Prelude: Shortly after the Ursa Minor Incident
Canterlot
The night was warm. Not too warm but not cold either. It was a perfect night. The sky was clear and the moon rose over the land casting alight that lit all the lands. What shadows remained were dancing under the star lit moon, as it rose higher and higher. Most ponies were asleep, but a few were out stargazing or taking a nice night stroll, without any fear of the shadows as they past. The night was perfect.
In her bedchambers high above the city, Princess Celestia was fast asleep snug comfortably under her comforters.
A small pop echoed her chambers as a small scroll swirled into existence from a small greenish patch of smoke. Celestia sat up from her slumber to see the scroll sitting beside her on her nightstand. She unrolled it to see it was a friendship report from Twilight. Celestia loved reading her reports and hearing her student grow always brought joy to her heart.
"Dear, me, I wonder what she learned today about friendship?" the older mare thought unraveling the scroll.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off. Especially when you're standing up for your friends.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia giggled. "Well done my student. You have learned a very valuable lesson indeed. Perhaps I should share these with Luna. Heaven knows my dear sister could use their lessons as well." She glanced out of her balcony window from her bed. She thought about what Twilight had accomplished in the short time she was in Ponyville and how much she'd grown.
She got out of her bed and walked to her balcony. She glanced over the city with the scroll held in her magic. The city was teaming with life despite it being late at night. I'm so glad the ponies are more accepting of my dear sister. Perhaps she won't be so lonely anymore now that they frolic in her night as they do in the day. Celestia thought to herself.
It hadn't been long since Luna was redeemed by the Elements of Harmony. She had difficulty adjusting to this strange new world. It saddened Celestia to see her sister struggling to adapt to her new life. But if there was one thing Luna was, it's stubborn. She would learn in time. From her vantage point Celestia saw a few ponies with telescopes observing the stars above. "I'm so happy for you Luna." she sighed happily retreating back to her bed. She placed the scroll in her drawer with several others like it. "Tomorrow I will share these with you sister. For now I bid you a good night." She whispered to herself as if Luna were there beside her. As she rested her head on the pillow a shadow from beneath her swirled around the desk opening it and pulling out the scroll she had just placed in. The shadow then retreated out the window heading to the highest tower in the castle.
High above in the observatory Luna was resting on a pile of pillows when the shadow entered through the window in the observation tower. The shadow placed the scroll down beside her and slowly it slithered up her body, melting into her head. Luna awoke to see the scroll beside her. She looked at it with curiosity and wonder. Celestia always said that Twilight was sending friendship report to her and often wondered what they contained. Her horn glowed as the parchment unrolled revealing lines of text. The night princess read it thoroughly, it was short and to the point. Intrigued Luna decided to take a walk in the dreamscape to see what lead to the construction of this report. A quick glance around the room Luna saw she was alone and got snug on the pillows. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Luna found herself in a vast void of blues and violets all swirled together like oil in water. The two never really mixed together leaving it in a collage of colors and shapes. Threads of color spanned the entirety of the dreamscape. Some were cool colors like withes and blues while others were warm colors like reds and oranges. The night Princess wandered until she sensed the familiar presence of the Element of Magic. This thread was a cyan blue indicating a wonderful dream was in progress.
Following the strand Luna traversed the dreamscape with dainty but long leaps as though she were trotting. Every time she landed the pool of colors rippled like a drop of water to the surface of a calm lake. As she followed the thread leading to a swirling vortex. It was cyan and mixed with a light hue of rainbow. Luna liked to call them Dream Mirrors. She slowly walked into the dream mirror as to not shatter it and cause the dream to break apart. There were dire consequences to shattering dreams so quickly and Luna didn't want that to happen ever again.
Once inside she found herself in a filed with several ponies under a giant oak tree. Several lay on a blanket with a basket in the center with food lying about on little plates. It was something she learned about modern ponies. These gatherings were referred to as picnics, where friends gathered to eat and partake in friendly events such as tag or storytelling. Luna immediately recognized the ponies in the dream as the Elements of Harmony but one pony stood out she didn't recognize. It was a blue unicorn mare with a silvery mane and tail. She had magenta eyes and a star wand and swirl cutie mark wearing a star cape with a diamond clasp. To her said was Rarity wearing a hat that matched the mares cape. The Three unicorns were deep in conversation laughing loudly at a joke Twilight made. The others frolicked about paying a game of hide and seek.
