The tunnel was long and dark.
It didn’t appear to have been used for some time, as the tracks of other possible wagons and carts were overgrown and nearly lost, but they were there for anypony who wanted to look.
Trixie didn’t know if it went where she wanted, but the rest of this Luna-forsaken forest wasn’t helping, and if it was a break from the awful chore of dragging her wagon through trees, she would take it.
She was great and powerful, no doubt, but even for the great and powerful, a break from dragging a wagon through trees and bushes would be welcome. Any unnecessary chore should be avoided if possible.
Using her magic, she pulled the branches out of her way and brought the wagon into the tunnel. The wheel ruts others had used so long ago were still slightly evident, and her wagon fell into them easily.
The tunnel itself was carved out of the rock of whatever hill or mountain this was. She wasn’t sure where she was, as she had left the road a few days ago, but she had been headed toward Vanhoover, so it was either part of the Smokey Mountains or the Unicorn Range. She was sure she wasn’t too far off-track, though. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all!
She continues meandering into the tunnel, horn lighting the way. The wagon rocked gently back and forth, staying within the wheel ruts. The opposite end of the tunnel could be seen in the distance, but it looked like it would still be quite a walk. The important thing was that it meant she hadn’t entered a dead-end. She’d come out the other side eventually as long as she kept walking.
While she walked, she pulled her hat off her head and dug out five colored balls and began to juggle. Even while traveling, it was important to practice her prestidigitation skills. Such discipline was what set her apart from other, lesser unicorns. She kept her skills sharp, and her magic—*THUMP*—the wagon rocked side to side, listing heavily.
Trixie stopped in alarm. She had two spare wheels, but changing one inside a tunnel would be difficult, and so soon after entering would not bode well for the remainder of the trip. She hadn’t heard anything break; no shattering or splintering, so the interior was probably okay, and so were the wheels, but she wanted to check anyway.
Trixie put away the colored balls into her hat, unhitched herself and went back to check. She looked at each wheel, each axle, and inspected them all for splinters or cracks. She found nothing, and an experimental rock of the wagon showed that it was doing fine. She opened the door at the back to check the interior, but nothing was strewn about. The bedding, dishes, and cupboards were all shut and in place. It was fine.
She sighed with relief, then looked along the wheel ruts for the offending stone that had caused her to stop.
She could find nothing.
The ruts were bare, without a rock or stick occupying them. There was nothing she imagined she could have run over that would have caused her wagon to tilt to drastically. She ran a little ways behind, then back, shining her horn light over the ruts, but there was nothing at all. No stones, no sticks, and no animals.
“Well that’s curious.”
Trixie shook her head, returned to her harness and hitched herself back up. She cast her light downward and watched the ruts, painstakingly checking for stones, sticks, and other things. Although she did find some, none of them were of a size significant enough to cause the rocking she had experienced earlier. None of them were bigger than a hoof, and none were of a shape that would stay in the path of the wheel if they were run over. They might give her a mild bump, but not cause the whole wagon to almost capsize.
She walked in relative peace for some time, making slow, but steady progress toward the light at the other end. She found nothing in the ruts that was dangerous, but then suddenly there came another *THUMP* and the wagon tilted again, right wheels leaving the ground for a brief moment before it fell back down.
“What in Equestria?”
Trixie quickly unhitched herself and scurried back to check the wheels.
Nothing.
No stones, no sticks, no animals. Not even ones that could have been kicked up to the side of the tunnel walls when she hit them. She increased the light on her horn and checked, but there was nothing to be seen. There weren’t even any bumps in the ruts. They were smooth and flat, without any ups, downs, or tilts to them.
Trixie was starting to worry. She looked at the exit to the tunnel she was aiming for, and it suddenly looked very distant. She looked behind her at the entrance, and it looked dangerously far away. She was stuck in the middle, and something was molesting her wagon.
She cast her light up and down the tunnel, looking at the walls and ceiling, but nothing looked unusual. No holes for quarray eels, no hiding places for any ursas, no spoor on the floor for bats or timberwolves.
