Chapter 07: Something's Coming from the Sea!
Luckily for me, my departure from Ponyville seems to have drawn far fewer eyes than my entrance to it, and I'm eventually able to slip back into, what, based on the position of the sun is, should be the forest south of Ponyville... which I think is the Everfree? It looks like around the same place I came out the day before, but it's a bit hard to remember details since I was busy being chased by barking tree trunks with legs.
If it is the Everfree Forest, it's... quite a bit more hospitable than last time. Might have to do with the fact I'm some strange foreign creature that's proven it's not food last time I was here. I pull the pipe from last night out of my belt and twirl it in my hand like a police baton. For some reason, handling it like this makes me feel pretty relaxed.
I peer around me every so often, checking through trees for anything that might be silently sneaking up on me. One time, I swear I see a striped pony, but it doesn't see me as far as I can tell so I just keep going. The idea is to get away from them, not near them, after all. Which reminds me, Celestia. The way she kept looking at me before. I still can't figure it out. There's definitely something going on that went unsaid during that conversation...
Argh! Forget it. There's no way I'll be able to figure it out, not while I'm barely able to remember anything about myself, at least. I place my free hand into my pocket, then notice... there's something in there. Between the distractions from yesterday and the heavy fabric of my SOLDIER uniform, I must not have felt them before. Small, circular objects. More of those gems? As I pull them out, I notice that I had just done it again. 'SOLDIER uniform'. But it's still just words, until I can remember was SOLDIER is. I look into my palm, having pooled the small objects from my pocket - it's indeed more of those gems. Eight more. Red, green, green, green, green, blue. blue, yellow. But... what are they?
Argh! Again! So, in total, two reds, three yellows, four blues, seven greens. Based on experience and that feeling from a few seconds ago, the blue ones need to be paired with the green or red ones to do anything, but not the yellow ones. The yellow ones don't pair. I remember that. The green ones often also contain multiple spells, but not the red ones. The yellow ones let me use the green and red ones in ways I wouldn't normally be able to. The blue ones are similar, except they only work if paired off with a green or red. As has become usual, since I was trying to remember what the gems are and not how to use them, the basics for how they work come flooding back, but not what their name is or what they're made of, which feels like the most important thing for... some reason.
I furrow my brow in thought and put the gems safely back into my pocket. I'll have to try and experiment with them once I've found a place to rest. Maybe using them more will push my memory a bit more, like what happened last night with the timberwolves. Speaking of finding a place to rest - how long have I been walking? The trees seem to be much thinner than I remember them being in any part of the Everfree that I've been in so far, and the sun is way further along the sky than it used to be. I suppose that means I'm at least nearing the other side of the forest... hopefully that also means that if Twilight and her friends come looking for me, I won't be found.
I look around for a place to rest for a bit, and my eyes catch what appears to be a small clearing a distance off the beaten path. It even has a little stream running past it, so I begin making my way through the brush and trees. If I'm lucky, it'll be nice and unoccupied, and I can stretch out and begin figuring out how I can rig together a usable fishing rod. But wait, me, lucky, yeah, no. Someone or something is already there. I can hear them. Oh boy, they're a screamer, too. How didn't I hear that from the road? Do the damn trees really muffle sound that well?
As I pull through the dense growth and the clearing comes into view, I see the source of the noise - a blue pony with a rather extravagant looking hat and cape. It's hard to tell which kind she is since the cape and hat cover where wings and horns would normally be visible, but she has this unmistakable, grimy look to her like a kid who spends far too much time playing in rocks - the kind that takes far more than a single bath to get rid of. Maybe an earth pony pretending to be a wizard?
"Aaaand now, mares and gentlecolts, stomp your hooves, because here comes tonight's main show, featuring the Grrrrreat and Powerful Trrrrrrrrixie!" She exclaims, raising onto her hind legs as fireworks come up from the grass around her and explode dangerously low into the air, the whizzing not even passing the treeline. I'd comment on the danger of setting off pyrotechnics so low to the ground, but I can't even see where that display came from - the ground seems completely untouched.
