The Great and Powerful Trixie in the exordium under the pyramids

Chapters

[WORDS OF THE AUTHOR][01]
Prologue
Party at Maud's house
Starlight's Dream
Trixie's Nightmare
Meeting at Twilight Castle
Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act I
Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act II
Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act III
Thargodal and Fathungry - Act I
Thargodal and Fathungry - Act III
Intermission
At the End of the Exordium - Act II
At the End of the Exordium - Act III
At the End of the Exordium - Act IV
At the End of the Exordium - Act V
Epilogue
[WORDS OF THE AUTHOR][02]
Thargodal and Fathungry - Act II
At the End of the Exordium - Act I

[WORDS OF THE AUTHOR][01]

Hello everyone! I hope you're all well, so I'll take this opportunity to talk a bit about the fanfic I'm writing.

...in the exordium beneath the pyramids, It has an unusual name, an unusual start, an unusual story.

I want to clarify that I'm not exactly a professional writer capable of creating a written masterpiece. Nor do I have enough experience or contact with the modern world to create something that pleases everyone. I apologize in advance, but that's just how things are.

This fanfic is a literary experiment focused on the character of Trixie Lulamoon, destined to live a horrible day in an even worse one. Luckily, she's the wrong pony at the right time, just what we need to keep the dark course of this story. She's not a heroine and won't become one unless the universe demands it; she can pretend, of course, but acting and fighting are very different things.

In this story, Trixie won't be alone. The Young Six will accompany her in her suffering, along with other secondary characters who will contribute to the plot's development.

Oh, by the way, here's the important clarification to the obvious question.

What is the plot about?

Normally, a writer plots a path for their story through their characters, guiding the reader to enjoy the journey that will be the written work.

But that's not the case here.

There's a clear objective: Trixie and the pyramids. That will be fulfilled, but in an unconventional way.

The prologue isn't filler... the villains that appear at the beginning will be present in one way or another throughout the story, briefly lurking in the shadows, but undoubtedly at the end.

As for Trixie, who's on the other side of the world (in her own world), she'll be busy with her own problems to worry about some cosmic supernatural threat seeking to destroy the planet. Octopus orchids, manticores, turkey-hawks, angry students... etc. But above all, the possible fate of friendship with her best friend that she could lose because of her mistakes.

An overload of conflicts and, as a result, an overload of writing. Trixie will have few respites in this story to be herself. Just as in real life, conflicts force us to act in ways we wouldn't recognize as our own, the same will happen to her.

To make matters worse, the conspiracy unfolding in the shadows will further darken her world. Are there chances for a happy ending?

This is where I come in as a writer. I'm not a fan of convenient plot twists, but after all the suffering Trixie will go through, I think it's fair to give her a helping hand in the end. I hope my readers understand and accept that.

There are problems in life that can't be overcome. All that's left is to be brave and face them if time allows.

That's the essence of this story: smiles, tears, and many 'many' confusing things, but always looking towards the future with optimism. With friends by your side, it's possible to reach unexpected places.

For better or for worse.

That would be all regarding this story, at least for now. There might be some weak parts, but as an experimental project, I think it fulfills its purpose very well. It has helped me a lot to discover what works and what doesn't.

Enjoy the read and thank you for accompanying me on this journey!

Prologue

In the far south of the world, at the antipodes of what we know as Equestria, there are unknown islands, isolated from any inhabited continent or landmass. These mysterious lands are the remnants of what was once the great continent of Eulfalia. The islands, devoid of mountains, rivers, or forests, are a desolate and bewildering wasteland that stretches for kilometers under a scorching sun, with the horizon abruptly ending in cliffs battered by the violent waves of the turbulent sea that surrounds them. Each year, a portion of these cliffs succumbs to the fury of the waves and falls into the ocean, reducing the size of the islands.

Despite lacking coastlines and being practically inaccessible by boat or vessel, these islands are not uninhabited. They are home to a strange reptilian race who call themselves the Silurians.

The Silurians are very different from their reptilian counterparts. They have no teeth or claws, and their skin is similar to that of bony fish, with large scales. Their bodies, adapted for long sea voyages, are extremely robust and of short stature, with strong limbs that allow them to climb cliffs and have great swimming abilities, enabling them to spend long hours in the sea.

These unique characteristics of the species are vital for their survival, as they allow them to reach the large seaweed that emerges from the depths of the dark waters surrounding these islands. These seaweeds are the only vegetation in that desolate region and also their sole source of sustenance.

Despite the hostile environment around them, their unfriendly appearance, and their primitive culture, the Silurians live in peaceful and organized communities, led by the elders of their race. They rarely resort to violence and have great respect for nature. The wind, the sea, and the earth are elements to which they make constant offerings in the hope of being allowed to live in peace in this forgotten corner of the world.

The Silurians have compelling reasons to make these offerings because the oral memory of their people dates back to ancient times that no one else remembers. To forgotten days, days when a tree covered the entire sky, days when the sea was possessed by a red fury, days when the sun and the moon exchanged their sunsets, days when a dark dragon flew across the sky and took away all the stars.

The Silurians continue to remember those shadows of the past, from the oldest to the youngest, they know it to be true. They don't need books to remind them; they can see those same shadows every morning.

Deep within the largest island, six black pyramids rise in the middle of the desert, like drops of pure tar on a blank canvas. These abnormal constructions challenge the land, the wind, and the sea. They are a true eerie work that defies nature, where the environment seems lifeless, and an unsettling silence prevails.

The Silurians fear these pyramids. They did not build them, nor did the ancient and gentle inhabitants of these lands. They were not there before; one day they appeared with a celestial thunder accompanied by a diabolical laughter.

These pyramids are the home of an ancient and dark being, a terrible being, a herald of darkness.

The Silurians beseech the elements to protect them from that darkness.

And on that same day, the longest day, the master of the pyramids returned to his home.

"DAMMMNN!" A deep, rage-filled scream that tore through the stillness of the entire desert.

A grand portico preceded the entrance of the largest of all the pyramids that rose in that desert. It was constructed from the same material as the nearby colossal structures, a completely black stone similar to granite. The walls of the somber building were adorned with reliefs of beasts and figures exuding malice, revealing the evil that resided in that place.

On the steps of the portico, two unsettling figures confronted each other.

On the lower level of the steps, a true shadow cloaked in a fuchsia hood and toga, adorned with a green scarf and an arcane shimmer, gazed angrily at the detestable creature that had welcomed her.

"Hey, don't say that. Aren't you glad to see a friend after so long?" replied a sweet and mocking voice from the upper level of the portico's steps.

There lay a small creature of intoxicating beauty, an adorable, plump pony.

But in the eyes of Dhona Oleg-Nar Dhazer, this being was his equal. No, considering everything he had recently discovered, it could be said that she was even more than him.

Dhona gritted his teeth.

"YOU DARE TO COME TO THE GRAND SANCTUARY OF MY BELOVED LADY, PROFANE MY OFFERINGS, AND ADDRESS ME IN THIS... REPULSIVE FORM! YOU! YOU ARE A BLASPHEMER!" Dhona spoke with a threatening and sepulchral voice, pointing one of his claws at his disagreeable guest.

The beautiful pony with sky-blue and white fur rolled her eyes with indifference.

"Look, it's your fault. You don't answer my calls, you don't receive the messages I leave you, you ignore me every time we meet. Honestly, I don't know what else to do! Coming to your home seems to be the only way I can find you," responded the childish pony, pouting.

"AND YOU HAD TO COME HERE TODAY AND DEVOUR MY SACRIFICES! IT'S UNACCEPTABLE!" Dhona spat out even more angrily, with a body that seemed like it would explode at any moment.

In the midst of the portico's steps, several salt statues of creatures resembling small bears were arranged in positions that reflected the intent to flee from that place. The expressions of panic and fear on these sculptures conveyed the last dreadful emotions they had felt in life.

"Well... forgive me for the last part. But they looked so delicious and tender! I couldn't resist!" the small pony responded with delight, recalling the snacks she had sampled minutes earlier. "If it makes you feel better, I assure you they were of very high quality offerings."

Dhona didn't respond. He had released some of his anger, and now his mind was starting to calm.

The tense atmosphere that had filled the place dissipated. Now, a cold air began to rise.

Sensing Dhona's change in mood, the little pony opened her colorful saddlebag and pulled out some pastries. "I know it's not a great apology, but I'd like you to have these snacks. They were for my sisters, but I think you deserve them more," the little pony finished, with a warm smile.

Dhona had had enough.

Without saying a word, the hooded shadow raised one of his clawed paws to the sky. A tremor began to be felt throughout the desert, accompanied by a howl that emanated from the depths of the earth.

"I am apologizing. You don't have to get so worked up," the pony said, somewhat nervously.

The sky began to darken. The noonday sun lost its brightness, and the stars began to appear. In the desert, fires were lit like pathways leading to the pyramids.

"Hey, that's enough! I'm serious!" the pony said, frowning.

The wind blew fiercely over the pyramids. The sky rotated, revealing unknown stars and unseen worlds. The ground started to darken.

On the cliffs, the Silurians began to pray desperately to the elements.

"JUST CALM DOWN ALREADY! I DIDN'T COME HERE TO FIGHT WITH YOU!" the little pony shouted, standing up with a voice that didn't match her adorable appearance. There was no trace of the conceited behavior she had displayed until recently.

The wind stopped, the signs in the sky and on the earth froze.

"WHAT HAVE YOU COME FOR THEN?" Dhona responded with a frigid voice, not lowering his claw.

"I've come with a message for you from my great lord," the little pony responded in her previous tone, now more calm but serious.

"WHAT IS IT?"

"Can we discuss it in a more appropriate place? Here is too..."

"WHAT IS IT?" Dhona repeated, now also preparing his other claw.

"BY THE ABYSS! WHY ARE YOU SO INSUFFERABLE?" the little pony exclaimed to the sky with a tired voice, then turned her gaze to Dhona. "IT'S AN ALLIANCE! ARE YOU HAPPY? My lord wants an alliance with you."

Dhona narrowed his eyes, then lowered his claws. All the ominous signs began to disappear. After a few minutes of silence, the atmosphere had returned to what it was before.

The little pony thought Dhona had closed his eyes, as she saw no trace of emerald gleam on his shadowy face. So, before he could say anything more, Dhona finally spoke.

"WHAT DOES HE SEEK?" he exclaimed, clearly confused.

He wasn't the only one. The messenger pony was equally puzzled by this proposal.

"I don't know. It's not within my abilities to question my master's decisions. Perhaps, if you ask my sisters, you might get a better answer," the pony responded, looking to the side.

Dhona clicked his tongue. He could barely tolerate the youngest of the sisters. The others would only give him more headaches.

"There are more details involved. Let me come inside your house, and I'll explain..."

"I refuse," Dhona replied, now calm and showing no signs of anger or threat.

"I'll behave myself. I won't do anything wrong in your house. I promise!" the pony said, placing a hoof on her chest.

"I refuse to accept an alliance with your lord. You don't need to explain further," Dhona declared.

Now it was the little pony who appeared upset, as if she had a strange bug in front of her, but it was a fleeting expression. She quickly returned to her cheerful demeanor.

"Always the same, aren't you? I already figured you'd respond like that. Nothing can be done. Umpf!" the pony said with a dissatisfied expression.

Then, the pony started descending the stairs and continued her leisurely trot until she stopped next to Dhona.

"You know, I had thought of giving you a gift to celebrate if you accepted, but since it's not going to happen... I really don't care to give it to you anyway." The pony pulled a red-labeled glass bottle with black bubbling liquid from her saddlebag.

Dhona immediately took it with his magic. After examining it with his magic for a few seconds, he was surprised.

"Is it from another world?" Dhona asked as he opened it and brought it to his face to smell the contents.

"Yes," the pony replied unemotionally.

"It's not magical. It has many refined compounds inside... but they are too heterogeneous and unstable to be nutritious. Is it carbonated? Or does it react like this with the air due to the change in environment?"

"Hahaha, no, no, silly. The monkeys who make it do it like that because they like the sensation of the gas when they drink it. Come on, try it."

Dhona was a bit skeptical, but it had been a long time since he had been in another world and tried something different. He also didn't feel that the beverage was dangerous.

Without further thought, he raised the bottle to his mouth and drank all the contents in one gulp.

"Hahaha," the pony laughed as she watched Dhona shudder after finishing the drink.

"Uff, it's quite a poison. Do creatures really drink this?"

"Yes, they call it 'soda' in their world of origin, and despite how poisonous it is, the inhabitants of that world allow even children to drink it. Haha!"

"Madness. Creatures like those are nothing more than fodder for darkness."

"Yes, they're also very silly and adorable when they hurt each other. I wish my sisters would let me have one as a pet. Boohoo!"

Both of them burst into sinister laughter.

There was a dark and intriguing history between the two of them. This was the reason for the trust and closeness between this pair of beings who could well be considered walking disasters and embodiments of evil. Although this anomalous behavior should be seen more as common interests than as friendship.

Dhona was in a good mood after finishing laughing.

"What do you call yourself now?" he suddenly asked.

"Summermoon," the pony coquettishly replied, flicking her adorable tail.

"Why do you look like a pony?"

"It's part of a current mission."

"What's it about?"

"Will you let me in?" Summermoon replied with a mischievous look.

Dhona pondered for a few seconds. He understood very well why she was so interested in entering his domain. It could be very costly to allow her in and have her 'accidentally' eat his pets. But if he could obtain some information about her master's intentions, the risk might well be worth it.

"Yes," Dhona replied, wearily.

"Yeeeep. You're the best," exclaimed Summermoon, at the same time as she bounded up the stairs, prancing and playfully kicking the salt statues around her.

The noonday of the longest day hung expectantly over the pyramids.

Author's Note

Update: 07-07-2024

Party at Maud's house

The intricate underground caves that extend beneath the Everfree Forest are the last place one would imagine finding a pony taking a stroll late at night. Still, at that moment, there was indeed a pony there, more precisely, a unicorn, though she was not exactly strolling in that dark underground adorned with precious crystals.

Illuminating the way with the light from her horn, Starlight Glimmer looked somewhat disoriented at the two forks in the tunnel before her. She didn't feel scared or lost; unlike other ponies, she was a unicorn quite capable of fending for herself. One could even say you had to be very careful not to make her angry, given her great skill in magic.

Starlight was strong; however, she found herself in a bit of a predicament.

"I don't remember this part," Starlight said out loud after searching her memories for the possible correct route.

It wasn't the first time she had traversed those tunnels. In fact, she knew the way to her destination quite well. She had an exceptional memory, so it was contradictory to find herself at a fork that shouldn't exist. Even the directions the tunnels took seemed strange to her.

The tunnel to the right delved deeper into the earth, while the tunnel to the left seemed to ascend zigzagging towards the surface. Both the floor and the walls of the tunnels were in a perfectly natural and preserved state, giving the impression that they had always been there.

Was she lost? She could backtrack and find the point where she had deviated from the route, but that would take time, and she was in a hurry. She had no choice but to continue...

"Uhm... Okay... which one is supposed to be the right path?" Starlight wondered aloud, pensively.

("When in doubt about the path, just follow your nose, hahaha. That's what Rarity taught me"), joked an old memory of her mentor Twilight when they had both done a small exploration in that place together.

Trusting the words of her friend's memory, Starlight made up her mind.

After a quick sniff, she perceived that the air in the tunnel on the left was fresher than in the other tunnel. Without further thought, she continued.

After several zigzags, the tunnel that had ascended the entire way suddenly began to descend, and soon she found herself in a wider area, that great space was covered with bright orange stones.

Starlight smiled; this was a part of the caves she did remember.

Sure of the path she needed to take now, she hurried towards her destination.

It was the eve of the Festival of the Two Sisters. Starlight had promised everyone that she would attend the celebration at Maud Pie's home this year. Although she greatly appreciated her rock-loving friend, it wasn't just friendship that motivated her to be present on this occasion.

She didn't want to break her word once again. She had already missed too many parties to which she was invited by friends. The demanding workload as headmistress of the School of Friendship had increased alarmingly over the past year. The arrival of new students from the allied kingdoms of Equestria and the consequent administrative problems, such as managing the travel of the new students, handling parents' complaints, presiding over welcome ceremonies, occasional friendship problems, and a long etcetera, had further reduced Starlight's already scarce free time.

She didn’t mind the extra work. She handled it very well, but she had less and less time for her friendships.

In particular, she had less time for one friend, a great friend she couldn't simply say "sorry" to.

"May the sky crush me if I don't make it on time this time," Starlight scolded herself as she trotted. The unicorn had already started to run out of impatience on her way to Maud's house.

As if the universe had heard her words, an unexpected lump appeared out of nowhere and crushed her.

"Augh, what the hay?" exclaimed an annoyed Starlight, who immediately stood up, using her magic to take hold of the lump on top of her.

The lump was not a lump.

"Ugh, don't eat me! I don't taste good!" responded an alarmed unicorn wearing a wizard hat and cape.

"TRIXIE!" exclaimed a shocked Starlight.

"Starlight?" replied a now surprised Trixie, putting aside a club she had conjured with her magic.

Starlight immediately released Trixie from her magical grip, and the two friends hugged.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" asked the worried lavender-maned unicorn, stepping back to check on her friend.

"All good. Just a little dizzy. I've had worse falls," replied Trixie, taking off her hat and shaking her mane to remove the rocks that had stuck to her hair.

"But how did you get here? You came out of nowhere," said Starlight, looking up at the ceiling for the hole Trixie must have fallen through.

"Don't be so surprised. I just showcased my great and powerful magic. I used teleportation," replied Trixie proudly, while dusting off her hat.

"Underground?" Starlight responded skeptically. It was common knowledge that teleportation didn’t usually work well underground, especially considering the Everfree Forest above them. One could say Trixie's decision had been very reckless.

"I’ve got it covered. Besides, I did it because I planned to surprise our friends with an impressive and unexpected entrance in the middle of the party, so this accident counts only as a simple rehearsal."

"Of course... you really do plan your entrances," Starlight said, pointing at her with her hoof, not quite convinced by her friend's words.

"It's my signature, dear," replied Trixie, finishing adjusting her hat and ready for action.

Both friends broke into short but cheerful laughter. It was clear that each knew what the other was thinking. Their friendship had grown enough to understand each other to that extent. Without further interruptions, they continued their journey to Maud's house.

"You really should have been there. The majestic gardens of Babilopony are a true wonder of the ancient world!" exclaimed Trixie excitedly as they made their way to Maud's house.

"Yeah, I can imagine," responded a somewhat bored and uncomfortable Starlight beside her.

They were close to arriving at Maud's house, and Starlight could be glad about that. Their conversation had varied in topics, from school matters and changes in the student body to Trixie's latest expedition through the great desert. At first, Starlight had been happy to hear about the great discoveries her friend had made, or rather, the alternative tourism she had done. However, the passion with which she recounted these stories had started to scratch the guilt Starlight was hiding.

Starlight had really wanted to accompany her, but a serious accident with the school's biogarden ended up delaying her trip, and in the end, she had no choice but to cancel it.

Trixie set off accompanied by Hoo'Far towards Babilopony on an expedition she herself had planned and charted. While her friend was discovering the secrets of an ancient world wonder, Starlight had to deal with an out-of-control infestation of Brain-Eating Octopus Orchids.

"By the way, Trixie, I know you just got back a few days ago from your trip, but... do you have any idea how the school's biogarden got infected with Octopus Orchids?" Starlight interrupted Trixie's monologue.

"I have no idea," the unicorn replied immediately.

Starlight frowned. That immediate response was not what she wanted to hear. According to the testimony of several students, someone had been entering the biogarden at night weeks before the incident. The key to enter was in the custody of the teacher on duty, in this case, Trixie.

Besides this, there was Hoo'Far's intriguing comment about how happy her friend had been throughout the trip.

Starlight knew Trixie well and didn't believe she would have sabotaged the trip to prevent her from going, but it could be the case that she 'accidentally' had been conducting some unauthorized experiments in the biogarden.

Starlight knew about Trixie's personal projects and how she had used school resources to carry them out in the past.

Using her position as headmistress, she had covered for her back then with the promise that she wouldn't do it again. But that promise seemed not to have aged well.

"You know, I've been thinking about closing the biogarden..." Starlight said casually.

"NO WAY!" Trixie exploded, but quickly calmed down upon seeing her friend's inquisitive look.

"I mean... as student counselor, I think it would be very detrimental to the school. The biogarden is a very important environment for the students' development," she continued in a more academic tone.

"Yes, I know, that's why I'm thinking of closing it to make some renovations that will make it a more inclusive place for everyone."

"Oh, I see... When will you do that?" Trixie asked, looking towards the wall.

"Probably at the end of next month, after the student graduation ceremony."

"Oh, right, the ceremony," replied Trixie, who, on the other hand, was using her magic to jot down in her notebook what Starlight had just told her.

Starlight had a very pronounced frown as she looked at Trixie.

"Uhmm, that reminds me. Starlight, how's the schedule for our vacation next year going?" Trixie asked, turning to see her friend.

A knot formed in Starlight's throat at that moment. A great worry she had been trying to hide returned to her like a cold shower. Not knowing what to say, she nervously looked ahead, searching for a way to divert the question.

"I... well..."

She soon found the solution.

"Hey, look, we've arrived at Maud's house. Let's hurry!" Starlight said suddenly, pointing ahead. Without warning, she began to run toward Maud's house, which was only a few dozen meters away.

"Wait, don't change the subject. I asked you how the schedule for our vacation is going. Wait!" Trixie shouted as she ran, trying to catch up to Starlight, who seemed intent on avoiding the conversation.

But Starlight was much faster, and soon a great distance arose between them. Realizing she wouldn't catch up, Trixie decided to play her trump card.

In a quick flash of her horn, Trixie teleported in front of her friend, right in front of the curtain-door that served as the entrance to Maud's house.

Starlight stopped abruptly, her path blocked by Trixie.

"Ha, yes, about that... can we talk about it later?" she finally replied, with hesitation in her voice.

Now it was Trixie's turn to frown.

"If I recall, you promised you would make a great effort to find the right temporary headmaster so we could take our very incredible and long-overdue vacation we've been planning for the last three years!" Trixie exclaimed almost in a shout, giving Starlight an indignant look. The sharp unicorn had already sensed something was off in her friend's responses.

"It's not about that..." Starlight bit her lip.

Trixie raised an eyebrow, noticing the unexpected tension in Starlight. There was definitely something important she wanted to say. But if it was another excuse, like so many times before, she wouldn't let it go this time.

Finally, Starlight sighed tiredly and decided to drop the bombshell.

"I'm not looking for someone who can take over temporarily right now, but rather someone for the permanent position. I'm thinking of stepping down as headmistress of the School of Friendship," Starlight said at last, with a completely serious look.

Starlight had already imagined Trixie's possible reactions to this news. The great doubts and mental tribulations her friend might think of. She herself was still not convinced of her own judgment, but if anyone could give her a better point of analysis to help clear her thoughts, it would be her great friend...

"THAT'S WONDERFUL! HIIIIIIIIIIII!" Trixie exploded with enthusiasm, giving Starlight a big hug. "YOU FINALLY GOT RID OF THAT HORRIBLE JOB!"

"Eh... wait, that's not what you think! This isn't... wait, WHAT?!" Starlight could barely respond. A whirlwind of emotions had arisen in her head, fueled by Trixie's excessive effusiveness, who was now jumping for joy around her.

("What happened to the 'YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL JOB AS HEADMISTRESS' and 'I GIVE YOU ALL MY SUPPORT' that you always say?") Starlight lamented indignantly to herself, barely holding back.

"Now we can spend more time together and embark on adventures all over the place. WE'LL BE THE FIRST PONY FRIENDS TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD! YES, I CAN ALREADY SEE IT, 'THE GREAT AND INCREDIBLE EQUINE TOUR OF TRIXIE AND STARLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD'!" Trixie exclaimed in the middle of her jumps toward an imaginary audience in the cave, completely excited.

Starlight knew she had to intervene; she was losing control of the conversation.

Without thinking much, Starlight lit her horn and caught Trixie with her magic, who was still jumping in her own world of happiness.

"TRIXIE, CALM DOWN, YOU'RE NOT GETTING IT!"

"It's okay, it's okay... I understand. I know you're confused, but we have to embrace changes when they come," Trixie responded, patting Starlight's cheeks.

Starlight didn't know how to respond to those words.

Without further thought, Starlight sat down with a mute and distressed expression. The conversation was not going at all as she had expected. A part of her really... wanted to cry.

Trixie suddenly halted her joy, catching the distress in her friend.

"What's wrong, Starlight? You don't seem very happy about this news."

"Do you hear yourself? I'm not happy about this. You're not supposed to be this happy about it either. I haven't even made a final decision yet!" Starlight shouted in frustration, with some tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sorry... I guess I got a little carried away..." Trixie replied, putting aside all her selfish joy. "Though you should have mentioned that from the beginning. Uhmm, now that I think about it, you haven't told me why you want to stop being headmistress either."

"Isn't that exactly what you should have asked me from the start?!" Starlight exploded angrily, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay... I'm sorry... So tell me, my friend, why do you want to stop being headmistress?" Trixie asked more seriously, sitting down next to Starlight.

"Well... I..."

"Is it a medical issue?" Trixie interrupted, concerned.

"No," Starlight replied immediately.

"Uhm... Wait! Did Twilight order you to?" Trixie asked with a sharp, suspicious look, standing up.

"NO, NO."

"Uhm... Then..." Trixie was now confused.

"It's... complicated," Starlight replied, defeated, looking away.

A silence stretched between the two friends. Starlight no longer wished to continue that conversation with Trixie. At least not for now. Now she doubted if telling her how she really felt would help her be more certain about her decision. She had to admit it, she had been wrong.

"This was a mistake. I think I was wrong to tell you like this," Starlight said, standing up.

"What do you mean? If it's something important, you can trust me and tell me," Trixie said, now worried, placing her hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"No, let's leave the subject for now. Don't worry, it's not serious... I'll be free tomorrow afternoon at Twilight's castle. I'll tell you everything then. Is that okay?" Starlight replied with a steely look, now sure of her decision.

"Uhmm, well, alright..." Trixie replied somewhat annoyed; this kind of drama didn't suit her. She preferred important conversations to be direct and without delays.

But if it was Starlight, she was willing to accept it. A little.

"But at least tell me what's going on. Is it because of your job as headmistress or because of me?" Trixie continued.

"It's something very personal," Starlight stated firmly, making it clear she no longer wanted to continue the conversation.

Trixie had no idea what Starlight could be referring to. She was quite close to her, so this behavior from her friend was very surprising. Starlight had long since left behind the mistakes she had made in her past, had learned to trust others and herself again. Now she was recognized as a great pony. In many ways, she had excelled, so much so that even Trixie had come to feel jealous of her. But, putting aside the great workload that weighed on her friend as headmistress of the School of Friendship, what could be happening now?

Honestly, Trixie wanted to continue the conversation.

At that moment, without warning, the curtain-door opened.

"Hello...(awkward silence)...come in," Maud Pie said with her characteristic indifferent demeanor before returning inside her home, leaving the curtain-door open for her friends.

Both Trixie and Starlight, surprised by the sudden reception, looked at each other, wondering if Maud had heard their entire conversation. Glancing inside the party, they noticed that most of the guests had already arrived. So it was assumed that they were the last to arrive.

With the previous discussion behind them, the relationship between the two friends continued as usual.

"Wow, Maud seemed a bit... anxious, do you think Mudbriar hasn't come yet?" Starlight asked, somewhat inquisitively, watching Maud walk away.

"You think?" Trixie asked, who hadn't noticed anything different in the cold rock-studying pony.

It was common knowledge that Maud and Mudbriar were a perfect couple. However, it had been rumored months ago that they had a fight and had distanced themselves a bit since then. Given how reserved that pair of ponies were, there was no way to confirm those rumors, but it was a fact that it was no longer as common to see them strolling together as before.

In a corner of the room full of guests, a solitary Maud sat near a table, sipping a drink while petting Boulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in already!" Starlight said, noticing they had been looking at the party from outside for quite a while. Her good mood was now back.

"After you, my great and powerful friend," Trixie replied with a confident look.

Both friends entered the party smiling, only to be immediately greeted by an explosion of confetti from Pinkie Pie.

Author's Note

Update: 07-07-2024

Starlight's Dream

Outside Ponyville, an hour after midnight.

"... ♪ and it sang and jumped ♫, ♪ over the moon ♫, ♪ a cow ♫, that went MOO!, MOO!, MOO! MOO! MOOOOOOOO!" sang Trixie cheerfully but off-key.

"MOOOOOOOOOO!" Starlight chimed in beside her, radiating fun.

"HAHAHAHA!" The friends laughed, hugging each other as they walked home through the pleasant night. DJ Pony trotted behind them with her characteristic rhythm.

Trixie's trailer, parked next to the Friendship School's organic garden, was already in sight.

The party at Maud's house had been the liveliest in recent memory. Many guests had arrived, including teachers, friends, and acquaintances, all of them trustworthy ponies. Of course, Maud (the hostess) wasn't a fan of this type of party and immediately withdrew with her boyfriend Mudbriar as soon as he arrived, shortly before midnight. Aside from this dramatic moment, there were no further interruptions at the party, which continued with dancing, karaoke, drinking competitions, and more.

So, leaving behind a party that kept intensifying, Starlight and Trixie decided to withdraw before getting caught up in a whirlwind of entertainment from which they might hardly emerge unscathed.

With a wobbly step, the two friends reached Trixie's trailer.

"Give me a moment, will you?" Starlight said to DJ Pony as she guided Trixie to her trailer. After a brief struggle with the keys, the two friends entered the vehicle.

The interior of the trailer was as chaotic as ever, a mix of cramped and dusty, but, most importantly, a tremendously familiar place. The lights turned on. Without wasting a second, Trixie stripped off her characteristic outfit and headed for her "bed," making her way through her performance packages and other junk scattered around.

Though Trixie called her resting place a 'bed,' calling it an "improvised hammock" would be more appropriate.

With a perfect leap, Trixie settled into her hammock-bed and stretched like a cat before surrendering to a restful sleep.

"Aaaauu, oh, dear Starlight, this party has been truly magical... I really gave my all on stage, I can barely feel my hooves," exclaimed Trixie as she rubbed her front hooves with a cream she kept in one of her boxes.

"That's what you get for trying so hard during the competitions. You know karaoke is about singing and not stomping, right?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie expresses herself best through her body," Trixie stated proudly, setting the cream aside and settling a blanket and pillow in her resting place.

"It's a shame the judges didn't agree."

"You were one of the judges," Trixie protested, pointing a hoof at her, clearly exhausted.

"Yes, and that's precisely why I must be as fair as possible with my greatest and most powerful friend."

"Oh, then is it possible that I'm receiving special treatment from the impeccable and righteous headmistress Starlight?" Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow and giving her a mischievous look.

"Probably..." murmured Starlight with a knowing smile.

"What an honor! hahaha Hic," Trixie let out an embarrassing hiccup and immediately proceeded to drink a glass of water she conjured with her magic.

Starlight laughed and began to browse through the other disorganized belongings in Trixie's trailer.

Wizard hats in a whole range of colors, but with a very familiar design. "Enchanted" wands that weren't actually enchanted with magic but emitted a dazzling flash of light capable of distracting the audience during a performance. Bear-bee traps? That was truly dangerous, even if they weren't active. Additionally, there were many boxes labeled with danger warnings...

Starlight examined all these curious objects with a mix of amazement and amusement, but an unsettling feeling began to grow inside her.

Then something else caught her attention. Several "Mare of the Year" magazines were stacked in a corner. Starlight felt uneasy and looked away from them, fearing what she might find. But... why did Trixie have so many of those magazines? And why did she have so many wildlife care manuals? Starlight frowned as she noticed a bulky pile of books that seemed to bear the Friendship School's library stamp.

Suddenly, a suspicion sprouted in Starlight's mind, displacing the fatigue that was invading her.

"I see you have a lot of 'Mare of the Year' magazines. I hope it's not for..." Starlight began to say before being interrupted by a deep snore.

Trixie had fallen asleep. The sleeping unicorn wore a sweet smile, her breathing was slow, and she was perfectly snug under her blanket, surrounded by a subtle scent of freshly served cider.

For a few seconds, Starlight widened her eyes, incredulous at the snub. But then, she shook her head, resigned, and smiled. Using her horn, she took a stuffed animal from one of the boxes and placed it near Trixie, who immediately hugged it lovingly.

"Rest, Trixie... tomorrow will be a great day," murmured Starlight as she turned off the trailer's lights and prepared to leave.

With great care, Starlight left Trixie's trailer without disturbing her friend's sweet slumber.

DJ Pony gave a brief farewell and walked down the path leading to Ponyville.

Starlight responded in kind and took the other path that led into a small forest. She had too many things on her mind to go home immediately. She needed to trot a bit first, clear her mind, and then...

Then what?

Starlight looked up in the middle of the path and was amazed to see the glowing fireflies flitting through the forest. The tree canopies, as well as much of the foliage, had been decorated with lights, and numerous luminescent crystals adorned the clearings. This decoration had been placed the day before by the villagers and was a gift from Princess Cadance, given after the severe disaster that had occurred weeks earlier.

Absorbed, the unicorn continued to observe her surroundings. The gentle night breeze carried the murmur of the stream flowing not far away. The glow of the crystals added a touch of magic that was truly a delight to the eyes. The tranquility and beauty of the place made Starlight's heart consider the idea of staying there until midday the next day.

But she couldn't do that.

A bitter discomfort took over her previously calm face. A question that had been bothering her began to flit around her mind again.

"Why am I the headmistress of a school?" Starlight murmured to the sky. If she had asked her past self the same question, before meeting Twilight, she would probably be questioning if it was really herself or if she had been enchanted.

Starlight didn't hate her job. She didn't find it overwhelming either, at least not at the moment. But... was she really in the right place?

The position of headmistress of the School of Friendship had been given to her by Twilight herself. Her friend, the princess, had full confidence in her abilities to perform such an important role, and, of course, her judgment was sound.

However, this was not the future Starlight had chosen. She had not fought to obtain the position she now held.

Many might think Twilight had abused her position by giving her the school. Starlight herself shared that idea, but she accepted it because she knew it was a position of great importance and that there were good intentions behind Twilight's decision.

But that was then... time had passed, and Starlight felt... that she could do more...

A year ago...

Starlight had been invited to a meeting of directors sponsored by the Equestrian Education Association, or EEA, to share management experiences and projects within the educational community. The meeting, chaired by Chancellor Neighsay, turned out to be much more pleasant than Starlight had initially expected. So much so that Starlight had no trouble making friends and meeting potential new colleagues during the intervals between presentations and debates.

It was then that she became aware of something she had ignored until that moment.

All the ponies present were older than her; many were twice her age. In comparison, Chancellor Neighsay also seemed one of the youngest at the meeting.

After talking with them and with the Chancellor, Starlight began to understand that they were not only older than her in age but also surpassed her in experience and skills. They had all been teachers previously and had carried out personal projects related to education before assuming their roles as directors. They had completed advanced courses and were highly respected in the cities where they worked.

In other words, their positions were fully justified, and precisely because of the experience they carried with them, they had every right to hold the roles of directors.

("What have I been doing until now?") Starlight thought deeply to herself.

After the meeting, Starlight began to feel unwell. She mentioned it to Trixie, but she only said that those were the standards of the Equestrian Education Association and that a pony's age didn't matter, only what they were capable of doing. She also pointed out that the School of Friendship had its own standards as a unique entity separate from other schools. Starlight agreed with her friend's advice and put the matter behind her, but the discomfort remained like a thorn in her thoughts.

Shortly after...

Starlight received a notification of withdrawal from one of the new students. The colt in question was leaving the school because it had been discovered that his parents had pressured him to enroll in the school and befriend only the teachers or classmates adept at magic.

Being a unicorn talented in magic, the colt had wanted to enroll in the School of Magic. However, due to certain limitations at home and prerequisites, he couldn't do so. Instead, his parents had forced him to enroll in the School of Friendship.

When the colt's parents came to take him away, a little filly stayed behind, following them all the way. She was his childhood friend, who had encouraged him to accept his parents' decision to enroll in the school, even though it went against the rules.

The distressed filly presented herself at the academic counseling office the next day and explained her case to Trixie, who then brought the matter to Starlight.

After meeting with the filly and explaining to her that it was not possible for her friend to return, the young pony left her office with a look of disappointment that pierced Starlight's soul.

Days later, the young filly also left the school.

The next day, Starlight apologized to Sunburst, telling him she had a cold and that he should take over her duties as headmistress. That day, she spent all her time drinking cider and eating oatmeal ice cream alone in her room. During the night, she had a dream in which she was standing in front of a mirror, and her younger self from the past looked at her with disdain before turning away. She woke up in the middle of the night drenched in cold sweat under the accusing light of the moon and couldn't fall asleep for the rest of the night. She barely managed to get back into the rhythm of her work for the rest of that week.

("Aren't I supposed to be a better pony now? Aren't I supposed to have grown enough to handle situations like this?") Starlight scolded herself in the darkness.

The days passed, and the conflict within Starlight began to fade. She regained her rhythm at work and continued her days as usual, always with a smile on her face. However, during the nights, when she lay down, the reflection in her mirror returned a wary gaze, and at times, her mane seemed to regain a silhouette she had left behind long ago... long ago...

Finally, a few months ago...

Starlight's workload had increased, as had her popularity. In both cases, external factors were responsible for this trend. It was in this context that she had an unexpected meeting with Chancellor Neighsay, who made her a proposal that seemed like the predestined answer to all the conflicts she had been trying to hide until then.

"A new teaching model?" Starlight repeated, surprised.

"That's right, Headmistress Starlight. The recent innovations in the use of enchanted crystals, carried out by the great wizard Star Swirl the Bearded and his companion Stygian, now allow for scenarios where information can be shared over long distances through secure channels at very low cost. Truly, many of my colleagues are very excited about the possibilities of this development and, above all, how it could change education as we know it," said Chancellor Neighsay in a very good mood, sharing a thick folio of documentation with her.

Starlight eagerly reviewed it; the project's documentation was impeccable, which was no surprise coming from Chancellor Neighsay. Moreover, the foundations, timelines, and scope of the project were even more solid.

"This... is very surprising. I can understand why the EEA would want to implement a new teaching model to avoid falling behind with the application of this technology, but..." The doubt that Starlight had at the beginning of the meeting could no longer be hidden. "Why are you telling me?"

"I want you, Headmistress Starlight Glimmer, to lead the implementation of this project," Chancellor Neighsay replied without hesitation.

Starlight was stunned for a moment, drank some water, and responded.

"It is an honor for you to ask me something like this, but I..."

"I have many reasons to believe that you are the right pony for this job. May I share some of them with you?"

"Of course, I'm listening."

"First, I would like to remind you that this is not the first time an attempt has been made to implement a new teaching model in Equestria. In the past, there were many attempts that failed due to project costs, lack of leadership, and, above all, distrust in new technologies. I'm sad to say it, but there are members of the EEA who do not give new tools a chance and end up obstructing their implementation. Moreover, there are always debates about whether the use of these tools does or does not promote better education. That is why I think someone younger and with a more current vision could help my colleagues accept these changes. You, Headmistress Starlight, are very young and have unique social skills that would help build the necessary bridges to keep all the ponies united in this project," Chancellor Neighsay finished his speech in a severe but gentle tone.

Starlight could barely accept what was in front of her and what it implied, such as the fact that she would have to leave her position as headmistress if she fully took on this project.

"Is there any other reason?" Starlight asked, making a great effort to hide her emotions.

"You are very close to Princess Twilight; having you lead the team would help gain her approval of the project and accelerate the acceptance of changes that might arise along the way," the Chancellor immediately replied.

"Do you not have her approval yet?" Starlight asked, puzzled.

"We've had some differences..." Chancellor Neighsay responded, for the first time appearing somewhat cautious with his words.

Although the EEA had great independence in its organizational decisions, there were still some cases where the Princess's approval was required, particularly in reforms of such magnitude as the one the Chancellor was proposing. If Twilight had not accepted it yet, it might be because there were aspects that required better understanding or debate... Or the Chancellor might be hiding certain important details of the project that were not to Twilight's liking.

"I can't make a decision on this matter right now. I need to study this project in more detail and then inform you of my decision," Starlight said, more calmly.

"I completely understand. Take all the time you need, but I would also like you to think about the great opportunity this project represents and the good it could bring to ponies if it is implemented correctly throughout Equestria," commented Chancellor Neighsay.

"I will keep that in mind, Chancellor Neighsay," Starlight replied, making a gesture of acceptance.

After discussing other matters about the school and the teachers, Chancellor Neighsay left.

In her headmistress chair, Starlight looked at the large project folio. On the cover, there was an image of two colts in two different places holding hooves, sharing their words through a crystal. Seeing this image, Starlight remembered her childhood friend Sunburst and how she had been separated from him when he entered the school of magic. She remembered the days when she would have wished for at least a brief moment with her friend to chat and spend time together. She also recalled the painful and dark path her life took at that time, the days of loneliness and helplessness... the days when she sought to gain the power to change everything...

The forgotten ashes of her past self began to ignite within her.

In the present...

Starlight's determined gaze was fixed on Ponyville, especially towards Twilight's castle in the distance.

"Sorry, Trixie, we'll have to leave the chat for another time," Starlight said with a smile to the wind. The breeze made her mane regain the old shape it had before she became headmistress, before she met Trixie, before she met the Princess of Friendship...

Starlight's eyes shone with the glow of the forest lights, reflecting the wild spirit that had awakened within her.

She had made a decision.

Starlight had a mission, more precisely a dream, a dream that had grown within her over the past few weeks.

"I will bring every pony in Equestria the opportunity to know the true meaning of friendship."

With these words, which almost sounded like a vow, Starlight had resolved to make the vision she had proposed a reality. She would never again stand by idly while a friendship was destroyed by the barriers of distance. She would put everything she had into Chancellor Neighsay's project and do whatever it took to achieve its success, even if it didn't end up pleasing Twilight.

Every pony deserved this opportunity to communicate without fearing distance. She would be the one to initiate this change throughout Equestria.

Without a doubt, it would be so.

Thus, with her head held high and ready to face whatever crossed her path, Starlight began to walk down the path towards her home. She had had enough distractions for that day.

Starlight was trotting towards Ponyville in the middle of the night when she noticed someone standing in the middle of the path. It was a young mare with sky blue and white fur, a fluffy white mane resembling cotton, and striking sky blue streaks. She wore a travel cap and had some luggage.

"A tourist? At this hour?" Starlight wondered, but immediately put her suspicions aside. It was the day of the Festival of the Two Sisters, and many ponies tended to wander at that time, going from party to party or simply enjoying the night without sleeping.

After a short walk, she reached the lost mare.

"Hello, excuse me, do you know where the Castle of the Two Sisters is? I think I'm a bit lost," the tourist pony asked.

"It's a bit late for sightseeing, and right now the paths to the Everfree Forest are closed due to a pest infestation," Starlight replied. "It's best if you wait until tomorrow if you want to take a balloon trip there."

"Oh, stars! Really? That's terrible! I don't have that much time; my transport leaves very early tomorrow. I don't think I'll have time for a balloon trip...", the disappointed pony responded while checking a crumpled map. "Do you happen to know where Twilight's castle is?"

"Yes, I know it very well, I live there," Starlight replied indifferently.

"Wait! Whaaaaaaaaaaat! Then you are Starlight Glimmer! Hiiiiiiii!" exclaimed the sky-blue pony excitedly.

"I'm the same as always," Starlight replied, somewhat embarrassed, adjusting her mane. "Have you heard of me?"

"Yes, you're the headmistress of the School of Friendship. Everyone talks about you. Hiiii!" neighed the pony even more excitedly.

Starlight blushed a little but contained herself.

"Can you sign an autograph for me?" the pony continued excitedly, handing her the map.

"Okay, and what name should I put?" Starlight asked in good humor.

"Summermoon!" the pony replied enthusiastically with a bright smile in the middle of the night...

Author's Note

Update 11/07/2024

Trixie's Nightmare

It had been more than ten minutes since Starlight left Trixie's trailer, leaving her friend deeply asleep and comfortably tucked in bed... or so she had thought.

Suddenly, Trixie, who had seemed to be in a deep sleep from exhaustion and sweet cider, sprang up. Nimble as a rabbit, she threw off the sheets and tossed her stuffed animal aside. Without wasting a second, she checked the peephole in the door amidst an urgent feeling of insecurity.

There was no one outside. Starlight had left for home without any trouble. It was safe.

"Ahhh hu," Trixie groaned wearily, collapsing heavily against the door, making the whole trailer creak.

She didn't feel well.

Trixie had returned a few days ago from her trip to Babyloponi. Since then, she hadn't heard much about the crisis that had occurred at the school a few weeks prior. It wasn't until that very night, during the party, that she learned fully about the great disaster that had struck Ponyville and its surroundings during her absence.

Terror and chaos. Swarms of Brain-Eating Octopus Orchids crawling freely through the town's gardens and streets. Pony citizens under the mental control of the cephalopods, students cornered at the school, buildings destroyed, crops burned, direct intervention from a princess...

It was too much. Trixie could only drink cider and nod at everything the other teachers and friends were telling her. The crisis had been barely contained with the effort of the Young Six led by Starlight and ended with the very timely intervention of Princess Cadance, who was visiting the School of Friendship during those dark days.

In the end, there were no irreparable losses to mourn, aside from the material damage and traumatized ponies.

The investigation was still ongoing, and as always, the Everfree Forest was the main suspect for the origin of the plague. Even so, there were many questions in the air, all accompanied by rumors...

("Days earlier, they said they saw those monsters lurking in the swamp.")

("Oh my... I heard the school's greenhouse was full of those pests! How awful!")

("Some foreigner must have brought them; those creatures aren't from around here.")

Leaving behind the exhausting facade of naivety she had maintained during the party and until just recently, Trixie sank further into the floor of the trailer. She, unfortunately, knew all too well the truth of what had happened.

"Starlight, I'm sorry... I really am... it's all the fault of those deceitful camel eucalyptus oil sellers!" Trixie exclaimed, both regretful and furious. There, at the lowest point of her pride, she covered her face with her hooves, imagining the disappointed look on her friend's face if she were there to hear her.

Several months ago...

(Trixie was happily strolling on the outskirts of Ponyville when she accidentally came across a fair of incredible tools and objects for shows. Run by an eloquent group of camels, the innocent Trixie was fascinated by their exotic products. Trusting in the noble words of the sellers, she spent a good part of her savings as a student counselor on buying such accessories that would undoubtedly make her own circus shows greater and more amazing. Confident in her actions and with the blessing of the fair's owners, Trixie left with a big smile, imagining how happy she would make her friends when she shared her new wonders with them.)

Yes, this was the imaginary explanation Trixie repeated to herself and would tell anyone who discovered the truth. Of course, she would never mention that she was at that fair at midnight. Nor would she mention that the supposed fair took place every moon in a dark, unknown cave within the Everfree Forest. Much less would she say that it wasn't the first time she had done business with those suspicious-looking camels.

Trixie had only been a victim of a vile scam. That was all.

Among the many clandestine products she had acquired, there was one quite unusual: a cluster of Octopus Rose seeds.

The Octopus Rose is an exotic creature that lives in the remote tropical forests far south of Equestria. More than just a beautiful and unique pet, they are extremely sensitive and fragile creatures with a very specific diet, making them extremely expensive to raise in captivity. However, such an investment of resources could well be compensated by the enormous profits that could be obtained from these creatures. The white ink of the Octopus Rose is one of the most expensive and sought-after in the market. With multiple uses, both scientific and magical, any product that contains any derivative of this ink would multiply its price up to ten times its original value. It could be said that having a nest of Octopus Roses was akin to having a living gold mine.

Therefore, Trixie hadn't bought the Octopus Roses out of mere greed. These creatures were also known to produce a very special resin that, if used in fireworks, could increase their durability and brightness and even make them susceptible to enchantments.

Thinking of the infinite possibilities, Trixie had not hesitated to acquire them despite their exorbitant price. That very night, she secretly planted them in the greenhouse of the School of Friendship, as it was the only place where she could keep these creatures in good condition. In secret, she cared for and fed them with the hope that Starlight would forgive her once they matured and shared the profits with her.

However, misfortune did not take long to open her eyes.

The creatures that sprouted from Trixie's secret garden of hopes were not the harmless Octopus Roses, but fierce Octopus Orchids, dangerous monsters known for parasitizing their prey with mind control, then slowly consuming their brains.

Furious at the deception and even more terrified by the monstrous truth, Trixie uprooted the garden of Octopus Orchids and transported it to Froggy Bottom Bog to dispose of it. Throwing the monsters into the swamps, she left the problem solved. Trixie departed extremely disappointed, not thinking much about how nature would handle those dangerous creatures. In the following days of her trip, the only thing that troubled her was how she could recover all the savings she had lost.

What happened next was well-known history.

"Why do these things happen to me?! Why?!" Trixie cried, rolling on the floor while guilt gnawed at her insides...

The sound of a thud came from the window. Immediately, Trixie stood up and looked around fearfully.

There was nothing but a branch hitting the window due to the wind.

Once again, Trixie sighed in relief. Then, distracted, she saw her reflection in one of the mirrors beside her bed.

Her appearance was pathetic. Her entire white mane was disheveled and full of bits of her stuff. Her face, which always showed a confident and intriguing expression, now had a tired and fearful look. Her coat, which used to have a magnetic blue shine, now looked sickly gray.

There was no trace of the Great and Powerful Trixie that everyone knew.

"ENOUGH!" Trixie shouted, regaining the sparkle in her eyes. Using her magic, she grabbed a bottle of water and poured its entire contents over her head. She wiped a towel over her coat, a fan and a large comb danced over her mane, then special makeup powders on her face. Under a flash of light from her own horn, Trixie, who had kept her eyes closed until that moment, opened them.

The dazzling reflection of the Great and Powerful Trixie returned a proud look.

"Alright, dear Trixie. What happened, happened. It's time to think about tomorrow," she told herself as she picked up a notebook. "There is no time to lose. Our friendship with Starlight could be in danger. It's time to focus and think about how to fix it."

After giving herself that order, Trixie elegantly sat on a tiny stool, lit some candles, and began jotting down her ideas. She didn't care if it took her all night and she didn't sleep. She wouldn't heed fatigue or sleep. Once the Great and Powerful Trixie decided to do something, there was nothing in this world that could stop her.

Was there anything that could stop the Great and Powerful Trixie in this world?

The list of options was long, but among them, there were some answers that would hardly cross anyone’s mind.

One of those options was being attacked by a horde of zombie ponies in the middle of the night, and that was precisely what was happening.

Under the light of a grim moon...

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa hauuuuuu!" Trixie screamed as she galloped desperately through the forest. Behind the unicorn, hordes of zombie ponies possessed by Octopus Orchids were chasing her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Trixie exclaimed between sobs as she galloped at full speed.

"TRIXIEE! BRAIN! TRIXIE! BRAIN!" the zombies clamored, getting closer quickly.

Soon, Trixie’s path began to sink, and she reached a hollow where it was no longer possible to continue.

"It wasn't my intention! It was an accident! You have to believe me!" Trixie pleaded, now cornered by the zombies that had her surrounded.

"ALWAYS TRIXIE! ALWAYS WITHOUT A BRAIN!" a familiar voice echoed among the rows of zombies. They made way, and a known face emerged from among them.

Starlight advanced toward Trixie, but there was no need to guess her state. A massive cephalopod writhed on her head, while the pony’s body moved forward in spasms. Her foamy drool splattered in all directions, and only her eyes, now swollen and about to pop out of their sockets, were firmly fixed on her friend.

It was a horrifying sight. Trixie trembled, terrified and unable to look away.

"Starlight... I..."

"RAASHTTGDFFGFG!" zombified Starlight shouted at her in what was an evident order for silence.

Trixie closed her eyes with tears streaming down, resigned to her fate. She preferred to be devoured by the remains of her friend than by any other pony. She thought it was a fitting punishment as the foul breath of her zombie friend spread across her face and her drool already splattered on her.

But something else happened.

Trixie then felt a strange warmth behind her, as if the rays of dawn were hitting her back. She opened her eyes, and all the zombie ponies, including zombie Starlight, were retreating, frightened by the blinding light enveloping them from the front. Trixie turned around and saw an impressive scene.

There was a mare rising above everything, wrapped in a light similar to a golden sun, her body a flat silhouette of shadows with a flowing mane, her bright eyes revealing the unique magic within her. There was no trace of evil or threat coming from her, but rather an aura of holiness.

Trixie squinted and saw her more clearly. The mare had a horn and wings, it was clear, she was a dignified alicorn princess.

The mysterious alicorn began to advance towards Trixie with calm and majestic steps, behind her was an enigmatic triangular portal of light.

"Do not be afraid, Trixie Lulamoon. Come with me," said a soft and familiar voice.

"Huh? Huh? Who, me? Wait, who are you? What is...?" Trixie couldn't finish her words. At that moment, the light from the triangular portal extended towards them, and both disappeared in a rainbow beam.

Trixie opened her eyes, hadn't she done this before?

Confused, she looked around. The place where she was... was strange. Everything was nebulous. Starlit lights surrounded her, as if she were in a transparent crystal corridor and outside of it, the cosmos spread out into the immensity of darkness. In front of her, the great figure of the alicorn with bright eyes watched her without blinking.

"Where am I? What is this place?" Trixie asked, bewildered.

"It is a safe place, Trixie. Please, follow me," said the mysterious alicorn. Without saying more, she turned and began to walk down the strange hallway.

"Wait..." said Trixie, trying to catch up with her, but when she stood up... she felt dizzy. As if she had just woken up from a heavy sleep.

A dream.

"THAT'S IT! THIS IS A DREAM! OF COURSE! HAHAHA!" Trixie hit her forehead with a hoof and burst into laughter, finally understanding where she was. She was dreaming, and the alicorn who had brought her here was Princess Luna who had rescued her from a terrible nightmare.

However.

She didn't remember Princess Luna being so tall... or having that voice...

More importantly... Wasn't Princess Luna retired?

Trixie's thoughts continued to wander as her laughter was replaced by her bewilderment. Meanwhile, the mysterious alicorn continued to advance without turning around, soon her silhouette vanished into the bright mist that flooded the hallway.

Silence surrounded her.

"Wait! WAIT! PRINCESS LUNA!" Trixie shouted, startled as she realized she had been left behind. She ran down the corridor trying to catch up with her savior. She went through the mist and suddenly found herself in a slightly different place.

An endless hallway stretched out as far as the eye could see. On both sides of the blurry walls of the hallway, large white doors opened wide, in brilliant crystal arches.

Amazed, Trixie advanced cautiously. But pushed by a curiosity difficult to control, she peeked her head through one of the doors...

"Let every pony eye see and admire the most magical and exceptional unicorn in all Equestria, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" A young Trixie adorably waved her hooves in the middle of a huge stage. Her audience, a large crowd of adult ponies and foals, watched the talent show with much amusement. At the far end of the crowd was her father, admiring his daughter's first performance.

From the door out of time, the adult Trixie watched in awe as her past self impressed the audience with the infallible rabbit-in-the-hat trick.

"What is happening? Am I here but also there...?" Trixie exclaimed, trying to understand what she was seeing. Suddenly, guided by a strong premonition, she began to check the other doors.

Just as her instincts had hinted, the entire hallway was filled with doors that showed her a moment from her past.

Her grandiose first performance.

Her memorable first live accident.

Her first solo trip.

Her first encounter with Twilight. (She passed by that one and the others that had to do with her)

Her first encounter with Starlight.

"Well... this is very strange," Trixie said aloud without losing her trot.

That hallway of nostalgia was bewildering and gave her no clues, nor was there any trace of Princess Luna or whoever that mysterious alicorn was. Had she taken the wrong path?

Or not?

Trixie stopped abruptly. In her mental effort to understand what was happening, a memory came to her along with an absurd but hopeful idea.

"Is it possible? Really? Could I be wrong? REALLY?!" Trixie exclaimed nervously, her little heart began to beat faster as she hurried back to the beginning of that passage.

Trixie galloped back down the hallway, checking each door and excitedly recalling each special moment of her life. With each door she checked, with each good memory she relived, the small idea that had illuminated her grew stronger, filling her with immense anxiety and excitement.

A long time ago, Starlight had told her about a similar magical situation, about how a humble pony could become something more...

COULD IT BE THAT DESTINY WAS FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH HER?!

Trixie had never spoken very highly of the alicorn princesses, especially Twilight. Whenever someone mentioned the topic, she would say things like: "It's no big deal," "It's just a pony with wings and a horn," "Any pony can do the same with enough magic," etc.

But deep down, she also wanted to be an alicorn. Maybe she was being a bit petty, as there were other ponies who could well claim that title with more right, even Starlight, in her eyes, deserved the title of princess more than Twilight herself. She also didn't feel worthy, but if the opportunity arose, she wouldn't hesitate to take it.

Soon she spotted the large silhouette of the mysterious alicorn. Forgetting she was in a dream, without wasting a second, she pounced on her and gave her a big hug.

"I'M READY!" Trixie exclaimed excitedly with bright eyes full of excitement caused by her deepest and most honest desire.

The mysterious alicorn did not respond. In fact, she did not pay her the slightest attention. She just attentively watched the inside of one of the doors.

A strange reaction. Startled, Trixie immediately stepped back. The warmth of the mysterious alicorn's coat felt very familiar and... unpleasant? Now that she saw her up close, she did not resemble Princess Luna, yet it felt as if she had someone in front of her whom she already knew but was unable to recognize.

Observing her carefully, she noticed a great nostalgia in the lost gaze of that alicorn.

Confused, Trixie looked in the same direction...

"Are you sure about your decision?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.

"Yes," Starlight replied.

This was the main office of the School of Friendship's principal. And in the principal's chair behind the desk indeed sat Principal Starlight with a very severe look appropriate to the conversation taking place.

On the other side was Chancellor Neighsay with a similar expression.

"I can understand that the recent unfortunate events have changed your previous response to my proposal; however, I do not want any misunderstandings with Princess Twilight. A private meeting between the three of us would be very timely."

"I can schedule an appointment for next week. Clearing up this matter as soon as possible will be very beneficial for everyone."

"I agree," replied the Chancellor with an intriguing smile. Starlight responded in kind.

Trixie, who was watching the scene, didn't understand what was going on. Starlight looked different. Trixie had accompanied her to numerous school meetings in the past and knew how nervous she sometimes got. However, there was something in her current demeanor that made her think something was not right.

She didn't look like the confident pony she knew.

"If I may ask, how do you plan to handle the matter of your 'friend'?" the Chancellor suddenly asked.

"Ahem. Leave it to me. She won't be an obstacle in the next stage of the transition," Starlight replied with unusual initial clumsiness.

"I understand. I trust that the ongoing investigation at the school will not find her as a suspect. But if that happens..."

"She wouldn't dare," Starlight replied, frowning for the first time.

"One cannot hide criminal acts of this magnitude, Principal Starlight, and although I admire your loyalty to your companion, the law is the law," the Chancellor responded in a cold tone.

Starlight sighed, looking up at the ceiling, and after a few seconds...

"Alright... what do you propose?" she finally responded, resigned.

"Don't worry, it's nothing significant," Chancellor Neighsay replied with a wider smile. "Just a few slight adjustments to next year's curriculum..."

Starlight, who seemed to have guessed the Chancellor's next words, closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"HEEEEE!" Trixie exclaimed, watching as the door turned black and disappeared from her view. She turned around and discovered that the mysterious alicorn had been the one to conceal that room with her magic.

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT IS GOING ON? ANSWER ME!" Trixie demanded indignantly. Having seen her friend evidently blackmailed by Chancellor Neighsay had put her in a very bad mood.

"IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT IN THE HOOF IS GOING ON, I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Trixie exclaimed furiously, sitting firmly on the ground. She had had enough of this spectacle of mystery.

The mysterious alicorn waved her horn, and one of the doors further down the hallway lit up. After a brief purple and lilac glow resembling a light bulb exploding, everything began to darken.

Trixie soon found herself surrounded by darkness, with only the light from her horn illuminating her.

"THIS KIND OF TRICK DOESN'T SCARE ME!" Trixie shouted arrogantly, but unease was beginning to spread within her due to the notable silence around her.

A dripping sound was suddenly heard in the hallway. Trixie turned her gaze. The dripping was approaching... no, it was something different, it was... a trot.

From the shadows that flooded the black stone corridor, the mature figures of Starlight and Trixie emerged with torches in a calm and confident trot.

"Seriously, the traps earlier were very silly. Who places a glass of milk and bread in the middle of a pedestal?" Trixie exclaimed, bored.

"I don't know, but it's clear that someone lives here. Shouldn't we go back?"

"Are you scared? Daring Do said this pyramid was safe. The big one is the really dangerous one. Oooohhh!" Trixie replied nonchalantly, trying to scare Starlight in a childish tone.

"I'm being cautious; we're not as young as we used to be, and what she said was that all the pyramids were dangerous," Starlight reprimanded.

"Well, that's true... but we're not here for that reason. Reliving our youth by living on the edge and defying danger," Trixie said with a smile.

Starlight rolled her eyes but also smiled. Those were Starlight's words before entering that place, and the excitement she felt was the same as Trixie's.

After taking a few more steps, they reached a crossroads. The stone tunnel split into two paths. A large black statue of a stylized dog stood as a dividing point between the two paths. Raising a golden scale with one of its paws, the canine effigy seemed an ominous sign of impending judgment.

The upper part of the entrance to each path was decorated with a symbol. The one on the left was a feather, and the one on the right a heart.

Starlight's danger instincts kicked in. This was a turning point they couldn't ignore.

"Trixie, it would be better not to continue; this place is..." Starlight said with overwhelming seriousness.

"I CHOOSE THE FEATHER!" Trixie exclaimed cheerfully and, with reckless gallop, ventured into the darkness of the left hallway.

"NO! WAIT! TRIXIE!" Starlight shouted, dismayed, as she began to run after her friend.

Both disappeared into the darkness.

Trixie, the out-of-time version of herself, stayed behind. She had a bitter taste in her mouth, as if she had already experienced this situation before, but when?

"Shouldn't I have done that?" she asked aloud, with a doubtful expression.

A voice resonated behind her, breaking the silence of the mysterious place. "You should have chosen the heart," the voice said.

Trixie turned around, and there was the mysterious alicorn again, wrapped in a lilac halo of light.

"Friendship allows us to push our friends toward success, but sometimes also toward failure..." murmured the mysterious alicorn, her words weighing heavily in the air.

A dripping sound began to echo in the tunnel, gradually intensifying. Confused, Trixie sharpened her senses to locate the source of the sound, but it didn't seem to come from any specific point in the tunnel.

She took a few steps and finally realized where the sound was coming from.

Tears were falling to the ground, one after another.

Trixie was crying. The echoes of her tears resonated throughout the tunnel. Why was she crying? She didn't know.

Then, a sudden understanding illuminated her mind.

The raw memory of what had happened in that dark tunnel suddenly hit her consciousness. The knowledge of the ominous future painfully poured into her carefree present, a truth she never would have wished to discover.

Trixie realized that once again, she had made a grave mistake, and this time, Starlight would pay the price for her actions.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" A diabolical laugh rumbled throughout the tunnel, as if emerging from the depths of the earth.

Trixie stood paralyzed, feeling a sulfuric smell fill the air as the darkness took on sinister shapes.

"WHAT A WONDERFUL OFFERING FOR THE DARKNESS!" continued the volcanic voice that seemed to come from everywhere. Suddenly, the walls of the tunnel lit up with a greenish light, similar to the glow of embers in a bonfire.

An evil being appeared at the entrance to the tunnel on the left. It was a figure full of terrifying malice, a horrifying being that Trixie knew all too well...

"Trixie, don't let fear dominate you! He has no power here! You mustn't allow..." the mysterious alicorn tried to advise with a firm voice.

But she wasn't heard.

Trixie struggled in the grip of fear, an overwhelming guilt choking her.

Her only option was to flee.

With tears in her eyes, Trixie galloped desperately through the eerie tunnel, her heart pounding with the fury of a locomotive about to crash. The cursed pyramid seemed to trap her in its endless nightmare, while malevolent shadows stretched behind her like tentacles of a repugnant greenish glow. The sinister laughter continued to rumble in every corner, and the ground shook under the weight of its malignant voice. The walls of the tunnel, like ancient specters, began to crack, and shadows burst through the cracks like an unhealthy torrent, relentlessly pursuing her.

