4. Magical Mystery Tour
It was Tuesday, there was a large loaf of freshly-baked bread sticking out from her saddlebags, the sun was shining brightly in the midday sky, and Raindrops the pegasus was convinced that nothing could possibly go wrong. The off-duty weather mare was trotting through Ponyville, back to her home, where she planned to make herself a pair of sandwiches, grab a juicy novel, and just waste the rest of the day doing nothing, enjoying her day off.
From an alley that she passed, she saw a few small wisps of blue smoke. Naturally curious as she passed on by, she looked in, and saw a blue box with gold inlay, and a blue unicorn with a look of sheer terror and panic on her face as she breathed heavily, pressed against a wall with one hoof to her heart.
Raindrops frowned when she recognized the pony in less than a second: Trixie, self-proclaimed Great and Powerful, who had only a few months ago turned the entire town into her own private fiefdom with the aid of some magical artifact. Apparently the artifact had made her drunk on power, and the Princesses had forgiven her, as had the town’s authorities, but Raindrops wasn’t sure she’d want to, not after what Trixie had done.
Still, that didn’t mean she intended to go out of her way to make Trixie’s life miserable, either. She simply snorted and trotted on – or tried to.
“Raindrops!”
The pegasus paused, looking over her shoulder and back into the alley. Trixie was staring at her now, eyes wide. “Yeah?” Raindrops asked, surprised that Trixie even knew her name.
Trixie stared at her. “You don’t recognize me,” she said softly.
Raindrops frowned. “Of course I recognize you – ” she began.
“Thank Luna!” Trixie said, horn glowing bright blue. Raindrops cried out as she found herself wrapped in magic and dragged into the alley, next to Trixie. “Okay, then you – ”
“What are you doing?”
“Shh!” Trixie insisted, putting a hoof to Raindrops’ mouth. Her horn glowed blue again, and on either side of the alley a blue field erected itself, then a third one directly overhead. Trixie dashed away from Raindrops, running up to the edge of one field and inspecting it, before nodding to herself and looking back. “Okay okay okay,” she said, pacing back and forth. “There’s glamors and ghost sounds hiding us now. Okay. There’s you, and there’s me. Who else? Does Carrot Top remember? Cheerilee?”
“Remember what?” Raindrops asked. The aura around her had dissipated, and her wings were flared. “What are you doing? Why are you hiding?”
Trixie paused, looking at Raindrops. “Why? Why?” She demanded, pointing out the alley. “Because Corona’s in town, Raindrops!”
“Who?”
Trixie rocked back on her hooves at that, staring at Raindrops with wide eyes. “B-but…” she intoned, her look of terror dropping for a moment and being replaced by one of pain. “But…you recognized me…”
“Of course I did!” Raindrops countered. “You’re the one who got my little brother to think it was a good idea to go into the Everfree and bring a space bear into town – ”
“N-no, I – ”
“And then you came back and made Snails your little slave!” Raindrops exclaimed, jabbing a hoof at Trixie and beating her wings. “And okay, it was that necklace thing that made you. But don’t think I forgot that!” She trotted up to Trixie, who backed away in panic. “Twilight said that we should forgive you, and I was going to just leave you alone. But do you know what I think? I think I’ve changed my mind!”
“R-Raindrops – ”
“I think you should get worse than just some kind of talking to! So if I see you again – ”
“Wait, please – ”
“I’ll sue!”
Trixie froze. Her hooves were raised as though she was ready to ward off incoming blows, but after blinking a few times, she lowered them. “Huh?”
“You heard me!” Raindrops continued, pointing a hoof at Trixie. “And I think I’ll look into a restraining order, too.”
“You won’t…beat me up? Buck me and hoof-punch me?”
“No, Trixie, because I’m not like you!”
Trixie stared, and Raindrops stared back. “Maybe…steal a stormcloud from the silo and leave it over my house?”
Raindrops’ eyes widened. “I’d never!” she exclaimed. “And what silo?”
“The cloud silo. Where the clouds are stored.”
“We don’t have anything like that. I’ve never heard of anything like that. The clouds are left free-range over the Whitetail Wood.” Raindrops paused a moment at that, though, tapping a hoof to her mouth at the thought of actually storing clouds rather than simply leaving them out in the open. It would cut down significantly on evaporation. “Although…that’s not a bad idea, actually. Was one of your parents a pegasus?”
“My uncle Sky Shaper, yes. Not the point – Raindrops, what’s wrong with you?” She started trotting in circles around the pegasus, looking her over as though seeing her for the first time – which wouldn’t have been very odd, if not for the familiarity she had been putting on moments ago. “You think I turned Snails into a slave – ”
“You did turn Snails into a slave – ”
“But you don’t want to…to hit me? Beat me up? Where’s the anger?”
Raindrops stared at Trixie. “You think I’m not angry?” She demanded.
“Not really. No.”
“Well, I am!” Raindrops said, stomping a hoof.
Trixie stared at the hoof, and the cobblestone street beneath it. “You didn’t break it.”
“Of course I didn’t, I’m not an earth pony, I can’t break rocks with my bare hooves – ”
“Yes, you can! I’ve seen you!” Trixie objected.
“Trixie, we’ve never even spoken before today.”
Trixie’s eyes were wide. “She didn’t just change everypony’s memories…” she mumbled. “She…Corona’s changed ponies personalities.”
