"Humph... You may have vanquished an Ursa minor, but you'll never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie said, standing on both her rear legs. But behind her confident smile and her little taunt, Trixie was scared. Even though the coming of the Ursa wasn't her doing, it was her bragging and boasting that brought this fate unto herself. The citizens of Ponyville looked angry, and they had all the reason to; except for one certain roof, no serious damage was done to the city itself.
She didn't even bother to think about what little show material she could salvage from her destroyed wagon. With her heart racing inside her chest, the blue mare made a bold decision. Quickly using a little spell she knew, a little gray cloud of smoke suddenly appeared. The mare already knew her limited knowledge in magic wouldn't keep the little cloud from dissipating quickly and so, without a second thought, she galloped away from the angry Ponyvillians.
Trixie knew that it wouldn't be so easy, she knew that those ponies would come chasing her and, sure enough, as she quickly gained distance against the ponies, she heard one pony's angered voice, "Why, that little..."
In her panicked state, she forced her muscles and fought back the clamps that threatened to halt her. She galloped even faster than before, certain that these ponies would try to hurt her, like the ones in Hoofington did.
* * *
Trixie galloped. She galloped until her muscles burned and her veins pumped battery acid. Then she galloped some more.
Trixie only came to a stop when her legs faltered and she fell, sprawling in the middle of the dirt road. The fear that once settled itself on her brain was now gone as she was both physically and mentally spent after that scared galloping. Hearing no hoofsteps behind her, she came to the conclusion that the ponies from Ponyville ceased to give chase to her, not that she cared anymore.
Trixie tried to get up, but her muscles were weak from the struggle against the hard dirt. She settled in just turning around and laying on her back, facing the stars. It has been so long since she had the time, or patience, to star-gaze. The night was beautiful; the stars lazily pulsated in a soothing white against the dark blue veil of the sky, making them seem especially bright today than ever. Somehow, the cerulean mare felt that it must have something to do with Princess Luna's homecoming.
"Why do I still do it?" she asked nopony in particular, eyes still wandering through the immensity of the night sky, "Why do I still make a total foal of myself? I just want to feel... acknowledged, accepted... wanted.” The last word left her lips with a tinge of sadness.
Trixie inhaled sharply and held her breath for a moment, soothing her aching lungs, before releasing it. "I told myself before to stop with the boasting. Every time I come to a new town, the same thing happens over and over again... I... I just can't control myself." Whenever her wagon opened, announcing the beginning of a new show, Trixie felt like something else was in charge of her actions. Even before Trixie arrived in Ponyville, she told herself over and over again to stop and think before acting. But it was inevitable; the mistakes repeated themselves over and over again.
"Why is it so hard for me to just shut up!?” she said, smacking a hoof across the air. “Why is it that every single time that I find a nice place to perform or even live, I ruin all my possible opportunities?" Rhetoric. Trixie knew why she did it, she just didn't know how not to do it. While a part of her wanted to apologize to everypony she'd ever made fun of, another told her that she didn't need nopony, and as such, nopony was worthy of her empathy. That same part kept telling her that she was the Great and Powerful Trixie, the most stupendous showmare the land of Equestria has ever witnessed, and as such she didn't need to care about the inferior one's lives.
Trixie felt tired, not only physically, but emotinally. True, the life on the road was always filled with adventures and wonders, but she still thought that something was missing. She wanted so badly to settle down and live a calm, beautiful life somewhere nice. Rolling to her side, the cerulean mare pondered as to how she decided to become a showmare in the first place.
True, her cutie mark represented magic itself, but that didn't explain when and, more importantly, how she decided to become a showmare. Some vague memories of her fillyhood made their way into her brain; random times spent with her family and friends at Canterlot. Happy and simpler times, but nothing really worthy of notice to her. She remembered just how she loved to impress those close to her, and that's when she started doing tricks for them. But that was hardly the answer she wanted or expected.
As the minutes passed by, Trixie felt relatively well and decided that moping would help nopony at all. She got up and started to walk slowly, following the little dirt road that she had been galloping on, not really caring where it would take her; probably just somewhere filled with nice ponies. Probably another place that would grow to hate her. Her head drooped as her eyes fixed themselves on the road as she moved, paying no attention whatsoever to her surroundings as her mind began to focus on her memories.
