Delta Guardian: Heart of the Dragon

Days passed with little excitement to note as the duo of Zinnia and Trixie made their way towards their destination, camping by the roadside as night fell and travelling in amicable silence in the days, interspersed with swapped stories of their past as well as random, casual conversation as topics came to mind.

On the fourth day, Zinnia awoke with a yawn to the feeling of the wagon trundling along the road at the same steady pace as always. Her Applin lay on her stomach, gently rocking back and forth with the wagon and making Zinnia chuckle at the sight.

Gently, Zinnia scooped the tiny dragon up and set him in the crook of her pillows as she sat up before moving about to get dressed for the day. She kept her outfit fairly simple - a pair of shorts that Trixie had loaned her and a loose-fitting shirt - before stepping out of the front door of the caravan and dropping to sit on the steps with her companion.

“How come you didn’t wake me?” Zinnia asked casually, nudging Trixie with a teasing smile.

The showmare shrugged, smiling to herself as she watched the path. “You looked peaceful,” she said simply, pausing to steer her Mudbray away from a dirt patch. “And we did most of the tidyup work last night, so it was easy enough to get it done and get us moving. We’re close to Applewood, so I thought if we left early we’d be there by about mid-day.”

Zinnia nodded to herself, leaning back as she looked down the road. “Makes sense,” she mused, frowning as something caught her eye in the distance. “What time is it, anyway?”

Trixie smirked. “About eleven thirty,” she said teasingly, giggling as Zinnia groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I told you to take it easy on that cider!”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up…” the Draconid muttered before sighing. “So that’s Applewood over there, yeah?”

Trixie looked into the distance and nodded. “The one and only,” she said. “This is the place anypony who wants to be somepony goes to make their big break. It's where I started out, when I decided I wanted to stay independent I hit the road. I like coming back sometimes.”

The duo fell silent again as the wagon trundled along, a comfortable quiet between new but fast friends that could be filled with conversation, but didn’t need to be. Zinnia found herself surprised by how quickly she’d come to be comfortable in Trixie’s presence - how quickly she’d latched onto this mare, for how nice she’d been and how invested in Trixie’s life she had become. Some people might have found it concerning. Zinnia shrugged it off as another quirk of her new life and simply filed it under ‘don’t question it’.

As they passed the city limits, Trixie paused for a moment in their travel to look around before directing the caravan down a series of small streets. Zinnia watched in mild interest, impressed at the showmare’s intrinsic knowledge of the area. She blinked as the wagon pulled up at the side of a seemingly random, if wide, street, and Trixie hopped off to start messing with the side closest to the street proper.

“What are you doing?” Zinnia asked curiously, leaning over the side to watch Trixie work.

“Setting up my stage,” Trixie answered simply. “I have a mechanism built into the wagon normally, but it’s been broken since Ponyville. I need to get it fixed, but for that, I need money.”

“Oh.” Zinnia paused, watching for a moment before hopping over the edge of the stairs and moving to help.

The two worked in unison, and before long Trixie’s caravan had been unfolded into a sizable stage complete with backing curtains and, to Zinnia’s surprise, fireworks launchers lining the front edge of the stage itself. Zinnia shrugged it off.

“So now what?” the woman asked as Trixie leapt onto her stage, a brief flare of magic giving her a boost. Zinnia followed with a jump of her own, not even blinking as she cleared the stage easily under her own power.

“Now I get changed,” Trixie said simply. “I can do a couple simple shows until sundown and then the big finale when it gets dark.”

“Need any help?” Zinnia offered as she followed Trixie behind the curtains. She blinked in surprise at what she saw. “Wow. How did I not clock this when we put it up?”

Trixie just shrugged as she moved to the closet that was inside of her caravan, now standing in the ‘dressing room’ portion of the stage. “Magic, I guess?” she offered unsurely. “I don’t know how to explain your ignorance.”

“I-” Zinnia stammered, blinking before grabbing and throwing a pillow at Trixie. “Jerk!”

Trixie just laughed, disappearing behind a screen with an outfit from her closet. “Just pick an outfit and get changed!”

