Chapter 38: Birth of a New Moon.
When Rarity and I return to the Golden Oak, the sun setting behind us, we're greeted by a giant, hanging banner with 'CONGRATULATIONS' in bold, colorful letters on the top line, and 'ON BEATING UP THE EVIL SPACE MONSTER' in smaller print on the line below it. I'm not sure why I'm surprised that Pinkie Pie's statement about the party theme was literal. Though... I couldn't read Equestrian writing before. Is inexplicably learning how to read another effect of the spell Twilight taught Trixie?
We both blink and take a dumbfounded look around the rest of the library. A mix of violet, azure, and white balloons are tied to the chairs and bookcases, and Trixie's hat and cloak have been moved to the coat rack. In their place on the table is a large, single-layer cake with frosting that matches the azure balloons, decorated with small, star-shaped yellow sprinkles.
"This is... actually really low-key, for Pinkie Pie." Rarity comments, entering the library.
I enter a few steps behind her, shutting the door with one foot, a box held between my hands that contains the results of my day spent with Rarity. It's not quite finished yet, though...
"Heya Rarity!" Pinkie Pie declares, cutting off the unicorn after appearing from... well, somewhere, and plopping a party hat onto her head. "Welcome to the party!"
"Pinkie..." Rarity gives her an unamused look, while Twilight and Applejack share a laugh from near the table, Twilight and Pinkie both wearing party hats of their own. Rainbow Dash is a bit above them, having somehow brought a cloud inside the library, laying on it and taking a nap. "How do you know Trixie will even wake up before we all go to bed?"
"Because I do, duh." Pinkie tilts her head, giving Rarity a 'why would even ask such a stupid question?' look.
"Well... alright then." Rarity admits defeat and heads over to the table with the cake as Pinkie Pie turns to me.
She holds up a party hat, and then stops. "Oh, right! You brought your own hat, Grumpy! Silly me!" She places a noisemaker into her mouth like a cigar and heads off to the table with the rest of the others.
With those four sufficiently distracted by their own talking, I glance toward the coat rack, spotting Trixie's cape again. I take a deep breath before reaching out to it, turning it to one side to reveal the Materia still sitting in its clasp. I pop the gem out and roll it in my hand, before slipping it into my pocket. I'll have to find an opportunity to put the original brooch back on later.
"You okay, Cloud?" Twilight asks from across the room as I step away from the coat rack.
I take a moment to clear my head before turning to her, idlying holding the box in my grip as I walk over toward the others. "I'm fine."
"What'cha got in yer mitts there, partner?" Applejack asks, raising an eyebrow and angling her head to get a better look.
Rarity replies for me. "Oh, just a little something I had him help me whip up for when Trixie wakes up, Applejack."
"Oh, really?" She looks from Rarity, to the box, then to me, eyes narrowing. "Ya sure ya ain't got somethin' yer not tellin us?"
"How uncouth, Applejack..." Rarity shakes her head disapprovingly while I shoot Apple, Texas Ranger a dirty look. "A friend can give another friend a get-well present without such implications!"
"Ya'll see, Rares." She says, laughing off my look.
Both Rarity and I let that particular conversation drop, and I turn my attention to the table again to get a better look at the cake. The star adornments along the side reach to the top, but stop as they near the center. The center of the cake is adorned with a star-tipped wand, resting in front of a waving curtain in the shape of a crescent moon, both drawn in sky-blue frosting and outlined in violet. The insides of both the wand and the crescent curtain are decorated with similar sprinkles to the ones on the outer cake, but they're white instead of yellow, and twinkle in the light of the library.
"So what'cha think?" Pinkie Pie asks, both her front hooves resting on my shoulders as her face leans over my right, her weight seeming to come out of nowhere and press against my back. She begins speaking again before I can answer, and despite her being so close to my ear, the words come so fast I can barely catch them. "I was gonna do a scene of her beating up the space alien for it but then I realized I didn't know what the space alien looked like and this was simpler and then I thought maybe simpler might be better because she might be tired from beating up the space alien and whatnot so I just went with this and I used lots of these special sprinkles to make it look really cool when the lights are on low but then I realized I didn't know what kind of cake Trixie liked so I just went with marble because two flavors are better than one and she'll hopefully like at least one of them you know?"
I blink, my brain taking a moment to catch up with the words it just heard. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Pinkie." I assure her, and the weight disappears from my back as the party pony begins buzzing around to check the decorations again.
I turn my attention back down to the box in my hands and head over to where I was sitting earlier in the day, the crate that Shining Armor brought filled with my Materia right where I left it. Where is Shining Armor, anyway? Slouching back into my seat to 'rot a hole in Twilight's floor', as Rarity put it, I set the box containing Trixie's new clothing inside it and slip the bangle off my left hand, unslotting each piece of Materia and letting both them and the bangle itself rest on the bottom of the crate. After adding the one taken from Trixie's cape as well, all twenty-four of my Materia rest at the bottom of the crate: eleven Green Materia, six Blue Materia, four Yellow Materia, and what was once three Red Materia, though the one containing Bahamut is still dull and grey...