* * *
"Daddy! You're home!" the little filly shouted, voice filled with excitement. She proceeded to run to and pounce on her father, locking with him in the tightest of embraces. He tried to close the door behind him with one hoof, but he decided that hugging his daughter after a long day of work was a task of the highest priority.
"Oh ho ho... hello to you too, my little pony," he gleefully said, returning her embrace and spinning both himself and the little filly around. The mood in the room was contaminating; both father and daughter's laughter filled the whole house with joy and happiness. After giving her a light peck on the cheek -- which prompted Trixie to blush and giggle a little -- he set his daughter on the wooden floor. Slowly kneeling down, the dark blue stallion’s eyes made contact with his daughter’s. His mouth soon opened in a happy smile. "I have a surprise for you!"
The little filly's eyes widened with even more joy. "Ooohh! A surprise! I love surprises!" she said, before leaping forward to hug her father once more.
"Whoa! Calm down now, Missy. My back isn't what it used to be. Hehe." The little filly let go of her father and waited anxiously as the stallion rose, closed the door behind him and proceeded to take a purple colored box, adorned with golden sparks, stars, comets and crescent moon drawings in it, out of his saddlebags. "I know we're a bit short these months, but I saw this at the store and it just had Trixie written all over it."
"Really, daddy? They had my name on it?" Trixie asked, looking up from the box to meet her father’s gaze. He proceeded to give out a joyful chuckle, taking his time to appreciate the little filly's innocence.
"No, you silly filly,” he said, patting her gently on the head with a forehoof. “What I mean is: I know you like magic and doing tricks, and that is why I thought that this gift would be extra special to you." He handed the purple present box to the little filly, who instantly took in her own hooves.
Even though the word 'eager' couldn't possibly even start to describe the state of mind of the little Trixie, she just eyed the box quizzically, pondering. "But... daddy, today is not my birthday..." She looked up once more to meet her father's gentle eyes.
"And a father can't show his daughter that he loves her even though it's not her birthday?" he said, putting each forehoof on his hips, faking a stern expression. Trixie just giggled again and lowered her hungry eyes to the box once again, tearing down the paper that was carefully folded against it to keep its contents safe. Her eyes widened yet again; Trixie was mesmerized with the present box's contents. Inside the box were a cape and a pointy hat, just like the ones that magicians and wizards from older times that now stood as paintings in Trixie's book wore. Both were adorned exactly like the now torn paper that once covered the present box. Her father began to talk once again, breaking the cape and hat's spell on the little filly: "I know that purple is your favorite color..." But he couldn't finish his sentence: once again she just hugged him in an even tighter embrace than before.
"Thank you, daddy! Thank you! I love it! I love you, daddy!" she said, tackling her father and hugging him tightly. Tears of joy streamed down her lavender eyes.
"I love you too, Trixie..." He held his content smile like it was a permanent feature on his face. In that moment, he felt that life itself was worth it. To see the expression of true happiness on anypony's face, especially on the little filly that stood before him, made his heart flutter. The little filly resented letting go of her father, but the will to try on her new present prompted her to turn her attention toward the cape and hat that yet stood inside the box.
Her horn was soon enveloped by a translucent light violet veil, making both cape and hat gently levitate out of the box and toward her. She set the hat over her head and tied the cape around her neck. She looked back to her father, whom only nodded in response, before she ran across the room. “Look daddy! I’m flying! Just like a pegasus!” she happily shouted.
Her father could only laugh at her display of happiness. She kept running until she uddenly came to a halt and looked over to her father, face still moist from the joyful tears. She stood at the center of the room and held her hooves up, pretending to be a powerful wizard casting its most difficult spell. Her father couldn't help but laugh a little more at Trixie's antics, wiping the tears that were now running down his eyes.
"Look at you, Trixie... I bet you're going to grow up to become one special magician. Great and powerful..."
* * *
"MY HAT! MY CAPE!” Trixie yelled as she abruptly came to a halt. Without second thoughts, she turned around and proceeded to gallop back to Ponyville. She knew it was a bold move; coming back to the town which was now entirely filled with ponies who hated her. But Trixie knew she had a chance; her frantic escapade from the little town bought her enough time and everypony should be asleep by now. Even if they weren't, she couldn't leave behind her most precious belongings.
