//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 - Ominous Visions // Story: Off The Mark // by Goldfur //------------------------------// Trixie and Twilight had quickly worked out a schedule for sharing the duties required of the diarchs, with both attending to some royal business. Night Court had only been held on two occasions during the brief time that I had been in Equestria, but it was now a full four hours each evening Monday to Friday. Twilight took those more often than Trixie because on slow nights she got the chance to bone up on Equestrian law, research tax reforms, and continue her studies into magic. Ironically, she also took some lessons from Trixie. Having come to terms with her defeat in the challenges, Twilight, as typical of the mare, wanted to learn how to better inspire ponies and exactly how we had pulled off the stunts. She was very impressed at the artifacts that we had created and complimented us. With her ego stroked, Trixie was happy to talk more about her particular skills. It was awesome watching the two bond over applications of magic and illusion that neither had considered before. Trixie also guided Twilight through situations where the new princess would motivate and entertain various audiences — everything from a puppet theater for foals to a pep talk in the Canterlot Comets’ locker room. The team still lost, but Trixie chalked it up as a win in the development of public speaker Twilight. The new Princess of Friendship was working hard at living up to her title and, in return, Trixie dropped the use of the honorifics of Queen and Empress to show her new humility… most of the time. Twilight merely rolled her eyes now when Trixie went a bit over the top. The purple alicorn had started to grok the stage magician, which made my life a whole lot easier. Twilight gladly stepped into the role Celestia used to occupy as Trixie’s teacher of unicorn magic. It made me smile to see the former showmare put so much effort into improving her skills. While she would never reach Twilight’s level, that didn’t stop Trixie from practicing at every opportunity. I did have to complain to ‘teach’ about her student transforming every single item in my suite into teacups. Twilight didn’t let Trixie go to sleep that night until she mastered the counterspell and I had a place to lay my head again. The teacup motif on the pillows and sheets was a bit odd, but after all, I didn’t have to look at them in the dark. I was just happy that my friendship with Twilight had not been soured by my support of Trixie. I certainly was welcomed when I paid my next visit to Ponyville where Twilight still chose to reside for those days that she did not serve Night Court duty. Her friends were also glad to see me again – perhaps a little too glad now that I had my eyes opened to the realities of pony society. My Bachelor Spidey Sense kept tingling constantly when either Rarity or Fluttershy was around, although what they saw in a pseudo-pegasus who couldn’t even fly well, I don’t know. At least Spike was just happy to see me and the comics that I brought him. A firm routine was gradually established after a few weeks. Sometimes a little too routine. My mind was wandering during a particularly dull session and I almost missed Trixie addressing me. “And what do you think on the matter, Grand Vizier?” I blinked, bringing myself back to reality. I was standing in my accustomed spot to the right of Princess Trixie’s throne (or was she in a Duchess mood today? I could never keep track). Lately, Day Court was full of endless cases of noble ponies and commoners complaining about trivial little details of their lives I could hardly relate to and rarely understood. When I had brought this to the mare’s attention, she simply recommended I flip a coin to guide my advice to the throne, as her rulings were more often than not decided in a similar manner. I had discovered the true reason why she always wanted me by the throne when I had the misfortune to run into the pony on the losing end of my virtual coin flip two days after Day Court had ended. “Passing the buck”, or in her street parlance, “The Mark Left Holding the Bag For The Coppers To Find”, was an area of her expertise that translated well to her new duties. In my most bored and condescending tone, I invoked, “I find that I have no wisdom to dispense in this case, Oh Imperial Highness.” In other words, stick it, Your Worship. Her unamused stare lingered on me for a few moments without effect. Momma didn’t raise no fool. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look down to her lap and reach for her Golden Bit of Destiny. “Your Highness!” gasped a guard running into the throne room. “Come ~pant!~ quickly!” I thought he and his full plate mail looked familiar, and then I recognized him. It was the guard from the Portal Room. Mentally, I kicked myself for settling for Trixie’s habit of calling everyone ‘guard’ or ‘soldier’ or ‘lackey.’ Actually, I guess the last one was mostly for me. “Calm yourself! Catch your breath and then explain what is more important than the welfare of My Little Ponies here in Day Court.” The guard shook his head as his sides heaved. “There is ~pant!~ new activity ~pant! pant!~ in one of the rooms!” I sidled up to… wait, can I still say that? ... moved up to Trixie’s side and whispered, “Portal Room!” into her ear. “Day Court is adjourned! Attend me, Jafar!” Trixie sprang off the throne in a dead run. I galloped after her, glowering. I should never have told her that name. Never ever! Thanks to my longer legs, I had almost caught up to her by the time we got to the stairs. To my amazement, a blue aura engulfed me and carried me safely to the bottom. Trixie let me run the rest of the way although I did call out ‘Thanks’ to her which got no reply. We skidded to a stop in front of the door and the unicorn’s horn lit followed by the door… which remained closed. “He locked it! Of C-O-U-R-S-E he just had to lock it!” She stared up the hallway and started tapping a front hoof rapidly against the tile. “Quiet!” I ordered. “The Great…” she said before she heard it too. A tinkling, almost sizzling noise was faintly heard from the other side of the door. Several seconds later, the doubly-winded guard ran up. “A thousand ~pant!~ pardons my—” “Just give me the key, already,” interrupted Trixie . The keys were levitated in a green aura then grabbed in her blue field after which the guard collapsed in the hallway. In short order, the door was open and Trixie and I went through. We saw immediately what the guard had been talking about. One of the twisted frames on the floor was warping like taffy and shards of glass danced through and around it. A second, darker frame and slightly pinker glass, doubtless from its own shattered mirror, also bumped and moved, but not as vigorously. Everything was covered in a rippling, clear field that made it look like the area around the frames was underwater. “Do you know what is happening?” I asked. “This is temporal magic, I’m certain. Trixie doesn’t have the skill Twilight Sparkle has in these matters. Trixie does not want to interfere unless absolutely necessary.” Suddenly, the lighter frame and clear glass jumped upright, casting the darker frame upwards into the ceiling where it then crashed to the ground. The pink-hued glass shards exploded in all directions. I raised a protective hoof but a shield thrown up by Trixie stopped the fragments. The now whole lighter-wooden frame did not appear to hold glass at all, but instead slowly whirling clouds that impossibly stretched into the distance. After a minute, I saw the fuzzy silhouette of a tall human woman with blonde hair approach down the hallway of clouds. She dipped her head as she stepped through, and what could only be Celestia emerged. She raised her head and spread her wings, nearly knocking over one of the other mirrors. “Ahhh! That feels so good!” She stepped a few paces away from the portal, smiled at me like she knew who I was, then beamed down at Trixie. “Hey! Nice crown!” Trixie didn’t have a chance to speak as another woman approached the boundary of the portal, this time with dark hair. Luna stepped out and spread her wings even before she was all the way through. Perhaps forewarned by Celestia’s entrance, a blue field caught the adjacent mirror that had nearly toppled as a result. Luna turned and looked that way. “Oops!” Then forward to the source of the magic. “Nice catch! You have no idea what it’s like to not be able to feel or stretch your wings for ages.” She smiled. “I see that being a member of Canterlot Royalty has filled out your figure agreeably in our absence!” Only then did I notice their accessories. Along with their tiaras, breastplates, and fancy metal horse slipper-things, they both had bulging saddlebags and… peculiar headgear. Celestia had a white and red baseball cap that was familiar to me, and Luna wore a foam finger declaring “#1” proudly on her horn. Trixie apparently noticed at the same time. “What fiendish monster held you captive with those alien nullifiers on your