//------------------------------// // Chapter One Hundred and Two: First impressions // Story: Trixie and Maud: Heart of Stone // by TheCrimsonDM //------------------------------// HEART OF STONE Chapter One Hundred and Two: First Impressions Written by TheCrimsonDM The living room proved to be rather quiet as Trixie watched Valiant, playing with her new toys in the corner. Valiant’s favorite one so far proved to be a black stuffed cat about the size of her head, she hadn’t gone anywhere without it since they picked it up for her. Getting that discount from Peppers Ghost was really nice, but ultimately not needed, with the funds Trixie had received from her show, she’d be doing just fine for a while. Trixie looked over at Maud who was in the living room sorting through their mail. Without anything better to do, Trixie decided to go and help Maud. The table was full of letters, three stacks had been set aside, one was very small with only two letters in it, the next one was growing rapidly with ten plus letters, some of which had very flowery designs on the front. The last pile was modest in size, these ones all looked boring and official. After sitting down Trixie’s horn lit up and a dozen letters floated off of the table and faced her. “Bill, Trixie, Trixie, Trixie, Bill, Trixie… okay, almost all of these are sent to me. What the hay is going on?” “I think these are fan letters,” Maud said flatly. Trixie looked again at the pile, the largest one seemed to be all wrote to her, the other two were various bills and Maud’s. Maud’s being the smallest. Trixie felt a bit of guilt for having so many more letters than her fiancé but at the same time she was excited to see so much fan mail. It had been far too long since she had received this kind of treatment. “Wow, I guess I’ve become a little popular. That’s… nice,” Trixie said. A small smile grew on her lips as she began sorting letters beside Maud. With Trixie at the helm, sorting the letters became a breeze and the task flew by she was done with it before she even knew it. The thought that they couldn’t continue leaving the mail box unchecked for days at a time went through her mind. If she was receiving this much fan mail, then the box could easily be filled up without them realizing it. Before getting to what was promising to be yet another highlight of her day, Trixie took another look at the bills. She skimmed through them, a few were for various expenditures from the past, one of them was for property damage oddly enough, and the last one was for medical expenses. Maud growled as she looked at that last one, and Trixie’s heart sunk. “That’s a lot of money they want… isn’t it,” Trixie said. “We can’t afford this,” Maud replied flatly. “It’s worth it to pay it off, after all they did fix our little filly,” Trixie said. Maud set the bill down and focused instead on the measly amount of letters that were sent to her specifically. The first one she simply laid on the table. It was sent from the local flower shop, with clear indications that it was for wedding flowers. The next one Maud took a better look at, it was another offer for work, but it was asking Maud to go to Tall Tale. Maud looked very disinterested in it. The final letter was a bland gray color, with no designs on it, and very businesslike writing on the front. It if it wasn’t for the address, Trixie would have ignored it, but seeing as how it came from New Slate’s only rock farm, the Pie Rock Farm, Trixie had to pay close attention to it. Maud however stood from the table, letter in mouth and walked to the trash can where she dropped the letter in without a second thought. Trixie stared in silence at Maud’s complete lack of interest in the letter. “If they wanted to be part of my life, they would have been nice,” Maud spat quietly under her breath. “I don’t need a magical rock to tell me who to love.” “Um,” Trixie said quietly, hoping that Valiant wasn’t hearing Maud’s anger. “What are you talking about?” Maud looked back at Trixie worked her mouth soundlessly, and then frowned. Something about Maud’s stance and her expression told Trixie that she was suddenly standing on thin ice, and whatever was going on was either best left forgotten, or needed to be worked out quickly. So long as Maud wasn’t mad at Trixie, she honestly didn’t care which. “Are you okay?” “I’ll be fine,” Maud said in her monotone voice. “It’s just my family trying to be part of my life again.” “Isn’t’ that good?” Trixie asked. “They think that you are nothing but a fling,” Maud said. “I won’t talk to them again until after we're married,” Maud looked away. “See them try and tell me that we don’t belong together after that.” “I think it would be nice if we could get along,” Trixie suggested. “I mean, I understand how you feel… I saw what they did to you.” Maud’s eyes opened wide for a moment. “You did?” “I have psychic powers remember. That was actually the first time that I ever remote viewed anypony, and… I just wish that I would have seen it sooner,” Trixie admitted. Maud pawed at the floor. “I want them to be a part of my life. But they won’t accept us.” Trixie tried to smile for Maud. “Well if we get married first…” “…then they can’t put us down anymore,” Maud finished. “I love you, Maud,” Trixie said. “I love you too, Lulu.” Maud left the kitchen and made her way into the living room. There was a certain rigidness