Act I - Chapter 21 - The Showmare and the Resistance
The Alicorn Warrior
Written by iAmSiNnEr
Edited Mostly by Stinium_Ruide
Helped by Skippex
Chapter 21 - The Showmare and the Resistance
Three and a half years ago...
“The Alicorn Amulet?” Shadowcrest murmured as she tapped her forehoof on his chin. “It’s currently locked away, but we will need to keep a watch on Lulamoon just in case.” She raised an eyebrow. “Corrupting influence…hmm... If this is true, Lulamoon would be a Level Three threat. See to it that the Guard knows, Illa.”
The darkly-clad shadow bowed its head. “Yes, my Lady.” With a flash of aquamarine light, it teleported away.
“The Princess’s private notes are certainly interesting,” Lyla noted, her eyes feasting on the disorganised pile of manuscripts that littered the desk. “Several decades of meticulous research and spying on her own subjects.”
“This only shows how unfit she is to rule,” Shadowcrest muttered as she leafed through a thick book filled with cursive hoofwriting. “She’s been manipulating Equestria since several decades ago.” She heaved a sigh. “Even if she was a good ruler…”
“What is on your mind, my Lady?” Lyla asked, her attention diverted. “You seem...troubled.”
“That bug,” Shadowcrest spat, slamming her hoof onto the mess of papers. “I didn’t say I wanted to banish Sparkle, but yet she pushed the Princess into doing so. She was bucking blinded by revenge. If we didn’t have any need for her, I would’ve just disposed of her.”
After stacking the papers into an orderly fashion, Shadowcrest slammed the book shut . “Now, we’ve lost the Princess of Love, and the Elements of Harmony are off on a wild goose chase. What if something attacks us now? Ugh. This is all a mess, and not what I had planned.”
“It’s not too late!” Lyla reassured, trying desperately to calm Shadowcrest down. “You have come too far for such a tiny hurdle to interrupt your plans.”
“I hope that is so,” Shadowcrest muttered. “We had to take emergency measures and replace the two princesses once I heard Sparkle was gone. Princess Luna would have found us out almost immediately once she started investigating; the bug left too much behind. Not one for subtlety, is she?”
“At least you have a backup plan for that,” Lyla said, shrugging.
“I prayed that I would never have a use of it.” Shadowcrest exhaled deeply. “I’d like to keep her as an ally, as hard as it may be. Her subjects are...useful. Anyways”—she stood up, putting the book aside—“I have a meeting with the Duke of Fillydelphia. .”
“Good luck, my Lady.”
“I don’t need luck,” Shadowcrest muttered angrily as she moved off, leaving Lyla alone in Celestia’s now barren quarters.
Lyla looked up as the door closed, a hint of relief flashing across her face before she wiped that smirk off her face.
Trixie sighed as she trotted down the road to Ponyville. Ugh. Trixie cannot understand why security has been ramped up. It makes it so much harder to smuggle in dangerous fireworks…
“Halt!” a voice called out, prompting Trixie to freeze in her steps.
“What?” Trixie snapped without looking at who spoke. “Can’t you see the Great and Powerful Trixie is walking—” She looked up to see two Royal Guards looking at her impassively by the entrance of Ponyville. “Oh.”
“You are Trixie Lulamoon, yes?” the one on the left questioned.
“Of course.” Trixie huffed. “There can only be one Great and Powerful Trixie! Do you see any other pony that looks like her?”
“You are under arrest on orders from the Crown,” he stated flatly. “Do not resist.”
“Wait—” Trixie blubbered. “What did Trixie do to—”
“I have an arrest warrant from the highest authority,” he replied. “We can either do this the hard way, or the...”
“Never!” Trixie backpedaled swiftly, intending to start running. As she prepared to throw her signature cloud of smoke, a blinding flash of light met Trixie’s eyes, and all she saw was darkness.
Trixie’s head swayed.
Trixie’s everything hurt.
“Uuuuugh,” she groaned as she pushed herself up, her mind spinning. “Where...am—is Trixie?” She dragged her eyes around, taking in her surroundings. “Oh, not another cell!”
Pristine marble tiles greeted Trixie’s vision. A flaming torch was the only source of light that penetrated the darkness, its smoke rising serenely into the air. Wrought iron bars surrounded the hapless blue unicorn as she tried to bring herself up on four hooves.
“Trixie is amazed at this place…” she murmured to herself. “Is this Canterlot Prison?”
“How do you know? Have you been here before?”
“Of course not!” Trixie snapped without the slightest hesitation. “Definitely not! Trixie has never been in prison—” She paused. “Who just spoke?”
Silence.
“Oh, come on!” Trixie protested, throwing her hooves in the air. “Trixie is not losing her mind!” A snicker.