“Who in the wide wide world of Equestria is Corona?”
Trixie bit her lip. “You’re not going to believe me,” she said. “Raindrops…the pony you think is the princess of the land? Celestia? She’s not really Celestia. She’s Corona the Tyrant Sun, the most evil being in the past thousand years. She’s trying to take over Equestria…maybe she has taken over Equestria, and I’m the only one who remembers what it’s supposed to be like.” She trotted over to the blue-and-gold box, and opened it, removing something from –
Raindrops beat her wings and took to the air in shock at the gilt necklace, with an orange apple-shaped gem in it, that Trixie removed. “I-i-is th-that…?”
“Raindrops,” Trixie said, holding the necklace up. “This is the focus for the Element of Honesty. And you’re the Element of Honesty. This is supposed to be yours. Just like how I’m the Element of Magic.”
“No I’m not! No you’re not! Where did you get those?” Raindrops demanded. She turned around. “I’m going to get the authorities – ”
She was once again wrapped in blue magic, pulled back down to the ground, and turned around. She felt the necklace close about her neck as Trixie put it on her. “Trust me,” Trixie begged. “Please, please, please, Raindrops, you have to remember who you are!”
“I know exactly who I am! Now let me go!”
Trixie stared as Raindrops fought against her telekinesis. “Okay,” Trixie said, shaking her head as her horn glowed brighter, and she trotted up to Raindrops. “Okay, I have to do this then. I didn’t want to, I really – really – didn’t want to…no offense…”
“What are you doing?” Raindrops demanded, as Trixie took either side of her face into her hooves. Raindrops’ eyes widened. “Oh, wait, no, are you going to – ”
“You owe me big time,” Trixie insisted, leaning in and –
…the Everfree Forest, winter, but hot, stiflingly so. Melting snow and fog everywhere, a ruined tower…the Elements of Harmony saving them from Corona…fighting against an Ursa Minor, working with Trixie to save all of Ponyville…a rainy day, everypony, all of her friends, getting together – it had been embarrassing, but good…Trixie and all her friends helping her when she’d gotten bad therapy for her anger…a trip to Canterlot to expose the corruption in Luna’s Night Court…her being Knighted alongside Trixie…
…there was emotion, too. Anger, pain, resentment, hope, joy, laughter, love…Raindrops was a scary mare, an angry mare, but the anger wasn’t really a part of her, it was a burden she carried, and just beneath it was one of the surest, truest friends that Trixie had…
“In that case,” Raindrops’s voice echoed in her own mind, “Honesty. That’s the one I want. That’s the one I am.”
Raindrops threw herself away from Trixie, who didn’t resist. The pegasus stumbled, one hoof at her mouth. “Tongue?” She demanded. “Tongue? Why was there tongue?”
“Because that’s how the memory spell works – ” Trixie began, wiping her own mouth, then paused. “Wait, wait – that’s…that’s what you said last time!”
“I think that’s what anypony would say if you Prenched them out of nowhere!” Raindrops exclaimed, stomping her hoof. “Stars Above, Trixie, don’t you remember what happened last time, Cheerilee came in and thought we were…thought we…”
Raindrops froze at that, rocking on her hooves, then stumbling slightly. Her brain felt like it was on fire, a thousand new memories suddenly in her head, memories that in no way matched up with the ones she already had. “I…I remember…I think I remember…” her eyes were wide, pupils darting back and forth as she remembered…
Raindrops looked at Trixie, and saw two ponies. Not physically, but her mind was at war with itself. There was Trixie, the braggart, the showmare, the pony who’d tried to enslave Ponyville, who’d been corrupted by the Alicorn Amulet, who’d turned her little brother Snails into her slave…
…and there was Trixie, the braggart still, but one of her best friends, who showed her little brother magic on occasion, who saw past her angry exterior to the real pony beneath it, and who’d helped her out of tough spots and whom she’d helped out of tough spots…
“What did you do…?” Raindrops demanded, falling back on her haunches and pressing her hooves to her head. “Ow…”
“Raindrops,” Trixie said, trotting forward. “You have to fight the spell, the one that Corona placed over you – ”
Raindrops remembered Corona. The Tyrant Sun. Blank white eyes, mane and tail made of animate fire…Corona, the Tyrant Sun, the greatest enemy of Equestria, the one who had kidnapped dozens of foals from Ponyville and threatened to immolate them if Ponyville didn't obey her every command...
Raindrops looked at Trixie again. The first Trixie, the showmare, the one who had enslaved her brother…seemed to fall into the background. Looking at her now was only Dame Trixie Lulamoon, Element of Magic…her best friend.
Trixie’s face broke out into a wide smile, and relieved laughter escaped her lips when she realized that Raindrops at last fully and truly recognized her. “Thank Luna,” She breathed, leaning forward and touching her forehead to Raindrops’. “You…you do remember…”
“Hold on, hold on,” Raindrops said, pushing Trixie away and scooting back. “I…okay, I remember…remember everything you were saying. I remember being the Element of Honesty, I remember everything we’ve done…but I also remember my life. Or…what I think is my life…”
Trixie grimaced. “That’s Corona’s spell,” she insisted.
“How do I know that? Maybe…maybe you just cast some spell on me! How can I be sure?”
