Frozen North

Chapters

chapter 1
chapter 2
chapter 3

chapter 1

Meeting A Psycho

Trixie trudged down the muddy road. The cold wind blew harshly in her face and nipped her hooves, giving her already-blue form a darker shade. She kept her eyes forward, facing north, determined to walk her path wherever it may lead her. Lacking any real goal, the unicorn marched during the day and slept only at night, and the air got steadily more chilly the more she progressed.

After weeks of perpetual walking, Trixie’s legs were threatening to collapse underneath her own weight. So when Trixie came up over a hill and saw a small wooden cabin with the words “Stop and Eat” highlighted in big neon lights--she almost broke out in a sprint. Eager to finally eat something other than pinecones, she trotted in and took the closest seat available.

Immediately a waitress came over and placed a menu in front of Trixie. “What can I get you for?” she asked in a wheezy voice, holding a notepad in one hoof and a pen in the other.

Trixie glanced at the selection. Everything looked really good, but in the end she decided to go with something cheap since she was hurting for money. “Er...Trixie will have the pasta with marinara sauce.”

The waitress raised an eyebrow at Trixie’s peculiar tick, but drew no attention to it, after all, a lot of strange ponies come here to eat.

Warmth and comfort started taking hold of Trixie as the waitress took her menu and trotted away. She wasn’t used to being around so many other ponies after traveling for so long, but it was easy to feel at home here, even though the building itself was nothing but a poorly built shack with a bunch of tables inside. Still, the chatter and laughter that filled the room was a nice change from the cold and bitter quiet that usually surrounded her. Trixie watched as ponies chatted and made merry, wishing for all her heart to be a part of something similar, when an exceptionally loud colt near the back drew her attention.

The colt was an earth pony, with a dark blue coat which clashed with his sickly green mane. He was quite upset, pacing back and forth, holding a phone against his head, he pleaded into the receiver. “Mr. Pozniak, would you pl-please just give me a couple of days? F-f-finding a unicorn that’s willing to travel is very important and so far...”

The colt trailed off as Pozniak, whom Trixie assumed is the boss of the earth pony, responded in a way loud enough that Trixie, who was at least half a room's length away, could hear. Eventually though, the phone quieted, leaving the nervous colt shuffling his hooves as he waited for another outburst. Finding some courage, the colt spoke, “So does that mean you’ll give me more time,Sir?” He couldn’t quite keep the hopefulness out of his voice, but it seemed that he received the answer he wanted to, because a few seconds later he was raving his appreciation as if he just barely avoided stepping barehoof on a lego. “Th-th-th-thank you 'so' much, sir! You won’t regret it! I’ll find somepony soon, and when I do you’ll be 'so' happy that you decided to keep this project alive! You’ll see! Thank you again, sir.” Slowly, and offering more thank you’s as he did, he hung up the phone. Trixie couldn’t see the strange colt’s face, but she assumed that if she could, he’d be smiling.

Trixie continued to watch the colt as he turned around revealing what he looked like in more detail. He had a incredibly ratty moustache that hung limply on both sides of his mouth. His mane looked to Trixie as though he had never heard of conditioner, while his eyes were dark and sunken. Altogether, not as Trixie would have expected him to look. From the way his voice sounded to Trixie, he could have easily been mistaken for a very young and handsome colt--not the dirty and unkempt colt standing right before her.

With his mind off of business, the colt just now started noticing all of the ponies staring at him, as his little show had attracted more than just Trixie’s wandering gaze. One especially gruff bystander couldn’t help but jab the trashy colt’s push overiness as he started trotting by them, as he let out the smart comment “Hoof kisser” earning him much laughter from his friends. The dark blue colt merely avoided eye contact as he made his way to the door as quickly as he could while still trying to maintain a level of nonchalance, failing all the while.

“Wait.”
The colt turned to see Trixie waving him over. Seeing his hesitation to accept her invitation, Trixie spoke again, this time a little more forcefully.

“You ARE looking for a unicorn, aren't you?”

He glanced nervously from side to side, but no pony was paying him any mind any more. Everypony whose his attention he unwittingly garnered had already forgotten him, leaving the colt to his own devices.

“Uh, y-yeah.” He responded taking a seat in front of Trixie, who just now receiving the pasta from the waitress she gave her order to a few moments ago. The smell of fresh tomato wafted over Trixie’s nose, making her salivate. Trixie, eager enough to not bother with a fork, was quite ready to dig in, but thankfully stuck with proper etiquette while she was in the presence of company.

“Excuse me, but shouldn’t we talk about the position before you chow down?” the colt reminded.Trixie blinked. She had almost forgotten what she was doing before the intoxicating smell of tomatoes occupied her mind. With a sigh, she laid down the silverware and turned her attention back to the matters at hand.

“Of course,” replied Trixie. “Now, as Trixie understands it, you are looking for a unicorn that has experience in traversing the outdoors, am I correct?”

“Well, yeah.” The colt scratched the back of his head. “But it’s a bit more complicated than that.” Trixie merely waved her hoof dismissively.

“Please mister-uhm...” Trixie blanked, she had forgotten to ask the strange colt his name; a very important detail if she was hoping to work for him. “Sorry, but you seem to have forgotten to tell Trixie your name.” Thrilled to talk about himself, the colt immediately responded in what she assumed was his masculine voice.

“All my friends call me Psycho.” he answered quite proudly, puffing out his chest. Noticing that Trixie’s less than impressed expression, Psycho proceeded explained himself a little more. “It’s because of how wild and, uhm...unpredictable I am and...” Still not buying it, Trixie blew a wet raspberry in mocking disbelief. Embarrassed, Psycho laid his head sadly on the table and let out a sad sigh. “Alright, you win, you...you got me. My nickname isn’t Psycho, it’s...” He took a deep breath. “it’s En-enpsychopedia.” Trixie couldn’t help but giggle at the colt’s misfortune, earning her a frown from him. It didn’t take much imagination to guess how he earned such a nickname. “St-Stop, that.” Psycho stammered. “It’s not funny. Just because I’m smart doesn’t mean I deserve to be made fun of. Besides,” he gave a small humph. “all of my friends do call my psycho. Enpsychopedia is just a stupid nickname given to me by a bunch airheads--airheads who are jealous of my vast intellect.”

“If you say so, Psycho,” chuckled Trixie. “but Trixie can assure that no matter what the danger is, she can handle it.”

“If you’re sure--” Psycho reached into his saddlebags, picking out a piece of paper accompanied by a pen, “--then I’m going to need you sign this paper.” Trixie reached out with her magic and grabbed the pen. With a clatter, she moved the pasta to the side as she prepared to sign, but was interrupted by Psycho. “J-j-just so you know, it is going to be a very long journey, and th-there might be very dangerous creatures, too, and-”

“Do you want Trixie to sign or not?” asked Trixie tapping her pen, at which point Psycho bit his lip and decided to stay quiet while the unicorn signed. Satisfied that he wouldn’t be bothering her again, she continued.

While she was busy filling out all of the lines and spaces, Trixie began to wonder. “Not that it matters to Trixie much, but can you tell me why you’ve been having trouble finding a unicorn to travel?”

Psycho, who had otherwise been quiet, eagerly responded to Trixie’s question. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but most unicorns prefer living in big cities rather than the rough and gruff countryside. That’s why I’m all the way out here, for lack of a better term, talent searching.” He put “talent searching” in air quotes. “I’m a lot more likely to find a strong unicorn in a place like this rather than a place like Canterlot where all the higher class unicorns live.”

“That makes sense to Trixie--there are not a lot of ponies, let alone unicorns, who can laugh in the face of adversity like she can. I’ll think you’ll find her quite capable.”

Trixie signed the bottom of the paper and handed it back to Psycho. Psycho took the contract and started looking it over. Suddenly, a frown creased his face. “I’m sorry Trixie, but titles such as “The Great and Powerful” do not count as legitimate signatures. You have to use your last name.” He took out another copy of the contract and placed it in front of Trixie, who let out an aggravated sigh and picked up the pen. Eventually, she filled out the paper yet another time and gave it back. This time as he read, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Is your last name really Lulamoon?”

“Yes,” groaned Trixie “Trixie knows, it’s a stupid name, but that’s what it says on her birth certificate.” Noticing the look Psycho was giving her, Trixie started questioning the sudden interest in the name. “Have you heard of Trixie before?” she asked.

Psycho snapped back to attention. “Um, n-no, I si-si-simply thought it was a strange name.” He stood up and started heading out the door, mumbling to himself all the way. “Very, very strange.”

“Wait!”

Psycho turned around at Trixie’s cry.

“Where is Trixie supposed to go?” asked Trixie. Psycho did a double take after realising that he almost forgot to give directions, so he came back over to the table and starting drawing a detailed map using his pen and one of the diner’s napkins.

“If you keep traveling up the road,” he pointed over his shoulder, “you’ll eventually reach the city of Vanhoover. When you reach it, take the train that travels over the frozen peninsula. It’ll take you all the way to the base of the Crystal Mountains. As you get off the train, you’ll see a small town called “Hoof Hill Village”. It’s a relatively small town, and wouldn’t be located on the map of Equestria because of that, which is exactly how the locals like it, since they prefer their peace. Our encampment will be on the north side of town, at the very edge.” Putting down the pen, he reached into his saddle bags, pulling out a pocket watch. He flipped it open to check the time. “I-If you join me on the five o’clock train, w-w-we can both be there by tomorrow morning.” Nervously rubbing his elbows he also added, “Although, I can understand if you’re busy at the moment.”

“Actually, Trixie thinks that would be a good idea.” Psycho blushed. Trixie, noticing Psycho’s red hue, snorted in disbelief. “Don’t get any ideas. Trixie just doesn’t have enough bits to afford a train ticket, which is why you’ll be buying her ticket for her.”

“Oh,” said a more downcast Psycho, “well if that’s all, I guess I’ll see you later.” With one last glance at Trixie, he turned and trotted through the exit, into the wintery outdoors. As he left, Trixie couldn’t help but take a peek at his cutie mark, which was an open book.

