Little Lost Things
Astrid sat at the dinner table, absentmindedly picking at her food as she wondered when her father was going to come home. It had been ages now, and the layers dust that collected on the table only continued to grow thicker with every momentary eternity that passed.
A harsh knock at the door broke Astrid out of her state of passive inattention.
She waited for the knock to eventually go away, but it never did as the sound continued to echo through the house like a death knell, chilling her blood and sending her heart into a rapid frenzy, beating perfectly in time with every dull blow against the door.
She should not answer it. She did not want to answer it, but Astrid had no control over herself as her legs moved of their own accord, bring her away from the table in spite of her fear; she already knew what was going to happen.
She fought against herself, against her own body, but it was to no avail as she found herself standing before the door, her shaking hand reaching for the handle, all while the pounding continued to sound off from the other side.
Her fingers wrapped loosely around the cold metal, sending a chill up her arm and causing goosebumps to form on her skin. She quivered in anxiety and fear, not wanting to but unable to keep herself pulling the door open.
The pounding stopped, replaced by a hollow silence.
A dark presence loomed before Astrid, hovering outside the door amidst a sea of darkness. It had no face.
No eyes.
No mouth.
Nothing.
Yet still it spoke.
The words it uttered were odd and indecipherable to Astrid, speaking to her in a quiet, alluring voice. It presented something to her, an object that was as alien to her as the presence itself, yet all too familiar at the same time.
A piece, a fragment of a greater whole, covered in markings and staring at her eternally with a single, unblinking eye. Astrid knew what it desired from her, and she wanted no part of it. She could hear her own mind screaming for her to turn around and flee. Everything in her body urged her to run, to hide somewhere she could not be found.
She did no such thing however. Instead she could only watch helplessly as her hand slowly extended towards the fragment.
Her fingers brushed against its surface, sending a rush of frigid agony racing up her arm as everything went dark.
Astrid awoke with a harsh scream, clawing at the tarp covering her, struggling to get it off as she flailed and scratched at imaginary shadows, until finally she was able to throw it aside and breathe, hyperventilating as images of her nightmare continued to plague her thoughts.
It was only after she was able to catch her breath that she realized that the nightmare had been just that, and she forced herself to calm down. Before long, her heart rate slowed down to the point where it did not feel as though it were trying to pummel its way out of her chest, and Astrid stood up to retrieve the tarp, whereupon she returned to her original position; hunched over and longing for the real nightmare to end.
Her longing was answered by a rather severe ache in the back of her neck, acquired from her unconventional position as she had slept. Yet another thing to add to growing list of misfortunes, right under the fact that she was still lost, still stuck in an alien form, and still left with no clue on how to get back home.
The chatter of distant voices reached Astrid’s ears, causing them to twitch in response and exacerbating the headache that she had woken up with to an almost unbearable degree. She wished for nothing more than for it all to just go away. Her desire for rest was curbed though, as it seemed even her own body was working against as a low groan emanated from her stomach. It was only then she realized how long it must have been since she had last eaten. It felt so long ago since her birthday party, since she had a place of her own, with nothing to worry about other than her grades.
It had only been a day, if that, and already everything felt more like a distant memory, haunting her thoughts and tormenting her with the promise of never being able to go back. She did not even have anything on hand to eat, which led her to wonder how she was going to be able to survive the next few days, if that.
She had to find something to eat, and soon. Yet Astrid’s fear of what those pony creatures would do if she she showed herself caused her to hesitate, trying to decide if asking for food from them would even be an option for her. Her first real encounter with them at the train platform had not left a particularly good impression on her.
Another hungry growl sounded off, forcing Astrid to put aside her trepidation as she stood up, attempting to convince herself that perhaps not all of them were like that as she made her way out of the backstreet, skirting around broken bottles and other discarded detritus.
Before long Astrid retraced her steps to where she had originally entered the backstreet, glancing around to make sure it was safe for her to go out. The sun had moved a bit since, indicating that it was now sometime in the late afternoon, steadily making the transition into the early evening.
A few of the pony creatures could be seen trotting about, chatting with each other and generally just going about their business, and Astrid watched in a mix of curiosity and concern as they went past, careful to stay hidden in the shadows of the alleyway. She noticed that a fair number of them seemed to be carrying saddlebags filled with various vegetables and other food items. Seeing them only made Astrid’s hunger feel that much more severe as she eyed them longingly, wondering if she would be able to perhaps ask for some.
