//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Alone // Story: True Magic // by CodeMonkey //------------------------------// True Magic Chapter 1 - Alone A cold wind whipped through the trees as night descended on the Everfree Forest. The light of Luna’s moon could scarcely penetrate the thick forest canopy, leaving the ground stained in darkness. The rustling of the trees was the only sound the lone azure mare could hear as she wandered aimlessly through the unnatural forest, her head hung in grief. It had only been a few hours since her home, her career, her image, and her life had all been destroyed. The once Great and Powerful Trixie had been humiliated, shown up by some Ponyville nobody! It wouldn’t be long before all of Equestria knew that she was a fake and a liar. 'How did it come to this?' Trixie thought. 'I used to be famous, praised for my spectacular talents. Ponies would come from all around to witness my unmatched magical abilities. Why, I was known as the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria for Celestia’s sake!' A freezing gust blew past her, causing Trixie to shake uncontrollably as the icy wind chilled her to the bone. She hunched down waiting for the surge to pass by, her teeth chattering as her silvery mane blew over her. This is all her fault. The gust passed and she stood, head held high, with anger in her violet eyes. 'If it wasn’t for that untalented nobody, I would still be great and powerful. I would still have that entire town eating out of my hooves!' She carried on along the small forest path, running the whole scenario through her mind again and again, remembering every moment that she was made to look a fool. The more she thought about it, the more she came to believe she was wrong. A lump formed in her throat as her rage turned back into sorrow. Her expression drooped when it crossed her mind that she brought this misery upon herself. Trixie stopped suddenly as her stomach began to growl; it hadn’t occurred to her how long it had been since she last ate. She gripped her stomach with a fore-hoof, hanging her head once again with misery in her eyes as she thought, Maybe…maybe it’s not her fault. Maybe my lies got me into this. Cold, thirsty, and now hungry, Trixie looked around, observing the predicament she had put herself in, 'Oh, why did I run in here?' She looked behind her to see that the path she had traversed was gone, swallowed up by the darkness that surrounded her. Turning forward, she saw the path ahead looked just as bleak. An owl screeched in the distance, startling her, fear of being lost slowly building within. She removed her hoof from her stomach and cautiously pressed forward, looking around frantically for a way out of this nightmare. 'What have I done?' she continued thinking, looking around at the eerie forest that seemed to slowly close in, her pace progressively hastening. 'Why did I have to be so boastful with my act; calling myself great and powerful when I can’t do much else besides a few simple parlor tricks.' Tears began welling up in her eyes, and she imagined the trees growing monstrous faces that growled and roared at her as she passed. She was completely lost and deep down she felt that she may never leave this forsaken place alive. 'I’m the only one to blame...' Her brisk pace developed into a full gallop. After what seemed like an eternity of galloping through the dark, a small clearing came into view. Ignoring all else, she sprinted into the clearing, breathing heavily as she slid to a stop. It was less claustrophobic and more vivid than the forest path had been. Thick, interwoven trees surrounded the area, making the glade appear to have walls. Trixie looked up to the welcome sight of the silvery moon and the shining stars through the large opening in the treetops. The added light and the wide open sky calmed her nerves, but her conscience was still heavy with doubt. She looked around and saw a small pool of water at the center of the glade, a joyous sight to one so parched. As she approached the pool, the reflection of the night sky was clearly visible on the still water’s surface. She paid it no mind, at first, when her reflection appeared on the surface and instead quickly arched her head down and began gulping water from the pool as fast as she could. The liquid was so cool and crisp as it ran down her dry throat. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d something so refreshing to drink. After a while, Trixie raised her head from the pool and gave a refreshed sigh of relief. She looked up to the moon again and wondered, 'Am I as great and powerful as I say I am?' Trixie could feel tears burning in her eyes once more as she looked back down at the pool, to see her reflection staring back at her. What she saw in the pool, though, was not a great and powerful unicorn, but a pathetic shadow of a pony. Her own reflection was alien to her; all that she really was, looking back at her, taunting her. As she stared at the creature in the reflection her sadness turned to hate and rage once more before she violently swatted at the water. "They’re wrong!" she shouted. "I am powerful! No pony upstages me! They’ll see, she’ll see," she stood up on her hind legs flinging her hooves into the air and shouting at the night sky. "All of Equestria will see that I am the Great and Powerful Tri--" her speech was stopped suddenly as a loud howl broke the quiet of the night. Her heart skipped a beat as the dreaded sound was joined by another, then another. Time seemed to slow as the sound of breathing and growling approached from behind. Trixie froze still, standing in place, as the sounds grew louder and more numerous. Her breathing hastened and sweat began forming on her forehead. As much as she didn’t want to think about what was behind her, she slowly turned her head. Her fears were confirmed; looking back at her from the shadows of the undergrowth were numerous sets of glowing yellow eyes set in large wooden heads. 