Be Careful What You Wish For
The Sun rose on Ponyville, as it did every morning. Another uneventful day to take note of, making this the third straight month in a row nothing had happened since Twilight's journey to that strange new world, and what an... Interesting experience that was, to say the least. Still; the Princess wondered why in Equestria not even the slightest incident had happened; normally accident-prone Ponyville was assaulted by some form of major catastrophe long before now, or at the very least she and her friends would find themselves in some kind of dilemma, though this all-too familiar situation had ended rather poorly last time. Perhaps she shouldn't worry about it; a little respite after the series of events that made up her now-prolonged life would be for the better, in the long run.
Still; Twilight couldn't help that one part of her, nestled among other thoughts; yearning for something, anything to happen.
"You bored too, Twilight?" Spike, her closest friend and personal servant asked as he finished organizing the books.
"Well... I'd be lying if I said no." Twilight admitted; looking out one of the library's windows. It was a beautiful day... As it had been many times before. If only life were picture-perfect, she might be perfectly content going on about her daily routine. In all honesty, life was picture-perfect for most ponies, but then again; most ponies never faced the God of Chaos himself, redeemed a corrupted princess or crossed dimensional barriers in some sort of strange, though somehow still amusing adventure. Twilight had come to accept, at this point, that she was not at all like most ponies, and that she was meant to do much more with her life than live like Everypony else. Her status as a Princess was proof enough of this, but on the same hand; what would everypony else think of her if she stopped at nothing to fulfill whatever great destiny lay before her? She couldn't leave them behind, she wouldn't; even if it meant staying stuck in these doldrums of fate for a thousand years.
"Maybe a walk would make you feel a bit better?" Spike suggested, interrupted Twilight from her conflicted thoughts.
"Yeah... Maybe." She said, putting on a smile. "Right, I guess I'll be back s..." The Princess said, standing in preparation for her departure, interrupted by something very peculiar.
A magical aura enveloped Twilight's body; one created by herself unintentionally and unwillingly. With barely any time to realize something was terribly, terribly wrong; the Alicorn Princess found herself catapulted to Celestia-knows-where, overtaken by a feeling of weightlessness as she flowed through the fabric of the world, deposited somewhere... Somewhere dark and wet. Expelling water from her mouth before it could find its way where it wasn't wanted, she looked up to realize she had teleported into a pool, a rather deep one at that. She panicked; kicking and struggling, trying desperately to reach the surface for air; the light seeming to move farther and farther away with each bit of progress she made. Then the light began to fade; what little air was left in her lungs used up by her panicked kicking; her body screaming for a breath of fresh air. Unable to struggle any longer; Twilight felt consciousness slipping away from her, her mouth opening to release what little air was left in her lungs; rapidly filling with water. Was this how it all ended? Here in the middle of some pool somewhere she just happened to be teleported to? So many unanswered questions that she'd never be able to answer. However, in the brief moments before her vision faded; Twilight could have sworn she saw the outline of a pony swimming towards her... Probably her eyes playing tricks on her; there was no way it could be real, and in moments, it wouldn't matter... Finally, after what seemed like an eternity; Darkness.
Trixie Lulamoon stepped out of her Caravan, which she had brought to a stop here in the clearing around the source of a small spring of water. She took a deep breath of the cool summer breeze, enjoying the feeling of calm and serenity given by such places. The Unicorn found herself on her way to Manehattan to look for opportunities there. She had been offered positions as an actress for plenty of Theatre's; willing to give her a chance sue to a recommendation she'd received from the newest Princess; Twilight Sparkle. As admirable as that was; Trixie simply wasn't the kind to settle down and stay in one place for too long, not until she found what she was really looking for... Which she wasn't too certain of in the first place, come to think of it.
She dipped a hoof in the cool Spring; the water a welcome contrast to the heat of the summer sun. Removing her trademark Hat and Cloak; Trixie stepped into the shallow waters around the edge, nearly slipping on the slick mud underneath, angled towards a small underwater alcove. She managed to get a grip on the rocks, barely having time to settle before seeing a lavender flash from below, followed by air bubbles.
She almost jumped out of the water at this; reassured it wasn't some kind of horrible creature when she felt the familiar energy radiated by a Magic-using Pony... And a powerful one at that, though this power was fading, and quickly. Curious; Trixie took a deep breath and dived beneath the surface; her magic illuminating the small, dark alcove to reveal an Alicorn; one she recognized too well. Trixie watched as her struggles weakened and ceased; a sense of urgency overtaking the show-pony and she swam down towards the suspended figure, which now began to sink. It took her a good minute to reach Twilight Sparkle; the sky-blue Unicorn Mare wrapping her front-hooves around Twilight's shoulders; putting her effort into visualizing the inside of her Caravan, which she remembered well enough.
It took some effort, but the two mares appeared inside Trixie's mobile home; soaked to the bone, though Trixie didn't care; her priorities were saving her first and only true friend.
