Day broke with the rain still beating down on the roof of our little wagon.
Trixie and I had decided to leave the problem of my name for later, having instead talked about a few menial things before laying down to sleep.
One such thing was that the path through the forest was a road which was clearly marked.
I shouldn't get lost on it during daytime since there was plenty of signage along the path, but Trixie had stressed to me to not stray away from the wagon when the sun would start to go down.
The night brought dangers with it which I was unable to protect myself against without her help, and I had to remind myself that this world had things in it besides ponies.
Not all of the things in Equestria were kindhearted; diamond dogs, timberwolves, and changelings were definitely on my list of creatures to avoid meeting anytime soon.
It was clear that we both had done some thinking about our situation these past few days and we were trying to steer the conversation well away from things which might set either of us off on another outburst.
Princess Luna's interference in our relationship had been a pivot point which forced both Trixie and I to act to finally try to see eye-to-eye.
It was obvious to me, now, that Trixie had been trying so hard to find a way to send me back that she had basically exhausted herself every day and had been acting out of that exhausted state.
She had stressed herself over suddenly having to live with somepony else, whom she had herself transported into her world and changed beyond recognition, and everything she had done so far had been a poor attempt at damage control.
Bad decision stacked upon bad decision but her ego didn't allow her to take a step back and give either of us the time to think about things properly.
She honestly thought she could find a way to set things right if only she kept at it.
But Luna getting involved meant that Trixie had missed her window to get me sent home without consequences.
Whatever had kept her in Ponyville while she tried to replicate the spell which had brought me into her world, she had now obviously decided it was not worth staying for.
But that had been a bad decision on her part as well, as there was no escaping her thoughts while she was pulling our wagon away from the town.
Even before I woke up and launched my demands at her, Trixie had been sliding down a slope of regret as she tried to walk away from her responsibilities yet again.
She knew she had treated me wrong, but there was no way out of it that would keep her ego intact.
There was no other option for her but to accept my demand for an apology and a promise to do better.
But after Pinkie's interruption there was even more to consider; she had come after us because she felt one of her friends was in emotional trouble.
You can't run away from Pinkie Pie, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack could have told Trixie if she had asked.
Pinkie had tried to solve this emotional disturbance she felt with cupcakes and her usual bubbly demeanour, but had also finally clued Trixie in on just how badly her actions so far had affected me.
Facing your emotions was a tiresome thing, but we were now finally past both of our breaking points and could work things out between us.
We needed that fresh start as there was no way to continue the way we had been doing it so far.
With the promise of Trixie trying to reign in her abusive behaviour toward me, and a new view on the future ahead of us now she had stopped trying to send me back to Earth, the feeling in the cart was already better than it had been before.
Until now I had thought of this cart as my home because there had not been an alternative while I was stuck in this world.
Not necessarily a safe place, as I was at the whim of Trixie's temper tantrums, but at least a place where I could rest.
On a stack of pillows on the ground, with a collar around my neck, like I was a pet...
Waking up in Trixie's bed again now, the first emotion I felt was still panic that she would berate me for being there and not on the ground.
I tried to push up in an effort to get out of the bed again, but there was a weight across my side which tightened around my small form as I did and I fell back onto the mattress instead.
For a moment I considered Trixie's promise might have been broken and she somehow trapped me in her bed with a strap over my side or some such, until I became aware of her breath passing through my mane.
It was slow, steady. Peaceful.
She was obviously still fast asleep.
The weight over my side was her left foreleg, which she was using to keep me close to herself, unawares that I had woken up before her.
Pushing my fears to the back of my mind I allowed myself this brief moment of peace as well.
The rain pouring down continuously since it started yesterday had considerably lowered the temperature around us but it was still nice and cosy under the blankets.
The light of Celestia's sun outside grew brighter as the day progressed, occasionally dimming as it got blocked out by clouds, the long shadows it cast slowly shrinking as time passed.
This peace I felt carefully growing within me was so far removed from what I had ever experienced back on Earth, or perhaps very early on in my life, memories of which long since forgotten.
Equestria did not have planes flying overhead, motorized vehicles on the street, electronic devices playing music, or the constant buzzing of electricity through power lines and transformers.
The only sound was that of chirping birds out in the woods, the rain coming down unabated, and the slow breathing of Trixie behind me.
