Act 2
"We are not always what the world demands of us, when it demands it of us.
Sometimes, we must be honed, like a blade.
Sometimes, we must be rebuilt, like a wall.
Sometimes, we must be broken down to our basest parts, if we are to become what we are meant to be."
-Cmdr. Hurricane
~~~~~~~Hollow Shades, The Crimson Nightshade Inn~~~~~~~
Trixie awoke with the second worst headache in her entire life.
The worst headache she'd woken up with had been after the first disaster in Ponyville, when she'd imbibed on one too many glasses of brandy and a few too many salt licks. That one had taken four days to go away completely, and Trixie still couldn't look at a salt lick without feeling a bit ill. This one was still pretty bad, but nowhere near in that league. She recognized the effects of magical backlash immediately, and so was not foolish enough to try and light her horn to see in the pitch dark room she was in.
Not that she really wanted to - she was laying down on the most comfortable bed she'd been on in years, covered in a soft linen sheet that smelled faintly of strawberries. In fact, Trixie was more than perfectly content to snuggle up to the downy soft pillows and just stay here till the head-hurt went away. She knew she wasn't going to get that wish - the universe wasn't nearly that accommodating. Still, she would make the most of it while it lasted. So she hugged the pillow up to her and rolled around in the soft sheets.
True to form, the universe only let her snuggle into that soft bed for a few hours. Then the door to the dark room opened and a slim unicorn in nurse whites with a dark red coat sailed in through the doorway. Bright white light poured in after her, causing Trixie to pull the blanket up over her eyes to block it out. The sudden change from darkness to light still giving her a sharp prick of pain behind her eyes.
A voice tsked softly. "Still? That must have been one whopper of a spell." The door shut quietly and with it the accursed light. "Here, I brought you a little something to take care of that little backlash headache." Trixie could see the dim glow of a magical aura surrounding a small wooden cup. "Come on. We need to get you back on your hooves." The nurse's voice was soft and singsong, and Trixie didn't trust it for one second. She knew whatever was in that cup was going to be bitter as all get out, and probably would only vaguely distract her from the headache.
Still, she wasn't going to leave unless Trixie just gave in and took the medicine. So she sighed, and pulled the covers back down. "Trixie will drink." She muttered and the nurse gave a cheerful little giggle and pressed the cup up to Trixie's lips unerringly. Mm. She must have good night vision. Trixie thought, before parting her lips and letting the thick liquid be poured down her throat. It was not nearly as bitter as she'd thought - really, really acidic though. Enough to make her cough several times as she downed it in one go. "Blargh!" Was her only response.
Once again, Trixie was surprised as the ache in her head began to clear up almost immediately. There is only one explanation, that stuff must have melted my brain. Trixie stuck her tongue out in mild disgust, but the pain was vanishing too fast for her to much care. Moments later, the Nurse's horn lit up again and bright lights flicked to life. The room was surprisingly not in a hospital - but rather appeared to be a rather luxurious suite in some kind of inn or hotel. The walls were paneled in warm looking woods, and all of the furniture was of excellent quality.
The nurse was a yellow-coated unicorn with a sunny smile on her face. "Always does the trick that stuff! Welcome to the Crimson Nightshade, Miss Lulamoon. I'm Nurse Cross." She beamed brightly at Trixie before continuing on. "As soon as you feel like you can get up and about, a representative from the town council is waiting downstairs. He needs to speak with you about your assignment for the Princess."
Ah, paradise denied. Just when Trixie was beginning to hope she could enjoy this wonderful bed for a few more hours, her entire reason for coming to town was plunked back in front of her. She sighed dramatically. "Well, Trixie had best not keep him waiting then." Normally, she'd love to keep him waiting. But the faster she got out from under this sword of damarecles, the better off she'd be. Besides Trixie, you need to eat after spell casting.
The growl in her stomach punctuated that - especially followed by the cheerful chuckle of the nurse as she walked out the door. Trixie glared at her venomously, then sighed miserably. "Oh get over it, Trixie and go get a sandwich." Trixie found her voice speaking aloud. She shoved herself off the bed, grabbing her cloak and hat from the post next to the doorway, she quickly seated both on her body and gave herself a look in the mirror. Okay, Trixie. The Curtain's gone up. Preliminaries are over. Let's go see what the audience is like tonight. A moment later, she was heading down the stairs.
