“Trixie will prove once and for all that she is THE highest level unicorn!” Trixie cackled to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. The mare's wicked grin did little to hid her dirty, tangled mane, disheveled appearance, and dark circles under her eyes. The twitch in her eye would signify to anypony her twinge of insanity. Deep within her psyche, she stood at a cliff's edge. On the ground was what remained of her sanity. The depths below were to one up Princess Twilight one last time. Trixie had chosen to dive off. She would prove just how much better at everything she was then Princess Twilight. She had to.

On the table to her side, within her dreary, damp, dark shack was the Alicorn amulet. Somehow, some way, she had found it once more. But she did not plan to bear it once more, no. She had other, better plans for the magic it contained. Or rather, the amulet itself did. It whispered to her, you see, inviting her back into it's embrace.

Trixie's smile dropped as she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Deep in her psyche, she stared deep within the abyss beneath her, her front hooves causing the edge of the cliff to crumble away. With another breath she leapt off.

She would upstage Twilight once and for all.

Twilight sat upon her throne with all the regality she could afford. The delegates from Saddle Arabia were arriving soon, and she needed to be at her best for them. A knock on the throne room door caused her ears to swivel forward, her head and eyes turning towards the sound.

“Your majesty? A special invitation has arrived for you,” spoke the white coated guard, who flapped into the throne room, letter in hoof.

Twilight took it in her magic, nodding to him. “Thank you, sir. You're free to return to your duties,” she said, smiling at him. He nodded and closed the door behind him, returning the room to it's closed off silence.

”𝕋𝕠 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥,
𝕀 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕪 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝔹𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨!
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕓𝕚𝕚𝕚𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕪 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕙. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥!

𝕀 𝕙𝕠𝕡𝕖 𝕀 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟!
𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕,
𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕩𝕚𝕖.

ℙ.𝕊. - 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕒 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕝𝕖! 𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕜!”

Twilight considered the letter thoughtfully. By sheer coincidence, her friends were in town for their first friendship council meeting, and would wrap up by the time they'd head over to the show. Twilight tucked the letter under her wing as she stood to greet the delegates, who had just entered as announced by her guard.

Everypony arrived for the committee meeting right on time, sitting at a perfectly round outdoor table. In it's center were hors d'oeuvres aplenty. The Saddle Arabia delegates had just convened with Twilight privately, and were already on their way home.

“It's so good to see everypony again,” started Twilight, who had met everypony outside in the castle garden. The weather was perfect for a lovely outdoor meeting. Royal guards stood at every entrance.

“Indeed, darling!” chimed Rarity, who levitated one of the many snacks to her plate.

“Now, I know this is partly how we keep in touch, but I had an idea,” Twilight said with a smile, all her friend's eyes on her. “I don't think it would hurt if we had one or two of you each to go to a different kingdom and help spread friendship! As we saw, spreading friendship quite literally saved Equestria, so why not continue to spread it? What I'm thinking is that on occasion, we check in with the other kingdoms and see how we can spread friendship there and continue our allyship with said kingdom?” Twilight inquired, looking amongst her friends. They each pondered a moment.

“Honestly, that's not a bad idea,” Applejack said, reaching for a glass of sparkling cider. “Where would you like us to go, Twilight?”

“I'm thinking we start with those we're already allied with, starting with their thoughts on forming stronger bonds with each other as Kingdoms through friendship. If you need, I made a diagram-” Twilight's horn flashed, and a whiteboard joined the girls in the garden.

“See, here I solved for x with a new mathematical formula I created, the friendship formula, and -” when the girls fell silent, so too did Twilight who looked at them as they watched her.

“What?” Twilight said, looking between them. Each one began to crack a smile and laugh.

“Oh Twilight, darling, you don't have to explain for us to be on board with a plan!” Rarity said, hoof in front of her mouth as if to hide a smile. The other girls laughed as well, Twilight sighing in relief and joining them, teleporting away her board. She should have remembered that her friends would do anything for her.

The meeting carried on for another couple of hours, the snacks had been devoured, and many decisions had been decided upon. The meeting was wrapping up, and the six had planned on spending the rest of their day together.

“So girls, one last thing!” Twilight said, teleporting the invitation from Trixie onto the table. “I got this invitation from Trixie who's putting on a magic act later tonight. You girls wanna go?” she asked, smiling at her friends.

“It would be a nice way to wind down after our meeting!” Pinkie Pie said. “Plus, maybe Starlight will be with her!” she added, nodding. The rest of the girls agreed, and it was decided. They would be going to see the show!

