The Unexpected Alliance

Chapters

Chapter 1: Nightmares
Chapter 2: Guidance
Chapter 3: Reconcile
Chapter 4: Memories
Chapter 5: Preparations

Chapter 1: Nightmares

There was nothing but silence; the only thing that surrounded her was darkness, branching itself out in every direction. She tried her best to see but to no avail as the darkness only allowed her to see a couple feet in front of her. She started to trot, looking for any sign of life. She stopped as she heard the sound of a light whisper in her ear. She started to look around, trying to find the source of the sound but every time she turned the sound appeared to be behind her once again. She stopped turning as she heard the sound get closer and closer, until she felt warm breathing on the back of her neck. She turned slowly and jumped back after seeing the bloody face of a unicorn. She took a few steps back as she scanned over the unicorn’s body. The unicorn had many scars, starting from the multiple scars making it's way up his hooves up to the large one that looked as if it was slashed across his face. Along with the scars there was a deep wound in his scalp, which explained why his face was so matted with dried blood. Her mind suddenly started to work again as she let out a gasp; she knew who this was. She looked him up and down once again, tears beginning to form in her eyes. This was her former mentor, The Great Hoofdini. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come to her as she was stunned. There was nothing but complete silence. After a moment the stallion finally looked up at her, his gaze meeting direct eye contact as he spoke in a soft whisper.

“You did this to me…” The blue unicorn stared at him confused as she had not heard him. The stallion could tell by her facial expression that she had not heard his words. “You did this to me.” The stallion repeated.

“I did no such thing!” She exclaimed, tears sill threatening to spill from her eyes.

“YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!” She nearly jumped out of her skin as the fur stood on the back of her neck. “It’s your fault that I died…if you had just been there with me…” The stallion stared her down, his dried eyes still gazing towards her.

“You told me to stay back stage; I would have been there if you allowed me to!" she let out barely managing to hold back her tears.

“It was your fault that I died…and it will be me that is at fault during your death!” Hoofdini launched at her. She barely managed avoided the tackle as she broke into a quick gallop away from him. She looked back and saw Hoofdini giving chase. She suddenly tripped and crashed face first into the ground. She looked down to her hoof. Her face shifted into a terrified expression as she saw a black tendril gripping tightly at her hoof. She tried to kick it off using her other hoof but another tendril appeared and held her other hoof down. She let out a small scream and began to thrash, trying to get away as she saw Hoofdini drawing closer, his horn glowing. Two more tendrils appeared and gripped her free hooves. She let out a loud scream of pain as the tendrils started pulling her hooves in different directions, nearly tearing them from their sockets. She let out more cries of pain as it felt like her hooves were being torn from her body. She let out one last scream as everything faded to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trixie awoke with a scream, drenched in a cold sweat. She was panting heavily as she looked around her room in confusion. It seemed she had collapsed out of her bed at some point during the night. She stood up with a sigh before making her way down the hall and into the first door on the left. She stepped into the bathroom and walked over to the mirror, looking at herself. She was a complete mess; her fur was matted to her body with sweat and her mane was going in every direction. She made her way over to the bathtub and turned on the hot water, letting the tub fill up. She carefully climbed inside before lowering herself into the warm water. She let out a sigh of relief, becoming relaxed as she felt her stress wash away. She leaned her head back, resting it against the back of the tub.

This blue unicorns name is Trixie, or as she likes to be called, “The Great and Powerful Trixie”. Her mane and tail have mixtures of both baby blue and a bright white. Her fur coat is a darker shade of blue, closer to azure. Her cutie mark is of a wand with two different shades of blue, partially silhouetting a crescent moon behind it. The crescent moon of her cutie mark is adorned in stars. Trixie is a traveling magician; she travels from town to town and puts on shows using her magic. She stays in hotels in each place she visits. She used to just sleep in her traveling caravan, but that changed after it was crushed by an ursa minor. She is also one of the most well known unicorns in Equestria, though, her fame died down a little after her first and only visit to Ponyville. You see, Trixie used to be the assistant of the number one magician in all of Equestria, The Great Hoofdini. She stood by his side and assisted him in every single last one of his tricks. One day, Hoofdini planned to try something that nopony had ever tried before. He was set between two walls of steel spikes, each spike being sharp enough to pierce through nearly anything with ease. These spike walls were set to spring at 50 miles per hour. Before he went out in front of the crowd, Trixie was sitting and pleading that he would stop now and try something different; she didn’t want to see him hurt. She pleaded and pleaded, but there was no point, Hoofdini had made up his mind. He had her stay back stage as he went out to do the trick. She sat there thinking about him, she knew how good he was; maybe he could pull off this trick. With a smile on her face she stepped out of her room and stood behind the curtain. She heard the loud screaming and cheering of the crowd as the trick began. Suddenly she heard the spike walls clang together as the crowd hushed to silence. The spike walls departed and all Trixie heard was screaming from the crowd. She assumed that the trick had come perfectly until she heard those two words.

“HE’S DEAD!!” A mare from the audience shouted. Trixie ran out from behind the curtain and let out a scream as she saw what she assumed was what remains of Hoofdini’s body. She tried to run over to him but she was grabbed by a security guard who lifted her up and carried her back to the dressing room. She almost instantly collapsed onto the couch as she began to sob deeply into the cushion. As the tears continued to poor from her eyes she heard a small knock at the door.

