So as I discussed in a now deleted author note, I was trying to figure out whether or not I should keep posting chapter updates here, or if I should make a new story. In the end, I decided to just keep posting here, but since i had several short chapters set up ahead of time, I just decided to post them all in a single entry. This may or may not become a new format for me for this particular story, as I don't want the ending chapter count to be like 50+. Probably wouldn't get that far anyways, but I'm being hyperbolic. That aside, I might take a break from Weak and Powerless after the next mini-arc, to focus on some holiday stories, as well as get back to my other setting, Equestria Trainers' Society, for a short time. I hope you all enjoy this update, and will be understanding once I put this story on a brief hiatus again, even though i promised to continue this until completion

After the event in Las Pegasus ended, not much really changed for Sunset’s support group. All activities continued as as it always had, except that now some of the stallions that attended wore the chastity belts Sunset Shimmer had designed. The devices didn’t intrude much their lives, so most of the time the wearer just ignore they existed, with mare members feeling slightly more secure about interacting with stallions.

When news of this added safety measure to the group spread outside of the group’s members, it lead to a few more ponies deciding to join, but the group has always been considered to be a safe environment by most Equestrians anyways. The most dangerous thing members of the group did was their social activism, and there were few real problems with that, except that they might annoy some random ponies trying to mind their own business.

So inside the group things pretty much stayed the same, while outside of the group Equestria was starting to progress rapidly to a more stable position. Every mare of adult age, save for those who were Red Collars awaiting trial, had been ensured a home that they would own, located either in or close to the city they lived in prior to the caribou’s takeover. This came mostly in the return of property caribou had stolen from their rightful female owners, but also included mares who didn’t own real estate beforehand, as the suffering they had been put through deserved some form of compensation. On top of that, each mare received a generous sum of bits, enough to start a new life and let them support themselves for some time, though not enough to make them what would be considered rich by Equestrian standards.

Still, after roughly eight months of work, Equestria was finally back to a near normal state. There were still plenty of issues to be resolved, as Red Town was still operating as a detention center for red collar and traitor stallions, the Committee still had no clue how to deal with the remaining caribou they had interred in Lindisbarne and the Everfree Forest, and there was still the issue of sorting out what truly happened during the Fall from the mess of propaganda the caribou had created to make history look upon them as they wanted to be seen, but at the very least ponies were able to return to their normal lives. The Committee had even approved the reopening of Las Pegasus a month after the group’s event, with restrictions only held on the gambling aspects, as they didn’t want ponies to foolishly throw away their reparations to a casino, but approved of the functions the cloud city was known for that were purely for entertainment.

With normality returning, some ponies made attempts to return to the lives they had prior, while others decided to take the money given to them, and the abundance of free time they had, to focus on themselves a bit more. Using the still government funded train transportation system, many now motivated mares decided to travel around, and visit the many locations Equestria offered, from mountain peaks, to rural cities, to open countrysides. This led to trains often being packed with travelers, which became a hassle for the regular passengers just trying to get from one location to another. Passengers like Trixie, who had found herself in a window seat, with two mares loudly conversing next to her.

“You know, we’ve been back and forth on these trains so many times now,” said an earth mare, starting up a new topic after finishing a recap of one of her and her friend’s recent adventures, “But I still can’t figure out what’s up with these little circles in the floor are for.”

The earth mare’s friend, a pegasus, looked down in front of her own seat, seeing a part of the floor in front of it that had what appeared to be a circle of metal popping up from it, as if that part had been melted and then cooled.

“Oh hey, I never noticed that,” said the pegasus rubbing the spot with her hoof, as she saw there was a spot like that in front of every seat within her line of sight, “Any idea what they’re for?”

“It can’t be a stylistic choice, can it?” the earth mare questioned, not seeing any practical purpose for the circles.

“I don’t think so,” said the pegasus, finding that the way the circles bubbled did not share a pattern from one circle to the next, “And something that plain can’t be a logo.”

“It’s a welding spot,” Trixie said, tiring of the two other passengers fumbling around with what the mark in the floor was, “They had to put a piece of metal in those places to seal up a bunch of holes.”

“Holes?” asked the unicorn, “Why were there so many holes in the car floors?”

“These trains used to belong to some stallion who aided the caribou by transporting their supplies across Equestria.” Trixie explained, her eyes aimed out the window as she spoke, “During the Fall, he modified every car he had to have dildos that used the motion of the coupling bar to move them like a piston. A mare would have to kneel over those holes, where they came out of, to get fucked by the train while traveling with their owner. When these trains were seized by the Committee and repurposed, they removed those parts and plugged the holes because they were a safety risk.”

“Really?” said the pegasus, clearly never being privy to the experience, “That sounds so stupid.”

“Well that’s the caribou for you.” Trixie replied, as the pegasus didn’t know the half of it.

While on paper the idea of using the train’s locomotion to serve a dual purpose of working a bunch of automated phalluses probably sounded like a great idea for any follower of the caribou, the truth was that having an extra contraption attached to the wheels of a coal powered mode of travel was not very practical. The trains would move slower because of it, and were even prone to having the wheels lock up, causing further delays. The fact that this luckily never caused a derailment, and that the caribou found the delay worth it to have another common Equestrian device altered into an object of lewd sexualization, was the only reason the caribou chose to keep the obvious design flaw in.

Trixie herself only knew about this because she was often transported by train to the locations where she would be violated, and when she wasn’t being degraded by being put in a cage in the cargo car, she had to endure having the inside of her vagina rubbed raw by a rubber phallus moving at whatever thankfully slow speed the train was going.

“Well thanks for telling us,” the earth mare said, “I won’t ask how you knew that.” she added, since it was pretty obvious where one would get that kind of information.

“Hey, isn’t that one of those scarfs from that support group?” said the pegasus, noticing that the neckerchief Trixie had on, “Are you heading to some protest or rally?”

“No…” Trixie replied, shifting her eyes over to the two mares for only a moment, before returning to glare out the window, “I’m just… visiting a place I went to a few times before the Fall.”

Trixie really wasn’t up for conversation with strangers. The only reason she made a comment before was to prevent the other passenger’s curiosity to turn into a ride long back and forth of guessing what the welded spots were for. Lots of public conversations were becoming talking about things that the caribou had done, and how things were so drastically different, now that Equestria was resembling itself again, as no one mare had experienced every act of degradation the caribou had designed to torment them, and thus some were starting to become curious to what others had been through.

While this was a way for most mares to share their experiences, and find out that no matter what they had gone through, there was always somepony who experiences a different kind of sexual degradation, it was a little tedious for Trixie. She had already heard these sorts of stories all the time in her support group, and there it was a little easier to take, since it was a controlled environment, and everything was treated with more gravitas than the casual discussions they were becoming in public.

“Wondering if it looks like it did before the Fall now?” asked the earth pony, “That sounds neat. Me and Lofty here are on the way back home ourselves. We decided to take a page from my adventurous brother, and do a little bit of sightseeing around Equestria. We never had the time to do it before, since we were taking care of-.”

“Holiday, I don’t think she wants to hear our life story,” said the pegasus, noticing the blue unicorn’s disinterest, “She probably has a lot of other things on her mind anyways.”

“Oh, alright,” the earth mare said, taking the other mare’s advice, “Our stop is coming up anyways. It was nice seeing you again.”

The two other mares got out of their seats and grabbed their bags from an overhead compartment before the train arrived at the station, and moved up the car towards one of its exits. Trixie was relieved that the conversation was over and that she was alone, but once she reflected on the earth mare’s farewell, the unicorn noticed that she had mentioned ‘seeing her again’.

Trixie didn’t know how that mare had ever met her, but then going over the context clues of their talk, the mares said they were heading home, and that implied this stop was where they lived. Pressing herself against the window to get a better look at the front of the train, she went pale when she saw that the upcoming town was her stop as well. The two mares had been from Ponyville.

Trixie decided to stay on the train as long as she could, not wanting to run into those two mares on the train platform, or right outside in town for that matter. That they recognized her in the first place was bad enough, since that meant they lived in Ponyville during the two times she had come around to cause trouble. It was her objective to get through the town without anypony noticing her, but she had already failed, and now she wanted to make those other passengers believe she was heading elsewhere. At the last call for departure, Trixie made her exit, and upon leaving the station, was happy to see that not only were they nowhere to be seen, but there were lots of other ponies around that were clearly not residents of the small town.

It was to be expected, seeing that Ponyville was the hometown, and current residence, of Big Macintosh, the slayer of Dainn and savior of Equestria, as well as a bit of a historical site, seeing as it was the last city to be overtaken by the caribou. It had become a bit of a tourist trap, and thus the perfect environment for Trixie to move around unnoticed, as she blended in with all the others walking through the streets to take pictures and buy souvenirs from market stands that some of the residents set up to take advantage of this influx of visitation. Again, Equestria was reverting a bit too quickly back to the status quo of normal living, but in this case Trixie was thankful for it.

As the blue unicorn made her way through town, she had a single destination in mind, that being Carrot Top’s farm. Whatever the earth mare had been setting up there was apparently complete, and Trixie had received a letter inviting her to come and visit. Trixie had been anticipating this day since the Las Pegasus trip, as she really wanted to follow up on where she left off with Star Bright, but once she got the address she was reminded where Carrot Top was from.

She debated for days if she should even go, but her wanting to see Star Bright overcame whatever issues she had with returning to Ponyville. However, that didn’t mean she wanted the locals to know she was there if it could be helped, so she packed light and found a hood to cover her head, for some added concealment. Things were going well, as no pony really paid attention to some random mare minding her own business as she slipped through a crowd of other ponies visiting the city. The blue unicorn was starting to relax when she took note of how much she was being ignored, and let out a quiet sigh of relief once she got to the center of town, the halfway point of her destination. As far as she could tell, she wasn’t going to have any awkward encounters with any familiar faces that day.

With haste, she kept making her way to Ponyville’s farm lands, ignoring every pony around her as much as they were being oblivious to her own existence. This was, of course, a recipe for disaster, as something barged right into Trixie, knocking her to the ground, and causing her hood to slide off her head.

Trixie didn’t even know what had hit her at first, and had to mentally recover from seeing the world horizontally to seeing it vertically. As she picked herself up though, she saw the exact cause of the problem, as two unicorn boys were on the ground with her, rubbing their heads after accidentally ramming the mare full force.

“Uhhhh, sorry about that,” said one of the boys, who had a tan coat and short cut green mane.

“Yeah, we didn’t see ya stepping out from behind those other ponies.” said his pudgy friend, who had a blue coat with spiky orange hair.

“It’s ok!” Trixie said trying to get up and leave as quickly as she could, instantly recognizing these particular residents of Ponyville. She didn’t even know their names, but she knew them. There was no way she couldn’t, since both of her previous visits heavily involved their participation in her misdeeds, “My fault. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be going now.”

Trixie got back to her hooves, and started to walk away, hoping the two colts didn’t recognize her as well, but then she heard the tan one call out “Hey, aren’t you Trixie?”.

“Yeah! I think you’re right, Snails,” the blue colt said, a bit of excitement in his voice seeing the familiar mare, “How have you been, Trix-hmm!”

Trixie had already turned around, and placed her hand over the blue colt’s mouth, “SHHHHH!!!” she said, “I don’t want ponies to know I’m here.”

“Why not?” asked Snails, “Are you trying to surprise somepony for their birthday or something?”

“No…” Trixie replied, keeping hold of the blue colt’s mouth, while not having a free hand to do the same to the one called Snails.

“Oh! Are you undercover?” Snails said, tossing out another guess.

“What?” Trixie replied, “What do you think I am, a secret agent?” She said, thinking how absurd it would be for a secret agent to ever be in a place like Ponyville, until she remembered that a few V.I.P.s did live in the town now.

As Trixie gave her attention to Snails, the blue colt managed to pry Trixie’s hand away, and said, “Are you trying to hide cause you think ponies here will be mad at you?”

“No!” Trixie said reactively, before replying to what the colt had said in her head, “Well… yes… actually.”

“Well then you’re doin’ a pretty bad job at it,” Snails said, seeing the attention Trixie was getting from holding onto his friend.

