Hello Big Brother

Chapters

First Impressions
A Slight Snag
The Moon's Encouragement
Bonding Time
Doubts and Fears
Turmoil
Fear, Hate, Sorrow
Resurrection
The Great and Powerful Trixie!
The Awkward End to the Beginning

First Impressions

Spring time had settled upon Ponyville. Winter Wrap Up was a…interesting event this year for the citizens. Normally there were many complaints, but nothing too big. Unfortunately, a certain azure unicorn constantly filled the air with whines and moans.

Trixie had been assigned to make bird nests for Winter Wrap Up this year. The azure unicorn proved to be excellently skilled at the arts and crafts of nest making, much to the surprise of many. Although it was a skill she found beneath her. After making several hundred of the little homes, Trixie finally left her station in search of Twilight.

It wasn’t hard to find the mare, especially in her multicolored vest. Twilight was standing atop a hill outside Ponyville, overlooking the Snow Pushers as they plowed the pastures free of the white sheets and constantly checking her clipboard to make sure all went according to her directions.

“Twilight Sparkle,” called out Trixie.

The alicorn princess’ head popped up, her left ear twitching as she heard the voice of her sister. Twilight turned around and with a happy smile greeted the unicorn mare.

“Hi, Trixie, are you done already,” she asked.

“Yes, yes, I made two hundred and fifty-eight. All ready for the little birdies to rest their rumps,” said Trixie.

Twilight couldn’t help but do a double take upon hearing that number. “Wow Trixie, not even Rarity made that many, even with a team of ponies backing her up! That’s amazing; I knew you could do it!”

Trixie couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride after being praised, “Um, yes, thank you…Well what did you expect, even at such a mediocre task as arts and crafts, there is hardly a skill that the Great and Powerful Trixie can’t master!”

“Looks like being a perfectionist runs in the family. Let me see if there’s anything else you can do, I’m sure you’d be able to knock it out in no time flat,” said Twilight.

Trixie continued to beam with pride, until she heard what Twilight said and it made her remember why she sought the alicorn mare in the first place.

“No, no more! I don’t even know why I’m doing this!?”

“Because it’s part of living in Ponyville, everypony pitches in to wrap up winter,” explained Twilight.

“Ugh, you are an alicorn, and there are plenty of other unicorns in this humdrum town, can’t we just use our collective magic and change the seasons instead of having to do all of this,” Trixie gestured to the wide, snow covered pasture, “by hoof!?”

“Trixie, Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies, and has wrapped up winter the Earth Pony Way for many years. It’s tradition, and I’m not going to disrespect that tradition just because it would be ‘easier.’ Besides, you don’t hear any other unicorns complaining.”

Trixie huffed and snorted, but in the end she knew she could not sway her…sister. That word was still strange for Trixie to associate with Twilight. True they were related, but the word still felt strange, as if she hadn’t earned it, at least in her mind. Even so, she indulged Twilight’s acronym nickname of LSBFF and BSBFF, if for nothing else then to see her smile.

“Fine, Trixie will go and make more bird nests, by hoof, with no magic,” said Trixie as she trotted away.

“Thank you, Trixie! C’mon everypony, we’re almost there!”

Trixie can handle the work, as much I loathe it, but what I can’t stand the most is –!

“Three months of winter coolness, and awesome holidays~”

Oh no…

“We’ve kept our hoovsies warm at home
Time off from work to play~”

Please, Celestia, don’t start that…!

“But the food we’ve stored is runnin’ out
And we can’t grow in this cold~”

I will seriously do anything, if somepony just stops it right here!

“And even though I love my boots
This fashion’s getting old~”

That’s it, I’m going to –!

“The time has come to welcome spring
And all things warm and green
But it’s also time to say goodbye
It’s winter we must clean
We can change the season’s weather
C’mon everypony now pitch in
As long as we work together
There’s nothing we can’t do~”

…She has a nice singing voice…Oh wait, here it comes.

“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up~”

“'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here~”

…Somepony buck me in the head and knock me out!

Thankfully winter was successfully wrapped up and spring was officially here, a fact that Mayor Mare made special note of in her speech, thanking Twilight for her organizational skills. The two sisters retired back to the library, bodies still chilled from working in the cold. When they entered they noticed Spike stoking the fireplace, something that both mares were grateful for at the moment.

“Looks like everything went well,” said Spike.

“You would know, if you bothered to come out and help,” said Trixie.

“Hey, the last time I helped, I woke up in the middle of the lake. Not taking any chances.”

“It’s alright Trixie, I promised him he could stay in. Dragons don’t really like cold temperatures, and it’s also to make up for me waking Spike up way too early during my first Winter Wrap Up,” explained Twilight.

Trixie let out an exasperated sigh and made her way to the warm fireplace. She then plopped herself on the floor, closing her eyes, and letting the warmth of the fire wash over her. “Spike, make Trixie some hot tea.”

Spike stared Trixie with a deadpan expression, crossing his arms over his chest. The azure mare then opened a single eye and saw Spike’s displeased look.

“Spike, make Trixie some hot tea, please?”

Spike rolled his eyes but nevertheless obliged her request.

“Um, Spike, do you mind pouring me a cup as well?” asked Twilight attentively.

“Sure,” he said with a more upbeat tone before disappearing into the kitchen.

Twilight then joined Trixie by the fireplace, lowering herself with bit more grace then just dropping to the floor. Twilight glanced to the kitchen and then to Trixie.

“You two still haven’t gotten along yet, have you,” asked Twilight.

“It’s not like he was thrilled that I’d be living with you. Nor do I much care for him so the feeling is mutual,” said Trixie.

“But…you are trying, right?”

Trixie sighed, “We are…tolerating each other. At least it’s better than it was when I first arrived.”

Twilight winced, remembering the day when she brought Trixie back to Ponyville to live with them. It wasn’t a pleasant six months.

Trixie couldn’t help but feel something off about her sister. She looked tense, even though, yes, they were out doing a lot of hard work, but this seemed like a different kind of tense. Like she was nervous or something, curious Trixie looked up at Twilight, gaining her attention.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied.

“You’re not a very good liar, Twilight. Just spit it out, did I do something wrong, did somepony complain about me? Because I swear I –!”

“No, no, no, you didn’t do anything wrong!” said Twilight as she waved her left hoof dismissively. “I just…didn’t know how to ask you…”

Trixie raised a curious eyebrow, “Ask me what?”

“Well…do you want to take a vacation,” asked Twilight.

Trixie’s lips began to curl into a smile, “Hmm, perhaps. Where did you have in mind? It better not be Chicacolt, I don’t feel like traveling all that way just to see that famous museum of theirs.”

“No, it’s not Chicacolt, and what’s wrong with going there in the first place!? They have very elaborate and fascinating natural history museum!” Her response earned an eye roll from Trixie. “Fine, what about…Manehattan?”

“No, Trixie swore to never go back there after Amateur Night at the Phoebes!” said Trixie, slamming her hoof on the floor.

Twilight actually looked surprised to hear that, “You were at the Phoebes, the famous Phoebes theatre where many Equestrian comedians and entertainers got their big start! I didn’t even know! So you performed magic tricks!?” asked Twilight excitedly.

“Oh no, Trixie actually tried her hoof at comedy…”

~~~

The stage was large, just like Trixie liked it. The last pony who performed got a standing ovation for his magic act. Trixie was glad she decided to do comedy instead of her street magic, she didn’t want to seem like she was trying to copy the other stallion’s act. Soon the announcer called Trixie’s name and she trotted onto the stage.

The crowd of ponies clapped their hooves as she walked on stage and a few wolf whistles were heard as well. Trixie held her proud smile as she made her way to the microphone.

“Thank you, thank you, you’re a great crowd –!”

“YOU’RE HOT TRIXIE LULAMOON, YEAH!”

“Yes, yes I am,” Trixie winked at a muscular pegasus stallion.

“Anyway, I just arrived from Canterlot. Nice place, but everypony walks around like they got an iron stick up their plots!”

*rim shot*

The audience laughed heartedly, but lightly, at Trixie’s joke, which was a good start. It was time to put them in stitches.

“Speaking of plots, did you happen see the size of Princess Celestia’s flank? I mean, seriously, if her flank gets any bigger Equestria’s going to have a second sun! Probably need to cut back on the sweets there Sunbutt!”

Silence and no rim shot.

Trixie awaited the roaring laughter to come. Instead when she looked into the crowd Trixie couldn’t help but notice a few stallions creeping towards the stage. Stallions wearing gold plated armor and war plumed helmets.

“BETTER RUN TRIXIE LULAMOON, YEAH!”

That night the screams of a mare running for her life could be heard echoing through the concrete jungle of Manehattan. And many a pony would watch and wonder why a battalion of Royal Guard ponies were chasing after an azure unicorn mare through the city streets.

~~~

“…It didn’t end well…”

“Oh, sorry for bringing it up… Well then, how about we vacation at the Crystal Empire?”

Trixie shot up to her hooves and stared at Twilight wide eyed. “The Crystal Empire, are you serious!?”

“Um, yes I am.”

“Trixie has always wanted to visit the Crystal Empire! I’ve only seen pictures of the place, is it true that all the ponies are made of crystal!?”

“Actually it’s quite interesting, you see –”

Twilight cut herself off when she started watching Trixie hop in a circle around her, repeating the word “yes” over and over again as she did so. You’re definitely my sister, thought Twilight as she chuckled.

It was at this time that Spike arrived with a tray containing two teacups and one teapot. The young drake just stood off to the side and stared at Trixie, awkwardly watching this strange, and oddly familiar, reaction.

“Uh-huh, I’m going to pretend I didn’t see this,” said Spike as he left the tray on the floor next to Twilight. “I’m a…yeah…I’m a, going to go do something.”

Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes as Spike left the room and went upstairs. After a full minute of “yes hopping,” Trixie stopped for a minute, a stark realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. She then glared down at Twilight, making the alicorn mare wince as if physically struck.

“Princess Cadance rules the Crystal Empire, right?”

Twilight nodded.

“She’s your sister-in-law, correct?”

“Technically, she’s also your sister-in-law too, but yes…”

“And your brother, my half-brother, Shining Armor, lives there and rules as its Prince?”

“…Yes…”

“……I’m not going.”

Twilight rose up slowly and gave Trixie a solemn look. “Trixie, we’ve talked about this. We have to introduce you to Shining Armor; he’s part of this too.”

Trixie turned away from Twilight, anger smoldering within her. “I don’t want to meet him Twilight! He’s not like you!”

“And what is that supposed to mean,” asked Twilight feeling offended.

“You still haven’t gotten over the shock if it, have you!? What do you think his reaction will be when he finds out his father – our father – cheated on your mother and had me!?”

Twilight went silent for a moment, for some reason there was a look of shame on her face. Trixie watched Twilight’s expression change; it didn’t take long before she figured out why she was making that face.

“You…You told him, didn’t you…?” asked Trixie in a trembling voice.

“I-I did…”

“When!?”

“In a letter, about a month after Hearth’s Warming Day,” answered Twilight.

Trixie began to back away from Twilight, the feeling of betrayal overcoming her. “H-How could you!? You promised that we’d tell him, but that it would be on my terms not yours!”

“Trixie I’m sorry, I’m really, really sorry! But you can trust Shining Armor, he won’t tell dad about you, I swear!”

Trixie couldn’t help but scoff at that statement. “And what proof do you have that he hasn’t already!? For all you know, he has guards ready to throw me in a dungeon and throw away the key, out of sight, out of mind!”

Twilight couldn’t help but facehoof herself upon hearing Trixie’s absurd fear. “Trixie, Shining Armor is not going to lock you in a dungeon. And even if he wanted to, I wouldn’t let him. Trixie you have to start being more trusting.”

“I’m still working on fully trusting you. And what do you base this trust in him on, exactly?”

“He’s my BBBFF.” Twilight said simply. “We’ve told each other our most personal secrets, things we’ve never told our parents before in our lives. I’ve kept his, and will continue to until the day I die, and he’s sworn the same thing.” Twilight made her way to Trixie and gently placed her right hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “The only other one he’s told is Cadance, and she’s even better at keeping secrets than we are. So you can relax when I say that it hasn’t traveled further than Ponyville and the Crystal Empire.”

Trixie wanted to believe her, and in truth she did. But that didn’t take away from the greater fear in her heart. Her gaze was downcast and her body trembled slightly.

“What if…he doesn’t like me…?”

“Trixie –”

“Twilight don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I know what this will do to your family, and it’ll be because of me. I wouldn’t blame him, or you, for hating me when the time comes…”

Twilight brought Trixie closer, hugging her little sister comfortingly as she stroked her mane. “He won’t hate you, and I could never hate you, Trixie. Whether you’re my full sister or half-sister, we siblings share a strong bond. Whenever others might not get us, or understand us, or just flat out don’t like us. They’ll always be there for you. I know it’s hard for you to understand that Trixie, since you haven’t felt that feeling before, but trust me, it’ll work out. But…if you don’t want to go I’ll understand, I never told him when we’d leave, just that we might come to the Crystal Empire someday soon. The decision is still yours, Trixie.

Trixie rested her head on Twilight’s shoulder, letting the comforting hug calm her. “Let me sleep on it…okay?”

Twilight chuckled softly, “That’s fine.”

***\The Crystal Empire/***

Cadance tossed and turned in her sleep. Something was off, something was missing, and it was making it hard to sleep properly in her bed. When the Princess of Love turned for the tenth time she cracked open one eye. She rose from her bed, realizing exactly what was causing her restless sleep, the vacant spot on the bed.

Shining Armor…?

Cadance blinked the sleep from her eyes; she gazed out towards the balcony, seeing the rays of the full moon bathe everything in a soft milky light. She started to make her way towards the balcony, trotting to the rail and overlooking the city below. Even in the dark of night, the Empire radiated a soft glow, reflecting the light of the moon. It was then that Cadance’s eyes were drawn to the Crystal Coliseum. Flashes of rose colored light could be seen emanating from within.

Curious, Cadance spread her wings and jumped off the balcony, flying towards the Coliseum. She circled the arena from a high altitude, watching as somepony was firing magical energy beams. She dropped lower and found that it was Shining Armor. Spotting her husband, Cadance silently flew down and landed a few feet behind him.

“PULL!” shouted Shining Armor.

The device that was situated a few feet him, glowed with an artificially created magical aura. The mechanism loaded two disks into the launcher, adjusted its angle, and fired them into the air. Shining Armor charged his horn with rose colored mana. He took careful aim as he watched the disks fly through air. The unicorn stallion then fired two magic energy beams in quick succession, striking both targets and blowing them to dust.

Cadance smirked, impressed by her husband’s shooting. A devilish grin then began to form on her lips. Cadance crouched low and started creeping towards Shining Armor. Stealthily she moved, taking care not to alert him to her presence. Closer and closer she got, almost in range. She was now standing behind him, the pink alicorn then rose up on her hind legs and then –!

“You know, that’s a good way to get thrown halfway across the arena,” said Shining Armor.

Cadance dropped back down to all fours and blew a raspberry as she made her way to his left side. “How did you know it was me? I was so quiet!”

“For one thing, I knew you’d come looking for me when you noticed I wasn’t in bed.”

Cadance scoffed, “Please, I could’ve just as likely waited up for you. It could’ve been Sombra for all you know.”

“Yes, but Sombra doesn’t smell like lilac,” he countered.

“Could’ve been another pony wearing perfume?”

Shinning glanced at his wife, smirking as he did so. “I think I know the difference between somepony spritzing themselves with perfume, and my wife who naturally smells like that.”

“Kinky and just a bit creepy.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re one to talk about kinky stuff, Miss Princess of Love.”

“……Touché,” conceded Cadance.

Shining Armor grinned triumphantly, only to earn himself a light punch in the shoulder from Cadance. The couple then giggled for a moment after their little dialog.

“So, why are you out here so late?” asked Cadance.

“No reason, just decided to get some target practice in,” said Shining Armor.

“Really,” Cadance deadpanned.

“Yes, really! I may be a Prince now, but I still have to keep my skills sharp, won’t be much good if I need to protect you in a fight when the time comes. Besides, after that whole Tatzlwurm incident when you visited Twily, I think you could use some target practice too.”

Cadance looked at her husband, aghast at what he just said. “Are you saying I’m not as good a shot as you!?”

Silence.

“That’s it – PULL!”

Upon Cadance’s command, the mechanism launched another two disks into the air. The pink alicorn’s horn shined with light-blue mana as she charged up for her shots. Taking careful aim, Cadance fired her own twin energy beams at the disks, destroying both of them. The Princess of Love rubbed her left hoof against her chest and smiled smugly.

“So, again, why are you out here?”

Shining Armor knew Cadance wouldn’t let it go. Her kind and caring nature wouldn’t allow it, plus she was as stubborn, if not more so, than Twilight when it came to certain matters. So, in the end, Shining Armor gave in.

“I got a letter from Twilight today…”

Cadance gave her husband and odd look, “Okay, usually getting a letter from her would put you in a good mood…Did something bad happen?”

“No, she’s going to be visiting us in a couple of days is all…”

Cadance would’ve squeaked with joy and done a little dance of excitement upon hearing such news, but given the lackluster response that Shining Armor was showing it made her wonder.

“So why aren’t you happy? Twilight’s coming to visit, you should be as excited as I am,” asked Cadance.

“She’s not coming alone…she’s bringing…her.”

“‘Her,’” said Cadance confused. “Who exactly is he – Oh wait, you mean Trixie Lulamoon?”

Shining Armor flinched upon hearing that name and grunted in annoyance. “Yes…”

Cadance moved closer to her husband and gave him a concerned look. “You still don’t like that she’s living with Twilight?”

“I don’t like that she’s anywhere near Twilight! I remember what she wrote about her!? She almost got the town Twily’s living in destroyed by an Ursa Minor! She could’ve gotten her killed! And then she comes back, wielding an ancient artifact that augmented her magic and used it to throw Twilight out of Ponyville and enslave the entire town!” Shining ranted.

“Well…yes, she did do all that stuff,” admitted Cadance, remembering those specific letters.

“And now, and this is the kicker, she’s claiming to be my and Twilight’s long lost half-sister!” Shining Armor moved away from Cadance and started pacing, stomping the ground as he walked. “I mean, who does she think she is!? What kind of sick game is she playing at here!?”

“Shiny, you’ve got to have more faith in Twilight. She’s a smart mare, and she wouldn’t just flat out believe something like that without hard evidence to back it up. Especially when it’s something like that…” Cadance still found it hard to believe. All that time she was foalsitting Twilight, Trixie was alone in an orphanage with no family to comfort her. Foals who entered and left, amidst caretakers who probably didn’t have time to look after her with many other fillies and colts to look after. It broke her heart to think of this.

“So are you saying I should just believe everything she says!? That my father cheated on my mother, that he just up and left her alone without so much as trying to do right by her!? I don’t know what kind of father she’s thinking of, but that’s not my father, that’s not Night Light!”

Cadance trotted over to her husband and nuzzled him under his chin, trying to calm him down. “This is really eating away at you, isn’t it?”

“…Cadance…If it is true…if everything Trixie says about my dad is true, then…What if…What if I’m just like him,” said Shining Armor with a trembling voice.

The pink alicorn mare raised her head and looked at her husband inquisitively. “How do you mean?”

“How do I know that the same weakness he had, isn’t in me too…?”

“Shining what are you saying?”

“I used to think that my Mom and Dad were the best parents. They hardly ever fought or argued. I used to think ‘if I married the mare of my dreams, then I’d want to be just like my Dad, happy, faithful, and raising two great foals.’”

“Well, two out of three isn’t bad, we could be working on the third part,” said Cadance trying to lift the mood. The act of which earned her an annoyed look from her husband. “Sorry. But seriously, you have nothing to worry about Shiny. I’m sure once you get to meet her, you’ll see Trixie’s a nice mare.”

Shining Armor sighed deeply. He still wasn’t sure that this was a good idea, the idea of meeting this supposed half-sister made his skin crawl, given the identity of the mare in question. In fact, the prospect of even having another sibling wouldn’t be as bad, as long as it were anypony else but her. “For Twilight’s sake…I’ll try…but can’t make any promises.”

Cadance planted a kiss on her love’s cheek, “That’s all I ask. I can’t make you like Trixie, so long as you put forth the effort, even Twilight will understand.”

***\Two Days Later/***

The train whistle screeched loudly as the locomotive came to a screeching stop at the station. Steam hissed and bellowed out everywhere, notoriously blanketing the platform in a cloud of hazy steam. Once the steam had settled the passengers disembarked from the train, some were normal ponies who were visiting the Crystal Empire, the once lost kingdom having now become a popular tourist destination.

From the train trotted out Trixie and Twilight, their luggage held within their individual magical auras. Once out of the train Trixie’s eyes immediately locked on the crystal structures to her right and stared in wide eyed amazement.

“I can’t believe I’m actually here! I’m in the Crystal Empire!” Trixie squealed.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Trixie’s mood change. She was acting like a little filly, marveling at every little thing, it was actually quite refreshing to see. Before she knew it, Trixie had vanished from the platform, making Twilight swivel her head back and forth in search of her companion.

“Trixie, where’d you go, Trixie,” Twilight called out.

“C’mon Twilight, move your flank!” The alicorn princess turned towards the sound of her voice and saw that Trixie was already halfway down the dirt road to the Crystal archway, and waving at her impatiently.

“Coming!” Twilight leaped into the air, flying to Trixie in order to cover the distance.

Once the two were together, Trixie wasted no time in making her way into the city. The crystalline structures of the Empire gleamed with the reflective light of the sun. The crystal ponies went about their daily business, every now and again a few of them would wave to Twilight or bow in respect to her. It wasn’t any secret that Twilight, her friends, Spike, and the Royal Couple, were instrumental in reviving their lost Empire, and freeing them from the tyranny and darkness that was King Sombra.

While they were trotting about Trixie couldn’t help but notice all the stores with the most lovely crystal fashion. She noticed through the window as two normal pony mares tried on their clothes and posed in the mirror. The outfit was made of rubies, or maybe red opals, she couldn’t quite tell from her distance, but what amazed her was how easily the outfit flowed, bent, and flexed. You’d think a dress made of a gemstone would be stiff and unyielding, but the mare moved as if she were wearing fabric clothes.

“Like what you see?”

Trixie let out a small “eep” sound, not noticing how close Twilight had gotten while she wasn’t looking. “It’s…not bad, Trixie was just wondering about the clothes here.”

“Oh those, they just started to make these. Cadance was telling me how the Crystal Ponies wanted to make a name for themselves in being unique in the fashion world. So they started creating clothes made of actual crystals. Seems some of the ponies have a unique skill to make the gemstones pliable,” explained Twilight.

Trixie couldn’t help but let out a snicker as a thought popped into her head. “It must be hard for Rarity, she sews gems into fabric, but these dresses and clothes are actually made of crystals.”

Twilight let out a weak chuckle, remembering exactly how well that conversation went when she told her. Rarity’s pride in being a trendsetting fashionista took the information as a challenge to not only her business, but to her skill as a seamstress, “Trust me, you don’t want to know how ‘well’ she took it.”

Trixie then noticed a street vendor selling Crystal Berry Pies on the other side of the street. The azure mare could smell the delectable treats and started to make her way towards the vendor’s cart, but she only made it three steps before feeling a tug at her tail. Trixie glanced over her shoulder and let out an annoyed groan, seeing her sister with a hoof stamped firmly on her tail.

“Twilight!”

“Trixie, no, I don’t want you spoiling your lunch before we meet Cadance and Shining Armor,” lectured Twilight.

“I just want to enjoy my time here as much as possible before we do…something tells me that if things go south we’ll be leaving sooner than we expected…”

Twilight trotted up next to her little sister and draped her foreleg over her shoulders in a sort of half-hug. “Trixie, everything will be alright. I promise you’ll get to see all of the Empire, and I also promise that nothing bad will happen.”

Trixie couldn’t look her older sister in the eyes when she heard those words, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep Twilight…”

“Trixie –”

*Crack*

“Did you just hear something?”

“Hear what; don’t change the subject Trix –”

*Crack*

“There it is again!”

Trixie started to look around for the source of the noise, her gaze falling on one of the giant crystals that jutted from the ground. At the tip of the crystal a large fissure started to appear, slowly spreading outwards. Trixie’s eyes shifted to a Crystal Pony mare and a young foal filly who were passing right under it. At that moment a dark light spread through the cracks and broke off large chunks of the crystal, leaving the sharp point mostly intact as it fell.

Trixie didn’t think, she only reacted, dashing at full speed towards the two ponies. The azure mare concentrated, charging her horn with magical energy. She then released the energy in a telekinetic wave that wrapped around the chunks of falling debris. The mare noticed too late was about to happen and instinctively used her body to protect the filly next to her. Trixie was now next to them, her brow sweating as she struggled to keep the debris from crushing them.

“GO! NOW!” Trixie shouted. The mare looked up, surprised that they weren’t dead and saw the unicorn who had saved them. “Can’t…hold it…for long…! HURRY!”

The mare nodded and quickly threw the foal onto her back and galloped away. Now came the bigger problem, the debris hadn’t actually stopped, it was still moving, but very, very slowly. And it only got closer as Trixie felt her mental grip on the crystal chunks slipping, especially the big sharp one.

Okay, now all Trixie has to do is –!

Suddenly another spark of dark light shot through Trixie’s telekinetic aura, ripping it to shreds. Trixie felt like she was just knocked in the head with a wooden bat, the backlash sending the unicorn tumbling to the ground. Trixie had enough consciousness to watch as the debris was about to impale and crush her, an ironic end to her life.

“TRIXIE!!!”

A bubble of magical energy burst forth and engulfed the falling debris. Trixie looked off to the side and saw Twilight, her eyes glowing white as her horn blazed with powerful magic. The bubble began to shrink rapidly, the sound of grinding and cracking echoed out as the crystals within were crushed mercilessly. The bubble, now the size of a little marble, merely let out a “pop” sound as it disappeared in a small puff of sparkling dust. Twilight dismissed her magical energy and quickly rushed over to Trixie, skidding to halt as she bent down to inspect her sister.

“Trixie, are you alright!? Can you hear me – Trixie answer me!?” Twilight yelled frantically.

Trixie slowly propped herself up on one foreleg, while using the other one to rub her head, “I would be, if you didn’t yell into my ear.” Trixie then let out a strained grunt as Twilight enveloped her in a bone crushing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” she then separated from Trixie and gave her a stern look, “but don’t you ever do something like that again, you could’ve gotten killed!”

With Twilight’s help, Trixie got back up on her hooves and shook her head to clear the slight pounding in her skull. “Sorry, Twilight, I just – The Crystal Ponies – the mare and filly – are they alright!?”

“We’re fine,” said a voice. Twilight and Trixie saw as mare and little filly that were almost killed trotted up to the two sisters. “Thanks to you, Miss…?”

“Oh…um, Trixie, my name is Trixie Lulamoon,” she answered.

“Thank you so much, Miss Lulamoon, you saved our lives.”

Trixie was noticeably blushing from the praise. The little filly moved from behind the older mare and hugged Trixie’s right foreleg, “Thank you for saving my Mommy and me!”

Trixie felt a lump form in her throat upon hearing those words. Trixie used her left hoof and gently patted the little filly’s head. “You’re very welcome.”

The after a few seconds the filly went back to her mother and, after thanking her yet again, went on their way, very thankful that they were alive. As the two sisters waved a goodbye to the mare and filly, Twilight noticed that tears were running down Trixie’s cheeks.

“Trixie are you alright,” asked Twilight.

“If only there was somepony there to save my Mother…” Trixie let out a whimper of sadness, recalling the accident that took her mother from her so long ago.

Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness upon hearing that. She then flexed her wing and brought Trixie in for a side hug. Usually she would shirk from something as intimate as a wing embrace (a pegasus gesture usually reserved for lovers, close friends, or family), but right now, Trixie needed to be held.

“Let’s go Trixie,” said Twilight softly.

“Okay,” was Trixie’s only response.

As Trixie and Twilight started to make their way towards the Crystal Palace, unseen by many, the fractured crystal started to spark with little arcs of black lightning, and a low growl that reverberated through it.

After their near death experience, Trixie and Twilight finally made it to their destination. Despite the traumatic event that just occurred, it still couldn’t put a damper on Trixie’s awestruck elation. Twilight saw the contingent of Royal Crystal Guards that stood watch at the entryway to the palace. They quickly opened the door and Twilight strode in, but stopped when she realized that she was short one unicorn.

“Trixie what are you waiting for,” asked Twilight.

“Are you sure we can’t stay in a hotel…?”

“Trixie we’ve been over this. I would think you’d be happy to be staying in the Crystal Palace.”

Trixie gulped, “That’s like asking if I’d be happy staying in a lion’s den.”

Twilight let out an exacerbated sigh, “Trixie it’ll be fine. You can trust me. Besides, you should get used to living in this kind of place.”

Trixie quirked an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Well, being related to me means that you, Trixie Lulamoon, are by default royalty, a Princess of Equestria.”

Trixie opened her mouth to retort but shut it upon realizing what Twilight had said. It never occurred to her that she was technically royalty by relation, she was a Princess or at the very least a Baroness. The realization of this made Trixie giggle with giddiness at the thought of being royalty, and Twilight could tell that she liked the idea.

“Care to enter the Crystal Palace, ‘Princess’ Trixie,” asked Twilight as she gestured with her hoof.

Trixie regained her composure and took on a more regal pose and tone. “Yes, I believe I shall.”

