Trixie just wanted to rest. She wanted to return to her room, curl up on her bed, and sleep for the next three days. If this was what being Princess Luna’s student meant, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue her training. Sure, it was nice having links to Equestria’s royalty, staying in a private room at the castle, and being able to call Princess Luna her mentor, but it was also hard work. She looked over her shoulder at the small bottle that she was carrying on her back. It was a lot of hard work.
Trixie sighed and continued walking down the road back to Canterlot. No, she wouldn’t give this up. Despite all the work, the lessons, and the lack of recognition she got from other ponies for what she was doing, she was enjoying herself. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she belonged somewhere.
“Do you really?” a voice asked from the bottle behind her.
Trixie scowled. “Trixie commands you to be silent. She has already bested you at your games. Take your defeat with dignity.”
The voice laughed. “You mean like you did, when Twilight Sparkle showed you up with that Ursa Minor?” Trixie let out a small growl but said nothing. “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“Trixie told you to be silent,” the blue Unicorn hissed over her shoulder. “Trixie is tired, and she can see Canterlot in the distance. The Princesses are going to send you back to Tartarus and Trixie is going to take a well deserved nap.”
“Oh, you’ve certainly earned a rest, I admit,” the voice inside the bottle said. “I mean, you bested me. No small feat for a show pony with barely any talent of magic. And all you’re going to get for it is a ‘Well done, my student,’ maybe a pat on the head, and a bed.”
“And a pair of ear muffs, hopefully,” Trixie grumbled. Why hadn’t Luna taught her a sound-muffling spell? This Ginn had tried all of this before and it hadn’t worked then. The least it could was be quiet, or make even threats. Trying to twist her again was just tiring now.
“Princess Twilight got to become a Princess for her work, and all she did was reverse a spell,” the Ginn said from inside its prison. “I mean, okay, when she defeated Tirek I suppose that proved she deserved to be a Princess, but what about you? Luna sent you out to capture me and bring me back—took them long enough to notice I was gone, by the way—and yet I don’t see a crown on your head.”
Trixie huffed and rolled her eyes. It was the same nonsense that she had heard earlier. It had come dangerously close to working on her too, but she had managed to outwit this thing and seal it inside the special bottle Luna had given her. With the memories of her battle still fresh in her mind, she wasn’t about to let him escape so she could do it all again.
She was about to say as much when a familiar form landed in front of her. “Hello, Trixie.”
“Hello, Silent Wing,” Trixie said, relieved to see the Captain of Luna’s Royal Guard. “Trixie is glad to see you. Her company has been…less than desirable.”
“Where is Rialon?” Silent Wing asked, spreading her batwings slightly as she craned her head to look behind Trixie. “Did you destroy him?”
“Destroy me?” Rialon laughed. “My dear Bat pony, if the Princesses could not destroy me, what makes you think this weak excuse of a Unicorn could?”
“And yet, Trixie still managed to defeat you and trap you inside that bottle,” Trixie said with a grin. “So what does that make you?” She moved her body slightly to show Silent Wing the slender bottle on her back which contained the Ginn.
“That’s him?” Silent Wing asked, cocking her head to the side in slight confusion. “That’s the Ginn that has destroyed entire nations and nearly caused a civil war in Equestria long ago? Are you sure?”
The memories of Trixie’s battle again flashed through her head. The way Rialon spoke was terrifying. He didn’t use words; he wielded them like weapons. The fact that he seemed to be able to read ponies’ minds didn’t help. He had picked at Trixie’s mind left and right, pulling at her fears, desires, pride, and everything else until she had nearly come apart. And all the while, he had made it all sound so clear and make sense. Of course she was better than Twilight. Of course she deserved to be a Princess. Of course Luna didn’t really care about her, but just about having her own little pet like Princess Celestia had Twilight.
“You doubt Trixie’s abilities?” Trixie said, shaking the memory from her mind. Her brain still hurt from having Rialon nearly pull it apart, and getting his magic out of her head had taken all of her focus and everything Luna had taught her up to this point. “Believe Trixie, this is The Deceiver of Nations. Equestria will be much safer with him locked back up where he belongs.”
