//------------------------------// // Trixie goes shopping with Twilight! // Story: The New and Reborn Trixie // by Yukito //------------------------------// A week passed by since Trixie moved in with Twilight Sparkle and Spike. It was certainly not the quietist of weeks. Most of it was spent by Twilight apologizing to everypony around town for Trixie’s behaviour, and scolding her whenever she got into trouble. After the first day, word of Trixie’s condition spread around the small town very quickly. While some ponies sympathized with the poor pony who had lost all of her memories, many unfortunately misunderstood her condition as a disease, or a curse, and tried to keep their distance from the confused blue Unicorn. It quickly became obvious to Twilight that Trixie lacked common sense, and occasionally had to scold her whenever she did something that disturbed other ponies, such as tackle-hugging random ponies that offered her their kindness. The worst event that took place over the past week occurred when Twilight and Trixie were sitting at the park with Rarity and Fluttershy. Trixie spotted a young couple kissing in the distance, and tried to copy the scene with Twilight. She got scolded very thoroughly that day. Despite all the trouble Trixie was putting Twilight through that week, Twilight couldn’t bring her herself to dump Trixie on somepony else. She felt sorry for the poor mare, and wanted to do whatever she could to help. Plus, when she saw the big, innocent smile on Trixie’s face, she would smile herself and just forget about each day’s events…Until the next big event happened, at least. Trixie was a surprisingly fast learner. Maybe it was because she had already learned basic day-to-day actions before, but she was quickly picking up on the various things that Twilight was teaching her, such as how to eat properly (as opposed to just dunking her head into the food), and how to properly use the toilet (Twilight was thankful that that was picked up rather quickly by Trixie). By this point, Trixie was a lot calmer that she had been the previous week. She was no longer cowering from everypony whenever they neared her, and she was no longer reaching out and playing with things that grasped her curiosity. She now looked to Twilight with a pleasing look whenever she was curious about something, and Twilight would explain it. She wasn’t sure if Trixie fully understood everything that she was saying, but at the very least, Trixie understood some of the things that Twilight said to her. She responded to simply commands, and she could partially communicate to Twilight through facial expressions. Most ponies didn’t understand them very well, but Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were able to understand roughly what Trixie was trying to say through the use of her facial expressions. She was now trying to help Trixie regain her ability to speak, but it wasn’t going very well. Doctor Stable said that there was nothing wrong with her throat, but she may still be suffering from the shock of whatever happened to her, and so there’s no telling whether her voice will return or not, even if she does regain her memories. Twilight woke up to a feeling that she had grown accustomed to over the past week. It was Trixie shaking Twilight from side-to-side. Twilight opened her eyes, and saw Trixie standing to the side f her bed, still shaking her. When she sat up in her bed, Trixie backed off, and simply smiled at the purple Unicorn, who, despite feeling annoyed at being woken up from her pleasant dream, smiled back. “Good morning, Trixie.” Trixie didn’t respond, of course. She couldn’t, since she couldn’t speak. But her smile grew wider, and Twilight could tell that Trixie could understand her, and wanted to return the greeting. She turned around and began running down the stairs, stopping and slowing down when Twilight scolded her for running down the stairs yet again. “Geez, she sure gets up early, huh?” Spike said, groaning as he sat up in his small bed near Twilight’s. He rubbed his eyes and let them adjust to the light. “How is she able to be so energetic this early in the morning?” Twilight sighed. She got up and walked over to the mirror on the far side of the room, and began brushing her mane. Another problem caused by Trixie over the past week was her tendency to wake up early, and then wake up Twilight Sparkle as well, before rushing downstairs to wait for breakfast. Well, for the first two days, at least. From the third day and onward, Trixie began assisting Twilight in the kitchen. It started out with simple things, like handing her the ingredients, and shutting off the microwave and toaster, but now