Chapter 1
“You…you are certain this thing will not crash?”
“Absolutely. For several reasons. One, Silent Wing is the Captain of my guard. She can certainly be trusted to pull my chariot. Second, in the improbable event that Silent Wing should fail—”
“That is not funny, Your Highness.”
“—I am more than capable of carrying you to the ground, with or without magic.” Luna turned around and smiled at her passenger. “So you truly have nothing to worry about, little one.”
Trixie huddled against the wall of Luna’s chariot, trying to control her shaking. She peered cautiously over the edge again, squeaked, and shrank back into her little corner.
“Trixie will feel better when she is back on the ground,” she said, pulling her cloak closer around her body.
“We’re almost there, Miss Trixie,” Silent Wing called back as she continued to pull the chariot through the night sky.
“Very good, Silent Wing,” Luna said.
“You still haven’t told Trixie where you are taking her,” Trixie said, a hint of her old pride seeping into her voice. “Er, I mean, Your Highness.”
Luna smiled. Trixie was slowly coming around. She was already worlds better than she had been when Luna had first met her. “We are going to a rock farm.”
Trixie made a noise. “Great. Because Trixie couldn’t get enough of rocks when she worked on one before.”
“Then you should find this trip most pleasant indeed,” Luna said, choosing to ignore the Unicorn’s sarcasm. “You may wish to hold on to something now though, as we are starting our descent. Silent Wing, if you please.”
The Bat pony looked over her shoulder and winked, then began a steep dive toward the ground. Luna closed her eyes and enjoyed the rush of night air through her starry mane and the feeling of blood flowing through her body. She heard Trixie let out a wail and Luna had to force herself not to laugh. The Unicorn was perfectly safe, so her terror was rather amusing to the Princess of the Night.
The chariot came to a smooth landing and then an even smoother stop. Silent Wing flicked her tail once—a sign that she was proud of her performance—and then stood perfectly still, waiting for Luna and Trixie to exit.
“Thank you, Silent Wing. Flawless, as usual. Trixie, we have—”
“Ground! Sweet, sweet ground!”
Luna looked over and saw the Unicorn on her stomach, trying to hug the dirt. She truly did not enjoy flying it seemed. Luna would have to remember that.
“Shall we be on our way, Trixie?” she asked.
The Unicorn looked up and blinked, then suddenly realized what she was doing. She instantly jumped up and dusted herself off. She cleared her throat and pulled her hat out, then straightened to avoid looking up at Luna.
“Trixie is ready, Your Majesty,” she said.
“Trixie, you may call me Luna. We have discussed this before.”
Trixie lowered her head slightly, keeping her eyes hidden beneath the brim of her hat. “Trixie remembers.”
Luna stepped forward and Trixie fell in behind her. “Silent Wing, if you could stay with the chariot please.”
“Of course, Princess Luna. Take care. You too, Miss Trixie.”
“Huh?” Trixie said, looking up at the Bat pony in surprise. “Me?”
“Considering there are only three of us out here, I think it would be a safe to assume that I was speaking to you,” Silent Wing said with a smile.
“Oh, th-thank you,” the Unicorn said. “You too.”
“Come, Trixie,” Luna said. “I believe you will be more familiar with this area than I.”
“Coming, Your Majesty,” Trixie said, trotting to catch up to Luna. “Although Trixie is not sure how much help she will be. She did work on a rock farm, but she…was not the best employee. Her knowledge isn’t all that great.”
“Oh, I was not referring to your knowledge of rock farms,” Luna said. “I meant this area in general.” She waved her hoof before her, indicating the landscape.
Trixie peered into the darkness, her eyes straining to make out any familiar sights. Luna waited patiently, watching the Unicorn with a smile. She was enjoying watching Trixie slowly grow, and her eagerness to learn was there. It just had to be dug out from under all the pride and the shame. Luna found the challenge exciting, and that was one reason why she enjoyed helping the Unicorn.
Trixie froze and let out a small gasp. “Oh…oh no,” she said, pulling her hat down as far as she could over her face. “Trixie…Trixie does not believe she should be here. Trixie would much rather wait at the chariot with Silent Wing.” She turned around and started heading back toward Luna’s chariot.
“Ooooh no,” Luna said, resuming her walk forward and grabbing Trixie with her magic. She could hear the mare’s hooves dragging on the ground as she tried in vain to get away. “You are coming with me.”
“But…but they don’t like me here,” Trixie whined. “If fact, after what I did, they probably hate me.”
Luna stopped and moved Trixie in front of her. The Unicorn hung by her tail upside down, her face twisted with sadness and tears swelling in her purple eyes.