'Ti-timber wolves!' she thought, trying to remain as calm as possible to avoid provoking them. There had to be at least ten of them closing in around her, approaching from the opening through which she had entered. She slowly turned back, her eyes desperately looking for a way to escape. As her gaze darted from one end of the glade to the other she saw a small break in the trees, just big enough for her to fit through. She closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths, then, like a shot, made a mad dash for the opening, the wolves barking and snarling as they gave chase. As she ran, Trixie felt one of them bite at her tail as it waved behind her. Her heart raced and her lungs burned as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Fear was the only thing letting her keep this frantic pace. When she neared the small opening, Trixie jumped as far as she could, barely making it through and tumbling as she landed on the other side. A loud crunch sounded behind her as the timber wolf crashed into the opening. She stood once again, panting rapidly, and looked back briefly. Relief spread across her face, to see the creature stuck halfway through the opening, snarling and struggling to get through the tiny hole. Her comfort was short lived, as the branches framing the hole began to crack under the wolves' struggle. The branches keeping the timber wolves on the other side of the wall, started to snap one by one in an almost rhythmic pattern. Trixie let out a scream and turned to run once again, just as the last of the branches shattered to dust. Like water from a flood gate, the timber wolves poured out of the opening, resuming the chase. The area ahead was thick with trees forming a tunnel-like path, with no where she could go where the timber wolves couldn’t follow. The only thing to do was run. The wolves barked behind her as she ran as fast as her hooves could carry her. She dared not look back to see how close they were, but could swear she could feel their breath. The hollow soon opened up, allowing the mare to move unrestricted. Trixie began running around every tree and under every low hanging branch she could find in an attempt to put some distance between her and the hungry predators. Before long, the forest grew dense with trees and undergrowth, making it more difficult for the wolves to continue the chase as Trixie slipped through small breaks in the thicket. The sound of the barks soon sounded more distant. Trixie hoped she had lost them. She rallied her courage and glanced back to see that the timber wolves were nowhere to be found. She cracked a smile and let out a sigh of relief as she turned back, only to see a wolf twice her height on the path ahead. She attempted to stop, putting all her hooves as firmly on the ground as she could. Trixie dragged against the soft dirt slowing her to a stop right in front of the beast. Before she had a chance to react, the timber wolf raised a foreleg and swiped at her, digging its claw across the side of her cheek. The sheer force of the attack sent her flying into the bushes off to the side, and her body slid as she struck the ground. Fearing for her life, Trixie quickly scrabbled to her hooves and started galloping as fast as she could again, her lungs burning with each ragged breath as sweat stung her eyes and the cut on her face. The sound of the timber wolf crashing through the bushes behind her like a death knell. Warm blood began to trickle down from the wound on her face as she hurried on in a blind panic. The wound throbbed painfully, but she knew it was nothing compared to what the wolf would do, should it catch her. In her frantic dash for her life, the ground seemed to disappear from under her and she found herself sliding down a steep ravine of mud and twigs. Halfway down the slope she lost her balance and began to tumble and roll uncontrollably, hitting the base of the slope and rolling to a stop into a small dimly lit valley. Dizzy and disoriented, she slowly got to her hooves and tried moving again, but the forest spun, and her legs felt like jelly as she tried to push forward. Trixie struggled to make some progress, but her hoof caught something hard, causing her to trip and fall to the mud and dirt. She flipped onto her back, her vision slowly returning to normal as she saw a pair of menacing yellow eyes approaching, accompanied by deep growls. Out of breath to scream and panting heavily, Trixie used her hind legs to slowly slide backwards, away from the monster that was steadily approaching. Her tired, horrified eyes fixated on the wolf as the hopelessness of her situation overwhelmed her. She was going to die. She was going to die here, alone, dirty, a laughingstock. Tears streamed through the mud and blood on her face. The timber wolf hunched down, preparing to pounce on its helpless prey. 'Is this it then?' Trixie thought. 'Am I to become just another snack to these animals?' Her breathing slowed; her eyes closed, not wanting to see her imminent death approach. Although her body had all but given up trying to resist the inevitable, her mind still fought. 'No…no, I won’t give up so easily!' She could hear the timber wolf leap into the air. 'I refuse to die!' Time slowed to a crawl as something deep down inside her sparked and blazed to life. Her body felt strong, reinvigorated by a new surge of energy. Her mind calmed and cleared, her fear and fatigue vanishing. In an instant, strange symbols appeared in her mind and morphed into letters, before combining into a single word. Trixie had never seen such a word before, but in some way it seemed so familiar. Just looking upon it gave her a tremendous sensation that she had never felt before. She felt… powerful. It leapt unbidden to her lips, unwillingly shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Atterio!' When she spoke, the word disappeared from her mind and she could feel the energy that had built up inside explode and drain away from her. A brief howl of pain echoed around her before being silenced abruptly. The entire event happened in a fraction of a second, yet it seemed so much longer. She remained still, awaiting death. After a moment, Trixie cracked an eye open to see the timber wolf had disappeared. Opening both of her eyes, she cautiously stood up. A scan of the area revealed no sign of the creature that had been about to destroy her a second ago. Had she died and had yet to realize it or did the beast just vanish into thin air, she took a step forward as she continued to look around and felt something strange on the ground. Looking down, under her hoof, was a small gray pile of what looked like dust. It smoldered and smelled like a campfire, bits glowing like cinders in a fireplace. 'Did I--,' Trixie had little time to ponder what had transpired when a howl sounded close by. Before she could react to the horrible sound, timber wolves leaped from the darkness before her, snarling and baring their jagged wooden teeth. Her dread returned as she began backing away. “S-s-stay back, I’m warning you,” Trixie threatened with woe in her voice. The unconvincing tone did not deter the timber wolves as they continued to approach. Trixie didn’t know what had happened to the other wolf and wasn’t sure if it could happen twice. She didn’t feel any energy and no symbols came to mind. There was little she could do now. She could run, but didn’t believe she had the energy left to outrun them all and saw no escape in the dark, barren field. Only a miracle could save her now. Without warning, the timber wolves charged, mouths agape and hunger in their hollow yellow eyes. Trixie watched her life flash before her eyes…