Epilogue: Redemption, by cleverpun (Trixie)
Twilight refilled her quill, and started slowly on the next line. Now that the entire business with the Amulet had concluded, she had lots of paperwork to catch up on. Her report on the Amulet itself had already been sent in for fact-checking and editing, and the journals would publish it in due time.
Another load of ink, a fresh page. Twilight took a deep breath and smiled.
Her ear flicked. Her quill paused above the paper. She felt something. She tried to avoid resorting to cliches like “the calm before a storm.” They lacked descriptive effect and meteorological accuracy. Other things, however, fit into that pattern. The buzz before a bee sting. The foreshocks before an earthquake. The pressure and heat before a volcano spews magma and smoke.
Twilight looked toward the door of her office. She scanned the area, and nothing caught her eye.
She squinted. A thin wisp of purple-pink smoke poked through the crack of the door.
Twilight sighed.
The doors flung open, hitting into the wall with a heavy initial thunk and a smaller crack afterwards. Trixie stood in the doorway. Her cape billowed. Her mane billowed. Her hat billowed. Her eyebrows and eyelashes, somehow, billowed, if only slightly. The torrent of motion and wind thankfully left Twilight’s paper and quills alone, centralized solely on Trixie.
“Hello, Trixie.”
“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie waved a foreleg, and performed an exaggerated bow.
“To what do I owe the pl— presence…of you…in my office.”
“Fear not, Princess Sparkle!” Trixie unbowed, flung her cape wide. “The Great and Penitent Trixie heard of your attempt to disarm the Alicorn Amulet. She sped posthaste to your aid!”
“Ah, yes, that.” Twilight templed her hooves. “I’m grateful that you’re here, really, truly, I am. More or less. But the thing is, we already finished that.”
Trixie pressed a hoof to her chest. “Sparkle, you wound me! Certainly, the Great and Perilous Trixie was not at her best the last time we met, and she will be the first to admit an…awkward history with the Alicorn Amulet. But who better, then, to assist in its dismantling?”
“Trixie, I wouldn’t lie to a friend…of a friend.” Twilight scanned her shelves. “We really did defeat it. At no small cost, either. I could find the report for you…”
“Trixie expected this.” Trixie straightened her collar, and a flash of magic and an audible click echoed from behind her. She stepped forward, and the smoke dwindled slightly. “I am serious, you know. I will endure any cavalcade of paperwork, any interview or interrogation or inspection, in order to prove I am fit for this endeavor.”
Twilight pressed her face into her hooves. “That’s great and all, but we’re already done.”
“Preposterous!” Trixie slammed her hooves on the table. “The Great and Punctual Trixie arrived as soon as she received the notice! How can you be done already?”
“Maybe the mail was running late,” Twilight muttered.
“Did Twilight Sparkle perhaps postdate my notice?” Trixie leaned in. “Were you trying to get rid of me? The Great and Principled Trixie thought better of you, Sparkle.”
Twilight tore her face from her hooves. “Look, Trixie. I’m tired. There was a lot of stuff involved in dealing with the Amulet. I’m sorry if somepony intentionally mailed your notice late, but there’s nothing I can do. The Amulet is dead, defeated, kaput.”
“Where is it?”
“In a warehouse.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “A warehouse?”
“Yes, a warehouse.” Twilight wiggled a hoof. “You know, one of those warehouses that stretch on for eternity, and all the boxes have vague labels and look identical, so you can’t find anything even if you wanted to?”
“Oh really? Then what is…” Trixie reached a hoof into her cape, slowly and theatrically. “This!”
“A rubber-band ball.”
“Er, I mean…” Another grope, more theatrically. “This!”
Twilight’s eyes widened. The Alicorn Amulet's pieces sat in Trixie’s outstretched hoof. Even the little plastic bag with all the jewel residue. “Where did you get that?”
“The warehouse under your desk.”
Twilight’s ears flattened. “Okay, so maybe I haven’t found a good place for it yet. But that doesn’t change what I said. It’s still empty.”
Trixie chuckled. To call her laugh “smug” lacked the correct implication of condescension, and to call it “condescending” failed to convey how smug it sounded. “I see how it is, Sparkle.”
“You do?”
“You intentionally delayed Trixie’s invitation for a good reason.”
“Yes, of course I did.”
“For only the the Great and Persistent Trixie could handle such an important and secretive mission.”
Twilight’s ears flattened again. “…Mission?”
“Of course, the Great and Purposeful Trixie accepts!”
