Lulamoon. That was her last name. Few actually knew that Trixie had a last name. She hadn’t mentioned it during her years as a travelling performer, and no one thought to ask her.

Not that it mattered anyway, her name mean't little now. Trixie's time as a travelling entertainer ended before she could make a name for herself. Her career was destroyed, cut short by that insufferable know-it-all Twilight Sparkle.  That’s not to say Trixie didn’t deserve what she got, she had been an arrogant braggart that faked her way through magic shows rather than taking the time to really master the art. But hey, not everypony got to live in Canterlot and attend Celestia’s exclusive school for gifted unicorns.

But that was all one big excuse, and Trixie has no need for excuses.  The self-proclaimed ‘great and powerful’ Trixie  would never admit that her rival was better than her at magic. Nope. Trixie was the best at magic, at being loved, at life, and just about everything. Or so she thought anyway. She just needed to level the playing field, something that could compensate for Twilight's cheating.

Cheating happened to be lots of study and many hours of practice.

However Trixie did learn something from her last encounter with Twilight, the power of the alicorn amulet could not be denied. Its power allowed Trixie to claim victory over her rival for a short time, and showed her how powerful magical artifacts could turn the tides of a duel. But unfortunately for her, the amulet was lost to her now. She needed something to replace it.

This is what lead Trixie to the ancient castle of the royal alicorn sisters, deep within the everfree forest. She was searching for another powerful artifact that she could use in her quest to defeat Twilight. It was rumored that Celestia had left behind several powerful artifacts, other than the elements of harmony, when she abandoned the castle a thousand years ago. Trixie figured she could search the castle and would hopefully find something to use against Twilight. At the very least she expected to find some sort of  trinket she could sell.

“There’s got to be something useful in this dump,” Trixie  remarked irritably to the empty room. "Trixie does not like to waste her time." She sidestepped a piece of rubble and ascended a large curved staircase that opened into a large room that was missing its ceiling.  

She spent the next few minutes rooting around the room, kicking over various piles of rubble. She was about to give up and move on when a glint of light caught her eye. It was the reflection off of what appeared to be an old war helm.

At first she expected it to be another dilapidated relic not worth her time, the helm was probably something a guard lost in a fight long ago. But that expectation quickly evaporated, she could sense that the helm was imbued with magic. However, as she approached she could sense something else. It was subtle, but she could have swore it the helm was calling to her.

“Well what do we have here?” Trixie asked aloud as she picked up and inspected the cobalt blue helm. It had to be enchanted with very powerful magic for her to feel emanations from across the room. But now that she had it in her grasp, she could practically feel it radiating energy. It appeared to be made for unicorns and had a hole for a pony's horn.

A thousand thoughts went through Trixie’s mind. Most of which were speculation as to what the magic of the helm actually did. Being a helm, Trixie assumed that the magic would assist her in fighting in some way. Hopefully it would enchance her magical abilities just as the alicorn amulet did. If it did she would teach Twilight the meaning of the word 'revenge.'

She cast aside her hat, and promptly made the mistake of putting it on.

At first it was far too  big for her, the hole for her horn was far too wide. She was in the middle of adjusting the helm, so she could see, when the helm itself suddenly shrank to a perfect fit. The hole for her horn was now exactly the right size and the helm no longer obscured her vision. The problem was it was so snug that she couldn't take it off.

“Alright,” Trixie began. “Let Trixie see what this thing can do.” She lit up her horn in the direction of a large pile of rubble, attempting to lift it off the ground. It would have been a decent test to see how the helm affected her magic. However, the moment she lit up her horn it felt like massive amount of  magic flowed into her head rather than out. So much so that it hurt. At first the pain was managable, but in a few short moments it escalated. Now it felt like someone had turned her horn into a drill was trying to lobotomize her with it. She was starting to black out.

“Ahhh!” Trixie wailed before stumbling. She lost her balance because her vision went all black for a moment. Her coat flashed deep blue, almost black, but Trixie's momentary blindness made sure that she didn't notice.  “What kind of worthless junk is this? Helms are supposed to help their wearers not hurt them!” Trixie cried as she began pulling at the helm, trying to pry it off. It wouldn't budge.

“How interesting. . .” said a cool liquid voice that seemed to flow into Trixie’s ears from every direction. Trixie immediately stopped struggling with the helm and started scanning the room for the source of the voice.

“Who's there? Show yourself!” Trixie demanded.  The room was well lit, given the fact that it didn’t have a roof anymore. However, it was late afternoon and the sun was nearing the horizon.

“I’m here.” The femine voice whispered in Trixie’s ear. She spun around only to find nothing there. After a moment of staring at the empty air next to her, she brain registered something shifting and brushing up against her other side. She recoiled immediately and turned to face whoever was invading her personal space. However, again she was met with empty air.

“Come out!” Trixie demanded. “The great and powerful Trixie will not be toyed with!” She lit up her horn threateningly.

“Great and powerful?” The unwelcome visitor laughed from behind Trixie. She turned toward the source of the voice. To Trixie's shock it was a black alicorn standing in the shadow of a pillar. She was at least twice as tall as Trixie, and had a billowing blue mane that housed bright star-like dots. She had a pair of cold colbalt blue eyes that seemed to pierce Trixie's core.

The large newcomer’s sudden appearance startled the blue unicorn and she started to back away. Just  as Trixie started to flee a blue magical aura caught her hind legs and caused her to fall over onto her back.

The nightmare walked forward, the darkness formed by the shadows of the room’s broken walls seemed to advance with her. She continued until she stood over Trixie, smiling down at her. “Of all the ponies in Equestria to find and adorn my helm, It was the one with the name Trixie Lulamoon.”

By now Trixie had stopped trying to flee all together. She just laid there tensed up, waiting for whatever was the come next. But some part of her was confused, how did this pony know her last name? Not many ponies knew after all. Why was it significant to her?

As if reading Trixie’s mind, the alicorn lowered her head and peered directly into Trixie’s eyes. “It means, my little pony, that I - like the powers that are - do not play with dice, and do not believe in coincidence.”

“W-Who are you?” Trixie managed.  

“Oh, don’t worry, 'great and powerful' Trixie.” The alicorn leaned its head in closer to Trixie, such that its muzzle was pressed against the side of Trixie’s face. Her fur was cold, but her touch had a strange alluring feel to it. Alluring to the point where it was hypnotizing. Darkness encroach on Trixie's vision as a wave of sleepiness washed over her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” She whispered into Trixie’s ear. Trixie’s vision was completely dark now, she was passing out. But she could feel the Nightmare pressing up against her. “And by the time I am through with you, you’ll know what ‘great and powerful’ really means.”

---

Far away in the Canterlot royal palace Princess Luna bolted upright in her bed. She was trembling and her coat was covered in sweat. Luna didn't know how, but she could feel it. The part of her that haunted her in her dreams and cast a shadow over the rest of her life, the part of her that she thought she was free of, it had been awakened. Yes, she could tell that Nightmare Moon was no longer dormant.