Chapter 6 – First Steps
Twilight had anything planned out for the next day. She wanted to think about how to explain to her friends that Trixie would be staying in Ponyville for some time and that she needs her help, and with that that Twilight would need their help.
But everything went down in no time after Twilight and Trixie entered the library. Not only were they attacked by flying streamers and confetti, but now there was an angry pegasus in the middle of the room who was not happy to see the show mare at all. " Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute. What is the loudmouth doing here?"
“Silly Dashie, why should she not be here?” Pinkie said after she appeared besides Trixie. “It is her party after all, so it would be strange if she is not here right now.” Pinkie laid her arm around Trixie's neck and pulled her inside the library with Twilight walking behind them, still thinking about how to react to the new and unsuspected situation. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, but you probably know that from your lasts visits and I'm happy to officially welcome you to Ponyville now with your own Pinkie Pie party.”
Trixie didn't even seem to notice her, she was too busy trying to understand what was going on. Her mouth was agape and her eyes wandered around the library. There were all of Twilight's friends, 3 of these she humiliated the first time she visited Ponyville, not speaking about what she did during her second visit.
Rarity walked up to Twilight, her ears lowered and with worry on her face. “I'm so sorry, darling. I tried to convince Pinkie to wait with the party, but you know how she can get if she is excited and in party mode.”
“You mean you knew that the loudmouth is back again and didn't say anything to one of us?!” Rainbow yelled across the room, much to the discontent of the fashionista.
“First, please stop yelling at me, Rainbow Dash. That is not a proper way to talk to someone, especially not a friend who did nothing to you,” Rarity said with a harsh tone in her voice. Rainbow slightly flinched, but was still glaring at her friend.
“And second, yes, I knew that Trixie was in town. I had a little talk with Twilight this morning after I learned of Trixies visit from Spike. She asked me to keep it a secret, after all, she only came to ask Twilight for help with something. But when Pinkie appeared at my door with an invitation to a welcome party in the library, I knew that it was all about Trixie.”
“Thank you for trying, Rarity,” Twilight said, “I appreciate it. And now I would like to explain what is going on.”
“Ah would like that as well, sugar cube,” Applejack said. “Ah'm slightly confused and Ah would lie if Ah say Ah'm not upset about Trixie after what happened, but before Ah make my own opinion Ah want to hear what's goin' on.”
“I don't care what's going on!” Rainbow yelled again and started approaching Trixie with a glare, who slowly stepped back from her. “It is Trixie we are talking about, so it cannot be something good. She is only good for trouble, and not the good kind.”
“Now calm down, Dash,” Applejack said, “Ah agree with ya that she caused some big trouble, but let's not conclude about her attentions without knowin' what's goin' on.”
Rainbow stood in front of Trixie, still glaring at the mare who was slowly moving backwards to get out of reach of the angry pegasus. “Fine,” Rainbow said finally and stepped back to stand near Fluttershy, who was hiding behind the table since the moment she saw Trixie. “But I hope it is a good reason that she is here.”
Twilight was glad that Rainbow stopped. For a moment she thought she would do something she might regret later. Now that her friends were listening, Twilight could finally explain what was going on.
~*~
It took Twilight some time to explain everything that happened to Trixie to her friends, beginning from Trixie's failed attempts to get her show running again, being homeless, starving most of the time without any food, the nightmares, her near-dead experience with the timberwolf a few days ago and finally the meeting with the princesses this afternoon.
After Twilight finished it was quiet for some time. Every pony in the library tried their best to sort through everything they just heard. Even Rainbow Dash seems to be shocked, but didn't move or even looked at Trixie. The quiet was broken by the canary-yellow mare that walked over to Trixie and embraced her in a hug. “I'm so sorry...”
Trixie didn't understand what was going on. Why was she hugging her? Her first reflex was to push her away, but somehow she couldn't. “Ahm, thank you? But why are you apologizing to Trixie?” Trixie pulled herself finally away from the pegasus. “Trixie should be the one apologizing for everything she did, which she truly regrets.”
