Chapter 25
It was a difficult transition to go from a hoofloose and fancy free spirit that wandered everywhere to a responsible, ‘I’ve got this covered’ mother whose life was filled with a constant stream of never ending worry. For Trixie, the transition was still happening. For her, stress and complications were dealt with by running away, but she couldn’t run. Not anymore. If it was just her, she might run, but it was no longer just her. There was Sumac—and Boomer as well. Boomer had a worrying amount of personality and self awareness, two things that scared Trixie, and the knowledge that she was responsible for another life scared her to death.
More than anything else, she wished that Tarnish and Maud were here. They would know how to fix things. They would know how to make everything right. They would know all of the right things to do. But Tarnish and Maud were not here. Instead, Trixie had to settle for Pebble, which was still somehow comforting in a most peculiar way. She was an odd mix of both her mother and her father.
Feeling frantic with worry, she looked at Sumac, who was propped up with pillows on the couch. His eyes were glassy, but he seemed a little more coherent than earlier. Beside him, Pebble was reading a book, and Boomer was perched on top of the couch.
Trixie had trouble even being angry properly. She wanted to be angry with Olive, that would make everything easy. But Olive, as bad as she was, was some mother’s foal, she had worried, scared parents, and with that thought, all Trixie could think about was how troubled Sapphire Gin and Vermouth must be. She was certain that this was all part of some terrible plan by Twilight Sparkle to make her aware of the troubles of the ponies around her and make her have some sort of social consciousness.
It bothered her that she was going to have a stern conversation with Sumac about his own part in this. It didn’t feel very fair, but doing the right thing didn’t always feel fair. She seemed to recall that Tarnish, or perhaps Maud had once said that. Life wasn’t fair… it wasn’t fair to Tarnish or Maud that they had to put themselves into danger, go into a camp full of dangerous diamond dogs, and rescue a waylaid traveller who had been in dire straits, but they had done it.
It also wasn’t very fair that said waylaid traveller had slipped off in the night, no doubt leaving her rescuers to worry about her. Trixie felt a painful stab of guilt, an actual physical sensation, and it went right through her right front leg, the leg that had been full of gangrene and rot.
There were things that Trixie had to make right. It scared her and she didn’t know how to begin, but she had to try. She looked over at Sumac and knew that she had to do it for him. She owed him that. She had to be a good example.
She felt another pony brush up against her side, looked over, and saw Lemon Hearts. Her eyes, the same colour as raspberry jam, were reflective in the current light and Trixie could see herself in them. After staring for a moment, Trixie felt warmth blossoming in her cheeks and she looked away, returning her gaze to the foals sitting on the couch. A smile spread over her muzzle and she heard a little snort from Lemon Hearts.
“You have competition,” Lemon Hearts said in a teasing voice.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Trixie replied.
“You aren’t the only mare in Sumac’s life… you have competition in the form of a little chocolate brown filly—”
“That’s not competition,” Trixie retorted as she shook her head, “she’s… well, she’s a helper. Maybe she can help keep him straight when I’m not around.”
“That’s a funny way of looking at it.”
“How so?”
“Usually, little fillies are a mother’s nightmare. They exist to take their precious colts away and rob them of their sweet innocence.” There was a giggle from Lemon Hearts. “Or sometimes they steal a daughter. I’m not one to judge.”
Eyes narrowing, Trixie shook her head. “Little colts are just as capable of swiping innocence.” Trixie watched as Pebble held her book out so Sumac could look at a picture. “One day, Sumac is going to start noticing fillies and everything will be all over, I suppose. Our special relationship will be gone and his heart will belong to another.”
“Don’t take it so hard,” Lemon Hearts said to Trixie in a low, soft, whispery voice. “You still have plenty of time. He’s still sweet, and little, and will cuddle with you in the bed.” A low chuckle could be heard coming from the mare.
“It seemed like only yesterday I met him… where did the years go?” Trixie asked.
As Trixie stood there, thinking back upon those happy years, she heard a loud thud followed by the sound of shattering glass that made her ears perk. Her head jerked upwards and she began to look around, trying to peer out the windows. She heard shouting, then whimpering, and more shouting. She heard the word ‘sniveling’ and knew there was something wrong.
