The Great and Powerful Trixie Rises, Chapter 1

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat, the air like acid in her lungs.  The heat of a flaming carriage blasted her face, orange flames curling up into the sky.  No wait, she was looking too closely.  It wasn’t just a carriage, it was a store.  Why was a store on fire?  No wait, a city!  A whole city, filled with houses and storefronts and quaint little cobblestone streets below her, burning as hot as a blast furnace just at the foot of the hill she was standing on.  Overhead, the smoke choked out the sun, tinting the sky a crimson red.  The wind carried ash and sparking embers up to her as she watched the scene in awe.  She had to go, had to move, had to scream, had to do anything!  But her hooves were paralyzed, rooted to the ground.  “What is this?”  She asked aloud, her voice shaking in terror.  

“Never fear, little one, all will be explained,” the Princess of Night’s voice soothed her, like a familiar face in a crowd of strangers.

“Princess Luna?”  She asked, still paralyzed.  As if on cue, the night-blue Alicorn appeared at her side.  “Princess Luna, what…I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”  The Princess nodded.  “Oh, that’s such a relief!”  Twilight gasped, though she didn’t honestly feel relieved.  This dream was just too real and too horrible for anything of that sort.

She gazed down at the burning village uneasily.  “But what do you mean, ‘all will be explained’?”

“Do not worry: no matter how dark things may look, all will be explained,” the Princess repeated.

“I don’t…hey, who’s that?”

A pony trotted towards them, covered in a strange pointed hat and cloak, smoke drifting off her body.  The pony moved slowly and deliberately, as if she were afraid she’d collapse into a pile of ash with one wrong move, and judging from the inferno she was walking away from, Twilight figured that would be a reasonable assumption to make.  As the mare drew closer, the unicorn began to recognize a few marks on her body: mostly the star-like designs on the burnt ruins of her cloak.  

“Trixie?”  Twilight asked.  “Trixie, why are you in my…” then she saw it: the familiar red glow by the blue mare’s neck, complete with the red hue surrounding her eyes.  “The Alicorn Amulet!  Princess!  She’s stolen the…” Twilight managed to break her paralysis long enough to turn in place, only to find the Alicorn had vanished.  There wasn’t a trace of her to be found, even among the charred, gnarled trees that must have once been the Everfree forest.  The unicorn turned back to the newcomer in fright, and found herself staring right into Trixie’s eyes, the rest of her face cast in shadow.  There was something awful about these eyes, something very wrong, and it wasn’t just the red glow caused by the Amulet’s power.  Twilight recognized it somehow, but couldn’t place exactly where she’d seen it.  Perhaps in some old picture from the more chaotic years of Equestria’s history, in the eyes of a pony who had seen something terrible, something indescribable in her time, something that could haunt them forever.

Clearing her throat, Twilight did her best to swallow her fear and stare the blue unicorn down.  “Trixie!  Why did you do all this?  Huh!?”  She barked.

The eyes kept staring at her.  Suddenly, two red traces dribbled down from them, rolling off the silhouette of Trixie’s cheeks and landing on the ground.  They sizzled like acid in the dry, yellowed grass.  “How deep?”  The blue unicorn asked, voice shaking.

Twilight nearly leapt back in surprise, but managed to hold her ground.  “H-how deep, what?”

“How deep do you think the pit goes?”  A few more red drops dribbled off her cheeks.  “Just how far down do you think you can go?  Because I promise you, that’s a false bottom.”

“What…” there was no hiding Twilight’s fear now, though she still managed to hold her ground and face Trixie when she said: “I don’t understand.”

“It’s a false bottom.  The pit has no bottom.  The pit goes on forever,” Trixie stepped forward a pace, revealing the charred, flaking remnants of her skin.  Her face had been burnt almost completely off, her lips nothing more but black, twisted bundles of skin revealing two rows of jagged, yellow teeth.  Yet still, the look remained frozen in Trixie’s eyes, only now Twilight could see the way the tears oozed down the unicorn’s ruined skin.  They weren’t tears.

Trixie shook her head, flecking drops of blood onto the grass.  Twilight swallowed her breath, shivering fearfully.  “Wha-what are you talking about?”  She asked.

The once-blue mare leaned forward and whispered into Twilight’s ear, her burnt skin cracking around her mouth to form the word: “Suffering.”




