One Step Back...

A light azure coated unicorn dragged her hooves down a road leading away from the town of Ponyville. Her light, almost white, blue streaked cyan mane drooped over her face, covering half of her vision. Her eyes gazed directly into the horizon; though her eyes were normally sharp and bright, their grayish magenta shine were faded to mostly gray.

A soft breeze blew across the hay-fields and tickled the mare’s nose, filling it with an oh-so-familiar aroma. Her pace slowed to a crawl as her head gradually turned. The setting sun’s warm rays of light reflected off of the hay, illuminating the field in a golden glow that washed over the unicorn. With a blink, she looked over the sight, and let out a sigh. She found herself standing in the center of the road, and her eyes slowly closed.

It started after that hay shake, she thought while taking in the scent around her. Snips and Snails—curse those two. How could I have known that they’d actually try to make me prove my boasting? She shook her head, and then started looking up into the sky. A cloud passed by, and it drifted until covering the sun, revealing the blank sky, soon to be filled with stars as the day turned to night. An Ursa Major? Really, Trixie? Surely you could have come up with something better—you knew Ponyville was right next to the Everfree Forest.

“Those two actually brought an Ursa to town,” she repeated while chuckling. No pony would have lived me down if I had chased it off… But… She took a large breath, lifting her posture as the cloud covering the sun passed. To think somepony—another unicorn—stepped forth to oppose the Ursa, she thought as her body started tensing. I got laughed out of town! Forced to leave my trailer… and everything else! She stomped the ground, leaving a rough hoofprint in the ground. Twilight Sparkle!

“Uuaagghh!” Trixie shouted, and with a flare of magic, she telekinetically hurled a rock into the air. “How?! Why?!” The rock soared into a cloud, disappearing from view. “You ruined everything!” she yelled. She then started watching for the rock, and as expected it reemerged from the cloud with a warm reflection from the setting sun. A small shine glinted off of Trixie’s eyes and she gasped as the rock fell back to Earth. She galloped onward towards the next town down the line. Her eyes brightened to their normal magenta, and what could almost be called a smirk crossed her lips.

Shortly after, the rock landed on the path, kicking up a small cloud of dirt that drifted after Trixie.

---

Ahead was a colt-drawn covered wagon traveling away from Ponyville. Trixie grinned at her fortune and slowed to a trot as she approached, keeping her head up and proper. Walking around to the side, she noticed the sweet scent of apples drifting out from the carriage. Trixie reached the passenger side and peered in.

“Ahem… Greetings travelers,” Trixie hailed.

“Oh, why hello there!” A motherly-looking green mare looked out, smiling kindly.

A stallion glanced out from behind the mare. “Maregret, who is it?”

“I don’t know, honey,” she replied, and then turned back to Trixie. “What did you say your name was?”

“Why, I am only one of the most esteemed unicorns of all of Equestria,” she rolled her head towards the sky as emphasis. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She paused, watching their reactions. Her heart pounded as her breath became heavier... if these two couldn’t be awed, then who else would be?

“Have you heard of her before?” asked the mare. Trixie’s body leaned towards them as the stallion rubbed his hoof to his chin.

“Hmm… Nope…but she did say she was one of the most esteemed unicorns in Equestria,” he replied, now looking back at Trixie. “Miss Trixie,” Trixie flinched at the mentioning of ‘Miss’ before her name—it made her feel far too old. “We are honored to have you stop to talk to us of all ponies, what can we help you with?”

Trixie let out an inaudible sigh, and quickly picked herself back up. “W-why, yes! You should be honored, for Trixie only talks to her most dedicated of fans. But, tonight, Trixie will make an exception!” The stallion nodded to the two colts pulling the wagon, and it slowed to a stop. “You must heed my warning: there are buckaneers on the prowl,” she said while slowing to keep her pace with the wagon.

Both of their eyes grew wide as they gasped. “Buckaneers?!”

Maregret turned to her husband and whispered, “Have you heard of any buckaneers in this area?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t…” he replied.

