Sacrifice: Trixie's Lament

Chapters

A New Leaf
I Want to Change!
Her Kind Eyes, Pt.1
Her Kind Eyes, Pt. 2
Trixie's Lament
The Alone and Despaired Trixie

A New Leaf

It was the same room every time. Did monotony exist solely to annoy her? She’d been seeing the same counselor for the past two years and by now she had been hoping he would have done something different to it. But no, it was untouched by the grace that is variety. She frowned more at this revelation and her sullen eyes stared blankly at the wall. The walls were a bland white and just as barren, with the exception of a framed certification just above the only desk in the room.

Rarity would cry at this place, Trixie thought to herself. Just thinking of Rarity reminded her of why she was seeking professional help, so she kept herself occupied by looking around some more. And that didn’t help the pit of despair she felt in her gut.

The carpeted floor was dark gray and reminded her of a cumulonimbus cloud. That didn’t help distract her at all. Instead, it only pulled her back into a distant memory.

From it, Trixie recalled only a stormy night where she had been caught up in the violent winds that came from out of nowhere and twirled her about like a ragdoll.

After that, everything went black and when she came to, Trixie saw the brightest hues of red, orange, and yellow peering down at her. Rainbow Dash. Trixie remembered.

Trixie’s eyes then fell upon an object that stole away all of her undivided attention.

And that… I miss, she thought next as her eyes focused on the desk and chair behind her therapist. It was an oak wood desk and it had seen better days than it did now. Its top was cluttered with manilla folders, loose papers, & makeshift paperweights, and one small lamp with a chair to sit in. Next to that was the only door into and out of the room, and behind her, a single four-pane window that overlooked a small piece of Manehatten.

When Trixie finally returned her focus to her psychiatrist, she saw he had stopped taking notes a while ago and now just waited patiently for her, wearing only a kind smile. As it finally sunk in with her, Trixie’s nonchalant attitude cracked. Although he was a middle-aged stallion twice her age with combed-over blonde hair wearing a white button-up shirt, a professional composure and a heart warming smile, Trixie saw somepony else. For a split second she saw a beautiful yellow cascaded by a cotton candy pink mane and big, friendly green eyes staring right back at her.

Fluttershy? Trixie thought momentarily before Dr. Stim’s voice brought her back, causing her to shake her head and look down, pulling her wizard’s hat down over her face. Trixie did this partly to hide herself from the vision, and partly to cover up the single tear she shed.

“Trixie?” Dr. Stim spoke softly after seeing the mare hide her face. He was half expecting Trixie to lash out again and correct him, but when she didn’t and instead simply raised her head enough for him to see her eyes, he saw their glossy coating and knew she was trying not to cry.

“Trixie must apologize,” she whispered to him with a sniffle at the end. “But right now it is The Alone and Despaired Trixie,” she said, now sniffling more as tears fell silently. Trixie could have sworn she’d just seen a familiar country mare behind him. Applejack, Trixie thought.

“It is all right,” he assured, “Tell me, Trixie, why are you alone and in despair?”

Trixie frowned as the answer shot itself at her like a Pegasus-powered slingshot. “Trixie lost her reason for smiling,” was all Trixie said before her stoic façade came tumbling down as she saw her light’s face flash before her eyes--those vibrant purple hues staring right back at her with a bright smile. Trixie felt more tears falling now.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Dr. Stim asked curiously but carefully.

“It was five years ago…” Trixie mumbled, averting her gaze as her eyes became water fountains, springing tears forth when she had already shed as many as she thought she could earlier.

* * *

Five Years Ago

As if nothing else bad could happen after Trixie had the shock of her life to date with Twilight Sparkle revealing that she had ascended to Alicornhood, it did. Suddenly the sunny day in Ponyville seemed to fall dark & gloomy for the show mare known only as Trixie.

After having explained herself to six particular mares she took the time to catch her breath. Eyes stared down on her afterward. All Trixie had done was come to Ponyville—in peace!—and asked if Twilight and her friends might help her in becoming a better mare, which meant they had to teach her the meaning of friendship.

No problem at all, right? Wrong, and Trixie felt like she was being laughed at. In return to her words, they stared at her with disbelief. Either way, Trixie felt she was now uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable.

She felt mocked when the cyan Pegasus known only as Rainbow Dash was wiping tears from her eyes with one hoof, pointing at Trixie with the other, and her wings buzzing away; keeping her suspended two-feet above the ground as she tried to speak but couldn’t get enough breath to do so.

“You dare mock the Great and Powerful Trixie?” was all Trixie could say to the mare before averting her gaze to the other five mares, each quiet but judging her in silence.

“Mock?” Rainbow said before breaking out into another laughing fit. “Who said I was mocking you?”

“Now wait jus’ a minute, Trixie,” Applejack butted in, grabbing Rainbow Dash’s prismatic tail and pulling down on it. Hard. “We’re jus’ tryna’ figure out whatcha mean.” she explained to the traveling show mare.

Rarity and Spike nodded with Applejack’s statement. “Nopony’s mocking you, darling. We’re just…” Rarity held her hoof to her mouth and shifted her eyes as she fumbled with her words. “…outwardly expressing our take on first impressions.”

“Yeah!” shouted Pinkie Pie, quickly jumping up into Trixie’s personal space. “So tell us again why you want to change!”

Trixie pushed Pinkie Pie back with her forehooves, yelling as she did. “Get out of my face!”

Pinkie Pie fell back onto her plot with an audible OOMPH! and immediately Rainbow Dash was up in Trixie’s face, angry and ready to fight, but Twilight acted quickly and pulled the Pegasus away with her magic.