Twilight’s eyes darted open with her alarm clock’s ring, Trixie’s voice echoing in her ears.  Rubbing her eyes, she realized her hooves were trembling, her heart racing.  “What was that?”   She mumbled, trying to steady herself.

“What was what?”  Spike asked, sitting up in his little basket at her bedside.  He stretched, yawned, and scratched at the scales on his back, looking at her expectantly.

“It’s…nothing, Spike, just a nightmare,” she replied, throwing her covers off.  “Why don’t you go get breakfast started?  I’ll be down in a second to help.”

His stomach groaned audibly.  “Sounds like a great idea,” he smiled and hopped to his feet, plodding down the stairs to their kitchen.  Her hooves still trembling, Twilight trotted for the bathroom, throwing a bit of water on her face.  She studied herself in the mirror.  Just what was that dream?  It had been so real, and so terrifying, even after the Princess had helped her realize it was just a nightmare!  And why was Trixie in it, of all mares?  She hadn’t even seen that little unicorn since her charity banquet that past fall.

“I wonder what she’s gotten up to,” Twilight mumbled, trying to distract herself from the nightmare.  It didn’t work.  No matter how hard she tried, her mind drifted back to those horrifying red eyes, that terrible burnt face.  Perhaps her friends were right.  Maybe she’d finally pulled one too many all-nighters and the irregular sleep cycles were sending her subconscious into chaos.  Maybe she really needed a vacation after all.

“Um…Twilight?”  Spike’s voice drifted up from the kitchen, following a trail of black smoke and the wail of the smoke alarm.  “I could really use that help now!”

“Ugh,” she sighed in exasperation.  That’s it; it was definitely time to ask Princess Celestia about a vacation.  




Twilight burst through the doors of the Mayor’s office, trailing papers from the bookbag around her neck.  “Sorry I’m late!”  She gasped.  “Spike made a mess in the kitchen, and I had to…”

“Miss Sparkle, you know I always have time to spare for my best event coordinator,” the Mayor interrupted with a smile.  “Besides, I was just conversing with this young stallion about somepony he was concerned about.”

“Wha…” Twilight hadn’t even noticed the other pony in the lobby, though his short-cropped red hair and pale yellow body should have stood out against the drab gray walls.  “Oh, Sethisto!  I’m so sorry, I didn’t even…”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” he said, interrupting her (yet again.  Why wasn’t anypony letting her finish a sentence today?)  “I can see you’re having a bit of an off-day.”

“Heh, yeah,” she set the bag down and sighed.  “So, are the rumors I heard true?  Are you and Trixie a bit of an item now?”

“Oh, we’re not just a ‘bit’ of an item: we moved in together!”

“Really?  That’s great!”

“Well, I guess she couldn’t resist my stallionhood for long,” he said with male pride in his voice
as he flexed one of his forelegs.  “What can I say?  The babes just can’t stay away once ol’ Sethy turns on the charm.”

“Yeah, well,” Twilight said, smiling and rolling her eyes.  “I’m glad you’re both doing okay, but I have to know just what brings you here.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” he replied, smiling sheepishly.  “Actually, it’s Trixie.  A few days ago, she said she had to leave for Canterlot on some business, then she packed up some things and left.  I’m just headed there to make sure she’s okay.”

“Oh,” Twilight scrunched up her eyebrows in thought.  “That [i]is[/i] weird.  Did she say why?”

“No, just that it was something important and she couldn’t tell me what.”

“Huh,” Twilight’s frown deepened.  That was twice in one day Trixie had come up in her mind, and the first was in a nightmare.  Could that just be a coincidence?  Desperate to change the subject, her mind drifted to something else she had planned later that day: “W-Well, if you’re not doing anything later…”

“Oh, Twilight,” he said, raising a hoof and feigning a blush.  “I’m flattered, I really am.  But my heart belongs to Trixie, and you should feel awful for trying to tempt me away from her.”

“I was just going to ask if you wanted to join me and my friends for a little get-together we’re having later on,” she said, grinding her teeth.

“I know, I’m just yanking your chain,” he grinned widely as he walked out the door.  “And thanks for the invite, really, but I should probably get back to the inn and rest up.  My train leaves early tomorrow, and I don’t want to miss it!”

