Trixie followed Twilight Sparkle out the tent where she had been resting, since if she was going to spend hours telling her the whole story, she wanted to do it in a more private place. As soon as she stepped outside, she was struck by the impressive size of the camp, rows of tents filling a wide meadow.

Twilight watched her with a curious expression. “Is something the matter, Trixie?”

“Huh? No… It’s just that this camp is so big… You said there were barely any survivors.”

Twilight’s head hung down and her voice became quiet. “Yes, I never thought it could be that bad…” She sighed and straightened herself a little. “The pegasus who survived, Lightning Gale... He was the one who alerted us. He flew straight into Ponyville, crying for help and talking about creatures attacking Hockton… I expected lots of injured and homeless ponies so I gave orders to set up this camp.”

Twilight Sparkle turned around, giving an overall look at the eerily quiet place. “Doctors and nurses, guards, food, supplies. Enough for a whole town… But when we came here… everypony was… was...”

“I know,” Trixie said. “I was there.”

“Right…” Twilight shook her head and headed for another, smaller tent, only a few meters away.

Trixie followed her and found the inside to be summary, but well organized: a flimsy-looking table serving as a desk, a currently extinguished candle in the middle, parchments and quills carefully stacked on one side and a few books forming a neat pile on the other. She distractedly read a few of the titles: Emergency Care and First Aid, Preserving Precarious Pony Psychology, Logics and Logistics vol. I… Aside from those, the tent only contained a seating pillow.

"Make yourself comfortable," Twilight said, pointing at the cushion. "Princess Celestia had to go back to Canterlot, so it will only be me and my friends..." Trixie nodded and did as she was told, while Twilight sat on the ground across the desk and prepared to write down some notes. A few moments later, the five other mares came in and installed themselves all around Trixie in a semi-circle.

Six pairs of eyes settled on her, expectant and intensely staring at her. Trixie tried to stall for time, shifting on her seat and clearing her throat. The six mares simply waited in silence.

“If you’re all sure you want to do this...” she said, giving them a few seconds to change their minds. None of them gave her any sign, making her sigh. “Let’s start...

Closing her eyes, Trixie used her magic to create an image in the air next to her, a sort of screen-like projection of her memory, showing colorful houses with thatched roofs.

“I came into Hockton… a few days ago, I think. I’m not really sure how much time has passed. I was just trying to make a living as a traveling magician...”

Hockton

A rural town in central Equestria, Hockton is home to around one thousand ponies.

“So, can you fix it?”

Trixie looked at the middle-aged stallion in front of her. His pale blue coat and blond mane might have made him pleasant to look at, but the frown that seemed perpetually etched on his face took every bit of charm away. Her eyes went back to the clock in her hoof. A simple magically powered alarm clock that was no longer staying on time. It would take a few hours of work, but she could definitely readjust the enchantment.

“I can have it done by tomorrow,” she told him. “That will be ten bits.”

“Ten?” He glared right into her eyes. “I’ll give you five.”

Trixie held his gaze defiantly. “Ten bits is already a bargain for that kind of work...”

“No it isn’t. Five bits, take it or leave it.”

"Eight."

"Five."

"Seven..."

"Five," he repeated slowly.

The two ponies kept staring at each other for a while. “Fine,” Trixie eventually conceded, rolling her eyes. “Five bits...”

“Good.” His lips tugged a little bit, almost turning his frown around but still coming short. “See you tomorrow.”

“You’re lucky I can’t afford to turn down customers,” she muttered under her breath while he left.

With a sigh, Trixie stepped back into her wagon. It was a far cry for her previous ones... While those could stage her show in addition to act as her home, this one was barely good enough to live in. It was not even decently furnished, with only a bed in the rear, a multi-purpose table in one corner and the cupboard topped with a mirror that acted as her “bathroom” on the opposite side. As far as wagons went, this was definitely one of the cheapest in existence.

She had still paid all of the money she had left for it. If only she hadn’t spent so much for that stupid amulet...

Trixie closed the door behind her and threw the clock on the table. “Five bits,” she mumbled to herself. “I’ll be grazing in the park for dinner... again.”

With another weary sigh, she walked in front of her mirror, watching her frowning reflection. Opening a drawer with her magic, Trixie levitated her wizard hat on her head, then tied her cape around her shoulders. She smiled at herself for a moment.

“Great and powerful, as always,” she told herself. Her grin slowly faded, until she shook her head. “Patience, Trixie… Give the ponies a few years to forget, then come back… as the greater and powerfuller than ever Trixie!”

