[Trottingham] A Much Needed Holiday [Open]

[kamerad]

[Huzzah? Huzzah. Huzzah!]

Dixie watched the countryside roll away outside the carriage, looking for something halfway interesting, if only so she no longer focused entirely on the miserable sensation of being jostled wildly by every protuberance and depression in the highway. Long ago she had given up trying to pass the time by reading when her novel had flown out of her grasp and come unceremoniously crashing down on her head. She was having the worst fortune with this course, and, exasperated, turned to her zebra maidservant, Bonnie. Doubtless she was as put off by the ride as anypony else, but kept her face masterfully peaceful.

"Oh," sighed Dixie dramatically, slumping over. "I just can't fathom why we must endure this simply dreadful road. Can no one keep anything in good repair?" she asked rhetorically.

Bonnie, long-suffering and patient, calmly replied to her employer and friend. "It does us good, Miss Dixie, to save every bit that we may. Besides, had we taken a chariot, we would have had to pay for two carriages."

Dixie groaned, laying her head against a pile of luggage. "Well, yes," she admitted, in a tone that said she knew she was being petulant and unreasonable, but would continue doing so regardless. "But I never expected it to be so awful!"

Bonnie merely rocked her ankles to the side, and canted her head. Dixie was in a mood, and was therefore beyond sense.

The grey mare was, in fact, just about to launch into a renewed diatribe about the inefficiencies of this borough, spurred into greater public spirit by the zebra's indifference, when the carriage changed direction and the ride smoothed considerably.

"Oh!" exclaimed Dixie, clopping her hooves together happily, her former displeasure vanishing like mist before the sunrise. "I suppose we're quite close, then!" And indeed, they were. Trottingham's outskirts began creeping into the view of the passengers, swiftly rising to the city proper. The city was built organically, and so the carriage ride bypassed completely the lower-class houses and industrial heart of Trottingham (iron, Dixie remembered, although the fledgeling industry of steel was beginning to make inroads into both the city's and the country's economy with the development of Equestria's rail system, to the eternal consternation of iron magnates who refused to change for one reason or another; this latter part she did not recall, because she had no interest in it, but it was nonetheless quite true), and moved through the middle-class houses and shops, before the mares arrived at 223 Purebred Street, where they would be staying with Dixie's Aunt Columbia.

Fortunately for Dixie, her aunt was away on a holiday of her own, and would not be returning for at least another two months, giving Dixie just enough time to cement her place in Trottingham. After all, she reasoned, if Aunt Columbia saw just how much she was already invested in the place, particularly if she had made some friends, she could be coaxed to a more favourable position regarding her deception.

But there was the tricky part: she was in Trottingham, ostensibly, to attend the prestigious finishing school and polish off her already extraordinarily fine (if she was uncouth enough to say so herself) etiquette, but Dixie had concocted the story to hide from her parents her real ambition of applying and getting accepted to and, eventually, graduating from, the University of Trottingham with her degree in teaching, while they paid for her tuition. Admittedly, fully half of the reason for her decision was to escape the clutches of that repugnant wretch, Farcy Ditzwilliam, whom Dixie's father had decided was the best fit as her husband, as apparently decreed by Fate herself. Farcy, and indeed the Ditzwilliam family, had no qualms about this arrangement; Dixie was less than pleased. She forced herself not to go into a mental inventory of the stallion's faults, but suffice it to say he was not very pleasant.

Dixie stood outside the carriage, mulling over these thoughts for what must have been the thousandth time that day alone, when Bonnie nudged her gently with her hoof. "Miss Dixie, shall we go inside?" she encouraged, trying to nose her along.

Dixie pondered this. "No," she finally answered. Bonnie blinked, surprised; Dixie grinned, pleased that she had stunned her normally imperturbable friend. "I think I shall try and figure this place out. There will be plenty of time for the house." She turned and, putting on her most heart-winning face, smiled. "Shall you join me?"

