King Sombra stood proud on the balcony, grinning widely at the crowd of slaves - too scared to lift their heads enough to see the castle, he was back in control simply from cantering within their sight. Thick chains adorned them, and their dull coats signaled the complete absence of the protection of that infernal Crystal Heart.
He could feel, taste their fear, their despair.
Exquisite.
And their hate? Ha! Delicious! Pity that clouding their memories, pushing them to the breaking point, and the punishments had all done their job so well; the hate was barely there.
It served as great warning system. Who could strike at somepony without feeling the desire to do them harm? Who could get close to him without feeling anything negative at all?
Sadly - for him - the answer was simple: Somepony who thought he was not worth the mental effort.
The pale magenta blade occupied the space of his heart, cutting off the breath he had taken to start laughing. His head jerkily moved to see the ghostly knife sticking out of his chest, without even breaking the skin. It was not meant to kill, as such, it could be wielded without the intent to harm. It pierced and sliced through the conduits of magic and life-force in his body the same way a mundane blade would his veins, only this blade was eager to drink them, instead of plugging them.
It might not be fatal, but it was as painful as the real deal. Excellent against Windigos and other magical things favored by ponies like Sombra, though not so much for killing physical beings quickly.
Good food, rest, love, the options for recovery were plenty! The owner, or rather, the conjurer of the blade had other plans, though.
As the tyrant unicorn fell down, gasping for breath, a blue hoof shakily reached inside a wide-brimmed, pointed hat.
Cigarette in hoof, the Incredulous yet Exulted Trixie took deep breaths, trying to reaffirm her reality. However, before she had the chance to light it, it disappeared. No light, no sound, just gone.
The world turned grey and halted all movement - though it was not too different from what she was already experiencing, given that the crowd was frozen in shock when time stopped.
'Trixie, considering you took a mouthful of dragon fire before, I would have thought that you would not be so eager to fill your lungs with smoke again.'
"Ah, leave Trixie be!" She answered the voice, giving her mane a small stroke with a hoof. "The Responsible and Diligent Trixie has done her part, and is now healthy, and capable of keeping herself as such!"
Her mane and tail were back to their usual tone, between silver and pale cornflower blue, and full of shine and body!
'I just wanted to talk to you before... before closing this connection, erasing this timeline.'
Trixie sighed, eyes watering a little.
"Trixie is sorry. Tr- ah, I mean, I will miss you too; you gave Tri- me, you gave me this new chance, and are literally killing yourself just to ensure I could go back further if this try got busted." She sniffled, and it was not from one of her aggravated illnesses. "I still don't know why Trixie was chosen."
'We needed a magic-talent pony aligned with the Element of Magic to send - lo and behold, it's you! You grew as a pony as you endured this hell, you bonded with the remains of the element of Magic, you kept the group together after Swarm died.'
"Trixie was not even second-best, only the closest one..."
'Give yourself some self-doubt-free credit; just because you are not The chosen of Magic, that does not mean you can't express it. Ponies can be quite honest and generous without holding the little gems of manifested empathy.'
Trixie laughed, softly, ruefully, but conceded the point.
'Now you have fulfilled your contract with the Elements, Fate and Destiny, forever altering the last two with your Will, and, as such, are being rewarded as you were promised. Your life is yours to do with it as you want, and have a few interesting friends going your way. I'm happy for you.'
"Does it hurt?" She asked, the voice growing fainter to her perception.
'No. It's like falling asleep, actually; I feel heavy, tired, but pleasantly so - like going to bed after doing a good job. You know what? I'm going to keep the bridge open just a few moments more, to the very end - I want to be a witness to your moment. Go, keep Sombra down, get the Crystal Heart.'
The world's colors came back.
Witness? Oh, she would make it a performance to be remembered.
Trixie strode boldly to the balcony, allowing the crystal ponies to see her - walking over the downed villain like he was a pile of refuse unworthy of her attention. She adopted Pose Number One, where she stood on her hindlegs and threw her cape open, forelegs high into the air.
"Citizens of the Crystal Empire!" She bellowed, almost managing to surprise herself with her volume. "I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am unable to stand idly by while my fellow ponies suffer the indignity of slavery! No more are you to endure the tyrannical rule of Sombra, for I intend to return the Crystal Heart to the city!"
