The Great And Powerful Fairy Tail

by The Corrupted Champion

Outcasts Unite!

The Great and powerful Fairy Tail
Chapter 1: Outcasts unite!

Equestria; a place of plenty. A place without war, famine, and suffering...yeah right... Trixie glared out the window of her makeshift treehouse.

...Okay, it wasn't really a treehouse. it was originally a tent she'd pitched up that had blown up in to the tree by a powerful wind storm...yeah... needless to say it didn't make for a good night's sleep when one could hear the gusts of wind approaching like a locomotive running at full speed every 45 seconds...and don't even ask about how it felt when those gusts actually hit...

she knew the truth was to the contrairy. It may be free of war, but not conflict; and certainly not suffering, not if her own wasn't even to be counted. She sighed dejectedly. "...looks like its back to the rock farm..." then she shook her head. No... she wasn't going to be a burden on them by going to them again so soon after the first time...but...

Her memory went back to the events of her return to Ponyville, when the Alicorn amulet possessed her and made her enslave the entire town. she was locked inside her mind, helpless to do anything as she watched through her own eyes as that corruption made her do those terrible things. certainly, she was hardly an angel like Twilight Sparkle and her cabal of friends...but to enslave an entire town? she had no love for the place, but she never intended for any of that to happen.

...and then there was the dreams... horrible dreams that would turn into nightmares as twisted demonic parodies of the Ponyville citizens would back her into a corner...her magic not working at all... and start tossing her about like a ragdoll, laugh and taunting "Look at her! the 'Meek and Powerless Trixie! Hahahahaha!!!" and other such things... until Twilight would appear.

"Stop!" she would call out, causing the others to clear a path for her and her friends.

"Oh, thank goodness, somepony with a heart!" Trixie would plead, only for that hope to be dashed as the purple unicorn and her friends would warp into similar abominations as the rest of them.

"...Oh, I wouldn't say that...I still have to get you back for all the trouble you caused..." Her eyes become pools of black with shining red lights within. Her face contorts into a psychotic grin lined with sharp jagged teeth. Her alicorn wings warp into satanic bat wings, dripping with blood...

"What?! but you said you forgave me!" Trixie pleads.

"Ha! Forgive you?! That's a laugh!" she taunts. "...No...I want you to suffer..." The demonic Twilight Sparkle's horn simmers with a noxious black aura. "...Suffer like the weakling you are..." a wave of black magic blasts her back.

Trixie stumbles back to her hooves as The demonic ponies slowly advance on her. Suddenly, she feels a strange urge driving her to look down. The familiar sight of the alicorn amulet greets her. "What?!"

"Go ahead..." the demonic Twilight said, that cruel grin never leaving her face. "...use it." the cursed amulet seemed to clasp itself around her neck. "You know you could never match me without it; as patheticly weak as you are!"

"No! I'm never using it again!" Trixie would always protest.

Then would come a new voice. A deep growling voice that seemed to come from within the amulet itself. "Awww...but don't you remember how much fun we had?" it would taunt. "...All those wretched ponies cowering in fear of you...do you mean to tell me that it didn't exhilarate you to have them bowing before you instead of looking down on you as the scum of the universe?" Trixie couldn't deny that she hated being looked down upon for so long. it was because of this that "The Great and Powerful Trixie" came to be in the first place. "Like you weren't even worth a second glance? All you ever wanted was to dazzle them and make them happy with your special talents..." Tears were welling in her eyes as the scenario continues to play through her mind. "...And yet..." The alicorn amulet flares to life and she now becomes a spectator as she watches herself become enveloped with its dark red glow. A shock wave bursts forward, Reducing the demonic twilight and her gang of twisted monsters to smoldering charcoal... leaving only she...and her other self; now also twisted and corrupted. Her twisted reflection turned its menacing gaze to her. "...THOSE WRETCHED INGRATES FORSAKE YOU!! JUST LIKE YOUR PARENTS DID!!!"

As always, this would mark the end of her nightmares as she would wake up drenched in a cold sweat. Today was no exception. She hadn't had a decent night's sleep since these nightmares began a couple weeks ago. She inched her way out to the entrance of her tent, which still hung dangling from its wooden prison, and looked down to the ground. she judged it to be about ten feet down. "...Okay... time to regain my barings..." she said more to herself then anyone else.

-----------------------------------Canterlot Castle: Unknown chamber-----------------------

Deep within the halls of Canterlot Castle, there was a room used to store all manner of Magical artifacts. Princess Celestia often visited this room in order to check on one particular object. A large mirror; its frame shaped like a horseshoe, and its sleek surface seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly glow. This mirror, it was discovered, was a gateway into a strange foreign world in which magic doesn't exist and was inhabited by strange creatures called humans... The reason that the princess would visit this artifact was an old student of hers.

