"Look, Miss Trixie! I think I see a town!"
Clara ran ahead towards the cliff that was just on the other side of the forest they were emerging from. Stopping just short of the steep drop, she put a hand to her forehead to block the slowly setting sun from her eyes. Nestled in the valley was a small town. She could see lots of little, colorful buildings. If she extended her vision, she could even see a grove of trees on the far side, accompanied by a single red dot.
The young girl jumped excitedly as Trixie approached the cliff-side. In contrast to the tall, sturdy buildings of Tall Tale--which vaguely resembled her own hometown--the tiny town below her was made in many vibrant colors. To her, it almost looked like it came straight from a children's book.
Trixie smiled at the sight. "That's it! Ponyville, where Trixie's friend lives." She squinted as she leaned forward--though not too much as to send herself and the caravan falling off the cliff-- and pointed to a moderately large green dot in the distance. "You see that giant tree there? That's the Ponyville Library. She lives there."
Clara tilted her head in confusion. "She lives in a library? How can anyone live in a library? There's just books and tables!"
"I'm sure she makes it work. Trixie has never personally gone inside her home, but it is a somewhat well-known fact that that's where she resides." The unicorn craned her neck upwards to see the sun slowly lower itself over the horizon. "Clara, go ahead and go inside. Trixie will hurry and find a good place to camp for the night. We should be able to get you home by tomorrow afternoon.
The thought that she was merely less than a day from seeing her mother again made Clara's stomach flutter with excitement. There was another feeling there, however, one she couldn't put into words. As much as she wished to return to normality, she would miss Trixie. She'd miss the unicorn's boastfulness when she was confident, and her kindness when her travel mate was scared. She gave Trixie a smile before stepping into the caravan and closing the door behind her.
Trixie stared at the closed wooden door, then down at the town below her. With a moment's hesitation, she stepped away from the cliff and back towards the forest to find a safe path to settle for the night.
Trixie laid in her futon, staring at the wooden ceiling in the dark. The only light came from the bright glow of a full moon that shined through the caravan's tiny window. If she had to guess, it was well past when she should have been asleep, and yet she couldn't.
I did a good thing. She's just a little girl--she can't be older than a school-age filly. She needs to go home. And she'll be able to do that with Twilight's help. I did a good thing.
So why am I suddenly uneasy about taking her to Ponyville?
The unicorn grunted and rolled onto her side. She could see Clara, sleeping on the floor next to her, with a smile on her face and clutching her teddy bear close to her chest. The sketchbook and crayons were just on the other side of her, open to a blank page and the yellow, orange, and green crayons rolled on top of it. Trixie sighed.
Okay, think about it. Clara has been nothing but a thorn in my side. I spent valuable bits for things she could eat, and that expensive drawing set. And I am taking time out of my life to take a side-trip back to Ponyville. And she's so annoying! Non-stop talking, in awe about everything, and just basically a big headache.
Trixie cringed inwardly at the thoughts. She knew she couldn't lie to herself no matter how much she tried. In the short month she had known the girl, Trixie had grown to love her. She almost felt like Clara--even if she was a different species, from a different dimension altogether--was her own foal. She loved the girl to pieces, and she would be sad to see her go. She'd never see her again.
She rolled over in a huff and closed her eyes in an attempt to get some sleep. After several minutes of silence, and Trixie could feel her consciousness slipping. That's when she heard it. Her eyes shot open, her ears pointed and turned towards the sound. She held her breath to try and listen better.
It sounded like steps. Large steps. Far off, but slowly getting closer. Trixie sat up in alarm as she heard the sound of dozens of trees hitting the ground at once. Without waking Clara, she jumped up and ran outside and away from the caravan to see just what was causing such sounds. She stood on top a large gathering of rocks for the best view. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in fear.
Just above the treetops she could make out a large creature's head. Multiple closed eyes and large fangs protruding from it mouth, it was nothing Trixie had ever seen before. It seemed to be sleepwalking--and the caravan was right in its path.