While galloping, Trixie wondered what she would say if anypony were to spot her in the small town. Knocking them out with magic was out of the question; it would be too loud. Talking them out of their accusations? No; time consuming and also loud.
Trixie sighed. "I just hope that nopony sees me..." she muttered to herself in-between breaths while galloping under the pale moonlight.
* * *
After what felt like an eternity to her, the showmare finally reached the outskirts of Ponyville. Her mane and tail were a total mess, but it would be worth it, she hoped. She paused next to the seemingly asleep town's entrance to calm down; she needed to be relatively rested in case trouble should arise once more. She took that opportunity to carefully observe the town before her, taking some comfort in the fact that nearly all of the house’s lights were off.
Minutes passed as Trixie started to form some kind of escape plan if things went wrong. ‘The smokescreen trick didn’t work... it was meant to last much longer. Definitely out of the question.’ She thought as her mind contemplated other possibilities. ‘I could create an illusion copy of myself while cloaking the real me under an invisibility spell... but the magical strain would be too great. If I could pull that off, that is. Hmmm... maybe just the illusion spell, to scout the town for anypony. No; if they were to find the illusion, they would probably alert the others. Okay, just the invisibility spell then.’ Trixie closed her eyes and focused entirely on her magic. Blinding sparks shoot out from her horn as she deeply concentrated. She grunted, furrowing her brows, but it was to no avail. The cerulean mare was far too spent from a day performing to cast even the simplest spell.
Acknowledging and accepting that she had no means of escaping again if anything were to happen, she sighed and slowly walked towards Ponyville, keeping her ears perked and her eyes wide in attention. She breathed a relieved sigh once she found out she was right; most of the ponies were asleep and the ones who weren't kept themselves to their houses, only the dim yellow lights on the windows hinted at their presence. Trixie avoided the main streets as best as she could, sticking to alleyways, shadows and behind trees, anything that could hide her from unwanted attention. The lack of cobbled pavement on such paths helped in dampening her hoofsteps.
Exiting a particularly narrow alley, Trixie caught sight of her destroyed wagon before her. She felt a lump form in her throat at the sight of it. 'The wagon was all that was left of my father's expenditure after he... he...' Trixie shrugged those thoughts off; she could pause to think about it later, once she was far, far away from Ponyville, in a safer place. What she needed now was to focus on the task at hoof. She risked a peek from out the alley and smiled when she acknowledged nopony was near. Moving slowly, she approached the wagon and began to lift up some boards, being extra careful not to hurt herself on any exposed nails.
It took some time before she could find her cape and hat. A few boards had to be set aside from the pile of rubble before she could find them, making the mare even dirtier than before. Both were moderately damaged; a few rips and large quantities of dirt, but nothing that she couldn't take care of later. Trixie brought her cape and hat to her chest and knelt to the dirt ground below, holding her beloved possessions tightly against herself.
"Never again..." she muttered sadly. A single tear escaped her closed eyelid.
"Never again what?" A voice came from behind Trixie.
The unicorn mare froze on the spot; it was over. She had been found. That pony would probably alert the others of her presence. She fought back the urge to attack the one standing behind her, but she thought that it would turn out to be uneventful. That pony would probably scream, making the situation even worse for Trixie as she would be caught attacking a pony. Trixie silently rose to her four legs, tied her cape around her neck and put her pointy hat over her head. Only when she felt that she was finished, she proceeded to turn around, eyes still closed; maintaining all her composure for the fate to come.
"Trixie surrenders." She said bluntly. Even though a part of her screamed for her to attack the pony or just gallop away, she needed to maintain what little dignity she had amongst the citizens of Ponyville.
"Oh silly, how can you surrender?” The playful voice said before gasping loudly. “Are we playing a game? I didn't know we were playing a game! Oh! Oh! What game are we playing? Is it hide and seek? I love hide and seek!"
Trixie couldn't understand what that pony was talking about. Wasn't she there to capture her? To punish her for, even indirectly, bringing an Ursa to town? Trixie stood paralyzed, an awkward expression on her face. She decided to open her eyes slowly, one at a time, only to discover a pink pony with a curly, magenta mane smiling happily back at her.