With eyes being drawn on her, Trixie started understanding how bad this looked, and embarrassed she stood up and say, “Hehe, I was just asking these boys for… uhhh, directions! Right, but we should probably get out of the middle of the street while you two help me out. This way!”

The blue mare grabbed the colts by the wrists, and led them over to a building that didn’t look crowded. Not out of sight, as she realized that would look even more suspicious, but just away where hopefully no pony who knew her would see, praying that all those ponies glaring at her were just the tourists.

“Look, Snails and… uh…”

“Snips.” said the blue one.

“Right, Snips.” Trixie replied, “I’m just trying to come and visit a friend today. I’m not here to do something evil, or show off my magical powers, or do anything that will upset anypony.”

“Well that’s good to know,” Snips said, “But I don’t think anypony here is too worried about you anymore.”

“Yeah,” Snails collaborated, “They’ve been busy rebuilding the town after something else came and wrecked everything.”

“You mean the cari-” Trixie had to stop herself, for the naivety of these two colts was not accidental, as she remembered that all foals were subjected to memory erasing spells, “I mean, yes. I heard of that disaster too. I guess that would make them forget about me. Still, don’t you two think they’d get mad if they saw me again?”

“Why would they be?” Snips asked.

“Well aren’t you two mad at me?” Trixie asked back, “I did some horrible things to everypony here. I made you two pull me in a heavy cart… without wheels.”

“Weren’t you being controlled by that necklace though?” Snails said, racking his brain to remember what happened.

“And you only put that on to beat Twilight in magic. You didn’t know it would turn you evil.” Snips added, the two colts somehow understanding the situation, and how it wasn’t totally Trixie’s fault, far more than the mare did. “It sounds like you're sorry, so why should we stay mad?”

“You’re far more forgiving than some ponies,” Trixie said.

“Not really,” said Snails, “We led an Ursa Minor to town, and no pony stayed mad at us.”

“That’s a bit different,” Trixie said, “Children are supposed to make mistakes, and adults are supposed to know better.”

“That sounds kinda stupid,” Snails replied, not grasping the nuances of adulthood, “How are ya supposed to know if you don’t make the mistake?”

“It’s.. complicated,” Trixie said, not really having the answer to that, but knowing that ponies had higher expectations from adults than they had for foals, especially after the Fall.

“How about this?” Snips said, “If you really feel bad about it, why don’t you come with us?”

“What? Why?” Trixie responded.

“We were heading to Sugar Cube Corner to get some sweets,” Snips explained, “And if you feel bad about what you did to us, then you can buy them for us, and we’ll call it even.”

“Ooooohhh, that’s a great idea.” Snails agreed, licking his lips as his thoughts gravitated to images of cakes and donuts.

“Well, okay…” Trixie said reluctantly. It’s not that she couldn’t spend some money on the foals, since she did bring a small amount of bits the Committee gave her so she could pay for expenses on her trip, but this was distracting her from her destination, “Can we make it quick though? I have someplace to be.”

“You got it,” Snips said, taking Trixie by the hand, and leading her to the store, with Snails following close behind.

Though Trixie knew the way due to her times prior in Ponyville, she allowed Snips to lead, and soon they were at the confections store. There was a line of customers already in wait, but not as long as one might think given all the tourists. At least the trio were able to enter through the door right away, even if the counter was a bit blocked from view. Trixie just accepted the wait, and minded her own business as the two colts accompanying her gawked at any cookies, cakes, and pastries on display they could get to with all the ponies around.

Every time a customer made a purchase, Trixie would hear the mare attending the register say “Next” in a flat monotone, assumedly because of the monotony of counter work already getting to her that day. With each one though one or more ponies would leave, and get Trixie that much closer. Eventually she heard the call of “Next”, followed up by a repeat of the word when silence followed.

“Trixie, we’re up!” Snips said excitedly that it was their turn.

“Oh!” said Trixie, turning to see that the front of the counter had become devoid of ponies, her little group looking to be the last to show, at least for this time of the day. Now the only other pony in the storefront was a gray earth mare with straight purple hair, her eyelids partially closed in what Trixie assumed was boredom. Trixie was glad that she didn’t recognize this particular mare, and that the mare didn’t seem to recognize her either, perhaps meaning that she hadn’t been a resident of the town during the unicorn’s takeover.

“Next” the counter mare said again, not budging one bit as she waited for another customer to come forward.

“Right, that’s us.” Trixie said, “The boys with me wanted to get some pastries.”

“Well that’s good,” the mare said, in the same monotone, “Because the only thing we sell here are pastries. It’s a bakery.”

“Uh, yes. I knew that.” Trixie replied, “So boys, what do you want?”

Snails, despite his namesake, was the first to come to the counter and make his order, “A dozen chocolate chip cookies, please.”

The counter mare made her way over to a table holding the requested cookies, and gathered them up into a box, setting them next to the register upon her return. Trixie took notice of the way she moved, it was slow, and somewhat robotic as each motion to take a cookie off the display tray seemed to be a near exact repeat of the action. Something about it bothered Trixie, but she couldn’t put her finger on what though. The mare was just doing her job, and there was no reason that should have her feeling uneased.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” the counter mare asked, her expression never shifting.

“I want three jelly filled donuts.” Snips said, giving his order.

“Sorry, but we are currently out of the jelly filled donuts.” the gray mare said, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Aww, but I really wanted those…” Snips said, upset that he wouldn’t be able to get what he had been looking forward to.

“Just get something else,” said Trixie, “I’ll pay for whatever you want… That costs under three bits.” Trixie had to immediately tack on that stipulation, not wanting the colt to think she’d buy him a fortune’s worth of desserts.

“But the jelly donuts are my favorite.” Snips complained.

“If you’re willing to wait, I already told our baker that we needed more.” the gray mare said.

Trixie was put off by the idea that she’d be delayed even further from getting to Carrot’s farm, but for the sake of making things up to the colts, asked, “How long will that be?”

“Judging on when I told them, and the average time it takes our baker to make donuts,” the gray mare said, her expressions staying as blank as it had been from the start, “They should be done now.”

Almost immediately after the counter mare said they were finished, the door to Sugar Cube Corner’s kitchen flung open, and out came a pink mare carrying a tray full of delicious looking donuts, fresh from the oven.

“Anypony looking for donuts?” said the mare carrying the cooked confections.

“I was!” Snips answered, excited that he was going to get what he wanted after all, “I need three.”

“Coming right-” the mare holding the tray stopped mid exclamation, as she looked over her tray to see who was present, and spotted Trixie, who gave her a momentary pause, “Up.”

Trixie too was stunned, her reaction nearly identical to seeing this particular mare. A mare that not only she knew, but all of Equestria knew at this point, being one of the mares the caribou used as an example of female submission during their reign over the kingdom. Though had the caribou never turned this mare, and her five friends, into the figures of the Fall that they had become, the blue unicorn would have known this particular pony.

“Trixie, is that you?!” said the pink mare, zipping over to the counter to set down the still warm donuts, and then over to Trixie to give her a big hug. “How have you been?! I haven’t seen you since…” Pinkie stopped herself for a moment, letting go of the unicorn, before saying in a whisper, “Thaaaat thing that happened a while ago that we’re not supposed to talk about anymore,” Pinkie then got in close to Trixie, and in a louder whisper finished by saying, “Especially not with foals here.”

Pinkie wasn’t referring to either of Trixie’s prior incidents, and the unicorn didn’t need any further hints to understand the context as Pinkie and Trixie had an encounter during the Fall. During Trixie’s tour of punishment across Equestria, she had at one point been sent to Ponyville in what was one of the worst moments of her time being enslaved. She was forced to work at a bordello the caribou had constructed, to entertain and pleasure the stallions who visited it with her body.

The brainwashed stallions recognized her immediately, and teased, taunted, and tormented Trixie in ways that were easily comparable to what happened to her in the Canterlot dungeons. Memories of that time were pretty harsh, and piled onto the reasons Trixie was reluctant to return to Ponyville, not that Carrot Top knew that while inviting her. However, one part of her time spent in the caribou’s whore house was not as bad as everything else, and that was Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie was the red collar put in charge of managing the bordello, and arranging the events that would take place there. While she was given certain instructions to follow from her handlers, she was pretty much given free reign to do as she pleased, as the caribou believed she was conditioned to be fully within their power. The hubris on display from the deer in this case was a mercy for many mares sent to Pinkie’s as punishment, as the earth mare’s priorities were not to follow the spirit of her master’s word, but to ensure that every pony was as happy as they could possibly be.

Thus, while Pinkie allowed the stallions to do as they pleased to Trixie as instructed, she was always the first to attend to the blue unicorn after, and dead set on cheering her up. Pinkie would allow Trixie to take actual bathes, slip her treats intended for more obedient mares, and stuff the cramped cage Trixie had to sleep in with pillows so plush that it turned the hard walls into a reasonably soft surrounding.

For as little as Trixie appreciated it at the time, the week she spent at Pinkie’s, at least during the times she wasn’t being used for sex, were perhaps the easiest part of the Fall for her. Many mares had similar experiences with Pinkie, enough that her full acquittal was guaranteed when it came to evaluating her actions as a red collar, and she was one of the few red collars who did not have to apologize or show regret to the Committee of Ponies, as it was clear she never did anything to purposefully harm another mare.

“So?” Pinkie said, still happy to see Trixie after all this time, “What brings you back to our cozy little corner? Did you remember that we made the best cupcakes in Equestria, and needed to grab a bunch now that the shops reopened?”

“She’s probably here to visit Carrot Top,” said another voice coming from the kitchen, as another slightly familiar face revealed itself, in the form of a blue, heavy set mare, with a mane of light and dark pink swirls, wheeling out several small cakes on a cart. Trixie recalled the mare was named Mrs. Cake, an easy name to remember, given the mare’s profession, “Carrot has been letting ponies know that Trixie would be coming to town.”

“Really?” Pinkie questioned, “She didn’t tell me.”

“That’s probably because of the whole ‘Red’ thing,” Mrs. Cake said, as she placed her freshly baked goods into empty displays, “She didn’t exactly tell me either, and I had to hear it from somepony else.”

“Oh…” Pinkie said, looking momentarily disheartened, before perking herself back up, “Well since you’re here, would you like to try out some of our strawberry tarts, or perhaps a few ginger snaps, or some chocolate fudge brownies?”

“No,” Trixie said nervously, now informed that all of Ponyville was aware of her arrival. They couldn’t have known she’d be there that day, but they would be on the look out for her knowing that the unicorn was to arrive at some point, “I was just here to pay for these boy’s snacks,” she quickly grabbed a hand full of bits from her pocket, and slammed them down next to the cash register, “And lookie here, they’ve been paid for. So I should be going now.”

Trixie made a beeline for the front door, grabbing the doorknob the moment it was within reach. Just as she did though, a gray hand landed on her own, and prevented her from turning the handle.

“You overpaid by thirteen bits,” said the counter mare, having zipped over to Trixie with amazing speed, holding the extra bits she wanted to give back to Trixie.

“Just c-consider it a t-tip,” Trixie said stammering, panicking slightly as somepony was physically preventing her from leaving. She made an attempt to remove the mare’s hand, using her magic to pull at the fingers holding her in place, but the grip was firm and powerful, even for an earth mare. Turning to look the mare in the eye, Trixie started to say, “Would you just let me go!”, but found herself stopping three words in when something about the counter mare dawned on her.

That blank expression on her face. The way that she spoke in a dull tone. Never smiling, or showing emotion of any kind. Trixie had no doubt what it was she was looking at, and the sight of it made the stress she was feeling all the worse.

“I’m sorry!” the blue unicorn yelled, backing away from the mare, who was still holding her hand. “I didn’t mean to! Just please, let me go!”

The gray earth mare thought over Trixie’s request, and let go of the blue unicorn. Trixie, still trying to pull away, lost her balance and fell right to the floor, and then proceeded to push away from the pony using her hooves.

Seeing the outright fearful response Trixie was giving, both Pinkie and Mrs. Cake rushed right over, as well as Snips and Snails. They practically surrounded Trixie,and tried to calm her down with questions of what was going on, and comforting words about how she was safe, but the blue mare was too deep in her own head to listen or reply. Instead she just stared in terror at the one mare keeping her distance, standing away from her with that same blank look on her face.

