//------------------------------//
// Smoke and Mirrors 
// Story: Misadventures of Trixie 
// by Tau22 
//------------------------------//

Travelling to Tall Tale was always a bit of a chore, mostly because one had to cross the Smokey Mountain. Oh, sure, most ponies just travelled by train, but that would mean losing out on the sights. And while the mountain was a roundabout, difficult trek, it was hauntingly beautiful.

An ever-bubbling, disguised volcano, it constantly released fumes, which then descended into the surrounding valleys. Some paths could become treacherous at a moment's notice, as the pseudo-mist descended from above. But once it moved past, seeing the land below hidden within the smoke was a strangely calming sight. Equestria was full of such wonders.

There were even those adventurous types, who had built homes high up, on the cheap properties the mountain provided. Most were empty, hollow ruins at this point, standing a bit away from the road like scarecrows. Abandoned, because apparently having an active volcano right above your roof did not reflect well on one's nerves.

Another wave of mist passed and Trixie allowed herself a sigh. She could once again quicken her pace without fear of tumbling down into the valley bellow. She froze in place when she gazed up and saw... a filly. Rather tiny in all ways, her coat and mane were green and black, respectively, but... faded. As if something had tried to drain the colour from them.

It wasn't so much the pony's sudden appearance that had startled her, the mist had been thick. It was the way the filly stared at her. An unblinking, focused gaze from a pair of sad, purple eyes. Without a word, the filly turned towards a nearby rocky path and headed up the mountain, out of sight. Despite her better judgement, Trixie followed.

The path was narrow and twisted upwards like a snake. She could sometimes catch glimpses of the filly, but could only hear her own hoofsteps, echoing in solitude. In the distance, she could make out a roof of some structure.

With a final gasp for air, she finally reached the structure. It was like most other buildings on Smokey Mountain. Old, derelict, falling apart on its own accord. It was rather large, two stories in height, though, she could see large holes in the walls. The filly was there, taking one last glance at the showpony, before running inside.

"Wait," she cried out and rushed after the foal, "it's not safe in there!"

The once-ornate, wooden door of the place hung at an angle from about half of its original hinges. The insides were a mess, with items and furniture haphazardly strewn about the floor. The air stank, but it wasn't just the decaying wood. Trixie could make out the scent of alchemical reagents in the air. Some of the damage reflected that of an explosion. Just what had happened there?

Hoofsteps sounded from above her, on the second floor and she rushed towards a nearby staircase... or, well, what was left of it. She ascended carefully and then stared down a narrow hallway. No one and nothing, except for a lone door at the very end. Entire rooms seemed to be missing, replaced by holes in the structure. Slowly, she made her way towards the door, despite every fibre in her body telling her it was a bad idea.

How did the saying go? Curiosity killed the foal?

It seemed like a bedroom of some sort, though after an apocalypse. The bed was in ruin, with nearby cabinets deteriorating with age. And then, there was the mirror. Standing proud in its casing of polished brass, it defied the destruction around it. Gemstones of various colours were inserted along its edges. The mirror itself did not have even a hint of damage or filth. It was pristine. A small, white circle was drawn around its base, with strange writing attached along its edges.

And then there was a picture, partially covered with debris. She pushed it aside with her hoof and picked up the photo. The colours were faded, but she could clearly identify the little filly from earlier. Next to her stood two smiling unicorn mares, one snow-white, the other dark blue, almost bordering on black. They stood there, holding hooves, smiling towards the camera. A happy family.

For the moment, she placed it in her bag, then looked back at the mirror. Her reflection stared right back, with the same mix of concern and confusion. It too examined the brass casing of the mirror more closely, taking note of several deliberate etchings along the edges. But when she looked back with a frown, her reflection carried a wicked smile. Without a chance to react, she suddenly felt extremely tired, as if she hadn't slept for years, and collapsed into a dreamless slumber at the base of the mirror.





She woke up after an indeterminable amount of time and her eyes shot open. She was staring at herself, waking up in much the same fashion. For a moment, the two Trixies stared at each other, each wondering whether their magic was going haywire. Then, they noticed the others.

At least two dozen Trixies sat around the fateful mirror, though the room itself was suddenly expansive, completely white, featureless. No doors or windows of any sort, just a smooth, white prison. The prisoners gazed at each other with various amounts of confusion. They were all obviously Trixie, yet all of them were obviously not Trixie.

Each was slightly different. Different mane style, different hats, different overall demeanour. One, with an especially fierce look and short-cut mane, shouted out, impatience and aggression audible in her voice:
"What the buck is going on here?!"
A reply came from a clone with unkempt hair and thick spectacles on her muzzle:
"It would appear we have gotten ourselves trapped. Thanks, Curiosity." one, covered in bruises and scratches, smiled sheepishly before lying down on the ground, "also, the trap is arcane in nature."
"I must say, however," this clone wore Trixie's new dress with flair, "this place is a bit dull, isn't it?"
"No time for that," the aggressor stomped her hooves and turned towards the mirror, "we're getting out of here, right now!"

Nopony had the time to stop her. Her horn glowing in a bright red hue, she charged, forming what appeared to be a sword with her magic. She swung it in a downward arc, aiming for the mirror's top. The strike never landed, as an unseen force suddenly sent her flying. With a loud crash, she impacted the ground, sliding along for a few metres afterwards. Another clone, wearing a nurse uniform, approached her:
"Are you alright?"
"Just fine. Ow, don't touch me there!"
The stylish one called out:
"My, you made quite the fool of yourself! As expected!"
"Buck you! I don't see you having any better ideas!"
"No idea is better than what you came up with, I'd say!"
"Guys," one on the ground, in a set of star-struck pyjamas, "simmer down. I'm trying to take a nap."

