//------------------------------// // A trudge in the rain. // Story: An unexpected home // by JuyUnseen //------------------------------// Rain fell upon the dreary landscape as a lone figure walked slowly across the quietly drowning grass. Two days. This rain had been falling nonstop for two whole days and was yet to show any sign of stopping. Nopony had predicted such a storm, nor had any pegasus had a hoof in brewing the clouds that were now doing their best to flood the ground below, but the storm was there, and there was nothing the lone pony could do about it but endure the endless torrent. With a wisp of steam from her mouth, the pony sighed. There is a sigh for almost any emotion. Grief's sigh is full of pain and longing; happiness' sounds warm and content; boredom's tends to be drawn out and usually accompanied by a hoof running through the sighing pony's mane. This pony's sigh was one of fatigue. She was tired; horrendously so. Her hooves complained with every step, her breath was raspy, and her heart ached. Yes, she was tired from all of the walking, but even more so was she tired of what her life had become. She was in ruin. She hadn't a bit or bridle to her name, much less the wagon she had once owned. Her parlor tricks were useless in earning her anything, for it seemed that no town she came across would have her. Everywhere she went she was turned away. She hadn't even been given a chance to perform in most of the towns she had passed through; instead she was simply thrown out, unable to get a word in edgewise. Nowhere would anypony give her a helping hoof, or spare her a bit or two. It seemed the fiasco in Ponyville had started some sort of chain reaction, leading her life too rock bottom. She was a traveling performer. She had never in her life been a rich pony, nor had she ever been financially stable, but she had always managed to get by. Now she had nothing; not even tears, for she had cried them all long ago. Trixie was at the end of the line. Little did the blue unicorn who was busy trotting across Equesatria know, her time in Ponyville had started a chain reaction of sorts. Equestria's upper class was very fond of lists, and one of the lists updated most frequently was one about entertainment. For the longest while, Trixie had kept a clean record on this list, but the catastrophe in Ponyville had changed that. It had earned her a black mark of sorts, and because of this, now the upper class and nobility would turn her away for fear of embarrassing their town name by playing host to such a pony. A copy of this list was a possession on any pony who had any connections in the upper class or nobility, and most every town was home to at least one such pony. ALMOST every town. The poor form of Trixie lay in a heap, huddled in her raggedy cape, under a tree. She was soaked to the bone and shivering madly, but at least it was slightly drier here than being out in the open. She sighed once again; this time a sigh of depression and longing. "Why must Trixie endure such hardships?" she asked the rain, "What did I do to deserve such hatred? Such horrible luck? "Well isn't it obvious?" a very different side of her answered, "you stopped being a performer, and became a liar." She sighed once more, silencing the angry voice within her. She had had this conversation with herself before. She stated off into the rainy night, wishing for something, anything to prove she still had some good luck left in her. And as if in answer to her prayer, the rain stopped. A rare smile cracked her face. "Well at least there's that..." Unbenounced to Trixie, the rain stopping wasn't mere luck or coincidence; it was the closest thing to divine intervention she could have asked for. A set of eyes gazed upon her from above, covering the area in something akin to starlight. Luna smiled as she saw the pony do the same. It was rare for night princess to ever see a pony so sad. It reminded her of her own feelings; memories of hardship, loss, and craters. Memories of the moon. Needless to say, she couldn't stand to see it. In a silent motion, the princess of the night alighted on the ground next to the saddened pony. Trixie was oblivious of the newcomer. "We were wondering what could make a pony grieve so..." the starlit alicorn asked quietly. She felt that the royal Canterlot voice would be inappropriate here. Trixie jumped in surprise. "Wha?" she turned, and found herself face to face with the princess of the night and moon herself. Long ago, Trixie would have boasted, even before the princess, but that mare was long gone. The Trixie that sat under the tree, next to Luna was a mere husk of what she had once been. But perhaps that was for the better. "The great and... T-Trixie