Finally, with no more business to take care of, Trixie happily picked up her fork and dug into the pasta she had been neglecting. Even though it had gone cold, it was a far better sustenance than what she had been thriving on for the past couple of days. The pasta felt so soft, and the sauce was so tangy and thick. Trixie was certain that if she ever had to go back to eating pine cones after tasting something so scrumptious and delectable, she would simply die.

After she downed half of her meal the waitress showed up again with the bill and placed it on the table. Trixie looked at the cost of her food and reached into her saddlebags to retrieve her bits, but when her hooves came into contact with nothing, the predicament she was in suddenly dawned on her. Not used to not having at least two bits to rub together, she failed to remember that she was completely broke.

Casting furtive glances in all directions, she resigned herself to rushing the meal she had been looking forward to enjoying. Doing exactly that, she got up, taking Psycho’s note with her, and tried to look nonchalant as she trotted to the exit. She got all the way to the door when she heard someone yell behind her and busted through the door in a sprint, to be greeted by an icy cold wind that burned her lungs as she ran.

Eventually, when she was certain that no one was chasing her, Trixie came to a halt. The whole affair rattled her to the core, this being the first time she’s ever had to steal a meal in her life. Taking huge gasps of winter air after such a long run, Trixie started reprimanding herself for buying a useless trinket’s from shady merchant a few days back. Not only did she use her last bits, but the “magic” necklace she bought was made of cheap metal, breaking after just one night.

These were hard times for Trixie, indeed. Sometimes, when she let her mind wander, she started thinking about how life used to be for her--back when life wasn’t exactly easy, but was she ever worse off than any other pony trying to make their mark on the world? In fact, the good times were barely over half a year ago. She fondly recalled the performances she’d put on for many small cheering crowds, cheering her name. One day, those small crowds would be theaters, every singly seat filled, just to watch Trixie as she regaled them with story and imagery of heroic tales.

Although, sometimes Trixie didn’t feel quite content with her life. It wasn’t enough for her to just tell stories of other heroes and their feats. Sometimes, she wished that..she herself was a hero--to be one of those larger than life characters in stories that grandparents would tell their grandchildren. Eventually, she started including herself in her own stories.

Trixie shook her head. She disliked thinking about the past, and no good could come from dwelling on it. Instead she focused on the present, and more specifically, her destination.

Spitting out the map she had been carrying in her teeth, she checked to see whether she was on the right track. Luckily, it seemed that amidst her panicking, she had chosen the path she was meant to take. Vanhoover was little less than a mile away. Trixie also noted with a smile that the train station was located on the outskirts of the city.

Closing the note, she took off once again down the muddy road. Pine trees took up the horizon on both sides of the muddy trail and filled the air with their fresh scent. Trixie, who felt as though she had seen enough pine related things for one life, was greatly relieved when the forest gave way to field. Every few miles a windmill would break the grassy horizon, the breeze slowly rotating their turbines. The scenery stole Trixie’s breath away, but she refused to slow down no matter how peaceful the scenery. She had no idea how much time had passed since she left the diner, and was determined to make the train.

As she made her way further down the road a small rural house slowly came into view on her right. Getting closer, a small lemonade stand could be seen as well, with a small filly standing behind the counter. Her coat was snowy white and she had a braided, light grey mane. She was leaning on her hoof with a bored expression. But she immediately lit up with excitement when she saw Trixie.

“Hi, would you like some lemonade, pretty lady?” asked the little filly hopefully, her big blue eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“Sorry, but Trixie doesn’t have any bits.” replied Trixie apologetically. “but, if Trixie did, she would certainly buy a glass.”--and it certainly wasn’t a lie either, after running for so long, she had developed quite a thirst.

The filly frowned and sunked back onto the table. Trixie stood awkwardly, wondering if the filly was going to say anything else. Suddenly she picked herself back up and started staring at Trixie, making her shuffle uncomfortably. Eventually, Trixie found she couldn’t stand the filly’s scrutinizing gaze any longer.

“Why are you staring at Trixie like that?”

The little filly replied with a question of her own. “Why do you talk so funny?”

Trixie did a double-take. She did not expect the filly to be so up-front with her. “It’s very rude to make fun of the way some ponies talk,” she scolded. The filly, looking very ashamed, cast her gaze away when she realised how direct she was being.

“I’m sorry,” apologized the filly. “I wasn’t trying to make fun of you.” She did seem very sorry to Trixie, and she guessed that the cold weather today was bad for business, doing no kindness to the filly’s mood. She wished she could help the filly with her stand, but was in too much of a hurry to stay.

“Well, uhm...apology accepted?”

Trixie was about to turn and trot off again when the filly gasped and sprang up again. “Wait, I have an idea!” Trixie spared a moment to wonder at the filly’s shifting moods before going back to the stand. “If you promise to tell ponies about my lemonade, I’ll let you have a glass for free,” offered the filly.

Glad to help, Trixie accepted, taking the offered cup. The lemonade was surprisingly tasty, probably squeezed fresh judging from the taste. In any case, it definitely quenched Trixie’s thirst, and when she finished the cup she smacked her lips satisfyingly before tossing it in the bin next to the stand.

“Now remember your promise,” reminded the filly.

Trixie chuckled. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll keep you in mind.”

“Huh?” the filly tilted her head in confusion. “That’s weird, you didn’t say your name.”

Trixie eyes popped wide open. The little filly was right--for as long as Trixie remembered she had preferred to speak in third person. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but it made her uncomfortable thinking that her behavior might suddenly be changing.

“Oh, we-well Trixie just like’s to talk like that normally, that’s all--doesn’t mean that Trixie talks like that all the time though,” Trixie told the filly. She wasn’t sure it was the truth, but she accepted it nonetheless with an awkward smile. “Trixie really has to be going now so...goodbye, uh?”

“Lemon Drop.”

“Goodbye, Lemon Drop.”

With that, Trixie started trotting down the road, determined not to stop this time for any reason whatsoever. Behind her, Lemon Drop called out one more time. “Don’t forget! Forgetting a promise is unacceptable!” Trixie shook her head and smiled. Lemon Drop was definitely an interesting filly, and a very cute one at that. Cuteness aside, Trixie wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the chance to fulfill the promise she made, since she was leaving very soon.

Soon enough, the rooftops of Vanhoover came into view, making Trixie very excited for the end of her journey. She started into a sprint and soon enough the rest of Vanhoover came into view as well, the train station settled right near the entrance. Standing near the front door of the station was Psycho, and he looked very anxious. A great train protruded out of the side of the building behind him. Its steel wheels gleamed golden in the evening sun, ready to crush the perilous ice covering the tracks. The sight was stunning.

Author's Note

Burn your bridges while you cross them.

chapter 2

Dreaming on the Rails

“Thank Celestia you showed up. I thought you were going to be late, and phew, that would have been pretty bad, seeing as you need me to pay for your ticket, and let me tell you--”

Trixie rolled her eyes at Psycho’s rambling. At first she thought Psycho’s mannerisms were endearing, but after listening to him going on and on that endearment quickly turned to annoyance. As they progressed ever so slowly down the line, Psycho continued to rattle on, launching irrelevant fact over irrelevant fact, like a toy gun being continuously shot at her head by an excited little foal. The other ponies in line didn’t seem to be faring any better either, as the pony in front seemed to be mumbling threats under his breath and a mare in the back had plugged her ears up at least five minutes ago.

Eventually, to Trixie’s great relief, they reached the end of the line. The face of a grumpy old sales pony was the first thing to greet her. Psycho, enthralled with his one-sided conversation, failed to notice where he was and continued to chatter-- at least until Trixie knocked him upside the head to make him pay attention.

“OW!” cried Psycho, rubbing his the top of his sore head. “Is that how you treat all your employers?” The elderly pony working the booth gave an exaggeratingly loud cough, snapping Psycho’s attention away from the blue unicorn. “Oh, look Trixie. We’re in the front of the line.” Trixie brought a hoof to her temple to try and soothe her aching head. She hoped desperately that Psycho was sleeping in another train cart than she was.

After acquiring the tickets and safely storing them away in their saddlebags, Trixie and Psycho trotted outside to the waiting train. The train was humongous; each individual cart could hold at least six beds. Trixie looked down the length of the train and found she could not see the tail end. Besides the obvious size, the train also had an incredibly amazing design engraved on the wooden structure of the carts, decorating them in a unique, unfamiliar art style. Each individual featured the princess Luna engraved above the windows in a cylindrical fashion, spreading her wings across the top.

But what was even more interesting was the engraving underneath the windows. Creatures of myth were carved in with amazing detail, and each cart was different. One had what appeared to be serpents standing on legs, the serpents had empty, dead fish eyes and giant mouths with gaping teeth. Others had birds, bears and spiders. A particular carving caught her eye in the midst of her gawking. It was an enormous owl with a wingspan to rival Luna’s and the feathers were as different from one another as a snowflake. The feathers looked as if a passing breeze could rustle them, but it was the eyes that really drew Trixie’s attention. They looked as if they were actually watching her; and it sent shivers down her spine.

Trixie felt a nudge in her side and turned to Psycho, who pointed at the clock overlooking the station. She had to squint to see the time: half past four. Psycho took out his pocket watch and opened it up, gave an aggravated grunt, and closed it. “I’m sorry Trixie... my watch is broken.” He glanced at Trixie, but immediately turned away again at her frightening glare. “But, at least we arrived early rather than late...right?” he asked, trying to quell the anger radiating from Trixie, but after a few seconds of silence he decided he’d better make a strategic retreat for now and let her cool off.

“O-okay then... I’m just going to go ahead and make some calls if that’s alright with you.” With that, he quickly dashed off around the corner, leaving Trixie alone in the hustle and bustle of a busy train station. She stood there awhile, not quite sure what to do with herself since she never planned on having so much time to just explore. Deciding she’d rather walk around than do nothing for half an hour, she started wandering around the train station.

The station was crowded with ponies and other races from across the equestrian border, both arriving and leaving. Trixie sniffed the air, thinking the aroma she smelled was the smoke coming from the train engine, but a quick look towards the engine showed that the engineer was just now starting to shovel coal inside the furnace.The actual source seemed to be coming from a small dragon following a lavishly dressed colt from Canterlot.

