The Good, the Bad and the Unfriendly

The town of Hope Hollow had a small bank in it that the locals used sparingly, with many of them just keeping their money in safes or lockboxes and the like in their homes. Only a few bigger businesses used the bank to keep a majority of their cash and the mayor also kept public funds for the city in it. Because the community was so tight-knit and the town so out of the way they didn’t even have a real guard or anything for their bank. And the closest thing that went for a sheriff was a constable by the name of Topaz Ray who more often than not didn’t even carry a gun on him.

So when two bonafide bank robbers kicked the doors in and pointed guns in the faces of the tellers and the few other people in the bank they were all a might bit shocked and more than a might bit worried. A double-barrel shotgun a few inches from your nose was enough to make even some of the hardest folk wet their pants. And the people of Hope Hollow weren’t exactly that. Arms were raised instantly and not even a thought of fighting back or disobeying these outlaws went through their heads.

“Looks like you know the drill but I’m a girl who’s big on presentations so let me tell you—this is a hold-up! Get your hands in the air!” The first of the bank robbers, the one holding the shotgun, announced.

“You don’t need to repeat that damn line every single time we rob someplace!” The second one growled at her partner.

Both of them were women, likely not even thirty, and they stood side by side with their guns at the ready. This was something they clearly had a lot of experience with and had practiced a lot, the two bank robbers were familiar with the way things went and with each other. The boisterous girl with the shotgun also wasn’t wearing a bandanna or doing anything to hide who she was, her sparkly white and blue streaked hair and exuberant face were well on display for everyone.

Trixie Lulamoon- the notorious bank robber who had been slowly making the rounds through every town and city in Equestria. She was becoming more and more famous with every bank she knocked over.

Her companion on the other hand was a mystery. She was a tall woman, nearly a head taller than Trixie, with an eyepatch over her right eye. Slim but muscular her one eye shown with a fierce rage that frightened any of the others in the bank who looked directly at her. Unlike Trixie she wore a red bandanna and a black hat to hide her identity. Though the hat didn’t stop anyone from seeing the short red hair on her head. She also carried twin pistols that she had out and was periodically moving them from one person to another in the bank to keep em all on their toes, despite her lacking an eye she seemed far more aware of her surroundings than her partner and was taking the ordeal much more seriously.

“I do too have to say it. I am a showman, it’s part of who I am!” Trixie said to her partner and then coughed into her hand while lazily holding the shotgun aimed at the teller. “Now, you all have had the wonderful luck to have been blessed to receive a bank robbery from The Great and Powerful Trixie! Remember my name, for Trixie is the greatest traveling magician you will ever see!”

“Traveling magician?” One of the bank customers said before he could catch himself.

Suddenly a pistol was pointed at him and Trixie grinned, also turning to look at him while still off-handedly holding the now wobbling shotgun at the teller.

“That is correct!” Trixie said. “The Great and Powerful Trixie was in a bit of a bad spot due to lack of interest in her shows and was unfortunately forced to turn to a life of crime for money, but fear not! For soon she will one day return to the life of magic shows and wow you all!” She grinned widely and looked over to her partner. “Especially with the help of her lovely assistant, Miss-”

The other robber elbowed Trixie in the ribs, hard. “Don’t say my name, you jackass!”

“R-Right...” Trixie grunted and temporarily hefted the shotgun onto her shoulder.

“Ugh,” her partner rolled her one eye. “Forget the fucking speech and everything, let’s just get the money and go!”

“Okay, fine!” Trixie glared at her before leveling the shotgun back at the teller. “You hurry now and open up your safe, fill up this bag-” She pulled out a canvas bag that had been tied at her waist and tossed it to him. “With all the money it can hold and we’ll be out of here. And if you don’t, well let this be a warning to you.” She aimed her shotgun up at the ceiling and fired.

Everyone besides Trixie and her partner cowered and covered their ears as a hole was blown through the wooden roof by the deafening rapport and powerful blast of the shotgun. Trixie though was looking up at her newly done work with an awkward grimace on her face.

“Oops, I didn’t mean to use both barrels. Hold on! The Great and Powerful Trixie must reload!” She said and snapped open the shotgun, pulling the two spent cartridges out and fishing for some more inside her jacket.

“Dumbass...” Her partner muttered and shook her head. It was a good thing her pistols were kept trained on the others.

Despite the absurdity of this bank robbery and the fact that if the rest of the town and constable hadn’t already known what was going on that shotgun blast certainly alerted them to it, the bank teller still really didn’t want to get shot. So a bag of money was quickly filled and two outlaws ran from the bank and to their horses hitched up outside. With a loud cheer of victory, Trixie fired her shotgun pointlessly into the sky and rode off together with her partner and their newly stolen money. The people of Hope Hollow (especially those who had actually been privy to witness the robbery) were left flabbergasted.

“Another magnificent bank robbery if I do say so myself!” Trixie grinned while she rode out through the desert alongside her partner in crime.

“I can’t believe your idiocy hasn’t gotten us shot yet,” her partner glared ahead and reached up to lower her bandanna. Tempest Shadow narrowed her one eye at Trixie. “Do you have any idea how badly things would’ve gone for you if I wasn’t there to back you up? That was hardly the first time either.”

“Things have always turned out fine so far haven’t they?” Trixie shrugged. “And we got another great haul of cash and all it cost us was a few shotgun shells!”

“Why did I ever join up with an idiot like you in the first place?” Tempest shook her head.

