Easing himself down into the hot water, Tarnished Teapot let out a weary sigh of relief. There were several basins carved into the granite here and the hot spring poured down into the basins, filling them. There were weather worn wooden benches here and a wooden lean-to in dire need of repair.

Between himself and Maud, Trixie sat in the water and her head rested on the edge of the stone basin. Maud had a comb and was trying to work the tangles out of Trixie’s tangled, blood clotted mane.

The stench of rotten eggs was stronger here, but Tarnish didn’t mind. He was too tired, too worn out, and far too weary to make a big deal about it. He squirmed a bit, kicked, wiggled, and tried to get more of his body under the steaming hot water. He was getting taller, of that there could be no doubt. He was going to be like his mother, who could only be described as freakishly tall. Long legged, she towered over other mares and even most other stallions.

Yawning, he closed his eyes for a moment and wondered when there would be some improvement in Trixie’s condition. After resting his eyes, he opened them, blinked a few times, and then watched as Maud worked.

“Tarnish…”

“Yeah?”

“I like to think that the world can be a good place, Tarnish...”

He waited, knowing that Maud would say more.

“But seeing Trixie like this… or when I first found you… it makes me doubt. And the doubt makes me hurt inside.” Maud blinked and shook her head. “Trixie isn’t the best pony. I know she’s done some wrong. She’s done some awful stuff. But she doesn’t deserve this. Nopony deserves this.”

“And what of the mysterious stranger that keeps tormenting me?” Tarnish asked.

There was a long pause before Maud finally replied, “I have nothing nice to say, so I’m not going to say anything at all. So there.”

There was a loud snort followed by a laugh from Tarnish. He kicked out his hind legs and wiggled his backside, sliding down deeper into the basin. The water made his chocolate brown pelt even darker and strands of his tail floated just below the surface.

The hot rock against his back felt good, it soothed his tight, tense muscles and made him relax. He imagined that it must be doing Trixie some good too, even if she wasn’t awake to realise it. He reached down and rubbed his stomach with his hoof, let out a sigh, and then reached a little lower, as there was plenty that needed scratching. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he rubbed his delicate places, allowing the hot water to soak in. A pony sometimes needed a good soak in a hot bath to get clean. Or a steambath. The rock farm could use a steambath. He bit his lip as the hot water worked its way down deep into his sheath—it stung a bit—and his hind legs bucked a bit as he waited for his body to adjust to the temperature.

Letting out a whistle, the stinging went away and Tarnish could relax. He glanced over at Maud, who was still working clumps and tangles out of Trixie’s mane. “Need some help?”

“You’ve done plenty. I have this. But you’re sweet for asking.”

“I know.” Tarnish smiled and rested the back of his skull against the edge of the basin. It was hot and felt good against his skin. The sun was coming up over the distant ridge and was starting to shine down upon the springs. Yellow sulfur deposits glistened as water droplets trickled down over them. Tarnish found there was a lot of interesting stuff to look at, to see, to study. It was obvious why Maud liked coming here, it was a geologically active hot spring with fascinating mineral growths. This was exactly the sort of place that Maud would want to frequent. And had circumstances been a little different, this would have been a perfect place for a romantic interlude.

As Tarnish sat thinking about romantic interludes, distracted by his own thoughts, Trixie’s eye sprang open, but only one eye, the other was far too swollen. She let out a wavering cry, flailed her limbs, and without warning, she rolled over and grabbed Tarnish, straddling him. Her sudden movement surprised Tarnish so much that his head was pushed beneath the water.

Moving fast, Maud hauled him up, and held both him and Trixie as he coughed a bit. Trixie clung to him and weak, pitiful sobs could be heard from her. Tarnish, who recovered a bit, wrapped his forelegs around Trixie and held her as she sobbed against him.

He glanced over at Maud, his eyes wide with both fear and confusion. Tarnish, uncertain of how to deal with this, asked, “What do I do, Maud?”

After thinking for a moment, Maud replied, “What you’re doing.”

Trixie was straddling him in a most awkward and rather intimate way. Tarnish, who had a genuine desire to do good, worried that his body might react in a most untoward manner. This was awkward and caused him no small amount of mental stress. He felt Trixie’s hind legs squeeze against his sides and her forelegs gripped his neck, almost as if she was afraid of falling off into the sky, never to be seen again.

“I think the hoodoo worked,” Maud deadpanned. “Trixie, do you remember me? It’s me, Maud… you worked with me at the rock farm. You hated it. This is my husband, Tarnished Teapot. We rescued you.”

There was no reply from Trixie, only weak, shuddering sobs as she clung to Tarnish, refusing to let go or ease up on her grip. Reaching out her hoof, Maud patted Tarnish on the neck, trying to comfort him.

“What do I do, Maud?” Tarnish asked. “This is awkward—”

“Sometimes, a mare just needs a stallion to hold her… somepony to make her feel safe… surely you can do that for her, Tarnish,” Maud replied as she looked Tarnish in the eye. “I know it’s hard, but think about what she’s been though.”

There was a mournful whimper from Trixie as Tarnish collected his wits. He gave her a squeeze, trying to cradle her as much as possible with his body, and he tried to be the good pony that Maud believed him to be. It made things a little easier.

