> Trixie's Redemption > by Jacob Applehoof > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie galloped through the forest, tears wetting the fur around her eyes. Her hooves ached and her leg was sore, but she pushed on, hoping to get as far from Ponyville as she could. "How dare they?" she yelled, not caring what could hear her, "how dare they question Trixie's power? Trixie is not some blank flank, she is the most powerful magician in all of Equestria. They will see...oh yes...they...will..." Her words were cut off just as quickly as the ground from under her hooves. The cyan mare tumbled head-over-hoof down the steep, rocky hill face, her vision blurring as she desperately channeled a crude, magic shield. Every weak spell that was cast was instantly shattered upon the rocks and vines as they ripped at her cape. Suddenly, Trixie's scream echoed through the forest as her hind hoof slammed roughly against a rock, the bone snapping like plywood. Trixie closed her eyes as she saw what was next, a free-fall of about fifty feet. Her stomach was tingling from altitude change as she weakly fumbled with her memory, trying to call upon some form of magic to save her, only to think of something to dull the pain. The sound of her own breath encapsulated her, sharply in and stuttering out. She yelled as she neared the ground, stars erupting as the shield shattered, the weak mare slipping into unconsciousness. The unicorn opened her eyes slowly, the moon still high in the sky. Trixie's vision was weak at best, but as she blinked, the ground became clearer. She tried to rise but found that only her front hooves would move. Her mind was in disarray but she slowly began remembering everything up to the fall, cringing as she re-lived the pain of her hind hoof snapping. She went to roll over, but found herself too weak, so she simply looked behind her at the mangled mess of limbs. Her hind leg bones had snapped upon impact, and the blood had dried, indicating that it had been at least an hour since her fall. She was glad unicorns have a naturally fast recovery procedure after major damage. Her body clotted her blood rather quickly, and because of all the magic flowing through the mare's body, she was immune to infection for the time being. Her magic didn't make her much less hurt, but for the time being, she felt minor pain. "Ah, shit...T...Trixie, what do you d...do now?" she murmured to herself, her voice peppered with a mild stutter. The pony's body was as crippled as it could be while still providing mobility, and she planned on using that to her advantage. She lifted herself up so she was putting pressure on her front hooves as she slowly began dragging herself forward. She was in the middle of nowhere, with trees and plants being the only landmarks. Since they were all the same to her, Trixie decided she had just better keep going at the snail's pace she was moving, and hope somepony would find her. She now had all the time she wanted to think...but Trixie had no desire to begin recalling past mistakes. Now that her anger had subsided, she was able to view her actions with more insight. "Well...Trixie supposes that she has been a bit...boastful...and maybe she shouldn't have lied." She looked down as she continued dragged herself along the rough forest floor, slowly losing energy as the realization hit her. "T...Trixie brought this upon herself...Trixie deserves this." She fell to the grass, breaking into heavy, stuttering breathing as she leaned back (Lyra style) against a tree. She hung her head and wept loudly, realizing her fate had been sealed. The mare shivered some as her mental uneasiness caused her to fire off a firework of magic into the sky, making her jump and whimper before falling to her side, holding herself as she looked up at her horn. There was a hairline fracture running vertically down its length from tip to base. It sparked as it went silent, no magic flowing through it as Trixie desperately tried to make it work. The mare cried heavily, her sides sore as pain slowly began coming back to her, causing her to cry out as her hind legs shot pain up her form."T...Twilight...that was your name wasn't it? The unicorn that bested me?" the unicorn whimpered, "Yes...your f...your friends called you by that name. Trixie is sorry, she didn't mean to question you...she...wants your... forgiveness." Trixie cried as she spoke to nothing, her eyes watering over with guilt and shame as she faded in and out of consciousness."Forgive Trixie, Twilight...forgive...forgive 'ME' Twilight...I...I'm sorry." She hadn't spoken in the first person in a long time, but she cared little about that...her life was over as the ghost image of Twilight faded away. "TWILIGHT!!!" she called out, reaching forward and hearing her bones crack as they adjusted to the movement, making Trixie howl in pain. Tears streamed down her face as she dug her hooves into the grass, dragging herself forward, her hind legs sending out immense pain as she tried to move."F...forgive me...Twilight..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A fixed smile greeted Trixie as she woke up. Her body tingled as she tried to move, soon finding that her lower half was immobile. The mare staring at her gave a light squeal of happiness before fleeing the room, leaving a confused, cyan mare confused in the sterile room. Trixie finally had time to take in the situation. She was in a type of hospital, everything around her was bright and clean. She took the small cover off of her and noticed an impenetrable magical force field was snug around her waist. She laid back down, sighing as she waiting, nothing to do but stay put and wait for someone to explain what happened. Almost like an answer to her request, the clopping of hooves made Trixie's ears tilt. She wasn't in the mood to listen to another squealing nurse, so she simply kept her head against the pillow, fixing her sights on a tile of the ceiling before a light blue alicorn came into view, making Trixie bounce up immediately. "PRINCESS LUNA!? Wha...wha...how did Trixie...erm...how did I get here?" She stammered, trying to speak before Luna raised her hoof to silence the mare. "You may calm down Trixie, or should I say, The Great and Powerful Trixie? You seemed pretty set on calling yourself that before fleeing Ponyville." She smirked. "I...um...it's just Trixie" she said with a light blush, hoping everypony would have just magically forgot about that overnight. "How did I get here? I was against a tree and...wait...how do you know I was in Ponyville?" "Well...Twilight of course." Trixie's face went as pale as it could after hearing that name, making her face expressionless as Luna spoke. "Twilight is Princess Celestia's protegee, she sent a note about you and the actions that occurred just after you fled. I read it last night before I saw your magical discharge, and from what I heard as I approached you, you seem quite guilty. Care to explain?" The alicorn looked down at Trixie with a mix of a demanding posture and genuine curiosity. Trixie made an effort not to blush in embarrassment as her secret was found out, but swallowed her pride and spoke regardless. "A...after I fell, I was able to think with a clear head. I realized that I was my own downfall. I didn't care about anything other than that...and strangely enough...all I cared about was the fact that I made myself look like a fool in front of that purple Unicorn..." she paused as Luna gave Trixie a devious grin, making the unicorn blush a deep shade of red."I DON'T LIKE HER OR ANYTHING...I...I...respect her...yea." She looked away and tried to be subtle about her blushing. "Well..." Luna blurted out to break the silence, staying as composed as before "Your legs will be healed in a few days if you're patient...and then I wish to know something" she added. Her words trailed off as she thought, the alicorn attempting to compose her words in a most opportune fashion."I sense your willingness to learn magic and become a better mare, and as such, I wish for you to remain here in Canterlot and be my personal Protégée. You would be like my assistant...except more of a student as I watch you grow. It worked wonders on Twilight, and if you will accept, then we can begin." Trixie's eyes lit up as if she had been electrocuted, her hooves shivering as she was computing exactly what Luna was proposing. Teach? Teach me? Oh yes yes yes she thought. If she hadn't been bound by her lower half, Trixie would have skyrocketed into the Princess' grasp."Oh yes Princess, anything for you" she said eagerly. "Well then rest up...come visit us in our room when you heal, we will tell the guards to let you in...and here...for your other injury" she said as she trotted over, kissing the tip of Trixie's horn. The cracks lit up bright and Trixie gasped as she watched the horn become fully mended. A gentle hiss escaped as the crack forced air out of itself as it sealed from the inside-out. Trixie looked to Luna, but the regal mare was gone. She was in disbelief as she simply lied back and shut her eyes...again...ready to think. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The wait was excruciating, almost as bad as the fall. Trixie had to remain still? When her world was changing, she had to remain in bed!? From popping spit bubbles to testing her horn on the IV drip, she took a surprisingly dark pleasure with cutting off her own IV drip for a few moments. It was stupid, but she was a stupid mare when she was bored. Two days passed until Trixie had been deemed healed. She stretched as she entered the royal library, immediately struck with a stray book. Pulling it from her horn, she yelped as she was clocked in the chin with a heavy scroll, then another! The mare ducked like she was in the middle of a war-zone, books being flung at her from the center of the room until she heard a familiar vocal tone. "AH...Mastery of Magic, Volume 134, there you are" Luna exclaimed with vigor, levitating a book and stopping her search as she looked over at the pile of books near the entrance. As she blinked, Luna noticed that the pile had a familiar looking magic hat on top. "Oh my, Trixie...are you alright?" As she used her magic to separate the books, the unicorn underneath poked her head up like a spring. "I'm good" she yipped, hopping up from the pile and sitting in front of the alicorn, smiling wide as she waited for instructions. Luna tilted her head, prodding the pony idly as Trixie twitched."No really" she protested,"I'm fine. Just...uh...gotta remember not to 'hit the books' quite so hard." The rest of Trixie's day was spent reading and refining her magic. Every few hours, Luna would smile as she walked by, seeing the mare hard at work with slightly more advanced magic each time. Trixie was never bad at performing magic, but her stubborn attitude made her look down on basic spells. She only perform difficult castings early on. Since she had seen her actions that night, the unicorn was slowly becoming much more powerful than many at Ponyville would have thought. Day-after-day, Luna noticed her protégée growing more adept at controlling her magic, as well as the magic of humility. Her boastful, aggressive attitude had been adequately tempered by Luna's presence, perhaps signifying Trixie's need to be noticed countering her worry of insulting such royalty. Nevertheless, the mare was hot on her way to controlling both mind and tongue, as Luna was quick to find out. It had been after a week of studying, vigorous training, and self teaching populating her schedule, that Luna patiently stepped though the arch leading into the library. Trixie shot to attention and bowed, making Luna smile lightly as she realized that her protegee had learned respect so very quickly. "Trixie...it is time to show me what you have learned" the night princess told her, leading Trixie into a courtyard. Aside from a few benches and shrubs, there lay a small fountain nearby. The breeze flowed lightly through the unicorn's mane as she breathed calmly, gulping. "I have not given any direction...and have allowed you to learn what you think is inside of your boundaries...so...show me what you have learned." As the alicorn retreated behind Trixie, she sat and patiently waited as the blue unicorn called upon her magic. She lowered herself to the ground slightly as her horn lit up, causing a small stream of water from the fountain to to curve and bend towards them. Trixie gave a light smile as she levitated the liquid around their heads and back into the fountain, creating a light sigh from Luna. Trixie's heart sunk at that reaction, her chin shivering lightly as the water returned, and her gaze returned to her teacher. "That is it? If I had known..." she stopped speaking as the ground began shaking. She turned to Trixie, who had a fixed smile on her face as the grass separated beneath Luna's hooves slightly. Water began floating into the sky above them. It just grew and grew before a ball of water the size of a one-story cot was floating over them. Trixie's soft grunts showed the exertion of her magic, the sparks and sizzling from her horn displaying the pool of magic draining faster than it was rejuvenating. Luna was slightly slack-jawed at the ruse her pupil had pulled. . .until it got better. Trixie had made the water come back down in raindrops, and while Luna would have deemed the act a pass from this alone, she realized what Trixie had actually done. The alicorn noticed that each raindrop was shaped like a star, exploding into tiny shooting stars upon hitting the ground. It had turned into a downpour of star-shaped rain as Trixie smiled weakly to Luna. "D...did I pass?" Trixie felt her belly cramp and squeeze as she looked upon the mare, who's stern expression drained from her face as fast as the blood had moments before. "Trixie...you have passed this test" Luna beamed,"...with flying colors." The alicorn grinned wide as Trixie galloped over and hugged her. "I am very proud of you...you have learned quickly, especially with barely any levitation skill to start with." She brought the unicorn back inside, where a magical barrier, set up by Luna as she congratulated the unicorn, dried the two as they trotted back to the library."Alright my pupil, next I want you to..." She was cut off by a loud clang behind her, making them both spin and look to the culprit. Trixie gasped lightly and hid behind Luna as they stared upon Twilight Sparkle, who had accidentally bumped a bronze jar. "Oh dear...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt." She had a blush on her face as she stuttered through her words. "I...um...well ya see, Princess Celestia asked me to retrieve the book Advanced Levitation, and said I should come in here to retrieve it." Looking over to Trixie, Luna's face made a sly smile before returning to her usual poker-face."Yes...I think I needed to see that book as well. Wait here with Trixie...I shall take the book to my sister." She levitated the tome and galloped off, leaving the nervous unicorns blushing lightly as they stared at each other. "T...Trixie, you know Princess Luna? I'm impressed, I thought you didn't need friends..." Twilight smiled, inching forward as she grinned. She was never one to hold a grudge, so being as chipper as she is to many wasn't too much of a surprise. Trixie's breathing was shallow and weak as she thought of a reason to explain her situation. She assumed that Oh Twilight, I begged for your forgiveness as I bled out in a forest might not be the best answer."I...I suppose i just saw what I was doing wrong" she finally blurted out in a timid tone,"...and Luna is teaching me how to be a better unicorn." "Well...she's doing a great job...I saw your spell outside and it was amazing. You're really progressing well" Twilight added, smirking softly. Trixie began to respond in kind before Luna trotted playfully back in, smiling in hopes the two unicorns were getting better acquainted. The princess was well aware of Trixie's feelings, and her smile drained as the two were quietly seated on the floor of the library, their heads turned slightly away from each other and both with a noticeable tint of red shining subtly through the fur on their cheeks. "Well...Twilight, what are you and Celestia doing with the levitation spell book? I hope it is something special." Luna spoke with half fake enthusiasm, trying to get the two mares talking again. "Well...Princess, she didn't actually tell me, I think it was just a task she had me do while I was here telling her about my progress on friendship...and come to think of it...i really must be going. It was nice meeting you again Trixie...um...take care." Twilight went to make her exit before Luna galloped to stop her suddenly, Trixie being levitated behind her and placed directly next to Twilight. "N...NO" Luna blurted out, forgetting her royal manners and bringing Twilight to a startled stop. "D...don't leave yet, you...haven't spoken to Trixie about...um...about friendship, yea, and I'm sure she would love to hear about it." Twilight looked over at a blushing Trixie, slowly backing away. "I...um...really have to go..." Luna's eyes darted around the room as she halted the mares, worried that she'd lose a moment to bring the two together."AH....forget protocol" Luna yelled, her voice almost reaching Canterlock volume as she pressed her hoofs to both of the unicorns' horns, her own lighting up as she gave Twilight every moment of Trixie's memory from leaving Ponyville in tears of anger, to the fall, and then crying out to Twilight for forgiveness and passing out. Twilight shivered lightly, cringing as the pain was played back in full mental volume. As Luna withdrew her hooves, Twilight looked back to Trixie. Tears welled in the azure pony's eyes as she realized every word she spoke was now known to the one that was never meant to hear it. She began sobbing lightly as she galloped at full speed away to her private chambers, leaving drops of tears on the floor in a breadcrumb trail to her room. Trixie teleported through her bedroom door, tears running down her face as she levitated her possessions out of the shelves next to her bed and into a box. She angrily slammed the shelves closed as Luna teleported in behind her. "Trixie please, I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean to..." she was cut off by a crying unicorn slamming another shelve closed, looking into the alicorn's cyan blue irises. "YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO RUIN MY ONLY CHANCE AT LOVE?! How dare you? You think just because your royalty that you can toy with others and do as you please, well Trixie will NOT stand for it." Trixie slowly trotted closer to the alicorn, making the royal equine reel backwards, almost fearful of the blue unicorn. "T...Trixie...your speaking in third person...please...stop this..." she tried to continue, but was stopped by Trixie's aggressive advances. "STOP!? You toy with my memories and show the only mare I could ever love my thoughts...and YOU want ME to back off?" she angrily kicked the wall, practically foaming from the mouth."I'm not a damn filly, and I will not let you toy with me any further. You...you're a monster." Trixie slowly lost the rage swelling inside of her as a realization kicked in."And now...Twilight will never care about me. She knows everything; she knows how I feel and that I am not worthy of her." The mare slumped against the foot of the bed, sliding down it as her pants became stuttering and weak She then began crying again as her magic stopped levitating the box of items, making a few glass orbs shatter as the paper crate collided with the hardwood floor. Shivering lightly, Trixie grabbed the bedpost closest to her and slipped weakly onto the bed, groaning from exhaustion."I wanted to go slowly...I didn't need to rush...but you just had to...to ruin this. Now I've lost my chances...WHY WOULD YOU...." she couldn't speak any more as she curled into a ball on her bed, tears running down her crimson, blushing face. Luna could only shrink down, ashamed that she had let her own emotions affect another pony's life, maybe two. "Trixie...I'm so sorry...please..." Her words are met with a weak panting, stuttering heavily through the tears and knots in her throat as Trixie just blocks her out. "I...I'm not leaving...not like this." Luna weakly stutters out, crawling over the unicorn and hugging her tightly. Trixie tries to resist, muffled protests soon silenced as she feels the alicorn's wings wrap around her and encase her loosely in warmth before the princess backed up and starred, pitying the poor unicorn. Her heart was broken. She knew Twilight was a sweet, harmless soul who just wanted good things...and it made Trixie happy to think she could ever get with such a beautiful personality. Through the week of training her magic, she had secretly read the past notes Twilight has sent. She read every one, more and more interested as time went on. She learned so much about the purple pony, and began drawing closer to her. When the events transpired the way that they did, Trixie didn't cry from the invasion of privacy, she cried because she knew Twilight wouldn't feel the same way. Outside Trixie's door sat the purple unicorn, a single tear running down her face as she listen. She wearily withdrew and headed towards the channeling bay (a hub where unicorns could use the raw power of the room to enhance teleportation) to get home. With a flash, she was back. Her face was pale with a mass conflagration of ideas was mentally burning down her subconscious. She needed to get home to her library, and fast. She was too weak from the large-scale teleporting she had just done, so she simply walked home, heading inside and falling to her bed. As she laid on her back, the memories from Trixie's mind and her own slowly categorized themselves, ending up making Twilight scream in frustration. I sorted this out she thought to herself. I was contempt knowing Trixie was just jealous...or just a showoff. Why does she have to desire me? She knew why, the memories weren't riddles. She simply didn't want to realize it. It slowly clicked that the cyan unicorn not only respected and admired her, but wanted to be serious. It was then that Twilight pulled out a small cube, no bigger than a shoe box, and opened it. Inside was the tattered remains of a cape. It wasn't any cape, but the replacement of the one Trixie always wore. When the Ursa Minor destroyed Trixie's caravan of sorts, many of her spare clothes and belongings were destroyed. One of the only surviving item was a wrecked, dirty cape. It was nearly identical to the one Trixie wore when she fled town, and when Twilight saw it, she felt the need to keep it in case Trixie returned to apologize. As she sat in bed, holding the cape with her hooves, she softly hugged it. Another tear went down her face as she remembered the cyan unicorn's feelings towards her again. She didn't know what to do, but she had to do something. She took a book from next to her bed and brought it downstairs into the main level, putting it on the shelf and grabbing a "Material Mending Manual" book from another section, bringing it to bed with her. She flipped through the pages, her horn lighting up slowly as she looked at the cape and sighed. "Well...guess this is it...have to start somewhere." > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie awoke to the smell of fruit. Groggily, she opened her eyes and cleared her throat, blinking and fixing her vision as she looked around. The room was full of food. Plates covered almost every surface, ranging from fruit to full meals sprawled across the bed and tables. As she looked around, a deep-blue mare sat at the end of the bed. A sudden double take confirmed her thoughts. "Luna...this won't make me forgive you" she said to the alicorn perched at the foot of the bed. The princess quickly lost the smile she had proudly worn, and lowered her head slightly."Listen, we...I know this won't make it all better, but I do not want you to feel as you were...not ever again. I am very sorry for what I did..." She looked away as Trixie kept her eyes on the alicorn. Shyly, the unicorn picked up a piece of grilled fruit from a plate near her, and softly popped it into her mouth, quietly, emitting a light "mmm". "I...um, I suppose you didn't mean it...I guess I cant hold a grudge." She lightly smiled, looking at Luna with as much forgiveness she could give with just a stare. Luna grinned some, sheepishly nodding. As the two finished breakfast and the many leftovers were gathered and dealt with, the two started towards the library. Luna was about to enter the archway before stopping promptly and emitting a quiet curse."Damn it. Trixie, I would love for you to learn under my guidance this afternoon, but Celestia spoke to me this morning and told me that she needed my assistance on royal matters...matters I am not allowed to disclose. I have asked a dear friend of mine to help me in instructing you. She is not very magically gifted, but she is good at teaching in general, so she will be able to instruct you on a more...theoretical way. She should be reading up on magic in the library now." The alicorn politely nodded, excusing herself to Celestia a few rooms away. As Trixie entered the room, a grey mare with a purple Treble Clef (musical note) as a cutie mark was reading to herself about basic magic. She flipped her black mane back, gazing at the unicorn as her eyes switched focus to the mare. "Ah, Trixie, is it?" She spoke in a eloquent, but short tone. It was clear she was good at whatever musical talent she had chosen (obvious due to her cutie mark) and wasn't one for excuses. She looked sternly at Trixie as she entered and immediately began speaking as the blue unicorn sat. "I am Octavia, and today I am going to assign you a task that requires a bit more skill than lifting water" she said with a smug sense of superiority."I did not become one of the best cello players in Equestria by learning and reaching simple goals. I am well aware that your over-confidence had once made you think that you could achieve the impossible, but that is what we shall do. You WILL learn advanced spells and you WILL succeed, but instead of flash and charm, your talents will speak for you...now choose a spell from this book and let us begin." She threw a large encyclopedia-sized book at the mare, who fell back as she grabbed it. "Well...I think...um...THIS ONE!" Trixie yelled excitedly after a minute of thinking. She held up the book and showed Octavia the spell she planed to undertake. "Really? Interesting. I've personally never seen this one before...it shall be interesting." Octavia said as she read the summary. "Mistaken identity. Hmm. The ability to change change a pony, regardless of type (earth,pegasi, or unicorn), to another type of pony. WARNING, does not allow them to become alicorns, and can be changed back at any time." Octavia thought for a moment."This is very advanced stuff Trixie...are you sure your ready for it? If not...there are other~" Instead of answering, the blue unicorn was off on the other side of the room, her muzzle pressed to an "Alteration for Quick Learners" book. Octavia sighed with a mild smile as she exited the room, blurting out "Oh, and that is forbidden magic...so don't use it without Luna's say so." Another week had passed, and yet again, Trixie was positive she had perfected her craft. She happily bounced to Octavia, who was in the music hall, when she was stopped by the sound of a cello. As she entered, she realized it was Octavia who was playing. The grey earth pony came to a quick stop as she heard Trixie enter, and quickly rushed to the unicorn. "lovely, your here. Now...let's go, Luna and Celestia are waiting in Ponyville and I will not make them wait." Trixie went stiff as Octavia spoke of Ponyville, then weakly trailed behind the mare, weakly whimpering as she hid her desire to refuse her teacher. She was deathly afraid of showing her face in that village, but refusing her teacher and disappointing Luna and Celestia would be worse, and she knew that. As the two entered the teleportation hub, Trixie let out a single gulp before the two were teleported to a field just south of Ponyville. As Trixie looked around, she noticed it was far enough away to be free of many of the ponies who had mocked her performance just a month ago. She let out a sigh as she looked and quickly spotted the two princess' sitting atop a large set of bleachers, alone. This confused the unicorn. Hmm...a test of Luna's pupal, and no one is watching? And seating is for at least a hundred. Something is very, very wrong here. "Princess Luna and Princess Celestia" Octavia called out,"today, Trixie shall wow us all with an amazing performance. Because this is Luna's student and protegee, I deemed it necessary to have her learn a very powerful, very dangerous spell, Mis-TAKEN Identity. With the Princess' approval, she will show us her magical talent." To this, both alicorns gave a light smile and nod, standing tall in the white bleachers, a pillow protecting their precious flanks. As Octavia finished, she walked to Trixie and nodded."Alright Trix, your up...show them what you can do." "B...but Octavia, I have nopony to use the spell on." Trixie blushed lightly as her stomach knotted. "Yes you do...it's me. Make me into a unicorn, I trust your skill." Octavia sighed lightly as she took a seat a few feet from the cyan unicorn. A powerful poker-face was the only expression she gave as she stood at attention. Trixie hastily placed a few rocks behind her hind hooves as if ready to begin a sprint, then lit her horn up and braced herself. It was a tasking spell, but nothing she wasn't prepared for. As the power shot from her horn in a blue burst, changing into a stream as it collided with the grey mare, Trixie yelped. Octavia was still as the magic worked its way up the mare's form, making her shiver slightly. Suddenly, a rush of hooves almost deafened her as Trixie looked right, her horn still pointed forward. Every pony in Ponyville, ground based and pegasi alike, flooded in. The earth ponies quickly filled the stands and the Pegasi rushed to push a cloud to a