Mrs Cake had Pinkie, Snips, and Snails help Trixie into the back room, where they got the now trembling unicorn mare into a chair. She didn’t ask for the gray mare to help, as she was observant enough to see that something about what she said or did set Trixie off, and while she didn’t know exactly what it had been done to make the unicorn freak out, Mrs. Cake didn’t want to exacerbate the problem.

Once Trixie was manageable, Mrs. Cake told Pinkie to keep watch over her, so she could send the two colts on their way, with the explanation that this was an ‘adult issue’, and shut down the store. When she returned, the older earth mare prepared Trixie a cup of hot cocoa, as Pinkie sat in an awkward silence that had her squirming in her seat from how uncomfortable the tension was. The pink pony managed to contain herself though, until Mrs. Cake returned, with drinks for everypony.

“Its ok, Trixie.” Mrs. Cake said, “Nothing is gonna hurt you here. You’re safe.”

“I-I-I know.” replied Trixie, still jittering, “I j-just wasn’t expecting t-that.”

“Expecting what, sweetie?” Mrs. Cake asked, keeping her voice calm and gentle.

Trixie forced herself to take a drink of her cocoa, and found that the warmth and sweetness from it did help to calm her nerves. “I didn’t t-think that I’d run into a b-blank, or er… ‘re-blank’ today.”

The two earth mares at the table looked at each other for a moment, bewilderment on their faces. “A re-blank?” Mrs. Cake questioned, “Do you mean Maud?”

“If that’s the name of the gray mare that was at the counter, then y-yes.” Trixie said, wondering why she had to clarify.

“She’s not a re-blank,” Pinkie said, “She’s my sister, Maud Pie. She’s just helping out for a while till Sugar Cube Corner is working at full swing.”

“You don’t have to make me feel better,” Trixie replied, knowing that Pinkie Pie had a habit of wanting to cheer ponies up, “I knew I’d have to face one eventually, but I just wasn’t prepared.” As far as Trixie knew, she had never seen a re-blank up close before now.

“She’s not lying,” Mrs. Cake said, collaborating with the pink mare, “That is Pinkie’s sister, and she was not blanked by the caribou.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t even caught by the caribou.” Pinkie added, “When they took over, Maud was studying to get her rocktorate in rock science.”

Pinkie’s words dumbfounded Trixie, since she knew nothing about Maud, and thus thought Pinkie was just spouting nonsense, which wouldn’t be unusual for her.

“It might sound silly, but apparently that’s the truth.” Mrs. Cake said, “She managed to avoid the whole thing because she was out in the middle of nowhere, living on her own. Believe me, while she might not be as expressive as some other ponies, Maud is not a re-blank.”

“Yeah, and we know re-blanks,” Pinkie added, “We take a cart of baked goods to the local re-blank shelter, and they are way different from Maud. They always have these weird smiles on their faces, and talk like they're always happy or excited.”

“I hate to say it, but Pinkie is right. Re-blanks tend to be more off putting,” said Mrs. Cake, “And can’t do anything, or don’t have the drive to do anything, unless they are told to. A re-blank would have never tried to give you your money back, or would have stopped you from leaving.”

“So Maud is… normal?” Trixie asked, having trouble accepting that. With both the earth mares telling her that was the case, what else could she believe? “So I made myself look like a fool for nothing…”

“Not for nothing,” Mrs. Cake said, “You, like most ponies in Equestria, have been through a lot. For a lot of ponies, it’s a struggle to keep themselves together, and that’s reasonable. It hasn’t even been a year yet.”

Trixie took another sip of her cocoa, finding what was happening at the moment beyond belief. “You two are being so nice to me, but… why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?” Pinkie questioned, “You’re a pony, and you were scared. Isn’t it just the right thing to do to help out a pony in trouble?”

“But I’ve done so much to hurt the ponies of Ponyville,” Trixie insisted, “You all should be mad at me.”

“Are you talking about that fight you had with Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, having a small pool of incidents that involved Trixie and Ponyville to pull from.

“Of course I am,” Trixie replied, the shame of that day making her feel small in the presence of two ponies she had harmed, “I took over the town, made you all into slaves… You all should hate me.”

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Cake said, pushing aside her own cup of cocoa to take Trixie’s hand, “We’ve been through so much as ponies that something like that really shouldn’t matter now, should it? We all understood what happened after Twilight got that amulet away from you. It wasn’t your doing, and you were being controlled. From that point of view, we’d have to think of you the same as we do the stallions and the Crystal Heart.”

“Besides,” Pinkie said, interrupting the tender moment, “If we stayed mad at everypony who destroyed or took over the town, half the ponies in Ponyville couldn’t live here anymore. I’d be on that list too, cause about a week before you showed up to challenge Twilight, I accidentally let loose a bunch of clones.”

“Clones?” Trixie asked, shocked to hear Pinkie confess to such a thing, “How?!”

“Well you see there is this cave near here, and inside it there’s a p-” Pinkie had a hand clamp down over her muzzle, forcing her words into mumbles as Mrs. Cake prevented her from saying too much.

“The point is that we’ve all done things that we regret,” Mrs. Cake said, “But Ponyville has always had a policy of forgiving those mistakes. I don’t think a single pony here will hold what you did against you.”

“Carrot Top did… for a while at least.” Trixie grumbled.

“Well Carrot Top left the first chance she could after the caribou were stopped, so she probably didn’t see eye to eye with the rest of us on such matters.” Mrs. Cake explained, “But I promise you, most ponies aren’t going to hold one time of going crazy against you.”

Mrs. Cake released Pinkie’s face, to which Pinkie said, “And then Twilight gathered up all the Pinkies, and had us stare at paint drying. It was soooo intense, and -.”

“Pinkie, I get it,” Trixie said, having calmed down and come to the conclusion that at the very least, the two ponies in the room held nothing against her, “Thank you both for being more understanding than I gave this town credit for.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank us,” Pinkie said, casually brushing off the complement, “It’s so much better to forgive and make friends than it is to hold grudges. Now let me tell you about the time Twilight made everypony go nuts over a doll.”

“Maybe some other time, Pinkie,” said Mrs. Cake, “We really should be re-opening the shop. I’m sure some customers are wondering why our lunch break is taking so long.”

“Ehehe,” Trixie laughed nervously, seeing that she was getting in the way of Mrs. Cake’s business, “I’ll just see myself out.”

“Not before taking this, you won’t.” Mrs. Cake said, wrapping up a box of muffins for the unicorn, “This should make up for the extra money you were willing to throw away. You’re sure to want something to snack on after a panic attack like that.”

Trixie nodded, and took the box of baked goods, not feeling that hungry, but accepting them nonetheless. As the two earth mares put their aprons on, and got back to cooking, Trixie headed for the door back to the store front.

“Oh, just do us a favor and flip the sign on the door over.” said Mrs. Cake right before Trixie left the room.

“Sure thing,” Trixie said in agreement, slipping out without another word.

Now back in the store front, Trixie spotted Maud again, standing near the counter, and from the looks of it examining some pieces of rock during her break. She still had trouble seeing this mare as not being a blank, but if what Mrs. Cake said was true, then this show of interest in something, even if it was just rocks, was proof that Maud hadn’t undergone the process of blanking.

Trixie tried to walk right past the gray mare, but couldn’t find it in her to simply leave without saying something. “Hey… I’m sorry I freaked out earlier. I thought you were something you weren’t, and that’s my fault.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Maud said, looking up from her collection of stones, “You looked like you were dealing with something. I’ve been there before myself, when I heard about what was happening to my family a year ago.”

“Really? A pony with your personality… broke down like that?” Trixie asked, actually curious about how Maud reacted to the knowledge that Pinkie had been enslaved and sexually abused by the caribou.

“Not exactly the same way,” Maud answered, “But I didn’t like hearing that my sisters, or my mother, or my father had to go through what they did. We all handle our problems and emotions in our own way, but that doesn’t mean that the way you deal with them is better or worse than the way I do. We can all feel bad or scared about something, and it’s ok to cry if you need to.”

The earth mare put away her collection of rocks, figuring it was time to open up the store again. Trixie followed the mare to the door, and was ready to leave, until Maud spoke again as the unicorn made her exit.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what did I do that scared you?” The gray mare asked.

“It was… nothing.” Trixie said, “A mistake on my part, about something I can’t talk about.”

“Okay,” Maud said bluntly, not showing any offense or interest beyond the initial question, as she flipped the sign and let Trixie leave.

Trixie didn’t know why, but it felt like Maud had her own reasons for asking, else a mare like her would not have bothered in the first place. Still, whatever answers Maud was looking for, she couldn’t get from Trixie, especially when it came to her issues involving blanks. That was a secret that she didn’t want anypony to know, and she had only let slip to a particular pair who had fortunately kept her secret thus far.

“Hey Trixie!”

Still dwelling on her thoughts, Trixie heard Snips’ voice as he ran to her, with Snails there with him. While the two had been encouraged to leave the bakery, they didn’t feel right just leaving Trixie behind, and decided to wait on her, at least until they finished their snacks if she took too long.

As Trixie turned to see their approach, she had to ask, “What are you two still doing here?”

“We wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened.” Snails replied.

“Boys, I’m fine.” Trixie said back.

“But it looks like you’ve been crying.” said Snips, noticing the dried tears around Trixie’s eyes.

“Well… it’s ok to cry sometimes.” Trixie replied, echoing what Maud had told her, “Though I could use something to clean my face.”

“I’ll go get you some napkins!” Snips said, running off to one of the food vendors catering to the tourists.

Snails followed along, and while Trixie could have used this moment to sneak away, she decided to stay. It was nice to know that the two colts actually cared about her, and she was no longer worried about her presence being known.

Upon the colts return, they offered to guide Trixie to wherever she was heading, to which Trixie took them up on it. Along the way the young unicorns tried asking Trixie what happened in Sugar Cube Corner, but just like Mrs. Cake before her, she just said it was ‘Adult Stuff’, much to the colts’ annoyance. Apparently there had been a lot of ‘Adult Stuff’ being talked about around town that they, and the other foals, were not privy to. Trixie just insisted that it wasn’t worth talking about anyways.

After that, the colts asked if Trixie was still performing her shows, to which the mare stated that things, that she didn’t specify, had happened, and that she wouldn’t be on tour for a while. That disappointed Snips and Snails, but in an attempt to make them feel better, Trixie alluded to the idea that Ponyville would probably be one of her first stops when she started up. The boys were excited to hear that, though Trixie still wasn’t sure when, or even if, she would ever perform again.

“Well, this is the place.” Snips said, the trio reaching Ponyville’s farm lands.

Trixie couldn’t help but notice there were more tourists out this way, cluttering up the place more than the farms should have been, but it is easy to tell they were out here to visit Sweet Apple Acres, and see Big Macintosh, the hero that he was. However, the farm next to Sweet Apple Acres had much less traffic at its gates, and Trixie figured that was her destination.

“Thanks again, you two,” Trixie said to the colts, finding their company enjoyable, and glad that they could have at least one encounter that didn’t involve a monster or some evil scheme, “I can take it from here.”

“Ok, but don’t be a stranger.” Snails said, to which Snips added, “Yeah, you’re one of our favorite ponies to hang around with.”

“Ok, ok,” Trixie said with a smile, “Now run along you two. I can take it from here.”

“Seeya later Trixie,” said the pair of colts in unison, as they started running their way back to town.

Trixie waved to them as they left, until she thought they were far enough away that it was no longer necessary. At that point, she turned to face the front gate of Carrot Top’s farm, and with a deep breath, made her way onto the property.

Walking up a dirt pathway up to the farm house, Trixie took in the peacefulness of the area. Even with the tourists cluttering the road on the way here, it was much nicer than it was in the cities, and it helped that she wasn’t here to participate in some support group related activity. As much as she liked to help Starlight and Sunset, and further the cause of Equestria’s progression from its previously vulnerable state, it felt good to do something that didn’t involve any of that stuff. She would just be spending a day with Star Bright, and his current handler Carrot Top, as she spent time with the stallion she had mixed feelings about.

