Silver Skies

Chapters

Fate's Maelstrom: Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Icy Abyss: Chapter 6

Fate's Maelstrom: Chapter 1

This is a tale of what happens when a mare lets her pride, her past, and her expectations choose her path in life.

Fate’s Maelstrom

Chapter 1

~~~

The autumn breeze passed over the rolling green hills, shaking down the weakest leaves and rustling the tall stalks of wild wheat. It floated along its path until it brushed through the azure unicorn’s silver mane. The breeze forced shivers down her spine that broke her mindless monotony. She looked to the sky to find the sun hovering closer to the mountainous peaks—she gave a small smile at the thought of resting soon. The soreness in her hooves and welt under her mane quickly reminded her of the distance she traveled and recent event she suffered. Her ailments denied her the comfort of returning to her trance. Instead, her mind forced itself to be filled of past laments.

From Trottingham to Manehattan, everypony heard of the Ponyville incident. I had to forgo my full stage name just to secure a performance in Whinnypool. I know in time I can use it again, but nothing has the same impact as “The Great and Powerful” did. I just hope the next town has more stable buildings, unlike that pathetic dump in Pleasant Groves. At least the pitiful owner covered my hospital bill, but anypony who isn’t an idiot would have fixed the loose boards in the rafters. It’s as if everypony since Ponyville is trying to stop me from climb to fame in magic. I wonder how far away from “home” I am…

She was not in the mood to think further on that subject. She continued her walk up the small hill while a small breeze helped push her along. Upon reaching the apex, she noticed a small sign and the village behind it. She read aloud, “This is ‘Harlesteed Village,’” and sighed out, “how delightful. Bad directions again.” The name invoked no thoughts as to where she was. Surrendering to her exhaustion, she continued along onto the town’s wide center road where she watched the townsponies slowly continue their lives.

Well, I’ve yet to see a unicorn here. That is a good sign. These boring country farmers could use a real show by the next great magician to liven up their dull lives. No freaks of nature to tarnish my name, no foolish colts to ruin a successful day, no gossipers to refuse my performances, they are just simpletons who will love my show. It’s nothing more than small village that I can easily entertain, perchance gather quite a few bits, buy a new performance ensemble, and then leave before fate decides to strike me with another piece of wood. Now to find a place to...

“Evenin’ there missy. What brings ya ‘round these here parts?” She stopped upon hearing a soft farmer’s drawl. It was then she realized that she had strolled quite far into the village. She saw the aged earth pony resting in an oak chair on the porch of what was the village’s tiny public library. The pony had a fading brown coat with a white mane bleached by time and an opened book on her flank.

“Oh. Well, I am looking for a place to stay,” she hesitated, “and a perhaps stage for my new performance.” Of all the people, she looks just like her. Averting the elder’s gaze, she took a look around the town and saw ponies leisurely moving to and fro, closing up shops and heading home.

“So ya aren’t here ta visit family?” the elder mare questioned.

While watching the town, she flinched upon the word family, and then answered, “I am, umm, simply traveling the country to make a bigger name for myself; being loved in one town is not enough to be the best. So no, I do not know anypony in this village.” She was unnerved by how similar this pony was to her grandmare. The only good fortune was that the town was woefully unknown.

“So ya not got no pony ta visit? Well, we’ve got no hotels round here ‘cause none but family ever visits. Don’t ya fret none; I always do have an extra room. Ma young’un had up ‘n’ moved to the big city to make a big name for himself,” the eldermare finished with a weak smile and tired eyes. She insisted, “I’d like for ya ta stay the night here. I don’t think that you will find any other place for the night.” As she stood up and headed towards the door, she slowly turned back around with an actual smile and said, “Oh. I never did give ya my name. I’m Armide Write.”

“Beatrix,” she answered. Instantly, she realized she used that name. Chiding herself for letting this old and sad librarian pull out her given name, she corrected herself, “Trixie is preferred however.” It’s fine Trix, she just some old librarian, not your grandmare. Remember, she offering you a bed, so bite your tongue and not your hoof. Tonight will an improvement compared to sleeping under a tree on the roads. It dawned on her that Armide was waiting and held the door for her to come inside. She forced a small smile to hide her disdain for having no other real options and followed Armide inside the home.

“Well, I’ve never heard of ya before, but that’s ‘cause we don’t get much for visitors ‘round here,” Armide commented while Trixie followed her through the small library of eight incomplete shelves. Bumping into the untouched history shelf, Trixie knocked up a large dust cloud causing her to start sneezing. “Celestia bless ya poor dear; that shelf is always pretty dusty.” When the air settled and Trixie stopped, she continued, “Other than the news delivered from Cloudsdale, we don’t hear much ‘bout other places.” She stopped at a set of narrow stairs. “Up them stairs are the beds, but I’ll garner a guess that ya are a mite hungry from travlin’. And don’t ya worry about tryin’ to pay me for the night’s stay. If ya willin’ to help me ‘marrow morning with some work ‘round here, we can call it even. The dining room is this way dear. ”

Trixie simply nodded. At least she didn’t intend on making me a charity case. She responded to the grandmare’s questions. “Yes, I am a bit hungry. And yes, I supposed I can give a helping hoof.” When the elder mare turned into the kitchen, she pouted and mumbled, “Early morning chores? I’d rather do real work and pay with bits. Still, it’s better than trees and hay for comfort.”

From the kitchen, Armide called out, “Imma put this pot o’ stew on ta reheat and it’ll be ready in a giffy. Hope y’all like carrots ‘n’ broccoli.” Armide started humming a sad tune followed by her clinking some dishes together to prepare the meal. She reentered the dining room with two empty bowls. The old earth pony started to set the table, but stopped and offered, “I have milk if ya’d like that dear. Or if ya don’t want that, we got good ol’ well water.” She set a plate next to Trixie waited for an answer.

“Water is fine,” she replied, simply wanting to eat then sleep. The clock’s tick snapped Trixie’s mind into focus before it could wander to less desired memories.

Her mind’s free will ended with a thump; the soup was finished and on the table. The eldermare served Trixie and softly chuckled at how intently Trixie focused on her now filled bowl. The tantalizing aroma before Trixie overwhelmed her senses. She mumbled out a small thank you then slowly enjoyed her first meal in some time that wasn’t wild stalks of hay, roadside dandelions, or hospital food. The azure mare avoided real conversation, only answering the eldermare’s few questions with small noes and nods. She was asked if she wanted a third serving, but answered no and asked in which room she was going to stay.

“The room with red door is the guest room. Imma just finish up down here, so make yerself at home.” With that said, the old earth pony moseyed back into the kitchen, softly singing the same sad song. Trixie escorted herself up the stairs, moved through a rouge door and into a soft white room. She wistfully sighed at the small but enticing bed, but walked back out and down the small hallway. In the washroom, she ran some warm water, scrubbed her face clean, and deemed herself clean enough for much needed sleep. Upon returning to the guest room, she slumped under the wool covers. Finally resting, her less fortunate memories started to fill her mind while a small twinge of anger and disappointment rolled a lone tear down her muzzle. She rolled over and pushed the unwanted memories of her past and embarrassments away. Fatigue eventually invited her wanted sleep.

Downstairs, the brown and greying earth pony finished her nightly chores then retired upstairs. Looking in on her guest’s room, she gently smiled, closed the door, and headed towards her own chambers. She slid into the bed with a mother’s pride, hoping that the next day she could help the undoubtedly lost unicorn.

~~~

Trixie woke up refreshed but stiff. She lay in the warm bed under the wool blanket and started to think of what she would do next now that she had been detoured here. Before her planning could begin, she heard slow steps in the hallway followed by a short creak of the door. Looking up, she saw the librarian who had taken her in for the night smiling gently. The mare quietly spoke to her, “Breakfast is ready when ya want, dear.” She watched the elderly earth pony return to the hallway and listened to steps on the stairs lead down into the kitchen.

After deciding to start her day, she rose up and headed for the hallway. Not wanting to pass up the chance for a well-needed bath, she decided to ignore her stomach pleading for breakfast. Running the hot water spigot, she soaked in the messy image of the mirror. She returned it with a glare for the terribly unkempt mane. She then turned off the running water and immersed herself in the bath. As the hot water hugged her and eased some of her stresses, she closed her eyes and turned her thoughts to her plans for the day. I suppose first I have to hold to my word and help around the library, most likely something earthponies cannot do easily—being magicless seems so paltry for most daily things. Then, I shall find a map and plan a new route to Las Pegasus. I don’t even want to perform in this town now. That old mare will drive me insane. Not only does she have those eyes, but she even has that damned accent. Letting herself relax a moment more, she ran more hot water to try and help relax her joints and wash away her worries.

Slowly returning from bliss, she heard the same soft clop of the librarian enter the second room of the upstairs. After a moment, the movements came again, this time towards the washroom. She heard a soft knock followed by the eldermare’s voice, “Beatrix dear, I left ya a large bowl of oatmeal on the table.” Unnerved by hearing her given name, she almost yelled back, demanding to be called Trixie. Before she could look like a foal, she heard Armide returning downstairs. She eventually compelled herself out of the bath and happily devoured breakfast then set out to find her host. She walked back through the library and out the door. The outdoors greeted her with a cold chill and a few clouds over the busy town.

Armide greeted her guest, “Mornin’ there dear. Do ya know what ya gonna do t’day?”

“I did agree to repay you in some manner for the night stay, so I think I shall do that first. Later, I would like to refresh my memory with a map of general Equestria, if you have one.”

She watched the aged earth pony struggle a moment to rise out of her rocking chair and respond to her. “If ya want ta start right away, I guess ya can start dustin’ the history shelf ya met yesterday while I start puttin’ a few returned books back. I have ta read ta some of the foals when the teacher brings ’em over later, so ya can just quickly make sure everything’s in order by author’s name and on the right shelf and call it a day.” With that said, Armide went through the door. Trixie sulked on the thought of having to do chores; organizing the whole library would severely delay her day’s plans.

She entered the library, closed the door, and suddenly met large ball of feathers. Stepping back in shock, she quickly realized it was only the librarian offering her a feathered duster for her first chore. She grabbed the duster and put on her best smile. “This will do fine. Trixie’s magic makes it no work at all,” Trixie boasted to hide her contempt. She headed to the history section and proceeded to get revenge on the shelf with magic and a duster.

She quickly grew bored and let her thoughts wander to her other plans for the day. She only gave me two chores and she’s an earth pony, so these shouldn’t take too long. They still are bothering my plans. I just want find a map and figure out how far away Las Pegasus is. I can wait to get a new cloak and hat there. I need no excuses to stay here, even if this is the best I felt in a week. Ignorant of how viciously she was dusting, she knocked a large plume of dust into the air that caused her to enter another sneezing fit. When that ended, she declared the shelf clean and checked through the shelves with no effort and was finished shockingly quickly.

She exited out onto the porch in time to catch the end of the story Armide was telling to school foals. “…and the prince returned home to a large banquet for his victory. When the people demanded a him to don the crown and give a victory speech, he refused twice, then finally gave in. ‘My fellow ponies, tis not us thou should’st thank, but thank instead the hard working stallions and mares who helped us guide thy country to victory and peace.’ The prince then turned to his betrothed and kissed her, and the ponies cheered and cheered for their heir. The banquet passed, the prince married, and he was crowned, leading the country into a golden age, always remembered fondly. That is the end ma little ponies.” A round of groans came from the fillies and colts, the end of the story signaled a return to lecture. Armide chided them, “Now now dearies, if y’all wants more readin’ then y’all will just have ta wait nicely for Missus Blossom ta bring y’all back tomorrow. If y’all don’t behave, she might not bring y’all back for another story.” With that said, Pink Blossom and the foals said their thank yous and goodbyes. As the last foal sulked off the porch, Armide asked her guest, “Did ya enjoy the story my dear?”

“That is an unfamiliar fairy tale for me. I only did hear the last bit,” she answered. “Also, I did not find a map while I checked the shelves.” The eldermare stirred from her chair and headed towards the door.

Armide assured her, “I’m sure we can find ya somethin’ dear. I don’t think these shelves woulda had a map on ‘em. I got one somewhere dear, so don’t ya fret none.” Trixie followed her back inside to the dining room table and waited for her host to find the map. She returned to the dining room and gave one to Trixie. “Ya know, I have that room for ya if ya need ta stay longer. I wouldn’t mind lettin’ ya stay for a quite a while if ya need it.” Armide softly smiled with hopes that offer would be taken.

