The Standard and Normal Human: One : Meeting T.G.A.P. Trixie

The Standard and Normal Human6

And so there I sat on the cold metal the floor of the cage I was in, unsure as to what on earth a talking lion was doing in the cell next to me. In hindsight perhaps I shouldn’t have panicked like I did? I mean it’s a talking animal, I’m pretty sure I had seen plenty up to this point. But a lion? A small one at that, responding to my question so casually and swiftly. I lowered my hand and got back up from the floor, then took my seat and tried to get my head around this whole situation...

“So uh... Lion’s can talk?” I asked, a stupid question I know but I had a theory. “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised...”

“That you shouldn’t, you're a curious creature aren't you?” The Lion asked, tilting its head and then lying on the floor still facing me.

“I didn’t expect to see one this small though-” I had begun to say, saying this however didn’t go so well...

“Who are YOU Calling Small!?” the miniscule lion shouted at me, clearly this rubbed him the wrong way. “An Ant Only visible through a glass lens!”

‘I... I Didn’t say that...’ I thought to myself, the more he blubbered on about his size the more I could see a resemblance between the lion and Edward Elric. Heck even the voice sounded familiar, in fact from now on just replace the lions voice with his. “I’m... I’m sorry?”

He calmed down enough to see my confusion, eventually he asked me very bluntly, “What are you?”

“I’m a human”, I informed the talking lion, “I’m also not from this world and need to get back soon... Which is going to be a problem if I’m stuck in this cage...”

“That it is... So... What’s your name?” It quizzed me, I think it was as curious as me.

“It’s Nick, what about you?” Apparently conversations with lion’s counts as normal around here, “What do they call you? Aslan?” I laughed as I asked this, considering there is only one talking lion I know of in fiction it would have to do...

At this point it would be a good idea to describe this lion, mainly because you're probably imagining a huge goliath of a lion when actually it was rather small. It was just as big as Trixie, it had sharp teeth, small but sharp claws, a short scruffy tail and what appeared to be red paint marked on his face, it was almost as if he was from a tribe or something. In fact he reminded me of Red XIII from final fantasy, I was going to ask him how he got away from Shin-ra but this of course would have been stupid...

“I’m- Wait, what?” The Lion, who apparently wasn’t called Aslan, replied. “Who is Aslan?”

“Oh right... Human references...” I took a deep breath and tried to give a serious answer. “It’s a fictional character from my world, it’s a talking lion”

“Oh, ok then...” It shrugged it off and gave a loud yawn, clearly it was tired. “No, my name is Curtclaw...”

Now before you ask, the word ‘Curt’ can also mean ‘Small’. Due to his size and stature he was obviously given a name that would suit him, it wasn’t that bad actually. I don't think he knew what that meant however, it’s kind of ironic...

“Huh, well it’s nice to meet you Curt!” I said with a smile, desperately trying to forget the situation I was in.

“No, my name is Curtclaw...” It repeated, thinking I was ignoring it.

“I know, I thought it was a good nickname...” I said, shrugging as I did. He brought up his paw to his face and scratched his chin, clearly he was thinking about something.

“... Fine, Curt it is...” The young lion replied, this was going to be a lot more normal using actual names. Actually, I’m still trying to get my head around how they name ponies, it just seems bizarre to me...

We began to talk about our own predicaments, I tried to explain that I was in their world for 4 days and that I would have to get out of there real soon and back to my own. As for why? Well, I explained that as well. You see I’m not the kind of person to be late for work, that means that someone would have probably been sent to my house, then we have my best friend. I was supposed to see him that week but instead a magical journey started happening instead, forget work and forget my boss, explaining this to him would be unbelievably difficult.

Then we have Curt, he explained what happened up to this point in time. Some parts he seemed to try and get around, almost as if he didn’t want me to hear them. I’ll give the summary anyway... He’s part of a small tribe, Ironically called the ‘Fang Gang’. He was just one part of this strange group of lions, they hunted for their meals and protected the young and elderly from danger. Well I say hunted, they went fishing. What? Surprised? Need I remind you that it’s a child’s world? Not to mention that lions are technically cats... Anyway, Curt was out hunting by a river, which was just outside their tribes territory. This wasn’t in Equestria by the way, it was on the outskirts of the Griffin Empire. According to him he encountered a strange creature but didn’t say what it looked like, all except it’s glowing green eyes, this was what I meant by him keeping details quiet. They talked for a while and then went their separate ways, it was friendly apparently so it knew it wasn’t a danger. Days later, making that same trip to the river, he noticed a small ball of yarn...