Rather than my brain zoning out while watching grass grow, or being worried about when my peace was going to be disturbed again by one of Trixie's outbursts, I was hopeful this moment would last.
That it would last longer than the shrinking shadows.
That it would last beyond when Trixie woke up.
That it would be there tomorrow. And the day after. And so on.
Every day from now on, please.
I felt moisture drip down my snout and blinked my eyes to it. When I opened them again droplets stuck to my lashes and my vision was more blurry than before.
Trixie stirred as I moved my left foreleg up to rub at my left eye.
Why was I crying now? Why again? I had been doing a lot of it recently.
"Nn~uhn, of course you can't fly," Trixie mumbled against the back of my head.
It was obvious that Trixie was dreaming, but I wondered if the princess Luna was with her, guiding her dreams.
I remembered my dream journal and reached out with my magic to levitate it up from where it was under the bed.
I kept it suspended in the air before me, then opened it and leafed through the pages until I got to the most recent entry, which was easy enough as there were only two entries in it.
While I couldn't remember the dream I had last night, the dream journal had done what it was set up to do and had recorded it for me to read back nonetheless.
I had been lost in the woods, my hooves splattering up moisture from puddles on the wet road.
Shadows and creepy whispering followed behind me and I was utterly mortified that I had somehow lost sight of Trixie and our wagon.
A lightning flash filled the sky, and the trees closed in above my head a little as if to keep its light from reaching me with their yellow, orange, and red leaves.
The thunderclap rolled through the new tunnel made by the trees and the leaves came loose from them and started to fall down around me.
"Faster, Fuu," a voice carried on the wind.
I felt compelled to follow the instructions given, and hurried along at a trot down this seemingly endless tunnel of wood and wetness.
"...faster..." the voice whispered from somewhere behind me.
I sped up to a canter, but somehow it didn't feel fast enough yet and increased that to a gallop.
More leaves fell around me as I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me, leaving the trees more bare than I had found them, and I was reminded of one of the pony episodes.
Which was it? It was called the...
"...running of the leaves...", added the disembodied voice.
Remembering that episode where Rainbow Dash and Applejack were trying to figure out which one of them was the better athlete helped bolster my mood.
Obviously I was just in the same race as them.
As I thought this, a familiar earthpony ran past me on my right side.
"Comin' through! That's some mighty fine runnin' yer doing there, Fuu, keep it up," she offered as she galloped past at a faster pace than me due to her longer legs.
"Oh no you don't. Get back here," Rainbow called after her, running past on my left side. Her blue wings were bound to her sides with rope, but she was doing a good job catching up to her friend without needing them.
She turned her head as she passed me and offered me a grin. "Keep running like that and you might one day be as awesome as me."
I watched the both of them speed away from me, still intent on beating one another to the finish line, but I wasn't left by myself for long.
A taller pony caught up to my right side and I looked sideways up at her to find Luna smiling back at me.
"You may slow down again unless you wish to continue dropping the leaves in thine dream forest," the princess suggested. "It would be easier for us to talk if you did." I slowed my gallop to a canter, then to a trot, then finally just a comfortable walk, and Luna kept up with my change in pace. "How have you been faring since I left you in Ponyville, Fuu?" Luna wondered. I sighed and collected my thoughts as I saw a branch in the path coming up. There was a sign pointing to the right and fresh hooffalls in the dirt suggested both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had gone that way. Given Applejack was the element of honesty, and Rainbow Dash the element of loyalty, I figured this was my subconsciousness telling me to be honest with the princess. "I'll tell you, princess; Trixie did not like the gift you gave me. She reacted very strongly to it," I answered, turning for the right path as I did. "Define strongly, for thy Trixie's dreams are filled with pain and regret," Luna pressed, falling back into her old timey speak. "She lost it; she shouted at me, tried to take the journal, and then threw me around instead when she couldn't," I listed, much to Luna's shock. "Trixie did bandage me up and put me to bed after, and we have had an emotional day following that," I quickly continued as the princess' face darkened. "She apologized and we came to an understanding between us. She promised she wouldn't do that ever again. We're in a much better place now, emotionally speaking," I pressed further, before the princess would be moved to act against Trixie. "This explains her dreams of late. We thank you for being honest with us, young Fuu," Luna replied in earnest, the darkness receding again. I beamed a smile up at her.