After spending some relaxing time in Canterlot, the girls made their way to where the invitation had indicated to go. A large crowd had already shown up, the quite chatter filling their ears.

“Your Majesty,” said the guard at the gate, who bowed. “Trixie has special seating for you and your friends right up front! Allow me to escort you!” he said kindly, smiling. Twilight bowed back politely and returned the smile, nodding.

“Please do, kind sir!” she said, happy to have a moment more with her friends. The guard led them through the crowd, yelling this and that to “Make way for her Majesty and friends!” Before long, he gestured to a well pillowed spot right near the front, bowing once more before returning to his post at the gate.

“I've always enjoyed Trixie's shows,” Rarity spoke, looking between her friends. “It'll be nice to see her and Starlight again!” she continued. Twilight nodded in agreement, “For sure! Trixie has really grown since everything!” Twilight added, smiling at Rarity.

Before any of the girls could say more, the surrounding lights dimmed and the crowd cheered, before silence fell over the crowd. Fireworks from either side of the wooden stage fired into the sky, illuminating the words “Congratulations on Becoming the Ruler of Equestria Tour!” Another rocket shot up beneath it that said “(Working Title)”. The crowd laughed at the sentiment, and the show carried on. Silence fell on the crowd once more.

“Behold!” came the amplified, recognizable voice of Starlight Glimmer. Each of the girl's faces lit up in a smile. They'd have to say hello after the show. “The Great and Powerful Trixie!” she continued. In a puff of smoke and fireworks to boot, Trixie Lulamoon appeared on stage, her cape waving in the wind. Something bottle shaped and empty teleported away from behind Trixie. Twilight raised an eyebrow, but dismissed it quickly. Not all magic acts were perfect.

-- [ Please consider listening to this music to enhance your reading experience from here on. ] --

Trixie bowed as the crowd cheered for her, eyes scanning the crowd. Oh, good! Twilight and her friends were here! The final upstage of her life was about to begin. In Trixie's psyche, she continued to plummet into the void.

“Good evening everypony and welcome to the first show of my tour! I can't wait to show you all everything I've got planned! Especially the finale!” Trixie excitedly said, meeting Twilight's eyes and winking at her directly. Twilight offered an awkward smile in return. A small thought creeped it's way to the front of Twilight's mind. Was Trixie up to something? Once more, she was quick to dismiss the thought. Trixie was reformed, right?

.... Right?

Twilight shook the thought from her head and watched as a volunteer filly stepped on stage, and watched in amazement as Trixie guessed the card she drew from the deck. With a puff of smoke, the filly was returned to her seat, leaving the girl in even more amazement and awe.

The next volunteer, a young colt, stepped onto the stage. Trixie had him lay on a board, removed one chair, and used a hoop to represent that there were no strings holding up the board. With another puff of smoke, a now coughing colt was teleported to his seat.

Trixie then locked herself in a box, “cut” herself in “half” and the boxes pulled apart. She was proven to still be alive after such an “ordeal”. The longer Trixie's show went on, the more disheveled the blue mare looked. Twilight's earlier thought now screamed at her. Something was off.

Trixie then asked for a volunteer to give up a bit or two. With the swipe of a hoof, the bits vanished, the volunteer's mouth agape with shock. Twilight watched Trixie closely. Her eye twitched as she cut open a fruit to reveal the previously vanished bits inside. The dark circles under Trixie's eyes were apparent. Trixie's body movements were more sporadic then normal.

Normally, her shows were significantly more put together then this. While the crowd seemed to be enjoying it, the mare was very quickly spiraling into... something. Twilight couldn't place a hoof on what. She squinted harder as Trixie did a costume change to make herself look like a stallion. Then she saw it. A single, thin stream of blood dripped from Trixie's mouth. Trixie was quick to wipe it away and stand in a manner that hid the blood that was now smeared on her hoof.

“And for my grand finale!” Trixie's voice shook Twilight from her observations. “Your majesty, would you assist me, please?” she asked. Twilight blinked and hesitantly stood, flapping her wings and landing on the stage in front of Trixie.

“All you have to do, your Majesty, is observe!” Trixie stated gesturing to the crowd. Twilight knew she was right. Trixie was spiraling, and hard. So much so, she was bleeding internally.

“As I showed in my last trick, I became a stallion for just a moment. Now watch as a unicorn...” Trixie turned and grinned wildly and maniacally at Twilight.

