//------------------------------// // Temptation // Story: Lucidity // by Indulgence //------------------------------// ‘What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? Don’t tell me the "Great and Powerful" Trixie is lost for words, she’s hardy well known for keeping her mouth shut!’ Trixie was however just that, cemented in place where she sat so much so as to feel as part of the chair she was glued to, colour drained from her feature’s to match the seat’s greyness. When the voice had appeared in the silence she had been shocked enough, but now faced with its source she found herself initially struck dumb by its presence. All there was standing across from her (or rather seemingly floating) was a pair of disembodied eyes and a jagged grin, meaning that either the being which they were a part of was either incorporeal beyond them or blended perfectly into its surrounding darkness. In either case the effect was mildly disturbing, to say nothing of its visible features obvious abnormalities. It was a predator’s visage, wearing a crocodile’s smile along with slashed nocturnal pupils across its irises. ‘Who are you?’ the blue unicorn blurted, re-finding but not yet regaining control over her voice. ‘Hooray! Not only can she speak, but she has maintained her cognition as well!’ the incomplete face smiled, seemingly genuinely pleased about this observation. ‘You have no idea how tiresome it is to never meet ponies capable of making civil introductions, not to mention time consuming, and time is certainly nothing we want to be wasting. Less helpfully however, who I am is not the easiest question to go about answering. I’ve been called a great many names in my time, most of which have neither been particularly pleasant nor entirely fair, and I’ve also born a great many titles along with them. I’ve worn a countless multitude of offices, from the grandest peaks to the lowliest ravines of favour, I’ve been a princess and I’ve been a king. No, let’s forego the pleasantry of my name. A far easier question would be what am I?’ ‘Fine, what are you?’ Trixie’s composure had almost returned to its full former force and she snapped the question without hesitation. A degree of her fear had been dampened by her aggravation as the creature had spoken its self-indulgent piece, combined with its general tone which skirted on the cusp of mockery, doing nothing to enamour its speaker to her. ‘Ooh, and she’s still got the makings of wit too! How cute!’ the thing chuckled to itself. ‘As I said, the answer to that question is plain and simple: I am your salvation.’ The showpony snorted, she knew a spiel when she heard it. ‘Okay, feel free to cut to the chase at any point you want. You know if this is just a glorified waiting room you could just say so, particularly if you’re aiming not to waste our collective time.’ ‘Waiting room?’ The twin azure orbs thinned in the darkness as if frowning, had their owner had brows to actually frown with. ‘Oh I see.’ Its smile which had similarly contorted with its eyes now returned along with the features’ intrinsic threat. ‘Let me assure you that this place is most certainly not a “waiting room” as you put it, nor is it the hereafter as I suspect you believe.’ Trixie was once more caught off guard, thrown unsteady as the rug was again pulled out from under her by its words. ‘So I’m… I’m not dead’ she asked uncertainly, the query seeming all the more surreal as she verbalised it. ‘No you’re not dead’ it laughed back, but without any hint of warmth in its personal mirth, ‘or at least not yet anyway.’ ‘What do you… *cough!*’ Her building question was killed off by a fit of coughing, half-forgotten tenderness returning to her throat with a vengeance. She spluttered against a barrier of nothing, panting heavily in each interlude she was granted to draw back the air she had uncontrollably expelled from her lungs. Her neck meanwhile felt too tight, as if it were a mere straw when what she really required was a fire hose, leaving her gasping as she wheezed further. She coaxed in what small amounts of air she could manage to draw on, only barely sipping whilst her body willed for far more, making several attempts to clear her throat during the process. Rubbing her windpipe in hopes that her forehooves’ caresses would again loosen it, she began again. ‘Ahem… what do you mean by salvation then?’ she managed, eyes forced closed in her last attempt to free her airway. The thing had not batted an eyelid (although it was not exactly clear whether or not it exactly had them) as Trixie was overcome by coughing, retaining its broad toothed grin throughout when it was in her sights. Now however as she looked back up it was nowhere to be seen and in its place she was instead met by her reflection, staring out from a shined surface which had materialised from nowhere. The mirror was jet black like obsidian, making it just barely distinguishable from its background. ‘That again is a pleasantly simple question.’ As the creature spoke she watched its leering face appear above her twin’s shoulder, but as she whirled around in surprise she found that beyond the world of the looking glass there was nothing there. ‘I offer you power…’ When her gaze came back to the mirror its image had changed. Where once a light blue unicorn had sat there was now an alicorn in her place, new wings to match her coat fluttering gently at her sides. Her eyes darted to view the new feathered appendages, however in reality once more she was disappointed, there being no hint of change in the fur of her barrel. ‘…and greatness.’ In looking up she discovered a vast crowd had formed at her twin’s back, all caught in the chaos of silent cheering. Trixie! Trixie! Trixie! ‘In short, I offer you what has until now been wrongfully denied you. Am I therefore not your saviour?’ The tempting reflection flexed its wings, driving her already ecstatic audience to even higher muted roars. ‘So what’s the catch?' Trixie asked, awed by the sight but not made foalish by it. ‘What do you want in return?’ ‘All you have to do’ the creature answered, its smiling shadow of a face appearing amongst the figures of screaming ponies, ‘is let me in.’