“Hold on, Rainbow,” she said to her friend as she set her down. “Trixie didn’t incite or provoke. She was defending herself.” Twilight told Rainbow Dash with conviction.

“Wait--what?!” Rainbow scoffed, flailing her hooves in the air. “Did you just defend her?” she asked, pointing a hoof at Trixie accusingly.

“Trixie is as baffled as the loud-mouth mare is,” Trixie squeaked. Rainbow quickly shot daggers at her and was ready to rearrange her face for that comment. “But she does have a point. Trixie did say that.” Trixie confirmed.

“Trixie, it’s been two years since our last duel. You even asked me to accept your apology. Are you still holding something against me?” Twilight asked chiefly.

“Girls,” Fluttershy squeaked as she thought now might be a good time to intervene.

Trixie stepped back, aghast. “You would dare accuse Trixie of holding grudges?”

The mares and Spike all nodded in response. Trixie gasped. “How dare you! Trixie will have you know that she does not hold grudges.”

“Girls,” Fluttershy said again.

“Then what do you call it?” Rainbow snapped, afloat in midair again.

“Girls!” Fluttershy finally shrieked, making herself known as she hovered between Twilight and Trixie. “Thank you,” she quipped quietly as she reverted back to her shy self. All eyes fell upon the shy Pegasus and all mouths closed. “Why don’t we stop fighting and instead talk this out?” she suggested rather quietly. “And remember: Trixie did ask Twilight for forgiveness after she lost the Alicorn Amulet.” Fluttershy reminded her friends.

Applejack was the first to rally to her friend‘s fantastic idea. “Great idea, Sugarcube. Whaddaya think ‘bout that, Trixie?” she inquired next.

“Trixie supposes,” Trixie answered back, with a faint smile at Fluttershy’s defense of her from their last encounter.

“All right. Now that that’s settled,” Twilight let out a soft breath. “Trixie, what do you think we can do for you to set things straight?” she asked the showmare, looking to resolve the conflict peacefully.

“A duel!” Trixie exclaimed with fervor, letting her usual self show. A loud ‘what?’ roared through the air.

“Right now? Here?” Twilight said, blinking repeatedly.

“Woo! More magic poofy stuff!” Pinkie chimed in.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy all followed Twilight’s lead: bulging, blinking eyes and unhinged mouths while Rarity and Spike just reeled back as they tried to figure out what was up with Trixie and her need to end quarrels with violence.

“No, not right now,” Trixie corrected. “How about one month from today?” she offered up with a devious smile.

“Why in a month?” Twilight was confused now.

“To give you time to prepare for your imminent defeat, Princess.” Trixie said as she trotted away with a haughty laugh and left the Mane Six & Spike all in a stupor.

* * *

“Trixie should have known they were nothing more than full of themselves!” Trixie scoffed as she threw her hat onto the cot. “Bunch of neigh-sayers,” she carried on, removing her cape and staring at herself in the vanity mirror.

When Trixie usually looked into her mirror she’d always see herself, confident and unyielding, but for some reason this time that is not what she saw. “Not all of them, I suppose,” she told herself. “That Rainbow Dash is the neigh-sayer.” she corrected, slumping her shoulders and exhaling. This time she didn’t see herself at all; she saw the recent event that she was part of. Trixie huffed at the time she deemed had been wasted but then looked again.

For the rest of the day Trixie stayed in her new place of residence for the time being, Ponyville. Until she was disturbed by a loud knocking, that is. Trixie was awoken by that loud knocking. Groggy, she groaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head, but when the knocking continued without end Trixie started to get annoyed. She pushed the ends of the pillow against her head more until she finally had had enough.

“Who knocks on the door of the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” she screamed out before getting out of bed and trotting over to her door. She pulled back the sliding window on the door and looked outside. What she saw made her gasp and slide it shut. A moment later the door was unlocked and Trixie opened it.

“And just what do you want?” she asked the overactive pink pony.

“Hi Trixie!” Pinkie Pie greeted back loudly.

Trixie cringed at the loud octave and rubbed her ear before clearing her throat to speak, her comment being one she would soon regret. “Trixie wants to know why you are wearing a party hat, have a rolled up paper-thing in your mouth, and have a banner around yourself that says,” Trixie stopped immediately, but before she could comprehend the situation in its entirety, she was thrown off-balance by the high-strung party pony known only as Pinkie Pie.

“It’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville, Trixie!’ party!” Pinkie Pie exuberantly exclaimed.

After blinking a couple times and rubbing the back of her head that now hurt, Trixie watched as Pinkie Pie had somehow pulled out party poppers, popped them while exhaling air into her blowout party favor—that made a horrendously loud and obnoxious noise—and hopped around on one hoof, the other holding an air horn that was louder than herself ten times over.

“Trixie demands you stop all the noise!” Trixie shouted to Pinkie Pie. The pony did as commanded and now looked back at the mare in wonder.

“Do you not like parties?” Pinkie asked.

“No!” Trixie replied in irritation.

“Why not? Parties are fun!” Pinkie beamed at Trixie with the widest grin she could. And that was rather surreal for Trixie’s liking.

Pinkie Pie: the greatest contradiction she ever knew. One moment Pinkie Pie could be happy-go-lucky like she was now, but at the clop of a hoof, be the creepiest, most devilish creature this side of the Everfree.

“Trixie asks the loud-mouth pony why she is disturbing Trixie’s nap!”