she was also in charge of making the coffee. Twilight liked that Trixie would be occupied whenever she was waiting for the water to boil. She would just sit there and watch the kettle, and then perk up in excitement when it ‘ding’ed. “Well, look on the bright side, Spike. Since we started waking up early, we’ve been getting a lot more work done. Can’t complain about that.” A loud crash from downstairs caused her to sigh, put down her hairbrush, and make her way downstairs, to fix whatever Trixie had broken this time. “Yeah, but most of our work is cleaning up her messes.” Spike pointed out as he followed Twilight, yawning from still being tired. Twilight found Trixie amidst a pile of books, holding her knee and obviously trying to hold back her tears. Another thing that had changed over the past week. She no longer cried openly (or at least not as openly as before), but instead tried to hold back her tears, and then sob silently in a corner somewhere later. Twilight found that whenever this happened, it was best to wait a few minutes before comforting her. Twilight walked over to Trixie and examined her knee. There was a small scrape there, that was bleeding ever so slightly. Nothing serious. Spike, as Twilight’s self-proclaimed number one assistant, was quick to fetch a box of plasters from the medicine cabinet. After treating Trixie’s scrape, and enjoying a nice breakfast with her two room-mates, Twilight began to go over the day’s schedule that she had prepared last night. The first thing on the list was to go grocery shopping, followed by a visit to the blacksmith’s shop to have an oil lantern frame repaired. She decided to have Trixie accompany her whilst shopping, and have Spike stay and organise the backs at the library. It was nice having two helpers, even if one was a little hard to control sometimes. She placed some saddlebags on herself and Trixie with her magic, and placed the broken lantern frame into one of Trixie’s bags. “Well then, Spike, we’ll be back later.” Twilight said as she opened the door. “Alright! I’ll have this place looking better than ever by the time you get back!” Spike said, brimming with confidence as he placed a book into its appropriate location. Trixie followed Twilight as she left the library, and stayed close to her as they moved down the streets. She was aware of the looks that some ponies were giving her. Some were afraid to go near her, since they thought that whatever she had was contagious. Some were still unsure of her, after she had invaded their personal space at least once during the previous week. Some accepted her with open hooves, and greeted the two as they walked by. On their way to the marketplace, the two mares ran into Applejack and Applebloom, who were also doing some grocery shopping. Twilight stopped to talk to the two, and Trixie stopped right behind Twilight. “Good morning Applejack, Applebloom.” She said with a bright smile on her face. She noticed the unusually high number of groceries in their saddlebags. “You two having a feast or something?” “Eeyup!” Applejack exclaimed with a cheerful grin. “We’re gonna be visitin’ some of our family outta town for our cousin’s birthday this weekend, and me ‘n’ Big Macintosh’ll be in charge of the food there!” Applebloom hopped forward, trying not to collapse under the heavy weight of the saddlebags. “Ah asked mah sister if ah could help her with the shoppin’! I thought it might get me my Cutie Mark, but…” Her voice trailed off as she looked over to her flank, which was still as blank as the day she was born. Trixie noticed Applebloom staring at her flank with a depressed look on her face, and wanted to cheer her up. She walked over to Applebloom, and did what Twilight would do whenever Trixie was feeling upset. She raised a hoof, and began lightly patting Applebloom’s head, giving her a kind, gentle smile. Applebloom returned the smile, and thanked Trixie for trying to help her. Applejack walked over to Twilight, and lowered her voice so that Trixie couldn’t hear her. “So, how’re things goin’? She got any of her memories back yet?” Twilight shook her head with a frown. “Sadly, no. But she’s a fast learner. Even if she doesn’t recover, I don’t think it’ll be long until she’s able to get her life back on track.” “Yeah, well, just make sure you keep her outta trouble. I’ve heard that she’s made quite a few ruckuses already.” Twilight let out a small giggle as she remembered some of the more funny moments that Trixie had gotten into trouble. “Yeah, but she’s quick to learn from her mistakes. Like with Spike. When they first met, they didn’t get off to the best start. But now, it’s like they’ve been good friends for a while.” “They didn’t get off to a good start? What happened?