Unicornia

by Yukito

Chapter 11

Trixie laughed as she stared at Shining Armor across the room, reaching up to the helmet on her head and slowly removing it. The captain watched patiently as she dropped the helmet to the floor, and then slowly removed her armour. Her entire coat was white, but according to his sister and Maud Pie, it was simply a disguise.

"So?" Trixie asked, holding out her forelegs towards the stallion. "What now? Is Trixie going to have to fight her way out of this?"

"Please don't make this harder than it needs to be," Shining Armor cautioned. "You're a spy for Unicornia, aren't you?"

"Do you have any proof?"

"… No, but I do know that you are not a member of the Royal Guard, and have been lying to us about your identity."

"'Lying'?" Trixie asked in an innocent tone. "Trixie never lied about her name, did she?"

"About your child, though," Shining Armor retorted. "And the rest of your life."

"Well now, how simple was it to fool your intelligence? A few bits in the right hooves, and Trixie can slip any forged document she wants into your archives."

"I'm going to have to take you in for questioning."

"You and what army? Your sister and her friends?" Trixie scoffed. "A whole army at your disposal, and you come after Trixie with six mares that live in a small little country town?" Trixie narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to insult Trixie?"

"… It was her request," Shining Armor said, pointing a hoof to somepony behind Trixie. She turned and stared at Maud, her gleeful smirk suddenly gone. "I told her I'd give you a chance first."

"Trixie…" Maud stepped forwards. "Why-"

Trixie stepped back and lit up her horn, forcing the mare to stop. "We have nothing to discuss!" she shouted.

Twilight's wings extended, but a hoof from Maud caused her to remain still. "Please. I just want to-"

"You'll regret underestimating me!" A flash of light erupted from Trixie's horn and filled the room. A storm of curses came from a certain rainbow-maned pegasus until the light dimmed, allowing them all to see clearly once more.

Trixie was gone.

"She's behind us!" Pinkie Pie shouted as her tail twitched rapidly. Everypony turned and found the mare racing towards a corner. Pinkie Pie gasped as she saw Fluttershy struggling in Trixie's magic.

"You want me to hurt your friend?!" Trixie warned as she pulled the mare into her hooves and backed around the corner.

"After her!" Rainbow Dash shouted, rushing ahead of everypony to catch the showmare. Everypony else followed, Shining Armor overtaking everypony else and then slowing down to ensure that nopony got too close to the agitated mare. "Let her go!"

"Take it easy, Trixie," Shining Armor said as the group pursued her from a safe distance. He gritted his teeth as he cornered Trixie on one of the walls outside. The door ahead of her was locked, and the group were blocking the way that she had come from. "It's over, Trixie," Shining Armor said. "Please, just turn yourself in."

Trixie grinned. "Sorry," she said, tossing Fluttershy aside. She used her magic to remove her disguise as she scaled the side of the wall. Everypony froze. "I have no intention to become your prisoner today."

Shining Armor extended a hoof slowly towards the blue mare that was standing atop the edge of the wall, the wind blowing through her mane towards the fatal drop behind her. "H-Hey, don't do something foolish. We can talk about this."

"No. We can't." Trixie turned to Maud, whose eyes were trembling, and she said, "There's nothing to talk about." She leaned backwards, falling off of the wall and startling everypony.

Fluttershy slammed her hooves over her eyes as Rarity held her. Twilight and Maud froze, the former hyperventilating whilst the latter simply turned to stone. Her sister wasn't sure how to help, and her mane deflated as she watched Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Shining Armor rush towards the wall.

"What the?!" Applejack held her hat down as she gazed at the blue mare gliding into the distance on a silver hang glider, laughing boisterously as she made her escape into the town.

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she chased after the mare, leaving a rainbow trail through the air as she caught up in a matter of seconds. She grabbed the mare and looked down with gritted teeth, but then gasped as she realised she was merely holding a stuffed doll with a cassette playing the sounds of Trixie's laughter attached to it.

"She's alive!" Shining Armor reported to the mares behind him. The effects were instant. Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hooves, Twilight took many calming breathes and was soon back to her normal self, and Pinkie Pie celebrated as her sister let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a fake!" Rainbow Dash reported upon her return, holding up the fake Trixie for all to see.

