Trixie in the Gryphon Empire

by Phaoray

Too Little Too Late.

Why do they accept the risk? What is wrong with the other races in this town?

Trixie at least got to observe one thing she had not noticed yesterday. Almost every time she saw a non-gryphon, they were in a small group. Some traveled with gryphons, others made up little groups of non-gryphons, but no one traveled alone. Well, except for her. After what happened to that donkey the other night, Trixie understood why. Despite having the protection of a clan, apparently you couldn't fully trust in it to keep you safe.

The only ones she noticed moving about the city in anything less than a group of three were the minotaurs, though why was obvious. They were huge, more often than not armored and armed, and sporting several clear scars. Trixie supposed that if you looked like a predator, you were treated as one here.

She shuffled her hooves back and forth, trying to keep circulation in them. As per last time, she was in line for several hours, having the pleasure of watching the sun slowly makes its way across the sky while slowly moving closer to the entrance of the castle.

Trixie gave a nod to the donkey from yesterday as he walked past her. "Any luck cheating your way through line today?"

The donkey surprised her with an angry glare, stopping close enough to talk, but not close enough to look like he was butting in line.

"Ma'am, I was quite serious yesterday. I work hard to keep a roof over my families heads, and I can't make it here early enough to have any chance of getting through the line in time. I would wait like everyone else because my family is in a lot of trouble and are worth it, but I can't. I DID get in to talk with a chancellor today, but only the Uber King can resolve my problem."

"O-oh..um..sorry about that. There's just-"

The donkey waved a hoof at her. "Don't worry too much about it ma'am. With how many liars there are trying to cut in line just to spin their stupid ideas to the crown, it's understandable."

Trixie shook her head, a regretful look on her face. "Still, Trixie is sorry, she shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that."

With one more nod, the donkey walked off again, leaving Trixie to brood.

The Great and powerful Trixie, watch in awe as she injures foals! See her mock donkeys in trouble! All proceeds go to keeping her out of Equestria and causing damage abroad!

She sighed, slowly proceeding forward for the next hour or so. Finally, she was in front of Greg and non-Greg again.

"Well, look'it whose back!"

"Huh, guess your shoulder got nicked today? You'd better step your game up if you're planning on seeing the Uber king anytime soon."

"Well." Trixie replied to Greg. "Trixie made it here today, and waited in line. Again. Can she go in and see the king finally?"

"Pfft. Want me to to toss her out again, Greg?"

"No, no. Remember, we can't do that until she becomes belligerent." Greg looked right at Trixie with a small grin. "I'll let you know when it's all right."

Trixie repressed her growing irritation at them, attempting to keep a neutral, almost bored expression. From the smug look Greg was giving her, she wasn't doing the best at it.

"May Trixie ask what she is lacking? She waited in line like everyone else, there's no reason to not let her in this time."

Greg shook his head. "Look, it's no surprise you are here. Heck, I'm assuming we are going to be seeing you every day for the next month. What with this being one of the only safe places for you to be without hiding. Like I said last time, you don't have backers, and you don't hold any diplomatic power. As far as I'm concerned, your just like all these other twits the Uber King has us hold back every day. If an eighth of you were allowed in, he'd get nothing useful done at all. Same goes for seeing the chancellors. The only way your getting in here, is if we feel you deserve to."

Her eyelids kept trying to turn into a glare, and her efforts to prevent it caused one of them to continuously twitch. "And just what, may she ask, would make her worthy of being seen?"

"Well, a good reason would help for one."

"Talking to your Uber King about Equestria doesn't count as a good reason?"

Greg raised an eyebrow, shifting a little in place. "Umm..no? Your explanation sucked."

Non-Greg nodded. "One of the worst we've seen."

"I mean, you wanted to talk to him about Equestria? That doesn't tell me anything. For all I know, you wanted to talk about the weather, or maybe some garbage about Equestrian fashion."

"Just what makes you think someone would waste hours standing in a line to talk to a King with such stupid reasons!?"

Greg pointed behind her. "Trust me, half the crowd here has something useless like that that they think is important enough that the Uber King himself just has to hear about it this very instant. So," Greg cracked his knuckles. "Just what about Equestria are you trying to waste the King's time about?"

"Diplomacy! Trade! Trixie wants him to remove the embargo and start talking with Equestria again! Is that a 'waste of time'!?"

