//------------------------------// // Bored, the Great and Powerful Trixie Returns From the Dead // Story: Chasing Winter // by Raging Mouse //------------------------------// Chapter Fifteen: Bored, the Great and Powerful Trixie Returns From the Dead The tower stood in the middle of a ruined crystalline village. It was very large: Trixie estimated at least nine floors and it was almost as wide as it was tall. Its irregular octagonal shape incorporated much more masonry than later crystalline structures, and its first three floors were entirely made of stone. The remaining six were a green, opaque crystal more in line with what Trixie had expected. Moss clung to it and birds’ nests dotted its nooks and crannies, given plenty of purchase by the irregular and rough facets of the crystal. The village that surrounded it consisted now of only the foundations of past buildings. Small spruces grew in their midst, partly obscuring the village  from view, but Trixie still managed to estimate that about a dozen families had lived here, most likely drawn to the place by whatever purpose the tower originally had. The village was dead but not resting. A military camp now surrounded the tower and as the convoy approached Trixie heard the sounds of axes and saws. The banners of the Royal Guard hung from the walls of the towers, next to the banners of the Crystal Guard. Sentries were posted around the village’s perimeter and they stood to attention and saluted as the convoy approached. A broad path leading to the tower’s gate was kept clear of obstructions, allowing the expedition’s wagons to park in a line. Two earthen clad in army medical uniforms walked up to Trixie as she unhitched from the lead wagon. “Ma’am, we’ve been informed you have wounded ponies with you.” “Yes, that would be Boiling Broth – he can be found in the second wagon – and four crystalline. I treated the crystalline with magic but they could still do with a check-up. I couldn’t do much for Broth.” Trixie surveyed the expedition as the medics withdrew. She raised her head and called out. “Visi, Crystal, Electrum with me! The rest of you take it easy for a while.” Then she gathered what she wanted to take with her: her, Broth’s, High Life’s and Terra’s journals, the gem and a dark pendant for the little windigo hidden under her hat. With the things gathered she looked around and nodded nervously to her chosen companions standing nearby. “This is it.” Visi was probably more nervous than Trixie, at least judging by how animated her wings were. Crystal just smirked at Trixie before winking at her. Electrum, to Trixie’s surprise, looked impatient. “Get on with it, Trixie. I want to see one of these princesses of yours. You’d think they’d have two heads judging by how secretive you’ve been!” That made Trixie snort. Then she burst into laughter. Electrum just stared at her with an air of annoyance. “Sorry, Ellie, but that wasn’t such a bad guess!” They were lead up to the second floor by an adjutant of the Crystal Empire. This revealed that most of the tower’s interior was occupied by a huge silo or cistern of some kind measuring about six floors tall and leaving only a narrow hallway around it. A stair wound its way upwards but Trixie was led to a very sturdy door at the side of the cistern. The adjutant knocked and waited. Sensing what might happen, Trixie turned so she could look at Electrum just before the door opened. The unicorn princess’ reaction was all that Trixie could hope for and more. Trixie saw her eyes swivel to follow the motion of the door opening outwards before snapping back to the opening... and up. Electrum blinked twice, each time with wider eyes. Then her jaw fell only moments before all strength left her back legs and she plopped onto the floor. This all played out in less time than the others took to bow so Trixie had time for a victorious grin before she too turned and bowed. Only then did she notice the alicorn in front of her was Princess Cadence. The Alicorn of Love looked curiously at Electrum’s non-standard method of respect before blinking and shaking herself out of her confusion. “You’re here! Good! Come in, please.” The inside of the silo had smooth walls, slickened by a thin layer of moisture. The smooth stone floor was discoloured by mold and had a musty smell that hung in the air. Several unicorns, mages judging by their pointy hats and flowing robes, were in the process of drawing a magical diagram on the floor, centering on a ring of six pillars of dark crystal. Cadence walked up to the pillars before turning around. “We’re still planning and preparing but the idea is to get... get the windigo inside these pillars so we can use magic on it. I’d like your input on how to transport it here since you know best what works and what doesn’t. We’ll debrief you and collect your journals