The Crimson Nightshade Inn was one of the oldest of its kind in Equestria. Like many of those old Inns left over from ancient days when they were often the only place to stay for travelers, it had a personality all its own - In this case, the entire place was done up in an eye-catching array of red shades and green highlights. Velvet hangings with leaf and vine motifs were prominent all over the place, and the main room was decorated with carved red fruits hanging juicily from carved vines.
Trixie wanted to roll her eyes a little at the place, but she had to admit the warmth of the colors lifted her spirits. In spite of the incredibly late hour, the place was positively bustling with thestrals. The atmosphere was raucous and merry, with plenty of foaming mugs of hard cider being passed about. A white unicorn mare with her hair tucked up under a broad brimmed hat and wearing a long tailed jacket was playing a soulful old tune on an ancient looking stand up piano against the wall.
Trixie shook her head a little, eyes traversing the room until she spotted a thestral waving at her quite obviously. He wore a pair of pince-nez glasses and had a frizzy mane of white, along with the traditional dark grey coat of his kind. Trixie quickly traversed the room with practiced ease - her bright cloak and hat stood out amongst the crowd, but no one was giving her a second look tonight. Likely a good thing. I have a feeling this business is just getting started. Trixie thought with a small amount of humor, slipping up to the table a few moments later. "Good evening to you, Councilpony." Trixie greeted the venerable with a slight smile. "Trixie hopes you were not kept waiting for long."
The thestral grinned with shiny white teeth, his fangs glinting in the dim light of the bar. "Not at all, Miss Lulamoon. Please have a seat." He gestured across the oak table to the awaiting stool. Once Trixie had perched herself upon it, he cleared his throat.. "First, I would like to state that I am immensely pleased that our Qu-" The thestral paused, clearing his throat again. "Ahem. That is to say, Princess Luna has sent us such a fine expert. Shadow Song has informed me that you have already dealt with one of the roving bands of spirits who have been plaguing our fair city." The thestral smiled brightly at her. "It was perhaps a bit difficult on you, but it is certainly more progress than we have made these past few weeks."
Trixie waved her hoof airily, trying to affect an aloof tone. "Trixie was merely unprepared for such a heavy use of magic. With a stout meal and regular rest, Trixie does not doubt she will be able to bring an end to this trouble swiftly." She gave her best confident smile - more of a smirk really, but who cared? "Trixie presumes you are here to tell her more about the situation." There was a sudden loud and rather annoyed growl coming from the pit of Trixie's stomach and she blushed a little. "Um. Trixie should perhaps order dinner first."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twenty minutes later, Trixie had almost gone through two big spinach salads (with extra watercress, just how she liked it!) Much to the amusement of the Councilpony Brightmane, who nursed a foamy cider and watched Trixie ravenously devour her dinner. "Hungry?" he intoned, obviously amused. Trixie nodded solemnly as she polished off the second salad with relish, chasing it down with a mug of the inn's own sweet cider. He was even more amused when Trixie waved her bowl in the air with a touch of magic, obviously calling for another. "Ahem. I hope you don't find it rude, but I really ought to get started briefing you on the situation." Brightmane said with a small smile.
Trixie nodded enthusiastically. "Ah, yes. Please do not mind Trixie." She gently waved her hoof, smiling slightly. "Trixie is simply trying to regain her strength after that little fracas." It was imperative that none of them realized she had really pushed herself to the utmost out there in the forest. Trixie already knew this job was going to be a complete slog, but she hoped - perhaps in vain - that one of the locals would unwittingly provide her with a solution. Oh get real, Trixie. You're hoping this problem will go away if you scare it a little. She almost snorted at that thought. With her luck? Yeah, right.
The Councilpony didn't notice these thoughts, as he was shuffling a few sheets of parchment from his bags and cleared his throat. "Yes, well. You've already seen the phantom ponies for yourself. Given Shadow Song's report, it seems you too believed them to be tangible illusions." He arched an eyebrow at her. "We believed this ourselves, but we have run into a small snag. It seems the traditional method of dealing with these illusions - which is to use strong willed individuals to deny their existence - is not working." He paused for a moment, coughing into his hoof as Trixie looked at him with a touch of disbelief. "Yes, I know. It's quite impossible, but there you have it."
Trixie set down her magically levitated fork and frowned as she began to feel a little bundle of nervousness come to life in her middle. "This does not make sense. That was the very method Trixie used to dispel them!" Trixie's thoughts halted. Wait. Was that all I did? She thought back as hard as she could, and realized after a few moments of thought the truth. No... I cast some kind of spell on them. But I wasn't really trying to cast a spell. It just sort of happened. That was frightening. Terrifying really.
