Twilight gasped as she jumped away, avoiding Midnight’s menacing horn, but he stopped all of a sudden and then fired an energy beam at a nearby wagon, sending it careening towards some bystanders. The bystanders dispersed but one of them tripped, falling onto the ground, she gasped and braced for the worst, only for Twilight to save her just in time as the wagon and its contents were enveloped in her aura. Grunting with effort, she set the wagon neatly aside and sighed in relief.
“Midnight, stop!” she said to him pleadingly, “You don’t want to hurt anypony!”
“Of course he doesn’t want to hurt anypony, Twilight,” scoffed Trixie, “I want him to hurt somepony, preferably you. I mean, duh! That’s kind of the point with a mind-control spell!”
“Let him go, Trixie!” Twilight demanded. “Mind-control spells are forbidden magic, and besides, I thought you wanted to prove yourself!”
“Midnight!” Trixie snapped, mentally sending a command.
“Yes, Mistress,” Midnight obliged as his horn flared red and he conjured several pies and sent them hurtling at Twilight.
Thinking quickly, she perked and conjured a parasprite, which promptly gobbled up all the pies no problem. Then Twilight quickly made it disappear, in no mood for another infestation. She had enough troubles at the moment.
But then the sky darkened and she looked up, only to find herself blanketed in snow. Growling, her horn flared, melting the snow, and she shot a spell at Trixie, making a big mustache grow on her face, much to everypony’s laughter. Growling, she gave herself a quick shave before yelling, “Snips, Snails! Come forward!”
“Y-y-yes, o Great and P-p-powerful Trixie?” whimpered Snips as he and Snails bowed.
Trixie mentally commanded midnight, and he fired a spell at the two colts. They rose into the air, surrounded by a veil of red magic… and everypony gasped to see Snips had been de-aged into a wailing baby while Snails had been aged into an elderly stallion with wobbly knees and a long beard and glasses.
“An age spell?!” Twilight couldn’t believe it! “But- There’s no way Midnight can do an age spell, that’s only for the highest-level unicorn mages!”
“Give up, Twilight?” Trixie asked snootily, Midnight standing impassive to those around them.
Sighing, Twilight knew she had to try and started on the spell, taking Baby Snips and Ol’ man Snails into her aura.
“Come on, Twilight…!” Spike urged, everypony watching, unable to look away, “You can do it!”
“Midnight!” Trixie called, and Midnight lunged at Twilight, breaking her concentration.
“Midnight, stop!” Twilight begged, avoiding Midnight’s flaring horn. “This isn’t you, fight it!”
“Hey Trixie, that’s not fair!” Spike shouted to her.
“If Twilight’s so good, surely she could work through distractions…” Trixie sneered wickedly.
Twilight didn’t see the rock, and tripped, falling flat on her back, midnight standing over her, an unflinching expression plastered upon his face, his horn radiating a harsh red.
“Ha! Trixie is the highest-level unicorn mage!” Trixie declared as she laughed maniacally before her manner turned cold.
“And now, it’s time for you to leave Ponyville… forever!”
“Tha’s enough, Trixie!”
Twilight’s friends stood protectively in front of her, standing between her and the mind-controlled Midnight.
“You’ve proved your point!” Rarity added
“We won’t let you make Twilight leave Ponyville forever,” Thunderlane swore.
“You fools…” Trixie sneered as she levitated Twilight, “She’s already gone!”
Twilight screamed as she was sent hurtling through the streets, her friends running after in vain. Twilight was dropped unceremoniously outside Ponyville, right in front of a sign that read ‘Welcome to Ponyville’. Then she watched as a red marker appeared in a puff o smoke and wrote ‘NOT’ at the end of that sentence, and a giant glass-like dome of magic appeared and contained Ponyville, preventing anypony from getting in. Or out.
Twilight ran up to it and saw her friends had done so as well. She placed her hoof on the part where Spike had placed his hand.
“It’s okay, guys. I’ll figure something out. Look out for each other, and keep an eye on Trixie, there’s something strange about her.”
“Twilight?” whimpered Spike as he watched her run off.
At that same moment, back in town square, Trixie was laughing her head off triumphantly as she declared, “There’s gonna be some changes around here!”
Midnight stood behind her, as impassive as a statue. What nopony noticed however, was that despite his stoic and apparently unfeeling expression, a tear welled up from his eye and slid down his face.
The friends had no choice but to do as Twilight said and went back into town.
“Ah, so my new servants have come to bow before me…” Trixie sneered as she saw them.
