It was gaudy. It was grey and black and red. That trinket would never adorn my neck as decoration. But it was anything but decoration. It was a tool. It was power.
Just staring at it behind the glass, I could feel it calling out to me. The bloody stone in the center peered into me and searched the depths of my soul. Of course it was meant for me. Only a Unicorn of my caliber could possibly wield the dark powers it possessed. And with those powers, I would regain the prestige I had so miserably lost to Twilight Sparkle.
Tossing my bits at the blathering pony, he gave it to me. The Alicorn amulet. In my hoof, I could feel its immense power pulsating, waiting for its master. Waiting for me.
I barely managed to get out of that crass shop before the Alicorn amulet’s siren call became too sweet to ignore. I hastily drew it around my neck. When the clasp locked into place, I could feel its power move into me. It was as if warm water washed over me before seeping into my very core with a bolt of lightning. My vision washed red for but a moment as the rush of energy peaked. And then it was gone.
No. Not gone. It was still there, intertwined between my being and the amulet. I could still feel it, stirring and churning. It couldn’t wait for me to use it—for me to become its master and wield its insurmountable power.
My gaze fixed on the nearest thing: an old, tattered wagon. My lips tugged into a smile as the power rushed into my horn. With surprising ease, my magic twisted the cart’s fabric. The rough, old wood peeled into a gleaming varnish. The torn cloth covering the wagon brightened to brilliant white as the threads tugged together, filling in the holes. Even the chipped, cracked wheels contorted, becoming like new.
The whole wagon was like new again. It was effortless. A restoration spell of this caliber had been beyond me but a moment ago. Now, it was nearly as easy as breathing.
My smile widened as laughter bubbled up from within me. It worked! This amulet allowed me to do such a complicated spell with nary any effort.
I was the Great and Powerful Trixie once more!
My confidence soaring, I cast a spell on the shafts in front of the cart. A flash of red preceded the appearance of a burly stallion, already hooked up and ready to draw the cart.
I could already see it: a gleaming stage beneath my hooves and a roaring crowd before me. I can cast spells, the magic of which most ponies cannot even fathom. There would be no need for boasting. I wouldn’t need to make hollow claims; my magic is more than capable of wowing them now.
A ranting Unicorn stormed out of a nearby house, yelling at me. I didn’t even hear the words—something about the wagon. All I saw was a thousand shadowed faces, shouting at me. Mocking me. I turned to run, but I felt a pulse. A wave of power and dominance washed over me, refusing my retreat. I spun round to confront this impudent stallion. He should be thanking me! I just turned his ruined and rotting cart into a gleaming chariot.
A blast of crimson magic and a muzzle appeared on him, silencing his insolence. He started to paw at his muzzle, and another blast replaced the burly stallion with him. Wide-eyed, he squirmed in the harness as he stared at me. Then, his horn glowed, detangling both the muzzle and the cart simultaneously. He started shouting at the top of his lungs, pleading for help. He said that I was attacking him! The nerve!
I was about to silence him again, but a flash of light caught my eye. A window lightened, then another, and another. A din of voices sounded as the ponies in the nearby homes stirred.
This time, the panic in me refused to subside. My horn flared, and in a flash of red, I reappeared on the outskirts of that little town.
I teleported. It was a tough spell for any Unicorn. I did it without even really thinking about it. I just wanted to be out of that town, and here I was.
I snorted, my smile reappearing. Was there any limit to Trixie’s powers? I was starting to think that there wasn’t. With my prowess, I could take on an ursa major, let alone some ursa minor like that incompetent Twilight Sparkle.
My stomach turned just thinking of her name!
I shook my head as a new thought struck me. Reaffirming my greatness by putting on my shows again could wait. There was something far more important I needed to do first. I needed to put that worthless Unicorn Twilight Sparkle in her place. Even Princess Celestia’s precious little protégé couldn’t stand up to Trixie’s new powers!
Normally a trip from one town to another was long, boring, and arduous. Not this time. As I marched to Ponyville, every whim was just a spell away. I slept in a luxurious, silken bed. I ate a breakfast that would put the finest restaurant in Canterlot to shame. I didn’t even have to walk. I could teleport effortlessly across vast distances. Trixie’s magic is so great now, there is nothing I can’t do!
That runt of a Unicorn learned that very quickly. Almost as soon as I got to Ponyville, I lured her out and thwarted her every effort. It felt so liberating, defeating her! She was the powerful Unicorn that had defeated an ursa minor, and I just defeated her.