once the windigo is in place but for now we’d like to hurry along with this.” Cadence paused when her words didn’t have the expected reaction: Trixie was grinning at her, the pegasi were looking bemusedly at each other and the unicorn with the gray coat and yellow mane was going back and forth between staring at Cadence’s horn and wings. She furrowed her brow. “Is something the matter?” Trixie bowed. “Your Highness, you need only say the word and The Great and Powerful Trixie shall place the windigo in the circle with no difficulties whatsoever. It is easily contained and moveable anywhere you’d like.” Princess Cadence’s eyes narrowed. “Can you show me the windigo?” “Certainly! Right now?” Upon Cadence’s nod Trixie used her magic to fish out the glowing diamond from her cape. The princess eyed it curiously. “Come out!” The windigo did as asked, leaping from the crystal to hover in the airy interior of the cistern. It looked around with curiosity until it spotted Cadence. Then it brayed, its unearthly voice echoing harshly inside the bare room. The mages yelled and Cadence gasped while involuntarily stumbling backwards. Trixie yelled at it. “Quiet down! Show respect to Princess Cadence!” The effect was immediate. The windigo went silent and it floated lower, bowing its head to the princess. Cadence for her part glanced between Trixie and the windigo with ever-widening eyes. “S-she obeys you..?” Trixie grinned smugly. “Yes she d—" Her grin disappeared. “Hey, how did you know it’s a she?” Cadence was suddenly right in front of Trixie and glaring down at her. “How did you know?! Answer me!” Trixie felt all of her confidence slipping away. She cringed away from the princess, ears turned down and to the side, looking up at her with large and fearful eyes. “S... she sprouted a little windigo not too long ago?” Cadence fell onto her haunches with a stricken look. She raised a hoof to her forehead, just below the horn, and shook her head slowly. “She’s with a child..!” Trixie, cowering before her, could only babble on automatic. “Yes we had a little surprise when it started sprouting a second set of eyes, you see it turns out they reproduce by budding, and then the thing separated and please, Trixie doesn’t know why you are angry at her!” Cadence swallowed and pursed her lips. Then she took a shuddering breath. “I’m not mad at you, Bellatrix. You did commendably well. But.” She fixed the unicorn with a glare again. “Do not ever mention that the windigo had a child before you brought her here, to anyone! That fact will be erased from your journals too. Do you understand?” She glanced at Trixie’s companions as well. All nodded nervously. “Yes, Your Highness! We won’t mention it!” The alicorn bit her lip for a moment. Then she grimaced. “All right, that will have to do.” She looked over at the mages. “Can we house the windigo already?” When they looked each other and nodded she turned back to Trixie. “Leave the windigo and tell it to obey us. There are living quarters prepared for you above this cistern: just take the stairs up. Choose whichever rooms you want and wait there please.” Cadence waved them away. The group of four walked out of the cistern and up the stairs in silence. The stairs ended level with the cistern’s roof and a catwalk took them to another, circular set of stairs in the middle of the tower. The next floor was arranged around a central common area with a kitchen. Eight doors led into private rooms and the ponies each chose one at random. Trixie’s was serviceable enough, shaped like a truncated slice of pie and large enough for a wide bed, two dressers and two cabinets. The external wall was crystal and through some method transparent from this side giving Trixie a green-tinted view of outside. She threw herself on the bed and groaned from happy surprise at finding out the mattress was stuffed with down. All will to move disappeared and she just lay here on her back, legs curled, staring at the ceiling. Memories of the past month and a half surfaced and she rode them into sleep... There was a knock at the door and it opened before Trixie could get her bearings. She heard it slam shut before Electrum appeared in her field of view, looking down at her. Trixie nodded noncommittally and wriggled a bit, trying to find an even more relaxing pose. A glance up at the ceiling lit by the evening sun told her that several hours had passed. Electrum took a deep breath and held it a couple seconds before releasing it as a statement. “So. Wings. And a horn.” Trixie grinned smugly up at the incredulous princess. “Uh huh?” Electrum’s eyes flashed with annoyance and she hooked her forelegs on the bedframe so she could press her muzzle down against Trixie’s. “How is that possible?! Starswirl and Clover tried repeatedly to switch a pony’s subspecies and failed! Now there