Crisis of Infinite Trixies

“You could at least offer me a blanket,” Laughter said, curling up in the corner of her cage. It wasn’t actually that cold, but complaining was better than contemplating that she was a madmare’s captive. The twisted version of her friend Honey Do regaled her with stories of previous glories, each a hunt she considered a worthy endeavor. But Kravan’s fixation with hunting disturbed Laughter. It wasn’t just a pastime, but an obsession. Like how her Honey Do relished learning and uncovering the secrets of the past, Kravan relished proving her superiority as somepony who stalked and hunted. It made Laughter wonder what drove Kravan to this point, yet she was afraid to ask.

“It shouldn’t be long until the Spider arrives. You’ll earn your freedom, then.” Kravan said, crossing her front legs. They possessed an impressive amount of bulk, bulging with strength and power.

“Great,” Laughter said, holding back a sarcastic remark. While getting saved by the arachnid-based hero wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t like there were any better options. She doubted her other counterparts stood much of a chance against this twisted hunter.

“If Spider-mare doesn’t waste time telling dumb jokes,” Laughter thought. Still, if Spider-mare had prevailed before against this twisted version of her friend, then she could win again.

“Ah, she’s here,” Kravan said, reacting to a red light that had flashed on her metal gauntlet. “It begins.” Laughter recoiled in shock as the hunter stepped back and vanished into the shadows like smoke, leaving not a trace no matter how hard she searched.

Moments later, a red shape cautiously crawled into the basement from the doorway. As Laughter expected, the superhero kept low to the ceiling. Spider-mare peered around the dank, empty basement, watchful for any dangers.

When she spotted none, the hero dropped to the stone floor in a crouch. “My name is Spider-mare. I'm here to rescue you.”

“Then get me out of here. Hurry!” Laughter hissed back. “Watch out. Kravan is hiding somewhere around here.”

“No quip about how I’m too short to be a superhero?” Spider-mare joked as she examined the lock. Huh, what did that mean?

But before Laughter could ask for some clarification, the superhero leaped aside as metal claws slashed at her neck. With incredible nimbleness, Spider-mare leaped back to safety.

How did she do that? Laughter wondered. She hadn’t even seen Kravan move before it was too late.

“Excellent dodge,” Kravan said, giving her opponent an appreciative nod. She raised the curled claw attached to her gauntlet in a salute. Laughter noticed an oily coat on the weapon. Was it poisoned?

“Have to keep you entertained, don’t I?” Spider-mare replied. “Let Trixie go. This is between you and me.”

“I fully intend to. But first, I must deal with you!” Kravan pressed a button on her gauntlet.

“Woah!” Spider-mare leaped aside as blades shot from the floor, almost impaling her. As the hero recovered from the sudden attack, Kravan struck from behind with her trademark ruthless efficiency.

“Spider-mare!” Frustrated by her helplessness, Laughter threw her body against her prison’s bars, hoping to gain her freedom. But it was useless, the iron bars refused to budge.

The combatants stalked each other, neither committing to the first move. Kravan kept low to the ground, patient like the cat she wore. Spider-mare was like a tightly wound spring, ready to strike. They were a blur of movement as they pounced.

Laughter grimaced as Kravan got lucky, landing a scrape across Spider-mare’s left leg as the superhero dodged away from a sudden spike that shot from the floor. The hunter smiled in triumph as her prey wobbled on her hooves from the poison coursing through her veins. If Laughter didn’t do something, her would-be rescuer would die!

“Honey Do! You’ve won! You’re the better hunter. There’s no need for anypony to die!” Laughter pleaded.

“No,” Kravan replied, raising her clawed gauntlet to the prone Spider-mare’s throat. The superhero struggled to raise her head, but her eyes were pleading and fearful behind her mask. “Not until I’ve gotten my prize. Not until I’ve destroyed the Spider once and for all.”

“No!” Laughter’s heart beat painfully in her chest, horrified that she was about to watch somepony die.

“You!” Then a shape pounced from the shadows with liquid grace. Its enormous bulk knocked Kravan silly, slamming her hard against a stone wall. The hunter shook her head, dazed. She stared wide-eyed at the furious lioness stalking towards her.

“Kassa?” But her friend didn’t seem to hear Laughter’s words, her claws aiming to gore the hated hunter. Laughter wondered if she should be more afraid of the hunter or the cat.

“You again?” Kravan said, bemused, as she leaped aside. “Come again to play, have you? Very well, come at me, lioness.”

