I groan as I sit upright in the bed, my mane, tail, and coat all a mess as I struggle to wake myself.
While I don't have any sort of schedule to abide to, it is best to wake up at a proper hour - so I may be attuned to the ritual when I must perform its laborious rites.
I had to stop the carriage several times - either to purchase food or ensure I was still on the correct path. I know that it was magically guided, but...I don't always trust the magic of other ponies. It pales in comparison to that of the Great and Powerful -
That is, I...I'm just a bit paranoid.
And I'm still trying to overcome my ego issues...
I sigh as I look up to the glaring sun through my carriage's window. Ever shining, ever present - one of the sole sources of stability in my life, which not even the moon could produce, as it wanes and waxes with time...
Even this letter, this new goal, has not supplied any stability. I don't know what it means - I don't know why this Peter wants to see me so damn much, but all I know is that, for some reason, I have to see him. Something within myself just knows that I have to speak with him.
But...about what?
I shake my head as I roll off of the mattress, my hooves clicking on the wooden floor of the curiously stable carriage. I leave the bedroom, and make myself some breakfast - that is, two pieces of toast.
As I silently crunch down on the crusted bread, I examine my calender again. It's hard to believe that I've been on this carriage for a month now...
It's odd, really. I know that, traveling at this rate, I should have reached Ponyville within the week. But there are road blocks everywhere - apparently, several major cities have become subject to major genocides. By whom, I don't know; but I know that I don't want to get involved in that, and that I am thusly grateful for these hindrances.
The sun tells me that it's about noon now, and as I sip coffee from my porcelain mug, I feel myself beginning to doze off. I might as well - at this rate, I don't know when I'll appear in Ponyvi-
"Whoah!" I cry as the carriage comes to a halt. Apparently, the pony that designed the spell made it so that it bucks the passengers into the wall when it reaches the destination...
With a slight headache, I push open the carriage door, my cape and hat abandoned in my dresser as I decide to go out in a more..."modest" outfit.
The first thing I'm met with is disgusted stairs and wrinkled muzzles. I shrink into myself as I walk through Ponyville, my hoofsteps feeling heavy and cumbersome as I struggle to avoid the gazes of the towns' ponies.
Of course, I fail at that, and end up having to feel horribly judged as I trudge through the town in search of the tree library. After several moments of walking with my head down, I finally decide to look, and see that I've stopped just before the overgrown plant.
How convenient.
I gently rap on the door, and I see a pony that had been following me the entire time stop, turn, and walk away, whistling a happy tune. I can't help but wonder what that was all about...
After several minutes with no answer, I venture into the building, finding that the door is unlocked. When I walk in, I gasp as I see the signs of a struggle: torn pages of books, torn couch, destroyed desk...
"What happened here?" I wonder aloud. I frown as I begin to search for Twilight Sparkle throughout the entirety of the building, but I eventually give up - I won't find her here, she's either been taken or has gone into hiding...
Assuming that this occurred unnoticed to everypony, I dash out of the library and find the first pony I can talk to. It just so happens to be a pony that I ridiculed, but I ignore that fact as I begin to speak.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" I ask. The minty green unicorn turns, and wrinkles her muzzle as she sees me.
"Oh...it's you."
My ears flatten as I cringe, but I press on. "Were you aware that there was a struggle in Twilight Sparkles' library? She, uh...I believe she was ponynapped, or fled..."
"Oh, a few Griffons came by before and tried to kidnap her," the unicorn responds nonchalantly.
"WHAT!?" I demand. "Are we at war with the Griffon nation!?"
"It's no biggie," the minty pony informs me, refusing to look at me as she continues to look through her book. "Peter saved her. And that one Griffon - I think her name was Matilda?" She shrugs. "Whatever. Peter brought her up to Canterlot - teleported there. I was pretty impressed." She lowers the book to glare at me. "But I bet you aren't impressed in the slightest," she remarks.
"Uh, I, uh -" I manage to respond, rather intelligently. I begin to blush as the mare chuckles to herself, and I shrink into my own form as she stands to leave with a light giggle.
"Hey, lighten up, Miss Trixie," the unicorn announces. I recoil as she rests a hoof on my shoulder. "I can tell you're not the same egocentric asshole that broke my Lyre that one time. Which you still owe me forty bits for, by the way."
Determined to leave and get to Canterlot, I fish into my saddlebags and pull out the wad of bills Peter gave me. I find two twenties as the mare watches on, her mouth hanging open as she eyes the money I'm presenting.
"Oh, this?" I ask with a smirk. "Makes you poor Ponyville ponies look like real trash..."
The unicorn narrows her eyes at me. "Keep your money, you bitch. I can see I was wrong about you..."
