//------------------------------// // Somewhere, under a starry night // Story: Once upon a time, during a holy night // by Wave Blaster //------------------------------// Under the starry veil of the night, a lone pony was traveling alone. Pulling a trailer by herself, the azure and silver unicorn know as Trixie was making the trip from Appleloosa to Las Pegasus, across the San Palomino Desert. Alone with her thoughts, and dreams. She was thinking about regaining her place in the world. In all this time, she had lost a lot, and at the same time, she discovered too. For example, she lost her desire to be above everypony else, but also she understood she didn't need it to be happy. But still, there were thing she still was missing. For the crowds that used to love her, she couldn't find something to take its place. It was in times like this one, when her mind drifted from reality to think about things like that. Lost in her thoughts, Trixie tried to remember how she used to live before being famous. "I used to have a family." She told to herself, remembering the good time with her mentors in Neigh Orleans. "But now they're gone." She remembered how she tried to find them again, but none of them seemed to leave the slightest trace behind, only the good memories she had of them. "Maybe is time to start a family of my own." So deep she was in thought, that the flare illuminating the night sky surprised the heck out of her. The white light was coming from east, leaving a barely visible trail of smoke behind it. But Trixie was an experience traveler, she recognized the S.O.S. signal. She unstrapped from her cart, cast a quick shield spell on it and went towards its source, wondering what kind of trouble she might find once there. The desert wasn't the kindest of places, even in Equestria. When Trixie finally climbed the last dune she saw what was the problem. A couple of ponies, a stallion and a very pregnant mare, were sitting next to a small traveling cart that had its two front wheels broken. 'Wheels, had to be wheels.' "Hello strangers." She greeted them. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie, at your service." Letting a small group of sparks to bust behind her and taking of her hat. The astounded coupled stood still, too surprised to say anything. When she didn't hear the aplause and sheer, Trixie decided to be more direct. "Trixie can see that you need help, if you're willing to follow Trixie, she has a functional cart a couple of dunes at the west." The stallion rose from the sand and addressed her. "Thank you miss, but my wife is already in labor, we can't move her right now." "Oh, no need to worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie can bring her cart here." She replied. With one final bow, she went back to where she left her cart. In the way she was left alone to her thoughts. "Why am I doing this? It's not like me to abandon a route to help others, much less allow other ponies to step in my cart." But that line of thinking was interrupted by her own memory working. "Right, pregnant mare." With nothing else in mind, Trixie raced to her cart. When she finally made it, she strapped it as quick as she could and started to pull. But the desert's sand was a really difficult ground, even in the road. The couple was't in the road. To avoid the wheels from sinking in the sand, she had to cast a levitation spell on her cart. The double effort of lifting the cart with her magic and dragging it with her hooves was really tiring her, but something inside her heart was telling Trixie it was the right thing to do. To tired she was, that Trixie forgot in which direction she was heading. The monotonous landscape wasn't helping, as every dune was exactly like the previous one. There was no sign or trace to follow until she glanced to the sky, where the white flare from before shone over the stars and gave her the right direction. "Come on Trixie, you can do this." She said out loud to herself. Deciding to give everything on one effort, she put all her might in one single push of her magic and one single pull of her hooves. Like a jump, the cart floated over the sand and Trixie raced it over the last dune. After that, she found the stallion holding her wife's hoof, as the mare was sweating and heavily breathing. "It's all right, the Great and Powerful Trixie is here." She announced herself, but both ponies were too focused to pay her any attention. "Is she okay?" Trixie asked. "Yeah, she's just having the first contractions." The stallion answered. "But I'm afraid that we need to get her to a hospital, and the last town is at least a kilometer to the east." He said in a defeated voice. "I really thank you for your effort, but it's too much and I'll understand if you can't help." He then turned himself to attend his wife. Trixie pondered the options, two little Trixies appearing on her shoulders. "That's it, beat it girl." The Trixie dressed with a black and red cape said. "You are about to pass out from exhaustion from pulling the cart alone, there's no way in hell you can get them to town." Then