//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 : Conflict // Story: My little hunter : Companionship is magic // by MonsterHunterBrony //------------------------------//           Chapter 6: Conflict  A few months ago, in canterlot, Trixie was negotiating her next contract. Not a contract up to her expectations, but anything would do to help her recover from her recent fiasco in Ponyville.                   “So let’s see, you want I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, to entertain the foals at that birthday party. You are in luck as Trixie happens to be free that day” she said with a forced smile. “Now let’s discuss my wages, Trixie’s talents will cost two hundreds bits for the duration of the festivity and-“ a hoof suddenly raised in front of her face cut her speech.                   “Wait a second here, miss Trixie. If I wanted to spend two hundred bits on this kind of show I’d have asked for a high ranked performer such as Avid Plain or Kiss Anvil. I came to you because I could only afford a second rate performer. Fifty bits plus the food, that is my offer. Take it, or leave it. After all there is many other cheaper performers I could go to.”                   Trixie’s eye twitched, “Did you just call The Great and Powerful Trixie a second rate performer? How dare you count me as one of those charlatans who can’t perform half the tricks I can? I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, the best, the strongest and the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria!”                   “You know what? I’m gonna go find someone else, I know as well as anypony else how much of a phony you are. We all know about what happened in Ponyville and how your story about the ursa major was nothing but horseapples. I wanted to give you a chance, but it seems like you do not deserve it.” The mare huffed and turned around, leaving a devastated Trixie behind.                   In the two weeks that followed the events in Ponyville, her reputation had degraded to such a point she could not manage to get any form of employment. Who would willingly hire somepony who built their fame on lies after all. Trixie brought her purse under her nose and took a glance of the few remaining bits. She barely had enough to eat for the rest of the week. The sound of small hooves reached her ears. She sighed. Since her return to Canterlot, she could hear the rumors and the gossip about her wherever she went. There was something else that started following her though. A young filly, probably five or seven years old at most started stalking her. Trixie had tried to shoo her away, convinced she was partly to blame for her inability to get new contracts, but to no avail. Every day, at some point, the filly would come out of nowhere and follow her around. Often, she would mimic the adult mare’s actions, the way she stood on two legs and how she moved her imaginary cape around. At first, Trixie thought she was just a fan of her and that she was imitating her for no other reason, but over time she figured the filly had a different purpose in mind. Trixie turned to face the filly, a small purple coated unicorn with a red mane and freckles. It seemed as if the filly did not take a bath or anything similar in days, according to the state in which her coat was.                   “What is it, little one? Why do you keep stalking the Great and Powerful Trixie?”                   The kid’s face beamed with joy as for the first time in the past weeks, Trixie finally spoke to her. She then raised herself on her hind legs and Declared ”I, the Grandiose and Pretty Misty needs to observe you if one day she hopes to become such a great street performer as The Great and Powerful Trixie!”                   “Trixie is flattered to know you admire her so much, but Trixie doesn’t have the time to deal with kids right now. Please, be a dear and go back to your parents.”                   “I can’t do that. I got no parents, miss. I, Misty, lived on her own for as long as she remembers! Free of any consequences… But also as lonely as a discarded sock…” she replied. Her cheerful grin slowly turning upside down.                   Trixie was baffled. How could a foal this young survive on her own? As far as she knew, there were no orphanages in Canterlot. Then it meant the filly has been living in the street for only Celestia knows how long. The little Unicorn spoke once more.                   “You know, I first saw you a year ago, when you were doing a street performance. I knew from this day onward what I wanted to become when I grow up. I wanted to become an entertainer too, but no one ever wants to help me. That is why I thought I should try to get closer to the pony who created my dream. And also, because we are so alike. After all we both got no friends.”                   “What are you saying fool? Trixie got plenty of… friends…” the realisation struck like a bullet. Now that she thought about it, she was always alone, her only company being the crowds of onlookers. She had no one to talk to when she needed to, no one to rely on, and with her parents now gone, no one actually loving her for who she was. “Actually… you may be right little one. I got no one I can actually call a friend.” She slowly hung her head low, staring at the ground. Now that her popularity disappeared, no one would come see her performances. The public’s company had disappeared the same way all of her acquaintances left her. Only now was she able to understand how she came to be alone. Her ways were wrong, she started losing her friends when she became a performer. When she started boasting about her skills and when she started to be condescending to others. She changed for the worst when she gained her popularity, and only now was she realizing it. She then looked at the filly now sitting in front of her. A child who didn’t seem to get fazed over the fact she had no family of her own. Even at her young age, she was more mature than Trixie ever was and yet, she looked up to her.                   “Tell me, little one. How did you manage to survive this long on your own? Without a family to raise you or a roof to shelter you.” Trixie asked.                   