Trixie, in response, immediately dropped to her knees. “Please, Raindrops, please. If you never believe anything else I tell you, believe me on this.”
Raindrops eyed Trixie, her best friend, on her knees and hocks, literally begging her, eyes wide and ears flopped back…she’d never seen Trixie like this, except for when it really, truly mattered. Trixie could be manipulative when she wanted to be, lie an awful lot, but she would never lie about something this big, this important.
Raindrops pressed her lips together for a moment. “O…okay,” she decided. “Okay…I’ll trust you.”
Trixie smiled brightly. “Perfect!” she said, dashing back over to the case that contained the Elements. She lifted all five of the remaining jewelry up. “Okay, now Raindrops, I want you to use those memories Corona put in you. Ditzy, Cheerilee, Carrot Top, Lyra. Who’ll be closest?”
Raindrops looked over each of the necklaces. “Lyra,” she decided. “Lyra’s home is closest…Trixie, if you’re right, then why don’t the Elements of Harmony look like they’re supposed to?”
Trixie stowed the Elements. “I don’t know,” she said. “But that’s a mystery we can solve later. Right now…to Lyra’s!”
---
It all happened so fast for Lyra. One moment, she was sitting on her couch in her parent’s place, reading a magazine, and the next, a jasmine-coated pegasus and a blue unicorn – Trixie – burst in through her front door, slammed it behind them, and turned to her.
“Please tell me I won’t have to kiss you,” Trixie begged.
“What?” Lyra demanded. “What are you doing here? You better not have broken the lock, that’s a new door my dads just – ”
“Zut,” Trixie cursed, charging at Lyra. She leaped backwards, but the pegasus was already behind her, body checked her, then Trixie was at her, magically closing a necklace with a red gem set into it around her neck, leaned in to her, and –
…meeting at the train station for the first time…into the Everfree…Corona…being transformed into a naked bear (a human?!)…Trixie worked so hard to make sure the concert went off…the secrets of Andalantis…Trixie, trying so hard to show her how Octavia, her mentor, was trying to trick her……the salamanders…the Grand Galloping Gala…
And yet, despite all of that, despite the wave of emotion, one thing that Trixie showed her stuck out more than anything – Bon Bon, Lyra being with her, nuzzling her, kissing her…they were…supposed to be together? Yes! Since forever…Lyra wasn’t supposed to have kept her crush on her oldest friend a secret for her entire life! She was supposed to be marefriends with her…Lyra was supposed to be living with her, not in her dads’ house! She was supposed to be a successful musician, not a hobbyist! She was supposed to be doing something with her life!
“Loyalty,” Lyra’s voice said in her mind. “The Element of Loyalty. Because…because of the forest. Because I wouldn’t let the sirens get any of you, no matter what. Even if it killed me.”
Lyra fell away from Trixie, landing on her back, though Raindrops caught her head before it could hit the ground. It took her several minutes, but eventually the world stopped spinning, things stopped looking strange…she stopped seeing two Trixies and two Raindropses, or rather a Raindrops and a pegasus she had only occasionally seen around town, and instead…
“Wh…what?” Lyra demanded. “Trixie? Raindrops? What’s going on?”
“The usual,” Raindrops drolled. “Bad times, we’re trying to fix them.”
Lyra nodded. “Hold on,” she said, dashing away and upstairs and to her room, before returning with her lyre.
Trixie eyed her as she did. “Why not just summon it?” she asked.
Lyra blinked. The new memories…no, the right memories…in her head coalesced, she did remember being able to summon her lyre to her side. “I…I dunno,” she said. “Gimme a break, Trixie, I just had my memories restored.”
Trixie nodded, holding up the remaining Elements of Harmony. “Cheerilee, Ditzy, Carrot Top,” she said. “Who’s closest?”
“Carrot Top,” Lyra said after a few moments of thinking. “She works at the herbal remedy shop – ”
“Shop? Not a farm?” Trixie asked.
Lyra shook her head. “Corona really did a number on us,” she noted. “But come on! Lyra Heartstrings, Knight of Equestria, has a town to save!”
Everypony rushed from Lyra’s home as fast as their hooves could carry them, Trixie’s horn glowing and wrapping herself and the Elements in invisibility glamors as they left. Had she been in anything other than a state of panic, Trixie might have noticed something slightly off about what Lyra had said, or rather, how she had chosen to say it – but then, even if she had, she would most likely have written it off as an effect of the Tyrant Sun’s spell.
---
Celestia put a hoof on Twilight’s withers as her Royal Guards left, rushing off to the town hall. The touch went a long way towards preventing a complete panic attack. Glancing at Celestia, her teacher smiled down at her, then closed her eyes, horn glowing gold for several moments before opening her eyes again. “I have surrounded Ponyville with a shield,” she said. “Nothing may come in, nor go out. Trixie will not be able to go far.”
“Unless she’s already gotten away,” Twilight objected, despite herself. “Unless…unless she learned how to teleport! I mean, I know it’s really rare that a unicorn can, but then, I’ve never heard of a pony being able to cast six spells simultaneously!”
Celestia’s smile faded slightly at that. “Indeed,” she noted. “Is it possible that she is once again in possession of some artifact that is increasing her power?”
