//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: Inner Demons // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// Chapter 23: The Life and Times of Trixie Lulamoon pt. 1 It was finally dark in Fillydelphia. Everypony had already gone to bed, but no one was sleeping peacefully. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were sleeping together, but neither one could get out of their heads what happened with Twilight. Why did she summon that monster? None of this was like her. Was she too far gone now? Would they have to kill her? Fluttershy slept in her her room, but couldn't get the dark thoughts out of her head. It was scaring her, because she normally never felt like this about anypony. Not even Discord earned this much negativity, but Trixie almost killed her best friend. Everytime she saw Trixie mentally in her head Fluttershy saw black, and her heart felt really cold. Was this how it felt to hate somepony? Spike decided to stay in Rarity's room with her. He didn't want to believe it, but that one on one talk he had with Twilight made him wonder if there was a way to bring her back. It seemed less and less like she was the same Twilight he grew up with. While Rarity slept semi-peacefully in her bed, Spike lied down on the floor next to the bed, silently praying to Celestia that she would be okay. Apple Bloom was still on a high from finding her Cutie Mark, but she was beginning to wonder if she was actually beginning to have feelings for Lezard. Less and less did she think about her former life as a child, and more and more did she begin to have thoughts she didn't recognize, along with feeling differently about the ponies around her. Sweetie Belle, who avoided everypony after arriving at Shining Armor's estate, silently waited for Twilight to come back for her, but when no one came, she began to wonder if Apple Bloom was right. If that was true, then what happened to Rarity, was her fault? Shining Armor and Cadence both felt horrible about what happened to Twilight. None of it made sense. What happened to change Twilight into such an evil pony? Shining Armor was beginning to feel guilty about pointing his sword at Twilight, but she was out of control. Surely he did the right thing, right? The whole thing was getting more and more stressful for Silver Spoon, and she actually began to miss Diamond Tiara a bit (she wouldn't tell anypony that). The main thing that kept her from wanting to go home though was that she didn't want to leave Apple Bloom alone. Even though Sweetie Belle was (sort of) back, she and Apple Bloom hadn't talked at all. Were they okay? Even Lezard found it difficult to sleep. Between trying to help Apple Bloom get back to her proper age, stopping Twilight from taking over Equestria, and the strange feeling he had in his stomach, it was a miracle he didn't give himself an early heart attack. But while most of the ponies were beginning to feel there wasn't any hope for Twilight, Lezard was starting to feel the opposite. Why, he didn't know, but something was telling him that killing Twilight wasn't the answer. Applejack only had one thing on her mind last night. Her Element hadn't evolved yet, and with Rarity down for the count, they needed her Element more than ever. What wasn't she doing? What would it take for the Element of Honesty to evolve? That, and she couldn't get that weird voice out of her head. She's so far in the darkness... That she can't see her own light anymore... The only one who can rescue her now is the Master of Harmony... Only the one who can understand and use all the Elements as one... Can light the darkness... Find that pony... Applejack woke up with a start. That was the same voice she heard after Twilight escaped Ponyville. Who was that? "Master of... Harmony?" Applejack asked herself. Was this something else they had to find? Considering how the plan with Cadence fell through, should they take another chance on this? Applejack got out of her bed and walked over to the window to look at the moon. She knew it was going to come down to this the moment Twilight pushed her down the stairs that day. She was ready to end this, sooner than later. But for some reason, she couldn't stop trembling. Trixie stayed by Twilight's side until she was sure she was sleeping peacefully. A few times Twilight would begin to cry again, but Trixie would simply shush her lovingly and rub her back calming her down. After a few minutes, Twilight fell into a peaceful slumber. As she left Twilight's room, she thought about the love she must have had for Shining Armor. It had to be a lot for her to flip out like she did. Then again, she must have also been really close to her friends as well, for their apparent betrayal to hurt her so much. "It must be nice to have ponies you're that close to," Trixie said to herself. Even if they all turned on her in the end, she still had friends like that for a while. Something that Trixie didn't ever truly had. "Enjoy playing mother to the so called all powerful Queen of Darkness?" Scootaloo taunted from Trixie's side. "I'd hold my tongue if I were