• Published 24th Feb 2022
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I Woke Up In My Favorite TV Show, But Before I Could Do Anything, I Was Recruited By The Villainess! - Leafdoggy



A human girl finds herself in a strange new world, with a strange new body, and makes some strange new friends

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Chapter 3

An hour later, the two of us were absolute messes. Twigs and leaves decorated our manes, Trixie’s clothes were more hole than cloth, and streaks of dirt criss crossed our bodies. Luckily, though, our walk had been otherwise uneventful, at times almost peaceful.

Suspiciously peaceful, in fact.

I kept my anxieties to myself, though, and before too long, my opportunity passed. With no warning, the trees suddenly broke apart and revealed a huge clearing. The ground rolled in wavey hills, and thick grass grew unchecked in the open air, at places taller than our heads.

Up above, the moon shone bright in a brilliantly clear sky. Moonbeams rained down onto the clearing, lighting up patches of blue and violet wildflowers. Every so often, a strong gust of wind would blow up clouds of pollen and petals, and the light would sparkle off of them like an eerie fog.

In the center of the clearing, perched on the highest hill, were the ruins of a once-beautiful castle. The gray stone walls seemed to glow in the moonlight, almost like they were built to be most resplendent at night. Tattered banners billowed through crumbling holes in the walls, their vibrant colors clashing against the encroaching green of the vines that snaked up the walls and the overgrown trees that towered over courtyards. The large gates at the front of the castle sat ajar, mostly intact but rendered immobile by foliage.

The harsh breeze made the whole place seem too alive. The grass danced, tapestries flew in strange patterns, ancient window shutters clacked against stone. The light gave sparse glimpses of strange shapes in the windows, reflecting off cloth or glass or anything else and giving form to the spirits that haunted the dilapidated facade. Life, caught in the ruins as it flowed across the landscape, pooled in darkened corners and latched onto loose debris. The castle breathed.

“Wow,” I whispered, my voice barely distinguishable from the cool breeze. “Seeing it on a screen really doesn’t do it justice.”

“Yes, yes, it’s beautiful,” Trixie said. I’d stopped to stare at the landscape, but she was already wading into the tall grass, so I hurried after her. “Do you think we beat Twilight?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” I told her, “but I think we probably did. Nightmare Moon didn’t really seem the most subtle, so I think we’d be able to tell if she was here, and she wasn’t that far behind Twilight.”

“Good. Maybe we’ll be able to do this quickly and be gone before Twilight even shows up. That’d show her!”

“It doesn’t need to be a competition,” I told her. “Good guys should be happy as long as nobody gets hurt.”

Trixie scoffed. “Oh, come on. Nopony would do this kind of thing without getting anything out of it. Do you think your precious Twilight would still risk her life if it wasn’t getting her a bunch of friends and the admiration of the Princess?”

“I’m pretty sure she would,” I said. “That’s just part of being good.”

“Pure naivety.”

We approached the castle as we bickered, and soon the gates loomed above us. The grandeur and magnitude of it hushed us into silence. The huge doors were scarred and pockmarked from years of enduring harsh weather, and though we could tell that they’d once been beautiful, they now looked like the only things keeping them in one piece were the vines binding them. Past the gates, we entered a vast hall that was in much the same state. Pillars lay toppled on their sides, chunks of wall and ceiling had crashed into the one-smooth stone of the floor, and one doorway leading to a side hall, once an intricate archway, had crumbled entirely. At the far end of the hall, a staircase rose up before splitting off to the left and right. The ancient, moth-eaten carpet that ran up the middle of the staircase barely retained any of its color.

We made our way towards the staircase as if on instinct. The castle was dark, brightened only by the rays of moonlight that shone in through holes in the ceiling and reflected off jagged stone to give the space an eerie glow. Our shadows wavered unpredictably from the multiple rays of light, and it felt like creatures skittered just out of sight, hiding in the dark corners and watching us move along.