are some ponies who combine two of them?” “Actually, they combine all three subspecies but the earthen aspect is subtle.” Trixie tried to pull back a bit from Electrum’s intense stare but failed, the mattress not having enough give for that. “Um, Ellie? A bit of personal space..?” Electrum pulled back to stand next to the bed. Her ears flicked with annoyance. “How, Trixie? Where do they come from?” Trixie looked up at the roof again while formulating her answer. “Well, the two first ones, the princesses Celestia and Luna, won’t tell where they came from. They appeared near the end of the discordian era so many, me included, believe Discord created them, likely by transforming two common ponies. They defeated Discord, a god of chaos, so the ponies of the time kind of shoved rulership into their laps, brooking no arguments.” “Why would he do that? Create them, I mean?” “Why would he do any of the things he did? Because he could?” “You said ‘the two first ones’. How many are there?” “Celestia and Luna can somehow transform other ponies into their kind – we call them alicorns, by the way – and have done so twice. Princess Cadence, whom you saw downstairs, was the first of those. She’s actually smaller and probably weaker than Celestia or Luna but the smart money says she’ll grow in power as she ages.” “Hold on. You’re telling me Celestia and Luna are over two thousand years old?” “They’re immortal as far as we can tell, yes. They don’t appear to age past their current general appearance of middle-aged ponies.” Trixie waved a hoof in the air, gesticulating as she delivered a sing-song lecture. “Immortal, immensely powerful both physically and magically, representing all of ponykind combined as well as personally overseeing some aspect of pony life related to their special talent. Celestia controls the sun, Luna the moon, Cadence’s field of expertise is love and Princess Twilight... um, I’m not sure. Magic? Or Friendship? Whatever.” “Love? Love...” Electrum paced back and forth next to the bed. “Love, such as that which a mother and daughter are supposed to share?” Trixie turned to look at the restless unicorn. “Sure, I suppose. Why do you ask?” “I’m trying to figure out what got Princess Cadence so upset. I had trouble following the conversation but I caught that the little windigo seemed to disturb her greatly.” “...Yes?” “Okay... so... what if she thinks they shouldn’t be apart? I mean, mothers and babies... most animals have some kind of bond. Did she mention anything such?” Trixie frowned unhappily. “No... but you have a point. I didn’t mention where the baby was either. She must assume we just left it behind now that I think about it!” She twisted until her hooves were underneath her and she could sit up. Then she levitated her hat off her head, bringing out the medallion. The ghostly blue windigo was still suckling contentedly on it. Trixie tilted her head as she pondered the little ghostly equine. Had it grown slightly? “Maybe I should show it to Princess Cadence and reassure her that—" The windigo interrupted her by suddenly squealing and writhing in the air. Then it turned to gaze at Trixie and twittered animatedly. “Whoa, what got you so riled up?” The windigo only continued to emit squeaks and chirps while hovering in front of Trixie’s concerned face. The showmare glanced past it at an equally concerned Electrum and sighed before shushing the windigo. “Settle down will you?! All right, maybe it’s for the best if I take you downstairs and show you to Cadence.” She put the medallion back into her hat, placed the hat on her head and climbed out of the bed. She looked at Electrum as she walked past. “Do you want to follow along?” Electrum shook her head. “Let’s introduce me when we get debriefed. It’s not urgent. I need to digest the concept of alicorns anyhow so I can stop staring at them.” She shot Trixie a dark look. “I hope me making a fool of myself was worth it!” Trixie smirked before facing the door. “Totally.” Her good spirits faded as she descended the stairs. The howls of the big windigo penetrated the thick cistern walls and echoed in the hallway, each sound being answered by a squeak from underneath Trixie’s hat. Judging emotions of such an alien thing based on such a short period of observation was of course nearly impossible, but to Trixie it sounded like the baby windigo’s squeaks were filled with urgent longing. It weighed down her heart. Her step faltered as she rounded enough of the outer curve of the walls that she could see the door to the cistern’s inside: two guards, a lunar and a solar, stood in front of it. They barred the way with a leg each as she approached the door. “State your business.” Trixie tried to quench her nerves by meeting the gaze of the night guard who had spoken. It didn’t work. “Um, is Princess Cadence still here? I need