“Ain’t just power,” Applejack said. She blushed at the interruption, but at a glance and nod from Celestia, she pressed on. “Beggin’ your pardon, Princess, but Trixie weren’t just castin’ spells. She was castin’ ‘em smart. Left some kind of trick a’ light behind at first, that poofed apart into smoke. Then when Ah caught up ta’ her, she just made smoke, tricked me into thinkin’ she were just another fake before sucker-buckin’ me. An’ then there’s what you said – she blinded you ‘stead a’ just flashin’ a light.”
Celestia frowned. “Has she displayed finesse like that in the past?”
“No,” Twilight said, shaking her head rapidly. “Trixie…even with the Alicorn Amulet, she just went for the largest, most impressive spell she could cast. She’s never been so…proficient…and she’s never had a plan before, other than just making herself look better. But I thought she’d changed…”
The Princess offered Twilight a sad smile. “I do not believe Trixie fully understands what she is doing right now,” she said. “You saw how she reacted to me, and you heard what she accused you of. She is confused, and acting in a way that makes sense to her, even if not to us. But, she must be found before she has a chance to bring harm to somepony else…or to herself.”
Celestia withdrew from Twilight. “I will go to the town hall and coordinate with Mayor Ivory Scroll,” she said. “Twilight, Applejack, please gather the rest of your friends. If Trixie truly believes what she says, she may think that you are collaborating with this ‘Corona’ she believes me to be. She may lash out at you. Once you’re all together, try…try and imagine this situation from Trixie’s perspective.”
“What?” Applejack asked. “Just…pretend Ah waltzed in here an’ saw Trixie makin’ friends with Nightmare Moon or somethin’?”
“Yes, exactly that,” Celestia said with a nod. “It may help us to predict her next move, once she realizes there is no leaving Ponyville. Now, if you will excuse me…” She turned, trotting towards the door.
“Um…Princess?” Twilight asked. Celestia stopped at the door, turning around. Twilight tapped her hooves together. “I know we’re in a rush and all, but…one question. When Trixie called you Corona…you looked like you recognized the name?”
Celestia paused a moment, looking away in consideration, like she was debating telling Twilight later. She eventually looked back to Twilight, and to Applejack. “I did,” she said. “But before today, only one pony had ever called me Corona, and she only did it once…nine hundred and ninety-one years ago. It was one of the most memorable days of my life.”
Twilight and Applejack looked at each other. “Who was the pony?” Applejack asked.
Celestia offered a weak, but somehow genuine, smile. “Princess Luna,” she said, turning and trotting out the door.
Applejack and Twilight followed, both of them thinking about what Celestia had just told them. Something seemed off…
“Wait a second,” Applejack said, looking to Twilight. “Nine hundred ninety-one years ago, Princess Luna weren’t Princess Luna, she was Nightmare Moon, wasn’t she? An’ she was trapped in the moon. So how could she have…?”
Applejack and Twilight had both looked to Celestia for clarification, but the Princess was nowhere in sight.
---
Carrot Top opened her front door, and found herself looking at a mint-green unicorn – Lyra, she thought her name was, she played harp sometimes in the park – and Raindrops, a weather mare and one of Ditzy Doo’s friends. “Yes?” She asked.
“No time to explain,” Raindrops said, pushing Carrot Top back into her first-floor apartment home, glancing over her shoulder as Lyra entered as well, closing the door just as a pair of Ponyville’s police officers trotted by, looking around every which way.
“O-oh my,” Carrot Top breathed as Lyra’s telekinesis closed all her blinds. “P…please, take anything you want, just don’t hurt me!”
“We’re not going to hurt you,” a voice from nowhere said. Carrot Top jumped as a puff of blue smoke appeared from nothingness, revealing Trixie once it dissipated, looking around. Similar puffs of smoke around Raindrops and Lyra’s necks showed them to be wearing gilt necklaces. “An apartment? An apothecary? You don't even run it! What happened to the farm?”
“Wh…what? You mean my – ”
“You know what?” Trixie asked, looking to Carrot Top, “doesn’t matter. Carrot Top, please please pretty please tell me that I don’t have to kiss you.”
Carrot Top blushed. “Um. W-well, I’d like it very much if you didn’t.”
Trixie groaned as she brought forth a case, took out a gilt necklace and placed it around Carrot Top’s neck, then set her horn glowing bright blue as she leaned forward, Carrot Top’s eyes widening – was she really about to…?
…meeting Trixie and Lyra on the road…walking through a field of poison joke in order to save Lyra, Trixie and Raindrops beside her so she wouldn’t have to suffer alone…the phoenix terrorizing Ponyville…Trixie helping her with the farm competition, helping her save her farm from bankruptcy…working with Trixie to expose the Night Court and save her farm yet again…
Her farm…her farm! The one she’d sold to Applejack all those years ago, after her grandparents had died; she loved the country life but knew she had no real head for business, couldn’t really run a farm if she tried, so she had her carrot garden out back but that was it. But that wasn’t what was supposed to happen! She was supposed to have her own farm, and yes, struggle with it, but it was hers!
“Generosity!” Carrot Top’s own voice exclaimed. “I…how do I know that?”
“Because what else would you get?” Lyra’s voice asked in return. “You walked through poison joke for me!”
After a few minutes of existential crisis, Carrot Top looked up at her three friends. Trixie was holding out the remaining two Elements of Harmony. “Ditzy or Cheerilee?” she asked.