There was nothing The Great and Powerful Trixie couldn’t do!
With my victory, none dared to stand against me. The masses quaked before me, and I loved it. Even those stupid friends of hers weren’t about to try and stop me.
I zapped a nearby statue, transforming it from some random pony into an effigy of Trixie. Hopping up on the statue’s base, I addressed the crowd. I informed them that Trixie was now in charge, and they were all to obey my every fleeting whim.
Those weak ponies just stood there, mouths agape. They were in complete and total awe of Trixie’s new power! At least, for a moment.
That boring mayor pony had nearly as much gall as Twilight Sparkle! She stood there in front of the crowd demanding I stop. As if a whelp like her had any right to tell Trixie what to do! I quickly made an example of her. A single, effortless blast of magic confined her to a hanging cage. Her shouts of outrage and indignation were as a sweet melody in Trixie’s ears.
I laughed. A burst of magic, and I appeared next to her tiny, little cage. Giving it a good kick, Trixie reveled in her frightened, pained yelp.
It felt good. Trixie had never experienced such complete and total control before, and it was glorious. Turning back to the peons, Trixie saw what fire had remained in the crowd was gone. There was nothing but fear. Fear, and respect, and awe.
The changes were so quick! Trixie hardly had to do anything. Sure, a few zaps of her mighty magic would easily have gotten the same results—no! Better results! Trixie’s infallible abilities would have been superior to these efforts of them. But that wasn’t the point. They needed to show their respect and adoration for their perfect, new leader. What better way than to have them redecorate the town in her image?
The decorations didn’t even really matter. Their subservience, their adoration, is what Trixie truly desired. And she got it. With nary a protest, her subjects were working round-the-clock to bring Trixie her every wish.
Of course, there were always one or two impudent ones that needed to be taught a lesson. Like that defiant orange one or the annoying pink one. They simply had yet to realize Trixie’s greatness, and the Great and Powerful Trixie would be remiss not to teach them the error of their ways.
Throwing the orange one as effortlessly as a doll and bending the pink one to her will was for their own good. But there was something else, a tingle down Trixie’s spine. Imposing her will onto them gave her power and adoration, but the complete and utter domination of them… It was exhilarating!
The Great and Powerful Trixie grew bored of watching her peons toil in her name. Perhaps she should indulge herself? There was a spa in town, and it was high-time Trixie got the royal treatment.
Trixie had two of them cart her over to the spa. She could have easily teleported, but watching them strain and struggle to drag her heavy, gilded throne was worth the wait. It just proved the devotion and adoration of her subjects.
Once inside, she stepped down from her chariot, Trixie ordered her subjects to give her the full spa treatment. It was something she never had the luxury to experience before, but now she was getting the adoration she deserved. A pair of pink and blue mares quickly approached, sweeping Trixie up into a comfy lounge chair. They quickly began to give her a hooficure, followed by a massage, and then they took her to a room for a steam.
While the attention and ministrations felt nice, Trixie was feeling… unfulfilled. Sure it felt nice to be treated the way she deserved, but it just wasn’t enough. There was something missing.
A hissing noise drew Trixie’s attention to the pink-maned one as she dumped a ladle of water onto the hot rocks in the middle of the steam room. Boredom setting in, Trixie lifted one of the rocks into the air. Turning it over in her aura, she tried a new magic. Trixie amplified the heat in the rock. It shook as it started to glow red. Just as Trixie began to grow bored again, the rock exploded!
The spa servant shrieked in terror as the super-hot bits of rock rained across the room. Trixie put up a shield, causing the hot pebbles to bounce harmlessly away. Far more interesting was the spa servant. She had run into a far corner of the room, cowering.
Trixie wanted to hear her scream again.
Smiling, The Great and Powerful Trixie grabbed another rock and lifted it. The mare tried to run for the door, but Trixie used her magic to seal it shut. She turned to Trixie, her eyes wide with fright.
Trixie’s smile widened.
The rock began to glow, and that mare ducked, covering her head with her hooves. The sound of the explosion was again followed by that delicious scream. Trixie laughed as she watched that pathetic mare shaking and cowering. She decided that this show was far better than the steam.
After The Great and Powerful Trixie had grown bored with the terror and the thumping on the door from the other spa servant, she insisted that they continue her spa experience. Her obedient servants took her to an enormous hot tub. This was one thing she had experienced before. Trixie announced her disdain, but they insisted that they had special herbs and salts that made it extra luxurious.
