For five days the mares lingered in the tomb, wondering if they’d called upon The Gentlepony for nothing. It was an almost unbearable wait. Trixie would head for the slums every now and again and watch from the shadows, but couldn’t tell if there was any change in the mood of the ponies down there. It was discouraging, and more than once she and the others discussed moving on the castle early. Every time, they dismissed the idea and agreed to wait one more day.
Then day six came, and pandemonium ensued.
Nye didn’t have to come for them to know that something was happening, for the noise echoed all the way through the tunnels. They rushed to the slums to find the place in an uproar as a veritable army of ponies surged into the tunnels that lead to the world above. Fires had broken out throughout the worn structures and tent yards and smoke coalesced among the stalactites above. Bodies littered the crystalline landscape, and even from their distance it was obvious that the rampaging ponies were not at all on a united front.
“Holy horseshoes.” Twilight raised trembling hooves to her lips, eyes wide with horror. “I… I didn’t expect this.”
“What have we done?” Rarity dropped to her haunches with tears in her eyes.
Trixie pursed her lips and let out a quiet curse; this was going much farther than she intended. Yet she also knew that it was getting the job done.
“Let’s go.”
“B-but what about this?” Fluttershy asked. “We aren’t going to just leave things like this... are we?”
Pinkie stood before Trixie and waved at the bodies littering the floor of the cavern. “Fluttershy’s right. We have to do something.”
“No.”
Rainbow flew high and gave them all a commanding glare. “This is what we’ve been waiting for. I know it’s ugly, but if we don’t go now we may not get another shot!”
“That’s right.” Trixie rushed to the edge of the tunnel and gesturing for the others to follow. “We have to get going while we still can.”
Her friends shared uncertain, guilty expressions, but then they began to move – all save Fluttershy.
“B-but… but… we can’t just…”
“Come on, sugarcube.” Applejack pushed the pegasus forward with her head. “We all need ta be there if this is gonna work.”
“We have to go, Fluttershy,” Trixie insisted as the others ran past. “If we don’t all this carnage will be in vain. The future is just going to be more of this if we don’t put an end to Celestia’s rule here and now!”
Fluttershy looked out at the ponies crowding the distant exit, at the acrid air and the flames. Tears welled in her eyes as she jerked her face away. She wouldn’t move for several seconds, visibly struggling with her emotions until she at last released a pent up scream.
“Alright!”
She lifted off and followed the others.
“What about Nye?” Applejack asked as she and Trixie rushed to catch up.
Trixie kept her eyes forward, mind set on her goal. “There’s no time. He’s a lot tougher than he looks. He’ll be okay.”
They rushed across the nearly-empty slums, avoiding the fires and bodies. Trixie lead the way, heading for the tunnel she knew would bring them to the elevator she and Luna had used before. Finding the elevator itself was a bit trickier, as it was hard to recognize amongst all the rock. But find it they did, and soon Trixie, Twilight and Rarity were combining their magic to raise the device.
The walls soon transitioned from crystal to stone. Rarity, eyes set with intense focus, leaned a little towards Trixie. “How far up should we go?”
“Celestia wouldn’t keep the statue in storage,” Twilight pointed out. “It’s far too precious.”
Fluttershy, leaning against Applejack with a pitiful frown and moist cheeks, turned her eyes to the ceiling. “What about the royal vaults?”
Trixie’s tail flicked in agitation. “Too obvious.”
Pinkie bounced a few times with a grin. “Oh, I know! The Royal Gardens!”
“Yeeah.” Rainbow hovered over them all, clearly intent on darting out of the elevator at a moment’s notice. “I don’t think so, Pinkie Pie.”
“The throne room.”
Everypony stared at Applejack, then shared wide-eyed looks.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Twilight said.
“That’s where I’d put it if I were Celestia,” Trixie admitted as floors began to pass by them.
Twilight gave a slight nod, her attention still locked on her magic. “Then we know which floor to stop at.”
