Chapter 1
PONYVILLE
Trixie sighed as she pushed the book back onto the small shelf within her wagon while trying to ignore the anger that the idiotic hecklers had stirred in her earlier. Not that she much cared for the simpletons whining, after all the entire town had enjoyed the minor show she had put on before teaching the complainers a lesson. She would have put on a much longer and more in-depth show had she not spent all day hauling her wagon while also expending a good chunk of her magic taking care of her weariness. Tomorrow she would have to put on a truly astounding show when at full strength, and simply hope those foolish hicks wouldn't bother her again.
Tapping the golden birdcage hanging in the corner she smiled at the phoenix inside as it yawned and sent a questioning look her way. "Trixie at least had some fun in that show Clyde, you should have seen the look on those hecklers faces when Trixie got the town to laugh at them." She couldn't help but giggle at the memory. Hecklers came in two types as far as Trixie had found, some were loudmouthed annoyances with little true talent and disliked by most of the ponies around them to the point that getting a town to laugh at them was foals play. The other type were often talented individuals, but in many cases so arrogant about their own abilities that they were also easy pickings for a showmare as talented and well traveled as Trixie.
With a yawn Trixie was just about to head to her bed when a loud thumping came from her door, followed by a muffled shouting that her spells of privacy didn't quite filter out. Letting out a grumbled curse of protest she stalked over to the door and pushed open the upper half to find herself faced with what she could only believe was this villages greatest fans of her show.
"Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie did not wish to be disturbed!" The magician ignored the quick words and darting glances of the two and cut them off. "What could be so important that you cannot wait until morning to disturb Trixie?" Any more words that could have been spoken died as a thundering roar sounded over the area and the ground shivered slightly. Trixie looked up, and up, and even farther up, before a panicked scream tore from her throat and she ran from her wagon giving the two colts a push to move as well.
The splintering crash that happened only seconds behind her confirmed to her the correctness of her fleeing action even as she tried to keep an eye on the two colts to make sure they didn't fall behind and get eaten. Skidding to a stop in a more open area, that looked to be the towns marketplace, her mind was already trying to understand what an Ursa was doing here, while also categorizing every single exit from town that was available to her right now. From what she had seen there were plenty of ways she could flee if the situation got so dire as to require a quick escape, from where she was standing she had already counted six different escape routes that would lead her easily out of the small town and towards the freedom of not becoming a midnight snack for an angry Ursa. While her mind catalogued every possible chance of getting the hay out of the small town her swiveling ears happened to hear a particular grouping of words from behind her which brought her around in a rage.
"You did WHAT!" She advanced on the now surprised colts. "You brought that thing here? Are you MAD!" She spun back towards the Ursa in time to see it swipe at the top of another building with its claws before sinking its teeth into the roof.
"But we wanted to see you beat the Ursa." Snips stepped forward only to suddenly find himself and Snails snatched up in a magenta aura of magic and pulled into an alley as Trixie bolted between the buildings and out of sight of the large beast.
"Trixie will deal with you two later." The enraged snarl as well as the mares glowing eyes made the two colts cower back. "Trixie doesn't have time for this, tell her where the nearest music shop is, and be quick about it!" She could only hope she'd be fast enough.
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Twilight stared around the village at the ponies around her, at the giant star bear cub that was currently trying to make pancakes with the nearby buildings, and at Spike who was now gesturing towards the bear in the hopes that Twilight would do something. Quickly running through every aspect of information she had picked up from the books she had been looking through Twilight cobbled together a plan of action that would hopefully bring an end to the nightmare before it smashed more of the town. But even as she began to concentrate on her magic she heard a strange sound echoing from an alleyway to her left, as the sounds got closer Twilight could hear a strangely soft and haunting melody echoing from the buildings.
Spike watched in surprise as Trixie walked from the alley she had disappeared down only a minute ago, though now she bore three instruments with her. Even as he listened he heard a deep rumble come from the Ursa as it slowly settled its paws to the ground and began to sway slightly to the music. While Trixie continued to play the panpipes the harp floating next to her began to play as well, adding to the haunting melody that echoed throughout the town.
"Twilight what is she..." Spike's words cut off at the sight of Twilight, and the other ponies of the town as well. Glazed, half closed eyes stared off into nothing as the ponies began to hum along with the music while stamping their hooves to the beat, even the pegasi had landed and joined in. Spike grabbed Twilight trying to shake her out of the strange trance but got no response from the unicorn beyond a happy smile as she continued to add her own voice to the music. Moments later the third instrument, a violin, was added in, putting a new song into the mix that seemed to flow and reach out into the distance far away.
