//------------------------------// // Part three/ final: Treading Trixie // Story: Crack Shipping: Trixie and the wheel // by CosmicAfro //------------------------------// Triad nodded to his fellow thieves who returned his gesture, readying their assault. It was going to be a simple operation. Weave through the tall grass to eliminate making too much noise, delicately pick the lock that was presumably on the caravan door, drop some extra potent sleeping powder on the victim inside and then ransack the place. They’d even take the wheel she’d recently fornicated with to leave the poor thing with absolutely nothing. It wasn’t their fault she was an easy target right now. She must have been exhausted after her fight with the Aqueous Fly Trap and her fight with her own urges, there wasn’t going to be a better time to strike. They circled around it, equidistant from one another and closed in like hungry sharks. Triad would tap his hoof three times softly on the ground. Flicker would approach the door and remove his hood to use his horn properly. He would get to work, cracking any basic lock in a matter of moments. That part had succeeded. The lock did click and the door did open. So came fatal error number one in the shape of a blue pony clenching a sharp tooth in her mouth, pouncing on the intruder savagely. With great force, Flicker instinctively bucked the mare off of him, sending his orange legs straight into her stomach. “What in Tartarus!?” Trixie, as they heard her scream earlier, snarled. “Did you three think you could just sneak up on the Great and Powerful Trixie? Did you not think she’d have her home protected!?” The leader threw off his cloak. His eyes caught sight of a lingering blue aura on the door handle and he groaned internally. “Of course, an alarm lock spell. Haven’t had to search for that in a while thanks to Synonym’s plant,” he thought. Synonym and Triad pulled out daggers from underneath their robes and then threw them off. They both fluttered their wings. Triad began to hover, strapping the dagger to his right hoof which almost blended in with his grey coat. Synonym seemed to be prepared, lifting his one wing in front of him that was plated with metal across the feathers, creating a formidable shield. Flicker readied his horn. “Don’t make us hurt you,” Synonym spoke from behind his barrier. “We’ll even let you keep the van.” “As if Trixie would ever just let some gang of thugs rob her willingly,” she remarked, levitating her makeshift weapon for a moment to spit in his direction. “If you really think Trixie’s going to go down so easily, you’re going to find you’re dead wrong.” “I wouldn’t expect any less from the lass who took down my buddy’s carnivorous plant friend, Allan.” “Poor, poor Allan.” Trixie cocked an eyebrow. “That was you!?” Flicker rolled his eyes. “Of course. Travelers stop by that stream all the time. That wheel of yours, or… Rollando as you affectionately called it, was actually part of the last group and it just didn’t get… digested.” Her eyes became seething with rage, losing any semblance of being a regular pony. “You lie! Rollando was trapped there!” “Rollando is a hoofin’ wheel! He couldn’t lie to you any further than you could throw him.” The pegasus popped his head up from behind his wall. “Hey, you were listening to me about those phrases.” “Not now you thesaurus with legs.” The blue mare turned her attention to each pony around her. Flicker could recognize the movements, her eyes following the exact patterns of attacks. Those subtle, flickering movements he had come to know about his friends. Her eyes trailed to Synonym’s nub and his slightly crooked back leg covered in scars that peered through his blue fur. Next he noticed how she lingered on Triad’s dagger, likely guessing the length and reach of his attacks. He wasn’t sure if she saw his abnormal wing flap speeds, designed to snap into motion for a quick burst of speed. Triad wasn’t much for endurance though. He couldn’t keep anything up for more than three minutes. Their eyes met and he saw his horns’ reflection in her eyes. It was just a matter of which hoof moved first. If it was her front left only, it would be an assault on Synonym first. He would raise his shield but falter backwards as he put stress on his leg. He’d swipe his wing, sending her backwards just enough for Triad to burst in and knock her sideways, possibly sending a slice up her torso. If it was Triad first, he’d simply move out of the way, but that would be the perfect chance to see what the mare was capable of magic wise. He could use that brief moment of time to deduce how to act next. If it was him, it would be more or