Why Did I Choose to be Trixie?

by Mike the Red

Should I Kill Them All?

"Should we still call you Amethyst? Or Michael? Or is there another name you wish to be called?" asked Other Trixie as she and Twilight gazed at my new form in near wonderment.

"Trixie thinks he should use the stage name he gave himself -- Flaming Star!" my wife said almost angrily, contempt dripping from her words. The Sun Goddess chuckled at this.

"Yes, I have heard about his exploits in Las Pegasus," Celestia mused, giggling slightly. "Flaming Star sounds like a good name!" I groaned in response to this, and Luna chuckled as well.

"Flaming Star? Will you tell us about what happened in Las Pegasus?" Other Trixie grinned.

"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna hear all about it as well! Rarity told me some stuff, but left out all the juicy details! Come on, please? Huh? Huh?" the pink pony asked excitedly.

"Trixie knows, but she's not going to tell anypony," my wife stated flatly.

"What happens in Las Pegasus STAYS in Las Pegasus," I growled.

"I suggest you travel to the other universe and resolve the issue at hand, Flaming Star. Trixie and Twilight are counting on you, and we've wasted enough time as it is. Luna, we should return to the Castle now," the Solar Princess announced firmly.

"Very well then, Celestia. Twilight, Trixie, please allow me to teleport us to your universe," I said solemnly.

"Hurry back ... Flaming Star," my wife said sullenly.

I wrapped my wings around the co-librarians and teleported the three of us to the alternate universe Ponyville, in front of the Library once again. It was night-time here, which meant finding the changeling army and their Queen might prove difficult.

"Shall we meet with your Princess?" I asked.

"That sounds like a good idea," Trixie mused. "I really wish you'd stay here -- sometimes I get pretty lonely, and Twilight doesn't always want to share my bed."

"That's because Trixie snores too loudly sometimes," the lavender mare giggled. "I tried using a silencing spell on her once, but had to cancel it out when she stopped breathing."

"Okay, let's go to the Castle," I said, wrapping my wings around the two unicorns and teleporting again, landing in the throne room, which was empty. Another teleport took us to Celestia's bedchamber, where the Alicorn was sleeping.

"Princess Celestia -- your Majesty," I stated loud enough to wake her.

"Who is there?" she asked, turning over to see who had interrupted her slumber. "Michael? I was hoping you'd come. We have been beset by Chrysalis and her army once again -- normally it wouldn't be much trouble for me, but with my duties raising and lowering both Sun and Moon, I'm too tired to do much else. Your arrival is truly a blessing, so please address the problem with as much expediency as possible."

"The last time I encountered them, I promised total destruction of the changelings, ridding your planet of their parasitic existence," I stated flatly. "My question to you, Princess, is this: should I kill them all?"

"Michael, there are certain circumstances when restraint is the order of the day. Though the changelings represent a scourge, they do not deserve death. I would strongly request you refrain from killing them if you can help it."

"After defeating them once before, they returned. Nothing short of total annihilation will prevent them from making yet another return," I explained.

"We ponies are just and kind -- not ones to visit death upon others with wanton recklessness, regardless of the menace they present," the Sun Goddess stated. "Try to spare as many of them as possible. If some perish in your attempt to persuade Chrysalis to abandon her dream of conquest, I shall allow for such collateral damage, though I will be disappointed by actions that will lead to the death of even one changeling."

"I shall try to incapacitate them without resorting to killing them, your Majesty," I stated flatly. "I shall try to use as much restraint as possible."

"Do your best and hurry back as I would like to have words with you," she said softly and went back to sleep.

"Flaming Star, do you think you can defeat Chrysalis without killing a single changeling?" Trixie asked me.

"It will prove to be quite tricky, Trixie. Truthfully, I'm not really sure where to start."

"We should head back to the Library," Twilight offered. "Maybe the answers we need might be in a few books."

Once again I wrapped my wings around them and teleported back to the library. Trixie lit several lamps inside and Twilight checked the shelves for books, taking a few down with her telekinesis. One book detailed the history of the changelings, going back a couple of millennia or so. Another book detailed physiology of the creatures, strengths and weaknesses. Another went into the psychology of them. Taken together as a collective whole, I got a slightly better understanding, though I only skimmed through the books, as there wasn't really any time for digesting the contents in any great detail.

"I believe I might be able to frighten them off again, but I will need your help. Twilight, do you still have the voice box I gave you, the one you tinkered with? I would like to make a duplicate of that item and give it to Trixie. I am going to cast a glamour on the two of you, making you look like Alicorns. The voice boxes should be used to amplify your voices to make you sound like you're using the Royal Canterlot Voice to give the impression you're considerably more powerful than you are. If Chrysalis sees three Alicorns, she'll probably call off the attack and retreat once again," I stated optimistically.

The co-librarians giggled at the thought of being able to frighten the Changeling Queen and Twilight quickly fetched her little white box, hoofing it to me. I examined it closely and made a duplicate of it. The two unicorns placed the boxes on their necks and I cast the glamour spell on them, making Twilight look like much larger version of herself -- in fact, she looked an awful lot like a dark purple version of Nightmare Moon. I smiled at her, admiring her new look and showed her in a mirror her new appearance. She giggled like a little school filly, her voice being doubled by the box and sounding rather ominous. I made Trixie look a lot like Nightmare Moon as well, a sight which truly impressed her. She too giggled like mad upon seeing what changes I had made to her.

"Okay, ladies, it's time to scare some changelings out of their skins," I chuckled.