Cardcaptor Twilight

Three whole days had passed without a single incident taking place. According to Kero, the last remaining Clow Cards were probably being cautious, or else, they simply hadn’t been triggered yet. In any event, because things had finally started to settle down once more, Twilight and her friends decided to do something together, as it had been a while. Trixie invited Fluttershy to come and watch her latest show in Los Pegasus, and, much to the showmare’s dismay, she had asked if the rest of her friends could come along, too.

Whilst Rainbow Dash was opposed to the idea, and Applejack wasn’t too sure herself, the rest of their friends wanted to go. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were genuinely excited to go watch, and Twilight was curious about something. As such, the six mares were now sitting in a special VIP box in the Nightshade Theatre, watching as the Great and Powerful showmare entered the stage.

From the moment she stepped out onstage, the audience was already cheering for her. However, the level of enthusiasm in the crowd felt odd to Twilight, along with something else…

Trick after trick, story after story, and the occasional joke and anecdote, and Trixie was receiving heavy applause from her audience. Even Rainbow Dash was cheering for her, which is where Twilight drew the line. She knew that something was up. She had nothing against the performance itself, but she could sense that there was something strange going on… and it was coming from Trixie.

Twilight decided, after the intermission was called, that she would got and have a little chat with Trixie.

Trixie sighed as she went over her performance schedule in her head, whilst running a brush through her mane in front of a mirror in her changing room. “So much that the Great and Powerful Trixie would like to show those ponies, but she only has so much time…” A knock at the door caught her off guard. She certainly wasn’t expecting anypony right now. “… Come in.”

In the mirror’s reflection, Trixie could see the door opening, and Twilight walking inside. The purple mare closed the door behind her, and stared at the back of Trixie’s head with a serious look on her face. “That was a good first act, Trixie.”

Trixie grinned proudly at the praise. “Of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie is-”

“Just so you know, that came from my heart,” Twilight said, cutting Trixie off and causing the showmare to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Not from whatever magic you’ve been using on the crowd.”

“… So, you saw through that, huh?” Trixie asked, looking a little uneasy. “Right. Of course you would,” she mumbled to herself.

“Trixie, level with me here. You’ve been using some kind of manipulation magic on the crowd to make them love you, haven’t you?”

“… So what if she has?”

“Well for one thing, it’s illegal!” Twilight shouted, though not too loudly, as the walls have ears. “For another, it’s totally immoral!”

Trixie scoffed. “What purpose do morals serve for a pony who has nothing? Would morals keep Trixie warm at night? Would they feed her at noon and evening? Can morals be Trixie’s friend?”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps you weren’t aware, but ever since the incident with ursa minor, Trixie has been unable to perform her show! Everywhere she went, it was the same! Ponies laughing at Trixie. Ponies booing Trixie off stage before she can even get started. Trixie was starving, Twilight Sparkle!”

“So you thought to go use your magic to manipulate ponies into loving you?! Why didn’t you just go to your friends for hel-” Twilight stopped when she saw the venomous look in Trixie’s eyes, and she quickly understood why that wasn’t an option. “Oh…”

“We’re not all like you, Sparkle. Not everypony is born into luxury. Not everypony is raised to be a success. Some of us have to fight for our place in the world. Some of us have to play a little dirty. And yes, some of us even have to do dark deeds in order to survive. It’s a matter of having nothing to lose, but everything to gain. In that case, there is really only one logical path to take.”

“But what about the ponies that you manipulate? How do you think they feel? And don’t forget, manipulation magic isn’t just illegal for moral reasons. There are health hazards involved with it, too!”

“Why should Trixie care about them?! They certainly didn’t care about Trixie!”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you should stoop to this level! I thought you were better than that!”

Trixie flinched, and moved back a bit. “Y-You did?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. I mean, you’ve helped me out so many times with the Clow Cards, and when you saw that Fly was in pain, you stopped us from attacking it so that you could help it out. When I was on the verge of death, you sacrificed half of your magic, your most important thing, to help me out. You… I considered you a friend…”

“… Well, that was foolish of you. We’re rivals, Sparkle.”

“We can still be friends,” Twilight argued. “And it’s not just me. Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, too. And not to mention Fluttershy. Do you think she’d be happy to know about what you’re doing?”

