Every eye was on Trixie, staring at her in disbelieve. Spike and the guards were dumbfounded upon her declaration what the source of the noise was, while Sweetie Belle behind Trixie was shaking in fear.
The first one who got out of his shock was Shield Break who immediately barked out instructions.
“No time for panic, we need to stay calm! You two” – he pointed at the two pegasi of his group – “will go ahead into town! One of you goes immediately to the mayor, the other to the captain. Tell them that an ursa is nearby, and that there is a big possibility that it will come into town soon. We need to mobilize the rest of the guard and to evacuate the civilians if necessary!” The pegasi saluted and ascended into the air, disappearing in the direction of the town. “The rest of us will now focus on getting those three to safety.”
They all nodded and Trixie turned to Sweetie. “Come on now, no need to be afraid. We will bring you back to your family in no time. I won't let anything harm a hair on your coat.” Sweetie nodded carefully. She knew Trixie means what she said, she had proven so before after all.
They all started their track back into town, and Trixie could already see several ponies in the distance between the buildings running around in confusion who heard the roar, trying to figure out what was going on.
Before they even reached the first buildings they heard another roar along with more breaking trees. Trixie looked behind her and gasped. The ursa has already broken through the border of the forest and was on its way into town maybe half a mile behind and to the side of them. It would only take it a few moments to reach the first buildings.
“Sweet Celestia...,” one of the remaining guards mumbled with wide eyes. “How can be something that huge?”
“And that is just the minor, a baby,” Trixie said. “I have never seen the mother in 'person', but Twilight gave me some indications and showed me a picture. Believe me, you don't want to know...”
Now that the ursa was in the open and on its way into town many more ponies noticed it. Trixie could hear many screams coming from the part of the town closest to it and saw several fleeing ponies as well. Outrunning an ursa might not be impossible if you know what you are doing, but that could not be said about the panic induced individuals right now. Trixie knew that, without help, they won't get far before the ursa was at them, and she could not see much of the guard yet.
“Lieutenant, you need to help them!” she said. “Without help they are doomed. We three are good on our own, we will get into safety ourselves.”
Shield Break looked a few times between Trixie and the ursa. “Are you sure?” Trixie nodded. “Alright, miss Trixie. Guards! Let's go, these ponies need us!” The remaining guards saluted and ran of with Shield Break at the lead.
Trixie watched them for a second. She wanted to help defend this town that had accepted her so much, but she must get Sweetie to safety first. She turned back to her two companions. “Let's go. You two get on my back, this way we are faster.” They both nodded and climbed on Trixie's back. “We need to get a letter to the princesses. Without Twilight, they are the only ones who can take care of the ursa.” They ran into town just as another roar pierced the air behind them along with something breaking that was definitely not a tree this time.
Along their way they warned every pony they came along about the danger and told them to get away. It saddened Trixie that she heard some ponies saying that it was her fault once again for the ursa being in town, but she ignored them and kept running. She also noticed many guards appearing and helping evacuate the civilians or going in the direction of the rampaging ursa to help fighting it of.
“There she is, Fuchsia! Trixie, up here!” Trixie stopped in her tracks and looked up to see Lavender Lace flying above her, slowly descending while Fuchsia Blush came running around the corner. “Glad to see that you are all alright. We were worried when we heard about the ursa from some guards,” Lavender said after she dropped to the ground.
“Yeah, we wanted to go check on you, since your practice session was near the point the ursa appeared,” Fuchsia said.
It touched Trixie that her friends were so worried about her that they came looking for her. “We are fine. We were closer than most others, but still far enough away. We had just wrapped everything up, and besides Sweetie Belle and Spike there were no other kids around.”
“Good to hear that nopony got hurt,” Lavender said, sighing in relief. “Now let's get ourselves to safety.”
Trixie was quiet for a moment before she levitated both Sweetie Belle and Spike from her back. “Take these two to safety, and get something for Spike to write a letter to the princesses. I got something else to do.”
They all stared at Trixie as she turned to the direction in which they could see the ursa in the distance. “You can't be serious?” Fuchsia asked worried. “Please tell me you are not going to that monster.”
Trixie nodded. “I am. I wanna help defend my home, no matter what. That's what my training with Twilight has been for. To protect my friends.” With these words Trixie ran away, leaving her friends behind.
“Trixie, wait!” she heard Sweetie Belle crying out, but she ignored her.
They all watched their friend run away before Fuchsia spoke up. “Come on, we must go. There is nothing we can do to convince that stubborn mare to come with us. Let's hope she won't try something stupid.” Spike and Lavender nodded while Fuchsia picked up Sweetie Belle with her magic and placed her on her back before they all made their way to town hall.
