Great and Powerful Trixie in the Exordium under the Pyramids | MLP FIM

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.