There was a unicorn named Sunset Shimmer. this young pony had been her student before Twilight Sparkle, and even in her absence in that other world, had come to be Twilight's equal in almost every way. either one could rival her own power one day... According to Twilight, however, Sunset had come to see the errors of her ways and now works to redeem herself. Twilight assured her that she would be proud of how much Sunset had matured in such a short time. Two months had passed since that day, and Equestria was still recovering from the damage caused by the demonic centaur Tirek. Coincidentally, the three day window in which the gateway was open had begun. She'd been staring at the mirror for a little over an hour by this point, for even now, she prayed for Sunset's well-being.

A crestfallen sigh escapes her as she turns and begins to exit the chamber. The crackling discharge of magic from the mirror makes the alicorn spin back around. her wide-eyed visage of temporary shock was replaced by a gentle smile as a familiar unicorn mare stumbled through the rippling surface of the mirror. tears of joy began welling in her eyes as she approached her old student. "Welcome back, Sunset Shimmer..." she said; her voice shaking ever so slightly.

The young unicorn looked up, a mix of surprise and fear on her face. "...P-princess?!" She stood slowly, her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her hooves. "...I...I'm-"

The Princess cut her off by lifting her chin upward to make her look back up into her eyes. "...Shhh..." she cooed softly. "There is no need to say anything..." she then pulled Sunset into motherly embrace. "...all this time... I've waited for you all this time, praying that you'd return..."

Sunset was in tears. "I...I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "...I...I just-"

"Shhhh. I forgave you a long time ago..." The princess whispered.

The two spent the better part of three hours talking and catching up on the state of things. Sunset was shocked when she heard about the events that transpired with Tirek; how he very nearly conquered all of Equestria in a few short days... and Princess Twilight and her friends unlocking some long dormant power from the tree of harmony in order to defeat him and send him back to Tartarus where he'd been imprisoned since before the reign of herself and Princess Luna; It had in fact been the legendary Starswirl the bearded who had banished him the first time.

Then came the reign of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire; who coincidentally also very nearly conquered the nation in a very short time... not with raw power as Tirek did, but with cunning tactics and ruthless tenacity. the dark unicorn was forever marked as a brilliant and terrifying tactician after his reign came to an end. She was equally shocked to discover that the lavender unicorn now possessed her own castle, which apparently looked like a giant crystalline tree house. The Fiery maned unicorn couldn't even comprehend that 'The' Discord, the spirit king of chaos himself, played a major role in Twilight's victory.

"I can't believe I've missed so much..." Sunset said with a sigh.

"Indeed..." a new voice said. The two looked to see Pirncess Luna standing in the doorway. "You have missed a great deal, Sunset Shimmer. Welcome back to Equestria." The dark princess regarded Sunset with a gentle smile, having heard of her reform from Twilight as well as having been standing in the door for a good while listening to their conversation, waiting to see how long it would taking them to notice her presence. The princess of the night then joined the conversation and told of the adventures...and misadventures... of the various ponies that she'd helped and gotten to know since her return from banishment.

...................In the sky somewhere between Cloudsdale and Ponyville..............

A young pegasus mare stared gloomily over the edge of the sky chariot as the moving pegasai pulled it along. Her golden-yellow mane flared behind her as they flew away from Cloudsdale, her original home town; and heading towards the small town of Ponyville. Some agricultural community about a couple hours away from Canterlot by train. Lightning Dust didn't mind, ever since what happened at the wonderbolt academy with Rainbow Dash, she appreciated every opportunity she got to be alone with her thoughts.

As she looked out over the fields, they transitioned to a forest of intricately placed trees. Apple trees. Ah, the famous 'Sweet Apple Acres' that she'd heard so much about. She was going to be staying with her cousin, Ditzy. Celestia bless that mare, but she was so accident prone, that it wasn't even funny...anymore. She looked forward to see something that made her do a double take. A big crystalline castle glimmered in the sunlight for all to see. It was truly a spectacle to behold. "...No way..."

"First time seeing Princess Twilight's Castle?" one of the two pegusai pulling the carriage asked. She couldn't answer with words, only a bewildered nod.

"When did THAT happen?!" she asked in amazement.

"Heh... right after the Tirek crisis." was the response.

Lightning Dust grinned. "I totally have to see it up close!" she declared. it had been a while sinse she felt excited about something, she couldn't help but think back to that moment at the Wonder Bolt Academy...

..................................................Flash Back...........................................

"It isn't just about pushing yourself! It's about pushing yourself in the right direction!" Spitfire admonished. she ripped the golden badge off her training uniform and pointed towards the main complex. "...My office...ten minutes..."

She had begun to realize how idiotic she'd been. with a defeated sigh, she turned towards the academy. she looked back at Rainbow dash and her friends said one thing. "...I'm sorry..."

....................................................End Flash Back..............................................

She didn't really care to remember what fallowed as it consisted of her having to prepare a formal apology to all the other cadets and Rainbow Dash and her friends who got caught in her tornado. On top of that she had to explain to her father, a former Wonderbolt himself, why she was sent home early. Needless to say, that wasn't her finest hour. Labeled a disgrace by her father and all her cloudsdale peers, she really had no choice but to find somewhere else to start over.