A few minutes later, we found ourselves at the door to a large, strange chamber. It was almost entirely empty, save for a statue that stood directly in the center of it, old, cracked and covered in moss. On the statue, held aloft with dignity and grace, were five stone orbs that sat untouched by the ravages of time.

“Well, this is it,” I said. My voice came out as barely a whisper, overcome with the gravity of where we were and what we were doing.

“This?” Trixie asked. “So, those orbs are the Elements, then?”

“I guess,” I said. As I spoke, Trixie grabbed the Elements with her magic and floated them towards us. “I mean, the Elements always seemed kind of… I don’t know, metaphysical?” I continued. “These are sort of representations of them, I think. Conduits, maybe?”

Trixie was examining the orbs closely. “But, they’re just rocks,” she said, sounding unimpressed. She knocked two of them against each other, and a sharp clack rang out through the room.

“They’re dormant,” I explained. “They need to be woken up by the spark of friendship. In the story, Twilight’s friends come to rescue her, and she realizes how much she cares about them, which wakes up the Elements.”

“Friendship, huh?” Trixie mumbled as she thought. “Well, we’re already friends, so why haven’t they woken up?”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? C’mon, you must see how fake our ‘friendship’ is.”

“It is not! We’re besties,” Trixie huffed. “We just… Need to prove it, is all! Stick your hoof out!”

“What?”

“Just do it!”

I hesitated a moment, looking at her suspiciously, before slowly, cautiously extending my hoof.

Trixie wasted no time. She lit her horn up, then jabbed her own hoof out, pressing it against mine, then she started to chant. “I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, do hereby swear that Starfall Sage and I are best friends!”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Shut up!” She told me. “Just agree to it!”

“Fine, sure,” I grumbled. “I mean, you’re the only pony I know, so I guess by default, you’re my best friend.”

“Good!” With that, she channeled her magic into a long, winding band that twisted around our legs before squeezing them tight. The contraction was almost enough to hurt, but I kept my hoof held out, waiting to see what would happen.

Then, as she focused, something incredible happened. The Elements started to glow, lifting into the air of their own accord and spinning around us, faster and faster until they were just a blur. The light from them grew brighter and brighter, and soon I had to shut my eyes against the glare. Blinded, I could only sit and wait while the Elements whirred around us and Trixie’s magic wound tighter.

Just when I thought the pressure was getting to be too much, it all stopped. The room went dark, the squeezing let up, and I felt Trixie’s hoof fall away from mine. It was too dark to see when I opened my eyes back up, and as I waited for them to adjust, I could hear Trixie panting in front of me, sounding exhausted.

The first thing I could see was a strange, faint glimmer coming from my leg. I flexed my leg, and it moved just fine, but the glimmer moved with it. Then I saw another glimmer, just in front of me—probably where Trixie’s leg was.

I focused, and the world slowly came back into view. Looking at Trixie, I saw something strange. Wrapped around her leg, from her hoof all the way up to her shoulder, was a series of intricate golden bands, almost like a lacey sleeve. It looked solid, but it moved smoothly with her, and she hardly even noticed it. At the bottom of the accessory, just by her hoof, was a single thicker band, and set into that band was a gem in the shape of her cutie mark.

I was mesmerized by the sight, and stared at it for a long minute, until I noticed Trixie was staring at me in much the same way. Struck by sudden realization, I looked down to find I was wearing a golden sleeve of my own, identical apart from the cutie mark adorning the bottom. It was bizarre, not at all what I’d expected, and it had left us both speechless.

We were finally knocked out of our daze by the sound of four heavy thunks all around us. Looking for the sources, I saw that there were four heavy stone orbs lying on the ground nearby, seemingly having just fallen out of the air.

“Wow,” I breathed. “I cannot believe that worked.”

Trixie gave a breathy, tired laugh. “Never doubt The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said. I couldn’t stop staring down at my leg, twisting it this way and that, marveling at how perfectly it fit, and how it barely felt like I was wearing anything at all. “Hopefully this is enough to stop Nightmare Moon.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Trixie said, “with me in control.”