The two rode out across the dry plains together while the sun beat down on them. They were riding fast, near full speed to make as much distance between themselves and the bank they just knocked over as they could, on their way back to their temporary hideout. By Tempest’s direction they took a non-direct route back to it to make it less likely they could be tracked down. Something Trixie had never thought of. Along the way they passed ravines and went up nearly forgotten paths through mountains before winding up in this hot and arid land where barely a weed grew up from the orange adobe ground. The hideout was close by now, the entrance to an abandoned mine that had been boarded up after the mine went dry years ago. Trixie had parked the wagon she still pulled with her everywhere inside it and the two of them had obscured the entrance with some bushes. A simple oil lamp hung from the ceiling and voila, temporary bandit hideout.

They had to push their horses pretty hard but they made good time back because of it, the mine itself in an area of rocky and craggy land just on the other side of these plains. While they were riding towards it Trixie was blissfully looking straight ahead with her mind only thinking about the successful robbery and how she’d enjoy herself when she got back. Tempest was constantly checking to make sure they weren’t riding into an ambush—she didn’t know who would even be out here to ambush them but she was always wary.

Eventually the hooves of their horses started pounding over gray dirt and gravel and granite stone popped up all around the two riders. They slowed down their approach, knowing they were pretty much in the clear, and traversed around this forgotten mining area until they made it back to the tunnel that held Trixie’s wagon.

“Back to my beloved wagon,” Trixie beamed as their horses trotted over to the partially disguised entrance. She and Tempest both hopped off and led their horses in by the reins after moving the bushes out of the way and then back. There was still just enough light coming in from outside that they could see a ways in and both of them knew where everything was anyways.

Being much taller than Trixie it was easier for Tempest to pull out a match, spark it, and use it to light the oil lamp they had to spread the light everywhere. With a tired sigh the redhead then took a seat on an old crate they had found in here. The ever-energetic Trixie on the other hand was far too excited to just sit down and relax yet. She pulled the bag of money from her horse’s side and tossed it down on the ground, practically humming in ecstasy at the sound it made. A bag full of money, you just couldn’t beat it.

“This is great! I’m going to be able to do all kinds of amazing things soon, can you even think of all the tricks and shows I’ll be able to perform now without having to worry about money?” Trixie asked her companion.

“No, and I don’t care,” Tempest responded, cracking her neck and other joints.

Trixie harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh phooey to you then. You’re such a downer.”

“I’m tired of dealing with your inanities, that’s it,” Tempest grunted.

“Inani-whats?” Trixie scratched her head.

Tempest rolled her eye and rubbed her forehead in anticipation of a coming headache. “Just forget it.” She stayed like that, hunched over, for a while longer while Trixie fantasized about finally being able to perform again. Finally something came to Tempest’s mind, something she remembered, and she looked back up at her unlikely partner. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot but there’s something I snagged back when we were in town that I wanted to show you.”

Trixie raised a curious eyebrow. “Something to show me?”

“Yep,” Tempest said and stood up, reaching into the back pocket on her black jeans and pulling out a folded up piece of paper before handing it to Trixie. “Congratulations, you’re famous for real now.”

Trixie unfolded the piece of paper and her face lit up as she looked upon her own wanted poster. “Wow!” Her eyes scanned up and down it while her sparkly smile widened. “Trixie Lulamoon, wanted dead or alive!”

Her face suddenly paled.

“Wait, what?” Trixie’s eyes zeroed in on the “dead” part while Tempest raised a confused eyebrow at her.

“What’s wrong? It’s a typical wanted poster,” Tempest said to her.

“But dead? Why dead?! Why am I wanted dead or alive and not just alive!” Trixie yelled at her in fear while sweat started to break out all over her face, the wanted poster discarded to the ground.

“I’d say it’s because you’re a violent criminal who’s been robbing banks?” Tempest stated matter-of-factly. “Did you not expect this to happen?”

“Well I knew I’d become wanted but I didn’t think people would be coming to kill me! I’ve never hurt anyone, why would anyone want me dead?” Trixie said.

Tempest stared at her like she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You do realize people kill for money all the time, right? You’re stealing from people, of course some of them are going to want you dead because of that.”

“But, but, but, but, but, but-” Trixie sputtered until Tempest slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Find. Your. Words,” Tempest glared at her.

She took her hand away and Trixie immediately started blabbering again. “But what do I do?! I just wanted to be able to perform magic shows again and not have to worry about going hungry, not be some outlaw forced to run for her life everywhere from people wanting to collect my reward!”

“I thought you were just putting on a show this whole time when we were robbing places but… did you really think you’d just be able to go back to traveling and doing shows like normal after all the places you robbed? Do you think anything through?” Tempest asked her, clear disbelief dripping from her mouth.

“I think my tricks and performances through,” Trixie answered.

“That’s not-” Tempest started but gave up. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter, this is your life now, Trixie. You’re gonna have to deal with it.” She went to lean up against the wall of the cave. “There are probably already some bounty hunters or maybe even a whole posse out for the two of us already. The people of Equestria, and especially that old cunt of a governor we have, aint gonna stand for having so many banks robbed in such a short amount of time. Best get used to having to look over your shoulder everywhere you go. Less you want a bullet in the back—or hell, even if you don’t get killed by whoever brings you in you’re probably going to have to face the gallows anyways.”

“B-Bullet… g-gallows?” Trixie stuttered, her blood ran cold, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

The one-time magician fainted on the spot.

A bucket of water splashed down on Trixie’s passed out face and she flailed about wildly, before turning over onto her hands and knees and frantically looking about.

“What?! Who?! Why?!” Trixie panted as her heart pounded inside her chest.

