Those Who Seek Death

Trixie had previously been sprawled across the floor of her cage, partly due to lazy indifference, but mostly due to the weakness she'd accrued over the length of her incarceration. By the time the creature calling itself Twilight finished her story, however, she'd completely forgotten about her magically attenuated state. She was up and eyeing 'Twilight' with an expression trapped somewhere between fascinated and disturbed.

"So... let Trixie see if she has this straight," she began once Twilight finished speaking, "in your timeline, Equestria was—no, the entire world—was destroyed by some eldritch horror, you lost everything, went insane, made a shady pact with some kind of... Trixie doesn't even know what and became a god of vengeance, ate the only other ponies alive and the eldritch horror, and came here with another Twilight, her dragon pet, and some other unicorn using some sort of time spell?"

"That is a broad generalization of the situation and you've mistaken some facts, but... yes," Twilight replied stolidly, "that is essentially what led me to this timeline."

"And what's more," Trixie continued incredulously, "you're the reason Equestria is going to Tartarus in a hoofbasket! If Trixie understands you correctly, you messed up this timeline!"

"In the grand scheme of things I suppose I have," Twilight answered readily, "but your actions are still your own. I wasn't the one who put you in this position."

"That hardly matters!" Trixie snapped, her scarlet eyes flaring as she glowered at the other mare, "if it weren't for you I might've... Trixie could've... she... aaarrgh!"

That scream of frustration seemed to drain the rest of Trixie's energy and the mare slumped back down to the ground, the light in her eyes fading once more. For a long, uncomfortable moment, neither mare said anything and simply watched one another—Trixie with a tired glare and Twilight with complete and utter impassivity.

"You're free to blame me if you wish—"

"Trixie does blame you. There's no way this isn't your fault."

Twilight's only response to the interjection was to simply blink before pressing on.

"...but blaming me for your mistakes will get you no closer to the retribution you seek."

This time it was Trixie's turn to blink. Completely caught off guard by the statement, she floundered for another expression to replace her surprise before finally settling on a wary scowl.

"How do you know about Trixie's..." she paused and her eyes narrowed slightly as realization set in, "right... you did say you were some kind of god of revenge—"

"The Avatar of Retribution," Twilight corrected, "I am, as far as I know, a forgotten spirit whose sole purpose is to bring retribution to those who've wronged others, no matter how small the slight."

"So... you're the god of revenge."

This time Twilight didn't bother to reply so Trixie continued.

"Just how much do you know about Trixie—no..." she sighed, shook her head, and met Twilight's gaze with a cold stare, "...how much do you think you know about what I want?"

"I'm unable to grasp the full picture without tapping directly into your memories, but I have a general idea of your plight," Twilight replied without hesitation, "I know that you were taken in and betrayed by a certain mare you fell in love with, and I know that you want her to suffer for what she's done, but I lack any further details beyond that."

Maybe it was because of the way Twilight spoke of her situation with such a dispassionate tone. Maybe it was because she hadn't been expecting her to so brazenly cut right to the heart of the matter. Whatever the reason, Trixie was rendered speechless as shock and rage warred for supremacy within her mind. Shock won out in the end as Twilight spoke her next words.

"Interestingly enough, I know of the mare that betrayed you—or rather, I've met her in an alternate timeline," she continued, "in fact, I arrived here in this timeline with the use of a spell that very mare improved upon."

"Alternate... you don't mean," Trixie nearly whispered, not wanting to believe the direction her thoughts and Twilight's words were taking her, "that other mare you mentioned... the one that came with you and the other Twilight—"

"Her name is Starlight Glimmer, and as far as I know, she was with us when we transitioned over to this timeline," Twilight finished, confirming Trixie's suspicions, "though we were separated during my violent reaction and I'm unsure of her current whereabouts."

"That's... I..." Trixie opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say, and completely choked with emotions she thought she'd buried long ago, "I don't..."

She fell silent and turned away from Twilight. Twilight watched for a time as the distraught mare tried to wrestle with her feelings on the matter but eventually, the blank-eyed alicorn turned her attention elsewhere. It was clear that Trixie hadn't actually expected Twilight to cut so brazenly to the heart of the matter. It was also clear that she wasn't prepared to deal with the knowledge that there was another Starlight Glimmer somewhere out there.

Twilight understood at least somewhat, so she let Trixie be while she herself pondered on something else she'd noticed about the cavern. There were no Voices to be found here other than Trixie's, and that made her frown. The Tartarus she'd crawled out of had plenty of Voices crying out for revenge, even if the majority of them were demons. This cavernous prison—for she refused to believe it was the real Tartarus—was utterly silent, but if what Trixie had said was true, that didn't make sense.

