• Published 3rd Feb 2012
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A Great and Powerful Heart - Deep Pond



Trixie is coerced into searching for a missing foal and finds out what kind of pony she is at heart.

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Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dusky Dale looked no more inviting in the light of early afternoon than it had that morning. Trixie stood at the top of the landslide where she had lost the trail that morning, regarding the valley soberly. The muddy area sloped down at an angle that looked uncomfortably steep, but not impassable. Below, the ground grew rocky for a space before disappearing under the dense trees.

Trixie guessed she could make the descent if she was careful – she was fairly agile, and years of pulling her wagon had kept her in good physical condition. She shuddered at the thought of muddying her polished blue hooves, or even the hem of her lavender cape, but mud washed off. Derpy can just fly over it, she thought with a touch of envy, turning to glance at the pegasus.

Derpy looked back at her, while simultaneously gazing out over the Dale. Trixie rolled her own eyes.

No sense in delaying it. Trixie had parked her wagon in a copse of trees a ways back, hoping to avoid any attention from the earth ponies of Promise. Her horn glowed sky-blue as she adjusted her hat and cape and brushed back her pale hair. She took a deep breath and started down the slope.

The going was treacherous, as the ground was a jumbled mix of mud and rock and gaping holes. Trixie gave careful attention to the placement of each hoof, trying to avoid the worst of the muck. Several yards down, a clatter of hooves drew her attention back up-slope: Derpy was following her on hoof. Why doesn't she just fly? Trixie wondered, then dismissed the question as unimportant. Who knew why Derpy did anything?

Step by careful step, the two mares made their way down the slide. Trixie's legs were soon muddy past the fetlocks, from splatters and from seemingly-solid ground that gave way like pudding under questing hooves. She was also forced to detour around a number of large holes, big enough for two or three ponies to walk down side-by-side, that angled back into the hillside. Derpy fared little better, though the gray pony seemed cheerfully unbothered by the mud.

Something about the holes made her very uneasy, but she couldn't quite place it. Not important, she told herself. Let's just get out of here. She turned back to urge Derpy to move faster.

Derpy had found one of the holes and was currently leaning out over it, her head poked into the opening. “Muffin!” she yelled as Trixie stared in disbelief.

“What are you doing?!” Trixie demanded in a cross between a whisper and a shout. Into her mind came the conviction, sudden and unquestionable that the holes were very dangerous. “You cross-eyed – stop that!”

Derpy ignored her. “Dinky! Are you in there! Come out, my little muffin!” she called.

Trixie took a step towards Derpy, who chose that moment to lift her head out of the hole and look down the slope at the unicorn. “I don't think she's in there,” Derpy said sadly.

The ground exploded.

Trixie was conscious of a huge, serpentine body, burgundy in color; a long-jawed mouth large enough to swallow her wagon and filled with sharp teeth; a yellow eye the size of her entire head. She was screaming, and Derpy was screaming, and somehow she found solid ground under her hooves and she was running as hard as she could.

Quarray eels. The name came into Trixie's mind, and suddenly she remembered hearing stories of the dreadful creatures. The ground rumbled under her hooves, and a geyser of dirt erupted from a hole not three yards away. She shied, dirt clods bouncing off her head and back, and spun wildly in place. Where was a safe path? Where was Derpy?

The gray pegasus rose into view, flying strongly, heading down the slope. Oh sure, now she decides to fly, Trixie thought irrationally.

A quarray eel burst out of a hole below Derpy, long jaws agape. Trixie felt her heart lurch, but Derpy tumbled sideways in a sort of combination of pirouette and controlled fall, and the snakelike monster's teeth slammed shut on air.

Trixie turned and sprinted down the slide, leaping recklessly over stones, plowing through mud without a care. She saw a hole ahead and to her left and veered right. She could see solid ground ahead – she was almost to safety –

The ground dissolved beneath her hooves as an eel appeared directly below her. Trixie's neigh was wild with terror as the fanged maw opened, one beady yellow eye fixed on her.

Hooves caught her around the midsection, and with a cry of “Derpy delivery!” Derpy Hooves lifted her clear off the ground. Still panicked, Trixie kicked madly in midair as the eel rose up beneath them. Again, Derpy spun-fell-tumbled to the side, the maneuver made even less graceful by Trixie's added weight.

Something slammed into the two mares, and Trixie went spinning, hitting a patch of soft earth with a thud. She heard Derpy's high-pitched scream and forced herself to her hooves, tossing back the hair that had fallen in her face. The eel had missed – almost. Its savage teeth had closed on Derpy's wing, and the pegasus was struggling helplessly as the monster slowly withdrew.

Trixie called up her magic with the speed of desperation, and a thin lightning bolt lanced down from the sky to strike the eel. The creature grunted but did not otherwise react; only its head remained above ground. Derpy kicked uselessly.