Trixie unfolded and glared at the map to avoid the next part of the conversation. No matter how temping a consistent bed was, she refused to live with somepony so much alike her grandmare. She responded curtly, “No. I have no interest in staying in this village. A showmare has to seek worthwhile opportunities. Although the town is quaint, it would reflect poorly on my image as a magician to simply stay here. I cannot ill afford another dent to my name.” Hoping that her answer would stop the over worrying eldermare’s further questions, she concentrated on finding her current location.

Not wanting to see the young mare go, Armide tried to think of words to encourage her to stay, clearly seeing the conflicted emotions in Trixie. Yet, she was at a loss for words, heartbroken to see another child leave her home unhappy on a blind pursuit of fame. She hopefully offered again, “The bed is here if ya want it. If ya truly want ta go, I’ll leave ya to yer business then.” Trixie ignored her by focusing on studying the map.

“I don’t think ya should go so soon dear. Ya don’t have ta go and show the world how great ya are. Ya don’t have ta prove yerself to the world, Beatrix; ya don’t have to be the Great and…”

“No! Trixie has a name to make,” Trixie snapped at her, grievously annoyed by the return of this conversation and her given name. “Trixie is going to continue to perform throughout the lands until Trixie gets the name she deserves. Trixie does not need to simply be Beatrix. Trixie does need to leave soon to keep schedule. Thank you, but no thank you. Trixie is leaving.”

Armide looked up, forced a smile despite her teary eyes, then shakily reached forward and offered the satchel. Brokenhearted, she barely whispered, “I hope ya find what ya need out there where he didn’t. I know it’s small, but here’s something ta help ya for a day or two. Ma extra room is still empty if ya change yer mind on the road.”

Before she would let herself cry from the flurry of emotions that the eldermare invoked, Trixie accepted her gift. She restated, “No, I…Trixie has a name to make for herself. The supplies will be helpful. Thank you for the room and your offer, but Trixie does have shows to perform and stages to grace.” Still on the verge of crying, she mumbled, “I…I need to leave as soon as possible.” She despised the silence, but waited. Time and guilt were grinding down her remaining willpower as she looked at brown mare whose sad eyes mirrored her grandmare’s long ago. Unable to keep a locked gaze, she turned to the door and pulled it open.

“Please take care of yerself dear, and I sincerely hope ya find what ya need.” With those last words floating through her ears, Trixie finally left, unable to tolerate her conflicted feelings the eldermare unintentionally wrought. She closed the door and walked off the porch onto the road. Feeling the chill brought by a large gust of autumn wind, she tightened her stachel but didn’t move; the contesting emotions bound her to the spot. After a moment of waiting, another smaller gust of wind pushed her along, choosing for her.

Chapter 2

~~~

“Sorry, ma’am, this is a theatre, not an open venue. Please go see the owner if you want to schedule a performance for next week.”

Trixie turned up her nose and retorted, “No, Trixie cannot wait a week for her performance. Trixie is clearly more skilled than that second rate entourage you currently have performing, yet you expect her to wait? Absurd!” After saying her piece, she turned to leave, cursing her luck for the third rejection in a row.

The cream colored stallion waved her off. “Well, there is probably some venue down the road that may accept your kind of…flashy performances,” he told her with a hint of disgust. “The more open stages are usually on the western half of town if you really need a job.”

She flicked her tail at him and laughed. “Ha! You foals will regret rejecting Trixie one day!” She then marched out the door with her snout pointed high.

The showmare found herself outside on the cobblestone road, watching the sun sinking faster than she had hoped. Dammit, half of the afternoon is gone and still no place to earn any bits for a room. There’s bound to be something somewhere. She walked towards the setting sun while checking the buildings for a decent stage on which she could perform. She checked every sign and window, but found nothing for blocks. Every set of words was either ‘no vacancy’ or ‘full house’ and even the occasional advert for a ‘free lick of salt with a show.’ I’m getting nowhere. Her hooves started to drag and her stomach started to growl, so she checked again only to see the sun start to hide behind the mountains. She decided a moment to eat wouldn’t hurt her chances any further and took a small detour to a verdant, little park of a few trees and some small shrubbery.

Trixie found herself an open bench and wearily climbed onto it. She stretched out her forelegs and let her satchel fall to her side. With her magic, the azure unicorn unclipped the bag and set it in front of her. She sighed upon seeing it, then pushed away the thoughts of the old librarian; she was not going to apologize for choosing her only option. She pulled out a couple of Red Delicious, not in the mood to eat but unsure of what else to do, and forcefully munched on one. I can see the moon and still have nowhere to stay or perform.I really miss warmth of a soft bed…

“Excuse me, miss.” She heard a quiet filly’s voice. A petit, powder blue pegasus with a stone gray mane was staring up at her with watery, crimson eyes. “Umm, I was here earlier and lost my necklace. Have you seen it? It’s a silver heart with a drop of crystalized rainbow?”

Trixie gave her a curt “no.” She finished the last bite of her apple and grabbed the second Red Delicious. She turned to see the little pegasus still standing there, hanging her head in defeat.

A small drop of water splashed across the cobblestone. “I-I need to find it before m-my mommy brings me h-home and I h-haven’t been able to f-find it. I g-got it f-for my b-birthday.” The filly slumped down and buried her head in her hooves.

Trixie grimaced at the uneaten apple. She mumbled, “Wasn’t in the mood to eat anyways.” She climbed off the bench and sat next to the child. “Here, have an apple. Now quit your crying and let’s find your trinket. I’m making no progress sitting here anyways.” Trixie looked around for the filly’s parent but realized how empty the tiny park was. “Where is your mother?”

She sniffled and rubbed away her tears. “She’s talking with her friend at some place a block away.”

“Well, at least the necklace is the only thing lost,” Trixie said with a small hint of sarcasm. She fastened her satchel while watching the little pegasus nibble the apple to the core. Trixie asked, “Feeling better yet?”

“Not really. I don’t even like wearing it, but it’s something from her foalhood. It’s special.” The filly stared at the ground at her hooves and started to tear up again.

Not in the mood to wait longer or see more crying, the unicorn stood up. “If you want to find it, then you need to get up. I guess we should try the whole ‘retrace your steps’ thing.” She waited for a response, becoming annoyed with the filly’s dawdling. “Well?”

The pegasus answered, “Oh, I...I don’t remember.” Trixie groaned; she now regretted trying to help. “But I do remember napping under that tree for a while. Well, I think it was that tree.” She pointed her hoof at the only oak in the park.

The unicorn mare walked over to the tree and asked, “So you lost a necklace, right?” The filly dragged her hooves and followed after Trixie, watching the cobblestone as she walked. The unicorn noticed a small glimmer under the freshly fallen, autumn leaves.

“Yeah, mommy’s old necklace. It has a bronze chain with a silver-”

Trixie cut her off, “-heart surrounding a drop of crystallized rainbow.” Trixie grinned as she eyed the necklace held in front of her by a faint pink glow. “I think that it would look dazzling in the right light.”

The little pegasus looked up from the ground and saw her necklace in the air. She took a small hop and ran on her short legs towards the oak tree and Trixie. “You found it! Thank you thank you thank you!” She jumped into Trixie knocking them both onto the ground. “Thank you, you’re my hero Miss—” Her face flushed red as she realized: “I never asked you your name. I’m Cloud Catcher.”

Trixie floated her assailant off her and brushed a few leaves out of her silver mane. “Trixie, and no need to call me ‘Miss.’ And I’m glad that you have your necklace back.” Trixie allowed herself a small smile before she fully realized how dark it had become. “I need to get back on the road. Where did you say your mother was?”

Cloud frowned and kicked a pebble to the side. “Oh, mommy has been at the place called ‘Ron-something Theatre’ talking to an old friend all day long.”

The unicorn nodded and said, “Then let’s go find the theater.” Trixie took a few steps and beckoned the filly to follow. “Coming?”

The pegasus sighed out, “Yeah, I’m coming,” and dragged her hooves down the cobblestone road.

The two found themselves on the main road and quickly spotted the theater. The large sign read ‘Rondure Theatre,’ which was decorated with the advertisement of ‘Dinner and a Show’ and a banner saying ‘Watch the renowned Lord Chamberdale’s Mares put on a classic play every weekend night!’ They entered what was a tidy establishment to be greeted by archaic decor and the scent of fresh pine. Cloud Catcher shattered the somber atmosphere with a loud “Mommy!” and scurried over to a slender, yellow coated earth pony at the bar.

The yellow mare standing next to a mauve unicorn embraced the filly. “Hi, sweetie, did you enjoy the park?” Trixie watched the mother nuzzle her child, allowing herself a small smile.

Cloud Chaser pointed to Trixie and told her mother, “Mommy, I’d like you to meet the kind pony who walked me home. Her name is-”

A door swung open and slammed into the wall, knocking over an old vase and a few paintings off the wall. A colt’s voice bellowed, “This is absurd! I refuse to entertain here even again you miserly, old codger.” An alabaster unicorn with a maroon mane and a single, silver note for a cutie mark stormed from the dressing room, towing away his cello case with him. As he stormed out the front door, he shouted back to the unphased owner now standing in the lobby, “And you can forget about tomorrow!”

The dark brown earthpony in a suit was standing there, his face bent in disappointment from the last minute cancellation. He sauntered up to the ticket booth and told the ticket taker to put up a sign to let patrons know that the show portion of the dinner had been canceled.

Here’s your chance Trixie. Go show this ‘old codger’ what a real entertainer can do. She strode up to the owner and suggested, “Sir, Trixie could offer you her services; she is a master of the fine art of stage magics and will certainly enthrall your guests like none other. So what do you say?” The owner stared in disbelief, checking over Trixie’s shoulder looking for the pony she was talking about.

He quickly realized she referred to herself. “Ah, you are one of those entertainers...the odd and loud ones. I believe I will have to decline.”

Trixie started to feel hot, her temper starting to build. “What do you mean ‘those entertainers?’ Trixie is not some freak or money grubber, she’s a magician, and one of the best at that.”

The owner looked her over. “Sure. Fine, you can have the stage for an hour; something is better than nothing.” He started to rationalize. “Most of the guests have paid in advance anyways. There’s not much point in a dinner and a show without a show. I suppose you will do fine. If you’re willing to only get paid fifteen bits for the hour unlike the colt from before.”

Trixie balked. “Fifteen bits?! No wonder that pompous airbag left.”

The owner gave her a stern look. “Fifteen bits is plenty reasonable. It is a Thursday evening; most everypony is at home with their family. And the couples who would come will come tomorrow evening. If you don’t want it, that’s fine; good luck trying to find anypony else who’d even offer ten bits for a show on Thursday.”

Trixie retorted, “Fine. It’s acceptable, just not up to Trixie’s usual standards.” She stood there with a blank façade, not wanting to seem over eager for her first show in weeks.

The owner brushed her off. “Yes, well you don’t have much time before it starts. Go prepare for the show already.” He turned back to the ticket booth and finished giving instructions to the worker.

Trixie was appalled at being dismissed so simply but bit her tongue. She was not going to ruin her chance to be on stage. “Trixie will not simply put on a show; she will entertain and win the hearts of everypony.” The unicorn walked to the dressing room with a bubble of pride in her chest.

He plainly replied, “The show starts in an hour,” and returned to giving jobs to his ticket taker and maitre d’.

Trixie stepped over the fallen vase and into the room. Cloud Chaser pouted and looked up at her mother. “I guess you won’t get to meet Trixie. She wasn’t talking funny earlier, I don’t get it.”

Her mother brushed through her mane. “Some ponies just act a little funny sometimes. So are you looking forward to the show tonight?” The mother and child sat down and caught up on their day's events over a small plate of hayfries.

~~~

Though it’s not a large crowd, you have to start again from somewhere,Trixie. She slowly walked onto the stage and looked to her audience. Most every patron had finished dinner and was now munching on candied apples while waiting for the show to start. A small audience of twelve partially filled tables made very few claps as most watched the azure unicorn settle onto the stage.

“Welcome, welcome. Trixie will take your breath away with a dazzling display of magic tonight. Be ready to witness the Magnificent Trixie!” She stomped down on the last words and lit her horn with magic, causing a few illusory orbs to rise from the floor then burst into thousands of glittering lights. She gave the audience a grin, but it soon faded when she saw how complacent they all seemed. If only I could use my other stage name; it always got the crowd roaring. She continued her show with dazzling displays of light and manipulation of objects. Yet, no matter how many tricks she tried, no pony but the little filly Cloud Chaser was amazed or astonished by her routine. Even her mother gave nothing more than a courtesy clapping every few spells. The azure mare pushed herself onward. She started to tell a small story of a hero fighting monsters, animating the whole story with brilliant illusions and spectacular lights. As the story went towards the end, some patrons went to the exit. At first a table left, but then two more followed. Part of Trixie’s joy from doing a show boiled into fury.