“C-come in” Trixie said as she wiped away the tears. The same stallion that had escorted her to the dressing room made his way inside inside.

“We found this letter inside Hoofdini’s private dressing room, it says it’s for you,” The stallion explained as he passed her the letter. She picked it up using magic and flipped it open.

**“Dear Trixie,**

**You have been my assistant for many years now, after all this time I have seen your magical ability continue to grow and grow. Although I have adored our time as partners I say we must depart from one another. I’m not saying that we can’t be friends; I want us to always be friends. What I’m saying is that you have grown to be as good as me, maybe even better. I’m glad that we managed to work together and I’m sure our paths will cross again in the future. I look forward to the next time we meet. There is a gift for you under the table.**

**Hoofdini”**

Trixie trotted over to the table and lifted up the small box. She opened it with a small smile on her face. She gasped as she looked inside. There was a lavender colored cape covered in baby blue and yellow stars. After she lifted it up she found a hat that matched almost exactly with the cape. She looked at the inside of the cape and found it was made of a fine silk. As she looked it over one more time she noticed something on the inside of the hat, stitched in a golden color were five simple words, “The Great and Powerful Trixie”. Her smile grew considerably as she began to cry once again. These were different though, not only did she cry tears of sadness, but also tears of joy.

Trixie stood up and made her way out of the tub before grabbing a nearby towel and beginning to dry herself off. She walked over to the sink and floated a hair dryer over with magic. She turned the switch as it came on, hot air bursting out of it as she held it up to her mane. She slowly moved it around, drying her mane off before moving from her mane to her tail. After drying off her tail she put the hair dryer aside and floated a brush down up her mane. She brushed it down and it naturally took the shape she liked. She floated it down to her tail, using magic to hold it in place as she let the brush flow through it. After setting the brush down onto the counter she made her way out of the bathroom, turning to the right and making her way down the hall. She turned into the kitchen as she began to think about her recent dream.

“That was definitely the worst nightmare so far..what on earth is causing them though?,” Trixie said to herself as she used magic to swing the cupboards open, pulling out a bowl and setting it onto the table in the dining room. She made her way back into the kitchen and pulled down a box of Applejacks, pouring herself a bowl. She sat down at the table and began to eat. She got lost in thought once again as she ate. She suddenly dropped her spoon, her eyes widening. She quickly stood up and grabbed her nearby cape and hat. She set the hat onto her head carefully as she whipped the cape on quickly. She pulled open the door and charged out of the hotel, thoughts reeling in her mind.

Chapter 2: Guidance

Trixie rushed down the streets of Canterlot as quickly as she could. She stopped once she made it to the Canterlot Gardens looking towards the castle which was still a little bit away.

“If what Trixie thinks is true, then there is only one pony that can help her” Trixie mumbled to herself.

She quickly let out a sprint towards the castle with thoughts about her nightmares still reeling in the back of her mind. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice anything around her. She eventually made note of her surroundings, but it was far too late as she had already crashed into something, causing her to collapse onto the ground. She looked up to see what she had hit when she saw a grey mare standing above her.

“Oh my, are you alright?” She asked, clearly concerned that Trixie might have been injured.

“Yes, yes, Trixie is fine” She said as she stood up and dashed right past her.

“She could have at least said goodbye” The grey mare said as she let out a sigh before going on with her day.

Trixie continued towards the castle, quickly dashing past many ponies along the way. She was finally stopped when she was standing in front of the castle walls. A guard pony stood in front of the doors. Trixie trotted up calmly as she cleared her throat.

“Trixie wishes to have and audience with the princess,” Trixie said as she looked towards the guard pony.

“Sorry Trixie, Luna hasn’t been here all week, not sure where she went,” The guard pony explained.

“Trixie knows, she wishes to have an audience with Celestia,” Trixie replied.

“I can’t allow it, Princess Celestia is in a very important meeting right now,” the guard pony said. “If you come back at noon tomorrow you might have a chance of having an audience with her majesty.”

“Trixie needs to see the princess this instant, she cannot wait until tomorrow,” Trixie said, currently on the verge of yelling.

“The princess told me to only allow visitors if it’s royal business,” the guard pony calmly replied.

“This is royal business, Trixie thinks she knows what happened to Luna,” Trixie said, calming her voice so she would not make a scene.

The guard looked her in the eye trying to see if she was lying but Trixie stood her ground with a slight smirk.

“So, may Trixie enter?” Trixie asked, the smirk on her face turning more smug.

The guard pony stepped aside with a nod. Trixie made her way into the castle, she had rarely ever been in the castle, the only times being when she came to do an act for Luna and Celestia, or when she decided to give Luna a quick visit. Trixie and Luna had met shortly after Trixie had left Ponyville. Having nowhere to go after her caravan got crushed, Luna allowed Trixie to stay in the guest room until she managed to get back onto her hooves. Ever since Luna and Trixie had been great friends, Trixie stayed in the castle for about two days before she had enough bits to get back onto the road. After the days Trixie spent in the castle Trixie and Luna had begun to chat a lot more.