As she looked back to the glimmering castle, however, her smile returned. "well...here's to a fresh start..." she said softly to herself. Little did she realize, that living in the same town as the only relative aside from her mother who didn't outright blacklist her, was the one mare that she'd wronged the most. Rainbow Dash...

..........................Meanwhile...approaching Ponyville from another direction.................

Trixie grumbled in agitation, cursing her existence for the twelvth time that afternoon when she found herself coming up towards Ponyville. "...It's like fate wants me to end up lynched..." she said bitterly. the jaded unicorn continued down the path until she saw something new. "Oh! Nope, it just wants to continue rubbing the eternal success of "Princess Twilight" in my face untill I lynch myself..." she said with a humorless laugh.

The reason for her statement being a certain crystal castle shimmering proudly in the sunlight... "Really? she has her own CASTLE NOW?!" How did this happen? when did this happen...? why...?

<Now are you convinced? You NEED MY POWER!!!> A familiar voice hissed in the back of her head. <...Reclaim it... Claim her beautiful castle as your own... reduce it to rubble...It doesn't matter to me...>
"Well, it does matter to me..." she hissed back after quickly checking to ensure nopony could hear her. "...If I ever see your stupid amulet again-"
<You'll what, hmm? destroy me? you know you're no where near strong enough or smart enough to accomplish that...> it taunted, cuting her off mid-sentence. <...But by all means, try...either way, you'll have to aquire the amulet to do so...> Trixie glared as though she would kill the tree before her with her gaze. <...You look angry...do you wish to strike at me? inflict pain on me?>

She grit her teeth. "...Don't tempt me..." she growled. "You'll get what you deserve...I only hope i'm the one to do it..." Trixie hated when, whatever sort of demon this was, taunted her like this. she could only tune him out for so long... She was actually mulling over the idea of asking Twilight Sparkle for help with this 'problem' she only hoped that she wasn't walking into her demise.

<...Heheheheh... as I said, go ahead and try. No mere pony denies Blood Dust his prey for long...> he said smugly, finally giving his name. Blood Dust, huh...?

She continued walking into Ponyville; The wheels of her small wagon squeaking as she went, trying to avoid the stares she was getting. she looked around herself. Ponyville, like the 'Chaos Crisis' as it had been called, was the epicentre of the Tirek Crisis; and it showed. about half the town had been leveled during the final confrontation, she'd heard. The ponies were putting on braver faces, but the aftermath of the battle was everywhere. Everywhere Trixe looked, what she saw was blast craters, injured ponies and crumbled builings being rebuilt... "...All this destruction..." she muttered to herself. The blue coated mare thought back to her experience of the Tirek Crisis. She'd been at Rainbow Falls at the time...
.......................................Flashback..............................................................

She trotted up the road from the train station along with a whole crowd of ponies who all looked like they'd packed up everything they owned. she turned to the stallion next to her. "going on a long trip?" she inquired, just trying to make small talk.

The earth pony looked at her incredulously. "Have you not heard what's going on?"

Trixie blushed. "ahem...well, uh... I've been traveling alot, lately..." she defended awkwardly. "haven't really stayed in one place long enough to get a sense for current affairs..."

The stallion chuckled humorlessly. "Heh, smart idea... listen though, You steer clear of Canterlot now, y'hear?"

Trixie tilted her head inquisitively. "Why, what's going on?"

The Stallion's expression went dark. "...The city's turned into a warzone..." he said grimmly.

She blinked...

She blinked again......

"What?!"

"...A hoof-full of us decided to get the buck outta dodge...pack up and leave before "It" found us...but it looks like we ain't the only ones who had that idea..." he continued.

Trixie was now feeling very afraid. "Before...what found you?" she asked nervosly, voicing her thoughts.

Another pony joined the conversation. A pegasus mare with a pale yellow coat with azure mane and tail, and silver rimmed glasses over aquamarine eyes. "It was a centaur! some demonic centaur with the power to suck out every ounce of a unicorn's magic, and even a pegasus' ability to fly!"

Trixie gasped. "Such magic exists?! that's terrifying!"

The pegasus nodded and pushed up her glasses before continuing. "My brother is in the royal skygaurd, and he says that this thing escaped from Tartarus after being locked up there since the days of old Starswirl the bearded..."

Another voice rang out. "Yes! two Thousand nine hundred and forty seven years to be precise!" gasps and shreiks of terror drowned out almost everything else as the owner of the voice revealed himself in all his terrifying glory. His massive red form towering over the tallest pony... it had to be "Him" ...whoever he was... A centaur who looked like he could take on a dragon and not only win, but barely break a sweat doing so.

It was total anarchy after that as the giant centaur magically lifted ponies into the air by the dozen and sucked some kind of energy out of them; leaving them looking almost like corpses. Their cutiemarks disappeared and their eyes became murky and grey, as though they were blind. They then dropped lifelessly to the ground like ragdolls.