“Figured you were out long enough,” Tempest said, standing over her with a lit cigarette in her mouth. She tossed the now empty bucket to the ground and went back to sitting on her crate.

Everything came rushing back to Trixie now and she stood up, shaking and cold thanks to both the water and fear she was feeling. She tried to catch her breath while Tempest watched her and started pacing back and forth under the light of the lamp. Trixie was still on the verge of hyperventilating after Tempest revealed the reality of the situation to her—a reality Trixie had never conceived of when she started robbing banks in the first place. She figured everyone would just have a good laugh and forgive her when she started performing again, after all it’s not like she had ever shot anyone, and she’d become famous and be able to put on all kinds of big shows and maybe even give the money she stole back, right? That was so much better than being shot by a bounty hunter or arrested and executed.

Trixie felt sick, suddenly clutching her stomach and wincing. “I don’t feel good...”

“Well don’t throw up in here if you’re about to. Sheesh, you really that weak in knees? Where are your guts?” Tempest said to her.

“Preferably always inside my stomach and not spilling out on the side of the road somewhere!” Trixie barked at her.

Tempest shrugged. “Should’ve used that head of yours before starting all this. If it even works.”

“But what do I do now?”

“I’d say keep that shotgun close at hand.”

Trixie looked over at her gun that was in a leather holster on her horse’s side. The sight of it made her blanch. “I-I can’t shoot anyone! Even just the thought of it makes me sick!”

“You’ve had no problem pointing that thing in other people’s faces,” Tempest raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s just for intimidation! And I can’t even aim, that’s why I use a big shotgun like that in the first place, cause it’s scary and loud! I’d never be able to hit something with a pistol or a rifle, I’ve tried plenty of times in the past, I’m the worst shot ever! With a shotgun at least I can’t miss the roofs right over my head...” Trixie clapped her hands to her cheeks and pulled them down.

“The more you talk the more all of this sounds like a bad joke,” Tempest sighed and shook her head.

Trixie started pacing again and again as she wracked her brain in an attempt to come up with a solution to her problems. Unfortunately her brain wasn’t coming up with any good answers. She didn’t exactly use it that much to begin with. The supposedly Great and Powerful Trixie had no survival skills, no talent with a gun, no common sense, and was quickly on her way to becoming a frightened nervous wreck. How could she get out of this? Who could help her? And help her for real, not just snidely insult and berate her like Tempest.

The magician’s eyes lit up as a face popped into her head and Trixie seemingly believed all her problems would soon be behind her. “I know who can help me! Starlight!”

“Starlight? Who’s that?” Tempest asked her, taking a long drag on her cigarette and blowing a bit of smoke out her mouth.

“Only my best friend ever! I’ve known her for years since we were kids. Starlight Glimmer!” Trixie proudly said with her hands on her hips.

Tempest frowned slightly and her brow furrowed as she thought about something. “Glimmer? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before...”

“You probably have,” Trixie nodded. “Starlight’s a sheriff, a famous one too.”

Trixie was momentarily oblivious to the reaction Tempest had to her words. The redheaded partner stood up, her lone eye twitching as she stared at the dumb girl in a mix of disbelief and quiet rage. While Trixie was still proudly standing there and staring off into space while she thought about her friend, Tempest stalked over to her and cracked her knuckles.

“A sheriff?” Tempest whispered.

“That’s right! My old bestie is amazing and she’ll definitely help me out,” Trixie said and turned her head to look at Tempest.

Right as Tempest socked her in the face.

Trixie spun around and collapsed against the wall of the cave with a solid thud while her horse whinnied in fear at the attack. Trixie groaned in pain as tears quickly came to her eyes and she held a hand up to her quickly bruising face in shock. When she looked up she saw a very angry Tempest glaring down at her.

“You’re best friends with a sheriff?!” Tempest shouted.

Trixie whimpered and tried to press herself even further into the wall. “Y-Yes, what’s the big deal?!”

“We’re criminals you moron! I’ve been robbing banks with you this whole time and just now you tell me you’re buddy buddy with a damn sheriff? I must be just as big an idiot to ever work with you in the first place!” Tempest looked like she was going to hit Trixie again before gritting her teeth and turning around, kicking up some dust instead.

Trixie… didn’t quite get it. “I-I still don’t understand why you’re so mad?!”

“You know my name! You know my face, you moron!” Tempest whirled on her. “And now here you are being a scared little coward… who knows what you might do or who you might sell out to save your own skin.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie would never do something so low!” Trixie defended herself against Tempest’s accusations. It was true, stupid and naive as she was she wouldn’t betray someone who had helped her for so long. Tempest wasn’t exactly a trusting person though and Trixie wasn’t sure if her words could convince her. Especially when Tempest had repeatedly shown to not put much value in anything Trixie said.

“Whatever,” Tempest spat out her cigarette onto the ground. “The two of us are through and I’m getting the hell out of here. I’m taking the money too.”

“Hey!” Trixie sat up. “Half of that money is rightfully mine!”

A gun pulled from Tempest’s holster and pointed in her face quickly shut Trixie up. “You’re lucky I’m not taking your horse and wagon too you dumb shit.” She clicked her tongue. “Oughta shoot you too but you’re not even worth the bullet.”

Trixie quivered in fear, really hoping Tempest wouldn’t shoot her just in case, right up until her former partner re-holstered the pistol and began to collect her things and their money. The magician could only watch in despair as Tempest loaded it all up on her horse and prepared to leave their little cave. Soon Trixie would be all alone in this hideout and after the recent revelations that scared her almost more than anything.

