yeah, I know dragon turd is corrosive.” “Now thou art trying too hard. Might We suggest something involving minotaurs? We hath found few utilize them properly in insults.” She collapsed to the floor in defeat. “I’ll remember that for later. So where to?” “We have no doubt that the gryphons will search all previously known locations that have been associated with thee. We need to find a location. Near a mountain range or some kind with a large river flowing through. A town called White Peak, we believe?” “White Peak?” Gilda asked. “No. I’m not going to goddess damn White Peak, that’s right next to the Changeling Territory. Fuck that, me and Trix are going back to Equestria. I meant where to from here.” “What makes you think Trixie is going anywhere with you?” Her eyes drifted over to me. “Either of you.” Gilda glanced over at her. “Trixie... Are you alright?” She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re pissed at me, but I’m fucking sorry alright? I just wanna get you out of this mess and go home.” “That would be touching if you weren’t a fucking sociopath,” snapped Trixie. “I am done with both of you. Trixie is returning and she is going alone.” Gilda snorted. “Trix, you won’t make it without my help.” She paused and added after a second. “And I’m not a sociopath.” That sounded like an afterthought to me. “Being dead is better than spending one more second with either of you!” She suddenly vanished in an explosion of blue. Gilda covered her eyes from the flash of light and loud sound. After a moment she looked around for the unicorn. “Trix?” “The idiot teleported,” I said with a shrug. “Either she is dead or she is dead. Come, if you wish to save thy marefriend we will have to leave now.” “Why? Where’d she go?” GIlda asked as she stepped closer to me, actual concern on her voice. “Give us a second.” I closed my eyes and pressed forward with my magic at the spot she had vanished from. “Teleporting tends to leave behind a fourth dimensional signature that we can follow and... Got it!” The air before us wavered, forming a translucent portal that seemed to superimpose an alpine environment on top of it. With far more magic than I had spare, I forced the tunnel to strengthen and stabilize. Sweat dripping down my brow, I narrowed my eyes and willed it to open. As soon as it did, I slumped back while taking deep gulps of air. “Hurry. We do not know how long it will stay open.” On shaky legs I walked forward. “Come.” Gilda pushed past me and jumped through the portal, causing me to stumble. Impudent little foal, if she wasn’t so useful I’d close the portal on her. Messy, but efficient death. “Don’t you dare. Do that and I promise, I will make your life a living Tartarus.” Fine, but they were pawns and the sooner they learnt that, the easier it would be for all of us. With a sigh I followed her through and let it snap shut behind me. With the snow, it was a matter of following the hoofprints. To think the gryphon would be so stupid as to not cover her own tracks. I saw her some distance ahead, doing the same hopping gliding gate she did when she first tracked Trixie. It wasn’t long till I lost sight of her. She was moving quickly and I was utterly depleted from my use of magic, so I barely managed a respectable pace. It’s a good thing I did not require food nor water nor warmth, or I might have died out here in the cold. Goddess damn it Trixie! I felt like screaming in frustration. I couldn’t tell if I was catching up to her or not, the tracks were too fresh for me to tell anything other than they were less than an hour old. Trixie was all but galloping from me and Luna, that I could tell from the hoof prints, so it wouldn’t take too long for her to run out of energy. She was in pretty damn good shape, so she’d probably be able to keep her current pace up for about half an hour, taking into account unicorn physiology and the cold, then she’d slow down and try to find shelter if she was smart, so given my current pace, it was at least going to be an hour before I caught up to her. I paused and glanced over my shoulder. Huh. Guess I hadn’t noticed Luna fall behind. Whatever, even she should be able to follow the tracks me and Trixie had left. I was ready to leave it at that before I decided to leave her a note. In the snow with a stick I’d snapped from a tree, I left a message. WILL FIND TRIXIE IN HOUR. IF NOT CAUGHT UP TO US, WILL COME BACK FOR YOU That done, I turned and chased after the pony who was actually at risk of dying. Despite the hangover I still had, and the hollow growling in my stomach, I made good time. I’d