With no hesitation, having found more than enough courage from the previous events of that day, she went right up to the door, and knocked. A few moments later, the door opened, and from behind it stood the orange mare Trixie expected to see.

“Hello Trixie,” Carrot Top greeted, “We’ve been expecting you.”

Trixie wasted no time entering Carrot Top’s home, with the earth mare closing the door behind her as she did.

“You know, I was actually thinking you’d take longer than this to come,” Carrot said, as she guided her unicorn guest deeper into her home, “With how indecisive you usually are about things, I thought it would take over a week after I sent the letter for you to get here.”

“I hope that isn’t a problem?” Trixie asked, worried that maybe Carrot had planned around her arriving later.

“No,” Carrot Top replied, “I wouldn’t have sent the invite if we weren’t ready. Though had you come before that, the place would have been a mess. There were still cages and bondage gear all over the place, since the caribou decided to turn my farm into a mare kennel where they treated us like animals. Me and Star Bright had a good time pushing all that stuff off the property.”

“Sounds horrible,” Trixie said, referring more to the state the caribou had left Carrot’s home, than the actual labor of removing it. In some ways, she felt the latter act might have been a bit cathartic, especially for a mare like the one she was speaking to. “Is that what you and Star Bright have been doing all this time?”

“Not everything,” said Carrot Top, “We’ve also been setting up the farm for a bit of a project I’ve been planning ever since I became part of this ward program. I’m turning this place into a stallion reformation center.”

“Stallion… reformation center?” Trixie parroted back, “What’s that supposed to be?”

“Well, you remember how Starlight said that the reason stallions could be so easily controlled was because they had deep seeded perversions that the Crystal Heart pulled to the surface?” Carrot asked rhetorically, “Well I spoke to Sunset Shimmer about the matter, and wanted to try and train that part of them out of them, or at the very least, get them to a point where those thoughts can’t control them anymore.”

“That seems… admirable?” Trixie said, understanding the concept, but not sure that Carrot Top was the one who should be in charge of such a thing.

The earth pony was, as far as the unicorn was aware, just a farm mare, and not an expert in stallion psychology. While questioning whatever Carrot was warranted though, she made it sound like Sunset was backing her project, so maybe the yellow mare knew what she was talking about.

“Don’t worry,” Carrot said, noting the lack of confidence in Trixie’s voice, as the two entered into her living room, “I’ve been testing out all the measures I’ll be doing with stallions on Star Bright, and he’s been perfectly fine.”

“Where is Star Bright?” Trixie asked, thinking that Carrot was taking her to him, but seeing he wasn’t present.

“He’s outside,” Carrot answered, “Doing some work in the fields. If you want, I can take you to him, but I thought after your trip you might want to sit down for a minute and relax.”

The whole reason Trixie came to Ponyville in the first place was to see Star Bright, so delaying that meeting further wasn’t what Trixie wanted. “I think I should at least say hello, and let him know I’m here. I don’t want to put him in an awkward moment where he comes in and just sees me show up suddenly.”

“I guess you have a point,” Carrot Top said, “Come with me.”

The two mares went all the way through the house, leaving out an exit in the back. Once outside, it was just about ten yards to the fields, where the land had been tilled into rows, with vegetation already growing despite the short time since the land’s owner had returned. Most of the plots held within Carrot Top’s namesake, as green leaves poked out of the ground, leading to a spot of orange that indicated that a root vegetable was buried underneath. That wasn’t all the farm was producing though, as Trixie could see potatoes, yams, turnips, and horseradishes along the way as well.

All of these ground grown foods made it fairly simple to spot the stallion they were heading for in the distance, with him being on his knees and hunched over in the dirt, pulling up weeds from the useful vegetation.

“Hey Star Bright!” Carrot called as they got close, “Take a break! We have company!”

Star Bright’s ears perked up at the sound of Carrot’s voice, the stallion getting to his hooves and removing a pair of garden gloves he had on.

“Did Trixie show up!?” the unicorn stallion yelled back, not turning around yet to see for himself.

“Yeah, she’s here!” Carrot answered, quieting her voice a little as they were getting close.

“Hey, Star Bright,” Trixie said, making her presence known, getting within a distance that raising her voice was not needed, “I’m here for our da- amn!”

The blue unicorn’s last word shifted as Star Bright turned around, and she got a good look at him. She didn’t notice until that moment that the stallion was out here shirtless, believing that he was just wearing something that was the same color as his fur, which wasn’t an uncommon thing for ponies to do. All he was wearing was a pair of jeans, his black neckerchief, and the dirt and sweat of his labor.

However, his body was what truly surprised Trixie, as his upper body and arms had a nicely toned look to them, which was not often a feature seen on a unicorn. Most unicorns had soft bodies, due to them using their horns to do most of their work, with maybe their legs being a bit more defined due to the need to still pull a cart. The way Star Bright was, he looked more like a young earth stallion in his late teens, and the sparkling sweat on his body, along with the dust speckled around parts of his body, gave him a rugged look that made something that had long remained dormant inside Trixie spark for the first time in a while.

“He looks good, doesn’t he?” Carrot said, giving her stunned guest a sly, knowing look, while walking the rest of the way to the stallion, “This is what happens when a stallion does a hard day’s work for a change.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Star Bright said with a slight blush, turning his head to the ground as he put arms behind his back as the mare approached him, displaying a bit of meekness, as his personality leaked through his new appearance.

“Look at you though,” Carrot Top said, “You’ve been so wrapped up in your work you didn’t notice your knot came loose.”

Carrot reached up to Star Bright’s neck, and took hold of the black cloth wrapped loosely around it. The stallion held still as the earth mare adjusted it for him, and soon it returned to a properly fastened state.

“There. Now you look like a handsome stallion again.” Carrot said once done, before turning back to Trixie, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

The unicorn mare gave a nod, though Star Bright looked pretty much the same to her. Her eyes were locked onto his face, pectorals, and abs, taking in a side of the stallion she had never noticed before. The side that she found herself physically attracted to. Trixie was so enamored by the stallion that she had to willfully stop looking at him after a minute, and distract her with the first thing she could think of to keep herself from drifting her eyes right back to his body.

“Here!” she said, lifting up a box she had been holding, presenting it to the two ponies, “I stopped to get some snacks for our get together today. They’re muffins.”

“Oh, how delightful. I was wondering what it was you were carrying around. Thought it might have been what you brought for your stay.” said Carrot Top, taking the box. When looking at the box closer though, she saw the logo for Sugar Cube Corner on its side. “Oh… I see you got these in town.”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Trixie asked.

“Not on your part, no,” Carrot Top said, handing the box over to Star Bright, “It’s just a shame that you ended up supporting those kinds of ponies.”

“What Carrot Top means is that the two mares that run Sugar Cube Corner are former red collars, and she has a personal stance against buying anything from mares who submitted to the caribou.”

“I’m sure you didn’t know that about them though,” Carrot Top added, putting a finger to the black cloth around her own neck, “It’s so hard to discern the traitors from those like us when most ponies don’t wear one of these.”

“Can we still eat them?” Star Bright asked, holding the box, “It would be a waste to just throw them away after Trixie paid for them.”

“Well I wasn’t implying we weren’t going to,” Carrot Top replied, “Just warning Trixie not to buy from them in the future, and to be careful who she does business with. Gotta make sure those red collars can’t live comfortably in Equestria after all they helped the caribou do to us.”

The orange mare walked by Trixie, heading back to the house, expecting the others to follow after her. Star Bright stepped up aside their guest as the unicorn turned to watch the earth mare leave the field, and gave a small chuckle that denoted some discomfort.

“Don’t take what she said to heart,” Star Bright said, “Carrot Top just really dislikes the red collars. To be honest, when I go into town I sneak a cupcake or two from Sugar Cube Corner myself.”

“I thought Carrot was supposed to keep an eye on you.” Trixie replied, wondering when they had time apart for the stallion to sneak his discouraged desserts.

“She doesn’t take that part of the program that seriously,” Star Bright replied, slowly making his way back to the farm house himself, with Trixie coming along with him, “At least not after we’ve been together for a month and I showed her I was willing to go along with her training program.”

“What is this training, anyways?” Trixie asked, that being a thought on her mind since she had last seen Star Bright, “I tried to ask Sunset, but she just said it was up to each mare to decide what was the best way to re-educate their ward.”

“Carrot’s system is pretty simple.” Star Bright answered, “She thinks that ‘idle hands are the caribou’s playthings’, and so she has me doing hard work in the field, planting crops that will eventually be used to feed those staying at the farm. I work from sun up to sun down, with a few breaks in between, plowing the land, tossing down seeds, watering the crops, pulling weeds-”

“And she has you doing this all by hand?!” Trixie said, genuinely surprised. A sensible unicorn would just do all of that with their magic, as it would be much easier and less physically taxing.

“It’s really not that bad,” Star Bright said through a brief chuckle, “I’ve been learning lots of new skills, and I haven’t even thought about any mares like I used to.”

“Really?” Trixie asked, expressing her skepticism, “You haven’t pictured any mare in some sort of pervy way?”

“Well…” Star Bright said, blushing as he redirected his eyes away from Trixie, “I didn’t say that. Old habits die hard, but I’ve been thinking about them in a different light now.”

Trixie was curious what the stallion meant by that, but before she could ask, Carrot Top yelled at the two from the back door of her house, “Hurry up you two! It’s hot as tartarus out here!”

“Sorry Carrot!” Star Bright yelled back, his pace quickening into a sprint.

Trixie watched as the stallion rushed to Carrot’s call, her own pace remaining the same. Her energy was being used to evaluate how Star Bright and Carrot Top were acting towards each other, and trying to figure out what their relationship really was. Was it something like an employer/employee? Or like Pistachio with Bon Bon and Lyra, where it was something more protective and motherly? What she was hoping it wasn’t, was something akin to lovers, which is what her jealousy was inching her into believing.

When the trio got back inside, Carrot led them back to the room she had guided Trixie before, and beckoned her to take a seat. This time the blue unicorn complied, and found an arm chair that looked comfy. Carrot made her way to another chair placed across from her guest. Star Bright was the last to enter the room, but before he could make his way to any of the remaining seats, Carrot stopped him.

“Star Bright,” Said the earth pony, “Could you be a dear and go get us some juice from the fridge? Maybe something more healthy for us to eat before we get to the desserts.”

“Oh, of course,” Star Bright said with a cheerful grin, turning around to leave the room as quickly as he entered.

Carrot Top paid close attention to the stallion as he left, listening to make sure he was far enough down the hall before redirecting her attention to Trixie, “So… What do you think?”

“About what?” Trixie replied.

“Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?” Carrot said, “What do you think of what I’ve done with Star Bright?”

“Well, it looks like you’re keeping him healthy,” said Trixie, “I guess you’re doing a good job being his guardian.”

“Oh, come on,” Carrot said, looking bemused as Trixie tiptoed around the real intent of her question, “Do you think he’s coltfriend material?”

“Excuse me?!” Trixie replied, not anticipating such a direct question on the topic, and frantically trying to figure out if she meant a coltfriend for her, or a coltfriend for Carrot herself.

Carrot gave Trixie a “Shhhh” and gestured for her to keep it down, “I’m just trying to get your opinion on how I’ve shaped him since the last time you’ve seen him. I mean, he was kinda cute before, but now that he’s filled out a little, he’s getting closer to the kind of pony who could make a mare happy.”

“Carrot, I’ll admit that he looks nice,” Trixie said, “But I think mares aren’t really looking for that kind of relationship at the moment. Even if they were, I don’t think looks are what mares really care about anymore.”

“And what do you think mares want right now?” Carrot said, leaning forward like she really wanted Trixie’s opinion on the matter, “Or better yet, what do you want?”

“I would want…” Trixie said, her mind came to a decision about what she really desired, “Somepony who wouldn’t abandon me. Who would treat me like I was special, even though I know I’m not…”

Trixie’s own insecurities were coming out in her responses, as she didn’t want to risk connecting with somepony only to be left alone again, and she wished that somepony could see her as the mare she used to think she was again, since she could no longer see that aspect in herself.