Her chance came when she noticed a pair of ponies, one a green tinted stallion and the other a reddish mare with swirly orange mane, trotting down the sidewalk towards her. While the odd coloration of their fur perplexed Astrid, the thing that she was most interested in at the moment was the saddlebag full of groceries and other assorted products upon their backs. They had yet to take notice of her as they chatted with each other.
“So, what’d you think? Did you like the show?” the mare questioned, a bright smile adorning her muzzle.
The stallion responded unenthusiastically, “Eh, she was alright, I guess. I couldn’t really get into it though, she just seemed a bit high on herself, you know? Always referring to herself in the third pony.”
As they drew closer, Astrid was tempted to just hide until they passed her by. She stifled her urge to hide as she drew in series of breaths to steady her nervous heart, attempting to convince herself that she had no reason to believe they would harm her just for talking to them. Once she was sufficiently emboldened, Astrid stepped out of the alleyway, braving the overbearing sunlight and standing firmly in their path.
“Yeah, I know what you mean by that,” the mare answered. “Still I think it’s quite nice to oh sweet Celestia!” she exclaimed upon finally noticing the girl standing before them, immediately coming to complete stop. The stallion was equally caught off guard, and he responded by placing himself slightly in front of the mare.
Their reaction caused Astrid to recoil, fearful of the repercussions. She forced herself to remain in place despite the fact she wanted nothing more than to dive back into the alleyway. She cleared her throat, trying to put on a brave front that came off as more of an awkward cough than anything else, and she asked in the most pleasant tone she could muster through her quivering voice, “E-excuse me, um, do you think it’s alright if I can h-have some?”
She patiently waited for a response, hoping that the two would be willing to grant her request, but they only stared at her in a cautious curiosity, glancing at each other in question. Not taking her eyes off Astrid, the mare asked her companion in a strained whisper, “Uh, Quartz? Did you happen to catch any of that?”
“Uh-uh,” the stallion, now identified as Quartz responded along with a shake of his head.
Believing that they had simply not heard her, Astrid cleared her throat and repeated her request, accompanying it with a gesture to the contents of their bags, making it clear what she wanted from them.
“Do you think it’s somepony’s pet?” the mare questioned. Astrid blinked upon hearing that, feeling slightly offended at the proposition.
She was further offended when Quartz responded, looking at her a bit more closely, “I don’t know. It looks more like some sort of weird raccoon or something to me.”
At this point Astrid’s mood had moved beyond merely being offended to being outright enraged by the comparison to a neighborhood pest, and she narrowed her eyes in anger. “Do I look like a raccoon to you?!” she shot at them, removing the tarp covering her head, too fed up to really care about the blinding sunlight.
When her vision adjusted as much as it could, she was met with expressions of absolute shock and terror as the two ponies recoiled as though they had just seen a ghost, and they steadily began to back away. The mare, now hiding fully behind her companion, said in a clearly nervous tone, “Uh, Quartz? How about we take the long way home?”
“Agreed,” was Quartz’ only answer, and the two frightened ponies had now broken into a swift trot away from Astrid, leaving the girl alone and wondering what had just happened. A few onlookers who had noticed the commotion were now gazing at her warily, some quietly speaking to each other as they cautiously trotted by, prompting Astrid to retreat back into the alleyway before they started calling for animal control or something.
“What was that all about?” she asked herself once she was safely out of sight. She glanced down at herself, admitting that while she was odd looking she was not exactly what one would define as threatening. Yet somehow, she had frightened both of those ponies into running away from her like the devil was on their tail. She realized that they had only done so after she had removed the tarp from her head, making her wonder if there was something about her face that frightened them. She did not have a mirror or any sort of reflective surface on hand, so at the moment it was only a thought. Even so, it was enough to convince Astrid to keep herself concealed for the foreseeable future.
It did nothing to help her solve the growing issue of her hunger however, as another growl from her stomach reminded her why she had shown herself in the first place. She pondered begging again, but if the reactions she had garnered thus far were anything to go by, then it seemed that there was only one other way for Astrid to put food in her belly. She found the idea distasteful, but certainly less so than the prospect of starving to death.
Poking her head around the corner again, Astrid looked in the direction the two ponies had come from. All the food they had in their saddlebags came from somewhere, and her hunger drove her to creep out of her hiding place and find exactly where all that food was coming from.