to speak to her.” “Wait here while we relay your request.” The night guard nodded to the day guard and turned to crack open the door only to have it hit him in the face when it was roughly shoved open from inside. A purple alicorn rushed out only to stop and place a hoof on the hall’s outer wall while hanging her head. She shouted, apparently to whoever was still inside the cistern. “Look, the spell should work! It should work!” Trixie was nailed to the floor by surprise. Princess Twilight was right in front of her but with Twilight’s back turned so she didn’t notice Trixie even as she turned her head, letting the showmare see her distraught face as she spoke with a calmer, more pleading tone aimed through the open door. “It’s as if she’s not completely there, as if a piece of her is missing! Look... could you come out here? Necessary or not, the aura in that room makes me sick.” “Twilight...” Princess Celestia’s compassionate voice preceded her out the door. Next came Luna and last Cadence. They crowded around Twilight, Luna and Cadence glancing at Trixie while Celestia nuzzled her former student on the head. “You’ll figure it out. I’m sure of it.” A pained groan from the lunar guard and a choked snicker from the solar guard went unheeded. Cadence had been looking at Trixie with increasing despondence as Celestia spoke. Now she cleared her throat, still keeping their eyes locked. “That won’t be necessary as I have a pretty good hunch what this ‘missing part’ is.” She walked up to Trixie, making Celestia and Twilight notice the showmare as well. Cadence stopped and looked down at her hooves before speaking. “Miss Bellatrix? You mentioned... the windigo had a foal?” Trixie’s heart sank in parallel with Twilight’s expression. The fresh alicorn’s lower lip was quivering as she stared with rising horror at the back of Cadence’s head. Trixie nodded and, when this didn’t feel sufficient, stammered. “Y-yes.” Celestia walked up and laid a hoof on Cadence’s shoulder. “What is this? Why didn’t—" Cadence interrupted her with a slight air of annoyance. “I decided it would have been slightly less painful if nopony found out so I didn’t mention it.” Then she looked at Trixie with pleading eyes. “Miss Bellatrix, do you think there’s the slightest chance you could find that windigo and bring it here as well? We’ll increase your reward of course.” Trixie laughed so nervously that she nearly sobbed. “Um, aheh, well you see—" A small squeak came from her hat followed by a gasp and a crinkling, cracking sound from Princess Twilight. Trixie shut her eyes and winced, knowing exactly what had happened. The sound of small shards of ice gently impacting the stone floor confirmed her fears. Magical assault on a princess? How ironic to survive all of that only to be executed. Oh well, it was a nice life. Then she opened her eyes and took in the look of utter shock on Twilight’s face as the princess raised a frost-covered hoof and gingerly prodded the frozen tears on her cheeks. I confess, Trixie thought as she lowered her eyes to the floor, raised her hat by magic and brought out the medallion with the baby windigo. “Um... ah... Trixie – that is, I – kept it close, um, in case it would turn out to be useful. I had some ideas, you see. Sorry about the ice thing, it means it likes you. Um, please hang Trixie before you draw and quarter-?” She was interrupted by two ice-cold hooves wrapping around her barrel and squeezing. She yelped but went limp, resigned to her fate. Having your spine snapped is quite painless, relatively speaking. Then she realised that Twilight was laughing and hugging her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re a lifesaver!” Then Trixie was tugged at, forcing her to stumble along next to Twilight as the purple alicorn re-entered the cistern, shouting over her shoulder. “Let’s not waste any more time! Trixie, please put the windigo next to... next to the big one, please? Oh, and if you could keep them calm then that would be great for concentrating.” Trixie felt a familiar pressure on her emotions as she entered the cistern: it was as if she’d donned one of the dark pendants. All positive emotions were dampened now inside the cistern, making her understand Twilight’s reluctance to spend time in there. Twilight stopped halfway to the room’s center, in front of the now-complete magical diagram on the floor, but she gently pushed Trixie onwards. “Stand anywhere but directly on a line.” Trixie nodded absentmindedly while looking around trying to keep track of the changing situation. The mages she had seen earlier were still there and currently assuming positions along the edge of the diagram. The three princesses other than Twilight had chosen to remain just inside the door. Cadence nodded and smiled encouragingly at Trixie as she caught her eye. There was a polite