//------------------------------// // Chapter 119 - Rejoice // Story: Trixie's Forest Retreat // by crowscrowcrow //------------------------------// The following morning, it was a beautiful day in the meadow. The sunshine felt warmer. The clouds were fluffier. The colors were more vibrant. The wind was breezier. Trixie wanted to dance, sing, or whatever other cliché she could think of. Ever since last night, she’d been on cloud nine, and refused to come down. Even if she tried, she couldn’t stop smiling to herself while she practically skipped along the grass, holding a cloud of bird seed aloft. Some of the birds impatiently pecked away at the cloud, while others waited for Trixie to spread out globs of it into the various bird houses. Before she knew it, she found herself humming a merry tune. All was right with the world. Well, perhaps not all, but Trixie felt she could easily take on any world problem ever. Bring on the ursa minor, she'd wrestle it into submission with one hoof! Nearby, Fluttershy was taking care of the rodents. She still looked a little pale and her reactions were slower than usual. Presumably, the poor thing still hadn’t quite recovered from the merciless teasing of the previous night, but she was doing much better. At breakfast, she even managed a few words already, and throughout the day she’d gradually improved to the point that she was now happily striking up conversations with a muskrat. Trixie might have felt just a smidge bad about teasing her like they had, if it hadn’t been so much fun! Sadly, Rainbow Dash was long gone. She’d escorted them home, but then took off. It was a disappointment to Trixie that they didn’t get to spend any time together, not in private anyway. It hadn’t been a total loss however. As Applejack had promised, the apples helped against garlic breath. Which meant Trixie had gotten the sweetest, butterscotch-flavored goodnight kiss ever. Trixie’d never slept as soundly as she did that night. Speaking of which, she’d even woken up with her mane intact for a change. Perhaps Fluttershy’s mane mangling was finally at an end. Licking her lips, she could almost still taste the kiss. It was sickeningly sweet. How does she stomach it? Ponyville better have a good dentist. It was amazing that Dash wasn’t pudgy. She reasoned that all that flying around must burn a crazy amount of calories. She wasn’t sure when she would see Rainbow Dash again. All she knew was that Dash expected her to drop everything when she did show to pick her up. The implications had Trixie giddy. If Dash planned to pick her up that had to mean another date. A little grin played on Trixie’s lips. Even though Dash was completely cool when Trixie told her she planned to date Fluttershy too, it was not lost on her that Dash’s request, or demand, clearly meant she was to be given priority over anything Trixie might be doing with Fluttershy at the time. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, since Dash couldn’t plan her free time for a while due to her job. But to Trixie it meant that Dash wanted her, and it was a powerful feeling. Taking care of the animals was almost second nature to Trixie by now. It was trivial to dish out the food with a little help of her magic. While day dreaming, she almost didn’t realize that she’d already finished the chores. On her way back to the cottage, she noticed Fluttershy was still busy with the rodents. It would probably be faster if she didn’t keep talking to them. As she passed Fluttershy, Trixie paused to listen in on what could possibly be so interesting. “Oh, uhm, about two or three litters a year, of six to eight each. I guess you’d be looking at about eighteen?” The muskrat stared at Fluttershy in complete shock. It’s little mouth hung open wide as though it had just realized its life was officially over. Seeing as the conversation was probably over, Trixie approached and on a whim, wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy while she looked at the small rodent. “Hey, Fluttershy. Let Trixie guess, it’s the little guy’s first breeding season?” “Eep!” Startled, Fluttershy ducked down low, which just made Trixie lose her balance and tumble forward till they were both on the ground. The commotion chased off the critter. A little struggle end up with both ponies on their sides in the grass, trying to find somewhere to place their hooves without stepping on the other’s mane. “Oh, uh, hello, Trixie. Sorry. Yes, sometimes the younger ones have questions when they finally find a mate.” “Uh, Trixie was kidding.” With a spark of her horn, she lifted Fluttershy off the ground. It was far easier to get back to her hooves when only one of them was down. “Trixie’s done by the way.” Fluttershy wobbled in the air, hooves paddling aimlessly as though she wasn’t sure where the ground had gone and hoped to swim back to it. To Trixie’s amusement, the wings stayed clamped onto the pegasus’s sides. “Oh!” Her face turned red and she grappled for a different subject. “U-uhm… done with what?” “The chores, Trixie’s fed all the