+++
title = "Trixie's Re-return"
names = ["DCFTEF"]
date = "2014-10-18 13:11:25"
tags = ["M/F", "cane", "punishment rack", "juricical", "non-consensual"]
spankers = ["Guard"]
spankees = ["Trixie"]
posts = [""]
+++

Being a Princess was a lot of work.
Now that Twilight Sparkle had a palace and clearer responsibilities she had little free time. To be honest, she'd never had much free time but at least back then it was her deciding what she'd do and when to do it. Twilight missed scheduling. Now others told her where she needed to be, and when.
Free time had become a precious commodity that Twilight now had to guard jealously, so it was no small annoyance that 20 minutes she'd set aside to read a chapter of the newest Daring Do novel was interrupted by one of her aides.
>"Princess Twilight, so sorry to interrupt..."
>"Then don't" she muttered under her breath.
>"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
Grumbling, Twilight Sparkle closed the book. She'd just been coming to a good part too.
>"What can I do for you?"
>"Princess, there is an issue at court which requires your attention."
>"I'm sure the local Judge can handle it."
The aide shifted nervously on her hooves.
>"Actually, your Highness, it was the Judge who requested your attention."
Accepting that Daring Do's adventures would have to wait Twilight gave up on her precious 20 minutes of free time. Rainbow Dash was going to be furious...she'd read the book weeks ago and was practically bursting with eagerness to discuss it.
>"Fine...maybe I can find a half-hour after dinner tonight."
>"Sorry your Highness, you're scheduled for a cocktail party with the Banker's Guild after dinner tonight."
>"Aaarrrggghh!"
Being a Princess was every little filly's dream...right?

>"What seems to be the problem?" asked Twilight.
She found that if she walked straight into a room and asked what was wrong she sometimes got to skip all the royal formalities, which saved time & headaches.
The local criminal court Judge was a green colored, middle-aged mare.
>"We have a bit of an issue here. A rather serious crime has been committed, but the defendant refuses to accept the judgment of the court. She is demanding to see you...claims to have a personal relationship with you."
Things had suddenly gotten serious. Worry took hold of Twilight's mind; had one of her friends committed a serious crime?
>"Right this way, your Highness" a court officer led the way.

Since Twilight Sparkle's castle had appeared the Town of Ponyville had made good use of it by holding court in the grand crystal hall. Princess Twilight herself seldom used the room, so why not?
There, before the Judge's bench stood the defendant in question.
>"Ha! Twilight Sparkle...so we meet again!"
>"Oh you have got to be kidding me."
Twilight felt a headache coming on.
A Royal Guard admonished the defendant;
>"You will refer to Her Majesty as 'Princess Twilight Sparkle'...or 'Your Majesty' I guess."
>"And you will refer to ME as the Great and Powerful TRIXIE, Twilight Sparkle's greatest rival!"
>"You are NOT my greatest rival!"
>"Am too!"
>"Am not!"
>"Am too times infinity!"
>"Am NOT times infinity plus one!"
The two young mares were bickering like children, so the more mature Judge awkwardly stepped in.
>"Ahem...the crime with which Miss Trixie..."
>"The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie!"
>"...is charged with is rather serious. She was arrested switching the tracks at Ponyville Station. Conductors stopped her, but it could have led to a major accident."