“Ditzy,” Carrot Top answered without hesitation, putting together what was going on, what had happened, for herself. If the Elements of Harmony were involved, then that could mean only one thing – Corona. “She’ll be home in a few minutes.”
Trixie paused a moment, then blushed a deep scarlet. “U-um…” she intoned, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Y…you mean…you and her, you’re, um…”
“Roommates,” Carrot Top answered, blushing herself at what Trixie had just implied. All four mares shivered at the thought of…that. “We’re roommates, Trixie, that’s it.”
“Praise to the Moon…”
---
“I beg your pardon?” Rarity demanded as she, Applejack, and Twilight raced through Ponyville, simultaneously keeping her eyes on the road ahead while also glancing around, trying to spot Trixie. “Ugh! I do hope she doesn’t actually plan to wear the Element of Magic, Twilight. Its colors are completely wrong for her coat!”
Applejack cast a glare at Rarity. “Kind of not the point, Rare,” she said.
“There can be more than one point!” Rarity objected. “I assure you, Applejack, I am worried about all possible implications of Trixie having her hooves on the Elements!”
“We have to focus right now, though!” Twilight insisted. “Pinkie Pie will be at Sugarcube Corner, right?”
“Nope!” A high-pitched voice said from nowhere. Neither Twilight, nor Applejack, nor Rarity slowed down at the sound, instead only glancing behind them and finding that Pinkie Pie was following them easily, indeed she was bouncing rather than galloping. “My tail got to twitching, and my ear a’ flopping – down down up up left right left left – and I just knew that you girls needed my help! Of course, if it had been down down up up left right left right, then it would have meant – ”
“Do you know where Rainbow Dash is?” Twilight interrupted. Normally she might have been slightly fascinated to document another possible iteration of the Pinkie Sense – she had long since given up on figuring the mysterious sixth sense out, but she was still convinced that it could behave in a predictable way – but at the moment, she had bigger concerns, and of all of them, Pinkie was most likely to know where Rainbow Dash was at any given moment.
Pinkie considered a few moments. “Slow Tuesday?” she asked. “I dunno, she normally schedules herself for a day off today, so she could be anywhere. But I do know that Fluttershy was going grocery shopping today in the farmer’s market!”
“That’ll do, Pinkie, that’ll do!” Applejack said, as the small herd of mares changed direction as one, racing towards the market.
Pinkie hopped up next to Twilight. “So why are we running?” She asked. “Are we practicing for next year’s Running of the Leaves? Ooh! Are we trying to make slush? Ooh! Ooh! I know! We’re all going to go to Bon Bon’s to try and get the golden ticket! If there’s six of us and we all buy candy bars…”
“No, Pinkie!” Twilight insisted. “Trixie thinks that Celestia’s evil for some reason and that we’re the bad guys. She stole the Elements of Harmony! So we need to get together and find her!”
“Darn, that was my next guess, too,” Pinkie mourned.
---
Ditzy opened her front door, taking off her mailmare’s cap as she did. “I’m home!” she exclaimed brightly as she shucked her coat as well, and left her empty mail bags near the door. She trotted into the kitchen. She had intended to get the blueberry muffin she knew was waiting for her in the fridge. Instead, she found herself looking at Raindrops, Carrot Top, Lyra – all of them wearing Elements of Harmony – and, of all ponies, Trixie, looking at her with a pained expression on her face.
Ditzy whickered in surprise at that. “T-Trixie?!” she exclaimed, backing away. She looked to Carrot Top. “Carrot Top, you have to get her out of here! The entire town is looking for her, Princess Celestia is here and – ”
“I know,” Carrot Top said, holding up her hooves. “Ditzy, it’s Corona, somehow she’s – ”
“Who’s Corona?”
Trixie stepped forward with determination, even as she levitated an item – the Element of Kindness – from a nearby blue box and slid it around Ditzy’s neck before she could react. “Ditzy,” she said. “Ditzy, please listen – ”
“Stay away from me!”
She made to fly away, but both Trixie’s and Lyra’s magic grabbed her, pulling her back. “I’m getting real sick of this…” Trixie groaned as her horn glowed bright blue and she leaned in –
…Corona had been released, kidnapped Dinky…Ditzy being there when Trixie first met Twilight Sparkle…Trixie and Ditzy together at Andalantis…Trixie afraid of Ditzy for the first time in her life, when gangsters had kidnapped Dinky, and then again, weeks later, when Ditzy had made some accidental assumptions about Trixie and Dinky…Ditzy helping Trixie make peace with Night Light, Twilight Sparkle’s father, at the Grand Galloping Gala…
…but strung throughout, for the two were inseparable in Trixie’s mind, was Dinky Doo as well. Trixie teaching Dinky how to use her telekinesis better. Dinky coming to Trixie for help with some simple spells. Dinky as Trixie’s stage assistant for her Eventime Festival show…Trixie’s heart swelling with pride when, for the school talent show, Dinky did a magic act…throughout it all, Ditzy saw the blue unicorn as somepony she trusted with her daughter – and if she could trust Trixie with Dinky…
“I…yeah,” Ditzy’s voice said to her. “Kindness. Okay. I can get behind that, I guess…”
Ditzy and Trixie fell away from each other. Lyra and Raindrops caught Trixie, while Carrot Top caught Ditzy. The two ponies stared at each other, one in confusion and recognition at the same time, the other only with hope.