“Okay,” Silent Wing said, still looking at the bottle questionably. “Well, I saw you coming down the road and thought I’d check up on you.”
Trixie felt something warm in her chest at those words. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling happy, actually happy. It was nice having a pony go out of their way to check on her.
“Thank you, Silent Wing,” Trixie said, and she meant it.
“Well, I’d best go report to the Princess that you have returned.” Silent Wing spread her wings and made ready to take off again. “She’s been worrying about you.”
“Wait!” Trixie said, stretching her hoof out toward the Bat pony. “Um…do you really need to go? Trixie could use some company.”
Silent Wing hovered for a moment, floating in the night sky like a giant bat, then gently came back to the ground. “I suppose I can do that,” she said. “Canterlot is close, and I suppose it won’t matter if I walk there instead of fly.”
Trixie breathed a sigh of relief as Silent Wing fell into step beside her. She finally had somepony else to talk to, and that hopefully meant she wouldn’t have to listen to Rialon’s constant noise. She smiled as the two of them walked down the road toward the city.
She was still smiling two minutes later when she realized that she didn’t know how to talk to Silent Wing. She wasn’t good at talking to anypony when the subject wasn’t about herself, and she knew that that subject only got on ponies’ nerves. So what was she supposed to talk about?
“So, um…” Trixie looked over at Silent Wing as they walked. Her eyes fell on the Bat pony’s armor and an idea sprang to life in her head. “What’s it like being the Captain of Luna’s Royal Guard?”
Silent Wing’s yellow eyes lit up. Her wings puffed out slightly and she stood taller as a smile crept across her face. “It’s…it’s nothing special,” she said with a forced shrug. “I mean, I do most of the paper work for the Guard. I report to Princess Luna in pony and give orders to the rest of her Guard.”
“So you knew Princess Luna when she returned?” Trixie asked, genuinely curious to hear more about her mentor. Luna rarely talked about herself.
“Oh yes!” Silent Wing said, turning to Trixie with a look on her face that was almost childish with its wonderment. “I was the first Bat pony she spoke to after she came back to Equestria. It was my idea to re-establish Luna’s Royal Guard. I was so excited when she made me Captain of it.”
“Nothing special, huh?” Trixie said with a sly grin and Silent Wing suddenly caught herself.
“You sound like you take your role very seriously,” Rialon said. Trixie let out an exaggerated sigh at the sound of his voice. “ And you take great pride in it, no doubt.”
“Of course I do,” Silent Wing said, looking back at the bottle on Trixie’s back.
“Do not waste your time speaking with him,” Trixie said. “Trixie’s head still hurts from her last conversation with that thing.”
“Now don’t be so rude, my dear,” Rialon said. “I was simply doing what you did. Asking Silent Wing about her role as one of Luna’s Royal Guards.”
“Captain,” Silent Wing said.
“Of course. Forgive me, Captain Silent Wing.” Trixie could see in her mind Rialon’s smoke and fiery body taking the form of a pony bowing deep to the ground. “And such a fine title it is. Which makes me wonder how you must feel about Trixie here.”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Silent Wing said. “Trixie is Princess Luna’s student, and is therefore trusted in the court. I think of her as a friend.”
Trixie was about to open her mouth and tell the Bat pony to stop talking the Ginn because it was dangerous, but her brain froze on the last word Silent Wing had said.
“Oh, okay, I guess there’s nothing to worry about then…” Rialon said.
Trixie shook her head to clear it. This wasn’t good. “Silent Wing, Trixie thinks you should stop talking to this creature now.”
“What’s not to worry about?” Silent Wing asked, ignoring Trixie completely, and Trixie’s heart began to beat a little faster.
“That Trixie has replaced you, naturally,” Rialon said simply.
Silent Wing let out a laugh. “Replaced me? You can’t be serious. I’m still Captain of Luna’s Royal Guard. She hasn’t replaced me. She’s not even a member of the Guard. She can’t be. She’s not a Bat pony.”
Ouch, Trixie thought.
“Oh, I wasn’t referring to your title as Captain. Luna is truly lucky to find such a devoted pony as yourself. Why, I bet she could forget all about you and you would still serve her willingly without a second thought.”
“The Princess would never forget about me!” Silent Wing said, turning around and glaring at the bottle Trixie was carrying.
