Heart of Stone
Chapter Nineteen: Pink for Dinner
Written by TheCrimsonDM
âYou come here at least once a month to visit her,â The nurse said quietly.
The door to the small room opened up and two mares walked through, though Trixie didnât see who it was. She was staring blankly at the wall in front of her. The hillside painted on the wall was friendly, and the green carpeted floor reminded her of grass. The blue ceiling was dotted with white happy clouds. The window next to her allowed the sunâs warm rays to shine through.
âI heard about what happened from a friend of mine⌠I⌠she used to mean something to me,â the mare replied. She sounded familiar but Trixie couldnât place who it was. âCan I ask how sheâs recovering?â
âItâs been slow progress, at least sheâs responding to her name now. Your visits have done a lot to help her get better,â the nurse replied sadly. Trixie wasnât sure why the nurse was sad, but she heard her name being said and that made her happy.
Trixie turned her head to see the nurse standing next to a white mare that had a really long orange mane. There was a picture of a candle on her flanks. It was just like Trixieâs picture. Only Trixieâs was a picture of a magic wand. The mare looked familiar, only she couldnât place her.
âHello, Trixie,â the mare said politely.
Ponies were always so nice to Trixie. It made her feel good. Trixie smiled.
âHow are feeling?â the mare asked.
Trixie stared at her for a moment, then blinked.
âShe still doesnât talk very much, Doctor Timequill does a lot of work with a unicorn who specializes in mind magic so thatâs how we have pieced together most of her story. She smiles a lot though,â The nurse replied. Trixie liked the nurse, the nurse had pink fur.
âDo you mind if we have a little privacy?â The mare asked.
The nurse shook her head and left quietly. The door was left open behind her. It was always open when there were visitors.
âSo, Trixie,â the mare said. Trixie smiled again. âI have some great news to tell you; I fell in love. Do you remember Moondancer? Well it turns out that sheâs got her own office, sheâs a doctor now.â
Trixie blinked.
âNo, sheâs not one of your doctors⌠sheâs up⌠er down in Canterlot. She uses magic to heal ponies,â the mare said.
Trixie liked magic.
âI⌠well we met up and uh, started talking, then more than talking⌠so I guess weâre sort of a thing now. Weâve dated a few times and itâs been really nice. Sheâs one of the few ponies who donât care about my⌠scar. She still thinks Iâm beautiful,â the mare said.
Trixie saw the scar on the mareâs forehead. It was almost star shaped. It looked like it hurt.
âYou know I might not be able to visit here again for awhile. That friend I mentioned to you, sheâs in a group called The Seekers of Truth. Iâm getting to join, but it requires some intense training. Iâm going to be very busy for a few months, and Iâm not exactly supposed to leave while Iâm being trained⌠I promise Iâll come to visit you when Iâm free,â the mare said.
The mare frowned, and her eyes looked sad. âTrixie, do you understand what Iâm saying?â she was quiet for a moment. She looked away. âI guess not⌠they said you had amnesia, and possible brain damage or something⌠I guess when that monster hurt you, it did a lot of damage. Or maybe itâs all the other stuff that happened to you. Iâm sorry that you had to go through so much.â
Trixie didnât like seeing her sad. So she reached out with a hoof and gently pushed it against the mareâs forehead. For a moment the mare stared at her. It was difficult, Trixie had to think really, really hard. She remembered how words worked at long last. âS-sorry.â
Tears flowed out of the mareâs eyes. She grabbed Trixieâs hoof and held it to her chest. She was soft. âTrixie, itâs okay. I⌠IâŚâ She sniffled. âI forgive you.â
Trixie smiled. That made her happy. She wasnât sure why.
The nurse appeared in the doorway. âMiss, you didnât sign you name on the sheet. I donât mean to bother you, so Iâll just sign it for you. Youâre name is Candle Light, right?â
The mare nodded. âY-yeah.â She choked. âI⌠thank you.â
The nurse shook her head. âShe smiles for you and Timequill more than anypony else. I donât mind helping you out a bit if I can.â
Candle Light looked back at the nurse. âShe doesnât smile for others?â
âOnly when she hears her name. Most of the time I donât think sheâs⌠here. When you two are around though, she makes an effort to communicate,â The nurse said.