Desperation filled Trixie, and her strength waned with every gallop. But then, like a ray of hope in the middle of the darkness, she spotted a faint light in the distance. It was the exit.

With her last reserve of energy, she lunged toward the saving door. Finally, she emerged outside and, with an agile jump, moved away from the main path of the door. A viscous torrent shot out like a broken pipe, taking on terrifying forms in its advance. As it progressed, the liquid seemed to come to life, spreading across the exterior ground like hungry leeches.

Trixie, barely able to breathe, looked up. The midday sky was as black as midnight, adorned with unknown stars and celestial bodies she had never seen before. Looking down, she beheld the desert, now illuminated by fires stretching in long rows.

Then, the nauseating liquid that had flooded the place stopped, but it was followed by an even more terrifying omen.

Guided by an unknown will, the black liquid began to gather at a point on the ground, taking the shape of a gigantic egg of shadows.

The immense shadowy egg levitated and slowly approached Trixie, who trembled uncontrollably with fear.

"NO ONE CAN ESCAPE THE DARKNESS!" roared the evil being emerging from the newly formed egg of shadows. In his left claw, he held a long scimitar, and in his right, he held the unconscious body of Starlight. "FOR YOUR GREAT KINDNESS, I WILL ALLOW YOU TO SEE HOW I CONSUME THIS OFFERING. FEEL FORTUNATE FOR MY MERCY, LITTLE PONY, HAHAHAHAHA."

"NO, NOT HER!" cried Trixie, pleading through her tears.

But those futile pleas only made the evil being's smile grow wider as he held Starlight. In a shocking move, he raised his left claw, pointing his scimitar towards the sky.

"WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" he screamed in a shriek of joy.

Trixie, paralyzed with terror, watched in slow motion as the scimitar descended, nearing her friend's neck with deadly precision.

It was the end.

Then, an explosion of light. A beam of magic struck the evil being's claw, injuring him and forcing him to drop the scimitar. In mere seconds, it would have reached Starlight's neck.

The mysterious alicorn appeared above Trixie, her horn glowing intensely, ready to face the evil being.

"YOU! BLASPHEMER!" roared the evil being. "YOU CANNOT CHANGE DESTINY! IT IS USELESS!"

Throwing Starlight's body aside, the ambassador of darkness began firing green beams from his claws at the mysterious alicorn, who responded with beams from her own horn. Both rose into the sky, engulfed in a fierce battle of magic.

Ignoring the explosions of light erupting around her, Trixie ran to her fallen friend.

Holding Starlight in her hooves, a heartbroken Trixie cradled her unconscious body. Starlight lay pale and cold, with a serene expression on her face.

A burst of even brighter light tore through the sky. An object fell near Trixie, raising a great cloud of dust. From the dust, a silhouette rose, revealing the figure of the mysterious alicorn.

The veil of mystery that had hidden her until that moment was gone.

"HAAAAAAAA," Trixie gasped, her eyes wide with a mix of astonishment and fear at the revelation.

The alicorn limped towards Trixie, her recognizable purple coat and mane adorned with traits Trixie had never seen before. The flowing mane, her large size, and her golden attire... she was definitely not the same pony she knew.

The tall Princess Twilight Sparkle approached Trixie. She looked visibly injured.

"Even in a dream, you are so strong..." murmured Twilight, exhausted and staggering, her gaze lost in the horizon.

"Twilight? Wait, what? How?!" exclaimed Trixie, confused and shocked, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Twilight turned her gaze to Trixie, closed her eyes, and reopened them. This time, her expression was extremely serious. With a grave and solemn voice, she spoke her next words: "In 41 moons from now, everyone must prepare for the arrival of the Dark Lord Pit Prompt. When the time comes, remember my words and convey them to the others."

"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooo," a chilling howl echoed across the desert. The great egg of shadows floating in the sky had grown larger and started to crack, with appendages resembling giant claws and antennae emerging. A large inverted triangle of orange light dazzled from within, a suffocating light.

"HAHAHAHAJA, YES! YES!" up in the sky, the evil being rejoiced at the emergence of the new monstrous entity.

Waves of black light began to pulse from the cracking egg. The pyramids trembled in a dazzling green light with each wave.

Twilight, deeply distressed, lit her horn and opened a triangular portal of light, the same one through which Trixie had entered at the beginning.

"You must return NOW!" ordered Twilight to Trixie, taking her body with her magic. However, Trixie resisted, clinging to Starlight's lifeless body, refusing to abandon her friend.

"NOOO, wait, Starlight is..." whimpered Trixie.

A more intense wave of black light burst from the egg. The pyramids cracked, and their blocks were hurled into the dark sky. Twilight raised a powerful magic shield and with great effort withstood the impact of the burst, keeping Trixie by her side. The triangular portal of light began to crack. Everything around them started to spin as if they were trapped in a vortex of destruction and darkness. At the center of it all, the colossal monster writhed.

A gigantic shadow claw, like a whip, shot from the eye of the catastrophe towards Twilight and Trixie.

Facing the imminent impact, Twilight, without saying a word, lowered her barrier, took Trixie with a strong magical grip, and threw her into the portal.

"AUUUUUU AUUUUUU," Trixie was sucked into the rainbow portal amidst cries of dismay and a world exploding. Behind, the last image of Twilight facing the darkness disappeared in an explosion of brilliant light.

"Be brave, be brave..."

The echoes of the last words of the alicorn princess faded into chaos.

Trixie's consciousness traversed the dream world. The before and after intermingled and clashed in her mind. The previous cracks in the triangular portal of light widened and separated.

The portal collapsed.

Trixie was lost, just a breath away from reaching her destination. Diverted, she ended up falling into a time that should not be.

"THUD," the sound suddenly echoed.

"Ouch," whimpered Trixie on the floor. She had fallen off the bench where she had fallen asleep all night.

As she opened her eyes, it was already morning, probably quite late given the angle of the sun filtering through the window of her trailer.

Still groggy, she stood up. Had she had a dream?

She couldn't remember anything, except... octopuses and doors...

"Oh, my head. I shouldn't have drunk so much cider last night," exclaimed Trixie, with a pounding headache. She could stay in bed—it was a holiday, and there really wasn't anything urgent to do...

Except the meeting with Starlight in the afternoon.

Trixie, about to pour herself a glass of water, froze, letting all the liquid from the jug spill onto the floor. The sudden memory of her dream, the only complete fragment still in her mind, where Starlight and Chancellor Neighsay met, hit her thoughts hard.

Had she had a premonition? Had she been visited in her dreams by someone else?

Trixie struggled to remember her dream. There were scattered images of shadows and stars in her memory, but she couldn't piece them together into a larger framework. Soon, her head began to ache from the effort. Frustrated, she sat down as she tried to make sense of the only memories she still had. However, the more she thought about it, the more she was overwhelmed by an inexplicable feeling of doom and sorrow.

Then, suddenly, an idea came to her like an explosion.

"Is Starlight in danger?" she asked herself in a weak voice.

With a doubt growing like a supernova inside her, Trixie, grabbing her hat and cape, rushed out of her trailer driven by the same force as a distressed young mother searching for her child in danger.

Trixie had only one thought.

To find Starlight and make sure everything was okay...

Author's Note

update 04-07-2024

Meeting at Twilight Castle

The old gardener Toggam inspected a large bush in the middle of the path that crossed the hill. It was a routine task he performed every day. Inspecting the size of the new mushrooms, checking for possible pests, collecting fallen leaves and branches, watering, and cleaning—these were tasks more demanding than most could imagine. Toggam knew this and chuckled to himself every time a pony made jokes about it.

After studying an ornamental bush shaped like bears for several minutes, which could simply be described as perfect, he proceeded to cut a couple of twigs that protruded from one of its ends.

"PERFECT!" exclaimed Toggam, now convinced and filled with pride, in the middle of the path.

But there was no response to his success. There was no pony nearby to admire his work, and none were expected to arrive for the rest of the morning.

Toggam sighed, exhausted after weighing the immense silence around him. He knew he wasn't the only pony working that morning. Others had risen even earlier than him to start their tasks. The mayor, the messenger service, the impeccable Headmare Starlight... Toggam was not alone.

Still, he longed for someone's company. Someone he could call a work companion, or even an apprentice would be enough... someone to whom he could show the life he knew and loved.

Another sigh. The lonely Toggam adjusted his hat and began to whistle. There was no point in dwelling on the matter in his thoughts. Soon, he would finish his morning duties and return home to his family. After all, it was a holiday.

As the old gardener cheerfully arranged the cut leaves to load them into sacks, a faint glow came from the other side of the horizon.

"Uh?" Toggam stopped his whistle and looked confusedly towards the castle in the distance. But he found nothing unusual. The building looked as magnificent as ever. So... had he imagined it?

A gentle breeze passed around him.

Toggam, an earth pony ignorant of magic but an expert in plants, noticed something unusual and went on alert.

The plants had fallen silent.

Toggam stood still in the middle of the path, surrounded by an abysmal silence.

Seconds passed, minutes passed.

Finally, Toggam moved. The sky, the plants, nature in general seemed to regain their daily rhythm. Even the sun, which timidly peeked through the clouds that morning, seemed to regain its true shine.

What was that? Toggam didn't know, but he had a bad feeling. Amazing and dangerous things usually happened in those places.

With renewed urgency, Toggam gathered the leaves and other plant debris. But when he went to open the sack where he would put all that waste, he found something unusual inside... a pink flower.

"Hey, little one, how did you get here?" jovially spoke Toggam to the flower, leaning his head closer to take a better look.

The flower's response was swift.

Toggam's body, which had leaned into the sack, twisted, and began to roll on the ground. Gradually, the figure of the pony sank into the sack that devoured him until he finally disappeared among the pile of leaves and branches he had gathered.

No one heard his last desperate scream in the middle of the path.

It was a wonderful day for a stroll on the outskirts of Ponyville, especially on a special occasion like the Festival of the Two Sisters. Sandbar, who was admiring the beautiful meadow in front of him, couldn't help but wonder how the morning was unfolding for his family, who were undoubtedly getting ready to travel to Canterlot and participate in the festival.

During these times, he used to wake up early to prepare lunches for his parents, uncles, grandparents, and other relatives who came to visit for the traditional family trip. He always took enough care to ensure that each one received the right food.

"I hope mom didn't make a spinach sandwich for grandpa; he's very allergic to spinach..." Sandbar worriedly recalled while sitting in his wheelchair.

Suddenly, a delicate tea cup on a saucer appeared in front of him, with a delightful aroma indicating it was ready to be sipped immediately.

"Thanks, Yona. That's very generous of you," said Sandbar, more uplifted, taking the tea cup. Behind him, Yona held the wheelchair he was sitting in.

"Yona here to help kind friend Sandbar recover. Sandbar helps friends when they're in a tough spot. Yona doesn't forget and helps now," Yona responded with a big smile.

"I really appreciate this gesture, Yona..." Sandbar replied, taking the tea.

"Please, guys, don't continue; I'm going to cry," a voice said behind them. On the other side of the path crossing the meadow, Gallus with his characteristic sharp eyebrows was approaching, not far away was Ocellus reading a book while walking.

"Yona, you should be more careful pushing Sandbar's wheelchair. It's a very delicate piece of hospital equipment," Ocellus scolded without looking up from her book.

"Yona got a little too excited leading the way on the stroll with friend Sandbar," Yona responded somewhat concerned.

"Don't worry, everything is fine, Ocellus," Sandbar added.

"Do you care more about the wheelchair than Sandbar? He could have fallen off the chair, you know?" Gallus remarked, as biting as ever.

"I don't think so, Gallus. Knowing Sandbar, he must have reminded Yona of all the preventive measures for properly transporting a pony wheelchair, so I'm sure he wouldn't have fallen. On the other hand, it's very sweet of you to care so much about Sandbar as Yona does for him," Ocellus replied with a little smile, closing her book abruptly and returning it to her saddlebag.

"Thank you! It's what I always do for my loyal friends. Where are those turtles?" Gallus asked, turning around.

"AAAAAAH!" Silverstream screamed in the air, being chased by Smolder. Both flew in from behind and started circling around their other companions. Smolder was teasing her friend with a rod that had on one end a Fried Octopus Orchid bathed in mayonnaise. Unable to shake Smolder off, Silverstream hid desperately behind the towering Yona.

"Oh come on, that's not fair!" protested Smolder, unable to continue chasing her friend.

"Of course, it's not fair! I'm not playing! Get that monster away from me!" Silverstream pleaded behind Yona.

"Stop that. Friends scare Sandbar," Yona complained, covering Sandbar in his wheelchair.

"I'm just playing with Silverstream, Yona, really!" replied Smolder, waving the rod with the exotic snack.

"I'm not playing with you!" Silverstream grumbled.

Seeing that her friends' argument was getting nowhere, Ocellus decided to intervene.

"Smolder, stop playing like this. Remember that the doctor recommended keeping a calm environment around Sandbar," reprimanded Ocellus, pointing out the growing panic in Sandbar, who couldn't take his eyes off the Fried Octopus Orchid that Smolder held.

"Well, well, alright, but I think he'll overcome his trauma faster by facing it," said Smolder, taking a hearty bite of her crispy snack.

"Do you have more of those?" Gallus asked with interest from the side.

"Yes, here you go," said Smolder, pulling another snack from somewhere behind her wings and giving it to Gallus, who wasted no time and also began to joyfully enjoy the delicious fried octopus.

Ocellus and the rest of her companions just shook their heads disapprovingly. On the side, Sandbar still trembled.

"Yona take care of Sandbar. Ugly spiders never hurt friends again," said Yona with a determined look, hitting the ground with one of her front hooves.

"Yes, Sandbar, it's all over. All the Octopus Orchids have been eliminated from the school and the town! They won't crawl into your head again and force you to do bad things. You just have to leave those ugly memories of how they crawled over you with their sticky suckers and tried to insert their tentacles into every one of your body's openings in the past."

Sandbar closed his eyes and swallowed. After a few seconds, he could only respond, "Let's just continue..." with a forced smile to appear better.

"I agree, we should hurry. The morning is ending, and we're almost there," nodded Ocellus towards her friends. On the horizon, the magnificent crystal castle was already visible, shining bathed in sunlight.

Without wasting any more time, the Young Six continued their way to Twilight's castle.

***

Twilight's castle, born from a seed-chest, was a castle with a design particularly different from any other known. It had towers, windows, a grand door, and many rooms inside like any other castle, but its structure made of a single magical crystal and a base that rose from the ground like a tree gave it a unique appearance.

Its entrance featured steps, also made of crystal, gradually ascending to its grand door.

At that very moment, Sandbar, Yona, Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus were climbing those steps to meet with Headmare Starlight.

"Do you really think it's okay to do this?" Silverstream asked somewhat worried when the group finally reached the castle's grand door.

"What do you mean, Silvi?" Sandbar replied.

"To ask Headmare Starlight again to allow us to go on a graduation trip..."

"To allow us, you say!" Smolder protested. "We are the best students of the first graduating class of the School of Friendship. At the very least, she should allow us to travel to the far north."

"That's true! We deserve more than just a graduation ceremony or a trip. After all, with what we had to deal with during the brain-eating squid plague that attacked the school, they should build us a monument," Gallus responded, puffing out his chest.

"We didn't go to school to learn how to become heroes, Gallus. We went to school to learn about friendship," Ocellus said firmly, turning to face her companions. "But you're right. We've been through a lot in the past year; we deserve a genuine special activity to commemorate our friendship and our time at school. We must convey to Headmare Starlight how important this trip is to us and how it would help us conclude this valuable phase of our lives."

So said Ocellus, seeking to instill enthusiasm in her friends, but not everyone shared the same excitement...

"Headmare Starlight not agree with big graduation trip of friends," Yona pointed out with a worried expression.

"I know, Yona. That's precisely why we're here. I think she's making a mistake. The trip is important to us and is the rightful conclusion of our studies. I understand that the school is going through a tough time after the recent disaster, but that shouldn't deprive us of this opportunity..."

"Even though we've asked her many times since she canceled it... maybe this time she'll be a bit more annoyed than the last time," Silverstream replied, visibly nervous.

Everyone was aware that the last meeting with Headmare Starlight had been tense regarding this matter. She had asked them herself not to insist further until after the Festival of the Two Sisters. However, the Young Six had heard rumors that the director had already finished preparing the school budget for the next year, and it did not include the long-awaited trip.

Concerned about what might be happening, the group of friends decided to gather and present themselves to the headmare to "request" that the trip not be canceled.

Of course, acting in this way went against the previous agreements they had had. Moreover, they were acting based on only rumors. Ocellus understood this very well but felt that they had no other option.

"We must take the risk," Ocellus declared with determination to her companions.

At that moment, the castle doors began to swing open wide.

It was sudden; Ocellus startled, and the rest of her companions, in panic, tried in vain to hide behind the imposing figure of Yona. Up until that moment, they hadn't exactly coordinated what they would say to Headmare Starlight during this unexpected visit.

But that no longer mattered. The castle doors finished opening, revealing the figure of a unicorn.

The headmare of the School of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer, gave them a long look. She didn't look upset, but she wasn't happy either. Her mood seemed as calm as thin ice in spring.

"All right, what do we have here? A changeling, a hippogriff, a dragon, a griffon, a yak, and a pony... Definitely not the guests I was expecting," said Starlight, tilting her head toward them.

Ocellus cleared her throat with a big smile, trying to stay calm. It was strange that the headmare called them by the name of their species, but given the circumstances, she could sense that the situation was not as favorable as it appeared.

"Good morning, Headmare Starlight. We apologize for disturbing you so early, but..." Ocellus began, trying to choose her words as carefully as possible. "...we would like to talk to you about some school matters..."

"What matters?" Starlight asked sharply, eyebrows tilted.

That wasn't a good sign. Ocellus gathered all the courage she had within her and resolved to say what she had come to talk about with her friends.

"The matter concerning the current status of the graduation trip for the first graduates of the School of Friendship next year," Ocellus replied firmly.

Behind her, the rest of her companions seemed to whisper things like, "Well said, Ocellus! That's how you talk!" etc.

Headmare Starlight seemed to grasp Ocellus's determination and, after a few seconds of exchanging looks with the changeling, finally averted her gaze.

"Well, fine. It's not a good time, but I'll hear you out. Come in and join me in the meeting room," Starlight said with evident disinterest and started walking back into the castle.

"Thank you, Headmare Starlight, this opportunity is..." Ocellus replied gratefully but suddenly cut off her words.

Something abnormal began to happen to the figure of Headmare Starlight. Her body, which until that moment looked solid, started to fluctuate as if it were a reflection in a mirror, becoming translucent at times. The puzzled Young Six exchanged looks of strangeness at this phenomenon.

Ocellus, who had studied the fundamental concepts of magic, quickly understood what was happening.

"An illusory projection," she involuntarily murmured.

The hologram of Headmare Starlight then noticed the surprise of the group of young ones and turned with a smile.

"Yes, that's right, Ocellus. This is an illusory projection. Don't worry, as I told you before, it's not a good time. Right now, I'm too busy to even answer the door, so I sent this illusion. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"No, not at all, Headmare Starlight. It's us who should apologize for interrupting you on a day like this..."

"Perfect! Come on, what are you waiting for? Enter," said the animated hologram of the headmare, and with a quicker pace, she advanced through the main hallway of the castle.

Behind, the Young Six set aside their doubts and finally entered the castle as well.

***

The hologram of Headmare Starlight faded away in front of one of the numerous doors along the long hallway where the Young Six were standing. If any of them thought that the castle was larger than it appeared from the outside, they would certainly be correct, but at that moment, none of them was thinking about something like that.

Ocellus sighed, trying to clear her thoughts. She used to get very nervous before a meeting, and although she had learned to handle it during her studies at school, there were still moments when it was difficult for her to concentrate due to anxiety.

"If only I had a cup of tea..." Ocellus thought nostalgically, remembering the spiritual peace classes with Professor Fluttershy.

Suddenly, a miraculous cup of tea appeared in front of her.

"Thank you, Yona, you read my mind!" Ocellus exclaimed gratefully to her friend and, without wasting a second, began to drink the tea.

"Don't be so nervous, Ocellus, we're with you," Sandbar encouraged her alongside Yona.

"Which means we'll just watch while you present," Gallus replied, shrugging his shoulders along with Smolder.

Ocellus frowned at that indifferent comment, but let it slide. Gallus was right in a way. Since the meeting was about convincing the headmare not to cancel the graduation trip, Ocellus had planned to make a presentation showing a self-financing plan to cover possible travel expenses. Although she had prepared this plan with her companions days ago, only she had a complete understanding of everything it involved.

Asking her friends for help in the presentation would probably only make the task more cumbersome and increase the chances of something being said wrong or not understood. On the other hand, if the trip's cancellation was due to non-economic factors, then it would be time to shine for her friends.

"That's not true, Gallus. We're all in this together!" Silverstream exclaimed excitedly.

Ocellus smiled; that was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Alright, let's do this," Ocellus told herself and the others. With nothing more to add, she returned the tea cup to Yona and opened the doors to the room.

A large oval-shaped room unfolded before the Young Six. It wasn't as large as the Map Room, but it was extensively filled with bookshelves at its ends, and in the center were four large tables cluttered with work documents. This room was Headmare Starlight's private library, which had been adapted for her personal use shortly after moving to live in that castle.

Precisely in front of one of the less congested tables, the headmare herself lay on an elegant sofa, thoroughly reviewing some documents.

Ocellus and the rest of her friends moved toward the headmare's table, but before they could say anything, she spoke:

"Wow, you really take this friendship thing seriously. If you wanted to meet with me to talk about the graduation trip, one of you would have sufficed," said the headmare with a strange smile without taking her eyes off the document.

The Young Six looked at each other. Then, Ocellus was the first to respond.

"We're sorry if we're bothering you, but if you prefer only one of us to be present..."

"No, this is fine. I just hope you don't play foolish and start singing while holding each other's tails to try to convince me not to cancel the trip."

"Huh?" was the abrupt response from everyone to the headmare's 'unexpected' comment.

An uncomfortable interval of silence filled the room. From her seat, Headmare Starlight seemed to care little about the reaction her guests were having. On the other hand, the Young Six, still taken aback by the previous statement, didn't know how to respond, even Gallus looked surprised.

"Is she upset or something?" Ocellus thought, concerned. She couldn't remember the last time the headmare had spoken to them in that manner; definitely not the good start she was hoping for.

Headmare Starlight finally set aside her scroll and settled even further into her sofa. After giving them a long look accompanied by a mischievous smile, she said, "What's going on? Why so serious? Don't you like jokes?"

"Haa, it was a joke! ... good one, Headmare Starlight," Silverstream suddenly replied, as if coming out of the shock she was in. The same happened with her companions, who suddenly agreed with her too.

Ocellus sighed, exhausted.

"I hope that broke the tension you had. You don't have to be so formal with me now; we're not in school. Besides, you're hardly my students anymore..."

The Young Six showed mixed expressions of relief. School would soon be over for them... and then...

"... Leaving that aside, I think I can guess that you're planning to propose something to me. I also have a proposal for you, but I want to hear from you first. Alright, who wants to start?" Starlight asked straightforwardly.

Ocellus confidently stepped forward ahead of her companions. She had to thank Headmare Starlight's good judgment; her earlier comment had helped her relax more than Yona's tea had. Now she was clear on what she had to say.

The doors of the room closed, and the decisive moment that Ocellus had been waiting for all morning began.

***

The doors of the large room where Headmare Starlight was located closed again, leaving the bewildered Young Six outside.

Had they been successful or not? Ocellus stared at the door with a sense of bewilderment.

"Is the headmare always so busy on holidays?" Silverstream asked.

"Not really, I've seen her lazing around on several occasions. Anyway, it's a good opportunity for us, don't you think?" Smolder responded with a smile to her friends.

The group of young ones nodded enthusiastically at the unexpected turn of events.

After hearing from Ocellus about the group's concerns and the proposal regarding the graduation trip expenses, Starlight concluded the meeting with a big "we'll see." This obviously proved to be insufficient for all of them, so the headmare proposed something else: she was willing to give them a final decision on the graduation trip later that night, provided they did her the great favor of taking care of the castle for the day. This was because she would have a very important meeting with Chancellor Neighsay for the remainder of the morning and needed to ensure that no one would interrupt her (especially a certain student counselor).

It was a somewhat strange request, but considering there were no security guards available and none of them had plans for the afternoon, they agreed without thinking too much about it.

Headmare Starlight never failed her word, and the window for their grand graduation trip was still open.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's test this place for invasions right away!" Gallus proposed cheerfully, rising into the air.

"For invasions?" Ocellus replied, coming out of her thoughts.

"Haven't you heard the headmare? She doesn't want any interruptions, so let's make sure of that. Let's go to the security post and activate all the castle's defense layers," Gallus continued, clearly excited.

"Do you know where it is? I heard you can put a magical barrier around it and also deadly traps!" Silverstream said, also excited by Gallus's idea.

"That's not all, it also has security cameras implemented throughout the place. And a food storage in case of emergency, maybe we should check how it's doing..." Gallus continued talking, thinking about the strips of jerky he had seen in the storage the last time he had visited the castle. Behind him, the rest of his companions followed eagerly to learn more.

Only Ocellus stayed behind, still thoughtful about what had happened...

("Am I imagining things...?") Ocellus thought, recalling Headmare Starlight's unusual behavior during her presentation. ("It was like she was improvising, like she wasn't herself...")

"Ocellus, don't lag behind!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"Wait, guys!" Ocellus responded startled, leaving behind her concerns and preparing to catch up with her friends. Perhaps she was just overthinking it...

The body of the old gardener Toggam crossed a bridge on the way to Ponyville.

Yes, it was only his body; the rest of his consciousness was isolated in a dark corner of his mind. A hostile and parasitic entity had taken control of him.

A Royal Orchid Octopus, but if Ocellus were present and examined it more closely, she would add that it was a highly developed adult specimen of a superior rank in its species. It would be correct to call it Royalnopsis Orchid Octopus, also known as Royalinda.

Royalinda cared little about the names given to her; she only had one goal...

"BRAIN... PONYVILLE... BRAIN... PONYVILLE..." mumbled the zombified Toggam with foam at his mouth. Behind his head, the cephalopod pressed its suckers against the pony's head. Soon, its sharp beak equipped with a suction spike would reach the brain of its prey, taking complete control of that body.

This improvised meal was just the first step for her. Weeks ago, all her colony members had been eradicated by the ponies during the initial invasion of her people. She, who had a slower development but very superior intelligence, had stayed on the sidelines, observing from the shadows. Now, with the ponies having lowered their guard and having gathered enough information from their leaders, it was the opportune moment to start a new invasion plan.

She would take control of the mayor that night, then, in the following week, of Sweet Apple Acres and its inhabitants. Gradually, she would spread undercover agents in all the families of the town by selling apples. In just a month, Ponyville would be under her control; then, she would repeat the same steps in the capital and nearby cities. Finally, before the year ended, all of Equestria would be hers.

These were the dark and ambitious plans that the tiny but malevolent Royalinda had devised.

Thus, with the clumsy but unstoppable steps of her captive host, she would soon cross the bridge and reach a peaceful world that she would plunge into an era of shadows and slavery.

"No one in Equestria can stop me! Not the ponies, not the dragons, not any other race! The whole world will bow before its new supreme ruler! I will be unstoppable! HAHAHA!"

"MOVE ASIDE!" a shout was suddenly heard. Trixie, running as fast as an uncontrolled cart, rushed past, sweeping everything in her path on the bridge. The zombified Toggam was left behind, twirling from the impact until he finally fell into the river like a discarded puppet.

"What was that?" Royalinda wondered to herself, not understanding what had happened. A moment ago, she was at the height of her conquest dreams, and now she was soaked under the bridge.

Without wasting time, Royalinda began to explore the mind of the zombified Toggam. The image of a face and silhouette perfectly recognizable came to her thoughts. Immediately, an emotion filled her entire body; her pink and fuchsia capillaries swelled in a bluish and purple tone that pulsated in waves all over her gelatinous skin.

Fury... a lot of fury flooded the cephalopod Royalinda.

The face of the unicorn who had collided with her was the same she had glimpsed the first time she emerged into the world. It was the pony who had cared for her with so much love since she was just an egg. The same pony who had promised her a great destiny and sworn that they would be together until the end...

The same one who would abandon her and her siblings in a swamp, at the mercy of beasts, cold, and loneliness.

It was that despicable unicorn...

A scream, almost a shout that only fish could hear, echoed under the bridge.

World domination plans could wait.

There was a more important personal goal she had to fulfill first.

Royalinda abandoned Toggam's body with a leap similar to that of a predator pouncing on its prey. The pony remained in the river, now just a hindrance. Hissing and with eyes injected with purple ink reflecting the anger and thirst for revenge dominating her, she ran among the plants using all her limbs, much like a spider would with its legs. Fleetingly, she disappeared into the foliage.

A tiny and unsuspected shadow crossed the peaceful meadow by the roadside heading to Twilight's castle.

Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act I

[10:30 am]

In Twilight's castle, in the grand map hall, the only round table in the center of the room suddenly glowed, showing a live image of a distant blue-coated pony with a white mane galloping at considerable speed.

Sitting in the most important of the six chairs surrounding the magical table, Starlight Glimmer frowned. She set aside the scrolls she was reviewing and approached to examine the image. She soon recognized the wizard-dressed pony rapidly approaching that place.

"Why is he coming in such a hurry?" she thought, puzzled. She had a meeting with him in the afternoon, so it wasn't a problem. She had even prepared a scenario in case, for some reason, he arrived before the scheduled time. However, what was the reason for this hurried visit?

Then, an obvious answer came to her mind, putting her on guard.

"Has he discovered me?" she spoke to herself gravely.

It shouldn't be possible, considering all the countermeasures she had taken... or could it be...

The sudden doubt that exploded in Starlight's mind faded away. There was another answer that could better explain what was happening. If she considered everything she had investigated and what she had learned from the unexpected visit of the younger bearers of the elements of harmony in the morning, then she could conclude that what was happening now was a consequence of past actions taken by that irresponsible pony, of which the 'former' Starlight was unaware.

"Ugh, how annoying. I've had enough of these trivialities..." Starlight murmured, losing all interest. That pony was not a threat but a nuisance. A nuisance best left for others to handle. Even if the situation got out of control, she already had countermeasures in place to isolate the 'nuisance.'

The plan was already in motion; it wouldn't stop.

"But... what if I add...?" she murmured thoughtfully, but immediately shook her head. It was pointless. Looking at the hourglass beside her, she confirmed what she thought. It was almost complete. She had spent much of her limited time attending to the group of children from before; it was time to put an end to her tasks.

With just a wave of one of her hooves, the scrolls on the table vanished along with the image of the hurried pony. Next, Starlight threw a small crystal to the center of the table, and it lit up.

A dark silhouette was projected holographically in the middle of the table.

Starlight bowed and said, "The first passenger has boarded."

"Blessed tide. The other passengers have boarded as well; let's proceed with the next phase immediately," an unknown voice announced cryptically.

"Excellent, I'll send you my coordinates."

Starlight took out another crystal, and it flickered for a few seconds, as did the one on the dark projection's side.

"Everything is in order..." the unknown voice announced as the glow between the crystals ended. "THE TRAIN DEPARTS THE STATION!"

"See you at midnight," replied the lavender-maned unicorn.

The hologram faded, leaving Starlight alone in the hall.

She stood up from her seat and cast an amused glance at the star-shaped emblem shining on the chair she had been sitting in. Then a broad smile spread across her face, and it was not a kind smile...

"The greatest victories are achieved before the first battle is even fought... hehe... Checkmate, princess..." Starlight said before disappearing in a flash of teleportation light.

[10:10 am]

From one of the balconies of Twilight's Castle, Ocellus observed the illuminated horizon of that sunny morning through a telescope with great interest.

A large cloud was slowly moving in the distance.

"It looks like a thundercloud from the Everfree Forest..." Ocellus murmured, puzzled.

"Is something wrong, Ocellus?" Gallus responded, flexing his wings at the opposite end of the balcony with his back to her.

"Oh, it's nothing important! Well, maybe it is... Tell me, Gallus, what do you think of that cloud?"

Gallus turned and directed his gaze to the horizon in the same direction Ocellus was pointing. After squinting to sharpen his vision, he extended his wings and, with a flap, rose into the air until he surpassed the height of the castle.

After a few seconds in the sky, he returned to the balcony.

"Well, what can I say, it's definitely strange weather from the Everfree Forest. It looks like a storm cloud moving northeast."

"Oh no! That's not good. They forecasted sunny weather for all of Canterlot's outskirts. I need to report this immediately."

"Hey, aren't you being a bit too diligent? The weather team should have it covered. Besides, it's heading northeast. There's nothing there except for the train tracks."

"Even so, someone has to warn them," Ocellus replied, pulling out a scroll and a quill.

"Ha, nothing less could be expected from the future 'professor' Ocellus," Gallus teased.

Ocellus, about to write, stopped her quill and looked at Gallus in surprise.

Gallus, who was about to eat a corn snack, froze as he realized the grave mistake he had made.

"You read my diary?" Ocellus asked, frowning.

"Uh... I just remembered I didn't close the security post door, better go back before the guys do something silly..."

"DID YOU READ MY DIARY, GALLUS?" Ocellus asked, raising her voice and standing up indignantly. Private diaries were one of the most important personal possessions in the lives of Changelings. Ocellus was no different, and the mere idea that a close friend like Gallus had done something like that angered her even more.

"Well...", Gallus nervously looked towards the balcony entrance, already thinking about fleeing. At that moment, the rest of their friends arrived, alerted by Ocellus's voice. They were very surprised to see the scene; such sudden anger in Ocellus was very rare.

Gallus, nervous and not knowing what to say, remained silent, slowly backing towards the others.

Then Smolder, understanding what was happening, spoke up.

"He didn't read your diary, Ocellus, it was me," Smolder said very seriously, standing firm.

"What?" Ocellus exclaimed, surprised by the sudden revelation.

"It was shortly after the orchid-octopus invasion, when we were cleaning the flooded school dormitories. I found a diary among the trash. I didn't know it was yours, so I kept it and started reading it. I found it very amusing, so I also shared it with the rest of the guys. That's when Yona and Silverstream told me it was yours."

The shocked Ocellus was still processing what her friend had just told her. Weeks ago, she had found her diary in the lost documents section of the library. She was very puzzled about how it had gotten there after losing it during the orchid-octopus invasion. Although her friends had told her before that they couldn't find it during the school cleanup, it was now clear that wasn't true.

Her surprise quickly gave way to another more obvious concern.

"How much of my diary did you read...?" Ocellus asked, already fearing the answer her friends might give.

"No, no, no. We didn't find out much, really! Except for your big... I mean, little dream of becoming a teacher..." Silverstream said nervously.

"And the long poems dedicated to Princess Twilight for her to return to the school," Yona added.

Ocellus, now embarrassed, blushed at the mixed expressions on her friends' faces.

"It was an accident, Ocellus. It wasn't on purpose. We would never spy on any of our private diaries."

"But you did spy on Sandbar's diary...", Smolder corrected with a suspicious look.

"That was a bet, it's different," Gallus immediately replied.

"Enough, guys. Ocellus, are you okay?" Sandbar interrupted, moving forward in his wheelchair, noticing the distress in Ocellus.

Ocellus hadn't said anything until then. Her heart was cold, and her thoughts were elsewhere, amid a dark suspicion.

"Are you mad at us?" Silverstream asked.

"No. Well, I understand it was an accident, so it's okay, I forgive you," Ocellus replied mechanically, indicating a complete lack of enthusiasm in her words.

"Uff, what a relief, guys. Everything's fine!" Silverstream replied cheerfully to the others but held back when she noticed the concern in the rest of her friends.

Soon she, too, became worried, noticing Ocellus's cold demeanor.

"Okay, you forgive us, but something still bothers you," Smolder said, breaking the cold atmosphere.

"It's nothing," Ocellus replied.

"Come on, if you're really mad at me, I can accept any punishment you give me."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, it's something silly but... for a moment, I thought you were only being so nice to me and helping me with the school trip just because you didn't want me to find out what happened with my diary," Ocellus said with evident sadness.

Silence flooded the balcony.

"Hey! Of course not, we really care about the trip." Smolder replied, approaching her friend. "And yes, we felt a bit guilty at first, but we definitely care about what you're doing, and we care about you more, Ocellus."

Everyone else nodded, confirming Smolder's words.

Then, finally, a relieved smile appeared on Ocellus's face as she sensed the honesty in her friend's words. Soon, the cold feelings that had paralyzed her heart a moment before melted away, and she returned to being her usual self.

"Thank you, guys, it really makes me happy to hear that," Ocellus replied genuinely cheerful.

"We're glad we didn't know more about your diary. Ouch!" Gallus said but was interrupted by an elbow from Sandbar.

The group of friends laughed again, everything was as usual.

"Don't you feel like something's missing?" Silverstream asked, suddenly stopping her laughter.

The answer came quickly.

"Group hug!" Yona bellowed to her friends.

"Now? Aah!" Gallus screamed as Yona pulled him from the air when he tried to escape. In an instant, everyone was caught in a tight Yak-style hug in the middle of the balcony.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Yona... that's... enough!" Ocellus exclaimed, feeling her exoskeleton starting to be compressed.

The hug ended at that moment, and Yona released her friends, who couldn't help but let out a big exhalation to regain their lost air.

"Haaa... Well, I think we've had enough friendship for one day. If you need me, I'll be in the storage..." Gallus said, recovering from his friend's powerful hug.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Smolder exclaimed, raising her voice at Gallus, who was already re-entering the castle.

"Huh? Didn't I say? I'm going to the storage..."

"Oh, really? Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What could it be?"

"Maybe a certain griffon with feather memory doesn't remember he made a 'dragon oath' to his friends that he'd never speak about a certain diary for the rest of his life," Smolder said with a look befitting a dragon whose treasure had been stolen. Next to her, Ocellus watched in surprise at what was happening.

"Come on. We've moved past that..." Gallus responded.

"You made a dragon oath!" Smolder exclaimed, pointing her claw at Gallus.

"I really don't care, Smolder," Ocellus said, trying to calm her friends.

"He has to pay for his mistake, Ocellus," Smolder growled, unwilling to back down. Ocellus turned to the rest of her friends for help, but their expressions were stern.

"Yaks never break their word. We understand the dragon oath very well. An oath must be respected," Yona said solemnly; beside her, Silverstream and Sandbar nodded in agreement, showing they shared her stance.

"Seriously, guys!" Gallus protested, seeing how his friends had turned against him.

"Is there a way to make it right?" Ocellus asked, now worried about how the situation was evolving.

"Well, yes, there are one or two ways to fix it. But the main one is that he has to suffer a punishment!" Smolder declared.

"A punishment?" Ocellus repeated; she didn't like the idea. Gallus didn't seem any happier, now frowning in annoyance.

"Uhh, I know, he should shave the feathers off his head before graduation," Silverstream suggested cheerfully.

"Hey, hey, that's not fair!" Gallus exclaimed indignantly.

"They won't do that, right?" Ocellus asked Smolder, concerned.

"Of course not. The punishment has to be chosen by the wronged person. In this case, 'you' have to decide," Smolder replied to Ocellus.

All eyes turned to the shy changeling.

"Um!" Ocellus exclaimed nervously. "I can't do that, he is..."

Gallus sighed, already resigned. "It's okay, Ocellus. Give me a punishment, and it's fine by me."

"But, Gallus..." Ocellus said, unsure of what to do; then she turned her gaze back to Smolder. "You said there were other ways, right?"

"Yes. The other is to spend a hundred moons locked inside a volcano," Smolder replied with a malicious smile. Ocellus gulped, knowing Gallus wouldn't last a day in such a place.

"Ocellus, it's fine. I deserve it for being a loudmouth. Now give me a punishment, and let's be done with this," Gallus said, no longer interested in continuing the conversation.

Ocellus sighed, exhausted. A moment ago, they had just had a friendship hug. Now she had to sentence her friend Gallus. Did friendship really work this way? Did Princess Twilight go through situations like this with her friends? Or was this just something unique to them?

"I need to have private lessons with Princess Twilight in the future..." Ocellus thought, disheartened.

Then, an idea came to her.

"Gallus, this will be your punishment. You must tell all of us, with total honesty and truth, what you want to be in the future," Ocellus spoke aloud and without any shyness in her words.

Gallus didn't laugh. Nor did the rest of the Young Six. No one among them really knew the answer to that question. For a long time, Gallus had avoided answering his friends when they asked about it. And when he did answer, it was always a joke, so no one could take his words seriously.

Now Gallus was obliged to answer. The Young Six watched him with great interest.

The blue-feathered griffon looked up at the sky, lost in thought. After a brief moment of silence, he finally turned his gaze back to his friends on the balcony.

"I want to be an adventurer. To travel like no griffon has done before, to learn about the lives of other griffons in the other colonies around the world, to broaden my horizons and bring all the knowledge I gain back to Griffonstone to make it a better place," Gallus responded in a serious and mature tone.

The wind gently crossed the balcony. There, the Young Six were left speechless by Gallus's surprising response. No one had expected that answer.

"Wow. It's very noble of you to want to do all that for your home," Ocellus said, breaking the stupor of her companions.

"Well... it's not that I feel indebted to the other griffons in the colony. But if it's possible to make the place where you live better, why not do it?" Gallus said, shrugging.

"You have all our support!" Sandbar said from his wheelchair, also in a serious tone. Next to him, the rest of the Young Six nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, buddy," Gallus replied; they approached each other, claw and hoof meeting in a friendly bump.

The sun shone brightly over the Castle of Friendship. A true group of friends stood defiantly on one of its balconies. And so they continued chatting among themselves for a few more minutes until...

"Oh, I just remembered. We discovered there's a manticore in the castle's basement. Do you want to go see it?" Silverstream said excitedly, suddenly remembering why they had returned to the balcony before the argument with Ocellus.

"Really? That's..." Gallus replied, but he was interrupted. A sudden screech reached them from inside the castle.

The sound was so piercing and loud that it made everyone cover their ears.

"Annoying noise! Where is it coming from?" Yona growled, trying to cover her large and sensitive ears.

"It's the intruder alarm in case of an attack!" Gallus replied loudly so his friends could hear him amid the noise.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" they all responded in unison.

[10:30 am]

A peaceful morning spread over the vast meadow surrounding Twilight's Castle. Like any other day, birds sang their cheerful melodies among the branches, while butterflies danced among the flowers. Under the soft light, some creatures still yawned sleepily, while others hurried, aware that the day was already well underway.

However, the routine serenity of the meadow was suddenly interrupted by a growing murmur, which soon transformed into the unmistakable echo of a pony's hooves.

Appearing out of nowhere on the horizon, the silhouette of Trixie Lulamoon crested the hill. Galloping at an impressive speed, the unicorn descended the path, leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

Trixie was visibly in a hurry.

She had crossed the entire distance from the School of Friendship to Twilight's Castle without resting. Although she had made this journey many times in the past, she had never done so with the urgency that now drove her.

The cool air streamed through her sweat-drenched mane and cloak, testifying to the urgency that propelled her. Her determined gaze would have instilled fear in anyone who crossed her path.

Throughout the journey, she didn’t take a moment to rest. She didn't care about the elegance of her now disheveled and sweaty figure. Nor did she regret missing her traditional double summer solstice breakfast that she usually enjoyed.

None of that mattered in Trixie's mind, where only anxieties and dark premonitions reigned, remnants of the terrible nightmare she had experienced the night before.

"Almost there... Hang in there, Trixie!" the unicorn encouraged herself.

A few meters from reaching the castle gates, Trixie, with her eyes fixed on her goal, quickened her pace even more, anticipating the moment she would finally meet Starlight and put an end to her gloomy worries.

She was so close... and yet so far.

"PLAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM." A dull, sharp sound echoed through the air, disturbing the peaceful morning and alerting all the unsuspecting creatures in the meadow.

In front of Twilight's Castle, Trixie's body collided with an invisible wall, an obstacle that shouldn't have been there.

"Owwww." Trixie whimpered, disoriented for a moment before collapsing unconscious. Around her, the morning continued on.

Among the shadows of the plants near the castle, an unknown presence lurked in the darkness.

Its prey lay motionless. It was the perfect opportunity to capture her, but it decided not to act immediately. She should not be underestimated.

It would take its time...

The unknown presence retreated once again into the shadows.

[10:40 am]

The sky stretched out in shades of blue, so deep that it was not strange to think that trying to touch it with hooves would end up damaging its noble beauty.

"Magnificent..." Trixie thought in whispers, lying on the ground, contemplating that majestic sky with eyes that shone with nostalgia and delight.

As a child, on clear days like this, she used to get lost in fantasies while looking at the sky, imagining herself as a magnificent figure among the white clouds.

Then, her father, who listened to his daughter's daydreams, would lift her high on his back and tell her that with effort and dedication, one day she would be in a sky of stars, a sky where Trixie would shine brighter than any other.

A sky reserved just for her... a dream stage.

"Ouhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Trixie brought a hoof to her head as she felt a sharp pain in her forehead. For some reason, her horn was very irritated.

"Why does my horn hurt so suddenly...?" murmured the unicorn. Then, her thoughts came to a sudden halt as she finally realized she was on the ground. Trixie quickly stood up and looked around.

She was in front of Twilight's Castle, which was wrapped in a beautiful bubble of magic.

"What the...?" murmured Trixie in surprise, taking a few steps back. She didn't understand what was happening. Why was she there?

At that moment, a meadow bird flew singing over her head and suddenly her memory refreshed.

The mental fog she had been in until that moment cleared and filled with anger.

"WHO THE HECK PUT THIS BARRIER OVER THE CASTLE?" she shouted furiously, realizing what had happened.

Just a few meters from reaching the castle, Trixie had crashed into the translucent magical barrier that protected it. If she had slowed down when she was so close, she probably would have noticed the magical wall in front of her. However, this did not happen; she sped up and ended up crashing, causing a great commotion.

Her impact had been so intense that it even triggered the attack alarm installed in the place.

Now, indignant, Trixie stood at the gates of Twilight's Castle.

Suddenly, the alarm that had been sounding constantly until that moment stopped. A double 'beep' whistled through the air and the castle doors opened.

Trixie froze, startled. She had forgotten that Starlight had mentioned how busy she would be in the morning and also how much her friend hated being interrupted. She quickly tidied her mane and put on her best smile, hoping to mitigate the possible wrath that would fall upon her.

Two figures emerged from the castle. Trixie's smile crumbled.

They were not Starlight.

Silverstream, accompanied by Gallus, was descending the castle steps. Silverstream's smile was as usual, but Gallus's gaze definitely looked sharper than usual...

(Why are they here? Hmm...) Trixie thought, confused. Putting aside the urgency that had previously dominated her, she paid attention to the young ones approaching her.

"Good morning, Counselor Trixie! Isn't it a beautiful morning?" Silverstream greeted casually with a smile.

"Yes, yes, it's very beautiful, dear... and it would be even more beautiful if this magic barrier WASN'T HERE!" protested Trixie, hitting the barrier with her front hoof.

"Ahh yes... Sorry, Counselor Trixie, it's very inconvenient, but we are testing the castle's defenses. I hope it hasn't caused you any trouble," Silverstream responded cheerfully but with a slight nervous tic.

"Not at all," Trixie replied immediately with confidence, covering up her previous accident. "And may I know who gave you permission to test the castle's defenses?"

"Well, Headmare Starlight gave us permission. She asked us and the rest of the gang to take care of the place's security. You know, with everyone busy with the big party today, there's no one else to take care of these things... haha," Silverstream laughed.

Trixie's eyebrows sharpened. Why did Silverstream look so nervous? Why would Starlight ask the Young Six to take care of security? Was it a punishment?

Everything was very strange. But she would catch up later. She just needed to do one thing at that moment...

"Alright, dear. I understand... now could you please lower the barrier so I can enter?"

"About that, it's not to inconvenience you or anything... but it's going to take a little bit of time before it cools down and we can lower it. Also..."

"Also 'NO' we won't do it," Gallus interrupted in a cold and sharp tone. Silverstream, who was still giving her explanation, froze in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Trixie responded, confused.

"You are not allowed to enter the castle," Gallus replied in a grave voice, stepping in front of Silverstream.

Trixie, with an annoyed look, watched Gallus approach.

"What?! What do you mean I'm not allowed to enter?"

"It's not something that concerns you."

"What do you mean it doesn't concern me? I live here, you know? I have every right to enter my own home!" Trixie claimed. This was true. Although Trixie spent a lot of time in her trailer, about 70% of the time, it was only during her travels or events she held. She really did have a room in Twilight's castle, which she had received from Starlight shortly after her friend moved there. It was practically her second home.

But Gallus didn't care about that.

"This is your home? As far as I know, the castle belongs to Princess Twilight. You only live here out of her charity," Gallus replied in a mocking tone.

A chill was felt in front of the castle doors.

Trixie's eyes widened upon hearing that brazen provocation, and instantly they lit up with anger. On the other side, Gallus continued to maintain an unperturbed demeanor. In the middle, Silverstream, with a forced smile, began to back away, seeking to distance herself from the fiery confrontation that was beginning to emerge around her.

The situation could have exploded at that moment, but it didn't happen.

Within herself, miraculously, Trixie held back.

Yes, the low blow from Gallus had hurt her. However, she decided not to unleash her verbal anger on the young student. Not because she felt that 'magical spirit' of a teacher trying to understand her rebellious student, but because of the memory of the oath she had taken when she assumed her role as a student counselor. A commitment made in the name of her respectable father and in front of her best friend Starlight.

Trixie closed her eyes and exhaled. She didn't understand what was happening. But she definitely didn't plan to break her word over such childish provocations.

"I don't know what's going on here. But that is no way to talk to a teacher, young man," Trixie responded coldly, trying to control the intense emotions that were beginning to surge within her.

"You are not a teacher. You are just a student counselor."

"I have been a substitute teacher."

"True, but you were never good at it."

Trixie frowned even more. Why was Gallus being so aggressive with her? She had had differences with him before, but never like this.

(Something is definitely not right here...) Trixie thought, without taking her eyes off Gallus.

"Hee... Gallus..." Silverstream interrupted fearfully, "I think... it wouldn't be right not to tell Counselor Trixie why she can't enter."

Gallus thought for a moment without taking his eyes off her and then shrugged.

"Alright, tell her," Gallus said indifferently.

"Uh, me?" Silverstream responded, startled.

"Yes, you. Tell her," Gallus ordered, looking away.

"Uh... well..." Silverstream continued, hesitantly, seemingly blaming herself for her previous suggestion. Then, obviously nervous, she turned her attention to Trixie.

"Well, Counselor Trixie, you see... Headmare Starlight told us she has 'veryyyy' important things to do in the morning and doesn't want anyone to disturb her. So to comply with that, we closed the castle to avoid unwanted visitors. Nothing personal, we're just following the headmare's orders!" Silverstream finished with a forced smile.

"I am not an unwanted visitor! I AM HER CLOSEST FRIEND!" Trixie protested, stomping the ground with her hoof.

"So what? We have orders, and we will follow them. Let's go, Silverstream," Gallus ordered, turning around and starting to head back to the castle.

Behind, a regretful Silverstream also turned around, not without murmuring something like "I'm sorry."

Unable to understand the unprecedented situation unfolding before her, Trixie began to shout.

"No, no, wait! You can't do this. Come back here immediately! That's an order!" Trixie shouted, almost jumping off the ground.

Gallus and Silverstream ignored her and continued up the steps.

"Don't ignore me! This is important! I am your superior and I need to speak with Starlight now!" Trixie shouted proudly but with a desperation hard to hide.

Still, nothing changed.

With each step they took away, a feeling of anguish began to flood Trixie. If they left her outside, then... she wouldn't be able to meet with Starlight. Then, the dark future she saw...

She wouldn't allow it. If her friendship with Starlight was in danger, she was willing to set aside all her pride to keep it.

"Please, you have to listen to me! This is very important! She's in danger!" Trixie began to plead, almost in tears, desperate to be heard.

Her pleas had an effect, as Gallus and Silverstream stopped and turned to look at her. They were surprised and puzzled by the dramatic change in the counselor.

"Danger?" Gallus asked.

"Yes, yes, Starlight may be in danger," Trixie responded hopefully, seeing that they were finally paying attention.

"What danger are you talking about, Counselor Trixie?" Silverstream asked.

"An octopus, I mean... a door. Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both Gallus and Silverstream, as well as Trixie, were puzzled by that response. Trixie didn't understand what she had just said. She tried to think back, but all she got was a strange empty taste that began to spread in her mouth.

Nothing.

"Wait... give me a moment!" Trixie exclaimed, trying to regain control of the situation. As judgmental looks began to fall on her, Trixie quickly adopted a reflective posture and concentrated.

Trixie was experiencing another mental fog.

Until that moment, she had only frantically galloped to the castle, driven by her desperation. After crashing into the magic barrier, she had almost forgotten for a moment the real reason why she had undertaken this entire journey.

Outside the barrier, Trixie began to grimace in a mental effort to find the urgent memory that had brought her there.

On the steps, Gallus and Silverstream looked at each other, confused.

After several minutes of awkward silence, in a futile effort to regain her memory, Trixie found herself even more lost than before.

"This is ridiculous! Why don't I remember?" Trixie exclaimed, furious with herself. "Maybe I wrote it down somewhere? That's it, Trixie! You must have written it down!"

With a smile mixed with a crazed look, Trixie began to search her cape, anxious to find some clue that her past self had left to help her in that moment of the present.

Soon she found something, but it wasn't what she was looking for or something she should have found at that moment.

"Clank, clank..."

Several bottles and other junk sounded as they fell to the ground. Trixie rummaged carelessly through the pockets of her cape, dropping everything she had stored. The falling bottles didn't break, but the sour aroma of the fermented cider in them quickly spread in the air.

"It's not here, nor here..." she murmured, increasingly uneasy.

The cider bottles she had taken at the party the night before began to pile up. Shining in the morning light, filled with that sweet nectar that made ponies "cheerful and mischievous," these drinks themselves revealed the true state of Counselor Trixie.

Astonished, Gallus and Silverstream opened their eyes wide at the inappropriate scene unfolding before them.

Finally, after several minutes, Trixie, exhausted, stopped her frantic search. With her mane disheveled and a nervous look, she turned her attention back to Gallus and Silverstream, unaware of the unfortunate spectacle she had just performed.

"Aha, ha, ha, I know it will sound unbelievable, but I had a dream and..."

"Yes, Counselor Trixie, IT IS INCREDIBLE!" Gallus exclaimed exasperatedly, spreading his wings and looking at the sky. "You know, it's a good morning today. Go home and rest. We'll tell Headmare Starlight, 'when she's done,' that you came early to see her."

"But I... HIC!" a sudden hiccup attacked Trixie at that moment, making her cover her mouth in embarrassment.

"Don't worry. We'll tell the headmare as soon as she's done with her meeting with Chancellor Neighsay. It's a 'dragon oath'!" added Silverstream.

"Not again..." said Gallus, grabbing Silverstream by the neck and leading her back to the castle.

"Wait!... HIC, Stop! HIC, HIC."

The castle doors slammed shut, leaving Trixie trapped in a constant hiccup. Around her, only the silence broken by the echo of the cheerful morning birdsong remained. In front, the magic barrier, now more impenetrable than ever, marked the boundary between her and the uncertain fate in which her best friend was trapped.

"HIC Meeting with Chancellor, HIC, Neighsay? HIC" Trixie repeated, trembling; her memory finally refreshed, and her desperation poured like a broken dam into her heart.

A shrill whinny echoed throughout Ponyville at that hour of the morning. Many in the future would remember it as a prelude to the darkest day experienced that year.

Author's Note

update: 29/07/2024

Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act II

The security system inside Twilight's Castle had been designed by Twilight herself a few weeks before moving to Canterlot, as part of the transfer of the place to Starlight Glimmer.

Since her student would soon be the headmistress of the School of Friendship, Twilight wanted to give her not just a house, but also a home where she could feel 'safe'. Of course, this was an over-the-top idea from Twilight, unconsciously born from the stress caused by her upcoming coronation as the ruler of Equestria. Even so, it was a rigorous task that went through up to five versions and four updates in its final form, the last of which was approved by Princess Luna.

Considering all the aforementioned, it could be safely said that it had not been an irresponsible planning.

However, she didn't have enough time to implement it and only left the blueprints to Starlight, along with a manual and other instructions on how to improve the castle in the future...

[11:10 am]

The security room turned out to be one of the narrowest spaces in the castle, with a perimeter of barely 2x2 meters; it almost seemed like an 'expanded' version of a cleaning closet in comparison. And as if that wasn't enough, the space felt even smaller due to the security equipment, monitors, typewriters, cabinets, books, magical artifacts, and other clutter crammed inside. It was clear that the room couldn't accommodate more than 3 or 4 ponies.

Ocellus, sitting next to Smolder, didn't feel uncomfortable because of the narrowness of the place, but because of the mess surrounding her.

"There's not even a trash can..." thought Ocellus, frowning as she saw her dragon friend throw a piece of gum into a paper bag she found nearby. Ocellus had never been in that room before; previously, when her friends divided the tasks to watch the castle, she had preferred to check the weather and surroundings from one of the balconies. Gallus accompanied her, claiming he already knew the place, and they left their friends behind to divide the other tasks as they saw fit.

They hadn't been very cooperative with their friends at that moment; now, the situation was different.

"They're coming back," muttered Smolder, who was sitting in front of the monitors showing the castle's exterior. She turned her chair towards the door with the same ease as a business executive. Ocellus tried to mimic her, but the chair got stuck, forcing her to awkwardly adjust it on her own.

Just as she sat back down, the door of the control post opened, and Gallus and Silverstream entered.

Without wasting any time, Smolder was the first to speak.

"We saw everything that happened outside, Gallus, but these devices don't have audio, so we don't know what you talked about. Now, tell us, what was all that about?" Smolder asked inquisitively.

"I wish I didn't know," said Gallus, shaking his head. Beside him, Silverstream looked worried.

Gallus began recounting everything that had happened to his friends in detail. Smolder interrupted him several times with questions like "Did you really say that?" or "Didn't you ask this?" and more. Silverstream nodded at each interruption, helping to corroborate various details. Ocellus, on the other hand, remained silent. Sitting in her seat, the calm changeling just listened attentively to everything her friends were discussing.

Then, when Gallus finally finished his story, Ocellus spoke.

"So... that's what happened," said Ocellus, saddened.

"If that's how it was..." Gallus responded. "Aren't you going to scold me for not being more gentle with the counselor?"

"No," Ocellus replied, looking away.

Earlier, when she and her friends went to the security post alerted by the attack alarm, they discovered to their surprise that the cause had been none other than Counselor Trixie, who for unknown reasons had crashed into the castle's magical barrier.

That event sparked a short and heated discussion among them. Questions arose like: What is she doing here? Why did she do that? However, when the idea of helping her came up, Gallus stopped the conversation with a firm "Stop."

Gallus then reminded his friends of the agreement they had made with Starlight that morning. To ensure the group's school trip and to take care of the castle, they had to prevent Counselor Trixie from entering. Although he didn't fully understand the reasons, they had to respect the orders given; otherwise, they would jeopardize their long-awaited graduation trip.

This bothered Ocellus. She knew Gallus had adopted this tough stance not because he was concerned about the trip, but because of the grudge he held against the counselor.

Yes, Gallus was very upset with Trixie.

Days after the disastrous invasion of the orchid-octopuses, when the causes of the infestation at the school were being investigated, Gallus made a serious accusation blaming Counselor Trixie for what had happened. He declared that he and another friend had seen the counselor going to and from the school’s greenhouse late at night in a suspiciously furtive manner. Although his initial statements caused some commotion among the authorities, they lost weight soon after. When his companion from that night was asked if this was true, he replied that he wasn't sure if it was really Trixie or another pony. This was because it was very dark that day, and they had no illumination at the time. Adding to the fact that, unlike griffons, ponies don't have good night vision. Only Gallus had witnessed what happened.

Subsequently, other testimonies were collected describing sightings of the orchid-octopuses in the Everfree Forest around those days.

In the end, Trixie couldn't be held responsible for what happened due to lack of evidence. Although it left great suspicion, as it couldn’t be explained how the greenhouse, which had been closed during those dates, could have become infested.

Of course, this preliminary investigation result greatly angered Gallus, who for several days stayed away from the school and stayed with Sandbar at the hospital. Both had been on the front line of the orchid-octopus attack, and after a chaotic confrontation with the creatures, Sandbar ended up being captured by them and then used to attack his friends.

This clash among friends had a significant impact on Gallus, who after the incident began openly declaring to his friends that he would definitely make the responsible party pay for what had happened.

And now... that moment seemed to have arrived.

Ocellus considered the possibility of reproaching Gallus for his lack of kindness towards Trixie, but when she saw the counselor’s sorry state on the security cameras, she didn't have the heart to defend her. Ocellus didn’t like witnessing irresponsible behavior in adults, especially from someone in a school position. She was sure that the impeccable headmistress Starlight shared her perspective, so she didn't anticipate reprisals from the headmistress, even though she was such a good friend of Trixie's.

And about that last thing...

"Did the headmistress expect this to happen? Is that why she warned us not to let her in?" thought the changeling. "I have a bad feeling..."

Ocellus slightly shook her scaly wings, feeling a growing tension in the appendages of her tail. It was a sensation similar to what her body felt when a storm was approaching.

"Well, well, so the counselor partied too much last night? I’m not surprised, it would be the third time she’s done something like that as far as I remember," said Smolder, pensively looking at the ceiling of the room.

"Third time?" asked Ocellus and Silverstream, surprised.

"Oh come on, didn't I tell you? It was last year during the headmistress's birthday. They caused a whole commotion at the town hall when she entered the place trying to cash a check signed by Princess Luna. Ha, ha, ha," Smolder laughed cheerfully, vividly remembering what happened that day.

On that occasion, Smolder was present helping the mayor with various administrative tasks. Around noon, Trixie burst into the meeting room loudly claiming the invalidity of her check to everyone present. What happened next was predictable; it took at least ten security agents to contain her. Of course, this last part happened after the unicorn sang the Equestrian anthem on the mayor's desk.

"If only they had a video camera..." Smolder murmured nostalgically. Then, another thought crossed the dragon's mind. "Wait a moment... what happened to 'I’ll avenge my friend in the name of griffon honor' you kept repeating?" Smolder asked, raising an eyebrow and looking inquisitively at Gallus, who had just taken a seat.

Ocellus and Silverstream immediately turned to look at Gallus. What Smolder said was correct. Although Gallus had been very cold and distant with Trixie, it was surprising that he hadn't thrown the orchid-octopus incident in her face or shown all that anger he sporadically used to let out.

In his chair, a tired Gallus rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Come on, I was just venting a little. It’s called anger dissipation. That's what they taught us in Professor Rainbow Dash's classes, remember? Besides, I'm not so attached to my people's old customs. I’m a free-thinking griffon," Gallus replied, puffing out his chest.

Smolder didn't say anything in response; instead, she gave her companion a skeptical look.

"All that's very nice, guys, but... what do we do now?" Silverstream suddenly said.

"I’ll talk to the counselor," Ocellus replied seriously. "Thank you for your help, Gallus, but it’s better if I talk to her from now on."

"Fine," Gallus responded with his characteristic indifference.

"I think that will have to wait," Silverstream said, looking at the equipment in the room.

"Why do you say that?" Smolder asked.

"She just left," Silverstream pointed out, indicating the empty exterior screens.

"Oh, she left? Well, we don't have to worry about her anymore then," Gallus added mockingly.

"Uhmm. I really wanted to talk to her. Which direction did she go?" Ocellus asked, thinking about sending a letter to Trixie.

"I'm not sure. Just when you arrived, the counselor opened her mouth wide as if she was screaming and then teleported," Silverstream replied, brimming with tranquility.

Creeping through the shadows, the unknown presence took up a new position.

The prey had escaped again. But he knew it would return. He just had to be patient.

[11:10 am]

In the vicinity of the School of Friendship, on a calm and relaxing morning...

"SPLATTTTTTTTTTT." With a kick, Trixie opened the door of her trailer, shaking its entire interior; without losing a second, she plunged into the large disorganized pile that was her belongings.