“Silent Wing, please…” Trixie said. She could tell what was happening. Why oh why hadn’t Luna taught her a noise muffling spell?
“But she already has, hasn’t she?”
“Not likely. I spoke with her just before I left for my nightly patrols.”
“And yet, who has she been spending more time with lately? Remember when she first came back, how every night she would look forward to your visit? Remember how you relished those nights? Remember how excited you were when she invited you into her room for tea and late-night stories?”
“She…she still does that…” Silent Wing said, but her wings drooped a little.
“Not as much as she used to though,” Rialon replied. “And why? Because she’s been spending time with this Unicorn here.”
“Trixie doesn’t—” Trixie started, but Silent Wing talked over her.
“Well…she’s training her,” Silent Wing said. “It…it makes the Princess happy, to have a student of her own.”
“So you being happy wasn’t enough for her then? Tsk tsk. That is a shame.”
“No, that’s not true!” Silent Wing said, stomping her hoof on the ground.
“First Trixie came in and stole your Princess from you. She stole the love of your life.” Trixie raised both eyebrows at that statement and looked at Silent Wing. Surely that was just a figure of speech, right? “Then, she stole your spot in your dear Princess Luna’s heart.”
“Trixie did no such thing!” Trixie protested. “You need to be silent now, Rialon, or so help Trixie, she will—”
“And now, Trixie’s out to replace you as Captain,” Rialon said and Trixie remembered the evil smile that had spread across his lips when she had faced him before.
“Don’t be absurd,” Trixie said, desperate to derail what was happening in front of her. “Trixie has no interest in a stuffy guard position. She is terrible at following orders.”
“You hear that? She thinks your job is a waste of time,” Rialon said.
“Trixie did not say that!”
“She doesn’t care about your job, about all you do for Equestria and for Luna. She just wants it to get you out of the way, so there won’t be anypony else between her and Luna.”
Silent Wing turned her head slowly toward Trixie. Her eyes were narrowed and her head bowed. She hissed slightly, revealing the tips of her fangs. “You can’t have my job…”
“Trixie does not want your job!” Trixie said, looking into Silent Wing’s yellow eyes and silently pleading with her to come back.
“Doesn’t she, though?” Rialon asked, his voice growing louder from inside the bottle on Trixie’s back. “Princess Luna sent Trixie to take care of me, not you. In fact, she expressly forbid you from going, despite the fact that this type of mission should be handled by somepony like you. You and Luna’s Royal Guard. What good are you and your title as Captain if Princess Luna doesn’t think you can deal with safeguarding the land?”
“Enough!” Trixie said, stomping her front hooves on the ground. She turned her head back and glared at the bottle that held the smoky body of the Ginn. “Trixie commands you to be silent this instant!” She turned back to Silent Wing. “And Trixie thinks you need to leave, Captain. Now.”
“You see that?” Rialon said. “She’s giving you orders now!”
“You can’t give me orders,” Silent Wing said in a low voice, and Trixie couldn’t help but take a step back.
“That’s right, she can’t. You’re the Captain.” Trixie’s heart sank as she saw Silent Wing’s eyes flash red for a brief moment. This wasn’t good. She wasn’t sure if she had enough strength for what was coming.
“I’m the Captain…” Silent Wing said, scraping the ground with her hoof and then crouching lower.
“You should be the one to return me to Princess Luna,” Rialon said, and Trixie could hear the magic crackling in his voice.
“I should be the one to return him to Princess Luna…”
“She’ll love you again, and forget all about Trixie.”
“She’ll love me again, and forget all about you…”
Trixie took another step back. Red magic was slowly swirling around the edges of Silent Wing’s eyes. It made her look like a demon, and it was an unnerving sight.
“Silent Wing, please! You must stop listening to this thing,” Trixie pleaded.
“Stop telling me what to do!” Silent Wing shouted.
“Take my bottle! Reclaim your spot at Princess Luna’s side!”
Silent Wing screamed and lunged for Trixie. The Unicorn’s eyes went wide and she dove to the side. She felt the bottle begin to slide off of her back and she grabbed it with her magic.
“Silent Wing, please!” Trixie said as she turned back to the Bat pony. “You can’t listen—ooaf!”
