Trixie barely made it to her room beside Luna’s before she crashed, falling asleep before her head even touched the pillow. Between the emotional charge of sticking up for Luna and her family. Followed shortly with the emotional turmoil the Element Bearers caused her she was more drained than she was when she first started her training under Luna. She wished that she could tell whether their appologize were because they were truly sorry for what happened, or because they felt that they needed to assuage their own consciousness. But more importantly than that, Princess Luna said that she was proud of her.

When the dark confines of sleep gave way to the dreamscape, Trixie stood at a place that she hadn’t stood in over a month. The cliffside near Canterlot where she was planning on jumping to her death all those years ago. But rather than the contemplative need to off herself. She just felt the need to sit and contemplate. As she sat their she wished that she could see into the dreams of Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, and Twilight. The later she didn’t as much hate for anything she directly did, but rather the indirectly. Such as being the Princess Celestia’s protege’, placing her on a level that she couldn’t have hoped to reach three years prior. The fact that she saved her life by defeating an Ursa Minor, The fact that her friends were responsible for her loosing the home her family had carved for her with their own two hooves, as well as the cloak and hat they created for her. Her mother pouring magic that she was more than she was used to it give it a growth spell that’d allow it to grow as her daughter did.

Hell even not bothering to correct the incorrect assumptions, slander, and rumors that had plagued her every moment of her life since her meeting any of them. So that even the lie she was forced to live was unavailable to her. A pony without a true identity, and the only one she was allowed to have was stolen from her just as much as her heirlooms were. That and she was supposed to have the Princess’s ear and not once did she do anything to save her from the harm her and her friends actions caused. As she started to turn contemplative she noticed a pressure just out of eyesight like a door that refused to open with magic and was just out of reach.

Yes, it is fair in saying that I had just as much fault in our last encounter as she did. But when the fall out came, or even when she herself became a Princess she never stood in and worked to clear the name that throughout all of Equestria is a known Anathema. And that Apple Jack saying that the Apple’s have forgive me. Maybe they should tell that to that one Apple Unicorn in Canterlot ... Apple Shine was it, who made it clear that I would never have a magic based job, or a job around the youth ever again. An endangerment my hide, talk to me about endangerment when you have the same name as the famous brand of Whiskey. And what about Florina, and Golden Delicious? They basically ran me out of town.

She was shaken out of her rant when she saw Luna sitting beside her. Leaning on her for a quick side hug, she looked back over the cliff side. Luna looking at the large brilliant moon in the horizon, “I felt your turmoil and wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help?”

Feeling the pressure disappear, “Well I was thinking about weather their apologize were from the heart, or were to assuage their consciousness. Then I got to thinking about my feelings towards Twilight, and how the Apple Family wasn’t as forgiving as Apple Jack claimed they were. Although I find it funny that it took the dreamscape to know loose those memories.”

“Feelings for Twilight?” Luna asked while raising an eyebrow.

“Not romantic ones. No there is another pony that I feel that way towards. Although she’s to good for me to even think about it working. But rather how my anger at her is all because of who she knew, or things that she did indirectly rather with any real malice. And for some reason accidentally hurting me through inaction, or even misplaced actions hurts me more than if she was out to cause me harm.” Trixie said with a sigh that echoed mournfully through the dreamscape.

“I know how that can be. Tia was the same way when we were younger towards me. Well I can tell you this. Apple Jack didn’t know about the other Apple’s in other parts of Equestria, but she truly believes that you are forgiven by the Apple Family. Although with the dreams they have I think it’s more of a case of them taking my sister’s vouching of you at face value rather than their personal belief. Especially with the nightmares they still have.”

“Nightmares?”

“Yes. Apparently what ever you did to them at their farm, and the news that traveled to their kin was enough to run shivers of fear throughout them. Even if they know that it was not one hundred percent you at the time.” Luna replied.

“Then I should be the one apologizing to them, although it does explain why everypony knows that I had an irrational paranoia with round shapes.” Trixie said with a facehoof. Feeling as if that bout of insanity would never leave public knowledge.

“Most ponies don’t know this, but the Alicorn Amulet was in fact a Horcrux, as well as an item King Sombra personally crafted.” Luna said looking at the valley below.

“A Horwhatnow? And why did he make it?”