Casting magic without knowing what kind of spell you were casting could lead to all sorts of nasty effects. Trixie knew better than most, she'd run afoul of those effects more times than she could count due to her less than traditional method of learning spell casting. Hence why her hair was now a bright silvery white, as opposed to its former natural color. Trixie shook her head a little. "Or... perhaps there is more going on here than meets the eye." Trixie suggested, looking and feeling pretty dubious.
The Councilpony nodded. "Yes, we agree. Unfortunately, we're truly at our wits end as to what that something might be." He shuffled several more bits of parchment before passing a few over the table. "These documents give you some authority over our guard Captain. He and his soldiers will be providing you with what few military resources we have at our disposal. I am afraid that beyond what we have just discussed, there is not much for us to tell."
The thestral frowned and then nodded as he continued to speak "With one exception. One of our local unicorns named Saddle Trelahny indicated she wished to speak with you on the subject. However..." he winced softly, as Trixie perked up instantly. "Do not get your hopes up. She is a kindly enough unicorn, but a little... Unhinged. She was disgraced from a professorship at the School for Gifted Unicorns many years ago and she has never quite recovered from the loss."
Trixie paused for a moment as her third salad was slid in front of her, and she floated a pair of bits to the waitress. Well. I suppose I of all ponies could understand that sort of reaction. she thought with no small amount of bitter amusement. "Yes, well. Trixie will be happy to take your words under advisement." She spoke lightly, carefully examining the documents he'd passed over. "Do not let Trixie keep you if you have other business to attend to, Councilpony." She said testily, as the thestral seemed to stare at her for a few more moments. Her tone was perhaps a bit snappish, but she hated being stared at when she was reading.
Brightmane actually blushed and shook his head. "Ah, yes. My apologies Miss Lulamoon." He stood up and then stopped as he fished a few bits from his purse out. "Which reminds me. Your things are currently being stored in a stone store room attached to the inn." He placed a shining silvery steel key on the table, with a little tag reading '12'. "Also, if I might be so bold..." He spoke hesitantly for the first time, tapping his hooves together nervously. Trixie gave him one of her best deadly glares. He blinked and winced a little. "Never mind. I am certain we could discuss that matter later. A fine evening to you, Miss Lulamoon."
As the Councilpony quickly trotted out of the Inn, Trixie went back to studying the documents he'd left behind. At least I will be able to commandeer some bodyguards. They would not be much help against the spectral foes, but they might be useful if Trixie ever found out who was behind this insane situation. Ghosts don't exist, Trixie. Everypony knows that. They're not illusions, they're So what in the world are you dealing with here? Trixie didn't have the answers yet, but she was sure as buck going to get some.
~~~~~~~~~
The early spring winds billowed Trixie's cloak as she stepped outside the Inn into the city of Hollow Shades. The City of the Night was glorious under the pale moon that hung high above their heads, reflecting the bits of quartz within the ancient slate roofs that covered most of the buildings in town. The ancient cobbles that made up the streets had been worn down by a hundred generations of hooves traveling across them, to the point that they were nearly flat. Trixie held tightly to her hat and frowned a little into the night.
The city was bustling like any other town might have been at midday, full of merchants selling food and other wares and the locals going about their daily business. Hmh, I think I should check out this Trelahny pony. Trixie thought, rubbing at her chin. She might prove to be my best shot at finding real answers, since nopony else in this town has the brains to come up with a solution. As Trixie picked up her pace to a trot down the street, she carefully tried to judge the mood of the crowd around her.
It wasn't a good sign. They're all tense, and they're not showing it. There was a veneer of calm over everything going on, but Trixie had picked up a thing or two about seeing past the obvious. By the moon, everypony is practically looking over their shoulders. The bundle of nerves that had bloomed in her gut during dinner began to grow considerably. The town was on the edge of panic, and she was expected to pull them all out of it. Sure enough, as she passed through the crowds, slitted eyes began to follow her.
Without even thinking about it, Trixie's head lifted a little higher - her walk began just a little bit more imperious, daring anything or anypony to stand in her way. She faced straight ahead and did not glance about like a tourist. A tiny touch of magic ensured her hat would remain firmly on her head as another gust billowed out her cloak. Trixie had to admit, she cut a rather impressive figure - and the locals seemed to think so too, many of them relaxing just a little as they saw her pass by. That didn't do much for Trixie's nerves though. You are officially in over your head here, Trixie. her traitorous thoughts whispered to her.