Silent Wing slammed into Trixie, knocking the wind out of her. Both ponies fell to the ground. Trixie struggled to hold onto the bottle with her magic, but Silent Wing’s hoof slammed into her face, causing her head to spin. With her last scrap of lucid thought, she teleported the bottle out of the scuffle so it wouldn’t break.
“You!” Silent Wing spat as she raised her hoof to hit Trixie again. “You think you can replace me? Princess Luna is mine! I’m her favorite!” The hoof came down and Trixie winced as she put up a magic shield. It shattered in one hit, but it bought her the half-second she needed to regain her senses. She closed her eyes and concentrated. With a flash of light, she vanished from under Silent Wing just as the pony’s hoof slammed into the ground where her face had been.
Trixie reappeared in front of Silent Wing. “Come to your senses, Silent Wing!” she shouted. “Rialon is controlling you! You must fight this. You said Trixie was your—”
“Shut up!” Silent Wing took to the air and charged toward the Unicorn. Trixie winced again and teleported out of the way. When she reappeared, her head felt dizzy. She was running out of energy. As much as she hated to admit it, Rialon was correct. She wasn’t the most magically talented Unicorn, and her duel with him and tapped her out. She didn’t have much left, and if she was going to save Silent Wing, then she’d need to conserve as—
Wait a second, Trixie thought. Why does Trixie care about Silent Wing? Trixie is a solo act. She was truly baffled by the thought. Rialon was a danger to Equestria, and worse, he was a danger to Trixie. If he was freed, there was no way he would allow her to escape. It was in her best interest to make sure that didn’t happen, and that meant using all of her, admittedly limited, magic ability to get away with the bottle. She was positive she could muster enough to teleport one last time, far enough away that she could escape from Silent Wing. Surely Princess Luna would be able to return her to normal.
So why wasn’t she doing that? Why did she feel the need to save Silent Wing from Rialon’s magic?
Because if Princess Luna or any of the other Guards see her like this, she’ll think her life is ruined, Trixie thought, which made her question why she should care about something like that. Silent Wing’s problems weren’t her problems. They were Silent Wing’s problems. So what if Princess Luna saw Silent Wing this way, and thus possibly took away what was most important to her? How was any of that Trixie’s concern?
The image of Twilight Sparkle at the mercy of the Gazer the two of them had battle a while back came to mind. How Twilight had looked so desperate for help, reaching out for Trixie to save her. Trixie had had the same thoughts then, and as the answer came to her, she sighed in annoyance.
Silent Wing had said she thought of Trixie as a friend. Friends helped each other. Friends looked out for each other, and they stopped each other from doing really stupid things.
“Friends are hard work,” Trixie grumbled. She reached into her cloak and found a small round ball as Silent Wing turned in the air. The Bat pony charged her again, and Trixie took a deep breath. She would need to time this just right, because she wouldn’t get a second chance. She couldn’t count on her magic, not if she wanted to have enough left help Silent Wing. It was all going to come down to stage magic and perfect timing.
Luckily, Trixie excelled at that.
As Silent Wing dove toward her, Trixie threw the small ball on the ground. It exploded and sent out a cloud of smoke just as Silent Wing reached her. The Bat pony reeled, coughing as she inhaled the smoke. She screamed and pawed at her eyes as the smoke stung them. She swung wildly in the smoke, searching for Trixie.
Trixie blinked once, clearing the smoke from her eyes. It stung her too, but she had used this trick so many times that it wasn’t nearly as bad for her as it was for Silent Wing. She pulled her hat off of her head and reached up with it. She brought it down, using it like a net to catch Silent Wing’s head, and pulled with both hooves. She heard something rip, and then she felt Silent Wing slam into the ground. The smoke began to clear and she dove on top of the Bat pony, pinning her to the ground with her hooves.
“Get off of me!” Silent Wing screamed, struggling under Trixie’s weight. Trixie knew she wouldn’t be able to hold her for long. Silent Wing was a soldier. Trixie was a magician. They didn’t even come close in terms of strengths. She needed to act fast.