Trixie grinned widely, but then regained her composure to continue her ruse. “Yes, and tonight will be their first strike on this road.” She paused. “How do I know?” she questioned before they could, then letting out a chuckle as the two looked back at her. “Trixie can see the future, and your fair wagon will be targeted. The Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow this.” The two then nodded to each other in agreement as Trixie took a step away, looking at them expectantly.

“We will gladly accept your generosity, Great and Powerful Trixie,” said Maregret as she opened the door to the wagon. Trixie gave them a slight nod and climbed on in.

The aroma of apples encompassed them; Trixie took a deep breath of it and began relaxing. Her eyes closed, and her horn started pulsing with a magical shine as her breathing slowed.

“Um…” Maregret looked at Trixie; a blank look on the earth pony’s face. “Now what?”

“Go as normal,” Trixie commanded. “I will inform you when the time has arrived.” Maregret looked to her husband, and he simply nodded to the colts to continue pulling. Perhaps these two are a bit too trusting, Trixie thought. She was grateful, but she didn’t think any more on it.

The wagon started down the road as the sun sunk below the horizon. Stars began dotting the sky as wisps of clouds moved in. The moon rose behind a misty layer of clouds and blanketed the ground with a dull shine, illuminating the woods, nearby boulders, and a small band of ponies who hid in waiting for the traveling wagon.

Trixie continued crafting her spell—visualizing every detail of each pony in the buckaneer group, every detail of their movement and personality to fool even herself when the time came to unleash it. She had been forming the image of her illusion spell from the moment she saw the wagon to make the final product of the spell much easier to cast. A few more minutes passed before Trixie’s horn glowed with brilliant streams of blue light, drawing the eyes of Maregret and the others.

“Stop the wagon,” Trixie said as she looked up to the road ahead. A large boulder, among a pile of smaller ones, stood to their left and a small forest loomed to their right. Trixie stepped out of the wagon and marched forth. “Buckaneers!” she bellowed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands for you to step out to face one of the most amazing unicorns in all of Equestria!” Shortly, three ponies stepped out from behind the boulder, and at the same time Trixie’s horn stopped glowing.

In front was a large, brown stallion with a ruffled blonde mane kept back by a black bandana. He kept stern while glaring at the foolish pony who called them out, but he slightly hesitated with every step. Behind him two grey colts followed, mimicking the stallion’s movement.

“The ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie,” he mocked. “Make it easy on yourself and hand your cargo over,” demanded the stallion. He kept his distance and watched her closely.

“Oh?“ said Trixie, raising an eyebrow and lightly tilting her head—though in the dim light it would be hard for the buckaneers to notice.

“Look, there are three of us. What’s a single pony like you going to do?” The stallion took a menacing step forward. “I’ll say it once more: hand your cargo over.”

After a brief silence, Trixie let out a cackle. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not have to take orders from a simpleton like yourself.” She lifted her chin to the stallion and looked down upon him. “Trixie is feeling generous tonight—Leave your bags and she will overlook the error in your actions.” After all, what could three simple earth ponies do to such a powerful unicorn?

Both of the colts exchanged concerned looks and backed away. Their leader was not one to let an insult go unchallenged, and they knew they’d just get in the way. The stallion snorted and suddenly lifted a hoof, appearing ready to charge towards Trixie. “What did you just say?” he grunted.

“Trixie does not repeat herself—comply or I will have to show you…” She leaned forward slightly, staring directly at the buckaneer. “…what the Great and Powerful Trixie is truly capable of.” She kept her gaze directly on the stallion, daring him to try pulling anything on her. As if on cue, the misty clouds drew open, allowing the moon’s light to shine lucidly over the standoff.

The moon glinted in the stallion’s eyes. Being able to see his target, he took his chance and rushed in. He closed the distance swiftly and in almost no time at all he loomed over her, lifted his front legs and came down for a powerful stomp. As if expecting this, Trixie moved in on him with her head lowered slightly, her horn flaring with energy and aimed at the stallion’s chest. He tried to twist away, even if it meant falling to the ground. Before he could, a torrent of wind violently burst from the unicorn’s horn, throwing the stallion into the air and skipped him across the ground.