“Is that all you want?” Carrot Top replied, finding the answer lacking, “That just seems like the basics of a healthy relationship. No stallion should be with a mare if they didn’t see them as somepony special, and they shouldn’t get together if they didn’t intend to stay with that mare. I get where you are coming from though. I wouldn’t trust just any stallion to love me like they should after what we’ve been through either. Not without making sure they are being sincere first, and a little training to ensure they stay that way.”

“Training?” Trixie said, having a single idea of what that means, “What do you have to train a stallion to do in a relationship?”

“Lots of things.” Carrot replied, being blunt with her thoughts, “But mostly how to treat mares with respect, and stop thinking about them like they are sex objects.”

“You’re really worried about what Starlight said on stage, aren’t you?” Trixie said, not entirely sure if she wanted to believe that a majority of stallions had a deep seeded belief that mares existed to be used for sex. She had no better answer as to how the caribou controlled the stallions so easily, but of all the things Sunset tried to get her to believe, something about that seemed like an exaggeration.

“How could any mare not be?” Carrot said, “After learning that stallions had only one thing on their minds, and that it was so disgusting, every mare should be more than worried. They should be alarmed.”

“I suppose so…” Trixie said, knowing it would not be a good idea to try and dispute this matter. Even if she felt like this was being overblown, the concept of stallions being somehow infected with perversion was now the common belief among the group.

“If we are going to be in relationships with stallions, socially or romantically, then we need to make sure that it is strictly on our terms.” Carrot continued, “Stallions have taken us mares for granted for so long that their heads were full of how they’d have their way with any one of us. They might have found out they didn’t like their fantasies after being forced to act them out, but regret shouldn’t be enough to earn forgiveness. They need to make it up to us, for having these awful thoughts about us in the first place.”

“So… what then?” asked Trixie, not knowing where this conversation was leading.

“I’ve been thinking on that, and I believe-” Before Carrot could extrapolate on that thought, Star Bright stepped into view from the doorframe, carrying a tray of apple slices on small plates and a pitcher of orange colored juice with some glasses, “Ah, looks like the snacks have arrived. Star Bright, show Trixie some of our hospitality.”

The stallion was glad to comply, setting down the tray on a table, then pouring a glass of juice for Trixie, and handing it to her with one of the food plates.

“Thank you,” Trixie said, accepting both, and taking a drink. She quickly recognized the flavor of carrot juice, despite it being some time since she last tasted it.

“I hope you like the juice,” Carrot said, “It was made on the farm, made fresh a few days ago after our first harvest.”

Trixie knew that earth ponies were good at growing plants, but managing to produce juice as tasty as what she was drinking in the short time since she last saw the two, while doing all the other things they had to in order to get the farm to working order, seemed pretty impressive to the unicorn mare.

“The apples come from the farm next door though,” Star Bright said, preparing a glass and plate for Carrot Top, “We traded some of our produce with them so we could have a bit more variety in our meals.”

“I guess you wouldn’t have an issue doing business with Big Mac,” Trixie said, since the pony who killed Dainn would be the furthest thing from a Red Collar imaginable.

“Yeah, and I even got a good deal out of it, seeing that me and Mac have a bit of history.” Carrot replied.

“Right, you were on his farm, weren’t you?” Trixie said aloud, recalling the times Carrot had mentioned that detail in the meetings.

“Yeah, he was the nicest ‘master’ a mare could ever have, especially since he never saw himself that way. Even after that whole thing with Dainn, he’s still as modest and caring as ever. He’s in a relationship with one of the other mares he used to have in his care now, and she looks like she’s been very well taken care of.”

Trixie didn’t have any comments for that, so she just started eating the food given to her. The Apples were delicious, and the juice was very refreshing. It was to be expected, seeing that both came from experienced farmers who had talents in growing and making these particular types of produce. About halfway through the meal, Star Bright started passing out the muffins, both he and Trixie took one, but Carrot Top politely declined.

“So how have things been back at the clubhouse?” Carrot asked, as she neared clearing her plate, “I assume you’ve still been staying there. You don’t seem like the type to want to live alone.”

“Yeah…” Trixie reluctantly admitted, “Even after getting a house of my own from the Committee, i asked Sunset if I could stay a little bit longer. She didn’t seem to mind, so long as I helped out to keep the place tidy.”

“I really don’t mean to offend you by saying this,” Carrot Top said, “But Sunset and Starlight really baby you far more than they should. You’ve been in their care for months now, and all they do is make you do chores like you’re their daughter. Don’t you think it’s time you stood on your own two hooves again?”

Trixie understood what Carrot meant. In the past, she had no problem living alone, either on the road in her performance cart, or within her secret treehouse hideaway. Now that those were both gone, it felt like her sense of independence was gone with them, though it was more likely she had just become used to leaning on others.

“It’s just gonna take some time to get used to the idea again is all,” Trixie said, trying to excuse her behavior, “And I don’t want to miss any of the club events, like the self defense class.”

“How many members have still been going to those meetings?” Carrot asked, “I thought by now there would be almost nopony left.”

“We lost a few members when they got their new homes,” Trixie answered, “But we’ve gotten more due to some ponies moving into town in their place. Lyra and Bon Bon still come regularly, and Sunset told me that we weren’t really losing any members, just that now they would be going to different groups across Equestria.”

“That makes sense,” Carrot says, “I was expecting more ponies in the group to start doing their own projects, but I guess not everypony is as dedicated to the cause as me. Actually, that’s part of why I asked you to come here.”

“You mean, I’m not here to spend time with Star Bright?” Trixie asked, realizing that the stallion had barely said anything since they came back inside.

“You’ll have plenty of time for that,” Carrot Top said, “But while you’re here I wanted to offer you an opportunity I think will really help you out.”

“You’re making it sound like you’re trying to sell me something,” Trixie replied, not having a clue what Carrot could possibly want to offer a mare like her, “But ok, what’s this offer?”

“The offer is that instead of you wasting your days away in that club house, I’d like you to stay here in Ponyville for a while, to be part of my project.”

“I still don’t really understand what your project even is, let alone how I would help you with it.” Trixie said, as while the earth mare had gave lots of ideas, she hadn’t mentioned once how she intended to implement them, or how Trixie could be part of it, “And don’t you kinda… not like me?”

“Trixie, I’ve been past that point for a while.” said Carrot Top, her voice filled with sincerity, “I’ve forgiven you for taking over Ponyville before, and after you took out that rapist to save Lyra, I saw that you were actually a pretty good pony.”

“Well, thank you for that.” Trixie replied, glad to hear that the mare wasn’t still holding a grudge against her. It really did seem like all the ponies of Ponyville had forgiven the unicorn for her misdeeds. “So what is this project, and why do you think I can help?”

“I’ll answer the second question first,” Carrot Top said, “Cause there is a bit of a misunderstanding. I don’t want you to help me. I want you to let me help you. Let’s face it, of all the ponies within our group you’re the one who is finding the hardest time moving on. Not ‘letting go’, cause the forgive and forget policies of the past have outlived their usefulness, but getting to the next step in your life.”

“It’s not that simple for me,” Trixie said, “I-”

“Yes, I know,” Carrot said hastily, preventing the mare from entering what she assumed was another pity party, “You’ve gone through some horrible shit for reasons you don’t want to explain. I get it, and I believe you. Even if I didn’t, it’s pretty clear that you need somepony to be with you and help you get back on your hooves. Somepony who will support you, and not ask for anything in return.”

“And that pony is you?” Trixie replied, thinking she knew where this sales pitch was going.

“Me? No.” Carrot Top replied, “I was thinking that pony should be Star Bright.”

“Star Bright?” Trixie said, surprised by the suggestion, “Didn’t you just tell me that we can’t trust stallions?”

“No,” Carrot objected, “I said that stallions needed to make it up to us mares, and I see no better way for Star Bright to do that than to wait on you hand and hoof.”

Trixie looked over to Star Bright, who had been awfully silent for a pony who was being talked about like he wasn’t in the room. “Did you know any of this?”

“Yeah,” Star Bright said, “Carrot Top dropped the idea on me the day after we got here, and I agreed that the best way I could make up for what I’ve done to you would be to do so directly. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll wash your clothes, cook your food, go on trips with you in town, anything you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

Trixie had to repeat the last part of what Star Bright had said in her mind a few times, needing to make it sound less like an offer to become her coltfriend, but having a hard time seeing it as anything else after what Carrot said earlier. “Wait a second. Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“It’s only too much if you think it is,” Carrot replied for Star Bright, “He is owning up to all the things he did to you, so now he is putting himself into your hands.”

“Wait” Trixie said again, thinking that all of this was going way too quickly for her, despite the concept being incredibly simple, “I don’t understand. Doesn’t giving him over to me conflict with the whole ‘Ward Program’ thing? You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on him.”

“Which is why I’m asking you to stay here.” Carrot said to answer the unicorn mare’s concern, “Star Bright has made some nice first steps, mostly in accepting that despite being mind controlled, he still played a part in how the caribou manipulated him, but he still needs somepony to keep him in line and help him better himself. No offense, but I don’t think you’re up to that task as you are.”

“Geez, thanks.” Trixie replied, not even trying to hide her distaste for the comment.

“So I would like to help you become the kind of mare that would be able to stop him from being the kind of pervert he used to be.”

“So I’m suppose to become more independent, by letting Star Bright take care of me.” Trixie said, not following the logic.

“You’ll become more independent by learning how to be more assertive, and understanding that you are in control.” Carrot Top corrected, “In turn, Star Bright will learn how to keep his urges in check, and will be doing his part to rectify the damage he’s done to you in the past. If everything goes according to my plan, this will help both of you with your individual problems.”

“This is a lot to put on me all at once.” Trixie replied.

“How so?” said Carrot Top, “At the moment you don’t do anything except go to the rallies and events Sunset plans for the whole group, and you’ll still be able to attend those while staying here. If you have things that need to be brought here, I can have Sunlight ship them here, and anypony you think you’ll miss can come visit. As far as I know, you only hang out with Lyra regularly, and she’s gonna be busy working with that Pistachio kid. What is stopping you from staying here and sorting things out.”

“When you put it that way, I guess nothing.” Trixie relented, “I’m just not sure about this whole project of yours. I came here to spend some time with Star Bright and work out things with him, but didn’t expect this kind of commitment to it.”

“Then how about this.” said Carrot Top, “You were gonna spend at least one night here already, so I’ll just make myself scarce, and you two can have yourselves your date night alone. Star Bright is wearing that chastity belt, so you should feel safe around him, and you two can just enjoy the evening together alone.”

“You’re gonna leave us alone? Where will you go if you’re not going to stay here?” Trixie asked, feeling like Carrot was forcing herself out of her home for the unicorn’s sake.

“I’ve got a place I can go,” Carrot Top explained, “There is a stallion in town that I’ve been talking to who’s shown interest in the program too. Ran into him in Las Pegasus while he was working as a volunteer, and recognized him as a resident of Ponyville. I saw how uncomfortable he was around mares, and I’ve been trying to convince him to come join in. I think he’s just about to give in, and I hope he does.”

“Why’s that?” Trixie asked.

“Because he’s more my type than Star Bright. No offense.” Carrot replied without shame, turning her head to the stallion to direct the last part towards him directly.

“None taken, Ma’am.” the stallion said, knowing already that Carrot Top didn’t have any romantic interest in him. From the get go, he had seen the mare as being purely professional in her duties as his guardian.

“That’s a good colt,” Carrot replied, Star Bright’s respectful response getting a smirk out of the earth mare, “Honestly, you’re gonna be left in good hands. Star Bright might be my first attempt, but he has settled into the role of being a house stallion very well.”

“I try my best,” Star Bright said, rewarding himself with a bite of one of his apple slices.

Trixie had little more to say after that, and found herself just complying with Carrot’s plan for that evening. She could tell that any objection she could have had would be dismissed. She couldn’t really find a reason to object outside of her own general pessimism, since she wanted to be alone with Star Bright anyways.

The conversation shifted a few times after that, but none of the topics were of any significance. It was things like Trixie being asked about her train trip, which was mostly uneventful, or if she knew what Sunset had planned for their next group activity, which she did not. Eventually Star Bright and Carrot started to talk about all the work they did to get the farm back to being an actual farm, and how Carrot had to teach Star Bright to do things there, since he was not used to that kind of work.