heads? How did you escape? Do you need help removing them?” The Royal Sisters laughed. “Oh, Trixie,” began Celestia, “you remind me more and more of Twilight.” She levitated the ‘I (heart) N J’ cap off of her head. “No, this is a… souvenir of our time in Mark’s world.” I started. She smiled again. “Yes, Mark Wells, we are aware that you came to Equestria unwittingly.” Apparently, I was getting used to the place. Of all the reactions I could have had, I chose to poke the blue unicorn in the ribs. “See? It’s not that hard to get my name right.” Trixie gaped at the newly returned diarchs. “So Marked Bells was right. You did abandon Equestria to go shopping.” Celestia gasped. “Nonsense! Completely untrue!” Both alicorns’ eyes went wide and their wings ruffled a bit in apparent agitation. Luna picked up the conversation. “If you must know, our mother asked us to attend her on a matter of extreme importance, and time was of the essence so we could not delay!” She then burped in a very non-princess-like manner, which got her a glare from her sister. During her explanation, when Luna had finally gotten her wings under control and re-furled, she inadvertently pulled up the flap of one saddlebag. A hint of gold and green was visible until the flap fell back down again. Trixie turned to look at me. “So what is your 'B.S. Meter' telling you?” I snorted. “Everything they are saying is technically true but they are so full of it, I'm surprised grass isn't growing everywhere they walk.” The sisters raised their heads up high, but sweaty foreheads and darting looks told me volumes. “I think the answer to what they were really doing is in Luna's saddlebag.” Luna snapped a wing protectively over the offending item and sidestepped away. “That is none of your business! We have nothing to hide!” Trixie strode up to her with a smile. “Then you'll have no problem showing it to me. Also... months of holding Equestria together. You. Owe. Me.” Luna trembled then looked at her sister pleadingly. It was in vain because Celestia was hiding her head rather adorably under a wing. The Night Princess sighed then pulled her feathery appendage out of the way. Trixie lifted the flap with her magic and levitated the item out, now revealed to be a trophy – a gold chalice on top supported by four green, malachite-pattern columns. The blue unicorn frowned then floated the object over to me. “I cannot understand this writing.” I squinted as I read aloud the tiny typeface on the much-too-small plaque at the bottom of the trophy. “Centennial Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. Presented to Celestia Faust, Luna Faust, and Lauren Faust. Three Woman Team. 102 hot dogs in 10 minutes.” Trixie and I gaped at the sisters. I swore I heard two “thunks” from our chins hitting the floor. Trixie screeched, “You both ate MEAT?!” I yelled, “102 hot dogs between the three of you! Holy crap, that's INCREDIBLE!” Celestia looked anywhere but at both of us. “Meat by-products actually. There is a government allowed percentage of sawdust, animal bone, and even insect matter in the sausage casings.” “Well, that's true,” I mused aloud. Trixie started hopping up and down like an over-caffeinated chipmunk. “I don't care! How could you two of all ponies abandon Your Little Ponies for months to go off and eat meat!” Luna turned to her, delicately removing the foam finger from her horn with one forehoof. “Young one, do not be so upset over nothing. Remember how old we are. When we were young, eating meat was a delicacy. It's only a few thousand years of culture that has made this a taboo practice.” The crown slipped off Trixie's head then bounced and rolled away. I did not think she noticed. Celestia brought her head out from under her wing and looked kindly at the unicorn. “And when our mother...” She turned to look at me briefly. “She manages a trailer park in Florida.” I nodded. My old landlady might be renting a spot from her right now. The white alicorn looked back to Trixie. “...she asked us to enter the annals of immortality by getting our names engraved on the Hall of Fame Wall for the one-hundred-year-anniversary event!” She sighed. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity . How could we refuse?” Trixie snapped out of her funk and started jumping up and down again. “But you're already immortal!” “Just think of it as quality family time, then.” I spoke up. “But why did it take you over three months to return?” Both sets of immortal eyes fixed on me, which was more disconcerting than I want to admit. Luna answered. “Because of you, Mark Wells.” I blinked. Celestia spoke up. “We arrived on July 2nd, stepping into the antique store in the dead of night. Our mother picked us up in her Winnebago and we were off. Imagine our surprise when the mirror had been sold by the time we returned. It took some effort to sweet talk the proprietor—” Luna spoke up. “I don’t think that is the right term, but it was enjoyable. Only eighty-years-old and most spirited!” She smirked, looking at her sister. “You, cradle-robber, you!” Celestia rolled her eyes. “…anyway, we… gained access to your house—” I scowled. “Broke down my front door.” Luna moved out of her sister’s field of view, nodded vigorously, and silently mouthed “back door,” all while pointing an accusing hoof at Celestia, who continued without acknowledgment. “…found the mirror, and were unable to pass through. The two of us were ultimately able to restore the gateway by using our always-present link to the celestial bodies around Equestria, but there was a cost.” Luna moved up alongside her sister. “In simple terms, the gateway is constructed by folding space-time. When the connection is lost, new material must be added. The results are… unpredictable. Only our expertise with temporal magic allowed us to return within a few months of leaving. In fact, we are still looking for one of Star Swirl’s classmates whom we believe will reemerge from one of the mirrors in this room in the next few millennia.” Celestia finished. “…upon which time he will be given a ‘B–’ in his ‘Constructing Extra-Dimensional Gateways’ class and discover all of his other class credits have expired.” “But why didn’t your mother just buy it and keep the mirror with her?” The Day Alicorn frowned. “Let me repeat… Florida… trailer park.” I silently made the ‘Ohhhhh’ sound with my lips. She continued. “Truly much safer in an antique store where everything was priced out of reach, or at least so we thought.” The Patient and Fairly Peeved Trixie finally got her voice back. “Do you two have any idea what Trixie has gone through to keep your precious Little Ponies from rioting? All so you can get some alien trinkets!? This show is over! The stage is closed!” She galloped out, followed quickly by Celestia offering apologies and levitating Trixie’s crown behind her. I brought my gaze back to the Night Princess, who look fixedly at me. I could not read her expression. “Pleased to meet you, Your Majes… uh, Your Highness. My name is Mark Wells.” She continued to stare, not even blinking. “…but you already knew that.” Silence. I was starting to feel uncomfortable as a gradual sense of wrongness began to creep over me. “Ummm… is there something you want to tell me, Princess?” She seemed to look right through me a few seconds more and I suppressed a tremor that wanted to start in my legs. Suddenly she blinked. “Don’t you think it’s about time you woke up, Mark Wells?” I opened my eyes and brought my head up with a gasp. After falling out of bed and untangling my legs from the infernal blanket, I trotted for the Celestial Suite. After a few steps, I turned around, went back through my room to the bathroom (priorities, mind you), then, feeling much better, went off again to find Trixie. The guards nodded to me and allowed me to knock on the double doors with the engraved sun motif. On the fourth set of knocks, I heard “go away!” on the other side. I started tapping a tune on the door, whispering, “shave-and-a-hair-cut…” Now I heard “Go away, Park Bells!” After only three more different jingles (I filed away the “Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too?” one as being the most annoying and therefore effective), the Rumpled and Cranky Trixie opened the door, wearing a sheer nightgown so large it must have been owned by the room’s previous resident. She looked at me blearily. “What is so important that you need to awaken the Great and … and…” She yawned. “…Sleepy Trixie and could not wait until morning?” “Trixie! I had this weird dream about you and I!” She gave me a skeptical look. Disappointment virtually dripping off of her next words. “Oh. Trixie has heard that one before.” I shook my head. “No! Not like that! Celestia and Luna were in it, too!” She blinked once. “Trixie has heard that one, also.” “Look! It was not like a normal dream. I need to go over it with you before I forget all the details. It might be important! Maybe our first clue!” She gave me a mistrustful look that lasted for some time. She glanced up and waved off the guards who were looming their shadows