"She must've used it ta distract us while she went off somewhere else!" Applejack said.

Shining Armor put a hoof to his chin. "Trixie was supposed to have this day off. She came back for something, so she might still be in the castle!"

"Then we gotta find her!" Twilight shouted. She watched Maud run off ahead of them and gave chase, soon followed by her friends.

Shining Armor, however, glanced over the edge of the wall and narrowed his eyes. "Trixie, I didn't realise you were her… I won't enjoy this, but I can't let you do as you please anymore."

Pulling away from the edge, Shining Armor took off to catch up with his sister and her friends.

---

Robin Hood looked curiously towards the door as the sounds of yelling and shouting, followed by clanging and slamming, filled the room. The three guards inside the room grabbed their swords and stared at the door as it opened. The Great and Powerful Trixie walked into the room, a spear in her hooves that she pointed to the three guards.

"Stop right there!" one of the guards shouted.

Robin Hood gasped and turned around, pulling away the loose stone in his cell with his hooves and reaching for the bow and the arrows in the hollow space that it hid. He took out two arrows and pulled them back along his bow, letting them loose so that they could fly into two of the guards' necks.

Trixie used her spear as a staff, using it to knock the final guard unconscious without killing him. The distraction caused by Robin Hood allowed her to execute this move flawlessly.

"What are you doing here?" Will Scarlet asked, surprising Trixie as she turned around to find him in another cell in the room.

"They put you both together?" Trixie asked. With a grin, she added, "Well, that makes this easier, then."

"It doesn't sound like we're attacking," Robin Hood noted as Trixie used her magic to grab the keys to their cells.

"Worse," she said as she started to free her comrades. "King Midas is dead."

"What?!" Robin and Scarlet shouted together.

"Genesis betrayed us, his brother killed him, and Unicornia's morale is in danger. Trixie couldn't just leave you here in these circumstances."

"Blimey, that'd a lot ta take in, innit?" Will Scarlet asked as he grabbed his weapons from the cabinet resting against a wall.

"But you're not in your disguise," Robin Hood said. "What happened?"

"They found Trixie out," Trixie said, opening her bags and pulling out two sets of disguises. "Trixie can still disguise the two of you, and with these fake IDs, you can escape easily and board a train while Trixie has them distracted."

"In what way?" Robin asked cautiously. An explosion in the distance answered his question. "Ah."

"What about you?" Will Scarlet asked as he studied the armour that Trixie had unpacked.

"Trixie will catch up to you," Trixie assured him. "But first, she has something she needs to take care of."

---

Flying fast through the air, Spitfire narrowed her eyes as she caught the city of Canterlot appear over the horizon, trains leaving and entering the city and airships flying around the outskirts, high above the clouds. She lowered her goggles and said, "Let's do one more sonic boom to get there!"

Groaning, Soarin asked, "Again? We're nearly there! What's the hurry, Spitfire?"

"You got a wing cramp, Soarin?" Fleetfoot asked with a grin. The other Wonderbolts around her laughed.

"Something's off!" Spitfire explained. "I can feel it in my bones."

"You mean like that time when you thought Discord had freed himself-"

"He was freed, wasn't he?!" Spitfire retorted.

"-And thought he was recruiting an army of changelings outside our borders?"

Spitfire grunted. "Okay, so I was a little off that time, but I'm tellin' ya, something's not right!"

Soarin sighed, and lowered his goggles over his eyes. His comrades did the same. "Ready when you are, Captain."

One-by-one, the Wonderbolts altered their positions and picked up speed through the air, creating sparks until they finally broke the sound barrier, moving so fast that everything had turned mute around them.

In Spitfire's wake, a trail of flames filled the air. A 'sonic flameboom', some would call it, a feat common enough of ponies with the talent to make it as a captain in the Wonderbolts. Of all the types of sonic boom after-effects, hers was second only to the fabled 'sonic rainboom' that, to this day, has only been performed by two ponies in recorded history.

