Days seemed to be on repeat. Wake up, eat with Clara, read Twilight's response, spend hours walking. Trixie, however, was used to monotony during her travels to new cities. She traded the fast and comfort-ability of train travel for the solitude of traveling by hoof. With trains she had to be around other ponies--ponies who would sometimes openly mock her--and she couldn't bring everything she needed nor could she practice her magic on her own terms. Yet with Clara, the hours that she used to tick by in agonizing pain flew by. There had even been a point where Clara had to point out that they had gone longer than normal without taking a break. Trixie didn't even notice.
The sun slowly dipped into west and the two had seemed to develop a routine. Clara would get the food to eat, while Trixie gathered firewood. When the two sat down to eat, Trixie would ask questions about Clara's home, and Clara would respond in kind with excitement and hope of soon returning. It had been no different, but Trixie noticed something under the smell of eggs.
"What is that--" She sniffed the air, her ear twitching until she finally turned to Clara and pressed her nose against the girl's skin. She pulled back with a frown. "Clara, when was the last time you bathed?"
Clara's cheeks turned a deep red. She looked down at her yellow-and-white nightgown that was now covered in dirt. "Um... before I came here, I guess. How long ago was that?"
Trixie shook her head and got up on her hooves. "Come on, you're gonna take a bath."
The girl crossed her arms as she let out a huff. "You haven't bathed either, Miss Trixie!"
She could only roll her eyes. While it was true that she hasn't bathed in awhile, it was different for equines. Ponies only needed to really bathe every two months or so, just as long as they groomed daily. Which Trixie did in spades. She flicked her tail in slight annoyance, seeing as Clara refused to budge from her spot by the campfire. Her lips curled into a smirk, and Clara was enveloped in a pink aura that lifted her into the air.
"H-hey! Wait! Miss Trixie! Put me down!" She screamed as she punched and kicked the air. Her attempts were in vain, and she watched Trixie carry her away from the caravan and the campfire. "Where are we going? Put me down! Put me down! I don't wanna take a bath!"
Clara continued to fuss and scream as Trixie carried her deeper into the woods. Violet eyes scanned the area for familiar landmarks until she found just what she was looking for; a large boulder that had five dents that fashioned a star on its surface. She continued on while ignoring Clara's tantrum until she reached a small natural hot spring. It formed in the shape of a peanut, with rocks surrounding the outer edge and several that separated the two halves. When Clara realized this was their destination, she could only stare in awe.
Gently, Trixie lowered Clara to the ground. She couldn't help but smile at the hot spring. "I found this years ago when I had been soaked and caked with mud after a particularly heavy rainfall." She dipped a hoof in the warm water and let out a sigh before quickly turning to Clara. "Now, get in the water."
"No!"
"What do I have to do to get you to take a bath?"
Clara frowned and crossed her arms as she thought. Though she didn't want to take a bath, she could almost hear her own mother's voice in Trixie's words. She thought about how her mother would tell her to take a bath before dinner. She thought about how her mother would call her 'squeaky clean' when she finished. She thought about how her mother would help her wash her hair when it got really dirty.
She thought about her mother.
With a sigh, Clara's arms dropped to her sides. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying at how much she missed her mother, her old life. She looked up to Trixie, who had a worried expression, and tried to put on a brave face.
"Fine. But...but you can't look! Mommy says no one should see me without my clothes!"
Trixie was taken back by her sudden boldness, and she tried not to laugh. "Alright, alright. I'll turn around and when you're clean, you just tell me and we'll head back and sleep, alright?" Her smirk never left her face as she turned around away from the hot spring.
Clara hesitated a bit before she approached the water. With one final glance to Trixie to make sure she wasn't looking, she shimmied out of her pajamas and undergarments and slipped into the warm water of the spring. She hissed at the sting of the temperature, then let out a soft sigh as she got used to it. Ripples covered the water's surface as she washed her skin of the dirt. For a moment she considered asking if Trixie had any soap, but decided against it with the rationale that if there was any, it would have been offered.
Trixie tapped a hoof against the earth to fill the otherwise silence. The only sounds were bugs, wind, water, and the sound of her breathing. In order to focus on something, Trixie lit her horn and began to do small spells with rocks and sticks that were before her. They spun in various shapes in patterns. She made it appear as though they had disappeared, only to reappear a moment later. They changed colors in a rapid, flashing manner. Tricks that she had known since she was a filly.
Her ear twitched as she heard water moving as though something had moved out of it. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and smirk when she heard the tell-tale sign of someone meeting a large temperature shift when Clara inhaled sharply. When the ruffling of clothes ceased, Trixie figured it was safe to turn around. Clara wrapped her arms around her body and she shivered violently, leaving the warm feeling of the hot spring to the harsh cold of the open air.
"I-it's f-f-freezing!" She stuttered.
Trixie held a hoof to her mouth as she giggled. "Come on, let's get you back to the caravan." Her pink aura enveloped Clara once again, and she was levitated onto the unicorn's back. She buckled slightly under the weight. She's heavier than she looks!
The two returned to the caravan, where the fire was dying down due to a combination of low maintenance and the night wind. Trixie used her hooves to stamp out the rest of the campfire and led Clara inside, who instantly wrapped herself up in her blanket in an effort to get warm. The unicorn let out a yawn and she crawled into the futon and under her own covers.
"Goodnight, Clara."
When she didn't receive a response, Trixie sat up and squinted in the darkness. "Clara?" She could see the girl right next to her, struggling to brush her hair with Trixie's brush while at the same time trying to keep warm with the blanket. She grit her teeth at seeing someone else use her brush, but with a deep breath Trixie decided to let it go.
The brush was taken from Clara's hand in a magical grip. "Hey, what--"
"Just be still."
Clara obeyed once she found Trixie's intentions: she was brushing her hair for her. She smiled and pulled the blanket tighter around her before she moved closer to futon. The only things poking out of it were her head and the head of her stuffed bear. She let out a hum of happiness as she felt the bristles of the brush against her scalp.
"This is the only time Trixie is doing this." She huffed.
Clara couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Thank you, Miss Trixie."
Trixie only responded with an 'mhm' as she continued to straighten Clara's long brown hair. After she mentally counted one hundred strokes of the brush, she placed it down and laid back down on her pillow. "Now, goodnight Clara."
"Goodnight, Miss Trixie." She smiled as she put her hair into two large braids, and laid down to rest.
Trixie stared at the basket on the outside of the caravan in confusion. There was no letter. Twilight had been consistent in her responses, which were expected right after breakfast. Her ears folded against her head, then she shook the thoughts of what could have possibly happened away.
"No... no. Maybe she's busy. I'll give until lunch before I figure something's wrong."
Lunch came and went, with nothing from the unicorn in Ponyville. Trixie played it off that maybe the Princess had assigned her and her friends to some important task. She chuckled to herself and continued on her way down the path.
In the heart of Ponyville, the sky is checkered with clouds, animals cannot control themselves, ponies aren't laughing, horrible dresses are being sold, chores aren't getting done, and in the middle of it all is a purple unicorn trying to make sense of the situation.