The large monster was approaching the caravan, and Trixie knew she couldn't get there fast enough to move it out of harm's way. Her heart beating fast, she ran as fast as she could to save what she was able to.
The door swung open--the monster was closing in. So close that she jumped every time the massive beast took a step. Without a moment's hesitation, a pink aura wrapped around Clara's sleeping form, and she was levitated out of the caravan. Trixie made a run for safe ground. She was just barely out of harm's way when she heard the crunch of solid wood being destroyed.
Clara woke up with a start, and the first thing she saw was a large, scaly foot coming down onto the caravan. She broke out in a sweat, "Miss Trixie!" She shouted, fear rising and tears welling up. It was then that she noticed that she had been floating off the ground and carried off at a fast pace. She glanced over to see Trixie running as fast as she could, panting heavily as though she had been running for hours.
Her legs ached, and she slowed her run, then she finally stopped. Trixie panted, her heart still pumping with adrenaline. She set the young girl down--who seemed to be shaking with fear--and just stared at her. To Clara's surprise, the unicorn suddenly had her hooves wrapped around her.
"Clara! I-- That thing. It was just walking toward the caravan! I couldn't--I didn't have time to move it. I grabbed you and ran as fast as I could! Oh, thank Celestia. Thank Celestia."
Clara, now faced with the gravity of what almost became of her and Trixie, collapsed to her knees and cried softly into the unicorn's shoulder. The two of them stayed that way for a while, just glad that neither of them were harmed. It was Clara that pulled away from the embrace.
"T-Thank you, M-Miss Trixie..." She hiccuped and wiped her face of the excess tears. Trixie nuzzled her neck, communicating words that couldn't be said.
"Trixie should... We should check on the caravan. Hopefully that sleepwalking beast didn't completely crush everything." Trixie's ears lowered against her head, but she tried to put on a brave face for Clara's sake. Levitating Clara onto her back, she made her way towards the wreckage of her home.
The unicorn's legs buckled at the sight of her caravan. It had been completely destroyed, reduced to nothing but a giant pile of broken wood. Clara slid off from Trixie's back and started walking towards it, but she was held back by Trixie's aura. Catching her meaning, she sat down on the cold grass and watched as she sifted through the rubble. Pieces of wood--large and small--were being moved of to the side in Trixie's magic, unveiling anything that might be salvageable. Neither of them spoke a word during this process.
Clara had managed to nod off, but awoke to the feeling that someone had been standing over her. She rubbed her eyes as she yawned, and looked up at Trixie's exhausted face. She looked around her to see that the wood had been placed in several piles, and sh could vaguely see what had been inside the caravan--Trixie's futon, books, and something she could only assume used to be the chest.
Trixie let out a sigh. "Pretty much everything in Trixie's chest is ruined. Only the saddlebags and a few books managed to be saved. Most of my hats and capes are either torn or ruined by cans exploding against them. We won't be having breakfast tomorrow, and we're gonna have to sneak you into the town somehow..."
Clara pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close. She wanted to cry, on some level she felt it had been her fault. If she hadn't been so nice, she thought, she would still have her house.
Trixie sat down next to her and rested her head on the girl's shoulders. Her horn lit up, and something floated over towards her face. "I did find this. He has a few tears, but I do think he'll be alright." She couldn't help but smile a little as she watched Clara's eyes widen.
Her beloved teddy bear was floating just inches from her face. It was dirty, the tiny doll pajamas torn, and some cotton peaking out from its limbs, but it was her bear all the same. Clara plucked it out of the air and held onto it tight, soaking it with her tears. Trixie rubbed a hoof up and down her back to console her.
"We should sleep. It's been a long night, and you don't want to look tired when you reunite with your mother, right?" Trixie chuckled under her breath and held Clara close. Within minutes, Clara was fast asleep once again.
Trixie's heart jumped. Now that Clara was asleep, she didn't have to pretend to be strong anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Not for her caravan, or for her belongings, but for Clara, whom she almost lost. She knew she couldn't live with herself had something happened to her.
She cried herself to sleep with tears of happiness that everything was alright, and with tears of sadness that come that time the next day, Clara would be gone forever.