Twilight slapped her face with her hoof.
>"Oh by Starswirl's beard...Trixie, why would you do a thing like that? It's just dangerous and stupid!"
>"But obviously Trixie's plan worked! How else would I have gotten an audience with Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
>"Umm, make an appointment like everypony else, you nut-job!"
>"Trixie is far too busy to wait for an appointment! Trixie is here to challenge Twilight Sparkle to a MAGIC DUEL!"
>"No. That's stupid. I beat you fair and square last time."
>"You may have vanquished Trixie in round two, but Trixie was victorious in round one. TRIXIE DEMANDS A TIE-BREAKER!"
Twilight shook her head.
>"There will be no duel...it's ridiculous."
But Trixie was not willing to let the matter go.
>"Why? Does the mighty Princess Twilight fear defeat in front of all her subjects?"
>"No. Princess Twilight is busy and has more important things to do! You are NOT my rival, Trixie, so quit obsessing over this! And you do not get your way by endangering innocent ponies!"
The purple alicorn turned to the Judge and asked;
>"Your Honor, I happen to know Trixie already has two prior convictions. For disturbing the peace in Fillydelphia and use of illegal dark magic here in Ponyville. What is the sentence for her crime?"
The Judge seemed shocked. She hadn't expected this to land back in her lap.
>"Well, um...your Majesty...this a a very serious charge, and Miss Trixie has already confessed her guilt, for reasons of challenging you. Therefore the sentence is...a public caning."
The audience at court gasped. Trixie appeared unshaken. The Judge continued;
>"But you've commuted many of these harsh sentences already. There hasn't been a public beating of any kind since your rule began, Princess Twilight, and given your prior dealings with this mare it would be entirely understandable for you to impose a different, lighter sentence."
>"Well that's not happening. I am NOT interfering. Pass your sentence, Your Honor."

Wide eyed with surprise, the Judge was at a loss for words. A nod from the Princess shook her out of it.
>"Alright, if you say so. Trixie Lulamoon, you have confessed and been found guilty of reckless endangerment of pony lives. In light of your previous crimes the Court hereby sentences you to be remanded to the custody of the Royal Guards and held until such time as you are brought to the designated place of public punishment closest to the location of your crime. There the Royal Guards shall administer 30 lashes of the cane to your bare and unprotected hindquarters."

Trixie's jaw dropped wide open.
>"W-W-WHAT?"
The Judge gave a nod and two Unicorn Guards took the prisoner into custody. Before Trixie could recover her senses one snapped a magic inhibiting ring onto her horn. She was powerless to resist now.
>"W-wait! This isn't fair! Twilight Sparkle this is cheating! You have to defeat me fairly! This is not an honorable duel!"
>"I don't have to do anything, Trixie. I'm just stepping back and letting the law run its course. I refuse to acknowledge whatever bonehead plan you had in mind. Heck...maybe this will do you some good."
Beads of sweat began to run down the blue Unicorn's forehead. She was just realizing the gravity of the trouble she was in.
>"No, you can't do this! I only did it to get your attention...Trixie never meant to hurt anypony! Please, you can't whip Trixie for this, like some common criminal!"
Twilight groaned, and finally snapped at her;
>"Trixie, you are crazy and dangerous! Stop it with this stupid rivalry you imagine you have with me. I am NOT interested. I have more important things to do than deal with your loony obsession. Leave...me...ALONE!"
And with that tirade Princess Twilight Sparkle stomped out of the crystal hall, leaving Trixie to be dragged away by the guards, weeping and frantically begging the court for mercy.

Now in a bad mood Twilight canceled her plans for dinner and ordered a sandwich brought to her private chambers. She tried to read her Daring Do book but was in too foul a state of mind to enjoy it.
>"That Trixie, who does she think she is? 'My great rival?' I defeated Lord frigging Tirek for pony's sake! I'm a Princess of the Realm! I don't have time for her stupid crap!"
She was interrupted by a knock at her door.
>"WHAT IS IT NOW!?"

>"Oh...I'm sorry...I didn't know you were busy...I can come back later."
Twilight immediately felt guilty for yelling at her friend.
>"I'm sorry Fluttershy, please come in. You don't know how glad I am to see you. I've had such a stressful day."
>"Umm, yes...about that. Do you have a minute to talk?"
Twilight's stomach was rumbling, and her sandwich hadn't arrived yet, but she would always make time for Fluttershy.
>"Yeah, sure. What's up?"
>"Well, actually, all the girls wanted to talk to you. They're waiting in the throne room."