The monster then turned his eyes to her...-

--THUD!!--...and end flashback...

She stumbled back as whatever it was that she walked into jerked her back to reality. "Ah! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention-" She babbled in panic.

Before her was a familiar pink maned pegasus. "...Oh, um... It's okay..." she said quietly with a small smile. what was her name again...? Trixie looked at her to see that she had apparently stepped in the way because there was a line of ducklings crossing the road. the pegasus shuffled her hooves awkwardly. "...Um... S-sorry for jumping in your way like that, but...um... you were going to walk right into these little duckies if I hadn't..."

"Oh, uh...sorry." Trixie said awkwardly. Another uncomfortable silence fell over the two. "Um..." she began. "...I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Oh, it's Fluttershy" she said with a timid smile returning to her face. Right! that's what it was...

It was Trixie's turn to shuffle awkwardly. "Right. Fluttershy...um do you know where i can find...P...p-princess Twilight?"

Fluttershy frowned. "You aren't here to cause Twilight more trouble, ARE YOU?"

'Oh crap! they still remember the amaulet incident...' "NO! I'm here because..." Trixie trailed off. They still hated her here...not that she could blame them. 'I knew it was pointless to come looking for help...'

The unicorn's distress did not escape Fluttershy's notice, for she seemed to grow more distraught by the minute. "...Um...are you alright?"

Trixie finally broke down. "NO I'M NOT!!!" her sudden outburst causing Fluttershy to jump back with a yelp. "It's that STUPID AMULET!! there's something in it. Some kind of demon or something, I dunno. I've been hearing some messed up voice in my head ever since I took that STUPID...CURSED THING OFF AND THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE IT STOP IS TO DESTROY IT OR THE DEMON...!"

She had to stop and take a breath when she realized that entire rant was all in one breath. "I'm here because I have to destroy that cursed thing...but I can't do it alone." Tears were pouring from her eyes now. "...I need help..." she sobbed.

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. Straight from first greeting, she could tell that the mare had changed. Gone was the arrogant demeanor and iredeamable braggart. in her place was somepony broken and desperate. somepony at the end of their rope and barely hanging on. Now here she was. crying her eyes out, begging for help. she pulled Trixie into a gentle hug. "Shhhhhhh...there there, please don't cry." she said softly. "I promise, I'll take you straight to Twilight okay?"

Trixie pulled away to look the pegasus mare in the eye. "-sniff- really?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Come on, let's go see her now." she paused. "...well, that is...unless you'd rather wait til later..."

Trixie wiped the tears from her face and smiled. "N-no...now would be great..." And so the two were about to set off for the crystal castle when some angered shout drew their attention elsewhere.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lightning Dust had finally arrived in Ponyville and was familiarizing herself with the town. as she'd learned and seen, barely half the town was still standing after Tirek was defeated. so it came at a heavy price. Her cousin Ditzy was walking next to her, helping her carry her luggage home. "Thanks again for letting me stay with you for a while, Ditzy. I really appreciate it." she said.

Her cousin laughed. "Oh, it's no trouble, Dusty!" she said cheerfully. " A lot of ponies are out of a home after what happened. I've been helping all over the place with anypony who needs it. There's another pony staying with me too, so ya might have to share a room..."

A roomie, huh? "I guess that's okay." Lightning Dust said nonchalantly. "Beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"What are YOU doing here?!" a familiar voice demanded angrily.

Lightning Dust sighed warily before turning to see the owner of the voice, glaring disdainfully at her. "Rainbow Dash..." she greeted calmly.

The rainbow maned mare got right up in Lightning Dust's face. "You didn't answer my question!" Rainbow Dash barked.

Ditzy Doo, better known as "Derpy" by the locals and a few family members, forced herself between the other two. "Dashie, Stop it!"

"Get outta the way, Derpy!-"

Lightning Dust's eye twitched. she hated it when ponies insulted her family, no matter who it was. "Don't call her that!" she snapped. "Her name is Ditzy Do, not "Derpy"!"

The cross eyed pegasus looked at her cousin in worry. "Dusty, that's not helping!" she begged, tears in her eyes now.

Rainbow dash glared at Lightning dust again. "Go hug a cactus, Lightning Dust!"

"Everypony, please...settle down!" Rainbow Dash turned to see Fluttershy and-

"Trixie! what are YOU doing here?!"

Trixie returned Rainbow Dash's glare. "I'm here to destroy the alicorn amulet." she replied coldly. "...and I don't require your permission for that."

Rainbow stared at the azure mare. "Hah! As if you could pull that off on your own!" She laughed.

Trixie merely arched an eyebrow. "I have no such delusions of overcoming a demon that even Starswirl the bearded could not best..." she stated flatly. "I may be known for telling tall tales for the sake of entertaining a crowd, but I don't lie about things that can lead to a potential crisis..."

Now it was Rainbow dash's turn to gawk. Lightning dust and Derpy shared a nervous look. "What kind of monster are we talkin' here?" Lightning dust asked.