She pulls off her hat, making a mock-bow to no-one in particular, and I see the distinctive horn protruding from her forehead. A unicorn? Then why is she so... dirty looking? I can't imagine an otherwise well-kept unicorn with magic and a wizard's outfit would enjoy rolling around in the dirt.
"Now, sit, and be amazed, everypony! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall regale you with her awesome magic, and tales of danger and heroism!" She continues, grabbing her cape and motioning it in front of her with one hoof, still remaining upright on her hind legs. A stage performance of some kind? A rehearsal? No, that still doesn't explain the dirt... maybe this is some local pony who lives nearby, running off to some secluded spot where no one would find them in order to imitate some famous Equestrian showgirl... showmare? I'm beginning to realize how many of the people, ponies, whatever that I've met are female now, though, as I drum over this bit of vocabulary.
I sheathe the pipe back on my belt and rest, hidden by the bushes, deciding to see where this is going. Plus - I'd likely not find a better spot to camp out and fish, so I may as well wait for her to go home instead of busting my ass when I don't have any idea where I'm going to begin with. With any luck, maybe she'll even be a good impersonator and the show will be entertaining. The fireworks were pretty if not set of dangerously low, and she rolls her r's well, so it's off to a good start at least.
The tricks, however, are pretty boring - standard parlor tricks like pulling a small flock of birds from her hat, or popping a deck of cards out of thin air and doing some fancy shuffles. Okay, maybe not quite standard, there's a bit of actual magic involved, but still pretty lackluster based on my previous experience with unicorn magic. Though, most of the tricks do involve her standing on her hind legs for extended periods to either hold objects, motion her forehooves as if she's conjuring something, and so on. I suppose her dexterity for supporting herself on two legs is at least impressive.
"Thank you, thank you!" She bows to the applause that's surely ringing in her head. "And now, The Great and Powerful Trrrixie shall share with all you lovely ponies assembled here tonight with a daring tale of heroism! Yes, prepare to be amazed by the tale of when The Great and Powerful Trixie saved the city of Manehattan from a powerful dragon! That rose from the sea!" She swishes her cape with a clear intent to show off and captivate the audience in her mind before motioning with her forehooves towards where she must imagine the seats to be. "...Now, now, everyone, hold your applause until after hearing the tale."
Manehattan? Ponyville... and the city that the Princesses supposedly reign from is named Canterlot? I can't help but facepalm for a moment in realization of pony city-naming conventions while the pony prepares to go into whatever tale she's talking about.
She spends a moment on all fours before rearing up again, the fireworks seeming to emanate from nowhere again before exploding above her. This time, however. the colors hang in the air as her horn glows and she moves her forehooves. The colors split apart in the air, like paints for a canvas, and some begin to take shape in the sky, creating the cartoonish outline of a large city. Maybe she does have a bit of skill beyond standing upright, after all.
"T'was but a peaceful day in Manehattan, the ponies of the city all going about their busy days." She begins her story. "Little did they know, however, that a certain unicorn in their midst had been practicing many dark magics!" A swirl of colors fly from the swatches she has held in the sky, forming a purple unicorn with a dark mane and tail. "This unicorn, dreadfully strong but foolish, dabbled in magic far beyond her abilities, unbeknownst to the other residents of the fine city of Manehattan." The purple unicorn's horn glows in a lighter purple hue, shooting a small line of color to the side of the image of 'Manehattan'. "And in one great burst of magic, the foolish unicorn mare sent a ripple into the oceans near Manehattan's coast, and awakened a powerful draconic beast!" Some blue swatches of color float forth, adding more detail to the ocean around Manehattan before a tall, bulky, green dragon with grey spines rises from the ocean next to it. "Whether the beast was created by the unicorn or simply awakened, Trixie shall never know, but it reared its head, ready to unleash a terrible blast upon Manehattan!" This is when the audience would likely gasp, if it weren't in the mare's mind, as a blue streak of light shoots from the form of the dragon towards the city, merely to be blocked by a purple bubble, of lighter shade than the one used by the first unicorn, as a second, azure unicorn holding a star-tipped wand moves into the frame.
