//------------------------------// // Chapter Sixty: The Lost One // Story: Trixie and Maud: Heart of Stone // by TheCrimsonDM //------------------------------// HEART OF STONE Chapter Sixty: The Lost One Written by TheCrimsonDM A cold and wet sensation sunk through Trixie’s shoulders and she opened her eyes to see that the world around her was nothing but darkness. She wasn’t sure where she was or what was going on. She felt ill and her body ached dully all she wanted to do was throw up but judging by the sour taste in her mouth she already had. She knew that she was lying down somewhere soft, and that at the very least was a minor comfort. Trixie still remembered that dream she had suffered vividly. The horrible red orb, the memory of olden times before everything fell apart, and finally seeing her friends like that. Trixie just couldn’t bear to imagine what had brought about that dream, but with the way she felt right now she knew that she couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t be in pain and feel sick if she was dead. After another moment of thought she decided that she would be better off not focusing on the nightmare as of yet, she had those far too often to think too hard on this one, no matter how terrifying it was. Suddenly the world around her came to life as light suddenly flooded the area blinding her. She threw up a foreleg to cover her eyes and block out the bright light. The sound of a mare gasping softly made Trixie look out from underneath her foreleg to see a surprised looking unicorn with yellow fur, a long red mane, and orange-red eyes. “I-I-I’m sorry, did I disturb you,” Red Velvet apologized so softly that one would think she was contending against Fluttershy in a quiet mare contest. Trixie groaned and said, “I feel awful.” “You were poisoned by those monsters… I did my best to heal you, but the deer didn’t leave many supplies behind when they left this place,” Red Velvet replied. As Trixie’s eyes adjusted to the light she found herself lying in a strangely crafted wooden bed. The blankets she was lying next to looked more like giant leaves then actual cloth. The room was shaped like a normal square room but the way the room looked to have been carved from a same giant piece of wood made Trixie feel very small. Shelves, dressers, and even a kitchen were all fused into the walls. “Where in Celestia’s name are we?” Trixie asked. “This is an abandoned outpost for the deer. They were forced to leave this place when a more voracious monster came along,” Red Velvet said quietly. “You’re very quiet, you know that?” Red Velvet looked outside the doorway before saying, “Yes well, um, the monsters can be attracted by noise sometimes.” Trixie looked out the doorway and was surprised by the fact that there was no actual door, just an empty hole leading to the outside. Trixie looked next to the light source that was illuminating the room and instead of a lantern she found a flower growing from the ceiling glowing with a bright yellow light. Trixie then noticed a jewelry box that clearly didn’t belong to this room in the corner sitting alone on a table, something was shining with a red light reflecting against the wall from inside the box, the light was so familiar and she felt an unexplainable pull towards it. Red Velvet noticed Trixie’s interest and swiftly closed the box with her magic. “What’s in there?” Trixie asked, something about the light from the box had deeply unsettled her. “An old trinket. You needn’t worry about it, it’s safe inside the box,” Red Velvet replied. “Um… may I ask why you were in the forest fighting spiders?” Suddenly Trixie recalled her purpose here and explained, “Something weird is going on, Maud and I couldn’t remember you when talking to other ponies. And now it’s like nopony can read our minds, do you know what’s going on with that?” Red Velvet didn’t respond right away instead she walked around the room and began work on preparing something in a bowl. While Red Velvet toiled with her magic to stir something with a wooden spoon Trixie had plenty of time to examine the tall unicorn. Red Velvet wasn’t wearing any clothing this time and with being able to see the unicorns shoulder’s Trixie was forced to acknowledge the fact that this was indeed a unicorn, that put a pretty big hole in Twilight’s theory about an alicorn. For some reason it hurt Trixie’s head to stare at the Red Velvet’s shoulders for too long. The poison must be affecting her still. Trixie also got to see the unicorn’s cutie mark, a red tear drop, an odd thing for a pony’s cutie mark, this left Trixie wondering exactly what Red Velvet’s special talent was? Finally Red Velvet spoke up saying, “There is a reason that I know so much about curses and dark magic. You see when I was much younger, maybe around your age, I did something foolish and now nopony who looks at me can remember me for long. Talking about me also seems to be impossible for them unless I’m with them; as you can imagine this lead to me becoming a loner.” Trixie felt pity for Red Velvet for suffering with this curse but she still needed her help. “Is there anything you can do to help Maud?” “I can make a potion that lets her forget ever meeting