//------------------------------//
// The Greatest Show In Equestria 
// Story: The Super Awesome Story About Stuff 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Six: The Greatest Show In Equestria
~BlackRoseRaven

Tick-tock, goes the clock. Tick-tock, goes the clock.
Time is running out, you know. Already, it's growing very short. Oh so short, and there's so much story left to tell.
So much... and not nearly enough.
Tick-tock, goes the clock. Tick-tock, goes the clock.
From where I sit, in my seat high above, everything moves both very quickly and very slowly, you see. I'm glad we have actors, don't get me wrong: but I do wish that the Critic would veto more of them, and that the Director was a little nicer, and that Plutocrat... didn't exist.
That's rather mean of me, isn't it? But oh, ever since Plutocrat arrived with his promises, and The Redacted, and all the other awful things he brought here, everything's been so serious, and so miserable. We used to do this all just for fun, living on the edge. We used to be so good, sending every cast member home after their performance was done, acting like we were all all-powerful, all-knowing, all-in-control... but we were just having fun. Sometimes our pranks were cruel, perhaps, but... never fatal. Never furious. Never monstrous.
Look at us now; where we are and what we have become. Ticking timebombs, clacking clocks of catastrophe, deadly destroyers devouring decent delegates decadently, in our endless plays, our songs and stories that become their funeral rites!
And tick-tock, goes the clock. Tick-tock, goes the clock, as we count ever onwards towards oblivion. As we chase not the eternal high, but the last precious gasp of life, struggling to never drown as the odds stack higher and higher against us, because the bigger the play gets, the more it costs.
The more it costs us.
But now isn't the time for that. Another letter, another demand, another ransom arrives, and we bring another new player to the table, another basketball to the court! Let's see where it takes us today, shall we?
Oh, Director? It's time for a set change!

The Director looked up and paled before he shook his head violently, sprinting towards the  doors leading out of the tower as he swore repeatedly, and the group of ponies that had been following him all stared before the Director smashed out into a bright, warm, happy sunny day in a gorgeous meadow full of bright flowers instead of a wintry wasteland.
The ponies followed the Director out, Twilight frowning immediately as Luna scowled and Scrivener only looked up at the sky blandly. Behind him, Marina bit her lip and River Styx frowned as his eyes flicked back and forth, muttering: “No train, no roads, no landmarks...”
“Where's Shining Armor?” Marina asked worriedly, and Twilight blinked before she quickly looked back and forth before hurrying towards where the train had been, as Luna groaned and Scrivener only shrugged, even as he looked uneasily around.
“I doubt we have to worry too much about him. It seems like when we're not part of this... 'main story,' so to speak, we're delegated to doing background work to keep us out of the way.” Scrivener said after a moment as he smiled over at Marina, although his words almost seemed to be meant for someone else. “They don't want to hurt us. They want us to play their game, and they seem to understand by now that trying to push any of us would be a bad idea.”
“I don't know about that.” River Styx muttered, but then he shook his head and sighed a little as his genet hopped up onto his head and chirped, pawing at his mane. “Does that mean we can take these costumes off, at least?”
“What? Oh. I don't care, I obviously have lost all creative control of the situation.” the Director grumbled, glowering over his shoulder before he sighed tiredly as he turned back around, looking moodily back and forth. Twilight frowned a little, but the Director was ignoring them now, instead grumpily paging through a stack of stapled papers that had appeared in his hooves... is that a script? “Let's see... okay... I think I see how we can work this into the play, it shouldn't be very hard...”
Twilight began to carefully approach, but her caution was immediately rendered meaningless when Luna charged forwards, nearly plowing the mare over before she shoved her head into the Director, making him squawk and yank his papers away as Luna asked curiously: “What are these?”
“Get, go away!” squawked the Director, his draconic tail snapping behind him as he shoved uselessly at Luna, who only growled and pushed her head firmly forwards against his hooves. The Director yelped as he leaned into her, staring in horror as his hind hooves uselessly dug into the ground, leaving a narrow trench as he skidded backwards under Luna's forceful approach. “O-Okay! You made your point, enough!”
Luna paused, then she suddenly nipped the script out of the Director's hoof and yanked it away as she hopped off to the side, sending the Draconequus sprawling on his face with a thunk. Scrivener Blooms and Twilight Sparkle both sighed loudly at this as Marina winced and River Styx only watched moodily, feeling as if he no longer had the capacity to be surprised by anything that this particularly-troublesome mare did.
The sapphire mare flipped quickly through the script as she grasped it with magic, her eyes darting over it before she huffed loudly, then looked over at Scrivener Blooms and flailed the script back and forth through the air. “Scrivy, come over here and be my eyes! I cannot read this silly language of words.”
“All languages are words, dear.” Scrivener said mildly as he approached, and Luna gave him a sour look before she leaned forward and bopped him firmly, making him wince a bit before he sighed and corrected, as he took the script from her: “Most languages are words. Some are whistling, tonal, or gesture-based.”
“Or hoof-based, Scrivy. Do not make me speak to thee with mine hooves.” Luna threatened, shaking a hoof in his face, but the stallion looked unperturbed as he calmly flipped through the script. “What does it say?”
Marina and River Styx hesitantly approached as the Director sighed and sat up, grouchily waving away Twilight when she tried to help him as the Draconequus grumbled: “It says that you're going to the Little Kingdom, to return the princess to her throne. Or well, you were: now the story's been changed and updated again. Does no one care how difficult it is to work like this?”
Twilight frowned over at Scrivener, and the earth pony whistled a little as he flipped through the script, muttering: “For once I actually agree with you. There are more editing marks in here than you see in my manuscripts, and you know that's saying something.”
