//------------------------------// // Lulamoon // Story: On a Pale Horse // by Dee Forty-Five //------------------------------// Trixie stirred. What was that soft feeling beneath her? Clouds? Ah, to sleep on clouds… Trixie had always envied pegasi, deep down. To be able to walk and sleep in the sky, to look up and see the sun and moon and stars, eternal, without clouds concealing them—the thought of such beauty made her shiver. Oh, there were cloud-walking spells, to be sure. But even if you managed to find one, a pony adept at delicate magic needed to cast the spell. And if all of that went according to plan…so what? The spell lasted for a few days, at most. Oh, how she ached for the sky. Of course, there were other ways to achieve one’s dreams. A pony just needed the right amount of power. More of it. More— No. Regret coursed through Trixie like a stream. You can’t be trusted with power like that. Or don’t you remember? I do remember. I do. The Alicorn Amulet—dark days in Ponyville—ponies working like slaves under the Great and Powerful— No! I…I never meant…I learned my lesson! Did you, now? New mistakes…worse mistakes…they had followed the Amulet, like all the legends said they would. But what did a few slip-ups matter, really? To sleep on a cloud, to walk the skies… To live one’s dreams… Surely that was a worthy reason to seek strength, right? It wasn’t too late. All it would take was just a little more power… No! I—I fell for it again—! The same trap! And I went into it with the best of intentions, but yet again, I…I’ve endangered everypony. The princesses…those Ponyville folk…and Twilight Sparkle… Twilight Sparkle! I need to tell Twilight! Trixie’s eyes snapped open. She wasn’t sleeping on a cloud, but on a bed—one softer and plusher than any she’d known. Twilight’s room was a bookworm’s dream. The walls were all shelves, and every inch of them was smothered with manuscripts and scrolls. An inviting, earthy scent permeated the room. So this was Twilight’s home. It was so big, and so spacious, and— And Trixie was jealous. Stop that. That’s the old Trixie talking. The so-called “Great and Powerful” Trixie. You’re better than that, now. You didn’t come here to long for Twilight’s life. You came here to warn her. Trixie rolled out of bed, but as she stood up her body groaned, and the room spun. She was in worse condition than she’d realized. Trixie willed herself to stay standing, and after a few seconds the dizziness subsided. “Twilight?” she called. A soft echo trailed through the library. “Twilight Sparkle?” “Down here!” Trixie rushed downstairs to find Twilight sitting by an old cot. Books and scrolls were arranged before her, gripped by Twilight’s telltale violet aura. Twilight’s brows furrowed in deep thought, her chin resting on one hoof. That purple dragon—what was his name? Strike? Spite?—stood attentively nearby, organizing more material for Twilight to look through. Twilight addressed Trixie without looking up. “You’re awake. Good. What was that thing?” That thing? “Wait, they’ve…they’ve come already?” “One has. She tried to kill you.” “We fought it off!” the dragon interjected. Gah, what was his name? Sleight? Spine? “Its tail was between its legs and everything!” “Her legs, Spike,” Twilight corrected. Ah, that was it. Spike. “I feel comfortable assuming that the form she took as a pegasus mare was as close to a ‘true form’ that we’re going to get. Hence, it’s only polite to use feminine pronouns.” “Wait, you battled one of them? But…” A woozy feeling suddenly overtook Trixie, and she found herself on the floor, eyes pointed at the ceiling. Within a few seconds, Twilight’s face came into view, looking down at her fellow unicorn with concern. “You were in bad shape when you came here,” said Twilight. “We had the town doctor patch you up, but it might take a while for you to truly recover.” She offered a hoof to Trixie. Trixie gripped it, letting Twilight pull her up. “You need rest,” Twilight said. “Go lie down.” “I need…I need to tell you…” “I’d rather hear the story from a mind in good shape. It can wait a few minutes until you get your bearings.” Twilight helped Trixie to a nearby cushion. As the blue unicorn settled down, a thoughtful look crossed Twilight’s face. “Spike!” she called. The dragon raced to attention. “Collect the others, would you? I think all of us should hear this.” He saluted. “Aye-aye!” Trixie shifted uncomfortably under the watchful gazes of six ponies and a dragon. Despite her inner dread, she tried to return their glances. She’d known she’d have to face them again, but... “Hello, everypony,” Trixie said. She tried to inject some of her old pomposity into her words. “Before we begin, Trixie needs to say…no, I need to say. I’m sorry.” A round of silence came from the six ponies. Some of them blinked. “Silly-willy!” said Pinkie Pie. A big smile broke through her muzzle. “You already apologized way back when! You don’t need to do it again!” “I