A loud knocking took her out of her thoughts. After carefully storing her precious attire and hoping for a customer that wouldn’t be cheap, she went to open the door.

A large earth pony was standing outside. Between his muscular build, the scowl on his face and the drab colors of his dark brown coat and black mane, that stallion looked like he didn’t even know the meaning of the word “fun”. On top of it, he was clad in one of the cheap suits of armor that the local guard used.

“What can the grea– What can I do for you?” Trixie asked, doing her best to sound amiable.

“Step outside the wagon, please,” he answered her with a gruff voice.

Deciding to avoid troubles if possible, Trixie simply complied and came out, stopping in front of the rugged guard. “Is there a problem, mister...” She trailed off, waiting for him to fill the blank.

“Nightstick. And it's 'seargeant', not mister.” He looked her up and down, as if he was appraising her for something. “We’ll see if there are any problems...” He nodded towards the wagon. “Mind if I take a look?”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Do you have anything to hide?”

“No, I don't.”

“Then you won’t mind, will you?”

“Not at all,” she said through clenched teeth. “Go ahead.” Trixie waited a couple of minutes while the guard disappeared inside.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked as he came back out.

“Maybe... Do you have a proper authorization for staying here?”

“I don’t need one if I stay less than eight days. I know the law.”

“So, you’ve declared yourself at the city hall, of course.”

She narrowed her eyes and did her best to remain courteous. “Obviously.”

“I’ll check...” Nightstick kept watching Trixie, not even attempting to hide his contempt.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than harass me?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, miss Trixie. I know your kind.”

Trixie glared at him, hardly believing his words. “My kind? Really? And what kind is that, exactly?”

“Transients, drifters, wanderers... mustangs.”

Trixie’s ears twitched at that last word.

“Yeah,” he continued, a wicked-looking smirk appearing on his lips, “You’re a wild mustang, aren’t you?”

Trixie remained silent, glaring daggers at the annoying guard.

“Wait one second,” Twilight interrupted. Trixie blinked a few times, her display vanishing into nothingness. “You’re a mustang?”

Trixie sighed. “Yes. Is that important?”

“Oh, uh... No, not really. I was just curious...”

“How come you don’t have a funny accent?” Pinkie Pie asked with her usual chipper voice.

Trixie groaned and rolled her eyes. “I learned to speak without it. Nopony takes magicians seriously if they don’t sound like Canterlotians.”

“You just got rid of it?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is that even possible? Hah! Can you imagine Applejack speaking without her accent?”

The mare in question cleared her throat and spoke with a flawless Manehatten inflection: “Whatever do you mean, Rainbow? I am quite certain that I don’t have any accent...”

Silence fell in the tent, until Applejack snickered, then broke into laughter. “Y'all should see the look on your faces!”

Pinkie was quick to join the laughter and soon followed by the other mares, except for Trixie...

Twilight shushed them after she caught the look on Trixie's face. “Settle down, girls. We’re getting off track here...”

They calmed down while Trixie concentrated back on her spell. The invoked image came back, showing the scowling guard...

“Everypony knows how this goes,” he said with a sneer. “You wild ponies drift into town and by some mysterious coincidence, things start to go missing immediately. And by another incredible coincidence, you’re far away soon after... You know how guards are. We don’t like coincidences.”

Trixie ground her teeth together, took a few deep breath and tried to ignore the dozens of insults that were trying to make their way out of her mouth. “Are you seriously implying what I think you are?” she finally asked, her voice straining to remain levelled.

“I’m not implying anything,” he answered while trying to sound casual. “But here’s some friendly advice: maybe you should get out of town while I don’t have any reason to arrest you.”

“Congratulations...” Trixie said flatly. “I have traveled all across Equestria and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as revolting as you.”

“What are you running away from, anyways?”

“Nothing,” Trixie answered sharply. “I just don’t like staying in one place for long. That’s not a crime, is it?”

Nightstick scoffed. “If you like wandering so much, why don’t you go back to Mustangia?”

“And why don’t you go back to whatever pigpen you crawled out of?”

Nightstick narrowed his eyes and took a step toward Trixie. He was a good head taller and much wider than her, but she refused to give up even a millimeter of ground.

“You should watch your mouth,” he said slowly. “Especially if there isn’t anypony else around to hear it.” He reached back to his belt and grabbed his namesake in his mouth.

The two ponies froze when a new voice sounded from behind them. “Is something the matter?”

Trixie turned to see a unicorn stallion heading towards her. “Should I call for help?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

Nightstick grunted and put his weapon back in place. “No. I‘m done here.” He walked away, giving Trixie a last glance over his shoulder. “I’ll keep my eyes on you...”

