//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Great and Powerful No Longer // by SilentAuthor //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Trixie awoke to the warm sensation of sunlight, the birds outside chirping loudly as she strained to open her eyes. She looked down to see a blanket draped over her, the dull shades of browns only complimented by sewn in leaf designs. She yawned as she got a better look of where she collapsed but something was amiss. She was sleeping in a bed. She pulled herself up and winced at the pain in her hoof, but gawked s she pulled it from the covers completely bandaged up. With a growing concerned expression she looked to the bed stand where a picture of three creatures like the “man” she had encountered the night before with their arms around each other, the first was a short one with a speckled uniform, medals adorning his chest as he looked to a “man” next to him, but this one was slender with all of the qualities of a mare. “My brother and mom, last time I ever got to see them.” Trixie almost shot out of the bed as she looked to the door way where the man from the previous night stood, his arms crossed as he stared at her. He had no shirt and his pants rode slightly low, but the bags under his eyes were what drew her attention. “My brother was a soldier, a knight. My mom ran a schoolhouse in northern LA but I don’t suppose you even get what I’m saying.” He added with a sigh as he walked away. “If your hungry meet me in the kitchen, I doubt you’ll be doin much walkin with your leg anyway.” Trixie looked again to her leg and hobbled out of the soft bed, wincing as she landed on the floor. She proceeded to walk past various strange and exotic instruments of unknown ability, even passing one that resembled a bow with a large wooden beam nailed to it. “Crossbow, helps me keep the griffons from bothering me, a writ of passage only works on ponies you know.” He exclaimed, opening a swinging door to the kitchen. Trixie looked at him with wide eyes and decided it was time to ask the question that nagged her so much, well, one of many. “Trixie wishes to know, what manner of beast are you?” The man looked into space for a moment and sighed, his hand scratching the back of his head. “I thought I wouldn’t be the only one but… I’m what’s called a human. Kind of like a minotaur or a Diamond dog. Where I come from there are billions of us, here? I think I’m the only one.” Trixie mouthed the word to herself as she asked another question. “Where did you come from? How did you get here?” The human merely pushed her questions aside as he pulled a skillet from a drawer, lighting a flame with kindling from his pocket. “I don’t remember much, I remember home and then I ended up here. I just want to live in peace with what’s left of my pub.” Trixie recoiled at the memory of the fight. “Why did you let Trixie sleep here? Why did you bandage Trixie’s leg?” The human chuckled. “Thomas. Thomas bandaged you because Thomas couldn’t just throw you out into the rain.” She frowned at his attempt to mock her but was thankful he had given her his name. “Trixie thanks you Thomas.” Thomas merely nodded and threw a liquid mix into the skillet while humming a familiar tune. He pointed to a stack of potatoes and looked at Trixie. “Make yourself useful and peel those potatoes will you? I’m sure with your fancy magic you can do it lickity split.” He added while tossing a peeler to her. Trixie looked disgustingly at the pile of dirty potatoes and looked back to Thomas as he flipped a flapjack into the air. "You do not honestly expect The Great and Powerful Trixie to peel potatoes do you?" Thomas looked over his shoulder and grinned as her stomach growled loudly. "If you want to eat than yes, I do expect you to peel some potatoes." Trixie shot him a scowl before lowering her horn in deep concentration, the potato slowly rising albeit shaking with the peeler. As Trixie raised the peeler even higher she suddenly cried out and both the spud and the peeler went flying. Thomas barely had time to react as the peeler impaled itself into the wall near his face. He looked at her with a grin and pulled the peeler from the wall, tossing it back to her as he flipped another pancake. Trixie sighed and once again raised the peeler, beads of sweat dripping from her brow as she took the first layer off of the tiniest spud. "Ha ha! Trixie has shown this potato who is mighty!" Thomas looked at her and smiled, his eyes twinkling with cruelty and comedy. "Great job, only ten more to go."