The Four Ponies of the Apocalypse Book One: Trixie

Chapters

Chapter 1: Dark Magic
Chapter 2: The Big Show
Chapter 3: The Magical Duel of Shadow
Chapter 4: Fright to the Finish

Chapter 1: Dark Magic

Matthais123 is now officially a Brony. This is my first My Little Pony- Friendship is Magic FanFic, and it will be a series of Five stories centering on the four stars that freed Nightmare Moon/ Princess Luna, which have been rumored to be the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse. The other four will focus on the actual four ponies, while this one will be more of a warm up, or prologue. By the way, The Great and Powerful Trixie is my favorite villain. She's the “Team Rocket” of the show, if only she had a motto or at least a quick villain song. I hope she makes more appearances in Season 2. Anyway, here we go!

Chapter 1: Dark Magic

“Another hot chocolate!”

“Look miss, I'm sorry but-”

“I said another hot chocolate! How dare you keep The Great and Powerful Trixie waiting!”

The young blue unicorn pounded her hoof on the table of the nameless soda shop on the outskirts of Ponyville. The white pony behind the counter rubbed at his mustache as he replied, “I'm sorry, but anymore hot chocolate and you'll be the 'Stomach- and Head- Aching Trixie' in the morning.”

Trixie jumped to her hooves and snarled, “What? How dare you mock the legendary name of The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Yeah, the one who beat the Ursa Major, right?” came a sarcastic snark.

Trixie whirled around angrily and said, “Wait! Who dares insult The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Trixie was suddenly toppled by a flap of powerful wings. She looked up to see none other than Gilda the Griffon standing over her.

“Heh! You're not very impressive! You're just a liar and a boaster who stands behind and smoke and mirrors,” Gilda snarked.

Trixie quickly levitated her wizard's hat back onto her head and said, “Bah! So what if that tale about the Ursa Major was a mere fabrication? So what? The Great and Powerful Trixie still showed up the likes of Applejack, Rainbow Dash whom I hate, and the ugly Rarity.”

“But not Twilight Sparkle,” Gilda said in a mocking, sing-song tone.

A bead of sweat slipped down Trixie's cheek.

“It's quite obvious that she's a better sorceress than you. And you know what else?” Gilda then got extra close to Trixie's face and said, “She's not a boastful, cowardly, prideful jerk!”

Trixie was at a loss for words. And then, it got worse.

“Yeah! Twilight's awesome!”

“Of course! She saved the town from that Ursa Minor!”

“Heck, she and her friends saved the world from Nightmare Moon!”

“Yeah, and Trixie humiliated them! How could she!”

“The little bully! All smoke and mirrors she is!”

“How dare she say she's superior? Who does she think she is?”

“ENOUGH!!!”

Trixie stomped her hooves, and her horn glowed, filling the room with storm clouds and causing loud thunder and lightning. When everypony had quieted down, Trixie stuck her nose into the air and said, “I have powers beyond that of imagination! You may all doubt me now, but the day will soon come when I prove once and for all that no one, especially Twilight Sparkle, is greater than The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie stomped her hooves once again, and the room was filled with smoke. As the smoke cleared, everypony could see Trixie running out and away from the shop.

Trixie flattened her ears against the hissing, booing, and laughing as she ran as fast as her hooves could take her. She didn't know or care where she was going. She just wanting to escape the jeering. And when the jeering did fade, she kept on running for what felt like hours, until exhaustion took over, and she fell on her back, her eyes pointed towards the stars.

Her career had taken an awful nosedive ever since the Ursa Minor incident. Rumors of how The Great and Powerful Trixie wasn't even Great and Powerful enough to defeat a baby Ursa Minor, compared to the Ursa Major battle she had made up, were bad enough. However, the negative PR of her being a bully, an egotist, a liar, a coward, a public humiliating machine. . .it was all just too much.

“You ruined my life Twilight!” Trixie shouted at the heavens. She then broke down a cried, still lying on the ground, tears running down her face and into her pale blue mane. “What must The Great and Powerful Trixie do the regain her fame, her confidence, her dignity?” she whined.

“Vengeance.”

Trixie's eyes snapped open, “Who's there?”

“Look at the moon.”

Trixie gazed at the moon, and then see noticed, four stars, positioned around it. Suddenly, these began to grow and grow, until their light filled Trixie's eyes. Trixie got up, and realized that the stars didn't grow, they had merely come down to her.

The four stars positioned themselves around the unicorn, and with a flash, they revealed their true form.

“I am Conquest,” he was a white earth pony, with a cutie mark depicting a bow and arrow inside a golden crown.

“I am War,” he was a red pegasus with a cutie mark depicting a flaming sword.

“I am Famine,” he was a black unicorn with a cutie mark depicting balance scales.

“I am Death,” he was a pale-green pegacorn, with a cutie mark depicting the Grim Reaper's Scythe Blade.

“We are the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse.”

Trixie was in complete terror. Her entire body shook as much as Pinkie Pie predicting a doozy. She gulped and said, “W-what is it th-that you want from th-the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Do you know the legend of Nightmare Moon?” Conquest said in a deep voice.

“Parts of it,” Trixie replied.

“Well, we really should inform you on the important parts,” War said in a strong, iron voice.

“Princess Luna was corrupted with jealousy, and being banished to the moon added anger and rage as well, so we decided to use that to our advantage,” Famine said in cackling voice.

“We came to her on the moon, and we made a deal with her. We set her free, give her new power a Nightmare Moon, and she creates eternal night for us to go on with our own plans,” Death said in a smooth, subtle, almost gentlemanly voice.

“Of course, she failed. So, we now come to you,” Conquest said.

“To me?” Trixie said, slowly gaining confidence.

“Yes, you want revenge on Twilight, don't you? Well, we will grant you dark magic that will allow you to do just that,” War said.