“If you are referring to the incident with the Alicorn Amulet, Twilight Sparkle forgave you, and you were the worst to her,” Luna said. Trixie’s eyes shifted away for a moment at the mention of Twilight’s name, and Luna found that interesting. “I am certain that this family is just as forgiving. Especially if their daughter is any indication.”
“Okay…” Trixie whimpered and Luna lowered her to the ground. The Unicorn’s horn glowed for a moment and there was a brief flash of light. When it cleared, Trixie’s trademark purple hat and cloak were gone, replaced by a simply black cowl. Trixie pulled the hood up over her head so that it wrapped her face in shadow. “Promise you will not leave Trixie here though.”
“Of course not,” Luna said. “And I see you are getting quite good with that spell I taught you.”
“It has helped Trixie blend in on the few occasions when she goes out in public,” the Unicorn mumbled, but Luna could detect the hint of pride in her voice from the compliment.
That was the other reason Luna had taken an interest in the Unicorn. She saw herself in the showpony in many ways. Trixie was talented, but her path had been twisted early. She had set out to prove her worth to the world and everypony. And when that goal had been shattered, she had gone to a dark place, using the Alicorn Amulet and letting the fear and anger in her heart slowly take control.
Thankfully, Twilight and her friends had saved Trixie from the amulet, but then she had been the same boat as Luna: a pony who just wanted to be accepted by others, but whose past was always overshadowing her attempts at companionship. Luna knew what that felt like all too well, and she had decided to save Trixie from that terrible loneliness.
Celestia had Twilight, and Luna had decided that she would have Trixie.
“Now come along,” Luna said. “It is still early into the night, but I do not wish to keep the Pies awake into the late hours.”
The pair walked through the rockfield, Luna looking at the strange shadows that rocks casted upon the ground. It was an eerie sight to be sure, and if she wasn’t the Princess of the Night, she would have found the place unsettling. The only light came from her moon, and it wasn’t full tonight. The familiar sounds of Canterlot’s night, or even the busy swarm of life in Manehattan’s nightlife, were nowhere to be found out here on this farm. Only the occasional night animal made a noise, and since many of them were hidden in the shadows, their noises only added to the eerie setting.
A lone house stood in the center of the rock farm, with a barn off to the side. Both were rather quaint, with simple stone and wood walls and a thatched roof. A windmill was also standing on the property, creaking slightly as it spun slowly. A wooden fence surrounded the property, and Luna had to wonder what its purpose was. Rocks could not move on their own, and it was not like creatures stole the things.
A single light was on in one of the windows of the home. Good. That meant that the Pies had received Luna’s letter saying that she would be paying them a visit. She walked up to the door and knocked a few times.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Pie,” she said in a slightly raised voice, just in case they had dozed off. “Tis I, Princess Luna.”
The door opened to reveal what Luna assumed was the very definition of a simple rock farmer. Mr. Pie was a pale yellow pony with eyes that were nearly the same color. Wisdom seemed to bleed from them as he blinked. His face was worn and rugged, and his mane was growing down the side of his face in rough grey patches, the sign of a pony who spent may days working under Celestia’s sun and didn’t concern himself with appearances. He wore a black had with a white stripe and a black tie, and his voice was full of authority and age.
“Good evening, Your Majesty,” he said as he took his hat off and bowed.
“Greetings, Mr. Pie,” Luna said, nodding in return. “I am Princess Luna. I believe you are already acquainted with my apprentice.”
“H-Hello, Mr. Pie,” Trixie said, keeping her head bowed and her face covered under her hood.
“Trixie Lulamoon,” Mr. Pie said in a flat voice. Luna waited for a moment to see if he would saying else. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well. You left in such a fuss last time we spoke.”
“Yes, well…Trixie…apologizes for that, and for the things she said. And for the incident with your daughter.”
Mr. Pie blinked and slowly shook his head. “No real harm done. Farming rocks isn’t for everypony, even those that are raised on it. Now, what can I do for you? My wife is already asleep, though I can wake her if you need me to.”
“No, that is not necessary,” Luna said, glad to see that Mr. Pie wasn’t going to be hostile toward Trixie. She used her magic to pull a small box out of her saddlebag and then opened it in front of the Earth pony. It contained the pieces of a shattered stone. “Actually, I was hoping you could tell me about this.”
“Hm…” he said as he looked at contents of the box. “Mind telling me where you found it?”
“My apprentice and one of your daughter’s friends found it,” Luna said, nodding toward Trixie. “Up on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, on the border of the Artic North. It was giving off some strange energy, and was guarded by a creature that we have never seen before. I had hoped you might be able to shed some light on the subject.”
Mr. Pie stared at the contents for a long time. He tilted his head from side to side several times, always mumbling to himself. He leaned forward and sniffed it, and even touched it with his hoof and then licked his hoof. All the while, Luna watched and Trixie fidgeted beside her.
