It began with a harsh cough. From the cough came a gasp, and from the gasp came a spat of dusty spittle. Trixie could feel the cold spit slowly flow down her left foreleg. This was a good sign, for it meant her leg was still attached to her body. Trixie mentally congratulated herself on this discovery.
A soft distant yellow light danced for Trixie’s amusement. It was a curious light, one that danced slowly back and forth like the sway of reeds in a summer breeze back home. Memories of when Trixie grew up by the Broncks’ canals surfaced in her mind. Those were fond times for the Unicorn. Her mother used to sing to her the old stories of the wind spirits and always ended the song on the same note.
“Get your stupid tail out of my face.”
Hmm, that was strange. Trixie remembered her mother’s song quite clearly and it sounded nothing like Cheryl’s gruff voice. The Unicorn decided to try an experiment. She flicked her tail a couple times.
“Ugh! Trixie, if you don’t move your tail right now, I’m going to yank it off!”
It was indeed Cheryl’s voice! This meant two important details were true. Firstly, Trixie wasn’t the sole survivor of the temple collapse and secondly, if she didn’t move off Cheryl right away, the Unicorn was about to become tailless.
Trixie shifted her body and slid off the Earth pony.
The two mares heard a faint coughing sound nearby after a beat of silence had passed. Cheryl slowly sat up and swiveled her ears in the direction the sound came from.
“Hey chicken wings, are you still alive?” the Earth pony asked loudly.
Trixie and Cheryl heard a faint murmur of confirmation that sounded like Ellie’s voice. With that weak reply, the mares knew that they had all survived the destruction of the temple. Trixie focused some of her remaining strength and projected another magical light from her horn. The light was weak and required some concentration to keep going, but it was all Trixie could muster.
Cheryl studied the cave-in that led back to the temple before she remarked. “Well, I reckon the bell didn’t see that ringer coming,” Cheryl commented.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Ellie groaned with an annoyed expression. “Why would any pony create such a powerful and dangerous item that shoots white-hot fire? Who was this Grogar anyway?”
Trixie weakly chuckled. “A demonic goat that enslaved Tambelon with an iron hoof,” she explained.
“Yeah well,” Ellie fumbled, “I wish there was an ancient evil out there that ruled over ponies with harmless plush toys.”
“Hey now,” Cheryl said pointedly. “You were the one shooting off fire every which way but loose and nearly flattened us all back there.”
“I panicked,” Ellie explained defensively. “I couldn’t stop myself from ringing the bell so I pointed it away from everyone. I didn’t mean to bring the ceiling down on top of us.”
Trixie interrupted Ellie’s rant. “It’ll be alright now, little hayseeds,” Trixie assured them. “I promise that if I find a legend of some ancient evil that ruled Equestria with a teddy bear, we’ll go after that adventure next.”
The dancing light from earlier had grown in intensity since the mares were talking. The light was coming from somewhere beyond the cave-in section. Cheryl pawed at the area before she put an ear up to the rubble. She heard the sound of shifting rocks and grunting from the other side.
“Hey, I hear ponies,” Cheryl said nonchalantly. “You reckon it’s a rescue party?”
Trixie moved her head to see Cheryl’s face better. “Any pony cursing my name?” the Unicorn asked jokingly. “I’m pretty sure it’s a rescue if you can hear Valiant swearing about me like a sailor.”
As the sound of moving rocks grew closer, Cheryl tapped on the stones to give them a beacon to follow. Several minutes passed by, stones were hefted out of the way, and the small yellow light grew ever brighter. Finally, after what felt like nearly an hour, the workers had broken through the cave-in.
Cheers were shouted when they found the three mares alive.
“For the love of Luna’s left hoof!” deputy Valiant exclaimed. “You girls aren’t going to tell me that you all caused the tremor that shook up the town, are you?”
“We weren’t planning to,” Cheryl said flatly.
The townsfolk widened the passage and lowered down a makeshift stretcher made of canvas and wood planks. Trixie was the weakest and thus the first pulled out of the tunnels. Ellie was pulled out second, but Cheryl was able to exit the tunnel under her own strength.
