• Published 30th Jul 2012
  • 1,995 Views, 169 Comments

Afraid Of My Shadow - Deyeaz



Sometimes, our most irrational fears can become our worst nightmares.... (Sequel to Horns, Hooves, and Fur)

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IV - Visions Of The Past and New Roommates (Praxis)

Afraid Of My Shadow

Written by CraimerX and ShadowWeaver

IV - Visions Of The Past and New Roommates (Praxis)

Man... being on the moon SUCKS. I now know how Luna felt now when Celestia booted HER ass over here...

...Psych, I’m just kidding. I’m not on the moon.

But from the look of distraught and surprise on Celestia’s face, I might as well just pack my bags and go to the moon already.

...Of course, I also told her to bite the pillow, because I was going in dry. Sadly, that also resulted in my getting thrown against the wall by her magic.

“Who are you? An assassin?! A burglar?! Explain yourself!” Princess Celestia demanded out of me as she got out of bed and made her way towards me, firing me a glare so intense that I almost urinated myself in fear.

“My body wasn’t ready, damn you...” I groaned painfully. She gasped in shock, her harsh gaze relinquishing from me.

“P...Praxis? Is... is that you?”

“Well, golly, sugar tits, what do YOU think?” I deadpanned. Before I knew it, Celestia brought me over to her at the speed of a train with her magic and pulled me into one of the biggest hugs I could’ve ever been yanked into.

“Oh, dear FAUST, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S YOU!!!” She screamed in joy.

“Can’t... breathe! Leggo... Celestia... PLEASE!” I choked out through being suffocated by Celestia’s fearsome glomp.

“Sorry... I couldn’t contain myself. How did you get out?”

“Simple. With the indirect help of Jace, the statue around me broke loose. And as for how I got in here?” I waved my right hand in her face and she gasped in shock, the eyeball blinking at her a few times.

“Praxis... what happened?” She inquired. I told her everything before I was set in stone: About Insanity cutting my arm off, how I tricked him into overshadowing me, how the arm regrew, and how the Harmony Cannon removed almost all of Insanity’s essence.

Almost....

Hang on... if part of Insanity is now within me, I also seem to obtain some of his powers and perks: strength, powers, intellect (if any), and, if my knowledge serves me right...

Immortality.

I didn’t like where this was going. Not one bit. Was I also to undergo the same un-aging process as Celestia, Luna, and Jace? To simply... exist? Until everyone dies, and only us four remain?

I didn’t want that... but as I mentioned before... we can’t always have what we want.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my reverie. “Celestia, art thou okay?” A voice said: It was Luna.

“Oh, ponyfeathers!” Celestia muttered. “Quick, hide!” I look around the room, and then my eyes rested on Celestia’s closet. I quickly closed the doors before the Princess of the Night entered.

“Art thou alright, sister? We heard yelling and a loud noise,” Luna said.

“It was nothing, Luna,” Celestia reassured nervously.

“Art thou sure? It didn’t sound like nothing.”

Time stood still for a couple of seconds. I had two choices: either make myself known or continue hiding. I could choose the former, and reveal myself to Luna. However the chances of her attacking me are high, especially since she’s more aggressive than Celestia. Or, I could choose the latter, and remain in the shadows of concealment. Sure, Luna might find me and kick my ass... and this closet is small because of all the clothes... and is that a pair of panties?! It’s all... red and small and FRILLY!

Ahem... moving on.

Make myself known or stay hiding? Decisions, decisions....

Oh, fuck it. Time to surprise THIS bitch.

“KNOCK-KNOCK, MOTHERFUCKER!” I shouted as loud as I could when I kicked open the door, the biggest smile plastered on my face.

Needless to say... I actually DID get my ass beat.

For starters, Luna yelped, rushed over, grabbed me by the horns, and started slamming me on the floor like Hulk did to Loki in The Avengers.

“LUNA! *SLAM* YOU! *SLAM!* CUUUUUUUUNT!” The last word came out as a drawn-out yell as Luna throws me at the wall, imbedding my horns in the stone of it from how strong the throw was and how sharp my horns were.

“HOW DAREST THOU INTRUDE UPON OUR SISTER’S ROOM AND HAVE YOUR WRETCHED WAY WITH HER?!” Luna bellows at me.

