The Other Side of Magic

>The tunnel was long and dark.
>It didn’t appear to have been used for some time, as the tracks of other possible wagons and carts were overgrown and nearly lost, but they were there for anypony who wanted to look.
>You didn’t know if it went where you wanted, but the rest of this Luna-forsaken forest wasn’t helping, and if it was a break from the awful chore of dragging your wagon through trees, you would take it.
>You are great and powerful.
>That makes you Trixie.
>But no matter how great and powerful you were, it was always a relief to avoid unnecessary chores.
>Using your magic, you pull the branches out of your way and trot into the tunnel, horn lighting the way.
>It was carved out of the rock of the hill or mountain it was attached to. You weren’t positive where you were exactly, but it couldn’t be far away from the road.
>You had been trying to get to Vanhoover, so it was either part of the unicorn range or the smokey mountains, depending on how far off-track you were.
>But you were The Great and Powerful Trixie, you weren’t very far off-course at all!
>Your wagon rocks gently back and forth as you travel deeper into the tunnel. The natural rock walls weren’t carved very well. They showed no signs of any attempt to smooth them out, and the floor was littered with stones here and there that caused your wagon to bump and rock.
>You could see the light at the far end. It looked to be quite some distance yet, but it was there, which meant this wasn’t going to be a dead end. It just might take some time to traverse on hoof.
>While you walk, you pull off your hat, pull five colored balls out of it and entertain yourself with some idle juggling.
>It helps you focus and keeps you practicing your prestidigitation.
>You needed to remain at the top of your game at all times! That’s what set you apart from the rest of the unicorn crowd.

>You’re walking along throwing the balls around when you feel a heavy *THUMP* from your cart, and it lists heavily to one side.
>You stop, alarmed.
>You listen for a moment for something to break, but there’s no shattering or splintering sound.
>Nothing inside the wagon appeared to have broken, and the wheel didn’t sound harmed, but you should check anyway.
>You remove your harness and move back to the wagon.
>You check each wheel, and each axle, but everything looks to be in order.
>You open the door and take a peek at the interior. Some things are a little mussed up, but nothing looks broken, and there’s no mess on the floor, so it’s all good.
>Smiling, you close the door, check the wheel ruts for stones, and find none.
>You frown.
>You hit something. Something huge. You were sure it had been a stone.
>You look a little further behind the wagon, but can’t see any at all.
>You had stopped the moment your wagon had hit the object, so, where was it?
>You turn the light back and forth, following the wheel ruts, but see nothing. Nothing at all.
“Curious.”
>You return to the wagon, check the wheels and the ruts one last time, then shrug and hitch yourself up.
>You start walking, checking the ruts as you walk to make sure there aren’t any stones that will be getting in your way again.
>The entire time you’re walking, you see nothing bigger than a hoof. Something that size might give you a bit of a bump, but more often than not they would just slide out of the path of the wheels, not big enough to stay put under the sheer weight of the wagon.
>You walk in relative peace for some time, making slow progress toward the light at the other end of the tunnel.
>Suddenly, you feel the wagon rock again, the right side tilting as you impacted something.
“What in Equestria is that?”

>You quickly unhitch yourself from the wagon and scurry over to have a look. You increase the brightness of your horn and check around the wheel ruts.
>No stones.
>Not even a bump in the rut.
>Nothing you could have hit.
>You shine your light around the wagon, looking all the way to the walls for something that might have been pushed out of the rut when you hit it.
>Nothing.
>The biggest ones wouldn’t have caused that kind of a bump, so something else must have.
>You look back at the entrance to the tunnel.
>It suddenly seemed exceedingly far away.
>You swivel and look at your destination.
>That also seemed much too far away.
>You cast your light around the tunnel, but see nothing that looks out of the ordinary.
>While you’re looking around, your wagon suddenly rocks, all by itself.
>You freeze and point your light at the wagon.
>You dare not move, unsure what’s there and what you could even do about it.
>An ursa would be too big to hide, and would probably eat your wagon before bumping it.
>A quarray eel would do the same, and it would occupy the entire tunnel, not a small portion of it.
>This isn’t the environment for cragadiles.
>All sorts of strange animals flit through your mind, and you don’t know which one would be worse to encounter, but you also can’t think of one that would molest your wagon without destroying it immediately.
>The wagon rocks again, and you splay your legs out, crouching down in case it comes at you.
>Nothing happens. The wagon rocked a little bit, then stopped.
>There was no sound like it was breaking it, so maybe something got inside before the tunnel and was just now waking up?
>You move closer, preparing to look under the wagon.
>You stay some distance away, and crouch down, shining your light underneath.
>The axles are fine, nothing on them.
>The wheels are clean.
>The undercarriage isn’t rotted or damaged.

>You give the outside of the wagon a once-over, but find nothing clinging to the outside.
>There aren’t any claw marks, nor any skittering sounds. Just the painted façade, undamaged.
>You can’t climb up onto the roof to check there, but that didn’t seem like the place to find it.
>It’s then you notice you left one of the windows open.
>You sigh in exasperation.
>It had happened before. You left the window open, a raccoon or a bird, or something got inside and fell asleep, then when you’d packed up to leave it had woken up and wanted out. It was a common mistake. Too common for your liking. You always tried to remember.
>You open the back door and shine your light inside.
>You couldn’t see anything, but you step to the side and wait.
“Come on, get out of there. Nopony, not even you, wants to stay inside there all day, and I can’t have you causing me so many problems while I’m traveling.”
>But nothing comes.
>You wait a while longer, but still nothing makes itself known as being inside the wagon.
>You don’t want to get hurt by it when it panics, but you might have to go in there and pull it out.
>You prepare your horn and walk up the steps slowly. Ready to nab anything that moves.
>You enter the wagon, looking around, checking the open window for signs of whatever it is.
>But still nothing moves.
>Just when you’re getting tired of this game, the whole wagon rocks violently, and SOMETHING appears at the far end of the wagon.
>Massive claws, each the size of your head, reach out of thin air toward you!
>The wagon rocks violently as they appear, bumping hard against the sides of it.
>They keep coming at you, grasping, clawing at the air, reaching for you!

>You scream and try to turn around, but the claws close around you, blocking the exit.
>You shoot your magical fireworks on all sides, trying to scare them or sear them, but they take no notice.
>You feel a powerful grip close around you, preventing you from moving, and your horn goes out.
>You’re powerless to resist as you’re dragged toward the part of your wagon where the claw had first appeared, and your wagon disappears from around you.
>You close your eyes tight, not wanting to see your death.
>You feel yourself swing wildly through wherever this creature lived, and suddenly the grasp around you is gone, and a bright light sears your eyelids.
>You hear something speak, but you can’t understand it.
>You don’t die immediately, so you hesitantly open one eye.
>The bright light is still there, coming at you from all sides, and you are standing on the paw of the creature that grabbed you.
>You hear inarticulate screaming, then something you recognize:
>Applause.
>When your eyes adjust to the light, you can see what looks like a theater, with an audience of horrifyingly huge creatures looking down at you.
>You look at the paw you’re standing on, and follow it up to a massive creature, who is smiling alternately at the audience, then at you.
>You see in his other claw he’s holding a hat, not unlike your own, inside of which you can see the interior of your wagon.
>He turns his pig-eyed gaze at you, and grins.
>You scream.
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”