8. The Return of the Queen [End of Part 2]
Were the immortal alicorn anywhere else, it would have been impossible for Trixie to even attempt to avoid her – but as it stood, tonight Luna was powerless precisely because she was the princess. Everypony wanted a moment of her time, to ask for advice from a being with the wisdom of millennia behind her. Everypony wanted her blessing on some task they wanted to undertake. Everypony wanted to give her some kind of gift, and her accepting it would be taken as a sign of royal approval. But mostly, everypony wanted to simply bask in her presence.
It was interesting. Many ponies feared Luna, for her power and for being essentially the physical embodiment of the night, and rare was the pony who didn’t have a hundred opinions about the Night Court and the dark, shadowy competitions enacted by the noble herds of Equestria that affected the lives of thousands of ponies – and similar opinions of Luna, who orchestrated the Night Court to her whims and was often seen as some kind of manipulative schemer who was directing all of Equestria in a game to which only she knew the rules.
But on the other hoof, she had just done for them what some ponies were describing as the most beautiful sight of their lives, and up close and personal, Luna seemed surprisingly warm and approachable – which meant everypony except one blue unicorn wanted to approach her, and that blue unicorn was doing a far better job of keeping away from her mentor than she thought she would have been able to manage.
Trixie took a deep breath. She had finished clearing out a large space in front of her new home, cordoning it off with a few chairs used to create an impromptu acting arena. She wished she had a proper stage to work with, but then again working on street level had its own charm, or at least that’s what her grand-père, Quartermoon, had said about his early days in showbusiness. Not as many ponies would be able to see her, but they would hear her almost as well, and their curiosity would be all the greater.
Trixie had a moment of doubt as she stood still, invisibility spell wrapped around her form. Once she started, there’d be no going back. She didn’t fully know what Luna’s reaction would be, but it certainly wouldn’t be pleasant. Still – Trixie reminded herself that Luna had banished her to Ponyville. Had dumped her here to rot. Steeling her resolve, Trixie channeled magic through her horn – fortunately, her invisibility spell did its job of hiding her presence – and she cast two spells simultaneously: an illusory, bright fireworks, not quite as good as the real thing but certainly attention-grabbing; and a ghost sound copy of the noise of a fireworks display to accompany it.
There was, of course, a crush of ponies nearby anyway, as everypony wanted to be inside the unicorn-created bubble of warm air. Still, she had succeeded at getting a large number of ponies looking her way, eager to see what was coming up next in the night.
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Trixie exclaimed – still invisible, and after wrapping another spell around her throat, which would enhance it enough so that everypony nearby would hear it without trouble. She set off more illusory fireworks, these ones streamers that mostly spun in place as a lightshow. “Come one! Come all! Come and see the greatest show in all of Equestria! Tonight on the Longest Night, see the astounding magical prowess of the one – the only – descendent of the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded – ” technically, actually, it was Star Swirl’s sister-in-law, but the Ponyvillians didn’t need to know that, “ – trained in the arts of sorcery and spell-shaping by Princess Luna herself – the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
And with that, Trixie threw down a final illusion and let her invisibility spell slip as a bright flash and cerulean smoke filled her staked-out area. The smoke dissipated quickly, leaving only Trixie – clad in her hat and cape, of course, but also wearing a dark blue undershirt and a deep purple jacket with loose sleeves for her front legs, buttoned across her chest and stomach. It was part of what she’d worn it to the last Grand Galloping Gala, and fit her ‘theme’ perfectly.
She already had a small crowd of ponies standing in place, ready and waiting for her to live up to her introductory speech. Most particularly, with such an overt and bright display of color and sound, she had attracted what Grandpapa Quartermoon had always claimed was the key to a successful magic show: Foals, little colts and fillies who were so much easier to fool with sleight-of-hoof and always had a much less critical eye.
“Now then,” Trixie said to the audience, “quick note before we begin. All that?” she waved a hoof behind her as though referencing the light show she had just put on. “Some spells. Little illusions and ghost sounds and flashing lights that any unicorn could do with practice. And I, Trixie, am not saying it was easy, and I’m not saying that it wasn’t, in its own way, magic.” As she turned around, she flicked one hoof, and from seemingly thin air produced a pair of scissors, which she caught with telekinesis. “But the really impressive stuff,” she said, flicking her other hoof and producing a large, white quill, “well, that’s what Trixie intends to show you!”
Trixie produced four more items that she had found around her home – a deck of cards, a carrot, a flask, and a pair of silver bits – as well as a sheet of paper and separate, black writing quill. Using her telekinesis, she laid out the first six items in front of her, from left to right in the order that she had produced them in so that the scissors were furthest to her right and the bits furthest to her left, while the black quill and paper remained separate from the pile. Smiling at the audience, she wrote a few things on the paper, then folded it in half and moved her line of items forward, while appraising her modest audience. She smiled when she noticed one filly in particular, wrapped in a foal-sized winter cloak and sitting close to her gray pegasus mother.
“You there!” Trixie exclaimed, pointing a hoof at Dinky Doo. “Come over here for a minute.”
The unicorn filly’s eyes widened a little, as she looked to Ditzy Doo as though for permission. In response, Ditzy smiled and nudged Dinky with one hoof. The filly trotted forward eagerly at that, stopping on the other side of Trixie’s line of items.