“Yes. We all do. We all know all about you, Scrivener Blooms, you are clearly the most important person here, along with your... silly wife.” grumbled the Director grouchily, waving his hooves angrily at the air, and Scrivener gave the Director an amused look as Luna glared grouchily. But this time, the Director clearly refused to be intimidated as he strode quickly over and snatched the script away, muttering: “But none of it really matters. Now we're going to have a new actress involved. One I don't much care for.”
Scrivener cocked his head curiously towards the Director, and the Director huffed before he grumbled: “One Karl is more than enough, thank you. This one has a reputation for trying to be a Karl herself. Which is why, with the meager powers left to me by the forces-that-be, I am at least trying to ensure that she doesn't even know she's part of this play. And you would be wise to do the same. Her role is but a small one, focusing mainly on you.”
The Director pointed, and Luna brightened... before she scowled horribly when the Director irritably gestured at her to step aside, the mare huffing loudly before she grouchily looked over her shoulder at Twilight, who blinked in surprise. “The audience apparently wants to see how you'll fare against a popular rival. I expect in an epic battle to the death. I mean, who would buy a ticket just to watch people talk?”
“It's called theater. People do it all the time. That's kind of precisely what this entire trap of yours is based on, isn't it?” Scrivener Blooms pointed out, and the Director slowly turned a surly look on him, one of his eyes twitching visibly.
The earth pony only returned his eyes to the script in front of him, however, glancing quickly through it before he muttered: “Still. All I see here are a few notes about... 'Actress enters via road, pan over, theme music plays. That also doesn't seem very professional.”
While Scrivener Blooms was complaining, in the same way he always was with that ever-present implication that he could do a far-superior job than the professionals could at their chosen craft in spite of having neither the training nor the interest in it, a dusty road bled into being through the grasses, the verdant green shifting welcomingly out of the way for the russet brown of fresh dirt.
With a flourish, music began to play, faint at first but growing louder as a show-wagon covered in splendid pictographs approached, pulled by a single lone mare. She was dressed in a regal purple cape and wizard's hat... or at least as regal as such clothing could be while covered in gaudy cosmological symbols.
As she approached, her eyes turned curiously towards the crowd and the commotion, before they widened slightly as they locked on the purple mare who was present. She immediately grinned, then almost lunged off the road... and yelped when the harnesses caught around her, her eyes bulging before she thumped loudly to the ground, the baby blue mare blinking a few times as all eyes turned to stare at her with surprise.
All except for the Director, of course, who only groaned and slapped his forehead as his draconic tail snapped grouchily against the ground. “Oh, here we go.”
The mare cleared her throat, then she suddenly vanished in a burst of magic before reappearing in a great puff of smoke in front of the ponies, declaring: “Well, well, if it isn't Twilight Sparkle! What a coincidence that Trixie the Great and Powerful should find her greatest rival out here in the middle of nowhere, and with...”
Trixie paused, looking at the group before she frowned in surprise: there were two Royal Guard, and the black stallion was in some sort of royal uniform, and... hadn't there been another pony? Well, it didn't really matter, because not only was Princess Twilight Sparkle here in her princessly outfit, the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna, was here as well, also dressed in her princessly garb!
Except almost the moment the tiara and peytral plate appeared on her body, Luna violently shook herself before tearing them both off, then she began to dance around, swearing and kicking her hooves violently until the slippers finally flew off her hooves, as Trixie stared in disbelief, Scrivener only sat calmly, and Marina and River Styx both ducked in their shiny new armor – which neither had the time to question where or how it had appeared over their bodies – to avoid being struck by Luna's flailing or the flying crystalline shoes.
“Attempt to dress me again like that and I shall shear thy bits from thy body!” Luna shouted threateningly at the sky, looking like an absolute lunatic. Which was very fitting for her, really.
Trixie mouthed wordlessly, and then Scrivener Blooms said blandly: “Please excuse Luna. She's having a difficult day. As she said, though, she would like to know whom she is addressing and what those bits are covering your body.”
“Oh!” Trixie hurriedly straightened, then posed sharply with a flash of light, grinning over at Twilight. “Of course you never told them about me, ashamed as you are of my magnificence! I am Trixie, the Great and Powerful, and I am the greatest magician in all of Equestria! Greater even than the so-called Princess of Magic, Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight smiled after a moment, raising a golden-slipper-covered hoof before she shook her head and said softly: “I'm sure you are, Trixie. It's good to see you.”
Trixie blinked at this, and then she huffed before dropping to all fours, raising her head proudly.  Marina and River Styx traded looks as Trixie began to ramble away, before the stallion muttered: “I recognize her. She's one of those... carnival mages.”
“I think I've seen her before, once or twice.” Marina confirmed, nodding a bit before she smiled a little over at the stallion. The stallion looked back at her, quirking an eyebrow at the mare who was now dressed in Royal Guard armor, and after a moment Marina blushed and lowered her head a little. “I apologize. I was just... thinking about my brother.”
River Styx grunted, glancing away but not shifting away from the mare, before he finally muttered almost grudgingly: “Well, just... stay close, then. She might seem harmless, but we've seen how erratic this world can be. Let's just let those three figure this out. That stallion's a natural liar.”
Marina smiled a bit: that didn't sound entirely like an insult, somehow. She turned her eyes back ahead, raising her head a little and murmuring softly: “I have to say, though. I'm glad that it doesn't feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders... but I do wish we could... help each other out more.”
River Styx only grumbled a little, his eyes shifting away as he remained silent on that subject: he still wasn't entirely sure where he wanted to stand with these other ponies, especially when it came to trusting them and working alongside them.
He couldn't help but note that even if Luna was fidgeting anxiously, she seemed to be taking the rambling of Trixie in much greater stride than he had expected, however. He studied the trio thoughtfully, noting that odd smile on Twilight's face, and the way Scrivener seemed a little more positive himself, like they were meeting an old friend... no, not quite like that. Like they're seeing someone important to them that they...
