The activity in the marketplace of Dragmire reached its peak by mid-day. Thousands of possible clients ran around the booths of the merchants. Old magical artefacts banned by the very goddesses of Equestria, rare gems of doubtful origins, or life itself - everything could be purchased with the right amount of bits, something a small blue unicorn with a whitish mane was trying to gain.

Trixie, the Great and Powerful, stood on her tiny wooden stage and cried out, “Come and see magic the likes of which you’ve never seen before! Gaze at the arcane arts of the inimitable," fireworks flew into the air, highlighting every boast, “talented Great and Powerful Trixie!” The lights transitioned into a massive finale and set the night sky on fire.

As they faded, the unicorn waited for the rapturous applause that she was more than certain would come, but all she got was the ever-constant mumbling. In front of her stage stood two gryphons, who eyed her sceptically. “Perhaps I can enlighten your simple minds?” She leaned downwards to them. “Or do you doubt my power?” The two exchanged a quick look and laughed.

“That’s not even real magic," one said and tapped his buddy’s shoulder with his claw. “I have seen diamond dogs create better lights with gems.” The other nodded his agreement.

Trixie's light-blue fur around her face grew red with anger, but she caught herself as she cleared her throat. “You think I am no mighty magician?” Their grins were a clear sign that they did, in fact, think so. “I say that I can do any and everything you can, just better. Come! Test my power.” She was sure of herself. They were gryphons, and just like pegasi, they were not able to cast magic. Actually, they were even less talented than pegasi since they could only move clouds but was unable to make them rain or use them to create lightning. She was more than confident that she could beat them in every discipline, any challenge their feeble minds could manage to dredge up.

The gryphons brought their heads together and began to confer amongst themselves. Filing her hooves, she patiently waited for them to come up with something. Finally, both grinned and went back to the stage. “Well then, let’s see you even try to do this, little pony,” said one while the other flapped into the air and made a loop. As he landed, he gave his buddy a high-five.

“Ha! That’s supposed to be a challenge?” Trixie asked tauntingly and smirked. Beating these two idiots would be easy. Both eyed her as she activated her horn, waiting for her to take off into the air.

Instead, the stunt pilot began to yell. “Hey! What are you doing?” His buddy, who just had a confident smirk all over his face, looked in astonishment to him as he noticed that he wasn’t there anymore. Instead, he hung in the air, held there by Trixie’s magic. “Let me down!” He struggled to move his limbs, but couldn’t fight off her magic. Trixie then proceeded to increase the magic, and her victim suddenly started moving. Slowly, he started spinning on the spot, and with a nod of her head, the gryphon followed her movement, spinning high up in the air while doing loop after loop.

She ignored his panicked screams since he had wings. The gryphon would catch himself before he’d hit the ground, whenever that may be. “That was clearly more than just a loop, and furthermore, he flew much further. The Great and Powerful Trixie wins this round," she declared triumphantly and let another firework off.

The remaining competitor was busy trying to comprehend what had happened as she celebrated. However, as gryphons were wont to do, he found his voice back quickly. “That was mean, and you cheated.”

The unicorn looked from her stage down at him so that her snout nearly made contact with his beak. “Were rules mentioned?” Again she reared up and set off fireworks. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is too great and powerful to play along with rules!” The young gryphon was visibly angry but seemed to have enough respect for her to hold back. She inwardly burst into joy when he turned around and ran off. “See the Great and Powerful Trixie who just defeated two gryphons on her own!” She looked at the surrounding crowd, but they were busy with other things. “Hey!” she yelled and tapped a dragon on his shoulder. “What’s going on here? Why does no one care for Trixie?”

But what she got was only him pointing at a being as tall as he. Never before had Trixie seen such creature. On its head rested a straw hat, the eyes covered by goggles like the kind pegasi often wore. It had no fur, only a brown mane which grew over his strangely round ears. It seemed strange to her that the ears were at the side of the head, not on top of it. Maybe it was a monster? The rest of the body was covered with cloth; the biggest part was an orange cape. In the one hand, it had a metal staff, and with the other, he shoved himself through the crowd. Since that thing gathered attention solely through its presence, she made a decision: she’d defeat it, no matter what.