"However, the attack was blocked by yours truly, The Great and Powerful Trixie, the one mare whose unicorn prowess can stand up to even the mightiest dragons!" She swishes her cape and manipulates the images again, the unicorn representation of 'Trixie' waving its wand, showering the dragon in smaller stars from its tip and causing it to slowly disappear. After this, the visage of Manehattan also disappears and the two unicorns are enlarged and given more detail. The distinctive cape and hat of the person casting the illusion are recreated in great detail, while the other is given an oddly familiar striped mane. "And then, The Great and Powerful Trixie did battle with the unicorn foolish enough to cast such a spell, knowing she must subdue her and turn her over to the Royal Pony Sisters!" The two ponies in the illusion above fire slightly different colored beams of purple from their horns, locking in the center. "She was a mighty foe, assuredly!" The beam slowly moves toward the figure representing the pony on her 'stage'. "But The Great and Powerful Trixie was mightier!" She exclaimes as the beam reverses direction, the point of clashing slowly moving toward the purple unicorn until it strikes them, and causes the image to disappear.
"And this, dear mares and gentlecolts, is how The Great and Powerful Trixie saved Manehattan from an almost certain doom!" The mare bows, and her illusory copy in the sky does the same, to the applause likely ringing in her head. Except, as her head shoots up, I realize all too late that the applause this time isn't all in her head - I had absentmindedly applauded, in reflex to a show that was kind of entertaining. "Who's there?!" She exclaims, her eyes going wide for a split second before narrowing them. "Who dares to attempt a free viewing of one of The Great and Powerful Trixie's awesome displays of magical prowess!"
And this, as they say, is when one exits, stage left. I can hear the sound of hooves running toward my hiding spot as I dive into the brush, trying to stay unseen since outrunning something with magical ability seems like a terrible idea. Instead, I slowly slink through the brush, trying to be quiet and close the distance between myself and the beaten path to hopefully throw off her search. The tell-tale "A-ha!" and a tug on the back of my clothing's neckline tells me, however, that this plan failed in likely the same way that just trying a full run would have. Since I'm being dragged around like a kid about to be disciplined, though, I decide to fold my arms and play the part as I feel myself being pulled through the last of the brush and out into the open field.
"What pony dares to peek upon the practicing sessions of The Great and Power..." her words trail off for a moment as she walks over to my front, and we make eye contact. "You're... not a pony. Or anything Trixie has ever seen before."
"A magician and a detective." I can't help but jeer at her.
"Why yes, The Great and Powerful Trixie is quite perceptive!" She boasts, raising a hoof to her chest in what I assume is a confident pony gesture and shooting me a shit-eating grin. Yeah, so perceptive...
"And humble."
"Ah, but if only there were an Element of Harmony for Humility, it would definitely belong to The Humble and Perceptive Trixie." Elements of Harmony? Something about the word 'Elements' seems vaguely familiar but this doesn't seem like the kind of pony I should be asking for information about things. "Wait..." Her eyes narrow, stopping herself from bathing in the perceived praise for a moment. "Do you dare mock The Great and Powerful Trixie?!" She accuses, extending a hoof in my face.
I raise an eyebrow to her. "So, you're actually the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie?" I ask, not trying to veil the sarcasm.
"Why, of course! Did you not see the magnificence of my magical prowess just now?" She takes a few steps away before turning back to me, rearing back onto her hind hooves and veiling her cape around herself theatrically. "You're in the presence of Trixie Lulamoon, the greatest showpony, no, greatest magic user in all of Equestria!" She flings her cape back as if to accentuate her point, sending up another round of fireworks, this time punctuated by trumpet calls which I assume are also from her magic. All things considered, being able to do that on-demand isn't entirely unimpressive, either.
I think for a moment, then decide to feed her ego a bit. "Well, it was an impressive display at the end." I say, before smirking. "But I question that 'greatest magic user in all of Equestria' bit." This could prove to be a good opportunity to get a better handle on whatever magic these gems can let me do, if I can get her into some kind of a pissing contest. I mean, a dirty unicorn that fancies herself a stage performer encounters a weird unknown creature on the edge of the Everfree Forest that can use magic? Based on what I've heard about the Everfree Forest from Twilight so far, people wouldn't see that as a noteworthy event, and she doesn't seem like a particularly noteworthy pony, so it seems like a great chance to have a bit of fun without much risk for me.