Trixie began to trot up the stairs leading up to the main throne room. She couldn’t help but think of how she had barely even spoken to Celestia, even during her time in the castle. She got to the top of the stairs and looked towards the doors of the main throne room. On one of the doors there had a painting of a giant sun that almost seemed real by the light it produced. On the other door there was a moon, which she instantly recognized since she had seen this before, it was Luna’s cutie mark, which made her realize the sun was Celestia’s cutie mark. She pushed open the doors as she stepped inside.

Celestia had just finished her meeting with the rest of the royal family when she heard the doors open and saw Trixie standing at the entryway. The princess stood up and began to trot towards Trixie.

“Trixie, what a pleasant surprise, what brings you here?” Celestia said as a smile grew on her face.

“Hello princess, Trixie has some news” Trixie said with a smile of her own.

“Oh? And what might that be?” Celestia asked.

“Trixie believes she knows why Luna has been away from the castle” Trixie explained.

“You know why my sister has been away?” Celestia asked, slightly shocked.

“Indeed, it’s a long story, but Trixie thinks she can get Luna back, but she cannot do it alone,” Trixie replied.

Celestia walked over and began to stare into space as she started to think. She turned back to Trixie a small smile on her face.

“I know who can help you, I’m going to send you to Ponyville-“Celestia started before Trixie cut her off.

“Wait, Ponyville? Do you not remember what happened when Trixie went there originally?” Trixie said as she began to protest.

“I am well aware of what happened, which is another reason I’m sending you there” Celestia began to explain.

“Why in Equestria are you sending Trixie there of all places?” Trixie said as she continued to protest.

“This way you can not only get help, but you can also get friends there,” Celestia continues to explain keeping her voice calm.

“Why would Trixie need more friends?” Trixie asked snobbishly.

“With friends this task will be easier to accomplish, now go, and I will not take no for an answer,” Celestia finished.

Trixie sighed and nodded as she began to trot out.

“When you get there, look for the library, my student is there, she and her friends will help you,” Celestia said as Trixie left the room.

Trixie continued as she went down the stairs, thinking of what Celestia had told her. She pushed open the door and looked back towards the guard pony, giving him a nod before trotting off towards the train station. As she continued towards the station, she saw the grey mare once again, sitting at a table. She remembered how she dashed right past her and decided to go apologize. She stopped behind the grey mare poked her side to get her attention. The grey mare looked up at her.

“Oh, hello again,” The grey mare smiled.

“Hello, Trixie’s terribly sorry about earlier, Trixie was in a hurry,” Trixie explained with a slight smile.

“Oh, it’s quite alright, I’m Octavia,” She held out her hoof.

“Trixie,” She smiled as she shook Octavia’s hoof.

“Pleasure to meet you Trixie” Octavia said with a smile. Trixie gave her a nod as she let go of her hoof.

“Anyways, Trixie would love to stay and chat, but she's afraid she's in a hurry once again” Trixie said as she gave her one more nod.

“Alright, I suppose I'll see you around Trixie” Octavia gave her a small wave before going back to drinking her tea.

Trixie continued towards the station in a quickened pace. After a few more minutes she found herself sitting at the station, waiting for the train to show up. She sat there, thinking about who she could find at the library, she knew Celestia had a student of course but she never actually learned the name of the unicorn. She shrugged it off as she heard the train coming closer. She got up onto her hooves and waited for the train to come to a full stop. The train came to a halt right in front of her. The doors opened and she stepped inside. She was greeted by a caramel colored colt.

“Hello there, you must be Trixie, correct?” The colt asked.

“You would be correct” Trixie replied.

“Right this way, we have been told of your arrival by the princess, have a seat and we will arrive in Ponyville shortly,” He said with a smile.

“Thank you” Trixie said as she began to trot to an open seat. Trixie sat down and let out a yawn. She hadn't realized how tiring the day had been until she sat down. She closed her eyes, slowly falling into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trixie looked around; she was once again surrounded in darkness. As she continues to look at her surroundings she saw a feint light far off in the distance. She began to gallop towards the light but the more she galloped the further it seemed to be. She stopped and began to look around once more; looking for anything else that seemed out of place. She still saw nothing but darkness. She began to trot towards the light once again. After a short amount of time the light finally began to draw closer. She started galloping once again, curious of what it could be. She was about to reach the light when she realized what it was, coming to a complete stop. She slowly and gradually made her way back to the way she came. She was inching away when suddenly the creatures’ eye opened. Trixie couldn’t move; she felt like a statue, unable to move, unable to speak. The creature began to rise as it looked down at her. Standing in front of Trixie, was a dreaded Ursa Minor.

The Ursa looked down at her snarling. Trixie tried her hardest to run but she couldn’t even lift her hooves. The Ursa took a step towards her sending a huge vibration through the ground. The giant beast lifted up its large paw as it stared down at Trixie. The paw collapsed down onto her as everything faded to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The train let out a large clack causing Trixie to jump as she awoke from her sleep. She looked around and let out a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze to the scenery outside the window and saw she was already at the Ponyville station. She got up and quickly made her way to the entrance of the train. When she stepped onto the platform she began to look around the station; it seemed rather small compared to the Canterlot station. She looked around for the library that the princess had mentioned but it was nowhere to be seen. She began to trot down the street, looking around for any form of library. She stopped as she saw a large series of shops. She let out a shrug as she made her way towards them.