“Make sure to write a report about our time in Vanhoover, assistant Gimpy. We don’t want mother to start asking questions when we get home.”

“Sure--fine, whatever,” said the dragon assistant grumpily as he scribbled on a piece of paper, looking as if he’d rather pluck out his scales than be in the possession he’s in now.

Looking to her left, Trixie could see a griffon trying to scam a free meal out of an apple vendor. Both the vendor and the griffon were leering at each other over the stall.

“I don’t see why you’re so upset; I’m just offering to take the apple with the worm.”

“You think I don’t recognize a thief when I see one? Getoudaheyr.” Suddenly a long hairy creature slithered out from the middle of the apples. The vendor got startled and fell backward, getting a chuckle out of the griffon who took his tail out of the apples and grabbed a few with his talons before leaving.

A melting pot of ponies and creatures seemed to be congregating in this one station, showing Trixie how big and vast the world is outside of Equestria just outside the Equestrian border. It was hard for Trixie to not get excited. Her mind ran wild with the imaginings of great adventures and seemingly endless wealth.

Eventually, Trixie got dizzy from traipsing around and gawking at all the sights. She stumbled around, trying not to accidentally bump into anypony before she made her way to a bench and plopped herself down on it. The chaotic chatter of the crowd made it hard for her to regain her focus. Laying on the bench, she started to relax. The distance she traveled had taken a lot out of her. She closed her eyes,

“Hey Greenery, where’s our water?”

Trixie opened her eyes lazily. A pair of ponies wearing backpacks, hiking boots and climbing gear were standing over a large brown sack, peering into it.

“I don’t know Glitter. It was your job to buy a gallon before we left,” remarked the other pony, who Trixie presumed to be Greenery.

Although the scene was rather comical, Trixie felt she’d rather take a short nap then watch a couple of other ponies fight. But as Trixie was settling in, she remembered Lemon Drop and the promise she made to her. As much as Trixie didn’t want to get up--and she really didn’t want to get up--she couldn’t well get on that train with a clear conscience if she didn’t at least try and make an effort. She got up off the bench and walked over to the colt and mare who were still bickering.

“I DID buy the water. I left the jug on kitchen counter. You were supposed to-”

“Ahem.”

Greenery and Glitter both looked at the haughty unicorn approaching them. Seeing a chance to be a little more theatrical, Trixie flipped her mane, sending dust flying into the air. The watching ponies snickered, causing Trixie to silently sulk for a moment before speaking again.“Um...Trixie heard you two saying you need liquid sustenance, correct?”

“That sure is a funny way of putting it, but yeah,” replied the mare, Glitter.

Trixie struggled to think of a way to not sound completely stupid in front of these ponies. Eventually, she decided that being straight was the best idea. “Well... although it isn’t water, Trixie knows of a lemonade stand down the road being ran by a small filly. Trixie is sure that she’d be willing to sell a jug or two.”

“A lemonade stand-- like what little foals have on their front lawn?” exclaimed Greenery. “Oh mercy, I remember having one of those when I was small.” He then turned to Glitter, who seemed less than enthusiastic about the change in plans. “Come on Glitter, let’s make a little pony happy!”

“Oh alright,” sighed Glitter. “although, why anypony would think it’s a good idea to sell lemonade in weather like this...I’ll never know.”

“Well, in Trixie’s opin-”

“Trixie!”

Trixie was about to give her thoughts on the matter. when the sudden sound of Psycho’s shrill voice called out to her.

“Oh, there you are Trixie,” and sure enough, Psycho appeared right next to her, looking mangey as usual. Greenery and Glitter both did a double take at the ratty pony’s intrusion, not expecting somepony to be so inconsiderate. “I-I-I just gone done calling, er...making calls or uhm, using the phone so...” Psycho struggled with his words, looking more disheveled and nervous than usual. “I-I-I think the train is leaving soon, so l-let’s go, alright?”

Psycho began shoving Trixie towards the train in the middle of his stutterings. She tried to speak, but not a word could make it past Psycho’s nervous ramblings. Trixie looked over Psycho’s shoulder where she could see Glitter frowning at the odd display. Curiously enough, Trixie couldn’t see hide nor tail of Greenery, who had--until Psycho’s appearance--been standing right next to Glitter.

“Well if it isn’t old Psychopedia!” Before Trixie even knew what was happening, Psycho was pulled off of her by Greenery, who seemed to come out of nowhere. Psycho struggled desperately to escape the headlock he had been put under. A pocket watch and other valuables were jostled out of Psycho’s saddlebag and onto the floor with a clatter. Greenery managed to keep his tight grip, laughing all the while. “Amazing how little a pony can change after all these years--except for the moustache, that’s pretty new.”

Psycho sputtered and gasped. “Who a-are you?!”

Greenery released his grasp and reeled back in mocking surprise, pouting his lips as if Psycho had insulted his entire being. “You don’t remember me?” inquired Greenery, then he broke out into full on laughter. Psycho merely tilted his head in confusion at the earth pony’s antics. “Don’t you recognize me and my sister? We were in school together.”

“Oh yeah, I remember now!” exclaimed Glitter. Her face lit up in recognition, but this quickly soured into annoyance. She walked up to her brother and gave him a nice, loud buck in the rear. “Don’t call him that, you jerk! Don’t you remember he hated being called that dumb nickname?”

Psycho stood off to the side looking as if he couldn’t understand what it was he was seeing. He took a look at the train, then at Trixie, then back at Glitter. Finally, he tried break the ice. “Oh...oh yeah, I remember you guys now. Weren’t you two always fighting with each other back in fifth grade? What are you doing here?”

Glitter’s eyes shined in apprehension, eager to get in some gossip and talk smack about her brother. She took Psycho aside from Trixie and Greenery, who was rubbing his sore flank. Upset about being forgotten, Trixie ground her teeth in anger, making sounds that could rattle anypony to the core.

“So, are you traveling with Psycho?” inquired Greenery. He stopped rubbing his flank and looked at the blue unicorn. Trixie ceased her unhealthy teeth grinding and gave a little nod in response to his question. Now standing next to Trixie, Greenery stared wistfully at his sister and Psycho, who had just started talking about their journey around Equestria.

“You should be careful around Psycho.”

Trixie looked at Greenery in surprise; of all things he could’ve said about the jittery colt, that one was the least likely. Greenery, seeing the way Trixie was staring at him, quickly tried to debunk any strange thoughts going through her head.

“Don’t get me wrong about the dude. He’s an alright kind of pony; definitely not the sort that would start anything on purpose.” He turned his gaze back on the chattering ponies and continued. “All I’m saying is that Psycho was a habitual liar back in elementary and it’d get him in a whole lot trouble.” Then he turned to look at Trixie with a serious expression on his face. “So don’t let him rope you into any mess you know you can’t handle, okay.”

Anger boiled up from the insides of Trixie’s stomach. She didn’t like how Greenery was talking about Psycho at all--and in a way, it felt as if Greenery was making an indirect attack at her as well. With a snooty “hmph”, she turned her nose up away from the earth pony. Greenery could see that this conversation was going nowhere, and chose to stay quiet while Glitter and Psycho got reacquainted with each other.

Sometime later, the sound of a whistle pierced the air, letting all nearby ponies and creatures know of the train’s imminent departure. Psycho cut off his conversation with Glitter in a panic. “The train’s g-g-getting ready to leave! Hurry Trixie, we have to get on board!”

“Goodbye, Trixie,” said Greenery, walking back to his sister. They both slugged their bags over their backs in preparation to leave.

“See ya later Psycho,” yelled Glitter. “May Luna’s moon watch over your journey!” Psycho waved goodbye as both he and Trixie walked up to the train, whereupon a pony in a train conductor uniform took their tickets and led them inside.

The inside of the train was dimly lit, and bunk beds were built on both sides of the cart. Each bed featured a window, a cabinet, sheets, and pillows. Everything smelled heavy with the scent of despair. Ponies who looked as if they hadn’t bathed in weeks dotted the corridor, making their beds in preparation for a new beginning in a new land. Trixie was almost appalled at the filthiness of the ponies she would have to share the train with, but then she realized that she probably looked pretty similar. ‘I’m a lot like them, in a way,’ she thought.

Trixie fell onto her bed with a soft ‘whoomph’. As she snuggled into the bed, the cart gave a lurch as the train began its journey. She looked through her dusty window as the train exited the station and watched the scenery as it passed by. The windmills she saw earlier were still turning as they were earlier, only now the sun was setting in the horizon creating a red hue in the sky to paint a pretty picture that contrasted the cart’s bleak scenery. Lemon Drop’s house passed her view as well. Trixie wondered if Lemon Drop was still manning her post, hoping for a thirsty traveler to pass by. Maybe she gave up hope and packed up, deciding to wait for warmer weather. ‘But that’s not like her,’ thought Trixie. ‘That filly seemed too stubborn to realize she should give up.’

Meanwhile on the bunk above, Psycho was climbing onto the bedspread. The bedframe creaked under the combined weight of both him and his heavy saddlebag. With a grunt, he managed to pull himself up and fell onto the squeaky mattress. The earth pony then unclasped his saddlebags and placed them to the side before falling onto the smelly mattress with a sigh. “It might just be me, but the train looked a whole lot cleaner on the outside than it does on the inside,” commented Psycho. Hearing no response from the unicorn below him, he peaked under the bunk to see Trixie staring out the window, obviously lost in thought. “Speaking of dirt,” continued Psycho, “you should really go take a shower.”

Trixie looked at Psycho and sent him an angry glare. “Thanks a lot for pointing that out, dunderhead. It’s not like Trixie didn’t know how filthy she was or anything. Or maybe she just enjoys being covered in filth.”

“Wh-wh-what, but I--I mean th-that wasn’t what I--” Psycho blubbered. Eventually he stopped with his eyes looking downcast. “Sorry, about what I said. I was just messing around with you and I didn’t know you’d get so offended.” He jumped off of his bunk and stormed off with his eyes still trailing the floor.

