The Beasts Have Names

The ball of light was gleaming brightly by her side and her eyes were fixed on what was happening in front of her. Not that there was anything happening in front of her but Trixie thought it better than falling down a hole. Really, she had had enough falling for today.

She would have called this place a basilika, since there were columns everywhere. Otherwise it was empty. This was the largest hall Trixie had ever seen, yet its sole purpose seemed to be to hold the ceiling up, for whatever reason. However, from the constant water dripping down from every bit of it, whatever was above the ceiling was incredibly wet. Not that it mattered, she told herself.

The orb was shining brightly, lighting up the hall just enough for her to see a few meters before her. There were no crystals her, no stars and the memories that had followed her seemed so distant now. Still, if Rarity was somewhere out there, maybe this would aid her and her family. That knowledge was already good enough to keep Trixie going. The fact that her friends would reach the Lunarium soon was one more.

She had found the remnants of her hat by the side of the water, torn and without the stars. She hadn't even been able to identify it at first sight. Still, she had wanted to pick it up, but had then decided to leave it behind. That thing and the cloak could rest now.

She carried her parents in her heart now and that was all that was needed. Their spirits needn't haunt her further, since she had found the drive to finally achieve the goal. Her walk was slow but unflinching. There was no strength left in her legs and so Trixie slouched forward. Every part of her body screamed that she should stop but here willfulness kept her going. She knew where, she knew why, there was nothing keeping her.

Columns of hard stone and an orb of light were the only things in the room, both weren't really worth any attentioning. Especially the orb, the light almost seemed to keep itself steady on its own and there was no effort needed to keep it going. That was good, Trixie thought. It meant she could think of other things. The beasts have names, she thought, Night Terrors and Magia. She knew what they were now and was really glad that the soldiers had unwantingly led her to a shortcut to Princess Luna.

She nodded to herself and walked on, in silence through the dark. Her mind was drifting to the world above, her parents, her step-parents, Derpy's parents. All these adults she had known, some of them had been fun, others had been horrible, but in the end her friends were all that mattered. Family was hard to acquire and she'd rather have five sisters than two parents nowadays. She decided to apologize to Lyra later on and listen to Octavia playing again, eat some muffins with Derpy and just hang out with Raindrops. And she would still have to show Twilight Canterlot, if anything remained of the city.

Her mind wandered and she lost focus of what was before her. Hard stone with cold water dripping from it, forming a rhythm of its own, playing on its own. She listened to the tune absent-mindedly but in her mind, she was in a better world. A world that would hopefully come on the morrow.

So, you're a wizard now. Any chance for hands now? Lyra's voice snapped her right out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" She asked and looked straight forward. She saw Lyra standing there, green and grinning excitedly. What was weird, though, was that Trixie could see through her. "What? What are you doing here?"

Lyra waved a lantern around, laughing. I kinda, sorta. . . died, she said with a stupid but honest grin.

Trixie looked at her for a moment, an awkward silence surrounding them both. "What?" she asked finally.

The aquamarine filly just continued to smile at Trixie, Yeah and the Lunarium is keeping my spirit here. It's kind of spooky, down there, what with all the ghosts. Actually, Tavi's already there, too. Hugh and Madame aren't, so they're fine. I think, on a spiritual basis, that that's awesome.

Trixie was just staring at her, taking what the 'ghost' of her friend had just said in, yet not really. "Tavi?"

Lyra didn't stop smiling. Yup, she grew up too quickly. She says she regrets not meeting RD again but was happy that the filly was still alive. RD's a friend of hers, if you didn't know. Well, I hope you and the others make it, turn it around, you know.

"Why are you here?"

This time Lyra stopped smiling. The Lunarium is a burial ground, remember. The spirits of those ponies who died ever since Luna cast her final spell have gathered here. No sacrifice will be forgotten, she said, no sacrifice will be without meaning. Trixie, creating a spell is easy, she told us. But creating a branch of magic is almost impossible. Creating magic from nothing, that's an entirely different pair of booties. Sacrifices will be needed, even of you. She didn't want to tell you until the end but I couldn't. Now she stopped. Lyra looked worried at her friend. Trixie, there's-

"I know," Trixie answered, giving her friend a smile. "Don't worry. I'm a wizard now, right? We wizards can do impossible things without a problem."

Lyra simply looked at her. Okay, she said, and Trixie? Just so you know. Me and Tavi are rooting for you but so are the others, all of them. All of them.

She blinked and then Trixie stood alone before a magic barrier that kept the water from spilling into the hall. She looked at where the ghost, no, her friend had stood. There was a story about how all ghosts were given lanterns to help them remain on the roads to the land of the dead. Maybe that was a true legend, then. Trixie sat down, looking at the water and the fishes behind the barrier. There was so little there.

A smile formed on her face as she remembered the first question Lyra had ever asked her: "If you're a wizard, then can you give me hands?"

She was sure she could do it now, and they'd both laugh and everypony would congratulate Trixie and Lyra would hug her and everything would be fine.

Trixie couldn't hold the tears back as she shrunk down, breaking down into sobs that resonated throughout the hall. She would have liked to cover herself with her cloak but it was gone. She would have liked to hide beneath her hat once more but it was torn. She was alone in the great hall and she had been unable to do anything. She hadn't even seen it, yet she heard the words the apparition had told her repeating in her mind. Lyra was gone, Octavia was gone. Even if the others were still alive, Trixie would never see those two again. She would've finally been able to show Lyra the truth behind magic and how wonderful it was to be a unicorn, and she could have done so much more.

She couldn't now. Hard rock was around her and water was dripping from every corner of the hall, forming a rhythm of its own. She heard it and took it in with all her heart. The cold drumming on the watery floor for that moment felt like the requiem for her friends. There was a power in that, a magic in the music.

She heard a voice and looked up and saw the pony's face. It looked worried and spoke some words Trixie didn't hear. She didn't think, just stood up and walked towards the pony and closer to its voice, stepping through the barrier. Water was all around her and she couldn't breathe.

Their song was the thing that she heard before she fainted then and that gave her hope. She never would see those two again, but still, this wasn't the end of her journey.