My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record

by The King of Hearts

Leave it Alone

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Leave it Alone
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By the time a few more hours had passed, the sun was well down. And just about everypony had gone home. All who remained at this point, was Alex and Rainbow Dash, as they sat with Twilight and Alpha in the main section of the library, looking back, and catching up on the last couple of months that the two former ponies had been absent.

“So, you’re telling me that Princess Celestia might reinstate me as a captain?” Dash asked hopefully, having thought that her career was ended the moment she resigned.

“Of course!” Twilight laughed, forgetting that not everypony knew Celestia as well as she did, “We talked briefly about it, and she told me that if there were ever a reason for you to want to come back, she’d happily do so.”

“You sure you don’t just wanna… retire young?” Alex asked hopefully, giving her his best puppy dog face, “I mean, we might all be dead this time next year. Might as well enjoy ourselves, right?”

“Alex, if I can do anything that could get this town… or world ready for what might be coming for us, then I have a responsibility to do that.” Dash said seriously, her gaze showing a hint of sadness behind her words.

“I know.” Alex nodded, as he looked her over quickly, with a smirk “You’re not the Rainbow Dash you used to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” She asked, surprisingly insulted by his observation.

“You’re way harder working now!” Alex defended, throwing up his hooves, half expecting a smack, “S-since I was turned to stone! Or… when I vanished for three months?”

“Okay…” She said, her eyes narrowed, as if to be suddenly insulted again.

“He’s right, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight pointed out, “When I first met you, you would just… sleep on clouds all day!”

“But now, you just do the work, so you can have more time to relax at the end!” Alex finished, giving her a nervous smile.

“I guess so…” She said, no longer taking offence to their explanations, “I mean, none of us are really the same as we were when you two first came to Ponyville.”

“Well, there’s Rarity and Spike,” Alex said, “That green bastard used to be a dragon! Remember those days?”

“It seems so long ago,” Twilight grimaced, wondering what life would look like if he had never turned in to a pony. Probably much less fun for him.

“Rarity’s much less focused on herself,” Dash added, pausing for a moment, before continuing, “Well, aside from that whole ‘Nightmare’ thing.”

“Pinkie’s gone through a lot in the last few months,” Alpha shook his head, not recalling a time she had been happy since Dash’s secret came out, “Today was the first party I’ve seen her throw since you two left Ponyville.”

Alex and Dash both felt a pang of guilt as he said that.

“Applejack’s been a lot quieter herself,” Twilight pointed out, scrunching her face in thought, “I think she’s been really scared of her dark side.”

“After what happened with me, I can’t blame her for that.” Dash nodded, “I mean… any of them could already be taken over, and they’d have no idea.”

“What about Fluttershy?” Alex asked, having not seen too much of her since he was freed from stone, “I mean, she’s been pretty normal every time I’ve seen her.”

“She’s very… Fluttershy about it,” Twilight scratched the back of her head, “Afraid.”

“Dark sides, huh?” A voice asked from the entrance to the guest bedroom, “What have you ponies been going through?”

“Oh, Trixie!” Twilight said, standing up and approaching the blue mare, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” She said softly, looking away from her, “I’m sorry about breaking down. I thought I was ready to tell that story.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Dash said, standing up and joining Trixie and Twilight, “Why don’t you sit down with us for a few minutes?”

“Oh, I don’t want to—“

“Please.” Alpha said with a kind smile.

Relenting, Trixie sat at the head of the table, as Dash and Twilight sat down next to their respective stallions, “I have so many questions about what you’ve all been through over the last few years.”

“There’s been plenty.” Alex exhaled, trying to sum up the events in his mind, “I mean…Crashing the Wonderbolt tryouts, going back in time and saving Luna’s child, fighting Alpha at Haven Station with my dark side, defeating Discord, being enslaved for a few years by the changelings, being freed and saving Canterlot, Nightmare Rarity, and shadow Rainbow Dash… that about brings us here.”

Trixie was truly shocked at the long list of things they had done together since she had last visited Ponyville. She wasn’t sure if she should be jealous, or happy that she hadn’t been involved in those situations.

“Anything you’d like us to elaborate on?” Alex asked with a smile, knowing that she would indeed have questions.

“Dark sides?” She asked instantly, this being the main focus of her curiosity, “How does that even work?”

“That’s a tough one,” Twilight spoke up, chucking at the absurdity of their situation, “Well, Rarity and Rainbow Dash have both faced… alternate versions of themselves. Ones that have exposed their deepest secrets, and fears to them, in a bid to be recognized as a part of their soul.”

“Are you serious?” Trixie asked in pure shock, having no idea that such a magic existed, “How did this even happen to them?”

“Discord did something… I’m not sure,” Alex explained as best he could, “Somehow he unlocked these parts of their souls. And in doing so, he’s allowed anypony who has accepted their dark sides to wield chaotic magic.”

“I’ve heard a lot about that kind of magic,” Trixie said, looking to Twilight and Alpha, “That amulet I gave you enhances chaotic magic in the user. It can make even small amounts of chaos multiply into overflowing reserves.”