Trixie felt a little bad for what she said to Psycho. After all, he only ever tried to help her since she met him this morning. He was probably just about to tell Trixie about the shower that was available in the cart, and she was grateful that she could count on Psycho as a friend. But Trixie hated anyone bringing her filth up--it made her feel meek and poor. Despite all of this, Trixie had too much on her mind to care about the feelings of some colt she just hurt. Instead, she got out out of her bunk and went to take a long needed shower. When she was clean she went down to the dining cart and got herself a free meal, but didn’t see Psycho there.

When the day was over and done, she went back to her bunk to sleep. Psycho was sleeping with his face to the wall on the bunk above. Seeing him like this made Trixie sigh. Maybe--she’ll apologise tomorrow, thought Trixie. So she pulled up the green covers and dozed off.

When she opened her eyes, Trixie found herself hanging in the sky with nary a thing keeping her aloft.

“What the hay!” screamed Trixie while flailing her hooves wildly in the air. She glanced frantically around her, trying to get her bearings and make sense of her situation. Small islands of land floated around her like leaves in a puddle, every single one suspended in the air just like her. The horizon was red--brimming on the edge of twilight as the sun hung over a row of frozen mountains, while stars glimmered in the crystal clear sky and clouds obscured the ground below.

“Trixie is...flying? That’s amazing!”

Laughing, Trixie flew through the air. A purple cape embroidered with stars--the one she used to wear during her performances--fluttered on her back. She didn’t know where she got it but she didn’t care; in fact, the presence of the cape alone empowered her. The only thing missing was her storytelling hat.

Trixie flew around the floating landscape, flying through stone holes, looping around earthy fissures.

“Incredible!” said Trixie. Then something started feeling amiss and she stopped in midair. Trixie wasn’t sure what she was missing, but she knew she longed for it more than anything. That’s when she saw it out of the corner of her eyes.

“Is--is that what Trixie think’s it is?”

A small patch of wooden floor hovered peacefully in Trixie’s vision. In the middle was an old-fashioned coat rack looking as if it was built several generations ago. But the coat rack wasn’t what Trixie was excited about--it was the hat on top. The hat was pointed and purple with stars embroidered on it to match her cape. She had worn it to every single performance she ever carried out. Unfortunately, she lost it a long time ago and its absence marked the time Trixie spent living on the road.

She flew down on the floating wooden platform and grabbed her hat. Its itchy felt form settled easily on her head as if it were settling back home.

“It’s good to finally have you back again. Now maybe Trixie can get to finding out where she is.” Not any sooner than she completed her sentence she felt a sickening dread wash over her. Her gaze shifted upwards towards the stars. The magnificent sky which had previously been bright and wondrous now felt dark and sinister. Every star felt like an eye watching her continued existence with anger and contempt. Then they began to move.

Trixie couldn’t budge due to fear. She could do little more than watch as the heavens shifted and twisted into sinister shapes above her. Several stars grouped together and descended out of the sky--taking part of the night sky with them. A giant scorpion, formed out of the stars and the emptiness of space, crashed onto one of the floating islands before it fixed its gaze on Trixie herself. It was as if this beast was crafted by Luna for nothing more than utter destruction and ruin of the little blue unicorn.

For a long while, Trixie stood stock still and watched in silence as the scorpion stared back at her. Suddenly the monster pounced forward with its pincers wide open. Trixie screamed something incoherent before turning and jumping out of harm’s reach. The wooden platform she had just stood on mere moments ago exploded into splinters as the great beast smashed it between its claws and the stars that created the scorpion set the remaining bits of wood aflame.

One floorboard propelled itself toward Trixie, hitting and dazing her. Trixie, knocked silly and without sense of direction, slammed into the grass-covered rock she had been aiming for. Her entire body was racked with pain and her nose stung so much it brought tears to her eyes but the immediate threat of a cosmic death beast spurred her on. Trixie had to find a place to hide. Luckily, right next to her was a hole; it was rather large hole and could be better equated to a cave but it was small enough that the scorpion couldn’t make it in. Trixie rushed inside.

When Trixie entered the hole through its dirt and grass-covered rim the first thing she noticed was that the cave was huge on the inside. It was clear to her that the floating rock she was in was mostly hollow save for the stalactites and stalagmites that jutted out from the top and bottom of the cave. Not that she could tell which was which, because whatever was keeping the gravity on the surface didn’t seem to apply in the cave, and without gravity, there is no sense of up or down--which is the really the only way to tell the difference between stalactites and stalagmites.

Trixie got as far back from the entrance as she could, pressing herself to the cold stone. She held her breath. Cold sweat ran down her muzzle and the dirt and dust rubbed themselves into her skinned knees, creating an infuriating itch that she was too afraid to do anything about. What if the sound of her movement echoed outside? She wouldn’t be able to hide since the light from the entrance was bouncing every which way; exposing every niche and hiding place. So she waited--and waited--too afraid to do anything and trying with all of her might to keep herself from jittering her hooves, which was a nervous habit equitable to Psycho’s stuttering.

‘It’s a little funny,’ thought Trixie, ‘Trixie always wanted to be some kind of star and now she’s going to be destroyed by a constellation.’

The sheer awfulness of her own humor brought a small chortle from the unicorn and as if it was awaiting a signal, a massive claw lurched forward from the entrance to Trixie’s small hidey hole. Trixie screamed as the pincers grasped for her: grating the stone walls, breaking stalagmites and stalactites, and melting rock into magma wherever a star touched. When Trixie realized that the scorpion couldn’t reach her she stopped screaming her lungs raw and watched nervously as the claw continued to grasp around searching for her. Eventually it seemed to give up and retreated back through the hole it came from, leaving rock and dirt floating in the air.

Although Trixie calmed down a little when she realized she wasn’t in too much danger, she still found herself breathing rapidly. The dirt was thick in the air and was scratching her throat viciously; she tried slow her breathing. Questions of whether the monster would come back or if it knew she was in here raced around her mind.

For a while everything was quiet except for Trixie’s breathing. Her head started to throb and the smoke generated by the magma and burnt dirt wasn’t helping. Before long a deafening, thundering sound shook through the cavern. Jagged cracks tore through the stone walls like it was made of wet paper.

Trixie made a beeline for the entrance, avoiding the floating rocks and pools of magma. Just in time as well: when she reached the mouth of the cave an even louder crash shook through the air. She turned to see a claw breaking through the back of cave where she had been cowering moments ago, grasping for the unicorn that was no longer there. The claw retracted itself and the scorpion poked its head through the crack to look for the blue pony instead of searching with its massive pinchers.

Before the frightening creature had even showed its face, Trixie had already flown out of the cave and made her way to next floating island. She could hear the monster’s banging as it chased after. What was at first a game of hide and seek had turned into the worst game of tag Trixie had ever experienced. As soon as she made it to one floating rock she had to jump to another fast as the creature was on her tail.

The creature was destroying everything in its wake, either by crushing it in its giant pincers or by melting everything with the heat of dozens of stars. Trixie, sensing the closing distance between her and a most painful demise, tapped into the magic inside of her. With a few sparks and flashes from her horn, Trixie split herself into two forms then forked into separate directions. For the very first time since it had spawned itself it made a noise, a roar of frustration that sounded like grinding stone. It took off for one of the two Trixies, but as soon as it had left as third Trixie appeared as if out of nowhere. The unicorn sighed in relief: her doppelgangers had fulfilled their purpose into getting the monster off of her. Trixie was mostly terrible at magic, but if there was any branch of the art she could brag about (at least truthfully, anyway) it was that she was exceptionally good at illusions. Invisibility and creating false reflections of herself happened to be some of the most useful bits of magic she had ever learned from reading the stolen library books she had when she was a filly.

Soon as she dropped her invisibility spell, she took off in the opposite direction she had seen the scorpion go.The mountains seemed even closer before and as she floated over another island floating pointlessly in the air, she saw something different than the rest of scenery around her. A platform of ruins stretch across the horizon--broken columns and collapsed arches dotted the stones that made up the island, as well as walls that looked as if they may have once been whole buildings. It was the perfect place to hide.

Trixie touched down on the cold brick floor and looked around her. Memories of pictures came across her mind. These wrecked stone structures looked extraordinarily similar to the Lunar castle ruins she’s seen pictures of in history books. After Luna, the goddess who controlled the moon, became jealous over her sister Celestia, whom commanded power over the sun, she waged war against her powerful sibling and subsequently lost and was imprisoned in the moon she once held power over. Without hosts or servants to take care of it, the castle went into disrepair, and eventually crumbled.

A roar resounded in the air. Trixie turned her head sharply at the familiar sound of grinding stone, hoping against odds and common sense that it was not what she thought it was. Sure enough, the monstrous scorpion was climbing up from the edge of the platform, apparently from underneath as if it was massive parasite hiding underneath a rotting log.

Trixie bolted; her cape jerked and twitched as the wind tore through it. The scorpion wasn’t too far behind her by the sound of it either. Clumsily, it seemed, it took off after her and it did so by not letting a single object get in it way. It gave not a single flinch as pillars seemingly hit it in it’s face as it sprinted.

Eventually, and rather sooner than Trixie would have liked, her hoofsteps slowed as the physical activity took its toll on her. Having never ran much at all in her life, Trixie didn’t know that trotting faster would also mean getting worn out faster. The creature sounded like a speeding train, and she was merely a helpless victim tied to the tracks.

Knowing that it was only a matter of time before this grave beast caught up to her, Trixie did the only left within her power to do--she stopped. Fear had never felt so thick in all of Trixie’s life, but she knew that if this was going to the end of her story she to go out like the heros she’d tell stories about. So she didn’t run; she turned around, and steeled herself for a short fight.

However, when Trixie saw the giant scorpion enclosing on her, her courage left her almost as quickly as it had arrived. The space that filled that gap between her and the monster filled quickly, and as the it got so close that it loomed over her and lashed out with claws Trixie did the only thing she felt she could. She closed her eyes and casted a shield over herself.

Nothing happened. Trixie expected to feel incredible pain any second, but nothing came. She opened her eyes. What she saw, she couldn’t exactly understand. The sun had gone completely down--leaving darkness, and a bright, starlit sky. Her magic shield was the only thing that provided any light, besides the burning balls that hung above her.

‘But what happened to the giant scorpion that was just about to snap me in half?’ question the ever puzzled Trixie. Then she saw it. It was hard to spot with all the darkness, but the glow emanating from her magic gave a small outline to the claw slowly reaching out only three feet away. Although a claw has nary a face to express any emotions, a feeling of hatred radiated off the appendage.