you, Scootaloo," Trixie retorted turning to Scootaloo, "She's still your superior." Scootaloo snorted arrogantly, "Whatever. But I have to say, the way you baby her like that, I don't know if I want to call it sweet or pathetic. Is she really that weak?" "You call that weakness?" Trixie asked, unable to believe what she was hearing, "She was abandoned by literally everypony she ever loved or believed in. Her teacher, her friends, her brother, all of them called her a monster and turned against her. What you call weakness, I call pain." Trixie turned and was walking away from Scootaloo. Children, she thought, never understand anything. "What do you know about pain?" Scootaloo called out, stopping Trixie. "The kind of pain she's in, feeling like you're alone and have no one to turn to? I know that pain all too well," Trixie said walking away to her room, memories of a so called "foalhood" long past flooding back to her. Fifteen years ago... A six year old Trixie Lulamoon was sitting in the schoolyard surrounded by fillies and colts her age pointing at her doing their usual chant. "Blank Flank! Blank Flank! Blank Flank!" they chanted. Trixie had no idea what they were saying, but for some reason she didn't like it. When she got home, she decided to turn to her father for answers. He was a burly Earth stallion with a gray coat and a short black mane, usually wearing a white tank top. His Cutie Mark was a lite match. "Daddy, what's a blank flank?" Trixie asked. "It means ya ain't special," her dad stated simply. "I... don't get it." "Okay, ya know how the other students have symbols on their flanks?" "Just the other day Octavia in the third grade got hers in music class." "Well, she got that because she's special, and that mark shows the whole world why." "So, since I don't have anything on mine..." Trixie said, now looking at her flank, which lacked any symbol of any sort. "Then ya ain't special kid, sorry to break it to ya," her dad said before laughing. Now that she knew the truth about that statement, she hated it even more, no thanks to her dad. He never lifted her up or said anything nice and loving to her. She hated him so much... After that she began to search for her Cutie Mark. Octavia and Vinyl were nice to her (despite being a few grades higher than her), so she turned to them for ideas. "I bet you'd be good at music," Vinyl said happily. "Vinyl, just because we both got ours in music doesn't mean she will," Octavia said properly (Trixie always thought the way Octavia talked was weird), "Trixie, the important thing is that you do something that you love doing. You have to find your Cutie Mark by following your passion." "My... passion?" Trixie asked. She hated it when Octavia used big and fancy words. "What Tavi means is that you need to stick to what you like doing and see where that leads you," Vinyl translated, Octavia sticking out her tongue at her friend, "What do you really like doing?" "Well, I like books," Trixie said happily, "Especially the ones where they talk about spells and stuff." "Well, you are a unicorn," Octavia said, "You should start by practicing magic." "But they don't allow magic in the library, and I don't own any spell books," Trixie said sadly. "Borrow mine," Vinyl said, "I've got two books for beginners. Start with those." Trixie piped up, "Thanks you Vinyl!" she said hugging Vinyl and Octavia, "You two are the best." Even though Octavia and Vinyl never openly said it, they were the closest thing to friends she had. They never invited her to anything (which may have been because they were older kids) but they didn't tease her for not having a Cutie Mark. In her book, they were the closest thing to friends Trixie had. It took a few days, but Trixie eventually was able to make a vase levitate. She then transformed a book into a flower, turned a cat green, and even managed to create fireworks. She was so amazed by what she could accomplish with her magic that she realized that she loved magic. She began reading other books on it and then taking notes, all to practice on her own time. It was after turning a garden of flowers into butterflies that her Cutie Mark came in, showing her love for magic. Unfortunately though, the one pony she thought would care... "What the hell is that?" her father asked, "A magic wand? What does that mean?" "It means that I love magic," Trixie explained slowly. "Oh, I see," her dad chuckled, "You call that a talent? What are you going to do, study magic till you're blue in the face? Sorry, too late for that." That statement made Trixie feel lower than dirt, and she couldn't hold back the tears, "W, w, well at least my talent isn't being a mean jerk!" Trixie shouted running to her room. Her father didn't even call after her. It was no wonder her mother left. If Trixie could have left, she would. She only needed an out. Trixie blinked away a single tear thinking of the past. That wasn't who she was anymore. She was stronger than that now, and she was on her own now. No, not on her own. She had one pony now who would be with her always. "Twilight..." It was morning, right? So why