Soarin and Fleetfoot left behind trails of white smoke behind themselves, whilst Surprise, Misty Fly and High Winds left behind simple streaks of colour reflecting the colours of their manes and tails. The two ponies bringing up the rear, Silver Lining and Lightning Dust, left behind lightning after-effects, leaving long lines of electricity that sparked furiously in the air.

As Spitfire looked back to confirm that the cadet was still with them, she grinned. "Breaking the sound barrier's no easy feat! Glad I have two ponies this year that can do it!"

Lightning Dust laughed as she lowered her altitude, moving towards the forests surrounding Canterlot, and weaved between trees that popped up faster than any normal pony could possibly keep up with. "This's nothin'! You say go, I say 'how fast', and then laugh 'cause it's not fast enough!"

"Up, Cadet!" Spitfire shouted, bearing her teeth as the disgruntled cadet followed her order. The eight ponies slowly exited their sonic booms. They were now much closer to Canterlot, covering a trip that would normally take several minutes in mere seconds. "I paid you a compliment and you go an' do that!"

"It's just a few trees!" Lightning Dust argued. "What's the big deal?!"

"The 'big deal' is when we have to fish you out of one of the branches!" Soarin shouted. "Save the arrogance for when you have something to prove!"

"We're on an important mission, Dust, and I brought you along because I thought that, maybe, you'd learn something about self-restraint!" Lightning Dust sighed. "If I hear one more sigh out of you, Cadet, it's cleanup duty for two weeks! Am I clear?!"

Lightning Dust saluted. "Sir…"

"What?!"

"SIR!"

Spitfire nodded. "Good, now…" As Spitfire turned her attention towards the castle ahead of them, she slowed to a stop and raised her goggles. The others did the same. "What's…"

"Happening?" Soarin finished for her. The eight pegasi watched as guards ran around all over the castle, barking orders and searching each other thoroughly. It was chaos down there, and the captains and generals of the Royal Guard were struggling to keep things under control.

An explosion in the distance startled them all, and Spitfire said, "Looks like there's trouble here."

"So what do we do?" Soarin asked.

"We'll split into pairs! Soarin, you take Fleetfoot and go check out the explosion! Surprise, Misty, you two make sure that the princesses are safe! Silver, High Winds, you help out the generals! Dust, you're with me. We'll complete the mission we came here to do."

Lighting Dust practically threw her forehoof into the air as she shouted with excitement, "Aw yeah! Let's do this, Captain! You can count on me!"

The pairs split off into their respective roles, and Spitfire glanced over her shoulder to find her partner grinning wider than a kid that got away with pranking their teacher. "Listen, Dust, the reason I'm bringing you with me is 'cause I'm the only one I trust to keep an eye on you and keep you in-line!"

"Got it!"

"Which means that, if you act out even once, you're finished!" Sighing, Spitfire returned her gaze to her front and said, "You're one of the best cadets we've ever had, and it'd pain me to see you as a mere wingpony for your entire life. I want you to be a lead pony again, but you gotta prove it to me first that you can handle it.

"That means three things! First, you listen to what I tell you! Second, you do as you're told, and third, if you can, impress me!"

Lightning Dust gasped as a certain rainbow-maned pegasus caught her eyes on one of the walls below, and she grinned as she descended. "Hey, check this out!"

Spitfire stared in disbelief over her shoulder as she watched Lightning Dust flying towards the group of ponies gathered below them. "What did I literally just tell you?!"

"HEYYYYYY!" Lightning Dust called out, stopping suddenly before the confused ponies and blowing dust into their faces as her wings flapped quickly. The flapping steadied, and the ponies could finally see who it was that had blinded them. "'Sup, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and turned her head away. "Oh, hey… We're, uh, kinda in the middle of something here. What are you even doing here? You need like, a permit, or something, for this airspace, y'know?"

Lightning Dust gestured to her uniform and said, "I'm here on official Wonderbolt business!"

Just then, an orange hoof smacked the back of Lightning's head, forcing her to the hard floor of the castle's wall. "IDIOT!" Spitfire scolded as she gently touched down on the wall. "We're on a mission! This isn't the time to stop and chat idly with- Oh, hey Captain Armor."