means... I-I mean..." she looked down again, stammering before the great princess. Words had once been her friend and her weapon. They were now turning on her. "We understand. It... Isn't easy to talk in such a state... Sadness makes conversation difficult, calmness infuriating and anger simple. Take your time. I have all night." Trixie sat in silence, formulating her words inside her head before finally vocalizing her feelings. "I've lost everything." she said quietly, "my home, my money, my life... I have nothing but my hooves and this rag of a cape..." Luna said nothing, and simply gazed up at the stars. Trixie followed her gaze, and was greeted by the sight of a meteor shower that could be glimpsed through the parted clouds. "We understand... We too have been alone before..." "For a thousand years" Trixie murmured. Luna nodded solemnly. "what was it like?" "Cold." was Luna's quiet response. Trixie nodded slowly, sadly. “It’s cold out here too…” she whispered. “Now,” said Luna, “Why don’t you tell me why your life has come to this?” Trixie had imagined that talking of her troubles would have been difficult, that the emotion would block her throat and render her mute. Never would she have thought that after months of keeping her true thoughts and feelings bottled, talking of them would not only be easy, but a relief. It was as if Luna’s request had released a valve, opening up Trixie’s voice, letting her story spill forward. At the end of it all, Trixie felt relieved. She felt that if she had held that in and longer, she might have exploded. She felt good. “And that,” she finished, her usual speech patterns returning, “Is Trixie’s sory.” With another sigh she turned away and stared once again at the sky as Luna reflected on the tale. "That is... Quite a lot for a pony to go through..." Luna murmured, "and... We would like to help." Trixie was stunned. Help her? Somepony, the princess no less, wanted to HELP her? It had been months since she had even dreamed of help, and He couldn't remember the last time she had been offered it. "trixie would be delighted to accept such help." she stammered, "Trixie... I-I mean... How do you propose to... Help me? I'm pitiful... No town will have me." "From your story, it seems to us that what you need more than anything, is a fresh start." Luna shut her eyes, and the magic emanating from her horn lit up the world around them. When the blinding light cleared, two things were changed. The clouds were gone, and a star to the west of them glowed brighter than anything Trixie had ever seen. "Follow that star," whispered the midnight-blue princess, 'It will lead you to a town. That town is a good place for a fresh start." the princess placed a hoof on trixie's shoulder "We wish you luck in your travels Trixie. We hope you find a better life." Trixie was in shock. Her throat felt tight, and a single tear dripped from her eye. Maybe... she thought, maybe things are going to get better. She turned to thank the princess that might very well soon turn out to be her savior, but the alicorn was nowhere to be seen. All that was left of the great pony was a whisper on the wind. "Go. The star will last until daylight." And so, summoning all the strength she had left, Trixie took off into the night, following the light of her lucky star. The blue mare ran her heart out. She was achy, famished, and exhausted; but the princess herself had told her there was a light at the end of this tunnel, and by Celestia was she going to find it. The ground beneath her hooves grew more barren, and grass turned to rock, mud to cracked earth and underbrush gave way to dust. She traveled further and further west, until she felt as if her hooves would fall apart, but still she galloped. And then came the morning's light, illuminating on the horizon a small town. Here she was, at the end of her long run. Luna hadn't lied to her. Here, under the fading brilliance of her guiding star, sat a town... If one could call it that. As she got closer, Trixie could see ponies emerging from their homes, ready to greet the new day, but they all stopped when their eyes fell on the streak of cyan that was Trixie. The town grew closer, and closer, and closer, and as she took her final steps onto the main road of the township, she collapsed. By all rights, she shouldn't have even been able to make it this far. It was by sheer willpower that she made it to the town. It was no surprise though that her legs would no longer hold her. The townsfolk stared, astonished, and nopony moved until one pony finally braved the crowd and stepped forward. He opened his mouth, and greeted the newcomer, "Welcome to Aaaaaaaaaaaapaloosa!" Trixie managed a feeble grin before passing out on the street.