//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Hoof It // Story: Lost Sun // by crossed //------------------------------// The kitchen, dining room, and every other suitable room for seating had long-since been raided by passersby for whatever reason. So, in lieu of an actual table, the two mares simply seated themselves on stools in the kitchen, using the island in the center as a table. It, too, probably would’ve been long taken if it weren’t made of heavy stone. There wasn’t a lack of trying, though, as that was evident in the damage to the island and the floor itself. Sunset's mind was admittedly in other places as the ragged magic-mare, Trixie, divulged to her the state of affairs. "At the Summer Sun Celebration on the thousandth year, Nightmare Moon returned. Trixie does not know what happened to Princess Celestia, but she has not been seen since. Trixie has heard many rumors very similar to each other that six ponies, including Princess Celestia's personal student, tried to stop Nightmare Moon and were captured or... killed... by the Night Queen. Since then, the sun has not risen." She explained, "In recent times, Nightmare Moon has been desperate to regain control after many disasters and crises. The wicked Queen sanctions dark magic users and daemons to do her bidding and keep things under control. Canterlot is the worst of all; the wicked moon Queen rules from the city with an iron hoof." "Trixie came here to seek refuge in her family home for a while, but the roads are dangerous and she fears she will not be able to go further..." She said, the mare piling on a frown and a slight pout to see if she could guilt-trip the relative stranger. Sunset frowned deeply, trying to process all she'd been told. It'd been that long...? She'd lost so much time... And that wasn't the only thing, either. There was also the two biggest revelations; that Celestia was gone, and that she had been replaced. The very thought raised her hackles, ground her gears, and set her rage alight. How could Celestia replace her so easily?! She needed to stay calm. Maybe she could learn more about this stupid upstart who had failed so miserably, and find out what they did wrong. Then... There was the matter of Trixie Lulamoon herself. She felt pity for the ragged mare. Stuck with a relatively useless proficiency in illusion magic, and as thin and helpless as she looked, she reasoned that helping her would be essentially equivalent to helping a wounded dog. Asides, she wasn't going to lie that she didn't want the glory of saving a damsel in distress. That was the sort of thing a princess would do, wouldn't they? Maybe the mare would stop acting as she did if she owed her life to Sunset. That was a fun idea- having someone she could order around because they owed her a life debt. Scheming complete, she felt much less like blowing up and throwing a tantrum. She supposed she'd spent enough time mulling things over and gone through more than enough expressions at this point. "Ugh, fine. We'll travel together, at least for a little while. How far is the nearest town?" Trixie brightened up slightly immediately, before turning to dig in her saddlebag and produce a map. Laying it out on the kitchen island and unfolding it, she located their current position on it within a few moments. "Trixie estimates that there is a day's trot between here and Lindstrotten. Fortunately, the destination is on one of the quieter roads, so there shouldn't be anything bothering Trixie and her companion!" Sunset rolled her eyes. "Sure, but my name's Dame Sunset Shimmer. I'm a knight of Celestia." Sunset smugly smirked, and half-considered leaving her here to fend for herself after that remark, but ultimately decided that Trixie would be useful. After all, she knew more about this new Equestria than Sunset did. That was a tragedy all on its own, but one she'd rectify as soon as she could. In any case, she technically was a knight by way of being Princess Celestia's student and receiving battlemage training. Then, it was Trixie's turn to be smug. The magic-mare smiled at the unwitting invitation to goad her traveling partner, despite the potential consequences, "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not believe such a claim," she humphed, turning her nose up, "Unless you can prove your claim beyond any doubt, Trixie will only refer to you as Sunset." The Dame Solar had to stop herself from snapping the impudent little mare's neck, forcing herself to reason that it just wouldn't be worth the effort. After all, it would be incredibly easy to prove that she was indeed a knight [by technicality] if she simply presented her battlemage pendant which was located in her- oh. She turned and looked at her back, realizing with some horror that she didn't have her saddlebags. Her saddlebags that she had left in her room before her argument with Celestia. The saddlebags she was told she would collect once she'd left the castle. "Oh horseapples." She muttered, although Trixie picked up on it and only grinned wider, stifling a cackle as the other unicorn seethed. "Ffffine. You can... just call me Sunset." She