Trixie snorted in frustration, but simply turned her back to the disgusting guard.

“What was that all about?” the other stallion asked.

“Nothing, really,” she answered sourly. “That guard was just doing his best to remind me of how stupid some ponies can be.”

The other pony tilted his head to the side, giving her a puzzled look. Trixie took a few seconds to examine him. His coat was a dark blue, almost black, which made a stark contrast with the bright silver mane that flowed down his neck in long, smooth locks. A trio of shooting stars were shining brightly on his flank.

He cleared his throat, making Trixie jump a bit when she realized that she appeared to be checking his rump. Blushing, she focused on his face instead. Golden eyes were watching her with both curiosity and amusement. Judging by his face, Trixie came to two conclusions: first, that he was rather young, most likely in his twenties, and second, that he was quite a fine looking specimen.

“Thank you for your intervention,” she said with a smile that felt natural, for once. “That guard was getting on my nerves faster than you can imagine.”

The stallion chuckled. “Glad I could help.”

“Is there something I can do for you? Or were you just passing by?”

“That depends... Are you ‘the great and powerful Trixie’?”

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Is he a fan? No, I don’t have any of those anymore… Another pony who wants to laugh at me, probably… Ugh. Let’s just get this over with.”

Taking an important air, she answered him. “Yes, I am the great and powerful Trixie. And what do you want from Trixie?” She turned her nose up a little, falling into her old stage persona by reflex.

The stallion smiled warmly. “Great! Let me introduce myself: my name is Star Trail, I live here in Hockton with my family. My parents own a farm and I help them out, but the thing is...” He sighed. “I want to study magic. I’ve always wanted to study magic, but unfortunately, my parents cannot afford to send me to Canterlot…

“So... I was wondering, since you are a renowned and skilled unicorn... Could you give me some lessons in magic?”

Trixie clicked her tongue. “Through all her travels, Trixie has learned some tricks from other unicorns, but most of her knowledge came from practice and a lot of trial and error... Trixie does not think that she can teach you that kind of skills, not to mention that she does not have the patience for a pupil.”

“Please?” Star Trail insisted, giving her pleading puppy eyes. “You've got to give me a chance! It’s so hard to find a unicorn who knows advanced magic around here...”

Trixie closed her eyes and turned her nose high in the air. Cute or not, she didn’t have time to take care of an annoying apprentice asking her inane questions all day long...

“I can pay for the lessons,” he said, making Trixie’s ears twitch and turn towards him. “I don’t have that much money to spare, but I could give you... ten bits for each lesson?”

She opened one eye to look at him... He seemed serious... and the bits certainly wouldn’t hurt.

“Hmmm… Very well,” she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. “Trixie will give you a chance to prove yourself as a worthy apprentice.”

“Yes!” he shouted with a smile. “Thank you, Trixie, you won’t regret this.” She was almost crushed by a powerful hug.

Trixie wheezed feebly as all the air was squeezed out of her lungs. “I’m regretting it already...”

After what felt like an eternity, Star Trail let go and stepped back. “So, what do we begin with?”

Trixie took a second to recompose herself, then smirked at her new and overeager apprentice. “Do you think you would be able to repair a broken alarm clock?”

The following day, Trixie woke up in a good mood. After all, it was much easier to get a good night sleep after a satisfying meal and thanks to Star Trail, she had been able to buy enough food for dinner and breakfast. Now if only she could afford a spa session instead of dunking herself in the river when nopony was looking...

Star Trail was even a good student, much more talented than she had expected. She only had to explain to him how the enchantments in the clock were supposed to work and he quickly found and repaired the defective ones. He even did it faster than Trixie would have done herself.

She smiled at the prospect of more easy bits coming her way.

A few hours later, Star Trail knocked on her wagon’s door and she joined him outside to discuss the day’s lessons. He quickly started questioning her on teleportation.

As her answer, Trixie pointed at a flower pot standing on a nearby window sill. Her magic shone briefly over it and the pot disappeared with a poof, appearing instantly at her feet in a cloud of pink magic. She concentrated and teleported it back to its place to complete her demonstration.

“Can you teleport yourself?” Star Trail asked her.

“Teleportation is easier with small, inanimate objects... Trixie can use it on something the size of a bunny, but not on herself or another pony,” she explained. "At least not without the alicorn amulet," she reminded herself bitterly.

