//------------------------------// // 6 - The Fated Day // Story: Trixie Through Time // by Yukito //------------------------------// Inkie Pie had never been more embarrassed in her entire life. Not even that time her sister had welcomed her to Ponyville by spraying cake batter all over her in the middle of the street, or the time her father tried to climb down the chimney as Santa one Hearth’s Warming Eve, only to get himself stuck. No, this definitely topped the list of her life’s most embarrassing moments. Above her, fireworks going off in the shape of the world’s number one egotist, with that same pony’s voice proclaiming her greatness to all of Canterlot. “Well, if that isn’t a signal, I don’t know what is,” Cadance said in a light-hearted tone. “Now we just wait for them to get here.” “Twenty minutes left,” Shining Armor announced. “After that, we’re heading to the crystal mine without them. We can’t afford to lose any more time than that.” “It’s pretty bad in there,” Lightning Dust told everypony from her lookout position in the sky above them. “But it looks like the Royal Guard’s doing a good job protecting the citizens.” “Of course,” Shining responded in a proud tone. “Those are my troops in there. They’re more than capable of handling a situation such as this.” “Hey, I see them!” Lightning shouted, causing everypony sitting down to rise to their hooves as she descended to the ground. “Looks like they’re both okay! They should be here in just a few minutes.” Shining nodded, and the group waited a further three minutes before the two Unicorns arrived. When they were close enough that everypony could see them properly, everypony but Trixie and Vinyl fell silent, staring at the showmare with puzzled looks on their faces. “Hey guys! You, uh… miss us?” Vinyl asked, noticing the strange looks directed their way. She noticed that they were all focussed on Trixie, and looked over at the blue mare to find out why. When she realised what was up, she joined her friends in barely holding back snickers, whilst Trixie simply frowned and gave a deadpan stare to all of her friends. “What?” she asked them in a flat tone, giving a glare that dared them to answer her. Inkie Pie, confident that Trixie would not make good on the silent threat she seemed to be giving everypony, decided to accept her dare. “Nice manestyle,” she said, and suddenly their other friends could no longer hold back their laughs. Trixie sighed. “It really suits you.” “If you like it so much, maybe Trixie should let you experience it too?” Trixie asked as her horn lit up. Inkie immediately stopped laughing and shook her head. “Anypony else?” she asked her remaining friends, who slowly stopped their laughing in turns and backed cautiously away her. “Seriously, though, what happened?” Feathermay asked. Trixie’s magic died down as she turned to answer her. “Trixie was thrown into a barrel of wine and simply hasn’t had chance to wash her hair yet, that’s all.” She turned to Shining Armor and Cadance, and then looked around to see if anypony else was present. “Is this everypony?” Cadance raised an eyebrow at the strange question. “You were expecting somepony else?” “Trixie was expecting that nosey Sparkle to try to steal the spotlight,” she answered, putting extra venom in her voice to sound as bitter as possible. ‘If Twilight was here, then whatever killed future Trixie might not do so here. That’s what I was counting on, at least.’ “Twilight’s exhausted from working so hard. Even if we brought her, we’d only be putting her in danger,” Cadance explained, receiving a nod from Trixie. Narrowing her eyes, Cadance examined Trixie’s a little more closely. She could tell that something was bothering the showmare. Something that Trixie was refusing to share with the group. “Trixie, what’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Trixie answered almost instantaneously. “If this is everypony, then let’s move out already. No sense in just standing around here, wasting time when innocent ponies are in danger.” For a few moments, Trixie moved on her own, and everypony else simply watched her. “… Well, are you coming, or is Trixie going to have to go alone?” One-by-one, everypony began to follow after the impatient pony. Inkie was the first to speak up about Trixie’s odd behaviour, but Trixie simply told her that she was imagining things and refused to speak of it any further. “What’s up with her?” Lightning asked the other mares quietly. “You think she’s just nervous?” Feathermay asked. “Maybe we should try to loosen her up a bit.” “That’s not it,” Inkie said. “She’s thinking. She’s running out of time, so she’s thinking hard about what to do next.” “‘Out of time’?” Apple Fritter asked. “You mean… until she dies…” “Don’t say that!” Inkie shouted in a hushed voice. “She won’t die! We won’t let her!” “Darn right,” Vinyl said, removing her shades and placing them away in her saddlebag. “That’s why we’re here. No matter what, we absolutely won’t let her die in there. Right?” The other four mares nodded, and the five of them stopped for a moment to join their hooves together in a circle. “No matter what,” Inkie said, “All six of us will return here, to go partying at night, to see Trixie put on another show, to eat doughnuts together… to do all the things that we enjoy doing together.” The five of them nodded in agreement together, before being called out to by Shining Armor. “Hey, you guys coming?!” Looking over to where the other three ponies were, which was much farther ahead of them, the five friends broke their little circle to catch up to them. “What were you doing?” Trixie asked. Lightning Dust grinned, “Just making some plans for when the six of us come back here.” Trixie sighed and shook her head, but then smiled as she looked over her five friends. “… Well, don’t get too distracted. Remember, we’re heading into the beast’s lair right now.” “Not to worry!” Feathermay shouted. “So long as the six of us stick together, that big freaky shadow jerk won’t be able to lay a hoof on any of us!” “Okay guys, here it is,” Shining Armor announced as the group arrived at the watchtower that hid the secret entrance into the gem mine below them. “I’ll recap before we head in: our job is to defeat Sombra, and destroy the Fuente de la Corrupción. To do that, Cadance will use the Crystal Heart’s power to repel him, and then we’ll use the Remedio para la Corrupción to destroy the Fuente. Questions?” “One,” Vinyl said. “What’s with the weird names? Remeh who’s a whatsit?” “That’s not important,” Trixie said, brushing the question aside. “What is, though, is why we’re only repelling him. Shouldn’t Sombra be captured and imprisoned for his crimes?” “You want to try capturing something with no physical body?” Shining asked, receiving only a frown in response. “Exactly. Of course, killing him would be our safest