Live in Tranquility

by StayAwhileAndListen

Return

It had become quickly apparent to Trixie that the reason why it had been so overwhelmingly dark in that tiny cell was because it wasn’t actually a jail cell at all, more like an old closet that had been emptied out, there was even still a rod going from one side to the other one could hang clothing upon.

The rest of the room was lit only by a small lantern set down in the center of the room, burning with a dim flame, not unlike the others she had seen before. The rest of the room was equally as run down as the closet, old cracked stone floors and walls, a wood ceiling that was marked with jagged edges and cobwebs hanging from every corner and support post. There was only one other exit, a staircase that allowed in enough light to at least let her figure that it had to be daytime.

“Where am I?” Trixie asked after her brief moment of celebration had passed.

The stallion who had rescued her seemed to have his mind elsewhere though, as he bounded from one end of the small basement room to the other, even going back into the closet just for a look, “An old condemned house on the outskirts of Greenhoof.” He mumbled back to her, before rushing back upstairs.

Trixie had barely a chance to even register what had happened before he left, deciding that the next best course of action was to follow him upstairs. If nothing else, he seemed less creepy than the last several ponies she had seen.

Besides all of that, if he was right, and she was on the edge of town, that just meant running the buck away should have been a cakewalk.

The main level didn’t particularly look all that much better than the basement, given that the first thing she got a good look at was a rather massive hole in the ceiling, the sky bright overhead as sunlight shined brightly through, “How long was Trixie down there for?” She asked, looking over at the stallion, who had glued himself to a window, head on a swivel as he searched.

When he did turn back to her, she could see his lips curled down into a snarl, his gaze seemed to pierce through her, “Long enough. You’re lucky I heard you screaming for so long last night.”

So someone had heard, “Good!” She replied, her dry, sore throat making her every word out of her mouth burn, “What took you so long then? Trixie thought she was going to be left down there!” It hadn't taken her long to start feeling like her normal self though, if nothing else.

“Well, your screaming also drew practically everypony in town, and I had to spend most of last night and this morning hiding in a barrel until they finally left!” His face fell to the floor, before immediately turning back to her, teeth gritted in what she could only describe as seething rage, “So thanks to you, the ponies I was actually trying to save are gone now.”

Trixie gulped, as backed away from the stallion, her breathing starting to quicken again, “T-Trixie apologizes... She didn't have any other choice at the time! She thought.... She thought she was going to die.”

The stallion’s angry expression only remained for another moment, before finally he just let out a soft sigh, “You’re right. I’m sorry, all of this must be extremely confusing to an outsider. My little brother and a... a close friend were kidnapped just like you were, and until this morning, they were in one of the old buildings around here, just like you were.” He explained quickly, trotting over to the door, “And, I know where they have to be now.”

“Well that’s good, Trixie needs to be leaving herself, so she’ll leave you to finding your friends while she...” She trailed off, as the two of them looked at one another.

“Right,” The stallion interrupted her, opening the door and stepping out into the bright sunlight. None of the smiling ponies were around this time, thankfully, “You should get out of this place, and go home. Somewhere safe.”

“I’m glad we both have the same idea then.” Trixie gave him a soft smile, as she followed him out the door, the bright blue sky overhead an absolute joy to see again! Now she just needed a bit of water, some fruit and to get out of there before any more craziness came back to throw her into an even smaller closet.

Trixie followed him outside, finally able to get a decent look at the town in the daylight. The first thing she noticed was the rather large lake that the town sat upon, glistening beautifully in the late morning sunlight. She didn’t even stop to ask whether or not it was safe to drink before breaking into a gallop directly towards the lake, half of her body still aching from earlier, but yet the rest of her was just so glad to be free!

She ended up stopping in the water, hoof deep as she leaned down to get a drink. Her pained throat felt a brief moment of sweet relief as she drank the warm freshwater. It was admittedly not the cleanest thing she had ever done, but at that moment she didn’t particularly care about whether or not she would swallow a little bit of soil.

For the first time in a day and a half, Trixie felt rather comfortable, a large smile spreading across her features as she could start to remember what it was about that place that had made her want to visit again in the first place.

The rather enjoyable thoughts didn’t last however, turning around to find that the red stallion was already walking away, back into the city. He must have been absolutely mad, the town itself was where the crazed smiling ponies were!

“Where are you going?!” She called out to him, stepping out of the gentle caresses of the peaceful lake, and back out onto the cobblestone streets, “Isn’t it dangerous back in there?”

He stopped, but didn’t even turn to face her, “It’s dangerous out this way too, you shouldn’t stay too long!” All of the yelling to one another was beginning to make Trixie nervous though, as she quickly trotted back to him as he started to move again.

“So what are you doing then? Trixie thought we would leave the other way... the way that doesn’t, you know, go right through the town center?” She suggested, as she followed him a bit further than she was starting to feel comfortable with.

He turned to face her, as she caught up beside him, a large, dumb looking grin across his face, “I need to find the others. I know where they’ve been taken, and if I hurry, I can save them before... well, before they’re changed like everyone else has been,” The smile he now wore disturbed her greatly, “If you want to keep following, then I suggest you smile and look straight ahead. Don’t say a word.”