cough and Trixie realised she’d been standing motionless. She nodded at Twilight and walked carefully up to the pillars of crystal surrounding the large windigo. It looked silently down at her as she removed her hat. Trixie held the medallion in front of her and spoke. “Little one, go join your mother.” The little windigo flew up and away from the dark medallion until it was right in front of its parent’s face. The two seemed to lock their gazes. Then, ever so gently, the two nuzzled. Trixie sighed wistfully even while smiling at the sight. Then her ears twitched: the mages were chanting. She looked down and saw the chalk lines of the diagram glow purple, first faintly and flickering but strengthening with each heartbeat until they were almost lost in a purple-white brilliance that seared at the back of Trixie’s eyes. She shut them tightly but didn’t dare move from her spot. She could feel the power in the diagram: it buzzed against her coat and made her nose tingle. The mages’ chanting accelerated and rose both in pitch and volume. Suddenly Trixie became aware that the light level beyond her clenched eyelids had dropped, so she risked cracking them open and taking a peak. Below her the lines of power no longer cared for the chalk marks, instead hovering just above them like slick, frozen lightning. In front of her was a globe of purple fire inside which she could barely see the two windigos apparently still nuzzling. Trixie heard Twilight yell. It was a wordless shout of exertion and monumental stress. She turned her head, intending to see how the princess fared, which meant she didn’t see whatever caused the force that emanated from the center of the diagram, bowling her over. She did catch the immense flash for it seemed to originate from everywhere within the diagram, as if the very air had exploded with incandescence. Blinded and screaming, she tumbled through the air. She landed hard on her side and slid a little. Hoofbeats rushed past her as she lay stunned, getting her breath back. She realised the chanting had stopped and managed to clear her head enough to see she was facing the cistern wall. Trixie rolled cautiously, trying to gauge if she was hurt and finding nothing too aching, until she got her hooves on the floor so she could rise. Then she looked back. The windigos were gone. In their place, being fussed over by the princesses, was a unicorn mare with a white coat and an intricately styled purple mane and tail. Trixie stood, swaying on shaky legs, and managed to walk over to the gathering. She realised in a daze that she recognised the unmoving mare. She remembered the triple diamond cutiemark just as her eyes found it on the mare’s flank. She remembered the green hair she’d inflicted on this mare, and that was when her legs betrayed her and she flopped onto the floor, jaw as slack as Electrum’s had been if not more. This mare, whom the princesses were now frantically trying to awaken, had a name: Rarity. Princess Luna suddenly shouted. “Mages! Dispel the dark field! The rest of you be silent and let me examine her! The other three princesses backed away from the prone unicorn, startled by Luna’s outburst. Trixie felt her spirits lift as the mages complied but that only strengthened the utter shock she felt when looking at the mare in front of her. She finally got control of her face and swallowed audibly in the silence. Luna bent low over Rarity with her horn glowing weakly and her eyes shut. The princess stayed motionless like that for several moments, only her mane and her eyes underneath their eyelids moving. Trixie held her breath as she watched. Then Luna spoke softly. “She’s breathing.” A small smile appeared on the princess’ face. “I hear a heartbeat. She’s fine!” The smile widened and she opened her eyes. “I also sense another one within her, a very small and faint heartbeat indeed. They are fine!” Princess Twilight still looked dubious, caught somewhere between worry and triumph. “But why won’t she wake up?” Luna turned to her. “Twilight, I know the kinds of sleep a pony has. Trust me on this: Rarity sleeps as one who will not wake until she is ready to do so. Fear not, it won’t be long. She’s undergone a terrible ordeal so it’s no surprise at all she’s unresponsive at the moment!” The four alicorns glanced at each other with widening smiles. Then they heard a small voice. “Bwuh..?” First they looked down at Rarity, but she was still unconscious. Then they looked around. One by one they came to look at Trixie, splayed out on the floor and looking like she’d lost her grip on reality in a particularly tight curve and was now plummeting towards insanity. Her mouth was opening and shutting but only occasional small squeaks or half-formed questions were coming out. Princess Celestia walked up to Trixie and lowered her head until she almost