Trixie put as much power into the shield as she could. She grumbled and strained but she knew it was no use. Her shield was flimsy at best no matter how hard she tried.

Whispers invaded her ears--low at first, but steadily rising in volume. She tried to ignore them and focus on keeping her shield strong, but even that seemed beyond her capabilities. If matters weren’t bad bad enough, the claw seemed to be getting closer, and with a slow but steady increase in speed.

‘Bring down the barrier.’

Trixie blinked in surprise. The whispers became loud enough to be heard audibly now, but the advice they were giving was completely baffling. Exactly why would she want to do something so completely insane as that? The whisper egged her to take a closer look at the claw and Trixie found it hard to resist them. She did not see it easily, but then she began to understand. On the edge of light’s glow; on the edge of the claws outline--she could see nothing. At first she thought it the star creature’s natural camouflage, but then she noticed how completely nothing it was. All the stars that made the creature were gone; floating upward into the sky like fireflies. the claw was the only thing left, but that was because it was the only source of light. Without light to provide structure, the creature would dissolve into nothing.

‘Bring down the barrier,’ repeated the whispers, getting louder every second. But Trixie still had doubts. What if she was wrong about this? She would be getting rid of the only protection she had, leaving her vulnerable to any attack. She’d be left in the dark, and alone.

‘You will not be alone.’

Trixie took heart at these words and switched her shield off. Immediately she was swallowed up by the darkness, but she saw the last stars the made up the claw of the scorpion drift away. They flew back up the sky where they belonged and become one with all its wonderful brothers and sisters. Although they were many, every star was beautiful and shined like diamond.

“Well done.”

Now that the vile beast that had been chasing her had been vanquished, Trixie felt more empowered than ever. However, the voices that continued to speak to her were an unknown mystery she wanted very much to solve.

“Come out and show yourself,” demanded Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has had no quarrel in dispatching giant monsters. If you continue to plague her brilliant mind you can be sure that she’ll do something just as unpleasant to the likes of you.”

A great flash of light blinded her for a full second before fading and revealing an incredibly tall, female pony. Her mane looked like the starlit sky and flowed in a wind that wasn’t present. Dark blue made up the majority of pelt, except in the dark spot that surrounded her cutie mark--a crescent moon-- on her hindquarters. She seemed like royalty, since there was a crown as well as other jewelry adorning her neck and hooves. Amazingly, she had both a unicorn horn and a set of pegasus wings just like Princess Celestia--but she wasn’t.Trixie gulped.

“T-Trixie could take you on, y-y-you...uh, who are you?”

The tall mare wore an expression that was unreadable, but Trixie thought she thought she might have seen a glimmer of amusement flash in the ponies eyes.

She spoke with a slow, regal air. “I am Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night. Pray Tell, what is your name? Wait, don’t answer: your name is Trixie. Correct?” Trixie nodded her head dumbly. “I can tell that that arrogant attitude of yours has probably gotten you in a lot of trouble before. But I would think that you’d know better than to look for a fight from those who have helped you,”

Now that Luna had brought up the scorpion, Trixie thought she might as well ask about it.

“What was that...thing that attacked Trixie?”

“Oh.. that creature from before, you mean? It was nothing. Merely a nightmare creature formed out of the fears and insecurities that permeate a pony’s mind. You were never in any real danger, fortunately.”

‘Impossible!’ thought Trixie. ‘Everything felt so real frightening. I couldn’t have imagined the sweat or the dust that choked my lungs. Not to mention I’ve never even seen these ruins before, except in pictures, and even that was years ago.’ Trixie relayed as much to Luna, and the princess had a reply ready.

“Of course it felt real. Everything in a dream feels real, but the sensations are of the mind only. You’ll find that many of the scratches you have sustained are gone now.” Trixie was confused for a second before remembering all the cuts and bruises she had garnished while on the run. She looked down at herself and discovered that what Luna had said was all true, as nary a scratch could be seen on her lovely, light blue coat.

“You’ve probably forgot about them in all of the excitement. That’s why they no longer exist. A dream holds to the rule that if you don’t think about it, it must not exist” Then Luna moved her gaze from the baffled unicorn to the ruins surrounding them. “But I’m not sure why these are here. It might be my presence. Perhaps my own memories have leaked into your dream, creating this mix between what is yours and what is mine.”

“What are you doing in Trixie’s dreams in the first place?” asked Trixie accusingly. “Dreams are private and Trixie doesn’t want other ponies poking around where they aren’t belong. Surely you have better things to do than stalk the dreams of mere mortals such as myself.”

“I wouldn’t know. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been around others that I have lost track of what is socially acceptable and what isn’t these days. Besides, I only try to help others by giving ponies the tools they require to overcome their fears, and most have been grateful for it.”

Luna glanced back at Trixie. Her expression was different from the one she wore before--a bit more inquisitive.

“Now, for change of subject. I understand that you are going on an adventure, at least if Psycho’s dream holds any merit. From the look of things, you might encounter obstacles on your journey. I wish you all the luck in the world, but even that might not help you where you’re going.”

“Why?” asked Trixie. “What might make this job any different from others?”

“Sorry,” apologized Luna. “I should not have said anything. It was wrong of me to divulge information that is not mine to share when it is none of my business. Maybe you are right about this dream business. It is much too indecent to relay other people’s dreams. I should go now.”

Luna turned away and a light contort around her, but Trixie had one final, stupid thing to say and she couldn’t help herself, despite the situation.

“Wait,” called out Trixie. Luna turned with a look of confusion on her face, the light dimmed as she waited. “That monster couldn’t possibly have been a nightmare. Do you know why?”

“Why ever not?” asked a curious Luna.

“Because you’re the Night-Mare.” answered Trixie, barely stifling a laugh which contorted her face stupidly. Luna cocked her head to the side, even more confused than ever. Then her face lit up with understand before it turned to look of utter disgust.

“That was truly awful, and if I was Celestia I would have exiled you for that.” Then she chuckled a small bit. “But if you happen to meet a friend of mine, tell him Luna misses him. You will know who he is...” Luna paused, a mischievous grin growing on her face, “...because he’s a real hoot.” Luna chuckled before she saw the blank look Trixie was giving her and broke off.

“Oh, well...you’ll understand when you meet him. Farewell, adventurer Trixie.” With that, Luna released a flash of light brighter than any before. Trixie shielded her eyes from the flash, and when she opened them again she found herself laying cozily in her bunk bed, listening to sounds of Psycho’s thunderous snoring above her.

Trixie got out of bed and stretched herself like a cat, earning her a few satisfying pops. She made her way to the only window that wasn’t in bunk bed and stared out. The sun was just breaking out over the horizon, but it was enough to see where they were. Ice stretched as far as the eye could see. A few cottages passed by, probably for vacationers or those who liked to ice fish. It was clear that Trixie was looking at the iced-over waters of the frozen peninsula.

The train rocked a little bit, but everyone else continued to slumber--including Psycho who was still snoring like a motor boat. Trixie sighed. She looked to the side and could see the crystal mountains in the distance. A tad bit of apprehension ran through Trixie’s mind, though she didn’t know for what reason. Anyway, it was clear that their stop wasn’t too far. She grasped her cloak for comfort and warmth, only now remembering that it wasn’t there. Smoke climbed into the air, and the train continued to chug across the frozen lake, bringing the mountains ever closer.

Author's Note

So I've been thinking. Maybe I will continue writing this story. After all, editing really can't be that hard, because all you have to do is read what you wright and make sure it sounds okay. Plus, as long as someone takes pleasure in reading this then I'm having fun making it.

Edit: Bleh. This chapter is only 2 years old and it's starting to really show it's age. I know I've gotten to be a better writer since. Sometime, probably after I finish chapter 3, I'm going to come back and rewrite this.

chapter 3

A massive crowd had formed at the exits by the time they arrived at the station. Ponies shoving, pushing, stepping on each other in their haste to leave the dingy train carts. All the passengers were getting off; that is, except for Trixie and Psycho.

“You really think that Luna visited you in your dream last night? I don’t mean to sound negative, but it was probably just an extremely vivid dream. Ponies have dreams about Luna and Celestia all the time, and it doesn’t mean anything,” Psycho said sceptically while digging around under Trixie’s bunk bed, searching for desperately through the cobwebs and dust.

“Of course Trixie is sure it was her. She… had a presence. It was a presence that was unmistakably that of a goddess. Powerful. Otherworldly. It’s not hard to believe that a god would find something interesting about me.”

Psycho snickered. “You’re so vain. You actually believe that Luna “the sister of Celestia, ruler of Equestria” would visit you personally. And you believe this because--”

“--because I’m different,” sang Trixie, jumping up on the bunk bed, causing poor Psycho to jump up and hit his head on the underside, the layer of dust clinging to the wooden frame falling all over him.

Trixie jumped back down as Psycho went into a sneezing fit. Remembering that they were in somewhat of a hurry, she started bugging him to finish quickly. She had already packed all of her things… that is to say, she had nothing to begin with and was held up only by her mousy companion--still looking for his lost possession.

“I already told you this. You left your watch at the station before we left. It’s gone. You told me it didn’t even work so I don’t even get why you’re getting so worked up over it.”

“But i-it was so expensive! I was hoping I could have it repaired it later,” whined Psycho, pulling himself off of the floor, a single peppermint clinging to his dusty mane. He sighed and flicked the candy off.

“I guess it’s possible for Luna to visit ponies’ dreams.” Psycho said, continuing the topic of Trixie’s dream. “She is the ruler of the night after all. I might have even heard somewhere that Luna creates dreams herself. But… nah, that can’t be true. After a thousand years of exile you’d think that somepony would have noticed the fact that they were all lacking a bit in the dream department.”

Fastening his satchel, Psycho and Trixie both started trotting toward the exit. The crowd was still there, but it was much smaller and much, much less violent than before. Psycho and Trixie parked themselves right in the back.