“You do?”
“You almost had me with these secret tests!”
“I did?”
“I accept this noble duty, to put the Amulet where no one will ever find it. It shall be lost to time and become the stuff of myths, after I have finished with it.”
Twilight slumped slightly sideways, rested her head on a hoof. “And what, pray tell, is that?”
“Trixie will go on a quest, a journey through the most treacherous parts of Equestria. She will travel to the very edge of the world, and throw the Amulet off of it, into the cessation of time, the abyss of memory, the—”
“You know where that is?”
Trixie chuckled the same smugly condescending chuckle. “You needn’t worry, my dear princess.” She raised the Amulet aloft. “Perish any and all panic or fears from your regal posterior! Trixie knows every intimate secret of our world, the end of it included.”
“‘Kay.”
A flash of light lit the room. When Twilight stopped blinking and rubbing her eyes, Trixie stood in the same position, the Amulet missing from her hooves.
Twilight leaned forward, and let out another heavy sigh. “Okay then, Trixie. Let’s assume I trust you with this…task. We still don’t know exactly how the Amulet works.” Her horn ignited, and a diagram of symbols swirled in front of her. “We drained all its magic, but there may be something, or some thing, that could recharge it.” The diagram faded, replaced with a cartoon, pointy version of Trixie, holding the Amulet aloft. Her condescendingly smug grin looked apparent even in the doodle.
Twilight leaned forward. “Imagine if something brought the Amulet back to life. Imagine what might happen to its ward.” The diagram flickered. Tendrils of magic extended from the Amulet. “Imagine what failure might mean for that pony, and for all of Equestria.” One coiled around the pointy Trixie, and she valiantly and ineffectually tried to break free of its grasp.
The tentacle crept upward, pushed towards the dots that represented Trixie’s eyes. Trixie’s avatar screamed, but no sound escaped from the magical drawing.
The light faded, and Twilight straightened her posture. “There’s a lot of dangers out there. Beings of every race, monsters of every shape. A lot of…things that don’t have any better word, because describing them is too difficult.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Things that would do anything for the Amulet, things that crave power more than they desire life. And they don’t know or care that it’s dead.”
Twilight blinked slowly, took a deep breath. “Can you handle that?”
Trixie unfurled her body. She shook her cape, straightened her hat. “Well…”
“I won’t think less of you if you say ‘no’,” Twilight whispered.
Trixie took her own deep breath. “You have my word, Twilight. I won’t let you down.” She shifted her eyes, stared at a chunk of wall. “I need to prove it to myself, too. I need to make certain that it never takes hold of anyone else.”
“And, I must warn you…” Twilight leaned forward. “We’ve done everything in our power, but we still don’t know everything about the Amulet. There may be some scrap of power left hiding in it, too deep for us to detect. It may have enough energy left for a final temptation. It might whisper to you. Lie to you. Try to trick you into putting it on. Are you strong enough to deny it this time?”
Trixie stared at the floor for a moment. “I would be lying if I gave an unqualified answer. If I said I was a hundred percent positive in my own ability.” Trixie looked up. “I’ve been weak before, I know. The Amulet tore me apart, and I had to piece myself back together. There may be some cracks left.” Trixie smiled. “But what sort of illusionist would I be, if I didn’t try and hide any of that?”
Twilight smiled. “Alright. I’ll contact the other princesses, and we’ll start preparing your supplies and equipment. Clandestinely, of course.”
Trixie smiled as well. “Thank you, Princess Twilight.” Trixie bowed. A clunk echoed through the room as the Amulet's left half fell out of her hat and onto the ground.
Neither pony moved.
Trixie slowly reached for the Amulet chunk. She slowly put it back under her hat. She slowly stood up. She slowly took a step backward, then another, until she slowly backed out of the room.
The doors slowly closed shut. When they had softly clicked closed, Trixie shouted from the other side. “Trixie will talk to you tomorrow!”
Silence fell back across Twilight’s office.
She pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, took a deep breath, and started writing.
“What time is good for you?” Trixie shouted through the door. “Trixie can be ready around ten or so!”
“Yes, fine, great!” Twilight shouted. “See you tomorrow, now go away!”
“Very well! Trixie will begin her preparations!”
Twilight stared down at the paper she had been writing on. A requisition form for space inside the Manehattan Museum’s Auxiliary Storage Warehouse. Once something went in there, it disappeared among a sea of identical crates, with obtuse labels and vague serial numbers. To find something in there took more bureaucratic knowledge and patience than even Princess Celestia possessed.
