The lush landscape of Foalington glimmers as the barely rising sun warms the dew clinging to the vegetation. Apple Bloom and Twist have hitched a ride with Twilight and Spike on their respective horses, with the redhead clutching tightly to the unicorn and the awkward foaling clinging to Spike. Both foalings are covered in thick, durable clothing made of brown vests and pants and dark green long sleeves and cloaks to help them blend in better with their surroundings. Because Apple Bloom is stronger than Twist, she is carrying the cookware as well as her backpack of clothing, a sleep roll and a map Twilight has given her. Twist also has a sleep roll, spare clothing and is carrying their rations as well as some medical supplies.

Their taller counterparts have taken the two deep into the forest, far off any trail and away from civilization. Not a home or soul is in sight, and the two foalings have actually fallen asleep and are only awoken when the horses they are riding on jerk to a stop, whining and snorting over the voices of Spike and Twilight.

Apple Bloom blinks and rubs her eyes of crust while Twilight slides off of her horse. She then extends her hand to Apple Bloom and helps her off when she takes it. Once on the ground, Twilight removes the walking stick from her horse's saddle and hands it to Apple Bloom. Spike mirrors Twilight's motions and ushers Twist next to Apple Bloom.

“This is where we leave you,” says Twilight. “Remember what I said. Stay off the road and be careful. Sombra has spies everywhere.” Her eyes dart up to the trees when some birds bat their wings and caw. The group watches the birds until they are out of sight, then Twilight looks back at Apple Bloom. “Whatever you do, keep it out of sight.”

The final part of her statement makes Apple Bloom swallow nervously and press her hand against a large pocket she has tied shut. She can feel the Amulet's hard surface against her palm, but she has the thick burlap wrapping tied around the cursed object. No one, she hopes, will be able to see it.

Twilight kneels down, places her hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder and looks right into her golden eyes. “Never use it, Apple Bloom. It wants to be found and using it will draw Sombra's forces to you.”

Apple Bloom's color drains, but she still nods her head vigorously as her hand tightens on her walking stick.

Twilight nods with Apple Bloom and pats her on the shoulder. “Stay safe. Both of you.” Then she stands up and looks at Spike as she marches back to her horse. “Spike, let's go.”

Spike nods, looks at the two foalings and wishes them luck before he hops on his horse. Twilight kicks her horse's ribs and yells for it to go, and Spike follows her lead, and the two ride off with kicked up grass in their wake, leaving the two foalings alone in the forest.

They wait for a few seconds, flinching when the birds in the trees fly away in a frenzy of flaps and caws. Apple Bloom nervously watches the birds take to the sky, noting how black their feathers are, and when they are out of sight, she sighs heavily and starts walking.

“Let's go,” says Apple Bloom, her angst clear and her steps timid.

Twist nods, tightens her grip on her walking stick and follows Apple Bloom through the forest, terrified about what horrors await them.

It takes Twilight and Spike a few days to reach their destination, and when they do, they stop for only a moment at the crest of a hill that lies just past the Everfree Forest so they can give their horses a break. The horses nicker and flail their manes with a shake their heads as the two riders observe the pleasant view below.

Their destination is surrounded by farmland that is being tended by scattered workers, and past the farm field is a bare wall that easily goes a hundred feet tall. The wall protects cluster of simple houses and an azure tower that stands almost three hundred feet with a star tipped wand engraved on it for all to see. The gems making up the wand's five point star glitter in the retreating sun, treating everyone who stumbles on the Lulamoon Sanctuary with a grand welcome and a signal for all those weary of travel that a place of rest is available.

“I think those gems are brighter,” says Spike, squinting his eyes and leaning forward slightly.

“That wouldn't surprise me,” says Twilight with an amused smile. “Trixie always has to flaunt, one way or the other.”