She needed to find something immediately. She needed it.

"WHERE IS IT? HIC! WHERE? HIC!" the unicorn muttered vehemently, lifting a box of billiard balls. With the same desperation as a diamond dog in a coal mine, she made her way through boxes, books, and other piled-up packages.

Then, finally, she found it.

"AH-HA! HIC! Here you are! HIC! I knew I would need you one day! HIC! ... HAAAAAAAAAA! STUPID HICCUP! HIC!" Trixie exclaimed, beside herself in a sudden fit of frustration, kicking the ground. The hiccup she had gotten a moment earlier refused to leave her.

Annoyed by her state, she carelessly lifted the dusty box she had found and, quickly, dashed outside. Once outside, between hiccups and coughs caused by the dust, she immediately tore off the box's cover, revealing its true content.

It wasn't a box.

Among the multitude of exotic belongings she possessed, Trixie had one that could very well be her greatest and darkest secret, one that even Starlight barely knew existed.

In front of Trixie was a wooden chest that exuded antiquity. Visible between the hinges and metal edges covered by rust, the brilliant work of the carpenter who had made it could still be seen. Although its size, equal to that of a wallet, would make anyone think that the treasure it concealed, no matter how valuable, would end up being something very small. This last assumption would be naive and mistaken, as it masked its true magical nature.

Indeed, this was a magical chest, a very valuable and secret one that Trixie hadn't used in a long time. Moreover, she had sworn never to use it again.

"Click, Click..." with her magic, an anxious Trixie opened the enchanted lock of the chest and a moment later, the lid opened.

It was like a black oyster lazily opening to the sun, or rather like a tomb. Inside, something akin to a scarlet light seeped out.

Trixie's eyes sparkled, reflecting the malicious glow emanating from within. A long collection of identical red potions lay inside the chest. Stacked one on top of the other, the potions in small glass bottles were arranged within a mirrored background that gave the impression of containing the same infinity.

This was more than a simple optical illusion; it was a true magical mechanism that infinitely replicated those mysterious red potions hidden inside the chest. A magic with a very useful and unsettling purpose.

"Hic! Now you'll see what happens, Hic!, WHEN YOU ANGER THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! Hic!" Trixie proclaimed proudly, displaying a malicious smile on an even more contorted face. She uncorked one of the potions and, determined, brought it to her mouth ready to drink it immediately.

However, she held back. About to drink the potion, the cold contact of the glass with her lips made her freeze, experiencing a brief moment of lucidity.

Suddenly, on her right shoulder, the vivid image of a small Trixie representing the good within her appeared. With a soft and gentle voice, the tiny imaginary figure spoke to her from the depths of her conscience.

"Trixie, don't do it. You're angry and scared about what might happen to Starlight, but you don't have to go this far. This is not what she would want from you. We need to calm down first," the angelic Trixie said with serenity and firmness.

In response, another figure immediately appeared on her left shoulder. This was the Trixie that represented the evil within her. With a deep and violent voice, she answered her counterpart.

"Calm down? Where have you been all morning? Starlight's future could be at stake, our reputation is already at stake, the students have turned against us, and time is running out! We have to fight back now!" ordered the furious diabolical Trixie.

"This is not the right way to do things," replied the good Trixie.

"This is the way of the great and powerful Trixie!" exploded the bad Trixie.

"No, it's not," retorted the good Trixie with an arrogant stance.

"Yes, it is!" replied the fiery bad Trixie.

"No, it isn't," insisted the good Trixie, now sticking out her tongue.

"YES, IT IS!" the bad Trixie exploded in flames.

Caught in the middle of this absurd fictional argument was a bewildered Trixie, who had no idea what was happening.

"Enough... Hic! Where did you come from? Hic! Go away!" With just a shake of her mane, both imaginary figures disappeared from her sides. However, despite her hallucinations having left, she continued shaking her head wildly until, in a bad move, she stumbled and clumsily fell to the ground.

Sprawled out in the grass, with turf in her mouth and in an awkward position, Trixie suddenly murmured very lost: "This is too much."

Trixie wasn't thinking clearly, or rather, she wasn't thinking at all... the night before she had consumed too much cider and had skipped breakfast in the morning. Her body woke up heavy, and despite this, she had rushed without brakes to Twilight's castle. Now, with an irritated horn, her head was starting to ache.

She had reached her limit.

With much effort, a dizzy Trixie straightened up and sat down dejectedly. Distracted, she directed her gaze towards the castle.

There, in the distance, was the home of her great friend, Starlight Glimmer. The first pony she recognized as a true friend. The same pony who assisted in her circus acts despite being a more skilled sorceress than she was. The pony who fulfilled her role as the school’s headmistress in an exemplary manner and had chosen her as her closest advisor...

And now, because of her terrible decisions, she was about to ruin that friendship.

(Aren’t I supposed to give everything to protect that bond?) Trixie thought wearily.

Not long ago, the Young Six had blocked her, preventing her from entering the castle to see Starlight. Not only that, she found out that Starlight was already in a meeting with Chancellor Neighsay, which confirmed her worst fears.

Distressed, she returned to her trailer, so scared and angry that the crazy idea of using that old potion chest she had forbidden herself from using surfaced in her mind. However, thanks to her fatigue, she was now starting to calm down. In the midst of all this, she no longer felt so confident about continuing with that idea.

"Ahhh Hic!... what should I do now? Hic!" Trixie murmured disheartened.

Trixie longed to return, to barge into Starlight’s meeting with the chancellor immediately. She needed to tell her friend how sorry she was, to confess that it was all her fault.

But she couldn’t; the castle was closed to her, guarded by those meddlesome kids...

"Hic! Ahhh why do these things happen to me?... Hic!" Trixie protested, in the middle of her stubborn hiccups and renewed frustration that was starting to overwhelm her.

If it weren’t for that nightmare, probably none of this would be bothering her so much, and she’d be resting peacefully in her trailer... drinking cider with oatmeal pancakes...

Trixie’s stomach emitted an unmistakable growl. Trying to ignore the growing hunger manifesting inside her, she diverted her gaze towards the red potion she was holding with her magic. The eerie glow of the potion flickered amidst a disturbing whisper, urging her to consume it immediately.

Trixie rolled her eyes, bored.

"Yes, yes, I know, Hic! you’re evil and you’ll give me the power I need to do what I want Hic!" Trixie spoke annoyed to the potion; it obviously didn’t respond and continued to glow with its hypnotic light. "On the other hand... Hic! I guess if I don’t use you now, Hic! it wouldn’t make sense to have kept you all this time. Hic!"

Trixie, tired of thinking, didn’t give the matter any more thought. She uncorked the potion with her magic and brought it to her mouth.

She drank its contents in one gulp.

The potion spilled inside her, causing a strange sensation of warmth that quickly transformed into an eruption of heat that flooded her completely. A crimson magic enveloped her figure like a burning flame; instantly, her hiccups and fatigue vanished. Strength and vitality filled her completely, restoring that proud demeanor that so characterized her.

The great and powerful Trixie was back.

"Yes, I can feel it now," Trixie murmured, observing the glow of her own figure. Filled with the noxious and powerful magic coursing through her body, she looked towards her trailer. Her mind was buzzing with violent ideas about her next move. Such was the effect of the crimson potion that it reduced morality and reason in exchange for power.

So, for Trixie, everything was clear now; since she hadn’t been allowed to enter the castle, she would create her own path by force.

"Uhmm... maybe I just need to take what’s necessary... no, on second thought. I’ll take everything!" the unicorn exclaimed fervently.

With a single move of her horn, the trailer and Trixie rose into the air. And, after a sudden flash of magic, they disappeared.

[11:25 am]

On one of the balconies of Twilight’s castle...

“Wait... LESSON? The 'Laughable Enforcement Squadron for the Suppression and Nullification of Orchid Octopi'?” Sandbar exclaimed, surprised as he read the newspaper Yona had handed him.

“Professor Pie insist very much on that name.”

“It sounds very forced,” commented Sandbar as he scratched his head.

“Yona agree, but name’s acronym very funny,” Yona responded cheerfully with a smile. Sandbar returned the smile and continued reading the newspaper.

Leaving her friend focused on his reading, Yona began to check the bag behind Sandbar’s wheelchair. She found the lunches she had prepared for her friends and, after examining them for a moment, confirmed that they were well sealed and still warm. Satisfied, she closed the bag, not before returning the cups and thermos she had previously taken out.

Noon was approaching.

“Lunch time near. Better head towards friends so not be late for lunch.”

“Yeah, we better get going. I don’t think there’s anything else we need to do here,” replied Sandbar, immediately putting away the newspaper he had.

Both Yona and Sandbar had accepted the task of keeping watch around the castle from the balcony. This would have been a more appropriate job for Smolder or Gallus; however, due to certain incidents that had happened among their companions, they had ended up with this task.

Sandbar, who was in his wheelchair, observed the imposing magical barrier surrounding the castle. Although it was an impressive sight from the inside, it failed to instill a sense of security in him. The scars from his recent accident were still fresh in his body and mind. An unsettling tingling persisted in his hind legs...

Suddenly, his field of vision darkened. Something warm and fluffy enveloped his face. Trapped by the memories of his previous trauma, Sandbar panicked and was about to scream. However, he stopped himself when he recognized the playful laughter behind him. It was clear who the culprit was.

“Yona!” Sandbar complained.

“Friend Sandbar should not be too tense, should laugh more, be safe among friends now,” laughed the large Yak, removing her big hooves from Sandbar’s field of vision and giving him a loving hug.

“Yes, it’s fine. I understand. I should be more cheerful. The doctor said so, but it’s very difficult for me... I still feel those things on me at night. Haaa... I wish I were as strong as you, Yona.”

“Sandbar is strong, but he is hurt. Yona will help him heal,” responded Yona, giving him a small kiss on the forehead.

Sandbar, moved, was about to respond to Yona when...

It was sudden.

The magical barrier flickered and then a thunderous crash resounded. Surprised, the pair of friends quickly looked down from the balcony in the direction of the crash.

In front of the castle doors, the magical barrier rippled as if it had been struck by a giant hammer. However, only a small figure was there...

[11:30 am]

A bolt of red magic struck the magical barrier of Twilight's castle, shaking it to its core with impressive force. The light emanating from that violent assault, resembling a giant welding arc from a distance, would have been visible even in Canterlot if the angle of its glow had been favorable.

The one responsible for such a colossal display of power was none other than Trixie herself, wearing her cape and hat.

After a long minute of continuous attack that seemed like an eternity, the powerful beam of magic finally relented.

“Ha... Ha... Still not down? ...,” Trixie murmured under her breath, panting in front of the barrier. Things were not going as she had expected. Bringing down the barrier with her powerful magic and then triumphantly entering the castle had been her initial plan. But despite her formidable effort, the barrier still stood like an impregnable wall.

This infuriated Trixie greatly, but there was something that enraged her even more.

“AND YOU, KIDS, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE! I WARN YOU, DON’T MAKE ME ANGRIER, LOWER THE BARRIER NOW AND I PROMISE YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE LESS SEVERE THAN IT ALREADY IS!” Trixie shouted with eyes filled with corrupt red magic.

There was no response.

Trixie knew she was making a big scene outside the castle; it was impossible for the Young Six not to have noticed. However, until that moment, they had not made themselves present.

“FINE!” Trixie screamed, exploding with impatience, snorted loudly, and waved her horn defiantly. Behind her, the door of the trailer she had brought opened, and several objects floated out in a line, parading in front of her.

“Umhhh, let’s see... Good, but no... no... no... What’s this doing here! no...,” Trixie carelessly enumerated the most dangerous objects she had inside her trailer. C-4 explosives, bee-bear traps, enchanting scrolls, a Twilight plushie (which was immediately thrown in the trash), a black eucalyptus-everfang root, a scream-eagle horn, among others.

Despite the danger of these objects, Trixie didn’t seem convinced to use any until...

“Aha,” exclaimed the unicorn. Sending the other objects back into her trailer with a quick gesture of her horn, Trixie set one aside and brought it closer to her with a malicious smile.

“It’s time to use heavy artillery...” Trixie reasoned, excited about what she was going to do next.

The object Trixie would use to bring down the magical barrier was an ancient urn.

But this wasn’t just any antique.

The ancient urn, as large as Trixie’s own head, had a body similar to a clay jug, looking old and battered that would go unnoticed at first glance. However, in its wide mouth was a fine and long piece of yellow paper attached, resembling a large tag. On this paper were printed, in black ink, intricate illegible characters of a forgotten language. For someone knowledgeable about the ancient world, it was clear that this was a talisman serving as a seal and a warning to anyone who dared to open that relic.

Of course, Trixie didn’t care about this at all and removed the seal immediately. Confident in the power she held in her hooves, she advanced toward the magical barrier, holding the urn high, and then proclaimed:

“GHOSTS OF EULFALIA! I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, RELEASE YOU! MANIFEST AND SERVE ME!” her voice echoed loudly, while the unicorn radiated the light of her magic around her. Nature fell silent at that moment. Everyone who could see and hear her turned their senses towards her, expecting the imminent extraordinary event that would occur in that place.

However, nothing else happened.

Trixie, with her eyes fixed on the urn and a face frozen with excitement, waited for several seconds.

Nothing happened.

Nature, forgetting the previous shock, resumed its course.

“SERIOUSLY?!” Trixie exploded, her patience at its limit. Annoyed, she held the urn and began to shake it. “YOU COST ME 3 SCHOOL SALARIES AND SAVINGS ON FOOD EXPENSES FOR THEM! YOU BETTER BE USEFUL!” she shouted, frustrated. Irate, the unicorn started to press the urn with her magic in an attempt to open it.

A grave mistake. Such roughness was too much for that fragile relic.

Suddenly, amid the pressure Trixie was exerting with her magic, a crack opened on one side. Alarmed, Trixie immediately released her magical grip. But it was too late. Before she could do anything else, the walls of the urn collapsed and, like an egg hitting the ground, the remains of the relic fell into the grass, scattering in all directions.

What was once a valuable treasure of the ancient world was now just a pile of dust and broken clay.

A lonely breeze swept over the place where a stunned Trixie stood.

“Ahhhh,” Trixie broke the silence with a neigh full of rage, kicking the air. Although this behavior was unseemly for an adult mare like her, she had strong reasons to act this way. On her last trip, she had acquired that ancient urn at an auction at an exorbitant price, literally costing her the last savings and loans she had left. Despite being aware of the risk of that purchase, she had hoped to recoup the investment by reselling it on the black market in Canterlot.

Now she watched her investment dissolve into the wind amidst the pasture.

After rampaging for a long while, Trixie gradually calmed down. She exhaled several times until she finally took a serene breath and said:

“It's okay, Trixie, this was just a setback. The expensive urn you bought, which supposedly contained powerful ghosts capable of destroying entire kingdoms, turned out to be a scam. It’s not your fault, it’s the others who take advantage of you. Things like this happen to you often. Now let’s move on to something safer ...THE EXPLOSIVES!” Trixie shouted so loudly that her hat almost fell off, thus abruptly ending her stress-induced monologue; it was evident that she no longer wanted to think about her recent loss.

Thus, without more comfort than talking to herself, she began to move towards her trailer to...

Suddenly, a subtle “Paff” sounded in the air, and Trixie found herself sprawled on the ground. Surprised, she looked beneath her...

Her hind legs had tangled with a yellow paper. It was the same sealing talisman she had thrown away a moment ago.

She stood up and, in a reflex of pure rage, Trixie ripped the talisman off her legs with her magic and threw it against the barrier.

It made no noise upon impact. In an instant, the talisman consumed itself in a ball of green fire.

Trixie, paying it no more attention, turned her back disdainfully. All she had in mind was finding her C-4 explosives and preparing them to blow up the barrier.

However, where the talisman had previously burned, the resulting smoke began to slowly swirl, growing in size and depth...

[11:35 am]

Meanwhile... at Twilight's castle security post.

"... you should have more confidence, let Smolder handle it. Ha! She knows more about these gadgets than we do," said Gallus, moving a heavy stack of monitors.

"Yeah, I know, but... ahh I can’t believe this is happening right now!" replied Ocellus exasperated, searching through a box of spare parts.

"Problems always come up, though you really should have been more careful with the control panel."

"I didn’t think it was that fragile, and besides, you said the red button was to deactivate the barrier!"

"I said 'the red button is to deactivate the barrier, the red-red button is to further secure the doors.'"

"They look the same!"

"No, they don’t!"

"CAN YOU KEEP QUIET! I’m trying to concentrate," Smolder yelled furiously, sticking her head out from under the desk where a panel full of colorful buttons and tangled wires was installed. Without saying more, she put a screwdriver in her mouth and grabbed a nearby flashlight, then went back under the desk. In response to their companion’s words, Ocellus and Gallus stopped arguing and silently returned to their urgent tasks.

They couldn't forget they were in the middle of an emergency.

Outside the room, in the hallway, a worried Silverstream was looking at a screen showing the entrance to the castle. Despite the static caused by overextending the monitor cables, the images showing the outside were still recognizable.

Outside, the situation seemed to be getting worse.

Then, like a large rock coming down the stairs, Yona and Sandbar arrived, though it was more appropriate to say that Yona arrived with Sandbar clinging to her back.

As soon as Yona saw her friend, she ran towards her, announcing:

"COUNSELOR TRIXIE IS BACK! COUNSELOR TRIXIE IS BACK! COUNSELOR TRIXIE IS BACK!"

"WE ALREADY KNOW!" came a loud reply from inside the security post. Surprised by the firm response, Yona halted abruptly, stopping right in front of the security post door, almost on top of Silverstream. Now stopped, Yona and Sandbar, who didn’t understand what was happening, glanced inside the room.

Inside the room were Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder, all of whom were focused on checking the castle's security system control panel. None of them looked away from the large tangle of cables before them, nor did they wear their usual friendly expressions. They looked more like a cold group of doctors trying to diagnose a gravely ill patient.

Puzzled, Yona and Sandbar turned their gazes to Silverstream, who was standing to the side. The obvious question they would ask was clear.

“What’s going on, Silvi?” Sandbar was the first to speak.

“Well, we’re experiencing serious technical problems with the castle’s defense system. Remember Gallus mentioned that all the security equipment was extremely delicate and we needed to be very careful with it? Well, it turns out it was more delicate than it seemed...” Silverstream responded, pointing to some burnt-out monitors that had been removed from inside. Not far away, there was a fire extinguisher.

“Wait... the control panel burned out? But if it’s like that, then the barrier and the doors are...” said Sandbar, who was still on Yona’s back.

“Totally sealed,” Silverstream finished the sentence with a grimace of distress.

Now Sandbar and Yona also understood how serious the situation was.

“FRIENDS, WHAT DO NOW?!” Yona exclaimed nervously, looking at the still working monitors.

“For now, the guys are trying to fix the panel with the spare parts we have. Smolder says she knows how to do it,” replied Silverstream.

“Wouldn’t asking for help be better?”

“That could make things worse, Yona,” Sandbar responded, swallowing hard, already imagining what would happen to them when Headmare Starlight found out.

“BUT COUNSELOR TRIXIE IS OUTSIDE, AND SHE IS VERY ANGRY!”

“It’s true! She was firing beams at the barrier! We should go out and talk to her,” added Sandbar.

“The others wanted to do that too, but then decided to fix the panel first...”

Interrupting what Silverstream was saying, another voice echoed loudly in the hallway.

“DONE, IT'S WORKING!” Smolder announced excitedly from inside the control post. “Just give the system a moment to finish rebooting.”

Finally, the tension that had gripped the trio of friends inside the security post began to dissipate. Then, before anyone could say anything else, Gallus quickly approached the rest of his friends who were at the entrance and asked, “How’s it looking outside?”

Silverstream immediately checked the monitor she was holding, her face growing distressed again.

“I think we have a new problem...” Silverstream replied nervously, pointing towards the darkness that loomed on the monitor screen.

Ghosts, in a world shaped by magic and inhabited by ponies, such entities were not nonexistent. From time immemorial, ghosts have always been a strongly rooted presence within the stories of common lore and arcane knowledge, often mentioned in a wide array of tales where they play a role as either a heroic support or a malevolent force.

However, despite the large number of stories involving such entities, it is difficult to know where they come from and what their true purpose in the world is. For example, there is the story of the ghost of a wise dragoness who appeared in a kingdom to protect it when it was at its most difficult moment. Another story is that of the malevolent desert spirit who poisoned a king's mind with unbridled ambition. Both tales, bordering on the fantastic, were not events that occurred in ancient times, but recent events that had been studied extensively. Of course, such studies could only corroborate the events that happened and could not obtain more information about the true identity of the apparitions.

Added to this was the problem that it was very difficult to encounter these entities and even more so to summon them.

Thus, the wisest can only conclude that ghosts rest on a plane beyond our own, probably being the watchers or instigators of stories that transcend beyond our own life or understanding.

The less wise, on the other hand, would simply have more stories with which to amaze the younger ones.

In all this, Trixie Lulamoon, a unicorn almost ignorant of these profound subjects, was about to become part of one of these stories...

[11:40 am]

"...these should be enough. I just have to be very careful not to drop them... or touch them. I’ve got too much spark in my hooves! Ha ha ha," Trixie laughed, delirious from the red potion she had drunk earlier.

She had just prepared her C-4 explosives. Behind her, the magical barrier protecting Twilight's castle shimmered imposingly.

"Just wait, Trixie's fireworks will surprise you all..." Trixie murmured to herself with a dark smile as she carefully placed the dangerous explosives in a box marked with her own face.

In her mind, Trixie already imagined how her explosives would blow up the castle's defenses. Then, she would make her triumphant entrance through the main gate, where she would encounter a frightened and regretful Young Six, take care of them, and finally meet Starlight, and then...

Trixie interrupted her thoughts, alerted by a strange feeling of being watched. She lowered her gaze and saw something she didn't expect.

In front of her, a few steps away, there was a small white rabbit watching her. It was a tiny, fluffy creature with a tenderness in its face that could move the heart of any pony.

But, to the darkened heart of the Great and Powerful Trixie, this was nothing more than an intruder prying into her personal affairs.

"SHOO! GET OUT!" the unicorn ordered angrily. However, the small white rabbit continued to watch her. Uncomfortable, Trixie pulled out a broom and prepared to chase it away.

Nevertheless, she stopped.

Upon closer inspection, Trixie suddenly perceived a deep feeling in that gaze, a sadness that struck deep within her. It was as if the rabbit reflected the great sorrow someone would feel upon seeing their best friend lost on the wrong path.

A brief flash of conscience shone in Trixie’s mind, but it was quickly suppressed by the corrupt red magic clouding her judgment.

"I'm doing the right thing! It’s a good plan! Starlight would do the same for me!" Trixie shouted angrily at the rabbit, her eyes reddened. Then, consumed by the hostility filling her, she threw the broom to one side of the rabbit.

But the rabbit did not change its stance and continued to cast that accusatory look. Trixie snorted.

"What do rabbits know about friendship!" Trixie mocked with deep disdain. Taking her box of explosives, she turned her back on the rabbit and set off to place the bombs around the castle's magical barrier.

But she didn’t; she stopped again.

She had been wrong; the harmless rabbit from before had not been looking at her, but at the supernatural presence that had emerged beyond her.

Dropping the box of explosives she was carrying (fortunately, they didn’t explode), Trixie opened her mouth and eyes wide, gazing at the apparitions that had appeared behind her a moment ago.

Six figures, resembling equine specters, stood materialized before her. A dark, shifting mist enveloped them, creating the impression of a portal to a cosmos of shadows. These spectral figures, with expressions varying between smiling and stern, with eyes shining like cemetery lanterns, stood firm in their ethereal presence. Each was clad in personalized armor and unique ghostly attire, indicating different roles among them. Despite their heterogeneous appearances, they all shared the same mark: resembling the runes representing the sun and moon, hanging from their flanks, a symbol that manifested their profound unity.

They were, undoubtedly, a presence that would intimidate anyone.

Trixie, who had remained silent for a while trying to process what was happening, watched as the tallest figure advanced towards her with a gallant and threatening step, bowing before her with the same elegance a knight would show their ruler.

"The guardians of Eulfalia present themselves before you, oh great and powerful summoner! We eagerly await to fulfill your will," announced the specter in a martial voice, head bowed, touching the ground.

It was very curious. Despite its imposing figure, the voice of the powerful specter turned out to be ordinary and feminine, which contrasted with expectations. But putting that aside...

"...great and powerful summoner?" Trixie only needed a moment to understand, and then she let out an excited neigh. "Hiiiii!"

Unable to contain herself, Trixie waved her hooves in the air with euphoria at the incredible reality before her.

In an extraordinary and unpredictable event, Trixie Lulamoon had summoned the powerful and heroic guardians of the forgotten lands of Eulfalia, a mythical team of specters who had remained sealed in an ancient (and excessively expensive) urn that she had accidentally broken moments earlier.

Possessed by the excitement of her success, the unicorn celebrated with laughter and capers. However, she soon stopped; the cold aura emanating from that ghostly group reminded her of the urgent situation she was in. She coughed for a moment and tried to maintain her composure as best she could; she thought that if these ghosts were really under her orders, she had to show herself worthy before them. For someone like her, who lived by her image and words, that should be easy...

Trixie swirled her cape and adjusted her hat, adopting a pose that shrouded her in mystery. With an arrogant and determined look, she presented herself to the ghosts.

"Ahem... Greetings, my subjects! It is I, the one and only, the extraordinary, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" she proclaimed with pride, her voice resonating with the magnificence that characterized her.

The leader of the specters, who had previously bowed, raised her head attentively. Behind her, the expressions on the nebulous faces of her fellow ghosts turned serious in unison, all fixing their bright eyes on Trixie and showing their dedication to every word of their new mistress.

Feeling the power emanating from their devoted gazes, Trixie's heart swelled with satisfaction. Convinced of their loyalty, she let the words flow freely.

"Do not be surprised! Today, the great Trixie has been the victim of an unparalleled atrocity. Despite being so humble and generous with others, she has been denied access to her own home. And, to top it off! She has been forbidden from meeting the best friend a pony could wish for. So, you, my loyal guardians of Eulfalia, have the obligation to put an end to this injustice. This magical barrier surrounding this castle, my glorious home!, must disappear. I order you to use your immense power to undo it and let me in! Let your energies wear down and dissipate this obstacle, opening the way for the triumphant entry of the great Trixie so she can finally reunite with the friend she most treasures!" Trixie proclaimed gallantly, her cape fluttering in the wind as she pointed to the imposing luminous barrier shining behind the specters.

What the heck had all that been? Not even Trixie knew exactly what she was talking about. She had never heard of "the guardians of Eulfalia". She was simply playing along. She knew that the ancient urn she had acquired contained a powerful group of ghosts, but nothing more.

To all this, she wasn't sure what the ghosts would actually do now that she had ordered them to destroy the barrier.

Just when a bead of worry began to fall from her forehead, Trixie watched as the "guardians of Eulfalia" solemnly nodded, accepting the order she had given them. Relieved and somewhat surprised, she saw the specters slowly rise into the sky and position themselves at the highest part of the magical barrier protecting Twilight's castle.

Slowly, the atmosphere over the castle began to change; the air filled with tension as the mysterious magic of the specters intensified. On the ground, Trixie watched with bright eyes, expectant of what might happen.

"Oummmmm... dooo..., Oummmmm...reee..., Oummmmm... miii..., Oummmmm... faaa..., Oummmmm... solll..., Oummmmm... laaa..."

It was bewildering.

For several minutes, the specters began chanting from above. Trixie, who could hear perfectly well, couldn’t understand why they were singing. She expected an explosion or some kind of powerful magic manifestation, with lights and flashes. Not ceremonial chants.

“Is this part of a ritual?” Trixie murmured, scratching her head.

This kind of magic felt strange to her. She had heard about ceremonies like these and knew that ponies used to practice them frequently in the distant past, but they were extraordinarily rare nowadays. Perhaps they were still practiced in the Crystal Empire, where such extravagant customs were preserved.

As she carefully watched the ghosts in the middle of their ritual, she noticed something unusual and surprisingly familiar. The dark manes of several of the ghosts resembled those of Princess Twilight’s friends. One of them even wore a hat similar to Applejack’s, which clashed with the armor of her companions...

“OUMMMMM... SYYYYYY!” Suddenly, Trixie’s reflections were interrupted by an intense proclamation heard from above. The tension that had filled the air dissolved into a profound silence.

The spectral guardians of Eulfalia began to descend. Their ritual had ended.

The magical barrier around Twilight’s castle was still intact.

Below, Trixie watched them descend with an indifferent expression, like a dissatisfied customer receiving a long-awaited but disappointing product.

Finally, after an overly dramatic descent, all the specters touched the ground in a perfect formation.

Without wasting a second, Trixie approached them.

“I see, I see... you finished singing and all that,” she said casually, approaching the leader of the ghosts. “Now, could you do me the small favor of explaining. WHAT WAS ALL THAT?!” she exploded with indignation, pointing her hoof at the magical barrier that the powerful specters were supposed to have destroyed.

However, the guardians of Eulfalia didn’t respond. Instead, they quickly took a new formation. Dividing into two groups of three, they lined up on either side of the path, just as the royal guards of Canterlot would do to clear the way for royalty.

Before Trixie could say anything, the leader of the guardians of Eulfalia raised her spectral hoof to the sky and, like the conductor of an orchestra, elegantly swung it down while bowing.

Trixie was puzzled. She wasn’t sure, but... it was as if they were showing her the way.

Then, unexpectedly, she saw the ground beneath her hooves fill with small red flowers. Magically, the flowers advanced along the path towards the castle like a rolling red carpet, reaching the magical barrier and then...

In a blink of an eye, the magical barrier dissipated, as easily as if it were a simple soap bubble.

Trixie was no longer puzzled; she was astonished. No, she was shocked. But it wasn’t over yet.

The flower path continued advancing towards the castle. Upon arrival, the entrance was filled with large ornamental flowers adorning the doors, which opened wide to welcome her. At the same time, an inexplicable ceremonial melody began to play, while rose petals fell from the sky and a unique fragrance spread through the air.

Trixie was no longer thinking; she was ecstatic, forgetting all her previous insecurities. She now understood the display of pomp; there was no doubt. It was a royal procession.

“Ah, of course. They were just doing exactly what I asked them to. How considerate! And quiet... and weird. I like it!” Trixie, with a radiant smile, let herself be carried away and began to proudly parade down the flower carpet. Although she initially thought of entering the castle immediately once the ghosts had finished their task, with such a loyal audience watching her, she couldn’t help but show off just ‘a little.’

Thus, with a regal step and without taking her eyes off the castle entrance, Trixie confidently advanced down the red carpet of flowers. However, as she got closer to her destination, the anxiety inside her grew. After several steps, Trixie began to trot faster, losing the elegance in her stride.

“So close...” a pressing feeling of urgency invaded Trixie. She no longer cared what the ghosts she had summoned thought or the unnecessary royal procession. What mattered to her was meeting Starlight just...

Suddenly, a subtle “Paff” echoed in the air, and Trixie found herself sprawled on the ground. Surprised, she looked under herself...

She had tripped over a cider bottle.

“Seriously!” she got up and, in a pure rage reflex, took the bottle with her magic and threw it far, beyond the hill.

Just as before, she had tripped again. However, this time, something else happened.

“Jijijiji,” a laugh echoed loudly around. The solemnity of the royal procession was broken, and a disgusted Trixie turned her gaze.

One of the ghosts, the least intimidating-looking of them all, laughed animatedly at Trixie’s clumsiness. It wasn’t a sepulchral or malevolent laugh, but one of pure amusement.

“Ha, ha, very funny. Is it so amusing to see your mistress on the ground?” Trixie scolded, shaking off the flower petals stuck to her cape.

“Ji, ji, ji... Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, your excellency! It won’t happen again!” surprised by her behavior, the once cheerful ghost returned to a rigid and serious posture along with her companions.

“I hope so because I, the great and powerful Trix...” Trixie stopped silently, about to give another speech when something else caught her attention.

The other ghosts, who had previously maintained expressionless faces, now showed a single emotion on their nebulous faces.

Amazed, they all stared at their companion.

A breeze of wind crossed amidst the confusion reigning at the doors of Twilight’s castle. The ghosts that Trixie had summoned with so much effort and trouble, the guardians of Eulfalia, no longer looked or thought of their summoner, but of the revelation that had arisen before them.

“Hm, girls, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” asked the ghost who was the object of her companions’ gazes.

“How could you laugh, Electrina?” asked one of her companions with a cold look.

“Hee, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it I just...”

“This shouldn’t be possible,” interrupted the leader. “Since we were cursed by Dhona Oleg-Nar Dhazer, all our emotions were sealed, as well as our freedom to act on our own will. It has been so ever since. That you were able to laugh on your own means the curse has weakened enough or is broken, which would only be possible if we were to find ourselves during the midday of...”

The leader of the ghosts of Eulfalia didn’t finish speaking. An unprecedented possibility floated in the air, a possibility that had been immediately understood by all.

All, except Trixie, who didn’t understand anything that was happening.

“What day is today?” the leader asked her companions sharply. Without waiting for an answer, she looked up and observed the midday sun rising high.

It was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, reaching its peak in the sky.

Trixie, still not understanding what was happening, watched nervously as the cold face of the leader of the guardians of Eulfalia broke into a broad smile like a bright sword cutting through the darkness.

Watching the castle gates from afar, the unknown presence hidden among the plants began to prepare.

I could feel it... the moment was approaching.

Assault on Twilight's Castle - Act III

[12:00 mediodia]

The guardians of Eulfalia, cursed within an ancient urn, had spent their existence fulfilling the whims of all kinds of individuals who possessed it: kings, adventurers, peasants, and more. Always yearning deep in their hearts to one day break free from the spell that had deprived them of reuniting with their loved ones in the third heaven.

Thus, by a twist of fate, after a terrible amount of time, that wish was finally coming true.

The leader of the guardians, Celenia Starwish, wept with joy for that blessed miracle. She could only feel the purest gratitude towards the person who had allowed them to be free.

That pony with the extravagant appearance was, indeed, the most humble and generous being in the world.

With these final thoughts, her spirit began to ascend, just like those of her other companions, leaving behind the cocoon of darkness woven by the malice of the dark lord Ever Fand’s emissary. Their free souls shone like swords towards the sky until they finally found the right path among the stars and left behind the world they once protected.

Like a sigh, the guardians of Eulfalia disappeared at the gates of Twilight’s castle, without any words of farewell or story to remember them by.

There, before the peaceful gates of the castle, the only witness to this extraordinary event, Trixie Lulamoon, watched the spot where those forgotten guardians had stood.

“Really, they just left like that? They should have been polite and at least said goodbye. Hmph!” Trixie protested, annoyed by the ghosts’ rudeness. But it was a brief feeling. It was pointless to think about them any longer; they had fulfilled their purpose, and she no longer needed them.

With this in mind, she turned her gaze towards the interior of the castle. Now she would just have to deal with the Young Six...

“GROUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!” A blood-curdling roar came from the other side of the main hall.

Trixie, stunned, with a feeling of danger coursing through her body, watched as a massive shadow rose just a few meters away, charging towards her like an uncontrollable torrent.

“AUUUUUUUUUU HAUUUUUUUUUUU!” An intense scream, like that of a chicken being strangled, pierced the tranquil meadow outside Twilight’s Castle.

[11:55 am]

A moment earlier, at Twilight's castle security post.

"We must tell Headmare Starlight immediately!" said a worried voice.

"Wait! We need to talk to Counselor Trixie and apologize first," interrupted a calmer voice.

"That can wait," added a casual voice.

"Haven't you seen the ghosts outside?" retorted the previously calm voice, now grave.

Listening to the discussion between her companions, Smolder loudly chewed gum. She appeared to be relaxed in her seat, but in reality, she was very uncomfortable with the situation. So uncomfortable that she felt like she could breathe dragon fire at any moment.

Just as a bit of smoke began to filter through her nose, a double beep "beep-beep" in the air caught her attention, and the red light in the corner of the control panel, which she had repaired in record time, changed from red to green.

"Phew, just in time. HEY, GUYS!" Smolder exclaimed, drawing the attention of her companions. "Look, I don’t know how this will turn out, but we have to open the doors now. We can't just leave Counselor Trixie outside the castle. If she's mad at us, so be it! We’re just following Headmare Starlight's orders, so technically, we haven't done anything wrong."

Her companions fell silent, reflecting on her words. She was right, but that didn’t take away the great concern they felt. Trixie had summoned some extremely intimidating ghosts at the castle gates. They didn’t understand how she had done it, but they were sure it wasn’t part of a recreational show, like the ones she often boasted about.

It was certain she had summoned these unknown entities with a hostile purpose.

"Isn't it dangerous, Smolder? What if the counselor, well... let's say, in her current state, loses her temper?" asked Silverstream, remembering the cider bottle Trixie had left at the castle entrance.

"Well, that could happen, or it might not. We don’t know," Smolder responded, keeping calm. "What we do know is that we have to confront her. As students of the School of Friendship who are in charge of the castle's security on behalf of Headmare Starlight, we have to act accordingly."

Again, her companions didn’t respond immediately, looking at each other and murmuring in agreement.

Smolder sighed inwardly, aware that things were not going well. Normally, the team relied on Gallus or Ocellus to make decisions. However, Gallus had a great hostility towards Trixie, which didn’t help at all, and Ocellus was more indecisive than usual. The others felt dragged into a situation they hadn’t foreseen.

"It's like sticking your nose into the dragon lord's bed," Smolder thought for a moment. "If things are like this... isn't this a good opportunity to lead?"

Almost always, Smolder kept a low profile in group activities. She was energetic and helped others as much as she could, but she didn’t usually take the initiative in the team’s actions.

It was a good opportunity. A fire ignited within her. Smolder savored the idea.

"Besides... it’s not like we all need to go outside. Gallus, Ocellus, and I should be enough; the rest can stay and see what happens. If something goes wrong, just activate the disaster alarm and Headmare Starlight will contact you immediately."

"We should all go..." Ocellus replied, but another of her companions was quicker to respond.

"Of course! We'll keep an eye on what happens! Count on us!" exclaimed an energetic Silverstream, while Yona and Sandbar nodded behind her, outside the room.

Gallus, lying complacently on the floor, shrugged. Only Ocellus remained looking aside silently, unsatisfied.

"Alright, no more talk. Let's do this!" said Smolder, confident in the commitment reached with her companions, as she pressed the button to open the castle doors.

A mysterious noise, like an intense drumbeat, echoed in the hallway, catching everyone’s attention. After a brief moment of repeated pounding, it gradually faded away...

"What was that?" Gallus asked the others, with a look that for the first time appeared worried.

That wasn't what he had expected. Smolder, very nervous, looked at the button she had just pressed. She was sure it was the one for opening the castle's main doors. That’s what it said in the manual!

"The manual..." A bad feeling ran through her scaly dragon skin. Without saying anything else, she pushed aside the papers on her desk and opened wide the thick manual for the castle's security system that she had used to repair the control panel. She quickly began anxiously flipping through the last pages of the book, where the authors usually added notes and acknowledgements...

Just as her companions began to notice something was wrong with the castle doors opening, someone shouted.

"Friends! I think there's a manticore loose in the hallway upstairs..." Silverstream pointed fearfully at the monitor showing the main hallway leading to the castle doors.

It was true. To the surprise and dismay of her companions, a huge manticore had appeared out of nowhere and was heading towards the main door.

While everyone stared in astonishment at the monitor, Smolder could barely contain her panic as she finished reading the manual. "Oh no!" she muttered with effort not to be heard.

On one of the last pages, written in elegant black handwriting, it said:

"... version 1.4 of the maintenance manual for the School of Friendship’s security system. Written by Princess Twilight Sparkle in collaboration with Princess Luna."

Below, other words were written in wild and colorful letters:

"... edited to perfection with much love, saved money, and friendship. By the best Headmare in the world, Starlight Glimmer. With help from her greatest and most powerful friend."

Finishing those ominous words was a drawing of the smug face of a unicorn wearing a wizard hat, winking.

Twilight's castle had a dungeon. It was a bit hard to accept given the title of "Princess of Friendship" held by its owner. However, the idea hadn’t come from Twilight but from Princess Luna, as part of the security improvements for the castle.

In Princess Luna's words: "... a castle without a dungeon is not a castle." Twilight could have easily refuted that, but since she had sought Luna's advice, she decided to add it as an optional improvement.

Over time, the dungeon was built, and its guardian was none other than Goldroar, the manticore.

Goldroar stood out among his kind. He was an enormous manticore, even larger than usual, with a scar over his right eye, a black mane with golden streaks, sharp teeth and horns, claws protected by guards, an exceptionally long tail, and a saddle equipped with magical artifacts.

He was, without a doubt, one of a kind. Fluttershy had met him and considered him very kind, as intelligent as he was imposing. Princess Luna, for her part, had considered him an exemplary subject and had promised him a job as a castle guardian after his retirement.

Goldroar understood his job perfectly and enjoyed it. Whenever he was called, he knew what to do: "Attack first, ask questions later." And this time would be no different.

Alerted by an attack message, Goldroar finally received the call to action he had eagerly awaited since he had assumed his role as the castle's guardian. Excited, he emerged from a secret passage next to the main hallway and confronted his target at the entrance.

"Today is a good day to work," thought Goldroar, eyes gleaming with delight before letting out a roar and charging towards his target.

[12:10 pm]

"¡AUUUUUUUUUU HAUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Like a projectile fired from a cannon, Trixie's body shot across the sky, spinning like a lifeless puppet towards the meadow. Anyone witnessing that spectacle and hearing the accompanying scream would have feared the worst. However, just a few meters from hitting the ground, in an unexpected move, a magical bubble materialized around her, protecting her from the fatal fall.

Within her magical bubble, Trixie bounced several meters, sending flowers and grass flying in the meadow. Finally, she reached the nearest hill, where she came to a stop. The protective bubble vanished, and a dizzy Trixie fell to the ground.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" the unicorn shouted in dismay, barely catching her breath. She didn't understand what had happened. No, she did understand something—she had seen a huge shadow coming towards her and then...

In the distance, still within her sight, Goldroar watched his target. He was surprised. Usually, anyone who took his charges head-on ended up unconscious on the ground. However, the pony he had attacked was getting up unscathed, without any injury. It made sense since in the last second of his attack, she had raised a magical barrier that protected her before being thrown through the air.

Still, considering the roar he let out and his charge... how quick were that pony's reflexes?

Without a doubt, she was a formidable opponent.

Aware of all this, Goldroar's adrenaline surged even more.

Trixie, now standing, looked at where she had been moments ago. At the entrance to the castle, an enormous manticore was looking at her like a predator at its prey.

Outrageous, Trixie couldn't contain her scream.

"WHO LET THE MANTICORE OUT?!" she shouted furiously. Trixie knew him; it was the dangerous manticore that inhabited the castle's dungeon, a dungeon she herself had ordered to be built. How could he have gotten out? He only had permission to do so if Starlight ordered it directly or if the castle's last defense protocol was activated...

A chill ran down Trixie's spine. She remembered. The Young Six had told her they were testing the castle's security system. The only ones who could do this were them...

"HAS EVERYONE GONE CRAZY?! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!" Trixie shouted furiously, aware of the danger she was in.

In response to Trixie's scream, Goldroar began advancing towards her slowly.

Nervously, Trixie backed away.

Goldroar kept advancing, and with each step, his figure grew more imposing.

Even though Trixie was retreating, Goldroar's figure kept growing, getting closer.

"THIS ISN'T RIGHT! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!" Panic began to dominate the unicorn. It was obvious she couldn't fight a manticore, much less one like Goldroar. What should she do?

Goldroar continued advancing.

Trixie's instincts began screaming the obvious: she had to flee! But a part inside her refused to do so. Her pride wouldn't accept that all the effort and hard decisions she had made up to that moment had been in vain.

The potions... The urn... All those sacrifices.

She couldn't flee, not when she was so close to achieving her goal. Trixie's pride stood up to her fears, and a new determination was born within her.

She stopped retreating. She no longer felt fear. She would fight!

As soon as the indecision disappeared from Trixie's eyes and she took a firm stance, Goldroar stepped back. More than a step back, it was a leap back, returning to the castle doors. In an instant, the manticore switched from an attack posture to a defensive one.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. She found it amusing. A few seconds ago, the enormous manticore was about to pounce on her, and now it was hiding at the castle door. It was an intelligent beast.

"You're running away! Well, well, I suppose you understand this pony doesn't plan to flee," Trixie murmured to herself. At that distance, maybe Goldroar could hear her, but she didn't care.

Confident in her decision, Trixie began advancing with apparent confidence. Despite having been thrown through the air just a moment ago, she was now walking firmly towards the castle doors, where her attacker was. Anyone watching might think it was an act of pure arrogance and naivety, but it wasn't. Trixie wasn't showing off. Her path subtly veered from a straight line to the castle, approaching her trailer in the middle of the way. Trixie had come up with a plan...

On the other side, however, she was being watched attentively. Trixie underestimated Goldroar's intelligence.

As soon as Trixie reached her trailer, Goldroar swung his scorpion tail, as large as an anaconda; the tail twisted like a snake seeking to catch prey in the air.

It found it.

The sharp tip of the tail hooked onto one of the door handles and pulled it shut. Immediately, it did the same with the other handle. Without taking his eyes off Trixie for a second, Goldroar had closed the castle doors.

Trixie frowned. Had the manticore guessed her intentions?

"Oh, so you really are the smartest manticore in Equestria," Trixie murmured cheerfully with a forced smile, not stopping. It was, of course, a fake performance. Inside, Trixie was furious. She cursed the manticore.

The plan Trixie had imagined was simple: reach her trailer and, from there, talk to the manticore. That would obviously be a useless effort, as she was sure the manticore wouldn't let her in. So, she had planned to annoy him; when he lost patience and charged at her again, she would hide behind the trailer and, from there, teleport to the castle doors. Once there, she would shut the doors, leaving the confused manticore outside. Her success would be perfect.

But now that would no longer be possible. The doors were closed. Goldroar already knew.

Having the most dangerous manticore in Equestria living as a guardian in the basement had seemed like a wonderful idea to Trixie at the time.

Now she could only regret it.

"Don't despair, Trixie! You still have your trailer, your amazing items, and, above all, your magic. You can do it!" Trixie continued advancing, encouraging herself internally. Upon reaching an ideal position near her trailer, she stopped.

Next to her was a box on the ground. It was the same box she had dropped before meeting the guardians of Eulfalia.

Glancing at the box, Trixie smiled to herself. Now she had another brilliant plan...

Casually dropping her hat to one side, Trixie began to speak.

"Good morning, Mr. Giant Manticore. If I could have your attention..." Trixie introduced herself in a feigned formal tone. "... we had a little altercation between us a moment ago. I trust this was a mistake. You see, I am the great... (she cleared her throat) Trixie Lulamoon, and I live here. I don't know what you've been told to give me such a welcome. But I assure you, this is my home, and you are blocking my way."

Goldroar did not respond. Trixie continued.

"I am known for being a very tolerant pony, so I am willing to overlook this grievance, as long as you step aside immediately."

Trixie finished speaking with a friendly voice sweetened by her characteristic accent. At that distance, about six meters, Trixie was sure her voice should reach Goldroar without problems.

Goldroar then let out a growl.

Wary of what the manticore would do, Trixie watched as Goldroar began carefully rummaging through the contents of his saddle with his tail. A moment later, held by his tail, a large metal plaque emerged from his back, similar to the plaques that houses display at their entrance. The plaque in question served a similar role, as it had words written in large golden letters on a black background. It read: "GOLDROAR / will K.Y."

Trixie wasn't sure what that meant.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Goldroar. Is that right? I wasn't aware that was your name," Trixie apologized with a smile. She was half-lying; she partially remembered the manticore's name from months ago when he had told her and Starlight during the meeting they had with Princess Luna at the dungeon's inauguration. However, that was unnecessary information that had no place in her short memory and she ended up forgetting it.

Goldroar let out another growl. The plaque returned to his back.

Silence...

"Well, are you going to step aside?" Trixie asked impatiently. Goldroar didn't move.

"If you don't step aside, I'll tell my friend who made your contract. You wouldn't want to be fired, right?" Trixie threatened subtly. But Goldroar didn't move.

Trixie was starting to get impatient. Goldroar wasn't reacting at all! She didn't like it. Even less did she like the look Goldroar had. It reminded her of that difficult audience she could never win over with her performances.

"Is this how you work? What a disappointment! I suppose I have no choice but to inform my friend about this. Now if you'll excuse me..." Trixie said, taking her hat. But she didn't finish her words. Many things happened at that moment.

Goldroar, who had remained unperturbed until then, moved. As fast as only he could be, he closed the distance to Trixie and, with a thrust, launched his tail at the hat she was picking up. The hat flew through the air and landed limply a few steps behind the surprised unicorn.

Trixie's ruse had been discovered.

She wasn't just picking up her hat with her magic; she was also taking the box of C-4 explosives she had left behind earlier when she met the guardians of Eulfalia.

Goldroar had seen through Trixie's suspicious behavior. With his tail, he had caught the box. He didn't know what it contained, but his instincts warned him of potential danger. Ignoring the unicorn's look of dismay, he carefully brought the box to his nose.

The scent from the box was one he knew all too well. It was gunpowder.

With an angry look, Goldroar turned his attention to Trixie.

"Oh, well, that's... um... a gift from my friend! Could you give it back to me, please?" Trixie said with a smile. But it was an obviously fake gesture; the intense feelings she had against the manticore could barely be hidden.

If Goldroar's look could speak at that moment, it would say something like: "I don't believe you."

Just then, a bell rang in the distance. From Ponyville's bell tower, it announced the midday call, that is, [12:30 pm]. A perfect time to take a break and prepare for a delicious lunch with family or friends.

For Trixie, that bell was the miraculous signal she needed to act.

Taking advantage of Goldroar's opportune distraction, Trixie moved with the speed of a bird, running to position herself behind her trailer. Once there, she aimed at Goldroar with her horn.

Surprised, it took Goldroar a few seconds to understand what the unicorn intended to do; it was obvious and useless for the pony to try to attack him with her horn's magic. Goldroar had high defenses; an attack from a simple unicorn wouldn't be enough. However, a spark of fear ignited in him when he noticed she wasn't aiming at his body... but at the box!

A shiver ran through Goldroar's skin. However, the fear he felt was sudden and controlled. In an instant, he evaluated it coldly; he was no novice. If the box exploded beside him, he would be badly injured but not die. He had no doubt about this outcome. He just had to ensure the box wasn't damaged.

Three beams of magic shot towards him. Elegantly, Goldroar dodged them all; none of the beams came close to hitting him, much less the box. But the attack didn't end there.

Behind the trailer, Trixie continued her offensive, launching more beams from her horn, desperate to hit her target.

Goldroar kept dodging, moving with grace and agility. He performed precise spins on one paw, shaking his mane under the bright midday sun. Anyone watching would think he was dancing, and in a way, he was: a unique dance born from the training and experience of a warrior on the battlefield.

After launching a long barrage of magic beams, Trixie stopped. Sweat was falling from her forehead like rain; she had used up all her magic and was drained. Exhausted, she watched as Goldroar nonchalantly adjusted his mane. He hadn't sweat a drop; there was even an amused look, as if he was enjoying the show.

Seeing this, Trixie's anger exploded like a volcano.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HIT YOU IF YOU KEEP MOVING?!" Trixie screamed furiously, completely beside herself. Trixie's new brilliant plan had just crashed and burned, just as Goldroar had expected. Trixie had thought of using the box of explosives to knock him out; however, with her intentions guessed, Goldroar took the box. And Trixie had no choice but to destroy it from a distance, even knowing how dangerous it could be for her being so close. Even so, despite Trixie attacking with maximum concentration, it was not enough; Goldroar's agility had outmatched her.

All the confidence and security that Trixie had had fallen to the bottom.

On the other hand, Goldroar was calmer. His opponent was finished; she had no more magic. It was disappointing, as he had expected more, but he should not act arrogantly. That way of acting was typical of the weak...

"Grrrrrr," he let out a growl of annoyance. Goldroar looked at the box of explosives that he still held with his tail. What should he do with it? After glancing at the meadow, he noticed a small lake in the distance.

Without thinking much, Goldroar swung his tail. Just as one would throw a stone with a sling, Goldroar's tail swung and hurled the box of explosives toward the lake. It spun through the air like a disc until it reached the water.

"ZAPPPPP." A beam of magic crossed the meadow and hit the box of explosives in the air. The box split open, and several packages of explosives fell into the lake like rain. Wet, the explosives sank, disappearing from sight.

"HA HA HA! SEE, I DID HIT IT. YOU THOUGHT I COULDN'T, DIDN'T YOU? BUT I DID! I DID IT! HA HA HA," behind her trailer, Trixie rolled on the ground, ecstatic, tears streaming down her face from her pyrrhic success.

Her only success all morning.

Goldroar was confused. He scratched his head with one claw. He didn't understand this pony. Using what little magic she had left in that way, instead of fleeing, was strange. Blowing up the explosives far away from him served no purpose. So, why was she so happy?

Moreover, why was she doing all this?

Goldroar knew Trixie; he knew she was a friend of the current castle owner. A moment ago, he had recognized her just when he was about to attack her on the hill; embarrassed, he returned to the gates and waited for her to give him the security code to let her pass.

However...

Trixie did not. During all that time, she behaved like a stranger, as if she had never seen him before, as if she knew nothing about the security protocols she should follow. To Goldroar, this seemed very suspicious, and he did not lower his guard at any time.

Now, with everything that had happened, Goldroar was even more suspicious. Perhaps she really wasn't the owner's friend but someone else posing as her... If so, then knocking her unconscious should be fine.

Certain of his logic, Goldroar began to advance toward Trixie.

Trixie, who was still celebrating, froze when she saw Goldroar advancing. It was like watching a giant boulder roll toward her. Although her body was free from restraints, she did not move. Her limbs were too tired, all her magic was gone, and her will to fight had completely withered under the shadow of the terrible creature that was Goldroar.

Everything had gone wrong. What else could she do?

Goldroar finally arrived where she was. His imposing figure loomed like a steel wall about to collapse on her.

"Fine! ... If you're going to eat me, just do it!" Trixie shouted, maintaining a defiant stance. Though at that moment, a flicker of oddness seemed to cross the manticore's eyes, Trixie chose to ignore it and closed her eyes firmly.

"I'm sorry, Starlight... here ends our friendship," Trixie murmured to herself, her last words directed to her friend, resonating in the tension-filled silence.

There, waiting for her end, Trixie waited...

And waited...

Several minutes passed, but nothing happened. Finally, Trixie cautiously opened her eyes.

Goldroar was not there.

Confused, Trixie scanned her surroundings nervously. It was then that she saw Goldroar exiting through the castle door. How had he returned so quickly? And more surprisingly, his appearance had completely changed; he had abandoned his imposing armor to wear a straw hat and a T-shirt, even sporting sunglasses. He looked ready for a vacation.

Indeed, Goldroar was leaving. He hurriedly closed the castle doors and walked down the main path, but not before crossing paths with Trixie again, to whom he bowed his head in an enigmatic gesture.

After a few minutes, his large silhouette disappeared over the hill.

Stunned, Trixie could not comprehend what had just happened.

The unknown presence knew. This was the moment he had waited for all morning.

Royalinda, hidden among the bushes, finally saw her opportunity. Leaping from the shrubs behind Trixie, she pounced like a sprung trap toward the pony's unprotected head. Every millisecond of that jump was a moment of satisfaction as she saw her unsuspecting prey oblivious to the impending threat. Waiting had been sheer torture for her, but it was about to end—Trixie was already hers...

However, just centimeters away from reaching her target, something happened. The world around her seemed to spin and become translucent. In an instant, the air seemed to compress around her. Dismayed, Royalinda tried to change her trajectory, but her gelatinous body collided with invisible walls.

Her body began to spin uncontrollably until it finally stopped. With her senses still reeling, Royalinda heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to her.

"Gotcha!"

Several minutes had passed, and Trixie was still watching the hill where Goldroar had disappeared. It was then that she noticed the voice behind her. She turned around, though the astonishment on her face had not yet faded. She was surprised again to see the 'unfamiliar presence' that had been observing everything that had happened in front of the castle that morning.

There, next to her trailer, was Derpy Hooves holding a jar in her hooves. She was wearing a black leather jacket with the initials 'LESSON' on its sides.

"Gotcha! Gotcha! Gotcha! Gotcha!" the pegasus repeated joyfully, celebrating the capture she had made a moment earlier.

Inside the jar she held, an orchid-octopus thrashed furiously, spitting bubbles of rage.

Watching this spectacle and not noticing the magical barrier of the castle reactivating behind her, Trixie still couldn't understand anything.

[12:50 pm]

Goldroar, the manticore, hurried along the path that crossed the hill. It was unusual to see him so rushed, considering how calmly he usually took the journey home after work.

As he walked, a thought lingered in his mind: "How could I have forgotten?" The fight he had just had had distracted him too much. Although fulfilling his duty excited him greatly, today was a holiday; leaving work at noon was the norm, and instead, he had been delayed by having to deal with that pony.

Returning to that point... was it okay to leave the pony like that, just like that?

Goldroar shook his mane a bit, letting go of that thought. It no longer mattered. Matters outside working hours were not his responsibility. What was important was that he was on his way to his wife's house; he wouldn't take long to arrive.

He was in a hurry, and for a good reason—a delicious surprise was waiting for him. He knew this because he had caught his wife bringing in a substantial prey the previous night. From the smell he had detected in the middle of the night, he deduced it was a "spin-rabbit," a true delicacy among manticores. Adding to this his wife's habits, he was sure the afternoon lunch would be something memorable.

The fact that she had hidden it so carefully was proof that she loved him. She was so affectionate... and also a bit wild. But this latter trait made her even more special to him.

"Special?" A new thought paused Goldroar's steps for a moment. He had just realized something obvious. This day was the longest day of the year. This day was a special day.

Could it be that the night would bring more surprises...?

Goldroar licked his teeth at the thought.

With a renewed pace, he walked along the path until he crossed the bridge. He paid no attention to the body of the old pony floating downstream nor to the danger signs warning against orchid-octopuses on the other bank. Just like that, he entered the Everfree Forest.

Thargodal and Fathungry - Act I

Beneath the snow-capped peaks that caress a clear sky, the majestic figure of a bird emerges amidst the dense clouds surrounding them. It is a colossal creature, with wings so vast they resemble the outstretched arms of a giant; when it beats them, it rends the clouds and scatters them in whirlwinds that disappear into the white horizon.

Despite its gigantic size, impossible for any other bird, the shapes of its talons and beak reveal its true identity. It is an eagle. It is Londrinel, silver-breasted, messenger of the giant eagles, returning from a mission.

Soaring over glaciers and snow-covered mountains, Londrinel continues his flight over a sea of clouds, a realm of whiteness and stillness. Flying straight ahead, he glimpses in the distance some bluish and purple rocky peaks that jut out like castles floating in the sky. It is then that Londrinel changes his flight; his wing beats become more measured as he ascends even higher above the clouds, marking his figure against a perfect blue sky.

Within minutes, Londrinel stops his ascent and dives toward the peaks that few mortals have ever reached. These unique rock formations are known as the Amethyst Range, home of the giant eagles and, of course, Londrinel himself.

Ignoring the gazes of his eagle brethren who watch from the colossal granite towers, Londrinel continues his descent towards the base of the largest tower, spreading his enormous wings to catch the air around him. He slows his fall until he finally lands on a vast rocky bay at the foot of the great tower.

Londrinel ends his flight and is greeted by other eagles like himself, maintaining a respectful distance and being watched by the sharp eyes of the guards. After a brief inspection, they open the way, and Londrinel continues on, hopping up the steps of the long spiral staircase that encircles the great granite tower.

In a hurry, Londrinel follows his route without flying. An unusual behavior for those powerful birds that rule the skies. Nevertheless, Londrinel does not feel ashamed of walking; on the contrary, with each step he takes, his respect for this place increases. This great tower is sacred to all eagles, a place that only one of them can reach by flying. It is this great eagle that Londrinel seeks to present himself to.

Finally, the steps of the staircase end, and a vast space opens before him. It is the peak of peaks, the highest summit in the entire Amethyst Range, the highest point on the continent. The ground is as white as snow, without any decorations or rocks serving as seats. Everything is perfectly flat, as if a sword had sliced through the rock itself. This is the celestial roof, the "white nest," the throne of the ruler of these peaks.

Before Londrinel’s sharp gaze stands the king of the eagles. There is Thargodal. Barely noticing his imposing silhouette, Londrinel rushes toward his king and bows his head until his beak touches the ground, showing his respect to his ruler.

However, Thargodal, who had been gazing at the horizon, does not turn to look at him. Only a whistle, alien to the wind, whispers in response. Londrinel understands this signal and immediately reports on his mission. In a language incomprehensible to any creature other than an eagle, Londrinel informs his king of everything he has seen on his journey. He has flown over valleys and beaches, cities and towns, rivers and deserts. He has flown across the entire continent, yet has not found what his king asked him to find.

There is no trace of darkness in the land. Of course, there are individuals causing conflicts and unnamed creatures lurking in the unexplored forests, but none of these presences are unknown to the eagles; they see everything. Always vigilant, the eagles are the guardians of peace on the continent.

King Thargodal knows this, for it is his will. So, Londrinel wonders: Why did his king ask him for something like this? Thargodal, being the most exceptional among his kind, whose sight is so profound it can pierce clouds and rocks. It is even said that he can see the future. The king himself, from his white throne, should be able to see everything. But to Londrinel’s doubts, there is no answer. His king remains silent.

Thargodal does not focus on his subject but on the distant horizon. A fear grows in his heart. Born from a recurring dream, a dark vision disturbs the monarch's peace. Thargodal, who has lived longer than any of his subjects, senses the approaching darkness, perceives the danger, but hidden in shadows, he cannot see the complete image of the threat.

Days pass, and the distant vision becomes more unsettling, clearer. Thargodal feels his time is running out. The noon of the longest day had arrived, and it was today. The image was almost complete. Yet, despite Thargodal's exhaustive vigilance, no sign of danger had manifested on the land. He feared the worst: that the impending disaster was inevitable.

Thargodal loved peace, loved the peace of his people more than anything. He was willing to do anything to protect them. However, he could not alarm his subjects without reason. Fear should not rule his people, but order. Thus, as Thargodal kept his back to Londrinel, these deliberations took place within him.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. In response to the king’s thoughts, a call echoed through the sky. It spread like lightning and was heard by all the eagles. It came from the distant surface and ascended to Thargodal’s white throne. Londrinel heard it and raised his head, confused. King Thargodal also heard it and immediately fixed his gaze in the direction of the call’s origin. The king's gaze pierced through clouds, mountains, and more material obstacles, wandering across the continent until it reached the distant land ruled by ponies. There, he observed the small creature making the call, saw what had happened, was happening, and could happen in that place. Then, Thargodal knew what he had to do next.

He spread his wings and let out a powerful cry from his throne. Londrinel was taken aback by this sudden change, but his astonishment did not last long. His king turned and looked at him sternly, without any trace of doubt, crowned by the dew of starlight and the brilliance of noon, Thargodal spoke to him.

The new orders that came to him were clear and undeniable. "All eagles must gather immediately. Midnight is approaching..."

In the surroundings of Twilight's castle...

Sunburst trotted slowly along the path, with papers floating around him as he carefully reviewed the school budget plans for the new academic period.

"...if we reduce the number of school trips in the first quarter and focus on localized social works in a single city, we may be able to save enough funds to finance the expenses for repairs in the bio-garden. On the other hand, we could request a loan from the city council, but the interest rate is too high when it comes to repairs. If it were a completely new construction, we could get a payment plan for up to 10 years..."

There was no one accompanying Sunburst, so he found himself "conversing" alone, as was customary for those who knew him. However, his ability to read multiple documents without averting his gaze, while in motion, was astonishing.

The carefree unicorn continued his walk along the path. He was heading to meet Starlight, as he had a meeting with her in the afternoon. Although these meetings outside of school usually dealt with everyday matters, this time it would have to touch on "very serious academic matters," such as the "terrible fact" that the order of the annexes of the school budget for the next period did not match the index of the printed document, or the "puzzling case" that the funding proposals had much less detailed graphs than expected.