The deeper she ventured into the city, the more that Astrid noticed how much more densely populated it had become. However, instead of making it so that she was noticed by everything, the crowd helped to hide her from view, resulting in less of the ponies paying her any more attention than a curious glance before trotting away. At first Astrid was worried about staying hidden, but at least this way she was not as likely to be singled out. Still, she made sure to keep as much distance as she could and to stay as close to walls as possible to avoid too much scrutiny. Along the way, she could not help but take notice of the markings that adorned their flanks. They seemed to not carry much meaning, depicting anything from a paintbrush to a trio of flowers. Unsure what to make of the observation, Astrid chose to pay it no mind, focusing instead on her current objective.
At least with the sun going down, her eyes did not feel the sting of its light as badly. She could actually see somewhat clearly, which was a welcome change.
Eventually Astrid found herself in a large open plaza that was dominated by an intricately designed fountain that depicted a great many ponies of all types, and at the very top was a spherical carving that reminded her very much of the sun with a single tall mare, possessing both horn and wings, holding it aloft with her feathery limbs. All around the fountain were huge crowds of ponies, and it did not take Astrid long to determine why they were all gathered here as she spotted multiple stands and booths selling various types of food items. Circling the fountain and spreading outward in a starburst pattern each stall and booth held on their racks and shelves every kind of morsel imaginable; fruits, vegetables, blocks of cheese the size of her head, fancy looking loaves of bread of all kinds, and in that moment it looked like heaven in Astrid’s eyes. Among their number there were a plethora of other tents and small shops that sold other types of trinkets and items other than food, but those were not important to her. Her attention was focused entirely on the ones with food, and she had to close her mouth to keep herself from salivating as the enticing aromas of various flavors and spices tickled her nose, promising her a full belly.
All she had to do was get it, which was where complications reared their ugly head. Glancing around, it seemed that ponies were beginning to finish up their shopping as they trotted away from the stands and carts to their homes. A few of the vendors had already closed up shop for the day as the sun continued to sink lower in the sky, disappearing behind the tall alabaster buildings. Astrid pondered waiting until they were all done to make her move, but her starvation was too much to for her to bear as it drove her to take the risk and walk forward into the crowd, wondering and hoping that any ponies that noticed her would mistake her for a foal at first glance.
Making her way forward, the smell of food only became stronger, and it was all Astrid could do to keep herself from just running up and grabbing whatever she could get her arms around and running away. That was the fastest way to get herself caught, and that was something Astrid wanting to avoid at all costs.
Resisting the urgings of her stomach, at least momentarily, Astrid cautiously made her way to the nearest food cart laden with mounds of apples. As enticing as it initially was, Astrid wanted something a bit more than standard fruits and vegetables. She wanted something filling, preferably cooked beforehand, perhaps even with a bit of light seasoning to provide it that little bit of extra flavor she craved. Deducing from the smells wafting her way that such treats would be closer to the center of the gathering, Astrid glanced around to ensure no one was currently watching before diving underneath the cart, hiding behind the wheels and crawling her way forward. Rolling from cart to booth to stand Astrid made her way forward in this manner, until she finally made it to one that seemed promising, a simple push cart that held a collection of delicately prepared sandwiches and wraps. Even better, it seemed to be momentarily unattended as its owner, a thin looking stallion in a striped uniform, was busy conversing with a mare. He seemed to be flirting with the mare, judging by the way she was giggling and covering her mouth with a free hoof. Whatever he was saying to her, she seemed quite flattered, which was just fine with Astrid as it provided the distraction she needed. Sidling up so that her back was against the cart, Astrid double checked her surroundings one last time, then snapped up as many sandwiches as she could get her hands around before dashing away to hide beneath a table, concealed by the cloth draped across it.
Stopping only to make sure that she had not been caught, Astrid opened her mouth to cram as much of her prize as possible in.
A moment later, she realized that something did not feel quite right, and she stopped chewing to lift up the bread on one of the sandwiches. In it, she founds bits of dandelions and pieces of straw. Aside from that, there was not much else other than a soggy tomato and the bread itself, and Astrid spat the bits of plant matter out of her mouth in disgust.