Bonnie was unfazed, but laughed quietly anyway. "No. I will stay here and make sure things are settled." She gestured wordlessly to the young colts from the house moving their things inside.

Now it was Dixie's turn to shrug. "Well, suit yourself," she said, at once disappointed and grateful that someone was there to manage the drudgery. "I'll be back before dusk, I think. But I hope you'll come next time, Bonnie. You really must socialise," she insisted, suddenly quite softspoken. It would do you good, and I'm sure the ponies here are much nicer, she wanted to add, but, thinking it pressing the issue, thought better of it and cut herself off. Bonnie had little chance to respond before Dixie affectionately nudged her neck with her nose, and turned to walk away, the spring in her step restrained but still noticeable.

Bonnie sighed, rolled her eyes, smiled, and turned to her administrations.

[Tempest Rime]

Trottingham. The stink of the city she had spent half her childhood within brought a revolted sneer to Malediction's face. She found herself walking the dirty old roads on the familiar route to the old orphanage. The run down place had seen better days, even when Mal had first been placed there. Now the facilities had relocated uptown, and the building was sitting abandoned amidst the noxious smells from the refineries upwind.

The neighborhood was empty now. Mal stood for a long time, simply staring at the old building, remember how much she despised everything about her time spent there. The bitter nostalgia washed over her, building into am unstoppable force of hate, and she summoned up every ounce of magic in her. A wash of emerald flames blasted from her horn into the old building, lightning it up in a freezing inferno. As she focused her fury upon it, she imagined the faces of the other children, trapped inside, begging for mercy. She envisioned the deaths of everyone she'd known here in graphic detail as she razed the building to the ground.

Finally, the building was gone, nothing more than ash and frost. She breathed a cathartic sigh as the weight of that little piece of her past seemed to disappear. Then the sound of bells stirred her from her reverie, as the firefighters grew near. There was no risk of her flames spreading unless she wished them to, but any fire so close to the industrial centers would be considered a major threat. Not wishing to be caught, Mal cantered off towards the opposite side of town.

She ran for some time, passing out of the slums, through the mercantile districts, and into the nicer residential areas. She glanced behind her to see if she had any pursuers, and in the moment she wasn't looking, she barreled full-speed into Dixie. Mal tumbled to the ground, taking a painful knock to the side of her head. She got to her feet immediately, but her vision swam, and her reserves of anger had been used up on the orphanage.

"Wha-? Uh, who?" Was all she managed to utter, before slumping down and putting one hoof to her head. "Ow," she said dejectedly, melancholy taking over where she would normally have drawn upon rage.

[kamerad]

Dixie had been letting her mind wander apart from her hooves, letting herself get tugged every which way by the ebb and flow of ponies coming and going. She had noplace in particular to be going, but it was after all her mission to find out where she might want to go, if not to actually go there that very day. This was all a very automated process however, which left her mind free to stroll down the sometimes labyrinthine corridors of her thoughts while her hooves daintily clopped on the cobblestone paths. She was quite lost in this state of being when she was suddenly jostled from it. The violent impact robbed her of her memory of what she had been doing, having had no thought of it for some time, and entirely of her senses. She lay on the street, bewildered and dazed; she tried to look around, but found she had no landmarks to get her bearings from, which was when she espied another pony on unsteady hooves a pace away--a likely culprit for her current ungraceful landing, she thought.

"Good heavens!" was all she could manage before the shock wore off. And then, a moment later: "Who are you?"

[Tempest Rime]

Mal didn't respond for a few moments. She shook her head to clear it and glanced up and down the streets, checking to be certain nopony had pursued her. Once she was satisfied she wasn't in the clear she started at the pony she'd run into, unsure how she was going to deal with being spotted.

"Me? Oh, I'm nopony, really, I just... was in town for some... things." Mal's attempt at acting natural failed utterly. "Um, so I'm... sorry for bumping into you." She choked out the words and grit her teeth in disgust at the act of apologizing. It went completely against her nature to do so, but she was trying to avoid suspicion, so she did her best. "And who might you be?" she asked through clenched teeth.