Over time, the sun started to set, and Carrot Top saw herself out for the evening. The two unicorns followed the earth mare to the door, Star Bright bidding her a good evening as she exited her home.

“I expect you to be on your best behavior, Star Bright,” Carrot said, before playfully warning him, “Cause you know what will happen if I hear you are anything less than a complete gentlecolt.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Star Bright replied, giving a nervous smile as he shied away back into the house.

“And Trixie, come here for a moment.” Carrot then said to her guest, beckoning the blue mare over to her. Trixie went to her, and once close enough, Carrot stuck out her hand, “Take this.”

Trixie lifted her own hand to Carrot’s, and felt something small be dropped into it. When looking at what she was given, she saw it was a key. “Is this for the house?” Trixie asked, wondering if she was being given a spare in case she had to leave for some reason.

“No,” Carrot said, laughing lightly at Trixie’s incorrect assumption, “It’s the key to Star Bright’s belt.”

Trixie’s eyes immediately went wide, “Why would you give me this?! Are you thinking we might-?”

“No, Trixie,” Carrot said, stopping the unicorn from completing her thought, “Star Bright is going to need to use the restroom at some point. When he asks for permission, give him the key, he’ll go do his business, and then he’ll hand it back to you.”

“Doesn’t giving him access to his key defeat the purpose?” Trixie asked, her question being a valid concern.

“It would be if you weren’t such a capable mare,” Carrot replied, “Besides, Star Bright is practically harmless. Not just because he’s a good boy, but because he can’t fight for crap. Trust me, if he were to try something, you could just push him over and step on his throat.”

That seemed a bit far for what Trixie was capable of, but she gave Carrot a nod of understanding. From there the earth mare made her way off the farm, leaving the two unicorns alone.

With the key in hand, Trixie went back inside, where a patiently waiting Star Bright was standing in the front entrance for her return.

“Ok Trixie,” said the stallion, “What do you want to do?”

It was a good question, as for the longest time Trixie just did whatever anypony else wanted of her. Now she was being handed the reins, and the mare was at a loss over what she wanted to do.

“I… Don’t really know,” she replied, “I wanted to spend some time with you so we could work things out, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“If all you want to do is talk, then I’m fine with that,” Star Bright replied, “Equestria knows I owe you at least that much.”

“Can we… can we maybe go for a walk while we talk?” Trixie asked. After the awkward series of conversations she, Carrot, and Star Bright had in the house’s living room, she needed a change of scenery.

“Sure, I can take you for a walk around the farm.” Star Bright said, being compliant to Trixie’s every request, “If you want, I can go prepare something for us to eat in case we get hungry.”

“Ok,” Trixie said, thinking that would give her enough time to figure out what she really wanted to say to the stallion.

Star Bright gave a nod, then made his way to the kitchen. Now alone, Trixie finally relaxed, the tension between her and Star Bright fading with him not being present. As much as she wanted to do this, she could see that it wasn’t going to be easy. She had to try though, and looking once more at the key in her hand, the unicorn mare tried to convince herself that she had all the power in this exchange. As she did though, she couldn’t tell which was worse; the idea of having no control over herself, and having all her decisions made for her, or having absolute power over another, and having to actually make a choice as to what she wanted again.

Trixie and Star Bright departed from Carrot Top’s farm house as the sun lowered unto the horizon, and between the moments when evening turned to night. Star Bright held in his hands a small basket of snacks, while Trixie brought nothing but her questions.

“You’ll love the farm at night,” Star Bright said, endorsing Trixie’s decision to go on a walk together this late in the day, “It’s nice and quiet, with only the crickets and cicadas chirping their songs.”

Trixie was familiar with such noises herself, seeing as she used to spend time on the road as a performer, and sleeping roadside in her carriage. She declined to tell Star Bright that though, figuring he was just trying to make her feel comfortable.

The two headed for a grassy section of the farm, kept that way because grass was a common part of any pony diet, thus farmers would keep patches of it around so they could eat less of their own crops. For the purposes of the two unicorn’s walk, it made for a better place to stretch their legs than walking through the patches of tilled dirt.

The two took a walk along the fence that divided Carrot’s farm from Sweet Apple Acres, admiring the scenery that only countryside could provide, and did so in silence for a little while, until Star Bright’s curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, “So that stuff you wanted to talk to me about…”.

Trixie knew that she had to confront her problems with how she felt about Star Bright, and that not saying anything was just prolonging the issue, but it was hard for her to admit the reasons why she wanted to see the stallion. “Star Bright, you and I have known each other for a while now.”

“We have.” the stallion agreed.

“And we’ve also been through a lot.” Trixie added.

“That’s true.” Star Bright said, simply responding to the mare when she made a pause.

“I really don’t know how to feel about you. Sometimes I want to hate you, for leaving me when I needed you, but when I saw you on stage with Carrot Top in Las Pegasus, I felt really jealous. Like it should have been me with you up there, and not her.”

“I’m sure that was just you seeing me with another mare as further abandonment,” Star Bright replied, “You were pretty upset when I said I left you to check in on the mares that were enslaved by my mind controlled self. It must be easy to associate me and another mare with a sense of betrayal, and I don’t blame you for that.”

“I… think I might have some feelings for you, beyond that.” Trixie said, admitting to the stallion the real reason she needed to see him. “I don’t know if I like you, or if I love you. It doesn’t make sense really, because we’ve never been together long enough to form that kind of relationship, but it really upset me when I thought you might be leaving me again to be with Carrot Top.”

Star Bright frowned, not knowing that him joining the ward program would cause Trixie this kind of confusion and pain. “Trixie, I don’t think you love me. I also don’t think I’m deserving to be loved by you.”

“Carrot seems to think I might,” Trixie said, “Before you came in, she was talking about ponies, and relations, and coltfriends-.”

“Coltfriends?” questioned Star Bright, “Well that’s a new one on me, but maybe Carrot just hasn’t been telling me her plans in full. All I know is that she thinks the best way for us stallions to get over our part in things is to give back to mares in the same way we took from them, so since we enslaved you, the best thing to do is to serve you in return.”

“And you think that will work?” Trixie asked.

“It has so far,” Star Bright answered, “Helping Carrot get this place up to shape keeps my mind off things, and I think she has the right idea that the only way a stallion like me will get over their guilt is for us to make up for all the wrong we caused.”

“Where did she even come up with that idea?” Trixie said, still skeptical about the premise.

“I didn’t really ask,” said Star Bright, “But if I were to take a guess, it probably came from her time living with Big Macintosh.” The stallion turned to Sweet Apple Acres, leaning on the fence and pointing himself towards the farm house where Equestria’s hero resided. “She talks about him, and how great a stallion he was, all the time. About how he ran his farm the best way he could within the caribou’s rules, and didn’t tolerate the antics of the red collar he had on the farm. He always had a firm, but caring hand with all of the mares in his care, doing only what he had to in order to keep the caribou away, while having standards the caribou couldn’t break.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard he’s pretty great,” Trixie said, her words holding no trace of sarcasm or doubt in them. Even if Mac’s deeds were exaggerated, it was easy to believe the pony who basically toppled the caribou’s hold on Equestria single handedly was as exalted as every pony said he was, “And so Carrot Top is working by example off him?”

“I think that’s the case,” Star Bright said, “He looked over the mares in his care, and kept their minds off the things that were bothering them with hard work, and now Carrot wants to do the same with stallions.”

“Let me ask you something,” Trixie said, “If I didn’t decide to stay, what would happen with you?”

“Carrot would probably just find another mare to have me serve,” Star Bright answered, “Though I’ll be honest, I’d rather this with you than some other mare.”

“You would?” Trixie replied, her cheeks turning slightly red behind the stallion’s back.

“Yeah, you’re the one who I hurt the most through my careless actions,” said Star Bright, looking back towards the mare, “It wouldn’t mean as much if I wasn’t doing things to help you get over your problems.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Trixie said, seeing Star Bright’s point.

The personal relationship between both of them would make what Carrot had planned for them more meaningful for both of them. Aside from that, it would give Trixie a reason to be around Star Bright more, and figure out where her emotions towards him lied.

“The only thing is I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this,” Star Bright continued, “I’m sure you have your own things you want to do now that things are finally sorting themselves out across Equestria. It would be selfish of me to ask you to take part in this if you didn’t want to be part of it yourself.”

“You expect too much from me,” Trixie replied, “Like Carrot said, I haven’t really been doing anything, and I don’t have plans to change anytime soon. I mean, what can a washed up sideshow magician like myself do right now? Ponies are trying to get their lives back together, and are not in need of a distraction like me.”

“Trixie, right now I think that Equestria needs as many ‘distractions’ from its misery as it can get. Entertainers like yourself are wonderful ponies who dedicate their time to others to make them feel better.”

“Eh…” Trixie grunted discontent with the stallion’s presumptions, “A lot of the time I didn’t perform solely for the sake of others.”

“You mean how you made money off your act?” Star Bright guessed, “There is nothing wrong with turning what you’re good at into a business.”

“No, it’s a bit more than that,” Trixie said, becoming a little reserved when touching on the worst aspects of her past, “There was a time when I used my talents to show off. I’d challenge ponies and then embarrass them on stage just to prove how ‘great and powerful’ I was, when the truth is I am, or was, just a unicorn who knows a bunch of above average tricks. I’m so bad at it that I’m still trying to re-teach myself some of those things.”

“Trixie,” Star Bright said, lifting himself off the fence, and grabbing the mare by the arms, looking her right in the eye, “You are far more talented than you let yourself think you are. You’ve talked about how you let it all get to your head before, but if there wasn’t some merit in your skills, then it never would have gotten that far.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” said Trixie, as plenty of narcissists used baseless bravado to hide their own lack of talent. She knew that Star Bright was just trying to make her feel better though, so she added, “But thank you for believing in me.”

Star Bright looked like he was going to say more to try and boost Trixie’s confidence, but then he noticed that he had, in the heat of the moment, placed his hands on the mare, and was holding her in a way that would prevent her from pulling away if she wished to. Immediately he loosened his fingers, and backed off.

“I’m sorry,” the stallion hastily apologized, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?” Trixie said, not even noticing the mildly intrusive gesture, believing he meant he shouldn’t have said the positive things he had.

“It’s not right for a stallion to touch a mare without permission.” Star Bright said, correcting Trixie’s assumption, “I shouldn’t have just grabbed you like that.”

“Oh, that?” Trixie replied after the clarification, “I didn’t really mind that.” Truth be told, it was the gentlest that any stallion had touched her in a long time, and she was aware that it was well intended. “It’s fine. I really didn’t mind it.”

Star Bright eased up a little when being assured it was ok, but then said, “If you say it’s fine, okay, but I can’t just do that. It sets a bad standard between me and you. Between me and any mare.”

“But isn’t it normal to touch somepony sometimes?” Trixie asked.

“Not from a stallion… Not without consent.” answered Star Bright, “The idea that we could just touch some mare whenever we wanted just cause they were a friend or loved one is one of those thoughts that the caribou exploited. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep a better track of myself from now on.”

“Okay, but it really was fine this time. I didn’t feel like you were trying to take advantage of me or anything.” Trixie was trying her best to convince the stallion that everything was alright, that she was able to tell a friendly gesture from one with ill intent, but Star Bright didn’t want to see what he did as anything less than a lapse in judgment. “Let’s just forget about it for now. Why don’t we…” Looking for another topic to switch things to, all the mare could find was the farm next door, “Talk about Sweet Apple Acres some more. Have you actually been able to meet Big Mac?”

The subject seemed to change Star Bright’s attitude immediately, “I sure have. Carrot Top took me over to his farm when she went to barter her crops for his, and I have to say, he’s pretty impressive just by looks. It’s easy to see how he was able to take down the caribou king.”

“It’s kinda strange that he went back to being a normal farmer after all that,” Trixie said, “You’d think he’d want to be out there helping as many ponies as possible.”