But someone might find it. If the Amulet had any power left at all, it would call out to anyone it could, lure them to it, sink its teeth into them.
Twilight crumpled the paper, tossed it away. She pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, and began writing.
Perhaps it will be for the best, Twilight thought to herself. Trixie has her own…unique qualifications. She itemized all the supplies one would need for a journey to the edge of the world. Food, water, magical wards, a clean set of handkerchiefs.
“What could go wrong?” was another cliche that Twilight tried to avoid. A proper plan allowed for unfavorable outcomes, of course, but it felt pessimistic to ask such a question. It made it harder to focus on the positives.
Twilight frowned. Trixie had changed, there was no denying that. But the cliche still clawed at the back of her mind. She fought against it, all its pessimism and lazy distrust. But the answer still bubbled out of her subconscious like a methane bubble from a swamp.
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There be a sequel to this?
This chapter feels incomplete. Maybe a paragraph missing, or even just a sentence.
If this is the Epilogue, why is it still incomplete? Please tell me that means there's more!
8580278 It is still in the hypothetical stages, but it's not out of the question
8580289 because I'm inept
The best thing to do in this case would be to send one half of the amulet with Trixie and the other half locked up in the Canterhorn or something.
I kinda feel like this should've been written from Trixie's point of view.
This sounds like the beginning of a sequel...
8580278
8580368
Unbreakable, the story of the resurgence of the Alicorn Amulet.
And so it ends. I'm very glad I was a part of this. Thank you for being at the core of this endeavor, cleverpun.
At first, I thought the Epilogue would be finding out that all of the previous chapters are really inside the mind of Cadance. Thanks to its illusion, she thought that there was a long list of ponies who repeatedly defied the Amulet and broke it. In reality, the Amulet has taken her over, and we zoom out to see that Cadance has killed the other alicorns and is now ruling over the world with an iron hoof.
Good ending, but I'm STILL trying to figure out just what the Hell happened to Moondancer. Her ending was left VERY vague and what it suggested was VERY unsettling to say the least.
Well, that was an unsettling note to end on....
This was perfectly Trixie, at least.
8580782
It's definitely the bleakest ending of the bunch, and the ambiguity of Moondancer's fate either softens that or makes it worse. Even as the author of the chapter, I can't really give solid answers, since it was written to be read in a few different ways.
This entire epilogue chapter is a referential love letter to "Letters from a Friend at the End of the World"
Something about this epilogue gives me "Letters From a Friend at the End of the World" vibe.
It's been a while since I've had a proper Trixiefic to read.
8580295
Really now?
This sounds like it's begging either for an Epilogue or a Sequel
I'm picturing a sequel, where Trixie has to deal with all sorts of dangers and temptations in her quest to take the Amulet to
Mordorthe edge of the world. She has to face all sorts of monsters, a little intrigue as she tries to hide what she's carrying from others who are searching for the Amulet (both for evil purposes and out of a genuine desire to destroy it), and finally her own warring desires for power and friendship.If you don't write it, can I?
8580453 8581862 8583117 I intentionally left open a sequel about Trixie's quest to
Mordorthe end of the world. I'm still considering the logistics of it, but it is a possibility. Just don't expect it any time soon: this project took a lot of work, and if I do another I want to do better and be much more prepared.Anyone who is interested in participating, I updated the story description with instructions. If/when I do a sequel collab, I will announce it via a blog post on my user page and on the collab group. If you are interested in participating, then I highly recommend following me and/or joining the group. And of course, anyone who participated in this story and new contributors are both welcome
I suspect the sequel will bear some resemblance to the ending of Bored of the Rings (Harvard Lampoon)
Frito stood for a long time, peering out from under his fingers at the distant, smoking volcano.
"It's many a hard kilo to the Black Hole," he said, fingering the Ring.
"No lie, bwana," said Spam.
"This nearer tar pit has a certain holelike flavor," said Frito.
"Round," agreed Spam. "Open. Deep."
"Dark," added Frito.
"Black," said Spam.
Frito took the Ring from round his neck and twirled it absently at the end of its chain.
"Careful, Mr. Frito," said Spam, raining a series of hitsies on his arm.
"Indeed," said Frito, flinging the Ring in the air and deftly catching it behind his back.
"Very risky," Spam said, and picking up a barge stone, he threw it into the center of the tar pit, where it sank with a wet glop.
"Pity we have no weight to anchor it safely to the bottom," said Frito, swinging the chain over his head. "Accidents can happen."
