Chapter 5: When The Lights Go Down

“Well...” Trixie shifted slightly, pawing at the ground. “I guess it's time.”

It was about midday, and her cart was all packed and set to travel to a new town. She had bought a new wheel, but kept the old on just in case. The wind was softly blowing through the town square, making the heat of the day much more bearable. Trixie had her hat off as if on ceremony, and had a hard time making eye contact with First Light. First Light in kind did the same thing, almost matching Trixie's mannerisms.

“I guess it is.” She replied, searching for words and trying not to make the silence that followed more awkward. As the silence continued, she slowly built up the will to turn and begin walking away towards new adventures.

“But...” Trixie croaked as First Light began to turn away. “I don't suppose you have to go.”

“Eh?” First Light turned back around to face Trixie.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Trixie asked.

“I really did.” First Light nodded.

“Would you want to...” Trixie bobbed her head from side to side, trying to imply what she meant.

“What?” First Light became excited, but she didn't want to say what she thought out of fear of being told she was wrong.

“You know...” Trixie pawed nervously at the ground. She was doing this more out of pride. The Great and Powerful Trixie asks no pony for help, even if she wants it.

“Yes?” First Light was almost ready to explode from excitement.

“Nevermind...” Trixie shook her head.

“What?!” First Light screamed. “Nevermind?! How can you say never mind now?! I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting for you to ask me something that could change my life! What do you need to say?!”

“Do you want to stay with me!” Trixie was surprised at her own sudden outburst. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she stopped and thought about what she had said. “I mean... Work with me on the show?”

“YES!” First Light squealed as she barrelled into Trixie and enveloped her in a back-snapper. “I had so much fun with the first show! I can't wait to do it again!”

Trixie pushed away from the hug. “Why didn't you ask, then?”

“I thought it would make for a touching moment if you asked.” First Light shrugged. “So, where do we go from here?”

Trixie floundered for a moment, opening and closing her mouth while both trying to comprehend what First Light had said, and how to respond. She looked around, and when she turned back to the pink Alicorn, she was gone. Whipping around to a rattling sound, she saw First Light hooking up to the trailer.

“Next town?” First Light smiled broadly.

Trixie was still confused, looking around to see if anypony else saw or heard what had just happened. Contented that no one saw the exchange, and more importantly Trixie asking for help, Trixie nodded and put her hat on. She walked alongside of First Light as she headed towards the town limits.

“Where do you ant your next show to be?” First Light asked.

“Well, normally, I just head in a line until I find a town.” Trixie shrugged. “It usually works out.”

“Oh!” First Light bounced, causing the trailer to lurch. “Can we go to Ponyville?”

“W-What?” Trixie took a double take. “Ponyville?”

“Yeah!” First Light closed her eyes and giggled at her memory. “It's where I learned to get over myself.”

“Ponyville.” Trixie said flatly.

“Yeah.” First Light nodded, still happy. “Ponyville. There, I met Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. We're like, best friends now.”

“Best friends...” Trixie ground her teeth together. “With them...”

“Well...” First Light paused. “Kinda. It's not like when I decided they were my best friends based on my bio, because now they can actually stand being around me without banging their heads against a wall after I leave.” Trixie stopped, causing First Light to slow the cart to a halt. “What's the matter?”

Trixie stared at her angrily. “I will not go back to Ponyville.”

“You've been there before?” First Light cocked her head.

“Twice.” Trixie shook her head. “You've heard about them.”

“So, that was...” Suddenly, it dawned on First Light. “Oh...”

“Yes.” Trixie nodded.

“I'm sure they'll give you another chance.” First Light offered.

“I don't want another chance.” Trixie grumbled. “I'll just get outshone by that Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess.” First Light added.

“What?” Trixie frowned.

“She's a princess.” First Light noted. “Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Trixie let out a loud groan. “She's a princess now?”

“I just told you that.” First Light frowned.