As she was yelling at me, I was trying to get my horns dislodged from the wall. “It’s good to see you too, sweet flank.”

“P-P-P-P-P-PRAXIS?!” Luna’s jaw almost fell to the floor.

“The only and only.” Luna, in a fit of apologetic hysteria, tackles me in a hug and holds me tighter than a straitjacket.

PRAXIS, WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE US!!!!” She begged in the Royal Canterlot Voice, almost threatening to rupture my eardrums.

“I’ll... forgive you... if you... let go!” I smacked her foreleg to show that I tapped out and surrendered.

“Sorry!” Luna let go of me, and I fell to the floor, once more straining to regain my breath. “How did you get out? And what in Tartarus happened to your arm?!”

I sighed in frustration before telling her all what I had told Celestia.

“In...incredible...” Luna murmured in awe.

“Wait, why did you visit me in the middle of the night?” Celestia inquired.

“What, I can’t see an old friend?” Celestia smiled warmly, a bit of a blush reaching her cheeks.

“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever had casual visitors before....”

“Exactly... I wanted to see both you and Luna. I also want to tell the world that I’m back... but I guess the statue being broken is enough evidence.”

“Not entirely... nopony in Canterlot, or any other town, knows you’re back,” Luna reasoned.

Touche....

“Very well... but how are you going to go about this?” Celestia asked.

I take a seat and ponder for a few minutes on what to do. I want to do something comedic. Something jovial.

“I’ve got an idea....”


“This is probably the second-stupidest idea I have ever heard....” Celestia deadpanned. She had just finished with chowing down, bringing me up a few scraps once she was finished. Another thing I miss when I was a statue: food. No matter what, I always died inside whenever I saw some fat pony eating something when they visited my “grave”. Luna went to sleep, for she had been up the whole night, leaving only me and Celestia on the balcony of her room.

“What was the first?” I asked.

“Jace suggesting that the planet orbits the sun....”

“Oh well, it’ll work, though.” I informed her. She grabbed me in her magical grip and placed me on her back. She let out a small grunt of exertion as I sat.

“Good grief, you’re heavy!” she commented.

“....” She started flaring her wings, getting ready for takeoff. Her magic flared a little bit, and my throat underwent a slight tingling sensation. I nod my thanks, and she takes off into the sky. I clear my throat.

“Ready?!” She shouted as we flew over the town of Canterlot. I nod. I clear my throat once more before giving a shout to the almighty heavens.

I AM BASED GOD!!!” I bellowed, trying to keep a straight face. “THERE IS NO USE IN HIDING YOUR BITCHES: I SHALL FUCK THEM ALL, ANYWAY!!!

What? Shut up, it was totally worth it.

Anyways, back to what happened.

My voice rang like multiple gunshots, surpassing even the sound limit. The whole town of Canterlot and possibly beyond shook from the sheer force of my voice. Everypony down below us looked up and saw us flying over their heads. They recognized Celestia and waved, smiled, bowed, what have you. But their jaws dropped when they witnessed me. Some didn’t recognize me right away, or had forgotten.

Others, however? Well, lemme just say that I don’t always get imprisoned in stone... but when I do, I break out and get rained in scanty undergarments.

...Yeah, I’m just messing around with you, they didn’t do that. However, I feel like that that’s what should’ve happened: living legends that get encased in stone usually don’t come out of stone... well, aside from Discord, but he’s not important right now.

What is important... is finally getting back home again.

Celestia dropped down low to the ground, and I hopped off of her back and onto the pavement in the middle of the road. Her horn glowed, relinquishing the voice-amplification charm. She nodded and smiled, wishing me a fine farewell before flying back up to her castle. The ponies on the ground saw me and waved happily, greeting me good morning.

I only smiled and waved back. I continued travelling the streets, taking in the sights and smells of the town, my ears twitching every now and then from the sounds that the civilians casted.

I stop for a second, the smell of more food teasing my nostrils. I turn around to see a small cafe about sixty meters away. The sign read “The Coffee Bean”, in all capital letters and neon tubes, with the ‘ee’ in ‘Coffee’ shaped like a large coffee mug, steam rising out of it. The scent of food, mixed with herbal teas and caffeinated beverages, grew more tantalizing by the second.

