//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Two Become Three // Story: Umbral Travels // by pchn00 //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Two Becomes Three Never in my wildest imagining’s could I have conjured so horrific a spectacle as the terrible ball of fire rising into the surface sky that struck my sight from me. I feel the heat it generates on my fur and expect to burst aflame at any second. Wildly I recoil from the window slamming into the bed behind me, staggering away blindly with another cry. I hear the door slam open as Tak arrives responding to my scream no doubt. “Umbra what happened!?” Through the haze of pain coming from my still burning eyes I realize he’s using his ‘serious’ voice. He must be greatly concerned. “I was watching the sky when that THING appeared!” I gesture wildly with a hoof. It takes him a moment to realize what I mean. “The sun. Oh I’m an idiot I should have warned you.” My ear flicks toward him as I hear him moving to the window. Hastily he draws the curtains as I pick up another set of hooves charging toward my room. “What’s all the commotion and…” It is Trixie of course. “What happened to her eyes?” “The sun happened to them.” Tears run down my cheeks though I am unsure whether their source from pain or terror. “Well what’s wrong with the-“ She stops at the realization. “Oh she’s lived underground her whole life, was that her first sunrise?” The concern in the unicorn’s voice surprises me. We have only just met yet she seems to care for my well-being. “It was and I’m an idiot for not thinking to keep her away from the window this morning.” I feel Tak’s hoof gently lift my chin. “I need you to open your eyes for me Umbra. I have to see if they’re damaged or if you just got a little dazzled.” I do not want to, but I know his words have merit. Slowly I force my eyelids to rise though I have to blink rapidly several times as I do so. Opening them brings fresh waves of pain and I feel close to swooning. Finally I manage to open them without immediately squinting them shut again. I see Tak’s horn glowing through the filmy haze obscuring my vision. “Can you see my horn Umbra?” Slowly I nod. “Y-yes though it is very blurry.” I follow it with my eyes as he slowly moves his head about. “Well that’s good. You’re not BLIND blind, just temporarily blinded. You should recover with rest. We can stay in the castle here a bit longer than intended.” I frown at that. “Why? There is no reason to delay. Before I received more responsibility I routinely made my way by sound alone. I found the darkness comforting.” It was also easy to imagine I belonged with my arachnid family when I could not see the glaring physical differences. I shut my eyes again though not quite as tightly as before. “If you’re sure Umbra, though I want to at least wait a little longer.” He moves away from me toward the til now silent Trixie. “Is there food?” “There is. I’ll show you the kitchen. They had some kind of powerful refrigeration spell on their larders and were very well stocked before they all ah…” She trails off. “Come on I’ll show you.” For a moment I consider asking Tak to assist me with my armor but after I just finished telling him I could get by without sight I would look foolish asking for assistance immediately after. To further complicate matters I find the plush carpeting of the room dulls my hoof steps and mutes the sound vibrating through the floor making it nearly impossible to navigate by sound. I resign myself to blindly fumbling about until my hoof tapped against one of my leg guards. My quarry located I set about the arduous task of fastening it about my person. I hear Trixie returning as I wrestle with one of the straps on my breastplate. I recognize the sound of magic at work as the straps gently tear free of my grip and fasten themselves. “Why don’t you use your magic for that?” I tilt my head in the direction of her voice. “I do not know any abilities related to moving other things. I can give myself sight in darkness, stronger leg strength and climbing on sheer surfaces. That is all.” She invites herself into my room and settles before me. “Really? I’ve never come across any spells like those before. But you really can’t levitate? Every unicorn learns that early off.” I shrug and settle comfortably on the plush floor secretly enjoying the feel of it on my stomach. “I used my mouth or hooves for what I needed to do. My mother did her best to quash any curiosity I had with my magic. She allowed me to pursue it so long as I focused on necessary abilities.” When she speaks again her confusion is clear. “Why would she purposefully limit your abilities? A unicorns magic is a very strong part of her identity, even when it’s not their special talent.” I ponder my response. “Our family was always at odds with a large hive of changelings. I already bore a strong resemblance to them and she felt the more I distance myself from comparison to our hated foes the better.” “Well I suppose that does make sense. Still I can’t imagine trying to make do without levitating anything.” She lapses into silence though she has not moved; I can only assume she is staring at me. I shift uncomfortably and clear my throat. “So…you are an entertainer? You perform for the amusement of others? Why is this?” “Why?” She has a new tone of voice now, almost upbeat. “Well I’ve always loved the stage. I guess it started with my grandfather. Magico The Magnificent!” She throws a