“That might be true,” Fluttershy said and took a few steps back, “but if we had been more alert back after the ursa we would have noticed how much you were hurt and that you lost your home. And for this I apologize.”
Trixie was speechless, she didn't understand what was going on, but before she could think of something, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie approached her.
“She has a very good point, darling,” Rarity said. “It was us who questioned and challenged you in the first place. This led to you telling about the ursa and one thing led to the next.”
“And thanks to all of this ya went and searched for this Celestia-damned amulet to prove that ya're strong,” Applejack noted.
“I never looked at it this way, but we were really big meany pants. I need to make up for all your frowny faces I caused,” Pinkie said with a slightly deflated mane.
Trixie was at a loss of words. She could not understand what was going on. To her, everything makes no sense. It was her after all that did all the terrible things, no matter what happened before.
Trixie just wanted to say something, when she noticed a movement from her side. As she turned around, she recoiled slightly when she saw who was standing in front of her.
Rainbow Dash looked her in her eyes, a frightening glare on her face. “I don't like you,” she simply stated. Trixie gulped and took a few steps back from the pegasus, expecting her to do something to her.
“Rainbow...,” Twilight said slowly, but she didn't seem to hear her.
“I don't like you,” Rainbow said again, “and I even less trust you after everything that happened.” She stopped and looked over to Twilight. “But I trust Twilight and if she says she trusts you, then I will give you a chance to earn my trust as well.” Rainbow refocused her gaze on Trixie again, this time with a small smirk. “Don't try anything funny, I will be watching you.”
Trixie watched in bewilderment at the mare in front of her while she walked back to the table and grabbed a mug of cider that Pinkie has set up for the party. She looked around at all the ponies in the room, every single one with a smile on their faces. She still didn't understand why they would help her, but their was a strange feeling inside of her that told her to trust them. “Thank you,” she said with a small tear in her eyes. “Thank you all.”
“You see, Trixie,” Twilight said with proud in her voice about her great friends, “I told you that they would help you as well. But now enough with all the sadness.” She turned around to face the party animal of her friends. “Hey Pinkie, how about we finally start your party?”
“You don't need to tell me twice,” Pinkie said and pulled her party cannon out of Twilight's chimney and blasted another round of confetti and streamers in the room.
“How did she...,” Trixie started, but she was interrupted by Twilight.
“Don't try to understand her, I did that once and I still regret it. I will explain the details about Pinkie later.”
Trixie was curious what she was talking about, but she simply nodded and they both walked over to Twilights friends when Pinkie started the music. At first Trixie was a bit reserved around them, but after some time and a prep talk from Pinkie Pie, she enjoyed the company.
A few hours after the party started, Twilight sat at the table together with Applejack, while Pinkie tried to persuade Trixie to dance.
“So sugar cube, what are yer plans for now regardin' Trixie?”
“Well, at first we need to find a place for Trixie to live. She refuses to stay in the library with me and Spike.” Twilight was quiet for a few seconds before her eyes grew wide. “Oh my god, Spike. I totally forgot about him. Do you know where he his, Applejack?”
“No reason to worry, Twi. He's together with the crusaders at Sweet Apple Acres for a sleepover.” She continued after she received a raised eyebrow from Twilight. “Was Rarity's idea. Didn't understand why, but now Ah guess it has somethin' to do with Trixie, am Ah right?”
Twilight relaxed after hearing that Rarity thought about how Spike would take it if she appears with Trixie again and that she would stay longer than expected. “I really need to thank her for that. Spike is not really fond of the idea of Trixie staying. I don't know how he will react if he hears that she will be in Ponyville longer than expected.”
“Well, Ah hope the little fella won't make such a big fuss about it, Trixie had enough troubles from what ya told us. But goin' back to before, what do ya mean you need a place for her? Can't she stay in the library with ya?”