to Maud’s movements that showed how upset she still was about this whole subject. Unfortunately there wasn’t much she could do at the moment, so she did the only thing she could and looked through the letters addressed to her. With over twenty letters addressed solely to her it took a little while to go through all of them. Most of them were various Ponyvillians sending their thanks to her for doing such a good job. One letter in particular came from an anonymous pony who didn’t just send her a letter but also sent her a drawing of Trixie standing heroically with fireworks going off in the background, the style was very similar to that of a manga. It looked like she had a new fan. Just before Trixie could open her last letter, she heard a knocking at the door. Maud got up from the couch at the same time as Trixie stood up from the table. Maud and Trixie looked at each other and smiled. Together they went to the door, and opened it. Screw Loose stood on the other side with a smile on her lips. “I hope I’m not intruding.” “M-mom?” Trixie asked feeling dazed that Screw Loose would be there at her door. “You said that I could come and visit you, you weren’t busy, were you?” She asked. Trixie shook her head and stepped aside. “No, not at all. Um, come on in.” Screw Loose walked inside and Trixie led her to the table where Trixie quickly shoved the letters aside and offered a seat to her mother. Trixie sat across from her mom, and Maud joined by her side. For a moment things were quiet as Trixie tried to find something to break the ice with. “We decided to officially adopt Valiant Heart,” Trixie said. “So I guess that makes you a grandmother.” Screw Loose’s eyes lit up. “You mean I get to be a grand mommy! Oh where is the little thing?” “Hey, Val. Do you want to meet my mom?” Trixie hollered into the living room. There was the pitter patter of tiny hooves making their way to where the living room met the kitchen, and Valiant poked half of her face out from behind the wall. She waved a maroon hoof timidly. Trixie smiled as kindly as she could to Valiant in an attempt to give the filly some more confidence. “Valiant Heart, this is my mom, Screw Loose.” “Hello, Valiant,” Screw Loose said gently. Valiant Heart took a few steps out of her hiding place behind the wall, but she kept her distance from the adult mare. A lock of hair fell into her good eye and she shook her head to free it. Screw smiled and Valiant simply stared with a flat expression. The expression that Valiant was wearing seemed uncannily Maud like to Trixie. “Oh how adorable,” Screw Loose said. “She’s playing pirate.” Trixie’s heart dropped just as far as her jaw as she stared at her mom. Screw Loose looked over at Trixie. “Do you remember when you used to play pirate?” There were no words that Trixie could honestly think of to say at the moment. She’s blind in one eye. Some evil ponies beat her so she has to wear an eye patch now. It’s a medical eye patch not a toy one. Those were all things that Trixie could say to her mom. Instead all she did was make a confused noise as her ears folded. “What’s wrong, Trixie?” Screw Loose asked. “Did… did I bring up some bad memories for you? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Trixie shook her head. A gentle pat on Trixie’s shoulder from Maud let her know that it was okay. Trixie nodded toward her mom while staring at Maud, just hoping Maud would do the explanation this time. Maud nodded. “She has vision problems,” Maud explained. “Oh… Oh my… I, uh, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry,” Screw Loose said to Trixie and Maud both. She then looked at Valiant and added, “and I’m sorry to you to little one. I’m not making much of a first impression am I?” Valiant turned and trotted into the living room without making a sound. Seeing the filly leave like that left Screw Loose looking heartbroken. If only there was something that Trixie could say to help her mom feel better about this situation. Of course Trixie understood if Valiant didn’t want to make friends with her mom, Valiant didn’t like adults, and mares especially. So when Valiant returned to the living room with her whiteboard in her mouth and a message spelled out on it, Trixie was shocked to say the least. “Its okay. At least you don’t want to play sports.” The smile that the message brought to Screw Loose’s mouth was worth a million bits to Trixie. Screw Loose put a hoof on her chest as she looked down at the filly and said, “Thank you. I’m glad to know that I didn’t mess up too badly.” Valiant trotted over to the table, still staying clear of Screw Loose. There was a limp to her trot, one that would forever remind Trixie that there were evil things out there. Once Valiant got to the table, she stood on her hind legs, barely reached the chair that Maud was on and attempted to climb up onto her lap. After failing Maud reached over and picked the filly up. Maud smiled as she set the filly down on her lap. “Lulu, could you get the hairbrush?” Maud asked. Trixie nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Trixie got up and trotted towards the bathroom where she had last seen Valiant’s hairbrush. As she left she heard a bit of Maud and Screw Loose’s conversation. “So how old are you,” Screw Loose asked. “Twenty four,” Maud replied. “I, um, I meant Valiant. Though I must admit that I’m surprised to learn that you’re a bit older than my baby though,” Screw loose said. “Yes. It’s awkward sometimes,” Maud said. “She’s still a kid in some ways.” “But not in… others?” Screw Loose asked. “We had se- made love soon after we started dating. So, no she is not a kid in those ways,” Maud said. Trixie’s face caught fire as she entered the bathroom, and in order to make a point she slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. The last thing she needed was for Maud to go telling her mom all those things about their private life.  