touched Trixie’s muzzle. She spoke with a gentle, soothing tone. “It seems you’re the hero of the day, Bellatrix Lulamoon. Thanks to you the Element of Generosity will be reunited with its bearer. You’ve exceeded our expectations with your performance, especially since you also seem to have shouldered the burden of leadership over the expedition. We’ll debrief you and your companions in good time but for now you should rest.” Trixie looked back at Celestia with glossy and unfocused eyes. “What... How?!” Twilight walked up next to Celestia and looked down at Trixie. Twilight’s horn was glowing, corresponding to the aura around Rarity that was levitating her close to Twilight. “Celestia, I think we owe Trixie an explanation. Especially after what she’s seen in here.” She looked down. “Also, I didn’t anticipate the strong reaction our spell would create so I feel a bit guilty since I didn’t wait for Trixie to get clear of the diagram. Do you mind?” Celestia turned to look at Twilight. “Not at all. I will always defer to you on matters concerning your friends.” “Thank you.” Trixie felt gentle nudges of telekinesis prod her until she stood. Twilight walked towards the door, towing Rarity through the air. “Trixie, please follow me.” They walked upstairs, passing the floor where Trixie and her companions had chosen rooms and continuing onwards. The top floor maintained the same circular common room but with fewer, larger side rooms. Twilight carried Rarity into one of them and placed her on the bed. Then she sat down next to it and gently placed a hoof on Rarity’s foreleg. Trixie remained by the door, watching, as Twilight gently stroked her friend’s leg. Eventually the silence became too much for Trixie and she blurted out the thoughts that had been occupying her mind. “So... all of this? The expedition? Was to get your friend back? Terra died for... for this?” “Trixie, I—" Trixie stomped a hoof against the floor and shouted. “I nearly died next to Terra for this! Four crystalline were terribly wounded and only luck dictated they’d survive! Was it worth it, Twilight? Were our lives so much cheaper?” “Trixie, no! Please! I—" “All that! For!! THIS?!?” Trixie felt spittle fly, but she ignored it as she pointed a quivering hoof at the mare lying in the bed. Twilight flinched and both her ears flicked back before returning to their upright position. She glared unhappily at Trixie’s furious visage. “We had no choice! Something had to be done! Please, let me explain!” The alicorn closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. Then she turned back to look down at Rarity, who hadn’t moved. A moment later she spoke. “This all started about two months ago when I received a cache of books. Cadence has decreed that the old towns and villages of pre-Sombran Crystal Empire are archaeological sites and small-scale excavations have taken place. In one such village the crystalline found the basement of a manor house largely intact, preserved by very old spells designed to prevent decay. Among the items they recovered was a cache of books written in old ‘cornish.” “An assessor made a cursory initial inspection of the books, finding them in very good shape. A brief glance at the contents revealed cookbooks, ledgers and the like. They held a magical aura but that was expected due to the preservation spells cast on everything in the basement. Princess Cadence’s motive for these digs were to resurrect as much of pre-Sombran crystalline culture as possible, so she saw the books as a high-priority item for translation.” Twilight turned to look at Trixie. “I am an expert in old ‘cornish and Cadence knows my love for books. She asked if I wanted to do it and I accepted. When the books arrived I had an, um, ‘unboxing party’ with my friends. It was then that one of the books was discovered to contain drawings and diagrams of crystal pony dresses. Rarity, naturally, became very interested and asked to borrow the book so she could copy them.” Twilight’s ears fell and her head drooped. “Early next evening all of Ponyville heard the roar of a windigo for the first time. When I and my friends ran outside to investigate we saw the Carousel Boutique – that’s Rarity’s home and shop – covered by frost. We were just in time to see the windigo flee north.” “The book, you see, contained a trap. A curse had been placed on it long ago, and for what reason I can’t say for certain. It wasn’t too uncommon for rival unicorns to try and curse each other and often with transformation into a monster of some sort. The ponies of Unicornia were certainly familiar with windigos as they plagued the kingdom for decades before its fall, so it was a natural choice of form. Somepony, likely an enemy to the ponies of the manor, had placed a trap inside the book and had it delivered, likely as an anonymous gift. But