Trixie sighed. "I don't know, but he calls himself 'Blood Dust'" She confessed. "...and all he wants is to bring destruction everywhere he goes."

<Awwww... not "everywhere"... only places with ponies that anger us->

"SHUT UP, BLOOD DUST!!!" Trixie blurted out angrily glaring at an empty space.

Rainbow Dash blinked at the display. "Do I even want to know?"

Trixie's eye twitched. "...Not much for paying attention when somepony explains something to you, huh?" she asked snidely.

Rainbow Dash glared in response. She was about to make some manner of comeback when she was cut off by the sudden arrival of the newly minted 'Princess Of Friendship'. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy! We have a problem, a HUGE PROBLEM!!" Twilight Sparkle shreiked in absolute panic.

"Yeah, you bet we do, Twilight. Trixie is back and she's spouting crazy-talk as usual!" Rainbow snarked.

Twilight blinked in surprise. "wait...what?..." she fumbled her words as she turned to see that Trixie was indeed in their midst once again. "Tirxie? what are you-"

"I'm here because the Alicorn Amulete has an evil being inside it and I intend to see it destroyed." Trixie droned exasperately.

Twilight's eyes were pinpricks. "Oh, good! add that to the list of disasters today." she said with an obviously fake smile.

"Uh oh..." Rainbow Dash muttered.

Lightning Dust gave Rainbow a worried look. "...what?"

Rainbow sighed. "That look." she explained. " That's her 'total meltdown freak-out' look. " her face took on a bemused smirk. "I wonder if the princess is coming to call..."

Twilight jerked to look at Rainbow Dash. "That's exactly IT!!"

Trixie and Lightning looked at each other in confusion. "Okay...and that warrants a mental breakdown...why?" Trixie asked.

Twilight's head snapped at Trixie, causing her to flinch. "Why...WHY?! It's Princess Celestia AND Princess Luna! Coming HERE! TODAY!! I havent even alphabetized the castle library yet...Ive organized and re-organized it three times now, and it's still a MESS!!"

Trixie drooped; a flat unimpressed look adorning her muzzle. "...Why do I get the feeling she's the only one who sees that as a problem?" Trixie asked flatly.

"Because she is..." Rainbow said with the same tone.

"...But why would they both be coming here?" Lightning Dust asked, unable to hide her confusion. "Last I checked, today isn't a holiday or anything; so what's the deal?"

"The Princess likes to discuss important issues with us in person...though she usually calls us to Canterlot for that. Maybe she's just stopping by to say hello...?" Fluttershy informed.

Trixie smiled. "well that's good, I'm finally starting to get some good luck..." she said with a sigh of releif, completly missing the twitch in Twilight's eye. "...I can bring my concern directly to Celestia and Luna's attention and be sure that something will be done, and I can finally move on with my life." she declared with renewed resolve.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh, drop the act! We all know that you have some idiotic self gratifying scheme going; all the while stroking your ego." she accused.

Trixie bristled at the comment. "I'm getting tired of your attitude!" she growled.

"Get used to it..." Lightning Dust droned flatly. "Rainbow Dash likes to hold a grudge."

Rainbow nickered with a snarl. "I DO NOT!!"

"You clearly do..." Trixie interrupted.

Flutter Shy tried to break up the argument. "...um...actually, she-"

"Ya know what both of you can do?" Rainbow Dash hissed; her glare darting back and forth between Trixie and Lightning Dust. "...It involves Everfree forest, Poison Joke. and a pissed off Manticore!"

"...Um...Rainbow Dash...?" Flutter shy tried to interject once more.

"You want me to teach you a lesson?!" Trixie Challenged "I have a nice little collection of spells now; I didn't need the amulete to take you down a peg before; I definitely don't need it now!"

"QUIET!!" The Voice of Twilight Sparkle boomed, enhanced by the ever famous "Royal Canterlot Voice" spell. "YOU ARE GOING TO STOP FIGHTING...NOW!!!" Everypony stood huddled together cowering at the sudden outburst. The Princess herself stood smiling brightly. "Good; now that I have your attention..." she began, and her expression once again turned to one of panic. "...THE PRINCESSES ARE COMING!! THE PRINCESSES ARE COMING!!"

..................................................................................................................................

Sunset Shimmer was accompanying the royal sisters to Ponyville to informTwilight and her friends of her return. Beside her, Princess Celestia beamed happily while Luna seemed deep in thought. "Is something wrong, Princess Luna?" The firey maned unicorn asked.

her question seemed to snap the younger alicorn back to reality. "What? ...forgive me; my mind was elsewhere"

Celestia gave her sister a questioning gaze. This was odd for her, as the Princess of night was always so focused on the task at hoof. "Is something wrong Luna, You seem distracted?"

The Night Princess sighed. "A strange occurance has been frequenting the dreamscape these past weeks, Sister..." She said warily. "An entity other then I, who actively influences dreams."

Both the Sun Princess and her former student looked at Luna in surprise. "What?" Celestia was floored. "When did this start?"