Fine, if they don’t like mystical lights or stories, I’ll give them something a bit different. Trixie conjured a large rope from behind the stage. “Now you all shall see a great and powerful trick of the Magnificent Trixie has yet to be seen by ponykind.” She wove her magic on the rope, tying knots and loops into a bundle. When finished, she tossed the bundle towards the audience.

Then, she set it ablaze with blue flames and shaped it into a dragon’s form. With sweat now trickling down her brow, she grabbed the dragon’s form with her pink glow and sent it out above the audience; its wings scraped across the ceiling causing small bits of magic to rain down and fade away over the audience. The dragon flew around, barely leaving any space between itself, the patrons, and the walls. Trixie pulled on the dragon with the last of her energy; it cycled around the room and launched itself at the stage with a large flap of its wings. Its maw opened and spewed faux flames at the exhausted unicorn. She put up a small bubble to push away the flames and threw an orb of neon light at the head. They impacted and the theater became filled with a blinding, white light.

When the few patrons left could once again see, they saw Trixie on stage with a bundle of defeated rope at her hooves. More beads of sweat rolled down her neck as she realized that half of the audience had left before the last trick. The silence was broken by the pegasus filly jumping up and down and cheering, giving an uneven round of applause to the showmare. The patrons soon joined with a softer round of applause, most of them unnerved by such an eccentric stunt that came terrifyingly close to the audience. Her heart sank. No pony enjoyed it. Her body slouched as she walked back behind the stage.

~~~

Trixie wiped her brow and stared at the mirror. My best stunt. The one time I do it perfectly,no one cares at all. A knock interrupted her sulking. She answered, “Come in...not like I care anyways,” mumbling the last few words.

The owner walked in and set a small sack of bits on the vanity. “Here’s what I promised.” He tried to comfort her. “Most of ‘em were just expecting dinner and some quiet music. Ponies just don’t enjoy show magic much these days. If you want, you can try again tomorrow. I still need to fill that slot before the playwrights do their bit.” The old earth pony said his bit and left, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Unsure of what went wrong, she started to sulk. “Only a little foal enjoyed my show...just one pony, no one else.” Before she could cry, the door smashed back open.

Cloud Catcher bounced around and shouted, “That was the most amazing show ever! I knew unicorns were great, but that was the best thing ever!”

The pegasus was followed shortly by her mother. “Calm down, Cloud; she looks very tired after that performance.” The yellow pony put a hoof on the over excited filly. “The show was quite unique, wasn’t it, Cloud?”

“It was the best, mom! Completely worth waiting all day for it.” The pegasus was still smiling but had finally stopped jumping.

Trixie let a tear drop onto the vanity. “Yes, it was a unique performance. Not only did Trixie pull off the Either’s Cobalt Blaze flawlessly,” her voice started to escalate, “only one pony enjoyed it. One of the hardest illusions to do and a little filly is the only one who knows how special it was!” She finished on a yell.

The mother balked and the filly’s ears drooped; her little heart split upon hearing her newest hero yell at her. The earth pony pulled her daughter into an embrace. “Miss Trixie, you have no need to yell. My daughter enjoyed your show throughly.”

The little pegasus muttered, “It was something really special, Miss Trixie.”

Trixie looked back at the mirror and wiped her tears away. She grabbed her things and headed to the door. She muttered to herself, “It doesn’t matter if one pony likes the show. Everypony needs to like it.” She turned and looked at Cloud, then averted her gaze. “This city doesn’t have anything for me.” The showmare shut the door to the dressing room and left the building. Trixie walked out onto the street; the sun had finally set behind the mountains and and the lights of the city glowed brightly. She was met by a rough autumn wind that chilled her spine. Unknowing of where the road west would lead, she started to backtrack down the path that brought her to the city.

Chapter 3

~~~

Trixie trudged down the road while the unusually hot, autumn sun further irritated her. By noon, she had returned to the split in the road after leaving Las Pegasus, but was too scared of returning to the library at the end of the first road; she picked the one road she had yet to travel. The path was barren bar the occasional tree; not a soul was seen on the trail as it led her onto a rockier path up the side of a small mountain. The monotony mixed with the heat bore on Trixie, refusing to let her mind wander to more pleasant thoughts. She spoke to no pony in particular. “Everything should have been perfect; the skills you showed were stellar, your poise was perfect, the flow was flawless, but no pony cared. Everytime you prove that you are the best, they don’t care or run you out of town. Only one time has anypony shown better skill than Trixie, and it was naught but greater brute strength. The only reason she could beat Trixie is obvious, but they all choose to ignore the truth anyways. She clearly didn’t have a lame horse for a father; a useless, spineless, mag-” She froze when a small, icy drop of water plunked on her nose.

The unicorn looked up and stared in disbelief. “When the hell did it get cloudy?” The clouds taunted back by sprinkling a few more droplets across her backside. One landed on her horn causing her to flinch. She then heard a soft roar building in the distance and realized that the sudden clouds were also bringing an icy torrent. She began to trot cautiously as she could along the increasingly rockier road, but soon the wave of rain caught up to her. It matted her mane and chilled her coat, spurring her faster in search for some shelter. The clouds began to blow their howling winds and caused the azure mare’s coat to turn a shade more purple. The sudden chill after the midday heat was now fully taking effect on her; her teeth rattled and every few steps sent shivers up her spine.

As she pushed up the shallow mountain slope, the rocks started to resettle under her hooves and slipped on occasion messing with her balance. To her relief, she stumbled upon a small cave and threw herself out of the rain. Panting and sore, she weakly cursed at the pegasi for letting such a storm rampage with her under it. With nothing to warm her and no sign of the downpour slowing, she curled up around her satchel with hopes that rest would see her warmer by the storm’s end.

~~~

“Mommy! Welcome home!” shouted an excited filly unicorn with a mane of silver and coat of azure.

“Hello, my little Trixie. Do you know what today is?” Her mother carefully nuzzled her filly.

“Today’s my birthday! And now you’re home! And now we can spend lots and lots of time together and go to the park and get ice-cream and...” the filly’s bubbly voice prattled on until the door was snapped shut once again.

“Now now, Beatrix sweetie,” a stallion’s voice called out, “it is your birthday, but mommy needs a moment to rest after the doctor visit.” The dark brown earth pony set down the work satchels slung over his shoulders, sauntered over to his wife, and put an ear to her bulging belly. “Nothing but good news from the doctor, but he did say mom and the baby still need lots of rest.”

The filly’s excitement left her. She solemnly walked over to her mom. “It’s okay if you need to rest, mommy.” She dragged her hooves and slunk down onto the recliner.

Her mother followed her into the room and took a seat on the sofa. She smiled softly as she levitated a small box out of one of her husband’s work satchels. “Now now, my little Miss Trix, your mother wouldn’t do nothing on your birthday.” A small, gift-wrapped box floated above the sulking filly. “If you just sulk all day and stare outside the windows, you won’t get to see your present,” she teasingly sung the last word. She giggled as her daughter squealed and bounced up and down on the sofa, attempting to snatch the present from her mother’s magical grip. She quietly coughed, which caused her to falter and lower the box just enough for the bouncing filly wrap her forehooves around it. The mother gave a small smile to her husband; she knew that her state wore heavily on his mind. They both turned upon hearing a gasp.

“This is the best gift ever!” The filly scurried over to her mother, but she stopped right before pouncing on her and instead carefully hugged her and her belly. “Thanks mommy.” She walked over into her father’s embrace. “Thanks daddy.”

He ran a hoof through her mane. “Well, you gonna show us what you can do?”

“Yeah! I can do anything with the ‘Box of Tricky Tricks’ and a little bit of magic. It says so on the box!”

Her mother laughed. “Well, show us what it says you can do.”

The unicorn scrambled up onto the recliner and was about to announce her act. Her mother chimed, “Oh dear, I almost forgot.” She pulled a small, purple wizard’s cap and floated it onto her daughter’s head. “There, Trix. Now you can start.”

On the verge of exploding with excitement, the now adorned unicorn stood and announced, “I am the one and only, most greatest, most awesomest, most powerfulest pony that ponykind has seen! I am the Great-Awesome-Powerful Tricky Trix!” It was met by a round of stifled giggles from her parents.

Her father chimed in. “That’s quite a mouthful, Beatrix dear.”

Her mother added, “Hmm, yes. And some bad grammar too.”

“How about we call you the Great Beatrix?” her father offered endearingly.

His daughter retorted, “No way, that’s not amazing enough! How about the Powerful and Great and Magnificent Beatrix?”

Her mother took her turn. “Hmm, that’s still quite a mouthful. Oh, how about The Great and Powerful ‘Tricky Trix’?”

Her daughter’s eyes sparkled. “That’s perfect! I shall be known as The Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“Well, that is much better than ‘Tricky Trix’.” The stallion teased his wife. “Who would ever let their daughter be called ‘Tricky Trix’? I hope no pony that I know of would ever do that to their daughter.”

She shushed him in response. “Be quiet or you’ll miss the opening act.”

The azure little unicorn cleared her throat. “Behold all as The Great and Powerful Trixie amazes everypony...”

~~~

The a bolt of lightning cracked down, ripping a tree in half and startling the unicorn from her slumber. Trixie’s eyes snapped open and she scrambled to her hooves, only to realize the sound was a remnant of the storm outside. It dawned on her that it was the middle of the night with a small pitter-patter of rain still falling. She gave a soft glow from her horn and groggily staggered towards the entrance of the cave. She stepped out of the cave to be met by the small rhythm of drizzle and the occasional crack of lightning accompanied by the now roaring river from the earlier downpour.

She scanned the sky and occasionally flinched when a raindrop would attack her eyes. The mare found no sign of how long the storm would last or any idea of how long she had slept. She treaded towards the edge of the path and balked when she saw the terrifying river below. As she decided to go back into the cave, the clouds once again chose to drench her with water. The angered unicorn shouted back at them. “Stop raining on me you stupid clouds!” In a fit of anger, she stomped her rear foot down and started to step forward only to have the rocks slip from her back legs. Her hindlegs fell off the ledge and her forelegs buckled from the jarring movement. She flailed as she slid off the wet cliff. Her forelimbs latched around a dead root protruding from the ground. For a moment it held them both, but soon the soft soil let go of the root and the clinging mare with it. Trixie plunged into the river and was whisked away by the winding current that’s roar drowned her screams.

