Beatrix trotted down the road with her wagon in tow. The wooden wheels clattered cheerfully against the dirt and gravel in sharp contrast to the dark trees hanging above her. She hummed a quiet tune in time with the ricketing of the wagon as her hooves clippity-clopped against the road.

“We’re almost there, Rupert.” She smiled at the beagle perched on the wagon’s seat. “I think I can smell Mrs. Night Lilly’s mango stew from here.”

Rupert yipped and buzzed his tail, and Beatrix filled her lungs with the thick forest air. Sweat glistened on her coat from pulling her wagon and the humidity that seeped into her body. The air was thick and her mane frizzled at the ends, but Beatrix didn’t mind. Her ears twitched as crickets and fireflies awakened in the brush to join her song.

The trees gave way to a large clearing bathed in the molten bronze and rich purple of twilight. Wooden huts with thatched roofs flanked Beatrix as she rolled into town. She took one look at the emptiness of the streets and grinned.

A gruff voice interrupted the silence and Beatrix stopped in the center of the square.

“Ça va, cher?”

Beatrix squinted. A dark-coated stallion rested in a rocking chair in the shadow of a porch awning. She would have missed him if not for the pair of amber cat-like eyes that twinkled in the darkness. He grinned at her from behind a wooden pipe. The gentle glow from the end illuminated the wide straw hat on his head.

“Ça va!” she called back with a wave.

“Ça c’est bon,” he nodded. “What brings ya out here, girl?”

“I was just in the area, and I thought I’d stop by and give the foals a show before they head off to school. You mind, Monsieur Luciole?”

“Ya go right ahead, Miss Lulamoon.” He waved dismissively, but with a warm smile. “Perhaps when yer done ya could veiller with the missus and I. I think she might be whipping up some courtbouillon for lunch.”

“I would like that!” She grinned. “Anyway, I need to get ready for the show. You have a nice evening, Monsieur Luciole!”

Beatrix trotted to the back of her wagon and clambered inside. She planted herself before the vanity mirror and took several deep breaths.

“Okay, Bee. There’s nothing to be nervous about. You know this crowd. They’ll be perfect for testing out your new routine. You just need to do the normal adjustments. Don’t want to have a repeat of that one incident, do we?”

Her horn flickered to life and the bulbs around the mirror alighted with a bright, yet gentle glow. She applied touches of eyeshadow and glitter to accentuate her eyes and smoothed out her frazzled mane with a brush. A spritz here, a tug there, and her mane glistened like moonlight. Beatrix sent a pulse of magic from her horn across her body and banished the stink of travel to Nowheresville, in the darkest corner of Whocaresland.

She pulled her cape from the rack and tossed it over her shoulders. Beatrix shimmied side-to-side to test the twinkling of the embroidered stars. A moment of adjustment and she nodded with a smirk.

“Now,” she sneered, “for the finishing touch!”

Beatrix levitated her star-spangled hat from its perch. Stitches, stains, and frayed threads marred the fabric to her trained eye, but a subtle glamour hid it against minor scrutiny. She planted the article on her head and grinned at the mirror with a devious twinkle in her eye.

“Let us see how well prepared they are for the Great and Powerful Trixie this time!”

A crowd of foals and adults gathered outside the wagon. Tuft ears swiveled and crescent eyes peered futilely through the shuttered windows. Leathery wings twitched, and scratchy voices chirped in excitement.

A hush fell over the crowd as half-dozen pale blue orbs, like miniature moons peeking through a thin layer of cloud, materialized over the wagon. Wispy fog rolled out from the undercarriage like foam from a boiling pot.

“Mares and stallions,” Beatrix’s haughty voice resonated. “Colts and fillies of all ages!”

Dragonflies made of starlight flittered through the fog and danced around the wagon. The wagon’s panels opened like the yawning maw of a crocolisk, sliding down and out, and revealed a purple curtain. Fog boiled across the newly erected stage. An eerie light, like a will-o-wisp, filled the center.

“Come one! Come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Grrreat… The Powerrrful… Trrrixie!”

A shockwave erupted from the stage and banished the fog with a shower of starlight and ethereal leaves. Beatrix stood in the center, head raised high, lips peeled back in a confident smirk, and one hoof raised in a dramatic pose.

The crowd gasped and cheered. A chorus of batlike shrieks pierced the nights as the foals in front hopped like entranced jumping beans. Dozens of leathery wings fluttered with glee at the magician’s entrance.