Trixie did her best to ignore them, as she followed the carefully written directions on one of the sheets of parchment provided by the Councilpony. Let’s see. End of Crescent street... She turned down the slightly dingy alleyway. Not dirty per se, just dingy - a little messy, a bit of litter here and there - but not nearly as bad as some she'd found in the bigger industrial cities. At the far end, the alley opened up into a little cul de sac, filled with old wooden buildings with battered signs hanging from posts at each doorway.
Hmm. Lilith Legal Aid, Big Pony Moving Company, aha! Saddle Trelahny's Potions and Prophecies. She blinked a bit at that one. A fortune teller? That was... not reassuring. Still, it was a better lead than nothing. Besides, Trixie - she could just be running a con to get by. Trixie carefully walked up the rickety wooden steps and pulled the door to the little shop with her magic. Moments later, she was hit with a powerful smell of cinnamon and cloves, and the gentle reek of too much burnt incense. Trixie nearly sneezed at the tidal wave of scent and sighed silently. Typical.
The shop kept getting more typical as she continued in further, the narrow front hall of the shop draped in deep red cloth of a dubious quality. Little cheap crystals hung from faux golden chains from the ceiling, catching each little twinkle of light in a dazzle of color. The main room of the shop was decorated in a similar vein, with three massive sets of shelves stuffed to bursting with unlabeled glass bottles - each filled with some sort of liquid or substance in a dazzling array of colors. Ah, yes. This is a con. Trixie thought quite confidently, as she passed a lightly enchanted crystal which filled the shop with a soft chime. Pretty good one too. Trixie had to admit, admiring how this Saddle lady had done a great deal with very little. Not that I'm going to tell her that.
A brown coated, dirty blonde maned unicorn mare breezed into the room a few moments later, looking a little thin for a normal pony but otherwise vigorous. She wore a pair of large lensed spectacles that seemed to magnify her eyes a little bit, and was swathed in a filmy veil of dark purple lace around her neck and body. She smiled at the sight of Trixie, peering down her nose through her glasses. "Ah, right on time. Just as predicted." Her voice was airy and soft, pitched to force anypony who wanted to listen to strain a little to hear her properly. "Welcome to my humble abode, oh Great and Powerful Trixie. I am Saddle Trelahny, and I sense you come with grave questions." She bowed in the manner of Royal courts, a knowing smile on her slender face.
Trixie had to admit, she was impressed. She's got her shtick down pat. She even sounds sincere. Well, far be it for Trixie not to meet a challenge such as this. Trixie struck her best stage pose, hoof boldly placed forward and a haughty look on her face. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has heard you wished to converse with her. Trixie has therefore deigned to grace you with her presence." She gave it her best booming stage voice, and didn't so much as ruffle Saddle's scarf. "Be swift! The Great and Powerful Trixie has villains to put paid to this eve."
There was a brief moment of silence as Trixie and Saddle sized one another up. Saddle broke her professional mien first and grinned broadly. "Well, about bloody time another professional rolled into town." Her airy-fairy voice had vanished entirely, to be replaced by a thick Trottingham accent. "You're gonna need that if you want to keep this town from going full buggercripes." She dropped herself into a huge pouffe chair, overstuffed to the extreme and waved an airy hoof at Trixie. "Have a seat kid, let’s talk shop. "
Trixie arched an eyebrow and dropped into the indicated chair - the very comfortable chair - and crossed her hooves over her chest. "You're not quite what Trixie was expecting." She said, dubiously. "Though Trixie is a little relieved you are not quite as crazy as the Councilpony suggested." Trixie's face split in a little grin. "Lay it on a bit thick around him, did you?"
Saddle howled a laugh, and slapped her hoof against the arm of her chair. "Ah, that old dingbat? Yeah, he doesn't 'get' magic very well. So I find it's easier just to play to his prejudices." She shrugged. "Anyhoof. You've got a serious problem on your hooves here. I thought I'd seen just about everything until these sods showed up." Her dark gold eyes narrowed a little, a serious look settling onto her face. "Listen, how are you for straight on combat magic?"
Trixie blinked at that question. "Trixie is..." She coughed softly, and tried not to look embarrassed. "Trixie is not very good with offensive spells. My mo- tutor did not teach me anything of any particular note." Other than the usual kinetic blast all unicorns learned of course, but that was less a spell and more of an instinctual response to danger.