“I understand,” she said brightly, waving him off.  “Well, goodbye, and say hi to Trixie for me!”

“Will do!”  He called as he walked out the door, allowing Twilight to turn back to the Mayor.

“And again, I’m really sorry, Miss Mayor, I honestly intended to…”

“I already told you that no apologies are needed, Miss Sparkle!  Now, why don’t you get down to showing me some of your plans for fundraising?  Our roof isn’t going to repair itself!”  As she spoke, a low creaking sound echoed through the building and a plank fell from the ceiling, landing at Twilight’s side.  “And…do hurry, please.”





“Any Elevens?”

“Pinkie, for the last time,” Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes once again.  “There are no Elevens in Go-Fish!”

“Yes there are, silly,” the pink pony giggled.  “They’re called Jacks!”

“IF YOU KNEW WHAT THEY WERE CALLED THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST…”

“Alraght, let’s settle down there,” Applejack said, resting a hoof on her pegasus friend’s shoulder.  “It’s only a game, after all.”  The pegasus snorted in frustration, but obeyed.  This was Twilight’s tree house, after all, not her home in Cloudsdale where she could whip up a twister whenever she felt like working out some anger.  

“I say, Fluttershy, could you hand me another mug?”  Rarity asked from across the table, trying to distract everypony as she pointed to the stack of cups by her friend’s hoof.

“Oh…um, of course,” the little yellow pegasus replied, hoofing it over.  

“Drink up, girls, there’s plenty cider t’go around!”  Applejack said, patting the barrel sitting on the floor next to her.

“And while you’re at it, why don’t you regale us with another tale from that fascinating pen-pal of yours,” Rarity continued, her eyes twinkling in the lamplight.

“Oh, there really isn’t too much more to tell,” Fluttershy said, her cheeks blushing.  “He was just telling me about this nice young mare he met back home.”

“Oh,” Rarity replied flatly, taking a few extra sips from her mug.  “How…nice for him.”

“Oh yes, after his time with his country’s army, I think he deserves it.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow Dash added.  “Now Fluttershy, you’re sure this guy is for real?  I mean, I’ve never even heard of this country he says he’s from.”

“Yeah, and Ah checked with Twi here,” AJ added, resting a hoof on her purple friend’s shoulder.  “She says she couldn’t find this ‘Murika’ place on any of her maps, or a city called ‘New York’.”

“Well, Princess Celestia set him up as my pen-pal, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t think he was trustworthy…” the little yellow pegasus replied.  

“Fine, fine, but still,” AJ sighed, turning her attention to Twilight.  “Twilight, what’s wrong?  You ain’t said a word all night!”

“Hmm?”  The Element of Magic finally looked up from the table.  “Oh, sorry.”

“What’s gotten into you, dahling?  You look like you just found out that polka dots are on their way ‘in’,” Rarity said, shivering at the mere thought.

“Or that the Wonderbolts had rejected your application,” Rainbow added, cringing at the idea.

“Or that they’d just run out of milk at the bakery and were using alligator snot as a substitute in their cream puffs!”  Pinkie gasped.  The other ponies paused and stared at her.  “…not that that happens, of course!”  

“It’s…it’s nothing like that,” Twilight said, making a quick mental note to never eat at Sugarcube Corner while Pinkie was on duty again.  “It’s just that the Mayor rejected all my proposals for fundraising for the roof on the town hall today.”

“What, you mean she didn’t think an hour-long seminar on the importance of collating would get enough ticket sales?”  Rainbow snickered, leaning back in her chair and sipping from her mug.  “Shocker.”

“Hey!  I’ll have you know that messy desks are a real problem in Ponyville, and a seminar to teach ponies how to tidy themselves up would be just what…”

A loud crash rumbled outside.  Now getting very annoyed at the continuing myriad of interruptions, Twilight bolted away from the table.  “What in…”

“Now, what in tarnation was that?”  AJ interrupted.

“Y-yes, what was that?”  Twilight sighed.

“I do believe we should check,” Rarity said.  “Somepony could be hurt out there.”

“Alright girls, let’s go,” Twilight said as Spike stumbled down from their bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s…” he started.

“Spike, stay inside, it’s too dangerous,” Twilight barked before racing out the door with her friends.

“Aww, I never get to dash out into danger,” he pouted before obediently turning back up the stairs.