The sun is shining softly in Ponyville in the late afternoon sky, birds singing, ponies milling about. All in all it's an average day in Ponyville, peaceful, and no doubt something interesting just waiting around the corner.
Today’s something, or rather somepony of interest is none other than a traveling stage magician known as the Great, and Powerful Trixie, also known as Trixie Lulamoon. She pulls her wagon through town to the crystal tree castle of Twilight Sparkle. She's actually a bit excited to be here. Yeah it's a business trip, but thankfully it's also the home of her best friend.
And so Trixie parks the wagon off to the side of the stairs leading up to the castle steps, and knocks on the door with her usual self-confident grin on her face.
The door opens a few minutes later, revealing just the pony she was hoping to see. Starlight Glimmer perks up with a smile, and steps out to hug her with a hoof around the neck.”Trixie! You made it!”
“Of course I made it. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t” Trixie says returning the hug happy to see her friend after so long. “How have things been here,” she asks a moment later breaking the hug.
“Absolutely crazy, so… normal,” Starlight quips as she steps aside to lead Trixie into the castle. “She's been so caught up in her latest project ever since Fluttershy came back from the Far Far Range Dimension.”
“Sounds like a nightmare,” Trixie replies will a roll of her eyes. “When is she not caught up in a project though,” she than adds with a small chuckle as she follows Starlight inside.
“More like a dream come true actually! I know you're not exactly into arcane science, but some of the stuff that's been seen in the Far Far Range has lots of ponies practically frothing at the mouth.” Starlight walks on three legs as she waves a hoof in front of them, “Imagine your wagon made of material stronger than steel, or titanium, but light as if it were made from thin plastics. Just one species of the creatures in this new dimension gives off materials like that! Then you've got things like walking batteries, treats so sweet that it's almost too much for the mind to handle… Hard to believe a pony made this place on accident while experimenting with jello. I'm really looking forward to going there with you Trixie.”
“I will admit you have me intrigued. I would love for a better wagon, seems like every other month it’s destroyed.” Trixie says rubbing her muzzle in thought as they walk. “I look forward to going there with you as well,” she says after some thought.
Starlight snickers, “You should have seen Twilight when she got the contract in the mail, and saw your signature on it. At least she's still trying to be nice about you even when you're not here. Maybe all this will go a long ways to helping bridge that gap. After all we’ll be relying on her new inventions for a whole year.”
“I wish I was here to see it, and I think you’re right. This should help with here trusting me a bit more. We might even be friends later on if I’m lucky” Trixie says with a snicker of her own at how bad her luck is in the long run. “Let’s just hope her inventions don’t blow up in our faces after the first use,” she adds with a smirk.
Starlight rolls her eyes, “Oh please, like Twilight would send us to a complete other dimension with faulty gear. She doesn’t hate you that much Trixie.”
Together they trot to a back corner of the castle where they hear the sounds of whirring machinery. Starlight opens the way for them in time to see Twilight set down a cordless drill, and use her magic to weld a seam closed. Nodding she steps back she takes off her tinted goggles, and brushes off her white lab coat. “Ah, that’s perfect…”
“Hey Twilight!” Starlight trots in with a smile.
“Starlight! Perfect timing!” Turning she smiles, which drops the slightest bit when she spots the powder blue showmare. “Ah… Hello again Trixie…”
“Yes, hello to you as well Twilight” Trixie says forcing a smile, a small trace of contempt in her voice.”Trixie is here to assist Starlight on her travel” She then says making it obvious she wasn't here to directly help Twilight if she can help it.
“Actually it’s the opposite,” Twilight says, always one to make sure facts are straight. “You’ve been hired under contract to test my equipment for practicality in the Far Far Range… As much as I had hoped to get somepony with a bit more farming experience I guess we should all just be grateful everything is working out.”
Starlight is confused, “Trixie? Farm experience? I thought she was a stage magician.”
“After her first visit to Ponyville she had to get a job on a rock farm to get by,” Twilight explains as she trots off to the side to start looking through her latest mechanical marvels.
Starlight raises her eyebrows at Trixie, “Really? What was that like?”
“It was horrible for Trixie having to push dirty rocks all day to no end,” Trixie complains shivering a bit at the memory. “But Trixie endured and was triumphant in her work, earning enough bits begin her travels again to try and regain her title as The Great and Powerful Trixie,” she adds with a happy smirk.
Starlight smirks, her friend’s ego can get grating in excess however at times like these she finds it somewhat endearing.
“Aha!” Twilight picks up a round metal post with white, and orange coloring in her magic. She walks over to them with it, and puts it down, a hoof on the big green button on the top. “Here we are! This is the literal cornerstone of the research. Based on previous studies done in the Far Far Range you should be able to use this to fill a number of needs.”
Starlight looks it over, “Uh… How exactly?”
Twilight grins, and sits, “This multipurpose landscaper is capable of serving as the control device for a pen for Slimes as well as other forms of livestock, and even can terraform the area in a 10 pace by 10 pace area to act as a garden! The functions are numerous, especially with the upgrades you can add onto it after you’ve chosen it’s given function. And this isn’t even going to be your main tool of the trade!” Twilight seems to have forgotten all animosity towards Trixie in her dive into her Nerd Mentality as she sits there smiling with her tail wagging.