"Just in case," said Spam, searching vainly in his pack for some heavy object. "A dead weight, a sinker," he muttered.
"Hello," said a gray lump behind them. "Long time no see."
"Goddam, old shoe," crooned Spam, and dropped a coin at Goddam's feet.
"Small world," said Frito as he palmed the Ring and clapped the surprised creature on the back.
"Look!" cried Frito, pointing to an empty sky. "The Winged Victory of Samothrace." And as Goddam turned to see, Frito looped the chain over his neck.
"Hobba," cried Spam, "a 1927 Indian-head nickel!" and dropped on his hands and knees in front of Goddam.
"Whoops!" said Frito.
"Aiyeee," added Goddam.
"Floop," suggested the tar pit.
8583913
Oh my god, somebody else who read that book
Thanks for putting this all together, everyone!
8583913 8584453
Me too! Have you also checked out Doon?
8608393
Fair enough.
That was pretty interesting. I particularly liked the CMC chapter, and Trixie's varied titles in the epilogue. Sweetie is the best.
But man did that Moondancer chapter not fit with the rest of the story at all. At the very least I can't imagine why Twilight wouldn't end the experiment or at least put way more controls in place after the first non-alicorn test candidate went suicidal at least once.
8634415
Oh, hey! Didn't notice this comment earlier, sorry. But thank you. I put a lot of effort into this, and I'm glad you liked it. Glimglam has a lot of potential and a lot of complexity, so I enjoy writing her, although it can be tricky. I was worried it wouldn't come off right for a while, to be honest.
oh this was a nice collection, and as usually I toke way too long to get around to reading it.
i’ll just give my thoughts on each chapter. i’m pretty much using Cadance, Twilight, and Carrot Top as the standard I measured the others against.
Cadance’s attempt showed that the Amulet will exploit their fears and insecurities mercilessly. – I mean, let start out with digging up her husband’s grave, and then spice it up with the knowledge that he will be forgotten forever thanks to alicorn senility. Damn, that’s cruel!
Twilight’s attempt showed that the Amulet is tremendously talented at manipulating people with logic and reason augmented by mindreading.
the Amulet won the argument; all Twilight could do was realizing winning was impossible and bug-out.
Carrot Top’s attempt showed that the Amulet could make dream scenarios that are very subtle, and that it can take its time prodding people into a moment of weakness. – the Amulet can take its time putting people into their personal “one bad day” scenario before making them choose.
Plus, targeting the unexamined feelings of insignificance from living as a background pony during all the exciting events in Ponyville was a nice touch.
Moondancer’s attempt was not a bad chapter or anything, I think I would have liked it as its own story, But It just didn’t really fit in with the others. it felt like a chapter for another story.
I just love Ditzy Doo’s attempt. it has great surreal dream logic, using an endless bureaucracy filibuster to stalemate the Amulet.
And the final attempt to overcome Ditzy Doo by having imaginary Twilight betray and abandon her in her time of need. Ouch, my feels.
Okay, Doctor Whooves’ attempt… oh boy, I have complicated feelings about this one. don’t get me wrong, it is an excellent piece of writing, it is basically written like a short episode of Doctor Who, just with ponies.
but I’m just not very fond of the Doctor as a character, especially in fanfiction, which goes double for crossovers. And it is not just because the actors’ physical performance rarely carries over well to the written word.
The doctor is often the only one who is allowed to really know what they are doing, while he is treated as being above reproach.
Which is honestly a recipe for everyone around the Doctor getting bashed so the Doctor can do his thing. consequently, the Doctor can be insufferable in direct proportion to how more likeable everyone around him is.
But on the other hand, it was written like one of those episodes where the Doctor is confronted by his failings as a person, right down to the Doctor only getting saved in the last moment by a Deus Ex Machina. – which are some of the more memorable episodes and it does help drag the Doctor dawn to earth.
Rainbow Dash’s attempt… Ouch, just ouch. There are reasons why you should never corner an artifact of doom, and Rainbow Dash got to pay the price.
Chrysalis’ attempt… Okay I sort of like the idea behind it, but the execution just ruins it.
Up until this point, the Amulet had been consistently menacing because of it skill at manipulating people, and its ability to use mindreading to make basically unbeatable arguments.
And that is why I’m so annoyed that the Amulet lost to a double idiot ball.
Chrysalis would have gotten the Amulet if she hadn’t been hit by the inexplicable urge to shoot herself in the foot out of a sudden attack of uncontrollable pride.