“Say your name for the audience,” Trixie said, waving a hoof at the ponies watching.
“Dinky Doo!” the filly exclaimed brightly as she looked at them, though she turned back to Trixie quickly. She leaned forward a little, and spoke in a quieter voice next. “I figured out how you made that bit appear on top of my head.”
Trixie smiled. “Did you? Well, here’s a new one.” In a louder voice, and looking more at the audience than Dinky, she continued. “Now then, Dinky Doo. Name a number between one and six.”
“Five,” Dinky said, eyeing the flask.
“F-I-V-E,” Trixie spelled out, hoof pointing to the bits first and then moving backwards, until she ended up on the deck of cards. “Oh, thank goodness. I don’t know much magic involving carrots.” As she said that, she unfolded the piece of paper hovering behind her, showing that she had written deck of cards on it. Two colts seemed impressed by the trick, but most everyone in the audience seemed underwhelmed.
Dinky pouted a little. “That wasn’t magic,” she objected.
“Not really, no,” Trixie confirmed as she put the remaining objects on the ground behind her and used her telekinesis to withdraw the fifty-four cards within and spread them out in front of Dinky. “Now then. Pick a card. Any card! Show it to the audience, but do not show the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Dinky considered the cards in front of her with the same kind of weight that an older mare would have given to her wedding dress. At length, she indicated one. Trixie nodded as she pulled the deck together again, shuffling the cards thoroughly as she trotted forward, so that she was next to Dinky Doo. As she did, she flourished her cape slightly. “Alright,” she said, holding up the deck of cards and looking them over, considering. “The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks…it was…” she reached the end of the deck, looked confused a moment, then stamped her left hoof in realization and pointed. “That one.”
Trixie didn’t point to the deck at all, but rather straight down, at Dinky’s hooves. The filly looked down, and her eyes widened and she backed up several paces in surprise at the card lying face-down right beneath her right front hoof, which nopony had seen arrive there. There were gasps from the audience, as well.
Trixie telekinetically lifted up the card, considering its face for a moment before turning it to Dinky and the audience. “Seven of clubs?” she asked rhetorically. Dinky’s face – and that of the surprised audience – told her the answer already. Dinky nodded, as did Trixie, even as she turned back to her piece of paper and unfolded the remainder of it, where she had written seven of clubs.
Cue the hoof-stomps, Trixie thought with a smile even as the applause came, reserved but appreciative from the adults in the audience but very enthusiastic from the fifteen or twenty fillies and colts watching. Trixie bowed, and encouraged Dinky Doo to do likewise before sending her back to her mother, Dinky’s brow furrowed in thought as she tried to figure out Trixie’s tricks.
Good luck, kiddo, Trixie thought with a smirk, as she got ready to pull out the nails and get to more impressive magic. She’d shown herself as competent enough, now it was time to wow the audience. With a wave of her hoof, she pulled from its resting point far behind her a stool, a bright white ball, and a trio of metal cups.
“Now,” Trixie said as she placed the items in front of her, the ball and cups on top of the stool, “this is one of the oldest tricks in the book. One ball, three cups, you all know it, some of you have probably done it, you know how it works, and where’s the fun in that?” Trixie hefted two of the cups, considered a moment, then shrugged and tossed them over her shoulder, back where they had been. “One ball. One cup – ”
Trixie glanced at the audience, and saw her. Princess Luna had made her way to the front row of adult ponies, just behind the fillies and colts that were making up the front row of her audience. The ponies had noticed her and were bowing in respect, and Luna acknowledged these with a nod even as she sat down on her stomach amidst of the foals, offering them a bright smile. Then her gaze was focused entirely on Trixie.
Trixie offered a formal, curt bow of her own. “Princess Luna,” she acknowledged.
“Trixie,” Luna confirmed, bowing her own head. “My most faithful student. Please, don’t let me interrupt you more than I have already.”
Trixie wanted to grimace, but she hid the expression well. “Alright,” she said pleasantly instead. “As I was saying: one ball, one cup. Try to keep up…”
---
Quartermoon the Magnificent was considered the greatest magician of his era, and probably the greatest magician to have ever lived, a feat made all the more impressive by his being an earth pony. When he went on stage with nothing more than his signature top hat, cape, and beard, he’d been able to receive applause; when he brought props to work with, that applause transformed into standing ovations and cries of encore.
Trixie was Quartermoon’s petite fille – his granddaughter. Growing up with him in the house in Neigh Orleans, Trixie couldn’t help but try to pick up his tricks, and she’d always displayed a natural talent for what Quartermoon called ‘real magic.’ Spells? Spells were impressive in their own right, but one in three ponies in Equestria could not only cast spells, but did so almost every day of their lives. No, to Quartermoon, magic was supposed to be deep, and primal – hardly surprising for an earth pony to think such – but above all else it had to be wondrous. If one saw an act of magic and yawned or thought of it as ordinary, then it wasn’t real magic at all, just a cheap facsimile.
Of course, everything that she’d learned from her Grandpapa – the sleight of hoof, the art of misdirection, the smoke and mirrors – she was supplementing, tonight, with her own unicorn spell casting. With her horn carefully hidden under her hat, nopony had any way of knowing when she was casting a spell, and she made a point of taking off her hat and performing through pure sleight-of-hoof for a good portion of the show.