Twilight watched as Trixie trotted into the palace, carrying herself in a manner she believed a Princess would. The alicorn mare just rolled her eyes while smiling. At least I got her inside, and that was half the battle.

Twilight and Trixie walked through the halls of the Crystal Palace, with Trixie stopping every once in a while to examine a particular statue, or painting, or to look out the window to catch a view of the Empire. As they got closer to the throne room, Trixie stopped once again for the umpteenth time, prompting Twilight to sigh incredulously. When she turned around to drag Trixie along she saw her staring at a painting of Shining Armor and Cadance. The painting depicted the day that the Crystal Empire was saved, showing Spike holding up the Crystal Heart in his open claws. Twilight had to admit the artist took some creative liberties with Spike’s physique and appearance, making him look slightly taller, leaner, and fiercer than he really was, although she was sure the little drake wouldn’t complain. On either side of Spike’s claws were Shining Armor and Cadance. Their horns ablaze with magical light, as an aurora shot forth from the Crystal Heart and blasted the dark shadow of King Sombra.

Twilight saw that Trixie’s eyes were rested upon the image of Shining Armor. Posed in a rather heroic stance, his strong jaw clenched, and his fierce blue eyes locking with those of his lover and wife, Princess Cadance, it was the thought of those same eyes staring down at her that made the young mare tremble slightly. It dawned on Trixie that in just a few moments she’d be on the receiving end of that gaze, from a stallion who was once a Royal Guard Captain, a stallion strong enough to protect the entire city of Canterlot with a magical barrier. Thinking about this made Trixie want to vomit right then and there, was she really ready to do this? Sure it was her choice to come here, but in the back of her head, Trixie was still unsure if this was the right time.

Twilight could see how nervous Trixie was, her body was trembling noticeably. Twilight then got in front of her, blocking her view of the painting and forcing Trixie to look at Twilight instead.

“Trixie…look, if this is really too much for you then we can leave right now,” said Twilight.

That seemed to bring Trixie back from wherever her mind had sent her.

“I know how important it is to tell Shining Armor and Cadance about this, but if you’re really not ready to do this then we can go. They’ll understand,” Twilight gently placed a comforting hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “This is, and always will be, your choice.”

Trixie took in a shaky breath, the sensation of vomiting came back again, and right now that didn’t seem like a bad idea to her. It would give her a legitimate excuse to leave. But, even if she did leave, there was no telling if she’d have enough courage to come out here again. Trixie thought she had steeled herself enough so that this wouldn’t happen, but she couldn’t turn back now, not after coming this far.

“No…Let’s do this…I’ll be fine,” said Trixie.

“Just remember, I’m here for you, and I always will be.” Twilight nuzzled Trixie’s cheek encouragingly, making the unicorn mare smile weakly. “Let’s go meet our big brother.”

***\ A Couple of Minutes Earlier /***

Cadance was sitting on her haunches at the foot of the staircase to the throne, watching as her husband paced back and forth, muttering to himself under his breath. To be honest she was surprised that he hadn’t worn a groove into the floor. Thank Celestia for crystal floors, she thought.

Suddenly the double doors to the throne room opened as one of Crystal Pony pegasus guards walked in and saluted the two rulers. “My Prince and Princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her companion have arrived and are on their way to throne room as we speak.”

Shining Armor continued to pace back and forth, showing no indication that he even noticed the presence of the guard.

“Um…sir?”

“Thank you, Clear Skies. Prince Shining Armor is just…” Cadance waved her hoof as if trying to pluck the right word from the air, “Deep in thought about matters of state, you know how he is.”

Clear Skies nodded his understanding and bowed to the Prince and Princess before taking his leave. Cadance watched as Shining Armor still paced about and muttered. Alright, that’s enough of that.

Cadance used her magic to conjure a wall of solidified mana to appear in Shining Armor’s path. The white stallion continued his pacing route, only to find his snout smack up against Cadance’s construct and sending him falling on his rump. The stallion rubbed his nose and shot his wife an annoyed glare.

“What was that for,” he asked.

“That was to snap you out of your little mood. Didn’t you hear what Crystal Skies said,” asked Cadance.

Shining Armor shook his head, making Cadance rub her temples to stifle a headache.

“Twilight and Trixie are in the palace, they’re on their way here. And, as nervous as I think Trixie will be, I don’t think seeing her half-brother pacing back and forth, scowling, and muttering to himself, is a good first impression.”

Shining Armor just snorted.

“Don’t be like that, you promised to give her chance!”

“Yeah, I know…and I want to, really…but…I just can’t shake this feeling of impending doom, y’know?”

Cadance sidled next to Shining Armor and rested her wing on his back. “If you’re feeling like this, just imagine how Trixie’s feeling. Shining Armor, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor the former Royal Guard Captain, not to mention that her sister-in-law’s the alicorn Princess of Love and her half-sister’s a newly ascended alicorn Princess. She’s practically surrounded by big successes, and it’s probably a little overwhelming.”

Shining Armor thought it over for a minute. What Cadance said about all three of them was true; any other pony would be overwhelmed at meeting royalty, especially ones as well-known as they were. For Trixie it’s probably bone crushing pressure. With a reluctant sigh, Shining Armor nodded his confirmation that he understood. Soon the Royal Couple heard the clip clopping of hooves approach the throne room doors.

Cadance and Shining Armor stood tall, but made sure not appear too intimidating to Trixie, after all they didn’t want to scare away the poor mare. Twilight eventually rounded the corner and beamed at her big brother and sister-in-law.

“Hi, Shining Armor, hi, Cadance,” greeted Twilight.

“Hey Twily.”

“Ladybug, how are you?”

“Oh I –” Twilight noticed that Trixie was no longer standing next to her, but was instead hiding behind the wall. The lavender alicorn used her telekinesis to drag the stubborn mare from her hiding spot and plop Trixie right beside her. “I mean, we are doing alright. Aren’t we, Trixie?”

“Uh-huh,” she muttered.

Trixie kept her gaze downcast, almost as if she were afraid to make direct eye contact. Cadance was the first to approach Trixie and Twilight, she moved slowly, like one would a timid woodland creature. Trixie saw the golden horseshoes of the alicorn Princess, her gut twisting into knots knowing that Princess Cadance was right in front of her.

“So you’re Trixie Lulamoon.” Cadance then looked at Twilight. “Twilight your description of her didn’t do her justice.” She then returned her gaze to Trixie. “It’s alright; you don’t have to be afraid. I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadance.”

Trixie slowly raised her head and was met by the kindest smile she’d ever seen, “Um, Trixie Lulamoon…Princess.”

“Pfft, no, no using ‘Princess’ when addressing family, it’s just Cadance.”

Trixie then heard the sound of hoofsteps coming towards them. Cadance moved to the side and allowed Trixie an unobstructed view of Shining Armor trotting towards the group of mares.

Relax, breathe, he’s not going to kill you, thought Trixie.

You can do this. You can be cordial to her, just remember she’s your half-sister…right…just be nice, thought Shining Armor.

Did I pack enough blasting powder!? Oh that’s right, Twilight made me leave that stuff back at the library before we left. Great, now I can’t make a quick escape if I need to!

Did I remember to put protection spells on the valuables? Yes I did! Okay, and the weapons storeroom is under lock and key, and I’ve got plenty of Magical Ward Spells set up to protect Twily, Cadance, and myself in case she pulls something.

Here he comes…Oh Celestia, I’m not ready, he’s staring at me, he’s already judging the best way to *gulp* silence me!

She doesn’t look at all like I thought. This is the mare that enslaved Ponyville, and challenged Twilight?

Too late to run away…

Too late to turn away…

Just greet him with a smile.

Just greet her with a smile.

Shining Armor was now a foot away from Trixie, standing with the two most important mares in his life. The unicorn stallion managed a weak smile, making Trixie reciprocate with a timid one of her own.

“Hi, Trixie, I’m Shining Armor. Guess I’m your big brother or is it big half-brother,” he asked.

Trixie cleared her throat, “You…um…you don’t have to worry about that, I won’t call you that if you don’t want me to. I’m fine with just Shining Armor.”

“That’s alright with me. Whatever you’re comfortable with.” Shining Armor then turned his attention to Twilight. “Twily, it’s great to have you here.”

“Thanks, we’ve kinda had a bit of a rocky start to our day here already, mind if we head to our rooms and unpack,” asked Twilight.

“No problem, Twilight you’ll be staying in the room from when you were here for the Summit. Trixie, your room is right across from Twilight’s, so you won’t be far,” said Cadance.

“We’ll be having lunch soon, we’ll see ya there,” added Shining Armor.

“Oh good, I’m famished.”

“It’s amazing that you haven’t gained any weight from the amount that you eat –” Trixie quickly shut her mouth, biting her tongue to stop her from finishing her sentence.

She glanced nervously between the three. Twilight was blushing, Cadance had a knowing smirk, and Shining Armor…well…Shining Armor still held his smile, chuckling a little. For a brief second, Trixie thought she saw him narrow his eyes and glower at her. But it happened so fast that she wasn’t sure.

“Yes, trust me, little Twilight here can eat up an entire buffet, and still have the figure of a supermodel,” commented Cadance.

“Cadance, don’t say stuff like that, it’s embarrassing!” Twilight whined. “Humph, come on Trixie, let’s go unpack.”

With that Twilight took her leave, with Trixie quickly on her heels. Cadance chuckled a bit at seeing the display. “I like her, she seems nice.”

Shining Armor’s smile faded quickly, “‘Seems’ being the operative word here.”

Cadance groaned loudly as she facehoofed herself. “Shiny, honestly, you promised to give her a chance.”

“Don’t forget Cadance, I was a Captain, and that training doesn’t leave you. I was taught how to read other ponies, especially those who could pose a threat to Princess Celestia. Only difference here is that instead of Celestia, it’s Twily.” Cadance was about to open her mouth to protest this, but Shining Armor beat her to it. “I fully intend to give her a chance to explain the situation.”

“Ugh, there’s no talking you out of it, is there?”

Shining Armor shook his head.

“Fine, but please make an effort, and try not to snap at her. You could tell just how nervous she was, she afraid to even look at us,” said Cadance while flailing her forelegs.

“Exactly.” Shining Armor didn’t give an explanation to that, he only exited the throne room and went about his daily business.

The real question is: is she nervous because she’s got something to hide? Or is it because she’s afraid of…me?

Shining Armor shook his head yet again. He couldn’t afford to let something as trivial as that stop him from finding out the truth.

As Shining Armor walked down the hallway, a dark shadow moved through the crystals. A faint growl echoed through the hallway, making some of the patrolling guards pause for a moment before resuming their work. Something was stirring within the Crystal Palace, and it seemed to be centered around the growing turmoil around the three siblings.

Author's Note

Well you all asked and ye shall receive! Only instead of a one shot you will get multiple chapters! Ain't I a master of suspense?!

A Slight Snag

Twilight was busy setting her luggage down and placing a few items in the dresser drawers, her smile beamed as she recalled the meeting she and Trixie had with Cadance and Shining Armor. Admittedly, Twilight was worried that Shining Armor might not take too kindly to the proud and often abrasive unicorn, but as far as first impressions go, she thought it went well.

That was good start, but Trixie still seemed a bit nervous. Actually, “nervous” might be an understatement right now. But we can work with this. Cadance was her usual self. I knew we wouldn’t have any problems there. Although…given that Shiny knows about Trixie’s…incidents, when dealing with me, I hope we can move past this. It’ll help boost Trixie’s confidence for when we have to deal with the real issue.

Just then she heard the doors to her room suddenly slam open. The loud noise spooked the alicorn Princess and made her fly up to the ceiling, holding onto a chandelier. Twilight dared to look down at the floor, but let out an annoyed sigh upon recognizing the intruder.

“Trixie, you could’ve just knocked on the door. You know, like a normal pony,” said Twilight.

“He hates me,” said Trixie, ignoring Twilight’s statement.

“Who hates you,” she asked.

“Shining Armor, I can see it, Twilight! He wants to throw me out of the Empire and into the frozen wasteland that lies beyond this kingdom’s borders!” Trixie, halting her mini-panic attack, looked around Twilight’s bedroom, admiring the spacious bed, and nice view from her window. “How come your room is bigger than Trixie’s?”

Twilight teleported herself back down to the floor, she then brushed her mane down, pushing some stray strands down from her scare earlier.

“Ignoring the room comment, how exactly do you know Shining Armor hates you?”

Trixie plopped herself on Twilight’s bed, covering her eyes with her right foreleg. “I could see it in his eyes. That’s how.”

“Trixie –”

“I know what I saw!” Trixie yelled. “I’ve been on the road a long time Twilight. In that time I’ve had to develop a keen instinct about how to read another pony. A mare traveling about needs to in order to survive, I can tell when a pony is an easy setup for my shows, or if they’re going to be prone to anger, or when they’re going to cheat me out of bits for one of my shows.”

Twilight sat on her haunches, thinking over what Trixie had said. “Alright, far be it from me to question somepony’s instincts. Pinkie’s proven that more than once,” Twilight shuddered upon recalling the memories of researching her “Pinkie Sense”, “Anyway, you can’t just completely have him figured out from just a short talk with him.”

“Twilight…I don’t want to risk alienating him. Also…I don’t want to risk making him mad at you for taking me in,” said Trixie with a hint of sadness.

Twilight put on a warm smile for Trixie. “You don’t have to worry about that. Just focus on making a connection with him, he’s your brother too. Get to know him a little. If you put forth an effort I promise you that he’ll at least respect that.”

Trixie propped herself up on her forelegs. She averted her gaze for bit before closing her eyes and nodding a yes. Trixie then made her way out, but stopped in the middle of the doorway.

“Um, Twilight?”

“Yes, Trixie?”

“Is there any way we can discuss our room arrangements?”

“Go unpack.”

Later, Trixie and Twilight joined Shining Armor and Cadance in the dining hall. Trixie had never seen such grandeur, the sparkling crystal columns, the hanging banners emblazoned with the crest of the Empire. And of course, the long table that seemed stretch on forever. Near the head of the table there was a balcony, at least a hundred feet tall, and fifty feet wide. It extended into the open a good distance, allowing for a clear view of the Empire for miles around.

Sitting at the table were Shining Armor and Cadance. They weren’t seated in any kind of royal, throne-like chairs. They were simply seated in normal chairs like the ones that lined the table on both sides. There was an assortment of dishes, quite possibly delicacies of the Empire. The two sisters then trotted to the other side of the table and sat in the chairs across from the Prince and Princess. They shared some greetings and small talk before starting to eat.

Twilight and Cadance noticed a strong silence within the room. Both alicorns shifted their gazes between Trixie and Shining Armor as they watched them, neither one really making eye contact with other. It was starting to get a bit annoying.

“So, Trixie, enjoying yourself in the Empire so far,” asked Cadance, breaking the silence.

The azure mare snapped her head up, “What – Oh yes, yes I am.”

“Although, we did have a bit of an incident on the way here,” added Twilight.

Shining Armor stopped mid slice of his food and looked to Twilight with a quirked eyebrow.

“What kind of ‘incident’?”

“It’s nothing, really.” Trixie assured.

“Saving a mare and her foal is hardly what I would call ‘nothing’.”

Trixie shot Twilight a death glare, while said purple alicorn merely smirked. Cadance had been taking a sip of tea from her cup and Shining Armor had some food in his mouth when Twilight dropped that bombshell. One nearly choked, and the other spat out the contents within their mouth. After regaining their composure, both the Prince and Princess stared at the mares with wide eyes.

“What, when?” asked Shining Armor.

Trixie clamped up, her normally boisterous and prideful persona was giving way to her sheepish and timid side. Twilight had seen this side before, but only after taking some time to chisel away at that stage persona. Right now though, she needed to get Shining Armor to see that she was indeed a good mare, so she told them what happened.

“A little bit before we arrived at the palace. One of the crystal pillars broke apart. There was a mare and foal that were about to be crushed by the debris, but Trixie used her magic to stop it from crushing them to death. The mare and foal got away but, for some reason, Trixie lost her hold on the debris and I had to save Trixie.”

“I didn’t lose my hold on it! I had a good grip, but something snapped against my magic! Honestly it felt like I had somepony hit me over the head with metal pipe, I still have a throbbing in the back of my head,” said Trixie as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Please tell me you told the Guards,” asked Shining.

“Yes,” answered Trixie.

“Cadance, remind me to have a talk with Clear Skies about getting important information like that to us, ASAP!”

The pink alicorn nodded her head promptly, agreeing that they should have been notified about his kind of thing quickly. But there was one thing that Cadance did notice. Shining Armor had the slightest grin when he looked at Trixie. The Princess of Love knew her husband well, and she knew that that little grin was his silent way of saying he approved of her actions, and was a bit impressed.

“Not bad, Trixie,” said Shining Armor.

The azure mare reacted as if she was physically struck. She never thought she’d hear Shining Armor actually compliment her.

“Um, thank you, Shining Armor.”

Twilight and Cadance looked across the table and gave each other a little wink.

Lunch passed fairly quickly, so Cadance suggested that they should tour the palace to walk off the meal. Although they had a little success during lunch, there was still a great divide between Trixie and Shining Armor. Both the mare and stallion kept to the far sides of the hall, with Twilight and Cadance stuck in the middle.

Twilight had seen much of the palace before, but for Trixie she was acting like herself from when they first arrived. Kind of giddy and curious about everything she was seeing in the palace.

“Oh Twilight, there was something we wanted to show you. We discovered it a little bit after we started to take residence within the
Crystal Palace,” said Cadance.

“Really, what did you find?”

“Cadance, maybe we shouldn’t discuss this right now,” suggested Shining Armor, nudging his head in Trixie’s direction.

“Oh hush Shiny, it’s not like there’s anything in there that’s harmful.”

Trixie and Twilight were both visibly confused about what they were talking about. Instead of telling, Cadance decided to show them. The group of four trotted down various hallways till they arrived at a door, one that Trixie could tell that not even Twilight recognized.

“This place was discovered while we were preparing for the Flag Bearer tryouts,” said Cadance.

“What is it,” asked Twilight as she nudged the door open.

“King Sombra’s private study,” answered Shining Armor.

“WHAT!!?” Twilight and Trixie shouted in unison.

Trixie may have not been there for when her half-sister and her friends encountered the dark unicorn, but she had heard enough stories to know that King Sombra was the most evil of unicorns, a heart as black as night, wielding dark magic so powerful that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to work together to defeat him. Trixie also knew, from what she gathered from the Crystal Ponies, that the stallion was a tyrant of the worst sort.

As the door opened up, the room immediately lit. The modest door belayed the actual size of the room. The room was split into two levels; the bottom level had a table with all sorts of concoctions, opened books with notes scribbled off to the sides on small sheets of parchment. Magical circles were drawn onto different parts of the table, one was red, another aquamarine, and the last was violet, each one containing a different set of runes. Along one side of the wall was a bookshelf, containing grimores, esoteric spell books, and other sources of knowledge. The upper level was a continuation, with a staircase that helped facilitate ponies who couldn’t teleport to the upper platform. The upper shelf ringed around the room. Off to the side was a luxurious couch and fireplace, it was quite the nice setup for a dark tyrant king.

Twilight and Trixie blinked a few times, this couldn’t really be King Sombra’s study.

“You’re joking, you’re joking, right?” asked Trixie in deadpan voice.

“No, this really is King Sombra’s study,” affirmed Shining Armor.

Twilight didn’t enter yet, her previous experience with Sombra made her weary to enter anyplace that he may have roamed.

“We swept it for booby-traps, Twilight, there’s nothing to set off, no illusionary doorways, no endless staircases, and no scary black, jagged crystals jutting from anywhere in the room.” To emphasize her point, Cadance strode into the room, eliciting a twin gasp from the sisters. “See.”

Twilight and Trixie gingerly entered the sanctum of the former tyrant king. Trixie could already see Twilight fidgeting, books that contained magical knowledge, especially ones that had been lost for a thousand years, made Twilight very excited, but the stigma that they once belonged to Sombra made her keep from opening one.

“This isn’t at all what I imagined King Sombra’s private study to look like,” commented Trixie.

“What’d you expect? Skeleton’s hanging from the walls? Jars full of dissected organs? Or maybe you thought there’d be forbidden
spells written on the wall in blood?” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight turned green at the thought of discovering such a sight. Cadance shot her husband a piercing glare. She knew what he was up to, trying to see if Trixie would flinch or seem disappointed that there wasn’t any of the macabre spells or forbidden magicks for her to gleam.

Trixie, thankfully didn’t seem to catch on to Shining’s ploy, instead she had a sheepish grin on her face. “Well...um...yes, in way. I’ve just heard so many horror stories about King Sombra’s rule that I was kind of curious to see what kind of pony he was, well, I guess it’d be more along the lines of a morbid curiosity.”

“You should see her, she practically worships Nightmare Night!”

“Oh, so Trixie’s a buff when it comes to horror,” asked Cadance, genuinely intrigued.

“Ugh, she’s practically read every horror, murder-mystery, and folklore book in my library. She’s even dragged me to some slasher movies that were playing at the theatre! I swear you get some sadistic pleasure from seeing me scream my head off,” said Twilight indignantly.

Trixie smiled and trotted closer to Twilight, she then draped her foreleg over Twilight’s withers and nuzzled against her cheek. “Pardon if I like Nightmare Night, it was a fun holiday for me when I was a filly. Mostly because I liked telling scary stories to the other orphan foals. And as far as you getting all jumpy, well, what can I say? You’re cute when you’re scared, plus it’s fun seeing you jump out of your coat.”

Twilight groaned, but she didn’t pull away from the sisterly affection Trixie was showing.

Cadance had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her from letting out a “d’aww”. Then she turned to Shining Armor, whose left eye was visibly twitching as he gazed upon the sight of Trixie nuzzling his little sister. Many a thought raced through his mind, he constantly repeated a reminder that Trixie was their half-sister, there was no need to read into this situation, there was no need to shoot a magical energy ray to divide them, there was no need to grab Trixie and hurl her off the nearest balcony, she had wings, she’d be fine. Wait, she’s a unicorn………She can levitate, she’ll be fine.

After noticing the slight death glare that Shining Armor was giving her, Trixie quickly let go of Twilight and put a considerable amount of empty space between them, chuckling nervously as she did so.

“So, why isn’t this place all evil and dark,” asked Twilight.

“The Crystal Ponies believe that this was from before Sombra succumbed to the darkness. Apparently, before he became king, he was a one of few Crystal Ponies born a unicorn. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the majority of the ponies in the Crystal Empire are primarily earth ponies.”

Twilight and Trixie nodded.

“They were rare back then as well, since many of the Crystal Ponies didn’t travel very far outside the Empire, there wasn’t much diversity among them. But every so often a pegasus pony or unicorn pony would be born to a couple. They relied mostly on traveling merchants and books to learn their magic and flying techniques,” said Cadance.

“According to some of the Crystal Ponies, Sombra was one of seven highly skilled unicorn mages in service to their queen. Since they were the only ones who could use magic, they were given high status and prestige within the Empire, and were allowed to live within the palace,” added Shining Armor.

Twilight, while perusing the books on the shelf, caught something in the couple’s explanation. “I thought the citizens didn’t like recalling the times when they were under his rule? How come they sound so forthcoming?”

“Guess you can call it therapy. Repressing memories doesn’t really do them any good, it’s part of the Empire’s history, their lives. They can’t repress something that big, it only does harm to them and future generations. Besides, we’ve been able to gather some interesting history from before his rule.”

“Who’s this stallion,” asked Trixie.

The azure mare had splintered off from the group and found her staring at portrait further back in the study. It depicted a unicorn stallion, his coat a brilliant sheen of black diamond, gentle emerald green eyes, and a flowing, well groomed mane. Beside him was a unicorn mare, her coat was like a sparkling ruby, with light pink eyes that rested on the stallion to her right. She seemed intelligent, and lithe, with a happy smile on her face.

Trixie squinted as she read the plate at the bottom of the frame. “‘Sabio the Wise, Seventh Pillar of the Magical Arts.’ and the mare is…’Graza the Elegant, Second Pillar of the Magical Arts.’ That stallion looks a lot like Sombra.”

“That’s because it is him, or rather, what he used to be,” said Cadance.

“Apparently he took the name ‘Sombra’ when he became king. According to the Crystal Ponies, Sabio was a ‘mage of citizens’, constantly looking for new ways to help his fellow Crystal Ponies. You two actually some things in common he was also a bit of a…entertainer…to the foals and citizens, putting on magic shows for their enjoyment.” Shining Armor noticed how Trixie flinched when she heard that part about being an entertainer.

Trixie’s mind flashed back to the memories of when she was possessed by the Alicorn Amulet. Yes she wanted its power to best Twilight, she didn’t lie about that, but she never thought that it would twist her mind and drive mad with power. That’s when the thought entered her mind.

“Are...are you comparing me to Sombra…?”

Twilight noticed the sad tone in her voice and immediately tried to diffuse the situation.

“No, no, Trixie. That’s not what he meant! Right, Shiny?” asked Twilight giving him a sideways glare.

“Um, y-yeah, I was uh, comparing you to who he was before he went all shadowy and dark, you know, Sabio the Wise,” he said nervously.

“……I uh, need to use the little filly’s room,” said Trixie.

She turned from the group and trotted out the door. Twilight quickly went after Trixie, leaving Shining Armor and Cadance alone in the study. The pink alicorn then came up to her husband and smacked him upside the head, barely holding back her alicorn strength.

“OUCH!!!”

“Are you kidding me?! Did you have to say that in front of her like that?” asked Cadance indignantly.

“It’s the truth, what?! He was a bit of a stage performer,” said Shining Armor in his defense.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to make it sound as if she was Sombra reincarnated! You probably hurt her feelings, Shining!”

“I wasn’t trying to! I just, ugh!” Shining Armor slapped his face with his hooves, dragging them down and groaning the whole time he did
so. “Alright, maybe that was a tad insensitive –”

“A tad?!”

“Okay it was insensitive. I really didn’t mean it though...”

Cadance sighed heavily, “I’m going to go and track them down. Think about how you’re going to apologize to Trixie and maybe I can convince Twilight not to drop kick you between your hind legs.”

Shining Armor watched as his wife left the study; he then let out a long sigh as he scuffed the floor with his hoof.

“Smooth, Armor, real smooth. Why not just call her the embodiment straight to her face, would’ve been more cordial?! Great…now I have to apologize…”

Trixie was making her way down the hall, she didn’t really know where the hall took her, and she just needed some distance from Shining Armor.

“Trixie!”

The azure mare turned her head and saw Twilight cantering towards her. Trixie didn’t really stop walking. She just kept on going despite hearing her half-sister call her name. Eventually Twilight came up next to her, and gave her a concerned look.

“Trixie, you alright?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah, fine, anypony’d be fine after being compared to a dark overlord,” spat Trixie.

“He didn’t mean it. He was just making an observation. I’m sure…”

Trixie stopped and gave Twilight a serious look.

“Oh wake up, Twilight! He practically said he hates me! What more proof do you need!?”

“Look…maybe…maybe he didn’t mean for it to come out that maybe he – oh who am I kidding that was so wrong!” Twilight facehoofed herself and groaned loudly. “I can’t believe he just said that! But, Trixie, we talked about this, we both knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take a while for Shining Armor to accept this whole situation, you know as well I do that this wasn’t going to get settled in less than a day.”

Trixie scoffed, “And you think a week is sufficient? Maybe we aren’t meant to have the same tight bond that you and he have, let’s face it, you two grew up together, we didn’t. You can’t expect us to just click.”

Twilight sighed in frustration, “I don’t expect you to ‘click’. I just want you two to get along. And really, you have to stop being so...so...well, not you!”

Trixie couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow at that.

“And what do you mean not me?!”

“I mean you aren’t normally this reserved or timid! Where’s the proud Trixie, where’s the brash unicorn mare who made the past year a near living Tartarus for me!?”

“Are you trying to get Trixie mad?

“Yes, see, that! Don’t act like the sister you think he wants to you to be, just be you!”

Trixie grunted and started to walk off, “You don’t understand.”

Twilight furrowed her brow; she quickly got in front of Trixie, making her stare her in the eye.

“What don’t I understand, Trixie?”

“If I were to ‘just be me’ then I’d have to deal with the buried resentment I have for you and him.” Trixie stated.

Twilight blinked.

Seeing that the alicorn wasn’t getting it, Trixie explained. “I’ve mostly gotten over the whole ‘beat Twilight and prove you’re the better daughter’ thing.’ It was a waste of energy anyway. I…I want to have that bond that you and Shining Armor have, I grew up with no one to call brother or sister, not even the other orphaned foals. ’Cause I knew I had a real brother and sister, and I hoped that one day my father would come waltzing in with my big brother in toe and take me away to live with them.”

Twilight felt a stinging sensation in her heart. Now that she thought about it, all those years she spent bonding with Shining Armor, becoming closer, were years that they all three could’ve spent together as well, becoming just as close, forming an even stronger bond than what two ponies shared.

“Sorry, Twilight, one week isn't going to make up for years…”

Trixie didn’t wait for Twilight’s reply. She simply walked around her and left the purple alicorn standing there.

“That seemed bad.”

Twilight’s head snapped up to see Cadance walking towards her with sympathetic eyes.

“Not...too bad,” she replied.

“I’m sorry about that Twilight, I should’ve told you that Shining Armor wasn’t...completely one-hundred percent about meeting Trixie,” said Cadance.

“To be honest, neither was Trixie about him. But she needed this, Cadance. If she can feel accepted by Shiny it’ll help her in the long run.”