option, but-” “I refuse to kill anypony,” Cadance said in a strict tone. “… There you have it. The Crystal Heart wouldn’t allow it, anyway. It weakens when such malicious thoughts are held by the wielder.” “But won’t he just come back?” Lightning asked. “Possibly, but for now, with the Princesses out of actions, this is all that we can do.” “Celestia is doing her best to prevent Princess Luna from becoming Nightmare Moon again, isn’t she?” Trixie asked, receiving a slow, hesitant nod from the Captain. “Then let’s dispense with the questions and banter and get a move on already. Every second counts!” Shining Armor looked over the other mares, who all confirmed that they were ready with their strong, determined gazes. “Okay, stay close everypony. And expect your worst nightmares to face you down there.” After retracing their steps from their first time exploring the mine, Cadance and Trixie managed to lead the others to the door that lead down into the crystal mine without any exciting incidents taking place. However, as soon as they reached that door, they could tell that there was something big waiting for them further in. They could feel it in their bones, a cold feeling that made them shiver. The rest of the group felt it too, and Shining decided to move at the front of the group from there. “So that mist,” Feathermay started, “It isn’t going to appear down here, is it?” “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Cadance said. “The mist that Sombra uses targets a specific group, and doesn’t make exceptions for individual ponies. This one, for example, simply targets those with weak minds. Sombra may be bright, but his sanity was lost a thousand years ago. He can’t be exposed to his own mist, and he knows it, which is why he himself isn’t joining the attack on Canterlot. It’s also why the mist was released using a different method to the Fuente de la Corrupción’s roots.” “What do you mean?” Inkie asked. “Most likely,” Cadance continued, “He was simply biding his time down here so that he could produce enough of the tainted magic to successfully attack Canterlot. That’s what the mist is, after all, and Sombra has a lot of magic already. Whereas the other pony who you encounter in the Everfree Forest aimed to spread the tainted magic all over Equestria, Sombra simply wishes to attack Canterlot. To do that, he will release the mist for a short time to cause an uproar, and then attack when the mist dissipates.” “Why only Canterlot?” Lightning Dust asked. “Even if he takes the capital, Equestria has strong ponies all over the Country, and they’d just band together to kick his flank!” “The mist only targets our weakest fighters, so he can’t use it as a threat against us forever,” Trixie pointed out. “Are you sure?” Cadance asked. “Why do ponies grow powerful in the first place?” “To be noticed?” Trixie ventured. “To be remembered!” Lightning answered. “As a hobby?” Feathermay suggested. Cadance giggled at the variety of answers presented to her. “Whatever the reason might be, we all have one. Ponies grow strong in order to protect. A loved one, a possession, a reputation… whatever it may be, that’s what ponies grow strong for. So if Sombra can threaten that, most ponies will be unwilling to take action.” “I get it,” Apple Fritter said. “So while some ponies will fear their loved ones might be affected by the mist, others might fear the mist’ll affect something else precious to them. For Lightning, she wants to be a hero, so there ain’t no chance she’ll risk the lives of all the defenceless ponies out there.” “Basically, he’ll hold a mass populace hostage,” Cadance summarised for the group. “The rest of us who can fight will fight amongst ourselves over whether or not we should. Some may take action on their own and die as a result. The real threat to him, is the Elements of Harmony. A power that once defeated him and locked him away, and that can dispel the mist and reverse its effects in an instant.” “Wait,” Inkie said with a confused look, “If that’s the case, then why didn’t you just have my sister and her friends use the Elements in Crystal Empire, then come here?” “Because that was a thousand years ago,” Shining Armor explained. “And when the Elements were in the possession of two who could wield far more effectively than the six who currently wield them.” “So, Sombra doesn’t know?” Vinyl asked. “That the Elements are now in the hooves of six different ponies?” “As far as he’s aware, they are still in the hooves of the Royal Sisters. That’s what this attack is all about. King Sombra is making sure that the two Princesses he fears above all else cannot join together to use the Elements, by weakening the one whose mind is easily influenced by darker desires.” “Unfortunately, Twilight and her friends are not at a level where they can use the Elements in such rapid succession,” Cadance told them grimly. “Nor can they use it on something that has no physical body. Otherwise, we would have had them seal him away back when he first returned with the Crystal Empire.” “Bummer,” Vinyl said. Something bright caught her eyes, and she turned her head so see something sparkling on the wall. “Hey, what’s that?” The group stopped to examine it with her, Trixie cautiously taking a step towards it. “A crystal?” “No, this is just a walkway into the actual mine,” Cadance said. “Hmmm… Unfortunately, I’m not exactly an expert on mine and underground… miney stuff,” she said with a sheepish smile to the group. “It could be a trap,” Shining said. “Best to leave it alone and just be on full alert as we proceed.” Inkie felt something falling onto her head, and looked up above her to see what it was. As she did so, a falling piece of dust landed in her right eye, causing her to shut it instantly and reel back as she yelped. “My eye!” she shouted, drawing everypony’s attention to her. “GAH, DIRT CLODS!” she screamed as she rubbed her eye ferociously. “BLINKING DEBRIS THAT HURTS!” “‘Dirt clods’? ‘Blinking debris?’” Vinyl asked as Feathermay and Trixie walked up to the mare to help her out. Trixie used her magic to force Inkie’s eyelids open, whilst Feathermay held her hooves to keep her from flailing about madly. “It’s how she curses,” Trixie explained. “Her parents are very strict about the use of curse words at their farm.” She use a quick wind-based spell to blow the dust out of Inkie’s eye. “HOLY COBBLESTONE! BRICKING…” Inkie bit her lower lip and closed her eye as soon as Trixie’s magic was turned off, and blinked a few times as she grumbled through the pain. A few tears fell down her face, and she breathed heavily as soon as the pain reached a bearable level. “Better?” Trixie asked, making no attempts not to laugh as Inkie’s face turned a bright shade of red in just a matter of seconds. Vinyl and Lightning were also laughing, whilst the others were at least trying to stifle their