Unable to sit still, Trixie paced back and forth in the living room, sometimes pausing to look over at Sumac and Pebble. Sitting over at the kitchen table, Lemon Hearts held a steaming cup of lemongrass tea aloft with her telekinesis. The left corner of Trixie’s mouth twitched and her left ear bounced up and down in time to her facial tics.
The soft, monotonous sound of Pebble’s voice as she read about Daring Do was soothing to everypony in the room. Sumac was half awake, half dozing, his eyelids appeared heavy, hard to keep open, and Boomer was playing with strands of his mane, running her tiny fingers through them like a comb.
“She’s been gone a long time,” Trixie said, her voice nothing more than a hushed whisper. “I hope he’s okay… I hope he’s okay… I’m so worried… I stopped it… I stopped it…”
Taking a sip of her tea, Lemon Hearts peered at Trixie over the top of her cup, a worried expression on her face. Pebble had gone silent and was looking at Trixie. Even Sumac, drugged as he was, had somehow managed to turn his head and look at the distressed mare pacing the floor.
“I couldn’t stop what happened to me… when I got sick… they just kept beating me and saying I was lazy… I couldn’t make it stop… I couldn’t save myself… but I made it stop for somepony else… I made it stop… I made the hurting stop… I—”
“Trixie,” Lemon Hearts said to her friend as she set her teacup down upon the table, “come over here to me.”
A low whine could be heard coming from Trixie as she went over to where Lemon Hearts was sitting. She stood beside Lemon Hearts’ chair and seemed surprised when the lemony yellow mare wrapped her forelegs around her neck. For a moment, Trixie resisted, trying to pull away, but Lemon Hearts had a good, strong grip, and she would not be denied. After a moment, Trixie relented and sank into the reassuring embrace of her friend. Lemon Hearts placed her lips close to Trixie’s ear and made a shushing noise to silence Trixie’s faint whimpering. With a crackle, Trixie’s knees buckled and she sat down on her haunches, her tail spilling out onto the floor behind her.
Lemon Hearts tightened her embrace around Trixie’s neck and drew the suffering mare’s head close to her barrel, over her heart, and held her. Lemon Hearts closed her eyes and her ears went limp as she stroked Trixie’s neck, going from crest to withers with a slow, lingering touch.
“It’s been, what, five years, and you’ve still got all of this bottled up inside of you?” Lemon Hearts’ ticklish words were whispered into one velvet, twitching ear, as she had her head angled downwards. “You did good today… you didn’t give into your rage. I’m proud of you. It’s easy for the abused to become the abuser.”
Turning her head, Pebble looked at Sumac, and a myriad of wrinkles appeared upon her tiny brow. She appeared to be concentrating, thoughtful, and after a moment of silent contemplation, she reached out so she could touch Sumac’s cheek.
As she did so, there was a knock upon the door, a heavy, thudding knock.
Letting go of Trixie, Lemon Hearts bounced out of her chair, landed on her hooves, and made her way to the door. She paused for a moment, used her magic to straighten out her mane so she would be presentable, and then pulled the door open.
There was a wordless cry from Trixie, followed by the shrill shriek of, “WARDEN!” In a flash, Trixie went streaking off, running for the bathroom door. She entered and slammed the door behind her. The sound of her hooves clattering on the tile filled the room.
A tall, imposing figure pushed his way inside. He wasn’t wearing armor, but a well fitted suit jacket. Black wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes. A somewhat battered trilby hat sat upon his head, sitting at a rakish angle.
“Hello,” he said in a low rumble, “my name is Warden Wormwood. You may call me Wormwood. I am here to learn more about the… incident.” As he spoke, the sound of a toilet flushing could be heard.
“Hello Mister Wormwood—”
“Just Wormwood.” The big bat-winged pegasus grinned, revealing pearlescent white fangs. He shut the front door behind him as he took a few steps into the room and had a look around. He paused when he saw the two foals and a hatchling on the couch. Extending his wing, he pinched his trilby in between his clawed thumb and his central knuckle on his wing, then tipped his hat to Pebble with a slight bow of his head. “Hello again, Pebble.”
“Hiya Wormy,” Pebble replied. “Scare anypony to death yet today?”
“Pebble, darling, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Lemon Hearts shot Pebble a glance, her eyes pleading with the foal, begging for good behaviour. She turned to Wormwood and gave him an apprehensive smile.