“Trixie supposes that she should ask somepony” She mumbled to herself.

She went up to what seemed to be a carrot stand. She cleared her throat to get the attention of the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper had an orange mane and a yellow coat.

“Oh, hello there, how can I help you?” The yellow mare asked.

“Trixie was wondering if you could point out where the library is, it would be very helpful,” Trixie said with a slight smile.

“Oh, of course, it’s actually not too far from here, just go straight down this street, you’ll know it when you see it” The mare smiled.

“Thank you” Trixie said before heading in that direction. She was honestly quite surprised that the mare didn't get mad at her for being here. She shrugged it off as she continued in the direction that she was given.

Trixie continued making her way down the street until she stopped in front of a overly pink building, she saw a giant tree nearby and guessed that it must have been the library since the mare had said she would be able to see it easily. She made her way towards the giant tree and saw the sign. She smiled when she saw the words “Ponyville Library”. She went up to the door and knocked. She waited and after about a minute of waiting, the door finally opened. Trixies mouth went agape. Why on earth did the princess choose her, out of everypony why her? She chose the one pony that she despised more than anypony else. Then it all clicked together in her head. Twilight Sparkle was Princess Celestia’s student.

Chapter 3: Reconcile

The two stood there staring at each other, not saying a word. Twilight Sparkle was standing in front of her, out of everypony that could have come out of that door, why must it have been her? Twilight looked the same as usual, her fur coat a lavender color, her mane a darker shade of purple with a couple streaks of pink and a brighter purple as well. Her cutie mark of a Giant purple star surrounded by smaller white stars had always perplexed Trixie, she knew Twilight was great at magic, but what did it resemble? Twilight finally spoke, drowning out the silence.

“Hello Trixie…What are you doing here?” Twilight asked; her tone sounding more annoyed than anything else.

“Trixie would like to speak with you” Trixie replied.

“Why should Twilight allow Trixie inside?” Twilight said with a small smirk, mocking the way Trixie spoke.

“This is a matter of utmost importance” Trixie said, trying her best to ignore Twilights mocking.

Twilight stared at Trixie, trying to read her face. She saw complete honesty, so either Trixie was telling the truth or she had the best poker face she had ever seen.

“Fine, come in” Twilight finally replied.

Trixie stepped into the large tree looking around; she was quite amazed by the huge selection of books. Trixie wasn’t much of a reader, but if she had been she could imagine this would be a heaven to her.

“So, what is this important matter you were speaking of?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Trixie was sent here by Princess Celestia to-“Trixie began.

“Wait, Princess Celestia sent you here?” Twilight interrupted.

“Yes, Trixie went to speak to Celestia about Luna, Trixie believes she knows why Luna is gone” Trixie explained.

“How in all of Equestria would you know where Luna went?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“It’s a long story, it would be best if we could collect your friends first so that Trixie only has to explain herself once” Trixie said as she began looking down the huge selection of books.

“Well, I suppose we could do that, but after what you did to them I’m not sure they will be as quick to accept you as quick as I was," Twilight began to explain.

“Trixie understands that, but she must try,” She replied as she glanced over the sections.

“Are you looking for a certain book or something Trixie?” Twilight asked, confused as to why Trixie was searching through her books.

“Actually, would you happen to have any books on nightmares?” Trixie asked as her eyes started searching through a separate section.

“I have a couple, would you like to borrow one?” Twilight asked.

Trixie nodded “Trixie has been having a lot of nightmares recently and wishes to find reasons behind them, or ways to stop them,” Trixie said lowering her head slightly as she remembered her nightmares.

Twilight began to float books around the room looking for the one she wanted. After about a minute of this she found the book allowing all the other ones to drop down onto the floor.

“Here you go,” she said as she passed the book over to Trixie.

“Thank you” Trixie said as she took the book with her magic, placing it in her saddle bag. “Now then, we must hurry, the faster we find the others the faster we can find Princess Luna,” Trixie said as she began to trot for the door.

“Spike, clean up this mess while I’m out!” Twilight shouted as she followed behind Trixie.

“But Twilight-” Spike began to protest but he realized he was too late as he heard the door clamp shut. Spike sighed as he walked over to the books and began picking them up.

“So, where shall we go first?” Trixie asked.

“Well, it’s going to be harder to Get Rainbow, AJ and Rarity after what you did to them, so I think we should start with Fluttershy,” Twilight explained.

“Alright then, lead the way Sparkle,” Trixie said.

Twilight started to trot down the road, heading away from the main district of Ponyville. Trixie followed behind her looking around at the scenery. She hadn’t really looked around much the last time she was there due to everything that had happened. She couldn’t help but think of that day, the day she started to hear all of the laughter and the rude comments. She remembered who caused all of it; it was all because of the mare walking in front of her. She wanted to say something about the day but she decided to just keep it held in, much like everything else she endured. She hadn’t told anypony of her and Hoofdini, she hadn’t told anypony of her hatred to Twilight, and she hadn’t told anypony anything she didn’t want them to know.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed they were on the outskirts of Ponyville and heading towards a small cottage near the Everfree Forest. As they got closer she began to see how beautiful it looked, under a small bridge there was a stream of flowing water. The house itself had a roof of grass and leaved that had a pleasant color of green to it. She followed Twilight up to the door and watched as Twilight knocked. They waited there but nopony had answered. Twilight knocked again, but this time after a few second a Pegasus opened up the door. The Pegasus had a rather pale looking yellow fur coat and a pale pink colored mane. Her cutiemark was three pink and cyan butterflies. She smiled as she saw Twilight.