giggles. “Uh, yeah,” she answered quietly, rubbing the tears out of her eye. “… S-Sorry you had to hear that.” “Honestly, what would your parents think if they heard you talkin’ like that?” Vinyl asked in a teasing tone. “I mean, other than wonderin’ why you aren’t a geologist or somethin’.” Trixie and Lightning’s laughs grew even louder, and Inkie’s face another shade redder. “Let’s just move on, okay?” Inkie asked, pushing Trixie aside as she moved to the front of the group. A low roar passed through the tunnel, silencing the laughter coming from the three mares and sending a chill down everypony’s spines. “W-What was that?” “Wasn’t me,” Vinyl told everypony. “I had breakfast back at the castle.” “He’s coming!” Shining shouted, using his magic to draw his spear. “Inkie, behind me!” Inkie quickly obeyed, turning back and running towards her friends. Trixie examined the spear in Shining Armor’s magic and gulped. She had seen Shining fight before, but only in self-defence. This was… a different side to the stallion that she had never seen before. “Shining, since when do you use a weapon?” Trixie asked. “Even as a Private, Trixie recalls you never once drew your spear outside of standard training and sparring.” “That’s just how dangerous this threat is,” Cadance answered, as Shining was too focussed on the incoming threat to even acknowledge the question. “Even if he were to go all out, he could never defeat Sombra with that weapon. That’s why he has no problem using it.” “Here it comes!” As Shining Armor shouted those words, the ground beneath the ponies began to shake, and the air around them began to grow heavy. Cadance used her magic to summon a barrier around everypony, strengthened by Shining’s own magic, but it only offered minimal protection, and they all struggled to stay on their legs. Especially Trixie and Lightning, who were already injured. Shining’s horn shined brightly, and the barrier pushed forward, repelling the strong magic pushing against it. “Attacking us with magic is useless, Sombra! You’ll have to come out and show yourself!” “Uh, Captain Armor?” Inkie called out as the ground began to crack open beneath the groups’ hooves. “Come on out already, King Sombra! Come on out and face me like a stallion!” “Shining,” Trixie said, using her magic to try to keep herself standing. “What’s wrong, afraid to take on a lowly hoof soldier?!” “SHINING!” the entire group called out, finally getting his attention, but just a little too late. The ground broke apart, and the eight ponies fell down the now-open hole beneath them. Trixie opened her eyes and looked forward. She could see a large wall made of crystals standing before her, glowing and illuminating the room that she was in. Looking around, Trixie couldn’t see much else besides all the debris on the floor, possibly form the cave-in that had brought her here in the first place. A sharp pain caused her to jolt to her hooves as she suddenly realised that she was lying on her bad leg. “Damnit… You guys alright?” she asked as she raised her leg up, wincing and biting her lip as she waited for the pain to subside. She received no answer, and looked around the room again. “We’ve been separated?” She gulped and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down as she considered what her next move should be. “Lightning Dust, Apple Fritter, Inkie Pie, and Shining Armor. Those four should be okay. Hopefully, the others have found themselves together at least. As for me… I shouldn’t remain in one spot for too long. Sombra might be trying to pick us off one at a time, and I can’t fight well in my condition.” Using her magic to light the room further, Trixie noticed a door on the far side of the room. It was a large double-door, with red crystals embedded inside its doorway. As Trixie looked at it, she felt a familiar feeling run through her body. It was the same as the time she first wore the Alicorn Amulet. A quiet hiss, almost terrifying enough to scare her away, but somehow it drew her in. She had to know what was behind this door… She had to open it. She knew that she shouldn’t, but her body was beginning to move on its own. Step by step, she moved closer to the door, and the voice in her head telling her to run got quieter with each step. By the time she reached the door, she didn’t hesitate to stretch out her hoof and open it up. On the other side, Trixie found herself in the streets of Canterlot. Not the damaged, chaotic streets from earlier that morning, but the calm, peaceful streets from earlier that week, with ponies walking around minding their own business, Royal Guard ponies standing around keeping a watchful eye on things, and the sounds of church bells ringing in the distance. “Uh… what’s going on?” Trixie asked herself as she looked around. She caught sight of her friends in the distance, laughing to each other and acting like there was nothing wrong. She quickly ran over to them, calling out to them. “Hey guys! What happened? Why is everything back to normal?” The five mares turned to Trixie with looks of confusion for a second, before they turned to looks of disgust. “Ugh, what is she doing here?” Feathermay asked. “Weren’t you supposed to die in that cave?” Trixie tried to say something, but she struggled to find any words. She wasn’t sure why Feathermay had just asked her that, and before she could question it, Vinyl spoke up. “Figures. Can’t ever deliver what she promises, even her own death. What a loser.” “A total fraud,” Apple Fritter added, turning her cold gaze away from the showmare. “And here I put myself in harm’s way just to see the day she finally shut up for good.” “Face it Trix, you’re a nuisance,” Lightning Dust said, approaching Trixie and forcing her to walk backwards. “Nopony wants to see or hear from you again, now get out of here!” Trixie tried to hold back her tears and her gasps as she looked at her friends, all glaring at her with burning anger in their eyes. The only one who wasn’t was Inkie Pie. The only one who she knew would be on her side, who she knew would defend her at any moment, was simply standing in place with her eyes closed, not saying a word as she allowed her friends to have their says. Finally, when everypony else was done, she opened her eyes, and gave Trixie the same icy glare as the others. “Trixie, I don’t want anything to do with you anymore. Never show your face before me again.” Trixie felt her heart freeze as the words reached her ears, and the entire world came crashing down around her as the mare she thought to be her closest ever friend approached her, and kicked her back into a puddle of mud on the ground. “Get lost, you loser!” “Like we’d actually help you!” “You don’t belong here!” “Go mine rocks, it’s all you’re good for!” “Your disgust me.” Trixie couldn’t hold it in anymore, and she began to cry in front of the five mares who just moments ago she called her friends, as they continued to scorn and detest her. They then began to berate her for being such an embarrassment, and scolded her for making them waste their time on her. Trixie, her vision now a blur through her tears and the sounds of scorning filling her ears, pushed herself to her hooves and ran away as fast as she could. Through the street filled with ponies throwing trash at her. Through the cries of ponies telling her to just disappear forever. Through it all, she cried. ‘Why? Why don’t I belong anywhere?’ “Trixie?” ‘Why have you abandoned me?!’ “TRIXIE!” Trixie gasped as she suddenly found herself sitting inside the cave once again, surrounded by the glowing walls of crystal, the same terrifying door from before standing before her. “W… What?” “Trixie, are you okay?!” Trixie turned to her left to see Shining Armor standing over her, his hooves on her shoulders as he looked at her with a mixture of concern and anger. Concern for her well-being, and anger at himself for bringing Trixie along. “You’re crying… What happened?” “Shining… Amor…” Trixie sniffed and wiped away her tears with her good hoof. “I-I get it. I’ll leave tomorrow, a-and none of you will ever h-hear from me again.” “What are you saying?” Trixie pushed herself to her hooves, and attempted to walk away. However, Shining Armor grabbed her and spun her around to look at him once more. “Trixie, what are you talking about?! Why would you think I want you to leave?!” “Because you all said so!” Trixie shouted. “Everypony… the only reason they came here, is to see me die… From the beginning, nopony has ever actually accepted Trixie before. I don’t… belong anywhere…” Trixie was suddenly pulled forward by some incredible force, and before she knew what was happening, her nuzzle was buried in Shining Armor’s chest. “Moron,” he said, holding her in place as she tried to break free. “Nopony came here for that reason, Trixie. They came because they wanted to help you. They came to make sure you don’t die. And none of your friends will ever abandon you.” “B-But I-” “This door, it looks like the thing Twiley described to me at one point. It shows your worst fears, brought to life.” Trixie slowly turned her head to look at the door. “Whatever you saw, Trixie, rest assured that it will never happen in real life. Your friends all care about you deeply. All of us…” Trixie stopped struggling to break free and sniffed back a few more tears as she considered Shining’s words. “… T-That’s right… Inkie Pie, Lightning Dust, Feathermay, Vinyl Scratch, and Apple Fritter… They would never say such things, would they?” Shining smiled and shook his head. “Speaking of them, we’d better find them. They might be falling victim to the same trap as we speak.” Trixie gasped, and quickly used her magic to break free of Shining Armor’s embrace. “You mean, they’re experiencing their worst fears right now?!” Shining nodded. “Well, possibly.” Trixie grit her teeth and looked around. “Then we can’t waste any time! Where’s the exit?!” “There’s only one tunnel that I haven’t been through connected to this room,” Shining said, pointing at said tunnel behind the showmare. Trixie turned around to follow where his hoof was pointing. “So we should check down there.” Trixie nodded. “Trixie will lead the way. We have to hurry, before we lose the others!” The two quickly departed from the small room, down the tunnel that would hopefully lead to the rest of their friends. As they left, a dark chuckle filled the room, and the door that had shown Trixie her worst fear realised was enveloped in black flames. It was a long walk down the dark tunnel, dimly lit up by Trixie’s horn as she led the two. They proceeded with caution, but also swiftness, wanting to find their friends before Sombra did. Eventually, the two arrived at another large chamber, the crystal walls glowing in a similar fashion to how they did earlier. The first thing that caught Trixie’s eye was Inkie Pie, sitting on her haunches at the far end of the room and looking down at the ground. The next was the large door in front of her, looking exactly like the one that Trixie had experienced earlier. Putting two and two together in her head, Trixie quickly galloped over to her friend, Shining Armor following closely behind her the whole way. “Inkie!” Trixie shouted, grabbing the grey mare’s shoulder with her good hoof and lowering herself to her eyelevel. “Inkie, snap out of it! Hey!” “Trixie…” Inkie muttered. “Please, come back… W-Why-” Trixie took in a deep breath, gripped onto Inkie’s shoulder tightly, and yelled, at the top of her lungs: “INKIE PIE!” Inkie jumped up with a start, and looked at the showmare with a confused look on her face. “T-Trixie… you said… you said you had no more need for me… That I had outlived my usefulness, and that I-” Inkie was cut off by a sudden hug from Trixie. A surprising gesture, one that neither she nor Shining could have ever seen coming. Not sure how else to react, Inkie just sat there and tried to make sense of the situation, until Trixie spoke up. “You idiot,” she said. “After all you’ve done for me… After you’ve helped me so much, there’s no way I would abandon you.” A gasp escaped Inkie’s lips, and was accompanied by a single tear forming in her eye. “T-Trixie… y-you mean it?” Trixie nodded her head, still holding Inkie in her forelegs as she answered. “Of course. You’re my best friend, Inkie. There’d never be anyone or anything to replace you.” Inkie sighed, and raised her hooves to return the friendly embrace. ‘‘Best friend’, huh? … Well, I guess I can live with that.’ Inkie allowed the tear to roll down her face, and smiled as she nuzzled against Trixie’s cheek. “Thank you…” After about half a minute, Shining Armor cleared his throat, bringing the two back to reality and causing them to quickly push away from each other, both of their faces turning red as they saw the stallion’s grin. “Sorry to interrupt, but, the others?” Trixie suddenly remembered the rest of her friends that were still missing, and rose to her hooves, scowling at the snickering Shining Armor. “… If either of you two breath a word of this to anypony, then the Great and Powerful Trixie will make these nightmare doors seem like pleasant dreams.” “My lips are sealed,” Shining said, making a zipping motion across his mouth with a hoof. “This way, girls.” He turned around and led the way towards another tunnel, the only other one in the room besides the one that they had come from. Inkie stood up and the two mares began to follow him. “Um… Thank you, Trixie,” Inkie said as she walked alongside the showmare. “Trixie also fell for one of these horrid doors, so she does not fault you for needing help snapping out of it.” “Not that,” Inkie said. “For being my friend. For putting your faith in me all those months ago, and staying with me