Assassinverse: Vengeance of the Star

In the eight months that passed since the creation of Twilight’s Castle (which many now called “Castle Everfree”), Ponyville had become much larger due to Everfree, Winsome Falls, Froggy Bottom Bogg and even Rambling Rock Ridge being turned into part of the village. With a few houses being built around the Castle itself, Twilight eventually converted the rest of Everfree Forest into another part of her Kingdom.

At Zecora's insistence, after the more feral creatures had been relocated while she had a part of the forest where she lived preserved and remodeled into a park almost the same size as Ponyville itself, allowing several of the rare plants that she used for her potions to thrive and grow while letting some of the more docile animals dwell there peacefully.

It was at that point she revealed that each of the towers would serve not only as a lookout but hold a secondary function as well, however at the moment only two had been revealed:

The more feral creatures that formerly dwelled in the Everfree Forest were relocated to the Yellow Tower near the edge of Froggy Bottom Bogg and Ghastly Gorge, which doubled as an animal sanctuary that Fluttershy herself was put in charge of (at her own insistence).

The Blue Tower at the top of Winsome Falls was quickly converted into a base and training ground for Ponyville’s branch of the Wonderbolts, which also accepted other species like Griffins, Changelings, and other flying species.

While she had yet to reveal the secondary functions for the other towers, she wasted no time posting several guards at every entrance and exit before enveloping her Kingdom in a powerful triple-layer teleport-proof shield cast by both her brother and herself.

Soon after this, Twilight revealed her own personal Guard to the public:

The Dusk Guard; who wore armor similar to Celestia and Luna’s Royal Guard, only dark lavender in color with the same six-pointed star over the chest area.

The Skyhawks: the elite flyers of the Wonderbolts, their armor consisting dark blue coverall-style flight suits with red lining, in addition they wore visored helmets marked with yellow lightning bolts.

The Stone Crackers; who mostly consisted of those who specialized in brute force and had the strength to back it up. Earth Ponies and Minotaurs made up their forces and their armor consisted of dark gray-brown coveralls with knee/hock pads.

As far as the public knew, these were the fractions that served under Princess Twilight. However, there was in fact a fourth...

The Silent Feather; the group that handled the stealth missions, out of sight and in the shadows. As far as the public knew, they didn't even exist...

With all these changes, Ponyville soon became known as “The Harmonic Empire”.

Trixie sighed as as she made her way through Ponyville, ignoring some of the glares that some of the citizens sent her, not that she could blame them… considering the last time she was here she outright enslaved the town. There were bound to be ponies that were more than uncomfortable with her presence.

She had to admit, she’d been surprised when she was contacted by the Princess… and very, VERY nervous considering what happened in the past few months… sure she said she'd forgiven her…but then again things could change...

She quickly shook her head, mentally berating herself for thinking like that. The Princess wouldn't have summoned her here just to take vengeance.

...right?

"Keep it together Trixie.... s-she doesn't hate you. That'd be ridiculous.... yes. Yes it would. You're proud. You're Trixie Lulamoon." She told herself as she saw the castle in the distance.

And as she got closer, her nervousness only got worse, the fact that she’d witnessed just how far Twilight was willing to go during the execution was not helping.

Eventually she found herself crossing the bridge to the castle, the double doors leading inside bearing a large six-pointed star on the front with each of the symbols of elements of harmony surrounding it. Trixie stared up at the massive castle before her and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing…" She said as she knocked on the door.

Immediately the symbol at the bottom of the star (Laughter) opened up and the cyan Unicorn was immediately greeted by an orange Pegasus mare with a yellow mane wearing purple foreleg shoes, a sleeveless violet and dark purple tailcoat with a six-pointed star-shaped pin at the throat. “May I help you ma’am?”

"U-um… P-P-Princess T-Twilight summoned me?"

“Your name…?”

"T-Trixie Lulamoon… the Great and Powerful Trixie, Trixie the Apologetic?" Trixie told the mare with worry in her eyes.

The mare continued to stare at her, as if silently judging her, determining whether or not she was a threat. After what seemed like an eternity she closed the window and opened the door.

“The Princess is overseeing her troops at the moment, please follow me.” She stated bluntly.

"Oh... well thank you." Trixie said as the mare walked away. Trixie followed right behind her as the door closed behind her.

The mare lead Trixie down the main hall at a steady pace, passing by several statues of guards in armor, as well as several stained glass windows depicting several events, including Nightmare Moon's defeat, Fluttershy befriending Discord, the day Spike saved the Empire from King Sombra.

"Ten-HUT!"

