//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Memories // Story: Spellbound Apples // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 7 Memories Applejack sat with her friends at Sugar Cube Corner holding her head in her hooves. The ponies were still getting over Hex’s relation to Trixie. Rarity was comforting her friend while Storm was trying to keep Rainbow from tearing the place apart. “I can’t believe that he’s related to Trixie!” The cyan mare yelled. “Dash, let’s just calm down.” Storm said in a calm tone. “I say we go over to his fancy carriage and drag her out!” “Really now Rainbow? I’m sure he could handle you without breaking a sweat.” Rarity said in a flat tone. The cyan mare crossed her hooves and let out a grumble. “What should ah do? Ah care about Hex but his sister is Trixie.” She said with a grunt. “Maybe we should talk to her. Maybe she want’s to apologize?” Fluttershy said with a gulp. “Trixie? Apologize?” Dash spat out. “I don’t know Dash. She seemed pretty sorry about the whole Alicorn Amulet thing.” Twilight added. “Why would Trixie even come back here?” Pinkie asked. “That is a good question. She must have known how the town would react to her.” Twilight added. “Should we ya know, check on her?” “Why?” Dash asked. “She looked pretty unhealthy.” Fluttershy said in a timid tone. Storm let out a sigh and stood up. “Look girls. Granted I wasn’t here when all that stuff went down, but Hex is a reasonable stallion and I’m sure that you guys wouldn’t out your siblings. Would you?” He said as he looked at Applejack, Rarity and Twilight. “Ah’d never sell out Applebloom or Mac even if they were like that!” The farmer piped up. “Nor I.” Rarity added. “Same here.” Twilight said. “Okay and we don’t even know Trixie.” Storm said. “Know her?” Dash said. “I mean none of us have really ever talked to her. Maybe there’s more to her than just being a show off.” Storm said with a shrug. “Good idea. We should at least check to make sure she’s okay.” Fluttershy added. Dash got to her hooves and let out a groan. “Do you guys hear yourselves? This is Trixie that we’re talking about! She dragged an Ursa Major-” “Minor.” Twilight corrected. “Yeah that. She dragged that thing into town. When she came back she banished Twilight and enslaved everypony with that weirdo amulet! That mare deserved what she got!” The cyan mare said with a grunt. “Ya ain’t being fair Dash. Ah’ll admit ah’m still mighty cross with her for all that, but she doesn’t deserve to be treated so poorly.” Applejack said with a sigh. “We should at least check up on her.” Twilight said as she got to her hooves. The four mares nodded as Dash flew out the door in an angered fashion. Storm face hoofed and looked back at the mares. “I’ll go and calm her down.” He said as he flew after her. The mares let out a sigh and made their way towards the apple farm. As the mares trotted forward Rarity kept next to Applejack. “Are you alright dear?” She asked. “Ah don’t know. Just a lot to take in.” She said with a groan. “Ah like Hex, he makes me feel good and I care about him.” She said with a smile. “Ah just.....ah still feel angry at Trixie for all the things she’s done.” “I understand dear.” Rarity said with a sigh. The white mare then looked at the lavender Unicorn who had the same look on her face. “Applejack, there’s something I need to tell-” The group was cut off as they ran into an invisible wall. Twilight put her hoof out to feel an light blue magical wall. “What’s this thing?” Pinkie asked. “It’s a force field.” Twilight said as she tapped the surface. The ponies looked ahead and saw the door from the carriage open. Hex cocked and eyebrow and trotted over to the Force field’s edge. “Need something?” He said in a flat tone. “Can we come inside?” Applejack asked. “That depends. Are you going to berate my sister?” “We just wanted to see if she’s okay.” Twilight answered. “Where’s Dash?” “Cooling off.” Rarity added. The blue stallion’s horn glowed and a door way opened in the shield. The mares trotted inside the carriage and sat down at the table. Hex poured them each a drink and sat down. “So how is she?” Twilight asked. “Malnourished and very weak. I sent for a nurse around ten minutes ago. Nurse Red Heart I think her name was.” “Oh she’s super nice.” Pinkie chimed. “I hope so.” He said with a sigh. “You really care about Trixie don’t you?” Rarity said as she played with her hooves. “She’s my little