Chapters A slight dampness hung in the night air as crickets chirped and ponies were leaving a small stage set up by the one and only Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie gritted her teeth before walking off towards her trailer. "Those ponies don't deserve the Great and Powerful Trixie's shows" she muttered to herself as she reached the door to her trailer. Opening it slowly, Trixie walked inside. "Trixie doesn't get it. Why do they not watch in amazement? Why do they boo and hiss?" She asked herself as she took off her hat and cape. "Trixie has half a mind to just give up".
Trixie sighed to herself as she headed towards her bed, before she stopped herself as a few candles in the trailer suddenly went out. Trixie lit up her horn to re-light the candles but they went out immediately. "Hello? Is anypony here?" Trixie asked.
"Trixie Lulamoon" A deep voice said from somewhere in the trailer. "I must say you are a good performer."
"Who are you? Where are you?" Trixie asked the mysterious voice.
"Who am I? Well, Miss Lulamoon, you may call me what you wish. I am here to help you" The voice said. It was soft and soothing, causing Trixie to trust whomever it was, for whatever reason.
"How can you help the Great and Powerful Trixie? She needs no help!" Trixie said, her voice shaking slightly. Why is Trixie so worried? She thought to herself/
"You don't need help? Well, Miss Lulamoon. How would you explain the many crowds you have gathered recently?" The voice asked.
"You know about that?" Trixie asked, looking out of one of the trailer's windows.
"Why of course. Why would I not watch a beautiful mare such as yourself, with a voice such as yours to back it up?" The voice asked.
What the voice had said caught Trixie off guard, causing a small blush across her face, before Trixie realised what was happening and forced it off her face. "You think Trixie is beautiful?"
"Yes, yes of course. Back to the matter at hoof here. Have you thought of going into another form of entertainment?" The voice asked.
"Another form of entertainment? Show magic is Trixie's talent!" Trixie said.
"With a voice as beautiful as yours, have you ever thought of singing?" The voice asked.
"Singing?" Trixie asked. "No. Trixie has not thought of singing."
"Well then. Would the Great and Powerful Trixie like some lessons?" The voice asked.
Trixie thought for a moment. "Trixie has a question. Do you have any experience with singing?"
The voice laughed slightly. "Experience? Oh, ye of little faith"
Trixie smiled slightly. "Sing for Trixie"
"Why of course" The voice said, the sound of which made it obvious that the owner of the voice was smiling.
The voice began to sing a small piece of a song Trixie had never heard before, a beautiful melody playing out through the room, played on what sounded to be a violin. Trixie became lost in the words as the flowed beautifully along with the music. It faded out at the end of what was probably the first chorus, though, as Trixie had never heard it herself, she could not be quite sure.
"And that is all you shall hear for now" The voice spoke after finishing the song.
"That was beautiful" Trixie said, feeling slightly light-headed but deciding not to worry about it.
"Does that prove it to you then, miss Great and Powerful?" The voice asked.
"Yes. It does." Trixie smiled slightly.
"Well then. I am sure we shall meet up tomorrow. I have a suggestion for you, if you wish to be a student of mine" The voice stated.
"What is it?" Trixie asked, curious.
"Head towards Canterlot. I hear the Grand Galloping Gala is coming soon. And I have my ways of getting you as the entertainment for the night. Test out that voice of yours in front of an audience" The voice said "Plus, I know Twilight and her friends will be there. Maybe give them a treat for how they helped with the alicorn amulet?"
"Trixie supposes so" Trixie said "And Trixie is not even going to ask you how you know of that. You do not sound like a pony from Ponyville"
"Why, Trixie. You must begin to realise that I have ways of finding out anything I need." The voice said.
"So, will you be going? Trixie still finds it a bit strange to have a voice which Trixie does not know the source of to be heard inside her trailer."
