2 — Polaris
Chapter 2:
Polaris
“Your... friend... Trixie... Lula... moon. There, done!” With a relieved sigh, Trixie leaned back in her chair. The candle on her desk had burned down to a tiny mound of wax and few balled-up pieces of parchment lay on the ground around her. She placed the quill back into its nearly-empty inkwell and looked over her letter once more. Her lips pursed as she reached the end where she had signed her name. “Hmm...”
“I... need... to... do...” she paused for a moment before placing her quill back on the parchment. “See... you... in... a.. few... weeks.” As she placed the final dot on the exclamation mark a tiny smile crept across her face. She carefully folded the letter into thirds and then reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an envelope. Delicate blue light washed over the letter as she slipped it into the envelope. As she went to seal it, she caught herself. Pulling the letter back out, she placed it on the desk and grabbed her other quill.
With a practiced motion she spelled out the mare’s name in elegant cursive. Placing the quill down, she held up the letter to the light. The violet letters seemed to shimmer in the dancing flame’s light. Satisfied, she slid the folded letter into the envelope and sealed it with a wax stamp.
Grabbing the first quill one more time, she spelled out 'Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville' on the front of the letter. After she had finished addressing it, the letter lifted itself from her hooves and made its way to her bag where it slipped into an open pouch.
Sighing softly, she looked out the window. It was dark, much too dark to leave. That was just as well; it was much too cold to leave too. Her horn lit up as she drew the curtains closed over the small window.
She pulled her fur coat tighter, allowing its warmth to surround her. As the candlelight dimmed, she moved to the rough bed that had been laid out for her earlier in the evening. The straw poked through the thin blanket covering the bed and jabbed into her sides and back, but it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. At least she had her coat.
As she closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was the saddlebag, and one corner of the envelope sticking out of the pouch. A small smile found its way onto her face as she fell asleep, her mind drifting to warmer days.
***
Knock, knock, knock.
Three short raps came in quick succession, waking Trixie unceremoniously. She sleepily opened her eyes and searched for the source of the disturbance. She shielded her eyes as the wooden door cracked open and light flooded the room. A tall, but thin-looking earth pony stood in the doorway. He looked over and saw that Trixie was still in bed and quickly averted his eyes.
“Miss Lulamoon—” he paused “—are you... decent?”
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Trixie responded groggily, “Yes, Polaris, I’m decent.”
He turned his head back in time to see Trixie slowly rising from her slumber. He couldn’t help but notice how slim she looked, and how the light played with her silver mane as she tossed it about. It may have been a little unkempt, and more than a little dirty, but it still seemed to glow with an inner light. As she stretched, letting out a tiny yawn, a chill breeze blew through the open door and caused her to yelp in surprise. She quickly gathered up her coat and pulled it close.
Polaris let out a light chuckle. “Still getting used to the cold, eh?”
“I hope I’m never used to it. If I am, then that’ll mean I’ve been here far too long,” she said with an exasperated sigh.
“Heheh, bet a mare like you probably never had this kinda cold before, eh? But, you’d think that after two months you’d have learned to deal with the cold a little better. ” He chuckled again as he saw her struggle to gather up the pieces of parchment that had been blown away because of the breeze.
“Would you shut that door, please? This cold is bothering me enough without the wind to make things worse.”
Shifting his back leg, Polaris lightly kicked the door shut. “Apologies, miss. Didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.” He stepped closer to her as she was gathering up the last few pieces of paper. “Been writing to that ‘Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville’ some more, eh?”
Trixie stuffed the parchment she was holding into her saddlebag before responding. “Yes, as a matter of fact I have, Polaris. I just finished writing another letter last night.”
“You know, you’ve been writin’ that mare as long as I’ve known you, but I’ve never seen you get any letters back. So why is that?”
It was a fair question, and one that Trixie had heard several times before. Luckily, she had an answer prepared for whenever this question came up.
“That is a personal matter between me and Twilight Sparkle, and I’d rather not discuss it if it’s all the same to you.”