“Oh? You were napping? I’m sorry! I’ll just come by when you’re awake then. Bye!” And like that, Pinkie Pie was off in a leap and a bound and a skip and a hop.

“Trixie is most confused.” was all Trixie could say to herself as she watched the pink mare seem to disappear just as fast as she had showed up. After she could pull her focus away from the empty doorway, she closed the door, locked it, then crawled back into her bed and looked at her clock. It was set to go off in three hours, which would mean when she woke up again it would be evening. “So much for sleep,” Trixie said, “The Groggy and Fatigued Trixie does not like to be disturbed.”

To Trixie, it felt like she had just closed her eyes and fell back asleep when she was yet again awoken to a knocking on her door. Instead of trying to sleep through it, she sat up with a scowl on her face and slipped out of bed, then trotted over to her door and opened it.

“Yes?” Trixie greeted with a scowl.

“Now is that any way to greet somepony, darling?” Rarity greeted back.

Trixie blinked and gave Rarity a confused look. “Trixie wants to know what you want. That hyperactive pony didn’t send you over here, did she?”

“Pinkie Pie? No darling, I assure you I came to your abode on my own,” Rarity answered back. “I thought I might stop by and offer you a cup of tea with Fluttershy and myself at her cottage,” she told Trixie, inviting the show mare to a gathering with an extended hoof.

“Trixie does not want any tea,” Trixie said at first without thinking, “especially not with you or that yellow pony who screams at the sight of a floating leaf.” She then slammed the door in Rarity’s face and glanced at the clock to see it had only been an hour since she’d slept.

“Well I never!” Rarity gasped, pulling her outstretched hoof against her chest. With aharumph she turned away and left. She knew Trixie to be a handful, her ego especially, but it had never occurred to her that Trixie could be so rude like she just was!

Trixie let out a soft sigh and fell against the door. She shook her head once and looked up. What had she just done? Here Trixie was, back in Ponyville for the first time since her defeat and forgiveness, looking to turn over a new leaf and she just slammed the door on the opportunity—twice! What was wrong with her? With another sigh Trixie turned around and opened the door. She looked outside and saw Rarity a good ways away. It didn’t matter though, Trixie had to do it. She had to, right?

“Rarity!”

Rarity stopped in mid-trot and looked behind her. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to see if she was seeing things. Surprisingly, she wasn’t. Her eyes actually were showing her that Trixie, complete with her hat & cape, was cantering towards her.

“Rarity,”—Trixie caught her breath after reaching the elegant pony—“Trixie wishes to accompany you to this tea gathering,” she said, hoping Rarity would still allow it.

“What do you say, darling?” Rarity asked Trixie in response, eyeing the mare closely. Trixie blinked and stared at her. “Well, darling? Don’t you have something to say to moi?”

“Trixie already said what she wanted to,” Trixie reciprocated. And then it dawned on Trixie by what Rarity was getting at. By the way Rarity stood idly by with patience told Trixie she was waiting for an apology.

Swallowing her pride like Pinkie Pie swallowing a whole cake, Trixie took a couple deep breaths, blinked twice more, and lowered her head and ears. “Trixie is sorry for yelling at you, Rarity,” Trixie mumbled sheepishly.

“Hm?” Rarity tilted her head at Trixie. Having seen that gesture, Trixie raised her head and sighed. Apologizing was not something Trixie was used to, nor ever did, so it felt weird to her to say those two simple words, but she did, again.

“Trixie is sorry for being rude.”

“Splendid! Apology accepted. Now come along, darling. Fluttershy does not like it when I am late.” Rarity informed Trixie as she trotted away.

The walk seemed to take forever with dead silence between the mares, and it was finally grating Trixie’s nerves, which could be shown by her grinding her teeth often. Noticing this beforehand, Rarity let it go on until they were in town square. She chose to engage in conversation then.

“So Trixie, tell me what you’ve done in this past year.”

Trixie came out of her stupor and stopped grinding her teeth against each other. “Trixie has been doing odd jobs to make a living ever since Trixie was driven out of town for a second time,” Trixie answered. Rarity should have known that would be her response.

“And what have you done since the rock farm?”

“Trixie has done shows on the road between Hoofington and Manehatten,” she told Rarity. “Trixie has even done shows in Zebrica!” she exclaimed.

“Ooh? How was it?” Rarity squealed. “Zebrica has some of the finest silks, I’ve heard,” she swooned.

Trixie’s eye twitched but before either of the mares knew, they were being hailed by a waving yellow pony. Rarity waved back as she and Trixie crossed over the short bridge and now stood in front of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Oh, hello, Trixie,” Fluttershy greeted the unicorn, pushing her hair out from in front of her eye.

“Trixie is here for the tea she was promised. Where is it?” Trixie demanded.

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged glances, then nodded. Fluttershy led them into her house and over to the couch. After shooing her favorite animal friend, Angel Bunny, off of it, Fluttershy walked into the kitchen to start the water then poked her head out, “Trixie, do you like chamomile?” she asked. “Or I have raspberry,” ‘Shy offered.

“Trixie will have whatever Rarity is having,” Trixie announced while settling down on the couch, while Rarity sat down on the cushion that Fluttershy had set down on the side of the table. Fluttershy’s head slipped back into the kitchen and left Rarity and Trixie alone once more.

A few minutes later, Fluttershy came out with a tray set with three teacups and a kettle, setting it down on the table before she poured each mare a cup and dropped in a packet of chamomile tea.