“This is very strange,” he said at last, looking up a Luna from under his hat. “Would you mind bringing this to my lab?”
“You have a lab?” Trixie asked, baffled, before Luna had a chance to answer.
“Of course we do,” Mr. Pie said with a glance. “This way, please.”
Without a word, Mr. Pie turned and walked through his living room. Luna looked at Trixie and smiled, then followed the Earth pony. Trixie followed her, whispering about never seeing any lab the entire time she was working here.
Mr. Pie led them through his house and then to a door in the kitchen. He opened it and then walked down a flight of wooden stairs. Luna and Trixie followed him, descending into the basement and well under the ground, if Luna’s estimate was correct. Just as it started to get too dark to see, a light flashed ahead of them and lit up the stairs.
“In here,” Mr. Pie called from the bottom of the stairs.
Luna and Trixie walked into a room that was strikingly different from the rustic family house upstairs. This room had shelves upon shelves of tools and equipment. Many of them looked familiar and Luna could surmise their purpose in relations to rocks, but others were completely beyond her understanding.
Countless rocks were scattered around the room. They filled crates to the brim, or covered entire tables. Some of them were smooth, while others were jagged. Many of them were cracked open, or chiseled away, or in various states of being broken down. On one table was nothing but gems, organized by shape and color. It was that table that Mr. Pie walked to.
“What…what is all this?” Trixie asked as she looked around the room, her eyes wide. “Trixie never knew about this room. All Trixie ever saw was that rock field.”
“This is where we make amulets and other enchanted items,” Mr. Pie said, and Luna thought she saw the hint of a smile on the pony’s face.
“WHAT?!” Trixie shouted, her gaze whipping to Mr. Pie.
“Did you think all those amulets with magic stones and gems just popped into existence?” he asked. “They have to be crafted, and who better to do so than a pony who knows about rocks? We may not be able to use magic, but we understand its properties. Which rocks resonate the best with certain types of spells, which ones protect against types of spells, and which ones are best suited to hold magic and channel it.”
“But…but…” Trixie looked and Luna and then back to Mr. Pie several times before she was able to continue. “But…Trixie is a Unicorn! She was a magician even! Why didn’t you tell her about all of this? This would have been perfect for her.”
“Because it takes years of study to even begin to understand this type of science,” Mr. Pie said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You showed no interest in learning about rocks when you were here.”
“All you made Trixie do was break them down and move them around in a field!” Trixie shouted, stomping her hoof in anger. “It was pointless labor!”
“It was meant to give you an appreciation for rocks,” Mr. Pie replied. “And it is not pointless. Who do you think supplies most of the building stones for construction projects? This is our livelihood, Trixie. But you were so angry about things when you were here that you couldn’t see it.”
“Well…Trixie was…” The Unicorn trailed off and hung her head. Luna waited for a few seconds to see if either of them was going to continue, but when neither pony said anything, she walked over to the gem-filled table and put the box on it.
“So what can you tell me about this stone?” she asked as she opened the box.
“May I?” Mr. Pie asked, indicating that he wanted to dump the contents on the table. Luna nodded and he carefully poured the contents of the box out. Within a few seconds, he had reassembled them into the stone’s original form, but kept the pieces from completely touching one another.
“How strange,” Mr. Pie said as he carefully pushed a piece of the pale yellow stone away from the rest. “The composition of this rock indicates that it should not have broken this way. How did this happen?”
“Trixie?” Luna asked, turning to the Unicorn.
“Well…Twilight—I mean, Princess Twilight just…smashed it with her hoof.”
“Hm…That should not have been possible. Watch.” Mr. Pie took a larger piece of the stone and placed it on the floor. He then raised his front leg and brought it down as hard as he could. When he removed his hoof, the piece was still intact. It wasn’t even so much as scratched.
“What is it?” Lun asked as the Earth pony put the shard back on the table.
“It appears to be some sort of stone that housed a powerful magic,” Mr. Pie said.
“Trixie could have told you that,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes.
“When Twilight broke it, did anything happen?” Mr. Pie asked, ignoring the Unicorn’s sarcasm.
“Well…that monster disappeared and there was a flash of light, but otherwise nothing special.” Trixie paused for a moment, and then she gasped. “Do you think that stone was the monster’s home?”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Mr. Pie said, moving a magnifying glass over the broken stone to get a closer look. “Although I suppose it is possible. But I wonder…”
Princess Luna blinked and waited for Mr. Pie to finish, but he didn’t say anything more. He just continued to poke the stone with various tools and mumble to himself about it. Finally, when he poured some sort of liquid on it and narrowed his eyes, Luna could stand it no longer.
“About what, Mr. Pie?” she asked, trying to keep her impatience in check.
“Well, I have seen something like this once before,” he said, looking up from the stone. “That amulet my daughter brought home once. She was so excited about it after she got it.”