“They’re horses, of course they would eat weeds and such,” she muttered angrily, picking out whatever inedible bits she could, leaving only a few mouthfuls of bread and tomatoes; hardly enough to offer any lasting sustenance. She needed more, and now that she had already pilfered some food it was much more likely for her to get caught if she tried to have a second go. A brief look back at the cart confirmed this as the stallion had returned to his station, appearing quite flummoxed at what happened to his beloved sandwiches.
Making her getaway before he could start looking for the culprit, Astrid snuck her way further into the throng, hoping to uncover something she could actually stomach. Letting her nose guide her, Astrid soon came across what appeared to be a burrito stand, with its racks filled to the brim with all sorts of wraps, chimichangas and the like. It also seemed to be pretty popular at the moment as well, as a long line of ponies had gathered before it, eagerly awaiting their turn to be served as the vendor worked frantically to meet the demands of his customers.
As risky as it obviously was to even try and have a go at obtaining some for herself, Astrid was unable to quell her temptation as she stealthily made her way to the stand, already puzzling out how she was going obtain the morsels. Maybe there was a back door or something she could use. Just when she was few yards away from her target she felt something tug on her tarp.
“’Scuse me little filly, are you lost?” a voice questioned as its owner pulled her around to face a pink coated mare with a downy mane. Immediately Astrid’s heart leapt to her as she made eye contact with the mare, fearing being taken away. However, the moment their eyes met the mare seemed to flinch in alarm, and she immediately retracted her hoof away from Astrid before swiftly trotting away.
Afraid of what might happen if the mare returned, Astrid forgot about the food as she ran off, shouldering her way through the crowd, having lost her sense of direction as she searched desperately for an escape. Just then the blast of multiple trumpets echoed throughout the plaza, drowning out everything as Astrid covered her ears, deafened by the cacophony.
“Hear ye, hear ye! Come everypony, and see the most amazing performance of your lives!” a voice shouted, amplified by some strange power that somehow made it seem even louder than the trumpets as everyone’s attention, including Astrid’s, was drawn to the center of the plaza where, parked right in front of the fountain, was a large carriage that Astrid could have sworn had not been there before. The carriage was heavily decorated with stars and banners depicting a wand with a star at its tip. Curiosity taking hold, many ponies began to steadily make their way over, gathering around the carriage. Try as she might to make her getaway, Astrid was helpless to much as she was swept up in the crowd, unable to shoulder her ways past due to her small stature, and she did not fancy getting trampled underhoof. Keeping a lookout for any possible route she could take, Astrid caught brief glimpses as the side of the wagon rapidly unfolded into a medium sized stage as a flurry of cheap firework buzzed overhead.
The voice rang out again. “Yes! That’s it! Come closer dear viewers, and prepare yourselves to be amazed by none other than . . .” The speaker paused for dramatic effect as clouds of white smoke billowed around the stage, and within moments a flash pink light burst forth as a bright blue unicorn dressed in a purple cape and hat appeared. “The Great and Powerful Trixie!” the unicorn shouted as more fireworks flew, adding a dramatic effect to her words.
The response provided did not at all match up to the introduction, as only a few ponies stamped their hooves on the pavement, and even then, it seemed to be more out of pity than actual excitement for the oncoming performance. Clearly disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm, Trixie cleared her throat as she proceeded to straighten her cape and hat.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie sees that she must convince you to be impressed. Well, have no fear my dear audience, for Trixie shall bestow upon you the greatest performance you have seen and regale you with feats of magic so magnificent that you won’t believe your eyes! Behold!”
With a flourish of her cape, Trixie disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear once more atop the top of the stage with a freshly conjured set of bronze rings. Floating through the air in an aura of pink, Trixie proceeded to do a dive, her cape taking the form of large wings as she soared through the rings as they rearranged themselves in all sorts of odd formations for her to navigate through as she dove and ascended and corkscrewed at high speed. Even as she did this, the rings themselves flashed with a multitude of colors, leaving a mesmerizing effect in the air as they twirled. While most of the crowd seemed to be only mildly impressed by the display, Astrid personally was quite enamored with it, almost forgetting her current predicament. As curious as she was to stick around and watch the rest of the performance, she had to leave as soon as possible before that mare returned. Seeing a gap in the crowd, she quickly rushed over, earning a few curious glances her way. When she had extricated herself from the main body of the gathering, she spotted the street she had come down and started to make a beeline for it.