Rarity raised her cup and stirring spoon with her magic, the blue aura wrapping around the drink and utensil, stirring it to get the packet to release its flavoring before taking a small sip. “Mmm. This is delicious. Thank you, Fluttershy.” Rarity spoke up before looking over at Trixie.

Enveloped in her own pink magic, Trixie sniffed the tea curiously, stirring it once...twice...three times before allowing herself a taste. Rarity and Fluttershy gave Trixie a moment to get a taste of the tea and speak her mind on it. After that moment had passed by, Fluttershy spoke up first.

“So, um, Trixie. How is it?” Fluttershy asked her new guest.

Trixie took a second drink, then smacked her lips together as her facial expression told the two mares that she was undecided. “Trixie finds this taste peculiar,” she finally answered, “There’s a hint of orange or something then, uhh, vanilla? And honey. Trixie is amazed.”

Fluttershy smiled and clapped her hooves together in cheer. “Yay!”

“I do say, darling, I am glad you like it,” Rarity said to Trixie before taking another drink of her own, “Chamomile is great for relaxing; its smell and taste just do that to you.”

“Trixie likes it and does feel relaxed.” Trixie responded. Wait, why was she engaging in conversation with these two? And why did she feel so calm and content that she could enjoy their company? What were these foreign feelings she had coursing through her person all of a sudden?

Against her own judgment, Trixie stayed at Fluttershy’s abode and enjoyed their tea time together. Before she knew it, two hours had come and gone and she was saying goodbye to the mares. As she trotted away, Trixie couldn’t figure out what had talked her into staying as long as she did, much less that she enjoyed both their company and that she was highly contemplating doing it again.

When she reached her home Trixie felt relieved, which was unlike her, but she paid no heed to it right then because she needed to rest, and with the sun being lowered so that the moon may rise, she turned in for the night.

I Want to Change!

After the previous night, Trixie had thought to sleep in. She deserved her beauty sleep, after all, but morning came quickly and the moment the rays of light shined through the parted curtains, Trixie was awoken. She groaned, opening one eye only to cover it by a hoof and sit up. She rubbed her eyes before blinking and looking out in front of her. The night before had actually happened. Trixie had not just simply dreamed it all up, or had a nightmare. She didn’t know whether to be happy or disgusted, since she was split down the middle of wanting to change for the better while also seeing it as a waste of time to try and change because nopony would change their view of her. Or would they?

Deciding she would get nothing done if she just laid in bed, Trixie crawled out and prepared herself for what her day would entail. Having rested and gone to bed rather calm, relaxed, and feeling good about herself had given Trixie an unfamiliar sense of energy—she felt like she could take on an Ursa Minor now.

Trixie decided her first stop should be someplace with some decent food to eat, at least that’s what her noisy stomach told her to do. But when does Trixie listen to anypony but herself? Her belly then gurgled a second time and she sighed.

“Fine. Breakfast it is,” she finally agreed, and headed off to the only place in Ponyville she could think of off the top of her head.

* * *

“HI! WELCOME TO SUGARCUBE CORNER! WHAT CAN I,” —Pinkie Pie’s eyes lit up when she saw Trixie walking inside, her hat on a downward slant to hide her face from the ponies staring at her— “TRIXIE!” she screamed, then bounced her way over to the unicorn.

Trixie sighed at Pinkie Pie’s elated way she welcomed patrons, especially her. Trixie raised her head and looked at Pinkie. “Must you be so loud?” she asked in an equally loud tone that was her way to show Pinkie how quickly she had gotten irritated by the mere presence of the pink pony.

“Loud? I’m not loud. I’m always like this!” Pinkie replied with her forehooves in the air and a wide smile. Trixie looked around them and saw the customers give them a glance, then resume their own agendas.

“Right,” Trixie said before looking at Pinkie again, “the Great and Powerful Trixie is hungry. She demands food!”

“Okay. What’ll ya have?” Pinkie queried back as she guided Trixie to a vacant booth, handing her a menu.

“Hmm...” Trixie suspended the menu up in front of her face, opened it with her magic as well, and perused Sugarcube’s goods. While she would never have thought that such a place called “Sugarcube Corner” would have anything which wasn’t a sugary delight, Trixie found foods like hay fries and hay burgers, even salads. “Trixie will have an order of hay fries and a water.” Trixie then slammed the menu shut and threw it back at Pinkie. At least that’s what it looked like from the staring eyes around the two mares.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie Pie said with a salute before bouncing away to fulfill Trixie’s order.

Trixie looked around herself while she waited for Pinkie Pie to return with her meal, and as she did she noticed some ponies staring at her awkwardly. Deciding that filling her stomach was more important than what other ponies were doing, even if they were giving her intense stares, Trixie turned away and ignored them, deciding to look at the bright colors of the bakery-cafe styled shop. How anypony could stand to have so much pink was beyond Trixie, but it was real and it was there, mixed in with the tan-colored walls, just standing out like a sore hoof.

“How can anypony sit in a place like this?” Trixie bawled, “It’s hideous!”

“Well, somepony is hungry,” Pinkie Pie said as she bounded out from the doorway and into the main room, then over to Trixie’s table. The smell of hay fries made Trixie’s belly rumble again.

“Trixie is,” —Trixie remarked— “now give Trixie that food!” Trixie lit up her horn and yanked the tray off of Pinkie’s back and set it down on the table.

Now while everypony in the room had heard the commotion and turned their heads towards Trixie and Pinkie Pie curiously, they beared witness to Trixie’s unruly disrespect while Pinkie Pie did not and went about being her usual, peppy self.

