//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Applecrush // Story: The Trixie Treatment. // by DerpyDitzyDerpyDo //------------------------------// When asked about that day at a later date Trixie would tell everypony that she most certainly did not cry in Applejack's warm embrace. Trixie says lots of things that aren't really true. As AJ cradled the sobbing magician she mentally tried to calm herself down. Her heart was pounding in her chest as if it were about to burst free and run a lap around Sweet Apple Acres. She'd hugged plenty of ponies in her life, family and otherwise, and never felt anything like this before. Now Applejack, she told herself, what the heck're you gettin' so worked up about? Trixie here needs a shoulder to cry on and you're fillin' your head with stupid thoughts. Stop tryin' to smell her mane! Stop... stop... dang, she smells really good. Like pine needles. I wonder if she'd think it weird if I kissed her. Nothin' romantic like. Maybe jus' a motherly peck on the nose to make her feel better. No, no, no, no, no! Control yourself, consarn it! She jus' unburdened a whole load of baggage on you and your here thinkin' about... about... touching her soft little cheek... kissing her beautiful lips and... "Applejack?" AJ jerked away, breaking off the embrace. "Trixie wasn't crying, mind you," sniffed the azure unicorn, wiping her snout on her cape, "She just has allergies that's all! But thank you... for helping Trixie with her... allergies. And for hugging her," Trixie awkwardly shuffled her hooves and stared at the ground. "Uh..." Applejack laughed nervously, "Think nothin' of it. Everypony's gotta unburden themselves once in a while," she took a deep breath. Why's it so darn hard to calm mahself down? "Listen... Ah'm really sorry you had to go through that stuff and if you ever need to talk, well, jus' know that Ah'm here for you," she said, her cheeks still noticeably flushed. "You are? Why?" Trixie looked genuinely confused. "That's what friends're for, ain't it?" Trixie's jaw nearly hit the floor, "Wait, what? We're f-f-f-friends? Really? When did? Why would you? What? Really? Trixie has never had a frie-" Trixie cut herself short, "What Trixie meant to say is that she would be glad to add you to the long, long list of ponies that Trixie considers her friends." And for once the clumsy dishonesty didn't bother AJ in the least. "So how long're you gonna be in Ponyville for? Ah hope you won't leave too quickly 'cos of all the bad blood 'tween you and the others," said Applejack, starting the arduous task of cleaning up the ruinous mess that the hungry blue mare had left on the kitchen table, "Ah'd love it if-" she reconsidered her phrasing, "Ah'd really like it if-" Dang it! You're jus' asking her out as a friend so stop pussyfootin' around and go for it. "Therein lies the problem. Trixie was en route to Baltimare to see if she could find work when she got stuck in that snowstorm. Now the wheels of her caravan are frozen and even with her spectacular magical might Trixie can't get the thing to budge. Being half buried in snow has not helped the situation either. So, it seems your small town will enjoy the glorious presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie for quite a while. The only problem with that is..." Trixie paused for a moment in thought, "... one of the many, many problems with that is that Trixie does not have any money and she ate the last of her food with you." This thought hit AJ fairly hard. That can of peaches had been the last of the magicians supply. "Well shoot, no wonder you were hungrier than a timber wolf in a lumber yard. So did ya have anything to eat at all yesterday?" "Trixie ate a pinecone... if that counts." ____________________________ Big Mac was puzzled. He had assumed that he would find Applejack at the South end of the farm, tapping her hoof impatiently, waiting to rub his nose in the fact that she'd already completed most of his chores as well as her own. But his sister was nowhere to be found. And the ground was still strewn with broken branches and other storm debris that needed to be cleared. It wasn't like AJ to let somepony else do her chores for her. The big red stallion stood in silence, contemplating whether he should risk a stern talking to and start doing his sister's load of the work for her. In fact there was only one reason Applejack had ever ditched chores. When she had a crush on somepony. Mac could remember each of these occasions quite clearly. AJ's first crush has been on a classmate; a transfer student. A mare who moved to town from Manehatten called... what had her name been again? Big McIntosh closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Chestnut... something or other. Young AJ had been going through a defiant adolescence at the time. Everything from the big city seemed so unbelievably cool to her when compared with the grind of her mundane life on the farm; that new city mare classmate included. The two had never gotten serious. The family had assumed that dating mares was part of her rebellious phase as well. It hadn't been. But she had gotten over her infatuation with the city and come to love her life on the farm. Golden Harvest had been the first mare that AJ had seriously dated. Mostly everypony called her Carrot Top but Mac had never had the courage to use her nickname to her face. It had been a romance that blossomed out of lengthy chats over the counter of the Apple family market stall. Their relationship had forced Mac to man the stall during their dates despite his lack of... wordiness. The aftermath of their break up had been ugly. Following Miss Harvest had been a string of short-lived stints. Cherry Berry, Daisy, and Sunset Bliss had all briefly been at various stages of involvement with Applejack. But sadly each new fling had ended in a matter of weeks. Big Mac had even begun to recognise the signs that his sister was about to pursue a new mate. There was a pattern to it. First came the day dreaming. Now that he thought about it, AJ had seemed a little out of sorts yesterday and this morning she had wandered through her duties as if half asleep. Mac turned and lumbered up the hill to the homestead to search of his sister. The second sign had always been neglecting of chores. On his way up the hill Mac had to scramble over the pile of unchopped wood that his sister had told him she'd take care of. And the final sign was always the same: AJ would make some massive and impulsive over commitment to the new relationship as a sign of her affections. He could hear laughter and excited voices coming from inside the farmhouse as he drew nearer. McIntosh nosed open the back door and shambled into the kitchen. Applejack was seated next to an azure coloured unicorn with grey violet eyes that peered at him apprehensively. "Oh hay, Big Mac. You remember Trixie, right? She's gonna be staying with us for a few days. Hope that's okay!" Trixie? Mac scanned the room, his gaze resting on the purple wizards hat sitting on the counter. Ah. That Trixie. Here we go again.