“A Horcrux a part of the soul bound to an object so that a pony can live on after death. It’s why when you used it, you lost more and more of yourself with each use. As for why. Well why do you think? It tied into the Universal Layline, was filled with body augmenting, power recharging, and power boosting spells. As well as had a programmed sentience to allow it to not only escape where if it’s host was destroyed or it was contained, but to allow it to call out to those who would use it if Sombra should fail. You see Sombra was my personal Protege many centuries ago, about two thousand, four hundred, and fifty three years to be exact. But he was obsessed with crystal and earth based magics. I think he was jealous of us Alicorns, although I thought nothing of it at the time.

“Then he invaded the Crystal Empire, stole their horns and wings similar to what Discord did to my sister and I, as well as the Element Bearers. Then used that stolen magic to forge the amulet, and their stolen memories of who they once were to forge the sentience of the object. And yes, long ago there were many pony tribes in the Crystal Empire. But by stealing what made them the other races he prevented them from doing the festival to ignite the Crystal Heart, and by stealing their memories made it so that none of them could stand against him.

“Luckily the ruling family was able to sneak out their youngest son at the time with a trusty servant. They came to us and told us what happened. And my many times great niece, and their many times great grand daughter, Mi Amore Cadenza is the last surviving heir. She got the Alicorn gene from my sister and I’s great grandfather and one of their grand mothers. Although we’ve yet to see if she is mortal like most who inherit those long suppressed genes. Or if she’s like my step sister Erroria who ages as slowly as my sister and I did.”

Trixie let that knowledge sink in. It made sense with how she kept getting alien thoughts and heard a strange voice guiding her to do things after she put on the amulet. And while it did give her an out for her actions. She still knew that she needed to apologize to the Apple Family at least, someday.

“Well I shall be off, pleasant dreams,” Luna said with a wave.

Luna had spent many years watching over the dreams of those who freed her of her evil side. Other than the broken pieces of her armor, and a tiny marble of the purest darkness that was now sealed away in Warehouse of Dangerous Artifacts number Thirteen. Hopefully it would last longer than the others. Although when Luna asked what happened to the first one, all she mentioned the Recanter, and the need for more stringent containment spells. It was truly a marvel of the things sentient beings could create for good or ill, on accident or on purpose. And not even know the true consequence of their actions.

Apparently the Alicorn Amulet was supposed to be in the former Warehouse but moved itself when the last one was over ran by an ooze that devoured every non-magical substance. Apparently it was made by a pegasi alchemist to combat swarms of pixies, but was stolen and used as biological warfare by the griffon’s centuries ago. Then some nitwit decided to touch it, and it spiraled out of control from there.

But when Nigthmare Moon was hit by the Elements of Harmony they split her and Luna to a degree. The part they shared was suppressed and purified from it’s evil. But the part that was darkness incarnate, was sent to her broken armor, and a ball made from her sentience, evil, and need to lord over others was given a body as a tiny black marble. It was about almost a year now when Trixie had with the use of the Alicorn Amulet removed Ponyville from the minds of all ponies, and all who resided with in. While ruling that small area with an Iron Hoof.

The nightmares of that town were still deep, and when the Element Bearers learned of their own hoof in the creation of that dark time it struck them hard. Apparently Rainbow Dash was hit most of all not just from her time as a hero that was ruined by Mare Do Well like she did to Trixie, but by the fact that with her Loyalty to others. She took her part in things rather strongly. Apparently she had placed all the blame for all of those incidents, her humiliation, the Ursa Minor, even the current situation and the amount of jobless, homeless, and over burdened ponies that the Alicorn Amulet created onto Trixie’s shoulders.

But when she was shown just how wrong she was, and the logic was enough to bash it through her thick skull she was overwhelmed by guilt. Then there was the second real guilty party Apple Jack. Who helped stir up tensions, and whose wounded pride allowed her to spread her biased views of what happened to her kin, and the other Apples who spread it to all corners of Equestria. Yet when shown how entertainers use those props to entertain the crowd, and how her actions both to Rainbow Dash during the whole Mare Do Well incident, as well as to Trixie not only did far greater harm than good. But by stealing hope, and inspiration from the youth she had destroyed many dreams.

That coupled with the fact that as a Rodeo Pony she should know that accolades and putting on a show was what entertaining was all about, struck a cord with her. It was a long talk, but she eventually apologized to Rainbow Dash. Although she didn’t know how to apologize for stealing the dreams of a foal, or taking away a hero that was helping others. To think that she thought that enjoying the praise of others was such a crime that it had to be crushed to “knock them down a notch”, or “knock them off their high horse” was embarrassing. But it worked it’s way into their dreams and had wormed it’s way into their nightmares ever since.

