"Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!" Roared the crowd. The azure mare took in the applause as she was finally acknowledged for her full talent. She let her gaze drift across the crowd below. She knew this was where she was meant to be. The Great and Powerful Trixie, on top of the world and nothing could bring her down.
"Trixie! Trixie!" The cheers continued.
"Yes, I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, am the most magical and talented unicorn in Equestria!" She yelled out.
"Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!" The crowd continued to shout, their combined voice taking on a tone of anger.
The azure unicorn took a few steps back as she noticed the shift in the crowds' mood.
"Equestria to Trixie!" rang a single familiar voice, its anger once again shattering Trixie's dreams of grandeur.
Trixie's eyes shot open as her fantasy world dissolved back into the furthest depths of her mind, and as the bleakness that was now her life began to rebuild around her. The stage she had stood on remained. However, the crowd that had filled her mind was nowhere to be seen. In fact, only a single seat was in use.
"Gilda," she hissed, glaring daggers at the beast lounging in the chair.
"Welcome back, oh Great and Powerful Trixie." Sarcasm dripped from the griffns' voice.
"What do you want? Shouldn't you be harassing some poor ponies for not being on the 'list'?"
Gilda laughed. "You wish. The boss told me to come back here and make sure you were actually practicing. Instead, I find you back here talking to nothing and setting fireworks off every few seconds."
A bright red blush began to cover Trixie's face as she tried to remember everything she might have said and anything that blasted griffin could and would use against her. "So is that all you were sent down here for? To bug me?"
"Nope, boss also picked up a few books on basic magic. Told me he wanted you to study them and learn every spell."
Trixie's embarrassment quickly melted away and was replaced by another shade of red; anger. "What could he possibly think I could learn from such simple books?"
Gilda shrugged and flew up to the balcony overlooking the stage. However, before she was fully out of sight she called one last shot at the unicorn below.
"Maybe he doesn't want his main act to be such a lame one trick pony?" She finished with a laugh and disappeared into the darkness above the stage.
Trixie stood in the silence, daring anything to happen.
Is this really my life? She silently asked herself, I mean, I know I've done some stupid things. But really, what did I ever do to deserve such a lowly job? Actually, I can take the job, it's the damn griffin that I can't stand. As she had done so many times before, Trixie began running through the events that lead to her downfall. Everything had been going perfectly up until she'd arrived in Ponyville, a small village a short distance from her main destination of Canterlot.
She'd gone through her usual routine, fireworks, advanced magic, all the usual razzle and dazzle. It was business as usual up until she'd heard the startling news; that Ponyville was home to none other than Princess Celestia's personal student. That was when she created her master plan. She fabricated the story as to how she was able to defeat and Ursa Major. All she need was that little unicorn to send her teacher a message about how the Great and Powerful Trixie was so powerful she defeated one of the deadliest creatures in Equestria.
Sadly for her, that was a terrible plan. After she had set her master plan into motion, she thought it would be smooth sailing all the way to Canterlot. That dream was quickly crushed, along with her trailer.
"Hey, Trixie, you still down there?"
Once again, Trixie's thoughts were shattered by outside noise. Searching around the large theater she was able to pinpoint the source of the sound being the balcony above. Luckily for her, it wasn't that damn griffin. Instead it was Stage Lights, her boss.
Trixie paused for a moment as she thought back to the day she'd met Stage Light. After she had lost her trailer she made her way to Canterlot, still holding onto her plans for greatness. After working for a few days on the streets, all of her money going to hotel rent, Stage happened to pass by and apparently thought she'd make a great addition to his theater. Apparently he even enjoyed her 'Great and Powerful' persona. So, after offering her a place to live and a paying job, she'd been working for him ever since.
"Trixie?" He shouted again, snapping Trixie back to reality.
"Yeah boss, I'm down here."
Stage Lights let out a sigh of relief. "Did Gilda bring you those books I got for you?"
Trixie did her best to hide any anger that those book might have brought her. She knew Stage got those for the best of both of them.
"Yeah, she left them on a bench and left. I haven't gotten around to checking them. Where did you get them anyways? From here they look quite old."
