Scholar's Mate

by MagnetBolt

White, Turn 2: White Queen to H5

Canterlot's train station was one of the busiest places in the city, bustling with the comings and goings of nobility, commoners, diplomats, and soldiers alike. It ran like a clock, and currently that clock had come to a stop. The platforms had been cleared, soldiers posted at the doors and keeping everypony out, trains waiting on side tracks, already late to their destinations.

The reason for the still chaos became evident soon, as a sleek train, its prow adorned with a jagged crystal ram, slid almost silently into the station. The doors opened, and guards stepped out, in new, silvery armor adorned with inscriptions and engraving. The ponies themselves glittered with light, looking around the almost-empty station suspiciously before stepping aside to allow those behind them to pass.

“This seems like a lot of fuss for just the two of us,” Shining Armor said as he stepped out, just behind and to the right of his wife. Cadence didn't look back at him.

“It is proper,” Cadence countered. “It isn't just for two average ponies. I am the Crystal Empress. It's the least Luna and Celestia could do, considering they couldn't be bothered to come and greet us in person just because they're busy with some stupid ceremony.” She huffed, offended.

“Honey...” Shining Armor pleaded. Cadence stopped and sighed.

“I know they're busy,” she said quietly. “I know that the Crystal Empire isn't even self-sufficient, and barely more than a city in a wasteland of snow. I know I'm not as powerful as they are, and even your sister is almost twice as strong as I am.”

She spun, glaring at Shining Armor. “The last thing I want is to be reminded of it at every moment! I am not just some tool of prophesy to be used once and discarded! I am an immortal and an empress and I-” she hissed, turning away.

“I'm sorry,” Shining Armor said. “I didn't mean to make you angry. I love you.”

Cadence smiled at him. “I know you do. I'm sorry for yelling at you.” She stepped closer and nuzzled him. “Now let's go and get what we came here for. Then I can get back to where I'm appreciated.”

“Trixie Lulamoon, step forward,” Luna said. Trixie took a step forward, her armor clanking in the near-silence of the castle's great hall. Velvet curtains hung over the windows, casting the room into darkness broken by torches and a central bonfire. They were not the magical lights that were usually used, but crackling, smoking wood. With the gloom, it gave almost the sense of being in a cave.

Luna looked down at her from her place on the throne. Held in the soft glow of her magic was a short blade, barely more than a knife, in a scabbard of black and silver embossed with the crest of a winged moon.

“Trixie Lulamoon, doth thou swear to serve Equestria and her interests?” Luna asked.

“I do,” Trixie said, careful not to use the third person. Shadows moved around her, the hall full of armored ponies and stranger shapes, most of them wearing black cloaks that muffled their movements and concealed their features.

“Doth thou swear to uphold the ancient oaths of service? The Night Guard is not a place for those who want an easy life, for those who serve for praise, or for those who hold no secrets in their heart.”

“I do,” Trixie said, keeping her voice level and eyes fixed on the Princess.

“Then repeat after me. I swear to fight even when it is impossible to win.”

“I swear to fight even when it is impossible to win.”

“I swear to protect those who will never know my name.”

“I swear to protect those who will never know my name,” Trixie repeated.

“I swear to keep all the secrets of my fellows as if they were my own.”

“I swear to keep all the secrets of my fellows as if they were my own.”

“Then I, Princess Luna of Equestria, Mare Somniorum, Siderum Regina Alicornis, name thee Palatine.” Luna unsheathed the small silver blade, touching it to each of Trixie's shoulders before sheathing the blade and presenting it to her. Trixie took it and bowed. Luna bowed in return.

“Now,” Luna said, straightening up, a smile appearing on her face. “Let the feasting commence!” With that, the light brightened, and the assembled Night Guard cheered, mugs foisted in the air and food moving onto plates.

“Celestia, how have you been?” Cadance asked, smiling as she stepped forward to embrace the much larger alicorn for a moment before pulling away. “I hardly get to see you these days.”

“It is a trying time,” Celestia admitted, her own smile tight. “Would you care for a cup of tea?”

Cadence hated tea. “Of course, Auntie,” She said, maintaining her smile.

“It's lavender and mint. A very fine blend,” Celestia said. She allowed a maid to pour a cup for Cadence and refill her own. “If you could give us some privacy?” She asked. The maid bowed and left the two alicorns.