“Hey, I bet you’re hungry,” Tarnish said in a soft voice to Trixie. “Want something to eat?”

After a long wait, there was a weak nod from Trixie, but no words. Tarnish gave her a reassuring squeeze and stroked her neck. He glanced over at Maud and then back up at Trixie, who had closed her eye. She was sobbing against him, deep body shaking sobs, and for a moment, Tarnish wondered what it was that Maud must have felt when she had rescued him.

“I’ll carry you over to our camp, and I’ll serve you some breakfast, and maybe some nice tea, and I’ll make sure you’re comfortable, and after you’ve eaten, I’ll tuck you into bed and you can get some sleep. Does that sound good? You’ll be safe, I promise. Maud and I are rangers… no harm will come to you.” As Tarnish spoke, he felt Trixie’s muzzle move against him as she nodded. He supposed that rangers came with a certain reputation and he hoped that it would put her mind at ease.

As Tarnish continued to comfort Trixie, he thought about the power of healing magic, what he had accomplished, and he wondered what he could do in the future. With enough hard work, he could do anything, accomplish anything, anything was possible. That tiny drop of tincture had brought Trixie back from the brink. That was power. It was the best sort of power too, it was alluring, required study for mastery, and was socially acceptable.

It was power worth pursuing.

The situation wasn’t as good as Tarnish had hoped it would be. Trixie had freaked out when she had seen the diamond dog puppy, which was understandable. She lay on a blanket with her one open eye focused on Limestone, who was pupsitting. Trixie was fed, she had drank several cups of tea and more aspirin had been given to her.

Tarnish came to the slow realisation that it was time for Limestone to go home and take the pup with her. He would send along a few cans of condensed milk so the pup would have something to eat. For Limestone, the adventure was over. She had learned a valuable lesson and had come to the conclusion that the adventuring life just wasn’t for her. Sight seeing was fine, exploring was good, but making daring raids on diamond dog camps and being in mortal peril wasn’t her cup of tea.

There was the issue of what to do with Trixie… should he and Maud continue south with her? Baltimare would be close, sort of, after a few more days of travel. Trixie seemed as though she would make a full recovery, but Tarnish had no way of knowing for certain. Behind them was home, a day’s journey, and there was Doctor Hedge. He agonised over the decision, not knowing what to do. He would have to discuss it with Maud, later, perhaps when Trixie was asleep.

He needed sleep. His whole body felt as though it was made of lead. Leaning over, Tarnish lowered his head down close to Trixie’s ear and asked, “Hey there, I know it’s sudden and all, but do you want to go to bed with me?”

He was met with silence, which wasn’t quite what he expected, to be honest, he wasn’t sure what he expected, but when there was a faint, weak, wheezy bit of laughter from Trixie, he wasn’t expecting that at all. It was a sound that made him happy, it made him feel good, and he was glad to hear it. It was a pleasant surprise.

Lifting his head, he saw Maud looking at him with one of her intense, burning stares. He blinked, uncertain, not knowing what Maud was feeling. When her lips moved, his ears perked, standing up, and he heard her say, “I love you.”

He sighed. Was it relief he was feeling? He didn’t know. He was too tired to puzzle it out. At least Maud was okay with his attempt at humour. He smiled at her, took a deep breath, and replied, “I love you too.” He dropped his head again, down near Trixie’s ear. “Just don’t snore and everything will be fine.”

With a groan, Trixie’s head shifted, she turned as much as her stiff, bruised neck would allow, and she looked up at Tarnish. In a raspy, croaking voice, she said her first words since waking up. “Thank you.”

It was obvious that it took a great deal of effort for her just to speak. Tarnish wondered if she had been strangled—her neck was covered with bruises—and unable to deal with being angry, he let out a weary sigh. He was too tired to get worked up over it. All he could feel was pity, not rage.

Rising to his hooves, he arched his back, stretched a bit, gave his tail a shake, and pranced over to where Limestone was sitting. He nosed her, almost knocking her over, and then pressed his muzzle against the pup, who grabbed him. Her sharp little claws prickled and stung a bit as they dug into his skin. She let out a happy sounding yip and clung to his cheeks. He saw Limestone looking up at him.

“Looking after this little one, I’ve realised where I belong,” Limestone said in a low voice.

“Oh?” Tarnish replied.

“Home and hearth.” Limestone blinked a few times, trying to prevent tears from showing. She gave the pup a squeeze and looked up at Tarnish, who stood towering over her. “I wonder if Buttons will let me help her look after this pup. This feels nice. I’m not ready for a family just yet, but this… this feels nice. This is something I want… but later.”

“Good for you, Limestone,” Tarnish said. He pressed his muzzle against Limestone’s cheek and gave her a kiss. He pulled away, lifted his head, and drew himself up to his full height. “I’m going to bed.”

Saying nothing else, he turned around, lifted Trixie up in his telekinesis, and headed for the wagon door, his tail swishing behind him. He pulled the door open, lifted Trixie inside, and then entered himself. The door was left open for a bit of fresh air.

Maud, who watched all of this happen, looked over at her sister, and the two of them shared a silent exchange, no words needed. After a few moments, Maud got up, stretched, and then began cleaning up the dishes from the meal, busying herself with the mundane task that needed to be done.

Author's Notes:

- Of course I'll go to bed with you if you feed me first.