“YES!” Trixie shouted, jumping up on her hind legs and jumping around, “Finally! I will get my revenge! And then, all will know that I truly am The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Yes, young unicorn. You will be seen as great and powerful. In fact, you will be feared,” Famine chuckled evilly.

Trixie suddenly stopped and dropped to all fours again. “Feared?” she said, she then put a hoof to her chin to think it over. Then she smiled and said, “Yes. . .feared throughout Equestria, The Great and Powerful Trixie!” She then let out a maniacal laugh.

“One condition though, you must eliminate Twilight and the rest of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. We cannot have them getting in our way,” Death said smoothly.

“No problem! I'll enjoy doing that!” Trixie said.

The Four Ponies then became stars again and orbited around Trixie.

“Great and Powerful Trixie!” (Trixie let out a squeal of delight) “We give you the power of Dark Magic!”

There was a familiar burst of dark purple mist that spurted into the sky like a geyser, and then quiet, which was then broken by the sound of demented evil laughter.

Chapter 2: The Big Show

Chapter 2: The Big Show

“Magical duels have certainly not been rare in Equestria's past. Unicorns, pegacorns, and many other wielders of magic have done battle against each other while using spells. However, one of the most dangerous types of duels were the Magical Duels of Shadow, during which-.”

Twilight Sparkle stopped note taking from the book next to her and magically levitated her quill from the page she was writing on to dip it in her ink well, only to find it empty and dry.

“Spike, do we have anymore ink wells?” she called out.

The young dragon slid down the ladder he was using to put some books back and said, “Uh, no. I forgot to get more yesterday. Anyway, what's so interesting in that book anyway?”

“It's all about how ancient wizards and sorceresses battled each other. They sure took magic seriously!” Twilight said.

“Hm, okay. Well, I'm gonna get the ink,” Spike said, and his stomach suddenly growled, causing him to grin sheepishly.

Twilight laughed and said, “Well, bring the ink back here first, then get something to eat. This book's really interesting and I want to take as much notes as I can on it.”

Spike winked and zoomed out of the door.

* * *

Spike was walking past Rarity's house when it happened. He noticed a huge ruby on the ground. His eyes bulged out of his head, and he quickly snatched it and gobbled it up. Right after that, he noticed another gemstone, and ate that one too. He looked up, and he saw another one.

Spike was soon scarfing down gemstones as he was led right behind Rarity's house.

After swallowing one last emerald, Spike looked up to see. . .

FLASH!

* * *

Rarity looked up from the dress she was sewing in surprise.

“What on earth was that?” the white unicorn gasped.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her front door. Rarity opened it to see the pink earth pony Diamond Tiara.

“Oh, it's you,” Rarity said with a slightly annoyed look on her face, “Well Sweetie Bell isn't here for you to bully right now, so would you mind leaving my house.”

Diamond stuck her nose up into the air and said, “I came here to inform you of the big show in the center of Ponyville this afternoon. I have many other ponies to inform, so I shall take my leave now, thank you very much!”

As Diamond left, Rarity thought, “Big show? What big show?”

* * *

Twilight looked up from the book when she heard a knock at the door.

“Well, that was fast Spike!” she said,

However, the knocking continued.

“Oh! Er, come in!” Twilight said.

The door opened, revealing the gray haired and glasses wearing Silver Spoon.

“Where's Diamond Tiara? Is she too busy being a mean bully?” Twilight said with narrowed eyes.

Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes back at her and said, “The two of us are helping to spread the word about the big show in the center of town this afternoon.”

“What show?” Twilight asked.

“I can't tell you, we've sworn to secrecy, bye,” Silver said with a sly wink, and a twitch of her glasses that caused them to twinkle mischievously, and she took her leave, leaving Twilight looking very puzzled.

* * *

From a full and leafy apple tree in Sweet Apple Acres, two young pegasus spied on Big Macintosh and Applejack, who were in the next field.

“Er, what exactly are we doing, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy asked timidly.

Rainbow Dash smiled and said, “Sh, quiet, I just want to check out Big Mac.”

“WHAT?”

“Shhh! They'll hear us!” Rainbow Dash hissed, “Hold on, where are you going?”

Fluttershy carefully climbed down the tree and said, “I don't feel comfortable staring at ponies like this.”

“But Big Mac is just so. . .so. . .big and strong and easy going and handsome!” Rainbow Dash raved, her eyes rolling up as she hovered in the air.

“Rainbow Dash's got a crush!” two voices sang.

Rainbow Dash was so surprised that she fell out of the tree and onto the hard ground.

“Uhh. . .who's there?”

And out came Snips and Snails, not the best looking, or the smartest, ponies in Ponyville.

“What do you think you're doing? Sneaking up on ponies!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Isn't that what we were doing?” Fluttershy said.

Rainbows Dash moaned.

“Anyway,” Snips said, “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon paid us to go around telling ponies about the big show in the center of Ponyville at noon. They didn't tell us what was gonna happen though.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, “Come on then, let's go.”

Meanwhile, Applejack placed another basket of apples into Big Mac's cart and said, “Heya bro. Uh, do ya ever get that ol' feeling that ya was being, ya know, watched?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied lazily.

“Uh-huh!” came the hyper reply of something big and pink that shot out of the basket of apples that Applejack had just put down.

“Aahhh!” Applejack shouted, jumping back in fear, “Pinkie Pie! Do ya have to randomly pop up everywhere like that?”

Pinkie winked and said, “Okie Dokie Lokie! Anyway, did ya hear? Did ya? There's gonna be a big show in the center of town at noon! Everyone's talking about it! Whoops, gotta go!” Pinkie then shot back down into the basket of apples.