Spike didn't know how long the intertwining songs played but after some time he felt the ground shiver underneath him. As the shaking got worse he noticed something moving in the distance only to get larger and larger as it approached until a truly gigantic star bear moved into full view. Spike couldn't help but gape in shock at the beast that now tromped towards Ponyville literally shaking the ground and buildings of the village with each thundering step. As the bear approached the edge of town Spike heard the music swell in volume while the ponies changed from humming along with the music to each pony singing a different note melded with the songs. The Ursa Major shuddered as her ears swiveled to listen to the music. Spike could almost swear he began to hear words within the music, an apology and request flowing within a haunting song full of both sadness and loss. The titanic beast let out a loud huff of breath and then turned to the Ursa Minor lowering her head to brush her muzzle against the smaller bear to get his attention. The Ursa Minor yawned and looked to his mother in confusion for a moment while the larger bear let out several growls that sounded almost exasperated.
Watching in awe Spike heard the third song change slightly and now he could swear he heard thanks and enjoyment flowing through the music as the Ursa Major turned and led her young one back towards the Everfree and their cave. As the bears moved away Spike heard the third song slowly fade away and the second begin to lower in volume and slow down. The ponies slipped back to simply humming along with the music, as the music slowed again even the humming and stomping stopped leaving the confused citizens of Ponyville staring around trying to figure out what had just happened. Spike listened as the last of the music slowly faded away leaving only the silence of the night behind it. Turning quickly to look at the alley Trixie had been standing in front of he found nothing but an empty street.
"Spike." Twilight stared around in confusion. "What just happened? Where's the Ursa?"
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With a sigh Trixie looked at her destroyed wagon, while also trying to keep her left ear out of Clyde's beak as he pecked at it in an attempt to show his irritation over having to crawl out from under a wagon. Trixie was honestly surprised his enchanted cage had survived the impact, though she had found that many other of her personal objects hadn't fared so well, including some of her more precious photos. Not that she was ever worried about the phoenix, he would have been fine even if his cage hadn't withstood the impact. "Stupid, stupid children."
"Trixie." Twilight slowly approached the mare as she rooted through her wagon. "Spike...told us all what happened." With a frown she stopped near the pile of debris that Trixie was still rooting through. "I'm...sorry about your wagon." She received only a snort of irritation from the other mare.
"It wouldn't be the first wagon Trixie has lost on her travels." She flipped aside another piece of debris and pulled out her cape. "At least this time Trixie doesn't have to worry about Yetis trying to eat her cape and hat."
Twilight bit her lip wondering if she should ask her next question, only for her curiosity to get the better of her. "I was wondering, what spell you used, I didn't find it in any of the books that I read that dealt with Ursa's."
"A good magician never reveals their secrets." Trixie tossed out her usual response while continuing to dig through the remains of her wagon.
"But I've never heard of such a spell!" Twilight couldn't keep both confusion and excitement out of her voice. "You melded music and magic into some kind of hypnosis spell." Seeing she wasn't going to get much of a response from the other unicorn Twilight decided to try and add some speculation. "With what Spike explained you actually drew upon all the ponies of Ponyville to help with the magic spell, you tapped into the power of a Heart Song to aid in the spells formation. But that shouldn't have worked, a Heart Song can't be forced or brought about by such means."
Trixie simply rolled her eyes and shook her head, the words cemented to her that the other unicorn was one of those who relied far to much only on books and not enough on life experiences. "Trixie desires to know where she might procure another wagon, or possibly have one built to her specifications." Glancing to the lavender unicorn who looked like she was ready to explode with curiosity she couldn't help but put on a smirk. "Don't worry, some day if you practice very hard you will be as Great and Powerful as Trixie is." With a laugh she left the sputtering unicorn behind as she headed towards a gathering of ponies near the end of the street. "The Great and Powerful Trixie desires your assistance, she needs to know where to buy a wagon!"
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Two Weeks Later
"Ah, finally." Trixie settled the harness around herself and gave several experimental pulls to make sure it would hold before beginning her trip onwards to the next town. She made sure to wave and even launch a few fireworks spells off as the Ponyville citizens cheered for her. Her defeat of the Ursa had actually ended up netting her more bits and gifts than she had ever received in any other town. As she exited the town she heard the discordant sounds of panpipes playing and looked to a small hill where a lavender unicorn sat trying to play the pipes while looking at a book floating before her. Trixie couldn't hold back her laughter, which brought an irritated look from the mare on the hill who had been pestering her in an attempt to learn her spellsongs for the entire two weeks she had been in town.
As she continued along the road she suddenly heard a few notes strung together correctly, the very beginning of a melody from the hilltop and Trixie couldn't help herself, her horn lit with magic and music flared to life as she began to sing. The freedom of the open road flowed through that song, and it was a freedom she would live until she lived no more. As Clyde glided above her letting out a loud cry of joy at being out of the town and moving again Trixie increased the volume of her song and trotted along the road towards her next destination. It was time to spread more of the amazing and wondrous magic only she could do.