////
Two Steps in a New Direction
////
After a few horrible minutes of the two mares spinning through the air, they finally arrived at their destination of Canterlot, where they were promptly placed on the ground, and allowed to deal with their own issues. Twilight instantly cast a spell, to calm her stomach, and had the good grace to use it on Trixie too.
“My thanks, Twilight.” She said happily, as Discord gave her an expectant look.
“Didn’t you need to go to the bathroom?” Discord asked, tilting his head.
“Oh…” Trixie said, laughing with a mixture of embarrassment and relief, “I don’t have to go anymore.”
Discord covered his mouth in a faux-effort to stop himself from laughing, “I-I’m sorry!”
Trixie only shook her head with a small smile as he exploded in to a laughing riot, slapping his knee and coiling over himself backward.
Trixie looked over her shoulder to see Twilight was already heading off in her own direction. She probably didn’t want to waste a second on her way to see the Princesses. And, considering the circumstances, she completely understood.
Discord, on the other hoof, was still laughing harder than he had in weeks. Whenever it came to crude situations like this, he always seemed to laugh a little harder.
“So,” Trixie said, loudly, in an attempt to silence him, which somewhat worked, as he looked to her, with his chest still rapidly shaking with his silent laughter, “Would you please tell Trix- me what it is you wanted with me?”
“Oh, of course dear!” He said as quickly as possible, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming himself down, “J-just give me two minutes!”
He was laughing again.
////
Twilight moved swiftly toward the throne room, wasting no time in her journey with silence, as she almost pounded her way through the halls in the middle of the night. It was plain and simple. She was freaking out, and there was no place she would feel safer than in the presence of the two most powerful beings in Equestria… Well, top three. Alex was really getting up there.
Hurrying down the hallway containing the royal rooms, Twilight passed Celestia’s chambers, Luna’s room, and finally Scootaloo’s, before she turned the corner, and was met with the massive, and already open entrance to the throne room.
And inside, the two Princesses sat silently, both obviously lost in thought. It was something that put Twilight off quite a bit, as she hurried in to the room, and caught the attention of the two mares, who were happy to see her, but also clearly concerned.
“Twilight.” Luna said, standing up alone with her sister.
“Thank you for coming to see us on such short notice.” Celestia said in her usual comforting tone, “Discord has… made us aware of your situation.”
“My situation?” Twilight asked, looking between the two, her heart still pounding from the news she had been given a short while ago, “I have no idea what’s going on! C-could you please tell me? Because it doesn’t sound anything like what Rarity, or Rainbow Dash went through…”
“Rainbow Dash?” Luna asked, tilting her head and looking to her sister, “She has faced her dark side as well? I was under the impression she was back in Manehattan.”
“S-she never cheated on Alex,” Twilight shook her head quickly, “Her dark side convinced her she did. All this only happened the other day. Alex came back and revealed the truth. I was in his world… I was a human for a little bit. I-I’ll explain it all in a little bit, okay?”
Luna and Celestia were both infinitely intrigued by this story she had just summarized for them, but they both knew that Twilight was in a very bad place right now, and that she needed to be comforted, and made aware of her situation.
“So?” She asked somewhat impatiently, swallowing audibly, “What’s happening inside of me?”
Celestia and Luna both exhaled and looked to each other with sad expressions.
“I’m sorry, Twilight.”
////
Discord, having finally calmed down, sat back in his throne, which had just appeared on the front lawn of the castle, as he looked over Trixie, studying as much as he could, considering his magical ability.
“What do you see?” Trixie finally asked, having silently waited for him to speak to her first, “Is there something dark inside of me…?”
“Oh, sorry!” Discord said quickly, snapping back to her gaze, “I was just admiring your figure.”
“A-are you serious!?” Trixie shouted, a feint blush showing up on her cheeks, “I insist you tell Trixie what happened right now!”
“Referring to yourself in the third person?” Discord chuckled, “I can see that I’m getting to you.”
“Please just… Tell me why you decided to fly me up here,” She said in a defeated tone, “I’m worried that you would do such a thing.”