"Aren't you here to... hurt me?" Trixie asked, before mentally berating herself for asking that question. 'Don't give the enemy any ideas!'
"What? No, silly! Hurting isn't fun, and Pinkie Pie here is all about fun!" The pink pony with blue eyes made a comic pose, as streamers, balloons and confetti began to fall from apparently nowhere.
"And... what are you doing out here... Pinkie Pie?" Trixie asked, standing still. Just as the pink pony opened her mouth to speak, she began to shake violently; a fact which made Trixie sink deeper in her puddle of confusion.
The shaking lasted for a few seconds, but the mare began to speak, completely ignoring what just happened to her. "When I saw the beginning of your show, I knew I didn't know you, but if I didn't know you that means that you must be new around Ponyville. I got so excited about a new pony coming to Ponyville that I decided to throw a party just for you, but that made me miss your show because I had to organize everything and then my friends came and told me that I shouldn't throw a party for you because you were some kind of grumpy mean-meanie-pants, but that only made me more excited because I thought that maybe my party could improve your attitude! But then my friends came back and told me that you left Ponyville and I was all sad because you didn't even come to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, but then I started shaking around and I've never felt that before so I decided to walk around Ponyville trying to find out what this means and then I see you again- WAIT! Does this mean that I won the hide and seek game?"
"Huh?" Trixie felt as if the train to reality had departed early, leaving her stranded in crazy-town. She took some time to process that huge amount of information, but that proved itself to be uneventful. Gripping the few pieces of information she could from the pink pony’s presence, Trixie slightly furrowed her brows in confusion. "You... you planned a party... for me?"
"Well... DUH! You're the only new pony here in Ponyville. And if you're not a new pony, you can't have a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, although you might still get a 'Welcome Back to Ponyville' party." Pinkie pointed out, as if that was the most trivial piece of information in the universe.
"I... I know but... why?"
"Oh silly," the pink pony said, before giggling. "Everypony deserves a party!"
"Even... me?" Trixie lowered her head and looked down on the dirt ground; she felt a little ashamed of herself because of the way she acted. The pink pony suddenly became aware of the gloom feeling that the unicorn had in her and walked towards Trixie, stopping beside her and sitting down on her hind legs. Both stood there, side by side, lost in thoughts; Trixie even forgot why she was in such a hurry to get out of Ponyville. The awkward silence reigned for a few more moments until Pinkie had a sudden idea that was sure to brighten the unicorn mare's spirit.
"Hey, did I ever tell you about how I got my cutie mark?" she said, turning her head around and smiling gently at Trixie. The showmare thought about mentioning to the pink pony that they've just met, but she decided against it... Pinkie was only trying to help her.
"No, Pinkie... I don't believe you did," she answered, dropping the façade of mentioning herself in third person. Trixie was a little amused at herself when she acknowledged that she was genuinely interested.
"Oh, you're gonna love it, it's a gem!" Pinkie Pie said, giggling a bit. She then proceeded to relay her story to Trixie, not leaving one single detail behind.
* * *
"... and that was how Equestria was made." Pinkie said, giving her finishing story a grandious finale. Even though her ending line had no connection whatsoever to the story itself, Trixie couldn't help but giggle a little at that. Pinkie's story surely helped to lift up Trixie's spirit and she couldn’t help but think that Pinkie’s story was indeed, as the pink pony said herself, a gem. The way she told it, made Trixie feel as if she was present in the story's happenings, experiencing beforehand the events that marked Pinkie's life.
"Well... I gotta go now. Mr. and Mrs. Cake will be mad at me for staying out so late." And just like that, Pinkie got up and started jumping toward Sugarcube Corner, happily humming a song while she did so. Just when she was getting out of Trixie's line of sight, she stopped and looked back at the unicorn mare. "Maybe next time you can tell me about your cutie mark!" She winked to Trixie and left, jumping and humming again.
Those words hung on Trixie's brain. She dropped both her cape and hat to the ground as her mind began to scramble. "M- my cutie mark...?" And once again, memories from the past forced their way into her mind, flooding her brain.