“Oh, hello Twilight, sorry I took so long, I was fluffing Angels tail” The yellow mare said in a soft voice.

“Its fine Fluttershy, mind if we come in?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, not at all, come right on in, I’ll go get some tea” She said with a smile.

Trixie and Twilight stepped inside. Trixie couldn’t believe her eyes, there were animals everywhere. The animals started from little birds up to bunnies and she could have sworn she saw a bear walking in the backyard through the window. Trixie went and sat on the couch, looking around. Unlike most animals she had seen outside, these animals seemed much more tamed, they didn’t run at first sight or anything. Twilight sat down next to her as they waited for Fluttershy to return with the tea. A few moments later Fluttershy flew into the room carrying a tray with three cups of tea on it. She set it down on the table and sat down in a chair across from them.

“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” Fluttershy asked as she took a sip of her tea.

“Well, we need your help, Trixie here says she may know what happened to the princess but she needs our help to find her,” Twilight began to explain. Fluttershy nodded looking over at Trixie.

“So, you’re Trixie?” She asked.

Trixie nodded with a smile, she didn’t know why, but Fluttershy managed to make her smile easily, she guessed it was just how she acted. She then remembered what she heard shortly after leaving Ponyville. Fluttershy was the element of kindness, which must be why she could make Trixie smile so easily.

“Trixie is guessing that your cutiemark resembles around your ability to watch animals,” Trixie said as she looked around at the animals surrounding her.

“Oh, of course, I love animals,” Fluttershy stated with a huge smile.

“Trixie can tell” Trixie said with a light chuckle.

“So, will you help us Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I will Twilight” Fluttershy said smiling.

“Perfect, we must hurry though, Trixie wishes to find the others as quickly as possible” Trixie said as she stood up.

"Oh, surely you can take a small break, we haven't even drank the tea yet," Twilight pointed out as she took a small sip of hers.

Fluttershy looked over to Trixie, "I agree, besides, I haven't even been able to talk to you yet."

Trixie though for a moment before shrugging, "Very well, Trixie supposes she can talk for a few minutes."

So that's what they did, after a couple of minutes of them talking about Fluttershy's animals some more Trixie made her way onto her hooves once again. Fluttershy and Twilight gave each other a nod as they stood up as well. Fluttershy quickly said goodbye to her animals before following Twilight and Trixie out of the door. They began to trot back towards Ponyville when they saw a flash of cyan speed past them. The wind nearly knocked Trixie down. As they looked in the direction it had gone they saw a blue Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane. The Pegasus had a cutiemark of a cloud shooting out lighting that was, just like her mane and tail, rainbow colored. The Pegasus had often been called the best flyer in Equestria by the ponies she knew, this cyan mares name is Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus turned back and looked towards Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Hey guys,” a smile appeared on her face until she looked over at Trixie, “What do you think you’re doing back here?” Rainbow asked in an aggressive tone as her smile turned into a scowl.

“Well, Trixie is here to get assistance” Trixie began to explain.

“You’re getting assistance and Twilights helping you?” Rainbow asked in disbelief. Trixie and Twilight both nodded. “Why?” Rainbow asked still shocked.

“She thinks she knows what happened to Princess Luna, she’s going to tell us once we find everypony,” Twilight answered.

“Well, I can’t wait to hear that, if you want me to come with you I need to hear it right now,” Rainbow said in an angry tone of voice.

Trixie let out a sigh, “Very well…if that's what it takes to earn your trust than Trixie will tell you”.

The four ponies went over and sat down onto the grass. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow all looked over at Trixie. Trixie let out one last sigh before she began to speak.

“It all started two weeks ago when Princess Luna had Trixie over for the night,” Trixie began.

“Wait a second; you’re friends with Princess Luna?” Twilight asked curiously.

Trixie nodded, “Trixie supposed she should have started with that, you see, after Trixie’s caravan got crushed by the Ursa Minor Trixie had nowhere to go, after a couple days of wandering Trixie was found in the Everfree Forest by Princess Luna, Trixie was frightened and cold…it seemed like Luna could sense that since she offered Trixie a place to stay until she got back on her hooves. she allowed Trixie to stay in the guest room of the castle, only for two days since Trixie was back on her hooves quickly enough, but still, she helped Trixie none the less, after that Trixie and Luna had become great friends and we ended up hanging out every now and then,” Trixie explained.

“So, what you’re saying is Luna allowed you to stay in the castle causing you to become great friends?” Rainbow asked. Trixie nodded as she began to speak once again.

“As I was saying, two weeks ago Trixie had Luna over for the night, everything was going well, we were having fun until we started making small jokes, eventually Trixie made a joke that…may have been a little too harsh, Luna was furious and she left…but she said something before she did” Trixie said.

“What did she say?” Fluttershy asked.

“The true mare of darkness shall return…” Trixie said in a hushed voice.

Twilights eyes widened, “The true mare of darkness…you don’t mean…” Twilight said her voice slightly trembling.

