The master and the windigo

by stupidswampdragon

17 - Going nowhere

The world ground to a screeching halt and then stood still. Birds hovered in mid-air; their feathers bending at the end of their fully extended wings, a rare snapshot of the little animals in flight. Below them dirty brown clouds lingered, covering the unpaved street, pinned to their position by a mysterious force.

At least three dozen figures were stuck in that grimy mist; pegasi, unicorns and regular earth ponies forming the eccentrically colourful mix. Some in pairs of two, others in larger groups; most without any apparent business, just a few possessing focused body language. A particular pony was dragging a larger cart; heavily loaded, judging by the way the axle strained. Most likely a transport of furniture, though it was hard to tell - the cargo was covered by a thick drape, spanning from one side to the other, secured with a long piece of rope. The end of the rope looked very loosely tied; it seemed likely to undo itself and come free after a wilder turn.

Lyra could very rarely study her surroundings in such detail. Even now, her findings were only made possible because all of those ponies were holding perfectly still; a collection of warm, colourful and arguably living statues. Surreal barely began describing the scene, which the lingering clouds of dust didn't help one bit. The tiny particles didn't just flicker in the sunlight; they shone with a constant beam, frozen in place just like everything else.

For some reason, only Lyra retained the freedom to move. She could breathe, she could move her head, she could look around. She would have been relieved, had that not made the whole experience a whole new level of awkward.

"What in Celestia's name..." she gasped and darted her eyes left and right.

"As if Celestia had anything to do with this. As if she could do anything like this, in fact!" the green robed pony to the right giggled dryly. "A word of advice, straight from your game master: don't misattribute my feats."

Never did a moving pony scare Lyra so much. She took a few steps diagonally, retreating from the approaching stranger. Only once she realized who that pony was did she stop.

"You're... you're that freak who gave me Snowy," she gasped and turned to said ghostly servant. The windigo was stuck however, just as all the rest of the world; her pale, see-through features were as if they were etched from a block of ice. That sight filled Lyra with unease renewed, even more so than when she saw the rest of the world getting suspended. The ponies around were flesh-and-blood creatures, after all; a state of being she had been rather familiar with. The windigo, on the other hoof, was a ghost; and Lyra had always believed such supernatural beings were exempt from the rules. To see Snowy get caught in a trap like that, just as easily as everypony else...

That green robed stranger was clearly in a class of its own.

I always knew this hoodlum is trouble!

"Hah - freak, she calls me! So scared that you forgot my name? Seems I've made quite the impression. Do forgive me - I only sought some privacy," the green robed pony shook its head. That made the hood flap wildly, swaying from the left to the right. "I could have returned us to the imaginary concert hall we first met in... but I was worried a sudden change of scenery would unnerve you. Kind of seems I was worried over nothing, though. You ponies are really hard to appease, you know that? Ah well... c'est la vie."

Lyra opened her mouth, but a flash pre-empted her response. The light came from under the other pony's green robes, basking the world in magenta colour; a light so intense that Lyra had to shut her eyes and turn away, lest she went blind. Even so, her thin eyelids didn't offer sufficient protection. She could tell the light had receded mere moments after; she opened her eyes, but still couldn't see a thing. Her pupils were still adjusting to the greatly reduced brightness.

Shapes and colours only returned gradually. She found herself standing at the bottom of a large, and completely deserted concert hall. She was sure she had never played there, but for some reason, she could instinctively recognize the place.

"This is the place I fell to... after the cave in!" the realization struck her. She took a faltering step backward and rotated around, running her gaze across the lacquered boards that made up the floor and walls. "This is where I got Snowy!"

No sign of snow though. Wasn't there an avalanche last time...? Maybe it's absent because this isn't real. Or, eh, something like that. Not that I mind either way! No snow is good snow.

"A musician to the core. Even the sight of this place gets your mind working," the robed pony mused out loud, not even bothering to hide the amusement from its voice. "I do hope you managed to stumble onto my name as well, then."

"The Source," Lyra whispered with thinly veiled terror. She resumed backing away from the green robed freak, increasing the distance between them to roughly twenty steps. "Why are you here?"