Thiemo was sort of disappointed. After all the tales from the captain about the gigantic black market around which a city emerged that covered the whole island, he had imagined more. Yeah, the market was big, but definitely not as big as he expected in a magical world. He'd already seen similar markets from the camels and zebras, only that this was more colourful. Dragons, gryphons, jackals, and diamond dogs inhabited the place. Besides that, the offered goods were the only difference. The prices were more than reasonable, a clear indicator of stolen stuff. He had already bought a couple of things, a magical lamp among others. He had no fear of law enforcement. He had been told that this island belonged to dragons, and not even the godlike princesses of Equestria dared to order the dragons. They were simply happy when they stayed away from their kingdom.

So, all in all, he only had to care for himself. He was told to avoid dark alleys like all visitors. It was one of the two big rules here. The second one was just as logical. Don’t mess with dragons. Gryphons were violent, and their claws were so sharp that they could tear through light armor. Make that ten times larger, add the ability to breathe fire, and you would get a dragon. It was one hell of a reason to not start a fight. It was probably this fear which kept the place running. In a city full of criminals, order had to be maintained, and breaking the law was their profession. So why not just skip the trials and execute the judgment?

He again turned around one of the many corners in the city. Everyone who had wanted to settle here seemingly had just built where they felt like it, causing the city to resemble a labyrinth. 'The perfect place for someone without orientation,' the human thought to himself as he inspected the goods of one of the infinite amount of booths.

The whole thing reminded him of the Middle East. The houses were made from some kind of mud and clay and were supported by massive wooden frames. The booths in front of them were of the same material, just much slighter. A burning match could transform most of them into dust with ease. They all were roofed by a bright canvas, more to protect from the sun rather than rain. The only thing that wasn’t present was dust. The roads were tamped down, the stones looking close to a piece of art that way. All in all, he couldn’t have said what this city resembled if he hadn't been told. “How much for some sapphires?” he asked the diamond dog behind the goods he had just finished browsing. In his hand, he held three adequate stones he would turn into amulets later on as he was always low on them.

The old dog slowly opened his eyes, estimating the cost. “Four bits. Ten for all.” Thiemo nodded and handed over the money. The golden coins were bitten to prove its authenticity and disappeared under the table before the dog dozed away again. Happy with his purchase, Thiemo went his way, reaching a larger plaza eventually. The town consisted solely of large broad streets which led from one place to the next. On this one, some traveling artists had settled. Music reached his ear, and he saw audiences gathered around a couple of booths. It came like it always did. In a place where the visitors desired exotic entertainment, he was spotted within seconds by someone, who then continued to alarm his buddy. Like a wildfire, the news of his arrival had spread around, and soon he was the centre of attention.

“Uhm, excuse me.” He carefully started making his way through the gawking crowd. “Sorry.” In every city he had been to so far, it had become a familiar experience. The moment when the inhabitants realized that something unknown had walked right under their eyes could be disconcerting. The first times it had happened, Deerling and a couple of soldiers accompanied him to calm the local population. The last time he had this feeling was when his friend had introduced him to the leader of the caravan, Kamal.

After some minutes of pushing and offering apologies, he found a rather empty spot on the plaza and sighed. The attention peeled off him when the performing artists had seen enough and continued their work. “Make room!” he heard from the direction he had come from. “Out of the way!” Judging by the voice, it was a female of unknown race. She had probably tried, like him, to force herself through the crowd, only that she had less success. “Stand aside, you brute.” A diamond dog was shoved aside, and a pony stepped out. Thiemo had already met some ponies, but only pegasi. They were stationed everywhere to control the weather, passively giving Equestria power over the other races.

However, this time it was a unicorn, the first one he had ever seen. The books back in the university had described them as noble exemplars. However, the way the mare just pushed her way through and nearly tripped gave a different impression. In the last moment, her forehooves prevented said fall, and with the yelling of an angry dog behind her, she marched further towards him. Her face was filled with enthusiasm. Thiemo was no different, as his whole journey was to find a unicorn he could ask about magic, and this mare was virtually the definition of magic. Her light blue fur in combination with her white mane resembled the color humans usually visualized magic as. Her blue, star studded magic hat and cape completed the picture.

