Chapter 8 – One Pony with Courage
Princess Luna beckoned Victor to approach. “What is your assessment of our enemy?” she asked.
“From what I’ve seen in the previous engagement, Golden’s airship can outrun us and out-shoot us,” he answered. “She’s even got trained pegasi at her command to board us at any distance.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Couldn’t we just shoot their gasbag? It’ll drop ‘em like a stone out of the sky.”
“Their bag has been strengthened by magic. It'll take too long to puncture,” Victor answered, “Unlike ours which can’t take much punishment at all.”
The princess thought for a moment. This moment ended abruptly as a cannonball shot out from the enemy ship and nearly struck their port side hull. She turned to the crew. “We shall employ deceit and take them by surprise! Ellie, join the engineers down in the boiler room. I want you to rig the starboard propellers to give me full power on my command. Only the starboard side.”
The pegasus nodded and went with a few ponies down below. Queen Andrenida repeated the order to her hive, asking those with mechanical aptitude to assist Ellie. Several changelings volunteered and went below deck.
Luna continued her commands. “The rest of you I want to unhook all the cannons from the starboard side and move them to the port side. Connect the steam hoses and tie those cannons down. Load them as soon as they are secure!”
Golden’s airship fired another round. The metal ball sailed through the air and dealt a glancing blow against the railing on the poop deck’s port side, splintering the wood.
“Their aim appears to consistently leaning to port,” Luna remarked to Victor. She turned to the helmspony. “Drift starboard, five degrees. Drop speed to about half. Queen Andrenida, command your remaining changelings to fully unfurl the port sails. Trixie, please assist them. I want as much drag as those sails will give me.”
“What are you planning to do?” Victor asked.
“We shall play the wounded gazelle,” Luna responded as she watched the enemy ship close in. The princess glanced over at the crew working diligently to follow through wither her orders. The sight of ponies and changelings working together would have been heartwarming… if they weren’t about to engage in a lethal ship battle for their lives. If they were apprehensive about working together, they certainly didn’t show it. She even saw Sombra assist with tying the cannons in place.
“Your majesty,” the helmspony spoke up, “Seaddle is coming up real fast.”
“So is the enemy,” Victor added.
Luna pointed to the lawyer. “Call the engine room and inquire if they are prepared to engage my plan.”
Victor lifted a cap over a funnel and spoke into it. “Engine room, are preparations set?”
“Yes, I believe we’re ready,” Ellie responded through the pipe, “But I just want to point out that this is going to damage the ship.”
“Moot point when Golden catches up to us,” Victor stated.
Trixie shouted from the main deck. “What’s the next step? The sails are out and the cannons are loaded.”
“Steady,” Luna commanded with a raised hoof. “Steady.”
“Your majesty?” the helmspony inquired, visibly straining to keep the airship from turning under the unbalanced drag.
The crew of the enemy vessel moved cannons to the bow in preparation for a full volley. Luna continued to hold her hoof up. Her crew waited with abated breath, their hooves on the cannons that all pointed in the wrong direction to defend the ship.
“Princess…” Victor whispered with concern.
The silence on the ship was deafening. Luna broke from her statuesque pose and seized the wheel with the helmspony. “Hard to port!” she commanded. “Victor, tell Ellie to give me full power! Everyone hang on to something!!”
The starboard side propellers wound up to full speed and the airship made a left turn so tight it nearly stopped in midair. The crew held on for their lives as everything unsecured rolled across the deck and slammed against the railing. Ropes that held the ship to its gasbag began to fray and snap apart. Loose barrels rolled off the airship to the unsuspecting town below. One cannon broke loose and skidded into the center mast with a loud crash. Its air hose tore off and flapped wildly in the air.
The sudden turn now placed all of the ship’s cannons pointed at the very surprised enemy. Golden’s ship made a hard right turn in a futile attempt to avoid a collision and to bring its own cannons to bear.
Luna saw the surprised eyes of the enemy crew. She tipped her hat forward, pointed to the sky above, and then stomped her hoof against the deck to bellow the one command that the entire crew awaited desperately.
“Fire!!”
The air cannons on Debon’s airship exploded with thunderous booms as they rained metal balls into the deck and hull of Golden’s ship. Half a second later Golden returned the favor with her own ship firing back at them. The two ships tore each other apart and then collided. Wood splinters flew in all directions as the hulls smashed into one another. Sails and support beams became entangled. The ships were locked together and drifting over Seaddle.
