//------------------------------// // Run! // Story: The Fabled Adventures of Trixie Lulamoon // by Lastofakind //------------------------------// A quick back track "This whole ordeal seems complicated. Both princesses fighting over who is going to take control over what caused this." Octavia started as she drank her tea. "As you pointed out though it's happening under wraps." Trixie added from her bed as she used her magic to flip though her mother's book. "Yet Princess Luna wants to go all out to find out what really happen." "You think it's an attack on Equestria?" "If it was than I highly doubt the cloak and dagger act would be needed." Both mares grew silent as their imagination started to go wild. From outside they could here hooves. "She was said to be in here!" Yelled a voice from the other side; followed by a crash. "W-what's going on out there?" Trixie asked. Both mares slowly made their way to the door. "Silence! You are under arrest by order of Princess Celestia!" "What for? You got nothing on me!" Gilda's voice boomed. "I said silence!" "Get that spear out of my face before I shove it up yo-. Let go of me!" This time both mares stumbled backwards as a guard bucked in their door. "The other two are in here!" "Chain them up and take them to the dun-" "I said Let go of me!" Everyone paused as a guard went flying out of Gilda's room and slammed into a wall. As two more started in a second guard went flying before a spear went shooting into the wall. "I'll take you all on! Come here you, I told you what would happen if you stuck that in my face again!" As the guard in Trixie's room was distracted both mares turned before bucking the guard. As he was sent backwards the two ran out the room and into Gildas as she had a guard pinned down with a spear to his neck. "Start talking before I turn you into a Popsicle." "I-I was just ordered to arrest you, the two mares, and Dirk down to the dungeons." "Under what charges?" Trixie questioned as Gilda put the spear closer to his neck. "I was never told!" "W-what did I do? I was brought here to play for a royal party!" Octavia screamed before Dirk charged down the hall. He had on his armor as his bandages were dirty and torn. "We need to leave!" All three girls looked over to him with the same blank look. "Really?" they all said at the same time. "Oh... r-right you all seem to have picked up on that." He then looked at the guard pined to the floor along with the knocked out ones. Gilda knock out the guard before holding her side. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" "This is a mistake! I was just here to perform..." Octavia said to herself again. "Their trying to cover up what happen by locking up anyone who knows about what happen in those woods." Trixie informed Octavia. They could hear more guards coming down the halls. Trixie ran into her room. "What are you doing? We need to go now!" Dirk said running after her as she packed her mother's book and her jewel in the saddle bag. "We're going the last place they would look for us." "And that would be?" "Just follow me." "Why should we trust you?" Gilda asked. Dirk turn to her with a cocky smile. "You have much of a choice?" He then looked for Octavia who was putting her cello in its case. "Oh come on!" "I'm not bringing it but when we clear our name or... whatever I'm coming back for it!" "There they are!" A guard called as more followed. "Great..." Dirk huffed as Trixie used her magic to pull one the rugs from under the guards. "Let's go!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The dungeon! Your plain was to hide in the dungeon?" Gilda screamed before having a hoof held to her beak. "We have gate in the back we bring criminals though." Dirk said as he started to open the large iron door. "We can escape though there." He was the first one though as Trixie and the rest followed. "Normally we don't keep criminals here. We move them to the prison island after their trials so no one should be here." The cold gray stone walls and floor echoed there steps. Trixie looked into one of the empty cells as she though how awful it would have to be locked up inside one of them. Then the thought of the prison island came to mind. She only heard rumors of it. A land where life could barely sustain itself. The wildlife was said to make the Everfree forest seem tame as well. Again this was all from rumor as very few ponies dare to look into it. "Why would they do this? To go through all of this just to cover up what happen?" "I don't know..." Dirk answered as they came to a second iron door. "As much as I want to trust Princesses Luna to protect us... the whole thing seems to be over her head." "I should have just stayed in the Griffin Kingdom like I was planning to" Gilda grumbled. "What are we going to do once we get out?" Octavia asked. "We find out what happen in those woods and make sure it's taken care of. Once that's over we can go back to our normal lives." Trixie answered. "What about muscle head?" Gilda asked. "Who?" "You know Iron Will." Trixie stopped dead in her tracks. "Everyone we may have talked to in these two days might be in danger." There was a moment of silent's at this point as they thought over everyone they ever spoken to the past days. "N-no way Princess Celestia would hurt anypony." Octavia said in a shaky voice. "No she'll make up some story how we all disappeared or moved away!" Gilda responded with a growl "We have to fix this!" Trixie exclaimed only to have Gilda huff. "For what? They were ready to let us rot in a cell! We should just head for the next ship out of here." "And go where?" Octavia almost screamed. "Hey! We need to keep moving and keep quite if we're going to get out of here!" Dirk shaped. "We can argue later! Trixie is right, we find out more about what happen in the woods then Princess Luna will be able to protect us better. I just hope this doesn't set a rift between her and her sister." "You know it's going too." Gilda said to him as he open the locks on the door. "Then it gives me more reason to finish this." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outside the group found themselves in a courtyard on the outskirts of Canterlot. The shrubbery was thick and surprisingly unkempt. Dirk led them to a large gate that was locked with a padlock and chain. "Once out of here we can sneak onto a train or some th-" "Hold it right there!" Four of Celestias guards flew down and landed to surround them. "Dirk just give up now and turn in the others." "Please if you let us go we ca-" Trixie was cut off by one of the guards. "Don't make this any harder on yourselves and come with us." They started to close in only to have a small, round object rolled in front of them. A loud explosion followed by a cloud of white smoke that filled the air made the guards cough as sounds of a scuffle could be heard. As the smoke cleared a few of Luna's guards stood over Celestia's. "Take your friends and get out of here Dirk!" One of them called. "We can only hold them off for so long." Trixie took Dirk by the hoof as she used her magic to melt the metal chains. Once the chains broke Gilda used her strength to force the gate open form its rusted state. "Come on we need to get out of here now!" Trixie lead the group as they ran though a residential area. They could hear fighting on the rooftops as Luna's guards protected them. "If Celestia wanted to keep this secret then she's going to have a hard time explaining this to everyone." Gilda said though deep breaths as she tried to keep up with them. "I have a feeling me may be doing more damage than helping." Octavia commented. "It's too late to turn back now! We have to escape and think of how to make our next move." Trixie answered as she lead them down an ally way. The group started to crash into each other when they found it was a dead end. Guards could be heard as they closed in. "W-what now? We are trapped!" Octavia exclaimed as they tried to look around for anything that could help. Gilda tried to fly but found herself grounded after only getting a few feet off the ground. Dirk did the same with equal results. Trixie started to panic before she noticed the world around her starting to lack color. "Well this quite the start to your adventure." came a voice from behind her. Turning around she met the milky eyes of the elder mare. "W-what have you lead me into?" Trixie screamed as she got right into her face. "My home was destroyed for a second time, I've come close to being eaten, and now not only myself but I don't know how many others are in danger because of this. Now look where I'm at! This is your fault!" The elder mare only kept silent as Trixie looked around her. Nothing was moving, and a dead silence filled the air. It seemed as though time it's self has stopped. "What magic is this?" "I did this to give you time to calm yourself and help guide you young hero." "You? You're not a unicorn though... h-how are you-" "I know you have a lot of questions. Even from the start when I guided you to the forest. I can see things in others that they over look themselves. You have a strong will and a thirst for something better, greater than anything any other has. It's what pushed you forward in the time that you've lived alone." "But why me? I... I'm nothing but a show pony that lived off her own lies. My magic is..." The elder mare took her chin in her hoof as her brought her back to eye level. "Like I said child... I can see so much in you. You have a spark inside you that wants to grow. I can answer more of your questions when the time comes; but for now I'm going to help by pointing you some very useful tools that you've been carrying this whole time." Before Trixie could speak the elder mare's eye glowed as her mother's gem and book floated out of her bag and next to her hooves. "You know each spell in this book don't you?" "Yes... but it's not finished." The elder mare chuckled as she opened the book. She flipped past were Trixie saw blank before as new words started to appear on the pages. Trixie's hoof shook as she started to turn the pages. She could tell her mother's penmanship anywhere. "This tome is made to reflect the owner's magical talents. Showing only spells the owner can handle. Look now hero... the book has recognized your growth and has opened more of its secrets to you." She watched as Trixie carefully read a few spells. Tears started to form before being quickly wiped away. "The gem ties you to the book, clamming you as its owner and shows it your inner strength." Again she chuckled as she walked past Trixie. "You find anything useful yet?" "Yes, b-but I never cast a spell at this level before." "Believe in yourself and your new friends. This is the beginning to a new and bold chapter of your lives. Now... you might want to hurry before they catch you." Trixie quickly closed the book and used her magic to put both items back in her bag as time slowly started again. The elder mare gone as quickly as she came. "Everyone quickly gather next to me!" "You got a plain?" Octavia asked as everyone formed around her. "I need all of you to focus and think of the Everfree Forest." "I've never been there before!" Octavia scowled before Trixie calmed her down as the guards rounded the corner. "Then clear your mind the best you can. I need you all to trust me... please." A few of Luna's guards came down from the rooftops as they started to fight the others off. Trixie focused all her will into her spell as her heart started to pound faster and her breaths deepened. A bright pink light made the fighting in the ally stop as the guards looked back to find it empty. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep in the Everfree Forest "Hey hurry up so we can go home!" A griffin called to his friend as he started to pack a sleeping bag into a rucksack. His gray feathers and black fur blended well with the darkness of the forest. A scar ran across his right eye and beads that breaded though a part of his mane that hung over his left eye. He wore a dark green vest that let his wing out from the back along with a set of wraps on his back legs. "We wouldn't be in a hurry if you didn't go trigger happy!" The friend Yelled back; a second male griffin with a gray fur on his body and wings, yet white that took his neck and head. He wore a brown duster over a black shirt. His right claw was mostly covered by the sleeve of his coat but the metal that it was made from caught some of the moonlight that came from the canopy of the forest as he worked on a small round orb. "I did what I thought needed to be done. You saw one of them was a soldier of Nightmare Moon." "That doesn't explain why you shot the griffin! You might as well light up our camp at that point. Damn it we only needed to lay low and you go and mucked it up!" He yelled as he started at the other griffin "It was your idea to make a jump, not me! We get caught here by anyone and we are looking at facing some hard time. I left them alive by the way... like you asked." The darker one said lowering his tone as he stood up and crossed his arms. Though his friend stood taller and had more of a build to him he didn't show any sign of backing down. "Murder isn't looked at the same way as it is back home... we get caught with jumping realms and murder we might as well turn our own weapons on ourselves because I'm not about to find out what happens... no matter what side catches us." He then shook his head. "I'm not going to try and run from two sides..." The darker one closed his eyes as he gave a deep sigh. "Just get the damn thing ready so we can go back." As the two started back to work they found themselves blinded by a bright light. Covering their eye's they could barely see the four beings that stood in the clearing by their camp.