I turn my head up at a burning smell, and see smoke coming from the library-house's kitchen.
"Shining Armor, what are you doing?" I hear Spike half-yell from the kitchen over some rather loud sizzling sounds.
"Just making a hay burger!"
"That's hay charcoal! Does not knowing how to cook run in Twilight's entire family?"
"Hey!" Twilight yells from the main room. "My cooking is just fine, mister!"
"You use a spell for making cereal, Twilight!"
"Oh, that's it!" Twilight fires back as the other three ponies at the table laugh to themselves. "I'm coming in there, Spike!"
"Please don't, Twilight!" Shining Armor yells in reply. "We've got everything covered in here, I swear!"
"You already burned the hay burger! I can't make it any worse!"
"Yes you can!" Both yell back at once.
"...Why's everybody yelling?" Rainbow Dash asks lazily from her cloud, looking over one side with bleary eyes as she's pulled forcefully out of her nap.
"Twilight's try'na cook again." Applejack replies flatly.
Rainbow Dash gulps, waking up instantly. "We don't have to eat it, do we?"
During the commotion, I'm able to slip open the box with Trixie's new clothing, add the finishing touches, and get covered again, due to all the attention focused on the catastrophe going on in Twilight's kitchen.
"Will you two just let me handle it?" Spike yells over the commotion of burning hay and unicorns. "I'm apparently the only one here who knows how to cook!"
"Sorry, little man!" Shining Armor slips himself out of the kitchen, using his magic to pull his little sister along with him. "I just wanted to help out while I was here!"
Twilight grumbles, her front hooves crossed as the fuming unicorn is pulled away by her brother. "I can't believe Spike said that about my cereal in front of everyone..."
"It's okay, Twily." Shining Armor says reassuringly. "Being a genius usually means you have some... weaknesses. Nothing wrong with it."
Twilight rolls her eyes, though whatever reply she intends to give is cut off by a creaking of the stairs.
"What're you ponies yelling about down here?" I feel a tremble of my insides as I hear that voice, taking a breath as I turn my eyes up to its owner.
"Twilight's try'na cook again." Applejack replies reflexively before seeing who asked the question. "Wait... Trixie, yer awake already?"
"You really should still be asleep..." Fluttershy says before Trixie can answer Applejack's question. She's fluttering just in front of Trixie, blocking my view of her as she guides the unicorn's shaky hooves down the stairs despite the protests against her being awake.
"I'm fine, Fluttershy..." Trixie insists weakly. "I'll get bed sores if I lie down any more."
As they reach the bottom of the stairs, the butter pegasus pulls away. Parts of Trixie's legs and waist are covered in small bandages, covering what are probably the scrapes and bruises Gauze Wrap mentioned earlier. No doubt they're why her steps are so shaky, and probably sore, but they're not what draws the most of my attention. No, what does that is her head. Bandages wrap both around her forehead and from under her jaw to the top, holding a cast of a horn in place on her forehead. The white spire sticks out like an unsettling reminder, and her matted mane is sticking out through the vertical-wrap bandages, trying in vain to hold its shape as it falls over the right side of her face.
The memory of what's under that cast invades my mind, and whatever good feeling I'd built up with Rarity earlier that day vanishes. Her eyes scan over the room and eventually turn to me, and I look away reflexively, slumping back against the bookcase the way I had the entire morning, tilting my head down to hide my eyes behind the cowboy hat's brim.
"Welcome back, Trixie!" Pinkie Pie says, though I don't bother looking over to see what her antics are this time.
There's a short pause before Trixie replies. "Is this the 'Welcome to Ponyville' party you promised, Pinkie?" Her voice isn't aggressive. It's curious, and if anything else, tired.
"No, silly! Read the banner!" There's a shuffle of hooves I assume is Pinkie orienting Trixie to see said banner. "It's your 'Congratulations-On-Beating-Up-The-Evil-Space-Monster' party! Your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party will be much bigger than this!"
More hooves clop against the floor, and soon Pinkie and Trixie's legs enter the upper edge of my vision as they approach the table.
"Uh, ya alright, Trix...?" Applejack asks, confusion in her voice.
"...Alright as I can be, Applejack?" Trixie half-asks in reply, now equally confused.
"You sure?" Rainbow Dash follows up.
"Do I have something on my face besides a big, ugly cast, Rainbow Dash?" Trixie's characteristic annoyance and impatience is finally beginning to seep through her voice.
"No, it's just that..." Rainbow trails off.
"...yer speakin' in first-pony an' usin' our names." Applejack finishes for her.