Princess Luna grabbed a long piece of loose wood and held it up like a sword. “Prepare to be boarded, crew! Death may try to take us, but today it will be greatly disappointed!”
Luna’s crew cheered with renewed courage and grabbed whatever weapons they could find. Those that could not arm themselves reloaded the air cannons. From the enemy craft, the Black Wings lead the charge as Golden’s crew leaped over to board Debon’s airship. The opposing crews clashed with swords and slingshots, hooves and spells.
Thundercracker dived over ponies, kicking at their heads as he sailed over them. Ramjet and Thrust flanked with their leader as they landed on the main deck. “Divide and conquer, colts,” Thundercracker said proudly to his team. He was immediately dazed by a sudden burst of fireworks in his face.
“You will be dividing by zero, losers!” Trixie shouted from atop a barrel, “For the Great and Powerful Trixie shall stop you!”
Cheryl gave her friend a scowl. “I don’t think you can actually do that, Bunko. Divide by zero I mean.”
“Don’t kill the moment,” Trixie snapped back. She jumped off the barrel and used her magical telekinesis to shove the barrel at the pegasi.
The Black Wings easily hopped out of the way, but left themselves open to Cheryl’s charge. The earth pony head-butted Thundercracker in the chest, sending him to the floor. Thrust dove on Cheryl in response while Ramjet took off to attack Trixie.
The unicorn set off a burst of light from her horn. Ramjet veered away from Trixie, his vision blurred by the light spell. He landed on the ground and skidded to a halt.
“Grr, I can’t stand you unicorns and your freaky magic,” the pegasus growled.
“Trixie is also beautiful,” she boasted.
Ramjet pulled out a knife from his flight suit pocket and threw it at the unicorn. Trixie ducked under the blade, but failed to get up before the pegasus closed in and struck her with both of his wings. Trixie kicked out with her fore-hooves ineffectively.
Cheryl lifted Thrust off herself and threw him against the railing. The pegasus bounced off the wooden structure and landed heavily on the ground. The earth pony turned to help Trixie, but Thundercracker got up and grabbed her from behind. Cheryl and swung at him, but her blow was parried by his wing.
“Get off me, you chicken-winged pony!” Cheryl yelled.
Sombra galloped behind Ramjet and slid into his hind legs, unbalancing him. Trixie dropped to her backside and kicked out. She struck the pegasus in the jaw and knocked him out. Thundercracker pushed Cheryl away and retreated into the air.
“I had him,” Trixie mumbled to the faux earth pony. She telekinetically lifted Thrust before he could recover and pushed him over the side of the railing. The injured pegasus unfurled his wings and glided under the ship, out of view.
“Yes, you are quite welcome,” Sombra commented. He rummaged through Ramjet’s bag and found the Alicorn Amulet. “Ah, this should prove useful.”
“To who?” Cheryl questioned as she approached. “You so much as try to put that thing on and I’ll strangle ya with it!”
Trixie nodded. “I’m going to agree with Cheryl. No pony should trifle with that amulet, least of all you.” She seized the amulet and wrapped it around Cheryl’s foreleg. “There, it should be safe with you.”
The chocolate earth pony shrugged. “I suppose, as long as I don’t hear voices in my head or anything.”
Sombra scowled at Trixie, but did not say anything in response.
Luna came down on the main deck and flattened one of Golden’s crew. “Avast you heartless scallywags and other pirate words!” she shouted as she waved the wooden stick she still held. “Who is next to taste the broadside of my hoof?” Her question was answered by several opponents who attacked together with the intent to pin Luna down. The princess swatted at them with the stick and both wings. A bolt of black lightning streaked across the deck next to her.
The princess pushed the goons away and looked up. “Trying to get my attention, sorceress?” Luna shouted at Golden on the other ship.
“No, trying to hit you!” Golden responded. “Now be a sport and hold still!”
“Ha!” Luna snorted back. She grabbed one of the dazed enemy crew-members on her and levitated him up as a shield. The next bolt fried the hapless pony into an unconscious heap, leaving the princess unscathed to charge ahead. “Come fight me like a mare, Golden!”
~ ~ ~
Down below deck the warping hull of the airship began to crack the pipes, shooting steam out into the room. Ellie tried to direct the three changelings to plug the leaks, but the air was too hot to work in. The changelings threw blankets over the pipes to keep themselves from being boiled alive.