[Malkav]

Czar was lost.

He knew he had come into Trottingham for something, but he couldn't remember what.

"Groceries?" he mumbled to himself, "No, that's not it...Did I have a date? No, the last one I had was....was....oh, confound this disease!"

Czar knew his Old Pony Syndrome was a problem. He had just never trusted doctors after the....incident. They couldn't save them, so why should he trust them to help him?

As the carriage rolled by, Czar seemed drawn to it, as if that was what he came here for. It wasn't. He trotted after the vehicle.

[kamerad]

Dixie sniffed, about to deliver a truly scathing retort, but cut herself short at the last second. It would have been, after all, highly improper for a lady. Instead, she wiggled her nose and made as if she had been about to sneeze, and shook herself to get her coat down into its proper setting. She tossed her head, flinging one of her braids back across her neck. "Well, it's all right, in any case," she answered. It was a most unsettling shock, truth be told, but she would keep a stiff upper lip in public. "My name is Dixie." In her preening, she hadn't noticed what was surely readily apparent rage on the pony's face, however, and merely lofted an eyebrow quizzically. "You sound as if you're in pain, dear." She made to step closer. "Are you sure you're all ri-ah!" Dixie tumbled to the ground again, and held her front left ankle to her chest, a pained expression racing across her face to twist it pitiably. She winced, and made a sucking noise through clenched teeth. "Oh dear."

[Tempest Rime]

Mal snorted and her face twisted into a mocking grin. "Seriously? You're injured just from that? What, are your bones made of glass or something? I barely touched you," she sneered, ignoring the fact that she'd hit her own head hard enough to see stars.

A thought occurred to her. She could assist this pony to a doctor. Surely, none of her imagined pursuers would suspect somepony helping an injured noble out to be an arsonist. "Well, uh... assuming it hasn't moved since the last time I was here, I do know where a clinic is not far from here. I could..." She half extended a hoof to help Dixie up, but hesitated. "I... could... I guess... help you out. If you want." She slowly extended her hoof the rest of the way with a slightly pained expression. Helping ponies out was far out of her comfort zone.

[kamerad]

Dixie furrowed her brow, injured and indignant, and set her jaw firmly against the insult. This wasn't fair! "You galloped straight into me!" she protested, mindful to keep her tongue firmly in check so that she did not continue and say something she might later regret. Things said and done in the passion of anger, she reminded herself from some far-distant corner of her mind that was still free from the emotional storm that was brewing, were rarely beneficial to anypony.

It was perhaps a good thing, Dixie thought, for the pony seemed to have relented anyway. She stared up at her for a moment, before she made up her mind. She'd show this... ruffian! that she wasn't just some China doll. She nodded stiffly, but waved away the offered hoof dismissively. "Thank you," she replied primly, trying not to grunt it out as she made to stand on her own. She brought herself unsteadily to her full height, and hopped around while she tried to get her balance without using her bad hoof. Nearly taking another ungraceful tumble once, and then twice, eventually she settled, and was only a little wobbly.

"Now... That clinic?" she prompted, trying to look as dignified as she could in her position.

[Tempest Rime]

"Riiight," said Mal skeptically. She was slightly relieved not to have to physically aid the other mare walking, but paranoia killed her relief quickly. "This way, I'll lead you there," she spoke in slow, measured syllables. "Mind the step up there, wouldn't want you to trip and hurt yourself any more."

She led the way down the street, glancing suspiciously back at Dixie with frequency. She also made sure to stand up and away from the earth pony, far enough that she wasn't in immediate range for a potential kick, just in case the injury was a ruse. Still, she made sure to walk slowly enough that Dixie could keep up, in case the injury was real. After glancing around quickly, she strained to think of something to say to the injured pony. "So..." she started lamely. "You're an earth pony. How is that workin' out for ya?"