Applejack stared at the basket of apples for a moment, then she turned to Big Mac and said, “Well, we should be done with alla this by noon, then we can see what this is allabout.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied lazily.

* * *

Inside a certain tree house, something strange was going on.

Out of nowhere, a loud dramatic sting played.

Dun, Dun, Duuuun!

Three little ponies stood with their backs to the “Fourth Wall”. A huge picture of a blue patch depicting a yellow pony on it's hind legs framed the scene. Each of the ponies had a blue bandana which had that very patch.

“Prepare for trouble!” said the young white unicorn with a pink mane.

“And make it triple!” said the yellow earth pony with a red mane.

Then dramatic rock music began to play.

“Questing! To find out who we are!” the unicorn said.

“Testing! Our talents everywhere!” the pony said.

“We'll have to figure out what to do next till our cutie marks are here!” said the orange pegasus with a dull pink mane.

“The even-tempered peacemaker, Sweetie Bell!” the unicorn said, turning around dramatically.

“Stubborn, brave, and aggressive, I'm Apple Bloom!” said the earth pony, whirling around fast.

“Stylish and daring, I'm Scootaloo!” the pegasus said as she twirled around expertly on her hind legs.

All three ponies stuck a hoof out, pointing dramatically upwards, and they all said in perfect unison, “Now! Gather yourselves under the name of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Hey, that was awesome!” Apple Bloom said.

“Well, I have to admit it went better than I thought it would,” Sweetie Bell said.

“That's right!” Scootaloo cheered, flapping her wings excitedly, “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have finally got a cool Motto! Yes!”

“Triple trouble? You got that right! That was the worst display I've ever seen!” a voice called out.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to see Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara standing in the entrance.

“You guys looked like clowns! You should've done that at the talent show! Even more people would have laughed at that!” Silver Spoon remarked.

“Leave it to the Bare Flanks to make idiots of themselves!” Golden Tiara said.

“Hey! Don't insult our Motto, or our Theme Song!” Sweetie Bell said, then she hung her head crestfallenly and said sadly, “I made them up myself.”

“Figures, they both stink,” Golden Tiara shot back.

“GET OUT OF OUR CLUBHOUSE!” Apple Bloom screamed.

“Only if you come to the big show that's happening in the center of town at noon,” Silver Spoon said.

“We will, we will, just please, leave us alone!” Scootaloo said, almost begging.

“Gladly, we wouldn't want to be seen in this dump!” Golden Tiara said, and the two bullies left.

“I hope the show isn't their show,” Scootaloo said with a worried look.

“I hope it is! Then we could boo them!” Apple Bloom said.

“Wait, you want to us to get cutie marks for booing?” Sweetie Bell said in confusion.

“No, but booing them would be a lot of fun!” Apple Bloom replied with a sneaky smile.

* * *

It seemed as if everypony was at the center of town at noon, waiting to see what this big show was about.

In the crowd, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were having a whispered conversation.

“Are you sure we should've helped her? I mean, she is a jerk,” Silver Spoon whispered.

“She has a cutie mark, doesn't she?” Diamond Tiara replied, “Also, she's a lot like us. If she's better than someone else, she makes sure they now it! Like how we're better than those three Bare Flanks Bozos! And, she paid us handsomely! How else do you think we got the money to pay Snips and Snails, huh genius?”

“But what about that stuff she said about getting revenge on Twilight?” Silver Spoon asked nervously.

Diamond Tiara smirked and said, “Well, I'm all for it! In my opinion, she is better than Twilight's. Cause she's not a little miss goody-goody! So there!”

Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends were all gathered together near the front of the crowd.

“What do you think this is all about?” Rainbow Dash asked Rarity.

Rarity shook her head said, “I don't know, but I don't see any kind of performers around here, so maybe those two little bullies were just playing a prank on us all.”

Applejack snorted and said, “The whole dang town? I don't think so!”

“The weird part is that Snips and Snails said they were paid to tell people about the show. Why would Golden and Silver give up their allowances for a practical joke?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Are you okay Twilight? You're awfully quiet,” Fluttershy asked nervously.

Twilight looked around with shifty eyes, and then whispered, “I'm getting a feeling of Deja Vu.”

“Deja Who?” Pinkie asked.

“Deja Vu. It happens when you think you've already been in a certain situation already. You know, like history repeating itself,” Twilight explained.

“Well, is it good Deja Vu or bad Deja Vu?” Pinkie asked with a cocked head.

Before Twilight could answer, there was a huge rumbling sound. Everypony looked up to the sky to see it fill with threatening, dark, and stormy clouds. The sun was completely blotted out. Thunder and lighting raged in the sky. The ground itself seemed to shake.

And then, there was a voice:

“You foolish little ponies! You have no idea the power that is about to descend upon you like a mighty storm. A consuming force that will all bring you to your knees! You laughed, you poured scorn, you made me the butt of your jokes! But now, oh now, the joke is on you! I will have the last laugh! You will all bow your heads low and acknowledge the superiority of-.”

There was a burst of purplish smoke, and in the midst of the town appeared:

“The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Chapter 3: The Magical Duel of Shadow

Chapter 3: The Magical Duel of Shadow The entire crowd booed and hissed at the once famous magician. Many ponies shot death glares at the proud and boastful unicorn.

“I'm gonna send her on a spin this time!” Rainbow Dash shouted, eyes blazing in rage. Before anyone could stop her, she flew at full speed towards Trixie.

Trixie chuckled and her her horn flashed once, causing Rainbow Dash to stop in mid air,dead in her tracks.

“I – can't – move!” she stammered.

Trixie laughed openly, and her horn flashed again. Rainbow Dash was then flung at full speed right through the wall of a nearby building with a tremendous crash.

There were gasps of horror throughout the crowd. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were at a loss for words.

After a rather tense moment, Rainbow Dash came staggering out.