"Oh, really?" She narrows her eyes and gets back on all fours, walking up to me. Seems the challenge stuck more than the praise. "And what would a horn-less... thing like you know about magic?"
I finally decide lying on the ground sucks and switch into a cross-legged sitting position, which puts me roughly eye-level with this arrogant little mare. I open my right palm and turn it upward, concentrating on the second green gem on my bangle, not tapping into the paired blue gem this time. A soft, green light surrounds me for a moment and a small fireball appears, floating just above my palm. I wasn't expecting it to be that easy - I guess I'm getting better at this. "I would prefer not to be called a thing, Miss Trixie." I comment as she looks at the swirling ball of flame in my palm, willing it up into the sky and causing it to explode just above the treeline, like a small firework of my own.
"Ah, 'Miss Trixie', hm?" She muses, taking a step back and sitting on her haunches. "Well, well, well, it seems someone raised you with manners when you were little." She peers over me, studying me for a moment. "Trixie demands to know how you did that!"
"...Hmm?"
"That fire! It looked like real fire! But there was no light indicating you teleported it from somewhere else! No glow like a unicorn's horn! Just that little green light, which didn't even seem to come from you!" She leans forward slightly, speaking a bit lower. "What is your secret? Trixie must have it! If Trixie's illusions could be made that real, her shows would be unrivaled in all of Equestria!"
"But... I thought you were already the greatest magic user in all of Equestria?" I reply, raising an eyebrow, knowing that there's two kinds of people who are as boastful as this mare - the ones with so much skill, they can't contain it, and become fat off their own ability... and the ones with no talent at all. Her reply should make it clear which category she falls into, though I already have my hunch in that regard.
"Well...!" She says defensively, turning her head to the side with a 'humph!', "...even the greatest magic user in Equestria can always learn new tricks!"
Bingo. "Is that so?"
"Yes, it is so!" She turns and glares at me, then notices my palm is open, beginning to form another fireball, more slowly this time. She leans in closer, backing away suddenly when she feels the heat coming off it. "That's... not an illusion, is it?" She asks tentatively, then looks down to my wrist, noticing the glowing of the green gem.
I turn my hand toward the river, standing and shooting the fireball into there, detonating it once it hits the water and hoping to scare up some dinner without actually needing to fish. No dice, though. "It's not." I finally reply and sit back down, and I can see now that her eyes are stuck clearly on my bangle.
"Those little stones!" She finally says after a moment. "They're some kind of magic conduit, aren't they? ...Trixie must have them!"
Well, this is a development I definitely should have seen coming but didn't. Hopefully I can weasel out of it without having to do anything I'm going to feel bad about in the morning. "Uhm... I'm sure you know I'm going to say that I can't give them to you, right?"
She squinted her eyes in frustration. "Of course Trixie knows that!" She rises to her hooves, pacing. "But there must be a price you could part with them for? Every pony has a price, so Trixie is sure you do as well!"
"Nope, sorry." I reply quickly. Selling these seems like a great way to leave myself screwed over when I piss of the wrong unicorn. Or wrong anything from the way this place has been shaping up so far. "They're not for sale, either."
"Hmph!" The mare huffed and turned her head away for a moment, before slowly turning back to me. "...What else can they do?"
"Hmm?"
"Trixie sees different colors! They must do different things!" ...Point. Too bad I still only have my vague remembrance from earlier on that one.
"I'm... still figuring that part out." I say. "I just got them recently, you see, I haven't tested them all out yet." All aboard the bullshit train, next stop, hopefully not face-down in the river over there.
"Hmm... Trixie understands." She nods, before standing up and stomping her hoof in proclamation. "Clearly, this means you must test them and learn their capabilities!"
"How come I feel like you have ulterior motives?"