As the stallion started to stumble to his hooves, Trixie teleported and stood over him. He fell backwards, scooting away from her fanatically. “N-nn—” he stammered.

“Hm?” Trixie replied. She raised a single eyebrow while smirking and waited.

“Y-you win. I give up!” he yelled. “Take it, just don’t hurt me!” The stallion dropped his bag and ran down the road towards town—both of the colts immediately followed, tripping over each other.

The wagon rolled up to Trixie, and both of the ponies jumped out and flocked to her, praising her as she turned to face them. “Yes, yes,” Trixie replied, cutting the two off without listening to them. “As you two witnessed, it is true! I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, can do most anything, beat mostly anypony!” She then started walking towards the wagon as if neither of them were there. “Let us go, it is far too late to be standing around here doing nothing,” she said through several breaths. She hopped into the wagon, followed shortly by Maregret and her husband who had the colts pull the wagon to the closest open field to make camp.

The colts unloaded some supplies from the back of the wagon while the stallion cleared an area for a fire. Maregret started working on making dinner for five when she noticed Trixie already sleeping in the front of the wagon. She chuckled softly to herself and returned to her chores, leaving Trixie to rest undisturbed until the morning.

---

Trixie walked down the center of the dirt road, leading straight into town. After breakfast she had requested to be dropped off a mile from town so she could walk the rest—she didn’t want to get stuck with them while in town.

A large, wooden archway stood at the entrance of town, welcoming Trixie. Sounds of bustling townsfolk filled the air. There were creaking wagons, clattering hoofs, laughing children and even the pounding of construction echoing as she passed through the archway. A female, light blue earth pony bowed lightly to Trixie. “Welcome to Pursland, traveler,” she greeted. “If there is anything we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Great. Get me a meeting with the mayor,” Trixie replied, walking right past the earth pony. “I’ll be around town. You should be able to find me easy enough, yes?”

The earth pony blinked and glanced to her friends who were nearby; they all just shrugged. “Uh… yes, of course…” she said as she continued to watch the unicorn walk right past without even a look back. She and her friends shook it off and left their post to get an appointment for Trixie to meet the mayor.

Trixie continued walking towards the center of town, keeping her head low and not making eye contact with anypony. She glanced around once in a while; the buildings all seemed to be two-stories tall and earth toned. Doors were primarily wood colored with the house walls painted dark blues, browns, and dark reds—a very boring scheme over all. She was not very enthusiastic about staying here, but at least she may be able to acquire needed provisions for proper traveling. Her first stop was the local tailor so she could acquire a cloak for wandering around town. After all, she couldn’t let her snooping spread rumors of her possibly being a fraud.

Trixie entered the town square where she heard the babbling of water spewing from a white-stone circular fountain. She looked past the fountain at a large building with a podium in front of it. The mayor’s office I presume, Trixie thought as she took in her surroundings. There were ponies of all types walking from place to place, shopping or conversing with friends, but no pony walked alone. There were a few pairs, several trios, but mostly herds of four ponies moving together. The most popular of shops appeared to be the berry stands on every corner, but the few larger herds of five or more ponies consisted of unicorns. They mostly wore upper-class clothing and were stopping at the rare gem shop next door to the tailor; Trixie kept this in mind and headed for the tailor. Once inside she was enthusiastically greeted by a well-kept white unicorn.

“Welcome to Thread by Thread! We sell different sizes and styles of clothing for all ponies!” She smiled. “I am Knilt, is there anything I can help you with today, miss?”

Trixie shuddered at the mentioning of ‘miss,’ but she forced herself to shake it off. “Yes. I require a traveling cloak. It must be dark colored and the hood needs to comfortably fit over my horn.”

“Umm…” replied Knilt, who scratched the back of her neck.

“Tell me you can at least do that much.” Trixie glanced around the room, seeing mostly colorful formal attire clashing with the wood-cabin interior of the room.