“Okay. . .I give. . .” she mumbled as she fell forward. Fluttershy quickly caught he and led her back to the group.

“I've had enough! Who do you think you are?” Twilight said.

“I know that I am The Great and Powerful Trixie! And I don't plan on wasting any time with trivial conversation!” Trixie said.

“And neither do I!” Twilight said, “How dare you come here and hurt my friend! You've gone too far now Trixie!”

“You ruined my life, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie said, “You exposed my story as a lie and then out did me during that Ursa Minor incident! It's all your fault!”

“No, the problem is that you were so prideful and boastful that when everyone found out you weren't all you said you were, they didn't want to be around a liar like you,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, and ya was a jerk too!” Applejack added, “Ya used yer talents to hurt and humiliate ponies! Nice ponies don't do that!”

“WELL I'M – NOT - NICE!” Trixie shouted, her horn glowing and making fireworks appear in the sky, “I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“You certainly are not nice!” Fluttershy said, and she turned to Rainbow Dash's unconscious form sadly.

Trixie then pointed a hoof at Twilight and said, “I challenge you to a-!”

“Fine!” Twilight said, “It's about time I finally faced you and made you stop being so boastful!”

Trixie laughed, her cloak blowing in a magical wind, “Good! And now, let us begin our Magical Duel of Shadow!”

Twilight gasped, “W-what? No! I can't do that!”

“Sure you can!”

Everyone in the crowd turned to see that Rainbow Dash had regained consciousness. She glared at Twilight and said, “Twilight, you've gotta stop Trixie! Do it for me!”

Twilight was shaking from head to hoof. With a nervous expression, she said, “Listen to me, Rainbow Dash, Magical Duels of Shadow are terrible things. During those duels, each opponent gets a medallion that shows their magical energy, and they use spells against each other until every bit of magical energy is drained out of them.”

“Wait, a unicorn can run out of magic?” Rarity said.

“Yes, that's why it's dangerous. Magical energy, or mana, normally recharges fast, but when all of it is spent, it could take months to recharge, and during that time, the victim becomes completely weak and fatigued.”

“Exactly!” Trixie said, “This is the perfect end to our rivalry! The Great and Powerful Trixie reduces Twilight Sparkle to a weak kitten!” Trixie then narrowed her eyes and peered at Twilight suspiciously. “That is, unless you're too much of a weak coward to defend your pathetic friends!” She then rolled her eyes and said, “Hmph! Friendship! What a joke!”

Twilight's eye twitched, and then she stomped angrily and said, “That's the last straw! You're going down Trixie! Fine! Let's start this duel!”

Trixie grinned wickedly as circular medallions appeared around her and Twilight’s necks.

“Now, prepare to be vanquished by the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie's horn flashed as lightning shot into the air and into the storm clouds above. Lightning then surged down violently around the area. Twilight jumped and dodged to best of her ability, only to get hit by lightning several times.

Twilight shook her head as Trixie's laughter rang in her ears. The glowing circle pie chart on Twilight’s medallion showed 90% mana left.

Trixie's horn charged up electricity, and she charged at Twilight. Twilight thought quickly, and used her own magic to caused banana peels to appear in Trixie's path. Trixie gasped as she slipped and landed hard on her head.

CRASH!!!

The electricity around Trixie's horn exploded, sending her flying and landing flat on her back. Her medallion light shrank to 80%.

Trixie shouted in rage and produced ropes that quickly bound up Twilight's legs. She gasped as she fell on her side. “So what!” Twilight said, “I can still use magic!”

“That won't matter when I do this!” Trixie shouted, and the end of the rope zoomed into the stormy sky.

“Oh horse apples,” Twilight said. She knew what was coming.

KERZAAAAP!!!

Twilight screamed as lightning shot down the rope and surged through her, burning the rope and scorching her fur. The clever attack had reduced her mana to 50%.

Twilight slowly got up onto her legs very shakily.

“Had enough, Twilight?” Trixie said with an evil grin, “Is the Great and Powerful too much for-.”

Before she could finish, Twilight cut her off by casting a spell that caused the ground to cave in underneath her. Trixie's hat went flying off in the whoosh of wind and dirt. Twilight strained and groaned as she focused her magic within her horn, causing it to pulsate brilliantly with purple magic. With a final grunt of exertion, Twilight caused the entire pit to collapse and fall in on itself. There was a huge cloud of dust, and then a sunken area of earth where Trixie stood.

“I – don't think – it's over – yet,” Twilight panted, tired from her counter attack.

Within a second, the mound of earth was blown to dust, and Trixie jumped out with only a fourth of her mana left.

“THIS – IS – THE END!!!” she screeched, and she shot a huge bolt of lightning into the sky, which then came down as many smaller bolts which homed in on Twilight.

“I've only got one chance, this has to be perfect,” Twilight though as she closed her eyes tightly.

The lightning bolts zoomed down and struck their target simultaneously, resulting in a blinding flash of light.

The entire crowd exploded in a cacophony of gasps and screams of horror.

Trixie let out a burst of maniacal laughter, “Hahahahahahaha! Yes! The Great and Powerful Trixie is- Eeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyarrrrrrrrrgh!”

From where the lightning bolts struck stood a very confident looking Twilight Sparkle, standing underneath a magical shield. The lightning bolts had all been neatly reflected by the shield, right back at Trixie.

Trixie fell onto her side, breathing heavily, her medallion showed that her mana was almost gone.

“It's not over yet,” Trixie panted, as she levitated a smile vial from a pocket in her cloak to her mouth. However, this was then wrenched from her by Twilight's magic.