She was stopped in her tracks when she noticed the small food cart filled to the brim with exotic looking breads, seemingly free of any flowers or grass. After quickly checking to make sure no one was paying attention to her, she seized her opportunity and grabbed as many loaves as she could get her arms around while the ponies were mostly distracted. Just as she was about to finally get away with her prize, she was stopped in her tracks when the thing she feared most occurred as the mare from before came into view just a few yards in front of her, with a stocky looking Pegasus stallion dressed in golden armor trailing behind.
“Oh no,” Astrid muttered in a terrified breath. Before she could do anything the mare spotted her and pointed her out to the armored stallion. Due to the commotion of the crowd Astrid was unable to hear what was said, but she could hazard a guess as the stallion narrowed his eyes at her; she imagined she must not have looked that good at that moment, especially considering she was carrying an arm full of unpaid for bread loaves. Shouldering his way through the mass of ponies between them he steadily began to march toward Astrid. Refusing to let herself be caught, Astrid proceeded to dash back into the crowd toward Trixie’s performance, hoping the commotion would be enough to allow her to escape. Her heart sank when she glanced behind, only to find that the armored stallion had taken flight, allowing him an advantage to spot her from on high.
She had to hide! She had to hide, to get away. Fear of capture permeated her mind, fear of torture, of imprisonment for the crime of being different. So profound was her terror of being caught that Astrid actually let go of the food in her arms as she dove low to the ground, crawling on her hands and knees toward the fountain, where she hoped she could avoid the armored stallions searching gaze.
She stopped when she bumped into the stone walls of the fountain. Frantically she looked to her left and right for an alternative route. She then noticed Trixie’s carriage, the back door left open. Seeing no other option of hiding herself, Astrid hurried over, careful to avoid being spotted by the stallion as she clambered inside, huddling close to whatever she could find. After a few moments of trying to calm her racing heart she risked a cautious glance outside. As far as she could tell, no one had seen her sneak in, but she was too afraid to do anything but stay there. She hoped that after a while her pursuer would give up the chase, allowing her to escape. She could still see him flying above, still searching for her. She noticed that he was no longer alone either as two more pegasi, also dressed in golden armor, had now joined him in his search.
“Great. Just what I needed right now,” Astrid muttered, her sarcasm tempered by her racing thoughts and heart. She slumped to the wooden floor of the carriage, feeling as though she were about to vomit from the amount of anxiety she was experiencing, so much so she had to keep her mouth firmly closed to avoid losing what little food she had in her stomach.
Outside, the crowd seemed to be growing more excited by the performance, assorted oohs and ahs being heard as Trixie’s show went on. In the back of her mind, Astrid wondered what other sort of acts the mare was performing, but her curiosity was overridden, smothered by the fear of what may happen if she were discovered. Every time she thought about it, the memory of those two ponies initially confusing her for some sort of animal made its way to front of her mind, as well as their reactions when they saw her without her hood.
The thought rekindled her desire to find out what she really looked like, wondering if there really was something about her appearance that frightened the ponies so much.
As it just so happened, in the corner of her eye Astrid saw a small vanity mirror set next to a messy cot, both of which were surrounded by mounds of papers as well as a plethora of items and supplies dedicated to the sole purpose of keeping up one's appearance. It was also laced with multiple pictures and photographs of Trixie in various poses, all signed with what Astrid assumed to be her name in graceful caricature.
Astrid picked herself up with a weary grunt. Even as she ambled towards the mirror, she was uncertain if she really wanted to know the truth behind what made her so unseemly to the ponies; shaking off her trepidation, she clambered up onto the stool, having to almost climb on top off of the desk just to get a good look at herself. In the process she accidentally knocked over a stack of papers, revealing them to be what passed for parking tickets in this world with bold red lettering stamped onto them. Astrid reminded herself to pick it up later, when the coast was clear and she could safely leave.
Standing on the stool, Astrid peered over the edge of the desk into the reflective surface of the mirror. As she suspected, much about her had changed in ways that almost rendered unrecognizable as anything human, transforming her into some sort of imp-like creature. The basic features were still there; she had a nose, mouth, ears, but they were all so distorted, looking either too large or too small for her compact form. She would not go so far as to call herself ugly. If anything, Astrid could almost say that she looked cute in weird way, as unsettling as it was to look at her reflection and not see her own face. That would take some getting used to.
Her eyes, however. . .
Large, almond shaped orbs that glinted like infected jewels in the dim light of the carriage.