"Of course, miss Trixie. However, before I leave, I have a little something for you. You will find it on the table next to the door. Though for now, I suppose I will be gone. Farewell" The voice sad
"Farewell" Trixie replied before looking for the gift. Upon looking where the voice had said it would be, she found a small box with a ribbon tied around it. Upon opening the box, Trixie saw a golden necklace, with some sort of crystal on it. The way it shone in the light of the now strangely re-lit candles was absolutely beautiful, almost glowing with a faint purple aura surrounding it. It was quite a necklace too. Almost definitely puregold by the looks of it, however, the hallmark seemed strange to her. Despite this, she placed it around her neck and it fit perfectly and, without Trixie noticing, the crystal shaped itself to become the mare's cutie mark.
"I wonder where he could have found such a necklace. Trixie has never seen anything like it before" Trixie said, examining the necklace again.
Trixie sighed, removing her necklace and placing it back inside of the small box, placing it next to her bed. She then proceeded to get into her bed, extinguish the candles with her magic and drift off to sleep, thinking about her visitor that night.
Almost to Canterlot / The Debut
Author's Note
A slightly shorter one, sorry about that.
Almost to Canterlot / The Debut
A mere few days had passed since the entertainer known as Trixie Lulamoon had come across somepony who had been talking to her without showing himself, however, during this time, not much had truly happened. Trixie had started taking lessons from the stranger and they became the closest two ponies could be to becoming friends when one never sees the other, which was closer than many may think. Through this, wanting to know what to call her teacher, she jokingly referred to him as her 'angel of music', though, despite being a joke, the name had stuck.
When they neared Canterlot, Trixie stopped once again as from here on out, she would be taking the train to Canterlot as it would be faster, where her phantom friend had managed to book her a singing performance to see how the public would react.
"Are you sure about this?" Trixie asked, slightly worried as she was getting ready to head into the venue, which, for whatever reason was Ponyville.
"Is Trixie not feeling so great and powerful?" The Angel of music asked in a fake-mocking voice.
"Of course Trixie is. She is just wondering if other ponies will like her singing" Trixie replied with a confident tone. "Why is Trixie even asking? Of course they will!"
"That's the Trixie I know" The Angel said in a triumphant tone before going back to his normal, soothing voice. "It's almost time Trixie. Though, just know, if they start throwing things, just keep singing. I'll stop them"
"Trixie thanks you" Trixie replied before quickly walking out of the trailer and towards the centre of Ponyville where there was a stage, slightly smaller than the one she had used when she first came to Ponyville.
A few minutes later,when Trixie had finished setting up what was on the stage, ponies started to form a crowd and a few of the ponies in the crowd reacted rather unhappily at seeing Trixie up on the stage.
Ignoring the angry shouts from the audience, Trixie prepared to start singing once the music kicked in. Just before she did, however, she spotted something, shadow-like in appearance, moving through the crowd. Ignoring this, she began to sing, her voice had improved immensely since she had started practicing, though it was not quite perfect, not far from it at the same time.
The crowd soon began to become silent as Trixie continued singing, her voice had become much softer and gentler, though still retaining her original tone.
It was all going well. Trixie was approximately half-way through the song when a certain voice started singing a duet with her. However, it was not just a voice, for a stallion, his coat grey and his mane black, as if it was a mere pencil sketch, appeared, dressed so that only a small part of his body was uncovered and that his face was covered as well, however, Trixie was certain this was her angel of music singing with her, for who else could have such a voice. This caught Trixie off guard, making her lose her place in the song. Trying to find her place again, it took a moment for Trixie to start singing once more.
When the song neared it's end, Trixie's angel walked off stage and seemed to vanish into thin air and, upon completion of the song, Trixie bowed, to which the crowd reacted with cheers, chanting and a few tears shed, a few going to extreme measures to show their support, after which Trixie went to try to find the stallion whom had just joined her on the stage, to no avail, of course.
Trixie ran back to her trailer to gather her belongings for the train ride to Canterlot. She was going to be at the castle for nightfall, her phantom friend having said he would go a faster way to make sure she had a place she could stay. Realising how long she had stayed in this trailer made Trixie slightly sentimental, though she would only be leaving for a matter of days. Taking her belongings with her, she headed for the train station.