[kamerad]

Dixie hobbled along as best she could, hopping every few feet to avoid putting any weight on her ailing hoof. This whole business was most distressing, and the sooner she could be done with it, the better. Why, she couldn't even keep up with this pony! "Slow down!" she pleaded, trying to move faster to catch up, entirely unaware that the distance between the two was intentional. "Oh heavens," she sighed, frustrated and rather embarrassed to be seen with such an infirmity.

It took the grey mare a minute to realise the pony was trying to make small talk. "Oh, well..." She didn't think she had ever been asked that question before. "It's...fine? I suppose," she answered hesitantly, unsure if there was some hidden barb. She hopped along, trying to think of something else to say, but everything sounded a bit ridiculous or potentially--albeit unintentionally--cutting. "How is...being a unicorn?" she asked, bewildered that she should be asking the same sort of question.

[Tempest Rime]

"It's... fine." Mal echoed Dixie's sentiment. "I just thought... you know... earth ponies are supposed to be, like, a bit tougher. Generally stronger legs, longer endurance, that sort of thing. You know, to make up for not getting magic or wings or whatever." She frowned. "Don't you ever feel a bit... limited? Not having magic..." Though she phrased it rather insultingly, Mal was genuinely curious. Her own problems with her magic defined a large portion of her life, and this was the first time she'd actually spoken to any earth pony about it.

The clinic was not far at all, and even at the reduced pace to allow Dixie to keep up, Mal could already see it just down the block. "There's the place," she pointed down the street at it, "they're the ones who patched me up when I first came here. Guess they didn't move. I think they were pretty competent, I mean, I didn't die of infection or anything. It's been a while, though, so who knows. Seems like the whole world is rotting, sometimes, doesn't it?" She glanced bleakly back at Dixie.

[kamerad]

Dixie frowned quizzically. The idea that she was less capable than a unicorn had never once occurred to her. "No," she replied simply, before she thought it a little rude to terminate such a conversation quite so bluntly, and attempted a quick save. "I just take what I'm given and make the best of it. Really, it's all you can do." She hadn't meant to offer such a simple platitude, but at least she wasn't giving her company one-liners any longer. She let the conversation lapse into silence until the unicorn picked it up again, and was dutifully quiet while she talked; she could not resist raising an eyebrow at the sudden turn to morbidity, however. She still had a mildly disgusted look on her face when Mal turned to look back at her with an indescribably depressed expression, which had the effect of momentarily overwhelming her rational mind and filling her with an immense sadness, herself--such was the price of empathy, and Dixie faintly realised that she pitied her, though she had no specific reason to do so. Finally, she found her voice amongst the emotional tangle, and tried to step closer, inexplicably concerned with the well-being of this complete stranger.

"Dear... Are you all right?" she asked gently.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal's attention snapped back to reality, and she glanced away. "I'm fine. I'm just... great. It's just... being back here. In Trottingham. It's messing with me. It's like... you know how nostalgia makes you feel good about things you used to feel good about? I got the same thing, but for bad memories." She paused. "They're all bad." She didn't mention that she wasn't just talking about the memories of Trottingham.

She shook her head as they reached the door to the clinic. "Don't get me wrong," she said as she pushed it open with her magic, "I'm a mean and ornery pony to talk to at the best of times. I'm just also a bit depressed at the moment, and a little tired from throwing magic around earlier. Otherwise I'd probably be even worse. Whatever, it ain't your problem."

As they entered the building, an orderly rushed up to them. "Oh you poor dear," the orderly said to Mal, assuming the scarred pony was the more grievously injured, "don't worry, we'll get you fixed up right away."

"What? Not me, you idiot, her!" Mal pointed her hoof at the limping earth pony behind her.

[kamerad]

Dixie nodded sympathetically. She had no experience with what the mare had gone through to make her dislike her memories so, but felt she could still relate to her. "Oh, I don't know about mean," she said, trying to be cheerful without quite being overbearing. "But I think I know something about ornery." The corner of her mouth turned up in a barely-perceptible smile when Mal turned away, and she hopped out awkwardly from behind her for the nurse's convenience; she had been standing somewhat out of sight beyond the threshold. Stepping forward as the nurse gestured and said something rather meaningless, she made sure to come within earshot of Mal.