* * *
Little Trixie sat on the white sofa, feeling alone and scared. Around her sat other ponies, both older and younger than her, some worried, some with weary faces, and some crying. A white mare wearing a white hat with a red cross printed on it came near the little filly and asked her with a gentle voice:
"You're Trixie, right?" she said, trying her hardest to smile at the little filly, whose only response was to look up and nod, eyes moist with tears. "Your father is stable now, you can go and see him if you'd like to..." Once again the little filly nodded. She got up from her seat and proceeded to follow the nurse into those white, maze-like corridors until both reached the room in which her father was admitted to. The filly had already seen her father in bad conditions, but this time it was the worst of all. He looked miserable, even though the most powerful painkillers had been administered to him, it was like the pain forced itself beyond the medication's power.
The stallion groggily acknowledged his daughter’s presence. "Hey... how's my great and powerful magician doing today?" he asked as his face contorted itself to form a weak smile.
"Not so great... or powerful..." Trixie muttered with her face drooped, staring at the floor below. Such sad words coming out from his daughter’s lips were a pain for him to hear.
"Trixie, why don't you show me a trick you've learned?" he said, trying to get the filly to do something to cheer herself up. But the little filly merely nodded and focused on her horn, which was soon glimmering with a feint pinkish light. She could feel the magic rushing through it making her horn hotter and hotter. A slight pain was forming into the back of her brain as sparkles began to shoot from her horn, but Trixie pressed on; she felt that needed to do this for him. It wasn't long before the sparks stopped and the whole horn was enveloped in a lavender aura and, out of nowhere, Trixie conjured a little bouquet, filled with red and yellow roses.
Her father was mesmerized at the little filly’s display of conjuring magic. "Wow... you've certainly improved," he said and sniffed; the air now bore the slightest scent of a meadow on a sunny day. Smiling, he looked at his daughter, who kept her head down. "Trixie, come here, please."
The filly obeyed, trotting up near her father. When she finally looked up, she could see that he looked at the verge of tears. "What's wrong, daddy?"
"Trixie, I... I don't know if I can make it this time. I know I've been to the hospital before, but the doctors said that my heart is getting weaker. I... I want you to be strong for me, Okay?" Just as he was done saying, Trixie fell to the floor and burst into tears, sobbing heavily. He bit his lower lip at the sight; he knew that the the truth pained her, but he also felt that she deserved to know. He gathered his forces and magicked the little filly, bringing her on top of his chest, which she instantly clung to and held tight. He kissed her forehead while Trixie’s tears moistened his chest. "Don't be sad, Trixie... It's just the way things happen..." he said and waited for an answer... but as none came, he tried again. "Trixie, I want you to promise something for me."
Her head slowly rose, as her eyes looked up to her father. It pained him even more to know that she was barely able to contain her sobs as she spoke. "W- What?"
"Promise me, Trixie. Promise me that you will try your best to be the happy pony I know you are. Promise me that you will use your magic to spread joy and happiness to everypony all around Equestria." His voice was imperative, serious; yet, not harsh.
"I- I promise!" she said and started to sob once more and leaned her head to rest on top of his chest. Trixie couldn't see it with her eyes closed; but a bright white light illuminated the room as her flank now bore her cutie mark. "I- I love you, d- daddy." She mumbled between sobs, gripping tighter and tighter at her father’s chest. She waited for an answer but she didn't receive any.
It was then that she noted something was wrong. She noticed a loud and incessant sound that could be heard from one of the machines plugged into her father. She started to hear rushed hoofsteps, which were getting nearer and nearer.
A male stallion, wearing a white lab coat entered the room and saw the buzzing machine. His eyes widened as he turned his head around, but his eyes never left Trixie’s father. "GET ME A CRASH CART!" the male stallion yelled to anypony in the hallway able to hear him. "STAT!"
"What's... what's going on?" The startled little filly asked, looking frantically from her father to the stallion.
"GET THE FILLY OUT OF HERE!" the same stallion yelled at the nurse who brought Trixie into the room. The nurse let go of the big cart she was pushing and magicked the little filly away from her father, dropping Trixie's bouquet on the ground. The medic rushed to Trixie's father's side, trampling over her little bouquet on his way, scattering the colored petals everywhere.
