In Which the Ursa Doesn't Go Bear-serk
Freedom from the Amulet was a strange feeling Trixie couldn’t quite put a hoof on. To say she felt lighter or could even fly was too clichéd, and besides, it didn’t fit. But Trixie felt liberated nonetheless, and there was a spring to her step.
Multiple ideas about her future came to mind. Trixie would have to go through them later, and sort out the wheat from the chaff. There were lots of terrible ideas, and a few that might actually be worthwhile.
Unbidden, a new idea formed in her head. Trixie instantly discarded it for how crazy it was. Yet for all her attempts to make it go away, the idea kept coming back, stewing in the miasmic thoughts left behind by the Amulet. More and more, against all logic, Trixie was seriously contemplating going through with it.
“Bah, you only live twice,” Trixie spoke aloud, referencing some ten-bit action novel she had read a long time ago. She looked behind her, surveying Ponyville in the distance. If she had her way, Trixie would never return here again. The two had offered her two of the worst weeks of her life. Good riddance to this area.
Still, there was one creature Trixie felt the odd urge to make up with, and with that in mind she trotted into the Everfree Forest.
Was it day or night? The creature didn’t know. Its own luminescence overpowered the weak rays of outside light that penetrated this deep, be it sunlight or moonlight. All it knew was that, despite its recent hibernation, it was still tired.
Sleep was a good idea. However, the cavern was thick with hot, damp air. That was its own fault, really. There was only a minimal air current leading in and out of its den, so the heat and vapour it gave off would linger and settle into the underground hideaway, and it had never bothered to expand the cavern and make it more voluminous. If it were to leave for a few days, it would come back to a cool and dry environment, perfect for napping.
Unfortunately for the creature, its size was such that its mere presence would always interrupt the outside world. While it could bat aside anything that opposed it, it was always more trouble than it was worth to leave and explore. Besides, it genuinely didn’t wish to hurt others. That was a habit it would have to keep to even as it grew over the next few thousand years.
Inhale, exhale. How it wished it could get back to sleep in a moment’s thought. Inhale, exhale. Try to ignore the undesirable conditions of the cave. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, wait. Something was off.
It took a few cursory sniffs, exhaled, then took a deep breath through its nose. There was the scent of civilisation, of wood and brick, of sugar and hay, of water and soap. Yet it was weak compared to the smell of other sapient beings that had passed by its cave on occasion. This scent was mixed in with dirt and grass, sweat and salt. This scent came from right outside of its den, and whatever was radiating the smell wasn’t moving.
Well, he was curious. He turned his body over, creating a small tremor in the process. Letting out a large yawn that echoed several times in the cave before finally dying out, he lifted himself off the ground with his massive four paws. At a limbered pace, he moved up the tunnel leading to the cavern mouth. What would have taken hours for a smaller being took mere seconds for him. As he approached, the Ursa Minor saw that it was indeed daytime out.
As he came up to the exit, he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the verdant colours just outside the cave. Then he lowered his gaze, taking in the creature standing on the ground far below. This was where the smell was coming from. Despite his own immense size, it was neither running away nor attacking him. Curious and curiouser.
The Ursa slowly lowered himself, bringing his body and head flat to rest against the ground, yellow-and-red eyes taking in the other being from a closer angle. On closer analysis, he could tell it was a pony, smaller than the one who maintained the stars from which his ancestors fell from, with a coat the colour of the rich blue sky. He?...She?...Definitely she, from the lingering smells of estrus, seemed familiar.
The pony opened her mouth. It looked like she was speaking, but he couldn’t hear anything. He raised his eyebrow as she furled her own, only for her face to change. He didn’t know what it was supposed to express, being familiar only with the looks of terror. This time, a sound, just at the edge of his senses. The pony’s expression changed again, and she spoke once more.
“Hello.”
He blinked several times. The pony correctly took that as a cue that she was now speaking loud enough for him to hear. “I talked to the zebra earlier. I hope you don’t mind my being here. I can leave if you wish.”