good point in order to watch. "Citizens of Ponyville" Celestia said as she stood and slowly descended the seating area,"this is Trixie...or as you know her, The Great and Powerful Trixie. She has made a mockery of your town before and now seeks to impress you. What do you all think about that?" The crowd was furious, booing her almost instantly as Celestia finished speaking, Luna's mouth open lightly as she was dumbstruck that her sister would do such a thing. Trixie was hit hard with both guilt and shame. She was embarrassed as the ponies yelled and cheered her imminent failure, chanting "Blank flank" as loud as they could. Trixie slowly lost her will, the words hitting her hard and making her slip lower and lower to the ground. Tears began welling in her eyes as she soon gave up, the magic cutting off and leaving Octavia a regular earth pony. Trixie shivered lightly as her tears bountifully hit the grass, soon making a puddle that the ground refused to absorb. Octavia was next to the unicorn in an instant, lifting her into a hug and cooing soft tones to calm the crying mare. All except for Twilight, who had arrived as soon as the booing began, Luna, who was slowly heading towards Trixie, and Celestia, who simply sat still and looked at the retreating audience, remained."Hmm...your pupal has much to learn" Celestia said with a cold voice."She will have to be punished for her...failure." "Sister...how could you? It has been not even a month and you toss my student into the manticore den? This is low for you..." Luna said, slightly disgusted as she looked to her sobbing protegee. "Luna, need I remind you what you had told me when Trixie first came to Canterlot Hospital? It was very clear that I test her as I pleased while following your guidelines, sister. You said to judge the event...and I simply added variables. She is not ready to be a student...she needs training. Twilight?" Celestia looked over at the bleachers, nodding at the purple unicorn to approach. Twilight was upset greatly from the display, a light sniffle rose as she sat in front of the white alicorn."Twilight, my wonderful student...it seems Trixie is not yet ready to be a proper student. She needs more training...and you will be the mare to do it." Both unicorns went wide-eyed, staring at Celestia."You shall teach her, and report and positive findings to me." "Y...yes princess....of course." Twilight quietly went to Trixie, helping her to her hooves and placing one of Trixie's hooves around her shoulders, helping the unicorn keep balance as they made there way to Twilight's home. "Um...Princess...that was very harsh...even for me" Octavia blurted out as she wiped her tears away. "Sometimes...a pony needs harsh lessons. Trust me." As the two made there way inside of the library, Trixie was panting lighter, able to move on her own as Twilight made her way upstairs with the unicorn. "Um...Trixie...about the magic Luna used...I'm not mad or anything...I'm actually...flattered that you would think so highly of me." She smiled lightly, helping Trixie into her own bed and levitating the covers on. Spike, almost instinctively burst open the door to the library and upstairs, coming to a quick halt as she saw Trixie."Hey...what's she doing here? I was at Rarity's when I head noise and grumbles about her. Why is she back here, wasn't she laughed outta town a month ago?" "SPIKE! Is there a reason your up here?" Twilight said harshly. "Geez, sorry, didn't know you care so much about...wait...were you two..." Spike takes his claws and holds out two fingers on each hand, roughly connecting them so they slip into each other perfectly. He makes a small grin as he slams the digets against each other roughly. "SPIKE!!!" "Sorry...Celestia sent you a note...and said it was for 'her' eyes only" he blurts out, jabbing a finger to Trixie who was both wide-eyed and blushing as she watched Spike's finger performance."And by the way...Twi...you could do better..." He bagain to speak again before he was flung down the staircase with a well placed kick with both of Twilight's hind hooves. Trixie ignored the possible domestic abuse case and went on to reading the note. Dear Trixie, I am well aware that you have much potential, and are more than capable of overcoming problems. I am also well aware of your attraction to my student. Please, for your sake, try to study while winning her over. This is almost like an apology for my sister's actions After reading this note, it will burst into flames. I will be seeing you soon, good luck and...have fun, Princess Celestia. PS, the note is now over. As she reads "over", the parchment instantly caught on fire and disintegrated into the wind. "Um...Trixie, you should get some rest out after that spell you performed. Oh...and before I forget...I think this is yours." Twilight lightly floats a box onto the mare's legs, opening it and laying the cape out, completely mended and fixed except for a small tear at the corner."It...it was nearly gone when your caravan was crushed, but I wanted to make it better...kind of like a 'I'm sorry I indirectly caused you harm from fleeing the city' gift." Trixie gave a smile as she examined the cape, her eyes glistening as she took the cape into her front hooves, laying back and letting out a quiet sigh. "T...thank you Twilight...you don't know how much I love it..." Trixie then closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, hearts filling her dreams as a picture of Twilight flooded her subconscious. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slowly yawning herself awake, Trixie stretched and made a quiet "meh" as she looked at the rising sun. She was cotton-mouthed as she descended the stairs, her hooves making loud clacking noises against the wooden floor. As if by instinct, Trixie grabbed an alteration spell book and began reading. She had read before eating ever since Luna had given Trixie her first assignment. It was now second nature as she rolled onto her back, the book levitating over her face as she rested her head against her hooves. The mare almost dropped the book onto her face (from lack of concentration) as Twilight yawned behind her, slowly rising from a stack of books she had fallen asleep on. "Oh...Trixie, you're up?" Twilight rubbed her eyes softly, not expecting the unicorn to actually be taking her studies seriously. "Mmm hmm, I am not as lost to the magical arts as Princess Celestia may have implied. I simply...am not used to distractions" Trixie admitted with a half sigh, but kept her pleasant tone as she used the spell book to cover her face again. "you didn't have to sleep down here you know...your bed may be small, but I would have liked the...erm...company." Trixie lightly blushed as she struggled to find something to do, setting the book down and heading into the kitchen.  Twilight sat still where she had slept, extremely surprised that the Cyan unicorn had offered so generosity. While she knew the mare had feelings for her, she was unprepared for the personality change."Um...Trixie...can we talk?" Twilight called to the kitchen, where the unicorn practically bounced towards Twilight, levitating a large salad with some chopped fruit mixed in. "Oh...sure." Trixie said as she floated a few bits of the salad into her own mouth, chewing happily as she smiled."Well, help yourself to some, it's from your kitchen after all." The unicorn smiled as she wore a coy grin, levitating a strawberry to Twilight's muzzle and wiggling it there as the purple unicorn was quiet again, paralyzed with surprise."Come on...Luna always says that breakfast is important to the learning process...are you gonna make me do choo-choo noises?" Twilight's mind had officially exploded. Trixie had never spoken like this to Twilight's knowledge, nor had she been so kind and caring; her offering of such trivial things was mind boggling to the intelligent pony."Um...o...k..." Twilight was able to stutter out, opening her mouth as Trixie magically stuffed her mouth with the strawberry."Mrrf!" "Um...I put some honey on it...if that's ok...Luna showed me alot about basic things while I taught under her briefly. Can you imagine that I used to be too good for something as simple as a smile?" Trixie giggled lightly. She had butterflies in her stomach as she spoke, trying not to stare at Twilight as she talked to the mare."Um...before I forget, thanks." "Thanks for what?" "For the cape...it is...um, was my mother's. She was a skilled mage, and I learned alot from her. Sadly, it was mostly her mannerisms that I inherited. She was very cruel, often teasing me about my magical ability and making me feel, well, lousy." Trixie looked away, her face filled with reflection and sorrow before slowly looking back."I...I'm sorry, it's just that this is all that is left of her...after the accident. I, um..." She slowly teared up, but only a single tear slid down her cheek as she pushed the salad aside and hugged Twilight."Thank you." The violet pony felt horrible. Her words were nonexistent due to how fast her brain was working, and she could only hug back, stroking Trixie's light hair. If her mind wasn't in melt down before, it had gone nuclear by the time Trixie had begun the hug. Trixie hadn't been born evil, but had adopted her mother's harsh tone and behavior, becoming what she always wanted...a magician. Problem was, it came at the price of friendship and happiness. Twilight smile grew as she realized that in the forest where Trixie was hurt and called out for forgiveness, the mare was given that wish. Her mother's pain and influence had been destroyed as Trixie accepted her faults, something her mother had never done. In doing that, Trixie was given love in the form of Luna...and a reason to be happy. To both Twilight's fear and excitement, that reason was her. Twilight wanted to help Trixie, and knew the only way she could."Trixie?" Twilight said with a slight skip in her heart,"look at me..." Trixie obediently did as she was told, and was met with a smiling Twilight,"Um...yes Twilight?" She gulped lightly and bit her lip. "If your going to live in Ponyville, there is something that needs to be done first." "T...Twilight?" Twilight smiled as she leaned in and spoke into Trixie's ear,"Let's get you some friends." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two practically skipped to Sweet Apple Acres, humming lightly as they approached the large home and knocked. Trixie was behind Twilight, and was a little scared as the door opened."Hey Big Mac, is Applejack in there?" Twilight;s voice was cheerful, and not the least bit nervous. The tall, red stallion gave a single response,"Nope." "Oh...um...is she in the barn?" "Ee'yup" the large horse responded, a slight eyebrow raised as she looked at Trixie, but shrugged to himself and headed back inside as the two unicorns galloped away. As they reached the large barn, a noticeable CRASH emanated from inside, to which both sprinted inside to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash upside down in different bales of hay. "What in tarnation were ya thinkin' Dash? Speed don't cut it on this farm, and throwin' all the hay into the air ain't efficient" AJ yelled out, yanking Dash to her feet. "Well excuuuuussssee me, but this is totally boring. Pegasi are not made for working, we're made for showing off and bein' awe-some" the cyan Pegasus blurted out, enunciating awesome as she lazily laid back onto a pile of hay. Applejack was mid-way to fighting with the other about work ethics when they both of them looked over and notice Twilight. After a quick hello, Twilight silenced them both, pointing to the door as Trixie entered. She hesitantly sat behind Twilight, who became a wall between two increasingly angry ponies and Trixie. "Twilight...what the hay is she doing here?" Dash asked, practically growling. "YEA...she starting and more trouble?" Dash lowered, tilting her head towards the unicorns as she strafed side to side. "Listen girls, Trixie is Luna's new student, and Celestia thought it would be good if I taught her what I know about friendship, so...she wants a chance." "Twilight...there aint no buckin' way that ah'm trusting that...THING...and nothing you can do will convince me." Applejack said harshly, turned away. The earth pony was not known to be forgiving, or willing to hide her feelings. Dash sighed, flying to Twilight and pulling her aside. "Ya seriously trust her? She was terrible to you a month ago, this is just...unlike you" the Pegasus announced bluntly, flipping into the air and looking at Twi curiously, thinning her gaze as her eyes flipped to the semi-cowering Trixie. "Dash, I know how you feel, but..well, Luna showed me what happened when Trixie left...and...the proof is pretty solid." Twilight looked over, taking Trixie's hoof into her own and raising her voice so all three could hear her."You can believe her or not, but I do...and if it means anything...then...I consider her a GOOD friend." She yanked the cyan mare close, turning away and about to walk out before Dash trotted in-front of them. With a nervous glance, the pegasus bounded ahead of the two, stopping them."W...wait...if Twilight says you've changed...then I guess I shouldn't judge you for one bad encounter." Dash gave a light smile, offering a hoof that Trixie gladly met with her own. "You...mean that?" Trixie questioned, her tone slightly more hopeful and cheery. No doubt she didn't expect such pleasantries from the Pegasus, so the action startled her, if for nothing else. "Ah don't believe this act for one gosh darn second. Can't ya see she's playin' y'all for fools?" AJ looked around, a deep scowl across her face, the orange mare hastily exiting the barn and heading home. Trixie felt another wave of guilt hit her hard as her ears drooped and she shivered in fear, a knot forming in her belly. Dash lightly glanced toward Trixie, a frown quickly growing to match Twilight's. "Gosh Twilight...you were right...she is different. No Trixie I saw would show THIS emotion..." Dash slowly dropped to her knees, lifting Trixie's head softly."Um...Trixie...buck it, come here." She slowly removed Trixie from Twilight's grasp and hugged her tightly. the unicorn was shivering, her mane drooped low and her eyes shut tight."Um...Twilight...let's take her home...I'll meet you there." Dash lifted Trixie off of the ground, hovering momentarily as she adjusted the unicorn, slipping Trixie onto her light frame and taking off. As she flew threw the window, Dash saw that Spike was asleep, mumbling quietly to himself. She quietly slipped upstairs and helped Trixie into bed. As the cyan unicorn looked at Dash, she was struck by something she hadn't expected, a most peculiar thought. Up to that point, Trixie only had eyes for Twilight because she was the one who embodied magical power and kindness, but as Trixie's rose colored eyes gazed into Dash's, both gleaming, she realized Twilight was not the only one who was amazing. Dash had all rights to drop Trixie and forget her apology, but instead, the Pegasus had helped her. She made Trixie feel better, and if that wasn't kindness, then she didn't know what was."Rainbow Dash...I...I want to show you something...something I've only let Twilight see...do you trust me?" "Well of course I trust you, I did help you out...and you don't seem like the mare you used to...so...yea." Dash beamed a confident smile before being pulled to the bed by Trixie's magic. She damned every deity, every spirit and element that she held respect for. For once, Trixie wanted to be spontaneous. She wanted to show Dash the same trust Luna believed Twilight deserved as she leaned forward carelessly. Their lips collided as Trixie shared the same memories with Dash as Luna had done with Twilight. Dash twitched, but relaxed instantly as the meld went on. As if alien in design, Dash's eyes were wide, her mind not used to thinking as heavily as Trixie's spell was forcing. The unicorn decided to add in one more moment, an epilogue of her memory thus far. Dash's face went wide-eyed even more than it had been as Trixie let the Pegasus into her mind, and gave her the revelation she had come to just seconds ago. The last thing Dash saw before the mind-link was done was a heart encompassing a mental picture of Dash, luscious rainbow mane flowing as she stood there, smiling. As the kiss ended, a light spark of magic arched on their slowly retreating lips. Dash was blushing deeply as Trixie just looked at her with worry. She feared she had made a mistake, being too forward about the new emotions she was feeling. Just then, Dash leaned in and gave another kiss, this time deeper as the two closed their eyes. Dash tilted her head slightly as she pressed in, a hoof grazing down the unicorn's cheek before the kiss was over. The cyan Pegasus was so confused. Trixie, the mare she thought she was suppose to hate with every fiber of her being, was reduced to a scared, harmless mare that only wanted to apologize for her actions. Dash was intrigued, never having thought about romance before that moment (at least, not as much as she was at that moment). Her tongue lashed out, slipping tenderly into Trixie's muzzle as they collided for the second time. Dash didn't know why, but she was compelled onward by the idea that if Trixie was different, maybe they wanted the same thing, love. The pegasus pulled away as her mental faculties came back fully, looking away with a deep blush. "Um.." Dash tried to gain composure, but failed miserably as she stumbled over her words,"I guess, I mean...I'll let you sleep...but...um...can we talk tomorrow? That was...kind of...well I just wanna talk about it is all...um, later." She busted out of the open window and slammed into a roof roughly, creating an audible "Damn it" as she flew off. Trixie was still afraid, and now had to deal with two mares who she cared for. It wouldn't be easy, but she was merely too exhausted to think anymore. The mare looked out at the sun as it slowly began setting. It must have been a quick day, unless somepony knew she was tired. She grinned at that chance as she quickly slipped into unconsciousness. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- During her slumber, Trixie could only replay the short time she had spent with Twilight and Dash. well... she thought to herself, Twilight is obviously very smart, and caring. She mended my mother's cape and gave me a place to rest. She definitely forgives me for what I've done, and even stood up for me. But...she may have only done that to be nice after what Luna had showed her. It's very likely that she was nice to me because she feels that I've made amends and she wants me to progress as a unicorn. She tossed and turned in bed, her mind now uneasy at the thought. And then there's Rainbow Dash. Even though we had a falling out when we first met, she choose to forgive me. I don't know if Twilight would have forgiven me as quickly if not for Luna's mind link. Dash was even nice enough to fly me home after that orange pony insulted my good intentions. Then...the kiss. Excessive maybe, but if i wanted to test the water, that sure did it. Now that she knows as much as Twilight does, and I'm a little afraid of the effect it will have when I see her next. I...I really like her though, and...I think I like her more than... Her mind went blank as a loud shatter woke her up. She cringed as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunshine of morning, looking around to find the origin of the sound. Twilight had tripped on the top step of the staircase, and had dropped a bowl of fruit she was bringing to Trixie."Oh my gosh, Trixie, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She wore a deep blush across her face as she levitated the glass into the trash. Trixie just smiled as she shook her head, waking herself up and hopping down onto the floor. "Twilight, if I got mad at something so mundane as being woken up, I don't think I could do this" Trixie said as she hugged the other mare. Twilight let out a soft "aww" before hugging back, grouping together the assorted fruit and floating them to the sink to wash them off downstairs. "Well Trixie, I want to make sure you're ready, and you will need to be better acquainted in Ponyville. I have some assignments I need to sort out for you, so go out and make yourself familiar with the area. You have all day...so maybe talk to some of my friends...Rainbow Dash can show you." "Oh, really, she would do that for me?" Trixie's eyes lit up as she ate a few pieces of fruit. "Of course, she came by early this morning and told me to tell you to meet her in the fields east of Sweet Apple Acres. She probably wants to get to know you...she smiled when she talked, and that usually means she's exited." Trixie smiled wide and excitedly galloped out of the library and towards the field. After a few minutes, she noticed a small river flowing in the middle of a small field. To the west was the apple fields of Sweet Apple acres, and to the north, south, and east was forest. In total, the open field was no more than half the size of Ponyville, with the river cutting it down the middle. The grass was green and vibrant, devoid of any rocks or weeds, and the only tall growth was a single tree that was on top of the only hill in the field. A basic oak tree, it was about two stories tall and half of its length was just it's wide trunk. Trixie didn't see Dash anywhere, and, assuming she was just flying somewhere, she slowly trotted to the tree and sat back (Lyra style), looking at the river quietly splash as the water hit various rocks as the water changed direction. She rested her head as the sun rose behind her, lightly jumping as the leaves of the trees shuffled. Trixie looked up, a familiar cyan Pegasus yelping as she dropped out of the tree, falling on her belly as an aqua-colored blanket draped over Trixie. "Huh..?" Dash looked oven and saw Trixie flail as the blanket landed on her. She giggled softly as she just watched, smiling as Trixie had an epic fight with the fiendish fabric. Trixie valiantly escaped the blanket's grasp and tossed it to Dash."Gah, dumb fabric." She smiled at Dash, trotting over and hugging her."What were you doing in that tree?" Dash's face went crimson as she smiled."Um...obviously training...um...yea...stretching my wings and...erm...Pegasus stuff, high risk Pegasus" her words were cut off with a pillow landing bluntly onto her head, making her hooves and wings flail about as she fell. She tossed the pillow at the tree and just sat on the grass looking up at the smirking unicorn."Fine...I was napping, but...trees are nice to sleep in...and I was bored." She pouted before Trixie just started laughing, sitting face-to-face with Dash as she wore a wide smile. "Alright...I assume you have something to say, so you may want to start...now that I'm here." Dash went into a deep crimson blush as she looked down."Well...when you showed me your memories, and what you said, I kind of had a lot to think about. I never pegged you as somepony who had the feelings that you showed me, and...well, I like you, ok?" The Pegasus bit her lip, sighing as she turned aside."When we first met a month ago, I hated the way you acted...but...I was kind of..." she clicked her hooves together as she stumbled over her words."I thought you were pretty, okay? Everyone here is alright, but I just...there was a bit of a spark when I saw you...and I was actually kind of sad when you left. Heck, I even tried to chase after you, but Twilight insisted that I shouldn't." Trixie fought back a tear as she was hit with the confessions. If Dash hadn't been stopped by Twilight, she may have never been hurt. She wished the thoughts away and looked into Dash's Rose irises."Rainbow...what are you getting at?" Trixie's ears drooped as she was spoken to, fighting back a smile with such a serious expression shone by the other. "I...I'm bad at admitting stuff like this...but when we kissed last night...I...I didn't want it to stop." Dash's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke,"I wanted to press you to your bed and just...love you...because...I...I think I love you Trixie." She gulped as she let her emotions pour out."I felt such an attraction to you, and I know we haven't been friends for long, but please...give me a chance...I want us to be...together, er something." Dash's wings were spread wide in excitement as she spoke, but slowly drooped as she looked at Trixie. The unicorn had heard everything she wanted, but she was in shock, her belly knotted in so many areas that she almost felt sick. Dash just looked down, her ears lowering."Oh...you don't feel the same way, do you? I...I'm sorry." She teared up as her wings extended and she began turning around."W...whatever, I guess" she said, sniffled whimpers making her voice crack as she built up speed, dirt kicking up as she went to take off. Trixie didn't know what to do. She had so much affection for Dash, but wasn't sure if she was over Twilight. As the Pegasus sped up, Trixie's mind snapped to an image of her and Dash sitting alone against a tree. Dash's wings lovingly draped over Trixie as they rubbed their noses together, the sun setting as Dash pulled Trixie into a deep kiss. Trixie quickly was tearing up as she went into a full sprint after Dash, calling out to her as the Pegasus lifted off."DASH...WAIT...NOOO" was all she could call out before a sonic rainboom exploded, sending the flying pony shooting off into the distance. Trixie tried using her magic, but nothing she could do helped. She just broke into tears as she turned tail and raced home. Bursting through the door, Trixie galloped into Twilight, crying into a hug as she wept heavily at the mare, trying to form words. She couldn't, so the next best thing was done. As she hugged the other unicorn, Trixie used her magic to translate everything. It wasn't a mind-link, but it was information about what happened."I...we need to find her...n...now. Please...I need to know she's safe." Twilight's heart dropped as she was given the information."You.....kissed Rainbow Dash?" The mare tilted her head, feeling a sinking dread."Well...um...I..."Twilight rushed upstairs and grabbed parchment, rapidly writing out a note with her magic and sending it away in a burst of energy."You...should have told me..." she whispered, making sure not to let the other notice. > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight returned with a frown, knowing Celestia and Luna were their only hope."Um... I sent a note to Celestia, and I hope they see it's urgency...I fear" her words are drowned out by a green flame flying through the window and turning into a parchment scroll, opening up and levitating. It was a map of Equestria, and there was a small rainbow dot a few miles from Ponyville. "D...Dash?" Twilight nodded. Trixie immediately grabbed a few items from the kitchen, stuffing them into a duffel bag and heading towards the door. "Alright...I'm going." She looked at Twilight as she began to protest, but Twilight caught on fast and just sighed, trotting over and yanking two pieces of hair from Trixie's mane."OW, why did you..." She looked at Twilight as she used her magic to light the hair on fire, seeing it transfer to the map as a smaller, red dot. If your going...I'll teleport you there...but...be careful. Dash doesn't go to many safe places..." Before Trixie could thank her, the mare had teleported the Trixie away, crashing head-first into a pile of snow. As she looked up, then back at the map, she sighed."Couldn't have made it easy I suppose." She grabbed the bad and looked for a climbable patch of snow as she began scaling the huge mountain that Dash had apparently been perched upon. The first half was easy, but the second half of the climb was terrible. Jagged rocks and icy walls blocked her at every turn, and she gained more than a few scratches and bruises. She was nearing the top when there was a large patch of elevated rock. She was forced to climb the monstrosity, slipping down just as she gained headway. It was at least half an hour before she made it to the top of the wall, taking out the small map and using her magic to zoom it in. She was very close, but she feared calling out to Dash would trigger an avalanche, so she just searched. Stupid... Trixie thought, whimpering as she shivered,why did I do this? I barely know the mare. Ohh.....but she's so cute...and she's so...caring. I know she wants the best for me, why did she leave? Why did I hesitate? CELESTIA DAMN IT, IT'S COLD! Her hooves sunk deep into the powdered snow as she went higher, every step harder than the next. As she slowly ascended the last bit of snow-covered rock, she found that she was alone at the top of the mountain. There was no sign of Dash, so she assumed the map was wrong, tossing it away and sighing sadly. She didn't want to, but at the same time, she felt she had to as she started back down the mountain. There was nothing up there for her, and she knew it was worthless to call out, but as she descended the first small wall of rock, she noticed a cave. It wasn't very big, but just big enough to house a cold Pegasus. As she entered, she realized that her horn had frozen solid, making it impossible for her to light up the cave. She knew it was to dangerous to go in there, so she resorted to her only other choice."Dash? Are you there?.........DAAAAASH?......" She let out a quiet whimper as she gave up hope, turning to leave as an icy wing draped over her form. She looked up and smiled as she saw the Pegasus pony, looking surprised at Trixie. "W...why are you here? Seemed pretty clear that you weren't interested...and I needed time to myself." She slowly looked the unicorn over, quickly realizing what she had done."Did you...scale this mountain to look for me? Dear Celestia, you look terrible." Trixie just looked at Dash with a fixed grin as the cyan Pegasus looked her over. Dash was in complete disarray, practically crying as she demanded answers, being met with a full smile from the unicorn. "Trixie, talk to me...what happened to you...why are you standing here? How did you find" her word turned to a muffle as Trixie pressed into Dash, kissing her deeply. After a short stumble, Dash just closed her eyes and let her wings spread wide with an audible "POMF". As Dash made advances into the kiss, Trixie was happy to oblige, leaning back and letting Dash press her to the ground, moaning happily as she wrapped her hind legs around the mare's midsection. The kiss ended with both of them panting heavily as the Pegasus leaned in and kissed Trixie's neck softly. "Oh Dash...I...I wanted us to be together...and if I wasn't so scared...I would have done this earlier...if I had the strength...but...I'm here, and I'm not losing you." She lifted Dash's head and lovingly rubbed noses with her,"will you be my marefriend?" "Trixie, oh Trixie, yes" was the only thing Dash said as she hugged the mare tightly."Um...I know I shouldn't be asking this now...but...um...when should we...ya know." Dash blushed furiously as she smiled, Trixie's face soon matched the deep red color as her mind imagined it.  "Oh dear...well...I don't have a problem with it...but we should get to know each other a little more. I want to know about you...everything." Trixie smiled, as she kissed the mare's cheeks. The two hugged each other tightly, mildly kissing for at least an hour. "Alright Trixie...let's go home...get on." Dash eagerly spread her wings and lowered her front legs, allowing Trixie to hop on. Looking back at Dash's tight flank, Trixie grinned as she got on from behind, grinding her body on Dash's rump, causing the Pegasus to blush deeply and whine."Ahh...your not making it easy for me" Dash moaned as she bit her lip, so tempted to hold the unicorn down and have her way with her. After a short teasing, Trixie finally slipped onto the Pegasus, hugging around Dash's neck and smiling as she took off.  Twilight was tapping her hooves together, eagerly awaiting them. Her mind was busy with worry as she sighed and started writing Princess Celestia back. Her writing was interrupted with a heavy thud against the door. Twilight rushed to the entrance and peeked out, looking at two cyan ponies face down on the ground. Trixie smiled up at Twilight as Dash fretted over her. "Oh my gosh,oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Trixie, are you ok?" Dash rushed over and looked the mare over."I'm so sorry, I should have been watching the air, I'm sorry." Dash hugged Trixie tightly, making her fall back. Twilight was laughing as hard as she could. "Hahaha, Dash. I never knew you could be this soft."  Rainbow Dash's face went crimson again as she made a face at Twilight."Hey now, I just...I didn't want my marefriend to be hurt." "Marefriend? Oh my, I didn't realize you two were so close" Twilight said with a fixed grin."Get inside you two, it's getting late." The two unicorns went back inside while the rainbow-mane Pegasus sat still."Um, you two should go in...I'll head home." She turned to leave but was ordered otherwise by her mate. "Oh no you don't" Trixie said with a smile, biting Dash's tail and pulling her in,"your sleeping here tonight. I'm not letting you be alone, especially tonight. You still owe me your life's story remember?" Trixie was smiling even wider as Dash folded her wings and turned back bashfully. Twilight went back to studying as the two ascended the stairs, softly kissing once they were out of Twilight's line of sight. This time, Trixie pressed dash down, holding her to the bed and kissing deeply."So...we're you telling me the truth last night?" "What do you mean?" Dash said with mild confusion. "Last night you told me that was your first kiss...was it really?" Dash nodded at Trixie, lightly blushing. "Well, then we have to make you experienced." Trixie slowly began kissing again, slipping her tongue into Dash's mouth. As the Pegasus felt the tongue, her wings spread in arousal as she softly sucked on the tongue, making Trixie moan lightly. It was another hour before they slipped under the covers and smiled at each other. Like in her mind when she was watching Dash leave a few hours ago, Dash gently wrapped her wings around Trixie, rubbing their noses together as they embraced each other, drifting off to sweet dreams. > Chapter 7 (end of act 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Trixie awoke to the sound of light snoring, a warm smile rose across her face. She looked over and smiled as Dash was still fast asleep. Her wings were folded and snug against her body, and her breathing was slow and calm. If Trixie would have taken a guess, she would have said that Dash was dreaming peacefully. The cyan Pegasus' hair was still neat and organized, save for a few pieces split due to the kissing they had done the night before.  Trixie just sat up and watched the mare sleep, almost stunned at how lucky she was. They had only known each other for two days apart from the initial run-in, and already they felt like two fillies that had fallen in love. She gently kissed her cheek before rising to head downstairs, only to hear Dash slowly shuffle around. Taking advantage of the situation, Trixie slowly slipped on top of the Pegasus and rested against her chest, smiling as Dash opened her eyes. "Mmmm" she said as she blinked lightly and let her vision clear."Well, isn't that the best sight to wake up to. Good morning." Dash smiled and hugged the unicorn, rolling over and kissing Trixie deeply. She grinned, not wanting to stop but knowing she wouldn't be able to if they kept at it. Dash rolled out of bed and onto all four hooves, stretching her wings and back as she slipped into the bathroom. Trixie slipped downstairs as her magic straightened her mane and tail, all the while cleaning and grooming her coat. Twilight smiled as Trixie stepped into the kitchen, waving her into a hug and smiling back at the cyan unicorn."So, you two have fun last night?" Trixie's face went red as she looked back to make sure Dash hadn't come down yet."She is...amazing. I don't think I've ever felt as happy as I did last night. We agreed to take it slow, but the kissing was just...amazing." Trixie smiled lightly before it grew into a worried frown."Um...Twilight, your not upset or anything, right?" Trixie looked at Twilight, then at Dash as she descended the stairs and sat next to the cyan mare."I mean...you both saw my memories, and know that I care about both of you." "Trixie" Twilight had begun speaking,"if I had a problem with you two, or the fact that you had chosen Dash, I wouldn't have asked you to stay. You two are my friends, and if I had to choose between my books and a relationship, I don't think I would choose romance. You two will be great together, I know it." Dash blushed lightly, smiling at Trixie as they both put on a light smile. Twilight rushed them outside, saying she had work to do. As the mares slowly trotted through town, eyes were in them. Dash rarely ever stayed out of the sky unless she was talking to somepony important, and as Trixie looked around, many gave her dirty looks. They weren't aggressive, but everypony obviously didn't like Trixie. She wasn't afraid of a fight, but her mind instantly went to Rainbow Dash. She was practically famous in Ponyville, but what if Dash befriended Trixie. She became mildly afraid as her mind began racing. If Trixie had been given angry looks for just walking, she could only imagine what the ponies would think of Dash. Trixie leaned over and whispered to Dash."Um...Dash, can we go to that spot you told me to meet you yesterday...the field?" Dash nodded and took off, taking Trixie by her front hooves. She dangled nervously as the other ponies drifted farther and farther away. She sighed as her nerves slowly went away. She was deathly afraid of causing harm to her friends, especially ones that she cared so much about. If rumor got out that she was dating Dash...she didn't want to think about it. Trixie was released from Dash's grasp as they were at the tree they knew so well. The unicorn rested against the tree as she watched Dash fly and do a few stunts. She smiled as the Pegasus looped and soared with ease, diving and barrel-rolling through the sky with as much finesse as a master acrobat. Trixie's mind went back to when she was learning the spell Octavia told her to learn. The smells and feels of the royal library flooding back. Trixie was a fast learner, and actually learned that spell in half the time it should have. With so much free time, she began exploring the royal archives for any information on Twilight and her friends. She remembered the excerpts and main points of many of the purple unicorn's friends, Dash included. She recalled Applejack, the orange earth pony, and remembered her heavy infusion of honesty. Looking back, it made slightly more sense why she had chosen not to forgive Trixie. She simply couldn't hide her emotions, and felt honesty was the best plan. Next was Fluttershy, a yellow Pegasus who had known Dash from when they were fillies, and was in touch with many of Equestria's fauna and flora. Trixie was reminded of the Pegasus' timid nature and avoidance of confrontation. Pinkie Pie was next, and there was very little information about her. A pink earth pony, much of the dossier contained vague information, only referring to her love of parties and her desire to make everypony happy. Everything other than that was either unknown or needed more info to verify the data. Rarity was mentioned heavily, but again, the intelligence was mostly useless. The unicorn's desire to impress and draw attention subtly and with the utmost finesse, combined with her mastery in tailoring and dress design, made her a fairly shallow case. She was impressive, but most of her portfolio contained her designs and her own reasoning for them. Trixie wanted to look past it, but memorized it anyway out of boredom.  Finally, there was Rainbow Dash. A decently sized folder, her information was mostly her personality. She was assigned to the Pegasi weather task force, assigned with taking care of the sky around Ponyville and the surrounding areas. She had done so well at the job due to her speed and flying ability, that she was bumped up to commanding the team. She then had alot of time to herself, only being called in to deal with large problems or to fix rookie mistakes on the flank end of the battalion. She was very competitive, mostly due to her upbringing in flight school, where she was eventually kicked out of for reasons unknown. She aspired to become a Wonderbolt, an elite group of Pegasus ponies who were renown for their flying skill. She had made a huge impression on them for her flying skills, and was rumored to be able to perform a sonic rainboom, something Trixie had seen first hand. Her temper was high when either she or somepony she cared about was harmed, and she had no problem dealing with those who were much more powerful than her. Trixie began thinking about Twilight's info, but was stopped as Dash glided down from the sky, digging her hooves into the grass as she came to a stop inches from the unicorn."So...what did ya think?" She smiled wide, sitting tall and leaning forward, blinking lightly as her eyes glittered in the sun. Trixie almost couldn't respond as she stared, finally having a clear enough mindset to think of such trivial things. Dash's smile was the same as Trixie, and her rainbow mane almost covered one of her eyes. She was beautiful in every way, from her shape, to her wings, to her facial features and perfect coat. Trixie eagerly leaned in and kissed Dash, pulling her back so Dash rested ontop of the her. "To tell you the truth, I was a little busy thinking of how cute you are, and how much I care about you." Trixie licked the mare's nose, wanting to rub foreheads together, but remembering the horn and cursing her unicorn form slightly. "Aww, Trixie, your too nice to me. But I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't care about you. Your such a sweetheart, and the fact that you risked your tail to climb that mountain to make sure I was alright...your incredible." Dash leaned in and kissed Trixie again, unable to keep her mind off of the pretty unicorn as she give her a light lick on her chin."Hmm...I wonder..." "Wonder what?" Trixie asked, smiling slightly as Dash wore a wide grin. Before Trixie could stop her, Dash had wrapped her mouth around the unicorns horn sucking softly as Trixie's face lit up. Trixie had known just what happens when a pony interacts with a unicorn's horn, and she simply dug at the ground with her hooves.  Due to a unicorn horn's magical properties, alot of magic resides in the horn of theses magical creatures. If an outside source were to stimulate it in any way that was direct or intentional (ie stroking of sucking), it would lead to a powerful effect. Similar to tickling in the sense that it is effective only if somepony else does it to a unicorn. The magical horn senses these actions and retreats into the user (the unicorn), causing an effect similar to pleasure that a normal pony would get from sexual activity. As the magic would flow into the mare, the bodies natural response would be to put magic back in, causing an equilibrium from the magic being sucked in as much as it was pushed back to the horn, all the while causing the unicorn to feel something similar to a stallion being sucked off or a mare being pleased in a similar manner.  While all ponies have reproductive organs and ways to repopulate, only the Pegasi and unicorns have a second way of invoking pleasure. The unicorn gets it with their horn, while the Pegasi recieve the pleasure from their wings. Just under a Pegasus' wing is a sensative spot where the wings connect to the pony. If another pony were to slip their hooves into the right point, it would invoke every nerve in the body to transmit the possitive feeling to the user's brain. While the Pegasi can not be orally stimulated by their second pleasure point like a unicorn, the same effect can be reached if another pony were to rub and massage the point under both wings of the Pegasus. These actions are only done by lovers, and while many do not consider it as sexual or invasive as actual intercourse, most believe it should only be done when the two are fully committed, symbolizing a bond between the two. Trixie lightly shivered, her hind legs shaking as she blushed. She whimpered lightly as her horn was masterfully pleased, hugging Dash as she whined lightly."O...Oh...OH CELESTIA!!" She had never felt such a feeling and, remembering the Pegasus trigger, slid her hooves to Dash's wings , pressing them under the wings and feeling a small area on her back where the wings were connected. The fur was much more soft, and she knew she had found the point as she eagerly began rubbing both points with her front hooves. Dash immediately yelped, moaning heavily as Trixie saw the Pegasus shiver in response. Dash sped up, sucking harder and bobbing deeper, her own hind legs shaking lightly. The two couldn't have felt better if they tried, working each other skillfully even though it was their first time. They were at it for a good half an hour, never letting up or slowing down as they blissfully played with each other. Dash was the first to go over, yelping loudly as her wings began flapping and twitching wildly. She collapsed over Trixie, but kept sucking, moaning out as Trixie shivered. While a Pegasus might have wing convulsions, a unicorn has something slightly less subtly.  Trixie hollared out in joy as she was sent over, pulling Dash off as her horn burst with magic, firing off a few fireworks made of pure energy into the sky and exploding with force high in the sky. The two hugged tightly, recovering from the ordeal, both feeling as happy as possible, all things considered."D...Dash...oh my gosh..." Trixie's face was bright red as she lifted Dash's head, spotting a similar expression, but much more silly. Dash's face was one of pure enjoyment. She blushed a bright red band under her eyes and on her cheek, and her tongue was hanging out of her smiling mouth. She hugged Trixie tight and just began kissing the mare's chest. "I love you so much right now" Dash said, looking up as she kept panting, her tongue lolled out of her mouth. "Mmm...oh Dash, I love you too." Trixie knew after something like that, her mind was made up. She felt like the happiest mare in Equestria as she cuddled Dash, assured that they were meant to be together. "Oh Trixie, if they say that this is almost as good as real sex...I'm almost afraid to play with you...we might wake up all of Equestria." Dash smiled, nuzzling her head under Trixie's chin and closing her eyes as she licked the unicorn's neck softly, whispering "I love you, I love you, I love you" over and over.  Trixie was still afraid of the future, but with an angel like this at her side, how could she be too scared? The nightmare was over, and the dream had begun. Alright everypony, that is the end of Act 1 of my story. I will regularly update, and I hope to do it daily. While that is a tall order, I love you all, and hope you enjoy my story. All I ask of you guys is to spread the word, tell your friends, and thumb up this video. I want everypony to see this story, and be here when I add more and more. I love Trixie and Dash, and I resect all of your opinions and imput, don't be afraid...but please..go easy on me, I'm a college student.   -_- The timeline should be simple enough to understand, with this end being at around episode 7 of season one. I plan on mixing the events of the first and second season in chronological order...and the season finalies and premeres will also be put in at a point. Please understand that not all is perfect in my story. I will follow MOST of the lore and story, but if I change anything (add a character trait or have a character lose one), then it's because this is a separate universe. Same events, but Trixie's involvement will change how some things play out, and I'm honestly exited to see where this will go, and I hope you do to. :) > Chapter 8 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun rose lazily behind the two mares, almost intent on blinding anypony who looked at it wrongly. Dash was the first one to wake up, her wings sore as she rose from Trixie's grasp. She looked back and smiled softly as she looked at Trixie, sleeping sweetly with a blank expression on her face. The Pegasus was used to flying after she woke up, but as she tried to spread her wings, she noticed a stiffness. She promptly shrugged it off, galloping as fast as she could and leaping into the air. Her smile faded as she wondered why her wings weren't flapping, only to be interrupted as she dove head-first into the river. She sputtered and wildly swung her hooves around to stop herself from drowning, only to realize she was flailing crazily in a foot and a half of water.  Dash began lifting herself out of the water before she heard a familiar cyan unicorn begin laughing her flank off. She looked up curiously as Trixie was almost crying from laughter."Trixie, when did you wake up?" Dash sat back down in the water with an embarrassed expression. She looked at her wings, which drooped sadly. "Hehe, did you really think you could be awake before me? I was up about half an hour ago...but I didn't want to wake you." Trixie wore a wide grin as she trotted over to Dash and sat at the river's edge."Guess your pretty sore too,hmm?" Trixie tried to light up her horn as she spoke, it sizzling to add effect."Yea, we were at it for a while weren't we?" Dash just smiled as she leaned in and wrapped her hooves around the unicorn, pulling her into the water. Trixie didn't even have time to yelp as she landed on top of Dash."Hmm..." Dash said as a sly grin grew across her face,"I never knew it was so easy to get you wet, Trixie." Dash giggled, anticipating the blush Trixie gave as she looked away bashfully. As she looked back, Dash noticed the Trixie's eyes had lost some happiness, replaced with a heavy sense of worry."Um...Rainbow Dash...can we talk?" Dash's gut did more twists and turns that she usually does in the air. Helping Trixie up, she sat against the tree and looked at the unicorn, trying to hold back any emotions she wanted to show. "Um...is something wrong Trixie? I...did I do something?" "No, Dash, you just...I..." Trixie's face had begun contorting as she tried to find the right way to say it."I don't want you to lose your popularity because your dating me." Trixie felt horrible for saying it, but if she didn't, she knew it would have festered in her mind. Dash opened her mouth to speak, but didn't have an answer to give. She just looked down, closing her eyes as she sighed."Trixie, I don't care what anypony thinks, your my love, and if they don't accept up" she lifts her head and smiles lightly,"then buck um'." "Dash...I know how much everypony loves you here...but if your caught with me...doing anything wrong..." Trixie tried to continue, but Dash cut her off. "Hold on there, what do you mean wrong? We aren't doing anything wrong." Dash was slowly getting more upset, but Trixie could tell that it was because the Pegasus was fighting what she knew Trixie would say. "You know what I mean" Trixie said, stepping forward. Her voice had raised in tone slightly as she spoke."Filly-foolers aren't normal in a small town like this. I...I know a lot about this town. How they look down on Lyra and Bon-Bon, how the Apple family practically disowned Caramel after they found out he was a colt-cuddler, or even the rumors about Fluttershy. This town WILL NOT accept us or anything we do." Trixie was drawing herself closer to crying with every word, barely holding back the torrent of tears she so desperately wanted to release. "How would you know that? You've been here a few days...how could you know that much? The rumors the Apple family happened right after we wrapped up winter...like...a week ago. What aren't you telling me Trixie; what are you hiding??" Trixie reeled back slightly as she was questioned."What are you saying...that I was spying on you? I knew my magic test would be held in Ponyville, so I read up on it in my pair time. You think Canterlot isn't interested in this town? There are huge files on Ponyville...it want hard to figure out." Trixie didn't like lying about her reason for reading up on Ponyville (remember, she originally just wanted to know about Twilight and her friends), but she was being backed into a corner. Dash's anger slowly dropped as she looked at Trixie. The unicorn was taking Dash's accusations hard, and her eyes were already gleaming with tears."I...I'm sorry, I just..." Dash slowly waved Trixie to her, sitting the mare on her lap and hugging her slowly."My parents always taught me about family..and values. It's kind of why I'm drawn towards Applejack as a friend. Her family is very heavily based on what's "right" and "tradition. I'm surprised Caramel was only kicked out. If the folders from Canterlot didn't say, I heard Caramel was in Appleloosa, helping other family members. (remember currently, we are around episode 12 of season one, so Dash doesn't know Braeburn yet...FYI) "So...what do we do? I don't like how they treat ponies like us...and I'm not sure I want to find out what they would do to you if they found out you not only like mares, but that I'm your love." She shrunk lightly as Dash whimpered, not wanting to hide their love. She felt the same way, completely desperate as she tried to find ways to overcome the situation. "Um...I...I don't want to put you in harms way Trixie...I guess we should..." Dash almost broke down as she was forced to say it,"we should keep our relationship a secret." The Pegasus teared up as striped to put on a smile.  Trixie couldn't believe she had caused such tears and pain, but felt that it needed to be done. She tried to hug the poor mare, pulling her close as they both were misty-eyed, but Dash had neither the energy, nor the mental faculties to show any other emotion. None the less, Trixie kept holding Dash, who eventually sobered up and began hugging back.  Dash had offered to take Trixie home, but the unicorn said she had unfinished business to handle, and Dash flew off after giving Trixie a deep kiss and promised to wait for her at Twilight's. As Trixie galloped through the dirt path leading to the outskirts of Ponyville, she drew all the strength she had, sighing as she saw the small cottage that the Canterlot files spoke of. She approached the small home slowly, groaning as she knew it would be a difficult task speaking to the pony who resided there. As she knocked slowly, she became questioning her reasons for coming. She went to turn around, but was brought to a halt as the door slowly opened. A gentle voice spoke, making Trixie bite her lip."Um ...hello ...um ... who is it?" Fluttershy spoke very timidly, and as she opened to door fully and noticed the unicorn, she shrunk back."T...Trixie? P...Please don't hurt me."  "Um...Fluttershy, right? I need your help Fluttershy, and I think you might be the only one that can help me out." Trixie slowly slipped to her knees, looking at the yellow Pegasus with a genuine look of a mild smile and concern. Something in Trixie's posture, or possibly her eyes, made the Pegasus relax slightly. She didn't speak, but slowly step back and allow the mare inside. As she entered, Trixie humble sat on the couch and smiled slightly. She knew that Fluttershy and Dash had both been students in flight school, and if anything would be able to calm Dash down, it would be the information that the yellow mare had. As Fluttershy sat across from the unicorn,her shyness began coming out again. She didn't speak, her eyes never met Trixie's, and a noticeable whimper came whenever Trixie stared."Fluttershy...I know you and Rainbow Dash were friends back in flight school, and I just want to know if there is something I can do to make her feel better." Fluttershy slowly raised her head, a light smile growing across her face."I was wondering when somepony would ask her out...how did you get her to say yes?"  "I...well...she asked me to be her marefriend" Trixie admitted, grinning softly. She wasn't used to explaining something like that, and the thought of calling Dash her marefriend made Trixie's belly tingle. Fluttershy was surprised as she spoke,"we'll, that's definitely, interesting...and she's feeling...sad?" While the yellow pony barely raised her voice above a whisper, it was obvious that she wanted to help."Only one thing I know of makes Dash happy as can be...flying. If you really want to help...try speaking to Twilight...she has alot of knowledge on magic that may be able to help." Trixie wanted to ask more, but she saw that the Pegasus was slowly getting more and more quiet, signaling her to exit. She thanked Fluttershy, who gave her best wishes and hoped the two lovers worked out, and took her leave. She galloped as fast as she could towards Twilight's library, bursting in and looking around. As she entered, the scene playing out before her made Trixie gasp in horror, reeling back and almost falling over. She couldn't believe it...why would she do that? > Chapter 9 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Dash...are you...are you reading?" Trixie was practically speechless. Every file she read about Dash specifically pointed out the Pegasus has a very basic understand of grammar due to her lack of book reading. Dash didn't speak, but instead held the book up to cover her head, a weak response mumbled and was lost within the books pages."What was that Dash...I didn't hear you." Trixie was worried of Dash's response, but needed an answer. Again, only a sharp "S" as if she was saying "snow" resonated from Dash as she hid behind the book, but Trixie didn't hear it well enough to make any more than that. The concerned unicorn leaned down and read the book, but the words were unlike anything she had ever heard and had a picture of a snow plow and a shovel crossed behind a picture of a stallion looking up and to the right. The entire picture was white, With the outline of the pony being a deep crimson. "Erm...Что?" Dash said lightly as the book was lowered. Her face was almost as red with embarrassment as the picture on the book. "Dash...did you just..." Trixie had been around Equestria, and remembered that word. She remembered a heavy accent following the chill of snow. Trixie abruptly pressed Dash down. "...Stalliongrad ...Dash ...did you just speak ...in ....in..." she didn't want to say it in fear of learning something. "Я... Я не хочу говорить об этом" she blurted out, blushing furiously and trying to get away, her wings flapping wildly. "Oh no, my marefriend's speaking in Communisty." Trixie yelped lightly, looking over at Twilight.  "Oh...am I interrupting something girls?" twilight giggled as she trotted in and smiled. "She...she was reading, and...and speaking..." Trixie began saying, but was cut off as Twilight began laughing. "Awwww, Dash, I told you to go upstairs to read, you ruined the suprise." "Twilight...I was only gone for two hours...what happened?" Trixie sat up, but still rested on Dash's struggling form. "I...um..." Dash spoke up, this time in regular speech,"You're so smart, and I didn't want to be a loser in your eyes...Twilight was boosting my ability to learn with her magic...and I wanted to learn something different." She gulped lightly, submissively curling her front hooves to her body as she looked at Trixie, whimpering softly. Trixie's expression went from sad to very surprised, looking at Dash with a gleam in her eyes."You...you wanted to learn...for me? Oh Dash...that just makes my news even better." She beamed at Dash,"I'm going to learn a spell to fly...so we can both soar through the air...or...at least a cloud walking spell." Dash's face couldn't have lit up faster then if she was meeting a Wonderbolt. Her wings finally had enough strength to lift Trixie off of her, only to pounce the unicorn and kiss her all over. Dash was worried that a relationship with a ground bound pony would be limiting, but with a spell like that, Trixie could stay in Dash's home in Cloudsdale.  