Saddle snorted softly. "And you call yourself an illusionist? You can't tell me you don't know how to turn magical pyro into something stronger." At Trixie's blank look, Saddle Trelahny slowly frowned. "Sound blasts, then? Illusory body guards?" More blank looks from Trixie, and a slow astonished look on Saddle's face. "Wait, your tutor HAD To teach you about using magical fireworks offensively."
Trixie blinked then, and nodded cautiously. "Trixie... sort of picked up on that one on her own." She ventured, feeling a steady weight of anger and sadness settling upon her shoulders. "The rest, Trixie does not know." Now wasn't the time for boasting, or bragging. She was in deep and she knew it now. Damn you, Luna. She thought bitterly. If she hadn't known better, she'd be half ready to accuse the moon princess of intentionally sending Trixie to her doom.
Saddle went quiet for a moment and sighed. "Cripes." She whispered. "You just got taught all the basics." She rubbed at her eyes slowly and deeply. "Who the buck only teaches a kid the basic stuff and none of the self-defense stuff?" Trixie felt anger slowly boiling over as Saddle blithely kept going. "Lemme guess. Your tutor told you not to muck about with the spell forms - something about Illusions only working real precisely?" There was a sneer in her tone, and Trixie felt her limbs begin to tremble. "Yeah, that's horseapples kiddo. All the best illusionists muck with the spell forms, it’s how they make up their own signature. You got robbed by whoever taught-"
Trixie could not hold it a moment longer. She slammed her hooves on the wooden table between them - her voice deadly quiet. "Stop talking about my mother that way." All pretense to the third person was gone, and Trixie practically oozed barely contained rage. "My mother was a great illusionist. The Greatest, and I won’t sit here and listen to you talk about her that way." She was repeating herself. That was how angry she was. She stood up then, turning on her heels. "This has been a waste of time. I have bigger problems to deal with."
The unicorn behind her stared at Trixie's retreating back as she shoved her way out of the shop - and then facehoofed. "Oh bugger, she was taught by her mom. Smooth, Sadie. Real smooth."
~~~~~~~~
Trixie didn't know where she was going. She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was she had to get away from that place, from that unicorn. To get away from the memories and the anger and the sadness. But the memories never left Trixie alone. So she walked in a dazed sort of silence, trying her damnedest to stay away from the crowds as her mind flooded with old memories.
~~~~~~~~
"Mommy, Mommy! Watch what I can do!" the young filly squinted really hard - power flooding up through her body and into her young horn and suddenly flashing brightly - and when the light had cleared, two little ghostly ponies were cavorting around Trixie. They gave off little giggles that echoed hauntingly in the air, and then a few moments later they vanished in a puff of smoke.
A tall and slender unicorn with a coat in a deep azure blue and raven black mane smiled softly, sweeping up the young filly in an embrace. "Wonderful, Trixie!" She enthused brightly, dark brown eyes sparkling merrily. "You're a natural Illusionist, just like me!" She winked cheekily. "And your grandmother, too."
That startled a giggle out of Trixie, who snuggled up warmly to her mother's trademark star-spangled cloak. Then she got a really fun idea and squinted her eyes tight - picking her mother's big wizard hat clear off her head and plopping it down onto her own. "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She proclaimed in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.
Her mother laughed warmly and richly, gently nuzzling her cheek up to the little foal's. "Not quite yet, little one. But one day, you will be." Her head came up a moment later, as an older male voice called out behind her...Something Trixie couldn't hear. The older mare lifted the hat back onto her head and winked. "Go back to the dressing room, little one. Mommy's got to go do her show." She gently set Trixie down and scooted her off.
Trixie nodded solemnly and scampered off into the back room, but not before pausing to listen to a booming voice of their announcer, Mr. Chords. His deep basso tones rang through the backstage and over the crowd. "And Now, please put your hooves together for The Mysterious, The Beautiful, The Mighty Phantasma!"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey! Watch where yer goin, Hornhead!"
Trixie felt her body impact a larger one - this one encased in some kind of metal armor, and was rebuffed firmly by a suddenly unfurled wing, sending her crashing to the cobbles of the streets. Her hat fluttered off her head as she tried to regain her bearings, the sound of cruel laughter filling her ears. "What’s' this? Some kind of flank cover?" Trixie's eyes narrowed slightly, as she rolled back up to her hooves to glare at her assailant - a dark coated thestral wearing some kind of armor that reminded Trixie of the Night Guard's armor. Around him, a small group if similarly garbed friends sneered and chuckled.
