Come a little closer, my friend. Let me tell you a secret. This is not a tale of Trixie, the Great and Powerful mare whose deeds and exploits are many. Neigh, my friend, this is the tale of one fateful night on the long and lonesome road to Dappleshore, and a doe-eyed little filly called Lulamoon …
Squeak!
The wheels creaked, and the old wagon jerked as it came to a standstill in the cold drizzle. Lulamoon blinked awake and peeked out from within the small protective cocoon of blankets she had made for herself, staring ahead at where the road wound its way through the fog. She had dozed off again and lost her come-to-life spell.
With a wistful sigh, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn glowed, and she felt the wagon stir as the magic slowly came back to life. The hardest part was the first few feet. Once the heavy wagon first got rolling, she hardly needed to think about keeping it going. That was a blessing and a curse all at the same time. It meant she could keep going all day but also that sooner or later she tended to fall asleep, especially on the long and lonely roads when she had little to do but sit in the door and watch the scenery drift away behind her.
The wagon groaned and slowly strained, like a rubber band pulled to its limit. Lulamoon grit her teeth and let out her breath as the magic broke. The wagon fell silent. It hadn't moved an inch. Lulamoon stared into the cold rain and fog. With a sigh, she crawled out of her blankets and stepped out onto the small front porch of the wagon, shivering as her coat was drenched in the rain. She hurried to the edge and glanced back along the side of the wagon. The problem immediately became apparent. Part of the road had been swallowed up by the marshes because of the rain, and the wheels had sunk into the thick, icky muck, becoming stuck.
Lulamoon stomped her hoof in exasperation. She was already on a tight schedule if she wanted to reach Dappleshore before midnight. An appearance at the stroke of midnight for the local Nightmare Night celebrations would be absolutely perfect. Looked like there was no other way, then … she would have to get down there and dig it free.
“Do you need a hoof, fair filly?”
Lulamoon squealed in fright and nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected voice. She spun around, and her eyes fell on a pegasus stallion hovering next to her wagon. He was small, slightly smaller than herself even, and almost seemed to fade in with the surrounding fog if it wasn't for the light pink eyes. Lulamoon relaxed and tried to calm her heart, blushing at her reaction. “I didn't think anypony was out here,” she said.
He smiled as if he wasn't currently standing in the cold rain on a long and lonely road in the middle of a marsh, miles away from any civilization. “I didn't mean to frighten you,” he said. “Most ponies call me Mouse,” he added with an outstretched hoof.
She shook his hoof and stammered slightly from the cold, “L-Lulamoon.”
“Well, ain't it a pleasure to meet new ponies?” Mouse said brightly and shook her wet hoof enthusiastically. “So what do you say, miss Lulamoon? I say, if I push and you do your thing with that horn of yours, we just may be able to get this old baby back and rolling, don't you?” He gave the old wagon a good pat on the side with a hoof.
Lulamoon giggled a little at the way he spoke. He sounded a bit like her grandfather, or how she imagined her grandfather would have sounded when he was young. “Sure,” she said, happy that she wouldn't have to get her hooves dirty in the mud. She could deal with rain, but mud was more difficult.
“Right to it, then!” Mouse saluted and disappeared behind the wagon. “Ready when you are, miss.”
Lulamoon turned back to the road ahead and concentrated, gritting her teeth as she put in all the force she could on her magic. Behind her she could hear Mouse pushing hard against the old wagon. The wood groaned and wheels creaked as the wagon began to move, very slowly. Suddenly, with a great gloop, the wheels came free of the mud, and the wagon shot forward. Lulamoon steadied herself and slowly reduced the force of her spell as the wagon raced down the road. After a few seconds she got it back down to a steady pace and let out a sigh of relief.
Mouse came flying up next to the wagon and lifted an imaginary hat at her. “Why, what a rush, miss Lulamoon. I say, you sure can pull off some magic for such a young filly. If it is not too much to ask, might I tag along for a while? The weather is simply dreadful tonight, and the road is long.”