I balk as she begins to walk away. "Wait, I was joking!" I call to her. "Peter gave it to me..."
The mare turns to me with a cocked eyebrow. "What d'you mean, Peter gave it to you?"
Finding myself backed into a corner due to my own...well, let's be honest, profound lack of a verbal filter, I explain the letter I received as best as I can, without the bit about the fate of Equestria resting on my shoulders. I don't think that would go over well with the townsfolk...
"Wait, Peter wants to train you?" She asks. I nod, and she points to Canterlot. "Then what're you waiting for!? Get going already! He's the Head Royal Technician; you don't keep somepony like that waiting!"
I grimace as I realize she's right. I toss the forty bits into the air as I sprint off, not caring whether the mare catches it or not.
My chest heaves as I pant, and I struggle to recollect my breath as I sit in the train compartment. I take a deep breath, which is difficult to do with my incredibly need for oxygen. I sigh as I slump into the chair, and wait for the train to depart.
Within several minutes, the train is rattling along, and I'm one of the sole occupants off the train. I guess that either rush hour is over, or nopony wants to go to Canterlot this time of year...
Or maybe it's Saturday.
When the train arrives in Canterlot, I immediately step out and start to look around for directions. Sweat forms like bullets, and I begin to prance in place.
"Excuse me, ma'am - can I help you?"
"Yes, would you happen to know where Peter is? He should be with Twilight Sparkle," I ask as I turn to look towards the male voice. My eyes widen as I see that it is not a pony, but is a small, purple and green, baby dragon.
"Trixie?" He asks. "Is that you? Why're you looking for Peter and Twilight?"
I wrack my brain for a name. I know I've heard of this young dragon before, and I know he's Twilight Sparkles' assistant in Ponyville...what is his name...
"Uh, my name's Spike, in case you forgot," the dragon announces.
"Ah, yes, Spike!" I declare. "I remember you..."
"Oh, hey, you're not speaking in the third person anymore!"
I nod, feeling slightly proud of myself. Remembering my counseling, I stop it from going to my head before it's too late.
"Well, I don't know where Twilight is, but I'm going to the castle; and there's, like, a ninety eight percent chance that she's there if she's not in Ponyville...wanna come with?"
I nod as I sigh in relief. We start walking through the crowd, and Spike guides me with his knapsack on a stick, which is hard to lose in the crowd due to sticking out like a sore hoof.
"So, you said that you're looking for Peter, too?" Spike asks as we enter a calmer area of the city.
"Yes," I respond. "He left me a letter after he saved my life...he wants to teach me some sort of magic."
"Really?" Spike asks as he turns his neck to look to me. I nod. "Huh...I didn't know he knew magic. Guess it was a secret 'bout him."
I frown for a moment, but decide to go with it - this Peter wouldn't prank me by giving me over one hundred thousand bits. Nopony would.
"So, how do you know Peter?" I venture.
"Oh, we're good friends," the baby dragon responds. "Haven't seen him since I left for the migration, though..."
I raise my eyebrows. "Migration? As in...dragon migration?"
"Yep!" He chirps. "I even made a bunch of friends!"
"Oh, really? I've read that dragons are incredibly antisocial - how did you manage to do that without fighting?"
"What makes you think I can't fight?" He asks, defensively.
"Uh, well..." I give a sheepish grin. "You're...well...tiny."
Spike smirks at me. "Yeah, well...you'll hear all about it when I tell Celestia!"
I nod, and Spike hums to himself merrily as we continue through the halls of the Canterlot castle. Oddly enough, as soon as the guards saw Spike, they let him through without a word, and myself as well. I know that Twilight is the Princess' student, but...wouldn't they at least check out a dragon, even knowing it's her assistant? I shake the notion off as we continue to walk, hooves and claws clacking against the marble.
When we arrive at the throne room, one of the guards stares at Spike before readily opening the door that leads to Celestia's throne. As he does, I see that she and Twilight Sparkle are discussing something at great length as she sits next to her mentor. Spike and I walk in, and as soon as Celestia takes notice of us, I give a courteous bow.
Adding to the oddity of this visit, as she looks up, I can't help but see a moment of shock and fear in her eyes. I dismiss it as a trick of the light.
"Ah, Spike, you have returned!" Celestia declares. The baby dragon nods, and runs to give Twilight a hug.
"And Trixie Lulamoon, I see that you have arrived," Celestia announces. I nod with a gulp, and she smiles sadly as she looks down at me. "Alas, I'm afraid that your meeting with Peter must be postponed. Something...urgent happened."
I nod, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach as I open my mouth to ask what that urgent thing is. I'm cut short by a gasp.
"Spike, these are..."
I turn in surprise, and my eyes widen as I see the several dozen scales left scattered atop the now-open knapsack. Were those in there the entire time!?
