Wish

Chapter 3

We were now back on the road as I anxiously await for the next show. After the sun has begun its setting, and violet takes over the sky; the wagon stops, and I can hear voices outside. Before I could even stand and prepare myself, Trixie steps in saying that this wasn’t the town we were headed for and just thought that we should use this as a rehearsal. Nevertheless, I was ready to treat this as the actual show. She said the name of the town is Shine Village, so I expected to see a crowd of brightly colored ponies with lit up faces. Once I stepped onto the stage, and got a good look at the town, I was frozen solid in shock by what I had seen. The town looked like a bit of a struggling one. Some of the buildings looked out of shape, and the ponies were dressed in raggedy attire. At the sight of them, I was reluctant to begin my performance as I had not expected to see a crowd such as this one. Despite their appearances, Trixie’s magic seemed to have been lifting their spirits, so I was ready to continue and give them a show. At this time, I have gotten comfortable with being on the stage, and was ready to have fun with my performance. I follow Trixie’s advice and toss a few smoke balls here and there while showing off one of the glowing stones. I was up and about, but didn’t want to make myself look too ridiculous. Then, Trixie had done something I had not expected her to do. She called an audience member up to the stage. I didn’t quite see who she had picked, but once the volunteer had stepped onto the stage, my energy had sunk down deep unable to be brought back. A young filly with a coat of gray and long white mane that curls above her eyes steps up onto the stage. As the light of the stage shines upon her, I realize quickly that her coat isn’t really gray. It is only covered in dirt in large patches, and I can see that her coat is actually a beige color. She cautiously walks a considerable distance away from me towards Trixie. That look on her face is something that felt familiar to me. There was no smile, no glimmer in her eyes, not a single sign of happiness about her. I have worn that face once, and I never want to bear it again. Seeing it on another compels me to erase it so that she may never hold that face again.

“Hello little filly! And would your name be?” Trixie asks, but the filly’s eyes are glued onto me watching worriedly.

“. . . C-Candle Light.” She murmurs.

“Well Candle Light, would you care to meet the being I have brought here?” She shakes her head, and attempts to hide herself from me behind Trixie. “Now, now, little one. There is no need to be afraid. He is kind, and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“. . . Are you sure?”

“Yes, Trixie is sure.” The filly slowly comes out of hiding and cautiously starts towards me. Once she is close enough I kneel down so that we can meet eye to eye while carefully at the same time so that I do not startle her.

“. . . Hello.” I whisper to her. She gasps, and her eyes widen at the sound of my voice.

“Y-You can talk?”

“Of course I can,” I say, along with a slight chuckle. “Are your Mom and Dad in the crowd?”

“My Daddy is,” she says, pointing to a stallion in the front of the crowd. It’s hard to tell what color his coat is, but I believe it’s a vanilla white, and he has a dull orange mane. He seems to be watching us carefully and nervously.

“What about Mommy?” I ask, trying to appeal to her way of speaking.

“. . . She’s sick.”

“With what? A cold?”

“I don’t know, but Daddy always cries.” Her response feels like a quick jab to my heart. I feel lost on what to say next. I can feel my heart beginning to tremble. This is a new kind of sadness that I haven’t felt before. Compared to the way I felt when I lied in the cold, wet grass doesn’t compare to what I’m feeling now. My voice struggles to speak the words trying to be forced from my mouth.

“W-Well I . . . I hope she feels better soon. And umm. . .” I can feel the water building up behind my eyes suddenly drip down. I hurriedly wipe it away and try to collect myself to continue speaking. However, I am unsure of what else to say. A thought peeks into my mind, and I let it out without any prior thinking as if it were an instinct. “I-I can tell you have a strong spirit. . . Let it stay that way. A-And no matter how bad things get, promise me that you’ll stay strong. . . Do you promise?”

“Y-Yes.” I can hear the same struggling appear in her voice just as mine, but I don’t want her to become upset. So I try to lighten up the conversation.

“Do you have any friends Candle Light?’

“Not really.”