Twilight shook her head. “I offered that as well, but she declined it immediately. She doesn't want to intrude more than she is already doing with Spike and she wants to stay independent, like she always did. And I guess she doesn't want to live under the same roof as I after everything, it took her long enough to come for help. She is blaming herself alone for everything that happened.”
Twilight looked down to the floor with a frown and her ears drooped. “So we need to find a place for her, but the problem is that she cannot afford anything. She doesn't own a single Bit at the moment and I can't pay for her, not that she would allow it, probably. I got no idea what to do, to be honest.”
“Ya're right, that's a big problem,” Applejack nodded in agreement. Both mares fell silent for some time, watching her friends enjoying the party Pinkie organized. After a few minutes, Applejack started smiling. “Ya know what, Twilight? Ah might have an idea how to solve your problem.”
Surprised Twilight turned to face her friend. “Really? But how?”
“Ya see, there is-,” Applejack started, but she was interrupted by a strong flash of light that filled the library and surprised anypony inside. After the first moments of blindness faded away, everypony looked at the source of the light: Trixie. Or to be precisely, the amulet around her neck.
“What in tarnation was that?”
“That was the sign that the amulet adjusted itself to Trixie,” Twilight said so that everypony could hear it.
“Does that mean that Trixie can finally sleep in peace again?” Trixie asked hopefully with big eyes. The only response she got was a smile and nod from Twilight. “Oh, thank Celestia. Trixie can't wait to get some sleep.”
“So I guess this would be a good moment to end this party for this evening,” Twilight said while she got of her seat. “It was a long day and I can only imagine how much you want to sleep now.”
All of her friends agreed and started to leave the library.
“Well sugar cube, how about ya visit me tomorrow at the farm, then Ah can tell ya about my idea.”
“We will be there, Applejack,” Twilight said with a smile when Applejack left through the door. Soon the only guest left was Rarity who started her way out of the library, but was stopped by Twilight. “Rarity?” Rarity turned around. “Thank you for taking care of Spike. I don't know how he would have reacted to the news of Trixie staying without a chance of talking to him in quiet.”
“Oh, don't think about it, darling. That's what friends are for.” Rarity made an attempt to leave, but stopped once more. “Oh, Trixie. May you have a moment?”
Twilight was confused about what Rarity might want from Trixie, but she made room for the mare as she stepped up to the door. “Of course Trixie has time to talk to you, Rarity. How can she help you?”
“Well, you mentioned that you would like to show everybody that you changed and that you are not the same mare as before.” After she received a small nod from Trixie she continued. “It is just a suggestion, but it might help if you change your speaking habit as well. If you keep talking about yourself in third person, it creates the impression that you are looking down on everybody else, that you think you are so much better than them. This might make it harder to be accepted from others.”
Trixie was quiet for a few moments, thinking about what Rarity just said. “Trixie never thought about it this way, but she doesn't know if she could change.”
“I'm sure that you could do it if you want, Trixie,” Twilight said from behind Trixie. “I don't think you noticed, but you already did yesterday when we were alone.”
Trixie turned around in surprise. “Really? Trixie didn't notice. When did that happen?”
“After you awoke in the night from the nightmare.” Twilight decided not to say more about Trixie's breakdown, like she did in her summary she gave her friends earlier, so that she won't embarrass her in front of one of her friends.
“Oh, really,” Trixie said with a small blush when she remembered what happened. Luckily Rarity didn't seem to notice anything. “Trixie never noticed. But she is still not sure if she could manage to change it intentionally.”
“Maybe we all could help with that if you want, but I think we should call it a day for now. There is a bed waiting for you,” Rarity said with a chuckle.
Trixie smiled at the thought of a peaceful night without nightmares. “Trixie will think about it, thank you.”
Rarity turned around and left the library, letting Twilight and Trixie alone. Some time later both mares lay in their beds after Twilight got her spare bed out and Trixie couldn't wait to fall asleep. She really hoped that the amulet would work. “Well then, I wish you a good night, Trixie,” Twilight said from her side of the room.
