Chapter 6

Within the bandit's wagon

Another headache- those are getting common now. I roll over to my left side and rub my head. My eyelids slip open as I find my face near the curtain of the window. Judging from the amount of sunlight, it seems to be around late afternoon. I roll over further to find Trixie laying on the far side of the carriage. There are hanging weights, nets, and bags from the ceiling. Some strange contraptions are lined on the shelves- likely Indigo's. Overall, the inside of the carriage seemed to be rather absent in personal belongings. I gingerly raise my head and sit up. Taking a chance, I lift off of the windowsill and rise into the air.

I drift over to Trixie's side and poke her. She grunts but still remains unconscious. There goes that plan for the time being. It sounds like Indigo is whittling new spokes for the wheel outside. They must have not had a spare wheel either. Ha, they wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

Moving back to Trixie, I shake her violently. Her eyes open with a drunken speed as she raises her head.

"Have you come to... rescue the Great and Towerful Prixie?" She mumbles and slumps back again.

This was getting old. I lift her up and drop her with a quick burst of telekinesis. She blinks and looks around suddenly.

"What happened? Where am I? Wh-" I shove my hand over her muzzle to stop her panicking yelling. With the other, I gesture to the nets, then outside.

"Captured?" This pony certainly seemed smarter than the show portrayed her. The magician drops her voice to a whisper, "Do you have a plan?"

I begin to nod, then quickly shake my head. This elicits a huff from Trixie. "Do you know where we are?"

I nod and gesture to the window as the door slams open.

"Ha!" Indigo shouts, "Good luck escaping now!"

How had I not heard them approaching? I flail and the duo go sprawling with a green flash. Trixie jumps and deftly snags her belongings, bounding over the fallen ponies. I follow and kick some dirt up to cover our trail. In a few seconds, we had put a good distance between us and the carriage. Trixie slows to a brisk canter beside me and catches her breath. A quick look back shows me that they had followed us.

I nod to Trixie and we begin moving once more, aiming for the treeline a few hundred meters away. Trixie tosses two smoke bombs that mask our direction with a blue cloud. We slip behind some bushes and watch as the bandits run past, barreling into the forest. That was a quick escape and a close call. I signal after a quick check and we sneak out from behind the foliage, setting off at a sprint after reaching the road.

We traveled until nightfall, stopping to set up camp in the moonlight. Trixie produced a sleeping pad and a small lantern from her bags. It seemed the ground would be my bed tonight. The lantern was a crystal that produced an orange glow, bathing the area in warmth and light. I tried to ask Trixie how it worked, but gestures and a nonexistent understanding of magic (save for fantasy novels and tabletop) left both of us confused.

All I can do now is try to sleep. The air is not too terribly cold, just enough to make the warming crystal comforting. With Trixie on the only sleeping pad, I have to take the ground as my bedding for tonight. Figures.

We planned a route that would take us south to a small town. She said there was something she had to get there when I asked, nothing more. The town is near two days of travel away. As for the trip, it looks like I will be on the grass for the next two nights. Best to get used to it now.

Trixie was startled awake at midnight by a yell and a sharp headache. She sleepily stood and looked around to find the source. The warming crystal was depleted, glowing faintly. Despite the wish to climb back under the cover, the voice had sounded distinctly like a pony's. The magician's eyes land on the creature that had become her companion. Its lights at the end of each arm were flashing as it thrashed about in its sleep. Trixie takes a tentative step towards her companion. It had helped me. Without it, The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't have been Great and Powerful any more.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the creature was still again as dark laughter rang out through the night ambiance. Trixie whipped her head around to find the source. It sounded much like a mare- much like her own voice to be exact. The laughter then stopped as a quiet voice whispered through her mind.

I don't want to be alone...

The magician walked back to her bedding with a stiff-legged gait. This was a disturbing amount of new information, none of it making sense. A creature that could speak telepathically? Celestia knows how it could or where it had come from. The unicorn lay on her bed wondering what she had discovered, knowing sleep would be a long time coming.

Morning sunlight on my eyelids pulled me out of sleep. I roll over and stretch as I open my eyes. Last night's sleep had been surprisingly peaceful for sleeping on the ground. I look up to the sound of packing and see a bedraggled Trixie rolling up a sleeping mat. She looks at me and snorts. Floating over, I sign to ask how she had slept.

