Trixie and Maud: Heart of Stone

by TheCrimsonDM

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Two: Gala Dreams Down in Flames

Heart of Stone

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Two: Gala Dreams Down in Flames

Written by TheCrimsonDm

Up till that point Trixie had experienced all sorts of things that made her brain do a back flip and her heart seize up. Moments like when she first encounter the dreaded ursa minor, or when Frailty had captured Valiant, or even when Maud first kissed her way back on that lonely mountain. This topped all of those moments without question.

“W-what?” Trixie asked without taking her eyes off of Red Velvet.

“This is Professor Carmine Savant, one of the ponies that have helped me understand alicorn history a lot more. She specializes in the subject and I pulled some strings to get her an invite to the gala,” Twilight said in a friendly and passive tone that sounded utterly wrong to Trixie.

“Oh my,” Carmine ‘Red’ Savant said. “I do believe we have met before, miss Lulamoon. Or am I to call you Princess Lulamoon now?”

Trixie shook her head and pulled away from her seat at the table. “Call me Trixie… well it’s certainly… what are you doing here again?”

The smile she received felt dangerously wrong. “I’ve always wanted to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. I never thought that I’d get my chance. Professors don’t usually make enough money to afford such festivities.”

“Have you gotten to go to the annual Knowledge Summit?” Twilight asked.

Carmine shook her head. “I’ve been and it’s nothing like this. The only thing in common would be that there are a lot of drunk, arrogant ponies attempting to dance.”

Twilight let out a little laugh, as did the others. The only ones not laughing were Maud, Valiant, and Trixie. For a little bit Red Velvet joined the table under her allies and the others all seemed to enjoy having her company. The fact that she was a giant pegasus didn’t seem to bother them too much, the only mention of it was when Lyra asked if Carmine hailed from Saddle Arabia, to which she explained that her mother did.

Trixie stayed very quiet as she sat there. Slowly she was beginning to figure out this puzzle, and the picture was looking ugly as could be. With nervous eyes she continued glancing down at her walking cane, at the very least she had had the foresight to bring it. It might very well mean the difference between life and death for her tonight.

Tonight they were going to save the alicorns, tonight Celestia was going to reign down her fury and hellfire, and tonight Trixie was going to be charged with trying to keep everything together. Her nightmares were becoming reality.

Red Velvet pushed herself away from the table as Minuette got started telling a story about how she wrestled a bear. “Please excuse me, but I fear I need to powder my nose.”

Twilight gave her a quick set of directions to the nearest restroom and she was gone. Trixie tried her hardest to stay still, to ignore it, and to pretend like she hadn’t seen Red Velvet at all. She couldn’t do that.

“Sorry, Maud, I need to go pee,” Trixie lied as she quickly trotted away from the table.

Thankfully Minuette was going to keep the others busy for a few minutes at least, but that still didn’t buy her much time. Trixie needed to find Red, and get in on what was going down, before it was too late. The hall was quiet, with only a few ponies in it and a couple of guards doing their patrols. Trixie saw Red at the end of the hall, she turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

She walked as casually as she could, while simultaneously moving swiftly. Since nopony looked at her, she didn’t think they had caught on. Once she rounded the corner, she saw Red again at the end of the hall. She entered a small room. This hall was empty aside from her, so she sped into the room.

A small guest bedroom was in there, Red had already found a place next to the window. She didn’t look back as Trixie entered and closed the door behind her.

“It’s time,” She said casually.

Trixie nodded. “Yeah, I figured that much. Why the gala?”

“Because Celestia will be too busy dealing with arrogant little nobles to worry about either of us. Discord will probably cause some manner of trouble for her as well, and her sister is going to be screwing around with Twilight in one of these bedrooms soon enough. Almost nopony is left to watch the throne, or to stop us,” Red Velvet said.

“So what is the plan?” Trixie asked.

“The alicorns are being kept in a crystallized prison, if it’s broken the city will automatically search out the nearest empty space large enough for it and deposit it there. Since it’s a floating city, that’s going to be really easy. The trouble is in breaking it. The thing is covered by so many protective wards that it’s going to take every ounce of my concentration to break them. You’re job is simple, watch my back, and keep anypony from bothering me,” Red Velvet said. “Don’t worry too much, when this job is over I have your alibi.”