“You mean her Element of Harmony?” Luna asked. If memory served, Pinkie Pie was the Element of Laughter.
“Yes. She let Maud and myself look at the gem she had in its center. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The composition, the placement in the metalworking, the stress lines in the stone, the way it was carved to perfectly channel magical energy. It was a masterpiece, and I have never seen another stone like it. Until now.”
“Are you saying this is a missing Element of Harmony?” Trixie asked, and Luna could hear the desire in the Unicorn’s voice. Luna wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one, so she stepped in.
“No,” she said. “There are only six Elements of Harmony. Although that does raise the question of what this is stone is.”
“I wish my daughter Maud was here,” Mr. Pie said. “She has a gift for this sort of thing. Brightest rock girl I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, she just left to go to school.”
“Well, perhaps we will pay her a visit then,” Luna said. “Is there anything else you can tell me? I fear I will be leaving here with more questions than I had when I came.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Princess, but anything I have to say is perhaps stuff you’ve already been able to figure out on your own. It’s a stone that was meant to house some very powerful magic. Its craftsmanship is beyond anything I’ve ever seen save for those Element stones. I’d ask to keep it for studying, but I suspect that would not be wise. This is something that I feel should be kept safe. If this stone’s power is anything like the stone that was used in the Alicorn Amulet, it could be very dangerous in the wrong hooves.”
Luna noted that Mr. Pie did not even look in Trixie’s direction as he spoke about the amulet. She knew that he had meant no harm and was only stating what powerful magical items could do if they went unchecked, but she knew the words would still cut deep into Trixie. She looked over and saw that the Unicorn had lowered her head and was staring at the floor again.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Pie,” Luna said, using her magic to gather up the stone pieces into the box and then putting it into her saddlebag.
“Not at all, Your Highness,” Mr. Pie said. “I wish I could have done more for you. I do suggest you visit my daughter though. She is bound to be more helpful than I.”
“I will do that, I think,” Luna said. “Come, Trixie. Let us return to Canterlot.”
“Yes, Princess Luna,” Trixie said. She raised her head and smiled meekly at Mr. Pie, then turned to the door and began to leave. The three ponies climbed the stairs back up to the kitchen and Mr. Pie escorted the two mares to the door.
“Thank you again, Mr. Pie,” Luna said.
“Think nothing of it,” Mr. Pie said. He then looked at Trixie. “Trixie, you take care of yourself now, you hear?”
“Yes, Mr. Pie,” Trixie said. She raised her head and smiled.
As the two ponies began to walk back to Luna’s chariot, Luna couldn’t help but notice that Trixie was still staring at the ground in depression.
“What is bothering you, Trixie?”
“Trixie…I…I don’t like being reminded of what I did in the past,” Trixie said, refusing to raise her head as she continued to walk. “I was so rude to him when I worked here, despite the fact that he not only gave me a job, but gave me a place to stay. He let me sleep in Pinkie’s old room. And then, what I did to his daughter…how could he even look at me after what I did to Pinkie?”
Luna slowed down until Trixie walked up beside her, and then put her wing around her student.
“Did I ever tell you what I did before Celestia banished me to the moon?”
“No, but I know the story. You tried to take the throne for yourself.”
“I tried to kill her. I live with that knowledge every day. I still feel terrible about it, and there are nights when I am alone that it eats at me. I wonder how my sister can still care for me after what I did. However, I have accepted that my past does not have to define who I am now. I chose to be the pony that I am now, not the pony that is governed by her past mistakes. Because everypony, even Princesses, make mistakes.”
Trixie was silent for a moment, but then she looked up. “How long before others stop defining Trixie by her mistakes and her past?”
“For some ponies, that will never happen,” Luna said and Trixie’s ears fell. “However, for you, it has already begun. What do you think Twilight remembers the most about you now? What you did in Ponyville when you were not yourself, or the fact that you saved her life?”
“She…told you that?”
“She told Princess Celestia, and she in turn told me. I was very proud of you. And Pinkie’s father said that he was glad to see you were okay. He was genuinely worried about you, despite what you did. And I saw what you were capable of when the Nightmare Forces attacked Ponyville. Your mistakes will always be with you, but you cannot let them control your every thought and action in your life.”
“If…if you say so, Luna,” Trixie said.
Luna smiled and pulled Trixie closer against her body with her wing. The Unicorn was stiff for a moment, then relaxed and snuggled slightly into Luna’s embrace before pulling away.
“Now, let us head home, shall we? I am certain that Silent Wing is growing anxious waiting for us. She does that.”
“Do…do we have to take the chariot?” Trixie asked, her voice coming out in a squeak.
“Do not worry, my student,” Luna said with a heartfelt smile. “If you fall, I will catch you.