Night Reigns Book 2: Expedition Harmony

by tursi

Chapter 2

“What do you MEAN you SOLD IT?!”

Sunset leaned across the desk towards the pawn shop proprietor, an older earth pony with a medium build and green fur. Despite his age, he looked like he could still deal with unruly tourists and it was clear that he was currently deciding whether Sunset qualified.

"I told ya it's gone. I got lotsa other gems you can look at."

"No, it has to be THAT one!" cried Sunset. "It was here just a few moons ago, I know it was!"

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes. "Yeah. The stupid thing was here for ages. I paid way too much for it. Got convinced it was magic and… wait… you look familiar…?"

Sunset turned to Sterling. "Help me?" she whispered, desperate.

Sterling stepped forward, causing the shopkeeper to cast a nervous glance at the royal barding. "Can you help us at all, sir?" asked Sterling.

"Look," replied the shopkeeper. "I dunno what the deal with this stone is, but I don't got it no more either way. It sold just a couple days ago."

"Days?!" exclaimed Sunset.

"Can you tell us anything about the pony who bought it?" asked Sterling, patiently ignoring Sunset's rising panic.

The shopkeeper snorted a bit, a wry grin on his face. "Yeah, she was real eager and real snooty too. She slammed the bits down on the counter and told me to give her the 'element' and don't ask any questions. I told her I didn't know what she was talking about, and she just pointed at the stone."

"So you just gave it to her?!" exclaimed Sunset.

"Look, miss, maybe you don't get how a pawn shop works? I buy things, and then later, I sell them. She put down enough bits, so yeah, I gave it to her and I took the bits. I was glad to be rid of it."

"Do you have any idea who she was, or where she went?" persisted Sterling.

The shopkeeper outright laughed. "Oh yeah… couldn't miss her. She left a stack of fliers right on my desk."

"Fliers?" asked Sterling and Sunset simultaneously.

"Oh, yeah," laughed the shopkeeper. "I just binned them. But, she also tacked one up on the bulletin board over there. You can take it if you want it. I don't think anypony cares."

Sunset and Sterling headed towards the door. On the wall next to it, a large bulletin board was posted. Next to the 'quick bits' signs and ads for free pets was a large, glossy print advertising an event just outside of the city. The face of a grinning azure unicorn with dark violet eyes gazed confidently back at them. Her mane was a pale cornflower blue with even more pale stripes, largely hidden underneath a huge wizard-style hat, dark blue adorned with white and yellow stars. Huge text blared her name: "The Great and Powerful Trixie".

The shopkeeper laughed as they looked at each other. "Yeah. Wait till you meet her in person. She's setting up just a couple miles up the road, if the flier is right. Probably the closest place she could afford. I doubt she gets a lot of tourist traffic out there, though."

---

It didn't take too long to trot out of town and reach the field promised by the flier to host "The greatest magical spectacular in all Equestria!" The field was just off to the side of the road and was rather barren. A small enclosed wooden wagon sat in the middle of the field, with room for about two dozen ponies to sit in front of it. A small trail of smoke came from the wagon's flue, suggesting that the occupant was inside.

Sunset climbed the short staircase that sat along one side, and knocked on the door. Using her magic, she held the poster up next to her, while Sterling stayed back on the road.

Inside was the sound of shuffling items, and then the door opened. Standing inside the wagon was the unicorn from the poster, though not currently wearing the large hat. Sunset caught a glimpse of her cutie mark and recognized it from the poster - a magic wand superimposed on a swish of magic. Behind her, Sunset noticed that the wagon was exceptionally cluttered. Trixie cocked an eyebrow quizzically at Sunset.

"Miss Trixie?" asked Sunset. "Can we talk to you for a moment?"

Trixie's eyes caught the poster, and her expression registered understanding all at once. "Trixie is VERY sorry," she began. "But Trixie is currently heating up her dinner oats, and has no time for fans right now. Come to the show tonight, and after the show Trixie will be happy to sign your poster. The show costs 10 bits."

The door closed, leaving Sunset standing helplessly on the step. "What do we do now?" Sunset asked Sterling.

Sterling grunted and stepped forward. "Let me try," he offered. Sunset stepped down and Sterling stepped up, hammering on the door authoritatively. "Miss Trixie, please open this door!"

The door opened again and Trixie appeared, looking somewhat irritated. She opened her mouth to speak, but as soon as she recognized the royal coat on Sterling's armor she only squeaked. She jumped back and the door slammed shut again.