~*~
The small group arrived at town hall a few minutes later to find it crowded with ponies. They made their way through the crowd up to Mayor Mare who was talking with one of the pegasus guards Shield Break had sent away earlier to warn her. They approached her and added everything they know about the situation as well. After that they walked through the crowd, looking for Sweetie Belle's parents.
“I knew it was just a matter of time until that stupid magician would destroy everything.”
They all stopped immediately in their tracks and turned to the direction of the voice. There stood a green coated stallion with a yellow mane they recognized as one of these that always talked bad about Trixie. Fuchsia snorted in anger and took the first step to talk back to him, but before she was able to do so she was beaten by somepony else.
“Hey! Don't talk like that about Trixie, she has done nothing wrong!” Sweetie Belle yelled at the stallion from besides Spike who was glaring at him as well, drawing the attention of the surrounding ponies.
The stallion glared at the filly in front of him. “Why not? Do you truly think it's a coincident that an ursa is attacking, the same beast she brought to town before might I add, after miss Sparkle and the other bearers left her alone without nopony watching over her? I say she has planned all of this from the first day.”
“Alright first of all, Twilight and the others are not her wardens, they are her friends,” Spike began. “Second Trixie would never do that. She regrets everything that happened before, and she has done nothing since she moved to Ponyville that looks like she planned anything. I thought so at first as well, but after she saved Sweetie Belle from the timberwolves month's ago I realized I was wrong.”
“That proves nothing,” the stallion sneered. “It was just a big plan to make sure we all think ourselves safe until she finished her plan.”
“Then ask Shield Break, his unit and around twenty fillies and colts about where Trixie's been this afternoon. She has been with us the whole day, never even been near the Everfree to get the ursa.”
“And where is she now if she has been with you all this time?”
“She is out there, fighting for our safety and that of the town!” Spike yelled back.
The stallion turned his head away, but before he could say anything else a new voice spoke up. “I can vouch for her as well.” They all turned to see Cloud Chaser walking up to them. “I was flying around when I heard the first roar and I flew higher up to see what was going on. That's when I saw the ursa in the distance, but it wasn't alone. I was too far away to see exactly what was going on, but there were several shapes flying around the ursa, attacking it several times while slowly moving closer to town.” Cloud Chaser leveled her stare at the stallion. “Somepony lured the ursa into town, that is true, but as long as Trixie did not suddenly sprout wings and created copies of herself she could not have done it.”
The stallion glared at the surrounding mares before he walked away. “Whatever, I will stay with my opinion. You can believe whatever you want.” Many ponies watched him go, whispering to each other about the discussion they just witnessed.
Fuchsia turned to face Cloud Chaser. “Thank you for standing up for Trixie, but is that true? Somepony brought the ursa to town on purpose?”
Cloud Chaser nodded. “It seems so, that's at least what I saw, and it didn't look like those I saw were trying to chase it away. I already informed the mayor and the captain, but at the moment there is nothing they can do. We must deal with the ursa first.”
Sweetie Belle listened in fright to the grown-ups talking, but her thoughts were focused on something else, or better on somepony else. 'Please, Trixie, be careful.'
~*~
Trixie in the meanwhile had arrived at the point of the crisis. She knew that it would be foolish to fight the ursa, and maybe hinder the guards if she jumps into a fight on her own, so she decided instead to help find the remaining civilians and bring them to safety. Here and there she also helped some of the guards by casting a small shield around them to prevent harm from buildings damaged by the furious ursa or blasted falling debris with a spell. As far as she could tell there has been no serious casualties so far, but the ursa was still inside of town, making it's way farther in.
Trixie was just about to move on down the road looking for ponies to help when she heard a scream coming from the direction she feared the most. After turning around she could see the ursa tower over the buildings, trying to batter away the pegasus guards with one of its paws while the other was resting on the roof of a small house. Said roof was slowly giving away to the weight of the ursa.
A part of Trixie urged her to turn around again and run away from the beast of her nightmares, but she knew there was somepony in need of help, and the guards were too busy with the ursa. Swallowing Trixie steeled her nerves and ran in the direction of the beast.
The closer she got to the building the ursa was resting its paw on she moved more careful to not draw its attention. She pricked up her ears to listen for any sign of the source of the scream she heard earlier, which wasn't an easy task with the ursa being so close. Finally she heard somepony cry from the very building that was about to be crashed by the beast.
Knowing that the building won't withstand much more she quickly moved to the front door and tried to open it without success. She turned around and with a strong buck of her legs she forced the door open. She heard a gasp from inside and rushed in to see the last pony she ever expected to see.
“Diamond Tiara? What are you doing here?”
The little filly was curled up under a table on the other side of the room, but upon seeing Trixie she stood up and rushed to her, wrapping her little legs around Trixie's. “I-I got separated from Silver Spoon a-and tried to hide, but then I couldn't open the door again,” she cried.