“I imagine so, with the Alicorn Amulet being stolen like that. Did you find out how Professor Sundowner got it?” Cadence sipped her tea and kept back a grimace at the taste. It was like hot grass water, bitter and unpleasant. But like wine, she was expected to like it. It was only proper for a lady.

“I have some leads,” Celestia said, vaguely.

“There are other things on your mind,” Cadence said, being very plain about it. Celestia nodded. Cadence took it as permission to continue. “I'm surprised Luna isn't here to join us.” Of course, she wasn't really surprised. She'd been informed about what the mare was doing before she'd even left the Empire.

“She is busy with a... Night Guard ceremony.” Celestia picked at a piece of cake, obviously troubled and distracted. If she'd been in a good mood, the cake would have vanished already into her maw. Cadence had to watch everything she ate just to avoid putting on weight.

“It must be a very important ceremony.” Cadence injected just a little awe into her voice. Celestia frowned at the tone.

“She is inducting a new officer recruit. Her new student.” Celestia glanced out a window. Cadence followed her gaze. The windows of the west hall were blacked out from within.

“Ah, I see,” Cadence said. “Trixie.”

“Trixie,” Celestia agreed with a nod, still looking out the window, as if she could see through the velvet and stone.

“Trixie is very popular these days. I mean, she's Twilight Sparkle's marefriend, Princess Luna's personal student, and now an officer. And an alicorn, but that's a secret to everypony.” Cadence giggled. “She's so different from Twilight. I was always worried that she'd never have friends. Why, back when she lived at the castle, you were almost the only friend she had.”

“And Twilight was...” Celestia trailed off, looking down. Cadence's horn glowed with a dim blue light. Celestia groaned and touched a hoof to her head.

“Trixie, this shall by thy new charge.” Luna put a wing around her and led her to a table of guards without the characteristic black cloaks. “These are the officers who will be serving under thou. They and the recruits under them will no doubt prosper with thy skills.”

“Trixie still doesn't see what this has to do with learning magic,” Trixie said, grumbling.

“Thou need to develop thine earth pony and pegasus magic,” Luna pointed out. “Else thou shall never unlock thy true potential.”

Trixie paled. “Luna, you can't just say things like that where anypony can hear!”

Luna laughed loudly. “Did thou not listen carefully enough? Among the Night Guard, all have secrets that they keep close to their hearts. If there is anyone thou can trust, it is amongst these fellows. They would die before revealing any of thy secrets.” Trixie noticed that she hadn't said anypony. “Now sit with them, drink, and be merry. Thou shall get to know them well.”

Trixie nervously sat at the table, looking over the other officers, as Luna stepped away to speak to the other members of the guard. The uncloaked guards were a motley bunch.

The first was a batpony. Or, as Luna had corrected her before, a thestral. He seemed almost out of place, professional and restrained compared to the rest. Like seemingly all of his kind, he had a dark gray coat the color of charcoal.

The second was almost identical to the first, but with a devious grin and bright blue eyes in place of the first thestral's yellow irises. He wasn't eating anything, nor did he seem to have a plate.

The third was a pegasus, or most of one anyway. He was missing his left wing and had burn scars across that whole side of his body. They were livid, despite obvious age, and Trixie winced, wondering how he'd gotten the crawling, almost spiderweb-like burns. What parts of his body weren't burned were a light green, his mane blue-gray.

The fourth was a donkey. He was glowering at the others. If it wasn't for the next occupant of the table, the donkey would have looked even more out of place. He snorted, clearly unhappy with everypony, especially the person sitting next to him.

That's because the fifth was a griffon, tearing into a whole fish with gusto, obviously enjoying how her eating habits were disgusting her herbivorous squadmates. She had brown feathers and light yellow fur, with a teal tattoo under her right eye of an abstract, angular design.

The last was a unicorn with a white mane, white coat, slender build... Trixie blinked as she suddenly recognized the mare.

“Babbidi?!”

“It is awful, isn't it?” Cadence asked, as she sat across from Celestia, looking down at the chessboard carefully. “Growing apart from somepony you used to be close to.” Cadence was slowly losing the game. She hated losing.

“It's something an immortal must get used to,” Celestia replied, quietly. “You will find out in your own time. You either grow apart or watch them die.” Cadence had been deliberating over where to move for nearly ten minutes. She slid a unicorn near the middle of the board. Celestia almost instantly placed a pegasus in a new location that threatened both the unicorn and an earth pony. Cadence frowned at the fork. She hadn't seen it coming.

