Chapter 4: Sacrifice
“Are you sure about this Twilight?” Trixie asked uncertainly.
“Yes, making amends for your last time here will be the best for everypony,” Twilight replied.
It was around noon as the two mares walked through the streets of Ponyville. The town was alive with commotion, ponies going about, enjoying the beautiful weather. A perfect day to relax and have fun, or to start over as Trixie thought about it.
This really is my chance to start over. I may not have noticed it last time I was here but Ponyville really is beautiful and peaceful, unlike the busy streets of Manehattan and Canterlot. Yes, I did miss the action and excitement of the big city; it was something I never did get over while traveling. Ponyville on the other hoof was a quiet town nestled away from the commotion of industry. The biggest business around was the Apple family's farm. I'm really going to enjoy it here.
The plan was to visit each of Twilight's friends one by one, introduce them to the “new” Trixie, and for her to make apologies when necessary. Trixie honestly hoped that she had finally found somewhere to settle down and have friends, because friends are something of a rarity when traveling from town to town.
"So, who is it we're visiting first?" Trixie questioned.
"We'll be visiting Fluttershy. I don’t believe you met her last time you were here. She's a very timid pegasus, but one of the kindest ponies you'll ever meet. She lives on the outskirts of town, so we can have a peaceful walk on the way there," Twilight answered with a smile. "I have full confidence that you can win her over."
I hope so...
As the two walked through town, Trixie swore she could see other ponies stealing resentful glances at her. She was extremely glad to be traveling with Twilight. In fact, her companion was probably the only thing keeping an angry mob from forming and chasing her out of the town. Even though it was over a year ago, most ponies still remembered Trixie's first arrival in Ponyville. It was for the most part not a good memory.
The two of them spent the next while walking through Ponyville, slowly edging towards the Everfree Forest. The hustle and bustle of the market had been traded for the quiet nature along the path to Fluttershy's cottage. Trixie was just relieved to have safely made it out of the town square without causing a riot.
Twilight and Trixie slowly made their way down the path to Fluttershy’s cottage taking in the sights and sounds along the way. Being so close to the Everfree Forest slightly unnerved Trixie; she was glad that they wouldn't actually have to go back in there.
Suddenly a cool feeling washed over the both of them. Twilight shrugged it off, but Trixie by chance turned her head towards the forest edge. There was a mare standing between two very large trees staring right back at her.
"Tw-Twilight..." Trixie looked over to her.
"Yes?"
"Umm, I think..." Trixie stammered, looking back to where the mare was.
The spot between the two trees was empty. Where did she go? Did I just imagine somepony standing there? No, I’m positive there was somepony standing there looking at me.
Apparently, Trixie had been taking some time to say something for Twilight interrupted her train of thought.
"Trixie, are you alright?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine," Trixie replied, slowly taking her gaze away from the forest. "Let's keep going, shall we?"
"Alright!" Twilight said cheerfully, resuming their walk.
There was a steadily growing amount of animals around the path as the two made their way towards the cottage. It was something that Trixie was quite grateful for; the creepiness of the Everfree Forest was something she'd prefer to forget. Twilight, on the other hoof, was busy dealing with her own form of creepy terror.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeee!! Snake! Get it away from me!!" Twilight yelled out, magically shoving herself behind Trixie. Predictably Trixie burst out laughing.
"Trixie! Stop laughing and help!" Twilight cried in terror.
"Alright, alright miss I'm the greatest unicorn ever!" Trixie giggled. She calmly walked over to the small garden snake and gently pushed it off the path. She couldn't hold it any longer. Trixie burst out into another fit of laughter.
"Not funny," Twilight retorted.
"Oh! I beg to differ," Trixie said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Beg away," she smirked.
Trixie lowered her head and gave Twilight the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes she could muster, she even quivered her bottom lip. Twilight fended off the horrible assault of cuteness until she could fight it no longer and caved in. Applebloom would have been proud.
"Okay, okay! You win this round," Twilight giggled.
"As I always do," Trixie grinned.
"Is that your ego that I'm seeing?"
"No, no. I'm still here."
"Great! We're almost there."
"Yes! We can continue our perilous journey now that the great crisis has been averted!" Trixie exaggerated.
"Ahhh, shut up..." Twilight muttered.
"Right back at you. That screaming was probably heard all the way back in town," Trixie joked.
"It was!"
"What?"
"Hahaha! Twilight just got burned!"
"What!? Where is she!?"
"No, no, AJ, she's fine."
"But you just said—"
"Ooo, pie! C'mon!"
"Umm..."
"I'll have a blueberry one!"