grumbled. This was humiliating. She usually had the palace servants bending over backwards to accommodate her every need, and anypony who stepped out of line got a new mane-and-tail cut. Even the nobility weren't spared her wrath, and she remembered with satisfaction that they had learned to stay out of her way pretty quickly. The problem here was that Trixie was useful to her survival. Push her too far, treat her too poorly, and she would leave Sunset here without any way to orient herself. After all, the magic mare was the one with the map, and she knew this area... Embittered and embarrassed, she glared at Trixie for a moment as the magic mare smugly retorted, "And so Trixie shall. Sunset." Oh what she would give to torch this impudent mare... They spent the next few hours preparing for the journey ahead. The attic and the other locked rooms had some things they would need, and Sunset was able to acquire a traveling cloak of her own, while Trixie acquired some thread and needle to repair her own. Two sleeping bags, a set of saddlebags for Sunset, and some meager supplies were all they could really get from the house. Everything else had long been taken, and Trixie had informed her that she at least had some bits so they could get a place to stay when they stopped in Lindstrotten. She was glad for the work as it kept her mind off of everything she'd just been told. It was... frankly kind of unfathomable. Celestia had ruled over all ponykind for the past- well, who knows? Probably more eons than she could count. As much as she had conflicting feelings on that mare, what she had been doing for the past millennia had worked. Then this other alicorn, one who she'd only ever heard of in legends and cautionary tales for fillies, came from the moon and usurped her, just like that. It was baffling, and she had a difficult time processing it. How? Why? What? Where? After that, there was getting together what they were bringing for the journey, and the more pressing questions. What was she going to do next? Outside of getting to Lindstrotten with this stupid, arrogant foal, there was the matter of continuing her education and her ambitions. Perhaps there were artifacts she could track down that would aid in her goal, or... something like that. The more she thought about it, the more deflated she felt. She had been so close in her research! Now, the Canterlot Forbidden Archives were further away than ever before. She had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, when she was so, so very close to a glorious future... Her thoughts petered out as she sat still, sighing. Still, there wasn't a good reason to sit still and do nothing. As much as she despised her present company for her demeanor, she didn't intend to go back on their deal. It would be useful to know more, and she could needle the magic-mare with questions on their journey. That thought did spawn a pertinent question though, one which she looked up from her saddlebag-packing to ask the nearby ragged mare about. "What kind of dangers are we going to face on the road?" Sunset asked, kicking herself more than a bit for not asking this earlier. The magic mare chuckled nervously, "Trixie supposes... there might be an abnormal amount of robberies in this area... and reports of undead near Lindstrotten..." "...What?!" Sunset asked, starting up from her sitting position and stalking over to the ragged magic-mare, who scooted away as she advanced. "Are you bucking kidding me? You didn't think to tell me that sooner?!" "Ehehe... Trixie figured that... for a mage of your caliber, simple undead would be no trouble...?" Trixie said, her tone questioning but with a certain deference. The mare's face twisted into a nervous smile, and Sunset for a moment contemplated slamming one of her forehooves into it. She grit her teeth and fought back the urge, closing her eyes and snorting hot air through her nostrils, face scrunched in frustration. Undead were a bad sign. Usually, it was a sign of high magic concentration in an area with a lot of bodies, which was usually a cemetery, impromptu or otherwise. High magic concentration in an area could cause a lot of other problems, but she wasn't worried about that. From what Trixie had told her, it was extremely likely that a user of the dark arts was in the area. Undead were hard to deal with because they were simply built incredibly tough, and depending on the condition of the body used, they could be incredibly fast and strong compared to the average pony. Most, however, were shambling corpses or fast, but brittle skeletons. The real problem for her wasn't particularly their toughness, but their magic resistance. As creatures suffused with magic, which replaces the Soul and Will which they once possessed, they were much harder to kill using magic than with conventional means. She had no desire to fight maleficarum or their disgusting creations, much less with magic as her only viable weapon. She supposed she did have tricks on-hoof she could use, but the idea of actually fighting at all was somewhat distressing. "Is there a way to get to Lindstrotten that doesn't involve