know, but…I still feel bad about it. I still need to apologize.” “Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, but—” “Please excuse me,” interrupted Rarity, “but speaking as one whose baby sister was recently put in danger, might Trixie’s stint as would-be Overmare be something to discuss another time?” “Rarity’s right,” said Twilight. “Trixie? What do you have to tell us about that monster?” Trixie shifted on her cushion. “You said it was a mare that attacked you, right? What did she look like?” “Dark blue coat,” Twilight said. “Silver mane. She looked like a normal pegasus, but she…morphed into something much, much worse.” “I suspected as much,” Trixie said. “Her name is Bramble. And she was a normal pegasus…until about a month ago.” “What happened?” asked Twilight. The others all leaned in expectantly. “She was found by somepony very wicked,” Trixie said. “Somepony named Morning. And he gave her a shard of onyx with something terrible locked inside of it.” “The earring!” Twilight gasped. “I knew there was something magical about it, but in the heat of battle I was too focused on the enemy herself to really act on my hunch. I’m guessing that’s what let her change forms?” Trixie nodded. “Yes. She has a form of magic distinct from what we unicorns possess. The earring also gives her healing powers, and, if she so wishes, a new form to assume.” “That beastie was somethin’ terrible to fight for sure.” Applejack shook her head. “One of the fiercest critters Ah’ve ever seen—sure outclassed those Timberwolves.” “So she transformed? And you actually fought her off without anypony getting hurt?” The group’s faces collectively darkened. Even the eternally-optimistic Pinkie Pie wore a frown. “I wouldn’t say anypony,” Fluttershy murmured. “What happened?” Trixie asked. Cold dread rose inside of her. “You mentioned your sister, didn’t you, Rarity? Did one of those little fillies…?” “No!” Rarity said. “No, Sweetie Belle is quite safe, thank goodness. I don’t know what I’d do if she was anything but. But a stallion is in intensive care.” “W—What?” “Yeah,” Applejack said, looking sideways. “We tried to lead it out of Ponyville as fast as we could, but…poison rained on his whole body. The best doctors in Ponyville are looking to him, but…” “Is he going to be all right?” “We don’t know.” The weight settled on Trixie like an anvil. She’d brought Bramble here. She’d banked on Twilight and the other wielders of the Elements driving her off, but had she really expected there wouldn’t be collateral? It was on her shoulders. Like so much else. Trixie quivered. "I messed up…again…I'm so sorry, everypony. First the Ursa, then the Amulet, and now this...every time I visit Ponyville, I bring so much misery. I should never have come here." She heaved heavy breaths, but a comforting hoof rested on her shoulder. Trixie looked up to find Twilight smiling down at her. “Easy, Trixie,” said Twilight. “He might still make it. And if you hadn’t come here, you yourself almost certainly wouldn’t be alive.” Trixie considered Twilight’s words, then nodded. Twilight was right. She’d taken the best course of action she could, and coming to Ponyville hadn’t only been a gambit to save her own skin—somepony needed to be told. “You’re right. Thank you, Twilight.” Twilight patted Trixie on the shoulder. “You’re welcome. Now…I need you to tell me. What exactly is the nature of this artifact that gives Bramble her power?” “The onyx shard isn’t just an artifact: it’s a prison. The thing contained inside is called Wormwood; Bramble made a deal with it, and it lets her tap its power in return.” Twilight’s breath turned sharp. “Wait. You don’t mean…that Wormwood?” So she knows. It wasn’t too surprising, Trixie guessed; she was the student of the princess, after all. If anypony knew, it would be Twilight Sparkle. “Uh…Twilight? Not to butt in, but you wanna tell us what that is?” Spike volunteered. Twilight nodded. “Wormwood is one of the fell spirits.” A pause made its way through the others. “And…what’s a fell spirit?” asked Fluttershy. “They’re wicked creatures that show up in a few myths,” Twilight explained. “Ancient and terrible, they’re supposed to have plagued ponykind in the era before the founding of Equestria…they even predate Celestia and Luna. “None of the sources agree on where the fell spirits came from. Some say they’re primeval spirits, like Discord, that have existed since the dawn of reality itself. Others say they’re demons that slithered out of Tartarus. And one legend claims they’re evil ponies who were transformed into beasts by their own wickedness. “There are five: Wormwood, Fallingstar, Dragonblack, Solstice, and Grandraven.” “Wormwood is the weakest of the five,” Trixie injected. “Grandraven is the strongest.” Twilight nodded in affirmation. “The story goes that the five tormented ponies in ancient days,” Twilight continued. “Eventually, a group of powerful sorcerers faced them down. They