The…zebra? Oh yes, the black-and-white pony. She had moved into the forest a number of seasons ago. At least, that was who he thought this one, Blue, was referring to. The black-and-white pony had come across his path a pawful of times. At all times, she had been respectful of his own domain. He liked that. It was rare for anything to bother him. The last exception had been a few years ago, when he had been disturbed in his den by two male ponies.
Well, it wasn’t like he had much else to do, and this blue pony would make for a break from his monotony until he could get back to sleep. He couldn’t speak the pony language, but he would communicate the best he could.
It was an understatement to say that Trixie was scared. Trixie was terrified. She had no idea what had possessed her to actually go through with this, but here she was. Trixie had first located the zebra. Zecora had been suspicious of her at first, suspecting she was looking for the Alicorn Amulet, and had been surprised when Trixie spoke of wanting to see the Ursa minor. Zecora had attempted to discourage her of that as well. Trixie wished she had succeeded. Nonetheless, the zebra had taught her the best she could how to parley with a beast the size of the Ursa minor, stressing that it could be communicated and reasoned with, so long as Trixie did nothing to antagonise it.
By any indication, that she hadn’t been eaten or torn apart yet was the best indication that Zecora’s advice was worth following. If her read of the Ursa’s expressions was even slightly accurate, given the difficulty of interpreting a bear’s facial motions, then it appeared to understand her. Taking a deep breath in, then releasing it, Trixie continued, “I assume that means I can stay a bit?” The Ursa minor seemed amused, of all things. “I’ll take that as a yes. Um, I wanted to say…I’m sorry.”
The star bear was able to communicate its confusion easily enough. Trixie used a meditation method she had gotten a great deal of mileage out of when performing shows to keep from freezing up on stage, only this time the mare used it to explain, “A few summers ago, there were two ponies who brought you to the town of Ponies near here. I was the one who shot lightning at you. Again, I’m sorry.”
The Ursa’s eyes flew open at that. Until then, it had appeared drowsy, eyelids drooping halfway down its eyes as if it would go to sleep at any moment. Knowing the hibernation habits of regular bears and that winter had only just passed, Trixie wouldn’t be surprised if that was in fact the case. Now, however, the Ursa seemed fully awake, as if it recognised her, or perhaps the incidence she had described.
The mare gulped. It took all of Trixie’s will to stay in one spot and stand still. Predators would notice if you were trembling. Though the Ursa was not a traditional predator, seeming to sustain itself on the innate magic of the Everfree Forest, it was still a mountain next to her. For the same reason, fleeing could bring about an equally capricious end.
It was odd, but the Ursa being so big made its face fascinating. Trixie would have been able to read somepony else’s face, but only on a macro scale. In contrast, she could see every tiny fidget of the muscles that governed the star bear’s face, be it the slight tensing of its lower lip, the tiny twitch of its one eye, or the sniffling of its nose. Most entrancing were its eyes, lacking irises, the rich red pupils set against a mustard yellow regarding her keenly.
Trixie consciously knew that she was getting distracted, but the beast was a thing of wonder. Hadn’t she wandered across the world, seeing the best and worst of nature all over, seeing things in far-flung lands that were even more dubious than her tale of defeating an Ursa major?
Suddenly, the Ursa moved.
Trixie braced herself to dodge an attack as the Ursa lifted its paw, only for it to lay its pawn back on the ground, palm side up.
It took her several seconds to deduce what it was trying to show her. “You want me to come with you?” She asked.
For the first time in the conversation, the Ursa minor nodded its head. As if Trixie needed any more proof it truly could understand her. Sighing, she put on a weak smile, and walked onto its palm. With no prior warning, the Ursa suddenly brought its paw up, putting Trixie on its shoulder, before it began to turn around, moving back into the cave. Trixie yelped, clinging onto the creature’s fur and holding on for dear life.