Have you ever seen a cat and a ball of yarn before? Cats love them, unfortunately however it was a trap set by Mr Lunamoon himself. As soon as Curt approached that ball of yarn a cage appeared beneath him, it was like a bear trap but it interlocked as it closed shut. This trapped him and he was then dragged away from his familiar land against his will, he had been trying to escape the entire time he was held captive. Each time he failed...

“I’m afraid I don’t know how we can get out of this mess...” I began, speaking out loud. “I just hope Trixie tries to track me down...”

“Trixie?” Curt asked, tilting his head ever so slightly.

I explained who she was... And everything else that followed...

(You see these lines? Well, this is to say that I wasn’t there for the conversations and events which followed afterwards. This is because I wasn’t there, I do have to say however that I was told all of this after everything was resolved. Which is why I’m writing about it now... Does that make sense? Ok, I’ll put it this way, its a change of perspective...)

Trixie was still talking to Flam back at the wagon, she was going on about her parents in detail...

“They don’t care as long as they make money!” Trixie was ranting, they were sitting in the middle of the wagon around table and chairs. “I don’t want to leave Nick on his own with ‘them’ in town... I’ve seen what they do...”

“As long as Flim is with him he’s fine” Flam reassured, sipping his cup with delight. “Besides, from what I’ve read this human isn’t that bad...”

Then, out of the blue, Flam asked something he was truly confused by.

“So, why is this human with you then?” He began, placing his cup back onto the table and bringing his hooves together. “He could have gone straight to the princess or even explored the land, so why did he decide to help you?”

Trixie looked down at the table, collected her thoughts and delivered them slowly and concisely. “When he first arrived... We didn’t exactly get off to a good start...” She began to explain, Flam’s eyebrow raised with curiosity as Trixie continued. “... All I was thinking about was myself and my own mission to become more renowned than my parents, I talked to him like some kind of wild animal... Yet he refused with such admiration...”

“Admiration?” Flam questioned, “What makes you say that?”

“He didn’t back down or give up as I tried to manipulate him for my own personal gain... All he wanted to do was find a way back home”. Trixie picked up her cup and took a sip, gave a loud sigh and then placed it back onto the table. “That’s something I could never do as a child... I couldn’t go against my parents wishes, that’s why I ran away...”

“As well as trying to become bigger than they are...” Flam added as he slowly curled his moustache in his hoof... Yeah, don’t ask me how he did that by the way... “From the sounds of it though it seems like you disliked each other to begin with...”

“Well I was trying to control him and he was mocking my magical ability...” Trixie informed Flam, he tilted nodded to show he followed. “Eventually I snapped and I ran back to my wagon to... To... Cry my eyes out...”

“And what about him?” Flam asked, trying to see both sides of this story. “What did he do after this?”

“Well... Eventually he found me... And then apologised to me...” Trixie explained, looking around the room as she said it. “He then stated that he would make it up to me... He then told me he would help me with my show, until he needed to get back home anyway...”

“What a remarkable creature...” Flam elaborated carefully, “He did all that because he was sorry?”

Trixie nodded, “It’s been quite the adventure with him alongside me... Perhaps I should ask him to stay?-” Trixie added but was interrupted by Flams brother barging in on their commute.

“Brother!” Flim shouted, clearly he was in distress. “Do you... Do you have the keys to the machine?”

Flam began searching his pockets rapidly, his face soon changed to the same as his brother as he couldn’t find them. “I was sure I put them away... We need to head back!”