Cadance placed a hoof on Twilight’s withers as she looked down at her sister-in-law. “It may not be just Trixie who needs this, Twilight. Shining Armor...” Cadance stopped, wondering if she should tell Twilight about her brother’s inner struggle.

Twilight noted her hesitation and looked up at her curiously. “Cadance...?”

“You know what, never mind. It’s something Shining Armor needs to tell you...”

“Guess we’re both dealing with stubborn ponies, huh,” said Twilight chuckling.

“Pfft, ‘stubborn’ is putting it mildly.”

The sisters-in-law shared a hug, and a giggle or two at the situation that they found themselves in. Thinking that both their respective ponies needed space for now, the two alicorns opted to just meander around the palace, with Twilight regaling Cadance of tales Trixie’s first arrival, and Cadance telling her of all the things they were doing to get ready for the eventual Equestria Games.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst the royals, a thorny, vine-like darkness crept through the crystal walls. It slithered about till it happened upon Sabio the Wise’s study. The black vine shot towards the open door only to halt a mere few inches from the doorway. Magical rune and sigil markings appeared on the floor and around the doorframe, forming a barrier, forbidding entry to darkness.

A low disembodied growl echoed within the hall.

The Moon's Encouragement

Trixie was walking through Ponyville. The ponies, although somewhat still distrusting, nonetheless greeted her and waved a good morning to the azure mare. Trixie didn’t know why, but something told her that today was going to be a good day. Despite the setbacks in the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor and Trixie had actually hit it off quite nicely, of course, after Shining Armor apologized about the whole Sabio/Sombra thing. Which in hindsight she may’ve overreacted to the comparison, after all, when you thought about it, it was a compliment, in way.

Trixie saw her destination coming into view, Golden Oaks Library. It was still odd, calling this tree/house/library her home, seeing as how she never had a real home after her mother died. But Trixie was slowly starting to enjoy calling that place her home.

Even if it smells of parchment and ink from time to time, she thought.

Trixie approached the front door and noticed something odd. The “Open” sign was switched to “Closed”, which was odd seeing as it was early afternoon and still within normal operation hours. The library didn’t really see much patronage, the only time the library was actually used was during projects at the local school, or during fairs, or when a new Daring Do or Harry Trotter book was released. Trixie merely shrugged the oddity off, it was Twilight’s, and Trixie’s, home, and being the owner and Princess did give her leeway in deciding when the library was open and closed.

Trixie opened the door and entered her home. Upon stepping hoof within Trixie could immediately tell that something was off. Usually, the library gave her a somewhat comforting, homey feeling. But right now, though, it felt as if that vibe was the complete opposite, like the library wanted to reject Trixie like a virus invading a healthy body. Trixie made her way further into the library, climbing up the stairs to the second level where she knew Twilight would be. But as she ascended the stairs Trixie couldn’t help but hear a faint sound.

Trixie continued up and the sound grew louder, it wasn’t long before Trixie fully recognized what it was. It was the sound of somepony crying. The azure mare quickened her pace to the second story. Once she reached the top Trixie quickly looked around for the source. Trixie knew that Twilight occasionally did magical experiments or scientific projects that Trixie didn’t really understand, or cared to understand, and feared she might’ve hurt herself or worse. It wasn’t long before she found the source. And as she thought, it was indeed Twilight crying, but what she didn’t understand was why Shining Armor was there.

The white unicorn stallion held his little sister close as she sobbed into his chest, gently stroking her mane in a comforting fashion. Trixie slowly walked towards them, confused and even more concerned about what was going on.

“Twilight, Shining Armor, what…what’s wrong,” asked Trixie.

For some reason, hearing Trixie’s voice made Twilight recede deeper into her big brother’s embrace. Shining Armor then fixed Trixie with a piercing glare that almost made her yelp out of fear.

“This is all your fault, Trixie!”

“W-What’s going on!? What is my fault, I just got home!?”

“Shut up, this isn’t your home, not anymore you…you…home wrecker!” Twilight shouted as she glanced over her shoulder to Trixie.

Needless to say, Trixie was taken aback by both the accusation and the amount of venom that was laced in her words.

“‘Home wrecker’, what did I do!? Would you two please tell me what’s going on, instead of just yelling at me!?” Trixie demanded with a stomp of her hoof.

“Our Mom…she divorced our Dad…and furthermore, she completely disowned Shining Armor and me! She said…” Twilight tried to bite back the growing lump in her throat. “She said that she couldn’t stand the sight of us, knowing that we were his children! And now she’s gone off to Faust knows where!”

Trixie felt like the wind was knocked out of her lungs. She collapsed onto her haunches as the gravity of what Twilight had said took root. This was her worst fear come to life, yes she knew that no real good would come of Twilight’s and Shining Armor’s parents finding out about her, but Trixie didn’t think that that would happen, not complete disownment.

“And that’s not all…” Shining Armor separated himself from Twilight. He then rose up and began to advance on Trixie. “Cadance left me…”

Trixie’s eyes grew to the size of saucer plates, this was worse than she’d thought. Cadance was the Princess of Love; she was kind, caring, and compassionate, and just as every bit as faithful to Shining Armor as he was to her. She looked up at her big brother with disbelief and sadness in her eyes.

“That can’t be true! Shining Armor, Cadance loves you, why would she do that!?”

The stallion snorted angrily at this question. “She thought that a family that had no real understanding about what love was, especially familial love, was undeserving of her love. She thinks that eventually, I’ll be the one to cheat on her, you know, since my Father messed around with your floozy mother!”

Trixie quickly rose up and stared Shining Armor in the eyes, insults to Trixie were one thing, she didn’t like them, but she was fine with that she wasn’t looking for acceptance. But to insult her mother, the mare who did all she could to raise her and in the end lost her life trying to give them a better life, that’s where Trixie drew the line.

“Don’t you DARE talk about my Mother like that! She was the kindest and most hardworking mare I ever knew, she was twice the mother Twilight Velvet was if this was enough to make her leave!”

Trixie didn’t notice it, but Twilight had swiftly made her way to her and slapped the azure unicorn mare across the face. Trixie stumbled back a bit, eyes wide with shock at the realization that she was assailed by her big sister.

“T-Twilight…”

“You cause nothing but pain, humiliation, and destruction wherever you go! I wish I never found out you were my sister, I wish you weren’t ever born,” shouted Twilight at the top of her lungs.

That was it…those were the dreaded words she hoped to never hear, and spoken by the pony she both aspired to be and had previously wanted to defeat.

“You!” Twilight pointed her hoof at Trixie for emphasis. “You are a danger to everypony around you, and so…in order to spare others the same pain that we’ve suffered I, Twilight Sparkle, as a Princess of Equestria, hereby banish you Trixie Lulamoon!”

Trixie couldn’t believe what she was hearing; she backed away slowly, shaking her head at what was transpiring.

“Twilight…you’re…you’re banishing me!? T-To where…the moon!?”

“No, the moon is a dissolute and empty place, although it would be poetic justice with you. No, I’m banishing you to the SUN!”
Trixie’s eyes grew wider in sheer horror. The moon was one thing, but the sun!? Trixie couldn’t take it anymore she hurriedly ran down the stairs and burst through the front door. She ran through the town till she saw Twilight’s friends gathered in Town Square. She quickly made her way towards them, thinking that they might be able to talk Twilight out of her vendetta.

“Trixie, what the hay do you want,” asked Spike agitated by her presence.

“You-You have to help me! Twilight and Shining Armor have gone crazy! They want to banish me to the sun – the SUN!”
Spike and the other five mares looked at each other in turn before finally looking at Trixie.

“So,” asked Spike.

Trixie was struck speechless.

“It’s your fault in the end, darling. You couldn’t help but seek out Twilight to prove that you were the best, your pride wouldn’t let it go,” said Rarity.

“Ya brought it on yerself Trix, if ya went and left well enough alone you could’ve avoided all this,” stated Applejack.

“Besides, did you really think we’d forgive and forget that easily? You enslaved Ponyville, and now you’ve gone and messed up Twi’s family,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Sounds like you really, really, really, really, REALLY hate Twilight. I mean, splitting up her family and getting them to hate each other, sounds like a good ultimate revenge to me,” Pinkie pointed out.

Trixie vigorously shook her head, “NO! I never wanted that! I’m through with revenge! This was never about that I just…I just…!”

“You just wanted a family, to belong, well boo-hoo-hoo,” mocked Fluttershy. “You’re getting exactly what you deserve!”

“And you have nopony else to blame but yourself.”

Trixie turned her head around and watched as Twilight slowly trotted towards her, with Shining Armor and Princess Celestia flanking her.

“I had had such high hopes for you, Trixie Luluamoon, I truly believed you could rise above your pity vengeance and seek true forgiveness, but it seems that, even after living thousands of lifetimes, there are still ponies who can take advantage of my caring nature,” said Princess Celestia.

Trixie was practically surrounded. The five mares and one baby dragon had created a semi-circle in front of her, with Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Shining Armor bringing up the rear. There was nowhere to escape, nopony here was going to help her, they had condemned her. All of them were on Twilight’s side, and really, Trixie couldn’t blame, as much as she wanted to.

Trixie then found herself incased in a powerful magical bubble, the source of which was Twilight’s magic. She quickly pounded at the bubble, yelling, pleading with anypony to stop this from happening.

“If I had sent you to the moon, you’d merely suffocate. I’m going to thrust you deep into the core of the sun, and place just enough magical wards on this sphere to ensure you slowly and painfully burn to death! You’ll spend every waking moment in agony, thinking only of what you’ve done, about the lives you’ve ruined!”

Trixie was now crying. She quickly went to the side of the bubble that Twilight was closest to, she then dropped to her knees and pleaded with the enraged mare.

“Twilight, big sister, please don’t do this! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean for this – ANY of this to happen! I just…I just wanted…”

“I’m sorry too Trixie…” Twilight walked up to the sphere and placed a hoof on its surface. Trixie reached out and placed her hoof on the same spot that Twilight’s was, a small smile daring to grace her lips. “…But I don’t believe you, I can never believe you…”

Twilight’s horn glowed with a great intensity as the bubble started to rise into the air. Trixie started to cry even harder, curling into a fetal position as she continued to sob for what awaited her.

“Please help me…somepony…anypony…MOTHER!”

“Come little children,
I’ll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment~
Come little children,
The time’s come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows~”

Suddenly everything stopped. The ponies that were around Trixie started look around for the source of the melodic voice. Whimsical and mysterious music started to play, filling the air and coming from seemingly every direction.

“Follow sweet children
I’ll show thee the way~
Through all the pain
And the sorrows~”

Trixie continued to cry, shutting her eyes, thinking that the sound was just a trick. Not noticing that the world around her began to ebb and flow like waves in a pond of water and slowly dissolving the world around her.

“Weep not poor children
For life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions~
Hush now dear children
It must be this way
Too weary of life and deceptions
Rest now my children
For soon we’ll away~
Into the calm and quiet~”

The world was now an empty blackness, but that was soon corrected as the soft and gentle glow of the full moon dominated the darkness. Soon the world became filled with stars and constellations. Trixie slowly opened her eyes, the terror and pain she felt was slowly melting away by the soothing music. She saw that the world she was once in had become very different. Twilight and the others had disappeared, and now she bared witness to a beautiful night sky, with the moon overhead, acting as a gentle guardian in the night. The bubble, no longer rose colored, but instead was a navy blue color, with tiny silver sparkles. The bubble slowly made its way to the moon.

Trixie was not afraid, not anymore. When she reached the moon, she found it not to be a barren land as most would think. There were large, alabaster columns, a fountain with crystal clear water danced in ways that weren’t natural, making spirals and whimsical patterns that almost hypnotized. All around there were flowers, white and blue roses littered the landscape, arranged with careful and artistic thought. Soon the bubble came upon a pavilion, held up by four large columns and a rotunda top with bronze trim. Underneath the pavilion, much to Trixie’s surprise was a midnight blue alicorn mare, instantly she recognized this mare as the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna.

She seemed enraptured with the music, swaying with it, and even her ethereal mane seemed to be doing the same.

“Come little children
I’ll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment~
Come little children
The time’s come to play
Here in my garden of shaaaadoooowwwws~”

The bubble soon landed on the stone pathway, popping and releasing Trixie. And at the end of Luna’s song, the hauntingly sweet music came to an end. Princess Luna then opened her eyes and looked upon Trixie with kindness and, she dared think, understanding.

“Welcome Trixie Lulamoon.” Luna spoke.

Trixie immediately bowed before her, remembering that this was the first time she had met Princess Luna. Even during Nightmare Night, she didn’t approach her, out of slight fear knowing that she and Twilight were close friends and did not want to incur the wrath of Princes of the Night.

“Princess Luna…I…I don’t know what to say…”

Trixie rose up and looked around once more before turning her gaze on Princess Luna.

“‘Dream Garden’? Wait this is a dream!? I’m dreaming!?”

“Yes, yes, and yes to the last. It has been a while since I had to bring anypony here, you should feel honored, not many get to see it, a shame really,” said Luna.

“Why’s that, exactly…?”

“Come, let us sit first.”

Within the pavilion a table appeared at the center, with two plush cushions for them to sit on. Princess Luna sat on one and beckoned for Trixie to join her. The azure mare did so, and sat across from her.

“So…ahem, why did you bring me here,” asked Trixie.

“I use the Dream Garden as a safe haven, for ponies whose nightmares are so frightening that they cannot bare it and risk hurting themselves. I intervene, as I did not a moment ago, and bring them here so that their mind can rest easier while I wipe away the nightmare.”

Trixie slumped onto the table, “Ugh! That was some nightmare. I’ve never had one like that! It felt so real! Shouldn’t I have realized it was a nightmare at some point, or woken up?”

“Often times nightmares aren’t easily recognized, sometimes it takes a shocking event within the nightmare to effectively wake a pony up, but…”

Trixie didn’t exactly like the way Princess Luna was trailing off at that last part, it made her worry.

“But what?”

“I am concerned about you, Trixie Lulamoon. I thought when Twilight and Shining Armor acted as they did that that would be enough to wake you, but it didn’t. You also didn’t wake when you saw how Twilight’s friends reacted to your news. I have spent time with them, I have come to know them well, and even if Twilight was in such a state over you, her friends would’ve done everything they could to talk her out of it, even my sister wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen and that should’ve have been a dead giveaway.”

“Not to appear rude, Princess Luna, but what’s your point?”

“There were many instances, yet none of them struck you as odd. Dreams and nightmares are where a ponies psyche, their inner most thoughts are made manifest. They sometimes fulfill our wishes, help us sort our problems in the waking world, enable us to conquer our fears in a somewhat controlled setting, and…they often act as a way for our conscious to punish us for a wrong we may have done or perceived to have committed,” she explained.

Trixie looked upon the lunar mare incredulously, “What do mean!? Are you saying that all that stuff those nightmare copies said were true!? That I’m some kind of…of…home wrecker! And that I bring nothing but pain and misery to everypony around me!” Trixie shouted.

Princess Luna did not flinch from Trixie’s shouting, showing that this wasn’t the first time that she had to deal with a difficult pony, “Those words are not what they think. It would be more prudent to say that those are the things you believe yourself to be.” Trixie seemed taken aback by what Luna said, nonetheless she pressed on. “While you hope for the best, Trixie, in the back of your mind, you envision the worst case scenario, which is what your nightmare was about, the worst thing that could happen. You believe yourself to be the center of this but you needn’t bare that burden or shame –”

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?” Trixie’s eyes had tears streaming down them once again as her anger and sadness started to return. “What I want I can never have! I can never be accepted into their family! Sooner or later I’d drive them apart, a constant reminder of infidelity! Even now I’m messing up in the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor doesn’t even like me, and I don’t blame him!”

“DO NOT THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH SUCH FEARS TRIXIE LULAMOON!” Luna boomed in the Royal Canterlot voice.

Trixie shrank down in her seat from the power and authority that was carried in Princess Luna’s voice. She then slowly rose up, seeing that the Princess was waiting for her to do so.

“When I returned, after the Elements of Harmony purified me of Nightmare Moon’s influence, I was filled with so many fears and doubts. I sought to usurp my sister’s rule, and bring about eternal night. And I did it all because I was jealous and angry, jealous that my sister was always the one ponies went to when they had questions, and angry that they enjoyed the day more than the night, no matter how beautifully I arranged the stars, or brightened the dark so that ponies wouldn’t be afraid, all of it was gone unnoticed and without the slightest bit of gratitude.

But all that jealousy and anger were gone after I was freed, I no longer wanted eternal night, all I wanted was to be with my sister, and to return to the only home I knew. But as I said, I was frightened at what my sister would say or do once I was back, but to my surprise, she was as happy to see me as I her, and as they say, the rest is history.”

Trixie took a moment to digest Princess Luna’s words, Luna, like her, only wanted to be recognized for her talents, to be seen and accepted and to not fade away into the background and be forgotten, to live in the shadow of somepony else. I find I have more in common with Princess Luna, and a little in common with Sabio the Wise…how messed up am I, thought Trixie.

“Tell me, Princess Luna, did Twilight tell you of our situation or did you just eavesdrop on my dreams?”

“Oh no, Tia told me – oops – I mean Celestia told me, and maybe I took a peek, only a little,” said Princess Luna, blushing a little from using her sister’s nickname, and from being found out.

The azure mare could help but chuckle at being able to make this particular Princess blush.

“So, what do you think I should do…?”

“I think the real question is what do you think you should do?”

Trixie let out a long sigh, “I guess I should make a better effort like Twilight wanted, but not at least until he apologizes!”

“Oh most definitely, older siblings need to know that they can be wrong once and a while, and it’s fun to have that for leverage later.”

Princess Luna gave Trixie a playful wink, a sort of understanding between younger siblings.

“Well, then, the dawn is coming, and you should wake. Hopefully the next time we meet it will be under less stressful circumstances,” said Luna.

The sun started to rise on the horizon of the moon, and as it did Trixie’s body slowly started to fade away. It was then that the magician remembered something.

“Princess Luna, there’s one thing I needed to ask you!”

“Make it quick, you’ll wake shortly.”

“Exactly how did you know that was the lullaby that my Mother used to sing me –!?”

Luna watched as Trixie faded away, leaving the mare with a confused expression. “That lullaby…nopony else knows that lullaby beyond…How did her mother know of it?”

Author's Note

Well now, this was an interesting development. And now I leave you with three questions.

How did Trixie's mother know of that lullaby?
Is this a filler?
Or am I hinting at something else?

Let the debate begin!

Bonding Time

Trixie awoke with a start, looking around her room as if somehow expecting to find Princess Luna in her room. She then smacked her forehead remembering that their meeting was in a dream world. Despite how Trixie felt yesterday, today she felt…better. Of course, not all the problems were sorted out, but Trixie did feel a little better having talked it out with Princess Luna.

“Ugh. But that nightmare was a bit extreme, even for me.” Trixie then got out of her bed and used her magic to make it. “Princess Luna did have a point, Twilight banishing me to the sun and Celestia backing her up was a bit farfetched. Definitely should’ve alerted me that it was a nightmare…but, it felt so real…”

Trixie just shrugged, thinking it just a product of her overstressed mind and the drama that was going to be growing from her stay here. Once the bed was made, and noticing that it was still pretty early, Trixie decided to head to the kitchen, both to get something to eat and to avoid Shining Armor till he apologized.

When Trixie left the room, the wall nearest her bed began to grow black and dark. A small wisp of black smoke winded and coiled as a low chuckle reverberated through the room.

“Fear…”

Shining Armor paced back and forth, trying to figure out a way to apologize to Trixie, and the notion of doing so didn’t sit well with him, despite knowing that he didn’t mean it as an insult…or maybe he did and it came out unbidden of his conscious mind. Either way, it annoyed him.

It was then that he heard knocking at the front door of his and Cadance’s room.

“It’s me, Twilight, can I come in,” she asked.

Shining Armor used his magic to open the door for his little sister. Twilight walked inside, her expression from yesterday wasn’t as harsh, but she seemed to have cooled down a bit, thankfully.

“Hey, Shiny.”

“Hey, Twily.”

Twilight saw that her big brother was still uncertain about how to apologize to Trixie.

“Still thinking, huh?”

“Yes…Seriously, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that Twily. Guess I’m just a little…worked up about this whole thing. It’s not easy finding out Dad cheated on Mom…”

Twilight visibly winced when Shining brought up that fact. Yes it was obvious but it wasn’t like she had fully grasped that notion. It was hard to hear and think about, even if it was just a brief fling. The fact that their father stuck around to take care of them, instead of running off with Trixie’s mother must mean he wasn’t all that bad. Although, when you consider the fact that he abandoned Trixie and her mother to live a life of poverty and pretended that Trixie didn’t exist for the last twenty-two years, it’s hard to say one way or the other.

Shining Armor stared at Twilight, for some reason she was lost in thought. He walked up to the purple alicorn and waved a hoof in front of her face.

“Twily, you there Twi – Twilight,” shouted Shining Armor.

Twilight snapped out of revere and looked upon her brother with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, deep in thought about something…Anyway, I thought you might be having trouble so I’ve come to propose a way for you to apologize and also spend some quality time together.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “Okay…shoot.”

“Well, Trixie’s been learning magic from me for almost a year now. She does pretty well, but her magic’s not exactly…Oh what’s the word…” Twilight waved her right hoof about as if she was trying to extract the right word out of the air. “Up to par, I guess…?”

“‘Up to par’?”

“Trixie’s magic is…Oh…it’s weak, Shiny. She can’t perform many complex spells, at least nothing beyond illumination, levitation, some small degree of weather manipulation, and fireworks displays. Which really surprises me since her special talent appears to be magic, at least some form of magic.”

Shining Armor pondered this. “Maybe that’s all her magic is good for, stage stuff. I mean, no offense Twily, but not everypony has a special talent like yours.”

Twilight smiled smugly at that, “Yes, I know. But, I just can’t help but feel she’s not reaching her full potential. I mean, she’s our sister. You’re strong in barrier spells, so strong that you protected all of Canterlot! And me…well…” Twilight fluttered her wings, which pretty much said it all.

“So what’re you getting at…?”

Twilight sat on her haunches while twiddling her hooves nervously, “I was just thinking…That maybe you two could spend some actual bonding time, over some…magical…training?”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. Was she really being serious about this?

“Twilight, you want me to train her in magic? If there’s anypony who can train her, who’s qualified to do so, it’d be you.”

“I know, and I have, I just think that learning from a different source is good once in a while. I was taught most of what I know from
Princess Celestia, but every so often she would have me go to one of the teachers at the School for Gifted Unicorns. Celestia thought it was good to learn from different sources. And since there aren’t that many other unicorns in Ponyville that I can ask – or who want – to help teach her, I thought maybe you could…?”

Shining Armor thought hard about this. On the one hoof: It would give the two of them a chance to actually spend some time together, and give him a chance to apologize and get to know the mare. On the other hoof: did he really want to train his supposed “half-sister”, the very one who tried twice to show up Twilight, his little sister, and nearly ruined her life. And did he want to train said pony in the same magical skills he learned during his time as a Captain of the Royal Guard? It was quite the quagmire, and both had pros and cons. But then he thought about suffering the wrath of his little sister and his lovely wife should he not venture to try and bond with Trixie. Trixie may disappear into the wind should she so choose, but he was stuck with both Twilight and Cadance for the rest of his life, better to appease the powers that be.

“I’ll…I’ll do it,” said Shining Armor, reluctantly.

Twilight’s face brightened immediately as she rushed to embrace her big brother.

“Thank you, Shining Armor! This will make Trixie so happy! I promise, you’ll like her, she can be a bit stubborn and hard headed, but she really is a good learner! I gotta go tell her!”

Before Twilight could fully zoom out the front door, Shining Armor grabbed her by the tail using his magic to hold her in place. The purple alicorn turned to her sibling in confusion.

“Hold on Twily, there’s some things we need to go over before we start doing that.”

Twilight had a look of concern upon her face; the tone in her brother’s voice did not exactly inspire confidence.

“Like what…?”

“Journal Entry #255, Subject: Star Staff Experiment.

After several tries I finally created a working way to give the citizens of the Crystal Empire a way to focus and control their inner magic.”

Trixie was sitting on the couch in Sabio the Wise’s study. A crystal shined brightly on the table across from her as it created a holographic image of the pony who would one day become Sombra. From what Trixie could tell the recording had taken place in this very room, the crystal unicorn stallion’s horn glowed as he levitated something towards him. It looked like a wand with a five pointed star at the tip. Trixie looked at her flank and saw how the wand was somewhat similar to her cutie mark.

“Huh, weird coincidence,” she said to herself.

“This is a Star Staff. It takes the form of a wand when not active, however…” Sabio seemed to infuse the wand with his own magical energy and immediately the wand extended to a length of seven feet, and the star crystal shined with a great intensity. “When you concentrate and focus your inner magical energy into it, it activates the staff’s latent abilities. This will allow non-magic crystal ponies to wield magic as I and the other Seven Pillars can. Given that our magic can only be truly expressed through the Crystal Heart, I found that we needed a way to match our brethren ponies in the other regions of Equestria –”

“There you are.”

Trixie jumped at the sudden new voice, having been totally focused on what the Sabio simulacrum was saying. She somehow jumped up high enough for her to make it over the couch and land with a somewhat painful thud. The azure mare groaned as she slowly rose up, rubbing the back of her head as it throbbed. Trixie turned her gaze to the doorway and saw that Princess Cadance was standing there, a small smile and chuckle escaping her as at what she had seen.

“P-Princess Cadance! I was just…I’m sorry for coming in here without permission I –!”

“Trixie, calm down, I’m not angry at you.” Cadance spoke in a kind and caring voice. “I was just looking for you and couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Trixie walked from behind the couch and sighed as she sat back down.

“I wanted to be alone for a while…I figured Sabio’s study would be the last place Twilight, and you too apparently, would look for me,” answered Trixie.

Cadance walked into the room and was now staring at the frozen image of Sabio holding the Star Staff.

“Well, you were right about that.” She then turned to Trixie and gave her a false stern look. “And what did I tell you about using my royal title when it came to family?”

Trixie winced, “Sorry, Prin – Cadance! Sorry Cadance.”

Cadance then smiled again, “Better. So, what have you found here?”

Trixie tapped the crystal on the table and the image of Sabio quickly retreated back into the jewel. Trixie then levitated it to Cadance so that she could get a closer look at it.

“I was getting bored avoi – I mean, just staring at the stuff in here. So I decided to see what lied in wait here. I examined the contents of the top shelves and found a large cabinet with many of these crystals, apparently all numbered. They appear to be some sort of magical journal that Sabio used to keep track of his findings.”

Cadance inspected the small crystal, impressed that the crystal ponies had such advances in magical application and enchantment a
thousand years ago. She was secretly berating herself for never fully exploring this room now, wondering what else the ancient scholar had within. And no doubt Twilight would go into a research frenzy if she knew about this.

“Have you looked through anymore?”

“A few…” Trixie said sheepishly. “…He was a very talented unicorn, Sabio I mean. He did a lot in service to his fellow crystal ponies, and apparently out of love for that Graza mare...”

Trixie then walked towards the portrait of Sabio and Graza, staring up at it forlornly. Cadance noticed this and, after placing the crystal back on the table, walked over to Trixie and looked at her with concern.

“How could one so devoted to helping others, who loved somepony that much, throw it all away and become one of the most feared tyrants in Equestrian history…?”

“Trixie…”

“Was it to impress her…? Was it to show other ponies that he was a strong and powerful mage…? Or…was it that he was like that all along, and the dark magic just gave him an outlet to fully realize his wickedness…?”

Trixie flinched when she felt the downy soft wing of Cadance drape over her. With little warning, the alicorn mare brought Trixie closer to her body in a sort of wing embrace.

“Don’t let what Shining Armor get to you, Trixie. You’re nothing like that stallion; you’re your own mare, not Sabio or Sombra, just Trixie.”

Trixie wanted to shrug off the embrace, but felt that it would be rude to do so to one of the few ponies in the Crystal Empire who seemed to genuinely care about her, aside from Twilight of course. Trixie felt herself melt into the embrace. She never had a foalsitter, and from what Twilight told her about Cadance, the alicorn of love was apparently the best there was. She could see why. Being like this, it like Cadance could shield her from all the troubles and worries in her life.

“Feeling a little better,” asked Cadance in a soft tone.

“…A little, yes,” answered Trixie, looking a bit embarrassed for taking solace in this little hug as if she were a foal.

“Well, I have some news from Shining Armor that I think you’ll like.”

Cadance released Trixie from the hug, with the unicorn mare now looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“He wants you to meet him at the stadium as soon as possible.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know, but that’s why I came to find you. Twilight was looking for you too. Guess he wants to apologize.”

“At the stadium? Does he want to engage in a bout of mortal combat for the right to be a part of the family? Or has he just decided to make my execution public?”

Cadance rolled her eyes at the overdramatic reasons for such a request. “Well, I for one will make sure you arrive on time to talk it out with Shiny.”

Before Trixie could question it further she was taken up into Cadance’s magical grasp, now floating a few feet off the ground. Trixie protested being dragged to see Shining Armor like this, her fears of being slain still prevalent in her mind.

“Would you relax, Trixie? Shining Armor is NOT going to kill you or fight you in the stadium. Besides, why go through the hassle of making it public, when there are plenty of places in the palace where one could do such a thing quietly and out of the public eye.”

“LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!”

“Kidding, kidding!” Cadance then turned to the mare and flashed a devious grin. “Or am I…?”

“SOMEPONY SAVE ME!!!”

“Kidding, again, seriously, just kidding!”

Trixie pointed an accusatory hoof at Cadance while declaring, “You have a sick sense of humor!”