"Captain Spitfire," Shining Armor returned. "If I may… regretfully inquire, what exactly is this mission of yours? I wasn't aware of any Wonderbolts scheduled to arrive today."

"We're here to transport some prisoner to a secure location," Spitfire replied.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "Oh, they assigned you guys to that? Well, I guess you are fast."

"Except we weren't given many details, and this place is… pretty chaotic."

Shining Armor nodded. "Well, we have our own problem to deal with. The prisoner is Robin Hood, and he's-"

"The famous thief that stole from the rich and gave to the poor?" Lightning Dust asked as she pushed herself to her hooves.

Shining cleared his throat. "Yes, the same. It turns out he's actually a high-ranking member of Unicornia, and we thought it wise to transport him to a secret location before any of his allies could attempt to free him."

"Hey, I wonder if that's what Trixie came here to do?" Pinkie Pie suggested.

Everypony but the two Wonderbolts and Maud stared at Pinkie with mouths agape, before screaming and holding their heads in unison.

"HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THAT?!" Shining Armor cried, thrusting his hoof into his face repeatedly. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!"

"We gotta get ta that prison, fast!" Applejack shouted.

"D-Don't worry, guys," Twilight said. "The prisoners are well-guarded. I'm sure that Trixie…"

---

"Managed to beat every last guard and free the prisoners…"

Shining Armor removed his helmet and sighed. Not only Robin Hood, but also his accomplice, Will Scarlet. This was grim news indeed, and he was to be the one to report it.

"Don't you worry, guys!" Lightning Dust said, thrusting one of her forehooves into the other with a sure grin. "Us Bolts'll handle this! That mare can't have gotten too far! I'll find 'er and give her a left, a right, an' BAM! Throw her sorry butt right into this same prison!"

Lightning Dust deflated as she felt something heavy pressing into the back of her skull. Slowly, she turned to find to find Maud Pie glaring into her eyes. The earth pony's aura was so intense that Lightning Dust could practically see the fire that was forming around her, and she shrank back in fear. "W-What's your problem?"

Pinkie Pie pulled her sister aside with a giggle. "D-Don't mind her. You just keep playing Wonderbolt and weeeee'll… unsuspiciously huddle over here."

"'Playing'?!" Lightning Dust roared.

"Lightning Dust, as your lead pony, I order you to stop pretending you're a full Bolt!" Rainbow Dash said with a grin, wrapping a wing around the disgruntled Lightning Dust, who looked to Spitfire as a final hope of support.

"Obey your lead pony, Dust," Spitfire said as she investigated the cells.

Lightning Dust roared and stomped as everypony but Shining Armor and Spitfire laughed. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie pulled Maud to a dark corner and whispered to her, "If they know you and Trixie were a thing, they might get suspicious of you!"

Maud lowered her head. "But they're going to hurt her."

"I'm sure they won't," Pinkie Pie said, though her features suggested differently.

"I don't want Trixie to be hurt. I can still reason with her."

Pinkie Pie felt her heart swell as her sister's certainty to change a bad pony's heart shined brighter than Cranky's head on a sunny day. "Even if she tries to hurt you?"

"She won't," Maud said, looking into Pinkie's eyes. "I know she won't."

Pinkie Pie's eyes welled, and she wiped away the tears with a sniff. "Oh, Maudie. You've found your special somepony! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" Pinkie Pie trapped her sister in a tight hug and lifted her into the air.

"Sis, you're cutting off my supply of oxygen."

Pinkie Pie lowered her sister, and whispered, "Okay, I'll make a distraction! You go after that high-and-mighty braggart and don't look back! Unless you forgot something important to win her over with, like a present or a letter expressing your love, but even then it'd depend on how far you get. If you're already close to a store that sells them, for example, it'd be faster – but more expensive – to just buy them there, but love has no value on it, y'know? I mean, for cheap things like chocolate and cards. Diamonds are expensive, and I think your true special somepony would be happy with whatever you got them if the alternatives are above a certain price, because the economy today is tough and they gotta understand that, right?"

"Uh, Pinkie?" Applejack asked, breaking Pinkie Pie out of her thoughts. "Where's Maud?"

Pinkie looked around, and found no signs of her sister anywhere. "Oh no! I distracted myself!"