"To my knowledge, two weeks ago. I was going to bring this to your attention earlier had Sunset Shimmer not so abruptly returned." Luna's tone became serious. "I had waited for two reasons." she began. "One: It is isolated. there is only one event every couple nights; this makes the culprit difficult to track." she turned to more fully face the other occupants of the sky chariot. "...and Two: after investigation I have determined that it is the same victim every night...very odd..." '...and troubling that whoever this is has the power to lock me out of their victim's dreams whilest they work...' she finished silently.

Sunset fidgeted uneasily in her seat. "Has that ever happened before?" she asked, drawing Luna's attention.

"To my Knowledge, Not since Nightmare Moon; though when that happened it was mass Nightmare syndrome and hysteria. This is a single pony, as I stated before." Was Luna's answer.

Celestia sighed. "I suppose this means it won't be the social call I was hoping for..." she said, suddenly feeling rather exhausted...and annoyed that her hopes for a relatively good day were dashed so suddenly.

Celestia was about to comment further when she was cut off by the sound of a familiar voice amplified by a certain vocal spell... "QUIET!! YOU ARE GOING TO STOP FIGHTING...NOW!!!"

All three passengers in the royal chariot blinked at the sudden out burst that they could hear quite clearly from the air and looked out their windows. Sunset couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Twilight down on the ground waving her hooves comedically and gesturing up at them. before her were the familiar pony counterparts of her new friends from the mirror...well... Rainbow Dash and Flutter Shy anyway; oh, there's Apple Jack coming in from the town below. presumably seeing what all the fuss is about.

There were also three others. two she only somewhat recognized from their human counterparts. One was the obnixious drama queen, Trixie, the other was the ever bubbly and cheerful...'Derpy' she was certain everyone called her. the third was a complete unknown. A seafoam green pegasus with a blond mane and tail. "What's going on down there?" was all she could say.

Celestia cleared her throat. "Please bring us down!" she called. the pegusai did as requested and slowly descended to the ground, bringing the ruckus on the ground to quiet whispers as Sunset and the Princesses exited.

Many Ponies stopped what they were doing and bowed in respect. Celestia raised a hoof to calm the murmmering. "Greetings my subjects. It is wonderful to see that repairs are going so smoothly." she gave them all a warming smile. "More aid will be coming from canterlot in a few short days. The builders are gathering resources as I speak." her words braught an air of reassurance to the crowd and they began to dispurse. "...You need only wait until then."

Celestia then turned to Twilight. "Princess Twilight..." she greeted warmly.

"...Princess Celestia..." Twilight returned the greeting with a bow. "...Is there really more relief workers coming?"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed there is. Now shall we go inside? As you can see I've brought an 'old friend' of ours with me." she said nodding towards Sunset.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Apple Jack instantly recognized the mare. Twilight spoke first. "Uh...Hi Sunset..." she greeted awkwardly. "...when did you come back to Equestria?"

Sunset shrugged. "Just earlier today, actually..." she said trailing off slightly when Celestia spoke next.

"Shall we go inside, Twilight?" she inquired, a slight urgency in her tone. "...There is another matter that I needed to discuss with you..."

Twilight, catching the hint braught everypony into the crystal castle where they could speak in private. "Of course, Princess. There was actually something I wanted to speak to you about as well..."

Lightning Dust, Trixie, Sunset shimmer and everyone else filed into the throne room. Lightning looked up around the castle. "...So this is what it looks like in here..." she said in wonder. "Awesome digs..."

Trixie and Sunset were also unable to hide how impressed they both were. Though Trixie couldn't help but disolve to a somber air of resentment. "...sigh... Beats the hell out of my measly one pony tent..." she mumbeled, finally shedding all the extra stuff she was carrying before dropping to a sitting position. Sunset and Lightning turned their attention to her.

"What is all that?" Sunset asked. her question earned a discruntled grunt from the blue unicorn.

"...Everything I own in the world..." She grudgingly said. "...Being a Pariah and outcast doesn't make for a comfortable lifestyle..."

Sunset Shimmer looked at the pony-Trixie and smiled. "Yeah, I know what that's like..." the amber mare offered. "...I've made some stupid mistakes and spent a good while paying for it..."

Trixie looked at the other unicorn thoughtfully for a moment. "So, what did you do?" she asked, earning a sigh from Sunset.

"...I stole Princess Twilight's crown... and used it to turn into a deranged demon and attempted to brainwash an army to conqure equestria; then Twilight stopped me..." She summarized. deciding to only give the 'short version' instead of going into great detail.

Trixie Nodded. "That's pretty solid..." she admitted. "I squandered my entire stage career with a few white lies that fate decided to call me out on..." Sunset and Lightning exchanged curious looks before returning their attention to Trixie to see a humorless smile upon her face. "-Sigh-... It just had to be an Ursa..." she droned. "...Why couldn't it be a Manticore? I could handle a Manticore, but an Ursa?..."