"Of course, princess!" I replied eagerly, feeling much too happy about the praise. "You're only one of two ponies who know everything there is to know about me, and you're here in my dreams with me. You'd figure it out if I tried lying to you." "Yes, I would," she chuckled. "Still, it is nice to know thou needest no motivation to be truthful." "I've lied too much to too many people in my old life," I reasoned. "Trixie set me straight on that real quick." "Some lessons are harder to learn than others," Luna mused. She suddenly stopped walking and looked around as the forest around us started to fade out of focus. "You are starting to wake up again, it looks like," she noted. "Let us talk more about this in a future dream." I turned to look up at her and gave a nod. "I'm looking forward to it. Thank you princess Luna."
I let my eyes linger on the page of the dream journal for a little longer and considered how its magic worked exactly.
Reading back about what I had dreamt made it feel as real as any memory, but I could let it play out in my mind as fast or slow as I wanted it to.
If I read any sentence on its own it would still draw up the dreamscape in my mind's eye and made me feel the sensations I had felt at that point in the dream.
I could see and hear Luna as she had walked beside me. I could remember vividly how it had felt as Applejack and Rainbow Dash had sped past me.
That tinge of excitement as each of them had left me with a little message to keep me going.
If this was how Luna herself had started to learn to control not only her own dreams but that of other ponies as well, things were going to get interesting to be sure.
I closed my dream journal and moved it back under the bed again with my magic.
Trixie let out a sudden sigh, her breath passing through my mane.
"Trixie is not going to lie, Fuu. That book is bothering her," she mumbled. "It is protected by magic which is beyond her; she could not read a single word of what was written on its pages while you held it open in front of your face just now."
I didn't even know she had been awake until now, and felt my left ear tilt down slightly, my right unable to follow as it was somewhat squished in place between my head and the pillow.
"I'm sorry," I let out in more of a whimper than I had intended.
"Hrm, don't be," Trixie replied thoughtfully. "Trixie promised to try to not let her emotions get the better of her."
She pulled her left foreleg a bit tighter around me, keeping me close to herself.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax in Trixie's hold since she clearly felt like maintaining the peaceful moment between us.
We definitely needed a moment of this.
Just the sound of rain and wildlife to keep our thoughts company.
Trixie's breath hit my left ear and I felt it twitch involuntarily.
"Do you blame Trixie for her reaction after she came to in your car?" she queried in a half whisper.
"Maybe at first," I considered, "but I have had some time to think about it. You said the window to return home was closing for you, didn't you?"
"Trixie did; the spell she used only kept the connection open for two hours and she would have been stuck in your world if she did not return when she did," she repeated.
"I wouldn't say I deserved to be taken along, to be 'punished' for what I did," I added. "I didn't see you in the rearview mirrors, miss Trixie."
"Leave out the 'miss'," Trixie protested. "What do mirrors have to do with anything?"
"I wouldn't have backed up if I had seen you, is what I'm trying to say," I pointed out. "At the same time, I do have to wonder why you didn't move out of the way when you heard the engine start."
"Trixie couldn't place the noise. It was sudden and overwhelming, especially with that nasty smell which accompanied it," she explained. "There was not enough time to react."
Given the peaceful nature of most vehicles in Equestria, I could see how a combustion engine would be overwhelming for Trixie.
Especially if she had her face near the exhaust when I started the engine.
I wondered if I could have heard her coughing over the sound of the engine if the fumes had got to her.
Perhaps if I had paid better attention to such things instead of being in such a rush to drive off I could have noticed her behind my car?
The question was if I would have believed it if I spotted her or written it up to my inexplicable binge watching of the show?
"Once the rain lets up, Trixie will have to start teaching you some stage magic," Trixie decided. "You should still aim to be her assistant during Trixie's magic shows."
"Are we going to wait it out in the cart?" I wondered.
"No, Trixie will have to pull the cart again soon for us to make it through the forest before the Running of the Leaves," she explained.
"She will wear her hat against the rain but there is no other way to get to Los Pegasus in time for the contest to become Los Pegasus' main show pony for the coming year," Trixie continued.
"When Trixie wins the contest she can prove to the ponies in Ponyville that she truly IS the Greatest and Powerfullest magic pony around," she breathed out as if she was dreaming of the future.
"Do you need me to learn magic for the show, miss Trixie? Is that why you have been pushing me to control my magic?" I realised.