Non-sapient creatures like those trapped in the other cages didn't elicit a response from her preternatural senses, but if the Celestia of this timeline had slaughtered all the villains who'd been kept here, she should've heard something. Something she'd learned since becoming the Avatar of Retribution was that when it came to the echoes of the damned, the Voices of the malevolent more often than not resounded the loudest.

That would've bothered Twilight more had she been a slave to the demands of the Voices around and within her, but as she still had the will to resist, it hardly mattered. As things stood, she was leaning more toward impartiality when it came to dealing with those Voices. That being said, she hadn't fulfilled her duty in quite some time and she was beginning to feel the weight of the Slighted pressing down on her.

"Do you know how Daybreaker disposed of the villains being kept here?" she asked suddenly.

"Wh... what?" Trixie croaked before clearing her throat and turning to face Twilight with a bitter, slightly conflicted grimace, "h-how is Trixie supposed to know? She wasn't here for that, she only heard about it later along with everypony else when Daybreaker made the announcement to Equestria."

"Hm," Twilight fell into silent contemplation for a moment, then, "so she didn't extract them from Tartarus before executing them as far as you know?"

"As far as Trixie knows, no," Trixie replied tiredly, "what does it even matter?"

All the anger had seeped out of her voice, leaving her sounding just as drained emotionally as she was magically. Twilight took notice and decided to shelf her concerns. The fact that there were no Voices here other than Trixie's did bother her, but as she had no readily available explanation she chose to focus on what she could do—what her new existence ultimately demanded.

"Do you want to escape this cavern, Trixie?" she asked, "do you want to leave this place and take your revenge on the Starlight Glimmer of this timeline?"

To be honest, Twilight still wasn't sure if she was doing this right. There were still so many questions that needed answering—not just about what she actually was, but about how to actually carry out her duties. There was no tome to read, no tutor to teach her, no guidance whatsoever. On a whim, she'd tried asking the Voices like she'd planned to do when she confronted the Celestia of her timeline for that last time.

Despite what she'd boasted to the corrupted mare before, it hadn't worked. On this subject, the Voices remained silent. They refused to speak for her benefit but were all too happy to constantly bellow their own selfish demands. Whether it was because she'd been ignoring them or some other reason—they told her nothing of what to do or how to do it. Idly, she wondered about the creature that had made the contract with her in the first place.

She wondered where it had gone, and if it was still there somewhere, why it was remaining silent. Was she simply meant to learn the extent of her powers and responsibilities on her own? Or was there some way to find out through other means? Would the Voices assist her if she worked harder to meet their demands? Would carrying out their will loosen their tongues then?

Only time would tell.

When all was said and done, all she could do was keep an eye out for any opportunity to learn more about herself and her abilities while fulfilling her obligations to the best of those yet unknown abilities. With her goals set firmly in mind, she watched and waited for Trixie's answer. Trixie looked back at Twilight with eyes that shone with the millions of questions she wanted to ask, but in the end, her face twisted in pain and she closed her eyes.

"I've been stuck in this stupid cage alone for months, Twilight," Trixie began in a voice trembling with emotion, "if you can get me out of here... if you can help me find that... that bitch..." she paused and gave a slow shake of her head, "just... just get me out of here... please."

Gone was the haughty, angry, embittered mare of a few minutes ago. Now, at this moment, the only thing Twilight saw was a creature broken by circumstances that had gone far beyond her control—somepony begging for a way out. The situation rang eerily familiar and Twilight felt her heart tremble as something powerful struggled to break free. Her instincts roared in response as if indignant and the feeling was forced back down, causing her to grimace with discomfort.

"Very well then," she replied after a minute, "please stand back."

Trixie frowned in bemusement but did as she was told at Twilight's look. Nodding in satisfaction, Twilight lowered her impassive gaze to look at the radiant magical shackles about each of her legs. She could feel each one trying to sap her thaumic strength, but felt no weaker for it.

Giving a slight frown, she attempted to shift into her true form but found—surprisingly—that she couldn't. A pale icy blue glow erupted from her eyes and the air around her body warped and rippled in response to the immense power within her, but there were no physical changes beyond that. She let out an icy breath and turned her attention to the black iron bars of her own cage.

For a long moment, she stood, reflecting on the properties of her form based on how she looked and what she'd done thus far. It didn't take long for Twilight to come to a conclusion that would've surprised and amazed her had she the capacity to feel such things. She did to a certain extent, but not nearly enough to show such emotions outwardly.

The ice that I emit... a change in my internal temperature? But that's not all, is it? For it to come out as both solid ice and in a mist... it could be magic, but that doesn't feel right somehow...

Perhaps it's more basic than that... perhaps... manipulation of both temperature and pressure within myself? And if I take the evident gravity well effect into account...

With those thoughts in mind, and keeping her eyes on the bars in front of her, she focused on trying to manipulate various forces within herself to affect the world outside—something she should easily be able to do if her hypothesis was correct.