Trixie just nodded to Twilight. The four mares all went silent. There was complete silence as they all sat there, just thinking, nothing else. Rainbow was the one who finally spoke up.

“You’ve earned my trust…I’ll help you,” She said quietly.

Trixie looked up at Rainbow and smiled. The four mares all got up onto their hooves.

“We better find the others,” Twilight said, finally speaking up.

The other mares nodded as Twilight lead the way. The four made their way towards Sugar Cube Corner. They stopped in front of it and Trixie smiled as she looked at the giant pink shop. They went inside and saw a pink pony with an even more pink, poofy mane sitting at a table with a white unicorn, which had a purple mane that looked very sophisticated. The pink pony had a cutiemark of three balloons, two of which were baby blue while the third was a pale yellow. The white unicorn on the other hand, had a cutiemark of three bright blue diamonds. The four ponies went over to the table.

“Hey Pinkie Pie, Hey Rarity,” Rainbow said with a smile.

“Hiya there Dashie,” Pinkie responded as she gave a smile of her own.

“Hello,” Rarity said as she smiled at them.

Trixie came out from behind the three and waved.

“Trixie’s back in town?” Rarity asked, surprisingly calm despite what Trixie had done to her mane during her other visit.

Trixie nodded, “Trixie came to get the assistance of Twilight’s friends so she can get Princess Luna back,” Trixie explained.

“I see, well, I suppose I could work with you considering we would be getting the Princess back,” Rarity said with a smile.

“Does that mean I get to come too?” Pinkie said in an excited tone.

“I suppose it would mean that” Trixie said with a smile.

“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed.

The two mares stood up and counted the heads that were already there.

“The only pony we’re missing is AJ then?” Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded before heading towards the door. The other six mares followed behind her as they made their way towards the outskirts of Ponyville and towards Sweet Apple Acres. On the way there Trixie had noticed that Pinkie seemed to have never stopped talking. She was rather curious on how a pony could talk so fast and keep up with them at the same time, while jumping no less. They stopped as they looked towards the large field of apple trees. They continued up the path until they came to the small gate attached to the picket fence. Trixie stepped up first and opened the gate with magic, holding the gate open for the others. They continued until they finally made it to the barn. As they made it to the barn an orange pony with a blond ponytail started to make her way towards them. Her cutiemark was of three shiny looking red apples. She smiled as she saw all her friends but once she saw Trixie her smile turned into a look of confusion.

“Howdy girls, and uh…Trixie” She said as she smiled slightly.

“Hello Applejack,” Twilight said with a bright smile.

“Twi, care ta tell me what she’s doin’ here?” Applejack asked in the calmest voice she could.

“Oh, that’s simple, she needs our help in getting Princess Luna back,” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“How can we trust her?” She asked.

“Trust me AJ, we can trust her,” Rainbow said, her voice slightly shaky as she thought of what Trixie told her.

“Alright, if Rainbow believes you, ah guess ah can believe you,” Applejack said with a smile.

Trixie smiled as she turned towards the apple tree’s, the sun looked like it was beginning to set.

“Looks like Trixie is gonna need a place to stay,” Trixie said looking back towards the others.

“Well, ah suppose ya could stay in mah extra room,” AJ said keeping the smile on her face.

Trixie looked at her smiling, “Thanks AJ” She said.

Applejack nodded to her.

“See ya later girls, we’ll meet up at Ponyville square tomorrow at noon,” AJ said with tip of her hat.

As the others walked back towards Ponyville, Applejack began to lead Trixie into the house to show her to her room. Trixie followed behind Applejack, following her up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. Trixie went inside and sat down onto the bed. She turned off the light using her magic as she collapsed backwards and closed her eyes, drifting into a deep sleep.

Chapter 4: Memories

Trixie let out a loud gasp as she launched herself out of her nightmare, her heart was beating rapidly as she let out a soft sigh. She looked over towards the clock that was hanging on the nearby wall and sighed once again as she realized it was only three in the morning. She gently pulled the covers off of her as she hopped out of the bed, making her way out of the room. She made her way down the hall and turned into the bathroom. She closed the door quietly and flicked the light switch on, looking into the mirror. Her mane, as always after her nightmares, was flung in all directions. She looked at the fur of her face closer, easily noticing the marks from where tears had flown down her cheeks. She opened the several drawers under the sink as she searched for a brush. After looking through them for about a minute or two she finally found one tucked away under a couple of towels. She brought it to her mane and brushed it back to her natural style.

She had thought about heading back to bed but realized that it would just mean there would be another nightmare to come, so she ended up setting the brush down onto the counter and making her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She felt bad about raiding through Applejacks fridge without her consent, but she was far too paranoid to even think about waking the country mare from her slumber. She opened the fridge as silently as she could as she browsed is contents, there were some apple fritters, some apple pies, some apple juice and there were even some regular old apples. Trixie knew that the Apple family was fond of apples, but she never thought their fridge would be stocked on almost everything apple related. Eventually she had decided on having an apple fritter as she pulled it out of the fridge and went to sit down at the table.