Lightning looked at Sunset with a wry smirk. "...Uh oh, I know that look... here comes the ranting..." she whispered, getting a giggle from Sunset.

Trixie however, was completely oblivious to their brief exchange; and continued her story. "...It all started when I found my way to Ponyville for the first time. I set up the stage and did my magic show, bragging about having defeated an imaginary Ursa Major..."

"Yeah... any sane pony would consider such a thing suicide..." Sunset said bluntly...

Lightning nodded, getting an ide as to where the story was going. "...Let me guess; while you're still in town after your show... lo and behold, the real thing appears and you were powerless to stop it...?" the pegasus surmised.

Trixie nodded "...It gets better..." she said with a humorless smile. "...to add insult to injury, Twilight sparkle walks in...actually LIFTS the blasted thing and levitates it back to the everfree forest!" the blue unicorn utters a tired, wary sigh. "After all that the only pony who had lost anything was me. I lost my respect, I lost my career, and I lost everything I owned in my stage wagon when it was crushed under its foot."

Lightning gave trixie a reassuring pat on the back. "Yeah..." she said awkwardly. "...That seriously sucks..."

Trixie regarded Lightning for a moment before continuing with a much quieter and somber tone. "...It seems stories of my failure spread through equestria like a wildfire as everywhere I went, My new wagon was vandalized. Egged, grafittied and other such things. I was ridiculed and chased out of towns all over the place like my very presence is a curse of ill fortune... ponies...threw garbage at me..." tears were welling in her eyes now. Sunset and lightning looked at eachother, both sensing that Tirxie's story was only going to get worse. "...I was at an all-time low. I had become obsessed with the idea that it was all Twilight Sparkle's falt that my life had been tossed under the wagon. So i wanted to get something that would get me above her level and bring my career back; and all I did was kill it for good..."

"...The amulet you mentioned before?" Lightning Dust asked having connected the dots.

Trixie nodded, and with a sigh, she continued. "It reacted to the negative emotions in my heart; greed... petulence... dishonesty...everything about myself that I've come to despise, and it turned me into a monster that enslaved a town! It made me do so many horrible things!!" she was crying now.

Lightning and Sunset took seats on either side of the crying mare. "Hey," Sunset said softly. " it's okay; you're among friends now..."

Trixie looked up from her hooves; her tears still blurring her vision as she looked at Sunset. She sniffled and wiped her tears away. "-sniff- ...f-friends...?"

Lightning grinned. "Yeah, we're in the same boat here." she said with a nod, before taking a softer tone and expression. "...us outcasts need to stick together, right?"

Trixie wiped her nose with a hoof and smiled. "Huh, here I am pouring myself out and I haven't even introduced myself yet... Trixie Lulamoon; formerly "The Great and Powerful Trixie". nice to meet you." she said with an awkward smile.

"Sunset Shimmer, former student of Princess Celestia." Sunset greeted.

"Lightning Dust, Fastest and most reckless flyer in all Equestria." The pegasus said a little sheepishly. "I let my recklessnes total the wonderbolt training ground. Blacklisted by the wonderbolts and pretty much everypony else I know except my mom in Cloudsdale and My cousin here in Ponyville"

Lightning Dust looked back at Trixie. "So...how did that whole amulet thing get worked out?"

Trixie looked back down to her hooves and said "Twilight and her friends duped me into taking it off with a show of smoke and mirrors that trumped any performance I ever could have given... and the amulet was sealed away in the everfree forest."

Their touching moment was interupted by the voice of Twilight Sparkle. "It helps when you have a lot of extra hooves helping out behind the scenes..." the lavender Alicorn said, drawing their attention. "...I believe they're called 'Roadies' in the entertainment business, right?"

Trixie nodded. "Yes. I was actually trying to put together enough bits to hire a couple roadies when I first came to Ponyville..." she admitted.

Twilight gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you..."

Trixie shook her head and sighed. "...I'll bounce back some how...I always do..."

Twilight nodded. "In any case, please join us in the throne room." she said before regarding Sunset and Lightning. "All of you."

The three out cast ponies nodded and followed the new princess to the aforementioned throne room to see Celestia, Luna and all of Twilight's friends around a crystalline table that looked like a map. Luna acknowledged their entry. "Welcome; please join us." she said with a gracious nod. "Trixie Lulamoon, I understand you are the one who has been suffering the chronic nightmares; I apologize that I have not been able to do anything about them until now."

Trixie looked up at the princess anxiously. "...why not...?" she asked "...Aren't you supposed to be all powerful in the dream realm or something?"

Luna shook her head. "No being is 'all powerful' young pony." she corrected. "Though I do hold great power there, My sister and I are hardly the deities that many seem to think we are. We have limits and weaknesses like anypony else." she finished with a gentle smile. "Now tell me. You intend to destroy the alicorn amulet; how?"

Trixie slumped. "I...I don't know... I was hoping Twilight... or either of you-" she gestured to the royal sisters. "-would have some idea." she looked down at her hooves. "I know I don't have any right to ask any of you for help after the troubles I've caused, but I just don't know who else to turn to..." Sunset puts a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

"Do not fret, Trixie." Celestia said with warm motherly tone. "You will not be alone in this."