"Didn't I just tell you? I've only come to have a chat," the Source cocked its head to the side, the move only betrayed by the shift of the hood. "Tell me - how did it feel, robbing a bank? Oh sorry, that wasn't too nice of me, was it? I really should have asked: how did it feel using my powers of your own volition, for the first time?"

---

"What? Rob a bank, you say?" Lyra hid her nervousness behind a giggle. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything like that!"

"Were you opening an account, then? I suppose not. But here you are, walking out from a bank, all smug and prideful," the Source double-checked a fact it had most likely already known. "And you have also gained a thick collection of papers, no less. Important papers, as I understand."

Lyra looked lengthily at the ground. Her head hung low and her mane fell over her face; but she didn't mind. She had nothing else to look at anyway. Just like everything else from reality, the dossier hadn't followed her into the dreamland concert hall either, so she couldn't check just what it was about. All she knew was that it was important for some reason; important enough that she had Snowy wipe her memories of it... and maybe a lot more ponies' as well.

Urgh, she gritted her teeth. Could this green robed bastard have a point?

That would have been really embarrassing to admit, however.

"Silence is admission," the Source declared loudly, but without any smug or prideful overtones. It was just a statement, factual and conscience.

"I didn't rob any bank," Lyra bounced her head back to level, throwing her mane into complete disarray. "I was just helping that AJ whoever, nothing more! Heck - this wasn't even my show! It was completely Snowy's!"

"As if that made any difference. The blind will be leading the sightless, no matter which of you is in command!" the Source cackled dryly and started moving, pacing perpendicularly to the other pony. "Spare me your pitiful attempts at blaming my servant. Stick to what really happened - you went in and have succeeded in rendering Applejack's loan null. That's all there is to it, you say?"

"Well, uh... I guess?" Lyra scratched her head. She did kind of recall spotting the name Applejack scribbled onto the first page. "That's still not robbing a bank, though."

"Hah! How enviable such comforting ignorance is!" the Source burst into a short laughter. The raspy voice echoed back and forth around the empty concert hall, masking the clanging sounds of the Source's hoofsteps for many seconds. Then the voice faded away and ultimately disappeared, the silence prompting the hooded pony to resume. "Do you know what happens to cheaters?"

The skin on Lyra's forehead furrowed. She cared none for what that question implied.

Which part of 'I honestly only did this to help somepony else' are you refusing to get?

"I didn't cheat."

"You made a pony happy by making everypony forget about the money she had owed," the Source stopped and turned to the musician. The hood swung to the side and revealed two eyes - a sight that was momentary at best, yet would stick with Lyra for a very long while.

The eyes she saw were certainly not natural. The pupils were divided into two, roughly mixing rings; a violet inner and a crimson outer one. A vibrant combination by any definition, this particular blend had also emitted... something unsettling. It didn't feel natural, somehow; like staring at a porcelain dish, assembled from mismatching parts with incredible haste.

Wha- what's with those eyes! Even Snowy looks less creepy than that! Lyra gasped and retreated, so hastily that she tripped in her leg and fell over.

By all appearances, the Source wasn't really bothered by the growing unease of her guest.

"You may not call it 'robbery' per say; and I can certainly play along with that. Now, I may be a little disappointed that you still lack the stomach to stand up for your own decisions, but I digress," the Source carried on. Its hood fell back to its proper position and cast shadow over the strange pony's face, hiding its eyes again. "Nevertheless, you have cheated. You clearly cheated money from some ponies you don't know, to one you do. Even if tangentially."

Lying on the floor and panting deeply, Lyra felt her strength returning. She raised her left leg and held it in front of her face, blotting the green-robed figure from her vision.

"I only helped AJ..." she squeezed a few words out. Talking proved difficult, but she had an overwhelming urge to get her point across. She would not be called a robber or a cheater over something that had only served to help somepony! Not even by a freaky reality-bending monster. "I've done nothing wrong!"

"Indeed you haven't. If anything, you've certainly helped to narrow the Lorenz-curve a little," the Source paid the struggling musician a curt nod. "However, that changes nothing of the fact: you have achieved that by cheating."

"Cheating, cheating, only just the cheating! You've dragged me all the way back here... just to tell me that?" Lyra groaned in the cover of her hoof. Her head fell back to the floor afterwards, a wry grin on her face.