The child’s head perked up to meet Trixie’s face with a grin “I’m not quite proud of it, but I know ways to ‘acquire’ what I need. As for shelter, you’d be surprised at what you can make out of the stuff ponies throw away. I made a small shelter in an alley over there. Winter is harsh, but the rest of the year, it’s not too bad.”                   Maybe, just maybe this child is my chance at redemption… Maybe that is why our paths crossed. Yes I will straighten my ways, I know I can do it! Trixie thought. She then addressed the filly: “How would you like to have a true home? My career as a performer is pretty much ruined anyway, so I guess I will just start all over again, and I will need all the help I can get to do it. I will sell my current house and find a cheaper one, that way I will be able to get food for both of us. So, what do you say? Want to try a new life?”                   The child could not hold her joy, she simply jumped at Trixie, hugging her as hard as she could. “Yes! Yes I want to!”                   “Then it is decided, we will make our own little family and start anew.”   -----                   “And that is how I adopted Mirage Mist and moved here. I currently work on Carrot Top’s farm as a planter/gatherer. The location of the farm allowed me to spend most of my time away from the town center, where I was afraid ponies would recognize me too easily. Thanks to her generosity though I can now take care of my daughter.” Trixie said as she stroked the mane of Mirage, who joined the storyteller when she was done with her chore.                   Twilight spoke up. “I see you learned a lot from this filly didn’t you? I also noticed you barely refer to yourself at the third pony anymore. I guess you were always playing a role, am I right?”                   Trixie left out a weak chuckle “I think I let my early popularity get to my head, I started wearing a mask of overconfidence and never realised I was only hiding behind it. Sometime I wonder though, who is the real Trixie? Is she Trixie the showmare or Trixie the mother?”                   Clay was the one to give an answer “You are who you want to be. If you want you can even be both, as long as you remain true to yourself.”                   “Ah couldn’t agree more.” Added Applejack.                   The small group of ponies spent some more time chatting as they finished the tea Trixie brew for them. They took the time to each get properly introduced to Mirage Mist, then proceeded to leave the small house. On their way to the party, they went pass the library. Clay’s gaze observed all the remnants of the previous battle. The body of the monster was gone and the library had lost a large piece of bark where the tigrex bit it. Clay felt a little bad for using Twilight’s home as a trap for a rampaging creature, but he knew that was the simplest way to get rid of it. He wished he could at least have kept innocent ponies away from the monsters of his world. This attack on Ponyville made him decide to actively start hunting, to make sure this situation would not happen again. Lost in thought, he never saw Pinkie who came to greet them as they reached Sugarcube Corner.                   “Hi there everypony!” Clay let out a loud yelp as he jumped in the air, startled by the sudden apparition before him. Pinkie didn’t seem to bother about the reaction though. “Ooooh, I see you convinced Trixie to join us tonight! You guys even brought a filly I never even met before, this is going to be great! I bet she will get along with the CMC, we should have them meet each other! It’s just a shame Fluttershy won’t come tonight, it would have been nice to have her befriend Trixie.”                   “Huh? Why isn’t she coming? I know she is not very outgoing, but it never stopped her from joining us in parties.” Asked Dash.                   Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin as she reminisced the moment she invited her pegasus friend to her Ponyville-has-been-saved-from-a-big-monster-bully party. “All she said Is that she didn’t feel well, do you think it’s something she ate? I didn’t want to force her to come if she didn’t feel like it, but I’m pretty sure a party would help her feel better don’t you think? I could add some medicinal herbs to the cupcakes to make her feel even better!”                   Rainbow frowned. “That’s weird, when I saw her this morning she looked fine, even cheerful. You know what? I’m gonna get her, I’ll be back later, seeya!” She flew away leaving a multicolored trail behind her.                   “Ah, wait! Aaaw, too late. Oh well, if she manages to convince Fluttershy to come by I sure won’t complain.” Said Pinkie. ”Well guys, IT’S TIME TO PAAAAAR-TAY!”   -----                   The skies were tainted red and the lawn around her cottage was devastated. Fluttershy was slowly moving around in a chaotic landscape she’d rather not see.Then, at her feet a small critter laid, not breathing. A maniacal laugh reached her ears, the voice was one she recognized too well. As her gaze rose to see the one laughing evilly, she observed her surrounding once again. The lawn was now covered in lifeless creatures of all kind, a few steps in front of her, a large pile of critter corpses towered above her. Her eyes followed the pile to its top and her eyes locked with those of her rainbow maned friend. A psychotic grin adorned Rainbow Dash’s face as the shape of a large armor clad stallion approached from behind. The stallion, also known as Clay had the same grin as the cyan Pegasus, his eyes were glowing a bright red as he burst laughing, while stomping the body pile. Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat, a loud thumping sound started beating in her head and then she screamed in horror.                   She suddenly woke up. Her heart was beating as fast as ever, her breathing was laborious, and she found out the source of the thumping was coming from none other than angel bunny. Her pet had worked as hard as he could to awake his terrorized master. Worried, Angel looked at Fluttershy with pleading eyes, hoping she would recover quickly.                   “Don’t worry Angel. This… this dream is over now… I think my imagination is getting the best out of me after today’s events…” She took a step out of her bed and took a glance through her window. The moon had started rising. Her afternoon nap ended up lasting way longer than what she wished. With a sigh she lit up some lamps and headed to her kitchen to prepare some tea. At least the chamomile she brewed would help her calm down. The water was about to reach its boiling point when a knock on her door caught her attention.                   “Hey, Fluttershy, are you there?”                   Fluttershy froze in place. It was Rainbow Dash’s voice. She remembered the Dash she saw in her dream and gulped loudly. An other knock. “C-coming” she stuttered. She turned off her stove and walked to her front door. She brought her hoof to open it and hesitation held her in place for a few more seconds. She gathered her courage and finally opened her door.                   “He-hello Rainbow. Is there anything I can do to help you?” she asked, not daring to look at her friend straight in the eyes.                   “Well, I heard from Pinkie Pie that you weren’t feeling well, I thought I would check up on you and see if everything was fine.” While she was certain Fluttershy wasn’t sick, she felt like something was wrong, something she was hiding from her. “Mh, Fluttershy? You look kinda nervous, did something happen?”                   “Well… ye-no… Everything is… hum… fine…”                   “Ooooook… You are a worst liar than Applejack so this is not going to work with me. Spill it. What is the matter?”                   “No—nothing, don’t worry about it.”                   “Fluttershy, I know you are hiding something from me and you will tell me what it is. I got all night and I am not leaving until I know what troubles you.”                   “Really it’s fine I-“                   “Spill it.”                   “But I-“                   “I said: spill it!”                   “Ok! Fine! You really want to know? You are the problem.” She said, raising her voice “You and Clay to be precise. I thought I could accept the differences between ponykind and humans, but I guess I was wrong to trust him. I saw what happened this afternoon. I was far from the battle itself but I was able to see it from where I was at the moment. I saw you two fight that creature. I felt its emotions during the whole fight, anger, followed by fear and then… You two finished it off. If he had fought the creature on his own I might have been able to overlook it. After all he did protect Ponyville. What I can’t forgive though is that he got you to do the same as he does! Do you think I missed what you’ve done? You used the sonic rainboom, the stunt that only you can perform, as a weapon. I can’t believe you could do such a thing! Today you became a murderer Rainbow Dash!”                   “Hey wait a darn minute! I didn’t kill anything! All I did was help repel a monster that was destroying Ponyville, the town we live in! Yes I agreed to learn how to hunt from Clay, but it doesn’t make me a killer!”                   “Dash, you just said yourself you agreed to become a hunter like him. And hunters, kill. That is what they do. I am very disappointed in you Rainbow Dash. We always found a way to solve our problems without resorting to such method, and today, you broke the cycle we managed to perpetuate for so long.”                   “Fluttershy, you got it all wrong! Me and Clay have a deal. We-“                   “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I am not in the mood to continue this conversation. I will now ask you to leave before I say something I regret. Please, leave me alone for now.” She then closed her door without letting Dash adding anything.                   “Fine!” She yelled, “If that’s how you are going to take it then I guess I have no reason to stay here!” She turned around and Flew away back toward Sugarcube Corner. It took her all she got to not let go her tears of frustration.   -----                   The party was still going on when Dash came back. Trixie was making an impressive depiction of the battle that raged earlier that day. She had now a story far more impressive than her previous Ursa major tale. And this time, she had the courage to admit she didn’t fight alone, standing beside the shape representing her, two more ponies, an earth pony and a Pegasus, were valiantly fighting the monster. From time to time the CMC were spotted trying new crazy tricks with their new friend as they attempted to get their ‘party prankster’ cutie mark. The night started growing old and Dash managed to keep her head cool enough not to show her concern for Fluttershy. When asked about how their meeting went she just shrugged it off, claiming she would be fine, eventually. As most ponies returned home, Twilight and Clay readied themselves to leave as well.                   “Clay, do you mind going a little ahead of me? There is something I want to ask Dash before going home.” Asked the purple unicorn.                   Clay simply nodded and went on his way.  As for Twilight she joined Rainbow Dash who was about to leave herself.                   “Hey Rainbow, there is something I wanted to ask you. Tomorrow I planned to try a spell to see Clay’s memory for my researches about the creatures of his world. Considering how you seem to have decided to follow him on his hunts, I thought it might be a good idea if you had a chance to take a glance at what he can show us. Also, it is a chance for us to discover some stuff about his past.”                   “Oh, well. I guess it could be interesting. Sign me up. When do you want me to show up?”                   “Just spend the night at the library, the sooner I can start, the more we get to see and learn. I wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to search for the next monster that was brought with him, so if we are lucky, you might even get a chance to learn how to deal with your next target.”                   “I guess I can’t argue with that logic. I’m gonna get some stuff from my place then I will join you at the library. Seeya in a bit!”                   Twilight looked at Rainbow leaving the place and headed home herself.                   “I hope you are prepared, because tomorrow I’m going to pierce some of your secrets, mister hunter.” She said with a sly grin.