//------------------------------// // 8 — Locomotion // Story: Letters From a Friend at the End of the World // by alexmagnet //------------------------------// Chapter 8: Locomotion September 29, 1000 Dear Ignorant Foal Twilight, I still hate you. I hate you for ruining my life, and running me out of town. I hate you for making me the laughing stock of Ponyville. I hate you for making me write this letter. I hate you for bringing that Ursa Minor to destroy my wagon, and forcing me to live without shelter. I hate every fiber of your stupid, ignorant, weak, pathetic, cruel, heartless, being. I will get my revenge on you, Twilight. I promise that I will make you regret the day you crossed the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie! You’ll wish you had never met me. All your little friends will bow before me as I make you bend to my will. I will crush that disgusting little town, and force all of YOU to suffer the same fate I did when you cast me out. No more will I be the made fun of, or pointed and laughed at. They call me the weak and helpless Trixie now, but I will prove them wrong. I will become more than a magician, more than ‘great’ and ‘powerful’. They will call me the SUPREME and ALL-POWERFUL Trixie, and I will make you, your friends and all the inhabitants of that backwater, podunk town you call home, suffer for all the suffering you caused me. It’ll only be a matter of months before I am able to exact my revenge. At least the ponies of Emerald Falls are more accommodating. They told me about a beast that lives far in the north. They say it is the most deadly creature in all of Equestria. Once I kill this monster I will finally prove that I am the greatest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. And then, then I will finally prove, once and for all, that I am better than you, Twilight Sparkle. You will have no choice but to bow before my awesome might, and gaze in wonder at my magnificence. Just a few short months from now I will have you on your knees begging for mercy. I will beat you, Twilight Sparkle. Sincerely, and emphatically, Trixie Lulamoon Twilight sighed as she finished reading the letter for the dozenth time. Oh, Trixie, what were you thinking? Folding the letter back into its original shape, she slipped it into her bag and buckled it shut. She turned her head, and looked out the rain-streaked window. Trees, and fields passed by in a watery blur. Resting her chin in her hoof, Twilight watched as another tiny house flew past. She yawned. It wasn’t quite nighttime yet, but she could tell the sun had begun to set. It cast a beautiful orange glow over the valley as it sunk beneath the clouds, and became obscured by the mountains. Twilight’s eyes shined as she watched the sun slowly dip past the point of no return. It was amazing how, within a few minutes, the soft orange glow of dusk was swept away by the coming night, and, for the briefest of moments, you could see the rare mix of the ruby sun and the sapphire night creating a quiet violet glow that was quickly washed away as night took over. A smile tugged at Twilight’s lips, but it quickly faded as she recalled why they were here. Her head turned as she looked at the seats across from her and saw Rainbow Dash and Spike sitting quietly. Rainbow looked as if she couldn’t have been more bored. She was resting her head against one of her hooves and sighing every couple of minutes. Her wings, usually unfurled and flapping with the wind, pushing her ever faster towards whatever destination she chose, were pressed against her sides, looking cramped and uncomfortable. Spike, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as bored. Though, that was most likely due to the fact that he had fallen asleep mere minutes after leaving Ponyville station. Twilight giggled inwardly. It had been a rather hard day for him. Travelling all over Ponyville, chasing down mysterious letters, and now riding a train to Emerald Falls, he had certainly had his fill. His lolled from side to side with each bump. The Friendship Express rocked lightly on its wheels as it chugged along the track, pulling them ever closer to their destination. Emerald Falls was only forty miles away, but it would’ve taken much too long to walk there, so they had decided to take the train instead. A choice that Spike was very much pleased with, and Rainbow was not. As if on cue, Rainbow let out another sigh. She glanced up and saw Twilight looking at her. Seizing the opportunity she asked, “Why did I have to come along again? Why did any of us have to come?” Twilight let out a tired sigh. “Because,” she said, “It sounds like Trixie’s life might be in danger, and we have to help her.” Dash scowled. “Why should we? She’s been nothing but a stuck-up jerk to us. Why should we do anything for her?” “Don’t give me that look, Rainbow. I know that she’s been less than pleasant—” “More like rude.” “—but, we have a responsibility to help her.” Twilight crossed her fore-legs. “I would’ve thought that you, of all ponies, would understand that, being the Element of Loyalty and all.” “I’m loyal to my friends,” she said, emphasizing the word with a jab of her hoof, “not to loudmouth wannabe showoffs. I say, who cares if she gets herself killed? We’d be better off without her anyway.” She slumped back into her seat. Twilight’s eyes widened. “How could you even say that?” She shot an angry glare at her. “It doesn’t matter what she did to us, or how she treated us. She may need our help, and I intend to give it to her.” “I don’t get it, Twi. Why do you care so much about that stupid jerk? She said it herself, she only wants to humiliate you, and all of us too.” Rainbow’s face hardened. “I hope she does die. The world would be better off without her.” Twilight’s eyes flashed with anger as she drew herself up, causing Rainbow to recoil. “I can’t believe you. You hope she dies? That’s a horrible thing to say about anypony, no matter how