Part of him wanted to say that no, that was impossible. But if there really were multiple worlds out there, and if in at least one of them, the stoic Princess Luna could instead be a crazed terror of a mare who had never learned to keep her hooves to herself.
Trixie finally ran out of things to say about herself or declare, the pastel-blue unicorn looking suspiciously at Twilight as Twilight only smiled at her, before Trixie snapped: “What? Oh, don't tell me, now that Twilight Sparkle is a princess, she considers herself too high and elite for the mighty Trixie, who is still journeying around Equestria pulling her wagon by herself because all the handsome stallions want to be paid to strut around and look handsome and be Trixie's assistants when really they should be paying her for the privilege, is that it?”
“Uh. No. It's just... nice to see you.” Twilight said awkwardly, and Trixie blinked in surprise, looking stupefied at this response. “I uh... I mean...”
“Oh, Trixie understands now.” the light-blue unicorn said suddenly, straightening and smiling primly as she touched her own chest with one hoof. “Well, Twilight, any pony with Trixie's level of knowledge and talent could have easily put on such an incredible display of magical prowess, and I suppose that after the mischief you had gotten into, I felt a little sorry for you and was all too happy to step in and add my own talents to your silly fireworks show. And.. Trixie supposes that she got a little out of hoof herself.”
The mare looked almost grudgingly away, nodding once before she cleared her throat and returned her eyes to Twilight, smiling eagerly as she continued cheerfully: “But that's all in the past! Now, Twilight Sparkle, I know that us meeting here is no coincidence, but instead a happy twist of Fate! Who better to witness my superiority than the Princess of the Night! Oh, if only Celestia was here, then-”
“By now Celestia would have shoved her hoof up thy buttocks and pulled thy tongue out thy-” Luna started, and then she winced when Scrivener Blooms slapped a hoof over her muzzle, scowling horribly as Trixie looked dumbly over at the sapphire mare.
“I suppose that makes Princess Celestia the best princess of all, then.” River Styx muttered in the moment of silence, and Twilight cleared her throat as Luna huffed loudly behind Scrivener's hoof, while the earth pony simply shot Styx a pointed look. River Styx only shrugged, and beside him, Marina couldn't help but smile, half-covering her mouth. She thought if anything showed that maybe the stoic stallion was starting to loosen up a little, it was that.
“Princess Luna would be delighted to see a contest of skill between Trixie the Grape and Punctual and Princess Twilight Sparkle of the Many Colors of the Rainbow, Her Magic be so Divine.” Scrivener said seriously, and Trixie stared at him for a few moments. “Well, that's her full title. And as her challenger, proper etiquette declares that you do your best to address her by her full and proper title, Trixie the Grape and Punctual.”
“Great and Powerful, I am the Great and Powerful, not the Grape and Punctual, you... who are you?” Trixie blurted, and Scrivener Blooms reared back as if offended.
River Styx suddenly understood exactly why Luna Brynhild insisted on calling Scrivener Blooms her sidekick as the earth pony said in a stern, sharp voice: “I am the Court Poet and Royal Translator for Princess Luna, thank you very much, which means that I share her authority in all matters and all things. Why, I am even more important than Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle, after all, has no standing in Canterlot, except for when she sometimes serves as Princess Celestia's favorite stool, but that is a matter between them and we do not discuss the Royal Order of Bondage with outsiders.”
Trixie only continued to stare at Scrivener Blooms for a few moments before Luna suddenly blurted: “Thou art be ye toot and presumptuous of circumstances by ye great dumb... elephant!”
Marina and River Styx both stared, the former mouthing wordlessly as the latter wondered if something had finally snapped in Luna's mind, but Scrivener only nodded seriously as Twilight dropped her face in one hoof, the earth pony looking with such seriousness at Trixie that she couldn't help but quail a little under his glare. “Luna says that you must give the Royal Apology, or you will not be permitted to have your duel with Twilight Sparkle.”
“But... but that didn't sound like... Trixie means...” Trixie spluttered, looking helplessly back and forth between Luna and Twilight before she blurted: “Trixie doesn't even know what a Royal Apology is!”
“Well of course you don't. They are very secret rituals and you should be grateful that we're willing to teach you how to do it at all, let alone give you the chance to-”
Before Scrivener could finish, Twilight stepped over to him and put a hoof on his face, shoving him almost gently over before she less-gently pinned him to the ground by the head, the earth pony grumbling as Luna whined loudly in her throat like a dog. But Twilight only looked sourly over her shoulder at the sapphire mare, and Luna shrank her head between her shoulders before the purple mare said in a gentler voice, as Trixie stared uncomprehendingly at her: “Don't you worry about these two, they're just having a bit of fun. I'd be more than happy to see how much you've grown since the last time we... met, Trixie.”
Twilight smiled a little more, and Trixie looked at her almost suspiciously for a few moments before she suddenly sniffed loudly and nodded, stepping backwards and declaring: “Very well, then! Trixie will be more than happy to accommodate you, Twilight Sparkle. Of course, usually this is a privilege most ponies would pay for, but-”
“Oh, get on with it! Thou art boring and this is boring!” Luna complained loudly, and Trixie looked both shocked and insulted before the sapphire mare sniffed disdainfully and added grumpily: “I desire to be entertained. Not... bored to death by thy boring... boringness.”
“Luna wants flashy lights and big explosions.” Scrivener said mildly as he stood up and dusted himself off, and Twilight gave the stallion a dry look as Trixie huffed loudly.
“Trixie is not some conjurer of cheap tricks!” declared the baby-blue unicorn, and then she turned a baleful glare on Twilight, who blinked in surprise and leaned back a little. “Of course, I see that is precisely what you told the Princesses to save face, wasn't it? Trixie is terribly disappointed in you, Twilight Sparkle, for such rumors!”
Trixie gestured sharply outwards, and there was a bright puff of multicolored smoke behind her as she declared: “But now, Trixie shall show the world the truth, that she has become the Greatest and Most Powerful of all unicorns!”