“Well, worst case scenario, there is no news,” Discord said, interlocking his claw and paw, “Best case… I can help you with some magic.”
“How so?” Trixie asked, taking a step toward him with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, let me explain something about your seven friends in Ponyville.” Discord said, his expression becoming much more serious as she took her place in front of him, “I gave them the ability to master chaotic energy, by forcing their deepest, darkest sides to come out.”
Trixie nodded. She had heard about this from Discord. But as far as she was aware, it was the act of defeating their dark sides the unlocked the ability. He was making it sound like something else was the cause.
“Simply, for anyone to use both chaotic, and harmonious magic, they have to have a complete understanding of their soul, along with zero doubt in their essence.” Discord explained, as Trixie listened intently, “It started when Alex first came to Equestria from his world. When he came here, it created a massive ripple in time and space, which got something’s attention.”
“Something?” Trixie asked slowly.
“I wish I knew what it was,” Discord said, shaking his head, “But regardless. It took me a few weeks, but I managed to force my way in to his head enough, that I could unlock his dark side. Which, in turn, led to his unlocked chaotic magic, because he accepted his dark side, and channeled his magical ability through it.”
“You make it sound like using chaotic magic is nothing more than… normal magic, but it passes through a different filter!” Trixie said, shaking her head, “But, what does this have to do with me? I never faced a dark side!”
“Ah, but you did!” Discord said triumphantly, “From what I previously heard about you, from various sources, you were simply a terrible pony!”
Trixie opened her mouth to argue with him, but she stopped. He was actually pretty right on that one.
“So, from what I gather, after living so closely under the control of your dark side, you finally reformed yourself, and have come back to the side of harmony.” Discord finished, as she gave him a confused look.
“You make it sound like I’m already able to use chaotic magic, when clearly, I have no ability to do so.” Trixie explained, as Discord shook his head quickly, “That’s because I haven’t implanted the seed yet.”
Before she could reply, his claw wrapped itself around the top of her head, and began to glow.
////
“Okay…” Twilight said to Celestia, having listened to everything she had said so far, “That explains why Alex and Rarity can use chaotic magic, but why do I have such a dark side? It attacked somepony! I’d never do that!”
“Well, as the Element of Magic is a culmination of every element, so is your dark side,” Luna said sadly, unable to image how this would affect the mare, “You face an alter ego that possesses: Avarice, Treachery, Animosity, Despair, Deceit, and Selfishness.”
Twilight swallowed hard.
“And on top of that, your darker side will not be able to be conquered until every other element faces theirs.” Celestia continued sadly, as Twilight moved her anguished gaze to Celestia, “You’re going to have to live with what’s happened… until the last of your friends have faced their own dark sides.”
“Can we hurry them up then?” Twilight asked suddenly, her panic now showing much more, “I-I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep again! Not until this… thing is out of my head!”
“There is nothing I can do, Twilight.” Celestia shook her head, “I’m truly sorry.”
“So what!?” Twilight asked, looking between the two princesses, “I just have to live with this m-monster in my head, until it’s ready to be beaten?!”
“I’m afraid so.” They said in unison.
////
Only a moment ago, Discord opened up Trixie’s mind, allowing the use of the most powerful form of magic to her. But, as hard as she tired, nothing seemed to work.
“Just let it flow out of you,” Discord said, as Trixie tried in vain to cast a chaotic spell, “The magic requires little effort to mold, but great effort to generate.”
“This is infuriating!” Trixie shouted, pushing as hard as she could, as if it would just explode out of her horn, “How does Alex do this so easily?”
“Well, years of practice might have something to do with it,” Discord laughed, “On top of that, he absorbed a darker side of him, that was already a master of the school.”
“Then give Trixie a dark side!” She insisted, looking at him impatiently, “I would do much better with the same amount of assistance as the alicorn.”
“You’ve already accepted your dark side,” Discord said, scratching the back of his head, “If I were to drop the information in your head… it would be like giving a text book to a bush. Bushes can’t read, my dear.”
“So why was I brought here?” Trixie demanded, her frustration now getting the better of her attitude, “So you could touch my head and admire my figure?”
“Well…” Discord said, inhaling and looking away from her.