*sigh*
Twilight and Trixie continued walking down the path until they reached a small hut in the middle of a clearing. There were even more animals around here than before. They were going in and around the house as if it were a natural creation.
"Okay, Trixie, so this is Fluttershy's cottage."
"It's so peaceful," she replied. "It must be wonderful to live here."
"Well as her name implies, Fluttershy is quite shy. She's also Ponyville's unofficial vet. So mind the animals while your here, she tends to them as her own."
They slowly made their way across the bridge towards the house. Trixie peered over the edge and was rewarded with a splash in the face by a fish. "Ack," Trixie muttered, "stupid fish..." She looked back up to find Twilight knocking on the door to the house. She quickly wiped her face with her hoof and trotted up to join her.
Trixie stood beside Twilight as the door slowly opened. Okay, I have to make a good first impression. Trixie put on a huge happy smile. No, too much. She toned it down a bit. Better. Oh what if she doesn't like me? Maybe I have enough time to get away before... too late.
Trixie shut her eyes, too nervous to face the pegasus.
"Fluttershy? Are you here?" Twilight called into the house. "Hel-" Twilight was interrupted by a thumping on her hoof. She looked down to find a snow white rabbit.
"Oh, hello Angel. Is Fluttershy home?"
Angel shook his head, indicating no. He then proceeded to perform a series of hand gestures, which the lavender unicorn couldn't divulge the meaning of. Maybe he's referring to Fluttershy? Or possibly a giant rampaging manticore about to destroy Ponyville? Or even the zombie apocalypse? Nah, probably Fluttershy.
"So, is that a no?" Twilight asked.
Angel face-palmed. He sighed, or what would be considered the equivalent of a rabbit sighing. He picked up a nearby twig and slowly carved three letters into the dirt.
"S… P… A…" Twilight read aloud. "Spa? Oh! The town Spa! Fluttershy must be off with Rarity right now."
"Well, Trixie, Fluttershy isn't here...what's wrong, Trixie?” Twilight had turned to find Trixie sitting down behind her covering her face. Twilight giggled, she was pulling off a pretty good Fluttershy. She slowly poked her face, earning a quick glance by the unicorn.
"Trixie, you know you're supposed to be meeting Fluttershy, not impersonating her, right?" she laughed.
"Sorry, I can't help but be nervous! What if I screw up and they all hate me again!" Trixie said while getting up. "I...really...couldn't..." Trixie froze up.
"You alright there?" Twilight asked. She waved a hoof in front of Trixie's face only to get no response. Was she hurt? Did she space out again? Twilight traced her gaze back towards the door.
"Is... is that you?" Trixie asked in disbelief.
Angel was just as frozen looking back at Trixie. He slowly nodded as a smile creeped up onto his face. Maybe this meeting was fate, maybe just pure luck; Trixie didn't care. This was the rabbit that had built her back up after the incident a year ago. If he hadn't followed her after running away from Ponyville, she would probably be in an even worse situation then now. She might not have even been alive. Trixie owed this rabbit her life.
"You two know each other?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, after the incident a year ago, he followed me when I ran out of Ponyville." Trixie then turned right to Angel. "Thank you, if you hadn't found me I don't think I would have ever gotten back on my hooves."
Angel gave a quick nod and a smile. He hopped up to Trixie's fore-hoof and gave it a tight hug. Twilight watched the display of affection, glad that not everyone in Ponyville was hostile to Trixie. Feeling a bit like a third wheel at that moment, Twilight's brain started working to think of something to say. Suddenly something clicked.
"Wow! That would actually explain a lot," Twilight started, "After the town had cleaned up, Fluttershy couldn't find Angel anywhere." She turned to the rabbit, who had finally released Trixie's hoof. "You only returned a few hours later."
Angel gave a small nod.
"Thank you, Angel." They both said in unison.
Angel replied with a salute before hopping back inside the cottage.
Trixie turned back to Twilight. "So now I guess we're going to the spa?" she asked.
"I was hoping to reintroduce you to Rarity a bit later, but I guess it can't be helped."
The two friends started on the path back to Ponyville. After the meeting with Angel, Trixie was particularly happy. The thoughts of nervousness were the last thing in her head. Okay, maybe not the last thing but not the first thing either. Okay, maybe they were the first thing but at least she was optimistic!
"I see a smile there," Twilight happily said, "is somepony in a good mood?"
"Yes! I am in a good mood!" Trixie replied. "Eh, I might still be a bit nervous."
"Well, it's good that you're feeling good! That'll make the meetings a lot easier."
"I hope so..."