"I wouldn't mind it being my problem, you know," she said quietly, before hurrying along to catch up with the nurse.

[Tempest Rime]

"I would," muttered Mal, darkly. "I'm not a fan of sharing my problems. Especially ones that can't be changed. It doesn't matter anyway, it's in the past."

The orderly returned after leading Dixie into the back, and began to ask Mal routine questions, which she answered succinctly, hoping to be away as soon as possible. "Now, you said you struck your head on the ground? I think we ought to take a look at that, just in case. The knock on the head might not feel too bad now, but if you have a concussion we really ought to find out."

Mal sighed as the orderly gestured towards the back. "Yeah, alright, fine. I don't have anywhere to be, anyway." She went into the back room and let a nurse run through some routine checks. She grunted at Dixie noncommittally, noting that the earth pony's injury hadn't been severe enough to require a sterile operating room. The clinic was fairly small, so only the most severely injured ponies were brought into their own rooms, and most of them were eventually airlifted to the major hospital downtown. A second nurse approached to examine Mal, and she grinned when the nurse pushed aside her hair to find her missing eye.

"My goodness! When did this happen?"

"Heh, like ten years ago. In fact, you probably have it on record, I got treated for it in this very building. But it's not relevant to the crack on the head, if that's what you mean."

[kamerad]

Dixie sighed quietly, and shook her head in dismay--it would take some time to crack the pony's seemingly chinkless armour, but she determined that she would do it, and not only for the challenge, but because she found herself more and more genuinely caring for this mare. She limped awkwardly into a little office with a desk, and found herself a stool to rest on. She admittedly was a little impatient for the nurse to return, but understood intellectually that she was probably one of the only ponies there at the time. She found her attention wandering to a few posters, to some implements laid out on a counter, to a box of sterile hoof-gloves--anything to keep her mind occupied at least a little. At long last--although it had really only been a couple of minutes--the nurse returned with Mal, to Dixie's mild surprise. She cast a glance her way and lifted a hoof to give a friendly wave--

--and she saw Mal's horrifically scarred face. She squeaked in shock, and brought her raised hoof to her mouth so quickly that she slammed it into her jaw. Of course it would be her injured hoof, too, and she now had double the pain. "Oh oh oh oh..." she whined as quietly as she could.

[Tempest Rime]

"Haha, don't hurt yourself, there, champ." Mal snickered as the earth pony hurt herself again. "Pretty sick, huh." She smiled proudly. "I got mauled by a manticore when I was a filly. Most of my scars are from beasties I ran into in the Everfree, like that. Manticores, griffins... I saw one thing out there that looked like a walking briar patch. Most of 'em have the good sense to run away, now, and the ones that don't..." She grinned evilly. "Well, they still won't be bothering anypony again. I may have lost my eye, but the manticore lost a whole lot more than that."

She watched as the nurse examined Dixie's leg. "So what's the damage? Is it broken or just sprained? If it's actually broken, then I'd have to reconsider your toughness, walking even this far on a broken leg would be pretty wicked."

[kamerad]

Dixie looked worriedly at Mal, uncomfortably imagining what the unicorn could have possibly done in that awful, eldritch wood. She shuddered while her imagination ran wild, leaving her sense well behind. There were almost no unicorns where she had grown up, but living with the well-to-do had introduced her to some faraway unicorn acquaintances, whom she could recall manipulating objects with their magic when they came to call upon her family. Dixie imagined all manner of horrible things that Mal could have done; saw in her mind's eye a manticore being ripped apart from the inside out, saw a river serpent being tied in knots until its spine broke. She shut her eyes and shuddered, trying to drive away the horrifying visions and reassure herself that the unicorn was merely being dramatic; she would have fainted in lunacy-inducing terror had she known what Mal was really capable of.