Thiemo thought that maybe his quest had already found its end here. This pony could know a spell to get him home. Or she could even teach him some magic so he could develop the spell himself. Either way, it was the first step in the right direction. “You there, creature!” She pointed her hoof at him and made large, confident steps towards him. “I challenge you to a magic duel!”

He had expected many things. Maybe she would have wanted samples like the zebras. Or even simpler, she would only want to know what he was. Maybe she even sensed his unique potential. One could always dream after all. He expected much but not a challenge. “What?” he answered confusedly. She had spoken so loudly that they were the focus of attention once again.

“Are you deaf, creature? I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, challenge you to a duel.” Every word was punctuated by a hail of fireworks set off by her magic. The unicorn looked around, her grin growing wider. Unlike Thiemo, she seemed to enjoy the attention.

He adjusted his hat so that his eyes were in the shadows and lifted his hands in defence. “I don’t know what I’ve done to provoke you. I don’t want to fight you. However, I’ve been searching for a unicorn to teach me about magic.” She bowed forward, the horn aimed at him.

“Trixie shares her knowledge with no one. If you want it, you must defeat Trixie first.” That sounded rather logical. What master would accept an apprentice who didn’t prove that he was worthy? At least that was what Thiemo thought as he shrugged his shoulder, activated the talisman around his neck, and shot an ice ball at her. He still stood with his outstretched hand as the lapis lazuli faded. The projectile hit its target, and the mare went down. It struck her head straight on and curved into her shoulder. The right leg then failed to hold the weight. The audience was perplexed but started to applaud and laugh.

“See how great and powerful the little pony is," a red dragon with yellow spikes yelled. “All it took was one ice ball from this thing here.” Now the applause faded completely, leaving only the laughter behind. Thiemo was still astonished that that was all he needed to disable a unicorn. Unicorns were known as good magicians, and a shield spell or short-range-teleportation shouldn’t be a problem for them.

Hesitantly, he walked over to her and stooped down. “Hey, are you okay?” Carefully, he poked her with his staff, whereupon her eyes burst open. The public was still laughing as she started to once again become aware of her surroundings.

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she stood up. “How dare you attack the Great and Powerful Trixie, you ruffian?” Her horn flashed, and Thiemo was thrown through the air, landing roughly. His bag pressed into his back, and he moaned in pain. The wounds the gryphons had afflicted on the Setting Sun hadn't quite healed yet.

The audience fell silent and waited for what would happen next as Thiemo picked himself up. “You challenged me to a duel, didn’t you? So what’s your problem?” Thiemo threw his backpack off and readied himself to fight off further attacks with his staff.

“Has no one ever told you what a magic duel is?” Trixie asked angrily. Thiemo just shook his head, which caused her to sigh. “A magic duel is a duel of the arts, not of force. First Trixie casts a spell, and you’ll do the same spell afterwards. Then you use a spell, which Trixie will, of course, be capable of matching. That is repeated until you fail, which won’t take long.” She stroked through her mane and stuck her nose up in a snooty fashion. “Since you disrespected Trixie, I, for once, will settle with being second in order. You can consider yourself lucky.” Her horn glowed again, and a shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up. Where the sun had just been, a single dark cloud now took its place. He could still hear Trixie laughing before a pebble-like volley came down on him. Instinctively, he protected his head with his arms as the icy hailstones dashed down. They were so cold that they burned and fell too fast to avoid. Of course, that was also because the cloud followed him as he stepped aside.