"No! NO! LET GO OF ME!" she protested, trying to kick her way out from the nurse’s magic but it was to no avail.
"Shh... It's alright, dear," the nurse said, bringing Trixie close to her and holding the filly into a hug, gently stroking the back of her head. "He's going to be fine..."
"Let go! LET GO! DADDY!" the little filly yelled, struggling against the nurse's grasp.
"NURSE, 25CC ADRENALINE I.V.!" Trixie was able to see another nurse who hoofed the syringe to the medic pony, allowing him to take it with his magic. She tried to turn her head around in order to look at her father, but even if the nurse had allowed her to, her eyes were too blurry from the tears for her to see anything.
"WE'RE LOSING HIM! GET THE CARDIOLOGIST AND THE SURGEON HERE, RIGHT NOW!"
"DADDY!"
* * *
"... Daddy..." Trixie mumbled before falling hard into the ground below. She felt that pain once again. Tears were flowing from her eyes, darkening the coat of her cheeks. Hitting the hard dirt with her hoofs as she cried, Trixie couldn’t stop thinking about her father. ‘Would he be proud of me right now? What would he say, knowing that his beloved daughter had become a bully? Would he be angry? Would he be disappointed in me?
Trixie felt as if she had failed him somehow, and it was then that something clicked in her head. It was so obvious! Pinkie Pie's story was the light that ignited her sudden discovery. ‘Why didn't I think about it before? My cutie mark doesn't symbolized magic by itself; it symbolized what I once promised to do with it. To bring joy, happiness and laugher to all other ponies.’ The mare stopped and rose, silently musing over herself. ‘I promised...’
Even with the fresh, sad memory on her mind, she couldn't contain the joy inside of her when she rediscovered the meaning of her cutie mark and soon, the good emotions outgrew the bad ones. Trixie felt a surge of adrenaline rushing through her as she levitated her hat onto her head and her cape onto her back. She looked around and spotted a small hill that stood next to the little town and started to gallop towards it, a determined expression etched into her face. When she reached the peak of it, she paused to look at the sleeping town. Even though nopony would be able to hear her, she felt that she needed to say it.
"I know you Ponivillians hate me... Hay, I think that half of Equestria probably hates me by now..." she paused and inhaled sharply, holding her breath. When she began to talk again, she lowered her tone even more. "And I am sorry... I am sorry for all the bad things I've done and brought upon you all... But I swear to Luna and Celestia that I will set things right!" she raised her head, a determined look on her face. "And when I do, all of Equestria will share the laugher and joy that was bestowed upon them by the hoof of..." she got on both her rear hooves and she yelled with all her might. "The Great and Powerful Trixie!"
* * *
Pinkie silently grumbled at those relentless shakings that kept from her sleep. She had tried every trick she knew of; warm milk, reading a story, counting sheep, licking an alligator. Sighing wearily, she walked to the window, sitting quietly by it as she watched the clear night sky and its many stars. Pinkie couldn’t help but remember something she heard from one pony; he said that only Princess Luna herself knew how many stars were out there, but Pinkie never paid much heed to such nonsensical rumors. After all, she herself had counted them all twice and in just one single night. And she knew that, since she had counted how many stars were out there, Luna couldn't be the only one to know.
Pinkie's stargazing was interrupted momentarily when her attention shifted towards something moving along the outskirts of Ponyville, galloping to the peak of a little hill. She furrowed her brows and was able to make out the form of a cyan unicorn, no doubt the one she had spoken on a while back. Pinkie could only see her silhouette as she stood before the full moon. She knew that the unicorn was saying something, but another violent shaking took place, stopping her from hearing what little she could of what the mare was saying. Just as when the shaking ceased and Pinkie furrowed her brows, trying to lip-read what the mare was saying, she heard Trixie’s voice.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie!"
Pinkie immediately began shaking more violently than ever. She felt some of her joints disjointing and then snapping back into their respective places. She bounced up and down, just to be soon hung into the air as her body contorted itself. Just when Pinkie began to feel scared about her violent and relentless shaking, it suddenly stopped, prompting the mare to fall to the wooden floor. Pinkie put a hoof under her chin; while she found the shaking itself and its mysterious disappearance very strange, she just couldn’t put her hoof on it... for now.