âWill she get better?â Candle Light asked. Her voice was really sad.
âWe can only hope. Even if she comes back, sheâll never be⌠wholly there though,â The nurse said.
Candle Light shook a little. âIâve been here before. It took years of therapy before I came out of my shell. I have faith that she can recover⌠I have too.â
The nurse nodded.
***
Trixie shot out of bed so quickly that she gave herself whiplash and cringed at the pain. The bedroom was dark, but even with the faint light of the moon shining through the curtains she could see Maud and Valiant next to her. Her thoughts however drifted back to the dream, or memory that she had.
Candle Light came to me when I was broken⌠she⌠forgave me. She cared enough to visit, several times, and talk to me. I barely remember any of it. What I can remember still feels like a dream. I just canât believe that after what I did to her, she came to visit me.
It looked like sleep was off the table. Trixie shuffled out of bed, looked at the clock. It told her that it was two thirty in the morning. It was only four and a half hours before she usually got up anyway, so she shuffled out the door to take care of morning business and made coffee. If she was lucky there would be leftoverâs from last nightâs dinner. Even if Pinkie Pie had yet to join them for dinner again, after Maudâs explosion the month before, Trixie still set out a plate for her. She couldnât help but feel that Pinkie needed to be there.
Between the gala which was just around the corner, the memory she had regained, and her thoughts being drawn to the issues of the war. Trixie found it difficult to focus on her coffee, so she did what anypony would in this circumstance. She drank the coffee faster and found the little wooden box containing her medicine.
Even if Maud did prefer to have prior knowledge before Trixie took her medication, and for good reason, Trixie wasnât exactly beholden to any rules. When stressed out about things she couldnât change, it helped her relax a great deal. Too bad it made the entire house smell like a skunk.
While she smoked, drank more coffee, and eat some breakfast, some breakfast being half a pot of soup and a loaf of bread, she pondered the situation. Twilight was still upset with Spike and had yet to forgive him. Pinkie Pie had refused to come back to the family dinners, and spent far less time at the house than Trixie liked.
She couldnât help but to glance at one of the empty bedrooms. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had imagined what it would have been like to have Pinkie Pie living with them. She specifically saved one of the empty rooms as a guest room, and on occasion Applejack and Pinkie Pie had stayed in it. She wanted to have Pinkie Pie move in⌠though that might have been unfair to her. Pinkie Pie had a huge loft, her own bathroom, kitchen, and apparently some secret basements or something.
âI couldnât ask her to move into a tiny bedroom, just because I like having her around,â Trixie said to herself quietly. âIâve never really had a sister before⌠maybe Iâm just being selfish.â
âNo youâre not,â Maud said.
Trixie looked up and watched Maud take a seat next to her. She held her hoof out. Trixie stared at her hoof, looked up into Maudâs eyes and then back down at her hoof. âOH!â
Trixie quickly hoofed the pipe to Maud and gave a tiny laugh. âSorry, Iâm just trying to figure things out.â
Maud put the pipe in her mouth. âThis doesnât help you think.â
âNo but it makes me stop worrying so much,â Trixie looked down at the pot in front of her. She stuck her muzzle into it and ate greedily.
âThatâs,â Maud said. She exhaled a cloud of blue smoke. âGross. Get your muzzle out of there.â
Trixie pulled away, food clung to her fur in messy clumps.
âGet a rag and cle-â Maud began.
Trixieâs tongue whipped out, and cleanly wiped off the food from muzzle in one circular motion. A moment later she pulled a blue hair out of her mouth. Messy, but delicious.
âI knew you could do things with your tongue,â Maud said with a sly smile. âBut thatâs just amazing.â
âI have a long tongue?â Trixie suggested.
Maud let out another blue smoky breath. âKidâs asleep. Bathroomâs empty. Iâm hot, and you have a long tongue.â
âTrixie can do this,â Trixie said with an even bigger grin.
The next hour or so was spent in the restroom, doors closed with a towel pressed up tightly to the bottom seem of the door. By the time they were done, the bathroom was filled with so much smoke that they couldnât see two feet in front of them. Although that hardly mattered, because two writhing bodies only needed touch to experience pure ecstasy.