“Trixie…?” Ditzy asked, recognition finally winning out.
“Ditzy!” Trixie exclaimed, leaping forward and embracing and nuzzling Ditzy tightly. For some reason, her normal hooves-off attitude tended to drop with Ditzy, probably due to how motherly Ditzy could be. Ditzy returned the hug tightly.
“I can’t believe I forgot you…” Ditzy exclaimed.
“It’s not your fault,” Trixie insisted, breaking the hug and nuzzle. “Where’s Dinky?”
“At school,” Ditzy said, looking around at the rest of her friends. Her memories were at war in her head, but it was a brief one. Ditzy knew practically everypony in Ponyville thanks to her job at the post office. “With Cheerilee…whom I guess we’re going to get now?”
Trixie nodded, pressing her two front hooves together. “And then,” she said, “We’re going to buck Corona back into the sun where she belongs!”
Ditzy pointed dramatically out the door. “To the school!” she exclaimed.
---
In the farmer’s market, three mares were panting, out of breath, one pink one was buying a slushy despite the cold weather, and two pegasi mares – the rainbow-maned one of the pair laden with grocery bags as she hovered in the air, using the groceries as weights – were waiting for an explanation.
“Elements…stole…Celestia…” Twilight gasped.
Fluttershy put her hooves to her mouth. “Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed. “The Elements stole Princess Celestia? How?”
Rainbow Dash set her groceries down, as she rolled her eyes slightly. “I think you need to clarify,” she suggested.
Twilight shook her head. “Trixie stole the Elements,” she explained once she had her breath back. “She thinks that she’s supposed to be the bearer of the Element of Magic, and that we’re all frauds. Princess Celestia is helping with the search, but we all need to be together in case Trixie thinks that we’re all evil, too, and she tries to attack us.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “What is with that mare?” she demanded. “What’s going to happen next time she comes to town? Will she be riding an Ursa Major?”
“Poor dear,” Fluttershy said, tapping her hooves together. “She must be confused after being struck by lightning and overchanneling…I’ve seen this sort of thing happen with animals I look after sometimes. They can be completely different after!” She looked to Twilight. “Um…what can we do to help her?”
Twilight considered. “Figure out where she’s going next,” she said. “Princess Celestia said that we should try to think like her…imagine if we found ourselves in Ponyville, found everypony acting strangely, and found Trixie making friends with Nightmare Moon and with the Elements of Harmony.”
“Well…” Rainbow Dash said, glancing between her friends, “get the Elements of Harmony, then find you guys, I think.”
Applejack stomped a hoof. “Right!” she said. “Trixie don’t just think that she’s supposed to have the Element of Magic. She was surprised to see mah cutie mark on the Element of Honesty too, right? So she thinks that they’re all supposed to be different.”
“But who?” Twilight asked, looking around. The farmer’s market was slow right now, but there was still several dozen ponies in easy sight. “There’s thousands of ponies in Ponyville! Which five are we looking for?”
Applejack thought. “She…she mentioned bein’ friends with a few ponies ‘round town when she first woke up,” she said, brow furrowing. “Um…Carrot Top, Ditzy Doo, an’…Cheerilee. Yeah. That’s all I remember.”
“I don’t know where Ditzy Doo and Carrot Top are right now,” Rarity said, “but right now, Sweetie Bell is at school – and that means that Miss Cheerilee must be, as well. And if Trixie isn’t there now, she will be soon.”
“Alright,” Twilight exclaimed, looking around a few moments, before pointing. “To the school!”
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Okay, did not expect this particular turn, though maybe I should've. Great going Trixie, you're mind-bucking this dimension's ponies with fake memories.
Understandable but...wow, that won't cause any problems once this gets sorted out. I am loving this story and giddy at the pace at which the chapters are coming. Keep it up!!! PLEASE! This is the story I'm looking the most forward to of all the stories I'm following on Fim Fiction!!!
I've tried to enjoy the Lunaverse, but too many of its stories try and fail to be standalones, while simultaneously trying and failing to tie into a larger plot arc.
This fic has barely begun and I already see those same problems.
Oh, gotta give Trixie credit, she works fast.
.....and for a mare who...detests....physical relations as much as she does, you'd think she'd be partly throwing up by now.
Conflict incoming!
Corona hitched a ride on TwiLuna's spell! The real Celestia is trapped in a log cabin on the Canterhorn with Dick Nixon and Bob McNamera! They're having a drinking contest! Wait princess, don't drink! It's Bud Lite! It's all Bud Lite!
2327212
If you say so. Most regard our continuity as our strongest point. Though, this is still very much a stand-alone. Sure, you don't know what I'm referencing with those memory-dumps. You don't have to, however. All it's establishing is that Trixie has a season worth of adventures under her belt, too, just like Twilight at this point.
The school!
I'd say more but the keyboard on the kindle is terrible.
Wow, I just finished reading the other three chapters and what do I see when I check my followed stories but another chapter! Tonight is a win.
Oh man, I am anxiously waiting for this to be resolved. The situation is already FUBAR and spiraling fast. However, I have hopes for the Mane 6, since the Alt!Mane 6 don't have the abilities they do in the Lunaverse, given that they aren't really them.