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. She had heard a lot of stories about Trixie’s behaviour (most of which were probably exaggerated), but she had yet to hear of any involving Spike. “Well, when she first saw him, in the library, she…” Twilight thought back on the incident, and couldn’t help but let out another small giggle. “It must have been from the bath toys that Pinkie Pie showed her. She saw the similarities between Spike and the Dragon and attacked him.” Applejack gasped. She knew that Trixie was being a troublemaker, but to hear that she had actually attacked someone. “He didn’t get hurt, did he?” Twilight shook her head. “No, no. I stopped her mid-leap with my magic. And then told her that he was a friendly Dragon. I don’t know if she understood me, but she at least got that I didn’t want her attacking him.” Applejack couldn’t help but laugh at the image of the scene running through her head. She then remembered the time, and decided that she had to go. “Come on, Applebloom. We should be getting’ back to the farm.” Applebloom ran over to her sister’s side, and the two of them bid Twilight and Trixie farewell, before heading back to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight and Trixie continued walking down the street towards the marketplace. When they got there, Twilight took out her grocery list, and began moving towards the first stall. She stopped when she heard a familiar voice, and turned around to see a brown Earth Pony approaching her. “Hello there, Miss Twilight. Pleasant morning, isn’t it?” “Good morning, Doctor. You’re up early.” Twilight said, waving her hoof at Doctor as he waved his at her. “Well, you know what they say: “Early bird gets the worm”, or Auton in this case. I wonder, did you spot anything weird this morning?” Twilight thought for a second, and then shook her head. “Nothing I can think of. Why?” “Oh, no reason. Just curious.” Doctor pulled out a device that he was often seen carrying around Ponyville. It looked like a fancy pen that lit up at the end. He called it a “Sonic Screwdriver”, and could often be seen running around with it in his mouth. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m kind of in a hurry right now. Oh, it’s good to see you too, Miss Trixie.” He bowed to the blue Unicorn who he hadn’t even noticed until he was just about to leave. Before Trixie could wave at him, he had turned around and was galloping off in a hurry, pushing through a crowd of people. “That guy has some issues…” Twilight jumped and turned around to see her friend Rainbow Dash floating behind her, laughing as Twilight scolded her for sneaking up on her. “So, how’s Trixie doing? She made any progress with her recovery yet?” Twilight shook her head, and told Rainbow Dash that she wasn’t able to speak. Twilight was surprised at Rainbow’s acceptance of Trixie. Out of all of the ponies in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash’s ego was by far the biggest, and her pride was the most hurt by Trixie’s antics during her visit to their small town. But then Twilight remembered that Rainbow Dash was also a very kind pony deep down, and would, in her own words, “never leave her friends hanging”. Rainbow examined Trixie, who was trying to hide behind Twilight. Despite Rainbow’s acceptance of the blue Unicorn, Trixie couldn’t help but be startled by her sudden appearances and loud voice. Rainbow noticed that Trixie was still wearing bandages around her body. “Hey, shouldn’t her injuries have closed up by now?” Twilight nodded, and looked at Trixie with a look of sympathy. “Yes, they have, but…They were pretty deep, and well…They left quite nasty scars on her body.” Rainbow copied Twilight’s look as she continued staring at Trixie. “Ouch, that’s gotta suck. I mean, that’d be bad for anypony, but she’s a showmare…” She noticed that one of the bandages was starting to fall off. “Hey, when did you last change these?” She asked, pointing a hoof at the bandages as Trixie continued hiding behind Twilight. “Two days ago, but it’s fine. Rarity’s been working on a vest for Trixie, and we’re gonna go collect it later today.” Twilight felt a little guilty for leaving the task with Rarity so suddenly, especially when she had already asked Rarity to fix up Trixie’s cape and hat (which was later found in the same stream, more damaged than the cape had been), and especially when Rarity insisted that she didn’t need payment. But, that’s the Spirit of Generosity for you. Twilight felt Trixie slightly nudging her side, and heard her slightly whimpering. She turned around and saw Trixie making the facial expression