The magician answers with a grunt, "I did sleep until you woke me up around midnight. I could swear your yelling somehow got into my head." She turns away and grumbles, "This headache is as good evidence as any."

I blink. From what I could understand, I had talked to Trixie telepathically. Elgyem was never able to use that specific type of telepathy. Other types in some cases, but not speech. It could likely be a language-based way of thinking that influenced my methods.

An idea of how I could try to "talk" with Trixie strikes me. I signal for her to pause as I close my eyes. Even now, as my use of psychic power had become mostly habituated, I still understood how I could access it. I focus on the small area in the back of my mind. Letting the energy flow around me, I relax back into the flow with a feeling similar to sinking into a pool. Opening my eyes, I look over at Trixie and concentrate on her. I feel a thin strand of energy reach out and connect with her. Careful not to cause Trixie to faint, I concentrate on sending a single word to her.

Trixie?

She jumps and looks at me, "Was that you?"

I nod and focus on another message, Yes. My name is... I deliberate for a second, Will.

"Good to finally know what to call you. Do you know where you came from?"

I shake my head out of habit. This method of speech would take some getting used to.

Trixie nods as she finishes packing quickly. The magician starts walking towards the road. I follow as she pulls out a small breakfast. She tosses me a berry and munches on a flower. I eat for a short spell and then float in front of her to talk.

Just for understanding, do you know what season it is?

She chews for a while before answering around her flower, “It should be around late summer. There are a bit under three moons until the Running of Leaves. The Summer Sun Celebration was held a few weeks ago as well. With that, I think that nightmare night is coming in two moons.”

Thanks.

Most of that went over my head. I hope that I will be able to better understand the pony calendar with time. At least I know when I am. It would also be helpful to obtain a map of Equestria. The lodging will likely have some sort of map.

We go back to walking and I think of what it must be like back home. Did anyone notice my disappearance? My neighbors Leo and Luke come to mind. Leo and his buddies seemed almost inseparable. I had gotten to know Luke through running around the neighborhood. We had talked a little and I had helped him out with cleaning. Well, I have no clue how- or if I will ever be able to return home. If my understanding of the time is right, I feel like Ponyville may help me find a solution to this.

We stopped around noon the next day. Last night had been uneventful, with some back and forth conversation. Trixie had found a berry bush to restock as we stopped.

Do you have sufficient bits to purchase the wheel and lodging? I ask as she combs the small bush on the roadside.

"The wheel... Oh, there should be enough. Lodging should be cheap here too, we won't be staying long. I may need to perform to earn enough though."

Good, we should be arriving before nightfall then?

"Yes."

As Trixie had said, we arrived right before nightfall. The barkeep at the inn had said something about "rooming for summons" as Trixie asked for a room. I raised my arm to protest, but she ushered me upstairs and told me to find the room. She claimed the bed and lit some of the lamps in the room. I was stuck with a pillow near the window. The patter of rain was relaxing, and my eyelids begin to close.

Just as I feel sleep about to overtake me, a pain splits my head as images flash before my vision. Trixie corrupted by evil magics. Trixie arriving in Ponyville, and banishing Twilight soon after.

How could I have not realized that? Of course, this is the town where Trixie gets the Alicorn amulet! I twist over and see that she had left. I dart over to the window and look down into the streets. The curio shop we had passed on the way into town was where she must be headed. I throw open the window and glide down to the street. The streets seemed empty, everyone must have rushed indoors to escape the rain.

A splash and the pounding of hooves up ahead catches my attention and I follow the cloaked form. The faint ring of a doorbell through the wind shows me Trixie had found the shop. I float up to the faintly illuminated window and peer inside. Trixie shifts multiple items aside as the shop clerk approaches with a candle. He starts to say something, but Trixie insists on the amulet. The clerk tries to refuse as Trixie drops a sizable bag of bits on the counter.

I back away from the window and prepare to barge in the door. A red glow throws it open as a grinning Trixie emerges. I see the Alicorn amulet flash as she looks into my eyes.

"Hello Will."

Author's Notes:

Wow. This chapter almost was not published in time. If you have not read the blog post, a bug on my phone's browser deleted most of the chapter during an editing sweep. Repairing it was easy enough, but that set me back quite a bit.

Thank you for reading! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated- nobody (save for myself) reads these stories beforehand, so I want to know what the reader thinks!