//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 - Rueful // Story: Trixie's Forest Retreat // by crowscrowcrow //------------------------------// After Trixie tackled Fluttershy away from the throne, she broke down. Pinning the confused and frightened pegasus to the ground, Trixie was terrified she’d fly away before giving her a chance again. “I’m sorry! I am! Please don’t leave.” If I let go now she’ll leave! It took Fluttershy a moment to realize what had happened, Trixie had attacked her out of the blue? “Ouch, wha? T-Trixie, Let me go!” Fluttershy struggled below Trixie on the courtroom floor, trying to escape from the crazed mare. Her wings flared up, giving a couple of quick beats. Trixie’s felt her heart sink. “I knew it! I knew you’d try to leave! Please stay, I won’t do it again I promise! Just listen to me!” She just knew she had to convince Fluttershy. Her hold on the other mare grew tighter. The excitement and the tumble brought back the headache, her vision blurred for a moment. Fluttershy stopped fighting, her teal eyes just stared up at Trixie frightened. She was not sure why Trixie was suddenly giving her an ultimatum, obey or be struck. But then why was she sorry? Because it had to be this way? “W-what? No this is wrong. I don’t know what I did, was I not fast enough? Is that why you are mad? Please just let me go, Trixie, I don’t like this” “No I’m not mad, you are! Aren’t you? I-I don’t know. Just, I need to think, and you can’t leave till I do!” Trixie’s head throbbed painfully, in sync with her rapid heartbeat. With Fluttershy no longer resisting she tried to calm down, thinking of what to say. “I’m sorry. Really!” “If you are sorry then let me go.” Fluttershy spoke softly. Trixie bit her lip. “N-no, you’re gonna leave me too.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke. Fluttershy stared up at Trixie while she was pinned down. Her eyes took in each detail of the tense and shaking Trixie. She did not find what she expected, Trixie was not intimidating, she was not glaring at her or bearing her teeth. Instead she looked so small, like her world was collapsing around her. Fluttershy’s expression softened at the sight. It was something she could recognize much better, a similar kind of upset as she had seen after she joined the pair on the cloud . She brought up her hooves around Trixie. “Shhh. Don’t let go then, just come here. It’s okay. I’m staying I promise.” She embraced Trixie and pulled her close, letting one hoof stroke her mane. Trixie jolted when she felt Fluttershy pull her in, but eagerly accepted the warmth offered her, trusting Fluttershy’s promise. She closed her eyes when she felt the soft butter-yellow fur against hers, soothed by the touch and reassuring voice. “I’m sorry…” “I know, and it’s okay. I don’t blame you Trixie. You’re not well.” She carefully petted Trixie as she spoke, looking at the unicorns horn. Trixie didn’t notice the remark. She was much more relieved to hear Fluttershy say everything was fine. She still kept a grip on the mare, but it was much more gentle now, simply hugging her. She rested her muzzle in the pink mane, a scent of leafs , earth and sweat; It was to be expected after their ordeal with the timberwolfs, Trixie’s muzzle wrinkled. “I-I am sorry.” She repeated again, it was hard to think of something more meaningful to say. Fluttershy shook her head. “I understand. Just calm down, I’m not mad at you. Rainbow Dash will be back soon, then we can just have some lunch, and after that we’ll go back home okay? Oh I should never have agreed to this.” Trixie’s eyes shot open. “Rainbow Dash!” She looked at Fluttershy uncertainly, her eyes darting up at the sky then back to her. “S-she is mad at me. I did something wrong. I don’t know how to fix it.” “Oh don’t worry. Rainbow Dash is not going to stay mad at you, why I’m sure she will forgive you if you apologize. What happened, Trixie?” Fluttershy just smiled warmly, as though whatever was bothering Trixie had long since been resolved and she was just waiting to tell her so. Trixie blushed and lowered her gaze, staring at a tuft of grass that grew between the tiles. “U-uhm… I-I kissed her.” She could swear she felt Fluttershy tense up below her. She was unable to bring herself to lift her head to check her expression. “Oh… my…” It was all Fluttershy managed for a while. She’d frozen completely, just staring at Trixie. It took a moment for her to register the gradually growing little tremors coming from the pony in her hooves. “Ah no! I’m sorry. L-look I was just surprised. I did n-not think that you would be uhm… W-well I don’t think Rainbow Dash is. Is that why you are upset?” “I-I don’t know. It’s just Rainbow Dash got really mad at me. She did not hit me, but it hurt. I don’t want her to hate me.” Trixie closed her eyes tight, trying to push out the memory of how humiliating it had been to be so wrong and the fight that followed. “Now you stop that right now. She does not hate you. I think I might know why she got mad at you.” “You do? How do I fix it?” “Uhm well. It’s not really something you can give back. You see, I’ve known Rainbow Dash for a very long time. Almost as long as I can remember. We went to Ponyville together, attended the same Flight school, Lived in the same district of Cloudsdale. Why I would not be surprised if we came from the same hospital, oh sorry.” Trixie had managed to bring one eye up to look at Fluttershy, and the confusion about the tangent she went on was clear on her face. “I-I’m saying, we’ve been friends forever. She’s very assertive, confident, pretty, passionate, and a fantastic flier. There were plenty of ponies I knew of that liked her, not in the friends kind of way either. We often talk, she never talked about any of them. I see her a lot, she’s always training, or working, or lazing, Oh uhm I guess I should call it resting, but I’ve never seen her with a special somepony.” “So you’re saying she just has no interest in other ponies like that?” “Well, that’s not really what I meant, though I guess that maybe is true, but what I mean is I don’t think she’s ever kissed somepony, before now.”