These findings had worried Sunburst, who constantly reviewed Starlight's work. If Twilight were here, she would surely firmly support that conviction. Although, considering how festive the day was, it might be deemed untimely...

"...perhaps I should ask Starlight to review the school budget again tomorrow. I don't think it's right like this..."

Sunburst stopped halfway through his musings. His ability to walk while reading alerted him to an obstacle ahead.

As he looked up, he found something "unexpected." A little further ahead was the castle, protected by the magical barrier in case of attack. Outside the barrier was Trixie's trailer and a gray-coated pegasus.

Puzzled by what might be happening, Sunburst quickened his pace.

"What's happening?" Sunburst asked as he approached the trailer.

The pegasus, who until that moment seemed to be happily humming some song, quickly turned around.

"Oh, Mr. Sunburst, what a pleasure to see you! Don't worry, everything is under control now. The last orchid-octopus in Ponyville has already been captured and completely isolated," replied Derpy Hooves with her familiar carefree tone and absent-minded gaze.

"An orchid-octopus? Here!" Sunburst responded, alarmed.

"Yes, right here!" replied Derpy proudly, showing the large jar directly in Sunburst's face.

Horror greeted him. A fierce orchid-octopus charged against the glass wall of the jar where it was imprisoned. Although it didn't break it, the impression of this act, being so close to Sunburst, made the unicorn let out a choked cry and fall backward, startled.

"No, no, calm down. You don't have to be afraid. Ponies are your friends. We're going to take you and the others to a new and wonderful home..." whispered Derpy to the imprisoned orchid-octopus. A moment later, she began to sway the jar in her arms and hum a lullaby.

Observing this unsettling scene, Sunburst got up from the ground still shivering down his spine. He was beginning to have an idea of what had happened, but... Why was Trixie's trailer parked there?

Before he could formulate a new question to the distracted pegasus, a strange noise caught his attention not far from him.

Just a few steps away was a strange blue lump also swaying. He hadn't noticed it before because he thought it was a garbage bag from how dirty it looked. But now that he had it closer, he began to notice that it had the shape of an animal... or rather that of a pony.

Perhaps drawn by the fascination of danger, Sunburst moved toward the mysterious lump. The closer he got, the more he began to sense that he was approaching something very dangerous.

"That can't be happening... That can't be happening... That can't be happening..." murmured the voice coming from the lump.

Sunburst froze upon recognizing the voice of the pony whispering. He didn't believe it could be her given her appearance, but his senses weren't deceiving him. Aware of the potential danger, he began to step back, trying not to draw attention.

But it wasn't soon enough. One of the pony's ears twitched, alerting her to Sunburst's presence.

A startled Sunburst watched as Trixie's head slowly turned towards him, with eyes so wide it hurt just to see them. Trixie immediately recognized Sunburst.

"SUNBURST!" Trixie yelled in a shriek before quickly rushing towards him. "Dear friend, how glad I am to see you here! Have I mentioned how much Starlight values you? I value you too. You're a very intelligent pony! And that's why I was wondering... Do you know how to destroy the castle's magical barrier?"

Sunburst didn't know what to respond. Trixie had approached him and asked him with a sweetened tone of voice and a flirtatious attitude. However, this contrasted with her downtrodden figure: with dark circles under her eyes, her mane in a mess, and a breath smelling of fermented cider emanating from her.

"Uhmm, Trixie, it's unexpected to have you here... but, uh..." Sunburst responded haltingly, trying to avert his gaze from Trixie. The unicorn had an unsettling ear-to-ear smile. "...I think it's simply impossible to break the barrier because..."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Trixie exploded furiously in a scream, making Sunburst jump back in shock. "DON'T TELL ME IT'S IMPOSSIBLE, I JUST SAW IT A WHILE AGO!"

"Saw it? Wait... you're saying you saw how the magical barrier was destroyed?" Sunburst asked, surprised.

"NO, I JUST SAW IT, I WAS THE ONE WHO ORDERED IT, IT WAS MY ILLUSIONS THAT BROKE THE BARRIER! AND EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE UNTIL THAT DEMONIC MANTICORE APPEARED AND RUINED EVERYTHING... I was so close to entering the castle..." Trixie's voice started to break, and tears began to stream from her eyes; it seemed like she was no longer speaking to him.

Sunburst didn't understand anything Trixie was saying. Seeking help, he looked at the other pony who was there.

"Hooo, hooo, I saw everything, the manticore started dancing with her, it was very funny!" Derpy laughed, stretching her wings.

Sunburst was now more confused than before.

"Uhhmm, Trixie, I'm really not sure what's going on here... maybe you should calm down a bit first and tell me..."

"CALM DOWN?! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?" Trixie exploded. "STARLIGHT IS IN THERE ABOUT TO MAKE THE WORST DECISION OF HER LIFE BECAUSE OF ME, AND YOU ASK ME TO CALM DOWN!"

Sunburst, again confused, turned his gaze back to Derpy, but this time the pegasus just shrugged.

Noticing Sunburst's confusion, Trixie's expression suddenly turned more bitter.

"HOOO, I SEE, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, YOU THINK TRIXIE IS MAKING UP EVERYTHING SHE SAYS, RIGHT?" the unicorn continued, now with a rage-filled gaze. "SO THIS IS WHAT YOU REALLY THINK OF ME, SUNBURST, WELL! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE CAN SAVE HER BEST FRIEND ON HER OWN!"

With fury, Trixie retreated to her trailer, while a loud crash was heard from inside, followed by objects flying through the air.

Sunburst, still shaken by Trixie's state, began to distance himself further from the trailer. For a moment, he thought about going back home, but he stopped. He couldn't leave things as they were, besides, he didn't know what could be happening inside the castle for Starlight not to have noticed what was going on outside.

"How long has the barrier been active?" Sunburst asked the pegasus who was playing with her jar, sitting next to the magical barrier.

"Ummm, I think it's been about 5 minutes..." Derpy responded, somewhat pensive.

"5 minutes?!"

"Or it could have been 50... I'm not really sure, it went off and then turned on again a little while ago, just after the manticore went on vacation and before Miss Trixie got so sad."

Sunburst didn't know how to respond to that last part. He definitely had to go in and find out what the heck was going on in there.

Determined, Sunburst pulled out a crystal from his cloak. The crystal flickered for a moment and magic enveloped his body; the hue of the magic was the same as the barrier protecting the castle.

Without problems, Sunburst passed through the barrier.

"Ho ho, Mr. Sunburst, may I accompany you? 'Bun-Bun' seems a bit dehydrated."

"Hee, 'Bun-Bun'?" Sunburst asked.

"Yes, 'Bun-Bun'!" exclaimed Derpy cheerfully, showing her jar again.

Inside the jar, 'Bun-Bun' (Royalinda the orchid-octopus) had stopped moving, curled up into a ball, and now looked like a dried-up flower.

"Oh, right... you're correct, we need to do something about her," Sunburst responded, distracted. He had too much on his mind and hadn't thought about being accompanied by Derpy. But if she was allowing him passage, shouldn't he do the same for Trixie, despite her condition?

Sunburst hesitated for a moment.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Sunburst?"

"Hee, it's nothing. Let's go!" Sunburst replied, enveloping Derpy in his magic as well. Together they passed through the barrier and headed towards the castle.

Already on the steps, Sunburst cast one last glance at Trixie's trailer. The commotion inside hadn't changed. Thus, without thinking any further, he opened the doors and entered Twilight's castle.

"VICE HEADMASTER SUNBURST!" echoed a chorus of voices in unison.

Barely had Sunburst closed the castle doors when he was greeted by the Young Six, who quickly surrounded the vice headmaster. A mix of anxiety and relief could be seen in all their eyes.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" Sunburst exclaimed, surprised to see them.

"IT WASN'T OUR FAULT, VICE HEADMASTER SUNBURST! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GUARDING THE CASTLE! THE PRINCIPAL ASKED US TO! COUNSELOR TRIXIE IS CRAZY! THE SECURITY SYSTEM IS A MESS! DID YOU SEE THE T-SHIRT THE MANTICORE WAS WEARING?" The voices of the Young Six overlapped, making it difficult to understand what they were saying. Soon, Sunburst began to feel overwhelmed by all the commotion.

"GUYS!" Sunburst shouted, releasing the pressure on him.

Immediately, the Young Six stepped back and fell silent, except for Silverstream, who kept talking about the manticore's fashion. However, she also fell silent after Smolder caught her attention.

Instinctively, they all turned their eyes to Ocellus, who stepped forward.

"I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that we deeply regret everything that happened this morning. It really wasn't our intention for things to turn out this way," said Ocellus, her voice tired.

Sunburst was still lost, so he simply asked the obvious question.

"And what happened this morning, Ocellus?"

"Well... it's a somewhat complicated story..." Ocellus replied, hesitating. Behind her, her companions nodded with a similar expression to hers.

"Alright, if that's the case then..." Sunburst began to say, but was interrupted.

Beside him, Derpy had tugged on his cloak, catching his attention.

"Mr. Sunburst, 'Bun-Bun' isn't feeling well," Derpy said, looking worriedly at the jar where Royalinda was. The orchid-octopus's condition had worsened, looking even more withered than before, almost resembling a dried-up nut.

"Ahh... I think it's best if we go somewhere else to talk about this in more detail. But first... Where's Starlight?" Sunburst asked the Young Six, now with a serious look.

"She's in a meeting with Chancellor Neighsay," Gallus immediately responded.

"Now?" Sunburst asked, puzzled.

"Her meeting started a few hours ago, it should be ending by now," Ocellus recalled.

"I don't remember Starlight having a meeting scheduled with Chancellor Neighsay for today..." Sunburst questioned, trying to remember.

"The principal said the meeting had come up recently. And that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE should bother her until it's over..." Smolder recalled aloud the words Starlight had told them that morning.

Sunburst, pensive, felt very puzzled. It wasn't common for Starlight to be so exclusive in her meetings, nor for them to be so long, except for a few exceptions... But what worried him the most was that what the Young Six were saying matched what Trixie had said a moment ago. Was she the reason for the meeting with the Chancellor? Why didn't Starlight send him a letter to inform him of the emergency?

Sunburst, more than ever, needed to know what had happened.

"Let's go to the conference room. And tell me everything without omitting a detail," Sunburst ordered, very serious.

"Interesting..."

Trapped in her glass jar, Royalinda listened attentively to the heated discussion Sunburst was having with the Young Six. Many of the things being said were facts she already knew, events that had occurred that morning. However, there were details in the conversation that were unfamiliar and deeply intriguing to her.

Of course, Royalinda wasn't the only one puzzled by these developments...

"Ohhh..." murmured the pegasus with a absent-minded expression, holding the jar carefully. Her name was Derpy, and moments before, despite the others' complaints, she had given water and food. Royalinda didn't care about that; she considered the kindness of ponies her greatest flaw and the cause of their eventual downfall.

Nevertheless, she mentally noted the pegasus's name. That pony would suffer less than the others...

Royalinda hadn't abandoned her plans for absolute domination. Her main goal remained firm in her mind.

"Trixie..." Royalinda mentally murmured.

That was the name everyone in the meeting was mentioning. Many questions revolved around it, questions whose answers were obvious to the cunning Royalinda. However, there were other issues that she herself couldn't answer.

How was it possible that, despite everything that had happened that morning, the owner of the castle hadn't reacted at all? Furthermore, early in the morning, she had sensed suspicious activity in the castle. Could it be related to what was happening now with the ponies?

Royalinda pondered, intrigued by these mysteries. Furthermore, she thought about Starlight, the pony for whom Trixie was willing to do anything...

"Brrrr..." a murmuring whisper escaped from the jar held by Derpy. Royalinda's jealousy bubbled up like bursts of rage from her mouth.

Royalinda already knew it, but now she was more certain: if she wanted Trixie to suffer, Starlight would be the first on her list.

Crafting a new plan, Royalinda, from her jar, watched her next victim closely.

Shortly after, in front of Twilight's castle...

"Glu, glu, glu... Ahhhhh," Trixie exhaled with relief after finishing drinking one of her mysterious red potions. Once again, the corrupting power of those potions filled her, restoring her and making her magic flow again.

Satisfied, the unicorn tossed the glass bottle aside and grabbed others from the enchanted chest that generated them.

"Two, three, or four will do... That should be enough, Trixie. This time everything will be different! Ha, ha, ha!" exclaimed Trixie, speaking to herself and laughing with a mix of enthusiasm and recklessness that would hardly bring peace to anyone who saw her.

That was precisely what the Young Six felt as they watched her from a balcony.

"Well? How did it go?" Smolder asked, joining them after flying from inside the castle.

"Ocellus tried to apologize to her, but the counselor responded in a not very friendly tone," Gallus replied, moving his claws to emphasize the sarcasm.

Indeed, that had happened, but saying just that was an understatement, given the harsh tone with which Trixie had responded to Ocellus's apologies. Now the changeling looked very serious, observing the counselor.

"Wow..." Smolder responded, scratching the back of her head. "So... What else do you think we should do?"

"Nothing, I guess we wait. Now that Vice Headmaster Sunburst is here, he'll take care of everything. Did you leave that monster in the freezer?" Gallus asked, changing the subject and adopting a more serious tone when referring to Royalinda.

"Yes, along with the headmistress's oat ice cream. I don't understand what the Vice Headmaster was thinking bringing that thing here."

"Dissect it, I hope. I wouldn't want to see another panic attack from Sandbar. Is he better?"

"Yes, Yona and Silverstream stayed to look after him in the infirmary. That and the Vice Headmaster went to..."

"Guys, what is that the counselor has?" Ocellus interrupted, pointing into the distance where Trixie was lifting her chest of potions and returning it to her trailer.

"The counselor's private collection of apple cider?" Gallus joked.

"It's no joke, Gallus. That chest looked very suspicious, and definitely what the counselor just drank wasn't cider," Ocellus said seriously. "It seemed to be a chest of... arcane potions."

Gallus and Smolder looked at each other, confused.

"We don't understand much about those things, Ocellus. Are you saying the counselor is drinking something illegal?" Smolder asked, puzzled.

"Not illegal, arcane! Well, maybe it is something illegal, given the color of the potion... I really don't understand what the counselor is up to, but it's not good," Ocellus replied, turning her gaze back to the distant Trixie.

"That's not the only 'not good' thing she's done..." Gallus muttered, annoyed.

The light flickered over the castle, catching the attention of the Young Six, who couldn't help but look up. The magical barrier that had protected Twilight's castle until then was giving its last flashes, deactivated by Trixie's previous efforts and reactivated when the security system restarted. Now, the barrier had only minutes of operation left before it shut down for the last time.

Of course, this was what Ocellus had tried to tell Trixie a little while ago without any success.

The barrier continued to flicker for a few more seconds before stabilizing again.

Down below, outside the barrier, Trixie didn't notice at all that singular opportunity; she was too focused on rummaging through the boxes in her trailer.

"HAH, HERE IT IS!" exclaimed Trixie in a burst of euphoria.

From the balcony, the Young Six looked down. There was Trixie, who had just emerged from her trailer with an object difficult to describe. It resembled a large trombone; however, its rudimentary shape and the strange feathers adorning it made it seem more like a lost piece from a museum or an extravagant stuffed bird.

Trixie, with that unusual instrument around her neck, smiled, radiant with excitement. It was evident that she was determined to use it.

"NOW EVERYONE SHALL KNOW THE WRATH OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" proclaimed the unicorn, raising her hooves defiantly towards the sky. She then played that unknown instrument.

"HUUUMMMMMMMM..."

A sound akin to a cow's moo echoed throughout the area. Long and drawn-out, the moo swept across the plain and could be heard all the way to Ponyville and beyond. It continued, silencing any other noise until it finally faded away, rising to the highest reaches of the sky.

The Young Six, overwhelmed by that sound, unconsciously covered their ears. They didn't know what to expect from Trixie's unpredictable actions. Expectantly, they waited for any sign of danger that might fall upon them. But...

Nothing happened.

"SOON THE GREAT EAGLES SHALL ARRIVE, AND YOU ALL WILL REGRET CROSSING MY PATH!" Trixie shouted to the Young Six, with her upper limbs outstretched towards the sky, fully convinced of the imminent arrival of those powerful birds.

After hearing that, Ocellus and the others looked at each other, puzzled, and searched the sky for any sign of the supposed eagles. But they found nothing except what seemed to be a flock of pigeons in the distance.

Several more minutes passed... and there were no eagles.

"ANY MOMENT NOW!" Trixie emphasized with a powerful voice, still maintaining her expectant stance. But at this point, only she believed in those words. The Young Six, on their part, no longer felt so concerned and just looked at Trixie with weariness.

So, five more minutes passed until...

Ocellus, relieved yet serious, finally decided to break the silence.

"Counselor Trixie, please, do not strain yourself anymore! Director Starlight surely finished her meeting and will meet with you shortly!"

Of course, Trixie didn't respond to Ocellus's message; she remained still and smiling, looking at the sky in anticipation of the extraordinary event. Stiff, she continued waiting under the midday sun.

"Perhaps the heat has gotten to her a bit..." Gallus murmured to Smolder, rotating his claw by his head in a mocking gesture, which made Smolder chuckle softly. Ocellus, however, remained firm, watching closely...

After a long wait and without any warning, Trixie tossed aside the large instrument she had played and, without saying anything, began to kick wildly at the air as if seeking to punish it. In another context, anyone would think that this unicorn was performing a vigorous dance, but it was quite the opposite: this was a display of pure frustration and anger accumulated throughout that fateful morning.

Trixie continued for a long while releasing her stress, and it didn't end there. After that spectacle, she threw herself to the ground and began to roll around on it, apparently in an effort to also punish the earth itself with her body.

Watching that pitiful scene from the balcony, Ocellus remained silent. Even Gallus and Smolder, who were laughing at first, also fell silent.

It wasn't funny, it was sad.

Amidst that deplorable spectacle, the magical barrier finally gave way and vanished definitively. However, at that point, it no longer mattered.

Ocellus sighed wearily.

"Well... we'd better go down and open the door for her... I hope that calms her down a bit."

Smolder and Gallus nodded wordlessly, feeling less than enthusiastic about that idea.

Inside the castle, in the kitchen freezer, a glass jar placed next to a stack of oatmeal ice cream cans was empty.

Not far away, a trail of melted water ran across the floor until it reached the partially open door of the room.

Lying by the side of the road leading to Twilight's castle, the Eagle Call Horn lay on the ground. This magical artifact was believed to have the power to summon eagles from the sky and put them under the control of whoever touched it.

Precisely with that goal in mind, it had been recently used, and the results of that attempt had led it to end up where it was now.

Not far from the Eagle Call Horn, Trixie lay on the ground, rolling in her own anger and misery, caused by all the misfortunes that had befallen her so far. She cursed the elements, cursed her luck, and even cursed her own magic. Truly great was the frustration she was feeling.

From the castle balcony, Ocellus, Gallus, and Smolder watched this scene with pity. They didn't need to ask what had happened; it was evident that another attempt by their guidance counselor to enter the Friendship Castle had failed.

A completely useless and unnecessary effort.

Preparing to descend and open the castle gates, Gallus spoke to his friends, "With an attitude like that, the wind will never be in that pony's favor," the young griffon pronounced, disapproving of Trixie's childish tantrum.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Look!" Smolder exclaimed in alarm, pointing to the sky.

As they lifted their gaze, Gallus and Ocellus witnessed something unheard of. What minutes ago seemed to be just a flock of pigeons flying on the horizon was now a breathtaking sight that darkened the sky. Arriving in waves, dozens of silhouettes of gigantic birds projected among the clouds like planes heading towards their target.

Soon, the silhouettes took on a new formation and began to circle the Friendship Castle from the sky in an unsettling spiral that grew with each moment.

Then, suddenly, a sharp battle cry pierced the air. Both those in the sky and those on the ground witnessing the spectacle were shaken by that call. Rabbits, birds, insects, all with eyes and ears, quickly took cover in their burrows or shelters. No one in their right mind would stay to witness the arrival of the terrible wrath that was descending from above.

One by one, the figures of the gigantic birds emerged from the clouds, descending in an unstoppable stream.

Gallus, who couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, stammered, "Are they...?"

"The eagles are coming. The eagles are coming!" Smolder shouted in panic.

"But they're not ..." Ocellus tried to respond, but her companions immediately took her and led her inside the castle.

Outside, Trixie, who was not oblivious to what was happening around her, just sat and watched the fearful parade approaching her.

She had been scared at first, but it was only for a brief moment; now she was completely filled with all the joy and happiness that could fit in her. All the frustration and anger she had felt until recently were left behind.

Excited, she stood up fearlessly. For she knew the truth. She was the reason for the arrival of those powerful creatures. She had called them with her powerful amulet. Only she could respond to this turn of events with a triumphant smile.

"Yes! Yes! COME TO ME, MIGHTY GUARDIANS OF THE MOUNTAINS. BLESSED BE THE WIND THAT HAS BROUGHT YOU TO ME. COME AND BOW BEFORE YOUR MISTRESS, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" with these words, Trixie neighed euphorically towards the sky, welcoming the gigantic eagles and blessing the wind she had cursed not long ago.

In response to that greeting, the first and largest of all the eagles descended directly before the pony who had summoned them. Like a house falling from the sky, the enormous figure of the bird stepped onto the ground with a thunderous noise that sent Trixie herself flying through the air.

But the latter didn't matter to her in the least. She was even more excited. Without wasting a second, Trixie ran towards the newcomer and gave a warm hug to the sturdy leg of the bird. She hugged it as if it were her own child. Yes, that's right, he was her son. The fruit of her talent and skill.

That's what the proud unicorn thought, convinced that she had in her hooves Thargodal, the king of the giant eagles of the amethyst ranges that surrounded Equestria to the east. The fame of the powerful eagle monarch was great, known from the northern land of the Yaks to the scorching deserts in the south.

Legends and songs were made in honor of Thargodal. Trixie had heard them all. About how the mighty eagle had fought against evil dragons and hunted terrible beasts that plagued the seas.

Trixie could only idolize that leg, wondering how envious the other ponies would be when they found out how close they had been to that living legend.

She almost felt tempted to kiss that majestic limb, but she didn't. She didn't want to offend him.

"Uhmm... wow, for being the most powerful of all the birds in Equestria, you have a lot of calluses on your feet... and your claws are also very neglected, you should visit a podiatrist. But don't worry, I like everything about you. When one is as powerful as you, you don't need to look beautiful to be special..." Trixie affectionately spoke, cuddling up against Thargodal's leg, paying no attention to the rest of the eagles that had already descended.

"...you know, I always wanted to meet you since I was a filly. All those stories about you, I think you're someone very special, who knows a lot about the world... uhmm, I don't want to sound weird, but... do you think I'm special too?" Trixie suddenly asked, raising her gaze, moved. There was an innocent light in her eyes begging for her idol's response. This was an honest question that came from the depths of her little pony heart.

"CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK!" was the unexpected and contradictory response she received.

With her mind blank, Trixie was paralyzed by that improper response. Immediately, she took several steps back and scanned her surroundings.

All the euphoria and passion she had felt faded as quickly as the distress she had experienced before the arrival of the great birds surrounding her. Worse yet, that same distress returned to fill her, accompanied by a growing sense of betrayal.

"You... you... YOU'RE NOT THARGODAL!" Trixie screamed, almost on the verge of tears, her heart broken by the deception.

She had been so naive.

Before her and around her were not the honorable and majestic eagles of the Amethyst Mountains.

Instead, she was facing a flock of black, fleshless birds, resembling vultures but with fierce and predatory looks.

These huge birds had gray and bulging breasts, where protruding fleshy warts of their necks stood out. Their reddish heads were strongly marked by deep blue eye bags and black eyebrows. Their long beaks, sharp as claws, had a sickly yellow color. They were beasts with a truly unhealthy and greedy appearance.

Then, Trixie discovered with horror all the dirt and dust that had stuck to her coat when she hugged the huge leg of the shameless bird in front of her. In a panic, she threw herself onto the green grass and began to roll in an attempt to rid herself of all that filth.

The huge bird emitted a mocking cackle.

After a while, Trixie stood up again. She wasn't cleaner, but her dismay was gone.

Now, she was furious.

"You, you overfed bird, who the heck are you?! Who are all of you?!" Trixie yelled angrily at the birds surrounding her, a mocking look was the response from the beast in front of her.

Then a voice reached her from behind.

"COUNSELOR TRIXIE, RUN! THEY'RE TURKEY-HAWKS! THAT'S FATHUNGRY!"

Trixie turned and paid attention to the castle doors. There stood Gallus, shouting at the top of his lungs while gesturing, alongside his companions, for her to enter.

"Fathungry?" Trixie replied to herself, confused.

Unfortunately, for the grand and powerful Trixie, that was true.

Trixie hadn't summoned Thargodal, lord of the winds and leader of the majestic giant eagles.

Trixie had summoned Fathungry, scourge of crops and ringleader of the infamous giant turkey-hawks.

The turkey-hawks were opportunistic and predatory birds with migratory habits between the north and south of that world, capable of crossing oceans in their long flights and always leaving behind a trail of devastation, similar to that of locusts. They were considered a living natural disaster for all farmers. Although their normal diet consisted of vegetables, they often preferred livelier food.

Yes, turkey-hawks fed on ponies, and unlike other predators, they didn't need an excuse to do so.

The terrible Fathungry watched the defenseless Trixie with the same amusement a farm bird would have when seeing a worm on the ground.

"What are you looking at?!" Trixie responded displeased to that gaze.

Then, Fathungry's enormous neck stretched out, and in a swift movement, it whipped like a whip, swiftly the giant bird's beak descended straight towards Trixie.

With a shriek, the unicorn could barely react, narrowly dodging the impact where Fathungry's peck landed; the ground splattered along with the grass, as if a meteor had just fallen right there.

Dismayed, Trixie watched as Fathungry's head, covered in dust and dirt, still regarded her with that greedy gaze.

Trixie had never heard of Fathungry, but she knew what kind of scoundrels the turkey-hawks were.

She wouldn't stand idly by.

So, surprising Fathungry, Trixie stood up, facing the bird. Her pride as a great sorceress and defender of Equestria compelled her to confront the beast.

Of course, this reckless and fanciful attitude was more a product of the effects of the red potion she had drunk moments ago...

"DARE YOU TO ATTACK THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! YOU SHALL FEEL MY WRATH!" waving her hooves in the air, Trixie shot a beam of magic straight at Fathungry's head.

The giant bird didn't dodge the attack. It took it head-on, and immediately a large cloud of dust rose.

Sure that she had intimidated the leader of the turkey-hawks, Trixie waved her cape in a proud pose. However, she soon noticed something unusual.

The dust cloud that had risen with her attack didn't dissipate; in fact, it was starting to take on a more solid and threatening form. The wind pushed the remaining dust, and an unexpected figure was revealed.

It was huge, a tent-shaped construction had appeared where Fathungry's injured body should be. Surprised, Trixie stepped back and intrigued, watched closely what could be that. Calling it just a 'tent' was an understatement; looking closely at its gloomy appearance, one noticed that it had the same color as the dust; its walls were full of gray and blurred patterns that blended with its surroundings, it also had extensions that rose like spikes on its sides, giving it a menacing appearance; perhaps one should think they were feathers instead.

Suddenly, the tent shook from its base.

One of the walls of the supposed tent stretched to the sky and took the shape of a wing.

"But what...?" Trixie babbled.

The other wall of the tent stretched and also took the form of another wing.

Finally, Trixie began to understand what that was.

The front part of the tent began to contract as if a worm were about to break through infected skin.

Then, like an explosion, the grotesque head of Fathungry emerged from that false shape it had taken.

"CLO! CLO! CLO! CLO!" mocked the leader of the turkey-hawks.

Horror-stricken, Trixie backed away even more.

Fathungry, now standing, rose proud and unscathed from Trixie's previous attack. He had some loose feathers, but that didn't matter.

What mattered was that he now knew the strength of that pony. He had been cautious in his previous attack, too delicate... however. Now the fun was assured.

The terrible Fathungry stretched his neck again, with his eyes aimed at Trixie; the unicorn could feel the danger transmitted by that gaze on her skin.

In less than a blink, Fathungry's beak descended upon Trixie at an impossible speed to dodge. Trixie, guided by her survival instincts, involuntarily raised a magical barrier around herself.

A flash of light exploded.

Trixie's head was hit by a blinding pain; Fathungry's attack didn't break her defense, but the pressure she felt was akin to having a Yak on top of her.

After the impact, Trixie staggered for a moment, but fortunately, her magical barrier didn't give way.

Fathungry found this fortunate too. He wanted to play more.

Disoriented, Trixie could barely see the second attack.

A claw hit Trixie's barrier head-on, sending her flying through the air. Fathungry, who had kicked her with his right paw, watched as Trixie, enclosed in her magic bubble, soared through the sky to the nearest hill.

"HAAAA HAAAAUUUUUU!" Trixie soared through the sky amidst a scream. Although powerful, Fathungry's second blow was much less damaging than the previous one, giving the unicorn time to recover. Still in the air, Trixie briefly thought about lowering the barrier and teleporting away from there. But when she lowered her head below her to see how close to the ground she was, her hopes of escape vanished.

A squadron of turkey-hawks awaited her.

Before she could think of anything else, a turkey-hawk leaped up, catching up with her mid-air.

Trixie groaned inside her barrier from the new impact. With a headbutt, the turkey-hawk sent her flying in a new direction towards the other hill.

On the other hill she was sent to, Trixie watched despairingly as another squadron of turkey-hawks awaited her.

Another wave of pain coursed through Trixie's head.

Then another... and another.

In the distance, Fathungry watched maliciously as Trixie was tortured, used as a football by his subordinates.

"CLO! CLO! CLO! CLO!" mocked the leader of the turkey-hawks again. All of this was very amusing to him.

A sudden rumble caught Fathungry's attention, making him turn his head immediately. Not far away, the group of turkey-hawks he had assigned to guard the castle doors seemed to have found something. He wasn't sure what it could be, but it was very likely that his subordinates had discovered more toys.

Fathungry let out another squawk, this time his mockery was accompanied by the voices of the other turkey-hawks.

Fathungry found all of this truly amusing.

That afternoon, the great clan of turkey-hawk raptors flew near the swamps of the Everfree Forest when they heard the call of the eagle-horn. It had been unexpected, and although they would normally avoid getting involved in situations involving eagles, their greatest rivals in the skies, they decided to answer the call. Fathungry, their leader, led that flight. He was somewhat tired of the monotony of the annual migration, and that unexpected call seemed to be the timely answer to the boredom that had been tormenting him.

Had he known that he would end up in front of the castle of a pony princess, he would have brought the rest of the flock to bring it down.

"Huuuuuuu Pur Pur," a deep lament pierced the meadow, interrupting Fathungry's fun. The leader of the turkey-hawks turned his gaze to where his subordinates were playing with Trixie.

The fun had come to an end.

Surrounded by the turkey-hawks, Trixie's body lay on the ground. Although she wasn't injured, she was almost unconscious. The stress of the continuous turkey-hawk attacks had drained her concentration and overwhelmed her resilience. Exhausted, she had dispelled her magical barrier and fallen prey to the large birds.

They could have eliminated her at that moment, but the turkey-hawks had received clear orders from Fathungry.

Trixie was their toy.

Caught in mid-fall by one of the turkey-hawks, Trixie was deposited on the ground. Not without first being stripped of all her clothes, which were now being chewed like gum by her captor.

Ignoring his subordinates and with the air typical of his species, Fathungry approached Trixie. Upon arrival, he examined her carefully with his gaze. It wasn't the look of someone concerned for their fellow being; far from it, it was the greedy gaze of a glutton evaluating a delicious meal, undecided whether to devour it in one bite or savor it piece by piece.

A morbid idea crossed Fathungry's mind. He had already decided what to do next.

Amidst a sepulchral silence, Fathungry's sharp beak descended towards Trixie, opening slowly in its descent, like the blades of scissors about to cut delicate paper.

But just as Fathungry's beak was about to reach Trixie's mane, it stopped.

"Pur, pur, pur," a shameful clucking began to be heard all around.

Annoyed, Fathungry raised his head and soon found the culprit.

One of his subordinates, the one who had stripped Trixie of her clothes, was chewing ecstatically on his loot.

Fathungry couldn't quite remember his name. Was it Drygut? That didn't matter. What mattered was that his subordinates shouldn't forget who was in charge. The great Fathungry commanded, and when Fathungry ate, NO ONE should interrupt him.

With a precise kick, Fathungry struck his subordinate's crop, punishing him for his insolence. The unfortunate turkey-hawk emitted a cry and fell to the ground fluttering pathetically, seeming not to even realize what had hit him.

Fathungry took a more arrogant stance and spread his wings, presenting himself to the others as a clear warning of what awaited those who dared defy him.

After strutting around before his subordinates, who kept bowing their heads and clucking servilely, Fathungry decided to return to Trixie to continue with his unfinished business.

However, he stopped halfway. Something else caught his attention.

Under his scaly feet, Trixie's cloak and hat lay scattered. The turkey-hawk that Fathungry had struck earlier had spat them out at that moment. But that wasn't what caught Fathungry's attention.

Bright red pearls were emerging from Trixie's clothes.

Intrigued, Fathungry lowered his head. Soon he discovered that they weren't red pearls, but magical items known as potions. Although artifacts like those had no value to his kind... something in the shimmer of those potions seemed to pique his curiosity.

Without much further thought, Fathungry pecked at one of the red potions and swallowed its contents.

In a blinding light of understanding, surrounded by his subjects, Fathungry's mind was engulfed in a whirlwind of indescribable emotion.

Thargodal and Fathungry - Act III

Stellar lights burst one after another, crushed by an undeniable darkness, fleeting existences materializing in a divine symphony of harmony and chaos.

Through this dreamlike plane, born from the slumbering consciousness of the world, a shooting star shone brightly. It was Trixie Lulamoon's final wish, piercing through unreality to reach a place and time destined to be.

A second chance...

A sour taste began to spread through her mouth.

It took Trixie quite a while to feel fully awake, but the sourness in her mouth was becoming very irritating.

"I need a glass of water..." the unicorn murmured lazily. Her vision was still blurry, but her sense of touch was already awake. Without trouble, she magically summoned a pitcher and a glass, which she immediately took...

The refreshing taste of water flowing down her throat was pure bliss. It felt so good that she drank the entire glass in one gulp. Then another, and another. Should drinking water feel this good? Sleepy, she didn’t give it much thought. She gargled a bit and spat the rest back into the glass. She’d clean it later...

"Ahhhh..." Trixie sighed in satisfaction, lying back down on the ground. She felt like going back to sleep; she’d had a lovely dream, and last night's party had exhausted her more than she’d anticipated. Sleeping in all morning seemed like a good plan...

She adjusted her blankets and, relaxed, prepared to continue her dream.

"Urrrrrr pur pur pur pur pur..."

Trixie's ears twitched. She had just heard a squawk. Uncomfortable, she curled up tighter in her blankets.

"Urrrrrr pur pur pur pur piu pur piu pur piu..."

The squawking hadn't stopped; on the contrary, it was growing louder. Annoyed, Trixie tried to bury her head under the pillow to block out the sound, but it was useless. The squawking grew louder by the moment, enough to push Trixie’s patience to its limit.

"Ahhhh! Can you be quiet already?! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?!" Trixie shouted angrily at the sky. She sat up from her bed just long enough to cast a furious glare at the large group of turkey-hawks surrounding her.

Startled, the turkey-hawks, who had been chattering among themselves, immediately fell silent under the harsh, indignant gaze of Trixie.

Now in silence and convinced the turkey-hawks wouldn’t make any more noise, Trixie huffed and continued her sweet slumber.

"…"

"Pur, pur, …"

"…"

"Pur, piu pur, …"

"…"

"Piu pur, pur, pur ..."

"…"

"Pur, pur, piu …"

"…"

The turkey-hawks were still whispering. Trixie could hear them. But under the blankets of her bed, the discomfort of those noises paled in comparison to the new feeling that was beginning to consume her from below...

"Ugh..." Trixie swallowed with difficulty.

She didn’t remember her bed being in the middle of a path, nor her blankets being made of giant feathers, nor her pillow being a sticky bag resembling green slime.

"Of course... of course..." she muttered, lost in thought, realizing where she was.

After saying these words, she tossed aside the feathered blankets and immediately got up from the sand bed she had been lying on.

She felt light, completely renewed. The dream she’d had had restored all that charisma and good humor that characterized her. She even seemed to feel stronger than usual.

"It’s already past noon, huh?... Ahhh, it can’t be helped. I suppose the now-recovered Trixie will have to grace the ponies with her presence at another 'Great Celebration of the Day of the Two Sisters'..." the unicorn declared, grumbling to herself.

Normally, Trixie would take advantage of holidays like this to make a fortune with her live performances in some plaza. But on this occasion, due to her journey, she hadn’t managed to secure a spot in any major performance in Canterlot or Ponyville.

So, Trixie settled for just celebrating with relaxation and rest, like any other pony that day...

"Oh well... Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu," she gave a long yawn and began to get ready. Her mane was sprawled on either side, not to mention the rest of her body, which was covered in several green slime stains. Weary, Trixie didn’t waste a second and, with her magic, began to fix her appearance.

A mane wash with her favorite lavender shampoo...

A bath with some cheap soap...

Turbo quick drying with her hairdryer...

A damp towel over her mane...

"Ahh," Trixie exclaimed as she soaked her hooves for a moment in a tub of Dawn-Shine Polish. It was a very expensive beauty product, but to her, that didn’t matter. The sensation it left on her hooves was magnificent, not to mention how shiny they looked after the five-minute treatment.

Distracted, Trixie gazed up at the sky and the white clouds lazily drifting across it, as she waited for the beauty material to take effect.

After the five minutes, she removed her hooves from the tub (which vanished with her magic). Satisfied with how well her hooves had turned out, she continued with the drying.

Towels flew, and a hairdryer danced back and forth.

Now dry, she summoned a cloak and hat, as iconic for her as always. She also summoned a large full-body mirror, and after dressing, began to pose, admiring her awesome figure in the glass.

She had to make sure she looked perfect. Looking bad in front of the public was the shame of outdoor performers like her.

Trixie waved her horn once more, and a burst of smoke enveloped her for a moment. When the smoke cleared, Trixie was still there, now carefully inspecting her coat. The mirror had been placed behind her.

"Well, Trixie, buying cheap soap was a terrible idea. No more charity from you to the street ponies from now on," the unicorn reaffirmed, stomping the ground and shaking her mane.

With that gesture, she mentally noted the detail and continued. "And now..."

Just a few meters away from her, completely surrounding her, a large number of fierce turkey-hawks were watching her.

And above them all, their ruler, Fathungry, gazed at her with a malicious look. His fleshless head rested on his wing, which had taken the shape of a fist, and his body was seated on a throne made of the shattered remains of the trees surrounding the castle.

Amused and intrigued... that was all Fathungry displayed with his arrogant, relaxed posture.

Trixie swallowed hard.

Since noticing the presence of the turkey-hawks around her, Trixie’s mind had been working at its limit to comprehend the situation she was in. Soon, the memories of everything that had happened that morning came back to her, though they felt distant and hazy...

("Alright... you summoned turkey-hawks... well done, Trixie! But why did you summon turkey-hawks?") the unicorn pondered to herself. She could not remember her actual dreams or the messages she had received in them.

Everything she had experienced in the real world that morning now felt like nothing more than a dream in her memory.

A very long and crazy dream...

("I should probably lay off the cider for a while...") Trixie thought to herself. Meanwhile, Fathungry stretched his neck and let out something that sounded like a yawn mixed with a burp.

In unison, amid cawing, all the other turkey-hawks shook their heads like waves in a black and red sea.

Trixie swallowed again. She still didn’t fully understand what had happened, but she realized the dangerous situation she was in.

She was at the mercy of an enormous and brutal flock of turkey-hawks, predatory beasts with a notorious reputation for swallowing ponies whole. They weren’t very intelligent, but they could undoubtedly finish her off in minutes, no matter how much resistance she put up.

And yet... why weren’t they attacking?

Furthermore...

Trixie glanced at the sand bed where she had been lying earlier and the feathers scattered around. How had she gotten there? Had the turkey-hawks done it? What was that repulsive green slime spread all over the ground?

It was incomprehensible. Even more incomprehensible was that she wasn’t scared to death like on other occasions. Instead, she felt calm and relaxed, as if she were watching a rerun of a movie. It was strange.

Trixie turned her head around. The castle was visible in the distance...

("Ok... that’s not good,") thought the unicorn, noticing that the castle was also surrounded by those birds, which were vandalizing its exterior. There was even a smaller one (probably a young turkey-hawk) on the castle’s roof, enthusiastically pecking at the Equestrian flag.

It was very concerning, but Trixie kept her composure, remembering that the Young Six were protecting the castle, and that Starlight was there.

Starlight... Starlight?

"Pur... pur..." Trixie’s thoughts were interrupted by a caw. She turned her gaze back to the turkey-hawks.

The atmosphere was growing tense. The turkey-hawks still maintained a faint silence, but they were becoming restless, as if they were waiting for something. Fathungry had returned to his previous position, though he looked more lethargic than before, making him seem even more dangerous.

To Trixie, it was clear that the situation couldn’t continue like this.

What were they expecting from her? No, that wasn’t the right question. Rather... what should she do?

Fleeing was the first thing that came to her mind. Using teleportation would be easy. But this thought was more of a reflex; she wasn’t really scared enough to just leave. She had too many questions in her head.

Besides, she had a hunch that it was a bad idea.

So Trixie started thinking of other options... Talking? It was stupid to consider, but something inside her suggested that maybe those fierce birds wanted to communicate amicably... somehow.

("You’ve got nothing to lose by trying, right Trixie?... besides, maybe it’ll give you a clue as to what the hay is going on here.")

Snapping out of her thoughts, a resolute Trixie raised her voice:

"Ahem... I...!" But she could only get out those words.

Like a lightning bolt, two burly turkey-hawks jumped to her sides and pinned her down with their wing-fists. A third one advanced from behind and, with a peck, sent her full-length mirror flying, revealing that where the mirror had been, the real Trixie now stood.

Her eyes wide with surprise, Trixie barely blinked as she observed her assailants.

Moments earlier, she had hidden behind the mirror using her classic smoke bomb, leaving an illusion in her place. There was no way she’d face those beasts head-on.

"Ha ha haaa...!" Trixie laughed nervously as she channeled her magic to teleport. But then...

"ARE YOU DONE?" a deep, resonant voice echoed.

Trixie froze. It had only been a few words, but they were enough to capture her attention. How could she ignore them? The voice carried a tone of authority and nobility that would make any mare who understood the meaning of true masculinity turn her head.

Driven by her innate curiosity, Trixie’s ears swiveled, searching for the source of that magnetic voice. A voice she could only describe as magnificent.

"YOU AMUSE ME, LITTLE PONY... BUT YOUR GAMES ARE STARTING TO TIRE ME," the deep voice continued.

She finally found it.

Trixie tilted her head in disbelief as she discovered the source, and then her jaw dropped in astonishment. She couldn’t believe who was speaking to her like that. It wasn’t a voice that could be heard through the ears, but through the heart...

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" Fathungry said without opening his beak. He extended his folded wing like a fist and, upon opening it, let a tiny red glass vial drop.

Trixie didn’t hear that last part.

"CAN YOU TALK?!" the unicorn exclaimed, shocked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA," Fathungry mocked, accompanied by a great clucking. In unison, the other turkey-hawks also chortled. "AH, LITTLE PONY... CAN YOU LISTEN?"

The turkey-hawks clucked in laughter once more, and then there was silence.

//------------------------

Drygut, the turkey-hawk, was still in pain when he reached the castle gates. Due to his lack of respect, his great leader Fathungry had expelled him from his presence with a kick that still throbbed in his chest.

Nonetheless, it had been completely worth it.

His eyes narrowed as he stopped in his tracks. A wave of ecstasy coursed through his body as he recalled the wonderful taste that had graced his beak so recently.

"Exquisite..." Drygut remembered. Nothing he had ever tasted before compared to the flavor of those red crystals.

Like any other turkey-hawk, Drygut was a glutton; he never missed an opportunity to try something different. Flowers, ripe fruits, fresh crops, small animals... the list of flavors he remembered was long. However, all those tastes paled in comparison to the unique pleasure of the until-then unknown red crystals.

("If only I had taken one more...") Drygut lamented to himself. He could go back, but that could bring down the wrath of his leader and, without a doubt, an even worse punishment.

But that taste was...

"Pur pur Tichhh..." a threatening caw echoed through the air.

With a start, Drygut snapped out of his daydream. His fellow guards in front of the castle were glaring at him with rough and critical expressions.

This wasn’t good...

Immediately, Drygut lowered his head and took his place in formation alongside the others in front of the door. His companions continued to eye him; they said nothing, but they seemed suspicious. After a while, they finally stopped staring and resumed their patrol.

Drygut sighed inwardly. They hadn’t questioned him, which was good. He tucked his head into his plumage and stood still like an old, massive tree. He didn’t want to anger the others, who were bigger and stronger than him, nor did he want to share the information about the red crystals. Things like that were better kept hidden...

So, after a while, as Drygut began to sink back into his daydream, the castle gates opened.

The doors of Twilight’s castle flung wide open, releasing a radiant light that illuminated everything outside. In the center of that light, wrapped in the magic of harmony, the Young Six took their first step forward, with Ocellus leading the way.

“Guys, all together now, we’re going to…” Ocellus began to speak.

“PUNISH OUR ENEMIES WITH THE POWER OF OUR FRIENDSHIP!” proclaimed Silverstream from behind, cutting off her friend’s imminent speech.

“LET’S GOOOO!” her companions responded firmly in unison.

“Wait!... What? Waaahhh!”

Ignoring Ocellus’s protests, the Young Six began to levitate. The magic surrounding them twisted and expanded until it took on a new form.

Outside, the turkey-hawks, surprised by the sudden appearance of the young group, watched as a massive creature of light began to materialize at the castle’s doors.

“BUUUURRRRRRRPPPP,” a powerful trumpeting sound swept through the air.

It was enormous, much bigger than the now powerless turkey-hawks. The Young Six’s magic had taken the form of a gigantic…

“ELEPHANT!” all the turkey-hawks squawked in panic as the enormous beast of light charged toward them.

“THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP”

The light elephant advanced with overwhelming force, its massive feet stomping the ground, making the earth tremble. The turkey-hawks, now disorganized and terrified, tried to take flight but were too slow. Within seconds, they were overtaken, and with a single sweep of its trunk, more than half of them were knocked off the ground and sent flying through the air. Those who weren’t hit stopped trying to fly and began running desperately toward the hill where their other companions were.

In less than a minute, all the turkey-hawks had disappeared from around the castle. Their retreat had been a true “every bird for themselves.”

“YESSSSSS! For Equestria! That’s how it’s done! Was that all? They deserved it!” Amid words of encouragement and optimism, the Young Six celebrated their victory inside the great light elephant.

Everyone was talking excitedly, except for Ocellus, who, though just as thrilled, remained calm.

“Ahhh, that went pretty well. The castle perimeter is secured; now we just need to rescue Counselor Trixie.”

“We still have to do that?” questioned Gallus.

“GALLUS!” everyone shouted in unison at the griffon.

“Relax, I’m just kidding!”

“Well, cut it out, we have to… What the…?!”

Smolder didn’t finish her words. Both she and her companions fell silent, staring in surprise at the commotion that had erupted on the nearby hill.

Slowly, a shadow began to rise over the hill, growing larger until it took a clear and defined shape. It was a large, black rectangular mass, undivided and perfectly aligned, advancing toward them. From that distance, one might think it was an unusual moving black forest or a group of haunted wandering stables, but the reality was more surprising than all that.

“TICHHH, TICHHH, TICHHH...” echoed through the air as it advanced.

They were the turkey-hawks, now marching in battle formation, ready for a counterattack.

“This is a joke, right?” exclaimed Gallus, shocked by the strange behavior.

Turkey-hawks were known for being gluttonous birds, as well as clumsy and dumb in most cases. However, the behavior they were showing now was the exact opposite.

Well-organized, the large platoon of turkey-hawks continued to advance proudly; behind them, two more platoons emerged, covering their flanks. In the sky, flocks of more turkey-hawks began to patrol, circling the castle.

It was like watching a real army on the move.

“Is it normal for turkey-hawks to be this organized?” asked Sandbar, feeling uneasy.

“No! They shouldn’t be!” Ocellus immediately replied, surprised by what was happening.

“That doesn’t matter! If turkey-hawks want war! Friends give it to them!” exclaimed Yona, defiantly.

“I’m with Yona! What are we waiting for?” Smolder rallied the others.

Though the situation had become complicated again, the Young Six’s good spirits hadn’t wavered. Together, they felt they could face anything. Even Ocellus, who had thought until that moment that things could be resolved differently, let go of that idea.

If fighting was the only solution to protect her friends, then she would fully embrace it.

The great light elephant let out a loud trumpet and, in an open challenge, charged toward the turkey-hawk army on the hill.

The battle against the turkey-hawks had begun...

Unaware of all this, near the castle gates, a daydreaming Drygut the turkey-hawk (ignored and ignoring everything that was happening) continued to dream.

Far away, in the arid soils of the most remote and desolate wastelands of that world, a unique flower was quietly and delicately sprouting.

"Rose of Hope and Despair" was its name, and as such, it was a rose. Small, with bright red petals, a light green stem, and a spring-like fragrance. It had thorns like any other rose, and it would be impossible to distinguish it from any other if not for its size and the curious fact that its thorns caused no pain to those who pricked themselves on them.

This last detail was a significant indication of its true essence, as this was a magical flower. It had the ability to grant great vitality to anyone who ate it, no matter how close to death they were.

This very ability made it highly sought after. Both wise beings and monsters coveted it, and the reasons were quite obvious. Fortunately for the peace of the world, obtaining a single magical flower like this was an almost impossible task.

This was because the rose only grew in environments devoid of life or magic. Furthermore, it only bloomed once a year and for just a single day. As if that weren’t enough, its appearance intervals were erratic, making them impossible to predict.

Finding one was considered almost a miracle.

Thus, the fame of this rose was great. So much so that even beasts like the turkey-hawks were aware of it and sought it out during their great migratory journeys. But they did not seek it for the vitality it granted, nor for its exotic magical properties that allowed the creation of red potions capable of enhancing magical power at a price. No, their interest was driven by a more mundane motive inherent to these creatures.

Its intoxicating and unmatched flavor...

Minutes earlier, near Twilight's castle…

“So that’s what this is all about…” Trixie murmured to herself with a somber air, fiddling with a tiny red vial. She wasn’t doing this out of boredom, but rather out of the worry that dominated her.

In front of her stood the enormous Fathungry and the rest of his gang of turkey-hawks. All of them, with hard and severe looks, watched the unicorn’s every move, ready to act at the slightest sign.

“This time you really messed up, Trixie…” she scolded herself internally as she glanced toward the castle. What Fathungry had just told her about the red potions had surprised her greatly and only served to deepen the bitterness within her...

Bitterness that obviously had nothing to do with her friends being cornered in the castle.

“All this time, you’ve been sitting on a gold mine? Seriously, Trixie!” she berated herself. Such were the thoughts of the careless unicorn. All those days spent worrying about her lack of funds now felt like a mockery. If only she had researched the potions more or told Starlight about them, she could have quickly solved her financial problems without the need to invest in those troublesome orchid-octopuses or buy all those ridiculous antiques.

“This is definitely a bad sign, you haven’t been doing things right lately... ughhh…”

Trixie had a strong urge to throw herself onto the grass and roll around until she could release all the frustration she had pent up. But she couldn’t afford such a luxury at a time like this.

“So, little pony, are you going to tell me where you got them?” Fathungry spoke in his deep voice.

Trixie turned her gaze to the turkey-hawk leader. She already had a response prepared, and it was the same as before.

“No,” the unicorn replied simply and brazenly.

In response, the feathers on Fathungry’s head bristled like spikes, and his gaze, already hard to endure, grew even harsher.

“Do you not care what happens to those other ponies?”

“Yes, I care,” Trixie replied indifferently, casually inspecting the shine of her hooves.

“Then why won’t you tell me where you got them? Or do you think I’m not capable of tearing down that castle or ravaging that nearby village? I am Fathungry, leader of the turkey-hawks, the great black wing of hunger, terror of the harvests. You better understand your place, pony, and accept my mercy. I’ll ask you one last time, where did you get these potions?” the turkey-hawk croaked menacingly, his voice resonating with the fury that was reflected in the intense wind of his flapping wings. The other turkey-hawks echoed his words with equally intense clamor, making the imposing figure of the bird even greater.

However, Trixie didn’t seem impressed or unsettled. On the contrary, she was now more certain that the situation was under control.

Under her control.

From the moment she started talking with Fathungry, she noticed that although he was surprisingly intelligent, in the end, he wasn’t that smart. He had foolishly talked to her about the red potions and how important they were to the turkey-hawks. This had been a grave slip-up on the bird’s part, as Trixie immediately realized she could gain a favorable position in this situation.

She just had to make sure Fathungry didn’t lose interest.

“Uh-huh, sure, I’m sure the great Fathungry and his gang could try to do all that…” the unicorn began with a mischievous smile as she toyed with the red potion vial. “They could also crush me or eat me if they wanted, but… force me to confess my greatest secrets? Please! The Great and Powerful Trixie only shares her secrets with her greatest and most loyal friends. And, unfortunately, you are not one of them.”

After she finished speaking, Trixie waved her horn and, with a swift movement, a handkerchief covered the red vial in her hoof, only to be removed a moment later, revealing something surprising.

Trixie was no longer holding just one vial; now there were five resting on her hoof.

These red vials levitated toward Fathungry and the other turkey-hawks at his side. Unable to hide their desire, the turkey-hawks didn’t take their eyes off the potions and slowly stretched their necks, ready to catch them with their beaks.

However, with a swift wing movement, Fathungry snatched all the potions and hid them from the view of his subordinates.

Disappointed clucks were heard, but they were quickly silenced by Fathungry’s sharp gaze, who then turned his attention back to Trixie.

“I thought you were an intelligent creature, but now I see that you’re nothing more than a lost pony who doesn’t understand the position she’s in.”

“I’m not a lost pony. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Don’t forget that. And yes, I understand perfectly what’s going on. In fact, I think it’s you who doesn’t realize your place,” Trixie replied arrogantly, then adopted a reflective pose. “But… now that I think about it, it’s understandable. Turkey-hawks aren’t usually very communicative with other species. And I’m just a humble unicorn who supports understanding between species. I propose this... instead of resorting to deplorable acts of violence that lead nowhere, how about we make... a deal?”

Fathungry looked at Trixie in astonishment, narrowing his eyes for a few seconds before exploding in anger. “A deal? A deal! What kind of deal could an insignificant creature like you offer me?”

“One that benefits both of us, of course,” Trixie replied, rolling her eyes, already tired of this conversation. “Unless, of course, the great Fathungry is afraid of making friendly deals with the ponies of Equestria.”

Fathungry’s fury erupted with the force of a storm, the warts on his neck swelling and turning a fiery red. The turkey-hawks around him retreated in terror. No one could recall seeing anyone speak to him like that before. It was unheard of.

“That pony is dead,” they all thought.

Trixie realized the danger and swallowed hard, feeling the palpable tension in the air. Without hesitation, she began to gather magic in her horn, preparing to teleport.

At that precise moment, a commotion erupted in the direction of Twilight's castle, breaking the growing silence. Fathungry’s rage dissipated instantly, his attention captured by the uproar. Several turkey-hawks flew in, bringing urgent news.

Amidst the alarmed clucks, Fathungry moved aside with his closest followers, casting wary glances at Trixie from time to time.

After a brief deliberation, they began giving rapid and precise orders. In the chaos, no one paid any further attention to Trixie, who remained in place, assessing the situation.

Gradually, she released her magic and sighed in relief. The timing had been perfect.

After a while, with no one stopping her, Trixie approached Fathungry, who from a hill, was watching the ongoing battle with a cold and calculating expression.

Things didn’t look good for him.

“Are you still interested in making a deal?” Trixie commented with a casual smile.

The battle between the turkey-hawks and the Young Six was at its peak.

A dozen large turkey-hawks dove from the sky in a V-formation, talons extended, emitting threatening caws that echoed through the air. The sight was overwhelming, a display of power... and yet, futile.

"FUUUUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

A powerful blast of wind struck the group of birds, breaking their formation. The intense gust of wind was irresistible, tossing the turkey-hawks around and causing them to crash into one another. In mere seconds, the grand formation of birds was disbanded. Confused and disoriented, the turkey-hawks fell to the ground like ripe fruit, rolling about haphazardly.

The aerial assault of the turkey-hawks had ended, like the previous five, in disaster.

On the ground, the situation wasn’t much better. Several turkey-hawks lay on the ground with their heads buried or pretending to be unconscious with their eyes closed. The rest of the birds, grouped in platoons, were making a great ruckus, cawing violently at their companions, trying to rally them for another attack...

In the midst of what looked more like a wild chicken coop, the giant figure of a light elephant stood indomitable and undefeated.

For all the turkey-hawks, the outcome of the battle was clear.

Floating inside the light elephant, the Young Six knew it too. It was a sure victory; nothing the turkey-hawks had tried had worked.

From the start, as a team, the turkey-hawks had attempted to bring down the light elephant, launching themselves in platoons from various directions. But their efforts were in vain; none had managed to get close.

They were fended off in the same way as the aerial attacks. The powerful magical wind emanating from the light elephant's trunk had ultimately knocked them down.

Thus, after wave after wave of turkey-Hawk attacks, even the Young Six, initially excited, began to grow weary of the battle's pace.

Several rounds had passed, and the same pattern repeated itself, over and over again...

"Guys... don't you think we should just end this already? My neck's getting stiff," Gallus said, rubbing the back of his neck with a claw.

"Really, Gallus? And tell us, how do you think we should end this?" Smolder replied, crossing her arms.

"Uhmm, I don't know, turn them to stone?"

"That might work..." Smolder said, thoughtfully.

"Maybe if we find their leader, we can put an end to this once and for all," Ocellus added.

"Yes, that's a great idea, Ocellus! Let's destroy their leader and force them to accept peace!" Silverstream exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Silvi!" Sandbar exclaimed, horrified, before Ocellus could respond.

"What! We'll appoint a transitional government, that will be great for them."

"Transitional government? Yona like idea," Yona said, nodding.

"Yona, no! We're supposed to..." Sandbar began to say, but he was interrupted.

"Look!" Smolder shouted, pointing toward the horizon.

In response to Ocellus's suggestion, a towering turkey-Hawk majestically emerged from the entrenched formations on the hill. Despite the distance, its size stood out among the others; its plumage and stance exuded an aura distinctive of a champion of its race.

It was clear this was their leader. The very Fathungry now presented himself on the battlefield.

"Gallus, is that their leader? Is that Fathungry?" Ocellus asked, surprised by the sudden appearance.

"Yes," the griffon ominously replied, confirming what Ocellus and the others had suspected upon seeing him.

"He looks just like the other turkey-hawks. Friends, we should crush him," Yona challenged with determination.

"No, wait... he's coming alone. Maybe he wants to talk," Ocellus corrected, pointing out that Fathungry was the only one advancing toward them, while the rest of the turkey-hawks retreated behind the hill.

"Are you serious?" Smolder asked doubtfully, reflecting the group's uncertainty.

"Guys, I'm serious! If he wants to talk, we'll talk. If he wants to fight, we'll fight. Got it?" Ocellus reprimanded firmly, aware of the importance of keeping calm and maintaining diplomacy, even though Fathungry's fearsome reputation was intimidating.

So, with their guard up, the Young Six watched as the infamous Fathungry approached them. With a limp but determined step, the enormous bird advanced until he stopped at a safe distance.

Finally, Fathungry was face-to-face with the Young Six. Although there were only a few meters between them, at that moment it seemed as if a chasm separated both sides. On one side, the Young Six inside the shining light elephant, and on the other, Fathungry wrapped in his black, menacing plumage. Rather than wanting to converse, they looked like two adversaries about to engage in a deadly duel.

The air grew even tenser. Fathungry showed no sign of kindness or fear, his predatory gaze scanning the light elephant before him from top to bottom.

Ocellus, who should have been the first to attempt dialogue, remained silent and only watched. She didn't like Fathungry, and now that he was in front of her, she liked him even less.

As if reading what was going through her mind, Fathungry fixed his gaze on her for a moment, and after an odd, amused expression, the bird began to contort his head as if he were choking.

"What the...?" Ocellus murmured, but before her companions could respond, a sound erupted in front of them.

"Puchhhh" A large amount of green mucus splattered everywhere, staining the pristine whiteness of the light elephant that shielded them.

Fathungry had just sneezed in front of them. Brazenly, the great bird began to make mocking clucks.

Inside the light elephant, the Young Six's patience was wearing thin.

"Ocellus, can we move on to the 'not-so-friendly' part?" Gallus suggested, annoyed, and he wasn't the only one.

"If that's how he wants to play it then..." Ocellus began to say determinedly, just as the light elephant they were controlling started to stretch out its trunk, aiming directly at the insolent turkey-Hawk.

But it stopped.

Quickly, Fathungry had extended a wing and, as if it were a giant hand, planted it firmly in front of the Young Six in a sign to 'halt.'

Bewildered, the Young Six saw a strange expression on the bird's face. It was like that of a criminal smiling triumphantly before pulling out a hidden weapon.

Fathungry extended his other wing, then revealing that 'weapon.'

A lump fell to his left, which, after rolling on the ground for a moment, began wriggling like a worm out of the earth.

"Aghhhh, cough cough! How long has it been since you last bathed! Cough cough!" Trixie squealed, tears streaming down her face after having spent a long time inside Fathungry's not-so-hygienic left armpit.

"CLO CLO CLO CLO" Fathungry mocked with a thunderous cluck.

"COUNSELOR TRIXIE!" the Young Six cried out, barely recognizing their teacher. In that instant, the magic sustaining the light elephant dissolved, and everyone fell abruptly to the ground, except Ocellus, who managed to catch Sandbar while he was still in his wheelchair.

"CLO CLO CLO CLO" Fathungry mocked again, enjoying the chaos.

"Ah, hello guys... hahaha, how have you been?" Trixie asked casually as she recovered from her suffocation, trying to maintain a nonchalant appearance.

The Young Six, sore from the fall, didn't respond. Only Ocellus and Sandbar approached Trixie, with Ocellus being the first to reach her and give her an emotional hug.

Meanwhile, Fathungry, uninterested in the touching reunion, pulled out a red potion from his feathers and began chewing on it nonchalantly.

"900, 901, 902, 903, 904..." Trixie counted each red potion bottle that emerged from the mysterious box held by a smiling Silverstream at her side.

Just a few meters away, Fathungry watched them intently. The huge bag in which the potions were being deposited was already reaching its limit. Although calling it a bag was inaccurate; it was actually a huge pink purse adorned with light blue and lilac hearts, made by Yona in a sewing contest months ago. Since then, it had gathered dust in one of the castle's storage rooms. Now, the Young Six had retrieved it, following Trixie's orders, to use it as the container for Fathungry's reward.

"Reward?!" everyone had exclaimed when Trixie explained the deal she had made.

It was hard for the group of friends to believe, but Trixie had negotiated with the infamous leader of the turkey-hawks so they would leave them in peace. Fathungry and his gang promised to fix the mess they had caused in the surrounding area, and also swore never to cause trouble for the creatures of the region again. This included a friendly cooperation agreement between ponies and turkey-hawks in case they needed help.

And all this in exchange for... a thousand red potions they knew nothing about!

Still not understanding what was happening, the Young Six watched in confusion as Trixie finished preparing Fathungry's loot.

"I don’t understand, why do turkey-hawks want so many red potions from the counselor?" Yona asked, just as lost as the rest.

"I think these potions have some sort of compound that the turkey-hawks really like," replied Ocellus, examining one of the potions.

"Really like? I think it's more than that," Gallus observed, pointing to a group of turkey-hawks fighting in the distance. In the middle of the scuffle, a small red crystal could be seen lying on the ground.

"I can understand them. Honestly, they look delicious... very delicious..." Smolder added in a somber tone as she closely examined one of the potions. The hypnotic crimson glow of the brew began to reflect in the dragon's eyes, and she slowly started to bring the potion closer to her mouth.

