//------------------------------//
// CHAPTER SIX: Trixie's Plight 
// Story: Bookends Part 4: Or Day Of Atonement 
// by Stormbringer 
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Trixie didn’t know what had come over her.  But it was all coming back.
She’d finished in the ‘Little Filly’s Room’ and had opened the door to see Applejack standing there.

“It’s all yours AJ,” said Trixie.

But Applejack smiled an odd smile and there was a green flash.  A Changeling was now standing there.  Trixie didn’t have a chance to cry out.  There was a bolt of green that struck her and all went dark.

As the world became real again, Trixie felt herself being supported by her forelegs.  Her hind hooves were not in contact with anything, and it was cold.  She opened her eyes to see herself high above the earth.  She was hanging beneath two Changelings.

“Where’s Pha…” Trixie caught herself, “Where’s my wife, Pinkie.”

“Silence, Mono-Pony,” said one of the Changelings as if the name was poison in its mouth.

“Unless you want us to drop you now.”  Said the other Changeling.

“That might be better than what Queen Chrysalis has in mind for you!” said the first.

The two laughed hard.

“Too bad the Queen wants you and the rest of the Mono-Ponies alive,” said the first Changeling.

“At least for now,” said the other.

Again they both laughed.   

Trixie knew that Changelings, while in physical contact with a pony could absorb the thoughts of their victims.  Trixie decided that to protect Phantasm and her unborn child, she had to be quiet and not give these or other Changelings reason to try to read her thoughts.  

The Changelings flew on through the night as if the queen was at their heels.  No Pegasi, not even Rainbow Apple could have manage to keep up this pace.  

Trixie found it hard to relax enough to try to sleep, but she knew that she would need all her strength and mind to be able to survive what was to come.

It was several hours and Trixie’s forelegs were starting to go numb from herself hangin from them.  She was in a daze, she wasn’t sure what was real and what was a delusion.  However, as she felt that she couldn’t take it anymore, she was dumped onto a hard floor.  

She opened her eyes and noticed she was in a cave or some type of chamber inside rock.  As she looked around, she tried to stand up, only to have a hoof shove her back down.

“Stay down,” said the Changeling that pushed her down, “if you want to live long enough to get what’s coming to you.”

Trixie heard hoof steps echoing from a passage before her.  There walking into sight was a very tall and frightening Changeling.  She had a semi flowing mane and twisted horn.  She was also wearing a bent crown that looked too small.  

The guards bowed.  This must be Queen Chrysalis.  

The queen looked at Trixie, and the smug look on her face turned to anger.

“Fools! This isn’t one of the ponies I told you to get!” she shouted.

The guard trembled, Trixie could sense that they were afraid for their lives.

“Oh Great One,” said one of the guards, “she was with the group.  She is the wife of the pink pony.”

The queen turned her gaze to Trixie, walked to her and with her hoof lifted Trixie’s face to look at her.

“I feel your fear,” said the queen in mock compassion, “don’t worry.  You’ll soon have plenty of company.  You’re not going to be hurt… Yet.  Not until I have all you Mono-Ponies in my hooves.  I’m going to have a lot of fun making all of you scream.  Especially that pink fool that is your wife. ”

The queen looked at the guard and addressed them:

“Take her to the holding chamber.  Feed her, give her a blanket and some water.  Only just enough.”

The guard bowed as the queen turned to leave.

Trixie was helped to her hooves, none to gently, then they shoved her toward an opening in the rock which turned out to be a passageway.  It went this way and that so much Trixie was unsure if she could get away that she could find her way out.  But she did notice that the whole time, they were going uphill.   Finally, they stopped before a very strong looking door, they opened it and pushed her in.  The door closed behind her and she heard locks clicking.  
Trixie tried to use her magic to open the door, but nothing happened.  Even her horn didn’t glow.

“There must be some type of spell on this place to cancel out magic.” Said Trixie to herself.

Her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, there were lichens on the walls that emitted a green glow.  It was hardly sufficient to see well, but enough to keep her from walking into walls.  Luckily, the floor was dry, but it was cold.