Each of Twilight's other four best friends were sitting in their respective places around the stone table. The Princess took to her throne, and Fluttershy was the last to be seated.
>"I'm happy to see you all, but why all the grim faces?"
Nopony wanted to talk first, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash poked each other until Twilight finally exclaimed;
>"Will somepony just tell me what's going on already?!"
So Rarity spoke up;
>"Darling, we heard what happened between you and Trixie in court today."
>"That was less than a half hour ago!"
>"Well, news of that sort travels fast."
Pinkie Pie joined in next;
>"Are you really gonna have Trixie whipped in the Town Square?"
>"Well, technically the Judge sentenced her...I just refused to reduce the sentence."
>"Why not?" asked Applejack. "Doesn't a public caning sound kinda harsh?"
>"I agree. Trixie can be rather tiresome but a punishment like that is simply dreadful!"

Twilight could barely believe what she was hearing.
>"I can barely believe what I'm hearing! You girls are defending that nut? She enslaved you all! She tried to seal off the town! And she really could have hurt ponies with that train stunt!"
Fluttershy defended her, which didn't surprise Twilight;
>"She was under the influence of that amulet before...and she didn't mean to hurt anypony this time."
>"She may not have been very nice," opined Pinkie, "but I hate to think of any pony we know getting such a terrible bottom blistering...rump roasting...tushie torture...fanny flambé...heinie hurt..."
Pinkie probably could have gone on for another half hour, but Dash interrupted;
>"I guess what we're all saying is; we just kinda thought you and Trixie kinda had a thing going. Not exactly friends but...you know...like Daring Do & Dr. Calderone. Or the superheroes and villains in those comic books Spike reads."
>"This is the real world, Dash, and I'm not amused by Trixie's foolishness. She's committed multiple crimes and she's going to get whipped for this latest one. I see no reason to stick out my neck to spare her that."
Rarity looked very concerned;
>"But what if it was one of us that made a mistake and committed a crime?"
>"Well of course I'd do anything in my power to help you! You're my friends!"
>"I reckon we all kinda thought that after ya forgave her the last time Trixie was on a'yer friends too."
Twilight grumbled. She was hungry and losing patience. She thought if anyone would understand it would be her closest friends.
>"Well she isn't! I'd work to get my friends off the hook. I'd even give a stranger a second chance, but Trixie has had more than enough chances. She's getting her posterior punished tomorrow and that's final! If you want to be friends with her after that be my guest, but you're gonna get burned by that twit."

In a huff Twilight left.
>"Ooohhh...posterior punishment...I didn't think of that one" commented Pinkie.

When dawn broke Trixie was already awake. She hadn't slept a wink over the night.
Ponyville didn't have a jail so a storage room in Town Hall served as her cell, empty but for a cot & meal of bread and water. Trixie could have asked for something more substantial, but the two Royal Guards supervising her wisely recommended a very light meal before public punishment so she would not throw up. She had not touched a bite.

The prisoner nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the door hinges creak. Her mind screamed out in silent alarm;
>"NO! Not yet, it isn't time! It isn't supposed to happen until noon!" 
But it was only the guards admitting a medic.
>"Oh, thank goodness, Trixie thought it was the guards coming to get her early."
The white mare with a pink mane just shrugged.
>"Now or later, it won't make much of a difference to you. They do these things at noon so the maximum number of ponies are in the Town Square to watch."
That thought put a lump in Trixie's throat.
>"My name is Nurse Redheart, I'm here to give you a brief medical exam to ensure you are fit to receive punishment."

This represented a possible reprieve from Trixie's terrible situation! If the nurse did not clear her she wouldn't be caned!
>"Nurse...Ma'am, please...you're practically a doctor. Your role in life is to mitigate suffering and I'm in a terrible predicament. Trixie really never meant to hurt anypony, my conviction is just a big misunderstanding. I just wished to get Princess Twilight's attention. Can you please declare me medically unfit to be caned? They'll commute my sentence to something different, community service perhaps, or even hard labor. Trixie has experience on a rock farm! I could be an asset rather than just suffer needlessly. Can you please help me?"
The nurse just scowled at her.
>"Think you're the first prisoner who's asked me for that?"
>"Umm, perhaps I could make it worth your while?" offered the desperate Unicorn.