And red.
Red like the deepest shade of blood, ringed by sclera tinted a sickly shade of yellow, reflecting the light in way that made it seem like something were writhing just beneath their surface with every minute movement she made. Staring at herself like this, her mouth opened slightly in shock.
Tentatively, she lifted her hand to her chest, gripping her necklace for comfort as she took in her appearance, understanding now why every one of those ponies that had seen her had been so unsettled. What else but ill intent could come from a creature bearing eyes such as these?
Without thinking, Astrid reached her hand up to touch the mirrors surface, her pointed fingers brushing against the eyes of her reflection, feeling herself drawn to them like a moth would to a flame, only to be burned alive by the crimson orbs staring back at her.
Astrid tore her gaze away, clenching her eyes as she took a step backwards to put as much distance between herself and the thing in the mirror as possible. Instantly she became aware of her mistake as she fell backward off the stool; she could do nothing to stop her fall as she impacted on the floor with a hard thud that sent a jolt of pain up through her body.
Dazed from the fall, Astrid rolled over onto her side.
They heard.
They had to have heard.
They were coming for her, she had to get away before they took her.
Astrid stood up, swaying a little as she staggered to where she had entered the carriage. She prepared herself to run, but was stopped when she saw a grim faced blue coated stallion in golden armor trot into view, looking for her.
Astrid halted immediately, fear overriding her every sense as she staggered backwards, farther into the shadows of the carriage, hoping desperately that she could hide before he turned his head and spotted her. Unable to think of anywhere else to go, she laid herself down and crawled underneath the cot.
To her dismay, the stallion seemed to have heard the ruckus she was making, his ears flicking in her direction. He glanced over just as Astrid pulled herself under the cot, feeling as though her heart were about to burst its way out of her chest, and she cupped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from making any noise at all. She began to cry when the stallion began to approach the carriage, whimpering softly with every step he took.
They were going to find her.
She was going to die.
“Excuse me, you dolt!”
Astrid was just as startled by the sudden outburst as the stallion apparently was, and she almost let out a yelp of fright. Somehow she managed to keep the hand over her mouth as another pony entered her field of view. Astrid instantly recognized her as the showmare Trixie, although she was not sure if that was better or worse at the moment.
“What do you think you are doing?!” Trixie demanded, appearing to be highly indignant as the stallion stammered out his own.
“Uh well, ahem, you see miss, we were called to investigate a disturbance of a sort, and we think it may have something to do with-“
“Do you think I care?!” Trixie interrupted, getting right up in the stallions’ face. “Honestly, this is why the Royal Guard is such a joke to most ponies nowadays. Do you really think you can just waltz into Trixie’s carriage, my carriage, just like that?”
Astrid watched, both anxiously and with a mild amount of interest, as Trixie berated the stallion while he struggled to come up with a response of any kind. “I don’t think you understand, miss-“
“Trixie!” she interjected. “Address me by name or don’t address me at all.”
Sighing deeply, the stallion continued as though he were already at the limits of his patience. “Miss Trixie, there is a matter of grave concern that has been brought to the attention of the Royal Guard regarding a possibly dangerous creature, and as such we are required to search every area of the premises until we locate the cause of the disturbance.”
Astrid hazarded a guess that he was referring to her and her encounter with that mare from earlier.
“Really?” said Trixie. “And tell me, does that require you to go snooping through other ponies’ things without so much as a warrant?”
“Well, no, but-“
“Then begone, before Trixie deigns to waste the rest of her day by pressing charges.”
Apparently unwilling to press the matter any further, the stallion rolled his eyes at Trixie before trotting away and out of sight. Huffing, Trixie followed suit, leaving Astrid the opportunity she had been waiting for. She waited a few seconds to ensure they were far enough away before she pulled herself from beneath the cot, carefully tiptoeing her way to the carriage door.
Just when she thought she was about to make her escape, Astrid’s ears twitched as the sound of hooves clicking on the pavement approached one more as Trixie returned. Eyes widening in shock, Astrid darted to the side, trying her best to press herself as flat against the wall as possible.
She heard from Trixie as the mare muttered, “I’d better make sure that dolt didn’t mess with anything.” A second later Astrid watched apprehensively as Trixie hopped inside, her hooves producing dull clicks on the wood flooring that made Astrid flinch with every step. Her heart hammering away in her chest, Astrid struggled to keep calm as Trixie moved closer to where she was hiding. She was not as afraid of being harmed by her as she was by what she had referred to as the Royal Guard, but there still no telling what her reaction might be upon discovering an intruder.