ever since.” “Oh… In that case, it is Trixie’s place to say her thanks. After all, you saved Trixie’s life, and made the bad dreams go away.” Trixie turned her head to face her friend. “Inkie, thank you. The same goes for the rest of our friends, too, of course.” “No problem, Trix!” Both Trixie and Inkie stopped moving, and turned their heads to face in front of themselves once more. There, they could see Shining Armor standing with five mares: Vinyl Scratch, Lightning Dust, Apple Fritter, Feathermay, and Cadance. It was Vinyl Scratch that spoke as she and the rest of their friends all joined the two mares. “Man am I glad to see the two of you are okay!” Lightning shouted as she raised her hoof to Trixie, who high-hoofed it mostly on instinct. “That strange door made me see a world where everypony forgot how to laugh,” Feathermay said. “A world where nopony could ever have fun. It was kind of heartbreaking… But, the real world is back now and that’s all that matters!” “Well all fell victim to those doors,” Apple Fritter explained. “We all saw our worst nightmares. All ‘cept for the Princess, who went an’ snapped us all out of it.” “I’ve seen those doors before,” Cadance said. “And Shining has received special training against mind-manipulation magic. That’s why the two of us weren’t affected by them.” “Right, that’s-” Shining stopped, and gave his wife a confused look. “How’d you know I wasn’t affected by it?” Cadance raised a hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Because if you were, you’d be hanging off of my leg by now,” she whispered in a teasing tone, bringing a blush to the stallion’s face. “Besides, I’m your wife. That means you can’t keep any secrets from me.” “That’s not fair!” Shining protested, but his only response a quick peck on the lips from the Princess. “Life’s not fair,” she said with a wink, before being distracted by a gagging sound beside her. She looked over to see five of the six friends grinning at the couple, and the remaining friend, Lightning Dust, making a gagging motion in the air above them. “Dudes, do that in your own time!” she said as she landed onto the ground. “Totally gross, if you ask me.” “What’s wrong Lightning? Y’all afraid of catching cooties or somethin’?” Apple Fritter teased, causing her friends to giggle, whilst Lightning Dust simply scoffed and turned her head away. “I just think there’s a time and place for this kinda thing. Like, behind closed doors, and well away from me! I prefer action and adventure, not cheesy romance flicks!” “Well,” Trixie began, cutting off her friend’s rant, “If Lightning Dust is quite done displaying her tomboyish side, perhaps we should all make a move before King Sombra finds us again?” “Agreed,” Shining Armor said. “The sooner we finish up and get out of here, the better.” The rest of the group agreed, and Shining Armor began to lead the way down one of the two tunnels that neither group had come from, using Cadance’s detection magic to determine it was the correct path. As they moved, they passed by a smooth, shiny wall that allowed Trixie to see her own reflection. She noticed that the bandage around her eye was starting to come undone, and decided that it would only be a bother if it came off during a fight. Using her magic, she removed the bandage and threw it to the ground, and then looked over her body… and her eyes widened at what she saw. Her mane, completely flat, and with streaks of red running through it. Her left eye was swollen and bloodshot. Her right foreleg was completely wrapped in bandages. And finally, her body was completely covered in scratches from head to toe. They looked fresh, and Trixie deduced that they must have been caused by her fall. ‘The final sign,’ Trixie thought to herself, thinking back to her encounter with her future self. ‘… No, I’m still missing the blood pouring from my mouth. But other than that, the resemblance is-’ “Trixie, what’s up?” Lightning Dust asked. Trixie turned to face the group, who were waiting just a little further ahead of her. “You find somethin’?” Trixie sighed and shook her head. “No. Trixie thought she saw something, but it was just the light shining off of this wall.” “Well, if you think you see something, make sure to tell us next time,” Apple Fritter said. “It could mean the difference between life or death.” “Right, right. Sorry ‘bout that.” Satisfied with her story, the rest of the group continued on, with Trixie brining up the rear alongside Inkie Pie. ‘It’s too late now. My friends are all right here. I’ve come too far to turn back now. Whatever happens, I’m seeing this thing through to the end.’ The group stopped when they reached a fork in the road. One tunnel seemed to continue on into complete darkness, whilst the other one seemed to lead down a large set of stairs. Trixie, Inkie, Feathermay, and Cadance all knew exactly where they were. “It’s down there,” Cadance said. “Sombra and the Fuente de la Corrupción, they’re both down there.” “Let’s hurry. I fear we’re running out of time,” Shining said, taking the first step forward. A loud roar sent shivers down his spine, but he continued on nonetheless. “Watch your steps, everypony. It looks like a long way down.” “Trixie, you go first,” Inkie said. “If you fall, I’ll catch you.” Trixie smiled at the offer. “Very well. Trixie shall leave it to you, then,” she said as she followed after Cadance, the last pony besides the two friends to move down the stairs. “This is it… Time to end this thing once and for all.” Trixie’s horn lit up as she reached the bottom of the stairs, providing some light to the large, dark chamber that she was now in. Even with her strongest illumination spell, it was difficult to see in the room due to the dark shadows covering the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, and inching their ways closer and closer to the group of ponies… “There are so many crystals,” Inkie observed, taking notice of all of the black crystals around them. “Which one is it?” “It’s further in,” Cadance said, her own horn lighting up as a faint roar passed over the group. “He’s attacking! Run!” As soon as she said that, the shadows shot towards the group, and the eight ponies immediately began to run forwards. A barrier formed around Cadance and shot out, pushing the shadows back a bit before it disappeared. “Is this Sombra?!” Lightning asked as the shadows began to move towards them again, once more being repelled by Cadance’s barrier magic. “This is one of his many forms,” Cadance explained. “Sombra is a Unicorn who has explored the types of magic even Luna never dared to touch upon! The result was that he lost his sanity, and even his identity! He doesn’t know who he is anymore, he just seeks to harness the power of the crystals at any cost!” “How do we hurt him then?!” Lightning asked. “How do we force him to go all… un-shadowy?” “Just