Royal guards swarmed the castle grounds as doctors and nurses were summoned to make sure everypony was okay in the aftermatg of Trixie's assault. The ponies whispered amongst themselves in small groups as they began to recover from the magically poisoned cake. A large crowd of anxious ponies were gathered around Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie, notorious gluttons for cake, who were the last to rise.

As Celestia and Pinkie recovered, Twilight smiled and embraced them. "I was getting worried!"

Celestia smiled, then grimaced and rubbed at her horn. "Ugh. Is everypony alright?"

Twilight nodded. "Everypony except Trixie."

"Trixie?" Celestia asked.

"That was who attacked us. I remember her from months back, but I would have never imagined she would do this, that's insane," Twilight said.

Celestia staggered to her feet. "She said she was somepony called 'Archmage Fizzle Hooves.'"

Twilight shrugged. "Maybe Trixie has a twin sister? It sure looked like her to me."

"Well, I'll get to the bottom of this. Where is she now?" Celestia asked.

"Star Swirl and Luna brought her inside the castle to question her," Twilight said.

"Thank you, Twilight," Celestia said, then spread her wings and soared towards her castle. She heard voices emanating from the ballroom. Royal guards were stationed at every entrance of the elegant ballroom and saluted as she passed. She landed next to her sister, who was looking at Trixie, now disrobed and bound to a chair.

Luna smiled and hugged her sister. "That was a close one!"

Celestia smiled, then frowned at the bound unicorn. "Twilight said this pony is called Trixie. She does look like the brash little filly my Twilight encountered months back, but I can't believe that she would do this..."

Star Swirl sighed. "Yes, she is Trixie. When Twilight and I were in the future, she aided us in our battle against the corrupted Order of the True Heart. She actually stood face to face with the evil warlock Shamoke and, I know it's hard to believe, was putting on a magic show for him as a distraction. Sadly, it would appear our nemesis has gotten its evil little hooves on her."

"She told me she was somepony called 'Archmage Fizzle Hooves.' I've never heard of any such pony, have either of you?" Celestia asked.

Luna shook her head, Star Swirl ran his hoof through his beard. "No, and that is troubling for if there truly was an archmage named Fizzle Hooves, she would be registered with the Wizard's Council. I can't recall ever seeing a unicorn named that at any of the meetings, and I've been going to them for thousands of years."

Celestia nodded. "So, it is most likely that this Fizzle Hooves-" She paused, her face paled. She suddenly remembered. "Oh my gosh, Nostrildamus. That is the name he told me when his spirit visited!"

"It would certainly seem that this Fizzle Hooves is in reality Insidiosus Diabolicus," Star Swirl said. "Unfortunately it appears to have reared its ugly head in dear little Trixie here."

Star Swirl used his magic to splash a glass of water on Trixie's face. "Wake up. Wake up!"

Trixie shook the water off and struggled against the bindings. She couldn't remember anything - who she was, where she was, when it was. Her entire body ached, the pain was excruciating, and only became worse as she tried to think. The voices still whispered in her mind, endlessly repeating something but she couldn't understand it. The only thing she knew was she wanted to go back to somepony named Fizzle Hooves.

"Where am I? Where's Fizzle Hooves?" Trixie angrily demanded.

"You will answer our questions. Do you understand?" Star Swirl asked.

"Who the hay are you?" Trixie asked.

"That's not important. What's important is who you are. What is your name?" Star Swirl asked.

One of the voices became clearer and rasped, You're nobody! Nopony loves you. You would be better off dead, you know it and I know it. They know it too, that's why they're going to kill you if you answer their question.

Trixie sobbed. "I... I don't remember."

"Your name is Trixie. You were born in Van Hoover. You traveled Equestria under the stage name 'The Great and Powerful Trixie.' Is that correct?" Star Swirl asked.

One of the voices laughed, He's lying.

Trixie began to cry, she honestly could not remember. "I don't know!"

Star Swirl gently repeated the question. "Is that correct?"

Trixie felt a tremendous pain in her head as she remembered. "Argh! Yes!"