Spike nods in agreement, and Twilight clicks her tongue and gently encourages her horse to move forward. The drake follows close behind, and as they go through the surrounding farmland, the workers pause to offer friendly smiles and waves, which are returned in kind. They continue towards a large gate that is made up of metal bars crossing over each other, and it is soon pulled open by the pair of guards stationed there. The guards are wearing basic leather armor with an azure star stitched on their shirt's shoulders, and they step aside warmly greet them.

As Twilight and Spike travel down the cobblestone road, they pass small shops and fruit stands bustling with activity. Unlike the workers outside, the civilians inside the wall seem too busy with their daily routines to notice. The most attention the duo receives is a quick apology or odd stare when one of them walks in front of their horses.

They keep going until they reach the base of the tower, which is surrounded by a lush green lawn and has thick bushes of blue flowers lining the dark wall. The Gothic double doors at the top of the enormous staircase would be an imposing sight for most, but seeing as how Twilight and Spike have been inside many times they know it is just decoration.

A few seconds of staring later, and the double doors are pulled apart with a metallic groan to reveal a group consisting of seven ponies and a griffin. Six of the seven ponies are stallions that are wearing the same leather armor as the gate guards, and they are following an azure unicorn mare.

The mare they are following is younger and shorter than Twilight, and her curling, silver mane and tail adds to her alluring complexion her and a smile that swells with rampant ego. She is wearing an elaborate blue cape with purple, star studded trim, a long pointy hat and a dark blue tunic underneath that has golden buttons running up the middle with a sheathed sword attached to her belt.

The griffin that is traveling with them is also a female, and unlike the unicorn, her expression is hard and her body is tense from her constant guarded state. She is slightly older than the unicorn, has white plumage with light purple feathers around her golden eyes, and is donning a metal curiass with shoulder pads that have the blue star on it, and underneath all that is a long sleeve chainmail shirt. Clipped to her belt is a sheathed saber, and her talons look to be sharpened while her wings have sheets of metal over their base and her boots have curved blades on the tips. The griffin's appearance always makes Twilight and Spike nervous, but just as Twilight has Spike as her guardian and assistant, this mare has the griffin.

Twilight and Spike dismount when the group reaches the bottom of the stairs, and the unicorn's egotistical smile is whisked away by a gleeful gasp and stars in her eyes.

“Twilight, it is you! What a surprise! Trixie just returned from a trip not too long ago!” chirps the azure mare, hands clamped together by her cheek.

“I needed to thank you for that firework you put into my stash,” says Twilight with a playful smile.

The two mares are quick to embrace, and Trixie giggles and pats Twilight's back.

“Trixie has no idea what you are talking about.”

Twilight rolls her eyes playfully. “Sure you don't.”

Trixie pulls away, still grinning and hands now clasped in front of her chest and standing on the balls of her feet to meet Twilight's height. “So, what really brings you to Trixie's humble sanctuary? Do you want to see my research into Dark Magic and put a good word to Celestia for me? Or maybe some of nifty artifacts Trixie found when Trixie was traveling with Gilda?”

The griffin, named Gilda, snorts and coolly leans against the stairway base with her arms folded across her chest and eyes lowered to the healthy grass. Her reaction prompts Spike to look at her quizzically, and she, in turn, glances at him.

“What?” says the griffin.

Spike snaps back to Twilight, not wanting to antagonize the griffin any more than he already has, and Trixie orders a couple of her guards to put the weary horses in the stable. Twilight, meanwhile, takes a deep breath and puts her hand on Trixie's shoulder, looking at her solemnly.

“Trixie, I don't have much time. I need to see your notes and I need your expertise in something very important,” says Twilight, her voice heavy and eyes boring deep into Trixie's as her grip tightens on her shoulder. “If you can help me, then I guarantee you that I can convince Celestia to allow you to become her next pupil, even if your... passion is in an art she is uncomfortable with.”

Trixie's smile fades, and she looks at Spike, then back at Twilight again, the gears clearly turning and the joyful glint fading. Moments later, her shoulders go slack and a sigh turns her smile into a worried frown.