“Really?” Trixie said.

“Oh, don’t worry about it now,” Red Velvet said.

“Okay,” Trixie said. She didn’t feel like it was okay, but it felt right to say. For a brief second she considered just telling the guards about this, and stopping Red before it was too late. It was already too late. Even if Trixie did want to stop her almost friend from what she was doing, she couldn’t go through with it. Red Velvet still had her mom’s sanity by the caller.

“I need you to get into the Royal Archives. There is some valuable information to be had, and besides why not complete some Seeker objectives while we work on the big one. Look through the Royal Lineage for Celestia’s parents, and her children. I have a suspicion that needs to be verified,” Red Velvet said.

Trixie nodded and went to the door. She glanced back at Red Velvet. “I’ll meet you in the throne room in what a half hour?”

“Yes,” Red Velvet said.

With that out of the way, Trixie was out the door and back into the hall. A slow and steady trickle of fear was running through her. She could still vividly remember the first dream she had, the one where she saw Celestia so easily destroy Red. After what she’d learned in Hollow Shades, she doubted that it was just another weird dream. Dreamweaver had wanted her to see that, and for whatever reason, it must have been important.

Trixie dared not return to the party now that things were heating up. Maybe once this was completed, and if it went smoothly, she could return. For now it was time to handle the mission, Maud and Valiant would be safe so long as they stayed at the party. Though knowing them, they were going to start getting worried soon.

This is going to end in disaster. Why can’t I just leave Red to her own devices, it can’t be that hard for her to do this alone right?

She thought of how merciless Celestia was in her dream. The mere thought of betrayal had set her off like a ticking time bomb. Red had come in to help her save Valiant Heart, she also gave Trixie a way to make up for all the wrongs she had done to Twilight. Most of all though, Red had saved both Screw Loose and Trixie from their respective insanities. Trixie had barely even needed to touch the new medication that Timequill gave her. The alicorn transformation had fixed her, and that had all been thanks to Red Velvet.

Trixie swore silently to herself and made her way straight to the Royal Archives.

***

Once inside the royal archives she grabbed the book of Royal Lineage, and jumped to the last page entered. Since the majority of it was actually empty, that didn’t take too long. She saw a picture of Celestia lying on a bed, cradled in her forelegs was a tiny unicorn with a yellow and red mane.

“Princess Sunset Shimmers.”

The name sounded vaguely familiar. The date of birth was listed as being nearly thirty years ago. It also happened to be Celestia’s third child. Trixie couldn’t help but to notice that there was a missing page after that one. She may have had a fourth child. Although curious as to why Celestia would choose to hide this information even from her secret archives, was a mystery that she had no time to solve.

Trixie shrugged and skipped to the very back. A picture in the very first page of the book was old and faded, but the magic wards in the book must have kept it from being utterly destroyed by the ravages of time. There was a kind and loving family of four. A mom and dad, the dad was light blue, the mom was egg white. The mother had a brown mane, while the dad had green and blue stripes in his. On the mom’s back rested a young pegasus filly, she was a light shade of blue-purple and her light blue mane had neat little pink bows in it. She was still in dippers. The other child stood barely to the mom’s chin, and was white as could be with a long pink mane. She was a unicorn. The cutie mark on the white pony was an exact replica of Princess Celestia’s.

The names were nearly faded but Trixie could barely make them out.

“Bubblegum and Grindstone along with their two daughters. Sol and Lunris.”

“But… that’s Princess Celestia, right?” Trixie asked herself quietly. “Maybe she changed her name?” Something felt strange about this. She turned the page.

Four ponies stood near a forest. Two of them were giant alicorns. A gray-white one, and a Blue-gray one stood tall, they looked tired. The two younger and much smaller ponies next to them were Sol and Lunris. Lunris didn’t look old enough for a cutie mark, but she had Luna’s. The odd thing was that the two adult ponies had very nearly identical marks, only they were slightly different. The moon on the blue alicorn’s flank was full, meanwhile the sun on the others was red.

The description was short.

“Luna and Celestia along with their successors, Sol and Lunris.”