“Thank you,” Trixie mumbled. “Trixie hopes so as well...”
~*~
Trixie awoke the next day to the light shining on her face from the window. She sat up and stretched her limbs. It was refreshing to finally sleep again without any disturbance from nightmares. She looked down on her neck, and wondered for a moment how she could sleep so comfortable with the amulet around her neck, but it was probably thanks to one of the enchantments on the jewelry. She didn't notice the day before, but she couldn't really feel much from the amulet. She could feel that it was there, but than again it felt as if she only where a piece of cloth or something similar.
After a few more minutes of pondering if she should try to go back to sleep or to stand up, her growling stomach made the decision for her. She got out of the bed and left the bedroom. When she walked down the stairs she noticed the deep silence of the library and found no trace of Twilight.
When Trixie stepped into the kitchen, she found a note for her on the table right besides a plate with a few sandwiches. She grabbed the note in her magic and read the message.
Good morning, Trixie. I'm out right now to get Spike from Sweet Apple Acres and to meet Applejack to discuss something. I first wanted to wake you up so that we could go together, but I thought that you need the sleep. I left you some sandwiches for breakfast on the table and will be back later this afternoon. Twilight
Trixie laid down the letter and walked over to the window to look outside. When she saw the stand of the sun in the sky, she noticed that it already must be in the early afternoon. She slept through the biggest part of the day, which is not that surprising regarding the little amount of sleep she got over the past weeks.
Trixie trotted back to the table and the waiting sandwiches. While she ate her breakfast/lunch, she thought about what she could do till Twilight returns. She could simply stay in the library and read a book, waiting for Twilight. Or she could go outside for a small walk, but this could cause some problems.
The rest of the town is not aware of the fact that Trixie will be living among them. And most if not all of these ponies are still angry at Trixie after everything that happened. Twilight said that the rest of the town knows about the corrupting power of the amulet, but Trixie noticed some of the glances she got while she walked through the town to the library two days ago, and these were not happy ones.
After her lunch, Trixie stood up and walked into the main room straight to the front door of the library. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, she would not let some ponies who hold a grudge against her dictate what she should do and what not. She was prepared to get more angry glares, and maybe even some insults, but she really doubts that anypony would lay a hoof on her.
With her self-confidence on a new high, Trixie opened the door of the library and walked outside into the lively streets of her new temporary home.
~*~
'This was a bad idea...,' Trixie thought while she trotted slowly through the park, her head hanging low. 'Why did I think that this was a good idea?' Trixie looked up slightly to see a bench on the side of the path and walked over to close her eyes and rest on it for a few minutes after her terrible stroll through the town.
In the beginning everything was good, Trixie walked confident through town-square, ignoring the few ponies out there glaring at her. She even ignored the very few insults she heard directed at her. That was nothing she hasn't already encountered before in other towns over the past months.
All of this changed the moment she accidentally walked in the market place, which was filled with way too many ponies for her to feel comfortable. Whenever she tried to turn around to get away from some of them, there were others looking at her angrily. It didn't take long till she was surrounded by some of the ponies. She tried to talk to them, to explain why she was here and she tried to apologize, but nopony was listening.
She was right with one part she thought of before, none of the ponies laid a hoof on her or hurt her physically, but the looks and the insults she heard were too much for her. She even got hit by some tomatoes someone threw at her. After the second tomato hit her, Trixie managed to use her still exhausted magic to create a smoke screen, which was enough to distract the ponies long enough for Trixie to escape.
She managed to reach the park on her escape and was able to wash herself in the small lake before she reached the bench she was now resting on.
'This was really a stupid idea, Trixie. How could you think you could go out, in a town you enslaved a few months ago, without any kind of trouble.'
Trixie let out a long sigh. 'Not that I could blame them, they got every right to be angry with me. I was a monster.'
“Hi there. Is this seat taken?”
'And what I got from them was not even enough for everything I did. I deserve much more.'
“Hello? Are you OK?”