One of the pegasus engineers pulled Ellie away from the scalding steam. “We’re not going to be able to keep the pressure going. Let’s shut the boiler down and evacuate.”
“Alright, we’ll do that,” Ellie agreed. She galloped over to the air valves and closed them to starve the fire.
The floor beneath them ruptured from a blast that shot wooden planks upwards into the room. Every pony without wings fell through the breech. They were followed immediately by the pegasi engineers who tried to save them from being splattered against the streets below. Dirge climbed inside with a satchel full of dynamite. The changelings hissed and buzzed their wings in anticipation of a fight.
“No! Save our friends first!” Ellie shouted as she pointed down at the hole. The changelings understood her intent and dove through the breech, helping the pegasi engineers catch their falling allies.
Ellie and two remaining unicorns were left in the destroyed boiler room. Dirge pulled out a match and struck it against his belt. One unicorn grabbed Ellie and led her toward the stairs up to the main deck while the other unicorn tried to grab the match with her telekinesis.
Dirge let the match go and pulled out two sticks of dynamite. He threw them into the still smoldering boiler as he dove out the hole in the floor. The unicorn wasn’t fast enough to seize the sticks. They clattered against the burning coals inside.
The explosion created a lethal storm of hot shrapnel. Ellie felt needle-like pricks of pain in her legs and then the sudden sensation of falling. She faltered with her sole intact wing, plummeting to the ground. Skywarp swooped in to pluck her out of the air.
Ellie cringed with pain. Her legs were cut up from the boiler explosion. She didn’t have the strength to resist the pegasus that held her. “Get… away…” she squeaked.
“Let me at least take you to the ground,” Skywarp protested, “Unless you think you can flap that one wing of yours really fast.”
Ellie relented and allowed herself to be carried to the ground. She felt the coarse sandy street beneath her feet, and sighed. “Don’t you... aren’t you with Golden?”
“I’m a merc, miss,” Skywarp replied with a shrug, “I was hired specifically to kill Trixie, but I’ll save a pretty face for free.” He then took off, but flew away from the battle above.
“Okay,” Ellie said to no one around her. Unfortunately now grounded, she couldn’t do anything but watch the fight continue.
~ ~ ~
Princess Luna collected magical energy around her horn and shot it off as a beam at Golden’s head. The sorceress deflected the beam away with a swat of her hoof. The errant magic attack burned into the deck of her ship, leaving a long scorch mark. Her own hoof was burned as well, but Golden appeared not to feel the pain.
“You’re pretty strong for a mare over a thousand,” Golden remarked.
Luna snorted angrily. “And you are but a whelping to me!” She charged to close in, prepared to fire off another spell. Two crewmembers from Golden’s side jumped in Luna’s path, blocking her run at the sorceress. Queen Andrenida swooped in and kicked one of them away. The other latched onto Luna in a pathetic attempt to hold her back.
“Get off me, cretin!” Luna angrily commanded.
Andrenida pulled the clinging pony off Luna with her magical telekinesis. Golden fired another bolt of black lightning. The princess immediate erected a magical barrier, but only deflected part of the bolt. Andrenida cringed in pain from the spell and dropped the pony she held, her strength sapped by the dark electric magic.
Trixie, Cheryl, and Sombra hurried to the railing between the two airships. The unicorn climbed up and prepared to jump to the other ship’s main deck. “Hey, short-tail!” she shouted out to get Golden’s attention. “Trixie still has some unfinished business with you!”
The sorceress glanced back at her short, burned tail and growled. “Yes, I do owe you for singeing my rear end. Allow me to add interest!” Golden angrily stomped her hoof against the deck. The crackle of electricity sizzled at the soles of her hooves.
The azure unicorn crouched on the railing, ready to spring into action when Golden launched her attack. “Come on Golden, are you just going to use the same boring lightning attack?” Trixie goaded. “Don’t you have any new tricks?”
A cannon ball struck the railing Trixie crouched on and it burst violently. The unicorn was thrown overboard under a hail of splinters. Cheryl leaped to the edge and caught her by the fore-hooves. Slivers of wood painfully pricked at the earth pony’s legs.
“I do have minions,” Golden commented wily.