“No? Well guess what?” I lean in a little so that I can share what I’m about to say secretively. Just as I hoped, she leans in closer as well. “Just a little secret between you and me. I don’t have very many friends either.” I whisper.

“You don’t?” She asks in surprise as if she thought I would actually have a whole lot of friends. With my voice feeling weak, I shake my head to respond instead. “Well then . . . maybe we could be friends?”

“You’d really want to be friends with me?”

“I thought you were scary, but you’re actually a nice monster.” The way she said that with such innocence makes my tears halt and my face smile.

“. . . Thanks. That really means a lot. Well Candle Light, now that we’re friends, I want you to have this.” I hold out the glowing stone, and her eyes become hypnotized by the light.

“M-Me?”

“That’s right. Be careful not to lose it, because it’s something really special.” She picks up the stone from my palm with her teeth and holds it in her mouth.

“Thank you!” She says with a smile, barely understandable with the stone grasped between her teeth.

“You’re welcome.” She then joyfully trots off the stage back to her Father. Once they meet, he embraces her tightly, and she immediately begins talking. I no longer see the sadness about her face. Even though I feel glad that I was able to shut out that frown and replace it with a smile, I can’t help but remember that her Father cries for her Mother’s illness. It worries me that my small act to bring her some relief from these times may be in vain. What if her Mother’s end is near? I have never thought about death until now, it feels like something I might never understand. To breathe the air, to see what is to see, and suddenly to have that taken away from you. It’s something I never want to think about. In the back of my mind I believe I know what reality holds for the young filly. I hope that she remembers what I have said, the sadness she may experience until then is something I hope that doesn’t have to happen.

“Thank you Miss Candle Light for being our volunteer tonight! But I’m afraid we must now depart.” Trixie fills the stage with smoke and I go back into hiding behind the curtain as a short breeze past my face reminds me that a stream of tears has traveled down my cheeks. I walk back into the trailer once Trixie finishes closing off the show and shuts the curtains. I sit myself down against a wall trying to try and block out my thoughts and attempting to convince myself that I had done the right thing, and that it was all I could have done. The name of this place is Shine Village? I believe that name is a lie all on its own. Nothing about this place was bright, everything was dark and gray. If only there was more we could have done, but considering the now cheery voices outside, I know that what we gave them was probably the more than they have ever gotten. I just need to remind myself that. Trixie opens the door and steps inside. “What you did back there was very kind. . . When you told that filly about her spirit. . . You got that from the note I took from you. You know that filly reminds me of me when I was a child. I know exactly what she’s going through.” I look up at Trixie eager to hear what else she has to say, but instead refuses. “I don’t want to speak any more about this. The memory it . . . it haunts me.” Just as I am about to accept this fact and rest my head against the wall she closes the door behind her and stays in the room.

“But. . . I feel comfortable around you. . . I’m not sure why. I thought you were just some animal unable to understand anything. But I can see now that I was wrong.” She herself leans against the wall near the door and takes a breath of preparation. “When I was a filly my Mother had caught a terminal disease. The doctors couldn’t figure out what it was and couldn’t provide a cure, only treatment. Also, believe it or not, I wasn’t a very popular filly back then. Others would point, laugh, and shun me whenever I would attempt to cast a spell for I could never get it right. My full name is actually Trixie Lulamoon, so they would call me Trixie Losermoon back in grade school. It got worse growing up. Nopony wanted anything to do with me, and afterwards I had gotten so frustrated that I developed this attitude toward them that gave them a reason to avoid me. I cannot recall ever having one friend or even a decent conversation a single pony. Only my Mother was there for me . . . and to learn that she was slowly slipping away and that there was nothing I could do just—” I can hear Trixie’s voice start to struggle as she hopelessly leans her head against the wall. My voice has no words as I am only focused on listening while imagining a picture of her speech in my head. How awful it must’ve been to watch her mother dwindle away out of her grasp. “I was still struggling at school; it eventually got to the point to where I was ready to give up on everything. Give up on the teachings, give up on my dreams, and give up on ever finding a friend. But she kept me moving forward. I wanted to make her proud of me, but I knew I was failing. Every day I would be at her bedside after school and before bed. She always knew how to make me feel better. . . Until that dreaded day came. . . The day she left. It feels like the memory is burned in my mind. I watched as the life faded from her eyes as she spoke her last words. . . I will never forget that night. I cried, and I cried, and I cried; but I knew it wouldn’t bring her back. Every night from then on I would look to the stars hoping that maybe . . . just maybe . . . that my wish would come true.”