Trixie humphs, and I can picture the eyeroll in my mind as she speaks in a monotone. "Yes, you fools, an extreme amount of magical feedback has caused irreparable damage to my personality and started making me talk like a normal pony. The absolute shock and horror."
There's a stunned silence before Rainbow Dash speaks. "We deserved that, AJ, didn't we?"
"Eeeeeyup."
"Trixie! It's good to see you're awake already!" Twilight says, her legs galloping into view as well, her brother trailing behind her. "Spike! Make sure you make enough for Trixie, too!"
"I already was!" He yells back from the kitchen. "I know better than to not trust Pinkie Pie when she does Pinkie things! Glad you're feeling better already, Trixie!"
"So, how long have I been unconscious, Twilight?" Trixie asks, her hooves moving to face the unicorn.
"Maybe half a day or so." Twilight informs her. "It's a bit after sunset now. We weren't really expecting you to be up until tomorrow."
"Then why the, erm, party?"
"Pinkie said you'd be awake by sunset and started setting it up." Twilight pauses for a moment. "We've learned to eventually stop questioning when Pinkie says stuff like that and just go with it. She's usually right... for some reason."
"I... see." Her hooves move again as she shifts positions. "And what're you doing here, Shining Armor? Shouldn't you be in Canterlot?"
"Ah, well..." He trails off a minute, one hoof leaving the floor, presumably to rub the back of his head. "I took a bit of my vacation time early after I heard what happened to make sure you and Twily were okay." He punctuates his statement with a nervous laugh, like a truly awful liar.
"Right..." The lack of trust in Trixie's reply is apparent. Her hooves move again as she turns to face the table. "The cake is really nice, Pinkie."
"Thanks! I baked it myself!" Pinkie replies as she shuffles to get next to Trixie. "Oh, I didn't know what flavor to do so I made it marble! I hope that's okay, Trixie?"
"Yeah..." She pauses a moment. "That's fine, Pinkie."
"Um..." Fluttershy pulls attention to herself as she joins the group. "Are you sure you're feeling okay, Trixie?"
Trixie stretches and shakes her hooves out as she replies. "I'm sure, Fluttershy. My legs are just a bit sore."
Twilight lets out a relieved sigh. "It's good that there were no unexpected problems, then."
"There is one problem." Trixie states, her hooves spinning back around as she walks to the direct opposite side of the room as the table.
I tilt my head up at the rapidly approaching azure legs, far steadier than they had been just moments earlier. By the time I get my head up enough to actually look her in the eye, she's reached me and pounces, landing on my lap, her two front hooves pressing against my shoulders. They're pressing me back against the bookcase, pinning me as her back legs steady herself on either side of my own. I look into her eyes, caught completely off guard, our faces nearly touching, able to feel her breathing against me. Her eyes are the guarded, violet eyes signature to The Great and Powerful Trixie, nearly impossible for someone like me to read as her mane brushes against my face.
"Uhh..." Twilight trails off, unsure of what's going on.
"Oh my." Fluttershy squeaks.
"I see what you mean, Applejack..." Rarity half-mutters.
"Told ya." Applejack replies smugly.
"Are they gonna kiss?!" Pinkie Pie yells, far more excited at that prospect than I am.
"Please don't let this get weird..." Rainbow Dash mutters my thoughts for me.
Shining Armor, for his part, thankfully stays silent, and Spike is still in the kitchen, though the sounds of cooking get a lot quieter.
I'm not able to tell if seconds or minutes are passing as I stay locked with the unicorn's eyes, not sure I want to look away in this situation. I don't know what to expect. My mind runs through all the favorable and not-so-favorable outcomes of this situation, the continued muttering of the peanut gallery behind Trixie not helping any. What she ends up doing, though, is the one thing I didn't expect.
She backhands me. Hard.
"Will you snap out of it already?!" She yells as I turn my head back to face her again, the guarded eyes replaced by angry ones as the offending hoof returns to pinning me against the bookcase. "You haven't looked at me once since I came down those stairs!"
"Trixie, I..." I mutter pathetically, but she doesn't let me choke out an excuse.
"No! I know you! Especially now!" She rears her head back so she's looking down at me. "You're sitting there, stewing around in that stupid head of yours on all the ways this is your fault, aren't you?!"
I blink and mutter something incoherent, the rest of the ponies behind Trixie now completely silent. Looking up at her this way makes me feel unusually small.
"Well, just stop it! It's not your fault! Every pony and every person makes their own choices!" She stops, letting her words sink in as she keeps me locked in her glare. The message in her wording isn't lost on me. "Just because you want to be some hero doesn't mean you can blame yourself every time someone gets themselves hurt helping you!"
I look at her, mouth agape like an idiot, not knowing how to reply.