“Wow! Somepony is really hungry today! Enjoy!” Pinkie then bounded away to leave Trixie alone.

Raising a fry in her aura, Trixie bit into it. As one would have guessed, it had a hint of hay flavor with a pinch of salt, but Trixie kept eating them plain, even if there was a bottle of ketchup sitting on the tabletop. After a few more fries Trixie stopped chewing. She felt like she was being watched, stared at even.

At first, Trixie just ignored it, taking a sip of her water out of the bendy straw followed by another hay fry, but it quickly wore on her as she felt such pressing, rude eyes watching from behind her back. Trixie thought of looking over her shoulder to see if there was somepony really looking at her but she remembered she was wearing her magician’s hat, and it impeded that thought, so she had no other choice but to physically turn her head.

Trixie finished the last of her meal then took one more drink before she turned her head and saw two ponies, as she thought, looking at her. Now, while their gawking was innocently harmless, Trixie took offense to the leering and decided she had to show the minty green unicorn and her cream-colored friend just how offended she was.

“What are you looking at?” Trixie scoffed.

Bon Bon and Lyra both blinked when they had been caught, but by how rudely Trixie spoke to them after catching them, Bon Bon was the first to narrow her eyes and say her mind. “What are you looking at?” Bon Bon sneered back with contempt.

Trixie drew back with abhorrence at the mare’s uncouth attitude towards her. “How dare you talk back to Trixie with such ignorance!” She pointed her hoof at Bon Bon to emphasize her point.

After Bon Bon had drawn herself back and readied herself to retaliate, she was stopped by Lyra’s hoof on her shoulder.

“Let’s go, Bons,” Lyra said, hopping off her seat. Bon Bon followed suit and the two of them walked out of the bakery, with Lyra letting Bon Bon leave first just so she could give Trixie a death glare before seeing herself out.

After they had left the place and Trixie finished her glass of water, she dug out a few bits from her saddlebags and left them on the table before leaving herself. Although her food was okay, Trixie was beyond upset and very irritable at that point that she made her way out of the shop and slammed the door loudly behind her.

This did not go unnoticed by the remaining patrons, or Pinkie Pie herself, and it most certainly did not get by the overlooked Fluttershy, who was walking towards Sugarcube Corner.

For Fluttershy, it wasn’t hard to find where Trixie had gone as all she had to do was follow the sea of complaints from the denizens of Ponyville until she was led straight back to Trixie’s abode, her stagecoach.

“Well, um, here it goes,” Fluttershy told herself unassuringly as she gave the door two gentle taps.

“Who knocks on the door of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie answered from inside.

“It’s--”

“--Fluttershy?” Trixie said, blinking as she stood in the doorway, staring at the yellow pony, “and what brings the shy mare to Trixie’s door, hm?”

“Oh, well, I--I was in town and thought I’d come say hi,” Fluttershy replied. “So, umm, hi.”

Trixie was in a daze at Fluttershy’s meek greeting and reason for being at her door, but quickly recovered when she sensed falter in the pony’s tone.

“Fluttershy, what are you really doing here?” Trixie asked, “Did you come because of the rumors going around town?”

Fluttershy didn’t speak, she only stared at Trixie wordlessly for a minute before lowering her head in defeat. “Yes,” she squeaked.

“Trixie thought so. Well you can leave now. The Great and Powerful--”

“--I want to help you, Trixie,” Fluttershy whispered, stopping Trixie in her tracks.

“You want to what?” Trixie asked, because she had not heard what Fluttershy had said the first time.

Fluttershy gulped and raised her head to look Trixie in the eye then spoke up. “Trixie, I want to help you,” she reiterated calmly, “I want to help you be a better mare.”

Trixie stood there with a blank expression on her face as her brain processed everything Fluttershy had just said to her, including the offer to help Trixie start work towards becoming a better mare than she was.

It wasn’t until Fluttershy’s mouth was moving that Trixie shook her head and brought herself out of her daze in time to hear the pony invite her to her own cottage for tea.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts the shy one’s offer!” Trixie answered back. She then shut the door on Fluttershy. Moments later it reopened and Trixie stepped out, dressed in her trademark hat and cape.

The two mares walked through Pony Square, and as they did, Fluttershy kept Trixie’s attention on her by talking about anything she could think of: Trixie’s life since the second duel with Twilight, the jobs she’s had and the places she’s been, even to what she was doing back in Ponyville again.

Fluttershy was glad she did this as it did not seem like Trixie was aware of anything happening around her except for what the two were talking about. This was a good thing because that meant Trixie was not seeing the leers the citizens were giving her, or hearing the whispers about her either.

At Fluttershy’s home, Fluttershy made Trixie and herself some tea; chamomile for herself, and a raspberry & honey mix for Trixie, a new flavor she wanted to try. After bringing out the tray with the kettle, two cups, and a handful of packets, Fluttershy set it down on the table in front of the couch, then poured the kettle of hot water into each cup and let Trixie pop in her own.

The aromas of chamomile and raspberry filled the air and brought ease to the two mares and the animals who were all lazily lounging about the livingroom.

“Um, so what do you do?” Trixie asked as she looked around the room and saw the different animals that were lounging. She never did understand why Fluttershy surrounded herself with animals. Maybe one or two as pets, but never so many that didn’t belong in a home—like a raccoon or a deer, for example.

Fluttershy looked up when Trixie had spoken to her. A smile crossed her face as her wings fluttered joyously from the question and the notion that Trixie, a mare who was usually self-centered and all about herself, wanted to have a conversation. A conversation!