Sheesh, you may be a supernatural but you're like Bon where it counts. Anything for a good chew out!

"On the contrary. I am not reprimanding you. If anything, this is a commendation! Do follow this path. The powers you've been given - my powers - are meant to be used to change the world, one way or another," the Source declared, its voice gaining power and intensity. Then it took a small pause, and followed in a much more subdued, sinister tone. "I will not allow you to develop delusions, however. I do not demand you feel responsible; but I do demand that you understand the principle."

"Principle," Lyra echoed. Her words were hollow; she had no idea what the hooded pony was on about.

"But of course. It would be a shame for me to tire myself just to have you learning the wrong lessons. You see, to change the world, one always faces resistance. It's only natural. I've given you the ability to power your way through, to shape everything in ways others couldn't even dream of. But all that, in the end, is just cheating," the Source began walking towards Lyra, explaining amidst the soft clangs its horseshoes made. "So make sure you never forget the one, basic truth. The only that matters."

"Ah-ha," Lyra nodded, her eyes glassy and vacant. "And that truth is...?"

The Source's slow march came to a stop approximately ten steps from Lyra. The hooded pony remained standing firmly in place; whatever expression it made was concealed by the green fabric it wore.

"You can always cheat; and more than often, you will only achieve change if you do. However, always remember - every cheat has a price to be paid."

Whoa, Lyra recoiled and broke into a quick shiver. That sounded all kinds of ominous...!

"You are the player, so you decide the ante. It can be small, inconsequential; or it can be large, so large that it will engulf every other thing in your life. My power, this cheat; it's just a possibility. You decide how much you realize of it," the Source boomed. The voice coming from under the hood was dominant, just as dominant as the dual-coloured eyes had been. The tone was remarkably dull, but carried so much power it left no room for Lyra to even ask, much less talk back. "But never - never - for a moment think it's for free. It's always a trade. Tit for tat."

"Haa, stern. And you said you were commending me..." Lyra mumbled under her nose, confident she was silent enough not to be overheard.

"I am. You put up a rather unique start so far. Robbing... ah, sorry, swindling a bank; all just to help one pony, just to test your theories about your servant! How bizarrely, yet delightfully egoistical. Truly commendable," the Source took a bow and simultaneously demonstrated its uncannily keen hearing. "This whole show is only worth a dime if you develop the proper way, however."

"Okay, okay - I give up! I simply can't figure you out," Lyra packed her resignation into a headshake and a long sigh. "Seriously, you're absolutely not helping your cause. Do you want to whip me into order for abusing Snowy, or do you want to praise me for my initiative?"

"If those are my only choices then it's the latter," the Source spat out after a brief moment of deliberation. "I enjoy following you; way more so than the other dullards who continue to do nothing with the potential I have given them. Succeeding in your task and turning the windigo - ah, I'm sorry, Snowy! - into a hero will need you improve an awful lot of things. Betterment does not come freely, however. You will need to cheat ponies again and again. You may even manage to make all of them better off in the end, though. A difficult prospect, but one that can't be ruled out just yet."

Huh. That sounds... oddly reassuring, Lyra perked her left ear. Not sure why, though. It really sounds all that bloke's doing is belittle me.

"You've picked quite the strange goal. Making a hero out of a fearsome ghost... I don't think any other players have tried to achieve this particular outcome so far," the Source lifted a hoof and reached into the cover of its hood, most likely to rub its muzzle. "Lots of promise in this premise. I look forward to seeing how you fare; I truly do. Take that as a compliment - one of the highest order."

Lyra couldn't help herself. Her lips parted as a prideful smile set onto her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she could have sworn her figure grew two sizes right that instant.

"Just make sure you remember the price your plans may come at," the Source tacked on a warning. "As far as I care, you are fully in the know now. I will have no ears for your complaints later."

"Ah... so you take me for a pony who goes home crying if things don't go her way," Lyra snorted; the obvious criticism was a bucket of icy cold water on her sudden enthusiasm.

"That remains to be seen. All the players I pick? They are always wildcards. That's the reason I pick them, in fact. It wouldn't be much of a game if I knew how it played out, right?" the Source cocked its head to the side, its words interwoven with a slow, deep, almost guttural laughter. "You've made me expectant, Heartstrings. I dearly hope you'll continue to remain amusing. Both for your and your little... pet's sake. 'Till the next time, then."