>"I have money, not much, but I'd give anything to get out of this."
But again Nurse Redheart rebuked her;
>"I am an appointed Officer of the Court. If you try to bribe me again I'll report you and you can stay in the Canterlot dungeon until you're medically fit to get a second whipping." 

Trixie pushed out her bottom lip and tried flashing her best mournful, penitent eyes. None of that evoked any sympathy in the nurse though.
>"Miss Lulamoon, I have absolutely zero pity for you. It's not my job to mitigate your pain. I am here to certify that you're medically fit to be caned. Then I'll be present at your punishment to observe your condition. If you become unconscious, begin to bleed or can not breathe I am obligated to stop the punishment. Other than that I do not care how you feel about it. It doesn't matter how loud you scream or how hard you cry...and believe me, you WILL scream and cry...I will not stop the punishment you so richly deserve.
>"On a personal note Miss Lulamoon, my father is a sales-stallion who travels by train every week. If you had hurt him with your stupid little stunt I'd have ripped you limb from limb with my own hooves. And don't think we've forgotten what you did to all the citizens of Ponyville while you had that amulet around your neck. Do not look for sympathy here, I'm happy that you're going to suffer, and I'm happy I have the best seat in the house."

Trixie was silent for the rest of her exam. A medical deferral had been her last hope, now there was no doubt she was going to be caned. Nurse Redheart asked no questions, she just gave the prisoner a look-over, took her blood pressure and listened to her heartbeat.
>"You are medically fit, Miss Lulamoon. I will see you in the Town Square."
She knocked on the door for the guards to let her out.

Trixie laid down on the cot, curled up and fearfully wept into her pillow for the next few hours.

At a quarter before noon Trixie was led out of her storage room cell and loaded into a cart. The walk to Ponyville Town Square was not far, but this was done for dramatic effect and to protect the prisoner from anypony angry enough to take a swing at her.

Already a large crowd was gathered. Trixie enjoyed seeing a large crowd for her shows, but there was going to be nothing enjoyable about this. Desite what other ponies might think about her Trixie genuinely wanted to be loved by her audience, and worked hard to make them happy. Looking out at the faces here in Ponyville, some angry, some wearing a look of smug satisfaction, broke her heart. Trixie's audience did not love her...they were happier to see her be whipped than to watch the tricks she had worked on all her life.

When she was a little foal Trixie's momma had often brought her down to the public punishment square in Fillydelphia.
>"Have a good look, Trixie: These ponies deserve what they're getting" Momma admonished, "they committed crimes. We should be pleased that they're paying the price for that."
Momma reminded her that she should not feel pity for the unfortunate ponies being strapped down to the punishment racks. Trixie was not allowed to join the crowd in shouting out for mercy, even when others took up the call. She'd wanted to though...the public spankings were awful to watch. Never in Trixie's foalish imagination had she dreamed that she would be up there one day. That was for bad ponies, genuinely wicked stallions & mares who had cravenly hurt others. But here she was now, just yards from the platform where a crowd of strangers would watch her howl & suffer. Trixie did not feel like a bad pony...she'd never meant to hurt anyone. It seemed that bad judgment could put a mare in this position just as easily as wanton wickedness.

The crowd was thick, but it only took two Royal Guards to clear a path, such was the respect for authority in Ponyville.
>"Clear the way folks, prisoner coming through."
The guards were never rude, never pushy. They even acted politely to their prisoner, always calling her "Miss" and even holding the door for her as she'd exited her cell. One courteously helped her down from the cart; they might have been Trixie's personal valets were they not about to thrash her hindquarters with a terrible cane.