“Of course,” says Trixie quietly. She steps aside with her hand aimed at the entrance. “Let us talk inside.”

It has been nearly an hour after meeting at the steps of the tower, and now Twilight and Trixie are sitting alone in a chamber with only the light from the single window to provide illumination. They are sitting across from each other at a small table, each with a cup of tea, and during the course of the conversation, Trixie has downed her tea rather quickly whereas Twilight barely touched hers. Now it is cold and tastes disgusting, killing whatever appetite she may have gained over the course of explaining the events surrounding the finding of the Amulet of the King.

“So, what you are telling Trixie is that the Amulet of the King has been with the foalings this whole time and you never sensed it?” says Trixie, head leaning against her hand and eyebrows scrunched in a scrutinizing manner.

“I don't know how I missed it,” says Twilight shamefully. Her eyes are lowered to the tea cup and she can't help but feel like she is being talked down to by a younger, less skilled unicorn than she. Even though the said unicorn has vast more knowledge about the dark side of magic than she does.

Trixie's hard expression softens and she relaxes in her seat, with both of her hands resting on the arms of her chair. “It is nothing to be ashamed of. Most artifacts give off a steady stream of magic that we can sense, but the few that have souls bound to them can sleep for long periods of time.”

“But something as powerful as Sombra's Amulet should have given off incredible power, sleeping or not.”

Trixie shakes her head. “That is where you are wrong. If a bound object is sleeping, it will give off minimal magic that can easily be mistaken for Volos' Pulse. If a soul bound object like the Amulet is awoken by its master, then you will feel something.”

“Like a headache?”

Trixie hums. “That is strange, but not unheard of. That kind of discomfort is reserved for situations where one is somehow related to the object, either by blood or ritual.”

Twilight's body tenses as she recalls the unpleasant reactions around the Amulet and Starswirl's entry.

“Have you been having headaches around the Amulet?” asks Trixie, arching an eyebrow questionably.

“Well... Yes,” says Twilight nervously.

Trixie waits a moment, lightly tapping her chair's arm in thought, then her finger freezes in mid pause and she looks at Twilight with a strange smile. The purple unicorn shifts uncomfortably in her spot from Trixie's odd behavior, and she watches her younger counterpart carefully when she silently stands up and clamps her hands behind her back.

Trixie approaches Twilight with the strange smile growing and an uncomfortable feeling similar to a thousand little pinpricks poking all over the older unicorn's body. Twilight shifts again from the unpleasant feeling, and it only gets worse as the azure mare steps closer.

“If you are feeling this kind of discomfort then you are somehow bound to the Amulet, and that can bode good or ill, depending on how you see it,” says Trixie, now standing above Twilight, staring intently down at her.

“Trust me. It bodes ill,” says Twilight. She stands up and looks at Trixie, who, in turn, lifts her eyes up to keep their eyes connected. “Trixie, we cannot delay any longer. I need you to take me to your notes so we can figure out how to destroy the Amulet before it is too late.”

“Even if its destruction will bring great harm to you?”

Twilight's heart stops and she once again tenses, finding herself wondering what kind of harm Trixie is referring to. Her thoughts on this are interrupted by the tiny blades poking all around her, now more intense because of Trixie's close proximity. She wants to cast a spell to put the discomfort at ease, but she is also curious as to what it is she is feeling, and is worried that any kind of spell cast would alert whatever it is that is causing this feeling.

Thinking back on Trixie's question, Twilight sighs heavily and nods. “You and I both know that the Amulet is too dangerous to be kept locked away. It needs to be destroyed, no matter what, and I am confident that you can help me do that.”

Trixie is silent for a moment before she nods reluctantly, lowering her eyes and spinning on her heels, hands still clamped behind her back. “Follow Trixie to the atrium. She wishes to show you something.”

Twilight stays a pace behind Trixie as she follows her to an atrium down the hall. Twilight is at first confused since she does not see any books or scrolls, or anything pointing to research. All there is is a series of slits for windows and torches between each window that circle the room. In the center is a stone pedestal that has what appears to be a sphere covered in a thick, black cloth on top.