The not-so-subtle threat came so unexpectedly that Lyra was at a lack as to how to respond. The chance she had missed had also proven to be the only; the Source and the deserted concert hall vanished. The dim darkness and the lacquered tiles traded places with open air and the flurry of everyday activity; a change so sudden that it hit Lyra in the nose. She stumbled and blinked blindly, completely lost in the colourful world.

"Master!" came a cry from her left; the urgent tone woven together with barely subdued hues of panic. "Is Master all right?"

---

The sudden burst of noises and colours was just a little too much. Lyra tried to weather the storm the same way thick rocks brave the sea: she sat still and braced. The most troublesome portion was the next dozen or so seconds, which she endured with glassy eyes and droopy ears. Her mind finally caught up with the pace, bringing her up to speed with the surrounding world. The noises started bearing meaning, the colours finally matched to shapes - which, in turn, finally belonged to objects.

Whoa, Lyra blinked, bringing some relief to her dry, burning eyes. Trippy.

"MASTER!"

Somepony's panicky, she gave her ringing ear a gentle rub. Her calmness struck her as all sorts of strange; if anypony, then it was she who should have been unsettled.

Even so, she was only confused. Deeply and profoundly confused. She had barely understood what that idiot Source had rambled on about; though the gist seemed to be that she was on the right path.

That's not a bad thing, Lyra moved her hoof downwards, rubbing her temple instead of her ear. So why do I feel so conflicted? I'm pretty sure I was celebrating before that idiot foalnapped me.

"MAS-"

"Pipe it down. Geez, you're loud," Lyra snapped at the windigo, and tried to push the ghost away... but her hoof proceeded to go through the creature.

"Apologies, Master!" Snowy moved away as if she had been shoved aside, reacting on the mere notion. "I only saw Master stumble, and I was worried there was a side-effect to my powers. We haven't quite tested them on such scale before..."

Pulling the hoof back to the side of her head, Lyra made a small nod. There was a lot of truth to that. To an outsider, her sudden weakness must have come out of the blue; and they did advance rather quickly with their use of Snowy's ability. Jumping from magazines and self-notes to a whole bank - that was pretty cavalier.

Not like I was planning on doing this, Lyra silently admitted to herself. Her plans had never advanced beyond going to a cheese-shop; were it not for Snowy, they would have never gone near a bank. Thusly reminded of the object, she gave the dossier a glance; the thick collection of papers was resting at her hoof.

Actually... I still don't know what we've just done, Lyra drew her eyebrows upwards. I've apparently robbed a bank, though all I've taken with me are these stupid papers.

"Hey Snowy," she whispered as she put her magic to use, the dossier taking to the air again. "Could you explain what we've just done? I'm feeling out of the loop."

"I can't quite recall everything that happened in there, but I do believe I have a pretty sound theory," Snowy nodded with eager enthusiasm. She chattered freely, not having to worry about being overheard. "Would Master be so kind as to open that dossier? If I am right, the cover page should suffice."

Lyra glanced around quickly and overtly, but only a few ponies were walking down the other side of the street; no-one was peeking over her shoulder. She drew a deep breath and steeled her nerves, then flipped the hard, blue-coloured cover. The page underneath was full of printed text - apart from a few words written in blue ink and a hastily scribbled pencil note.

"Master," Snowy muttered. She was using an incredible range of vocalizations for a ghost who couldn't be heard by more than a select few ponies. "Lots of letters on this page..."

"Ah, right. You're new the whole reading thing," Lyra smacked herself on the head. That was accompanied by the sound of the dossier closing; she had already seen what she had needed to, and the windigo wasn't going to read any of that anyway. "Just a lot of legalese in there. Looks like some sort of contract between Applejack and the bank... involving money."

Loads of money, as it had turned out. Lyra just didn't want to say that aloud. She didn't even want to believe it in the first place.

"That must be the mortgage contract, then!" Snowy threw her hooves into the air jubilantly. "Hurrah! That means Master's plan has been a success!"

Lyra didn't join the windigo in the celebration; she opted to get off her back and limp away instead. Not that Snowy's upbeat mood hadn't infected her; but a pony sitting in the bank's entrance was bound to turn into an attraction on short order.

