The Princess and the Beasts

Act IV

“Trixie, let go of me!” Luna struggled in the smaller mare’s iron grip. “We have to follow Twilight.”

“Twilight who? When I’m with you I need nopony else.” Despite the squirming Trixie managed to place a peck on Luna’s cheek.

“Oh, what in the name of Tartarus happened to you? Let go of me this instant or I will have to make you.” Incapable of stomping on the ground, Luna decided to glare at Trixie.

“But, dear, why are you so upset with me?” Trixie frowned and gave Luna her best puppy eyes, still not budging an inch.

“Alright, that settles it!” Luna summoned her magic and creating a bubble around her body she blasting Trixie away from her. However, before a nearby tree split Trixie in half, Luna caught her and brought her closer for inspection. Trixie dangling in Luna’s levitation, unconscious from the blow’s sheer force gave Luna the time to analyse the unicorn without any more interruption.

“Now, let us see what this silly unicorn has done to herself to be acting so strangely.” Luna scrutinized Trixie’s mind and body. The blue glow of her magic illuminated the hilltop, until finally her eyes fell on a small silver hoof-ring. “So that’s what caused us this grief.” She pulled the ring off Trixie’s leg and sat the unicorn down again. Sitting down next to her, Luna pressed her horn against Trixie’s, and chanting an old spell in a language long forgotten by all but the alicorns she gave Trixie’s mind a small push and the mare groggily opened her eyes.

“Luna? What’s going on? And where’s Twilight?” Trixie looked around frantically, searching the clearing for their purple friend, as if she was hiding in the next bush, just to surprise her.

Luna sighed. “After stopping my attempts at getting closer to Twilight you stumbled into your bracelet, setting off whatever spell you place on it.”

Trixie gulped.

“After that, Twilight freaked out and teleported off to Celestia knows where.” Luna finished her brief summary.

Trixie slumped down at the dramatic end. “So, what now? She could be anywhere and Trixie can’t stand the idea of Twilight being alone in the state she is in at the moment. Or even worse: she could have ended up in some dangerous place, surrounded by ferocious beasts, too tired to defend herself. We must find her, Luna, no matter what.”

Luna got up. “I agree, little one, we have to find Twilight, but first things first. What love spell did you use on that amulet to have you react so strangely?”

“I don’t really know.” Trixie blushed. “I found this in some ancient book. It just said that it’s really powerful and that it will work for sure, which it didn’t though in the end.”

“Of course it didn’t.” Luna gave a heartfelt laugh and put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “You couldn’t know that alicorns are resistant to most poisons and spells because their magic is so much stronger than other ponies’.”

“Alright I get it. So, what now? Shouldn’t we go look for Twilight?” Trixie waved Luna’s piercing laughter off.

Luna gave a last chuckle and became serious again. “Yes, of course, but we shouldn’t search for her without a plan. Let’s go and gather her friends; I’m sure they know some of her hiding spots.”

“So be it.” Trixie jumped up, nearly losing her hat to the motion. “Let’s head back to Ponyville, assemble all of her friends and with their help I’m sure that we can get to her in no time.”

_____________________________________

For aeons Celestia has always had the same evening ritual. She would get a cup of camomile tea, a book of some sorts and lay down in her alicorn size bed with both items, to forget about all the hardships the day has brought.

However, this particular evening had taken an unforeseen development.

“What are you doing in my bed, Twilight?” Celestia slowly turned to her personal student. She noticed the purple alicorn’s dried tears, her broken magenta eyes and the quiet sobbing. She set her book down and pulled Twilight in a tender embrace.

“There, there,” she cooed as Twilight started crying. “Whatever happened to you?”

“I was there, and Luna… and then Trixie,” Twilight stammered incoherently.

Celestia let go of Twilight and wrapped her in a golden blanket. “Calm down first and then tell me everything when you feel like you’re ready.”