Cadance’s only response was sticking out her tongue and a playful wink.

Trixie hadn’t stopped attempting to elude the magical grasp of Cadance during their travel from the palace to the stadium where the Equestria Games would be held. Try as she might, Trixie simply wasn’t strong enough to break free of Cadance’s magic, and really, when she thought about, no normal unicorn – outside of Twilight before her ascension – would even be able to do such a thing.
Currently the Princess of Love was flying over the Empire, with Trixie in tow. She was not used to the flying thing; in fact, Trixie was shaking like a leaf staring down at the buildings from such a height, knowing that if Cadacne’s grasp faltered she would end up a messy splat on the unforgiving crystal ground below.

Thankfully the two of them arrived with no incident. Cadance casually walked through one of large entryways and headed towards the field. Once at the entrance to the field, Cadance set Trixie a few feet away from where she was and into the open field. The pink alicorn then released her grip on the unicorn, and, just as she thought, Trixie tried to make a break for the nearest exit.

Unfortunately for her, Trixie’s hasty exit was met with resistance. And by “resistance” I mean that the poor mare ran into a magical, rose tinted, barrier. Trixie rubbed her nose, which was now in pain having had run muzzle first into the barrier. After taking a moment to examine the barrier, Trixie narrowed her gaze.

“Twilight,” she cursed.

She then backtracked and made her way back to the original entrance that Cadance used. Only to again find it blocked off, this time by a sky-blue magical barrier.

“Et tu Cadance!?”

At this point, Trixie was inclined to believe that all the exits were most likely protected with magical barriers. Trixie thought about teleporting out of the stadium, but then she remembered how her first attempt had her upper half sticking out of one end of the wall in library, and her rear dangling out on the outside for all to see. With a heavy sigh, Trixie, reluctantly, went in search of her older half-sibling.

It didn’t take long before she spotted the white unicorn stallion, sitting in the middle of the grassy field. She noticed how miserable he looked, it was starting to look like Twilight and Cadance had forced the two of them into the same space, thinking that he too was probably dragged here by Twilight. She noted that that must’ve been particularly embarrassing, which probably hurt his pride as a stallion a little.

I can at least relate to the part of our wounded prides.

Trixie took in a deep breath and then exhaled it before making her way to Shining Armor. Along the way she made note that there didn’t seem to be anypony else in the stadium, and there were no weapons on the ground so that ruled out combat and an execution.

Although, given his Royal Guard training, I doubt he needs any of that to take out a pony…probably could do it with his bare hooves.

Shining Armor seemed to notice Trixie walking towards him. He then put on a weak smile as he waved to the approaching mare. Trixie gave him a half-smile in return, still nervous and afraid in his presence. The azure unicorn mare then stopped about ten feet from him and rubbed one of her forelegs nervously.

“H-Hi, Shining Armor…”

“Hey, Trixie…”

The tension in the air was thick. Both the mare and stallion tried several times to look at the other directly, but at the last minute would shift their gaze to an interesting blade of grass.

Meanwhile, far from the eyes of the unicorn mare and stallion below, Twilight sat in one of the private skyboxes for the nobles, watching the two ponies below through a pair of binoculars. She was starting to get just a little peeved that neither of them said more than “hey” and a “hi”. It was then that she started to hear the clicking of the door and turned to see who was entering. Once Twilight saw the familiar coat and mane color she quickly turned her attention back to her big brother and half-sister.

“Have they done anything,” asked Cadance.

“No, it’s been at least two minutes and all they’ve done is greet each other!”

“It’s a start.” Cadance made her way next to Twilight, sporting a pair of binoculars of her own. “You said this was Shiny’s idea, to meet her in the stadium?”

“Yes, which makes sense considering that they’re going to practice magic, less collateral damage, but with such an open space, it makes it harder for the two of them to feel as if they have to talk. Which they do!”

Cadance tapped her sister-in-law on the shoulder and gave her a placating smile.

“Twilight, we can’t rush this. You can’t expect Shining Armor to just so openly accept her as you have.”

“…The truth is, Cadance, I didn’t really accept her…not at first.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow at that.

“What do you mean?”

Twilight released a heavy sigh before speaking, “At first, when Trixie and I first talked about it, I was so sad…so hurt by what had happened to her, and knowing that I was the cause of it however indirectly that was…I invited her to live with me in Ponyville and…I soon started to doubt that we were related…I mean, the way I found out was completely by happenstance, so there was a chance I was wrong, but…”

“But what?”

“My notions changed when Trixie showed me the proof, something that she had been holding onto for a long time in hopes of my…our
Father would come and take her away from everything she had to go through…”

Now Cadance was intrigued, “Was it some kind of paternity test?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. I actually had a DNA test done at the hospital in Ponyville to confirm if we were biologically related. And, of course, that only drove the fact that she is my sister further home.”

What could it have been, thought Cadance.

The two alicorns continued to watch Shining Armor and Trixie; the silence was becoming irritating to Twilight as neither of her siblings said a word to each other. Cadance would glance at Twilight every so often, watching her irritation grow with each passing minute and was worried that she’d give away their position having eventually caved into her frustrations. That’s when the Princess of Love decided to mess with her sister-in-law’s head.

“So, I guess you’re over the little crush you had on Trixie then?”

The sound of metal and glass breaking echoed in the skybox. Twilight’s binoculars were crushed thinner than a piece of paper; her left eye was noticeably twitching as a fierce blush permeated her face.

“W-W-W-What did you say!?”

“You heard me.”

“I do NOT have a crush on Trixie! She’s my sister for Celestia’s sake!”

“Yes, but I do recall in one letter – that you sent to me personally – that, despite Trixie’s faults, you found her to be an interesting and rather attractive mare. Imagine my surprise to find out that my sister-in-law not only likes stallions, but also mares as well. I’m guessing that time living with Trixie must’ve been awkward as Tartarus.”

Twilight didn’t seem to know how to react to that. It was, unfortunately, true. She did have a crush on Trixie after she showed some semblance of humility back at Ponyville, and had secretly hoped to meet her again to explore her feelings. But once she found out that Trixie was her half-sister she suddenly felt the need to shower and scrub vigorously for seventy-two hours straight.

“Ahem. Yes, it was…awkward…a little. But it was nothing. A-A-And besides…there are many psychology books that say that ponies raised together like Shining Armor and me are far more likely to develop sibling bonds between us. Whereas the case with me and Trixie, the two of us never having formerly met or raised together, would feel some sort of bond that would and could be mistaken for a romantic and physical attraction towards each other rather than that of two sisters. But now that we’ve solidly established what our relationship is it isn’t a problem for me anymore.”

Cadance smirked at that answer; Twilight had explained that so scientifically that it just begged the question.

“You still have the occasional awkward dreams about her, don’t you?”

Twilight’s expression became deadpan as she wrenched Cadance’s binoculars from her grasp and used them as her own.

“There’s not enough hot water in Equestria.”

“Oh relax Twilight. I know you don’t have those feelings anymore. Besides, I know exactly who the pony is who holds a special place in your heart.”

Twilight had to stop herself from accidentally crushing the second pair of binoculars. She was about ask how she knew, but then
Twilight remembered the whole “Princess of Love” thing.

“…You promise not tell her…right?”

“Of course I won’t Twilight, that’s a matter for you and you alone. Just know that you’ll have my support when you do. And on that note, let’s watch and see how this goes!”

The silence was starting to become unbearable for the two of them. Shining Armor had arranged where they would meet, and Twilight suggested what they would do to try and get along. But none of this was going to work if neither one of them said anything.

C’mon Armor, you’re already out here and she’s here too. This is your chance to show her that you’re not a total and complete jerk.
Get it together Lulamoon! One of us has to say something, I doubt Twilight or Cadance will let out if we don’t.

“Shining Armor look I –!”

“Trixie I’m –!”

Both ponies stopped and stared at each other, having apparently started to talk at the same time.

“Ahem, y-you can go first.” Trixie offered.

“Okay…” Shining Armor took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Trixie. I really am. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that, it’s just…I can get a little overprotective of Twilight sometimes and well…I went too far.”

Trixie was taken aback by what Shining Armor said. She had thought the proud stallion wouldn’t be so quick to offer an apology, at first she thought he was apologizing just to apologize, but it seemed that he was genuinely sorry. Trixie regained her composure, her cheeks tinting with pink.

“Um…thank you, Shining Armor. I accept your apology.”

“Well, good, now that the hard part’s over, how about I show you my real apology.”

“‘Real apology’,” Trixie repeated in confusion, “what are you talking about.”

“I’m talking about this.”

Shining Armor’s horn lit up. From behind a mat, near the pole-vault area, appeared five shot-puts. He then laid all five in a circle around himself. The unicorn stallion noted the confusion in Trixie’s stare.

“Twily told me about how you’re having a little trouble in the magic department.”

Trixie groaned loudly, but managed to put on a smile, albeit strained. “Really, what else did she say?!”

“That you need to learn how to tap into your inner strength a little more, so I thought I’d help…” Shining Armor noticed the hesitation in Trixie’s demeanor. “Look, I know Twilight’s more of the teaching type when it comes to magic, but the Guard has good trainers when comes to magic too. Especially for those who didn’t have good control with their magic. They make okay unicorns great and great unicorns, well, better. It’s completely your choice Trixie.”

The azure unicorn mare looked from the shot-puts and then to Shining Armor. It had been a while since Trixie trained at all in magic, and, to be honest, being trained by Shining Armor did sound like fun. The fact that he was actually willing to take the time to teach her at all was something to give reward.

“Alright, Shining Armor, let’s give this a try, I guess.”

“Good, well first off…”

Three hours had passed and Trixie was sweating heavily. Trixie followed Shining Armor’s instructions to the letter. And if Twilight could offer an observation, better than she did her instructions, Trixie didn’t give Shining Armor any lip, much to her annoyance seeing that a lot of what she got from the mare was lip. But let us digress.

The five shout-puts laid in a circle around Trixie, with small holes that showed that they had been lifted and dropped multiple times to create small craters. Shining Armor had showed to be a tough, if not somewhat understanding teacher. Twilight had informed him of her difficulties, but believed that he was the stallion for the job.

“You can do it Trixie, try just one more time,” encouraged Shining Armor.

“I’ve…tried…it…five…times…already,” said Trixie in between pants.

“I know you have, and each time you’re getting them higher and higher. Show me that you have what it takes, Trixie Lulamoon!”

Trixie furrowed her brow, she had learned the focusing techniques, learned how to feel the weight of an object and adjust the mana energy accordingly, it helped that they weighed the same. Trixie had been able to lift the metal spheres to her horn level, and then to Shining Armor’s horn height. But the trick was getting the five spheres to float above the both of them and orbit for at least thirty seconds. Trixie had to admit, the fact that she could lift these heavy objects was a feat in and of itself. At first she wanted to do it because she wanted Shining Armor to be impressed by her, now, she just wanted to show that she could!

Trixie took in calm breathes once more, centering herself before she tried for her sixth, and probably, final time. The mare’s horn began to glow with magenta light, all five spheres were enveloped in her aura and now started to rise.

“That’s it Trixie, you got this.”

“Shut…up!”

Trixie gritted her teeth as the spheres rose higher, now at her chest level. Far in the skybox, Cadance and Twilight were watching with anticipation and excitement as they watched Trixie raise the spheres higher, also noticing that Shining Armor was becoming just as much enthralled with Trixie’s levitation.

Now the balls had reached a few inches higher than Shining Armor and there they stayed. Trixie knew that now came the hard part, she had to rotate them in an orbit for at least thirty seconds. The azure mare started think “rotation” within her mind. The shot-puts started to move in a clockwise circular path, slowly, but surely they were moving. Shining Armor was, surprisingly, starting to feel a sense of pride at seeing his half-sister perform such a task, it reminded him of when Twilight was a filly and just learning how to control her magic.
That confidence and pride was starting to falter as Shining Armor watched the spheres start to waver. The azure mare scrunched her eyes shut as she tried to focus more of her magical power to maintain their orbit.

“Trixie, concentrate a little more, you just need to hold on for another fifteen seconds!”

“Can’t…hold it…!”

“Yes you can, Trixie! Just ten more seconds!”

“No…I…can’t!”

“YOU CAN!”

“NO…I…CAN’T!!!”

At that moment Trixie’s eyes flashed white as a surge of magical energy shot through her body. The five metal spheres spun so fast that they turned into a blur of magenta. Shining Armor took a few steps back as he watched Trixie’s magic surge, watching the spectacle with a combination of shock and awe. The power was overwhelming, too overwhelming, it scared Trixie; she had never felt this kind of magical power before! She quickly let go of the power and at that moment all five spheres were released from her magical grasp and sent flying in five different directions.

Shining Armor hit the dirt and watched as the five shot-puts sailed away, each one smashing into the walls of the stadium and leaving a medium sized crater where they impacted. Trixie swayed back and forth for a moment before gravity took hold and started to bring her down. Shining Armor saw this and quickly rushed to Trixie, catching her with his foreleg before she hit the ground.

“Trixie are you alright!?” Shining Armor asked in a panic.

Trixie groaned and moaned as she slowly opened her eyes, “Oh…uh…wha-what happened…?”

“You…well…I don’t really know. Gotta say though, that was a strong magical surge. At least you didn’t turn me into a potted plant.”

Trixie would’ve loved to ask what that meant, but right now she was feeling like her mana reserves were almost tapped out and that she herself was about to pass out.

“Don’t think I can walk…you can just leave me here,” said Trixie in a drowsy state.

Shining Armor looked around and, after swallowing his pride, which he didn’t seem to mind right now. The unicorn stallion used his telekinesis to left the tired mare onto his back. Trixie seemed to be coherent enough to realize what Shining Armor was doing, her face burned with embarrassment at the fact that she was being carried on Shining Armor’s back.

“S-S-Shining Armor, what are you doing!?”

“I’m giving you a ride back to the palace, what’s it look like.”

“Y-You don’t have to do that! I-I can just –!”

“Just rest up, you’ve earned it.” Shining watched as Trixie was about to protest again. “And don’t give me no lip about it.”

Trixie finally gave up, both too tired and too weak to even do anything about it. Taking her sigh as a sign of resignation, Shining Armor made his way to the nearest exit. Trixie was about to warn him about the barrier that his wife and sister erected to keep them both inside, but when he stepped a hoof beyond the point where Trixie last slammed face first into the barriers, which were miraculously not there anymore.

We’re going to have serious word, Twilight…serious…words…

Trixie then drifted off to sleep, feeling the full fatigue of the training and magic surge hit her at once. Shining Armor couldn’t help but notice, and he would deny it if Twilight or Cadance ever asked, but Trixie looked kind of cute sleeping like that. He then turned his attention back to the task at hoof and continued to trot out of the stadium.

Author's Note

D'awww, that was nice of Shining Armor wasn't it folks? And let's hear it for trolling Cadance, ha, ha!

Now who could Twilight have a crush on that she's worried about others finding out? Will I tell you? Heck no! Will you get the answer in this story? Maybe, maybe not.

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

Doubts and Fears

Shining Armor walked the halls of the Crystal Palace. Something was very off, the normally cheery and hopeful atmosphere was replaced with an oppressive, and somewhat evil presence. The unicorn stallion quickened his pace, he then then looked out one of the windows and gasped at what he saw. The Empire was in ruins, buildings toppled over, the skies darkened with black clouds. Further down below, droves of crystal ponies were shackled and linked together with chains, some had tears in their eyes, while others walked but looked as if their minds were anywhere else but here. Shining Armor got a bad feeling that Sombra had returned, he didn't know how, but he never doubted that the tyrant king would return, his defeat felt too easy.

The Prince ran for the throne room, knowing that he needed to get Cadance to the Crystal Heart so that they could repel King Sombra again. When Shining Armor arrived he found that the throne room doors were shut, he tried to push them open, but they would not budge.

“AAAHHHHHH!!!”

Shining Armor’s eyes went wide, hearing the familiar voice of his wife screaming.

“Cadance, what’s going on!?” He shouted.

“No please, you can’t do this! Please don’t I thought – AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

“TWILIGHT!”

Shining Armor had had enough, flaring up his horn; the unicorn stallion unleashed a powerful burst of magical energy that completely destroyed the large double doors. He quickly rushed inside only to gasp in horror at the sight. Twilight laid on the floor, a black metal collar was wrapped around her neck, inscribed with rune markings. A burn mark was upon her chest, her body was motionless. To his right Cadance also laid sprawled on the floor, with the same kind of collar and burn mark on her chest, and she too was motionless. Shining Armor walked slowly to his wife’s body, nuzzling the side of her face, trying to elicit any kind of reaction from her. Sadly, she did not respond, even worse, Cadance wasn’t breathing, her body cold. He then moved to his little sister, tears welling up and falling in drops upon the floor.

The unicorn stallion nuzzled his little sister, hoping that she might stir. To his surprise, she did. Twilight groaned weakly and opened her eyes slowly.

“Twilight!”

“Shiny…I’m glad…” Twilight then coughed painfully, she then raised her right hoof and gently placed it on Shining Armor’s cheek, “I’m glad I at least got to see you…I’m so sorry, you were right…you…were…”

Twilight then went limp, her breathing stopped. Shining Armor gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as the pain of loss stabbed at his heart. Sadness gave way to anger and fury as he glared at the throne which was swirling with black magic shadows. Within the darkness, red and green eyes stared back at him as a horn glowed with dark magical energy.

“Show yourself Sombra!!! Fight me like a stallion you coward!!!”

A mocking laughter rang throughout the throne room, but it wasn’t the laughter of a stallion, it was the voice of a mare. The shadows began to fade, collecting to a black tattered cape that draped over their caster. It was not Sombra who stood upon the throne, although he wished it was, but instead, it was Trixie Lulamoon. Her eyes glaring wickedly at Shining Armor as purple energy wisped from the corner of her eyes.

“Not quite Sombra, but close enough,” mocked Trixie.

Shining Armor stared at the mare in disbelief, shaking his head back and forth as if trying to dispel an illusion. Unfortunately, this was no illusion nor trick of the mind, Trixie was indeed standing there.

“Trixie…What…What have you done!!?”

The azure mare laughed manically, finding amusement in the stallion’s confusion.

“Oh Shining Armor, did you really expect something different? Did you think our little ‘bonding time’ at the stadium really meant anything, if so, you’re a bigger idiot than that useless shell of a Princess!?”

Shining Armor gritted his teeth in anger, his horn flaring with magical energy. “This is what you were planning the entire time!? Killing your own family, and the only ponies willing to give you a second chance!?”

Trixie merely shook her head, “Tsk, tsk, Shining Armor. I thought you of all ponies would’ve been more suspicious of me than that, but I guess I won you over with that whole ‘Oh woe was me, I was abandoned and alone with a neglectful cheating father and long since dead mother’ act. HA! It looks like Twilight wasn’t the only fool among you!”

“You mean, it was all a lie!?” Shining Armor stamped his hoof on the floor, his rage and hate growing with each passing second

“Of course it was a lie! I mean, c’mon, your ‘long lost half-sister!?’ You gotta be kidding me! Although, I must admit, I owe you and Twilight some thanks. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to learn how Sombra wielded his dark magic, now I have more power than I cloud ever have dreamed, but then I thought ‘why stop there!?’”

Trixie’s horn glowed with the light of dark magic. From out of nowhere, a strange object popped in front of them. It was black and gray, with a red ruby at the center, and designed to look like an alicorn. It didn’t take long for Shining Armor to recognize the object, how could he not, Twilight wrote about it in great detail.

“The Alicorn Amulet, how in the hay did you get that!? Twilight said that thing was hidden away!”

“Yes, yes she did. But it didn’t take me long to track down its location, I decided to keep it as an ace should I ever have need of its power. And now, by combining the Alicorn Amulet with my dark magic, it’ll amplify my powers beyond that of the Princesses! If Sombra’s magic was strong enough to match them, just think how much stronger I will be!? But don’t worry ‘big brother’ you’ll be around to see as the Great and Powerful Trixie becomes Equestria’s sole ruler!”

Trixie was about to place the Alicorn Amulet around her neck, but Shining Armor rushed her, tackling the pony to the floor and preventing her from donning the amulet. Trixie and Shining Armor rolled around on the floor, both grunting and yelling as they tried to get the other off. After a few seconds of chaotic rolling, Shining Armor and Trixie separated from each other and quickly shot to their hooves. Trixie saw her chance to attack and took it, unleashing a powerful beam of dark magical energy right at the stallion.

Shining Armor quickly raised a barrier around himself. The dark beam slammed against his shield, nearly sending his mind reeling from the impact. But he held fast. Not wanting to give the psycho mare the satisfaction! Shining Armor then began to expand his shield, pushing against Trixie’s dark magic beam. Trixie didn’t seem to be fazed by this; in fact, she was smirking the entire time.

“You think that will be enough!?”

Trixie’s eyes flared green and red as her horn shined with greater intensity, doubling the size of the beam till it washed over Shining Armor’s barrier. There was a small explosion and the sound of shattering glass echoing within the throne room. A thick dust cloud was kicked up into the air, Trixie smiled triumphantly as she used her magic to part the dust cloud. Shining Armor was on the floor, not moving at all. Trixie then moved closer to her opponent to deliver the final blow up close and personal.

“Did you really think you could beat me, Shining Armor? I mean, you couldn’t even beat Sombra, what chance did you have against me?!” Trixie mocked.

Trixie was two feet away before Shining Armor turned to the unicorn mare, who now wore a surprised expression on her face. Shining Armor had clasped the Alicorn Amulet around his neck, and now his horn was ablaze with blood red mana. Trixie backed away slowly in disbelief, the mare wasn’t a match for him before she learned how to use dark magic, but now that he had the amulet his abilities would be beyond hers now!

Shining Armor rose up, his blue eyes shifting to red as he narrowed his gaze at the backstabbing mare, “You thought you could make a fool out of me, hurt my family!?”

The stallion’s horn shined with red magical light as Trixie was quickly enveloped in his telekinetic grasp. Shining Armor then flung Trixie against the left wall, her body slamming hard against the surface. Without giving her time to recover, Shining Armor yet again flung Trixie across the room into the right wall. He then peeled her off the wall and threw her up into the ceiling. Shining then released his hold and let Trixie fall back to the floor in front of him. Trixie was bruised and beaten, shakily rising to her hooves.

“That was for Cadance. And this…” Shining Armor’s horn gathered a large amount of mana, “…is for Twilight!” He then unleashed it in a beam of crimson light that was more than triple the size of Trixie’s earlier attack. The beam overwhelmed the azure mare continued forward till it exploded violently upon impact. Shining Armor canceled the beam and took a moment to look over his handiwork.

The throne was completely gone, along with the wall behind it. Trixie laid upon the floor, motionless, but groaning and moaning in pain. The wisps of dark magic were diminished, barely a flicker. Shining Armor then trotted over to Trixie, standing over her and glaring down at the mare who took everything from his life. Who ended the lives of his sister and wife!

Trixie coughed and slowly opened her eyes, “I…I surrender…Shining Armor, please have mercy…?”

“Mercy…?” Shining spoke with an emotionless voice. “Mercy is for the weak, and I will never be weak again. And I’ll make sure you never ruin anypony else’s life!”

