Trixie's Forest Retreat

by crowscrowcrow


Chapter 15 - Return

Trixie stared at the wooden door that led into the bedroom she had been recovering in the past three days. She knew she was supposed to go inside and find Fluttershy, but she had no idea what she was even going to say.

Although she took a deep breath and did her best to calm down, her heart still pounded in her throat after the confrontation with Rainbow Dash. The idea that she would have to deal with her again after the talk with Fluttershy made her shiver, but she was not going to run this time.

It felt strange to realize that all this time she had been using Fluttershy’s room, completely unaware. Of course this had to have been intentional on the part of the pegasi, leaving her in the dark about what room she was in. Perhaps it was another one of those tricks to keep her from stressing out. That certainly proved to be the right call, as now Trixie was definitely stressing over it.

Thoughts and plans on what to say or do rushed in and out of her mind on how to act once she walked through that door: act like nothing had happened, scream she was sorry, explain it was a joke, casually mention she did not mean it, run back down and bring the food up, fall on her knees and grovel, accuse her of being too sensitive, make a gallop for the window and run for it.

She shook her head to clear it and sighed. “Why was half of that avoiding the issue entirely? Okay Trixie, before Rainbow Dash gets impatient… Wait no, Trixie is not here to stall for time. Focus on what matters.” She kicked herself in the shin for getting distracted from what had been her goal in the first place: Fluttershy.

Although she had made absolutely no progress in planning out her next move, she finally pushed open the door. The room was still darkened, but she could tell the sheet before the window was gently moving with the breeze. Almost nothing else in the room had changed except for one thing:, the pony in the bed.

Trixie’s hoof knocked against the wood of the open door. She could tell the noise made the figure under the blankets flinch. “Fluttershy… May Trixie come in?”

Silence hung in the air for several moments before the blankets were pushed aside, revealing the creamy pegasus underneath. Even in the dark, Trixie could still spot the moist fur on her cheeks. Fluttershy gave a nod. “It’s okay, Trixie.”

The door closed with a gentle kick before Trixie moved towards the side of the bed, looking down at the floor. “Trixie scared you. Trixie did not mean… Well, Trixie did mean to scare you… But only a little…” She could not bring herself to raise her gaze.

Fluttershy listened quietly to Trixie’s attempts at explaining herself. “Oh… It’s okay…”

That soft kind voice shook Trixie more than the scolding she had received earlier. “N-no…. It’s not okay. You have been nothing but good to Trixie. Trixie should never have done that. I-it’s just that… Trixie wanted talk with you more, but Trixie did not stop to think maybe you did not. It was selfish of Trixie… T-trying to force you.” Tears rolled down her muzzle and dripped to the ground.

While Trixie did not raise her gaze from the floor, she could see just a little bit of Fluttershy, noticing she had pushed the blankets away entirely and was now just laying on her stomach with her legs folded underneath her. “Uhm… I’m sorry Trixie… I don’t understand what you want… If I can’t say it’s okay, what do you suggest?”

“T-Trixie doesn’t know… I-it feels so hollow, you can’t just say it’s okay… Get mad at Trixie, yell at her, hit her, say you don’t believe her, throw her out, make her do something. Anything!” Trixie stomped her hoof against the floor.

Fluttershy shrank while she listened to the whole list of things she was apparently supposed to be doing, out of that list, there was only one she could possibly do. “Uhm… Trixie…? C-could you come here? If you don’t mind that is…” Fluttershy sat up on her haunches and patted a hoof next to her on the bed.

Trixie raised her head briefly to look at Fluttershy uncomprehendingly, letting her gaze drift following the softly tapping hoof to the bed. Once she understood, she felt her felt face flush, and she looked down again, thankful for the poor lighting. “T-Trixie… Trixie did say… Anything…” She climbed onto the bed and sat down besides Fluttershy. Trixie averted her gaze nervously, trying to ignore the warm feeling of being beside her.

“…You said you only wanted to talk more? Why did you not j-just ask me? … I’m sorry I did not realize you were feeling lonely… I guess you would be more used to having a crowd of ponies around.” Fluttershy tilted her head down slightly to let her mane fall between them. “I… Did not stay to watch your show… But I saw all those ponies smiling at you. I was not thinking, keeping you here all alone…”

“Y-you are doing it wrong… Trixie is supposed to say she is sorry, not Fluttershy.” She turned to finally look her in the eyes, only to find the pink curtain-like mane in the way. She was not sure if she felt relieved or disappointed. “Trixie is sorry. Trixie knows she made a mistake. Thank you for taking care of Trixie until now… Trixie will go.”

A soft giggle sounded from the other side of that pink mane. “That’s a lot of Trixie’s… But… How do you feel? Not Trixie, you.” With a tilt of her head, the mane fell to the side, letting their eyes meet.

Trixie opened her mouth ready to snap for being made fun, but held her tongue when she found Fluttershy looking at her. “W-what? T-Trixie… Tri… Uhm… I, I am sorry Fluttershy…” Her ears laid down flat on her head. She felt so very small and exposed without that shield, her name, in the way.

Fluttershy smiled at Trixie with that same lovely, kind smile, warming her up inside. “I forgive Trixie, and I forgive you… Are… Are you okay now?”

To her own surprise, Trixie felt herself lean against Fluttershy. Her eyes closed while she felt the warmth spread through her side. ”C-can I… Just stay like this for a little while? Please?”

“O-of course…” Fluttershy could see the dim light reflecting off the tears that ran down Trixie’s cheek. Fluttershy allowed one of her wings to spread out draped it over Trixie’s back, adding a bit of pressure to make the both of them lie down. “As long as you need.”

Trixie shook when she felt something very soft and warm fall onto her back. She soon realized what it was when she felt it push her down. She sunk through her hooves, laying besides Fluttershy. She reveled in the warmth surrounding her. Every cold night, every scary fight forgotten for just a little while. “Thank you…”