A harsh laugh suddenly filled the air around us. A frigid breeze chilled us to our cores, and a fine, dark blue mist flew in, carried by the wind into a swirling column not far away from us. Trixie and I jumped back, taking defensive stances as we watched the cloud of magic congeal into the shape of a tall, regal Alicorn.

“Oh, I wouldn’t get my hopes up, if I were you,” she told us smugly.

“Nightmare Moon!” Trixie gasped. Her ears folded back, and she trembled slightly, but she managed to hold her ground. “W-We’re here to stop you!”

“Oh, are you, now?” Nightmare Moon laughed at us again. “And just how do you intend to do that? I don’t even know who you are, and even the great Celestia needed all six elements to stop me! What hope do you have?”

“She did?” Trixie faltered for a moment, but shook her head and set her sights back on Nightmare Moon a moment later. “Well, who cares what Celestia did? Now, you’re dealing with Trixie, and as great as Celestia may be, Trixie is great and powerful!”

Nightmare Moon let out the loudest cackle yet, a booming noise that vibrated down to my bones. “Well, then, give it your best—”

Trixie had gone red in the face, frustrated by Nightmare Moon’s mocking, and cut her off with a sharp blast of magic from her horn. It smacked harmlessly into the Alicorn’s side, dissipating like a puff of air into nothingness.

“Please, I said your best,” Nightmare Moon teased, “not your weakest.

“W-What?” Trixie stumbled back a step. “Starfall! I thought the Elements were supposed to make us stronger!”

“No, they have their own magic,” I told her. I held my hoof up and pointed it towards Nightmare Moon, then nodded at Trixie. “Try, like, shooting a beam out of yours or something.”

Trixie copied my movement, and we both concentrated as hard as we could. For a brief, terrifying moment, nothing happened, but then there was a flash of light, and matching bursts of rainbow magic flowed out of both of our Elements. The streams mixed together in the air as they flew at Nightmare Moon, and struck a blow right in the center of her chest, sending her flying backwards.

Nightmare Moon was able to flap her wings and catch herself midair before she hit the ground, but the scowl on her face made it clear that we’d gotten a good hit in. “You insolent whelps,” she growled, “you think you can stand up to me? Let me show you what real power is!”

Nightmare Moon’s horn started to glow with terrifyingly dark magic that swirled and coalesced into a quickly growing point at the tip. I felt fear and dread rattle me, and looked over to Trixie expecting to see the same, but she actually looked smug. Apparently, that hit had reignited her confidence, because instead of worrying about Nightmare Moon’s attack, she just raised her hoof and fired off another blast of her own.

“Trixie, no!” I shouted, and tackled her with all my might, sending us sliding across the harsh stone floor. At the same instant, Nightmare Moon let out her own magic, shooting out a razor-thin stream of power that effortlessly sliced through the current of rainbow energy. We just barely managed to get out of the way before the attack struck the spot Trixie had been standing, exploding the ground and sending a hail of stones all across the room that sliced into us as we hunkered down.

“Huh?” The color drained from Trixie’s face as she saw the crater centered at the spot she’d just been standing. “But how? The Element…”

Nightmare Moon cackled again. “What do you think a measly little strike from a single Element is going to do? It took all the might of the two of you to even knock me back! Face it, you fools have doomed yourselves by standing against me!”

“But, no, I—” Trixie stammered, at a loss for words.

I sighed and shook my head. “I think she might be right, Trixie,” I said. “Two Elements just isn’t strong enough to stop her.”

“So, what, you’re just going to give up?” Trixie replied. “I’m supposed to be the hero!”

“Well, maybe you can’t be the hero,” I told her, unable to keep the frustration out of my voice. “Maybe we’re just not good enough!”

“No, I refuse!” Trixie pushed herself back to her feet and jabbed her hoof towards Nightmare Moon. “I’m going to stop you!”

Please,” Nightmare Moon said with a wicked smirk as she landed gingerly back on the ground, “what do you intend to do? Really, girl, come to your senses. I like your attitude. Give up now, and maybe I’ll even give you a job!” She cackled again, delighted at being so in control.