“Stay with Sumac!” Trixie commanded Pebble as she headed for the front door.
Trixie moved with surprising swiftness, her knees popping, and she flinched when a particularly loud crackle came from her right front leg. It didn’t slow her down though. Lemon Hearts moved with her, her horn glowing, and it was Lemon Hearts who jerked the door open so both of them could go outside to find out what was going wrong.
Many of the neighbors were out and Trixie had trouble trying to determine the source of the commotion. She looked around, up and down the street, and that was when she saw it. Cinnamon Fire was running right for her, his eyes wide with terror, and behind him, hot on his heels, was his father. Trixie blinked. The little colt was limping, favouring his left hind leg. His nose was bloodied. Trixie blinked again and when her eyes opened, there was a terrible rushing sound in her ears.
“How dare you!” After she spat out the words, she gritted her teeth. Her aching knees somehow made her anger and her rage even worse, making it difficult to concentrate. “How dare you hurt somepony so small and so helpless!” The past and the present began to swirl together for Trixie, and she could feel her old hurts, her injuries. She felt every blow, every unkind cuff from the diamond dogs, and the intrusion of the past upon the present made her dizzy.
There was more shouting from the neighbors around them and Cinnamon went running past Trixie, yelping, whimpering, and something about the sounds triggered something deep within the mare who had an unfortunate moment of her past catching up to her. Trixie, who for the most part, tried to be the Humble and Penitent Trixie, boiled over.
Baring her teeth, her ears perking, her horn glowing, she became the Furious and Ferocious Trixie. Moving on reflex, she ripped a mailbox out of the ground from beside her, yanking it up post and all, and then with a terrible but terrific gonging sound, she brought the mailbox down upon the charging stallion’s head.
He dropped to the ground, unmoving, limp, and unresponsive.
Not done, Trixie lifted the mailbox up high into the air, and it quivered over the body of the prone stallion. Her whole body trembled with rage, so much so that her teeth were clattering together, even though she was trying to grind them against each other.
“Trixie… it’s over and done with… don’t do it… please… there’ll be trouble if you do it…” Lemon Hearts’ words were pleading, she begged for Trixie to come to her senses. “Look, whatever bad things happened to you, he didn’t do them. He did something awful and he’ll pay for it… but you need to step away.”
The mailbox, which was dented and misshapen, was tossed away. It landed with a clatter upon the cobblestones, skittered over the road, and came to a skidding halt when it collided with the fence.
“Attagirl,” Lemon Hearts’ said to Trixie as she scooped up Cinnamon. “We need to have you looked at, little guy. Is it okay if I help you?” Lemon Hearts held the colt up to eye level and began to examine him.
“He lost his temper,” Cinnamon said in a whimpering, shrill whisper. “He lost his temper…”
Lemon Hearts, frozen, unsure of what to do at the moment, eyed Trixie, who was still frozen and unmoving. Her ears twitched, her horn was still glowing, and the corners of her eyes had violent tics. “Trixie… go inside… go inside and be with Sumac—”
An explosion of brilliant magenta light interrupted Lemon Hearts and there was a blinding flash. Blinking, Lemon Hearts tried to clear her vision, but she didn’t need to see to know who had just arrived. The booming voice gave her away.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Twilight demanded seconds after she materialised.
Taking everything in, Twilight looked at the dented mailbox, the stallion laid low in the street, the ponies, who all looked a little spooked, and one Trixie Lulamoon, who did not appear to be spooked. In fact, of the many emotions that Trixie seemed to be experiencing, fear was not one of them. Sensing the greatest danger present, Twilight moved to Trixie’s side.
“Hey, you… you okay? Trixie… can you say something?” Twilight’s voice was every bit as soft as it had been hard and flinty just a few seconds ago. She reached out a wing and caressed Trixie’s neck. “Hey… I’m guessing you did that. Good work. It’s over now… you can calm down…”
As Twilight cajoled Trixie, her horn went dim. Closing her eyes, Trixie collapsed against Twilight and let out a grief stricken, pained sob as her knees buckled. Twilight caught her, lifted her, and held her up. The alicorn looked at the stallion sprawled in the road and then after much looking around, she saw that Lemon Hearts was holding Cinnamon. Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
Today had been one of those days.