Rainbow lost just a little of her confident appearance. “Yeah, this is gonna be quicker than I thought. If they’re both in the throne room then we ca—hey!”
She whacked her head on the ceiling as the elevator jerked to a stop, the other ponies slipping to the floor with combined cries.
“W-what just happened?” Fluttershy asked as they began to stand. They were between floors, but had no indication that anything was wrong with the elevator.
“Horseapples.” Applejack slapped her hat back onto her head. “Did we get caught?”
“I can’t move it,” Twilight noted as her horn shimmered in the dark.
“Great, we’re trapped!” Rainbow flew circles around the elevator. “Anymore bright idea—ow!”
Her head whacked the ceiling again as the elevator began to descend. “What’s with this crazy thing?”
But the elevator only dropped one floor, and the doors were left wide open. They all exchanged uncertain looks as Pinkie asked the obvious question: “What floor is this?”
“I think we’re three floors off.” Twilight peered into the darkness. “Why don’t they have any lights on?”
Applejack dropped to a defensive stance. “Ah hate ta be the one ta state the obvious, but this is probably a trap.”
Trixie sneered, one name immediately coming to mind:
“Fine Crime.”
Another round of uncertain expressions were shared. “So… what now?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight glanced at Trixie with a grimace. “If it is Fine, then we have no choice.”
“Right.” Trixie stepped off the elevator, horn glowing brightly to keep the dark at bay. “Everypony be careful. There’s no telling what that jerk has in store for us.”
The instant the last pony stepped off the elevator, the device dropped like a rock. They all turned about to watch in alarm as the thing fell, screeching loudly until a crash resounded from below. Then light flooded the area and they found themselves near the center of what appeared to be a ballroom.
“Ladies! So glad you could make it.”
They jerked around, posed and ready for a fight. There, standing in the center of the room, was Fine Crime. He wasn’t alone: six other ponies surrounded him.
“Fine!” Trixie stepped forward. “Stay out of our way. We don’t want to fight you or your Order of Shadows, but we will if we have to.” The others stepped up beside her, united in their determination.
Fine rolled his eyes. “See what I mean, guys? Always so direct. Please, at least let me introduce you to my friends.”
Rarity waved as if to usher them out of the way. “We don’t have time for you.”
“Such rude manners.” Fleur de Lis, the tallest of the ponies, was easy for Trixie to recall.
“We’re in a hurry.” Rainbow Dash pounded her hooves together as she glared. “Are ya gonna fight us or not?”
Fine’s eyes locked on the pegasus, and a wicked smile came across his lips. “Well then you can be first, since you’re so eager. Tell me, Rainbow, do you remember Gulfstream?”
To everypony’s surprise, a pegasus colt walked ahead of the others. He had a bright red coat with a mane only slightly darker in shade, and possessed a tornado for a cutie mark. The colt’s smirk held a distinct malice.
Trixie was perplexed – a mere foal was part of the Order? – but upon seeing the colt Rainbow fell out of the air. She hit the floor on her haunches, eyes wide and jaw dropped.
“G… G-Gulfie? Since when were you an Archon?”
Pinkie tapped Rainbow on the shoulder with a perplexed frown. “Wait, you know this little guy?”
Gulfstream leaned over to give Fine a pleading look. “Can I?”
Fine made a flamboyant gesture towards Rainbow. “Have fun.”
The colt flew in a blur, hitting Rainbow so hard she fell on her back and slid across the floor. She started to stand, a distinct horror in her eyes. “G-Gulfstream, what are you doing?! Lightning wouldn’t want—”
She was hit again, the impact sending her down the elevator shaft. Gulfstream followed in a red blur.
“Rainbow!”
“Not so fast!”
They all caught themselves and jerked about, ready for the next attack, but the others hadn’t moved. Fine grinned, his hoof outstretched. “One at a time, my friends. One at a time.”
“We gotta help Rainbow,” Applejack hissed in Trixie’s ear even as she glared daggers at their opponents.
“Let me.”