Stage chuckled. "Old doesn't even begin to describe them. I called in a few favors and got these books sent directly from Princess Celestia's personal library."
Trixie was completely stunned, "P...pr...Princess Celestia's personal library?" She let out possibly the most adorable squeal as she disappeared in a brilliant blue flash, books with her.
Stage let out another laugh as he turned off the theater's lights. "It's good to see she's gotten teleportation down."
With another flash Trixie reappeared in her room. Surprisingly, the room Stage Light provided her was larger than her trailer, something Trixie was extremely grateful for. She’d found her trailer quickly filling up with useless junk she'd collected over the years. Even better, she only had one neighbor, sadly, it was Gilda.
"So, let’s see what we've got here," she said placing the three worn books on her bed. "Advanced Magic Theories and Spells, by Bill Neigh." What a weird first name, she thought, picking up the next book. "100 Things I Can Get Away With Because I'm Celestia, Written by the Best Princess." The buck? "Okay then, what’s the last book? Familiars and Spirits: A Guide to Binding." Oh, now that sounds interesting.
A small grin began to creep across Trixie's face "However, before I begin some magic training, I believe it's time I learned at least fifty things Celestia can get away with."
Meanwhile, back in the main lobby...
"Oh, come on, boss. Why do I have to clean up?" Whined the griffin. "It was Trixie's show that made this mess, why can't she clean up?"
"Gilda, remind me again why I hired you?" Answered Stage Light with a laugh.
"Because of my kind personality and great people skills?" Retorted the griffin.
"If only." He laughed. "How about I make you a deal? You clean up the lobby before we open tomorrow, and I'll let you take tomorrow off."
Almost instantly the griffin's mood changed. Now she had a reason to work. Sure, she would have done it either way. Stage Light was one of the few ponies who was willing to give her a chance, let alone a job and a place to stay. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she owed him everything she had.
As Gilda returned to the current conversation she noticed a small grin on Stage's face. She was confused as to what he was making him so happy. It was only after she caught her own reflection in one of the lobby mirrors that she realized she had been smiling the entire time.
"Don't worry, boss, by tomorrow morning this place will be so clean you'll give me the week off."
"We'll see about that. Also, don't forget to lock up." With another chuckle and a wave goodbye Stage began to head towards the large double doors at the front of the lobby. However, as he reached it, he paused and turned back to face Gilda.
"This time, though, would you two try not to break anything?"
A tinge of red spread across her face as she thought back to the previous night.
"You lousy griffin!" The enraged azure unicorn below yelled. "Why don't you come down here and fight me instead of hiding in the rafters? Afraid you'll lose a few more of your precious feathers?"
"What's the matter, oh Great and Powerful Trixie? I thought you were the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria! Surely you can hit me if you really wanted to. Or are you not as great as you claim to be?"
Trixie seethed with anger as a she prepared a spell to knock Gilda right out of the air. Without pausing to aim, Trixie released the spell, sending a large ball of blue flames hurling up into the rafters above. Sure, the spell wouldn't cause any damage to the building or any real harm to Gilda, it was at least enough to shut her up for the remainder of the evening.
There was a loud squawk as spell made contact with Gilda, sending her plummeting from the rafters above. Luckily for her, several of the large cushioned chairs were down below to catch her. Sadly for her, her combined weight and decent speed cause the splintery death of four innocent chairs and one small table.
"Gilda, are you listening?" Rang the familiar voice of Stage Light
"Oh, yeah, gotcha boss. No messes, and no worries. I'll make this place is locked up tighter than Trixie's diary. Which by the way, I'll break into eventually."
Stage laughed. "You leave that poor mare alone and maybe next time she won't shoot you down. Now have a good night, I'll see you at 8."
With that, Gilda was left in complete silence. Looking across the lobby, she could already tell this room was in dire need of a sweeping, and coming from her, that meant a lot.
"Meh, I might as well get started," she muttered to herself as she made her way towards the cleaning closet. A quick sweep and a wipe down of the tables, and I've earned the day off, she told herself. The large grin that had previously covered her face now returned full force.