Author's Note
These are just getting shorter and shorter. Don't worry, I'm just getting back into writing. Enjoy, though.
The Arrival
Canterlot. The city stood as a glittering gem to the rest of Equestria, everypony was high-class and sophisticated. If anypony made it to perform in such a place, they were at the top of their career. Thinking this, Trixie smiled to herself as she walked out of the train station. She had been told by her phantom friend that there was a room waiting for her in the castle, arranged by him a few nights in advance. That was a much more difficult feat to attain as the Grand Galloping Gala was fast approaching. A few days time, to be exact. No doubt Twilight and her friends would be here helping to arrange the event. Such a thought gave Trixie a slightly larger smile as she would be able to catch up with the purple unicorn. No, alicorn. When she first heard the news, Trixie had mixed emotions; Happiness for one of her only friends, and yet jealousy, for she personally had always wished to become an alicorn. Though, no matter.
The castle was just up ahead. Hopefully, the guards would know she was staying here for a few days, and not have a fiasco going on about whether or not she should be allowed in. She had read in the papers before that such things were common.
"Name please?" The unicorn guard asked Trixie as she approached.
"Trixie Lulamoon" Trixie replied "She is singing in the gala. There are arrangements for a room?"
"Yes. Celestia told us about half an hour ago. Come on in miss" The guard replied, opening the door.
Trixie walked in through the door, looking down the long corridor before her.
"Trixie supposes she should go and see Celestia to see where she's staying. Throne room... Throne room..." Trixie said to herself quietly as she walked through various corridors, eventually approaching the throne room doors. Listening to see if anypony was taking up the princess' time, she came to the conclusion that she should be able to get in there and knocked on the door.
What seemed like a moment passed, before Celestia replied from the other side of the door. "Come in".
Trixie grasped the door handle in her magical aura and opened it slowly. Stepping inside, Celestia was the one to start the conversation.
"Ah, Trixie. You arrived earlier than expected." The alicorn said, walking towards Trixie.
"Well, princess. Trixie came here as soon as she arrived. She needs to find a place to put her belongings" Trixie replied.
"Of course. I'll have a guard escort you to your room" Celestia said "Do as you wish today, but if you don't mind, tomorrow, there will be a rehearsal for all taking part in the gala and the masquerade the day before"
"Of course, princess" Trixie said before heading out of the room and waiting a moment before a guard came and showed her to a room.
After returning from a small shopping adventure in the streets of canterlot, Trixie returned to her room where she found a rose lying on the desk in the corner of the room, adjacent to the bed and on the other side of the room from the armoire.
Trixie lifted it off of the desk, a white rose. A small note was placed underneath it, simply saying; 'From your angel of music. Good luck.'
She smiled to herself before she heard the now-familiar voice. "Like it?"
"It's beautiful" Trixie said as she placed it back down before going to lie on the bed. "It's been a long day"
"Yes it has" Trixie's angel said. "I shall see you tomorrow."
And with that, the voice left as suddenly as it had appeared.
The main hall of the castle had many more ponies than Trixie was expecting. This gala must have been planned very far in advance, with so many entertainers. She was just one of roughly fifteen or so entertainers in the room. There were a small group of dancers currently practicing on the stage and a few others were watching, a couple of ponies just talking among each other. Also, in front of the stage was Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
"Hello Twilight" Trixie said, approaching the group.
"Oh, hello Trixie!" Twilight said, smiling as she turned around.
"The stories are true then." Trixie said, referring to Twilight's wings.
"Oh, these? I don't really use them much. Has anything new happened with you Trixie? I heard you are here as a singer?" Twilight asked "I thought there was something off with that statement. Sorry if I heard wrong."
Trixie smiled for a moment before deciding to reply to the question. "Why, yes Twilight, Trixie is here as a singer." She began, "It is a rather long story so she will spare you the details. What is important is the here and now."