over me. She turned around. “Very well. The Patient and Forgiving Princess of All Equestria will listen to your rantings. Give us a moment to restore our beauty.” When she emerged from the Royal Water Closet, she looked exactly as she had previously. I knew better than to point this out, though. She sat across from me on cushions in the center of the room. I gave her the Cliff Notes version and awaited her reaction. She frowned, looking at the floor as she mulled over my words. “Trixie is sorry for almost turning you away and doubting your intentions. You were not, in fact, overcome with passion for our Royal Form as we had suspected.” I knew a trap when I heard it, so I just kept silent. She smirked a bit and looked up at me, then her face took a more serious expression. She tapped the floor with a forehoof as she thought. “Was there anything in your dream that was new information? Something we can independently verify that you did not already know before you went to sleep? Perhaps the Royal Sisters’ form and voices or that their mother was named Faust?” I shook my head. “Those were part of Twilight Sparkle’s ‘What Every Alien Creature Needs to Know About Equestria’ audio-visual presentation.” I paused. “Did you know that the title slide had ‘Version 12.1’ on it? How many times has she given it?” Trixie nodded. “You are doubtless the first. I have always known the Princess of Friendship to be… over-prepared.” “More like O-C-D,” I mumbled. “What’s that?” “Nothing.” I scowled. “Nothing new in the details from my world either. Does time magic look like the magic that is used to fix a broken window pane?” “Ah, you have seen Rainbow Dash’s dramatic entrances, then. Yes, the appearance is the same. What about the trophy. Have you seen it previously?” I nodded. “Last year’s contest was televised.” “I will take that as a yes.” We lapsed into silence that stretched out for some time. The unicorn sighed. “Well, we still have work tomorrow, so let’s get some sleep...” She glared at me. “…in our own beds.” I raised two hooves defensively. “No argument!” She blinked and seemed to regard me for a moment before nodding to the door. When I was in the hallway, she spoke once more. “The behavior of Luna at the end of your dream is the greatest anomaly. She is the Alicorn of the Night and the Keeper of Dreams. Did she tell you anything that could have a second meaning?” I thought back and shook my head. “And what did she say to me?” I shivered and started slowly backing away, alarm bells going off in my head. “Ahhh, nothing that I can remember—” The mare held up a hoof and closed her eyes. “Luna’s ways are secretive and circumspect. If there is any chance we can gather a hidden message from her words, we owe it to them to try.” I shuffled in place a bit. “Well, she said you had filled out during the time you were ruling Equestria and that you shouldn’t make a big deal out of nothing.” I was on the receiving end of a very focused stare. I smiled sheepishly. Her horn lit up— From the floor, curled up in a ball, I groaned. Yep. Any doubt getting hit there felt different when I was a stallion was gone now. The amused snorts, brief as they were, from the two guards were not helping. I heard the offender’s voice from her doorway. “And that, Lark Dwells, is what we call in show business ‘the punchline.’ I hope to have imparted to you the wisdom on when to tell a mare the truth and when to use your fool head.” I heard the door close followed by steps approaching me. One of the guards used his foreleg to help me to my hooves. I grimaced (closest I could get to a smile in the circumstances) in appreciation and he nodded, returning to his post. The next morning, I limped into Trixie’s Sun Room, where she was already starting on pastries and coffee. Wincing with each step, I made a show of just barely reaching the chair across from her before collapsing. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Such acting would get you thrown off the stage, even in the cheapest venues.” I raised my voice a couple of octaves in my best falsetto. “It’s all your fault. I’m a permanently changed stallion now!” The unicorn nearly had coffee shoot out her nose. Instead, she brought a hoof up to her mouth and coughed while fighting back a smile. After a bit, she cleared her throat and looked up. “Almost humorous, but no more convincing than before.” Her tone of voice told a different story. I resumed my normal speech. “Ah, well. Just trying to garner a bit of sympathy.” She smirked. “Fortunately, I had mine surgically removed with my tonsils. Eat up. We have a big day ahead of us.” ‘We?’ I thought. She didn’t care to elaborate. I decided she would clarify in good time and besides, I was not in the mood to play her mind games this morning. After some apple juice and a fantastic eclair, I spoke up. “I had one more thought about last night.” Trixie raised an eyebrow at me. “Really, Bark Swells? I didn’t realize you were ‘into’ that kind of treatment. I can recommend some professional mares who can satisfy your cravings for—” I broke in. “OK, I won’t tell you then.” We sipped our drinks for several seconds before she gave in with a lazy wave of her hoof, inviting me to continue. “Have you ever heard of Information Theory?” I saw her ‘game face’ take over. She was fully engaged in the conversation now. “No. Explain.” I leaned forward. “The basic principle is that information has an exact equivalent in energy. For example, if someone is talking to you face-to-face, they can impart a certain amount of information over a given time. Now imagine they are a football… uh… a city block away. They would have to either put in much more energy or settle for slower delivery of information.” She nodded. “I’m with you so far.” “Now imagine someone on one of the stars in the sky. How slow would they have to talk to be comprehensible?” The unicorn frowned at me. “The location of the stars that Luna moves in and out of constellations is her domain. I do not rightly know exactly how far away they are.” I tried to wrap my brain around that one and just failed utterly. Maybe something else? “How about the moon?” Her expression brightened. “Ah! Yes, it would be exceedingly hard to understand even a single word spoken over a large stretch of time, or would require as much power as the Two Sisters could summon together.” “Now how much information could be sent from a universe away?” She looked downwards, lost in thought. “I see. They might be able to make a connection but not be able to send a single word or even a thought.” She looked up. “That both gives us hope and takes it away. Perhaps Luna did contact you, but it would be unreasonable to think she could do more than make the lightest impression on your primitive mind.” For the sake of the team, I decided to let that one go. “Exactly.” The blue unicorn narrowed her eyes in thought until she smirked and looked at me. “You should have realized it was a dream as soon as you found yourself galloping, and faster than myself.” I nodded and returned the grin. “And especially when you were so thoughtful as to levitate me down those steps and protect me from the flying glass with your shield.” She looked away and did that rapid swiveling of the ears thing again. After a bit, she got them under her control. Trixie drummed her hoof on the marble tabletop for a few more moments, then stood up. “Very well. Continue to inform me of any similar dreams, regardless of the hour. Trixie promises not to castrate you in a similar manner.” I winced and covered myself unconsciously. “Don’t you mean ‘castigate’?” She looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Don’t they mean the same thing?” I shook my head. “ ‘Castrate’ means to turn a stallion into a gelding.” She whispered the words for a few moments before her eyes flew open wide. “Oh! Sorry! Trixie apologizes for implying… um… that.” She turned away with a blush. She coughed a couple of times then regained her composure. “No. That punishment was possibly the first thing outlawed by the Sisters when they took power. Trixie got the words mixed up because those two words you just said are just… not used anymore.” “I don’t so much care whether the words are used, so much as whether the deeds are done!” “Believe Trixie – she has no desire to do that to you.” That was extremely reassuring. At least, I think so… Today was one of those days when the schedules of both princesses overlapped. Twilight held court that morning, but due to the need to conference with Equestria’s government ministers, both she and Trixie would be spending the afternoon in discussions with them about some changes to the law. I turned up at the throne room about an hour before the end of Twilight’s Day Court session, but I just took a seat alongside some nobles who were attending. Some nodded politely to me while several studiously ignored me. I was fine by that – it helped sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. The petitioners were of the variety that Trixie and I had dealt with on a daily basis, and very little was different from the way