After retrieving the worn and beaten broom from the closet she began one of her favorite and least favorite tasks that came with her job. On one talon, sweeping was such a simple task that not only could she complete it without paying much attention, she could spend that time thinking. One the other talon, these days she found herself thinking of only one thing; Rainbow Dash and the fight that destroyed their childhood friendship. Once again, the events that led to her current position began playing through her head.
It all started when her lame parents kicked her out. Apparently, fastest griffin in Equestria wasn't a good enough life goal for them. After that, things just continued to get worse. She'd spent days trying to find a place to stay. She had even started looking up old school buddies, yet none of them would take her. That is, until she got to Rainbow Dash, one of the few friends she knew she could always count on.
Tracking Rainbow Dash down wasn't hard, for a pony that almost never stopped moving. It was surprising to so how far she actually got from Cloudsdale in the time since they had last seen each other. Setting everything else up was easy, it only took a bit of convincing to get Rainbow Dash to believe Gilda was only visiting. Sure, after a few days and possibly a few drinks she was going to tell Rainbow everything that had happened to her. If drinks were involved, she'd probably beg to stay.
However, that faint glimmer of hope was quickly snuffed out by a pink maned pony.
Pinkie Pie was her name and wrecking Gilda's friendship was apparently her game. At first the pink hate machine was only a minor annoyance. However, after two days of her nonstop torment, she thought things had finally begun to quiet down. That is until Pinkie invited her to a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party.
Gilda paused for a second as she mentally skipped the party that destroyed any ties she still had with her only remaining friend. Sure, Dash had been the one to set up those pranks. But if that damn pink mare had just minded her own business none of this would have happened.
After that she'd just gone from town to town trying to get a job. However, as usual, fate didn't smile on her. No pony in a small town would be willing to hire a griffin. Apparently eating meat makes you some horrific abomination that will eat a foal the moment you look away. That left her one option; Canterlot. Though she had never been there herself, she knew of some griffins who had managed to get real jobs there.
That was when she had met Stage Light. He had been wandering the streets apparently looking for undiscovered stars, when he'd bumped into her. Surprisingly enough, he began to apologize; something none of the high class snobs would even consider. Even more surprisingly he offered to buy her lunch, something else she hadn't seen in Canterlot. Sure, she didn't like hay fries or clover sandwiches, but free food is free food.
After talking for a bit he offered her a job as his cleaning crew. Apparently everyone else in Canterlot thought they were above such a thing. Of course Gilda refused, cleaning up someone else's mess was just too lame. Then he changed his offer, to working as a bouncer, which apparently also meant cleaning crew.
Gilda's thoughts were interrupted as a brilliant blue flash went off in the center of the room.
"Hey bird brain, I need your help right now," blurted the azure unicorn.
Before Gilda had time to react, a blue glow quickly coated her body and in another flash both the pony and griffin had been transported from the lobby to the main theater. Without pause Trixie jumped atop the stage, landing gracefully in the center of a circle of lit candles. Once she turned back she noticed her passenger hadn't moved.
"Gilda? You okay? I didn't forget part of you in the other room, right? It was eagle and lion to begin with?"
After a few seconds Gilda finally showed signs of life, as she promptly threw up behind one of the large cushioned chairs. Trixie cringed as the sounds echoed throughout the large theater, only adding to the disgust of the scene unfolding before her.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. Gilda's head snapped back above the chairs as she wiped her beak with one of her claws. A look of anger spread across her face as her focus snapped to the magician.
"What did I tell you about teleporting me?!"
Trixie let out a nervous chuckle, "that it was the only rule I shouldn't break?"
Gilda nodded. "And why was that?"
"Because the consequence aren't good for anyone?"
The griffin nodded again. "Good, now give me one good reason why I shouldn't try to eat you."
Trixie backed out of the circle cautiously, doing her best to maintain eye contact with the griffin. "Because you secretly admire me?"
"Nope."
"Because griffins only eat small creatures?"
"No..." Gilda paused as she thought about it. Griffins usually only ate small creatures such as fish and rabbits. Sure, she could live off of pony food if it was necessary, but to her it was disgusting. Who in their right mind would eat grass? No! Focus, Gilda, eat Trixie then contemplate your diet.