“Watch in awe,” she continued and shifted her gaze over the crowd, “as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by ponykind!”

She reared up, beaming like the sun, as a magical breeze fluttered her cape. A brass fanfare played backstage and a shower of sparks and fireflies erupted from beyond the curtain. When the spectacle settled, Beatrix swaggered to the front of the stage.

“I’m sure many of you have met a fair share of unicorns in your time. Many of them, I’m sure, were mighty sorcerers in their own right, but Trixie can guarantee that they were no match for her talents! Levitation? Light? Any foal could accomplish such trivial cantrips. Even the most average of magicians could craft a life-like illusion and call it a day, but the Great and Powerful Trixie is not satisfied by mediocrity!

“So, tonight, Trixie will show you a feat that only the greatest of unicorns can perform… Teleportation!”

Murmurs drifted through the crowd and the foals in front gasped.

“Yes!” Trixie whipped her mane back. “But that is not all! Trixie will also perform her magic without a glow!”

“Eeeeeeee!” A thestral filly squealed, blinked, and smiled sheepishly at her friends.

“First!” Trixie reached into her cape and pulled out a piece of paper. “Trixie will let you all in on a little secret… Did you know that she can juggle, as well? Yes, Trixie has many talents! Don’t believe me? Fine! Trixie will prove it!”

Trixie tore a sliver from the paper and balled it with her hooves. She placed the remaining sheet on the stage and bounced the ball on the tip of her hoof.

“See? There’s one!” Trixie grinned and was rewarded with a few snickers. “You dear, up front. Could you tear up two more pieces and ball them up like this one?”

The filly nodded and took the sheet with a wing. She tore off two more strips, balled them up, and tossed them back into Trixie’s hoof.

“Now, who wants to see the Great and Powerful Trixie make them disappear?”

They nodded.

Trixie grinned and shoved the balls of paper into her cape. “Tada!”

Snickering bubbled through the crowd.

“Okay, let’s get serious now. Where were we? Right, teleportation…”

Trixie pulled a wad of paper from her cloak pocket and placed it on her left frog, shielded from the audience. She reached into the cape with her other hoof while she discreetly pushed the ball to the tip of her left, and then she waved her empty right hoof over the left. From the audience's perspective, Trixie had deposited the second ball on top of the first. She repeated the motion, this time actually taking the ball but keeping it in her right frog. Trixie paused and looked at her cape in bewilderment.

“Well, that’s strange…” She hummed. “The last one appears to be stuck! Let Trixie… just… Ahah!”

Trixie tipped her hat back. A small paper ball tumbled onto the stage.

“Luna’s mane!” She gasped. “Trixie wonders how that got in there! Now, let’s see what we can do about these other… Ahem… Excuse Trixie, she hurk!”

Trixie raised her right hoof to her mouth and hacked. The ball hidden in her frog fell to the stage to the disgusted gags and groans of the foals.

“Well… Ahem… That was two! Perhaps we should just leave that there…” She grimaced, pushed it away, and lifted her hoof. “Trixie still has one left, however! For this next part, she will need a volunteer!”

A dozen hooves and a chorus of sharp screeches filled the air. Trixie scanned the crowd with a critical eye, hemming and hawing, before she settled on a young colt.

“You there!” Trixie announced and caused several spectral fireflies to dance around him. “Climb upon the stage and be recognized by the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

The colt obeyed and clambered onto the platform. He glanced down nervously at the other foals and rubbed his foreleg. Some of them glared back, but most were transfixed by Trixie and her performance.

“Now…” Trixie held her left foreleg out to the colt with the hoof faced down. She gestured to the limb with her right and passed the hoof beneath it. “You must listen very carefully to Trixie. Your cooperation is very important - nay, vital - for this spell to work. First, you must hold Trixie’s hoof like so. Don’t be shy now. Trixie is sure you must do this all the time with the other pretty fillies. Now squeeze. Hard. Harder. There! Do you feel that tingle? That’s the magic working… Flowing through your body until…”

Trixie reached behind the colt’s ear with her free hoof, ruffled his mane, and revealed the final ball of paper. “Viola!”

The colt gasped and stared at the ball. Trixie placed the object in his hoof and waved him off the stage. He wordlessly complied.