I mean, COME ON! She’s my mother, Maud. You wouldn’t want me to tell your mom that I have sex with you all the time would you? What if I told her about the foursome… this isn’t fair. The brush was lying on the sink counter just like it should have, but Trixie stopped to take a quick look at herself in the mirror. Her mane was looking a little long, and looking quite a bit like Fluttershy’s. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. I really screwed up with Fluttershy, I mean how can Maud even trust me? Maybe that’s what she meant by ‘still a kid’. We haven’t even set our wedding date yet, and it’s really bothering me. I can only imagine how much it must hurt her. Being left to wonder whether I’ll betray her again, or leave her completely? I can’t keep putting this off.   After taking a deep breath, Trixie took the brush in her telekinetic grasp and left the bathroom. Once outside, she saw her mom staring at her, and quickly look away. She trotted to the table and dropped the brush on the table in front of Maud before sitting down. Maud and Valiant gave her a strange look. “Are you okay?” Maud asked. “I’m fine. Weren’t you two talking about something interesting? Something personal perhaps?” Trixie asked, still a little off put by Maud’s careless mentioning of their private life. “Oh, um we weren’t talking about anything too serious,” Screw Loose promised. “Well me and Maud live together, and we’re engaged, so I guess it’s pretty obvious how much we do that. So why don’t we just shout it to the world?” Trixie said sarcastically. “You already do,” Maud said under her breath. That made Trixie’s heart freeze. Was Maud being… mean? I messed up more than I thought, haven’t I? Maud slipped her hoof into the brush’s strap and began going through Valiant’s hair with a gentle practice. After a few strokes, Maud apologized, “Lulu, I’m sorry. I just wanted your mom to know that you were doing okay.” “And you choose to do that by telling her we make love?” Trixie asked, confused. “I guess,” Maud replied. This situation wasn’t fair. Maud was mad at her, and she still hadn’t proven to Maud that she could indeed be trusted. Trixie pushed herself away from the table. “This isn’t working.” Maud stopped moving and became as still as a statue. Both Valiant and Screw Loose gave Trixie a look. Trixie went to the calendar hanging from the wall. Grabbed the pen and picked a random date. She drew a circle interlocking with another circle and tossed the pen aside. “There,” Trixie said stubbornly. “We are not dragging this out any longer. That’s the date we are getting married.” Maud stared at Trixie with wide eyes and then looked away, saying nothing. Trixie realized that Maud must have been really upset. “I am going to prove to you that I am the most loyal, loving, and thoughtful mare in Equestria, and you are going to let me,” she promised. “Well, that’s one way to do it,” Screw Loose said. Valiant leaned over, and scribbled on her whiteboard. “Trixie, you are crazy.” “Maybe so,” Trixie admitted. “But I’m crazy in love with Maud… I’m also crazy in other ways…” Maud returned to working on Valiant’s mess of a mane. “That’s a good date.” “Do you even know what date it is?” Trixie asked. “We’re getting married that day. It’s a good date,” Maud replied. Trixie couldn’t help smiling as well. She rejoined the others at the table and tried her best to forget that her mane looked anything like Fluttershy’s. it didn’t work very well, but she tried anyway. The rest of the day went by with Trixie, her mom, and Maud talking until evening came. That’s when Pinkie Pie dropped by and together the five of them had a big family dinner. After Screw loose went home, leaving Trixie and the others to their own devices, Valiant fell asleep in Maud’s lap. That’s when Maud decided to retire for the night. Trixie spoke with Pinkie for a while, about fashion, their favorite colors, recent events, and finally about Trixie’s mane. It was decided that with how long it was, she could try wearing it in a ponytail in order to avoid her accidental Fluttershy style. It was good enough for Trixie. Eventually this too came to an end as Pinkie crashed on the couch. Trixie crawled into bed with Maud and snuggled up close. As Trixie drifted off to sleep, she heard Maud mumbling in her sleep. Most of it was gibberish but she made out the name “Boulder”.   Which reminds me, where did the little pebble run off to? Obviously he couldn’t have gone more than a stone's pace. Trixie giggled at her silly joke as she fell asleep. She hoped that her dreams would be filled with talking cats and flying adventures again, and not horrific monsters who wanted to eat her. better yet she hoped that she could dream about a certain beautiful mare, and all the things they could get up to when nopony was watching. That would have been a good dream.