“Nice try, Trixie, but mana potions aren't allowed,” Twilight said as she stood over the blue unicorn. Twilight's face turned sad as she said, “This is why I didn't want to do this. Look at yourself Trixie, this duel tore you apart, and it wasn't much fun for me either,” Twilight added. “I hate doing this to you Trixie, but you've got to learn your lesson somehow, so,” Twilight’s gaze hardened, “You lose!”

Twilight's horn began to glow to give out one last attack-

“Don't do it!”

There was a huge gasp in the crowd as something pushed through and dived in between Twilight and Trixie.

Twilight gasped and stepped back, “Spike?”

Spike had his arms open to shield Trixie, “Get away from her, you creep! The Great and Powerful Trixie can't be harmed by the likes of you!”

“What? What are you-?” Twilight then glared at Trixie, “What have you done to him!”

Trixie just laughed and said, “If you want to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie, then you must destroy your little dragon friend here!”

Twilight groaned nervously and turned back to Spike, “Come on Spike, Remember! Think! Trixie's fooling you!”

Spike shook his head, “Uh-uh! You're the one who's lying! Well it's not gonna work! Ha!”

Rainbow Dash called out, “Spike! What are you doing! I don't care what Trixie did to you, you should still be able to tell a jerk like Trixie from a friend like Twilight, so snap out of it!”

Spike folded his arms and said, “I don't even know who you guys are! Trixie's my only friend! She raised me since I hatched!”

“No Spike! I was the one who raised you!” Twilight shouted, her eyes beginning to tear up.

“I'm Trixie's number one assistant!”

“No! You're my number one assistant!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie's my best friend!”

“I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!” Twilight screamed, now fully outright sobbing.

This was followed by a deep silence.

Spike blinked, and then said with a smile, “Well, I guess my work here is done.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked.

Spike stepped out of the way, to reveal Trixie standing with the small vial to her lips.

“No!” Twilight screamed, realizing that the whole thing was a diversion.

Trixie threw away the empty vial and laughed maniacally as she said, “Hahahahahahaha! Now, behold the true power of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie medallion shot up to full and glew with power, while Trixie became surrounded by a blue aura. The blue unicorns Cutie Mark burned the brightest off all as she let out a scream of triumph and launched a stampede of ball lightnings. Twilight just stood frozen with fear as what felt like hundreds of explosions went off over, under, on, in, and all around her.

When the smoke cleared, she lay flat on the ground, her medallion only showing 1% left.

“Any last words?” Trixie said with a smile.

Twilight looked up and said softly, “Spike. . .”

The young dragon looked over at Twilight with contempt. Twilight sighed, closed her eyes, and her horn gave a flash.

POOF!

Trixie blinked and said, “You're joking. You're kidding right?”

Spike was now wearing a black mustache.

“Wha- what? What is-?” Spike stammered as he stroked his new mustache. His eyes opened wide, “I remember. . .”

“Come on, Twilight, you can do it!”

“Okay, here goes.”

POOF!

“Ha ha! Ya did it! Growing magic, that's number twenty five. Twenty five different types of tricks and counting. And I think this is the best trick so far. Hello, Rarity. What's that? Aw, it's nothin', just my awesome mustache.”

“Sorry, Romeo. As attractive and enticing as you look, it's just for practice and it's gotta go.”

“Wait!”

POOF!

“Aw, rats.”

“Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians -- anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?!”

“Please, Twilight! She's unbearable! Ya gotta show her! Ya just gotta!”

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, then he turned to Trixie and said, “YOU! You tricked me!”

“Hayseed!” Trixie spat, and then she called down the lightning. . .

“Twilight!” Spike shouted.

KERZAAAAAP!

Twilight moaned and fell over as her medallion vanished.

“No fair! That ain't fair! Trixie cheated!” Applejack shouted.

“But of course! Twilight would have easily won had Trixie not used Spike as a living shield,” Rarity commented.

“Or used that potion!” Rainbow Dash added.

“BOO! BOO! Down with Trixie! She's an evil enchantress!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

Fluttershy had been horrified by the entire battle, and thus had been virtually frozen stiff with fear the whole time. With chattering teeth, she said, “Y-y-yes, w-what P-Pinkie Pie s-s-s-said. . .”

Spike just stood where he was, looking down in shame, “This is all my fault. Twilight I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!”

Twilight, although weakened beyond belief, gave a small smile and said, “Don't be, it's over now. Win or loose everypony knows Trixie's true colors now. But I guess I won't be doing magic for a while, or getting out of bed either for that matter. . .”

Twilight was interrupted by some chuckling from Trixie.

“What's so funny!” Rainbow Dash spat.

Trixie stopped chuckling and said, “I'm sorry, but there was one small detail I forgot to mention to Twilight when we began our Magical Duel of Shadow. Let's just say, it won't only be doing magic and walking around that she won't be doing, and it'll be a lot longer than a few months.”

Suddenly, four stars pierced the still cloudy sky.

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie shouted, “Divine lightning of the Four Ponies, strike!”

The stars converged, and a bolt of lightning shot down.

“TWILIGHT!” Spike shouted and ran toward his sisterly figure.

“SPIKE!” Twilight called out, reaching out to who he saw as her little brother.

The dragon and unicorn were only an inch apart when the lightning crashed down.

KABOOOOOOM!

“NOOOOO!” shouted Twilight's five best friends.

When the some cleared, there lay Twilight, reaching out to Spike who was desperately running towards her. Both had been turned to stone.

A huge horrified hush moved through the crowd.

Trixie's eyes widened, “I did it. . .” she whispered, then she burst into a huge grin and shouted, “I DID IT! The Great and Powerful Trixie is superior to Twilight Sparkle!”

“No, you're not!”

Trixie's eyes darted around the crowd, “Who dares speak out against the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Suddenly, and apparently from the sky, down came an Alicorn with a grayish-blue coat and a light blue mane and tail. She had a Cutie Mark depicting a crescent moon on a dark purple background. The entire crowd gasped with shock at her arrival.