“What’s going to happen?” Lemon Hearts asked as Twilight Sparkle stood looking down at Sumac. “And what are we to do with Cinnamon?”
Twilight Sparkle lifted her head, then turned to face Lemon Hearts. “A Warden is coming down from Canterlot.” As Twilight spoke, there was a whimper from Trixie. “Do you mind keeping him for a night? Just until we can figure out what to do? I know it’s a lot to ask—”
“It’s not much to ask,” Trixie said in a wavering, reedy voice.
“I’ll take him to the hospital,” Twilight said as she asserted control over the situation. “We need to have him looked at. Lemon Hearts, I need for you to keep an eye on Trixie. I’m worried. I’m asking you this in an official capacity. Do you understand?”
“Yes I do,” Lemon Hearts replied, nodding her head.
Turning her head, Twilight looked Trixie in the eye. “You are not in trouble, so don’t worry. Your efforts to subdue him are commendable.” Twilight’s eyebrow lifted a bit and she appeared as though she was about to say something else, but she didn’t.
“This has been quite a day.” Pebble’s monotonous voice caused Twilight to turn her head. “First Olive, now this.” The little filly blinked, squirmed in her seat, adjusted her dress, and then reached out to touch Sumac. “One finds themselves asking why these things happen and why more wasn’t done to prevent them.”
“Because we try to believe in the good in ponies,” Twilight replied with a great deal of patience. “Because we try to give them a chance to turn their lives around. It isn’t perfect… and sometimes, things go wrong, they do… but they sometimes also go right… like Trixie here. She was given a chance to straighten out, and because of that, she was in the right place at the right time to save Cinnamon.”
“I don’t see Olive saving anypony any time soon.” Pebble folded her forelegs over her barrel and gave Twilight an unyielding stare. “And Cinnamon had to pay for his father’s second chances.”
“I’ll be the first to admit that there are problems. I am making reforms, but it takes time, it’s not easy to make changes. The system resists changing. A lot of the laws are old, outdated, and from another time, another era. For every great failure, there are also great successes, like Starlight. She is now a powerful force for good.” Twilight once again focused her gaze upon Trixie. “And Sumac has a mother that loves him… when the system works, it works well.”
“But when it breaks, it does so spectacularly.” Pebble let out a dejected sigh, grabbed Sumac around the neck, and pulled him closer as he let out a few muffled whimpers of protest. “Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can’t there ever be easy answers?” The little filly scowled and her ears drooped. “Life is unfair and complicated.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah it is, Pebble, yeah it is…”
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I can feel The Rightfull Violent and Motherfull Trixie adopting Cinnamon.
Edit:
Trixie´s Mind: I just want to vent some of my rage on somepony...
Fates: Wish Granted !
Nothing about how misuse of a more strict system is awful? That a system that is more vigilant and less forgiving winds up easy to use as a weapon by the more manipulative sorts?
Or just easier to plain ole get wrong?
I guess it's not something that these ponies would think about. "Liberty" seems pretty low on their list of priorities.
... I do notice that the bullies in this story... in most stories you write, actually, haven't been the type to be the sort that is good at evading consequences by falsely appearing to be in the right.
Do the beatings continue in the next chapter?
7300807
I think that one of the biggest influences on ponies is the fact that they evolved from and still react as herd animals.
What best served the herd was the best thing to do. Only in the worst cases when somepony would not or could not be convinced to return to behavior that fit in would they be driven out of the herd ( exiled ) attempting to injure or kill a foal deliberately would, I think, rank as one of those cases. Reform or be driven out.
PS Remember they are not human and in a well written story that is reflected in their actions and reactions.
7300807
Yes, a foal having a conversation with an authority figure is a great indicator of thoughts of liberty.
I keed, I keed!
7300892
EXACTLY.
Okay, pay attention people, see this post right here? This should put things into perspective.
Horsethink.
7300848
That depends... did morale improve?
7300902
Ah yes, the Navy's answer to everything.
And thus was started the Trixie Lulamoon Refuge for Imperilled Foals...
7300912
It's just a big, floating fraternity. "Thank you sir! May I have another?"