Princess Luna released her held beam spell at the cannon that fired upon Trixie. The ponies operating the cannon jumped back as the metal heated up and burst into flame. Golden fired off her magical lightning and struck Luna hard. The princess yelped at the pain and collapsed on the deck. Andrenida placed herself protectively in front of Luna despite her weakened state.
Golden approached the two royal figures confidently. “So sorry, your highnesses. With you both gone, that means a hive dies off and Celestia will have to find another pony to move the moon. Well, I guess she could do it herself. Eh, either way you two still die.”
“I will take you down with me,” the changeling queen replied. She grabbed golden by her mane and pulled her down.
“Ow! Ow! Let go!” Golden shouted. The earth pony swatted Andrenida’s hoof away and backed up out of her reach. “That hurt! Oh, I’m going to kill you much slower now!”
“Bunko, you need to pull yourself up!” Cheryl commanded.
Sombra hurried over and began to climb down the wrecked hull toward the unicorn. Trixie held on to Cheryl, but her rear hooves could not find a stable purchase to hold. She attempted to make herself lighter with her telekinesis magic.
Zeeps flew in from above and grabbed on to Trixie. “I got you, Trixie!”
Golden overheard the perky little changeling come to the unicorn’s rescue. She magically shoved Andrenida away and fired a bolt of lightning at Zeeps. “You got nothing, you stupid insect!!”
Zeeps was blasted across the deck like a thrown ragdoll. Trixie fell, only to have been caught by Sombra in the most tentative of grips. Cheryl reached down to help the stallion save Trixie.
The ground was still quite far below Trixie and she felt her grip start to weaken. “Sombra,” Trixie warned the stallion, “You better have some hidden strength to pull me up!”
“I almost have you!” Cheryl strained to reach for Trixie’s other hoof. She glanced up and saw that Golden was changing up another bolt of her magic. “Aww nuts. Sombra, pull her up! Pull her up!”
“I cannot,” Sombra replied. “I haven’t the strength.” He seized the amulet around Cheryl’s leg and yanked it off. The stallion slid down the side of the broken hull and hooked the amulet around Trixie’s neck. “However, Trixie does!” he shouted on his tumble off the side of the hull.
“Ack! No!” Trixie protested. The amulet began to glow and feed magical energy into Trixie’s body.
Cheryl growled. “Sombra, you jerk!” she shouted.
It made no difference, however. The stallion fell down through the sky toward the ground below. Trixie levitated with her powered up magic and touched down on the deck. The violet magical aura on her horn turned a sinister blood red color.
“Oh no you don’t!” Golden commanded. She shot her signature bolt at the azure unicorn.
Trixie pulled up her hooves instinctively to block… and succeeded! The electrical spell discharged harmlessly in the air around her. “Ugh, this power… too much!” Trixie growled. She fought the surge of magic that flowed through her body, the temptation of supremacy coursing inside her mind. Ultimately, she lost the fight.
The sorceress was now greatly concerned.
Cheryl was as well. She got up and backed away from Trixie. “Dear Celestia, did Sombra just…” The earth pony continued to back away. She moved toward Zeeps and was releived the changeling was still breathing. “Bunko? You gonna be alright?”
Trixie gave an angry glance to the earth pony. “No.” She flew like a dart and slammed into Golden. The two mares tumbled away from the princess and queen.
“If it’s not one problem,” Golden ranted, “then it’s this damned unicorn.” She reached over and grabbed the amulet around Trixie’s neck. The amulet sparked and burned at Golden’s touch. The mare pulled away from the painful object.
“It’s locked,” Trixie explained. “Only I can remove it.” She sat up and levitated Luna back over to Debon’s ship. Luna flopped to the deck unceremoniously where Victor ran over to protect her.
Golden backed away from the over-powered unicorn, but Queen Andrenida moved quickly to block. “You’re not going anywhere, fiend!”
“But you are,” Trixie interrupted. She struck the queen with a magical ball of force that sent the changeling flying off the ship. “Take your hive and leave golden to me!”
Andrenida caught herself in the air and retreated from the airship. Golden seized the opportunity to strike Trixie in the chest with a hard blow.
“Finally, I can kill you in peace!” She launched her electrical spell at the unicorn with fury.
Trixie disappeared in a flash of light. She reappeared behind Golden and kicked her in the barrel. The sorceress toppled over, but seized the unicorn with her own magical telekinesis. Trixie fought to break out of the magical grip. Golden lifted her into the air and then slammed Trixie into the hard wooden deck, splintering the planks. The unicorn pointed to the sorceress’ hooves and conjured flames that burst forth.