Trixie felt somewhat bad for using spells to supplement her street magic, but her Grandpapa himself had said that it was alright for Trixie to do so, as long as the sense of wonder and mystery remained. Plus, while she really was enjoying herself, she was here for a purpose.
You want to dump me here? Trixie thought, as she finished up another act, this one supplemented by an illusion spell Luna had taught her not two months ago. You want to just leave me here and forget about me? Fine. This is how I’ll waste your teachings. The magic taught to me by an alicorn – squandered on street magic.
Trixie felt herself getting more than a little flustered – though she didn’t show it – as the show went on, and Luna had the audacity to not appear angry, or incensed, or even disappointed. She watched impassively, for the most part, her alicorn senses more than capable of keeping up with sleight-of-hoof attempts. Once or twice, however, Trixie was able to pull off a stunt that baffled even her – and needless to say, those particular tricks were the ones that got the most applause from the audience, foals and adults alike.
Eventually, she ran out of tricks, about half an hour before midnight. She had, at least, closed with a bang, a complicated mix of several illusion and sleights-of-hoof that had seemed to make the house behind her outright disappear, ‘proven’ by shining beams of light ‘straight through’ it, before returning it – it was her home, after all, she remarked. By now, her crowd had grown to impressive proportions, with her having to pause the show about half-way through to ask for anyone watching to sit on their stomachs in order to ensure that everypony who wanted to see her at work could.
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” Trixie said with a bow, before offering a deeper, seemingly gracious one to the Princess. “Princess Luna…you’ve all been a wonderful audience, and the Great and Powerful Trixie looks forward to entertaining you in the future!” With that, Trixie threw her front hooves wide, conjuring illusory smoke and a ghost bang noise once more, using the distraction to make her exit straight backwards and into her home. By the time her illusory smoke cleared, nopony could see her.
Trixie let out a long, low sigh, standing still with her head pressed against her home’s door, eyes closed as she tried to decide whether she was angry, depressed, scared, all three, or something else. Regardless of how she felt, that was that. She hung up her hat near her door and trotted towards her living room, intent on getting a fire going and just spending the rest of the Longest Night awaiting the wrath of Princess Luna –
“Hello, Trixie.”
Trixie wasn’t even surprised that, on opening the door to her living room, she found herself face-to-face with Luna. She paused a moment for posterity’s sake, before making her way in slowly, glaring at her mentor.
“Princess,” Trixie said once fully inside, bowing. “If you’d give me a moment to get a fire – ”
One of Luna’s eyes twitched, and a blue-hot flame ignited in the empty fireplace. A moment later, Luna levitated a few logs and tinder into place, and let them start burning. It took a few moments, but at length the fire cooled from blue to a more comfortable red, orange, and yellow as the logs and natural reactions took over for Luna’s magic. She’s angry, then, Trixie noted.
She sat back on her haunches, staring at Luna and waiting. Luna stared back, her own position matching Trixie’s. For some time, the only sound was the cackle of the flames and the occasional snapping sound as the fire found a pocket of moisture or air in the logs.
“Is it better,” Luna asked at length, her voice carefully neutral, “for a leader of ponies to be loved, or to be feared?”
Trixie blinked a few times. Trixie had not been learning just magic from Luna. She’d been learning rhetoric and politics as well. And that particular question was among the first that Luna had ever posed to her. “Both,” Trixie answered, confused at the conversation’s turn. “It’s best to be both, if possible – ”
“And if it’s not? The ability to create such feelings in others can rarely be found together in a single pony.”
“…then it depends on the pony,” Trixie continued. “Some ponies do better with love, some with fear. It depends on the circumstances of the times. Love is more sure but is outside of a leader’s control, fear is totally within her control but can lead to – ”
“Yes, yes,” Luna responded, leaning forward. “But whether a leader is loved or feared, what must she always avoid?”
“Hate,” Trixie responded. “Contempt.”
Luna nodded, leaning back. “Trixie,” she said. “You have spent the last year moaning and complaining, without end, about not being able to put everything I’ve taught you to practical use. You have been wasting your time rather than continuing your studies. You have grown arrogant and self-assured about your own abilities, such that you managed to drive away the very, very small number of ponies left in Canterlot willing to give you a chance. And after you melted the ice palace in a bout of stupidity, you somehow managed to convince me that it was, in a way, my fault, that I was squandering your talents, that you were right, that it was time you were given a real job, real responsibility within my Night Court.”
Luna stood. “Two days,” she said, as she began to pace in a long, slow circle around Trixie. “You have been in Ponyville for two days, and what have you managed to do? I have been assaulted by ponies all night, Trixie, asking me to intervene in their problems. And can you guess, Trixie, what name has often come up tonight?”
Trixie could, but she remained stoically silent, staring straight ahead rather than following Luna’s pacing form. Luna’s eyes narrowed at that. “Your name, of course,” Luna continued. “I had one Carrot Top, asking for official royal sanction of her food stall tonight because she feared reprisals from the Apple Trust. When I asked her why she dared set up the stall in the first place if she was so afraid, she said that it was because she was blackmailed by you.