“Yeah, right,” Trixie said. “My Element’s not enough, huh? Well then, we just need more!”

Trixie lit up her horn, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the dormant Elements lift up off of the ground and float over to her. Carefully, she lined it up in front of her hoof, then fired another blast straight through the hunk of stone.

The Element shattered in an explosion of power, sending me and Trixie flying back into the wall behind us. The rainbow beam, however, didn’t stop. In fact, it got bigger. Much bigger. It exploded out into a laser bigger than Nightmare Moon herself, and engulfed her in radiant magic before she had a chance to evade it. She yelped as she was hit, and a moment later there was a thud as she hit the far wall and crumpled to the ground.

For a long moment, I was too dazed to do anything. My ears were ringing, I was too dizzy to stand, and bright sparks exploded in my vision. It soon passed though, and I was able to push myself to my hooves. To my side, I saw Trixie doing the same, and together we looked at the aftermath to see—

What?

Nightmare Moon lay in a heap on the far side of the room, slowly recovering, but she was… Different. The magic had affected her somehow, and now she was smaller, younger-looking. In fact, she looked to be about the same size as us.

For a moment, I thought we’d won, that Princess Luna was back, but that passed when the pony finally pushed herself up and shot an icy glare at us. The pure, unrestrained malice in her eyes made it undeniably clear that this was still Nightmare Moon.

We all stared each other down for a minute. Before any of us could make a move, though, we suddenly heard voices echoing through the halls.

“Twilight’s here,” I said.

“No!” Trixie growled. “If she shows up, she’ll steal all the credit! And after we have Nightmare Moon on the ropes, too!”

“You wish,” Nightmare Moon shouted. Her voice was changed, much higher and lighter, but it still had an edge of malice to it. “Go ahead, let your friends come, I’ll take you all out!”

“She’s not my friend!” Trixie snapped back. “Ugh, Starfall, what do we do now?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think we can stop her from showing up at this point.”

Trixie grumbled. “Well, then… We’ll just have to stop her from winning!”

“Trixie,” I warned, “you’re starting to sound like a villain.”

“I’m not gonna fight her!” Trixie argued. “I just figured we’d take the elements and run! Twilight can’t win without them, right?”

“If we don’t stop Nightmare Moon, she’ll take over Equestria,” I told her.

“Like that?” Trixie said, gesturing towards Nightmare Moon. “I mean, look!” She shot another beam of magic out of her Element, and it easily knocked Nightmare Moon onto her side. “See? We weakened her enough to stop her for now. We can finish the job later, right?”

The voices were almost on top of us now.

“I don’t know, Trixie, I really don’t think a good guy would—”

“Whatever! Too late!” Trixie huffed and, without letting me get another word in, scooped me and the remaining three elements up with her magic and ran into the hallway, leaving a bewildered Nightmare Moon behind. It took a few extra minutes to get out of the castle, with Trixie carrying me and avoiding Twilight, but soon we were outside and walking back towards the Everfree Forest.

“I really don’t like this,” I told Trixie. She’d let me down, so I was walking by her side as we talked. “We can’t just let bad guys go! That’s not what heroes do!”

“Says who?” Trixie replied. “I’m a hero, and I did it, so clearly it is what heroes do. And you saw how much we weakened her! We have plenty of time to track her down before she hurts anypony.”

“Trixie, come on. You have to see how you messed up, right?” I asked. “You helped her get away! We might as well have just teamed up with her right there!”

“Ooh, was that an invitation?”

Trixie and I stopped in our tracks as the voice floated through the air around us. That deathly-cold breeze ran through me again, and suddenly there was a column of mist swirling around in front of us.

When she finally materialized, a wicked smirk sliced across Nightmare Moon’s face. Up close now, I could see that she did indeed look to be about our age, with her starry mane flowing just past her shoulders.

I couldn’t pay attention to any of that, though, because of the other thing I could see now that she was closer.

Thin gold bands were wrapped around Nightmare Moon’s leg, and at her hoof was a gem in the shape of the moon.

She had one of the Elements.