“. . . What did you wish for . . . ?” I ask.

“To see her one last time. . . But I know that no amount of magic can ever do that. I don’t want to see this happen to any other pony. After our show I gave Candle Light’s Father some bits to help, but I don’t think it will be enough to heal her Mother . . . It was so strange, even though the ponies that live here don’t have much they were trying to give me payment for the show. They kept persisting, but finally after repeatedly refusing they had given up. I explained to them that they need it more than me. Why would they even attempt at paying me with what little they have? . . . We should return here soon, I feel that there is more we can do than just perform. I think we can help. Are you with me?”

“Always.” I answer promptly.

“Th-Thank you. . . I’m going to go and get this wagon moving. We’ll get to our next show and raise as much money as we can to try and help Shine Village. I’m sorry that I didn’t hold up to my promise about having the rest of the day just for us, but . . . I hope you understand that it’s to prevent that young filly from experiencing what I have. We’ll do it another day,” she says, while getting herself together before leaving the room. I feel relieved now that Trixie wants to take action to help this town, but I don’t feel any better with the image of how I imagine Trixie’s mother laying in a cold, white bed covered in a wrinkly sheet with Trixie leaning against it. The thought distracted me from saying anything further to Trixie. I feel like I should have kept her in the room to talk a little more and express to her how sorry I feel, and expand upon how I will always be there. Even though we’ve only known each other for a few days, I’ve been feeling that there’s something keeping me clung to her like a dog to its master. I never want to leave her side, not even for a moment. I do feel a bit disappointed, however, that the rest of the day to ourselves has been pushed aside; but I respect Trixie’s decision to help Shine Village. I do understand that she only doesn’t want what happened to her happen to another. I had better make this next show my best thus far so that we may raise enough money.

The wood creaks and the gears turn as we are back on our way. Still leaning against the wall I’ve been peaking out through the cracks in the wood to watch as the woods pass on by. I feel so relaxed by the sounds of crickets chirping and the occasional hoot of an owl outside that I’m about ready to doze off. My ears are beginning to capture the sounds of rushing water. Moving about from crack to crack to get a better look I find that we are about to cross over a wide river. It looks incredible as the moonlight glimmers off its waves. I soon find myself jolting from the tranquility of sounds by the intrusion of a loud noise and the tilting of the trailer. Once it stops I notice that I am leaning heavily on the wall and not the floor with my arms spread out along the sides. I feel too frozen to even try and move, but I force myself to peak out once more to the outside. I see that the river we are right above the river and are tilted off the edge of a wooden bridge. One of the wheels has broken through one of the boards. All I can hear is the rushing of water, and the sounds of creaking wood enters along with it. This bridge must be too weak to withstand the weight of the trailer.

Before I can even try to break myself from this state of shock and maybe try to act the wood beneath the wagon collapses and we plummet down. Everything in the trailer is flying across the room along with me. Slamming against the walls, the floor, and the walls again as we spiral our way down. My body smashes against a wall once we break through the water’s surface. Water begins flowing in through the cracks and crevasses quickly filling the floor with a thin sheet of it. The wood starts to weaken allowing more water to enter filling up the room closer to my knees. I can feel the trailer bob up and down as soon as it comes back up to the surface. I peak out once more to see that we are indeed afloat in the river, and I almost feel relieved that we aren’t sinking down. Then my ears listen in very curiously as they can hear something off in the distance that is gradually getting louder. A loud roaring draws nearer as I watch us drift closer to the end of the river. Before I can even call out Trixie’s name for help we flow down the waterfall without recourse. My voice only knows to shout all the way down until suddenly being cut off from its vision and having darkness take over.