Trixie gasped, and jumped out of her seat to confront the other Unicorn. “Is that… a threat?!”

“N-No! It isn’t!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie finally has what she’s always wanted! A legion of loyal, adoring fans that will never abandon her! Why can’t you just look the other way for once?!”

“Because it’s not real!”

“I don’t care!”

“Well you should care! How would you like it if you were manipulated?! If you were made to love something against your will?!”

“Shut up!”

“I know you’re a better pony than this, Trixie! Please, do the right thing here.”

“I said shut up!”

Before Twilight could say anything more, a thick cloud of black smoke surrounded Trixie suddenly, startling the two mares and causing them both to back up. “W-What’s that?!” Twilight asked.

“I-I don’t know!” Trixie answered. “It feels like a Clow Card, but-” Trixie’s words vanished as the black smoke surrounded her entire body, shielding her from Twilight’s vision.

“Trixie?!” Twilight called out, and tried to run over to the showmare, only for the black smoke to surround her, too. “W-What’s going on?!” Twilight called out as she saw everything around her fade to darkness. Soon, she was immersed in pitch-black, and no longer see or hear anything, save for her own breathing. “Trixie?! Are you there?!”

No answer. Twilight tried running straight forward, but no matter how far she ran, she never seemed to find Trixie, or an exit to this strange place. “Where am I?” she asked herself as she stopped running to catch her breath. “Am I… Am I all alone?”

Twilight looked around once more, and decided to try calling out to somepony again. “Trixie! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! Rarity! Pinkie Pie! Kero! … Anypony… please, somepony answer me…”

When no answer came, Twilight began to panic. She realised that she was on her own, and that she would have to solve this mystery by herself. “… Trixie said it feels like a Clow Card… In that case…” Twilight took out her key, and held it up with her magic. “The key that hides the power of the dark, show your true form before me! I, Twilight, command you under our contract: Release!”

A few moments passed… and nothing happened. “What? W-Why didn’t that work?” Twilight closed her eyes to think about the situation. ‘If my magic is being blocked… but this is still a Clow Card… does that mean it’s a special card, like Mirror? In that case, I need to determine which card this is… I’m surrounded by darkness. I can’t see a single thing… I wonder…’

“This card, could it be… ‘Dark’?” The darkness around her began to shimmer, and Twilight’s face lit up as she realised she had guess right. However, the darkness soon returned back to the way that it was, which worried the purple Unicorn. “But, why? It should have lost its power, right? Is there something else I have to do?”

Twilight looked down as she thought, and then noticed something. She could see her own hoof, despite everything else being coated in darkness. “That’s odd. Why can I see myself so clearly? My body… it looks like its emitting some kind of light.” ‘Wait, Kero mentioned something about the Dark before. He said that it was one of the six main cards in Clow Reeds deck. Four of the others are the elemental cards, and the final one is…

‘Light! My entire body is lit up, even in this darkness… Could it be?’ Twilight closed her eyes, and focused. She concentrated deeply, using her mind’s eye to try to see the truth. She searched the deep recesses of her own mind, and saw a small flicker of light.

“Yes. That’s right.” Twilight gasped, and opened her eyes. Standing before her, was large mare, about as tall as Celestia, completely white, and wearing a flowing white robe. “Well done in finding me, Twilight Sparkle. To find that faint glimmer of light, in a world consumed by darkness. You are indeed the heir to Clow Reed’s legacy, the Clow Cards.”

Beside this mare, another, equally-tall mare appeared. This one was completely black, and wore a flowing black robe. “So you were able to find Light within yourself. I’m glad.”

“Are you… Dark?” Twilight asked.

“You should be able to use your magic now,” Light told Twilight.

“Please, seal us together,” Dark added.

Twilight looked at the two mares for a moment. They were both looking back at her, smiling at her. She smiled back, and nodded. “… The key that hides the power of the dark, show your true form before me! I, Twilight, command you under our contract: Release!”

Twilight’s key turned into her wand, and she raised it into the air. “Return to the guise you were meant to be in! Clow Card!” As Light and Dark were absorbed by Twilight’s magic into their card forms, the two of them never lost their smiles, and offered Twilight some final pieces of advice as they were sealed away.

“The darkness resides in us all, and it is easy to get lost in it.”

“That’s why there are ponies like you, who can find the light within others, and share it with those who can’t find their own.”