'I should just go away and never return. That would be the best, even if I have to endure the nightmares for the rest of my life. I'm sure I can handle it, I'm used to the pain already. It's always there, just like right now.'
It took a moment before Trixie realized that the pain she noticed did not come from the inside, but more from her shoulder. She opened her eyes and turned her head to her side, so that she could see what was causing this pain. She came face to face with a pair of huge, golden eyes that were staring at her.
“Hi.” Trixie recoiled with a small squeak and fell from the bench. “Ow, that hurts.”
“Oh god, you OK? I didn't mean to scare you.”
“Trixie's good,” Trixie said while she slowly stood up. “And you didn't scare Trixie, you just surprised her.” Trixie's eyes widened when she remembered that she was still in the town with many ponies that are hostile around her. She looked around for possible threats, but there was no other pony in reach besides the mare in front of the bench.
She was a unicorn mare with a mint green coat and a light cyan mane with white highlights. Trixie was not able to see a Cutie Mark at the moment, but she noticed the big grin on the mare's face, and these golden eyes she saw before without any hint of hate in them. That made her feel more comfortable and she climbed back onto the bench.
“That's a relief. I only wanted to see if you are OK, since you didn't respond to me earlier and you were crying, so I started poking you. I just wanted to go get some help for you.”
Trixie reached with one of her hooves to her eyes and noticed tear streams running down her cheeks, which she quickly wiped away. “Trixie was not crying, she just got something in her eye!” Trixie shouted. A moment later she realized what she just heard and blinked. “Wait, you were worried about Trixie?” The mare responded with a nod of her head, still with the grin on her face. “Why?”
The mare tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Why should I not? It seemed like you had a problem, so I wanted to help.” The mare climbed on the other side of the bench beside Trixie. “I don't see any reason why I shouldn't help you.”
Trixie hesitated for a moment, not sure how to respond. This was the first pony besides Twilight's friends who acted nice around her, she didn't want to ruin that. But the more she thought about it she realized that it would not help her if she started lying. She let out a small sigh before speaking again. “You don't even know who Trixie is, or what she did in the past.”
“Well, that's not quite true. When I first saw you I thought that you look familiar, and after you started calling yourself Trixie, I knew who you are.”
Trixie was stunned. “You know who Trixie is and you are still here talking to her so friendly?”
The mare just shrugged. “Why shouldn't I? Sure, you did some bad things before, but from what Twilight said it's not your fault. Everypony makes mistakes, that's what helps us learn and grow. Or would you go out and do the same things again?”
“Never!” Trixie yelled. “Trixie is already suffering from her actions, she doesn't need to repeat them. She is furthermore feeling awful for what she did.”
“See, you learned from your mistakes and won't repeat them, that's good enough for me not to judge you,” the mare said, still with a big smile on her face. Trixie was puzzled for a moment, but seeing this big grin from this friendly mare made her feel much better. Her frown turned into a small smile and another small tear appeared in her eye. “Thank you...“
“Oh I guess I never introduced myself. I'm Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings.” She pointed at Trixie's face with her hoof. “I think you got something else in your eye,” she said with a giggle.
Trixie wiped the tear with one of her hooves away. “It seems so, this dust is everywhere.”
“True, but Trixie? Why were you so upset and lost in thought before? Did something happen?”
Trixie lowered her head and stared at the floor, another frown on her face and her ears drooped. “You could say so....”
Trixie could not describe why she felt so much better while talking to Lyra, but there was something about her that just made her feel comfortable. Maybe it was her kind and funny attitude or her reassuring smile, but whatever it was she felt that she could trust Lyra. So Trixie told her what happened before they met, but not about the curse. She might feel comfortable around her, but not that comfortable. At least not yet.
When Trixie finished her story she felt an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to the side. “Hey, don't take this to heart so much. There will always be ponies like this. And I think you managed it the best way possible.”
Trixie looked at Lyra in disbelief. “By running away?”