she put a hoof over her chin. "And what is a kilometer by the way?" Trixie looked at her other shoulder, where a white dressed Trixie was silently gazing at her. "Well?" The red and black Trixie asked. "You have nothing to ad?" The white Trixie only looked at her darker and edgier counterpart before saying. "Not really, Trixie is a grown mare and she knows what's right and wrong." Then looking at the real Trixie. "After all, she still wants to be a hero." "An anti-hero." The dark Trixie added. "Close enough." Said the white one. Both Trixies disappeared in a puff of black and white smoke, leaving the real one more confused than she was before. Rolling her eyes, she sighed and went to the couple. "Hey, you." Not really convinced of her next words. "The Great and Powerful Trixie happens to be heading to... that town you say, so..." Her mouth and her mind really having a problem. "Jump in and I'll get you there." "Oh my, thank you miss Trixie, we really appreciate this." He said while helping his wife to get up. The motion semed rather difficult given the mare's condition, so Trixie decided the best was to levitate her to the cart. "Let me help you to pull the cart, miss." The stallion said, but Trixie waved her hoof against it. "No need, the Great and Powerful Trixie is more than capable of pulling her cart. Also, your wife needs you more." The stallion thanked her again and went inside the cart to attend his wife. Trixie looked how the door closed and strapped the cart around her barrel. "*gulp* Okay Trixie." She said as staring to pull the cart. "You can do this, this can be worse than farming rocks." *Some minutes later.* "This is even worse than farming rocks!" She said in frustration. If her calculations were right, she had only pulled the cart a hundred of meters. There was no way she could make it to town in time. Too stubborn to admit defeat and quit, she kept her pulling as also trying to keep the cart steady for the couple inside. Minutes turned hours, one step at a time she was making it. Looking above, she saw in the east how the with light she confuse with a flare was in fact a star. The shinny celestial body stood out between the other for something really peculiar. Under it, a small trace of what looked like magic dust was falling. Trixie recognized the similitude with her cutie mark, and that gave her the inner strength to keep her efforts. After what seemed like most of the night, she finally made it to the small town. Trixie almost shed a tear when she saw streets instead of sand, drastically reducing the problem of pulling the cart. Trixie unstrapped herself and went to the cart's door to announce the couple that the were already in town. She was next to the door when a sound startled her. A baby's cry. Trixie opened the door to find the mare resting in her bed, holding a newborn pony wrapped in Trixie's cape. "Wait, what?" She said. "Oh miss Trixie, I'm really sorry but I couldn't find anything else." The stallion apologized. "I swear I'll buy a new one as soon as I can." Trixie sighed, too tired to even argue. "Just keep it." She didn't even had enough energy to keep her act. "I'm glad the baby is okay." She then looked between her thinks, searching for a bottle of water. She finally found one when somepony knocked at the door. "Who the tartarus may that be?" Trixie was tired and thirsty, not really in the mod to receive any unexpected visitors. Walking to her door, she opened and saw something that actually left her speechless. A caravan consisting on three carts was stationed next to hers. and in front of her door, a camel, a zebra and a thestral, all dressed like a ruler would, were looking expectantly at her. "Can Trixie help you?" But before they could answer, the couple was exiting the cart. The mare sat down, holding her child between her hooves. The three visitors put a gift each one in front of them and knelt before the newborn pony. It took Trixie a moment to realize. The couple at the desert, the star in the east, the three visitors. When realization came to her, she hastily took a knee too, bowing in respect. "Trixie is-- I'm sorry, I don't have a gift to offer." The mare rose and walked next to Trixie, lifting her chin with a hoof. "No, miss Trixie, you gave us the most important one." And she was right. The value of a good action without expecting a reward shone with more strength than any gold, frankincense or myrrh. The couple walked with their friends, entering in one of the caravans. A minute later and they were heading east again, exiting the town and disappearing in the distance. Trixie looked at the scene, smiling in pride and happiness. She knew she wasn't going to see that couple again, and would never see the child growing up. Trixie should be feeling alone and empty, but this night is special. She fights with her desire of joining the couple. Instead of that, she went to her own place, the roads. This time tough, there wasn't that fell of loneliness. The road is open, her destiny awaits for her at the end and she has a new reason to keep going. Trixie knew that there was hope.