good deal of theatrics into her voice and I can tell she is smiling now. “Not his real name of course. Though I never did learn what exactly it was. My parents left me on his doorstep when I was too young to remember them. It was just he and I, touring Equestria. We went everywhere from Neigh Orleans to Los Pegasus. Grandfather performed all kinds of magic, not just spells mind you but sleight of hand and illusions too.” I furrow my brow. “I am not familiar with the terms.” She takes a moment to consider. “I could demonstrate but I think it’d be difficult to show you a card trick or make something disappear for you in your current state. The height of his career was when he was invited to Canterlot to perform for Princess Celestia. We drew the wagon right up to the castle. Oh how the noble ponies turned their noses up at us. I just wanted to go but not my grandfather. The show must go on! I swear it was his mantra sometimes.” Now she sighs. “Well we set up the stage, had all our props arranged. By that time I was old enough to assist. I was his lovely assistant!” She laughs softly. “Sawing me in half, making me disappear, he reworked his whole act to incorporate me. This was his most important show and I was determined to be on my best behavior. The show started and he did something he’d never done before. He just froze up. We discovered later that one of his competitors was in attendance and cast a freezing spell over my grandfather.” “At first I was panicked, what filly wouldn’t be? But then I remembered what he always told me. “The show must go on!” So I claimed his far too large hat for my own and pounced to center stage.” Her tone had changed to a more wistful one. “Behold fillies and gentlecolts! As the Great and Powerful Trixie performs magical feats beyond comprehension! And I did. All of grandfathers tricks I pulled off nearly flawlessly. The old stallion had tears in his eyes when the spell finally ended on him and we got backstage. That’s when my cutie mark appeared, and I knew my destiny was to be on stage.” I remain silent, oddly enraptured by her tale. I have questions of course but wish for her to reach the conclusion before I voice them. “Princess Celestia herself came backstage to congratulate me. She even invited me to her school for gifted unicorns. I declined however. I had no interest in leaving my grandfather’s side. He wasn’t getting any younger and needed me despite his protests otherwise. He passed away a few years later. By then I was almost a full grown mare in my own right so I just kept on where we left off. Pulling our little wagon from city to city putting on shows.” My curiosity will not allow me to remain silent any longer. “How did you end up here?” She is quiet for a time. “I was foolish. I let my growing fame go to my head, and decided I deserved greater recognition. I began to punctuate my shows with little stories, made up fables of great feats I had performed and monsters I had slain. I can be quite charismatic and nopony really thought to contradict me. Eventually it grew worse. Instead of performing the magic and illusions I had spent so long learning from my grandfather I turned to making less talented ponies look bad in front of crowds to make myself feel better. Naturally I met my match.” “It was some Podunk town called Ponyville. I pulled in and began my routine. To make a long story short I found a unicorn who far eclipsed my own ability and fled the town in disgrace. Through my own actions the only home I had ever known was destroyed, and I was disgraced. Word of my lies and misdeeds spread and I soon found it impossible to perform anywhere I went. Rather than reflect on my actions and try to improve I took the opposite route. I blamed the unicorn for my situation and sought long and hard a way to get even. I returned triumphant with a cursed trinket bolstering my power. I humiliated and banished her.” Trixie’s voice drops lower; I can hear the shame as she speaks. “She returned soon enough and showed me up once again of course. I left again after apologizing, perhaps even reaching a place of reconciliation with her. We weren’t friends but the animosity I felt toward her was gone.” I tilt my head. “It sounds as though things should have improved for you then.” “Oh no. After word got around of how I terrorized Ponyville with a forbidden artifact no less I was actively sought out as a wanted mare. I had to go into hiding living in the Everfree forest.” The way she says the name makes me feel as if I should react in some way, but of course it has no meaning to me. “I was approached by an…individual. He promised to erase my sins if I assisted in besting some kind of foreign creature in a race. I had heard the stories of him of course but by then I would have agreed to anything to get my old life back. All I wanted was to perform again. Obviously my being here says it didn’t work out as I had hoped. It’s not ideal but I can at least have peace here.” The sadness in her voice causes uncomfortable pangs in my chest. “Jeez kid that’s one’a th’sadder stories I ever heard.” Tak has returned. I do not know how long he was listening in but I smell food in the air before me. It is a far more appetizing scent than I am used to. Gingerly I lower my head and find a number of small squishy objects. Curiously I take one into my mouth and bite down, the juice explodes within my jaws and I taste a tangy sweetness far beyond the flavor of any of the edible fungi I consumed below the surface. Eagerly I began to clean the plate before me. Trixie sniffs a couple of times and sighs. “Well everything that led me here was my own fault. I’ve nopony to blame but myself.” I remain silent letting them speak while I eat. “Well yah sounds like you were a real jerk, ain’t gonna argue ‘bout that. But that don’t mean ya gotta pay fer it yer whole life. Ya didn’ kill nopony, ya jus’ acted like an ass. M’sure if ya went an apologized folk’d forgive an’ ferget.” The unicorn sighs as she nibbles the food on her plate. “Not for what I’ve done.” I hear her rise. “Thank you for listening, the both of you. Good luck on your journey Umbra. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” I frown as she goes but say nothing. I feel Tak’s eyes on me. “What?” “Whaddya mean what? Go after her.” “Why? She made her intentions clear.” He huffs. “Kid she just opened up an told ya her entire life story. A pony don’t normally confide in a stranger THAT much when they first meet.” It did seem odd to me. Come to think of it I now know more about Trixie Lulamoon than I do about Tak. “What am I supposed to say?” “I dunno didn’t ya learn any fancy diplomatic talkin’ from yer ma? You WERE a princess kid.” With a grimace in the changeling’s directions I stand and step out the door. The hard stone echoes pleasantly and paints a much clearer picture of my surroundings to my ears than the plush carpet did. I hear hoof steps descending the stairs at my side and turn to follow. Picking my way down perhaps a tad awkwardly. She is moving down the corridors and her steps go from clopping on stone to crunching snow. Curious at the sudden shift I follow and feel the wind on my face. “Where are we?” I hear her magic at work but of course cannot see what she is doing. “A courtyard just off the main corridor. There’s a tower here that belonged to a famous unicorn, I’ve been trying to get inside but nothing I try opens the door.” I approach following her voice. “It is important to you?” “As important as anything else I suppose. I’m more curious than anything. Some powerful magic is locking the door.” I carefully feel about finding the door in question then turn backing toward it. Rearing forward I slam my hind hooves into the door bringing a deafening CRACK. To my chagrin however I do not feel it move an inch. “That is…a very solid door.” “YOU are a very strong unicorn Umbra. I’ve only ever seen earth pony’s buck like that. I didn’t think that would work though. If it was as easy as a good kick to break it, it wouldn’t be much of a spell lock. Given the power and complexity I think it may have been placed by the princess herself.” “Hm.” I turn from the door to face Trixie. “I would like you to leave this place with Tak and I.” “I told you I can’t Umbra. I’m a fugitive! I couldn’t show my face in any halfway civilized city!” I regard her for a moment. “Do you not wield many powerful…spells…you called them? Can you not simply alter your appearance?” She scrapes the ground with her hoof and I can imagine the look of consternation on her face. “Well I could I suppose.” Her tone grows more hopeful. “I wouldn’t even have to do much, just my coat and cutie mark really. It’d be simple.” I nod firmly. “Then it is settled. You will travel with Tak and I. Perhaps I can learn more of magic from you. If nothing else moving objects about with it would be useful.” Trixie seems excited now. In higher spirits than she has been since we arrived. “I could do that!” I hear her run with all speed back the way we came. Shaking my head in amusement I follow at a more sedate pace. Tak is sitting in my room still, and while I cannot see it I know his smug smirk adorns his face. “She sure seems excited ‘bout somethin’. What could it be I wonder?” I snort in irritation. “Do not play the fool with me. Fill our packs with more of those…whatever they were you fed me earlier.” “Strawberries. That ain’t th’only fruit they got neither. The kid wasn’t kiddin’ ‘bout them bein’ well-stocked. Should be enough for us t’eat somethin’ new every day til we reach a city. Course then we got the problem of neither one’a us havin’ a single bit t’our name.” I shrug. “If we do not have money we will find our own nourishment in the wilds. I did it my entire life and the surface despite your horrible flaming balls of light in the sky, seems far tamer in comparison.” I look toward Trixie’s room, the sound of packing can be heard from within. “Besides we are not alone, Trixie may have money. And if not entertainers are paid for their work are they not? Perhaps she can perform for our meals.” He grunts. “Yah ain’t a bad idea. Hafta find someplace that’ll LET her up on stage first though.” I wave a hoof at him dismissively. “It is being dealt with. Prepare our rations, I wish to be away from this place soon. The sooner we reach a city the sooner we can find Princess Luna.” He turns to go, but pauses at the door. “She ah…the ONLY thing we’re lookin’ for?” My silence is answer for him enough. With a sigh he turns and makes his way down the stairs. When he is gone I crack an eye experimentally. The brightness alarms me and stings my eyes but it is not the fiery pain from before. I sit in the hall slowly opening my eyes wider and wider as the minutes tick by. My vision is still somewhat blurred, and the light even in the darkened corridors is borderline hellish to me but it was progress. Eyes squinted to thin lines I entered Trixie’s room. “Can you do