“Of course,” she said and stepped back inside, making room for him to follow. “Would you like a cup of tea? I have some oat crackers too, if you're hungry. I'm sorry if I can't offer much else.”
“Thank you very kindly for the offer,” he said and ruffled his drenched feathers, before stepping inside the little wagon. “Tea would be just fine, miss.”
There wasn't much room, but Lulamoon had learned to make most of it over the month or so she had been traveling like this. Almost everything could be stowed away in a closet, including her bed and a small table, leaving most of the floor open. She turned around and pulled two cups, a bottle of water and a tin can of tea leaves out of a cupboard. With practiced skill she poured the water, heated it with her magic, put the tea leaves in a pair of paper bags, and dropped them in the cups. It could all be accomplished in a few seconds.
Lulamoon turned around absentmindedly and sat down in the open door with the two cups floating in front of her. She blinked and sat there looking at them for a while. Why had she made two cups? “I must be getting senile,” she chuckled to herself and put the cups down. After drying herself off, Lulamoon wrapped herself back up in her blankets and sipped at her tea.
“Good thing I got the wagon free without having to get muddy. I guess my magic is just that great.” She sighed contentedly in the lonely stillness of the wagon. Outside, the rain continued to pour silently as the road wound its way through the marshes.
Squeak!
She must have fallen asleep again. Lulamoon sat up and in a light panic checked her magic. She was relieved to find the wagon still rolling along steadily and relaxed again. She looked out through the door at the bleak road. The faint light of the moon filtered through the dense clouds and fog, washing out all color and warmth from the landscape. The crooked shadows of dead trees loomed along the side of the long, narrow road. Lulamoon shivered.
“Ain't the most picturesque place, is it, miss?”
She looked around at Mouse sitting next to her, and smiled. “No, I … I couldn't say so.” She blushed and looked down a little. “I'm sorry if I fell asleep. What a hostess I am …”
Mouse shook his head and waved a hoof as if to say 'no worries about it, miss'. “It is dreadfully boring out here, miss. Makes you wonder why anypony would ever settle in such a place, don't it?”
Lulamoon looked back out at the cold, lifeless world. It was like a painting of only white and gray where the paint had run together and left just a hint of what had once been there. She nodded lightly. “It does, a little.” She tried to brighten up a little and added, “But I'm sure Dappleshore is nicer than the marsh itself. Are you from Dappleshore, sir?”
“Nah, I'm from Baltimare,” Mouse said and sipped at the last bit of his tea. “But I have family in Dappleshore and often visit there in my work as a messenger. Fastest messenger south of Baltimare, or even in all of Equestria, that's Mouse!” he said proudly. “It's a quaint little place, you know. Lots of fisherponies there, not much else,” Mouse said and paused. “Well, the annual fair, of course, but that's not for months. So what brings a young, cultured filly such as yourself all the way out here?”
Lulamoon brightened up. “Oh, I'm to perform there for Nightmare Night.”
“Perform?”
“Yes!” Lulamoon said happily. She always loved a chance to talk about her passion for magic and shows. “I travel all over Equestria to delight ponies with magic tricks and stories. I …” her enthusiasm faded a little. “I haven't had much success yet, but I'm sure I will do better in Dappleshore. I have some great stories and new tricks lined up. It'll be really fun!”
“Oh?” Mouse watched her with interest. “How come you haven't had any success yet? You look like a talented young magician, as far as I'm any judge.” He grinned. “Pulling the wagon free back there was mighty impressive, miss.”
Lulamoon blushed, but her ears drooped at the topic of her prior failures. “I left my home in Canterlot to make my fortune on the road. I know so many tricks and stories, and I would love nothing more than to share them with my fellow ponies, to delight and thrill wherever I go.” She looked down and brushed a dark blue strand of hair out of her eyes. “I just never draw much of a crowd. Most ponies I meet don't want to watch my show.”
Mouse held a hoof to his lips in thought as he considered her. “Hm … what you need, miss Lulamoon, is confidence, panache! You need to give them no choice but to watch in dumbstruck awe whenever you show yourself.”
She looked up. “What do you mean? I can't rope them in like cattle, sir,” she chuckled a bit uncertainly.