“Next I was confronted by a weather pony named Raindrops, who asked me to officially outlaw weather-for-hire ponies and do… extreme…things to a certain few in particular. When I asked why, she outlined how you had brought a dozen into town on short notice and, by doing so, essentially told her and her entire weather team that they were incapable of doing their jobs. This was especially stinging at her, because it appears that the storm over the Everfree Forest, which the weather-for-hire ponies were brought in to deal with, has dissipated utterly over the past few hours.
“Following this, I met a unicorn named Rarity, who was quarreling with an earth pony, Cheerilee. Rarity alternated between informing me that Cheerilee had ruined everything, and apologizing profusely for the decorations. When I remarked that they seemed adequate, she almost fainted, and went on at great length about how they used to be different – showed me her wonderful sketch, even – and how you had forced her to change everything for Cheerilee – this despite Cheerilee not asking you to do so.
“Then there was Lyra Heartstrings. A graduate of my own academy whom I happened to bump into. When I complimented her music – honestly I was expecting the anthem and her last-minute change of mind was both surprising and more appropriate – and remarked that I was grateful that at least somepony seems to have benefited from your presence…well, the look on her face told me much of what I needed to know anyway, but at my insistence she went into the details of how you, by insulting her chosen profession, conned her into playing.”
Luna’s slow pace had brought her full circle, to right in front of Trixie. She did not sit back down as she glared at Trixie, the blue unicorn matching it evenly. “And lastly,” she said, “I met the local leader of the Apple Trust, Applejack. She had a lot to say about you, about you trampling over Ponyville traditions, about you challenging the quality of her family’s produce, and essentially, about you being rude, confrontational, and in all ways unbecoming of a Representative of my Night Court. But there was another recurring theme besides your name, Trixie. Do you know what it was?”
Trixie remained silent. Luna’s scowl deepened, as she spread her wings wide, and took several steps forward, getting close to Trixie. “Trixie, answer me,” she said, evenly.
Trixie clenched her teeth. “They want me gone,” she guessed, “don’t they?”
“Immediately,” Luna confirmed. She lingered close to Trixie a moment more, before withdrawing, closing her eyes and shaking her head sadly, then wincing a little and rubbing one temple with her hoof. “And all this is not aided by the fact that I have had the worst headache I’ve had in centuries all through the night…” after a moment, she turned to look to Trixie. “Oh, but that reminds me. Your magic show. I am very, very disappointed, Trixie.”
Trixie suppressed a grin. “Why?” she asked. “You don’t think I’m squandering your lessons, do you?”
“No,” Luna responded. Trixie’s eyes widened at that, as Luna continued. “In fact I wish you had hit upon this idea sooner. You are a vain, arrogant, attention-seeking pony, Trixie, but being on stage, with ponies watching you and giving you praise, is exactly what you need as an outlet for that.” Luna turned around to fully regard Trixie. “No, what I am disappointed in is that I know you, Trixie. I know you were hoping I would believe that you were wasting your talents, that this wasn’t a genuine effort on your part. This was you trying to make me angry. Although don’t fear: you have succeeded in doing that.”
Trixie felt something snap inside of her. “You’re angry?” she asked, shouting. Luna’s eyes widened a little, as she was clearly trying to remember the last time anypony had dared raise their voice to her. “You’re angry? You send me here with everything falling to pieces and you have the gall to be angry? You exile me and – ”
“Exile?” Luna demanded, her own eyes narrowing as she stomped a hoof down. The room shook a little from the impact, but nothing broke. “Trixie, you’re the one who demanded more responsibility, and I gave it to you!”
“No you didn’t!” Trixie exclaimed, horn glowing brightly as she ripped the former baron’s letter from her cape pocket and hurled it at Luna. The alicorn princess caught it, looking it over. Trixie didn’t wait as she stomped around. “You send me here with the food being all the same thing which I know you’d hate and the weather spiraling out of control and the music being handled by the most introverted pony I’ve ever seen so that I can suffer for the ice palace before I get to spend the rest of my days in this stupid town…”
“You were not banished, Trixie!” Luna shouted back as she finished reading the letter.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because you asked to be!” Luna retorted, once more stomping a hoof. “Trixie, you have never held any position in the Night Court! What, did you expect to be given a position in Manehattan? Fillydelphia? Neigh Orleans? Did you expect me to shower you with land and titles? Ponyville is a large but comparatively quiet town, making it an excellent first appointment!”
“That – ” Trixie began, then choked on her own words as enlightenment struck as hard as any lightning bolt. “That…that makes a lot of sense, actually…”
Having gained the upper hoof, Luna pressed it as she stepped forward. “Duke Blueblood – the entire Blueblood family – are entitled, overdramatic snobs.”
“But…but the previous representatives…” Trixie began, turning around and rushing from the room. Luna followed, watching as Trixie ran into her office, producing letters from the other ponies who had held the title of representative in the past, pulling aside the bookcase and tearing open the safe hidden behind there to produce a dozen more.
Trixie levitated them all for Luna to see. “They’re all the same,” she said, though her eyes were wide and her voice shaky. “They’re all – ”
“Trixie, I have used Ponyville as a site for informal banishments. But the difference between exile and opportunity is a thin one, and the fact that I sent them here, inside of Equestria still, was usually more than enough of a hint that they only needed to get their acts together and they could return to Canterlot!” She looked over a few of the letters. “Many of these ponies were back in my good graces long before their retirements. I do not know why they wrote these letters. Perhaps it became a sort of hazing ritual, or sense of vindictiveness lingered – ”
“But the Duke said he wasn’t vindictive!”