were able to subdue the fell spirits, but could not destroy them. So they took an enchanted onyx, split it into five shards, and sealed one of the spirits into each shard. What happened to the shards has been lost. “The story was never widely known, and probably would have been forgotten if it wasn’t for a curious incident a few centuries ago. An esteemed scholar of magic suddenly claimed one day that the fell spirits were real, that a secret order of ponies served as their hosts, and that he had been a member before defecting. He begged anypony to listen to him, claiming that the order would surely murder him within a fortnight.” “What happened?” Spike asked. “Nothing. Nothing happened. The scholar lived to a ripe old age, but his paranoia and obsession persisted. He lost all credibility, was cast out, and became little more than a joke in the magical community. He spent his twilight years holed up in a shack, desperately trying to hide from assailants who never came.” Twilight looked at Trixie. “Though that scholar ensured that the fell spirits would be remembered, nopony takes their existence seriously. Are you telling me that they’re real after all?” Trixie gave a slow nod. “I am. The shards, and the creatures that live inside of them, are very real. They rely on ponies to serve as their hosts, and give the ponies amazing powers in return. A pony named Morning has served as Grandraven’s host for almost a thousand years and—” “A thousand years?” Rarity gasped. “Nopony lives that long, except the princesses! Is this ‘Morning’ an alicorn?” Trixie shook her head. “No. He’s just a normal stallion…or was, a long time ago. Grandraven has given him eternal youth, among other powers. Morning serves as the steward of the other four shards, and over the centuries he’s distributed them to ponies he thinks would make suitable hosts for the spirits within. The pony who attacked you, Bramble, is Wormwood’s newest host.” A low murmur burst through the other ponies. Trixie couldn’t fault them—it was certainly distressing news. “Wait a sec!” Applejack shouted. The discussion quieted. “If’n these monsters are real, how’d you get mixed up with ‘em, Trixie?” Trixie took a deep breath. “Morning came to me, looking for information…I was his best lead on something he wants very much to find.” “Which is?” “The Alicorn Amulet.” “Wait a sec,” Spike said. “That mare—uh, ‘Bramble,’ I think you said—she was tough enough. How strong would she be if she got the Alicorn Amulet?” “Now you see what sort of problem this is,” Trixie said. “When I realized what I was dealing with, I came straight here…but I don’t think they wanted the secret to get out. Bramble was sent to silence me.” “But—we chased off that varmint, didn’t we?” Applejack said, her voice shaking. “Me an’ Twilight an’ Rainbow Dash an’ Spike. So we shouldn’t have anythin’ to worry about, right?” Trixie shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no. Even if you exhausted her healing magic, as long as she got away with the shard, she’ll recover eventually. I don’t know how long it will take, but Wormwood’s power will heal her. She’ll be back…and not just for me. Bramble takes things very personally…” The various ponies murmured uncertainly to each other. Even Spike deflated a little bit. “Um…” said Fluttershy, sidling over to speak with Trixie. “Miss Lulamoon…There are five fell spirits, aren’t there? So Bramble has one, and Morning has another…are they the only two we need to worry about?” “I don’t think Solstice currently has a host,” Trixie said. “I’m almost positive. But that still leaves four ponies serving as hosts for the fell spirits. And since you only encountered Bramble…” “That leaves three more to worry about,” Twilight finished grimly. She paced back and forth, her forehead knotted in thought. “If the fell spirits really are looking for the Alicorn Amulet, Zecora's in danger. Trixie, what do they know about the Amulet's location?” Trixie stared at the floor, silent. She couldn’t bear to meet the others’ eyes. “…Trixie? What do they know?” “Everything,” Trixie whispered. “I’m so sorry. They know everything.” A flurry of shouts erupted from the other ponies. “Zecora—!” “Is she okay?” “We need to go!” Suddenly, Rainbow Dash pushed herself into Trixie’s face. “So that’s what it’s like, huh?” she shouted. “Didn’t like getting outsmarted by Zecora, so you told those baddies everything, only to come running to us when they turned on you, too? Well, isn’t that just like the Great and Powerful—” “That’s not what happened!” Trixie hadn’t meant to shout, but her volume and ferocity interrupted Rainbow; the pegasus retreated a few steps, taken aback. “I didn’t mean to send anything bad to Zecora or Ponyville! I wanted to change my life around! I came to you as soon as I realized what was going on! It’s not—I’m not—” Trixie’s cheeks felt hot and wet and she realized she was crying. She turned away, burying her face in her hoof so