“T-T-Tempest, can’t we work things out? Can’t you just help me a little? W-What’s going to happen to me if you just leave me alone like this?” Trixie begged.

Another click of her tongue and Tempest looked over apathetically at the failed magician with her one eye. “By the sound of things? You’re probably gonna die.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie sat in the driver’s seat of her special wagon that contained all of her tools and props for her magic shows as well as some other things like a tent and blankets for camping. She had to camp alone on the road quite a bit in the past when she was traveling from town to town putting on shows. Normally even without money things wouldn’t be so bad for her (since she spent most of her life without money) but there were a few extra things that were making her sweat.

For one her name and title were painted on the side of her wagon. The entire wagon in general was also painted purple with stars everywhere, making it incredibly noticeable, and now thanks to those wanted posters her name and face and everything were well known by those who’d like to track her down and bring her in. Or just kill her.

To make things even worse, the town Starlight was a sheriff of was far away from where she currently was. Trixie didn’t have the supplies or money to ride her wagon there at the moment and even if she did she’d probably have to pass through other towns where people might recognize her as a wanted criminal. So now she was working her head as she held onto the reins of her horse with a white-knuckled grip in an effort to think of how she’d save herself.

With her horse now hitched up to the wagon her shotgun was also tucked back in there too. At the moment though even the thought of taking it out and holding it was enough to make Trixie sick… the thought of shooting someone with that gun almost enough to make her faint again. Even in self-defense or while fighting for her life, Trixie just didn’t think she had the nerve to shoot someone else. Or the skill. Even in all the prior robberies she and Tempest had pulled off they never had to actually shoot someone. The threat of it was enough to get things going their way and they were always in and out in a flash. Despite everything that had gone down Trixie sorely wished Tempest was still with her right now. She didn’t handle loneliness the best and now her mind was stuck on all the awful things that might happen to her now.

Still, Trixie was good at psyching herself up. She had to do that her whole life and all the time when she was getting booed out of towns after lousy performances. And she really, really, didn’t want to die so soon her worrying would have to end and she could come up with a real plan for helping herself. That being said she knew very well she was in over her head. Plan and perform a great magic show? Easy. Think of how to avoid the law while coming up with the money and means to reach Starlight? A little more difficult. Not to mention she was in an area of Equestria relatively unfamiliar to her.

No money and no food. Tempest took everything of value aside from her magical props and stuff that Trixie would rather die before selling. Because she wouldn’t leave her wagon or horse behind she couldn’t take the train to Starlight even if she had the money. So what she really needed was a map, a big jug of water, and enough food to tide her over for a while. Then she could at least plan her route to Starlight’s town and hopefully use the map to stay off the busy roads and avoid dangerous spots.

Trixie nodded to herself. That was the plan.

Only problem was… she didn’t have a plan to get money yet.

Trixie raised a hand to her mouth and started biting her thumbnail. “Okay, okay, okay, you just have to think Trixie. Think about something besides your magic shows for once in your life!” She then paused mid-bite as a lantern flickered on in her head. “Wait a second, my magic shows! They’re just the ticket I need in the first place!”

A huge smile spread over the giddy Trixie’s face as she thought up the plan for making money. “I’ll find a small town and put on a performance for the people there to scrounge up the money I need! Then even if I need more I can still hit other, smaller, out of the way towns while I head to Starlight.”

Even for Trixie though the many flaws in this plan were quickly becoming obvious to her mind.

“Buuut my shows not being popular is why all of this started in the first place,” she frowned. “And even in a smaller town people might still recognize me and my name. And even a successful show might only net me a few bits.”

She clicked her tongue. “Well it’s the best I can come up with and The Great and Powerful Trixie isn’t afraid of taking chances!” She thrust her fist into the sky.

I just really hope no one recognizes me at whatever town I end up at. Trixie gulped.

Right now she was still aimlessly traveling overland with her wagon and any town seemed like it might have to be a day or more away. Her stomach wasn’t going to like that one bit. She couldn’t help but be excited though as she thought about her plan. It would be the first time in ages she had done a real performance, and every time she was performing always felt… magical. That was her true passion in life after all, not robbing banks like some crook. It certainly felt better when people enjoyed her shows but Trixie could at least take solace in being a stellar magician even if others didn’t appreciate all the hard work she put into it and the talent she had.

“And if things do go wrong again...” Trixie glanced back at her shut wagon, picturing the shotgun inside. “I s-suppose I could just rob them? The gun wouldn’t even have to be loaded, I can just threaten them with it if they don’t feel like paying me when the show’s over.”

It was a rather dark line of thought but Trixie was in a bad place right now. Her own stuttering voice however made her think she’d never have the nerve to do something like that.

Which made her quash the thought of robbing the next bank she saw on her own right away. There was no way she was going to do something that dangerous. Not without Tempest or another partner to help her. Especially since even if the next place she visited was a small town they probably had more real lawmen than Hope Hollow did. Whatever sheriff or deputies there were she didn’t like her chances against them and trying to rob a bank or something would just be a fast track to jail.

And then the gallows most likely.

Trixie anxiously rubbed her neck and then shook her head. “No! No more robbing banks!”

A great sigh escaped her and she focused back on the ground in front of her, watching her horse plod along it while they tried to find the next town over.

“What did I do to deserve any of this?”

With her lack of self-awareness and introspection, Trixie sat quietly for the rest of the trip until it was nightfall, where she finally gave up on finding a town today and went to bed. Despite knowing she’d wake up hungry there was nothing more she could do. At least she managed to fall asleep and rest far easier than she expected, her unfortunate horse having to listen to her loud snoring.