Greg shrugged, giving Trixie a smug grin. "Well, maybe, maybe not. But you're gonna have to try back tomorrow. You're getting a little too hot-headed for me to want to deal with you anymore."

Hard work, Trixie. Honesty, Trixie. Just stick to being honest with him.

With a loud snort and a menacing growl, Trixie spoke in the nicest voice she could manage. "And Trixie thinks that YOU TWO SHOULD-"

---

Trixie groaned as she stood up in the alley after the world stopped spinning. Her horn lit up as she removed some trash from her shoulder.

"Too honest?"

---

The Hunter's Herald has once again found out more about this generations honorable prey! Earlier this morning, the unicorn known as Trixie finally began showing the young hunters of this city a few of her skills. The first attempt of the day involved the unicorn somehow getting both gryphons to injure eachother, with a before this, unseen magic. An eye witness account:

"She just came out of the inn, totally ignoring this young gryphon who was threatening her, like he wasn't even worth her time! Then she started eyeing every gryphon up, like she was daring one of us to make a move. Well, one did."

They did indeed! As another witness continued to explain.

"From out of nowhere, this kid just flies right at her! Then, suddenly her horn lit up, and poof! Smoke everywhere. Next thing I know, those two kids go flying into the side of a building! Then the smoke cleared, and she's just standing there, acting like it was nothing special."

To be fair, Trixie was 'in the zone' with that stunt.

One of the young hunter's managed to escape the scene, though his 'escape' was debatable.

"Her eyes dude, they just locked right on him while he was limping away. I swore she was about to go after him, but then-"

Accounts from here differ slightly, but one thing was clear from the reports. Equestria sent a skilled challenger to our fair city this time.

Trixie looked over to Gerard. "What do they mean by 'sent'?"

"You know, from whoever is in charge of the training. Or maybe whoever catches the Sun's eye. No gryphon really knows which pony makes the decision on who to send."

"....What the buck are you talking about, Gerard?" Trixie pointed her hoof from one newspaper article to the other. "All of these mention a 'camp', or 'special selection process', and now you're talking about training?"

Gerard made a soothing motion with his paws. "Woah, calm down. Look, we don't get much news from Equestria, for obvious reasons. So I don't know what you call your training site, or what you do there."

Trixie sighed, grabbing her barely alcoholic cocktail and taking a small sip. "Okay, how about you explain to Trixie what you know about all of this."

He whistled. "I can't explain all of the background between The Hunt and Equestria in one night. Its been happening for a little over five hundred years, you know."

She rolled her eyes at Gerard. "Summarize. Trixie will stop you if she needs to." Her eyes looked over the crowd gathered at the bar. Like last night, the crowd was almost all non-gryphons, save for Gerard. She even saw the donkey from earlier, sitting at one of the tables, and talking with another donkey. Perhaps his wife? Trixie was not good at telling donkeys apart.

"All right then, well-" Gerard took a quick drink. "I don't have all the facts, only the Uber library keeps the oldest of Gryphus's records, and you need the king's permission to go in there. But, some time ago, like, over seven or eight hundred years, Gryphus and Equestria had a falling out. No one really knows why anymore, but, all trade and communication was severed between the countries."

"Any guesses why?"

"Hmm..." Gerard thought for a moment. "Well, whatever it was, it had to do with your Princess Celestia. I'm sure of that much."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Celestia? She'd never do anything to intentionally cause a rift like that. Even the gryphons living inside Equestria are allowed to have their own kingdom."

Gerard chuckled bitterly. "Oh? Griffonstone is still around? Well, good for them."

"...So, you don't even communicate with the Gryphons in Equestria?"

He nodded, speaking in a darker tone. "They made their allegiance clear when the Uber king announced the closing of the borders. They could return to their homeland, or stay and never come back. That part of the Sundering is taught to every gryphon, despite no one knowing when or why it happened anymore. They abandoned their homeland, and worse."

"Worse?"

Gerard spoke with an hint of anger. "Many abandoned their clans. Their cousins, nieces, and grand parents. For that they are not deserving of our sympathy or trust. The clan is your family, and is meant to come before any other ties."

Well, at least Trixie knows why Gretta was so insistent on her facing Groat after teasing him about his clan.