“Those are both tragic.” Cadence almost whispered, distracted and talking about both the game and replying to Celestia. She knew she had more important things to do, but she needed to find a way to turn the game around, first. “You know, I never thought to ask – how close are you and Luna these days?”

“Hm?” Celestia tilted her head, taken off-guard by the question.

“Well, she probably doesn't have as much time for you, now that she has a new student.” Cadence moved a pawn. Celestia didn't take the obvious bait and eliminated her stray earth pony.

“Luna is doing this as a favor to me. I don't feel ready to take another student yet.” Celestia sighed. Cadence raised an eyebrow as she turned away to walk to the window. Cadence quickly moved two pieces, altering the board in her favor. Her horn glowed brightly for a moment, and Celestia winced, touching her head.

“You mean you don't feel ready to teach the pony who stole Twilight's heart from you,” Cadence corrected. Celestia turned sharply and gave her a fearful look. “You can't hide things like that from the Princess of Love. Don't worry, Auntie. I won't say anything to her.” Cadence giggled. Celestia returned to the board.

“It wouldn't be proper,” Celestia said, quietly.

“So when did you start having these feelings?” Cadence asked, batting her eyes. Celestia frowned at the board, finding herself in a worse position than she remembered.

“It was after Tirek's attack,” Celestia said. “I don't know if it was the way Twilight saved all of us, or when I saw her castle and realized just how far apart we'd become. Part of me expected her to come back to Canterlot someday.”

“But she won't,” Cadence retorted. The two alicorns exchanged pieces. “I mean, before Trixie became an alicorn it was really just a matter of time. But now...” she trailed off, letting Celestia fill in the blanks.

“Cadence, am I a bad pony for wanting Twilight to myself?” Celestia moved a piece with her hoof, hesitating and taking back the move before committing to it. “I don't know when I started to dislike Trixie. She's like my sister in some ways.”

“And Twilight is a lot like you. She wants to be you, really. You were always the pony she looked up to the most. When I used to foalsit for her she told me she wanted to marry you some day.” The truth, though it had been a very long time ago. “I never thought she had a chance, to be honest.”

“I never knew,” Celestia muttered.

“It's not your fault,” Cadence said. “She was never good at expressing her feelings, you were always afraid to get close to anypony.”

“Cadence, what should I do?” Celestia asked, looking up at her with tears in her eyes. The solar diarch was helpless. Cadence smiled and moved one last piece. Checkmate.

“Trixie,” Babbidi said calmly, motioning to the clear spot on the bench next to her. “I'm afraid I only vaguely remember most of what happened between us. The rest is like....”

“A nightmare,” Trixie finished. Babbidi nodded.

“I decided joining the Night Guard was a way I could atone for what I did and help others.” Babbidi poured Trixie a drink. “I owe you most of all. You saved me from what I had become.”

“Trixie was just doing what she had to do,” Trixie said, almost modestly. “Trixie was also most impressed by your magical talent.”

“That was...” Babbidi blushed a little. “Most of that wasn't me. I'm not actually that good with spells. That's why I tried to learn earth pony magic. They have these rituals handed down through families that almost nopony ever does research on. I thought if I could learn their magic...” She shrugged.

“Trixie will be glad to work with you,” Trixie said, smiling with her. Babbidi smiled back. “Trixie was worried about what might have happened to you.”

“You were worried? But I was your enemy.”

“No, the amulet was Trixie's enemy. Trixie will regale you with the story of how she defeated it once and for all at another time, but it is a wonderful tale of bravery and great magical feats!” She waved a hoof, sending a wash of cracking pops into the air like tiny fireworks to enhance her drama.

“So you're the one who took down the big, bad witch.” The scarred pegasus grinned. Babbidi rolled her eyes. “She told us all about you already. I thought you'd be taller.”

“And who might you be?” Trixie asked, folding her hooves.

“I'm Lucky Strike, that's Ingrid there with the beak. Don't call her a beakie unless you wanna get eaten, though.” The griffon hissed at him for that. Lucky just laughed. “Her bite's worse than her bark. Seriously, though, don't let her bite you. I got some scars from that somewhere, if I can find them in this mess.” He laughed again.

“My name is Legate Koloth,” said the serious thestral. “I will be your second in command.”

“He was supposed to be our new commander,” noted the thestral with blue eyes. “He's not very happy about you taking his place, in case you were curious. But Koloth is always polite, so he probably won't stab you in the back or anything.”

Koloth growled. “Be quiet, Princeps Mandi. If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. And drop the disguise. You know I hate it when you pretend to be me.”