Trixie bit down on my mane and gave the hairs a bit of a tug.
"Trixie told you to drop the title," she grumbled. "She needs to do better by you before she deserves it."
"Ack, I'm sorry," I apologized. "What should I call you instead?"
"If Trixie is to use her money from her performances in Los Pegasus to adopt you, perhaps you should get used to calling her 'mother'?" Trixie considered.
Of course I had expected this to come. So why were my cheeks suddenly burning red hot at the thought?
"It might be too early for you to call her such, given the nature of our relationship, but it would certainly help in public, especially once we get the documents signed," she mused. "Trixie's name is fine until then."
"I think I can do that, Trixie," I agreed eagerly.
There was a chuckle from the larger pony behind me, and she pulled her left foreleg a bit tighter around me.
"Trixie must confess it was nice to wake up like this," Trixie mumbled into my mane. "As long as you don't do anything to force Trixie to have you rest on the ground again as punishment, the coming winter might not be as cold as she has experienced them before."
I perked up my ear at that last part, only for her to blow air straight at it.
"Now Trixie should get up out of bed and make us some breakfast. It must already be midday," she reasoned.
"Wouldn't that be brunch?" I posited.
Trixie tugged on my hair again before answering.
"Do you want Trixie to make breakfast for you and lunch after, or do you want to eat only one meal before dinner, Fuu?" she threatened.
"Pulling the wagon takes a lot out of Trixie. She will eat again before dinner to get her energy back, which would make that her lunch," Trixie explained slowly and deliberately.
"Therefore this meal which Trixie is making as soon as she gets out of bed will be Trixie's breakfast, not brunch," she pointed out.
"Now roll out of bed so Trixie can get to work," she finished.
Trixie's left foreleg let go of me and I wriggled out from under the blankets until I could roll onto my four hooves beside the bed.
I stumbled a moment as I got my bearings after having rested for longer than I had been used to, but moved aside in time to not get hit by Trixie rolling my way to get out of the bed as well.
"Trixie expects you to make the bed while she pulls the wagon after breakfast, but open the sheets to let it air out first. Remember what Trixie told you yesterday about moisture," Trixie told me.
"And put a comb through that mane of yours," she added, looking me over. "It looks like somepony pulled your hairs in different directions overnight."
I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.
"I have to wonder who that could have been," I mused dryly.
"Trixie wonders that as well," she chuckled in response.
I sighed as Trixie turned for the kitchenette to start making breakfast.
I, in turn, set to my tasks of drawing open the sheets so the bed could air out, and then putting a comb to my mane.
We sat down on the little porch, under the overhang, and ate the sandwiches which Trixie had prepared while watching the rain come down around us.
A few birds were foraging in the undergrowth nearby, flitting this way or that, their song the only sounds beside the rain and our chewing.
The clouds parted before I managed to swallow the last bit of my sandwich, and I looked up to see a couple of Pegasi fly through the air after them as if they were corralling them like a flock of sheep.
"Just imagine; I could have ended up as a Pegasus," I mused.
"Trixie can just imagine the hospital bills from your many broken bones as you attempted to learn how to fly," Trixie chuckled darkly. "Are you done eating, Fuu?"
"I am sure I would have been fine, but yes I am done eating. Do you want me to rinse the plates before we go?" I asked, showing her some initative since she was going to have to pull the wagon and all.
Trixie raised an eyebrow and then just wordlessly levitated her empty plate toward mine and placed it on top.
"I'll take that as a yes," I chuckled as I pushed myself up on my hooves.
As I wandered back into the wagon to rinse off the plates, I noticed Trixie paying some attention to our hats.
They had been hanging out on the porch all night, protected somewhat from most of the rain coming down around us but still in the cold and moist air.
She hummed some to herself before grabbing her own hat from the hook it was on and putting it on her head.
"Make sure to grab your hat off its hook before we go; it might fall off when we move. It is still moist, as Trixie's is, but it will dry while worn," she warned me.
"I'll do that, mi... Trixie," I corrected myself.
Trixie stood in the doorway and looked curiously at me from under her large hat.
"...yes, good. Almost. When in doubt, just call her Trixie; the Great and Powerful!" she suddenly exclaimed, taking on a proud pose.
"I might have less trouble with that than with the thought of calling you mom, honestly," I coughed oddly.
"Go on," she pressed.