Trixie awoke the next morning full of undeserved confidence and optimism. That was just how she handled every day. Banish and ignore all those negative thoughts (no matter how logical and sensible they may be) and believe in yourself and the show you were going to put on. Trixie was absolutely certain things were going to be a hit in the next town she found herself in. Her optimism was also telling her she’d find that next town soon, or maybe she was just trying to convince herself she wouldn’t be hungry for much longer. Whatever it was she got started early on moving. Her wagon couldn’t cover as much distance in a day as if she was just riding the horse herself and Trixie didn’t want to waste any time while the sun was still out. That being said since she also didn’t have a map she didn’t exactly know where she was going. She could be heading in the complete opposite direction from where the closest town was.

However perhaps the world was taking pity on her or maybe her optimism and positive attitude were infecting it as well. After a few hours of sitting on her wagon, Trixie saw a town in the distance.

“Yes!” Trixie stood up on the driver’s bench of her wagon and promptly wobbled about, almost losing her balance and falling off before raising her fist to the sky again. “The Great and Powerful Trixie knew things would turn around soon for her!”

It looked like she was coming out on a plateau with the town being further ahead near the edge of it. Trixie could see past it that there were mountains and canyons in the distance with another plateau directly across a deep ravine and river from this one. And extra luckily for her the town she had found was small. Less chance of being found out and a greater chance of being able to wow small-town folk who had probably never seen an excellent, top-of-the-line, magic show like hers.

She did her best to hold back from whipping the reins and making her horse speed into town. Trixie didn’t want to come off as a lunatic, best to act normal and come in at a steady pace.

A spark of excitement came to her and Trixie stopped for a moment, getting off the driver’s bench and rushing into her wagon to look for something. She tossed aside box after box before finally coming to an old chest and opening it up. “Eeeee! I haven’t had the chance to wear this in ages!” She squealed with joy as she pulled out her personal purple wizard costume and hat. Quickly taking off her cowboy attire she let it drop to the floor of the wagon until she was left in the black bra and panties she had stolen from a luxurious clothing store in Canterlot the last time she was there. They were made of perfectly sewn silk and it was a good thing Tempest didn’t know about them or she might’ve been robbed of her expensive undergarments yesterday too.

Putting a foot up on the chest she slid the white stockings that came with the costume up her legs one by one and then affixed the skirt patterned with stars and moons around her waist before tossing on the top and then the flowing robe that had the same color and pattern as her skirt. Lastly she slipped on a pair of polished black shoes and then finally her hat. With a happy grin Trixie checked herself out in the mirror she kept in the wagon and was pleased to see she still looked as good as she always did before a show. The happy performer then jumped back out of the wagon and started leading her horse on again towards town.

“This is going to be great,” she said to herself as she trudged along until getting onto the actual road that led into town. She could already see people there, and they could most certainly see her too, soon a crowd would probably be forming as people came to see just what was rolling into town…

Trixie wasn’t wrong. By the time her wagon pulled into town there were already a number of people waiting for her arrival. The possibility that they could be waiting for her because they knew she was a wanted criminal didn’t go through her head at all. Partially because of all the women and children that were out in the crowd too. It was definitely an excited crowd of potential fans and patrons, Trixie had a good eye for that sort.

They parted as her wagon came through and got to see the lovely writing on the sides that announced who she was. While Trixie waved at them in her outfit it quickly became obvious to everyone just what she was.

“Hello, hello, citizens!” Trixie called out to the townspeople. “The Grrreat and Powerful Trixie has arrived in your town to bless you with a phenomenal magic show the likes of which you have never seen!”

The crowd muttered and spoke to each other with excitement as Trixie continued to ride her wagon towards the center of town. Center of attention after all. She kept waving and smiling at everyone for now, letting their imaginations do the rest, as she also took a look around at things. This place looked like it might as well have sprung up yesterday, a lot of buildings were new and there were only a few streets running alongside each other. Obviously a small, close-knit, community. Perfect for what she wanted and unlikely to have what she was trying to avoid.

Everyone followed her to the center of town where a stone well was situated right in the middle of the road. Extra good. Did she need to ask to get some water or could she just pull up the bucket? Either way she was damn happy to see it. Trixie pulled her wagon up right alongside the well and pulled on the reins of her horse to get the animal to stop.

“There we go,” Trixie said with a smile before clearing her throat and standing up. “Come one, come all, in but a short hour The Great and Powerful Trixie’s show will begin!”

The crowd before her clapped in amusement at Trixie’s over the top selling of her show. It made Trixie’s smile widen, this was going to be a good crowd.

“Now, what town does Trixie have the pleasure of being in?” She asked the crowd.

“This here is Saddle Ridge,” a man said to her with a proud smile on his face.

Trixie nodded. “Well I can already tell even without magic that Saddle Ridge is a magnificent town.”

The crowd found some good humor in that. It was a classic line to make the people of wherever it was you were visiting feel special. Part of the show was working up the crowd in the first place and Trixie’s bombastic attitude combined with her vibrant and eye-catching appearance did a lot to build hype. In the past that had often backfired when people ended up not enjoying her shows, but that was the past. She could feel some good things here.

“What do you do in a magic show?” Some young boy eating an apple asked her.

“Hmmm, an excellent question!” Trixie rubbed her chin before winking at the boy. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you dazzling tricks and illusions, death defying stunts and feats of magic, and other amazing things that will wow your mind! As for the specifics, well, Trixie can’t ruin the surprise, now can she? But you should all feel quite happy and excited that Trixie’s wondrous magic show has come all the way out here for you!” The crowd clapped for her again and Trixie took a miniature bow. “Thank you, thank you! Please return to here in but one hour and I will have the show ready for all of you!”