The Alicorn opened her teal colored eyes to glare at Trixie.

“I do,” she replied.

Chapter 4: Fright to the Finish

Chapter 4: Fright to the Finish

Trixie floated lightly over to her challenger and said, “Nightmare Moon I presume?”

The Alicorn dug her hooves into the ground in frustration and said, “I am Princess Luna. Nightmare Moon is gone.”

Trixie chuckled, “Oh, but is she?”

Luna glared back at Trixie and said, “Figures!”

“What figures?” Trixie responded.

“You using mind games.”

“What?”

“Don't 'what' me!” Luna said in a stern voice royals are known to use, “Tricks, lying, and deceit is how you operate! To elevate yourself, you lied about facing an Ursa Major. You used magic to brainwash the baby dragon. You used him to distract Twilight from finishing you off. You used a mana potion to cheat your way to victory. And to top it all off, you used the power of dark magic to do. . .that!” she screamed as she pointed a hoof to Twilight and Spike's petrified forms.

“Hypocrite!” Trixie spat, “Are you free of sin!”

“Of course not, no one is,” Luna replied, and she closed her eyes, “It's true, that I nearly brought eternal night over all of Equestria as the evil Nightmare Moon. I was corrupted and blinded by anger, hatred, and jealousy. So much, that I allowed Four Evil Beings to talk me into accepting their power if I created chaos and despair for them by causing eternal night.”

Luna then opened her eyes and said, “But you were not corrupted and blinded by your anger. You accepted it! You used it a strength! Just as you allowed the the Evil Ones into your soul!”

“Of course I did! The Great and Powerful Trixie can never have too much power!” Trixie said, and she pointed over to Twilight and Spike, “Especially if I can use it to silence anypony who gets in my way!”

“That's exactly my point!” Luna replied, “I wanted me and my nights to be appreciated. You just want to cause pain and fear. . .and you can end lives without batting an eye!”

“What do you want from me?” Trixie spat.

“A new Magical Duel of Shadow. If I win, you free Twilight and Spike. If I loose, you turn me to stone.”

Trixie ran a hoof under her chin thoughtfully, “Hmm, actually, I have a better idea.”

A mana medallion appeared around Luna's neck. This one was divided in to six sections.

“You see how it's been divided into sixths? Well, whenever your mana level uses a sixth of its strength, another one of Twilight’s friends will be turned to stone!”

Luna was horrified, “What! No! I'll never agree to that!”

“Then I'll never free Twilight or the baby dragon,” Trixie said with a smirk.

“Leave the others out of this! Please, leave them alone!”

“Why? Why do you care so much about them,and Twilight too for that matter. Answer me, why do you care?”

Luna's eyes began to tear up as she replied, “Because, they saved me. They cured me of the darkness inside my heart. If it hadn't been for them, I would still be a cruel, hated shadow of my former self, and everyone would be suffering under eternal life.”

“And don't forget! We're all her friends!” Pinkie Pie suddenly chimed in.

Luna was surprised, and she turned around to the five of them in confusion.

“Pinkie's right, we are your friends,” Rarity said.

“Ya can sure say that agin, y'all!” Applejack added.

“Sure can!” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy added simultaneously.

“But. . .how? After all I've done. . .” Luna said.

“That's all in the past, and it's all forgiven,” Applejack said gently.

“You came to save Twilight and beat Trixie! That's a friend in my book! Go ahead and accept her challenge! You'll beat her for sure!” Rainbow Dash said.

Luna looked around at the five ponies, not sure what to do.

Fluttershy gave the princess a nod and said, “We'll all be fine, we promise. We believe in you.”

Luna heart fluttered, “They believe in me. . .” she thought.

“Do you accept or don't you? The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't have all day!”

Luna turned to Trixie with a glowing horn, and determined eyes, and said, “Alright, I agree to your terms!”

Trixie smiled wickedly, “Good! Oh, and by the way, I had orders to get rid of the ponies who bear the Elements of Harmony, so I would have had to find a way to get rid of Twilight's friends anyway, so by you agreeing to my terms, you've just fallen for my Xanatos Gambit! Ha-ha-ha! Nice job breaking it, hero!”

Trixie then sent out a lightning ball at Luna, who quickly blocked it with her own magic, but was straining to keep it back.

“Did I mention The Great and Powerful Trixie's lightning balls attract more lightning like lightning rods?” Trixie said as more bolts shot down into the sphere Luna was fighting to push back.

“No!” Luna cried as the ball exploded, throwing her back with great force, but she shook her head and got back up again, “How could you possibly get this strong?”

Trixie pointed at Luna's medallion and said, “Forget that, look!”

Luna didn't bother looking. The pained expression on her face showed she already knew a sixth of her mana was already gone.

“So much for friendship!” Trixie said, “You couldn't protect them, could you!”

“Doesn't matter! She's still our friends! Today, tomorrow, forever and ever!” Pinkie Pie shouted while jumping up and down.

“You are starting to annoy me! You'll be the first to go!” Trixie shouted.

Lightning screeched down.

“Pinkie, look out!” Fluttershy gasped.

Pinkie gave a cheery wink as she kicked up her front legs and flipped, narrowly dodging the lighting.

“Alright then, let's she how long you can keep that up,” Trixie said with a mischievous facial expression.

More lightning came down all around Pinkie. The pink pony simply danced around wildly while singing, “She's an evil enchantress, and she does evil dances, and if you look into her eyes, then she'll put you in trances, and then what will she do? She'll mix up an evil brew, and she'll gobble you up in a big tasty stew!”

Pinkie then jumped up onto her hind legs with her front hooves raised and a crazed expression on her face as she concluded, “So, WATCH OUT!”

BOOOM!