A small door opened at the bottom of her cell door.  The light, although inadequate, dazzled Trixie and her night vision was disrupted.  A small basket was shoved in and the door closed.  Trixie sat where she was, eyes closed for several minutes until her night vision had returned.  Then she picked her way over to the basket.  Trixie found in the basket was a blanket, some kind of canteen and some rather old but still edible vegetables.  Trixie decided she’d wait to eat but took the basket and went against the far wall and set it down.  Then she started to explore the room.
It was a bit larger than she’d thought.  There was nothing in there but herself, the basket and the darkness.  As Trixie explored, she stepped down onto nothing at one corner of the roughly rectangular room.  Luckily, Trixie was being careful and so she didn’t fall and risk a broken leg or worse.  The opening was round and was only about a foot and a half in diameter.  Trixie bent down to see if she could see anything.  Unfortunately, her nose detected the smell of excrement.

“Lovely,” said Trixie out loud, “obviously the bathroom.”

Trixie went back to the basket and moved it to the opposite side of the room, as far as she could be away from the hole.  She laid out the blanket and laid down to get what rest she could.  She nibbled on a turnip that was starting to go soft.  Trixie tried not to dwell on the quality of the food.  She had to keep her strength up and have enough nutrients for her developing fetus.  

Trixie must have drifted off to sleep because she was awakened to the cell door opening.  A pony was shoved in.

“Get in there, Mono-Pony,” said a guard.  

Then the door slammed shut.  But there had been enough light to see that the pony that had been pushed in was her beloved Pinkie.

“P…” Trixie started to call out but she caught herself.  “Pinkie, my love, is that you?”

“Yes,” responded Pinkie, “where are you?”

“Follow my voice,” said Trixie.

Pinkie walked up and they hugged and exchanged a kiss.  Trixie had been with Pinkie long enough to know her technique.  Even when they would ‘role play’ and have Pinkie be somepony else, (Trixie and Pinkie’s favorite would have Pinkie being another Trixie) the kissing would be the same.  This wasn’t it.  She thought for a moment.

“What’s wrong Trixie?” said Pinkie.

“It’s nothing,” said Trixie, “just being here among these Changelings.  I don’t know who to trust.”

“You know you can always trust me,” said Pinkie.

That was it.  The pass phrase was Pinkie’s idea!  This was an imposter.  Perhaps trying to get her off guard and gather information on her friends and their plans.  She mustn’t show that she was aware of this.  She must act like she was comfortable with her ‘wife’.  But she should give them disinformation to protect everypony.  It had to be a lie, but a good and believable lie.  

Another pony might have trouble with this, but it was the old Trixie’s bailiwick.

‘It’s show time,’ thought Trixie smiling.  Pinkie only assumed it was Trixie being at ease with them.

“Oh Pinkie,” said Trixie in a timid voice, “I was so afraid that this would happen.  Do you think the rest of our friends will make it to the hot air balloon at the next stop?  I mean it was a risky plan to start with and I was so afraid that we all would be caught when we made the transition from the train.”

“Yes Trixie,” said Pinkie, even in this very low light, Trixie could see her face light up.  “It will be risky.”

“We knew this going into this,” said Trixie cuddling closer to Pinkie.  She had to show that she was 110% believing this was Pinkie so they would not try to have to read her thoughts.  “But it was the only way to meet up with the Wonderbolts that would be coming up from the south, right?”

“Yes,” answered Pinkie, sounding unsure.

“Let’s sleep, Honey,” said Trixie, “no telling what tomorrow will bring.”

They lay down on the blanket.  Pinkie didn’t try of cuddle close to Trixie or hold her hoof.  Another bit of evidence that this wasn’t her Pinkie.

Trixie tried not to go to sleep.  She was tired but she wanted to be able to respond to any threat.

It had to be a couple hours later when the cell door was jerked open.  There were a couple Changelings.

“You!  Pink Mono-Pony!” yelled a guard, “the queen wants to have some fun with you.”

“Please don’t take my wife,” pleaded Trixie, still playing the game.

The Pinkie cowered against the wall, next to Trixie.  The guard rushed in and grabbed Pinkie and dragged her struggling form out the door.

“Don’t take my wife,” cried Trixie, working up some convincing tears.

“I wouldn’t hold out much hope for this one,” said the guard, trying to put fright into Trixie.

Trixie broke down and wept hard.  The door slammed shut hard and the locks snapped into place.

The alligator tears stopped, Trixie lowered the forehooves that she was ‘crying’ into.  She opened her eyes, listened but heard nopony close.  She smiled and then in her showpony sing-song voice:


♪ Ta-Da ♪