us being eaten by zombies?" Sunset asked after a moment of forcefully calming herself. "Or are you stupid enough to think we can hop into a bucking necromancer's backyard and waltz right through?" The remark bit, and she could see Trixie set her jaw, almost imperceptibly. The magic-mare collected her filthy self and rose to her hooves, dusting her mended cloak off. "Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie has a plan! It... ah..." She darted her eyes around for a moment, the wheels spinning in the mare's brain. "Trixie believes a merchant caravan from the South will pass through here soon! She saw them on the way here. Perhaps we can follow them?" Sunset stopped herself from grinding her teeth again and considered it, albeit only for a moment. "We need to get ready, then. They're probably ahead of us." "Trixie agrees..." The mare tentatively added, getting a glare from Sunset that caused her to flinch slightly. Sunset snorted again, turning and trotting over to her things to finish her preparations. Trixie... wasn't sure what to make of the sunstruck mare. She knew that she had a scary amount of magic- at least compared to her- and that was about all she knew. Unicorns weren't supposed to feel a twitch in their horn when another unicorn used telekinesis. It was absurd. Just how much power did this prim and proper mare have, and where did she come from? The mirror, obviously, but there was more to it than that. Trixie bit her lip and turned, fussing over her own things instead of spacing out so obviously. As much as she didn't like traveling with somepony who so clearly outclassed her in every regard, there was still the necessity of it. Sure, she could cast some high-level illusion spells, but holding those up for long was taxing... She was thin and frail and her fount felt like a puddle compared to the ocean it'd been a long time ago. She'd probably collapse if she had to do another silencing spell or something of similar complexity. Her body and her stomach hurt agonizingly badly, but she wouldn't lower herself to grovel at Sunset's hooves and ask for her to carry her. She had at least some dignity and pride left! Trixie just wasn't sure how much longer she could on an empty tank, with her only companion a belligerent mage of exceptional power. Once she got to Lindstrotten, she'd probably continue up North on her own... A warm meal and a warm bed were just what she needed, and maybe she could raise spirits in the town with a magic show for the schoolfoals. Wishful thinking. They'd set out two hours ago, and already the two mares were withering under the hard, fast winds that whipped through the trees. Trixie sucked in a breath with each step, her agonized leg muscles ready to give out. The harsh winds combined with an uphill trot and the rough nature of the path meant they were struggling. Sunset prayed quietly to Faust that there wouldn't be any rain, but the rumbling thunderclouds overhead dashed her hopes. One of the most terrible things to happen since Nightmare Moon's reign was the grounding of Cloudsdale. The wicked Queen herself had gone to Cloudsdale and cast a great spell, forcing the city and its inhabitants to the ground. The death toll had been staggering. Unfortunately for the Night Queen, it had inspired many of the other cloud-cities to rebel, despite the consequences. Because of this, the weather was largely uncontrolled in most of Equestria. That meant wild storms ripped across the countryside, tornadoes tore down homes, and rain beat down on the landscape unhindered. Cities were usually spared any damage by nature of having a weather team of their own to fight storms, but the wilderness of Equestria had been left to become wild and untamed. "Can you see anything?!" Sunset shouted over the wind to Trixie, who groaned in response. In spite of the magician's ragged state and exhaustion, Sunset was still lagging behind her a bit. The azure-coated mare had mounted the hill they were climbing and could see over it, whereas she was a few paces behind. "Trixie sees lights ahead!" She called back, Sunset craning her head upwards and pushing her aching muscles to mount the hill. Sure enough, just over the hill, she could see the bobbing lantern-lights of a caravan. At least a dozen ponies laden with two carts and a variety of goods marched down the ill-paved path, fighting against the harsh winds. Sunset estimated they were a good thirty or forty meters ahead of them, but it was hard to tell. Either way, they needed to make good time to join up with them. Mounting the hill, Sunset redoubled her efforts, walking aside Trixie on the path as they approached the back of the caravan. She could hear the other mare huffing and puffing even over the heavy winds, feeling an intrusive pang of empathy. She was pretty tired after all this walking too, and she damn-well knew that the emaciated and ragged magic-mare was running on empty. Still, there wasn't time for ruminating on that. They needed to catch up. She huffed and took a deep breath in... Then exhaled it as the path ahead of her exploded suddenly, dust and dirt and gravel kicked up as three