animals while you were, uh, educating.” Trixie smiled proudly. It had been far too long since she had felt good enough to do any real showing off, and even though feeding a bunch of critters in record time was a far cry from her usual performances, she'd take what she could get. Besides, since she was trying to impress Fluttershy, something related to animals might actually be the best thing. “Already?! But, I…” Fluttershy franticly looked from one animal to another, all of which were eating happily. With an unsettled look on her face, she settled back on Trixie. “Uhm.” The magic holding Fluttershy aloft gradually faded, allowing the girl to get her hooves back on solid ground. "Yes! A small feat for--" Trixie’s smile faltered slightly when she noticed the distress on Fluttershy's face. “Trixie is sure she did it correctly… right?” Perhaps Trixie should have paid a bit more attention while working, but she couldn't imagine she'd have made any mistakes. Quickly flashing a smile, Fluttershy nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Of course you did. Uhm, Thank you, Trixie." "Hah, naturally, Trixie is great at everything she tries." Trixie puffed up her chest to look even more impressive. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been something about the way Fluttershy behaved that wasn’t quite right. Well, there was plenty of time to worry about that after breakfast. Maybe Trixie would try to probe Fluttershy on it while they were enjoying the spa later today. Mornings were the worst. Every single one of them was always far too early in the day for Rainbow Dash’s tastes. It was even worse, if that was even possible, when she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Normally, she never would have bothered to get up turning such horrendous hours, but she had to go to work, again. “Ugghh,” Dash groaned while she reluctantly kicked her blankets off. “I knew I shouldn’t have hung around for that long.” As nice as it was to have somepony else cook for her, it didn’t actually save her any time. It was easy enough to heat something up and scarf it down. Her regular dinner barely took ten minutes start to finish. Dinner with her friends though, now that was time consuming as all get out. It wasn’t like she could just eat her fill and leave to go to bed. No, of course not. She had to sit at the table and chatter like she had nothing better to do. That wasn’t to say she did not enjoy herself. On the contrary, it had been a great time over all. Just that it made a rough morning even rougher. In hindsight, perhaps she should be glad there wasn’t any cider at dinner. With how she was feeling now, adding a hangover might actually kill her. Once she was capable of any kind of thought besides ‘mornings suck’, the conversation she’d had with Applejack came back to the forefront of her mind. Twilight had been a jerk to Trixie. Dash was supposed to sleep on it before deciding if she wanted to punch her in the muzzle for doing that. Well, she’d slept on it. “Alright, let’s see… Yup. Still wanna kill her.” “Welcome, Miss Fluttershy,” said the pink spa pony in what Trixie could only assume was some kind of Germane accent. “Miss Rarity is already in the sauna. She claimed to require a, uh, head start on relaxation this time.” “Oh, thank you, Aloe.” Fluttershy looked surprisingly at ease. Trixie supposes she really does come here often. “Is this your plus one? Miss Rarity mentioned there would be a—Oh, hello again, miss. So wonderful to see you again. Were you pleased with the mane-restoration shampoo?” Aloe inspected Trixie's mane without any apparent regard for how that might be a sensitive topic. What if somepony were to overhear and come to believe Trixie did not naturally look this magnificent? Fortunately, there was nopony around that might have misunderstood the implications of such careless questions. “It worked perfectly,” Trixie gave a sideways glance at Fluttershy. "every time." Fluttershy blushed. "Such a relief! After Miss Rarity complained that it had not worked for her at all we were so worried that--" "Yes, yes." Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. "That is all very interesting, but Trixie is not here to discuss hair products." Briefly, Aloe looked disappointed. She nodded and put up a professional smile. "Yes. Of course. Please come this way." Unaware of the look Fluttershy gave her, Trixie followed after Aloe. Although Trixie really was not interested in having a conversation, one thing that the talkative mare had mentioned did catch her attention. Rarity said it didn't work? Her mane looked perfectly fine the last time Trixie saw her. It was clear this Rarity must have held some unreasonable standards. Of course, what else was Trixie expecting from the mare that publically declared that any unicorn without a fancy dress was a poser? She wasn't looking forward to this meeting. Trixie had been inside the Ponyville spa before, but she had not gotten any further than the front desk at the time. Unsurprisingly, there was more to the place than