“Oh, I help animals. I’m a caretaker for them. And I also pet-sit for ponies too,” ‘Shy answered Trixie.

Wow. What a bore. Trixie inwardly thought to herself. “So then these pets are not your own?” She held out a hoof and pointed to the flying turtle that was wearing aviator goggles then the fluffy white cat that was chasing a dog around in circles; or was it the dog chasing the cat? Trixie didn’t care to know.

“Oh, them? Yes, they belong to my friends,” Fluttershy answered, “You see, the turtle is Tank, and he is Rainbow Dash’s; then you have Opalescence, Rarity’s cat; and Winona, Applejack’s companion.”

The two mares spent the next hour just idly chatting away and getting to know each other while they enjoyed their respective tea, but that was going to end abruptly once Trixie got tired of it. And did she get tired really quick.

After they had just finished conversing about how Rainbow Dash had gotten promoted at the Rainbow Weather Factory, Trixie looked down into her empty cup and sighed with frustration. Noticing this, Fluttershy hopped to her hooves immediately, took the empty kettle, and trotted toward the kitchen.

While Fluttershy was away, Trixie let the lingering aroma of her tea entrance her and take her weary mind to places she’d never been. As she did, she listened to her thoughts communicate unfamiliar feelings

Fluttershy isn’t such a bore, is she?

“No,”

Rarity, for all her self-confidence and skill, isn’t as haughty or full of herself as you thought, now is she, Trixie?

“No, she isn’t,”

And what about Applejack, Spike, and that hyperactive pony, Pinkie Pie?

“Applejack? Trixie knows nothing about her,”

And Pinkie Pie?

“That mare needs to calm down,” Trixie said aloud just before she was brought out of her stupor by Fluttershy’s soft voice calling her name.

Trixie spent the next thirty seconds just looking at Fluttershy before shaking her head and looking down at her cup that was refilled and had a packet soaking in its center, mesmerizing her senses with the great smell of raspberry and honey.

“Trixie?”

“Huh? What? Oh, yes, Fluttershy?” Trixie answered back hesitantly.

“Are you okay, Trixie?” Fluttershy asked.

“Of course!” Trixie replied, “Trixie has never been better!” She then raised her cup and took a tiny sip.

* * *

What made you want to change, Trixie? If, umm, you don’t mind me asking, that is.

That question stuck with Trixie as she walked home after dusk and it gnawed at her like an itch that she couldn’t scratch, but it did so in a good way. Or at least that’s how Trixie was thinking of it.

What did make her want to change? Trixie reminisced the past couple of years that led up to this hefty decision and came to a single conclusion: Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle was the reason Trixie wanted to change. Trixie had not only been defeated and humiliated by the recent crowning of the unicorn-turned-alicorn, Trixie had also been defeated by her a second time. That’s it. Trixie figured it out and as she had, she realized she was inside her stagecoach.

“Trixie must really stop daydreaming,” Trixie said as she shed her hat and cape, then plopped down onto her bed with a heavy sigh. “You… Twilight Sparkle, my rival—no—my nemesis!” Trixie huffed, “first you humiliate Trixie in front of all of Ponyville, then when she returns more powerful than before, you show her up. How dare you show Trixie up twice!” She hopped up and looked to the ceiling. “How dare you humiliate the one and only Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Although she was angry and giving her roof an evil glare, Trixie felt something wet mat her coat. Her scowl had become a frown and she slowly lowered her hooves and sat down on her bed as her tears came quickly, relentlessly. Trixie sobbed loudly as she cried and she hid her face in her hooves. She was poignant—embarrassed, humiliated, and overall, pathetic.

Trixie just wants to show she is somepony. Trixie thought as she let her hooves fall into her lap, watching her teardrops freefall, “Trixie just wants somepony to recognize her.” She gulped as if she were swallowing down all the pain that now pummeled her. “Trixie just wants to be happy.” She wept. After staring at the floor for twenty minutes, Trixie finally laid herself down in her bed and cried herself to sleep.

Her Kind Eyes, Pt.1

“Oh look, girls, it’s Trixie,” some filly said with an air of superiority about her. Her clique of three other fillies all laughed as they encircled the young unicorn.

Trixie watched from afar as two creme-colored fillies and their ringleader, a goldenrod filly, all made fun of the blue filly in the center of them. They called her names, told her lies, made fun of how she looked and talked. It was horrible and it made Trixie want to cry all over again, but she wouldn’t have the chance before the scene quickly became something completely different.

Trixie now found herself looking at a much older version of herself, but the scene was still set up the same; Trixie, though, saw herself being humiliated in Ponyville by her nemesis, Twilight Sparkle, as she defeated the Ursa Minor.

Remembering that disgraceful moment was one thing, but to actually relive it was entirely different. It was worse for Trixie. Much, much worse. For the first time, Trixie was able to see herself in pony, as she cowered from the scene. Trixie, in all of her cowardice, had finally gotten to see just how humiliated she had really been as she left Ponyville heartbroken and defeated with tears in her eyes.

“Trixie does not remember crying,” Trixie commented about herself, “Trixie remembers only how much she hates that arrogant, snobbish pony, Twilight Sparkle.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Trixie didn’t know what had happened, but she had woken up on the floor. She was huddled up in the corner, with only her wizard hat as a makeshift pillow, and her eyes all watered up. Wiping her eyes dry, Trixie looked in the mirror to see that she had been crying while she slumbered. This arose her curiosity and several questions.

Why had she been crying as she slept?