The crowd began murmuring, looks of half-recognition spreading through them as they tried to remember the significance of the words.
Trixie, for her part, turned away from the balcony with a dramatic twirl of her cape and headed - not back inside, but to the wall.
Trixie's talent was in magic, yes, but her passion was for stage magic. She knew many spells that could be worked into a performance and, in fact, they were easier when presented as a stage trick or show. Magic relied on connections, on the axis upon which the user's understanding hinged; cutie marks were one heck of a connection.
It was simple. She earned her cutie mark on a stage; acting as if the world was her stage would make magic easier and better.
Twilight? She got good at it. She reached beyond her limits - shattered them and flew past her old boundaries.
And then Sombra killed her. All due to a danged fluke.
But the Attentive and Perceptive Trixie was there. She was there, so she was able to hear Twilight's last grand speech, and felt how Twilight used the connections given to her by her friendships to obtain her tiara from the vault and elevate her powers and capacities.
Had Sombra decided to use anything other than the palanquin, she would not have had to see the black golem's sharp crystal claw remove one of Twilight's forelegs.
The Noble and Amazing Twilight lost, even after creating such a magnificent display of magic! Golems like those did not react with shock!
And... and even then, despite lying on a pool of her own blood, she found it in her to tell Trixie to run - even as she was bleeding out, she worried over her! Either Twilight resigned to her fate, or she was simply that selfless; she did not know - maybe it was a bit of both?
The Humble and Not-Quite-As-Powerful Trixie made due - and remembered to watch her back.
Sombra was so depleted, he was unconscious. Good. His defeat of Twilight had been really anticlimactic, ending Ponyville's winning streak and dealing a crippling blow to the counter-offensive; it was only fair that she returned the favor. She would not give him the satisfaction of being the target to her hate, either; she would not make her life revolve around such a despicable being. He was just some no-name unicorn she bested with her vastly superior skills, not even worth remembering.
She placed a hoof on the wall, a glowing pad of magic - an extension of Trixie's self - feeling both her limb and the texture of the structure, the smooth crystal, the kiss of magic that shaped it, the unicorns that had cast those spells, the earth surrounding the crystals prior to mining them- and that was enough; getting lost in the vortex of magic was a very real, highly probable danger for ponies not named Twilight Sparkle, doubly so without the stabilizing influence of one of the Elements.
She reached with another hoof, another, and the last.
She was attached to the wall - success!
She walked up the wall with ease, her legs having gotten strong due to the time she spent on the rock farm after running away from her... detractors. Her joy at feeling her body respond so easily swiftly carried her upwards, her destination clear.
Everypony could see the mare thanks to the star-spangled cape fluttering in the wind, each pony following her ascent with wide eyes and gasps of intrigue. She walked proudly, with confidence, elated at being able to help the ponies obtain their freedom.
Luna had found the heart, once, but was forced to retreat, and then Sombra changed it's location... but the princess graciously offered the previous hiding place whenever she told her story of regret.
So there she was, the top of the tower. There was the stone, the central decoration that was actually a trap Luna described as 'odious', and Trixie.
Easy.
She reached a hoof inside of her trusty hat, retrieving a blanket.
"Behold, the magical prowess of Trixie!" She declared to an invisible audience, tossing the blanket with a flourish. If friendship and music could power magic, why not drama?
The blanket floated through the air, covering the Crystal Heart and bypassing the trap. A good magician was ready to perform all of her tricks at any given moment, with maximum flair, so she brandished her hat with hoof and magic before reaching back into it.
"Bear ye witness, to the astounding magical feats of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She withdrew her hoof, pulling out the Crystal Heart; the blanket remained where it was, until a sweep of Trixie's cape made a gust of wind that flipped it over, revealing it to be empty and causing it to be blown away from the trapped floor.
The ponies down below saw their savior's cape fluttering down to the street, landing in a heap under the balcony. Smoke and sparks rose from the ground in a loud burst, making everypony flinch in fear.
"Trixie has fulfilled her promise!" She announced, once more throwing her hooves high into the air, holding the Crystal Heart in her magic.
She turned around as the crowd started coming out of shock, ready to return the artifact to its proper place.
'Good bye, Trixie. See you in a better life. I hope my little present sees you well.'