stopped to fill my canteen with snow, and my body heat began melting the ice so I’d have water soon enough. It was good to lose myself to the hard work and muscle burn of chasing in the snow. My breath was short and sharp, and I loved it because it kept my mind from the fucking awful mess of emotions my head had become. Emotions suck, they were never good for anything. Why the fuck did it have to be on a dodgy as Tartarus mission in the Gryphon Kingdom that I learn Calisto was dead, that my brother was a Wide Eyes whose job it was to hunt me down, that the only friend I had at the moment thought I was a complete psycho, that there was a goddess that really genuinely seemed like she was attracted, if not outright crushing, on me, that I was probably the single most mentally damaged being in Equestria, other than said goddess, and that my dad died. I fucking laughed at that. I laughed at the fact that my dad died. That is not a good thing! Shit, there go my thoughts again. I gave myself a slap that only hurt worse because of my hangover, and refocused on tracking Trixie. If she fucking died... No! No, don’t think about that. She wasn’t going to die, you were going to find her, she’d say something annoying, you’d swear at her, Luna would act like a dumbass and everything would be back to normal. Well... as normal as it could possibly be in a situation as completely fucked up as this. It was a little over an hour before I saw Trixie’s blue silhouette at the top of the next hill. By that time I was panting really heavily, and my breath was frosting over. If I didn’t have the same sort of cold resistance that pegasi did, I’d probably be feeling hypothermia. As it was, I was just a bit chilled. My chest heaving, I took to the air for one final flight to catch up to her. “Trixie!” I shouted as I got closer. “Trix, wait up!” I didn’t really need her to wait for me, which was good cause she didn’t, so I landed next to her with a whump and a flurry of snow. She didn’t even so much as look at me. Instead she kept trudging forward with her horn aglow and when I went to put a claw on her shoulder, a wave of heat suddenly engulfed it. I immediately pulled back with a frown. Some sort of heating spell? That explained how she was still alive. “Trix, just-” “Don’t call me that!” she yelled over her shoulder. Well at least she was saying something. “Trixie, just wait up. You’re acting retarded.” “No.” I was flung back, hitting a tree with enough force to give me whiplash. “If Trixie sees you or that insane alicorn ever again, Trixie will kill you.” I growled as I rolled back onto all fours. Fucking unicorns and alicorns with their goddess damn magic! “Well isn’t that just a bit fucking hypocritical! I’ve never killed anyone for trying to save my life!” “But you have killed!” “And?!” I shouted at her. “Exactly!” She jabbed a hoof in my direction. “You don’t even care do you? You’re like Nightmare. You are exactly like her. You think you’re so high and mighty with your moral high ground, constantly mocking her and calling her a monster, but you’re not better.” I grit my jaw. “I’m nowhere near as bad as that.” I said quietly. “I’ve done shit I regret, but I’m not a monster like her.” “How!? How are you any different to her? Do you even care when you kill somepony?” Trixie turned away and kept walking, obviously convinced she knew my answer. “No,” I said slowly, and she stiffened in surprise. “No I never fucking cared about anyone I killed. Because I never killed anyone that didn’t deserve it. I care about the fact that I don’t care, it fucking scares me, but I never gave a second thought to any of the pricks I ended.” “And Luna? Do you believe she feels any different? Despite everything you may think, Trixie is educated and she knows of the wars Luna speaks of. The commander of the army is always left blank, but...” She stopped and looked off into the distance. “If Luna did not win those wars, Equestria would not exist today.” “I’m nothing like Luna!” I yelled back my answer. “Luna doesn’t even care about right or wrong, she doesn’t give a fuck about anyone or anything other than herself.” “Is that Luna or Nightmare Moon?” Trixie shot back. “And what about me? Do you think I care about anything other than myself?” “Yeah, I do, Trix! Because if you cared about nothing other than yourself, you wouldn’t be willing to die out here on fucking principle! You wouldn’t be hurt by the fact that I lied to you, and you wouldn’t even be talking to me right now!” As an afterthought I shrugged and added. “And what does it matter if it’s Nightmare or Luna?” “Maybe