Trixie rolled her eyes. She didn’t believe these herbs were all that great, but she deigned to accept. Trixie dipped into the water and watched as those two dumped a bowlful of mashed herbs into the water. Then another. And another.
This was nice. The Great and Powerful Trixie was met with a soothing, enticing scent as a tingle ran over her skin. The warm water and pleasant aroma certainly felt relaxing. Trixie sunk deeper into the water. It came up to her chin. Not wanting her mane to get wet, Trixie tried to reposition herself. She couldn’t!
Trixie’s eyes shot open to see those two putting even more herbs in. The water slipped up to the bottom of her nose, but she couldn’t move. Her limbs were completely numb and even the air was getting hard to breathe. Her heart rushed as the water rose to her nostrils, forcing Trixie to hold her breath for her life. Still, those two just dumped more herbs in!
It finally dawned on Trixie to teleport. She reappeared safely on the platform, though her limbs still refused to obey her. Lying motionless, Trixie glared at those two. They looked back, eyes wide and mouths open. Those imbeciles put too much of that herb in! Their incompetence was nothing short of staggering.
The Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic easily lifted the two of them, dumping them into the hot, saturated water. They quickly swam back and tried to heave themselves out, but Trixie stopped them, pushing them back into the middle of the enormous tub. They tried to get out at the far end, but Trixie dragged them back in.
They splashed and thrashed in the water as they proclaimed their apologies and begged to be let go, as if such a gesture would placate The Great and Powerful Trixie. Her strength returning, Trixie climbed to her hooves, marching over to the edge of the water as they again made it to the edge. Their heads were starting to slip beneath the water and they barely had the strength just to get their front hooves up on the platform. They begged for mercy, looking up at The Great and Powerful Trixie with pleading eyes.
Using her powerful aura, Trixie enveloped the duo, lifting them free from the toxic water. Pushing them back several feet, she dropped them back in, watching them splash down into the middle of the enormous tub. They tried to come up, and one of them actually managed to get her head above the water just long enough to get another breath of air before sinking beneath the water.
The Great and Powerful Trixie watched as their frantic efforts stilled. Only after they stopped moving did Trixie summon her incredible magic again. She shattered the side of the tub, sending the water rushing over the spa, and spilling the two into the middle of the floor. They coughed and gasped for air as Trixie descended the staircase. She stopped at the bottom stair, looking disdainfully at the pool of water on the floor.
Trixie’s immeasurably powerful magic expelled the water from her hide, and swept it from the floor. The water splashed into the walls and ceiling, but Trixie and her path were no longer sullied. On her way out of the spa, she noticed that those two started to recover and get up. Trixie decided that they had gotten off too easily. She picked them up, and dumped them into what remained of the hot tub. Then, she swept up the water again, dumping it on them. Most of the water just spilled back out, but hopefully enough remained to keep those two paralyzed for a good, long time.
These worthless little things had become just boring and irritating to The Great and Powerful Trixie. Not only did She have to go and let some stupid beavers through Her shield, but She keeps hearing them complain and mutter. They are not worshiping Her for Her undeniable greatness and wisdom. Such ungrateful curs!
Hearing nearby whispers, Trixie grabbed a few of them and lifted them into the air. She reveled in their panicked screams as they uselessly kicked their legs and flapped their wings. Smiling, The Great and Powerful Trixie knew exactly how to punish these things for their ineffable ignorance. Her great power split the earth, and She lowered them into the crevice before slamming it shut on them, leaving only their heads exposed above the solid dirt and rock. Their screams and fervent apologies only made The Great and Powerful Trixie smile.
Her regal steps swept Her magnificent form through the town, punishing any and every thing that dared to so much as think about something other than worshiping Her. It was the only source of enjoyment left for The Great and Powerful Trixie. There was nothing Her magic couldn’t do. No need it couldn’t satisfy. So now everything was just so… trivial.
But exerting that power over these things, that was still enthralling. Bizarrely so. Their screams and begging were as a heavenly choir in Her ears. Their suffering and tears brought Her smiles and laughter.
Finally, She came back to the cage containing that insolent thing that challenged Her greatness. What kind of blind, ignorant thing cannot realize when it is in the presence of a superior being? It was like an ant defying a god!
The Great and Powerful Trixie kicked the cage again. Instead of giving Her that gratifying scream it just clung to the bars and glared at Her. No. It was looking down on Her. How dare it!