Psycho tried to start up a conversation. “That Luna sure is one crazy pony. She goes insane, gets imprisoned by her own sister for one thousand years--on the moon no less--and the first thing she does when gets back is try to do the whole shebang all over again. I heard that she got set straight by the ‘Guardians of Harmony,’ or something along those lines. Makes you wonder if she’s really alright with a permanent record like that, doesn’t it?”

“Everypony makes mistakes,” responded Trixie. “Except for Trixie, of course, and Luna certainly acted friendly enough.” Trixie leaned away in disgust as a pony coughed beside her. “Besides, Trixie likes to view her as a sort of symbol. No matter how badly somepony messes up, there is always a happy ending.”

Psycho looked at Trixie with raised eyebrows. What she had said didn’t match the character he had built of her. Was there some soft core to this self-reliant, egotistical mare?

“Maybe… ” continued Psycho. “...but she still could be a threat. I mean, that type of past doesn’t just wash off. What if something makes her snap again and she’s able to thwart everything thrown at her. We got lucky the first time. We might not be so lucky the next.”

“That’s the problem with ponies these days,” sneered Trixie. “No one’s a risk taker anymore.”

Soon enough they disembarked and entered the station. Some passengers sauntered out, making towards the exits without delay, while others ran towards the friends and family that had been waiting for them. To both the surprise of Psycho and Trixie, someone was waiting for them too, waving a cardboard sign in the air with their names on it in red crayon.

It was a unicorn: a colt. He had a light blue coat, although not as light as Trixie’s, and slightly darker blue mane that was combed into a swav cut, but that looked as if several lates nights had left it unkempt. Even as he stood there he gave large yawn big enough for a bird to make a nest.

His eyes were lemon and his cutie mark was a large crescent moon that encompassed a smaller one--a nebulous symbol compared to that of most ponies. Although it probably suggested an inherent mystical element to him, since the levitating anything, even something such as light as a piece of cardboard, was highly difficult for most unicorns.

When he saw the pair he lowered the cardboard sign. Trixie and Psycho shared a glance, then walked up to the unicorn, who gleamed a large, toothy smile.

“Hey folks. My name is Crescent Moon,” greeted the colt. His voice was deep and smooth, like molasses. He took Psycho’s hoof and gave it a firm but short shake, then did the same with Trixie. “I know you must be asking yourselves ‘Who the hay is this cool guy?’ Well, let me try and clear things up before you either of you start up. In plain terms. I’m your boss now.”

Psycho gasped and his eyes grew to the size of ostrich eggs. Shock kept him still for a few seconds, then he laughed nervously as if this was just really bad joke, and any moment now a camera crew would pop out and reveal the deception. Crescent, confused and even a little unnerved by Psycho’s behavior, waited quietly for a response.

“Sh-Shutter’s the one behind this, isn’t he?” asked Psycho, almost begging. “He looked like the s-s-sort of pony who’d like to pull a joke like this. Should've known.”

“Afraid not, my friend,” Crescent said, scratching his stubble nonchalantly. “I let Shutter go as soon as I took the reigns of this operation.”

Psycho gasped a second time, jaw falling to the ground.

Crescent put of hoof of Psycho’s shoulder to offer what little comfort he could, then he alluded more. “Pozniak mulled it over while you were out searching for a ‘escort wizard’, and decided... that he’d rather it be me taking charge of this extremely important expedition. Sorry, but I took the unhappy liberty of evaluating our current employees and--”

“But wait,” interrupted Trixie. “Does this mean that I’m out of the job?”

Both colts quickly responded. “No!”

They glanced at each other. Quickly, Crescent cleared his throat. “You’ve already signed the contract, and if we release you before it expires we could be sued, and we certainly don’t want that.”

Trixie wasn’t sure whether or not contracts worked that way, and even so, ‘... didn’t the others sign papers when they got the job?’

However, Trixie really wanted this job. Actually, she needed this job, and she wasn’t above looking past details that, when you think about it, really didn’t affect her in the slightest. For now, she was just relieved that this whole trip hadn’t been for nothing; a waste of time and effort. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if this all led to a dead end. With no money, she would’ve had no choice but stowaway on the next train ride, and then she’d have to find another job--which wasn’t as easy a feat as it seemed, not with her demeanor.

“There is no reason for us to be standing out here in the cold freezing our withers off,” said Crescent, quickly changing the direction of the conversation. “Let’s check into our hotel. It’s got nice, hot food, comfy beds, and friendly company. Don’t worry about money. I already paid for each of our boarding. There’s no need to dwell on our unhappiness in this depressing weather anymore. Psycho, we’ll continue our conversation later.”

Psycho didn’t seem all too happy, considering Crescent’s purpose here...but he followed him like a faithful dog, albeit with a downcast gaze; and Trixie, who was still expecting to get paid at some point for following these two strange men, went as well.

As soon as Trixie took a step out of the train station a strong chilling breeze blew against her, making her shiver fiercely. Snow was knee deep on both sides of the plowed road and a sign with the town name greeted any newcomers disembarking from the train, ‘Welcome to WyndValley’. The village was actually pretty large as far as ‘small’ towns go, if a bit more vertical than most places she’d seen. The buildings were wooden constructions--tall, cubical, and connected with long oak bridges. But as tall as the buildings were, none came close to the sheer size of the Crystal Mountains, which stood next to town, casting it’s humongous shadow over its roof tops.

A good number of caverns could be seen cut into the mountain’s cliff edge, where the other half of the village was. Ladders and lifts extended from the ground up, where laborers used rope pulleys to carry large crates up to be stored in the caves, which--Trixie just now realized-- were being used as storage.

In front of Trixie marched Psycho, his gazed still cast down at the ground as he followed silently behind this Crescent pony who was decidedly their leader now. Trixie pulled up next to Psycho, getting a much better view of his countenance. He turned his head away.

“Feeling cheated...?” questioned Trixie, frowning knowingly.

Psycho sighed deeply, turning his gaze up at Trixie “Yeah,” he replied. “It’s a raw deal...but I’m used to getting raw deals now. Everypony knows that I’m... spineless. I can’t stand up for myself.”

“Well then why don’t you?” demanded Trixie. “You’ve go to show everypony out there-- including your boss-- that Psycho won’t let himself be walked all over like a cheap rug.”

Psycho stared at her, eyes wide with fear. “I-I could never do that! Confrontation is something...i-it’s just something I can’t deal with!”

“Then quit. Show some self-respect!”

Psycho shook his viciously. “No, no, no, no, no, no! I’d have nothing to my name if I did that!”

Trixie harrumphed. “So you’ll do nothing? How complacent of you. I can’t help somepony who doesn’t want to be helped. But--” she glared a hole through Psycho’s face, “--the Great and Powerful Trixie would never let somepony take advantage of her, and you shouldn't either.”

She fell back, leaving Psycho alone again, somehow looking even gloomier, probably thanks to Trixie’s ‘pep talk’.

Loitering behind, Trixie considered her relationship with her whiskered companion. Having only known Psycho for a little less than two days now she had already begun to set up a pattern for the guy. Every time someone applied a little force to him he buckled like tinfoil. To be honest, she was quickly getting bored of him, since she only thought of him as cowardly and possibly incompetent. He certainly didn’t have much of a drives and Trixie wasn’t sure she’d prefer him more even if did. Knowing all this didn’t really help Trixie understand her situation better, but it did provide her with some perspective on why somepony wouldn’t trust him with an important project.

She passed a group of children laughing in the snow. Little ponies and goats, together, making snowballs and throwing them at each other--shrieking shrilly whenever a hit connected. Trixie watched them with interest, contemplating what their less than mature minds were thinking and where each would find themselves later in life.

Making their way downtown through the brick-laden streets with Psycho, and her new boss, Trixie saw a couple young goats wearing hard hats, an earth pony unloading a grand piano from a pick up wagon, young mares chatting to each other on building’s doorsteps, and an old billy sitting dejectedly on a street corner, his heavy eyes staring down at the pavement. There were a lot of goats, Trixie noticed. More goats than she’s ever seen; it perplexed her.

“Why’re there so many goats in the town?” asked Trixie “This is the first time I’ve seen so many gathered at once.

“They’re mountain goats,” said Crescent nonchalantly, as if he was pointing out that the grass grows or the sun shined. “They tend to live up here in the… ya know...mountains.”

“But there’s so many here. Why do they all want to live where it’s cold?”

“Probably the same reason unicorns tend to prefer the city life,” interjected Psycho. “Community is probably a big part of it.”

“You can ask one yourself,” said Crescent. “We’ve got one traveling with us. He’s been on site for many major archaeological digs and has published numerous books on the subject of ancient civilizations.” Crescent laughed. “He’s probably going to hate me for taking the fun out of introducing himself.”

The hotel didn’t look all that different from any of the other buildings. Maybe it was a little taller, had a few more windows, and a stone chimney sticking out of the roof--but otherwise it looked nearly indistinguishable from every other building on the block--tall, rectangular prisms.

When they stepped through the door a wave of warm air washed over Trixie. There wasn’t much inside the lobby, but it seemed homey enough. A stone hearth housed a crackling fire, and a pair of inviting couches faced the warm flames. One elderly lady with the cutest spectacles Trixie ever did see manned the check in counter, snoring loudly with her face squashed on the countertop.

“This much more of a Bed and Breakfast than a hotel,” pointed out Trixie. “But...Trixie supposes that this place is suitable enough for her needs.”

“I aim to please,” laughed Crescent.

Two figures sat close to the hearth, their silhouettes lit up by the fire. One was a massive beast, easily taking up an eighth of lobby room. The second figure, sitting lazily on a couch, looked barely larger than a child in comparison with the hulking mass.

“Hey guys, I’m back with the others!” hollered Crescent. The figures stood and turned. The bulky one turned out to be a large, muscular cult with silky blond hair. He looked friendly enough, Trixie thought, if rather foalish. He had a goofy smile on his face that raised comparisons to several species of monkeys she had researched while trying to find a guinea pig to practice her spells on.

The big cult waved. “Hi guys!” he said excitedly. “My name’s HeavyWeight.”