“Well,” Star Trail said while looking for something in his sadllebags. “I’ve found this in an bookstore…” An old book levitated in the air, wrapped in his dark blue magic. Star Trail opened it to a specific page and held it for Trixie to read.

“This is… An advanced teleportation spell?” Star Trail grinned and nodded. Raising an eyebrow, Trixie hummed while she kept reading. “If I understand this right, this spell is powerful enough to teleport as many as ten ponies at a time and over… a hundred miles?” Her brow furrowed at the outlandish distance. “That can’t be right. Nopony can teleport that far… Well, maybe Princess Celestia, but not any regular unicorn…”

“It takes several unicorns to supply the magic,” Star Trail said, walking next to Trixie and pointing at the corresponding part in the text. “And I think this is the maximum that was ever achieved, not the average one…”

“Maybe,” Trixie said while tapping a hoof on her chin. “So you want to give it a try?”

“Yes! I’ve always had trouble with modern teleportation spells, but this one uses a completely different approach in the pattern of thaumaturgic energy. If we can make this work, I’m sure that I’ll eventually be able to come up with a simpler version, for individual use.”

“Well, we could always try…”

Trixie and Star Trail spent the next hour studying the complete workings of the spell. One unicorn’s magic was supposed to set the path for the teleportation, while another took charge of transferring the ponies along. Extra unicorns could be used to provide additional power, but two were enough for a basic teleportation.

“I wonder why this spell isn’t more widely used,” Trixie said, “it’s complicated, but not overly so…”

“Maybe it’s less efficient than the book makes it to be,” Star Trail answered with a shrug. “Anyways, should we give it a try?”

Trixie nodded. “You take care of the destination and I’ll do the rest.”

“Alright.”

Both unicorns focused their magic. Star Trail's dark blue and Trixie’s pink swirled around each other, combining into a sphere that quickly expanded as they both pumped more power inside. A flash suddenly blinded Trixie.

She could only see white, even with her eyelids closed... After a few seconds, the light seemed to recede and she opened her eyes. This time, she saw only darkness. The air was very hot and dry and her ears picked up the sound of the wind blowing through a narrow passage, like ghostly whispers.

Trixie turned her head around, trying to identify her location, but there was only darkness in every direction. For a brief second, she feared that she had been definitely blinded and she let out a relieved breath when the area was lit up by the pinkish light of her horn.

She was surrounded by rock: around her, above her, under her... She tapped a hoof on the stone, as if to check that that it was real. A few paces away, Star Trail was similarly observing his surroundings, his brow furrowed.

“Where are we?” Trixie asked.

“I don’t know. We were supposed to teleport on the other side of town...”

Trixie turned around. “Are there any caves in town?”

“I don’t think so. There aren’t even any mountains...”

Trixie felt sweat starting to pearl on her coat, the heat quickly making her uncomfortable. She could feel some wind rushing through the cave, but it was not cool and pleasant. Instead, it was hot and carried with it hints of many disgusting smells, a mixture of ammonia, rotten eggs and other swamp emanations. Not to mention the constant noise that it caused, sounding like voices whispering constantly in her ears, as if telling her something just a little too quietly to be understood, no matter how much she tried to.

“This place is creepy...” Star Trail said quietly, as if he was afraid to disturb someone of something by speaking too loudly.

Trixie nodded and froze when she heard what sounded like a pained moaning. She couldn’t place the origin of the sound, as if it had been coming from everywhere at once... Once it died down, she heard instead chittering sounds, like clawed paws stepping quickly on stone.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said urgently. “We should give that teleportation spell another try... Right now.”

Star Trail nodded, his eyes sweeping around nervously. The two unicorns went in position and activated their magic once again. A few seconds later, Trixie’s vision was again overwhelmed by a bright flash.

The first thing that she noticed was that the heat was gone. Instead, she shivered as her sweat added an extra layer of cold to the already chilly air. The noxious smells had been replaced by ones that she couldn’t quite place. They didn’t seem natural, but were neither good or bad. Just… alien.

As her vision came back, Trixie saw an iron wall in front of her. It had been painted brown at some point, but most of it was chipped and showing either grey metal or plain rust. Looking up, she saw a metallic frame supporting window panes, making up a completely transparent roof. The glass was quite dirty, sporting dark stains in many places, but what really caught her eye was what she could see through.

The sky was red-orange, with clouds of dust swirling around in violent winds. There was only a little bleak light making it through and no matter where she looked, neither the sun nor the moon could be seen...

Author's Note

On behalf of the UAC, welcome to Mars City...

This story made me start a new playthrough of Doom 3 today... For research purposes, of course !