The three mares looked up at the remains of the temple. The ceiling had collapsed all the way to the surface and left a large hole somewhere within the town. It was a good sixty to seventy feet up to the surface which necessitated the townsfolk to use ropes in the climb down for the rescue. The temple walls were cracked badly, but several of the spiral symbols were still intact for identification.
There was no evidence of the bell’s remains nor did the mares see Debon and his associates anywhere in the crowds of townsfolk here.
Cheryl helped the workers tie a strong knot around Trixie’s stretcher. Once the Unicorn was secured, the workers on the surface were ready to hoist her up.
“So what do we tell them?” Cheryl asked Trixie.
“Tell them what?” Trixie inquired back. “The collapse smashed any evidence of a relic and there’s nothing left for us to pin Debon to this conspiracy.”
“Oh, right,” Cheryl said sheepishly.
“I reckon that’s it then?” Ellie said, crestfallen. “Debon gets away and we’re left picking up the pieces?”
Trixie smiled as she was slowly lifted up by the residents. “No, there’s another rule I have about being great and powerful and I’ll share this one with you.”
“What’s that?” Ellie asked eagerly as she watched Trixie pulled to the surface.
“Always prepare for an encore.”
~ ~ ~
A balmy morning graced Saddlestone, a welcomed sight as the residents began to make repairs after last night’s minor quake. The townsfolk busied themselves so deeply in their work that few had noticed that The Great and Powerful Trixie was at the train station ready to depart back east to Manehattan.
On the other hoof, many of these residents wouldn’t have cared to see the Unicorn again after her antics had caused the town so many headaches. Even though Saddlestone was now better off thanks in part to Trixie’s involvement, the townsfolk had mixed feelings about the the way the blue Unicorn had gone about solving the problems.
Having Trixie around was like fishing with dynamite. The methods were questionable, but you couldn’t argue with the results.
Trixie stood on the station platform wearing a white bonnet and matching scarf. The nice clothes contrasted against the gauze wrappings around her burned right shoulder and the bandaged cuts on her legs. Trixie’s lone travel bag was packed with new clothes and mementos given to her by the new friends she had made here, which included her saddle belt and a few pocket-sized gizmos Ellie that had given the Unicorn to work into her stage act.
The tiny crowd that came to see Trixie off included Cheryl, Ellie, her mother Lisa, Iggy and his mother Alma, and lastly deputy Valiant. Cheryl and Ellie were also dressed up in bandages from last night’s confrontation, but the Pegasus’ artificial left wing appeared as shiny and working as ever.
Iggy had a crutch fastened around his broken leg which gave the little colt a silly hobble whenever he walked. However, his cast had gained several more signatures since last night, which included well wishes from the three bullies that Trixie had soundly defeated with a giant ball of mud.
“We are going to see you again, right?” Ellie said with a strong tone.
Trixie smiled. “Well, I have a lot of research to do on Grogar’s Bells, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll behave myself for long, but,” Trixie paused for a beat, “Yeah, I promise to visit again.” She exchanged hugs with both Ellie and Lisa, and after that, Ellie handed Trixie a small purse full of coins.
“Here, my ma and I pitched in some money so you don’t go hungry,” Ellie explained. “I reckon it’s a long trip back to Manehatten.”
“Thank you,” Trixie said as she accepted the gift. “I’ll be sure to repay you both the next time I visit.”
“Balderdash!” Lisa dismissed. “I reckon the town owes you ten times that amount, what with you ending Roxy’s bullying and solving the mystery behind all the missing cattle.”
“Minus all the damages she’s caused,” Valiant muttered flatly. “She might be a savior to some, but the rest of the townsfolk are probably happy to see Trixie gone. There’s a huge hole now in front of the general store to deal with.”
“You’ll miss me, though,” Trixie said coyly, “Won’t you, Valiant?”