Trixie turned the page. This time she saw the Luna and Celestia the way they were supposed to be. They weren’t quite as tall, but they were standing proudly in a castle that she did not recognize. Many ponies were around them, heads bowed in reverence, and the two sisters looked upon their subjects with distant expressions. This version of Celestia and Luna looked above the world, above their subjects and most importantly of all, they looked above Trixie. They very nearly scared her. She also noticed a small filly between the two. She looked extremely nervous.

They don’t look like that now, but what exactly happened. Where are the other alicorns, the ones that almost looked like Celestia and Luna. What about Sol and Lunris. What’s going on?

Trixie read the description.

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna adoption of Lion Heart.”

“I guess this is when they began adopting students…” Trixie said.

Trixie flipped the page and saw only a picture of Princess Celestia standing alongside another filly. It was another adoption. She closed the book and set it back where she found it. This trip hadn’t paid off as much as she’d like it too. She was just confused now, because It almost looked like there had been another princess Celestia and Luna before this one. Though that shouldn’t be possible… right?

She started to leave when she noticed a book that caught her eyes. Princess Rules Complete and Unabridged. A very simple title, but since only a select few ponies were ever going to see it, why should it have been any more complicated. Trixie pulled the book down and got to work reading.

She opened it up to a small black and blue bookmark. The page that was marked was all about magic duels. A pang of guilt ran through her as s he considered her own with Twilight, but still interest kept her glued to the page.

”A normal magic duel between ponies is much like the iron pony competition, where two unicorns put their magic to the test in a series of trials to see who has the most overall skill. Very seldom does this ever involve any actual combat, though this can sometimes be the case.

Between princesses practice duels may be held for training purposes. However should one find themselves in a true duel the rules are far different.

The challenger sets the terms for their victory.The defender sets the terms for the challengers defeat.Unlike a normal magic duel, this is a combat.”
Trixie stopped reading as soon as the door opened and Princess Luna walked through. A small grin grew over Trixie’s lips as she looked up at the night princess, down at the page about magic duels and then up again. She quickly shut the book and placed it up on the wall.

“Hehehe… um…”Trixie said.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” Luna said.

Trixie gulped. “But the guard let me in.”

“The guard was asleep, almost as though by magic,” Luna said.

No need to let her know that I was behind that one. “Um,” Trixie said. “Maybe he… was lazy?”

Luna eyed the book. “If you were trying to find a way to reclaim your lost honor by dueling me, it will not work. I suggest that instead you accept my deepest and most sincere apology.” She actually bowed her head. “I never had any intention on breaking your heart. Should I have known how fragile you were, I would have handled myself differently.”

Trixie walked past her. Her immediate reaction was to say something rude, or mean. She managed to keep that inside. “Just don’t tell anypony about this and I’ll call it even… I’ll want a copy of that book at some point though.”

Luna smiled. “There is an abridged version of it in the Starswirl section. You have permission to go in there, but this archive is for me and my sister only. Please respect that.”

Trixie nodded and left. Her next destination the throne room.

The way to the throne room was quiet, with nary a guard in sight. She would have figured that there would have been at least some security here, but it looked like she was wrong. When she finally arrived to the giant set of double doors that led to the throne room she found it completely unguarded and slightly ajar. This had to have been Red’s doing.

There is still time to go back, tell Celestia and Luna and stop this madness.

Again she was assaulted by all the good things that Red Velvet had done for her. She could remember the bad as well, the lies, the threats, the torture! But all of it just seemed far away and distant, like that stuff didn’t actually happen. Even the fact that Red had left the giant birchwolf king to eat her felt like it had happened to somepony else, not her.

Before she could continue this line of thought, she walked through the open door and into the throne room. Upon seeing Red Velvet sitting upon Celestia’s throne and grinning down at her, Trixie couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“You don’t belong there you know,” Trixie said.

Red rolled her eyes and her horn lit up. The door behind Trixie closed. “There is no reason I should not be. This is after all a false throne.”

“Celestia is a good ruler, better than I at least,” Trixie said.

Red Velvet ignored the comment. “What did you find out?”