I just don’t want to be caught in the crossfire when you two finally decide to kill each other!” she screamed back. “Trixie hates you! She hates both of you! Crawl back to where ever you came from and just die already.” “If you hate me so much, then why’d you shoot that flare at Luna when she first went after me, huh? If it’s about self-preservation, than why the fuck are you out here?!” I shouted and reared on my hind legs, my arms spread, indicating the mountains around us. “Oh yes, let the idiot gryphon die so that Trixie bears the full insanity of Nightmare Moon. Brilliant plan that.” Trixie glared at me. “And it is self-preservation. Trixie has decided making a break for the border has a better chance of survival than staying with you two.” “Well fine then, let’s ditch Luna and go. Without her there, you won’t get caught in the crossfire, and I can get you to somewhere fucking safe!” I jabbed my finger at her and fell down to all fours. For a brief second, uncertainty flashed over her face, but it immediately returned to that arrogant smirk of hers. “No. Trixie doesn’t need you. You’re mere presence is more likely to bring more problems for Trixie.” “Trix, you’re not an idiot. You know as well as I do that you’d never cross the border with them looking for you. You couldn’t stop at any towns or hit up anyone you know. They’ll be looking for you.” I glanced at the sun and her hoof prints. “Also, the border’s that way.” I pointed left of the direction she’d been heading in. Without a word, she changed directions and kept trudging on in silence. “Still think you’ll be better off without me?” I shouted after her. “You can’t even tell me what mountains we’re in can you?” I walked behind her, keeping pace pretty easily. Great, back to the silent treatment. “Trix, this isn’t even about your survival chances. This is about the fact that your first real friend in what I’m guessing is years, turned out to be... me. You’re hurt, because it’s the first time you’ve gotten close, or even slightly close, to someone in ye-” “Shut up!” Hey, she was speaking aga- I was suddenly on my back, Trixie’s horn jabbed against my throat, glowing bright blue. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don’t know anything! Ju- Just shut up!” “Go ahead then!” I shouted. “Kill me! I won't fucking stop you.” I grabbed her horn and pulled it right up to my forehead so she was staring me in the eyes. “Do it.” She stared me straight in the eye, and for a second, I actually thought she would do it. There was that frenzied look in her eye someone gets when they’re angry enough to something dumb. Then, at the last second, her horn stopped glowing and she slumped down. She was still on top of me, so I shoved her off and stood up. “Trix...we’re friends, alright? Whether you’ll admit it or not, I get you and you get me. Even if we know practically nothing about each other, we both understand each other.” I sat down in the snow next to her. “If that wasn’t true, then you wouldn’t be here at all. You could’ve teleported away at any time. You were sticking with us, because you actually cared.” “More than you two...” she whispered. “I hate you so much. So very much.” I snorted. “Fair enough. Very a few have more reason to hate me than you.” “Trixie doubts that.” She sighed softly as she finally collapsed onto me. “Trixie doubts that a lot.” I awkwardly put an arm around her shoulder. “Doubt that anyone has more reason, or just that it’s a few?” “Both.” Her hoof slammed into my chest causing me to wince. “Jerk.” “Yeah, well fuck you too Trix.” I thought about punching her in the shoulder, but she was still probably feeling a bit too tender for that kind of thing. “You know I quit drinking once?” Well that was a sudden change in topic. Well done me. Is it just something I do when things are getting emotional? Randomly throw the conversation in another direction. “Shut up,” she mumbled. “Take Trixie back, she’s too tired to walk on her own four hooves.” I was feeling bloody tired too. Still, I took some of her weight, and we headed back in the direction we’d come from. “Do you really want to go back? I’m not kidding when I say we can make a run for the border.” “Whatever,” Trixie sighed as she snuggled into me. “Just... just whatever you think is best.” I blinked in surprise. Maybe the cold was getting to her. “Uh... well, honestly, I doubt we’ll make it to the border from these mountains. They’re sort of even further from Equestria than Aviana. And more dangerous. We don’t have any supplies, and you’ll burn through your magic and freeze to death without something warmer.” I didn’t mention that I’d freeze too. “I guess, we go back to Luna, get off the mountain range, and make our way to Equestria someway we won’t freeze to death.” I paused and added. “Unless you can teleport the both of us.” “Alright.” Trixie wrapped both hooves around my neck. Yeesh. Was she drunk? Talk about getting affectionate. Whatever, as long as she wasn’t going to go back to moping. We made painfully slow progress back towards Luna. I wasn’t feeling up to flying her, and I doubt she’d want me to carry her either. We lapsed into bored silence, until eventually I felt like I had to say something. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I quit drinking.” I glanced over at Trixie. “Last year, I gave up on it. That’s why there was all that corn whisky in the basement. It wasn’t a cache, just shit I decided I wanted to leave behind.” My claw touched the knife under my cloak. “Maybe we can share a bottle later tonight.” “Nah, Luna drank it all, and spilled the rest when she threw it at me.” I sighed. “Whatever, it was shit anyway.” I shifted and adjusted her weight on me. “Cognac. That’s a good drink. I fucking love cognac. Calisto used to have this cabinet full of scotch, whiskey and cognac. Shame I didn’t start drinking till after I left, but I’d love to get my claws on that cabinet.” “Well Trixie would love to share a drink with you at some time.” She looked up at me with half lidded eyes. “Trixie is willing to buy.” I looked down at her, my eyes widening in surprise. Oh... I shifted uncomfortably. “Uh... Yeah alright.” I shrugged. “But it could be awhile before we can do that.” Yikes. Smooth one Gilda. Real smooth. Geez, did I even want to date Trixie? I mean, sure she was pretty enough, but I honestly hadn’t thought of her in that way at all. I couldn’t think of anything particularly wrong with the idea, but... sudden I guess? “Um... Trixie doesn’t mind.” A happy sigh escaped. Fucking Tartarus. Was I suddenly a hot commodity? First Nightmare, now this? I blinked in surprise and stared at Trixie in horror. “Holy shit, I forgot about Nightmare.” “Screw Nightmare. She can go fuck herself,” chuckled Trixie. “Or would that be fucking Luna?” “No dude, I mean Nightmare will bloody kill you.” I replied. “She’s not gonna take it well when she learns you’re... dating me? Are we dating?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Whatever. The point is you could die, dude.” “Then we make sure Nightmare doesn’t come out. If you hadn’t noticed, she only appears when Luna is knocked out.” To my surprise, Trixie blushed. “Trixie does not know, are we dating?” “I guess... I mean, we have plans for a date, right?” I shrugged. “I guess that means we’re dating.” There’s no way this was going to end well. I could tell that right now. No relationship with me ever ends well, and I’m not just thinking about romance either. My luck is so bad, shit gets ironic. Trixie’s blush deepened. “Trixie has... that is... I have never dated another pony before let alone a gryphon...” I chuckled. Oh, stupid me, bad move. Stop laughing. “Well, I’m not very experienced either... Was still a virgin this time last year.” Ah, fuck. She didn’t need to know that. Goddesses damn it, me! You’re good at not saying things! It’s easy! You just don’t say the thing! It’s as easy as doing nothing! Because it is doing nothing! It must have showed on my expression because she burst out laughing. “Um... anyway.” I looked up at the sky and closed my eyes, trying to think of how to say this. Shit. Emotions suck. Even when they’re someone else’s they just fuck things up. “Look Trix, I think we should just keep this between you and me for now.” “Nah, really?” She looked at me as though I was an idiot. “I am not an idiot you know.” “Oh,” I said dumbly. Well that made an awkward discussion less awkward. “It’s just with Nightmare, and if she got out and all...” I decided to leave out the part about Trixie being split into many smaller chunks of Trixie. “Trixie is the master of illusions and misdirection.” “Uh, yeah sure.” I thought about it. “Yeah sure, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep this from Nightmare. You just keep teasing me about it, and acting like Nightmare and me is just a big joke to you, and I just keep acting like I’m not attracted to you.” As soon as I said that, I realized the problem with that statement... I wasn’t attracted to Trixie. Fuck... this was not going to end well. “Hm... That certainly works for Trixie.” A small chuckle escaped. “To think Trixie would fall for a gryphon of all things.” I