“Yes. You could have tried to attack them in defense or rage. I guess that's what they expected from you. But by running away you showed them and all the others around that you are hurt by what they said and that you regret what you did.”
Trixie thought about what Lyra said for a few moments. “Maybe you are right, but Trixie still feels ashamed that she ran away like a filly.” At this moment a few ponies in guard armor ran past them, clearly in a hurry. “What's going on?”
“I guess it's another monster at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Over the past two weeks the monsters are coming into town for some unknown reason. Twilight asked the princess for help after she and her friends encountered a giant timberwolf a few days ago, and for now she deployed more guards to defend the town.”
“That's strange, why would the monsters come into town?” Trixie thought back to her encounter with the timberwolf 2 days ago. She thought that it was strange that she met a timberwolf at the outskirts of the forest. Usually they stay deeper inside with their packs.
“Who knows? For now, we have to deal with them.”
“That's true,” Trixie said. She looked up at the sun and stood up from the bench. “It's getting late, Trixie thinks it will be the best to get back to the library.”
“Are you OK on your own or should I keep you company?”
“Trixie thinks she will be good on her own.” Trixie took a few steps, before she turned her head around and faced Lyra again. “Thank you, Lyra, for your kind words.”
Lyra got her big grin once again on her face before answering. “No problem, I'm happy if I can help. Hey, would you like to hang out sometimes? I always like to have new friends around.”
Trixie looked away from Lyra again. 'What is it with these ponies and becoming friends all the time?'
“Trixie would like to talk to you again, but she doesn't need any friends, she is good on her own.”
Lyra looked at Trixie for a moment, her head tilted to the side, before once again her grin appeared. “Well, if you don't wanna call me a friend that's okay, but I will still call you friend. And there is nothing you can do against it.”
Trixie stood still. “...has anypony told you before that you are weird?”
“Aaaall the time,” Lyra answered with a giggle.
“Whatever,” Trixie said gruff. “But Trixie repeats herself, she doesn't need friends.”
Trixie was nearly out of earshot, when she heard Lyra calling again. “That might be, but are you sure you don't want friends?” Trixie stopped for a second, before she continued on her way, not looking back.
~*~
When Trixie returned to the library, Twilight was still not back again, so Trixie decided to read a book and wait. It didn't take long before the door opened and Twilight walked in with Spike behind her. The former was smiling in Trixie's direction, the latter frowning.
“Good afternoon, Trixie,” Twilight asked. “I guess you slept well?”
“Better than ever,” Trixie answered with a small smile. “It's so good to be able to sleep again.”
“I can only imagine what it's like,” Twilight said with a giggle and turned to look at Spike. “Would you start preparing everything for dinner? I will join to help you soon.”
Without saying a word, Spike moved through the room in the direction of the kitchen. Trixie stared at him for a moment, before she spoke up. “Spike?” The dragon stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around. “Trixie wants to apologize to you.” After hearing that, Spike finally turned to face Trixie with an unreadable expression on his face.
“Trixie wants to apologize for her behavior yesterday morning and for what she did at her last visit. Trixie never meant any of this to happen, and she feels terrible about it. You probably won't believe her, but Trixie really is sorry for everything.”
The whole library was utterly silent for a minute after Trixie finished.
“Whatever,” Spike simply said before he disappeared in the kitchen.
Twilight, who silently watched the scene walked over to Trixie at the table. “Don't worry Trixie,” she said with a reassuring smile. “I'm sure that he will come around later. He wasn't really excited when I explained everything to him and that you would stay a few days longer than expected, but I think you gave him something to think about.”
Twilight took a seat besides Trixie. “So, how was your day?”
“Could have been better,” Trixie said. She didn't want to tell Twilight about her walk through the town, at least not yet. This was something she has to bear for her actions on her own.
“Maybe I can help with that,” Twilight said with a smirk. “It took me and Applejack a bit of time and effort, but we managed it.”
“Really? And what is it?”
Twilight grinned. “We found a place for you.”