She broke herself out of her nightmarish reverie when she heard herself being addressed--or she gathered so, after a moment of silence when the nurse did not respond. "N-no," Dixie stammered, staring at her hoof instead of the unicorn. "I don't think it's broken." She tried to roll it around experimentally, and winced at the spike of pain that came in answer. She didn't know what a broken ankle felt like, but imagined it would hurt much more than this, although it was quite painful enough for her right then.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal laughed again. "You know, the more you do that, the more it'll hurt. And the longer it'll take to heal."

The nurse finally had enough of Mal's jibes. "Miss, please, you definitely seem to be of sound mind, and your injury was not severe. You're clear to go, so please do so now. Heckling injured ponies is not something we look well on."

"Ooooh, you don't look well on it, huh? Well gee, you really told me." Mal stood up and sneered at the nurse. "Thanks for the look over, I guess, but I did say there was nothing wrong." She rolled her eyes at the angry look the nurse gave her in response. "Whatever. Oh, Dixie, If you're ever in Canterlot and find yourself in need of a locksmith for some reason, look me up. I'm gonna head home, it's a long walk back. Oh right," she said, forgetting her earlier precaution against telling the earth pony her name. "My name's Malediction. Mal for short, if you want."

[kamerad]

Dixie watched the two carry on, concerned that there should be so much negativity so near her, and shot the nurse a look that was equal parts thankful and pleading. "No, no, it's quite all right," she tried to assure her, in an attempt to get the unicorn to stay and to stave off an argument between the two, but the nurse glared back at her as sternly as she had just done with Mal, and Dixie relented with a sigh. It was her ward, she supposed reluctantly, and that would just have to be that.

The grey mare perked up when she was addressed as the other was leaving, and nodded amiably. "I shall call on you, then," she replied with a certain resoluteness, and paused for a heartbeat. "Mal."

[Tempest Rime]

"Sure." Mal said, trying to look as uncaring as possible. "Or don't. You know, whatever. Your call. Anyway, I'm sick of this city, I'm gonna head home. Back to the iron-shod heart of the empire where the guards arrest you if you look at 'em funny. And I still like it more than this place. Funny, really." She sighed and shook her head.

She hesitated for a moment, finding herself strangely reluctant to leave. But it only lasted a moment, she stepped out and left the clinic, looking around for a moment. She was in the clear, and the hate she felt for the city of her teenage years came rushing back after the brief respite she'd had around that strange earth pony. She pushed Dixie from her mind, not wanting to form any sort of attachment to somepony she'd most likely never see again. "Bah," she said, to nopony at all, causing a few ponies walking nearby to give her quizzical looks.

Without another backward glance, she set out towards Canterlot.

(Exit)

[kamerad]

Dixie watched the unicorn leave, unwilling to let her go but powerless to stop her. Her eyes remained on the threshold leading from the room to the rest of the clinic, and further, out to the city and beyond, for some time, until the nurse gave her a gentle nudge. Dixie realised she'd been daydreaming, and found her hoof stuck into some sort of sleeve. She tapped it experimentally and discovered that it was firm and supportive, and that it wouldn't allow her hoof to move. "Oh," she said simply, breaking out of her unremembered reverie. "I... suppose I should get out of your mane, then." She slipped off her stool and stood, favouring her injured leg, and turned to lower herself a little on her forehooves. "Thank you," she said formally, before turning back around and limping out to the main room, where she paid the tired-looking pony on the other side of the front counter in a mechanical and somewhat awkward fashion, before stepping out to face the rest of the day.

It was beginning to get dark, Dixie noticed, and she suspected the moon would be rising soon, if it hadn't already, to begin the hours of twilight. Abandoning her pursuit of the town's nightlife after some momentary consideration, she turned in what she believed to be the direction of her aunt's estate, and hobbled off to what she hoped would be a pleasant dinner and a warm bed.