However the scene wasn't what caught the eye of the Night Princess. It was the blue mare, or more specifically a red color against her chest. It was a red thread that was attached to her chest where her heart was. It lead off into the Dream Mirror leading to the Dreamscape. She followed it and after passing a few more dream mirrors the thread became a dark blood red stream pulsating. When she found the dream mirror it lead to it was a blood red color and it was pulsating violently. Inside she found she was in Ponyville again. But this time it was covered in a violent storm. Rain was filling and the winds were blowing to where it forced ponies to crawl to keep going.
Luna's mane flowed in the wind as she followed the storm to its epicenter. There among the buildings was a destroyed building. At the top of the pile was a colt who was crying the storm circled around him. He cried laying on two bodies amount the rubble of the house. Upon closer inspection Luna found it was a mare and stallion, probably the colt’s parents. Their bodies were broken like they were crushed by a massive amount of force. The red thread she followed was centered in the colts chest from the blue mare.
"Interesting." She said thoughtfully.
She lit up her horn melting away the scene leaving the colt in a white void. She recreated the scene but instead it was a bright sunny day and the colts parents, she presumed, were now full of life and walking up to the colt. The mare approached the fallen colt and spoke softly to him.
"What's wrong dear?"
"Mom?" he looked up seeing the mare. "Is that you?" he asked wiping the tears away.
"It's alright my little Dream Prism. Mommy's here with daddy." she cooed, lifting the colt up. "Come let's go get ice cream."
With that they walked off into Ponyville. Luna smiled seeing the colt in a peaceful rest she left the dreamscape heading though the dream mirror back to the vast dreamscape. s she went along she thought back on the red stream connecting the blue mare to this colt "Dream Prism" and who the blue mare was that connected to him. "I should investigate these two and watch them closely."
With that she wandered off seeking the blue mares dream mirror.
Weeks after the Ursa Minor Incident
Trixie ran out of another town in a long list of towns, which had become a common occurrence ever since the Ursa Minor incident in which her wagon had been destroyed and the last two gifts that she had ever received from her parents had been lost back in that wretched village that the inhabitants had first ran her out of. She carried a pair of saddlebags with all the remaining fireworks and prop she could carry long losing her hat and cape back in the formerly mentioned town. As she ran she made her way over a hill to see the town of her most spectacular failure.
Ponyville.
“Trixie had just been trying to give them a show! Why couldn't they understand that?” she said to herself, for what seemed the thousandth time. She remembered quite well what transpired here.
She stomped the ground as she walked to the outskirts of Ponyville, fuming angrily. "Of course Trixie exaggerated her accomplishments in her stories! That's what they were. STORIES!" she turned to face the town of her most spectacular downfall. "How else could Trixie guarantee that she would get enough money to live until the next performance?” she asked ruefully.
She thought back on the events that lead up to her being run out of town. Her thoughts fell on the two colts that ironically were her biggest fans. "Snips. Snails." she sneered. Why does Trixie always attract the dumb ones? she thought. She became angry and used her magic to shoot a beam at a nearby tree, barely scorching the side.
"But no, the stories just weren't enough! They just HAD to bring an Ursa bucking Minor to Trixie’s wagon to prove she vanquish it! What in the name of Nightmare Moon were those two foals thinking? Who lets their children run into the forest at night? Much less the Everfree? There are ursa, manticores, cockatrice, and timberwolves there! They could have been killed if no one was... there.... to... save... them..."
Then she got an idea. What if she could save them? What if she could vanquish a formidable foe and save any foolish child who wandered into the Everfree? She looked back to the town down the hill she had climbed as she fled. It was situated right next to the Everfree Forest.
"Of course!" she exclaimed to herself. "The answer is so obvious to Trixie!"
She glanced at the forest with a cocky grin, rubbing her hooves together. She thought that if she could become friends with the citizens of the town, she could yet salvage her reputation yet! But how was she to do this? She thought about it and then the rest of the pieces feel in places in her mind. If Snips and Snails were foolish enough to go into the forest to get her an ursa to slay, surely others would do so as well. Children were all if not predictable.
She figured that if she were in the area as a poor defenseless foal wandered into the forest, she could save them from a vicious pack of timberwolves. Or even from a manitcore! All she had to do was wait f or one or even a few to go into the forest. She would then follow them and save them from any vicious attacks made on their lives. It was perfect! All she had to do was wait and prepare. Walking into the forest she searched for rocks big enough to make a simple trap to smash any monster foolish enough to trip it. Trixie will have to monitor it carefully though. Don't want anypony to get hurt. she thought.
She then counted her fireworks and smoke bombs she had left. Enough for one major performance. This was all or bust. "Trixie just has to hope that her plan works!” Trixie said eager to start the rebuilding process. The only other problem she faced was the possibility she might be attacked if she waited too long. But it was a risk she was willing to take to make herself look good to others. After all she was a performer. And pride meant everything when you have nothing left.