She gave Gerard a minute to calm down, while taking cautious looks across the bar. She knew she was 'supposedly' safe while with Gerard, but she'd seen enough gryphons breaking the rules to be cautious.

"Woah, sorry about that." Gerard said. "Looks like I got a bit off topic there. But, going back to the thing about your princess. I say something bad happened between her and Gryphus, only because of how many stories there are about her. Ones you tell your fledgling to scare them into doing the right thing in the future. Stories also call her the 'Sun Tyrant' more often than not as well."

Trixie shrugged. "Trixie doesn't know anything about that. But the result was that Equestria and Gryphus stopped talking, and then the hunts started?"

He shook his head. "Umm...not quite that quickly. To make it brief, the first Equestrian came to Gryphus, like, five hundreds years ago. So there was a few hundred years of little to no communication between the two nations. Then, every fifty years or so, a Equestrian would wander into the city, challenging Gryphus to The Hunt."

"What do gryphons think of The Hunt?"

He grinned a bit at her, his eyes sparkling. "Now, that is an interesting topic. You see, The Hunt was only used on criminals by that point, the other nations didn't have the guts to brave the challenge anymore. By the third challenge from Equestria, Gryphus began to consider The Hunt a strictly Equestrian challenge, and the rules began to change accordingly."

"How so?"

"First, the clans were no longer required to explain to Equestrians about the need for protection in Gryphus, and their entering of the city was considered enough for the challenge to be issued."

"What!? Why!?" Who decided that Trixie was looking to be killed for just entering a city!?

"Well, the first clans explained that the Equestrians acted 'insulted' when they were offered protection. From what I remember, one of them even bolted for the doors to the city while several clans were coming over to explain the cities rules to them."

...So the first Equestrians got freaked out by several armed gryphons approaching them outside the city and Trixie is paying for it now....

"From there, the rules on safe zones were set up, as well as the different weeks for different gryphons. Many gryphons became altruistic about the hunt, and wanted it to be as fair as possible due to the efforts Equestria was putting into the hunt."

And now the ball drops...

"A-and...just what 'efforts' is Gryphus aware of Equestria doing for these hunts?"

"Well, a lot of it is hearsay, but so far the theories have held up to be true. Equestria has some type of camp, or training facility, where potential challengers are trained. Every fifty or sixty years, one of them is deemed suitable for the challenge, and takes the old farm road from Equestria to Gryphus."

"Actually, in a funny way, the hunt has become a bit romanticized by the public." Gerard put on a girlish tone. "A lone pony, trained to hold their own in a city who wants them dead. Fighting to prove that Equestrians still acknowledge the old ways of hunter and prey. The two nations never speak to eachother, but their actions alone speak volumes."

He chuckled at his own antics before continuing.

"There was even a book made about a pony and gryphon falling in love during one of the hunts. Pure drivel, but every time a hunt hits, it sells like seed cakes for a few months."

"Trixie has a bad feeling on this, but, how does it end?"

"Oh." He waved a paw assuringly at her. "Don't worry, the pegasus loses to her lover in the hunt. The gryphon hesitates though, and the pegasus gets angry, and demands that he doesn't dishonor her in such a manner. In the end, he kills her, though the prestige he gained means nothing to him now. It's a classic, really."

"Right, why would Trixie think anything different would happen?" She put down her empty tankard, and stood up. "Okay, Trixie has heard enough for one night. She is just going to relax and stay inside tomorrow."

"Woah, really?" Trixie nodded to him. "Well, that's fine, I guess. Just make sure not to get sick the day after or anything."

...Trixie has to ask why, doesn't she? They need an instruction manual for this stupid thing!

"And why would you say that?"

"Well, obviously, if you get sick the day after you spent inside, you'll have to go out, or risk being disqualified."

"....Forgive Trixie, she..umm...didn't pay much attention to the rules about being disqualified at 'camp', what does that mean?"

"Woah, well, it means the Hunt of Glory is over. If the honored prey is not seen and engages in the hunt for at least several hours each day, barring one day of rest each week, then it becomes a Hunt of Shame."

"...Meaning...?"

"Pfft, you really were all about how to win, and not how you can fail, huh?"

"That...sounds like something Trixie would do."