"What?"

Pinkie Pie quickly recovered and said, "Oh, nothing! She just had to use the bathroom!"

"Oh… If you say so…"

As Applejack left the strange pony to her devices, Pinkie Pie looked towards the door that led out of the room and whispered, "Go get her, Sister."

---

"COMMANDER HURRICANE!"

At the end of the large room, where soldiers were racing around relaying messages and preparing supplies, four ponies stood around a large table, upon which was a map of Equestria. These ponies were Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. They all turned to Queen Platinum, who had burst through the doors and glared angrily at the group.

"There you are!" Hurricane shouted as Platinum stepped forwards, flanked by two Unicornia soldiers. "We were just discussing how to deal with the Griffon Empire's naval fleet!"

"The Griffon Empire is the largest community of griffons in the known world," Celestia explained. "Their fleet is strong, but the biggest threat is the 'Griffonian fire', that is said to never extinguish until it has consumed all available-"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Platinum demanded, jabbing a hoof towards Princess Celestia. "What is this I hear of Celestia leading our troops?! About you two stepping down and electing the two sisters?!"

Commander Hurricane frowned. "Sorry, Plat, but the situation's desperate. We put it to a vote and decided-"

"A vote?! When?!"

"We left you out because we knew you'd make a big deal of it!" Hurricane sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But ponies are dying, and you don't have the experience or the strength to guide us through this!"

"This is treason!" Queen Platinum shouted.

"No, this is asking a friend for help! This is doing what we need to do to save our ponies!"

Queen Platinum gritted her teeth together. "By selling them to the alicorns?! By bowing our heads to these invaders?!"

"Queen Platinum, please," Celestia said as she stepped forwards. "We only wish to help-"

Platinum drew her sword, stopping Celestia in her tracks. "You dare-" Luna began, but her sister's foreleg in her path silenced her.

"You've been seeking this from the start, haven't you?" Platinum asked, bearing her eyes into Celestia's. "To assert your dominance, so that everypony will want you to be their leader. So that you can take from us what we have worked so hard to build!"

"That's not true," Celestia insisted. "I never wanted it to come to this, but Commander Hurricane is right; ponies are dying. I am the only way to-"

"That conceited behaviour! It is no wonder Father wanted nothing to do with you!" Tears fell down Platinum's cheeks as her sword shook in her grip. "I never should have let you into my life."

"Plat," Hurricane said softly. "Please. Don't do this."

Chancellor Puddinghead stepped forwards, offering a cake to the shaking queen. "C'mon, Platinum. Let's talk this out, maybe over cake?" He smiled, but the smile faded when her magic blasted the cake into a mess that covered his face.

"It's Queen Platinum, and I will never share cake with you again. Either of you! You were my friends, but now, you've sold me out. You betrayed me!"

"We didn't!" Hurricane shouted. "We'd never betray you, Plat, but we gotta do what's right!"

"YOU BETRAYED ME!" Platinum repeated, holding her sword in her magic and entering an offensive stance. "I should cut you down right now!"

Hurricane and Puddinghead mirrored Platinum's sorrow, tears starting to flow as the latter turned away. Hurricane, however, would not back down. She stomped a hoof and shouted, "Don't do this! Don't destroy everything your dad – your family – worked so hard to build!"

"I'm not! I'm defending it!" Platinum charged forwards, but only made it one step before her soldiers pulled her back. "LET ME GO! BOTH OF YOU!"

"We can't, Your Majesty!" one of the soldiers shouted. He released the queen and stepped before her, watching Hurricane closely as she crouched down, ready to attack.

"There are too many of them," the other soldier said, looking around and taking in the pegasi that were gripping their swords, many of them looking to Commander Hurricane for guidance.

"We must withdraw, and regroup with those that are still loyal to the crown," the first soldier said.

Queen Platinum glared daggers into Celestia's eyes, her own bloodshot and soaked with her tears. She nodded her head and turned around. "Then this is it," she said. "Equestria is finished. I, Queen Platinum of Unicornia, do hereby announce our withdrawal from the United Tribes of Equestria, and declare war upon Pegasopolis and Earth!"

