A Fallen Star

The hut that Trixie had limped her way to was rather odd, but at least comforting compared to the forest. She did find herself staring at the dozens, if not hundreds, of wooden masks, bottles of potions hanging from the ceiling, and other strange artifacts scattered about.

Trixie was trying to figure out what a certain object could be, when a fresh wave of pain erupted from her rear left leg again, causing her to wince and groan. "There, now that your wounds are all tidied up, i made some tea. Would you like a cup?"

Trixie turned towards her...rescuer, who introduced herself as Zecora the Zebra. She had given Trixie a bath with a certain herb mixed in, mostly to clean and numb the small cuts on her body. Her front legs and shoulders were especially covered in scratches, but were wrapped and numb by now. Her rear leg, however, was pretty badly slashed by that wolf, and it was a shock to see how deep it actually was. The numbing herb couldn't make all of the pain go away, but it helped. "Y-yes I would." Trixie finally answered Zecora, rather somberly.

She watched the Zebra walk over to her large pot in the center of the house. It appeared to be where she cooked up everything she made, even if it was only tea. Normally, Trixie would have limped over with her, staying off her cut leg. But she had also sprained her right rear leg while running for her life, so Zecora told her to not walk for a while. She looked over her body quickly, noting all of the bandage over her sides, and the especially large one over her leg, which had already started growing a faint red color.

The zebra quickly returned, placing a tray on the bed Trixie was laying on. It had 2 cups, and a large tea kettle, with steam spewing out of the kettle's mouth. Trixie sat up on her rump, her rear legs stretched ahead of her, and her forelegs between them to keep herself steady. She lit her horn and raised a magical aura over the kettle, lifting it up and pouring tea in both cups. She set it down and went to raise her cup to her mouth, but all she did was stare at the drink.

"Relax, dear Trixie," Zecora chuckled a bit. "There is no poison in this brew. Why would I do something so cruel to you?" She jokingly asked, noticing that Trixie was lost in thought,

The blue mare shook her head. "No, no. It's not that." She lowered her head as she continued speaking. "It's that I am utterly helpless. I thought I could get by on my own, that I didn't need anypony around me to go through life just fine." Her eyes half closed, more depressing thoughts appearing. "I tried to stand up to the wolves, but I'm so weak I..." She couldn't finish her sentence before being overcome by anger of her helplessness. She shut her eyes, and starting to tear up once again.

Zecora could tell what was going through the young pony's mind, and tapped her abruptly on her shoulder, catching Trixie's attention. "Now listen here, young filly. Do you believe something that silly? Nopony in this world can do anything on their own. They must seek aid from the friendships that they have grown." She turned her head towards a window, which was just a hole in her hut that had two sticks crossing over it.

"F-friendships?" Trixie inquired, stiffing her tears.

She nodded "I do not need to rely on others in order for me to live. But having friends brings a joy that nothing else can give. Maybe you too should try and see, what it's like to have friends like me?"

Trixie looked away and began to think. She's offering to be my friend. This zebra wants to be friends with a pitiful, helpless Unicorn like me? Thoughts like that buzzed through her head, until she remembered Fluttershy. Fluttershy was offering the same thing: to be friends. But i ran off without a care of her thoughts.

The Unicorn turned to Zecora, a pitiful look on her face. One that said she would love to say yes, but something wouldn't let her accept it so quickly. Zecora just smiled and nodded, understanding Trixie's state of mind.

The two thought it be best for Trixie to sleep, seeing as she would need a long time to recover.

After much strain and stress, the filly finally gave up, and planted her flank on the ground. She had been trying to lift that rock for 10 minutes now, but she couldn't get her magic to do it. The only lighting in the room was from the moon coming through the window, shining directly upon the rock. It seemed to be taunting the little Unicorn.

Just then, her mother walked in. "Oh, hey Trixie honey! Practicing with your magic again?" The dark blue mare walked over to light a few candles and hung her royal cape. She then moved to where her daughter was and studied the rock. "I bet you were able to lift it today, huh?"

Trixie cringed a little. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want her mom to know that she couldn't even lift a rock. She couldn't really decide what to say, so she stayed quiet, and attempted to hide behind her sky blue mane.

After realizing her daughter wasn't responding, the Unicorn turned to see that Trixie was looking at the ground. "Hun, what's wrong?" She trotted over and placed a hoof on her daughter's shoulder.

"Mommy?... Am i a bad Unicorn?" Trixie asked her mother, starting to get scared.