keep running! He can’t harm us in this form, so long as I keep these barriers up! Eventually, he will be forced to change shape!” “Guys, slow down!” Inkie shouted, stopping for a moment to drape Trixie’s good leg around her neck. Trixie herself was panting and coughing heavily. “Keep going!” Trixie shouted. “Don’t stop on account of Trixie’s injuries!” “I gotcha!” Apple Fritter said, hoisting Trixie onto her back with Inkie and Lightning’s help. “Jus’ hold on tight, Trixie!” “… Fools,” she whispered, wrapping her leg around Apple Fritter’s neck. “Don’t blame Trixie when you get yourself killed.” Cadance readied her barrier spell for another round, but the shadows stopped their continuous advances. Shining Armor drew his spear as he observed the retreating shadows carefully. “Just keep running!” he shouted, motioning for Cadance to lead the way. The Princess started to run forward, followed closely by the six mares behind her, who were then followed by Shining Armor. Trixie felt a chill run down her spine and looked up at the ceiling, and then gasped. “Above us!” she shouted. Shining reacted quickly by turning his attention up and throwing her spear, sending it flying through the large, grinning face of King Sombra looming over the group. A hole formed in the face, revealing it to be nothing more than an image crafted out of smoke. A blue light enveloped the spear as Shining Armor used his magic to pull it back. “It’s ahead of us!” Cadance shouted. “Just a little farther no- AH!” A crystal suddenly shooting out of the ground in front of Cadance startled her, and she did not have enough time to slow down before running face first into it. Fortunately, the ponies following her managed to stop before meeting a similar fate. Feathermay and Vinyl Scratch quickly moved to help her out, whilst Shining Armor held his spear up and looked around for any signs of a sudden attack. “Crystal Princessss…” Shining’s blood froze as he heard the chilling voice he knew all too well enter his ears, and he swiftly turned around to see the black Unicorn dressed in black armour and a red cape approaching them. “You will not stop me…” Shining charged forward and thrust his spear towards Sombra, who used his magic to deflect the attack. Using his quick reflexes, Shining managed to avoid falling to the floor in favour of spinning on his forehoof to deliver a kick to Sombra’s face with his hind hoof, knocking him back and allowing the Captain time to regain his combat stance. “You guys go! I’ll keep him distracted!” “You are not fighting him alone!” Cadance said in a stern tone, rubbing her nose with her hoof before reaching into her saddlebag with her magic. She pulled out a small black bead and gave it to Inkie Pie. “This is the Remedio para la Corrupción. Just get this close enough to the crystal and it will take care of the rest.” “What about you?” Inkie asked as she took the bead into her hoof. “I’ll assist Shining in stalling King Sombra, now go!” “Come on Inkie!” Lightning said as she pushed the uncertain mare forward. “But-” “This is all we can do,” Apple Fritter said. “Let’s do this and then come back to help the Princess, but if we don’t destroy that crystal now, then Sombra will win!” Inkie nodded, and then proceeded to run forward with her friends. Meanwhile, Trixie managed to look back over her shoulder at the scene behind her. She could see Shining Armor using her magic to fend off an enraged King Sombra, and Cadance holding the Crystal Heart high above her head. There was a sudden flash of light, and Trixie had to avert her eyes from the scene. “Way to go Princess!” Lightning shouted as she also watched the battle as she was flying. “That’ll teach him not to mess with the Princesses!” “… That was too easy,” Trixie said, looking back over at the two in the distance. She could no longer see them clearly, as the darkness in the room was obscuring her vision. “Way too easy. Is the Crystal Heart really so powerful?” “It is the thing that protects the Crystal Empire, after all,” Apple Fritter pointed out. “I can see the Fu… The thing, up ahead!” Trixie looked up and saw the large black crystal ahead of her. Their goal was just mere moments from in front of them, they just had to keep running straight ahead for a few more seconds, and this entire thing would all be over. “Stop!” Vinyl shouted, skidding to a sudden halt. “I hear somethin’ weird!” “You what?” Lightning asked as she and the other mares also stopped. “Dude, c’mon! We’re almost there! We just gotta-” “I hear something,” Vinyl repeated. “It’s close… It’s below our hooves!” Before anypony could respond, a black crystal shot out of the ground, startling everypony and shocking them as it pierced Inkie’s stomach, pushing her backwards as blood poured out of her open wound. The crystal morphed into the black Unicorn the group knew as Sombra and looked down at the grey mare, licking his lips as his eyes fell onto the bead she carried. “YOU BASTARD!” Lightning Dust shouted as she dove at the distracted Sombra, kicking his side and knocking him over. She attempted to in for another strike, but was held back by Apple Fritter. “Lemme go! I’m gonna murder that guy!” “Think rationally, Lightning!” Apple Fritter shouted, though she was just as angry as the Pegasus she was holding back. “We have ta get to the crystal an’ destroy it! Sombra can come after!” “But Inkie-” “Inkie is okay,” Trixie said. She had jumped down from Apple Fritter’s back to check Inkie’s wound, and to her relief she found that it wasn’t deep enough to be of significant concern. “Trixie has closed her wound already. Fritter’s right; we have to destroy the Fuente de la Corrupción.” Trixie levitated the injured mare onto Apple Fritter’s back. Sombra took a threatening step towards the six mares, growling angrily at them as his horn sparked with dark magic. “Run!” Feathermay shouted as she grabbed the bead and dashed towards the crystal. The other mares followed after her, save for Lightning Dust. “I’ll keep him busy! You guys go!” “Lightning, don’t-” Trixie’s warning came too late, as the Pegasus attempted to deliver another kick to Sombra, only to be pushed back by his magic and restrained by black crystal growing around her hooves. Sombra then turned his attention towards Feathermay and started to run after her. “C’mon!” Vinyl shouted after Trixie, who quickly turned back around to follow after her friends. Sombra shot a blast of magic at the flying Pegasus, who nimbly dodged it by descending her flight path. However, it seemed that Sombra’s target was not the Pegasus herself, but the stalactites hanging above her head. One such stalactite forced her to come to a complete stop, and gave Sombra the opening that he needed to ensnare her in his dark magic. “Vinyl!” Feathermay shouted as she threw the bead before it was too late. The bead was caught in Vinyl’s