pegasi suddenly stood before the two mares. Sunset had backed up and fell on her haunches, staring dumbly at the spear pointed at her face, and then to the hooves holding it and the whole pony beyond it. The whipping wind was cut through as the brown, red-eyed mare before her barked a harshly worded sentence, "Start talking now!" Sunset mouthed uselessly for a moment, the threat of a violent end unfortunately causing her to freeze up. Fortunately for her, Trixie seemed much more used to this sort of thing. "We are travelers! Trixie and her companion are trying to go North! We need to stop in Lindstrotten for supplies!" Trixie blurted out quickly, saving both their hides from a potentially grisly confrontation. Sunset had never been in a real fight before, and perhaps in retrospect that had saved her from getting hurt by this dangerous guardsmare. In any case... The guardsmare lowered the spear slightly, glaring at the two of them. "Hoof over your weapons. You can travel with us until we reach Lindstrotten, but don't expect anything more than that." Trixie nodded and slipped the dagger from her cloak, dropping it on the ground. She then reached into her mane and withdrew a sharpened letter-opener, also allowing that to clatter to the dirt. This done, Trixie looked up at the guardsmare sheepishly. The brown mare stared in slight disbelief, looking between the weapons on the ground and the two mares. "Horseapples. Just keep your weapons. And give your friend something to defend herself; two mares shouldn't be out here with two little knives between them." The guardsmare grunted, planting the blunt end of her spear as she held the weapon in the crook of her hoof. Trixie passed Sunset the letter-opener, the unicorn picking it up in her telekinesis and stowing it in her saddlebag. She grimaced at the implications of the guardsmare's words; it was that dangerous out here? They'd avoided getting skewered by the three guardsponies in front of them for the time being, so there was that, but what she'd said had only opened up more questions for her to needle Trixie about. She supposed there would be time for that later. Sunset finally found her voice, addressing the guardsmare, "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Who are you?" "I don't know if you know this, but we have places to be. Get your flanks over there!" She barked, and Sunset bristled slightly. Still, she didn't want to get into it over something so petty right now. In any case, the two mares trotted quickly into line, joining the caravan amidst a panoply of suspicious and curious looks. When Trixie spoke, Sunset jumped slightly, "Trixie perhaps did not explain well where we are going..." She huffed and looked over as the caravan started moving again, a sharp whistle signaling the wagons to get rolling. "You think? Why in the Tartarus are we going North, and what's so important up there you'd risk getting killed to go up there?" Trixie looked up and forward, towards the mountains that towered in the distance, over the trees and the valley they were in. "Trixie has heard tales of the Crystal Empire, a place ruled over by the former Captain of the Royal Guard and Princess Celestia's niece. She has heard reliable ponies say that, should one reach the Northern Shield, they will be able to make it to the safety of the Empire in three days of trotting." "Trixie sees no point in staying in Equestria," She frowned, "The Nightmare Queen is a tyrant, and there is nothing here for anypony anymore..." Sunset thought about that. Realistically, what were the odds anypony could figure out how to return Celestia from wherever she'd gone? Basically zero. There was also the simple fact that the Forbidden Archives were so damningly far out of reach. Perhaps this Crystal Empire would have a library. Something about it also seemed vaguely familiar, as if she'd heard of it in myths or legends. Celestia had loved telling her stories about ancient ponies from long ago, using those as guiding lessons during her tutelage under the Princess. She supposed she'd wrack her brain about it later. "You're only going off rumors? Are you a moron? What if it's all horseapples?" Sunset posed forth the rude remark, watching Trixie look at her with an expression she'd perhaps never seen so strongly on a pony before; despair. "Trixie supposes that... Perhaps the rumors could just be rumors. But what is there left to lose?" For the second time, Sunset felt an unwelcome pang of empathy at the mare's hopeful hopelessness. "Trixie has nowhere else she can go, and nothing else she can do." "So, what? You're just giving up on Equestria?" Trixie just sighed and didn't respond. Sunset turned her head away and looked at the ground, processing everything she'd just heard. The two fell into silent walking, and nopony in the caravan seemed to work up the courage, or had the time, to ask them questions. Eventually, after what must have been another hour of walking, the caravan broke off the path to head towards a wooden-walled outpost. However, as they approached, there was nopony to greet them... Thick black smoke billowed from beyond the walls.