And worse yet, the Amulet would have gotten away with it if it had done nothing. – I’m seriously underwhelmed here, it lost a confrontation it could have won by just taking a nap.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ attempt was straight up hilarious.
Amulet: hello impulsive children! I heard you want cutie marks and hate bullies like Diamond Tiara. I can help you with that.
CMC: sorry Mr. Amulet, we are not interested in that anymore.
Amulet: what? Why!?
CMC: we had character development two seasons ago.
The Amulet: FUUUUU!
Starlight Glimmer’s attempt felt like what the Amulet’s approach would normally be like whenever it has to tempt someone who isn’t on guard for it, it just has to give the impression that the Amulet is useful and special and wait for their greed to do the rest.
Plus, it was cool how Starlight Glimmer managed to overcome the Amulet after going in blind, it really showed her commitment to making up for her past failings.
I think Luna’s attempt is the point where the Amulet goes from trying to convince ponies to use its powers, to trying to convince ponies just not to kill it.
The Amulet doesn’t try to convince Luna to use it. Instead, it asked for Luna to spare it, because there are others out in the world who might benefit from the catharsis from redemption.
Pinkie Pie’s attempt was honestly tragic. I mean we see how their attempts to depower the Amulet has reduced its mind to a broken and pitiful state, making it painfully obvious that they are killing it.
Consequently, Pinkie Pie’s offers of friendship and redemption are heartfelt but doomed to failure since accepting her offer wouldn’t spare its life. Pinkie Pie will not accept the power of the Amulet, and the Amulet will die when she rejects its power.
Ultimately, Pinkie Pie’s offer comes off as an attempt at offering last rites, not friendship.
The Trixie epilogue, of course, was a joy to read.
8851059 Thanks for the thorough comment
I think Chrysalis' chapter followed through on its premise very well. Chrysalis' biggest enemy has always been herself. In this situation, all she needed to do was take the Amulet and she would win. But her own pride and ego would never let her do that.
If the Amulet's one comment had not set her off, then something else would have. If the Amulet had done nothing, she would have been offended. If it had not sucked up to her, she would have been offended. Of course it's a stupid way to fail, that's the point. If Chrysalis could overcome her ego, she wouldn't need the Amulet.
8855186
I still think she would have picked up the amulet if it had pretended to be what Chrysalis thought it was: a mindless artifact that empowers whoever wears it. – Or, it could just pretend to be the user manual if she had discovered it had a psychic interface.
I could see her as someone with that kind of self-destructive pride. but I still think it would have taken longer for her to get to that point, it just happened too fast for me, but that is a problem with the context of this scenario, not the premise.
No one can be allowed to actually use the thing, so they all have to drop it before they can use it, which limits the stories you can tell.
I think both Chrysalis and Moondancer’s attempts have similar problems. Namely, that they are lovely concepts that just don’t work well within the specific context of the scenario.
I mean, Moondancer’s attempt could work well as a premise for a standalone horror story, I can already imagine what the description would look like:
By the same token, the premise for Chrysalis’ attempt could also work well as the premise for a standalone story.
I kinda Love the idea that Chrysalis has this huge collection of powerful artifacts that she never uses for silly reasons. – like because they are too unfashionable and don’t fit in with her color scheme, or because reading dark tomes of forbitten law is boring and just for nerds, and so on.
8851059
I'll be the first to admit a lot of Doctor Who is carried by the actor.
I was thinking that Pinkie would have been willing to accept the Amulet if she could get it to sincerely admit that it drove it's other bearers crazy. Was that poorly communicated?
8863816
Yeah, pretty much the same way James Cameron's Avatar was carried by its visual design. they both lose a lot in writing.
not really.
I mean, I could see where you were going with it. It’s just with the Amulet dying, scared and confused, visibly falling apart as it speaks with her. it gives it a different tone.
Ponies reaching out to a defeated villain, offering friendship and redemption is classic MLP FIM. But not so much while the defeated villain is confused and slowly dying from the wounds inflicted on them.
It makes the scenario far more tragic, especially when its last words were:
Plus, if I can play devil’s advocate for a bit. Considering that they showed up with the intention to kill it, the Amulet has been remarkably lenient to the challengers for the most part.
well, except for Rainbow Dash.
But that part really showed what a more merciless Amulet could have done to them all. I doubt Carrot Top could have withstood decades of coldblooded torture.
You can has review!
9948920
Ah, I see. Thank you.