Pinkie turned and bounced for the elevator. “I’ll get there lickity split! You guys keep the—ah!”
“Surprise!” A white pegasus with a blonde mane appeared from the elevator shaft and slammed right into Pinkie.
The two landed apart from the others, Pinkie rolling and deftly coming back to her hooves. “Whoa, where did you come from?”
Fine gestured, ever smug. “Pinkie, meet Surprise. Surprise, Pinkie.”
Surprise offered a demented grin. “We are going to have so much fun!” Pinkie stepped back at the strange sight and gave her friends an uncertain look.
“Y-you leave her alone, you meanie!” Fluttershy rose and began to fly towards Pinkie. She was halfway there when something flew at her, just barely missing her face. She fell to the floor with a surprised shout. “Is that a boomerang?”
“It sure is.”
Fine turned and gestured to a brown pony with a dark brown mane who caught the boomerang with a smug grin. “Caballeron, I guess this means you want Fluttershy?”
Caballeron grinned and rubbed his hooves together. “Ooh yes, I most certainly do!”
“That boomerang looks like fun!” Pinkie announced even as she edged away from her opponent. “Why can’t he be my enemy?”
“I-I’d happily trade.” Fluttershy winced when Surprise turned to give her that strange grin. “Th-then again, m-maybe not…”
“Trixie.”
She turned to glare at Fine. “I believe you’ve met my wife, Octavia?” He gestured to the pony at his side, who raised her head in a regal pose.
“We’ve met,” Trixie growled. “What, you expect me to fight her, then?”
“No, no.” He waved dismissively. “I just wanted to be sure you’d met, that’s all. Hon?”
He tilted his head towards Octavia, who raised an eyebrow at him. “Take care of the hick for me, would ya?”
Applejack stomped a hoof. “Who’re ya’ll callin’ a hick?”
“Consider it done.” Octavia offered a pleasant smile and moved at a graceful pace towards her target, Applejack dropping to another defensive stance.
“Alright, that’s enough!” Trixie walked forward, Twilight and Rarity right behind her. “If we’re going to fight, let’s fight! We don’t need a role call.”
Fine sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You’re no fun at all. Fine, if you insist. Vinyl, deal with Rarity for me.”
A white coated, blue-maned unicorn in thick-looking purple sunglasses bounded forward to stand in Rarity’s way.
“I guess zat leaves me vith ze Princess’ vormer protégé.”
Fleur de Lis moving with a serene demeanor to intercept Twilight. “I hesitate to admit, but I am looking forward to zis.”
Trixie paused, glancing at Rarity and Twilight. The two had already veered off to face their individual opponents. She turned her sneer on Fine. “So you were speaking literally when you said we’d be fighting.”
“Indeed.” Fine lowered his head, horn sparking red and a grin on his lips. “I also meant it when I said I was eager to do so. Come, Trixie. Let us see if you’re half as good as I expect.”
She didn’t leave him waiting; she charged with horn at the ready. She knew she had to get away from the others so her magic wouldn’t interfere with their fights, so she went for close-quarters. Yet as she drew closer she noted that he remained perfectly still; no aggression, no fighting stance.
Something was wrong.
Trixie locked her hooves and slid across the floor, anticipating a trap. Even so, what happened was nothing like she’d expected.
Black clouds arose seemingly from nowhere. Her world became darkness in less than a second and a strange tingling sensation covered her body. She fired a beam from her horn in the spot she’d last seen Fine, but was pretty certain it was too late.
The smoke cleared, and Trixie found herself in a dark hallway. She spun a quick circle, but there was no sign of her friends.
“Damn it, Fine! Couldn’t you fight me directly?”
The instant the words left her mouth, something flashed by in the dark and hit her shoulder hard enough to make her spin. She righted herself, let out a shout and fired a laser. She never saw even a hint of the attacker. “Where have you brought me, Fine?”
His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. “Do not fret – we are still in the castle. I changed venues, that’s all.”