Trixie’s horn glowed a shade of bright pink, and a similar aura enveloped that papers that Astrid had unintentionally knocked over, and in moments they floated back up onto the vanity in neat little pile.
“Good thing he didn’t see these,” she mumbled under her breath. Meanwhile, Astrid did her level best to keep as still and silent as she could as she slowly inched toward carriage door, hoping to slink off before Trixie inevitably found her.
Just then, Trixie’s horn lit up a second time, and a brief moment later a small lantern hanging from the roof came alight, bathing the interior in a warm glow that caused Astrid to flinch in mild annoyance.
She froze. Trixie’s eyes were now squarely on her, and Astrid could do nothing but stand there in stupefied horror, knowing that she had been caught.
But then Trixie did something completely unexpected.
The mare trotted past her towards the vanity, seemingly having not seen Astrid at all despite the girl being in clear view. Was she blind or something like that? Clearly not, as Trixie proceeded to become distracted by her reflection in the vanity mirror, apparently finding it quite attractive all of a sudden. Astrid did not believe she was hiding that well either, considering all she was doing at the moment was pressing herself against the wall.
Completely flummoxed by the fact that she was somehow hiding in plain sight, Astrid glanced down at herself.
Everything seemed to be normal. Everything except one small detail that she initially did not notice until it smacked her in the face like a brick.
Her body was gone. Just up and disappeared. All she could see beneath her was wood flooring where her feet should have been. “What the hell?!” She exclaimed alarmedly, before immediately realizing her mistake as Trixie snapped her head in Astrid’s direction.
“Who’s there?!” Trixie demanded. “Show yourself, or else!”
Astrid was very much tempted to do just that by making a run for it. She forced her quivering limbs to remain in place however, refusing to move so much as an inch. The temptation and fear only grew stronger as Trixie approached, her pink eyes narrowed in search of the disturbance. Astrid’s heart skipped a beat when her hoof landed right where she was standing, and for a moment it seemed that the blue mare was staring directly into her eyes.
Just as Astrid’s nerve was about to break, Trixie made a soft “Hmm”, her browed set in a deep furrow as she looked left and right, before hurrying outside of the carriage. “I swear, if you hooligans are vandalizing my carriage again, I’ll tan your hides! Show yourselves, unless you fear the wrath of the great and powerful Trixie!”
Astrid, still reeling from just happened, tried in vain to process. . . well, everything. Again, she looked down at where her body should have been. She moved her arms, attempting to locate her missing torso. She felt her limbs sway, as though she were moving through water, and she took a small step forward. She saw her right foot fade into view a moment later, along with the rest of her body, as she moved to stand directly beneath the lamp. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief at knowing that she had not disintegrated into nothingness, but was still left very much perturbed by what had just occurred, and she glanced behind her in the hoping of finding some sort of clue to her dilemma.
All she saw was a little bit of area where the lamplight did not quite reach, creating a little bit of a shadow on the wall.
Soon enough a dawning realization descended upon Astrid, leaving her with no other choice but to accept the facts as they were presented to her.
Somehow, someway, she had hidden herself in a shadow. Whether or not she wanted to be excited or concerned about that remained to be seen, as Astrid chose to force the issue out of her mind for the time being. She could always deal with it later, but right now she had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Poking her head out of the carriage, the little girl turned imp checked to make sure that neither Trixie or any Royal Guard ponies were watching before hopping out onto the pavement with a soft grunt, and made a run for the nearest alleyway she could find as a single thought pervaded every facet of her mind, gradually filling it with dread.
What was happening to her?!
The forest was deathly quiet. For miles around, not a single living thing could be heard, all of them having long since fled the scene for fear of their lives. They had sensed the danger, the darkness that was coming. Everything, from the most frail of birds to the mightiest manticore had left in a feverish attempt to escape the shadow that had begun to take hold of the land. Though they did not know the exact nature of it, they knew it was something to be feared, so they fled.
In the center of it all, four out of place objects lay on the ground, abandoned and forgotten by their master.
They spoke to each other with one voice, in words only they knew. There was anger in their voices. Anger and fear and pain. Their goal was clear to them. They needed to get back, but to do that, they needed tools.