On occasion the river would toss her above its surface for a moment to breathe before pulling her back under. The unicorn tried to grab onto loose branches with her magic, but failed every time and was thrusted further down a steep drop into the torrential waters of the winding river. The rapids refused her a chance to breathe; her eyes were slowly getting heavier and limbs going limp as she was pulled down to the bottom of the river’s end.

~~~

The brown stallion had just nodded off; his daughter had one foreleg draped across him and the other clenching her favorite cap. The soft and solemn patter of a towering, tan stallion adorned in a white lab coat woke the father. He wearily rubbed his eyes, not having more than a moment of rest.

“Mr. Moon,” the doctor hesitated, “might I have a word with you?”

He stood up, careful to not wake his daughter, and walked over to the doctor. “Please tell me nothing’s wrong.”

“Sir, nothing is wrong, but we are getting worried that she’s a week overdue and there are still no signs of the foal coming soon. She’s been getting weaker and more tired every day.”

“Is there anything you can do to speed it along? It’s been a week now.”

The doctor shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do. I just wanted you to know that it looks to be a lot longer of a wait than expected. You should consider bringing your daughter home for the night. And you need some rest also.”

“I’ll do that if she wakes, but she won’t want to go home...she has problems when she can’t see her.”

***

“Beatrix.” The sound of her father’s voice woke her up. “Beatrix, dear. Mommy’s awake now. Let’s go see her.”

The unicorn filly stumbled off the chair and groggily asked, “Mommy’s awake? Did the baby come yet?”

“Not yet, but she says it’s close to that time.” He stopped a moment and grabbed the purple cap. “Don’t forget your hat, dear.”

The filly skipped to her father who then knighted her with the hat. “There, now you’re ready.” Her father gave her a loving nuzzle, but was quickly pushed away by the now embarrassed filly. He smiled as she giggled and scurried away to her mother’s room.

They quietly opened the door to the softly illuminated room. A tired, motherly voice welcomed them. “My, my, what a blessing to be greeted by the greatest and most powerful mare in all of Equestria.” She quietly coughed after the last word. “What will my Great and Powerful Trixie do for me today?”

The filly bounced up to the bed. “I could...tell you a story! You always tell me one when I’m in bed.”

Her father walked over, took a seat next to her, and rested a hoof on her shoulder. “What’s the exciting tale going to be?”

“Oh, I could tell you of the time...the time I beat a Timber Wolf?”

Her mother weakly giggled. “A timber wolf? Is all that you’ve beaten? I think some pony who wants to be great and powerful would need to at least beat an Ursa Minor to earn a title and a hat. The strongest and greatest unicorns all have done it once!” She teased her daughter, weakly knocking the hat off center of her daughter’s head.

The filly pouted and fixed her hat. “Hay! I’m the one telling the story, and I not only beat the wolf, but an Ursa MAJOR too!” she scolded her mother, but quickly returned to the excitement her story. “Yes, The Great and Power Trixie hath beaten a timber wolf and an ursa major too. She was lost, alone in the woods...”

***

The now busy lobby muffled the conversation between the doctor and father. “Sir, there’s no easy way to put this. Her, her heart gave out before the baby was born. I’m so sorry for your losses. Please, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate. We’re here for you.”

The azure filly nudged her father. “Daddy, is something wrong?”

Her father turned around, his visage blank. “Mother has,” he paused for words, “passed away.”

She started to cry. “What are you saying?” Large teardrops skittered across the tiled floor.

Her father pulled her in close, having yet to shed a tear. “She’s gone off to the Golden Lands and isn’t coming home.” His daughter broke down as he said: “She’s not coming home. Her heart wasn’t strong enough.”

She finally realized the whole truth. She hit her father in the chest and shouted, “Don’t you say that! She wasn’t weak! Take it back!” Her father pulled her tighter, unwilling to let himself cry. Her sobbing eventually stopped but tears kept falling. She buried her face in his chest. “She’s supp-posed to watch m-me be the b-best ever.”

~~~

The log that was carrying the unicorn touched ground and tossed her onto the beach. She was jarred awake and immediately felt the after effects of being dragged down the mountain by the river’s current. The lingering clouds blotted the scarce light that would come from the moon. She blindly stumbled off the driftwood and onto the beach. She tripped occasionally as she trudged along the beach until she felt grass underhoof. She quickly found a large tree and nestled against its scratchy bark. A small breeze picked up, chilling her already cold and damp coat. She curled up to keep warm, wishing that she still had her satchel to help keep her warmer.

~~~

“Yes, dear, this is where you are going to be staying from now on.” The teal, winged stallion in a suit walked her along the stone path up to the small, suburban house.

The filly asked, “Who lives here?”

The stallion answered, “Your grandmare does. Now, miss Beatrix-”

She snarled at him. “Don’t call me by that name! That’s what he calls me.” Her ears pinned down and voice became naught more than a whisper. “That’s what he’d call me before he left me.”

The stallion sighed, kneeled down and hugged her with a wing. “I’m certain that he loves you. Some ponies just get...lost in their sorrows and make a bad choice. But you have a new home and a loving grandmare to care for you.” He curled his wing to dab a tear off the filly’s cheek. “Whenever you’re ready, you can knock.”

She hesitated a moment, then knocked. An elderly earthpony with a bleached white mane and a fading brown coat opened the door greeted them with a drawl. “Welcome, welcome, come on in. Thank ya for bringin’ my granddaughter...”

Chapter 4

~~~

“Where was she when you found her?” asked a quiet mare’s voice.

“She was just layin’ on the shore of the pond and wouldn’t wake up,” a gruff voice answered her. “She musta been caught in that storm yesterday. She probably didn’t know how dangerous that ‘scenic’ path was. She seems like one of them city folks who don’t know a lick ‘bout this half of Equestria or hiking. She probably didn’t even check the weather before she left. Dumb mare.”

The mare frowned. “Now dear, I’m sure that she had good reason to think it wasn’t gonna go rain somethin’ furious. She probably didn’t realize how dangerous that path got. No need to be harsh on her.”

He sighed in submission. “Fine. I’ll leave her to you.”

She returned with a smile. “Good. Now, you want me to send Starry to pick some carrots?”

“Naw, I’ll get ‘em. I need to get my tools in the shed anyways.” He left to do his chores. She tucked the sleeping unicorn in further, and then followed him out the door.

~~~

The unicorn took for herself a desk in the far back of the classroom under a window. She yawned, not adjusted to the early mornings of a farm filly’s morning chores, and fetched her book on basic magic out of her school bag. She read and reread the same sentence before surrendering to her foul mood. “Stupid chores on the stupid farm, all because of,” she paused and spat out, “him...her son. Argh, and this stupid book isn’t teaching me anything new.” She stuffed the book into her bag and chose to sit there and brood at her empty desk.

After a few minutes passed, a verdant green earth pony carrying a tan notebook in her maw walked into the room. She tossed the notebook on her desk and started to hum a happy tune as she unpacked her items. She washed the chalkboard then checked the desks to make certain that her room was tidy before the students arrived. She gasped upon seeing the unicorn. “Oh my, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there. Ah, you must be the new student, Sown Oat’s grandfilly? It’s Beatrix, right?”

The filly snapped to attention upon hearing her name and scowled. “Call me Trixie. I hate that name.” She sighed and buried her head in her hooves wishing for more sleep.

The teacher responded, “Oh, well that’s fine. Trixie’s a cute name. So what’s your favorite subject?”

She answered back with voice muffled by her hooves. “Magic.”

“Math you say? That’s nice. It’s rare for fillies your age, but I love it too.”

The unicorn lifted her head and growled, “No, I said ma-gic.”

The teacher strolled over to the window and opened it. “Oh, well we don’t learn magic here. Sorry about that. The library might have some books on it if you-”

She cut her off. “I know. I have one. It’s useless.” She muttered under her breath, “Just like everypony in this town.”

The teacher frowned but quickly smiled when another student walked into the classroom. “Well, Trixie, I think you’ll have a wonderful time learning all about the different histories and reading books and wonderful arts and...”

The unicorn leaned her head against the window and watched the fog of her breath spread across the pane. She ignored the teacher’s excited ramblings and instead lost herself in dreams of magics and show stages. She thought of headlines mentioning ‘The Great and Power Trixie’ daily and the fans of her extraordinary skills giddly mentioning her name in idle chitchat every day. She knew she would be known by all someday; her mother told her so.

~~~

The soft creak of the white door was quickly followed by a wave of early morning sun that washed a small warmth over the bed. A beige mare blocked some of the light, set down a bowl of soup, and softly spoke. “Good morning, dear. I hope the bed wasn’t too hard on your injuries.”

Trixie snapped awake and shuffled from under the blanket to see whose voice woke her. She leaned herself up on one hoof, but yelped in pain and collapsed back onto the bed. The earth pony tried to calm her. “Now now, dearie, don’t hurt yourself no more.”

The unicorn sputtered, “What? Where? Happened? Wha-?”

“Calm down, dearie.” She chuckled. “You’re fine. You just had a nasty tumble and were found clean out and frighteningly cold at the lake. Oh Luna, I don’t want to forget.” She set down the bowl of dandelion soup. “Here, you’ve been out for a little over a day now. You must be hungry.”

Trixie allowed herself a small smile. “Thank you. It smells good.”

The earth pony’s expression lightened. “That’s good, dear.” She giggled. “Oh silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sandy Shores. My husband Rocky is the one who found you.”

Trixie had already finished the bowl by the time she learned of her hosts’ names. She sheepishly smiled and wiped her muzzle on her fetlock. “Uhh, my name’s Trixie.” She lifted her other foreleg to offer a shake but cringed and quickly grabbed her shoulder.

“Don’t you move that the leg, missy. You bruised it pretty bad. You just lie down and take it easy.”

“Okay.” Trixie resigned to her advice and rested back onto the bed.

“Now you just rest and I’ll send Starry in with another bowl. You get some more sleep after you eat to help that bruised shoulder.”

The earth pony took the bowl out with her. The azure mare fluffed her pillows and let drowsiness set in. A loud knock came from the door that jostled her from her stupor. “Come in.” A black coated colt walked in with another bowl of soup. His small stature moved up to the bed and offered her the bowl. “Thank you.” She took a small sip of the soup before hungrily drinking the entire bowl. Silence filled the room and the colt nervously scratched at the floor. “Oh, right, the bowl.” She gave him the emptied bowl and grumbled, “Could’ve just asked.”

The colt took the bowl and was beckoned by his mother. “Starry dear, can you bring this canteen out to your father?” The colt scurried out of the room to do his mother’s bidding. Trixie remembered all the pains of her recent perils and carefully reclined onto the bed. Her joints throbbed and her neck ached, giving her a good idea of how far down the mountain she had traveled.

Her door creaked open once again and stirred her from her daze. She leaned up and saw her host come in with an extra feather pillow. “Here, Trixie dear, I thought you might like an extra pillow.”

Trixie grunted as she pulled herself up and let her host put the pillow under her. She commented while the earth pony fluffed her pillows. “Your son is awfully quiet.” She rested onto the new set of padding.

“Oh, well that’s because our little Starry can’t speak. They don’t know why, but he’s not said a word his whole life.” She had yet to stop smiling on the thought of her son. “He’s a good kid and doesn’t let it bother him none. Now I’ll let you get some sleep.”

She walked out once again to leave the tired unicorn to a slumber that quickly came.

~~~

“I’m home granny,” the filly called out to the aged earth pony as she flopped on the couch. Her first semester of school had just ended.

Her grandmare greeted her. “How was ya day at the school house?”

The unicorn responded, “Better than most I guess. At least today Miss Posy let me use magic. The others laughed when I couldn’t make real fire...all they wanted was for me to get in trouble. Thank Luna it’s vacation.” She rolled over and sighed in bliss.

Her elder chided her. “Now, I am certain that they didn’t want to get you in trouble, Beatrix.”

The filly snapped back. “I SAID DON’T CALL ME THAT!” She calmed slightly. “My name is Trixie, not Beatrix. I’ll call myself Trixie until you remember. Trixie, Trixie, Trixie!” She was panting by the end. The silence gradually sobered the filly from her rage until she beheld the tears hiding in her grandmere’s emerald eyes. “I-Trixie will be in m-her room reading.” She silently walked up the stairs to her room; she felt a sorrow after her anger, but no regret.

~~~

For the first time since Las Pegasus, Trixie awoke on her own. She felt soreness and pain throughout her body, but also an odd sense of restlessness. She slowly stretched her stiff legs out and gingerly set them on the floor, then gradually set her full weight onto her legs. She ignored the warm throbs and discomfort that standing caused; she would not tolerate being that somepony waited on hoof and heel. She softly walked on her hooves into the homely living area of the homestead. Her presence startled her host who immediately dropped what she was doing.

Sandy rushed over and fretted over Trixie’s state. “Oh dearie, what are you doing up? You need your rest. Oh my, you’re limping, dear. please let me help you to bed and-”

“No!” Trixie stopped moving and calmed her host. “No, thank you, but I won’t let myself lie in bed all day.” She limped towards the table with her host still trying to give her a helping hoof. “I’ll be fine.” She plopped down and immediately regretted jarring her joints. “See, I’m fine. I don’t need you to wait on me all day. I feel fine.”

Her host frowned. “Okay, but don’t do anything to hurt yourself.” The earth pony filled a glass of water and was bringing it to the table before Trixie’s horn glowed and grabbed it from her host. “Oh dearie, I don’t mind...”

Trixie took a small sip and dismissed her. “No, it’s quite alright. I’m not useless; I do still have my magic after all.”

The unicorn’s gaze averted the worried eyes and settled on watching the birds out the window. “Alrighty, dear. Just lie down on the couch if you start to feel tired.”

She went back to cooking their dinner but constantly checked on the azure mare despite her assurances. The pot set to boil began to bubble over; the water sizzled as it dripped to the bottom of the hot metal and into the fire. The sudden noises of the kitchen distracted the mare from noticing a young and silent colt enter and sit at the table. With the boiling water under control and the hot loaf of bread set to cool, the beige pony finally noticed her son. “Oh, Starry, could you be a dear and tell your father dinner is ready?” Her son gave her a polite nod then left them as quietly as he came.