She paced in the dark, glaring through empty doorways that seemed to lead only to shadow. “Why? Are you too scared to face me with my friends? I thought you braver than that!”
Something hit her in the rump. She jerked about with a cry and fired another shot, but hit nothing. She spotted a tail disappearing into a doorway, but by the time she reached it her opponent was gone.
Fine’s voice was lecturing. “Do not make the mistake of confusing strategy for cowardice.”
She turned around with light shining from her horn. The darkness seemed unnaturally oppressive, confining the light to a small area. “I always heard you were a friend of Luna’s. I guess those were all lies, too.”
His voice echoed through the hall. “Maybe, maybe not.”
A shadow passed by. Trixie spun, a beam of energy slicing across the hall and leaving a black mark on the walls. No Fine Crime.
Something hit her in the side so hard that she smashed into the wall. Grunting from the pain, she jerked about and let out a scream of frustration. There was no sign of him.
“Damn you, come out and face me!”
His chuckle was eerie, almost creepy. “Such a predictable pony. If you cannot best me, how in the name of Equestria do you expect to best Celestia?”
Trixie let out a vicious snarl. “Celestia won’t be hiding in shadows.” She struggled to broaden the radius of her light.
“Everything’s a trick.” Fine’s voice came in an ominous whisper. “Everything’s a scheme. This is just another example.”
Something sliced into Trixie’s leg. She let out a shout and fired a large ball of energy, which hit the wall and erupted in a shower of sparks that illuminated a large area. She was just able to make out Fine’s form slipping through a doorway, but knew better than to follow. She glanced at her leg and discovered a tiny cut just above the knee.
He was toying with her.
“You always did try to help.” She growled as she turned a tight circle and kept a close watch on the shadows. “You gave me the guards’ schedule for the library. You advised me in the slums, had your Archon pets watch over me while I was there. You even sent Fleur to guide me towards the Everfree Forest. Why do you keep helping me?”
“Maybe because it’s fun to watch you squirm.”
Instinct kicked in, and she jerked about and fired another beam.
Nothing.
A red laser flashed by her cheek, so close she could feel the heat. She turned to respond, but something struck her across the jaw before she could do anything. She fell sideways with a cry and hit the wall. She braced for the follow up hit that didn’t come, then rubbed the blood from her lips.
He was good. Scary good. How was she supposed to hit something she couldn’t see? Mind working slowly, she spoke to buy time. “You don’t do anything without a purpose. You’ve been guiding me for a reason, and I want to know why.”
She stood slowly, listening for his answer. None came. She perked her ears up, tilted her head. Had he gone?
“Defeat me.”
His whisper was so close it sent a shiver down her spine. “Then maybe I’ll tell you.”
She jerked her head to the left and saw nothing. Then she turned to the right and let out a shout; he was standing right there! She fired a shot from her horn on instinct, but he dodged with a deftness that astounded and delivered a quick, hard strike to her cheek. The blow forced her head sideways, and he had disappeared by the time she looked forward again.
She began to back away, worry creeping into her mind. This was not a situation she could win with force. She needed a strategy, some method of finding him. He could have killed her a dozen times over. Every hit was another occasion where he’d deigned to keep her alive. How long before he grew bored and stopped playing?
Keep talking. Maybe if she kept talking, he would stay interested.
“I don’t understand you. Who’s side are you on? What are you hoping to achieve? Did you even want me to succeed?”
“All valid questions. You really should be thinking more about the fight, though.”
Trixie heard something rolling. She turned to spot something small and dark blue coming to a stop by one of the doors. She let out a shout as it flashed, blinding her.
The hits came, several in rapid succession! She fired lasers and energy balls wildly, desperate to hit him, but the blows kept coming.
It was over as quickly as it had begun, and she merely stood and cringed at the soreness that covered her body. Her vision cleared and she glanced at herself to see numerous bruises and tiny cuts. She let out a pained, shaky breath as she realized that every one of those blows was a decision not to end her life.
Her eyes darted about, then locked on one of the darkened doors. She ran to it and peered inside. She could see nothing.