Flam leaped from his chair and they rushed outside out the wagon by diving through the curtains, Trixie was still sitting down in disbelief, completely baffled by what was going on. Then like a coconut it hit her, Flim wasn’t with me, she gasped and charged outside to follow the brothers in a desperate attempt to confirm something that truly worried her, but shortly after this she stopped dead in her tracks. In the distance she could see a familiar tent, it sent shivers down her spine. This however turned very quickly from fear to motivation, she began to run again with a lot more hop in her step.

“It’s ok brother, nothing is missing...” Flim announced with relief as he looked around the wagon and machine, sighing when he realised nothing was wrong he then sat down where he stood.

“Thank goodness” Flam added, sighing alongside his brother. Suddenly Flam’s ears perked up, he could hear something approaching... Fast! He turned his head and could see Trixie charging towards the pair of them, “Trixie? Is something wrong?”

“Where is he?!” She shouted, with a strikingly worried look on her face.

“Where is who?” Flim questioned, however this confusion didn’t last long. “Oh, I left Nick at the carnival, I gave him some money to see a show-”

“You silly Foal!” Flam interrupted swiftly, “You left him on his own?!”

“I did, what seems to be the problem?” Flim asked, clearly not as well informed as Flam.

You see this was the problem back when it happened, Trixie and Flam talked about her parents in detail. Flim wasn’t exactly around for those conversations, he basically drew the short straw. So all of those times Trixie told Flam what her parents were like, doing whatever they could to get what they wanted by ‘Any Means Necessary’, Flim truly had absolutely no idea what they were like or even what they were capable of...

Trixie and Flam explained the situation to him as swiftly as they could, not missing out any details. Slowly but surely he was understanding how bad this really was... Until eventually...

“Enough!” Flim announced, “Let’s find him before they do!”

This of course was too late...

“So... She was annoying?” Curt asked me, trying to follow the tale I was telling. “And now you're travelling with her?”

I nodded, “That’s correct! 10 points to Mufasa!”

“... Please can you stop calling me random names...” He replied, face-pawing himself with embarrassment, “Just call me Curt...”

“Fine fine... But that’s the short version...” I added, trying to balance my chair on its back legs as I began to swing slightly.

“So why did you forgive her?” Curt asked me, it was the true question to this whole charade.

“Well, I truly believe that everyone should get a second chance...” I stated this as honestly and clearly as possible, it’s something I believe with such a fixation it’s quite scary. “I’m glad I did, seeing someone so happy bringing others entertainment is admirable... Especially doing so free of charge...”

I stopped swinging on my chair and I looked around the tent, the creatures seemed more like wild animals. Well apart from the sea serpent... And the dogs... But these weren't just some random dogs. Oh no! I had seen them before...

“Give me the ball Rex!” A familiar voice shouted from across the room, “It’s mine!”

“Fat chance Ken!” The same voice mut-tered from across the room... See what I did there?

As soon as I realised who they were I face planted and sighed to myself, “For the love of-”

Just then a loud yawn came from across the opposite side of the room, followed by words displeasing to me. “Well well well, look who we got here...” He had just woken up and could see me dead center in the middle of the room, so he took the time to mock me... How thoughtful of him... “You having fun in there where you belong?”

“... Nice to see you too Ringo...” I quipped back at him, meeting his confused glare with my own. “Last time I saw you was back at your mine, didn’t you like playing fetch?”

“Who do you think you’re calling Ringo?” The red hatted diamond dog leader shouted at me from across the room.

“You of course Ringo, Ring leader of those two dogs over yonder” I replied, pointing to the twins fighting over that same ball which belonged to Trixie. “How on earth did they get you guys then?”

This reply wasn’t instant, I think he was rather ashamed of ‘How’ they were contained. Until I figured that part out myself... “Wait, did they use a ball to distract you?” I didn’t get a response, he seethed the second I mentioned it. “Huh... I guess so, regardless... We have to get out of here...”

“We?” Ringo questioned, confused as to why my attitude towards him had suddenly changed.

“Yes we, no one deserves this kind of confinement...” I stated plainly, looking around the area for anything I could use. “Not even you guys... So-”

Suddenly, Rex and Ken’s bickering had escalated to a point which caused the ball they were playing with to fly out of their cage and land just outside of my own. “No! Ken you Idiot what have you done!” Rex shouted at his brother.