Later on, despite the cold, they had to open up the window in the bathroom. It was a good thing that Valiant slept for another couple of hours, because she would have wound up taking care of Trixie and Maud. Or just being upset that they somehow made their way into the living room, only to roll around on the couch in much the same manner as they had on the bathroom floor.
Only it was a lot softer.
When that was done, they cuddled and fell asleep. Only to wake up a half hour later to one of Trixieâs worst fears; Valiant stood behind them with a mop in one hoof, and her whiteboard in the others.
âYou two are so disappointing.â
Before Trixie could open her mouth, Valiant shoved the mop into her chest. Trixie fiddled with the mob before grabbing it. The filly jerked her head toward the hall and the bathroom that was open. It slowly but surely dawned on her.
âOh⌠we uh⌠we left a mess in there didnât we?â Trixie asked.
Valiant nodded, turned tail and trotted away. She flicked her tail in annoyance before getting to the fridge. Trixie watched as the filly opened the fridge, climbed up some of the shelves to reach the top shelf and grabbed Trixieâs slice of chocolate cake.
âH-hey,â Trixie complained as she rolled out of bed and hit the floor. Ow.
With a bit of effort she pushed herself up off the floor and trotted to the table where Valiant was already eating the cake. Trixie growled. Then she saw the whiteboard and the blood drained from her face.
âI had to pee, and I slipped in it.â
Thatâs when Trixie noticed that the fillyâs side was damp, as though it had recently washed herself. Trixie couldnât help but to feel utterly disgusting and guilty. With mop in hoof, and head lowered she walked to the bathroom to clean up. She looked back only long enough to see Valiant slowly licking the icing off the top of it with her eyes closed and an evil grin.
âS-sorry,â Trixie said.
Valiant did the mature thing, and took a bite of the cake before doing her best impersonation of one of Trixieâs sensual moans.
Without another word, Trixie went into the bathroom and got to work mopping the floor. It wasnât nearly as bad as Valiant made it out to be, but it was still gross. They had accidently left a number of⌠incriminating things in the bathroom as well.
The whole time Trixie worked on cleaning, she could only try her best to ignore the way Valiant chose to make fun of her. It didnât work, but she tired her darndest. Eventually she was done cleaning, washed her hooves, and made her way back into the kitchen. Maud was still asleep, Trixie could see her on the couch with her legs flopped over the side.
Then why was Valiant looking more upset than she had before?
âHey, Val⌠uh, Iâm really sorry about that. I know we discussed it, and it was wrong of meâŚâ Trixie said in an attempt to apologize.
Valiant was ignoring her and staring at the corner. Sheâd taken her eye patch off at some point and was scowling at something. With her mouth covered in chocolate cake, she ended up getting crumbs all over her whiteboard as she wrote a message and showed it to the empty wall. Trixie blinked and walked around to read it.
âIâm in the right. She deserves punished. Itâs gross.â
Trixie looked at the empty wall, and then back to Valiant. âUm⌠who are you writing to?â
Valiant erased the board, and wrote something new before showing it to Trixie.
âThat annoying colt. He says what you two do is sweet.
Heâs wrong.â
Trixie blinked, sat down and thought for a moment. Valiant replaced her eye patch and began licking the plate clean. She just had to rub it in. It occurred to Trixie though, that Valiant was about six years old, and seemed to have a decent imagination. Maud had already mentioned that the filly had an imaginary friend named Rubble.
âOh, was that Rubble?â Trixie asked.
Valiant wrote something else.
âThatâs not his real name. I just call him that.â
âOkay, well uh, you both have a point,â Trixie said.
That remark received a glare from the filly that told Trixie that she was wrong for even suggesting that Valiant wasnât one hundred percent correct. So Trixie tried to explain, âWhen two ponies love each other, they do what me and Maud do. Yes, itâs⌠a bit gross when you think about it logically. And leaving a mess behind is actually really gross, and Iâm sorry about that. At the same time it is sweet, itâs actually really-â
âSHHHH!â Valiant shushed her with a hoof over her lips. She wrote something on the board.
âI know you two are weird, and wrong.