"Fine then," Gilda said bluntly, "give me a second reason"
"I'll pay you if you help me practice a new spell," answered the mare with an awkward chuckle. "100 bits," she quickly added.
"Fine, you've piqued my interest. What do I have to do and how long will it take?"
Trixie let out a sigh of relief as she stepped back into the circle. "Your job is quite simple, really. All you have to do is make sure nothing gets out."
"What do you mean, gets out?" Stuttered the griffin.
"It's just a simple summoning spell," Trixie said as she raised the book with her magic, "that only the Princess should use," she added in a low mutter.
"Wait, wait, wait, did you say only the Princess can use it? You mean the only creature in Equestria that can move the sun? How does any of this seem like a good idea to you?"
"Relax, once I've summoned the spirit he'll be bound to me. This will be great for my show! How many unicorns can say they have contacts on the other side?" The azure mare began flipping through the pages of the large dusty tome.
"Oh, so you're summoning a dead thing? That's fantastic. How do you expect me to stop it from 'getting out?" Retorted the griffin.
"You're a clever girl, I'm sure if anything goes wrong you'll be able to deal with it. Now get ready; once I begin reading nothing can enter or leave the circle."
Gilda nodded; sure she didn't like any of this, but as much as she didn't like to admit it she knew Trixie had a reasonable idea of what she was doing.
"Tantir-mis-ah," Trixie began to read, the flames on the candles quickly growing more energetic as the magical glow intensified around both Trixie and the spell tome. As the air began to crackle with energy, Gilda cautiously backed away.
"Trobeen-zar-ha-ta," The magical energies continued to grow stronger until they formed into a visible cylinder next to Trixie, small bolts of magical firing off with the container.
"Kanda!" With the first shout, the first signs of the spirit began to form. It was definitely a pony, Gilda was sure about that. However, at this point, she was unable to make out any of the finer details.
"Kanda!" With a sudden red flash, the spirit within the cylinder of magic came fully into focus as if someone had finished an incomplete drawing. However, the now visible details only served to add to Gilda's fears. As she had assumed before, the spirit was in fact that of a pony. However, there were a few things wrong with it, not counting the whole being-dead thing.
First off was the most visible feature; one of his legs was missing. In its' place was a large metal blade. His face was the second point of disturbing interest; a look of pure insanity was plastered on his face, his mouth stuck in a permanent grin as his eyes continued to shift around the room.
However, Trixie remained unaware of the spirits presence.
"Kanda!" This time, the burst of energy seemed to excite the spirit as began pounding on the magical walls that held him captive.
"Trixie!?" Shouted the griffin as the spirit continued his assault on the barrier. "Trixie!?! I really think you should stop now!" Gilda was quickly filled with a gut wrenching fear as a small crack formed along the side of the cylinder.
"Kanda!" With a final swing the barrier shattered and the magical field quickly dissipated, leaving the semi-clueless mare and extremely terrified griffin alone with what appeared to be a slightly angry ghost.
It was only then that Trixie became aware of her horrible mistake.
"Hey Gilda, whatever happened to making sure nothing escapes?"
Gilda let out a terrified chuckle. "Yeah, this is above my pay grade."
Not breaking eye contact with the spirit on the stage, Trixie quickly moved over to where Gilda had been standing. The spirit remained motionless upon the stage, except for its' eyes, which continued to randomly glance around the room.
Doing her best to remain regain her composure, Gilda finally looked back at Trixie. "So, it's bound to you right?"
As if on cue, the spectral pony began to walk towards them, each step marked by the clicking of his metal blade on the hard stage floor.
Trixie let out a nervous chuckle. "I guess we're about to find out." Mustering up what courage she had left, she took several steps towards the spirit.
"Spirit, I command you to stop and obey me."
The spirit continued its' march unhindered.
"Spirit! I am your master." Trixie frowned, her voice taking a more commanding tone. "Stop."
The spirit had made his way down the stairs, and was closing the gap between him and the two creatures.
"Trixie, I don't think its working. Do you have any other bright ideas?"