something for me about all this light? A spell or…something of the sort?” She turns to regard me with a thoughtful frown. “Perhaps. I’ve never considered such a spell but it’s certainly not impossible to do. I can work on it and see what I come up with. In the meantime…” Her magic grips a garment that she drapes across my back. She then tugs a thick hood over my face and ties it around me throat. “There not perfect but it should help. And it should conceal that ah…interesting armor of yours.” I shift my head to situate the hood more comfortably. It does an adequate job providing some shade for my eyes, though I doubt it will stave off a direct glare from their sun. “What is wrong with my armor?” “Besides the fact that nopony WEARS armor at all save the royal guard…it’s creepy. It makes you look like a bug.” I frown. “Tak looks like a bug.” “Yes well Tak is a changeling, and also found creepy by ponies.” “Hrm. You ponies are an odd and skittish bunch.” She scoffs softly. “WE ponies thank you very much. And…yes I suppose we are. Ponies tend to shy away from new things, but given a chance to adapt to the new element so long as it proves harmless they’re very welcoming.” A pause and then. “For the most part.” I nod and adjust the cloak to more fully cover my armor. “Well I do not wish to unsettle the people I am hoping to integrate into and learn about. Thank you for the gift, it will do until a more permanent solution is discovered Trixie.” I bow my head. The unicorn looks a touch flustered, but pleased. “Think nothing of it; Trixie is always happy to assist her…friends?” She says the last part without the flair she started with. I raise my eyebrow at the sudden shift in her speech patterns, but enough time around Tak has given me a curious immunity to the oddity of such behavior. “Yes Trixie I believe we are friends.” My response seems to please her as she tugs her hat down to conceal her watery eyes. Not fast enough for me to miss it though. “Well then Trixie supposes we have made our companion wait long enough.” I am content to follow her lead through the corridor. Tak is in the corridor at the end of the stairs as we reach the bottom. “Gotta say I could get used ta us pickin’ up a pretty filly everywhere we stop. Might make this trip a lot more enjoyable.” Even through my blurry vision I am sure he is leering at Trixie and I. Our new companion flounces by him lightly brushing her tail under his chin. “Perhaps if you can find a form more pleasing to Trixie’s eye she will consider you for companionship. Having a changeling stallion at the head of a herd could prove…interesting if nothing else.” Tak watches her flounce toward the doors; I can see his mouth open a little. “…dunno whatcha said t’her kid but she sure did a one eighty! Not that I’m complain’ a’course.” We move to follow. “What did she mean by a herd?” “Oh! S’an old pony tradition. Yer gonna find once we git around more there’s like…ten mares, that’s th’ladies like yerself, t’every one stallion like my extremely handsome an desireable self. So it ain’t totally unheard of fer one stallion t’have himself a few different wives.” “A surprisingly practical concept given how…whimsical ponies sound.” He shrugs. “S’mostly a matter’a survival. Species would probly die off if alla yer stallions stuck t’one mare.” Trixie pushes the doors open for us with her magic. I flinch away from the rush of sunlight, but slowly I step one hoof, than the next into the light. It is warm but not uncomfortably so. The light is still hellaciously bright but I find the cloak makes it somewhat tolerable. The three of us step out into the bright daytime sunlight. I keep my head lowered firmly to the ground and waste no time ploughing ahead. Tak and Trixie fall into step behind me. “She’s certainly a physical mare isn’t she?” I hear Tak chuckle over the blowing wind. “Yup! She’s a regular earth pony at heart. Practical, hard headed, stubborn, and boring!” They are both laughing now, at MY expense. But rather than growing upset I feel a smile forming on my face. Their bantering back and forth is somewhat comforting to me. A small cluster of buildings in the valley below catches my eye. I point. “What is that? Are there ponies there?” “None living. When Trixie first came here she was told this was the setting of the usual Hearth’s Warming Plays.” Tak gives a low whistle. “Th’one with th’windigoes an’ everything? Are there really frozen ponies all over th’place?” Trixie’s response is soft, it lacks her dramatic flair. “Yes. The castle was filled with them too but one of the first things I did when taking up residence was to move them to the basement. It was so sad to see them like that.” I am beginning to figure my companions out a bit. It seems when they are overcome with their emotions they revert to a natural way of speaking. So the buffoon and the diva would appear to be their false selves. “Tell me the story of this Hearth’s Warming while we travel.” And so they do. Each tells one part the two of them switching speaking roles as smoothly as if they’d rehearsed it together. It is a whimsical tale of love and friendship overcoming the elements and to my ear rings utterly false and ridiculous. Both seem to delight in their fairy tale however so I keep my thoughts to myself. “Why do your all-knowing, all powerful princesses not swoop in here and restore the frozen ponies to life?” Neither seems to have an answer to that, and the only sound for some time is the wind.