But thatâs okay, because I am here to teach you better.â
Trixie let out a sigh of defeat. There was no arguing with Valiant, ever. This filly should go into politics, sheâd never lose a debate. Trixie shrugged, went back to Maud, cuddled in and tried to back to sleep. Valiant jumped onto the couch, found her place in between the two of them and rubbed her dirty face off all over Maudâs hair. Snorted, and then closed her eyes. She was asleep before too long. After that, Trixie joined her in the wonderful land of sleep.
***
Once the day got started it became very much official. It was going to be another one of those days. First she and Maud had a very interesting conversation about possibly starting Valiant into school soon. It was left undecided for now, but Trixie had the feeling Maud would bring it up again.
Trixie also found herself increasingly bothered by the fact that Pinkie wasnât coming over for dinner. Sure Maud exploded on her that one time, but that was a while back. Pinkie couldnât seriously be upset still. Could she?
Thankfully with Valiant having eaten the final piece of chocolate cake, Trixie had a very good reason to visit Sugarcube Corner that day. Only an hour or so after the little store opened Trixie made her way into it. Magicianâs cloak and hat on, she walked in with style and grace. Until she saw Candle Light sitting at one of the tables talking to Pinkie Pie.
For one very long moment Trixie stood still, her mouth hung open, and her eyes unblinking. What were they talking about? Was it something about Twilight? Or worse yet about Trixie?
Trixie blew a breath of hot air, and shook her mane, and steeled herself. She trotted over to the table. When Candle Light smiled at her, Trixieâs heart rose. Then she saw the scar left on the mareâs forehead and was reminded forcefully of how she had gotten her friend hurt, more than that, she ruined her. Whatever smile Trixie could have been wearing died before she even reached the table.
âCandle Light, Pinkie Pie,â Trixie said.
âGood morning,â Candle Light said kindly.
âMorning, sis,â Pinkie Pie said. She frowned in concentration for a moment before grinning from ear to ear. âOH! Youâre here for cake! Okay, Iâll be right back.â
âWa-â Trixie called out, but the pink pony had already galloped into the kitchen. â-itâŚâ Trixie finished lamely.
âSheâs quite energetic isnât she? Reminds me of Lyra,â Candle Light said.
âYeah but Lyra isnât that smart,â Trixie said as she took a seat. âThe other day I saw Pinkie flying around town with some kind of propeller hat. Somepony was hanging off of her legs and throwing cake at the ponies below.â
âUm⌠what?â Candle Light asked.
âI donât know, I didnât ask. On days like that, I go back inside and spend the rest of the day pretending to the best of my ability that we live in normal lives, inside a normal town, full of normal ponies,â Trixie said.
There was silence for a moment.
âCan I ask you something?â Trixie said.
âSure.â
âIâŚâ Trixie tried to speak, to find the words she wanted, but it was hard. She should have been able to do this, to talk about this. Reliving an old memory from the time she was a broken mess was difficult to accept, harder still to talk about. If she couldnât talk about it, the great and powerful Trixie probably could. âWhy did you visit Trixie when she was in the hospital?â
Candle Light stared at her for a moment, her eyes serious and her lips pursed. âIâm not sure what you mean. I wasnât here after you defeated the ursa minor, so I couldnât visit you.â
âTrixie means when you visited her after she tried to commit sui- er when she was nearly slain by the dreaded ursa major. Trixie was a broken mess, why did you visit her?â Trixie asked.