Golden let Trixie go and jumped out from the fire. “Arg! Stop trying to immolate me!” she shouted frantically.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie always leaves her audience hot for her,” the unicorn countered with a sly grin.
The sorceress screamed and magically tore chunks of wood off her ship. She hurled them like daggers. Trixie erected a magical barrier and blocked the hail of splintered wood. Golden quickly lifted a cannonball with her magic and hurled it.
The metal sphere shattered the barrier as if it were glass. Trixie dove out of the cannonball’s path. She landed on her face against the deck and roared loudly. The unicorn slammed her forehooves against the deck and the floor under Golden magically tore itself open. The sorceress jumped away from the open rift.
“Trixie!” Victor shouted from the other airship. “These airships aren’t going to remain aloft for long if you two keep fighting!”
“Let me help you!” Cheryl added. The earth pony raced toward the edge of the ship’s deck.
“Get away from me!” the unicorn commanded. "I will hurt you if you get too close!" She waved at their airship and pulled the two crafts apart with an unseen magical force. The hulls snapped and broke apart as Trixie forced the two ship to untangle. The crippled airship of the late Debon descended from the sky like a parachute.
Golden charged the distracted unicorn. She jumped on Trixie and pulled her down, pounding Trixie in the face with her hooves. The unicorn grabbed the sorceress’ hooves and butted foreheads.
“Didn’t you have the ability to teleport?” Trixie asked Golden. “Trixie is wondering why you haven’t used that in so long… ah! Your tail! Your mane!”
“Shut up!” the sorceress hissed. She grabbed a splintered piece of the deck and lunged forward.
Trixie exhaled and leaned into the blow. Golden stabbed her in the chest with the improvised weapon, inflicting a grievous wound. The unicorn went limp. She fell forward over Golden’s shoulder. Before the sorceress could pull her weapon back, Trixie bit down on her mane. With all her strength, the unicorn pulled back and tore a huge chunk of hair out of Golden’s head.
The sorceress screamed out in pain. She clutched her head, stunned and disoriented. Trixie spat out the hair and laughed. The unicorn pulled the wooden splinter out of her chest and clutched the bleeding wound.
“Trixie had forgotten. All these magic powers that Debon gave his followers, they were all from artifacts worn somewhere on their body… or in your case, as part of your hair!”
Golden continued to cry in pain. She swung wildly in front of her, unable to strike Trixie with any amount of reasonable force. Trixie swatted Golden’s hoof away and seized the mare by the neck. She held the sorceress close to herself.
“There was somepony Trixie promised a while back,” Trixie whispered in her opponent’s ear, “That should Trixie ever wear this amulet again, she would destroy herself. So, let’s go out together, shall we?”
Trixie closed her eyes and concentrated her magical might into the amulet. Golden hung weakly in Trixie’s grip, gasping for breath as the artifact began to glow brightly with the red shine of the setting sun. In a moment the Alicorn Amulet shined so bright it was painful to look at.
“W-what are you doing?!” a frightened Golden asked.
“Trixie is fulfilling Debon’s dying wish,” the unicorn responded. “Saving Equestria from her enemies.” She put a hoof over the amulet to shield her eyes from the intense red light. The heat of the artifact began to blister against her flesh.
“B-but you…”
“When you arrive at the gates of whatever hell lies beyond this life,” Trixie said matter-of-factly, “You can tell them that The Great and Powerful Trixie is not sorry.”
The amulet’s central gem cracked.
There was a blinding flash of light above Seaddle and an intense explosion that vaporized Golden’s airship. The shockwave threw pegasi and changelings out of the air. Storefront windows rattled loudly as the thunderous detonation of the amulet rung across the city.
Debon’s airship crashed into the ground and skidded several dozen feet before it came to a stop. Its passengers looked up at the dark ashen cloud where the explosion had occurred. Cinders of the other airship drifted in the wind.
“Stars and moon,” Luna muttered. “I don’t think Trixie survived that blast.”
Zeeps whimpered. “You mean... she…”
“Well, there’s a mess of ponies all over the place,” Cheryl said. “I reckon there might be a slim chance she got away.”
Queen Andrenida landed by the group with several of her changelings. They all looked quite weary. “Let us regroup and see who has survived the battle.”