Trixie spoke harshly - maybe more harshly than she should have given the circumstances, but anger and good sense don't go well together. "Give Trixie back her hat." She had shoved herself back to her hooves, her coat on the back of her neck standing up. "Now." She growled menacingly at the much larger, armored thestral.
He watched her with a small amount of amusement. "Lookit here, fellas'. We've got ourselves a tough girl." He smirked toothily at her, leaning down with a patronizing look in his eyes. "What're you, stupid? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with, little girl?" His wing held the hat firmly away from her, his eyes burning angrily.
Trixie of course, did not much care. Her horn suddenly glowed to life and she grabbed the edge of her hat, trying to tug it away from him as carefully as she could. "Trixie does not give a buck who you are." She snarled again, getting right up in his face. "You will give Trixie back her hat, or there will be consequences." Her voice was practically swimming in angry venom, as her magic tried desperately to pull her hat free.
The thestral wasn't having it though. He snarled back with his sharp teeth in full display, his wing clamping down onto the hat. "I dare you to try something, little girl." The rest of his friends - all of them in the same armor, the last detached part of Trixie's mind noted - had started to back up from the scene he was causing. "Go ahead." he spat at her hooves. " Show me what you've got." Some of the other ponies walking around in the street had started to pay attention to the scene, several of them staring from around the alleyway corners.
Trixie well and truly snapped. Rational thought flew out the window, and with it any semblance of fear. Trixie dragged every ounce of magic she could possibly muster into her horn and screamed at the thestral at the top of her lungs. "GIVE TRIXIE HER HAT BACK NOW!" Magic - uncontrolled, undirected magic - exploded out of the tip of her horn and smashed into the chest of the armored thestral with a searing lance of pain. His eyes widened just a touch before the blast sent him crashing into a wall across the street. Trixie's hat was blasted up into the air, and the snatched with magic back down to seat upon her head. She stood there panting slowly, with the rest of the armored thestrals now staring at her in fear.
The other thestral slowly sank down the wall unconscious as Trixie slowly walked past them. Passing the armored jerk, she noted that her spell had turned a him... into a her. She smirked tiredly. "That's what Trixie's got, bitch." She spat at ground and continued walking slowly but steadily up the street, trying to hold her head high and ignore the sinking feeling of depression in the pit of her stomach - wondering if anything had truly changed since Ponyville or not.
~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie knew she shouldn't be pushing her magic, especially not while recovering from magical backlash. Letting loose her rage at that stupid batpony had been a mistake; she was just as cornered as ever, except now with an even worse headache. What was she supposed to do? Taking out one small group of ghosts had put her down for hours with backlash and there was nopony in town that could conceivably help. All they had to offer were insults and obstructions. At least there was nopony standing in her way now, not in the immediate sense at least.
She scanned the street in front of her; not a single pony in sight. The houses looked older, more dilapidated. The doors were all shut, the windows all shuttered. Rather than alleyways between the buildings, there were large vacant lots overgrown with chest-high grass and strange bits of random junk—discarded by some passing pony who hadn't even considered it worth the time to throw out properly.
The street was silent. It wasn't just that the sounds of hoofbeats and chatter from passers-by had faded away, it was silent. Trixie perked her ears, swiveling them back and forth. There had been birds chirping in the forest before—and insects buzzing around her ears—she was sure of it. But even those sounds were absent from this deserted section of town.
Trixie spun, looking for anything else that was out of place. Something moved in the corner of her eye, shimmering. She spun to face the vacant lot to her right. It extended all the way back to the forest, just an old wooden fence poking up through the mass of vines and weeds at the back marking the edge of town. The lot seemed empty but she was sure she had seen something just a moment ago.
There it was again, a line of hazy shimmering just visible through the trees. Trixie squinted—they were ponies, more of those ghostly illusions from the look of it. And there were a lot of them, galloping straight toward her.
The ghostly ponies emerged from the edge of the forest, their legs and bodies running through the fence rather than leaping over it. The silence had become oppressive, the noiseless galloping somehow more threatening than the sound of living hooves bearing down on her ever could have been, as if the afterlife were leaking into the living world.
Trixie stared down the ghostly stampede. She tried to focus on some detail that marked them as figments. The failure of their hoofbeats to echo from the brick walls around her, the unnatural uniformity of their scent, but she couldn't hear hoofbeats at all and even the smells of the forest and the town had faded away. Her senses seemed washed out—or her exhaustion was effecting her more than she thought.