"Plat-" Hurricane started.

"Princess Celestia, the next time we meet, I will capture you, and see you personally to the gallows."

Queen Platinum's soldiers backed away slowly as she walked away behind them, keeping their eyes on their surroundings until their queen was out of the room. Her horn flared, and the Equestrian flags to either side of the doors – the combined symbols of the three tribes over an ethereal heart – burst into flames, falling to ashes before everypony's eyes.

The doors were then slammed shut by magic, and all fell silent for several long, uncomfortable minutes.

It ended when Commander Hurricane slammed her hooves onto the large table, and Chancellor Puddinghead slumped away from the group, claiming that he suddenly didn't feel like discussing any strategies.

Princess Celestia looked to her sister. Luna seemed indifferent, and insisted that they return to their discussion of the Griffon Empire. "… Commander Hurricane," Celestia started, "I apologise for-"

"Shut up," Hurricane said, reaching up and removing her helmet. "Unless the next words out of your mouth are to tell us how to beat the griffons, I don't wanna hear it." Hurricane looked up, into Celestia's eyes. "I just lost my best friend. Don't make me regret it. Save my people, 'Leader'."

"… I promise, I will save every last pony in Equestria," Celestia assured. "Whether the threat comes from outside or internally, I will protect them. Always."

---

Trixie watched as the guards charged through the hallway, led by two Wonderbolts as they had just left Prince Charming's chambers. The Wonderbolts barked orders and the guards, unable to make any moves without clear directions, obeyed.

Once the hallway was clear, Trixie ran towards the unguarded room and opened the door, stepping inside without any hesitation. There, she found Prince Charming sitting at a table, drinking some kind of hot beverage as he looked over a stack of papers.

"Thanks for chasing your guards away," Trixie said as she approached with a smile. "Of course, you wouldn't need them. Being King Midas' contact and all."

Prince Charming raised an eyebrow, and then lowered his cup down as he rose to his hooves. "How amusing. A member of Unicornia, are you? You must be the one that they're all after. Tell me, what do you mean by 'King Midas' contact'?"

"There's no need to hide it," Trixie said. "You gave yourself away when you ordered Morgan's arrest."

"Oh? Enlighten me."

"You said that Robin Hood had revealed that Trixie and Sunset Shimmer were his contacts, but Robin has never even heard of Sunset Shimmer. He was imprisoned before she joined us, and has made no contact with her just yet."

Prince Charming shifted a lock of his hair behind his ear. "I did not know that." Chuckling, he said, "Fine, you got me."

"You're the contact that King Midas had, who had close ties to the royal family."

"'Had'?" Charming asked.

Trixie nodded her head. "That's why I'm here. King Midas is dead!"

Charming gasped as his eyes widened at the news. "He's dead? Truly?"

Trixie nodded again. "You have to come with us! You have to come to Unicornia and help us lead the attack against Canterlot! Without King Midas, our morale will lower, and we'll be thrown into chaos!"

"Without King Midas, Unicornia stands no chance."

Trixie narrowed her eyes. "Don't say that. We can still do this, we just need-"

"No. You stand no chance." Prince Charming used his magic to slam the doors to his room shut, startling Trixie. "And I have no desire to be associated with a group like that. The only reason I helped King Midas to begin with was because it was unclear who would win this little war, with Princess Celestia as soft as she is.

"But King Midas was the heart of your little rebellion. His blood was the only strength that you had, and with that gone, it is now clear who will come out of this war victorious. And I intend to be one that side."

Trixie gritted her teeth. "Another betrayal? Really?"

"You've heard the phrase 'you know too much', right?" Charming asked as he walked to one side of his room, picking up a sabre in his magic and drawing it from his sheath. "I can't have you revealing that I've been playing both sides, now, can I?"

Trixie raised her spear and pointed it at the prince. "You'd kill me to keep me quiet?"

"Not only that, but if I were to present your head to the princesses, it would only prove my innocence that much more." Prince Charming rushed Trixie, faster than she was expecting from the posh pony, and she barely had the time to conjure up a teleportation spell as she parried two swift blows.