“Me? What about you?” Ken shouted back, this went on for a while.

I could see the ball, but as I stretched my arm through the bars I was still too far away, it was literally centimetres away from me and I couldn't get it.

“What are you doing?” Curt asked me, clearly wondering what I was thinking. “That’s not going to help us out of a metal cage you know...”

“Oh really?” I asked, I then pointed towards the far side of the tent, it was the entrance. It wasn’t fully closed, there was a small gap underneath the doorway. ‘Something small would fit under that’ I thought to myself, ‘Perhaps even a ball?’. That was the idea, it was Trixie’s ball you see.

My plan was that she would come looking for me, then the ball would be like a bread crumb, she’d recognise the ball I used back at the cave and realise that I was close. It was a long shot, but I was out of options. I was in a cage, no mobility, no other objects within reach, I was in a losing situation.

“So, what’s the plan?” Curt asked me with those big old eyes of his, if it wasn’t for him being a lion with sharp fangs and claws I would have called him adorable... Then again this wouldn’t have ended so well...

“Ok, here’s what I got...” I began to explain, as the sky slowly began to turn dark...

*Several Hours Later...*

Trixie and the gang were desperately trying to track me down. Yes I was in a tent but it wasn’t exactly very eye catching, it looked pretty plain compared to the rest so it kind of blended in. The saying ‘Needle in a Haystack’ comes to mind... They eventually headed to the main tent, dead center of the entire carnival area. This was originally the place Flim was supposed to take me, it was owned by ‘The Lunamoon Duo’ themselves. The letters ‘LM’ was imprinted on the side of the tent, clearly they wanted to be noticed.

The tent however was closed shut, no lights were on, the last show had ended long before my confinement. So the one place they thought I might be was now a lost cause, Trixie was having a hard time keeping herself together...

“We have to find him!” She shouted, running up and down the isles of carnival style events. She wasn’t paying attention to what was around her, she was too focused on finding me. “Nick! Where are you!?”

F&F were asking around, trying to find out my whereabouts but to no avail. They did this for several hours, just as all hope seemed lost a young filly accidentally bumped straight into Trixie.

“Oof, I’m Sorry!” The filly said swiftly, she seemed rather troubled and twitchy. She carried a familiar ball in her mouth, plus she didn’t look up at Trixie when she bumped into her, so without hesitation she got up and charged away...

Now Trixie isn’t as daft as you would think, although it did take a while for those cog and gears in her head to turn the correct way. Her neck shot up as she looked towards the filly, Trixie could see the ball in her mouth that she was carrying. “...Wait a minute... That’s- Hey!” Trixie shouted, now desperately trying to catch this young child.

Flam looked at Trixie dashing past both him and his brother, they looked at each other in confusion. “What’s wrong?” They shouted together, Trixie didn’t answer, she was too busy trying to keep up with this young filly. “Hey! Trixie?!”

The filly was running around the city, every now and again she would stop and ask the city folk if they knew whose ball she was carrying. It was kind of ironic, she was in a hurry to find the owner and that same mare was the one who was chasing after her. Eventually after about an hour she had eventually caught up to the filly, they were both out of breath and trying to form a comprehensible sentence...

“Why... Are you... Following me?” The filly panted, desperately trying to catch what little breath she had left. “Do... You know who... This belongs. To?”

“Y-Yes...” Trixie began, breathing slowly to pace her words. “That’s my ball... Where did you... Find it?”

“It was... In the middle of... The street...” The filly replied, trying to explain as clearly as she could. “Do you want me to... Show you where I found... It?”

“Yes please! I need to find somepony- I mean someone...”, Trixie stated clearly. The filly’s head tilted to the side when she heard the word ‘somebody’, but after the initial confusion she understood what she meant.

“Wait... Do you mean that weird creature who wears clothes?” The filly asked, now bringing the crisis to a close... Well kind of anyway...

*Several Hours Earlier...*

Curt looked at me like a total idiot, “T-that’s your plan?” He stated, shaking his head and bringing his paw to his face in disappointment. “A cub could come up with a better one... Not to mention reaching the ball for this to even go ahead...”