“Yes, Trixie, and because somepony says something, they must be telling the truth,” Luna responded dryly. She glared at Trixie. “So, let me see if I understand your line of reasoning. You trusted somepony whom I’m not certain you’ve ever actually met, when he told you that I exiled you here, in a letter written weeks ago. Then because you thought you were exiled, you believed it a good idea to make everypony in Ponyville hate you, and following that, make an attempt to make me angry at you?”
Trixie’s mouth open and shut a few times as she tried to speak, but no intelligible sound came out. Luna shook her head in disappointment. “You owe Ponyville an apology for what you’ve done,” she said, trotting up to beside Trixie and using a wing to begin nudging her student towards the door to her office, and from there the door to the residency. “You owe several ponies in particular apologies. You owe me and apology. And after all that,” she looked Trixie in the eye as she opened the door. Outside, the moon sat high in the sky – it was midnight, or close to it. “I will have to seriously consider whether, after all of this, anything I have taught you has been absorbed, and whether or not continuing your apprenticeship…”
Luna’s voice trailed off as Trixie continued moving forward mechanically, eyes wide still. It wasn’t until she reached her home’s front gates that she realized that Luna wasn’t beside her anymore. Blinking a few times, she turned to regard her mentor, and found Luna staring wide-eyed herself, straight ahead. Due to the alignment of Trixie’s house, it meant she was staring almost perfectly to the east, where in the far distance dawn’s first light was beginning to creep over the horizon –
“Wait,” Trixie said, her trance-like state of despair shattered. “Wait. Princess. Why are you raising the sun?”
“I’m not,” Luna said in a quiet voice, even as the golden disc appeared fully over the horizon. It was definitely dawn – even as the moon and stars were still perched high in the sky overhead. The sun, in fact, was moving with speed Trixie had never seen the celestial body move at before, charging straight towards the highest point in the sky as though it intended to shove the moon from orbit. The stars themselves were also moving in the sky, hurrying out of the way of the burning orb of fire, clearing a path in the brightening sky. Some of the stars were not fast enough, however. As the sun touched them, they would flare, suddenly – and then vanish utterly.
“Is it really a good idea to have the sun and moon in the sky at the same…” Trixie began, looking back to her teacher. Her words died in her throat when she saw the expression on Luna’s face.
Trixie had seen Luna angry. She’d seen her sad. She’d seen her happy. She’d seen her confused, irritated, tired, excited, enraged, ecstatic, embarrassed, and a million other emotions. But she had never before seen Princess Luna look frightened – and properly speaking, she still hadn’t, because to Trixie, Princess Luna did not, right now, look frightened. Princess Luna looked terrified.
“Princess – ” Trixie began, when Luna’s eyes snapped shut and her horn glowed. Her form dissolved into blue, starry mist and shot away, towards the center of Ponyville. Eyes wide, Trixie dashed off after her.
---
Princess Luna arrived in her mist-form in the center of town as the sun was nearing the moon, which, itself, seemed to be either shrinking in the sky, or else drawing backwards, moving away from the planet it orbited and making room for the sun even as its edge appeared to touch the edge of the moon.
Most ponies in Ponyville, or indeed Equestria, did not have experience with seeing quite as wide a range of emotions on their Princess’ face as did Trixie, but even still, none of them had ever expected to see the look of abject terror that was transfixed on Luna’s face as her mist-form rematerialized in the town center, eyes darting from pony to pony.
“Run!” Luna exclaimed in volumes she normally reserved for making public proclamations from atop Canterlot’s tallest tower. “Run, my little ponies! This sunrise is not my doing! Flee to the forests and hide! Co – ”
She was interrupted by a cry of pain – her own – as the sun continued its movement, beginning to eclipse the moon. The moon itself began to blacken, as though being burned by the sun, and though the burns did not physically appear on Luna, her front hooves gave out as she howled at the fiery sensations that felt like they were spreading across her body. Unfortunately, this produced the exact opposite of what she wanted to happen – ponies began rushing forward to their tormented princess, looking to help her.
Screaming in frustration, Luna spread her wings wide, with enough force to shove the ponies back a good thirty feet. “No!” she exclaimed in spite of her pain. “You need to – ”
The words died on her lips as there was a hiss and a snapping sound, followed by the air around Ponyville igniting. As Luna watched in horror, a line of yellow and orange flames raced around the edge of town, becoming a wall of fire fifty feet high. Several terrified pegasi tried to fly over the flames, but they would flare up as they drew near, forcing the pegasi back. The only sound that could be heard above the cackling of the flames – which, at least, did not seem to be burning the buildings of Ponyville – was the screams of terror, fright, and confusion.
At length, the moon was completely eclipsed by the sun, which flared brightly once – then a second time, even brighter – then a third time, so bright as to turn everypony’s field of vision white, even Luna’s.
Then, silence – a terrible silence, obviously magically created since everypony was still trying to scream in terror. They only stopped when the futility became obvious, and their vision began to return.
“My little ponies,” a voice broke through the silence, as the sound of wings beating steadily in long, slow sweeps permeated the air. “My precious subjects. Rejoice.”