magic as she continued running, almost tripping over a few rocky outcrops in the process. “You won’t get away!” Sombra shouted as he chased after the white mare, using his magic to shake the ground beneath her hooves. He smiled in satisfaction as he witnessed the mare falling onto her stomach, and the bead flying forward out of her hold. He passed over the mare and raced towards the bead, only to see it be snatched away by Apple Fritter’s hoof. “Mine!” Apple Fritter tried to run, but she was immediately caught by a cloud of black smoke coming up from the ground, surrounding her hooves and paralyzing them. “Trixie!” Trixie turned around and took note of what was happening, and used her magic to snatch the bead before Sombra could take it. Sombra roared and chased after her, causing the showmare to turn around and run as fast as her three good legs would allow her to, despite the intense burning in her chest that it caused. She could see the Fuente de la Corrupción just inches away from her. She was almost there, she just needed to run a little farther, and then she’d be- “STOP!” Trixie did indeed stop, as the tall, horrifying figure of King Sombra suddenly shot up out of the ground in front of her, and instinctively fired a blast of magic towards him. The blast hit him, but it had little effect, and he recovered quickly enough. “Uh-oh…” “It’ssss over…” Dark tendrils shot out at Trixie, grabbing each of her limbs and hoisting her up into the air. The pain of her injured leg being grabbed by the dark magic caused her to scream and lose her focus, dropping the bead that she was holding in her magic. “Unhoof her!” Sombra lowered his head to look in front of himself, and saw a pink beam of magic heading his way. He quickly moved his head to the side to avoid it, but was then knocked back by a pink barrier shooting towards him. His magic shut off, and Trixie began falling quickly to the floor, before being caught in a pink aura and gently lowered onto the ground. “Cadance, now!” Behind Shining Armor, a blue light shone brightly, bringing Trixie’s attention to the pink Alicorn Princess responsible for it. Floating above her head in a magical aura was the Crystal Heart, pulsating as it emitted an almost-blinding light that dispelled Sombra’s thick darkness throughout the chamber. “Everypony, lend your power to the Crystal Heart!” Cadance cried as she closed her eyes. “Think of those dear to you, and the Crystal Heart shall grant your desire to protect them!” Shining Armor was the first to close his eyes, his entire body becoming enveloped in a pink aura as thought of his family, his Princesses, his comrades, and finally his wife, entered his mind. Apple Fritter closed her eyes too, and her body was enveloped in a bright green aura. “Braeburn, Applejack, Aunt and Uncle Orange…” The Crystal Heart began to suck in the aura. “Everypony back home… even you, Red Delicious. I wanna protect you all.” Despite being injured, Inkie was still able to hear everything that was going on around her, and closed her eyes to contribute as much of her power as she could to the Crystal Heart. Her body was enveloped in a grey aura as she pictured her family in her mind, with Trixie standing alongside them, soon joined by all of her friends. Lightning Dust’s body glowed yellow as she thought of all her friends and family up in Cloudsdale, Feathermay’s body glowed pink as she thought of all the ponies living in Canterlot, and Vinyl Scratch’s body glowed blue as she thought about Octavia, waiting for her on the surface in some small holding cell, her mind being controlled by the mist that King Sombra had released. Finally, Trixie joined in by closing her own eyes, and trying to picture those that she loved and cared about, and wanted to protect. ‘… Inkie, who was there for me when I thought nopony would ever care for me again. Feathermay and Vinyl Scratch, who stuck with me despite us losing contact for so long. Apple Fritter, who gave me a chance despite my reputation, and Lightning Dust, who could care less about my reputation, and sought out the truth from my own heart. All of you have done so much for me…’ Trixie’s body was washed in a purple light. ‘Now, it’s time to pay you all back. I’ll protect you all, no matter what.’ The light from the Crystal Heart intensified greatly, and exploded outwards as everypony in the room concentrated to feed their powers into it. Sombra hissed at the approaching light and tried to run away, but he only managed to turn around before the purifying light of the Crystal Heart colliding with him, pushing him away with such force that he could only let out a tortured scream as he felt his body burning all over. When the light died down, everypony in the room opened their eyes, and found that they could see clearly. The darkness inside of the room had been lifted, and all of the black crystals around them were no more. All save for one, which was standing just a few inches away from Shining Armor and Trixie. “D-Did we beat him?” Feathermay asked after a long, drawn out silence. “Is he dead?” Lightning Dust added. Cadance shook her head in response. “He got away,” Cadance said. “From the beginning, he made sure he had enough energy left to flee. Well, I imagined that to be the case anyway…” “We’ll search for him after we all get out of here,” Shining Armor said. “For now, he should be too weak to even consider making a move against us. All that’s left to do down here is to destroy the Fuente de la Corrupción, and then we can all go home.” Apple Fritter smiled as she looked over at Trixie. “That means that Trixie won’t have ta die!” she said excitedly, and her friends cheered alongside her. All apart from Inkie, who noticed the look on Trixie’s face. Trixie frowned as she stared at the floor, deep in thought. She hadn’t even registered the conversation going on around her, as she was too busy focussing on the sinking feeling in her gut. ‘This isn’t right. We won, but… I have a bad feeling…’ “Trixie?” Cadance’s voice snapped the blue mare out of her stupor. “Do you still have it? The Remedio para la Corrupción?” “Oh!” Trixie looked around, and found the bead lying at her hooves on the floor. “With this, we’ll end it.” Trixie levitated the bead into the air, and brought it into contact with the crystal. As soon as the two touched, the bead was enveloped in a purple glow that did not come from Trixie’s magic, and a bright light shot out of it. The crystal began to crack and fracture, and in just a few short seconds, started to shatter. As it did so, however, the chamber began to shake around them, causing the eight ponies to look around themselves in concern. “A cave-in?!” Shining Armor shouted as he saw a rock falling from the ceiling in the distance. “Why now of all times?!” “This must be Sombra’s final revenge!” Cadance hypothesized. “Everypony run!” Trixie