As the crowd dispersed, Trixie kept smiling until they were all far enough away. Then she wiped her brow and jumped off the wagon, walking towards the back of it so she could open it up and start preparing her stage and everything. Just preparation would take a lot of work without anyone to help her but she was used to that too. Her lazy horse meanwhile just stood there. Trixie envied him.

She pulled open the back door and let the steps flip out onto the ground before walking up them and riffling through everything she had. This show had to be a success so she was going to use her biggest and best stuff for it. Without an assistant some of her best stuff was unavailable though… Trixie shook her head, trying to banish any and all negative thoughts. She still had plenty of great props and tricks she could do all by herself. And if things went south it would just be time to pull out her disappearing act.

Trixie gulped as she couldn’t fully shut out those negative thoughts. What if this was another failure? What would she do?

The mirror caught her eye again and she looked into it, briefly dropping her robe and admiring herself, running her hands up and down the curves of her body. She certainly was a very attractive young woman, that was something that hadn’t changed even with the hardships of her journey. She doubted this town saw many girls as pretty as her and men would probably climb over each other to get at her if she was “available”. If her show did fail another way of earning some money would be to-

“No! No, no, no!” Trixie squeezed her eyes shut and frantically shook her head. “Absolutely not! Trixie will never sell herself. The Great and Powerful Trixie is above such shameless and disgusting things.”

With renewed determination she grabbed up everything she needed and started to take it out of the wagon. It would’ve been nice to perform on a real stage with curtains and an overhang and everything but beggars cant be choosers. Instead she could dress up the area she was performing at to the best of her gargantuan ability. At least the large canvas she had to spread on the ground would keep her and her things from getting dirty.

While she was stepping down the steps from her wagon juggling numerous boxes of things a voice startled her.

“Can I watch you?”

“Wagh!” Trixie yelped and slipped down the last step, falling on her butt while the boxes crashed around her. She winced in pain before looking at the source of the voice and saw that apple eating boy from before. “Can Trixie help you?” Her voice was a bit sharper than she intended, but she didn’t like being embarrassed, especially if any others might have seen.

“Uhh...” the boy looked kind of sheepish after accidentally causing her fall. “I was just wondering if I could watch you get your show ready is all. It’s kind of boring round here.”

“Oh,” Trixie stood up and dusted herself off. “That’s fine I suppose but the real excitement starts when the show begins.”

He shrugged. “Aint doing nothing else.”

“Suit yourself then,” Trixie shrugged and started gathering her boxes, bringing them over to in front of the wagon. Her curiosity quickly got the better of her though, as there were still a number of things she needed to know about this town. Her eyes turned back to the kid while he munched on his apple and watched her. “Hey? Where’s a place in town where I can buy a roadmap of Equestria? And anywhere that has food that can be stored for long trips? I’m on the road a lot and need to go a long ways.”

The kid scratched his head for a moment and kind of looked around town. “There are places… maybe the general store would have all you need?”

“And where is that?” Trixie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Um,” he walked around the area she was setting things up and pointed to the south side of town. It was about the direction Trixie had initially come from, with the river and ravine to the north. There were a few buildings on the south side of the road, mostly your typical things like a clothing store, a barbershop, but there was also curiously a bookstore, something uncommon for such a small and out of the way town. None of that interested Trixie though, she followed where the boy was pointing to the end of the street to see the aforementioned general store on the corner.

“It’s owned by Dew Drop. Right next to the bank and jailhouse,” the kid said.

Trixie blanched. “The bank and jailhouse?”

She looked slightly over and sure enough, while there was a small street between them separating the buildings, the bank and jail were right there. And now that she was looking closely over there… there was someone standing out in front of the general store looking at her. He was maybe about 200 or 300 feet away from her so she couldn’t really see the look on his face, but he was dressed up in a blue uniform with a hat on his head and a gun at his hip. Most troubling of all he held a piece of paper in his hands that he kept looking down at and then back up at Trixie. Trixie only needed a single guess to figure out what that was.

“Shit.”

The kid stopped in the middle of taking a bite of his apple and gawked at her. “Miss, you just said a bad word.”

Trixie wasn’t paying attention to him, instead she watched as the gun-toting man took one last look at her before running from in front of the general store over to the jail. More unfortunately to her she noticed a number of strong looking horses tied up and ready out by the jail too.

Curtain call.

“Thanks for your help, kid,” Trixie said to the boy before grabbing the apple out of his hand, shoving it into her mouth, and running over to jump onto the driver’s seat of her wagon.

The boy did a double-take as he looked at his empty hand and her. “Hey!”

But Trixie didn’t care in the slightest. She grabbed the reins of her horse and whipped them to get the horse moving. “Mmph, geth thothen legth mmmrvng!” Trixie commanded through her muffled mouth and pulled on the reins while her horse whinnied and snorted. The unappreciated animal pulled out from by the well in a wide circle and started running back down the street along the way Trixie had come in.

In her haste, Trixie didn’t pick up any of the props and equipment she had brought out from her wagon, it was all left behind in the dirt. And even more than that, she hadn’t folded up the steps and closed the door on the back of her wagon so it was all clattering around on the ground while her horse pulled it and stuff inside threatened to spill out. Normally she’d think about how she was forced to abandon her precious things and how her wagon was getting trashed by forcing her horse to run at full speed while it was improperly prepared. But really, all she was thinking about right now was how much she didn’t want to get shot.