Trixie nodded. "Yeah, just one. Run!" She shouted as she cantered past Gilda, leaving a small trail of dust in her wake. Gilda quickly caught on to this new plan and followed hastily. After a few seconds of running for their lives they reached the main lobby. Gilda quickly attempted to open the large double doors. Her efforts were rewarded with absolutely nothing.
"Why won't they open!? I haven't even locked them yet!" Shouted the griffin, panic thick in her voice.
"I don't know, but if you're ever going to open those doors you better hurry up. He's getting closer," answered the terrified unicorn. True to her words, the spirit had begun to close the gap between them. Turning back to face Gilda, she was met with another surprise. The griffin was now bashing one of the small lobby chairs against the doors in an attempt to create her own exit.
With a blood curdling shriek the spirit began galloping towards the lobby entrance. In a panic, Trixie did the only thing she could think of; slammed the doors and closed her eyes for impact.
Gilda let out another laugh. "Yes, because two flimsy wooden doors are going to stop a psychopathic ghost." The sudden thump as the ghost made contact with the doors only served to make a fool out of her.
"What kind of ghost can't go through doors?!"
"How am I supposed to know?! Does it look like I've seen a ghost before?" Answered Trixie as she opened her eyes and stared at the doors. The spirit continued his assault on the other side.
Before Gilda had time to give a retort, a large metal blade penetrated the doors, stopping only inches away from Trixie's terrified face.
"Huh, looks like he can go through doors after all."
With another scream Trixie was off, heading up the side staircase leading to the second floor. Pausing only for a second to stare at the door as the blade continued to puncture it, Gilda quickly followed. Just as she managed to reach the top of the stairs, she was able to see Trixie dart into her own room and wasted no time diving in as well.
After several minutes of sitting quietly in the dark, awaiting their inevitable doom, Trixie worked up the courage to turn on her bedrooms only light. It was only then that she found Gilda's hiding spot as the tip of her tail stuck out from underneath Trixie's bed.
Trixie let out a genuine laugh. "Hey bird brain, do you really think hiding under a bed is going to save you?"
"Shut up," retorted the griffin. "It was your idea to hide in a dark room," she continued as she slid herself out from beneath the bed.
"So, what do we do now?" Asked Gilda as she remembered the situation at hand. "How are we supposed to get out? The only windows are downstairs and the door won't open."
A grin spread across Trixie's lips as she realized they still had one way out. "Magic."
"What?"
"I said magic. I can teleport us outside."
"No way. There is no way I'm doing that again," responded the griffin as she shook her head.
Trixie shrugged again. "Okay, suit yourself. You stay here with the angry ghost and I'll send help when I find it."
Terror flashed in Gilda's eyes at the thought of being left alone with that thing running around in the building. She felt even worse that her survival would rely on Trixie coming back for her.
"Fine," she said reluctantly. "Let’s just get this over with."
Once again, Trixie's horn began to glow that familiar blue as both her and Gilda were coated in a layer of magic. Gilda closed her eyes and braced herself for the horrific ride she knew awaited her. But it never came. After several seconds of silence Gilda opened her eyes to see that both she and Trixie remained in her room.
"Why didn't that work?"
"I think it's blocking us in. There seems to be another magical wall right outside of the theater. I can't get past it. But that's a good thing, I guess."
"A good thing?!" Shouted Gilda. "How could being trapped in here with a killer ghost be a good thing?!"
Trixie began searching through the other tomes that sat atop the only bookshelf in her room. "It's a good thing because that means if we can't get out, he can't get out. That thing doesn't seem too friendly. There's no telling how many ponies it could hurt before someone would be able to stop it."
Gilda paused for a moment. "I guess that's a good thing, but what are you doing now? I don't think now is the right time for reading. That thing will be up here any minute."
"Calm down, Gilda. If I'm correct, that thing can't get any further than the lobby. Well, at least until it has more energy. I wasn't able to fully complete the spell, which means it has to finish pulling itself out of where ever it came from on its own. That also might explain why it can't pass through walls."
"What if you're wrong?" Gilda asked nervously.