Everypony, Luna included, looked up at the unnatural midday sky, and saw her: A large, white alicorn, taller than even Princess Luna even without her horn, with majestic, swan-like wings beating steadily to perfectly control her descent to the world below, though features beyond that were difficult to make out as she glowed almost as bright as the unnatural sun. At length, she settled down on the cobblestone plaza that surrounded the town hall. Only then, as though touching the earth somehow lessened her, did the glow that permeated her fade, and the ponies could see her in detail – her mane and tail made from animate flames, her cutie mark of a golden, full sun, her regal, subdued smile – and her eyes, completely white, lacking iris, pupil, or anything else that would mar to their appearance.
“Rejoice,” the alicorn repeated, a broad grin on her face. “Your true queen hath returned.”
Luna forced herself to her hooves, ignoring the pain she felt all across her body, a pain that was lessening, at least, as her moon continued to withdraw from Equestrian orbit. She was breathing in great gasps, and realized she was trembling in fear. She stopped only with a supreme exertion of effort, and only for the benefit of her ponies.
The white alicorn’s smile warmed slightly as she regarded Luna. “Ah…” she said, taking a few steps forward. “Sister. Thou hast grown since last I set eyes upon thee.”
Luna could utter only a single word in response.
“Corona.”
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Oh, crap.
This is the vector I used to create the cover image for Longest Night, and that's how I see Corona looking. Unlike Luna/Nightmare Moon, she isn't going for a big change of appearance from Celestia. She's the elder sister. There's no need. This also means that Corona is about the same height as mane Celestia, although she looks taller due to her mane usually flaring upwards.
I decided to have her keep to the old way of speaking due to her personality. We'll see how much I manage to mangle early-modern English as a result. I think I know when to use thee, thy, thou, -th, and -st properly, but we'll see.
On an unrelated note, the magic trick that Trixie was about to launch into before I so rudely did a scene break was the Chop Cup routine, and her making her house disappear was an allusion to David Copperfield and the Statue of Liberty trick.
I don't know any sleight-of-hand, unfortnately. Wish I did. It would make magic shows easier to write...
EDIT
Oops, forgot a slash in an italics marker. That's fixed now.
And before I forget:
Corona's Theme.
Oh shi-
Oh, Celestia's back and she is not in a good mood.
As for Trixie, honestly I think she did the best she could with what she found there.
Considering the Longest Night turned out as well as it did, too.
EDIT: And I'm guessing the last part all in italics isn't your doing, since my own post is in italics too?
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I think I fixed it. Maybe. I forgot a "/" at one point but I've put it back in now. Everything look better? Looks better to me, anyway.
378598 Looks fixed to me, too.
You know, for someone who's never cared much for Trixie I felt a lot more sympathy for her (despite her questionable methods) than I did for Luna's position and POV. I kind of hope the story ends with Luna offering to take Trixie back to Canterlot and continue her apprenticeship, only to have Trixie say no and quit to stay (It's obvious that she does stay, but I must admit, I would like the idea of Trixie standing up to Luna. They're relationship is more confrontational than Twilight and Celestia's).
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That's 'cause Trixie, herself, is more confrentational.
Well, we'll see where this fic goes. I could pull a twist and kill 'em all off and have Corona emerge triumphant. Kind of like Inglorious Basterds, but in reverse, and with ponies.
Um...spoiler for those of you who haven't seen Inglorious Basterds. Hitler...doesn't make it. He doesn't make it a lot, it's actually terrifically satisfying to watch.
ALL WILL LOVE ME, AND DESPAIR.
Great chapter!
You put a lot of effort into Trixie's show, especially considering you don't know any any sleight-of-hand. Love the idea with her grandfather being a famous earth pony magician. Your Trixie is such a well developed character here, I like her so much better than in most other fics (too bad it comes at the cost of Twilight in this universe). Sadly, no Lyra this time.
The best for me part was the confrontation between Trixie and Luna. I feared they'd only get to talk after Corona is beaten. Glad it happened sooner.
And Coronas arrival just gets me hyped for part three. Great choice for her theme!
Keep up the great work!
NTL
the fact that the letters from previois representatives being some big joke make Trixie seem like more of a jerk than before.
Yet I still think she's awesome.
Also, Corona sure knows how to make an entrance, that's for damn sure.
Okay, the big question I have here is, who's taking care of the library in this universe?
(Well, the really big question I have is, how do they even know about the Elements and how to defeat Corona? I suspect the answer to that one is 'wait and see', though.)
I love that you made this a three parter instead of sticking with the two part strategy of the actual pilot. This gives you a lot more time to develop the characters and you used it beautifully.
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It might end up being closer to four parts than three, though we'll see how things play out.
Cheerilee still needs more screen time and development, I think. She's actually also holding up the pony profile update on my blog, since I don't want to post Ditzy Doo by herself. It's hard to create an Element of Laughter that won't simply be standing in Pinkie Pie's long shadow; to an extent, I'm wishing I had picked another earth pony, like maybe Roseluck.
(Not Bon Bon, though. Part of Lyra's shtick is going to be having a non-Element marefriend and the kind of drama that can create. Yes, this is sort of a deliberate jab at the "One More Day" Spiderman comic, or more specifically the reasoning behind it).
Eh, I'll figure something out.