turned around and began to follow after the rest of the group, but as she did so, she felt a cold feeling pass through her entire body. Her stomach started to rumble, her fur stood up, and her breath caught in her throat as she continued running. ‘W-What is this feeling? What’s-’ A rock fell down in front of Trixie, forcing her to stop in her tracks. She attempted to call out to her friends, but her voice wouldn’t leave her throat. She instead felt something big approaching, and turned her head to look directly above her. She saw something approaching her fast, but before she could deduce what it was, her vision faded to black. When Trixie opened her eyes, the first thing she could see was Shining Armor standing before her, his legs stretched out and his stance low as magic shot out of his horn at something above him. He was grunting, and it looked as if he was trying to lift something heavy on his back, but there was nothing there as far as the showmare could see. Turning her head to look upwards, she noticed that the magic was being used to power a barrier surrounding the eight ponies, who Trixie now realised were huddled close together. As her awareness started to come back to her, she tasted something odd in her mouth, and licked her lips as she tried to stand up. She saw something red drip down onto the floor below her, and the taste suddenly became much more familiar. “Trixie, don’t move!” Trixie looked up to see Inkie sitting right beside her, holding her forelegs over her wound and she gave the showmare a stern look. “You were hit pretty hard! You need medical treatment!” “Where are we?” Trixie asked, and was surprised at how weak she sounded when she spoke. “We’re still underground,” Cadance told her, laying on the ground not too far from her, panting heavily. “The tunnel collapsed, and we’re stuck here. I used up too much power repelling King Sombra with the Crystal Heart, and Shining is using whatever power he has left to prevent the cave from completely collapsing in on us.” “So in other words, we’re stuck here until somepony can find us,” Lightning Dust summarised, sighing as she leaned back and rested her head against a rock behind her. “Well, at least that stupid crystal is gone. So it’s not a total loss.” “Help will be here,” Cadance assured them. “Just… please hang on. And try to conserve your strength.” Trixie grunted as a pain passed through her body, and she shifted her position to get a little more comfortable. Something fell out of her cape, and she looked down at it. It was the scroll that she took from the Royal Archives. She never did find out what the spell was for… ‘Well, got nothing better to do. My entire body is aching all over. I can’t do anything right now…’ Trixie decided that reading might take her mind off of the situation. But also, there was something else there. She felt the scroll calling out to her. A voice in the back of her mind, telling her to read. Using her good hoof to open the scroll up, Trixie’s eyes focussed on the words and took them all in… She gasped when she realised what the spell was. ‘This is… a time travel spell!’ Trixie grit her teeth together as images of the future Trixie entered her mind. ‘Why? Why did she use this spell? If she wanted me to avoid my death, why the hell did she bring me here in the first place?! She could have told me to avoid Canterlot, or to flee the Country! Why did she…’ “But still, it’s not like this place is well-known,” Feathermay pointed out. “Even you didn’t know how to get past that door, remember? And the gem mine leading here is kept a secret from most ponies.” “We told Twilight where we were going,” Cadance said. “I’m sure she’ll come after us if we don’t return by the end of the day.” “But what if even more tunnels are collapsed?” Lightning Dust asked. “And just ‘cause she knows of this place, doesn’t mean she’ll know where in it we are. This place is freakin’ huge!” Trixie gasped, and thought back to her first visit here. ‘The staircase leading down here… it was hidden. We found Sombra purely by chance, because the future me sent me on this wild goose chase here…’ “Trixie?” Inkie asked. “I know that face. You just realised something, didn’t you?” “… If we had never come here the first time, we never would have known that Sombra was down here,” Trixie said, receiving nods from the other mares. “Sombra had planned to attack on that day, but we interrupted him. Thanks to that, he was weakened, and his plans were delayed. We were able to create a counter method against the Fuente de la Corrupción before it was too late, and we knew exactly where to find King Sombra.” “Yeah yeah, we get it,” Lightning said. “We got lucky, and were able to kick Sombra’s butt before the situation could get too out of hoof.” Trixie shook her head, and grunted as she began to push herself to her hooves. “Trixie, what are you doing?” Apple Fritter asked, watching Trixie with a worried look on her face. “We didn’t get ‘lucky’, Lightning Dust. It was thanks to a tip given to Trixie, that we stumbled upon Sombra down here.” Trixie rose to her hooves, but almost fell back down again as she began to cough. “All thanks to Trixie… going back… and telling herself… where to go…” Inkie felt her heart stopping as she watched Trixie’s horn light up, and she tried to reach over to stop her. Unfortunately, the pain in her stomach was stopping her. “Trixie, don’t,” was all that she could manage in a whispered voice. “Don’t be a fool,” Shining Armor grunted, slowly turning his head to face Trixie. “You’re in no state to use such spells…” “Neither is Mi Amore Cadenza,” Trixie pointed out. “And you have to keep that barrier up… The spell has a limit… of seven days… and can only be used by… a pony once…” “What are you talking about?” Vinyl asked, standing up and walking closer to Trixie, only to be pushed back by a blast of magic from the showmare’s horn. “Hey!” “The Princesses,” Trixie continued, “Celestia and Luna… have already used the spell before… according to these notes… Even assuming, that there is somepony out there able to use this spell to its maximum effectiveness, we only have three days… before sending a warning back in time becomes pointless… After that, it will be too late…” “Trixie, you don’t mean-” A strong gust of wind swirling around Trixie cut Inkie off, and startled everypony into silence as they simply watched her horn growing brighter and brighter. “This is… the only time… that Trixie can use this spell… If we wait, and lose this chance, then it will be all over…” Bracing herself, Trixie took in a deep breath, pushed up to stand on her hind legs, and showed everyone a big, show stopping smile. “Everypony, watch in awe! This is… the Great and P-Powerful Trixie’s… final trick!” A bright flash of light exploded from Trixie’s horn, and in the next moment, when it had died down, she was gone.