Mandi sighed and sat back. Trixie flinched as he was suddenly washed over with green flame, revealing a chitinous black figure grinning with fangs and blank blue eyes. Trixie wasn't sure how to react. Nopony was acting like this was strange. The griffon wasn't either. If anything, the changeling seemed disappointed.

“No screams of alarm? No attempt to kill me before I drain you of all your love?” Mandi asked.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Since you're in the middle of a very large number of armed and armored ponies, and none of them have tried to squash you, Trixie assumes it means you're supposed to be here.”

The changeling grinned. “You're not as dumb as you look.” He changed to look like Trixie, getting it almost right, except his eyes were still the same color blue as before. His voice acting was, however, spot on. “I, Trixie, the powerful and grand, am pleased to meet you.”

“Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie corrected.

“Yeah, that,” Mandi agreed, with a grin. “And that leaves only our dour friend here.” The changeling waved to the donkey. “Behold, I, Trixie, will make this donkey the most unamused and boring lump of hooves and fur in all of Equestria!” Mandi waved his hooves. “Poof! It is done!”

“You have terrible stage presence,” Trixie noted.

“And I ain't borin' just because I ain't annoying like you,” the donkey muttered.

“His name is Durin,” the griffoness said between bites. “And he is not pleased that we have been given to you as some present. You have no combat experience.”

“Trixie has plenty of combat experience. She has defeated timber wolves, giant mud monsters, Babbidi-” she pointed to the witch. Babbidi nodded, confirming that part of her story. “-and Trixie fought a dragon, and defeated a mad alicorn!” She hesitated. “It was kind of a crazy week.”

“You also defeated my minions,” Babbidi pointed out.

“Minions don't count,” Trixie waved a hoof, dismissively.

“If you're so great, where were you when Tirek attacked?” Durin demanded.

“Trixie was on the moon,” she said, embarrassed.

“...yer gonna have to explain that one.”

Shining Armor walked into the hall, wearing his purple armor, a new set made especially for him by the crystal ponies. Inside, it was hot and dark, like it wasn't even part of Canterlot, but from an earlier, more primitive time.

And the first thing that drew his eye was a table of misfits and outcasts chanting something over and over again, banging hooves and talons on the rough surface of the table. The mare he'd come to see was sitting at one end of that table, intently staring down at her plate. He couldn't see what was on it from where he was, Trixie's body obscuring it.

“Eat! Eat! Eat!” Most of them yelled. Shining Armor watched as Trixie took a deep breath and lowered her head, biting into something and chewing. She reared back after a moment, still chewing and swallowing, and Shining Armor saw, with horror, a fish tail. It vanished as Trixie ate it, the others at her table cheering her on.

“Hah! You have some honor in you, horned one!” A griffoness said, her wings wide with excitement. She had a strong Griffonish accent. “Perhaps you are not as soft as I feared! Another round of wine for the table!”

“That was so gross,” added a white unicorn sitting next to Trixie. The mare stuck out her tongue. “What did it taste like?”

“It's hard to describe. Kind of salty and metallic, but with a really strange texture.” Trixie licked her lips. “Actually, it was pretty good.” She looked daringly at the Griffoness, as if challenging her with her smirk.

“Barbaric.” Shining Armor stated. Trixie turned to look at him.

“Oh! You must be-” Trixie got to her hooves. “Hello, Shining Armor. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie-”

“I know who you are,” Shining Armor said, cutting her off.

“Of course you do. No doubt Twilight has written about me many times.” Trixie smiled. “She's told me all about you. All good things, though!” She smiled nervously as Shining Armor glared at her.

“You were eating meat,” he said.

“Ingrid said my 'soft horned stomach' couldn't take proper griffon food, and Trixie decided to prove her wrong.” Trixie stuck her nose in the air.

“It's disgusting.” Shining Armor frowned harder. “I have no idea what Twilight sees in somepony like you.”

Trixie felt her cheeks turning red with anger. “Trixie is-”

“A showpony who conned her way into my sister's heart. I won't let you hurt her.” Shining Armor stepped closer, looking down on Trixie with his greater height. “You're not worthy of her. She deserves somepony that won't toy with her.”

“Trixie would never hurt Twilight Sparkle.”

“You banished her from her home, almost got her killed because you were moping and she was worried, then because she thought she could rely on you she got possessed by the Nightmare and almost destroyed all of Equestria.” He snorted. “And you think you'd never hurt her.”