“Becomes and alicorn!” Trixie said psychotically, “Watch as the great and powerful Trixie one ups you once and for all!” she shouted, cackling evilly. Trixie surrounded herself in magic, the powering up of her horn audible.

Twilight watched in horror as blood spewed from Trixie's mouth. The sound of cracking bone was louder than any other sound, and it was like time had slowed down. Looking on in horror, the crowd, and Twilight, gasped and screamed as blood poured from Trixie's forehead, her skull cracking open as multiple horns protruded from her forehead. Trixie continued to laugh maniacally as tears streaked her cheeks.

Sinew and bone snapped at Trixie's sides, ribs tearing at flesh, red hot blood pouring from her wounds. Her ribs grew out of her sides at a rapid rate, as did muscle and flesh. Blood had splattered across the stage, Twilight's face, and many front row occupants, who could only continue to look on in horror. By now, Trixie was screaming in agony, but her contorted smile remained on her face. Feathers attempted to poke out of the formed flesh and bone at her sides.

Twilight stifled a gag. Trixie's organs were visible, and protruding between the ribs that remained. Parts of her intestines' hung far below where they should have. For a moment, everything stopped. Trixie attempted to turn towards the crowd and smile at them all. A silence fell over the crowd before everypony screamed and ran away, parents shielding their children's eyes as Trixie writhed in agony once more.

Twilight couldn't move. She stared as one of Trixie's hooves cracked in two as a horn tore through flesh and muscle to form where it shouldn't be. More bone cracked and tore away at her leg flesh as it attempted to form wings, her face now covered by fresh wings that had sprouted presumably from skull and jaw bone.

All Twilight could see under the wings on her face was Trixie's slacken jaw as she screamed in agony, her body collapsing to the stage in a still slump, silence falling over the area. Not even Starlight Glimmer's voice, who had run from back stage, could shake Twilight from her thoughts.

----- -----

June 28th, 3011 ASR1

1After Solar Rule

Headlining today's news, a freak accident occurred at the first show of known magician Trixie Lulamoon's tour just a few days ago. The show started as normal, as a congratulatory tour to welcome newly crowned ruler of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, to the throne. What most ponies label as a “freak accident,” even being addressed as such by her Majesty herself, was also labeled as a horrifying display of how wrong a magician's trick can truly go. Eye witnesses testify:

“My poor daughter! She was so happy to be a volunteer in Trixie's show, seeing as she always wanted to meet her! But now
us and many others are in therapy groups for this. She'll never be the same again. I'll never be the same again. But what matters most to me is my daughter and her wellbeing. I suppose she knows now just how dangerous magic acts can be...”

“I was in the front row with many others. You could hear bones breaking, blood gushing and splattering. It's safe to say those that went are all reeling. My vision went red, only to find I had been staring in horror and my vision was red from all the blood.”

“The blood.. so much blood... and her organs? I- please... no more questions I-”

“...”

As many have noted, the sight was jarring, traumatizing and more. Her Majesty, Princess Twilight, had the following to say.

“Trixie Lulamoon was known as an avid magician, inspiring many to reach new heights. Unfortunately, her hubris led her far too high. Trixie Lulamoon was declared dead at the scene, and a closed casket service will be held in her honor at the Royal Canterlot Library. Anypony who wishes to attend is invited to do so.

The area in which the incident occurred has been hidden away with magic while the area is cleaned up and redone. This incident is a shock to ponies nationwide, especially those considering or in the magician and entertainment industry. This is also a cry to those who wish to try magic out of their skill level. Please. Strive for greatness, but remember what Trixie’s hubris teaches.”

A jarring but important lesson from Her Majesty. Thoughts and prayers to Trixie’s family. They have decided not to comment. Please respect their privacy at this time.

𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚊, 𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙹𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚕 - 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟾𝚝𝚑, 𝟹𝟶𝟷𝟷 𝙰𝚂𝚁.

On this night, I find myself distressed and concerned. After receiving the Canterlot Chronicle, I was distressed and worried for Twilight’s well being. She told me personally that she witnessed, and was even called on stage, Trixie’s horrifying, agonizing death. Covered hoof to horn tip in her friend’s own blood. Trixie was confirmed dead at the scene, right?

So why did her nightmare call out to me?

And what did she mean when she begged for not another victim?

Regardless, it is all extremely concerning. I will tell my sister of this and reach out to Twilight once my duties have concluded.

Author's Note

Did someone say horrors beyond imagination? Here you go!

I will try to update this as I am able.
If there are any grammar, spelling, and critiques - please be constructive and polite. I will ignore rude comments and may even delete them.