"Well if I'm wrong it'll be up here any second now. and once it gets here there's not much we can do. So if you want to live I suggest you let me find the book I need."
Gilda sat down on the small pony-sized bed and watched as Trixie continued to shuffle through the large books that sat on the shelf. She allowed her paranoid gaze to shift back towards the single entrance.
"Found it!" Shouted Trixie, her sudden cry of victory only adding to Gilda's shattered nerves.
Trixie spun around, completely oblivious to the fear she had instilled in Gilda, as she placed the large dusty book on her bed.
"Ghosts n' Stuff," Gilda read aloud. "Really? We're going to use some lame supernatural book?"
"Do you have any better ideas?" Asked the mare as she began flipping through the pages, giving herself only a few seconds to study the cover of each chapter until she found the one she needed.
"Here it is," she said as she began reading the page aloud. "Summoning a spirit is extremely dangerous. Even the strongest unicorns should refrain from attempting such summoning."
"Oh, look at that, even the cheesy ghost book agrees with me." Gilda said with a forced smile. However, a quick glare from Trixie silenced her.
"Once summoned, a spirit can only be returned to it place of origin by reciting the summoning spell a second time followed by the words klaatu barada nikto."
For the first time since this had all began, Gilda felt a glimmer of hope. "So all we have to do is get the book and reread the spell and we can send him back?"
Trixie nodded. "Only one problem though."
"What's that?"
"I dropped the book in theater when we ran."
"Crap."
Trixie looked back down at the page, determined to find a way to fight back. "It is believed spirits are repealed by direct contact with iron or salt."
"Oh great, so we're suppose to season the ghost? I don't see how that's going to help us much."
"Stop complaining. If you want those 100 bits I promised, we're going to have to work together. I've got a plan, but first we're going to need some iron." Trixie said with a grin.
After several minutes of searching through the second floor of the theater, paranoia getting the better of both Gilda and Trixie several times, they had managed to find nothing more than a single fireplace poker before meeting back up in front of the small kitchen located across from the stairs leading back down to the lobby.
"That's great, we have a metal stick. That thing has a sword for a leg and we have a stick." Whined the griffin as she placed a talon on the door knob.
"Hey, just open the door. We have no idea how long it'll be before he's able to get up here."
Once again, as if on cue, the sound of metal tapping on wood echoed throughout the stairwell and up towards the second floor. A look of terror flashed over both Gilda's and Trixie's faces as they quickly made their way into the small kitchen. Once inside, however, they were greeted with something they had not expected.
"Is that a shotgun?" Asked the confused griffin as she stared the large weapon sitting on the table, eyeing the small box sitting next to it.
"Why would a shotgun be in a kitchen? I mean, ponies don't even use weapons. I thought these things only existed in cheesy action movies."
Gilda shook her head as she picked it up. "No, they're real. We had some back in my old village. Usually some of the weaker griffins would own them." Gilda continued her examination of the large weapon as she loaded one of the shells into the chamber.
"Hey, look, there's a note." Trixie said as she brought the yellow sticky note in for closer inspection.
"Rock salt shells won't kill it, but they'll slow him down. Try not to die. Your Guardian Angel...? Oh great, so now something else is messing with us," Trixie said sarcastically as she dropped the note. It was only then that Trixie realized how quiet it had become. The clicking of the metal had stopped and the floors no longer creaked. Before she had time to think, however, the silence was broken as the familiar blade began carving its way through the door.
"Duck!" Gilda shouted as she raised the weapon.
Trixie had just enough time to drop to the ground before Gilda fired. The ear-splitting bang echoed throughout the small room as what remained of the door was almost instantly turned to splinters. Shrieks of anger and pain quickly followed as the spirit vanished.
Gilda laughed as she lowered the weapon. "I'd forgotten how much kick these things had."
Trixie stood up, a look of anger on her face as she shook the splinters from her coat. "Are you insane?! You could have killed me!"
"Don't be such a drama queen, I know what I'm doing. Why don't you stop whining and go get that book before he comes back?"
Trixie nodded. "You keep him busy and I'll send him back." With that she was off, leaving Gilda alone with the thing she had probably made even angrier.