the others wouldn’t have to see. A frigid silence hung in the air, punctuated only by Trixie’s sobs. Twilight eventually cleared her throat, drawing the others’ attention to her—and away from the crying unicorn. “Right,” Twilight said. “We need to go look in on Zecora right away. Get ready, everypony. We leave immediate—” “Wait!” Trixie interrupted. Her eyes were still red and the occasional hiccup interrupted her speech, but she spoke as forcefully as she could. "Bramble is still out there somewhere. She's vengeful and if...if all of you left Ponyville, she'd be happy to take advantage of the opportunity. These ponies—they have no remorse. They'd target your friends and families to get to you." She stood up off the cushion and stepped onto the floor. “You can’t leave Ponyville unguarded. Bramble won’t hesitate.” The others looked back at her, stunned. As the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, they’d faced more danger in a few years than most ponies faced in a lifetime, but most of their adversaries had kept things personal. Even Discord hadn’t singled out their families for punishment; he’d saved the brunt of his malice to use on Twilight and the others personally. Rarity was the first to regain her composure. She took a big breath to bring her breathing under control. “What are we to do, then? I can’t leave Sweetie Belle or my parents alone, but Zecora is in danger…” “I’ll go,” Twilight said. “Spike can come with me. We can handle ourselves, especially knowing what we need to look out for. The rest of you: check up on your families. Make sure they’re safe. Any objections?” There were none. The other ponies dispersed into the dusk, galloping away through the Ponyville streets. Applejack hung back, wishing Twilight good luck; Rainbow Dash fluttered over to Trixie, looking uncomfortable. “Hey,” she said, rubbing the back of her head, “look, I…I blew up at you, and I shouldn’t have. I’m a hothead, but ever since I met someone kind of like me at the Academy, I’ve been trying my best to ease up. What I’m trying to say is…I messed up. Sorry.” Trixie nodded and offered her hoof. “I’ve been forgiven for a lot worse, so…no hard feelings.” Rainbow Dash smiled and accepted the hoofshake. “Hey, Scoots and I are pretty close, but we’re not real sisters, technically. Do you still think that monster pony will go for her?” Trixie mulled it over. “I’m not sure,” she said. “The fell spirits aren’t all-knowing, so she won’t find out from Wormwood. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been watching. But if Bramble doesn’t know, going to check up on that filly might tip her off. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Arrgh! Why is this stuff so hard to figure out? Well…she saw me save Scootaloo alongside the other two Crusaders. So she’s already seen us together. I’ll check up on her.” Rainbow Dash zoomed to the open door, but stopped just outside. She looked over her shoulder, staring back at Trixie. “See you around, I guess. And stay safe.” And then she was a blur in the darkening sky. Twilight watched her friend fly away; when Rainbow Dash was gone, she turned back to Spike. “Right then,” she said. “We need to go check on Zecora.” Spike nodded dutifully. As the two turned to head outside, Trixie called out after them. "Wait." She stood up from the cushion, her legs still wobbling from tiredness. She stepped towards Spike and Twilight, and her body threatened collapse. She ignored it. “I’m coming with you.” “But you’re still weak—” Spike began, but Trixie cut him off. “I’ll be fine. Anything that happens to the zebra is partly my responsibility anyway. I…I need to do this, Twilight. Please.” Twilight considered Trixie for a few moments, her hoof resting in front of her chin, before nodding. “Okay.” Twilight strode silently through the Everfree Forest. The sun was down, but night had not yet truly begun. The sky was a grayish-purple similar to her own coat, indicating the time of day that was her namesake: twilight. Spike walked a few paces ahead, head snapping here-and-there on the lookout for Bramble or any other enemies. Trixie trod next to Twilight, studying Spike’s vigilance with a curious look. “What’s he doing?” she asked. “Even if we don’t run into Bramble, there are plenty of other nasties in this forest. I myself got turned into a statue once.” Trixie snapped her head in Twilight’s direction. “Wh—what?” “I got better!” Twilight protested. Trixie gave Twilight an odd look before silently bending her head downwards, lost in thought. However much she might try to hide it, Trixie was obviously aching and sore. Her wounds were not totally healed. Trixie's state made for slow going, and Twilight felt they were making poor time. The urge to race off and leave Trixie in the dust was tempting. But deep down, she knew that their adversaries had known about Zecora for what sounded like days. If they had planned anything untoward, chances were it had