Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Day

The train rolled out of Ponyville station as First Light, a pink Alicorn with a rainbow mane stared back at the ponies she called friends now. Only two weeks before, she had been born. That's right, she is an OC, and only one week ago, she had been what is known as a Mary Sue. Her bio, the idea that had spawned her in the land of Equestria, had made her believe that she was perfect, and had used that 'fact' to effectively annoy every pony in Ponyville. Having been shown the error of her ways by her new found friends, she decided that she would have to go on a journey to find what she was meant to do. She needed to find what her special talent, her entire reason to be, was. She wanted to get her cutie mark, but she had nowhere to start from. Her bio had said she was good at everything; that she could do anything. Now she had no idea what she could and could not do, but needed to find out. It was now the duty of First Light to try as many things as possible to find her cutie mark.

The train car was almost empty, only a few ponies scattered about. One sat quietly in a corner with a trunk held tightly to him, obviously important. He wore a straw hat and a nice suit, First Light assumed he was a travelling salespony. The only other ponies were a mare and a stallion sitting closely together, obviously lovers. First Light wondered if she would ever find a special somepony. Someone she could confide in, someone who would love an OC.

First Light looked down to her ticket, but quickly snapped her eyes away, remembering that she wanted the destination to be a surprise, even to her. She had told the Ticket Master to surprise her when she had bought it, and had only read the station identifier, which meant nothing to her.

The train rattled along the tracks, making loud cracking noises at crossroads. First Light peered out through the window to see the green countryside roll by. Green was replaced shortly wit rows of wheat, and returned to green soon after. The lush green fields were slowly overcome by trees and shade fell over the train.

While it was overcast, the pink Alicorn with the rainbow mane laid her head against the window and closed her eyes to get some rest. The glass was cooler than the air within the train car, like a hard pillow. She hadn't slept well the night before she had left, and the fatigue set in, whisking her away to darkness.

She found herself in a familiar setting, the Ponyville Library. Around her stood Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Their mouths moved, but no words were coming out of the flapping lips. First Light looked around, confused at first, but felt calm and happy for some reason. Suddenly, she found herself shouting facts from her bio at the six mares around her. For some reason, she did not care.

The mane six were frantically trying to get First Light's attention, to no avail. First Light continues spewing facts at them. Suddenly, she fell silent as the grave, leaving the room in utter silence. Two words began in a low buzz, but quickly grew to an unbearable volume.

“Best Pony.”

First Light disregarded the words, as if they had no meaning to her. The room fell black, the only illumination seeming to come from the six ponies around her. She looked at them all and shrugged off the two simple words. In an instant, she had flown higher than ever before, and was diving quickly towards the earth. Pulling up at the last second, she created a Sonic Rainboom, and immediately found herself in the dark room again, surrounded by only five ponies, lacking Rainbow Dash. First Light found herself in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres, with an amazing party she had put together herself, and apples she had bucked in baskets all around the room. It was like a flash, and she was back in the Library, but now Pinkie Pie and Applejack were gone. Rarity was wearing a beautiful dress now. She posed, and the dress fell to pieces, the pattern still attached, and she faded from view. Now only Twilight and Fluttershy remained with First Light. Fluttershy was talking with a squirrel and First Light shouted something at the animal, she did not know what. The squirrel barrelled into the darkness, and Fluttershy faded, following after it.

First Light looked to Twilight. She suddenly felt very cold. She felt alone. The darkness scared her. The loneliness scared her. She had driven away the ponies she had decided were her friends. It dawned on her. The truth. Her pride had gotten the best of her. She did not want to lose Twilight, so she hid her head in her hooves and did not move. Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her head, patting it like a young filly. First Light raised her head to see Twilight smiling down at her, as if to tell her it was all okay.

“It's all okay now.” Twilight said. “You just need to see the light.”

First Light looked up and wiped a tear from her eye as Twilight reached a hoof down to her in help. She nodded and reached to take the hoof that had been offered as light enveloped them both.

First Light took a deep breath as she stared back out through the window, finding her view obstructed by her rainbow coloured mane that had flopped down over her eyes. Quickly brushing it away, she straightened her back, which now felt like she had been carrying a ton of bricks. Her back cracked a few times, sending a gratifying feeling through First Light's body. Looking about, she found that the happy couple had departed from the train, apparently they had stopped at some point while she had been asleep. A new stallion sat alone on the other side of the train car, and the salespony was still clutching his trunk.

“Best Pony.” That's what she had been called. Her bio had decided that she was the best pony in the entire land of Equestria and beyond, and had caused her to be the most condescending pony there could be.

Suddenly, First Light caught sight of a mare in a clearing, struggling with a broken wheel on her trailer. Pity overcame the Alicorn as she looked for a way off of the train, so she could help her. She was not disappointed as she charged out of the back door of the caboose and jumped off of the train. Her wings took hold as she fluttered away from the speeding mass of the train.

Gracefully touching down, First Light charged off in the direction of the clearing, hoping she could find the mare who had been struggling. She stared back at the locomotive which moved away from her, and mulled over her decision. Sh shrugged her shoulders and continued her search for the clearing.

It was only a few minutes before she found the place she had been looking for, and the mare was still struggling with her load. Apparently, one of the wheels of the trailer had broken while it was rolling.

“Hello?” First Light called over to her as she stepped over rocks and tall grass to reach the mare. Now that she could see her clearly, First Light noted the cloak an witch's hat the mare wore, which was covered in an intricate pattern of stars. The cloak was tattered and mud stained at the bottom, and the hat was misshapen with stains covering the rim from sweat and rain.

Upon hearing the voice, the mare turned around. Her fur was a light sky blue, almost matching her mane. She looked angry, her eyes half closed but outlined with a thin watery layer of tears. She quickly turned away and wiped her eyes before turning back to the pink Alicorn with an attempted look of dignity on her face.

“Yes?” The blue mare asked in a slightly shaky voice.

“What seems to be the problem?” First Light asked, offering a polite smile, acting as if she hadn't seen the teary eyes of the mare and the broken wheel. She hoped it would help the mare feel more secure that her cover up had worked, and might make her feel better.

“Nothing.” The blue mare shook her head. “Just a quick break before getting back on the road.”

“Want some help?” First Light asked, peering over at the broken wheel as if she had just noticed it. “I think I might be able to fix that.”

“There's no point.” The blue mare shook her head faster. “It'll just end up breaking again. You just can't get quality these days.”

“Well, I think there's a town just a few miles that-a-way.” First Light nodded in the direction the train had come from. She was sure there had been a stop just a while before they had stopped. “If I can get your wheel rolling, we could get you a good one in town.”

“No!” The mare stepped back and stomped a hoof on the ground. “I-I mean... There's no shop in town. But there might be in the next one over.”

“Can I at least help you get there?” First Light began to survey the broken wheel.

“That is very kind of you.” The blue mare smiled weakly. “B-but there's no need. It' just a few miles.”

“I'd be happy to help.” First Light said. “It's no problem at all.”

“You don't even know who I am.” The blue mare frowned. “It would be better if you didn't. But it is very kind of you to help. What's your name?”

“Best...” First Light had to think for a moment. “Sorry, my name is First Light, and what's yours?”

“I,” the blue mare stood up on her hind legs and let the tattered cape flow behind her, “am the great and powerful Trixie!”