The phantom ponies bearing down on her certainly looked ghostly enough. They passed through the tall grass rather than trampling it, their manes were unruffled by the wind. Time seemed to slow down and Trixie began to feel vaguely cold, as if whatever warmth was in the air was stolen away by their wrathful presence. Perhaps whatever dimension the ghosts inhabited had reached out and pulled Trixie in.
She fumbled at her vest but—like the fool that she was—Trixie hadn't remembered to refill it with fireworks this morning. Stupid, useless, unprepared failure of a magician. Trixie tried to remember what she'd been thinking last night when she vanquished the illusions but whatever inspiration she'd had was gone now, lost in a haze of doubt and fear.
The ghosts closed the last few yards as Trixie let loose her magic in an uncontrolled burst. She hoped against hope that it would dispel the ghosts, but she suspected that whatever she'd done last night was unrepeatable. She looked up into the black voids of the lead ghost-stallion's eyes. They shimmered as her spell hit, the lines of his muzzle wavering and then coming into focus, becoming solid. It was as if he had crossed some invisible barrier and entered the real world.
As the stallion reared up on his ghostly hooves, something slammed against Trixie's side. The ground fell away beneath her and Trixie squirmed, unable to bend her neck enough to see more than a flash of black wings and the phantasmal ponies rising into the air in silent pursuit. The thought of them catching her while somepony held her aloft was even worse than being caught on the ground where she had some ability to fight back. They were perhaps fifteen feet from the ground and rising. If she was going to escape, she had to act now. With a kick and a wriggle, she felt herself slip free of the hooves around her withers.
It took no time at all for the ground beneath to rush up and smack Trixie's face with a rock. She tumbled forward, pummeled on all sides by rocks and roots until she slammed against a brick wall. She couldn't stand, but she managed to slide up along the wall until she was upright enough to see a dark shape touch down in front of her. The world was spinning but she was able to focus her vision just enough to make out the bat-wings of a thestral and the smoky grey shapes of the ghosts closing in around her.
The ghosts charged, an earth pony stallion with maggots crawling from his snout body-slammed the thestral, connecting with a meaty thud. A flick of its powerful neck tossed the thestral through the air. She hit the wall somewhere overhead and slid down it to collapse in a heap beside her. Trixie closed her eyes, hoping the world would stop spinning, and preparing herself for to join the ranks of the ghost ponies. Something wet and warm was running down the back of her head. She wondered for a moment if she'd have a blood-red mane as a ghost before she faded from consciousness.
~~~~~~~~
The putrid scent of her mother's favorite hangover cure pulled Trixie up from the fog of unconsciousness. A fitting welcome to the afterlife she supposed. Opening her eyes, Trixie was surprised and a bit disappointed to find the warmth on her skin was merely a soft blanket warmed by some unseen fire, rather than some ethereal warmth. Something was waving around in front of her, and she raised a hoof to swat it away.
Nurse Cross looked into her eyes, then pulled back the bottle of herbs she'd been moving around under Trixie's snout. "I'm awake, damn it." Trixie grumbled, her thoughts slow to return to sense as she tried to figure out exactly what had just hit her...
"Yes, but you likely have a concussion." The voice of the Nurse echoed painfully in Trixie's ears, and then continued, "Here, try to follow my hoof with your eyes." The nurse moved her hoof slowly back and forth. Trixie watched it, her focus blurring slightly. Nurse Cross nodded to herself and muttered something under her breath that Trixie didn't quite catch.
A big female thestral shouldered the nurse aside and yanked Trixie up by her mane, pulling her close enough to feel the hot breath against her nostrils. The look in the thestral's eyes was almost as venomous as her voice. "Well I'm glad you are all right. We certainly wouldn't want anything to happen to the great and powerful wizard The Queen sent to protect us. You've done such a good job, why without you we might have dangerous ponies like my Shadow Song walking around instead of being hauled off in a coma." Trixie stared at the thestral woman in horror, her last shreds of confidence shattering with every hard word spat into her face.
The councilpony from the inn—Brightmane or something like that—spoke up behind her, in a voice obviously attempting to soothe the mare, "Now Shade, Ms. Lulamoon may not have done much good here, but she is suffering from magical backlash. I don't think we can expect much from a pony still trying to recover from that kind of exertion. She certainly didn't intend for your daughter to get injured." He gently reached out - trying to seperate Trixie from 'Shade'...