“Shh, it's okay. I will get you out of here.” At that moment Trixie heard the roof over them groan and knew there was not much more time. “Quick, get on my back!”
Diamond Tiara nodded and climbed on Trixie's back. As soon as she was safe and secure Trixie turned and ran out of the building. They crossed the street and soon after they heard the crashing of the collapsing building, accompanied with an angry roar of the ursa. She didn't stop until she was several streets away. She leaned against the wall, catching her breath.
“Miss Trixie!” Trixie turned her head and saw Shield Break running up to them. “Are you two alright? I saw you running from the building earlier.”
“It's good to see you, lieutenant,” Trixie replied. “We are both fine.”
Shield Break relaxed visibly. “That's good to hear, but what are you doing here at all?”
“I wanted to help, so I came back after I brought Sweetie Belle and Spike to safety.” Trixie nodded to Diamond Tiara on her back. “The filly was trapped in the building, so I rushed inside to get her out.”
Shield sighed. “I somehow knew you would not stay in safety, but-”
Before he could continue Diamond Tiara spoke up. “Have you seen my friend Silver Spoon? I got separated from her earlier.”
“Don't worry, little one,” Shield said with a smile. “We found her and brought her to safety. She didn't want to leave without you at first, but after I promised her we would do everything to find you she agreed. She should be at town hall with most of the citizens. One of our guards will escort you there to make sure you are safe.”
Just a few minutes later both Trixie and Shield Break were looking after an earth pony guard walking away in the direction of the town hall, Diamond Tiara on his back. The filly turned her head to look back at Trixie and waved her little hoof which Trixie replied. After they disappeared around a corner Trixie turned to the lieutenant.
“Is it really a good idea to spare one of your guards? I could have brought her back instead.”
“To be honest, this is the best our earth pony guards can do right now.” Upon seeing Trixie's questioning face he continued. “As you know the biggest advantage earth ponies got is there strength. But against an opponent like this they can't compete, the beast is just much stronger. They would just put themselves in danger. That's why the earth pony guards are searching for trapped civilians and escort them back to safety.”
“That makes sense,” Trixie replied.
“Yeah, but it's still not looking good.” He moved his hoof to point at the ursa a few streets down and the pegasus guards flying around it. “Our unicorns are not doing much better. Their spells either doesn't bother the ursa the slightest or they make it even more angry than it already is, which endangers the pegasi. They get most of its attention and with it most of its attacks. We are already down to one third of our pegasi, the rest got hit and are unable to fight.”
Trixie frowned. “That does truly not sound good. By now Spike should have sent a letter to the princess, but we don't know how long it will take for them to come to help. We need to stop the ursa from getting further into town.”
Shield Break nodded in agreement. “Do you think you can do anything against it? You are probably the strongest in town regarding magic at the moment and we need any help we can get.”
Trixie thought about that for a moment. It was true that she was one of the strongest after Twilight, but there was no way that she could truly vanquish an ursa, even if it is only a minor. But she only needs to buy some time until the princess arrives. “I could try to distract it with my illusions or even lure it away from town with them, but I don't know if they have any effect on the beast at all. That's always a problem with magical beings. The timberwolves were only confused for a few moments by illusions until they realized what was going on and ignored them, and an Ursa Minor is much stronger.”
Trixie looked deep into Shield Break' eyes. “But there is no reason not to try it. I will do anything to safe my home.”
He returned her gaze and smiled. 'Hard to believe that that is the same mare I heard so many negative stories and rumors about. They are either wrong or she truly has changed.'
“Very well, miss Trixie. Should we do anything as preparation for you?”
Trixie bit her lip. “I'm afraid it's necessary to call back the guards fighting right now, at least to some degree. If they attack the ursa while I try to get its attention it will probably focus on them instead and ignore everything else.”
Shield Break narrowed his eyes. "That will give the beast an opportunity to get even further into town."
"I know, but it will do so any way not much later," Trixie replied. "They don't need to retreat too far, only to get out of sight of the ursa so it's attention will be on my illusions. If it's not working they can go back into action as soon as possible."
Shield Break thought about Trixie's plan for a moment. She had a point. It won't be much longer until the ursa might hit their remaining pegasi, and the unicorns and earth ponies won't be able to hold out long on their own.
"Very well, I will inform the captain of the plan and inform the guards to retreat. If the captain does not agree, you will retreat yourself if the guards do not react."
Trixie nodded. "I need a few moments to find a good position. I will fire one of my fireworks if I'm ready."
Shield Break nodded and turned to inform his captain. After a few steps he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Miss Trixie?" Trixie, who had turned into another direction stopped in her tracks and looked back. "Be careful."
Trixie smirked. "I do my best." With this she continued on her way.
~*~
Minutes later Trixie stood on the roof of a building behind the ursa, overlooking the destruction the beast conjured. It was worse than it looked from below, but not as bad as she thought it would be.