In a frenzy, Trixie slammed bolt after bolt into the eel, and by sheer luck, one struck the monster's yellow eye. The eel's jaws opened in a bellow of pain, and a blue glow appeared around Derpy as Trixie yanked her to safety. Without pause for conversation, the two mares galloped down the hillside, not pausing for breath until they were deep among the trees, and the ground was blessedly firm and unbroken beneath their hooves.


How did Trixie get into this mess again? Oh, right: it's all Sheriff Brass's fault.

The blue unicorn regarded herself sadly. Her legs were completely brown; her body was spattered with mud; her beautiful hat and cape were stained, and her pale mane and tail were tangled and filthy. She briefly tried to rearrange herself with magic, and finally settled for pushing her hair back over her head and pulling her hat down to hold it there.

Derpy, by contrast, seemed entirely unconcerned with her mud-covered state; she was walking in tight circles trying to examine her wing. The fact that neither eye was aimed at the injured appendage did not make it any easier.

Trixie stared at her in bewilderment for a moment. How has she managed to stay alive this long? she wondered. Trixie can just see her flying into a tree or something. And she's a mailmare? And has a little filly?

And she saved Trixie's life.

Trixie tossed he head. Well, Trixie saved her life, too. And besides, Trixie was only in danger because of her.

But she was injured saving you, a small voice at the back of her mind whispered. If she hadn't saved you, she would never have needed –

Trixie shook her head vigorously, banishing the thoughts. “Here,” she said loudly, advancing on Derpy, “let Trixie see that. The Great and Powerful Trixie is skilled at first aid as well as magic.” As gently as she could, she caught the injured wing with her magic and delicately spread the long primary feathers.

Blood caked the feathers, but after a careful examination, Trixie decided that the wing should heal. The eel's teeth had missed the delicate bones, and while it was clearly painful, Derpy was able to move and flex her wing when asked.

Derpy stood patiently through the process, not objecting even when Trixie cleaned the wound as best she could. She bound it with one of the brightly-colored scarves she kept concealed in her cape. As she tied off the last knot, Derpy said “Thank you.”

“Thank you for . . . saving Trixie,” Trixie said reluctantly.

“You're welcome!” Derpy said cheerfully. She blinked, one eye on Trixie, the other focused somewhere overhead. “Now what?”

“Now we find those foals,” Trixie replied grimly.


Trixie's headache was returning, adding to the general misery of her itchy, mud-streaked legs and tangled mane. She had used the finding-spell again, searching for foal-sized hoof-prints, but the fallen leaves and thick moss beneath the trees made this an exercise in frustration. Lacking any better ideas, the unicorn and the pegasus were simply wandering back and forth, scanning the area for any sign that the foals had been here.

Assuming they even made it here. If those eels –

No. Trixie is not even going to consider that. They're down here.

Somewhere.

Abruptly, Trixie caught sight of something that seemed out of place in the lowest branch of a nearby tree. She shut off her finding-spell, which she had only been maintaining out of stubborn habit, and moved closer. The object proved to be a hank of hair – blonde hair – snagged on a twig.

Brass had said that Jasper's hair was purple. Was Dinky blonde? Derpy was, after all. There can't be many creatures in Dusky Dale with long, blonde hair, can there?

“Derpy! Trixie has found something.”

Derpy trotted over and poked her nose into the twigs, squinting fiercely as she forced her eyes to focus. She gasped. “Dinky! It's my little muffin's hair!”

Trixie could not repress a fierce grin. They were on the trail again. Carefully grasping their hairs with her magic, she tugged experimentally. After a few moments she determined that they came loose easily when pulled in one direction, indicating that Dinky must have come from there. Therefore, the foals must have gone . . . that way. Northwest, as close as she could determine.

The two mares set off, traveling more quickly on the flat ground, senses alert for new dangers or more clues. As they walked, Trixie found herself pondering her unexpected companion.

She certainly is determined, she was forced to admit to herself. She acts so scatterbrained, but she's focused on Dinky. Nothing else matters: not the effort, not the mess, not even her injury.

In a strange way, Trixie found herself envying the pegasus her sense of purpose. What's it like? she wondered. To care so much for somepony else . . . Trixie had long ago learned that the only way to get anywhere in life was for Trixie to care about Trixie, first and foremost. Others called her egotistical; she preferred the term “confident.” Nopony was going to do it for her, so if Trixie wanted to be a success, she would have to make herself Great and Powerful.

It was a good life, if a lonely one.

Trixie shook her head in surprise. Where had that come from? Trixie isn't lonely, she told herself firmly. Trixie gets all the socialization she needs. More than most ponies, since Trixie sees dozens of towns all over Equestria!

And yet she couldn't help but wonder what it was like for Derpy, traveling with her foal.

Annoying, Trixie told herself firmly. Trixie likes her life just fine. Trixie is responsible for Trixie, and doesn't need any useless foals whining about food or playing stupid games.

A piercing howl cut through the forest, and both mares stopped dead in their tracks. Derpy looked in two directions at once, her crossed eyes wide, while Trixie spun around, horn aglow, scanning the forest behind them.