“Of course!” came a quick reply as she turned to go into the back room. “It will just be a small wait—we don’t keep those in stock.”

“Just be sure it’s practical,” she sneered as the tailor left.

While she waited, a few herds of ponies entered and left, mostly talking about every-day life struggles. One of them mentioned ‘how horrible it would be if Knilt was targeted next.’ As much as Trixie wanted to jump in and question them, she needed to keep her cover, so she kept this in the front of her mind for later. All she could do now was wait patiently—though anxiously—for her cloak.

Finally, Knilt returned to the counter with a cloak and telekinetically handed it to Trixie. “Please try it on, I sure hope it fits you,” said the white unicorn, smiling professionally to hide her distaste of how bland the product was.

Trixie looked over the cloak before putting it on. It was dark brown and thick with two strands of rope to tie the neck closed. The hood seemed perfectly cut for hiding her face in public, and the cloak length appeared right. On the inside there even was a strap to wrap around the waist to keep the cloak from flying off during a windstorm. Pleased, she threw it over her, tying the ropes and strapping it around her waist—a perfect fit. “This will do,” she stated, keeping the hood down for now. Trixie started to pull out some bits to pay, but Knilt quickly interrupted.

“Oh, no no! There’s no need to pay,” said Knilt. “Everypony’s first purchase is on the house.” She then grabbed a piece of paper from under the counter. “And take this too.”

Trixie took the paper and looked at it suspiciously. “And this is?”

“A coupon for a free complimentary jewel from next door.” She then pointed towards the rare gem store. “They asked me to hand one out every time a pony makes their first purchase.”

“Very well, I may just grace them with a visit.” With that, Trixie turned and walked out of the store, putting her hood on. While doing so, several bits fell from under Trixie’s cloak—probably enough to cover the cost of said cloak. What’s with that place? Free stuff? How absurd! I did nothing to merit it… A grin crossed the light azure pony’s face. Yet.

Now that she could go anywhere and no pony would be able to get a good look at her, she searched for the local saltoon. Luckily, one was only a block down the road, within sight from Thread by Thread’s front door. Trixie was already getting odd looks from other ponies, but that didn’t matter at this point. She walked straight there, keeping her head low. Upon arrival, she glanced up at the sign which read: “Salty’s Salt House: Sure to Satisfy Severe Desire for Salt.” Super… she thought while rolling her eyes.

She walked up onto the porch of the building and stepped through the double doors. The stench of salt and sweat burdened the air. Stallions filled a majority of the circular tables scattered around the room, tongues hanging out and salt smeared on their faces. Trixie shuddered slightly, but walked on in and headed for the stallkeeper. He was waiting, leaning on his counter, taking cloth to a glass and rubbing it clean. Trixie sat down at the booth in front of him next to a random brown stallion.

“What can I do you for?” asked the stallkeep.

Trixie stayed still, making no gestures as she spoke. “A glass of water to start.”

“Of course, coming right up,” he replied as he turned to the sink.

The stallion next to Trixie glanced in her direction after hearing her voice. With a crooked grin, he leaned over. “Oh ho, what-do-we-have-here?” he slurred. Trixie turned to look at him. “Why, I-bet-you’d-look-pretty-if-you-came-out-from-under-that-hood.”

Trixie turned her head away and up, rolling her eyes. “As if I don’t get that often.” She then turned and stared at him dully. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere with me.”

“Whew, sharp-tongue-ya-have-there-missy.”

“Yes well… If you really want my attention, then tell me what you can about Pursland,” she demanded. “Any old myths lying around?”

The stallkeep placed a glass of water in front of Trixie and gave her and the stallion a stern look. The stallion wavered back to his own business, but the stallkeep leaned on his counter towards Trixie. “There’s one… but it’s a touchy subject in this town.” He closed his eyes and let himself sink slightly. “But I suppose it’s something you should hear…” He cleared his throat and glanced around before starting. “About a year back, rumors started spreading about things vanishing from town—a flower pot here or a watch there. For about two months, a new rumor of something disappearing popped up every week, but then it started escalating. Every week, more and more items vanished until it became a daily occurrence. On the third month, somepony got evidence of a break in.”