“Oh, it’s okay. Pebble and I know one another. I know her father and her mother.” The big, brutish pegasus inhaled and his sides expanded like bellows. “You wouldn’t happen to know a way to lure Trixie out of the bathroom, would you?”
“I might,” Lemon Hearts replied. “How is Cinnamon? And what about his father?”
“The colt will be fine, he had to have his hip reset and put back into its socket. As for the colt’s father… he’s in custody.” Wormwood shook his head and let out a thunderous, rumbling sigh.
“Is it really important to speak to Trixie?” Lemon Hearts asked.
The big brute nodded. “To both of you. I need to see what you saw. We need to understand intent. To see him as others saw him. Since you and Trixie were directly involved, I need to peek inside of your head.”
“I see.” Lemon Hearts sounded a little bit confused.
“Crime scene reconstruction.” Wormwood eyed the bathroom door. “Trixie… you’ve been a good pony… you have nothing to fear from me. You’ve stayed in the light, and those in the light have nothing to fear.”
The bathroom door opened and after a second, Trixie’s head poked out. Her eyes were red and bloodshot. Her cheeks were stained with tears. She trembled and shook as she stared at Wormwood.
“Come out, little pony…” Wormwood’s baritone voice was soft, reassuring, and almost hypnotic. “You’ve paid for what you’ve done and now you do your penance. It isn’t my job to scare you, or to punish you, but I am a shepherd here to protect you, little one. Come here to me.”
Mewling with fear, Trixie stepped out of the bathroom, her tail tucked between her legs, her ears drooping, and when she walked she dragged her hooves over the floor. She walked with her head low, her posture submissive, and her spine sagged in the middle.
Curious, Lemon Hearts watched as Warden Wormwood pulled off his glasses. His eyes were slitted, draconic, not at all like a pony’s eyes. She felt her blood run cold and she shivered.
“Come, let me see what took place…” Wormwood’s voice was hypnotic, kind, and reassuring. Hearing it made Lemon Hearts feel sleepy. Her eyelids grew heavy and her ears felt as though they were made out of lead. She felt like she wanted to take a nap. She watched as the Warden lowered his head down to peer into Trixie’s eyes. Lemon Hearts felt a dull sense of detached worry when Trixie’s eyes swirled with white motes of light and her body stiffened.
“All of this is very troubling,” Wormwood said as his own amber eyes glowed with a strange inner light. “You’ve grown, changed, you’ve embraced the light since our last meeting. This is good. You’ve rejected the darkness, but you were tempted by it today. The voice of another turned you back. You’ve grown so very much.”
“It hurts,” Trixie said in a strange, wavering voice as she was held in Wormwood’s thrall.
“I know it does, little one. It is like a splinter in the mind.” The Warden sat down upon the floor, made himself comfortable, and extended one wing. He wrapped it around Trixie’s neck, pulled her closer, and held her in a tender embrace. “Let me see if I can pull out that sliver for you… there it is… I can smooth this over, make this better.” He lowered his head and his snoot bumped up against Trixie’s.
At his touch, Trixie broke into sobs, body wracking sobs, and she threw her forelegs around his neck. She blinked a few times, the strange motes of light cleared from her eyes, and she buried her face against Wormwood’s shaggy neck.
“I am a shepherd, here to comfort the sheep,” Wormwood whispered. He gave Trixie a gentle squeeze, holding her, cradling her body with his wings while she wept. “Through pain and misfortune, you finally know what you have done to others, the pain that you have caused, and you are truly penitent.”
“I’m so sorry,” Trixie wailed.
“I know you are, I have looked into your mind and found honesty.” Wormwood extended his other wing and made a gesture to Lemon Hearts. Almost as if she was compelled by some unseen force, she came forward and was also embraced by Wormwood.
When his eyes met hers, the world vanished. She thought about all of the awful things she had done in her life, but being a creature of simple, unabashed goodness, there wasn't much to think about. She had lied a bit as a foal, stolen some candy, and one time, she had illegally parked a wagon. Feeling guilty beyond measure, she squirmed a bit in Wormwood’s embrace. The images of what had happened earlier today flickered in her mind, like a movie on a silver screen. She saw details that she herself hadn’t noticed when the actual events had taken place. She saw the difference between Trixie and her neighbors.