"Heh, right. Well, the Hunt of Shame means all gryphon's are allowed to hunt the dishonored prey, and the only way for the hunt to end is if the prey makes it back to Equestria, or is caught."

"...Horseapples..."

---

Another night, another dreamscape of distorted emotions and images. Flickering illusions of past events and feelings, more of pain and regret than anything else; it was always like this for her. It had been years since Trixie had a real dream.

Until now.

"Well...this is...different."

Trixie looked around her. She was standing on a small stage in the middle of an empty town. Cottages were lined along the road as far as Trixie could see. In the distance, there was what looked to be a carousel, along with a cupcake-shaped building she recognized. She was in Ponyville.

"Oh, Trixie..."

Her ears perked at the familiar voice, and she looked up to where it had come from, only to gasp. The darkened sky was filled with images, memories of her past. Most of them were hazy, and flickering in and out of existence as she watched. Every so often, she was able to make out a word or two amid the noise they all made.

What the buck is going on here?

"A-hem..."

Trixie looked away from the sky at the sound of somepony clearing their throat. Her eyes widened at the sight of the pony in front of her.

"P-princess Luna? What-"

"Thank the heavens! I had feared that I had entered Discord's dreams again by mistake." She looked up at the sky. "Your mind and his share a few too many similarities for me to easily help, I fear."

Trixie felt conflicted at hearing this, and it was clear on her face to Luna.

"Fear not, little one." That conflicted look took on a tone of irritation, much to Luna's confusion. "Whatever has your mind so disturbed has been long in building, years perhaps. But I assure you we can find the source of this pain."

"Trixie's pain..." She gave Luna a suspicious glare. "Trixie has slept like this since before your return. Even still, you've had, what? Three years to come to her about this and only now you show up? Why are you really here?"

Luna's brow narrowed slightly. Trixie...where have I heard that name before? I would remember such a rude, yet perceptive, pony.

She tried a comforting smile. "You are right, I am not here just because of your disturbed dreams, though I would like to help with them nonetheless. Allow me to ask, are you aware of where you are right now?"

Trixie rolled her eyes, using her hooves to indicate the area around them in a bored manner. "Yes, yes. Trixie is in the dreamscape. You used your magic to stabilize her dream in order to speak with her. Once you stop doing so, Trixie will more than likely wake up due to your magic's influence alerting her mind that something is wrong."

Luna's eyes widened a little. "Y-yes...that is correct. I was unaware that any pony alive still studied dream magic. Are you, by chance, a practitioner?"

"Hmph, no, do you really believe that Trixie would have such messy dreams if she was? You can blame her mother and the whole 'Lulamoon traditions' she insisted on Trixie learning."

The Lulamoons, right. They never mentioned having a daughter when we last spoke though. This is the unicorn who challenged Twilight with the amulet?

Luna shook her head. There were too many things she wanted to know and deal with concerning this unicorn now. Best to focus on the more important things first, like her survival. I can work on her lack of respect later.

"What I meant was, are you aware of where you are in the real world?"

Trixie nodded her head, sarcastically adding. "Of course, Trixie is in Canterlot, and every pony is dressed as gryphon's due to some kind of festival."

Luna couldn't help but let her smile drop at that. "Why are you so hostile? Have I offended you in some manner? Is this...about Nightmare Moon?"

Trixie simply turned her back to Luna, holding her head high and gazing at the image filled sky above her. "Nightmare Moon? No pony cares about that anymore. Trixie is angry because you are being dishonest with her. You didn't come here to help her. You know Trixie is aware of where she is, yet you ask such pointless questions? Perhaps you should read more on Honesty, if you really were one of the element holders."

"We...actually held three of them at one point. Though Honesty was not one of them." Trixie's glare made her hastily continue. "And there are still those who hate us for what we once were."

Trixie sighed and slightly shook her head as she turned around, as if Luna was a child. "Everypony deserves a second chance. Even a third chance. Just be happy about who you are. Second chances don't come as easy for other ponies as it did for you..."

Luna nodded, used to this sort of treatment as well. Ponies had been envious of her for generations after all. "So, you are jealous of my rank then? You think my being a Princess is what bought me a chance at redemption? That makes some sense, but I assure you, it was not all-"

Luna's words were interrupted as she suddenly found Trixie directly in front of her. Trixie was glaring into her eyes, this being only possible due to the stage somehow moving with her. "You really are an idiot. Stop acting like you know what Trixie thinks. Rank? Princesshood!? Trixie's not talking about any of that!"