The guards may have been polite, but the crowd certainly wasn't. There was no sympathy; Trixie heard terrible things being shouted;
>"Give it to her good, boys! She deserves every lash!"
>"This is what you get for messing with Ponyville!"
>"Repeal the 'No Blood' rule! Make sure she doesn't sit down for a month!"
>"Nah, let her sit down...in lemon juice!"
That last heckler got a huge laugh from the crowd. Vendors were busy selling food and drink. It was like a carnival where only Trixie wasn't having fun.

In spite of the atmosphere the Royal Guards went about their duty with calm efficiency. Since they were the only ones being nice to her the blue Unicorn did not struggle or make things difficult. They seemed like the only friends she had.
It was impossible not to struggle a bit when they marched her up onto the platform though. Trixie froze in place when she got her first look at the punishment rack. Old, well-worn wood, with a padded bench where she would be perched. The bench was angled at 90 degrees to put her rump right in the most vulnerable position, and there were thick tie-down straps to prevent a prisoner from kicking.

>"Hear ye, hear ye...by the lawful authority of her sublime majesty Princess Celestia..."
A herald read the charges while Trixie was bend over and strapped down into position. Weeping, breathing heavily, she looked around at the ponies closest to her. Nurse Redheart was there on the platform, looking more concerned with what she would have for lunch than Trixie's impending suffering. The Mayor of Ponyville was present too. She walked past and leaned her head down to sneer in a low whisper;
>"So...lock me in a bird cage, will you?"
It should have been apparent to Trixie before, but it was certainly obvious now; the court had sentenced her to this caning for switching train tracks, but in the eyes of the crowd this was comeuppance for Trixie's offenses against Ponyville during the 'Alicorn Amulet' incident.

Trixie continued to scan the crowd. She saw many faces she recognized but one was conspicuously missing. There was a special balcony overlooking the crowd, with a throne and Princess Twilight's banner, but the Princess herself was absent. At that moment Trixie accepted the fact that she wasn't Twilight Sparkle's great rival, she wasn't her equal. Twilight Sparkle wasn't even interested. Resigned to her fate, Trixie felt profound sadness as the last straps were tightened.

The crowd hushed as the Mayor & herald stepped back and took their seats to observe. Nurse Redheart gave Trixie on last perfunctory inspection before giving the final signal to begin.

Strapped down as she was Trixie had no warning of the first lash, so it was shocking when it hit. A perfectly placed strike right across the lower part of both cheeks, the force knocked Trixie forward in spite of her tight bonds. What followed was incredible, indescribable pain that the Unicorn could not have been ready for in her wildest nightmares. It hurt so badly that Trixie assumed something had been done wrong...the guards had made a mistake, hitting too hard or using the wrong implement. Nothing had been done wrong though, and Trixie had 29 more of these to endure. She screamed.

The Junior Unicorn guard did the whipping, his superior kept count but his voice was drowned out by Trixie's wailing.
>"One!"
Drawing the cane back slowly, the flogger swung a second time, crossing the first lash to form a painful red X across the young criminal's bottom.
>"Two!"
Trixie Lulamoon howled in agony and thrashed helplessly against her restraints. There was no way she could endure 28 more doses of this torture...she felt she would die.
>"No more, please no more, I can't...PLEASE! WHHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
>"Three!"
No mercy was given, not even a pause. The guard waited about 4 seconds between lashes, keeping a methodical, professional pace while Nurse Redheart watched passively, keeping a close eye on the screaming prisoner's physical state but not interfering in any way. The Senior guard simply kept count and watched the crowd, ensuring that nopony tried to climb up on stage. The calmness with which these three went about their duties contrasted dramatically with Trixie's agony.
>"AAAAAaaaaagggGGGHHHHHhhhaaa! Please stop, PLEASE STOP! AAAAAAAA!"
She thrashed as much as she could, her whole body shaking violently. A stream of drool dripped into a pile of absorbent sawdust below, mingling with the enormous quantity of tears Trixie had already shed. The count finally reached five.