Trixie’s focus faded from the frame and onto the aroma of fresh bread. “Sorry, did you ask me a question?”

“Oh no, I just sent little Starry out to get Rocky for dinner.” She hummed a little ditty off tune as she set the table. “So, Miss Trixie, do you remember why you were out in that nasty storm?” She pushed a newly filled glass of water across the table. “I just was wondering what led you out onto the mountain trail during that storm.” She set the pot on the table and patiently waited for a response.

Trixie swirled the glass dejectedly and gave her an inaudible response. “I didn’t know about it.” She intently stared at the gently building vortex.

Sandy leaned in slightly and asked, “What was that?”

The unicorn sighed. “I didn’t know there was going to be a storm...I forgot to check.”

“Of course you did,” replied a gruff voice. “City folk got their heads in the clouds more than the Pegasi do. Anypony worth their own two bits knows not to travel blind and empty hooved.” The stocky figure of Rocky strolled up to the table; the dark burgundy stallion towered over his wife’s figure. His son followed and sat quiet as ever between the mares.

Trixie mumbled again, “Well I’m not exactly a city pony; I did have a bag with me but I lost it.” She finally stopped playing with her glass and spoke up. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Sandy took this moment of silence to serve everypony their meal of carrot soup and farm fresh bread. “It’s fine, dear, we won’t hassle you about it. I just hope that you’ll find your way back to Las Pegasus. That old hiking trail can be a toughie.”

Trixie balked at the thought of returning to the city. “What do you mean? I was trying to leave the city, not go to it. Where else could I have gone heading south?”

The stallion guffawed before responding. “That path is a damn circle, filly. Not only did you ignore the weather, you had no idea where you were heading? Ha, that’s rich.” He shook his head and muttered inaudibly “city folk” and grabbed an extra slice of bread.

“Oh dearie, if you didn’t want to go back you woulda had to go east,” she offered consolingly.

Blood rushed to Trixie’s face from the oversight. “Well, I’m not heading there anymore.” She stared at her plate to avoid the patronizing look of the stallion. She grabbed her slice of bread and dutifully nibbled on it. The rest of the family followed suit and left the table in silence.

Trixie finished her meal first and asked to be excused. She gingerly crept her way to her room and plopped down onto the bed only to immediately regret it. She groaned and rolled off her bruised shoulder. Her ears caught sound of an almost silent clank, followed by poorly hushed voices from the dining room.

“She’s just gonna sit here all day and do nothing. It’s already bad enough with my own boy being useless ‘round the farm, now I got her to care for too? She’s a unicorn; they can’t grown nothin’.”

“What do you want me to do? I’m not going to just kick her out. I can’t not help her. She’s-”

“Enough.” Silence pervaded the homestead. “It’s fine. Take care of her however long you need.” The sound of dishes hitting the marble sink echoed throughout the house. “Just do what you want. I’m going to rinse off then go to bed.”

Heavy hoofsteps led themselves down the hall and behind a door. Trixie fumed at being talked about so callously. Fine, if I’m so worthless then I’ll just leave. Trixie’s pride let her forget her shoulder for a moment before reality reminded her of injury. She locked up in pain and rolled back onto her good side. She was grinding her teeth but simmered down. Okay, I’ll leave as soon as possible. No need to overstay my welcome.
She brooded and shifted restlessly. Time crept and the moon shone and the mare’s eyes finally grew heavy. Her angry thoughts lulled and eventually led to sleep.

~~~

“So ya think y’all’s somethin’ special? Sure ya can make some purty lights, but ya can’t even grow a stalk o’ corn!” All the foals joined in laughter with the tallest colt, all but the azure unicorn.

“So what if Ah can’t grow some stupid plant.” She became furious over the small slip into their accent. She shouted back with force. “Trixie is a magician. She is great and powerful and gonna be the best, not some hick farmer who does nothing special!”

Their teacher called from the schoolhouse door, “My little ponies, recess is over so come on in.” A chorus of groans came from the children except the unicorn and the colt.

“What do they say, saved by the bell? I was about to use that rope on you.” the filly mocked him.

“Ha, watcha mean ‘saved’? Y’all’s just a wimpy unicorn.” The colt snickered at his classmate.

“Take that back! Trixie is THE Great and Power Trixie.” Her pout gave way to a grin. “If you don’t believe me, you foal, Trixie will prove she’s the best.” She dug her hooves into the soft sand and telekinetically latched onto an abandoned jump rope and snaked it through the air and around the colt.

In an instant, the colt was upside down and tied like a hog before the panic set in. His delayed scream alerted the foals of excitement and the teacher of dismay as they all scurried back out onto the playground.

The filly towered over him triumphantly. “Trixie told you: you were saved by the bell. Trixie can do anything better than anypony and is the greatest magician alive. She’s-”

“Untie him and get over here this instant.” Her teacher’s composure left along with the foals’ discipline, all of whom were now clamoring for front row seats at the only thing more exciting than cupcakes for lunch. “Beatrix, do as I say.”

The unicorn was loving the attention until she heard her full name. The noise of her crowd faded as the name’s echo grew louder. Her face flushed red as she roared back. “Don’t you call me that!” Her chest heaved and lungs hurt as she clenched back tears. “You will call me Trixie. Everypony will know my name.” She opened her watery, purple eyes and saw the state of the playground. A sudden calm washed over her as the thought of her mother’s confidence soothed her anger. She whispered, “Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie will be known by all.” Then she ran; her path was drawn in her wake with the tears pouring down her face.

***

The teacher knocked on the door. School had finally let out after an arduous day, and her responsibility as a caretaker of the foals led her to the steps of Oats Farm. The grandmare of the house greeted her with slightly puffy eyes. “Oh, come on in, Miss Posy. I’ll just set on a pot of tea.”

The elder guided the way to the antiquated coffee table and told her guest, “I know ya here ‘cause ma grandfilly left in the middle of the school day.” The aged pony plodded to the kitchen and returned with a tea platter. Her hoof started to rattle the teacups and table. “I just d-don’t know what...”

The muffled sobs were met by the apologetic embrace of the verdant green pony. “Ms. Oats, it’s fine, it’s fine. She just had a really tough day. She’s just upset and-”

“Left.”

The clattering stopped and the air held still. The teacher tried to speak but words of comfort they left her.

“She came home and grabbed her hat and bag and just sat at the front door. She waited for me. . .”

The unicorn was staring at the window in the door. “I’m leaving. I’ve learned more from a book than anypony in this backwards town can teach me. I...no, Trixie will find herself ponies worthy of her magic. He was useless and left on his own accord.” She turned a stepped towards her grandmare with an angry fire in her chest. “You, you both gave me nothing. You both were useless to Trixie.” Then the sadness returned. “She left me before the name Trixie would be known by all. She was going to teach me how to be great, but...but that’s too late. But Trixie is already THE Great and Powerful Trixie; just like she promised; Equestria just has to see it first.” She opened the door and stepped into the frame. “Beatrix says goodbye.”

A new river of tears trickled onto the green mare’s coat. “By time I got out the front door, she disappeared behind a cloud of smoke. She...she just left.” The younger mare wordlessly comforted the brokenhearted elder.

~~~

Trixie waited through the last three days but constantly lost the battle to her shoulder. The unicorn lay awake for the last rays of the moon to be cast before she’d leave; she had no appetite for resistance from the family. She left the bed and willed herself into a proper strut then slipped out the door with a soft click.

Her breath was heavy in the warming morning air. Her joints stiffened and her coat chilled as she adjusted to being outside for the first time in days. The mare pushed her sore legs forward as she headed towards the rising sun and the farther reaches of Equestria.

The path to the front was long, but soon came to a fence accompanied by a colt of black fur. She stopped next to him and followed his eyes up to the sky and smiled with him. “They can be beautiful.” She gave him a polite nod and set down the new road untraveled and let the breeze brush her mane to the side.

The winds started to build and viciously rustle the leaves. She pinned her ears as she fought the wind and weakly pressed on.

“Bye.”

Chapter 5

~~~

The arrowed sign was taunting her with the northward pointing directions. Las Pegasus. The sign proudly messaged to all travelers that the city full of entertainment was less than two day’s walk, but neglected to tell of what lie on the other path westward.

So Trixie demolished it.

Her horn’s aura faded and she glowered at the partly broken wood that still gave clear directions. Days away and that city still mocks me, she brooded. Her foul mood led her to kicking the sign with her good leg. And she missed. The ground quickly greeted the falling unicorn’s recent bruise and elicited a muffled whimper.

Trixie lay there with the sign fragment a few hooves away from her muzzle. She groaned and flicked the wood away with magic, claiming her small victory.

A zephyr stirred the mare back onto her hooves. After she brushed herself off best she could, Trixie initially stomped down the path like an elephant but was instantly reminded about her injuries. She continued away from the sign and city with a hobbling, but still angry, gait.

~~~

The brisk morning made way for the cloudy afternoon, and Trixie determined that a small snack and nap were in order. Her small nap quickly turned into a full afternoon of slumber. Though the moon shone brightly, a lanky and almond colored colt was the one to wake her.

“Hiya!”

Trixie’s eyes snapped open. She let out a whinny and scrambled onto her hooves, and then let out another when her bruises tried to advise her to lay back down. She glared like a cocatrice at the colt who had the audacity to wake her; his shaggy, brown mane and goofy grin was not what she wished to wake to.

She ground her teeth. “What do you want?” Her pulse started to settle and the throb in her shoulder lessened.

“Oh, well, the camp and everypony else is up ahead and it’s almost night. Didn’t want to leave you behind and miss out on the eats.” The mirth in his voice betrayed him of his innocent nature. The scraggy earth pony had an armament of satchels fixed to his midsection and a broad leather pouch hanging from his neck. His eyes shifted from hers to her back, where she slept, then finally to her injury.

His grin vanished as he made his conclusion and let anxiety momentarily crack his speech. “What happened?! Oh my, did you get robbed? Are you okay? Did somepony attack you? Should I go get-”

She snapped, “Sweet Celestia, will you shut it? Who goes around waking sleeping ponies to play twenty questions?”

He could only will himself to occasionally return her glare and attempted to fix his gaze on the oddly enchanting rock at his hooves. He muttered something incoherent and barely nudged the rock, as if to start building a wall to protect him from the unicorn’s wrath.

Trixie looked at her shoulder and soon found the conclusion that he had made. She managed to dilute some of the venom in her tone. “Care to explain why you woke me?” She shifted her stance to be less menacing

“Uhh. . .” His words chose to latch onto his tongue rather than escape his lips. The earth pony managed to grunt out: “Huh?”

Trixie asked, “Well?”

His throat rasped but quickly settled into mostly audible muttering. “I just thought that, uhh-”

She finished for him. “-I got robbed? Mauled?” She sighed and kicked aside the rock that her conversation companion constantly fiddled with. She sat down. “No, I wasn’t vandalized or robbed.” Her mind came full circle to his first statement, absolutely bewildered by the statement. “And what do mean by everypony else?”

The colt instantly replaced his angst with confidence and stopped stumbling on his words; mirth filled his voice once again. “Yeah. The others are up head, and it’s almost dinner.” Trixie followed his eyes to the sky and saw that evening twilight would soon be upon them. “I just didn’t think you’d want to miss dinner.” He stuck his hoof out. “I’m Featherfoot. And, uhh, sorry ‘bout earlier.”

Trixie returned his shake and said, “I’m Trixie. And it’s fine that you woke me.” The air about him seemed lighter the moment he was pardoned. He almost floated on the winds of forgiveness, earning a glower from Trixie.

“Great! Let’s head to camp.” He trotted a few paces before realizing he was not being accompanied by the mare. “Hey, Trixie, you coming?”

She groaned as she calmly rose. Her joints clicked like clockwork and her mind ticked in less and less anger at the perpetrator of her rest. “So, you plan on telling me who ‘everypony else’ is?” They both set down the path. “And why are you camping?”

Her momentum carried a few feet further than the perplexed clot. He asked, “Wait, you’re not part of the Adventurers Alliance, are you?”

“The what?” He expected her to bore into his soul with a glare that could put out a star, but instead he received a genuine look of confusion.

“Oh! One sec.” He buried his head into his front pouch and pulled out a golden neckerchief embroidered with a white circular shield that was pierced by Celestia’s solar sigil in the middle. He offered her the craftsmareship. “See, it’s what new members get. You didn’t have one or any bags with you, so I kind of, well, thought you were mugged.” He let out a short and nervous titter.