Trixie was brought out of her thoughts as they passed by the courtyard and glanced down, seeing all of Twilight's forces, all of them standing at attention in the presence of their Princess.

"Your highness. Your appointment has arrived." The mare said. Twilight turned to them and nodded.

"I understand. I'll be there in just a moment." She told them.

Trixie couldn't help but shudder nervously and she met Twilight's gaze, before her was not the same Unicorn that choked when put under the spotlight. No, this mare was one who gave off the vibe that she could completely destroy you in an instant if she felt like it.

As Trixie was lead away, Twilight turned back to address her new guards. "So.... when will Twilight turn her attention to Trixie?" Trixie asked the guard.

"My guess? When she's ready. So for now just wait." The mare told her. As they continued through the castle they eventually found themselves just outside the throne-room. The cyan Unicorn blinked when she noticed a yellow Unicorn with a red and yellow mane waiting there as well, said Unicorn stared at her for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and returning to her book.

"Um... who was that?" Trixie asked the guard but the mare remained silent. "Oh... going to use the silent treatment hm?"

“I was merely told to escort you here.” The mare replied. “You are to wait outside the throne room just like her until her Majesty arrives, if you really need somepony to talk to, make due with her, I have work to do.” She stated before flying off. Leaving the two Unicorns alone.

"So.... what are you here for?" Trixie asked the other unicorn.

Looking up from her book, the yellow Unicorn sighed. “Well, the Princess sent me a message to assist her in “helping Equestria advance” as she put it.” She explained. “It's been awhile since I’d last been in Equestria, and after hearing what happened to Spike well… I knew she'd need all the support she could get, and I'm going to help her to the best of my abilities… it's the least I could do after what she did for me.” She briefly glanced at her book before turning her attention to Trixie.

"Well... that's good." Trixie mumbled, though curious about what events transpired between this Unicorn and the Princess, she decided not to press the issue.

"So what about you?"

"Pardon?" Trixie asked.

"Well I'm curious as to why the Princess of Magic would summon the "Great and Powerful Trixie", what's your reason for being here?" She asked.

"I don't-wait," Trixie blinked. "How do you know my name? I didn't even mention it...."

For the first time since they started talking, the yellow unicorn looked nervous, however she quickly regained her composure. "I... saw a few of your shows..."

"Oh... well that's not surprising. Trixie does get around." Trixie said with a flick of her hoof to get a hair out of her face.

The yellow unicorn did her best not to snicker at the accidental innuendo. “I suppose you do…" She replied with a small giggle. “Since I already know you it would be rude not to introduce myself,” She stated as she held out her hoof. “I'm Sunset Shimmer.”

"Trixie Lulamoon." She told her, shaking her hoof with a smile on her face.

"It's good to see you two getting along so well…" Twilight's voice echoed throughout the hall, catching the two off guard. The doors to the throne-room were enveloped in the lavender aura and pulled open, revealing the Princess herself sitting on her throne.

“Please, come in, both of you. We have much to discuss…”

"Um... Twilight may Trixie ask... what's with the whole… evil overlord look?"

Twilight chuckled. “I've simply undergone a change... for the better.” She explained before glancing at Sunset, who seem to be less shocked by her appearance and more concentrated on covering the lower half of her face with her book, seemingly hoping the Princess wouldn't notice the tinge of red on her cheeks. “Good to see you made it, Sunset. I trust the modifications I made to the portal are working properly?”

"Well yes, with the power sources you provided were very useful." Sunset smiled, no longer feeling flustered. "With our portal now perfectly synced to yours we can travel to and from-"

"Sorry for the interruption, but am I missing something here?" Trixie asked with a downright baffled look on her face.

"My apologies Trixie." Twilight stated as she made her way back to her throne. "That little bit of information will be elaborated upon once I have your answer..."

"What answer, exactly?" Sunset asked curiously.

Twilight sat down on her throne and gave them a much more serious look. "What would you do to reach your full potential?"

"Well... I'd certainly love to be the apprentice of a great teacher." Trixie asked.

"Same here." Sunset said. "I mean that's more or less the best way to do reach your full potential."

“And should you find such a teacher will to take you under their wing, how dedicated would you be to them?” Twilight asked, her expression unchanging. “Would you be willing to follow their orders without question?”

"Well.... yeah." Trixie said. "Most definitely.... unless that teacher was a serial killer or a criminal in which case I would try and find someway to leave their apprenticeship."

Sunset nodded in agreement.

Twilight paused before asking. “And if you teachers were the targets of those who sought to kill them, would you defend them even if it meant your end?”

