Since Twilight had put her to bed, Trixie had tossed and turned in feverish exhaustion. She'd fallen asleep almost instantly, and every time she tried to wake up, her body rejected the notion. She'd used to much magic. She broke her personal rule of never casting more than four illusions at a time, and for what?

Twilight Sparkle.

Trixie groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position. Her body ached and her horn throbbed, and all she wanted to do was sleep, but for some reason, her little cottage felt...cold?

"...Twilight?" Trixie called out meekly. Her ears perked. No reply. She probably couldn't hear her. Her voice felt raw and choked. Quietly, Trixie slipped out of bed on wobbly hooves and made her way towards the door.

"T, Twilight?" She groaned. No response. The kitchen was empty. Maybe Twilight was taking a nap? The blue pony quietly knocked on Twilight's door, before slowly nosing it open. The bed had been unslept in, but made tidily by somepony obsessed with order. Outside? Maybe Twilight was outside. Probably practicing in the arena for their next big duel. Trixie grinned and lurched her way back into her room- and froze on the spot.

The Portrait was warm. She could feel the tingles of magical energy rippling from the doorway and her ears peeled back against her skull. That couldn't be...! The portrait had been used, but she hadn't touched it...that meant..

"TWILIGHT?!" Trixie hollered, throwing herself back into the kitchen, and swinging the front door of the cottage open. The sun was shining brightly, and the grass smelled sweet. There was no sign of Twilight.

"No....n, no no no...TWILIGHT?! HELLO!? TWILIGHT!!!" Trixie screamed. There was no reply. Her legs gave out from underneath her and Trixie collapsed to the ground in the open doorway. Alone.

She was alone again. But that was fine. She was used to being alone. The life of a show mare was a lonely one with few friends and little love. Thats the way she liked it, after all. Why couldn't she stop crying? Her plan was ruined. The revenge, the torture, the justice! All of it was gone- washed away like a dream, leaving her world grey, bleak and cold.

It was an empty cottage again, filled with a deafening silence that Trixie could not escape from. Just like before. Before Twilight came along, before Trixie set hoof in Ponyville, and so many years before that. Empty.

Trixie crawled from the doorway, letting the cottage door close in her wake. She peered into the kitchen, where the freshly picked fruit sat quietly in a bowl. The apples she'd picked for Twilight. The plates and dishes set just right- just to appease orderly obsessed unicorn. Her favorite books of dueling, volumes 1-45 in perfect order (She was missing volume 33, but still) The silence of the cottage was unbearable and the reminders of Twilight's visit left and endless echo of memory ringing in her ears. She couldn't stop sobbing, and she didn't know why. Everything inside was broken and twisted somehow- like her soul had shattered into a million jagged pieces, and someone had put hot coals on her chest.

She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't keep doing this; this wretched life of isolation and misery. Twilight had gone back to her marvelous castle- her tree of knowledge and friends, tutored by a goddess and beloved by a town.

And all Trixie had wanted just a taste. Just a moment of glory. A few seconds of love. She wanted her friends to drop by, and randomly throw her a party! She wanted a friend who would move the sky for her! To bend clouds and fight the rain, and clear the sky so the sun could shine just for her. Just once.

Just once, she wanted someone to make her a dress. Not a fan, or wanting something in return, but just because it would make her smile. She wanted a pony who would invite her over for tea, and surround her with a singing chorus of birds, or a friend who begged her to come over, and try the latest recipes she'd been working on. And they would come over, and watch her special magic show- a sneak peek performance for her closest friends, and they'd always get in for free. They'd come for the show and defend her if she got heckled. The empty applause and heartless compliments would be replaced with love! Real, honest to goodness love and friendship! The phony managers and the fake admirers wouldn't stand a chance to the ponies she called her closest friends.

They wouldn't leave her. They'd always be right by her side. No more birthday parties where she was the only attendant. No more empty days of endless practice and dueling with trees! No more one sided conversations at dinner. They'd never leave her cold, sick and alone...helpless in a magic portrait, because a real home was too expensive.

She climbed back into her room and closed the door. The sheets were cold in her bed. The pillow too. Everything was cold. But it didn't really matter. Nothing really did. She hugged her pillow, and tried to relax, but the tears wouldn't stop.

It was never about justice or revenge or hatred- and if at some point that it was, those desires twisted and turned and transformed into something else in Trixie's belly.

And as the mana sickness pulled Trixie back into a restless slumber, she slowly realized Twilight was never coming back. When she had left, so did the dangling prospect of friendship.

Of companionship.

Of a relationship.

And all the other potential Twilight promised with her presence.

The only thing the purple pony had left behind was a tiny spark of hope. It danced, and flickered and glimmered in her mind, tormenting the poor mare as her vision got dark, and the room began to spin.

She might come back. She might come back. Please come back. Please don't leave me...Please

Trixie held onto that hope as tightly as she could. It was her life jacket as despair washed over her in giant sweeping waves. She gasped for breath and tried to fight the tide, but it was crushing her. Drowning her. Pulling her under. Taking her to a dark place, she never wanted to visit again. That horrible place where there was no solace and no salvation- just a thousand condemning whispers.
Twilight was never coming back.
Trixie was meant to be alone.
No one could ever love her.
No one would ever love her.
And if any one did, it would end up just everything else in Trixie's life.
An illusion.

Author's Note

annnnnnnnnnnnnnd the HEART BREAKER.

OH, how DRAMATIC! (The BEST kind of stories, darling)
What a horrid ending! What a dreadful conclusion! How can love bloom and then be plucked by the root before it can be appreciated?!

...
Hope you enjoyed the story! It's over.
I am definitely NOT writing one more chapter and wrapping this all up.
Nope.
Perish the thought.
Absolutely not.
So sad.
....
maybe...