Dash looked over at Twilight with a desperate smile. "So...is it possible?" Twilight pondered the thought for a minute before smiling."Trixie, if you could bound a cloud-walking potion with magically-artificial wings...then I don't see why not. May be difficult...but I can help." Dash and Trixie smiled to eachother, then made a devious grin as they pounced Twilight in unison, kissing her all over. Twilight was blushing hotly as the two bathed her in affection, giggling like fillies. Trixie was so eager for love, and to finally put her demons behind her. Sadly, those demons weren't scared of love and emotion...in fact, they fed off of it. Trixie was just building walls to slow it down, and it wasn't working as she had hoped, looked back on her past days. Every happy moment in Trixie's memory was happiness peppered heavily with sorrow and tears. She wondered who to go to, when an idea came to mind. The only one who could help was somepony who she both trusted, and deemed powerful enough to get rid of her issues. It wasn't too hard to realize who to call out to help, but she was still afraid about the mare's reaction. "Um, Twilight? Could I use your ink and notes that you use to send letters to Princess Celestia?" "Oh...um, sure, don't see why not" Twilight gave a light smile in approval as Trixie hurried to the desk. She scribbled down a long message and hastily send it to Celestia, sighing lightly as she returned to the others and put on a convincing smile. "Alright...so about cloud-walking..." As Luna calmly make her way towards the Royal Study to catch up on her magic, her hooves gently clopping on the wooden floor, she was alerted to a voice calling to her. She turned to see a royal guard galloping towards her, bowing cordially and giving the princess a note. She levitated it to her eyes and noticed the writing, smiling lightly as she thanked the guard and went into the study. Resting on a soft daybed, Luna read the note to herself with a laxed mindset, but soon became worried as she got halfway through. She closed her eyes as she finished reading, sighing as she brought a blank piece of paper and ink to attention, writing a response and hastily sending it off. She slowly got up and walked to her room, preparing for a very interesting night. The note was left on the daybed, containing the following: Dear Princess Luna,                           I am in great need of your assistance, and only you can aid me. I thought that my depressed nature and I'll-begotten, destructive traits had all but disappeared. I am saddened to report that the opposite has occurred. As my happiness and friendship grows, my negative emotions and prior personality pushes and pressures me to notice it. I fear that without proper guidance, I will become what I fear. You know who I am...and who my mother was, and I fear. . .that I will soon take on her malice and hate. I beseech you Princess, if not as a subject, then as a student and friend, I need your help.                                          Your faithful student,                                          Trixie Luna-exorcista Author's note: yes, Trixie's name is Latin for Moon-conjuror. Trust me...when the two meet up, all will be explained, and exposition and backstory will occur...please...don't flame about it, I beg. > Chapter 10 (blood/violence) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning: this chapter is graphic, and while it contains crucial story, you could always skip it if you had to. Enjoy otherwise. Trixie rushed through towering halls and several corridors, her hooves rapidly clicking on the hardwood floor. She was told to meet with Luna as soon as possible, and that meant she had to hurry.  Not fifteen minutes ago, Dash was fixing the unicorn up and making her look presentable, smiling as she kissed the mare's nose and wished her good luck with the princess. She had taken a beacon she was given and slammed it down, creating a whirling spiral of magic that whisked Trixie to Canterlot. It was her first time taking a beacon teleportation device, and as the immense suction caught her off guard, the blunt trauma of head-butting the castle's exterior wall brought her back quite abruptly. She looked back and cringed as she saw the hoof drags along the grass leading to her, shaking her head a few more times and fixing her hair before sprinting off towards the princess' bedroom. As she arrived, Trixie calmed herself, slowly opening the door and peaking inside. She had expected to meet Luna and calmly discuss better ways of dealing with emotion. What she got surprised her to say the least. The floor's wooden paneling rapidly began chipping away, chunks of boards flinging into what seemed like endless darkness as Trixie was roughly sucked in. She couldn't even scream as she tumbled and turned in a weightless free fall, almost as if her lungs weren't working with her.  After a minute of this, she roughly landed on a stone floor, her head spinning more than anything she had ever felt before. Her breath was short and stuttered, and her blood had run cold as she lifted her head. She was given no time to realize what had happened as she was magically lifted and slammed against a wall. The surface was pitch black, but felt like the walls of the castle as Trixie was pressed against it. "P...please...what do you want? I...I just wanted to speak to Princess Luna." Trixie wasn't crying, but fear was the predominant tone in her voice, lightly peppered with curiosity. A loud, deep female tone filled the room as the form laughed. Trixie kept struggling, but soon went limp as she knew it was all for nothing. The form slowly released her grasp on the unicorn, slowly backing up and looming over Trixie, obviously taller than the mare."Who...who are you?" The room was filled with a dim, violet light as soon as she was done asking, revealing the creatures true form. A black alicorn with light blue armor stood tall, almost twice Trixie's size."It is I...NIGHTMARE MOON!" The alicorn yelled, shaking the ground.  "I...I don't understand...you were...Celestia destroyed you?" Trixie was confused. Every report on Luna confirmed that the demon known as Nightmare Moon was gone, destroyed by the Elements of harmony and locked away with Celestia's kindness towards Luna.  The alicorn roughly slammed Trixie back to the wall, and before she could react, Nightmare's sharp horn pierced the unicorn's shoulder and came out of her back as the demon slowly pulled Trixie onto the horn. Trixie screamed lightly, but was in such a state of shock that she simply stayed rigid, being lifted up on the horn going through under her left shoulder blade. Nightmare grinned as she dropped the mare to the ground, backing up once more and laughing deeply."Well...you know about me...but I know much more about you...Trixie Luna-exorcista." The demon slowly lifted the mare's head with her magic, looking into Trixie's eyes as she lowers her horn and slashed a deep, wide cut diagonally across the unicorn's face. Again Trixie flinched, but this time the pain was full and she let out a loud scream as she lowered her head, a hoof touched to her face, dripping with blood as she withdrew it to her sight. She was breathing shallowly as she sat still, shrunken away from the towering alicorn as her breathing was generously gaped with whimpers and whines. Nightmare wasn't phased as she looked back at Trixie and kept speaking."Your parents were great...you know. Both powerful unicorns, but your mother...she was special. Do you know how your family was given the surname Luna-exorcista? It is because your family line runs red with the blood of my people. Luna's family that your's hunted. We were too powerful you see...so we were to be exterminated. It lasted much longer than any book would care to mention, and we didn't stand a chance. A sad fate indeed, but we didn't deserve your family's... fascination with our magic. Your great grandparents began learning the art of manipulating the moon, tweaking it to cause us alicorns that were in charge of the night to be blamed for many natural disasters. Luna's parents...OUR patents were murdered, charged with conspiracy to sabotage Equestria, framed by your family. Your mother...she was the last of your line to hunt my kind...and came very close to doing away with my...erm...Luna's entire heritage." The alicorn was interrupted with a lighter, sweeter voice cutting in and taking over Nightmare momentarily."Nightmare, that's enough, I told you to inform her, not hurt her."  "I DID WHAT YOU WANTED, LET ME HANDLE IT!" "No, you're not harming that unicorn any longer, she's done nothing wrong." "Nothing? NOTHING? Her mother tried to kill you less than a decade ago, Luna. Do you honestly think that that bitch's blood doesn't run deep?" She galloped over to Trixie, lifting her up with magic and glaring at her. The unicorn was crying heavily, and made as much of an effort to get away as she could, the blood from the cut on her face dripping onto the floor. She could only look at Nightmare's skinny, cat-like irises. "Your mother was a very powerful mage, Trixie, and after the extinction of the alicorns ended hundreds of years ago, quite a while after Celestia began her rule, your mother vowed to continue the pact...the promise that she would hunt down every last alicorn and wipe them out. She knew Celestia was too powerful to touch, but Luna wasn't. Your mother performed a powerful summoning curse to bring Luna back from the moon, something nopony has ever done before. She tied Luna down and chanted..." Trixie yelped in disbelief,"N...No, that's not right..." "YOU WERE THERE YOU BUCKING FILLYFOOLER!" She slapped Trixie hard, staring at her with pure anger in her eyes."You watched as your mother chanted...do you remember the words before she tried to kill your mentor...your friend? DO YOU!?" "P...please" Trixie sputtered through the blood collecting in her mouth from the cut. " 'A proud Luna-exorcista offers a demon to give, take this one's soul and let no others live.' After ramming the knife into Luna's chest, Celestia broke into your home and rammed her horn through your mother's eye, killing her. You were too young...yet you knew exactly what was happening. After fixing and healing Luna's wounds, it was clear that I was still present in her soul, and Celestia was forced to send Luna back to the moon. So, do you see what you are capable of? You don't cherish that cape your mother wore because you loved her. You do it because your family line demands you keep it, subliminally controlling your mind. Your subconscious is filled with hate, and jealously, and murder...you don't deserve life...and I won't let you keep it." With those words, Trixie gasped weakly, tears welling in her eyes now flowing as she felt a tearing in her chest, the demon using her magic to rip the unicorn's lungs to shreds. Trixie dropped to the floor as Nightmare stopped levitating her, the mare clawing desperatly at her chest as her vision tunneled slowly, no air able to enter her lungs. She shivered and began coughing up blood, shaking on all fours as she collapsed, everything going dark as she heard the demon speak once more. "Only you know what to do. Only you can find the key. Forgiveness is the doorway between the past and the future." Trixie bolted up from her bed, screaming as she gasped for air. Dash was next to her, holding her hoof and calming her down."Trixie, are you alright? Princess Luna came by a few minutes ago and said you fell asleep after you two talked...you were gone for at least an hour." Trixie's eyes began welling with tears as put her hoof to her face, feeling no blood or slice.She looked at Dash and began sobbing into the Pegasus' shoulder, holding her tight and crying without care. (yes...the violence was necisarry, and I needed something other than sexual tension all the time...variety is the spice of life, my friend) > Chapter 11 (SEX!) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning, this chapter contains sexual intercourse of the oral variety...viewer discretion is advised ;3 Trixie held Dash, crying lightly for another ten minutes before she began retelling the nightmare she had been through. Her voice was sore as she spoke, and the tears dripping down her face didn't make it any easier. Dash was speechless, her eyes welling up as she heard of the pain her love had been through. The Pegasus' wings drooped down beside her as Trixie finished her story, breaking down again and sobbing lightly. Dash couldn't help herself, lightly pressing her hooves onto the unicorn's shoulders, looking her in the eyes."Trixie...I'm here for you...relax." She leaned in and licks the unicorn's tears away. The mare's eyes were gleaming from tears as Dash looked back at her, trying to smile lightly."I promise, nopony will ever hurt you like that again."  Trixie yelped and jumped lightly as a quiet rapping began sounding from the front door, followed by Twilight opening the door and giving a polite "Oh, hello Princess Luna", obviously having not heard Trixie's tears and sobs. Trixie thought it may have been a spell she used to silent outside noise to read, while Luna's knocking met have been close enough to break the magic. As the alicorn ascended theeooden stairs, her gaze laid upon the unicorn, whos face was red from crying. Luna gasped lightly as she went to move towards Trixie and was immediately floored by Dash lunging at her viciously. The princess didn't expect it, so Dash was able to land a solid left hook to the princess before Twilight was able to bound the Pegasus' hooves back with her magic. Trixie got up slowly and walked over, checking on Dash silently before giving Luna a glassy stare, something Luna was affected heavily by. "Trixie...I'm so sorry." The princess knelt down just in time to have a right uppercut slam her hard, delivered by the cyan unicorn as tears welled in her eyes. The alicorn scrambled back against the closest wall, about to lash out before she saw the tears. She sighed softly, knowing the hit was because of sadness instead of anger."I...I should explain..." As the group gathered around the bed Trixie had gotten back into, all eyes were on Luna. Dash was holding Trixie protectively as the two snuggled lightly under the covers, a wing lovingly draped over the unicorn's back. This simple act calmed the mare down greatly as she hugged Dash back, staring at Luna. "Nightmare Moon is a demon...she is a monster living inside of my mind. You went into the cell that Celestia locked her in in an attempt to learn how to control your own demons. As you probably know, your parents come from a line of Alicorn hunters. About 1500 years ago, back when Equestria spanned multiple continents, the alicorn's numbers were that of the general population of Canterlot. We were many, and we all had important roles. Instead of leaders like Celestia and I to control the time of day, special celestially trained ponies manipulated the planets to get a desired result. As the time went on, many earth ponies began gathering allies with the unicorn and Pegasi leaders and diplomats, and began portraying my people as corrupt and power hungry. I...I do not wish to re-tell that war, but your family killed many of mine.  "Nightmare moon leaned everything I knew when he invaded my subconscious, and fought with me about it for long periods while we were on the moon. She...shares my animosity, but I hide it...unlike her. She told me she wouldn't hurt you...but she lied. I only wish to warn you of your demons...your bloodline...your curse. Please...do not follow in your mother's line of work, it will destroy you." Luna rose softly as the ponies were silent, beginning to go down the stairs before Trixie stopped her."Hey...um...Im sorry for hitting you...Dash is too. I hope we could talk again...without Nightmare, Maybe next week?" she gave a light smile as Luna continued for the door, grinning lightly back as she nodded. "Of course Trixie...and nice choice, Rainbow Dash fits you nicely." Luna closed the door with another sly smile as Trixir turned to Twilight. "Twilight...why does Luna know about Dash?"  Twilight's eyes went wide and she gulped lightly."I... erm... surprise?" Twilight raises her hooves dramatically before Dash got closer, making Twilight jump and use her magic to bound the Pegasus' hooves together. Trixie grinned lightly."I'll make you a deal. I forgive you...if you leave Dash tied like that for a while...while you visit a friend." Twilight's face went red as she nodded and sprinted out of the door, Trixie turning to Dash who was eagerly trying to scoot away. The unicorn happily picked up the mare and brought her to the bed, laying Dash down onto her belly. "Say it!" "AHHH...PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!!!" "IT'S BEEN AN HOUR...I CAN DO THIS ALL NIGHT." "I'm...I'm a filly..." "Louder." "AHHHH, IM YOUR LITTLE FILLY!!!" Dash yelled out, wiggling in distress as Trixie was tickling and massaging the mare's soft spot under her wings. After an hour of pleasure, Dash couldnt take it, and since it wasn't real intercourse, the pleasure couldn't be interrupted by an orgasm. If Trixie wanted, she could keep going all night long. Trixie slowly withdrew her hooves, bringing them to Dash's face as she kissed her deeply. the Pegasus was panting hotly, but eagerly accepted the kiss, letting Trixie's tongue slip in and wrap around her own. The two moaned and panted softly before Trixie's heart sunk."Did the bounds..." she began, but was immediately interrupted as Dash had control over her limbs again, pinning the unicorn down and making a deep smile. "Hmm, how to repay such a kindness that my love has given me? Well...if my marefriend is willing...I have an idea." Dash blushed softly as she kissed the mare harder, beginning to slide down her body. Trixie was well aware of where Dash was headed, but was fully prepared. She spread her hind legs lightly as Dash's breath was warmly breathing on the unicorn's sex. Trixie could only pant as her slit lightly began wettening from arrousal, the mare's head back against her pillow as she bit her lip.  She had never done anything with anypony before, and knowing it was Dash between her legs made things much easier to handle. She began thinking deeply about their future when pleasure stuck through her body, rocking her core and making her moan out loudly. Dash slowly began slipping her tongue into the mare, gently at first but quickly speeding up as her tongue pointed straight, ramming into Trixie's wet insides as they clenched around the invasion hastily. Trixie was in the best feling she had ever been in, and it only got better as Dash went harder. Trixie gasped softly as a thought popped into her head. She lightly lifted Dash's flank to her own head as the Pegasus continued, understanding where this was going and blushing deeply as her own tight entrance was seen by Trixie. The unicorn was slightly flustered as she gazed upon the tight slit, almost wishing she was a stallion as she imagined how tight the Pegasus was. Trixie thought of all the training and athletic feats Dash had done, and knew how extensive flying was, working every muscle in a Pegasus' body. She panted softly as she began pressing her tongue to Dash, lapping at the slit of the mare and creating an audible moan from her partner, who returned the favor by going faster. Trixie couldn't handle the pleasures he was getting, and roughly trusted her tongue as deep as she could into Dash. The Pegasus' wings began flapping exitedly after making a loud "POMF" from the penetration, Dash's face crimson red as she was slowly losing her ability to go on. She was already turned on from all the attention to her wings earlier, but this was better than anything she could imagine, and she couldn't believe how close she was, making it obvious to the unicorn by moaning out in a steady rhythem. Trixie was shivering slightly as she rammed her tongue deep, tasting her love's sweet juices. She thought that it was just pleasure at first, but asfter a few minutes, she realized that Dash's cum was sweet and sugary, almost like sweet, strawberry candy was mixed with blue rock candy. She heard Dash moan out louder and louder, and didn't have to guess as the Pegasus began yelping loudly, her slit overflowing with her juices. Trixie happily lapped at the mare's entrance, greedily tasting as much of the sweet cum as she can before panting and laying back, her own orgasm equally as close as one phrase kept repeating. She chuckled lightly to herself as she whispered "Candy vag..." Dash couldn't believe she had cum, almost kicking herself for being early before she felt her love's insides clench tightly and erupt, hitting Dash hard with her marefriend's juices. Instead of lapping it up, she let it cover her face and drip down over her chest, panting softly as she knew they were both spent. Dash lightly spun Trixie around and hugged her tight, kissing the mare deeply as they were both too tired to use words beside the occasional "I love you" or "Dear Celestia". Twilight came home about twenty minutes after the two had finished, almost having to cover her nose as the smell of sex filled the air. Well, to be fair, a mix of sexual smells and a sweet, sugary aroma filled the air, but either way Twilight knew what had happened. She climbed the steps and peeked at the sleeping mare's before smiling softly and going back down, falling asleep herself within her book fortress she had made. The two lovers held eachother tightly as they slept, lips close from the kissing they were doing before dozing off together with Dash once again covering her mate with her wings. The two seemed at perfect ease, trusting eachother with their lives. Little did they know that that phrase would be tested literally.  > Chapter 12 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie awoke to a loud rumbling, the bedpost shaking softly. The mare looked around confused as a few smaller shakes began rocking the library. The unicorn softly shook Dash awake as she looked around curiously."H...hon, wake up." The Pegasus responded with a muffled protest as she pressed her face to the pillow."Come on hon...um...THERE'S A RED SPY IN THE BASE!" "GAH WHERE'S MY BASEBALL BAT!" Dash bolted up immediately, yelping as she got into a battle stance."Huh? Dang it hon...stop doing that." Trixie smiled coyly before another quake made the two yelp lightly. They instinctively galloped downstairs, skidding along the hardwood floor as they looked for Twilight."She's not in the kitchen." Trixie looked around frantically, yelling back "Library's clear too" as they met up at the front door. Dash's wings unfolded and extended behind her as the cyan unicorn slowly let the front door open wide. The two exited the tree home slowly, looking around for any sign of movement. Ponyville looked deserted, completely devoid of life. Every door was locked and barred, and the windows had curtains over them, blocking any view from the outside. Everything went quiet, silent as a windless meadow. "Um...why is everything so" Trixie began before a thunderous roar shook the ground. Dash went ridged as her wings drooped, her eyes drawn to the sky. She gasped lightly as shadows slowly fell over the town. "DRAGONS! DRAGONS!!" Dash went to run inside, spinning on her haunches and taking a step forward before Trixie tackled her. The ground Dash was on just seconds ago suddenly exploded from a fireball, making the ground shake some. Trixie was paralyzed in fear, tightly grasping the Pegasus as she conjured the most powerful shield she could. Her horn glowed lightly as she cringed, sending out a bubble of pure magic just in time to stop the next barrage of attacks. There must have been at least a hundred dragons soaring through the sky. She knew she couldn't keep up creating shields like that, and whimpered softly as she looked to Dash."Dash...I need you to get to Celestia. Fly to her and tell her to...ah crap...what's the code. OH,right, tell Celestia to activate dragon counterattack level 4...erm...activation code cloud, rain, alicorn, Pegasus...tell her to stick to Pegasi." "W...What...so you can just stay back and die here? Not gonna happen." Dash put on a serious face, but her eyes showed how scared she truly was. She knew she couldn't keep her facade of seriousness, and sure as heck couldn't fight back. She was out of options. Trixie gave the Pegasus a soft kiss, looking at her deeply."No...I'll be ok, but we NEED an attack plan, and I don't know if Twilight is their. Please, love...for me." Trixie gave a light smile before shuttering again, a fireball hitting her small shield head on and making her reel in pain as she overloaded her magic, sending out another spell. "I...I...please don't make me do this." Dash was freely crying now, her tears hitting the ground as she reluctantly opened her wings and hovered a few inches off the ground."I...I'll come back right after, I promise." "No...stay in Canterlot, this is MY problem. I'll teleport when I'm done here...g...go!" The unicorn whimpered as she hugged her love again, who bit her lip before turning and blasting into the sky, streaming rainbow colors behind her as she darted towards Canterlot. Trixie groaned as she dug into the ground, her hooves becoming messy with dirt as she positioned herself and yelled, sending out a huge shield that covered half of Ponyville."EVERYPONY...G...GO...ITS SAFE, GET TO TWILIGHT'S LIBRARY!" She yelled as loud as she could, resulting in a few dozen trotting hooves behind her. She looked back and watched as many of the ponies in the area began piling into the tree house. She recognized a few of them. Ponies like Lyra and BonBon, Mr. And Mrs Cake, and the CMC, not including Applebloom, all piling in. A few were those who mocked and yelled at Trixie upon arrival, the more cruel ponies of the town, now looking at Trixie with apologetic grins as they entered the house as instructed. "E...EVERYPONY IN THE LIBRARY...I NEED YOU TO WORK TOGETHER. EARTH PONIES AND PEGASI CLEAR ROOM FOR THE OTHERS. UNICORNS, CREATE A SHIELD THAT ONLY PONIES CAN ENTER AT GOES OVER THE HOME." As she spoke, she panted softly, removing the shield she put up. Remembering the dossier, she immediately galloped towards Rarity's boutique, blasting the barricaded door and skidding in."Rarity...Rarity are you there?" Trixie looked around desperately, ascending the stairs of the building and seeing a purple tail cuddled behind a box. Trixie brought the mare to her hooves, who was crying softly."N...No...I can't go, Sweetie Belle is out there somewhere." "No...I just saw her enter the library. We need to go...NOW!" Rarity got a confused face as she looked away."How am I suppose to believe you...you ruined my mane and hurt my friends." "Damn it Rarity, I'm sorry ok?" Trixie yelled out as another ground shake moved them."But I need you to trust me this once...please." Rarity looked to the mare slowly, her lower lip quivering as she nodded. Suddenly, a loud crash shook the two as a ball of fire crashed through ceiling, making Trixie yelp and grab the white unicorn, teleporting them outside before the boutique caved in. Other than her tears, Rarity was coping as she was led into the library. Trixie began galloping away before she hear another set of cries. She looked back and smiled softly as she watched Rarity and Sweetie Belle hug each other tightly, tears flowing down their face as they held each other. Next stop were the surrounding buildings. One by one Trixie coaxed the colts and mares our of their homes and int the library as the fire continued dropping. She got to most of the houses before an accent struck her hard. "What in tarnation are you doin Applebloom?" Trixie stopped cold as she identified the voice, cringing as she rushed towards it, fearful of the orange earth pony that had been so cruel to her. Trixie whispered lightly as she galloped towards the farm."Ok...relax. She's had time to mellow out...just trot towards the mare and" her train of thought crashed as hard as she did. A fireball slammed into the grass behind her, sending her into the sky and rocketing forward. She yelped loudly as she landed, curled into a ball as she clutched her chest in pain. She pressed a hoof to her side, feeling blood trickle out from a spot where one of her ribs had cracked and poked through the skin. The mare was screaming lightly in pain as she rose to her hooves, pain rocking her body and making her legs weak. She looked up slowly, gasping as she took slow steps. The fireball had burnt her beautiful tail when the ball of fire exploded so close, causing her to whimper as she got to a small pond. She looked in and shook lightly in shock as she gazed upon her face. She knew that she had taken a tumble when she landed, but didn't expect the scratch down her face. It was shallow, but went from the upper left side of her forehead to the lower right, the mid-point being her muzzle, which was dripping blood profusely. She shook her head in time to see Applejack rush towards her before she collapsed from shock, shivering softly as her body tried to keep itself from shutting down from the combination of minor blood loss, shock, and the effect of being too close to an explosion. "Oh mah gosh...T...Trixie...y...you look mighty hurt. Let me help you up." the earth pony tried to lift the unicorn up, but was not met with screams as Trixie's broken rib dug at the unicorn's insides. "E...Everypony is at Twilight's Library...teleporting everyone..." Trixie's eyes fluttered as she was close to unconsciousness."To Canterlot. Take your family..." Trixie didn't have the energy to speak, her body slowing down at a snail's pace. "B..But..." she looked into the cyan unicorn's eyes and saw nothing. No spark, no joy, just determination and unwavering loyalty."Y...yes ma'am. She saw the orange pony rush inside, then lead a group towards the library, making Trixie smile. She had done it...she saved everypony, even the ones who hated her. For once, she didn't cry. She didn't feel bad, or sorry for others, or pity for herself. She had redeemed herself, and could finally sleep. Her eyes grew heavy as she called out one final spell.  