The voices growled in anger and intensified their whisperings.

"Where is the evil entity? Insidiosus Diabolicus?" Luna asked.

Trixie looked confused. "I don't know what you're talking about. Wait, I remember, I kept hearing voices. I couldn't... can't get them out of my head!"

"The voices, Trixie. What are they saying? Whose voices are they?" Star Swirl asked.

"I don't know," Trixie angrily replied.. As if in response, the voices' whisperings became a little bit clearer but she still could not make out their words. "There's three! What are they saying?!"

"What about Fizzle Hooves? Do you remember her?" Celestia asked.

Trixie winced, then let out a drawn out sigh. "I think she was my master. Yes. She.. she was teaching me magic... She took me...someplace, and I felt something gnawing at me."

One of the voices cooed, I did more than gnaw at you, little one...

"What do you mean, Trixie?" Luna asked.

"I don't know. It felt like I was in a dream," Trixie said. "I wish it was a dream. It was a nightmare."

"Let's start at the beginning. The Time-Lost Sanctuary. We know you were there," Star Swirl said.

One of the voices scoffed. He's lying again...

Trixie shook her head. "No."

"Don't lie to me. We know you were there, Trixie," Star Swirl said. He used his magic to conjure up an illusion of Nostrildamus' body, surrounded by blood-stained scrolls.

Trixie's eyes went wide and she yelled, "Darkheart was there! We had to kill Darkheart!"

"We? Archmage Fizzle Hooves?" Luna asked.

"Why did Fizzle Hooves bring you there, Trixie?" Celestia asked.

"Grr! How many times do I have to tell you? Darkheart was there! We had to kill Darkheart..." Trixie sobbed.

"Why did you have to kill this 'Darkheart?'" Celestia asked.

"Because Fizzle Hooves told me I had to, to become a master of magic! Why don't you flippin' understand? Darkheart would have killed us all!" Trixie screamed.

A voice comforted Trixie, Of course they don't understand, Trixie, they are just as evil as Darkheart was. They might have even been working for him. You can not trust them, Trixie.

"Who was Darkheart?" Star Swirl asked.

"A warlock! He could bend the universe to his will! He had to die before he killed us! I... I had to kill him!" Trixie said through tears.

"That was Nostrildamus. The guardian of all time, as appointed by the powers that be. He was no warlock. He was an Earth pony for sun's sake!" Star Swirl said.

Trixie shook her head. "Fizzle Hooves said he was evil..."

A voice laughed. He was, Trixie. Listen to how these ponies try to trick you You know where the truth lies.

"Listen to me, Trixie," Celestia said. "Fizzle Hooves can't be trusted. No matter what she said to you, no matter what she told you, you-"

Trixie interrupted, "No! She's my friend! She loves me! She's my sister!"

"Fizzle Hooves is not what you think she is," Star Swirl said.

"Where is Fizzle Hooves? Where did she take you?" Celestia asked.

"I.. I don't remember," Trixie said.

"It's all in her head somewhere. She does know where it is," Star Swirl sighed. "Please, Trixie, you must remember."

"Trixie, sweetie, Fizzle Hooves sent you here tonight to kill ponies. We need to know where she is. Please, we can help you, you just need to remember," Celestia gently said.

Trixie shook her head in disbelief. Had she really been trying to kill more ponies? She began to remember, began to comprehend the voices as they whispered: Celestia, Luna, Star Swirl... All must die.

Trixie growled in frustration. "That bastard."

"Fizzle Hooves?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah. She was behind everything," Trixie said. "She ordered me to sneak into the kitchen and dump that reagent into the cake, she taught me the spell to activate it. It seems so surreal, it couldn't have been real, but I guess it was, huh."

"Where did she take you, Trixie?" Celestia asked. "Where is Fizzle Hooves now?"

"She was.. she was... she was everywhere! Can't get her out of my head. Just like the others," Trixie said, as the voices cackled in her mind.

"Others?" Celestia asked.

"That damn alicorn, Marelinn," Trixie explained. "And another one, I don't know who she is but her voice sounds like a creature from one of those old vampire movies. All raspy and full of hatred, makes your hairs stand up on end."