She flicked her hooves sharply upwards, and there was a bright flash before Trixie leapt backwards and grinned brightly as she landed on a wooden stage that had magically appeared behind her, the mare posing on her hind legs as she declared: “Now it is time for you all to witness the greatest show in all of Equestria, where even a Princess of Magic will bow before the might of the awesome Trixie!”
“Awesome.” Scrivener deadpanned, and Luna snorted in amusement before she happily dropped on her rump, gesturing encouragingly at Twilight as Trixie grinned widely from the stage and extended her own hoof towards the violet mare.
Twilight sighed a little, but then she hesitantly approached the stage, clambering up to join the unicorn as Marina and River Styx both joined Luna and Scrivener in the front row, watching curiously as Trixie cleared her throat and spun once on a hoof before thrusting her forelegs out and declaring: “Now, all of you, watch as I perform some of the most incredible, most daring, most stupendous spellwork ever seen in the history of the world!”
“She certainly likes to build up the suspense.” Scrivener Blooms said mildly, earning a snort of amusement from Luna. Trixie glowered at this, but then the unicorn suddenly smiled almost malevolently before her horn glowed brightly and she snapped it forward.
Scrivener winced as a tickling sensation crawled over his muzzle, before he stared as a bushy beard and mustache popped into existence, the stallion scowling at this white mess of fluff as Luna stared, then fell backwards, cackling loudly. The black stallion glared at her, then turned his unamused eyes up towards Trixie, who grinned widely as she gestured proudly over at Scrivener. “Beat that!”
Twilight smiled in amusement, and then she glanced towards the others, mouthing an apology before her horn glowed and she flicked it lightly. River Styx and Marina both winced as they felt a tickle for a moment before a pointy, sharp mustache and beard popped into being on Styx's face, and Marina winced as she grew a short, stiff-cut mustache and matching goatee.
A moment later, Luna sat up, blinking dumbly in surprise and with a flowing blue beard that covered most of her face and hung down past her shoulders. She and Scrivener looked at each other for a moment, and then Luna thoughtfully stroked her beard before saying blandly: “'Tis not warrior-like enough. It must be larger. And sharper. I must be able to thrust it into Scrivener.”
Luna paused, then half-lidded her eyes with a wide grin as she leaned towards Scrivener, reaching up to grasp into his beard and tug firmly on it as the others stared at her and Twilight lowered her head in exasperation. “Scrivy loves it when I thrust into him.”
“Some days I pretend you aren't real and my life is normal.” Scrivener said dryly, and then he glanced over at Twilight almost pleadingly. “A little help?”
Twilight smiled wryly, and then she flicked her horn, dispelling the various beards in a flash of light. This seemed to snap Trixie out of her disbelief, the baby-blue unicorn huffing loudly before she declared: “Well, that was only a start, anyway! Watch now, as the incredible Trixie performs a feat that not even Twilight Sparkle was able to do!”
Trixie turned her eyes back towards Scrivener Blooms, who winced and held up his hooves, opening his mouth to try and blurt something to make the mare stop-
Trixie's horn flashed, and Scrivener's body sizzled violently as his body glowed brightly. Luna winced away from it as she felt a strange sizzle run through her own form, before her eyes slowly widened as the light died out, and Scrivener was left sitting with a horrible scowl on his... no, not his. Her. She made Scrivy a mare!
Luna's eyes slowly widened as Twilight smiled despite herself, quickly bringing up a hoof to try and hide this... but a little too late as Scrivener said disgustedly, her body now slender and smaller and clearly feminine: “I hate all of you.”
Luna began to giggle as Trixie posed primly, grinning widely over at Twilight Sparkle, but the violet mare only smiled and said kindly: “That's really impressive, Trixie. But you should really ask before you do magic like that on people, especially Scrivener-”
“Novella!” Luna blurted, and Twilight sighed as Scrivener looked horribly at Luna. “We have discussed this before, and were Scrivener a mare in body as much as duty, then she should surely be named Novella Blooms. Now, Novella...”
Luna licked her lips slowly, then she grabbed the now-mare by the shoulders, making Scrivener squeak a little as she was shoved down on her back, Luna straddling her and winking. “Shall I test to make sure that Trixie has done more than just some fickle illusion?”
Marina averted her eyes awkwardly, and River Styx looked moodily up at Twilight Sparkle before saying dryly: “If you so much as think about trying that on me...”
“Don't worry. I'll just put Scrivy back to normal, first.” Twilight flicked her horn, and Scrivener wheezed as his body glowed and returned to its normal form and gender, the stallion shaking his head briefly even as Luna groaned... before perking up as Scrivener stared at Twilight with horror when she added: “Here, Luna.”
Luna's body glowed, and a moment later, her body grew slightly larger as it filled out with muscle, becoming a strong, proud stallion's form as the now male-posed on top of Scrivener... not that she wasn't enough of a stallion to begin with.
Scrivener looked morbidly up at Luna, who grinned toothily before the now-he winked and said cheerfully: “And now, Scrivy... I think you should help me make sure that every part of my body is-”
“Nope.” Scrivener said loudly, tilting his head back and wincing as he shoved at the stallion. “Twilight, it's bad enough when Luna does this, why do you have to encourage her?”
“Oh, come on, Scrivener. It's not that bad.” Twilight said mildly, and then she turned a smile towards Trixie, who was glowering at her. “What other tricks do you have?”
“Well, even without the alicorn amulet, Trixie is now capable of casting the most difficult magic of all! Regression spells!” Trixie replied sharply, and then she leaned forwards and snapped her horn at Twilight... before blinking stupidly when nothing happened.
Twilight only smiled, and Trixie cleared her throat before she said hurriedly: “Well, Trixie... uh... realized at the last moment it would be rude to cast such a spell on her opponent so... she will instead transform a volunteer from the audience into a foal! You, come here!”