"Okay Snowy! I've no idea how or why, but we appear to have done some good to somepony," she muttered under her nose, also paying great care that the dossier remained floating next to her head. "You know what that calls for, right?"

---

"Nope! I'm not mourning anypony," Lyra shooed the waitress away. "I'm as fine as anypony can get! I just enjoy the candlelight, that's all."

"Ah... I see?" the waitress nodded, her almond curls bobbing up and down. "So do I... but a whole dozen of them? In broad daylight?"

"I've got some habits," Lyra grinned at the unwanted question and its sender. She hadn't done a very good job; her expression fell closer to the annoyed sneer she had felt like doing and not the happy-go-lucky grin she had intended to do. "Now would you mind going away, finally? I prefer my cider cold... and in silence."

"But... you were talking to yourself just now," the waitress blinked with a dumbstruck face and a weak smile.

"Then maybe I'm just CRAZY!" Lyra snapped, rising her voice and her hooves into the air.

That did the trick; the waitress shook and flew off like a dry leaf caught in a class-five hurricane. Lyra panted a little - shouting like that hurt her stitches - then settled back to her table, huffed at the poor quality of service, and took a deep gulp of the ice-cold cider. She really had thought the Four Clovers to be better than that. At least there weren't many ponies dining out there, in the open-air section... being in a crowd would have been inconvenient.

Almost as if illustrating her point, a candle next to her began to flicker. The flame put up a short struggle against the invisible force and went out, leaving but a thin trail of smoke behind.

"You do know I'm not going to keep lighting them back," Lyra rolled her eyes. She grabbed another candle from the collection and held it to the smouldering one. The tiny flame licked the charred wick and consumed it whole, sizzling at first but burning silently soon after.

"Sor-ee," Snowy hugged the brown table, crimson eyes looking up at the pony who had just scolded her. "Even though I'm trying to be careful... it's really delicious..."

Lyra placed the candle onto the dossier, back among the others. She watched white wax drop onto the blue cover and mulled over her emotions. She took another mouthful of cider, and decided that she felt mildly disappointed.

"Geez. Stop acting as if I was some always-right overlord! Why don't you fight for your right? Call me out, just this once dammit! Say, but this thing tastes good! I want it! I want it all! ...or something like that. This is our celebration, remember?" she returned to the topic that had already bothered her so many times before. "I couldn't have done this without you. Heck, I wouldn't have known how to do this without you!"

"Aww, Master is being too kind," Snowy giggled. She rose and leaned closer to a candle, her tongue sticking out. The flame danced and flickered - but then endured, though reduced in intensity. "It's common sense that loans are based on contracts. It only made sense to stea... secure the paperwork before we erased everypony's memories about it, right?"

Common sense, she says! Lyra squinted and raised her right eyebrow. It was strange to hear that from the windigo of all things. Doubly so after the windigo had so plainly proven herself to be stupid. Repeatedly.

I really need to brush up on things not related to music, she admitted her defeat, then quickly washed the bittersweet feeling away with some cider. I'm so reading up on stuff... starting tomorrow.

"So what now, Master?" Snowy eyed a different candle. "Do we proceed to the next problem?"

"Nah," Lyra rolled her mug around. The cider sloshed around inside, small waves breaking against each other until they all disappeared under the thin cover of foam. "I think this was good enough for a day. Let's wait and check on AJ tomorrow. I mean, I expect her to be great... but I'd feel better to make sure before we muck around further. Just in case things don't go our way, you know?"

"Ah! Sorry for the presumption, then," Snowy made a hasty bow, apparently forgetting about the candles. "I hadn't taken Master for the cautious type."

Neither did I, Lyra raised both her eyebrows, her forehead furrowing. A dry chuckle left her lips. Gotta' be Bon's doing, no doubt about it. I spend way too much time around that worry-wart.

"Common sense, really," she took those painful words and threw them right back at the ghost. "Besides, what difference will one day make? It's not like we could fix the whole world in one fell swoop. Might as well make sure we're doing it right!"

Snowy hummed and turned away. Her list of objections was as short as her attention span; she had already refocused her gaze onto the small forest of candles.