Zinnia grumbled to herself, digging around in the closet before moving behind a screen of her own. When she emerged, she’d changed her clothes to a set that matched her original costume to a surprising degree. Olive-green shorts tied off with a crimson rope-belt, a black shirt with red claw-like markings, long tang socks, black combat boots, and a tan cape hanging around her shoulders. The anklet she hadn’t even looked at since she’d first woken up in Equestria had been fastened around her leg.

Zinnia moved to a standing mirror and looked herself over, admiring her reflection. “Huh, guess I really did turn into her…” she muttered, blinking as she saw Trixie step out of her own screen in the mirror and turning around.

The powder-blue showmare had changed into what Zinnia could only describe as a typical magician’s outfit - a deep purple leotard with lighter purple leggins, and a sparkling purple came decorated with stars, complete with matching magician’s hat.

Zinnia whistled in appreciation. “Lookin’ good, Trix!” she called, giggling as Trixie glared at her despite her blush. “Oh come on, you’ve gotta know how that makes your body look! I like it.”

Trixie huffed. “Yeah, well…” the showmare muttered, looking away. “You know what they say. Sexy sells.”

Looking down at herself, Zinnia hummed in thought. “I’ll probably lose the cape mid-show then, yeah? Show off a bit.”

“And what are you going to be doing?” Trixie asked pointedly. “Last I checked, you don’t have any magic.”

Zinnia shrugged. “You conjure up some illusion monsters, I’ll fight them?” she offered. “I can be the hero of the story, and it could probably make the kids more invested because they can interact now?”

Trixie stared at her for a moment, turning the thought over in her mind slowly before giving a nod. “That… could work…” she mused. “In fact, that might work really well. I like it.”

Zinnia gave a nod, and the pair sat down for a while to discuss what each would be doing and how the other should react. Without realising, an hour ticked away, and Trixie looked up suddenly as she heard chattering from outside of the caravan. Casting a quick spell with a wave of her hand, she opened a window in the air through which she could see the street outside of her caravan-turned-stage, where a small crowd of ponies had gathered, muttering amongst themselves in a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

“Guess I won’t have to attract a crowd then…” the showmare muttered, chuckling nervously.

“Mystery often brings more in than shouting and calling,” Zinnia offered cryptically as she stood up, brushing her legs off. “Gimme a minute to sneak around to the back of the crowd, then start.”

Trixie nodded as the woman flipped a hood up on her cloak, pulling it around herself before making her way out of the ‘backstage’ area of her caravan and stealthily sneaking around to join the crowd at the back. Watching through her scrying spell, Trixie waited until Zinnia had settled herself in place before taking a deep breath and walking up to stand behind the curtains.

“Showtime.”

Vinyl Scratch, more commonly known to ‘her people’ as the Dunkin’ DJ P0N3, was bored. Her shows for the week had all finished up, and she couldn’t find the inspiration despite herself to mix anything new.

Her best friend, roommate, and… occasionally more, Octavia, had suggested an evening walk to clear her head. “Something might catch your eye,” she’d offered as she poured over the sheet music for her set in their next destination, the grand capital of Canterlot, and Vinyl had to admit she had a point. She often found what she needed for her music when just walking around with a recorder in her pocket.

Thus it was that she’d found herself drawn to the weird wooden caravan stage thing with the slowly growing crowd. She looked around at the gathered ponies and noticed there was no particular grouping - anypony from little kids to older couples had stopped to investigate this strange stage that had appeared out of nowhere. There was even some weirdo in a cloak that had stepped up not long after her, though she couldn’t make out many more details than the beige cloak and bare legs.

Her attention was snatched back to the stage as an almost startled silence fell over the crowd, her eyes widening as smoke billowed out from under the curtain to fill the stage with an eerie, almost mystical purple mist that seemed to sparkle from within. Lights flared to life along the front of the stage, showing the silhouette of a mare behind the curtains as a voice began to speak.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” the voice called out. “Ponies of all ages! Welcome, one and all, to the spectacle of your lives… please, put your hands together for the tantalizing tales of the Grrrreat, and Powerful… TRRRRRRIXIE!”