“That was- almost none of that was Trixie's fault!” Trixie protested.

“And now you think you're good enough to wear that armor?” Shining Armor continued. “You're just lucky I'm not in the Royal Guard anymore or else I'd have you thrown in the stockade and scrubbing the floors for the rest of your life.”

“Trixie is immortal,” Trixie muttered.

“It would be a lot of scrubbing.”

“Shining Armor, have thou come here merely to insult my student?” Luna asked, appearing behind him, cutting off any escape. Dozens of eyes watched him, most of them glowing golden in the dim light. He shivered slightly and turned to face the Princess. She looked calm, but he could tell she was close to screaming with anger.

“It has nothing to do with you. It's a family matter.”

“It has very much to do with me. Thou cannot insult my student, one who has saved all of Equestria from thy own sister, and merely ask me to ignore it. Thou shall apologize.”

“Luna, you know this isn't right. She's just using you. She shouldn't be a guard! She has no leadership ability, no discipline, and no training!”

“My student has all of those things and more.” Luna glared at Shining Armor and lowered her voice. “This is not like thou, Shining Armor. I do not think thou would have been so unkind even a few months ago. What happened?”

“What happened is I don't think she's worthy of being with my sister. Or, for that matter, in the Guard.” Shining Armor stood his ground against the Princess, meeting her gaze.

“She is as worthy as any thou could name to be an officer in the Night Guard. She has earned her position through great deeds and I will not suffer thou to insult her.”

“Then she should prove it. If she's such a good officer, I want to see her actually lead these...” He looked at the assembled group, which now had two griffons, though he could have sworn a moment ago that it only had one. “These people.”

“A challenge?” Luna laughed. “Did thou not hear about the fate of her last challenger? If thou desires such a fate, we shall gladly give you an arena-”

“I don't want to fight her,” Shining Armor interrupted. “I'm not stupid. I know what she is. I said I wanted to see her as a leader. If she's such a good leader, than she should be able to defeat my old guard unit in a challenge of my choosing.”

“Oho?” Luna asked.

Trixie looked between them. “Trixie thinks she should get a say-”

“The Canterlot Field Confidence Course,” Shining Armor said. “It's perfectly safe and designed to test the quality of recruits and their leaders. She will compete against the First Canterlot Heavy Calvary with full combat load. All she has to do is beat their time. As is tradition, no magic or flight will be allowed.”

“Hardly a challenge!” Luna laughed. “What are the stakes?”

“The honor of the Guard units involved.” He looked around. “Say... the loser has their regimental banner taken from them and given to the winner.” He gave Trixie a look. "And she admits that she isn't worthy of my sister if she loses."

“Excellent! I shall make sure my Night Guards have a place for your banner after we win.”

“Then I'll meet her on the field of battle the day after tomorrow before Cadence and I leave.” Shining Armor stepped around Luna and walked out, closing the door after him. It had been even worse than Cadence had predicted. He was going to have to make sure Trixie didn't hurt Twilight, no matter what it took.

“You should have asked me before we agreed to it!” Trixie hissed quietly, as she and Luna walked side by side over a long bridge, the rest of her squad trotting behind her. The challenge course was located on the other side of the mountains, in a training field miles outside of Canterlot. After Luna had accepted the challenge, she had ordered them to go and practice.

“I was perhaps somewhat... hasty,” Luna admitted. “I should perhaps warn thou that the legion I have put thou in command of...” She hesitated. “'Tis not the most well-organized legion. And perhaps they collectively come in last in every exercise.”

“So they're the worst. You've put me in charge of the worst ponies in the Guard.” Trixie groaned.

“'Tis an insult to them to say they are the worst! It is simply that many of them were transferred out of other units because of discipline problems. Or conflict with their officers. Or simply because they did not fit in anywhere.” Luna looked troubled. “Thou would not know it from my sister's Day Guard, but once, there was a tradition that any pony, no matter their background, could join the Guard and escape whatever past haunted them as long as they served loyally.”

Trixie glanced back at the pack of misfits following them. Aside from her six officers there were another thirty guardsmen. “Trixie knows what it's like to have something you're running from.”

Luna smiled a little. “'Tis something all of us know of. The truth is, I was hoping thou could learn something from leading this band.”

“Of layabouts, losers, and misfits,” Trixie noted.

“Not so different from thou in some ways,” Luna agreed, though not unkindly. “They all have talents of their own. I believe thou will find a way to win despite the odds. It is what thou are good at, is it not?” Her eyes twinkled.