"Once upon a time," she began, "when the Great and Powerful Trixie was but a filly, she studied amongst the greatest magical minds in the glorious city of Canterlot. There, in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, one of Trixie's instructors said something that sounded very peculiar to her. They said that most of the world is just empty space! Between the rocks, the trees, the grass, the air, and even inside of yourselves, there are little pockets of nothing. You might not be able to feel it because those little pockets of nothing brush against each other and keep everything separated. However, a clever unicorn - like Trixie - can learn how to squeeze through these little holes in the world. Here, let Trixie show you!”

Trixie waved her hoof through the air. The fog, which was meandering lazily across everypony’s hooves, surged onto the stage where it coiled and swirled up to Trixie’s barrel. It receded and revealed a plain wooden table.

"Before Trixie is an ordinary table! One that you would find in any of your dining rooms. Seems sturdy enough, yes?" She said before slamming a hoof into it with a loud thud. "No holes on top and none on the bottom… or so it appears! Gaze in awe as the Great… The Powerful… Trixie-finds-a-hole-in-the-wood…”

Tap tap. “Not here.”

Ratatat-tat. “... or here.”

Tap tap THUD! “Ahah!”

“Next, the Great and Powerful Trixie requires one bit from the audience.” she paused and scanned the crowd. “Anypony? Can’t anypony share a single coin with the Poor and Destitute Trixie? There we go… Trixie sees something glittering up through the crowd.”

She held the bit in her hoof and inspected it with a critical eye. “Yes… Appears genuine enough. The Great and Powerful Trixie has a no-refund policy, by the way. Anywho, Trixie will now push this bit up through this completely solid table with the sophisticated magic of teleportation. Watch closely now, and notice the distinct lack of glow around the coin or the table. It takes many years for even the most talented of unicorns to master teleportation, let alone casting without a glimmer.”

Trixie held the bit on the edge of her hoof beneath the table as she spoke. She traced the wood with the coin and caused a smooth grinding between the metal and the grains. Trixie paused, stuck out her tongue, scrunched her eyes, and slammed the bit into the wood with a loud clack.

She smiled as the coin slid into her frog, shielded from the audience. At that same moment, she dropped a second bit from her other hoof onto the table, edge first. Trixie removed her hoof, revealed the coin, and basked in the audience’s cheers.

“Thank you!” She beamed and waved her empty hoof. “Trixie thanks you! You’ve been a wonderful audience. Trixie has one more trick for you all. She will demonstrate the ancient and forgotten magic of neuromancy. Yes, that’s right! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall delve into your mind and control your very thoughts! For this trick, Trixie will need another volunteer!”

Trixie beckoned another foal onto the stage. She bounced on the tips of their hooves and chittered as Trixie pulled a deck of cards from her cape.

“What’s your name, dear?” Trixie asked with a smile as she placed the deck of cards on the table. “Trixie believes you have her at a disadvantage.”

“Oh!” The filly blushed. “My name is Courtbouillon, but my friends call me Cory!”

“Well, Cory, here’s what Trixie’s going to do…” She whispered and slid a card off the deck face up. “She is going to draw these cards, one at a time, like this. Trixie wants you to stop her… anytime you want. Stop her… anywhere… you… want.”

Trixie drew another card, then another. She drew another half-dozen until Cory raised her hoof.

“Stop.”

“Are you sure…?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Are you absolutely sure that’s where you wish to stop Trixie?”

“...Yes.” Cory nodded hesitantly.

“Splendid. Now…You could have stopped Trixie at this one,” she pointed to the last card on the pile as she set the stack down, “or the one beneath that, but you stopped her at this one. Trixie supposes she could have gone one more.”

“Or maybe this one, or the next one, or any of these!" Trixie dropped two more cards onto the pile but pulled aside the first card face-down in her magic. "But somehow… Trixie knew.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie flipped Cory’s card over… and showed a crescent blue moon where the card’s face should have been.

Cory stood transfixed and stared. She slowly grabbed it from Trixie’s magic, faced the crowd, and revealed the card. Stomps and cheers erupted through the clearing while a sea of smiles lit up the night.

“Thank you! Thank you! The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you!” Trixie bowed and flourished her hat with a hoof. “Now… For Trixie’s next act, she wishes to tell you a story. Come, colts and fillies, mares and stallions, as the Great and Powerful Trixie regales you the incredible tale of… The Ursa Major!”

A star beast was doing somersaults in Luna’s stomach.

Molten lead filled her limbs and icy sweat drenched her coat. Luna wanted to whimper, shiver, and cry, but every breath exhausted her.