Why did her dream end up a nightmare twice over?

Dreaming of her nemesis was a nightmare in itself already, but why did she first see Ember Crown?

“Trixie is confused,” Trixie said with a bow of her head. “Does Princess Luna not even want me here?” she asked her mirror self as if it would have an answer for her. When she did not receive an answer, Trixie lowered her head and decided she should clean up before getting on with her day.

Trixie soon left her abode and stepped out into the light drizzle of rain. With a defeated sigh, she looked up at the gray clouds, then started trotting her way through Ponyville. After her nightmarish night and now the gloomy day, Trixie knew there was one way to help cheer her up. A nice cup of tea and some conversation. And who else was there to have both with and enjoy their company? Nopony else but Fluttershy herself.

Trudging through the muddy square, Trixie kept her eyes on the road. She did not want to look at anypony else since they were all giving her mean looks. She knew why they did so, but sometimes she wished they wouldn’t.

Trixie has only herself to blame. Trixie thought to herself as she found herself away from Ponyville Square, closing in on the cottage. The cacophony of animal sounds let Trixie know she was very close now and when she came upon the bridge, she saw Fluttershy chasing around a group of squirrels, then a flock of birds, and even then, a bear. What was going on today?

“Umm, Fluttershy?” Trixie cocked her head as the yellow Pegasus chased around a white bunny, Angel, as Trixie knew him.

Fluttershy did not answer Trixie back because she was too busy pulling out a splinter from the bear’s paw. But after she had, she gave the mare her full attention, smile and all.

“Oh, hello, Trixie. What brings you here today?” Fluttershy asked, floating her way over to Trixie.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” Trixie greeted kindly, “Trixie was wondering if she and you might have tea together?”

“Of course we can, Trixie. When?”

“Now, if possible. Trixie would also like conversation,” Trixie told her, hoping for the best as she tried to hide the uncertainty in her voice and the fact that she was beginning to have second thoughts on whether or not she wanted Fluttershy’s company.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After spending a good couple of hours with Fluttershy, enjoying tea with the mare and talking to her about what was on Trixie’s mind, Trixie felt relieved. An amazing thing, if Trixie should say so herself. Which she did, thoughtfully.

“Now that Trixie feels so much better, what shall she do today?” Trixie said, talking only to herself and the empty air around her. With the sound of thunder off in the distance, Trixie looked up at the gray clouds and shook her head. Trixie was not going to let the dank day ruin her for a second time.

A loud gasp made Trixie jump and spin around to see what had made the noise, but when she looked and saw nothing, Trixie shrugged and went on her way back towards her wagon. Trixie got about five steps in before she heard that same whimsical sound again. And for a second time, Trixie looked behind her only to find blank space.

“Err… Trixie must be imagining things,” Trixie concluded before trotting away once again.

“It is you!” A squeaky voice squealed, causing Trixie to trip over her own two front hooves and catch herself in a puddle of mud.

Jumping to her hooves and spinning around, Trixie looked down and stared at a pair of cyan eyes looking right back at her. Trixie raised a brow at the filly and went to say something when she was cut off by the child’s excitement.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie. It really is you!” the filly yipped, bouncing up and down gleefully.

“Uhh,” Trixie reared back as she stared at the little pony and wiped the mud off from her face. “And who are you?” Trixie asked.

“Your number one fan!” the pony shouted, now smiling so big that Trixie thought her face was going to freeze in place.

“Number one fan?” Trixie wiped more mud from herself, then grinned and puffed out her chest. “Trixie is pleased to hear that you are a fan of hers. So what is Trixie’s fan’s name?”

“I am the Awesome and Mighty Aurora!” The little pony excitedly introduced herself, her tiny horn glowing a brilliant plum tinge just before smoke exploded all around her and a bouquet of flowers fell on top of her head.

Trixie covered her mouth and let out a meek giggle at Aurora’s introduction, then quickly recomposed herself before Aurora saw her. “Trixie is pleased to meet you, Aurora.” No! Trixie is not pleased to meet some wannabe!

“I can’t believe I get to meet you. I am so happy!” Aurora squealed. “Where have you been?”

Trixie has been hiding out after her nemesis disgraced her. “Trixie has been travelling all over Equestria, showing ponies and griffons alike just how Great and Powerful she is!”

“Really? So you’ve been to other places?” Aurora’s cyan eyes grew twice their size, nearly meeting how big her smile was, as she listened to her hero speak.

“Of course Trixie has been to other places other than Ponyville. How else would she spread her name?” Trixie said haughtily. “Now if you’ll excuse Trixie, she must be going.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll come with you!” Aurora responded invitingly.

“No, no. Trixie needs to prepare herself for her next show,” Trixie declined, trotting away.

Aurora stopped and cocked her head, her smiling dimming. “Oh, okay. Are you playing here in Ponyville?” she asked her idol.

“Of course. Why else would Trixie travel all this way to Ponyville?” she answered back as she faded away into the distance.

Once Trixie returned home she closed the door, then tossed her hat and cape onto her bed and snarled and grumbled as she plopped down onto it herself.

“Trixie traveled all the way back to this dump to exact her revenge on the one who humiliated her in the first place,” she muttered, but she soon closed her eyes and sighed heavily with resent. No. Trixie returned to Ponyville to change her ways and become a better pony! she reminded herself.