It’s been awhile since I had indulged myself in sweet red tea....

Sadly, as I made my way there, I do one not-so-smart thing: going down an alley to get to it.

The narrow strip of walkable pavement bore seven things. Two trashcans, a Dumpster, and four large cardboard boxes, two of them severely thrashed. Apple cores and broken cider bottles littered the ground, along with a few spare bits that no one had bothered collecting. I walk over to them and picked them up, not even caring that they were in a neat pile.

Unfortunately, I had walked into a trap.

With a shriek of anger and a whooshing sound, something jumped on top of me, knocking me to the floor from the sheer strength of the impact.

I bleated in fear as the thing that jumped me punched the back of my head, sending my face into the pavement and causing my nose to bleed.

It wasn’t a thing... it was a PONY.

I got flipped onto my back via magical leylines to face...

“Give Trixie all of your money, and nopony gets hurt!”

‘Oh, HELLLLLLLLLLLLL no.’

Now, this would’ve been a successful mugging, had it not been for one drawback.

She left my arms free.

I grabbed Trixie’s horn in my right hand and grasped it firmly, making sure not to hold it too tight, lest the strength of this newly-acquired arm destroys her horn.

“Give me a good reason as to why I shouldn’t break your horn with my bare hands,” I say vehemently.

Trixie was racked with immense fear, shaking heavily at her horn being grasped, the vice-like hold stifling her magic. Now that I took a closer look at her, I saw that Trixie was the worst for wear. Her azure coat was matted with dirt and possibly blood. Her mane and tail were heavily disheveled and dirty. Her cloak and hat were tattered and rips in numerous places. Her eyes, above all other things, were starting to brim with tears.

“P-p-please spare Trixie!” she screamed.

Another thing that somewhat irritated me: Trixie’s urge to keep referring to herself in the third person dialogue. I would’ve tested the strength in my arm, had it not been for the sound of the cafe’s door opening, the sound of a tinkling bell striking my ears. I whipped my head around, hand still gripping Trixie’s horn, and saw a large golden yellow Pegasus pony with red eyes and a black and golden yellow mane and tail walk out of the coffee shop with a garbage bag in his mouth.

“Oi! What’cha think yer doin’, boyo!” the pony shouted at me, the bag falling out of his mouth as he spoke. I dropped Trixie in surprise, and she squeaked as she hit the floor. “P-Praxis?! Is that really you, boyo?!” The pony trotted closer to me, and I could see that he was well-built. He was rather tall, his nose coming up to my chest as he stood in front of me. He started to pace around me, and look over me. “Well, I’ll be Nessy’s uncle! It IS you!”

“Uh-huh... I take it you’re Black Gold?” The pony nodded.

“Hang on... that’s PRAXIS?” Trixie asked as she got up off of the floor. “Oh, ponyfeathers.”

“Trixie?! Getcha’ flank in here, Lass! Yer gon’ be catchin’ a cold er sumthin’!” Gold backed away from the door to make room for Trixie to pass into the shop. “And you, Fluffy! Get in’ there!” He smiled wide at me. I returned the smile and did as he asked.

The shop was a beautiful foundation, styled like a 50s diner, with a very wide bar being in the middle, and the kiosks being placed against the wall. Each kiosk seat had red vinyl on the seats and backrest, and each one had a lovely table. Working behind the center bar was an Earth Pony mare with a light-brown coat, and a darker cinnamon-colored mane and tail.

“Oi, Nutmeg! Looky what the cat dragged in!” The mare turned around after finishing an order and went wide eyed and gasped when she saw Praxis standing next to Gold.

“Praxis! Well, ah’ll be!” OK, this is one thing I’ll point out, this family has some accents... I’ll tell ya that much. We got Black Gold who has a thick Scoltish accent and Nutmeg who has a hint of a southern accent. Where these two met, I’ll never know. “We all thought y’all were dead!”

“Well, then, death’s veil is very thin, if that’s the case.” I walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. I grabbed a napkin from off the bar counter and tore it in two before I plugged my nose with the shred, temporarily stopping the blood flow. Nutmeg saw my hand and shivered in grotesque surprise.

“Not ta be rude, Praxis, but... What happened to yer arm, boyo?” Gold asked, slowly making his way to the bar next to Nutmeg. Now, I could get a comparison of size here. Compared to her, Gold stood about a good head taller than his wife, Nutmeg.