Luna was willing to help them with it. But first they needed to face the cause of their problems rather than let it build up. As for Twilight, and the others. They felt a little bad for what happened, but they had less guilt in it than those two. Luna was proud that they extended their friendship to her student. From Celestia’ stories Twilight was a lot like Trixie growing up, and having some friends would be a much needed boon to her. Although she wondered what Twilight’s feelings for Trixie were. After all it spoke volumes, and not just from her sister laughing hard enough that it broke the walls in her room, that Twilight would get drunk on Nightmare Night. Wear them, and dance on a table screaming that she was the, “Great and Smexy Twilights Snarkle! And that she was going to “bind Silly‘Tia with a Rainbow!”

Twilight was dreaming she was studying the effects of the graham crackers in the Mighty S’more Wars when she got a knock on her door. And Full General Smarty Pants of the Royal Scholastic Corps announced, “Your, supreme Intellectualness! Princess Luna would like to speak to you.” She said with a bow, her squeaky voice, like how her mom would use when doing the “Smarty Pants Voice”.

“Send her in.” Twilight said putting aside a her current tome that she had been engrossed in.

Luna walked in and seeing the amount of Origami librarians and and books open around Twilight couldn’t help but let loose a powerful chortle, “Even in your dreams ...” She said shaking her head as tears of laughter streamed down her face. They had previously agreed that as a Princess she would have a warning when Luna wanted to talk to her to allow her more privacy in her dreams. But seeing Twilight’s dreams always made Luna smile, other than her nightmares which were truly horrifying. To think that such a literal minded pony could concoct such vivid acts of the imagination was astonishing.

“ Yes I wanted to ask you somethings about Trixie before we all wake up.”

It suddenly grew very silent in the dream library, as not even a single page was turned, nor librarian moved, “What do you want to know?”

“What do you think of her? And what was that about wearing her things and talking about tying up thy sister with a Rainbow?” Luna asked in a playfully teasing manner. Which sailed right over Twilight’s head.

“Oh I’m so sorry! Please don’t banish me to the moon! I swear that what I said I didn’t mean ...” Twilight started to say as the very room errupted into anarchy as Luna put her hoof in Twilight’s mouth to silence her before giving her a quick hug.

“Silence now. It’s alright it was said in a joking manner. Which I see that dating our sister hasn’t increased your humor, but I am just curious is all.”

“Of course,” Twilight said trying to calm down as the chaotic swarm of papers slowed enough for everything to fall around them like a rain of books and pamphlets. “Well as for why I was wearing them ... well I’ll admit that I was originally holding on to them while waiting for Trixie to come back so I could give them to her. But then I got drunk for the first time, and remembered how nice Rainbow Dash looked bound up with her Rainbow, and I thought it would be cool to tie up Celestia. And well ...” Twilight stopped and looked up at the ground blushing bright enough that if she did that in the real world it would be seeable from her moon.

“And how I feel about Trixie. I didn’t know what was going on with her, and looking back I can’t see how I didn’t put two times three together. Although now I know I want to do what I can to help her. She’s not a bad mare, she’s just had a rather crappy hand dealt to her, and needs some friends to help her out. We haven’t found Rainbow Dash yet, but she’ll turn up. And I’m sure whatever Apple Jack wasn’t saying earlier is going to come out sooner or later.”

“Yes perhaps. Well it is almost time for the sun to rise, and I think Trixie is about to make a breakthrough tonight. I’ll see you later Twilight, but one more thing. Her carriage that was destroyed and those items you have are the only thing she has of her families. If you can get what you can of her home, and get the other heirlooms over here either today or tomorrow it will be much appreciated and I’ll consider it an early Hearth’s Warming gift for myself.”

“Think nothing of it Luna. I’d be happy to help, although the carriage is going to take a while. I’m going to need to alter a few restitution spells to get what I can.”

And with that Luna faded from Twilight’s dream. Twilight looked at the craziness that had befallen her Library, “Mecha-Spike, and Owlzilla! I need this place tidied up and I need every book I have on Restoration Spells stat!”

Trixie had, had enough with that blasted block pressing against her during her dreams. Coaxing the moonlight she allowed her magic to harmonize with the moon and the pressure and rather than force it like she was used to. Merged her dream body and the moons transient energy to touch the door. As soon as her fog form touched the barrier she felt herself being pushed out into a long hallway. Filled with innumerable doors with Cutie Marks painted on them.

She saw Apple Jack’s cutie mark and walked in. As she did she was looking up at the evil Trixie as her red eyes glowered upon her and Apple Jack whom she was standing next to. All around her she saw her family members being turned into apples with evil Trixie yelling, “If you don’t start making these apples into dodecahedrons I will be forced to turn your family members into apples on at a time. Starting with your dear sister! Mwhaahaaahaaahaaha!”