Something nicked her hind leg, but she didn’t glance back. Instead, she ran into the room and followed the wall. As soon as she was in a corner she turned about to face the center of the room.
Something hit her cheek from her right, but by the time her eyes fixed in that direction Fine was gone. Swallowing, Trixie concentrated on her magic and fired two balls of energy. They floated to a stop a short distance away and grew brighter, illuminating much more of the room. There was no way for him to approach without her spotting him.
“Hmmm…”
His voice whispered from the darkness. “Clever. I was wondering when you’d think of a solution.”
Trixie pressed herself into the corner, a hint of fear rising in the back of her mind. “Fine, please. I just want to rescue Luna. Is that so much to ask?”
Fine appeared at the edge of the light, head held high. The conflicting touch of shadow and light made his face seem ethereal. “Perhaps it is. I have known for some time that this fight was inevitable.”
Her ears twitched. “How long, exactly?”
He studied her, the shadows making his expression unreadable. “Since Rainbow Dash.”
He lowered his head and his horn shined red. He bared his teeth, a menacing grin that stood out in the dark. “You ponies of the light, with your petty concerns. All you are here for is Luna, and by extension, yourself. My goals are far larger than any one pony.”
Anger flared within Trixie. She took a daring step forward, her horn shimmering to match his. “Is that so? I am not so sure. You led me to the statue knowing I’d face Luna! And now you’re here, getting in my way. I do not know what your purpose is, but it’s starting to look more and more like you really are in Celestia’s pocket.”
He peered at her, his grin fading. “Such an obvious conclusion. You should know by now, Trixie: nothing the Archons ever do is obvious.”
He stepped back, disappearing amongst the shadows.
Trixie pressed her back against the corner once more, eyes darting about the darkness at the edge of her bright haven. “You cannot sneak up on me this time, Fine. Stop hiding and face me properly.”
The chuckle that passed through the dark made her hackles rise.
“You think it’s over, do you? For all their flaws, your new friends are good ponies, born in the shiny pleasantness of Celestia’s false light. I am a shadow pony, and your tricks won’t work so well on me. So come on. Show me a bit of that Trixie ingenuity I’ve heard so much about.
“Hit me.” His face appeared, grinning and eager. Trixie fired a shot, but the face was gone as soon as it had come.
“Hit me.” He appeared again, and she fired. Another miss.
“Hit me.” He jumped out a little closer, but was gone before her laser even left her horn.
“Hit me!” He was at the wall to her left! She hesitated, and he faded into shadow.
“Hit me!” He was above her! She fired a ball of energy that erupted against the ceiling, but he’d slipped off.
A tail flashed at the edge of the light.
Hoofsteps echoed in her ears.
That wicked grin appeared in the corner of her eye.
“Hit me! Hit me! Hit me!”
“Would you hold still?” Trixie reared back and fired a constant, thin laser that swept across the room in a wide arc, slicing into the walls.
Fine was in her face, so close their muzzles touched. “Hit me!”
She was struck in the shoulder so hard she fell to the floor. He was on her back before she could stand, lips hovering at her ear. She struggled to get out from under him, but he had her pinned. At last she stopped, a tense silence filling the air as they both paused to catch their breaths.
His breath was hot on her ear. “Well, this has been interesting. Sincerely. Yet if you can’t amuse me a bit more—” a black knife stabbed into the floor next to her cheek, making her wince, “—you’ll leave me no choice but to carry out Celestia’s command. What are you going to do, Trixie Lulamoon?”
She eyed the blade. She’d seen him carrying it before and she had little doubt he’d carry out his threat. Her horn began to glow as she fought to think of something.
“Fine, get the buck off me.”
“Not good enough.” The blade jerked from the floor, and she braced for the stab.
It didn’t come. She couldn’t fathom why, but it didn’t come.