Celestia quietly walked to the door and ordered the guard to fetch Twilight some tea. The guard looked at her confusedly, not used to Celestia being still waking at this time of the night, but seeing the distressed look in her eyes he hurried to the kitchen. Celestia looked back at her trembling student and a wave of grief and anger hit her. Whoever did this to my poor Twilight will be wishing that I had banished them to the moon.

Twilight hadn’t noticed Celestia’s flurry of emotions yet, so she took her time and tried her best to regain her motherly smile.

A hurried knock on the door told Celestia that the tea had arrived. She thanked the guard for his haste and sat back onto the bed, offering the cup to Twilight.

Twilight glanced at her with blurry eyes and took the cup into her grasp, slowly nipping at the beverage. The taste of camomile with a hint of honey helped calming her nerves and the uncontrolled shaking of her body subsided.

“Why am I here?” Twilight asked, her gaze fixed on the bottom of her cup.

“I was hoping you could tell me.” Celestia pulled a few pillows over to get into a better position and watched Twilight intently, giving her time to recollect herself.

Twilight contemplated the movement of her tea, thinking back to the earlier events. Her eyes grew in shock when realisation dawned once again.

“Your sister and Trixie both tried to put me under the effects of love spells.” Twilight’s head sunk. “And all of this just because I couldn’t make a choice when they both asked me out. I’m so stupid.” The cup of tea escaped her grasp as Twilight let her head sink into a nearby pillow.

Celestia gasped.

The cup fell and shattered on the white marble floor.

“They did what?” Celestia shot up from her bed, eyes burning with righteous fury, her mane a blazing inferno and her voice booming through the castle, shaking its very foundations.

The door burst open and two guards skipped into the room, scanning it for intruders. They shrunk as Celestia’s burning glare met them and quickly backed out of the bedchamber. Turning back to Twilight, Celestia weakened her stare.

“Tell me what happened.”

The hearth’s crackling filled the void while Twilight focused on the last days. The scene would have been homely if it weren’t for the occasional sob shaking Twilight’s poor form and the blazing sun princess.

“It began three days ago with Luna and Trixie asking me out on a date.” Twilight mustered all her strength not to tear up again. “Since I couldn’t decide, they decided that it would be best if I went on a date with each of them and choose afterwards who I like more. All went pretty well —I had a great time— until this evening where everything went downhill.” The tears in Twilight’s eyes dwelled again. “I don’t remember much, but somehow Luna was trying to put a love potion into my drink and suddenly there was Trixie snuggling Luna and I can’t remember what happened after that.”

“Oh, Twilight, I’m inconsolable.” Celestia finally managed to put out her blazing mane and took a deep calming breath. “Rest assured that I will punish those two ponies personally, but for now there are more important things at hoof. I’m sure your friends are worried about you by now. Do you want to go back to Ponyville? Should I call you a carriage?” Celestia got up and took a step towards her desk.

“I don’t know… it’s just.” Twilight helplessly buried her head in another pillow.

“You don’t know how to confront those two eager suitors once you get there?”

A silent nod.

“I think I might have a solution for that. I will send a letter to your friends telling them that you’re staying here for the night. We currently have a special guest who might be able to help you.” Celestia took a quill and some parchment, quickly wrote a few lines and with a hint of her magic the letter blazed with golden flames and disappeared.

Twilight curiously tilted her head. “I suppose you’re not telling me who it is before we get there.”

Celestia nodded and, opening the door with her magic she walked out, her still awestruck guards huddled in a corner, and accompanied Twilight down the corridor to the door next to her old bedroom.

Celestia knocked on the door and opened it slowly.

“Who is it?” a sleepy female voice responded.

“Cadance!” Twilight busted into the room and pulled her sister in law into bone-crushing hug.

“I’ll leave you two then.” Celestia chuckled, and in a flash she teleported back to her room.

________________________________________

The evening was gone and night had descended on Ponyville. A gust of wind blew through the near empty streets, ruffling Trixie’s cape. Yet the refreshing chill flow of air was not unwelcomed after the stressing events of the evening.