Star Swirl glared at Luna, "Marelinn, an alicorn? You pumped so much lightning into her she doesn't even know what she is saying."

Luna blushed and looked away.

"Marelinn was never an alicorn, Trixie. She was only a unicorn. I should know, she taught me in the ways of magic, long, long ago," Star Swirl said.  "What is she saying to you?"

"Voices. Whispers. Always in my head," Trixie muttered. "They want me to kill the alicorn princesses, and a unicorn named Star Swirl. They sent me here tonight to do just that."

Celestia raised her eyebrow, leaned in and began whispering in Luna's ear. "Do you th-"

Trixie interrupted, "Hey! Who are you ponies? What do you want from me?"

"We want the pony that did this to you, Trixie. That's all we've ever wanted," Star Swirl said.

"Take us back, Trixie. After you killed Nostrildamus, what did you do next?" Celestia asked.

"I continued studying magic, that's all!" Trixie shouted.

The voices cackled, They're lying to you, Trixie, dear...

"How can you be sure you know what really happened?" Star Swirl asked. "Where did Fizzle Hooves take you?"

"Why do you keep asking? You already know everything!" Trixie yelled.

"No! We don't, Trixie. We don't know where Fizzle Hooves is. We don't know why the voices are telling you to do evil deeds," Star Swirl said.

Trixie began to sob. "I'm trying to help you! I don't know! We were sisters..."

A voice, which Trixie could now identify as Fizzle Hooves', said, We are like sisters, Trixie, we are the same.

After that, Trixie became unresponsive, she just hung her head and cried, ignoring her three interrogators. Celestia sighed. "We pushed her too hard. We better call it quits for now."

Star Swirl shook his head. "Not yet, I have one more card to play. Celestia, Luna, go get me Pinkie Pie."

Luna was confused. "Pinkie Pie?"

"I believe she will know how to help Trixie," Star Swirl explained. "Pinkie has her methods. As illogical and insane as they may be, they work."

The two alicorns departed in search of Pinkie Pie. Alone, Star Swirl stood and kicked over his chair. "Damn it! Why can't you remember?! You're the only lead we've got, and clearly we need to stop this thing before it does this to somepony else!"

Star Swirl put his hooves on Trixie and shook her until she looked up at him. "Fizzle Hooves doesn't exist, Trixie! You hear me? She doesn't exist! This thing - this demon or whatever the hay it really is - has completely messed up your mind. I know you, Trixie, you're not a murderer. You were a hero in my time! You stood hoof-to-hoof with Twilight Sparkle, stood up to one of the most evil things imaginable!" He began to remove Trixie's bindings.

Trixie looked down at her freed leg and grinned as Fizzle Hooves' voice urged her to strike. Trixie socked Star Swirl on the jaw with a powerful kick, sending the old wizard crashing against a table. She hurriedly freed her other leg, then began staggering through the halls of Canterlot Castle. The voices in her mind were screaming at her, she couldn't understand them at all, and she began to see flashes of her time spent with Fizzle Hooves.

"The voices! What.. are they saying!?" Trixie stumbled against a suit of armor and it went clattering to the ground. "Fizzle Hooves! Where are you! Grrrr. Fizzle Hooves!"

The only response Trixie got was the babble of the three voices whispering in her mind.

"I keep.. hearing.. the damn voices!" She staggered past a doorway: a bedroom. She looked inside and her eyes went wide with fear. Her head felt like it had been run over by a cart as the memories flooded back. "I remember!" She doubled over in anguish. "Argh! Travincolt!"

Trixie shut her eyes and in her mind she could see the memories. Memories of her time after that night by the fire. Horrible memories of her time spent in Fizzle Hooves' bed, reading spellbooks together and eating cookies. No, it was not a bed. It was a stone altar. And there was certainly no reading nor cookies - Fizzle Hooves was torturing her, terrorizing her, breaking her willpower to make her submit. As she remembered this, she saw a mixture of memories from farther back. She had been starved and tortured for days. Was the magical training all in her mind, perhaps a defense mechanism against the horrors she endured daily? And horrors they were, for Fizzle Hooves spent hours tormenting Trixie by bringing her worst fears to life.