less the same thing but with a whole lot of sparks and fire. With grass this dry, it would be easy to overwhelm her. Maybe after the sap drained off, she’d join them. It was how he recruited Synonym after his fight nearly two years ago. Without warning, Trixie plunged the tooth into the ground and her horn flashed, sending a puff of smoke up from where she stood. The smoke enshrouded them and then was quickly dissipated by the soft breezes moving across the earth. All that was left was the tooth. “She’s vanished! Disappeared! Evaporated!” “Don’t let your guard down!” He looked over his shoulders and watched the movement of the grass. “It wasn’t a teleport spell, I know that much.” “Where is she?” The tooth floated in mid-air, covered in blue magic. It lunged at Flicker who deftly jumped out of the way, but not before it immediately came back and ran the tip across his right side, drawing a line of blood out of him. Instinctually, he spat short licks of flame out of his horn at the wound, temporarily sealing the wound. The weapon floated for a moment, as if thinking. Without warning, it lunged at Triad. With great precision, he parried the oncoming blows. With a steady rhythm of three, he would block three times and then duck or dodge. On the ninth successful block, the tooth cut along the strap of the dagger. His eyes went wide as his weapon stuck itself into the dirt just below him as the floating dagger charged at his face. Synonym jumped in between them, raising his shield in front of them both and pulling Triad to the ground, forming a dome of metal feathers around the two. “Thanks a lot.” “You got it.” “That’s my bit.” Flicker scanned the immediate vicinity. He couldn’t see any odd patches of grass that weren’t moving nor any blue glowing. “Any time now, Flicker!” Synonym yelled, moving his shield around them as the blade attempted to strike from every which way. “I’m thinking!” He aimed his horn at the dagger and attempted to seize it from the mastermind. It was a good trick, he’d have to admit. If she didn’t run the fang up his side earlier, maybe he would have let her live long enough to tell him. His magic struggled to gain control, aiming to grab any surface on the tooth he could; however, it was oil in his hooves and it simply kept slipping through. His ear twitched and focused to his right. The caravan! He ran to the open door and wasn’t the least bit surprised when he saw his target. Trixie scowled at him. It that moment, Synonym clamped the steel feathers around the weapon, snaring it in his shield. She pulled with her magic as hard as she could, but she may have well been trying to move a mountain with a teaspoon in one scoop. Flicker covered his nose when the appalling stench of the Aqueous fluid invaded his nose. She’s covered in it! He raised an eyebrow deviously. That also means it hasn’t worn off yet. Trixie leapt at the unicorn but was laughably tossed aside with a simple levitation spell. He pulled out the wheel she had… dealt with… and held it in front of him as the mare stood up, ready for another attack. “Stop, or the wheel gets it.” ~~~ As if you could hurt Rollando! She drags a hoof in the dirt. Rollando is the strongest person I know, he could steamroll you in an instant! The stupid “thinks he’s better than Trixie” thief was about to say something, but stopped when he saw her face expression change wildly. A what, Rollando? Confession? … You are WHAT!? Trixie dropped her rear into the dirt, emotionally defeated. Working with them this entire time, leading them to me!? But… Rollando. I thought what we shared was special… and then you just come out and LIE to ME!? Minotaur fists! How can you say what we had was real when you say something like this to Trixie!? E-every word? You really meant it? Even the first kiss? She glared at the other two who shared unsure glances at one another. S-so this is just it then? This is how you’re going to leave Trixie to hang out with these- these miscreants!? Misfits!? “Hooligans? Morons? Deft R-“ The offending voice was slapped shut by another. Come with you!? Why would Trixie ever want to come with you? How do I even know- It’s easy to know Trixie is so pretty. Smooth talking won’t get you anywhere this time, Rollando. Well, Trixie is strong. A-and Trixie is a good leader. Oh stop it, you’re just saying that to Trixie. You really mean it, Rollando? A happy life… together. Trixie… Trixie would like that very m- suddenly, everything goes dark. ~~~ The young mare fell limp to the ground. Triad’s hoof held itself in mid-air where he had knocked her aside the head and frowned. “I had enough.” Flicker but down the wheel and sighed. “That was