“What was that?”

“Trixie has heard that sound before,” Trixie said, a quaver in her voice. She swallowed hard. “Timber wolves.”

“Wimber tolves?” Derpy managed to look bewildered and frightened at once, an expression that struck Trixie as ridiculous.

“They're enormous wolf-creatures made of living wood,” the unicorn elaborated. “They only live in wildlands. They hunt in packs, and they're very dangerous.”

“We have to find Dinky!” Derpy's eyes were wild. “And Jasper!” Turning, she bolted through the woods.

“What are you – stop!” Trixie called uselessly. She made a grab for Derpy with her magic, but missed the other's long blonde tail. Muttering insults concerning walleyed pegasi, Trixie took off after her.

They galloped through the woods, leaping fallen logs and dodging low branches. The pegasus had a head start, but Trixie – despite her preference for the magical over the physical – was in good condition, and she slowly closed the gap. Concentrating, she reached out with her magic, intending to grab Derpy's tail and tie her to a tree by it if necessary.

Without warning Derpy came to a halt. Unprepared, Trixie crashed into her, and the two went tumbling in a tangle of blue and gray. They rolled down a gentle slope, acquiring several new bruises and some grass stains along the way, and finally came to a halt with Trixie on top.

Infuriated, Trixie glared down at the pegasus. “You walleyed menace!” she shouted. Derpy opened her mouth, but the blue glow of Trixie's magic forced it shut again. “Now, you listen to Trixie! If you do not stop running off in a panic and poking your head down strange holes, Trixie is going to tie your tail in knots!”

Trixie got to her hooves, still looming over the prone pegasus. “Do not panic! Do not scream! Do what Trixie says! The Great and Powerful Trixie is in charge here! Do you understand?

Crossed eyes wide, Derpy nodded. Trixie gave her a final glare and released her, snatching up her hat and setting it back on her head as she glanced around.

They were standing on the bank of a broad stream, almost a small river, which flowed along the valley floor from northwest to southeast. Its banks were gravelly, and its color, a deep, sparkling blue, hinted at great depth. Trixie regarded it morosely, less interested in its beauty than in the chance to wash the dried mud off her itchy legs.

She waded hock-deep into the water, using magic to splash her legs and rinse off the worst of the dirt. The water was shockingly cold, but it also refreshed her a bit. Once the mud had floated away downstream, Trixie lowered her head and took a long drink.

To her left, Derpy leaped into the river, splashing water everywhere. Trixie flinched from the icy spray, glaring at the oblivious pegasus who was marching in small circles in the shallows. Mud flaked off her gray coat. Trixie shook her head, then turned and trudged back to the bank, shaking water from her hooves. She was idly glad the banks were gravelly rather than muddy.

The river presented a new dilemma. If the foals had come this way – and, while she had no way of knowing that, she had to assume they had – they would have only three choices. The could travel upstream, downstream, or back into the woods. Trixie glared up and down the river, trying to decide which was most likely.

Think, Trixie! Assuming they're trying to get out of here . . . they were frightened by the eels, possibly heard the timber wolves . . . so they wouldn't go back that way. Derpy said Dinky was sensible, so Trixie will assume they didn't just run in circles in a panic. And the river is, at least, an unmistakable landmark.

Then again, horseflies are sensible compared to Derpy.

The land to either side of the river was relatively open, with only a few scattered trees; the woods did not start in earnest until several dozen yards back from the bank, affording Trixie a clear view. She started downstream, seeing the river wind away among trees. Upstream looked much the same, although she thought she could see the rocky slope of the dale in the distance.

Hmm . . . if Dinky has any flying ability at all, she might be able to get up that slope, Trixie pondered. Downstream just leads to more woods. Time to take a chance.

“Come on, Derpy. Trixie has decided we're going this way.” She was prepared to explain her reasoning, but the other mare trotted after her without a word of question or complaint.

They had been heading northeast along the riverbank for only a few minutes when Derpy made an incoherent sound and dashed ahead. Trixie followed, alert for any new danger, to find Derpy staring down at a patch of bare earth several yards away from the rocky riverbank.

There, pressed into the dirt, were four small hoof-prints

“She was here!” Derpy said, looking up at Trixie with tears standing in her amber eyes. “My little muffin! She knew we couldn't find any hoof-prints on the rocks, so she left these!”

Trixie squinted at the prints, two sets of two. They were definitely foal-sized, and subtly different in size and shape. Two foals had stood here, pressing their fore-hooves into the soil, making the prints as clear as they could.

Trixie's opinion of Dinky went up. She must have known Derpy would come after her. There's no other reason for them to do this, and no other reason for these prints to be here.

And this means Jasper is still with her, still alive and uninjured! Tension she hadn't realized she was carrying eased out of the blue mare, and she found herself smiling.

“Come on,” she said to Derpy, feeling friendlier towards the pegasus than she had since the moment of their first meeting. “We're going to find them.”