An obnoxious beeping shrieked in her ear and rattled her fragile skull. Luna clenched her eyes and groaned, but it came out more like a raspy gasp. She was suddenly aware of the vile bitterness that lined her mouth. Her tongue was swollen and caked with a concoction of vomit and blood.

“Sister, are you awake?” Celestia’s voice pierced through Luna’s fog.

“T...i...a…” Luna croaked.

“Shh… Don’t speak. You are very ill. Your body is reacting to the absence of the Nightmare. The court physician has already seen to you, installed an IV drip, and left instructions for me to help you recover.”

Luna grimaced as she opened her eyes. It reminded her of when she lifted the moon for the first time, but instead of the glowing celestial body that greeted her… it was the face of her sister. Celestia’s eyes were red, but they were filled with a love that Luna barely recognized. Her sister’s pale prismatic mane flowed over her shoulders like a cloud, and she had discarded her royal vestments.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to stomach much right now,” she continued and levitated a soaked sponge to Luna’s mouth, “so we are putting fluids directly into your bloodstream. Still, I imagine your mouth must be very dry. Take a few sips of this, but be careful…”

Celestia squeezed the sponge and water trickled onto Luna’s parched lips. She let the moisture soak into her tongue and roll through her mouth before she swallowed.

“What…” Luna rasped. “What…happened?”

“You passed out in the hallway and had a seizure. We brought you to my wing of the palace and I had our physician, Doctor Hard Cure, look over you. I’m afraid your body is reacting poorly to having the Nightmare forcibly torn from it.”

“What… dost thou mean? I thought the Elements healed me.”

“They…” Celestia chose her words carefully, “...started the process. The Elements purged the Nightmare and removed its influence over you, but they weren’t gentle. It was like an amputation, and it left scars.”

“Of what sort?” Luna craned her head to scan her body.

“Mostly mental and spiritual. However, there is a very large hole in your magical reserves.”

“Verily…” Luna sighed between sips of water. “After I accepted the Nightmare into myself, it kept my mind addled with a constant wave of dark magic. It whispered sweet nothings to me - words of revenge, admiration, assurance, and love - while it slowly ate at my soul. I have seen similar fates befall warlocks that have tapped into the Abyss and Outer Dark, and even if they were able to be saved their bodies were not but shriveled husks that devoured themselves. How is it that I am alive…?”

“You can thank Doctor Hard Cure for that.” Celestia smiled and inspected the strange device that was the source of the beeping. “He lacks a certain bedside manner, but he more than makes up for it with his keen mind and attention to detail. We have more mundane illnesses that have similarities to your symptoms, and so he was able to extrapolate a treatment from those experiences.”

“I see…” Luna yawned. “How long didst he say it would take to recover from this malaise? I wouldst hate to lay about infirm for the next century.”

A clear bag of liquid hung from a pole that stood beside the machine. Luna followed the tube onto her bed where it ended at her foreleg. It was wrapped in gauze that muffled a stinging sensation underneath. She tried to prod at the tube with her hoof, but it only quivered a few inches before dropping onto her barrel.

“The first stage will last a few weeks,” Celestia continued and pulled the covers up to Luna’s neck. “After that… It can take years to fully recover, if ever.”

“Preposterous.” Luna grimaced as her eyes drooped. “My alicorn body will push aside this affliction within a week. Then… aahhhmmm… I shall raise the moon again. ‘Tis been too long since I have seen my old friend with a clear heart.”

Luna drifted off to sleep to the beeping of the machine and Celestia humming a melody at her bedside.

“Alright. Ah think...that’s the last of it!” Applejack panted, sitting down.

Twilight and Applejack stood in the entry room of Golden Oaks Library. A half-dozen wooden crates sat around them, each as tall as themselves. Two of the crates were already popped open with straw spilled onto the floor and the lids against a wall.

Spike wobbled over to Applejack holding a tray with two glasses of ice water. Applejack, fanning herself with her hat, turned and smiled at the drake.

“Thank ya kindly, sugarcube,” she said as she picked up the glass.

“No problem, Applejack. Can I get you anything else?”

“No thank ya, Spike. Ah actually need to be headin’ back to the farm soon and make sure everything’s alright after whatever caused that there earthquake. Gots more chores to do, too. Ya gonna be good, Twi?”

“Hmm?” Twilight poked her head out from the crate she was digging through. “Oh, yes. I think this is everything.”