There were other memories of her training, however, and Fizzle Hooves seemed different in these. In these, there were indeed cookies and spellbooks. She remembered learning and casting all the different spells, and to prove that she wasn't just going mad, Trixie cast one of the new spells she had learned from Fizzle Hooves, a spell that conjured up a wreath of fire. Trixie used her magic to move the wreath around the hallway, scorching the stone flooring and illuminating the bedroom with its flickering flames. The fiery wreath spell was obviously real, and was a spell Trixie had no prior knowledge of, so her magical training must have been real as well.

Since both sets of memories seemed real and Trixie's ravaged mind could not tell which could have been what really happened to her, she ultimately decided that both must have somehow occurred simultaneously.

Trixie began to remember what had occurred before she attacked the wedding reception. Trixie was lying on the altar and Fizzle Hooves was there, with that damned smirk. She saw two other shadowy figures by the altar and her blood chilled as she saw them. They almost looked like silhouettes of foals. She clenched her eyes shut and wished it all would just go away.

"My little unicorn pet has been indoctrinated to my desires," Fizzle Hooves triumphantly said to the two shadow foals.

"So, what is the problem?" one of the shadow foals asked, with a raspy, feminine voice.

"I've brought her to the brink of death with her own terror, yet some part of her can still resist. It is extraordinary,"  Fizzle Hooves explained. "Her responses have been sporadic. Unpredictable. She shows a remarkable resilience."

"Why?" the second shadow foal demanded.

"She is unusual. Atypical. I suppose we should have suspected as much given her lineage. Few ponies possess such will," Fizzle Hooves said, gently stroking Trixie's thigh. Trixie suppressed the urge to scream. "She resists. She clings to her old life as if it actually matters. She will learn."

"If she will not follow your commands then she is of no use to us. Let her rot in Travincolt," the raspy voice hissed, "Lest she interfere with our other plans."

Fizzle Hooves laughed, "Do not worry, sisters. She will be ours."

One of the shadow foals grabbed Trixie's horn with a clawed hand. Its touch chilled her and she began to shiver. "We trust in your judgement sister," the raspy voice said. "But are you sure you have broken her? We can not afford to take any risks with this one, she can ruin everything."

Trixie felt the frigid breath of the shadow foal on her face, it smelled like sulfur. She began to cough.

"My little unicorn has awoken. Leave us," Fizzle Hooves ordered. The shadow foals shimmered and vanished.

Fizzle Hooves licked her lips and leaned closer to Trixie. "Hello, little one. You and I have a great deal to do today. There is not much time, but you are oh so close to being ready."

Trixie rolled off of the altar and cowered in the corner. "You're not going to torture me any longer!"

Fizzle Hooves tilted her head. "Torture? Silly mare, you just don't understand, do you? I am only trying to do what is best for you."

"I don't care what you're doing, let me go!" Trixie cried.

Fizzle Hooves slowly made her way around the altar and lifted Trixie's head with her hoof then stared into her eyes, Trixie trembled in fear at the look of rage on Fizzle Hooves' face. Her master's expression softened and Fizzle Hooves gently stroked Trixie's mane. "You work as a magician, taking no advantage from your heritage, from your talents within. You entertain peasants, non-unicorn rubes. You walk amongst them, these beasts that are less than you are. Accept what I am trying to give you, the gift of terror, and you shall become so much more. Everypony in Equestria shall know your name, I guarantee it."

Fizzle Hooves turned and sat down on the edge of the altar, beckoning Trixie.

Trixie was paralyzed by fear. "Please... I can't take any more. I'm so afraid..."

Fizzle Hooves smiled. "Patience, Trixie. Soon it will all end. You are nearly ready, Trixie. I will be pleased."