“You just wait, Trixie!” Soarin challenged as he flapped himself into the air, “Twilight will come back and she’ll kick your plot into next Tuesday!”
“Midnight…” Trixie said, and Midnight’s horn flared, as a chain was conjured around Soarin’s barrel and pinning his wings, making him fall flat on his face.
“Trixie, as a Prince of Equestria and Nephew of Princess Celestia,” Blueblood declared in his most royal voice, “I command you to release Midnight from your thrall and-”
*ZAP/POOF*
“-cease hostilities!”
“Um, Blueblood dear?”
“Yes, Rarity, what is it?” Blueblood asked, shivering, “And did it get colder all of a sudden?”
Then he noticed the looks his friends were giving him. Fluttershy had ‘eep’d and covered her eyes with her hooves, Rainbow was trying not to laugh, Applejack was covering her face with her hat, Big Mac was shaking his head in sympathy, Thunderlane had facehooved, Rarity was pointing to her back.
Blueblood looked and…
“AAAAAUUUUGGHHH! Don’t look at me!”
He ran off, once again deprived of his gorgeous white coat, crying like a filly.
“Anypony else have something to say…?” Trixie said with a threatening sneer.
The friends all just sighed submissively, that Trixie threw off her cloak, yelling,” Then get to work! We have so much to do…!”
But then Big Mac and Thunderlane gasped at what they saw hanging around Trixie’s neck.
They didn’t get a chance to talk. Trixie set them all to fulfilling her demands for a throne, banners and statues in her honor, making Pinkie dance for her amusement, having Big Mac and Thunderlane construct a chariot for her, having Rainbow Dash make everything above Ponyville all cloudy and dismal, tickling Applejack into submission when she’d refused to prepare her an applesauce facial, and generally making everypony miserable.
Midnight stood at her side, unflinching and unmoving, showing no sign of life until Trixie ordered him to make an example of somepony.
Finally, after hours of work, Trixie let them go for a rest. But Big Mac and Thunderlane made sure to gather everypony, including Blueblood. Although the big naked unicorn stallion insisted on wearing a cloak to conceal his… complexion.
They met up in the library where big Mac and Thunderlane explained.
“We know how Trixie’s gone from high n’ mighty to mean n’ nasty,” Thunderlane started off. “Did any of you notice the necklace she was wearing after she threw off her cloak?”
They all nodded and Big Mac said, “A while back, me, Thunder, and Midnight helped some guards capture a varmint who got his hooves on tha’ same necklace! It’s called th’ Alicorn Amulet.”
“Did you say ‘Alicorn Amulet’?” Blueblood asked. “I believe I read something like that back in my auntie’s school.”
Blueblood turned to the shelves and performed a cross-reference spell. The books on the shelves all glowed, flickering until the glow settled onto one book. He levitated it out and went through the pages until…
“Aha! This is it!
Everypony crowded behind Blueblood as he said, “The Alicorn Amulet, said to bless the wearer with untold powers, but even though it provides for its wearer great power it also corrupts the wearer.”
“And it says here,” Spike pointed out, “that it’s got a magical lock. Trixie’s the only one who can take it off!”
“We need to get this info t’ Twilight,” Applejack asserted, “She’ll know wha’ t’ do!”
“But if any of us try to leave,” Thunderlane reminded her, “Trixie’s barrier will alert her!”
“Luckily…!” Rainbow piped in and paused for dramatic effect, “I know who’s got the goods to make it into those woods… Fluttershy!”
“What?!” Fluttershy shrieked, Rainbow smirking.
“Whattya say, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. “Can ya handle the mission?”
“No! I’ll crack under pressure,” Fluttershy hyperventilated, “I’ll snap like a twig!”
“Perfect!” Rainbow and Thunder said as they put their hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders.
“Fluttershy will sneak out of Ponyville and find Twilight,” decided Thunderlane.
“But- but- but-” Fluttershy stuttered until she felt another hoof and looked to see the encouraging eyes of her boyfriend.
“You can do it, Sugarcube,” Big Mac assured her, and she sighed, unable to say no to that face she loved so much.
“Okay…” she gave in, invoking a cheer from everypony.
“And I know just the design for a “dangerous mission” outfit,” Rarity declared.
Late the next morning, Trixie was getting a back massage from the Spa Ponies when she felt a tingling in her horn that made her gasp.
“Somepony’s set off the barrier!” she snapped, bucking the Spa Ponies off quite rudely. “Midnight!”
Midnight approached, saying, “Yes, Mistress.”