Trying to relax her mind, she gazed up at the sky. The weather patrol really out-did themselves. A few clouds lazily drifted across the blue sky in the gentle breeze. There was even a rainbow! Hold on a sec, how could there be a rainbow? It hadn't rained anytime recently. Trixie squinted to take a closer look, and noticed that the rainbow was changing colors and moving.
"Twilight, what is that?" Trixie pointed a hoof at the rainbow thing.
"Uh, I think that's Rainbow Dash. She's probably practicing a new trick," Twilight informed her. "She wants to join the Wonderbolts so she practices whenever she can."
Trixie looked back up at Rainbow. She might have been high above Ponyville but her performance could be seen quite easily. From what Trixie could see, she was steadily gaining speed while trailing a rainbow. She chuckled. I suppose the name fits the pony.
A cold shiver ran down Trixie's spine.
Suddenly the rainbow streak veered off course, as if it bounced off something. The rainbow started to lead an erratic path away from the town down towards the two of them. Okay! This is definitely not part of the routine.
"Twilight, is she supposed to do that?" Trixie asked in a worried tone.
Twilight looked up to the streak and gasped. It was heading right for them.
"Ohmigosh! Twilight get down!" Trixie yelled, pushing the both of them down to the ground.
Rainbow went whizzing past right over their heads. There was a large thunderclap as the pressure wave hit them. Trixie was knocked back away from Twilight, stumbling and landing at the water's edge. Twilight landed on her stomach and got winded. Trixie's ears were ringing as she tried to reorient herself. There was a huge splash and a large wave of water crashed into her.
"Ack!" Trixie spat out some water. She looked up towards the lake and saw Rainbow thrashing around in the water. Either she couldn't swim or she was hurt, probably the latter.
Trixie immediately got up and reached out trying to grab Rainbow with her magic. "Damn it! This is not a good time!" Trixie yelled at her horn. "Twilight! Can you help me!?" She called back to the other unicorn. Twilight was still on the grass, gasping for breath. Unfortunately, Trixie was on her own.
What do I do what do I do!? Trixie looked along the riverbank for something to help, but the only things visible were some twigs and stones. She was pretty sure throwing a rock at the struggling pegasus would not yield positive results. Trixie took a few steps back. "Ah hell," she muttered. Seeing no alternative, Trixie took a running leap into the water.
Rainbow was in full panic mode. She was practicing the “Neon Flash” when she suddenly lost control. The next thing she knew she was in a lake and there was a searing pain in her lungs. Rainbow was trying to pull on something to lift herself above the surface of the water. Unluckily, the first thing she grabbed happened to be Trixie.
"Rainbow! *Gasp* Hold Still! *Gasp* I’m here to- woah!!" Trixie panicked as she was shoved underwater. Trixie was not naturally a good swimmer. In all honesty she could barely keep herself above water. So, with a panicking pegasus grabbing on to her she was not in the best position. Trixie tried to suck in a lung-full of air but received water instead.
She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. So is this were I die? Is this were my story ends? Trixie started to slip into unconsciousness. No! I can’t give up! She focused solely on her magic, giving up on trying to breath. She felt a click in her head, as if something had been reset.
The water around them started to glow, as did Trixie's horn. She felt a huge force underneath her, trying to shove them out of the water. The two mares were launched out of the water by a huge geyser of pure magic and they soared through the air towards the shore.
It was oddly calm flying through the air. Shouldn't I be panicking? Gasping for breath? She could sense everything around her. It was as if time itself had slowed down to a near stop. She looked over to Rainbow who was flying beside her. She had a look on her face of pure horror. She had just crashed and nearly drowned so Trixie could understand. Herself? Trixie couldn't feel any pain. She couldn't feel anything for that matter. That was until the time flow returned to normal.
There was a large *THUD* as Trixie felt herself colliding with the hard ground. Now that hurt. She felt a sickening snap in her left forehoof and a sharp jolt of pain. It didn't really register for Trixie, the pain in her chest and horn was already too overwhelming. So this is what it feels like to die.
She looked over to Rainbow. The pegasus was coughing up water and shaking, but at least she was alive. Well, at least I did something positive with my life. A small smile coming to her face. She was starting to lose feeling in her body. First her hoofs, now her heartbeat was slowing down.
With her last bit of strength, Trixie looked up at the sound of hoofsteps to find three figures running towards them. One was shouting something incomprehensible at the other two. Two of the figures rushed to Rainbow, the other to Trixie. Her vision was getting so blurred all she could make out was a glowing thing on top of a purple mass.
Trixie finally felt like she had done something right in her life. Content with herself, she finally let the darkness surround her.
Everything faded to black.
Big thanks to Dr. Jekyll & Nikitakitten for prereading/editing the chapter!