Prologue
The train chugged happily along its path, most of its passengers asleep due to the late hour. However there was a small group of school fillies and colts awake being told ghost stories by their group leaders, and as the train went through a dark tunnel, the foals all let out a loud scream. This awakened most everypony on the train who simply grumbled a bit before going back to sleep, all of them that is except for a light pink unicorn mare.
“Ahhhh!!!”
She was scared awake by the sound of screaming foals. The first thought that came to mind was,’Where am I,’ which was soon answered as she took in her surroundings. The young mare then realized that she was in a train, and more specifically, in a sleeping compartment. ‘Alright,..’ That was strange. She couldn’t remember her name. Come to think of it, she didn’t even know where the train was going. Panic started to take control of her as she reached above her where she could only assume her luggage was. There was nothing… Sliding the curtains to her bed shut, she lit her horn, the dim glow emanating from it perfectly lighting the small space. Being careful not to bump her head, she stood up and examined herself. A light pink, almost white coat, a dark blue mane and tail with two stripes of cerulean, and two shooting stars on her flank, one of which was half the size of the other. She was obviously a unicorn, she had felt the tingle of magic as soon as she had awoken. Looking to the end of the bed she noticed three things: two wooden boxes, and a pair of saddlebags with her cutie-mark on each side. Levitating her saddlebags over, she rifled through them in search of identification. After a couple of minutes she was rewarded with a small stack of business cards. Picking one up in her magic, she read what it said.
‘Okay, well at least I know my name and what I do.’With a sigh of relief she lay back down to try and go back to sleep, but to no avail. Sleep would not come, and the giggling foals in the next car over did not help her with her attempt to sleep. The noise keeping her awake for the next couple of hours until she finally managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.
~~ ~~Earlier that day~~ ~~
~*~*~Twilight~*~*~
Twilight Sparkle was confused. She and her friends had finally managed to find the ‘keys’ to the box, and had used them, but nothing had seemed to happen. She, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie had sat watching the tree until the sun set. Upon Twilight’s insistence, the rest of them went home after the constant reassurance that she would be fine and she could always call on them if she needed help. Now here she was, sitting in a cave at ten o’clock at night.
After a couple more hours Twilight decided it was about time to return home and started getting up when the tree started glowing. She watched in awe as the tree put on a brilliant display of lights, becoming brighter and brighter, forcing Twilight to look away. As the light started to fade, Twilight chanced a look over, and was shocked at what she saw. There, in the fading light was an alicorn. Twilight almost mistook her for Celestia, but this alicorn was smaller, smaller even than Luna and herself. She had a multicolored mane and a white coat, and was bleeding from several cuts along her flank and numerous other parts of her body. Her right wing hung limply by her side and her back left leg was splayed out at an odd angle. After a couple of minutes she spoke,”Please, tell my sister I am sorry.” With a flash of magic she was gone, and in her place were two small potions. The one on the left was in a clear bottle, filled with a clear liquid, while the one on the right was in a black flask. Picking them up in her magic, Twilight looked them over for any kind of label. The black flask was completely smooth with no apparent opening. Now examining the other bottle Twilight soon found an envelope on the bottom. Removing it with her magic she looked to the front of the small envelope, she read who it was addressed to: The Bearer of the element of Magic. Opening it, she read through the letter.
Our dear element of magic,
We know not the hardships thou hast most certainly faced. Thou hast Our deepest condolences
and most sincere apology. The worst is yet to come my little pony. We wish to help prepare thee
for what is to come, under the assumption that We are not there. The clear potion before thee
is a powerful one, but thou must take it all. It will help you against thine foe. Thou mustn't tell
anypony or anything.
Elder sister of Princess Celestia,
Ruler of harmony,
Princess Harmony
Twilight looked up in shock, looking at the potion, then rereading the letter several times. ‘I should go tell the girls… But the letter said not to…”Better sooner than later I guess.” and with that she uncorked the potion and drank it.
As she rounded the block to Sugarcube corner, there was a blur of color, and some shrieks. The next thing she knew she was on her back with a face-full of magenta hair. Standing back up, she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the wreckage of something or other.
“What were you girls trying to do this time” Shimmering Star asked.