Sterling hammered on the door again. "Miss Trixie!" he insisted. "We want to speak to you!"

"No!" squealed Trixie from inside the cabin. "Trixie isn't here! You have the wrong wagon! Go away!"

Sterling evaluated the door carefully. "I could just break it down," he offered.

"What?!" exclaimed Sunset. "No! Don't be ridiculous!"

"Trixie can hear you!" called the voice from inside the wagon.

Sterling ignored the voice. "Well, we need to determine whether she has the element or not, don't we?"

"Yes," conceded Sunset. "But we aren't here to steal it from her." She turned towards the door. "Trixie! Princess Celestia sent us. Did you purchase a gem from Try'n'Buy in Neighagra Falls a few days ago?"

It was quiet inside the wagon, and Sunset listened carefully for a moment before trying again.

"Trixie, listen to me. That gem is an Element of Harmony. We really need to know if you have it!"

There was a sudden flash and a puff of smoke behind them. As they spun around, Trixie was walking towards them. She was wearing her hat and a matching cape, and floating above her glowing horn was the gem that Sunset remembered from all those years ago. It was a blue, crystal shaped gem, longer than it was wide and cut with sharply pointed corners. It sparkled above her, rotating slowly.

"So! You come seeking The Great and Powerful Trixie's amazing Element of Magic?"

Sunset's jaw dropped. "You… you activated it!?"

Trixie smirked. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most stupendous unicorn in all Equestria! There is no magic that is beyond her! It is only natural that even Princess Celestia would come to Trixie for magical advice and knowledge! You… you did say you were here on behalf of the Princess?"

Sterling drew himself up into a more formal stance, and Sunset nodded to Trixie. "My name is Sunset Shimmer," she said, and then pointed to Sterling. "And that's Sterling Honor. We are recovering the Elements of Harmony."

Trixie smiled, looking rather triumphant. "Well, it's wonderful that you have confirmed Trixie's suspicions. Now that Trixie controls the Element of Magic, her power will expand exponentially!"

"Wait…" drawled Sunset, leaning in a bit. She studied the slowly rotating gem for a few moments. "That's not the Element of Magic…"

Trixie looked stunned for just a moment. "Wha… don't be ridiculous! Of course it is! Only Trixie would be able to control such power!"

"No," confirmed Sunset. "That's the Element of Laughter. I'm the one who… who sold it."

Trixie lost all pretense. "What?!"

Sunset stepped closer, turning her head to study the gem as it floated above Trixie's horn. "Still, I can't believe that you activated it. I tried for so long! How did you do it?!"

Sterling stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Regardless," he stated, "we have to confiscate it. It is the property of the Crown."

Trixie took a fast step back. The gem stopped glowing and spinning, and immediately darted back, closer to Trixie and nearly under her cape. "Oooooh! NO you don't! Trixie paid good money for this, and now that you have confirmed that it IS an element, Trixie is NOT letting you take it! Trixie never got any compensation for the Alicorn Amulet, but that was under Night. We were promised our freedoms back! You don't get to just take Trixie's magic away again!"

"YOU had the Alicorn Amulet!?" exclaimed Sunset.

Trixie stuck her nose up into the air. "Of course! Trixie worked many hard hours to earn that artifact, and the Night Guard just took it away! Well, Trixie worked just as many hours for this Element, and she's going to use it to PROVE she is the greatest unicorn in all Equestria!"

Sterling actually growled. "That amulet caused a LOT of trouble…"

"THAT is not Trixie's concern," snorted Trixie. "If you guardsponies had let Trixie keep it, then whatever that trouble was wouldn't have happened. As far as Trixie is concerned, she is still owed compensation."

"All right, all right, settle down," calmed Sunset. "Look, what's done is done. I'm sorry about your work, Trixie, but we are prepared to compensate you for the element. The Crown will cover any costs you incurred. We'll cover the Alicorn Amulet, too, if you'll just help us out here."

"Celestia didn't say anything abo…" started Sterling, but Sunset cut him off with a quick shh!

Trixie frowned, clearly unhappy, but for the moment she didn't speak.

"Trixie, the Elements of Harmony are important to Equestria. We need to gather them back together."

"Trixie will need compensation for the cost of the element," she began. "And the cost of the Alicorn Amulet. And for the lost revenue for the shows she can not perform while she is escorting you back to Canterlot."

"What?!" exclaimed Sunset.