"No, sweetie. You're a great Unicorn. Why would you think otherwise?"

"...Because i can't even use magic!" She yelled and turned to her mother, who was caught off guard. "You said that every Unicorn starts with weak magic, but all of my classmates can already lift rocks bigger than that!" She jabbed a hoof at the rock that seemed to be taunting her now, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Trixie didn't want to cry in front of her mother, but it was somthing she couldn't avoid.

The older mare didn't know what to say. She just looked back at the rock, then back to her daughter. Trying to be supportive, she nuzzled Trixie's head. "Trixie. Everypony learns at their own pace. I knew ponies when i was your age who couldn't use magic, but they grew up and were just fine."

She pulled away from her mother. "But you weren't one of them!" Trixie glared at her mother, who, for some reason, was more of an enemy in Trixie's eyes at the moment.

Her daughter's response struck the Unicorn deeply. Trixie was right. Her prowess in magic when she was a filly dwarfed everypony else's magical talents. And it only increased as she became older, leading to being a Royal Mage. She couldn't say anything to Trixie, because she had no idea what her daughter was going through.

She was waiting for her mom to say something, but all she could see was a dumb expression on her mother's face. Trixie couldn't hold back any longer. Her eyes erupted with tears and she ran out of her room, out of the house, and into the streets of Canterlot before her mother could register what happened. She ran and ran, not knowing where she was going, and not caring if her mother was following her.

Trixie awoke in a cold sweat. Turning over on the small, makeshift bed Zecora made for her, she wiped the sweat from her face with the thin blanket, and propped herself up, so she could dangle her legs over the edge. Another memory of mine, she thought to herself. I was so scared that i had no magic at all, that i could never be like my mother. She couldn't cry right then, but she felt a chill cover her body. Looking up, she could see that it was still night time.

Just remembering those moments dug up a lot of emotions. Trixie didn't feel like sleeping anymore, but she couldn't leave the bed. Why wasn't I talented? She asked herself. Why couldn't i have had magic like mom? Maybe i could have made a difference back then...

Her thoughts turned to regret and remorse, wanting to change what happened years ago, or just wanting to change what happened in Ponyville. They all saddened Trixie the same.

Before she knew it, the moon had set, and the morning sun crept into the hut. Trixie didn't care much. She never really bothered with time except when she had a schedule.

Soon, Zecora had awoken and checked on her legs. "Lucky for you, it was a minor sprain. By tomorrow, you should be able to walk again."

Trixie nodded to signal she understood, but didn't say a word. She just stared at the other leg, and the bandages that were tinted red.

"So Trixie, i must go into town for some supplies. I'll need special medicine for an injury of your size." She paused again, looking questionably at the Unicorn.

Trixie just nodded again. She must mean Ponyville. Irony is a funny thing sometimes.

Zecora waited another few moments before putting a pair of baskets over her back, and leaving for Ponyville.

After she had left, Trixie raised her eyes. Even though that was years ago, she felt like she was still a filly, with no magical powers. Compared to that Purple Unicorn, Twilight was what she remembered her name as, she practically was. Anger no longer surfaced upon imagining her, just jealousy. Why couldn't I have had that magical power? Why did i have to inherit such weak magic? That was all she could think of after her dream.

Twilight cantered through the dirt roads of Ponyville, looking at all of he different hay-topped houses. There weren't many ponies out today, not like the other day when she tried going grocery shopping. Today she just needed some more scrolls so she could write her next To-do list.

While she was distracted in her thoughts, her cantering was interrupted by a sudden solid object. She and whatever she bumped into grunted. As she went to apologize to the pony she rudely hit, Twilight was caught off guard to see Zecora the Zebra. She was carrying, well, WAS carrying, baskets full of herbs, that were now strewn across the ground.

"Oh, Zecora! I'm so sorry!" She quickly lit the magic in her horn to pick up the loose herbs and place them neatly in her baskets once more.

The Zebra laughed a little. "Oh, don't worry, dear Twilight. Though i admit you gave me quite a fright."

The purple Unicorn tried to hide her flushed cheeks, but the embarrassment vanished as a new thought entered her mind. "Oh, Zecora! You were only here a few days ago. Did you forget something?"

Zecora shook her head. "No, there was nothing i forgot. Just a new situation that went hot."

Twilight turned her head sideways a little. It seemed that the Zebra always had to rhyme, so her words would seem a bit out of context at times. "What do you mean by 'hot'?" She inquired.