“No one would even pay attention to me there.” Trixie shook her head. “All they'd remember is what I did last time and the time before that.”

First Light looked down. She didn't want to argue with Trixie. Trixie may be the first friend she had made on her own, and she didn't want to make things difficult between them.

“Okay.” First Light said calmly. “We don't have to go to Ponyville if you don't want to.”

Trixie nodded slowly. “Good.”

The two of them walked slowly out of town, not saying another word. First Light looked over, hoping to see Trixie smile as if it was all okay. But Trixie kept her eyes fixed on the horizon. First Light couldn't tell if she was hurt, angry, confused, all or none of the above. First Light wanted to say something to make the silence less awkward, or at least start a different conversation.

“So.” First Light nodded, looking over at Trixie. “How about that weather, eh?” Nailed it, First Light thought.

Trixie grumbled. “Sunny.”

“Oh, I know!” First Light bounced as she thought of a better conversation starter. “How'd you get your cutie mark?”

“Doing stuff.” Trixie sighed. “First light. We don't need to talk right now.”

“Oh.” First Light deflated. “Okay.”

The two continued in silence until the sun set and it was time to set up camp. They stopped in a slight clearing in the woods, where trees did not hinder their view of the risen moon. The stars were barely visible by the light of the recently set sun still peeking out across the sky, but the moon was bold in the almost purple sky. Trixie started to secure the trailer to the ground to keep it from rolling while First Light went away to collect firewood. The two had not said much since leaving town, other than when they switched positions.

The ground was riddled with twigs and fallen branches of trees. First Light looked up to the trees above, noting how the fallen appendages were fair distance from their trunks. She assumed that meant there had been a strong wind storm of some sort. Regardless, she collected enough wood for a good fire, laying it across her spread wings so she could carry more, though a fair amount of balance was required. Keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, First Light did her best to dodge potholes left by animals, and rocks which would easily send her head over hooves with a cord of wood on top. As she came into the camp area, she saw Trixie tying a wire from one corner of her trailer to a tree a short distance away. First Light lay the wood neatly on the ground as Trixie flung her cloak and hat over the wire to hang. She peered over her shoulder and stepped over to greet First Light.

“Will this be enough?” First Light asked, nervously.

“More than enough.” Trixie nodded. “We could keep it going all night if we wanted.”

“Cool!” First Light smiled at Trixie. “This is the first time I've ever been camping!”

Trixie politely smiled back. “Well then.” She started kicking at the ground to make a clear spot for a fire pit. “Let's light this candle.”

“I've never seen a campfire before.” First Light looked at Trixie with wide eyes. “What's it like?”

Trixie gave First Light a look. “Like a fire.” She shrugged.

“Cool!” First Light bounced. “The only fire I've ever seen is a little candle, is it like that?”

Trixie groaned. “Yes.” Then she looked First Light in the eye as she got to work putting the fire together. “So, you're an OC. What's that like?”

“What do you mean?” First Light cocked her head.

“Well, I have memories of my childhood, I know where I was three weeks ago.” Trixie thought for a moment, shuddering at the memory of where she was three weeks ago. She had been laughed out of a town after one of her tricks went wrong and had knocked her flat on her face in a mud puddle. She quickly returned to the question. “Did you just wake up somewhere? Was it just, Poof, and you were there?”

“I guess.” It was more of a question than an answer. First Light thought back a few weeks. “I just kind of appeared in a town one day. I didn't really think about where I came from, I was just there. Back then it seemed perfectly natural, and I didn't question it. I had all my memories, and I had my bio, so I knew who I was. Well... Kind of.”

Trixie looked up from the fire pit as the stack of wood began to take shape. “So, that's it? You were just there. No rhyme or reason?”

“Oh, I had lots of rhymes. Wanna hear one?” First Light bounced happily. It had been a while since she had had a song number.

“Maybe a little later.” Trixie smiled. “Once we get settled in.”