“Who are you?” Trixie asked. “Tell Trixie now, or—”
“Or what?” the voice replied. “You have an inhibitor ring on you. What are you going to do?”
“Clockwork!” another voice scolded, his voice echoing from the sides of the hallway. “What is Princess Cadance going to say if she heard you? We’re here to help her, not ridicule her!”
Trixie sat down. “Trixie is losing her mind. She is hearing voices,” she muttered. “Trixie must be in a dream.”
“No, no,” a hooded pony appeared in front of her cell, his invisibility spell wearing off. “You’re not in a dream. Far from it, I’m afraid.”
Trixie stared at the stallion. “Are you a guard?”
“Nope!” another hooded pony cheerfully said as her invisibility spell wore off. “We’re not even supposed to be here!”
“Then what are you doing here?” Trixie questioned, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Here to make fun of Trixie? Trixie has had enough of that.”
“Nothing of the sort,” the mare assured her. “We’re here on behalf of a friend.”
“A friend?” Trixie asked suspiciously. “Trixie does not have— Trixie means, none of her friends would have the means to get somepony into a prison.”
“Fortunately for you,” the stallion said. “You’ll meet her soon. Just as soon as we get you out of here. Or rather, you will get yourself out of here. We’ll be helping.”
Trixie blinked. “What?”
“Clockwork, you’re getting too far ahead,” the mare chided. “We haven’t even explained anything to the poor mare!”
“Get on with it, then,” the one Trixie assumed to be Clockwork grumbled. “We have…” he checked his non-existent watch. “Eleven minutes before the drug I slipped the guard wears off and he wakes up.”
“Enough for me!” the mare replied happily. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“Short version, please,” Clockwork interrupted as Trixie opened her mouth. “I know how long-winded you are, Flora, and we haven’t got much time.”
“Fine,” the mare Clockwork called Flora pouted. “Basically, we’re part of a resistance group opposing the new regime. Surely you’ve realized something’s wrong with the princesses? And of course, for reference, Clockwork and Flora aren’t our real names.”
Trixie nodded slowly. “Trixie supposes that is true...the princesses have been making weird decisions of late.”
“And they’re getting weirder,” Flora informed her. “Recently, they’ve sent out a threat list. You’re on it, which is why you were arrested. The p- our leader, after realizing you were here, sent us to get you out to ask you if you can help us. If you don’t want to help, that’s fine, we’ll bring you somewhere safe. After all, you don’t deserve to be here.”
“Hmph,” Trixie huffed. “What would Trixie be required to do?”
“We understand you have a skill with illusions,” Clockwork answered. “We can use that in our efforts.”
“And why would Trixie help you?” Trixie queried.
“To bring Equestria back to what she was,” Flora said seriously. “For the greater good, you know?”
“Of course,” Trixie muttered. “It’s always been for the greater good. Will I be meeting the princess?”
“The princess-?” Flora hesitated. “Wait, how did you know-?”
“You let it slip,” Trixie said pointedly. “If Trixie remembers correctly, you mentioned that Princess Cadance would be displeased with Clockwork because of what he said.”
“See?” Flora turned to Clockwork. “I told you she was smart!”
“Not smart,” Clockwork corrected, but he sounded impressed. “Just a good mind for details and what ponies said.”
“Let’s just say Trixie agreed to join your resistance,” Trixie said. “How are you getting her out of here? There’s no keyhole in this cell, the Canterlot Prison is much more secure than that. You need the magical aura of the warden.”
“We have a pony on the inside,” Flora explained. “We’ll get them to arrange that instead of being tried for your supposed crimes at the Canterlot High Court, you’ll be transferred to the Manehattan High Court to stand trial. On the way, the transport will take a detour past a cliff.”
“No,” Trixie backed up a little. “Trixie is not jumping off a cliff.”
“You will if you want to escape,” Clockwork said grimly. “One of the guards will unlock the transport’s door for you. Get out, and jump. We’ll be waiting for you. Anyways, you have time to make your decision. We’d understand if you don’t want to. For now, we’re out of time. I hope to see you…”
“Wait!” Trixie cried out as the two ponies vanished.
“Stop right there, prisoner!” the guard shouted as Trixie burst out of the carriage, running for the cliff. “Prisoner escaping!”
Last chance, Trixie! Are you jumping or not?
As she reached the cliff, looking back at the guards chasing her, she made her decision. Trixie has made a lot of mistakes in her past. Maybe helping this resistance will make up for it. She looked back one last time.
As the guards reached out for her, she jumped.
Prisoner 883 jumped off a cliff. Body not found. Prisoner assumed to have escaped.