She gave herself some distance, but it didn't help for long, as Prince Charming was once again on the offensive, slashing his sword wildly in an attempt to end Trixie's life. Trixie could only block and back away, occasionally using magic to push the prince back and allow her time to catch her breath.

"I've been trained in the arts of combat by the finest tutors that money and status can buy," Prince Charming boasted as he stopped to recover his stance. "You were brought up on the streets, and taught yourself how to fight."

"Thus, Trixie had the better tutor," Trixie said with a smirk, using her magic to shake the floor under Charming's hooves. The other pony ran towards Trixie, but was stopped when the floor seemed to fall away beneath him.

Startled, Charming jumped to the side, and then stared at Trixie cautiously. "Illusions."

"And lots more where that came from!"

"I would appreciate it if you stopped that…"

Trixie felt her heart beat as the prince's eyes met hers, an alluring aroma filling the air that made her blush. The prince seemed to shine before her, and her magic gradually dwindled to nothing as she nodded her head. "S-Sure…" Before she could question herself, Prince Charming raised his sabre and charged again, the floor now perfectly stable before him.

A rock flew past his face, forcing him to stop. As he turned to the source of the projectile, he was met with a pair of grey hooves to his face, pushing him across the room and into his bed, the frame collapsing under his weight.

As Maud landed, Trixie gasped and stepped back. "W-What are you-"

"I found you," Maud said, turning to Trixie with a stare that was somehow both cold and warm. "Are you hurt?" Trixie slowly shook her head. "I am glad."

"G-Get out of here!" Trixie shouted. "This guy's dangerous! You've got to-"

The doors slammed again behind the two mares, and Prince Charming rose to his hooves. "Too late," he said, frowning at the two as he rubbed his sore face. He winced, and then said, "This is even better. Now I can claim that I killed you to protect this innocent mare, but was too late to save her life."

Trixie pointed her spear towards the prince and said, "You know they could find out the true murderer with an autopsy, right?"

Prince Charming chuckled, and his horn flared. "Which is precisely why you're going to kill her for me." Prince Charming met Trixie's eyes, and she froze. "Kill that mare, Trixie. Her throat, her heart, her brain, I don't care! Just kill her, however you please."

Trixie trembled. Her face was flushed once more, and she felt her heart beating wildly as the stallion's gaze bore deep into her mind. "I… W-Wha? Kill her? But…No-"

"Yes."

Trixie gasped, and slowly, with shaking hooves, turned the tip of her spear towards Maud. Maud looked to the tip, and then into Trixie's eyes. "What are you doing to her?"

"Just using my good looks and charms to persuade her to see things my way." Prince Charming chuckled. "With a sprinkling of magic, of course. Weak-minded ponies fall for it so easily."

Maud narrowed her eyes. "Are you weak-minded, Trixie?"

Trixie flinched. "N-No. T-Trixie is not-"

"He says you are, and you're proving it by doing what he wants you to do. I thought you were 'Great and Powerful', but maybe that was wrong."

Trixie's right eye twitched. "T-T-T-T-T-Trixie isssss nooooot… WEAK!" Trixie turned her spear towards Prince Charming once more. "That was close! Trixie almost let herself fall under an illusion-type spell!"

Prince Charming clicked his tongue. "How annoying. I was hoping that you could at least accomplish one simple task. Perhaps that other mare, then-"

"You lay one hoof on her, and Trixie will remove that horn of yours!"

Maud turned to Prince Charming with a level stare. "You're making me blush."

"Shut up and get out of here! This battle doesn't concern you!"

"But it does, since you're here!"

"Trixie told you to forget about her!"

"When did I start listening to you?"

Prince Charming raised his sabre and charged, thrusting towards Maud. Trixie got in the way and parried his blow. "As enthralling as this all is, I must sadly break apart you two lovers before the guards return."

"They'll know you killed her," Trixie said.

"She was your accomplice, or you used an illusion to trick me into stabbing her. I can come up with any explanation, and my charms will do the rest."

"Trixie can't believe Midas ever trusted you!"

Prince Charming smiled. "He didn't. He knew I could betray him at any moment. That's why he even kept my identity secret from you." Prince Charming laughed. "Turns out he should've told you all about me, and you warned you not to approach me."