Polaris laughed loudly, his chest bouncing up and down. “I’d wager this isn’t the first time you’ve told somepony that. Got yourself a nice little ready-made excuse, eh? Well, that’s fine with me. It’s not my place to go meddlin’ in other’s affairs. If you don’t want to talk about, then that’s your business. I know when to leave well enough alone.”
“I appreciate your understanding,” Trixie said kindly. “I hate to be so blunt about it, especially when I owe you so much, but it’s not something I want to talk about.”
He raised a hoof. “Understood, miss. I’m just here to shepherd you along anyhow. I know where my place is.”
A smile tugged at Trixie's lips. “Thank you, Polaris. You’re too kind.”
“Don’t mention it. Now come on, miss. Breakfast is gettin’ cooked up right now. If you hurry, you might even get it while it’s still hot.” With a nod of his head, and a wave of his hoof, he motioned towards the door.
Saddlebag packed, and coat firmly secured about her chest, Trixie grabbed her hat and cape from the corner of the room and headed out the door. As she opened the door, cold washed over her in icy waves. First, the sheer temperature drop from being outside, then the wind, and finally snow began to blow about her face in frigid wisps. She shivered, her teeth clattering together.
As she clambered down the small wooden steps of her caravan she was filled with a sudden longing to be back in her bed. It may not have been as warm as Ponyville, but at least it was warmer than outside. She heard the door shut as Polaris cut off her only escape. Oh well, nowhere else to go but forward.
As Trixie made her way through the camp she passed dozens of stern-looking ponies, barely any of them even spared her a passing glance. Of all the ponies she’d met north of Vanhoover, Polaris seemed to be the only one who wasn’t as cold as the weather. She was lucky she had met him, too. Not many mares happen upon professional guides while wandering aimlessly through small towns.
“Come along now, miss,” said Polaris from behind Trixie. “Let’s get to the kitchen for some breakfast before we head out again. Don’t wanna lose your strength in the middle of the road, eh? Gotta get them skinny bones of yours fattened up. ‘Specially if you’re gonna be heading up that way,” he said, pointing due north. “If you think it’s cold here, just you wait, missy.”
“It gets even colder than this?” She shuddered at the thought of a place colder than this Celestia-forsaken camp.
Laughter was his only response.
Making his way past Trixie he led the way through the camp. As he walked in front of her, Trixie noticed his cutie mark. It was a white, five-pointed star, and it stood out handsomely against his cobalt blue fur. The northern star, she thought, how very appropriate. If I manage to finish this, and make it back in one piece, I’ll have to remember to thank him properly. He deserves that, if nothing else.
Eventually they reached the kitchen. Really though, it was more like a public fire-pit with some communal cookware. Polaris just liked to call it a kitchen because he thought it sounded better than “public fire-pit”. Either way, it wasn’t the most well-stocked kitchen, but it was better than nothing. Fortunately, Polaris’ wife, Astrid, had already begun cooking them some breakfast, and was nearly done when they arrived. She was a lovely little thing. Full white body, with light-gray mane that was done up in a small bun and held together with an emerald brooch—her wedding gift, she had explained.
After a short meal and some light conversation, Trixie thanked Astrid for the breakfast and turned to Polaris.
“So, when do we head out?”
“Soon as the missus is ready, I s’pose.”
“Excellent, I hope we can make it to Frostvale today. That would put us a little ahead of schedule. Who knows, maybe with a little luck we’ll be done sooner than expected!”
Polaris shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it, miss.”
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For one who supposedly doesn’t know what to do with the story you brew up the next chapter surprisingly quickly. Are you sure you weren’t just pulling our collective leg with that?
Either way, the chap’s interesting, makes one wonder what is Trixie looking for so far in the north. And Astrid… not many give real life names to ponies, but I suppose it fits, Astrid being a northern-type name and all.
Hmm, very interesting. My curiosity is piqued. And I'm going to give a Fluttershy roar just cause I'm bored.