Twilight nodded her head. "I suppose you are right, though I cannot wait to hear your singing. Thinking that magic is your talent, it is surprising you changed profession."
"Your talent isn't quite being a librarian now, is it Twilight?" Trixie replied.
"Yet again, you've got me there, Trixie." Twilight replied. "Judging by the length of their dance routine, as this is their third run-through now, you should be able to practice in about two minutes, if you want."
Trixie started to head off towards the stage. "Trixie will be doing just that. Thank you, Twilight."
As Twilight had estimated, it took a couple of minutes for the dancers to wrap up their routine and then Trixie began to set up her equipment. She quickly flicked through some music sheets with her magic and found the song she had practiced least, as she only received it the day before, but was her favourite before passing it over to the small band playing in front of the stage, stage right.
After doing some vocal warm ups, she began to sing. This song was more of a calm, relaxing tune, as one would find in more of a backing love song in a play on Bridleway, than her previous performance in Ponyville. The chatting of the other performers in the hall soon died down as they had decided to listen to the mare's voice. The main instruments for the composition were mostly string instruments; violins with a hint of guitar. This gave the piece a slightly more, but not quite, orchestral feeling to it. This meant that it had a large impact as the tempo changed, as the guitar changed for the harp during the latter verses and as the instruments faded out towards the end, the final violin ending as Trixie finished the song.
The silence in the hall lasted for all of two seconds before applause erupted from the small crowd, Trixie walking off stage with her head raised.
"That was amazing, Trixie!" Twilight said as she rushed towards the aforementioned pony. "Where did you learn to sing like that?"
"From an angel of music." Trixie replied rather obscurely before some of Twilight's friends- Rarity and Pinkie Pie- came to join them.
"Why, Trixie. I never believed I would be saying this to you, but that was simply divine." Rarity said, the unicorn having walked in after the first verse or so of Trixie's performance.
"Terrific!" Pinkie exclaimed as soon as Rarity had finished, the mare being unable to contain her excitement. "Everyone is going to love it!"
"Pinkie is right." Twilight said, a smile on her muzzle.
"Thank you, all of you." Trixie replied. "You see, this was Trixie's second public performance. The first one went very well, but it could have been just a fluke." She added, avoiding mentioning about the shadowy figure.
"Well, it obviously wasn't." Twilight said.
"I suppose you are right." Trixie replied.
"Why Trixie, will you allow me to make your masquerade dress, and your gala dress?" Rarity asked.
Trixie's eyes widened slightly. "Yes, Rarity. Trixie would appreciate that."
Rarity smiled. "It will be the best dress you have seen!"
And with that, Rarity ran off.
"Why don't we watch the rest of the performers?" Twilight asked.
The three of them walked towards the stage and sat in front of it to watch the performances, have food with the performers at about midday and then Trixie practiced a few more times about an hour later. After that, she headed back to her room to find her angel was nowhere to be seen, but for some reason, there was now a larger mirror by her armoire.
Author's Note
Finally got back into the swing of things. My inspiration seems to happen in late night bursts, not good for the sleep schedule. Hope you enjoy. Any constructive criticism, as always, is welcome.
As the next day arrived, with nothing planned, Trixie had thought of meeting up with Twilight and her friends. She had quite enjoyed their discussions the previous day, and so she thought spending another day with them would not go amiss. She studied the new mirror, wondering why would it be brought here, as there was already a large enough mirror in the room. Deciding to pursue the matter with her angel at a later time she left her room and tried to find Twilight.
Trixie found the mare along with her five friends in the main corridor on the way out of the castle. "Oh, Trixie. Did you come here to join us? We were just about to go around the city, look at some of the newly opened shops."
"Sounds nice." Trixie replied, nodding her head.
Twilight led the group for a few moments before a thought crossed her mind. "Trixie, yesterday you said something about an 'angel of music'. What did you mean by that?"
"That may need some explaining." Trixie stated before she began to explain the events to Twilight, and Twilight only as the rest wee off in different shops.