Trixie pointed at River Styx, who only looked balefully back at the unicorn, and Trixie slowly moved her hoof to point at Marina, who winced and shifted lamely backwards, saying awkwardly: “I don't think that's a very good idea...”
“Oh, this is the most uncooperative audience Trixie has ever had!” the unicorn grumbled, although she seemed secretly relieved as she declared: “Very well, I shall instead... prove my prowess by aging myself! After all, even with the signs of age, Trixie will not lose any of her dazzling beauty!”
Trixie posed for a moment, and then her horn glowed brightly before her magic aura suffused her body, and Twilight smiled in amusement as she sat back and watched. Slowly, Trixie's body visibly aged, years passing in moments for the unicorn before she suddenly spun on one hoof and then posed, her coat paler than it had been before, her mane longer but thinner, her face marked by wrinkles and the passage of thousands of days that had flown by in mere moments.
She smiled, made more beautiful by her transformation... and Twilight chuckled quietly before she said softly: “That's a very impressive illusion.”
Trixie blanched slightly, looking over at Twilight with surprise, but the violet mare simply reached up and tapped her nose once, saying softly: “I've seen a lot of polymorphs and transformation spells, with all of Luna's adventures. You did a really amazing job with aging yourself, but the flaw is in your performance... well, and your vanity, to be blunt.”
Trixie glared at Twilight, then she huffed loudly and posed for a moment, saying firmly: “Showmareship is the most important thing to a pony like myself, Twilight! And even if I may have cut a few corners here and there, such magic is still far beyond-”
Twilight winked as her horn glowed brightly, and a moment later a massive, purple and black dragon exploded into being where the mare had been a second before, roaring loudly at Trixie as it crunched the stage beneath its claws. Marina squeaked and fell backwards with a shocked look as River Styx winced and braced himself automatically, while Trixie squawked as she rolled backwards off her stage before falling with a flump to the ground, her illusion vanishing from around her as she looked up at the dragon with shock and terror-
And then, in a swirl of light and shadow, it was simply Twilight again, the violet mare striding forwards with a smile as she said kindly: “Everything needs a little flash and sizzle, maybe. But you need substance, too.”
Twilight's horn glowed, and the broken stage lit up with the mare's magic before it rapidly repaired itself, Trixie staring dumbly up at Twilight for a few moments before she scowled horribly, then leapt up onto the stage, shoving almost nose-to-nose with the mare as she declared: “Trixie will not be done in by your silly, brutish tricks, Twilight Sparkle! As it so happens, Trixie has been saving the best of her incredible stunts for last!”
Twilight cocked her head curiously as Marina picked herself up and River Styx relaxed slightly, scowling all the same as he studied Twilight almost uneasily: what level of magic power did the mare really have, if she was able to do something like that without a twitch?
Trixie, however, was breathing quickly, clearly trying to psyche herself up for whatever magic she was about to try and pull off. Twilight watched with interest, sitting back and watching curiously as Trixie slowly stood up on her hind legs, biting her lips before she spread her front limbs and grinned as she started to float.
At first, Twilight thought it was levitation... but slowly, Trixie wobbled her way higher into the air, her whole body glowing with her magic energy as she looked down at Twilight with pride, with triumph, and with perhaps the faintest hint of a mare who was all-but-pleading for acknowledgment, as she declared: “I don't need wings to fly, Twilight Sparkle!”
Trixie slowly spun around in a circle, and then she flew in a slow circle as River Styx and Marina both watched in amazement, while Luna clapped brightly and Scrivener smiled a little from where he was still laying on the ground. Twilight was smiling too, her expression strange and almost wistful as she watched the way Trixie shakily flew through the air, performing a few easy loops and simple 'stunts.'
Finally, Trixie floated back down towards the stage, visibly sweating as she levitated above the wood with a proud grin, and Twilight smiled before she said softly: “You remind me of my daughter.”
“What?” Trixie burst out, staring in shock at Twilight as she dropped out of the air with a thunk on her belly, and the baby-blue unicorn groaned before she hurriedly clambered back to her hooves and stared at Twilight. “What do you mean, your daughter?”
“Oh, well, you know... a... uh... a lot of things have happened since we last... met.” Twilight said lamely, looking back and forth as she cleared her throat and rubbed awkwardly at the back of her head, before she asked hurriedly: “How did you teach yourself to fly?”
“Oh, no, the Great and Powerful Trixie will not be distracted that easily, and nor would she share such powerful magic with you, Twilight!” Trixie declared immediately, huffing loudly as she looked warily over Twilight, before she scowled as she looked at Luna and Scrivener moodily. “You know, Trixie thinks there is something strange about the fact that she just happened to stumble across you ponies, and you all seem a little...”
She looked meditatively over Marina and River Styx, the chocolate mare smiling as River Styx only continued to frown, while the genet on his head waved happily. “Strange.”
“We're actually all from a completely different reality, and we were all pulled into this one, along with you, to be part of a supernatural play put on by the Draconequus. Who, being Draconequus, have no actual coherent story or way to put all of us together, so we all just keep getting thrown – very annoyingly, I might add – from random scene to scene, with some vague plot happening between whatever their so-called 'audience' is demanding to see.” Scrivener Blooms said blandly, and Trixie scowled horribly at the earth pony as Luna giggled behind her hooves and Twilight looked at the stallion with exasperation. “What? It's true.”
“Trixie is not nearly stupid enough to believe that! Any more than she believes the lies about you being a Court Poet!” Trixie declared, and Scrivener Blooms looked offended for a moment... and then he simply shrugged amiably in agreement. “You cannot fool the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“I'm sure I can't.” Scrivener agreed mildly, and then he glanced over at Luna and asked: “So should we confess that I'm just the royal prostitute, then?”