Trixie frowned. “I… I’m not really sure. I found out that there were two ponies named Bubblegum and Grindstone, they gave birth to Sol and Lunris. Later Sol and Lunris had the same exact cutie marks as Celestia and Luna. Though there seemed to be two older alicorns named Celestia and Luna, only they were… different looking. After the kingdom started it looks like the Celestia and Luna we know appeared. I’m not sure exactly what that means.”

“It’s simple, Sol and Lunris became the new Celestia and Luna,” Red Velvet said. “I don’t know if this was some sort of reincarnation spell, if the names are simply passed down from alicorn pair to alicorn pair, but it is quite likely that everything you know about them is a lie… the same goes for the Seekers as well.”

“I don’t get why this is important,” Trixie said.

“I can give you one reason above all that this should matter. If the Celestia and Luna we know are not the originals, then where are they?”

Trixie stopped at the bottom of the throne and looked up. “I don’t know…”

“Exactly, these two mares who betrayed their kin and locked their entire civilization away might still be breathing, and even worse they might be very dangerous,” Red Velvet said. “The alicorns are going to need protecting.”

Red Velvet jumped off of the throne, spun around and shot a blast of red energy at it. The throne itself shattered, but a single piece about the size of Trixie’s head still remained floating in the air. Slowly the outer layer of crystal fell off of it, and a shining emerald was left staring at Red.

“I’ll keep them safe,” Red Velvet said quietly. She looked back at Trixie and shouted, “Keep an eye out for me, it will take a few minutes to get the spell done and I can’t have Celestia or Luna breaking my concentration while I’m at work.”

“Can’t we just steal the gem and leave?” Trixie said.

Red’s horn lit up casting a baleful red light across the room. “No, it’s fixed in place by some extra wards. My best bet is to free them here and now.”

Trixie nodded and turned toward the door. After one quick glance to make sure she still had her walking cane, she returned to watching the door. Slowly the time passed as Red hit the gem with a nearly continuous stream of energy. She’d seen Twilight break through magical wards before, the process was usually time consuming and took focus. Trixie couldn’t allow a single blow to come to Red if they were going to free the alicorns.

Nearly a minute passed by before the room began heating up. A deep sense of dread and terror filled her chest as she watched the doors intently. The very last thing she had wanted was for this to happen, but she was sure of it before the sounds of galloping hooves filled the room.

The doors swung open, and both Celestia and Luna marched in. A serious look was carved over Luna’s face, and a deadly look into Celestia’s. Trixie had never seen Celestia look so angry. The princess took one look at her demolished throne, and at Red Velvet, and her expression grew from angry, to something much worse. There was death in her eyes.

“Red Velvet!” Celestia cried.

A golden glow surrounded her horn and the room rose in temperature. Trixie did the only thing she could think of. She reached out with her magic and just as a bolt of fire flew from Celestia’s horn Trixie managed to get a protective barrier around Red. Fire slammed into the barrier with enough force to punch a hole through concrete and Trixie saw her shield crack all the way up and down before the fire dissipated.

Trixie’s horn hurt slightly after she let the shield drop and looked toward Celestia and Luna. Celestia looked at her, annoyance clear in her eyes but not a single bead of sweat on her face. That powerful spell had cost her literally nothing… and Trixie had just gotten her attention.

“What is the meaning of this?” Celestia demanded.

Trixie tried not to show her fear; she tried to stand tall and to look at her opponent. She gulped. “I won’t let you hurt my friend.”

“Friend? This… creature cannot seriously be your friend,” Celestia said. “She’s a monster in pony flesh.”

Trixie shook her head. “I used to think that as well, but she’s helped me with so many things. How can I believe that she’s actually a monster? I think she’s a lot like me, she’s just done some bad things in the name of what’s right.”

Luna stepped forward. “What is going on? Sister, who is that mare who is destroying your throne? And why do you wish to see her dead?”

“That creature used to be one of my students. I’m not sure what happened to her all those years ago but when she was done exploring the world she came back to me, changed. Following that she corrupted one of my other students and together they nearly destroyed the kingdom. Now she has returned to release the greatest threat this world has ever known and I won’t let her!” Celestia said. She snorted and actual flames flew from her nostrils.