♫In the Navy....♫
Foresee another child in her midst i do! Poor cinnamon. And poor his father, Warden coming is not good.
7300902 its a warden. Mercy they have not. Morals, only as much as the beasts they fight.
7300915 oh dear, another Bucky?!?!?!
7300939
Morale vs moral.
Morale is attitude and spirit. Higher morale is linked to pushing through on tough problems... "I think I can."
Moral is an ethical code. Is it moral to steal if you are feeding your family?
Of course, you might have intentionally confused the two. In that case, great job.
7300950 yup, totally meant to do that.
7300954
Thought so.
Sent that stallion special delivery.
she need a bigger mailbox
I think it's cute watching Lemon flirt with an oblivious Trixie!
Sumac is already Pebble's!
You can't save everypony Twi.
Trixie sure delivered quite the package to Cinnamon's sire. Maybe she should look into the postal service?
7300892
Wish more people would remember this, both in any other Kudz stories or even when writing in-depth stories of their own.
What is better, to have a forgiving but exploitable system or a harsh but effective one? (Of course, establishing the latter is a trick all its own. It's easy to deny forgiveness, but much harder to guarantee efficacy.) Pebble has it right. Life is too complicated for simple solutions, nice as they would be. Still, always better to be part of the solution than the alternative.
...
Why does that seem a lot more menacing after writing it down?
Another excellent chapter. Looking forward to more.
7301101 but what do you do when the harsh system gets it wrong. All systems occasionally make mistakes sadly
7301018 nah in the US at least tampering with a mail box is technically a federal offence though many times its not dealt with that way
7300988
Lemon Hearts: "You know, Trixie...you´ve made my life a lot more happier."
The Great and Oblivious Trixie: "Yes, being a former showmare I´m pretty funny."
LH: "No, I meant, you brought a special shine to this house."
TGOT: "Don´t mention it dear...it was just some dust on the lights..."
LH: "Sometimes you make my heart race."
TGOT: "Oh, sorry...I did not mean to scare you !"
LH: "I´m running out of innuendos here."
TGOT: "Oh, sorry dear. I wasn´t paying attention...anything you need me to buy on the store ?"
LH: "Patience...lots of..."
TGOT: "oO"
7301018 Now that you mentioned it...Ponyville´s postal service employees have a tendency to wreck havok everything within their range.
At least she limited herself to a mailbox instead of dropping a house on him. That's good control. However, she's going to wind up having to pay for that unless...
"...and the mailbox, with post, comes to twenty-seven bits," said Twilight, sliding a piece of paper over to Trixie. "Sign there, please."
The Meek and Submissive Trixie quietly scribbled her name on the assigned line, then looked up with a puzzled frown. "It says Paid In Full. I didn't pay Mister Saffron for his replacement mailbox yet. Is it coming out of my salary?"
"Not exactly." Twilight slid another piece of paper over to Trixie. "Big Mac installed the new mailbox about an hour ago, and I filled out Form ER-175 stroke B, since you looked busy."
"Educational reimbursement?" Trixie read down through the form. "It says 'Educational materials consumed in friendship lesson.' That isn't what--"
"Do you think Cinnamon Fire's father learned a lesson from your encounter?" Twilight looked back down at the paperwork-strewn desk and pretended to be rearranging some papers. "I mean it's not the optimal way I would have chosen to deliver that particular lesson, but it seemed quite effective at the time."
7300807
It only takes one pony to turn the heads of many others.
For ponies, acquiescence bias is so strong that belligerence is all it takes.
That...escalated quickly.
7300915 lol that's not a bad idea xD
7302672 yeah I can still hear that mail box connecting to his head. XD
7300848 lol one could hope so xD. He is lucky she didn't ram that up his ass..
Wait, does this mean that the boop loop has been broken?
Hmn...
Shattering glass? That neighbor kid and father?
Yep. Looks like Cinnamon Fire's father is not going to avoid being a big stupid idiot.
Way to go Trixie! Just don't, you know, bash his skull in with that mailbox next. He already needs that screwdriver that Gosling offered up in the other story, no need to make everything worse.
Man, good thing that Twilight has enough surrogates and minions that she doesn't need to be everywhere at once, she would have been way too late in this instance.
Heh, no kidding.