The noise of the water has calmed down rather quickly, and my body feels weightless. Light shines onto my eyes as soon as the darkness clears. The sun is above me with a few white clouds to accompany it. I can hear birds singing and leaves rustling on both sides of me. Tree branches will occasionally hide the sunlight and cover me in their thin shadows. I feel around near me expecting to feel tall grass, but instead a feel hard wood. I attempt to lift myself up and a pain shoots throughout my back. It feels so sore, but I manage to sit myself up regardless. My clothing is somewhat torn and soaked, and the collar around my neck has bent down and has become flimsy. I realize I have been floating on a large fragment of one of the walls from Trixie’s trailer along a river. Turning behind me I notice even more pieces of shattered wood from the wagon as well. The first thought that shoots through my mind is: Where is Trixie? Over and over I call out Trixie’s name but not a single response. I hurriedly scoop my arms through the water to move closer to the soil. Once the wood scrapes along the edge I grip onto the side and leap up off of the wood. Now standing, I search up and down the river for any sign of Trixie, but I find no sight of her. I call out her name louder each time in the vain hopes that she’ll hear me. Still without a response, horrible thoughts reign across my mind. What if something happened to her? What if she had drowned? Distressed, I hit myself in the head to stop myself from thinking. Maybe we just got separated. I’m sure she’s out there somewhere alive and well searching for me. I should do the same, but I do not know where to begin.

The only choice I have is to walk aimlessly through the woods and hope for the best. The forest is so thick with tree branches getting in my way and stones one the leafy ground stumbling me. The mass of leaves of the trees nearly block out the sun entirely making everything covered in shadows. The farther I go and the more trees I pass it seems that there is just a never ending line of trees ahead. Everything looks the same, but looking back I can’t even see or hear the river from which I had entered here. I find a hollow log and sit down. I rest my hands along the rigid mossy bark while obliviously staring out into the shadowed trees. The air is so still, and everything is so quiet. The trees along with the birds have become silent. After a while my body becomes so used to the strange silence until a snap of a tree branch causes me to tense up and frantically looking around for the source of the noise. Everything seems to be clear until two red dots pear out from the shadows. My eyes feel glued to them, and the sound of a growl ruptures the silence. Branches snap and crush as the eyes grow bigger, and the growl louder. A small ray of sunlight shines through a small absence of leaves from the tree top to slightly reveal the face creature. It has a long wooden snout and the head is composed of a mass of grass and leaves. Two small branches protrude from the sides of its head that make them look like ears. I can feel my blood run cold while staring into its crimson eyes. “Run!” A man’s voice shouts. Without as much of a second of hesitation I leap up from the log and sprint as fast as I can through the woods opposite the creature. I can hear it behind me with its deep vicious bark crunching through the leaves. I keep repeating in my mind: Do not stop, do not stop, no matter how tired you get do not stop. “Go on keep running! You know it’s funny, usually Timber Wolves hunt in—” I can hear even more violent crunching of leaves and growling behind me. I cannot resist glancing back to see why this is, but now I regret to have done so. Two more creatures have joined the group making it three of them on the pursuit. “. . . Packs. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. Well, just keep doing what you’re doing.” The voice calmly shares.

My lungs are straining and my legs have lost all feeling but are still moving. I can feel my body ready to give out. “There! Jump down into that leafy canal!” The voice shouts. Without a better idea I throw myself down into the canal as the leaves blanket my body. I can see through a small opening in the leaves as the creatures leap over the canal and continue the chase through the woods. “. . . Alright they’ve cleared. You can come out now.” I push my head out from the leaves and stand while brushing the rest off of my clothes. While trying to catch my breath I start to wonder what that voice was. Perhaps it was just my mind trying to guide me out of danger. “Well, now that we’re alone why don’t we take this time to get aquainted. . .” I then realize this voice is separate from me; it is not my imagination. Where could this voice be coming from and why? I must have hit my head when the wagon crashed and now I’m imagining voices.

“I’m imagining things.” I mutter out loud.

“Umm . . . No you’re not. I am most definitely here, and we have much to talk about.”