As Trixie slowly moved towards the altar in the memory, she opened her eyes and shivered. Awful things had happened to her in Fizzle Hooves' bedroom. As she continued down the hallway, the voices intensified, angry with her for remembering. Trixie moaned. "Argh! The pain! Oh my gosh!"

Trixie felt a hoof grab her shoulder and spin her around. Trixie started to cast a spell in self-defense but Pinkie Pie struck her in the head with a powerful right hoof. Trixie went out like a light. She opened her eyes and Trixie found herself lying in a bed in Travincolt again, an actual bed this time. Fizzle Hooves stood over her.

"Do you know what fear is?" Fizzle Hooves asked. "The fear of who you are? The fear of what others would do to you if they found out the truth?"

Trixie silently watched as Fizzle Hooves disrobed, exposing a strange cutie mark-like insignia that glowed with magic on her flanks. It was comprised of several symbols: a gemstone, storm clouds and a rainbow, and tree branches and a wildflower. Trixie stared curiously at this strange symbol. She knew it was no normal cutie mark, she could sense that it was magical in nature, and it appeared to have something to do with the three pony tribes.

"We are like sisters, Trixie. We are the same."  Tears began to flow down Fizzle Hooves' cheeks. "I'm sorry, Trixie. I... I tried to help you, but she's too strong..."

Trixie shook her head. "I know what you are, Fizzle Hooves. I remembered! You tricked me, tortured me! Tried to make me hurt ponies! I shall listen to your lies no longer."

Fizzle Hooves sighed. "It wasn't all a deception, Trixie, and that was not me, it was her. I don't have much strength, not after all these years of being subjected to her will, but I did use what power I could to try and save you from her madness. I could only keep her at bay for so long..."

"Who is this 'her?' And why should I believe you?" Trixie snapped.

"She is... Ugh!" Fizzle Hooves clutched her hooves to her head in pain. She fell to her knees and looked up at Trixie, her face twisting in anguish. "You have to stop her, Trixie... Keep resisting! The training, the spells, it was all real!"

Fizzle Hooves seemed to shimmer for a moment and the beautiful pink unicorn was replaced with a being of pure shadow, just like the two Trixie had remembered seeing by the altar. The shadow smirked and crept towards Trixie, laughing with glee as Trixie shrinked away from her in terror. The shadow whispered in Trixie's ear, "Do you know what fear is?"

Trixie screamed and her eyes shot open as tears ran down her face. Trixie began to sob uncontrollably, stopping when she felt somepony stroking her mane. Trixie wiped at her eyes and saw that she was laid out on a couch, safe in Canterlot Castle. Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and her friends surrounded her. The voices were mercifully silent and the pain and anguish were gone.

"I trusted her..." Trixie sobbed.

"That's why it worked," Celestia said. She picked up Trixie and held her tight to her chest. "You're safe now. She can't hurt you anymore. What did she do to you, Trixie?"

Trixie felt safe in the warm embrace of Celestia. She looked up into the princess' eyes. "What didn't she do..." Tears fell down Trixie's face, she wiped at them. "Travincolt. She took me to Travincolt."

"What did Fizzle Hooves do at Travincolt?" Celestia asked.

"There are two of them I guess... Two Fizzle Hooves. One trained me in magic," Trixie said as she tried to explain. "I remember how much she cared for me, always making me my favorite sweets, but it was all a deception to hide what the other one was doing. She tortured me with my own fears. She told me what kind of ponies you, your sister, and Star Swirl the Bearded were. She told me what you did during the Griffon War, that you put innocent ponies to death. That you all deserved to die. But that was all lies. You don't want to control all of our magic..."

Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Trixie."

Trixie hugged the princess tighter. "She told me I was going to be a hero..."

Celestia smiled. "You still can be, Trixie. We shall head to Travincolt and confront this Fizzle Hooves." She turned to Twilight Sparkle. "Ready, girls?"

Twilight and her friends were wearing their Elements of Harmony. Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered in the air. "Let's go get this sicko!"

The ponies hurried back to the ballroom where Star Swirl and Luna were waiting. Celestia smiled. "Travincolt. It's at Travincolt."

Star Swirl nodded. "Hold hooves, everypony. Here we go."