Trixie pointed a hoof at Luna, her eyes alight with a blue fire. "Princess Celestia is your sister. Of course you got a second chance. Of course you had a place to recover after your failures. Of course you had somepony to help pick you up!"

Luna was speechless. The literal fire running along Trixie's eyes, the way she moved nearly instantaneously in front of her. Luna briefly looked up and confirmed what she already knew. The Images floating above were gone, leaving a star filled night.

An inexperienced Dream Walker. We had hoped the Lulamoons still had the gift in their blood. For us to be able to develop it over time until their line produced another. But, we never expected one to already exist. Why didn't her parents tell us about her!?

Lamenting, Luna couldn't believe the situation she was in now. A Dream Walker, a pony Luna had been hoping to find and train, was in Gryphus, a city she was bound to die in. Adding to that was the state of Trixie's mind.

Something is very wrong. All those images, her mind is conflicted, but why? What conflict of thought brought her to a city like Gryphus?

"Get out."

Luna blinked, realizing she had been staring at Trixie for a moment straight without saying anything. Trixie and the stage had shifted back a few yards, though Trixie's glare was just as strong.

"Sorry, we were lost in thought for a moment. If you could just-"

"No," Trixie interrupted. "You're just wasting Trixie's time now. Time that she needs to rest so she will be ready for The Hunt. Get out."

T-this insolent little foal!

Growling, Luna's horn began to glow. Her form shifted as mist poured out from the cottages. As the mist entered her, she grew. Within seconds, she was twice her previous size. Shortly after that, she was towering over Trixie, an enraged look on her face. "How DARE you treat your Princess this way! Have you no shame!? We are here to HELP you, and you act like a foal towards us!"

Trixie was looking up, wide eyed at Luna. She even nudged back a few hoof lengths as Luna grew.

"Now, if you will not listen to us when we are being kind, then you will listen to us this way! Gryphus will kill you! We are the only pony to EVER survive that wretched trial they call The Hunt! Now, tell us, foal, why are you in Gryphus, a nation restricted to Equestrians!?"

Trixie had somehow managed to look away from the Alicorn towering over her, but found it hard to move her body beyond that. "I-I...I need to be here. I-it's my last chance. I-I have to prove myself."

Luna's tone softened slightly. "What, my little pony, are you trying to prove?"

S-she has no right.

Trixie's head slowly turned back to look up at Luna. Though it was far less intimidating now, Trixie still managed to weakly glare up at her.

She has no right to call Trixie that!

"Only one pony may call Trixie that, and you aren't her. Trixie is following the teachings of the elements. She's working hard to change herself. To instill the six in her mind and fix her personality."

"Trixie," Luna said, a concerned tone in her voice. "The elements aren't a way of life, they aren't something that is meant to constantly be on your mind. Every pony has some measure of each in themselves, but don't you see? Trying to 'fix' your personality is why your dreams are so distorted, why every part of this dream has the feeling of frustration to it. You can't, no, you shouldn't try to change who you are."

Parts of the dreamscape took on a red tinge. Trixie let out a deep breath. "You may be older, Luna, but you haven't been awake for that long. Equestria is different from whatever it was a thousand years ago. Ponies like Trixie don't belong there. So Trixie's only choice is to change. She has to become a hero, one who abides by the elements. She has to become accepted in Equestria as more than a normal pony, else she will never fulfill the promise she made."

"What promise, my little pony?"

"...Become somepony important, and we can be together."

Suddenly, Luna's world became blackness.

"What-"

"Trixie told you."

Lighting her horn, Luna found herself trapped in a box, one large enough to hold her form. She gasped in surprise as she felt the box lifted off of the ground.

"Only one pony can call Trixie that."

The box began tumbling, causing Luna to bang against the sides as it went faster and faster. She felt the box compressing, forcing her to shrink or be crushed. Luna could barely concentrate enough to do that, let alone think of a way out.

Trixie watched as the box became smaller and smaller, all the while spinning and changing direction as she willed it to. Hearing the dull smacks as Luna was repeatedly thrown against the sides was strangely cathartic to her. Once Trixie figured Luna was back to her original size, she slowed the box down, and removed the bottom of it. Luna fell several feet to the ground, landing with a small thud and not even trying to catch herself.