Her mind snapped back into place, and she released the energy from her horn with a screech of fury! The magic expanded out, an explosion of power that flattened her against the floor and stifled her eardrums. She couldn’t hear Fine to know what happened to him, but he wasn’t on her back anymore. She lay for a moment, covering her muzzle and blowing air into her closed mouth. The pressure popped her ears and suddenly she could hear the fizzling of the spell’s residue.
She stood and turned to find a large hole in the wall behind her, light streaming in from a balcony beyond. She took a calming breath as she went to the hole.
Fine was in the room, lying on his back amongst piles of stone and plaster. His head was leaning back so that she couldn’t see it for his chest, but he raised a hoof and waved it with a dull “Ow.”
Trixie walkd towards him, a magenta sword and shield appearing at her sides. “I have had enough of you, Fine. Yield, before I have to take drastic measures.”
He didn’t move, though he emitted a small huff of a laugh. “You mean that wasn’t drastic to you?”
She stood over him and pointed her blade at his chest. “Enough! Do you give up or not?”
His chest heaved as he sucked in a deep breath.
“Ooh, Trixie, Trixie, Trixie.”
She braced as she realized he was preparing something. “Fine, I don’t have time for this!”
His head snapped up; wide and threatening eyes locked with hers, and in that moment the world seemed to grow dark. Black shapes like swirling fog appeared at the peripheral of Trixie’s vision, yet when she turned her head there was nothing there. A gale blew her mane about her face and sent her hat flying, and her ears were buffeted by an intense rumbling. She stepped back from him and shook her head.
“W-what the...?”
Fine rose up like a standing pendulum and landed on four hooves, a sneer on his lips. “You can’t win that easily. You think you’ve been hurt by this quest? You know nothing of pain! The Order was raised in the misery of Celestia’s gutters, baptized in the cesspools of the world’s wastes. We are shadow, the likes of which your precious Luna could scarcely fathom.”
Trixie pressed against the dark hurricane that came from nowhere and stared him down. “If that is true then why do you stand in my way? You speak of seeing the bigger picture, so how is it you cannot see that what I am trying to do will end your suffering?”
“End it?” His eyes flashed as swirling vortexes of smoke took form throughout the spacious room. “You think this will end it? This world is hell, and it will take centuries for it to improve! Ponies will continue to suffer, no matter what you might try. The pain won’t go away, Lulamoon!”
She tried casting a wind spell of her own, and was able to deaden the forces pressing in on her. It wasn’t a huge improvement, but it was enough to let her take her first step forward. She brandishing her magical weapons at him with a snarl.
“Maybe it won’t. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t save as many as we can!”
Fine sneered and came forward, a crimson katana appearing over his shoulder. Sparks swirled in the winds as Trixie’s shield blocked the attack.
“Where was honor when I was going mad with the Bloodmane? Where was the justice of your cause when I found my wife broken and beaten in her brother’s bed? Your good is a myth!”
They exchanged blows, weapons flashing in the darkness. The incessant winds dulled the clash of their blades, but the flashes shined as bright as lightning. “You are a product of Celestia’s brutal world,” Trixie declared over the noise and chaos. “Good doesn’t exist to you only because you haven’t been able to see it!”
His blade locked with hers and he loomed close with a menacing glare. “And you’re going to show it to me? You naïve foal.”
Her shield swung about, but he dodged and retreated. A second blade appeared over his other shoulder. The weapon swung wide and one of the black storms roiled its way towards Trixie.
“I am sorry if your life was hell!” Trixie raised her sword and stabbed it deep into the floor, a wave of energy striking the vortex. The funnel shattered into the gale, but as she was recovering Fine appeared high above her and dove with a sinister glint in his eye.
His weapons struck Trixie’s shield, sending sparks flying in a wild display. The impact knocked her back several feet. She slid to a stop and readied for his next attack, but he was gone. She looked about at the swirling clouds and the roiling fog at her hooves. She still couldn’t see out of the corners of her eyes.
Fine was nowhere to be seen.
His voice broke through the howling wind. “I am tired of this world, Trixie. I don’t want to see it anymore.”