snorted. “Damn racist.” She said ‘fall’ for me...Ah shit. No, no, no. Fucking no! Oh goddesses, I just wanted to help Trixie. Not break her heart or make her ‘fall’ for me. To my surprise, she burst out laughing. “How can Trixie be racist when she’s dating a gryphon?” “I dunno. Those Red Claw comics are racist as all fuck, and they’re sexualizing gryphons to the point that it’s retarded.” And yet... I still read them. Go figure. “Never heard of them,” replied Trixie. “And how did you follow me anyways?” I glanced over at her before looking at the long line of hoof prints in the snow in front of us. I blinked and pointed at them. Even she could spot those. “Trixie meant through the teleport.” “Oh... Yeah, Luna was able to follow you through, but she was tired as fuck so I went ahead.” Shit, I was dating her now. Does that mean I have to stop swearing? I really hope not. “Probably for the best.” She poked my chest. “And no more killing. Got that?” I opened my mouth to answer her, but I found it really hard to say anything. After a really long and awkward silence, I spoke. “Trix... if someone’s going to try and hurt you, I can’t promise I won’t... hurt them. I mean... I never wanted to kill anyone, but... fuck. I quit killing the same time I quit drinking, and then less than a year later a bloody goddess yanks me from a dungeon and pulls me into this mess. I mean... goddesses, it feels like I can’t ever not kill.” “At least try. Please...” She rested her head on my shoulder. “Perhaps... perhaps we should make a break for the border then? At least you’d be free...” Free? “Of course I’ll try.” Holy shit that sounded like such an empty promise. Oh fucking Tartarus. What was Trixie doing with me? “Yeah, of course we’ll go for the border, but we’ll need some things we don’t have right now.” I shrugged. “It really shouldn’t be too hard to ditch Luna, but Nightmare could be tricky, she’s not as dumb.” “Couldn’t be harder than getting away from your brother. Something we would have achieved if you hadn’t dropped me into an outhouse.” She glared up at me. “I demand reparation for that by the way.” I smiled at that. “Yeah, I’d say I’m sorry for that, but I’m really not.” I chuckled, but her glare stayed firm. “Nah, it’ll be easier than getting away from Grace. He can track as well as I can and has the Kingdom’s resources behind him. Whatever though, I wouldn’t want either Luna or Nightmare coming after me.” “I don’t blame you.” I walked in silence for a while. “What about when we get back to Equestria?” I asked her. “If Luna doesn’t die without us, she’ll come back to Equestria, and she might come after us. Or, if Luna does die, Celestia might come after us... I mean shit dude, think about that... Where the fuck could we go if Celestia was coming after us?” “If it comes to that, we can figure it out then. Plus, once we get back to Equestria, we get the Elements of Harmony to blast Nightmare Moon out of Luna. Done.” I snorted. “We’re not exactly friends with the Elements though. I mean, if we say Nightmare’s still in Luna, aren’t they going to want to know how we know? Wouldn’t it be our word against hers?” “Assuming Luna wants Nightmare Moon to stick around. Considering last time it got her banished to the moon for a thousand years, Trixie doubts Luna would want that.” “But then why hasn’t she told Celestia that Nightmare’s in there already?” I glanced at her. “She has to have been keeping it a secret for a while now.” “Fear? We can take care of that once we get there. Plus, you do know Rainbow Dash and she is the Element of Loyalty right?” As soon as those words left her lips, she winced. “Uh... Me and Dash aren’t really... friendly at the moment. I think if I went back there, she’d just tell me to piss off. I mean, it’s what I’d do.” She burst out laughing. “How many gryphons, let alone ponies, are like you? You are one of a kind.” I smirked. “Well, depending on how many are left...” I trailed off and tallied it up in my head. “Yeah, I guess it could be just me.” Trixie looked up at me curiously, but merely shrugged. “What happened between you and Rainbow Dash anyways?” I shrugged. “Nothing much.” Vague answers are the best ones. “Like I said, we were just friends anyway.” “Oh... sorry...” She leaned in and nuzzled my neck. I hate myself so freaking much. Why, oh why did I agree to date her? I mean... fucking Tartarus, I was just going to hurt her when I do or say something stupid. When she realizes that I really am nothing but a hollow shell of violence, swearing and booze. What the fuck had I done to make her even want me in the first place? I’m