sister. After seeing her like that......The older siblings are supposed to protect the younger ones. How would you feel if you saw Sweetie Belle like that?” Hex said as he held his head in his hooves. Applejack put a hoof on his back trying to comfort him. “I see your point.” “Yeah! We just came by to....well none of us really know Trixie that well so maybe you could help us fill in the blanks.” AJ said with a smile. “On account of the only thing I remember about her is that third person thing she does and that Ursa Major lie.” “What?” Hex said as he perked up. “When she uses ‘Trixie’ instead of ‘me’ or ‘I.’” Twilight clarified. “Oh, that’s a speech defect. Hex has......I used to have it as bad as she does, but I managed to control it and now it only slips out once in a while.” He said with a shrug. “What about this Ursa Major thing?” “The first time she came to Ponyville she lied and said that she beat an Ursa Major.” Rarity said. “That’s not a complete lie.” The mares all looked at the blue stallion in shock. “Trixie and I went head to head with an Ursa Major years ago when we were foals.” He said with a sigh. “WHAT?” The mares yelled in unison. “SHHH!” He said as he put his hoof over his lips. The stallion pointed to the guest room door and looked back at the mares. “Sorry.” The mares said in a hushed tone. “So you and Trixie beat an Ursa Major?” Twilight asked. “Well, not entirely. We managed to scare it off.” Hex said in a flat tone. “How in the name of Celestia did you manage that?” Rarity asked. “Ursa Minors are massive, but an Ursa Major must be gigantic!” “They’re about ten times as big.” Rarity then started to faint only to be caught by the pink party animal. “How did you do it?” Pinkie asked. Hex lowered his head and let out a sigh. His horn glowed and a bottle of vodka appeared before him. He poured himself a glass full and gulped it down. “Trixie and I were traveling with my mom, Smokey Mirrors. I was ten and she was seven at the time. We needed to take a short cut through the woods in order to get to the next town.” Hex said with a sigh. “On our way there we looked for shelter in a massive cave due to the storm that was brewing. Turns out that cave held an Ursa Major in it.” The mares gasped in surprise. “What did you do?” Pinkie asked. “We ran.” He x said as the scene started to play out in the mare’s minds. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep in a dark forest a loud roar could be heard for miles The pouring rain hit against the light blue mare’s coat as she ran beside a dark blue colt who was carrying a light blue filly on his back. “C’mon sweetie we’re almost there!” The mare yelled. “Mommy, I’m scared!” The blue colt said with tears running down his face. “Me too dear. Me too, just a little further now.” She said as she heard the beast coming up behind them. Her horn flared and several images of the three ponies covered the landscape. The massive bear roared in frustration and started to attack the images at random. The small blue filly was crying into her brother’s mane and holding on for dear life. A bolt of lightning hit a nearby tree. The charred branch fell from the top and was heading towards the colt. The light blue mare quickly pushed her children out of the way and took the hit. Hex quickly got to his hooves and the two rushed over to their mother. “MOM!” The filly yelled as she and her brother tried to lift it off her body. “There’s no time. Run!” She yelled as the booming sound coming from the beast’s paws grew closer. The foals gave one last push and the branch came loose. As the mare stood up she felt a splitting pain in her back leg. She looked down and saw that the bone was sticking out of the skin. The show mare looked at her two children and held them close. “Hex, listen to what I’m about to tell you.” The mare said with tears in her eyes. “Take your sister and run! You hear me? Run!” “But mom-” The mare quickly slapped him across the face. “No buts! Now RUN!” She yelled. The blue colt grabbed his sister and ran away from the fallen mare with tears running down his face. “I’m so sorry Hex.” Smokey thought with a sniffle. She felt the ground shake, the mare looked behind her to see the massive bear staring at her. “Okay, you over grown stuffed animal let’s see how you handle the great, great granddaughter of Starswirl the Bearded!” She said as her horn flared. “Hex, where’s mom?” The filly asked. The colt remained silent as