She lifted off of the ground and floated towards the library, stopping across the street and just lying there, watching the lights flicker as the occupants were teleported to safety. Next was the sound of a horn as hundreds of Pegasi filled the sky, coming into battle with storm clouds. The dragons were no match against the electricity, making them lose altitude and flee. Some crashed from the electricity and were magically bound and detained, but within five minutes, the sky was clear again. Trixie was glad she read portfolios while she was in Canterlot, leading to her knowing the ancient battle tactics used by Commander Hurricane and her men during the dragon uprising. She was glad that Celestia took her advice, but Trixie knew she would have, the Princess wasn't stupid. The mare was still holding on ten minutes later. The "All Clear" siren sounded and the first sight that was seen was Dash looking feverishly for her love. She called out to Trixie, but the unicorn was far too tired to call back. Her unicorn-healing had helped stop major bleeding, but the damage was done and she was withering away slowly.  The unicorn did the only thing she could think of. She used her magic and called another burst of pure magic, shooting into the sky and exploding. Dash was there in ten seconds easy, panting softly as she checked Trixie's weak vitals."T...Trixie no...this...this isn't right." "D...did they all get to Canterlot?"  Dash just nodded, tears pouring down her face. "And Twilight?" "Next to Celestia." Trixie smiled lightly, rolling onto her back and laughing weakly."Are you afraid of death, Dashie? I'm not. I've redeemed myself...made amends for the stupidity and down right stupidness that I used to show." "W...well it's not over...h...here." Dash held out a small violet bottle, dripping it into Trixie's mouth."I'm not afraid to die Trixie...but I am afraid of losing you...and that's not going to happen." Dash makes a light smile as Trixie closed her eyes, soon surrounded by magic as the two teleported to Canterlot. Trixie was immediately hooked up to emergency unicorn magic in the ER or Canterlot. The pure magic began to flow through the mare's body, making her shiver as the energy repaired her at hyper speed. She screamed lightly as she awoke, the lights of the hospital blinding her as she rubbed her face, letting her eyes adjust. She looked around and blushed some as Dash was resting at the foot of the bed. She was wide awake, and simply smiling at Trixie as she stared back. Being fully healed, the unicorn didn't hold back as she embraced her love, hugging her tight. "Trixie...your never doing that again...you got that?" "Yes...yes ma'am" she blushed, giggling as Dash's smile faded. "Um...Trixie, the accident cause a...um...an issue with your face.H...here" Dash held out a mirror, her bottom lip being bit as she looked at her love. Trixie slowly took the mirror and turned it to herself. The scratch that was on her face was a scar, completely clear and visible on her face. She gulped softly as she lowered the mirror, looking at Dash and then down at her lap. "I...it's going to stay like this forever...won't it?" Trixie whimpered lightly, touching her face.  Dash smiled softly, kisses the unicorn's cheek."Trix...if I cared about something like this...I couldn't live with myself. Although...hmm..." Dash began giggling before she gave Trixie a deep kiss and flew off. The unicorn simply shrugged and got out of bed, stretching her legs and yawning as she went for the door.  The mare was brought to a halt by a storm of royal guards. One, the obvious leader of the battalion, stepped forward and bowed cordially."Trixie Luna-exorcista? You have been summoned to speak to Princess Celestia...please come with us." The armored stallions didn't wait for a response, hurrying the mare into Celestia's royal halls. Trixie smiled lightly as she looked around, never getting used to the scale of the room.  Celestia and Luna sat side-by-side, smiling widely as they looked at the unicorn approaching them. Celestia was the first to speak, rising and meeting the mare."Trixie...you are an amazing pony. Your knowledge of ancient battle doctrines, as well as the courage to save Ponyville, proves just how much willpower you have you have gained. You have saved My Little Ponies, and your actions will be commended.  Celestia smiled still, continuing to speak."Firstly, I want to apologize for being so cruel when I had to test you. I felt that you needed to stay in Ponyville, and I am glad that I was right. Secondly, I think that you have proven your trust, devotion, and will to die for those you love...and even those who don't deserve it." The princess nodded to Luna, who rose and stood next to Celestia. Luna smiled widely as she took over speaking."Finally, Trixie, we have agreed that you should continue your training with me. You will have to stay by my side as I teach you all that I know, alright?" Trixie's heart sunk as those words were spoken. She didn't want to leave Dash, and she was just getting used to Ponyville. She frowned lightly as she continued listening and nodding. "Hmm? Oh, your worried about leaving your friends and your home...am I right?" Trixie nodded softly, biting her lower lip."Trixie...did I say that you will be here in Canterlot? I will not let you leave those that you love...so I will be staying with you in Ponyville." Trixie stumbled backwards, landing on her flank in amazement."P...princess? Y...your going to stay with me...and...and Dash...and Twilight!?" She was floored. She had no idea that Luna would do such a thing."B...but Princess, it is not a large home...where will you stay?" "Well, we have a few unicorns repairing the damage done to Ponyville. After they finish, they are going to expand Twilight's library, giving her a basement that will be my home for the time being. Only when we-...um...I mean...only when I deem it acceptable will I let you be on your own." Trixie tilted her head as she watched the alicorn bite her lip and look down."W...we have to leave. We will speak to you tomorrow... When we...WHEN I ARRIVE IN PONYVILLE!" Luna rushed out, galloping towards her bedroom.  Celestia sighed slowly, making her way to Luna. She stopped and looked back at the mare."Trixie, I am sorry, but I must speak to my sister." "Oh...of course...t...thank you princess." Trixie smiled lightly as she took her leave, not sure if Nightmare was as locked away as Luna had hoped. (wow everypony, I'm so surprised at how much positive support this story is getting...keep it up, I love you all. Feel free to add me on Steam if you want to talk about my plans, or just to chat. The name is Jacob Applehoof ;3) > Chapter 13 (mild violence / major sex) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The door slammed powerfully as Luna groaned, clutching her head. She fell to her side, whimpering as her head began pounding."G...GO AWAY!" she yelled to herself, greeted by a maniacal laughter. Luna chenched her eyes shut and went limp. She fell for a few seconds before she was brought to the same dank, dungeon environment that Trixie had been teleported to just a few days ago.  She rose to her hooves slowly, looking around curiously as she immediately began moving forward. Her horn glowed brightly as she met Nightmare Moon midway."Well...Princess Luna, is all not right in paradise?" The mare wore a wide grin as the princess stood tall to meet her. "You know very well that it is YOU who does not like the current situation." "And can you blame me? Why should I be locked away while you run everything between us? You choose to label me as a monster, and you know that Celestia took advantage of us a thousand years ago, we can only trust each other, my sister." Nightmare sat calmly as she smiled devilishly, her expression antagonistic as she watched Luna become enraged. "You...YOU WILL NOT SPEAK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!! I am not your sister...you are a virus...a demon. I am neither related to you or wishing to allow you into my mind. This is my life you leech!" Nightmare used her magic to knock the mare back. Luna landed hard on her flank, her hooves flying back as she whimpered, her horn slamming to the stone flooring and shattering. She call out in pain as the magic that resided in her now broken horn flowed into her, overloading her mind and setting off every nerve in her body. She spasmed powerfully, crying lightly as she screamed in pain. The princess shivered hard as she looked at the dark alicorn advancing towards her. "How dare you! Who begged for a way to ease your pain? YOU DID!" She send a bolt of magic at Luna, who shivered in pain again."I did what you asked, I took over to stop you from killing yourself. You know just as much as I do that Celestia is not your sister." Luna teared up, trying to rise to her hooves as she got in Nightmare's face again."SHUT UP, SHE'S MY SISTER!" Nightmare's face was expressionless as she spoke back."Your family was killed by Trixie's ancestors, you know that. Celestia's were gone long before you met. You may not want to remember, but I know what you know...and you DO remember. You came to me...you begged me for help after your parents hid me in your mind. You couldn't handle losing your parents...and after Celesta didn't fill the hole in your heart, you asked me to fill it. I may not have don't the right thing, and we may not be related...but I've been here since you were born...we are closer than anypony you've ever known." Luna cried lightly as she relived those memories, cringing as she tried to turn away."I...I..." she began responding, but only yelped as the room flooded with light, making Nightmare Moon scream out. "YOU CAN'T LOCK ME AWAY FOREVER!!" Nightmare screamed, her form dissolving as she screamed and evaporated. Luna bolted up, panting as she whimpered lightly. Her eyes immediately we're set upon the solar princess, smiling lightly. "C...Celestia...I don't know how much longer I can hold her back." Luna whimpered lightly, nibbling on one of her front hooves instinctively as she looked up at her "sister". "I know, dear sister...but there isn't much we can do. Continuing to lock her away will only make her more resilient when she gets out. Listen...Luna, I know your afraid, but preparations are underway and we will stop her...once and for all." Celestia brought the mare to her hooves, smiling reassuringly. "I...I suppose your right. Maybe I just need to go to Ponyville to change my head..." Luna sighed, stretching as she packed her things."We...we will be back once Trixie has been taught enough to be on her own." With that, they nodded to each other as Luna took her leave. She didn't want to leave the safety of the castle, but to save herself, and everypony she loved, she had to try something else. Trixie slowly descended the staircase towards the teleportation hub. She had experienced a rare sight. Only a few ponies ever see royalty as anything but courteous and level-minded, and Trixie had been hit with a powerful realization. She had seen Luna sad, and even seen her mad, but never has she been unable to regain her posture. The princess was much more damaged than she had suspected, and the thought of Nightmare coming back sent a chill down her spine. Trixie had been getting better with magic, but not nearly powerful enough to fight against a monster of Nightmare Moon's power. As she teleported into the center of the town, Trixie was surprised at what she saw. She didn't expect cheers and applauds, and she was right. Instead, everypony was rebuilding their homes with the unicorns that Celestia sent to repair the town. She slowly walked through Ponyville, looking at the destroyed building and crumbling woodwork. As she passed by idle ponies, or unicorns resting from over-use of their magic, they stared at her. They realized who she was, and, in one fluid motion, gave a smile. She knew her impact on the town had not been perfect, and it only barely made up for her incident when she was The Great and Powerful Trixie, but it was progress. They hadn't fully grasped how much courage she had shown, or the injuries she survived, or even that she would have died for them. She should have been upset, but she wasn't. In fact, she was happy. Her actions had made her a normal pony in the eyes of the community. She smiled back and continued on, grinning at every pony that smiled at her (which was everypony) as she got to Twilight's library. A light humming greeted her as Dash opened the door, hugging Trixie tightly as she walked in."Alright...so I did some work...and since Luna won't be here for a few hours, Twilight is with Celestia working on retaliation against the dragons, and the unicorn's already created the basement here in the library...your all mine."  Trixie meeped lightly as Dash gave her a vest and boots, ginning wide as she looked at the unicorn in glee. Trixie looks them over slowly before tilting her head lightly."Um...do you seriously expect me to wear these?" Trixie giggled, then yelped as Dash descended onto her, pressing the boots onto Trixie's hind legs and slipping the vest onto her. "Come on...now close your eyes and lets go." Dash hurried the unicorn upstairs before making her sit and wait. Trixie's eyes were shut as Dash had commanded, but the muffled pants of struggling that the Pegasus was making caused her to bolt up after a few minutes, slightly in exitement. Trixie's yaw dropped as she looked her marefriend, gazing upon a sight she had only dreamt of. Dash was resting on the bed, her eyes focused on Trixie as the unicorn looked everywhere else. Dash was wearing a saddle that fit her form perfectly. It hugged her body, attached around the Pegasus' legs snuggly, leaving her belly exposed and free to play with at Trixie's whim. The saddle was a light pink tone, with the fabric that Dash wore being a deeper shade of magenta. What was worse was that the saddle became a skirt at the back, but not just any skirt...a miniskirt. It must have been less than three inches long, that same magenta color, frilled at the end and leaving little to the imagination. Combine the outfit with the fact that Dash was positioned almost flank-forward to the unicorn, and Trixie was completely at a loss for words. Just as she began gaining the mental capacity to form full sentances, it was gone when she spied one final detail that made Trixie become wetter than Twilight when she found out about Webster's Dictionary...Dash was wearing socks. They fit over almost all of her legs legs, a deep blue that became darker as it led up to her body. Trixie was openly drooling as she stared, whimpering in arrousal as she noticed something."D...Dash...your wings?" Folded away...just keep this...erm...saddle on and they'll stay that way while you...ya know." Dash blushed deeply as her tail flipped to the side, letting Trixie get a perfect view of everything Dash had to offer. The unicorn waisted no time, pouncing the Pegasus and kissing her deeply. Her horn went into overdrive as she kissed Dash, the magic making the athletic mare cringe in pleasure as it teased her every muscle. Trixie was in charge as she tested her power, leaning back and allowing Dash full access to her private quarters. The mare eagerly assaulted Trixie's groin, ramming her head between Trixie's hind legs and lapping at the unicorn's entrance. Trixie moaned out as she bit her lip, her front hooves pressed to the bed as she leaned back, her hind legs flailing from the pleasure. She screamed in joy as Dash rammed her tongue deep into Trixie, making the unicorn's legs stick straight out, her left hind leg twitching as she panted. "W...wait a sec...I need to...nyah...hold on" Trixie barked desperately, pulling Dash's head up and blushing at the sight. The cyan pegasus' muzzle was dripping steadily from the unicorn's juices, as if Dash had rammed her face all the way into the mare. Trixie smiled lightly as her horn glowed powerfully, sizzling out a few moments later. Trixie took those seconds to brace herself. She leaned against the wall, with her back to it, and pressed her front hooves to either side of her, spreading and lifting her legs."Ok hon...I'm...all yours." Dash went for Trixie's slit like a hungry dog (boy, what a visual) as she rammed her muzzle deep into Trixie's slit, ramming her tongue deep as she thrusted violently. What happened next make Dash scream from inside of the mare. Every twitch of pleasure and exitement was being mirrored to Dash's body. Not only was Trixie feeling incredible, but Dash was feeling the same thing. She blushed deeper as she continued, going even faster as she cringed in delight. After a hot and heavy few minutes of sucking, slurping, moaning, and thrusting, both of them cried out in pleasure, hitting their orgasm's in synch. They groaned as Dash lapped at Trixie's slit, plunging herself deep into the unicorn and pumping her face exitedly into her. Trixie couldn't complain, compliment, or even speak as her only vocal reactions were screams, whimpers, and moans. She sat still, panting softly as she felt the Pegasus lick her clean, weakly rising to meet Trixie."T...Trixie...I've never felt so...alive. There's one more thing though...something that your scar only makes better...tie me down." Trixie's eyes went wide."What!?" "You heard me...you look like the sexiest dominatrix in the world...and the idea of being used like that just makes me drip." Trixie went to comment, but decided she may as well do as she was asked. She conjured some rope and pressed Dash to the bed, pressing her onto her belly and tying her hooves apart so she laid there spread eagle. The Pegasus whimpered as she was tied, slowly dripping from her already wet slit as she lifted her flank teasingly. Trixie thought for a moment before a devious grin grew on her face. She used her magic to make a whip appear next to the naughty cyan Pegasus, picking it up and sitting next to the mare."Hon...I'm going to do something interesting. First...I'm going to spank you...then...I'm going to whip you...and after all that, I'll see how many times you can cum before you pass out." She smiled as Dash dug her head into the pillow that she had her face on and moaned lightly."You want me to dominate you my love? Then get ready for a long day...because we should have a few hours until they get back." Trixie grinned madly as she cracked the whip in anticipation, slowly moving behind the mare and looking her over one last time, smiling sweetly as she smacked Dash's plot. (yea...I like this chapter :3) > Chapter 14 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humming lightly, Luna slowly made her way down the path towards Twilight's library. She had taken the long way, teleporting just outside of Ponyville so that she could walk through town. It had been a few hours since she had spoken to Nightmare Moon, and since then, was feeling slightly better. Her mind was much clearer than before, and she had a fixed grin as she strode past the shops and homes. The unicorns had worked fast, having repaired most of the damaged houses from the attack and at that point were merely checking for structural damage among the less damaged buildings. Everypony lowered themselves in resect as the princess passed, recieving a smile in return from Luna as she made her way into the treehouse. She gathered her luggage and made her way downstairs, into the new basement that the unicorns had made for her. She entered from a door on the east wall (if you enter the library from the south) that had been magically created as a portal of sorts. It was beautiful to say the least. Easily the size of the home it extended from, the level was nearly flawless. The walls were at least fifteen feet tall, with a mahogany wood paneling that was interrupted at the center by a beautifully crafted wood molding that ran horizontally along the wall's center. The floor was also wood, a combination of thin wooden planking that became a large, stone symbol in the center of the room. The symbol was a crescent moon made of porous white stone, set out amongst a sea of sparkling black granite.  The room was full of books, but they all resided in a single bookcase that filled the northern wall (since the staircase let out from the center of the western wall). They were mostly related to nighttime activities, from costal effects in Equestria due to the moon's poitioning to a beginner's guide to stargazing. She took pride in her royal collection of lunar references, as well as her small hub and researching table on the opposite (south) wall, that she used to amplify her power in order to alter the moon in more advanced ways then simply raising it.  The eastern, and final wall was dedicated to her relaxation. In the centerfold the wall, extending towards the middle of the room was her bed, a full sized mattress that was accented with a daybed at the foot. It was fitted with her favorite sheets, blankets, and pillows made from an expensive mix of clouds and magic. The magic not only bound the clouds into shape, but allowed any pony, winged or otherwise, to sleep on it. They were also a deep blue shade, as well as a black secondary shade for her pillows. The wall also contained a cabinet containing unique, pristine items dating back to when she was a filly, while her parents were still around. She took special care of one particular piece, a glass orb, the size of a snow globe. If she looked into it, I showed the moon over Equestria, allowing her to see the position of the lunar planet without going outside. The last thing that the room contained was the couch. It was curcular, and made a ring around the stone symbol in the floor, only parting on the western side to allow passage into it.  Luna smiled lightly as she looked around, quite glad everything was in place as she put down her bag of potions and ingredients to organize next to the research table, as well as a picture of Celestia she placed on her cabinet. The mare smiled brightly to the picture of the sun goddess, who gave her iconic, mild smile that could give a thousand different emotions without even changing form.  As the princess assented the stairs and closed the door to her room, after passing back into the library, she heard a familiar trotting of hooves against wooden flooring. She turned to see Trixie and Rainbow Dash, smiling at each other as they exited the bathroom together, their manes wet from their shower. Dash noticed Luna first, turning to face her in a desperate attempt to hide her red, recently whipped flank."P...Princess Luna!" Dash blurted out before dropping low in respect, Trixie galloping forward and hugging the alicorn instead. The Pegasus blushed lightly as she watched the unicorn leap at the royal mare, smiling lightly.  "Trixie, my lovely protégée, you've made me so proud. I wasn't able to say it earlier because of an...issue that I've dealt with...but what you did for Ponyville is exactly what I've come to expect from a mare of your caliber. This town owes you a debt it probably doesn't realize." Luna smiled sweetly, petting Trixie's mane slowly. The unicorn was smiling widely, enjoying the praise."I...I know Princess, but it's alright...they don't seem as mad at me for what I've done in the past...I'm more worried about you." Trixie looked at the alicorn fearfully. "We should...talk. Um...Rainbow Dash, could I spend some time with Trixie alone?" Dash shrugged lightly,"Sure, I've been slacking off with my training anyway...I'll be back later." Dash galloped over to Trixie and brought her into a deep kiss, both of them moaning lightly as Luna just smiled. Dash was off, her wings spread as she left the library, flapping powerfully as she dashed into the sky with a burst of color. Luna let out a light yawn as she led the mare downstairs. Trixie was placid as she looked around, making the princess slightly stunned."I guess you've been to Canterlot enough to not be surprised by rooms like this." Luna gave Trixie a bright smile, giggling as she took a seat and called the mare to sit next to her. The unicorn shrugged at the request and sat next to the alicorn, smiling back and she gave Luna a hug. "Alright, Luna...elaborate for me. What's going on?" Luna looked away slowly, sighing as she turned to look into Trixie's irises. Tears had welled in her royal eyes and her lip was shaking slightly as she spoke."I...I think Nightmare is getting out...none of us know what to do...and we are running out of time." She had stopped speaking as the tears dropped down her face. Her gaze fell downward as she wept, but was met with Trixie's head as the unicorn nuzzled the Princess softly. "Hey now...I know it wasn't easy, and I don't know what will happen...but we are going to fight her...defeat her...and stop this demon inside of you once and for all." Trixie looked up and whimpered lightly before adding, "You know I'd give my life for you...for all of you. You took your time to make me better; you made me a better mare. If necessary, I would die to protect you...Dash...Twilight...Ponyville...anypony." Trixie smiled coyly as she held back tears, hiding them under her veil of pride. Luna cried more, hugging the cyan pony tighter."That is what I fear...I wish death on nopony, but I fear the next time she is released...I will not be able to resist her will...I don't want to lose my body again." "How long do you suppose we will have before she breaks free?" The princess groaned as she tried to think."I'd say a month...but I know she will be pushing harder in the coming days." The two were silent, holding each other tightly as they just sat their. Trixie didn't complain, she was truthful when she said she would die for anypony. In the back of her mind, she knew that without Luna, she may not have been there at all. If it was fate, or some whimsical curse that befell the unicorn, she wasn't going to care. For once, she was happy; for once, Trixie had a home, had friends, and had something that only Luna and Rainbow Dash will ever provide...Love. (Gosh, I'm just pumping these chapters out for you guys. Id like to announce something...and I was going to put it into a blog post...but I think I should say it here. I now know how the series will end. I've given it alot of thought, and I'm proud and hopeful that it will come out nicely. Yes' this does mean that the story will eventually end. I'm wondering when it will happen, but I have a guideline im going to follow. I would like to personally that every pony who has read this story through, and continues to read it. I have a few ponies in particular I'd like to thank, and once this storyline ends I will happily name them...I love you all.) > Chapter 15 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Spellfighting...it is advanced magic that requires alot of skill. Trixie, you have your books...you have your quill...let's get to work" Luan said as the two sat on her couch."The first thing you will need to know is that everypony has a different style of fighting."  Luna slowly strode back and forth in front of a white board, levitating a quill and writing at an incredible speed. She wrote a few symbols on the board, smiling lightly at her work before her face went straight once more."Now...those in Stalliongrad fight dirty. It's all about strength and action to subdue their target." The princess illuminated a scene of a red stallion galloping with his head down, creating a shield with his horn as he rammed into a group if yellow earth ponies, sending them flying as it exploded into a shockwave upon impact. The scene faded away as Luna pointed to the next picture. "In big cities like Manehatten, those with class duel for fun. It isn't about strength of power, but instead they use their courteous nature to fight each other. They use minor spells and take turns shooting specific parts of the other's body." She rolled her eyes, not interested in giving an example."We at Canterlot prefer to use numbers to take down our foes. Half of the crew casts a shield that works much like a one way mirror. Our stallions and mares can fire out of the shield, but anypony on the other side can only receive the dame page, their spells reflected off. Luna watched as Trixie scribbled quickly, looking up with a curious expression as she listened. "Erm...finally...there is you. You have neither a symbol or doctrine to follow, so you may choose whatever style you wish...and" Luna began, but was cut off by a hoof promptly pointing in the air. "So...I just find my own way to fight against combatants?" "That's correct my student. Many choose to let their magic do all the work, to take all of the heat, and to do all of the damage. You will need to either eliminate or subdue your enemies...I won't sway you in any way...but just remember that while planning. You have a week and a half to perfect your unique style, and may use any magical enhancements to accomplish the task." Trixie was taken back by the comment. No holding back meant she could use and magical stimuli to make her skills develop quicker, or boost her experience in a non-magical ability. Without another word she lowered her head and began writing page-upon-page of sketches. Luna smiled wide as she watched the mare, glad she was showing so much gumption, made evident by the mess of crudely drawn images of herself and potential magic. Luna rose slowly and whispered into the unicorn's ear as she walked past where the pony sat."Oh...and you have free use of...say...400 bits of my personal treasury to accomplish your task." Trixie's face was so red that it was as if the princess had slipped her tongue into the mare's ear. She had never been given money to accomplish a task such as this, and as the pouch of 10 bit gold coins dropped onto her lap, she let out a whimper as she looked up at Luna, who gave a bright smile as she continued onward. For the duration of the week, Trixie used the second lever to tinker and work with the material she had purchased from a local blacksmith. All that Luna noticed was the gleam of copper as Trixie made one of her last trips to the store. She was glowing with an aura, meaning that she had used her magic to enhance a basic skill. The brightness of the aura suggested to Luna that Trixie was performing tasks that only the advance would perform. The final two days were target practice. Luna didn't wish to see what spell Trixie had chosen, mainly because she wished for a surprise. After the ten days, Luna brought Trixie into an open field, sitting ontop of a small hill just a few feet away."Alright Trixie...the first step is to show me what spell you've chosen." The princess hastily conjured a hologram of a stallion in Canterlot royal armor. He stood tall, and his face was emotionless. Trixie didn't waste time, firing out a bolt of cyan magic, pegging the stallion in the forehead and making a clear shot through his cranium. Luna smiled at Trixie before she brought up nearly a hundred more, all aranged like an obstacle course. Some were pegisi floating a few feet in the sky, while others stayed on the ground and were in a variety of stances. "Trixie...I may now inquire...what IS your fighting style?" "Well, princess, isn't it obvious?" She beamed brightly as a pair of circular, copper rimmed goggles materialized onto her face. Just then her horn burst with color, bringing all of the copper and parts into reality around her. Cogs twist and spun in a pre-fabricated design before attaching and covering the mare. Her horn was dressed in a metal coil spiraling into a bronze helmet that covered most of her head, spare for her face. Her body was sealed in spinning cogs and plates of copper as two metallic, bendable sheets of some type of orange metal were folded to her sides.  