Trixie’s perspective came from how she treated fame and notoriety in the past, indulging in any bit of renown she could acquire, and thus would not casually discard the appreciation of the masses to live out a simple life, at least not when the pony in question actually had the power to be the hero he was made out to be.

“Mac still helps ponies,” Star Bright said.

“Oh right, I’m sure the food he grows is being used to help feed the ponies of Equestria.” said Trixie, assuming that’s what the stallion was about to get at.

“There’s that.” Star Bright replied, “But he also helps other ponies in need more directly. See that building on his property?”

Trixie looked out in the direction the stallion pointed her towards, having to peer into darkness, as by this time the sun had set fully. Aside from the apple orchard, there were three other large landmarks on the farm.

One was a house, Mac and the Apple Family’s place of residence, which was much like the one Carrot had, if having its own seperate country themed appearance that distinguished the two houses. Another was a barn, which was commonplace to see on a farm. The last however was a building on the Apple’s property that was a little smaller than the house, placed fairly close to it, which was what Star Bright was aiming Trixie towards.

“That’s a Re-Blank shelter, and I think it’s one of the biggest ones in Equestria.” Star Bright explained, “From what Carrot told me, Mac built it during the Fall so he could start bringing in mares that were in his family to give them a better life away from most of what the caribou were doing. After he helped stop the caribou though, he decided to put it to good use, and keep Blanks on his farm until the Committee could figure out how to fix them. There’s a few dozen being sheltered in there, at least.”

“That’s where the Re-Blanks are being kept?” Trixie asked, becoming slightly unnerved, “As in, they are being kept there, in that building.” Trixie had remembered that Pinkie and Mrs. Cake said there was a local shelter, but she had no clue where it was. “I mean, it’s good that Mac is keeping them safe then. They couldn’t be in better hands, I guess.”

“Are you ok?” Star Bright asked, as he noticed Trixie’s tone and expressions shift. “You don’t have a problem with Re-Blanks, do you? You know that our group doesn’t hold anything against them, and actually holds them in high esteem since…” The stallion halted his tongue, stumbling on the part that might upset a pony, “They were all rebels who paid the ultimate price.”

The topic of that subject alone would make any non-red collar mare upset, but Trixie was a strange case. She rarely talked about her time in the early days of the Fall, but often talked about what things happened to her after her enslavement. A lot of it was torture, the likes far beyond what an average mare would be subjected to, things akin to punishment and not just rape and sexually themed torment.

Some ponies in the group just chalked it up to Trixie being caught near the start of it all, which would explain why she had no stories to share of her trying to stay out of the clutches of Equestria’s invaders, and it was also not unheard of for individual mares to be singled out for no reason, and saw this as the only way to rationalize what Trixie shared, due to her personality. There was another option though, and Star Bright was starting to believe that was the case.

“Trixie, were you a rebel?” Star Bright asked, sharing his newfound belief with the mare, “Not part of Sunset’s resistance efforts, but maybe one of the smaller groups that got discovered?”

Trixie didn’t like to be compared to those who actually put their lives and freedom at stake to defeat the caribou and save Equestria, as that was certainly not what she was doing when confronted with the threat they represented. However, Star Bright’s deductions were close enough to the truth that she decided it was best to admit to something small, so she everything else wouldn’t slip out later.

“You’re thinking too highly of me again,” said Trixie as she began, “I was never part of a resistance group. I was too cowardly to do anything heroic on my own. My plan when the caribou came was to hide until the whole thing blew over, and eventually the caribou found me anyway.”

“Is that why they treated you so poorly?” Star Bright asked, “They were making up for lost time?”

It was the only reason the unicorn stallion could come up with that the caribou would want to torment a mare so thoroughly, but not blank her. In his mind, Trixie might have even tried to fight back when cornered, which would have only encouraged them to give her what was only a single step down from an actual rebel. If that was the case, then he could see the monstrous deer using the threat of blanking against her enough that she acquired a fear of it.

“I really don’t want to say why they did what they did to me,” Trixie answered, “Let’s just leave it at what you know, and what you think you know.”

Star Bright took that to mean that he was close enough that he was mostly right. “I’m so sorry Trixie, but there is nothing to fear now. You will never become a Blank.”

Trixie couldn’t reply to that without saying too much, so she let it be. It was better for Star Bright to believe that she had a fear of Blanking, than to explain the real reason the Re-Blanks upset her.

“I know that you have a lot of things to worry about,” Star Bright continued, “We all have things we think about every waking moment due to what happened, but…” The stallion took a moment to try and put his words together, and while he wanted to avoid anything that would lead to the unicorn giving him unjustified affection in return, there was truly only one way he could think to put what he was thinking, “I will never allow something bad to happen to you ever again.”

Those words struck Trixie, as it was the first time anypony had ever made such a grand gesture to her. Not even when Star Bright first rescued her did he imply that he would always keep her safe from that point forward. It was the kind of promise a stallion made to a mare when they really cared for them.

“I-I mean, only if you want me to protect you.” Star Bright continued, becoming embarrassed with what he said, even if he meant it, “But I guess the only way that’s gonna happen with me being here is for you to move in, which I know you’re on the fence about, and I shouldn’t be the thing that makes you change your mind about it. I think that if you want to stay with Sunset Shimmer that’s perfectly fine, and wholeheartedly endorse the decision. In fact, when Carrot Top gets back tomorrow, we should both tell her you’ve made up your mind and-”

Star Bright was stopped when a set of lips met his, as Trixie suddenly went up to him as he was lost in his words, placed her hands on his chest, and silenced him in the manner that, at the time, she felt was most appropriate.

The stallion was taken aback by Trixie’s unannounced and unexpected kiss, dropping the basket of food he had been holding all this time to the ground. Seeing her face right in front of his, and her lips pursed up to his own, it took him back to the night that his brainwashing ended. He had kissed her then as well, or more the stallion he was while being under mind control had, in order to reward her with something that bastard considered a ‘special reward’ for her.

The stallion wanted to pull away, to escape reliving that last moment of his own mental enslavement, but he could do nothing to stop her, not after he had just scolded himself for laying hands on the mare a little earlier. It felt immensely uncomfortable what he saw as his former victim to kiss him so intimately, when he had tried to convince her that her feelings towards him were in no way romantic, but if Trixie was forced to bear this sort of humiliation at his hand, it was only fair that he do endure it when she forced him into the same position.

The mare pressed her lips against his for half a minute, though the stallion did little to reciprocate it. That was fine though. The fact that he wasn’t taking advantage of the situation actually made it easier for her to keep up the kiss for as long as she did. Like this, she felt in charge, and as Carrot had implied earlier, that control made her feel better about this. When she felt she had enough, she parted from Star Bright’s muzzle, and looked up at the slightly taller stallion’s eyes.

Star Bright could only look back at the mare, seeing the emotion in her gaze. For the first time since he’d known Trixie, her eyes didn’t hold fear, apathy, or anger. She was displaying a want for his touch, looking longingly at him in ways he had always dreamed a mare would for him. To see this from a mare who should loathe him troubled the stallion, but he could see that rejecting her now would only cause her more pain. As much as he didn’t want to take advantage of what he believed to be Trixie’s confused emotions, he wanted to make her happy.

“Trixie,” Star Bright said softly, suppressing the doubts he had telling him this was a mistake, “Can I kiss you again?”

Trixie gave no verbal reply, only nodding her head once. With her permission granted, Star Bright leaned forward, and returned the kiss he had been given. Trixie wrapped her arms around the stallion, placing them above his shoulders as she formed a ring around his neck. She still wasn’t completely sure if this was what she really wanted with Star Bright, but until she figured it out, the mare wasn’t going to let him get away. As the stallion returned the embrace, Trixie couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the touch of the stallion’s arms around her waist.

The two spent a long moment among the light of the stars, sharing a kiss they could tell was awkward for the both of them, but also enjoyable. The only thing that kept it from becoming something more passionate was each pony’s reservations against doing something that might be mistaken for a sexual advance, one because she rightfully associated those kinds of actions with the caribou’s cruelty, and the other because he didn’t want to do anything that could be seen as an attempt to pressure the mare into sex.

When the unicorn pair had held the kiss for as long as they thought reasonable, they separated with Trixie being the first to pull away, both at a loss for words about what they had just done. Not saying a word to one another, Star Bright removed his arms from Trixie’s body, and crouched down to grab the basket he had dropped.

Remaining silent, he took the sheet he had used to cover the top, and spread it across the grass, Trixie watching him in puzzlement of his behavior. She would have thought that Star Bright would have had some words about her being so forward, or at least walked away to avoid the situation entirely. With her thoughts clearing, the mare knew she had allowed her emotions to make her do something she shouldn’t have, and yet Star Bright was taking it in stride, placing plates of food out for the two of them to share.

“Trixie,” he said gently, “Would you please join me for a late night picnic?”

After she had imposed herself on the stallion, how could Trixie refuse his request? She lowered herself down to the sheet, sitting on her knees atop it, as the stallion made her a plate of food. And handed it to her.

“Trixie, I want to apologize to you.” said the stallion, taking his own plate, “Not just for my actions, but for making assumptions about how you feel about me. I’ve never been in a real relationship before, but the way you kissed me, I have to believe that you were sure that was what you wanted.”

Trixie didn’t reply. Truth was that she still had no clue what she wanted with Star Bright. The kiss felt right, but also felt like she had just reacted to the stallion giving her a few kind words. Star Bright had even shown signs of not being interested in her romantically, and she went ahead and kissed him anyways. If she could go back a few minutes, she would stop herself from putting even more strain on their already tenuous relationship.

Star Bright didn’t see it that way though. As little as he actually knew the mare, the stallion believed she was just a pony struggling to have the world make sense to her, grasping at whatever straw could lead her to feeling good about herself again. Trixie had made an amazing progression, that couldn’t be refuted after all she had done, but something was holding her back. Star Bright thought that the something might have been him, that she needed to see him as something other than the last stallion that raped her, through him doing everything in his power to make her happy again. The words of that belief hadn’t changed since this encounter with her, but the meaning behind them were starting to alter ever so slightly.

“Look, I still don’t really think I’m the stallion you’re looking for. Equestria knows I’m not good at being around mares unless they’re telling me what to do. If you think that us… dating will help you get the rest of the issues you’re holding over after the Fall though, I will gladly fulfill that role for you.”

Trixie swallowed a carrot stick she was chewing on, and finally spoke again, “Star Bright, you don’t have to do anything for me that you don’t want to. I actually feel silly doing that with you now that I’ve had time to think it over.”

“That’s just your fear of rejection telling you that,” Star Bright said, “I saw the look you gave me, and if I had any doubt that it wasn’t a genuine desire for affection, then I would have stopped for your sake. I’m done doing things that harm mares, and that means leading them on too. So if this is really what you want, then we should at least give it a try.”

Star Bright extended a hand to the mare sitting across from him, and though she hesitated, she placed her own in it. The stallion then pulled himself close to her, not to give her another kiss, but just to snuggle up together.

“You know, of all the stars I see out here tonight, you’re the one that shines brightest.” Star Bright said, looking out at the tiny specks of light shimmering in the darkness of the Equestrian sky.

“That’s… really corny, you know.” Trixie replied.

“Yeah, I know.” Star Bright said back, “But it doesn’t make it less true.”

Corny or not, the stallion’s words made Trixie feel good, and she was starting to think that the trip to Ponyville had been worth it after all.

As the night went on, the two sat and watched the stars together, hardly saying a word, as they just enjoyed each other’s company. Some time after the last bite of food was eaten, the unicorns fell asleep on the sheet, the warmth of the spring air and each other’s bodies being the only blankets they needed as the crickets sung them to sleep. They slept so soundly that not even the rising sun hitting their eyes rose them from their slumber, and it was well past daybreak when a certain yellow mare figured out where her house guests went.

“There you two are,” Carrot Top said, as her shadow, as well as another’s, crept onto the two sleeping unicorns.

This was not enough to wake them, but Carrot had no intention of just letting them sleep in, not when she had questions about this scene she was seeing. Tapping Star Bright with her hoof a few times, the stallion was rustled from his slumber, and opened his eyes to see Carrot Top, along with a massively muscular white stallion beside her.