Candle Light let out a sigh. âI was hoping you wouldnât remember. At first I was just worried you were going to die, and I wanted to at least say good bye. When I got there it was even worse. You were healing well from the injuries but you were⌠somepony called you a vegetable. I donât like that term but it was⌠it wasnât you. It was just a body.â
Trixie had to look away, she couldnât face Candle Light while she spoke. âThen why did you come back?â
âBecause in that first visit when I sat next to you, and I stroked your hoof, you smiled,â Candle Light said. âThe doctors told me that you had never shown any emotion, but you smiled for me⌠Trixie, you smiled for me. I helped you smile. I brought you out of that horrible place you were in. Even if it was just a little bit, I wanted nothing more than to see you get better.â
âI canât remember any of that,â Trixie said. âI mean I had a dream last night, where you came to visit me and I apologized about your scar. You cried and forgave me. But at the time I didnât understand why.â
âYou remember that?â Candle Light asked, clearly taken aback. âThat should be impossible, the doctors said that even if you⌠if you came back you were going to be different. Things like that should be impossible to remember, right?â
âI donât know,â Trixie admitted. âBut you helped me when I was in trouble. For that I thank you.â
Candle shook her head. âI was there before, and somepony came to visit me. At the time I didnât know it, but it turns out that Moondancer came to visit me quite a lot. When I finally pulled myself out of that dark place, Moondancer was there by my side and taking care of me. It meant the world to me. I just wanted to do the same for you.â
Things were quiet for a moment before she asked. âHow did you get better though? It should have been impossible for you to heal from that entirely.â
âLots of physical exercise, hiking and stuff with Maud while we collected geologic samples. There was also⌠uh⌠this moment I had when I first came back to being me,â Trixie said. She looked around and lowered her voice. âI saw myself. I spoke with myself, and she told me what I could become and only what I had to do to achieve it.â
âReally?â Candle Light asked.
âYeah, you see she was an alicorn, and she had this light blue crown that only stood out a few shades from her fur. She was so kind, and gentle, and humble. It was strange. She said that she had healed me, as best she could, but that she wasnât particularly skilled in healing magic, or something. Also she mentioned how I was surrounded by darkness, the dark choices of my past, the things that had influenced me, and stuff⌠she told me that I could rise above it,â Trixie said.
âThatâs⌠crazy,â Candle Light said.
âI actually asked her how she became an alicorn. She told me some cryptic nonsense and smiled at me. She vanished after that, and the nurses came running in, they looked like they had seen a ghost when they saw me sitting up, talking, and quite alert,â Trixie said. âI think that my subconscious was telling me how I should live my life. Iâve tried, but itâs hard.â
âYouâve never told anypony about this?â She asked.
Trixie shook her head. âOf course not. I was already a prisoner inside a mental hospital, I wasnât going to start talking about hallucinations of me being an alicorn.â
Candle Light frowned, put a hoof to her chin and stayed silent.
A pink face leaned over in front of her and caught her attention. Pinkie Pie sat next to the table with a silly grin. âWas she the princess of humility by any chance?â
Trixie opened her mouth and not much more. How did she know what my alicorn hallucination called herself?
âBecauuuuuse, if she was,â Pinkie Pie said with a wink. âMaybe there was more to it than you think? Candle Light, did you ever meet a different version of yourself?â
The mareâs white face went pale as she stared at Pinkie Pie. âO-of course not. That would be⌠insane.â
âNot if it was when our universe nearly collided with another one,â Pinkie Pie said. âWhat did you see?â
âIâŚâ Candle Light shook her head. âIf something like that ever did happen to me, and I am not saying that it has⌠then I would have seen a dangerously powerful unicorn, one who burned all things in her wake. Obsessed with fire and destruction...â
âHmm, it would seem that your alternate self is evil. Sad, mine is too⌠well okay, mine is actually just really sad, but sheâs also really dangerous,â Pinkie Pie said. âI didnât get to meet her, but I did see the reports of our other world selves. Hoo boy, if me and my friends ever went to the dark side, weâd be nationwide terrorist of the most extreme level.â
Trixie stared at Pinkie Pie. She was talking about other worlds, different universes, and alternate selves. Honestly, Pinkie Pie sounded completely nuts. But she was a close friend of Twilightâs and so that sort of thing might not be too out of the question. Trixie shook the insanity out of her head. Multiple universes were just too much to deal with.
âPinkie Pie,â Trixie said. âAs punishment for listening in on our conversation, and for making Trixie feel confused, you are hereby sentenced to having dinner with Trixieâs family tonight.â
Pinkie Pie opened her mouth, stopped, then spoke. âIf itâs a royal punishment I canât exactly say no⌠Alright, Iâll⌠um⌠Iâll go. Just make sure Maud knows way ahead of time, like, go home and tell her that Iâm joining tonight⌠okay?â
âO-â Trixie started.
âAnd Iâm inviting Fluttershy,â Pinkie Pie interrupted.