The lightning finally hit it's target, leaving Pinkie Pie frozen in this wild position as a gray stone statue.

Rainbow Dash gave a strangled sob of grief and shouted at Luna, “Luna! You need to beat Trixie!”

“I will! I promise!” Luna said, and her horn created a blast of sparkling dust that covered her. When the cloud settled, she was gone.

Luna then reappeared behind Trixie, and shot a beam of stardust into her. Trixie grunted as she was sent sprawling.

“Not bad!” Trixie commented, but then she cast a spell onto the surrounding stardust, which then blasted back into Luna, knocking her over. The stardust then formed around Trixie, creating a mighty tornado. The stardust tornado then zoomed over and caught up Luna, shaking her up, and tossing her into the ground hard.

Trixie let the tornado fade and said, “But not good either! There goes another of Twilight's friends!”

This time, the bolt of lightning slammed into Applejack.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” she shouted as she turned to stone from hoof to head.

“No! This can't be happening!” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Alright! I won't let you keep doing this! Now I am going to defeat you!” Luna said.

“Just try it!” Trixie challenged.

FLASH!

Trixie closed her eyes against the sudden flash of moonlight as Luna jumped to her rear hooves, casting another spell that caused stardust to form into a small comet. Luna pounded down her hooves hard, and the comet shot forward, slammed into Trixie, and exploded.

Luna stood over Trixie with a serious expression. That attack had reduced Trixie's man by a third.

Trixie staggered to her hooves and said, “That attack. . .it was so strong. . .” Trixie then got a wicked smile, “Perfect. . .”

Trixie's horn flashed as she shouted, “Now, you feel the pain!”

Luna was suddenly sent flying backward, while letting out screams of pain.

“Luna!” shouted the three ponies as everypony else in the crowd let out a gasp of surprise.

Luna was in so much pain that she couldn't even see. Every inch of her body seemed to hurt. It was as if she was being put to the rack after coming out of a trash compactor. She struggled to her hooves as she vaguely saw the image of Trixie laughing as she walked closer to her.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! The Great and Powerful Trixie expected a magnificent attack from the Princess of the Night,” Trixie said, “Therefore, I used a spell that would take the power of your attack and hit you back with it!” Trixie the chuckled lightly and said, “So, this means two more of the Elements of Harmony are no more!”

“Oh no! Please don't let it ruin my hair!” Rarity screamed as the lightning slammed into her a made her a statue.

“And now, for you, freak!” Trixie shouted as she pointed to Fluttershy.

“No! I'm not just gonna sit here this time!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and she threw herself into Fluttershy, knocking her out of the way, and taking the lightning herself.

“NO!” Fluttershy screamed as Rainbow Dash was frozen in a heroic action pose right before her eyes.

The yellow pegasus fell down in tears, “No, that's not fair. It should have been me, no her. Why did she do it? She didn't deserve it. . .”

“Hmph! What a fool,” Trixie said.

Fluttershy then got up, looking very determined indeed, “No, what a friend! She didn't care what would happen to her, all she cared about was protecting her friends! That is a true friend.”

“Wow,” Luna whispered.

“Enough!” Trixie shouted, and Luna was levitated, and then thrown into the ground again, and again, and again. . .

“STOP IT!” Fluttershy screamed with rage as she flew straight towards Trixie.

Trixie wasn't expecting this at all, and was caught completely of guard. Pegasus and unicorn were rolling on the ground, over and over, until Trixie finally knocked Fluttershy off of her with a blast of magic.

“HOW DARE YOU! FEEL THE WRATH OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!” the unicorn screeched, and a final bolt of lighting came down and struck Fluttershy.

“No!” Luna shouted as the cute pegasus was frozen in stone with a fearful look in her eye.

“See! You couldn't save any of them! You can't even save yourself from. . .” Trixie announced as she rammed into Luna knocking her down. As she stood triumphantly over the Princess, the unicorn shouted loudly, “. . .The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Luna looked sadly up at Trixie, and then at her own medallion, which showed only a small sliver of mana left.

“I'm sorry everyone,” the night Princess whispered as she closed her eyes in defeat. . .

“It's not over yet, Luna.”

Luna opened her eyes to find that she was surrounded by the six incarnates of the Elements of Harmony.

“But. . .how. . .?”

“Were with you, Luna!” Applejack said.

“Show that evil enchantress who's boss!” Pinkie Pie said.

“We believe in you, you can do it!” Rarity said.

“Teach Trixie a lesson she won't forget!” Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly.

“You're strong enough, I know you are,” Fluttershy said.

Luna blinked and said, “But, after all I did, and you all got turned to stone because I wasn't quick enough, how. . .?”

Twilight stepped forward and said, “Luna, you showed remorse for what you did in the past, and you've been doing all you can to make up for it. And now, you're risking your life to save us. I know the odds don't look good, but that doesn't matter, because everything that's been happening has clearly proven one thing. The same thing I discovered the night that we all saved you.”

Luna's eyes opened wide and said, “That. . . you are all my friends. . .”

Back in the real world, Luna's eyes snapped open, and a small spark appeared in each pupil.

“That's it. . .that's the Spark Twilight was talking about. . .” Luna gasped.

“What?” Trixie asked.

There was then a massive flash that actually threw Trixie back.

The light faded to reveal the five necklaces and the tiara that represented the Elements of Harmony.

“No! That can't be! I've turned their holders to stone! The Elements should be dead and lifeless as well!” Trixie shouted.

The tiara then lightly landed on Luna's head, and the necklaces orbited around her.

“WHAT THE HECK!!!??? YOU CAN'T USE THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!!!”

“Yes I can,” Luna said strongly, “Because I am connected to the ones who can control them, because they are my friends!”

The necklaces shot out beams of light that hit the petrified ponies, freeing them in a flash. The tiara shot a beam that freed Twilight and Spike in a flash as well.