A surge of Her mighty magic enveloped the cage. She smiled as electric arced through the metal and through it. It screamed in agony, recoiling from the bars. Then, it crashed into the bars behind it, screaming again. After screaming and bouncing for just a second, it collapsed in a heap, its screams going silent.
The Great and Powerful Trixie removed the spell from the cage. Then, She grabbed its head and made it look at Her. It still had that defiant look on its face! It dared to look at Her with something other than the divine reverence She deserved!
She was about to cast another spell, when an echoing reached Her. Something was disturbing Her shield again. This stupid thing could wait. The Great and Powerful Trixie summoned Her chariot again to cart her to the source of the disturbance.
Of course. Of all of the stupid, ungrateful things, the one that disturbed The Great and Powerful Trixie’s shield was none other than the weakest, most annoying one of all: Twilight Sparkle. To make matters worse, she wanted a rematch! As if she had not learned her lesson from last time.
The Great and Powerful Trixie refused. She had no reason to indulge this insect’s delusions. But she accused Trixie of cheating! The nerve! To make things worse, she boasted about her own amulet of power, an ancient artifact from beyond the Everfree. This piqued The Great and Powerful Trixie’s interest. Her amulet was inimitable… could even more power be possible?
Then The Great and Powerful Trixie realized it. A rematch with this pathetic pony meant that She would be able to humiliate her again. The thoughts of her humiliation and agony were enough to make up Trixie’s mind. It was on.
A simple teleportation spell returned The Great and Powerful Trixie to the town’s center with that powerless pony. She was ready to humiliate Twilight Sparkle then and there, but that twit made what had to be a monumental eureka moment for such an imbecile. Trixie deigned to draw a crowd. A roaring gathering would only deepen Twilight’s humiliation.
Once a sufficient crowd had materialized, The Great and Powerful Trixie performed a trifle of a spell. It was as easy as could be, but a weakling like Twilight Sparkle could never hope to match it. That foolish mare actually looked confident. She let out a blast of magic, and to Trixie’s dismay, she had done it! Then she showed off, performing similar spells in rapid procession.
Even lifting a twig would’ve been beyond Twilight Sparkle’s skills! For her to cast spells of this caliber meant that her amulet had to be a thousand—no—a million times more powerful than the Alicorn amulet. Eager to revel in this new power, The Great and Powerful Trixie took the amulet from her. Removing Her Alicorn amulet, She put the new amulet on.
That was the end of my time in hell. Or, at least it should have been. Turns out, after falling into hell, it becomes a part of you.
I had quickly learned that the amulet from Twilight was a mere decoy. Her spells were fabricated. My power was gone and I was in a haze, only remembering bits and pieces after putting the Alicorn amulet on. I was remorseful of my actions, even if I couldn’t remember them properly.
That day of horrors was months ago. Before my memory returned, I found that I had gone from pariah to monster. Nopony would so much as tolerate my presence. Before I had just been a laughing stock, but after that day… I wished desperately I could be a laughing stock again. Times like these, I still do, but they are becoming far and few between.
With a sigh, I swirled a goblet in my crimson aura. The deep red fluid stirred, giving off a steady aroma. I look around, seeing dozens of filthy ponies toiling in my name. There is even one here at my throne, a collar around her throat. I knew without looking that outside my palace was a small town, isolated by a powerful force field from the rest of Equestria.
Knowledge is power. At first, the haze clouding my memory stunted my abilities. Time, however, revived those memories. I learned of the terrible things I had done, of the suffering I reveled in. I also learned of the spells I had once cast. It took a great deal of effort and reliving memories that were best left forgotten, but I regained the power granted to me from the Alicorn amulet from deep within myself.
That power did not come without a price. The memories of the torture I had inflicted slowly changed.
No. That’s not right.
My feelings towards those memories changed. At first I reviled them. The things I did were horrible and it turned my stomach just thinking of them. Then, I started to become indifferent as my power returned. Now… now I usually can’t stop thinking about them. Fetishizing the suffering, even becoming excited and energized by them.
Only in brief spurts like these am I capable of regret. They become rarer each day. Now, I am more inclined to torture ponies than to lament my sins.
That accursed amulet dragged me into the abyss of hell. I may have clawed my way out, but that journey transformed me into a demon. It is only a matter of time before my humanity leaves me altogether, leaving nothing but a soulless monster of unimaginable power.
I fear what the future holds.