As the prisoner moaned and screamed the crowd became more subdued. A few stepped away, having reached the limit of suffering they were willing to witness, but most stayed. None jeered or heckled Trixie anymore...the ongoing torture seemed penalty enough for her crimes.
>"Ten!"
Trixie's rump was already a mess. In centuries past unlucky ponies were sometimes flogged until their backs & buttocks were a mess of bleeding flesh (sometimes for no crime at all; simply resisting the authority of local Unicorn Lords was enough) but Princess Celestia had reformed the justice system when she took power over a unified Equestria. Although she never outright banned corporal punishment of offenders she established rules; that punishment would only be given on the hindquarters (a concession to the Pegasi, whose wings would be crippled by a whipping on the back) and no break could be made in a pony's skin. The instant a drop of blood appeared the attendant medical pony (another of Celestia's requirements) would stop the punishment. Remaining lashes might be carried out on a different date, once the offender had healed, or be commuted to another sentence.
>"Twelve!"
Welts and bruises were perfectly acceptable under Celestia's law though, in fact they were unavoidable with such a brutal instrument as the cane. Applied by an experienced Royal Guard it struck the skin with tremendous, stinging speed and was heavy enough to send its impact force deep into an unfortunate pony's rump. So damaging was the cane that 30 was the maximum limit of blows a pony could receive in one day. There were higher sentences handed down, but they had to be stretched out over multiple sessions. Notorious bad apples who had experienced both said they would rather suffer five blows of the paddle, or leather strap than one lash of the cane.
Poor Trixie had not been given the choice. Her count was 14 now.

Red welts crisscrossed Trixie's behind; they would darken and turn purple with time. She could not see her own rump though. Even if she had been unrestrained and able to take a look her eyes were blinded by hot tears. Screaming had made her so hoarse even that hurt now, so she just laid there, trembling and issuing low, gurgling moans. Her nose ran freely now, adding snot to the messy sawdust pile below.
Another terrible lash landed; Trixie's entire body spasmed in helpless response.
>"Fifteen!"
There was a break afforded at halfway. As Nurse Redheart inspected the prisoner's condition the guards swapped roles.
>"Huuuuu, huuuuuuu...please stop this. I can't take anymore...please, I'll give you gold, jewels, I'll be your slave...please no more!"
The nurse was unmoved by Trixie's suffering though.
>"What did I tell you about trying to bribe me? I should report you right now."
Trixie whimpered in horror; she could not endure another whipping, but the Senior guard snorted in disapproval.
>"Don't be needlessly cruel. You know that won't hold up."
It was true, all three knew a prisoner could not be held accountable for anything said during punishment.
>"You're doing fine" muttered Nurse Redheart "she's clear to continue."
>"NOOOOOOO! Please, PLEASE, PLEASE! I'll spend the rest of my life in the dungeon, PLEASE, I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!"

Her cries were ignored. With a fresh Royal Guard swinging it the awful cane slashed her rear-end again and again.
>"Sixteen!"
>"Seventeen!" 
>"Eighteen!"
Trixie could not hear the count anymore. She was delirious with pain, caught in a dizzying miasma of suffering. Between lashes she tried to talk, tried to beg for mercy but all that came of of her mouth was incoherent babbling...and wailing screams.

At the count of 21 the first shout for mercy came up from the audience. Few joined in...the citizens of Ponyville remembered their suffering under the tyranny of Trixie and her amulet, they were not in a collective mood to show compassion. Still, there were no more calls for harsher punishment. As the blue Unicorn mare bawled in agony there was a general mood of satisfaction. Trixie had wronged the town, but her suffering was genuine and worthy of earning forgiveness.
>"Twenty-three!"
>"Twenty-four!"
A murmur ran through the crowd as lash number twenty-five struck the prisoner's cheeks. There was another short pause, this time Redheart looked over Trixie a bit more seriously.
>"Alright, you can finish" she said gravely.
Everypony knew what was coming. The last few lashes were traditionally the worst. For her part Trixie was oblivious to the count. She gasped for air between pitiful cries, pleading for it all to end but unable to form the words anymore.