already happened. And that knowledge also fed into their travel speed; she knew that she probably would not like what she found, and indulging Trixie's injured pace was, in its own way, putting off the inevitable. Trixie walked stiffly and deliberately, trying not to be a burden. The branches overhead formed long, dark shadows that snaked along her blue fur. She wasn't wearing her stage magician's hat, but her star-dappled cloak wrapped around her body. Trixie didn't wear it ostentatiously, as she once had; now it looked like a normal traveler's cloak. Twilight observed the other mare for a few minutes, thinking. The air of the Everfree forest left an earthy, somewhat stagnant taste in her mouth. Finally, when she was sure of what she wanted to say, she spoke up. “Trixie—are you feeling okay? You don’t seem your usual self. Even after that…incident with the Amulet, you were apologetic but still…how should I say this? Bombastic. But now you seem a lot more subdued.” Without taking her gaze from the forest floor, Trixie sighed. “Yeah…I suppose I am. It’s been six months since you saw me last, and things have happened since then.” “What kinds of things?” Twilight asked. “I had my eyes opened, I guess you could say. I don’t refer to myself at the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ anymore. That died along with my show. I tried re-opening it after you freed me from the Amulet’s control, you know, but it didn’t last. My heart wasn’t in it. I felt pretty bad about what I did—still do. You all forgave me, but I still needed some way to atone, to prove that I was worthy of the forgiveness I received, you know? I tried to make things better, but instead, all I did was make a mistake. A huge one.” Twilight walked quietly, studying Trixie. The other mare absently kicked at rocks and small bushes along the path. She let the hem of her cloak trail in the dust. Twilight lowered her voice, so that Spike wouldn’t hear what she said next. “That big mistake…I assume you’re referring to the fact that you served as Solstice’s host?” Trixie’s head snapped up, her eyes the size of parasprites. She glanced at Spike, but the dragon continued ahead, searching for danger. She turned her gaze back to Twilight, and gulped. “H—how did you know?” Trixie whispered. Checkmate. If there were any doubts—Twilight had been reasonably sure, but not certain—they were now dispelled. “I chose not to say anything while the others were there,” she replied. “I didn’t think they would understand; doubly so, when Rainbow made her outburst. But the information you told us about the fell spirits was suspect. It would take a dedicated scholar of magic or mythology to even know about their existence. Not only did you know about the spirits, you were able to tell which of the five was weakest and strongest, and what sort of powers they gave their hosts. You knew details about Bramble’s personality, as well as which of the spirits had hosts and which didn’t. All of that pointed to insider knowledge. And since you were so certain that Solstice, and specifically Solstice, didn’t have a host…it was easily deducible. At least, I thought so.” Trixie silently stared at Twilight for a few seconds before breaking into a bitter chuckle. “Heh—heheh…it seems I came to the right mare for help after all. But I shouldn’t be surprised. You somehow managed to beat Bramble, even when she was channeling Wormwood’s power.” “Chess helped.” Trixie looked askance at Twilight. “I’m serious!” Twilight said, a sheepish grin on her face. “I’ll need to teach you sometime.” “Hmph! Beating monsters with chess…being a statue…whatever you say,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes. For a moment—just a moment—she sounded like the old Trixie. She even threw in a haughty sniff for good measure. “You’re right, though,” she continued. “I spent some time as Solstice’s host. But I’m not a bad pony!” she said, her face making a silent plea. “I didn’t understand what they were.” “I believe you had the best intentions,” Twilight said, and she spoke the truth. “But how could you not realize the fell spirits were bad news? How did you fall into all this?” “It’s a bit of a long story.” Twilight gestured to the forest around them, and the heavy branches overhead. “And we’ve got a bit of a walk to fill.” Trixie looked at her for a few moments before giving a small, resigned shrug. “I suppose we do. “Morning came to me about a month after I last saw you,” Trixie began. “That was not long after I axed my show. My final performance was in a desolate village, dry and surrounded by lifeless plains. He came to me in a dusty afternoon. He offered me an onyx shard, and told me what it was. He told me the truth.” Trixie laughed out loud, humorlessly. Spike, who’d hopped up onto a log to better survey the forest, shot an inquisitive look in their direction. Twilight waved her hoof at him absently; he shrugged and returned his attention elsewhere. “Morning told me that the shard housed an evil—he used that exact word! Evil! And I still fell for it!