"Of course!" Trixie said. "I'd defend my teacher to the death if that was the case!"

“...would you take a life for them?”

Sunset glanced at Trixie. For a moment, the Unicorn seemed nervous and uncertain about her answer, but after a moment of thought she regained her composure and took a deep breath. "...if it was the only way to save them...yes."

With that final answer Twilight soared from her place on the throne and landed right in front of the two. "Trixie Lunamoon, while in the past you tended to talk of big game and boast about your abilities…but I cannot deny the fact that-like Sunset here-you do have potential hidden within the depths of your body..." She stated that she leaned down to meet her eye to eye. "...and I would like to be the one to help bring out that potential..."

"Wait.... you.... you would be my..... Trixie's teacher?" Trixie asked her with a shocked expression on her face. "But.... Trixie-"

“Believe me, I was just as shocked as you were when she came to me with this offer…” Sunset smiled.

"B-B-But... for Twilight to be Trixie's teacher..." Trixie stammered.

"If you feel that this would be too much for you, I won't argue or force you to join." Twilight said, placing her hoof on her shoulder.

Trixie took a bit longer to consider but made her decision. "Trixie wou-no, I would love for you to be my teacher." Trixie said as she bowed. "I would be honored."

“Good.” Twilight nodded as she started to trot around the two. “Sunset here has been my apprentice for a little longer than you. Should I not be present she will teach you what I have taught her.” She explained, to which Trixie nodded.

“Keep this in mind though…” Twilight continued, her tone now becoming much darker. "...I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, as my apprentices your tasks will be not only difficult, but life-threatening.” She began as she paced around the two. “These self-righteous terrorists think that they are "freeing Equestria" by removing my "corrupt influence".” She scoffed. “They are nothing but pretentious cowards too afraid to see the land around them change, and as my apprentices you will end their lives if they try taking my life. You will NOT hesitate to kill them if you get the chance.” She stated firmly before stopping in front of them. “Remember, both of you have been given a second chance to change, a luxury I have no intention of sharing with these self-righteous fools, I suggest you that do not squander it."

"I understand." Trixie said as she bowed before her. "I'm glad you chose Trixie as your student. I will not let you down."

Twilight gazed down at her for a moment before giving them a sincere smile. “Thank you, I assure you the choice you have made will be most beneficial…” She stated before her horn glowed, a second later the same Pegasus mare from before entered the room.

“You summoned me, your Majesty?”

“See to it that my newest apprentice is escorted to one of the guest rooms for now.” She ordered, gesturing to the cyan Unicorn. The Pegasus nodded and proceeded to escort her out of the room.

“Well, that went better than expected…” Sunset said as she watched them leave. “Laid it on pretty thick there, I thought she'd at least hesitate a little after that speech…”

“She needed to know what she was getting into… I couldn't afford to sugarcoat anything, I will not allow her to go into this situation blind.”

“Nor will I.” Sunset added sternly before turning to face Twilight. “So why exactly did you call me here?”

“It's simple really, when I visited the human world there was one thing that stuck in my mind: the fact that even without magic, these creatures had made so many technological advancements… and yet our world, with all it magic still relies on steampunk technology.” She stated that she made her way back to her throne. “It baffles me that other nations are developing their technology to the point that Equestria is falling behind, even Equestria's medicinal knowledge pales in comparison to that of the Minotaurs!” She explained, her voice raising ever so slightly as her wings flared open, causing Sunset to flinch. The Alicorn quickly calmed herself. “ that is why I have summoned you, I intend to bring Equestria out of it's medieval stasis, but in order to do that I need your help.”

“I understand your Majesty.” Sunset said with little hesitation. “If we are to bring her kingdom to a new age of technological prosperity, we need to study the technology of that world in order to better integrate it into ours.”

“My thoughts exactly." Twilight replied with a smile. “Sunset, you are return to the human world and bring back the most basic technology we can understand, we’ll then modify it and slowly integrate it into our society.”

“Understood your Majesty.” Sunset replied with a quick salute. “I'll head back immediately-”

“One more thing, you have relocated the portal on your side right?”

Sunset nodded. “No need to worry about that, I had the statue moved to the storage basement of the school and replaced with a different one in order to keep anyone from discovering and or stumbling into it. Only Principles Celestia and Luna know about it and only I am allowed access to it.”

“Good call Sunset, report back to me once you return.”

With a simple nod Sunset left the throne room via teleportation.

“Celestia… Luna…” Twilight mumbled as she glared out the window towards Canterlot. “You've let this farce go on far too long, change is coming… and those who can't accept it will simply be left behind…”