Lyra took that chance to take another gulp of her icy drink. The beverage sent shivers down her mouth and throat; a numbing experience, especially when coupled with the effects of the alcohol. She didn't normally enjoy getting her mind dulled, but after a day full of nerve-wrecking surprises, she deserved not being on the edge.

"Well said! That was simply brilliant!"

The voice startled Lyra. She hadn't noticed anypony sneaking to - or even near - her table. She jolted and spun around, so surprised that she forgot she had dragged her mug around with her. To her greatest surprise, she found herself facing down a gryphon.

A quite exquisite specimen, at that.

He had a small, almost petite frame, and was covered in green feathers that turned yellow near the head. The feathers looked like something out of this world, though; they sparkled in the daylight, dancing with a pattern and complexity that clearly sought to defy the viewers' senses.

Whoa! Lyra blinked at the bizarre sight. It looks like someone knocked over a jar of glitter-powder or something.

She wasn't amused. Not when the stranger had so rudely invaded the private party with her windigo.

"Sorry that I barged in on you!" the gryphon exclaimed. He mixed the correct words with the worst delivery possible; he was cheerful even amidst his apology, fuelling Lyra's anger even further. "I just saw Nix sitting around, enjoying her collection of candy-sized-fires... so I thought I'd say hi!"

"Yeah, yeah. That's great and everything, but-" Lyra massaged her forehead with a hoof. She was about to send the idiot away when something in her mind tripped the emergency stop. "-wait, what? Nix? Who's that?"

Using her hoof as a cover, she gave Snowy an overt glance; but the windigo appeared to be the same lost, just blinking in confusion.

That very confusion grew to gargantuan proportions when the gryphon turned to said windigo and burst into a loud, excited cheer.

"It's YOU, stoopid! Who else could it be but the one and only Nixie!" he yelled and reached out to Snowy, grabbing the windigo and performing a bear-hug on her. "I haven't seen you for aaaages!"

Lyra was calmer than what she had assumed she would be. She even retained her collected look... apart from the hanging jaw and her mug landing on the grassy ground.

"Nix?" Snowy balked at the name, but otherwise suffered the hug quite peacefully. "What are you talking about, mister? Actually... how do you even see me? Are you a master?"

"Haha! Me, a master? What'd make you think that?" the gryphon cackled. He then proceeded to squeeze the windigo even further; had Snowy had actual ribs and organs, she would have likely begun to suffer. "Aaaw, Nixie! Did you forget about us again? Even your name, this time! You scatterbrain, you!"

So not a master, Lyra concluded. The thoughts came to her with surprisingly little effort. She could have sworn she had been drunk just moments before; but she had felt remarkably sober ever since the gryphon had arrived. A servant, then?

She narrowed her eyes, watching the newcomer with suspicion and a tiny sliver of curiosity.

I wonder what he's capable of, she eyed the gryphon, her gaze wandering all over the glittering feathers. Actually, I wonder if he's friendly! I mean sure, he's acting friendly enough, but that's hardly-

"Origin!"

The stern call cut across the air like a flung bullwhip - and acted like one as well. The gryphon opened his arms so fast that he almost threw Snowy across the table; the poor windigo skidded across the candles and fell down the other side, tumbling to a rather unsightly landing.

Ah, so there's the master, Lyra derived and looked at the newest unexpected guest. She faced down a blue unicorn - and turned away in a hurry. She teetered on the brink of something unforgivable, throwing the fullest of her self-control into keeping her building laughter at bay.

Wha- what's with that goofy cape! she scraped at the table in her misery. She was running out of time to whip herself back to normalcy; she could hear the other pony approach, the hoofsteps ringing out closer and closer. Too bad part of her mind refused to cooperate with the rest of her. Seriously, yellow stars everywhere?! I had more serious pyjamas in the kindergarten...!

"Oh," the newcomer unicorn exclaimed in a very, very reserved tone. "Another servant! That means that you must be..."

"...a master, yep!" Lyra hissed. She was still holding her teeth clenched, but her urge to roll on her back laughing seemed to pass.

"Astounding. Well... that makes us fellow players, then!" the blue unicorn yanked her nose up high. "It must be very strange for you, meeting us in a place like this."