There's a lot I liked about this part. Trixie's magic show was well done, and I really liked the distinction of magic vs. spells. It's hard to pull a magic act if a third of the population can do the same things. Managing to awe the crowd using slight-of-hoof is quite an accomplishment.
I also really liked the scene with Luna and Trixie. Going in, we think Trixie has all the cards and is righteous in her attitude. Then she learns that she's not quite as clever as she thinks she is. Still, having her match wits with Luna for a time is entertaining and her humbling fall at the end makes it all the more impactful.
Then, (Insert Imperial March music here) Corona! Badass entrance is badass! Top that, Nightmare Moon!
Looking forward to more!
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As a fellow teacher, I picture Cheerilee's laughter being the joy of inspiration; the love of that moment when you get to see someone succeed at something or finally get the light bulb moment. Of course, you are our author, and I eagerly await whatever portrayal you give her.
This fic is going down into my list of great fics. However seeing some of the mane six as annoying pricks really makes me sad. Keep up the good work.
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That was the exact line of thinking that lead me to choose her as the Element of Laughter, in fact.
Damn good chapter. Badass. I love how Trixie is Trixie but more... mature? More interesting anyway.
Found this:
"but they were flare up as they drew near"
should be would
I find it interesting that Trixie and Luna's relationship is much more confrontational than Twilight and Celestia's. Luna is a lot more harsh on Trixie's flaws than Celestia is on Twilight's - and, of course, Trixie's flaws make her argumentative rather than reclusive. It makes a refreshing change from Celestia's constant compassion, patience and understanding. (Which are good things, but sometimes star pupils need yelling at too.)
Luna clearly does care about her subjects, though - she really does seem to like children, and the way she urges the ponies to run when she knows that Corona is coming is kind of heart-wrenching. And Corona's arrival was pretty epic - well done there.
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question: which version of the music is this? i see Alt 1 to Alt 5 versions and i'm not quite good at discerning differences in music when they sound so much alike...
AJ is a recurring character in this alternative universe stories? Hmm....
A few days later Trixie woke up in her bed and noticed that she was bound and gagged. Then an orange mare with the cowboy hat stepped out of the shadows and in front of her bed.
“Ah told ya to keep ya hooves out of mah families business but ya didn’t listen. Ah’m honestly sorry but Ah have to show ya that Ah’m serious.”
Then AJ grab a bucket full of apples and emptied it over the shaking Trixie. “That was the last warning. Next time Ah’m usin’ the rotten ones.”
And then epic tale of Trixie and her almost hopeless fight against the Apple Mafia began.
So Corona is back, finally. I was eagerly awaiting her return in the last chapter only to be surprised that ceremony wasn’t disturbed but the return of a dark goddess. Well played, well played. I like the fact that the plot of this story is similar albeit different than “Mare in the Moon”.
The relation between Trixie and Luna is different than between Twilight and Celestia. Their relation seems to be a bit sore – unless Luna’s speech about kicking out Trixie was part of a larger plan and she just acting.
But what’s really interesting is the fact that Luna didn’t expect her sister to return. Did she forget to keep track of the date? Or didn’t she know that the banishment would only last 1.000 years and assumed that her sister was gone forever? Anyway, unlike Celestia she probably has no plan how to deal with that situation which will make things more complicated.
Can’t wait to see what kind of trials the Luna Six have to face to save their Princess and if Corona will be purified or just sent back to the sun again.
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First, I have to say a couple of pronouns and archaic infection does not Early Modern English make. Moving on...
Sorry if this comes off a little... unkind. I'm just a simple language and linguistics enthusiast, trying to spread around a little knowledge...
Anyway, you kind of got right off to a bad start. It should be: "Sister. Thou hast grown..."
"-st" is the second person infection (you/thou/ye), and "-th" is third person (he/she/it). (First person isn't inflected).
As such, "Your true queen hath..." is correct, including the plural "your." "Thy" is singular, so thumbs up on that!
Anyway...
Good story so far! Love me some Trixie stories, and yours is of great quality!
Corona's entrance, from the first moment when Luna realizes something is wrong, to the God-Queen descending from the heavens, is really <i>epic</i>. Say what you will about her ethics, but she sure has style.
Nice. Instead of the shadowy disappearance of a monarch ala Nightmare, Corona's return was fully visible. You are deceptively skillful.
Dinky is the cutest thing there is.
This is turning out to be a fantastic AU story. It's also very strange to me because the characters seem to jump between being canon characters and being OCs that just happen to be extremely similar to canon characters right down to the same name.
IMHO, tho, I think Luna is a better regent than Celestia. :) Just my impression so far... and it raises some delicious questions that would be fun to play with in a fanfic one of these days...
Alright, fine, I'll give you some extra credit for the fact that you couldn't have pulled some of that stuff at sunset, but I make no guarantees about whether it will fully compensate for the points I'm deducting from your timing grade.
Well it looks like its finally time for the big villain to appear and for us to get to the best part of the story.
I'm not going to lie. This chapter is going to make reading the rest of this story difficult for me. It's a great fan-fiction, truly. It's wonderfully written, creative, and entertaining... I just got really pissed off when Luna started her rant.
Was Trixie wrong? Yes, sure, whatever. But Luna's completely ignoring Trixie's intentions. I don't know, I'm probably just too immature to accept it, but this discussion would never have happened if I were Trixie. I know that's a stupid thing to say, but there's nothing that can be done about this fore I am, what I am.