“Are you okay, Laughter?” A weak voice tore Laughter away from the drama. With surprising strength, Spider-mare’s hooves rent the lock into a heap of twisted metal.

“Fine, what about you?” Laughter said in concern, fearful that the poison was killing her rescuer.

“What, no complaints about how I’m not rescuing you fast enough?”

“I’m more worried about you.” While Laughter disliked the masked hero, she didn’t want to see Spider-mare hurt.

“Who, me? I’m fine.” Spider-mare waved a dismissive hoof as Laughter helped her stand. “Being half-dead is just another day for me.”

Despite herself, Laughter admired the gusto of this mare. She’d ignored her own pain to help save Laughter first. That was true heroism in her opinion. Maybe the elderly cab driver had a point about Spider-mare after all.

“But what about Kravan?” Her friend’s fight with the hunter wasn’t going well. Kassa snapped at Kravan with her jaws, but the hunter caught them with ease and pushed his attacker back despite the size and weight difference between the two. Could nothing stop this monster? Kassa howled in pain as Kravan tossed her aside like a rag doll, landing in a heap across the stone floor. Dear Celestia, she hadn’t even needed her traps to win.

Well, shoot. What now? It wasn’t like Laughter could haul Spider-mare outside this basement by herself with Kravan nipping at their heels. But Laughter wouldn’t abandon Kassa either, even if that was an option. This was it. They’d lost.

“Get Kassa out of here,” Spider-mare said, pushing herself free of Laughter’s grip. “Kravan is only interested in me. I’d hate to disappoint her.”

“What? You can’t be serious! You’ll die!”

“What can I say? I’m a superhero. Pointless and idiotic self-sacrifices are what we do,” Spider-mare said with a self-deprecating shrug.

“So the Spider isn’t finished yet? Good,” Kravan said, pleased. She stalked towards the hero as Spider-mare moved a safe distance away from Laughter.

Despite herself, Laughter moved to check up on Kassa. She had no intention of abandoning Spider-mare, but she still needed to check if her friend was okay. Much to her relief, the lioness was conscious.

“Damn,” Kassa uttered several colorful curses in a language Laughter had never heard before. “What a monster.”

“Gah!” Spider-mare howled in pain as a kick connected with her stomach. But the hero caught her opponent with surprising strength, hurling the hunter into the cage she’d used to hold Laughter. The impact crumpled it into a heap of twisted metal. Bruised, but eager to fight, Kravan leaped back to her hooves. Spider-mare continued to fight with impressive resolve, refusing to back down despite the odds against her. Laughter stomped a hoof, knowing she couldn’t allow this bravery to go in vain.

“Stay put,” Laughter whispered, using the universal sign to keep quiet. She summoned an illusion to make it seem like she’d taken Kassa and fled through the basement door. Kravan dimly noted this, but otherwise didn’t allow it to distract her from her fight with Spider-mare.

While Honey Do was a supreme hunter, Laughter also knew something about predators. Not all hunters were like jungle cats who stalk their prey through the forest. Others stayed put in a single spot, not moving an inch until a target entered their reach. Laughter crept low to the ground, her breathing low and measured. She waited.

It was agony watching the still-drugged Spider-mare get the stuffing kicked out of her, wincing as the hero got slashed across her mask, exposing bits of purple fur. But Laughter stayed still as a statue, knowing she’d only get a single shot. Kassa followed her friend’s lead, watching with bright, sharp eyes. As a cat, she also knew something about ambush.

While this might cause Kravan to turn on her and consider her prey, Laughter would take that chance if it meant saving Spider-mare’s life. Plenty of opportunities to strike Kravan from behind presented themselves, but Laughter stayed put. Kravan was a skilled hunter. She’d sense any careless attack. No, she’d strike when the right moment presented itself.

Laughter grimaced as Spider-mare took a nasty blow across the chin, then another slash from the hunter’s poisoned claws. The superhero finally succumbed to the drug, collapsing helplessly on the floor. Yet, Laughter kept her vigil. Honey Do had a weakness. She only needed to show it.

“You fought well, Spider,” Kravan said, her voice ragged. She heaved, exhausted by her tussle with the superhero. She raised her claw for the killing stroke. “A worthy hunt.”

“You’ve won, Kravan. Don’t do this,” Spider-mare said.