At this point, the stallkeep opened his eyes and leaned closer. “Later that same afternoon, while this pony was out walking alone, presumably to place a report, they got ambushed. Beat until swearing to not talk—the mayor eventually heard about this and naturally so did I. As the months went on, several of our townsfolk tried to find them… to no success. Because of this there were a couple of reports of break-ins, and even a sighting, but not enough evidence to find these outlaws. There have been more fires and construction site accidents in the last 6 months than ever; I suspect that it’s their work. I can’t tell you who they are or where they’ll strike next, but I do know this much: there are three of them, each donning masks, bandanas on their heads, and nondescript, full body clothing. They tend to go after easy targets that are alone or unwatched at night.”

He stood back up and turned to his salt lick collection—during his story another herd had entered the saltoon and were waiting to be served. “If I were you, I wouldn’t stay in town for too long or at least find some company.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “Oh, by the way, the name’s Salty. If you ever need any help, just give me a holler.”

“Very well,” Trixie replied as she stood up and left, ignoring anypony who tried to get her attention. Outlaws? Is that all? she thought, pondering the stallkeep’s story. Please, nothing but child’s play. The Great and Powerful Trixie will have this wrapped up by tomorrow. She continued thinking her plan through, starting with the first detail in question: How to act this out. Did she want to challenge them? Or did she want to simply catch them? It sounded all so easy, but there just had to be a catch. Regardless, the time to start her charade was now.

She wandered into an alleyway and removed her cloak, folding it nicely and strapping it around her waist like a backpack. With a great grin on her face, she marched into the town square with perfect timing; the earth pony who greeted her at the town entrance was walking around, looking from pony to pony. Trixie took the initiative and walked to her.

“Ah! Miss—“

“Trixie wishes for you to call her by her name,” Trixie interrupted.

The light-blue earth pony flinched back at Trixie’s outburst. She glanced back at her friends who just shrugged back at her, so she turned back to Trixie. “Yes… uh, Trixie… the mayor will see you now, she is waiting in the large…” Trixie nodded and started walking off towards the fountain and what she expected to be the mayor’s office. “…building…” The pony watched Trixie while scratching the back of her head. “…over there…”

“It looks like she knows,” replied one of her friends.

Without a glance around, without stuttering, and with her head up high, Trixie walked up the stairs, past the podium, and into the large building. Inside, a white earth mare with a blonde mane stood waiting, looking a little panicked. Trixie looked away for a moment and sighed.

“F-f-forgive me visitor of Pursland…” said the mayor. “I’m always nervous with newcomers.” She gave Trixie a weak smile.

Trixie returned the smile with an amused look on her face. “Trixie expected this,” she started, but she paused for dramatic effect for too long.

“Trixie?! You mean you’re the unicorn that Maregret spoke to me about? The one that can tell the future?” The mayor bowed fully to her. “Please! I beg of you. Help us! For a year now we—“

“Trixie already knows…” she interrupted. “…and she will catch these mysterious outlaws. After all, I am the only one in Pursland who can.”

“If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“I bet I can think of something.” Trixie grinned down at the half-bowing mayor. She was glad that the meeting with the mayor went right to business—beating around the bush was always irritating.

---

After several minutes of discussion, the two came to an agreement. Trixie was given permission to borrow anything with the consent of its owner, along with anypony with their consent as well. In return, Trixie was to find and capture the outlaws and hand them over to the town.

She walked out of the mayor’s office and stood beside the fountain to look around. Since talking to the mayor, her grin hadn’t faded. The thrill of the lie, the spotlight on her, and the power of authority was refreshing, but what truly drove her was the need to show the world that she had what it took to keep her outrageous promises and claims. Trixie was always right and no pony could say otherwise! …Other than Twilight...