I recounted with them the story I had told Celestia and Luna. While this was only the third time today I’ve had to explain myself, I had a very bad feeling that I was about to be telling everypony everything.

“Interestin’...” Nutmeg hummed. I looked back to see Trixie still sitting right by the door, looking down at the laminate tiles.

“‘Ey!” I called. She jumped up about a few inches in the air. “Don’t be a stranger! Have a seat.”

Trixie stood up and precariously walked over to my side, and sat down on the stool next to me.

“Trixie? Mah word! You look like you haven’t eatin’ in ages!” Nutmeg trotted over to a display case of donuts and assorted cakes and such and pulled out a piece of coffee cake, put it on a plate, and set it down in front of of the showpony. “There ya are! Eat up!”

I watched Trixie’s eyes light up like fireworks... but her face fell when she asked the question, “But how is Trixie pay for all of this?”

“It’s on the house, hun!” Nutmeg said happily. Trixie’s face brightened once again as she magicked a donut with strawberry filling over to her mouth and bit hungrily, savoring the taste of it.

“Thank you!” She said once she swallowed.

“Mah pleasure!” Nutmeg told her.

“So Praxis, what can I do ya fer?” Black Gold asked.

“Erm... can I simply use the kitchen for a bit?”

“Why, certainly!” Nutmeg replied. I nodded my thanks and hopped over the counter of the large bar towards the kitchen. I saw a large kettle of water on the stove, as well as a small tin of black tea leaves and a couple sprigs of mint.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Praxis, I thought you wanted RED tea, not BLACK tea!’ Actually, that’s correct. I DO want red tea, for I haven’t had it since I was still a teenager. But us Libyans have... special ways of brewing black tea leaves. For starters, it doesn’t come out as dark as night, but instead, it is shown as a dark crimson, almost like blood.

I went to the stove and turned on the section that the kettle rested on, the needle of the dial cranked on ‘HI’. I washed the mint sprigs and waited for the water to boil. After a minute of waiting, the water started to bubble and froth merrily. I tossed a few teaspoons of the tea leaves into the water, the color changing almost instantly as the leaves bled out into the frothing liquid. I toss the mint sprigs in later, and lower the heat on the stove section down to ‘LO’, letting it simmer.

Another minute passed, and I took the kettle off of the stove. Nutmeg removed four mugs from out of one of the cabinets and gave them to me.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

When Nutmeg saw the red hue of the tea, she let out a scream and hid behind Black Gold, all the while pointing at me. “RUN!!! HE’S BLOODTHIRSTY!!!”

I facepalmed, almost threatening to bloody my nose again.

“Aww, ‘Meg! It’s tea! That, or he’s one of them Reapers...”

“No, I am not a Reaper, my friends,” I said. “Not anymore, at least.” Before I could continue on my explanation, I heard something whimper from behind me. I turn around and see a little filly with a dark brown coat, black mane, and hazel eyes. She saw me look at her and flinched, before trying to run away.

However, Gold put a stop to her escape by gently sticking his hoof out and halting her. “It’s alright, lassy. He’s not gonna hurt ya.”

“Mm-hmm,” I said as I knelt down and gave her my left hand to prevent from scaring her any further. “Hello, little one,” I told her in the kindest voice I could muster. “What’s your name?”

“M-M-M-Moc-c-c-cha L-L-L-Lat-tt-tt-tte,” she stuttered heavily.

“Mocha Latte? It’s a very lovely name for a very lovely girl.”

Mocha’s shaking slowly died down. “Th-thank you, mister,” she said, a weak smile on her face. I smile, making sure not to flash my sharp teeth at her.

“Mocha, sweetheart. Would you mind taking this order ta that nice stallion ovah there?” Nutmeg pointed to a stallion who was sipping on a coffee and reading the morning paper.

“Of course, mama!” The little filly trotted over and Nutmeg balanced a tray on her back, putting another cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake on it. Mocha happily made her way to the stallion and gave him his order.

“She’s such a big help around here... She takes the orders ta people, she helps clean up when we close...” Gold smiled wide.

“Fascinating...” I said as I stood up and gave the still-surprisingly-warm tea to Trixie, Nutmeg, and Gold, taking one for myself. I take a quick sip.