—an evil spirit, and that by bonding with it, I could attain power that few could even dream of. “I was scared, but he assured me that while bonding with Solstice would give me power, she couldn’t force me to do anything. She could try to influence me, sure, but not take away my free will. If I wanted to use her power for good, I could; and there was nothing she could do about it. He used himself as an example, saying that he’d lived for a thousand years with Grandraven’s power, and was proud of the things he’d done. And that too was true. But he never specified whether the things he’d done were things I would be proud of doing… “It was a second chance. A chance to take power, power like the Amulet had offered me, and not to mess things up this time…I wanted to be Great and Powerful. So I took it.” Trixie’s eyes stared far away into the forest, looking at nothing in particular. She was lost in her story. “When I took the shard, I steeled myself. I was sure that Solstice would try to invade my mind and force me to do evil things. But the first thing Solstice said to me was ‘Thank you.’ She thanked me for being her host and for letting her experience the world through my body…and she meant it. And her power…you can’t imagine the power the shard gave me, Twilight. Solstice is one of the mightiest of the fell spirits, second only to Grandraven. It was overwhelming…like I was wearing the Amulet again, but without the corruption eating at me. “The first thing Solstice showed me was an ancient spell, now lost. It wasn’t a spell to liquefy bones or cast ponies into Tartarus, like you might suspect from a fell spirit. I headed to a barren hilltop outside the village, and with Solstice’s help I grew an entire field of flowers in a moment. It was beautiful, and awe-inspiring. The flowers were a species I’d never seen before. They were crimson, and almost glowed in the sun. “And that, in essence, is how I spent my time as Solstice’s host. I indulged. Eventually, she taught me to change forms. But unlike Bramble’s monstrous form, the one Solstice gave me was…graceful. Elegant.” Trixie fixed her gaze on Twilight’s face. “She turned me into an alicorn, Twilight. Like the princesses. Oh, I couldn’t control the sun or the moon, but I had wings and everything…I fulfilled my fillyhood dream. I flew under the stars and walked on clouds.” Trixie’s voice trailed off, and she looked up at the sky, now starlit, through the thick, green branches of the Everfree Forest. Twilight shivered to hear the almost desperate longing in Trixie’s voice. Part of her wanted to go back and take the fell spirit’s power again. Twilight was sure of it. And who could blame Trixie for it? It sounded like a dream. Trixie returned her gaze to Twilight’s face. “Solstice shared my mind, and over those months, as I learned to love her power more and more, I stopped thinking of her as a dangerous creature and instead considered her a special friend. I invited her in, showed her my thoughts and memories. How stupid of me—when she asked to see everything I had experienced, I gladly gave it to her. I didn’t think that this meant she had access to everything I knew about the Alicorn Amulet, including its location. “I kept in touch with Morning,” she continued. “He was like a mentor, teaching me how to use the shard. During one of those visits, Solstice must have given him the information somehow.” “You’re not Solstice’s host anymore,” Twilight offered. “So you saw through her deception eventually. How did that happen? What led you to my doorstep?” “One day when I went to visit Morning again, he had a new student. Bramble. I had a bad feeling about her right from the beginning. She was brutal and sadistic, and always tried to pick fights with me. “About a month after we first met, Bramble came to me under a black moon. She told me that while I was the one who had given Morning the location of the Alicorn Amulet, she was going with him to pick it up, not me. She said it like a boast, but I was only confused; I had never given Morning the location of the Amulet. Only Solstice. “At Bramble’s words, Solstice burst into my brain with explanations and dismissals. ‘She’s just needling you,’ she said. ‘Don’t pay attention.’ That was a slip-up on her part. It just made me more suspicious. I went to Morning and demanded to know what Bramble was talking about. He didn’t try to lie or misdirect—he told me the truth. “Morning told me that Bramble was right, that he’d plucked the Alicorn Amulet’s location from me and had plans for it. When I asked what kind of plans, he didn’t say…but he freely admitted to doing several wicked things over the centuries. You know the assassination of Lady Carice?” “A griffon noble who lived four centuries ago,” Twilight said, remembering her history lessons. “Her death was, at the time, thought to be the work of a rival noble family, though later evidence suggested otherwise. However, tensions between the already bitter noble factions plunged the griffons into a civil war that lasted a decade, decimating their population.” “He killed Lady Carice, or so he claimed,” Trixie said. “And he framed the rival family to start the war.” “But…what did he gain from a civil war?” Trixie shrugged. “I was astonished…and very angry at Solstice. She tried to calm me down, but I demanded to know if she had manipulated me in other ways…she tried to dodge the questions, but the fell spirits are basically parasites. They can try to manipulate their hosts and feed them false truths but if we make flat demands, they have no choice but to obey. So she told me.” Trixie looked at Twilight and Twilight saw tears pooling in her eyes. When Trixie spoke, her voice was taut and wavering. “You remember? How I first got Solstice’s power in that barren little village, and grew the field of flowers? Well, Solstice gave me the spell and the power to cast it, but she didn’t tell me that those flowers are poisonous to ponies. The poison is slow-acting and requires regular consumption, but once it takes effect, it’s…it’s bad. That village, desolate, had very little food…they must have thought it was a miracle to get those flowers overnight. A few brave souls tried one or two. A few days later they seemed okay, so the town decided they were safe to eat. They had a harvest and…” Trixie’s voice cracked and she stopped speaking, the words too hard to get out. Twilight didn’t want to hear any more anyway. Trixie walked morosely along the path, still fruitlessly trying to hide her tears, the same way she had back at the library. Twilight was at a loss. Being a bookworm taught you all sorts of things: details of great historical battles, lost inventions, secrets of magic…but Twilight had a hard time comforting her friends in difficult periods. Trixie wasn’t even that close of a friend; they’d only met a hoofful of times. Owls and other night birds hooted and called through the pristine darkness, and a long silence stretched between the two ponies walking through it. Spike, further along the path, was probably aware of Trixie’s crying…but like Twilight, he seemed willing to give Trixie her space. A few more minutes passed—they were close to Zecora’s hut. Trixie looked up at Twilight, her crying over. She wiped her face with a hoof and took a few deep breaths. “So,” she said. Though her composure was still miserable, her voice was even and clear. “I returned back to that village. You can guess what it was that I found.” Trixie took another series of deep breaths. “So I went to that hill behind the village where I had grown all those flowers, and I used my magic to excavate a hole thirty feet deep. The whole time Solstice was screaming and pleading in my head not to do it. But I took the shard, severed my connection with Solstice, and dumped it into the earth. After I buried it, I headed straight for Ponyville, to warn you about Morning’s plans for the Amulet. But Bramble was on my tail. She attacked me once, and roughed me up really bad—I escaped with pure luck. After that, I ran myself ragged getting to your doorstep. So that’s the story.” Twilight reached out a hoof in Trixie’s direction, but Trixie leered at her with such fury that Twilight brought it back as if burned. "Were you about to tell me that everything is all right? Well, don't." She spat the words from her mouth. "My whole life I've been making a pompous fool of myself and being the bane of other ponies. And then when I finally try to be good, I go on a power trip and end up being some ancient monster's toy—a toy it uses to hurt lots of ponies. What's Great and Powerful about that? How am I supposed to make up for this?" “You’re not perfect,” Twilight said delicately. “Nopony is. It’s not the same, but...a while back, I got a little manic and cast a ‘Want-It-Need-It’ spell that exploded out of control. The princess herself had to step in to restore order; I couldn’t fix it at all. “What I’m trying to say is...I can’t tell you how to fix what you’ve done. But I think you can. And you will.” “Do what I’ve done and then you can talk,” Trixie muttered. Ahead, Spike rounded the hook in the trail that brought Zecora’s hut into view. The baby dragon stood motionless for a second before turning to the two unicorns. “Hey!” he screamed, waving his arms in their direction. “Hurry, hurry!” Twilight galloped down the pathway, Trixie following as best she could. As the two rounded the bend, Zecora’s hut came into their sights. Though Twilight had expected this, she still let out a small, “Oh, no…” Zecora’s roof was caved in, the door hanging from one hinge. The acrid smell of smashed potion bottles and overturned cauldrons was present even from a distance. The interior was littered with rubble and all of Zecora’s personal items, strewn and flung haphazardly. Ransacked. And empty.