But how?
Everything that could be of use had left them. They were alone, left to continue rotting in their unnatural darkness.
With nothing else left to do, they waited. And they would do so for another eternity if they had to.
As always, they would wait.
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
1,017 users online
1,438,951 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I haven't played twilight princess can she turn invisible or is that unique to this story
9423289
quite sure that Midna could fade into the shadows not invisibility
9423289
She's turning into a shadow.
9423289
As a being of shadows, Midna can become one and hide in other shadows. She mostly stays in Link's shadow, but I'm pretty sure nothing actually stops her from using other shadows, and it looks like that's the interpretation the author's going by.
9423325
9423316
9423315
Thanks
So the enemy of the story is the Fused Shadow ?
Do you have another word for the tarp thing or another description that would help me to image how she wears it? I'm imaging her wearing something like a blanket on her head or completely over her whole body.
Oh yes Trixie, the next best thing you could have chosen, now I just hope you even write her good.
NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I thought you would made her live with Trixie, I hope she finds a home as soon as she has the minnimum of her powers. This is probably one of the only stories at the moment that I like to see being updated.
Okay sometimes I still need to read a few lines to remember why I liked it so much but this story starts to look better than before even if I quite liked her time at their home.
It had it's flaws yes but I liked the friendship that started there.
Now however I think I like the fact that while she might be acting shy and scared I like it that she is not going to appear useless or defensless towards whoever is going to find her in the end.
Well normally I don't like the to mysterious parts in the end that forshadow something, mostly because of bad examples, but it sounded as if it would be her mask parts. It also looked okay.
Twilight princess is probably one of my favourite Zelda games that I even attempted to achive 100% in. After it froze when I did some sort of Snowboard clitch or whatever it was, I only tried to finish the boss leaving me with 98% or something like that.
9423427
I tried to google it, do you guys mean with fused Shadow Midnas transformation?
Does that mean she somehow fights herself? I don't remember the details about her and her crown.
Assuming you mean cursive here. Graceful caricature is something completely different.
9423427
They kinda were the bosses in the first half of the game
9423315
Pretty sure during daylight hours in the game, she was partially invisible while in a shadow form
Thank you for not making Trixie her caretaker...
It's always a delight to see Trixie in someone fic.
Astrid has yet another witness one of her Twili powers : the shadow merge.
And it's been a while since I'd played Twilight Princess, but I recall that when we call Midna during day time, the clear parts of her body would vanish and the darker part will become transparent, not sure anymore for her eyes and hair.
So when she remove the tarp to reveal her face to those two ponies, did they saw what would look like as he ghostly appearance or was still solid and really was her eyes who frighten them ?
I also like the fact you describe Astrid recognizing her new figure as cute, cause once past her brash attitude in the game, Midna sure is cute and adorable.
Mistakes found :
those
as she slowly inched toward the carriage door,
9423515
No, all of those bosses were creatures that got corrupted after touching a fused shadow.
Hay, now! Dandelions are only a weed to Lawn People. They're also on salad bars all over the world. ...Yes, usually just the leaves, but the flowers are just as edible.
9423709
They can corrupt the heart of whatever living thing they touch with the darkness inside its heart and cause them to manifest it on the outside. The fic gives the fused shadows a consciousness but the bosses you fought who could talk in the game always apologized afterwards for not being able to control their own actions due to not being in their right minds.
9424091
I actually read somewhere that dandelions are actually considered toxic to a human stomach
9423427
The possibility exists that they just want to get back to her
9424165
You must have been reading about something else. Dandelions and Catsears (the taller version of dandelions with fuzzy leaves) are edible. Go to a restaurant with a salad bar you'll probably see dandelion greens on offer.
9424712
I just looked it up.
Eating them in moderation won't hurt you too bad but eating them on a regular basis can actually cause serious health problems. (the case with most weaker poisons)
I am a simple man. I see a well-written Midna fic, I click.
Definitely a much more focused story this go around. The last wrote was good, but it didn’t feel like you were quite sure what you wanted to do with it. This time, I can feel you definitely know what you want from this story.
The only Zelda games I have played are Ocarina of time, and Breath of the wild, I know Astrid has turned into Midna, but that’s all I know.
9538721
How is Breathe of the Wild?
9721356
Boring I don't have the patience to enjoy it but others say it is quite good.