Princess Luna got up and led the way towards Seaddle. Victor followed solemnly. Zeeps remained sitting on the ruined deck and looked to be in shock over the possibility that Trixie may have perished. Cheryl comforted the changeling.
“Come on, bug-butt,” the earth pony said. “Let’s find our friends. Ellie is probably scared and worried about us.”
Zeeps looked up at her. “Yeah.”
Cheryl put a hoof on Zeep's shoulder. The changeling leaned into her and started to cry. The earth pony remained with her a while, thinking about what kind of friend Trixie was that could make a changeling feel emotional over losing her. She had to be honest with herself, she too began to shed a tear.
~ ~ ~
It was a dark day in Manehattan with heavy rain clouds looming overhead. Cheryl and Zeeps finished packing the last of Trixie’s things into her wagon as Ellie inspected the axles. Most folks wouldn’t go on a long trip with the threat of a heavy downpour, but Trixie was never ‘most folks’. Once Zeeps closed up and locked the wagon door, she felt Cheryl tap her on the shoulder.
“Hey, Trixie’s here,” the earth pony commented to the disguised changeling.
Zeeps turned and saw the unicorn standing nearby. Trixie wore a heavy cloak and hood to cover her identity, as well as an unfathomable number of gauze wrappings and bandaged stitches. The changeling walked over and gave the unicorn a silent hug.
“Not so tight,” Trixie painfully muttered under her breath.
“You’re late,” Cheryl commented.
The unicorn snorted. “Trixie is never late. She arrives precisely when she means to.”
Ellie walked over to the group. “Your wagon is all packed up. You sure you’re up to traveling? You look like a mummy escaped from a museum.”
“Trixie will be fine. Her magic will pull the cart,” the unicorn explained. “Besides, Trixie needs to remain hidden for a while longer. She still has enemies believing her to be dead.”
“You? On the down low?” Cheryl questioned with a smirk on her face. “Yeah, I’ll eat my hat when I see it.”
The unicorn was about to make a rebuke, but another pony approached the group. It was Victor, dressed in a nice black suit and tie. He carried a small wrapped gift box in a saddle pouch while levitating an umbrella in case the rain came down suddenly.
“I uh… I hope I’m not interrupting,” Victor said. “I just wanted to see Trixie off.”
“Not at all,” Ellie said with a cheerful smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Not too nice,” Trixie corrected.
Victor levitated the present and hovered it to Trixie. “Well, maybe I’m your father, maybe not. However, we can at least be civil acquaintances. Despite what I think of you, I know you were doing what you thought was right.”
Trixie took the package with her own levitation magic and looked it over incredulously. She shook it lightly.
“It’s not a bomb,” Victor assured, “Or a bill for the mess you caused. Just a token of appreciation.”
The showmare tore the giftwrap open and revealed a small frame with an old photo of her mother. “She never liked her picture taken,” Trixie said softly. “Believed it could steal a bit of your soul.”
“Well, it cost me a lot of my wallet to convince her otherwise,” the stallion replied with a smirk. “I think you deserve it more. You are definitely her daughter.”
Trixie slipped the frame under her cloak and nodded. “Thank you. I suppose you’re not that bad of a pony. Though if I ever find out that you are my father… well, for one thing you owe me years’ worth of missed birthday presents.”
“Why am I not surprised you’d say that?” Victor commented with a chuckle.
Cheryl was more amused that Trixie accidentally dropped her third-person act.
The showmare gave her friends each a light hug before she strapped herself to the wagon’s harness with Ellie’s help. With her eye-catching smile, Trixie gave everyone a nod.
Zeeps fluttered her wings. “Will you write us or something?” she asked. “I mean, how will we know if you’re okay?”
“Read my next book,” Trixie replied. She cast a spell on the harness and the wagon slowly began to move. “It will be obvious when you do.” With a grunt she was off across the muddy streets and in a westerly direction. She didn’t know what her next stop would be, but she was sure there would be adventure waiting when she arrived.
“I should go visit Applejack along the way,” Trixie thought. “Give her a big ‘I told you so’.” She chuckled, but stopped short as the laughter caused her pain in the ribs. It would still be worth it.
~ ~ ~
Epilogue
It was a quiet night inside the tavern. The bartender quietly polished glasses after declaring ‘last call’. His only patrons were five bandaged pegasi in odd-looking tattered black flight suits. Anyone who wore that much black and gauze was trouble.
“Hey barkeep, another!” Thundercracker demanded.
