The Trixie Treatment.

by DerpyDitzyDerpyDo


Chapter 4: Parting

AJ flung her forelegs around her brothers broad shoulders, nuzzling his straw coloured mane and squeezing as tightly as she could.

"Big Mac! Are ya okay?"

"Eeyup," came the familiar reply. Mac's fur felt hot to the touch and his breath was a series of puffing clouds in the cold of the snowy night. He had clearly been cantering hard moments earlier. The two were embracing outside of Trixie's caravan as the azure magician peeked at them nervously through her window.

"What happened? Where'd you go? Did ya make it to Golden Orchards? Are they alright?" Applejack commenced a barrage of questions.

The stoic red stallion stood in silence. He had an unspoken one-question-at-a-time rule with mostly everypony who knew him well. Finally, when Applejack had calmed down, took a deep breath and let go of him he cleared his throat. Mac glanced at the blue unicorn peeking at him from inside the caravan. Trixie squeaked and ducked out of sight.

"Got to Golden Orchards in time and helped out. Granny Rose sends her regards. Everypony's jus' fine. Storm's all but blown over. Came back to fetch ya and take ya home," he said calmly, glancing up at the sky. He was right. The storm's peak had seen driving snow and howling winds but little more than a chilly breeze now remained, causing the drifting snowflakes to dance in the dark night sky.

"But how in hay did ya find me out here? Ah must've wandered way off the path."

AJ could recognise when her brother had been asked a question he really didn't want to answer. He shuffled his hooves awkwardly in the snow and averted his eyes. She frowned, "Now ya ain't gonna tell me you were jus' wanderin' around lookin' through random windows. You knew Ah was here and we ain't goin' anywhere till ya fess up."

Big Mac strongly disliked explaining himself for long periods of time, particularly within earshot of ponies he didn't know very well, and even more so when the topic alluded to internal family matters.

"After we got separated Ah went back to find you. Followed your tracks and saw you make it to shelter," he nodded at the caravan, "Figured since you were safe Ah'd press on alone and help at Golden Orchards."

AJ narrowed her eyes. One could almost see her hackles rising, "...so if ya caught up with me then why didn't ya come over and tell me yer okay so I wouldn't worry mahself inside out?"

This was the question that Mac had been fearing.

"Well..." he began slowly, "You looked like you were freezing and Ah... well... Ah knew if Ah went over and talked to ya you'd insist on coming with me the rest of the way to Golden Orchards. And Ah'd have to try and talk ya out of it and... Ah jus' ain't much good at talkin'," He left the rest unsaid, as he so often did. McIntosh had wanted his sister to stay safe. He never even wanted her to follow him into the blizzard to begin with but hadn't had the words to convince her not to.

Usually AJ would have used this as a chance to give her big brother an earful. He was often overprotective of her despite her own convictions that she could handle anything. It was the one thing they argued about most, if one mare berating a silent stallion can be called an argument. Applejack would shoulder too much, her brother would dare to say so much as a single word about it and Applejack would empty her frustrations on him. Like a familiar dance this had played out many times before. Applebuck Season last year when Mac had injured his ribs and AJ had bit off more than she could chew, the disaster of a family reunion she had organised, various overambitious projects she had started to work on last fall, several outings and sleepovers with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and countless other examples came to AJ's mind as she thought back on the many times her brother had tried to shelter her from trying too hard to please everypony and neglecting her own safety.

She sighed. It was no wonder Mac would have felt like he was walking on eggshells by telling her she couldn't handle the snowstorm and should just stay home and warm. He had been right, after all. While he had marched on through the bitter cold undaunted she had crumbled like a cookie on a hot-cocoa diving expedition.

She punched him lightly on the foreleg, "There! Ah forgive ya, you big lug. Now jus' hang on. Ah've gotta wrap this up and then we can go home together, alright?"

She trotted back to the entrance to Trixie's caravan to find the azure conjurer crouching by the door and peeping out at the siblings. As Big Mac shambled over she withdrew, cautiously.

"That's close enough, sirrah! Any closer and Trixie will turn you into a frog!" shouted Trixie. Mac stopped in his tracks.

AJ rolled her eyes, "What the hay is wrong, Trixie? Ah told ya it ain't no monster or nothing. This is mah big brother."

Trixie glared at Mac suspiciously, "Big is right," she hissed to Applejack, "He's enormous! Are you sure he doesn't mean Trixie any harm? Did she do anything bad to him last time she was in Ponyville?"

Applejack had to pause and think back on the Alicorn Amulet incident. Big Mac wasn't a violent or vengeful sort anyway but AJ honestly wasn't sure whether he had any kind of grudge against Trixie. She tossed Mac a fleeting look and concluded, based on his blank expression, that he had clean forgotten who Trixie was. The big red carthorse wasn't good at faces and Trixie wasn't wearing her trademark hat and cloak at the moment.

"Well, ya didn't do anything bad to him directly. Although you were kinda responsible for making him dress up like his sister and act like a mare..."

Trixie blushed deeply, again. Now she was completely certain that she had done something perverted while under the Amulet's corrupting influence.

"But don't worry 'bout a thing. Mac here ain't gonna hurt ya."

Trixie frowned, "Did Trixie overhear you saying that you were going to go home? Not that she was eavesdropping or anything!"

"Yup, looks like the worst of the storm is over and the Golden Orchard Farm is safe so Ah reckon Ah'd best get home and tell mah sister and Apple Cobbler that everything's okay. Mah brother'll make sure Ah get back safe and sound so..."

"That's a relief!" blurted Trixie, "Because the Great and Powerful Trixie was already growing tired of your company and certainly wasn't having any kind of fun spending time with you. And she wasn't looking forward to sharing her bed either! Now that she knows that you're safe she can go back to her majestic, exciting and certainly not lonely life! So go on back to Ponyville then and be sure to tell Twilight that Trixie is doing just fine and is a fully reformed and functional member of pony society who helps ponies that come to her in need of aid. Because that's why Trixie helped you and for no other reasons whatsoever! Hmph!" and with that Trixie slammed the door in Applejack's face.

Applejack stood in stunned silence for a moment. Then she smiled.

"Trixie?" she called. She hadn't heard any hoofsteps on the creaky wooden floor of the caravan so presumably Trixie was still standing right on the other side of the door.

AJ leaned close to the door and said, "Thank you," softly. There were a few embarrassed thumps from within and then stillness.

"Come on, Big Mac. We best be headin' home then. Applebloom and Granny Smith are prob'ly worried sick."

McIntosh followed her, silently expressing his curiosity through sideways glances at his suddenly cheerful younger sister as they trotted together through the snowy night. Applejack couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Trixie was adorable.

It's the funniest thing, she thought, jus' 'cos somepony lies an awful lot don't mean that they're any good at it. Ah think Ah'll go tell Twilight all about tonight first thing tomorrow.