“Those who can’t find their own… You mean, Trixie?” Twilight asked as the two cards floated down into her hooves.

“What about Trixie?” Twilight jumped back with a start as she realised that Trixie was now standing beside her. “So, you captured the Clow Card… Wait, there were two of them?!”

Twilight looked around, and found herself back in the changing room. It seemed that everything had turned back to normal… With a relieved sigh, Twilight pocked her newly-obtained Clow Cards, and turned to face Trixie. She was now prepared to continue from where she left off.

“… Trixie, there’s no need to keep manipulating others with that manepin of yours.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “You’re still on that? Look, just leave Trixie alone, and let her be happy for once, okay?”

“But are you really happy?” Twilight asked. “Wouldn’t it better to have a fan base that actually loved you for you, and not because of some magical influence?”

Trixie turned her head to the side. “Well, obviously. But it isn’t going to happen.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked. “Your shows really are great, Trixie. Sure, you’ve had bad luck in the past, but… now that ponies have actually given your shows a chance, you can wow them without the use of that manepin. I know you can.”

Trixie scuffed her forehoof against the floor. “Well, of course Trixie can. But… it’s impossible now.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side. “Why’s that?”

“… If… If Trixie removes this manepin, the manipulation magic will disappear. And everypony will know what Trixie did.” Trixie shook her head. “They’ll realise that Trixie was using magic to make them like her shows! Once they sit through her show without her manepin on, they’ll easily be able to tell the difference, and then-”

“I think a lot of them will still like it,” Twilight said in a reassuring tone, taking Trixie by surprise. “I mean, I sure did.”

“… That’s you, though. You’re… You’re too kind for your own good.”

“I’m also a harsh critic. I even gave my mum’s book a harsh review when it deserved it, so you know I’m not biased.”

“… But, that’s just one pony…”

Twilight moved closer to Trixie, and placed her hoof over the showmare’s. “One friend, who you can trust, Trixie. And if things do go bad, I’ll take full responsibility.” Twilight’s smile never left her face. “You can trust me. I’ll be there to help you, and so will the others.”

“… Twilight…” Trixie raised a forehoof to her head, but stopped just short of her mane. “But I-”

“Trixie, you can have all the fans in the world.” Twilight gripped Trixie’s hoof a little tighter. “But they won’t be your friends. We will.”

Trixie and Twilight stared at each other for a few silent moments, before Trixie nodded, and continued moving her hoof up towards her manepin. “… Twilight… you’d better be right about this.”

“Have I ever steered you wrong before, Trixie?”

“… No… and that’s the most annoying thing about you. You always play clean.” The mares smiled at each other, and Trixie closed her eyes as she gripped her manepin in her hoof.

“Thank you, everypony! You have been such a wonderful crowd!” Trixie shouted as she bowed to her cheering fans. Compared to earlier in the show, the theatre was less than half of what it had started out with, but that still left a lot more ponies in the crowd than the showmare was expecting. And they were all cheering for her. Genuine cheers, not fakes ones created by magic.

“I knew they’d love her,” Twilight said as she applauded from her own seat. Behind her, Rainbow Dash huffed.

“I still can’t believe she used magic to make us cheer for her. When this is over, I’m gonna teach her a lesson!”

“Oh, let it go, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said in a dismissive tone. “She’s had enough troubles already, and I told her we’d support her after she removed the manepin. Can’t you just let this one go?”

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs, and let out a groan. “Ugh, fine. I’ll give her a freebie this one time, but she’s on thin ice!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, and looked back at the stage, where Trixie was bowing and taking in all the applause sent her way. “Ponies do crazy things when they’re desperate, and even if they realise their mistakes later on, by that point, they feel it’s already too late. That leads them to do more crazy things, to protect themselves.

“That’s why we have friends with us. That’s why we have ponies who’ll help us get back on our hooves when we fall over, and who’ll steer us away from the wrong choices.” Twilight stopped for a moment when a thought crossed her mind. ‘Light entered my body, so that I could dispel the Dark. And Dark entered Trixie’s body… Dark didn’t have to do that to attack me, though. I wonder… did the Clow Cards set this whole thing up?’

Twilight shook her head, and watched as Trixie left the stage, a cheerful look on her face. ‘Well, whatever the case, all’s well that ends well, I guess.’