I like how it's going.
Trixie: I'm going to KISS YOU and you'll be Element of Harmony!
Raindrops\Cheerilee\Ditzy\Carrot Top\Lyra: Okay...
Still waiting for Elements to bathe Celestia in rainbows only for NOTHING happening after that.
... 
Celestia: Well, nice rainbow shower, now what?
Trixie:
I feel bad for the canon versions of the L!6 right now... Trixie means well, but she's just given them all a whole bunch of memories that aren't theirs.
It doesn't seem like they were particularly unhappy with their respective lives, either. I suspect some of the details... Raindrops not having anger issues, Lyra living with her parents instead of Bon Bon (that's what it said, right?), Ditzy and Carrot Top being roommates... may become relevant in a future chapter.
You so clever with that chapter title. Can't wait for more!
So Trixie brainwashed her "friends"...
From what I understand Twilight just made them remember, so Trixie is more forceful.
I admit that I never finished the Lunaverse since I dislike Trixie in general, but she seems way OP.
I would suppose the elements will not work for them at all or will actually erase the false memories Trixie implanted on them.
2327272
Althought Trixie gave Raindrops nice idea about cloud storage. WHen it's all over both universes can trade tips and tricks.
2327200 They aren't fake, they just don't quite belong to the correct pony...
This can only end in confusion. The elements may actually respond to both groups due to Trixie's meddling. Then things will go south REAL quick.
2327264 Stealing my lines now are we
2327305
Oh my! It appears I really did that. Sorry!
2327264
Okay that would be pretty cool...the expression on Trixie's face alone would be worth the price of admission.
I don't know the details of this memory spell, but the fact that it worked at all is worrisome. So far, this story has imposed the Lunaverse on canon instead of being an equitable meeting. Trixie is walking all over everybody right after overchanneling and getting hit by lightning. If it turns out that Trixie's manufactured allies can wield the elements, or if the canon good guys end up taking on the flaws of their alternates, I'm out.
This is very good. More, please.
Oh.
This just way more complicated.
Dare I guess that the two 'verses are... starting to meld?
2327314
You forgot Celly and Twilight's faces, when they realize that Trixie USED ELEMENT OF MAGIC and managed to find full set of ponies to use Elements.
Twilight: But... Trixie is ELEMENT OF MAGIC?!
Celestia: She got 5 ponies to use Elements in what, half a day? Maybe I should use her as my student now? She's efficient for sure...
2327312 It's alright, that just proves it's the perfect reaction to what hopefully will happen if they end up blasting Celestia.
I'm sort of pleasantly surprised by how much Magical Mystery Cure seems to have influenced this story even though this has nothing to do with Twilicorn.
And I agree with all the people who want them to zap Celestia with the Elements of Harmony and have it do nothing at all. Maybe have it clean her coat and style her mane.
2327316
Well, to be fair Trixie doesn't have raw magic power and used to work in similar circumstances: alone vs world (and few friends to help her). I think she's now hyped and tries to end it as quickly as possible, and with Equestria Prime being somehow 'softer' and 'nicer' than Lunaverse, ponies and Guards are not ready for her fast-paced actions.
But, Twilight is powerful, Celestia is goddess, and when Trixie fails with her Elements attack (and she will fail one way or another) they'll have words. And I bet brainwashed M!Luna6 wouldn't be too happy about fake memories either.
If situation were reversed, M!Twilight in Lunaverse, her-vs-world will be pretty similar and just as believeable.
2327288
If they're any good at their job, an illusionist will seem to be almighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing.
They never are. But they seem that way.
Trixie's spell here is just a memory-transfer spell. She takes her own memories and copies them into others. Some...unique...circumstances are at work here, but under normal conditions it's basically just like watching a movie.
Other than that, Trixie has glamors and ghost sounds, which are neat, but hardly OP. All she's done are varying degrees of tricks of the light or making really loud noises. Blinding Celestia, for example? She didn't actually do anything to Celestia's eyes, she just stopped the flow of light from reaching them; or in other words, she didn't have to overcome Celestia's spell resistance, she just had to overcome thin air. Her shadow-clones used on Applejack were just a bunch of illusions, not actually, physically there.
Trixie has nothing on the raw power of Twilight. What she is, however, is clever with her usage of spells. She *knows* all she has are tricks of light and sound, so she makes those tricks of light and sound count.
2327316
Let me ask you a question.
How do the Elements of Harmony work?
*CHEERS*
YAYYYYYYY~!!!!!!
Curious and curiouser.
Cant wait for the next chapter.
As fast as this is updating, how long have you had this prewritten ?
2327363
And that;s what I love in your fics. Trixie being herself, arrogant, bousting and egoistical, but slightly tolerable, and her being SMART. At the end it doesn't matter how much power you have. You either win or not, and Trixie has ton of ways to trick, amaze, and otherwise confuse the enemy.
By the way, have you read "Another Kind of Magic"? Especially Trixie-vs-Nightmare Moon battle?
2327377
In my head? About a year.
On paper? So far I've literally been doing a chapter a day. That pace can't hold, though, if for no other reason then the fact that tomorrow I have an all-day shift at work.
Still, I'm eager to put as much distance between myself and At the Grand Galloping Gala as possible, and since I can't actually physically run away from it, I'm measuring distance in terms of "chapters of other things I've written."