“I really did that didn’t I?” Trixie said out loud. Apple Jack looked at her with a mix of furry and fear evident on her face.

“Listen Ah’m tryin’ ta do what ya asked! But Ah just don’t know how! Please give me more time! Don’t take away Apple Bloom again!” Apple Jack said with a wavering voice.

“Listen to me. I’m the real Trixie, and that monster up there. That isn’t who I am. I ...” Stopping in mid sentence she wrapped up Apple Jack in a mist of moon magic. “I’ll give you what strength I have. Fight her and keep her from hurting others again. Then we’ll talk.”

Apple Jack’s eyes glowed with a magnificent orange light as she had a fight of wills against the mare who dominated her nightmares, And as she did so she felt a warmth fill her core and radiate outwards washing away the fear that she had held onto all these months. With that came a strength to face down her giants. And with that strength made the evil Trixie shrink and shrink until she was no bigger than a bug. Which Apple Jack quickly squashed before turning around to see a winded Trixie.

“So now who are ya, and what are ya doin’ in mah dream?”

“I am Trixie. I was in my dream and I did something I hadn’t dome before and I saw your cutie mark and I kind of ended up here.” Trixie said panting. Doing magic to empower another in their dream was something that she came to her but apparently had certain nuisances that she had yet to learn. But was interested in what the Element of Honesty would say now that she was in a place that had little to no restraints or inhibitions.

“So ya are the real deal aren’t ya?” Apple Jack said trotting towards her with an angry glint in her eye.

“Yes. And I’m not here to seek forgiveness.” She said with a nod before sitting down, “Because even if that wasn’t a hundred percent me. I still listened to what it said, and fell to it’s influences.”

“Before I give you my honest judgement. Why? Why would you get an amulet that I know with a Mare as smart as you look to be should have known better, stoop to using that Celestia be damned Magical Doohicky?!”

“When those two colts brought over the Ursa Major, and yes I want to blame Rainbow Dash and you for escalating things. But the truth is it was the parents fault for not paying attention to their own flesh in blood. Seriously letting two colts that could still be considered foals run out into a forest filled with pony eating monsters and I’m the villain?

But when I was then not only showed up, but cast into the shadow of the Mare who accidentally stole my friend from me like the rest of you did. Well at least until Luna took me under her wing. But all of Ponyville spread my name throughout all of Equestria. I lost the three things that mattered to me the most in this entire world. And then I lost the ability to support my family and little sister that I’ve never been able to see. Can you imagine that. Having a sibling but you’re too busy working your flank off so that she and your parents can have food on the table?” Trixie felt herself starting loose control of her emotions and the last thing she wanted was to ruin what chance to closure she could get.

“Wait, what things, what friend, and what do you mean by you haven’t seen your sister?” Apple Jack’s eyes were spinning from the raw amount of information being thrown at her and wanted to see where Trixie was coming from.

“That carriage, cloak, and hat that were obliterated in the destruction of the Ursa Major were the only things I had of my family. The only things they could afford to make for me. I had them since I was younger than your sister and had to put up the farce that was my Cutie Mark story. Unlike you and your friends I had to lie about what my Special Talent was for the sake of my family, and they made those three things for my Cutecaenera. Even though they could barely afford the materials to do so. When I left and started sending them money they had enough extra income that another child wasn’t impossible. But I’ve had to work constantly to not only survive between shows, but to send what I could to my family. But when those things were lost I lost my only ties to them.

You know how hard it is to find work when an entire village spreads the rumor that an Ursa Minor attack was all your fault, and that you couldn’t even make a dent in it? Everypony that respected my skills, or I had cowed into stop heckling my shows was gone, and I lost that as a means to support them. As for the friend, the Mare on the Moon was my only friend growing up. The only pony that ever cared about me even if she never talked back to me. But even though I’m glad Luna is free. For the longest time I was not just alone. But I was homeless, jobless, and unable to take care of the ponies I care about the most.

As for not seeing my sister. Tell me. How can I see her, when even your own clan, who should by your admission be forgiving me, since Celestia did, throw me out of town if not out right injures me till I leave? How can I approach a filly when even my own family has to deny ever knowing me so that what little money they can make on their own still comes to them unless they loose everything? Tell me Apple Jack how am I to get to go to my sister whom I’ve never seen out side the random letters I get, and talk to her knowing that by being near her I endanger her?” By this time Trixie was outright bawling. Regardless of her wanting to hold back her tears, being in the dreamscape didn’t allow that illusion for her.