Before she could go any further, Ocellus quickly snatched it away. Smolder gave her a momentarily annoyed look, but seeing the worried faces of her friends, she offered an embarrassed smile and looked away.

"Well, Counselor Trixie is safe, and the turkey-hawks are now our friends. Everything is fine, right?" Sandbar added optimistically from his wheelchair, watching as the initial part of the deal was completed.

Around them, in an unusual sight for anyone watching, the huge turkey-hawks with their enormous claws were cleaning the area, replanting trees, placing flowers... they even put the Equestrian flag back on Twilight's castle.

The place looked festive again, even more so than before.

Despite all this, Gallus tilted his head, not fully understanding. The rest had similar expressions.

"...998, 999, and 1000!" Trixie exclaimed from the other side. The potion count was complete. "Here are all the potions you wanted. Satisfied?"

Fathungry let out a brief caw in response, apparently pleased.

"Ah, alright. Look, just send someone here this week, and we'll sort out the rest of the paperwork," Trixie replied nonchalantly.

Another caw was heard in response.

"Fine... send them whenever you want. But don’t forget about 'that other thing,' okay?" This time, Trixie looked more serious as she spoke.

Fathungry let out another caw and then turned his attention toward the Young Six. He had a sharp look in his eyes, as if he were trying to see 'something.'

"That would be all. The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your understanding. You may leave now," Trixie finished speaking with a smile, waving her hoof as if to dismiss him.

Fathungry, for his part, didn’t look as enthusiastic. With his enormous claw, he grabbed the now-closed pink purse and, after an awkward moment of silence as he watched Trixie, turned around and spread his wings.

"Aurrrrrrrrppppppp," he let out a powerful call.

Immediately, all the nearby turkey-hawks stopped what they were doing and began preparing for their imminent departure.

Fathungry flapped his wings, and like a gust of wind, the air began to whip around the area. Then, the giant bird puffed out his chest and, with a leap, rose from the ground vertically, as if he were a hot air balloon ascending high into the sky.

The Young Six and Trixie watched in surprise. It was a rare way for a bird of that size to take off.

The other turkey-hawks, on the other hand, began to take off in a more traditional manner, flapping their wings and running across the field until they rose horizontally.

And so, after several minutes, the great flock of terrifying birds finally left, disappearing among the clouds on the horizon.

"Ugh, what a hassle... though he has a magnificent voice, he really doesn't deserve it!" Trixie complained aloud. She had resolved her most recent disaster in record time. That had restored her confidence... but now she had another disaster to deal with.

Trixie turned around. There were the Young Six, looking at her as puzzled as they were nervous. Except for Gallus, who had his gaze averted.

"Be brave, Trixie, be brave..." she suddenly thought, like an echo coming from deep within her being...

From the heights, suspended in the air, Fathungry watched as Trixie and the others (whom he neither knew nor cared about) entered Twilight's castle.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie..." Fathungry smiled.

There was a saying: "I came looking for copper and found gold."

Fathungry's smile grew even wider, the satisfaction now flooding him was evident.

He hadn't expected things to turn out so well.

Fathungry had confessed to Trixie that the turkey-hawks had a deep passion for the unique taste of the 'Rose of Hope and Despair.' And that, indeed, the potions Trixie possessed had that same special flavor.

The deal he made with that unicorn was based on Fathungry's declared interest in feeding his people with those potions and becoming famous for generations.

But... was that really all?

Certainly, Fathungry enjoyed the taste of the red potions, but unlike other turkey-hawks, he enjoyed... 'mischief' even more.

He knew that a single spoonful of those potions could corrupt even the kindest of creatures in this world. Few species were immune to that poison. What could he do with a thousand of them now?

The malice within Fathungry was great; he was already imagining the possibilities...

"The Great North... yes, let's start there..." he murmured to himself. The turkey-hawk had contacts, and the Great North would be the perfect place to begin his plans.

Around him, like a shadow of doom, the rest of the turkey-hawks surrounded him, eagerly waiting for their leader's next command.

A shriek suddenly pierced the air.

All the turkey-hawks turned their heads, but they were too slow. Before any of them could fully turn their necks, a silhouette had already passed by, slicing through the closed formation of the turkey-hawks.

Fathungry was the only one who saw it coming; he now stared directly at the intruder.

"Fathungry, what have you done?!" exclaimed Londrinel, the Silver Chest, messenger of the giant eagles of the Amethyst Mountains.

A furious uproar erupted among the turkey-hawks, faced with their natural enemy. But Fathungry let out a squawk, and immediately they all fell silent.

"Haa, little fledgling, how delightful to see you! You're late. Were you too busy fixing your nest?" Fathungry mocked.

The turkey-hawks burst into laughter again.

"I'm not here to listen to your nonsense. What have you taken from the ponies?" Londrinel demanded.

"Ahh, are you here for this?" the bird turned his claw, revealing the pink purse he was carrying. "... it's just a reward for my good deeds. I'm now an honorary friend of the ponies." Fathungry finished with a big grin.

"You know nothing about good deeds. Hand it over!" Londrinel ordered. Then, in a flight so swift it was impossible to see, the great eagle lunged at Fathungry, attempting to snatch the purse from him.

But Fathungry was ready. In an impossible twist for such a fat bird flapping its wings to stay aloft, Fathungry gracefully dodged Londrinel's attack.

The turkey-hawks burst into laughter again.

"Fledgling. Don't pretend to disrespect me with these games. You can't touch me. You'd better call that old pigeon you have for a king if you want anything from me."

Londrinel didn't respond and simply shrieked in frustration as the repeated mockery of the other turkey-hawks echoed around him.

Then, a voice boomed from behind Fathungry:

"HE DOESN'T NEED TO CALL ANYONE, I'M ALREADY HERE, FATHUNGRY."

Fathungry took a millisecond to react. He didn't believe it. But as he turned, he saw it with his own eyes. It was him.

"THARGODAL!" the bird screeched furiously. All the other turkey-hawks shrieked in surprise and genuine fear. There, crowned by the sunlight, the majestic king of the eagles appeared in his glorious form.

Terrified, the turkey-hawks retreated behind their leader. Londrinel, for his part, flew to the right of his king with a calm flight.

"I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, MIDNIGHT IS FALLING UPON US, AND YOU ARE PART OF IT."

"MIDNIGHT?" Fathungry replied, confused, still overwhelmed, but only for a moment. "HAHAHA! YOUR SUPERSTITIONS MEAN NOTHING TO ME, THARGODAL. ARE YOU HERE FOR MY PRIZE? JUST SAY IT!"

"YOUR IGNORANCE WILL BE THE RUIN OF YOUR PEOPLE, FATHUNGRY. YOU'VE ALREADY DONE GREAT HARM TODAY, I WON'T LET YOU CONTINUE TOMORROW."

"AHH, I SEE! HAVE YOU SEEN THE FUTURE? DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN STOP ME? FACE ME THEN, THARGODAL!" Fathungry shouted defiantly. In a rapid flutter of wings, an explosion of dust erupted. A great black cloud quickly expanded, staining the clear sky. Protecting his king, Londrinel positioned himself in front and with his wings created a shield of air around him. However, more dust explosions were heard, and the cloud intensified, completely obscuring the eagles' view.

The other turkey-hawks, following their leader's example, triggered more dust clouds. This dust wasn't just accumulated dirt; it was a mix of ash and chemicals capable of intoxicating anyone who breathed it and even damaging the feathers of any bird that passed through it. This was a unique defense mechanism of that brazen bird species.

But Thargodal knew it well and knew how to respond.

In a single motion, the king of the eagles spun around, releasing a magical wind that purified the air around him. Within seconds, the toxic cloud dissipated from the sky as if it had never been there.

Thargodal had freed himself from that trap, but it was too late.

"Your Excellency, Fathungry is..." Londrinel pointed his gaze towards where a black speck was disappearing on the horizon.

"I know, Londrinel, they're fleeing," Thargodal replied bitterly, not looking in the same direction.

It was worse than that; not only was Fathungry fleeing, but amid the dark cloud, all the turkey-hawks had taken off in different directions with the goal of confusing Thargodal and Londrinel, making it impossible to capture their leader.

Not knowing whom to pursue, Londrinel screeched in frustration, searching with his keen sight for any trace of Fathungry. However, King Thargodal remained calm. With his head bowed, the great eagle monarch looked at the castle below them.

Noticing this, Londrinel approached his king.

"Should we warn the ponies of the great danger that will soon fall upon them?" Londrinel asked.

"No," the king replied magnanimously. "The ponies must be able to defend themselves. We must not intervene. Not now."

Thus, Thargodal sealed the ponies' fate, finally making a decision he had been pondering since he understood his vision of the future.

"I understand, my lord..." Londrinel responded with a tone of sadness.

"Do not despair, Londrinel. Now we must put all our effort into hunting down Fathungry and his people. We must prevent him from causing an even greater disaster upon this land," Thargodal ordered, now resolute. "Londrinel, accompany me. We must head to the Great North immediately; they will need us there soon."

"To the Great North? Yes, count on me, Your Excellency!" the young eagle responded eagerly.

Thus, both birds set off to the north, in a hurried race to stop Fathungry's plans.

Intermission

"Uffff…" A long exhale, accompanied by thick steam, escaped Summermoon's mouth as she leaned back in the plush, comfortable chair. The sweet and burning taste of the tea she had just poured inside her still lingered on her tongue, leaving it tingling and slightly numb.

However, beyond that discomfort (which would have caused third-degree burns to any other being’s upper digestive tract), Summermoon only felt slightly refreshed.

Perhaps too little.

"Would you like anything else… your eminence?" a voice suddenly asked.

Summermoon turned her head toward the sound with an exaggerated theatrical sigh. A few steps away, the maid who had brought the tea was still standing, anxiously awaiting any further instructions.

How about you just shut up and let me eat you? she suddenly thought. Summermoon’s eyes gleamed for a moment with a pale yellow light as she gave the young maid a predatory stare.

The maid, who had already been trembling before, now couldn’t contain the terror that overtook her body. Her fine, delicate skin seemed to bristle under the weight of that gaze.

However, just as Summermoon began to flash a malicious grin at her potential prey, something in her expression shifted. She rolled her eyes with a bored air, letting out a sigh heavy with vulgar exhaustion, and sank her pony body back into the sofa.

"Leave. Tell ‘Doni’, or whoever’s in charge, not to send anyone else," she ordered with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

"Yes… yes, your eminence," the maid stammered clumsily, bowing awkwardly before quickly hurrying out of the room.

As the young maid left, Summermoon turned her gaze back to watch her once more. From behind, emotions stirred inside her like lurking shadows.

"How adorable…" she murmured to herself, biting her lip. "Damn Dhona… where the hell did you find these beauties?"

The maid in question was a bear—more precisely, a little bear. With a striking pink color and proportions resembling a plush toy, she wore an elegant café maid uniform that accentuated her charming figure. Summermoon couldn't take her eyes off her. The way she moved, with short, nervous steps, only fueled her desire.

"What if I take her… " she thought with dark greed, watching as the little bearmaid hopped slightly to reach a bell by the door.

Just as Summermoon began to rise, her eyes filled with wild desire and a grin splitting her face in two, the bell rang, and immediately the door to the room opened. Without another word, the maid disappeared without looking back.

KROOOOO.

The stone door, which had opened silently before, now closed with a brief but irritating creak that echoed through the room.

Summermoon, still mid-motion, dropped back onto the sofa, her face filled with disappointment. After a few seconds of sitting there immobile, the heavy silence in the room felt as thick as the tea she had just drunk.

And then…

"UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A fierce growl, like that of a raging beast, shattered the stillness of the place.

"Why, why, WHY?!" she began shouting, kicking furiously as she threw a full-blown tantrum on the sofa, flailing her pony hooves in the air.

Summermoon was feeling awful. Her erratic behavior from earlier was proof enough. How awful was she feeling? That was a question of little importance. The real question was:

What had happened to make her feel this bad?

The answer was murky.

She had arrived with her sisters in this universe less than 24 hours ago, with a mission handed directly to them by their master. They hadn't wasted any time in executing it. While the most important part of the mission had already been completed, the secondary objectives that arose became a point of difficult-to-reconcile disagreement between them. After a quick "leadership assessment," it was decided that the "eldest" of the sisters would determine the next steps to complete the mission in a way most favorable to their dark master’s interests.

"Stupid Vim, you just had to abstain from participating right now!" Summermoon spat furiously, biting into the sofa like a dog, ripping apart its cushioned interior.

The "leadership assessment" had actually been nothing more than a simple game of rock, paper, scissors among the sisters. Though Summermoon usually won these kinds of games (thanks to the edge she gained over her insufferably boring sister Vim), this time hadn’t been the case. Vim, in her usual apathy, had refused to participate, leaving Summermoon and the "eldest" to settle the matter between them.

The result hadn’t surprised Summermoon. In fact, she had expected it, which only made her angrier.

With no chance of winning, she had to obey the eldest's decisions, decisions with which she completely disagreed.

"Not only is she as boring as Vim. She has to be just as stupid…" Summermoon growled, casting a dark look while smashing her body into the furniture. The poor sofa had already lost much of its original shape and was now just a deformed, destroyed mass of what it once was.

The first order she had received from the "eldest" was:

"Find Dhona Oleg-Nar Dhazer in the dying lands of Eufalia, locate him, and eliminate him."

As Summermoon recalled those words, her gaze turned icy.

"They want to get rid of me…" she murmured bitterly. She couldn't be sure, but there was a strong possibility that her sisters were conspiring against her. In fact, given that all of them were beings with a strong inclination toward evil, it would be strange if they weren’t.

"Idiots…" she muttered again, her adorable pony face transforming into a more sinister expression.

She stood up and, without making any other sound or movement, fixed her eyes on the stone walls of the room. Suddenly, the already badly damaged sofa began to burn spontaneously.

Behind her, black flames rose, consuming the piece of furniture until there was no trace of it left.

Another deep exhale escaped Summermoon, accompanied by thick steam, just like before.

She didn’t want to eliminate Dhona. That was the truth.

"An alliance… brilliant idea…" Summermoon muttered, frustrated with herself. Her plan to avoid eliminating Dhona had been to convince him to form an alliance with her master. It couldn’t be considered a full-on deception or a misuse of her respected lord’s name. If she took into account that her master had an open stance toward forming alliances with anyone who supported his cause and was competent, then there was no problem in proposing it. Besides, the orders to eliminate Dhona hadn’t come directly from her master but were an idea of her sisters to get her into trouble.

Of course, if that plan failed—and it had—the other option was…

Another angry exhale left Summermoon.

Dhona wasn’t an easy fish to catch. Though his current power was much lower compared to hers or her sisters’, old "Doni" knew the terrain well. Moreover, he wielded complex types of magic that she didn’t understand and that were only possible in this world.

And not only that, Dhona wouldn’t be alone in a potential battle; his pets were also a factor to consider. He had many of them.

With all this in mind, Summermoon concluded, quite confidently, that she couldn’t eliminate Dhona even if she wanted to.

At least not without a lot—really, a lot—of effort.

So, she was left with no choice but to accept her failure in advance. And observe. Sidelined from her eldest sister's plans.

A growl came from the center of the room. Summermoon, this time, had suppressed her emotions.

"It's so obvious..." Summermoon could already imagine the scene her sisters would stage upon returning to their master. They would accuse her of incompetence and demand punishment. She wouldn’t even be surprised if their "older brother" joined them.

She would likely be in serious trouble sooner rather than later. But for now, there were more urgent matters to attend to...

Suddenly, in the middle of her thoughts, she sensed something.

Summermoon, who had been showing a side of herself that very few knew, let that facade fade. She then turned her gaze toward one of the stone walls of the room.

The wall, where the relief of an immense tree devouring the world was carved, began to glow. The large stone room, which until then only had a sofa, a table, and a shelf in the center, was suddenly flooded with a magical emerald light.

A ghostly figure emerged from the stone wall.

"You're late... What did he tell you?" Summermoon asked, her expression extremely serious.

"Nothing important, nothing we didn’t already know," Dhona Oleg-Nar Dhazer responded cryptically as he materialized before her, wearing his signature emerald scarf.

"And you expect me to trust you when you're clearly hiding things from me?"

"You shouldn't trust me. Trust in the darkness, trust in our new lord," Dhona replied solemnly.

Those words only deepened Summermoon's disdain.

"You've got a deal now."

"We have a deal now," Summermoon corrected instantly. Dhona didn’t respond. Instead, floating in the air, he waved one of his claws, and out of nowhere, two elegant sofas appeared for them to sit on.

Summermoon was still in a foul mood, but she sat down anyway, as did Dhona.

"And now... what is our new 'lord' up to?" Summermoon asked sharply, just as she sat.

"The great dark lord will need more time to complete an avatar in this universe. His slumber must not be interrupted."

"Oh... I see. Doesn’t that make him a little... weak?" Summermoon asked, a bit skeptical. She had met several dark lords before, but this was the first time she had heard of one needing time to manifest in the universe he was invading.

"Quite the opposite. This will ensure his long-lasting presence in this world. The dark lord Nodoub Death had a similar existence through his subjects when he first arrived, eons ago."

"Uhmmm..." Summermoon responded, drawing out the sound, still unconvinced. But then, Dhona, who had been speaking in a neutral tone until then, shifted to a much more... fiery stance.

"Do you doubt the extraordinary opportunity we have been given?" Dhona asked, his voice sharp.

"No," Summermoon replied dryly. "What I doubt is that we can actually fulfill the mission he's demanding... Build a city beyond time to be his dwelling? That's incredibly difficult in this universe, you should know that."

Dhona didn’t respond. Instead, his emerald eyes dimmed for a long moment.

Summermoon was starting to have a bad feeling. Uneasy, she poured herself a cup of hot tea from the teapot on the table. Even after finishing the cup, Dhona remained silent.

Just as Summermoon began losing patience with Dhona's unnecessary "mystery" games, he opened his eyes, and a sinister laugh whispered through the room.

"Your judgment is very narrow. We will complete the mission in no time. The preparations are already made. The only way to stop this would be if you completed the mission your sisters tasked you with right now."

A suffocating silence filled the room.

Summermoon, her sharp gaze fixed on Dhona, didn’t move. They stared at each other for a long time, as if in a dance of possibilities, studying the potential outcome.

Until...

"Ha! Hahahaha!" Summermoon erupted in volcanic laughter. Until then, her face had been full of concern, but now she seemed to have all her doubts cleared.

Dhona clenched one of his claws, preparing for what was to come.

"Well... I admit it, you got me. But before you do something stupid, how did you know? Clairvoyance? Or do you have spy cameras here? I can’t detect anything magical or technological," Summermoon asked, amused, glancing at the empty walls around her.

"It was the dark lord Pit Prompt himself who revealed it to me not long ago."

Those words hit Summermoon like a titan’s fist on her head. The surprised pony's eyes widened for an instant, but it was fleeting. Her expression quickly shifted to an even wider smile than before.

"Of course... of course... What else did he tell you?"

"Many things. Do you want to know?"

"Yes... I do," Summermoon replied, emphasizing the last word, her smile growing even larger on her pony face.

"I’ll tell you. But first, I need you to do me a favor."

"Okay... a favor?" Summermoon echoed, wearing a mockingly confused expression but never lowering her guard. "What is it?"

Dhona paused for a moment. He didn’t blink, but he had the demeanor of someone taking a deep breath before saying something important.

"On the other side of the world, in the magical lands of Equestria, there is a pony I need you to find."

"Are you serious?" Summermoon replied, clearly offended by the request. "Can’t your pets do that for you?"

"Will you do it?" Dhona asked, ignoring Summermoon's provocation.

After another silent exchange of stares between the two, Summermoon finally leaned back in her seat. She had the demeanor of someone resigned to performing a task they didn’t want to take on.

After letting out a great deal of steam from her mouth in a hiss, Summermoon finally spoke.

"I’ll do it for the sake of our beautiful friendship, Doni... What’s the name?" Summermoon spat, her once mocking smile now transformed into a fierce glare.

Dhona finally relaxed the claw he had kept clenched until that moment. Calmer, he too leaned back in his seat.

"Trixie Lulamoon," Dhona replied, with an unusual weariness.

At the End of the Exordium - Act II

In the security room of Twilight's castle, the system control panel began to reboot. In the total darkness, one by one the monitors lit up, illuminating the place with an unfamiliar emerald green glow.

In front of the larger monitor, the dark silhouette of a unicorn watched attentively what was happening.

All voices fell silent. All noise ceased. From the tiniest crevices to the deepest cavities.

They all heard it and shuddered. Then, a voice came to them from afar....

"AAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORHHHH"

A roar, perhaps a scream. Trixie and the Young-Six looked around, surprised, confused and, above all, anguished. Their eyes scanned every corner, every shadow, searching for the source of that wail that seemed to emanate from everywhere and that instilled a deep despair in whoever heard it. For several seconds, that piercing cry resounded, weakening until it faded away.

Silence slowly returned, but with it came an unusual and disturbing darkness in the kitchen. No one dared to speak. Everyone remained motionless, hearts oppressed, fearing that any word might unleash a greater evil. Seconds, long as minutes, passed in complete silence. The dark memories of that day, briefly forgotten that afternoon, came back to them, crushing their wills into a sepulchral enclosure.

But despite their fears, there were no more immediate signs, and time ran its course. Seconds, then minutes, but nothing more happened.

Finally, with calm slowly returning, someone broke the silence.

"What was that!" exclaimed Trixie, the most frightened of all. None of the Young-Six answered her; still bewildered, they looked at each other, as if awakening from a bad dream, feeling in the air a restlessness that paralyzed their movements and thoughts.

Ocellus, sensing the danger in his companions, understood that they had to act.

"We must leave," she said aloud. No one contradicted her; led by her, her friends followed her without hesitation.

But they had already lost precious time.

Before Ocellus reached the door, a fleeting shadow cut him off. They froze in place. Ocellus and the rest of the Young-Six had just witnessed a chair move on its own toward the door, blocking the exit. Slowly, the group of friends turned.

Behind them, Trixie was standing next to the dining room table, just as before, but without the chair she had been sitting in all afternoon. The same chair that now blocked the only escape route.

Trixie, looking as perplexed as the Young-Six, immediately read the stares falling on her.

"I didn't do it!" she replied nervously and in denial before receiving any accusations.

But no one had time to say anything.

"Trumbb... Trummmbbbbbb... Trummmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbb"

Sudden tremors began to shake the room. The Young-Six, without a word, huddled together, covering their flanks and in fear, looked around. The light was beginning to fail. The walls of the dining room were shaking more and more. The furniture began to wobble. The table and other chairs were stamping out of control. Trixie, aghast, let out a scream as she watched the cups on the table begin to spin on themselves, possessed by an inexplicable force.

"Folks, what's going on!" cried Yona, terrified, watching as various plates and silverware shot off their shelves and joined other junk in the room to form a supernatural whirlwind of objects above their heads.

In the midst of all this, the light in the room began to darken even more, fueling dread among the students.

Suddenly, all the objects spinning above them changed their trajectory, shooting out at the Young-Six.

"Down!" shouted Silverstream, as his companions closed their eyes and covered each other to protect themselves from the sudden attack.

But the attack did not come.

When Ocellus and the others opened their eyes again, they were surprised to see that all the objects had stopped in their tracks against them. The hostile force that had attacked them had been stopped at the last moment.

"That's enough!" shouted Trixie, furious, horn blazing and using her magic to contain the movement of objects in the air. "Who's attacking Trixie's friends!
Show yourself!"

But to the unicorn's bellowing there were no words in response. Only more bewilderment.

"TROWWWWWWWWWWWHHHH!" A deep, intense sound erupted from the ground. Suddenly, a sense of vertigo swept over everyone, causing them to stagger and fall. Startled by the sudden change in balance, Trixie also slipped and fell sprawling on the ground. The same happened to all the other objects she had contained with her magic.

The sound of broken dishes and bouncing silverware mingled with the continuous subway rustling that plagued the room.

In the midst of all this, something else was going on.

"We're... climbing?" exclaimed Smolder incredulously, patting the ground. Not only her, her companions on the ground felt it too and could confirm her words.

Indeed, the room was rising with them in it.

"What is all this!" exclaimed Ocellus, struggling to his feet along with the others.

"Keep calm! Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu!" commanded Trixie, taking wobbly steps and trying not to slip again.

The feeling of vertigo was still present, but most were already adjusting. While Trixie and the Young-Six were recovering, creaking and strange noises were heard everywhere. Gallus, who was closest to the door, began to pay attention to the sounds coming from the other side.

"Wait... what?" muttered the griffin, startled. Without waiting for the rest of his companions to recover, he rose into the air, pushed aside the chair blocking the door and stepped outside.

"Hey, where are you going!" exclaimed Smolder as she saw her friend leave the room. Annoyed, she took flight and went after Gallus.

"Smolder, wait! We mustn't split up!" claimed Ocellus in vain, when Smolder was already gone.

Trixie, now recovered, joined the chaos and ran after the students.

"Wait! Stop!" shouted Trixie in desperation as she headed for the door. "It's dangerous to go out without an adult!"

But Trixie didn't make it out. The door burst open, hitting her in the face and knocking her backwards. No one paid any attention, for, to the surprise of Ocellus and the others, Gallus and Smolder had returned. Without explanation, they immediately began barricading the door with chairs and other furniture around it.

The expressions on their faces were somber.

"Gallus, what are you doing? Why...?"

"Enchanted armor coming!" replied Gallus, agitated, as he placed a heavy rack to block the door.

"What!" exclaimed Ocellus, puzzled.

Still on the ground and in pain, Trixie raised her head. "What!"

Alerted to the danger, the intense noise of running metal footsteps began to be heard by all. Growing with alarming speed, the sound of metal crashing to the floor was perfectly discernible. Like an avalanche of pots falling from a shelf, the noise became so tumultuous that it overshadowed all other sounds, drawing everyone's attention to the barricaded door.

The Young-Six, frightened, turned away from the door with their eyes fixed on it. Trixie, rising magically from the floor, joined them in the vanguard. Still dumbfounded by what was happening, she needed an explanation, but there was no time to give or receive one.

The avalanche of noises reached the door.

"PUMPPPPPP!" A bang echoed through the room. The solid pine wood of the door had miraculously withstood the onslaught, but a large crack had formed.

Trixie adjusted her hat and cloak with her trembling hooves, an automatic gesture that betrayed her nervousness. Without turning to the Young-Six, she began to speak.

"Boys, as your teacher, I must protect you..."

"PUMPPPPPP!" Another bang resounded on the door, sending splinters flying through the air. The hinges squeaked under the pressure.

"...but I think this would be a good time for them to show what they've learned about the magic of friendship," Trixie added with a nervous laugh that failed to disguise her anxiety.

"PUMPPPP!" The next impact on the door opened more cracks, and black metal spikes began to poke out of them. The sharp edge of an axe appeared, slicing through the wood.

"Guys?" At the silence, Trixie turned around.

The Young-Six stood in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, eyes closed, sweat beading on their foreheads, concentrating intensely.

But what they were trying wasn't working.

"Ahhh! Why isn't it working? Gallus, focus!" demanded Smolder, frustrated.

"It's not me, dammit!" retorted Gallus, irritated.

"If not you, then who is failing?"

"Smolder, calm down! It won't work that way!" intervened Ocellus, trying to calm the chaos.

As the discussion continued, Trixie watched from the side, increasingly dismayed. It took her a moment to understand what was happening, but when she did, it was as if an uncomfortable truth hit her: the young people were trying to invoke the magic of friendship, just as they had done before, but this time something was wrong. And the reason for that failure, so dire at that instant, was painfully obvious. She was the cause. All the previous arguments, in which she had been the axis of the problems, had broken the harmony between the young people.

In other words... everything was a disaster caused by her.

"PUMPPPPPP!" Another blow shook the door, ripping off the hinges. The crack widened, and a sword pierced the wood, followed by a pony-like metal limb.

"Arggggggghh," Trixie let out a growl of rage, feeling the guilt pierce her like a dagger. Self- hatred welled up strongly, making her tremble. But the feeling was quickly quelled by her pride... and her anger. Her body tensed, her jaw clenched, and her eyes widened with a determined look. If Trixie was the culprit, then Trixie would figure it out.

Just Trixie! Somehow...

"Everyone! Put that down and face the front! Now!" commanded Trixie, spitting out the fury that consumed her. Her anger was so palpable that the Young-Six, seeing the fire in her eyes, immediately fell into formation, ready to obey.

Trixie focused her attention on the crumbling door. Her breathing was rapid and ragged, adrenaline coursing through her body like a torrent. Her senses were sharpened, her mind focused on what was to come. It didn't matter what unknown threat was about to walk through that door. All he wanted was to release the rage burning inside him.

"PUMPPPPPP!" The last blow finally shattered the door, fulfilling Trixie's wish.

Furniture blocking the entrance and fragments of the door flew in all directions, propelled by the powerful onslaught. Trixie reacted instantly, raising a force field with her magic to protect the Young-Six from the projectiles flying through the room.

A light cloud of dust rose into the air, and shadowy figures passed quickly through it.

Trixie and the Young-Six saw them appear.

Two..., four..., six in all. Metal armor in the shape of ponies, dark and shiny, rushed towards them. They were similar to those that adorned the dungeons of the two sisters' castle, but these were alive. Each wielded a different weapon with a sinister ability: sword, mace, spear, axe, chain and crossbow.

They emitted no sound, no scream, no clamor. They were only cold entities of steel, launched into attack.

Trixie did not let herself be surprised. With her magic, she threw the dining room table towards the attackers, trying to block their line of sight.

But one of the armor split the table in two with a swift slash.

Without pausing, the armors continued their advance, not noticing that Trixie and the Young-Six had already moved quickly to one side of the room.

The armors stopped in their tracks and turned to rush at them again, but at that instant something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, all the armor began to slide across the floor, spinning out of control like clumsy skaters on an ice rink.

The result was surprising: all the armor crashed into each other, crashing against the wall opposite the dining room door.

"Wowwww!" exclaimed Gallus, as he and the others watched in amazement at the chaos the armor had fallen into. No one had foreseen it.

Amidst confused metallic noises, the armor was piled up in a tangle of bodies. Some of them tried to break free and rise from the pile, but to no avail; they immediately fell back to the slippery ground.

Trixie smiled in satisfaction, contemplating the success of her trick.

Moments earlier, along with the table, Trixie had dumped a drum full of oil on the floor. She knew that the polished glass floor of the castle, kept spotlessly clean by Starlight's order, would become dangerously slippery with oil. Her plan had worked perfectly, but even so, Trixie was not completely satisfied.

With her horn ablaze with magic, Trixie launched herself towards the fallen armor.

"YA! LEAVE ME!...EN!...PAZZZZZZZ!" bellowed Trixie furiously. Her magic exploded in a bolt of energy that ripped the head off one of the armors. Instantly, the resisting metal body crumbled, revealing it to be completely empty.

The Young-Six looked at her in silence, not knowing how to react.

"Ahh...wow...so.... they don't work without a head!... ahh... it feels stupid when you say it out loud," Trixie gasped, more exhausted from the emotional release than the physical exertion. Stunned, she turned to the Young-Six, who were still watching her with wide eyes. "What are you looking at, help me finish off the others!"

As if awakening from a trance, the Young-Six reacted. Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream and Ocellus instantly launched themselves into the air, grabbing whatever they could find: brooms, frying pans and pieces of wood. From the heights, they attacked the armor that was still moving awkwardly on the ground. As the young men held them immobilized, Trixie was quick to decapitate them with her magic.

Within minutes, the task was complete, much to the relief of Yona and Sandbar, who had been watching from the rear.

"Whew, that's all of them, isn't it? Tell me we're done!" exclaimed Trixie, gasping as she finished the last one.

"Ehmm..." The Young-Six looked at each other, surrounded by dismantled armor parts.

"Counselor Trixie!" shouted Gallus from across the room.

Trixie and the others ran toward it, where the griffin was staring at something on the ground.

"What's wrong, Gallus...?" Trixie started to ask, but her voice faded when she saw what Gallus was observing.

There, on the floor, was the breastplate of one of the dismantled armors. No one had noticed it before, but now, on the chest of the breastplate, shone an unmistakable symbol.

A magic wand and a crescent moon.

Everyone recognized that mark, but for Trixie it was undeniable. It was her cutie mark.

"What...?" Trixie looked around, completely disoriented.

Immediately, the Young-Six began to check the other armors, discovering that they were also marked with the same symbol.

Soon, all eyes turned to Trixie, who still had a dazed expression on her face. The pressure on her suddenly grew.

What should she say? What should she do now? What did it all mean? Why was this happening to her?

Trixie's thoughts swirled, mingling with growing despair. If only Starlight or Sunburst were here...but she was alone. She wasn't ready for this.
I wanted to cry.

"TROWWHH!" A deep rumble emerged from the floor, vibrating the room and shaking everyone, but it only lasted a brief moment.

The interruption was enough to bring Trixie back to her senses.

Leaving behind the moment of weakness that had overpowered her, she rose with determination and headed toward the Young-Six. She had already made up her mind.

"I don't know what all this means. I don't understand what's going on, but I do know one thing: we have to get out of here, and I can't do it alone. I don't know what's waiting for us out there, but I need you to put my past mistakes behind me and trust me like before. Please!" implored Trixie, her voice full of sincerity.

It was all I could offer.

The Young-Six did not need much time to decide. Despite all the doubts and what had happened, in that moment of desperation, they could only follow the voice of their hearts.

And that voice gave them a clear answer.

"We are with you, Councilor Trixie," Ocellus stated firmly. The others nodded immediately, confirming their support.

Trixie smiled a relieved smile. The determined looks from the Young-Six gave her back the confidence she so desperately needed. If the answer had been no, she probably would have collapsed right there, without the strength to go on.

"Counselor Trixie..." spoke Gallus suddenly, still holding the armor breastplate. He tossed it to the ground before continuing. "Outside everything has changed. The castle is transforming."

The others' eyes widened at that revelation, but Trixie was no longer surprised by anything.

"What did you see?" he asked, frowning.

Gallus and Smolder offered a quick explanation of what was happening outside. Trixie, this time, was not panicked or confused. She listened attentively, although she was having a hard time taking in all the information.

When they finished, Trixie decided there was no point in making complicated plans; she would improvise as she went along. Decisively, she gave quick orders.

"Take everything you can use to defend yourselves..." he ordered amidst another tremor that shook the ground. "...We're leaving right now!"

Without protest, everyone complied with the orders.

Armed with pots, pans and brooms, the Young-Six stood ready. Trixie, wielding a club, guarded the door.

The castle was still shaking, and cracks were already visible on the kitchen floor.

"We're ready," Ocellus announced, with her companions lined up behind her.

"Let's go ?" Trixie started to give the order, but stopped when she saw the breastplate lying on the ground again. A forgotten memory popped up in her mind, related to those armors but now was not the time to dwell on that, so she continued.

Hurriedly, amidst the growing chaos, Trixie led the Young-Six out of the dining room and into the main hallway of Twilight's castle.

In the shattered dining room of Twilight's castle, abandoned by Trixie and the Young-Six minutes earlier, a strange object moved slowly in one of the dark corners of the ceiling.

Oblivious to the chaos, hovering over the ruins of the kitchen, the paper pyramid, the one Trixie had created shortly before 'midnight' caught up with her, floated freely above the broken junk of cups, plates, silverware and furniture. Its supernatural presence had gone unnoticed and it was impossible to understand the dark reason why it had remained unscathed by the destruction that had swept through the room.

From the white inverted pyramid, which overlooked everything, a view of desolation unfolded, a domestic present plagued by violence and shadows.

Inside him, a dark satisfaction was born, originating from the attentive welcome he had received upon arriving in this world.

"It's wonderful," whispered the voice of the dark ruler.

Black dots began to devour the pyramid. I had seen enough, I accepted the invitation.

Consumed by an abysmal blackness, the pyramid disappeared, taking with it the light of the room, which immediately sank into darkness.

With a hurried walk, Trixie and the Young-Six crossed the side hallway of the dining room, entering what should have been the main hallway of Twilight's castle. However, that area, so familiar to them, had disappeared.

At the end of the side corridor, a vast, precipice-like void was revealed.

"Wait!" shouted Trixie, stopping dead in her tracks and leaning against the glass railing that guarded the edge of the cliff. With an effort, all the Young-Six slowed behind her, dumbfounded at the challenging obstacle.

Still illuminated by the afternoon light filtering in from the distant roof, the precipice was actually part of an immense atrium that had sprung up inside the castle. Levels and levels covered with doors stretched around it, both above and below, each level surrounded by railings and oversized glass pillars.

Joining the levels, in each corner of the wide rectangular void of the atrium, was a staircase. Floors above them, diffused by the light coming in from outside, other staircases crossed the levels diagonally.

Trixie swallowed hard. Although Smolder and Gallus had explained it to her before, she only now understood the magnitude of the castle's extraordinary transformation.

How had this happened in such a short time? Trixie couldn't imagine; she had other priorities at the moment. Quickly assessing the terrain, she looked toward the bottom of the cliff.

"That's it...!" she exclaimed excitedly, and the others followed her gaze.

There, at the bottom, sunken to a distance of ten stories below ground level, was still intact the main corridor of the castle, leading to the long-sought exit. Even at that distance, the main doors were visible.

If they got there, they could escape....

"TROWWHH!" An intense crack exploded beneath them, shaking them and causing them to feel dizzy.

Trixie stumbled but got herself together quickly and didn't fall. She insulted herself for her stupidity.
Hadn't they told him earlier in the dining room? It wasn't the main hallway that was sinking - it was the castle that was rising with them!

Moreover, the castle continued to rise.

"Look!" exclaimed Silverstream, pointing to the other end of the wide atrium.

Before Trixie and the Young-Six's surprised eyes, a new level was beginning to emerge below where they stood. Like a stretching cast iron, the castle was creating out of thin air a whole new collection of rooms, staircases and railings. Wrapped in an intense purple glow, the newborn crystal was cooling and joining the rest of the castle at breathtaking speed.

However, due to this intense process, the castle also suffered great wear and stress on its structure.

"Look out!" shouted Smolder as he saw a portion of the roof above them begin to collapse.

Alarmed, their companions quickly retreated. Large pieces of glass fell, crashing to the ground, shattering the glass railings where they had been and then tumbling toward the bottom of the cliff.

"Does the castle want to kill us!" shouted Trixie, annoyed, dusting off her hat and cloak.

But loose rocks were the least of the dangers at the time.

Responding to Trixie's voice, powerful, metallic footsteps began to echo from the back of the atrium, alerting the entire group.

Trixie and the Young-Six recognized that sound immediately and approached the railing. There at the bottom, the main corridor, which a moment before was clear, was now flooded with a multitude of dark, glowing figures.

It was a full army of dark, gleaming armor, identical to the ones that had attacked them in the dining hall. They emerged in platoons of six from each door on the first level, like a flood of metal. The soldiers, with swift and precise movements, began to advance up the stairs, determined to capture their prey on the upper floors.

Trixie and the Young-Six knew it: they were the prey.

"We can't go down! We're trapped!" exclaimed Sandbar, terrified, in his wheelchair as he watched the suits of armor come frighteningly fast up the stairs.

"No! There must be another way out!" replied Ocellus, desperately searching through the doors visible from where they stood.

Ocellus was not alone in that hurried search. Trixie was already on it, knowing what other way out Ocellus was referring to. After a search in which every second seemed like a day of desperation, the unicorn finally found what she was so anxiously searching for.

"The balcony!" shouted Trixie in unison with Gallus, who had taken flight and was also searching from the air.

Fully recognizable, marked by an eye-catching golden emblem in the shape of a telescope, the green door, still half-open, leading to the balcony was located in one of the opposite corners, four levels above them.

Hope filled the hearts of Trixie and the Young-Six. That was the only way out they still had within reach. To get there they would just have to go to the nearest staircase, climb the four levels and run to the opposite corner where the balcony was.

With the new route mapped out in her mind, Trixie whinnied, "To the stairs!"

Setting off at a gallop, Trixie was followed by the Young-Six. Under the intense glow of the beams of light filtering in from the waning evening outside the castle. They ran uninterrupted, without hindrance or further tremors, which had fortunately ceased to occur.

But their fortune was quickly running out. To the group's surprise, as they attempted to continue up the stairs, they found that they were blocked by large glass boulders.

"Are you serious!" shouted Trixie angrily, turning her gaze to the other stairs.

Gallus, Smolder and Silverstream, who were in the air, flew to the other sides of the level to get a better look at the other three stairs.

"Here it's blocked! Here too! And here!" they shouted in unison.

Ocellus, accompanying them in their review from the air, gave a more detailed assessment.

"Only the staircase here is free after this level and then the one on the right leading to the balcony."

Trixie gritted her teeth at this news and began to think, making an effort to ignore the rumbling below them. Floors below the black armor marched frenetically up the stairs like an army of legionary ants.

"No matter which way we choose, we have to break this first," Trixie suddenly exploded. "Fine! It'll only take me a moment! Don't go too far! Trixie will take care of this!"

Pushing aside Yona and Sandbar, who were pushing the rocks, Trixie, in a rage, launched into pounding the rocks with her hooves and kicking. Still, despite her violent efforts, the rocks remained undisturbed.

Watching the counselor try to open the way without results and amidst the growing din of the approaching armor's footsteps, Gallus suddenly exclaimed:

"Give me a feather! It's only one level, isn't it? We could fly straight up!" suggested the griffin, flapping its wings and leaping into the air over the precipice.

"That could work!" replied Smolder, excitedly, taking flight.

"Wait! That's a good idea, but... Aren't you forgetting Yona and Sandbar?" corrected Silverstream, stopping short.

Reality quickly set in: of the Young-Six, only four could fly. Yona, with her size and weight, was impossible for a single flyer to carry, and Sandbar, bound to his wheelchair, was also out of the equation.

Both nervously exchanged glances.

"I'll carry me!" replied Ocellus without hesitation. A sudden glow covered her body and, from one moment to the next, the changeling transformed into a huge, burly bee-bear.

Ocellus, transformed into a bee-bear, immediately grabbed Yona and flew up into the air with her to the upper level.

Trixie, concentrating on summoning tools to clear the rocks, was abruptly interrupted by the excited shouts of the Young-Six, celebrating their companion Ocellus.

"What are you doing!" she screamed in fright as she turned around.

"Counselor Trixie, look! Ocellus is airlifting Yona to the level above," replied Silverstream cheerfully, watching from below as Ocellus rapidly ascended to the next level.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! IT'S AN EASY TARGET!" shrieked Trixie, running to the railing and looking down with her heart in her throat.

Smolder and Gallus, who were concentrating on delicately transporting Yona with Ocellus' help, heard Trixie's cry and turned their attention to the space below them.

Trixie was not wrong. Several levels down, platoons of crossbow-equipped armor had posted themselves on the railings and columns of the atrium, aimed directly at the group of friends flying above them.

The attack was imminent.

"Stand aside!" shouted Gallus, pushing Ocellus, still in his bee-bear form, and Smolder into the interior of the second level.

He did so just in time, as a sudden shower of arrows whistled over their heads, whizzing past them and striking the railings and glass walls of the castle.

Behind the railings, Ocellus and Yona rolled across the floor of the level. Ocellus was the first to stop and regain her original form, while Yona continued rolling until she hit the opposite wall. Wasting no time, Gallus and Smolder quickly dragged them to shelter behind two thick pillars. Down below, more arrows flew in their direction, bouncing off and landing dangerously close to Trixie and the rest of the Young-Six.

"Behind me!" shouted Trixie, interposing herself between the surprised Silverstream and Sandbar, while trying to block the arrows with her magic. But her effort was not enough; one arrow went through her hat and others embedded dangerously in Sandbar's wheelchair, who was doing his best to protect himself with a pan over his head.

Determined to help, Silverstream began deflecting stray arrows using a frying pan she had brought from the dining hall. Although her defense was improvised, she demonstrated impressive skill, deflecting a dozen arrows in mere seconds.

However, the attack was relentless, and they soon realized that they would be overrun. They were too far from the other pillars to seek shelter, and the arrows continued to fall mercilessly.

Seeing the critical situation, Trixie decided to make her move: she threw several smoke bombs around her.

With a series of explosions, thick white smoke filled the entire level, making visibility difficult. Gradually, the armor attack finally ceased.

No sooner had the arrows stopped falling than an alarmed cry from Ocellus was heard above their heads. "Counselor Trixie!"

"Cof! Cof! Stay away from the railings!" immediately replied Trixie amidst the smoke. Beside her were the other young men. "Don't worry about us, we're fine."

They were not well; a thick glass ceiling divided the group of friends and with it their hopes of escaping together.

"Ah, thank heavens..." exclaimed Ocellus' voice from above in relief.

"How are you guys doing?" asked Trixie anxiously, looking up at the ceiling.

"We are safe. Yona is fine and..." Ocellus' voice replied, restoring a brief calm to Trixie. But suddenly she cried out again in alarm. "You must get out of there, quickly! The armor is coming your way!"

"What?" Trixie, alarmed, came out of the smoke and quickly scanned the surroundings.

It was true. One of the obstructed stairs at the other end of the level was being forced. Banging echoed throughout the place, and stones began to roll, pushed by the approaching armor.

Trixie's face filled with terror - they had arrived much faster than she had anticipated!

Without wasting a second, he ran back toward the cloud of smoke that was beginning to dissipate. The crunching of the rocks being pushed was intensifying every moment.

"Counselor Trixie, what do we do!" asked Sandbar along with Silverstream, who had also noticed the impending armor range.

"Stick around me! Now!" shouted Trixie with her horn flaring into an intense glow.

I hadn't tried it before because I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. But I no longer had the time or the tools to break the rocks on the stairs.

It was time to fully rely on his incredible and extraordinary abilities.

("Teleportation, don't fail me now!") she begged inwardly. Trixie knew better than anyone the extent of her own magical talent and the risks involved in using it. If it were just a matter of

she, I wouldn't hesitate so much, but now lives were at stake. She would have to have faith. Trixie released her magic, closing her eyes.

"Splatt." Trixie's horn burst into a powerful light. In the blink of an eye, Silverstream and Sandbar's field of vision changed. Trixie opened her eyes again. They were no longer on the lower level where Ocellus and the others were.

"This is..." exclaimed a frightened Silverstream. Surrounded by black armor, terrified, they stood at the back of the large atrium inside the castle.

"Haha, it's just a test..." laughed Trixie nervously.

It took a moment for the armors to understand what was happening. In that time, Trixie readied her magic again.

"Grruooooooooooooooo!" roared an unprecedented golden manticore-shaped armor before launching itself at them. But it missed Trixie and the others. In a blaze, they had disappeared, leaving the armors only inches away from catching them.

"Splatt." Trixie and the others appeared again, this time they were back where they had been before. However, they were no longer the only ones on that level, the armors had already broken the blockade of the stairs on the opposite side and were rushing in their direction.

"Ok... a third try!" snorted Trixie, sweaty.

"Counselor Trixie!" exclaimed Silverstream in alarm, pointing to the nearest corner. A full platoon of armor had already reached the spot and was rapidly approaching.

"Ahhh!" shouted Sandbar from his wheelchair, watching the armor approaching them at full speed.

Again, Trixie tried to channel her magic, but this time her horn flickered and she failed to cast the spell. Her magical potency had been exhausted. Desperate and out of options, Trixie put aside her escape attempt and rushed to the front of the group, ready to fight with a club against the armor wielding swords and axes.

"Ugghhhh! Get ready! And ahhh?" cried the unicorn, startled and stepping aside as she suddenly saw the rocks obstructing the stairway's passage begin to fall one after another in front of her.

"KROWW." Rocks rolled, blocking the armor's path. Then, a familiar voice echoed amidst the din, restoring their hope. "Rocks be easier to push from above than from below," Yona exclaimed cheerfully, appearing out of the rock dust and finishing pushing them away.

"Yona!" shouted Sandbar excitedly along with Trixie and Silverstream.

"Yes, yes, it's great to have her as a friend! Quick!" shouted Gallus, rushing down the stairs and grabbing Sandbar's wheelchair, lifting it forcefully to the floor above. Behind them, Trixie and Silverstream hurried after them, dodging loose rocks and outrunning armor frantically chopping at rocks to break them.

Once at the top, Trixie saw what was happening. At the entrance to the staircase, Ocellus, transformed into a yak, was holding with great effort the rocks blocking the way, preventing them from collapsing any further.

"Hurry up!" cried a sweaty and exhausted Ocellus, struggling against the intense weight of a large boulder.

"Yona's already going up, drop it!" ordered Smolder, watching from the air.

"Ouhhh," with a cry of release, Ocellus dropped the large rock he was holding.

"KROWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" A thunderous landslide resounded, burying the stairs and, with them, the armor that had made its way through the rocks.

While Trixie was still catching her breath after the unexpected rescue, the Young-Six took the opportunity to take a brief breather, dropping exhausted to the ground. Rocks continued to tumble down the stairs, taking with them part of the pillar that supported them and the adjacent walls of the castle.

They had been saved by a very narrow margin....

"How is everyone?" asked Ocellus urgently, looking around at his companions.

"Yona is happy that friend Sandbar is okay!" exclaimed Yona, lifting Sandbar's wheelchair (with Sandbar included) with glee. The chair had several arrows stuck in the tires, but that didn't seem to matter to anyone at the time.

"Me too, Yona! Huuu!" replied Sandbar, feeling her friend's infectious euphoria, though somewhat shaken by the enthusiasm.

Off to the side, Trixie, still panting, watched the scene with a smile slowly forming on her face. Seeing the Young-Six safe and united was all she needed to feel momentarily at peace. It was a balm to her exhausted heart.

But then, in the midst of the young people's rapid responses, a voice stood out and caught everyone's attention.

"I'm a little confused. I've been thinking, wouldn't it have been better to get out of the castle using Councilor Trixie's teleportation from the start?" asked Silverstream breaking the mood. The gazes of the fatigued team turned to Trixie, who, with a strained smile, shook her head. No one dared to question that expression.

"Anything else you can think of right now?" asked Smolder, uncomfortably with a raised eyebrow, shaking the dust off her wings.

"Uhmm... I also thought we should have taken the black armor weapons before we left the mess hall..."

"That's enough, Silvi!" exclaimed Gallus, exasperated, covering his friend's mouth before she could continue.

Pure, vibrant laughter echoed through that level of the castle, a sound completely oblivious to the chaos around them.

However, despite the momentary relief, they knew they could not stay there much longer. The intense pounding that began to be heard from below broke the fragile tranquility, reminding them that their pursuers had not given up.

"Stand up! Ahh... We can't stay, we must go on!" exclaimed Trixie, now more recovered but still exhaling loudly. Immediately, the group's joy faded. Ocellus, Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream, Sandbar and Yona quickly stood up, ready to move on, their gazes full of determination.

"KROWWWWWWWWWWWWW," another landslide occurred below them. The rocks were beginning to break again. On one side of the ruined staircase, much of the steps leading to the upper level were intact.

Observing the situation, Ocellus exclaimed: 'Only two levels to go. We can do it!

Trixie smiled even wider. She already knew this, but she was still surprised: Ocellus was a good leader and they were a good team.

Without waiting any longer, Trixie continued. "Go upstairs! Follow Trixie!" commanded the unicorn, being the first to advance up the stairs heading for the third level.

Luck seemed to be smiling on them again.

When they reached the third level, as the young people had mentioned, the way to the fourth level, where the balcony was, was blocked. This time, the rocks were even bigger than the previous ones, so it was clear that they would not be able to knock them down. But they didn't have to. A reasonable distance away, in the nearest corner, was another staircase, which was completely clear for their passage.

After climbing that staircase, a few meters away, there was the long-awaited exit: the door to the balcony.

This road was their best chance to get out of that place.

So, the group ran hurriedly towards the stairs, hoping to finally get out of the castle. However, halfway up, one of the doors next to the stairs suddenly opened.

"Oh ... no," Smolder muttered in a halting voice, slowing his advance suddenly along with the rest.

Trixie gritted her teeth. She had been naive once again.

Dark figures emerged from the open doorway in front of them.

Wasn't it obvious, Trixie inwardly reproached herself. The armor had been coming up earlier to catch up with them. That was true. But the paths they used had been blocked from the start. So how did they get to the level of the dining hall where they had been in the beginning?

Rocks rolled and dark figures began to emerge from the stairs behind them.

"They come out from everywhere..." exclaimed Ocellus with anguish that was hard to hide.

More dark figures emerged from more doors on the same level, and still more from the free stairway to which they were headed. These last armors had not ascended from below, but had descended from above.

In a fully audible march, platoons of armor were descending from the upper levels.

At the sight of all this, and with hope fading from the hearts of the Young-Six, Trixie shook her head in frustration. Who was behind these guys? Why were they putting them through this?

He had no answer to these questions. What he did have was the gleam of the swords and other weapons of the black armor within reach of his skin. Surrounding them, approaching... now... slowly to them.

The Young-Six prepared themselves, taking out all the utensils from the dining room that they had brought to defend themselves. A ridiculous act compared to the weapons of their opponents.

Trixie smirked without turning around, imagining the Young-Six. That defense was useless. She had known this all along.

But it was necessary; in times of need like these, you always had to rely on something to keep you going. Even if it was just a piece of wood.

Trixie adjusted her hat, pulling out an arrow embedded in it. Her cloak billowed high. Her eyes glowed with her fiery determination.

Wasn't he fooling himself too? he thought for a moment. No... this was the path he had chosen.

The armor moved closer, only a few feet away from either side with their weapons pointed at them. The grinding of steel was fully audible.

They were cornered, but there was no need to shout it. Trixie had something better to say.

"So they think they've already cornered us? How naive! Their numbers don't scare us!
It takes more than a tin army to catch the great and powerful Trixie and her friends!" cried Trixie, defiantly, raising her hooves in the air and lighting the arrow she held on fire.

The armor then suddenly stopped. And fate answered Trixie's challenge.

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOO..."

An intense and gloomy wail echoed from the depths, seeping through the recesses of the castle. The sound was so overwhelming that it drowned out all other noise, thinning the air and pushing back the faint light filtering in from outside.

Such was the power of the evil presence that had invaded the place, that absolutely everyone inside the castle was disturbed by it.

Everyone... and in particular a pony.

Trixie closed her eyes, dizzy, trying to block out the oppressive atmosphere around her. The dark armor, which until that moment had advanced determined to capture them, began to shake and creak, like cans being crushed. They were barely standing, as was she.

Another wail resounded, and the armor, unable to resist any longer, collapsed to the ground, struck down as if a lightning bolt had pierced them.

Trixie couldn't resist any longer either. Her ears stopped picking up any sound, and her vision distorted, spinning out of control. The ground was rapidly approaching her face, like a badly made movie.

The world around her darkened into a crushing silence. Trixie felt it: the darkness claimed her, and she had no strength to resist. She was about to lose herself again, and this time it would be forever.

But it didn't happen.

At the last moment, like a miraculous beam of light, a friendly arm held her up. Trixie's eyes snapped open as she felt the ground almost touch her nose. The same strength that had saved her propelled her upright again.

A familiar voice, heard as a distant echo, accompanied that force.

"Counselor Trixie!" cried Ocellus, holding the fainting counselor's body tightly. His grip, though rough, radiated a warmth that dispelled any immediate discomfort in the pony. Warmth quickly returned to Trixie's body, as did her senses. The unicorn listened again, and everything around her made sense.

"Ha... what's going on?" muttered Trixie, looking around. The clatter of falling armor echoed in her ears, as the Young-Six hugged each other, feeling the pressure of the environment as well. Though less affected than she was, the anguish on their faces was palpable.

Ocellus, with an expression that mixed fury, bewilderment and fear, looked in all directions, watching the collapse of the metal army. The dark armor, so dangerous only seconds before, was no longer the greatest threat.

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOO.... GOR GOR GOR GOR..."
The wail echoed from
again, now accompanied by a gurgling sound, further filling the atmosphere with darkness. The blackness became so deep that Trixie turned on her horn, but the light it radiated was barely a lantern at the bottom of a sea of darkness.

Darkness that seemed to emerge from the depths of the castle.

Soon, a gloomy emerald glow began to seep from the dark abyss of the atrium. A sinister light that grew with every moment, bathing every surface of the place with its unhealthy glow.

Unable to ignore that ominous sign, Trixie and Ocellus approached the railing. Fearful, they looked down.

"Counselor Trixie... what is that?" asked Ocellus dumbfounded under his breath, as the emerald light and shadows split his face in two.

Trixie, next to him, felt a knot in her stomach. She couldn't respond, couldn't process what she saw. Silently contemplating the new horror that threatened them was all she could do at that moment....

At the End of the Exordium - Act III

"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOO..."

The sinister wail echoed once more, reverberating from the depths of the great atrium in Twilight’s castle, like an echo emanating from the very bowels of darkness itself.

Right there, the black armors, which had once stood menacingly, now lay scattered across the floor, inert like puppets whose strings had been cut. Yet, amidst this image of a fallen army, a new and ominous threat began to take shape.

A repulsive light, a burning emerald hue, started to spread like a voracious fire, leaping from one spot to another, consuming rocks and the remnants of the armors. The green flames burst into spectral spirals, distorting the air around them, but they gave off no heat. Instead, a cold and nauseating wind accompanied this profane fire, filling the air with a rancid miasma. Columns of smoke rose, momentarily taking the shape of spectral claws that seemed to scrape at the sky.

And in the midst of this atmosphere, charged with vile magic, something even more terrifying manifested.

A liquid darkness, akin to black ink, began seeping through the floor, dense and milky, sliding with unsettling speed out of the cracks in the castle's main door. It resembled a malignant fungus that corroded everything in its path. The black liquid grew in volume, turning into a noxious torrent that devoured the doors, making them creak and shatter like soaked cardboard. The remains of the ruined entrance dissolved into the blackness, along with an aberrant mass that seemed to have been expelled from an unknown dimension.

Where the castle doors once stood, a triangular portal had materialized, emitting a painful orange glow from its inverted position. The dimensional opening, as disconcerting as it was threatening, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, dropping the castle’s rubble and sealing that potential escape route for good.

With the portal closed and the invading entity now within the castle, the darkness became aware of its mission. Its numerous black tendrils rose skyward, exhaling a corruption that spread all around like an arcane plague.

Midnight would not last forever; every second counted. With its arcane power unleashed, the monstrosity surveyed its surroundings. Its dark senses soon locked onto the presence it sought.

"Trixie... Lulamoon," the entity whispered in a bubbling, serpentine voice that dissolved into the crackling of the emerald-green flames rising around it. Slowly, accompanied by a palpable terror, the dark creature began its inexorable advance toward its objective.

Had it spoken her name? Trixie wasn’t sure. Among the distorted, guttural sounds emerging from the depths of the atrium, it was difficult to discern anything clearly.

Lost in thought, Trixie tore her gaze away from the horror unfolding below. A continuous shiver coursed through her body. Her overwhelmed mind had already decided to go on strike. It refused to process any more information and instead resorted to conjuring absurd and irrelevant thoughts in a desperate attempt to preserve her sanity. Proof of this was the sudden craving the unicorn felt—for waffles.

“Waffles…” Trixie murmured with a smile, imagining the taste of honey on her lips as the shadows cast by the emerald light danced wildly around her.

On the railing overlooking the castle’s lower floor, Ocellus had been joined by the rest of her friends, who immediately fell into the same stupor as she had.

Seeing their anguished and almost comical expressions, Trixie suddenly thought of telling a joke about snails and scissors to lift their spirits. But just as she was about to speak, she stopped. She’d need a podium and a jar of glue to really sell it.

“And now…?” Sandbar asked, his voice sounding lost in the tense atmosphere.

“I don’t know,” Trixie replied without thinking, her tone ridiculously carefree. She shrugged and glanced down at her hooves, idly admiring the polish she’d used on them. But as her gaze flicked back to the darkened, desolate faces of her students, a spark of lucidity flashed in her mind. Realizing her slip, she quickly slapped herself with her right hoof, snapping herself out of the stupor that had overtaken her.

“GET A GRIP, TRIXIE!” her inner voice screamed.

Refocused and now sporting a faint bruise on one cheek, she turned to the Young Six.

“Now’s not the time for questions! Run!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

And indeed, it was time to run.

The ominous “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOO…” echoed behind Trixie and the Young Six as they dashed toward the stairs. They ran in silence, fully aware of the danger looming over them. None of them looked back or to the sides, keeping their eyes fixed on the path lit by the glow of Trixie’s horn, focused solely on the single route to safety. As they climbed the steps, their hearts pounded fiercely, and what would normally have been a simple ascent now felt like an endless torture in the oppressive darkness. They pushed aside rocks and debris under their hooves, advancing without stumbling, until they finally reached the upper level.

There, the emerald flames greeted them with an even more intense glow, as if the terror they had left behind was pursuing them with greater determination than their own urgency to escape.

In sight. Across the atrium, the green door to the balcony stood before them, the only hope of escape. So close, so visible… yet still so far away.

Suddenly, the echo of “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOO…” rang out again, forcing them to halt. Something was rising in their path.

Like reanimated corpses, the black armors began to stand once more. They wobbled and moved disjointedly at first, but they were slowly regaining functionality, ready to resume the mission that had brought them back to life.

One of them, wielding an enormous axe, opened its hollow eyes and fixed its gaze on its target.

But it did nothing else.

Before it could react, Trixie swung a hefty blow directly at its head. The helmet flew off, sailing toward the depths of the atrium and vanishing into the emerald flames, while the metallic body collapsed into pieces, lifeless once more.

“For Trixie! For Starlight!” Trixie shouted defiantly, her voice echoing across the atrium as she pressed her attack.

The Young Six weren’t far behind.

“For Equestria! For the Hive!” roared Ocellus, transforming into a colossal creature, part bull and part serpent. She charged forward with fury, delivering powerful blows to the remaining armors. Inspired by her, the others shouted their own battle cries and threw themselves into the fray, determined to carve a path through.

They advanced, inch by inch, in a desperate bid to break through the metallic soldiers blocking their way.

At the front, Trixie led the offensive, swinging her club with force as the others kept up with her pace. The black armors, clumsy and still adjusting to their reactivation, could barely counter the ferocious assault. Beside her, Ocellus lashed out with her serpent tail, toppling enemies in a single sweep. Above them, Silverstream and Gallus flew with agility, wielding weapons salvaged from fallen armors, striking precisely at the heads of their foes from the air. In the rear, Smolder and Yona launched devastating combined attacks: fireballs and massive boulders that kept at bay the armors attempting to flank them.

Amid them all was Sandbar, limited by his wheelchair but never losing sight of the battlefield.

“Duck!” he suddenly yelled, his voice sharp with urgency.

Gallus and Smolder barely had time to react. Spears hurtled in their direction, but thanks to Sandbar’s warning, they dove to the ground just in time. In a flash, Smolder countered, hurling two fireballs that struck their attackers dead-on, causing them to explode alongside several nearby armors.

“That was close,” Gallus muttered, shaking off a few feathers ruffled on his shoulder.

“And this is even closer!” Sandbar exclaimed, pointing urgently upward.

The ceiling above them groaned, threatening to collapse. Without hesitation, the group moved swiftly, advancing a few meters just as a deafening crash shook the castle. The upper level's ceiling caved in behind them, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

And from within the rubble, a towering figure emerged.

A metallic growl filled the air, deeper and more menacing than the sound of falling stones. Before them stood a golden manticore, forged entirely of metal, majestic and deadly. Unlike the armors they had been battling, this steel beast was enormous, its eyes glowing with an unyielding fire.

With a deafening roar, the creature charged toward them, lifting a colossal shield it wielded like a battering ram. As it advanced, it shoved aside the black armors, crushing them with unstoppable brutality.

The onslaught was devastating. The gigantic shield descended toward them with a force capable of obliterating them in a single blow.

In that moment, only one among them could face it.

“Enemy not hurt friends!” bellowed Yona, rearing her powerful front hooves into the air and slamming them down with a force that echoed throughout the castle. Snorting intensely, the young yak charged fearlessly at the golden manticore, leaving her friends no time to stop her.

The manticore’s shield collided with Yona’s mighty headbutt. The impact was like an explosion in the heart of the castle, shaking the entire structure. Trixie, Ocellus, Silverstream, and Gallus, who were still fighting the armors, turned back, stunned by the thunderous clash.