That took the words out of Trixieâs mouth. Pinkie Pie smiled and trotted away. âIâll bring something delish to eat too. Itâll be a feast.â
Candle Light coughed nervously. âI take it that this was not exactly what you had planned?â
Trixie shook her head. âThere might be some fireworks⌠Fluttershyâs not entirely welcomed in our homeâŚâ
âShe seems kind, and afraid, surely sheâs not-â Candle Light started.
âFluttershy nearly killed me after I slayed what she thought was a defenseless ursa minor,â Trixie said. âAnd now sheâs coming to dinner.â
***
âI canât believe this,â Maud said, bitter resentment tinted her voice. âYou actually agreed to this?â
âI wasnât given much of a choice, but seeing as how Fluttershy and Pinkie have been⌠close for a couple of months, we are going to have to be friends with her,â Trixie said. She didnât hate Fluttershy, even after the savage beating she endured; she just couldnât bring herself to hate her. But hate is not the same thing as fear.
They stood at the front door, dinner was already finished, and Valiant Heart was sitting at the table on a luckily acquired booster seat and drawing with crayons. Trixie dared to say that it almost looked like the picture of a cat⌠if cats were shaped like beans and had only two legs⌠and were purple with red stripes.
âI donât want her in my house or near my wife, or my child,â Maud said in a quiet voice so that Valiant wouldnât hear.
âI know, but Pinkie really wants us to try and be friends. Donât you think itâs worth it for your sister? I mean what are you going to do if they get married?â Trixie asked.
Maud didnât reply.
There was a quiet knock on the other side of the door not a moment later. Trixie hopped forward and grabbed the handle with her magic. The door swung open and revealed Pinkie Pie looking happier than ever, and Fluttershy standing next to her with her head hung so low that she actually appeared shorter then Pinkie Pie.
âHiya, Trixie, Maud,â Pinkie Pie said. She giggled a little. âThis is going to be so much fun!â
âHello, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy,â Trixie said as she stepped away from the door. âPlease come in and take a seat. Dinner will be served shortly.â
The couple entered and took their seats at the table. Valiant Heart looked up from her drawing saw Pinkie Pie and showed the picture off to her, pride glistening in her eyes. Pinkie Pie whistled. Fluttershy made a âdawwâ sound.
âThatâs a cute whatever it is,â Pinkie Pie said.
Valiant frowned at her.
âItâs a kitty,â Fluttershy said. âAnd itâs a wonderful kitty. I have a few drawings like that framed and hung above my bed.â
âYeah you do,â Pinkie Pie said. âThatâs weird.â
âItâs not weird, the pony that drew them for me is very sweet and I wanted to be able to remember them always,â Fluttershy said, in the kind of tone a parent would use to explain something to their child.
Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. âLike I said. W-e-i-red.â
Trixie shut and locked the door before going to take a seat at the table. Maud had already begun to set some kind of casserole on the table, along with a large bowl of steamed veggies. Which must have been what made Pinkie Pie pull a pan of cornbread out of⌠Trixie pretended that it was there the whole time and she simply didnât see it. She was getting good at pretending reality still functioned whenever Pinkie Pie was around.
âYou made cornbread?â Maud asked.
Fluttershy looked away from the table, but Pinkie Pie smiled wider and said, âYeppers.â
Maud gave her a flat look that could have meant anything from disbelief to disapproval. Somehow Trixie felt like it wasnât a good look whatever the case was. A couple of minutes passed as Maud got some of the food on everyponies plates and they sat down together. The silence went on for some time.
âSoâŚâ Pinkie Pie said, looking down at her plate. âThanks for inviting us to dinner. Right, Fluttershy?â
Fluttershy was shaking ever so slightly. âY-yes, t-thank you for allowing me into your home.â
It was hard for Trixie to feel anything but sympathy for Fluttershy as she watched how nervous and scared she was. Clearly Fluttershy didnât want to intrude on Trixieâs home anymore than Maud wanted her there. Pinkie Pie was setting this up, and likely just hoping that it would all work out.