he ran. “WHERE’S MOM?” The colt found a nearby hollow log and stopped next to it. “Trixie you be a good girl and stay in this log until I come back. Okay?” He said trying to hold back the tears. “What about-” “I’m going to go get her. If we’re separated then wait till daybreak and get moving.” The colt then withdrew a small compass and gave it to the filly. “You just follow the red tip when it points to the N okay?” He said with tears in his eyes. The filly nodded as she crawled inside the hollowed out log. “I’ll be back soon. I promise!” He said as he ran back towards the deafening roars. The dark blue colt ran like the devil was after him. He hoped that his mother had fought the beast off or had given it the slip. The colt came to a clearing where he saw his mother firing a volley of spells at the beast. The mare saw the dark blue colt galloping towards her with his horn a blaze. “HEX GET OUT OF HERE!” “Not without you!” He said as he shot a salvo at the beast. The bear took notice of the smaller pony and roared at it. Hex froze in pure fear of the beast as it raised it’s claw. Hex saw out of the corner of his eyes the small blue filly running towards him with the compass in her mouth. Time seemed to slow and all noise was drowned out as the beast swung it’s claw. The blue colt looked to see a light blue body appear in front of him and kick him out of the way. The foals watched in horror as the beast swatted the light blue mare like a fly. Smokey was thrown against and broke through several tree trunks before coming to a stop. The foal’s eyes shrank as they heard the best yell out a roar of victory. Anger, grief, loss. None of these words could comprehend what the colt and filly were feeling. The foal’s yelled out in pure rage at the beast. Their horns and eyes started to glow with magic crackling around them. Hex’s eyes turned dark red and bore holed through the beast with his gaze. The major felt the colt’s eyes on him, he felt the colt’s gaze cut through him like a hot knife through butter. The beast felt something it hadn’t felt since it was a cub. Fear. The two foals concentrated and put whatever strength they had into a single blast of raw magic. The dark blue salvo was circulating with the pink aura coming from the light blue filly like a pair of spinning comets. The blast struck the massive bear square in the chest causing it to cry out in pure pain. The bear was sent flying back onto it’s back. As the beast looked up he saw the two small ponies getting ready for another assault. The Ursa roared and took off in the opposite direction. The two foals hurried over to the blue mare who was on the ground coughing up her own blood. “MOM!” The two yelled as they hugged their mother. “You did very well. I’m.....I’m so proud of both of you.” She said with a smile on her face. “C’mon mom. We’ve gotta go!” Hex said a he puled on her hoof. “I’m so sorry dear, but I can’t go any further.” “What?” The filly said with tears staining her face. The mare levitated her hat and cap over to the small filly. “You’ll need these Trixie.” She said with tears in her eyes. “They’d better start calling you the great and powerful Trixie.” “T-Trixie doesn’t want you to go!” She sad as she cried into her mother’s mane. Smokey held the filly tightly and cried. “I’m so sorry dear.” The blue colt trotted up to her and tried to get her on her hooves. “Hex, you be a good colt and look after your sister. Promise me that.” She said as she looked at the crying blue colt. “There’s something else Hex. Here.” The mare used the last of her magic to summon a silver amulet in the shape of an alicorn with a blue gem in the center. “Take this, it will protect you.” “A-alright.” He said as the tears flowed. The mare held her foals as she felt her strength drain away. “Just remember that I love you and-” The mare couched up another mouthful of blood. “I’m......always.....with.......you.” The mare’s strength left her body and her eyes closed as she face fell forward between the foals. Trixie hugged her older brother and cried into his chest. Hex held his sister in his hooves for who knows how long as he cried. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The mares in the room all had tears in their eyes as the stallion took another swig from the bottle. “Trixie and I were found the next morning by some campers. They managed to contact the next town over and treat our wounds. We gave my mother a proper burial afterwards.” He said as a single tear rolled down his face. The farmer hurried over to him and comforted the stallion. “Hex.....we had no idea.” Twilight said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “It’s okay.” He said in a flat tone. “Look, if you guys want Trixie and I to leave, then we’ll leave as soon as she’s ready for traveling.” Hex said in a low tone. The mares looked at one another in confusion. “Who said we wanted you to go?” Pinkie said. “I thought that-” The orange mare lightly tapped his head. “Did you think ah was gonna let you get away from me that easily?” She said with a smile. “So what if your sister is a show off? No family is perfect.” “Y-you don’t care?” “It’ll take some time and a lot of patience, but ah think ah can get over it.” The mare said as she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Granted ah’ve got the easy job.” “Why’s that?” “I’m not the one who has to face Big Mac.” The color from the blue stallion’s face drained as he thought of the massive red stallion beating him to a pulp. “G-good point.” He said with a gulp. The orange mare giggled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The lavender unicorn bit her lip and hung her head trying to hide her sadness. The stallion’s horn blinked and he quickly got to his hooves. He looked out the window to see a white Earth pony mare with a nurse cap on top of her pink mane that was tied in a bun. Hex and the mares exited the carriage and walked over to the edge of the force field. “Nurse Red Heart I presume?” “Correct. You must be Hex.” She said as he made an opening in the force field. “Sorry about the shield.” “It’s understandable, considering who the patient is.” Red Heart said in a stagnant tone. “Is that going to be a problem?” Hex asked as he cocked an eyebrow. “Trixie may be annoying and did some....questionable things.” She said with a sigh. “But, it’s my calling to heal injured ponies.” “Thank you and I swear I’ll pay you for-” “Send me the bill.” Applejack said with a smile. “AJ you don’t-” He was stopped by the orange mare raising a hoof. “Pay him no mind.” The white mare shrugged and followed Hex inside to see the light blue mare sleeping on his bed. The nurse set her bag down and gently pulled the covers off the blue mare and let out a gasp. “Is she okay?” Hex said with worry in his voice. “I need you all to wait outside while I examine her.” Red Heart said in a flat tone. The mares all nodded and went out of the room. The blue stallion looked back at his sister and then back at the white mare. “Please....she’s all I have left.” “I’ll do my best.” She said with a reassuring nod. Hex nodded and closed the door behind him. The ponies waited anxiously for the news about the performer. The door opened and the white nurse trotted out with a blank look on her face. “How is she?” “She’s going to be alright.” Hex let out a sigh of relief at the words. “She’s extremely exhausted and looks like she hasn’t eaten in a week. Start her off with something small and then work her up to a full meal. Normally I’d suggest moving her to the hospital, but given who she is I think it’ll be safer here.” “Thank you.” Hex said with a smile. “I started her off on an I.V. drip. Change the bag when it’s empty and give me a shout when she wakes up. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on her.” The nurse said as she made her way towards the door. “Sounds good to me.” Hex said as the mare left. The ponies all let out a sigh and hugged the blue stallion before leaving. “Hey AJ you don’t have to pay I can-” He was cut off as the orange mare put a hoof to his lips. “With what money?” The stallion was about to say something, but found no argument. “That’s what ah thought. Don’t worry about it sugar cube, you’ll just owe me.” She said in a soft tone and a mischievous grin on her face. Hex gulped as she turned around and bushed her tail underneath his chin. The blue stallion’s face turned bright red and closed the door behind her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in the library, Twilight let out a sigh and made her way upstairs where the purple dragon was fast asleep. The lavender mare crawled into bed and turned on her side away from the purple lizard. Her mind went back to the blue stallion and a small tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s....It’s just not fair.” She said as she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her.