“Trixie does not want-” It was at this moment that she realized that she had trotted along too far, as she could see other ponies, easily within earshot. The previous night flashed before her eyes, as she found herself giving the largest grin she could possibly manage, eyes straight ahead as she spoke quietly through gritted teeth, “Trixie wanted to leave this pit! She doesn’t even know who you are and-”

She stopped speaking entirely as they passed by a group of three ponies. They stood facing one another, as though they were having a conversation, and yet not a single one of them opened their mouth’s. Instead, they just stood there, glaring directly ahead of themselves like manikins in a store. As before, their lips were all curled into perfect, overly large grins.

Trixie had to wait until the coast was entirely clear before she could finish her thought, “And Trixie is terrified.”

Things were silent for a while, the two of them walking next to the other, growing closer to the other every time that another face appeared. It wasn’t that hiding from the others was particularly difficult, but rather that Trixie had begun to expect that any moment their little facade would fail... and yet, as they grew closer to the heart of the village, not a soul gave them so much as a glance.

“It occurs to Trixie,” She mumbled through her false smile, “You never told me your name.” She had already let herself walk directly into danger with him, she felt that she at least deserved to know that.

“Honeycomb,” The red stallion replied, “I-I’m a beekeeper from just outside of town. I was... I was home when things started getting bad.” The way his words shook, and rapidly decreased in volume anytime his eyes would look over and spot somepony else was oddly comforting to Trixie. At least she wasn’t the only one on the verge of panic.

It was difficult after that to find a moment to actually speak, to say anything to break through the tension in the air, but as they trotted into the heart of Greenhoof, they found themselves surrounded on all sides. Trixie didn’t even know where Honeycomb wanted to take her, until finally he nudged her shoulder, nodding his head toward a three story, rounded purple building that sat right upon the edge of the town’s lake.

As they stood at the stoop of the small, yet admittedly flashy looking building, Trixie started to question exactly what it was that had her actually moving forward. She knew the trick now, she could just walk right out of town. She might even be able to find her carriage, were she so inclined! There was no need to go into a dark, creepy building that likely held some unimaginable nightmarish horror.

“Well, we’re here,” She whispered to Honeycomb, “It was nice meeting you, but the great and powerful Trixie really must be off.”

“You never had to follow me, but if you want to just do that walk again, alone I might add, be my guest.” His retort was enough to make her follow up the steps, as he hesitantly pressed a hoof up against the glass door.

There was a brief moment of silence, as Honeycombs smile broke, and he shut his eyes, “Okay.” He said, to himself Trixie assumed, just before giving a gentle push.

The door swung inward with a quiet squeak of the hinges, as inside the two found themselves at what appeared to be the lobby of some kind of office. There were plenty of padded benches, and even a table covered in a variety of magazines. Several ponies sat inside, some of which holding and staring holes through reading material, and at the far desk, sat a lone mare. She stared directly at the two with her pair of soulless eyes, fake smile stretched across her muzzle as they slowly stepped in, their facade back in place.

“Trixie doesn’t like this.” She whispered.

“Shh, we’re almost there.” He replied, taking the first step into the room. They could see an open doorway on the other side of the room, only about a total of ten feet from the entrance way, and yet it may as well have been placed halfway across Equestria.

Step.

Getting closer, so long as they kept quiet, they would be through the room in no time.

Step.

Why exactly had Trixie followed this Stallion, anyway? It wasn’t like she knew his particular friends and family.

Step.

Where were the Princesses in all of this? Couldn’t Luna tell when someone was obviously messing around with dreams?

Step.

Didn’t Celestia just kind of always know when something was wrong?

Step.

Why was she the one being put in danger all of the sudden? She just wanted to perform a few new spells and wow a few Earth Ponies!

Step.

Almost there, they had gone halfway through the room over the course of just a few seconds, and yet Trixie’s heart was practically trying to escape from her own chest.

Before they could take another step forward, a voice could be heard from below them, echoing through much of the building, “Everything is finally ready, you must excuse my friend. He’s quite difficult to wake.” Trixie recognized that voice, the same one she had heard at the end of her dream!

She had to stop herself from rushing, keeping up at the pace they had set. She dared to glance over at Honeycomb, a sudden look of determination on his face... Trixie had to bump him just to get him to keep smiling.

“Please Starlight,” A deeper, masculine voice echoed out, “You were right all along. Help us. Please.” He was pleading with the other as Trixie finally could see through the doorway, a staircase just a little further down the hall.

Trixie had nearly made it to the staircase when she turned back, noticing Honeycomb hadn’t moved a step. She cocked her head, and beckoned him forward with a quick head tilt. He didn’t move an inch, “Psst! Hey!” She hissed, “Get over here!” She was absolutely not going down there alone.

The stallion shook his head slightly when Trixie spoke, as though pulling himself from a trance as he trotted forward. A glance back into the lobby was enough to let her know that at least none of the other ponies had moved. Though, the longer she stared at them, the less comfortable she felt. Whatever had happened to them, she didn’t want to deal with any more than she had to.