Shining Armor’s horn glowed red. The only thing to be seen was a scarlet flash of light and a bloodcurdling scream that echoed out in every direction…

~~~

Shining Armor awoke with a start, yelling in fright. Cadance quickly turned around and found her husband sitting upright in their bed, drenched in sweat and panting hard. His eyes were wide open, and his pupils reduced to the size of pinpricks. Cadance, concerned for
his wellbeing, quickly sat up as well and placed her hooves on his shoulders, trying to make him realize that she was there.

“Shining Armor, are you okay!? Talk to me Shining, what happened!?”

It took a few moments for the unicorn stallion to calm down, slowing his breathing back to normal. Cadance could see the fear and pain in his eyes, and it pained her to see her husband in such distress. Whatever kind of nightmare he had must’ve been really bad to make him react like this.

“Shiny, are you okay now?”

“Y-Yeah…I think so…”

“What happened, was it a nightmare?”

Shining Armor nodded in response.

“What was it about?”

The stallion went silent, how could he tell Cadance that his nightmare was about Trixie killing both her and Twilight? How could Shining Armor describe the battle that took place and the brutal way he assaulted Trixie within the nightmare? How could he tell her that…deep down…he felt that Trixie deserved everything he did, even…

“It was nothing, Cadance…Really, I’m fine, promise.”

Cadance looked across from the bedroom and then back to her husband, her concern increasing. “Well…I’m not so sure…” She then pointed in the direction of the wall some feet away from their bed.

Shining Armor looked at the wall, his jaw dropping at the sight. There was a scorch mark on it, and from the looks of it, the magical discharge was strong enough to bore a hole into the wall itself. Shining Armor shuddered upon seeing what he had done in his sleep as a result of his nightmare.

If I had been facing Cadance I could’ve…

The pink alicorn gently stroked her husband’s back comfortingly, trying her best to reassure him that it was okay and that she wasn’t hurt.

“Maybe I should talk to Aunt Luna? She could take a look into your dreams and see what caused this nightmare.” Cadance suggested.

“It’s alright Cadance, there’s no need to get Princess Luna involved over a freak nightmare.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow at that, “Shining Armor, it’s normal for a pony to have a nightmare or two, but ones that intense are something to be worried about.”

“I’m fine,” he assured.

“I still think you should –”

“I SAID I'M FINE ALREADY!”

Cadance shirked away a bit, Shining Armor had never yelled at her before, and certainly not with that amount of anger. Shining Armor realized what he had done and gently reached out to Cadance.

“I-I’m sorry, Cadance, I-I didn’t mean to yell! I’m just tired…Can we please just drop it and go back to sleep?”

The Princess of Love grasped his hoof and smiled gently at him. “Okay, but please, at least consider talking to Aunt Luna.”

Shining Armor sighed, “I’ll think about it…if it happens again.”

Cadance didn’t want to press it, so she reluctantly nodded to his answer. The Royal Couple then laid back down, with Cadance wrapping her forelegs around Shining Armor, believing that her presence would keep her love from succumbing to another horrible nightmare.

Unknown to the sleeping ponies a dark shadow slithered on the floor, its form seeming to have grown thicker and heavier than it once was. The darkness then slipped into the shadows in the corner of the room. A pair of glowing green eyes, with red slits and purple wisps stared at the two sleeping ponies. More specifically, they were staring at Shining Armor.

“Hatred…”

Trixie awoke the next morning; she felt like she had just run a marathon and lifted Canterlot Castle with her bare hooves. Groggily, Trixie turned to one side of the bed to see that Twilight was quietly entering the room. The purple alicorn noticed Trixie’s stirring and walked to the edge of the bed.

“Good morning, Trixie.”

“Morning…how long was I asleep?”

“You were out for a while, you passed out from exhaustion and Shining Armor brought you to your room to sleep. You slept nearly fifteen hours.”

Trixie thought hard about it, trying to remember how it was she came to passing out from exhaustion. It didn’t take long for her to recall yesterday, how Shining Armor helped push her to the edge and tap into her hidden magical reserves. Trixie then remembered the rush of power, so overwhelming, so intoxicating, wondrous, and frightening all at the same time. The last thing she remembered before completely losing consciousness was Shining Armor carrying Trixie on his back, the thought of it made her cheeks burn from embarrassment. The azure mare then retreated into the blankets, covering her face to hide her reddening face.

“I can’t believe I embarrassed myself like that, having him carry me out of the stadium…”

Twilight couldn’t help but let out chuckle, “Trixie, you don’t need to feel embarrassed. It’s something he used to do with me whenever I got really tired during family trips, he’d let me rest on his back, carrying me till we reached our hotel room before putting me to bed.”
Trixie poked her head out from under the covers. Shining Armor did that for her, the very same thing he did for Twilight, his sister. The thought of it made Trixie’s heart swell with a bit of happiness; it was the first act of brotherly love he had shown her sense their arrival. Trixie tried not to get too swept up in the feeling, she didn’t want to ruin it or get her hopes up. Still, this was a little breakthrough.

“He…He really did that? Carrying me up here and putting me to bed?”

Twilight nodded, noting the happy tone in her younger sister’s voice.

“I’ll be sure to thank him later.”

“You don’t have to, after a while it just becomes something that you don’t need to say thanks for, because he knows you’re grateful. But it wouldn’t hurt to do so.”

“That reminds me…” Trixie lowered the blankets and stared indignantly at Twilight. “You sealed us in! What was up with that!?”

Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly, “I…I thought that you would try to run away from Shining Armor before he could properly apologize, and/or I thought Shining Armor might give up at the last second. So I asked Cadance to help me set up barriers around every entrance and exit within the stadium. I just wanted to make sure that you two actually talked, but had enough room so that you didn’t feel completely trapped.”

“Humph, well…Just…Oh, whatever!” Trixie couldn’t really find a flaw in Twilight’s plan, despite being taken away by Cadance, and suffering her trolling teases, their little plan did work. “Thanks…I guess.”

“It’s alright, I know. But there is one thing I wanted to know. Why did you cut yourself off?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow at that.

“Cut myself off from what?”

“Your magic, Cadance and I could sense that you tapped into your full magical potential, but at the last second you severed your connection and your magic went back to its normal state. I was just wondering why you didn’t let it go.” Twilight asked.

Trixie sat up in her bed, her eyes shifted from Twilight to her hooves. She never thought the day would come when she had to tell Twilight about this, but the powers that be seemed to have thought otherwise. After a few seconds of trying to convey what she felt, Trixie told Twilight why she did it.

“I was scared, Twilight.” She noticed the alicorn’s perplexed expression. “I’ve never felt my magic become that powerful. It reminded me too much of the Alicorn Amulet, the power, the strength, I loved it! But then, I thought ‘What if I become like I was with the amulet!? I don’t want to become that crazy mare ever again!’, and that’s when I stopped…Funny isn’t it, all my life I wanted the magical power that put me on par with you, at least the you that was once a unicorn, and now, when I came close to getting it, I’m afraid of it…”

Twilight never knew Trixie was suffering that kind of trauma. The Alicorn Amulet had left scars on Trixie, physical ones, no, mental ones, yes. Because of that cursed item, Trixie was afraid to use her full power, or to even tap into it. The whole thing would be ironically funny if it weren’t sad. For Twilight, being a student of the magical arts, seeing a fellow magic wielder afraid of the very thing that made them who they were, was almost unbearable.

No wonder she’s been trying so hard to get better with the magic she has right now. She’s actually afraid of her full power. It’s more accurate to say, that she’s afraid of losing control to her power.

Twilight then sighed sadly, “I’m sorry to tell you this Trixie, but your untapped reserve has retreated further into the magical matrix of your soul. When you rejected it, the power snapped back, pushing further away. It’ll be harder to tap into it again, harder than it was yesterday. But Trixie, if you really want to get better at magic, and be the best you can be, you need to accept your power.”

“Not if it means becoming like that again…! I don’t want to ruin the relationship I have with you, and I definitely don’t want to ruin what semblance of a good one that I just now started to create…!”

“Trixie, I performed a scan of you matrix when you were asleep. I wanted to see what I missed. I have to tell you, if you reject it a second time…I don’t think you’ll be able to access it ever again. It’ll retreat so far into your soul that not even years of training and intense meditation will coax it out of you.”

The azure mare sat there, absorbing her sister’s words. The power she sought was right at her hoof tips and she was too afraid to fully embrace it. But could she really risk it, risk turning into that power driven, insane sorceress from before? The thing that made it worse was the “what if”. If Twilight and her friends hadn’t been able to get the amulet off of Trixie, how far would she have gone? Would she have become a cruel, sadistic ruler? Would she have brainwashed the inhabitants to become her own personal army and march on Canterlot? All these questions and more lingered in her head. Trixie was perfectly content with just improving her magical skills with the power she had, but now that she had a taste of what her full power was, she wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore.

“We’ll keep off the magic training until you’re sure, Trixie. I just want you to be aware of this, just in case you feel the surge again.”

“Thanks Twilight, I –” Just then a loud grumbling noise emanated from under the blankets, interrupting Trixie. The sound rumbled again, making the azure mare look down at the source, which turned out to be her stomach. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh a bit at her sister’s growling stomach. Trixie glared at Twilight, her cheeks once again a bright crimson. “Sh-Shut up!”

“I’m sorry, and don’t worry. It’s perfectly natural to be hungry after exerting that much magical energy. C’mon, let’s head to the dining room, they’ll be serving breakfast soon.”

Deciding that breakfast did indeed sound good, Trixie removed her blankets, and made her bed before making her way towards the door with Twilight. The azure mare then paused, causing Twilight to look and see what was keeping her. Trixie was staring at a box that rested on the mantle of her dresser. It was a simple oaken box, with metal edges and a lock.

“Trixie…?”

“Do you think we should show him now?” Trixie asked with trepidation.

Twilight looked in the same direction as Trixie was, seeing the object she was staring at intensely. After a minute of thinking, Twilight arrived at a conclusion. “Not yet. Shining Armor’s just starting to feel comfortable around you, we shouldn’t jeopardize that. We’ll show him that a day or two before we leave. That way we can have some time to deal with whatever comes when we do.”
Trixie sighed heavily, she knew she’d rue that day. This slight amount of progress, Trixie would hate to lose it. She was starting to feel like a part of the family.

“Alright, I’ll trust you in this, Twilight. Whenever you think the time is right.”

“Seems like you’re trust in me is getting easier.” Twilight noted.

“Well…I think you deserve a little of my trust, and I’m feeling in a particularly good mood so don’t ruin it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes playfully at Trixie’s attempt at being superior. The two mares then exited the room, wondering what this new day had in store for them.

Author's Note

Trixie dwells in fear, while Shining Armor brews in hate.
What does Sombra have planned to seal the Sparkle family's fate?

The answers you seek shall soon dawn upon you.
Till then I must say, till next time and adieu.

Turmoil

Breakfast that morning felt rather…tense. Twilight and Trixie noticed that Shining Armor wasn’t as talkative while the four of them ate, he didn’t chat much to begin with, but it seemed like he was actively trying to refrain from speaking. They also noticed how Cadance, during some of their conversation, would sneak worried glances to Shining Armor. Of course these were all subtle hints, minor details that may not even be important, but to Trixie, they made her worry slightly.

Yes, Shining Armor and she may’ve “bonded” during that whole thing at the stadium, but she never stopped fearing that something might break their tentative bond, however small it was, something was better than nothing. After breakfast, Trixie decided to go back to Sabio’s study. It felt strange that she was drawn to this place, perhaps it was because she felt sorry for the stallion that Sombra used to be, maybe it was out of morbid curiosity, thinking that maybe the secret to why Sabio became Sombra would be hidden amongst his belongings and she could solve an ancient mystery, or maybe it was because, most likely, it was probably the one place that she could think. Trixie didn’t know why, but the palace was starting to feel less…welcoming than before.

Once in the study, Trixie decided to view more of the crystal recordings. Some she chose at random, others she set aside for Twilight to view, knowing that her big sister would probably get a kick out of learning more about ancient crystal pony magic and history. Trixie eventually made it through a bit more of the crystals until she stumbled upon one row of ten crystals set apart from the others. Curious, Trixie took the first on the left and placed it on the table. After lightly tapping it three times, the crystal projected its stored memory of the past. It was, of course, Sabio who appeared, but he seemed different. The black stallion was wearing silver plated armor, similar to the kind he wore in the old pictures as Sombra, and he did not have his normally happy expression.

“What follows from here on out will no longer be a cataloging of my various magical experiments, but instead, a log of what has befallen our Empire. As of three days ago, 855 AQE, our Queen, Minerva, has declared that the Crystal Empire is now at war.

We know not if they are of Equestrian origin, or if they were even a part of this world to begin with. I, along with the Seven Pillars of Magic, have been propositioned by the Queen to help in the battle against this unknown enemy. We are all committed to preserving the peace and prosperity of our Crystal Empire, but…I fear that there is something evil at work here.”

There was a sound coming from somewhere out of the crystal’s view range, and along with it came a new voice.

“Sabio, there is to be a strategy meeting, I was sent to find you.”

“Thank you, Graza, I’m coming.” The simulacrum of Sabio turned back to the crystal. “Until next time, I hope to have good news to report.”

Trixie gazed at the other nine crystals with worry, “What happened here…?”

Twilight decided to leave Trixie alone for now, after her magical surge, and the bombshell of news she dropped on her, a little alone time to sort out her thoughts was best. So, with that in mind, Twilight decided to go see her other sibling, Shining Armor, and find out what was wrong with him this morning. Twilight decided to head to the couples’ room, since he usually liked to brood in the privacy of his room when they were younger.

Twilight eventually made it to room shared by her big brother and sister-in-law. She knocked at the door and waited for a response, when she heard none, Twilight carefully opened the door. “Shiny, Cadacnce, anypony in here?”

Twilight fully opened the door and entered the room. Looks like he isn’t here… Twilight sighed inwardly. Where else could be, maybe I should check the stadium nex –

The purple alicorn stopped mid-thought as her eyes caught sight of something strange. Twilight moved closer to the oddity and inspected it. There was a large hole in the wall, and the crystal was visibly charred. She also sensed the lingering traces of her big brother’s lingering magical energy. It bothered Twilight to see this. Shining Armor didn’t take out his frustration on the walls or any furniture with his magic. He usually liked to work it out by doing exercise. But this, this was done with a powerful, and concentrated, magical energy blast, there was even evidence of slight melted crystal.

Twilight created a solid magical pointer and had it extend into the hole; she kept extending it till the point hit the end. She then pulled it out and measured how deep the blast went. She almost gasped at how far it went.

“A foot deep, with a width of four inches, and judging from the amount of energy put into the blast…this is – this would’ve been a kill shot…”

“Guess it’s a good thing he wasn’t aiming at me.”

Twilight jumped when she heard Cadance’s voice coming from the doorway. The pink alicorn walked in with her usual smile, but her eyes conveyed that she was worried about what Twilight had found.

“Did…Did Shining Armor really do this?!”

Cadance nodded. “While he was sleeping, apparently he was having a nightmare and it was bad enough that he did, well, that. Whatever he saw or was fighting must’ve scared him enough for his magic to think his life was in danger.”

Twilight reexamined the mark, her own magical energy washing over the hole to pick up on the trace magical energies that created it. She winced visibly and backed away from the hole, making Cadance rush to her side concerned.

“Twilight what’s wrong?”

“It…It wasn’t fear, Cadance. Shining Armor didn’t do this because he was afraid of something; he did it to…to intentionally harm something.”

Cadance looked at her little sister-in-law skeptically. “How can you tell?”

The elder alicorn helped the younger sit on the edge of the bed. Twilight took a couple of deep, calming breathes before she answered.

“When somepony uses magic, they have to convey their intent. That intent is then translated into energy and is carried within its essence. For instance, if I wanted to make the bed float, I am conveying that I want this bed to rise up, when I am done any lingering traces of my magic would have that intent imprinted onto it.”

Cadance blinked at her explanation.

“I…Wow, I actually didn’t know that.”

“I learned it in a book on crime scene investigation.”

No shocker there, Cadance inwardly giggled at the thought.

“So what’s wrong, what did you sense?”

Twilight hesitated, wondering if she should tell Cadance what the intent was behind that blast, but then she felt the soft feathers of Cadance’s wing drape over her shoulders. The pink alicorn gave her a comforting look, the same look that silently told Twilight that she could tell her anything, just like when she was a foal.

“Cadance…Whatever Shining Armor was doing in the nightmare, he was deadest on…killing it, and whatever it was, he hated it…I mean really hated it.”

If she wasn’t worried before, now Cadance was definitely worried now. For the past couple of days she had wondered if telling Twilight about Shining Armor’s fears was the right thing to do, thinking that it was something that her husband had to come out with himself or he would probably deny it or be in denial about how he felt. But now Cadance was sure that she couldn’t keep it secret, if this was any indication of his mental state about the situation then it was better to confront it together.

“Twilight…I know why Shining Armor has been reluctant to accept Trixie as you have…”

“Yes, what is it?”

Cadance sighed deeply, “He’s afraid of becoming…your father.” Twilight was now confused as to how that was bad thing, seeing that she didn’t understand, Cadance clarified. “Shining Armor’s afraid that…he’ll be like your father in the way that…well…in the way that ended with Trixie as your half-sister.”

Twilight jumped from the bed and stood in front of Cadance with a shocked expression. “What, how could he even think that!? Shining Armor would never be unfaithful to you – EVER! He loves you!”

Cadance raised her forehooves up in placating fashion, “Twilight I know he loves me, and that he’d never betray me like that. I trust him.”

“That’s probably what my mother thought too…” Twilight hung her head low, her ears laid flat against her head as tiny droplets started to fall to the floor.

“Twilight…?”

“I’m scared, Cadance…” Twilight said in shaky voice.

“About Trixie and Shining Armor?”

“About everything!” Twilight raised her head to face Cadance; her eyes were starting to well with tears as the dam of emotion she had kept strong was cracking slightly. “I’m afraid of what this’ll do to my family! Nothing will be the same again! I don’t want to blame Trixie, she deserves to have a loving family, and I can’t deny her that, she did nothing wrong!”

Cadance quickly moved towards Twilight and enveloped her in tight hug, letting the younger alicorn cry into her chest as she nuzzled the top of her head.

“I’m sorry, I just…Cadance I don’t want my family, our family, to break apart from…I just want us to be happy…”

Cadance continued to hug her tight, trying to comfort Twilight with her presence. It looks like Shining Armor isn’t the only one…

Without either mare knowing, a black shadow stealthily poked its head into the room, its eyes fixed squarely on Twilight Sparkle.

“Sorrow…”

Trixie sat on the couch, speechless after watching only five of the ten recordings. In that short time the Crystal Empire had been at war with some sort of ancient ponies that had existed for years but had awoken during Sabio’s time, and they were ticked.

“From what I’ve been able to discern from these things, with their bat-like wings, emaciated forms, black, soulless eyes, and fanged teeth, they appear to be Threstrals. Not to be confused with the Equestrian subspecies of bat-ponies known as Nocturnes who serve as the Moon Princess’s personal guard.

My findings show that they might be a form that they once were, the current Nocturnes must be a divergent race that splintered off and became what they are today, but these ones, these…monsters, haven’t changed a bit. They must’ve been sleeping for, Celestia knows how long! But they woke up hungry, and furious.

They have a magic that repels most of what I and the other seven are able to cast, even with the implementation of my Star Staffs to our infantry, it is not enough. Our bodies are stronger than your average Equestrian pony, allowing us to withstand harsher elements, and give us an advantage in combat. But these Threstrals just tear through our crystal coats as if they were wet paper. Even when equipped with armor we barely stand a chance!”

Suddenly the door to the study (the one in the recording) slammed open, causing Sabio to turn towards the door, staring at someone or somepony who was not in the crystal’s viewing range.

“What’s going on!?”

“It’s Graza, sir! She’s…She’s been…!”

“Oh no,” whispered Trixie, knowing that tone of voice all too well.

Shining Armor felt like he needed to clear his head after what he saw and did in the nightmare. Seeing Trixie across the table that morning made some of the emotions from that night resurface, his anger and his guilt mixing together, turning into a chaotic storm that made it hard to tell what he was angry at or what he was feeling guilty for. Was he angry because Trixie was alive? Did he feel guilty because he felt that way? Too many questions and not enough answers. So to clear his head, Shining Amor took a walk through streets, with his fatigue from the nightmare he didn’t really feel up to exercising as per his usual method of stress relief.

It was actually nice, just walking about the streets. Many of the crystal ponies would stop and greet their Prince, or wave to him from across the street. Shining Armor was glad that the citizens were so accepting of him and Cadance as their rulers, true they saved them from Sombra, but they could’ve just as easily said “thanks for saving us, now please leave so we can rebuild our kingdom”. Thankfully that was not the case.

After saying hi and ruffling the manes of a few colts and fillies who ran up to greet him, Shining Armor continued his walk, not really going anywhere in particular, just going wherever his hooves took him. Unfortunately, though he wished to be alone to have time to understand his inner turmoil, a certain darkness wasn’t going to let him.

The shadow crept along the walls of the crystal structures, the citizens oblivious to its movements. This darkness chose when those around it could sense its presence, so it had little fear of moving close to other ponies to get closer to its target. A mare was about to pass by Shining Armor, and the shadow decided to coax the hatred out of him. The shadow swiftly entered the mare’s soul without notice, there was a brief moment of resistance, but the shadow won out in the end. The mare’s eyes shifted to green with red slit irises, but after blinking once the glow was gone. She then turned around and caught up to Shining Armor.

“Your highness, Prince Shining Armor!”

Shining Armor turned to the crystal pony, who politely bowed to him before he bid her to rise. “What’s wrong is there something I can help you with?”

“Oh no, I was wondering, there was a strange mare following Princess Twilight a few days ago, is she still here?”

Shining Armor raised a curious eyebrow. “Yes…she is, is there a problem.”

“Um…I’m not sure, your majesty…It’s just…I don’t wish to speak ill of your guest, and I may have been mistaken –”

“Ma’am, it’s okay. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

The mare looked unsure but spoke nonetheless. “When Princess Twilight and her guest arrived, there was an incident that day involving her, a mare, and her little filly.”

“Yes, I heard about that, Trix – er – I mean, my ‘guest’ told me about it.”

“Did she also tell you that she was the one who caused it?”

Shining Armor went still, his gaze narrowing, “Excuse me?”

“I-I-I’m sorry, Prince Shining Armor, I didn’t mean –!”

“What else tell me what you saw?” Shining Armor ordered.

“Y-Yes…Anyway, while Princess Twilight was busy I saw this unicorn mare smile, it was almost wicked, and she cast some sort of spell that made the crystal stalagmite crack. It just so happened that the mother and child were underneath it, but, now that I think about it…maybe she did know that they would be there and did so anyway…? The strangest thing was that after she had cast the spell she rushed to the aid of the two ponies, I don’t understand why she caused that to happen…?”

Shining Armor was silent for a while, his breathing calm and even. “Thank you, ma’am, I’ll look into this matter later today.”

“You’re welcome your highness, I am sorry if I may of caused you any undue stress.”

With a quick bow the two ponies parted ways. The possessed mare went rigid as the shadow slipped out of her body and gave chase to Shining Armor.

“Huh…wh-what happened?”

Meanwhile Shining Armor was starting to go over the words of the mare he had just spoken to. He didn’t understand it, the guards he spoke to who looked into the incident didn’t say anything about that in their reports, although the cause of the crystal shattering like it did was still a mystery. Was it a possibility?

No, there’s no reason for it, I mean, if she did do that on purpose, Trixie put herself in danger! Twilight was the one who saved her in the end…but, what if this was all a ploy, a way to fool all three of us into lowering our guard as to think of her as a helpless and scared mare!?

Shining Armor snorted and shook his head, trying to push the suspicious thoughts to the back of his mind. All this was not lost on the shadow that was tailing the white unicorn stallion. It shot forward, getting ahead of him. A few ways up ahead were two Crystal Guard ponies, doing a routine patrol as they walked about. The shadow lashed out at the two stallions, infected them and taking control. Their eyes shined with the same telltale glow of possession before returning to normal. They slowed their pace; knowing Shining Armor wasn’t far behind them. Once the shadow sensed Shining Armor was close by, it enacted its plan.

“So, did ya happen to see that unicorn mare staying at the palace?” asked the crystal pegasus.

“Oh you mean that mare that arrived with Princess Twilight? Yeah, think her name’s Trixie or something like that,” said the crystal earth pony.

Shining Armor, now walking behind them, but just close enough to be within earshot.

“Yeah, that’s her, how much you wanna bet that’s the Prince’s mistress!?”

“Are you kidding, I heard they’re related?! Besides, the Prince would never be disloyal to the Princess.”

“Which one ya talking about, ha, ha!” The crystal pegasus lightly jabbed his elbow into his partner, laughing at the dirty joke. “Besides, related or not, that mare’s hot.”

“Well, what makes you so sure she is the Prince’s mistress? For all you know, she could be Princess Cadance’s mistress.”

“Oh, now that would hurt, losing your mare, to another mare!”

The two stallions laughed boisterously at Shining Armor’s expense. Shining Armor stopped walking, seething in anger at what the stallions said, but as much as he wanted to give them a savage beating, he couldn’t, for some reason, despite the fact that everything they said was complete nonsense, he just couldn’t. He hated knowing that their Guard thought he was the kind of stallion that would do such a thing; even more so, he hated thinking that he might be prone to such weakness.

Sensing his distress, the darkness once again leaped out of its hosts, and traveled towards an alley. Shining Armor was about to turn the other way when he saw the familiar silver tail, azure coat, and magic wand cutie mark slip down the alley.

“HEY!” Shining cried.

The stallion quickly hurried and ducked into the alley, he got halfway down when he stopped to find the pony he thought he had saw.

“Trixie…?”

The azure mare turned around and smiled slyly at him. “Shining Armor, or do you prefer ‘big brother’?”

“Trixie, I have some questions for you, and I’d like a straight answer.”

Trixie laughed; apparently she found his statement amusing. “Shining Armor, big brother…” the unicorn mare started to saunter towards the stallion, gazing at him through half-lidded eyes. “Why don’t we forget the questions and do something fun while we’re out?”

Shining Armor stood still, not entirely sure what was happening. Trixie then walked past him, keeping close as she brushed his fur with hers, she then swished her tail under his neck lightly. Shining Armor turned around and glared at her.

“What are you playing at!?”

“Just thought you would like to follow in our ‘father’s’ hoofsteps. To give in, to succumb to a moment of weakness, I promise you won’t regret it.”

“CUT IT OUT! We’re half siblings, why would you even think or say stuff like that!?”

“Maybe I am your sister, maybe I’m not? Really though, it’s not like you know for sure, but if it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee you that you won’t be breaking any taboos. If you catch my drift?” Trixie punctuated her sentence with a seductive wink of her eye.

“Trixie…after everything Twi has gone through for you, are you really admitting that you aren’t our sister?!” asked Shining Armor with an edge to his voice.

“Oh I didn’t lie about my mother and your father, but that’s not to say that I was a direct product of that night.” Trixie began to close the distance between her and Shining Armor, forcing the stallion to back up against the wall. “One time, just give me that, and I’ll show you just how much alike you and your father are.”

Shining Armor reached his boiling point; he then puffed out his chest pushed Trixie way, making her bump against the wall. “Shut up!
I’m nothing like him! I never will be!”

Trixie laughed at Shining Armor mockingly, “Oh ‘big brother’, I’m going to love driving a wedge between you all, and watch with a smile on my face as you drive everypony you love away from you as your family crumbles around you. And, I have the perfect trinket to make it all happen.”

“What is it!? What do you have that could –!?” Shining Armor’s eyes widened as a thought popped into his mind. “Y-You don’t mean…?”

“Hmm-hmm, Cadance’s regalia will match my amulet nicely; see you at the castle, Shiny.”

“TRIXIE –!!!”

With a flash of her horn, Trixie created a pink smoke cloud that filled the entire alleyway. Shining Armor rushed out the other way, coughing and sputtering as he tried to get his bearings. The unicorn stallion then looked towards the Crystal Palace, his family was in danger, and he needed to stop her! He needed to get the amulet before Trixie did! With that in mind he bolted straight for the palace, not caring who got his way.

The shadow followed closely as evil, menacing laughter echoed out through the air, soft and barely noticeable, but it was there, signaling that a storm was on the horizon, the time to act was at hand.

Author's Note

Yeah, so, I'm raising the rating from Everybody to Teen, since the drama is getting a tad more intense.

Well then, stuff's goin' down in the next chapter!

Fear, Hate, Sorrow

“I…I have lost Graza, and the battle looks bleak. The Queen has suggested that I, along with some my fellow crystal ponies, should leave the Empire and get as far as we can. I know the reasoning behind her suggestion. I am, unfortunately, the last of the Seven Pillars of Magic, the last crystal unicorn pony. If I die, then all chances of another of my kind being born into this world are lost, and right now, a magic user is much more valuable.

I, however, have found a different way. Something that can give me the strength to vanquish the enemy! It may be forbidden, but what other choice do we have!? Our Empire will fall, and the crystal ponies will become nothing more than a memory, a fairytale passed down from one generation to the next! But I will not let that be our fate, even if I must sell my soul to do so!”

Trixie was on the ninth recording, up till now, the war with the ancient Threstrals had been going south for the Crystal Empire, and Sabio was at his wits end. Trixie was starting to get a very bad feeling that she was about to witness the rise of Sombra first hoof. It was only out of sheer morbid curiosity that she continued to watch this recording. The image that was being projected then shifted towards the center of the room, where a magic circle was drawn, with little runic and sigil markings drawn within it.

“This will give me the power to defeat them all. Dark magic has been written as forbidden. At this point, the forbidden must be invoked if we are to survive. This may destroy me, but it must be done!”

Sabio then released a blast of magical energy right at the circle; the white chalk drawing absorbed his magic, making the symbols glow with intense light. Once it had taken its fill, the circle turned bubbly with electric sparks. The energy was now green, black, and red, a stark contrast to his navy blue mana. Soon the light within the room was absorbed by the circle, miraculously, the crystal was still recording. Within the darkness, three different sets of eyes appeared; each colored the same as that of Sombra’s when he used his dark magic. The soft, evil light of the circle illuminated the room just enough for Sabio’s form to be seen.

“We are that which is dark,” spoke the eyes on the left.

“And all that is power,” spoke the right pair.

“We are what we are, now tell us, why have you summoned us,” asked the center.

“I am Sabio the Wise, and I have need of the powers of dark magic!”

The eyes laughed and chuckled as if they found his request amusing.

“You may want our power, but you must name us. If you cannot, a covenant will not be made.”

“And we get to take your mana, and your soul with it!”

“Now name us, or prepare thyself to be devoured.”