not... wantable. I’m... me damn it. I’m nothing but me. “Why me?” I asked as I tried to return her affection, but I’m pretty sure it was just awkward and I fumbled it. To my surprise, she giggled softly at my fumbled attempt. Or maybe it was my question? “Why you?” She sighed softly. “Trixie isn’t sure, but... You care. Despite being... well... you and rather monstrous on occasion, you actually care about Trixie. You looked after me, came after me, and cared about me. Nopony had ever done that for me and...” A blush appeared on her cheek, staining the fur dark purple. I had to admit, it looked adorable. “Trixie admits that she has a thing for non-ponies. The thought of being with a pony makes her sick.” Oh wow. I couldn’t help it, I laughed a bit at that. “I’m sorry it’s just... really? Really? I’m attracted to ponies, but that’s because I spent puberty in Equestria, and that fucked my instincts so hard they bled. I mean... why non-ponies?” “Ask yourself what type of ponies toss out their only child and then let Trixie tell you that her mother was a terrible drunk who has seen the inside of a jail cell more than once and you have your answer.” “Oh...” I said aloud. Well, that might explain some things. “Sounds like your parents might have been even worse than mine.” “Can we please not compare horrible histories? Trixie does not want to remember horrible times. She just wants to enjoy the present if that’s alright.” She looked up at me curiously. “And Trixie can walk if you're tired.” Could she feel me getting tired? “Nah I’m cool. As long as you’re safe then I’m not worried if you’d like to walk or not.” Maybe it was just destiny, or that fact that I’m as unlucky as they come, but at that exact bloody second the slash I got from Luna cramped painfully and I stumbled. Trixie immediately jumped out of my arms and slipped under my shoulder to help me stand up. “No Trix, it’s fine,” I said and took as much of my weight off her as I could. “Just... Luna got me pretty nasty back there. I’ll be fine.” “She hurt you!?” Ah shit. Probably shouldn’t have let her know that. She totally ignored my protests as she rolled me over with her magic, forced me to lift my arm just so that she could examine the wound. “Well it’s not that deep. And here Trixie thought you were tougher than that.” I wriggled uncomfortably and tried to shove her away, but the bloody unicorn magic made that impossible. “Yeah, that’s why I said I was fine, so could you let me up already?” “Alright.” Though she kept her snappish tone, there was a blush on her cheeks. “Bloody unicorns.” I muttered as I rolled back to all fours and stood up. “Cheating with their damn magic.” I shook my head and looked over at Trixie. “Well... thanks for caring anyway.” “Um...” Her hoof dug at the ground slightly as she looked off to the side. “You’re welcome...?” I snorted. “Wow. Graceful.” “Silence! The Great and Powerful Trixie will not tolerate your mockery.” A beat of silence. “Even if we are dating.” I stared at her with a little smile on my beak. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t so bad. I mean... Yeah, there was no way this could end well, and in the end I’d regret saying yes, but really, there were far worse things in the world than dating a pretty unicorn that I was friends with. I just shook my head. “Alright whatever. Let’s just keep going. I want to get out of these mountains already.” “That is something Trixie agrees with. Does the weak gryphon require some heating courtesy of the Great and Powerful One?” “Nah, I’m toasty.” To be honest I was a little chilled, but really I was fine, and I don’t know how much magic Trixie can really manage. One long distance teleport and heating herself up for an hour was probably getting close to her limits. “Are you alright though? I mean, you were hiking for an hour through the snow and that can be damn exhausting. Especially when you jump there straight from a warmer place like Aviana.” “See?” Trixie gave me a small smile. “You care. Despite everything, you actually care. Trixie is sorry for calling you a monster, you definitely aren’t one.” I shrugged, though to be honest it hurt a bit when she said it. “It’s fine... I mean, I’m not exactly... not a monster either.” Crap. Okay, there were just some things that had to be said. “Trixie, is the only reason you’re interested in me the fact that I care? I mean... that’s a really bad reason to start a relationship... Especially when it’s with me... I mean... I don’t have... any, good qualities really.” Trixie simply stared at me as the silence stretched on. She opened