//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Refurnishing // Story: Trixie's Forest Retreat // by crowscrowcrow //------------------------------// The rainwater of the forest formed small miniature rivers, running their natural course towards the lowest point. Some made simple puddles, and others created small streams that ran into a modest cave just at the bottom of a hill not too far ahead of the drenched unicorn. Trixie stood silently half-hidden behind one of the trees while she observed the small cavern she had found. Her first instinct had been to gallop towards it to get out of the rain, but she thought better of it at the last moment and hid. That had been a while ago, though it was not clear to Trixie how much time had passed while she watched the cave. Her ears were perked up, and her eyes glued to the darkness inside, trying to get any kind of hint as to its potential occupants. She hoped that the cavern had at least a chance of being empty. She spared another quick glance down upon her only source of that hope: the streams of rainwater flowing slowly into the cavern. If it's that wet in there… would any animal really bother making its burrow there? She pondered briefly if she, The Great and Powerful Trixie, even wanted a shelter that was not good enough for the animals. Beggars can't be choosers. She took a step away from the tree, then blinked and swiftly added, not that Trixie is one. She made her way towards the small cavern slowly and ignited her horn to shine a light inside, relieved to find it was in fact empty for the most part. Some water had pooled together here and there, but most of it seemed to drain out through a crack in the rock, which ensured the cave did not flood completely. Wasting no further time to get out of the rain, Trixie trotted inside down the slightly inclined rocky slope. As much as she'd gotten used to the raindrops trickling down on her unprotected head the last couple hours, she felt infinitely better without them. Laying down on the rough stone with a small wince, Trixie tried her best to get somewhat comfortable. “Really it couldn't be any softer for Trixie?” she complained, unable to find a good position. Pondering briefly, she got up on her hooves again and flashed a grin. One way or another, she was going to make this bearable. Trixie headed back out into the rain. She returned a moment later, levitating as much of the pink moss she had been able to find. Stepping back into the shelter of the cave, Trixie shook the mosses vigorously near the crack in the stone, trying to get out as much water as possible before dropping it down onto the rocky surface of the cave. She stared down with a look of glee at her makeshift pink bed, admiring her handiwork, before settling down on top of it. She let out a satisfied sigh, enjoying the soft feeling against her fur, which shielded her almost perfectly from the rock. “That's more like it!” Her eyes shifted towards the entrance of her little shelter, watching the rain clatter down where it couldn't get to her anymore. A tired smile settled on Trixie’s face as she just enjoyed her new position for the moment. She let her mind wander now that she finally had the time to think properly without an immediate worry to attend to. “This is nice... Trixie thinks she can stay here for a while.” She looked down at the damp pink moss, then rested her head against it, closing her eyes. Wait this is what makes Trixie happy now? Finding a slightly less moist place to be miserable? Trixie grimaced at the thought. “Just yesterday Trixie had the softest of beds, her own home, her own show... Why did they try so hard to mess it all up for Trixie? Was the whole town in on it?” As she thought back on the day before, it seemed so far away. Trixie's show had just barely begun when some ponies near the stage immediately began to complain and criticize her performance without so much as giving her a chance to show what she could even do. “Trixie is sure it was not Trixie's act; all the other ponies were smiling at The Great and Powerful Trixie. They laughed when Trixie defeated her challengers! The Great and Powerful Trixie prevailed! The audience loved how Trixie showed those arrogant ponies their place!” Her voice rose theatrically. She tactfully left out the part that she was the one who had issued the challenge in her monologue. Trixie toned the volume back down to a muttering. “It's not as if it was Trixie's fault those two foals believed everything Trixie said…” It did not last very long however. ”How did they even find an accursed Ursa? Are those really that common here?!” She could feel her blood boil at the idiocy of it all, almost screaming out, “Who brings an Ursa to town? Who knows how many ponies it would've eaten if Trixie was not there? But do they care? No!” She slammed a hoof down on the hard stone. “Sure, Trixie did not vanquish it! But Trixie stalled it long enough, distracted it from those two foals even.” She simmered down again, recalling her efforts in fighting the Ursa Minor, knowing she did not stand a chance. It had been horrifying, but she could not just leave it rampage, could she? A rattling sound drew her attention. The hoof against the stone surface was shaking. She lifted her extended foreleg from the stone,and rested it over her muzzle to cover up her eyes with a whimper. Trixie thought she was a goner for sure, crushed like the rest of Trixie's things. She took deep breaths while trying not to think about it too much. “In walks that Twilight Sugarcube after Trixie says she can't do it, and the mare does it. Everything Trixie could not do that, unicorn did in moments. Humiliating Trixie by rescu...” She froze when the word rolled past her lips. Wait... that... that's right isn't it? Would Trixie be dead without her? A long pause followed as she contemplated on the thought that had escaped her in the heat of the moment. She did… But why would she do that? Did she not believe Trixie was the cause? As far as she recalled, the rest of the town had been quick to blame her for lying and tricking the duo into bringing the Ursa. Especially that cyan pegasus that hunted her down at the end. An old itch came back to her mind as she recalled the flying mare. Oh hay, not again...Vapor Step? Nimbus Run? She shifted her hoof from her the top of her muzzle onto the moss and rested her chin on top. She gazed outside at the parting clouds and sighed. Figures that it would stop raining as soon as Trixie fi— Her eyes went wide as she gazed up through the thick canopy at the sky, the clouds clearing up and revealing a colorful spectacle stretched out across the sky. “Rainbow! And Dash!”