Still sitting down next to him was an orange pony who seemed like a mare, but it was a little hard for Trixie to tell when the pony was wearing a baseball cap and jacket that covered nearly all of her features. She could at least tell by the wings on the pony’s back that she was a pegasus. She just looked at Trixie and Psycho with disinterest then sat back down, puffing on something that looked like a white cigar, and blowing out a foul-smelling smog that drifted to the ceiling

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Trixie said while curtsying. “Both of you. I am Trixie, the Great and Powerful, purveyor of all skills, an adept of the arcane arts, and showfloor extraordinaire.”

“You’ve gathered a lot of nice titles for yourself...,” came a raspy voice. The clunking sound of hooves on wood made its way slowly down the creaky steps that descended from the upper floors, and when they reached the bottom the voice revealed itself to belong to a decrepit goat with a long, braided white beard. “... Me? I’ve got only the one, but after using it all my life I can say with certainty that it’s been more than enough.” He came up to Trixie and bowed deeply. “and the name I use is--”

“Starx,” finished Crescent. “Sorry old coot, they already know who you are. Told them on the way back.”

Starx glared at Crescent and humphed. “Old, am I? Well I’ve got news for you. I’m not that old. I can still travel; which is quite something for my age; and I’ve done more, seen more, and fought more in the last year than most have their entire lives. As for telling these two youngsters about me, I bet you just told them I was a history buff. You never really get into the nitty gritty details.”

“Well, I thought I’d spare them the boredom.”

“You’ve been there right with me on many excavations. If I’m boring then so are you.”

“Not true, ya’ old fossil. Everything I do is extremely interesting.”

“Bah!” Starx waved his hoof dismissively. “The school of studying ancient history was practically built on my findings. When I found the Neighing Stone in the far east-- laying in reeking, decaying tomb--it revolutionized how others saw the Tiger Lizards. Unintelligible documents, decoded. Reintroducing modern society to the ancestors they didn’t know they had! Now, if that sounds boring, then by Celestia, I must be drill.”

“What? A drill?” questioned Crescent. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Starx was quick to clarify. “Because it, you know… it bores.” When Crescent failed to respond with anything a raised eyebrow he continued. “A-a drill bores so when you’re calling someone boring it means you’re calling them--bah! I’m done playing word games with you!”

Even though he was old wise man with a million wrinkles he still acted like a child. He stormed back upstairs, stomping all the way, and the loud slamming of a wooden door carried down to the lobby where everyone stood silent; except for the mare with the ball cap who never got up or acknowledged what was going on around her. Whistling to himself, Crescent moon walked in front of the fireplace and turned to face the crew. He coughed loudly.

“So here’s the game plan,” announced Crescent. “The sooner we head out the better. Ideally, we’ll leave by tomorrow morning because the forecast states that in about two weeks there will be a monumental blizzard. So Trixie,” He pointed at her. “I need you to go out and get yourself some winter gear. Everypony else has already got theirs. Any questions?” The orange mare shot her hoof up.

“Yes? What is it, Motion Picture?” asked Crescent scrupulously.

With a final exhale, that blew wispy smoke from her mouth and nostrils, she stood up. She seemed to think for a moment, though not hard, as far as Trixie could tell; probably just trying to find a right way to phrase whatever was going through her head.

“Just a quick question.” Motion assured. “But, unless there are others, there only seems to be, like, six of us here--including that one guy with the beard. So Is that it? Are we all there is?”

“You want to know why there aren't more ponies in this team?” checked Crescent, making sure he heard her correctly. “Well, truth be told, this isn’t an excavation. We’re not going in with shovels or a large research team, and that’s because, so far, the princesses have shot down any project funding exploration beyond the Crystal Mountains.

“And since we’re lacking that oh-so-sweet college funding, we had no choice but to search for a third party that would provide us with the tools we need to go out there and search for anything that will get the Archeological School of Thought’s attention. Basically,we’re just going to try and find something that looks really neat, and if we do they’ll throw us a massive party.”

“I think I’ll skip that,” Trixie thought. She knew the score. A pony just had to look around to see where everyone stood. You couldn’t find a group more indifferent of each other. Crescent was here for fame, just like the old codger; and the others were here for the exact same reason she was: money.

Maybe it was cold of her to judge everyone without actually getting to know them, but how could she do differently when most her life was spent watching people walk right past her? Left behind by society. Ignored like a destitute on the street. Everypony could see her just fine, but they all end up walking away just the same, time-and-time again. Introductions were just a courtesy. It was better not to get attached.

“...and that’s all the information of any importance,” finished up Crescent, unaware that one team member wasn’t entirely ‘there,’ as Trixie had been lost in thought, wallowing in her own self-pity.

The doe manning the lobby desk noticed that the group was pretty much done with their meeting and switched on the radio. The melancholy voice of Jazzy Sweet fizzed to life through the speakers, singing her heart out to the few who still listened to F.M. radio.

“I’ve never been lonelier…than when I’m with you…Because you’re somewhere else… when you’re standing here too…”

The melody was like a lullaby, carrying Trixie into a waking dream where stories were the truth; and what was true was synthesized.

“Drowning... the water is cold…Sinking…need someone to hold…”

The flickering hearth fire bounced shadows around the room, making the inhabitants seem more like phantoms, and the smoke Motion breathed out in torrents swam through the air, creating an illusion of light, like the sun filtered through oceanic waves.

It was difficult to breath.

“Trixie...?”

Her train of thoughts derailed onto the memory mother. Was there a time she didn’t hate her? She couldn’t remember.

“Trixie?!”

“What?!” she snapped hotly, venom in her tone. “What is it! Trixie is think-” She stopped herself. In front of her was Psycho, looking at her with something akin to fear in. It pulled her back to reality.

She didn’t know what had gotten into herself, though she knew better than others that her emotions were bipolar in nature this wasn’t some random event; she caught herself thinking about the past, an inadvisable course of action when there was nothing to see other than a downward spiral. It was brought on by a melancholy song; a distant, repressed memory of home; almost nostalgic.

“Sorry about that,” apologized Trixie, shaking herself loose from the tension she had built without realizing it. “What was it that you wanted to say to me?”

Psycho was taken aback by Trixie sudden outburst, having jumped back when she spat at him. “Oh, wh-wh-what I wanted to say was...w-we could go shop for a jacket now. Or you could go ‘freshen up’ first, i-if you’d like. I’ll just wait here.”

“Hm…” Trixie rubbed her chin pensively. “...I think I’ll take a quick bath first and then I’ll go shopping... alone.” She stressed that word long and hard. “I’m tired of having ponies guide me around and telling me needless trivia. Trixie is a grown mare, and can find all of her gear by herself, thank you very much. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Psycho stood mutely, watching Trixie leave as he watched, wearing a black expression. The morning had delivered nothing but bad news for the pony, and Trixie’s rejection of his company was only going to worsen his demeanor. He felt lonely. He felt...useless. Trixie was the closest he had to a friend at the moment--or would have for quite a while, seeing as everyone he knew was fired unceremoniously--and now…

“She probably just needs some private time...” Psycho muttered to himself. He turned around, away from Trixie; away from the crew, and left through the Hotel Entrance. The fumes from Motion Picture were wreaking havoc on his throat. He coughed more than once from breathing in the noxious smoke, and nothing sounded better right now than some fresh air.

Shortly after Trixie got her hotel room key from the receptionist she made her way to the third floor, looking forward to finally seeing her accommodations. The door opened with an extensive creak, revealing the absurdly small dominion that was hers for the night.

“Really? This is it?” asked a disbelieving Trixie. There was hardly anything in there. Only the bare necessities were present in the cottage-like lodging. There was a bed, thankfully; and a dresser by its side, but nothing else--not even a carpeted floor. What little there was was cramped together to barely allow any leg space. She noticed a door though--easy to miss--and opened it, and breathed a sigh of relief. “At least there’s a bathroom. Now I can finally make myself decent.”

Trixie prepared herself a bath right then and there. The water wasn’t warm, but compared to the freezing air outside that was frosting over the hotel windows, it was practically a sauna. She relaxed in the tub, her silver hair spreading out like a silk blossom in spring, trying her best to relax in the disgustingly cramped room. Her thoughts drifted, but rather than dwell on her misfortunes she started thinking about her future, where everything was bright and full of potential. Soon, she’d be a big name. Her smug, azule face plastered on magazines and billboards. She imagined herself, lording it up in a large mansion; not a cramped hotel room, or a caravan, but an actual house where the fridge was always stocked and she could sit comfortably inside while the cold winters passed. All she needed was to get back on her hooves.

“Does Trixie look better in purple, or beige?” Trixie asked while holding up two fur-hooded jackets with her glowing unicorn magic. A droopy eyed goat slumped against a wooden support, clearly annoyed with his customer who just couldn’t make her mind up. If she took much longer, he decided, he just might have to kick her out.

“They both look fine,” yawned the goat. “Really, it doesn’t matter. The only things that does matter is whether or not they’ll keep you warm. Otherwise, who cares?”

“I care!” she exclaimed. “I have to look the best I can whatever the occasion! If I didn’t ponies wouldn’t know how great I am.” She glared at the shop keep who continued to stare back at her, getting slowly angrier with the blue mare by the second. This wasn’t some pricy fashion store. It was a general store where ponies could get reasonably-priced groceries and cheaply made clothes. He shouldn’t have to deal with customers like this. Suddenly he stood upright, ready to lift Trixie up and throw her out on her poncy rump. But before he did a bell rang out through the store, indicating that someone had just come in.

“There you are. I need you for a moment.”

In came Motion Picture, hovering lazily above the dusty floorboards as she floated right up to the two increasingly hostile equestrians. She noticed the aggressive stance they were both in and scratched her head in confusion.

“Did I just walk in on something?”

“Is she your friend?” the goat pointed accusingly at Trixie. “She’s been here for an hour! Make her choose already; or take her and leave! Frankly, I’m tired as hell, and I’m not going to take any more of this!”

“If that’s what you want, then fine.”Trixie spat. “Everything you sell is junk anyway.” She threw the clothes to floor in a fit and stomped her way past candy stand and the selection of discount romance novels, exiting through the store entrance where the wind promptly slammed the double-doors shut again. The store employee picked up the jackets with his maws and grumbled to himself as he put them back on the racks.

“Damn city folk. Thinkin’ everywhere need to be fivestar…”

Motion tapped the goat on the shoulder, which seemed to cease his grumbling at least.