As they emerged from Star Swirl's teleportation spell, they found themselves in an ancient ruin. Sitting in the middle of the ruin was Trixie's wagon. Three stone tablets were leaning against the wagon's door. Trixie looked around in disbelief. "It was here. It was all here..."

Applejack put her hoof around Trixie's shoulder. "We believe you, Trixie."

Star Swirl investigated the wagon, found nothing of import besides the tablets, and stroked his beard. He mused to himself, "It may work."

"What may work?" Twilight asked.

"An entrapment spell. We know her name, or at least, one she associated with herself. We know she was here. Trixie's wagon proves that," Star Swirl said. "We should be able to summon it here and trap it."

Celestia nodded. "Do it."

Star Swirl reached into his robes and pulled out a stick of charcoal. He drew a circle on the ground then wrote a string of arcane runes around the circle. Satisfied, he stepped back and his horn began to glow. "Fizzle Hooves, I summon thee!"

The robed archmage appeared within the circle, sarcastically clapping her hooves. "Clever. Of course you know I am only here because I choose to be. Fizzle Hooves is not my true name, but I am sure you have that figured out by now."

"What should we call you? Fizzle Hooves? Insidiosus Diabolicus? Or would you prefer us to use your real name," Celestia said.

"No, knowing my name might give you power, and I will not allow that. You may call me Fizzle Hooves, although I do rather like that little moniker you coined," she turned to Trixie and smiled, "Or, you may simply call me, master."

Trixie glared at Fizzle Hooves, shaking with rage.

Fizzle Hooves pouted, "Aww. You know, Trixie. Not everything I told you was a lie. I really did enjoy spending time with you. It was.. refreshing. Pity you failed at your task."

Twilight looked at her friends and nodded, the gems of their Elements of Harmony began to glow and a rainbow arced onto Fizzle Hooves. Their blood chilled when they saw it. It only lasted a split second, but as the energy of the Elements washed over Fizzle Hooves her true form was revealed. A foal-shaped being of pure darkness that seemed to drain their souls just by looking at it.

The Elements' attack stopped and Fizzle Hooves strode right out of the summoning circle, bypassing the runes of holding. She smirked at the horrified ponies, "Do you know what fear is?"

"What is this all about, Fizzle Hooves?" Star Swirl asked, a tremble of terror in his voice.

Fizzle Hooves laughed and her horn began to glow as she cast a spell. Star Swirl gasped and fell to the ground as Fizzle Hooves' spell washed over him. "You warrant no villain's exposition from me, Star Swirl the Bearded. In any case, I believe I have distracted you long enough. Farewell."

Fizzle Hooves shimmered and disappeared.

Twilight looked as if she had seen a ghost. Rarity noticed and frowned with concern. "What's wrong, Twilight?"

"That.. thing! I've seen it before. Do you remember when I didn't have a friendship report for the princess and was kind of acting crazy?" Twilight asked, her voice a whisper.

Her friends rolled their eyes and nodded their heads. "I saw her, I mean, I didn't know it was her of course, but that.. thing. I saw it. I thought it was just a hallucination because I was going a little crazy," Twilight whispered.

Trixie approached. "There were three of them, weren't there?"

Twilight nodded. Trixie sat on the ground and idly ran her hoof through the dirt. "I too thought I had been imagining them until just now. It seemed so strange I thought my mind was just playing tricks. I couldn't remember, I just heard voices, their voices, in my head. But when I saw her, saw what she really was... Oh my gosh."

Celestia hugged Trixie. "What do you remember about them, Trixie?"

"Fizzle Hooves called them her sisters. She also used to tell me I was her sister. I don't know why. One of them touched me, in her true form, it chilled me to my very soul. Her breath was frigid and smelled of sulfur. They wanted me, for... I don't know... One was worried I would ruin some plan of theirs," Trixie said. "Fizzle Hooves wanted me to 'fulfill my destiny.'"

Star Swirl glanced at the others. "I have a very bad feeling. Quickly, hold hooves, we must get back to Canterlot!"