Foreign strength flowed through Trixie and she pulled the walking cane free with her magic. “The alicorns you imprisoned were innocent,” Trixie heard herself saying, even though she was sure they weren’t her words. “They deserve to live freely among the rest of the tribes; do not think for a moment that what you have done to them was just or in any way fair. Or should I say what your predecessor did.”

Celestia looked at Trixie, and her anger vanished replaced for a brief moment a deep sorrow. “No… not again. Trixie, we will find help for you.”

Trixie removed the spell on the walking cane and watched as her father’s sword appeared where the cane had once been; an illusionary spell that hid the true object. Nopony would question a walking cane at a fancy ball, but they would all be weary of a sword. Trixie was quite proud of her spell work.

“I won’t let you hurt my friend,” Trixie said once again. This time the words were indeed her own.

“That’s the Trickster Blade,” Celestia said.

“The what?” Luna asked.

“It’s a magical sword, her father’s magical sword to be exact. It’s an exceedingly dangerous and uncontrollable weapon. Her father only ever used it in times of dire need,” Celestia said. “Trixie, please do not draw that sword, you may very well kill us without meaning too.”

Trixie ignored the plea and drew the blade. Magic coursed through it, and flowed out of it like a river. Cool air washed around her and a deepening sense of power grew inside her chest. Trixie could feel the dark magic, the cold energy deep inside, hollow was its embrace. She shivered.

“I can’t let you hurt her, I promised I’d keep her safe. She is my friend, a terrible friend she maybe, but she’s still one of them. You will not touch her, do you hear me,” Trixie said.

“There is no time for this,” Celestia said, her horn lit up again. She aimed it at Red Velvet.

This time Trixie knew she could not stop Celestia’s fury, so she reached out into the shadows of the room. The corners of the room as well as the shadows underneath Celestia and Luna’s hooves and called out to them. The Dorchadas responded. Tendrils lashed out from the corners, and from underneath the princesses arose dark shadowy limbs. The shadows wrapped around Celestia and Luna, holding them in place. They covered Celestia’s horn and Trixie marveled at how warm Celestia’s energy felt through the tendrils.

“I’ve seen this before,” Luna cried. “This… this magic is wrong. It should not be.”

Celestia struggled for a half second. The tendrils began absorbing the warmth from Celestia and channeling it to Trixie. It was kind, and warm, and full of untold amounts of magical power. A tingly sensation filled Trixie as she languished in the magic. Celestia leaned forward.

“Stop it!” Luna called. “You’re draining her life energy. You have to stop!”

Trixie looked at her, and could detect no lies in the mare’s words. That did not mean she wasn’t somehow manipulating her, but something felt wrong. This whole situation felt off somehow, and Celestia’s warmth wasn’t making her feel better. The hollow feeling inside of her was only growing, she felt colder all of a sudden and her legs buckled beneath her.

“No,” Trixie said quietly to herself. She tried to stop the tendrils, to will them away. They wouldn’t leave. She felt her own pain, torment and suffering feeding them. Growing stronger by the second. They were too strong; her suffering had been too great. She couldn’t defeat them anymore than she could have fought off her attackers in Manehattan, anymore than she could have stopped the ursa minor, or anymore than she could have saved Candle Light’s horn.

The darkness inside of her was too powerful.

“Please!” Luna cried, but it didn’t sound quite right.

Trixie looked up and realized that the room had changed. Everything had become cold and blue, not a muscle moved around her. She looked at Luna still held in her tendrils. It wasn’t the strong, proud, and untrustworthy mare she had grown to know. Sure Luna was still taller than her, but her face was younger, much younger, and with her short light blue mane, she didn’t even look as old as Trixie.

Celestia on the other hoof looked ancient. Lines and creases showed her age, showed the years that she had suffered. The scars were clear, the damage would never go away and her pink mane was almost entirely gray. She looked at Trixie, but she didn’t look sad, she looked determined. Trixie could see it, between Celestia’s smile and her eyes she was determined to continue moving forward, to continue getting hurt, to never quit until she was a walking mass of scar tissue. Trixie wasn’t sure what was driving the old mare, but seeing the strength inside of Celestia made her realizes something.

She couldn’t give up.