“NO! MY PLAN WAS FLAWLESS! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE CANNOT BE DENIED!” Trixie screeched.

“Trixie. . . YOU LOOSE!” Luna shouted, and the Elements of Harmony unleashed their power, created a huge rainbow lazer that twisted into the air, and came down fast, making a beeline for Trixie.

“WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???!!!” Trixie screamed as the rainbow beam hit the ground underneath her and formed a huge multicolored tornado that suddenly exploded in a burst of light.

The entire crowd was in an uproar as the light faded, leaving Trixie lying on the ground, looking very defeated.

The mane cast quickly ran over to Luna in excitement for a huge group hug.

“The Elements of Harmony came through!” Luna cheered.

Twilight shook her head and said, “No, you came through Luna.”

“Yeah! You won! And you know what that means?” Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

“Yes, but before that, there's one more thing I've gotta do,” Luna said gravely, and she then walked towards Trixie.

“My magic. . .gone. My plan. . .failed. . .” Trixie whimpered.

“Trixie. . .” Luna said softly, “When I was freed from Nightmare Moon, I thought everypony would hate me, and never forgive me, but I was wrong. They did forgive me. My sister forgave me after all I did to her. . .” Luna closed her eyes for a moment, fighting to hold back tears, and then she continued, “Trixie, I know you accepted the dark magic, “But if you show us that now you know that evil in any shape or form will always lead to a bad end, and if you sincerely apologize to everypony for all the chaos you caused, then I'm sure we shall all be willing to forgive you, and give you a second chance.”

Trixie looked up at the Princess, her entire weakened body trembling violently. The unicorn slowly got up on shaky legs. She looked strait in the eye, and spat upon the ground in front of her.

“You all make me sick. I don't regret anything I've done here. The Great and Powerful Trixie enjoyed every minute of the torment she inflicted on Twilight and her little friends! I don't give a horse apple about your silly little speech either, Nightmare Moon!”

Luna didn't seem at all fazed by this, although all of the surrounding ponies gasped in shock and disgust. Luna simply nodded, turned the way, and said loudly, “Alright, she's all yours.”

Two armored pegasus guards suddenly walked through the crowd. As they approached Trixie, one of them said, “Trixie the unicorn, you are hereby under arrest for attempted murder, vile misuse of magic, assaulting a royal figure, and malicious mischief.”

Trixie's eyes widened in fear, “What? No! Please! Don't do this to me! I'll be banished to the moon, or worse, the sun! No!”

The pegasus guards were nearly upon her, when all of a sudden. Four bright columns of light shot down around her, knocking the guards back.

“No! Not them!” Luna gasped.

The columns of light flashed brightly to reveal the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse.

“Yes!” Trixie exclaimed as she got back up shakily. She gave a soft chuckle and said, “The end has come for all of you.”

“Pathetic,” Conquest said.

“Failure,” War said.

“Waste of time,” Famine said.

“That's you,” Death concluded.

“And the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse shall punish you!”

A huge bolt of lightning struck Trixie, turning her to stone. Then, her statue burst apart into dust.

"I am Conquest," he was a white earth pony, with a cutie mark depicting a bow and arrow inside a golden crown.

"I am War," he was a red pegasus with a cutie mark depicting a flaming sword.

"I am Famine," he was a black unicorn with a cutie mark depicting balance scales.

"I am Death," he was a pale-green pegacorn, with a cutie mark depicting the Grim Reaper's Scythe Blade.

"We are the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse."

“You! You're the ones who took advantage of my jealousy and turned me into Nightmare Moon!” Luna shouted out.

“You were the stars! You were those four stars that I saw the night Nightmare Moon escaped! It was you who broke the seal!” Twilight gasped.

“Come on everypony! They're no match for the Elements of Harmony! That's why they wanted Trixie to get rid of us!” Rainbow Dash said.

“You misunderstand,” Conquest said.

“True, we wanted those Elements gone, but only because we figured that their holders would help everypony get through our curses,” War said.

“Curses that we would use to but every living thing in Equestria through intense pain and chaos!” Famine cackled.

“Regardless of whether the Elements of Harmony are working or not, our plans will still go through. Trixie and Luna were just ploys to make our curses even more unbearable. Although they both failed, our curses will still cause some major damage to all of Equestria,” Death said smoothly.

“Wait, what kind of curses are you talking about?” Twilight asked.

“You will all soon see in due time. But for now, we must say, farewell. . .for now. . .” Conquest said.

And just like that, the Four Ponies were gone, and the dark clouds left with them, revealing the beautiful sunny sky once again.

“Oh dear,” Rarity whispered.

“Those dangerous delights will be back before long,” Applejack said.

Luna simply looked up at the sky, “Intense pain and chaos. . .” she whispered.

Suddenly, a new flash of warm sunlight revealed the elder Princess of Equestria. As everyone bowed in respect, Celestia made her way over to her younger sister.

“I am proud of Luna, you have stopped a great evil from dominating Equestria,” Celestia said with a smile.

“For now,” Luna whispered.

“Princess Celestia, I don't understand, why didn't you help Luna to fight Trixie?” Twilight asked.

“Because it was her fight,” Celestia said, “It would finally make things right. She would be redeeming herself in the eyes of everypony in Ponyville.” Celestia then smiled and said, “Also, it would finally help her to understand that she truly did have friends, through the Elements of Harmony.”

“Yes,” Luna said softly, as she turned to the mane cast.

“Thank you all!” she exclaimed with tears of joy, and they all jumped in for another group hug.

“And as for the Four Ponies of the Apocalypse, and their curse,” Celestia thought, and she finished her sentence out loud, “For now, let us just relax and get through our sunny days and stormy nights.”

“With a party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

And what a party it was.

The End