the trap never sprung, the book being put into storage... until recently.” “I bet you ten bits I know who cursed that book.” Trixie started when she realised she’d said those words instead of just thinking them. Twilight looked at her curiously, surprised by the interruption. “Oh? Who?” Trixie waved a hoof nervously. “N-never mind. You can read my journal about it, actually. I’m sorry I interrupted. Please, continue.” Princess Twilight nodded and shifted her wings. “Our first impulse was to run to her rescue, of course. It’s more than just the fact she’s my friend: as a bearer of the Element of Generosity she’s needed to keep Equestria safe.” Twilight’s face became grim. “Even though it horrifies me to even think about it: in the grand scheme of things Rarity could’ve been easily replaced had she simply died – her Element would have chosen another bearer – but she didn’t die, she was transformed. And, as far as we know, windigos can live forever. Chances were that, as long as she was under the curse, the Elements would be rendered non-functional.” “I sent a letter to Princess Celestia informing her of what had happened and our intentions. She wrote back immediately, bringing some issues to light. Namely that friendship is antithetical to windigos. They can’t stand it. As Element Bearers all of us are linked by magical bonds and those bonds are formed by, you guessed it, friendship. In all likelihood, had we chased after Rarity she’d have just run away from us and there’s no telling what would have happened had we managed to corner her. We considered using crystals enchanted with dark magic to suppress and hide our bonds of friendship but the Elements easily overpowered that when we tested it.” “So to summarise: Rarity here was missing, transformed into a windigo, and with her gone Equestria had lost the use of the Elements. We, her friends, couldn’t save her – our biggest strength turned into a crippling weakness – so we needed somepony else. The scouts and explorers of the Equestrian army was the natural first choice, but they were deployed in the south and it was deemed that they’d take too long to move. The Crystal Empire doesn’t yet have a standing army so they were out of the question too. Celestia, Luna and Cadence have countries to run so they couldn’t lend personal aid. So... we asked for volunteers.” When Princess Twilight didn’t say any more Trixie felt compelled to speak so she nodded slowly. “And here we are?” “Here you are.” Twilight smiled a tired but genuine smile at Trixie. “And Equestria as a whole, as well as I personally, owe you a debt of gratitude for what you’ve done.” Trixie bowed her head to hide her blush. “Thank you, Princess Twilight.” Then she sobered. “I just wish Terra Incognita hadn’t died for this.” Twilight shuddered and looked at Trixie with sad and glossy eyes. “We never ever wanted anypony to sacrifice their lives for this! We tried to help plan and prepare for the expedition to the best of our abilities and Celestia was the one to suggest asking Terra Incognita for help. But...” She looked down at Rarity. “You can only prepare for so much when faced with the unknown.” There was a long moment of silence before Twilight roused herself and spoke again. “Anyway, you should probably rest now. Somepony will debrief you tomorrow. I’m sorry there’s not much to do here if you get bored. I myself didn’t think to bring a selection of books to pass the time so I know how it feels.” It took some effort but Trixie managed to keep her face neutral. “That’s all right. I’ve got something to read.” She turned towards the door but halted when Twilight spoke. “Oh? Is it something interesting?” “I think so, yes. It’s called A Selection of Spells for Celebration and Ceremony.” “Hmm. I’ve never heard of it. Who’s the author?” Trixie paused for a moment. “Starswirl the Bearded.” There was another pause, then Twilight chuckled lightly. “I’ve never heard of any book with that title and I’m pretty sure I know every book there is written by Starswirl! It’s probably somepony else, hoping his or her spells and theories will become famous by using the borrowed name. Still: you said it’s good?” Maintaining the neutral face was becoming very difficult but Trixie still managed somewhat. “The author has some pretty interesting ideas, yes.” “Sounds promising! Could you tell me where to get a copy of it? Now that I know of it I’d like to read it myself.” “I’m unable to bring to mind any place where it’s sold right now but I could arrange for a copy to be sent to you.” “You’re too kind, Trixie. Thank you.” Trixie bowed her head to Twilight and turned to the door. Then she unleashed the grin that had been building. She managed to rush into another room and close the door before laughing. When she recovered she made a mental note to find a talented scribe in Canterlot.