He stumbled closer to her a bit and tied the cloth around her neck. “There, you can be an honorary member for today.” Trixie’s face weakly flushed, but she was thankful it wasn’t enough to glow through her coat. He laughed and said, “Now, you look like an adventurer. Well, you don’t have any bags.” He fiddled with the belt holding his neck pouch, but surrendered his attempt to give her one of his bags and shrugged. “Close enough. Now we make for camp!” He proudly marched down the path as Trixie strolled along, still disarmed by the confounding colt.

The quiet hike led up to a tall and wide mound in the earth with faint glow and shapes of tents that masked the harvest moon. The colt felt the need to break the silence. “So, I guess you ought to know a few things to be weary of. Some of the ponies are … a little bit out there. The oldest ones usually have been to farthest reaches beyond Equestria.” He gave a glimpse behind him then dropped his volume as low as possible. “One of them even has even been into Changeling hive! They say he still has the bite marks from fighting with some. And he always wears a black scarf to hide them.”

His treading lessened as he calmed and returned to the lulled pace set by Trixie. “So, have you, you know, been on any cool adventures? It’s awful far the cities out here, and well,” he hesitated, fearing the wrath that could become him, but blurted out, “you kind of got an city girl accent.”

To his good health, Trixie continued walking. “Yes, I might have a ‘city accent’, but that’s because I’m composed. I am a traveling showmare.” Her body straightened up and her smile curved while she gave a pulsing glimmer from her horn. “Trixie has expectations. She cannot afford to sound like some unintelligible ruffian or hick.”

He chuckled at her theatrics. “You did seem to sleep too soundly under that tree. No real city girl would be like that. Some would probably think getting dirt in your mane is,” he took his turn at theatrics, sounding feminine as he could and gasping on every word, “the worst possible thing!”

Trixie riposted, “Well, I might not always look ay my best, but when I am, it’s magnificent.” She smirked at him and stretched the neckerchief out some. “Also, at last I look like I have some experience on the road. For an explorer, you look too well kept … city boy.”

The phrase snapped him to attention, the rustling his burden of belongings ceased and this time the unicorn left him a few paces behind. “City boy? I’m not a … I am a … I-” He resigned his head in defeat.

Trixie stopped and called back, “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

He sighed. “Fine. I’m from Canterlot. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to hike.” He trotted to her side and beckoned her to continue their small trudge to the top. “So, how can you tell? Should I scruff up my mane or maybe try to make a fake scar or two? Scars are pretty cool.”

She interjected, “No, a scar wouldn’t make you cool. Also, you’re hair is already a mess.” She snickered as he stopped to viciously roughen his mane but failed to make any progress. She teased, “Hmm, you might have made it better.”

He made a second effort more ferocious than the first, but only earned more giggling form Trixie. He groaned and brooded as he stomped to close the distance. “Dang, how do you do it? You seem like you’ve been out on the road for ages!” He noticed his last comment led to her laughter dissolving and a small drooping in her stature; guilt bound his tongue from apologizing.

She almost felt pity to see the easily excited and carefree colt pin his ears and drag his hooves. “It’s fine on the road.” She shortened her stride. “I’m happiest when traveling.”

He matched her steps and her reserve, which she dropped first. “So, why’d you do it? Join the club, I mean. Canterlot is a nice city.”

He spouted out his response as if he had recited it for a school foal’s play. “Because my big sis already made a name for herself!”

He blushed at how silly he sounded. “My family has been full of writers, scholars, athletes, everything.” He flicked a rock off the road. “I don’t have wings like my sister or magic like dad. And I didn’t want to join the Guard like grandpa Heavyfoot. So I decided to try a lot of stuff.”

He looked at his flank, peering at the spot of burlap that covered his cutie mark. “When I got a cutie mark of two horse shoes, I felt so generic.” He looked up to admire the motley shapes of the stars be dwarfed by the luminosity of the moon. “My sister is the one that pushed me to try hiking and whatnot. She’d tell me, ‘You don’t need wings or a horn to move the stars.’”

That won him a stifled laugh from Trixie. “Yeah, it’s really corny. I even told her that! But one day she just tossed me a sack, booted me out, and said, ‘Go find a another mountain and climb it you loaf.’” He couldn’t resist reminiscing, occasionally needing to hasten to a trot to keep with Trixie. “So I walked to the bottom of the mountain out of anger (I had never left Canterlot before), it started to pour. Luckily, the big beautiful moon eventually led me home. I didn’t even notice I earned my mark! Sis was so proud.”

His rambling led her eyes to reflect the moon; it had risen and was no longer blotted by the camp ahead nor the portrait of a mare she had grown fond of; she missed the kindred spirit that traveled the skies as she traveled the roads. Now it had a clear shine like the eyes of the colt she traveled with.

Her mind grounded itself. “... so that’s why I signed up. I was told that same day a some blue unicorn with a star on her rump was a magical prodigy who wanted to be part of the group.”

Trixie snorted. “I’m not blue, you dolt. I’m azure.” Her heart swelled and stride lengthened. “But I am well versed in magic and have a magnificent cutie mark. Don’t you agree?” She saw his eyes shift to her cutie mark, so she teased him into a trap with a playful stroke of her tail across his lower leg.

He stuttered and stumbled, almost meeting the ground on a personal level. She relieved him from her playful ploy. “Oh look, we’re almost there. Stop letting the pebbles tangle your hooves.”

As they rounded the top of the hill, Trixie smelt the drifting ashes of burnt pinewood and heard the whistling of sapwood, both born from the crackling bonfire. They entered the ring of tents. There was jovial laughter shared between two old friends, one was a tall and elegant zebra and the other was an alabaster mare with piercing green eyes; grand stories were told by a magnificently bearded pegasus coated in purple and guffawed at every terrified squeal sang by the chorus of fillies; a tent was partially opened unveiling a mare, tinted the softest of pinks, singing an aria that the most melodic birds would be envious over. Trixie was taken aback by the sudden swell of life, such a contrast to the desolate road; the shift almost suffocated her temporary traveling companion.

Then she spoke; her tone was steady and emotional as the dance steps of the yearly gala. “You’re late. Oh well, it was expected.” The midnight blue mare rose from her seat, donning a matching neckerchief to the one on Trixie, which was noticed immediately. “You are not Featherfoot. He is not a unicorn.” Her utterances were nothing more than the obvious and had no force behind them, but somehow they were insulting to Trixie.

Featherfoot spoke before Trixie could; his ever jubilant nature ignored the contention Trixie felt. “Haha, she’s a friend of mine. Told her she could be an honorary member for today.” He offered his hoof. “So you’re Solaris, right?”

She merely nodded. “Yes, I am.”

Featherfoot gingerly set his hoof down and began to debate with himself whether or not Solaris would want to become his friend. That debate was soon interrupted.

The bearded stallion slammed his hoof onto the large cauldron and shouted, “Soup’s on young’uns.” Solaris noiselessly departed and left a sore Trixie and conflicted Featherfoot behind.

They joined and mingled amongst the crowd of hardened adventurers, occasional campers, and sobered elders. The bearded pony greeted them with a saucer of searing soup and a frightening hug for Trixie: ”The more the merrier, and guests are more than welcome,” which she was not prepared to receive. The pair found a vacant, felled log and waited for the soup to become a non hazard for their tongues.

After Trixie took her spot, the gleam of her horn pulled the neckerchief off and tossed it onto his back. “Here, I’m not you. I don’t need this.” Her glower was aimed at the nonchalant, monotone unicorn who accepted the attention of a high pitched mare in a stupor of salt and nostalgia. To her right was a stone coated stallion, his eyes were faded diamonds and his neck was enveloped by a tattered and aged, black scarf. Those eyes seemed to be looking everywhere at once, but were rather intent on burning themselves out by glaring into the fire.

The drained cauldron droned its call. The campers halted conversations and heeded the clangor, giving their attention to vermillion earth pony. He brushed his bristles as the ever popular storyteller took his spot next to him, both resting on the only mahogany timber.

The younger of the two introduced himself and his fellow. “Welcome everypony, I am Red Stone and my friend is Sky Swirl. It’s heartening to see a full turnout for the fifth meet in a row along with our two newest, official members joining us.” His fierce eyes scanned past the flames in the center of the encampment, not judging but knowing who was capable. “I will make this simple. We will set out as a group tomorrow, but we will reach a point where some of you will turn back.”

He eyed the showmare and colt. “There will be a point where I cannot promise to protect you, so you will stop before then and return to here with Sir Swirl.” He had pointed to his second in command, and now at the prodigy. “Miss Solaris is currently the only one who will continue past the edge of Equestria that hasn’t done so before.” He cleared his throat. “The rest of you should not feel upset; even the princesses occasionally worry about what lies past that borders. Fret not, your acceptance into the Alliance means, in time, you too will join us.”

He looked for a nod confirmation form his old friend, and concluded, “That is all for tonight. Please, acquaint yourselves with everypony else best you can and make certain to sleep well.” He chuckled heartily. “Now, my new friends, relax your hooves and enjoy this wonderful autumn evening.”

The ponies moseyed back into their cliques, but those on occasion would merge into larger ones, unconsciously obeying the commands of the their leader. The loud banter, cheerful comments, and shared embraces helped found newly burgeoning friendships for all the excited travelers.

The noises, however, were ignored by Trixie as she slunk off to the side and accompanied two stallions, the bearded one and his conversation partner, Featherfoot. They stopped talking. She said, “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt, just wanted to get away from the yelling.”

The younger responded, “Oh, don’t worry Trixie. This is Sir Swirl, he was just telling me this awesome story of his first time across the border.” His excitement was almost contagious, but Trixie remained steadfastly upset over the first pony meet at the camp.

The older stallion’s soothing tone assuaged and swayed Trixie to stay. “Don’t you fret, missy, I was just about to start.”

He started, “Even I took a few meets to be allowed past the border, but the club is right to do so; some things out there are magical, some wonderful.” He settled his weight and darkened his tone. “And kiddos, some things out there are terrifying beyond words.”

“See, when I went my first time, it was but a small hoof-full of us had been before. The previous head of the club was having his second foal, so we went without him.” The chatter surrounding them faded with time as more and more ponies chose early sleep over more jokes and merriment. “We saw a rare Blacktooth dragon on the first day, whose wings,” he said as he spread his wings wide as possible, “blotted the sun for hours because he was so large he could almost grab the sun!”

A soft, motherly chuckle was heard from behind Trixie. His wings returned to his side as he greeted his old friend, a beautiful zebra with a rhythmic accent and hypnotizingly orange eyes. “My old friend who amends his old tales, but our friend always mends my torn sails,” she took her spot and continued in her singsong, “and his heart is big as his beard is long, his heart that is big tells you ‘you belong’.”

Her rhymes baffled Trixie and enchanted Featherfoot, but both were knocked out of their stupors by the bellowing laugh of her oldest friend. “My good friend, Milia, your words are always too kind and beautiful.” He leaned in as if to divulge Celestia’s real name. “I was just telling them about the first dragon I had ever seen.”

His zebra friend asked, “Can you promise not to stretch the story till it’s farfetch?”

He answered, “Hmm, maybe it wasn’t hours, but it was terrifying. That Blacktooth was my first dragon I’ve ever seen. I always missed the migrations.” Milia coughed and gave him a stern look. “Right, right, I digress. So the second day, we saw a crumbling castle abandoned in an open prairie. But when we got there, it just vanished!” His dramatics and hoof waving captivated Featherfoot but were lost on Trixie.

He continued, “The remainder of the week was … disappointingly uneventful.” Laughter from the zebra met his blatantly dramatic pause. “At the start of the second week, a pair of brothers of our group wandered off on a short walk, but somehow when they reached the edge of the forest we camped in, the forest was met by a desert.” He swiped his hooves to the side. “It was as if sun was so close, it had burned off the limbs and leaves facing the desert, like the forest had built a wall to keep the desert at bay.”

His frame grew more rigid, his tonality echoed his more serious mood. “We followed what we had hoped to be their steps. We wished they had never gone there.” He coughed twice. His zebra friend slid next to him and whispered to him inaudible to the listeners, which he waved her off and responded, “No, no, the kids should know now, not later.” He exhaled. “We found ourselves standing in front of a tower that had no right to be there. The top of the tower glistened from the desert sun. We would later learn it was completely glass. And it almost scraped against the clouds. Red was the first to notice a small tear of fabric on the steps that lead up to the stone door, which opened on its own as we entered.”