“Thou wishes thou wert the royal prostitute. But then again, if thou wert, Celestia would have taken thee from me and broken thee beneath her sordid buttocks long ago.” Luna replied mildly, and Scrivener grimaced a bit at this as Twilight rolled her eyes and Trixie looked a little aghast.
River Styx glanced towards Luna moodily, and then he shook his head as Marina said hesitantly: “Well, maybe... if the contest is over-”
“The contest is not over until Twilight lies in defeat and Trixie has proven her superiority!” Trixie declared, spinning back towards Twilight Sparkle and glaring at her. Twilight only smiled at her, however, and Trixie huffed before asking: “Well, what is your response to my latest and greatest show of abilities?”
“I surrender, Trixie. You're just too much for me.” Twilight said kindly, and Trixie began to brighten... but only for a moment.
Instead, the baby-blue mare shifted, and then she scowled a little, muttering: “That doesn't feel right at all. No. That's not good enough! In fact, that's worse than losing to you fair and square. How dare you patronize me, Twilight Sparkle! I know you, and I know you have plenty of trickery and cunning and power, and... what will it take to get you to meet me in a magic duel? Do I have to pick on your friends again?”
“You don't want to do that, Trixie. I know you don't want to. You're not a bad pony... you've never been a bad pony. Just... lonely, perhaps, and full of self-doubt and maybe a little self-loathing, too.” Twilight said softly, and Trixie flinched slightly at this, staring in surprise at Twilight before she bared her teeth at her almost threateningly, but the purple mare was undaunted. “I'm not trying to 'win' any 'magic duel' against you, Trixie. I just want to... see what you can do.”
Trixie grumbled under her breath at this, scowling horribly at Twilight before she sniffed disdainfully and peered towards Luna and Scrivener, saying moodily: “That is a strange thing to say in front of the Princess of the Night, Twilight Sparkle. One would think you would want to impress her, unless you really do consider yourself to be equal to the rulers of all of Equestria now.”
“I'm equal to everypony, and everypony is my equal. That includes you, Trixie. You're not worth less than I am.” Twilight said gently, and Trixie glared at the purple mare.
“I know that!” she snapped, a little too loudly and angrily, before she huffed and then sat back, sniffing loudly as she rose her horn as it began to glow, announcing: “Fine, since that is how you seem to want it, Twilight Sparkle, I will give you just what you want! I will cast a spell so powerful that it will bring night to Equestria, and if you can't stop my magic, then... everypony will believe that eternal night has returned and blame Nightmare Moon!”
“Nightmare Moon's plan was stupid. Thy plan is also stupid.” Luna said grouchily, waving a hoof at Trixie. “How is this supposed to threaten Twilight, or myself, for that matter? Also, with ease, I could drop the moon upon thy head. 'Twould be easy. Thy head is a great and bloated and fat target.”
Trixie glowered horribly at Luna, even as she blushed deeply, but her horn glowed brightly all the same as she retorted: “Trixie knows precisely what she is doing and it is not her fault that... that other ponies cannot see the genius of her actions!”
“Trixie needs to stop talking in third person.” Scrivener said dryly, and River Styx grunted in agreement as Marina shifted awkwardly.
Twilight only smiled lamely, before she frowned uneasily and glanced up as she thought she caught a strange pulse of magic, the purple mare starting uncomfortably: “Maybe you should reconsider this, Trixie... I... I'm not sure that moving the moon is such a good idea...”
“Only because it seems that even with all your tutelage, you have not learned how to!” Trixie grumbled, as she bit her lip in concentration, grumbling: “How hard could it be, moving a giant rock? I can do anything I put my mind to, and... and...”
Trixie began to grin as a shape visibly moved in front of the sun, growing larger and larger... except then the unicorn's eyes widened in alarm as she realized the object was getting larger because it was drawing closer towards them, rocketing out of the sky at incredible speeds as it burst into flame. Trixie reared back in horror as her horn sparked, violently shoving with all the magic she had at the meteor she had accidentally summoned, but it was useless: all she managed to do was knock several chunks of stone off the huge boulder rocketing out of the sky towards them, turning one massive, deadly rock into a massive, deadly rock surrounded by deadly shards of wildly-spinning stone.
Twilight winced as she spun around, before she gritted her teeth and snapped her horn sharply upwards, summoning a magic barrier: the meteor smashed through this like glass, but it was markedly slowed by the magic wall, and the smaller stone shards around it were caught up in the broken barrier, bouncing back and forth uselessly and many of them destroyed or knocked off course.
Twilight was already calling up her magic again, snapping her horn forwards and sending a missile of magic streaking upwards, and it hammered into the meteor, tearing into the stone heart of the boulder before exploding. The meteor itself erupted at the impact, shattering into dozens of chunks of stone that flew in all directions as Twilight made a swift spinning motion with her horn, a maelstrom of energy ripping through the air and catching most of the stone fragments, whirling them in a wild cyclone above the heads of the staring ponies before the chunks of rock were all harmlessly flung away to the sides, crashing down in sprays of dirt all throughout the field around them.
Luna sat back and clapped happily as the last chunks of debris and broken meteor crashed at safe distances around them, and Twilight sighed a little as the maelstrom of magic dissipated, the violet mare smiling a little before she looked over at Trixie, who was shaking like a leaf and clutching her hat over her head like it would protect her from the falling chunks of rock. She blinked a few times as she stared up into the sky, before the unicorn gave a lame smile over at Twilight as she brushed herself off nervously and straightened, clearing her throat as she mumbled: “I... thank you.”
Twilight looked curiously over at Trixie, but Trixie hurriedly straightened and shook herself out before she said quickly: “Trixie was... going to simply dispel that meteor herself, but she wanted to see if you would be able to pass her test and... you certainly did, Twilight Sparkle! Perhaps you are not quite as powerful as Trixie the Great and Powerful but you have certainly proven that you may deserve your crown after all, even if... Trixie is quite certain she is stronger than you are. But she needs to rest for a few minutes first, and she knows that Twilight must be... very tired. Exhausted, even!”