just a small store and a pleasant scent. It was obvious that they were making do with that little was available in a rural earth pony town, but she had to admire how clean and sophisticated they had managed to make the place. Sparkling white beds. various mud baths without a spot of dirt on the surrounding tiles. To top it off, the walls and other surfaces showcased various elegant decorations and designs. “Huh, this place isn’t half bad.” Aloe smiled half-heartedly. “Well… Thank you, miss.” Fluttershy peeped and shot a hasty glance at Aloe. “Uhm, if you think that now, Trixie, just wait until you, uhm, try some of the, uhm… some of it. Yes, it. You’ll never want to leave. It’s such a lovely place.” Showing a much more radiant smile to Fluttershy, Aloe nodded. “That’s so nice of you, Miss Fluttershy. I was just talking with my sister the other day about how much we missed having you with us lately. It’s such a joy to work with a pony that’s practically done the moment she walks in. Not like some of the reconstruction jobs we get sometimes. Oh I could tell you even though—” Given how clean everything was, Trixie had to wonder how they did it. She couldn’t imagine it was all done by hoof. Yet, she had not seen any unicorns around. Maybe she ought to give them a bit more credit. “It’s hard to believe you managed to do all this with just earth ponies.” “—It’s a passion project sometimes we—I-I’m sorry? Uhm.” In complete bafflement, Aloe gaped at Trixie while Fluttershy cringed. “What?” Trixie asked. Aloe glared at Trixie for a moment longer. She opened her mouth to speak, then quickly closed it again and took a small sprint forward toward the heavy wooden door they’d been walking toward. “Oh, look, we’re here! That’s the sauna! Head on in. Lotus Blossom will take care of you from here. I have to go and, uh, get your bath robes pressed, or something.” With that, she pushed her hoof against the door, allowing the shimmering, hot air to waft out. “Lotus, all yours!” Without even waiting for a reply, she took off. Rude. Still, Trixie wasn’t about to let a little unprofessionalism ruin her day. It was far too good for that, after all. The pleasant warmth of a stone-heated sauna just a few steps away was also doing wonders for retaining her good mood. “Aloe? You’re supposed to take over!” Lotus Blossom called after the pink spa pony, but then directed her attention to Trixie and Fluttershy. Putting on a bright smile she quickly waved them inside. “That silly filly. Please, come in.” A moment later, she closed the door behind them to keep the hot air in. “Fluttershy, darling! So good to see you made it.” Relaxing in the middle of the bench opposite of the door, Rarity sat with her hooves folded out before her. Somehow, she’d managed to settle into an elegant pose that had her looking like a queen, even while she was sweaty. How long did it take her to find that pose, and how long has she been holding it for? Still, Trixie had to make the begrudging concession that the mare had a certain flare. Fluttershy sat down besides Rarity “Hello there, Rarity, I’m ever so happy to see you. You’ve, uhm, met Trixie. Before, I mean.” “Ah, yes.” Rarity said shortly. She gave Trixie look that was cold enough to chill even the sauna. “The witch.” Trixie smirked. “Naturally, Trixie’s reputation precedes her.” She took a seat next to Fluttershy. Witch? Heh, that might have been insulting, if it wasn’t what’s keeping ponies from messing with her now. “Uhm, Rarity?” Fluttershy turned to her friend, but didn’t say anything further. “Ah, right...” Rarity gestured towards Lotus Blossom, who poured a ladle of water over the hot stones in the middle of the room. With a hot sizzle, the water turned to warm vapor. Taking a deep breath, Rarity closed her eyes, then exhaled slowly. “Wi—Trixie. I’ve agreed to meet you, Trixie, but here are a few ground rules. Well, one, actually...” Her expression darkened. “If you get near my mane again, I will undo your very existence, are we clear? ” Trixie rolled her eyes. Of course the little drama queen would make such a huge deal out of a simple illusion spell. There was no way that green rat’s nest illusion had lasted for longer than a few hours. “Aren’t you being a little overdramatic?” Before she could say anything more scalding, her eyes caught Fluttershy throwing her a pleading look as though Trixie was moments away from kicking a bird’s nest from a tree. She couldn’t bring herself to say another ill word. “Ah, Right… Trixie won’t mess with your mane.” “Good.” Rarity slowly stroked a hoof through her mane, and Trixie could swear she could see Rarity’s lips move as though the mare was whispering reassuringly to her locks. Locking eyes with Trixie again, Rarity spoke. “I’ve heard a thing or two about what has been going on the past month or so… It must have been dreadful. How are you doing?” Much of the cold had left her voice. Blinking, Trixie took a moment to process the sudden swing. She’d been ready to deal with more anger than this. “Uh, well, Trixie’s able to do some magic