Trixie started to lose her focus and watched the moon longingly; it shone its greatness down to be powerfully admired by all; ponykind, dragonkin, buffalo tribes, everyone, even Equestria’s enemies admired it. She escaped into a half-sleep, no dreams nor noise entered her mind. She ignored his prattling. “Red Stone was the one to identify the colt encased in glass. It was Cortland; one of our boys. He was frozen there, his face fixed in anger, body pointing ahead to the burnt rubble of what was a shrine and the stairs behind them where loud echoes rang down.”

He gave a polite nod to his friend as she retired for the night. “I had seen a dragon who could eat clouds whole and castles vanish before my eyes, but I wasn’t ready for the next room.” He sighed. “We found our last companion, Apricot, but we only knew that because he still was wearing our emblem around his neck. What was wearing it was a pony enveloped in a white fire, with only a pitch black helmet and haunting purple dragon eyes.”

His eyes started to water, but he rubbed them dry with his wings and progressed in the tale. “The demon that was once our friend had been smashing his helmet against the wall, but seemed to be fighting itself on where to run and always slammed awkwardly instead. Its gaze eventually fell upon us. It moaning, then shrieking as its tears sizzled on his coat as they were shed. It charged at us, but Red didn’t hesitate and charged back. They both became blurs and rumbled the chamber’s stones as they ran. Then they collided.” He smashed his hooves together for added effect. Featherfoot almost floated in the air from tilting forward. The sound effects knocked Trixie out of her trance and back to Equestria. “The helmet clanged across the floor in two pieces. Red smashed into a wall and the demon collapsed into plumes of smoke.”

“When it cleared, Apricot was prostrate. He had a gash where Red hit him and a few burn marks and lost a lot of fur, but was still breathing afterwards.” He smiled for the first time since the start of his story. “We heard shouting. ‘Apricot! Apricot!’ Somehow Cortland was released from his imprisonment. He ignored everpony and rushed to his brother’s side. I had helped Red recover his wind. We all gathered around Apricot as he woke to his brother who had broken down in tears over him.”

Sky Swirl pulled out his embroided neck wear, and showed it to the two. “This symbol means more than just adventures and fun. It means we are family, no matter what happens, we come home together.” He dried his tears once more. “That my young ponies, is why we don’t always take everypony out there.” He paused. “Ah, I have a gift.” He reached once more into his satchel and said, “It’s dangerous to go alone. Take these.”

He offered Featherfoot a pair of wristbands, both were a white velvet with a small segment of rouge and rough textile. Featherfoot instinctively asked, “Neato. Do they do anything special?” He gasped. “Can they make me shoot fire from my hooves?”

The energy jumped from Featherfoot to Sky Swirl who belly laughed at the immense display of youth. “No sonny, but they are enchanted though. They are called Bonding Bands. The red parts will always point to each other, no matter what. Try it!” And he did. Featherfoot rotated, tossed, and turned them, and the coarser patches of cloth always remained as steadfastly connected as the northern star and the earth.

He bumped Trixie and tossed her an anklet. “See, now we can find each other everywhere! Best friends foreverywhere!”

His exuberance at such an hour agitated Trixie, but she didn’t want to ruin his mood. ‘Yes, it’s wonderful. I’ll wear it.” She checked the moon’s position. “Hmm, we should be asleep by now. Thank you for the story … Sir, umm-”

Her new “best friend” interjected. “Yeah, thanks for the amazing story Sir Swirl.”

His appreciation caused a deep chuckle. “Don’t you call me Sir Swirl, or you’ll make me feel old. Call me Sky, you are my friends now.” He leaned in and whispered. “Only the princess calls me Sir Swirl. Some old gaffer in my family basically invented half the magic in his time, so they knight all of us ‘out of courtesy’. I think it’s just silly.”

Featherfoot rubbed behind his ears and looked down dejectedly. “Well, my sister is a big time,” he gagged on his own words, “Wunderbolt, so I get when ponies think you got to be amazing as he was.” He beamed at the thought of his sister’s love. “She’s the only one who cared about what I wanted and kicked me into shape. Rather than waiting for me to lay a golden egg or something.” He yawned. “Anyways, we shouldn’t keep you up. Thanks again!”

The colt hugged the elder and led Trixie to his bags. “Hey, I’ll set us up a tent.” He blushed as his mind rendered the implications. “Uhh, I can sleep outside, I do like the stars.” He started to dig into his multitude of bags to hide his flushed face.

Trixie stated plainly and tiredly, “We can split the tent. We aren’t foals.” She peered down at him and smirked. “I know you’ll behave.” She started to walk off. “I’m going to stretch my legs a bit before bed.”

Trixie walked a small half around the encampment under the inspiring moonlight before encountering the one pony she truly disliked in the group. Solaris spoke first. “You have a problem with me, it’s obvious as the coming rain. Pegasi don’t control the weather here and the rings of the moon tell me it’s coming.”

Trixie scoffed. “Let me guess, everypony has worshiped you as a prodigy all your life. Well, some of us mares earn our titles and take pride in what we will achieve. No pony can stop me from getting the recognition I’ve earned but been denied.”

Solaris, detached as always, said, “Probably not. You don’t know what real magic is. You probably use pretty lights and nothing more. I’d be amazed if you could even teleport or lift another pony by yourself.” She walked by Trixie onwards to her tent. “Goodnight.”

Trixie struggled to not yell at the pony who dismissed her as a magician. She stomped back into her tent and wordlessly took her sleeping bag. She shunned the world and temporary roomie as the coming storm kicked up leaves and bounced notes of water off the roof of the tent. Sleep didn’t come readily for either pony in the tent. His worry and her anger refused them slumber.

Icy Abyss: Chapter 6

Icy Abyss

Chapter 6

~~~

The low murmurs, boisterous laughs, and serious gossip droned on at the end meal as the camp slowly started the day. The most eager campers devoured their meals and collapsed their tents and stuffed their bags full of the belongings while they chattered about family, friends and hobbies. But breakfast was silent for Trixie.

The noise and clatter went unheard for her; every encounter of the previous day drove her into angry contemplation. She grumbled, “Annoying city kids. Thinking they know anything about traveling. Nothing more than a circus.”

Her slumped stature and brooding was glossed over by most of the camp; all the other ponies but a bearded pegasus and almond coated colt were sloppily stuffing their sacks and tearing down their tents; these two had finished and instead concerned themselves with the sullen unicorn.

Sky Swirl spoke first and nodded in approval. “You seem much more prepared for travel than I thought. You almost packed faster than me.” He chuckled. “Maybe age is getting the best of me.”

It took Featherfoot a moment to comprehend the complement—contemplation took all his concentration. He unrequitedly glanced at Trixie between every belt he tightened and sentence he spoke. “Oh. Yeah. I just … wanted to get a chance to talk but don’t really know what to say.” He pulled tight the last strap and plopped down on the pile, surrendering to his worries. He used the largest as a pillow.

His elder joked, “Well, I know I’m quite fascinating and an enigma that the fillies flock to.” He saw no change in the sad pile of earth pony and traveling gear. “But I suppose you didn’t mean to talk to me.” Sky sat next to his young companion. “When somepony is in a bad mood, a friend can cheer them up.”

Featherfoot said dejectedly, “I just don’t know. She was fine. Now she’s mad. I don’t get it! We didn’t even fight. She just ignored me.” He emptied his lungs and hung his head. “I’m such a bad friend; I didn’t even ask what’s wrong.”

The mentor minded pony offered words of comfort. “Kiddo, a bad friend wouldn’t worry at all. Just give her time. She’ll be fine in a bit.”

The younger raised his head off his makeshift pillow and stopped pouting. “Think so? But I did nothing!”

Sky said excitedly, “Of course I think so! Just because you don’t know what to say doesn’t make you a bad friend.”

An emotionless voice agreed. “Yes. A bad friend would rather wallow than help.” The horned silhouette blocked the sun.

The elder pegasus greeted, “Ah, good morning, Solaris. I see you are ready to go as well.” The unicorn’s lone bag was dwarfed in number and in size by the satchels that formed the temporary couch of wallowing for the colt.

She slightly dipped her head. “Yes, Sir Swirl. I am prepared to leave.”

The elder protested, “Please just call me Sky. All this ‘Sir Swirl’ nonsense will make me feel too old to go venturing.” His playful scowl faded as his beard lifted and muzzle bent sagely. “But it’s nice to see you two young’uns so ready to head out. Reminds me of Red and myself,” he flared his wings and pointed with them towards the rising sun behind the mountainside, “Inseparably ready for danger!”

He roared with mirthful laughter and startled Featherfoot with a feathery pat on the back. “Speaking of Red, he seems to need some help.” He trotted off to the other half of the encampment and shouted, “Don’t forget about your friends now.”

The pair remained quiet. Solaris only wanted to leave and finish the trip for another prospect awaited the end; Featherfoot didn’t know quiet very well. He said plainly,“So, I was wondering.” He was befuddled and wistfully watched the sun laboriously lift itself out from behind the mountains’ protection.

Always quick to the point, she questioned, “Yes, wondering about what?”

He looked at her, mouth open. She said, “Close your mouth and speak or a bug might think it a new home.”

He snapped his mouth shut and reddened. “Ha, I was, umm, just wondering. You know. About ... stuff?” he asked more than stated.

She smirked and said, “Stuff? Do you even have a reason to be out here?”

He beamed and replied, “Nope! Nothing more than to see somewhere new.”

Her expression flatted. “None at all? I see no excitement in that. Or this.” She raised her hoof to walk away.

He didn’t give it the chance to touch the ground. “So why are you here then?”

She stomped down and snapped, “Don’t ask. Ever.” Her terrifying gaze and towering stature dwarfed the crestfallen colt, despite him being taller and having more gear.

He averted her gaze and drew circles in the grass. “You asked first.”

She stepped closer and the gleam left her eyes as they grew smaller. “I said don’t ask.”

He perked up. “So? I told you why I’m here. You can at least do the same. It’s not fair!”

Her chest heaved as she struggled with her temper. “Life. Isn’t. Fair. You know what else isn’t fair?” She inhaled sharply but never broke her level tone. “Perfect scores but still not getting into Canterlot University. That. Isn’t. Fair.” Her horn flickered. Nothing happened except a failed attempt by Featherfoot to barely hide under his shield of sacks.

She started to calm with controlled breathing. She said, “They told me I needed to learn more than magic. Sir Swirl offered—in front of the Princess herself—to teach me what was,” she spat, “’missing and help her emotional instability’. So he dragged me out here.”

The light stopped. Featherfoot could once again hear the ruckus of the readying travelers and the rattling of dying leaves. She walked away. His tongue refused to let an apology free so he gurgled inaudible and instead watched the unicorn walk away.

He sighed and strapped on his bags. His hooves were contradictory to his name as they mashed the blades of grass underhoof on his way to tell Trixie that he had finished packing.

He sighed and spoke. “Hey, Trixie. I’m ready to go. Almost everypony else is too.” He waited for an actual response; the only sound she made was the soft inhale and exhale of autumn air. “Ready to go?”

Her horn glowed pink as it lifted the decorated neckerchief and toss it onto his muzzle. “No, Trixie is not going. She is not your friend, despite what you think constantly giving her that damn cloth means.”

She stood up. He flinched slightly; angering two unicorns was not the way he intended to officially start his trek. She said calmly, “Just because you both will walk the same road for a while doesn’t make her your friend.” She glowered at a certain blue unicorn. “You can make other friends whenever you want.”

She stalked off and ahead of the rest of the group; she’d rather suffer the chance of a conversation with another camper rather than return to anywhere near Las Pegasus. She strolled onto the road, leaving the gloomy colt to follow if he wished. And he did.

~~~

Midday sun had struck the middle cord of the sky. The sharp gales plucked warmth from furs and rattled every leaf as the merry band drummed with their march on the roots below. Trixie hastened her tempo. She did not want to hear the noisy crew a lengthy measure behind her.

Red Stone spent the majority of the day’s travel discussing and lecturing the various members on safely and the wilderness. He always prepared. He had one last young and overburdened colt to converse with, but he went to seek counsel from his oldest friend first. He asked, “Sky, what do you think? About-”

The bearded one joked, “-the weather? Fantastic! The brisk chill makes me feel young.”