Twilight glanced over to the cupboard she had placed the amulet in, and swallowed hard. It would suck if that thing got in to the wrong hooves.

“Aside from the amulet,” Trixie began again, looking to Alex and Dash, “Does that mean you can cast magic?”

Dash paused for a moment, as she figured that Trixie had been referring to Alex. But, her gaze was planted firmly on the cyan mare.

“Oh! Me?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder to her wings, “Well, I’ve made some magic come out. But it only seems to happen when…”

She looked at Alex, and then back to Trixie with a small blush.

“Well, when I’m excited.” Dash said, chuckling softly, “Ask Alex to use his chaotic magic.”

“You can use it as well?” She asked, moving on to the alicorn next to Dash, “I insist you show—well, that is, if you’d like to… I’d be interested to see some chaotic magic.”

“Well, for me… it’s blurred together at this point,” Alex admitted, as she returned with a confused look, “Ever since Haven Station, when I accepted my dark side, I’ve more or less used a combination of harmonious, and chaotic magic. It has the properties of both magics, and can produce much stronger spells.”

“Why don’t you show her that spell you used to save Rainbow Dash back when my men were trying to take her away?” Alpha suggested, with a smirk on his face.

“You mean the spell that destroyed the entire complex? By liquefying every piece of wood, stone, and metal?” Alex asked, almost blushing himself at the small praise Alpha was giving him, “I think somepony would get hurt if I did that.”

“It’s not like you can’t heal them right up.” Twilight added, remembering all the times he had used curative magic to help the ponies around town.

“You guys are embarrassing me!” Alex said, feigning his embarrassment for the sake of the mood in the room, “I don’t think I’d do too well without you guys keeping me going!”

“Is there any chance I could… perhaps learn this magic myself?” Trixie asked, with a tinge of hope in her tone, “Healing magic is something Trixie—I would be very interested in having at my disposal.”

“You’d have to talk to Discord,” Alex said immediately, “He’s in charge of all of that.”

“Okay.” She said simply, falling silent as the conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Everypony simply looked between one another as Trixie looked at the floor. All of them were trying to communicate through facial expressions, and the gist of the conversation was ‘let’s make her feel better.’

“Well… do you have any scars on your body?” Alex asked, as she looked back up at him.

“I do have one…” She said, lifting her right hoof off the floor, and showed him a thick, deformed patch on her ankle, “I gave that to myself with an out of control fire spell about ten years ago.”

Not responding, Alex approached her, and surrounded the hoof in a levitation field.

Trixie exhaled quickly. The spell was placing just a bit too much pressure on her sensitive arm.

“Oh, sorry.” Alex said, recognizing the look of pain on her face, before casting a healing spell, bathing her hoof in a blue energy that quickly faded, removing all impurities from her leg.

Trixie had no response. She was simply in awe.

“I can heal pretty much anything.” Alex said, recalling the several times he had used the magic to save a life, “Got any friends that need a fix up?”

Suddenly, Trixie’s expression turned to one of deep sadness, as she pulled her hoof away from his grip.

“Are you okay?” Dash asked quickly.

“I- I need to go.” Trixie said, immediately leaving the table and heading for the room Twilight had given her, “I’m sorry.”

“Trixie!” Twilight called, as the door was heard softly closing behind her.

“What the buck happened to her?” Alex asked.

“Well, I think that’s pretty obvious right now…” Alpha said, having no trouble putting two and two together.

“I think it’d be best if we just kept off the topic of… curing sick ponies.” Twilight frowned, standing up and heading for the guest room door, “I’ll try to cheer her up a bit.”

“Okay.” Dash said standing up and heading for the front door, with Alex in tow, “From now on, we’ll keep any questions to ourselves”

Alex nodded along with her.

“We’ll keep off the topic until she’s ready. We’ll leave it alone.” Alex said.

It was a very good thing they all agreed to not push the story out of Trixie. It would have made them pity the mare far more than they ever could have imagined.

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Comments

[SageBrony07]

Sweet chapter. I love this new side of Trixie. I hope she learns curative magic as well. Good luck with the next chapter. Thanks for the update.

[Dr_D]

Good thing it was a short chapter, cause I need to get to bed.

[Zexcoiler Kingbolt]

!! I remember reading this about a year ago on FF. New chapters? Yes!

[Galaxy Knight]

Why pity? It's such a horrible sounding word. Can't we just say it would make them feel sorry for her?

[Super-Brony12]

Poor Trixie. She's hurting...a lot.

~ Super-Brony12

[Booster Spice]

Trixies now looking at learning chaos magic, and the amulet for what it migh help her with?

[pahnazd]

It's fun (not really) how a conversation can turn from light hearted to uncomfortable thanks to one comment and reaction.
Poor Trixie... let's see when she's feeling ready to tell the whole story. This time she at least will have friends to support her through it.

[tsaukpaetra]

so did Trixie lose... Oh...