“Eh, I reckon I might. A little bit,” Valiant admitted. “Well, if and when you do happen to show back up, Trixie, be sure to leave your crazy conspiracies and freak show critters at home. I’m happy you set things right around here, but I don’t think Saddlestone could tolerate another day of your shenanigans. I’m not even sure what to do with that angry hare in my jail.”
“Ever the doubter,” Trixie commented to the law-pony.
“Hey, a little skepticism does a pony good,” defended Valiant. “You can’t be too trusting when you deal with strangers who keep digging up trouble.” Valiant gave the Unicorn a smirk.
Trixie chuckled and the two shook hooves.
Iggy then limped forward to say goodbye. Trixie gave the colt the biggest hug possible, followed by a quick hug for his mother Alma. Trixie could see Iggy was almost tearful to see her leave.
“I’m going to miss you, Miss Great Trixie,” Iggy said teary-eyed. “I hope that the next time you come, you can show us some more of your great magic tricks.”
“I certainly will,” Trixie replied, “And maybe upon my return you can show me around that temple the town uncovered. Once the archeologists from Canterlot arrive, I think it can be turned into a nice little tourist attraction, don’t you agree?” Trixie watched as Iggy beamed happily with agreement.
The Unicorn then turned to Cheryl, the last pony to give her farewell to. The two exchanged a firm hoof-shake and a quick pat on each other’s back.
“I hope you find closure with your cousin Lonestar,” Trixie said.
Cheryl shrugged dismissively. “Eh, I think squashing those Chupacabra things did enough right by him,” the Earth pony stated, “But all the same, let me know when you do go chasing after the Horizon Walkers again. I’ll definitely feel better once Golden Jubilee is soundly thumped for those magical monsters she made.”
“Me too,” Ellie added cheerfully. “Folks might think you’re crazy if you go spouting stuff about the Horizon Walkers, but you can count on us to believe in you.” Ellie heard Valiant loudly clear his throat.
“Well, most of us believe in you,” Ellie corrected.
Trixie nodded in agreement. “Thanks, and if my travels ever take me to Las Pegasus, I’ll be sure to look you up, Cheryl. If you dance half as good as you fight, I should get some lessons from you.”
“For dancing or for fighting?” Cheryl asked. “Cause let me say, while you can throw a good kick in a brawl, you suck at dodging. No finesse.”
The two shared a laugh and Ellie joined in as well. As they chuckled, every pony heard the sounds of fireworks going off over by the general store.
"Now what in tarnation is going on over there?" Valiant muttered out in question.
Ellie blushed. "Oh, that's right! I had a bundle of fireworks on me when we in the tunnels last night. I left them behind somewhere after we got rescued. I reckon the kids must have found them."
Several fireworks bounced off store windows and exploded. Residents were showered in colorful sparks, much to their annoyance. "Dang it all," Valiant gruffed. He galloped off to curtail the foals who were causing a ruckus before someone lost an eye.
Trixie was only able to shrug. "Well, kids do love fire."
After a final round of goodbyes, Trixie picked up her bag to board the train. As the Unicorn took the first limping steps up the ramp, Ellie stopped her.
“One other thing, Trixie,” Ellie asked the Unicorn. “What’s with that story you’ve got in your bag? Were you writing a novel before you came to Saddlestone?”
Trixie thought for a moment before she answered. “I was. It’s a novel I’ve been working on, a tale of a boastful hero who made a careless mistake and nearly died from the resulting fall onto the street.”
“Sounds rather dark,” Cheryl commented. “Does she get better by the end of the novel?”
“She already did,” Trixie said with a pleasant smile.
The train’s whistle blew loudly and the conductor made the last call for boarding. Trixie quickly hobbled aboard and took her seat in one of the passenger cars. She placed her bag on the seat beside her as she waved goodbye to her new friends.
The train lurched forward and then slowly pulled away from the station. Trixie was on her way home and although her life still had an uphill climb to make, the little blue Unicorn was confident that the experience she gained in this western town would be the beginning of a great adventure.
The End