"T-Twilight!" She exclaimed upon taking a deep breath, followed by a series of short, panicked breaths as she began trying to think of what to do. She positioned herself over Twilight's limp body; her hooves over Twilight's rib cage as she began to apply compressions; forcing water out of Twilight's lungs and, hopefully, letting air back in. "Come on, work; damnit..." She muttered to herself, tears forming in her eyes as she began to wonder if she had been too late... She felt so powerless; her magic incapable of helping in this situation, and her fear of losing a dear friend wasn't helping at all. Her tears began to trickle down her cheeks after a good several minutes of compressions, having gotten most of the water out of Twilight's lungs, now waiting for some indication the Princess could still breath on her own.
A gasp and series of coughs from Twilight brought a sudden sense of relief to Trixie, knowing her friend was indeed still among the land of the living. She was at a loss for words, relaxing completely, forgetting she was still on top of Twilight, and in a position that looked rather odd, considering she was no longer applying compressions.
"Tr-tri... xie?" Twilight asked, her vision returning slowly; the disorientation of her near-death experience clearing at a slow, steady pace.
Before either of them had time to fully recover from the situation before, it seemed fate had something very different in mind for them; Twilight's Teleportation Spell kicking in once more. This time; she and Trixie found themselves high in the air above celestia-knew-where; Twilight was stuck in a cloud, which Trixie merely fell through due to her lack of wings.
"Wh-what!? Twilight, help!" She called out as she fell, trying to grab one of Twilight's hind-legs sticking out of the cloud, slipping off the wet limb easily.
Trixie's scream faded quickly, a rush of adrenaline surging through the recently-revived Princess. A friend of hers was in danger and there was little she could do about it stuck in this cloud! A flame-spell easily dispersed the cloud holding her prisoner, sending Twilight plummeting to the ground as well. She gained control of herself; spreading her wings and turning upright before diving down as fast as her wings could carry her.
Trixie, meanwhile, could see her life flashing before her eyes; from the moment she first laid eyes on this world until now; unable to concentrate, to form a protective shield around her using magic. She didn't know how long she'd been falling for, or how long she had left; resigning herself to her fate when... When somepony grabbed her, a protective shield forming around the both of them; a weak one, but still; it would absorb most of the impact so long as Twilight, whom she assumed was her savior, could maintain it that long.
The two mare's weren't airborne for much longer, either; crashing into the rocks, hilly terrain below, rolling over one-another before eventually settling in a position twice as awkward as the one they'd been in earlier; their lips kept from meeting by barely an inch of air. Trixie blushed and rolled off of Twilight, the two laying there, staring up at the sky taking deep breaths and relaxing; out of immediate danger. They turned their gaze on one-another, both smiling and blushing slightly before standing, looking out over the jagged, rocky hills they'd landed in.
"Wherein Equestria are we...?" Trixie asked.
"I... I don't know. I've never seen this place before..." Twilight said, an ominous feeling overtaking her as she failed to recall reading of any extreme-hill biomes such as this in any of the maps of Equestria and the surrounding area. "I... I think we're lost."
"What do you mean; 'lost'!?" Trixie shouted, falling into panic once more. "O-oh... Ha, I get it; good one, Twilight Sparkle. Ha ha; you had me going there for a moment." The Unicorn said, in denial.
"I'm serious, Trixie; I really don't know where we are." Twilight said; dark clouds gathering on the horizon; surrounding the rocky hill they had crashed on; closing in fast.
"Y-you're not joking...? But Trixie has places to go; ponies to see! W-we can't stay out here; we'll starve o-or freeze, or worse! There could be horrible creatures; the likes of which we've never seen before, o-or maybe barbarians, or perhaps..." Twilight's companion responded; still referring to herself in third person every now and then, a testament to the saying; 'Old habits die hard'.
Twilight stood there, trying to think of what to do; the stress of the day catching up to her quickly, her exhaustion and Trixie's panicked ranting not helping to improve her Disposition at all. "For Celestia's sake, Trixie; shut up!" She eventually shouted, unable to take any more of Trixie's useless panic. This caught the Unicorn Mare completely off-guard; causing her to stop mid-sentence and take it in completely. The Princess stared at the stunned Unicorn for a moment, an awkward silence falling over the hill just as a drop of rain hit Twilight's nose, a light sprinkle showering the hillside, the bulk of the storm bound to hit at any minute. "I... I'm sorry..." Twilight said, feeling guilty about her outburst.
"No; it's alright... One problem at a time, I guess." Trixie said, her ears flat against her head as she broke eye contact with the Princess; looking around for some shelter.
Figuring she knew what Trixie meant by this; Twilight began looking around as well, still feeling down; not only had she nearly gotten herself and Trixie killed; she lost her temper with the only other pony she knew for miles around. This day had started out so normal and perfect; what could have possibly gone wrong?
"There!" She heard Trixie exclaim, looking in the direction the Unicorn was pointing to see a small cave in the side of a steep slope.