Trixie explained many of the various points; how she had first heard the voice: how it had made arrangements for her o ake performances; made arrangements in Canterlot; the few gifts; and so on.
"That sounds hard to believe, but you do have physical proof of this 'angel' so you aren't lying..." Twilight started. "I will ask Celestia who exactly set up your stay in Canterlot so we can pinpoint this 'angel' and who he actually is."
"To be honest, Trixie wonders who he is herself." Trixie replied, "Any questions, so you have a better grasp?"
"Have you ever seen him, even briefly?" Twilight asked "Probably not, but I thought I would put it out there."
Trixie nodded. "Once, during Trixie's Ponyville performance. He came on stage, almost fully covered. His coat was grey."
"Grey? Are you sure? Not many ponies are born grey." Twilight questioned further.
"Could have been what he was wearing, but Trixie swears it was his coat and it was grey." Trixie stated.
"Alright. I will ask Celestia about it when we get back." Twilight said, shortly followed by a guard running towards them, from the direction of Canterlot Castle.
"Everyone who has been staying at the castle for the gala is to return immediately. Princess Luna will explain upon your return."
"Attention, all of you." Luna began, talking to the large crowd gathered in the main hall of the castle, causing chatter to die down. "You are all probably wondering what has caused your hasteful return. Sightings of a strange figure around the castle have begun to surface. This strange figure, who is seemingly able to disappear at will has been called the 'Phantom of the Gala'. If any of you have information on events surrounding this character, report to myself immediately. My sister is currently trying to piece together the reports in her chambers. Do not disturb her."
The chatter started up again as Luna left the stage, and Twilight and Trixie glanced at each other. Could it? Surely not.
The two made their way to Luna through the crowd of entertainers.
"Luna, would you happen to know any description of this phantom?" Twilight asked.
"The only thing I have heard, Twilight, is that he is almost completely covered, no pony has seen what he actually looks like. He wears a cloak, a mask and some armour."
"Could you arrange a meeting with Celestia for us please? It is very important, and we beleive only she knows the answers." Twilight requested.
"I shall try my best Twilight, though my sister is extremely busy." Luna replied, walking off.
Twilight sighed before returning with Trixie to the rest of her group.
That evening, Trixie had retired earlier than usual to her room.
"I apologize for my short absence." The voice of the angel said. "I had other business to attend to."
"It is fine, truly." Trixie replied "It was merely a short absence after all. Trixie assumes you know of the reports of the 'Phantom of the Gala'?"
"Why yes, I do." The voice replied.
At this point, Rarity had finished one of Trixie's dresses and had brought it up to her room, knocking on the door. "Trixie?"
The voice was speaking over this, so Trixie could not quite hear it. It said "Trixie, I believe it may be time to eliminate the anonymity, at least slightly, between us. Look at the mirror I had brought up for you."
"Who is that?" Rarity asked herself, after hearing the voice.
Trixie looked toward the mirror, seeing a faint shape appear. She leaped off of the bed and moved further towards the mirror, seeing the outline of a grey unicorn stallion with a black mane, a mask on his face and a blue cloak covering most of his body.
He held a hoof out, coming out of the mirror. "Come with me." he spoke, the 'angel''s voice. His horn was alight, and Trixie's necklace was glowing, unbeknownst to her.
Trixie stepped in.
A few moments later, the door burst open, Twilight and Rarity on the other side, looking in the room. they had gone.
View Online
The Investigation (Twilight POV) / The Introduction (Trixie POV)
"What? Where has she gone?" Twilight asked, surprised by the emptiness of the room.
"I made sure no-one left. And I didn't see the flash of light of teleportation around the door." Rarity recounted.
"I suppose we should investigate." Twilight suggested, walking into the room.
Scanning the room, Twilight began to focus on the large mirror. "Wait, haven't we seen a mirror like this before? One of the ones that can travel between dimensions?"
Rarity stood next to her. "Now that you mention it, yes."