She sat down at the table and took a small bite out of the fritter, smiling at the taste. She had also heard that the Apple family had some delicious apple products, but she had never tried them considering she was more of a blueberry kind of mare. She had been quite surprised actually, she had always thought apples would never compare to the taste of a juicy blueberry, but this apple fritter seemed to prove her wrong as she took another small bite. As she finished the fritter she heard a light chuckle behind her as a familiar voice spoke out.

"Ah see yer enjoyin' mah homemade fritters" Trixie turned to see Applejack standing there with a small smirk on her face, "What are ya doin' up at this hour anyways?" The orange mare asked, her voice turning to one of concern.

Trixie let out a small sigh, "Trixie had another nightmare as usual and decided it would be better to stay awake rather than deal with another one" Trixie explained.

Applejack nodded slightly as she took a seat at the chair across from Trixie, "Well, ah don't suppose it would be neighborly of me ta make ya stay up alone all night, ah might as well stay up too, besides, ah wanted ta talk to ya" Applejack said as the smile returned to her face.

"Alright, Trixie supposes she would enjoy the company...it has been rather lonesome after all," Trixie said as a small smile began to grow on her face as well.

The two of them had a long conversation, ranging from their lives as fillies up to what they had been doing since the moment that Trixie had first come into Ponyville. After a while the light began to seep through the blinds as the morning sun rose into the sky. Trixie was about to rise to her hooves before Applejack asked her one last question.

"How did ya get yer cutie mark?" AJ asked with a large amount of curiosity in her voice, "Ah mean, there ain't many cutie marks like yours, not that ah've seen anyways".

"Well..to be honest, Trixie would rather skip the details about it...there are certain memories Trixie would like to keep as distant as possible," She said, her voice dropping to a distant tone, as if she was thinking deeply.

"Ya don't gotta tell me if ya don't wanna" AJ said as she put a hoof on Trixies shoulder in a comforting manner.

Trixie smiled as she let out a soft sigh, "Trixie was alone throughout most of her life, mainly her time as a young filly," She began in a soft voice, "When Trixie was born her parents must have not wanted her..or at least, it's what it seems like since they had put Trixie on the front step of an orphanage..." Trixie frowned slightly as she continued, "Trixie had grown up in that orphanage and the other fillies and colts were not the nicest bunch of ponies...you see, they would always make fun of Trixie, she eventually learned to ignore it and moved on with her life..but after a while it became impossible...mainly around the time everypony had gotten their cutie marks," Trixie let out another soft sigh as she finally looked up from the table to stare at Applejack, "Trixie was the only one without a cutie mark which just made the others tease more and more until Trixie couldn't take it...She left the orphanage and lived on the streets for several weeks...she had turned into a scrounger...one who would search through dumpsters just for something small to eat...until one day Trixie was approached by a nice stallion with a brown coat who had introduced himself as Hoofdini".

"Hold yer horses, if this is goin' where ah think it's going then yer the one that was Hoofdinis assistant when he..." Trixie just nodded as she continued.

"He was nice enough to take Trixie into his house and give her not only food and shelter...but the closest thing Trixie could ever call a family...he was truly like a big brother to Trixie...and she was actually happy..." She closed her eyes with a light smile which quickly faded off her face as she continued once again, "Trixie had seen some of his shows and enjoyed them all, and one day during his performance she had wandered onto the stage, because of this Hoofdini merely played it off as part of the act and introduced me as his assistant...the whole show went great and once Trixie had gotten backstage with him...she noticed her cutie mark with a scream of delight"

"Interestin', sounds like a pretty wild life ya had," AJ said as the story came to an end.

"Oh, Trixie assures you that it was extremely wild as well as difficult, of course, if you knew of Trixies role as Hoofdinis assistant then you know what happened after that," Trixie added in after a light nod.

"Yeah...it was a terrible way ta go...ah'm guessin' ya were there that day?" She asked as she lowered off the chair and onto her hooves.

Trixie nodded again as she got up, "It was tragic...and it didn't help that he had left Trixie her beloved cape and hat on that very same night...just thinking back hurts Trixie a little inside...thinking that Trixie could have easily stopped him..if Trixie had just tried harder..." She said as she looked down, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hey now..don't think like that," Applejack put her hoof onto Trixie's shoulder once again, "We both know he had way too much pride ta just give up..there was nothin' ya could have done more than ya already did".

Trixie nodded slightly as the small frown escaped from her face, leaving a blank expression as she stood up and made her way towards the door. Applejack noticed and looked over at the clock on the wall noticing the time and quickly following behind Trixie. The two of them silently walked as they made their way to Ponyville Square. They quickly noticed Twilight and the others already sitting and waiting for them. The four mares waved with smiles on their faces. Applejack and Trixie waved back before quickly galloping over to the group.

Chapter 5: Preparations

"Alright, looks like the only one we're waiting for now is Rarity," Twilight said as Trixie and AJ made their way towards the group.

"She's probably getting a hooficure or something," Rainbow joked as she let out a light chuckle.

"I'll have you know that I was having an important chat with a client thank you very much," Rarity explained as she halted behind Rainbow.

"Sure you were, who was it then?" Rainbow asked with an unconvinced tone in her voice.

"Oh nopony big, just the one and only Vinyl Scratch," Rarity said with a smile.

"Wait a minute, do y'all mean ta say that DJ-PON3 was at yer shop?" AJ asked with a slight hint of excitement.