Trixie opened her eyes and the room had returned to normal. Luna was crying out, but Trixie couldn’t hear it. Celestia was being held up only by the mass of tendrils surrounding her. The pain and suffering Trixie felt powering the tendrils was great. The Dorchadas was feeding from her past, but it was neglecting the things that really mattered, the things that did the most to shape who she was now and who she would become.

Trixie let out a howl as she fought against the magic. The only weapons she had were her memories, but that would have to do.

She thought of Maud, how sweet her touch was and how loving and loyal her heart stayed. The energy being drawn from Celestia slowed. Thoughts of Valiant Heart lecturing her about having wild and crazy sex with Maud made Trixie giggle a little. The tendrils ceased drawing energy altogether. Screw Loose’s unconditional motherly love. The tendril lowered Celestia and dropped Luna completely.

A baleful red orb appeared in her mind, it was bright and full of hatred. Its crimson light stained everything that Trixie had recalled.

Screw Loose had been saved, but another mare’s sanity had been sacrificed for it. The tendrils tightened their grip around Celestia. Valiant Heart had been bullied and raped and beaten so horribly that her eye and leg were damaged, and all Trixie had to do was send a message to Manehattan. Trixie’s heart skipped a beat.

“Yes, Trixie, all you had to do was use a telegraph, send a message to Manehattan and this would have all been avoided,” the red orb said gleefully.

“N-no, Ponyville might not have one,” Trixie defended.

“Even if they don’t, you could have asked Twilight to use magic to send a letter to the Wonderbolts? Or to the authorities? To anypony really,” the red orb said.

“She didn’t know how bad it was, I didn’t know how bad it was. If I’d known, I would have stopped it,” Trixie pleaded. “I would have moved faster, I would have flown if I needed to save Val. I swear it!”

The red orb crushed her spirit and Trixie’s head fell to the floor. “You can’t even save a filly from the most evil mare in all of Equestria. How could you ever hope to save Princess Celestia, from me?”

Trixie sniffled. “I tried… I tried to fix it. To stop this, I swear.”

”Shhh, don’t try anymore. Just let me handle this. Like an ocean of blood the Crimson Tide washes away all pain and doubt. Don’t let th-“ the orb said softly.

“Crimson Tide?” Trixie said quietly. The deer had warned her that the Crimson Tide was the monster responsible for torturing their kin, and killing many of their warriors and scouts. Trixie pushed herself up slowly. “Crimson Tide? That’s what they called Red Velvet.”

“Yes, well who do you think has been… helping you see the correct truths since you first visited me?” the orb said.

Trixie resented the orb. It was the monstrous thing that had been in her nightmares, digging into Trixie’s worst fears and showing her the mutilated versions of her friends. Telling her how much she had hurt them and how worthless she was. If this orb was part of Red Velvet, then this meant that Red had been inside her head…

Trixie let out a howl of rage. “GET OUT OF MY MIND!”

“Oh please don’t get so angry, I’d hate it if you were mad at me… you are after all, my only friend. Ignore Starfire and the deer that I traveled with. Only you, Trixie,” the orb said.

It was another lie. Red Velvet had been working with Starfire for a long time, Starfire and her had to have been buddies. Then there was Twilight Sparkle thinking that Red’s real name was Carmine. Red had told her that Trixie was her only friend, but that was a lie. Just like with Luna, Trixie had been used.

Not for much longer if Trixie had anything to say about it. Trixie pushed herself up off the ground, she felt heavy, and weak, but she managed it. Slowly she walked to the throne. Red was still busy with the spell, she couldn’t defend herself. If only Trixie could get one single attack in, maybe the distraction would be enough to-

Searing pain shot through her back, up her wings and down again. It felt like molten led being poured directly over her skin and she buckled in a single scream of agony so precise that she swore she heard the stained glass crack.

“Insolent little defiant fool. You had one job, and you can’t even do that. If that’s how it’s going to be, than I shall remind you of just what it feels like to grow wings the slow and painful way,” the orb threatened.

Trixie rolled over. The pain didn’t stop. Her thoughts and her mind were scrambled by the torture she felt. She just wanted it to stop, but it wouldn’t let up.