“You need to go out there and wow them, miss! Tell you what, why don't you show me what you've got? Put on a small show for me, and we'll rehearse a bit?” He gestured out the door at the road outside. “We have the time, and not much else to fill it with.”
The suggestion made her brighten up. She got out of her blankets and stood up. “That's a great idea,” she said and turned happily to get her things. “I have this great new trick I was thinking of trying out,” she said and pulled out a few pieces of rope from a chest in the back of the wagon.
Lulamoon held up the ropes and turned around. Why did she get these now? Confused, she trotted back to her spot in the door and dropped down on her haunches. She shook her head and looked out the door. The road continued its winding path through the swamp.
“What a dump! The ponies here probably never saw a quality show in all their lives.” She laughed. “Time to show them a thing or two, eh, Lulamoon?”
Squeak!
The road wandered endlessly through the mist. The only sound heard was the monotonous grinding of the wheels against the road, and the creaking of the wagon. Miles and miles of depressing rain and eerie stillness. A lifeless, deserted wasteland with no end in sight. Lulamoon shivered as the wagon creaked again. In the stillness of the marsh the sound had begun to get on her nerves, gnawing away at her, like a …
“Let little Mousy tell you a secret …”
Lulamoon shrieked and turned, staring into a pair of watery pink eyes. “Mouse!” she gasped, holding a hoof to her frantic heart. “You nearly …”
“Shh!” Mouse leaned closer. “Come closer … listen …” His lips curled into a grin as he whispered. “I'm going to tell you a secret, miss Lulamoon. A terrible secret.” The wagon creaked, and Lulamoon felt herself tense in the brief pause. His smile widened, teeth glittering in the faint light from the lantern. “I eat ponies.”
Lulamoon stared at him. “W-what are you saying?”
“I eat ponies,” he repeated, licking his teeth. “I especially like their tender hearts!”
She screamed as he lurched forward, teeth bared. She fell on her back and scrambled to get away from him, when he burst into a sudden laugh and stepped back. “Gotcha!” He winked at her and held out a hoof to help her up. Lulamoon took it uncertainly. “Aw, don't look at me like that, miss,” he said. “It's Nightmare Night. It's supposed to be scary. It's all in good fun, nothing more.”
She sat back up and tried to calm her heart as it tried to escape out her throat. Any more frights and it would surely reach Dappleshore long before she did. “T-That was mean, sir.”
Mouse sat down and gave her a friendly poke. “You're too weak, miss Lulamoon. You're too nice, too easily intimidated. You need to be tough! You need to inspire awe and admiration. You need to be better than everypony!” The last part came out in an almost growl. “You need to show them!”
Lulamoon looked at him uncertainly. “But I don't want to be mean. I want to delight and inspire.”
“You're not going to do that by being nice little miss Lulamoon. You've been lucky so far if they only ignore you. Next they'll be laughing at you, calling you things like … like Mousy!” A shadow crossed his face, making his eyes gleam dangerously. “But I showed them,” he added under his breath.
“You're scaring me, Mouse.”
Mouse paused, then brightened up again and smiled at her. “Yes, and that, dear miss, is what we need to change. You need to toughen up and act like the real powerful unicorn that you are, a strong mare who ain't afraid of nothin'. You don't want them calling you Little Lulu the Magic Filly or something, do you?”
“N-no, no of course not!” Lulamoon sank a bit. She didn't think that sounded too bad. It sounded like something little fillies and colts would call her in endearing voices as she dazzled them with delightful tricks, but Mouse seemed to think it was a terrible insult. Well, the “Little” might be a tad much.
He considered her again in that thoughtful way he sometimes adopted. “How did you intend to appear on stage tonight?”
“What do you mean?” she asked uncertainly.
“Don't tell me you want to go out there all … au naturel!” He looked around the small wagon. “What have you got? You need a fancy dress, one that tells everypony who looks at you that you're a real sorcerer and not just some cheap street magician.”