Trixie raised her head and looked at Sunset, her eyes narrowed. "Trixie will hand over the element only to Princess Celestia herself. Trixie has sworn no oath to any other. If Princess Celestia asks for the element then yes, Trixie will hand it over. Until then, Trixie will hold the element and no other will."

Sterling just rolled his eyes and looked at Sunset for instruction. Sunset paused for a moment, looking down the road back towards Canterlot. Then she turned back and nodded to Trixie. "Agreed."

Trixie's mood brightened immediately. "Wonderful! Trixie was brewing tea, she will bring some out for you. Then she needs to prepare for her show tonight, which you will of course stay and watch. After the show, Trixie will loan you some sleeping bags to sleep by the wagon, and we will leave in the morning." She hesitated. "Trixie would offer to let you stay in the wagon, but there is really no room at all."

Sunset started to interject, but Sterling cut her off. "That will be fine, Miss Trixie. Thank you very much."

---

The show itself began at dusk. It started with the wagon literally unfolding to present a stage with pinwheels, sparklers, and other flame emitters. Trixie appeared on stage and proceeded to boast about her abilities to the dozen ponies who showed up for the next forty-five minutes, interjected with plenty of lights, sounds, smoke and explosions. For all that Trixie bragged, Sunset was surprised to see no magic that she herself could not have easily performed. Even the grand reveal of the Element of "Magic", as Trixie still called it, consisted of letting it spin and sparkle above Trixie's horn while more explosions went off all around her.

The one exception was the fireworks at the end. While Sunset could have produced the magic that created them - arguably even Sterling could have - Trixie's mastery of this one form of magic was evident. They were breathtakingly beautiful and creative - and generated genuine applause from the small audience that attended.

After autographs had been signed and the small crowd had dispersed, Trixie came back out with two small sleeping bags. Sunset received them while Sterling worked on starting a fire.

"That was a really lovely show, Trixie," offered Sunset. "Especially the fireworks!"

Trixie smiled. Some of her bravado was tempered after the effort of her show. "Yes, Trixie's specialty. Trixie always tries to leave her audience wanting more."

Sunset hesitated a bit. "I… notice you didn't really use the element much?"

"Well, yes!" Trixie retorted. "Trixie… doesn't want to overdo it, or frighten her audience! Why, if the true depths of her power were known…"

Sunset frowned a bit, but persisted. "How… how did you activate it, anyway? I tried for years. It never responded to me, not even a little bit!"

Trixie smirked. "Trixie is just that amazing!" she retorted. She paused for a moment, and then added. "Element of Laughter, huh?"

Sunset nodded. "I'm certain of it."

Trixie snorted. "Well, Princess Celestia is welcome to have it back then. That's clearly the wrong element for Trixie to control anyway! After she pays Trixie's expenses for recovering it, of course."

Trixie went back into her wagon and closed the door. Sunset thought she heard an additional bolt being drawn, and smirked as she carried the sleeping bags nearer the fire.

"Here you go," she offered to Sterling, and then stretched out her own sleeping bag. "Tell me why we aren't sleeping back in the city in a nice hotel?"

Sterling chuckled as he caught the sleeping bag in his own magic, stretching it out. "Come on," he teased. "It's a nice night, and we can enjoy Luna's moon. Besides, if we went back to the city, we could come back in the morning and find the wagon gone. Then it's another day of finding her new location, another night of waiting, and probably another day's worth of 'compensation'."

"Trixie can hear you!" shouted a muffled voice from inside the wagon.

Sunset grinned softly. "Well, all right. That makes sense." Then she gasped.

"What is it?" asked Sterling, lowering his armor to the ground next to his bed.

"I've never seen you without your armor before," teased Sunset. "Your cutie mark is a… I'm not sure what that is. Five colored circles connected to a hub? It almost looks like the way the Elements of Harmony used to be displayed."

Sterling chuckled softly. "Oh, that. Not quite… I got it when I felt my connection to Equestria and realized I would stand with her forever. Loyalty, strength, leadership, dedication and magic, all coming back to the central point which represents Equestria herself."

Sunset made an impressed sound. "You know it so well… it makes my sun seem so very simple."

"Nonsense," chided Sterling. He climbed into his sleeping bag. "Now tell me why she's coming back to Canterlot with us?"

Sunset hummed. "Well… I think her concerns are valid enough. I'm sure Princess Celestia will pay her back for the Alicorn Amulet too." She grinned. "And it's only for one day."

Comments

[redmar]

Since Trixie has activated the Element of Laughter Celestia will want her to travel with Sunset and Sterling to find the other 5 Elements and theri bearers.