Twilight stops and stares at the covered object suspiciously while Trixie walks next to it and turns to face her while her hand rests on the top of the covered orb.

“So, you wish to destroy the Amulet?” says Trixie.

“That's right. I know it has been lying in wait for a very long time, allowing Sombra to regain much of his strength, but if we act quickly enough, we can counter him,” says Twilight, slowly walking towards the pedestal.

“Has it ever occurred to you that we may not have the time or strength to counter Sombra?”

Twilight stops to look at Trixie. “What do you mean?”

“It is not a riddle. Even though Sombra has yet to manifest himself physically, his spirit remains as strong as before, and without any doubt has been rebuilding. Now that he has awoken his Amulet, we no longer have any time left and his army has regained much of its strength, so now all he needs is his Amulet to wage war against Equestria and Paradise.”

“How do you know all this?”

Trixie massages the covered object. “Trixie has seen it.”

She then yanks off the covering to reveal a sleek, round object made of onyx that has orange, pulsating veins circling around it, and Twilight's eyes bulge and she rushes towards it while Trixie steps away.

“Where did you get that!” demands Twilight, now next to the strange object and ears flicking when she hears it whisper her name faintly.

A chill encases Twilight's body and she looks at Trixie with great concern, especially when she feels a pulse of the poking feeling erupt from her. That is when she begins to worry that the azure mare may have done something reckless.

“Trixie found it when she was traversing the Crystal Mountains with Gilda,” claims Trixie, inspecting her left hand smugly, using her right arm as a perch. She looks at Twilight with a toothless smile and a malicious glint in her eyes. “What's wrong? Is Trixie's findings making you envious?”

“Trixie, you know that not all the Seeing-Stones are accounted for! You don't know who else could be watching or what you might let in!” says Twilight sternly, now hastily putting the cover back on the stone to cease the constant whispering.

When Twilight's hand goes over it, though, a flash of Sombra's flaming eye pierces her thoughts and gives her the feeling that her head might burst open. She quickly retracts, seething and rubbing her temple as her tearing eyes focus on her other hand, noting the thin layer of frost thawing on her palm and fingers. She then looks at Trixie, flexing her hand and fighting a losing battle to keep her breathing and heart steady as the younger unicorn looks at her with an innocent smile.

“Trixie is no stranger to Dark Magic. Trixie knows exactly what she is doing,” she says.

“You let Sombra in?” says Twilight in disbelief.

There is a magical pulse from the Seeing-Stone and Trixie's smile fades and her eyes narrow as her right hand tenses while her left slides down to the hilt of her blade.

“Are you disappointed in Trixie's findings? This Seeing-Stone has shown Trixie what none could. She has been shown the great armies of the Nightmare preparing and all of the cruelty Sombra wishes to inflict! Shouldn't you be happy that Trixie has seen what he is planning!?”

Twilight's ears droop and her eyes shrink as her heart thumps loudly in her chest. “Trixie, do you realize what you have just done!”

A low chuckle rumbles from the Seeing-Stone, and all the lights in the room dim as Trixie trembles in her spot, seething with building tears. Twilight puts her hand on her blade's hilt and takes a defensive step back, getting concerned for both of their safeties as a heavy presence suffocates them with negative energy.

“I have seen what he is planning and what he is nigh capable of and still you scold me!?” accuses Trixie with tears of rage flowing down her cheeks and her left hand clutching her hilt tightly while the other is balled into a fist.

“Trixie, listen to me, Sombra is getting into your head,” says Twilight, hand extended cautiously towards the azure mare in a futile attempt to defuse the situation. “You have to fight him. He cannot win if we work together.”

“NO WE CAN'T!”

The room shakes with Trixie's furious and fully terrified scream. This makes Twilight jump and pull out her blade and stare at Trixie wide eyed, afraid of what she will have to do the young mare as she pants and glares at her from her now disheveled mane and slightly lowered head.

