NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: 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...
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