her mouth a couple of times, but each time, she shut it again after a couple of seconds. In the end, she sighed and simply said, “Trixie is not stupid you know. Sure, she hasn’t been in a relationship before, but that’s because her past achievements and aura of superiority drove them away.” Her voice turned away from that arrogant tone as she said her next line, “And you do have good qualities, even if you don’t see them yourself.” I shrugged. “Maybe.” I really doubted it. “but I think the drinking, the violence, and just... everything about me really... Like... fuck dude, even if there is something good about me, does that matter at all?” “Which you gave up and only returned to thanks to Luna,” snapped Trixie, anger in her eyes. Wow. She was getting defensive of me. I have to say... it was kind of hot. “You tried to get out of it and you managed it. Trust me, please. Trixie grew up in a bad household and she knows bad from good. You are good, you’ve just been dealt a crap hand by fate and if Trixie finds those responsible, they will pay regardless of whether they are alicorns or not.” I stared at her for a while, trying to think of... anything. Shit... how was I supposed to react to that? I opened my beak but shut it. In the end I just answered the last part of her statement. “The guy that’s most responsible is already dead. I bumped into his grave in Aviana... That’s why I was moping and hitting the whiskey back in that basement.” “Trixie is sorry...” She hugged me fiercely. I was caught off guard, but after a while I returned it and... it actually felt good. Fuck. I’m turning into a complete sap aren’t I? Emotions suck so much. “We shall never mention this again in public,” Trixie whispered in my ear. “Trixie does have an image to maintain after all, but... Trixie will always be here for you.” I laughed out loud. Goddesses damn it. We’re both really fucked up aren't we? “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at that... I mean, thanks for saying so... Shit. That makes it sound like I don’t really believe you does it? No I mean... I’m glad you’re here for me. I’ll be there for you too... It’s just, we’re both so damn damaged aren’t we? Between the two of us there’s more baggage than anyone else in Equestria isn’t there?” A blink then her cocky smirk was back. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.” I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s one way of looking at it.” “If you can do it, Trixie can do it better!” She announced while throwing her hooves into the air, but for once, there were no fireworks. Huh, she must be really short on magic. I’m glad I didn’t take her up on that heat spell. “Really?” I said. “How about a drinking contest?” Against a unicorn? Heh. No competition. Only bigger light weights are pegasi. Earth ponies. Yeah, don’t try to out drink an earth pony. You can get killed trying that. Dark violet eyes narrowed. “No.” Poke. “More.” Poke. “Drinking.” “But I like drinking.” I backed away. “What’s wrong with a nice shot now and then?” She paused. “No getting drunk then.” “But I like getting drunk...” I didn’t add that it’s the best way to brawl. Good clean family fun. Trixie took a step forward and the snow around her hoof melted as I felt the heat roll off her. “Hey, calm down.” I said my palm waving towards the ground. “My drinking isn’t really a big deal anyway.” “Trixie will give you the ability to drink simply because she doesn’t hate you, but if you get drunk, Trixie will throw you out in the rain and turn you bright pink.” I froze. “But... that’s not fair! I can control myself, I mean... I was half drunk last night and I still managed to take on Luna.” It was after I said that, that I realized it probably wasn’t the best idea to bring up me fighting. “You did what?” Oh fuck me. I began backing up, but she locked me in place with her magic. “Trixie’s family was an utter Tartarus thanks to an alcoholic mother and you’re telling her you want to get drunk whenever you want?” “Well, when you say it like that I sound like a complete asshole.” Ah.. just... damn it me... Maybe I should be a mute. “Um... Not whenever I want... just... not never.” “Because getting drunk and picking a fight with an alicorn is such a smart idea,” she snarled. “You can drink, but you will not get drunk.” “I didn’t pick that fight, she swung at me first,” I answered defensively and all I got in response was a very, very, very evil glare. “Look... Trixie... If you don’t want me drink then ask... but you’re ordering me. I’m trying to be nice about this, but you know my views on gryphon