Again, this is a great story. I just had to get some of these feelings off of my chest.
This has to be the greatest chapter in any story in the history of fanfiction.
The way the relation of Luna Teacher and Trixie Student was laid down, and described, the way Luna scolded her, and Trixie's way of thinking, how both Trixie and Luna remain their CORE personas, even in this alternate universe, is amazing. Perfectly executed and wonderfully written.
The icing on the cake had to be Corona's suddenly appearing, that scene was also a work of pure fanfiction art.
I first got into this story thanks to a reading on youtube. It stopped after ch. 6, and i was really disappointed. I don't have a lot of time to read, but I have recently found some. I absolutely love this story. Keep up the fantastic work!!
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I think it helps that Trixie is a lot more arrogant and egotistic than Twilight. Twilight is modest, very modest, so she wont be thinking her skills are wasted, but Trixie will.
This is what I love about their relationship, respectful but defiant.
Dang this is so Amazing and original. Loving this fanfic so much.
The argument scene is made a lot more interesting when you take a step back and realize that the ponies complaining were just as much at fault as Trixie.
The Apples were just as confrontational, and their "reasons" for basically hogging all the business on major holidays, endangering other farms and families that aren't other apples, are just weak excuses.
And Rainbow Dash displayed horrible management skills, leaving the weather team to hang when there's a major storm brewing in the Everfree forest, with a pretty big event only a couple days away, no less, on account of signing one of her withdrawn friends up for an important role at the event, and the friend chickening out at the last minute. Not to mention, she most likely rejected any and all suggestions for a replacement or back-up should something happen that results in Fluttershy not participating. Oh, and she wouldn't let Trixie do her job without getting violent, did I mention that?
Raindrops, any fights you pick are entirely your own, and Trixie shouldn't be held in contempt for trying to help with your problem. So what if she figured you wouldn't be happy with the temps? You guys were in a fricken panic!
Rarity, if the mayor ever decides to put you in charge of decorations again, then either ask her to separate your things from the students', or suck it up. That's the exact opposite of generosity, what you just displayed. No wonder you didn't make the cut! Stomping on the little childrens' efforts to make something nice for the princess for the sake of beauty is just mean, and dirty.
Trixie was only lashing out because the position of authority you put her in, Luna, was pretty much the equivalent of "cosmic punching bag". Every problem may have been solved in a way to exact revenge on those who were jerks to her for simply doing her job or offering suggestions, but they were solved, nonetheless. If she can get back at you while still doing her job, then that's just a testament to her skills.
If Trixie apologizes to everypony at the end, then she better get some apologies back on return. Otherwise, the ponies will remain selfish jerks in my mind.
Also, BUCKING CORONA!!
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stream1.gifsoup.com/view6/20140201/4967957/monty-python-run-away-o.gif
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I agree with everything you said...especially the Apples (or at least one of them).
Prince Whats-his-name-from-Romeo-and-Julliet: "All are at fault!"
Typo: "You owe me and apology" - an apology
5104387 I disagree. When someone gives us a lousy and/or ignorant gift, but clearly does so out of love, we are expected to politely wave it off. The reason: it's the thought that counts. The same holds true in reverse. Yes, Trixie did solve some real trouble with the festival, but she did it out of spite. Her intention was to make everypony angry. In both cases, be it doing the wrong thing for the right reasons or the right thing for the wrong reasons, an apology still helps. Furthermore, I think we should expect nothing less from a high-ranking royal official. In my humble opinion, a true leader should, at the bare minimum, know to pick their battles. If Trixie cannot learn even that basic level of politics, then she has no business being a royal apprentice, much less heir-apparent to the throne.
yes, Trixie was kind of a jerk about HOW she got it done, but most of it was stuff that NEEDED to be done regardless.
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image does not exist.
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Here you go. Although it's worth noting that since I originally published this, a LOT more images of Celestia with a fiery mane have been created. But back in the day, that was pretty much it.
Trixie:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Stuck+in+Hillbilly+Hell&&view=detail&mid=3786014E287EBFBED1A53786014E287EBFBED1A5&&FORM=VRDGAR
I like Daybreaker but Corona's still the best depiction of villain Celestia I've seen in this fandom.
Attacking the moon directly affects Luna? It's an interesting idea but I've never really been a fan of the "sisters are connected to the sun and moon" theory, mostly because it doesn't explain how they are able to move the other's celestial body. There's really nothing in the show to suggest it's anything more complicated than telekinesis and their cutie marks simply represent their preference for the sun or moon. Of course them simply being THAT strong comes with its own set of problems for some people.
I think Trixie was right to let the other farms have a cut, but forcing them into it and doing it for the sake of pissing everyone off is where I draw the line. I hope we see Trixie and friends help Carrot Top around the farm at some point, ala Applebuck season.
But enough of that, now the Elements of Harmony have to come together and become, uh well the Elements of Harmony.
an
___________________
Don't know how I kept missing that in my prior read throughs.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw9188-shitstorm.gif
You know what Trixie? It was go big or go home, and Luna-damnit you went big!
And that -- that -- is how you make an entrance.
You know the name Corona has become quite ironic.
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And some people used to give me crap about how a name like "Corona" could never be scary or intimidating...