"Yeah, they're my prize for winning the fight!" Spike announces happily. I cast a nervous glance to Twilight and Celestia, both of whom are ignoring me as I begin to tremble: why does this feel so...scary? Don't scales grow back?
"Spike...these are..." Twilight seems to go green, and I frown as I step forward to examine the scales.
"They're scales," Spike completes, tilting his head in confusion. "What's the matter, Twilight?"
"Spike...you get a dragons' scales when you...when you kill them..." Twilight breathes. A shiver runs down my spine, and I take a nervous step back as Spike shrugs.
"And?"
Twilight's face turns from green to red in a split second, and if I had blinked, I would have missed the swift motion that created the sharp crack.
I cringe as Twilight fully slaps Spike, right across the cheek. I take another step back, unwilling to intrude upon their personal affairs.
"AND!?" Twilight shouts. "AND!? HOW DARE YOU DEVALUE LIFE LIKE THAT - I TAUGHT YOU THAT ALL LIFE WAS PRECIOUS, SPIKE! YOU MURDERED A DRAGON! YOU MURDERED THIS DRAGON!" She points to the scales for emphasis.
"Hey, he attacked me first!" Spike shouts in response, his own voice seeming small and outright pathetic in comparison to Twilight's. "I was just defending myself!"
"Yes, you can defend yourself, but you never kill something!" Twilight shrieks in response. I let out a yelp of surprise as the Alicorn standing to the left of me begins to shout.
"Enough!" She bellows. "Guards, close the doors." I start as the doors are pulled shut with a loud bang, and I begin to tremble as the Princess continues. "Twilight Sparkle, I'll have you know what Spike did was justifiable. The dragon that attacked him had every intention of killing him." Twilight starts to ask a question, but Celestia cuts across her, the regal sisters' tone now a soothing, soft sound of comfort. "Twilight, you of all ponies should know that dragons have a tendency to kill those they think of as weak. If Spike hadn't killed that dragon, you know what would have happened to him."
Twilight sighs bitterly. "I...I know, it's just..." She looks to Spike. "Spike, how...how could you take taking a life so...so calmly? It's as if it hasn't even affected you..." Spike frowns, and sadness finally shows in his blank eyes as he hears the strain in Twilight's voice. "What...what happened to you, Spike? Why have you changed so much..."
"Perhaps you should speak with Peter, as he has had Grendel within his mind." Princess Celestia suggests, softly. "The both of you should. He may not be awake yet, but I have no doubt that he will wake shortly. The magic used by the surgeons helped to accelerate the process, to the point at which the entire surgery took only one hour..."
"Surgery?" Spike asks, concern etched across his face. Twilight nods.
"Come on, Spike," Twilight says softly. "I'll explain on the way...and...sorry for yelling at you like that..."
Spike nods, holding tight onto the lavender unicorns' hoof as the pair walks away. I frown in both pity and jealousy.
I wish I had somepony like that in my life...
"Trixie Lulamoon," Princess Celestia announces, her voice strangely soft. I spin around, and give her a salute with a shaking limb.
"Y-yes ma'am?"
"Perhaps, when they leave Peter's bedside, you should attend to him, as well - the sooner you meet him, the better."
I nod, and confusion takes the place of fear. "Princess, I...Your Majesty, would you mind if I...I were to ask what surgery Peter underwent?"
Celestia sighs. "I would explain it all, but...I find myself too mentally and emotionally drained to do so. Do you...mind at all?"
"Of course not, your Majesty."
She nods. "Thank you...I will only tell you what the surgery was. They had to remove several tumors from his abdominal region. He can explain it more..."
I nod. Tumors aren't exactly uncommon, so I'm not shocked to hear it. A bit disheartened, but...not shocked. If I had known him personally, perhaps then I would be shocked.
"Now, I must retire to my bedchambers," she announces with a very un-Princess-like yawn. "My sister, Luna, will speak to you if you require assistance...But don't expect to get anything other than riddles..."
I nod, and with that, the Princess makes her exit. I see her pull something out of an alcove in the wall and cradle it against her chest. I can't help but peek at it, and my eyes widen as I see that it's a bottle of heavy rum.
"Trixie Lulamoon?"
The voice catches me off guard, and I spin around to see a...Guard. I nod to him, and he nods back.
"Come with me. We have bedchambers prepared for you. We will send word when Miss Sparkle and her assistant have left Peter's hospital dwelling."
I nod, and the guard leads me to a room where I can rest my head for a few moments. I sit on the edge of the bed, and he asks if I would like anything. I respond with "my belongings from my carriage, please". He nods with a curt "right away," then walks out.
And I'm left to my lonesome, to think and to fear my thoughts.