The Senior guard pony took a deep breath and began the last assault on Trixie's rump. He delivered lash number twenty-six extra hard, but did not wait 4 seconds for the next one. The final five were administered as fast as he could deliver them. This new level of pain shook Trixie out of her delirium...she screamed and thrashed as hard as she had on the first few.
>"Twenty-seven, twenty eight..."
In his new role as counter the lower ranking guard could barely keep up. It mattered little, Trixie was crying so loud that nopony could hear him anyway.
>"Twenty-nine...Thirty!"
With calm efficiency the guards returned the cane back to its carrying case and went about gently unfastening the prisoner's restraint straps.

Trixie realized it was over, but she was in so much pain her ordeal was far from ended. She could not stand under her own power, the guards had to help her up, and walk her to the waiting wagon. To her horror she felt wetness on her back legs; she was sure it was blood. She knew that was illegal but how could such a beating not have drawn blood? Surely nopony in the crowd would object...they hated her.

Of course it was not blood. In her agony Trixie had wet herself, a final humiliation she would only discover later. The Royal Guards had done their work exactly as trained. The cane had left a terrible mess of welts and bruises, but not one break in the skin. Nurse Redheart still went along to tend to Trixie's physical condition. Like most of the crowd she was satisfied that this troublemaker had suffered enough, that it was time to accept her back into the community for a clean start.

A few hours later there was a knock on the door of Trixie's storage room cell.
>"Come in, it's open."
Twilight Sparkle poked her head inside.
>"Umm, Trixie, you know you're free to go, right? The guards left hours ago...why are you still in...um...jail?"
>"They said I could stay here until I felt well enough to walk...I have no place else to go" sighed Trixie, "but I'll leave if you want me to." 
Twilight immediately noticed that Trixie was no longer referring to herself in the third person.
>"You win, okay? I'm done...I'm going to leave you alone from now on."

Since she had gotten up in the morning Twilight had felt self-doubt about how she'd handled the Trixie situation. She'd stuck to her principles though and refused to even attend the caning but later experienced guilt and decided to see if Trixie was still in town. Seeing here here, broken, defeated, with only a cold cloth across her swollen rump for comfort, Twilight felt pity.

>"I never wanted to beat you at anything, Trixie, and I certainly don't enjoy seeing anypony get beaten."
Trixie looked up at her, but showed very little emotion.
>"Why not? I certainly had it coming."
Twilight walked over and sat down on the cot next to Trixie. The room smelled a little like pee but she did not say anything.
>"I really wasn't trying to hurt anypony. I tried to be careful and not let any passenger trains collide."
>"And I believe you" Twilight replied, "but you know...after what happened last time...with the amulet, you can't be surprised the town acted the way it did."
Trixie was silent for a few moments but finally admitted;
>"I know."

Finally Twilight got to the point, the reason she had come.
>"Listen, Trixie, everypony seems to think we have some more important connection than just strangers. I don't know what it is...I can't honestly say we're friends but I don't want to be enemies either. Seriously though, I think you need some help getting your head straight, so I used some influence and got you into a mental health program at Ponyville Hospital."
Trixie eyed Twilight with suspicion.
>"You're locking me up in the loony bin?"
>"Nothing like that" Twilight assured her, "It's an outpatient program...but since you don't have a place to stay I'm sure they can find you a room."

The blue unicorn was silent for a while but finally answered;
>"I...I think I would like that. Thing have been kind of out of control for Trixie lately, and Trix...I'd kind of like talking to somepony about it."
>"Good" replied Twilight, "I'm sure they can help you straighten some things out."
There wasn't anything else to say, so Twilight made a quiet exit from the room without saying goodbye.

>"This will be good. I need some time to sort things out. I'll come back stronger, better, more focused. Yes...Trixie will use this time to rebuild...Trixie will be greater and more powerful than ever!"

THE ENDindisat but