Trixie looked over at you and gave a devious smile before adding "I love Steampunk." She took off after the fourth wall had shattered around my perfectly created story, galloping at full speed before the coil around her horn lit up. She spun her body in circles, continuing to gallop in the same direction as she spun, firing off bolts of magic that cracked upon going through a few stallions. After dealing with a few enemies, she noticed a lone pony in the distance, grinning as she sped up. Her hooves melded into a blur as she began careening forward, jumping into the air just moments before she tucked her front hooves to her side and into the slots designed to lock her into that place. She jumped with a heavy spin, corkscrewing at an insane speed as her horn went straight thru the stallion's chest. As she neared the ground, the two orange, metal panels flipped out from beside her, folding out into a pair of wings. She clicked her hind hooves together and reeled as the G-force rocketed her into the sky. She had designed the metal around her hind hooves to propel her forward, using up half of the unicorn's magical reserve. Trixie flowed effortlessly through the sky as she hit every target with her magic, the final one dropping as she went to land. The unicorn let out one more spell that dissolved the metal away, stretching as she beamed at the princess, who was slack-jawed as she approtched Trixie. "Trixie...how did you...that was...my gosh." Luna spoke in almost a whimper as she looked around. There were no burn marks in the ground, meaning that the spell evaporated after hitting the target. That was an advanced skill to learn, but Luna knew that Trixie was full of potential talent.  "Well...the first few days I created the armor, using my magic to give me the knowledge to combine everything. After that, I spent my time mastering my accuracy and speed...if arts alright." Trixie blushed as she grinned at the princess, hoping that her act was enough to impress the royal alicorn. "Trixie...you are...my gosh. Your such a talented mare. Perfect...amazing!" Luna hugged Trixie tightly."I think you've deserved a break...maybe Dash would like to speak to you...you have been isolated for the past few days, and I'm sure she wants to catch up with you." Trixie lowered her head cordially before she took her leave. She galloped off at full speed towards Dash's training ground. As she arrived, she noticed it was empty."Hmm...maybe she's with Twilight ...no ...um ...oh ...maybe Rarity." Trixie began galloping faster than before, crashing straight into a familiar purple pony. "Oof...Trixie? Where have you been?" "Oh...sorry Twilight, Luna had be perform a test...I've been working on it for the past few days. Um...where's Rainbow Dash?" "Um...Trixie...Dash is in the hospital...she crashed into another Pegasus during her practice." Trixie's eyes went wide as she looked at Twilight."WHAT...WHEN?" "Y...yesterday..." Trixie slammed her hoof to the ground, her copper armor materializing around her, the cogs smoking as she bolted off, leaving a spiraling twist of magic following her. She took off into the sky, the wings gleaming off of the sun as she reached the hospital. Trixie dived for the entrance, retracting the wings, tucking and rolling as she bolted through the door.  "R...Rainbow Dash...what room?" she stuttered to the receptionist.  A white coated unicorn made a worried face as she looked upon the cyan mare."Trixie I assume? Dash has been asking for you for the last few hours...I'm glad you made it. I'll take you to her...but...remember that it was a terrible crash. She's lucky to be alive...let alone in such a good condition." the unicorn let Trixie into the room, smiling before whispering "you can stay as long as you want...I understand." Dash was lazily counting ceiling tiles, her eyelids heavy, when the unicorn entered the room. Her rainbow mane was perfectly straight, probably from Rarity or Fluttershy after the initial visit. The Pegasus bolted upright, smiling faintly as Trixie raced forward and hugged Dash tightly. "Dash...my gosh I'm so sorry. I just heard the news and rushed over. They said you were hurt...but...you look fine...what happened?" Trixie's heart was shredded as she looked at the Pegasus, her hooves shaking as she hugged back. Dash slowly teared up as she began reliving the event."The local competition is coming up...the Young Flyer's Competition. I was training for my main event...where I would perform a Sonic Rainboom. No pony had ever done it...but as a filly...I had already done it once. I thought...I thought I could do it again." Dash took a moment to sniffle before continuing. "When I made my way towards the ground, I knew I wasn't going fast enough. I pulled up at my sub-sonic speed, leveling out...just in time to hit another Pegasus. He...he was able to come out of it with a broken leg...but I wasn't so lucky. I hit the ground on my back...and...and..." she couldn't continue speaking, sobbing heavily as she hugged Trixie tighter. She pointed to her back, making the unicorn gasp. Dash's wings were gone. Trixie was able to deduce that the bleeding and damage done to Rainbow Dash's wings were not fixable...and the nurse unicorns must have had to remove them for safely. Dash cried for the next half an hour, only stopping as she looked into Trixie's eyes."I...I'll never be a Wonderbolt now...I'll never be Equestria's best flyer...or...or...anything." Dash whimpered softly, receiving a gentle kiss from Trixie as she sat at Dash's hooves. "Listen hon...I know it's bad...but you have me...and I'm going to make sure that you have the best life possible. I won't leave you...ever again." Trixie held the Pegasus softly, whimpering as she felt the cyan pony shiver. They bonded for a few more hours, the doctors eventually convincing Trixie to let Dash sleep. After a few more tears, the formerly winged Pegasus let her go after Trixie promised to return the next day. It was with a heavy heart and a weak will that the unicorn exited the building. She felt her insides want to rip apart, the pit in her stomach seemingly spreading like a black hole inside if her. We barely made it to Twilight's home, entering with tears welling in her eyes. Twilight was quick to mend the broken pieces of Trixie's heart, cooing softly to the mare as she whimpered. The cyan pony quietly laid down in her bed, clutching her tail with her hooves as she shivered her way to sleep, speaking as if Dash was present. "I...I love you Dashie....I'll make things right...I promise." > Chapter 16 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next few days were rough on Trixie. She had been told by the nurses that Dash was undergoing reconstructive therapy with a few local students of peace. They had traveled far and wide to help the ill and harmed to be calm with the change, and on that day, they were in the neighborhood. As she was turned away, a pleasant sight greeted her. "Hello Trixie...no luck?" "Um...no, princess Luna...seems she is being cared for...for the time being. Um...shouldn't you be asleep? You're the lunar princess after all..." Luna gave a light smile, looking around with a heavy squint."It is quite bright...but I need to spend more time around town if I'm going to be here for a while. Care to take a walk with me?" She asked with a desperate undertone, knowing the unicorn needed to relax. Trixie simply nodded and strode next to the alicorn. Luna noticed immediately that the cyan pony was weak from a lack of sleep. Her mane was frayed at the ends, and her coat had noticeable signs of negligence. "Listen, Trixie...I know you care about Dash more than I could imagine, but you have to look at yourself. You're simply, coming apart at the seam. It's been one day and your already looking like your about to break. I'm sorry for saying it like this but, you really need to think of yourself for once." The unicorn clenched her teeth lightly, stopping as she looked at the mare."What? How can you say that? My selflessness is what makes me different from the unicorn I was before all of this? Where would I be if I wasn't like this? How could I live with my self if I didn't try to make the world a better place?" Luna Looked away for a moment and pondered."Let's find out then, let's go" the alicorn burst, galloping off. Trixie tried to keep up as the two trotted through Twilight's library. They sped downstairs and into Luna's study. Trixie simply watched as Luna levitated half of the books off of the shelf, shuffling though them hastily before a large, violet textbook floated onto the couch. After replacing the rest of the books, the princess took a seat and flipped through the purple book. "Alright, let's make this your vade-mecum for the day, because its going to show us what it would be like if you did not get injured that fateful day." Luna grinned, finding the spell and letting her horn light up, looking to Trixie."Don't worry, it is only a foreseeing of 'what if'." Trixie gave a light smile as she nervously grasped Luna's hoof as the two bolted back in time. A shock of midnight blue magic engulfed the two equines, almost sucking them back. The two were flung into a forest, rising and dusting themselves off as a cyan unicorn ran past the two. Luna watched as the past Trixie galloped, tripping and falling head over hoof. The princess gasped as she watched the past actions occur, cringing as the young mare's hind leg cracked loudly, her scream emanating through the trees.  Luna didn't look to see Trixie's response to seeing herself in third person, her magic lighting up and altering the past. The selfish mare was reverted back a few seconds, the alicorn's magic fizzling out a she scene reset. They watched at Trixie continued running, finally stopping as she sniffled, wiping her tears away as she gritted her teeth at the speck in the distance that was Ponyville."How dare they think that they could best Trixie? Trixie will not stand for such...stupidity. Trixie will show them... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."  Before they could speak, the two were again engulfed by magic, jetting into the future and back onto Luna's couch."Luna...that was...interesting." "Yes Trixie...but I fear that if you hadn't hurt yourself...something worse may have happened to you. I think you should count yourself lucky, and while I will say that you should never try to act like at...a little pampering is not so bad." Trixie just bit her lip as Luna continued. She knew the alicorn was right...as always. She really needed to start listening to the princess more, but old habits die hard. "Just...go to the spa and relax for once, I'll go see if Dash is alright. I know she would understand." Luna gave a kind smile and patted Trixie's back. "You're right...and I do need to relax. Dash is fine...she just needs to get through this hurdle. I would gladly accept your wish...but only with Rainbow." She looked at Luna, obviously desperate."I know I must, but I simply will not lie down and be pampered when my love is in such a state. I hope you understand." Before the princess could respond, Trixie galloped off towards the hospital. Luna just sat their, sighing as she looked at a passing butterfly, meeting up with another as they began flying together. She smiled softly,"I guess love really is blind...but is that so wrong?" The alicorn smiled wide, looking up at the trees and bushes around her before yelping as a massive headache breached her head and made her shiver in pain."GO AWAY...YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE." She screamed loudly, far enough from the town to be alone."YOU...WON'T...CONTROL ME..." Luna panted, clenching her eyes shut as her teeth gritted, trying to fight back the force that was pushing back. She slammed her hooves down hard, teleporting to her room in Ponyville and gasping as the demon in her mind let out a loud scream, retreating into the deeper parts of Luna's subconscious. The princess caught her breath as she levitated the glass ball that was on her table, looking at the moon far over Marehatten that shone in the orb and smiling to herself. Rainbow Dash was released later that day, upon her request. The doctors and nurses couldn't find any reason to keep her, and other than repairing her mental facilities, she was fine. Trixie was attached to Dash from the moment the mare was released. The Pegasus (I'll always call her a Pegasus, wings or not) was wobbling heavily, resorting to wrapping a hoof around Trixie's neck as they trotted home.  As the two got close, the unicorn made a sharp left turn. Dash was too tired to notice, and as they passed Sweet Apple Acres, she fell asleep. Trixie had planned to take them to their hidden spot, away from anypony, but another idea had arisen. She trotted to the orchard, levitating Dash with her as she slowly knocked on the door. Applejack was quick to answer, giving Trixie a surprised glance, then a bigger one at Dash. "Applejack, could Dash sleep in your bed for a while...I wanna talk with you." Trixie smiled lightly, but her tone was very much a serious one.  The earth pony gave a light sigh, looking over at the Pegasus and tussling her rainbow mane gently, nodding to the unicorn and moving aside. Trixie nodded lightly, taking Dash upstairs and placing her onto the bed, trotting over and pulling the covers over her, kissing her forehead softly. She took a minute to look the pony over softly, smiling as she looked at how peaceful she was. The pains of Equestria melted away as she let herself gaze at the most beautiful mare she had ever seen. Reluctantly, she headed down the stairs and into the living room. Trixie took a seat on the couch, only a low table separating her from the orange pony. Applejack looked slightly down, her face trying to stay neutral, but giving away to a light frown and worried eyes."Well, ah reckon you've got somethin' to say ta me Trixie?" The unicorn looked down, trying to piece together the words in her head. She slowly rose her eyes, looking at AJ and blinking."I...I'm sorry for what I've done...all that time ago. I never realized my actions...would you allow me to tell you a little story?" With AJ's mod, Trixie recounted everything that occurred. Not just the outline, but the fall, Luna, Nightmare, Dash, everything. As she finished, Applejack slowly rose, requesting that the unicorn do the same. They stood at the foot of the stairs, Applejack stopping Trixie from going to check on Dash. "Now hold on...first things first..." AJ said, smiling lightly before hitting Trixie square in the cheekbone, sending her flying backward a foot or two. She cringed in pain before looking at Applejack."That's for taking Dash's verginity." She slowly pulled the pony back to her hooves, giving her a warm hug."And that's for loving her after you did it. It's mighty kind'a ya to stay with one pony, and that goes double for Dash...you have my thanks." Trixie smiled weakly,"Well, I only, care about Dash...and I hope she doesn't think I don't love her after what happened...and I have the strangest of feelings that I've caused this tragedy somehow." She bit her lip, groaning lightly as her stomach churned uneasily. She had no reason to believe that she had anything to do with Dash's accident, so she wondered why she felt the way she did. Her mind clicked to a quieter, more feminine voice then the one in her head, immediately knowing the sound. "I love you too, Trixie" came Dash's voice from the top of the steps. Her vocal cords sounded strained as her voice was barely above a whisper. She sounded like her voice had been thrown out from screaming, but the nurses had told her that Rainbow was unconscious the entire operation. The rainbow maned pony slowly made her way down the stairs, Trixie magic being a safeguard in case she tripped. As the Pegasus made it to the bottom, she looked to Applejack, who smiled as she gave a light nod."Dash, ah'd be lyin' if ah told you that I was over joyous about you two..." She looked over at Trixie, a smile breaking in the corner of her mouth as she continued,"...but it seems Trixie is exactly what you need to be happy. Ya got mah blessing, sugarcube, don't buck it up." Applejack gave the others a hug as she slowly helped them outside, the unicorn using her magic again to levitate the mare home. Trixie promised they would keep in touch, and, if for nothing else, she could go to the orchard without an apple being flung at her. She took it as a victory, slowly heading upstairs with Dash magically in tow. She sat in bed and brought Dash close, hugging the Pegasus tightly. "You were telling the truth when you were talking to AJ?" Trixie blushed lightly,"You heard that?" Dash nodded, a smile slowly forming."I love you too. And no...you didn't cause this...nopony caused this but me and my ego. Luna was right...I need to relax more." Trixie tilted her head slightly."L...Luna?" "Yea, she came to see me after the doctors told you to go home the first day. She said that it was her fault that I was hurt...keeping you in study...and that even though things were bad, I have you. She's a smart mare...I'm happy she's a princess." Dash smiled, looking up at Trixie and hugging her tightly."And besides...she's right..it's not so bad to be grounded like this. Now you can hug me from behind...and...of you desire...maybe tomorrow we can try on that saddle again...you know...test it out for a few more hours..." They both blushed as Dash leaned up, bringing Trixie into a deep kiss, their tongue spiraling slowly together as they held each other."Dash...I guess...if for nothing else...this relationship has literally scarred both of us." She smiled, pointing to the scar she got from defending Ponyville, the diagonal slice from the top left to the lower right of her face. Dash smiled, nuzzling the mare. "Mmm, oh Trixie, when did I become such a little filly whenever I'm around you?" Trixie thought for a moment, then laughed As she answered,"Somewhere between Applejack yelling at me to you molesting my horn sounds about right." Dash blushed deeply as she giggled, hugging Trixie tightly. "I love you so much, you know that?" "mm hmm...I love you too, Dashie." > Chapter 17 (end of act 2) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The bright and sunny day was just what Dash needed, letting her stretch her wings wide and take in the the lovely day. Her mind was crisp and clear, just like the air that effortlessly flowed through her mane. It was a new day, and any past experiences were in the back of her mind...all except one, her love, Trixie. As she soared through the mid-day sky, weaving through trees and clouds, the beautiful unicorn wouldn't go away."Mmm, I'm not complaining" she grinned to herself, flying as high as she could. She took in every detail of the mare. From her flowing mane, her lush tail, tight flank, and beautiful eyes...oh those eyes. Like deep seas of lavender, glowing pools of violet that Dash could just swim in for hours. Her face was red with a light blush as she reached the crescendo of her ascension. She looked down, her mind clear as she contemplated the trick. A sonic rainboom is not only immensely difficult due to its speed and required mindset, but risky. If the airspace isn't clear, or the timing off by a few inches, you won't have a happy flight. Dash was ready for it, she had trained long enough and wanted to just try for once. Ever with a slightly off-focused mindset, she knew if she didn't do it then, she would put it off until the Young Flyers Competition, and that wouldn't be smart. She didn't second guess herself as she plummeted downward, a vertical bolt towards the ground. The wind that had previously been flowing so calmly was being flung at her, whipping past Dash's form as she was deafened by its sound. She had collapsed her wings during free-fall, pointing them out as she neared the ground.  She went as horizontal as she could, her mind focusing on the coming stretch. Trees to her right were an unknown hazard, but she had taken that risk already, and changing course wouldn't allow her enough time to make up that lost speed. She extended her hooves forward, flapping her wings so hard that it could have been misinterpreted for a tornado mixed with constant thunder. She kept going; faster and faster she sped as the wind felt like it was just moving aside for her. As she reached the peak of her speed, she just had to hold it. She had to hold that speed for five seconds.  Her mind went fuzzy, one voice calling out to her, Trixie's. "I'm so proud of you...you're the most amazing Pegasus in the world." Trixie's compliments that Dash was fantasizing about made her smile, knowing that after is, she would get to embrace her love again. The thought of it just made her heart skip a beat. What happened next made her feel like that skipping of her heart would be permanent, as she looked in horror at a grey Pegasus emerging from the tree line at eye level."DERPY NOOO!" Dash screamed. She was moving too fast to turn, Derpy Hooves turning her head towards the cyan Pegasus just moments before impact. Time seemed to slow, the world silent for the split second that stretched for what felt like hours to the Pegasus. The last thing she saw was a dopey smile on Derpy's face as they crash together. Everything was dark. She felt herself flunk through the air, spinning in circles as she descended. Her fall was broken by a patch of grass, but when she landed on her back, her winged snapped like glass dropped on a stone floor. She couldn't call out, feel pain...nothing, darkness encapsulated her form. A minutes or two went by before anypony arrived. Two actually, a mare and a stallion. The stallion grumbled about it being a lost cause, but as the mare did a vitals check, she gasped as the mare was still warm. She yelled for the stallion to stand back as she charged her hoves with her magic, ramming them down every few seconds. "CLEAR"....ZAP! "CLEAR"....ZAP! It continued for a few more rounds before the Pegasus regained consiousness. It was that final shock, one more "CLEAR" followed by the zap, but this time, they got a responce. Well, two responses really, but Dash was the only one to hear the first, a cyan unicorn, the illusion of Trixie in her mind, cooing "I love you Dashie." Rainbow Dash bolted up, screaming loudly as she looked around. Trixie was at the end of the bed, looking worried at Dash as the pegasus panted in a cold sweat."T...Trixie...I...I'm sorry, I just had a bad dream. A really...bad...dream." She bit her lip, recounting the dream, even the voices. It was the exact same thing as when Dash had the crash. She wondered why it was looping, taunting her winged form. Trixie was quick to comfort the mare, promising that a tons were being taken to fix what had happened. Dash tried to inquire further, but the unciorn said that it was a surprise that she had been working on since she found out what had happened. Hesitantly, Dash conceded to to statement, agreeing that pushing the issue would only make sleep worse. The sun nagged at Dash's vision, blurring her sight as she rose to her hooves. She descended the stairs, looking for Trixie but seeing nothing. As she sat down at the counter, a single note was on the table. Dash read it aloud, smiling faintly. "Put the finishing touches on it last night, hope it's an anesthetic to your problems hon. Meet me at our special place whenever you get up...I love you. Love, Trixie." Dash giggled lightly, rising and trotting outside. She wasn't used to being rushed to places so early, but her marefriend was worth it. It took fifteen minutes to get to the field they met in so often, Dash still not used to trotting on all four hooves as an only means to transportation. Trixie was waiting patiently against the tree, turning in time to see her love pounce her and snuggle her tightly."Ahh, hon...hehe, stop it your making me blush." No matter how close they got, Trixie would always blush at the most trivial of affections. "So, you ready for it?" Dash nodded heavily, loving the idea of receiving gifts for no reason. She was given a small crown, shining brightly with a hollow gem in the center. Dash smiled wide as she looked over the piece of jewelry."Wha...what is it?" Dash asked curiously as she looked at it. "It's a platinum crown...the gem is pure sapphire, and the inside is filled with enchanted dragon's tears. It's extremely powerful, so be careful." Trixie smiled proudly at her gift, Dash still puzzled. "But I'm not a unicorn, why does it's magic mean anything to me?" "...put it on." Trixie said seductively. Dash gulped lightly, slipping the crown onto her head, sliding perfectly into place. She waited a few seconds, shrugging before it shook wildly. A loud metal clang was heard as a few plates shifted, materializing out of no where and attaching onto Dash's side, fitting into a solid piece of armor covering Dash's body. Her head was covered in a roman metal helmet, sleek and with the same platinum color, slightly brighter around the edges. She smiled wide as she it continued to fit her, her hooves encased in metal coverings with cloud symbols spiraling off into a semi magical aura. "Trixie...this is awesome...but...I'm still kind of confused." She looked at Dash before two lighter panels of platinum fold against her form."T...Trixie...did I just get...?" "Try them out." Dash's face was in pure amazement as she extended her metallic wings, the same size and thickness as her real ones. She didn't speak, galloping forward and jumping into the sky, flapping her flexible, metallic wings powerfully as she took to the sky, spiraling and performing her usual arial feats. Trixie just watched, eager to see how Dash thought it was going. She turned just in time to see an orange earth pony trot over, her mouth open in amazement. "What in tarnation...is Dash...IS SHE FLYIN!!!" Applejack's eyes were wide as she watched her friend perform such maneuvers, touching down and smiling proudly. "Trixie, how did you do this?" Dash pounced the mare, who promptly unlatched the crown from the protective latches the armor had formed, making the entire outfit turn to magic and float away. "I asked Luna for the gem, and a few shop owners helped me gather all of the platinum I needed to magically bind it to you. Consider it...a gift to make things right. You only need to imagine the crown, and it will appear for you to use...most powerful non-unicorn magic there is...aside from the Elements that is." Dash couldn't stay still, bouncing all over as she pounced Applejack, hugging her tight."I'm back...I'm back..." was repeated, making her bounce around. What stopped her dead in her tracks was the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the ground. She looked up in confusion."That...can't be right..." "What's wrong Dashie?" Trixie said as she got close to her love.  "Yea...looks like there's just a storm ah' brewin" Applejack announced, sitting behind the two lovers, all three looking towards the giant storm cloud approaching Ponyville. Dash looked up, her ears flat as she saw the enormous storm cloud, half as big as Ponyville and almost looking like it was growing as it moved."It's not the storm that's bothering me...it's the fact that the Pegasi didn't get called to make rain...not for another few weeks...so...who made the storm?"  (End of Act 2) > Chapter 18 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two rushed home, galloping at full speed. Applejack said that she would have to care for her own family, and that she would check on Dash and Trixie after the mess was over. It took less than ten minutes for them to arrive home, bursting through the door and stumbling downstairs. Frantically, they searched for the princess, but she was gone. "Dash...where could she have gone?" Trixie was nervously checking behind the bed and under the covers. Trixie was slowly trotting towards the princess' research table, sighing as she looked at the floor."Dash, I think I know where she went." She waved the Pegasus over, directing her towards a charred mark in the wooden floor. Trixie wondered how the marks could be connected to the storm."Um...hon?" "What's the matter hon?" Dash rested a hoof on Trixie's back, blinking softly at her. The Pegasus' irises gleamed brightly, shining the bright rose color that Trixie had come to love. "Um...sweetheart? I need you to stay here...just...stay in Ponyville while I find out what's wrong, ok?" She noticed Dash slowly lose the spark in her eyes before continuing on."I'm sorry, but if something happened with the princess, I think it would be easier to convince her as one pony then two." She leaned in, hugging Dash softly. Rainbow couldn't say no to Trixie, but letting her go at a time like that was still difficult. She made a sad face, then hugged Trixie tightly. Something was wrong, and Dash had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. She made her way upstairs and rolled onto the bed, whimpering softly as she looked up at the ceiling. Trixie knew if she stayed around much longer, she wouldn't be able to leave.  