mean they may have been to you, or me, or anypony. Death is not something you should wish on anypony. Even Nightmare Moon, and Discord were not killed by Celestia, even though they were more than just ‘loudmouth showoffs’. So why would you think that Trixie, or anypony at all, should deserve that?” Twilight’s eyes calmed and her voice softened. “Trixie confided in me by writing those letters. You saw yourself that she’s changed. I don’t know how, or why she’s changed, but she has. She’s not the same braggart she was before.” Twilight paused, calming herself even further. “Trixie said that she’s going to the north to kill some kind of monster to prove she’s better than me. Even if that still is her reason, she could be in grave danger. From the way she described it, it seems like this creature is immensely powerful. So, it is our duty to stop her, or, at the very least, help her in any way we can. Something about her is different, and I don’t think she’s doing this just to prove she’s better than me.” She let out a long sigh. “So that’s why we are heading to Emerald Falls, Rainbow. We’re going to find out what she’s hunting and figure out where she went.” She sat back in her seat. “Maybe we’ll find out that it’s nothing, and Trixie was just exaggerating as usual. Something tells me, though, that that isn’t the case.” Rainbow let out a slow whistle. “Well okay then. I still don’t agree with you, but if you care so much, then I’ll help you however I can. But,” she said, holding up a hoof, “I’m doing this for you, not her.” Twilight smiled. “That’s all I ask.” Rainbow nodded, and the car fell silent. For long time, the only sound that could be heard was the quiet ‘clak clak clak’ of the train’s wheels running over the joints in the tracks. Twilight noticed that the moon had begun to rise above the mountains now, casting it’s soft glow over the valley as the sun had done before it. She watched it silently for a few minutes before Rainbow Dash broke the pervading silence. “Soooooo,” Rainbow said slowly. “How long until we get to Emerald Falls?” Twilight glanced over at her, noticing that Spike was still sound asleep as she did. “I’m not sure,” she responded. “I think we’ve still got another half an hour or so.” Rainbow groaned. “Ugh, I’m so bored. I wish I had some Daring Do to read.” She threw her hooves up. “I can’t believe I forgot to bring that one you lent me.” “Don’t worry, Rainbow,” Twilight said comfortingly. “I’m sure we’ll find you ano—” Her eyes sparkled and her horn lit up as she opened her saddlebag. Surrounded by sparkling violet light, a book emerged. Rainbow gasped. “Is that...” Twilight nodded. Rainbow’s hoof shot into the air in a triumphant hoof-pump. “Sweet! Which one is it?” “Umm, hold on...” Twilight pulled the book in front of her, and she read from the cover. “Daring Do and the Gathering Storm. I think I had this one in my bag because I was going to read it awhile ago,” she said. “But, I never got around to it,” she added sheepishly. Rainbow held out her hooves and Twilight tossed the book to her. “Thanks, Twi. At least now I have something to keep from being bored to death.” Twilight grinned. “Glad I could help.” “Man, I can’t wait to read this.” She cracked the book open, letting its pages flutter quietly until she had reached the beginning of the book. Sliding herself down the seat, she settled in and began to read. Twilight shook her head bemusedly. At least she’s— FWEEEEEEEE The sound of the train whistle cut her off mid-thought and caused her to sit up suddenly. Rainbow tumbled out of her seat, and landed on her book. “What was that?” she asked. Looking out the window, Twilight saw that they were slowing down rapidly as they approached a brightly lit train station. “I guess that means we’re here,” she shrugged. “Look,” she pointed out the window, “We’re at the Emerald Falls train station.” “Man, I’m never gonna get to read this book,” Rainbow muttered. She slowly righted herself and sat back in her seat, setting the book aside, crumpled pages and all. Spike, still somehow asleep after the train whistle, was woken by Twilight a few moments later. As he groggily opened his eyes, Twilight said softly, “We’re here, Spike.” He let out a long yawn, before responding, “Here where?” “Emerald Falls, remember? We got on the train awhile ago.” He stretched his limbs out, popping them. “Oh, right. I forgot.” He rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know exactly, but it’s nighttime already, so we should probably find somewhere to rest.” Spike nodded vigorously. “I like that plan.” “But where?” asked Dash. The train slowed to a halt as she finished her question. A moment later, the doors opened and they were shooed off the train by one of the conductors. “Come along now,” he said. “Other folks need ta get on the train too y’know.” After clumsily making their way off the train they stepped onto the wooden platform and glanced around. There wasn’t much to see. The town seemed to have one major street flanked by a handful of stores and houses, and, what looked like, a small pub down at the end. “I suppose we’ll have to find somewhere that will take us,” Twilight said. “I don’t see many inns here.” Rainbow squinted, peering into the dark. “More like, none at all.” Spike tugged at Twilight’s leg. “Maybe we can stay at that pub,” he said, pointing to the far end of the street. Twilight followed his line-of-sight and saw the small pub he was pointing to. “Hmm, The Steel Bit?” He nodded. “Yep.” As Rainbow’s wings unfurled and began flapping, lifting her into the air, she said, “Sounds good to me. I’ll go check it out.” Giving Twilight a quick nod, she took off, her wings beating in perfect rhythm. “Well,” Twilight said quietly, looking down at Spike. “Hopefully we’ll be able to find out something from whoever runs that place.” “Maybe they met Trixie when she passed through here?” he suggested. “I sure hope so. That would make this search a lot easier.”