“There, There, sugar cube,” Apple Jack said holding her close while comfortingly running a hoof through her mane, “Ah didn’t know all that. When Ah first saw ya Ah only saw a blow hard makin’ checks Ah didn’t think yer mouth could keep. Then when ya showed us up. Well Ah guess Ah let me pride get the better of me like Ah always do. So when ya left Ah could have made an effort to help ya out. But Ah was just bein’ a pig headed mule.

“I know how important family is. There’s nothin’ more important. So when ya turned Apple Bloom into an actual Apple. Well Ah guess all of us Apple’s were a might angry at ya. Ah think that it’s possible ta say that a lot of us still hate ya even though Celestia says that hatin’ another pony is wrong. But ya doin’ it for yer family, and because we Ah guess were slightly ta blame for ruinin’ their lives and yer livelihood. I can’t blame ya for what ya did. If Ah was in yer place Ah’d probably do the same thing. Heck I dreamt about doin’ the same thing.

“Ah don’t know what it is, but Ah’m finally seein’ ya as ya really are. Not as how Ah’ve been makin’ ya out ta be. Ah’ll talk ta my kin and see about havin’ all of us havin’ a proper get together and talkin’ this out. That and Apple Bloom don’t remember none of it. So we’ll see what we’ll see. Sound like a plan?” Apple Jack offered a hoof after giving it a generous glob of spit.

Even knowing it wasn’t real spit Trixie felt her coat shiver as she gave a spit shake. With that done she felt being pulled out of the dream and back into the halls. She walked around some more seeing the door to the other pony she wished to talk to. She didn’t have it in her to really apologize to Rainbow Dash, but she felt bad about her having Nightmares so she decided to give her a helping hoof as it were.

As she entered she saw utter madness. All of Equestria was on fire, anarchy ruling in the streets, with some very gruesome and foal unfriendly sights happening around her and curled on the ground in the fetal position was Rainbow Dash. Who had fallen into a mantra of, “I’m sorry!” as she rocked herself on the ground. This was a totally different Rainbow Dash than she was used to. She was used to a strong, unshakable, arrogant Rainbow Dash who had set into motion the events that had destroyed her life. Seeing her almost as broken as she was a few months before she decided to end her life, and before the Princesses had saved her from that darkness. It was almost cathartic, if it wasn’t so heart rendingly sad at the same time.

Placing a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder she gave her a soft shake, “What’s the matter Rainbow Dash?”

“You! If I never tried to one up you for having a moment of the spotlight in Ponyville that was for yourself rather than feeling threatened by it. None of this would have happened and I wouldn’t have been responsible for destroying Equestria. Celestia showed me the figures, and the over all losses. And well ... I had a hand in what happened in other cities by talking to the Cloudsdale Weather Corp about you, and my weather team. And they might have added their own bits into the various rumors about you.

If I wouldn’t have done that, or talked in my fan club to put you down when they asked about you. Things would have been better. Maybe. But Equestria is in trouble, my cousins are screwed and my dad’s pension is in shambles all because of me. I don’t think Mango or Holly Dash are going to be able to forgive me. I know sure as tartarus my father isn’t. Not after all the other stuff I put him through. And they wanted me to apologize to you? Not my family but the Princesses and my friends. But there isn’t words on this planet that can begin to make things up to you and all the lives that were ruined.” Rainbow Dash stopped rambling and just laid there with her head on her forelegs.

Trixie looked at her, and lay next to her. Even as Rainbow Dash looked away Trixie, lay her hoof on her back and sent a wave of fading moon magic and a what small sense of peace Trixie had. “Listen, you’re right. There aren’t words to begin describing how messed up that is, and I don’t know if I could ever forgive you. Even if I could it might take a long time to do it. But you said you were a mare of action. Stop letting the world fall around your hooves and work on fixing what you had a hoof in breaking.

“And when you think you can figure out a way to make things up to me as a more physical apology than just words than I’ll be willing to listen. But not all of this was your fault, not all of it was anyone pony’s fault. But a number of mistakes, bad choices, and plenty of ponies to blame for things turning out the way they did. But almost everypony else decided to make me the strawcolt in their lives for all the problems in Equestria. So your family doesn’t need to blame you when they have an even easier target to go after. So don’t beat yourself up too much. Look for the solution, not just the problem. Well I got to go See you later Rainbow Dash.” And with that she was pulled out of the dream as the chaos stopped and silence descended upon Rainbow Dash’s dreamscape.