Trixie looked over the confidence course. It was a number of stations set up around the field, a path winding over ditches filled with mud and water and the obstacles that had been created from wood and rope. She and Luna watched with dismay as the Night Guards stumbled through the obstacles.

“Lulamoon, I apologize. Perhaps they are the worst ponies in the Guard.” Luna admitted. Trixie could only nod in agreement. The thirty-six ponies of the legion were doing so badly that for the very first time in her life, Trixie wished that Snips and Snails were there, because they couldn't possibly be this dysfunctional.

One of the first obstacles was a low wall. Most of the guards ran up to the wall, made a token attempt to get over, and on failing, walked around it. Only a few were fit enough to actually get over the wall. At the very least, most of her officers managed to get over it instead of giving up, though it took Lucky Strike ten tries, as the scarred pegasus refused to give up. Durin tried to walk through it, pressing against it stubbornly like it would go away if he just pushed, until somepony nudged him aside and made him walk around it.

The second obstacle, after a run over uneven stone blocks, was a crawl under barbed wire through the mud. It was slow and dirty, though there was little even these soldiers could do to get it wrong. They certainly tried, though, several of them managing to get tangled in the wire. Ingrid had the most trouble, the griffon's larger body making it a tight squeeze. Koloth did his best to keep everypony in order, though his command style of shoving them when they were too slow meant more than a few ended up with deep scratches from the barbed wire.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of the debaucle. The next obstacle was a rope swing over a pit of muddy water. The guards bunched up, all of them waiting for their turn with the rope as they tried to get over, half failing to even get across without falling and most of the rest unable to keep a rhythm going. Durin didn't even bother, just jumping down and walking across, grumbling about slow ponies, the donkey plodding along at his own pace. Lucky Strike had the worst of it, falling into the mud and then having not one, but two ponies manage to land directly on him before he got out of the ditch.

As the ponies trickled out from the other end, they were met with a few logs over a long ditch filled with water. The slick logs were supposed to teach balance, but in practice the logs were damp and slimy from mildew, and most legionaries had to slowly crawl across to avoid another bath. Mandi got across easily, strutting across the slimy log with the sure grip of an insect.

“There's no way we can win,” Trixie said, watching the guards. “It's not just that they're bad. They're so bad that they're making everypony around them worse!”

“And they are thy responsibility,” Luna said. The lunar princess turned to Trixie. “Thou must find a way to win. The honor of the Night Guard demands it!” She bit her lip. “...I will also try to think of something. This will not be an easy victory as I had hoped.”

“Trixie doesn't even have time to train them!” The blue mare paced back and forth.

“Thou shall have to be clever instead,” Luna said, smiling. “I have faith in thine ability, Trixie.”

Trixie wasn't so sure. She was, of course, great and powerful, but even she couldn't work miracles on this scale.

The guardsponies had run through the course half a dozen times. Trixie had hoped repetition would help, but instead all that happened was that they got tired, dirty and discouraged by their own failure. Their times had gotten worse and worse and attitudes had flared up until Trixie had been forced to stop Ingrid from tearing a pony apart for bumping into her flank. They'd called it a night there, before anypony got badly hurt.

As Trixie walked back towards Canterlot, she stopped on the long bridge they'd taken to get there, looking down to the river far below. It was halfway down the mountain, so far that it was impossible for her to really judge the distance.

“Trixie is doomed,” she sighed. She shifted her weight, the armor around her sides holding her wings tightly and hiding them from view. It was a better disguise than the bandages, and something she could wear around to court without anypony asking questions.

She had sent the others on ahead while she tried to think of some way they could at least put up a respectable showing instead of the mess they'd made of things. So far her best idea was to pretend to be sick or dead or both and wait for Shining Armor to go away. When she'd been heckled before, Trixie would just pack her things and move on to a new town.

Trixie wasn't just going to be able to leave this time.

“Maybe it's part of whatever lesson Luna thinks she's teaching Trixie,” the mare mumbled, her voice barely audible even to herself with the wind passing over the high bridge.

Unseen to Trixie, rose-colored magic flashed at the railing she was leaning on, cracking the stone and starting to pull. She felt her weight shift and lost her balance, stumbling forwards. The railing broke through, taking the mare with it.

Trixie screamed, her wings trying to push through her armor and failing. The river below rapidly rose up to meet her. She closed her eyes.

Maybe she wasn't going to have to worry about being humiliated after all.