“You,” Sabio pointed to the right pair of eyes, “You are everything that is hatred and violence, and I name you, Ira the Wrathful!” The first pair of eyes transformed into a mare, with harsh, red tribal markings. “You,” Now he pointed at the left pair of eyes. “You are everything that is despair and sadness, and I name you, Tristeza the Sorrowful!” The second pair took the form of a mare as well, with same harsh tribal markings as Ira, except hers were purple. “And finally, you!” Sabio pointed to the center. “You are everything that is terror and fright, and I name you, Medo the Fearful!” The final pair transformed into a large stallion, with markings the same as his companions but colored yellow.

All three dark spirits looked upon their summoner and smiled wickedly.

“Well done, only a few know of our names,” said Ira.

“And even fewer can figure out which is which,” said Tristeza.

“Now, then you say you want the power of dark magic. To take on this power may be more than you are willing to sacrifice,” warned Medo.

“I care not what happens to me, if you want my life after my business is done then fine, it’s yours! I only ask that you give me the power I need to vanquish my foes and save my home!”

The three spirits glanced at each other, speaking in a way that Sabio didn’t know. Trixie was on the edge of her seat, literally, watching all that transpired. Several times she yelled at the stallion to cease with the deal, but it was a wasted effort, this was a recording of what has already happened, and her cries would not make this tragedy transpire any differently. After a moment the three spirits seemed to come to an agreement.

“Very well, Sabio, we will grant you the power of darkness.”

“And the price?!”

“Nothing,” Sabio turned to Tristeza, “We think you will be a fine wielder of dark magic, you may even surprise us.”

Trixie watched as the three spirits got into a circle around Sabio. Each one opened their mouths as beams of purple, red, and yellow light shot forth and struck the unicorn stallion, dark energy being infused into his very being. Trixie watched on in horror as Sabio took all the power that the spirits gave him. Everything went dark, pitch black. After a while, there was a glowing light. The illumination stemming from Sabio’s now curved red horn. His mane changed to a shadowy, undulating form. When he smiled, fanged teeth greeted whoever looked upon him.

“Go forth, Sabio the Wise, show your enemies the meaning of fear,” spoke Medo as he disappeared.

“Bring them sorrow like none they’ve ever known,” said Tristeza, also vanishing.

“Unleash your wrath upon them, for everything they’ve done!”

With that, the final spirit left. Light returned to the room, but now with a different occupant. Sabio walked towards the recording crystal and stared directly at it, making Trixie flinch from the sudden closeness of the stallion.

“This is Sabio – no! This is Sombra of the Shadows, and this is my last entry for now I go to meet my destiny.”

The crystal cut out there. Trixie had to take a moment to register everything she had just seen. She witnessed the birth of King Sombra, and the method upon which he became what he was. The death of his loved one, the near fall of his homeland, in essence, Sabio’s back was against a wall.

“Well…obviously he won, but…” Trixie’s eyes wandered to the tenth crystal. “If that was his ‘last entry’ then why is there another one?”

Trixie gingerly reached out to tap the crystal, but hesitated. Did she really want to see what was on it? What if it was something worse than what she just finished seeing? In the end, Trixie pulled back her hoof, deciding that it wasn’t important, and she saw what turned the once kind and good magician into a tyrant and evil incarnate, and that was all she needed to see. If there was anything Trixie gleamed from these entries was that even good ponies could be pushed to do unspeakable things in order to protect what was precious to them.

“I wonder…does Shining Armor see me that way? Does he truly believe that I mean to harm him and Twilight, their family?” Trixie thought about this a bit more but then scoffed at the idea. “Please, he may not like Trixie, not that I blame him, but it’s not like he thinks that of me.”

Trixie exited the study and the moment she did something gripped her heart with fear, something was off. A niggling voice in the back of her head urged her to go to her room as quickly as possible. In a panicky motion, Trixie hurried to her room. The halls seemed a lot tighter, constricting, and overbearing. Why this was she did not know, but her mind did not take the time to ponder why this was, all she knew was that she needed to get to her room, now or else something precious to her would be taken away.

Trixie’s quick trot turned into a gallop, she rounded one corner after another, making sharp turns and dodging the castle staff whenever they were unfortunate enough to be in her path. Finally, after a frantic run, Trixie made it to her room, throwing the doors open with her magic. And to her surprise, nothing was wrong. Her eyes shot towards the dresser, the simple oaken box still resting on top of it. Trixie walked towards the box and opened it with her magic. She then levitated a photo out of it. After seeing it, Trixie let out a sigh of relief, and allowed herself to smile a little as she gazed upon it.

“Trixie!”

The azure mare jumped at the sudden utterance of her name. Trixie turned around and saw Shining Armor in the doorway; his horn was also glowing, amassing magical energy. And his eyes, they were glaring at her with such fury that Trixie wanted to curl up into a ball and hide.

“Shining Armor, what’s wrong…?”

“Where is it?”

Trixie quirked her head in confusion, “Where’s what?”

“You know what it is and –!” Shining Armor noticed that Trixie’s horn was aglow with her magenta aura. “What are you holding?”

Trixie’s whole body flinched, remembering the object that she was holding in her telekinetic grip.

“He’s angry, you better show it…”

Trixie, reluctantly, brought the photo from behind her back and showed it to Shining Armor. The white unicorn stallion looked incredulously at it and then to Trixie. “What is this?”

“It…It was something that I was going to show you before Twilight and I left. That photo was taken during Canterlot’s Foal and Filly Day. It was when I was younger, seven years old to be exact.”

Shining Armor looked at the photo, his eyes widening at what he saw. A younger Trixie was standing at the center of the photo, wearing a magician’s hat and cloak that were clearly three sizes too big for her. A unicorn mare stood to her right, with a long silver mane, magenta eyes similar to Trixie’s, and a coat of light-yellow. The picture had caught her mid-laugh as a smile graced her face.

To the younger Trixie’s left stood a stallion that Shining Armor knew all too well. His father, Night Light, had a bemused look on his face as looked down at Trixie, a look that he had seen him give to Twilight and him whenever they would do something silly or funny, the look of a loving father smiling down on the antics of his children.

“The mare beside him…that’s my Mother, Midnight Song, she had a beautiful signing voice, which baffled me as to why she ever wanted to be a librarian. But…that was last photo I was able to hold onto before she died…everything else, well, I didn’t have much.”

Silence was the only response that Trixie got as Shining Armor continued to stare at the photo.

“Shining Armor…I…I know you don’t like me, but I really am trying! I wanted to show you this later, because I didn’t want to hurt you…Please understand, I don’t want to hurt you or Twilight, any of you!” Trixie dared to move closer to Shining Armor. “Twilight thinks we can be a family, and, to be honest, that’s all I want…” Trixie was only a foot away now. “Shining Armor…? Please say something…”

The unicorn stallion lowered the photo; his gaze hadn’t changed in the slightest. “Where do you get off!?”

Trixie back stepped a bit from the intensity in his voice.

“It’s a fake, just a trick to get you to lower your guard…!”

“You think you can trick me with this photograph!? How do I know this isn’t something you conjured with your magic, or are you pretending that your magic is weak!?”

“He’s angry, he’s really angry…!”

Trixie backed away from Shining Armor, sudden fear gripping her heart once again. “I-It isn’t a fake! I’m telling the truth!”

“Really,” Shining Armor began to advance on Trixie, “because I’m starting to think you don’t know what the truth is!? Now fess up! Where is it!?”

“Where is what!?” asked Trixie.

“The Alicorn Amulet! I know you still have it! Give it to me now and I’ll let you leave the Empire, but after that you never come near Twilight or her friends ever again!”

Trixie’s eyes widened at the mention of the cursed item. “I-I don’t have that thing anymore! Twilight’s zebra friend hid it away; I haven’t seen it for months!”

“She’s a liar; she’ll do anything to save herself…!”

Shining Armor kept walking towards Trixie, making her bump her flank against the wall. Pure panic was in Trixie’s eyes, she had nowhere to go, and the domineering force that was Shining Armor started to box her in.

“Don’t lie to me! And as far as this photo concerned,” Shining Armor levitated the picture between them. With a flash of his horn Shining Armor slashed the photo six different ways and allowed the pieces to fall onto the floor, “that’s what I think of this fake picture, and my fake half-sister!”

Trixie’s heart felt like it was breaking into as many pieces as the picture did, tears started to fall from her eyes as she looked upon the last piece of her childhood, the last thing she owned that had her mother’s face, the last thing that reminded her of happier times, destroyed before her very eyes. Trixie then looked up to the stallion, seeing no sign of remorse.

“How…How could you…?”

“Enough with the theatrics, Trixie!” Shining Armor rose on his hind legs and thrust his forelegs forward, causing Trixie to stand on her hind legs as Shining’s hit the wall behind her, trapping her head between them and forcing her to look straight at the coldhearted Prince. “Now where is the amulet!?”

“I don’t have it! I told you!”

“She lies…!”

“TELL ME NOW OR SO HELP TRIXIE!”

“He’s insane, he’ll hurt you…! You have to defend yourself, quickly…!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!!!”

Suddenly, Trixie’s horn flared up with magic, her survival instincts taking hold, creating a powerful shockwave that burst out and threw Shining Armor against the far wall, making the unicorn stallion let out a pained grunt upon impact, and a second when he hit the floor. Trixie, having closed her eyes in terror, slowly opened them and saw what she had done.

“Oh Faust…What…What did I do?!”

Shining Armor got off the ground, letting out groans of pain as he did so. “You showed your true colors, that’s what you’ve done.”

Trixie was speechless, anything that she wanted to say died in her throat as she watched Shining Armor rise up off the floor. Fear had a hold of her, freezing her in place. Every cell in her body told her to run away, but her fear idled mind had locked up, making the simplest command go unheard.

“She mustn’t be allowed to harm your family; you must protect them from her, she is poison to all of you…!”

Shining Armor raked his hoof against the floor, his horn burning with rose colored light as he charged up his mana. His eyes now held murderous intent within them, the same feeling he had during that nightmare. Only this time, Shining Armor embraced that feeling.

“You won’t hurt Twilight, my wife, or my family ever again!”

Trixie fell to the ground and covered her head with her forelegs in a futile attempt at defending herself. Shining Armor then released a concentrated blast of magical energy right at Trixie. Time seemed to flow at snail’s pace. The beam got closer and closer to Trixie, but she dared not look, fearing the sight to her own death. Only a few inches remained before the beam made contact and Shining Armor’s torment would cease

“STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!”

At that moment, a barrier made of purple light shot up in front of Trixie, canceling the magic blast of Shining Armor. The unicorn Prince gazed in the direction of the familiar voice, seeing Twilight and Cadance standing outside the door, with Twilight’s horn shining bright. The two alicorn mares entered the room and put themselves directly between Trixie and Shining Armor.

“What in the name of Equestria is going on, why are you attacking Trixie, answer me!?” Twilight demanded.

“I’m doing this to protect you two,” he said coldly.

“Attacking Trixie out of the blue is your way of protecting us!?” Twilight slowly made her way towards Trixie, she could hear soft whimpers coming from her and it took a lot for Twilight not to cry as well about the situation. “Trixie…Are you alright, can you tell me what happened?”

“She’s against you, don’t trust her…! She’ll banish you, just like in the nightmare…!”

Trixie’s head shot up, meeting Twilight’s eyes with her terror and panicked filled gaze. “Stay away…! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!! I WON’T LET YOU BANISH ME TO THE SUN!!!”

Trixie then pushed her way past Twilight, making her fall to the floor. She almost got Cadance as well, but she narrowly dodged getting bowled over. The fear filled mare continued to run, to where she knew not, but she needed to get away from them as fast as she could.

Twilight just stared dumbfounded at the door, having had Trixie push her away and talk about banishment. She then looked at the floor, noticing something strange on it. She flipped over one of the pieces and gasped at what she saw. It didn’t take long for Twilight to make the connection.

“Cadance, please go after Trixie. I need to talk with my big brother.”

Cadance looked to Twilight, her expression serious, and then to Shining Armor who turned to avoid her gaze. With a reluctant sigh, Cadance left the room, leaving the two siblings of the Sparkle family alone. There was heavy silence in the room as Twilight rose up, Shining Armor released a sigh and then looked directly at his little sister.

“Shining Armor, what happened?”

“……”

“I said: What happened!?” asked Twilight in a sterner voice.

“She…Twilight, you have to understand, I was trying to protect you and Cadance.”

“Seriously, you think Trixie is plotting to take over the Crystal Empire all by herself!? You think that’s the reason why she and I traveled all the way out here!?”

Shining Armor took a calming breath before speaking. “Twilight you don’t understand how dangerous she is –!”

“I want you to explain this,” Twilight interrupted, levitating the torn pieces of Trixie’s photograph, “explain to me why this is torn up, did you do this!?”

“Why do you even care it’s fake anyway!” Shining shouted.

“He truly doesn’t see…”

Twilight shook her head in disappointment, grunting in frustration. “You – You – This isn’t a fake! This is real! Don’t you think I can tell the difference between a real photo and a magically doctored one!?”

Shining Armor snorted. “Not if it’s subtle magic that’s not easily detected! Don’t tell me you’re actually buying into this whole ‘long lost half-sister’ scam!?”

Twilight placed the pieces of the photo back into Trixie’s oak box; she then stomped furiously around Shining Armor, completely amazed by his thick headedness. “It’s not a scam! She is our biological half-sister! I have the test results from Ponyville Hospital in my room to show you!”

Shining scoffed at that. “She probably messed with those too.”

“A DNA test!? Really, you think she knows how to magically alter a DNA TEST!? I got those directly from the doctor himself!”

“Alter, probably not. It wouldn’t surprise me if she bribed the guy. After what happened earlier, I can think of a few ways she might’ve persuaded him,” said Shining scornfully.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “And what exactly does that mean?”

“……Earlier, while I was taking a walk, Trixie lured me into an alley and she…she…She was throwing herself at me Twi! Telling me I should follow in my Dad’s hoofsteps and…and…!” Shining Armor couldn’t finish the sentence, thinking about it made him angrier.

Twilight was shaking her head; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing! “Y-You – Shining Armor! How could even think of about something like that! She’s our half-sister! And Trixie would never do something like! She’s not that kind of mare!”

“Sorry to point out the obvious Twily, but it’s not like you’ve known her that long!”

Twilight’s eyes began to sting with tears, hearing her big brother speak with such hate against Trixie, accusing her of things she knew that Trixie would never do.

“He doesn’t trust your judgment…He’s obsessed…”

“Are you so wrapped up in thinking Trixie is evil that you can’t see how hard she’s trying to get you to like her!?”

“Sound familiar?” Twilight’s eyes widened. “You were so convinced that Cadance was evil that you made me and your friends think you were just some possessive and jealous little sister! And then it turned out that she was a Changeling Queen and the real Cadance was held prisoner!”

“Oh don’t you dare compare this to your wedding!”

“It’s practically the same thing! I’m asking you to trust me on this Twilight, like I should’ve done that day!”

Twilight’s tears began to fall. “…You really are like Dad now, aren’t you?”

Shining Armor froze upon hearing that. “What did you say?”

“Cadance told me how you’re afraid of turning into Dad! Afraid of being disloyal to her! Well congratulations, rejecting Trixie is exactly something that Dad would do!”

Shining Armor rounded on Twilight getting right in her face. “Take that back…!”

“He hates you now…!”

“No! And I’ll say it again! You’re exactly like Dad!”

“Do not let her get away with that…!”

Shining Armor raised his right hoof drawing it back and preparing to strike Twilight. The alicorn mare turned away as the sadness and sorrow of this whole situation finally took hold of her. At same time Shining Armor was having it up to here with Twilight defending Trixie and now she was comparing him to their father, that was the last straw, he would show her!

At that moment both siblings froze in place, the room rumbled as their horns went aglow with mana, but it was different. The aura surrounding Twilight’s horn was black and purple, while Shining Armor’s was red and black. The elder sibling lowered his hoof as a smile graced his lips.

“Almost had you there, huh ‘sis’,” spoke Shining Armor.

Twilight looked up at him, mirroring his expression. “Oh yeah, I was shaking in my horseshoes in fear.”

“That’s more Medo’s thing, speaking of, you think he’s gotten what he needed out of her by now?”

Twilight-Tristeza thought it over for a moment. “Doubt it, he’s probably savoring her fear and waiting for the right moment when she’s ripe, like a juicy apple.”

“Well, then, shall we go after my ‘wife’,” asked Shining Armor-Ira.

“Do let’s, we have to have everypony there for our ‘friend’s’ arrival.”

As the possessed siblings left the room, Shining-Ira swatted Twilight-Tristeza on her flank with his tail, earning him a slightly annoyed look.

“What, been awhile since I’ve had a body, and yours looks good.”

“We can play with Shining Armor and Twilight’s bodies when we we’re done. There’s work to be done first.”

Trixie was running through the halls, going where she knew not, but she needed to get as far away from those two as possible. Shining Armor almost killed her and Twilight was no doubt going to banish her to the sun! Trixie couldn’t take that risk; she had to go somewhere, anywhere. Without realizing it, Trixie was getting closer and closer to Sabio’s study. Perfect, I can hide there! Lock the door and barricade myself inside!

“NO! Do not go in there!”

“But it’ll be safe, I’ll – I’ll – Wait!” Trixie stopped galloping, skidding to a halt three feet from the entrance to the study. “Who’s that, and where are you!?”

“Guess that didn’t last long, I was hoping that you would provide me with more entertainment, but oh well, it’s time for me to take control.”

“Take what –!”

Suddenly Trixie felt an overwhelmingly powerful presence fall upon her. Her mind tried to fight the influence of the invader, but it was strong, too strong. Eventually, Trixie’s body froze and her horn flared with yellow and black mana as her eyes turned green with red slits.

“Finally, now all that’s left is to –”

NO!

The mana on her horn started to change to a magenta color. “This is Trixie’s body! You will not have it!” The light of her horn shifted back to the yellow and black. “Sorry to disappoint you, but you really have no say in this.” Once again the color shifted, signaling that Trixie was in control for now. “I’ll show you! Let’s see why you didn’t want to go into that room!”

Trixie was now forcing her body to move in the direction of the study, the whole time she could feel the presence’s power trying to make her stop, but she wasn’t giving up, her pride and conviction to never be controlled again drove her to fight the evil presence. Inch by agonizing inch Trixie got closer to the door, and at the same time the presence roared at her to stop. She then got one hoof past the doorframe, runic markings and sigil script shined all over the door frame. Trixie felt more in control of her left hoof and used it to drag herself further in.

Her right hoof then shot out and past the doorframe as well, and yet again she regained control. Trixie then pulled her head forward, trying to get her upper body inside the room. Once her horn hovered over the glowing marks, a powerful energy wave surged through her body, knocking Trixie into the room. She tumbled about before coming to a stop in the middle of the room. When she rose up, Trixie looked towards the doorway and gasped in fright at what she saw.

A body black as night, with yellow markings all over it, and the evil eyes of the darkness, there could be no doubt who thing was. “Medo the Fearful!”

Medo turned and smirked at Trixie upon hearing his name. “Ah, so you know of me. Not many recognize me, and even fewer know my name. But do not think that you can save yourself by making a covenant with me. I’m not up for making deals at the moment.”

“What are you doing here!? How did you…How did you…!”

“Possess you? Easy, you’re afraid. You, Trixie Lulamoon, are at the heart of much turmoil here in the palace. My fellow spirits sensed this and dubbed this the perfect time to strike. I entered your body on your first night here, Tristeza the night before, and Ira the last night.”

Trixie shuddered in disgust, knowing she had that loathsome dark spirit within this whole time, it made her want take a three day bath just to scrub it all away. “What do you want!? No one summoned you!”

“Oh, but we never left. I must admit, the thousand year banishment was unexpected, and the resurgence of the Crystal Heart’s power did make it hard for us to act. But I digress.” Medo reached out a hoof towards the door. The reaction was immediate, a barrier was erected, shocking the dark spirit and making him growl in pain. “Warding rune symbols and purification sigil script, when did Sabio write these? Regardless, our plan is in motion and all thanks, in no small part, to you Trixie. Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Shining Armor are already under our control.”

Trixie’s brow furrowed at the mention of her half-siblings. “It was you! You and those dark spirits have been messing with us all along! Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie will not tolerate this!”

“Oh by all means, do try and stop me.”

Trixie didn’t need an invitation; she quickly concentrated on channeling her mana. But something was wrong, the sensation when she used her magic, the familiar tingling sensation that ran through the body when a unicorn used their magic, the slight feeling of becoming stronger, it was gone. Trixie focused, trying to fire even a small beam of magical energy, but still, nothing happened. Trixie began to panic. She quickly aimed her horn at the nearest object on the worktable, seeing if she could levitate anything. Again, there was nothing.

“M-M-My magic…WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MAGIC???”

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Trixie’s eyes shot in Medo’s direction. In the left hoof of the dark spirit was a medium sized sphere of magenta colored magical energy. “Before we were separated, I took the liberty of extracting your magic. I needed something to sustain this form, especially now that we aren’t one anymore.” Medo tossed the magic ball into the air, opened his mouth, and swallowed it whole. “Spicy, like the owner.”

“Why are you doing this!? What could possibly hope to gain!?” asked Trixie.

“Well, for starters…We intend to see Sombra of the Shadows returned.”

Resurrection

Author's Note

I am adding the Dark tag, as per one comment suggested, and after re-reading the writers guide.

Resurrection

Cadance had been searching through the castle for Trixie; she was worried when she left Twilight and Shining Armor back in the room. Her husband had flat out lost it! Willing to actually kill Trixie!? That was not the stallion she married!? Even if he was distrusting of her, his anxieties over her couldn’t have pushed him that far over the edge. With that thought in mind, Cadance was really wondering if it was a good idea to leave those two alone.

No…It-It’ll be fine, Shining Armor would never hurt Twilight!

Cadance was about to gallop by the throne room when her eyes caught sight of a familiar purple flash. She skidded to a halt and turned around to head back to the throne room. Cadance slowly entered through the large double doors, cautiously scanning her surroundings. The pink alicorn mare walked inside till she was halfway between the door and her throne.

Must’ve imagined it…

Just then a flash of purple light appeared over her throne, when the flash subsided, Cadance now found Twilight sitting upon her throne.

“Twilight! What’s wrong, did you manage to talk to Shining Armor!?”

A slightly evil grin spread across her lips. “Oh we had a talk alright, but it wasn’t about Trixie.”

“What did you talk about…?”

“We were talking about how best to subdue you.”

Cadance glanced over her shoulder and now saw Shining Armor walking inside. His horn flared with strange colored mana as he shut the doors behind him.

Cadance was starting to get edgy; the air had changed drastically, oppressive, dangerous. “What’s going on…? Why are you two looking at me like that?!”

“Oh dear sister-in-law, please don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be. We want you alive for as long as possible,” said Twilight.

The pink alicorn turned to her sister-in-law, noting the odd colored black and purple mana flaring from her horn. Cadance backed away, making sure she had both siblings in her sight at all times.

“Twilight, Shining Armor, whatever’s wrong, we can talk about this. I know having Trixie here and finding all this stuff out about your family is really stressful, but –!”

Both Twilight and Shining Armor laughed hysterically, and it wasn’t like practical joke type laughter. This was more like cruel, insane laughter, the kind that you hear when some maniacal pony had you within their grasp and was just messing with your head.

“Oh boy, it would be so much fun to mess with your head right now Cadance…” Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, her eyes were the same color as that of Sombra’s. “But we have plans that we must see fulfilled.”

Shining Armor did the same, closing his eyes and opening them to reveal the dark power that had taken him over. “And you’re a big part of those plans my darling wife, so please don’t make us have to hurt you.”

Cadance’s horn shined with magical light as she flared her wings and entered an attack stance. “You’re not my family! Who or what are you!?”

Twilight bowed before Cadance playfully, “Tristeza the Sorrowful, your grace.”

Shining Amor mirrored his possessed sister, “Ira the Wrathful, at your service.”

The Princess of Love’s horn shined brighter as she furrowed her brow in anger. “Release Shining Armor and Twilight, or so help me, I’ll make you release them!” Cadance stamped her hoof, letting the earth pony part of her alicorn powers show in her strength, and caused the floor to shake.

“Oh please, no! Don’t do it Princess Cadance! We’re sorry; please forgive us……NOT!” Tristeza-Twilight mocked as she laughed.

“You won’t do a thing to us Princess, because we have the one thing you care about.” Ira-Shining Armor walked to one of the nearby windows and nodded towards Tristeza-Twilight.

The possessed alicorn mare fired a beam of black and purple magical energy right at Cadance’s horn, wrapping the light-blue glow and completely incasing it in dark energy. Cadance yelped from the sudden severing of her magic from her horn, nonetheless, she tried to reestablish the connection, but every time she did, a jolt of dark energy electrified her for her attempt.

“You see, Cady, we like these bodies, they’re powerful, and sturdy. But we’re not so dependent on them that we can’t live without them. Now that we have taken root in your precious Shining Armor and Twilight, we can syphon the mana right from them, enough to sustain us in the outside world. And as for their bodies…”

Ira-Shining Armor climbed onto the edge of the window and balanced himself precariously on the back of his hooves. Cadance’s heart raced as she saw her husband stand in front of the open window, eyes widening in fear of him falling out the window.

“Please stop!” Cadance pleaded.

“You can blast us; you can punch us, or throw us out the window. It won’t matter. The only ones who will feel pain and agony are Twilight and Shining Armor. Now Cadance, do you think you can be a little more cooperative?” Ira-Shining Armor let himself lean back just a bit more, his momentum threatening to take him all the way over the edge.

“STOP!!!” Cadance cried out. “Just…Just stop! Please…I’ll…I’ll do as you ask.”

Tristeza-Twilight walked over to Cadance and nuzzled the side of the pink alicorn’s face. “Good girl, I knew you’d make the right decision.”

Ira-Shining Armor jumped off the windowsill and onto the floor, smirking in triumph. The three ponies heard the thudding of the large double doors opening and turned to see their new visitor. A stallion, at least that’s what it appeared to be, with a dark body and strange yellow markings walked into the throne room and towards the three already inside.

“I see you have already brought her under control, Tristeza.”

“Wasn’t that hard,” Tristeza-Twilight gave a yank of the energy tether and made Cadance fall to her knees before them, “She only needed the right persuasion.”

Cadance stared up at Medo, beneath her complacent visage burned a defiant look within her eyes, biding her time until she could figure out a way to get her family free from the control of these dark spirits.

“So what happened with Trixie? She too much mare for you to handle?” Ira-Shining Armor asked.

“Humph, please, I got what I needed from her. My form that now stands before you is proof enough of that. She lives for now, but is of little concern.” Medo looked to the crystal that was fixed above the throne. “For now, we must attend to our more important matter.”

The two possessed ponies nodded. They dragged Cadance along and made her sit on the floor. Ira-Shining Armor fired a black and red magical beam at the floor where Cadance was sitting and made the crystals that formed it rise up and incase her body, glowing with the red energy of the spirit of hate and anger. Tristeza-Twilight severed her energy tether and made sure to keep the seal around her horn active.

The three spirits then looked to the center crystal and channeled their dark powers. “You who were once of shadows now will live!” Medo grew a unicorn horn and fired a beam of black and yellow energy at the crystal, along with the power he got from Trixie.

“With magic most powerful, we now shall give!” Ira-Shining Armor fired his dark magical energy, mixed with that of his unwilling hosts’

“Rise once more, and take your place!” Tristeza-Twilight did the same as her brother, firing the energy and uniting it with her fellow spirits’.

“To live again and see your fiery gaze, their kingdoms we will raze!”
“To live again and fiery gaze, their kingdoms we will raze!”
“To live again and fiery gaze, their kingdoms we will raze!”

The crystal shined with the united dark energies and magic of the three spirits, uniting it into a condensed beam of dark magic power, the beam fired at the center of the room, creating a vortex of darkness that sucked the light out of the room and left everything in the dark. Soon something began to rise from the center of the vortex, bubbling with green, purple, and black lightning. A red horn emerged, making Cadance gasp at the sight of their old vanquished foe.

The darkness then retreated back to the unicorn form, allowing the light of day to shine inside the room once again. His body had markings much like the three spirits, but they changed rapidly from yellow, red, purple, and green. Unlike his smoky form from before, this form was solid, held together by the dark power of Medo, Tristeza, and Ira, along with the stolen magics of Twilight, Trixie, and Shining Armor. His mane undulated back and forth, creating a ghostly afterimage of itself whenever he turned his head.

The three then bowed their heads before their returned wielder of darkness. “Sombra of the Shadows, how do you feel?”

Sombra rolled his head and then his shoulders, trying to get a good feel for his new body. “I like it, but I am a little irritated that you couldn’t resurrect my body as well.”

“Sorry Sombra, but the Crystal Heart blew you to pieces, far beyond our reach to go and retrieve if there were something left,” said Ira-Shining Armor.

“We cannot leave the borders of the Crystal Empire, whereas before we could venture anywhere we pleased. But, now that you are back, we can be freed of this place and spread out across this land. Not as three, but four spirits of darkness,” said Tristeza-Twilight.

Sombra nodded, it was nice to be back and he did so miss the living world. His fierce eyes then rested on Cadance, still trapped within the red crystals. The dark unicorn spirit then walked towards her, a malicious smile spreading upon his face.

“Do what you will to me Sombra…I will not beg,” hissed Cadance.

“Oh no, you got it all wrong. I need you Princess Cadance.”

“What!?”

“The Crystal Heart will give us the added power we need to break free of this place, and as my associates have said, spread our darkness throughout the land. Unfortunately, I can no longer resonate with it. The Heart only recognizes you as its true master.”

“So what,” growled Cadance.

Sombra released a cold chuckle that reverberated throughout the room. “Well…Every king needs a queen.”

Trixie was just sitting there on the floor, completely helpless. Sombra was returning, scratch that, she knew he was back, even in the spell protected study of Sabio, the feeling of dread and cold darkness was spreading. Trixie dared to get up and walked towards the door, stopping short of the line where rune marks and sigil script kept the darkness at bay. Looking from the safety of the study, Trixie watched as the color of the crystal that made up the palace began to change drastically. The soft clear blue color turned dark and harsh, the same as Sombra’s castle from the old texts.

Trixie turned away from the door and fell onto the ground, covering her face with her forelegs as she let out whimpers. “It’s my fault…All of it…!”

The azure mare couldn’t help but think this. Had she not come to the Crystal Empire – no, it went further than that. If Trixie hadn’t answered Princess Celestia’s call to come to Canterlot and confirm to Twilight that she was indeed her half-sister, none of these events would have come to pass. But they did, and there was no denying that she was the catalyst that allowed the dark spirits to take root in the three siblings. Now Sombra and the dark spirits would do, Celestia knows what to Cadance and the crystal ponies.

“All I cause is trouble…That’s all I am…I’ve endangered an entire Empire, driven a wedge between all of them…Everypony would be better off I was the one in that accident…At least Mother would be alive, and Twilight and Shining Armor would still have the image of their perfect father…My Father…”

Just then, a powerful quake shook the entire room. Trixie turned around and saw that jagged black crystals tried to pierce through the barrier. She looked around the room and watched as the force field layered itself over the walls and floor, blocking the dark crystals from getting inside the last sanctuary from evil. Trixie tried to stand, finding it hard to do so with each pounding and jostling of the room. Trixie tried to hold fast but found it increasingly difficult to do so. She knew that those spells were strong, but they were old, and created a thousand plus years ago.