“Hola, cowpoke. Can I see that purple jacket you got there?”

Within a minute Motion had the newly purchased hoody inside her saddlebag and was out looking for Trixie. Thanks to her wings it didn’t take long to spot Trixie from the sky. Motion sometimes wondered how others managed to find anything without being a pegasus like her. Though she did hear that some unicorns can conjure up wings with a spell. Still, it was easier to not have to deal with spell mumbo jumbo.

She found Trixie trudging through the snow slosh of an empty street, completely unaware of Motion’s presence as she glided silently above her. With a quick flex of her muscles Motion’s wings carried her next to her. However, she stopped shortly from a few feet from Trixie when she got struck suddenly by a flash of inspiration. Trixie still looked angry about before, but from Motion’s perspective she actually seemed to look determined about something; with the way Trixie always held her head up proudly despite circumstance and the confidence she tended to carry herself with. ‘It would look perfect for a picture.’

Silent as possible, she shuffled through her bag and took out her digital camera. She lined the frame up to Trixie’s grimacing face and took a quick snapshot. The flash startled Trixie and she turned quickly to see where the light came from, causing her trip over a loose brick sticking out of the road.

“Oops, sorry” said Motion, as Trixie face planted into the dirty slosh. The situation was classic slapstick, but Motion didn’t think Trixie was likely to see the comical side of things.. Sure enough, when Trixie pushed herself back up, covered in stinging snow and flecks of dirt, she was scarlet in the face and baring her teeth like a mad dog.

“Hey!” yelled Trixie. “Who push me?!” Then she turned and saw Motion.

“You!”

Motion blinked, perplexed. Trixie thought that she pushed her? Where did she get that idea?

“Uh, no...I didn’t.”

“Yes you did. Do you see anyone else around? No! So it must have been you!”

Motion breathed deeply. ‘What a presumptuous unicorn,’ she thought, exhaling cooly. When she looked back at Trixie she made sure to seem non-confrontational by remaining calm and, remembering the number one rule when dealing with ponies with chips on their shoulders, ‘sound apologetic’.

“I’m sorry,” apologized Motion. “I didn’t mean to trip you up. I was just taking a picture, okay?” She held up her camera as evidence.

A bit of Trixie’s face softened after Motion Picture finished talking. Though she still felt compelled to make the pegasus pay in some way, she felt… flattered, that someone would want to take a picture of her.

“Besides,” continued Motion, pulling out the purple jacket she bought for Trixie. “Would someone who meant you harm have bought you a nice looking outfit?”

It was Trixie’s turn to look confused. Motion seemed to be offering her the jacket she needed, but was it a some trick Motion was playing? Trixie eyed the coat suspiciously. For all she knew, it might be laced with itching powder, or lice, or possibly worse.

She scanned the jacket with a minor spell she learned in grade school that enabled her to effectively see any traps as if under a blacklight. After finding nothing wrong with it she hesitantly decided she’d take the offered apparel. Trixie reached out with her magic and grabbed the jacket, holding it out as though she didn’t know what to do with it.

“Why did you get this for me?” asked Trixie. “You don’t even know me, so, it’s not like we’re friends.”

“I didn’t get it because I like you,” clarified Motion. “I got it because it was a ‘nice’ thing to do. It’s not like I needed a reason to be nice--though I know a lot of ponies would disagree with me on that.”

“But, uh… well… I,uh...”

Trixie struggled for something to say.

‘Is she trying to say thank-you?’ wondered Motion

“I-it’s not like… it’s not like I asked for this,” finished Trixie. “I don’t need charity from anypony.” The words came out before she knew what she was saying, but it came out smooth compared to the word she was trying to form, words which made a lump form in her throat just to think of them.

Motion continued to breath deeply. The unicorn was such a bother to be with. Motion wondered how she was going to survive an entire trip with this stuck up horse when her only reaction to everything was to yell at it until it went away. She was no psychologist, but Motion had a gut feeling that Trixie had some deep-rooted insecurity--but confronting Trixie about it would just lead to more arguments, and that was something Motion greatly wanted to avoid. Still, it’s not like she had to take this heat lying down.

“If you don’t want it just give it back.”

“Wh-what?” asked Trixie.

She reached out to take the jacket but Trixie quickly pulled the clothing out of reach, a nervous expression on her face.

Motion laughed. “So you do want it? Well then why don’t you just say so?”

Trixie stood there, staring at the floor with glum eyes, refusing to meet Motion’s gaze. In truth, Trixie could never afford the gear she needed. She originally intended to steal the jacket, just like she’s been doing for everything else she’s needed for the past month--but when the store manager showed up she had to pretend to be an indecisive shopper. But still, she’d be damned if she was going to tell anyone about her financial position. She had too much pride for that; and though thievery was still shameful, it was at least the kind where no one had to know about it, and nopony would give her any artificial pity. But now her pride was getting in the way of something that was so simple. All she had to do was play nice for once. How hard could it be?

Well, apparently really hard“No, I do want it.Th-thanks,” Trixie gritted through her teeth. A blood vessel busted in her left eye, terrifying Motion, who was now backpedaling away from the pony before her.

Motion was freaking out internally. The heck was going on? Was ‘thanks’ some sort of trigger word that caused the blue unicorn to explode? Was Trixie turning into a rage beast?!

“Jeez...” Motion raised her forelegs defensively. “...calm down. You’re making this a lot more weird than it is.”

“This isn’t weird. Trixie’s just thanking you is all.” Trixie smiled a freakish frankenstein smile, oblivious to her frightening appearance. She walked towards the pegasus, confounded as to why Motion was backing away from her. Then Trixie realized, her forced smile probably didn’t look warm or welcoming when she has had so little practice in grins without her usual smugness in them. So she kept trying, contorting her face into other monstrosities that did little to calm down the pegasus.

“Don’t hurt me,” whimpered Motion, holding up her camera like a shield. “I just wanted to see if you’d do shots with me.”

“ You mean… a photo shoot?” asked Trixie.

“Uhm… no?” replied Motion timidly. “It’s just--we’re the only mares in our group, so I thought, ‘Hey, we should get to know each other.’ I don’t really know how to make friends with total strangers, but my brother told me that a good way to make friends is by buying them a couple rounds. But I never intended for things to get so tense. Jeez…”

The fake smile Trixie was wearing fell from her face. But she didn’t look mad anymore. She had no fire in her eyes, or snarky grin, or a pompous pose. Instead, she was expressionless, eyes completely devoid of emotion.

“Trixie doesn’t want to get to know you,” said Trixie, voice as empty her face. “Trixie doesn’t want to know any of you.” She turned and began to trot away, but only took a few hoof-steps before stopping. “But really, thanks…” she said lastly, continuing to walk away, the sound of crunching snow getting quieter as she vanished behind a building.

Motion watched her leave, flummoxed greatly by the entire encounter. It was astounding to her that there were was a pony so emotionally unstable that a simple conversation was like trying to navigate a minefield. How do you get on the good side of someone like that?

Crunching announced the approach of a third pony.

Psycho came up and and stood next to Motion, a bemused smile on his whiskered lips and plastic grocery bag in his teeth. It was immediately apparent to her that Psycho must’ve seen her and Trixie arguing by the way he was looking at her.

“Ah guesh sheesh noth muff uf ah risk caker,” said Psycho, muffled by plastic.

Motion pulled a roll them hemp she bought at the corner store along with her coat-- compliments of the owner-- out of her pack, lazily sticking it in her mouth and lighting it with a nearby lantern. As she puffed on green hemp her brain began to haze and the air grew less cold. The embers fascinated the stoned pegasus and she stared at it, lost in deep thought.

“No, she’s not,” reiterated Motion. “She’s not a risk taker at all.”

Two young passed them on the street, on pulling the other on a sleigh down the slope. They were the only people on this solemn street besides Motion and Psycho themselves, and unlike the latter they seemed to be having a blast. Motion watched them silently as they played, climbing the hill to slide down over and over again. She took her camera out with one hand and expertly snapped a photo.

“That’s gonna look real good on my fridge,” smiled Motion.

***

Dear Son,

I heard what happened in the Crystal Kingdom. I’m so proud of you. You showed tremendous courage in the face of adversity, and when the princess needed you the most you stayed by her side--at least up to the point where you threw her off the balcony. Normally, I’d scold you for being so flippantly dangerous, but actually I’m surprised that you were strong enough to lift her. Besides, Cadence has probably chastised you enough as it is-- there’s no need for me stack even more heat on you.

Though, I heard that it was actually a collaborative effort between you and your sister. Sure, all her friends probably had something to do with it, but I’m sure it was all mostly my own, gifted children. The next time that you see Twilight tell her that her dad loves her very much. That goes for you too. I know you’re a tough soldier now, but try and stay out of danger! And if you really want to keep Princess Cadence then try and avoid throwing her off of balconies, alright?

Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I’m actually not that far from where you stationed. I was going to come see you, but a lot of important business just came up and I missed the opportunity. Too bad. I wanted to see what an entire city made of crystals looked like. I imagine the sunburns get pretty bad with all that glare. I’ll be gone for at least a week, but I’ll think about you and Twilight constantly while I’m away.

Love,
Night Light

P.S. Nearly forgot to mention. Remember that one unicorn that destroyed Twilight’s town? She’s here with me now. She doesn’t know who I am, or who my children are. I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell her. Don’t tell Twilight where she is either. If I know my daughter, she’ll probably come try and confront her, and that would be very bad.

Author's Note

Wow! This sure took forever to to get done! I've learned a great deal in the making of this chapter, like, no one wants to be an editor. Seriously. I tried to find someone to edit on fimfiction's own group "looking for editors", but the amount of authors greatly outweighed the number of people willing to actually read over some stranger's work. I can't really recommend it since you'd be more likely to get killed by a cow than to find an editor.

Now let me talk about things I changed in chapter 3. I stopped having Trixie talk in third person. Why? Because it was getting on my nerves, and I can only assume that the audience would also find it grating.

Edit: I don't know what's going one, but every time I tried to import from google docs everything became center aligned. I had to manually change everything back to normal. Hey, if anyone knows how to manually right align please tell me.