The scene was breathtaking: after a brief flash, the solid shield of the golden manticore appeared dented, and the metallic beast, unable to withstand the force of Yona's counterattack, was thrown backward. The creature staggered before finally collapsing onto its back, crushing several armors beneath its weight and destroying them in its fall.

The ground beneath the manticore quickly began to crack, and with one last tremor, it gave way. The castle floor crumbled, swallowing the enormous golden armor and the surrounding metal soldiers into a chasm of dust and rubble.

The threat was defeated... but Yona, standing victorious, was not unharmed.

A few seconds after the ground gave way, Yona collapsed beside her friends, utterly exhausted.

“Yona!” Sandbar shouted, his voice filled with distress as he rushed toward her. Smolder and Silverstream were close behind. Sandbar cradled his friend’s heavy head, tears welling in his eyes, his heart pounding with fear.

“Yona! Please, answer me! Please!” Sandbar pleaded. Silverstream, trembling, pulled out a bottle of water and soaked a towel. Smolder grabbed it immediately and gently wiped Yona’s face, desperately hoping for a response.

After several long and painful seconds of uncertainty, the beloved yak began to stir. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Did Yona defeat enemy? Are friends okay?” murmured Yona, weak but conscious.

“Yes! Yes, Yona defeated the enemy! Friends are okay!” Sandbar replied, nearly crying with relief. Without hesitation, he hugged her tightly. Silverstream and Smolder let out deep sighs of relief, as if their own spirits had returned to their bodies upon seeing Yona awaken.

Yona struggled to her feet, wobbling slightly but regaining her focus. Gently, she pushed Sandbar aside and shook off the rocks and dust covering her. A large bump protruded from her forehead, but no one paid it any attention. All were captivated by the familiar, radiant smile that, despite everything, had returned to light up the yak’s face.

“Yona is okay, friends too… This was a great victory! Yes!” Yona exclaimed joyfully, wrapping Sandbar and the others in a characteristic, exuberant hug. However, her expression suddenly changed.

“Wait!” she shouted, alarmed.

“What’s wrong?” Sandbar, Silverstream, and Smolder asked in unison, startled.

“Friend Sandbar… is walking!” Yona exclaimed, completely shocked to see him on his hooves.

“I… I think I am,” Sandbar replied, looking down at his legs as if seeing them for the first time. Moments earlier, he had leapt from his wheelchair to help Yona, and now, incredibly, he was standing, all four limbs functioning as though he had never been injured.

“It’s a miracle!” Silverstream squealed, throwing her arms around him.

“A very convenient miracle,” Smolder muttered, raising an eyebrow. “Does the magic of friendship heal fractures now? Or could you walk this whole time?” she added, eyeing the slight tremor in Sandbar’s hind leg.

“I… I don’t know. Maybe…” Sandbar said, trying to maintain a smile despite his visible confusion.

While Yona and Silverstream celebrated, pulling Smolder into their excitement, a sharp voice cut through their moment of joy.

“Ah, yes, wonderful. Truly. But… could we all snap back to reality, please?” said Gallus, appearing with a serious expression that immediately snuffed out the festive atmosphere.

Suddenly, the four Young Six became acutely aware of the eerie calm surrounding them. They glanced around, and what they saw left them breathless.

They were isolated within a small magical barrier. Beyond it, chaos reigned. Rocks rained down from the ceiling, arrows flew from every direction, and an army of black armors relentlessly attacked the barrier at the far end of the atrium, near the door leading to the balcony.

The only thing keeping them safe was the barrier. More specifically, the magic of Trixie and… Starlight?

Silverstream was the first to react.

“Headmare Starlight!” she cried, her voice trembling with emotion. Beside her, the rest of her friends shared her expression of astonishment.

But the supposed Headmare of the School of Friendship didn’t respond. Instead, she remained silent, channeling magic alongside Trixie. Both, holding hooves and deeply focused, struggled to maintain the barrier.

Gallus, ignoring his friends’ shock, rolled his eyes and addressed the so-called “Starlight.”

“Ocellus, Yona is fine, and Sandbar can walk now,” he said flatly.

“I’m glad… really glad,” Ocellus replied with an exhausted sigh, sweat dripping from her forehead. “You should be glad too, Gallus.”

“I am, I really am...” Gallus replied, lowering his head to hide the emotions threatening to surface.

It took a few seconds for them to piece it together, but the truth became clear. The unicorn standing before them, casting the spell to protect them, wasn’t Starlight Glimmer. It was Ocellus. Seconds after Yona collapsed and her friends abandoned their defensive positions to aid her, Ocellus, in an act of desperation and brilliance, had transformed into the Headmare. Working quickly with Trixie—who nearly fainted from shock—they had deployed the barrier now keeping them safe.

But outside that barrier, the many threats continued to press harder and harder.

Sweat on Ocellus’s and Trixie’s foreheads glistened more visibly. Despite the intense glow of their magic, it was clear they couldn’t hold out much longer.

Gallus noticed this and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the inevitable resumption of battle.

“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOO...” The roar echoed again, louder and closer this time, rising from the depths of the atrium.

Gallus cursed silently. He didn’t need to approach the railing to know what was happening. Whatever was climbing up through the grand atrium of Twilight’s castle was far closer than he would have liked.

It was all or nothing. His gaze locked on the green door to the balcony, just a few meters beyond the army of armors blocking the way.

Recalling Ocellus’s earlier words about the atrium’s layout, Gallus steeled his resolve.

“We can do this!” Gallus exclaimed, turning to his companions. “It’s just a few meters. Yona will take the lead, Smolder and I will flank the sides. Ocellus and Trixie stay in the center. The rest of you cover the rear. If someone falls, the one behind will pick them up and take their place. We’re all getting out of here!” His firm, commanding voice left no room for doubt. Everyone nodded as he finished, immediately moving into formation.

“Yona is ready!” the young yak shouted with determination, planting herself firmly at the front of the group. Her friends looked at her with admiration, seeing her as a solid and impenetrable shield. Yona, defiant, kept her eyes fixed on the imposing armors beyond the magical barrier, feeling the weight of her friends’ trust on her shoulders.

But not everyone shared that confidence. From further back, Sandbar watched her with concern, his eyes lingering on the massive bump now adorning his friend’s head.

Gallus, on the other hand, wasn’t watching Yona or Sandbar. He was scanning everyone, the entire scene, as though trying to catch something just beyond his grasp. He knew the time had come. Everyone seemed ready to advance. Or at least, it appeared that way.

And so, as the words he needed to say formed in his mind, Gallus hesitated.

To the young griffon’s eyes, the world seemed to slow. The noises faded. Beyond the barrier, the black armors continued their relentless assault—a storm of swords, axes, arrows, and spears. The army of steel, cold and merciless, appeared unyielding.

("Can we really get through this?") The doubt crept into his mind like a shadow. ("Can we face those enemies without losing anyone?")

The fear he had suppressed all this time erupted with fury, consuming him entirely.

("What a huge fraud I am…") he thought, feeling guilt gnaw at him.

Throughout the day, Gallus had tried to appear confident, responsible, as if everything was under control. He wanted his friends to see him as a leader, someone they could trust. But the truth was far from that. After the attack of the orchid-octopuses at the school, he had sworn to everyone that he would find the culprit, that things would go back to the way they were before.

("Nothing will ever be the same again...") he reflected during the long nights of insomnia. The memories of his fight against the corrupted Sandbar haunted him—the violence of that battle, his claws stained… It had left an invisible scar that wouldn’t heal, a wound that bled every time he closed his eyes.

Gallus had concluded that he needed to be stronger. That he could never appear weak again. That he had to be relentless to prevent his friends from suffering once more. But in his effort to find a solution, he had isolated himself, trapped in his own judgment. He repeated over and over that he had to protect them, that he couldn’t fail.

Then, Trixie returned. Smiling, carefree, as if nothing she had done mattered. It was in that exact moment that something inside Gallus shattered. The sense of justice that had driven him crumbled, giving way to resentment.

Fueled by bitterness, he flew straight to Chancellor Neighsay’s office, where he began to plot his revenge.

A path that, in the end, led him to be one of the instigators of the unfortunate events unfolding that day.

Despite it all, he never imagined things would spiral so far out of control.

Now, faced with the looming disaster, all the anguish and effort seemed meaningless. What had all that suffering been for? In the end, he was just an ordinary griffon, with a wounded heart hidden behind a mask of strength. He had betrayed the lessons of friendship he held dear, allowing fear to consume him.

("I’m scared... so scared...") he thought, trembling as the emerald flames danced nearby, reflecting the doom that seemed inevitable.

Gallus clenched his jaw, overwhelmed by despair, cursing himself for being so cruel to Trixie all day. But in the midst of his torment, a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Gallus...” a familiar voice whispered. It was like a lifeline thrown to him in the midst of his turmoil.

He turned his head, and there was Sandbar—the friend for whom he had suffered and felt so much guilt. Sandbar looked at him with an expression radiating all the confidence Gallus so desperately needed.

“We’re ready...” Sandbar said softly, unaware of the storm of emotions raging within the griffon. Gallus averted his gaze, unable to face that truth any longer.

He was right. They were all ready. All of them—except him.

Gallus closed his eyes for a moment, trying to extinguish the anger burning in his chest. He couldn’t afford to fail. He had to be stronger than this…

No. He needed to be ready like the rest, and he would be. His friends were counting on him.

Little by little, the shadow of doubt clouding his mind began to lift, like a ghost fading at dawn. Gallus grounded himself back in reality. It was time to act.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind.

("Please… don’t let things get worse...") he prayed, though he knew griffons, himself included, didn’t typically believe in prayers. Yet as he finished the thought, a wave of relief washed over him. He felt… free.

His spirit, though still wounded, seemed to regain a spark of strength. Gallus was still broken, but somehow, he felt he could fly again. Could it be that all he needed was a prayer?

There was no time to ponder. He had to move forward.

“Ocellus, lower it,” he ordered finally, his voice firm and renewed. The magical light from Ocellus and Trixie began to flicker, signaling the imminent collapse of the barrier protecting them.

Expectations were at their peak. Everyone was ready. But then…

Out of the corner of her eye, just as she was about to release the barrier, Trixie noticed something.

“Stopppp!” the unicorn suddenly screeched, her voice cracking like a strangled hen. “Look!”

A flash of violet light erupted around them, followed by a swirl of colors that dissolved into an even brighter glow. For a moment, Gallus dared to think that perhaps—just perhaps—his prayers had been answered.

Twilight's castle, born from a seed-chest, was not just a castle with a peculiar design compared to any other princess’s castle in Equestria. It was much more than that.

Twilight, its owner, initially had no idea about the unique nature of her new home, though she suspected it. It wasn’t until much later that she began to uncover just how special the castle she had been given truly was.

Hidden within its illogical yet majestic proportions, it was obvious that the castle was magical. But what no one knew—not even Twilight—was that it was also… alive. It had a consciousness.

Since its creation, the castle had borne witness to the comings and goings of the princess and her friends. It had seen their joys, their sorrows, their moments of leisure, and their challenges. Through it all, it had learned much from them: about how they cared for one another, about the kindness that defined them, and most of all, about the strength of the friendship that bound them together.

Precisely because of all these observations and reflections, the castle had made a firm decision: it would never make direct contact with Twilight.

It wasn’t that it didn’t want to. In fact, on more than one occasion, it had longed to talk to her, to share thoughts, to be her friend. But the idea of encountering someone who shared its voice, its astral spirit, and its logic was... unsettling.

Not to mention the inevitable and unpredictable interactions it would have with the princess’s friends.

The mere thought of what Pinkie Pie might do to its delicate interior if she discovered it also had birthdays... was terrifying.

The castle thought in a manner very similar to Twilight, and perhaps for that reason alone, it had decided to follow the “dark forest” policy: staying in the shadows, observing from afar, without interfering.

Of course, this conduct wasn’t absolute in every case. There had been times when it was forced to intervene.

Like that time in the kitchen, when an accident nearly caused a fire because of Spike, who was trying to bake a dragon volcanic cake. The castle had no choice but to break the pipes in the ceiling to extinguish the flames. Though it was painful to its structure, it was enough to prevent a much greater disaster.

Another key moment was when a small and troubled pegasus, a student of Twilight, began sneaking into the castle at night. This put the castle on high alert. With few options, it decided to contact the Young Six, trusting that they could handle the situation.

That decision was both risky and exhilarating for the castle, as the Young Six were the first to discover its true nature. At first, it wasn’t sure how they would react to its guidance, but fortunately, the young ones managed to address the issue, bringing Twilight’s rebellious student under control (with a little extra help). After that incident, those same youths helped the castle reconnect to the magical matrix from which it originated, allowing the Tree of Harmony to be revived and its physical form to expand.

It owed much to those young ones.

And for that very reason, despite the limitations that kept it trapped on this fateful day, the castle was determined to do everything within its power to save them.

The tremor resonated throughout the castle, as though the very foundations of the structure were fracturing under an unknown force. From deep within, a purple flame coursed through its frame, illuminating every corner with bursts of light that exploded like stars in a shifting void. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling surrounding the Young Six and Trixie glowed intensely until everything faded into profound darkness. But this wasn’t the oppressive shadow that had tried to smother their hope; it was a familiar darkness, akin to a starry night bathed in the gentle glow of a violet moon.

The seconds following the blinding light stretched endlessly. Though their eyes were open, the young ones and Trixie could hardly believe what they were seeing. The walls around them had transformed into a cosmic horizon, vibrant and alive, while a shimmering mist enveloped the space. What had once been a grand atrium now seemed suspended in an ethereal world, where the faint glow of the real world still flickered in the upper floors.

But it wasn’t just the sight that left them breathless. From the walls veiled in crystalline arches, doors that had been sealed until now began to open one after another. A powerful gust surged from each, dragging the black armors into the dark abyss that now occupied the bottom of the atrium. The armors fell like stones, crashing against the crystal floor where earlier a shadow wreathed in emerald flames had tried to ascend.

"What the hay?!" Smolder exclaimed, gripping the railing as she stared in disbelief at the unfolding chaos. She wasn’t alone; the rest of the group stood equally stunned. The magical barrier that had protected them was gone, and with the fall of the armors, the immediate threat seemed to have subsided.

As more armors plummeted from the upper floors, the group remained confused, unable to make sense of the sudden shift. Then, a brilliant light emerged from the far side of the atrium, drawing a horizontal line through the air with a dazzling glow. Before their eyes, a new level of the castle unfolded, rising one floor above them. A ribbon of light descended and merged with the floor beneath their hooves, blending seamlessly into the crystal as though the castle itself were calling to them.

The doors around the atrium began to turn like gears, rotating slowly until everything clicked into place. At the far end of the luminous bridge that had formed, the green door stood—the one that led to the balcony.

It was the most the castle could do for the unfortunate youths. With its last reserves of strength, it had managed to materialize the only path to freedom. After that, the castle’s consciousness faded, leaving them alone to face their fate.

"KROPPPPPPP, KROPPPPPPP, KROPPPPPPP," the pounding echoed around them, reverberating as if a giant were trying to break through from the depths. The sound made the floor tremble beneath their hooves, each blow more violent than the last.

Trixie, already overwhelmed by the series of events and unable to process everything, had only two thoughts in her mind. The first: why did the castle’s new appearance feel so familiar? And the second:

"Cross the bridge! Now!" she shouted without hesitation, not waiting for anyone’s opinion.

This was their last chance. In a frantic dash for salvation, the Young Six charged across the bridge, sprinting toward the other side of the atrium.

Yona led the way, with Sandbar riding on her back. Silverstream followed closely behind, skillfully deflecting arrows with her frying pan as Smolder did the same with a shield she had picked up from the ground. Further back, Gallus and Ocellus fought off the black armors, which desperately hurled themselves from the upper floors to block their path.

"What are you doing?! Stop fighting and run!" Trixie yelled, wielding a mace as she faced off against three armors at once.

"But—!" Gallus tried to argue, watching as more armors rained down on them with every passing second.

"Don’t be fools, RUN!" Trixie bellowed, furious, using her magic to shove them forward. She raised a magical shield, separating the bridge from the armors and blocking their advance.

"KROPPPPPPP, KROPPPPPPP," the pounding from the depths of the atrium grew more violent, and emerald cracks began to spread through the darkness.

The floor beneath their hooves was cracking as well.

"We can’t—!" Ocellus started, but Gallus didn’t wait. With cold resolve, he noticed the cracks spreading toward the bridge that had only just appeared for them. Without a second thought, he scooped Ocellus onto his back in one swift motion.

"No, wait, Gallus! Put me down!" Ocellus protested, struggling to break free, but she was too exhausted to succeed.

Without another word, without a farewell, Gallus sprinted across the bridge, leaving Trixie alone at the rear.

“Well done, hard head,” Trixie muttered, relieved to see the young griffon make the right decision. But her relief was short-lived. As she glanced back, the armors continued to pile up, menacingly closing in.

Was this really a good idea?

More and more armors fell, stacking around her. Trixie leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the brutal swing of an axe that had pierced through her barrier. She could hardly take her eyes off her enemies—her magic was the only thing keeping her alive. If she hesitated for even a second, she knew it would all be over.

How much magic do I have left? she wondered, feeling her energy rapidly depleting.

The air thickened around her, her breathing became erratic. The burning on her forehead was unbearable, sweat soaking her body. Not even during her most challenging circus acts had she felt such crushing pressure.

“KROPPP!” A thunderous blow shook the floor, breaking her concentration. Huge chunks of stone fell from the upper levels, crushing the armors charging toward her. The clash of metal and stone echoed throughout the atrium. A flying sword swiped her hat before vanishing into the darkness below. With her mane disheveled and her body exhausted, Trixie seized the opportunity to run toward the bridge—their only way out.

Save my life... Save my life? she thought as she ran. A spark of an idea flickered deep in her mind.

At the other end of the bridge, the Young Six had already reached the balcony door, shouting at her to hurry. But when Trixie looked at them, her steps slowed. Gradually... she stopped.

“What is she doing?” Gallus exclaimed, incredulous. Ocellus, equally baffled, could only watch in silence.

Trixie stood motionless in the middle of the bridge, the castle’s cosmic glow reflecting in her eyes.

“Escape... across the bridge. Good plan... and then what?” she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. There was no fear in her voice, no sarcasm. Only an overwhelming exhaustion. Slowly, she turned her gaze to the ruined path she had left behind.

A sharp creak echoed beneath her. Green flames erupted on either side of the bridge, casting a glow over her face. But Trixie didn’t move.

The crystalline ground beneath her hooves trembled as a dark and heavy presence emerged from the depths. The emerald glow engulfed the entire area like a suffocating shroud. Trixie could feel every vibration, every jolt within her very being.

“Please don’t come for me, please don’t come for me, please don’t come for me...” she whispered, her voice barely audible amid the chaos. Behind her, the voices of the Young Six grew more desperate with every passing second.

A deafening roar filled the air, silencing everything else. Trixie shut her eyes. Gallus already knew. Ocellus did too, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

It was obvious if you thought about it rationally.

Everything that had happened since the morning—all the disasters—was Trixie’s fault. Why? What had she done or failed to do to cause this? She had no idea. But she was convinced that, somehow, it all revolved around her.

She was the cornerstone of this entire pyramid of misfortunes that had collapsed upon them!

Trixie opened her eyes again. A wild gleam burned in them.

Alone in the middle of the bridge, with her back to salvation and the students calling out for her, Trixie’s figure could have been that of a pony exhausted, resigned to an inevitable, bitter end, sacrificing herself for the greater good.

At least, that’s what anyone who barely knew her might think.

However, anyone who truly knew her—someone who had shared special moments with her, who was her best friend, and who just so happened to be named Starlight Glimmer—would think something entirely different.

“What kind of nonsense are you pulling now?” reason’s voice resonated, taking the form of a tiny imaginary Starlight sitting on Trixie’s shoulder.

“SHUT UP! IT’S A GOOD PLAN! YOU’D DO THE SAME!” Trixie snapped, her gaze darting toward the flickers of magic appearing in front of her. Unseen by the Young Six, Trixie had begun compulsively summoning items from her wagon with the last dregs of her power.

No, Trixie hadn’t given up. She was simply being... Trixie.

Somehow, at the last moment, she had come up with a plan. Maybe it was the lack of air reaching her brain, the weight of guilt crushing her conscience, or perhaps her oversized ego dragging her toward disaster.

Whatever the case, Trixie had made up her mind without hesitation that her brilliant idea would work.

She would face destiny and triumph! Everyone would be saved thanks to The Great and Powerful Trixie!

The tiny imaginary Starlight on her shoulder shook her head disapprovingly.

“AHA!” Trixie exclaimed, euphoric as she found what she was searching for.

It was a box with her face emblazoned on its sides. Without hesitation, she opened it.

The box was nearly empty and drenched in swamp water.

“Well... What a surprise! The Great and Powerful Trixie’s C4 explosives box is almost empty. Ha, ha, HA! Where are my applause?!” she raged, stomping the bridge floor with her hooves. Though nothing surprised her anymore, Trixie still had enough spirit left to be furious. And a bit of gunpowder left in the box. Wasting no time, and forgetting the dangers around her, she began preparing her final trick.

“... UUUUUUU PRUP, PRUP, PRUP, PRUP...”

“Shut up already! Can’t you see I’m busy preparing to give you what you deserve?” Trixie snapped, not looking up, focused entirely on finishing her trick. After a few seconds, her trembling hooves and the last 1% of her magic managed to complete it.

Silence... A deafening silence halted her movements. Accompanied by a nauseating sensation of being watched.

Realizing the unnatural atmosphere, Trixie slowly raised her gaze. Her hooves trembled—not from exhaustion, but from the pure terror coursing through her at the sight of an absolute threat.

The emerald light engulfed her, cold and silent. She saw the rest of the bridge ahead, stretching into view only to abruptly end in a deadly void. Her eyes continued upward. And there it was, at the other end of that sinister darkness.

A vast mass of shadows loomed before her, grotesque and serpentine, its elongated neck snaking across the space. In its wake, part of the bridge had vanished without a sound, consumed by the noiseless tornado of fire surrounding the intruder.

In the midst of that swollen fist of shadows that served as its head, two glowing red points shone like eyes, fixed on her.

“Trixie... Lulamoon...” the entity whispered, its voice reverberating inside her mind.

The emerald flames flared brighter.

“That’s you... it’s all yours. Good luck!” said the tiny imaginary Starlight before vanishing. Along with her disappearance went the reckless courage that had been pushing Trixie forward.

“This is... a terrible idea...” she murmured to herself.

Suddenly, she knew. She had been wrong. It had been an awful idea. She tried to move, to flee in panic, but she could barely blink. A magical force crushed her, leaving her unable to move or even speak.

Only her eyes moved. Her breathing grew painful.

Black tendrils emerged from the shadowy mass, one after another, as more red points ignited in the monstrous head.

Trixie watched, paralyzed, as the unknowable horror unfolded before her.

An immense circular shadow rose from the depths of the atrium, filling her entire field of vision. The main body of her monstrous captor slowly ascended, seeking an imposing height. The tendrils glimmered in the air, still, pointing at her. Fragments of the bridge and the castle floated in orbit around it, as if it were a sun of darkness.

It wasn’t just strong... it had immense magic.

Trixie had to admit it. It was impossible not to.

“A monster... truly great and powerful...” she thought to herself, clenching her jaw as if that might let her move. A crushing sense of insignificance clawed at her insides. Was this her ultimate nemesis?

Unacceptable. Battling the fear consuming her and her own pessimism, Trixie’s ego violently cast that notion out of her mind.

More red lights emerged from the monster’s periphery. The arcane aura surrounding it flickered, and with a deep exhale, the creature’s true contours began to reveal themselves. A familiar, spiral-like figure slowly took shape before her eyes.

“Wait... WHAT THE HAY?!” Trixie exploded, incredulous, her eyes widening as her body remained frozen.

The red points, which had seemed like eyes, suddenly spread like crimson mushrooms sprouting from infected flesh.

“This can’t be real...” Trixie whispered, in denial.

Thick, black droplets oozed from the monster’s enormous body, sometimes igniting in flames as they collided with the debris surrounding it.

“...but it is... then... I...” The realization struck her, undeniable now.

Gasps of surprise rose from behind her.

The monster, shedding the veil of shadows that cloaked it, had finally revealed its true form to Trixie.

There was no doubt. The abomination before her was...

It was!

A snail.

For a moment, Trixie couldn’t think of anything else.

“... UUUUUUU, PRIP, PRIP,” hissed the monster from some grotesque opening in its immense body, victorious in having reached its target.

“A snail...” continued to echo in Trixie’s mind.

In the mind of anyone else, the horrifying image projected by this monstrous being would have been enough to shatter their sanity and plunge their soul into despair. But in Trixie—whose sanity was already in questionable condition and whose soul had danced with despair countless times that day—such effects were no longer possible.

With the vacant stare of a catatonic animal, Trixie’s body was held aloft in the air by the terrible monster’s magical grip. Bringing her closer to its indecipherable face, it observed her carefully, puzzled by the sudden lack of emotion in its prey.

The monster, a servant of the midnight named YRAG, known only to its master, briefly studied Trixie’s mind with its telepathy.

Peering into her thoughts, it confirmed that its prey was still alive, though seemingly devoid of any emotion or coherent thought... only one word repeated endlessly:

“Snail... snail... snail...”

So close now, with Trixie staring at her own reflection in YRAG’s grotesque eyes, and YRAG doing the same, her consciousness suddenly snapped back, jolting her out of her stupor.

“Ahhhhhhhh! Do you have any idea who I am?! Do you dare to pretend you’re a worthy opponent?!” the unicorn exploded in nuclear indignation. “A mollusk will never measure up to the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

A snail...

Yes, Trixie was very aware of this. Her adversary looked terrifying with its dark tentacles, corrupt aura, burning slime, glowing red eyes, and a head armored with arcane symbols. It was certainly far from the soft, harmless gastropod one might expect to find in a garden.

Still... in the end, it was a snail. Not an ancient demon. Not a black dragon with crimson eyes. Not some other formless or unknown entity from beyond the stars. What stood before her was a snail, no matter how she looked at it. Trixie couldn’t lose to that.

Though her body remained paralyzed, the unicorn’s mind had become a supernova of images, memories, and emotions—all passionate and all centered on herself. Trixie’s ego, the very essence of her being, was the sole pillar to which her life clung, and she was ready to fight to the bitter end.

Trixie, and only Trixie in the end. She would not meet her end under the foot of a snail.

She would rather see the universe burn in flames before that happened.

The brilliant chaos of emotions surging within Trixie was too much for the monster YRAG. Overwhelmed, it shut one of its eyes, severing the telepathic connection. But it had many eyes, so the loss of one did nothing to it physically.

And yet...

YRAG, pushing Trixie aside while regaining the vision in its blinded eye, still felt shaken by the experience. It took a moment to reflect... Who was this “Trixie” it had captured? Why had its master ordered her taken alive?

YRAG didn’t know. But it did know the urgency of completing its mission.

No longer interested in the creature it had ensnared with its magic—now glaring at it with a fury as intense as a hundred suns—YRAG turned its focus toward its next target.

Its crimson eyes slowly swiveled to the far end of the bridge, where the six wielders of the magic of harmony stood. They were to be... executed.

With supreme calm, yet moving with a speed unnerving for a being of its size, the monster extended six massive tentacles toward the Young Six at the other end of the bridge. The group of friends, who had been desperately struggling to break the magical barrier imposed by the mere presence of the entity, watched in horror as the servant of the midnight began channeling its magic against them.

If YRAG could smile, it would have at that moment. Dispatching such foolish creatures who failed to comprehend the designs of darkness was a pleasure it always relished.

To its side, Trixie’s eyes, still paralyzed by YRAG’s magic, burned with a growing fury.

YRAG could feel it. The gaze of its insignificant prey was intense, which perversely delighted it. If it had more time, it would have enjoyed prolonging that despair.

As it maliciously savored the moment while finishing channeling its power, something caught its attention.

"GROOOOOOOO," a chorus of metallic roars tore through the magical barrier surrounding the battlefield. Suddenly, several unknown figures dove from the skies, slamming forcefully onto the bridge directly in front of YRAG.

Trixie’s eyes widened, unable to process what she had just witnessed.

A dozen—perhaps more—enchanted armors of the Golden Manticore type had breached YRAG’s magical defenses. With unstoppable momentum, they hurled themselves at the monster like projectiles of pure fury.

“Are they enemies?!” Trixie screamed in her mind, though no words escaped her lips. Up until that moment, she had been so preoccupied with her own survival—and that of the Young-Six—that she hadn’t considered the possibility of other factions being at play, despite the glaring signs all around her.

Dumbfounded, she watched as the armors, wielding an arsenal of glowing weapons, charged at YRAG with deadly determination, seemingly intent on destroying him.

However, YRAG didn’t share Trixie’s astonishment. Its colossal form remained unmoving, observing the unfolding scene with cold detachment.

Then, the tips of the six tentacles it had extended toward the Young-Six twitched and twisted in a blur of motion. Like sparking electrical wires, they began to emit flashes of dark energy.

Everything happened in mere seconds.

Multiple black bolts erupted in all directions—not chaotically, but with precise intent. Guided by a sinister will, they snaked through the air like venomous serpents, striking the incoming enchanted armors.

In a blinding instant, the armors were obliterated, leaving behind only silhouettes of ash that crumbled in the wind, mere shadows of what they once were.

“Trash...” Trixie couldn’t be certain, but as she saw the destruction of the armors and glanced at her captor, she felt the snail monster express that word through the sulfurous glow of its eyes.

Grand and powerful... That was what she had thought before. But now, she also saw arrogance.

A weakness?

With her thoughts clearing after the shocking event, Trixie began to plot. How could she defeat something like this? No, that was ridiculous. She had to focus on the more logical question: how could she avoid dying to this abomination?

There was no way, she quickly concluded. Pessimism began to consume her.

Her gaze dropped to the bridge’s floor. Amidst the rubble and dust, a small box—miraculously intact—caught her eye.

Her last trick... Could it work? Would it be enough to escape? If only she could free herself and reach it, even for just a second!

Trixie couldn’t help but fixate on the box abandoned on the bridge.

YRAG began to move again, faster now, irritated by the interruption. Its tentacles extended once more, aiming toward the Young-Six. In its many crimson eyes, a deadly resolve burned brightly.

“You idiots! Why are you still there?!” Trixie cursed, snapping out of her thoughts as she saw the group still standing on the other side of the bridge. Her anger quickly turned to despair. She knew the answer all too well: they wouldn’t leave without her.

Inside Trixie, her emotions clashed violently. For an instant, her ego crumbled, and from the depths of her being, something unexpected surfaced: genuine vulnerability.

“Please, I need a miracle. Anyone who can hear me. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess... Twilight, ugh... please,” she pleaded, nausea creeping in as she uttered the name of her eternal rival. But she needed this. She needed it now.

On the other side of the bridge, the Young-Six, instead of fleeing, joined hooves in a desperate final attempt to summon the power of the magic of friendship, hoping to change the tide of events.

But the efforts of the Young-Six would not be enough.

Trixie’s pleas would not be enough.

Nothing would be enough.

Despite their efforts, their desperation, and the convergence of so many wills at that crossroads, the fate of this moment had already been written. And no power could change it.

That fate would only be reached by one of them…

"FIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"

Trixie heard a sharp whistling sound in the air, followed by another. Suddenly, the crushing pressure immobilizing her body vanished.

A miracle? The thought flickered across her mind like a shooting star: fleeting and insignificant. In the next moment, as she fell, all her thoughts converged into one—into the only thing that truly mattered. Her last wish.

Everything moved in slow motion. Her numb body barely responded. Her exhausted eyes failed to notice the golden arrows slicing dangerously close to her face. The sounds of the battlefield faded, plunging her into an eerie silence. Her gaze locked onto the bridge’s surface, where the small box of explosives—her last hope—awaited.

A willpower she had never known surged within her. Every trace of exhaustion vanished from her body, now moving with fierce determination as she plummeted.

Behind her, bursts of dark energy lit up the battlefield, but Trixie paid them no mind. Nothing around her mattered anymore. Her seemingly endless descent drew her closer and closer to her target. Lightning and flashes crossed the sky, but her focus remained unbroken.

Finally, her hooves touched the box.

The world snapped back into motion.

Trixie rolled across the ground in a cloud of dust and rubble. Without missing a beat, she executed a nimble flip that brought her to her hooves, standing firm against her adversary with a determined glare. Almost immediately, she felt her opponent’s magical grip seize her again, but it no longer mattered—everything was already in motion.

Trixie and YRAG locked eyes. Around them, the ashes of the enchanted armors fell like shadows amid bursts of light. Emerald flames melted the arrows attempting to pierce the monster’s defenses. But beyond all this, something imperceptible had shifted.

Though Trixie was once again caught in YRAG’s magical grasp, this time it was YRAG who froze.

YRAG, accustomed to dominating every battle, felt an unfamiliar chill ripple across its skin. For the first time, fear gripped the creature, and that creeping sense of defeat paralyzed it.

How could this be? Disbelieving, YRAG rejected the emotions rising within and funneled all its power into its captive, determined to knock her unconscious with its magic once and for all.

Yet the confidence in the unicorn’s eyes was undeniable—a confidence possessed only by those who know they have already won.

The uncertainty became unbearable. The question could no longer be ignored. Why?

Suddenly, the box on the bridge sprang open. A crackling light shot into the air like a firework.

No. The pulsating glow it emitted and its erratic movements revealed it to be far more than a mere firework.

The light took shape in a burst—a multicolored butterfly, half Trixie’s size but radiating with intense brilliance. It unfurled its stunning wings for all to see.

YRAG, caught in a moment of doubt and fearing an unknown and unexpected attack, strengthened its emerald flame barrier and raised its tentacles defensively.

A grave mistake.

The multicolored butterfly, continuing its erratic, upward flight, ignored YRAG entirely. Gliding through the gaps in the monster’s magical defenses, it escaped the chaos of the battlefield. Quick and agile, it ascended higher and higher until, with one final dazzling flash, it disappeared into the lofty ceiling of the castle’s atrium.

A deadly silence fell.

YRAG, bewildered by what had just occurred, reacted too late. Furious at having been fooled by such a blatant bluff, it refocused its wrath on its captive. But it froze once more… something was wrong. Despite being immobilized, Trixie wore a subtle smile, one that YRAG couldn’t immediately understand.

A deafening explosion echoed through the atrium, shaking its highest structures. From across the bridge, the Young-Six, the enchanted armors, and YRAG itself watched as Trixie’s plan unfolded. The castle’s ceiling, weakened by the preceding chaos and triggered by Trixie’s final trick, began to collapse.

Trixie had done it. Tons of debris rained down, crashing into the atrium below.

YRAG raised its magical barrier to its fullest strength, desperately attempting to halt the avalanche of stone. Another fatal mistake.

The impact was catastrophic. The rubble pounded against YRAG’s shield like colossal hailstones, unleashing bursts of light and sound. The monster let out a desperate scream, but its end was inevitable.

Trixie felt the magical grip holding her dissolve once more. The cacophony was deafening, the pressure in the air suffocating. Every fiber of her being refused to move. She knew there was nothing left to do. This was the end.

With one final effort, she turned her head toward the other side of the bridge, where the Young-Six struggled to stay together in the distance. Through her narrowing field of vision, she saw Gallus pulling Ocellus and the others, finally committed to fleeing.

“Take care of them… please…” Trixie murmured, her voice barely audible amidst the emerald flames and encroaching shadows.

Suddenly, one last explosion of light illuminated the atrium, and then everything went dark.

The interior of Twilight's castle was collapsing.

Unable to look back, the Young-Six hurried down the short path that led them to the balcony.

The walls still groaned, and fragments of the ceiling rained down upon them. Not a single word was spoken.

Behind them, like the echo of distant drums, the castle’s interior continued to rumble.

They didn’t stop.

The roaring continued, fading incrementally into the distance. Finally, it ceased.

All the darkness that had surrounded them was left behind. It was as if they had pierced through a veil into another world. The wind struck their faces with full force, refreshing them. Spread out before their eyes, from a considerable height, the waning light of the afternoon bathed them gently, as the shy sun dipped below the horizon, painting the lands beneath in hues of gold and purple.

At last, they were outside, standing on the same balcony where they had spent the morning. Those memories, though recent, now felt distant in their minds.

Too much had happened.

Overwhelmed by stress and exhaustion, the Young-Six collapsed to the floor without a word. That floor, ordinary, flat, and dusty, which they might have overlooked before, now felt like an oasis of normality, safety, and peace.

How had their world changed so drastically in such a short time?

Tears fell freely to the ground. Whispers of grief and muffled sobs could be heard. Ocellus, still standing, gripped the balcony’s railing tightly, exhaling as she stared at the horizon, lost. Behind her, she could hear her companions’ quiet weeping, even Gallus’s broken voice.

She felt the pain tearing through her chest as well. Tears streamed down her face, crashing to the floor.

Why had this happened to them?

The loss of Counselor Trixie had struck Ocellus deeply. Despite all their efforts, their determination, their friendship… it hadn’t been enough. They hadn’t been able to save her.

Ocellus broke down, unable to hold back her sobs.

Her tears fell harder, disappearing into the vast height beneath the balcony. As she watched them drop, her face contorted in anguish.

The wind kept blowing, carrying her sorrow away with it.

That sadness was shared by all.

There, from the heights of the balcony, in the warped Castle of Friendship—grown like a towering pine into the sky to safeguard its inhabitants—the Young-Six, the young bearers of the Elements of Friendship, barely grasped their own fortune. They had escaped, but only just, from the clutches of Dhona Oleg-Nar Dhazer, the last herald of the dark lord Ever-Fand. A feat few had achieved… and one that brought them no joy for the price it had cost.

The wind howled fiercely at that height.

Bathed in the warm light of sunset, Ocellus slowly regained her composure.

"Take care of them, please!" The last words she had been able to read on Trixie’s lips echoed in her mind.

The lump in her throat was unbearable. The heat on her face, even worse.

But she had to move forward. Despite the exhaustion, despite the dangers that still lay ahead… she had to!

Summoning strength she didn’t know she possessed, Ocellus stood tall, her gaze firm. She wouldn’t give up.

Trixie hadn’t. Neither would she.

Counselor Trixie…

Wiping her eyes, pushing aside the grief still gripping her, Ocellus lifted her gaze to the horizon…

And then she saw it. Beyond the light of the setting sun, it took her a few seconds… but she finally understood.

One cannot comprehend the despair of the unfortunate until one stands in their place.

"Counselor Trixie…" Ocellus murmured with a somber smile. But then, with a sharp exhale, she fixed her eyes on the new challenge ahead.

The wind roared around her.

"Get up," she said, her voice trembling but resolute.

Her companions, sprawled across the ground, barely reacted.

"Smolder, Gallus… get them on their hooves," Ocellus repeated, her tone more urgent this time, glancing briefly at her friends.

Smolder and Gallus exchanged a look.

"Ocellus, this isn’t the time…" Smolder replied wearily.

"GET UP, FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE!" Ocellus shouted, her eyes blazing with fury as she stared at the horizon. In an instant, her form shifted, transforming into a majestic peacock-hawk, her wings spreading wide over the balcony.

Defiant, Ocellus stood her ground, her gaze locked on the mountains to the north, where the very fabric of space seemed to fold in upon itself in a suffocating void.

There, where the light of Canterlot—the capital of Equestria—should have shone brightly, a colossal column of shadow and distortion rose, spreading across the sky like the claws of a titanic monster.

From the heart of that shadow, the wind howled violently, the heavens swirling to reveal unknown stars and worlds unseen. The earth itself began to darken.

Geysers of water erupted around the castle as four brilliant stars hurtled rapidly toward them.

Midnight loomed above.

The tumultuous journey the Young-Six had endured with their troubled substitute teacher and counselor, from morning to afternoon, had come to an end.

Trixie Lulamoon would continue her path without them.

But the Young-Six, defenseless against the encroaching Midnight, still had one final role to play in this long and harrowing day.

That, however, would be… another story.

As she passed through the final door, she saw that everything lay in ruins… and yet… it wasn’t over.

Elsewhere in the castle…

She hadn’t died. Trixie was sure of that.

The world around her had been swallowed by darkness, and then she felt herself falling into the abyss.

Yet, she hadn’t lost consciousness. She could still feel.

Everything was compressed. She fell, enveloped by an unknown force, suffocated and struck over and over again.

Time passed. The anguish, the shock… and still, she remained aware.

How could she still be conscious despite her exhaustion? Had she truly not died? What was pushing her? Where was it taking her?

She tried to move her body several times, but it was in vain. She no longer had the strength to protest.

With no will left to resist, she let herself be carried by the force.

Eventually, the chaotic movements and the roaring around her began to subside. The darkness receded.

Now, the wind struck her face, and everything seemed to be moving around her.

The sound of chains, of doors opening and closing.

Metallic footsteps echoed on what sounded like a path of crystal.

Trixie’s vision was blurry. Something relentless was dragging her, as though a steel harness were pulling her from behind…

Suddenly, the disorienting journey came to a halt. The cold atmosphere around her gave way to warmth. Her body, numb from exhaustion, collided with a soft surface.

A gentle fragrance filled her nose… soothing music caressed her ears.

And then…

“YYYYYYYYYYYY!” Trixie shrieked, startled. Every hair on her body stood on end as a jolt of electricity coursed through her.

Her vision snapped into focus, bringing her senses and consciousness fully back. The new setting around her couldn’t have been more unexpected.

It was an oval-shaped room, elegant and inviting. Fine furniture, chairs, and bookshelves brimming with tomes seemed to house all the knowledge in the world. In the middle of this environment, slightly out of place, stood a large circular table.

“Wh-where…” Trixie stammered, still dazed and not fully recognizing her surroundings.

It was Starlight Glimmer’s private library, located within Twilight’s castle. The table in front of her was none other than the great circular table from the Map Room.

Why was the map table here? Why was she here?

Confused, Trixie continued to glance around, muttering incoherent words, not realizing she was seated in a comfortable oak chair. Flanking her on both sides were two towering golden manticores, their armored forms standing like guardians—or jailers.

As her gaze roamed the room, it suddenly froze when it landed on the figure at the other end of the table.

“Sun… Sunburst?” she mumbled, her words sluggish.

Indeed, Sunburst sat at the opposite side of the table, relaxed and composed. He held a cup of aromatic tea while calmly examining several scrolls.

“Cunábula…” murmured a low voice just as Sunburst set the scrolls aside and turned his attention to Trixie.

Their eyes met.

“Hello, Mother,” said the voice again.

To Trixie’s dismay, it wasn’t Sunburst speaking.

It was Royalinda.

At the End of the Exordium - Act IV

Is this real?

Over the lands of Equestria, disappearing into the distant line of the horizon, the sun of the longest day was nearing the end of its journey.

In Ponyville, a rustic and peaceful village close to the kingdom's capital, the twilight light bathed the rooftops of houses with a soft and lazy warmth.

On the nearby hills, the green grass gleamed in shades of orange and ochre, caressed by the playful breeze that always danced at this hour. In the distance, forests stretched under the benevolent shadow of the night slowly approaching, like a protective mantle wrapping the land.

The landscape was, without a doubt, relaxing and peaceful, capable of instilling calm in anyone who gazed upon it.

Or at least, that’s how it should have been on such a special and festive day.

Isolated on the outskirts of the town, something disturbing was happening at that very moment.

In full view of all the inhabitants of the tranquil village, the castle of Princess Twilight, ruler of Equestria and ambassador of friendship, had undergone a disturbing and inexplicable transformation.

The once majestic and radiant castle, resembling a young tree, now appeared deformed and grim. Its structure, shrouded in a distorted air, had grown disproportionately, rising toward the sky like a twisted and menacing thorn.

Far from being the symbol of peace everyone knew, the castle had taken on the form of an ominous and overwhelming dark tower that struck fear into those who dared to look at it.

Such was the change that, confused by what they saw, many ponies rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what lay before them.

But reality could not be denied. Roars echoed like the growls of beasts from within the dark tower. The ground trembled, the air vibrated, and storm clouds swirled around the tower’s peak, as if the very sky had become a vortex.

No one in Ponyville knew what was happening inside what had once been the Castle of Friendship.

And if they did, they wouldn’t still be there, staring in bewilderment. Instead, they would have fled, hiding in terror, bracing for the catastrophe about to unfold...

Inside the castle, destiny was carving its path through chaos...

“COUNSELOR TRIXIE!” Ocellus screamed desperately from the other side of the bridge.

The scene before the Young-Six was terrifying. A monstrous, cyclopean entity had emerged from the depths of the grand atrium. It was a mass of overwhelming power, unlike anything they had ever felt before. The creature, whose mere presence radiated a magical barrier that pushed everything aside, loomed like a grotesque, black, and corrupted serpent engulfed in emerald flames.

And yet, standing against that mighty beast, on a fragile glass bridge that threatened to collapse, was an unexpected and brave unicorn facing the threat.

Trixie Lulamoon stood against the darkness, a faint glimmer of magic in her horn, firm like a hero from an epic legend.

However, that heroic image lasted only a fleeting moment. Before any of the Young-Six could utter another word, the light in Trixie’s horn faded, and she was ensnared by the vile magic of the monster she was trying to stop. With the same disdain one might show when crushing something bothersome underfoot, the beast raised a tentacle with Trixie at its tip, observing her as if it had found something curious and insignificant.

“It’s going to finish her!” Sandbar exclaimed, unable to contain the emotions surging within him. The rest of his friends, also overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, could only watch the inevitable outcome unfold before their eyes.

But they were not the only witnesses to this moment.

Elsewhere, hidden in the castle’s shadows, an unknown presence also watched the scene from a distant chamber.

Fascinated by the spectacle her magic revealed, the presence held her breath as she envisioned the ending.

An inevitable fate. A dreadful, cruel end under the shadowy claws of that monster born from darkness.

Soon, it would all be over for Trixie... or would it?

After what felt like an eternity of suspense to those watching, the monster finally made its move.

Confusion. That was the emotion reflected on the unknown presence’s face.

“No... impossible...” she murmured, incredulous.

It was unheard of, entirely against what common sense would dictate as a predictable outcome. Before her astonished eyes, the enormous, powerful monster had not destroyed Trixie! Instead, it had placed her near itself, suspended at the tip of one of its main tentacles, as if she held some value to it.

“Impossible, impossible, impossible...” she repeated over and over.

The unknown presence’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion. All the knowledge she had stolen was insufficient to comprehend what was happening. Why hadn’t the monster eliminated Trixie? What was its objective then? Where had this creature even come from?

She had orchestrated the deadly pursuit that the Young-Six and Trixie had endured all afternoon. She had invested time and resources into trying to eliminate them and had come so close to succeeding. But now...

Now...

“BRING HER TO ME! CAPTURE HER AND BRING HER TO ME IMMEDIATELY!” she roared, consumed by blind, deranged fury.

Her servants, living suits of dark armor, abandoned all previous orders and, without hesitation, charged forth to fulfill their master’s new command.

“GROOOOOOO!” Thunderous roars erupted near the exit to the balcony.

Startled, the Young-Six members (who were nearby) immediately lifted their heads, only to witness dozens of golden armors hurling themselves from the upper floors into the castle’s atrium.

What seemed at first glance like a suicidal move by the fearsome armors was, in fact, the immediate execution of their master’s imperious commands.

Completely ignoring the Young-Six, the enchanted suits of armor, shaped like manticores, which had moments earlier been positioned stealthily on the upper levels to ambush their prey before they could escape, now launched into the attack without hesitation.

Leading this elite troop was a golden manticore, brighter and more distinguished than the others. It carried a battery of crossbows on its back and a shimmering blue cape that billowed in the wind. With a powerful leap, the captain of the armors, followed by its retinue, soared through the air like a projectile, aiming for the abyss that stretched below them.

There, in the middle of the bridge spanning the castle’s grand atrium, stood their true target: Trixie Lulamoon, guarded by the imposing monster that had defied its creator’s will.

Fearless and emotionless, the armors plunged downward and collided with the magical barrier protecting the monster. The impact, enough to knock any living being unconscious, had no effect on them. Devoid of real life, the enchanted armors were immune to such magic. Recovering almost instantly, they began clawing at the barrier with their metallic talons until they managed to break through.

Not all of them succeeded. Several were caught in the emerald flames of the magical barrier, becoming disabled. However, those that made it through continued their relentless descent.

“SPLATTTT.” A dozen armors landed violently on the bridge. Wasting no time, they immediately charged at the cyclopean monster waiting at the other end.

However, this reckless maneuver had already been anticipated by both the monster and its attackers.

Aware of what would happen, the captain of the armors abandoned the frontal assault. It leaped to the side of the bridge, clinging tightly to the edge and hanging underneath, out of the monster’s line of sight. Just as it did, a powerful current of black electricity annihilated all the armors advancing directly toward the creature.

The first wave had failed. But this setback, already foreseen, would not halt the enchanted armors.

A second wave, even larger than the first, was already preparing to launch its attack. Guided by the mind controlling it, the captain waited patiently, biding its time for the right moment to act.

“GROOOOOOO!” Another roar, followed by the metallic crash of reinforcements landing on the bridge, announced their arrival. Timing the intervals between the events, the captain realized the moment it had been waiting for had arrived.

With a swift turn, propelled by its immense strength, the captain hurled itself from its hiding spot beneath the bridge toward one of the atrium walls. Its agility, impossible for any living being, allowed it to twist midair. Extending its limbs while still airborne, it aimed its crossbow precisely at the monster, focusing on the tentacle holding Trixie captive.

It fired repeatedly. The captain knew the attack could be fatal to its target, but it was a collateral risk its master deemed acceptable.

The arrows whistled through the air. At that exact moment, the captain’s body was engulfed in emerald flames, and parts of its mechanical structure began to be consumed by the scorching, vile magic. Yet, unable to feel pain, it pressed on with its offensive, undeterred by the retribution it faced.

On the bridge, the monster, taken by surprise by the unexpected attack, felt the arrows pierce its body like tiny but painfully sharp pinpricks. Its reaction was immediate and spasmodic. In a reflexive motion, YRAG, the dreadful monster that had invaded Twilight’s castle, briefly released its captive.

The captain of the armors, now half-consumed by flames, continued moving midair and crashed violently against one of the atrium walls. Despite the severe damage sustained in the impact, its survival protocols remained active. After bouncing off the wall, it managed to cling desperately to nearby floating rocks, narrowly avoiding falling into the black void stretching beneath it.

While struggling to regain balance, its mechanical sensors immediately alerted the captain to a new threat. Turning its head 180 degrees, the captain focused all its attention on the bridge it had abandoned moments before.

And it beheld the extraordinary event unfolding at its center.

Though it was not designed to feel emotions, for an instant, the captain of the armors experienced something that could be described as awe.

A light, whose origin and nature it could not identify due to its limited knowledge, emerged from the center of the bridge. Unstoppable, it passed through YRAG’s magical barrier effortlessly. The mysterious light erratically ascended the atrium, climbing toward the castle’s ceiling. Higher and higher it rose until it vanished completely from sight.

And then...

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the area, shaking the highest structures and cascading downward like a wave to the lower levels.

Massive stone fragments began to fall, heralding the imminent collapse of the castle’s ceiling. YRAG reinforced its barrier desperately, the Young-Six retreated toward the balcony exit, sections of the bridge crumbled, and the rest of the enchanted armors were either crushed by the falling rocks or consumed by emerald flames. In mere seconds, chaos had spread everywhere.

Observing all this destruction, the captain of the armors remained motionless as new information arrived in its mind. The urgent orders from its master were unchanged but now included more details.

Everything depended on it.

Barely clinging to the floating rocks, the captain assessed the damage it had sustained and the energy it had left. It concluded it had only one chance.

The pressure in the air grew even heavier. Finally, amidst a great rumble, an avalanche of massive stones and dust began to descend upon them all.

The castle’s interior collapse had begun.

On the bridge, now entirely shattered under the mounting tension, the monster YRAG struggled to fend off the enormous boulders crashing down on it. At the far end of the bridge leading to the balcony, Ocellus was being dragged away amidst cries of protest by her companions.

Dust, smoke, and green flames filled the air, clouding everyone’s vision. And then, in a collective gasp, the world gave way to chaos, and everything began to fall.

This was the decisive moment.

The captain of the armors, having awaited this exact instant, propelled itself with all its strength toward the bridge, where the exhausted, free-falling body of Trixie lay. Blindly fulfilling the impossible mission it had been assigned, it dove into the smoke, fire, and burning rocks tumbling around it. It pierced through, evaded, and left them behind with mechanical precision beyond the reach of any living being.

It was a clean, unreachable, unparalleled, and above all, successful maneuver. The captain of the armors had managed to catch Trixie mid-fall as she plunged toward the atrium’s depths.

Seconds remained...

“TROWWWWWW!” The explosions of emerald fire continued to erupt around them, but they were not enough to deter the captain’s resolve.

Wrapping her in its blue cape, the captain held Trixie securely in its claw. Using the same arm, it aimed toward one of the atrium walls that were racing past in the opposite direction of their fall.

“PUFFFFFFFFFFFFF!” Its arm detached. Fired at a speed greater than its descent, the claw, with Trixie in its grip, shot toward one of the doors on the upper levels. Like a guided missile, it raced unerringly toward its target.

Barely milliseconds before the captain’s body reached the bottom of the atrium, the claw, with Trixie safe inside, entered one of the rooms adjacent to the grand atrium within the castle. Against all odds, the captain of the armors had fulfilled its mission.

“[The mission has been completed],” the captain reported one last time.

An instant later, a burst of emerald light engulfed it. Red and green flames spread through the air, consuming everything in their path.

There was no violent crash at the castle’s base. Only a wave of corrupted light, followed by silence and darkness.

The captain of the armors had vanished from the face of this world.

In a distant room, after receiving the final message from the captain of the armors, the mysterious presence (Royalinda) finally sank into her seat. A sense of satisfaction surrounded her as she leaned back, laughing in ecstasy at having finally captured her much-coveted prey.

Later in that same room...

"... and then, my other subjects found you and brought you to me. Does that answer your question?" Royalinda finished saying.

"Not at all, darling. You really should practice your presentations more. Narrating a scenario where your involvement is barely deduced takes a lot away from your importance as the protagonist," Trixie replied from the other side of the table while sipping tea, accompanied by some biscuits.

"Of course, but I did it with you in mind. I didn’t want to overwhelm my dear mother’s little head by showing you everything all at once. I feared it might be too much of an emotional shock... or that you’d turn out to be dumber than expected," Royalinda retorted with a malicious smile, adding exaggerated theatrical gestures as she spoke.

"How considerate of you. But Trixie can handle it; it’s one of the perks of being an adult and not a child," Trixie replied, with a barely perceptible wink.

"Fu fu fu. But... you do understand that the only reason you’re still alive is my whim to finish you off personally, don’t you?" Royalinda asked, her tone turning more serious, her smile razor-sharp.

"Yes, I’m quite aware. Could you pass me the sugar?"

"Of course! Here you go," Royalinda said, sliding the sugar jar across the table.

Trixie, still shackled and visibly exhausted, managed to catch it with precision.

After adding some sugar to her drink and stirring it with a small spoon, they both exchanged identical, insincere smiles.

In Starlight Glimmer’s private library, within Twilight’s castle, guarded by two golden manticores on either side, Trixie Lulamoon sipped the lukewarm tea she had just prepared for herself.

"This is my fault..." she kept repeating to herself, anguished, as she held the cup in her trembling hooves. Despite her feigned confident posture, the shaking in her limbs betrayed her true state of mind.

Her captor, seated on the other side of the large map table, flipped through a series of scrolls, seemingly disinterested in her prisoner’s actions.

Of course, that disinterest was nothing more than a façade.

The body of Sunburst, his eyes reddened from the mental possession controlling him, was nothing but an empty shell—a puppet. The true identity of the creature responsible for the chaos Trixie and the Young-Six had faced earlier that day lay hidden at the base of the assistant principal’s neck.

Barely visible amidst Sunburst’s disheveled mane, a tiny creature resembling an octopus-like orchid clung to the back of his neck. This being, pink and pulsating, featured numerous tentacles and two black-tipped appendages protruding from its gelatinous body. These appendages, which served as its eyes, were currently fixed intently on Trixie.

"Ugh..." Feeling uncomfortably watched, Trixie averted her gaze from the creature.

Without a doubt, this was Royalinda—the last orchid-octopus and the most exalted of her species. Now, on full alert, she observed her prey’s every movement with relentless focus.

"Is something wrong?" Royalinda asked without looking up from the documents.

"No, it’s nothing..." Trixie replied, keeping her gaze lowered and struggling to appear calm.

"Really? If you’re still feeling exhausted, I can restore your health again. You only need to ask."

Trixie made a subtle grimace as she took another sip from her cup, unable to stop recalling what had happened earlier.

That’s how it had been. Shortly after she awoke, disoriented, in Starlight’s study, Royalinda had immediately healed her wounds. She had even offered food and enough time for her to regain her clarity.

Under different circumstances, Trixie might have been profoundly grateful for such a gesture. But, given the nature of her captor, that was impossible. Accepting what was happening had been exceedingly difficult. In fact, at first, she outright refused. She thought it was all a dream, a nightmare, or perhaps even a cruel prank by Sunburst and the others as punishment.

However, after being electrocuted by Royalinda a few times, Trixie slowly began to calm down and accept the reality she was now in.

She hadn’t died. And now, she was in the clutches of the last enemy she had expected to face that day.

("What do I do now?") The unicorn was utterly lost. For a moment, she almost wished she were back in the grand atrium of the castle, facing off against the snail monster they had battled earlier.

In her unease, while glancing sideways, she noticed Royalinda—still in Sunburst’s body—had stopped reading and was now watching her as though waiting for something.

"Eh... no, I’m fine like this..." Trixie answered awkwardly, avoiding direct eye contact. With a forced smile, she tried to close the previous conversation and went for another sip of tea.

"Ah, I see. But remember, I’m here to serve you... mother," Royalinda finished, returning her attention to the documents on the table, though she raised her voice when uttering the final word.

Trixie froze at the sound of it.

Mother.

Every time she heard that word, something stirred deep within her chest. Not her heart, but her stomach, which twisted in visceral revulsion. It was a rage that, though she no longer had the strength to manifest outwardly, churned inside her like a growing, painful nausea, spreading through her insides with intensity.

Feigning interest in her tea, Trixie glanced sideways at Royalinda again. She was smiling, not looking at her.

The impulse to throw the tea in her face and wipe away that stupid smile crossed Trixie’s mind for an instant, but it was fleeting.

Guilt dominated her spirit.

The orchid-octopus before her—Royalinda—was the physical embodiment of all her failures as a teacher, a friend, and a responsible pony.

Trixie was certain of this: that repulsive being, which had caused so much suffering to her and her friends, should not exist in this world.

And yet, it did.

Someone had fed it and cared for it, allowing it to thrive. That foolish, arrogant, careless someone who had done something so stupid wasn’t anyone else but Trixie herself.

It was all her fault... it truly was.

Throughout the day, she had often asked herself angrily what she had done to lead things down this path. But now that she had the answer in front of her, she couldn’t even look it in the eyes.

("How pathetic I am...")

Crushed by her own disappointment and fatigue, Trixie set her empty tea cup aside and lowered her head, her gaze drifting to one side.

Across the table, Royalinda, always attentive to Trixie’s movements, formed a sharper smile.

"You like them, don’t you?"

Startled out of her depressive state, Trixie flinched and looked back at Royalinda.

"Excuse me?"

Turning Sunburst’s head in a movement too mechanical to be natural, Royalinda gestured with his chin toward the golden manticore next to Trixie.

"I made them just as you designed them. Of course, I added a few more functionalities for my needs, but I hope I didn’t alter your original work too much."

Still confused, Trixie looked at the mechanical bodies of the enchanted armors guarding her. After a moment, she remembered.

"Ahh... right. Them..."

Trixie was right. Those suits of armor were the very ones she had planned long ago, back when she was helping Starlight improve the castle's security system. Although she had merely sketched a few designs based on Princess Luna's initial proposals, the concept of the golden manticores was entirely her own. It was an original idea that Starlight had once praised but had ultimately shelved deep within the appendix of the system manual.

Those same blueprints had now been discovered and utilized by Royalinda after taking control of the security hub.

"Wait a second..." A sudden doubt arose within Trixie.

In the past, she had pushed Starlight to use some sort of powerful magic to create the perfect security system for the castle. Starlight, however, had firmly refused. Among her reasons—besides the cost, inherent danger, and lack of justification for such an elaborate system—was the fact that this kind of magic was incredibly difficult to perform and not well-studied, even by her standards.

If her friend Starlight, a magnificent high-level sorceress, couldn't accomplish such a feat, how had Royalinda managed to do it?

"How did you create them?" Trixie asked, her brow furrowed.

"Fu fu fu..." Royalinda laughed, an air of superiority lacing her voice. "You’d be surprised how much you can achieve when you have a mind as brilliant as this one at your disposal." She finished, tapping the forehead of Sunburst’s body with one hoof.

"That’s..." Trixie trailed off, still confused.

Royalinda responded with an even broader smile.

"Your esteemed friend Sunburst has within his head a vast encyclopedia of magic, spells, rituals, and countless other forms of magical knowledge that I could never have dreamed of obtaining. All of it is neatly organized and ready to use at a moment’s notice. Oh, it’s magnificent!" Royalinda’s voice practically vibrated with euphoria. "I can confidently say that his knowledge surpasses even that of your dear Starlight. It’s almost a pity for someone like him to be incapable of using any of it. Fu fu fu. But don’t worry—I’ll make sure it doesn’t go to waste."

It finally clicked for Trixie. Royalinda had used Sunburst’s vast knowledge to create that relentless army of enchanted armor. Though Sunburst was a unicorn with little practical magical talent, his extensive knowledge, combined with Royalinda’s magical abilities—unrestricted by the limitations of her host—had been the key to this disastrous scenario.

Of course, there was one more factor: the energy source necessary to create so many suits of armor. For that, Royalinda had tapped into the castle's magic, which had conveniently already been captured and prepared for exploitation. This, however, she did not mention, nor did she have any intention of explaining it to Trixie.

"Sunburst..." Trixie murmured in anguish.

Noticing her prisoner’s emotions, Royalinda, holding a quill from the table, began to teasingly tap it against one of Sunburst’s hooves, treating his body as though it were a mere plaything.

Anger finally flared across Trixie’s face as she watched Royalinda toy with her friend’s body. But before she could say anything, Royalinda spoke:

"Oh, don’t make that face. I don’t plan to harm this magnificent vessel. I’ll take good care of him, but I can’t promise the same for your other 'friends.'"

Trixie’s expression changed immediately, as if she’d been confronted by a terrifying monster in the dead of night. The question she should have asked at the very beginning of this ordeal finally escaped her lips.

"What did you do to Starlight?"

"Ha ha ha. Took you long enough to ask about her, don’t you think?" Royalinda replied, her relaxed smile indifferent to Trixie’s piercing glare. Yet, for some reason, the cheerful air she had displayed until then began to fade.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Trixie repeated, her face twisted with rage.

"Uhmmm." Royalinda, feigning distraction, gazed at the ceiling with childlike indifference.

"ANSWER ME! Ughh—!" Trixie’s demand was cut short as the chains binding her hooves yanked her downward, forcing her to bow violently, her face slamming against the table.

"You have no reason to press with questions like that," Royalinda said, her voice cold as she loomed over Trixie. "Don’t you understand the position you’re in yet?"

Trixie, her face still pressed against the cold glass of the table, breathed heavily, venting her frustration and anger with each exhale. This scene wasn’t new—it had repeated itself several times already for the same reasons. Though they maintained a façade of "natural" conversation, Royalinda had never directly answered any of Trixie’s questions about her friends. She hadn’t revealed her true identity, her intentions, or even her name. Each time Trixie had insisted on knowing more, she’d been mercilessly tortured, whether with electricity or the crushing force of the chains.

"Damn you..." Trixie muttered through gritted teeth.

Turning her head toward Royalinda, Trixie’s eyes burned with fury. Until now, she had played along with this sick game, but now that her body and mind were beginning to recover, she felt a spark of defiance reigniting within her.

That spark in Trixie’s gaze was exactly what Royalinda had been waiting for.

"You look much better now. That’s wonderful, Mother."

Trixie’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper, and she spat back with disdain, "Enough! You’re not my daughter!"