“Carrot Top!” Star Bright shouted, startled by the appearance of this stallion who looks to be three times his size. Then he looked over at the sleeping mare laying beside him, and started panicking about that, “This isn’t what it looks like!”

Carrot chuckled, “So you and Trixie weren’t sharing a tender moment together?” Star Bright blushed, embarrassed at how Carrot put it, “Don’t worry, I see that she wasn’t in danger. I was pretty sure something like this would happen anyways.”

“Oh,” Star Bright said, relaxing, “So… Who’s this?”

“This is Bulk Biceps. He’s the stallion I stayed with last night, and after a bit of talking, I finally convinced him to at least try out our little project. He’ll be coming in from time to time to help out on the farm, and learn how to interact with mares properly.”

“Hey there.” The large male greeted, seeming awfully timid in his response for a stallion his incredible size.

“Now that introductions are in order, aren’t you gonna wake up your sleeping beauty?” Carrot said, looking over to Trixie.

“Oh, right.” said Star Bright, leaning over to her to gently rouse her from her slumber.

As Trixie woke up, she gave about the same reaction to Bulk as Star Bright, having to apologize after when her shock looked to hurt his feelings, again displaying that this stallion was a might meeker than his impressive form let on. Once that was all sorted out thought, Trixie and Star Bright got to their hooves, as the unicorn mare announced her decision on joining Carrot’s project.

“Okay, I’ll join,” Trixie said, having given it a lot of thought the night before, “But I want to make something clear about this. Star Bright and I still haven’t worked out what we’re gonna be with one another. Until we do, he’s going to be my, ummm… support buddy!”

“That’s fine with me,” Carrot said, finding the title Trixie gave Star Bright amusingly silly, “Whatever it takes to get you out of that club house and back into the real world. I’ll send a letter to Sunset today asking to send whatever you have there, here. Until then, we’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

“If you’ve got everything figured out already, then ok.” Trixie said, glad she didn’t have to do the moving planning herself.

“Though I’ve gotta warn you,” Carrot added, “No one eats for free here. You’ll be with me doing some chores while the guys work out in the field.”

“Okay…” Trixie agreed, figuring that Carrot was going to be a firmer task master than Sunset.

“Don’t worry, it’s not going to be any of the hard stuff. Just something to keep you from being stuffed up in a room all day.”

“And if you get something that’s too much for you, I can always lend a helping hand.” Star Bright said.

“When he has time,” said Carrot Top, “You’ve got your own chores to do, Star Bright. Right now though, let’s go in and get some breakfast.” The group made their way to the farm house, all save for Trixie, who was staying behind for some reason. When Carrot became aware of this though, she looked back at the blue mare, “Something wrong?”

“Not wrong, really.” Trixie replied, “But can I talk to you in private?”

Carrot Top didn’t know if this was Trixie’s typical hesitant mannerisms on display, or if this was something more important, but decided that it would be best to humor the unicorn this time. “Head on inside you two, this will only take a little bit.” The two stallions did as they were told, and left the mares alone to talk. The moment they were far enough to not be able to listen in, Carrot addressed Trixie by saying, “So what’s up? Having second thoughts?”

“No,” Trixie answered, “But I need to ask you something. Star Bright was telling me that the farm next door housed re-blanks. Is that true?”

“Got a problem with re-blanks?” Carrot asked, curious as to why Trixie asked such a thing.

“Not really,” Trixie said, and since she already knew that the answer to her question was yes, she decided to ask the question she was leading up to, “It’s just… do they have any foals being kept there?”

“Foals?” Carrot said, legitimately confused by the question, “Trixie, only rebels got blanked during the Fall. There wouldn’t be any foals among them.”

“So you’ve never seen a blanked foal before?” said Trixie, reiterating her question.

Carrot believed she understood Trixie’s concern now, as it was hard enough knowing that something as terrible as blanking happened to fully grown mares and stallions. If one were to see such tragedy befall a foal, especially someone as sensitive as Trixie, it would be world shattering. It wasn’t even a concept that was beyond belief, as the caribou were the type of monsters who held no mercy in there hearts for the young and vulnerable. If anything, the only reason a blanked foal didn’t exist is because none had ever had the courage, ability, or opportunity to act as a rebel. That Trixie could show such compassion for another pony, when usually she was wallowing in her own self pity, gave the earth mare a bit more respect towards her.

“I promise you, Trixie. There are no blanked foals at Sweet Apple Acres.” Carrot said, reassuring the blue mare.

“Ok,” Trixie replied, “I just needed to know.”

“Don’t think anything of it.” Carrot said, glad she could comfort Trixie in this particular matter, “Now come on in. We need to discuss a lot of things with the boys, since you’re gonna be part of the family now.”

“Please don’t say it like that,” Trixie said, as it made it sound like she was marrying Star Bright, when it was still unclear if she even wanted him as a coltfriend.

Carrot just laughed, headed to the farm house, with Trixie following after. She too wasn’t sure if the unicorn pair were meant to be, but getting a reaction out of Trixie from the mere implication was pretty fun. It was also a normal, and somewhat assertive response, instead of the usual sulking she was familiar with from the unicorn, so it showed that Trixie was slowly gravitating away from the personality she developed due to The Fall.

It’s about time, Carrot Top thought, as she had once been in a similar place, and hated seeing another mare resign themselves to such a mindset. She had reservations about Trixie living with her due to her attitude, but now she thought that there was hope for the mare yet. She just had to see how she’d react when the others came, and her stallion project truly began.

Later that day, Carrot Top sent a letter to Sunset Shimmer as she said she would, and the following morning it arrived at the club house. Starlight Glimmer, while doing the daily routine of instructions given to her by Sunset, collected the letter from the mailbox, and upon seeing it, made her way to the kitchen to meet with her caretaker.

“Sunset,” she said, her voice as cheerful as always, just as Sunset instructed her to be, “I got the letter you’ve been waiting for.”

Sunset Shimmer, who was busy drinking a cup of coffee that Starlight poured for her before attending to her morning chores, had her attention grabbed by the re-blank’s announcement. Placing the cup down, she gestured the other mare to her side, and took the letter as it was handed to her.

“Thank you, Starlight,” Sunset said, tearing open the envelope, “Let’s hope it has good news.”

Sunset skimmed the letter, and found it indeed held what she had hoped for. A request from Carrot Top to send Trixie’s things, what little she had, to the earth mare’s farm, which meant that the mare had succeeded in convincing Trixie to join in her project.

“Good,” Sunset said aloud, “Looks like Trixie is no longer going to be staying with us.”

While Trixie had been an invited guest, for several reasons, her welcome was starting to tire. While Sunset would never have outright evicted the mare, as she had proved useful in some aspects, her continued stay was making it difficult for the orange unicorn to focus on more important parts of her plan. That was why she requested Carrot Top have the blue mare participate in her program for stallions, and used Star Bright as bait to lure her in.

Had any other stallion been Carrot’s ward, it was unlikely Trixie would have had any interest in what Carrot was trying to do. The hard part was trying to get the earth mare to want to involve Trixie, but when Sunset implied that this would be an opportunity to shape up the blue unicorn as well, that intrigued her enough to want to give it a shot. After that, it was just a coin flip to see if Star Bright would be the deciding factor of her participation.

“Now that we’ve been freed of our responsibilities,” said Sunset, since Trixie and Star Bright were the ones taking advantage of the ‘shelter’ aspect of the club, “We’ll be able to focus more on the future.”

“Shame she’s gone though,” Starlight said as she placed what other letters she had on the table. All of them from other members of the support group, and none of which garnered enough importance for Sunset to look at that moment, “I really liked having her around.”

“You’re just saying that,” Sunset said, “And I mean that literally. If I didn’t tell you to treat every member like their your favorite pony, you’d have no opinion of them whatsoever. Remember, when we are alone, I am the only pony who you’re required to like.”

“Yes, Sunset.” Starlight said with a bow of her head, “Forgive me for forgetting your orders.”

“Do not concern yourself too much about it.” Sunset said, “You’re a blank, and your mistakes are my mistakes. If you’re not acting right, then it just means my programming has errors. I’ll have to find a way to rephrase your social protocols and friendship loop so you know the proper times to end them.”

“Of course, Sunset,” Starlight said again in compliance, having no real will of her own to understand what she had done wrong, or make judgements about how Sunset treated her.

All she knew was that she had to obey Sunset Shimmer, the one who had personally ‘re-blanked’ her with the blanking device while the Committee had control over it, and set herself as Starlight’s owner in the process. It was easy enough for the fiery unicorn mare to do, as Sunset had learned how to operate the device during the Fall, due to intel gathered on it by the spy network her rebel faction had.

The Committee, on the other hand, didn’t have that information, and believed they would have to pry it from caribou lips, until Sunset freely let them know she had researched it in hopes of learning how to revert the process, being one of the members herself at the time. She was more than happy to give a demonstration, but wanted Starlight to be the first to go through the process. The rest of the Committee agreed to these terms, so long as she shared with them how to operate the device. Starlight agreed, giving them written instructions on how to restore a pony the best she knew how, or at least that was what she said, as well as give a visual demonstration.

Of course, at some point the Committee members became distracted, and at that moment Sunset slipped in a few extra commands to make Starlight see her, and only her, as her owner. Other re-blanks were left purposefully masterless by Sunset’s process, and thus followed the commands of anypony who spoke them. This was part of the reason Starlight had shown so much ‘progress’ when compared to the others, because Starlight only had one master to please, opposed to thousands.

“We’ll worry about that later though,” Sunset said, excusing herself from the table, “For now, let’s go work on the final preparations of our pet project.”

“As you wish, Sunset.” Starlight said in compliance, and in unison, the two unicorn’s horns lit up with magic.

A moment later, a flash occurred, and they were no longer in the kitchen of the club house, but some other location within Equestria. They both had to immediately sit down, having used a lot of magic to travel a far distance in the blink of an eye, but as they parked their rumps onto some conveniently flat stones, a pair of cloaked figures approached them, both with horns sticking out of the hoods of their attire.

“Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, we were hoping you would return soon,” said one of the ponies, a mare.

“Give us a moment,” Sunset replied, still needing to rest from the calculated overuse of magic. The cloaked figures knew that this was normal, as the two always ended up this way on arrival, so they said nothing more as they patiently awaited the mares’ recovery.

Looking around the room, Sunset laid eyes on other ponies in cloaks, their identities hidden, but the orange mare knew them all. They were members of her former rebellion group, and prior to that the citizens of a city called ‘Our Town’. When Sunset stumbled upon them, they were little more than a cult dedicated to an ideal of equality, but it didn’t take long for Sunset to figure out the devious secret behind the cult’s leader.

With a bigger threat at Equestria’s doorstep, Sunset made a deal with Starlight not to expose her, in exchange for returning all the collected cutiemarks to their rightful owners. Many objected to the idea, but then Starlight convinced them that they all needed their talents if they were going to stand a chance against the caribou. What happened after that was history, but the short of it was that Sunset became co-leader with Starlight to form the most effective resistance group the caribou had ever faced, only to then become a secret faction dedicated to removing the incompetence in government that they believed the Committee of Ponies represented.

“What’s the status on the project?” Sunset said, regaining enough coherency to gather up her thoughts.

“We’ve made the adjustments Starlight suggested after the last failed attempt, and all the arrangements you asked of us are finished,” said the other cloaked figure, a stallion, “Things should be ready for you and Starlight’s final touches.”

“Good,” Sunset said, looking at a large object stowed away in this isolated space, a structure the other Our Town ponies were attending to.

A machine, one that was comprised of a large metal ring, bearing four metal shackle cuffs on its body, along with a stand covered in buttons that operated the object. It currently lacked the magics it needed to function, but it’s visage was as recognizable as it was imposing. It was the Blanking Device. The very one that the caribou created, and was stolen from the Committee as they were trying to relocate it out of Canterlot.

“Everypony,” Sunset said, hoping this time everything was set up right, “I need you all to stop what you’re doing, and come with me.”

“We’re leaving?” the mare questioned, “What for? If I may ask.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Starlight said, having recovered as well, “If the Blanking Device is ready…”

“Then we need some test subjects.” Sunset said, finishing the other unicorn’s thought.