As the introduction faded off, the ponies around Vinyl began clapping excitedly. The curtains pulled away to either side, revealing the powder-blue mare that had been silhouetted on the curtains. Vinyl had to admit, in that skimpy little leotard of hers, framed by her wide-brimmed hat and billowing cape, she was pretty hot.

She laughed when an elderly mare struck her husband upside the head. Apparently the stallions thought so too.

“Thank you, thank you!” the mare called out in the same voice as before, and Vinyl looked closer to see the very subtle glow of her horn, expertly hidden. Vinyl used the same trick in her sets. “Trixie welcomes you all to her show! Please, settle down!”

The mare laughed as the cheering and clapping died down, winking as a few daring stallions - and even a few mares - whistled at her. “Trixie thanks you all for coming!” she continued, and Vinyl couldn’t help but raise a brow. Was the third-person thing part of the show? “Now, Trixie must warn you - the tales Trixie tells are not for the faint of heart. Those who are not brave as the great Minotaurs themselves, Trixie must advise that you leave.”

The silence that settled on that statement was suffocating. Vinyl had to remind herself to take a breath even when the figure behind her chuckled under it's cloak.

“Nopony?” Trixie continued, looking around at the crowd. “This is your last warning!” When nobody moved, she nodded to herself. “Very well. Then allow Trixie to tell you the tale of the great Emerald Serpent, who circles the globe to this very day.”

As she spoke, Vinyl’s eyes widened in surprise as the very smoke that surrounded the stage swirled around, coalescing into a large, emerald-scaled serpentine beast with short arms and sharp claws, fearsome eyes and razor fangs. The beast circled the stage thrice with its elongated body before rearing up, easily dwarfing the crowd as it looked down on them. Gasps and screams filled the air.

“Trixie warned you all!” the mare on the stage called out, casually stepping to the side of the stage as she gestured to the beast, who seemed to regard the crowd like a predator eyeing its prey. “This beast protects our world, it is true. But when angered, it can call down the Heavens themselves to raze the earth and the seas. None dare to enter its domain, even the Pegasi above fear its wrath!”

“I-I do fear it!” a mare at the front of the crowd cried, shivering violently as her grey wings twitched in fear. The stallion next to her, dressed in a long brown trench coat, pulled her to his side and gently stroked her blonde mane to calm her.

“And so you should!” Trixie shouted, causing the crowd to jump as the beast snapped its teeth. “For the great Emerald Serpent is here tonight, for you to witness… as it satiates it's hunger with one of you!”

Screams of terror met Trixie’s words as the serpent lunged forward, held back as Trixie suddenly lashed out with a lasso of magic energy, pulling the serpent back with evident struggle.

“Trixie cannot hold the beast back for long!” the showmare warned. “Who among you is brave enough to face the Emerald Serpent!? Who will defeat this beast and save the crowd… or be eaten alive as you try!”

Nervous chattering washed over the crowd. Some groups attempted to push one of their own forward only for the pushee to turn tail and hide again. Only after a moment, when Trixie seemed to lose her grip and the beast lunged forward again, did somebody step forward.

“I will face the beast!” the figure behind Vinyl called, stepping forward and lightly pushing people aside as she made her way towards the stage. Vinyl was sure it was a she - that voice was definitely female.

“Finally!” Trixie cried, visibly struggling against the beast’s movements as it thrashed about on the stage. “Come, noble warrior! Trixie must let the beast go - these ponies safety is in your hands!”

Without further warning, Trixie’s lasso snapped, dissipating in the air as the beast lunged forward. The crowd parted in terror as the serpent closed in on the figure in the cloak… who reared back, punching the beast directly in the snout and sending it reeling back!

Vinyl watched in awe as the figure threw its cloak off, revealing a shapely woman with no wings, no horn, and no fur dressed only in a black shirt and olive-green shorts. Black boots covered her feet as she crouched down and leapt onto the stage, flipping mid-air to bring her heel down in an overhead axe-kick that barely missed the serpent’s tail before it flicked the girl back.