“We were testing out our new wagon! Applebloom designed it, I did most of the building, and Sweetie Belle decorated it… Apparently we need a new design.”
“Ah told you we shoulda used metal,” muttered Applebloom, earning her a glare from Scootaloo.
“Yeah, well I thought it would look cooler without it,” she retorted.
“Girls, we shouldn’t be blaming one another! This was all of our faults.”
“You’re right Sweetie Belle, we shouldn’t. Sorry AB, i should have listened to you.”
“That’s okay, Scoots. Besides, I should have added brakes.”
Rolling her eyes in amusement, Shimmering Star started to trot away only to be stopped by a tug on her tail. Turning around she saw Sweetie Belle with her horn still glowing.
“Hey, Shimmer. Would you be willing to help us with our part of the school play that’s going on in a couple of weeks,” Sweetie Belle asked tentatively.
“I asked Cheerilee this morning if she would like my help. She said she would talk to her classes today to see whether or not you would all like me to help.” With that she left a grinning and bouncing Sweetie Belle; the other two crusaders having gone back to arguing.
She walked another couple of blocks to the rebuilt Golden Oaks library. Walking up to the door she knocked, which was followed by a muffled,”Spike, will you get that.” A couple of seconds later the door was answered by the cutest little green and purple dragon. “Hi Spike, is the library open?”
“Huh,” he asked, looking at the outside of the door,”Oh, sorry...yeah it’s open. I guess I forgot to put the sign up this morning.”
Walking in, she was greeted by a tower of books in one corner. Probably Twilight studying. Walking over to the tower of books she called out,”Hey, Twilight, I’m here to return the books I borrowed a couple of days ago.”
“Just give them to Spike, he knows where they go,” came the muffled reply.
Walking over to the shelf she had originally gotten them from she put them back in their exact places, having ignored Twilight. She was perfectly capable of putting the books back on her own, and did not need to bother Spike. Walking over to the shelf where the Foals’ books were located; she started skimming over the titles. “Nightmare Moon. Campfire Stories. A Foal’s Guide to Planting. Aha! here it is! Plays and Their Simple Magic; a guide to simple illusion spells used in plays for young fillies and colts.” reaching back into her saddle bag, which had somehow miraculously stayed on during the rather surprising encounter with the CMC, she brought out a quill, some ink, and parchment.
Opening the the book she found the index with the play the school was putting on and proceeded to flip to the correct page. Taking notes on the numerous spells and ways in which she might be able to improve them improve them.
~~ ~~1 hour later~~ ~~
Her studying done, Shimmer left the library and proceeded over to the schoolhouse to acquire an answer from Ms.Cheerilee.
Upon arrival, she checked the time on a clock just outside the schoolroom door: she still had 25 minutes before school got out. Sitting down on a nearby bench, she levitated out her notes and gave them a quick review before taking out a book.
After what seemed like no time at all, she was jarred from her novel by the sound of the school bell ringing.
Walking over to the door, she waited until all of the foals were out before trotting in and over to Cheerilee.
“So, what did they think?”
“Oh,” Miss Cheerilee exclaimed,”I didn’t see you over there. They thought it was a wonderful idea, and are all extremely excited to work with you. I just need to know when you’re available so I can plan accordingly.
“Actually, I am completely free for the next three weeks while I wait for a reply from a film company.”
“Excellent! Please come in about three days from now at 4:00pm so that the children have more time to work on their parts before any effects are added. Oh, they’re so thrilled to have you use your illusion magic for the play.”
“Let me correct you there. I will use my magic on the more advanced spells. The rest I’ll teach to any young unicorn who would like to learn.”
“Thank you so much Shimmer. I really must be off to meet with Twilight though. I’ll see you in 3 days.”
“Can’t wait! Oh, yeah. Before I completely forget; what play are you putting on?”
“It’s about the royal pony sisters. To be more precise though; it’s more focused on the banishment of nightmare moon. I’m sorry to rush out like this, but I’m going to be late if I don’t get going now.”
“Of course. Thank you.” With that she left the schoolhouse so Cheerilee could lock up. Walking back home she realized she didn’t even know who the royal pony sisters were.