“Well, I have some … um, some old costumes.” Lulamoon got up and trotted over to a drawer. She pulled the drawer out and went through the contents. She turned around, holding a few pieces of old costumes she sometimes used in her stories. She blinked and looked at them. What was it again she had wanted with these?
Lulamoon considered the clothes thoughtfully. She could make a cape out of this old thing … and a matching hat! “Lulamoon, you genius!” she laughed as a pair of scissors and a needle with thread flew out of the drawer. In but a minute she had cut up the old clothes and artfully made them into a fancy cape and hat. She swung the cape around her back and let the hat drop on her head. She pulled out a small mirror from another drawer and considered her image with a satisfied smirk. “Who's great and powerful now, hmm? Call me Little Lulu? I'll show them!”
Squeak!
Her horn glowed as she held up the mirror, turning it to consider herself from all angles. She had never considered what a fabulous mare she really was, and so powerful her horn looked when it glowed with the embers of arcane might. Lulamoon flashed the mirror a winning smile.
A pair of pink eyes crossed the polished surface and stopped to consider her. “Looking good, miss Lulamoon. Looking … good!” Mouse said ponderously.
“I know,” she sang. “Oh, Lulamoon knows! She is surely the most amazing equine who has ever lived, it is true!”
“But not … great,” he followed up.
Lulamoon's smile cracked. She turned the mirror to consider her face, her beautiful face. Surely everypony who gazed upon her would agree, there goes the greatest mare who ever lived! “W-what do you mean? Am I not … great?”
“Mm …” Mouse gave her his thoughtful look again, his hoof to his lips. “That mane … that dark blue … no, no that's not the mane of a great and powerful sorceress.”
Lulamoon stared at her deep blue mane, what her mother had always called sapphire. Her mother … her mother had always loved her mane and spent hours styling it, but … but she was wrong! Baby sapphire, baby blue, the Great and Powerful Lulamoon was no baby!
She glanced out the door, then back in the mirror. Mouse smiled at her. “I like white,” he said.
“I like white,” Lulamoon said. Her horn glowed brighter, and her lips curled into a wide smile as she watched the color drain from her mane. She laughed. “White makes … might!”
Squeak!
The wagon scrambled down a hill towards the sea. Lulamoon watched the lights of Dappleshore in the distance. Almost there. It felt like it had been forever, like the road had no end, but at last she had the end in sight. She turned her head and looked at the watch on the wall of the empty wagon. Almost midnight. The timing could not have been better, but of course … was there ever any doubt? She turned back to watch the road.
“Almost time, miss Lulamoon.”
She glanced at Mouse as he sat down next to her. “It's Great and Powerful Lulamoon, thank you,” she said and gave the little white pegasus a haughty look. “And you're still here, Mouse?”
Mouse grinned. “Of course, Great and Powerful Lulamoon. Of course!” His lips twitched in a slight grimace as he spoke the last part of her name. “Thank you very kindly for inviting me in out of the rain.”
“Yes yes.” Lulamoon waved her hoof impatiently and looked back out the door where the city was getting closer. “Don't outstay that welcome. Lulamoon needs to prepare for her mighty performance, but a simple-minded pegasus like yourself couldn't possibly understand that.”
Mouse's grin widened. “No, of course, Great and Powerful Lulamoon.” He bowed, and once again his grin twitched a little at the name. “It was an honor to travel with the Great and Powerful Lulamoon,” he said as he stepped out into the rain and turned to salute her. “Farewell, Great and Powerful Lulamoon!”
Lulamoon raised a lazy hoof to wave him off as the pegasus spread his wings and disappeared into the driving rain. She looked at her hoof. What in Haydes was she waving at now? “Get a grip on yourself … Lu …” She blinked, then shook her head and stomped her hoof in the floor. “Hmph! Trixie can't leave this dreary place soon enough,” she said and turned her nose in the air. “They had better appreciate her awesome magic, and just how lucky they are that she shall grace their lowly village for a full night.”
Squeak!
Let me tell you my secret, friend. Move a little closer now … I eat ponies. I eat into their tender little hearts, and I eat the whole thing!
And they won't ever remember me.
Squeak!