As if the two had the same mind, Trixie stopped, a worried look on her face."Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" she whispered under her breath, smiling at Dash as she teleported into the castle. Galloping towards the royal chambers, Trixie heard a powerful rumble, followed by the sound of stallions gasping. She turned towards the noise, trotting at full speed until she was met with a wall of guards outside of Celestia's Royal Chambers. She didn't waste time, teleporting through the door at the mess inside. Celestia and Luna were both their, two royal guards unconscious on the floor next to the solar princess. Celestia spoke calmly, but Trixie noticed that she was sweating lightly."Luna, you know that I only did this because I feared of Nightmare's return." "LIKE HELL!!" Luna yelled back, holding up a scroll that Celestia was in the process was writing. She looked to the unicorn that entered, her eyes lighting up, as if she had another tool to use against her 'sister'."Oh, Trixie...glad you could make it. I assume you see the storm then? The shadow bolts used to be allies of me...but it seems Celestia has decided to use them to try and DESTROY ME!" she barked aggressively. "That is not right, Luna..I only fear that your demon is growing stronger than we realize. I asked for help...to stop her from taking you over." Celestia took a step forward, putting a hoof out to put on her sister's back.  "DON'T LIE TO ME" Luna growled, knocking the hoof away and opening the scroll with her magic. She was full of rage by that point,hey eyes wild and a twitching smile growing on her face as she read alone from one of Celestia's notes."Dear Queen Chrysalis, I regret to inform you that Luna is growing in power much more than anticipated, and I humbly request that you ready your changelings for battle, and get a few pods ready in case we can get her tired. Hope to hear a response..." Luna glared at the white alicorn,"signed...Princess...Celestia." "You misread what I've said...I only mean that we need to get ready to defend ourselves in case Nightmare Moon is too powerful..." Celestia looked at Luna, her eyes desperate as she searched Luna for some sign of conscious thinking. "YOUR LYING TO ME!" the night princess yelled, throwing the scroll at Celestia, making her flinch in fear."You only want to rule Equestria by yourself...that's why you sent me to the moon all those centuries ago...you wanted power...YOU SACRIFICED ME FOR EQUESTRIA!"   Luna shed a few tears, looking to Trixie as the unicorn shivered lightly."Do you not see? Think...my student...my friend...think about it all. Why has Celestia only fought to contain the demon...instead of cure it? Why..even after countless suggestions, has she not asked the zebras about expelling curses and possession? Face it...Celestia wants to rule Equestria by herself...SO SHE CAN HAVE FULL POWER!" She screamed, getting in her sisters face. Celestia had had enough, slamming a hoof down and knocking Luna back a few steps."How dare you speak so profoundly about things you know nothing about. I ask allies because I fear I cannot stop you once you turn. The zebras spoke of toxic ingredients and risky procedures, and..." "And you wouldn't risk it...am I not worth it?" Luan retorted, her face obviously upset. Celestia was appalled that her sister would think that she was so selfish...doing what she promised herself to never do...yell."How...dare you? I sacrifice my entire castle obj having them assist you in curing your illness...AND YOU THINK I BETRAY YOU? Spending all of this time helping...trying to make things better...do you know why send you to the moon? It's because I was afraid that I would be forced to kill you if nightmare made you...and I cannot kill my own sister" Celestia let a tear drip down her cheek, her throat and jaw quivering."I will...I would never betray you...I love you sister."  Luna breathed in shallowly, her eyes filling with tears as the rage left her body, her head pressing into Celestia's form as she wept loudly."I...I'm so sorry Celestia...I never..." "Shhh...it's alright..." Celestia cooed lovingly, stroking the night princess' mane."Trixie?" The unicorn sniffled, sitting tall,"P...Princess?" "Please take Twilight home with you...you are free to speak to her about what happened hear...but try to be quiet around those you cannot trust...I must be alone with my sister...I'll send a nurse to care for my guards." Celestia gulped as she looked at the dents in the two unconscious guards' helmets, bucked powerfully by Luna as the argument began. Trixie nodded, looking at Luna again before leaving. She trotted slowly into the royal halls, where Twilight and Spike were waiting. Spike was almost asleep, even in that state of chaos. Twilight slipped him onto her back, slowly trotting to Trixie. "Thank Celestia...what's going on?" Twilight hated being in the dark about things, getting nervous if she couldn't foresee what the future would hold. Trixie waved her over, slowly trotting with her as they got home. It was a bit before afternoon, and they got home with relative ease. Twilight was asking more and more about what had gone on, but Trixie just didn't have the answers, repeating "I told you everything" and "ask Celestia if you're so curious". Twilight gave in and just groaned, settling on speaking to the princess the next day. After the two were settled in, the day continued about as normally as one would assume a day would go after being interrupted by a single, large-scaled disturbance. The three were slightly quieter, Spike not even trying to understand the story as he organized a few books. Dash arrived later that day, and after a drawn out session of kissing and inappropriate grabbing between the two lovers, the day was pretty quiet until nightfall...or lack-thereof. It was past nine when Dash noticed that the sun still shone bright in the sky. "It's been three hours...what the hay?" Dash blurted, banging her front hoof on the kitchen counter, looking out the window at the bright, sunny day. "I don't know, but I'm finding out...something's wrong" Trixie blurted out, grabbing a small bag of trinkets in case things were worse than she thought. She flung them around her form and kicked the closest wall hard, teleporting away with a light flash. Dash extended a hoof to stop her, but it was too late, her hoof just extended towards the wall as Trixie vanished. "Oh I don't think so..." Dash called out, galloping at full speed out the door. She jumped into the air as the crown, and subsequent armor that collected around her, materialized onto the pony. She landed hard on all four hooves, looking at everypony around her before her metallic wings flapped hard, flinging her powerfully into the sky. She flapped intensely, gritting her teeth as she rocketed towards Canterlot. Trixie was in a full sprint upon teleporting into the castle, the guards letting her into Luna's chambers as she skidded to a slow trot. If the guards were calm, then the problem may not have been as severe as she had assumed. Trixie made her way into the bedroom and looked at the night princess, resting under the covers. Celestia was at her side, cooing soft, relaxing words as she held her sister's hoof and quieted her weak protests.  "Trixie...what are you doing here?" Celestia blinked, almost hoping that she could make the unicorn leave with just a stern gaze. "Um...it's very late Princess..and many in Ponyville are concerned that the sun is not setting...what's wrong with Luna?" Trixie sat next to Celestia, resting her front hooves on the bed. Celestia gasped softly, looking at Luna and rising."I completely forgot...Trixie, keep an eye on Luna please...I must go convert the day."  Trixie wanted to ask further, but the princess had left abruptly, leaving her alone with Luna. She looked at the princess, her eyes becoming more and more worried as she gazed. Luna looked as vulnerable as possible... her eyes and frame shivering and twitching, her hooves cold and limp, and her face, a sickly tone portraying a heavy sense of pain. She was hurt. "I wish I could tell you that I'll be alright, Trixie" Luna said, a light smile breaking through her crippled form."It lost the battle trying to make my anger release it. It lost the battle of logic and pain...and fear...but now...the demon inside is destroying me from the inside out. I fear that I may not be strong enough to resist her much more...and I'm sorry for what I may ask next." Trixie panted softly, looking down as she gasped in air, breathing out weakly as tears filled her eyes."I don't understand...w...wait. You're not asking me to..." she looked at the princess with utter fear."I won't...I can't...I care too much about you to do that." "If I turn into Nightmare, I want you to kill me...destroy this fragile form...you and I both know that in this state...I won't come back." Trixie leaned forward, hugging Luna tightly as she cried, Luna crying with her."N...NO! I could never kill you princess...your my friend...there has to be another way. P...princess? P...P...Princess? Luna?" She shook the alicorn softly, hearing her breath faintly, her heartbeat slowed. She got up quietly and kissed the mare on the forehead weakly, tears running down her face as she left the princess in the comatose state. After telling the nurse outside the door, who proceeded in wrapping the alicorn in a protective bubble of magic, Trixie made her way to Celestia's chambers, tapping on the door before going in. The princess greeted her quietly as she led the unicorn to sit next to her on the bed. Celestia spoke quietly, bairly above a whisper."Do you remember when Luna first found you? She came to me right afterwards." Celestia smiled, laughing lightly as tears formed at the corners of her eyes."She was so exited to be getting a student. She said how she would tell all of Equestria about you...about her student that had such potential, who rose to greatness. I don't think she ever would have guessed that it would turn out like this." The princess softly cleared her throat, turning away from Trixie to wipe a tear before it was shed."The part that I think is funny is that one small thing...made all of this." Trixie gave the princess a confused look, blinking as she tried to translate."Um...one small thing?" "Trixie...this isn't the way that it's suppose to go. You shouldn't be here...with Dash...in Ponyville. You were never destined to come back. That fall...changed everything." (alright everypony...in the next 2-3 chapters...it will be the end. I love you all, and I hope you appreciate the time I've spent writing this piece. I can honestly say that without the support of you guys, I wouldn't have put as much time into this story as I have...and I thank all of you for that.) > Chapter 19 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Princess, I don't understand...how could you know if things weren't meant to be?" Trixie blinked at Celestia, her eyes aching with worry. "Follow me, let me show you something, My Little Pony." She rose, taking a scroll from her wall and leading the mare into a small room. It was circular, and just big enough to fit the two comfortably. There was a small table that emanated a low aura of magical energy."This is much like the transportation hub that you use to teleport to Ponyville...except it does not have the restrictions that filter what type of spell becomes enhanced." The princess took the unicorn by the hoof and pressed them to the magic-resonating object. She read the paper quietly, closing her eyes as the room filled with magic. Trixie yelped as she got pulled into a vortex. She looked around as she fell, noticing she was the only one in the free-fall. A bright flash teleported her into the forest.  Trixie looked around nervously, trying to get to her hooves. The unicorn went to press her hoof to a nearby tree, but as the two objects connected, her hoof phased through the trunk of the oak tree. Looking around she heard a familiar voice echoing through the woods. "This was the moment that changed everything." Celestia's voice was disembodied, echoing from nowhere. Trixie watched as she saw her past self galloping through the forest, missing the stone that caused her to trip down the cliff. "Because you didn't fall, you were never put into a position where you questioned your actions."  As Trixie watched her past self gallop off, she looked down and felt herself being sucked back into the vortex, dropping into a small room. The area was filled with magical energy, small burn marks in the ground. She watched as she saw herself, a vibrant, sparkling cape draped over her shoulders and her hat standing tall. The unicorn was pounding her hooves into the concrete floor, alternating front hooves as they began glowing. She lifted her hooves high and rammed them down, cracking the floor as lighting erupted into a tornado around her. She laughed proudly, watching as the tornado became water as it hit the tall ceiling, raining down in a shower. Again, Celestia's voice permeated the atmosphere, blocking out all other sounds."Your desire to prove your worth led you to many masters of magic, and you learned many arts. You became an amazing mage, renoun among every province of Equestria." The final destination was a large statue of Trixie, standing two stories tall in the middle of Stalliongrad."When you saved Stalliongrad from certain destruction at the hands of an Ursa Major, you were titled one of Equestria's top mages, and even after they gave you riches and power, you desired more, learning nearly every spell in existence. What happened next is unknown...the spell's effect ends after is point." Trixie, again, could only look in awe as she was thrust into reality, stumbling backwards as she became physical again. She looked at Celestia, whimpering quietly as she rose and trotted back to the bedroom."This makes no sense...how could it have changed...who changed it?" "That is what I wanted to know, Trixie. I have noticed two things that changed severely because of this event. Not only have the violent occurrences been increasing steadily, but in the original timeline, Nightmare Moon is practically non-existent. I have no clue why she would want to grow in power now and leave herself open to possible destruction...she's letting us prepare...it just seems so strange. Whatever happens..." Celestia was cut off by loud rumbling, followed by a violent crash that broth the two to the floor. Trixie gasped, yelling "LUNA!" as she sprinted towards the alicorn's room. A smoking crater was all that remained."Oh no...Luna..." Trixie looked around, but the worst had happened...Nightmare had taken over...Luna had given up." Celestia called for Shining Armor, requiring the captain of the Royal Guards to give coordinates. The stallion stood tall, saluting the princess sternly. Celestia paced slowly, calling out several code. Trixie decoded most of them as unit positioning, preparing for an inevitable assault. As the stallion went to leave, Celestia stopped him with a hoof."And Sir Shining?" "Yes ma'am?" "After you position the men, try to raise their moral...then stay with your sister." Shining Armor blinked,"But princess..." "Armor...I don't want to hear it. You know your men won't survive if Nightmare decides to attack...and even your magic can't stop her. Please, Twilight needs you." She turned to Trixie,smiling lightly."Same for you Trixie...Oh...and Dash...you go too." Trixie tilted her head."But Dash isn't..." she stopped and looked into the rafters of the large room, spying a cyan Pegasus in platinum armor peaking out, her rainbow hair easily spotted."Celestia Damn it, Dash...get down here" Trixie echoed up. The Pegasus slowly floated down, her armor deteriorating as she took off the crown. Celestia turned her back to them, looking out the large hole that Nightmare had left, sighing softly."I want you to to leave Ponyville." Trixie turn on her hooves, looking at the princess. Uttering a quick "WHAT!?", the unicorn echoed her voice in the large room. Celestia turned lightly, looking the mare in the eyes as her own dripped steadily with tears. She knew Luna was lost...forever. She tried to stay cordial and professional, but losing the alicorn she cared for so much to a demon took its toll. "I said leave...I will not have My Little Ponies harmed...and I know she will target them...and you. Go to Twilight...wait for Shining Armor, then go with her friends to Stalliongrad. They are heavily defended...and it will be a good place for you to hide until Chrysalis and her Changlings can arrive." Trixie galloped forward and embraced Celestia tightly, hugging her as the princess softly wept."I am so sorry Luna" the princess called out, whimpering softly,"I should have done better..." Trixie hushed the Princess...looking her in the eyes."It's not your fault...you did everything you could..." The princess sniffled, standing straight as she nodded."Thank you...but please...go...I can't lose you and Twilight too." "Ok...princess...we'll go...but once things calm down...we'll come back" Dash announced as the two turned to leave. The two lovers rubbed their heads together lovingly as they got to the hub that took them home. As they trotted on the hardwood floor, Dash turned to Trixie, her face flushed slightly from everything that was going on."So...why do you think the timeline is not the same?" "Who told you...you spied on me the entire time...didn't you?" Trixie retorted. She wasn't angry, just questioning Dash's motive. "Of course...you...didn't say goodbye before you left...I was a little sore. So...um...what happens now?" Trixie stopped as they reached the teleported, looking at the Pegasus and kissing her on the lips softly."Now, we go to Ponyville and wait for Shining...then go with Twilight, AJ, and your other friends to Stalliongrad." Dash looked down,sighing with a bit of frustration."I hate losing though." The unciorn lifted Dash's head kissing the Pegasus's forehead and smiling slowly."It's not over...not yet." The two hastily made their way towards Twilight's home, trotting in as they skidded to a stop. Twilight, along with Applejack, Applebloom, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were waiting inside. They gave a similar, nervous look that we gave them when they asked what had happened. Dash let Trixie explain, telling of Nightmare coming back and where Celestia wanted the ponies to re-locate. Applejack was the first to interrupt."Like heck we're leavin' our homes because Nightmare is back...we'll use the Elements. Worked last time." Twilight was the first to question the earth pony."But AJ, Nightmare is much more powerful...Celestia said so." "Yea, but we're talkin about the Elements of Harmony...the most powerful magical force in Equestria. I doubt it can't handle her." Trixie was the only one that stepped forward, slightly sceptical."If the Elements are an option...why wouldn't Celestia think of it?" "Oh, she probably is all jumbled about the ordeal...or maybe she's testin' all of us...trying to find out if we have it in us to use the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon...like she did the first time." "But...that's not like her...at least...not like this. If she...if she cried like that...I seriously doubt she was testing us..." Trixie used her eyebrows to portray a desperate plead. "Listen sugarcube, I know that Luna meant Equestria to ya...but I sure as hay ain't leaving Ponyville to get destroyed...who's with me?" Applejack looked around, all but Twilight, Trixie, and Dash nodding to her. Trixie looked at Twilight."Please Twi..." "I'm sorry Trixie...but it does sound like a trick she would pull..." Twilight said, trotting next to AJ. "D...Dashie?" Trixie looked to her love, who looked away. "Trixie, I love you...and I know what it looked like...but...if we have a chance to stop her...then we have to take it." The Pegasus gulped softly, hoping her love wouldn't be mad. Trixie didn't know what to do. The others were slowly convincing her that it was right to fight...but disobeying the princess felt so...wrong."I...I can't. I'm sorry Dash...but I can't condone this. It...it feels like a bad idea." Dash whimpered, looking at her love with pure desperation."But...isn't it worth a shot?" > Chapter 20 (Finale Chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie looked sadly at the group, looking at Dash and Twilight."P...please...would I lead you wrongly? I don't trust it...she's too strong for the Elements to destroy her. You have to trust me." The group looked around uneasily. Dash took a step forward, her eyes gleaming brightly towards her love as she whined under her breath. Twilight also stepped forward, looking back at AJ and shaking her head. "Twi...Dash..." Applejack said desperately,"we need you..." She galloped up and stopped Dash, turning the Pegasus to meet her. Dash looked away, turning to Trixie with a worried look. Applejack whimpered softly, stopping Dash and kissing her deep. Dash gasped softly, completely still as the earth pony pressed her lips to her own. She shook lightly, a million emotions rushing through her as she just let it happen. After another second, she pushed AJ back, panting softly as she backed up towards Trixie, her voice stuck in her throat as Applejack extended a hood to her, begging her to stay. Trixie slowly embraced Dash, patting her softly as they both trotted out the door. Twilight followed them as she looked back, Rarity and Fluttershy patting the orange pony on the back. Trixie slowly throttled down the dirt path leading towards Stalliongrad. She felt like crap, but...what could she do? She had been given direct order by the princess, she couldn't just disobey them. As she slowly spoke to herself, she trotted slower and slower, a frown breaking through her sturdy poker face."W...what could we do? I...I did the right thing...right? I...followed the princess' orders...I did what I could." She kept trotting as she looked behind her, Dash and Twilight following in step. Twilight was the first to respond."You did the right thing...we...we need to get stronger before we can fight her. When Chrysalis arrives we can use the elements...the changelings should be able to weaken her enough for us to use it." Trixie smiled lightly,"I'm glad you two chose me...I'm sorry we couldn't help reason with the others." She looked back to the two, who whimpered softly. After walking for a few more minutes, Dash galloped forward and stopped Trixie."H...hey...can we stop for a minute?" The unicorn looked away slightly."I...I don't think we have the time...we should get to Stalliongrad as soon as possible." Dash sighed,"P...please, talk to me." Trixie looked down, then to Twilight."Twi...why did AJ..." Twilight cut her off, proclaiming "Applejack has had feelings for Dash for a bit...even before I came to Ponyville. I...I don't think Dash feels the same way." "That's a lie." Dash looked back, whimpering as she sat, looking between the two."I...I care alot about Applejack...she's always been a good friend...and I guess that was...like...a goodbye." Her gut spun as she thought about it."I know Applejack, and if we just keep going to Stalliongrad...we'll lose everypony we know." Trixie grabbed Dash by her shoulders and looked at her."Dashie...what...what are you saying? We HAVE to go!" "No! If we leave...if we KEEP leaving...everypony in Ponyville will die...I...I know it." Twilight shuttered lightly."Y...you can't be serious. They...they won't die...right Trixie?" "Celestia said..." "BUCK CELESTIA!" Dash blurted, kicking her hoof to the ground,"if we don't help them...they will defend Ponyville to their graves...we...WERE GOING BACK!" The group was silent, Dash's face wet with newly emerging tears flowing down her face. She was realizing the words she was speaking as she said them. Her other friends in Ponyville would fight Nightmare to defend their home. She would look there first...and without the elements to help them...and without all six of them being present, they would be no match. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity...Applejack...all dead because of them.  The others began realizing the same thing, Twilight taking it roughly as well. She sat down and looked back, amazed that she would just leave the ponies she once called her friends."This...isn't what friends do...abandon others in their time of need..." Dash slammed her hooves against the ground again, a bolt of magic blinding the others as she materialized her armor, the wings popping out proudly as she looked at Trixie."I...I love you Trixie...but I'm not abandoning Ponyville. Build your resistance...wait for Chrysalis...but...if your just going to do this at the expense of your home...the ponies that let you into their community...then you're doing it alone." Twilight trotted next to Dash and nodded before being let onto the Pegasus' back. Dash reeled back before shooting into the sky and flying off towards her home. The pony whimpered softly, looking around at the empty expanse of grassland all around her."I...Celestia told me to...I..." the unicorn bit her lip as she whimpered. Trixie kicked at the ground. Harder and harder she pounded her hooves into the gravel and dirt until her hooves were chipped and dirty. She cried hard as she slammed them down once more, regretting every action she took as her hooves were immediately encased in armor. As she looked down once more, her tears hitting the pummeled dirt, she saw herself. She saw the "thing" that she was suppose to be: a powerful wizard that was as strong as she was solitary. Her life had no friends...no love...no passion other than the mastery of her art. She donned her steampunk armor, looking at Ponyville in the distance as the wings effortlessly extended outward."No..." The situation was growing dark...literally. While the power to move the sun was still Celestia's gift, it was obvious that she was slowly being overpowered. The moon slowly rose into the sky, the sun becoming the smallest glimmer in the distance. As ponies of all different kinds boarded up their homes, many gazed at the moon. A few gasps caused the others to look as well. The lunar object in the sky had a symbol on it, the black symbol of a horned equine, looking to the left as if watching the sun go down for the last time.  "Oh sweet Celestia, what do we do?" blurted out one the ponies. She was shivering lightly as she looked out her window, her horn casting a shadow onto her face as she looked up. Others did the same, either looking up at the image in the moon or galloping into their homes in a desperate search for concealment. Few screamed, few cried, but most were silent.  As Dash flew into town, she looked at the scene around her. It was just as they had left it, only nighttime. Nightmare Moon had not arrived yet, though many acted as if she had. They borded up their windows, leaving the door clear incase they needed to escape. Dash spotted Lyra and Bonbon huddled under an awning that stretched over the cafe.  Twilight hopped down from Dash's back, looking aroud for any signs of their friends."Dash...check Sweet Apple Acres, I'll check Rarities Botique and my library." "Why bother?" Dash smerked lightly as she pointed down the road. A blockade was being prepared, a pink haired Pegasus watching over it. They galloped to her at full speed, calling Fluttershy's name loudly over and over as they aprotched. The other three of them poked their heads out from the other side of the blockade, Applejack burst forward and tackled the two, hopping happily. "Thank Celestia you came back...we need you two, now more than ever. We couldn't use the elements without them...right guys?" Applejack looked around at the others. Their faces were slightly worried, and none of them were proclaiming their happiness. Twilight and Dash just shrugged it off, just thinking that it was from stress. They asked what the plan was, and were answered by a very familiar voice. "My Little Ponies...it shames me that you have disobeyed me." Celestia's voice was cold and emotionless, staring at them sternly."I gave Trixie an order...an order that you all should be heeding. We are not ready everypony...even the Elements might not stop her." Dash stepped forward, gulping as she stood before the princess."Is there a chance that it will stop her?" Dash looked into Celestia's eyes, her own shining brightly at the alicorn. Celestia sighed lightly, looking up at the moon, then down at her hooves."Yes...but only if I weaken her for you." Twilight galloped over, worried."P...princess Celestia...what are you saying?" "I am saying" the princess said commandingly,"That she is indeed too powerful to be defeated by The Elements alone. The Elements of Harmony are suppose to be the most powerful magical objects in Equestria, but they have never been used against a force so powerful." "Now just wait one second there Princess...we've fought Nightmare before...used the Elements on her...why can't we do it again?"Applejack raised an eyebrow as she questioned the alicorn, the others taking a step away from her as the royal equine looked at the earth pony with a solid poker face. "Do you know what my parents did when they realized that Luna had become the demon she is now? They attacked her with all of their strength. It gave me the power...the opening I needed to send her to the moon." The princess looked around lightly before glancing back at the orange pony."Once the battle was over, it was obvious that she was bound to the moon for a long time...a thousand years. She had no magical energy to tap into to regain her strength. The demon was stagnant, devoid of any movement or activity, for the entire time she was up there. It was then that the Elements of Harmony were a viable solution. I fear of anything that can mimick her power...but I do not think it is possible." Everypony was silent as Celestia finished, looking around. Twilight looked around as well, noticing something missing."Princess...where is my brother?" Celestia raised an eyebrow at the question, looking around even more intently as she wondered the same thing."I assumed he had gone with you..." The princess' belly tingled uneasily as she heard an explosion off in the distance."Alright, this is it My Little Ponies...I will do my best to weaken her...but it is up to you to finish her off. I trust you with all of my heart...and I love you all." She dropped to her knees, all six of them galloping over and hugging her. Twilight cried heavily as she hugged Celestia's neck tightly, begging with her weakly."Please Princess...don't get hurt...I...I couldn't live without you." Celestia smiled lightly, tears dripping freely from her eyes."Twilight...my dear, sweet Twilight. You have exceeded every expectation...and I could not be more proud." She licked Twilight's ear gently as she cooed to her, the other ponies backing up as the teacher and student bonded and said their goodbyes."Twilight, I feel that if I left Equestria now...you would be more than prepared to live and carry on my memory. I...I know that I may not survive...but I have outlived countless students...and if I perish here, I couldn't not be more proud to know that you have outlived me."  