Heading deep within the cave, Sunset could hear sounds of struggling deep inside. Like someone or somepony was in pain and was keeping themselves hidden until it would subside. However, it clearly wasn't the case as Sunset got closer. Up ahead, the unicorn found a beat-up carriage on the right side. When she got closer, Sunset heard coughing inside the half-destroyer wagon. She went inside and was nearly greeted with a laser to the face. After dodging the laser, Sunset went inside and saw that it was none other than an ailing Trixie in bed.

"Trixie…? What in Celestia's name…?" Sunset said in a shocked tone.

"S-S-Sunset…? Is that… you…?" Trixie asked in a weak voice.

Sunset walked even closer and saw Trixie covered in patches of the Ooze surrounding her body. Her eyes were reddened, her skin was pale as snow, and she was coughing up blood all over her carriage. From the looks of her physical state, Trixie was nearing the brink of death. But Sunset couldn’t just leave her to suffer like this. She tried to leave the carriage and bring her back to the Crystal Empire or, at the very least, get her to Zecora’s Hut. But Trixie stops her and says as she coughs,

“Hey. Why not… stay awhile… Sunset? I haven’t… seen you since… your banishment. I would… love to… get… caught up… with you.”

Seeing that Trixie really wanted to speak to her after all this time as well as being in no shape to be moved anywhere, Sunset complied to her request and sat by her side. They slowly started explaining everything to each other about what happened after their separation and what they did during their time away from one another. The both of them laughed as they remembered when they were defeated by Twilight and her friends, albeit with heavy coughing fits from Trixie which enabled Sunset to help move her a bit to ease the discomfort slightly. But then Sunset asks,

“What happened to you, Trix? How did you end up like this and did you survive this long without being seen?”

Trixie immediately stopped laughing and gave Sunset a sad expression while she laid still in her bed. Then she shifts her eyes to the ceiling and says with a melancholic tone in her voice,

“When… everypony was… evacuating… I was in… a panic, and… I kept… hidden. At least… for a while. Until… a month ago… one of… those… things… scratched me. A total… accident. But I thought… nothing… of it… at the time. But somehow… I began… getting… these… weird… symptoms. Pretty soon… I started… hearing… voices. Horrible… voices. Telling me… all sorts… of… disgusting… things. Things… nopony… should… listen to. I’m still… hearing… them. Although… not… so much… now.”

“I think I might have those symptoms too. Only they’re hallucinations and I’m still seeing things. It’s a nightmare. Just what could have happened to Equestria…? We could never have done on this scale to warrant such an attack.” Sunset said in a perplexed manner.

“Don’t know. But… I have… a feeling… that… Spike… is… behind… all this.” Trixie claims as she coughs.

“What…? You’re lying. Spike would never do anything to cause all this. It must be-” Sunset before getting cut off by Trixie.

“Please… Sunset. The writing… is on… the wall. Starlight… told me… that Twilight… banished… that poor… dragon. In that cave… me… Starlight… and Spike stayed at… he must’ve… found something… that pushed him… over… the edge.” Trixie said in her dying breath.

“No. Twilight would never do that. Even if she was unreasonable at times, she would never go so far as to banish her Number One Assistant. It’s ludicrous to think that she would.” Sunset said, trying to deny Trixie’s claim.

“Believe… what you… want. That’s… just my… two cents. But Starlight… where is she…? Is she safe…? Is she alright…?” Trixie said as she looked at her former classmate.

“I don’t know. But if there’s one thing that I do know about Starlight, she would never give up and she will do whatever needs to be done until it is done. She’s fine.” Sunset said, trying to assure Trixie that her friend is safe.

"When you… see her… again… please… tell Starlight… that I'm… I'm…" Trixie said before being cut off by her foalhood friend.

"Don't worry… I'll tell Starlight what happened. But what about you? Will you be okay?" Sunset asked with a sad smile on her face.

"Please… you think… that I'm… in… much trouble. This… this… is… nothing. But Sunset?" Trixie asked as her coughing grew worse. by the minute.

“Is there anything I can…? Something I can do… to help you?” Sunset asked, trying to hold back the tears.

Suddenly, Trixie’s eyes started bleeding out. Her breathing grew shallow, her movements began stiffening, and her bones suddenly began cracking. Looking up at Sunset with desperation, the dying unicorn begs,

“Kill me… kill me… kill me…”

Her phrase went on repeat over and over like a broken record. Sunset had no idea what to do and she was at a total loss for words. But then she saw Trixie begin to mutate. Multiple teeth begin popping out of her mouth, various eyes pop out of her head, and her dying breath is replaced with growling. She attempted to lunge at her former friend, but Sunset grabbed a pole and pinned her against the bed. After all this time of being separated from one another, Sunset was very conflicted with killing Trixie. She knew how much she was suffering, but this decision was hard to make. But having seen her like this and watching her go rabid has made her choice all the more apparent. Holding back whatever emotions she felt and focusing her resolve, Sunset said with a sad tone,

“Goodbye… Trixie.”

On that note, Sunset activates her horn and blows Trixie’s brains out. The former let go of the pole and took a look at the latter before walking over to cry by her now-deceased friend’s side. While they may not have seen eye-to-eye on many things before Sunset’s banishment, Trixie was still her friend and she never wished to end it like this. Sunset spent a good hour crying by her friend’s side before laying her back in bed and covering Trixie’s face with her bedsheets. After leaving her carriage, Sunset decided to continue down the cave to figure out where this source of dark magic was emitting.

Author's Note

I'm still in the middle of writing Spike's Polygamy Marriage. Granted I'm still on two chapters so far, but it's coming great so far. I'm also working on my Tails x Rouge story which will be on A03. How many chapters it will be I have no clue on, though I am aiming for 30+ chapter or more. Either way, these stories are still ongoing and they will not affect my focus on the main project. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.