"Totally! I told ya before, we got your back, Trix." Lightning declared. she then adressed Twilight. "How did you guys find out about this amulet before?"
The little dragon Spike answered. "Oh, we found a book about all sorts of ancient magical artifacts in the library when Trixie took over the town. there was a whole chapter about it." he chirped, unaware of the looks now falling upon Trixie.

Sunset tilted her head. "Did the book not say anything about how to destroy it?"

Spike blinked. "Uhh..." he looked between the others. "...I...I don't remember..."

Applejack scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "We were kinda in a panic at the time..."

Rarity's ears drooped. "I don't recall anything other then the wearer being the only one able to remove it..."

There was a pregnant pause that went on for several minutes before Lightning raised a hoof awkwardly. "...Uh...I have a suggestion..." she suddenly felt some stage fright as all eyes in the room suddenly fell upon her instead of Trixie.

"...Yes?" Twilight asked encouragingly.

"...Well...its got powerfull dark magic in it right?" everypony nodded. "...then maybe we could blast it with an opposing energy to...I don't know..." Lightning hated being put on the spot during situations as tense as this... "...purify it maybe; like nuetralizing a magnet...?"

The royal sisters glanced at each other knowingly as Twilight seemed to catch on. "...And since it doesn't HAVE a wearer, it won't be able to stop us! Excellent thinking!" Twilight declared triumphantly. "Rainbowdash, Go get the amulet from Zecora!"

The rainbow maned pegasus gave a quick salute before bolting from the room, leaving her signature rainbow contrail behind her. "What's the plan, then?" Sunset asked.

Before Twilight could answer, a disembodied voice spoke, seeming to come from all directions at once. "Ohohahahaha! This is going to be good!" it laughed.

Fluttershy smiled brightly. "Oh, Discord! It's good to see you!" She said as the owner of the voice appeared levitating above them, bring a smile to Celestia's face as well.

"Indeed, Discord; as it happens, the timing of your arrival is quite fortuitous." Luna greeted.

The draconiquus turned to the Princesses. "Oh, yes indeed, Lulu..." he said with a grin at Luna's slightly annoyed look. "...It's been well over a thousand years since we've had any trouble with Blood Dust..." he intoned, emphasizing the name.

Luna's eyes went wide. "...Blood...Dust...?"

Celestia gave her sister a questioning look. "...Luna, who is this Blood Dust? I've never heard that name before...?"

Luna's face darkened. "Blood Dust was King Sombra's mentor during his fall from grace..." she slowly turned to face everypony else in the room, one by one. "...The original lord of nightmares..."

Twilight and her friends were now confused. "...The 'original'...?"

Luna put a hoof down on the crystal map table. "Nightmare Moon was not the first to delight in tormenting ponies with nightmares and other horrific illusions." she clarified. "Before Nightmare Moon was King Sombra, but before him was a dark lord known as Blood Dust. Even King Sombra himself dared not defy him. In fact the truth behind Sombra's cruelty was that he planned to eliminate Blood Dust by weaponizing the crystal heart." everypony in the room gasped. "...He simply ran out of time when Celestia and I assaulted his castle all those years ago."

Celestia was bewildered. "Luna... how do you know this?"

Luna looked back at her sister. "Think back sister..." she said sadly. "when we fought him, he took you by surprise and I had to battle him alone." her horn began to glow a gentle blue as everything around them seemed to warp to something different...

Instead of her own throne room Twilight looked around to see that of the palace in the Crystal empire. King Sombra sat on the throne. Next to him, what looked like a small model was set up. A knowing smile spread across his face as he looked up at a stained glass window in time for the royal sisters to blast though, almost as if he were expecting them...

Author's Note:

Authors Note:

Well, that's the first Chapter. Constructive critisism is welcomed. Also... the program I'm using, Microsoft WordPad doesn't have a spellcheck/grammer check function for some reason. Anyways read and review please!

Comments

[Norty Ahri]

Off to a good start. Though your grammar and spelling aren't terrible, I did notice a few mistakes while reading through. A problem that is easily solved with an editor.

Anyway, I shall be following.

[Rusted Bronze]

Interesting

[SadisticRainbows]

Good story so far, especially good concept too. There were a few mistakes, like forgetting to capitalize your I's on occasion.

[Noctus Umbra]

tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=JN.4IQ8OpWNc/HJQffJ%2bw2fVA&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0
liked and followed my good sir

[Ragegamer243]

You're referencing this in the end of this chapter weren't you?
https://youtu.be/vL4q7BBzanI

[Pensive]

"Yeah, you bet we do, Twilight. Trixie is back and she's spouting crazy-talk as usual!" Rainbow snarked.

Immediately I hate Dash. And thus, I immediately like this story for making me hate a fictional character. Don’t you dare play with my emotions, or I might be forced to love this story more.