Really not much to say here but thanks for all the feedback you all have been giving me. Without it, you might have had to wait longer before I motivated myself to write. Still, I do plan on getting this done, but not for a while.
Chapter 4: Me, Myself, and I
Present time: Moonglow Forest
Trixie had never felt such uncertainty and confusion in all of her life. As the day continued, she found herself spending more time than she would have liked resting next to the lake that had given her those strange visions. The only times she left was to forage for food or to relive herself. She would use the lake itself as a source of water, but every time she did so, it felt as if she was committing some kind of sin. Still, as hard as she tried, she was unable to find another source of water that was close by the lake.
While she was resting by the lake, her thoughts kept returning back to those visions. She wanted to believe that they were visions of the future, but at the same time they seem highly unlikely. If they were visions of the future, then why would the first vision show her on stage and the next one having her say something completely different in the next? Besides, why would she even want to spend a night with that purple unicorn who was the cause of all her suffering? She did remember the lake saying something about her desires. What possible reason would make her desire involve that purple unicorn anyway? She hoped that the lake would provide her with some kind of answer.
She shook her head, and said to herself, “Look at yourself Trixie, you’re talking to yourself about what some dumb lake told you. You really need to stop getting all worked up over nothing. You should just leave.” Yet, as much as she wanted to, she felt a strange desire to remain. It was a minor annoyance that caused her more than a fair share of stress and anxiety. In fact, she was so out of touch that she didn’t realize that it was already close to night time until she felt a cold air whip through her coat.
When she finally noticed that it was night, the blue unicorn made her way to the lake’s edge, and once again gazed into the mystical water. She watched as the water flowed and turned under its own currents; the sliver shine of the moon appearing to mix and swirl on the water’s surface. As time passed, Trixie saw the two visions once again appearing on the surface of the lake. They were close enough so that she was able to see both of them at the same time. She watched as each of her vision selves played out their respective roles and she now felt a certain level of peace entering her heart. Yet, as the visions continue to run, she found herself staring more and more at the one where she was with the purple unicorn in that room. The more she gazed at it, the more her heart felt a new sense of warmth and completeness. The other vision, however, only gave her a sense of pride and achievement. More and more, Trixie found herself wanting to be a part of that comfort and warmth. Slowly, the cold part of her heart which was reserved for that purple unicorn was starting to thaw. With reverence, she slowly extended a hoof to the vision as if seeking to just dive into the water and somehow find herself in that situation.
“And just what pray tell are you doing?” A voice cracked through the cold, quiet air. Trixie snapped herself from the hypnotic gaze and saw the two visions disappearing again. The voice she heard was different then the last one. This one sounded more annoyed but prideful and boastful. Yet, it sounded so…familiar to the blue unicorn. Slowly, she raised her head and she let out as gasp of fright.
It was…her. Trixie was in complete disbelief as she saw an exact mirror image of herself standing on the water surface. However, that Trixie was different in the fact that she appeared to be made entirely of water, and she was also wearing her old cape and hat. Her expression was one of dissatisfaction and distaste as if she viewed the world with contempt. She pointed a watery hoof at the real Trixie and said “You should be thanking Trixie for saving your pathetic flank from making the biggest mistake of your life.” The real Trixie was somewhat confused by that statement and was having a hard time chocking the words up from her throat. The water Trixie gave a smug smile, obviously taking the stunned silence as awe, and said, “I guess Trixie should have expected this reaction by now. Never the less, your eyes do not deceive you, as you are standing in the prescience of The Great and Powerful Trixie!” The water Trixie made a flourishing motion and water shot from the lake only to explode in what appeared to be water-like fireworks. The real Trixie was still confused as to what was going on, but she managed to reply, “No you’re not, I’m the real Trixie.” The water Trixie gave a laugh of contempt and said “Trixie finds it amusing that you would even considered thinking that you are anything like Trixie. You’re nothing more than a wash-up who wouldn’t have lasted a day without Trixie’s help.”
The moment that the water-Trixie had finished that sentence, memories long forgotten started to return to the surface. She remembered how hard it was living on her own in Manehatten with nothing but a few magic tricks and a hopeless dream. She remembered her only friends being the magicians that would do free shows and how their acts would always inspire her and made her realize her passion for the stage. Why would she even consider settling down when she had not yet become the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria? It was a blatant disregard of all her past struggles and achievements.
She looked back at her doppelganger and said, “What must Trixie do to restore her status of being ‘Great and Powerful’.” The water Trixie gave a smile of joy and said “Trixie knows of only one way.” She paused for a moment for dramatic effect “You must return to Ponyville and prove that the purple unicorn is nothing more than a hoax.” The real Trixie nodded her head in agreement. That blasted purple unicorn must have pulled some kind of elaborate trick to foal the entire town into thinking that she was the better unicorn. She even got those two simpletons in on her act. Well…two could play that game, and she would rue the day she ever messed with the Great and Powerful Trixie.
“But…what…what if it wasn’t a trick?” A softer but still familiar voice flowed into the real Trixie ears, breaking her from her moment and causing her to look back at the lake where she witnesses another feat. It was yet another Trixie made of water. However, this Trixie lacked the cape and hat of the first one and her demeanor was more passive and shy then the confident and boastful appearance of the first. The real Trixie was unsure as to how long she had been there and if she had said anything prior. In fact, this water-Trixie seemed so out of place compared to the first one that the real Trixie was unsure if she was even a part of her, if that was the reason behind them being here in the first place.
Still, the lake had not given Trixie a straight answer yet, and she felt that she should at least give this new player a chance to speak out. However, this one appeared to remain quiet and passive, her attention seems to be focused on everything else but the other two Trixie. Eventually, the real Trixie said “Was there something you wanted to say?” The second water-Trixie gave a gasp of surprise before replying in a quiet tone “Well…I was just thinking that…maybe…it might not be…um…such a bad idea to…uh…not t attempt to harm Twilight.” The real Trixie was a little surprised that this water Trixie was actually saying the purple unicorn’s name and not just saying ‘purple unicorn’ as both she and the first water-Trixie had used. The second one then went on to add, ”It might be…you know…more beneficial if we…um…returned to Ponyville and…ask Twilight to teach us some of her tricks. You know, since we are both skilled unicorns…”
The first water-Trixie quickly shouted “You can’t possibly believe that the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magical skills are on level with that worthless unicorn?!” The second water Trixie seemed to have gotten a bit of spine as she stared down the first one before saying “Do not call Twilight worthless. She is a far better magician then you could ever hope to be. We should feel honored that we were able to witness some of that skill face to face.” So it continued with the two water Trixie going at each other throats. The real Trixie felt her mind breaking into two as one part agreed with what the first one was saying while, with some surprise, another part agreed with the second water Trixie. She started to curl into a ball, hoping to escape from the screaming words that water Trixie were saying as they got more and more violent.
However, before her sanity was lost, a massive voice shouted “TIS ENOUGH FOUL APPARITIONS OF THY UNICORN TRAITS!!!” Suddenly, water shot out from the lake and coiled around the water-Trixies, binding them in place and gagging them to prevent them from speaking. The real Trixie, no longer hearing the voices shouting, slowly raised her head and let out a gasp of surprise as she witness another pony standing in front of her. This one wasn’t born from the lake water, and her midnight regal crown was shinning in the bright moonlight.
Sorry this took a while to get done. This was actually the part of a story that I was looking forward to doing but I was having a hard time figuring out how to correctly describe it.