She took a deep breath and braced herself for the task ahead of her. 'Come on, Trixie, you can do it!' After she calmed her nerves she fired her firework spell in the air and waited. At first the guards did not react and she thought that the captain did not give his approval, but just as she was about to get down to earth the pegasi left the ursa and flew away.
Trixie waited till the guards had left before she made her move against the beast which followed some of the retreating guards further into town.
At first, she conjured an illusion of a manticore like she did with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon months ago to grab the ursas attention, but only then did she truly realize the size difference of these two predators. The ursa only glanced at the manticore briefly before it stepped past it.
Her next attempt was creating an image of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with the same size as the beast. This time the ursa stopped and roared at the alicorns. But when its swipe with its paw went right through them it ignored them like the manticore before.
"Come on, something has to work," Trixie muttered to herself before she created the biggest illusion she could think of.
The time she had asked Twilight about what an Ursa Mayor truly looked like and got an illustration from her friend was the day she truly felt fear, but now she could use that knowledge to her advantage. She knew that she would scare many of those who see it, but it was the only thing she could think of.
Sweat ran down her face as she created the image of the one beast she feared above all which appeared with an ear shattering roar in front of the minor. She had to make a sacrifice in its visible form to create the roar, but she was sure it was necessary to get the minor to acknowledge it.
Sure enough, the Ursa Minor cowered on the ground with wide eyes in front of its angered mother. Trixie was sure she finally had it. She moved the illusion past the minor into the direction of the forest, hoping that the baby would follow its mother.
Sadly Trixie made the mistake of moving the illusion too close past the minor who tried to touch its mothers leg only for it to went right through. Confused the minor followed quickly and tried again for the same result. It sniffed at the leg only to realize that its "mother" has no scent.
Confusion turned into anger. With another roar it turned back to town.
"No! Nononono, please. I was so close," Trixie whined. Since it has lost its purpose she released the mother illusion and tried several other in her panic which where all ignored by the ursa. Slowly her panic turned into anger as well.
"Come on, you stupid excuse of a teddy bear! There must be something to get your attention!" she yelled at the top of her lungs with a stomp of her hoof.
In her anger Trixie unintentially released another spell, one that was not an illusion. She watched as a storm cloud formed above the ursa and grew darker until it released a lightning bolt, just like she did the last time on purpose to "vanquish" it. The ursa yelped in surprise and pain as the bolt hit its behind before it turned around to look for the one responsible.
It didn't take the beast long to spot Trixie at the top of the building now that there are no illusions around. It stared at Trixie for a minute while Trixie stared back.
Trixie gulped. "I guess that is a way to get your attention." The ursa glared at Trixie and roared before it approached the show mare. "Aaaand I think you recognized me from our last meeting which I take as my cue for my departure."
In a flash of light Trixie teleported from the roof down on the street and turned to run away as fast as she could, the ursa chasing her immediately.
'Well, at least now I can steer it away from town,' Trixie thought. 'Sadly the only way I can turn to is the Everfree Forest. Staying in the open makes me an easy target, and the trees will slow it down.'
With a plan in mind Trixie made her way into the forest, the ursa still on her tail. The trees were not much of a hindrance to the ursa, but as hoped they slowed the raging beast down slightly, buying Trixie precious moments.
But no matter how fast Trixie ran the ursa caught up to her several times, forcing Trixie to teleport some distance away. At that moment she was truly glad for Twilight's lessons. Without them she would already be done.
Another roar from behind her reminded Trixie that she still was in mortal danger. She was quickly running out of energy to teleport, and her legs were screaming at her in exhaustion while the sweat was running down her body, but she kept running.
Trixie looked over her shoulder to saw a swiping paw getting closer. She teleported out of reach at the last second only to stumble slightly when she reappeared.
Her vision was starting to get blurry as her exhaustion started to catch up with her. She shook her head, but she only made it worse.
Another roar from behind her drew Trixie's attention. When she looked back again she saw the next swipe coming. She tried to teleport again, but her magic fizzled out without doing anything. Trixie got hit by the ursas paw swipe and was hurled through the air with a scream.
With an amazing amount of luck Trixie did not hit any trees, but upon landing her momentum carried her further away as she rolled down a small slope. Pain flooded her body when she finally came to a stop. She did her best to stay still to catch her breath.
She could hear the ursa stomping closer so she finally tried to get to her hooves again only to fall down with a yelp again as she felt pain in her leg. She looked down to see her leg bend like no leg should be able to.
Trixie could not walk any longer as the ursa drew closer with every second. She also felt her exhaustion slowly won over her body as her vision blurred even more.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a big bush not far away. Gathering her last strength Trixie crawled slowly forward and hid herself in the bush before her eyes slowly closed and she was consumed by darkness.