“I’m closing up and you had your last,” the bartender replied flatly.
Dirge stood up. “He said serve us another!”
Somepony threw the front doors open and entered the tavern. He was a tall dark-gray stallion with a fine suit and top hat that was just a couple shades lighter than he was. The stallion’s monocle reflected the dim lantern light of the tavern as he walked over to the pegasi. There was a notable limp in his stride.
“Evening gentlecolts,” the sharp dressed stallion said.
Thundercracker and Skywarp exchanged incredulous looks. “Aren’t you that… King Sombra fellow?” Skywarp asked.
“That is what they called me, yes,” the stranger replied. “However, I am no king today. Only an entrepreneur looking to hire a few seasoned pegasi for a business venture.”
“And why would we want to work with you?” Thrust asked.
Sombra smiled. “It is a paying job, one that requires a good amount of flying skill. I am willing to offer it to you all first, the Black Wings, despite the fact you all have reduced yourselves to a gaggle of drunken reprobates.”
“You did not...” Thundercracker slowly growled. He jumped at Sombra and took a hard swing at his face.
The well-dressed stallion easily dodged the sloppy and slow attack. He tripped Thundercracker and pushed him hard against the floor. The pegasus grunted in pain, but did little more than simply roll onto his backside.
Ramjet was next to get up. He took two steps toward Sombra with the intent to grab him by the coat lapels. Sombra parried his hooves and delivered a haymaker. The remaining pegasi grabbed Ramjet and held him back. The bartender had put down his glass and had a hoof over a large club under the bar.
“Are we done being barbaric?” Sombra politely asked.
The Black Wings remained silent, but they nodded slowly.
“Very good. Now then, if you interested in my employment opportunity, I suggest you all sober yourselves up by morning and be on the train station platform at eight o’clock,” Sombra instructed. “I expect you’ll arrive sharply. Details will be discussed on the trip to Las Pegasus.”
“How much are you paying?” Thundercracker asked as he got up.
Sombra reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small purse of bits. He tossed it onto their table, where it opened and spilled out a good number of coins.
The Black Wings each picked up some of the money. It was genuine, and enough to pay their bar tab twice over. They looked at each other, nodded and… Sombra was gone before they could say anything else.
“Anyone else find that stallion just a little bit creepy?” Skywarp asked.
“Yeah, but he’s the paying kind of creepy,” Dirge responded.
The Black Wings stacked coins to pay for their drinks and then headed out to find an inn for the night. They had a train to catch in the morning.
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is there going to be a fourth one ?
And after a long hiatus, this story got an update - which, I find to my shock, is the conclusion!
Perhaps I have had my hopes too high up...
Anyways, welcome back to FiMFic writing, and I await your next installment!
Glad to see this come to a conclusion, but am left wondering what will happen next with our motley group of mares? Hope there's yet another sequel, and to see what mischief Trixie can get herself into...
Can't wait for the fourth one. Also I wonder if blowing up that amulet didn't had side effects for Trixie.
I believe the Manehattan part and the epilogue should go into a separate chapter; it cheapens the emotional impact of what Trixie does a great deal to have those parts so closely connected.
As for the story: Apart from the spelling problems, I think it is great. And if you ever get around to writing that teased fourth part, I propose it be called Once Upon A Time In Equestria, for obvious reasons.
Keep narrating,
Ranma-sensei
Has it really been six months since I last kept up with any stories here? Damn.
And why doesn't any of my stories have a TV Tropes page? That's so unfair
Anyway, I'm glad to see you finished your story. Every finished story is an accomplishment. The jump from "Oh no, Trixie just blew herself up!" to "Trixie is fine, let's move on" was a bit too sudden, in my opinion. That's probably the biggest complaint I have. It's been so long that I can barely remember what happened in the previous chapters, though.
So what's your plan for the future?
Well...that was mildly disappointing for an epilogue. Never did get to see much of how much information is known to the general population about Trixie's heroics and their reactions, especially Celestia and Twilight Sparkle's. Nor do we see anything about the changeling hive integrating into Equestria. Don't know if Sombra is going to be a villain or not, and how he got away from Luna isn't detailed either.
At least Trixie finally got her kill on Golden Jubilee.
Actually, that also reminds me: we never did find out who Stone Rose the spy informant was.
Great ending. :) Trixie, you did good, here.
Since when did she become Gandalf.