The Life and Times of Tricky Merrylark

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a young unicorn called Tricky Merrylark. Tricky lived in a little town called Ponyville.

Now Tricky, being a full-grown stallion, already had a cutie mark showing off his special talent. His cutie mark was an image of a sparkling red balloon. His talent, of course, involved using magic to bring happiness to others. The problem, he would say, is that his mark didn't match what Tricky wanted to be.
Tricky wanted to join Shining Armor in Celestia's Royal Guard.

One day, Tricky was preparing for his next magic show. He was a little nervous, because it was his first time performing for Celestia herself during the Summer Sun Celebration.

For this performance, Tricky decided to ask his friends to help. Not that the yellow unicorn had any trouble performing on his own, oh no. But Tricky was a clever unicorn, and had come up with an amazing show that would utilize all of his friends' special talents. He was sure it would impress Ponyville, and only hoped it somehow caught Celestia's attention and helped him get in with the Royal Guard.