Valiant gave out an impatient huff and began eating. She must have gotten sick of everypony acting weird. Trixie agreed and took a bite out of the cornbread. It was actually a lot better than she would have expected, the little bits of corn baked inside of it gave it a wonderful texture and suddenly she found herself eating all of it before she even thought about the casserole.
Fluttershy was squirming and looking quite out of place.
âItâs okay, Flutterpoo,â Pinkie Pie said gently.
Fluttershy nodded, closed her eyes and said something so quietly that Trixie couldnât hear it. Then she looked at the food and took a bite of the casserole, apparently she had much the same reaction to it as Trixie had to the cornbread. Because she was eating it none stop. Trixie half expected Fluttershy to face plant into her plate like she had the last time there was a large gathering of ponies for dinner. This time she was actually quite modest about how she ate, even if she was eating quite a bit.
âSo me and Fluttershy have been having dinner together, like, a lot,â Pinkie Pie said. âAnd uh, thatâs one of the reasons I havenât been around much. Sorry about that.â
Maud eyed Pinkie Pie, and then took a drink from her glass of wine. âAre you upset about how I treated you?â
Pinkie Pie looked away. âYou were right, I wasnât doing a very good job and Trixie got hurt because of me. I⌠I understand that now.â
âI still want you here with us,â Maud said. âYouâre my little sister.â
Pinkie Pie smiled at that and met Maudâs eyes. âThanks.â
Maud looked over at Fluttershy, who had all but stopped eating and was watching the two with wide eyes. A tiny breathless sigh escaped Maudâs lips. âFluttershy, if you want to join us for dinner again⌠so long as youâre with Pinkie Pie, youâll be welcomed.â
âT-thank you,â Fluttershy said. She looked near Trixie, but not exactly at Trixie. âIâm really sorry about everything Iâve done. After what happened Pinkieâs convinced me to go and see a therapist about my⌠issues.â
âThat sounds good, howâs that going?â Trixie asked quietly.
âG-good. I um, I learned that I have a few poisonous relationships that I needed to⌠remove. It hurt but I had to⌠break off one of my friendships,â Fluttershy said, there was a quiet weight to her words.
Trixie sat up straight. âWho was it?â
Fluttershy met Trixieâs eyes. âDiscord.â
That made Trixie gulp. The spirit of chaos was likely to take that news very poorly. âWhat happened?â
âHe agreed, told me that my friendship was most certainly cramping his style and then he put on a leather jacket and rode off into the sunset on this⌠metal thing with wheels. I was very confused,â Fluttershy said honestly. âHe hasnât bothered me since then.â
Trixie nodded.
âWell with all the things heâs done, I canât believe it took you this long,â Pinkie Pie said carelessly. She froze, looked around wildly and cleared her throat. âOops, I didnât mean to say that one out loud. I uh⌠I just mean heâs sort of aâŚâ
âBig dumb meanie head?â Fluttershy suggested.
âYeah, and he also hates Twilightâs guts,â Pinkie Pie said.
âThatâs only because sheâs an arrogant little-â Fluttershy cut herself off looked down and said. âI mean, he says âitâs only because sheâs an arrogant little princessâ. Those werenât my words.â
Well, Trixie thought, at least somepony agrees with me. Too bad it has to be Discord.
âThis wasnât too bad,â Pinkie Pie said. âItâs actually kinda nice getting together like this, right?â
Maud nodded slightly. Both Fluttershy and Trixie agreed with the statement. Valiant wasnât paying attention, at some point she had found a book and was reading while taking occasional bites of her food. It was all sorts of awkward, but it was nice. Maybe after enough dinners together, the awkwardness would leave, and it would just be nice.
The rest of the night went as smoothly as could be expected, complete with genuine thanks for coming over, and kind farewells. This left Trixie to wash dishes while Maud explained to Valiant that even if it was boring at the table, reading a book and ignoring ponies was rude. Valiant continued reading. Despite how many times theyâd explained it Valiant, Maud just didnât have the heart to actually enforce any rules. For that matter, neither did Trixie.
Well glad Flutters has grown up somewhat, she amditted to having a major problem, and getting help.
Sad she had to lose Discord..... Can't wait to read on the Gala, wonder how the confronation with Luna go.
I can imagine Trixie and Discord being good friends, oh all the tricks they could pull on Twilight.