"What do you mean?" I wondered, feigning ignorance.
"Call Trixie the Great and Powerful," she suggested. "Humour her."
"As you wish, oh Great and Powerful Trixie," I spoke with extra flair, bowing my head to her.
"Ahaha! And for her next trick; the Great and Powerful Trixie will disappear off stage," she called out to nopony in particular.
Her horn lit up, and suddenly a cloud of smoke erupted from around her.
When the smoke dissipated again, Trixie was gone.
I blinked at myself at her theatrics, but then walked on over toward the entrance.
My sensitive pony ears heard wet hooffalls making their way around to the front of the wagon, so it was not like I didn't know where she could have gone.
Clearly she needed this moment, so I felt I should play along with her.
"Oh my goodness! What an amazing trick," I spoke loudly, making sure to emphasize my supposed wonder. "I wonder where she has gone?"
I made sure to close the wagon's door behind me and pick up Trixie's old hat to wear before jumping down onto the wet forest path myself.
As I pulled the slightly damp cloth over my head, I reflected on her odd behaviour just now.
It was almost comical, playful, not like the bitching and moaning from the past weeks I had spent with her.
If this was how she was going to be from now on, I would be absolutely fine with it.
As I reached the front of the wagon, Trixie was grinning at me.
"So, as for your first magic trick; Trixie expects you to learn a smokebomb exit. You can do this as you walk alongside her," she suggested to me, and my mood dropped a notch.
"Oh, what, that was just your lead-in on giving me stuff to learn?" I realised.
Trixie narrowed her eyes at me.
"Don't let a moment to put up a show pass you by, Fuu," she told me. "Especially once we get to Los Pegasus. Ponies only go there to be entertained, so we must provide them a show when and where we are able."
I considered that there was some truth in that. When in Rome, and all that.
"How would I start learning that trick?" I asked her directly, trying to get her back to that earlier playful mood.
"Smoke is just dirty air when you think of it; Consider the falling leaves coming down from the trees around us," Trixie started.
She started to walk, pulling the wagon along with her magic.
"There are only a few of them now so we can see right past them, but smoke has a large number of fine particles which block our view. It is just a matter of filling the air around you with them," she explained.
I gave a thoughtful nod to her words. It made sense to me.
"Less magical ponies than Trixie would have to use an actual smokebomb prepared ahead of time; pull them from a hidden pocket in the clothing worn on stage, use a quickfuse, and drop it before themselves so the smoke coming blocks the line of sight from the audience," Trixie pointed out further.
"Alternatively they would use a bag of powder, usually fine grain sand with reflective properties so there's more of a wall of reflected light than dark smoke," she continued.
"Right, but I'm guessing you don't want me to focus on either of those options," I wondered with a worried half-chuckle.
"You're right, Fuu! If you are to join The Great and Powerful Trixie on stage as her assistant, you must use your magic to manifest smoke around you without such cheap parlor tricks," she agreed with me.
I let out a deep sigh and looked down at the puddles on the path we were walking along, making sure to avoid them so I wouldn't get splashed by the water.
"Just as I thought," I mumbled. "How?"
"Even air as clean as this has particles drifting through it," Trixie suggested to me. "You just need to pull them into the same spot to create a smokescreen."
"Like levitating any other object, but smaller?" I started to comprehend.
"Exactly; just compress the particles in the air in front of you as we walk," she agreed with a smile. "Show Trixie something she can be proud of you for."
Trixie had been so dismissive during her previous teachings. So sure that I could not follow her instructions, angry at my limited understanding of magic and the slow progress I was making.
This turnaround, this suggestion in her words and show of emotions that she at least partly believed I could show her that I could do as she asked, honestly filled me with a desire to do just that.
I felt a strange rush as I focused my magic through my horn, seeking out what particles I could find in the air around us.
Particles were small, smaller than the littlest thing I had lifted with my magic so far.
If I tried to just grab hold of them as I did any other item I would most likely fail.
Instead I considered what we did back on Earth if we wanted to catch air in something; Our lungs used negative pressure; expanding our chest would pull the air into the vacuum we created.
Blowing up a balloon with that same air was a positive pressure; pushing it right back out again into the rubber bladder.
I thought of creating a negative pressure just in front of me to draw the air in, letting my magic loose out of my horn to commit this thought to reality.
The wind picked up as my magic set to work, but nothing happened beside that.