Trixie took in the sight of Twilight’s gathered friends in front of Sugarcube corner. They had been surprisingly calm about being called out for a search mission in the middle of the night. Applejack nodded at Rainbow Dash.

“Now what exactly happened between the three of you to make Twilight disappear like that?” Rainbow Dash hovered menacingly above them, glaring.

Maybe not so calm, Trixie thought. She looked at Luna, but the Princess merely shrugged.

“Well,” Trixie began, “Trixie and the Princess may have scared Twilight off by an extensive use of magic. Unicorn stuff. You peasants wouldn’t understand.”

Rarity harrumphed, flicking her tediously coiffed mane. “Can’t be that difficult if you get it.”

Trixie glared at her for a moment, but quickly remembered her true goal.

“The great and powerful Trixie will ignore that for now. Anyways, rest assured that neither of us was about to cause Twilight serious harm, so could we please move on to the important things?” Trixie looked at them pleadingly while Luna nodded in agreement.

The four friends shot each other glimpses and on some silent agreement, they softened their gazes.

“Alright then,” Applejack spoke, “we’ll believe you, for now. So we have to search for Twilight and make sure that girl hasn’t gotten herself in some sorta danger. Here’s the plan: I’ll go look around town with Rares, see if she’s anywhere. Rainbow and Fluttershy, you check if she’s somewhere up in the sky, hidin’ on a cloud or somthin’. Princess Luna and Trixie, you go into the Everfree and make sure she’s not at the old castle or some other dangerous place.”

Everyone nodded as they were told their positions.

“Alright then let’s get movin’.” Applejack and Rarity made off to the outskirts of town, one checking every bush and doorstep while the other illuminated the night with the light-blue glow of her magic.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shot up into the sky, scanning individual clouds, taking them apart and going higher and higher looking for their lost friend.

Trixie meekly turned to Luna. “Do you know anything about that forest? I heard it’s a dangerous place.”

“We will be fine. Our old castle stood there and I know every danger by its name.” Luna smiled reassuringly.

Trixie shot out of her fright. Ursae and manticores can’t stop Trixie when she’s on a mission.

“Of course we will.” Trixie took her trademark demeanour, flicked her silver mane and turned around on. Without looking back, she made her way towards the looming forest.

________________________________

“Can’t breathe…Twilight” Cadance wrestled in the younger alicorn’s grip.

“Oh, sorry.” Twilight pulled back, and they engaged in their ritual meet-up dance.

After gleefully shaking her rear, Twilight looked back at her former foalsitter, grinning sheepishly. “I’m just so surprised to see you here. Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting? Is Shiny here too?” Twilight scanned the room for her brother.

“No, it’s just me.” Cadance said. “Luna invited me over, because she needed some –” Twilight started crying. Why does everything remind me of this evening?

She felt the soft sensation of Cadance’s wings caressing her back. Her former foalsitter’s breath on her fur, the soft heartbeat and the warm embrace calmed her aching heart.

Cadance pulled away slightly, not letting completely go of Twilight. “What did auntie Luna do to you?”

Twilight sniffled. “She tried to put me under the effects of a love poison and then my friend Trixie trapped herself in the lovespell she put on the bracelet she gave me on our date.”

The warmth vanished and Twilight felt lonely in the big room again. She pulled her head up to meet Cadance’s sad eyes.

“Twilight,” the pink alicorn shrunk considerably, seemingly trying to become one with the furniture. “I have a confession to make.”

No, oh Celestia please, no. Twilight near screamed in her thoughts. She didn’t want to hear it. One pony that wouldn’t betray her, just one.

“I gave Luna that potion.”

The world shattered. Somewhere a door slammed shut. Cold crept in from all sides. Twilight’s mind drew a blank. Breathe, Twilight, breathe. No, not anymore. All thought made place to her anger and its sole focus: the pink alicorn lying on the floor.

“Why?” Cadance shrunk even further under Twilight’s glare. “Why would you give somepony the tools to basically make me their toy? A puppet, no more, for the rest of my life.” The crescendo of Twilight’s voice echoed through the increasingly colder bedroom.