again this week, so… pretty good?” “I’m glad. Even if you are a witch, you perhaps didn’t deserve that much misfortune. It is so tragic to lose one’s magic, even if it's only temporary. If you need any help with that, I shall.” Laying it on a little thick with the ‘witch’ talk, isn’t she? Even so, that’s the first nice thing she’s said to Trixie. With the loss of her magic, there was a feeling of loss and helplessness that came with it, but it was always hard to share that feeling with anypony that had no magic of their own. They’d simply not understand. “That’s… nice to hear. Thank you.” Trixie cautiously smiled. Perhaps this wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. "It was a pretty poor time for Trixie, being reduced to a mere earth pony like that." Trixie heard the sound of water hitting the floor, and noticed that Lotus Blossom had missed the coals. Trixie supposes she really did need her sister to take over for her. “Uhh,” Rarity shared a brief look with Fluttershy, then hastily smiled and changed the subject. “Now! I’ve heard about your little rant, the one about how you felt we’d ruined your show, in detail. You wouldn’t believe how talkative Applejack can get after s’mores and a tree-sap-removing scrub, but never mind that. My point is that I understand you may have been upset at Applejack and Rainbow Dash for storming the stage, but, I want to remind you that it was you who called me out.” Trixie bristled. “It was you that started heck—” Rarity raised a hoof, silencing Trixie. “Tut, tut. I was not finished. I’m sorry for insulting your, uh, performance style. The lady-like thing to do would have been to simply take my leave. However, I make no excuses for anything else that happened.” Granted, that was already more than Trixie had expected, but it still left her feeling… not exactly outraged, but irritably curious. “What about Trixie’s curtain? You tore it from her stage.” With a haughty laugh, Rarity waved it off as though it were unimportant. “They were so tacky! I fully intended to give you new, more fashionable, ones after the show.” Trixie bit her tongue. That's supposed to make it okay!? You arrogant little—You don't just go around destroying things you don't like! Granted, they were pretty low budget curtains.. and Trixie had been meaning to replace them after she came into some more bits.. Forcing her attention back to the conversation, Trixie asked, “Trixie thought you made clothes?” “I do. Fabulous clothes at that. But, trust me; I can cut a piece of fabric into a square.” Rarity laughed, and Fluttershy even managed an audible giggle. Trixie felt her face burn up. She was going to give Trixie new curtains? She’d been so angry over that act of ‘vandalism’ when all along it had always been meant as some kind of prelude to meeting with the selfless unicorn again. “S-so, Trixie supposes that means you changed your mind after Trixie turned your hair green?” Rarity’s laughter ceased. “Yes, well, no. Of course I was upset that you humiliated me on stage like that.” She ran a hoof through her mane again, inspecting the points. Her voice grew more strained. “But, I still would have been much more forgiving had you not forced me to wear a wig every time I wanted to go outside. For a week!” Leaning away from the noise, Trixie quirked a brow. “What are you blathering about?” “I tried EVERYTHING to get that horrible mess you’d made under control! Dyeing, bleaching, curling, straightening, ironing! Every single hair tonic that I could get my hooves on. Nothing worked! I even considered burning before I came to my senses. I had to dye my beautiful, innocent mane black, because it was the only color that would stick!” “Well, of course.” Trixie tilted her head in confusion. How this was supposed to be news to her wasn’t clear. “The glamor spell adds a simple translucent sheen to the object. Light green, in this case. It’s much less power intensive than changing or overwriting the actual color. If the base color is too dark, the illusion won’t be able to tint it. Dying it completely black is an effective, if somewhat extreme, way of negating the recolor effect.” “I-illusion?” Rarity stammered. Not paying much attention, Trixie was looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling as she tapped her chin. “Mhm, what Trixie doesn’t get though is why you’d be in such a hurry to do something so drastic. The spell would have worn off in an hour or so anyway.” Holding a hoof to her head, Rarity swayed unsteadily. “OooOooOhh!” She cried, followed by a dull thud as she fainted onto the floor. “Uhm, Trixie.” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves nervously. “I’m proud of you for, uhm. I know your trying, I mean, and it’s good to be honest, but… sometimes…” Trixie buried her face in her hooves with a groan. “Trixie gets it.” A hissing noise drew their attention back to Lotus Blossom, who poured another ladle of water onto the hot stones, then opened the door briefly to shout. “Aloe! Bring the ice pack.” “We have a ‘White Towel’?” “Yes...” “Again!?”