“Trixie will admit, she is a bit impressed with this marvel of science,” Trixie states with a nod. “She must ask though, just what can we expect in this new world,” she then asks her curiosity spiked as she rubs her chin with a hoof.
Twilight looks off to the side, “Well, believe it or not the sun and moon there move by their own accord for one. The gravity is a bit lighter so you’ll be somewhat stronger, and faster by context. Other than that I’m not entirely sure. We haven’t seen any evidence to suggest that the Slimes have any sort of cognitive skills beyond their desire to feed.” She looks off to the side, and levitates over a book of about 100 pages. “These are all the notes I’ve made on my own studies as well as a compilation of observations from the initial search team. I made sure to leave space for you to add in your own findings!”
Starlight takes the book in her own magic, and starts to casually flip through it. “Okay… So lower gravity. How low are we talking? I mean if we’re really going to be there as long as a year then doesn’t that imply some loss in bone density, and muscle mass overtime?”
“Normally yes, which is why I also designed survival suits for you!” She beams as she trots across the room, calling over her shoulder, “They’ll keep an eye on you like your own personal doctor! They’ll give you the resistance your body needs to stay healthy, and even provide light armor. I have no idea what you’ll be facing there so I’m not cutting corners, though I don’t expect you to see anything exceptionally dangerous!”
Trixie stares blankly at them for a few seconds processing the science that was just thrown around casually. “If you say so then Trixie will have to take your word for it as much as doesn't want to,” she then says shaking herself out of her stupor.
Starlight elbows her with a slightly scolding look, and a subtle shake of her head.
Twilight returns with a pair of one piece suits, dark grey in color with some silver plating on the chest, hindquarters, and hooves. The head is left completely exposed though, as well as a slot for the tail, right above which runs a zipper going from the base of the tail to the back of the neck. “Applejack, and Rarity helped me make these. Want to try them on?”
“Trixie supposes she can try on the drab looking suit,” Trixie says with a small frown at the coloring. “If Miss Rarity helped Trixie would have expected better coloring for it at the very least.” She then says stepping forward taking one of the suites in her magic.
Twilight pouts at that as she, and Starlight get dressed. “Well we were kinda going for a futuristic space explorer kind of look to them. Plus they’re made mostly of metal, and they’re prototypes on top of that… How do they fit?”
Starlight does a few stretches, “Wow, I can barely feel it! It’s like a second coat of fur!”
Twilight smiles a bit at that, “Alright, now for the bread and butter of the whole operation. You see these Slimes actually can’t be handled with magic, they just slip right through it. So I brainstormed with everypony close to me, and Princess Luna actually gave me the idea for how to fix that little issue…” She walks over to a nearby table with a spring in her step.
“That seems like more than a little issue to Trixie,” Trixie says walking in a few circles to get used to the suit. “Trixie admits the only problem she sees with this suit is using the bathroom but that's not much of a problem, among a few other things,” she then says more to herself than anypony else, mumbling the last part not wanting it to be heard.
Twilight uses her magic to lift what looks like a wide nosed vacuum converted into what could be mistaken for some form of weapon. It has a dial on the side of it, and connects through a hose on the back to four metal containers meant to be worn in a saddlebag harness.
“Introducing the Vac Pack,” Twilight says proudly. “Took me days to calibrate the pressure right, but with this you should be able to suck up a Slime from 20 paces, and store it in one of the canisters. You can hold about 20 in each canister, and since the pressure of the suction has been tested with Jello to suck up something then deposit it intact I’m willing to bet it’ll work for several other materials as well, like food.”
“Ok so next question, what will we be eating and where will we be staying?” Trixie asks eyeing the Vac Pack curiously and holding back a few jokes. “Also,how will we be able to communicate with you in case of an emergency,” she then asks as an afterthought.
Twilight replies, “The Far Far Range is home to all sorts of Flora, including many vegetables we have here in Equestria, such as Carrots for example. But your shelter has already been set up in advance with supplies for two weeks, it should be enough to hold you off till you get your gardens going. And the shelter also has the new Instant Mail system so if something happens you can always just write a letter to me.”
“Trixie is satisfied with her questions and is ready to go as soon as possible,” Trixie says with a nod, happy knowing that at least the basics were done so she didn't have to work as much to get food. ’Trixie is sure that this will be a wonderful way to get her name back into a good light’ she then thinks imagining the publicity this will bring her and her show.
Twilight smiles wide, “Great! Just help me pack up your plot management stakes. Oh one last thing! This will be an experiment in economics as well so I took the time to install everything you would need for a realistic experience as Ranchers. You’ll see when you get there.”
Twilight hums Winter Wrap Up to herself as Starlight shares a look with Trixie. Then they set about filling a wagon with the control stakes Twilight had shown them, their first step into their new lives.
Author's Note
Shorter than I would like, but it seemed a suitable place to end the first chapter. Please leave a comment down below, and show your support if you wanna see more in the near future!