All went quiet safe for Cadance’s soft wimpers, desperately trying to recollect herself under the gaze of her assailant.

“It wasn’t a love poison.” Cadance mumbled, a last resort, her safety line.

Twilight crossed the distance between them, head ready to charge and tiny sparkles of magic forming at the tip of her horn.

“What? Speak up, traitor.” Twilight towered over the mare.

Cadance sighed. “It wasn’t a love poison, it wasn’t even a potion.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, her anger diminishing in favour of her curiosity.

“It was something that only I can make: the essence of my love magic.”

Love magic? So that means… “You didn’t want to make me fall in love with Luna.” Twilight’s anger vanished.

“Well I did hope you would choose her,” Cadance gave her a sad smile, “but you know that I can't make ponies fall in love with each other. All I can do is give them a little... push towards whoever they love. It was a gamble. I even told Luna not to use it unless she was really sure you were falling for her. It merely would have sped up the process of choosing one of the two.”

Cadance stood back up from the floor, pulling herself onto her bed. “I never should have meddled with your love life, but I just wanted to see you happy with a special somepony. And I kinda wanted to go on a double date with the two of you, have some fun.” Cadance blushed. “You can’t imagine how bored I am, sitting up north in the Crystal kingdom, listening to an endless procession of petitioners. So when Luna came up to me asking for some help I thought it would bring back some fun, give me a reason to visit more often and to spend more time with you.

“My magic would have vanished within a few days and you’d be left with somepony at your side. It seemed like a good deal,” she muttered, out of breath from her long explanation.

Twilight took a deep breath.

A second one.

A third and final one.

Everything’s going to be fine. It’s not as bad as I thought, not exactly helping, Cadance might need some therapy, but still better than the thought of Luna and her poisoning me.

“It’s alright.” Twilight sighed. “You only meant well, but you made things a lot more confusing.”

“Twilight, I’m –,” Cadance desperately started.

“I said it’s alright.” Twilight waved her off. “Besides, seeing how ambitious those two are, I should have been expecting something like this.” She feigned a yawn. “It has been a stressful day. I guess I should go to bed now, get some rest before I have to go back tomorrow.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Cadance eyed the purple alicorn suspiciously.

“Yes, Cadance. Good night.” With that Twilight turned around, pulled open the door and walked out of the room.

Out in the hallway, after closing the door, she groaned loudly. “Great! Another night with next to no sleep.” She burst through the door to her old room and slumped down on her bed, pulling the pillow over her head, trying to block out her thoughts.

________________________

Roots, low hanging branches and leaves. Lots and lots of leaves.

Chimeras, a hydra and a swarm of cockatrices. Oh Celestia, not the cockatrices.

Trixie had had enough of this forest.

For hours she had been following Luna around, trying to avoid getting scratches and bruises in the sheer endless darkness of the Everfree forest. Patches of poison joke sprinkled the outline of their path. The thick treetops blocked every source of light, leaving the two rivals wandering in the pale light of their own magic.

“Are we there yet?” Trixie asked for the umpteenth time, drawing a sigh from Luna.

“I’ll tell you when we’re there, now be quiet.”

Trixie harrumphed. “I’m sure we’ve already passed this tree five times. Just tell Trixie that you’ve lost direction and she will figure out something.”

A moment passed.

Luna halted her step making Trixie bump into her rear.

“Ouch, that hurt! Warn Trixie if you plan to do this again.” Trixie rubbed her snout.

“Could you please just shut up?” Luna turned around to face Trixie, her body shaking with anger. “You’ve been nothing but a nuisance and a hindrance during this entire search. Do I have to remind you of the hydra incident?”

Trixie shuddered. “If you want to play it like this, I can do that too. Remember how you tried blasting the chimera with your beam and only survived because Trixie was there to save you?”

“That wouldn’t have been necessary if the great and powerful Trixie hadn’t angered it in the first place.” Both mares started circling each other, assuming aggressive stances, ready to charge at each other.