Let's see... Traveling with a caravan... North of Vanhoover (Vancouver)... THERE BE GOLD IN THESE HILLS!
well you piped my couriosity, let's see where this goes.
i really like how you dont explain things in full. makes it all the more interesting
I'm a little concerned about what/who was the original owner of the fur coat
1693347
Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are that I posted the second chapter so quickly. I have no idea what I'm doing...
1694790
Let's just say it's totally not a pony...
So this is going to be a story that goes back and forth between Twilight and Trixie. This is apparently before Trixie mailed the latest letter to Twilight. I'm anxious to find out what Trixie is looking for, as well as, what Twilight is going to do about all the letters she didn't receive.
1696864 Well then, I must have been thinking about something else, which had a few similarities. Thanks for the response.
If Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Hooves is any example, I have confidence that you won't let canon affect wherever you're going with this.
Pfft, Frostvale. I'll bet Trixie's thinking something like, "Why would anypony living in a freezing climate give their town a name that reminds everypony how flipping cold it is!?"
1695382
i.imgur.com/xVyoSl.jpg
I'm intensely curious as to what Trixie's up to...
1704394 Same, here. I smell adventure!
...
Nope, that's my toast burning!
Vanhoover, eh? Not all of Canada is a frozen wasteland... only most of it.
Also, the last Astrid I met was also found while adventuring around an arctic tundra. Any relation to this one?
Hmm... Nice characterizations on Trixie's part. Looks like she's lost that pompous side of her. Really glad for that, never fancied her as a villain, even though she was/is one.
Way up north to Alaska.
Well well, now we're getting some questions asked. This is good. Not many answers, of course, and the chapter still feels a bit short - but hey.
Trixie's character does feel a bit bland here, and I really feel you could flesh out the interactions more just to give us a feel for her. Polaris is fine, at least - he has a defined tone of voice, is properly described and introduced, as is his wife. Still, it feels like you're dashing ahead to get away from them as fast as possible.
I don't like the way you're treating your characters, but the plot has started to interest me. Not sure if I would keep reading at this point in most cases - there hasn't been any BIG GIANT ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM question/conflict/revelation/plot yet, and the only thing we know is that Trixie is writing letters to Twilight from waaay up in the frozen north for some reason. And she's looking for something. We haven't been given any information on exactly WHAT this could be, or what it's supposed to do - it's just an invisible, formless McGuffin at this point, and I'd like something more than that to grasp at.
Anyway. Moving on.
//N
I certainly do hope that Twilight uses Spike to send a letter to Trixie. It seems like she could use one.
This is looking pretty cool, and the premise is rally unique.
Hmm, ponies are nude most of the time, at least the ones we see in the show are. Is Polaris an Ice Pony? Do they have a nudity taboo because of the cold?
After the first chapter, this was the last thing I expected, yet it still worked. There is some much going on with Trixie that we don't understand, sure hope us and Twilight get the rest of those letters.
2327630 my guess by what he asked is if she was wearing something like a teddy(or what ever they have for sexy things like that) that could be seen as indecent
that's how I look at it as ya they are nude and this is a kids show for crying out loud
lol
Polaris is a sweet character it seems, wonder what Trixie's planning on
lol
Is this supposed to be "go" ?
3547021 1. EXTREME COLD
2. Perhaps that's customary this far north
Trixie uses first person? How intriguing.
Going to be honest here, I started reading this almost two years ago. Then I got distracted and just left it in my "Favorites" list for what seems like forever.
I came back to this because I realized that it was finally marked as Complete. So here I go starting this adventure all over again.
This may be a while...
I have a feeling Rainbow Dash knows more about these letters than she lets on.
I'm enjoying your take on Trixie. She feels pretty developed and very approachable, as if her ego has been tempered, while still holding onto that same charm that makes me love Trixie's character. And I'm really interested in learning the history between Trixie and these two ponies she's traveling with.
Also curious about where Trixie got that fur coat from.
Nice, simple chapter overall.