“Go to the source of the disturbance of the barrier, and show me who set it off!” Trixie ordered, and Midnight Flashed out of there.
Driven by the mind-control spell, Midnight teleported to the vicinity of where the barrier had been set off, and saw the source was a trio of beavers. Two of them were whacking the barrier with their tails.
Midnight cast a spell, creating a “window” through which Trixie could see him.
“Well?!”
Midnight pointed out the beavers and Trixie demanded, “And what are you rodents doing?!”
The third beaver chittered irritably, pointing out a log he and his buddies were dragging and the barrier. Rolling her eyes, Trixie concentrated, raising the barrier just so for the beavers to slip their log through before readjusting it back.
“Now Midnight, return to your mistress!”
The “window” dispersed and Midnight Flashed off, not noticing the beavers chitter to the log, as Fluttershy popped out of a hole in it, wearing a ridiculous outfit.
Hours later, everypony was slaving away, doing their best to keep Trixie satisfied as she increasingly became weirder. Big Mac and Soarin watched as Trixie made poor Snips n’ Snails drag her grand chariot that lacked wheels. Apparently, she didn’t trust wheels.
“I tell ya, Mac, Trixie’s getting weirder and weirder.”
“Eeyup, Ah hope `Shy’s okay,” Big Mac worried. “She’s been gone fer’ hours.”
“Let’s hope she finds Twilight and gets the information to her,” Soarin assured him, “Twilight’s sure to know what to do.”
“Psst!”
They looked to see Spike poking his head out of a bush nearby.
“Meeting at Carousel Boutique, hurry!”
Everypony met up at the boutique and Mac was glad to see Fluttershy back.
“I told Twilight about the amulet and she sent me back with this plan,” Fluttershy held up a scroll. “She’s going to challenge Trixie to another duel, but she needs our help!”
“We’ll help however we can,” Rarity declared, everypony else nodding or saying something agreement.
“Well, Twilight says she’s gonna fool Trixie into taking the Alicorn Amulet off by making her want a different amulet,” Fluttershy explained. “But instead of real magic, Twilight’s gonna have us help her fool Trixie into thinking Twilight’s doing advanced spells!”
The preparations got underway. For the age spell, Applejack and Thunderlane made Apple Bloom and Rumble look like them as a filly and colt, and Granny Smith made herself look like an elderly Applejack.
For a duplication spell, Fluttershy made herself look like Rainbow Dash.
For a gender-swap spell, Big Mac, with Pinkie’s help, made himself look like Applejack as a stallion.
The goal was clear – This was to fool Trixie with stage magic rather than actual magic.
Around noon, Trixie was out and about, making Snips n’ Snails drag her chariot, Midnight in tow.
“Bow before me, Ponyvillians!” Trixie said with her hose up in the air, everypony bowing begrudgingly as she passed them by. “Ah, sweet, sweet victor-”
*BZZZT*
Growling, Trixie felt that a familiar disturbance in her magical force.
“This had better not be another false alarm. Snips, Snails, to the barrier!”
Thankfully for Snips n’ Snails, they were close to the barrier and when they got there…
“You!” Trixie hopped off her chariot and approached the barrier, smarmily saying, “What’s the matter, Twilight Sparkle? Not enjoying your exile?”
Twilight stood right outside the barrier, accompanied by Zecora. She looked in worry to Midnight, still under Trixie’s control, “I know about the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie! You cheated.”
“Cheated? Moi?” Trixie said in spurious innocence.
“Yeah, and I thought I’d show you a real magical amulet!” Twilight said as she levitated a golden necklace with an earthy green charm on it. “Zecora gave it to me, it’s from beyond the Everfree Forest, and it’s way more powerful than your measly Alicorn Amulet!”
“Ha! Nothing’s more powerful than the Alicorn Amulet,” Trixie scoffed, “and nopony’s more powerful than the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Care to put your amulet where your mouth is? How `bout another duel?” Twilight challenged.
“Why should I? I already beat you,” Trixie said snootily.
“You didn’t beat me,” Twilight reminded her. “Y’know, Trixie? For somepony who claims to be so great and powerful, you certainly didn’t seem it when you were hiding behind Midnight and forcing him to fight your battle for you! I guess even the Alicorn Amulet can’t put a spine into a coward!”
“Coward?!” Trixie echoed indignantly. Growling, she dispelled her barrier over Ponyville and Flashed in front of Twilight. “I’ll show you coward! Fine, another duel, and this time it’s maro y maro…!”