Even knowing this was all fake, likely an illusion cast by Trixie herself, Vinyl found herself staring, her attention captured entirely as the battle raged on. The beast blasted streams of fire and pure energy at the woman, who dodged and weaved around every attack only to retaliate with rapid punches and kicks of her own, swiping with her fingers extended like claws when a punch couldn’t connect and leaping into the air far further than any pony should be able to naturally.

Vinyl blinked, and suddenly the woman was sprinting along the serpent’s body, up its back as it rose into the air. Vinyl watched as the woman slid under a coil in the serpent’s body before leaping, rising high into the air before flipping again and coming down to strike the beast directly in the middle of its head with her own in a vicious headbutt that made her wince.

As the beast fell back and hit the stage once more, defeated, the woman landed on the ground in a crouch. Without a word, she bent down to pick up her cloak.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” Trixie cried out, stepping into the middle of the stage as she beckoned the woman to join her. The crowd converged again slowly as the woman did so. “Let’s hear a round of applause for our brave warrior, who has single-handedly saved the day! What is your name, oh brave one?”

The woman looked over the crowd for a moment before smiling. “I’m Zinnia,” she said simply. “You can call me your Delta Guardian.”

“The Delta Guardian, Ladies and Gentlecolts!”

As the crowd erupted into roaring applause, Vinyl turned to leave. Suddenly, she had her inspiration.

“That was amazing!” Zinnia laughed as she entered the caravan later that night, having disappeared into an alleyway where Trixie teleported a change of clothes for her. When the crowd eventually dispersed, the duo spent some time putting the stage away before calling it a night. “How did you do those tricks for me, Trix?”

“Oh, the constructs are easy really,” Trixie replied casually as she hung her cloak and hat up. “A little magic-powder smoke goes a long way to making things look much more real than they are. But if you mean all that leaping and flipping - that was all you. I didn’t do anything more than cushion your fall.”

Zinnia blinked in surprise as she scooped Applin into her arms. “Really?” she asked in shock. “Huh, did not know I could do that stuff… neat!”

Trixie regarded her for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe it has to do with how you got to Equestria?” she offered. “That seemed to have changed your body, maybe it gave you more abilities at the same time?”

“Maybe,” Zinnia muttered in agreement, suppressing a yawn. “I’ll think about that in the morning though. For now, I’m tired as all hell.”

Trixie nodded in understanding. “I’ll be up counting out the bits we made for a bit, but I won’t be far behind you,” she chuckled. “I must admit, having you around really helps the income. Normally I’d need to do three or four shows to get a purse this full.”

“I do what I can,” Zinnia joked before falling back into her bed, drifting to sleep soon after.

Trixie smiled before sitting down at a small table set into the side of her caravan, carefully counting out her bits. As she did, she pulled a pad of paper and a quil to her side in her magic, jotting down what bills she needed to pay against how much she had earned and mentally checking where she might have to save money.

To her surprise, as she reached the end of the list, she found she had a good two hundred bits to spare. “Huh, we really did bring in a good amount today…” she muttered, looking around her caravan. “Maybe I could even get an upgrade instead of just a repair… with the two of us, plus the Pokemon, I suppose this little caravan might get a bit cramped…”

After another moment’s thought, Trixie shrugged, filing the thought away for the morning. She could always ask her friend when she saw him what he thought - and maybe Zinnia could have an input too.

As she stood to go to her own bed, she paused, gasping in surprise as her hoof slid out from under her before she caught herself. Glancing down, Trixie bent to pick up a strange, colourful card with what could only be described as an ‘odd helmeted figure’ printed on the front.

“Weird…” Trixie muttered, before shrugging and putting it on her desk. “Probably just a gift from a fan that I missed. I’ll look at it tomorrow.”

With that, the showmare headed to bed, smiling to herself in pride as she drifted off. For the first time in a while her show wasn’t just a way to stay alive. For the first time in a while, her show was… fun.