"Twilight!" She turns her head, finally breaking eye contact to look at the mare behind her. "Do you have a hoof-file in your room?"
"Um..." Twilight stammers for a moment. "In the desk with the mirror, yeah."
"Good!" Trixie finally hops off me, half-succeeding at masking a wince as she stands next to me. "If you want to mope so much, you can come help Trixie regain her splendid appearance by giving her a hooficure!" She quickly moves to the stairs and climbs them, slipping once with a small wince before regaining her balance and getting to the top. "Now, assistant!" She yells down, loud enough that I'm sure the windows in the library shake from the reverberation.
I blink and turn my gaze down to the other ponies in the room as Twilight's door upstairs opens and closes again. She had given me that order as The Great and Powerful Trixie...
"Uh." Shining Armor cuts into my thoughts. "Don't know what your relationship with that mare is, but you better get going. It won't be pretty if you don't." The stunned expressions on the other ponies in the room pretty much says the same thing, just not with words.
I stagger to my feet, still feeling whiplash from what just happened. I lean against the wall with my right hand as I make my way to the stairs, moving up them slowly. At the top, I take a moment to survey the second floor, finding the door Trixie had entered and approaching it. It's shut tight, so I give it a few firm knocks, just in case.
"Come in, Dusk." It's a measured, calm reply that I almost don't hear through the door.
I open the door slowly and slip myself inside, shutting it firmly and leaning my back against it. Trixie is sitting on a small chair in front of the desk Twilight had described, staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are hard and steady, locked with those of her reflection. On top of the desk is what I presume to be the hoof-file, given how it looks like a much larger version of a nail file.
"Come here, Dusk." She orders in the same measured voice as before. I slowly make my way over to her, too fixed on the unicorn to bother looking at the rest of the room. "Sit behind me."
I crouch behind her as instructed, my head nearly level with hers as we both look into the mirror at our reflections. "Trixie, I-"
"The bandages." She cuts me off. "Take them off. I don't know how."
It's a simple admittance, in that same guarded, measured tone. I reach my hands forward and begin feeling around the bandages until I find the points I can start unwinding them. I start with the vertically wrapped one that goes under her chin, then brace her horn-cast with my right hand as I unwrap the one along her forehead. Eventually, I get them all undone, and let them fall to the floor, only my hand keeping the cast in place.
"Remove it." She orders once the bandages are gone. "I need to see."
I slip the cast away, flinching and turning away from the reflection in the mirror.
"Don't look away, Dusk." That unchanging tone is starting to unsettle me. "Hold my mane back."
I turn and do as she asks, holding her mane back with my right hand. Not knowing what else to do with my left, I set it on her shoulder and look into the mirror. The jagged stump of a once-proud unicorn horn is protruding from her forehead, less than a quarter of it still left. My eyes can't help but trace along the edges of the horn remnants, and each one they do makes my stomach feel the tiniest bit more sick.
"Jenova is still alive, right?" Trixie asks after a moment of us both staring at her reflection. "That's why Shining Armor is here."
"...Yeah." I answer honestly, after a moment of hesitation. Part of me thought about saying no, but it's a lie that wouldn't have lasted very long.
She takes a slight but sharp breath, and her body trembles. If I hadn't been so close, I wouldn't have heard it. If I hadn't had my hand on her shoulder, I wouldn't have felt it. But they were there, and she reaches out, taking the file in her hooves and looking at it.
"Then let's not waste time." She takes the file, and places it firmly against the jagged top of her remaining horn.
"Trixie... what are you doing?" I look between the file against her forehead and her eyes in the mirror. Her voice's tone still hasn't changed at all, and her eyes are the same hard and steady ones as when I entered the room.
"It's just an ugly bone. I'm getting rid of it." How can she say that so impassively?
"It's not just a bone, Trixie, it's-"
"It's what?" She cuts me off again. "Useless now, is what it is."
I hesitate, but ultimately I can't stop myself, reminded of something Rainbow Dash had said to me earlier today. "It's like you don't even care."
"Will Jenova wait patiently and do nothing while I care?" She asks, impassive, still not so much as showing hesitation in her eyes. "We can't waste time dwelling now. This thing is just a reminder."
"Trixie..." I try to find the words to argue, but they get caught in my throat.
"What happened to your big talk back in Canterlot?" She asks, the file still pressed, unmoving, against her remaining horn, her eyes and voice still betraying nothing. "You could die? I could die? Compared to that, this is just a setback. One hoof, one foot, we keep going."
...So that's what this is.
I sigh, moving my hand away from her mane to her other shoulder. "Trixie..." I finally look away from the mirror, and to the unicorn next to me herself. "That doesn't mean we can't grieve when we lose something important."
It takes a moment, but the mask finally falls with the clang of a hoof-file, slipping from the grasp of a trembling unicorn and falling to the floor.