Sabio may’ve taken into account Sombra’s power back then, but what about now!? Can they withstand this if he’s become stronger!

As if to answer her question the room shook violently, stronger than last time. Books and miscellaneous objects were thrown from their resting places. In particular, one crystal fell from the worktable. It then struck the ground once.

*Tink*

This is it isn’t it…?

The crystal then arched into the air and hit a second time.

*Tink*

Please…Faust above…Mother…Please……I DON’T WANT IT TO END LIKE THIS!

The crystal then struck the ground for the third and final time.

*Tink*

The crystal rested upon the ground as the shaking subsided some. It glowed bright and shot forth an image into the open space. Trixie, startled by the image, nearly backed into a bookshelf when she saw who was floating before her.

“This may be my final message as Sabio…I underestimated the darkness…It created something else, another me, Sombra. He is…He is the darker half of my soul, and I thought that I might be able to control it…I was wrong…So wrong.”

“Within the time that I defeated the Threstrals my dark persona wasted little time in seizing power for himself! Killing the Queen and enslaving my fellow crystal ponies! He even destroyed all the Star Staffs, making sure that there would be nopony who could have, even the smallest, chance of defeating him………But, he didn’t get all of them.”

Trixie watched as Sabio placed the Star Staff on the table; however it was more like a wand at the moment.

“This is the last Star Staff. I’ve modified it slightly, it should allow the wielder to tap into the strongest depths of their magic and amplify it to degrees the previous ones couldn’t…However, its power is only proportional to the one who wields it, so use it wisely to you who find this message…”

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry for what I’ve become…For the lives I’ve taken and the lives that I subjugate and bring misery to…”

Trixie watched as Sabio started to growl and wince as his eyes shifted back and forth from normal to the dark magic. He then took a few breathes as he struggled to keep control.

“Sombra’s will is getting stronger…! I haven’t much time. Listen to me, I will cast one final spell to prevent any dark entities from entering this room, I shall then erase my memory of this place and anything having to do with it. If you have found this, and are in need of the Staff, remember…UGH! To find the Star Staff, one must have both grace and wisdom…!”

Sabio’s horn then shined with the last remnants of his unaffected magic and the image cut out. Trixie’s eyes were wide as saucers, within this room, within this very room, was something that could help her turn this around! As swift as the wind, Trixie began tearing the entire study apart, flipping over the tables, looking in the fire place, and throwing every book from the bookshelves to find some hidden switch or false back. Sadly though, after a frantic search, Trixie was unable to find the promised artifact.

She began to pace the room back and forth, trying to figure out Sabio’s message, and it didn’t help that the dark crystals renewed their assault on the barrier once again with a vengeance.

Think Trixie, think! Okay, ‘One must have both grace and wisdom’…Grace and wisdom, grace and wisdom, grace and wisdom…! Trixie then shouted loudly into the room in frustration, ready to tear out her silver mane.

“COULD YOU BE ANYMORE VAGUE SABIO!!?”

Trixie once again scanned the room from her spot in the middle of the shaking study. She looked over everything, scrutinizing every little detail, anything that looked out of place that might give her a clue as to the Staff’s whereabouts. It was then that she locked onto something that caught her eye. The portrait of Sabio and his wife, Graza, was perfectly framed. Despite all the violent shaking that was going on, it was the one thing that did not fall or rattle. That’s when it hit her, and when it did Trixie face hoofed herself.

“Grace and wisdom, Graza the Graceful and Sabio the Wise of course!”

Trixie rushed to the portrait, without her magic, Trixie had to carefully remove the portrait form the wall with her hooves. Doing all she could to not damage the last image of the once good stallion and his dead beloved. Once she had safely put it onto the floor, Trixie saw the object that she had sought. There was a star symbol on the crystal wall, protruding just enough not to make the portrait stick out. Trixie gingerly touched the symbol with her hoof, depressing the star shaped protrusion into the wall itself.

At that moment the star retracted into the wall, it then opened up a larger section and revealed within it the Star Staff that Sabio spoke of. Carefully Trixie reached in, being very cautious of booby-traps and other such things, she attributed this to reading one too many “Daring Do” books. Trixie cradled the wand in the crook of her right hoof and dragged it out of its hiding place. With one swift motion she took the wand and backed away from the wall, fearing a trap might activate. After a few seconds nothing happened. The azure unicorn then sat on her haunches and examined the artifact, noting that it was still in pristine condition, a thousand years hadn’t taken their toll on it all, much like the rest of the Empire.

“Okay, with this I can amplify my magic and hopefully…” Trixie the face hoofed herself, again, with her left hoof. “Trixie you idiot, you don’t have your magic anymore! That spirit went and ate it!” Trixie looked at the wand in her hoof and sighed forlornly. “Now what do I do with you…With no magic to activate you, I’d stand a better chance with a spoon…”

Trixie was about to throw the wand away in anger, that is, until the voice of her big half-sister, Twilight, echoed in her mind.

“…if you reject it a second time…I don’t think you’ll be able to access it ever again…”

Taking a calming breath, Trixie held the staff with both her hooves. She then touched the star with her horn and closed her eyes.

“…It’ll retreat so far into your soul that not even years of training and intense meditation will coax it out of you…”

It was now or never, whether she was ready or not, she needed the power that was dwelling within her…if it was still there. Trixie retreated into her mind, past the superfluous and physical realm, and entering parts she had not dared to enter. Within her mind’s eye, all Trixie saw was darkness, where once it only took a few seconds to see the glow of her magic, there was nothing. Medo had taken it all, her reserves were empty, an empty vast nothingness.

Just then, Trixie saw something. In the expanse of darkness there was a tiny glimmer in the distance. This glimmer blinked with magenta light off and on, acting as a beacon. Trixie reached for that glimmer, hoping beyond hope that it was the power she needed. When Trixie touched the glimmer, it exploded outwards. Filling the darkness with magenta light, sparkling and shimmering in every direction, washing over her psyche and body, filling her with power beyond what she used to possess. This was a familiar feeling; it was the same as the one back at the stadium. This was the Surge!

On the outside, Trixie’s body had begun to shine with magical light, roaring and lapping off her body like a raging inferno. The magical energy wrapped around her, forming a sphere of magenta light with Trixie at its center, the light then lifted her up, hovering at ten feet in the air. Trixie’s face contorted, gritting her teeth as she felt the power overtake her. The fear rose up again, the fear that made her cut herself off before. Trixie didn’t want to become that same mare that wanted to enslave Ponyville again, she didn’t want to see fear and hate the eyes of others anymore, and with this power, she’d surely see those looks once again.

But then, the faces of Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadance popped into her mind. The three of them smiled at her, their eyes filled with encouragement. And then she saw the faces of the dark spirits and Sombra, cruel, merciless, and filled with destructive intent. Trixie wouldn’t let those vile creatures win, she wouldn’t lose more of her family, once was more than enough!

Trixie’s eyes opened and they shined bright white. She then held out the wand and it immediately began to change its shape. The handle shot down, extending a good seven feet, the star crystal that rested at the top enlarged, sparkling with the power of its new wielder as it melded their energies. A large boom resonated within the room as a wave of magical energy was released. The wave hit the walls and powered up the barrier, ceasing the violent shaking and shattering the black crystals that tried to get in.

The unicorn mare began to descend from the air, slowly and steadily. The butt of the staff hit the floor first, followed by her hind legs. She balanced on the staff and her hind legs. Trixie panted hard, the rush of power subsiding and allowing her mind to think clearly. She wasn’t tired in fact it was quite the opposite. Trixie was empowered. This was the magic that dwelled deep inside her. The power that she feared would corrupt her and turn her into that insane mare possessed by the Alicorn Amulet. This was nothing like that; this was her magic, the magic power Trixie was born with, her true potential. Sombra was not the only one to “resurrect” this day.

The Great and Powerful Trixie!

Needless to say, this was panic time for the denizens of the Crystal Empire. Their once bright and beautiful kingdom was once again shrouded in darkness. The palace had transformed into black crystal, the pristine clear blue of the castle was slowly becoming corrupted. It was clear to all who was behind this, although they had hoped beyond all hope that the tyrant king was gone forever, it was plain to see that he was back, Sombra was now in control of the Crystal Palace. The Guards were ejected from the palace like foreign matter within a body, many landing in buildings or others just being denied entry.

Inside, Cadance was being held captive, forced to watch as her possessed husband and sister-in-law helped Medo with the preparation to change Cadance into a suitable queen for Sombra. The black unicorn stallion watched from the window as his power flowed through his Empire once again, changing it too match the image of his glorious return. From here he would spread darkness throughout Equestria, and from there, the rest of this miserable world.

“You won’t win, Sombra!”

“Oh my dear, I already have. This is my victory lap.” The dark being turned to Cadance and walked over to her, smiling wickedly as he did so, relishing this sight of the “Crystal Princess” brought low before him. “Once my friends have the circle prepared, you’ll be mine, Cadance. Besides, I don’t think Shining Armor will mind, right?”

“Nope, she’s all yours,” said Ira-Shining Armor.

“Well there you go.”

Cadance looked to Twilight and Shining Armor desperately. “Please, Twi, Shining, you have to break free! I know you two are stronger than them, you can do it, I believe in you!”

Tristeza-Twilight stopped what she was doing. She trembled and groaned as if in pain. The other three spirits looked to her in wonder. “Cady I…I…!”

“That’s it Twilight, break free!”

“I…Got you! HA, HA!”

“Good one ‘sis’.”

“I thought so.”

“There’s no getting to them, not at all,” said Medo.

Cadance wept a little, she was helpless to stop any of this from happening, and what’s worse she’d soon be a part of the madness that was Sombra and the dark spirits.

Suddenly the room was filled with laughter, echoing throughout the throne room.

“Find something funny, Cadance?” asked Sombra.

“It’s not me!” Cadance spat bitterly.

Sombra looked to Tristeza-Twilight, who shrugged unknowingly as well. The dark spirits stopped their work and looked around the room. The laughter seemed to increase in volume, it was mocking laughter, the kind of superior tone that Sombra used on his crystal slaves long ago, but it was directed at them.

“Oh Sombra, did you really think that you could conquer the Crystal Empire and not think to be thwarted!?”

“Trixie!” Medo growled.

“‘Got her magic’ he says, yeah right.”

“Enough, she is of little concern. Besides, what’s a wannabe usurper like you going to do? No matter what magic you possess, it still won’t be strong enough to face me,” said Sombra.

“You’d think that, but Trixie has something that you don’t Sombra, something that separates her from the rest!”

A loud explosion went off as the front doors to the throne room were blown off and sparkling purple smoke flowed inside. A bright blue and magenta glow approached the doorway, and Trixie was standing in it. Her trade mark hat and cloak flapped in the wake of her power. Her horn flared with magical might, resonating in intensity with that of the Star Staff that hovered close by her. Trixie then stood on her hind legs and brought the Star Staff overhead, spinning it rabidly and slamming the butt against the floor, sending a wave of magical energy through the air and into the dust, and striking a heroic pose while gazing at the dark ones from under the rim of her hat.

“Showmareship!”

“I took your power once, I can take it again!” Medo shouted.

“Yes you did.”

The spirit of fear rushed towards Trixie, but a flash from the staff and her horn ignited the sparkling dust around her, setting off a kind of flash bang explosion, blinding the occupants within the throne room. Medo stood there, disoriented from the blast, he then looked to his left as the dust parted, making way for a blast of magical magenta light as it pierced through the smokescreen. The attack slammed into Medo, sending him smashing against the opposite wall.

“And Trixie will be taking it back!”

Trixie then fired second beam, but this one did not blow up upon impact. The beam struck deep into Medo’s chest and ripped out a glowing ball of magenta light, her magic. The orb was brought back to her and absorbed by the Star Staff and back to her before disappearing into the smoke.

“Impossible!”

“How did she –!”

“Worry about yourselves!”

Popping out of the smoke were now two Trixie’s, both pointing their Star Staffs at Ira-Shining Armor and Tristeza-Twilight. The two possessed siblings fired twin beams of dark magic at the duplicate Trixie’s. But as soon as the attacks struck, the clones exploded with a comical poof. At that moment, the floor beneath the two possessed ponies shined with a brilliant golden light, locking them in place and cancelling out their magic. They looked and saw that Trixie was standing at the foot of the throne behind them, the Star Staff pointed at them as she muttered a spell under her breath.

Runic symbols and sigil script flowed around the star crystal, glowing the same color as the circles themselves. The words and symbols revolved faster and faster till they became a blur of light energy. Trixie’s horn flashed and the staff fired a twin beam of golden light at the two possessed ones. The beams surrounded Twilight and Shining Armor. Trixie then raised the staff up, and in so doing, slowly separated the dark spirits from their hosts.

“WHAT IS THIS!?” yelled Ira.

“A modified version of Sabio the Wise’s warding spell. Instead of keeping darkness and evil away, I modified it to expel impure spirits like yourselves from a host body. And don’t even try and take their magic, this spell cuts you off completely!”

“HOW!!? You're just a second rate magician!”

“I am not a ‘second rate magician’!” Trixie raised the staff higher and fully exorcised Ira and Tristeza from Twilight and Shining Armor. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!!!”

The azure mare then flicked the two spirits right at Medo, who was now getting back up, only to be hit with both of his fellow spirits at once. Trixie then encased Twilight and Shining Armor in magical bubbles and brought them close to Cadance. She then erected a barrier around them, giving her a brief respite.

“Trixie…How did you…Where did you –!?”

“Long story short, Sabio left this relic behind, and now I’m saving you!” Trixie then struck the ruby crystal that trapped Cadance; her power resonated through it, shattering it to pieces. Cadance shook the remnants off her body, and fluttered her wings from being held in that cramped space for so long. “Hold still.”

Trixie brought the tip of the staff to Cadance’s horn, using a variation of the spell she had just cast, Trixie sent her power into the alicorn mare’s horn, dispelling the seal put on it, and allowing Cadance’s magic to flow once again.

“Thank you Trixie.”

The magician smiled, happy for the gratitude. Trixie and Cadance then heard a stirring from the two siblings lying on the floor. Cadance helped Twilight up, while Trixie helped Shining Armor.

The white unicorn stallion slowly opened his eyes; a familiar pain throbbed in his head. The same kind he had when Chrysalis messed with his head a long time ago. Shining Armor turned to his right side and saw Trixie standing close to him, despite everything that had happened she still smiled down on the stallion.

“Hello big brother.”

“T-Trixie…What happ –?” Suddenly his mind kicked in with the memories of what transpired right before the full possession. How Ira egged him on, feeding into his paranoia and anger about Trixie. He then averted his gaze from her, shame and guilt filling his heart.

“Cadance…” spoke Twilight.

“You’re alright ladybug, Trixie saved you.”

The lavender alicorn looked to her half-sister, smiling at her. “Looks like you finally realized your full potential.”

“Yes, and it only took a world ending event to make Trixie embrace her power, who knew?”

“Weak.”

Trixie, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight all looked in the direction of Sombra and the three dark spirits. The King of Shadows looked down upon the dark ones with fury in his eyes.

“That will not go unanswered for! I will tear her horn off!” Ira declared.

“Not after I rip out and syphon every last bit of her magic!” Medo roared.

“Only when I’m through putting her through tortures she can’t even begin to imagine!” Tristeza growled.

“No.” The three dark spirits turned to Sombra. “Your presence is better served another way.”

“And how’s that?”

“By making me stronger!”

Sombra transformed into a giant cloud of darkness. He swirled about the three spirits, and along with came the screams and wails of pain. The others couldn’t believe what was happening. In the few glimpses they were able to see from the gaps in the cloud, they watched as Sombra began to devour the other three spirits, literally. Within the dark cloud another transformation occurred. Like a butterfly emerging from his cocoon, Sombra emerged from his cloud of darkness.

He was bigger, standing higher than Princess Celestia, and larger, bulkier. A triangle of three orbs marked the spirits by color, Ira was red, Tristeza was purple, and Medo was yellow, their powers glowed on his chest and flowed into him. His eyes were demonic, and his blood red curved horn shimmered with greater dark magic than before.

“Now I am complete.”

Trixie, with a determined gaze stood up and walked till she was on the other side of her barrier. Twilight tried to rush towards her, but found that the barrier prevented her from exiting.

“Trixie what are you doing!?”

“This is my fight Twilight. You and Shining Armor are too weak to help, and Cadance, you need to keep your magic at full strength in case you need to flee.”

“We won’t run and leave you behind, Trixie! You’ll die if you fight him alone!” Cadance shouted.

“…Then I die protecting my family.”

Trixie walked slowly towards Sombra, she channeled her mana into the staff, focusing it at the tip. The Star Staff released the mana particles, solidifying until it became a hard-light spear. Trixie took a defensive stance and pointed the staff right at the abomination. Sombra looked down upon Trixie, smirking at the unicorn’s attempt to stand against him.

“You realize that you will die here today, Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Spare Trixie the ‘I’m so powerful and mighty, and you’re so weak and powerless’ speech, because I’ve used it before!”

“Well, there is another option besides death.”

Trixie lowered the Star Staff a little. “Speak tyrant.”

“You obviously possess a great magical power, Trixie. One, if honed, could out match many in this world. Take hold of the power of darkness, you can become so much stronger. Join me, and together, we shall shroud this world in darkness, and all will be under our control.” Sombra leaned down to look the azure mare in the eyes. “I’ll even allow you a place to rule, and those two as your personal slaves. You’ll be Great and Powerful forever, second only to me.”

Trixie gave Sombra a smug grin. “Sorry, but Trixie doesn’t play second fiddle anypony!”

The unicorn mare teleported a few feet back, she then whipped the Star Staff around and fired a magical lightning blast at Sombra. The lightning struck him, wrapping his body in magenta electricity. But one flash of multicolored light from Sombra’s horn dispelled the attack.

“Pity,” Sombra stomped his hoof, from the floor rose an obsidian scythe, “you had such potential.”

Sombra rushed towards Trixie. She quickly brought up the Star Staff just in time to catch the blade of Sombra’s scythe. Trixie’s mind recoiled from the impact and power behind the blow, but held fast. Sombra pushed down on the staff, inching his obsidian blade closer to Trixie’s head, a black aura, highlighted with the colors of the King of Shadows and the dark spirits, ignited around his body as he watched her struggle against his power.

Trixie glared at Sombra, her magical aura flaring up at the same time as his, although not as big, she still held great power. The azure mare teleported away, making Sombra lose his balance from the sudden loss of his target. Trixie reappeared behind above him, holding the Star Staff in the crook of her hooves, and brought the shimmering light blade down on Sombra, piercing his back.

The King of Shadows roared with pain, but wasn’t going to relent now. From his body, black tendrils shot out. Wrapping around Trixie’s hind legs and pulling her up and off of his back, Sombra then flicked the magician right out the window!

“TRIXIE!” Twilight cried.

Trixie fell through the air, watching as the ground grew closer and closer. She wasn’t about to let this be her end. Concentrating on the Star Staff, the ancient relic removed itself from Sombra with painful grunt and teleported to her side. Trixie then turned in the air, touching her hind hooves on the shaft of the staff. She locked herself, magically, to the staff. Before she hit the ground Trixie used her telekinetic magic and propelled her off into the sky.

“WOAH HA HA!” Trixie shouted, half screaming, half laughing.

She was literally, surfing in the air. Trixie almost reminded herself of the old pony tales of unicorn witches who road on broomsticks in the night sky. Please, I’m way cooler than a witch. Trixie continued to fly, surfing the air on her wand as her cape flapped in the wind. The magician redirected her Star Staff right back at the window she was thrown from, Trixie’s horn flashed again, and the tip of the Star Staff fired a beam of magical energy right through the window.

Sombra was barely able to block the attack with a dark magic barrier, digging his hooves into the floor as he was pushed back by the sudden attack. It was at that moment he saw Trixie zooming into the room. She flew in a circle around him, activating another spell to create magical doppelgängers that mixed with the original. Sombra slashed with his obsidian scythe, cutting down one copy as it disappeared in a poof, only to receive a blast from another copy. Sombra rounded on the copy that shot at it, hitting it with a dark magic blast of his own and destroying it on impact. This only earned him a double dose of magical beams from his right side and back behind him.

“ENOUGH!!!”

Sombra let up his horn and release a wave of dark magic the destroyed all the clones at once, and shook the very castle. When the copies evaporated, Sombra looked around and saw that the original was not among them. But what he did see was the very faint glow of a magic circle right underneath him.

“It took a bit longer to create it than with Ira and Tristeza, but Trixie believes you’re worth the extra effort!”

“HOW!!?”

“Invisibility spell, I had learned it for my magic shows but couldn’t make it last longer than a few seconds, but now it’s foal’s play!” The golden symbols and ancient writing floated about Trixie’s Star Staff, resonating with the circle beneath Sombra. “This is the end for you Sombra, return to whatever darkness you came from!”

The circle glowed with greater intensity as it prepared to banish Sombra from this realm of existence. Sombra, however, did not look afraid. His curved horn discharged dark magical energy right to the circle, shattering it completely as if it were fragile glass. Trixie was thrown to the floor from the backlash, but quickly got back to her hooves, staring dumbfounded as to why the circle had not worked.

“Do not think me so easily banished, Trixie Lulamoon. I’m not like the others, I was once mortal, and therefore, I still have a stake in this world. Well, that, and I am a genius magician. Did you really think you could master such a complex spell in such a short time?”

Trixie smirked at the King of Shadows. “You know, for a second, Trixie did think she could. But I seem to be giving you a run for your money, oh great Sombra.”

Sombra gave Trixie a wicked, toothy grin. “Maybe so, but I wonder, can your so called ‘family’ say the same?”

Trixie’s eyes went wide as she watched Sombra slash the air with his scythe, creating a crescent arc of dark magic that flew right at the barrier protecting Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadance. The black energy blade smashed against the barrier, cracking it, Cadance immediately summoned her own barrier, reinforcing Trixie’s. Sombra’s horn flared as he fired a beam that spun out like a tornado, striking the dual barrier relentlessly. The entire dome was blanketed in dark magic, the sounds of splintering glass echoing underneath the assault.

“NO!!!”

Trixie galloped towards the barrier, Sombra willed the black crystals that made up the floor to jut out and impale the unicorn mare. Trixie nearly got skewered a few times, utilizing short-distance teleportation to get around them and closer to the dome shield. Sombra stopped his attack, just as the dome shattered completely, destroying the last defense the three ponies had. The King of Shadows channeled his dark power into the blade of his scythe as he prepared to cut them down.

Trixie, with only a moment to spare, teleported right in front of her family, she stood on her hind legs and raised the Star Staff up in her hooves. As Sombra brought down his scythe, Trixie slammed the butt of her relic on the floor, creating a wall of pure energy the separated the two them just as the blade made contact. The obsidian blade grinded against the protecting wall sparks of magenta and dark light flying everywhere as Sombra’s reaping blade slowly cut through her shield.

The unicorn magician held fast, her horn and staff glowing with the full might of her magic, sweat dripping from her brow as the toll of this battle was starting to show. All the while Twilight and Shining Armor stood in awe at how fervently Trixie defended them, Shining Armor was especially, and after everything he had done, after tearing apart that one precious memento of her foalhood Trixie was still protecting him.

“Such valor, such strength, all wasted on fools who are underserving of it.”

“Shut up!”

“Look at them!” Sombra pushed further, the tip of the obsidian blade piercing the wall slightly. “A half-brother that distrusts and despises you, doubting himself and questioning his own loyalty to the mare he married, Shining Armor, the noble and valiant prince, the one who was ready to kill you at a moment’s notice!” The blade dug deeper, the dark power lapping off of it like flames. “And let’s not forget your half-sister over there, Twilight Sparkle, the kind and loving alicorn princess, whom you’ve driven into sadness and despair over the eventual destruction your presence will cause her family! So tell me, Trixie Lulamoon, is defending them really in your best interest!? Are they worth risking your life for, these ponies who probably wish you never even existed in the first place!?”

Trixie looked back at Shining Armor and Twilight; their eyes filled with guilt and shame, and sadness for how Sombra had stripped them bare and laid out their inner turmoil to Trixie. For a moment, the two of them had a look on their faces, one that told Trixie that they wouldn’t blame her for bringing down the barrier.

“He’s right Trixie…We’ve, we’re horrible…” Twilight spoke in a shaky voice.

“Cadance…take Trixie and get out of here…” Shining said in a low and depressed tone, accepting his fate.

Trixie gritted her teeth, turned to Sombra, and poured more of her magical power back into the barrier, increasing its density.

“One does not choose their family, Sombra! Yes, I know of Twilight’s sorrow for what my presence will mean for her family, and I wish it weren’t so! I also now know of Shining Armor’s anger towards me, I do not blame him…as much as I want to, I can’t! I lost the only family I thought I had in this world! But then Twilight brought me into her home and Shining Armor into his! And for the first time in my life I felt like I was at home, that I had real home and family! I won’t let anything, especially YOU, take that away from me! Not again, not ever!!!”

Sombra scoffed, “You’re truly willing to die for them, to lay down your life!!?”

“YES!”

Sombra’s horn flared once again the blade of his obsidian scythe passed further into the barrier wall, coming dangerously close to Trixie’s head. “Then allow me the knowledge before you die, why!?”

“Because………I LOVE THEM!!!”

At that moment the entire palace shined with bright blue energy. A rumbling sound could be heard coming from deep beneath the castle, causing Sombra to cease his attack. Suddenly the floor between Trixie and Sombra exploded in a shower of black crystals, Sombra, Trixie, Shining Armor, Twilight, and Cadance stared in stunned silence at what had broken through the floor. Hovering before them, shining with brilliant, warm, and powerful light, was the Crystal Heart. Trixie, Twilight, and Shining Armor looked to Cadance.

“It wasn’t me, I didn’t summon the Heart!”

“MY CRYSTAL HEART!!!” Sombra roared.

The King of Shadows lunged for the sacred object, but was just as quickly repelled by the Crystal Heart’s aura, throwing him to the other side of the room, roaring in pain as the Heart’s light burned his body from the brief contact.

“If Sombra didn’t call it, and Cadance didn’t, then who?!” asked Shining Armor.

The Crystal Heart floated before Trixie, feeling the Star Staff and her horn connect to the ancient magic of the Crystal Heart, filling her with its warmth and brilliance. Trixie didn’t shy away from the welcome embrace of the Heart, accepting its power to flow through her, and her power through it.

“Could it be…? Did the Crystal Heart come because of Trixie?” asked Twilight astonished at the sight.

“It’s responding to her, to the love she has in her heart,” said Cadance, feeling the power of the Crystal Heart’s intentions through her connection, “it wants to help her!”

Trixie stood upon all four of her hooves. She then pointed the Star Staff at the Crystal Heart, funneling her magic through it and firing a beam of her own magical energy. The Crystal Heart absorbed her power and fired it out the other end, magnifying it tenfold!

Sombra stood once more, his eyes and horn blazing with fury and hate! He opened his mouth and unleashed a concentrated torrent of dark magic at the incoming beam. The two attacks sped towards each other, impacting at the center of the room, and sending a thundering boom throughout the Crystal Empire. The beams struggled for control; Trixie would push back with more of her magic, gaining a few inches of ground. But Sombra wasn’t allowing that, he called upon Ira’s wrathful power, adding a red tint to the dark beam and pushing Trixie’s attack further back.

Seeing this as his ticket to defeating his opponents in one fell swoop, Sombra called upon Medo’s and Tristeza’s power as well, adding a purple and yellow tent to the dark beam, tripling its size and nearly engulfing Trixie’s attack. The dark magic attack was gaining ground, a couple of feet every second. Trixie was starting to panic, was this the full extent of her love and power?! Was this all she was capable of, even with the Crystal Heart’s power and the Star Staff!? Trixie started to weep, her determination to defeat this darkness and save her new family was slipping away before her eyes as the dark power was almost about to wash over her.

But then, Trixie felt something, a new power adding to hers. She turned to her left and saw that Twilight’s horn was glowing with her rosy-purple magic, firing a beam of it right into the Crystal Heart. The ancient artifact absorbed Twilight’s magic and added her power to Trixie’s, doubling the size her beam and halting the advance of Sombra’s attack.

“Twilight what are you doing, you haven’t recovered from the possession!?” Trixie shouted.

“I’m helping my little sister! What’s it look like!?” Twilight shouted back, smiling.

Just then Trixie felt another power being added to the mix. She turned to her right and saw Shining Armor doing the same as Twilight, funneling his magic into the Crystal Heart, tripling its power, pushing the dark magic attack back a few feet.

“And you too!? UGH!”

“What kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t help my little sisters!?” Shining Armor shouted, smiling smugly.

“You two are stubborn as mules!?”

“Must run in the family,” the siblings spoke in unison.

Trixie felt a fourth magical energy being added to the Crystal Heart. Next Shining Armor was Cadance.

“Hey, I’m part of this whacked out family too! Let me in on this!” Cadance yelled with a happy vigor.

Trixie, despite her insistence that her half-siblings and sister-in-law should be recovering, was happy to have them at her side. The warmth and brilliance of the Crystal Heart seemed to grow stronger, blazing like an inferno. It spread to Shining Armor, Twilight, and Cadance, connecting Trixie’s feelings of love with their own, making the Heart shine with a divine white light. The four ponies closed their eyes and concentrated on this feeling and the swelling of magical power.

Sombra kept trying to push back against the beam, even retracting the power he used to transform the castle and the Empire, scraping up every last ounce within himself and in the air to fight against this brilliance. But no matter how much power he called upon, it wasn’t enough to overcome this light. Eventually, he had nothing left, canceling his attack, having spent everything he had. That was the moment to strike.

Twilight, Trixie, Shining Armor, and Cadance’s eyes opened and shined with the same powerful light as the Crystal Heart itself. Their cutie marks appeared around it, Shining Armor’s was above Cadance’s on the right, and Trixie’s and Twilight’s appeared on the left. The four marks united around the Crystal Heart, forming a new emblem. A shield, with a heart at the center, wings spread on either side, and within that heart was a six pointed star, with a wand standing at the center of that six pointed star. The Crystal Heart released its full fury, flooding half the room in the united mana and love of the family.

Sombra roared and hissed as the light bathed him in its divine power. His body cracked and fissured with white light, he tried to resist its power, but it wasn’t working, he could feel the power of Medo, Ira, and Tristeza being purified and burnt away, leaving his true essence to take the full brunt of this power.

Sensing that this was it, the family of four released everything they had, making the massive blast grow to a monstrous size. Sombra felt something impact his chest, and saw that a hole the shape and size of a heart had been shot through him, filling him with the power of love and light. He could no longer hold on as his body was incinerated in the attack. The enormous beam of white light burst through the wall of the Crystal Palace, streaming out into the distance and further into the sky as it died out, leaving a twinkle of light. And then, all went silent…