“Are you serious?!” Trixie shouted, unsure if he was telling her the truth or not.
“Calm down my dear, I’m only toying with you.” He chuckled, “However, it looks like you aren’t going to miraculously learn these spells…”
“So what would you suggest?” She asked impatiently, tapping her hoof on the floor, “Hmm?”
Discord begun to laugh under his breath once again, knowing that her reaction was going to truly be a priceless one.
“You’re going to have to take magic lessons…”
“What?!”
////
“When Alpha and Trixie told me what was going on, they said I was screaming in pain! That it sounded like I was being murdered!” Twilight argued to the two solemn mares, “And you’re telling me that I have to live with it, for what will probably be months?”
“That is what Discord has told us.” Celestia said softly, “He preferred we be the ones to tell you. It’s the first bit of sense he’s made since he returned to Equestria.”
“S-s-so… that’s it, huh?” Twilight stammered, looking away from her mentors with a defeated expression, “This is my curse? You brought me all the way here to tell me that?”
Celestia exhaled, as she looked at her equally worn sister.
“Twilight, I would like to suggest that you stay here in Canterlot for the duration of this… ailment. That is why I asked you here.” Celestia proposed, looking to her sick student, “Should you be faced with another episode of chaos, I will be with you in a heartbeat, doing all I can to calm you, and help you weather the storm.”
Twilight thought to herself for a second, as she ran her mind over what had happened tonight. And what both Trixie and Alpha had done for her.
“Did Discord say anything about Trixie stopping my chaotic side?” Twilight asked the two princesses, as they returned her a look of confusion.
“One more time?” Luna asked.
////
“What do you mean, you stopped her dark side?” Discord asked, after hearing Trixie’s angry mumblings to herself over her need of magic lessons, “How did I miss that happening?”
“Trixie doesn’t know!” She shouted in frustration over her lack of magical ability, for the first time in her life, “An old friend appeared in Twilight’s mind, and cleansed the dark magic! That’s all I know.”
Discord didn’t respond to her, as he considered the possibilities, and ramifications of her story.
“Well, I’m sure it means nothing.” Discord lied, as Trixie moved past the fact without a second thought, “But you should be going! Your little purple friend is likely to be done any minute now.”
“What about this chaotic magic?” Trixie asked, “How do you expect me to learn without you here! Didn’t you just offer to teach me?”
“Oh, no.” Discord shook his head, “I was thinking you could ask Alex! He’s splendid with that kind of stuff!”
“That pony?” She asked, her tone one of her previous self, “In what world does he teach me magic!?”
“This one, my dear,” Discord chuckled, as he looked over his shoulder at the purple mare exiting the castle, with the two princesses in tow, “There they are!”
“Twilight, are you sure I can’t convince you to stay?” Celestia asked again, as Twilight instantly shook her head.
“I have friends, and a life in Ponyville…” Twilight sighed, as she once again grew a small smile, “And, well, I already have somepony that will help me weather the storm on those nights. Maybe even two.”
Twilight smiled to Trixie as the blue mare suddenly blushed at the kindness she had been shown, by a mare she had only wronged.
“You sound quite sure of yourself, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, put slightly at ease by the confidence Twilight had in her friends.
“She is.” Celestia nodded, put on ease herself, “If you trust your friends, then so do I, my faithful student.”
“Thank you, Princess.” She said, as she looked to Luna, who gave Trixie a careful look-over.
“I do hope you deserve the faith Twilight has placed in you… what was it, Twixie?” Luna asked innocently, as everyone, save Trixie herself, started to giggle at the mispronunciation.
“It’s- it’s Trixie, your highness…” Trixie mumbled, her face burning red now, as she was unable to explode in anger at a princess.
“I like Twixie!” Discord laughed, “I think that’s your new name!”
“Don’t you dare!” She shouted, pointing a hoof in his face, “The last thing I need to be known as… is the “Gweat and Poweufo Twixie!”
“I think you’ve just sealed your fate,” Celestia chuckled, forgetting the grim premise tonight had initially held.
And indeed she had. Not a single pony in Canterlot would ever pronounce her name properly ever again.