"Okay, that's wind. You're making wind happen," Trixie helpfully pointed out.
"I noticed as much," I coughed. "I guess I need to filter the air I pull in?"
"Trixie said to move the particles, not the air," she corrected me. "You're focusing on the wrong thing, Fuu."
"How would I grab hold of the particles if I don't funnel them through a sphere of negative pressure?" I wondered.
"You have already moved those particles by creating that zone of negative pressure," Trixie pointed out. "You moved them aside to allow room for the air to flood into the space."
I stopped walking and doused my magic.
Trixie stopped walking as well and looked sideways at me.
"How did you think you were creating the air, Fuu?" she asked of me.
"I don't know, honestly. I just thought of the best way to get air moving so I could grab the particles out of it and my magic did it for me," I explained.
"That last part, there. Didn't you learn anything from what Trixie has told you?" she grumbled.
"Remember just yesterday when Trixie dropped your plate without forewarning? You took it from the air before it shattered on the ground. What were you thinking when you did that?" she used as an example.
"Just that the plate shouldn't fall, I guess?" I replied, trying to make the link with what I was doing now.
Trixie rolled her eyes at me.
"And because you thought the plate shouldn't drop, it didn't. So what was it that Trixie told you to do now?" she pressed.
"To compress particles in front of me?" I repeated, my right ear twitching under the hat I wore.
"So do that. Don't focus on the air," she told me flatly.
I blinked, then let my magic free from my horn and a clump of dust suddenly pressed itself together in mid-air between us.
Shocked at this clump appearing between us, I lost control of my magic and sent it flying in Trixie's direction the very next moment!
Trixie's magic stopped it before the clump could hit her right between the eyes and it fizzled apart.
"You're lucky Trixie was ready for it this time, Fuu," she mused. "Do you see now what Trixie is telling you?"
I gave a quick nod at her.
"Focus on the end result, not how to get there?" I answered.
"Exactly. So; manifest a small cloud of compressed particles in the air in front of you as we walk... and don't send it flying into Trixie's face again if you could," she ordered of me again.
So much for her good mood.
I charged my horn again and just focused on the end result; a cloud of compressed particles in the air between us.
As I let the magic loose from the tip of my horn, the air between us trembled and became more hazy by the second.
"There you go," Trixie chuckled from the other side of the haze. "Now focus on how wide you want it to be dispersed instead of this cone."
"It's a cone?" I wondered, then thought about making it a screen; a simple flat plane between her and me, just enough to obscure each from the other's sight.
Edges to the haze became more profound as the particles in this area I was focusing on were clumping together while those outside of my magic's hold were left to fly free.
"That's a screen. Did you intend to make a screen, Fuu?" the blurry vision of Trixie wondered.
"I did, yes," I answered her, feeling my excitement rise. "Focus on the end result, you said. I thought about making a hazy screen."
"Now remember what smoke is; it's denser particles than that," she instructed from the other side of the haze.
The moment I considered her words the haze darkened and became more blotchy, trails of smoke lazily drifting up.
I knew the smoke was just random particles which had existed in the air around us before my magic had pulled them together, but the effect was intensely realistic.
"Okay, now spread the smoke in all directions as if it erupts from a smokebomb and douse your magic instantly," Trixie ordered.
The smoke suddenly filled the air around us and I was forced to breathe it in as it didn't disperse as fast as I had thought it would.
I collapsed onto the wet dirt as I tried to stifle a sudden coughing fit, thankful for the pocket of cleaner air below the sudden cloud of smoke I had created.
As this dark mist above our heads started to drift apart thanks to the winds passing through the forest, I could hear Trixie cough as well.
Peering her way through the clearer air, I spotted Trixie similarily down in the dirt in the same spot where she had stood a moment before.
A proud grin was plastered on her face, even as she had to press a hoof to her muzzle to stifle another cough.
"That's a start. Now we just need to work on controlling the range of it," she told me. "You'd want to keep it on the stage, not filling the whole venue. But Trixie sees you grasp the concept, and quicker than she thought you would. Well done, Fuu."
I'd done it; I made Trixie proud of me.
For the first time in a long while, someone I was quickly starting to see as a parental figure was proud of me.
Rain moistened the fur on my cheeks again, or perhaps it was just the tears of joy leaking from my eyes.
At least it was washing the sting from the smoke out of them...