“So, you have a plan, right?” Trixie asked, trying to keep her tone down.

“Uh, plan?”

“... To save your friends?”

“Yeah. Of course I have a plan.” He retorted, lying so obviously that she could only give an exasperated glare in response.

Another moment of silence passed between them.

“Now dear, just empty your mind, and allow me in. I promise you that your life will be peaceful from here on out.” The mare’s voice from below was enough to send both of them into action, as they began inching down the stairwell, clinging to the wall. Both dared to peek their heads around the corner, staring through the railing of the staircase. It was hardly a hiding spot, but Honeycomb was proving to be less than a brilliant strategist.

The room itself had their jaws hanging wide open. What had likely at one point been a pretty average storage basement, had been converted into some kind of deranged study. Pages from various spellbooks had been torn out and taped up to the walls, Trixie could even recognize some of them from her own practice. Any and all furniture had been removed, save for a lone table at the far wall, though one would be forgiven for simply believing it to be a mass of open books, ripped papers, and several ink bottles and quills.

In the center of the room though, stood a pink coated mare with a long, expertly crafted purple mane. A rather brilliantly shining red amulet hung around her neck, its chain made of pure silver as the gem inside of it glowed with a magical flare.

She stood tall over two others, a foal barely taller than one of Trixie’s legs, who seemed to have been unconscious on the floor. The other was a blue stallion, who knelt before the pony in front of him.

She approached the Stallion with a rather wide smile, “Now, accept my gift.” She whispered, as the amulet she wore grew brighter and brighter, surrounding itself in a white aura that quickly began to condense within the center of the gem, before firing out with a brilliant white beam, that pierced directly into the Stallion’s forehead.

His eyes burst wide open, mouth gaping open wide as he let loose with a shriek that echoed throughout the entire building... and then abruptly stopped. The white beam of magical energy faded quickly, leaving the stallion perfectly unharmed, as her mouth curled quickly into a smile, eyes focusing on the wall across from him.

“Blue!” Honeycomb yelled out, just before Trixie tackled him back behind the wall. He was going to get them both killed, or turned into a brain dead zombie, or any other horrible fate this mare could think of!

“It appears as though there are intruders within our community,” The pink mare said rather calmly, as the sound of hooves hitting the floor in the other room rang into Trixie’s ears, “Perhaps you would like to introduce yourselves? Or would you rather just continue playing hide and seek up there?”

Neither of them said a thing. They were trapped, no matter which way they went. Trixie knew that downstairs had no exits, and the front lobby was easily guarded by far too many of those freaks for her to even think about charging through. She could attempt to fight them with her magic... but there were still so many of them, and it only became more and more obvious that Honeycomb was in much deeper than he could have ever known how to deal with.

She was going to have to try and escape out through the top floor. With any luck, maybe nopony had actually been upstairs! Trixie didn’t have the time to think though, as she reached down to take Honey’s hoof, “Come on!” She said, starting to move... when the other below spoke again.

“Leaving? That’s a shame, I was just about to perform the ritual again, once this little boy wakes up.”

“No!” Honeycomb screamed, as he ran downstairs, “Leave my brother alone!” He stopped at the foot of the staircase, staring at the mare, “Starlight please! You’ve taken enough for your community! Please, just let me take my brother and go!”

Trixie’s eyes went wide as he left her side, barely able to see him from where she sat at the top of the staircase, as the sound of hoofbeats from outside came to an abrupt halt. What had he done? Trixie had her run in with magical amulets, and the power they provided her had been staggering! They had seen together what this Starlight could already do, and as such even Trixie had the idea to run away.

“I’m sorry Honeycomb. Your family has voluntarily chosen to come into my philosophy. I only wish you could do the same! It would make our family that much stronger if you joined us!” Starlight spoke to him calmly, almost even happily.

‘Come on Trixie, Run. Run. Run. Get on your hooves and gallop as hard as you can! You’re not that far from an escape... The lake! You can swim out of town! All you have to do is stand up and move!’ She thought to herself, as she pushed herself to her hooves.

“You’re taking ponies minds from them! This isn’t what anypony wanted! We trusted you, Starlight!” Honeycomb yelled back at her, tears welling up in his eyes as he fell to his knees, “I’m begging you. Just spare my brother.”

Trixie watched the stallion who had saved her, who had taken her across this town safely in her time of need, break down like a filly. Her heart betrayed her mind as she finally took a step, going down the staircase one by one as Starlight approached him.

“I can do you one better,” She suggested, as her amulet began to glow white once again, “I’ll allow you to live here, in perfect harmony with all of your family and friends. You can even go on beekeeping as normal. Doesn’t that sound lovely?” Trixie watched as that light began to condense again inside of the amulet.

“Wait!” Trixie called down the steps, continuing her slow, shaking descent.

‘Oh Dear Celestia. I’m actually going to die.’

Comments

[Alex Warlorn]

There hasn't been any mention of the Equal Marks yet.

[StayAwhileAndListen]

5953253

There's going to be some exposition coming soon that should help to clear up why Starlight Glimmer seems to be doing things a little differently this time around. There is a bit of a plan in motion for the characters here.