Her eyes widened as she turned a circle. “W-what are you saying? Are you trying to see the world destroyed?”
“One way or another, it will be.”
“I won’t let you!”
She fired a beam of energy into one of the funnels. It flashed and erupted, bits of clouds catching in the winds and disappearing amongst the turmoil. “This world can be made better. We can improve it. There is still hope!”
“Have you murdered ponies in cold blood?” His voice was unusually quiet. “Have you taken a life, Trixie? I’ve taken hundreds with my hooves.”
She backed up, brushing her mane from her face as she struggled to peer through the chaos. “You really are a monster, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Yes, I am a monster. I was born to be a monster. But even monsters have dreams.”
Trixie snarled and fired two beams in rapid succession. A pair of funnels exploded on impact, but more arose to take their place. “Destroying the world? Some dream. Come out here and I’ll destroy you!”
A long, deep silence.
“Perfect.”
He was there, barreling from one of the funnels with weapons flashing! Trixie was barely able to raise her shield and block the attack. He’d vanished before the sparks faded.
“Not this again!”
Trixie fired a shot into a nearby funnel, but when it erupted there was no Fine Crime. “You won’t be able to beat me that way, Fine.”
He darted past! She reared back and barely avoided a slice from one of those deadly blades. She saw him disappear into a funnel and fired a shot after him. The funnel shattered, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn you, stop playing around!”
A thought came to her, and she jerked about just in time to see him coming with katanas swinging! She raised her shield to block; this time the force of the blow was so powerful it shattered her protection. She fell on her back from the force, the sounds of his galloping in her ears.
She jumped to her hooves, sword at the ready. Where would he come from this time? She turned a circle, eyes set upon the vortexes that surrounded her. She breathed long gasps, sweat beaded on her brow. Her ears twitched and turned about in search of any sound – the slightest hint. Where next? Where, where, where?
By sheer luck, she turned her head just in time to see him come flying through a funnel to her right. She turned to face him, sword pulled back over her shoulder. No more playing: she would stop him here and now!
Their eyes locked.
His blades prepared to swing.
Trixie stabbed.
He could have blocked. He could have dodged. She knew he was good enough – he’d proven it time and time again. Yet as she watched in that moment of slow, otherworldly clarity, something changed. His face grew strained, his swords shook, his legs locked. There was a visible effort that she didn’t comprehend, and it was too late to think on it.
The world stopped. Fine stood, eyes wide, blades unswung. He had been in the process of passing by, and his head slowly turned to stare at Trixie. She returned the gaze in numb silence, her jaw loose and her breath stuck in her throat.
Her sword was in his side.
The funnels dissipated, the fog disappeared. The shades that blocked Trixie’s peripheral vision faded. The world was normal once more, illuminated only by the dusty light of the balcony. Fine’s blades dissolved like sand as he took a few lopsided steps away…
...and grinned.
“P-perfect.”
Fine collapsed to his side, Trixie’s blade sticking out like a pole.
Trixie fell on her haunches and covered her lips, hooves shaking in realization. “F-Fine… I didn’t think I’d actually…” She focused her magic and got rid of the weapon before rushing to his side.
He groaned and felt at his wound. He raised his hooves between their faces to reveal blood as black as night. “A good shot,” he noted through gritted teeth. “C-couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
“Be quiet!” She pressed her hooves against the wound, but the blood kept flowing. “We’ll fix this, Fine. I promise, we’ll fix this!”
He rested his head on the floor and offered a feeble smile. “Whatever happened to the whole ‘I’ll destroy you’ bit?”
“I didn’t mean it!” The blood wouldn’t stop flowing. What was she supposed to do? “I just wanted to stop you.”
He eyed her. “Don’t know much about pony anatomy, do ya? It’s fatal, Trixie.”
A tense fear hit her as she stepped back. She began to hyperventilate. “No. N-no, I wanted to avoid this. Why didn’t you dodge it? Why didn’t you block it?”
He chuckled through his grimace. “I think… think you have more important things to worry about.”