Now that her wagon was on its way she took a hand off the reins and grabbed the apple, chomping down on it and taking a huge bite. It probably wasn’t as tasty as she thought it was but damn did it feel really refreshing right now. With another couple of quick bites the only thing left was the core and she quickly tossed it aside onto the dirt she was rapidly riding over.

Where do I go? Where do I go? Where do I go? Trixie thought and thought to herself while sweat dripped down her brow. Can’t go back the way I came, there’s nothing there. She looked north over the buildings of the town and bit her lip. Hiding out or shaking off her pursuers in the canyons and mountains was probably her best bet. Alright, let’s go!

Tail Wind was a deputy of Saddle Ridge, one of four, and when he saw that wagon pulling into town with the name written on the side he knew he recognized it from somewhere. Going back to the jailhouse he pulled the appropriate wanted poster off the wall and stepped over to the general store to get a closer look. “The Great and Powerful Trixie”-- that name was dead on. And the picture on her wanted poster matched too, he was pretty sure at least since he was a little far away.

Unfortunately for him she had caught him looking at her and when he bolted away to go tell everyone else he could hear her getting on her wagon and riding out of town. That wasn’t so bad though, he and the others could easily catch up to her if they left quick enough.

The deputy threw open the doors to the jailhouse with enough force to frighten the others inside. “Hey! We’ve got a criminal in town, get on your horses, she’s trying to get away!”

“What in the hell are you talking about, boy?” His boss, Flapjack, the chief, asked him. Flapjack wasn’t exactly a sheriff or a ranger or anything like that but he was still the closest thing this small town had to one. He was old with a bushy gray beard and bifocals on his face with a slight pot belly barely constrained by his flannel shirt.

“This girl, Trixie!” Tail Wind said and showed them the wanted poster. “The bank robber! She rode right up into town just now!”

Flapjack got up and grabbed the wanted poster out of his hands, studying it for a second before raising an eyebrow at the deputy. “You sure?”

“I’m positive!” Tail Wind nodded.

Flapjack grinned and rolled up the poster before shoving it into his pants’ pocket. He then turned to the other three deputies inside the jailhouse. “Boys, saddle up. We’ve got ourselves a criminal to catch and a bounty to earn.”

Trixie had made it out of town and was now rampaging down a road that was up on the south side of the ravine, running parallel to it. It was in fact the only road over here, there didn’t seem to be any other way down this cliff or around the plateau’s northern side. To her left was the ravine itself and the rushing water of the river maybe a hundred feet below her, to her right the cliff kept going up quite a ways with the road she was on existing on a ridge of it.

And ahead of her there was a wooden bridge going north over the ravine and deeper into the mountains and canyons. That was her goal. It looked like the only place she could even go to anyways since this road alongside the cliff might not lead anywhere or possibly even worse it cold wrap back around to the town. The bridge itself looked well constructed and stable, with supports criss-crossing all the way down to the bottom of the ravine and over the river. It could definitely handle her wagon.

But behind her were the sounds of galloping horses already. The lawmen had quickly caught up to Trixie even with her head start thanks to her horse having to pull far more weight.

“Well this is just great, isn’t it?” Trixie sarcastically asked as she leaned around the side of the wagon to check behind her. Sure enough, five horses were coming her way and they were gaining on her. She looked back at her horse and started cracking the reins up and down. “Come on, come on, you stupid horse! Run faster!”

What did she do even if she got to the bridge and made it across at this point? She had no idea. Trixie just hoped against hope that she’d be able to outrun them and lose them somewhere.

That’s when the sound of a rifle being fired rang out across the whole ravine.

“Ahhh!” Trixie yelled. “They’re shooting at me!”

It was impossible for her to tell how close they came to hitting her, or if perhaps they already had shot a bullet hole into her wagon, but she didn’t care. She hunkered down and desperately begged her horse to go faster while tears started welling up in her eyes. Luckily because of that wagon the threat of them being able to actually shoot her from behind was low, but that meant her stuff might get wrecked, and what if they hit her wheels?

Bang!

More and more loud shots rang out and Trixie cried each time. Her horse was also getting more and more startled too. Trixie could tell he was panicking, not something she needed right now, at least one of them had to keep their cool. The bridge was close now but to cross it… she’d have to turn and temporarily give the ones shooting at her a mostly clear shot at her body and horse.

Did she risk it?

Or maybe should she just stop and surrender, holding her hands up and wait for them to catch her? They wouldn’t shoot her like that, right? She’d just be arrested and thrown into jail. And then maybe, maybe, she could throw herself on the mercy of the court or the judge or whoever and whatever punishment she got wouldn’t be so bad. If she turned herself in at this point it had to be better than the alternative of getting chased down and shot by someone or dragged kicking and screaming to Canterlot by a bounty hunter.

Trixie grit her teeth. “No, The Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow this to be the end of the line for her. She will return to being an unparalleled traveling magician! She will not go down as some pathetic bank robber!”

She whipped the reins one more time and prepared to go out over the bridge even as more bullets whizzed past her and others hit the back of her wagon. It was do or die.

Trixie pulled the reins and made her horse turn on a dime once they reached the bridge so she would lose as little speed as possible. It put a lot of stress on her wagon’s wheels and wasn’t good for her horse either but it was better than her getting a bullet in the head. The bridge itself wasn’t even that long, she could cross it fairly quickly and at least have her pursuers directly behind her again where they didn’t have a good shot on her. A glance to her left back at the cliffside road showed the five lawmen still in hot pursuit, aiming rifles and pistols at her as they rode along.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap,” Trixie cried as she forced herself to look ahead and prayed that she wouldn’t get shot.

