//------------------------------// // In the Dark // Story: Why Did I Choose to be Trixie? // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// "Twilight? What is it?" I asked. I felt a cold chill across my back as she tried to speak but couldn't. Both Celestias had looks of concern on their faces and Trixie was also looking pretty scared. Nightmare seemed to have a cock-sure grin on her face. "Well, took you long enough, Sombra," the dark Alicorn chuckled. I whirled around to face him, practically muzzle to muzzle with the dark King, his green eyes trying to hypnotize me. "Who is this whelpling?" he asked her without addressing me directly. "I am Amethyst Flame," I growled at him as I grit my teeth. "You trifle with the wrong group, Sombra." "I do not trifle, whelpling! You have no idea how powerful I am!" he shouted as his form seemed to vaporize without a trace. "I will not stop until this world is mine!" he shouted as his disembodied voice reverberated throughout the courtyard. "So where did he go?" I asked as I scanned for his presence. "That was merely a shadow," Nightmare explained, "He goes where he wishes. I believe he wishes to face us on his terms and not ours." "So he's just teasing us, trying to trick us into following him. I'm open to any suggestions on defeating him -- my parents are on a tight schedule," I stated flatly. The dark Princess turned towards me and raised an eyebrow. "Your parents? Hmm, I'd be interested in meeting them," she mused. "They're human, just as I was at one time," I replied. "My, my, you're just full of surprises, aren't you, Amethyst?" she grinned. "Indeed. I take it we're supposed to wait for him to return? Or do we travel to his realm to face him there? I suspect he'll be much stronger on his turf -- but time is short. I don't like being faced with these dilemmas," I complained. "We must make absolutely certain we are fully prepared to face him, Amethyst. We must plan for every contingency and even those we're not expecting to face either. Your assumption about his strength is correct," our Celestia stated matter-of-factly. "I don't like it where we're put at such a disadvantage. Nightmare? Any suggestions?" "I know his magic signature, but he diffuses it to the point where it's virtually undetectable, especially when he knows he's being sought. One thing we do have, though, is the fact there are six Alicorns working against him Together we can defeat him, even on his turf. Speaking of which, Trixie? Twilight? How did you two become Alicorns?" Twilight pointed a hoof at me and Trixie pointed a hoof at the native Sun Goddess. "They did it for us," they said simultaneously. The dark Princess chuckled at this response. "You two haven't changed, even though you're Alicorns now," she said, smiling softly. "Let's fly to the North, that's where his empire lays. Let's not waste any more time around here." "What about Fluttershy and Rainbow?" I asked. "Perhaps you can carry one of them and one of the Celestias can carry the other," Nightmare chuckled. "Sounds fair, I guess," I said and beckoned Fluttershy to hop onto my back. "Hold on tight, Flutters!" "You think I'm not?" she said, a slight look of apprehension on her face. "I shall carry you, Rainbow," our Celestia stated softly, using her telekinesis to levitate the cyan unicorn onto her back. "You will be secure upon my back." "I've always wanted to fly," the unicorn mused softly. "I wonder how it is that my counterpart in your universe was born a pegasus and why I couldn't be one as well." "Perhaps I may be able to help you in that matter," she said warmly. With everypony ready, we took flight and headed north towards the frozen wasteland, taking occasional breaks to rest and recover our energy. I worried about the length of this trek, though perhaps I should have been more concerned about facing King Sombra on his home turf. The flight took us over forest, desert, swamp, and a sea before we made our final landfall on the outer edge of the Crystal Kingdom. Dark spires stretched towards the sky, creating an intimidating and imposing obstacle. "It won't be long now," the dark Princess chuckled. "I hope this isn't a trap," I muttered. "Can we fly into that place?" "Do you see how tall those spires are? Do you think you're capable of flying that high? There's another way inside, and that's why I directed us to this point. We enter by using magic, like this," Nightmare stated, lighting her horn and creating what looked like a shimmering door just a little way in front of us. "Those spires are just an illusion -- there's a barrier preventing anypony from randomly entering the kingdom, which is why we must use magic in order to enter it. Be forewarned -- we are now on Sombra's territory, so we must be ready for anything." As we entered through the door, an amazing change of scenery presented itself before our eyes. I rubbed my eyes with my forehooves as I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Celestia, I thought you mentioned something horrible happening to the crystal ponies," I opined. "These could be illusory, Amethyst. You must scan with your magic to ensure what you're seeing is real and not illusory," our Celestia stated. There appeared to be a town just a little way in front of us, though off in the distance there appeared to be a very tall tower. I commented on that tower possibly being the seat of power for the Dark King and offered that as a possibility of defeating him. "He will come to us, Amethyst -- he most likely senses our presence here and will probably waste little time in confronting us," the dark Princess stated flatly. The words weren't even five seconds out of her mouth before a dark swirling mist materialized around us, oozing dark magic. I erected a magic barrier for defensive purposes. "You made a