Absolutely perfect.

The other three seemed to enjoy it as well, sighing in content before adding more sugar to their tea. Personally, the mint added to it is enough for me, for it gives it a fresher taste.

I actually took a few leaves off of the remaining mint sprigs and placed them in my mouth, my teeth grinding them into paste. The taste of the leaves soon cleared the bacteria off of my tongue and freshened my breath.

I sighed in content.

“Eh, I got a question, Praxy my boy,” I turned to face Gold. “Have ya gone ta see Jace yet?”

I shook my head. “Nor have I gotten to see Lyra.”

Worry started to plague both Gold’s face and Nutmeg’s face when I mentioned Lyra. “Guys, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Er... nothin’,” Nutmeg responded. “Nothin’ at all.” She smiled nervously to prove her point.

I walked over to Nutmeg. “C’mon, it doesn’t sound like nothing,” I said as I put my right hand on her forehead in an attempt to comfort her and coax into telling me the truth.

I wished I hadn’t.

The second my hand touched Nutmeg, the eye on top starting glowing an even brighter sky-blue. My eyes rolled back into my head, and when they returned to their normal position... my vision seemed to... change. Like I was no longer in a cafe, and that everypony else around me wasn’t there. Instead, I appeared in what looked like a hospital room. In it were Doctor Stable, Nurse Redheart, Derpy Hooves, Carrot Top, Bon-Bon, Nutmeg, Black Gold, and, on a sickbed, Lyra. Everything seemed ever-so-slightly foggy, and yet, no one seemed to notice that a satyr had just mysteriously appeared in the room. Judging by Lyra’s strained expression and the way her back legs were propped on a legrest, she seemed to be giving birth.

“C’mon, Lyra!” Doctor Stable urged the seafoam-green Unicorn, whose hoof was being held tenderly by Bon-Bon. “Push, darn it!”

“NNNNNNNNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” The BPM on the heart-rate machine was off the charts, beeping at a rapid rate. Lyra was sweating from the exertion of childbirth. After a few quick breaths and another large push, followed by louder and more painful screaming, I heard something amidst all the chaos.

A baby crying.

I saw Nurse Redheart go wide-eyed as she withdrew a bundle of blankets and looked into its contents. I walked over and couldn’t restrain the smile that spread across my face.

Inside the bundle was a little baby. It wasn’t a foal. But it was like me, a satyr, due to its pointy ears I saw at first glance. There was a white stripe in its short black hair, on the left side of his head, his light-tan skin shining like silver. I saw a tuft of light green sticking out where his waist was supposed to be, and I saw that the fur was the exact same color as his mother’s coat.

I turned to face Lyra, and smiled. “He’s here...” I murmured, my words falling on deaf ears.

“Ca... Can I see him...?” She asked weakly in between great breaths of air. Nurse Redheart walked over with the infant in her foreleg and laid him next to Lyra on the bed. The infant smiled contentedly as he snuggled closer to his mom.

“He’s... beautiful...” She whispered feebly, her breathing getting fainter and fainter as her eyelids got heavier by the second. “I wish... Praxis... was here... to see this....”

I almost broke down into tears of both joy and misery at those words. I just wanted to shout out that I was there... But like before, my words would not be heard.

I looked that the BPM meter... and my heart sank instantly.

*BEEP... BEEP...... BEEP......... BEEP............BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-*

I feel my feet violently leave the ground and slam back into it again as I re-emerged in the present, back in the ‘The Coffee Bean’ cafe. Nutmeg and I are panting heavily, like she had run a marathon and I had run twenty of them. Trixie, Mocha Latte, and Black Gold are staring at me.

“Are you alright, Meg?” Gold slowly made his way to his wife who looked over at him and nodded a bit before leaning against his body. “Jeez... I couldn’t get you two ta snap outta it for almost an hour!”

“Wh....What happened?!” Nutmeg asked exasperatedly.

“When you touched Nutmeg’s forehead, Praxis, The two of you just went... blank. Your eyes seemed to be just whites,” Trixie explained. “Even worse, Trixie saw you two float in the air for a few seconds. Half of the customers got scared out of their mind.”

“Mr. Praxis... are you alright?” Mocha Latte asked.