However, for a moment Trixie’s buzz was interrupted by a slight burning on her horn. Following its pull, the skilled unicorn glanced back towards the mayor’s office and noted a pony in a shady area who hid around a corner when she started looking in its direction. Trixie smoothly kept her gaze moving past the suspicious pony, stopping it at a carpenter’s shop. To keep the guise she wanted, she started walking towards the shop. Magic… obviously a unicorn… could he be? Keeping this in mind, she now had a little more snooping to do later when she finished her preparations.

Once she entered the carpenter shop, she feigned looking around the store to glance behind her—she could feel that the unicorn was still watching her, along with the light burning of her horn. Hmm… judging by the resonance given off by the spell… it’s got to be—

“Welcome, welcome. Please, come on in and take a look around,” came a deep voice. Trixie’s heart skipped a beat as she quickly looked up at a gruff-looking stallion behind the counter.

“Thanks…” she replied, taking a deep breath as she started to examine the goods around the store. Furniture, tools, and more importantly: replacement wagon wheels lined the store walls. There was no colorful décor and no smelly incense, just wood, and this was exactly what Trixie hoped for. She went up to one of the wagon wheels to take a closer look. It appeared to be made of a strong wood and the quality was excellent, but there wasn’t much else that Trixie could gather about it since she really wasn’t in the woodwork industry.

“Your products appear well made,” said Trixie. “Do you take orders?”

“Of course, whatchya need?”

Trixie walked to his counter. “Trix—“ she stopped herself mid sentence. If I scrutinized that unicorn’s magical resonance accurately, he’s using an eavesdropping spell… she thought. “Er… I require a new trailer. One that I can travel and live in, but still pull myself…” She started spouting out the details of her old trailer that was left behind as a wreck in Ponyville.

---

“…so just deliver the trailer to the first building in the construction area on the east-side of town at precisely 5:30pm,” Trixie finished, giving him a down payment before leaving. The carpenter had said he only needed to make modifications to a trailer he already had, so he could whip it up shortly. That was good news, but Trixie still had more preparations to make.

Trixie visited a wide variety of stores and businesses all around town, inquiring about their wares and services. The unicorn was still following her from out of sight, so Trixie had to continue to keep her true intentions hidden as with the carpenter. First she went to the rare gem store and acquired herself a jewel necklace for free with her coupon from Knilt. She then jumped next door to Thread by Thread to see about pillow cases and blankets and then went over to the farm on the west side of town to borrow a wheelbarrow to carry her items in. She crossed town to stop at the construction area and was able to manipulate somepony to leave a lantern lit at the location for her trailer delivery. She then realized that she ‘forgot’ that she needed feathers and hay for her mattress and pillow, so she returned to the farm for those. After acquiring these items, she went back to most of the places she visited before to borrow some tools to make her bedding.

At this point Trixie had nothing else planned to gather, so she wandered town to find a library to see what books they had—specifically books on magic to make sure she knew what the outlaws could be capable of, but to her astonishment there were no libraries in Pursland.

What kind of barbaric, roughian, uncivilized town doesn’t have a library?! Three towns. THREE! In a row! Where I can’t sit down and read a simple book—ANY book! At least at Ponyville it was because someone lived in the library. The town before that was simply unfunded and outrageously irritating. Trixie fumed while pulling her wheelbarrow to the construction site.

As she reached the town square, a lone filly walked up to Trixie from behind. “Umm…excuse me—“

“I am far too busy to be stopped for idle chit-chat,” Trixie interrupted before looking back to see who it was.

The little filly sunk her head. “Oh… I am sorry… I… didn’t mean to—“

“Hold on…” Trixie interrupted again, looking around and at the filly who was near tears and slowly backing away. “You can’t be seriously walking alone in a place like this,” she stated. The filly let out a small whimper. “Let me guess…” she continued, sighing to herself. “…you lost your parents?” Irritated, Trixie looked down at the filly, who just nodded back to her, and then let out another sigh. “Let’s go…”

---

It took about an hour, but she eventually found the parents panicked in a residential area of town.

“Sweetie! We’re so glad you’re ok.” The parents showered their child with hugs and other sweet talking—Trixie didn’t bother listening and instead turned her head to gag.