"Ulterior motives? Moi?" She gives another of her grins and turns her head to the side, flipping her mane. "Do you truly think The Curious and Helpful Trixie would stoop to such a low?"
Maybe I'm being a bit too mean. The more I talk to her, the more I realize she actually is this 'Trixie', and not just some fan, and, based on how she looks and the fact she's practicing all the way out here, probably more than a little down on her luck. I begin popping the blue, red, and one of the yellow gems out of my bangle, setting them in my pocket, and replacing them with the remainder of the green ones. I can remember that the green ones cast the basic spells, so they're the ones I need to test first. As I finish setting them in, I can see Trixie leaning over my shoulder, eyeing the changes I'm making to the bangle curiously.
"Why seven of the same one?" She asks, leaning in, "Trixie assumed they were color-coded."
"They are, sort of." I explain, thinking that maybe saying it out loud will help push some new memory up regarding the gems. "There are multiple kinds, which are coded by color, then different ones inside each color. These green ones are magic..." this time the sentence didn't just keep going like I was hoping it would, so I sit for a moment, trying to force the name of the gems to the front. Nothing.
"Hmmm...?" The azure mare leans in closer, waiting for me to continue my explanation.
"The green ones are for casting magic. Different ones contain different spells. Sometimes one can contain two or more related spells." She nods at the explanation as I run my fingers along the gems. "Time... Fire, which you've seen... and these five, I haven't tested yet."
"And what's that yellow one for?" She asks, motioning a hoof to the eighth gem on the bangle.
"Nothing in particular." I answer, though something pulls at me, making me think it might have a reason to be there over the other gems. "I just only have seven magic ones." Her mouth forms a little 'oh' shape. She sits, looking at me expectantly as I run my fingers along the gems in the bangle. I consider trying to feel out the third gem and see if I can get its magic to work, but curiosity overtakes me. "So, why are you out here?" I ask, seeing if I can get her to spill what's happened to get her into her current state. It's really none of my business, but it's nice to talk to someone whose not fussing over me in one way or another for a change.
"W-what do you mean?" She's caught off guard by my question. "You know full why Trixie was out here! You saw it yourself, she was practicing for her next stage performance!"
"No." I quickly reply. "I mean, why are you out here?" I motion to her and the field as I ask the question, hopefully giving her a better idea of what I mean with the added emphasis. When she simply blinks at me without answering, I decide to elaborate it a bit more. "You're good at telling stories and animating them with your magic, so why out here in the middle of nowhere, looking like you've done nothing but play in rocks for months?"
She opens her mouth, likely to retort the fact I just indirectly called her dirty, but waits a moment, chokes, and stomps her hoof in the dirt. "...It's all that stupid Ponyville's fault." She finally says, lowly, low enough I can barely hear it.
"...Ponyville?" Now I'm interested - granted I was only there for one day or so, and really only met six ponies and a dragon while I was there, but the town seemed nice enough. I didn't expect her to open up at all, but maybe she feels the same way I do, that it's just nice to talk to someone whose not judging or expecting anything from you.
"Yes, Ponyville!" She stomps again. "And that stupid unicorn, Twilight Sparkle!" I nearly laugh, but I see her pained expression and hold back. Now I know the coincidence in her story earlier likely wasn't coincidence, but I can't imagine what could have happened. "Trixie went to Ponyville with her wagon stage, back when she had one, to perform her routine for those backwards hicks!" Damn, girl, that's some strong language for all the sunshine and rainbows I've seen here so far. "But then, some stupid hecklers climbed onto Trixie's stage, during Trixie's show, and called her a fraud and a liar and a braggart! The Great and Powerful Trixie, a fraud, a liar, and a braggart?!"
"They might have you a little on that third one." I can't help but quip. She gives me a 'hmph!' and turns away for a bit, looking at the flowing water of the river nearby.
"...Maybe..." Trixie finally resigns with a sigh. "But it's part of the act, the stage, the flair! To make ponies look at you with wonder, that's what being a showpony is all about, is it not?"
"That's true," And it is. "A showman's job is to entertain the crowd."