“Enough, Silent Wing!” Trixie said, focusing the last of her magic into her horn. “Trixie is your friend! You said so! Now let your friend help you.” Trixie used the spell Luna had taught her and searched for the traces of magic in Silent Wing’s mind. She felt it, tiny strands of energy lurking inside the Bat pony’s aura. They were so much easier to see, to feel, and to grab now that she knew what she was looking for. When she had done it to herself, it had been a nightmare. She had been forced to delve into places in her mind that she had long forgotten about and sealed away. She’d been forced to look through her memories of the Alicorn Amulet and what she had done with it, or her humiliation at the hooves of Twilight—No! It wasn’t Twilight’s fault! she thought fiercely—or how society had shunned her after the Alicorn Amulet events.
But she had found other memories too as she had tried to pull Rialon out of her mind. The memory of Princess Luna finding her and offering to teach her. Twilight forgiving her, despite everything she had done. Twilight’s smile after Trixie had saved her from the Gazer. Twilight falling asleep on her shoulder as the two had ridden back to Canterlot.
Silent Wing had those memories too. Trixie knew she had countless happy memories, and that Rialond’s magic corrupted those, buried them under a pony’s insecurities and dragged the darker thoughts of a pony to the front of the mind. Trixie supposed she could delve into Silent Wing’s mind and find those memories, but she didn’t want to intrude on something so private. Instead, she searched for one specific memory.
“I think of her as a friend.”
Trixie found that memory and pulled it to the surface. She felt the threads of Rialon’s magic weaken as the memory was dragged up from the depths. Trixie pulled harder. She was running out of strength, and the spell wouldn’t last much longer. She pulled one last time on the threads of magic as hard as she could.
Trixie’s eyes snapped open and she fell backward. Her head hit the ground and she looked up to see a beautiful night sky. A red glow floated before her briefly, then vanished into the night air. She began gasping for breath, too tired to move. She had done it.
“What…what happened?” she heard Silent Wing asked.
“Trixie…just did…her job…as a friend,” Trixie said. She sat up and laughed at the sight that greeted her.
Silent Wing was sitting down, Trixie’s hat wrapped around her midsection and pinning her front hooves to her side. She looked comical, trying to wiggle out of the hat without ripping it further, but then her face went rigid as she remembered what she had done.
“Oh no,” she whispered. “Trixie…I…I’m so sorry. I didn’t…” Tears came to the Bat pony’s eyes then and she hung her head, no longer trying to get out of her makeshift bindings.
Trixie instantly felt the urge to get up and run over to the pony. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she got there—hug her, maybe?—but she wanted to be near her. She wanted to let her know that everything was okay, that it wasn’t her fault, and that Trixie had gone through the same thing.
Trixie didn’t get the chance though. Silent Wing pulled herself out of Trixie’s ruined hat and took to the sky without a word. Trixie wanted to shout at her to stop, but true to her name, Silent Wing vanished into the night sky without a sound.
“I hope you’re happy,” Trixie said as she picked up her ruined hat, stuffed it in her saddlebag, and then marched over to where she had teleported the bottle holding the Ginn.
“You’re the one who looks upset,” Rialon said as Trixie picked the bottle up and put it back on her back. “You and poor Silent Wing. Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Shut up,” Trixie said. “Trixie is done talking to you, and she is done listening to you. Think of it as good practice, for when you get locked back up in Tartarus, all alone.”
For once, Rialon didn’t have anything to say in response, and Trixie allowed herself a grin. She made the remainder of her trip to Canterlot and the castle in peaceful silence.
As Trixie approached the throne room, two of Luna’s Royal Guards blocked her path. Trixie recognized them as the Tail twins, Ice and Comet.
“Um…hello,” Trixie said, not sure why they were glaring at her the way they were. “Trixie believes that Princess Luna is expecting her.”
“Princess Luna isn’t here,” one of the ponies said. Trixie thought it was Comet, but she had a hard time telling them apart, especially when they were wearing their armor.
“She’s in her room. With Silent Wing,” Ice said. “What happened to her?”
Trixie opened her mouth to tell them that Silent Wing had been corrupted by Rialon’s magic and had almost doomed the very kingdom she had sworn to protect, but she stopped.