that indicated that she needed to use the toilet. Although she was fully potty-trained already, she was afraid to go without letting Twilight know. Almost as if she was afraid Twilight would lose her if she didn’t know where she was going, and that they would never see each other again. Twilight told Trixie that she would wait here, and Trixie dashed over to a nearby public restroom. “Anyway, I’d like to stay and chat, but I gotta get these clouds cleared. Catch ya later Twi!” And with that, Rainbow Dash was off, getting to work on her weather pony duties. After waiting for another minute, Trixie emerged from the restroom, and approached Twilight. “Alright, let’s get started.” Twilight said, checking her list. “First on our list is…Oranges.” She said, remembering that she was on her way to the orange stall before Doctor called out for her. “Come on, let’s go.” Trixie nodded and followed Twilight happily. As they approached the orange stall, the stall owner, who was one of the victims of Trixie’s tackle-hug phase, contemplated whether she should duck away or not. But that idea was blown out of the window when Twilight greeted her. She greeted back with a fake smile on her face, whilst keeping an eye on Trixie, ready for anything to happen. Thankfully, the day was much more peaceful than previous days. The worst that happened was Trixie playing around with some of the fruit stalls, dropping some fruit to the floor and causing Twilight to have to buy them (least she cause a big fuss which she was not in the mood for today). When Twilight reached the blacksmith’s shop, she asked Trixie to wait outside. There were many things in there that she could easily hurt herself with, and felt it best that she didn’t go in. Trixie was sad. She didn’t want to leave Twilight’s side, since she was still afraid of being by herself in an unfamiliar place, but when Twilight told her that she wouldn’t be long, Trixie put on a smile and took a seat outside of the shop. Twilight took the lantern frame from Trixie’s bag, and walked inside. Upon entering the shop, Twilight noticed that there was nopony at the counter. ‘Probably in the back.’ She thought to herself. She hit the bell on the counter a few times, and eventually heard the voice of the blacksmith who ran the shop. A large, buff Earth Pony emerged from the back room. His coat was a very dark black, and his mane and tail were both orange. His eye colour was a very attractive sapphire colour. “Hello there, Anvilfire.” Anvilfire put down the hammer he was carrying, and walked over to Twilight Sparkle. “Ah, Miss Sparkle. I haven’t seen you in a while. So, what can I do for you?” Twilight took out the lantern frame, and placed it on the counter. “I was wondering if you could fix this for me.” Anvilfire examined the frame, and laughed at the simple request. “Haven’t seen each-other in months, and you come to my shop just for this?” He took the frame and placed it next to a bunch of other items, placing a label on it so that he knew who it belonged to. “Sure thing, but it’ll take a few days. Come back on Thursday, and it’ll be ready by then.” “Great! And how much will that be?” “Well…For this, 15 bits should suffice.” Twilight levitated her bit pouch, and took out a few bits. She dropped them when she was suddenly shoved to the side by someone who had just rushed into the store. She looked up to see who had just been so rude, and saw that it was the Diamond Dogs, Rover, Fido, and Spot. They marched up to the counter, and Rover, the leader of the trio, slammed his paws down the counter hard, though Anvilfire didn’t flinch much. “We’re here for our tools!” Rover shouted, his bad breath being the thing to finally make Anvilfire flinch and back away slightly. “It’s been one whole day! You’ve had plenty of time!” Anvilfire stared calmly at the three ruffians that had just barged into his store. “Sorry, but I already told you that it’ll be at least another three days. Two if you stop bothering me and lemme get back to work.” Rover slammed his paws on the table again, not satisfied with the answer. “We gave you lots of gems! You should have had our tools finished by now!” Anvilfire sighed. “Yes, a lot of gems indeed. And that’s why I’ve put your tools as priority number one, and even pulled an all-nighter last night. But these things take time, and no matter how much you pay me, I can’t get the job done any faster than I’m doing it now.” “Excuses! We need our tools now! How we supposed to mine without digging tools!?” “You’ll just have to find something else to do. Now please, leave. The longer you keep me busy here, the less time I’ll have to fix your tools.” Rover let out an aggravated cry, and