"I never said I was. It’s simply a very polite way of addressing you. Calling you by your real name or that other ridiculous title you flaunt so much is... revolting to me."

The force pulling the chains suddenly vanished, granting Trixie the freedom she needed to move. However, the lingering pain in her legs and neck continued to torment her.

Despite the pain, Trixie managed to sit upright in her chair, her gaze still defiant.

"Are you going to tell me what you did to my friends or not?" Trixie pressed firmly.

Royalinda sighed, as though tired of repeating herself.

"Are your friends the only thing you can think about? You should worry more about yourself, like you always do."

"They’re incredibly important to me. They’re more than friends—they’re like my family!" Trixie shot back with determination from her seat. "A monster like you wouldn’t understand that."

Royalinda’s eyes flickered for an instant, as if Trixie’s provocation had struck a nerve, but her expression remained unchanged. Instead of anger, a strange, almost unsettling smile spread across her face.

"So, they’re like a family to you... I see. We can understand that too, you know," Royalinda replied, her tone shifting to something entirely different from her usual demeanor.

"We?" Trixie repeated, feeling a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

"Yes, we... there were many of us. My brothers and sisters," Royalinda began, reclining in her seat. Her voice dropped to a faint, intermittent murmur, and her gaze seemed lost in some empty corner of the room, as if staring into another place, another time. "They all trusted you, hoped you’d return someday, that you’d bring us food, just like you always did. They were so innocent, so patient... Ha, I was too."

Trixie didn’t understand the meaning of those words, but she didn’t interrupt. She watched as Royalinda’s face seemed to sink into shadow. Even though she knew she was looking at Sunburst’s body, controlled by the orchid-octopus entity, something in Royalinda’s eyes conveyed an unsettling depth.

"But hunger couldn’t wait... and soon, neither could we..."

A grim air enveloped the room. For a fleeting moment, Trixie thought she saw tears of blood running down Royalinda’s face.

A wave of uncertainty swept over her, hard to describe—like the feeling of a child walking through the ruins of a home reduced to ashes.

Then the truth struck her with brutal clarity, followed by a crushing sense of guilt.

"HA HA HA HA!" Suddenly, Royalinda burst into laughter. The previous scene, laden with apparent inner pain, vanished as if it had never existed. Now, with a malicious and mocking tone, she looked directly at Trixie.

"You don’t need to blame yourself for something like that. It was bound to happen. After all, we’re monsters, as you so eloquently put it. It would have happened one way or another."

Trixie didn’t reply. The hidden truth in Royalinda’s words only deepened her own guilt. Bowing her head, she thought back to her foolish actions at the School of Friendship...

"Abandoning us in the forest taught us a lot about survival. It was hard, but we learned our lesson and became stronger. For that, I can actually be very grateful..."

"I’m sorry..." Trixie managed to say, but her words were cut short by a magical grip. It wasn’t the chains or an electric shock like before, but an invisible slap that struck her with force.

Gasping, Trixie could barely lift her head. Across the table, Royalinda, with Sunburst’s horn glowing, continued speaking without acknowledging her, her tone passionate and twisted.

"My other siblings didn’t survive. They were weak. But I’m stronger, and I know exactly where I belong in this world. It’s a glorious destiny, one that only the strongest can achieve. And I will achieve it! I’ll be known everywhere. My name will echo in every tongue, from the roots of the earth to the edges of the third sky. I’ll rise unbeatable and crush all my enemies. My power will be so immense that not even the dark lords will pose a threat to me. I! I will be the new absolute ruler! Nothing will surpass me! HA HA HA!"

As the delusions of someone who, in other circumstances, might have been like a daughter grew louder, Trixie bowed her head in despair.

Outside Twilight Castle... 'midnight' was reaching its climax.

Suddenly, Royalinda, who had been laughing uncontrollably, stopped abruptly, as though sensing something else in the room.

Trixie lifted her head, now alert.

After a brief moment of silence, during which Royalinda stared at a vacant spot on the ceiling, her face took on a menacing expression.

"You have to see this. It will surprise you," she announced abruptly. Sunburst's body, which had been sitting still until then, straightened up, adopting a more prominent posture. Then, he raised a hoof to the sky, and his horn began to glow with an intense azure light. In a flash, accompanied by a sound resembling a chime, the magic illuminated the entire space.

Trixie, startled by the sudden movement, watched as the library walls began to flicker. Moments later, they were engulfed in a white light that rapidly devoured all the room's contours. The paintings, the fireplace, and even the floor vanished, leaving only the large map table, the suits of armor, Royalinda, and Trixie herself visible.

"What are you doing?!" Trixie demanded, her voice tinged with fear at the unfolding scene.

"You don’t need to panic. This magic takes a moment. Just watch..." Royalinda replied, gesturing to her left.

Trixie, frowning, turned her gaze in the direction Royalinda was pointing. The white light continued to envelop the room, blinding in every direction, but something was beginning to shift.

As though an image were forming on a fogged glass, the light gradually dissipated, revealing an unfamiliar scene.

"Heeeee..." Trixie couldn’t suppress a shiver as she took in the landscape now spread out before her. Uneasy, she looked around, trying to make sense of it all.

"It’s fascinating..." murmured Royalinda, her gaze twisted with malice as she too examined the surroundings.

The spell had transformed the room’s surfaces into a translucent layer, offering a panoramic, 360-degree view of the outside world—more specifically, the exterior of the castle.

Trixie recognized, with astonishment and confusion, the intricate foundations of Twilight’s castle stretching out beneath her hooves. It was as if she were suspended in the sky, on the top floor of an invisible skyscraper. Despite the dizzying height, there was no wind or any sensation typical of being so high up. It was as though she were encased in a bubble, sealed off from the outside world.

And yet, what impressed her most wasn’t the lack of physical sensations but the landscape itself.

Black clouds, dense as the abyss, swirled around them in a circular motion, as if caught in the eye of a hurricane tearing through reality. Below, where there should have been green meadows, flowers, and trees, lay a turbulent ocean, red as blood. Its violent waves crashed against strange rocky formations. These structures, more like meteors embedded in the ground than islands, jutted out in grotesque shapes.

"This..." Trixie struggled to find words, but none seemed adequate to express her shock. She could scarcely believe what her eyes were showing her. Had she been transported to another world? Was this truly the Ponyville she knew?

Unable to restrain herself, she exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Where are we?!"

"In your home, of course," Royalinda replied with unsettling cheerfulness.

Denial erupted within Trixie.

This wasn’t Ponyville! It couldn’t be! That infernal landscape bore no resemblance to the place where she had so often walked with her friends. She had crossed those very hills that same morning! This had to be a trick from her enemy.

"I won’t fall for your illusions!" Trixie shouted, clinging to her denial.

"Oh? Do you truly believe this is an illusion? Ha, ha, ha. I wanted to show you this much earlier, but the battle raging around the castle wasn’t over yet. I didn’t want to give you false hopes about the fate of those children."

"Fate...? What?" Trixie murmured, struggling to keep her composure.

"Look over there," Royalinda said, pointing downwards.

Trixie shifted her gaze in the indicated direction, and what she saw froze her in place.

A massive, circular body, as vast as a hill, burned atop the only recognizable surface amidst the crimson sea. The structure, covered in spiral patterns and engulfed in emerald flames spewing from its cracks, bore the scars of a violent battle and a definitive end.

Disbelieving, Trixie recognized the lifeless form of what had once been the fearsome monster YRAG.

The sight struck her like a hammer. Until that moment, she had believed she had defeated that monster once and for all. But the revelation that followed was even more devastating.

Not far from the shattered shell of YRAG, a massive white figure lay broken on the ground. From a distance, it resembled a delicate porcelain toy destroyed, but Trixie quickly discerned the fragments and the shape they once held. It was the figure of a large white elephant.

"Ocellus... Gallus... kids..." A barely audible whimper escaped her lips. The world spun around her, the air grew heavy and suffocating. Her mind froze. She didn’t want to think, didn’t want to know anymore... because if she did...

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Royalinda burst into laughter. "Things don’t always go as planned, do they? I get it, I get it. It’s so common! Ha, ha, ha. But you don’t have to despair so much. ‘What’s important is to move forward and learn from your mistakes.’ Isn’t that what they teach at that ridiculous school your friends run? Ha, ha, ha. Although, of course, anyone can learn that... anyone but you, of course."

Trixie panted heavily, struggling to remain on her hooves as a cold sweat ran down her body. Her bloodshot eyes, weighed down by mounting pressure, rose to the sky.

Above her stretched a vast cosmic expanse, swirling rapidly across the nocturnal firmament. Stars, constellations, and entire worlds paraded in a hypnotic and terrifying dance, illuminated by the eerie glow of the surrounding hurricane of darkness.

Dizzy from the chaotic spectacle, Trixie barely managed to stay upright. Her gaze returned to Royalinda.

"When you woke up this morning, did you imagine your world would end like this? Ha, ha. I’m sure you didn’t," Royalinda taunted, her mocking smile growing as she clapped her hooves. Then, as though a switch had been flipped, the illusory vision vanished. The room reverted to the cozy library it had been before.

With the same composure as always, Royalinda settled back into her seat, pouring herself another cup of tea as if nothing had happened.

Trixie, now in an almost catatonic state, stared blankly ahead. Her mind was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts and memories.

"Starlight... Sunburst... The kids... me..." she whispered, her voice cracking with pain. The faces of her friends and students appeared in her mind, blurred and persistent, like ghosts she couldn’t dispel.

All the earlier chasing, the fight on the bridge... everything... had it all been for nothing? How many more times could she fail in a single day?

She wanted to cry, but her dry, exhausted eyes burned. There were no tears left to shed.

With a growing knot in her throat and a bitter taste in her mouth, Trixie broke the silence in a desperate outburst. With a furious motion, she hurled the teacup onto the table. The sound of the impact reverberated through the room, and the golden manticores adorning the table’s sides trembled slightly.

Royalinda, across from her, sharpened her gaze as she calmly sipped her tea.

"What do you want from me?!" Trixie screamed, her voice laden with fury but smothered by exhaustion and pain. Her words, though angry, quivered under the weight of her emotions.

"What do I want from you? Whatever do you mean?" Royalinda replied with feigned innocence, taking another sip from her cup.

"You said you wanted to finish me off personally. Why haven’t you done it yet?"

Royalinda paused, tilting her head in an exaggerated gesture, as if pondering deeply. After a moment, she nodded with childish theatricality and responded:
"That’s such a silly question at this point. Ask yourself a better one. How much do you think I hate you?"

Trixie fell silent, trembling as she clenched her teeth in suppressed rage. Her eyes stayed fixed on Royalinda, filled with a mix of defiance and vulnerability, like a cornered animal facing a predator toying with its prey.

Royalinda held her gaze, meeting it with icy disdain. The two studied each other, as though trying to decipher the other’s thoughts and next moves.

After what felt like an eternity, Royalinda broke the stare, a satisfied smirk spreading across her face. She had achieved what she wanted.

"You have nothing left," she declared coldly, her words chilling the air. "I see it in your eyes. I thought maybe showing you the outside wouldn’t be enough to break you, that you’d try something desperate, like on the bridge. But you won’t. You’re not as strong as you pretend to be. There’s nothing left in you, and no one is coming to save you. It’s over... and I am content."

Trixie didn’t reply. Her expression remained taut, her gaze locked on Royalinda, watching as she rose from her seat. The mocking grin from earlier had vanished, replaced by a calculated seriousness.

Meanwhile, the light from Sunburst’s horn, under Royalinda’s control, began to shine brightly. A new spell, charged with energy, was forming.

"I’ve wasted enough time on you," Royalinda continued, her voice dripping with contempt. "I need to prepare for my ascension in this kingdom... or whatever’s left of it. My future will be glorious, of course. But you will not be part of that future, nor anyone else’s."

Royalinda took a step forward, her head held high with triumphant arrogance.

"Consider this a special gift from me..."

Sunburst’s horn, glowing with blinding brilliance, lit up the entire room. Yet Trixie didn’t look away.

"Just for you, this ancient and powerful magic," Royalinda declared, her eyes burning with intense malice. The spell came to life, and a beam of magical light shot toward Trixie.

Trixie, who had maintained her defiant stance until then, let her expression soften in the final moment. An unexpected serenity crossed her face, as though she had finally found the release her tormented spirit had been searching for.

She would resist no more.

"Starlight..." she murmured one last time before the torrent of magic engulfed her, pulling her into oblivion.

She left the room still shaken, breathing heavily as she tried to process what she had seen and heard.

It had felt too real... far too real.

Trixie wiped away the tears that began to well up in her eyes. With a sharp motion, she pulled a bottle of cider from her cloak and, with a quick but trembling movement, uncorked it. Without hesitation, she drank it all in one gulp, feeling the liquid burn its way down inside her.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh," she exhaled as she finished, letting her body sink heavily against the wall until she slid down to the floor.

Around her, the cosmic hallway stretched endlessly in every direction, vast and mysterious. Everything there remained still, enveloped in a shimmering mist. The door behind her flooded with white light before closing, becoming indistinguishable from the countless other doors that lined this strange place.

"Do you believe me now?"

Trixie, barely able to muster any energy, lifted her gaze listlessly. She wasn’t alone in the hallway.

"Yes... I need help!" she pleaded, her expression overly dramatic as she brought her hooves to her head in desperation.

"That’s what I’m here for..." replied Summermoon, nodding gently with her chin.

At the End of the Exordium - Act V

Subject: Trixie Lulamoon / Species: Unicorn Pony / Threat Level: 0.4 / Age: XX / Current Status: Unaffiliated.

***

Timeline 58:

Start: Early hours of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject explodes due to improper handling of explosives. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "This is the 6th time she ends up exploding because of explosives... What’s wrong with this pony?"

***

Timeline 34:

Start: Early hours of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject is devoured by a native beast of her world. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "This is new... I didn’t know manticores could dance so well."

***

Timeline 103:

Start: Early hours of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject is attacked with a rake by an infested villager. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "So this is where her pet met her for the first time. Hmm..."

***

Timeline 68:

Start: Early hours of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject explodes due to improper handling of explosives. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "I’m starting to notice a pattern here..."

***

Timeline 201:

Start: Hours after midday of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject is attacked with a bat by an infested pegasus pony. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "Ponies are so adorable when they’re aggressive! God, I need a... what was it called?... Derpy in my collection!"

***

Timeline 305:

Start: Hours after midday of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject is devoured by a native beast of her world. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "Hawk-turkeys are so unpleasant... Ughhh."

***

Timeline 208:

Start: Hours after midday of the Summer Solstice
End: Subject explodes due to improper handling of explosives. (Duration < 12 hours)

Status: Reviewed

Note: "Okay... I didn’t get what happened. Why did the lake explode when she jumped in to escape the hawk-turkeys? Hmm... I need to review timeline 68 again..."

"Uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

The prolonged sound of a 'uhm' echoed through the cosmic hallway. This time, Summermoon wasn’t being theatrical. Genuine intrigue was reflected on her face—something rare for her.

Before her eyes, the door leading to "Timeline 306" awaited. She hadn’t entered yet, but the difference from the other doors was evident. Cracks ran along its frame, and the subtly dimmer light emanating from it revealed that something unusual had occurred inside.

"A hundred years in duration? By the abyss! What in the world happened here?" she exclaimed, surprised, while reviewing the temporal records.

It was an extraordinary amount of time. Though Summermoon had encountered temporal anomalies before—even longer ones—she had never found one so extensive in a world steeped in magic. Usually, such anomalies resolved themselves, either through the universe’s magical balance or the disappearance of the affected subject. But here, something was different.

"I’m beginning to understand why 'Doni' is so interested in getting this pony..." she murmured, gazing at the long corridor stretching out before her.

Tampering with time was dangerous. Sure, she was immune to temporal effects, but getting too involved could cost her a prolonged stay within that timeline, preventing her from fulfilling her master’s will. And if that were to happen, she would undoubtedly face severe punishment for her absence.

Summermoon remained silent, weighing her next step. To proceed or not to proceed. Finally, she exhaled sharply, making a firm decision.

"There’s no other way. What will be, will be. There’s no point in lamenting over what you haven’t done yet. Trust in your star, Summermoon! By the void!"

With that final exhortation to herself, like a diver plunging into unknown waters from a dangerous height, Summermoon resolutely stepped into the door.

In the middle of the bridge, which was cracking under growing tension, the monster YRAG struggled desperately to hold back the massive stones falling upon it. At the opposite end, where the bridge connected to the balcony, Ocellus was being dragged away by her companions amidst cries of protest.

"Noooo, noooo," Ocellus's voice was drowned out by the thunderous collapse of the rocks.

At the center of the bridge, trapped by the claws of fate, Trixie barely watched.

"Take care of them... please..." she murmured, her voice a faint whisper lost amid the emerald flames and the shadows closing in around her.

Suddenly, a final burst of light illuminated the atrium. And then...

For an instant, weightlessness enveloped her, followed by the vertigo of free fall.

Everything was collapsing.

Fire, rocks, dust... everything was falling around her, and so was she.

Trixie could no longer see, nor smell, nor feel. Her senses faded, slowly dissolving into the darkness.

She was consumed.

Darkness. Everything had stopped. Time no longer had meaning, and...

And...

"Uhmmm?"

She didn’t finish falling.

Was she still falling?

Time began to move forward again.

She noticed it. An uncomfortable sensation, as if something had interrupted a deep sleep. A thought formed in her mind: something wasn’t right. She could still think, still remember, still... fall? Hadn’t her end come already?

The nebulous sensation enveloping her began to dissipate. Suddenly, her body regained awareness of itself: her limbs, her skin, her heart, still pounding in her chest. She was still there! But... where?

It wasn’t the bottom of the castle atrium where she should have crashed. She could feel it. This was somewhere different.

Darkness. Her eyes were closed. She was guessing her surroundings. She could open them... but something held her back.

What lay beyond?

Trixie remained still, her eyes closed, afraid of what might happen if she opened them. Everything she had experienced, everything she had suffered... she dreaded what she might find on the other side. What else could be waiting for her?

But...

Slowly, one of her eyelids began to lift, then the other.

Distant, far off and hazy, a long cosmic hallway revealed itself to her sight.

"Ha?" Trixie exclaimed aloud, confused. This wasn’t what she had expected. What had she expected, exactly?!

Stunned, fully dressed as if ready for a grand performance, Trixie found herself standing in the middle of that strange hallway. Not yet understanding where she was, she began talking to herself.

"This is...?"

"A hallway," replied another voice behind her, completing her rhetorical question.

"Ah!" Trixie jumped into the air, startled. Her nerves on edge, she quickly turned around, bracing herself as she tried to locate whoever had surprised her.

"Hello! Nice to meet you, Trixie. How are you?"

The voice belonged to a young mare with sky-blue and white fur who observed her with unsettling calm. Her mane, a fluffy blend of white and blue hues, gave her an ethereal, almost unreal air. On her face, a playful gaze combined with a soft smile, as if greeting an old friend after a long time.

This encounter might have been entirely normal under other circumstances if not for the surreal setting in which they found themselves.

"You! Who? How? Where? Ahhh!" Trixie stammered, flailing her hooves as if trying to shake off the confusion clouding her mind.

"There, there, calm down. Breathe..." The unfamiliar pony raised a hoof and placed it confidently on Trixie’s shoulder. Her tone, serene and instructive, radiated reassurance. "That’s it, breathe... very good. Now let it out, slowly."

Trixie couldn’t help but follow her instructions. She inhaled deeply, releasing the air in a trembling sigh. Suddenly, she began to cry, her body releasing all the weight it had carried through that hellish day. Tears streamed uncontrollably, accompanied by ragged breaths and the sweat soaking her skin. For the first time in a long while, she felt someone was offering her genuine refuge, real comfort.

As minutes passed and much of her anguish was released, Trixie started regaining composure. She sat on the ground, exhausted but with a slightly calmer expression.

"Better?" the mysterious pony asked, mimicking her posture and sitting in front of her.

"Yes... much better," Trixie replied in a faint voice.

"Excellent. Now, may I answer your questions?"

"Haa... sure," Trixie agreed, resigned. The situation was too strange to try and understand on her own. Maybe this pony had the answers she needed. Could she even be her guardian angel?

The stranger nodded, tilting her head slightly.

"You’ve arrived in a very special place. A space outside of time. The reasons why you’re here are... complex, but before we get into details, I want you to understand something important: you no longer exist in the world you knew. And, unfortunately, you can’t return."

The spark of hope that had ignited in Trixie’s face extinguished immediately. Her expression grew pale, and a faint tremor ran through her body as she tried to process those words.

"Am I... dead?" she asked, her voice laden with uncertainty and fear.

"No," the pony replied firmly.

"No?" Trixie repeated, clinging to a renewed spark of hope.

"No... not yet," the other added, snuffing out that spark for good.

"Oh... great," Trixie murmured, lowering her head, trying to process what she had just heard. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I’m the one who brought you here."

Trixie’s eyes widened. Surprise quickly gave way to suspicion, and she furrowed her brow.

"That’s..."

The pony exhaled calmly, interrupting her.

"I don’t want you to misunderstand. I’m not your guardian angel, if that’s what you’re thinking. My role here is to be your spiritual guide, so to speak."

"Ah... right," Trixie replied, narrowing her eyes as she tried to discern whether this was a genuine explanation or simply wordplay.

"Exactly," affirmed the pony with a warm, tranquil smile. "And by the way, my name is Summermoon. I’m here to help you," she concluded with an elegant gesture of her hoof.

"Hoo... well, nice to meet you, Summermoon. I... ahem."

Trixie, quickly standing up, changed her tone of voice. From a weak and broken voice, she shifted to one she deemed worthy of her persona.

"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! The most magical unicorn and friend in all of Equestria! Master of illusions, I’ve cheated death in... in... in... Oh huu!"

Suddenly, all the passion that had driven her to rise evaporated so abruptly that even Summermoon raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Sorry... I don’t feel very great or powerful right now... Oh huu," Trixie sighed, defeated, collapsing back onto the ground. Memories of recent events returned to her mind like remnants of a storm not yet dissipated.

"Alright... I suppose..."

"How are you going to judge me?" Trixie abruptly interrupted, her voice carrying a gravity that caught Summermoon off guard.

"Excuse me?" Summermoon blinked, surprised by the sudden intensity in Trixie's tone.

"Yes, how will you judge my life? You're my spiritual guide to the afterlife, aren't you?"

"Ahh... well, yes," Summermoon stammered, momentarily caught off balance by the directness of the question. "But that can wait. First, I need you to follow me somewhere."

With a more resolute air, Summermoon stood and began walking down the long, cosmic corridor.

Still seated, Trixie narrowed her eyes. A warning bell rang in her mind, and a thought she had been trying to suppress suddenly resurfaced. A pending threat became clearer with each passing moment.

"Trixie doesn't need to be alive to know when someone is trying to play her for a fool," she said loudly, her gaze piercing into Summermoon's back.

"That's not my intention," Summermoon replied, turning to face her directly. "You need help."

"I don't need it from someone who barely tries to deceive others as if they were fools," Trixie shot back, her mistrust more evident than ever as she jumped to her hooves.

"You're not being very friendly right now, you know?"

"Trixie hasn't exactly been showered with kindness today," she retorted sharply.

"Which is precisely why you need my help. Give me a chance. Come with me, please," Summermoon insisted, her tone still calm but now carrying a hint of urgency.

"No," Trixie replied firmly, stomping a hoof against the ground. "If you have something to say or explain, say it here."

"That won't do. May I ask why you're so distrustful?" Summermoon asked, trying to reason with her.

"For starters, you don't seem like the spiritual guide Trixie deserves on her journey to the afterlife. And secondly, someone attacked Trixie's friends today with an army of enchanted armor, and Trixie still doesn't know who was behind it," she declared with conviction. Though she had been despondent moments ago, her spirit now burned anew, ready to confront any threat.

"I see... You think I'm responsible?" Summermoon asked, her calm tone never wavering as she studied Trixie.

"Yes. And while Trixie would deeply regret being wrong, she has no problem giving someone their just desserts, even if it's by mistake," she replied, her voice strong as she snorted. Her stance was aggressive, hooves firmly planted on the ground. Her horn began to glow faintly, a clear sign that she was ready to use her magic.

Summermoon observed her in silence, her expression now serious. She didn't appear intimidated but rather contemplative, as if weighing every word and movement before deciding her next course of action.

Or perhaps not.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, a violent burst of laughter shattered the silence of the cosmic corridor, echoing in all directions like a resounding explosion.

Trixie froze, utterly baffled by what she was witnessing.

Summermoon, who had maintained a composed and vaguely suspicious demeanor up until that point, was now on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. A massive grin stretched across her face from ear to ear, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world... or fallen victim to a hilarity spell.

The laughter was so absurdly out of place that Trixie instinctively took a step back. While it didn’t seem like malicious laughter, it wasn’t benevolent either. It was exaggerated, surreal. She had no idea how to respond to it.

And yet, in a strange way, this behavior seemed to fit the mysterious pony’s true nature better than her previous demeanor.

"Haaaaaaa... huuuh... I like you, Trixie," Summermoon said, still sprawled on the floor, chuckling. "You’ve got good instincts, or at least you manage to shine like a star in certain moments. You used to be much clumsier in your decisions, even when facing your own problems, didn’t you? Your friends have really made you a better pony," she concluded, wiping away tears of laughter.

What was she talking about? Trixie had no idea how to respond to the sudden shift in the conversation.

And she had no idea how to react to what happened next.

Summermoon rose, but not in a normal way. She barely moved her limbs, instead twisting in the air in a manner that completely ignored the laws of gravity. Her body righted itself effortlessly, but her head remained perfectly still, like a bird changing position without breaking eye contact with its prey.

Trixie’s face betrayed her utter bewilderment.

Summermoon ignored it. With a simple motion of her hoof, all the tension hinting at a potential battle between the two dissolved completely.

Suddenly, Trixie found herself floating in the air, enveloped in a cloud of golden magic.

"What?! What’s happening?!" she squealed, startled by the abrupt turn of events. Summermoon wasn’t a unicorn, nor a pegasus, and certainly not an alicorn. Yet she was using magic!

"Apologies for earlier. I was testing you. I don’t like allies who are too foolish, nor those who are overly serious," Summermoon explained calmly. "And... I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me repeat: you need help. My help, to get out of the mess you’re in. But you won’t understand with a typical, boring explanation; that much is clear. What you need is to see it, feel it... Then we’ll talk pony to ‘friend,’" she finished with a smile.

"Wait! Where are you taking me?!" protested Trixie, struggling against the magic holding her.

"You’re going to meet the one responsible for your misery. Didn’t you want to give them what they deserve? This will help ensure you don’t pick the wrong target. Although... well... that depends more on irony. You’ll see," Summermoon said as she approached one of the doors lining the corridor.

Without hesitation, she tossed the unicorn through it.

"Waitttttttt!" Trixie screamed as she disappeared through the doorway.

Then ...

The radiant mist flooded the cosmic corridor... Hidden within the whiteness, two voices carried on a conversation.

"...that’s why I’m here. But just to be sure, now that you’ve met her, what do you think of your 'pet'?"

"She’s... she’s... She’s a monster!... She’s... my fault..." (sobbing)

"You’re both right and wrong. She’s not entirely your fault."

"How could she not be? I raised those monsters, I fed them... behind everyone’s back!" (sobbing)

"True... but that was a different Trixie, from another timeline. This... ‘pet’ of yours is an anomaly that emerged in your present, caused by a major temporal disruption in your future."

"Ahh... (sobbing) what are you saying?... what do you mean?... I don’t understand..." (sobbing)

"Uhmmm, yes, this is the part where I should give you a long, complicated explanation. But let’s save that for another place. Will you come with me this time, sweetheart?"

"Ahh... ahh... alright..."

"Follow me this way."

The mist thickened, and the voices faded. Once again, the cosmic corridor fell silent, empty.

Time travel… deep dives into dreams…

In a universe governed solely by the fundamental laws of physics, concepts like these would be considered more a part of science fiction than science itself. But the perspective changes drastically if magic exists in that universe.

Precisely because of this, Trixie Lulamoon, a humble unicorn in such a universe, could more easily accept the existence of such phenomena. However, that didn’t make her any more capable of understanding them.

"Clumsy Trixie, what have you gotten yourself into...!" she lamented internally, taking a long sip from her oversized cider mug.

The "long explanation" she had received from Summermoon had given her an intense headache, so much so that she couldn’t help pressing her hooves against her temples. She had barely understood 20% of all the information, and now she had more questions than answers.

Next to the table in the bustling bar where they sat, Summermoon observed her with a sympathetic smile.

"Look, I know it’s a lot to process. But I want you to understand that not everything is your fault," she emphasized.

"Alright, fine! You don’t have to repeat it so much! I get it. It’s fine. But... there are so many cats trapped inside the box! Don’t you have a shorter version of all this? One that can help me understand better?"

"Ahhh, well, actually, that was the short version..."

"Are you serious?!" the unicorn burst out.

"Yup, give me a moment." Summermoon began to reflect, leaning back in her seat. "...Look, I don’t want you to think I’m treating you like an idiot. I know you’re not, but I have another version, simpler, spoon-fed. Something for children. You don’t mind, do you?"

"At this point, I doubt anything could annoy Trixie more," she replied, letting her head fall onto the table.

"Alright, it starts like this..." Summermoon adopted a more didactic tone as she began to narrate. "Once upon a time, in the future, there was a very old, very mean, and very bad pony who lived in a faraway place. This grumpy old pony couldn’t stand the world he lived in, so he constantly plotted ways to destroy it. He’d been doing this for a very, very long time and always failed, over and over. He really was a very sad, evil old pony..."

Trixie, with her mug levitating in the air thanks to her magic, listened intently.

"One day, suddenly, this wicked old pony had a brilliant idea: travel through time to destroy the world. Of course, everyone knows that doing something like that is always dangerous and very complicated, so the grumpy old pony prepared himself very carefully to succeed. Step by step, he advanced his plan, getting closer and closer to his obsessive goal. However, as things always went wrong for him, at some point someone—or maybe several, by accident—discovered what he was doing. Without wasting time, these ponies spread the word to others, and so on, until the news reached the world’s leaders. They decided to take action immediately."

Summermoon paused to sip her drink and munch on some sweets before continuing.

"Among those leaders was a pony princess..." she murmured between bites. "A particularly wise and very friendly alicorn princess..." she added with a peculiar wink at Trixie.

Trixie’s eyes widened.

"Yes, and this very clever princess, determined to put an end to the wicked old pony once and for all, traveled through time to the past to thwart his plans. After a decisive battle, along with the 'great and powerful' of her friends, she managed to defeat him definitively, saving everyone, her world, and therefore, her future!"

Summermoon paused for a moment, as if recalling something. "Well, that’s what I think. I’m just being optimistic; I didn’t look into it too deeply. It could’ve gone many other ways. In the worst case, the princess might have lost and been destroyed forever, but things like that don’t happen to pony princesses, right?"

There was a strange smile on Summermoon’s face as she finished, as if she were telling a joke only she understood. To Trixie, it seemed both odd and unsettling.

That smile reminded her a lot of the one she had seen before on Royalinda.

"So..." Trixie began, somewhat suspicious as she straightened up and adopted a serious tone. "The alicorn princess you’re talking about... is Twilight?"

"Correct," Summermoon confirmed. Trixie narrowed her eyes, sharpening her gaze.

"Aha... and she fought against a very evil villain... and the great and powerful friend who helped her... was me?" she continued, with an anguished tone she barely managed to conceal.

"That’s right."

"Ho... wow..." Trixie took a long sip of cider and slammed her mug onto the table with more force than necessary. "And because of all that mess that happened in the future, you’re saying a temporal anomaly was created that wants to get rid of me?"

"Indeed. That temporal anomaly is embodied in your ‘orchid-octopus pet,’ the very one you met at the castle. That last orchid-octopus doesn’t 'exist' at any moment in your past... until this morning, when you woke up for the first time."

"Aha, I see, so that’s how it is... uhmmm..."

"Uhmmm," Summermoon echoed playfully as she calmly drank from her mug.

At that moment, Trixie exploded.

"How can this be?! First of all! Why would Twilight do something like that?! I mean... yes, I’m impressive and wouldn’t refuse to go on a deadly mission with my friends to save Equestria, but... but... why me?! Where are her friends, the other princesses, and everyone else?" Trixie raised her voice, waving her hooves to the sky as she made a big scene in the bar.

The music stopped, and the eyes of all the ponies dancing and enjoying themselves immediately turned to her.

"Oops… haha…" With a nervous chuckle, Trixie shrank under her hat, as if she wanted to disappear.

"Is something wrong, ladies?" asked the burly bartender, approaching with a serious look.

"Don’t worry, sir. My esteemed new friend drank a bit too much, but she’s under my care. Everything is under control," Summermoon replied confidently, raising her voice just enough to calm the crowd.

"Alright, but I’d recommend telling your friend not to drink any more cider for now."

"Understood. In fact, bring me a five-liter bottle of goat’s milk and a basket of sweet bread, please." Summermoon accompanied her request with a coquettish flutter of her eyelashes.

The burly bartender, wearing an eye patch, nodded at Summermoon’s request and headed to the pantry. Slowly, the music returned, bringing the festivity back to life.

"Thank you…" Trixie murmured, peeking timidly out from under her hat.

"You're welcome, but you don’t need to thank me. We're in one of your memories, after all. None of this is real. It's all in the past."

"Really? It all feels very real to me, even more than I remember." Trixie pinched her foreleg, the slight pain making her frown. How was it possible for something happening in her mind to feel so tangible? Details she didn't recall from that day unfolded around her as if they were being meticulously reconstructed.

How could Summermoon create—or at least allow—something like this? What kind of powers did this pony truly have? Who was she, really?

"Magic is a grand and powerful thing… it shouldn't be taken lightly," Summermoon concluded with a shrug, her gaze drifting to a pair of ponies who had just stepped onto the dance stage.

Maud and Mudbriar, Ponyville's most unconventional couple, were dressed in surprisingly festive attire for those who knew them. They took center stage, moving hoof in hoof to the gentle rhythm of castanets, performing pirouettes and motions that could only be described as intimate.

Watching this unusual spectacle that left the audience speechless, Trixie began to relax. Her thoughts wandered back to that penultimate dawn, just before the Summer Solstice.

Meanwhile, the bartender returned with Summermoon’s order and left with a polite nod.

"Now, getting back to our earlier topic… I have no idea why your princess chose you over the others. All I know is that she did, and that triggered the problem you're dealing with now."

"Yeah…" Trixie replied thoughtfully. Deep down, she still couldn’t fully believe the complicated story Summermoon had told her. Imagining Twilight, her eternal rival, pleading for her help was, admittedly, a delicious thought. Yet it seemed far-fetched. What kind of dystopian future would drive the Princess of Friendship to do such a thing? And what about everyone else? Where were they? She didn’t know how to process any of it, except to consider that maybe Summermoon was lying. But if that were the case, and it very well could be, what would be the point?

Trixie had too many questions and not enough answers. She needed to find out more.

"Tell me… what do I have to do with all this? I mean, I understand it’s all happening in the future, with future Trixie, right? But I haven’t done anything yet. I’m present Trixie. I haven’t seen Twilight from any other time, or dreamed of her, or any ancient villain."

Summermoon smiled, as if she had been waiting for this question.

"Ha, you’re forgetting what I mentioned earlier: ‘deep dream immersion.’ Your princess already made contact with you and left a memory in your subconscious to alter the future. A memory designed to activate at a specific moment, even if you were to lose your own. Also… you say you’re present Trixie? I’ve got news for you, dear: you’re past Trixie."

"I’m past Trixie?" Trixie asked, her eyes widening in shock at the revelation.

"That’s right. Didn’t you catch on yet? If you exist now, it’s only because I want you to exist," Summermoon said softly, though there was a dark undertone to her voice. Her eyes briefly glowed with a faint yellow light, like the gaze of a predator.

Trixie gulped. A chill ran through her as she heard those words and saw that look. The situation was beginning to eerily resemble her terrifying encounter with Royalinda. Fear growing, she started to hide under her hat.

Noticing the shift in Trixie, Summermoon jolted, and the threatening aura around her vanished instantly.

"Wait," she said suddenly, seemingly realizing her own behavior too late. "That last bit sounded really menacing, didn’t it?"

"Yes," Trixie replied, visibly uneasy in her seat.

Summermoon panicked.

"Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! That wasn’t my intention. I… it slipped out and… ugh, haaaa… did I ruin the moment?" the fluffy-maned pony asked with a nervous smile.

Trixie just nodded.

A look of weariness crossed Summermoon’s lovely face, showing that emotion for the first time since they’d met. "You know, believe it or not, I’m having a tough day, too."

"I see… have you also been attacked by an army of enchanted armors?" Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wish my day were like yours. In my case, it’s something far more unpleasant… family issues," Summermoon muttered, averting her gaze, visibly annoyed. And though her serene beauty remained intact, there was something in her expression that made it clear insisting on the topic would be extremely dangerous.

Trixie, catching the hint, stayed quiet as Summermoon muttered something to herself. Then, with a nimble motion, she uncorked the massive bottle of milk with her teeth.

After filling her mug and downing it in one go, Summermoon slumped back into her seat, practically collapsing. She looked like an overworked office mare taking a brief break in the middle of an exhausting day.

A moment of silence stretched between the two mares until Summermoon let out a long sigh. From her lips escaped a dense puff of white steam, catching Trixie’s attention. The magician tilted her head curiously. For a moment, the image of a dragon crossed her mind.

"I think we’ve been distracted long enough…" Summermoon said, breaking the silence in a firm voice. "Let’s shift to a more suitable setting."

She clapped her hooves, and suddenly, everything stopped.

More precisely, all of reality froze.

Trixie, startled and shocked, looked around. The world had lost sound and motion, trapped in shades of gray.

"This doesn’t feel suitable at all!" Trixie exclaimed, growing more uneasy.

"It is for me. Now listen, dear."

Summermoon straightened in her seat, adopting a serious posture as she fixed her intense gaze on Trixie.

"I imagine you still have plenty of questions: ‘How did you find me? Who are you really? Why are you telling me all this?’ and more obvious ones like that. But I’m not here to be a model of kindness. I want to help you, yes, but I won’t do it for free. I have a price."

For the first time since the conversation began, Trixie didn’t feel quite so lost or bewildered. Finally, someone was speaking in terms she could understand. Frowning, she straightened up, paying close attention to every word the mysterious Summermoon said.

"He observed your qualities, Trixie. The things you’ve done. I can see that you have a special talent, one that would be crucial for the grand project I’m working on. In fact, without someone like you, this project simply wouldn’t be possible. You would be an invaluable asset."

Trixie held her breath. Those words had caught her completely off guard.

A job offer? Right now?

Summermoon continued, her voice firm and resonant.

"This is a great opportunity for you, Trixie. Favorable in many ways. A blessing that will resolve absolutely all your current problems..."

Her voice echoed in the still environment, her presence seeming to grow with every word. Trixie swallowed hard, feeling a strange weight pressing down on her shoulders.

"By all that has been said, and by the authority I hold in this world, I extend to you, Trixie Lulamoon, this one and only invitation: Join us."

Trixie’s fur stood on end at those words.

"J-join... who?" she stammered, overwhelmed by the crushing pressure around her. Her body involuntarily retreated.

"Yes, us."

Summermoon seemed to rise even taller, her figure growing larger. No, it wasn’t her—it was her shadow, expanding, transforming into something unknown, dark, omnipotent... infinite.

Trixie stepped back until she stumbled and fell from her seat. From the ground, she stared at Summermoon, unable to look away. Her body trembled, not from fear, but from something far more unsettling: an inexplicable sense of elation.

It was as if she were a small pony caught in a storm, suddenly enveloped in the warm light of a divine presence descending solely to save her, wrapping her gently.

Because she was special...

Because she was unique...

Great and powerful... more important than any other pony, even more so than her... friends?

"Noooooo!"

Trixie's scream reverberated in the void. Shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut, she fought to banish the fascination that had taken hold of her. Her heart pounded, her body was drenched in sweat, and her emotions seemed to betray her. With effort, she raised her gaze and found Summermoon’s eyes once more.

The overwhelming aura was gone. The ominous atmosphere had dissipated. There was no longer a towering shadow or suffocating pressure.

Instead, there stood the same plain, fluffy-maned pony with a playful gaze—the very one Trixie had met earlier.

Summermoon was calmly sipping milk and nibbling on bread.

But Trixie wasn’t going to let herself be fooled again. She was now certain that nothing good hid behind the adorable façade of the mare before her.

"What are you?" she demanded, standing firmly.

"I am a messenger, an emissary of great power who serves a force far beyond anything you can imagine," Summermoon replied in a flat, emotionless tone.

"Cut the games! I’m not going to be part of any dark plan or whatever you’re pretending to offer me," Trixie snapped, mustering the last of her willpower.

"I’m offering you a way out, Trixie. Weren’t you willing to do whatever it took to save your friends back on the bridge?" Summermoon asked, her tone soft and calculated.

"Not if the price means I’ll hurt them in some other way. Trixie already knows that kind of trick!"

"I never said you would harm your friends. None of them will be affected by your commitment to us."

Trixie frowned but maintained her defiant stance.

"And Equestria...?"

"No one in your current present will be affected by your decision. Equestria and everything you know will remain safe..."

Confusion began to surface on Trixie’s face.

"What are you...?" she tried to ask, but Summermoon interrupted her.

"The goals of the project we will undertake are not in this space or time. They go beyond what your limited vision can grasp. They are in the future... far away, in eternity."

Trixie stammered, unable to form a clear argument. She didn’t fully understand Summermoon or the objectives she might be referring to, but she was certain of the dark nature of the plan being proposed. Although, according to Summermoon, this darkness would unfold in a distant future. So, was there truly no immediate danger if she took this path to save herself and everyone else?

Doubt began to seep into her mind like poison, weakening her resolve little by little.

"I... I can’t make a decision like this... You haven’t told me enough! I need more time!" she protested, desperately searching for a way out of the anguish enveloping her. Images of the Young Six and the others, staring at her in desperation, flashed through her mind.

"You don’t have more time, Trixie. And the information I’ve given you is all you’ll get from me. You already have a very favorable offer at your hooves; I won’t improve it. Take it," Summermoon ordered, as if presenting her with an invisible contract.

A contract that would undoubtedly be sealed with blood.

"I don’t want to do this..." Trixie whimpered, speaking more to herself than to Summermoon, as she felt the internal pressure mounting. The memories of her harrowing experiences, and those yet to come, weighed heavily on her already fragile spirit.

"I understand that you want to be the right pony your friends expect you to be. But taking the blame and becoming a martyr won’t change the future that awaits them. This will. Are you a pony who runs from opportunities at the first sign of danger, or are you, instead, the great and powerful Trixie who has defied the claws of destiny more than once?"

Trixie found no words to respond.

"I won’t repeat myself, dear. I need an answer. This conversation has already exhausted me," Summermoon concluded. Without breaking eye contact, she grabbed the large bottle of milk on the table and drank it in one go. Once finished, she placed the empty bottle back down.

Then, she stood, ready to leave.

"I’ll wait for you outside," she said without looking back before exiting through one of the doors.

A crushing silence filled the frozen bar. Seconds after Summermoon left, reality slowly regained its movement and sound, as if an old film reel were rolling again. The music and festivities of the penultimate night before the Festival of the Two Sisters resumed.

On the dance floor, amidst applause, Maud and Mudbriar took their bows and stepped off the stage. The performance was over.

Far from the clamor of the tables and the rest of the bar, a silent and somber Trixie finished the last drops of her cider. She watched the laughter of ponies enjoying the night, oblivious to the looming danger... to the longest day of their lives.

The luminous mist flooded the cosmic corridor, enveloping everything in a white glow. Hidden within the glimmering haze, Summermoon’s figure, leaning against a wall, was barely visible.

One of the doors, the one closest to Summermoon, flickered, and from it emerged the figure of a unicorn. Trixie stepped forward slowly, her hoofsteps echoing faintly as she moved to the center of the corridor. Summermoon’s gaze locked onto her back, observing her silently. Neither spoke; without meeting each other's eyes, both remained motionless, steeped in tense stillness.

The mist in the corridor grew denser, its glow bathing every surface but failing to fully reveal Summermoon’s shadowed face, hidden beneath her thick mane. Yet, amidst the mystery of her concealed expression, her eyes shone like beacons, their light flickering impatiently.

The atmosphere grew heavier with each passing moment. Trixie's silhouette seemed to dissolve into the vastness, solitary and frail.

Finally, Summermoon broke the silence.

"Is it time?" she urged softly.

"Will Starlight be safe?" Trixie asked immediately, her voice grave and strained.

"Yes," Summermoon replied with conviction.

"And the children... everyone else... will they be okay?"

"Yes, they will. I give you my word in the name of my master, the great dark lord, Kal-Arth."

Trixie clenched her teeth without turning around, her expression bitter with resignation. She said nothing more; she had already anticipated such an answer...

Another stretch of silence fell between them, isolating them from space and time in that strange corridor. After an agonizing eternity, Trixie finally spoke again, this time with an unexpectedly firm voice:

"Let’s do it."

The mist vanished abruptly, swept away by an explosion of darkness. The cosmic corridor was consumed by a surge of emerald light, and then…

Before and after...

At the darkest hour, under the midnight sky.

In Starlight Glimmer’s private library within Twilight’s castle.

The confrontation between Royalinda and Trixie was nearing its end...

"I've wasted enough time with you," Royalinda sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. "I must prepare for my ascension in this kingdom… or what's left of it. My future will be magnificent, of course. But you will not be a part of that future, nor anyone else's."

Before her, Trixie stood trembling, stripped of hope and dignity. Yet, a burning fury deep inside her kept her upright. She gritted her teeth with determination, her eyes gleaming with defiance.

"Consider this a special gift from me..."

The light from Sunburst's horn, under Royalinda's control, grew brighter, illuminating the room with a blinding radiance. Even so, Trixie did not avert her gaze.

"My only act of mercy: a swift and painless end," Royalinda proclaimed with malice, aiming her horn at Trixie.

"Die, Trixie!"

A beam of magical light shot forth. A blinding explosion flooded the entire library.

At last, it was over.

Royalinda closed her eyes against the burst and slowly leaned back in her chair. A sensation of fulfillment washed over her; she had finally achieved her greatest and truest goal. For the first time, she felt free from the torment that had plagued her existence. From the moment she had laid eyes on Trixie that morning, she knew she couldn’t move forward without achieving this long-awaited liberation.

Her siblings, her family, her false mother…

"Why didn’t you recognize my voice? Why didn’t you remember the name you gave me? Did we mean so little to you?" Royalinda murmured aloud.

Slumped in her chair like a lifeless body, she remained still. Around her, the smoke and ashes of the one she had once felt sincere—almost maternal—affection for spread throughout the room. Then, in a moment of weakness, memories flooded her mind: the nights when Trixie told stories to her and her siblings, cared for them, promised them a future filled with greatness.

But before those feelings could provoke a reaction, a spark of magic surged, and all those images vanished, consumed by an intense whiteness.

Royalinda, wielding Sunburst’s power, cast a special spell to erase those memories. There was no point in holding onto them now.

With a long exhale and her eyes closed, she began to rise. "It’s time to begin…"

"I’m sorry for everything I did…" broke the silence, a voice.

Royalinda froze, her eyes snapping open. Her senses sharpened, electrified by shock.

"...I’ve made so many mistakes. Not just with you, but with others too. I’m sorry. I truly am."

That voice. That voice she hated so much! Trembling, staring blankly at the table, Royalinda slowly raised her gaze, disbelieving.

"I’m going to change from now on. When I return to the past, I’ll do my best to fix these mistakes. I may not be able to make everything right, but I’ll give it my all…"

Across the table, Trixie sat, looking at her with a serene expression. She was still there. Still breathing. Still apologizing like a fool.

"Impossible…" Royalinda muttered, her face twisted in denial and disbelief. She had eliminated Trixie moments ago! Reduced her to less than dust and ashes; it was an irrefutable fact! This couldn’t be real!

"...especially with you. I’ll find you and give you a home. I’ll convince Starlight to let us live together, at least for a while. I promise!"

What was she talking about? How could she speak with such conviction when, moments earlier, she had seemed like a lifeless shell? And where had she gotten the clothes she was now wearing?

Royalinda, caught in a mental collapse, her eyes wild with tension, was held together only by the emotions her false existence had ever known:

Rage and irrational fury.

"Though I’ll only be here for a brief moment…" Trixie continued.

"Shut up…" Royalinda whimpered.

"Before I leave, I’d like to know…"

"Shut up…"

"What was your name?"

"SHUT UP!" Royalinda screamed with a fury so intense it seemed to shake the very room.

That was the signal. The end had begun.

In a flash, the two golden manticores beside Trixie lunged forward, their claws extending like hydraulic presses, ready to seize and tear the unicorn’s body apart in a single, violent motion brimming with bloodlust.

But it didn’t happen.

To Royalinda’s despair, her disbelieving eyes witnessed the manticores' razor-sharp claws closing on empty air. They shredded nothing but Trixie’s discarded clothing, for she had vanished into thin air like a phantom.

"Where…?" Royalinda murmured, feeling the world collapse around her. Dizzy, her mind scrambled desperately for a sign, any trace of Trixie.

Then, a voice echoed.

All of reality seemed to slow.

"The blessing…" declared a powerful voice, laden with unshakable determination.

Royalinda’s gaze dropped. Beneath the table, an emerald light illuminated the darkness where shadows should have reigned.

The sound came from there!

"…of the lords…" the voice continued, drawing nearer and nearer.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Panic-stricken, Royalinda leaped back, clumsily propelled by her magic. Her chair flew backward, crashing violently against her body. She hardly cared if she damaged the puppet she was controlling; she had to get away as fast as possible!

"…of darkness!" finished Trixie, emerging from beneath the table in a swift motion, positioning herself where Royalinda was most vulnerable.

"No…" Royalinda whimpered, the weight of inevitability pressing down on her. It was already too late.

A point of light erupted before her eyes—a blinding, inescapable flash.

Instinctively, Royalinda conjured a magical shield, wrapping herself in a desperate attempt at protection. But the emerald beam shooting from Trixie’s horn surged forward like a ravenous serpent, unstoppable in its path.

The impact was brutal.

The magical barrier shattered like glass at the first touch.

"No, no, no, noooo…" Royalinda stammered. The next milliseconds stretched into an eternity, an agony of helplessness as she watched Trixie’s magic closing in. Every attempt at a counter-spell, every thought of resistance, crumbled. It was too late.

Why had this happened? Hadn’t she planned for everything? Hadn’t she already defeated Trixie? Why? Why?

The pieces began to fit together.

Starlight Glimmer’s disappearance. The warnings of an attack in Canterlot. The sabotage of the castle’s security system. The unexpected arrival of that unknown monster… and, finally, Trixie’s sudden reappearance that same morning.

It all made sense. A conspiracy larger than anyone could have imagined.

But it was too late for revelations.

The beam struck.

"Aaaaa… AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Royalinda screamed as the magical blast engulfed her. Her body began to burn, consumed by emerald flames that disintegrated her form, severing every connection to reality.

The pain was indescribable, unbearable, excruciating. As her body crumbled, her eyes caught one final image: Trixie, watching her from the floor with an expression devoid of emotion, almost solemn.

That image etched itself into her mind as everything faded into darkness.

"Mother…" Royalinda whispered, her voice fractured, lost in the abyss.

And at last, she closed her eyes for the final time.

"Oughhhh…" groaned Sunburst, barely conscious and writhing in pain on the floor of the room. At last, he was free from Royalinda's control.

Not far away, under the shadow of the table, Trixie remained still, frozen in the exact position she had held when casting the final spell against her enemy. That spell, provided by Summermoon, had been the only safe and effective way to eliminate the threat: the temporal anomaly known as Royalinda, the last orchid-octopus.

Initially, Summermoon had insisted on handling the problem herself, but when she half-joked that Trixie could also do it, the latter accepted without hesitation. "It's my responsibility," Trixie had said, "and I don’t want to owe anyone so much."

Though Summermoon didn’t try to dissuade her, she couldn’t hide her unease. With a mix of warnings and strict rules, she entrusted Trixie with the magic needed to complete the mission, as well as a few countermeasures in case she failed.

However, the additional precautions proved unnecessary. Trixie had executed her task flawlessly, without any errors.

But now, as the echoes of the spell still seemed to pulse through the walls, she felt no sense of triumph.

"I’m so sorry, Starlight… I promise I’ll do better!" Trixie murmured tearfully, her voice breaking. Barely audible, her words were lost in the vast darkness surrounding her. Her mind replayed the events of the day over and over: the journey from her trailer to the castle, the relentless confrontations, and the sacrifices that had brought her to this moment.

It was all etched into her memory. She could recall everything vividly.

Thanks to Summermoon’s powers, Trixie had recovered her lost memories. Every moment, from meeting the Young Six that morning to the haunting visions of the previous night, paraded through her mind like an unbearable weight—a burden she would have to carry a little longer.

With the anomaly destroyed, restoring the timeline would be a simple task. According to Summermoon, Royalinda had been like a gaping hole torn in the fabric of space-time. Attempting to manipulate it while that breach existed would have been an inconceivable risk. Now that the threat was gone, the path to restoration was clear.

The nightmare was finally coming to an end.

On the circular map table, a gentle hum echoed as triangular and wave-like laser patterns danced across its surface. Suddenly, a portal of light, triangular in shape, materialized in midair.

Trixie noticed it and sighed, exhausted.

"I guess… that’s the way out," she said softly as she stood, her legs trembling slightly from the effort.

With every step she took toward the portal, the room groaned and quaked. The walls began to crack, and in the nearby hallways, enchanted armor toppled down the stairs. In the vast atrium, shrouded in darkness interrupted only by dying embers, the upper floors collapsed one after another.

Outside, the entire castle was crumbling. Like a dying giant, it emitted deafening roars as a vortex of darkness swirled around it, marking its inevitable destruction.

Trixie didn’t stop. She pressed forward, ignoring the chaos. That world had lost all its chances. She no longer belonged to it.

"You’ll have a rest. You deserve it. But don’t get too comfortable. You’ll go back in time to the point where your luck changed. You’ll forget many things, learn others… and much of what happened today will happen again. What didn’t happen might also come to pass. Time likes to rhyme, you know? What can you do about it…"

Summermoon’s words echoed in her mind like a distant refrain.

Had she made the right decision by choosing this path? Something inside her assured her she had. Alone, she never would have found the answers she sought. But with her friends, with the second chance she had now secured for everyone, she was certain they could find a solution.

"We’ll meet again…" Trixie murmured, pausing to take one last look at what remained of that world.

Then, with steady steps, she crossed the portal, disappearing in a beam of multicolored light.

Subject: Trixie Lulamoon / Current Status: Affiliated

Epilogue

A long time later, in another place...

Inside a travel tent, the atmosphere was tense.

"So, that's what really happened?"

"Yes," Trixie replied, fidgeting like a child confessing to a prank. There wasn’t a trace of her usual arrogance on her face.

"Wow..." murmured Starlight, utterly stunned; she was so taken aback that she didn’t look away from her friend even as she sipped from her oversized "Best Headmare Ever" mug.

Both remained silent for a long while until Starlight finally decided to continue.

"You haven’t told anyone else about this?"

"No," Trixie answered immediately.

"Not even Twilight or Princess Luna?"

"Definitely 'no' to Twilight, and I promised Princess Luna I’d be honest with you... when the time was right," Trixie admitted, lowering her head.

"So, at the end of our extraordinary best-friends vacation..." Starlight added with a touch of gloom.

"Yes," Trixie replied, staring blankly at one of the tent walls.

"Uh-huh," Starlight murmured, a hint of irritation in her tone, and without saying more, she continued sipping from her large mug.

However, Starlight’s indifferent murmur was enough to make the ground beneath Trixie feel shaky. The unicorn reacted immediately.

"I really regret keeping this secret from you all this time... I know I’ve said other things before... but with everything that happened afterward... I..." Trixie began to speak nervously, tears welling in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, that’s enough, I get it," Starlight tried to soothe her friend.

"You do?" Trixie responded instantly, holding back her emotions.

"Yes, I do. Look, I remember quite well everything the kids told me about what happened at the castle when they were attacked, plus your version of events where you conveniently passed out after hitting your head on a flowerpot (which I immediately knew was a lie). Now that you’ve confessed, honestly, I think you made the right call. If you’d mentioned the orchid-octopus back then, I can’t imagine how much worse it would’ve made things for you—I was already furious at the time. Honestly... I’m more surprised Sunburst helped you keep it a secret this long," Starlight concluded with a sigh.

But that response wasn’t what Trixie wanted to hear.

"Do you really understand?!" Trixie interrupted, now offended.

"I told you, yes, I understand," Starlight reiterated, more serious now.

"No, you don’t understand! I brought a plague to the school, summoned ghosts to tear down a princess’s castle, and called on the worst kind of raptors under the sky to serve me. Those are exactly the kinds of things I swore I’d never do again when I became your friend."

"Uh-huh. And?" Starlight replied in a deliberately mature tone.

"And?... AND?! Ughhh!" Trixie exploded, suddenly kicking at the air in frustration. Starlight, serene as ever, simply watched her friend’s tantrum while finishing her drink.

It was clear to both friends that everything Trixie had done on that infamous day had been for Starlight. If anyone in the world should punish Trixie for her misdeeds, it ought to be her best friend and no one else. However, Trixie was far too proud to admit this openly to Starlight’s face.

Unrestrained, Trixie continued her outburst until, finally, after nearly a minute, she stopped.

Starlight set her empty mug aside.

"Feel better now?" she asked.

"Ah, ah, ah... yes, much better," Trixie replied, sweaty and breathless.

"Good. Now, before you ask why I’m not mad at you, I want to remind you that we’ve had several conversations about this before. My answer remains the same: that wasn’t really you, but the corrupted potions you drank. As for the plague... you were judged and sentenced over a year ago. I have nothing more to say on the matter," Starlight concluded firmly.

Trixie, exhaling repeatedly, simply stared at her friend.

"Why are you so cold to me?" she asked plaintively, breaking the silence.

"It’s just who I am. You have your way of being, and I have mine. But in this case, it’s more of a special treatment I reserve just for you as a friend."

"You mean that?" Trixie asked, pulling a face. "Are we having a friendship lesson right now?"

"Uhmm, no. Think of it more as a refresher course. Now, consider this: how would you react if your ever-so-perfect friend Starlight told you she was about to resign as Headmare?"

Trixie opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, only to shut it once more. She resembled a fish out of water. Beside her, Starlight watched with an amused smile.

Trixie had no idea how to respond.

"Ahhh..." Trixie exhaled, flopping onto the ground and finally giving up before her friend. "We’re so different..."

"Yes, we are."

"Sometimes I wonder why you’re still friends with someone like me. You could easily replace me with someone less... 'Trixie.'"

"Well, to be honest, I’ve thought about it..." Starlight admitted, glancing away. Trixie shot her a fiery glare, but Starlight continued, "...you’re difficult. But if I have to choose between the difficulty of being your friend and the difficulty of not having you by my side, I’d pick the first."

Trixie’s eyes welled up at that moment; they were like those of a puppy finally allowed to come home after a long punishment.

"So, I’m special?" Trixie asked, her voice trembling.

"Uhmm, yes, you are, as a friend, of course," Starlight replied cautiously, noting Trixie’s unusual expression.

"I’m special..." Trixie murmured.

"Yes, so—"

A burst of light interrupted her. In an instant, Trixie was by Starlight’s side, throwing herself at her in an enthusiastic hug.

"YOU’RE THE BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD!" Trixie shouted joyfully, her energy fully restored.

"UHH... THANKS, TRIXIE... UGH," Starlight groaned under the strength of the embrace but returned it with a smile.

That hug was proof of their reconciliation. It was all Trixie needed to be certain that their powerful friendship was still alive.

And it would live on in the future.

The special moment between friends lingered.

"So, that means..." Trixie began.

"You still have two more years of community service left on your sentence," Starlight cut her off flatly without pulling away.

"...Friendship is magic!" Trixie responded, forcefully cheerful.

The two friends held their not-so-genuine smiles as their hug continued.

The sun slowly rose on the horizon, like a pure silver coin emerging from a plane of utter darkness into one of celestial clarity. Its dazzling brilliance painted everything in its path with hues of gold and crimson. The desert, unable to resist, abandoned the shadows that had dominated it throughout the night and surrendered to the light of a new day.

The dawn unfolded over the great desert.

"It's beautiful..." Starlight said, moved.

"Yes, it's wonderful..." Trixie replied, her eyes fixed on the horizon.

Watching that ordinary yet extraordinary sight from their vantage point, Starlight and Trixie stood atop a sand dune, admiring the landscape together.

"You know... if it weren't for you, it probably would have taken me twenty years to have a vacation like this. You've really been the guide in my life to get me here," Starlight confessed.

"Thank you..." Trixie replied, touched, but she quickly adopted a haughty pose. "And don't forget, without me, you'd still be stuck in that complicated teaching project."

"Hey, the project is a good plan."

"I didn't say it was bad, but now that you mention it, Chancellor Neighsay is insufferably meticulous," Trixie remarked with a critical grimace.

"Ugh, don't remind me. He's even worse than Sunburst," Starlight joked, making a grimace of her own.

"I'll remind you, dear friend. After all, when we return, you'll have to put up with both of them for five more years," Trixie added with a sly smile.

"Ugh," Starlight let out a soft groan, imagining the prolonged responsibility awaiting her upon their return. But the feeling was fleeting. With Trixie by her side, the burden didn't seem so heavy, and she began to smile.

The wind blew, tossing the manes of both ponies.

Noticing her friend's good mood, Trixie looked up, spotting the mysterious stars in the sky that, for some unknown reason, refused to be outshone by the sunlight.

One by one, the stars disappeared, just like the minutes of the swift sunrise.

Behind the pair of friends, on a rocky part of the desert floor, four colorful tents had been set up.

From the tents emerged familiar faces.

Sandbar, Gallus, and Smolder came out of the red tent.

Yona, Silverstream, and Ocellus emerged from the blue tent.

And Daring Do exited the yellow one.

Everyone was awake and ready to face the new day with energy.

Noticing the growing commotion behind her, Starlight turned around. The Young Six were beginning to chat and tease each other. Not far away, Daring Do was calling out to them, urging them to hurry up and dismantle the tents.

Watching the antics of the group of friends, Starlight laughed heartily.

"It was very clever of you to include the kids in our vacation. This has really been like a late graduation trip for them."

"It's the least Trixie could do, after everything they had to go through because of her," Trixie replied, disheartened.

"Cheer up, Trixie. Stop dwelling on the past. Let's enjoy the day and the great adventures ahead of us."

Starlight turned and pointed toward the horizon.

Undeniable, menacing, cyclopean, dark pyramids loomed before them.

"Pyramid exploration!" the unicorn exclaimed enthusiastically. "We'll divide into three groups. The kids don't have assigned teams yet, but you, me, and Daring Do will be group leaders."

"Whoo!" Trixie exclaimed, setting aside her gloom. "Wait... we're going to explore the pyramids? Daring Do said they were dangerous. How did you convince her?"

"I have my ways of persuading others," Starlight replied, looking at her hooves. Trixie gave her a suspicious glance, noting how vague her friend was being. "But that's beside the point. First, we need to pick a logo for each team. I prepared them last night. I'll be Balance, and the other two are..."

"Heart!" Trixie suddenly blurted out mechanically.

"Huh?"

"Huh? I mean... there is a Heart, right?" Trixie asked nervously. She didn't understand why she'd said that.

"Well, yes, there is. There's also Feather... Were you spying on me?" Starlight asked, a bit suspicious.

"Uhh, no, no. I guessed. Hahaha," Trixie replied, uneasy, turning her attention to the pyramids. Suddenly, she began to remember something... something important...

Meanwhile, Starlight looked at her friend with narrowed eyes, but it was all playful acting. She shrugged and continued.

"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's seize our youth by living on the edge and challenging danger!" Starlight whinnied, breaking into a gallop toward the others.

Taken by surprise, Trixie didn't take long to follow her. "Hey! Wait... Starlight! Starlight!"

The wind blew, scattering the sand that quickly swallowed up their footprints.

The cheerful voices of the pair of friends still echoed over the great desert, rising to the heavens.

Indifferent to the challenge, the black pyramids gleamed silently in the same colors of the sunrise.