The neighbors were all terrified. Several looked as though they wanted to help, but the wide eyed looks of terror made it easy to see why nopony got involved. Unicorn magic was terrifying and Cinnamon’s father could have unleashed a great deal of destruction. Lemon Hearts saw it all with perfect clarity. The fear, the panic, and the terror. While most ponies retreated, watching, wanting to help but unable to deal with their own fear, Trixie had charged forwards. Lemon Hearts realised that her own fear had held her back.
It was in this dreamlike stupour that Lemon Hearts realised that not all ponies were the same. Some shied away from danger, others ran towards it without reservation. The herd had a tendency to want to run, while certain individuals that had been broken off from the herd for whatever reason tended to want to fight. Individuality was terrifying and Lemon Hearts didn’t like it, not one bit. Trixie was a stronger pony than her by far, even in her broken, fragile state.
Blinking, Lemon Hearts found herself staring up at Wormwood. She had trouble piecing together what had just happened. She felt like she was waking up in the dentist’s chair, groggy, out of sorts, and a bit disoriented. Wormwood’s touch was gentle, soothing even, and she felt sheltered in his embrace in a way that she had never felt with any other stallion, or pony for that matter. He was a wall of living flesh that would protect her from anything, anything at all, he would fight and die to keep her safe. Much like Trixie, she found herself becoming emotional without understanding why, and tears began to flow down her cheeks in a steady trickle.
I know your secret, Wormwood’s voice said deep within Lemon Hearts’ mind. Be gentle and cautious, for she is not yet healed. She has scars that you can’t see. Friendship and acceptance are difficult concepts for her, as she does not yet feel worthy of love. She is still consumed by her own guilt. Be patient with her.
Lemon Hearts shook her head, startled by the intrusion in her mind. She craned her head and looked up at Wormwood. She inhaled, smelling him, he smelled like sandalwood and something citrusy. She realised that she was pressed up against Trixie. She felt Wormwood retreating, backing away from them, and she watched as he stood up.
The big brute of a pegasus turned around, headed for the couch, and then stood before it. He lowered his head. “No, Pebble, I haven’t scared anypony to death today, but the day’s not over yet.” He grinned, revealing fangs, and then let out a groan when Pebble rolled her eyes.
“You don’t scare my mother and you don’t scare me, either.” Pebble stared up at the much larger pony with her ears angled over her eyes.
“Only those who dabble in darkness have reason to fear me,” Wormwood replied.
“Mother is going to have to have a talk with Father about his dark dabblings, if that’s the case.”
“Your father is plagued by temptation, like so many others. He does a remarkable job of resisting, but he thinks about it. And that is bad enough. Thoughts are dangerous. A thought leads to action. And an action, once taken, cannot be undone. Your father is right to fear me, as he also fears his dark thoughts. His fear will keep him honest and true.”
Blinking, Pebble turned her head so she could look at Sumac. He was too drugged to have much of a response to anything and stared at Wormwood through half open eyes. Pebble could see the fear though, it bubbled up to the surface like a hot spring.
“Yes, he has the darkness within him,” Wormwood said in a low whisper to Pebble. “The seeds of darkness are already there. He walks in shadow. His rage, his anger, his bitterness, his feelings of resentment, they all plague him.” Wormwood blinked his slitted eyes, pulled out his wraparound glasses from his jacket pocket, and slid them onto his face. “One good friend can save him from the darkness… it worked for your father. Your mother is more than a stone, a rock… she is an anchor, a foundation. She is a sturdy place for your father to make a stand and feel secure. She is his retreat when he feels the darkness will consume him. You would be wise to learn from your parents, Pebble Pie.”
“Learn what?” Pebble asked.
Wormwood let out a gruff growl. “In time, you’ll know. The strongest earth ponies can carry the heaviest loads. You, Pebble Pie, have your mother’s strength. Use it wisely.” Wormwood nodded his head, adjusted his hat, and straightened his lapels. “I must be going. I must go tell a father that he will never be seeing his son again. I have an unpleasant evening ahead of me.”
“Wormwood?” Trixie’s voice was weak, raspy sounding, and little more than a whisper.
“Yes?”
“Thank you… I mean that… thank you.”
Bowing his head, Wormwood replied, “You’re welcome.”