Lyra took a deep breath and decided to try her luck: she turned her head and looked at the caped pony. She smirked; the starry cape was still ridiculous, but no longer provoked her as badly as the first time.

"How so?"

"The Source has told you as well, hasn't it? That all this is supposed to be some kind of a game. Well, get ready to be in awe - as you're talking to the assured victor!" the caped unicorn made a gleeful smirk. "You see, the outcome had been decided ever since the Great and Powerful Trixie had entered!"

Nodding slowly and in her utter disbelief, Lyra glanced at the ground and grabbed her empty mug with her magic.

You know, on a second thought? I'm way too sober for this.

---

"Snowy," Trixie savoured the name. "What a strange way to call an all-powerful beacon of magic."

"Because 'Nix' would be so much better," Lyra rolled her eyes with a scoff. "That sounds like the noise I make when I hiccup."

"I can't tell why, but I feel as if Master has just insulted me!" Snowy cried out from the background. Her vanity barely ranked up there with her stomach, however; she went back to nibbling on candle-flames right afterwards.

"I doubt she did," Origin grinned, his green-feathered arms patting the windigo on the back. "A proper insult would sound like... 'What beacon of magic? More like beacon of schmagic, that no-good no-brain forget-everything dunce is!' Now THAT's what a proper insult would have sounded like."

Oi! You just went ahead and said something way worse! Lyra threw a piercing stare at the glittering gryphon. You've also phrased it as if I had wanted to say it! You're the worst! You're absolutely the worst!

"No fair blaming me for my occupational hazards," Snowy mumbled. She stuck to looking prim - but snuffed out three candles in one go, stuffing her face like an anxious filly who had been called names. "It's not like I had a choice. If I had forgotten everything then it was because old Master had ordered me to do so."

Huh. Didn't think too deeply about that tidbit, Lyra returned her gaze to her mug. Her own face mirrored back from the still cider; the mug had already been refilled. Ah well - I guess I'm fated to hate the old geezer more and more each day.

"So this windigo causes forgetfulness?" Trixie cocked her head to the side, followed by a thoughtful nod and a slurp of cider. "An intriguing ability! Actually, an ability that sounds quite easy to abuse. Had the Great and Powerful got a servant like that, she would be ruling over Equestria... no, the whole world already! Mwahahaha."

Why is everypony's first thought always going like that?! Lyra dunked her nose into her mug, solely to prevent herself from crying out loud. Seriously, are all the ponies around me just villains waiting to happen? Does absolute power really corrupt so absolutely?

"I can't tell why, but I think Master has just insulted me!" Origin raised a scaly paw and cried out.

"Nah. A proper insult would sound like... 'too bad I've only got a second-rate useless gryphon who... err...'" Snowy trailed off and rubbed the side of her head with a hoof. "What do you actually do, by the way?"

Watching the two servants quarrel like that, Lyra had the odd troubling thought that she hadn't entered a game of epic proportions. It looked closer to a budget circus full of eccentric ghosts.

Origin held up a claw and opened his beak, all ready to answer - but he got a better idea and turned to Trixie instead.

The move didn't go unnoticed by Lyra.

Don't dare say that without permission, huh?

"We were already told what Nix does - so it's only fair we inform them in return," Trixie gave her consent with an aloof shrug. "Origin is the polar opposite of what you do, windigo."

"So he like, conjures helpful delusions?" Lyra tried a guess at random, then licked the cider-foam from the tip of her nose.

"I make stuff appear out of thin air! I make money! Literally, and as much as you'd like!" Origin made a bow, but interrupted the move. He remained bent halfway towards the ground and mumbled that way. "-is what I'd like to say, but I'm only really a show accessory lately."

"Accessory? How...?" Snowy blinked and asked the question that had also struck her master the same moment. "Aren't you also invisible to most of the populace?"

"That's the point," Origin sighed and straightened himself, pointing a claw at the sky. "Nopony can see me... so I'm free to conjure all sorts of fireworks and hats and whatnot on the stage."

Lyra and Snowy blinked repeatedly, then turned to each other and locked gazes. The answer had easily left them more dumbfounded than they had been before.

"Say what you will, it's still a more honest living than outright forging money," Trixie waved a mug around, spilling some cider into the air and onto the table as well. "But it's just as good - the crowds love when we do that. No more booing, no more vegetables thrown at poor old Trixie! Just the cheer and the generous amount of donations. All with the help of my fabulous assistant, of course."