“Ahem, excuse me my dear, but I do believe that this is no place for rolling around screaming,” Babble said coolly.

Trixie tried to look around, but her vision was blackened by pain. She heard a snap and the pain was gone. The orb was still there, in her mind, but she could see that its… mouth? Had been duct taped. All it could do was muffle noisily.

“Do try and do that thing where you remembered good things again, I’d hate to lose my favorite ponies to play pranks on because you were in a bad mood,” Babble said playfully.

Good things? What good things? I bucked up so hard that there is no way I can do any good. It doesn’t matter if I help Valiant build a cardboard fort and play inside it with her. it doesn’t matter if we feed her every day or keep her warm at night or even clean up after she has an accident. She’d be better off without ever… she… she’d be on the street if I didn’t show up. Probably in the care of Frailty, or… worse.

If it wasn’t for me, Valiant would have a family, wouldn’t smile and wouldn’t laugh. she couldn’t read all those lame books, and have friends her own age, and she’d never have a mommy as good as Maud.

Maud would still be hurt too. She needed Valiant to come along, even if Val can’t replace Boulder, she can still give Maud the ability to be a mom again. They needed each other and if it hadn’t been for me and my crazy dream powers, they would never have met.

Trixie sat up. Took one hard look at the writhing mass of black tendrils, and they stopped. She felt Celestia’s energy inside of her, all warm and friendly, and most of all determined to protect those she loved. Trixie focused on it, and forced it out of her and back into the shadowy limbs. Slowly but surely the energy went back into Celestia. Just as she finished giving the last of Celestia’s energy back. The tendrils around the princess exploded with a burst of fire and flames.

The tall and deadly princess looked down at the weak and tired Trixie. “You fought the darkness inside of you?”

Trixie nodded curtly. She looked at Luna, and watched as the tendrils melted away into nothingness around her. With the two princesses free, somepony was finally there to stop Red Velvet.

The sound of glass shattering behind Trixie followed by the terrified look in Celestia’s eyes told her it was too late.

“It’s done,” Red Velvet said in disbelief. “Their free… I’ve finally freed the alicorns.”

Trixie tried to turn around and see Red Velvet, but her body wouldn’t listen. Every movement she made sent a signal of pain up through her back and into her wings. Even if she couldn’t move she watched as Celestia’s eyes slowly narrowed her previous anger returned. A corrosive green light filled the room for a brief moment, and then Trixie heard a thunderous noise from somewhere far above. The windows shattered, and Trixie moved to cover her ears despite the pain it took to move.

When it was done Trixie had rolled over to where she could see outside the now empty window panes. There above Canterlot floated a giant golden city. It was too far away to be able to make out any great details, but from what she could tell, there were giant white glowing crystals both above and below it, along with giant gears and cogs all spinning as though the city itself was some sort of enormous clock. All in all, it was a beautiful sight to behold.

“What is that?” Luna asked.

“That is the Alicorn Empire, or what remains of it. Its soldiers, its nobles, its servants. All them are up there in that city looking down at us and sneering. They can’t stand to see the slave cast free and living peaceful lives without their supposed guidance,” Celestia said.

“You’ve met them?” Luna asked.

“When you left I became desperate for company. I released only a few of them, learned from them, and decided that until such a time as I can prove to them that our way of life is valid, they should stay locked away,” Celestia said. “There has never been a conquering force like the alicorns before or since their time. Without the draconequus to stop them… I fear we are in considerable trouble.”

Red Velvet flew down to Trixie’s side. She looked down at Trixie with a small smile. “I’m sorry it ended up this way, but you did your job, you kept them distracted long enough for me to save my people. I’ll give you what I promised now.”

Trixie worked her mouth, but only gibberish came out. She wasn’t sure what to say, there were conflicting emotions running through her. She wanted to hurt Red Velvet, but at the same time she wanted to see her goal to completion. She wanted to protect her, and she wanted to throw her to the wolves. Trixie felt very confused.

Red’s horn lit up. “I am taking my power back now.”

Trixie blinked.

“What are you doing?” Celestia said hotly.