“We wouldn’t even be in this situation if you hadn’t tried to poison Twilight, oh infallible princess of the moon.” Trixie focused a blur of pink magic in her horn.

“Oh, and tripping into your very own enchantment is so much better, you petty excuse of a showmare.” Luna blew air from her snout.

“Second rate princess!”

“Charlatan!”

“Sprinkle-butt!”

“Marefriend stealing trickster!”

“Oh go back to your own millennium, you old hag!”

“What could you even offer Twilight, you twenty year old virgin?”

Trixie winced, dropping to the floor and pulling her hat over her eyes. The shouting stopped and was replaced by a silent sobbing.

“Oh,” Luna said, snapping out of her rage.

Why? Trixie thought. I can’t help that they always walked past me, laughing, not taking me for serious. I’m just a simple mare too, despite being great and powerful. She heard Luna shuffling, felt a hoof being put on her shoulder. This is… comforting.

“I’m sorry.”

Wait, did Luna just apologise to me? Huh…

“I’m sorry, too.” Trixie heard herself saying despite herself. Hmm, this feels odd.

Luna pulled Trixie back up on her hooves and straightened her cape.

A hoof brushing that starry mane out of the blurred blue face. The warmth of entwined bodies, breathing heavily under the force of their embrace. The soft beat of wings, brushing against sensitive fur.

What was that? Trixie thought, baffled after the sudden rush of sensations. Her heart was still beating heavily. That was a very… vivid daydream. She confusedly looked at Luna’s hoof on her cape.

“Let’s move on to the castle and see if we can find Twilight.” The Princess, removed her hoof and turned around quickly.

Was that a blush?

“Yeah, let’s move on.” Trixie took a quick step, closing up to Luna.

Their magic illuminated the forest once again and all shadows were banished as they made their way through the labyrinth of black and green.

______________________

Her writing desk, the bookcases and her bed. All was just the same, as if she had never left the castle to live in Ponyville.

It feels good to be back here, especially right now. Twilight looked around taking in the sight of her old furniture. Purple was the prevailing colour: drapes, carpets, even her windows were slightly toned. And everything was bearing her cutie mark, the symbol of everything she was and would be. Maybe, but only if I can solve this conundrum.

Her bed was comfortable, just as big as Celestia’s, with loads of pillows and a few of her old plushies that were neatly arranged before she had cannonballed onto the bed and wreaked havoc on the orderly display.

“Let’s see then.” Twilight pulled a notebook and a quill from a drawer. “Do I still want to go out with either of them after this night’s fiasco?” Twilight drew a list, writing the name of each mare on one side.

“I guess so. I mean neither wanted to really harm me. I think.” She noticed she had been talking to an empty room, so she levitated her army of plushies and placed them in front of herself. Don’t want to make this look like I’m crazy, right mister snake?

“Alright, so Luna wrote that poem and arranged the picnic, while Trixie gave me bracelet at my favourite restaurant. That’s two points for each. Yeah, I know the bracelet was enchanted, but it was still nice, miss bunny. What else is there?” Twilight shuffled uncomfortably.

“Luna is a princess, while Trixie is a simple showmare, but I don’t really care about that.” She groaned and fell back onto her pillow. “Oh, this is tricky. Can’t any of you help me?” Twilight looked around expectantly.

“Yeah, I know you’re just figment of my imagination, mister otter, but you could still choose to help me.” She dropped her notebook and placed the quill on her nightstand.

“I might have reached an impasse. They’re still dead even, and no matter how many dates they’d take me on, I think that would never change.” She turned around, lying on her belly, head buried into her pillow.

“Looks like there’s just one thing I can do about it. That’s right, mister snake, I’ll just stay in this room for the rest of my very very long life and wait for them to settle the score in some way.

“I’ll just have my friends visit me from time to time, spend some quality time with Celestia and read books until I drop dead.” Another depressed sigh. That won’t work, will it?

Wait a moment, that’s it!