“Look, I didn’t say it was a good plan...” I replied bluntly, I knew it was a long shot but I was out of ideas... “I... I need to get out of here... This is the best I can do with what I’ve got...”

“Then I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other then...” Ringo uttered, quietly chuckling to himself. “Face it, you’re going to be here forever-”

“For the love of- Would you shut up please?!” I snapped at him, he was doing my head in. The whole time I was telling curt everything he was butting in being unhelpful, that’s the last thing I wanted to hear when I knew for a fact I couldn’t stay there forever... There wasn’t a bathroom for a start...

“Gah... What do I do?” I asked myself, slowly I began scratching my head in deep thought. Well I tried to anyway, my hat was in the way. Then the idea came, “Wait a minute...” I took my hat off and squeezed my arm through the bars again towards the ball, using the hat I scooped it up and brought it back to me. “Ha! Darn I love this hat!”

“Well that was easy...” Curt remarked, looking at my hat with his big shiny eyes. “Why didn't you do that earlier?”

“It didn’t occur to me... But hey! At least we have a shot now right?” I chirped happily, I then took the ball and threw it towards the gap under the doorway. “Go my son! To Freedom!” I shouted with enthusiasm, the ball was on target and with at least a centimeter to spare it made it through and stopped just outside the doorway. “And now we play the waiting game...”

I sat down in the cage for at least an hour, my heart was racing. I knew for a fact that if this didn’t work I’d be stuck in this cage as part of a side show... Not only that but I would be forced to be put through what the Lunamoon Duo called ‘Entertainment’. Oh sure, animals in cages doing tricks... I used to hate the idea of seeing animals like that and you know what? If you do like this kind of entertainment however let me say this, once you’re on the other side of the cage, your opinion will soon change just like the wind changes direction, it’s smooth and swift. Eventually however...

“Guys we shouldn’t be here! We’d be trespassing!”

“You worry too much Amber Shine...”

It was coming from just outside the door, I could smell shenanigans in the air...

“But the animals are probably sleeping! We shouldn’t bother them!”

“Chicken! BKAW!”

“Yeah! What are you? Scared or something?”

“But I-”

“If you don’t want to be here then leave”

“Yeah, more fun for us...”

I couldn’t see or hear much but it sounded a lot like an argument to me, I looked at Curt and he was just as confused as I was.

“He he, perhaps I should scare them away...” Ringo suggested, I had offered to get him out of here and yet he was still acting like a total jerk. I looked towards him with a distasteful look on my face, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to stay in there?”

“I’m trying to get us ‘All’ out, so just shut up will you?” I quipped back at him, I meant it when I said it before, no one no matter how they are shouldnt be forced to be confined... I was however reassessing that comment at this point...

“What was that?!”

“And yet it’s going to be too late...” Ringo stated bluntly, my head tilted in confusion as I repeated that in my head a couple of times.

“What do you mean ‘Too late?” I quizzed Ringo, this comment put me in a slight bit of distress.

“Can you hear that?”

“What I mean is that we won’t be in Trottingham much longer...” Ringo clarified, he leaned up against the bars and began to laugh to himself again. “We’re heading to Las Pegasus... Opposite side of Equestria, In a couple of hours we’ll be too far away for your ‘Friend’ to do anything...”

“C’mon, lets see what’s going on!”

“Wait!”

“Um, Nick?” Curt mumbled, clearly something had caught his attention. I didn’t hear him though, I was about to go mental when I heard Ringo’s last statement.

“NO! We Are getting out of here!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, I had lost it. “I am NOT Being some kind of pet to these so called entertainers! ...Trixie wouldn’t give up trying to find me, not a chance-”

“How can you be so sure!?” Ringo shouted back at me, attempting to make me even more uneasy. “She’ll just find another assistant and replace you, face it, you’re just a Pet to her-”

“What is that!?”

“It looks weird...”

“Wait, I saw him today! I waved at it and it waved back!”

“What?”

“Nick!” Curt shouted again, at this point my mind was blank and I couldn't focus properly.