She grabbed his cheeks and pulled him towards her tearful eyes. “Why? I know you could have done it, so why didn’t you avoid the strike?”
He gazed at her, a frown slowly forming on his lips. “B-because it was the only way.”
She sat heavily, heart in her throat. “I… I don’t understand.”
“How many times must I say it?” His chin flopped to the floor. “I am bound to Celestia. If she tells me to kill, I must do it. The... the only way you were going to get to her was if you k-killed me, because otherwise I’d have killed you.”
It clicked.
“You want me to succeed.”
He nodded, then broke into a series of hacking coughs. The pool of dark blood collecting at his side continued to widen.
When the fit passed he wiped blood from his lips and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “This is the culmination of years of planning. Celestia’s world will be destroyed when you defeat her. My world will be destroyed when I die. So you s-see? I wasn’t lying.”
Trixie rubbed tears from her cheeks. Finally, after all this time, it all made perfect sense: the the cryptic clues, his conflicting behavior... “B-but… b-but what about Luna? What about your wife? Y-you didn’t have to do this.”
His lips shifted to a feeble smile. “Octavia knew the plan all along. We have long been prepared.” He cringed, rolled onto his back and raised his head. His horn glowed, though using the magic required a visible struggle.
“F-Fine...” Trixie set a hoof to his chest. “Stop. You shouldn’t do anything.”
He ignored her, and after a couple seconds his horn was shining bright red. With an audible crack like glass, the glow burst and faded. He let his head drop to the floor with a gasp.
“Th-there, it is done.”
“Done?” Trixie glanced about, but could see no change in her surroundings. “What did you do?”
“I inf—“
He began to hack. Trixie cringed and turned her head away, shame and horror mixing within her. She had done this… She’d never wanted to actually kill anypony...
At last his fit ended. He raised a trembling hoof to wipe the spittle and blood from his lips once more. “I-I informed the Order. They have their instructions – they know what to do.” He turned moist eyes to her. “Do you?”
She shook her head, fighting back a sniff. “I c-can’t just leave you here.”
He grinned, though his lips quivered at the effort. “Y-you mean after all you’ve done, you wanna s-stop now? Celestia is in the throne room. You have to face her T…T-Trixie.”
She shook her head with more force. “N-no. I won’t leave you to die alone!”
He considered her as he pressed a hoof against the wound in his side and cringing. “Th-the pain you’re feeling right now has been felt by every A-Archon, and a hundred times ov-ver by the Order. You had to f-feel it, Trixie, because if y-you can’t save Celestia…”
She leaned back and gazed, horror filling her. “We can save her. We can.”
He leaned up just a little, shaking from the effort and locking her with a hard expression. “If you can’t, then you must consider the alternative. One w-way or another, she must be st-stopped.” He fell back with a grunt, unable to support his own weight any longer.
Trixie covered her lips in alarm at his obvious pain. “For buck’s sake, stop moving! P-please, there has to be some way.”
He shook his head – a slow, feeble motion. “D-don’t worry about me, Trixie. Octavia is on her way, so I won’t be alone. G-go, do what you came here to do. Don’t make our hard work and sacrifices be for nothing.”
She could only sit with head bowed and tears running down her cheeks. To think he’d go so far for this. To think Trixie had thought she was sacrificing for the cause! What must it have been like to help her when he knew all along that she was going to kill him? First Twilight, and now Fine Crime. She was humbled by the sacrifices of ponies far better than herself.
She couldn’t let the opportunities they were providing her go to waste.
“I’ll win,” she whispered, sucking down her sob. “I promise, Fine. I’ll win.”
He forced a smile to his lips. “I know you will.”
She knelt down and nuzzled his cheek. “Thank you. For everything.”
He grinned and raised his head just slightly to look her in the eye.
“Go.”
She did. She left him there, her cheeks moist and mind set. Celestia was ahead; Trixie would do whatever was required to bring her down. For Luna. For Twilight. For Fine.
No more ponies would suffer for her.