mistake coming here," said a booming voice, reverberating through the air. "But I see you brought the Nightmare with you -- this pleases me! I haven't had the pleasure of being with her in more than a thousand years!" "You'll have to wait a bit longer, Sombra -- there's a new stallion in my life now!" the dark Princess chuckled. The black unicorn immediately materialized and strode directly up to me, pushing his muzzle against mine and growled menacingly at me, baring his sharp teeth. "I don't know who you are, but you will face the same fate as those who tried to defeat me before!" he shouted. "I don't think so," I hissed through clenched teeth. I lit my horn and enveloped him in my yellow aura and used my telekinesis to attempt to crush his form. Amazingly, he turned into dark mist and escaped my aura, rematerializing behind me. I felt something cold against my back and whirled around to face him again. "That wasn't very nice or honorable of you," he tisked. "You don't fight fair, so why should I?" I chuckled. "You're supposed to be one of the good guys! Good guys don't fight dirty!" he shouted. "What, and I should give you an unfair advantage? That's illogical," I retorted. "What is logic? Why does it matter? I am the King here, and I make the rules! And since you're one of the good guys, you fight fair against me -- no more cheap shots!" he shouted, enveloping me in his black aura, whisking me away into a place of total darkness. The others shouted my name as I disappeared. Their fury was vented upon the unicorn King, an unrelenting series of magic attacks dispersing his shadow. ------------------------------ "Where am I?" I shouted, my voice seeming to die off just after leaving my lips. I was surrounded by an inky blackness, devoid of anything of substance -- a vast emptiness which appeared to be infinite. I felt an intense coldness sapping my strength, the complete lack of anything visible causing extreme disorientation, the bitter cold causing me to curl up in an attempt to keep my core warm. I tried using magic to illuminate my surroundings, though the attempt proved almost fruitless. I was able to see a very short distance -- only enough to see my body and little else around it. I cast a protective barrier to shield myself from the intense coldness, then a warming spell to recover my lost body heat. I tried using my magic to seek Celestia's magic signature to attempt to teleport to her location, but that attempt proved futile as well. I tried to walk but could not, as there was nothing to stand on. I tried to fly, but no matter how hard I flapped my wings, I could not move as there was no wind resistance nor atmosphere to push against. The nothingness which enveloped me caused me a great sense of despair, and the lack of knowledge about this sort of experience caused me to panic. I tried using certain magics to dispel as much darkness as I could, even going so far as to call upon my solar power, such as it was, to drive away the darkness. Every attempt I made to do this failed, so I decided to wait as long as I could, hoping that the others might be able to find a way to reach out to me. ----------------------- "We must bring him back from wherever it was Sombra sent him off to," our Celestia stated with deep concern. "Everypony join hooves, I shall seek his magic signature and return him with your assistance." The others joined hooves in a large circle as the visiting Sun Goddess focused her magic, aligning hers with everypony else's. I felt a gentle tugging at my horn as my magic sense detected somepony searching for me. I allowed myself to be drawn to the beacon, responding to it with my magic, amplifying the signal. "I can sense him! He is ... I will return him immediately," the elder Alicorn stated flatly, her horn glowing very brightly. I materialized in the midst of the circle of mares, a brilliant flash of white light and a golden POP. Everypony called my name in relief upon my return -- even the dark Princess herself showed relief as well. "You should never have left yourself open to his attack, Amethyst," Nightmare stated flatly. "If you don't mind, I shall teach you how to deal with him effectively." She touched her horn to mine, slowly sliding it up and down. I could sense her presence within my mind, giving me certain information regarding some spells I could use to combat the dark King as well as defend myself against his attacks. After this information transfer had finished, the Alicorn removed her horn from mine. "There, that should help you a little. I want to ensure you and I can actually do what you promised me!" "And I can't do that without your help. Thanks again, your Majesty. Celestia, thanks for bringing me back. It was really cold and dark in that place," I stated flatly. "So when we face him again, erect those barriers. We must be prepared -- we cannot afford another mistake like that," the dark Princess chided. "I thought I did so -- he seemed to brush past them as though they were nothing. Perhaps I should try a different tactic," I offered. "I shall assist you, Amethyst," said our Celestia. "Thank you, Celestia. I should have known better than to try to confront him by myself. I won't make that mistake again." While this spectacle was occurring, a number of crystal ponies had gathered to watch the action, mostly entranced by the sight of six Alicorns facing off against their dark King. After I had returned, one of them had chosen to approach us, offering a piece of advice on how to defeat the unicorn. I thanked her for her advice and asked the others for their opinions on the matter. Nightmare stated that the advice sounded pretty good and formulated a new plan to visit the King in his Castle and defeat him there -- the ultimate goal being to destroy him completely so he would never return.