"I didn't think you would be a fan AJ, and yes, she asked if I would be able to create her a outfit that would make her shades stand out more,"

"Ah may be a country mare but that don't mean ah don't like the music of today, ah love Vinyls work!" AJ exclaimed happily.

Trixie interrupted with a small cough as she got the other ponies attention, "Trixie is glad that you're all having fun, but we must hurry, we have yet to even collect supplies and Trixie would like to finish this sooner rather than later" She explained with a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

The other mares nodded as Twilight pulled up a small scroll, "I have prepared a list of items that should be essential for this journey," She said in a serious tone as she turned towards the group in front of her, "Fluttershy, I want you to gather up some food and water to take with us in case of an emergency!" Fluttershy nodded as she flew off, "Rarity, You need to get us a first aid kit in case anypony gets hurt!" Rarity nodded before trotting off, "Pinkie, I want you to get us a flashlight or a lantern of some sort!"

"Okie dokey loki!" Pinkie exclaimed before hopping off.

Twilight turned to Rainbow, "I want you to get us a compass, we never know when we could get lost and need directions!" Rainbow nodded before speeding off, "Applejack, I need you to get us some matches, never know if we will need to make a fire to stay warm!" AJ nodded as she galloped back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Finally she turned to Trixie, "You and I are going to go find a map," She said with a satisfied grin.

"Wow, Trixie must say Sparkle, you truly know what you're doing with all of this," She said with a slight smirk, "I suppose Celestia was correct in sending Trixie to you".

Twilight smiled as she began to trot towards the Everfree Forest with Trixie following behind her. The two of them stopped in front of the forest and looked into the dark shadows.

"Why are we going in there?" Trixie asked with a gulp as she thought back to the day she was found in that same forest by Luna.

"I know someone who lives in a hut not too far inside, her name is Zecora and if anypony has a map of Equestria on them it would most likely be her," Twilight responded as she slowly made her way into the dark shadows.

Trixie gulped as she followed behind her. The two of them made their way through the forest slowly. After a while the two of them found themselves standing in front of an oddly shaped tree decorated with even odder decorations. Twilight made her way to the door with Trixie following behind her. Twilight knocked on the door and the two waited until they heard a voice coming from the other side.

"Come on in gentle pony that knocked, for the door in front of you is currently unlocked".

Twilight pushed the door open slowly as her and Trixie wandered into the hut. Trixie looked at the walls as she noticed the even weirder decorations on the inside of the hut. There were strange looking masks and potions hanging off the walls and ceiling. A figure approached them in a dark cloak and pulled down their hood. The Mysterious figure was not what Trixie expected, then again, Trixie didn't know what to expect from somepony living in a place full of danger. The figure who was previously called Zecora wasn't a pony at all, she was a zebra. The zebra had the average look of any ordinary zebra with her coat being covered in black and white stripes.

"It is good to see you Twilight, but why are you here this night?" Zecora asked as she once again spoke in rhyme.

"It's nice to see you too Zecora and we were wondering, would you happen to have a map of Equestria that we could borrow by any chance?" Twilight asked with a smile.

Zecora turned to Trixie ignoring Twilight's question for the time being, " Who might you be mare of blue? I don't believe I have ever met you," Zecora asked.

"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, but my friends just call me Trixie," She replied with a smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, now then, what was it I could do for you two?" She asked as she turned back to Twilight, realizing she had forgotten to answer her question.

"We were wondering if you had a map of Equestria," Twilight reminded her with another smile.

"Oh but of course I do, allow me to go grab it for you," Zecora said before trotting towards the back of her hut. She returned a few moments later with a map, "It turns out I had a spare, so you can keep it, I really don't care".

Twilight and Trixie smiled before making their way out of the hut and back towards Ponyville. After a few minutes of trotting they heard a small snap of a branch nearby. The two of them turned around to see a manticore staring at them with his sharp teeth showing in a menacing grin. The two of them stood there shocked as the manticore made it's way towards the two stunned mares. The manticore was inches away as he hunched back about to leap at the two.

"Don't just stand there, Run!" The two of them snapped out of it as they galloped away from the manticore leaving the mysterious figure that called to them alone with it.

Trixie turned to Twilight as soon as they got to the entrance, "Are you alright Sparkle?" Twilight just nodded as she looked back towards the forest. After a couple of minutes Applejack came rushing out of the forest, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Howdy you two, y'all alright?" She asked. The two mares just nodded to her. "Hey now, don't ya think ah deserve a little thanks, ah just saved yer plots from that there manticore," She said as the grin returned to her face.

Trixie was the first to speak, "Thank you Applejack, that was very brave of you," She smiled lightly.

Twilight nodded before speaking up, "Mind if I ask why you're here though?" She asked. "Not that I'm upset about it of course." She let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, well that there is simple, ah was on mah way ta Zecora's ta see if she had any extra boxes of matches, ah managed ta get some, but the more the merrier," She began to explain, "On the way there ah saw y'all just standing there askin' ta be dinner fer the manticore, and y'all would have been if ah hadn't stepped up and done somethin' ta stop it," She said with a proud grin etched on her face.

"Trixie is glad that you arrived when you did," Trixie said with a light chuckle before turning to Twilight. "We best be returning to the others" Twilight and AJ both nodded as the three of them made their way back into Ponyville.