“Yes, well… I will be leaving, for I have important work to get back to—“ Trixie said while starting to walk away.

“Wait a moment,” said the father of the filly. Trixie reluctantly stopped and turned to look at him. “I am Striter with the town newspaper… and I wish to write a story on your kindness, miss…?”

Trixie couldn’t feel any sort of burn on her horn, so she didn’t see any harm in saying her name. “Just Trixie,” she replied quietly, and then turned to keep walking. “Go ahead and write the story, I won’t stop you.”

“Um,” Striter started, but Trixie decided to not hear it and kept walking.

---

Trixie arrived at the construction site, and while she was distracted, 5:30pm had come and gone. Her glorious trailer had already been dropped off, and it looked beautiful. The red roof and porch, the crescent moon on the bottom door, and the double-flap window with heart shapes imprinted on them—all of it was recreated just as she asked. Perking up, she trotted over to her new trailer and went inside. Shelves, a bed frame, and cupboards lined the walls with a table in the center. She opted out of her fold-out stage—she didn’t plan on doing shows anymore anyways—and got more storage space instead.

With a satisfied sigh, Trixie went back outside to her wheelbarrow and started unloading it. The feathers and hay were specifically hoof-placed under the lit lantern, but also touching her trailer. She placed out her tools within the small triangle shape formed between the trailer, lantern, and wheelbarrow—very shortly she began hoof-stitching pieces of cloth together.

---

Some hours passed, and Trixie finished stitching and stuffing her mattress and her pillow. The entire time, she gave herself off as absentminded while subtly casting a spell. She focused on her work, and—when it eventually ‘got in her way’—hung her necklace on the wheelbarrow handle which sat on the opposite side of Trixie from the trailer. She left extra hay and feathers, along with all of her tools, scattered in a pile around the front of her trailer.

Trixie then used both her magic and her hooves to drag the mattress inside, trying not to trip over extra sewing thread strewn among the ground. She knew the outlaws were watching her—she could feel the burning of their magic concealing them. After dealing with the mattress, she came back out for her pillow. With a great yawn, Trixie returned to her trailer, closed the door, and went to bed.

The dim, warm light cast by the lantern waivered in the cold night breeze.

---

The outlaws hid, each from a different angle. They waited for the lone unicorn to fall asleep before moving. The leader of the bunch focused his eavesdropping spell into the trailer, hearing the soft breathing of a mare, but it wasn’t quite right. He shook his head towards the others to let them know to wait longer.

---

Eye contact was made and the three outlaws nodded to each other; their target’s breathing had properly regulated a few minutes back. They walked silently through the darkness while watching each other’s backs for witnesses—though they knew where each other were, light bent around their figures, blurring the area around them and concealing themselves.

The three of them converged to the outer edges of the lantern’s light, taking a moment for one last scan for witnesses. Nothing—the coast was clear. As the lantern’s fire flickered, the three moved in swiftly. One went for the necklace and the other went to stand ready next to the lantern post. The leader of the bunch moved silently to peer into the trailer.

As he reached the door—

Slam! He jumped away from the trailer door—the noise came from inside. The other two turned to bolt, but they tripped and fell face first. Something tugged all three of them towards each other, dragging them by a hoof. Furiously digging at the ground, the two smaller, black-clothed ponies tried to get away, but a flash of light followed immediately by a screaming whirl startled them. A ball of light shot up into the sky and exploded with a grand sparkle of colors. One by one, four more fireworks burst into the air, and after the final one the outlaws realized that they were tied together by copious amounts of sewing thread. The town started stirring—lights in every nearby house flicked on as murmurs of confusion and worry rose.

Tap… tap… tap… the three turned their heads to the trailer, where their target came out slowly. She held her head high with a giant grin while looking down on them. “Come one, come all,” she said just loud enough for the outlaws to hear. “Come and witness the amazing feat of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“How?!” the leader exclaimed. “You couldn’t!... You… You…”

Trixie let out a laugh. “Please. I had you threaded around my hoof from the moment you first set your unfortunate eyes upon me.”