“Trixie does not feel it is her place to say,” she said instead. “If Silent Wing does not wish to tell you, then Trixie is obligated to not say anything either. As her friend.” Her fur tingled as she said that word.
The twins looked at each other once, communicating in a way that only twins could, and then looked back at Trixie. “Princess Luna asked us to send you her way when you returned,” Comet said.
“Princess Luna is in her room, as I said,” Ice added. “You know the way, yes?”
“Trixie does,” Trixie replied. “Um…good evening, ladies.” She turned and left, feeling the two sets of eyes staring after her as she did. They didn’t blame Trixie, did they? It wasn’t her fault. Why, she had half a mind to storm back there and tell them exactly what had happened and how she had saved Silent Wing. She was still entertaining that thought when she reached Luna’s room.
“Luna?” Trixie said, then immediately corrected herself. “Er, Trixie means, Princess Luna? Trixie has returned.”
“Enter,” came Princess Luna’s voice, and the door to her room swung open. Trixie entered, looking around the room as she did. It was covered in shades of dark blues and blacks, with a fine set of candles burning on a lovely chest of drawers that illuminated the room just enough for Trixie to see Princess Luna and Silent Wing standing in the middle.
Trixie bowed. “Trixie has completed her mission, Princess Luna. Rialon the Ginn is contained within the bottle you gave me.” She turned and showed the bottle to the Princess.
“A pleasure to see thee again, Rialon,” Luna said.
“The feeling is not mutual, Luna,” the Ginn responded, and Trixie didn’t hear any of the charm and deceit that he had spoken with before. “You can’t keep me locked away forever.”
“No, we clearly cannot, as your most recent escape has proved.” Luna gripped the bottle with her magic. “But, we will always defeat you and send you back to where you belong.” With that, Luna tore open a portal to Tartarus and sent the bottle through. Rialon bellowed with rage before the flaming portal snapped closed and his voice was cut off.
“Now that that is taken care of, we must address the other issue at hoof,” Luna said, turning back to Trixie and Silent Wing. “Trixie, the Captain of our Royal Guard came to us in a rather fitful state. She will not tell us what troubles her, only that thou hath returned.” Luna then looked directly at Silent Wing and narrowed her eyes slightly. “And that she is stepping down as our Captain. Can you enlighten us on this situation?”
Trixie gulped. Luna was using her royal ‘we’ speech. She didn’t use that when she addressed Trixie, Silent Wing, or other ponies whom she was close with unless she was very serious. Or very upset. Trixie looked at Silent Wing for some help, but the Bat pony simply looked straight ahead, ignoring the tears coming from her eyes.
“Trixie does not know why Silent Wing wants to resign from her post,” Trixie said, although she knew that was a lie. She was betting that Luna knew it too, but still she pressed on. “Rialon nearly managed to escape from the bottle when Trixie was on her way here. Silent Wing helped Trixie prevent that, because Trixie was too tired to do it by herself. Despite how amazing she is. So no, Trixie does not know why Silent Wing, after helping Trixie in her mission, would want to resign after helping such a great pony.”
“Trixie, that’s—” Silent Wing started.
“Thou shalt be silent, Captain!” Luna said, raising her voice. “Thou had thy chance to explain, and thou chose not to.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Silent Wing said, bowing her head.
“So Trixie, what thou say is that Silent Wing disobeyed a direct order from us and followed thee on the mission we had given thee?”
“Well, uh, not exactly, she—”
“Did we, or did we not, tell Silent Wing and the rest of our Royal Guard to stay away from Rialon and to let thee deal with him?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Trixie said, looking quickly at Silent Wing. “But…she didn’t help. As Trixie said, Silent Wing met her on her way back to Canterlot. Trixie managed to defeat Rialon by herself the first time. And as Trixie said, if Silent Wing hadn’t arrived when she had, Rialon may have escaped again. And Trixie might not have been able to stop him a second time by herself.”
“That does not change the fact that our Captain disobeyed a direct order from us.” Princess Luna stared at Silent Wing and stood up to her full height, her mane flowing behind her in the darkness. “Silent Wing, we hereby refuse to accept thee resignation. Disobeying a direct order is hardly a reason to step down from such a high position, especially when such actions help save Equestria. However, the fact remains that thou did disobey us. Thou shalt return to thy post for the rest of the night, and then see me at first light for punishment. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Silent Wing said, and Trixie could still see tears coming from her face.