~Telegram from Manehattan High Court to the Canterlot Guard Station~
Trixie glanced around in wonder as the self-driving boat rowed itself into a large cavern. Several ponies were trotting about, talking to each other in low tones. As the boat came to a stop, she recognized the shape of the pony waiting for her at the pier.
“Is that you, Clockwork?” Trixie asked slowly.
“Yes,” the green-colored stallion nodded. “Come on, we’ve got some things to do before you’re officially a part of the resistance.”
“Where is Trixie?” Trixie wondered out loud. “This is a very large cavern.”
Clockwork chuckled. “Thank you, Miss Obvious. This is one of the abandoned mines underneath Fillydelphia that we’re using as a communications center for the resistance.”
“Is this place safe?” Trixie asked nervously.
“Of course!” Clockwork replied indignantly as they trotted down into one of the smaller tunnels. “We’ll be meeting the princess soon, she’s already here to meet you. She meets every single one of our recruits, you see.”
“That’s...nice of her,” Trixie replied.
“Here,” Clockwork stopped at a door. “Go in first, I’m going to get her. Oh, and ignore our guest. We caught her snooping around and the princess wanted to have a word with her just in case.”
“Guest?” Trixie raised an eyebrow, but Clockwork was already trotting away.
Trixie nervously pushed open the door, entering the room. Inside, there was a bare desk and two chairs, along with what looked like a cell at the side with a forlorn-looking mare inside of it. As soon as Trixie entered, the mare perked up.
“Are you part of them?” The mare demanded, springing up.
“N-no?” Trixie stuttered. “At least, Trixie doesn’t think so. Not yet, at least.”
“Good,” the mare nodded. “Get me out of here.”
“Wait, what?” Trixie blurted out. “Who are you?”
“Lieutenant Shine of the Fillydelphia Attache Corps,” The mare answered impatiently. “Get me out of here, and I promise I’ll put in a good word for you, Lulamoon.”
“How do you know my name?” Trixie asked suspiciously.
“Your face was sent to every Guard Station three hours ago,” Shine said. “I was checking the mines if you were hiding there two hours ago, before they jumped me and put me in here. You escaped, didn’t you?”
“I’m not going back,” Trixie said defiantly.
“You won’t, if you help me,” Shine promised. “I can pull some strings for you. You’re only Level Two now, down a level after they assessed you and sent you to Manehattan. You’re not much of a threat, I’m sure they can overlook your crimes for helping me bust a resistance outlet.”
“No.” Trixie flatly said. “Trixie promised to help, and Trixie never breaks her promises. Trixie wants to make up for her past mistakes. You can stay there. Trixie is going to see if-”
Shine started laughing. “Miss Lulamoon, good job!”
“Wait,” Trixie looked at her with a perplexed expression. “What do you mean?”
Shine grinned. “You passed the test. You can come in now!”
The door opened to reveal two ponies which Trixie recognized as Flora and Clockwork. “I knew you could do it, Trixie!” Flora beamed.
“You see,” Clockwork explained. “We needed to test your loyalty. And I think you’ve passed.”
“Indeed she has,” Shine smiled as her coat underwent a change of colors, her disguise spell wearing off. Trixie’s eyes widened as she realized who she had been talking to. The door to the cell opened, and Princess Cadance stepped out.
“Welcome to the resistance, Miss Lulamoon,” Cadance smiled warmly. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine with us. I hear you want to make up for your past mistakes? I’m sure you’ll do much, much more than that.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
814 users online
796,542 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Note: This is the last Equestria update chapter, we'll be back to regular Twilight content after this!
If you need an OC, let me know.
Vive le resistance!
I laughed here XD
Good luck to Stinium!
~PS. I liked the Authors Notes part!
If you need a temporary editor could I help withim it
10910207
Mhm, okay.
10910527
Hehe.
10910426
Indeed!
10898640
Just realized I haven't seen you in a bit. Hope you're doing fine!
Using the authors notes to effectively write in a sub chapter? Skirting site rules, but not actually breaking them, and creative all the same. They do let us get away with more when we use the system in ways that remind them how limiting the system in place really is, and you've made great use of site artifacts. If not you, then your editor, don't want to credit the wrong guy here...
Well made, either way.
10911226
Yeah, wanted a place to stick that in without disturbing actual lore and here gets more attention than my blogs so...
Not really. Most people would pick up on that, I would think. Flora and Clockwork are just idiots, lol.
Seems the hunt's afoot...
Shouldn't that be the other way around?
10913970
Okay, so, the reason why I wrote Manehattan is because they were supposed to to receive Trixie, and the guards transporting her would report in there, therefore they would then send the message from Manehattan to Canterlot.
Ser schän look forward to mer!!!
10911262
The problem is, the authors notes do not show up in an epub download. So, if I had been reading on my kindle instead of here, I'd have missed a significant chunk of lore and backstory.