The two hugged tightly before the Princess materialized the box that contained the Elements of Harmony, levitating it to the unicorn's hooves. She spoke no further, flapping her wings and standing tall atop the barricade that the ponies had set up in the middle of the street.  Trixie was soaring as fast as she could, the wind in her mane sounding like a jet intake. She saw Ponyville int he distance, sighing happily that it was still unharmed, but concerned as she saw a large cloud of smoke less than a mile from the town.  She landed hard, spraining one of her hind legs as she crash landed, scrambling as rushed forward, looking for Dash and Twilight. It was a few moments before she heard the muffled sniffles of Twilight. Trixie tilted her head as she turned the corner, seeing Twilight and Dash a few feet next to the others. She galloped at full speed, Dash turning to meet her grin with a worried look. Trixie screeched to a halt in front of Dash, looking at her. "Dash...Twilight...what's wrong?" Trixie looked around before they both pointed towards the smoke cloud advancing towards the town."B...but...Princess Celestia...she can still..." her words were cut off by the crashing of something breaking through wood. Suddenly, the group scattered as the white alicorn slammed into the gravel path. She skidded down the road, her body making a drag mark in the dirt as she came to a stop just a few feet from the ponies, her left shoulder taking most of the damage. She shook lightly as she rose, looking into the darkness as Nightmare Moon clicked and clacked lightly. It was unusual that her hooves made that noise as she continued along the dirt path, nothing for her hooves to come in contact with that wouldn't have muffled her steps.  She stood tall, looking at the ponies with a wide smile on her face."My dear...sweet ponies, how have you been?" Her vision fixated on the cyan unicorn, smiling wider as she looked amongst the ponies again."I am so glad you are here..." She effortlessly lifted Celestia into the air with her magic, bringing her muzzle meet the other's. Celestia struggled weakly, feeling her magic drain slowly as the demon grinned wildly. She looked to the seven others, whimpering softly."L...look away girls..." she blurted out as she shed a tear, trying to look courageous as she looked, face-to-face with the demon she hated more than any object, tangible or otherwise. "Oh don't worry, I think they can handle seeing you pass away...maybe even a show before it happened." Nightmare spat out, her voice filled with poisonous speech as she glared at the royal mare. In one motion, the princess dropped to the ground, Nightmare's front hoof to Celestia's neck, the magic still binding her."How about begging a little...just for me?" "...Go to hell" Celestia retorted back at the demon, making the armored equine snort in disgust. "Gaze upon this sight, little foals, for it is a message. The sun princess dies just in time to fill Equestria with darkness. Your world...IS OVER." "Sorry Nightmare, but that's not gonna happen" a stallion's voice echoed. "Wha?" Nightmare began, but was hit hard with a shield spell, launching her back and slamming her through one of Sugar Cube Corner's walls. The user of the spell stepped forward, Twilight rushing forward and embracing him. "BIG BROTHER!" Twilight cried out, hugging Shining Armor tightly. "I'm sorry I'm late, Twily, but it's hard to command every royal guard...and while I'm here..." he advanced forward, using his magic to levitate the demon towards him."I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Nightmare shivered lightly, very weak."Your magic...it's so..." "Powerful? I am captain of the royal guards..." Shining half-boasted. "Pathetic." Her eyes narrowed as she smiled wide again, feigning injury to get close, only to knock the stallion back with a mimic of the spell he had used on her. He yelped as he crashed through somepony's home, yelling lightly as he felt a few ribs had cracked. Shining used his magic to block the pain, shrugging it off as he galloped at full speed towards Nightmare. His vigor was lost as he felt his legs give out on him, crashing into the ground. He looked around for the cause, but was levitated an inch off the ground before he could think further.  "I'll ask you the same thing I asked Celestia...any last words?" Nightmare croaked, her voice impatient. He looked to Twilight, his mouth open lightly as he spoke. "Twilight...I..." CRACK!!! Twilight's ears dropped, screaming as she heard her brother's neck snap, his head twisted up and to the left, his hind hoof twitching momentarily before Nightmare dropped his lifeless body to the ground.  Twilight's eyes were out of tears as she looked at Nightmare, pure malice replacing it as she growled loudly. She levitated the Elements out of the box Celestia had brought, placing them onto their respective owner's heads as her gaze did not shift from the demon. Dash was right next to the unicorn, Applejack next to her as the six formed a line, covering the street like a road block as they stared at Nightmare, who stood her ground and waited. Trixie watched from the side, caring for Celestia. The alicorn was weak, most of her magic drained, but still physically healthy. "Alright everypony...let's do this" Twilight began,"...for me...for you...for Equestria!" she yelled out, the magic forming in their crowns. They fired off in synch, a bright, magical light firing upward. The magic burned, blasting a few feet into the air before fizzing out. An audible gasp left all of them."WHA?!" Twilight shrieked. Nightmare laughed loudly, her laughter growing into a wild cackle."Did you really think I would fall for that again? Haha, you really thought that I would do the same thing twice?" She slowly paced as she let the ponies fill in the missing pieces."You see...when I was defeated by you six, I learned something great. I learned that the magic of friendship was a powerful thing. Turns out I only needed to make a few, small tweaks, and everything would come crashing down. Think for a minute, my little ponies...what are the six elements? Loyalty... Honesty... Kindness... Generosity... Laughter... and the magic of Friendship, right?" Twilight hissed angrily."Of course...we have all of those!" Nightmare silenced the mare by raising a hoof."Oh really? How many months has it been since you've seen Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie? How about Rarity?" Twilight went to answer, but nothing came out. Nightmare continued."You see...you ponies aren't friends any more. Quite miraculous, isn't it? It only takes one moment, a stone, if you will, to change history forever. Now...Trixie, why do you think I would cause you to become injured while fleeing from Ponyville all those months ago? It requires an immense amount magic to move an object while trapped in another's mind...so why would I use all of that power to inflict harm unto you? Trixie's eyes went wide as she solved the puzzle."You...you knew...you knew it would happen. My recovery, Celestia's disapproval, Ponyville. But...how could you know about Dash?" "Oh, I didn't, but I guess I got lucky." She grinned, happy with her work."Yes, everything that as happened should not have. I needed to break you ponies up...and Rainbow Dash's involvement in this just made my job easier." Nightmare slowly explained how she would not have been powerful enough to stop the ponies without breaking their friendship up. Celestia knew it was her only chance to stop her. She leaned in towards Trixie, whispering to her about the box. She said how the box doubled as a teleportation device in a time of need. Trixie thought of how that could help her, looking over at the box. She gulped softly after a few seconds, looking to the alicorn."Please...don't tell me it's the only way..." "I wish I could...but we both know what must be done to save everything. I'm sorry." Celestia laid her head down, weak from the lack of magic as she whimpered softly, begging Trixie. The unicorn nodded softly, trotting to the box and pulling out a scroll. Celestia whispered a final word, an addition to the incantation that the scroll contained. Trixie slights lightly, reading the spell over and committing it to memory. It was more difficult than anything she had ever done. Not the spell, but what came next. She turned Dash to her, whispering what she would have to do. The Pegasus shook her head desperately, fearing that speaking would alert the alicorn of Trixie's plan. The pony couldn't waste any more time, leaning in and kissing Dash as deeply as she could, their tongues intermingling like lovers going to war. Dash cried lightly as Trixie made her way forward to Nightmare, growling. "HAHAHA, you think you scare me little foal?" "No" Trixie responded,"but once you see what I'm doing...you'll be terrified." Trixie's face was blank as her mane whipped lightly, as if a large gust of wind was blowing past her. Magic erupted powerfully from her horn, spinning into a twist of energy that slowly enveloped the cyan mare. Nightmare gasped as she identified the spell, firing a shot out at the unicorn in an attempt to stop her. The shot went through air as Trixie vanished. She was suddenly in the forest she had been to many times before, looking around as she spotted herself galloping past. It took less than a second as Trixie used her magic to flip the rock out of the way, her past self continuing to gallop away and to safely.  She sighed lightly as the world she was in slowly began shaking, as if a television screen had slowly began losing connection. She was brought to the Canterlot library, the memory crisp and clear. Luna had just trotted back inside with Trixie, her mane wet from the rain that Dash had performed as her test. The sound of Twilight smashing into something in the library.  As the two met eyes, the memory slowly faded, then came back into sharpness, but this time, Trixie was absent. The real Trixie, who was watching the scene pan out, became aware very quickly that she had just seen her experience, but was now about to see how things were suppose to be, and, now that she had changed things back to the way they were meant, what really happened. Twilight looked ahead, blushing lightly as she pushed past Luna, nodding in respect as she hurried to Celestia. Luna sighed lightly, her heart heavy as she frowned, sitting alone in the library and reading by herself.  Even though she knew that it was what was best for Equestria, Trixie felt bad. She was brought further forward, to when she was first shown around Twilight library. She giggled as she watched her past self respond to Spike making sexual references, then brush off Twilight's overdramatic reaction. The memory went scratchy again, and as it repeated, it showed Twilight escorting in Rarity and Applejack inside, offering them to stay the night after a storm had made it impossible for the others to get home. Rarity and Applejack hugged Twilight, bickering playfully amongst themselves...as friends. It continued on like that for a while, but what happened next, practically killed Trixie. After showing a few moments until the most recent, it went back to when Dash and Trixie first met, and went through every point in their relationship. She watched their first meeting, slowly crackling into AJ and Dash bumping hooves and galloping off to hang out with Fluttershy. Their first time together, resting against the tree in the open field melted away, replaced by an image of Rarity dragging Dash along to pick wild berries with Pinkie Pie. They giggled and played, having fun as they bonded, growing closer and fortifying their friendship.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please play this song in the background...pressing play as you read from this point on. youtube.com/watch?v=OkvVr6n1cGk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trixie shuttered as her and Dash played around, kissing each other softly, the image crackling and warping into the Pegasus dreamily admiring the Wonderbolts as she laid on a cloud. Trixie looked down and noticed that she was slowly fading away. Her hooves had begun disappearing into dust-like magic, sparkling beautifully as she simple hovered. She wept openly as she watched her beautiful marefriend, and the life she now had...the real life that she was meant to have. Trixie watched Dash cry hard into her shoulder, her wings removed less than a day prior, told she would never fly again. Trixie smiled softly, the tears in her eyes flowing as she watched the memory crackle. Dash was jumping for joy, having performed a sonic rainboom at the Junior Flyers Competition. She was so happy, flying thought the sky without a care in the world. Trixie was met with a blank world, nothing but white as she looked around. A familiar Pegasus trotted forward smiling softly."I'm glad you let me go..." "But I love you so much, Dashie" Trixie wept hard, looking at her marefriend. She was almost fully dissolved, only her upper chest and a hoof were still there. Dash smiled bright, kissing Trixie deeply. Trixie cried harder, kissing back as she felt her hoof evaporate into dust. She looked at Dash one more time before smiling lightly."I guess...this is it. Good night...my beautiful Dashie." Trixie finished dissolving, cyan dust flowing away as the universe no longer needed her. I hope you all enjoyed this series. Other than a few added treats for long-time fans, this will be the last part. I will probably not bring this story back to life for retrieval. I really put my heart into this series...that you all for your support. I am confirming at least one alternate ending, and an Epilogue for the REALLY devoted fans. Again, I love you all. Comment at how I did...tell me what I should do next. I'm thinking that Fluttershy needs more shipping...recommend ponies for her to ship with. You guys rock my socks...my sexy, orange and black striped socks ;) > Chapter 21 (Epiloge) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash soared effortlessly from side to side, twirling with precision. She laughed as she passed Ponyville, corkscrewing effortlessly as a few cheer for her. It was a few weeks since Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding, and Dash was in heaven. Having performed a sonic rainboom on command, she had a new level of respect from the others. She was contempt knowing that everypony admired her. She stopped down at Sweet Apple Acres, trotting to Applejack as she was bucking apple trees. "Oh, howdy Dash, whatcha up to?" Applejack smiled at Dash, her emerald eyes gleaming softly."Ya know...after after that weddin', you seem quite the chipper pony." Dash blushed lightly, scratching behind her head."Well, I'm just happy, s'all. I'm flying around Equestria today, need anything delivered?" Applejack pondered for a moment, tapping a hoof against her chin."Ya know what, I think I do. Feel like traveling to Stalliongrad?" "Heck yea...only been there once. What's the occasion?" "Well...Granny Smith was suppose to fill a crate with five bags of apples, but she only put in four. The shipment was to Stalliongrad, and none of us could make it." Applejack gave an embarrassed smile, grabbing two bags and distributing the single bag's worth of apples into the two. "Of course" Dash said, smiling as she watched AJ work. The mare finished filling the two small bags, tying a rope around both. Applejack placed it on Dash's back, smiling as she adjusted it.  "Alright...it's the first building in the market...next to the statue." Dash smiled wide, her face becoming competitively happy as her wings extended. She nodded, bolting into the air and slingshotting through the clouds, yelling out "Woo hoo!" as the rainbow trail behind her spiraled. After a minute of flying, she arrived at the large city. It's walls towered high, a magical boundary looking stronger than any unicorn magic imaginable. The guards outside nodded as she landed, allowing her into the city. The size was twice that of Canterlot, and almost every building was three stories tall. Ironically enough, The only single story buildings were the shops. They were centered around the gate of the city, allowing any visitors to browse their wares with the utmost ease. It was simple for Dash to find the store she was searching for. A small general store with a wide glass window across the front. The door was also glass, allowing Dash to see inside. She entered it slowly, looking around before talking to the unicorn at the desk. She happily accepted the delivery, giving the cyan Pegasus a few bits for a speedy delivery. As she left the shop, she groaned as the sun set. It was a rapidly growing darkness that overtook the town. A few lights lit the cobble pathways of the city, lighting up the statue that made up the center of the court. A light gasp escaped Dash's lips as she looked at the lit up image of Trixie, standing on her hind hooves as she smiled wide. "What the...no way. Trixie, not likely." She looked down, a lit up panel drawing her attention."Trixie, savior of Stalliongrad. We are eternally grateful." "Wonderful, isn't it?" a snobby accent met Dash's own words."You know that Ursa Minor your friend Twilight defeated? It was a fine task...for somepony of her skill. I worked for months, learning from every master of the arts there was. I had no problem defeating the Ursa MAJOR...and Stalliongrad could not have been happier." Trixie grinned wide, her voice peppered with the mild demigod persona she flaunted so openly. Dash growled lightly, trying to stare the mare down."I don't care what you've done, skill means nothing if your not a nice person...friendship is the most powerful magic there is, after all." The unicorn scoffed, a hoof pressing against her statue. Dash responded by stepping closer, her own hoof pressing against the stone Trixie figure. They shuttered as magic flowed out of the statue, rocking them like an electric shock as the magical energy surged through their bodies.  In that instant, Dash and Trixie felt every emotion they had ever felt for each other, in the real world, and the other. Dash's mind was filled with their love, Trixie getting a similar emotional rush. The two yelped loudly, their hooves pulling back as they dropped to their knees. Dash looked up, having both her own memory, and that of the other Dash's, the one that loved Trixie. Trixie also had the emotions that the other her had, from the fall, to Dash, to Luna and Nightmare, and even becoming dust. They shook lightly, tears welling in their eyes as they rushed towards each other, kissing passionately as they fell to the floor. "Oh Trixie..." "Dashie!" Luna smiled lightly, standing on top of the statue, a familiar cyan cloud of magical dust whipping around in thin lines."Hehe, come on Trixie" Luan said to the cloud,"let's leave them...I think they will be fine." Luna giggled lightly as the cloud of magic glowed, communicating on another level, unable to be heard by anypony other than Luna."Yes...I believe you now...but admit it...it was a crazy story. Hmm? Yes...but you arrived at a bad time...admit that." Luna flew off towards Canterlot, the magical dust following like a friendly poltergeist."Indeed Trixie, I know you couldn't control yourself, but talking to me during the Changeling invasion almost cost us the castle. . .fine, I forgive you, my protégée." Luna smiled wide, looking at the dust. It formed a faded, dull picture of Trixie, smiling as they flew together. Finally, Trixie and Luna would never have to be alone...ever again. The End > Alternate Ending: Something Borrowed > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trixie looked back slowly, nodding to Dash before galloping off. She was thinking with her heart, and that just made it worse as she sprinted head first towards Nightmare. The demon wasn't expecting any opposition, and as she looked up from Shining Armor's body, she was hit hard. The armored Trixie hit Nightmare square in the chest, her horn making a deep gash in the monster's chest. Nightmare, howled as she looked down, her chest plate punctured. The demon reeled back, slamming her front hooves down powerfully as she created a crack deep into the ground, traveling at lightning speed towards Trixie. The mare rolled left, her horn glowing as her hooves sped up, crashing into Nightmare Moon like a freight train. As the unicorn looked up, she screamed out, zapped with lightning from a storm cloud that Nightmare had set as a fail safe. The mare shuttered heavily, her ears smoking lightly as she whimpered. She was becoming the exact opposite of Celestia. She had full magical strength, but was physically weak as she rose to her hooves. Dash tried to get her to stop, calling to her as Twilight and Applejack held her back. She screamed and shook, trying to break free from her friends' grasp as she watched her love being mauled by the demon. Trixie slowly trotted towards Nightmare, her legs shaking as she fired out a few shots from her horn. The magic was deflected with ease as Nightmare galloped forward, spinning on her front hooves and using both hind legs to kick Trixie in the face. She yelled out, hearing her nose break before being launched through the air, her metallic wings on her suit opened just in time to be shattered on impact with the town hall's balcony.  Trixie rose yet again, her cheeks torn and her face bloodily as she trotted towards Nightmare again. "TRIXIE...NOOO....STOP!!" Dash yelled out, her face wet with tears as she kicked and hollered. Trixie looked weakly at Dash, smiling lightly as Nightmare approached, hitting Trixie in the stomach before slamming her over the head. A loud bend of metal indicated that her helmet had bent, making Trixie sigh as she heard the metal poof into magical dust. "It seems your..." Nightmare panted softly,"your little plan didn't work." She panted again, her eyes burning a fiery, violet glow. She lifted Trixie and tosses her towards her friends, landing her inches from Dash as everypony stepped back. "Trixie...speak to me." Dash whimpered as she took Trixie's hoof. The unicorn laughed quietly, looking at Dash's beautiful, tear-covered face. "Dash, you've always been able to make me smile...that's what I'll really miss." "Miss?" Dash whined under her breath,"you aren't going anywhere...you're staying right bucking here, you hear me?" Dash sniffled as Trixie put her hoof to Dash's lips. "I love you Dash, and I'll never forget you...ever. Now give me a kiss..." Trixie whimpered, her smile fading as she brought Dash into the deepest kiss she could, tears dripping lightly as she broke away, galloping at full speed. Time slowed, her breath clear and controlled.  She breathed in steadily, her hooves making a dull thud as they contacted with dry dirt. Loud pangs of pain shot up her crippled body as she pushed herself past her limit. She groaned softly, tears dripping onto the dirt faster than her own hooves as she neared, screaming out as her horn grew a bright white. Nightmare's eyes grew wide, looking like a deer in headlights as she reeled backwards, almost falling back as Trixie made contact a bright light erupting out as her horn crashed into Nightmare Moons chest. Behind her, Dash was catching up, her hoof extended as she wept, trying to stop her love from acting. "TRIXIEEEEE!" Dashes voice echoed as the unciorn's spell worked instantly. Time almost froze as Trixie looked down, seeing the spell in effect. Both equines' hind hooves began turning to solid stone, quickly working its way up to their chest and head. Trixie's face was expressionless, all except for a small smile breaking in the corner of her mouth. Nightmare was in pure shock, mouth gaping as they both hardened, permanently turned to rock."I love you Dashie." Dash galloped forward, her breathing sporadic as she hugged the stone image of her love, crying hard into it. Both Trixie and Nightmare were turned to stone, and everything from their expressions to their posture was intact. Twilight took Dash into her grasp, crying as Applejack shed a few tears with them.  As the three parted, Dash looked around, noticing many small, diamond-shaped sapphire crystals strewn along the ground. Each one was an inch tall and 3/4 of an inch wide. They were scattered along the path Trixie had run, and as she looked at Trixie's stone face, Dash smiled through her tears. Every tear that Trixie had shed before the spell had crystalized into that gem, and in the corners of her eyes and the shine of her irises, the gem was embedded. She took great care picking up every piece, making well over a hundred gems that she placed in a bag. Celestia slowly rose to her feet, her face dull and worn as she raised her front legs, bringing out the sun before crashing back down. Dash approached the princess, helping her up."I'm sorry that we couldn't save Luna" Dash said weakly as they trotted towards the stone. "And I hoped we could have stop her without losing Shining Armor, let alone your love Trixie. She...I saw her write this before confronting Nightmare...I think you should have it." Celestia said softly, showing a scroll that Dash snatched quickly. She opened it and read it intently, her lower lip quivering as she read. Dear Dash,                I hope you don't hate me for what I did. If I could have thought of any other solution, I would have done it. If the scroll was right, and the crystals DID form..then I have a specific instruction that I hope you can carry out. Give one to everypony in Ponyville, yes...everypony...filly, colt, mare, and stallion alike. You can do what you want with what's left over, I don't mind. Please...don't mourn my loss. Live the life that you were ment to. Find love...I'm sure Applejack would want you...seeing as your single now. Hehe, but in all seriousness, you deserve to live and love just like anypony, and my passing should be met with a look to the future.        I love you so much, and wherever I am, I'm looking down at you, and I'll guide you to happiness. It's the least I can do. After a few months of recovery, Ponyville resumed normal life. It was rough, but with no Nightmare, things were a lot safer on the civilians of Equestria. After a few weeks of preparations, Princess Celestia issued an edict, affecting everypony in Ponyville. As of three weeks after the demise of Nightmare and the loss of Trixie and Princess Luna, everypony had been given a silver necklace.  Created by Canterlot's best smiths and crafters, it was a silver chained necklace with a round pendent that hung from it. The pendent was only two inches tall and two inches wide, and depicted a picture of a unicorn's silhouette inside of a crescent moon. The pendent also contained a gem, a "tear" from Trixie. Celestia ordered everypony in Ponyville to wear it like it was their most praised possession in respect for the two angels plucked from Equestria before their time. Dash made regular, daily visits to the statue, smiling up at the image of Trixie, her front hooves curled and her hind legs extended as she slammed head-first into Nightmare. Dash wore her necklace as well, but hers was specially created. It was a string of pure gems, Trixie's tears mended with magic to make a pliable necklace that she took wherever she went. She smiled at Trixie, telling the statue everything that happens in the day. Every member of Ponyville treats Dash like family, and not a day goes by without a fresh batch of flowers placed by somepony. Needless to say, the florist in Equestria was extremely grateful. Applejack slowly advanced forward, putting a hoof around Dash and pulling her close, kissing the Pegasus on the cheek tenderly."Ya ready ta go sugar cube? Rarity asked me to pick up some silk...and fluttershy said she needed somepony to get more fish for the animals. You up for it?" They slowly turned and trotted away, Dash turning to meet AJ's bright smile."Sorry, but my marefriend and I have some catching up to do...after spending so much time with Trixie, she's getting lonely." Dash smiled as somepony came up behind her and hugged her tight."Speaking of which..."   Dash leaned over, kissing her marefriend lightly as she giggled,"Oh Twilight, you have the best timing." She grinned wide, looking back at Trixie. The sapphires in Trixie's eyes gleamed, light refracting off of the sun and shining at Dash."Yea...I love you too Trixie." I think I'll end the story here. I'm a bit focused on other projects, so...I hope that you enjoyed my story. The reason I chose Twilight is a little of an homage to people who expected me to pair Twi and Trix together...and I wanted to get across the point that they were slowly building the bonds again...their friends slowly growing the bond that they have in the show. Type out a comment if you'd like...I always enjoy hearing about how I did ;3 > (What Happens Now...) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're reading this, then you've finished reading Trixie's Redemption. I hope I have put a smile on your face or a tear in your eye. Regardless, for those who thing this story is finished and shall never return, you will be gladly mistaken. As of right now, the new story is being formed...if slowly...and yes, it's a sequel