we handled them. Raven Inkwell served to advise Twilight just as she had been doing for us, but that had been her day job long before Trixie had ascended to the throne. The purple alicorn had another advisor for the Night Court though. Even Raven needed some life of her own. When Day Court was formally closed, Twilight wandered over to me when the throne room was cleared. “Come to spy on me?” she asked with a grin. “The G&P just wants to keep you on your toes… er… hooves. That doesn’t translate too well. What the heck. Actually, seeing as I seem to be the unofficial moderator between you two, I thought I’d see how you handle things for a change.” Twilight arched an eyebrow at me. “Oh? And how do you rate me?” she asked with a smirk. I shrugged. “Different styles but same results. You both want the best for Equestria and its ponies, but you go about it in diverse ways.” As we headed towards the dining room for lunch with Trixie, Twilight said, “Heh! Once upon a time, I would never have thought that she and I would think so much in parallel. I’m glad that I brought her to Celestia and asked her to teach Trixie, although I never foresaw anything like this happening.” “Life tends to throw you unexpected twists. I never expected to be advising two pony princesses. For that matter, I never expected to be a pony!” “And you neatly one-upped me,” Twilight admitted. “I’m still working on trying to restore the portal mirrors, you know?” I nodded. “I’m not expecting miracles, Twilight. I’ve just been a bit homesick lately.” “Understandable, but I hope we’ve been making things bearable for you?” I chuckled. “Between Trixie, you, and your friends, I rarely get the chance to wallow in self-pity. After all, I got myself a good job in a palace with a new best friend for a valet, chef-prepared meals, and a palace suite that rivals a five-star hotel. I’m hardly suffering.” “Even that doesn’t compensate for being parted from your friends and famileeeeeeek!” I skidded to a halt and looked back to where Twilight was and gaped. A huge thorny black vine had snared the purple alicorn, wrapping around her barrel and dragging her away. Her horn flared and then fizzled, and despite her earth pony strength, she failed to break its hold. I broke out of my stupor and charged to her assistance. I managed to stop the vine’s progress by grabbing under the base of one wing on her back and hooking the other foreleg under a shoulder. Just when I thought I could feel her start to slip out of the vine’s hold, a second vine swatted me and tore her out of my grasp. I heard something bounce along the hallway as I raised my head, only to see more vines bar my way. Even as I struggled to get past the impediments, Twilight was dragged out of my sight, leaving only a few feathers behind indicating that she was ever there. I heard another scream, this time from the direction that we had been heading. Trixie! I stopped trying to fight the vines and charged up the corridor to the dining room, passing Twilight’s tiara along the way. There I witnessed another vine had ensnared the unicorn mare, mostly by her wings. She, too, was attempting to use her magic to free herself but with as little success as Twilight. Trixie spotted me and yelled, “Help Trixie, Dark Smells!” I leaped to her side and tried to unfasten her artificial wings, figuring that it would be the best way to free her. The notice-me-not spell on the harness that served to make the fake wings seem a natural part of the blue unicorn made it difficult, and the vine had started dragging her away like Twilight. Mostly by touch, I managed to undo the buckles, and Trixie wrenched her hind legs free. If a vine could seem confused, this one was, but it coiled possessively around the wings and dragged them away without the mare attached. I stopped to help Trixie up and by the time I turned my attention back to the offending intruder, it was gone. I dashed back out of the dining room but did not see anything, so I went back to Trixie. “What in heaven’s name was that?” I demanded. “Trixie has no idea whatsoever, Hark Bells. She is just grateful that that your attempts to free her were successful. Those were Trixie’s favorite pair of wings though!” “Never mind the wings – Twilight was taken by those vines too!” “No!” she gasped. “Where did those vines come from?” I gaped at her in horror. “You don’t know anything about them?” Silently, Trixie shook her head. Oh, buck. If the locals didn’t know anything about those vines, what the hell could I do for Twilight? # # # # # # # # #