“You know how you put all of your alicorn power into Twilight Sparkle so she could ‘not’ fight Tirek. Well I put about half of my power into a lousy unicorn and watched as it not only cured her of her ailments and curses, but also as she grew wings and ascended to… almost alicornhood. Sadly I will require that power back now,” Red Velvet said.

“I manipulated her emotions, corralled her actions and even had to resort to threats against that mess of a mother she has in order to get her to come this far. I don’t think you’ve ever understood just how delectable ruining a pony from the inside out is. She had doubts of course, and watching her argue with herself as to whether she should help me or not was far more entertaining than it really should have been. Of course when I take my power back, It’ll be heart breaking to know that I can’t watch her sink, sink from the realization of just how much I did to her, to her life.

“I needed somepony who hated themselves so much that the painful transformation would be something they felt they deserved. Orchestrating that bit was exceedingly difficult. I’m just grateful that she had her eyes on a little slut. Twisting that part of your brain, watching you struggle to not jump her bones in the middle of town, and knowing that you couldn’t push her away because she might be like you. Hehehe, it was priceless,” Red Velvet said. She leaned in and whispered. “When you figure out what I helped you do, oh you’ll want to rip my heart out.”

A sudden flash of insight told her that Red Velvet was about to do something hideous. The red orb in her mind, still unable to speak, began a cruel muffled laugh. Before Trixie knew it, her entire body screamed out in pain, her wings felt like they were melting, holes formed in them and the cold air hit unprotected muscle, and then bone. A high pitched scream filled the room, it was unlike anything Trixie had ever heard or imagined. She realized much to her horror that the inequine sound was coming from her own mouth.

As quickly as it had begun, it ended. Trixie was left lying in a puddle, panting. Saliva fell from her mouth and onto the floor. She looked at her back, and where she had once had two dark feathered wings, she now only had open patches of red flesh. They stung but the massive amount of agony was finally gone.

She looked at Red Velvet, and began to ask why when something crawled up her throat. Her head leaned forward and her stomach contents spilled forth onto the floor. Her throat hurt, her body ached, her horn was making a fizzling popping sound, and her shoulder blades burned. There was plenty of reason as to why she was now crying.

Red smiled, and as she walked toward the window Trixie saw the shadows leap up and climb around her fur. They hardened into a suit of dark red armor, nearly black. For the first time since she had been transformed she saw the manic grin plastered over Red’s lips, her fangs flashed brightly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that you’ll recover… eventually.”

She flew out of the window and toward the floating city.

Celestia spat and charged forward, but before she could even get off the ground a beam of red light flew into the building. For a brief second, Trixie watched a shield form around Celestia, but it cracked and shattered under the magic attack. The beam split into half a dozen smaller ones, each one piercing a different part of Celestia. Her neck, wing, legs and side were all struck.

Celestia stood only a second longer before coughing up something wet and red. She fell to the floor, breathing hard. Trixie tried to move, her body refused to listen. What happened after that was broken up by bits and pieces.

Trixie remembered Luna holding her sister’s head while crying, and singing softly. The lunar princess was crying as she sung the saddest lullaby she had ever heard.

“Hush now dear sister, let me carry you away.

Away from all the sorrow.

Hush now dear sister, Let carry your dreams.

Even when you feel hollow.

Hush now dear sister, Let me carry your love.

Into the hearts of those who follow.

Hush now dear sister, Let me carry your pain.

Together we’ll see tomorrow.”

Maud and Valiant along with a dozen or so more ponies charged into the throne room. The only ones Trixie didn’t recognize were all guards. Twilight screamed, Maud cried, and Valiant whispered to Trixie that it was going to be alright. Finally Trixie remembered Moondancer using some sort of healing magic on Celestia and on her.

All the while Trixie could only hear the saddest lullaby she ever heard playing on repeat in her mind.

Comments

[diablo4000]

Hooo boy........

[TheCrimsonDM]

8026002 Thank you so much for pointing this out. There wasn't even supposed to be any bold text put there. I have noticed a glitch where sometimes a google doc that's been imported will get all messed up with bold texts everywhere, except where it's supposed to be. I didn't think that the glitch would effect my old chapters, but when i first posted this chapter it was clean of any glitches. So again, thank you so much for pointing it out. Also thanks for reading my story. XD