The earth pony grinned. “Yes. It is excellent hiking weather. However,” he nodded at the almond coated pony, “I haven’t had a chance to talk with one pony in particular.” He conceded, “I know I said he would rather stay. But he did beat you to packing on his own and you’ve taken a shine to him.” He looked past the colt and settled on the azure mare. “And the young miss he arrived with seems to know her way. Don’t think she intended to travel with us. Any thoughts? I know you have some.” They chuckled on the last remark.

The pegasus answered, “Yes. I think that you should go talk to him yourself. It’s lunch time anyway. And I am hungry.” With that said he stretched his wings and dramatically dared to fly a few hooves above the ground. He announced, “Friends, we shall break for lunch here. Find a spot and don’t stray off. Dangerous woodlands are nearby and it’s easy to get lost.”

The ponies assembled into a sloppy circle and the travelers wasted no time to resume their chatter—except for Featherfoot. He sat alone. The grass seemed to lean away from the lone pony as if to give him extra room to sulk. He was even too tired to sigh.

Red Stone chewed through his daffodil sandwich as he watched the edge of the blue leaved woods. He noted the small shadow dart back into the canopy and concluded that it should be no worry; they will go around the woods as planned. He finished the last bite of the lunch and set out to finish the last task for the day. The colt was alone. Alone was good for talking.

Red sauntered to the sad mound of shaggy hair and untightened satchels and asked, “Have a moment, sonny?”

Featherfoot lifted his heavy head. “Yes, Sir, I do.” He sorely stood.

Red said, “So, my colleague and I were wondering about the young mare who accompanied you yesterday.”

Featherfoot stole a glance at the pony of topic and sighed. “Her name’s Trixie … and I don’t think she’s traveling much more with us. She said we aren’t friends.” He slumped onto his haunches and packed away the neckerchief. “She meant it.”

“Ah. Well,” Red nodded knowingly, “my initial impression was wrong. About the both of you. She seemed like a friend. And you didn’t look ready to head out yet.” He offered a hoofshake. “Sky thinks you should come with us. If he does, I do too. Congrat’s.”

They shook but Red easily picked up the doubt under the pleased façade and nervous rubbing of the ankle and the adorned strap. “So, when the others will head back, you can choose to go either way. We won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” He patted the colt on the back and headed back to join the noisy pair of the off-key pegasus and melodic zebra singing old tunes in Middle Equestrian.

~~~

Passing Red on his return to the circle, Solaris pressed forward. Every step ahead was one less step left between her and the chance to read in the archives of magic or learn from the sage teachers or research a new spell. She glimpsed back. No pony wants to leave yet, she thought. Wonderful. She stomped up the lazy slope and under the nearly emptied fruit tree and waited; the others still had yet to move onward. Her magic unlatched the small shoulder bag and they both flopped on the grass. I can wait. And she did. She counted seven red leaves and three yellows stolen from the tree by the breeze.

Then a pear thumped onto the ground. Patience is a virtue? Well I’m sick of waiting, she thought. Her impatient legs forced her into a lazy canter, not caring where they took the unicorn and eagerly stood atop the hill. She eyed the unusual treeline that blurred into the almost matching skyline and gazed across the green plains that enclosed the forest. And then she spotted another unicorn—Trixie.

The showmare was sitting alone on side of the road with a pile wild blueberries and the emptied bush providing her paltry shade. She launched an object blindly over her shoulder and unknowingly up the hill towards Solaris. Trixie resumed her meal.

Solaris picked it up. The hoofband was white with a small patch of red that pointed directly behind even though she rotated it. She recognized the spell; some dowser spells were transformed to track even waterless objects if the unicorn was skilled enough. She wasn’t sure of what it pointed to or how a stage magician made one. She was curious.

The lunching pony’s muzzle puckered after consuming a hoof-full of the wild fruit. A snide monotone broke the silence. “Those berries could poisonous. Quite like your attitude.” She tossed the band at her hooves and smirked. “Feeling left out? Or did you decide we aren’t worth your time?”

Trixie stood. “You know,” she stepped closer and grinned, “blueberries aren’t ‘poisonous’. Only some sheltered city girl would think otherwise.”

The two started to encircle each other and the Solaris retorted, “Better than being some talentless hack. Where’d you learn magic?” she enveloped herself in a sapphire radiance then flashed white and reappeared behind the other mare, “From foalschool?”

The flash of light dazed Trixie and stunned her senses for a moment. Trixie snapped around. “How precious. Another magical brute. No grace. If you’re here, what happened? Too good for another few years of studying? Figure it all out?” she looked over the other mare and caught the anger in her eyes, “Trixie doubts you’ve even left your house before.” The fury left. Trixie lost her mark but easily picked up on the irritated stance.

Solaris parried, “No, I haven’t traveled. But I know actual magic. Not the second rate illusions that some second rate showmare with a pathetic show personality would study.” She blinked behind Trixie again and teased, “They probably wouldn’t even allow you to apply to a school. No pony wants you here. No pony wants your type anywhere. You can’t even make friends with these imbeciles.”

Trixie turn once more and locked into a glare, stomping on the cloth anklet. The showmare asked, “If you know so much about school, why are you out here parading across Equestria with a circus act? What happened?” Solaris’ horn shimmered and teeth ground as she enveloped her opponent with her blue aura. Trixie taunted, “Dropped out? Get kicked out for bad grades? Trixie earned her skills. You have all the strength in the world but no grace or sense to even stay in sch-”

Solaris pinched her eyes shut and screamed, “Quiet!” and the blue aura around the showmare exploded in white. She creaked open her eyes. The showmare, shrub, and pile of sour berries all disappeared along with the plot of grass and dirt that they stood on.

~~~

An azure horn poked out from under the upturned earth while it pierced a leaf from an unfortunate blueberry bush. A pink film coated a large chunk of dirt and tossed it a few feet away, taking a mostly white hoofband with it. Trixie poked out her head and inhaled desperately as more soil rolled down the small mound.

She slowly wiggled free. The unicorn whisked away the topsoil buried into her mane and tried to see her surroundings. She lit her horn and limped down the mound but failed to see past a pace ahead; her legs were a haunting purple hue. The mare barely remembered an argument, a white light, and a pitiful lunch. She saw even less. She stumbled forward with a sharp pain in her shoulder over the solid and grassless forest floor. She stepped on and over a large tree trunk only to slide on the slippery surface and fall.

She smacked onto the ground. The frozen moss cradled her head but left her body to chill on the rough forest floor. She struggled to stand, hitting puddles of ice that stole her legs and balance freely. Then a twig snapped. She looked down and saw nothing underhoof.

Trixie scanned the blue darkness, but only the outline of the fallen trunk was seen. She cautiously stood. The only sound was the small scrape of hooves against the permafrost—even the wind was absent.

She carefully moved forward, weaving through towering trees as new ones materialized every few paces. She diligently advanced over fallen branches and ice patches and occasionally nicked a hoof on a jagged rock. Then she stepped on air.

The pony reeled her hoof back and slowly lowered her horn to see an empty expanse. She calmed her breathing, allowing frigid air soothe her lungs and heart, and took a step back. Another branch snapped.

The crack echoed across the chasm and sent a shiver down her spine while a loosed rocks bounced on the bottom. She felt something scratch her fetlock and checked to see an innocent twig had been crushed underhoof and had tried to tangle itself in her fur. She smiled and laughed; it too echoed across the chasm. The clatter of rolling rocks and the rumbling of shifting earth called back.

She leapt back, expecting the ground to crumble under her, but instead crunched more dead branches upon the cold floor and fell when her back hoof struck ice. The dark gap occasionally shook but it stopped growling. The noise came from behind instead. A drop of thick water splashed her muzzle.

With a soft glow of her horn, Trixie instinctively faced the source of sound and moisture. There were teeth; they were part of a white shape was accompanied by hungry gray eyes and long black claws. Another paw slammed next to her. The muzzle lowered and breathed a frosty gust across her body while the wet nose flared and savored the scent of pony. The teeth parted for a ice shattering roar.

She whimpered and scrambled on her hooves to ineffectually slump away from the towering Ursa Polaris. The mare hastened her retreat from the bear on the impulse of it was coming closer. Then her back hoof felt nothing.

The dangling hoof snapped back to the cliff edge and sent a few crumbs into the shadows below. A dagger of sunlight broke the blue canopy. It bounced off the ice covered trees and glistening mosses and aimed for the eyes. The bear howled. The pony locked its legs as fear gripped her voice and loosed whimpers instead.

The monster swung madly as the foreign light bathed its body and scalded its eyes. It smashed a fallen tree and trembled the earth with pounding while its prey stood motionless on the crumbling cliff.

The shadows returned and poured down like water to the relief of the behemoth. The mare left. It grumbled at a lost meal but found the scent, so it crushed a path along the ridgeline to find an azure snack. Under the remnants of grass and unusually warm topsoil lay an abandoned gift, that’s patch of red pointed out of the trees and into the plains above, away from the monster and shadows within.

~~~

Featherfoot lounged on the bedding his bags provided. He tossed another almond in the air and caught it with a delicious crunch that sounded like a scream. His eyes snapped wide and he lifted his head to spot a white bloom fade from behind the hill. He tilted his head back. No other campers seemed to notice the commotion in the distance. His Bonding Band also directed over the hill.

He hopped up and strapped on the shoulder bag. Equipped, he strolled up the hill and spotted a familiar blue pony gawking at a patch of dirt. He anxiously crept up to one of the unicorns he offended today. He gulped. “Hey. I wanted to, umm, apologize. For earlier. I shouldn’t have asked.” The words bounced off the pinned ears of the shaking blue pony.

He nudged her and flinched. Nothing happened. He spoke louder and tapped her shoulder. “Hey, Solaris? I said I’m sorry ‘bout earlier.” He walked around and planted himself firmly on the rather large cater. The bags eclipsed her vision. “Solaris. You okay?”

She stuttered, “I-I’m so-sorry. I-I lost it.” A sprinkle of tears extinguished a lone ember on the edge of the shallow pit. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

A hoof lifted her chin in comfort. “Hey. No need to cry. We can find what you lost easily.” He laughed. “It’s nothing to cry over. So what was it?”

She blinked her eyes dry. “I lost it. She’s gone.” Her voice cracked and she wrapped her legs around his neck; the hugging and sobbing matted his mane. “It’s my fault. I hurt your friend. I wanted her gone.”

The slower pony asked, “Wait. What? What do you mean ‘I hurt your friend’? Everypony is at the—” the gears in his mind stalled, noisily grinded until the deadlock was released and the machinery sparked back to life, “—where’s Trixie?”

The words stumbled out of the unicorn and her tone waivered. “We fought and she taunted me and I fought back but she called me a drop-out and I...” she still doubted what happened, “think I might have teleported her away. Somehow.” She pleaded with reddened eyes. “Help me. Please? I don’t know where she’s at. And Sir Swirl will be furious and the princess will reject me from—”

A hoof stopped her from talking. Fleetfoot said, “How could you do … I can find her.” He pulled out the Alliance's embroidery and unwrapped the neat folds. A mostly white anklet was inside. “It can find her if she has the other.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you destroyed it.”

Solaris stared at the object. She snatched it and levitated it out in front of her and scurried the nearby ground for it, muttering as she looked. She explained, “She took it off.” Her lips quivered. “I might have sent it with her.”

Featherfoot took back the article. He said, “I’m going to find her. I still got to apologize.” He lined up with the red mark and lined the path to the forest edge. He jogged a few paces ahead, but the air cracked, and he stopped.

The unicorn blinked in front of him and swiped at the band but missed. She demanded, “I messed this up. I’ll get her.”

He guarded the valuable, but agreed. “Yes, you messed this up. You can come with.” He trotted ahead and called back angrily, “Let’s go Solaris.” The mare reappeared next to him, panting and still leaking tears, but she kept pace. The pair headed for the forest.

~~~

The crumpled mare was weakly breathing. She was nestled into a bedding of frozen moss that padded her fall, injured but safe. The cradle was perched atop a short plateau resting in front of a looming wall of ice. The fortification shuttered.

The usra stomped forward and growled as drops of saliva splashed on puddles of ice, eliciting small sizzles. A voice like a knife whetting on ice rustled from the leaves and echoed from within the frozen halls behind the mare and said, “She. Is. Mine.. A shadow rose above the sleeping mare. The snow white ursa stepped back, ears pinned and teeth bared. And it growled, but returned to the den, wrecking the forest as it went. A single blue leaf flittered down and landed on the mare’s cheek, but a strong gust swept it away. “Mine.”