“I must. A hunter must claim her prize. Or else, what’s the point of this?” Kravan preened, quite pleased with herself. “Goodbye, Spider-mare.”

Now! As Kravan launched the killing blow, Laughter struck. The pain traveled down her hoof as she landed a strike on Kravan’s chin. The hunter’s head jerked back, but she seemed more amused than hurt. Dear Celestia, that hadn’t worked as she’d intended. Laughter gulped as the hunter stared down at her, towering, despite the minimal size difference between them.

“Brave, but a foolish move,” Kravan said. “Still, you struck well. I hadn’t even sensed you until you attacked. But you wasted your ambush on a futile move.”

“Or have I?” Laughter said. The hunter jerked in realization as she realized Laughter’s attack had only been a distraction.

Blood oozed from Kravan’s chest as a sudden claw slash left a deep gash across the hunter’s ribs. Kravan hissed in pain, leaping back as Kassa lunged at her.

“Now, that is impressive,” Kravan said, amused despite her horrible injury. She pressed her hooves against her slash wound to stanch the blood flow. “Your illusion allowed the cat to stalk me without even realizing it. You are a formidable hunting duo!”

“And that’s not all you’re going to get!” But Kassa faltered, her wounds taking their toll. She’d given everything she had left for that ambush.

“Brave, very brave,” Kravan gave the prone and helpless Spider-mare a mournful glance before returning her attention to them. “But now we must conclude our little hunt. Pity. It was enjoyable.”

“Kassa!” Laughter’s heart caught in her throat as Kravan lunged forward with her claw for a fatal blow. But Spider-mare wasn’t as injured or prone as Kravan had suspected.

“Oh no, you don’t!” A web caught the hunter’s back, jerking her back.

“Spider-mare!” Then Kravan realized her mistake. Laughter had seeded multiple illusions. She’d made Kravan think Spider-mare was out of commission, and the great hunter had fallen for it.

“Gah!” Kravan howled in pain as her back collided with a stone wall hard enough to crack it. She moaned before going still. Thankfully, Laughter saw her chest move with the rhythm of breathing.

“Are you okay, cat?” Spider-mare said, limping over to Kassa.

“I’ll live,” the lioness ignored the proffered hoof and limped over to the unconscious Kravan.

“Hold on!” Spider-mare said, her posture becoming wary. Despite her injuries, she’d fight to save her enemy’s life. “I won’t let you kill her.”

The superhero raised her hoof to web Kassa if she tried anything on the helpless Kravan, but she didn’t need to bother. Instead of slashing her claws into a vital area, the lioness pulled away the hunter’s jacket that bore the face of the lioness’s kin. With gentle care, she placed it on the stone floor and folded it.

“I would end her miserable existence if this was my home lands. But this country’s laws are different. I will content myself with her dishonorable defeat.” Kassa gestured to the fur jacket. “I will ensure this returns to the homeland for a proper farewell.”

“That’s good.” Spider-mare swayed on her hooves before collapsing. The poison had finally claimed her. Laughter fretted, fearing it might already be too late to save her.

“No, no! What should we do?” Laughter paced, feeling helpless.

“I have some experience with medicine. I will see what I can do.” Kassa took Spider-mare’s hoof and checked for a pulse. She nodded when she found one. “It’s weak but solid. I don’t think Kravan’s poison was meant to kill, only incapacitate.”

“That’s something, at least.”

“It makes sense. Kravan wanted an honorable battle and kill. A deadly poison would spoil that.” The lioness directed her attention to the unconscious Spider-mare. “Still, I’m impressed she fought as long as she did with such toxins in her system. She must have a remarkable constitution. Give her a few hours, and she’ll be okay.”

“That’s a relief. We better get out of here.” This whole place gave her the creeps. They left Kravan unceremoniously sprawled on the floor. After some discussion, they voted against calling the police. It’d only add an unneeded complication. Laughter wasn’t a citizen of this universe. It seemed unlikely they’d allow her to charge Kreven with foalnapping.

Laughter lowered herself and pulled the unconscious Spider-mare onto her back. “Upsy-daisy, I got you.” But as she lifted the superhero, her torn, ragged mask slipped off. In her shock, Laughter almost dropped her luggage.

“It can’t be.” But the evidence stared her directly in the eye. She knew this mare. It was somepony she knew very well, a pony she loved. Laughter suspected she might run into this mare in this strange universe, but this was beyond belief.

“Twilight?” Twilight Sparkle was Spider-mare?