Trixie nodded seriously, dropping to all fours and stretching as she added quickly: “And of course after that incredible show of Trixie's power and Twilight Sparkle's own... small effort that contributed somewhat to protecting us from what... Trixie clearly had under complete control already, but would have certainly possibly maybe caused quite a bit of a panic if Trixie had perhaps lost a slight bit of control and maybe would have created some slight problems and difficulties.”
Trixie perhaps blushed ever so slightly, and Twilight smiled a little before she said agreeably: “Yeah. I think you're right, Trixie. Maybe we can just talk?”
Trixie scowled a little at this, looking suspiciously at Twilight, before she squawked when Luna suddenly leapt up onto the stage and threw a foreleg around Trixie's shoulders, nearly strangling her as she pulled her close and she added almost threateningly: “Aye, 'twould certainly be in thy best interest to tell us where thou art from and where thou art headed! Otherwise, how will we know which way to go? And thou does not want to be a rude hostess, does thou?”
“N-No, certainly not!” Trixie smiled lamely, awkwardly attempting to extract herself from Luna before she winced slightly and leaned her head away when the sharkishly-grinning sapphire mare almost shoved her face into Trixie's. “Trixie... would like to maintain a certain comfort zone...”
“But I am very comfortable like this, Trixie. Very comfortable indeed.” Luna waggled her eyebrows at Trixie, making her wince a little, before she rolled her eyes when Twilight glared at her. “Oh, fie on thee. Very well. But only because I do not desire to sleep on the couch again. Or whatever passes for such out here in this great patch of... mess.”
Luna looked disapprovingly back and forth at the fields around them, before she glanced up towards the sky and complained: “No place in Equestria is so derelict as this, Narrator! There is no such thing as open road surrounded merely by grasses!”
The Narrator, of course, is well aware that no, there aren't really many places in Equestria where you find nothing but dusty road for miles and miles, with nothing but plain centipede grass, which is ironically likely not a grass that would be able to tolerate Equestria's inhabitants for long, considering their heavy stomping and tromping and the bite these ever-hungry beasts of burden would take out of their own lawns here and there. Imagine, living in Equestria, where your lawn isn't just some same social status symbol, but also that guilty pleasure, that midnight snack you're not supposed to eat but can't help but get a bite of anyway, that-
“Oh shut up, Narrator.” Luna said tiredly, and Trixie frowned in confusion as she looked back and forth quickly, then up towards the sky.
“Narrator? Who is that? Trixie thought she saw another pony, but-”
What? Another pony? How dare you compare me, even unwittingly, to that dubious dummy dubbed the Director! I am absolutely outraged by this foul accusation, this-
Trixie was staring up into the sky with her ears flat against her head and her eyes bulging with something like terror, her mouth working slowly before she looked wildly back and forth and asked fearfully: “Trixie is not the only pony hearing that voice, is she?”
“What voice?” Scrivener Blooms asked curiously, and Trixie paled and twitched a little as Twilight gave the stallion a pointed look. “What? I'm just trying to find out of Trixie is talking about something normal that everyone is hearing, or if she's completely insane and we should try and find her some mental help, because all that magic has gone back into her brain and broken her ability to discern fantasy from reality.”
Trixie slowly turned towards Scrivener Blooms, staring at him as he looked back at her casually, and River Styx sighed before Marina said quickly: “It's okay, we all hear the Narrator. It's something you get used to, it's just... part of this world.”
“What do you mean, part of this world? What is even going on?” Trixie asked sharply, looking back and forth before she glared at Twilight, snapping: “If this is some trick of yours, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie is far from impressed by this... this parlor magic!”
Twilight looked mildly at Trixie's completely-unironic statement, and then she said as gently as possible: “This isn't any trick. If you're willing to listen-”
“No, time's up!” barked another voice, and Trixie flinched in shock as the Director suddenly strode out from behind her, as if he had always been standing up on stage with the two mares. Trixie nearly fell over as she scuttled quickly behind Twilight, staring past the winged unicorn with a look of disbelief beneath her fallen-askew hat at the dragon-tailed stallion.
The Director scowled over at her, and then he simply flicked his hoof, and Trixie squeaked before she simply popped out of existence. Twilight flinched in surprise, and Luna was on her hooves in a moment, turning dead serious as she snapped: “Where did you send her, cur?”
“Back to the dressing room. This scene is over, I won't let this play get any more... cluttered up than it's already been!” the Director snapped, shaking his head vehemently... but he was looking uneasily at the sky, chewing visibly on his lip as he breathed slowly in and out, a bit of sweat on his forehead, a vein palpating in his neck... something is wrong.
The Director's eyes whipped back and forth, almost like an animal that had been cornered who was trying desperately to find a path of escape, and Scrivener frowned slightly as Marina and River Styx both looked uncertainly at the Draconequus. The chocolate mare started to open her mouth, but the Director gestured violently, snapping: “No more questions! We're already far off target and there can't be any more delays! The budget is limited, and time even more so!”
“What's going on?” Twilight asked, but the Director ignored her completely, the stallion shaking his head vehemently as he paced quickly back and forth, his eyes flicking fearfully through the open air around them.
“How do I... how do I... okay, here's what happened, how the scene connects. Trixie was so impressed that she told you precisely how to get to Canterlot, which is that way.” The Director pointed quickly down the path, and then he grimaced before looking up and shouting: “Drop me a Canterlot set! Hurry up, Plutocrat says he wants more productivity from all of us!”