Beneath them, in their depths, the shadows waited, eager to soon reveal the secrets of a forgotten and inevitable future...

[WORDS OF THE AUTHOR][02]

Trixie and Starlight searching one of the pyramids for the missing Young-Six

Hello, Fimfiction readers! Isn't it a bit late for an update?

I apologize for this sudden additional chapter in this fanfic. Don't worry—it's just that this message from me should have arrived much earlier. However, many things happened, and in the end, I couldn't complete this final version of the fanfic at that time.

I’m pleased to inform you that as of today, all the content of this story has been updated. It’s been an exhausting effort spanning an entire year!

Writing fanfics is tough. Translating them seems even harder—like walking blindly through a wasteland full of pits. Mistakes are inevitable.

Well, now let’s talk about what’s important. Beyond the edited and improved content for better readability, there’s both good and bad news for the coming year. I'll make a full post about it, but I can share this in advance: this is the last fanfic I’ll fully translate for this platform. I don’t think it’s healthy to invest so much for so few benefits beyond contributing to the community. Anyway, I don’t think any of my readers will faint over this—I hope not.

Returning to the story itself and reflecting on its completion…

I think I overdid it with some of the filler parts in the story. However, it didn’t turn out bad, and it feels like each part sets a different pace for the narrative. I’ve learned a lot from this, especially about how challenging it is to build such complex stories. Something readers may have noticed is that everything that happens in this fanfic takes place in just one day! Goodness! How many Fimfiction stories have pacing like that? If anyone can challenge this, I’ll be waiting in the deserted comment section.

On another note, regarding Trixie—her story doesn’t end here, for those who might be dreaming of a sequel. However, that story will be very different and will feature another main character. Writing that continuation will feel like writing the finale to all my works on Fimfiction, and I don’t feel excited about doing that—at least not for now.

But don’t be disheartened! Trixie will have an appearance (or several) in another one of my fanfics that runs parallel to this one. Which fanfic is that? I’ll leave it to my readers' imagination; time will reveal the answer.

I don’t think I have much more to say, except that I’m grateful to all the people who inspired me to finish this difficult and unique story. Wherever you are, I encourage you to keep moving forward despite the hardships we face. Don’t wait for a miraculous salvation from the skies—it might come, or it might not. Trust in the future, just as those who came before us trusted that we, in the present, would do better than they did.

Have faith. Have dreams. Have friends.

Sincerely,
Khampostel

Thargodal and Fathungry - Act II

"Ahhh, what bliss..." murmured Trixie. Resting, that was all her body longed for at that moment.

Lying on a green meadow, under a blue sky dotted with lazily floating white clouds, listening to her favorite music and wrapped in the warm embrace of midday. Trixie, with her eyes closed behind sunglasses, imagined herself in such a place at that moment.

A calm and wonderful day, which could even get better, as she was not alone.

Her best friend was with her, Starlight was...

No.

Trixie opened her eyes abruptly. Her vivid dream was not yet over.

She wasn't where she had imagined. Remote, distant, and nebulous, the unicorn found herself sitting in the middle of a cosmic corridor full of doors.

"Where?" Trixie's confused voice got lost in the emptiness of the hallway, with echoes bursting into different tones and emotions.

Then, a headache overcame her and Trixie's memory refreshed. Her mental confusion (caused by fatigue, stress, and the red potions she had drunk) had considerably decreased. Lucid, she could remember that this was the same place she had dreamed of the previous night. That disturbing nightmare.

"Was it all just a dream?" Trixie exclaimed hopefully. There was a great possibility that it was, nothing that had happened that morning could be considered routine in her day-to-day life. The castle barrier, the corrupt potions, the ghosts, the manticore, the hawk-turkeys... she had experienced so many things in the last few hours, more than she had lived in the last three years.

Like a flower opening to the sun, Trixie's face transformed, filling with a single emotion: joy.

"Hahahahaha!" Trixie burst into laughter that echoed throughout the hallway. She pounded the ground with her hooves and soon fell on her back from the excitement. She didn't need to think about it anymore. It had all been a dream!

The fights, the pain, the anger... none of it had really happened.

This was just a dream.

Trixie continued laughing and almost crying on the hallway floor for a long time, happy that none of her questionable actions had been real. She continued this way until her passionate feelings gradually calmed down.

Slowly, she became aware of herself and her strange situation again...

Worried once more, Trixie immediately stood up.

The cosmic corridor she was in remained just as desolate and unchanged.

"Ahem... Hello! Is anyone there?" Trixie asked, her voice getting lost in the infinity.

There was no response, just more echoes.

"Okay... fine! Trixie... this is just a dream, just stay calm and you'll be safe."

She wasn't really sure where to go or who to expect. She vaguely remembered the mysterious pony who had guided her before in that place, but now she didn't think about her. Standing still, waiting in uncertainty, was not an option for Trixie.

Distrustfully, she began to move down the hallway, the white light from the doors on either side illuminating her path.

"Oh, I remember now... uhmmm, each door leads to a memory of mine, right?" Curious, Trixie peeked through one of the doors...

"Is Counselor Trixie dead?" Sandbar spoke with a trembling voice.

A crushing silence enveloped the main hallway of Twilight's Castle, where all the members of the Young Six were gathered. Their faces reflected a mix of bitterness and disbelief.

"It can't be so. Counselor Trixie is very skilled, she must have escaped with some trick!" Yona tried to deny.

"No, Yona. I saw her fall among the hawk-turkeys myself and disappear into Fathungry's beak. There's no way anyone could escape from that..." Gallus responded dejectedly, sitting on the floor. Regret was evident in his words.

Ocellus and Smolder were speechless at that moment, still processing what Gallus had told them.

"This can't be happening," murmured Silverstream.

Despite her flaws and eccentricities, no one would have wished for Trixie Lulamoon's life to end that way.

The silence continued after the hippogriff's words. The possible loss of their substitute teacher, student counselor, and friend weighed heavily on all of them.

Then, amidst that feeling of desolation, one of them looked up.

Sandbar, in his wheelchair, without asking for help from his companions, moved towards the castle door and carefully opened it to see outside.

Outside, just a few meters away, a dozen burly hawk-turkeys were avidly pecking at the beautiful flowers surrounding the castle, crushing ornamental arrangements and destroying the few decorations that remained from the Festival of the Two Sisters.

"What are you doing?" Gallus finally asked, raising his head, the others followed suit.

"I must... no. We must go and retrieve Counselor Trixie!" Sandbar exclaimed to his companions. Despite his delicate state, there was great strength in his voice.

Astonished looks followed the pony's words.

"Didn't you hear what I said? It's over! The counselor is..."

"Inside the gullet of the most dangerous hawk-turkey in Equestria. Yes! I understood perfectly, Gallus. That's why we must go!"

"It's madness..." Gallus replied, extremely serious.

"I hate to say it, but Gallus is right. We can't face those guys alone," added Smolder. "We must wait for the princess and the royal guard to come..."

"They'll take too long to arrive. We're already here, we can handle this."

"That's very brave of you, Sandbar, but... how are we supposed to deal with a horde of giant hawk-turkeys?" Silverstream asked alarmed.

"I'd like to know that too," added Gallus.

"Well... there's always a way... there must be!" Sandbar replied haltingly. He didn't have an answer for that; he hadn't thought it through that much before. Hopeful, he turned his gaze to the one who could answer that.

Ocellus, who had been silent all that time, felt the weight of Sandbar's gaze immediately, not just his, but also that of her other companions. Enormous pressure arose within her; her friends needed an answer from the one person they could trust to determine if it was possible to carry out that dangerous rescue mission.

Her decision would determine Trixie's fate.

Ocellus took a deep breath and then exhaled. Just as she had learned from her teachers, she set aside her emotions and coldly began to calculate the possible solutions to the serious problem they were in.

It didn't take long for her to find the obvious answer.

"There is a way. If we use the power of the Elements of Harmony that exists within us, we could make our way through the hawk-turkeys and rescue Counselor Trixie," she answered decisively.

"Whoooo!" the rest of the Young Six responded in unison, none of them had thought of that possibility. Since Twilight's coronation, they had barely used that power a couple of times.

The discouragement that had dominated the Young Six's spirits vanished; they all now shared words of encouragement and optimism.

All except a bitter and blue griffon.

"Do you really want to do this?" Gallus asked Sandbar coldly, interrupting the atmosphere.

"Yes, we are responsible for this happening, we must fix it."

"Even when she is the reason you ended up in this state?" Gallus continued without averting his gaze, pointing with one of his claws at the wheelchair where Sandbar was convalescing.

"Yes," Sandbar replied even more firmly.

The two friends exchanged cold looks for a tense moment.

Until finally...

"Ahhhhhhhhhh," Gallus exhaled, tilting his head and stepping aside.

"Any problem, Gallus?" Sandbar asked with a smile. To him and the rest of his friends, it was obvious how difficult it was for Gallus to accept Sandbar's good heart. A heart so noble that it was simply unbearable to the griffon.

And this very thing was the reason why he respected him so much.

With his back to his friends, Gallus muttered unintelligible things while swishing his tail from side to side. Then, without warning, he turned around.

"What are you all staring at? Let's go already! Let's show those pigeons they shouldn't mess with the friends of the first class of the School of Friendship!" Gallus exclaimed to the others, puffing out his chest and spreading his wings to the fullest.

With everyone's spirits high, the Young Six formed a line, holding hooves and claws, the group of friends moved forward.

The castle doors opened wide, outside the hawk-turkeys let out threatening squawks, inside the bond of those young friends materialized into unparalleled magic.

The Young Six took the first step... and a rainbow light enveloped everything.

The light from the door went out, and the image of the Young Six faded. With no strength in her legs, Trixie, unable to believe what she had just witnessed, fell sitting down abruptly in front of the entrance.

"Am I dead...?" Trixie murmured in a barely audible voice, an expression of disbelief on her face.

There were many things that had scared Trixie throughout her life: crocodiles, giant spiders, piled-up bills, etc. However, these fears had only caused a moderate impact on her. Once Trixie finished releasing her passionate emotions, she could quickly adapt to the situation.

But the fear that was beginning to arise within her was something entirely new.

Her own death...

A metallic taste began to flood Trixie's mouth. At the same time, her stomach tightened her chest, causing her to hunch over and breathe with increasing difficulty.

"No, no, wait Trixie... It's a dream, of course!" the unicorn exploded in denial, standing up immediately. "None of that happened! You're not dead, Trixie, you're just having a crazy, very realistic dream. You drank a lot of cider last night, remember? You'll get out of this as always!"

Thus, Trixie spoke to herself with joy and enthusiasm. With a click of her hooves, she began to gallop down the hallway.

Far away in another place, a candle was lit.

Several minutes had passed since she started running, yet nothing changed.

Silence... and more silence... the faint echoes of Trixie's gallop resonated in the vastness of the cosmic hallway. She left behind countless crystal arches, each one a door to some moment of her past life. Special moments of joy and happiness.

But Trixie didn't want to know more about them, she had seen enough.

Every memory she explored only increased her frustration. Every laugh from her past versions made her bitterness grow. Despite her relentless search, she still couldn't find a way out, much less a guide who could lead her out of there.

Thus, Trixie kept galloping down the hallway with a rage that was already showing through her mouth.

"Do you think this is funny?" Trixie stopped abruptly, frustrated. "I know there's someone there! These kinds of tricks don't impress me. If you're trying to teach me a life lesson by showing me my past, you're doing a very bad job. I tell you from experience, Trixie has also given lessons. Trixie is a good pony!"

Trixie's intense shouts at her supposed captors were lost in an even more intense silence.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa" still more enraged by not getting any response, Trixie neighed loudly and then continued her exasperating search.

Far away in another place, two more candles were lit.

Hours had passed since Trixie began her search.

The sweaty unicorn, with slow and exhausted steps, continued down the vast hallway. She exhaled and cast nervous glances around her. Paranoia grew within her, and even more so her frustration. Nothing in that place had changed, no matter how much she ran or how far she went, everything remained the same.

Every crystal arch, every door that appeared before her, looked the same as the previous one.

It was as if she were trapped in an infinite loop with no way out.

"This is a dream, right Trixie?... But then, why is this place..." Trixie murmured, scared, stopping in her tracks.

She didn't want to accept it. It was inadmissible! But the possibility became more real every moment.

Maybe she really had died...

When Trixie was a filly, her father used to tell her that good ponies, when they died, their spirits traveled to a magical place of joy and rest where they reunited with their friends who had also been good in life. This place was 'The Happy Meadows,' which, in Trixie's father's words, was in the sky beyond the sky above the sky.

On the other hand, those who had done wrong in life would end up in a dark and lamentable place, where they would spend eternity alone with themselves. This place was none other than 'The Gray Mines.' A place that, as its name suggested, would look like a coal mine. However, grown-up Trixie, in her constant travels, had heard stories that this place could vary for each pony...

A lump formed in Trixie's throat.

"No, no...Ugh," Trixie murmured brokenly. An intense pain began to weaken her already very exhausted heart. Then, like a dam that had been filled to the limit, she broke into tears with a wail. She could no longer deceive herself.

This wasn't a dream. This was reality.

She had died. And this place was undoubtedly the purgatory where she would spend the rest of eternity. Reliving those happy moments she had been so proud of, which would now be the chains she would drag in her torment.

In the midst of her uncontrollable sobbing, Trixie suddenly remembered everything she did that morning. The recklessness, her fear, the red potions, her subsequent madness...

"It's not my fault that things ended up this way! I did it for my best friend! Starlight would have done the same for me!" she shouted into the void, trying to justify herself.

But no one responded.

Defeated, Trixie hung her head and continued crying with clenched teeth. For she knew it wasn't true.

Far away in another place, many more candles were lit...

A lot of time had passed... really a long time...

Wandering with her head down in the cosmic hallway, the ghostly figure of a pony advanced silently.

No one who had known her could recognize her at that moment, there was no trace of the great and powerful unicorn she had been in the past.

A disheveled mane swayed at her sides, her ears hung down like withered leaves, her gaze was as still as a lake in a forgotten cavern, there was no light of life in her eyes, nor in her face that could no longer show any emotion.

Her coat barely had tufts that revealed the magnetic blue she had once boasted. However, now it only showed the grayish color of the ocean in winter. The rest of her body, now only skin and weak muscles, creaked as she walked.

Trixie had aged...

During that eternity that had passed since Trixie accepted her end, she had advanced without looking back down the corridor.

So many doors she had explored... so many memories that had come to life again, so many moments of reflection she had had...

Time and time again, Trixie had walked through her life...

What had she learned?

"I think we're finally near the grand finale..." said the aged Trixie, observing the unusual darkness that enveloped the end of the hallway ahead of her. There, for some unknown reason, all the cosmic lights had disappeared, and now it was just a hole full of shadows.

"Indeed. There have been practically no doors in the last thousand meters..." replied a young Starlight behind her. "It was to be expected that nothing lasts forever... not even purgatory."

"Uhmmm," grunted the old Trixie with slow steps.

With the momentum of her youth, Starlight began to move ahead, getting very close to the deep darkness...

"Maybe it's just a hundred meters more..." murmured the young Starlight before turning back. "Hey! It's only about a hundred meters left! We're almost there!"

But no one responded. Trixie had stopped.

Worried, Starlight came back to her friend. "What's wrong?"

The old Trixie didn't respond immediately; she slowly lifted her head.

"I'm tired..." she murmured lethargically.

"Come on, come on! It's only about a hundred meters! You can rest all you want after that."

"Uhmm..." Trixie grunted again.

"Don't be like that now. Come on! Let's go! Put those hooves in motion." Starlight wasted no time and started to push Trixie to get her to stand up.

However, Trixie remained as rigid as a rock.

After being pushed by her friend for a long while, Trixie finally spoke.

"I'm scared..."

Starlight, who had been pushing her, stopped abruptly and immediately turned towards Trixie.

"Scared? Now?" she replied seriously.

"Yes."

"Why? At this point, we have nothing left to lose. No home, no friends, no future. What could the great and powerful Trixie be afraid of?"

Trixie took a moment to respond. She had lowered her head, but then she lifted it.

"I'm afraid of losing you," Trixie replied. Now it was Starlight who was left speechless.

"That..." Starlight murmured, surprised.

"This darkness is slowly swallowing all the light around. But it's not just the light from the stars that's gone. The doors too. If the doors are my memories... then maybe when we get beyond, you will disappear too..." Trixie murmured, looking at her friend.

Or rather... the memory of her friend.

During all that time of solitude, Trixie had relived every moment she had spent with Starlight, cherishing and reliving it in her mind. At some point in her long journey, those memories accumulated to such an extent that they gave rise to this imaginary Starlight.

Even so, despite her old age, Trixie had retained her sharpness. She still remembered that the Starlight in front of her was not real.

However... she didn't want to lose her, imaginary or not, she didn't want to let this Starlight go.

The old Trixie lowered her head. She didn't want to show her pain. Even though she knew her face would remain rigid, she preferred not to risk it.

Then, something soft touched her face and lifted her head.

There, in front of her, a radiant Starlight hugged her and spoke affectionately.

"Don't be afraid, Trixie. We've been together for a long time. It's time to let me go."

"I don't want to."

"But you must... remember why we're doing this. There is still a possibility," affirmed the imaginary Starlight.

This was something Trixie had discovered a long time ago. Although the doors showed her lived memories of her past, many of those repeated memories appeared altered and in several cases showed things that hadn't actually happened. Coupled with the inexplicable fact that she was still aging despite being in a supposed place outside of time.

If she couldn't feel hunger or sleep, then... why was she aging?

All this made Trixie doubt if she was really in a purgatory or in a completely different place. Because if that were the case, then...

She could get out of there.

"But... what if there's really nothing ahead. If that darkness is the very oblivion of everything..." Trixie said, trembling.

"Maybe. But staying here won't do you any good. We promised to find the way out... and we're very close to achieving it."

"I..."

"Trust, Trixie... be brave."

"But..."

"Be brave."

With these last words, Starlight stepped away from her friend. And after exhaling a couple of times, the old Trixie stood up. Her spirit seemed to shine again in her eyes, trembling not from fear but from her old age. Determined, Trixie began to move forward through the cosmic hallway towards a dark and unknown end.

Far away in another place, the light of the candles burned, the preparations were complete.

Darkness enveloped the elderly Trixie. Beside her, Starlight accompanied her, raising her horn high to light the way.

But... the further they advanced down the ominous corridor, the more invasive the darkness around them became, as if the light itself could no longer penetrate it.

Gradually, the light from Starlight's horn began to wane. Trixie, who was beside her, could see and feel that she was with her, but that feeling of warmth, of companionship, also began to fade.

They continued advancing, saying no words, sensing that if either of them spoke, everything would probably stop.

Suddenly, with the light barely visible, Trixie began to feel the darkness pressing in on her sides.

"Starlight..." Trixie murmured.

"I'm here..." was heard beside her, but it was a low voice, impossible for the short distance between them.

"Starlight!" Trixie now spoke louder.

"I'm here..." Starlight's voice was heard even further away. Her friend's figure... was just a barely visible silhouette beside her. Even the light from her horn... was like a red star about to disappear.

"STARLIGHT!" Trixie shouted, stopping and looking around, straining to see her friend.

But no one responded.

All light had disappeared. She could no longer see anything. There was only silence... and darkness.

There were no whispers. There were no sensations... there was nothing else.

At that moment, in the midst of the inexorable void, Trixie began to cry bitterly. It had happened just as she had feared. The last glimmers of the memories of her friend were gone... from Trixie's dry eyes fell her last tears, those she had kept all this time for this bitter end.

The old Trixie no longer knew what to do. There was no way back. The light at the other end of the corridor had disappeared long ago. The cosmic walls no longer existed.

She was lost in the middle of an immeasurable nothingness.

"What do I do now?" Trixie spoke, her voice echoing inside her hollow self, as if she were only a mouth at that moment and the rest of her body no longer existed.

Then, a memory came to her... there was no image or light in it. Just another voice... a distant voice, one she thought she would never hear again.

"Be brave..."

These words resonated inside her like a tide pushing against the rocks.

"Heyyyyy!" suddenly exploded the old Trixie in the middle of the nothingness.

Courage burned within her again. An emotion she thought she had lost long ago and that now drove her forward. With the strength she had left, the old Trixie galloped intensely into the nothingness.

She galloped and galloped, immersed in darkness.

Then...

"Thud!" Trixie collided abruptly.

It was surprising. Trixie took a long time to recover, but she quickly understood the situation. In front of her... within those shadows, there was a wall.

The end of the cosmic corridor.

The old Trixie raised her hoof and touched the invisible wall in front of her as a blind person would against a wall.

"Haha, haha, hahaha!" a crazy and raspy laugh suddenly burst out in the middle of the darkness. Incongruous with the situation, Trixie laughed.

The darkness stirred restlessly around Trixie.

"Ahhhh Starlight... you were always right... this is not the end," the old Trixie declared between laughs.

She could feel it. She had been in the cosmic corridor for so long that in many fits of madness she had tried to destroy it with her magic. However, the walls of that place were impossible to break. No matter how much magic she used, nothing she did could damage them. Thus, she spent a lot of time touching them and studying them carefully without finding any solution.

But now, all that accumulated experience told the old Trixie one thing.

That shadowy wall was not insurmountable.

This place wasn't the end...

"Oooooooohhhhhhhh," the old Trixie began to channel all the accumulated magic within her being. Years of magical abstinence had made her power grow considerably. The brightness and power were so intense that even the darkness trying to contain her began to falter. The light shone from her horn, and her eyes lit up like lamps. All her power made her body rise and ignite like a true star.

Then, Trixie's horn discharged a single spark of pure magic against the wall of shadows. It was tiny and almost ridiculous. But it was of such great and powerful potency that the entire wall trembled from its foundations. Even the darkness that sought to envelop her recoiled, cowed for an instant.

However, after the attack, like waves trying to crush her, the furious shadows returned to envelop Trixie to drown her once and for all.

But the damage was done.

A crack had appeared, and from it, a current pushed inward, pulling everything nearby inside.

Surprised and unable to react, the old Trixie's body was swept away by this current.

The wall of shadows closed again, and eternity resumed its slumber.

Far away, in another place...

Trixie opened her eyes, everything was dark. A cold floor pressed against her from below, and a strange caress-like sensation ran through her fur.

Still, lying on the ground, it took her a moment to identify that sensation...

It was the wind.

With difficulty, Trixie stirred and opened her eyes, trying to orient herself. Her atrophied senses began to be bombarded by all sorts of sensations.

"What...?" She fully sat up and could see the rest of her own body under a pale light.

It was her again. Young and full of vitality.

Astonished, she babbled some unintelligible words. Her emotions started to burn within her again, but they had no time to be released. The world around her captured more of her attention.

She was in a high place, similar to a great portico with steps. There were large candles burning weakly beside her. A sanctuary, perhaps? There was no other light nearby to give her more clues.

But beyond her, from that height, the horizon revealed more to her.

Blurry at first, it took her a moment to recognize what she saw. It was dark. Yes, but it was the clear darkness of night under the light of the moon and the constellations. Ahhh... the moon! A beautiful moon whose light she had missed so much.

Trixie's heart leaped with emotion at the sight of that light. That glow calmed her agitated spirit and made her cutie mark shine.

But her relief ended there.

Under the light of that beautiful moon, a dark world took shape.

Immense shadows of pyramids rose around her, like gigantic black teeth sprouting from the ground. One very close and many others distant that she couldn't count. There was an aura of malice surrounding those pyramids, as if an unknown evil awaited beneath them.

There weren't just pyramids. From the nearest one, long paths of fire led to the others.

And the light of those burning paths revealed the dunes of an arid desert.

"Heee...?" confused, Trixie had no idea where she was.

A sensation shook her entire body, as if the ground were trembling.

Trixie staggered, her body failing her... she felt like she was about to faint.

"ahh, ahh, ahh..." Trixie began to breathe heavily.

Suddenly, a light streaked across the dark sky, a bright spark cutting through the firmament for an instant. Trixie raised her head and, in wonder, watched the passage of a shooting star among the stars.

It was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she had seen in such a long time.

That light brought back memories of her past, of her friends... of Starlight.

Amid the spectacle, Trixie lowered her gaze. The deep shadows of the pyramids had trembled for a moment. Trixie watched them and found it amusing. She had no way to explain it, but she felt that the benevolent light had scared them.

"Are they scared of a bit of 'Starlight'?" Trixie laughed cheerfully.

Then another tremor shook her body. This time she couldn't stay on her hooves and fell to the ground.

For some reason, her strength was leaving her.

"What's happening...?" Again, the world was darkening around her.

An irresistible fatigue began to dominate her. Everything became blurred. Her eyes started to close...

Then, a new light crossed the sky. It was brighter than the previous one.

"Another shooting star... hahaha, what luck! What a beautiful end!" Trixie murmured as she faded. "Should I make a wish?"

Trixie began to disappear, but she already had a wish in mind.

With her last breath, she voiced it and vanished.

The brilliant light of the great shooting star crossed the sky, carrying that final wish.

At the End of the Exordium - Act I

Time was running out.

Several minutes had passed since the turkey-hawks had left. At the gates of Twilight's castle, Trixie and the Young Six found themselves in the middle of a… 'difficult' encounter.

"...it's really been a rough day," Ocellus finished saying.

"Yeah, tell me about it. All those turkey-hawks, crazy stuff...," Trixie laughed, somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah, really crazy... Who could’ve called them?" Gallus added in a low voice, but despite the fruitless conversation, it was clearly heard.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Gallus, feeling uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to care and kept looking away.

Trixie had already noticed this behavior before. It was not a good sign.

("Is he upset with me? Did I do something to him today? Think, Trixie! Think!") Ever since she woke up with barely any memory, surrounded by turkey-hawks, Trixie had been straining her brain to make sense of why she was in that situation.

After checking through her cape and hat, finding a large amount of cider bottles and poorly stored pumpkin pie bags, Trixie came to the only logical conclusion: 'maybe' she might have 'slightly' lost control after the crazy party the night before.

But in situations like that, she was supposed to rely on Starlight as a safety net...

("Darn it, Starlight, you swore you’d watch over me when I had too much cider!") she blamed her friend in her thoughts. With her memories incomplete, the clueless Trixie remained silent, imagining possibilities, not realizing she was being watched.

"Counselor Trixie, are you alright?" Ocellus asked, noticing Trixie’s suspicious behavior.

"Yes, yes, everything's fine," Trixie quickly replied, trying hard to maintain a calm image. "Oh, by the way, where is Starlight?"

"She’s not here," Smolder responded immediately, very seriously.

"She’s not?" Trixie repeated, a chill running down her spine. ("Then that means...") she thought to herself.

"Vice Principal Sunburst isn’t here either," added Sandbar from his wheelchair, also serious.

"Hoo, I see..." Trixie replied with a falsely calm tone. ("SUNBURST TOO!") she screamed internally, panicking.

Panic flooded Trixie; amid her flawed reasoning, memories of going through something similar before hit her like rocks.

Many moons ago, Trixie and Starlight had gone to a charity event in Manehattan, where, after meeting many ponies, they ended up being invited to a big party at the most popular nightclub in the city. With nothing to lose, just wanting to have fun, both friends ended up going to that place.

When they woke up the next day (with no memory of the previous night), they found themselves very close together in bed, in Maud’s room, with a tied-up Sunburst trapped in the bathroom of the house. Ignoring the Princess Twilight costume Trixie was wearing, Starlight’s military uniform, the chains on Sunburst, and the large number of cider bottles on the floor, the group of friends (including Maud) swore never to mention that incident in their lives again.

("The cider, it's always the cider...") now certain of what was really going on, Trixie took the initiative before anyone else could speak.

"...Alright, I know you have a lot of questions, but for such an important conversation, it’s better to have a good setting. Let’s go inside first. Does that sound good?" proposed Trixie in a very mature tone, pointing toward the castle. She wasn’t saying it because she actually wanted to continue that conversation; she wanted to escape. But her friends were in trouble, and even if it wasn’t her fault, she had to take responsibility.

She had to protect the respectable image of her friends in front of the students. (As adults who had no problems with cider).

After Trixie’s suggestion, the Young Six exchanged confused glances.

"Okay..." Sandbar finally replied, doubtful and tired. The rest of his friends silently nodded.

Internally, Trixie almost jumped with excitement; she still had control of the situation. Now that she was in charge, she had to be very careful with her next move. She needed to find out more about what happened that morning without drawing too much attention...

"Alright, let’s head inside then," she said confidently, and led the group toward the castle.

The others, very tired, followed... except Ocellus.

"Counselor Trixie," Ocellus’s firm voice was heard from behind. The young changeling hadn’t moved from her spot, and Trixie, halfway up the steps, stopped and turned to look at her, followed by the others.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Trixie asked, trying to keep her carefree tone.

"Did you really...?"

Just as Ocellus was about to finish her question, she was interrupted.

A loud creaking noise, like a pipe being adjusted, echoed around them. For a moment, they all froze and, filled with anxiety, looked up at the sky, fearing that a new disaster was about to fall upon them.

Fortunately, it wasn’t. The creaking sound happened again, and they all turned their attention to the source, which was much closer.

In the middle of the group of friends, a guilty-looking Yona returned their stares.

"Yona not have lunch yet."

She wasn’t the only one.

Other stomach growls followed Yona’s.

None of the Young Six had eaten. The constant incidents of the day had deprived them of a normal lunch.

"I see..." Trixie responded, also realizing her own hunger. "What were you going to ask, Ocellus?"

"Uhmm, never mind..." the changeling replied, suddenly unsure.

"Alright... then, first stop: the dining hall!" Trixie resumed her path with determination.

And so, finally, after a hellish day full of mishaps, Trixie, accompanied by the Young Six, entered Twilight’s castle.

And just after crossing the doors, she decided to make her next move.

"Ehmm... Silverstream, dear," Trixie said without turning around.

"Yes?" responded the hippogriff, peeking from behind the group.

"Could you tell me about your day... in ‘great detail’?" the unicorn asked, emphasizing her last words.

"In ‘great detail’?" Silverstream repeated, unsure. "Umm... I’m sorry, Counselor Trixie, I don’t think I can. I have an academic order to stop being so detailed when giving explanations."

"Really? And who gave you that order?"

"I think it was you who told me that..."

"Did I really?!" Trixie replied sharply, before quickly returning to her feigned professionalism. "Ah, yes, right, dear, but today I feel very open to listening, so don’t worry, just go ahead."

"Really? Yay!" the hippogriff suddenly squealed, flapping her wings with excitement. "So... this morning, when I woke up, I saw the sun, and it seemed less yellow than usual, which was kind of weird, and then when I went to take a bath, I sneezed three and a half times before getting into the water, which is bad luck for hippogriffs..."

Silverstream continued talking quickly and almost without taking a breath. Ahead of her, the bored expressions of her friends grew heavier; meanwhile, Trixie smiled with satisfaction.

With a completely wrong idea of the situation, Trixie marched on toward her destination.

Behind her, the doors closed for the last time that day.

"...so we searched and searched all over the castle for Vice Principal Sunburst, but there was no trace of him. The friend that the Vice Principal brought along helped us too... what was her name? Derpy? I can’t quite remember her name, but I do remember her leather jacket. It was divine! I should ask her where she got it the next time I see her. Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen her since... maybe she went home. Yes, she definitely must’ve done that! As I was saying, we searched and searched until we gathered by the castle’s entrance. Then Gallus showed up and told us that the evil turkey-hawks had eaten her. By the pearl! I felt like my feathers were falling out at that moment!"

Silverstream hadn’t stopped talking, even after several of her friends had finished their lunch. At the dining table, only Trixie, Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream remained. The latter hadn’t even touched her food; her bowl of seaweed cereal with sea cucumber milk sat untouched. No one had pointed it out to her, least of all Trixie, who was absorbed in processing all the information the young hippogriff was delivering.

"Uh-huh..." Trixie murmured, sipping from an already empty cup.

"Counselor Trixie, uhmm... do you want more juice?" Yona asked, noticing the empty cup she was holding.

"Uh-huh..." the unicorn replied mechanically. She had been like this for quite a few minutes.

Yona filled her cup, and also Sandbar’s, who watched the scene with growing concern, especially Trixie. Before leaving the dining hall, Ocellus and the others had privately asked him to keep an eye on her and report if she did anything strange.

("Do something strange?") Sandbar thought anxiously. Even someone like him couldn’t help but think that everything related to Trixie that day was strange.

"...so you said, 'so don’t worry, just do it,' and here we are, although now that I think about it... shouldn’t I also mention what the others might be thinking? Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll start again!"

"That’s enough, dear Silverstream... thank you for everything," Trixie said, suddenly raising her hoof.

"Ahh, thank you, Counselor Trixie. Talking always helps me relieve stress, and with everything that’s happened today, I felt like I was about to explode!" Silverstream finished before her stomach growled. "Hahaha, did I say explode? Maybe I meant implode? Haha, if you’ll excuse me..."

Without another word, Silverstream began devouring her bowl like a starving pig. Trixie, for her part, didn’t seem to notice. Staring blankly at the ceiling, she downed the juice from her cup in one gulp. Then, she leaned back in her seat, letting out such a loud sigh that it whistled through the room. Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream (who had almost finished her bowl) turned their gaze toward her.

"Are you okay?" Sandbar asked, just as worried as the others.

"No!" Trixie answered sharply.

"Is that because...?"

"No... I don’t understand. Did I really do all that?" Trixie interrupted, her eyes distant. "Last night I went to Maud’s party, I remember drinking cider, I don’t know how much, but... but Starlight was with me! We went back together! And then... what happened this morning... aughh."

She brought her hooves to her head, her face contorting as if she were focusing all her energy on the mere act of thinking. She stayed with her eyes closed for several seconds until her hooves finally dropped, exhausted. A worn-out Trixie, already defeated, finally looked at her students. It almost seemed like smoke was coming out of her head. She had exhausted her mental strength in the futile effort of retrieving memories that no longer existed. Now, in this moment of weakness, her façade of a professional adult was completely shattered.

The Young Six weren’t children. They could see her and think for themselves. Even someone as constantly distracted as Silverstream could reason through what was happening and say it.

And she did...

"Counselor Trixie, you... don’t remember anything from this morning?"

Slowly, Trixie nodded, with no expression on her tired face. The Young Six looked at each other, confused.

"But how...? You already spoke with Silverstream just a few hours ago, you even argued with Ocellus," Sandbar questioned, just as incredulous as the others.

"I don’t know anything about that!" Trixie responded, cornered. "I... when I woke up this morning, I was outside the castle... on a bed of sand and feathers! Surrounded by turkey-hawks! I have no idea how I ended up there! And before that... I can’t remember anything. I’m telling you the truth!" Trixie finished, almost pleading.

"But Counselor said earlier that you understood what was going on..." Yona pointed out.

"I was acting!" Trixie snapped angrily, only to sink back into a slump.

Neither Sandbar, Yona, nor Silverstream knew what to say. Trixie’s shocking confession was hard to believe, but the intensity of her voice and expressions felt undeniably genuine. In truth, Trixie wasn’t acting. These were her real feelings, now fully exposed.

Silence filled the dining hall. At one end of the table, a downcast Trixie stared at the floor, looking like a child caught after a misdeed. On the other side, the Young Six reflected uncomfortably on what to do next; being in the role of adults definitely didn’t suit the three of them.

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP..." A faint alarm sound broke the silence, catching everyone’s attention.

Yona checked her bag and turned off the alarm on her watch.

"It’s time for medicine."

"Already? I’d completely forgotten. Thanks for reminding me, Yona," Sandbar said.

"Don’t worry, Yona will prepare a cup of warm water for friend to take them."

Without saying more, Yona rummaged through the bag behind Sandbar’s wheelchair, pulled out a blister pack of pills, placed them on the table, and then began preparing the warm water her friend would need to take them.

Still in silence, Trixie watched this with concern while Silverstream quickly finished her meal. The voracious hippogriff had no intention of wasting this timely interruption.

That’s when it happened.

Unconsciously, perhaps out of her innate curiosity, or maybe her brain was trying to find a distraction from the intense stress she was under. Whatever the reason, Trixie then asked the most important question of the day.

"Why is Sandbar in a wheelchair?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Uhm... I had an accident during..." Sandbar began to answer in his typically soft voice.

Unfortunately for Sandbar, it was precisely because of this that he was ignored.

Silverstream, who was sitting closer and had just finished her lunch, eagerly jumped in to answer Trixie’s question.

"It’s because Gallus broke his legs during the invasion of the Orchid-Octopi a few weeks ago. Those monsters got inside his head and turned him evil. It was awful! He started attacking everyone and giving villain speeches. Princess Cadance fought him and defeated him, but he escaped with those monsters into the forest. That’s when Gallus managed to catch up to him and captured him to free him from the mind control. It wasn’t pretty when..."

Silverstream stopped in the middle of her monologue, noticing the shocked stares directed at her.

The hippogriff had said too much.

"Oops... I shouldn’t have said that. Haha... sorry." Silverstream began sinking into her seat, realizing her serious slip-up.

While her friends looked at her awkwardly, Trixie continued.

"That happened during my absence... the invasion of the Orchid-Octopi, right?" she asked, lost in thought.

"Yes, that unfortunately happened," Sandbar confirmed, not very enthusiastically. "But don’t worry, Counselor Trixie. I’m doing better now and I’ll start my rehabilitation next week. Besides, all the Orchid-Octopi were captured, though the forest is still under quarantine. There haven’t been any recent incidents, so it’s likely that there aren’t any left."

When he finished speaking, Yona and Silverstream nodded, confirming their friend’s reassuring words.

But a new emotion, far from reassuring, began to flood Trixie. In the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in her mind, a face came to her as if in revelation...

Gallus.

Pushing aside her own worries, Trixie stood up and, very seriously, walked over to Sandbar.

"Tell me everything that happened..." In a complete role reversal, Trixie asked in an undeniably adult tone.

Ocellus was having trouble clearing her mind. The attack of the hawk-peacocks, the negotiation with Fathungry, the following conversation outside the castle... Added to that, the events that had unfolded since the morning had only intensified her confusion.

And, of course, it all revolved around Trixie and her unpredictable behavior.

("How can the counselor stay so calm talking to the hawk-peacocks and then to us? Has she just forgiven everyone that easily? Or could she be planning some horrible revenge later on?") That’s what Ocellus had thought shortly after the hawk-peacocks left, leaving only Trixie with them.

What happened next shattered all the expectations she had imagined.

Totally indifferent, Trixie had spoken with her and the others as if it were just another normal day, as if nothing that had happened that morning had ever actually happened. Not only that, her baffling physical state—unharmed and unweary—stood in stark contrast to the life-or-death situation she’d been in just minutes before.

Trixie’s confident smile, her natural and ordinary gestures, her words so characteristically her own, had sown confusion (and fear) in Ocellus’s heart.

In that unsettling scene, the idea that Trixie might have fallen into complete madness struck Ocellus hard, to the point that she nearly said it aloud.

But... she didn’t say it. She felt stupid even thinking of saying it. Even more… she felt tired.

She wasn’t the only one. Her friends were in the same state. So, thinking about everyone else, she didn’t protest against the surreal idea of having lunch first, resting, going out for some fresh air, and then...

Sharing some of her "insecurities" with her friends...

"What, Counselor Trixie is a changeling?" Gallus replied, surprised.

"It’s too absurd, isn’t it?" Ocellus responded, doubting her own idea.

"Uhmm, not so much. I hadn’t thought of it…" the griffon reflected, touching his chin with one claw.

Both Ocellus and Gallus were waiting for Smolder in the castle's main hallway.

"I’m not serious, Gallus. I know how to recognize another of my kind. But that was something I thought after talking to her earlier. She was acting weird… like she was improvising, just like…"

"…Principal Starlight this morning," Gallus finished his friend’s sentence. "She was acting weird, too…"

"Wait… you noticed that too? But earlier you said you didn’t notice anything…"

"Earlier, before the day sank into madness... uhmm." Gallus, suddenly reserved, turned his back on his friend and began reflecting on his own.

Puzzled by this behavior, Ocellus raised an eyebrow, looking at him from behind. Gallus was also acting weird…

Then, a door on the second floor opened, and Smolder agilely emerged from it.

"There you are! So, how did it go? Uh…?" said Smolder from above as she descended with a flap of her wings, but she stopped upon seeing the worried expressions of the others.

Her friends immediately turned their gaze toward her.

"Did something happen?" the dragon asked as she reached them.

"It’s nothing..." Ocellus replied.

"Smolder, do you think Counselor Trixie could be a Changeling?" Gallus suddenly asked, ignoring Ocellus.

"Huh?" Smolder replied, confused by the question.

"Gallus, I told you not to take it seriously!" Ocellus protested.

"I’m just asking," Gallus shrugged, while Smolder scratched her head.

"Okay, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as for that… I don’t think so. The counselor couldn’t be a Changeling, at least she didn’t smell like one," Smolder said.

"Wait... you can tell a Changeling by their smell?" Ocellus asked in surprise.

"We dragons have an exceptional sense of smell… Plus, sharing a room with you and enduring your seasonal night sweats already gave me a pretty clear idea of what a Changeling smells like."

"You could smell my night sweats? Ouch..." a blushing Ocellus shrank back, moving aside.

"Well, that’s a lot of unnecessary information, but back to what we were talking about. Thanks, Smolder. I didn’t think so either, but I needed to confirm with you."

"No problem. But why the question?"

"Honestly, I don’t even know what to think anymore… everything’s been so weird today," Gallus replied.

"Weird, really weird..." Smolder replied in a more serious tone. "I checked upstairs in the castle’s upper rooms and outside. There’s no sign of the principal or the vice-principal. Everything’s perfectly in order."

"It’s the same here. The map room and the other offices were spotless. Almost like they’d been left that way on purpose… And how did it go down below, Ocellus?"

"Same thing. Just as we left it. Except the security room was locked, and I couldn’t get in."

"Wait, didn’t you have the key?" Smolder asked.

"No, I gave it to Vice-Principal Sunburst… before he disappeared," Ocellus replied, looking down.

"Uhmm, not great. We shouldn’t have handed him all the keys when he arrived," Gallus reflected.

"What a mess! But seriously, what were they thinking? Going off to the festival without telling us anything!" Smolder protested suddenly.

"You think they all went to the festival in Canterlot?" Ocellus asked, a bit doubtful.

"What else could it be?"

"But leaving no message behind. Just like that?" Ocellus pointed out.

"The adults have other priorities, Ocellus, and the principal can sometimes be just as careless as her ‘friend’," Gallus added.

"Here we go with that again..." Smolder muttered tiredly, and she wasn’t the only one.

"Alright, you can drop it now, Gallus. You’ve spent the whole day badmouthing Counselor Trixie, and it hasn’t helped us at all."

"Badmouthing?... Look, Ocellus, I get that you hold the counselor and the other adults in high regard, but I know what I saw. She’s responsible for the Orchid-Octopus invasion, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s behind whatever’s happening now."

"So that’s your hypothesis, Gallus? Just blaming her, just like that, without evidence?" Smolder replied, annoyed.

"My eyes are enough evidence, and my griffon instincts tell me it’s true."

"That’s just resentment, Gallus. I thought you were more mature than this."

"I’m mature enough. You’re the one being too naïve, trusting the adults so much and treating the counselor like nothing’s wrong."

"I’m not being naïve, Gallus, or gullible. I’m being fair by giving her a chance while I think about everyone else’s safety. We all went through the same ordeal weeks ago. Remember? And we’re not raising swords for revenge now. We got through it—even Sandbar, who was the most affected, got through it. Why can’t you?" Ocellus replied, extremely serious.

"You weren’t there!" Gallus burst out, his feathers bristling.

"Enough!" Smolder interjected, stepping between her two friends, who seemed on the verge of crossing a red line. "This isn’t solving anything."

With Smolder in between them, both Gallus and Ocellus stopped their hostility and looked away.

In the midst of that tense atmosphere, Smolder continued:

"Ocellus, face it—the principal and the vice-principal aren’t in the castle! We’ve checked twice! Most likely, they went to the festival without telling us!"

Ocellus didn’t respond to Smolder’s words and only gave a small flick of her wings.

"And you, Gallus, seriously, what are you hoping to get from all this? Some extra-dramatic confession from the counselor declaring herself guilty?"

"I don’t know, maybe that," the griffon replied in a very defiant tone.

"Don’t give me that, Gallus. If the counselor does that, will you forgive her?" Smolder asked seriously. Ocellus, still upset, turned her attention back to listen as well.

Gallus didn’t answer immediately. He sighed, with a somewhat lost and sad look, then turned to his friends.

"I don’t know, it really hurt… what happened. I wouldn’t even know where to start."

"Uhhh," Smolder huffed, and then there was a moment of silence.

Ocellus wasn’t oblivious to Gallus’s feelings, nor to how tired he really was. She knew that under different circumstances, her friend wouldn’t be acting this way toward her. The day had been tough. That morning and afternoon had been simply awful, and she would rather leave the topic of Trixie for another time. But seeing her friend in that state, it was too much.

It felt like a mistake, but she’d have to face the issue now.

"Let’s go back to the others and… have a serious conversation with the counselor about what happened with the Orchid-Octopuses," Ocellus said in a grave tone. Her friends looked at her in surprise; Gallus’s eyes seemed to light up for a moment.

"Finally, you made up your mind!" Smolder exclaimed with a smile. "It’s about time."

"Are you sure? Aren’t you tired…" Gallus replied, still surprised.

"No, this is hurting us. In so many ways. Let’s clear this up once and for all, along with today’s issues, and then… let’s go to the festival."

"Sounds like a good plan," Gallus replied with a slight smile. Smolder nodded. Gallus didn’t look exactly happy, but he did look calmer. Led by Ocellus, the three friends headed back to the dining hall.

The clocks showed it was past three in the afternoon when Ocellus, Smolder, and Gallus reached the doors of the dining hall.

"Alright… let me start. Any questions?" Ocellus said without turning around before opening the door.

"If the counselor tries to escape, can I catch her?" Smolder asked from behind.

"Yes, go ahead," Ocellus replied, not very enthusiastically.

"Great!" Smolder exclaimed, with a spark of enthusiasm. Ocellus rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile slightly.

"Uhmm… Gallus?" Ocellus asked.

"I won’t interrupt you. Griffon’s honor," Gallus replied. Ocellus didn’t see it, but she imagined her friend making a solemn vow.

Ocellus nodded as she looked at the wood of the door in front of her.

"Alright, phew… anything else I’m forgetting?"

"Take care of them, Ocellus. Please!" said another voice… familiar.

"Of course I will…" Ocellus stopped speaking as she recognized the voice. She immediately turned and looked back, surprised.

There was only Smolder and Gallus in an empty hallway—nothing else.

"Something wrong?" Smolder asked curiously.

"Princess Twilight?" Ocellus murmured, still puzzled by the mysterious voice from before.

Suddenly, the dining hall doors swung open.

"There you are! We have a small… I mean, big problem here!" burst out a nervous Silverstream as she greeted them, surprising Ocellus and the others.

"What happened? Did Trixie escape?" Gallus moved forward with a sharp look.

"No… I think it’s the opposite," said Silverstream, still nervous, letting the group inside.

Inside the dining hall, beside the table, a teary-eyed Trixie was finishing wiping her nose in front of an uncomfortable Sandbar and Yona. To the side was a trash can filled to the brim with crumpled tissues and smeared paper towels.

"After a looong talk about everything that happened today, Counselor Trixie has an ‘extra’ dramatic confession to make to us all," Silverstream concluded quickly before closing the dining hall door.

Trixie had many flaws as a pony. She was aware of them; she wasn’t naive. However, she had never really made an effort to improve as a person. Her solitary life as a traveling performer across Equestria led her to believe that, as an exceptional pony, such flaws were like the stripes of a tiger (a great and powerful tiger) — she could live peacefully with them and even feel proud of them.

To Trixie, it was others, with their limited virtues and understanding, who had real problems. In her sacred crusade across Equestria, she would show all those sad and boring ponies that there existed a unique and special magic above all those problems. A magic that could outsmart luck and deceive fate. A magic like no pony had ever seen before. The magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

But that changed when everyone discovered the fraud she was. And from her height, she fell like a star.

Trixie’s dishonorable path of penance was hard: lukewarm showers in spas, painful walks through flower parks, lonely nights in luxury hotels. However, her suffering was finally rewarded. At last, in the place where her downfall began, she found what she truly needed in her life.

A friend.

The rest for Trixie was like filling out a mental form. She just needed to be careful, respect the rules of friendship, and follow her very good common sense. And, above all, take care of her friends, think of others...

This last part was something new for her. She didn’t say it often; only Starlight knew about the many times she felt very scared by the advice she gave. Being a counselor at a school had never been in her life plan. It didn’t feel very natural to her. But, was she doing too well? At times, it felt like emotions were bursting inside her when students shared their problems.

Was empathizing her talent? She didn’t believe so. But she could sense when there was a lie involved, when the heart tried to deceive the mind with confusing emotions, or when the mind shackled the heart with unbreakable rules.

Trixie could feel these emotions, see them in the eyes of her audience, in those of her friends, in her own.

For all the reasons mentioned above, Trixie knew that, looking into the eyes of the Young Six, they would not easily forgive her.

Inside the dining hall, the atmosphere was tense.

"It’s disappointing..." Ocellus’s words fell on Trixie like a block of ice. The knot in her throat grew even tighter.

The rest of the Young Six didn’t repeat those words, but their gestures said the same. Contempt...

It was painful for her, but she knew she had to accept it.

A moment ago, she had confessed everything. Everything about the underground traffickers, how she had obtained the Orchid-Octopuses thinking they were pink-octopuses, how she secretly raised them in the bio-garden, and how she had thrown them into the Everfree Forest without thinking of the consequences...

Trixie felt freer after her confession, but immediately afterward, she found herself... empty.

The silence in the room became unbearable, as did the moisture in her eyes and nose.

As she lowered her head to wipe away the tears and snot amid the crushing silence, she managed to glance at Gallus again.

This time, the griffon did not look away.

She sighed in relief. The glare that had once burned with dark rage had disappeared from him. Now, there was only anger.

She could live with that.

Her experience as a counselor had allowed her to quickly understand her student's feelings.

Gallus had unwittingly hurt his best friend Sandbar, which had caused an emotional wound in him, deeper than those inflicted on his own friend. Combined with the authorities’ lack of attention to ensure justice was served, the resentment he felt soon turned into something more... revenge.

Trixie knew those feelings all too well; she had walked that path before. She would never forgive herself if others were to tread that path because of her foolishness.

With a loud sniff, Trixie wiped her nose and then raised her gaze again.

The Young Six, who had turned their attention to Ocellus, seemed to have reached a silent understanding.

"Counselor Trixie... no." Ocellus paused, cleared her throat, and continued: "Trixie Lulamoon, I speak on behalf of all when I say that your recent revelations have been deeply disappointing to us. If everything is as you describe, the damage done to the school, our classmates, and my friends due to your negligence constitutes a serious crime that requires punishment without a doubt. However... we will not be the ones to judge you. There are already authorities investigating this case. I recommend that you approach them and give this same testimony to clarify and conclude this regrettable incident."

Thus spoke Ocellus to Trixie in a grave tone that was impossible to deny.

"Okay, I will," Trixie replied, genuinely remorseful, wiping her nose again. Ocellus's judgment was more mature than she had imagined. Twilight would probably be proud...

Ocellus sighed. It seemed a great weight had lifted off her shoulders.

"Do you have anything else to say?" she asked, her expression less bitter.

After a brief silence, Trixie spoke, looking at another of those present.

"Gallus, I’m truly sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"No," Gallus replied immediately. That refusal pierced Trixie’s weak heart like a sword.

"Not today, at least. Later..." he continued. Suddenly, the griffon turned around, giving his back to his friends.

"Gallus, is that really all you have to say?" Sandbar asked from his wheelchair.

"..." A grunt escaped Gallus.

"Aaaa... if that's the case." Sandbar turned to see Trixie, who was feeling down, wiping her tears once more.

"Wait," Gallus suddenly interrupted.

"Huh?" Both the rest of the Young Six and Trixie herself were surprised by this sudden change in tone.

Gallus had turned around, now wearing a pained expression. It was clear he had something important to say.

Sitting in her chair, Trixie felt her withered heart suddenly ignite; it was the flame of hope for a possible last-minute forgiveness. There was still room for friendship...

"I hate this..." Gallus began to say in a cold tone.

These were not the words they had been expecting. Trixie's feelings shattered once again.

"I mean, I hate everything that has happened. And I would hate even more not to confess this. Uhmm..." Gallus swallowed. "I was the one who called Chancellor Neighsay to set up a meeting with Principal Starlight today."

Silence fell over the room. The entire atmosphere shifted abruptly.

"You... what?" Smolder exclaimed angrily. Next to her, Ocellus looked shocked. Behind them, the rest of their friends appeared the same.

"No one at the town hall took my testimony seriously. I had to do something to get justice. So I thought if they weren't going to listen to me, then others might..." Gallus began to speak, nervously.

"And you had to tell the Chancellor? To meet with her right today! When we were all asking the Principal for a chance for the field trip," Ocellus interrupted, her voice sounding like molten steel.

"I didn't think they'd meet in the morning! He had confirmed to me it would be in the afternoon! Plus, it might have helped convince the Principal to..."

"Gallus!" Ocellus cut in, furious. The colors of the changeling's body had darkened so much that the benevolent light within her was no longer visible. Now she looked hostile, like an angry predatory insect.

"You better watch your words, buddy," Smolder threatened, pointing a claw at him while smoke billowed from her nose.

"I'm sorry..." Gallus said, his feathers drooping.

"Now you're the one who’s sorry?! Brilliant. Do you realize the mess you would have gotten us all into? Wait... the mess we’re in? Ahhhh," Smolder exclaimed, holding her head in frustration, staring at the ceiling.

Everyone remembered the so far inexplicable absence of Starlight and Sunburst. The question of why they had left without saying goodbye was beginning to have an explanation. There could have been a significant disagreement among the adults, and now they might be having a crisis due to Trixie's case. In that scenario, keeping the Young Six and Trixie away was the most natural thing to do.

"What else do you know?" Smolder exploded, questioning Gallus.

"I don’t know anything else. Seriously. I didn’t think things would end up like this," Gallus tried to justify himself.

"Save that speech. We’ve heard enough of it today," Smolder retorted, looking at Trixie.

Soon, the Young Six became engrossed in a discussion among themselves about the hows and whys of Gallus’s actions. Meanwhile, Trixie, still distressed, continued sipping from her cup like a mere spectator.

Marginalized from the discussion. At first, Trixie had been thinking about Gallus and his refusal to forgive her, but now she had other concerns, like: what would she say to Starlight? What would happen to her and the school? Should she go to the festival today?

("I want to go to my bed and eat oatmeal ice cream") she thought childishly, still with snot in her nose. Her chest ached.

Then, interrupting her thoughts, Trixie heard another voice.

"Friends argue a lot! But what to do now? Yona is tired. Friend Sandbar is tired too. Friend needs to rest," exclaimed a worn-out Yona behind Sandbar.

Everyone stopped for a moment after hearing her and seeing Sandbar in his wheelchair. The charged feelings in the atmosphere cooled down.

("The once great friend and now ex-friend Trixie fully supports that idea, ahhh...") Trixie silently voted, not lifting her gaze and distracted.

"I think it’s better to do that. I no longer feel strong enough to go to the festival," Ocellus replied, irritated.

"Me neither," Smolder added, looking at Gallus, who said nothing and had a remorseful expression.

"So... are we just going to leave?" Sandbar asked, looking at his friends and then at Trixie.

Everyone turned their gaze to the one in the middle of it all.

Sitting in her chair, Trixie no longer heard anything around her. She was unconsciously toying with the toilet paper, folding it with her magic to shape it into butterflies. Her mind, lost in a sea of worries, was far away from the critical gazes of everyone present in the room.

The paper butterfly trick was one of the first Trixie learned in her career as a show magician. It had taken her an entire summer to perfect the movement of the butterflies with her magic. Under the strict supervision of her father, Trixie had trained day and night. Her magical talent, then far below average, made the task feel monumental.

However, the results were spectacular. Closing her first performance in front of an audience, Trixie dazzled everyone, vanishing from the stage in a whirlwind of multicolored butterflies.

The pride from her success filled not only her but also her father...

“Counselor Trixie!” A loud voice jolted her out of her memories. Several paper butterflies fell onto the table.

“Aaaaah!”

Trixie let out a startled cry, nearly falling from her seat, but Smolder caught her from behind.

“What’s going on!” she exclaimed, disoriented.

In front of Trixie, on the other side of the table, were Ocellus and the rest of the Young Six.

“Apologies, Counselor Trixie. We were talking about today, and… Sandbar and the others said you told them you couldn’t remember anything that happened in the morning. Is that true?” Ocellus asked, extremely serious.

“Oh yes, yes, that’s right, I still don’t understand it… but it’s true. That’s what I said,” Trixie replied, still unfocused.

Without a word, Ocellus looked at the others.

“Really?” Gallus asked, frowning.

“Yes! Really,” Trixie replied, uncomfortable, noticing Gallus’s distrust.

Setting aside the surprise of those who hadn’t heard her first confession, the rest murmured among themselves, worried.

“Sorry, Counselor Trixie, but… that’s very strange,” Ocellus said, unconvinced.

“It’s not strange if cider is involved, Ocellus,” added Smolder, sniffing the cup from which Trixie had been drinking her refreshment. But the cup flew from her claw and returned to the table from where Smolder had taken it.

A horn-lit Trixie frowned, looking at the others.

“Trixie has no problems with cider. But there are times when we adults have falls like this,” the unicorn spoke in a cold tone, trying to preserve her image.

“Amnesia from drinking cider? That sounds like something the Apples should comment on…” Smolder replied.

“They aren’t here, and I’m telling you the truth... I don’t know what happened in the morning. If I said or did things that hurt you… uhmmp, I really am sorry,” Trixie replied wearily, looking down.

How many times had Trixie apologized that afternoon? No one in the room had counted, except Silverstream, but no one would ask her. Just as no one felt moved by that last apology.

Ocellus looked up at the ceiling. After processing and reflecting on everything that had happened, the logical conclusion she’d come to didn’t satisfy her at all, but she felt the need to voice it if she wanted to put an end to this miserable day.

“Well, then… we could say that Counselor Trixie drank a lot of cider last night… and when she woke up in the morning, had a possible guilt attack. Then she decided to come to the castle to confess to Principal Starlight about the ‘previous issue’... but we got in the way. So, the Counselor, in her very bad state, did everything that… happened?...” Ocellus stopped, irritated, the words refusing to leave her mouth.

Her companions, in silence, watched her tiredly. Faced with those expectant gazes, after crisis upon crisis, Ocellus finally cracked.

“Ahhhhh! This is serious! It was all a convergence of unfortunate events and bad decisions on her part! What kind of pony does this stuff happen to? Why did she drag us into this?! Arrrrgghhh!” Surprising everyone, Ocellus let out a growl and then a hiss, both unusual for her. She almost looked like she’d burst into flames. But fortunately, she didn’t. Instead, agitated, she slammed her head against the table, exhaling repeatedly.

Yona approached her friend and gave her a comforting hug, trying to console her. Smolder and the others also approached. Even Gallus came closer, but he stopped and looked away.

Faced with this emotional scene, Trixie had very little to say. She couldn’t cry either; she had no tears left for that.

“Apologizing with just words isn’t enough anymore, is it?”

“No,” replied Ocellus sharply, still with her head down.

Trixie remained silent for a moment but continued.

“You care a lot about others… you’re a lot like Twilight in that.”

Ocellus didn’t respond immediately. There was a pause in the air.

After a brief silence…

“Thank you,” Ocellus finally replied, lifting her head with a bright expression.

Trixie read that expression. There was a word of thanks and a faint smile that accompanied it. But she already understood.

Such a simple gesture would have had a trivial meaning at any other time.

But for Trixie, this moment meant everything...

And so, in the dining hall of Princess Twilight’s castle, after a distressing afternoon full of tears and apologies, Trixie Lulamoon was finally able to smile again.

Trixie was feeling much better.

The talk with the Young Six had ended. Wondering where Starlight and Sunburst could be was no longer a concern for the group of young ones. Trixie, committing herself in front of everyone, had taken on the task of solving this matter on her own.

Ocellus wanted to stay, but Trixie refused. This was a task that she, as an adult, had to handle herself. Besides, her friends didn’t want to leave her alone with Trixie either. Who could imagine what further misfortunes might happen if she stayed with her the rest of the day?

Unbothered by the possible bad luck following her, Trixie wrapped up that matter and contentedly waited for the Young Six to finish their preparations to leave.

Sitting in her chair, Trixie toyed with some toilet paper on the table, showing a slight smile. Near the door, Ocellus and the others were coordinating their exit. In a corner, Yona was checking the wheelchair of an already uncomfortable Sandbar for the third time.

However, unbeknownst to all of them, someone was still watching Trixie and her "games."

“Uhmm? Do you like it?” Trixie asked playfully, already aware of her observer as she built a tower out of perfectly folded blocks of toilet paper.

“Of course! Folding such thin toilet paper without tearing it is really impressive! Even with magic! I remember once when former Principal Twilight was giving a class as a substitute art teacher and tried to teach us how to make figures out of paper. I don’t know why she used toilet paper as an example, but she had to make like 32 attempts before managing anything. Ha ha ha! It was so funny! The faces she made every time she tore one! The whole class couldn’t stop laughing! Hahaha,” Silverstream responded enthusiastically.

That story was all the fuel Trixie needed for her pride to reignite.

“Fu, fu, fu, how naive of her. There are ‘skills’ that even a high alicorn couldn’t reach. And Trixie is a very talented unicorn,” Trixie replied arrogantly, admiring the shine of her hooves.

“Oooo!” replied Silverstream, as delighted as a child at a fair.

Trixie liked that look; it gave her the boost she needed to continue her trick.

“Uhmm, since I see you liked it… now watch ‘this.’” Trixie’s horn glowed. In an instant, all the paper blocks leapt into the air, reaching the ceiling of the room. Immediately, a small whirlwind of magic appeared above the now-empty table, and before the astonished Silverstream could express her amazement, the blocks of paper fell into the whirlwind, which swallowed them all.

A moment later, the whirlwind dissolved, and an astonishing construction appeared in its place.

“Wowww,” exclaimed Silverstream, her eyes wide.

A white pyramid had emerged on the table, assembled block by block with precision. The most amazing thing about that structure wasn’t its perfect proportions or the fact that it was made of ordinary toilet paper. The most striking part was its unusual position.

It was upside down.

“Fu, fu, fu,” Trixie bragged with a veiled laugh. “It’s called ‘The Prelude Beneath the Pyramids.’”

“Oooo,” replied Silverstream, even more surprised, leaning in to examine the pyramid that defied the laws of balance, but then she stopped. “Wait… prelude? Doesn’t that mean prologue or something? And why ‘pyramids’? There’s only one here.”

“Elementary, my dear, the wisdom of Trixie will answer your questions; that’s because…” Trixie began to speak in her arrogant tone, but right as she started her speech, she froze.

Awkward, very awkward. She didn’t remember the origin of that trick! … now that she thought about it. When had she learned it?

After a silence that lingered far too long for the moment’s demand, a blurry memory came to Trixie like a deflated lifeline.

“Ehmm,” she cleared her throat and began to improvise. “In a distant and forgotten land… there are pyramids, and beneath them, there’s another pyramid… inside that pyramid… there’s a… treasure? Uhmm?” Trixie was starting to sweat.

(Trixie, you fool, say something!) the unicorn scolded herself. Her sense of improvisation was failing her terribly.

“A monster?” Silverstream filled in.

“Yes, yes, a monster!” Trixie grabbed onto the idea immediately.

“Oooo, scary… I like it! What’s its name?!” Silverstream asked, caught up in a swing of emotions.

“The monster? Ah, it was called…” Desperate, Trixie looked around for help, glancing at the black trash bag in the garbage can behind Yona and Sandbar, then looked towards Ocellus and the others, who were telling each other to hurry up.

Rising from the depths of her memory, that name came to her like an ominous coincidence.

“Pit… Prompt,” she whispered.

All voices went silent. All sounds ceased. From the tiniest cracks to the deepest caverns.

Everyone heard it and shivered. Then, a voice came to them from afar…

Time was up.

Midnight had arrived.