females. I’m never just going to bend over for you like that.” Trixie opened her mouth, only to close it. Then the anger just went out of her as did the magic holding me down, allowing me to stand back up. We stood there, gazing at each other silently before Trixie finally broke it. “Then please, don’t get drunk. Trixie is...” She looked off to the side and spat it out as though it was venom, “Trixie is asking you. Nicely. She even said ‘please’.” I smirked. “Well seeing as you said it so nicely.” After an awkward pause I added, “Trix... I get that your mom was an alcoholic, and I’ll remember that every time I pick up a bottle, but I’m not her. I can control myself. It’s not like I’m the self-destructive type anyway.” After a second I added. “Also, we don’t have kids. I’m not going to hurt anyone by drinking.” “Trixie is just... You won’t hurt me? Promise?” The pleading look in her eyes scared me a little bit. I’ve never seen Trixie beg. I gave myself a mental smack, now’s not the time to be scared. “I swear. If it ever comes to that...It’ll never come to that.” I took out my knife. “I can make blood oath here and now that I’ll never hurt you like that.” “Please no.” Trixie looked green. “Trixie trusts you enough to not require that.” I paused. “Trixie, are you afraid of the sight of blood?” I danced the knife over my knuckles and flipped it before lightly catching it by the blade. If anything, that just made her look as though she was about to throw up right then and there. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I put the knife back in my sheath. “How are you going to deal with me hunting? I do need meat you know.” “Dead meat doesn’t bleed, though don’t expect any kisses unless you’ve brushed your... er... beak...?” She suddenly blushed red and looked away. I laughed. Okay, Trixie was adorable when flustered. I was starting to warm up to this. Not that it wasn’t a bad idea. “Who said anything about dead meat? It’s not like I can just buy from a supermarket. I have a hunting and fishing license for a reason.” She glared at me. “Unless you plan on dragging a living animal into the house and slaughter it there, Trixie doubts she’ll see it. Just keep it outside.” “Aren’t we both homeless and traveling?” I asked. “What house is there for me to drag it into?” “Just keep it outside!” she yelled as she turned her head and made a gagging sound before a shudder ran through her body. “Trixie is not afraid of anything, but blood makes her... uncomfortable.” “Ponies...” I shook my head. “Alright, fine. I’ll keep it where you won’t see it.” “Thank you.” She blushed yet again, but quickly turned away. “We should start getting back.” “Yeah you’re right. Much as I’d love to never see that little bitch again, we sort of need her.” I turned and began walking back in the direction we’d come from. It took me a few steps, before I realized that we’d just been setting the boundaries of our relationship... Fuck. If I wanted to back out without hurting her feelings, now was a bit late. We walked in silence for a while. It wasn’t an awkward silence, just that we’d ended the conversation. After a while I broke it. “So, Trix... Any reason you blushed when I said I’ll keep it outside?” “Trixie did not blush! How dare you say such filth about such a magnificent mare?” After a long silence of me just staring at her as though she was an idiot, she dropped the act. “Trixie was thinking of other things. Nothing of importance.” I grinned. “‘Other things’? Yeah, I have a tendency to make anyone around me think of ‘other things’. What can I say...” I swished my tail. “I get that reaction.” Eyes wide, her face could have been an apple with how bloody red it was. “Not that! Trixie wasn’t thinking of that! Trixie was just pondering the mechanics of a muzzle to beak kiss was all!” All of a sudden she realized what she had said and she clamped her hooves over her muzzle, but the damage was already done. I grinned viciously. “Hmm? That was the ‘other things’ I was referring to. Why, what did you think I meant?” “Trixie- I- You- But!... And yet- Argh! You drive Trixie insane!” She stomped off in a huff. “I drive you wild don’t I?” I called after her. “It’s okay, you’re not the first. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” “Argh!” “Yeah, you keep screaming!” I shouted and flapped my wings to catch up. I landed next to her and she huffed, her face redder than my insides. I chuckled as I walked alongside her. Okay, so maybe emotions didn’t suck quite so hard. I mean, who knows. Yeah this is doomed to end badly, but maybe it’ll be fun while it lasts.