Plutocrat wants to control the audience, but Plutocrat, of course, has never been able to figure out that attempting to control anything that happens to have even a smidgen of chaos is-
“I don't have time for this, Narrator!” The Director's voice was almost shrill as he looked up with fury at the sky, shaking a hoof angrily as his draconic tail snapped back and forth. “Do you not realize we're on a timeframe here, or that with you just... throwing things wildly in as you please instead of giving me a single moment to try and work out a coherent storyline... it's all caused chaos? Just because you like it when everything is madness doesn't mean everyone else does! I have to assemble it all, make it logical, try and stay in control, but oh, who cares about the Director, who cares that-”
Luna hopped up onto the stage, then reached out and firmly slapped the Director across the face, making him flinch and blink stupidly several times before the sapphire mare said calmly: “Get thyself under control, Director. There is no need for such panic. And if thou would but give us the chance to work with thee instead of trying to push us, thou might find us more willing and able to help thee.”
The Director stared at her for a few moments, and then he slumped a little and nodded as Marina added quietly: “We don't want anyone to get hurt here, we just want to go home. If it's easier for all of us to escape this by working together, why shouldn't we?”
“I don't want to be here and I don't want to cooperate. But if you actually help us...” River Styx shrugged a bit as his genet chirped in agreement.
The Director looked down at the stage, pawing at it slowly before he sighed a little and mumbled: “Very well. I suppose I could have... done a better job myself of establishing this whole scene, but... they don't give me any time or warning. They just drop things on me and... it's not like you actors are ever pleasant to work with.”
“Then why make us even more unpleasant by irritating us?” Scrivener asked dryly, and the Director glowered at him, but didn't really seem to have much of a response to this. “Exactly. Now, what happened to Trixie and Shining Armor?”
“Minor actors are only summoned when the audience demands them. After that, they're sent back to the dressing room, where they're kept until the end of the show. Should the play fail, well...” The Director shifted nervously, and Scrivener didn't like what that silence implied.
Neither did River Styx, who frowned slightly before he asked quietly: “Are you saying there's more lives than just our own riding on this... game?”
“No, no! No! We... I would never put lives in danger, I would... I mean, everyone's going to go home sometime. Everyone will go home.” the Director said hurriedly, but he seemed like he was struggling to believe his own words as he tugged nervously at his collar, shifting back and forth as he looked fearfully up into the sky. “But I shouldn't be talking about this. Look, just... the scene was over, or almost over. Maybe I stepped in too early, but... we're already setting up for the next scene, we'll adjust it in editing. Narrator, where is that set? I just asked you for a set!”
In the distance, a giant cardboard cutout of Canterlot that looked as if it had been painted by small foals dropped down at the end of the path, and the Director stared at this for a few moments before he dropped his face in his hooves with a whimper. Luna smiled despite herself, and Scrivener smiled lamely as Twilight said as positively as she could: “Well, we were already at Canterlot and it looks... fine. I'm sure the Narrator is just... trying to get you to relax.”
The Narrator couldn't reply to this, but seeing as the Director was in such a sad and miserable state, he did feel his heart admittedly going out to his old friend. So, after a few moments, the Narrator withdrew his maybe-slightly badly-timed joke and...
Nothing happened. The cardboard cutout stayed in place. The Director looked up at this, and then he bit his lip as he looked almost desperately at the sky, but everyone could almost feel that... that weakening. Could almost see the paint peeling from the backdrop, the turf drying under their hooves to green-dyed straw, the... the stitches of reality, weakening...
Luna looked uneasily back and forth as the world took on flatter tones around them, and Scrivener frowned as the grass under his hooves became plasticky, fake. Marina and River Styx shifted uneasily back and forth before the chocolate mare flinched as part of her costume suddenly fell off: no longer shiny metal armor, but plastic covered in gold glaze, badly-adhered together by glue and stitching.
River Styx's genet whimpered and scurried down his neck as the Director stared up at a sky that seemed more like a blue-painted ceiling now, and he swallowed thickly before he whispered: “Oh no.”
All eyes turned towards the Director, all the ponies wanting to know what was going on... but the Director only smiled weakly before he lowered his head and whispered: “Reality has become unstable. We've wasted too much time, used up too much energy. I... we have to take an intermission. A brief break, to stabilize things, because the play has been running too long with too little coherency, and all that chaos has stirred up terrible things. But during intermission, anything can happen. And if the audience gets restless, well...”
He smiled weakly, and Luna began to snort and open her mouth to boast, before the world around them flashed... and suddenly, she and the other actors who had been brought to this broken world were simply standing on a stage in front of a badly-painted backdrop, with the Director nowhere in sight.
Sprawled out before them were dozens of dusty, empty seats, filling a dark and brooding theater. The only light came from flickering lamps along the walls, their dim orange glow barely enough to shelter against the darkness, and a single bright lightbulb hung above the stage, its warm glow the only protection from the encroaching, seemingly-alive shadows.
Luna scowled darkly as Twilight and Scrivener both looked quickly back and forth, and Marina lowered her head nervously as River Styx's horn lit up brightly, scanning the desolate ruins around them for any signs of life... hostile or otherwise.
All of them wondered if this was part of the play, some new scene beginning, some new twist in the story... but oh, sad ponies. Little did they realize that plays, be they happy or sad ones, are escapes from the grimness, the cruelty of reality. They drive off the shadows and the darkness in our own lives, blind us to the evils of the world, let us run away from the cruelties of reality by giving us a vision into a world not our own, that we can never experience for ourselves but still tenuously grasp, gingerly hold, vicariously live through the others we see in that window created by the stage-play and the story-book.
But when that play is suddenly stopped, in the spaces between, we are driven back into the real world, where we will once more be very much alone, and very much afraid, and very much vulnerable to the evils of the world. The actors must take off their masks, and no longer are they the characters of a story: in these moments between, they must risk being consumed by the fear of failure, the terrors of the real world, the vulnerabilities of their own mortality. They are caught between done and doing, and oh, there's so much, you realize, that can still go wrong... and who wants the first act to be their greatest triumph?
In the intermission, the Redacted comes.