Chapter 12: There Came A Knock

“So, what now?” First Light asked as she lay out the sleeping bag, back in the trailer.

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked, tallying up the few bits ponies had donated after the show.

“Can we stay for a couple more days?” First Light asked, making puppy dog eyes. “I really want to see them again!”

“Them who?” Trixie cocked her head.

“Twilight and them.” First Light pointed in the general direction of the library.

“I-I...” Trixie began uneasily. “I guess... That would be alright... But just for a few more days. We should really keep moving. It is a travelling show after all.”

“Just until they get back.” First Light nodded, hoping her friends would return sooner rather than later. There was something about not knowing that just tugged in the back of First Light's mind. It was a feeling she could not describe, a mixture of fear and dread, not strong enough to make her panic, but just enough to make her uncomfortable.

The fact that her emotions were so odd made it hard for First Light to think straight. Her usually talkative personality seemed to fade as she quietly crawled into her sleeping bag.

Trixie turned to First Light with a look of concern on her face. She knew that something was bothering her pink Alicorn friend. She sighed slightly, took off her hat and blew out the candle which had illuminated the trailer. “Good night, First Light.”

“Yeah.” First Light nodded, having not really heard what Trixie had said. She rolled over in her sleeping bag and stared at the wall. Her mind began to spin about what her friends could possibly have been doing. She hoped it wouldn't keep them. But what if they were having fun? She shouldn't hope for them to stop having fun. That wouldn't be very nice. All of the possibilities and other thoughts rolled into her mind, making it impossible for her to sleep.

Eventually, though, the thoughts became hard to discern between as her fatigue took its hold. Thoughts became just collections of meaningless words, the words became gibberish, and the gibberish became white noise in the back of her mind. Though her mind was still racing, First Light lost her will to stay awake, and the darkness that surrounded her came together as her eyes shut, her breathing slowed, and her nervous heart beat steadily in her little pink chest.

There came a knock.

Then another.

Then three more.

The eyes of the pink Alicorn fluttered open as she realized the knocks were not from a dream. In fact, she had not dreamed at all that night. But she could not linger upon that thought, as the knocking became unbearable.

Knock.

“Ugh...” Trixie groaned from her bed. “Someone kill it...”

“Don't worry...” First Light rolled onto her stomach and kicked her way across the wooden floor, almost like swimming. “I got this...” Her eyes were still closed, but she could sort of, kind of guess where she may or may not be maybe going.

Knock.

When her horn hit the door with a hard tick, First Light peeled her face off of the floor to look up at the handle. Reaching with a hoof, she realized that the handle was too far away for her. First Light groaned. Instead of getting up, she wiggled her whole leg to try and stretch it towards the door, only to get a tired hoof. Like a cat batting at a toy, she made two or three more swipes at the handle. In defeat, she let her leg drop, slapping against the door. She bobbed her head back and forth off the door, hitting her horn off the wood in defeat.

Knock.

Then an idea occurred to her. She had a horn. Sighing loudly and rolling away from the door, First Light used her magic to pull the door open. As a cool morning breeze wafted into the room, First Light turned her head to see who had been knocking.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!” An excited pink pony squealed, causing Trixie to moan loudly and cover her ears, and First Light to smile broadly.

“P-Pinkie Pie!” First Light felt like she would burst, her voice was overcome with laughter and her eyes began to water.

“We told her to wait until the sun was up, but she couldn't wait.” A purple Alicorn blushed as she peered into the small trailer.

“Twilight!” First Light laughed, her grin as big as could be. She stood up quickly and hopped out the door, enveloping Pinkie Pie in a back-shattering hug. She noticed all of the others were gathered just outside of the trailer as well; Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash. “How did you-”

“It's all anypony's been talking about today.” Rarity stated, a smile on her face. “They kept asking if we had seen the show last night.”

“An' we asked, what show?” Applejack added.

A streak of rainbow coloured light surged forward, coming to rest at the door. “They all just told us to look over here.”

“Rainbow!” First Light giggled uncontrollably, dropping Pinkie Pie. By now, Trixie sat uneasily on the other side of the trailer. She recognized the ponies too, but did not connect them with fond memories.

“Sorry we didn't see the show.” Fluttershy whispered, smiling.

“It's alright by me!” First Light giggled, wiping tears from her eyes. “I'm just happy to see you guys.”

“Really?” Pinkie cocked her head so much that her neck made a cracking noise. “Normally, when I cry, it's because something awful happened!”

“Like a forest fire, or a Hurricane, or a basket of kittens got a little damp in the rain?” First Light added, still laughing.

“YES!” Pinkie Pie nodded to the point where it looked like her head was vibrating.

“So, where were you girls yesterday?” First Light asked, concern mixed into her recovering laughter. When Twilight opened her mouth to answer, though, First Light slapped a hoof over her friend's muzzle. “Y'know what? It doesn't matter. What matters is you guys are here, and I'm the happiest mare alive. Except probably Celestia, seeing as she is a princess, and ruler of Equestria. Which begs the question, will she ever find a prince and become queen of Equestria? And what about Luna? Will she ever find true love? What about-”

“Easy, there.” Applejack interrupted. “We've got plenty of time to ask all the questions in the world. How about your show?”

“Oh, yes!” Rarity nodded. “I'm sure we all would love to see it.”

“I do have just one little question.” Rainbow Dash began, halting the idea of the show for a moment. “Where did you get this trailer?”

“Oh, it's not mine.” First Light shook her head. “Didn't anypony tell you?”

“Tell us what?” Applejack looked over at the faded letters on the trailer.

Stepping back into the trailer, First Light looked over to Trixie, who was sitting in the corner, a hoof covering her mouth nervously. When she saw First Light, and realized what was happening, she made a slashing motion across her throat.

“Oh, Trixie, you so cray-cray.” First Light giggled again. At that, Trixie pulled her hat down over her eyes in frustration, audibly groaning.

“Trixie?” Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all asked in unison.

“Trixie.” First Light nodded.

“Trixie.” Trixie muttered.