then turned around and left, followed by Fido and Spot. Twilight finished picking up her bits, and placed them on the counter. “Well, that was rather rude.” Anvilfire shrugged, and then took the money placed on his counter. After counting it, and placing it in the safe under his counter, he produced a piece of paper, and wrote a receipt for Twilight, so that she could collect her lantern when it was finished. “I can understand why they’re angry. It’d be like if I was without my hammer, or if a musician was without their instrument. But you can’t rush art, no matter how much you pay. If I repaired their tools too quickly, they’d only break again very soon, and we don’t want that.” Twilight collected her receipt, and placed it into her bag. “Well, at least you got a nice payment from them.” Twilight remarked, looking over at the pile of gems in the corner. There were too many for them to be fit inside the safe, but he wasn’t too worried. Ponyville was a relatively crime-free town. The safe wasn’t even necessary really, it just helped keep his mind at ease while he was sleeping. The door burst open suddenly, and Twilight and Anvilfire turned to see Lyra standing at the doorway, a panicked look on her face. “Twilight! You gotta come, quick! It’s Trixie!” Twilight’s eyes widened. What had happened to Trixie? Was she causing trouble again? Was somepony giving her a hard time? The look on Lyra’s face suggested she was in serious trouble, so Twilight bolted past Lyra, and saw a large group of ponies gathered around the town hall. And in front of the town hall, standing on the stage and looking down at everypony, were the three Diamond Dogs from earlier. Only, they weren’t alone. One of them, Fido, held Trixie in a headlock. Trixie was struggling to get free, but she wasn’t anywhere near as strong as the large brute holding her hostage. Twilight pushed through the crowd and attempted to reach Trixie, but was stopped by Rover. “Not a single move, or you’ll never see the pony again!” Twilight could have used her magic, but if her horn had started glowing, they would have just escaped by digging underground. Not to mention there’s no telling what they’d do to her if she tried anything. Rover pushed Twilight back, and turned to Anvilfire, who had followed her outside. “Bring our tools out right now! We’ll give you one hour!” Anvilfire tried to reason with the Diamond Dogs, choosing his words carefully now that they had a hostage. “Please, I already told you that it’ll take at least two or three more days! If I don’t do the job right, they won’t last very long!” “You’re just making up excuses! We want our tools now!” Anvilfire was sweating bullets. He just couldn’t get through to these thick-headed dogs. He could go inside and just tidy up the tools a bit, and make it look like they had been fixed, but if they broke too soon, he would just have to deal with them again. Not to mention it goes every value he holds about being a blacksmith. But at this rate, Trixie would be taken away. If she were any other pony, maybe they could calm her down, and assure them that they’d rescue her soon. But Trixie was practically a foal mentally. She was scared, and confused, and had no idea where she was, or what she should do. The Diamond Dogs began to leave, telling them to leave the tools at the Ponyville quarry within the next hour. Trixie was struggling against Fido, reaching out to Twilight for help, tears running down her eyes. Eventually, Spot had to help Fido carry Trixie away. She couldn’t stop them. She was helpless. She had no memories, and she couldn’t use her magic. She reached out towards Twilight one final time, took a deep breath, and… “TWILIIIIIIGHT!” Twilight shot her head up, and stared wide-eyed at Trixie. Her sudden screaming seemed to have startled the Diamond Dogs, causing them to stop for a second. However, they were soon carrying her off again, only this time, she was continually calling Twilight’s name. Twilight wanted to help her, but if she charged in without a plan, it would only put at greater risk. “Hold it right there, you ruffians!” Everyone in the area, including the Diamond Dogs, turned to the direction of the voice. It came from a white Unicorn with a stylish purple mane and tail. “Rarity!” Twilight ran towards he friend, who smiled warmly at Twilight, giving a look that told her that everything would be ok. Pinkie Pie was bouncing alongside Rarity, and the two of them moved closer to the Diamond Dogs, carrying bags that looked pretty heavy. “What you want!? Don’t come closer, or you’ll never see your friend again!” Rarity and Pinkie Pie nodded to each other, and threw the bags that they were carrying in