I turned to face her, wetness streaking my face... was I... was I crying? No.. for the past four years, I still have not shed a tear. Albeit, I was in stone, but that's it. Now?

I'm utterly devastated. Lyra's... dead?

No... it can't be. I know her: she's a tough one, she is. She can't just die because of some childbirth process....

But still... that vision... that memory... it only pointed to the most obvious answer.

Lyra is dead....

“Yeah...” I lied. “I’ll be fine.” I wiped my face, got up off of the floor, and made my way for the exit. “Trixie, you coming along?”

“What are you talking about?’ The showpony asked.

“I can’t let you live in the streets, now can I? C’mon, you’re staying at my place.” Trixie smiles widely at my gesture and scampered along. Once we exited the door, I waved back at Nutmeg, Black Gold, and Mocha Latte. I picked Trixie up and rested her on my shoulders. She yelped in surprise, tightened her hind legs’ grip around my neck and grabbed onto my horns to prevent from falling off. “Good thinking...” I swung my arm at one of the tallest houses I see, a large mansion about fifty feet tall. I leaned backwards once the claws dug into the stone of the place of dwelling. “Because this is gonna be a bumpy ride.”

I jump up, my arm immediately retracting as me and Trixie shot up multiple yards above the house.

I seemed to have overshot it, however, when we both flew beyond the Canterlot boundaries and began descending down the mountainside.

“OH, SHIT!” I screamed in panic. Trixie wa holding on for dear life, screaming like a banshee from Hell. I quickly looked back at my hand and swallowed hard before I threw an arm-extending punch at one of the jutting rocks on the mountainside. My fist plowed through the rock, and I quickly plant my hooves on the large broken slab. I soon start skateboarding down the mountain.

Upside? Not only does this bring back good memories, but I also seemed to have found a new way to get down mountains faster.

Downside? Trixie’s still screaming.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I folded my ears down so that I didn’t have to hear her wail like a ghost. It wasn’t very effective: her shrill voice still burrowed itself into my head and made my brain cry in agony.

We both reached the bottom of the mountain, and I jumped off of the slab of rock at the last moment. The momentum of the descending rock gave me quite a bit of air time, and I landed a bit sloppily on the ground. Trixie is shaking viciously, like she had been caught in a snowstorm.

“Trixie? Trixie!” I shouted. “Calm the HELL down, woman.” The mare seems to snap out of her fit of fear and looks at me.

“Sorry. Trixie is just not used to... *gulp* extreme heights,” she explained, her eyes as small as a pea.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind some speed,’ I said.

“What are you--”

*FWHOOSH*

“--TALKING ABOOOOUUUUUT?!?!”

I tried to ignore her screaming, but once again, her voice still drilled into my skull. At least this is faster than sliding down that mountain.

Within a few moments of high-speed travels and relentless screaming that anyone would’ve mistaken for opera, we finally make it to the beautiful town of Ponyville. I veered off course, however, and went to the one place in the Everfree Forest that I still assumed was safe.

“Here we are!” I say after a while.

Standing before us was a monolithic, hollow yew tree. A large archway with fray grass curtains stood in front of me. I pushed through the curtains and sighed at the large and thick layers of dust that coated everything: the chairs, the carpets, the coffee table, the spiraling staircase. Everything. Even worse it’s incredibly dark, and I could barely see a thing, save for the light streaming from the windows.

“My Goddess, this is terrible!” Trixie exclaimed. I almost threw her outside.

“It just needs some dusting, is all,” I retorted defensively. “OK, rules. First off: no speaking in the third-person.”

“But Trix-”

“Nope!” I intervene. “No third-person. Period. Refer to yourself as ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’. Understand?”

“Yes...”

“Second: No showboating.”

“That, Trix -- er, I, can understand.”

“And the third: clean up after yourself: I’m not your damn maid, alright?”

“Okay,” Trixie said. “Wait, what happens if Trix -- um, I -- break the rules?”

“...I hang you upside-down by your hooves and beat you with an ugly stick,” I deadpanned.

A light chuckle came from inside the treehouse as a candle was lit and the dark figure of Zeke could be seen in a chair, in the living room, head down, hood up, and just sitting there. “Glad to have you back...” He lifted his head and his red eyes bore right through my stare. “Praxis Moradov...”