"I can only assume this is the one for that backwards-universe." Twilight said "You know, the one with the good king Sombra and evil Celestia." Twilight said "Mainly because if the other universe-mirror from the Crystal Empire went missing, we would have heard something about it."
"But wasn't that sealed off?" Rarity asked.
"I thought so. We must see Celestia about this."
"Welcome to my home Trixie. I am afraid this place is isolated from most of this world." The figure spoke.
"Who are you?" Trixie asked, "Truly?"
"You may know me as your 'Phantom of the Gala'. Maybe more as another stallion, though not the exact one you know." The figure, the phantom, replied.
"Other stallion? Who? Not the one Trixie knows?" Trixie queried.
"You may understand in time." The Phantom replied vaguely, obviously dodging the answer. "Allow me to show you my quarters."
"Alright." Trixie sighed, relenting.
The phantom lead Trixie down a large corridor, strangely reminiscent of the corridors of Canterlot Castle. It was strange, in that respect. Windows were shattered and boarded up, the carpet on the floor was torn apart and grand chandeliers shone barely any light, despite the fact they were fully lit up. Trixie allowed herself to study her guide further, taking in as many details as possible.
His mane was kept up in some semblance of a regal hairstyle, though various strands of hair had fallen, covering his face. His horn parted his hair above a worn, blue band of silk with a golden button placed in the centre. His eyes seemed to be a cross between a red and brown colour. His cloak was obviously from some sort of royalty, though it didn't look like something Celestia would have in her castle. Under his cloak, hints of polished, dark-grey armour shined in the low light.
"How long have you been here?" Trixie asked.
"What feels like many lifetimes." The figure replied, his voice near-emotionless, almost as if he were hiding something. "I could not tell you exactly."
The unicorn came to a halt before a large set of wooden doors. He lit up his horn and opened them, allowing view of the inside. It was a throne room, remnants of stained glass windows, almost entirely mirroring those of Canterlot Castle.
"What? What is going on here?" Trixie asked, her eyes focusing on one of the windows. She ran up to it and rended the board from the frame.
"Stop!" The Phantom yelled, using his magic to grab onto her and trying to pull her back.
"What is out there?" Trixie questioned.
"Trixie, you may not understand." The phantom replied. "Though I suppose I must relent, for you will be inquisitive. You must not question this, alright?"
"Alright." Trixie replied.
"This is not your world." The figure spoke. "This may sound utterly absurd, but this is an alternate reality, of sorts."
"What? You mean that mirror was some sort of portal? You lured Trixie to another world?" Trixie asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I find you captivating. I merely wished to show you a glimpse of my world."
"Take Trixie back."
"Sorry?"
"Take Trixie back. Now!"
"I only ask you wait to see what I have to show you." The phantom said. "Then you will return."
"Before I agree, one question."
"What is it?"
"Who are you?" Trixie asked once again, her horn lighting up and ripping the mask off of the phantom's face.
The sight Trixie saw caused her to faint.
The phantom stared forward in horror, green magic beginning to flow from his eyes. He grabbed the mask from her, forcing it back on quickly. "Trixie, you do not know what you could have started." He whispered, the magic fading.
"I feared this may happen once more." Celestia said to herself, Twilight and Rarity having just left her room. "I should have stopped it when I began receiving those letters. Nothing good could come from it. I hoped he had changed, but perhaps he hasn't."
She scanned over the papers on her desk, lifting a stack of documents, revealing a sealed letter underneath, 'Dear Princess Celestia' written on the front. She had received this today. She broke the seal and retrieved the parchment from within and laid it out on the desk.
'Dear Princess Celestia,
I thank you for fulfilling my demands so far, I can see I may have been wrong in my judgement of you after your previous acts, and I apologise. I hope you can keep my appearances a secret, for I am only here for one reason; one reason which you understod once, as you once partook in a similar act, those centuries ago.
If you refuse, I do understand, but do tell me so before you do go revealling this to the public; I would like to know if you wish for your history to be repeated. I surely do not.
Yours faithfully,
King Sombra.'
"I knew it."