me, period. Along with the memory the magic that’s blocking her mind will clear as well,” Red Velvet explained. Trixie turned her view away from Red Velvet and back towards the door. “You also mentioned that you could fix my magic?” “Yes, but the process to heal it could kill you. You would be forced to go down all of your darkest roads, and the end result could be death, or worse. All in all it would be much easier to fix your mother then to heal you,” Red Velvet explained gently. “You could fix my mom?” Trixie exclaimed nearly jumping out of bed. Red Velvet stopped stirring the bowl for a moment before saying nervously, “I could…” Trixie stared silently at Red Velvet for a long moment waiting for the tall pony to add something else to that sentence, when that didn’t happen Trixie asked, “But what?” “I didn’t say there was a but,” Red Velvet said. “It’s just that… I don’t have a reason to go out of my way to do that.” Trixie felt a surge of anger flash for a moment before forcing it back down and saying, “Why would that matter? If you have the power, why not use it?” “Because ponies would began to question why she was suddenly healed. I don’t have the need to expose myself like that,” Red Velvet said. Red Velvet then added in a somber tone, “I’m sorry.” Trixie rolled over and said bitterly, “After what you did to Maud and me, I think you owe us a lot.” A deafening silence filled the room as Trixie laid there in that bed with her anger on a low simmer. When at last the silence was broken it was by Red Velvet saying, “If I helped your mom, could you help me with something in return?” Trixie looked over at the unicorn and stared flatly for a moment. Red Velvet quickly blushed and said, “I’m sorry, it’s not important…” “I would do anything for my mom, especially if it healed her,” Trixie said. “So… could you do me this small favor?” Red Velvet asked. “If you heal my mom, I’ll do anything,” Trixie said. “Oh o-o-of course. I’ll heal her mind first, and then maybe… if your still willing… you can help me,” The tall unicorn said meekly. Trixie smiled and said, “That sounds like a good plan to me.” “Okay, then after I finish making this medication for you I’ll start on the one for your friend,” Red Velvet explained. “This medication will take away some of the pain, and your nausea.” *** After taking the medication Trixie was able to move around again without feeling any pain, or sickness. So she decided to walk outside and behold the ruined deer outpost. The old outpost was actually three giant trees with catwalks connecting them to one another, and strange mushrooms growing on the side of the trees formed a kind of staircase leading to ground level. Trixie was at the moment at least a hundred feet above ground level if not higher. The glowing flowers were blooming everywhere and although dim most of the time, they lit up suddenly on her approach as though they sensed her presence. This was impressive to say the least. “So what are you doing out here in the middle of the Everfree Forest?” Trixie asked. “Researching the lost history of the ancient empire, generally I move from safe house to safe house, this one is one of my favorites,” Red Velvet said. “Which ancient empire?” Trixie asked. “The Alicorn Empire,” Red Velvet replied quietly but happily. “The what now? There aren’t enough alicorns to make an empire,” Trixie said. “Not anymore, but apparently, a few thousand years ago there existed an entire empire of alicorns. They all vanished suddenly though, and so did all of their wonder and magic. Celestia and Luna are rumored to be two of the only alicorns to have survived from that time, and all the other alicorns since then are strange things indeed. I wish only to uncover the truth about what an alicorn really is, and what happened to the alicorns of old,” Red Velvet explained almost giddy with excitement. “Sounds like you enjoy this subject,” Trixie replied. “I’d like to know more if you learn anything.” “Oh really,” Red Velvet said surprised. “Of course I’ll tell you if I learn anything.” Trixie smiled at Red Velvet who nervously returned the smile. After a while Trixie said, “I need to return home though, that potion you gave is going to save Maud and Pinkie’s relationship. Thanks so much for helping me… and my mom.” “It’s okay, that you for helping me, or at least for helping me in the near future,” Red Velvet said shyly. “Think you can guide me home again,” Trixie asked. “Oh, um, of course I can. I don’t want you getting attacked again, that would be terrible,” Red Velvet said in a voice that almost sounded fearful of the prospect. In some ways Red Velvet reminded Trixie of Fluttershy, only for some reason instead of that being endearing it came off strangely almost like a sense of déjà vu. Trixie shook her head to get the thought out and focused instead on the important things, she was going to go back home and save Maud and Pinkie Pie now, and if Red Velvet was telling the truth she also just saved her mom. The idea of trying to fix her magic right now however was a scary to say the least, and she could only wonder about what dark roads that she would have to travel through, after that horrible nightmare she had, Trixie really didn’t want to know.