“I have seen his wrath. I have felt it,” says Trixie, her voice cracking and quivering with thick tears dripping on the floor and her right hand twitching sporadically. Her shoulders and chest rise and fall with each hard breath, which sends out a pulse of dark energy that sends a crushing and prickling sensation all over Twilight. “You cannot defeat evil that can destroy Paradise. Our only chance of protecting the ones we care about is to join Sombra's legion. Can't you see that?”

Trixie starts towards Twilight, and the purple unicorn steps back, keeping her blade aimed at Trixie, but hoping she won't have to use it against her. The azure mare steps closer and Twilight steps back, and soon, they find themselves pacing in a circle, eying each other with differing emotions. Trixie, a churning mess of fear, sorrow and rage, and Twilight has fear as well, but is feeling also pity for the young unicorn.

“I do not know why I expected you to understand,” says Trixie, her steps careful as she and Twilight continue circling each other. “You may have a large kingdom in your name, but you know nothing of ruling. You would rather prance around, pretending to be somepony else rather than fulfill your duties to your people!”

The mares stop, and Trixie slowly draws her sword, letting it barely glide over her electrically charged hand, giving it a blue, sparking haze. Twilight's muscles tense and she gracelessly yanks out her blade and slides her glowing hand over it. It becomes engulfed in flame and she holds it out in front of her protectively as her heart thumps rapidly in her ears.

“But I know the ones down there,” says Trixie through gritted teeth, her body visibly trembling. “I know their names and their faces and they are mine to protect. Their lives matter to me and if I have to make an allegiance with Sombra to ensure their safety, then so be it!”

Twilight's eyes narrow and she braces herself by sliding one leg back and keeping both hands on her sword's hilt as she aims it at her possessed friend. Of all the years she has known the mare before her, she has figured out that Trixie is mediocre at most things, but excels at flaunting, knowledge of the Dark Arts and combat. But regardless of these things, Twilight knows she just can't run away and leave Trixie and her Sanctuary at Sombra's mercy.

“Sombra, I know you are in there, so I am giving you this one and only warning! Release Trixie now, or I'll-”

Twilight is interrupted when Trixie screams viciously and launches a bright blue electric beam laced with green flames towards Twilight. The beam splits the air and polished tile as it torpedoes towards Twilight, and she barely extends her hand in time to put up a purple shield. The magical attack impacts her shield, reducing it shards of scattering energy and sends the purple mare sliding back.

Twilight's boots dig into the slick tile, but still falls over and has to press her palm against the floor to keep herself from face planting the ground. Her hand throbs and smoke rises off of her singed fur and sleeve as she looks past loose strands of her mane with wide, panicking eyes and a shortness of breath as the azure mare steps closer to her. Exposed through the tattered remains of Trixie's sleeve from her attack is a dark gauntlet with archaic runes etched on it and glowing a bright emerald that leaks a thin mist of the same color.

“Trixie finds your lack of compassion for your people disgusting,” growls Trixie, her voice resonating off of the walls like rolling thunder with another voice mimicking her. Her eyes flash green with her gauntlet and she points condescendingly at Twilight. “If you had any sense you would join Sombra and spare your people the pain of the Nightmare's slaughter.”

Twilight pushes herself up, panting and grunting as a smart pain goes through her ankle, and she stares pleadingly at Trixie. “Trixie, I don't want to hurt you! You have to fight Sombra! He's polluting your mind!”

Trixie snarls and slams her gauntlet hand down on the ground. The runes explode in a blinding display of green and the tile shatters with a sonic boom and a shock wave that sends the splinters of tile and a rush of wind towards Twilight. The attack pushes sends Twilight into the air, and she screams as she twirls in the air, and when she hits the floor with a sickening crack, she bounces across the floor and hits the wall with a trail of red dots trailing her.