Ha - so you've just admitted to being a hack who only abuses her invisible pet? Lyra smirked evilly. Shortly afterwards she realized how she was the very same however, so she stayed silent and dunked her muzzle back into her mug.

"You don't seem too fulfilled with your task," Snowy stared at the sparkling gryphon, her eyes narrow with suspicion.

"A- ah! What? No, am not! I would never!" Origin yelped and waved his front legs like two propellers. "Master is a highly respected stage magician! All her shows are a complete success! Of course I'm happy to partake in something of this calibre! It's a lot better than former Master, who had used me to conjure coins all day and night."

Aaaand now I know where all the 'printing money' idea came from, Lyra slurped up a little cider; it was as easy as sticking her tongue out and pulling it back really quick. Still, props to this Trixie gal. At least she's resisting temptation and is making a honest living. Well... apart from deceiving her audience. So, uh... semi-honest? That's a good thing, I guess?

"It seems a little wasteful," Snowy shook her head. She had apparently decided on being stubborn. "Us servants have powers that may rival the magics of the highest calibre. To use them solely for making fancy shows... I can't help but feel that it's a little inappropriate."

It was Origin's turn to bob his head low and glare with eyes almost closed. He was visibly angered by the remark - but he never got the chance to defend his master, as Trixie had stepped in herself.

"Ha! Isn't that icy tongue of yours pretty sharp, windigo!" she giggled sombrely and leaned forward, until her head was resting on the table. "Yes, the Great and Powerful is aware how much greater and more powerful feats her assistant could yield. However, there were certain events in the past that had made Trixie a little... reluctant in making a profile too big. You see, Trixie likes the living she is making with these shows; especially when compared to slaving away on a rock farm."

"A rock farm?" Snowy blinked at the seemingly non-sequitur notion.

"Think I heard of that one," Lyra pulled her nose out of her mug. The rim left a deep, circular ring in her fur - one that would most likely stay that way until the next shower, thanks to the sugary-sticky cider foam. "Weren't you the one that attracted an Ursa by accident? And then the librarian had to clean up the mess or something."

"Yes, well... it wasn't quite like that," Trixie flinched at the brief recollection, then went as far as dragging her cloak over her head. Whatever the truth was, it was obviously painful to her. "But suffice to say Trixie has suffered quite a lot for that day. So you may understand the Great and Powerful's desire to keep a low profile... especially around this town. Especially so near to that despicable Twilight Sparkle... the one who had caused the whole mess in the first place."

Pretty sure she was the one fixing your mistake, Lyra stuck to her point. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if she should say something; but then wisely kept silent. Lingering resentment and projected anger weren't uncommon in large orchestras either; she had learnt long ago how speaking her mind did not improve on those situations one bit.

"So - errr - what are you going to do?" she cleared her throat and picked a different topic instead. "Hold a few performances and move on, to the next town?"

"Just like a travelling stage magician should, eh? You know Trixie's trade well," Trixie smirked, the grimace almost completely hidden by the cape covering her head. "Come and check out the show if you'd like. The Great and Powerful can promise that you won't leave disappointed!"

Lyra took the offer with some scepticism. She was talking to somepony who had caused a lot of property damage the last time she had been in town, after all. Maybe it was connected, but there was also a rather unhealthy amount of negative rumours surrounding Trixie. Tread carefully, said everything about that unicorn.

On the other hoof, Lyra hadn't really known that magician before. Not personally. And now that they had met face to face, she couldn't find anything seriously wrong with the pony. Other than always referring to herself in third person, that is; but oddball grammar was never a major offence in her book.

And she's also a fellow player, Lyra stressed, her worries focused on the sparkly gryphon. I should really be on good terms with anypony also partaking in the game...

"An intriguing offer," she broke out her most pleasant smile. "Be careful, you Great and Powerful! I may just take you up on it."

"You won't be disappointed," Trixie promised, and pulled the tip of her cape out from her mug.

Comments

[stupidswampdragon]

Getting grounded, with nothing but lukewarm water and some really stale cookies in the room?

[Silentwoodfire]

Seems this is where things start to slowly go wrong