"And you are not her."

After a few minutes of waiting for the world to stop spinning, Luna staggered back to her hooves. Her hair was a mess now, wildly splayed out at random angles. Her feathers were in disarray, and would take a few hours of preening to fix.

"W-we thought you said that you didn't practice Dream Walking."

"Trixie doesn't. But you are in her dream, right? So therefore, she has all the power."

"I-it doesn't actually work quite like that." Luna took a few deep breathes, trying to get her composure back before continuing.

"Trixie, emulating the elements is pointless, you aren't them. No pony is asking you to be them. Just come back to Equestria, and we promise-"

"No, I don't believe you."

Trixie jumped down from the stage, her face twisted in anger. The stage behind her quickly changed from wood to stone, and then grew upwards, becoming a huge pillar.

"I'll return to Equestria, a hero, or I won't come back at all."

Trixie's horn began to glow, the magenta magic making a line straight towards the top of the pillar, only to be met halfway by a yellow line of magic. The pale outline of a pony began to take shape on top of the pillar, its horn directed down at Trixie, and emitting the yellow beam.

Wait...That's not a pillar...

"There's no point on returning until I prove myself. There's no point of returning at all, if I can't be with her. Not after all of this..."

Tears streamed down Trixie's eyes, eyes that were alight with a blue fire that was flickering several inches out from them. A large ball of swirling magenta and yellow magic formed between Trixie and the indescribable pony. The ball started to float its way up to the tip of the mirage's horn.

It's a...pedestal?

"Now, get out! Leave me to my dreams, as messed up as they may seem to a pony like you!!"

"Trixie, Please! Wait!"

The glowing figure on the pedestal reared back on its hind legs, growing larger as Luna watched in awe. Its wings unfurled, expanding far past the dreamscape village they were in, and into the darkness beyond. The figure was now almost blinding to Luna.

A-an Alicorn?

"GET OUUUUT!!!"

The ball of magic, held aloft by the mirage's horn shot towards Luna. Her vision quickly became nothing but yellow and magenta as the beam of magic blew her out of the dream. Right after Luna exited, the entire dreamscape began to crack and break into shards, eventually leaving Trixie in darkness.

Seconds later, Trixie awoke to the sound of her window shattering.

Comments

[Wacky]

Hmmm, curiouser and curiouser...

...wonder if that new alicorn is suppose to be Twilight or a vision of Trixie's future?

[Shigawan]

6283516

I'm pretty sure it's Celestia. Trixie is placing Celestia on a pedestal.

[sniper 1232]

this reminds me of alien vs predator trixie is alien, the nation gryphus is the predator

[booklover41]

Hmm, prey sometimes has a posionuos bite. Use posioned blades.

Prey has scales. Wear armor.

Prey can overpower predators. CRUSH THEM BENEATH YOUR HOOVES TRIXIE LUNAMOON!!

[DracoDarastrix]

6284372

For me both are actually plausible. I mean the alicorn can resemble both Trixie possible accession to alicornhood and princes Celestia. Phaory is one of those skilled writers that can create double meanings to a certain event. So for now it's anyone's guess what it really means safe for the author himself.

[ponyponipon3]

6284372
Yeah, the yellow magic and "her" being allowed to call Trixie "my little pony" clinches it for me. But time will tell!

Even the gryphons living inside Equestria are allowed to have their own kingdom."
Gerard chuckled bitterly. "Oh? Griffonstone is still around? Well, good for them."

Nicely executed inclusion of the canon Griffon kingdom into the story!

Overall a great chapter, with Luna's appearance making for interesting developments.

Looking forward to MOAR!

[Tome]

Can't wait for more!

[Emperor]

Man, if only Gerard heard of what canon Griffonstone is actually like. He'd probably choke with laughter.

Interesting chat with Luna, whom I imagine will be just about crapping bricks and maybe trying hard right now to reopen relations with Gryphus if only to protect the dream walker within Gryphus' borders at the moment. Trixie of course still has her pride, rejecting Luna's suggestion of leaving, but she overdoes her pride to the point of completely ignoring just about anything Luna leaves.

Whomever Trixie's former mentor or whatever was, she left a screwed-up unicorn behind.