That. Was. Amazing! Well, the cave was fairly hot and humid, and the trip down hadn’t actually taken that long at the Ursa’s pace, and nopony would ever believe she actually got to ride an Ursa Minor, but still, it had been a wild adventure, as Trixie had cleared hundreds of hoof-lengths in the blink of an eye. The Ursa Minor’s ethereal blue luminescence had been somewhat noticeable when it sat at the cavern entrance, but this deep, its coat shone its own light, casting a hauntingly beautiful light over the den.
At last, the narrow tunnel cleared out into a large open area. Trixie scrutinised the underground chamber for another exit, finding none. She sighed to herself. This must be where the Ursa slept, then. It would seem Zecora had once again been correct, stating that the Ursa minor currently was not living with its mother, who certainly wouldn’t have been able to fit in here. If Trixie had had to face an Ursa major, she would definitely have run away by now.
Gently, the Ursa minor picked up Trixie with its paw, before it slowly lowered itself down to the ground, finally laying up to curl on its side. In what appeared to be a position readying itself for a nap or even a deep sleep, it finally put Trixie back on its shoulder, raising its head slightly to look at her sideways.
“Are you…going to sleep?” Trixie asked, working with what verbal cues she had. Despite the star bear radiating its own light, it still was a little more difficult to see than it had been outside. Thus far, the bear had been curious and playful rather than violent and vicious. Trixie had, for whatever reason, fallen into the bear’s own behavior, letting herself literally be swept up into the odd events of this day so far. “You want me to stay with you for a while?”
The Ursa nodded, and for the first time Trixie swore she saw what could resemble a smile on its face. She felt herself still full with euphoria from the ride down, and thought her own face must be bursting with glee. What the heck, Trixie thought to herself. “Alright,” She said, assenting to the bear’s unspoken request for a companion. “But I don’t know how long bears sleep, so if it’s for several days, I might be gone by then.”
It didn’t appear to mind, curling up further again, and giving Trixie a more stable spot on its body to lay down on. Reaching its one paw out again, it very gently stroked Trixie’s body from mane to tail, being careful not to uses it claw on her. Trixie almost felt insulted in that instance, not sure whether she was being treated as a pet or a companion.
Unbidden, a thought came to Trixie of the bear rolling around in her sleep, crushing her under its weight. A brief glint of light from her horn and a spell made sure that if this did happen, she would be unharmed. A yawn suddenly escaped her mouth. Trixie had in fact been more tired than she had expected. “Good um, night,” She said to the bear, yawning again, before curling up herself.
The warmth of the cave, the tiny thumps of sound from the Ursa’s body activity, and the light it gave off, almost like the moonlight under an open night sky all served to lull her to sleep.
He opened an eye, not yet feeling refreshed, but still less tired than he had been.
There was an odd weight on his shoulder, not heavy, but still enough that it was noticeable. He turned his head to face his right side. Comprehension dawned as he saw the blue pony sleeping there on her side, legs slightly tucked in. He remembered now. This pony was an intriguing one, actually attempting to communicate with him, a being several hundred times her size. In his dim memories of the past, he vaguely recalled her, having tried to stop him when he went to the gathering of ponies nearby. The lightning strike had stung, but it had been long enough ago that he simply didn’t care. Apologies were an odd concept for him, but the blue pony had said she was sorry, and that was that.
He observed her, noting know occasionally one of her back hooves would kick out before retracting back in. The blue pony was close enough to his ear that, if he focused, he could even hear her soft breathing. What had possessed her to actually even come down here? Certainly, he had been lonely, but never had he expected to find companionship, however temporary, in a pony. Perhaps she who raised the stars, but not any other.
What an interesting pony.
Author's Note
I dunno. I was inspired by the cover art to write a story where Trixie makes-up with the Ursa minor. Then I threw out several thousand words because I just couldn't seem to get it to go the way I wanted it to. Still not satisfied but couldn't really come up with a sequence of events that I was entirely happy with. Heck, I couldn't even come up with a witty title.
I give the Ursa a definite gender, though I hide it for a bit in the lead-up to revealing that. Trixie, however, doesn't realise he even has a gender, so she always refers to him as 'it' in her own thoughts.
As for why Trixie rolled with it? You could say she's bi-polar!