“Come down here and say that!” the outlaw shouted. Amused, Trixie stepped down from her porch and walked barely into hoof-reach of the outlaw’s leader. She leaned in and looked directly into his eyes.

“Go ahead. Trixie dares you to try anything,” she whispered. The outlaw could only glare back. Slowly, she lifted her head away from him, grinning even larger. A crowd started forming around them, but one pony stepped up to confront Trixie directly—the stallion with the town newspaper.

“Trixie!” Striter said, holding a quill and paper. “Just who are these three?” he asked, twitching with anticipation.

“Need you to ask?” she replied. “Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has the power and insight needed to capture the most infamous outlaws that have ever plagued Pursland.”

“Nice try, ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’,” the outlaw leader mocked. “But you’ll need to do better than this to capture us.”

Trixie’s horn burned from the magical energies the three outlaws were gathering. Trixie nodded to herself, Just as I thought. The three each closed their eyes, and gritted their teeth. All of the ponies around started slowly backing away, staring wide eyed. A bubble of magic appeared around the three, but Trixie didn’t even turn to look. She just closed her eyes and continued to hold her chin up. The outlaws began levitating off the ground, the bubble around them flickering, and then a flash!

The outlaws started looking left and quickly right, trying to gain their bearings…only to find that they hadn’t gone anywhere. The echo of Trixie’s laughter bellowed over them. “Do you honestly believe Trixie wouldn’t have thought this through?” She turned and pointed at the jewel necklace on the wheelbarrow. “I placed a spell with that as a base. It creates an illusional aura that takes any teleport spells within range and mirrors them right back to where they started.”

“But…” stepped in the newspaper writer. “How were you able to not only lure them out, but trap them so easily?”

“Good question, my simple Pursland citizen,” Trixie said, practically glowing with joy. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not only a unicorn of incredible talent, but she can also see the future!” The crowd gasped, looking to each other. “And Trixie saw the signs before they happened, and she knew what had to be done.”

She took a moment to bathe in her spotlight before continuing. “After talking to the mayor and getting permission, I started right away. The outlaws followed me all around town as I ran errands, faking to be nothing but an insignificant, unskilled, oblivious pony. Everything I gathered…” she said, now motioning to the scene. “…were all specifically gathered ploys to draw the outlaws in and place them where they were destined to be… down to the last thread.” Trixie walked over to her trailer door and grabbed at the air. She then tugged, revealing that she actually grabbed a thread that was connected between a closed cabinet and the outlaws.

The mayor then pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. “Oh Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said, bowing her head in respect as she came closer. “How can we ever repay your kindness?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow at the mare. Kindness? she thought, but then shrugged it off.

“Oh, no no no. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not require anything, but what she already has obtained.” She motioned to the trailer. “Paying the rest of what she owes the carpenter will be more than adequate.”

“There… has to be something else we can do?” the mayor pleaded. “I mean… don’t you know how much this means to our town? Now we—“

“Yes, of course Trixie knows. But Trixie has been very busy all day, and wishes to get some sleep…” She waved the mayor towards the outlaws. “We will discuss this more in the morning.”

Shortly, the crowd had subsided, and the outlaws were taken away with the jewel necklace held close by. Trixie took this time and extinguished the lantern and crawled back into bed for some well-deserved shut eye.

---

The next morning, everypony was excited and partying. Trixie was dragged into the celebrations for a couple of hours, even though she wanted to leave. However, she was glad she stayed because of a single incident: the newspaper writer, Striter, came to her with photos of the three outlaws unmasked. The leader was a brown unicorn stallion with a blonde mane, and the other two were grey unicorn colts. Split-images of the apple buckaneers Trixie made illusions of back when she was dealing with Maregret and her husband. How peculiar… she thought, unsure of what to make of the coincidence.

When Trixie found an opening to leave, she took it without a second thought. She went down a road heading off in an eastern direction, hoping that the next town will go as easily as this one.

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