"Hey, ugly!" She shouted towards the door as she loaded another shell into her new best friend. "Ugly, where are you~?"
As if to answer her calls, the metal clicking returned. However, to her horror it came from across the kitchen. She turned and fired blindly, the shot echoing once again throughout the small room as she scored a direct hit. Once again the spirit vanished.
"Huh, this is easier than I thoug-" She was cut short as she was thrown across the room by some invisible force, crashing into the wall roughly as her shotgun was thrown the other way. Once again, the spirit reappeared, his twisted grin plastered once again across his face as he slowly marched towards his target.
Gilda searched the room for anything she could use. It was then she spotted her salvation. The fireplace poker she had dropped in favor of the larger shotgun sat inches from her; she quickly scrambled over and picked it up. Spinning around, she was just able to block the first swing. The spirit screeched once again as the poker seemed to burn him. However, this time he did not disappear. Instead, he continued to lean his weight on the poker as his blade drew closer to Gilda.
Downstairs, Trixie surveyed the destruction caused by the spirit. The theater posters that had once lined the beautiful walls now lay scattered and shredded. She made her way into the main theater and was met with the same level of destruction. The remains of several chairs were scattered around and several of the large lights that had hung over head had been ripped down. Luckily for her, the stage remained untouched; she was quickly able to find her book. She quickly flipped through the book back to the page she had used for the original summoning and began to read.
"Tantir-mis-ah," she read aloud, the magical field once again returning.
Back upstairs Gilda wasn't fairing any better, her strength was beginning to fail as the blade drew closer to her throat.
"Trobeen-zar-ha-ta," blue lightning began to crackle around the theater as an unseen source of wind began blowing debris around the room.
So this is how I die? Gilda asked herself as the blade quivered above her throat. At least it wasn't lame.
"Klaatu barada nikto!" The azure mare shouted as the room was engulfed in a brilliant white light.
Just as the blade began to draw blood a blinding white light filled the room. Gilda closed her eyes as she prepared for her inevitable death. However, it never came; instead the room was filled with the pained screams of the spirit as he was ripped from the land of the living and thrust back into Tartarus. Gilda, not wasting any time, scrambled to her feet and grabbed the shotgun just to be safe and ran back downstairs.
After taking some time to survey the damage, she found Trixie sitting atop the stage, a triumphant smile on her face. Not saying anything, Gilda pulled herself up onto the stage and took a seat next to Trixie. For several minutes neither of them said anything, they just continued to survey the damage.
Gilda suddenly burst into a laughing fit, which caught Trixie off guard.
"Whats so funny?" Asked the confused mare.
Gilda did her best to stop her laughing, "do you know what the last thing the boss told me was?
"What?"
"Make sure you don't break anything."
Trixie paused for a moment, before slowly turning to face Gilda "Oooooh, you're gonna be in trou-ble."
This time both of them began to laugh. Sure, they made one hell of a mess. Sure, they were probably going to be fired, and sure, no pony would ever believe them. But they were alive, and that's all that mattered.
The sound of something large dropping to the ground was enough to set the paranoia within Gilda off as without hesitation she spun around and opened fire on the unknown creature behind the stage curtains. After a few seconds of silence they were met with the pained groans from behind the curtains.
"Who's back there?!" Shouted the griffin. "Come out, or I'll shoot again."
The curtains began to rustle as the unknown attacker slowly emerged from behind them. It was only after both Gilda and Trixie were able to get a good look that they realized who they had just shot at.
The two rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, stood before them as regal as always. Just as Trixie and Gilda were about to start begging for their lives, Princess Celestia turned back to face the curtains.
"Moony? You alright back there?" She called out, her sweet voice echoing off the theater walls.
"They shot me in the flank! Who does that?!" Came the returned shouts as the curtains began to rustle. If Trixie and Gilda had thought they had seen everything that night, they were wrong. Nightmare Moon emerged from behind the curtains and moved to take position next to Celestia and Luna.
"Hey, it was your idea to give them a gun," blurted out the Lunar Princess.