“Dismissed,” Luna said. Silent Wing bowed and left the room without a word, and then Luna turned to Trixie. “Now, would you care to tell me what really happened?” she asked, her voice becoming its pleasant softness again.
“Um…Trixie just did—”
“Nice try, Trixie. Silent Wing is my rock. It takes a great deal to shake her that badly. I believe I can guess as to what happened, but I would like to hear it from you.”
Trixie sighed. “You…you can’t get mad at her, okay? Promise me?”
“You? Not Trixie?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling. Celestia, did Twilight have to deal with this when she was with her Princess? Having the Celestia read her every little move?
“Yes, me,” Trixie said, standing up a bit straighter.
“Very well, but only if you tell me the truth.”
“Silent Wing was corrupted by Rialon’s words on the way to Canterlot. She came to check on me when she saw me coming. It was my fault. I…was tired of listening to Rialon’s constant taunting, so when she tried to leave, I asked her to stay. Rialon started talking to her, twisting words until she was under his spell. I barely managed to defeat her and bring her back to her senses.”
Luna nodded once. “I suspected as much. So, now I have a question for you. Why did you lie about what happened to Silent Wing?”
Trixie blinked in surprise. Not in surprise at the question, but in surprise at the answer that immediately popped into her head. “She…she’s my friend. I didn’t want her to get in trouble for something that I caused. I didn’t want to lose my friend.”
Luna walked over and wrapped her hoof around Trixie’s neck, pulling her into a hug. “I’m glad to hear that.” Luna pulled out of the hug and smiled down at Trixie. “Now, I think you deserve a nice rest. Your bath has been prepared for you in your room, and I think you can take the next few days off from studies. Is there anything else I can do for you, as a way of saying thank you for stopping Rialon?”
Trixie pulled out her ruined hat. “If you can find a way to repair Trixie’s favorite hat, she would be ever so grateful.”
“I think I can do that,” Luna said, taking the hat and setting it on her bed.
Trixie turned to leave, but then she stopped. “Princess, why did you send me by herself? Why me at all? Rialon knew exactly what threads to pluck in me. I nearly lost to him, and doomed all of Equestria.”
“But you did not,” Luna said. “Trixie, you have faced down a creature that eats magic, and now you have faced down another creature that uses words as poison. Both times, you had had to confront the darkness within you to succeed, something that few ponies can accept.”
“Yes,” Trixie said, shuddering at the memories that came back to her. “Trixie has not enjoyed that.”
“I know, but I fear it was required. When you and Princess Twilight brought that shattered stone back, I believe it set certain events in motion.”
“What events?” Trixie asked.
Luna smiled sadly. “Nothing you need to worry about tonight, apprentice. Hopefully it will be nothing you need to worry about for a long, long time, if ever. But for now, all you need to worry about is a hot bath and a restful night. Now shoo.”
“What will happen to Silent Wing?” Trixie asked. “You’re not really going to punish her, are you?”
“I fear I have to. I gave her and the others orders to stay away until your task was complete, because I had not taught them how to fight Rialon’s magic. If they had come with you, Rialon would have turned them against you and one another, just as he did with Silent Wing. But you don’t need to worry. It will not be anything harsh. Perhaps a shift in the kitchen, washing dishes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go. The night demands my attention.”
“Good night, Luna,” Trixie said. She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her as she did. She turned down the hall and started walking toward her room when she found Silent Wing blocking her path.
“Why did you do that?” Silent Wing asked. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth? I nearly released him again. I betrayed you.”
“No, Rialon used his magic on you,” Trixie said. She raised her chin and closed her eyes. “Trixie does not blame you for being too weak to resist it. Only a pony as great and powerful as Trixie could hope to stand a chance against such a being. Princess Luna understood that.” Trixie opened one eye and smiled at Silent Wing. “That, and you said Trixie is your friend. Trixie…considers you a friend as well.”
Silent Wing smiled and wiped a tear from her face. “Thanks, Oh Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said with a small bow.
“Think nothing of it,” Trixie said. “Incidentally, how do you feel about washing dishes?”