I wasn’t just worried sick about being trapped, I have a fear of that for one thing. But it was the fact he called me a Pet, something I stated clearly to Trixie when I first met her that I wasn’t one and didn’t want to be treated as such. Not only that, but he made it sound like I was just being used by her for entertainment which, of course, infuriated me. I say this because she doesn’t do what she does for money, we had been through enough to know about each other and what we’re both thinking.

“That’s It!” I barked across the tent now facing Ringo in that stupid cage of his, “I’m not a pet! I’m her friend! And I know darn well she’ll find me somehow! I’m not a religious person but by Zeus if I get out of here, You’re gonna be sorry!”

“Gaaa!”

“Lets get out of here!”

“Nick!” Curt shouted at me, trying to get my attention still.

I turned around at quite a pace and just stared at him, still quite irritated by the way. “What?!” I replied in a panic, he pointed his paw towards the entrance and two fillies had just run outside. “Wha- No Wait!” My heart sank, I thought I had just blown my own plan out of the water... However...

“Um...” A voice said very quietly, I looked to my right and I could see a small, orange coated filly staring at me with those cute big blue eyes of theirs. She had a red mane, no Cutie mark of course. “...Hi?”

Those words, the first words I spoke when addressing the ponies of Equestria. It made me relax and calm down a bit when I heard that, Curt was looking at me with worried eyes, he could see how much this was making me panic, not to mention Ringo trying to irritate me.

“I- Is this yours?” The filly asked, balancing the ball on top of her head, “It was outside...”

“No, It’s a friends”, I replied swiftly, I had a bad feeling and I needed to give her the quick, basic details. “Listen, Could you- ... Wait, how did you get inside?” But I became distracted with minor, yet intriguing details.

“She slipped through the gap”, Curt informed me, he pointed with his claw and I could see it was pulled up slightly. “It only opens one way, we’re lucky she was able to get inside... I was trying to tell you but you wasn’t listening to me...”

“Huh, sorry about that Curt... Anyway, could you do me a huge favour?” I asked the filly, her head tilted in wonder as to what I was going to ask. “Look, we’re all in a bit of a bind... We were all captured at some point in time, I was captured several hours ago and I can’t stay in here... I have to get home...”

“You were with that girl right?” She asked me, “That performer who’s been in the news paper... Which makes you that ‘Strange friendly creature’ That’s been travelling with her... Right?”

“That is correct!” I said with a friendly and enthusiastic voice, I recognised her from earlier. She waved to me and her mum dragged her away shortly after, she looked slightly concerned I might add. “She’s a friend and is probably looking for me now... I know this might be a pain but I need you to grab that ball and find her...”

“Is it that girls ball?” The filly asked, clearly she wanted all the details. I nodded and she understood my plan, “Oh! You want me to find her right?”

“That’s right! You do remember what she looked like don’t you?” Her face looked puzzled, clearly she had forgotten... “Um, no matter. Just take the ball and run around for a while, I’m sure she’ll recognise it...”

“Ok-” The filly compiled before being interrupted by the same top-hatted mare who trapped me here in the first place.

“What!? How did you get in here?!” He shouted angrily, the filly looked completely shaken up.

“Oh Cr- Run!” I barked at the filly, “Get Out of Here!”

The filly gasped and exited stage left, Mr Lunamoon tried to grab her but Curt growled at him and made him jump. This caused him to back up next to my cage, I grabbed him by the neck and started scratching his head. “Monkey Rub!” I shouted with glee, It was good to get some payback.

“Enough!” He barked at me, he then kicked me in the stomach with his free hoof. Well that sent me flying back into the bars and onto the floor, it wasn’t a light kick I’ll tell you right now. “Grr, you’ve just- ...No matter, we’ll be leaving before they have a chance to get here...”

He walked away in a hurry, next thing I know the cages start moving by themselves. Wagons appeared out of nowhere and began loading up the cages, it was starting to look like a train as the wagons began to interlock with one another...  This was looking worse by the second...

“Trix... You’d better hurry...” I struggled to say as I sat on the ground, still covering the fresh bruise I had just received. The cage began to move into one of the wagons, it had an open side to it. I was pretty sure Mr Lunamoon wanted me to see that I wasn’t going to get out of this situation, the smug jerk...