Meanwhile, the five riders had actually stopped once Trixie had gotten out onto the bridge and took the chance to steady their guns at her. They knew it might be some time before they got another good shot at her and since the poster said “Dead” was fine then it was really no big loss as long as they had a body to bring back. Five guns were now aimed squarely at Trixie and her horse. Each lawman fired together and unleashed a barrage of bullets at Trixie.

“Ahhhh!” Trixie screamed while halfway across the bridge as she could now feel and hear the bullets going right by her head. Out of reflex she let go of the reins and put her arms over her head for all the good that would do.

None of the bullets hit her directly but one hit the center of her front left wheel and broke it, making the whole wagon tilt and almost tossing Trixie off it before she grabbed onto her seat at the last second. Unfortunately her horse wasn’t prepared for the shift and it stumbled, the animal then tripped over its own hooves, running so fast it simply couldn’t save itself, and fell in a broken mess onto the wooden boards of the bridge. Trixie’s stomach lurched when she heard the vicious snapping of her horse’s legs when it fell.

That wasn’t the end of it though. The wagon’s momentum had hardly stopped just because the horse did, going full speed like that there was so much inertia behind the wagon that for a second it might as well have still been going as fast as always just under its own power. And a second was all it needed. The wagon’s last front wheel hit her horse and the wagon launched itself sideways into the air with Trixie still on it, holding on for dear life, the ropes hitching her horse to the wagon snapped and it was free to sail off the side of the bridge.

Trixie’s eyes widened in shock as she saw she was about to careen over the side and there was nothing she could do. Her wagon, her belongings, everything, it was all going over and she was going with it.

The wheels on the right side of the wagon smashed the wooden fence on the side of the bridge and Trixie was thrown off the driver’s bench. In free fall with the broken wood and wagon falling to the water with her. She barely had time to look down, the river was rushing by pretty fast. Was it deep enough? There were rocks shooting out from the water in places too that she might smack into on her way down, the wagon might crush her, the fall itself might outright kill her even if she landed cleanly in the water.

She closed her eyes as the water rushed towards her.

“Fuck! She went over the side!” Tail Wind yelled as he and the others watched the wagon shoot off the side of the bridge.

“Shit, hurry up and let’s get out there to see where she fell,” Flapjack said and had the five of them ride out there. “Heeyah!” He kicked his spurs into his horse to get him to gallop.

The deputies and Flapjack soon made it down the road and had their horses carry them to the middle of the bridge where Trixie’s wagon had broken the railing and her dead horse now lay on it. They brought their horses to a halt and Flapjack jumped off his with a huff to look down at the river. Only rushing water and the few rocks down there greeted him, the destroyed wagon and Trixie herself already washed away further downstream.

“Well she’s definitely dead so at least that’s one less criminal in the world to worry about but I don’t think we’re finding that body for the reward,” Flapjack grunted.

“You sure?” Tail Wind asked.

“Yep,” Flapjack nodded. “Who the hell knows where it’ll wash up, and the only way down there is going all the way around the plateau on the other side of the river and then doubling back. Take too long. We better just head back into town and have some others come back to help us with this horse and get the fence fixed.”

“Dang...” Tail Wind muttered, scratching the back of his head. “I mean, I’m glad she at least aint gonna be robbing banks anymore but that reward sure would’ve been sweet too.”

“It happens,” Flapjack just shrugged and climbed back onto his horse, groaning as he got his old body into the saddle.

Before they left though one of the other deputies, after looking down the river in case he saw anything, just had to ask. “But hey boss? What if she lived?”

Flapjack looked at him for a second with a frown before also looking back down at the raging river. “Well she’d have to be pretty lucky for that to happen in the first place. But even then she’d be stuck stranded out in the middle of nowhere with not a damn thing to help her. She’ll still be dead, just take a little longer.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie gasped for air as she pulled herself out from the river onto the muddy ground around it. She coughed and sputtered a few times before rolling over onto her back and staring up at the sky until she gathered her strength enough to sit up. Even then she still coughed up some more water. Her hat and robe were both gone, washed away by the river, and everything else was more drenched than it ever had been in her entire life.

After a groan of exhaustion and frustration she stood up and started walking away from the river, glancing back at it just once over her shoulder to see a plank of wood from her destroyed wagon float on by. Trixie narrowed her eyes at it and clicked her teeth. The ruined state of her wagon reflected her life now.

“Now what? Things are even worse now,” Trixie said to herself as she walked over to a rock that was far enough away from the river to be dry. She took a seat on it and grimaced when she heard the squelch of her wet clothes. Her angry face quickly morphed into one of melancholy though. “Everything… it’s all gone. Everything I did was for my magic shows and now even my beloved wagon is destroyed.”

What was even the point of anything now?

Trixie looked up to the sky as another tear rolled down her face. “Do I even have a reason to go on living like this?”

As a vulture flew overhead, Trixie frowned again. “Yes. Of course I do. I am The Grrreat and Powerful Trixie! Even this is nothing more than a little setback!” She stood up and raised her right hand high up to the sky, reaching for the stars that she couldn’t even actually see because it was still daytime. “I shall get back on my feet soon enough and one day I will be performing the most excellent of magic shows again!”

Her stomach growled and Trixie blushed in embarrassment, lowering her hand and looking around at her new surroundings. “I guess that apple wasn’t enough… I really need to find some food. But where?”

A squirrel suddenly ran out of some bushes on the ground, stopping as it saw Trixie and inquisitively tilting its head at her.

Trixie glared at it. “So it’s going to be like that, huh?”