Until now, Thiemo had tried getting along with the unicorn. Maybe she knew something or someone who could help him, but now he was done. She had forced him to duel and then complained when she lost, just to do the same thing afterwards as he just did? Adding the fact that she was arrogant and stuck-up, he didn’t want to put up with any of that. He reached his staff upwards and stirred the cloud, which disappeared shortly after. “Okay, I’m done. I’m not playing along with you anymore. I came here to learn about magic, not to get hit on by some third-class street magician.” He reached for another talisman that hung around his wrist and released the power of the sapphire. Trixie, on the other side, was packed with anger, made visible by the quick attack which followed up the insult. Before Thiemo could react, he was hit in the stomach region by a magical ray. He had to step back to avoid falling over, but that was about it. “What? That was all?”

Trixie fired more rays, and all hit their target without doing serious damage. It was rather like a five year old who tried fighting with an adult — somehow cute but rather annoying, especially when the attacks accidentally found their way into a region where getting hit was always unpleasant, no matter the force. That was the moment where Thiemo used his talisman and accelerated twice as fast towards her and smacked her with his staff. Immediately, the magical attacks stopped, and she looked at her opponent, jaw dropped. “What have you done?” She closed her eyes, concentrating to cast a spell, but other than a few sparks, nothing happened. A hit on the horn of a pony disarranged the magical system in their bodies due to the sudden pain. Thus it took some time until they recovered.

“I blocked your magic, at least for a few minutes.” He pulled the staff back and laid it over his shoulder. “Would you now please explain to me what the purpose of that was?” The crowd that had gathered now broke up as they realized that the fight was over.

“I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie challenges everyone to prove how great she is!” she explained. Thiemo took a step back when she stood up on her hind legs and kicked her forelegs, this time without fireworks.

He waited until she settled. “And have you already defeated someone?” Thiemo slowly started understanding the character before him. It was all just show. More mirrors than real magic. This unicorn probably didn’t even know a handful of spells. Probably just enough to entertain a children’s birthday party. She reminded him of those people who wore their trousers around their knees and talked as much as the day was long, so long as they had twenty buddies behind them. “I mean, your attacks didn’t even injure me.”

She started to become visibly nervous, if the darting eyes and sweat were any indication. “Of course! I would never hurt an opponent in front of an audience. It would harm my reputation.” She took a deep breath. “But of course, Trixie has defeated enemies. She has not only fought off one, but two Ursa Majors and has also won against the personal student of princess Celestia in a duel.” Although he had no clue what exactly an Ursa Major was, guessing by the name, it was some kind of bear. However, defeating the student of one of most powerful and known magical creatures was different.

Maybe he could learn from her after all. “You wouldn’t mind telling me, over lunch, one or two things about magic? I am on a journey to study it.” She may not have been strong, but weaker enemies were usually artful and clever. Even if her experience was just second class, she could teach him the one or two things for sure. Although her mannerisms annoyed him to no end. “I'll pay.”

The unicorn thought for several seconds with her hoof at her snout but finally relented. “Trixie accepts your surrender and is satisfied with your offer as redemption for your sudden attack.” Yes, his assumption was pretty close. With a sigh, he turned around and looked for his backpack. However, it wasn’t where he had left it.

“Hey Trixie, did you do something with my backpack?” he asked her over his shoulder.

“Trixie is not interested in what a strange creature like you calls his own,” she replied coldly as he searched the ground, worried that a spell had sent it away. Still, he couldn’t see it anywhere due to the sheer amount of people in this place. Someone could have kicked against it when they fought, or it had got stuck somewhere. He facepalmed. Or it had been stolen, which was pretty likely when considering what this town was famous for. Quickly, he jumped on a pile of chests near one of the booths and took in an overview the place.

Then he saw it. In a gap in the crowd, a small orange something had his bag. “Hey, you there!” he yelled and aimed his staff at the thief. “That’s my backpack!” As the thief realized that it was spotted, it vanished into a smaller side street. “Damn.” He jumped off the pile. “We'll meet here later, Trixie. I've got to get my money back,” he said as he dodged and squeezed his way through the crowd towards the small alley.

Author's Notes:

So, we finally meet again. Was about time, wasn't it?
The next chapter will follow up close.

Thanks again to faktopus for proofreading! He makes the mess I call a chapter worth reading.
A second time edited by JBL. Thanks buddy!