Trixie felt exhausted, more than exhausted, she was spent. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling someone nuzzle against her head. Slowly opening her eyes, Trixie looked up to see who it was that was disturbing her sleep, she couldn’t beat them up of course, neither did she feel she had the strength to give them a tongue lashing, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t glower at them, whoever it was. When Trixie looked up, she let out a gasp.

Shining Armor was standing above her, his head lowered down to her as the look of worry on his face was replaced with one of relief. “You okay, Trixie?” asked the stallion, offering a hoof to the magician.

Trixie gingerly put her hoof into his and allowed him to help her up, groaning from the aches and pains she was now aware of thanks to her adrenaline levels dropping. “Tired, very tired, but Trixie is – I mean – I am otherwise alright.”

“Good.”

“What about Twilight and Cadance?”

“Over here.” Trixie looked behind Shining Armor, seeing Twilight leaning up against Cadance, the Crystal Heart floating in the pink alicorn’s magical aura. “We’re okay too,” said Twilight.

Shining Armor looked to the part of the throne room that still had a dust cloud dispersing, allowing him to see a little bit of the destruction their attack wrought. He winced when he noticed the gigantic hole.

“Well…That’s going to take a while to fix,” said Shining Armor.

“Good thing this happened after Ms. Harshwhinny inspected us for the Equestria Games, huh?”

Twilight and Shining Armor chuckled from the memory of almost losing the privilege to host the Equestria Games a few months back, and thanking Faust that this didn’t happen during the inspection. Trixie couldn’t help but join in, remembering Twilight regale her with that fiasco of a tale. But as they enjoyed their laughter, Shining Armor stopped suddenly, causing Trixie to look at her big brother with concern.

“Shining Armor, what’s wrong?”

“Look.”

The white unicorn stallion pointed his hoof towards the disappearing dust cloud, Trixie’s eyes widened in shock from the sight. Lying on the floor, was the ghostly image of Sabio, it wasn’t Sombra that much she was sure of. The Crystal Heart in Cadance’s magical grasp shined once again, confusing everypony in the room.

“I swear I’m not doing this. It’s reacting to someone’s love.”

In the distance, behind the hole the four ponies created, there was a light, much like that of the Crystal Heart. From the light walked out the ghostly image of a ruby red unicorn mare, with pink colored eyes. Her coat was sparkling and shimmery, just like the crystal ponies. It didn’t take long for Trixie to recognize this mare, how could she not, her portrait and Sabio’s hung in his study.

“That’s Graza the Graceful…”

She certainly earned her name; none of her movements were wasted, gliding upon the floor with every step, swiftly and beautifully. The ghost of Graza looked to the four ponies; she smiled and nodded to them. She then turned her attention to the ghost stallion lying on the ground, nuzzling the side of his face lovingly.

“Sabio, wake up my love.”

Sabio stirred, blinking his eyes a few times. He looked around, dazed and confused, before he caught sight of Graza.

“G-Graza…You’re here!? How is this possible!?”

“Your soul is no longer trapped within the darkness, you’re free now. It’s time to come home; all our friends have been waiting and hoping to see you again.”

Sabio’s lips curled up into a smile, but just as quickly, it fell into a frown. He turned his face away from Graza, tears falling from his eyes.

“I don’t deserve to be with you, Elysium is not for me…not after everything I’ve done…!”

“Sabio.”

“I killed our Queen and took the throne for myself! I enslaved the citizens I swore to protect, banished the entire kingdom for a thousand years, lost in time! I summoned the dark spirits and used the power they gifted me…! I don’t deserve paradise…I deserve imprisonment in Tartarus.”

Graza placed her hoof on her love’s shoulder, “Sabio, you did those things under the influence of the dark magic. You had no control when Sombra arose.”

“WRONG!” Sabio turned to Graza with a sorrowful yet angered face. “Sombra was part of me! My darkest ambitions, the evil within my soul! He was always there, the dark magic just allowed him – ME – to let it out! I’m beginning to wonder if I was ever a good stallion at all…I’m a monster, a cruel monster…”

“You are wrong!”

Trixie could no longer stay quiet and watch as Sabio berated himself. She walked towards the two ghosts, but stumbled a bit from her drained state. Shining Armor rushed to catch her, letting Trixie rest against his side, together, the two of them walked to the ghostly couple, where Trixie gave Sabio a stern look.

“Would a ‘cruel monster’ have left this behind!?” Trixie reached into her cloak and pulled out the Star Staff, having reverted back its wand form. “You left this behind, Sabio. You saved this last Star Staff in hopes that somepony would rise up and stop you. You hid it in your study, and protected that room with spells that would prevent yourself and any dark spirits from entering it. That was not Sombra’s doing, that was your’s, Sabio the Wise!”

Trixie took breath and calmed herself before continuing. “I was the same as you. I feared myself. Ever since I used that blasted Alicorn Amulet, I feared that that was what my true magic was, and that I was subconsciously holding myself back because I didn’t want to become that demented version of myself. You took a risk, going up against your darker half and securing a way for your kingdom to fight back, the same as I when I took that which you left behind and risked accepting my full potential. The truth, Sabio, is that I couldn’t have saved my family if you yourself hadn’t hidden the Star Staff.”

Sabio then turned to Graza, nodding in agreement with Trixie’s words. “She speaks the truth, you could’ve just given up and allowed yourself to become one with the darkness, but you fought it. Even during that battle I could see you struggling within. A cruel monster would not fight the darkness, but a wise and good pony would.”

That seemed to be the last straw, the dam of emotion broke and Sabio rested his head against Graza’s chest, crying tears of happiness and sadness. Graza wrapped her foreleg around her love’s head, brushing his mane with her hoof as comfortingly as she could. Trixie let a few tears of her own fall, leaning up against Shining Armor for comfort. To which he attentively nuzzled the top of her head.

The portal of light flickered a few times, as if signaling to them that it was time to come home. Graza and Sabio saw the flicker. Sabio rose up to his full height, matching Shining Armor. He then turned to Trixie.

“Thank you, Trixie Lulamoon.”

Trixie smiled and bowed before the Pillars of Magic, Sabio the Wise and Graza the Graceful. Twilight walked up beside Trixie along with Cadance, now by her husband’s side. The three of them bowed as well, in respect to the ancient sorcerers of the Crystal Empire.

After bowing in gratitude the two ghosts turned around and walked towards the light, staying close together, and intertwining their tails as they did so. Further in the light, more ghostly images appeared. Those of other crystal unicorn pony magicians, the Queen, and all the other crystal ponies who were lost during those dark times of war. Once the two lovers joined the group, all made their way into the light.

Trixie, Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadance watched as the portal closed behind them, leaving behind a few sparkles of shimmering gold light that dispersed and faded away.

Author's Note

Well feel free to cry, I almost did. :fluttercry: Also I wrote this jamming out to THIS SONG. This was quite a roller coaster ride wasn't it? But I should be wrapping it up here pretty quick, look forward to it!

The Awkward End to the Beginning

Ponyville had long missed their local librarian, now turned Princess, and were happy to see her and, to a very slight degree, her sister, Trixie. It was a long train ride and the two sisters had retired early to their home, not bothering to answer any questions about their trip until they had a chance to relax and sleep in their own beds.

It wasn’t long till the next day arrived and the two sisters felt rejuvenated enough to talk about their little exploit to the Frozen North. Needless to say, it was a tale. Twilight, Trixie, along with Spike and their friends, all gathered at Sugar Cube Corner to catch up on what happened. All around the table the jaws of many of the mares, and Spike, went slack upon hearing what happened at the Crystal Empire, some even having looks of disbelief.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out! Are you serious!? King Sombra came back!?” asked Spike.

“Yes he did, Spike, along with some very…” Twilight shuddered, “…very, evil, dark spirits. Apparently they were the ones that originally granted him his dark magic and corrupted him.”

“Remarkable, to think that such a ghastly, and terrible pony such as he, was all along a tortured soul held prisoner by a darkness that nearly consumed him,” said Rarity, feeling a bit sorry for the evil king.

Rainbow Dash floated and the air and gave Trixie a scrutinizing look. “So, you really helped to save the Crystal Empire?”

“Of course I did,” answered Trixie, sounding a bit offended.

“Ah’m sorry Twi, not that Ah don’t believe ya. Ah mean, we encounter crazy stuff enough times that Ah’m not surprised that that happened. But, it does sound a bit unbelievable to think Trixie of all ponies did all that to stop Sombra.”

“Um, maybe Trixie did do all that stuff, I mean, she does love Twilight…”

Trixie glared at Fluttershy, causing the shy mare to let out an “eep” and slink down under the table.

“Oh, oh, did you bring back a souvenir from the Crystal Empire!? Please be a Flugal Horn, please be a Flugal Horn!” Pinkie prayed, bouncing up and down in anticipation.

“Hmm, Trixie brought back something better than a ‘Flugal Horn’, something that will prove that Trixie was the key element in the defeat of Sombra.”

Trixie floated her magician’s hat off her head. She then waved her hoof over the hole and thrust her hoof into it. Many believed, except for Twilight, that the showmare’s hoof would rip through the other end of her hat, but it didn’t. In fact, Trixie had stuck her whole right foreleg into the hat, reaching around for something.

“Now where is it…? I put it in here for safe keeping – AH HA!”

Trixie pulled back and revealed half of a manitcore. The beast roared into the mare’s face, causing everypony in the room to scream in a panic, backing away to the other side of the room. Trixie then quickly shoved the beast back into the hat, and waved her hoof over it once more to insure that the beast wouldn’t pop out again. Twilight hadn’t moved from her seat next to Trixie, she merely shook her head, but smiled nonetheless at what she saw.

“Heh, heh…Must’ve grabbed the wrong hat,” said Trixie as she chuckled nervously.

“You only own the one hat, Trixie,” said Twilight.

“……”

“O-O-Okay, since when could she do THAT!?” Spike shouted, pointing an accusatory claw at the mare.

Twilight smiled as she explained. “Trixie’s magic has been getting stronger since we left the Empire, and it’s all due the Star Staff unlocking her full potential!” The alicorn mare then clapped her hooves excitedly. “Trixie’s able to cast spells and is learning magic that we were previously having a hard time with! I’m so proud of her!”

Trixie lowered the rim of her hat, hiding the pink tint to her cheeks the best she could. “Do you really have to make it such a big deal?!”

“Of course I do, why shouldn’t I get to brag about my little sister’s accomplishments? Besides, I thought you liked being praised?” asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“Only when it is Trixie doing the bragging…with you it’s just…embarrassing.”

Trixie went back to searching for the object that she spoke, if for nothing else then to keep the embarrassment from getting to her. She reached into her cloak and rummaged through it until she stopped and shouted, “Eureka, Trixie has found it! Now feast you’re eyes on this!”

The unicorn mare pulled out a wand, with a black shaft and a crystal carved star on top of it. Before they could ask about it, the wand shined and transformed, the shaft extended up seven feet, and the crystal star growing a bit bigger and sparkling with magical energy.

“Ooooooooh,” Pinkie Pie placed her hoof into her poufy, curly mane and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, putting them as she continued to stare at the Star Staff, “sparkly!”

Rarity couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful ancient artifact that Twilight and Trixie spoke of, it reminded her of the rock that had gemstones from when she was a filly.

“They let you keep that,” said Rainbow Dash in disbelief.

“Perhaps a little more detail is needed.”

Crystal Empire, 2 Days Ago

It took some doing, and a lot of hard work, but the citizens of the Crystal Empire, along with the help of two alicorn Princesses, one unicorn Prince, and an empowered unicorn mare, were able to fix much of the damage that was caused by the resurrection of Sombra and the dark spirits. Twilight and Cadance would inform Celestia and Luna of what went on here, but beyond that, this whole incident was going to be kept a secret from the Equestria Games Commission. They worked too hard to get those games to come to the Empire and they weren’t going to let something like the rise of a dark spirit king derail all that now.

Trixie was currently walking around the Palace, waving her Star Staff over the walls, ceiling, and floor, casting the same magical energy that warded the four dark spirits away from Sabio’s study. Although they were sure that Sombra was gone, Trixie didn’t want to take the chance that any lingering traces of his dark magic might be around, so she spent most of the morning and afternoon doing this. She had taught these spells to Shining Armor, Twilight, and Cadance, and together the four of them were spreading the wards throughout the Empire and its borders.

The azure mare stopped for a moment and looked out the window, seeing all the crystal ponies working hard to clean up the mess that Sombra’s return did. It made Trixie chuckle when she recalled the reason why she and Twilight made the trip up here in the first place, and in the end they destroy an evil spirit of darkness, redeemed the spirit of a stallion, and reunited him with his loved ones.

“Certainly one of my more exciting ventures,” said Trixie.

Despite this, Trixie still couldn’t get over what the spirits said. There was no denying that there words did hold some modicum of truth, Trixie was the one that facilitated the rise of the evil that had lain dormant within the Crystal Empire for a long time now. Had she never come to this place, it would’ve been likely that the darkness might’ve faded away without anything happening. But then again, there was no real evidence that that would happen, but Trixie could hope for the best.

“Trixie?” The azure mare turned around and saw that Cadance was walking towards her. “How’re you doing?”

“All’s well, I’ve almost covered the Palace in the wards. If there is any trace of Sombra or the darkness, it won’t be found in the Crystal Empire.”

“Well that’s good to hear, but I wasn’t asking about the ward spells.”

Trixie sighed, knowing exactly what she meant. “I know what you meant…and I don’t know right now.”

“Trixie, you can talk to me, we’re family remember.” Cadance lightly bumped her shoulder against Trixie’s, making her sister-in-law smile a little.

“Trixie – I mean – I am still adjusting…It’s not easy to learn that you are the cause of turmoil within your own family…I knew Shining Armor might be…upset about finding out about me and what their – well – our Father did with my Mother. But I didn’t know that Twilight harbored those feeling of sadness and despair…”

It was now Cadance’s turn to sigh. “She has been a bit of a worrywart ever since she was a filly. If something wasn’t organized, or completely planned out, she’d fly into a panic and start thinking about all the bad things that could happen, or would happen as a result. I guess Twilight thought she could handle this knowledge and what might come of it.”

“In my case, it will happen. Cadance, I…I could break apart their family…I don’t want that. But I know it could happen.” Trixie’s ears went flat against her head, thinking about what would come about when that day eventually did arrive.

Cadance looked upon the saddened unicorn, and then an idea popped into her head. “Let me show you something that I taught Twilight.”

“Is it some spell?” asked Trixie with intrigue.

“Not exactly, but it does work wonders for calming oneself down.” Cadance stopped walking and gestured for Trixie to sit beside her. Trixie sat down next to the pink alicorn and waited for whatever it was she was going to do. “First, close your eyes, place your hoof over your chest, and then breathe in.” Cadance did this and Trixie mimicked the action. “And then breathe out while extending that same hoof forward, and repeat.”

Cadance and Trixie simultaneously did this, inhaling slowly and exhaling slowly as they extended their hooves out. The two mares repeated this calming exercise for a bit, the pink alicorn then looked to Trixie. Her shoulders released their tension; her face had a serene look upon it as she continued the exercise without Cadance’s lead. After another bit of time, Trixie stopped, opening her eyes as a small smile curled on her lips.

“Feel better?”

“Actually…yes, I do.”

The Princess of Love leaned down and nuzzled the side of Trixie’s face. “Good to hear, my little Ladybug.”

Trixie immediately blushed upon hearing that nickname. “W-W-What did you call me?!”

“‘Ladybug’? I call Twilight that sometimes.”

“I-I know that, but why are you calling me that?”

Cadance giggled at the flustered look on Trixie’s face. “It’s because I consider you family Trixie, and, if you were living with Twilight back when you two were fillies, I don’t doubt that I would’ve been foalsitting the both of you, and bonding with another sister-in-law. So, to me, you’re both my Ladybugs.”

Trixie still felt a bit embarrassed by the nickname, but, she had to admit, she liked it. She had often wondered what it would’ve been like, growing up with Twilight and having Cadance foalsit her. Getting tucked into bed, having her read them both a bedtime story, playing in the park, and all sorts of other things. Hmm, maybe I can cast that age spell again on Twilight and myself…? Okay, I’m not that desperate.

“Thank you, Cadance. But don’t expect me to do that embarrassing dance that you and Twilight do!”

The pink alicorn visibly frowned, “Oooooh, come on Trixie, for me? Just once? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?” Cadance mock whined.

Trixie looked behind Cadance, and then back down the hall. With a reddening face, Trixie said in a low hushed tone, “Alright…”

“YAY! Now stand in front of me and do as I do.”

Trixie groaned but complied with Cadance’s request. Once in position, the two mares went into the ritual that was once only something that Twilight and Cadance shared, but now, it was something that they could now, as sisters, and sisters-in-law, share.

The mares ended the ritual with both of them shaking their posteriors at each other, causing Trixie to giggle from the silliness of the whole thing, and from how much fun she was having.

Twilight and Shining Armor were off in the Empire, spreading out more of the protective warding spells. Shining Armor, during their time casting the spells, had been reflecting on his actions from the past few days. The worst of the worst was his blow up in Trixie’s room.

“It wasn’t you Shining Armor, it was Ira, the dark spirit was making act different, angrier, more violent…”

Twilight still couldn’t get the image of her big brother raising his hoof to strike her out her mind; she knew Shining Armor would never hurt her. He would die before ever thinking about it. Ira egged him on, fueling his anger till it reached a boiling point and allowed the spirit to take hold of Shining Armor’s mind and body, and the same so for Twilight. No doubt the image would stay with her for a while, and probably require some dream therapy sessions with Princess Luna, for the both of them, to get over the trauma of that little ordeal. But for now, Twilight was just happy to be with her big brother, and even more happy to see that Trixie was alright.

“Well…it still doesn’t excuse what I did to her…I tore up her only memento of her foalhood. I just saw red when I looked at it, how happy she was, and how…how happy Dad was too.”

Twilight leaned up against her brother, nuzzling him comfortingly. “I know this is hard, Faust knows I dread the day when we have to confront Dad about this, and I dread it even more for Mom, she’ll be devastated by this.” Twilight then looked up at Shining Armor. “Do you…Do you still, resent Trixie?”

Shining Armor let out a heavy sigh. “I won’t lie, I’m angry. But, it’s mostly at Dad. I mean, how could he not even do anything for her?! Never mind that he cheated on Mom, the fact that he didn’t even bother to try and take care of Trixie is just wrong! I’d rather be mad at Dad then blame Trixie, but…Some part of me didn’t want to accept that Dad cheated on Mom, that Trixie was just trying to manipulate you into thinking that she was and was trying to get back at you by hurting our family. So…not really. I just need a little more time to let it sink, that’s all.”

Twilight didn’t want to push it; time was something that they were all going to need. Shining Armor in particular, but she believed her brother was on the right path. After seeing how Trixie was willing to sacrifice her own life for their sakes was a real eye opener, more or less force feeding him the truth that Trixie would never hurt either of them, and that she cared too much to let her new family be taken away.

“I almost wish you two didn’t have to go so soon,” said Shining Armor.

“We only planned to stay a week, and to tell you the truth, I could use some time with my friends right now.”

“I understand.” Shining Armor nuzzled Twilight reassuringly. “So…on a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Cadance is at me?”

Twilight stopped to think about that for a moment. “Considering that you were being influenced by a spirit of hate and anger…somewhere between five and seven.”

“Ouch.”

“You’re probably going to be sleeping in the foyer for a bit.”

“So are you going to get to the part where you get the staff thingy or what?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Would mind letting us finish, Rainbow? We’re getting to that part,” scolded Twilight.

“Anyway…”

Twilight, Trixie, and Cadance were waiting for the train to arrive, standing on the platform and remaining mostly silent. Shining Armor hadn’t come to see them off, it did hurt Twilight a little, but she knew her big brother needed some time.

“So you’re alright with me keeping the Star Staff? I mean, it is an important artifact of the Crystal Empire, plus I’m sure it would help the crystal ponies,” said Trixie.

Cadance shook her head. “Uh-uh, it’s better for you to have it Trixie. Honestly I don’t think it would work for me or anypony else. Besides, that’s the reason why we also loaded the journal crystals of Sabio into your saddle bags. Shining and I agree that if anyone can figure out how to recreate it and make sense of how Sabio did it, it would be the two you.”

“Speaking of…” Trixie took a cursory glance of their surroundings. “Is he coming at all…?”

“It’s alright, I’m sure he’ll be here,” said Cadance, trying to reassure her sister-in-law.

“He might just be hung up on some little task at the moment, probably just wanting to make sure the job’s done right,” said Twilight trying to do the same.

“Thanks, but it’s alright. If anything I don’t blame him for not wanting to see me off, I just wish you didn’t have to suffer not saying goodbye because of me,” said Trixie, frowning.

The three mares could now hear the train whistle in the distance. Soon the train would arrive and Twilight and Trixie will be back in Ponyville. Trixie, despite making their bond little stronger, still couldn’t get over the loss of the one thing that had her mother’s face. Even though she still had the hat and cape, and those did bring back the memories, it still wasn’t as good as –

“Twilight, Trixie!”

All three turned towards the platform ramp and saw Shining Armor galloping towards them. His horn was aglow as something hovered beside him. Once he got to them, Shining Armor panted slightly out of breath. Which was odd since Shining Armor was once a trained Guard Captain and the run from the station to the Palace shouldn’t really have taken that much of a toll on him.

“Thank Celestia…you’re still here,” he said in between pants.

“Shining Armor, why do you look so out of breath?” asked Cadance concerned.

The unicorn stallion took a moment to catch his breath before answering that question. Once he had though, Shining Armor stood up straight and set his sights on Trixie, making the mare flinch just a little.

“Trixie…I…I know you came here hoping for the two of us to get along, like a big brother and little sister should. Although, the entire time you’ve been here, I’ve been nothing but mistrusting and suspicious of you from the start.”

“No argument here,” commented Trixie, but immediately wished she hadn’t.

“It’s fine, I was a jerk…”

“A big jerk,” added Twilight.

“A regular plothole,” said Cadance.

“Okay I get it, thank you! Anyway…I wish I was more welcoming, I could’ve been getting to know you better, but instead I was Tartarus bent on proving that you were lying or thinking that you were out to harm Twilight and our family, treating you like an enemy…when I should have been treating you like a little sister.”

Shining Armor raised an object up from behind his back and floated it towards Trixie. Trixie took the object into her own telekinetic aura, and gasped upon seeing what it was. The photo that Shining Armor had torn up and stomped on in his half-possessed state was put back together, as good as new. Her eyes started to water as Trixie gingerly touched the photo with her hoof, fearing it might break apart as if fragile glass.

“H-H-How did you…?”

“I had to learn a repairing spell back when I was younger and living with Twilight. Sometimes she’d accidentally tear a page from a book when she used her magic, and I had to fix it.”

Twilight cheeks reddened from remembering those times, she’d fly into a full on panic, thinking she was going to be arrested at any moment for ripping a page in a book. But then Shining Armor would come and cast the spell to fix it. After a while Twilight learned the spell on her own, but from time to time she would go to her brother and let him do it, just to spend time with him.

“It took a bit to put back together, honestly I’m mad at myself, both for tearing it up in the first place, and for tearing it into so many pieces.” Shining Armor moved a little closer to Trixie, rubbing the back of his foreleg nervously. “I know I can’t be your BBBFF, I don’t feel like I’ve earned that at all. But I want to, and I want you to be my LSBFF too. If you want to give me a second chance…”

Trixie looked to the photograph, and back to Shining Armor. A small smile curled upon her lips. “I wouldn’t mind that…Shining Armor, I really wouldn’t at all.” Now it was Trixie’s turn to act nervous, her face blushing as she looked down at her hooves. “Can…Can I, uh, g-give you a hug…?” Trixie felt stupid for asking that, of course he wouldn’t want her to hug him, not after everything that had happened, it was too soon.

“Sure.”

Trixie looked up suddenly, and was greeted with a sincere and kind smile. Carefully Trixie reached out with her right foreleg and brought it around Shining Armor’s neck, she shuddered a bit when she felt Shining Armor hugging her back, but it was gentle and warm. So…this…This is what a big brother feels like…they make you feel safe. It was something that brought comfort to the mare, something she hadn’t felt for a long time. Twilight and Cadance stood aside, watching them, and tearing up from the sight. Trixie slowly released Shining Armor, she would’ve liked it to continue, to just be held and protected his strong forelegs, but to her, it was best not make it last any longer than that.

“We’ll have do over of this trip someday, sound good Twi, Trix?”

Twilight nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing. Trixie did the same, genuinely looking forward to the day when they could actually spend time with her big brother, and not have the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance. Seriously, what is up with this family and world ending scenarios? Oh well, it’s my family now too, best get used to it.

Present…

Many of Twilight’s friends were crying a little from hearing what happened before they left the Empire. Trixie had kept her gaze down, hiding her face from the mares and drake, not wanting them to see her cry, at least not right now. Rainbow Dash and Spike tried to keep up a tough façade, but even they couldn’t help but feel happy from hearing this tale. Applejack and Rarity were starting to feel a sudden urge to go and give their respective siblings a hug.

“Considerin’ all that happened, everythin’ sounds like it turned out alright,” said Applejack.

Trixie and Twilight glanced to each other nervously, rubbing the backs of their heads.

“Well…” started Twilight.

“Not exactly…” said Trixie.

With their goodbyes said all that was left was waiting for the train. The locomotive pulled into the station and hissed as the steam cloud came rolling out from under the engine. The two sisters gave one last goodbye to Shining Armor and Cadance before turning around, and as Twilight and Trixie started to get ready to head into the train cars they froze.

“Twilight, Trixie, what’s wrong? Shining –” When Cadance turned to address her husband, she found that he too was acting the same way. “What’s going on here?”

Twilight promptly used her magic to direct Cadance’s head in the direction the three siblings were staring. It didn’t take long for the Princess of Love to have the same reaction. Getting off the train were a couple of unicorns, a mare and stallion. The mare had a light silver coat, a purple mane with white highlights, and her cutie mark was that of three purple stars, Twilight Velvet. The stallion beside her had a navy blue coat, and a darker shade of blue for his mane and tail, and a cutie mark of two crescent moons, Night Light.

“I-I-It can’t be…” Cadance stammered.

“Mom…!” Twilight and Shining Armor said in unison.

“Dad…!” Trixie nearly shouted.

The couple looked around, Trixie had an extreme urge to teleport away right now, and maybe if they didn’t notice she might be able to –!

“Twilight, Shining Armor,” called out Twilight Velvet.

Too late, Trixie groaned inwardly.

The married couple trotted over to their children and daughter-in-law. The four ponies put on smiling faces as to mask the terror and nervousness they were feeling right now at this moment.

“Mom, Dad!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, what a pleasant surprise,” said Cadance as her eye twitched.

“It certainly is, we were just coming to see you two for the weekend, but didn’t expect to catch our little Sparkle as well,” said Velvet.

“Y-Yeah, crazy, right?” asked Shining Armor.

“Heh, I told you mother we should’ve sent a letter ahead to tell you, but she thought we’d make it a surprise. I mean, seriously honey, we could’ve accidentally ‘walked in on them’ if you get my drift,” said Night Light.

“I should hope so! I’m still waiting to see some grandchildren!”

Cadance and Shining Armor just blushed, this situation was already awkward, and the talk of grandfoals was just exacerbating the situation. That’s when Velvet and Night Light noticed the azure mare standing silently beside Twilight, hunching close to her as if seeking protection.

“Twilight, dear, who’s this?” asked Velvet.

“Who’s what?”

“That mare standing next to you,” said Night Light.

Twilight gulped, her mind was blank. This broke every law of probability, the chances of Sombra resurrecting and trying to take over the Crystal Empire again, while helping Trixie to bond with Shining Armor were already astronomically long, but now, Twilight was starting to believe that there was some almighty force that was purposefully making all this happen. Some ancient, unnamed deity that took some sadistic pleasure in making her life into a drama novel! Definitely going to have talk to Celestia about that theory, but for now, the crisis at hoof!

“Uh…well…she’s, her name is Trixie and, um…she’s…she’s…”

“Her marefriend!” Trixie blurted out.

Before Twilight could properly react to that statement, Trixie had pulled Twilight into a passionate kiss right in front of her, well, their parents.

Sugar Cube Corner was deathly silent. The five assembled mares all stared at the two sisters, jaws slacking and threatening to become unhinged and bust through the floor, in Pinkie Pie’s case, it literally did go through the floor.

“YOU TWO DID WHAT?!” Spike shouted.

“You kissed Twilight?!” Rarity yelled in disbelief.

“Ah…Ah think Ah’m…wow nelly, is the room spinnin’ Ah think the room’s spinnin’ y’all?”

“B-B-But you’re sister’s!?” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Half-sisters…” Twilight corrected.

“Oh right, my bad. B-B-B you’re half-sisters!? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I used to do some things with Maud when I was younger and going through some things, but she was cool about it, and it helped me learn more about myself, but that was just experimenting stuff. But if that’s what you two were doing, then its fine. Although, if you did mean it then –!”

Pinkie was swiftly silenced by Rarity shoving her hoof into the mare’s mouth. “Pinkie Pie, as much as we would love to hear about this ‘Maud’, and the implications thereof, I feel I must redirect us to the pressing matter that is TRIXIE KISSING TWILIGHT!”

“It was all that I could think of at that moment, I panicked!” Trixie admitted in her defense, blushing redder than an apple.

“So…what happened after that?” asked Rainbow Dash, who, surprisingly, remained calm through this whole thing.

Twilight put a hoof to the bridge of her nose and shook her head back and forth. “In the end, we told my – our parents that Trixie was…my marefriend…Should I be offended or relieved that they didn’t seem surprised, or for that matter, angry by my orientation towards mares?”

“See the glass half full darling, it’s easier. But now what?! They think you’re…well…a couple!”

“Don’t remind me…It’s only going to make that day all the more painfully awkward…” Trixie groaned.

Twilight sat back against the wall and sighed deeply. “One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be a while before we confront my Mother and our Father with the truth…I need to plan something out after this debacle…I’m really starting to think someone’s doing this to us on purpose!”

“Oh Twilight, you silly filly, of course someone is.”

Everyone in the room looked to Pinkie Pie. “You…you don’t really think that, do you Pinkie?” asked Fluttershy, starting to feel nervous about some stranger manipulating events.

“Well duh, isn’t it obvious? There’s somepony watching us right now and typing down every word that I’m saying and controlling the awkward situations that Twilight and Trixie are in, culminating into a massive drama filled finale, where the two half-sisters confront their lying, cheating, doesn’t-even-bother-to-take-care-of-the-child-sired-and-leaving-her-to-become-an-orphan-and-one-day-sought-to-get-revenge-by-out-magicking-her-other-sister-” Pinkie then inhaled “-who-grew-up-to-become-a-successful-and-important-pony-who’s-saved-Equetria-and-made-a-bunch-of super-duper-friends!”

Once again, silence reigned in Sugar Cube Corner (And I am very afraid of Pinkie right now). Twilight and Trixie just stared at the pink mare, wide eyed at that explanation. It was a few more minutes of silence before anyone said a word.

“Pinkie Pie, you are so random sometimes,” said Rainbow Dash.

“I know.”

“So, one question.”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash…?”

“How good was she?”

“THAT’S IT! I’M BUSTING OUT THE STAFF!”

Author's Note

Thus ends Act II of the Hello Sister series. And once again Pinkie Pie decides to break the 4th Wall and totally make me check under my bed tonight. Till the next story mares and gentlecolts, it has been a pleasure.