Most of those creatures would have destroyed her wagon or attacked her directly, so she found it unlikely that it was any of them, but what might be assaulting her wagon, then?
While she was thinking, there was another *THUMP* and her wagon rocked again. She wasn’t even moving this time. That was when she noticed that one of her windows was open, and she slapped herself in the face with a hoof.
“Oh, Trixie. You’ve done it again.”
She was usually better about this, but there were times when she would forget to close the windows of her wagon, and a raccoon or other animal would get inside. It would then destroy much of her bedding and scratch up the walls in a wild bid to get back out. She tried to remember, but she had probably just forgotten this morning, and something had been looking for a warm and safe place to hide and was just now waking up.
Trixie quickly checked the undercarriage one more time: The axle was fine. No mildew, mold, cracks or rot. The walls were pristine with nothing but her name and other decorations emblazoned on the side. She couldn’t check the roof, but she suspected it was fine. She went to the door and readied herself.
If it had claws, it would be dangerous and likely panicked, so she prepared her horn to grab whatever was in there when it inevitably dashed at her trying to escape. She slowly opened the door, and crouched, ready to grab it.
…nothing came out.
“Please don’t make me go in there to remove you. Just leave the Great and Powerful Trixie’s wagon, and we can both go on our happy little ways.”
There was no response. She wasn’t really expecting one, but it would have been nice if the animal had obeyed. Trixie waited a bit longer, but when it became evident nothing was going to come out, she had to climb the steps and go inside.
She stood hesitantly at the entrance, wary of making sudden moves. The last time this happened, the raccoon had given her a nasty gash on one leg. It wouldn’t do to mar the skin of the Great and Powerful Trixie right before arriving at Vanhoover.
When nothing seemed ready to come out, Trixie gathered her courage and stepped further inside. She checked the cupboards, the bed, and the shelves, but found nothing. She moved toward the back, looking at her trunk of magical devices, making sure they were still latched and the animal hadn’t gotten in there. She made it all the way to the back, light checking every corner, but she found nothing.
“Well this is just great. Where are you, you little—”
Trixie was cut off when something started coming out of thin air beside her. There was that heavy *THUMP* again, and the whole wagon rocked as giant claws appeared around her. She was thrown to the floor by the motion and her horn went out.
Trixie scrambled to her hooves and lit her horn as quickly as possible. The claws had wrapped themselves around her and were blocking her exit! She leaped for the last remaining space, but wasn’t fast enough, and they closed, enclosing Trixie in their grip. She tried to fire off her magical fireworks, but they did nothing but pop against the claw and singe her own fur.
She beat at the thing, but it didn’t care, and she was dragged backward. As she approached the wall of the wagon and the claw disappeared back where it came from with her in tow, Trixie closed her eyes, not wanting to see her waiting death.
Trixie felt herself moving through the air, the musky smell of the creature’s claw around her. She’s swung up and out, then the enclosing claw is gone, and she is left huddled up on herself, nestled in the center of the now open claw.
A bright light sears through her eyelids, but Trixie still doesn’t want to look. She hears something speaking, but can’t understand it, then she hears something she recognizes: Applause. It sounds slightly different; more like slapping than stomping, but it sounded like applause nonetheless.
Trixie opened one eye, waiting for it to adjust, then opened the other when she saw where she was: A massive theater, with massive alien creatures staring down at her on all sides.
Trixie herself was in the paw of the giant creature that grabbed her, held out in front of itself. She followed the long limb of the creature up to its face. It was pig-like, with a smushed face, and it was grinning down at her, showing teeth meant for ripping apart meat. In its other paw, it was holding a hat, not unlike Trixie’s own, inside which she could see the interior of her wagon.
Trixie screamed.
“AHHHHHHHH!”
Author's Note
I was thinking about magic, and the idea of a magician being pulled out of a hat came to mind. Then I wondered how horrifying it would be for that to happen. Then this story came to mind.