front of them. “What’s this?” “You said you wanted them, right?” Rarity said with a stern look on her face. She used her magic to open the bags, allowing a few pickaxes and shovels to falls out. “We’ll let you borrow these. And then, in three days, your tools will be ready.” She turned to Anvilfire. “Right?” Anvilfire smiled at the Unicorn, thanking her silently. “Right!” The Diamond Dogs discussed what they should do, and then finally reached their decision. They released Trixie, and took the tools that Rarity and Pinkie Pie offered to them. “Fine then, but this is your last chance! We’ll be back in three days! Have the tools ready by then!” And with that, the Diamond Dogs left the small town with no further hassle. Trixie ran over to Twilight as soon as she was released, tears falling from her eyes. When she reached the purple Unicorn, she wrapped her hooves around her in a tight hug, which was returned by Twilight, who was just relieved that Trixie was safe. “TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!” Trixie continued shouting out Twilight’s name. It seemed to be all she could say. Twilight continued holding her for a few minutes, until she finally calmed down. Once she did, Twilight wiped away the tears from Trixie’s eyes, and told her that she didn’t have to be afraid anymore. Trixie responded with a big smile, happy to be re-united with Twilight once again. “Well, that sure was eventful…” Anvilfire said, scratching the back of his head as he stared in the direction where the Diamond Dogs had left the small town. “Sorry I couldn’t be much help, Miss Sparkle.” Twilight shook her head. “No, there wasn’t anything you could have done. I’m just glad that Trixie’s safe now.” She looked over at Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who were both smiling at their friend, happy to see her smiling again. “Thanks, guys.” “Don’t mention it, Twilight. We are friends, are we not?” “Yeah! And friends help each-other when they’re in trouble! So obviously we’d come and help you if you were in trouble!” Pinkie Pie reached forward and pulled both Twilight and Trixie into a big hug. “And of course the same goes for Trix, too!” Trixie managed to squirm her way out of Pinkie’s big hug, and Twilight managed to force herself free with enough effort. “But, where’d you get those tools? Mining tools aren’t easy to find in Ponyville…” Rarity pulled Pinkie away before she could trap her friends in another big hug, and then answered Twilight’s question. “Most of them were mine. Before Spike started living here, and before I could use my charms to get cheap help, I had to dig up the gems I found by myself.” Rarity said, flicking her mane and posing when she said charm. “Pinkie Pie also had a pickaxe and a shovel to spare, so she helped, too.” “They were from when I was the rock-farm with my family!” Pinkie explained to the other ponies. “I kept them as mementos!” Twilight suddenly felt guilty, and started to frown. Pinkie continued when she saw this. “Oh, don’t worry! I don’t need some rusty old tools to remember my family! And besides, my friends were in trouble, and I had to help! Even if I don’t get them back, as long as my friends are smiling, that’s all that matters!” Anvilfire chuckled, and then began to leave. “Well, I’d better get to work then. Miss Sparkle, you’ve got good friends. Make sure you cherish them forever.” Twilight smiled, and looked at each of her friends in front of her. “I will.” Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned that friendship isn’t just extending kindness to each-other, and helping just your friends out. It’s about extending kindness to everyone, and helping out anyone that may be in trouble. Even if they’re not your friends yet, if you show them kindness by helping them out when they’re in trouble, there’s no reason why a friendship between the two of you can’t form. Also, something amazing happened with Trixie today! She’s started talking again! She can only say one word so far: Twilight. But it’s defiantly a start, right? I’m going to do my best to help her out, and would appreciate it if you could find a certain item in my room. It’s a book that my parents used to help me learn to read and write, and I figured I may be able to use it to help Trixie, too. If you aren’t too busy, could you please find it and send it over to me? I’d greatly appreciate it. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle “…Trixie. Wake up. You’re going to be late for your first day of school.” “Trixie. You----Congartulat---“ “DADDY! I EARNED MY CUTIE M---You don’t care…Do you, daddy?” “You ran away from home? “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” “TRIXIE! RUN!”