"At least I didn't suggest giving them a salt shaker," retorted Nightmare as she glared at Celestia.
Slowly, Trixie raised a hoof into the air.
"Yes, my little pony?" Asked the Sun Goddess.
"What the name of the sun and moon is going on?! First there was a ghost, then we killed the ghost, then you and Princess Luna were here and then Gilda shot Nightmare Moon. Would someone please explain to me what’s going on?"
Celestia gave a soft chuckle. "Yes, I guess there is much to be explained, isn't there?"
Both Trixie and Gilda nodded.
"Well then, I guess it's best if you sit down. This might take a while."
One hour later, Princess Celestia had finished explaining to both Gilda and Trixie as to how everything had gone so wrong. Apparently Stage Light had come to visit her earlier that day and asked to borrow some of her spell books. She could only assume that he must have gotten mixed up and had taken the books from the wrong shelf. She also went onto explain how her and her sister had only noticed the terrible mistake after the magical shock-wave hit them.
"Princess, if you knew what was going on, why didn't you help us?"
Celestia's smile began to fade. "I'm sorry my little pony, I simply couldn't."
"Why not? Were you locked out by its' spell as well?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, Luna and I simply couldn't interfere. Let me explain. I'm sure you've heard about that dragon that decided to roost in the mountains above Ponyville last year, correct?"
Trixie and Gilda both nodded in unison.
"Both my sister and I could have simply moved that dragon with a single thought. However, we're bound by certain rules,"
"Rules, Your Majesty? Could you please explain more?" Trixie asked, becoming increasingly confused.
Celestia's smile returned once again. "I'm going to tell you something only eight creatures on this planet are aware of. I'm sure you're both aware that my sister and I control the movement of the sun and moon, correct?"
Trixie and Gilda nodded once again.
"There are others like us, such as Discord. He controls the balance of Chaos, however, he decided to break the rules and that earned him a nice time out."
"Princess, what are these rules?"
"There are too many to recount, so I'll just give you the most important. The first and most important rule that we must follow is to never directly interfere with the creatures we govern. We may lead them, but we cannot directly change events. They are to occur as they were meant to."
"So even if you don't want to, you're forced to sit back and watch?"
Celestia nodded.
"Wait, if you're not able to interfere, where did this come from?" Asked the griffin as she held up the weapon that had saved both their lives.
Celestia pointed to Nightmare who was currently doing her best to drive the Lunar Princess insane.
"Nightmare is an exception to the rule. By all rights she shouldn't even exist, and yet her she is. So we may or may not have had her provide a little bit of outside assistance." She finished with a wink.
"So what you're telling me is she could have just poofed the spirit away? Why didn't you just have her save us in the first place?!"
"Sadly, she isn't that powerful. Being separated from Luna means her power is at best slightly more than one of the court mages. If she was strong enough I wouldn't have needed to put you through that little test."
"Test?!" Stuttered Gilda, "we almost died! How was any of that a test?!"
"We needed to see if you two could handle yourselves. As much as we don't like it, we need ordinary creatures to fight these things." Answered Princess Luna.
"Wait, there's more?!" Blurted the azure unicorn.
"Yes, lots more; and most are worse than that single spirit you found. However, there are several creatures across Equestria who've chosen to do something about them. However, it's just not enough. We don't have nearly enough to fight them all off and it seems each day there's more."
"And let me guess, you want us to deal with these things?" Asked the griffin.
Both Celestia and Luna nodded. "You can do what we can’t; you can save the creatures that nobody else could. We're giving you the chance to make a difference to save people and hunt real evil. But know that we are not forcing this on you. Both of you can say no and walk away, or you can say yes and we can really get down to business."
Both Gilda and Trixie remained silent they ran over the options in their mind over and over again. However, each time they came to the same conclusion. Sure, they could continue working at the theater, pretending nothing was wrong with the world. But deep down inside, they'd always know that wasn't the truth.
They turned to each other and nodded in unison.
Gilda grinned. "We're gonna need some supplies."
Author's Note
Originally posted October 24th, 2012. Edited by IceOfWaterflock on April 14th, 2014, in preparation for the story's continuation.