The spectacled one conjured an illusory notepad and scribbled some information into it. She then took a step towards the mirror and readied her magic. Her horn glowed bright blue as she commented, more to herself than anyone else:
"Practical experiment number two."

A beam of light shot from her horn, aiming right at one of the mirror's inserted gems. Without warning, the beam refracted and burned a line in the ground. Luckily, the other clones managed to scatter in time. One was especially freaked out by the event, trembling in her suit of armour:
"Oh, my gosh, you almost hit me with that! That was dangerous!"

The scientist did not even seem to register her as she jotted down more information. Suddenly, she was roughly turned around by the brash doppelganger:
"What's the big idea, egghead?"
"Well, we had to try it sooner or later, knucklehead. Not like I have any other choice, considering our lack of resources."
"Oooooh, let me!"

With that, an energetic whirlwind in an orange party hat showered the mirror's vicinity in streamers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this did absolutely nothing whatsoever, other than get streamers stuck in everyone's mane. The scientist sighed to herself:
"No, I don't think that helped. If only I had," her sentence was cut short as her eyes suddenly went wide, "woaaaah!"

They all turned their heads. In the blink of an eye, without any warning, the room had changed. A large, ornate doorway and a set of walls now stood separate from the surrounding featureless prison. Inside, they could see a library, impossibly vast considering the space it occupied. The scientist almost drooled as she approached:
"Oh, my! The answers we seek must be within! Just give me some time, I can find them!"

The brash one wanted to object, but something else caught her eyes. Another door, another convenient room, leading to what looked like an arena or fighting pit. Other ponies were already within, sparring against each other:
"I guess I have time for a little bit of training. Not like egghead needs my help."

Similar scenes played out in every corner. An expansive boutique for the fashionista. A castle complete with defences for the cowardly knight. The world's most comfortable bed for the sleeper. Each and every facet of Trixie's mind was slowly catered to. Until just one last clone remained.

She looked almost exactly like the original in her show attire, though some details were off. Her magician's hat and cape were, instead of just stars, decorated by a whole host of different shapes, from gems, to butterflies, lightning bolts and, perhaps most prominently, hearts. Instead of a worn travel bag, she carried a pair of large photo albums of equal size. One was a dazzling display of colour, from sky-blue and graceful yellow to pink and even a faded bone-white. The other was in comparison a simple, dark shade of purple.

She stood there, watching as all the others were captivated by these gifts with an uneasiness in her stomach. And then, she heard a voice, soft as a spring breeze, call out from behind her:
"Trixie!"
She turned and her eyes went wide. The room was gone, replaced by a calm, beautiful forest meadow. A small structure, part tree, part house stood in the clearing. In its doorway, stood an alicorn princess with the warmest smile imaginable. The clone called back:
"T-Twilight?"
"Of course, silly," her giggle was like music, "who else would it be? Come on in, I've missed you so much!"
The first steps were instinctual, brash and quick. But she soon slowed down to a crawl, before stopping altogether. This wasn't right. This wasn't her. The purple doppelganger put on a worried expression, identical to the one from the rainy night:
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
Through gritted teeth, part of the showpony replied:
"Get out of my head, monster."
"M-monster? Trixie, what are you...?!"
"GET OUT!"

The illusion was shattered at once, as the shout echoed throughout the now-feature-rich room. All the others stopped dead in their tracks, moments before entering their cells within the prison. She looked back into the mirror with a face of grim determination. The creature within looked back in a mixture of awe and fear. Turning to her kindred, she levitated the two albums into the air and shouted:
"Everyone! Don't let this creature fool you! If we wait any longer, we'll never get out of this nightmare! We'll never get to travel again, never go back to Ponyville! We'll never see Twilight," the purple album was opened, revealing dozens of pictures of the princess, "or anyone else, for that matter," the other album had pictures of every other friend they knew, from every corner of Equestria, "so come on! Together, we can do this!"

One by one, the false gifts and promises were shattered, as the ponies assembled before the mirror. The scientist adjusted her glasses and spoke:
"A miscalculation on my part. Surely, our combined arcane energy is formidable," she nudged the brash one in the ribs, "especially with you on our side."
"Awww, shucks, egghead. You're not giving yourself enough credit, as usual."
"I must say," the fashionista spoke, while filing her hooves, "we make an adorable troupe, don't we!"
"Yeah! Now let's party!"

The album-carrier stood at their head, staring right at the manipulator beyond the glass. The creature had a look of true terror, perhaps for the first time in its existence. She shouted, as a leader would:
"On my mark," the warden's features grew more monstrous, sprouting a set of horns and large fangs, "ready," its eyes turned blood red, its coat and mane a toxic, bright green, "aim," it screeched at them in defiance, in an alien, high-pitched voice, "fire!"

United as one, the Trixies blasted the mirror in a brilliant display of colourful magic. The entity's screech turned to a roar as the entire area faded into darkness.





Trixie woke up on the cold floor. Shakily, she rose, noting the shards of glass all around her hooves. The mirror was now just like the house. Shattered and abandoned. Somehow, the place no longer seemed so ominous as she made her way back outside. It was just another lonely building on Smokey Mountain now. Nothing less, nothing more.

As soon as she stepped outside, she froze. A small host of ponies suddenly stood there, in the small clearing in front of the house. Travelers, traders and others, shooting smiles in her direction. In the very front, were the two unicorn mares and their filly, just like in the picture. The filly came closer to her, her coat's colours shining brightly again, and bowed. The others mimicked the motion and the showpony bowed in reply.

With that, the little one rejoined her family. A brief mist washed over the area, but a small puff by the mountain's standards, and the ponies were gone. Trixie put on a timid smile as she made her back down to the main path, not daring to break the ensuing silence.