Just as the rain began to pick up; the Two mares ran for cover, reaching the relative safety of the shelter. Their horns lit up to illuminate the dark interior; the rather small and simple hole in the side of the rock looking as though it hadn't been inhabited by anything larger than a lizard for years. Finally finding a place to rest in the aftermath of all that had happened today; Twilight sat down, taking a deep breath and collecting herself.
It was cold, and likely would be bitterly so once night fell upon this strange new land the two Mares found themselves in. Looking around for a solution to this; Twilight noticed a small pit with a fairly large chunk of ancient volcanic rock sitting in the middle. She concentrated; using her magic to reduce the rock into its molten form. It took every ounce of energy she could muster, but it was worth it; the pool of magma in the middle of the cave providing some temporary warmth.
"It must be great, having real power." Trixie said, speaking to Twilight again after a time. "At least your magic is useful in dire situations; unlike mine."
"Trixie... Don't do that to yourself. You have a lot of potential, too. Nopony is useless; we all have our place in this world, all we have to do is find it." Twilight said in a bid to reassure her friend. "I... I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. You saved my life; I can't thank you enough for that. To be honest; I'm glad at least somepony I know is here with me."
Trixie listened throughout Twilight's speech; giving the Princess her attention, as there was little else to do. She could tell Twilight was being sincere, and it made her feel somewhat better; being in the presence of somepony who was as kind and forgiving as Twilight. She reflected on the events of the day; from her departure from Manehattan to this point in time here and now. It was amazing; how quickly things went from bad to worse, and how on several occasions they just barely managed to pull it together. Twilight had nearly drowned; she had nearly fallen to her doom; they found themselves in an unexplored land, celestia-knows how far away from the nearest signs of life... All they had now was each other, and Trixie was very much glad they were both alive, well, and in good company.
"I'm glad too..." Trixie said after a time, just as Twilight was about to give up hope the Unicorn would respond. "I... I'm sorry I lost my cool earlier. Thank you for saving me when I fell, and... I hope you're right."
Twilight smiled and scooted a bit closer to the blue Unicorn, who did so as well. Both were fairly exhausted from the eventful day; curling up next to each other and falling asleep next to each other; the steady pattering of the rain outside all they heard as they drifted off.
Twilight found herself in a dream of some sort; standing alongside Trixie on the outskirts of a settlement; the hills off in the distance to her right. Ponies did indeed seem to inhabit this land, though something was a tad off... She saw nothing but Earth Ponies in this settlement, and none seemed too happy to see her and Trixie. They surrounded the two Mares; casting sticks and stones at them both, calling them Witches and Heathens; closing in on the two with hatred and Malice in their eyes...
"Twilight!" She heard Trixie say as the horde descended upon them, dragging the two off to Celestia-knows-where, shaking her violently and... "Twilight, wake up!" She heard Trixie say again, finding it very odd she'd say that in this situation.
Reluctantly; the Alicorn opened her eyes, greeted by Trixie; who seemed eager to start the day.
"Come on; The Great and Powerful Trixie would very much like to see the back of this place." She said, apparently back to her normal self, prodding at Twilight with a hoof until the Princess reluctantly rose, wiping her eyes and yawning.
"What's got you all worked up?" Twilight asked, taking a moment to let the disorientation of sleep pass before standing completely.
"Well; Trixie awoke much earlier than this and was out searching for anything potentially edible when she saw fires in the distance, and the vague shape of buildings. Trixie then came to the conclusion that these must be signs of somewhat intelligent life and decided to come and get you." The Unicorn replied, bouncing excitedly over to the mouth of the cave. "Come on; let's get going!"
"A-alright..." Twilight replied, wondering if perhaps her dream and this news were connected in some way... It could very well have been coincidence, but on the other hand... She would be ready in case anything were to go wrong.
The two embarked for the town Trixie had seen; traversing the rough and jagged terrain; filled with deep slopes and plenty tripping hazards. Still; within the hour they had left the worst of the hills behind; the land smoothing out and flattening until they stood on a grassy plain; the vague shapes Trixie had seen in the distance clearing the closer they got; the two fairly confident they were buildings, albeit unlike any they'd seen before. Trixie trotted along as a brisk pace, while Twilight managed to keep up, obviously worried.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Trixie asked, having noticed her friend's troubled expression since before they had left; deciding to give it some time before addressing the issue.
"Hm? Oh... I... I had a dream last night..."
"Oh?"
"I... I can't remember all the details; but you and I stood in a town populated by ponies, and we were attacked by an angry mob shortly after."
Trixie slowed and stopped, taking a moment to contemplate this; understanding the occasionally prophetic powers of dreams. "I see... Very well, then; we shall proceed with caution. Fear not, Twilight; the Great and Powerful Trixie shall protect us from whatever danger may befall us!"
Twilight couldn't help but smile at this; happy to see Trixie so upbeat after Yesterday. Confident that together they could work themselves out of trouble; she and Trixie walked towards the town in the distance together; praying to Celestia herself Twilight's dream last night had been a mere coincidence.