Charming swung his sword overhead, bringing it down towards Trixie, who ducked to the side and attempted to thrust the butt of her spear into his side. The stallion released his sword and used his magic to send it soaring behind himself, towards the earth pony watching the two fight.

Her stoic eyes widened as her body froze. Trixie abandoned her assault to blast the sword away with her own magic, but doing so left her open to a powerful kick from the prince against her muzzle.

Falling onto her back with her spear sliding across the floor, Trixie looked up to find Prince Charming standing over her, a dagger in his forehoof. He thrust it down towards her neck.

Maud grabbed the spear dropped by Trixie and charged towards the two ponies, swinging the spear towards Prince Charming's hoof and burying the tip of it into his skin. The prince yelped and dropped his dagger, and then turned to Maud with an enraged glare.

"If you want to die so bad, just say so!" Charming pushed Maud away with his magic and pulled the spear out of his hoof, aiming it towards the stunned earth pony. He pulled it back, ready to throw it.

"STOP!" Trixie pushed herself to her hooves, adrenaline rushing through her veins, and she grabbed the nearest object and pushed it into the side of Charming's neck.

Prince Charming gasped. Suddenly, his body felt cold, his vision was blurred, and his head rang and echoed with voices that he couldn't make out. His magic faded and the spear dropped to the floor, though he didn't hear it. His hearing died, followed by any feeling in his hooves, and he soon wasn't sure if he was even standing or not. His eyes closed, and his breathing drew to a stop.

Trixie panted as she looked down at the fallen body of Prince Charming, his dagger buried into his neck with blood pouring out onto the floor, and she turned her head away, tears forming in her eyes. "It feels easier this time. Is that normal?"

Maud stared at the showmare, her eyes as cold and expressionless as always. "Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but her brow was sweating heavily.

Trixie turned to Maud. 'No, but, neither are you…' Taking in a deep breath, Trixie said, "Of course. For the Great and Powerful Trixie, this is nothing. She has killed many foul villains in order to protect the innocent."

"Oh… Okay."

Trixie gulped. "You're… not hurt, right?"

"Would you care if I was?"

"Uh, well…"

The doors opened, and Trixie and Maud turned in surprise at the sudden arrival of several guards, their faces distorted in shock and horror at the scene before them. Their prince was dead, and besides the body were two mares, one covered in blood, the other facing the fallen prince with injuries on her body.

"D-Don't move!" one of the guards shouted, and all of the soldiers rushed into the room, intent on surrounding the two mares. "You are under arrest for the murder of Prince Charming!"

Trixie gritted her teeth and growled. "This way!" she shouted as she turned and ran, grabbing Maud's hoof and pulling her without much choice. Her horn lit up, and she fired a blast of magic towards one of the large windows ahead of her, shattering it as she drew near.

"Stop!"

Trixie jumped out of the window, pulling Maud with her, and the two fell fast towards the hard ground beneath them. Trixie pulled Maud into a tight embrace, and activated her hang glider, startling many ponies as they soared through the air above the castle, descending down the cliffs around Canterlot and towards the forest at the base.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Striker for proofreading.

Comments

[DoContra]

And now you've left me wanting a Kaito Kid crossover/comedy spoof starring Trixie .

[grixie]

7315931 He's already done that, check his story, chasing thieves. Might not be proper comedy though.

[Emperor]

Ha, and with that, yet another top member of Unicornia has been killed, but his death will also strike some turmoil into Equestria. I'm certain Blueblood won't be refusing those guards now. I wonder just how many more will continue to fall. After all, of the inner council there's only Trixie, Sunset and Oasis left now, and the last hasn't really done anything in several chapters. Maud being seen at the site of Prince Charming's death might also break up the Elements of Harmony since Pinkie knows her sister, but Twilight might insist on justice. Or something.

And of course, right when Celestia or Luna would be most useful to have around, neither of them are, just as normal

Platinum in the past finally got usurped, but no indication of what happened to Sombra. The true indicator of just what Celestia and Luna's intentions were would be if Luna was to break up with Sombra on her own right after, before he has any chance to run away or chase after his sister.