was the sky deep red. Applejack looked outside and saw that the sun was preset. It wouldn't move though. What did that mean? When she walked out into the hallway she saw Lezard standing at a balcony looking at the sky too. I guess I'm not the only one, Applejack thought. "Do ya know whut this means?" Applejack asked approaching the scholar. "Twilight must have put her plans into motion," Lezard said, "Keeping the sun in limbo, making it a constant twilight." "Did she really fall that deep?" Applejack asked herself. "I'm amazed she's strong enough to do this," Lezard stated, "The shock of her brother threatening her must have pushed her powers to the next level. It seems the more devastation she feels, the stronger she becomes." "An' the less likely it seems that she can be saved," Applejack said about to walk away. "What aren't you saying to yourself," Lezard asked, stopping Applejack. "Scuse me?" Applejack asked turning to Lezard. "I thought hard about what could be holding your Element back, and I compared it to what happened to the other Elements of Harmony. Apparently, Fluttershy did something nice for herself, Rainbow Dash supported a friend that stood against her morals, Pinkie Pie felt true happiness for the first time, and Rarity helped Apple Bloom and Spike escape despite knowing that she would be Twilight's personal prisoner." "Yer point?" "Each of them had to demonstrate the hardest form of their Elements in order to evolve. Being kind to oneself, remaining loyal to someone when it's hard, laughing and meaning it in one's heart, and sacrificing one's life willingly," Lezard walked over to Applejack as he explained, "As the Element of Honesty, yours will most likely only evolve when you're fully honest with yourself. So, what's really going on in your head?" "Nothin ya need ta worry yerself with," Applejack retaliated, "Ah'm the most honest pony in Ponyville, even with mahself." "You know, honesty is a funny thing," Lezard said turning around, "You may be lying to yourself right now and not even know it." Lezard was trotting off, but then Applejack remembered something, "Um, have ya heard of a Master of Harmony?" she asked, making Lezard stop and turn to her, "Ah had a dream about it last night, and Ah think it's related ta Twilight." "There are a few books on prophesies in the library here," Lezard said, "I'll search for it. Is there anything else?" "Naw, jus... thanks fer watchin mah sistur fer so long." Lezard smiled warmly, "Honestly, I wonder who was really watching who. She's strong, much like her big sister." Now he trotted off, leaving Applejack alone with her thoughts. Lying to herself? That was crazy. She never lied to anypony before in her life (okay, that was a lie, but she stopped when she was four and she realized that she sucked at it), and she was always true to her feelings. But she still couldn't stop trembling. Especially now that she saw how strong Twilight was. She needed to go down now, and they couldn't wait for her Element to evolve. She had to take it to Twilight personally. This fight had to end. When Trixie got out of her room she noticed immediately the light outside was off. She looked out her window and saw the deep red twilight sky. "It's so... beautiful..." she said, knowing full well who did this wonderful miracle. "Twilight!" Trixie called out running out of her room. Instantly she saw Twilight standing on a balcony looking up at her work. She turned around and greeted Trixie with a warm smile. "Good morning Trixie," Twilight said, "Do you like it?" "I love it," Trixie said walking next to Twilight, "Equestria has never looked so beautiful." "I finally learned how to control the sun and moon," Twilight said, "It's hard, and I don't think as I am now I can hold it for long, but if I were stronger-" "You aren't strong enough now?" Trixie asked, unable to believe that there was a level even Twilight hadn't reached yet. "Nopony is born into greatness," Twilight said, "Not even powerful ponies like us. You understand, right?" "Oh yeah," Trixie said looking down, "I know that all too well..." A year after she got her Cutie Mark, she found her out. It's name, Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns. She had a gift for magic, she knew it. It was her special talent after all. She knew she could get into that school. She just had to escape her father. It was late at night, and she waited for the signal, which was a small rock thrown at her window. She looked down and saw Vinyl waving to her. Just like she said she would, Trixie thought. Vinyl was the most honest pony she knew, never one to lie to anypony. So when she said she and Octavia would help her get to the school, she knew she could trust them. Trixie opened her window, and slowly climbed out of the window to where Vinyl was. She fell down at the last moment, but Vinyl used her magic to catch her. "You okay, Trixie?" Vinyl asked running to her. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks Vinyl," Trixie said with a smile, "Where's Tavi?" "She's at the bus stop already," Vinyl said picking up Trixie's bag with her mouth, "Let's go." They walked in silence for a while, awkward feelings coming over Trixie. "Are you going to be okay?" Vinyl asked, surprising Trixie. "Yeah, cause I'm going to make it big," Trixie stated, "I'm going to be the greatest magic user in Equestria," Trixie looked up at Vinyl, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" "Me? I want to be a DJ like my Aunt Fios," Vinyl said, "I'm thinking of using the name DJ Pon3. What do you think?" "I think that's cool Vinyl," Trixie said, "You're going to do great." "Just like you," Vinyl said, "I bet you'll be Princess Celestia's favorite student." "I hope so," Trixie said, that feeling coming over her again, "Are we... friends?" "I think so," Vinyl said with a shrug, "You're a cool kid, why?" "You and Octavia never made fun of me like the other kids," Trixie said looking down, "I just wondered why not?" "Because no kid deserves the crap you have to go through," Vinyl said seriously, "I don't want you to listen to anyone who tells you that you aren't special. Even if you have to fight everypony to prove otherwise, make sure the world knows that you are special." She couldn't take it anymore. Before she knew it she was hugging Vinyl, "Thank you Vinyl," Trixie said with tears in her eyes. "Don't mention it Trixie," Vinyl said hugging her back, "You're going to go far, Trixie. I know it." A few minutes later, they saw Octavia pacing in front of the bus stop. When she saw them she ran over to them, "It's about time you two got here," Octavia said, "I was afraid you wouldn't make it." "Come on, we didn't take that long," Vinyl said, "And Trixie's house is pretty far from here." "Well, whatever. The bus to Canterlot is on it way, so here," Octavia reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a ticket, "It's good for one round trip to Canterlot and back to Manehatten." "This had to have cost you a lot Tavi," Trixie said taking the ticket, "Are you sure it's okay?" "It's fine, Trixie," Octavia said, "I'm going to inherit my parent's estate when I get older, and I already have loads of money. If I can't spend a little money to help my friends then what's the point of having it?" Good old Octavia, Trixie thought, always so generous with her money. Despite seeming a little stuck up sometimes, she was the first pony to give to somepony in need. The bus stopped next to them. "Here's my bus," Trixie said looking up at the doorway to her destiny, "Octavia, Vinyl, thank you," Trixie said, her voice shaking a bit, "You two have been so nice to me. I'm going... to miss... you..." before she knew it, she was sobbing. Octavia and Vinyl both walked over to her and nuzzled her sweetly. "We're going to miss you, Trixie," Octavia said. "You better make it big in Canterlot," Vinyl said, "And don't worry about your pops. We won't tell anyone anything." "Thanks guys," Trixie said nuzzling them. She then got on the bus and took a seat in the back. As her bus left, she looked back and saw Octavia and Vinyl waving to her. She could have sworn that they were both crying a bit. Maybe they were her friends. Unfortunately when she got to Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns though, she was horrified to see the reality of what they meant by "gifted". She was one of twenty ponies to pass the written exam, but the ultimate test was what killed her. The final part was hatching a dragon's egg. One student with glasses passed the test easily. Another student created a bit of a fiasco after some explosion in the sky and the test was postponed for a few hours (but Trixie got to see Princess Celestia in person, and GOD was she beautiful). After it started up again though, it was Trixie's turn. She used every spell she could think of, even shooting the egg with fire... But try as she might, the egg would not hatch. "That's enough Miss Lulamoon," one of the judges said. "Please, give me a little more time!" Trixie said frantically, "I know that I-" "Miss Lulamoon, if you were truly gifted the egg would have hatched the first time," another judge said. "But I know I can do it! If you just give me a second I can figure-" "This test is about natural instinct, not about problem solving. I'm sorry to say this, but you just aren't gifted enough for this school." That's what they said, but Trixie knew what they meant. You aren't special. As she walked out of the school, she felt all of her dreams shatter. Her father, the students at school, the judges, they all said it, so it had to be true. "I'm... not special..." she sobbed to herself, unable to figure out what to do now. "If I'm going to get what I need," Twilight said bringing Trixie back to the real world, "Then I must become the ultimate pony in the world." "Twilight, do you mean..." Trixie asked. "Yes, I must shed my mortal vessel and ascend to a higher level. The most powerful and beautiful pony to ever exist..." "An alicorn..." Trixie finished for Twilight. "If Twilight becomes an alicorn then I'll lose my opening," Scootaloo said as she listened to their conversation, "I need to kill her before that happens, then become an alicorn myself."