Zecora paused, unsure if it was wise to go about telling everypony. But Twilight was very trusting, so she went ahead. "Just last night, something scary happened. A pony in the woods was about to meet her end. I saved her, yes, but not soon enough. For a few Timber Wolves had hit her rough."

Twilight gasped, "She's okay, isn't she?" She didn't even notice that she started leaning forward, closing the distance between their noses.

Zecora laughed again. "Do not worry about her. She is resting now in my shelter. I simply need these herbs to help her heal. She may be safe, but her wounds were very real."

"Well, i did have to go get some scrolls, but i can always have Spike do that later. Would you mind me accompanying you?"

"Not at all, my pony friend. Your curiosity seems to know no end." After shaking her head, Zecora and Twilight started heading to the Everfree forest, Twilight asking a plethora of questions. Zecora merely told her that she would have to wait and see for herself.

The blue filly sat patiently outside the doctor's office, trying to keep herself entertained. Nothing worked, though, and she was unable to distract herself from the conversation her mother was having with the doctor.

"I'm telling you, Miss Lulamoon. This is the second time we examined her. The results..." He lowered his voice to a whisper, so Trixie was unable to hear what he said after that.

Her mother chirped in next. "Are you sure your tests aren't just bogus?! There's no way this could happen to MY daughter!"

"Please! Quiet down! She's right outside. I told you. It's a rare condition. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen to anypony. You said her father was an Earth Pony, correct?"

Twilight sat on Zecora's floor in disbelief, mouth agape. Laying flat in the hut, was Trixie.  She had left nearly a full week ago, only to be seen again in this state.  Nearly her whole body had some kind of bandage. Her front legs and shoulders were fully wrapped. Her sides had small individual bandages, none of which were very large. But Twilight could only dart her eyes back and forth between her face and her hind leg. She was asleep, and at peace, but her rear left leg looked as if somepony took a huge bite out of it. Even though there were wrappings over it, Twilight could easily tell that a large portion of her leg was missing.

Zecora had let Twilight sit in the corner near Trixie while she started cooking up the herbs. She ignited the flame underneath her pot, and waited for the water to boil.

The purple Unicorn stared at the blue one sleeping peacefully. Twilight could only think of guilty thoughts. This is all my fault. If I hadn't shown up Trixie... But the Ursa Minor was attacking the town... What if I accepted her challenge? No matter what she thought of, she not only found herself not at fault, but tried to pin blame on herself. As if there had to be a way that she was to blame. But it could only lead to Trixie's own fault, and that tore at Twilight.

"Mommy? What's wrong?" Trixie nudged her mother's tear-stained face with her own. She was trying to comfort her mother. Ever since returning from the doctor, her mother had been upset, and now she was crying.

Her mother took a deep breath. "Oh Trixie. It's nothing you can help with. It's just one of those things." She tried to smile, and nuzzled her daughter's nose.

The blue filly crawled up close to her mother. "Is it because of what the doctor said?" Trixie could feel her mother tense up. "It's because Daddy was an Earth Pony. So i don't have magic-"

Trixie was pulled from her dream quite abruptly by Zecora. The Zebra had given her a quick shake on her back, startling her. Upon calming down, Trixie shook her head, and actually giggled a bit. "Zecora. Did you need to startle me so badly?" She pulled her front legs close so she could raise her head from the makeshift bed.

"Oh come now, Trixie, don't be that way. I'm sure you have been sleeping all day. You need a quick bite to eat, or else you'll never get back on your feet." Zecora jested, placing a platter of fruit before the Unicorn.

She laughed at the Zebra's joke, finding it strange how just a little joke like that even made Trixie laugh. "I guess you're right." Was all she said as she began digging into her meal. It was only now she realized how hungry she really was.

Zecora mentioned that it was time to change the bandages on her leg, as well as apply the medicine. When Zecora started unwrapping the bandage, Trixie couldn't help but wince from the still painful wound. But when it was done, Trixie heard a gasp. It didn't come from Zecora, and not from herself. Surprised, she turned to the source of the noise, to see... "Twilight..." Trixie said, void of any real emotion. She was too taken by surprise to add any emphasis. The name of the one who started this whole problem rang over and over in her mind.

A purple Unicorn in the corner just stared at Trixie, a look of horror and guilt on her face...

This one feels a bit short, but it's what i have for you guys today. Is it still good? i don't want to disappoint just yet