//------------------------------// // Music of Kindness and harmony of Loyalty // Story: Equestria's Mirage: Dream Warriors // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------//         Celestia walked into the room where Twilight slept, taking the time to let out a very sad sigh, “Hello, my faithful student,” she said, closing the door. Walking slowly, as if she was afraid to disturb the sleeping mare, the white alicorn neared the bed. Her progress was stopped by something hard and a little scaly, however. Looking down, she saw the sleeping form of a dragon, his face buried deep within the mattress, “Oh look, you have another visitor. I don’t think you’ll mind if he sleeps with you tonight.” Taking him in her magic, Celestia lifted Spike up and put him next to Twilight, tucking the both of them in.         Twilight stirred, moving in her bed with a frown on her face, “Uh, CELESTIA!”         “Shhh, its ok my faithful student,” Celestia said, running a gentle hoof along Twilight’s forehead, trying to calm her.         The words from Luna echoed in her mind, “Whatever dream spell that Mirage has Twilight under is going to try keep her in the dream realm. Until I can find a way to free her, there should be one of you on guard at all times. This way she will have a link back to the real world and a reason to keep fighting.”                  Celestia let out a small sigh as she looked to the mare in the bed, “Y’know, seeing you like this, makes me think of back when you were a little filly. Sometimes, you so homesick or scared of imaginary monsters that you would run into my room, begging to sleep next to me. Of course I would let you and help chase the monsters away. I would tell you that there are no real monsters in the castle, that it would all be all right, and then you would fall asleep under my wing,” the white alicorn smiled down at Twilight. “ Then you grew up and became capable of chasing away monsters all on your own.”         Twilight moved a little in her bed, moaning softly, “Celestia, mother...”         Celestia pulled back and lowered her head, “Want to know a secret?” She asked, lowering her head to whisper in Twilight’s ear, “I’m jealous of Velvet. Why? Because she had you, and could call herself your mother.  Ever since Sunset, I told myself, ‘never again. I would never get that close to a student again.’ but then, you...you somehow broke that promise. Somehow, you wormed your way into my heart and became a member of my family. On the day you ascended, I told myself that I could never be more proud of somepony I call my daughter. And now,” tears threatened to fill her pink eyes, “here you are again, still that same filly that needs me to chase away the monsters, wanting that wing to protect you. But I cant, I can’t save you when you need me the most.”         “Sister?” asked Luna as she stepped through the door, “Shining Armor and Cadence are here to take over the next watch.”         “Right, send them in,” Celestia said, wiping away all evidence of her tears or her crying from earlier.         After watching Cadence and Shining Armor walk into the room, Luna followed Celestia out into the hallway, “Sister, if you wish to cry, you can do so now. No one is around to see it,” Luna said, walking with her sister.         “No, “ Celestia said plainly, “I must keep a straight face, and be strong for everypony...no matter how hard the pain is.”         “This is hurting you, isn’t it?” asked Luna.         “I have only felt this useless one other time,” Celestia said, looking into Luna’s direction, as she walked to a window to overlook the garden. As she watched the ponies milling about, she looked off into the city, “How goes your little plan.”         “My personal student should be arriving to pick up the first member of her team in just a few moments,” Luna said, a soft smile on her lips.         Trixie walked along the hallway of the Canterlot apartment, unsure how to approach the pony for this mission. Looking down at the manilla envelope that she carried with her, she reread the name and looked back up at the apartment number, “I do hope Luna is right about this.” Reaching back, she gave the door a few light taps.         “Yo, I’m coming I’m coming,” said a tired and exhausted voice from within the room. Upon unlocking the door, the occupant revealed herself, “Yeah, what do ya...OHMYGOHSITSTRIXIE! This is so rad!”         Trixie looked back at the white unicorn with a little bit of shock before smiling wide, “So, Trixie takes it that her name and her exploits have reached all the way here in Canterlot? That she has become so famous that she is known even in places of high regard such as this.”         “Well, I don’t know about that. I just take in your shows whenever we happen to play in the same town. And I think they are so totally awesome! I mean the way you cast all of those illusions, those wild spells of yours, or some of those really great tricks of yours,” the frazzled unicorn said, her red eyes opened wide in excitement, “So, uh, what brings you here?” Trixie, for the moment too caught up in the praise and adulation, had to shake her head back into the real world, “Uh, Trixie was wondering if she could talk to your roommate. Is Octavia Melody around?”         “Oh yeah, sure!” The unicorn said, before turning around to yell out, “HEY YO! TAVI! There’s a really awesome visitor here for ya. Well, don’t stand out there too long, come on in!” The unicorn said, leading Trixie into the room.         “Vinyl, what did I tell you about yelling in the apartment. I was in the kitchen you did not need to...oh,” the grey earth pony said, looking at Trixie, “Hello miss, I apologize for my roommate's loudness.”         “It is no big problem. The GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! Is always glad to have such enthusiastic fans,” Trixie said with a flair, before turning back to look at Octavia, “However, Trixie still needs to talk to you, may we sit down.”         “Sure, follow me,” Octavia said, guiding Trixie into the living room of the apartment.         “Uh, privately, if you don’t mind,” Trixie said, looking at Vinyl.         “Hey! Anything you got to say to Tavi, you can say it around me,” Vinyl said.         “Vinyl, please,” Tavi objected.         “If you do, Trixie will tell you how she did the ‘fireball card trick’ without her horn,” the blue unicorn offered.         “AW Sweet!” Vinyl said as she walked out of the room and turned on her headphones.         “So, what is so important that you need to talk to me in secret?” asked Octavia.         “Princess Luna has requested you for a very important mission,” Trixie said.                  Octavia’s eyes opened wide in shock as she pulled back, “W-what?! P-P-Princess Luna wants me for a mission? What? Why? What is it?”         Trixie looked down in sadness, “Its Twilight.”         “The princess?” asked Octavia, “I thought she is off on a diplomatic mission?”         “That’s the cover story,” Trixie said plainly, “the truth is, she has been put under a magical dream sleep by a monster known as Mirage. She has entrusted Trixie with finding a group of ponies to help save her.”         “But, what can I do? I am just a musician,” Octavia objected, “there is nothing that I can possibly offer to the team.”         Trixie shook her head,” Trixie doesn’t know why Luna has picked you, but yours was among a few names the Luna had given her. You could always refuse, but Trixie thinks that Luna wants all six of us there.”         Octavia looked at the envelopes and then back to Trixie. Several thoughts went through her mind, mainly of the dangers ahead, but that was all diminished by the thought of helping another pony, “It will be dangerous, and a little insane, but I’m in!”         Trixie smiled, “Good, Trixie is glad to have you,” she said as she reached over to shake the earth pony’s hoof. As their hooves touched, Trixie’s eyes flashed a rainbow glow and she fell back in her chair.         "Octavia, who helped and calmed the helpless and scared, represents the spirit of... Kindness!"         “What?” asked Trixie as an image of Octavia appeared before her, the element of kindness attaching itself to her, “Octavia isn’t...”         Trixie was interrupted by another voice, her own “And now, for Trixie’s next act, the fire swallowing maneuver.         “Trixie, it’s been said, ‘one should be careful around fire, for those with hot heads will find themselves burned,” Octavia said, watching Trixie placing a fireball in her mouth, only to spit it out five seconds later, “See? Here, let me help with that.”         “Thank you,” Trixie said with a smile, before giving Octavia a hug.         “Why is Trixie...” Trixie stopped herself as she saw one final image, of her standing with Twilight Sparkle and Octavia along with 3 other ponies, “What is...         “Miss Trixie, are you alright?” asked Octavia as she helped Trixie to her feet.         Trixie shook her head for a few moments, “Yes, I’m fine,” she said, forgetting her stage voice for the moment. Once back on her hooves, she turned to look at the Earth Pony mare, “Octavia, this will sound strange, but have we met before?”         “Beyond Vinyl’s constant bragging of you? No, we’ve never met before,” Octavia said, walking to the door, “Why do you ask?”         “N-No reason, none at all,” Trixie said, looking down in confusion.         “Vinyl, I will be leaving with Trixie for the moment. I should be back in a few days, do try and not destroy the apartment while I’m gone,” Octavia said as she left the room with Trixie.         “Right, have a while party while you’re gone...got it,” Vinyl said with a smirk.         Octavia let out a low groan as she closed the door and followed Trixie, “Now come,” Trixie said, “We still have a long way to Ponyville.”         As Luna looked over the courtyard, she took note of five ponies milling about below, “I see that Twilight Sparkle’s friends have yet to return home,” she noted, watching Rainbow Dash doing wing-ups and Fluttershy talking to a small bird.         “They have not left since the day that Twilight fell ill,” Celestia said with a smile, watching Rarity and Applejack talk to one another and Pinkie Pie writing something down on her hoof. “My student has picked some wonderful friends. I can only hope that it will be enough to save her,” Celestia sighed, then she looked at Luna, “I cannot help but notice that you have remained calm through most of this. I thought you would hate Mirage the most.”         “Oh, believe me, I am more engaged than I was when Discord killed mother and father;however, all of my rage is currently focused into nothing but hate for that miserable creature!” Luna growled, her face seething with anger.         Celestia rubbed Luna’s back softly, “So, what can you tell me about your little team?”         “Well, for one, I requested a musician, the other,” Luna hesitated as she walked with Celestia, “might be a little weird. For two others, I brought in horticulture and last, I went unique.”                  The train winded through the many tunnels and caves that littered the mountain upon which Canterlot stood. Inside, Octavia sat on one on of the seats, calmy writing some music down on paper. Looking towards her companion, she arched an eyebrow, “Trixie, I can’t help but notice that you are a lot quieter on this trip than I imagined.”          Trixie shot her head up from looking at the documents that she kept, “Hmmmm? Oh, Trixie is busy looking over the profiles of the other mares that we are to get. Trixie is unable to figure out why Luna has picked out these five ponies to aid us.” Trixie then looked to Octavia, “If Trixie may ask, why do you hang around that loud and wild DJ? You two seem so...different.”         Octavia put away her paper and smiled softly, “If that isn’t the question of the whole year. If you pardon the cliche, I’ve felt like I’ve known the girl my entire life. We met because her brother and my sister liked each other, really liked each other.”         “OH,” Trixie said, nodding in understanding.         “Well, sometimes, my sister would take me along with her on some of her dates and Vinyl’s brother would bring her. That was how we met, when were just 10 years old,” Octavia said with a smile.         “And you became fast friends?” asked Trixie.         “Oh no, I thought she was a nutcase and I would dread seeing her when I came over. But after a time, things changed,” she put away her pen and looked to Trixie, “she began to make me smile and I never know why. Somehow, I began to appreciate her antics, her insanity, her ability to think outside of the box, and so much more.”         “What changed?” asked Trixie.         Octavia sighed and smiled softly to herself, “I guess, overtime, I began to appreciate all of her loudness and rudeness. I began to realize that there was something more to my and the unicorn’s relationship than I realized.”         “What was that?” Trixie questioned.         “That she was my friend because she genuinely liked me. She wasn’t intimidated by my class and my snooty ways, she just wanted me to live,” the grey pony chuckled. “ All the time I thought that I was better than her, that she was beneath me, and that I didn’t need her, she would would see me as another friend. Then I saw what she brought into my life, all of her loud antics, her madness, and everything would help me to see things in a different way. I would become inspired by all of the things she would show me, make my life just a little more...exciting.”         “Trixie guesses that sometimes it just takes time to realize why you are friends with somepony,” a soft sigh escapes Trixie’s lips, “or to get to know them.”         “Or get used to them,” Octavia said with a smile.         “What do you mean?” Trixie asked.         “When I began my story, you were on the other side of the car. Now you are sitting next to me,” Octavia smiled.         “Well, uh, Trixie just wanted to hear your story better,” Trixie chuckled.         “I see,” Octavia retorted, “Now, it hasn’t always been pleasant. She does wake me up rather rudely.”         “Trixie feels your pain,” Trixie said, “One time she had to put her wagon next to a rock show. She is certain that, after that week, she is currently deaf in one ear.”         “Oh, really,” Octavia said, leaning to Trixie’s ear and whistling in it.         “Trixie heard that,” Trixie smirked.         “Hmm, I guess you were wrong,” Octavia chuckled, making Trixie chuckle in response.         So it went on for the next few hours as the train rolled on, the magician and the player talked about their lives and history. Talked about their close friends and how they came to have the jobs that they currently had. And soon, they had reached the station, “Come on, her house isn’t too far away from the station,” Trixie said as she led Octavia down a few blocks to a small little house.         “Hmmm, not a bad little place,” Octavia said, looking at the name on the mailbox, “‘Heartstrings’? Why does that name sound familiar?”         “Trixie doesn’t know, but for now, let her do all of the talking,” Trixie said as she knocked the door. After a moment, a beige earth pony opened the door and looked at Trixie. As she did, her eyes narrowed in rage and let out a snort of hot air through her nostrils, “Hello, Trixie was wonder-UGGH!” Was all she could get out before she was sent flying thanks to a hoof to the right side of her face.         Octavia walked over to where Trixie fell and began to calmly help her up, “Fan of yours?”         “Believe it or not,” Trixie said, rubbing the side of her face, “That wasn’t the worst reaction that Trixie had when somepony met her for the first time.”         “Maybe I should try to talk to her,” Octavia said, walking to hear the the voices coming from the other side of the door.         “Hey, Bonnie, who was at the door?” Asked a feminine voice.         “No one,  just Trixie,” Bon Bon said, a bit of anger in her voice.         “Trixie? Who was that?” asked the mare as she walked to the door and opened it. As the mint green unicorn  looked at the two ponies before her, she narrowed her eyes at the grey mare, “Oh, hello Octavia. My old rival.”         Octavia reacted with a small scoff, “We aren’t rivals Lyra, we hardly even play in the same cities.”         Lyra glared into Octavia’s purple eyes, “Perhaps, but one day, we will finish our great rivalry and as for you,” she looked at Trixie, “I think I remember you. Wait, aren’t you that pony who took over Ponyville over a year ago?”         “Yes, Trixie was. Let Trixie guess, you have a bone to pick with her,” Trixie plainly stated.         “HECK NO! I want to thank you for that awesome magic show you and Twilight put on, it was fantastic. I hadn’t had anything that exciting happen to me in years, come on in!” Exclaimed Lyra as she waved a hoof to invite the two ponies in.         As they walked into the house, Trixie opened her eyes wide in recognition, “Trixie remembers you now! You were that unicorn who was drinking a milkshake during Trixie’s duel with Twilight!”         “Yes,” Bon Bon sighed as she walked towards the kitchen, “Ponyville was at stake, our lives were in danger, and my wife choose to enjoy the milkshake without a care in the world.”         Lyra smirked and kissed Bon Bon as she walked to the living room, “A come on, it was interesting fight. And besides, Twilight had a hoof on it, it didn’t seem that big.”         Bon Bon let out a growl and shook her head, “Look, I’ve got to make some candy for work, you can have a talk with the mad mare.”         “Sure thing sweetie,” the green unicorn said, smiling as she walked to her couch and sat there, “So, what brings you here.”         Trixie looked up at Lyra, “The princess has chosen you for an important mission. She has decided that, due to something unique about you, you have the appropriate skills to help us.”         Lyra had a big smile across her face as she heard Trixie talk, but then frowned, “Why?”         “Can your wife hear us?”         “No,”         “It concerns Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said plainly.         “WHAT?! Twilight is in trouble? I knew it, I told Bonnie that Twilight was on no diplomatic mission, if she was then the other mane 6 would’ve gone with her. We would’ve seen a train pass us by,” Lyra said, putting a hoof to her her chin.         “Wait, how did you figure out what happened to Twilight?” asked Octavia.         “I’m...kind of a fan,” Lyra said sheepishly. “I mean, who wouldn’t be. Top of her class in almost everything, Celestia’s personal student, smart, and has seen more mythological creatures than I have even thought of! I always dreamed of meeting her and becoming her friend, but I was always too shy to do anything about it. Heck, its why I left Canterlot to live in Ponyville, well that and...” her vision turned to look at the kitchen where Bon Bon was working, “Other reasons. If its to help her, count me in!”         Trixie smiled, “We are happy to have you, Lyra,” she then reached over to shake the mare’s hoof. As their hooves touched, a rainbow shine went over her eyes and she was flung back into the couch.         “What happened, where is Trixie?” She asked, looking around to find herself in a deteriorating castle, “Is that...me?”         Her eyes caught sight of her standing before a fiery Celestia, while beside her stood five other ponies, “Loyalty, that is who I am!” called Lyra, a smirk on her face.                   “B-but Lyra isn’t-” her thoughts were interrupted by the scene changing to a field, where she and Lyra sat on a blanket.         “Ok, I give up, why did you invite me to this place, alone?” asked Trixie as she drank some of her juice.         “Because today is probably the third best day of my life,” said Lyra.         Trixie let out a small chuckle, “Oh? And what would that be?” Lyra smirked, “The day I met you and became my friend.” “Really? You find it that important?” Asked Trixie, smiling. “Well yeah,” Lyra said, smirking, “You’ve gotten me here, reunited with my mare friend, and probably put me on some crazy adventures. I don’t think I could thank you enough.” “Well, of course, I mean after all-” Trixie’s eyes then shot up in realization, “Wait a moment! You mean that Trixie’s friendship is third on your priorities?” “Too be fair, the love of my life agreeing to my engagement is a little more import-” the unicorn was then interrupted by a cake to the face, as thorn by Trixie. “Than having your face clean?” asked Trixie, only to get hit by some cake thrown by a smiling Lyra. “Is Trixie and that unicorn...friends?” asked Trixie as she watched the world turn black, only to be replaced by the images of six mares standing before her. One of them was Lyra, with a familiar necklace on her neck, “The element of loyalty? But Lyra isn’t Loyalty here, thats the suici-” her thoughts were interrupted as she got a look at the mare next to Lyra, “No, it can’t be, no.” Trixie said, walking to the center of the group, only to see her with an all too familiar crown atop of her head, “The element of magic? Trixie?” “Hey, Trixie, you ok?” asked Lyra, shaking Trixie for the moment. “Yes, Trixie is ok,” said the blue unicorn, before looking up at Lyra, “Have we ever met before?” Lyra chuckled, “Trust me, if we had ever met before at the school, I think we would’ve become fast friends.” Turning away from the two ponies, she walked to the kitchen, “I’ll talk to Bon Bon and I’ll join you gals in a bit.”  Smiling, she draped her hooves over Bon Bon’s shoulders and kissed her cheek, “Hun? I just got a very important mission from Luna, I’ve got to go.” Not turning to face her wife, Bon Bon sighed and rested her head against Lyra’s shoulders, “Just promise me you’ll come back from this one alive. You know I worry you wherever you go on these expeditions of yours.” Lyra nodded and kissed her lover's cheek, “Yeah, I know.” “Maybe, when you meet the princess you could talk to her about, you know...” the beige earth pony said, rubbing a hoof along her stomach. “I’ll see, sweet flanks,” Lyra said, walking out the door after the two mares, “So, when do we leave for Canterlot?”         “Not yet,” Trixie said, looking at her three envelopes, “we still have three more stops to make. Maybe in the meantime, I can figure out why I have been getting those visions as of late.”         “Hey kid, it's me,” Shining Armor said, running his hoof through her mane, “You know, when I asked you to stop saving my hide so often, I didn’t mean it like this. I wanted you to be awake and alive to do it. Please Twilight, I need you to make it through, because...because,” he then looked to the pink alicorn next to him. “There is something we need to tell you,” Cadence finished, smiling softly.