After Twilight hits the wall, a surge of pain ripples through her back, her ribs and the back of her head. She slumps to the ground, vision hazy and a trickle of warmth moving down the back of her head and over her face, and she whimpers weakly and groggily stretches her hand towards her blade, finding it be just barely out of reach. The light then disappears as though the room is encased in a pitch black bubble, and Twilight's eyes widen and terrified tears slide down her bloodied cheeks as a green flame rolls from the Seeing Stone, burning away the cloth to reveal a flaming orb. The demonic flames travel along the floor, past Trixie, and move up where the walls would be to stare down at Twilight as the Eye of Sombra.

“Foolish girl,” sneers Trixie with the voice of the Amulet matching her words and echoing around the chamber. “You cannot stop the return of the Nightmare.”

A distant rumble shakes loose dust from the arching ceiling, and Spike's hand immediately grabs his sword's hilt as he looks up with worry. Then his focus snaps to Gilda and her party as a series of overlapping sounds of metal sliding out sheathes echo in the hall. He yanks his sword out and braces himself, growling viciously at the sight of Gilda standing in between the four guards, all with drawn weapons. The smirking griffin is leaning against her saber, which is stabbing the sleek floor while the guards aim their blades at Spike, silently approaching him with shaky steps.

“It sounds like our bosses are having some fun,” says Gilda with a dangerous smirk.

“What is going on up there!” demands Spike, taking a step back as the party continues froward.

Gilda shrugs. “I don't know. It sounds like Trixie is either killing Twilight or maiming her. Hard to tell.”

Spike snarls and flaming smoke escapes through his exposed fangs. “Did you plan this?”

“We didn't want to do this, but when you make a deal with Sombra, you generally have to kill those who want to kill him. It's just good business that way.” Gilda glances at her party, then looks back at Spike. “But imprisonment is an option for you. I know for a fact Trixie wouldn't mind having a dragon butler around.”

Spike aims his blade at Gilda. “We trusted you to help us, and you stabbed us in the back! What makes you think I would want to be your butler!?”

“Death it is, then. Guards, kill him.”

The guards charge and Spike runs forward, screaming. The first guard swings his sword at Spike, and he grabs it with his bare hand, stopping it cold and barely leaving a scratch on his palm and plunges his blade into the guard's gut after twisting his weapon away. The guard keels over, coughing blood, and Spike throws him to the ground, rolls underneath another swing and uses his sharp tail tip to slash the back of the assailant's legs. The guard cries out in pain and falls to the ground, trying to clutch his gushing wound that covers the floor in a sticky pool of crimson.

As this happens, Spike blocks another guard's attack from with his sword. The blades scratch against each other, and Spike pushes himself forward until he is snout to muzzle, snarling and boring his wrathful eyes deep into the terrified pony. The guard trembles and takes a step back, but he is ended when Spike punctures his neck and the bottom of his chin using his claws. The guard gurgles as thick crimson sprays from his wounds and coats Spike's hand and sleeve. The drake quickly tosses the corpse aside unceremoniously and turns his glare on Gilda, chest and shoulders heaving and smoke puffing from his nostrils from his panting. Gilda, however, is not showing any signs of anger. She is actually staring at the mess with a strangely calm and approving smile.

After scanning the mess, Gilda looks at Spike and offers a curt nod, ignoring the quiet sniffles of the injured guard. “Not bad.”

Spike's eyes narrow and he raises his blade towards Gilda. “You're next.”

Gilda grins and yanks her saber out of the ground, then she holds it completely straight up in front of her so it is like a metal line down the middle of her beak. Then she pulls her saber apart to create dual blades with a hard tug. Spike's snarl is replaced with big eyes and a tight jaw, and his lungs feel constricted as panic seeps in.

Gilda chuckles darkly at the clearly terrified dragon and spins her twin weapons. “We'll see.”

Then with a hard flap of her wings, she charges.

Author's Notes:

Yay for random burst of inspiration and speed writes.

Also, long waits are long and quick escalations are quick.