“What’s all this stuff, anyhow?”

“Mostly books,” she replied and levitated several tomes into Spike’s hands. “There’s also some delicate scientific equipment in here that I had brought over from my suite in Canterlot. I’m going to see about converting the basement into a study and lab for my more volatile experiments. You can come see it when I have it all set up! Won’t that be fun? I mean, as long as you follow the standard lab safety protocols, but I’m sure you know them. It’s covered in basic education. If you’re a little rusty, I could give you an extensive crash course. It should only take an hour or two to cover the basics!”

“That… errr… uhh... sounds mighty temptin’, Twilight,” Applejack scrunched her muzzle, “but Ah’ve got the Summer apple harvest comin’ up in a couple months, so Ah’m gonna be pretty darn busy with my own projects.”

“Oh…” Twilight’s ears drooped. “Okay, then. I understand. Anyway… I think Spike and I can handle the rest. Spike, can you find Equestrian Bestiary Volume III? We need to do some research on quarry eels.”

“Sure thing, Mom!” Spike saluted and jogged towards the shelves.

“Thank you, Spike.” Twilight nodded before turning to Applejack. “Also, thank you for the tour. I never realized Ponyville had such a rich history!”

“Darn tootin’! Little towns like Ponyville always have somethin’ interesting hiding under a rock or nestled away in a corner. Anyway, I’d love to stay and talk more, but I really do need to get back to the farm.”

“I understand. I’ll see you later!”

Twilight watched as Applejack trotted out of the library. The door closed with a click, and Twilight plopped onto the couch with a long sigh. She tucked her legs closed to her chest and held her tail in her hooves. Her back trembled as she stroked it. A minuscule whimper escaped her quivering muzzle.

“Hey, I found that book you wanted me to ge-- Mom? What’s wrong?”

Twilight locked her gaze onto the couch’s stitching as she took comfort in her tail’s gentle tugs. Spike walked beside her and placed a tender hand on her side. She flinched at the contact but accepted it with folded ears and a frizzled mane.

“I…” Twilight stuttered, “I… It happened again, Spike.”

“You mean… You had another… episode?”

Twilight nodded.

“It’s okay, Mom.” Spike pulled away. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ll be right back!”

He bolted out of sight, and Twilight shivered on the couch. The cushions’ fibers rubbed at her fur and pricked her skin. She focused on her breathing and the ticking of the clock on a shelf.

Breath in.

Exhale.

Breath in.

Exhale.

“Hoc quoque transibit... ” she sighed.

Twilight muttered the mantra between breaths. This too shall pass, she repeated in her mind as her heart rate slowed. She imagined the adrenaline coursing through her veins in response to the false stimuli. Her mind and body believed themselves to be under attack despite her knowledge of the contrary. She gritted her teeth and growled deep in her throat at the contradiction that bounced between the hemispheres of her normally ordered brain. Twilight hated not being in control of herself. It was her body, her mind, and so it should have been her giving it orders, not these paleolithic and barbaric chemicals pumping through her like poison.

Spike wobbled back to the sofa. He carried a tray with a steaming mug and a blanket swung over his shoulder. Her son sat the tray on the coffee table, unfolded the blanket, and gently laid it on her back. Twilight smiled and saw the mug.

“Is that…?”

“Yup! Chamomile, not quite scalding, with four drops of lemon juice and a pinch of cinnamon. I even found your favorite mug in one of the boxes!”

Twilight took the mug in her magic. It was a deep purple with blue and green stars sloppily painted on the surface with the skill, yet care, of a young foal… or dragon. She smiled and lifted the mug to her lips. A flood of warm memories filled her along with the soothing tea.

“It’s perfect, Spike. Thank you. Come ‘ere.”

Spike grinned and climbed onto the sofa. He crawled between Twilight’s forelegs and curled up beneath her neck. She rested her chin on his scales and focused on the warmth radiating from his tiny body. It felt like cozying up to a healthy fire on a cold winter’s night. Twilight finished her tea and let the sounds of Spike’s breathing lull her to sleep.

Author's Note

I apologize for the late chapter. My family and I were traveling for Thanksgiving, so that threw off my schedule by a couple of weeks. Then the cold weather set in and just sapped my mood along with my heat... Anyway, here's chapter seven! It's a bit fuzzier than previous ones. Remember to leave an upvote if you liked it and a comment to let me know what you think so far!