'Shade' or whoever it was snarled at the councilpony, clearly having lost most of her wits. "We can't expect much from her at all, you miserable dingbat! We'd be better off if she just threw herself to them, so the Queen would send somepony better! You know she blew all her magic picking a fight with the town guards?"
At this, Trixie had to speak up. It hurt to speak, hell, it hurt just to breathe right then, but she wasn't going to take that lying down! "They were bullying me! Trixie didn't go up to them and start picking on them! I was trying to help and- "
The angry thestral somehow found new reserves of sarcasm, as she spat painfully into Trixie's face. "Oh they were mean to you, were they? You poor thing. That why you turned Captain Crescent into a mare? You're some kind of foal with no self-control?" She spat again - and memories of the Alicorn Amulet flooded Trixie's mind.
All she could see was red. All she could feel was hate. She wanted not just to hurt Twilight Sparkle, she wanted to crush her. Destroy her. Make her pay for ruining her life. Anything was on the table. Any atrocity, any act of violence or cruelty... anything in order to get her revenge. She humiliated them. Enslaved them. All of them, all of the ponies Twilight loved...
Until her own arrogance was too powerful for even the Amulet to contain. And then every thing she'd done had come back to her a thousand fold - every horrible action. Every depraved moment. And Twilight had just... forgiven her. Forgiven her for being too weak to stand up to the Amulet's power.
Weak. She was weak. Worthless. She had no right to live. She had no right to claim she could protect anypony...
"I-I'm..." Trixie was lost for words. She struggled to her feet, pushing the ponies around her away. The way they stepped back from her, it was as if they didn't want to touch her lest they be contaminated with her failure. She ignored the calls of the councilpony behind her, and the stern words still being hurled towards her by the burly thestral. None of it mattered now.
She stumbled forward, out onto the main street. Somepony jeered behind her, but Trixie didn't catch exactly what was said. She was sure she didn't want to. She snatched up her hat from where it was lying in an overgrown rose bush and limped along deserted street. Not so 'Great and Powerful' are you? No. A real unicorn would never have allowed this to happen. A real unicorn would never have let that stupid artifact rule them. she thought with ever increasing bitterness. A rock bounced off the cobblestones in front of her, she braced herself to be pelted by angry townsponies, but no more stones were thrown. She apparently wasn't even worth the effort of running out of town.
As she passed the last few scattered houses she let herself begin to sob, quietly. I'm just a fraud after all. A phony. Worthless. That thestral was right... they'd all be better off if I was dead. Her thoughts descended into ever increasing bitter anger. The road curved around a stand of willows and as she put the trees between her and the village, a crumbling, overgrown graveyard came into view. The ideal place for a failed ghost hunter. Or a wizard who wanted to die.
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Your doing OK; you did have some errors with capitalization; and you missed the T in
. Aside from that it was passable except for one big mistake. From what I gather, Shade is Shadow Songs mother and is angry because Shadow Song was put in a coma trying to protect Trixie.
Don't you mean daughter?
P.S. I find it interesting the the illusions seem incapable of killing; and I'm still guessing that the person summoning them is Trixie's mother.
Do thestrals come in unicorn and earth thesral as well, or just Pegasi?
2692566 Thanks for pointing those out to me. Ugh. I hate not having an editor for this thing.
interesting theory...
As to the second one, Trixie isn't really in any condition to find out at the moment - the answer is Technically yes, but saying anything more than that is major plot spoilers at this point in time. Suffice to say, if you want to find out, go read the Code of Harmony and find out when everypony else does. :)
I'm really enjoying this little side story. Again, you've developed a wonderful Trixie, and the peak into her thoughts while under the influence of the Amulet was excellent! I look forward to more!
Ooooh! Interesting, I'd love to see what else will happen to Trixie (not that I want her to be hurt or something, I'm quite sympathetic to her after... reading some Redemption!Trixie story, she can be awesome, just like Twilight! \o/)
And that pony, Sadie? Does Sadie an illusionist? And teach Trixie? o:
Saddle is awesome. And Trixie needs to stop putting herself down.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Aside from a few minor errors....who needs editors? THIS IS BRILLIANT!
Also, poor Trixie
2693547 This. It was the guard's fault for picking the fight, not her. One amusing thing leaped out at me...
Ah, Twilight... Might wanna take a lesson from Trixie, here.
I saw that Harry Potter reference
I am confused that she somehow made him a female...seeing as even Twilight couldn't do a spell as such.