certainly entertaining,” he said, stepping over the now silent, smooth-talker Rollando. “What do we do now?” Triad pointed to the nearby river. “We clean up.” Synonym let go of the fang in his wing and caught it with his hoof. “This mare’s trouble. Even if we did convince her to join us, for how long would she stay?” “Not very long,” Triad replied, tucking away his wings properly. He turned around and scooped his dagger out of the ground with his teeth and the strap forlorn in the grass a few feet away. He placed both back into an internal pocket of his cloak and then wrapped it around his body once more. Synonym followed the same, hiding away his steel shield. “Synonym, you remember anything from when you went under the sap?” He looked up. “No, not a thing.” “Good.” Flicker looked at the caravan and the wheel. He magically hoisted the wheel up and into the mare’s home and then strapped himself to the front. He unwound the strap of cloth around the no-longer-Rollando and let it fly away in the calm breeze. “We’re going to get this back to the river where the Aqueous fly trap was and pretend nothing even happened. Oh, and we’re not going to loot this one. If she ever found out it was us-“ “Say no more,” the trio of words pony agreed. A few hours later… “Hey, hey are you ok? Miss? Miss?” A hoof prodded into Trixie’s side. At first she did not want to let the comfort of sleep slip so easily after what felt like a long rest, but she quickly realized the implications of a hoof prodding her side and jumped awake. “Who are you!” she yelled, looking at three travelers with very concerned faces. His two friends in cloaks with their hoods down. “We saw you lying down near the river bed next to this giant plant husk. We pulled you out and you’ve been asleep for a while. You looked ok but we thought we should wait until you woke up, just to make sure.” He looked at the plant with surprise. “Did you take this thing down?” “Yes, Trixie did after it attacked me. Though… after I was almost swallowed it’s kind of fuzzy from there. Trixie supposes she probably doesn’t want to remember what happened after that.” It was odd, but one of his companions frowned very hard at her from saying that. It was a stark contrast of unhappiness compared to his blue fur. She went for a response but was interrupted by the orange stallion in front of her. “Well, we’re just glad you’re ok. I didn’t have a towel so you can just keep my black cloak.” She looked down at the ground and noticed the object he was talking about. “Oh, thank you. That’s very kind.” She looked over at her caravan and saw a wheel resting on it. It had a large crack running up the side. “To think, Trixie dived in to save this piece of junk.” The trio watched in horror as the wheel was tossed back into the stream, making a large splash. Their eyes trailed of what was left of it until it sank out of view. “Well, thank you. Can Trixie offer you three anything for helping fellow travelers? She’s a bit low on provisions but perhaps we could travel back into town together? I assume that’s where you’re headed?” They exchanged glances before shaking their heads at one another. “Well, I do have to admit, I did go inside your caravan. The creature somehow wasn’t dead and it managed to get me good across the side. I, uh, used your cape for some rags. I’m very, very sorry about that.” Trixie sighed. “I suppose that can’t be helped, I don’t think I stocked up on rags in the last town. A cloak for a cape, sounds like a fair trade to Trixie.” She eyed the burnt wound. “Healed that yourself, did you?” “That noticeable?” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Hold on.” She went inside and some shuffling noises were heard followed by the clinking of bottles and a cabinet door. She walked back outside, levitating a small bottle filled with a white cream. “This should help.” The grey stallion walked up and placed a fair amount of bits in her hoof. “For the medicine.” She shrugged and gracefully accepted it. “Thank you.” With a huff and a smile creeping on her face, she said, “Definitely enough to buy a new cape and some food.” “We’ll be going now. The sun’s setting and we should get to town now. We don’t have a caravan like yours so-“ “Trixie understands. If you’re available, please come see Trixie’s next show! She’s been working on a new disappearing trick.” The orange stallion smiled. “Sounds fun, I’d like that.” And so ends our tale of Rollando. As he dies-a-meter- underwater He does not forget the radius of his thoughts And how formulaic his love life must have been. But he is strong, he will return himself to the earth. He was, is, and always will be… Rollando.