...
...so basically this is the metaphorical equivalent of me running down the main street of a city while singing at the top of my lungs. And I do not have a good singing voice.
I thought the memory spell worked by bringing up a persons own memories that had been repressed or forgotten somehow rather then inserting them. Even if that's how the spell worked there's a big difference between your memories of someone and that persons own memories. Trixie's memories of her friends would be fragmented and imperfect. Also why are they all so willing to write off their real memories as fake; you'd think they would have a bit more attachment to them. I get what your trying to do but it bugs me.
You know... it's times like this when I am so glad I know the author personally.
Knowing what I know about what's coming up is making everything just that more enjoyable. 
2327335
Actually, this part was already planned out before Season 3 had even started. Magical Mystery Cure actually has no influence on this story as far as I can remember. RDD's been sitting on this story for much longer than most people think...
2327385 Well, good luck with your writing marathon.
Well then... this is all going to be awkward later...
Show Down with cherilee.
2327264
Oh I can only imagine Celestia going into maximum overtroll if that happens.
I can see it now: Luna 6 uses Elements of Harmony on Celeista. Rainbow hits Celestia, doing nothing (Or even healing/buffing her!). Luna 6 are confused.
Celestia: Well, that was a refreshing rainbow shower. I think i might bathe in rainbows more often!
That is a great idea dude.
2327363
They work by suspension of disbelief, of course. The point isn't how they work; the point is what they represent. If a bunch of strangers grabbed out of their houses and brainwashed can wield the elements, the damage to the core themes of the show wrecks the equality of the crossover. The Lunaverse's values become the ones that matter.
2327244 how can this be stand if in order to understand how trixie is able to restore ponies memories we have to read another story?
Now the question for me is whether or not the mane cast will get there before Trixie gives Cheerlie her memories or just when she's finished giving them to her?
Then the next question after that is how long the debate will last before the fight will happen or will the fight happen at all? Or will one of Trixie's new universe friends will figure out the truth that there's two Trixies in this world now?
Quite impressive that all the spells you had Trixie cast led to her being able to pull all this off. Still not loving the mistaken universe impression though but things are seemingly moving quickly to a resolution on that and it looks like the parts of this story that I will enjoy are rapidly coming. Thanks for sharing and hope to read more soon.
2327244
But see, that's exactly my point--it's being treated as a standalone, but the even in the description it makes promises of a grander narrative and of connections to the universe as a whole. Let me be clear when I say I'm not referring to continuity, but to pacing and narrative structure.
Nearly every Lunaverse story seems to be torn between standing by itself and tying into a larger narrative, and this gives every one of them very choppy pacing.
I have no issue with scale, but the synergy between stories varies wildly, and that does more damage to its structure than having no synergy at all. Reading this story finally made me realize that.
Hmmm........the interesting thing about this is that it might actually end up helping the M!Luna Six a bit. Knowing that there's a world where they can be heroes might actually inspire them to do reach beyond the happy little ruts they find themselves in. Also, I can't wait for L!Twilight and M!Trixie to show up looking for redemption. (Well, that and the chapter that has L!Lyra show up and take Trixie to task for being an idiot.)
So Trixie just brainwashed/mindraped who she thought were her friends...
Yeah, she's probably going to be horrified when she eventually realizes what she did. Also, I can't see that not being a serious crime in Equestria, so even though she didn't MEAN to do it... That's not going to end well. Is there an involuntary manslaughter equivalent for brainwashing/mindrape?
EDIT: Gah, even though it was an accident it is still horrifying. And a little nauseating. I don't know how you fix something like this, she messed up their minds big-time.
2327292
I don't know how friendly they'll be after finding out she basically override their memories in a technical method of brainwashing.
Fun chapter, I am naturally a tad disquieted by the memory spell but knowing how it technically works takes the edge off. But that's a minor quibble; I really liked this chapter! I figured the Celestia bit was tied to either Luna or a friend and having been called that at some point. hmm maybe she was visiting/trying to redeem Luna and Luna started hurling insults or maybe it was a dream and dreaming of herself as a villain is her nightmare. Not sure, still the scene was great and I like the barrier idea around Ponyville and Twi gathering the Elements. hmm i'm probably gonna feel bad for the M!L counterparts when the spell wears off aren't I?
EDIT: ooh where is Celestia going? Has she figured it out, does she have a grand plan already in the works, maybe she's going to get Luna, or to mend the whole in the space time continuum, or find Trixie before things get crazier.
2327388 i think the memory spell might have overwhelmed them maybe if they have time to process the info they would realize that but even still they might just think that it's corona's work
Two things make me suspcious of Celestia on top of the memory spell working on ponies from teh wrong dimension of course"
1. Celestia knew who Corona was
2. She knew what Trixie would be doing exactly and just kind of told Twilight to figure that out...
MOAR!
By the way:
I hope this isn't the brick joke that will happen at the end of the story. ^^;
2327483
If we accept the premise behind Keep Calm and Flutter On, Discord was forgiven for doing that on a massive scale and reducing the world to a broken mess and he did it for laughs as opposed to thinking he was saving the world. Twilight also did it in canon when she mind controlled a large portion of the town into desiring the doll and was let off due to stress so I doubt Trixie is going to need to be punished considering the circumstances.