“No, not staying in this room, silly sea lion, letting them work it out. Since their scores are even they have to come up with a solution that will make all of us happy. Twilight grinned gleefully. “Thanks, guys, you’ve been really helpful.” Without getting up, Twilight moved the plushies back and turned around to look up at the ceiling.

I’m not quite sure, though, if this will help me fall as— She managed to think before her breathing steadied and a light snoring filled the void of her cosy bedroom.

___________________________

“And then he said ‘but I didn’t order the seafood’, so I took my salad and threw it into his face. And that’s why you never see any neighponese ambassadors during the nightcourt.” Luna finished her story, Trixie giggling.

After crossing most of the Everfree forest and finding that Twilight wasn’t in some kind of disastrous situation the mood of the two rivals had increasingly grown more light-hearted.

She’s not as bad of a pony as I thought, even though we still haven’t figured out who gets to date Twilight. If only this were the good old times where a duel could solve such problems. Luna mused, waiting for her companion to calm down.

Serious matters were at hoof. They still didn’t know where Twilight had run off to, and meeting with her friends had only revealed the fruitless state of their search, so they decided to make their way back to the library and ask Spike for assistance, even though the young dragon would most probably be asleep at this time of the night.

Soon it will be morning and I will have to lower my moon. Luna thought, looking up at her marvellous sky in awe of her own creativity.

“It’s a nice night sky.” Trixie shuffled restlessly. “When I was younger I’d look up into the sky and watch the stars’ silent conversation with the moon. It was so… refreshing, a break from my solitude. It was just me and the dazzling twinkling of my nightly companions.”

Wait, was that? “Thank you, Trixie, it’s nice to know that some ponies relish the sight of my night.” Hearing such words from a rival… a companion I should say after our nightly ventures. It’s odd.

Luna remembered her cause and accelerated her steps, already seeing the library in the distance. Her mane glistered in the lights of the late even, single stars shining brightly through the mass of hair, unperturbed by streetlights. She knew it was a truly regal display. Is she… watching me? Surely she must be searching my figure for her next tirade of insults.

“We’re there.” Trixie knocked on the door, breaking Luna out of her thoughts.

Steps echoed from within the library, someone stumbled down the stairs, and finally the door opened, revealing the purple dragon grumpily rubbing his eyes and holding a lantern in his claws.

“Oh, hey Princess, hey Trixie come on in, I’ve been waiting for you… kinda.” Spike motioned for them to come inside, and as they entered he closed the door behind them.

“Spike, do you know,” Luna began, before the dragon waved her off. His eyes showed some sort of anger behind the disgruntled glare of someone who had been awoken too early.

“I know what you’re here for,” he said. “And I hope you have a good explanation for this.” He handed them a piece of parchment, the seal already broken.

Trixie stepped back under the dragon’s piercing stare. Luna took the parchment and floated it in front of herself, so that Trixie could read it as well.

“Dear Spike,

Twilight will be staying in Canterlot for the night. If you meet Luna and Trixie, tell them that I’m very angry with them and that there will be rigid punishment for their acts.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia”

Trixie gulped and closed up to Luna, pressing against her.

I know what you’re going through, little one. Luna patted the unicorn’s shoulder sympathetically.

“Rest assured that everything will be explained at due time, Spike,” she said, gathering her remaining energy to resist the dragon’s fury. “But we just finished a march through the entire Everfree forest, so could you please give us some place to rest until the morn?”

“Couch. I’ll bring you some blankets.” Spike said coldly, turning to the closet to get them some warm blankets.

“Thank you,” Trixie and Luna said in unison, walking towards the couch and looking to make themselves as comfortable as possible, without any unnecessary bodily contact. They managed to get in a healthy position, curling up next to each other, and when Spike threw them a blanket, Trixie took it and draped it over them.

The dragon went upstairs again, taking his lantern with him and leaving the two ponies to the darkness of the library.

“I love you, Luna,” the unicorn said. A body pressed fast against hers, their hearts beating in unison. Fur brushing against fur, they stood as one, moon and star.