"Yes, you get it!" Her eyes light up for a bit, then she looks down again. "Too bad no one else seems to... I showed those hecklers that The Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest, most skilled equine in all of Equestria! And I told them a riveting tale, much like I did here, of how The Great and Powerful Trixie saved Hoofington from an ursa major! But then, two of those dumb kids from Ponyville got egged on by one of those hecklers to actually get an ursa major and bring it to Ponyville! How dumb can you possibly be to even try that?!"
She looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction, but considering I don't even know what an ursa major is, I don't think I'm having the surprised expression she was expecting. Not wanting to completely disappoint, though, I try for the save. "It would be like someone going into the watery depths of Manehattan and trying to summon you a giant sea dragon to defeat, right?"
She nods. "Yes..." She closes her eyes a moment. "I've never vanquished a sea dragon or an ursa major." She looks at me, like she's expecting some kind of snide remark, but I just stay quiet and let her continue, merely noting the change in her speech. "So, these kids get this ursa major, and bring it back to Ponyville, and of course, there's nothing I can do to send it back to the Everfree Forest, and my stage cart gets crushed. But then, Twilight Sparkle shows up!" The part I've been waiting for, I won't lie. "That Twilight Sparkle... argh!" She's suddenly gone from sad to more than a little angry in a matter of seconds. "She knows just how to pacify the stupid thing and bring it back to its cave! And then... after completely showing up Trixie in every way, she tells everyone it wasn't even an ursa major! Just an ursa minor that was cranky after the two stooges interrupted its nap!" She shakes a bit where she's sat. "That Twilight Sparkle... she made Trixie out for a fool who could not even vanquish a baby!"
Now I kind of understand. She had gone to Ponyville to entertain, only to get heckled repeatedly, then have her main attraction - her storytelling - thrown in her face as she was shown up in public. "But... as bad as that was... that would only make working in Ponyville difficult, wouldn't it? Couldn't you go to other towns?"
"Trixie tried..." She isn't crying, but I can tell she wants to with how badly she's shaking. "But the story spread faster than Trixie could gallop! Soon all of Equestria believed The Great and Powerful Trixie to be just some hapless fraud, out to tell tall tales of her grandeur! No one would see my wonderful shows anymore! I look so dirty because I had to spend months farming rocks to rebuild myself even this much!"
Farming... rocks? I decide not to ask. "But you're back to it now, aren't you?"
"...Yes, sort of." She continues staring absently at the river. "I want to head down to Appleloosa. It's a long way away but its a small, newer town mostly of earth ponies. Hopefully they will... not have heard the stories, and will appreciate the finer points of Trixie's magic!" She sighs again, seeming to finally get control of herself. "From there, Trixie can get herself a new stage cart, then slowly make her way to a larger city like Fillydelphia or Manehattan and rebuild her reputation!"
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out for yourself." I comment, laying down on my back and folding my hands behind my head like a pillow. "I assume you'll need the river to try and wash off the grime from months of farming rocks." Fishing... can wait until tomorrow.
"Yes!" She says, before turning and seeing me. "But first!" I see her get up on all fours and walk over to me, before sitting a few feet to the left of my head. "You still owe Trixie a show!"
"A 'show'?" I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not that kind of guy, sorry."
She takes a minute to compute the implication of my reply and stomps her hoof. "A magic show, you idiot! Not a late-night Las Pegasus showing! You still need to test the rest of those gems, no? And who better to help you than The Great and Powerful Trixie! Besides!" I turn my head to look at her. "You got a free preview of Trixie's newest act! It's only fair you show her something in return if you're not going to pay the bits!"
I laugh for a minute and slowly stand back up. I guess she's right. I focus on the third green gem, one of the new ones I added to the bangle earlier, and begin getting an idea for what kind of magic it is. I raise my hand to the sky above the lake and let the glow of the gem flow through me as the sky crackles - and then, without warning, a bolt of lighting comes down and strikes the river. I turn my eyes from the sky down to the water and smirk as I see things bubbling to the surface. It's starting to look like today will end with everybody winning - I won't need to fish after all.