Trixie, for her part, watched on in confusion and curiosity as the air surrounding the alicorn-turned-spiritual-entity continued to warp and shift with increasing intensity. The shackles around each of her legs began to glow with the blinding brilliance of Celestia's own sun—the light so bright that Trixie had to close her eyes and turn away. There was a sound like a low, pulsing thrum that seemed to grow in volume alongside the visual warping of space about the mare, and then... nothing.

Just as the spectacle was about to reach some kind of crescendo, it all stopped suddenly, like a switch being flipped. The glow of the shackles quickly dimmed back down to bearable levels and when Trixie opened her eyes and turned to see what had happened, she found that nothing about either of their predicaments had changed. Both she and Twilight were still trapped in cages and bound by Celestia's magic. She blinked once, then gave the other mare a disappointed scowl.

"What? Is that it?" Trixie asked, her supercilious tone and rampant illieism returning in full force, "all that buildup for nothing? Is Trixie supposed to be impressed?"

Once again, Twilight took her time giving any kind of answer. Instead, she turned her gaze again to the shackles binding her with a sort of thoughtful stoicism. Trixie's indignation at being ignored boiled over, but before she could snap at the spiritual entity in the other cage, Twilight spoke first, not taking her eyes from the shackles.

"I was attempting an experiment of sorts," she began, cutting off Trixie's initial operation, "the results of which may have born fruit if it weren't for the dampening effect of these shackles."

"Experiment?" Trixie asked, curious in spite of herself, "what are you talking about? Were you..." she looked from Twilight to the iron prison around her, "were you trying to destroy the cage with some kind of crazy magic?"

"I'm... not quite sure," Twilight replied, "I believe I hold a power within me that goes beyond the scope of magic as we know it, but these conditions are not conducive to a proper test of my full capabilities."

Trixie frowned.

"...Meaning?"

"In all likelihood, I could destroy this cage with ease using that power had I continued with the approach I'd intended to use but bound as I am now, if I'd gone any further, the results would've been... problematic."

Something in Twilight's tone made Trixie shuddered with a nameless sense of dread.

"Problematic?"

But instead of elaborating, Twilight cocked her head at Trixie... and then vanished, shackles and all. There was no telltale flash or the magical pop that signaled the activation of a teleportation spell. She simply disappeared from Trixie's view as if she'd never existed in the first place. Before Trixie even had time to process what had happened, however—

"I suppose this is to be expected of a spell powerful enough to contain a creature like Discord."

Trixie shrieked in surprise and whipped around to find herself face-to-face with none other than the mare who'd vanished right before her eyes. Twilight stood mere inches away, forced into close proximity by the small size of the cage that now held them both.

"W-What?! Twilight? How? When did you—" Trixie sputtered.

"This magic doesn't just drastically limit my mana usage, it also keeps me tethered to the vessel that is my alicorn body," Twilight continued, ignoring Trixie's shock entirely as she inspected herself and the shackles, "but it seems I can circumvent the limitations of my thaumic abilities using my power as a spirit."

This might mean spirit magic is fundamentally different from the magic ponies use. But wait... this still doesn't make sense if I consider the fact that Discord is also a spirit. If this spell was truly able to bind Discord completely, shouldn't that be the case for me as well?

Could it be that the Twilight of this timeline is overestimating Celestia's power when it comes to Discord... or maybe it's because Discord and I are fundamentally different despite the fact that we're both spirits? Or maybe I have it all wrong...

Thinking back to her final conversation with Discord in Tartarus, she began to consider the nature of spirits and just how many actually existed. After all, to hear the draconequus speak of it, he was more a physical embodiment of a concept than anything else. Is that what Twilight had become? The physical embodiment of retribution, just as Discord was the embodiment of chaos?

Is that what it meant to be a spirit? And if so, could such a thing truly be bound by magical means—be they by an alicorn's power or otherwise? Taking into account all factors based on what had just transpired, Twilight could only come up with one conclusion for the time being.

Evidently so, but only to an extent.

Taking advantage of Trixie's shocked silence, Twilight finally addressed the magically malnourished mare. Whatever other questions she might have, Twilight had other, more immediate issues to deal with right now. Putting her contemplations aside for the moment, she placed a hoof on Trixie's shoulder as she spoke.

"Try not to move," she cautioned, "I've yet to try this with an escort so I'm not certain it'll work the way I intend. If for whatever reason this fails and you don't survive the trip, I'll do what I can to bring Starlight Glimmer to justice in your name."

"W-Wait, what?!" Trixie shrieked, "hold on! Wh-what are you—"

Both mares vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only empty cages behind along with the myriad sounds of the many mindless beasts still trapped within the infernal cavern that was Tartarus.