/~/~/~/~/~/

“Behold! The Great and Powerful Trixie is here to show you all her great and powerful magic!” Trixie proclaimed with zest. In her blue magical aura she held a deck of cards which she then rotated and spread out for the small crowd of ponies to see. “As you can all see, these cards are real and not fake,” she said to them, letting each of them see that there was indeed only one type of card for each of the four suits; no doubles or specially marked at all. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will now ask for a volunteer. Anypony want to participate?”

The crowd looked between each other silently, none too enthused to at least humor the show mare whose infamy they knew from only a couple of years ago. Trixie, as if she could taste the stale air that was now around her, began to have doubts. She was even having second thoughts now, on the inside.

“I’ll do it!” a rather high-pitched and very excited pony shouted.

“Huh?” Trixie shook her head and looked down at the space in front of her stage. When she had done so, Trixie came eye-to-eye with a young colt who had the brightest lights in his big ash grey eyes and such a bright smile that Trixie thought she might need sunglasses so as not to be blinded.

“Anypony at all? Trixie is asking only for three volunteers,” she repeated a second time while she scanned through the crowd of ten to twelve ponies.

“Me! Me! I’ll do it!” the colt shouted as he flailed his tiny hoof in the air high above his head.

What is this? A wax museum? Trixie thought to herself as she began to get irritated. “Nopony?” She glanced over the small group of twenty before sighing and looking back down at the colt who was all too exuberant in making it clear to her that he wanted to volunteer.

They can’t all still be holding a grudge against Trixie, can they? She wondered while she helped the colt up on stage with her magic. “So be it. what is your name?”

“I’m Onyx Shine, the strongest colt this side of Las Pegasus!” Onyx Shine’s accent was befitting of his attitude. From her travels, Trixie decided that he must actually be from Manehattan, not Las Pegasus. But what did she know? Las Pegasus was one of the few places she had not been able to go to yet.

“All right, Onyx Shine, Trixie wants you to pick a card!” Trixie told the colt as she levitated the deck down to him so he could pick from it. Onyx Shine’s eyes scrolled through all fifty-two cards until he found one he liked. “And after you have done so, take it but do not tell Trixie, or let her see it,” Trixie commanded, and he obeyed. "Now return it to the deck." She told him, he did so.

Trixie, using her magic, shuffled the deck five times over before she closed her eyes. “Now watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie proves her magic is the best by revealing which card this young pony has chosen!” Trixie projected her voice so that all could hear, even those just passing by in the distance, before she drew a card: “Is this your card?” she asked as she flipped the card around to reveal the two of clubs in black.

Onyx Shine’s eyes grew and his jaw dropped. “It is! It is!” He jumped up and down with joy. “Do another trick!”

Like what? Tape your mouth shut? Trixie laughed to herself at the thought. “Well, it just so happens that Trixie does have one more trick that requires a volunteer.”

“Ooh, really? What is it, what is it?” Onyx Shine was shaking with excitement and curiosity.

“Ah, ah. One volunteer per trick,” Trixie informed him just as she surrounded him in her aura and placed him back down in front of the stage. “Trixie shall now perform a trick that only the greatest have ever accomplished. Trixie shall now—”

“—Conjure up an Ursa Minor!” somepony else blathered out. Trixie was caught off-guard by the sudden interruption but as fast as Rainbow Dash could clear the sky, she recovered.

“Who dares interrupt the Great and Powerful Trix—”

“—Still as loud as ever. And even more annoying than ever too.”

The crowd of ponies all stepped aside, parting like the royal red carpet had just been rolled out for Princess Celestia’s arrival, giving Trixie a clear view of the offending pony responsible for disrupting her magic show.

Goldenrod yellow fur shined lusciously against the sunlight while pomegranate red highlights stole the spotlight on a bowl-cut, punk rock mane-do wrapped around a pair of chocolate brown eyes. The mare stepped up with one hoof in front of the other and nose turned up to the sky as if to say, ‘I am above you’. The adorned silver septum piercing in her nose caught Trixie’s eye as did the three bronze hoops in the newcomer’s upper left ear. Trixie blinked when she finally recognized who this unicorn was.

It can’t be! Trixie screamed. Aside from the dyed mane, the piercings, and the black hoodie, she could not mistake who was standing only five feet before her now. Ember?

“Don’t look so surprised, pudgy,” Ember Crown said with a grin as her horn lit up wine-bottle green and tore down the banner that was raised above Trixie’s head on stage before crumpling it up and setting it on fire, then dropping it right in front of the show mare.

“Pudgy?” Trixie’s glare sharpened. How dare she insinuate that Trixie is pudgy! “Long time, no see, cretin,” Trixie responded in kind to watching her banner finally simmer and die out.

By now the audience had taken off so that they were not in the middle of whatever may happen now that two long-time rivals had reunited. Everypony except for Onyx Shine, that was. The colt found the show before his eyes exciting.

“Cretin”? Is that the best you have, fake?”

Pudgy? Now fake? Trixie will not stand for this! “You are the fake, Ember! Trixie is the real deal!” she defended, hopping offstage and stomping right up to the mannerless unicorn. Not backing down but rather meeting Trixie halfway, the two mares pressed muzzles together as they both snarled and hissed and shot daggers at each other.

“I’m the fake? You’re a real winner, Meek and Powerless Billboard,” Ember Crown answered Trixie hatefully. Trixie felt her nerves being ground against the grind wheel, but being just as brazen and brash as her fillyhood rival, wouldn’t be defeated.

“Don’t talk like you know what you’re saying, Ember. You half-witted hag!”

“Say that again, pudgy. I dare you!” Ember hissed.

“Half-witted… Hag,” Trixie repeated.

Ember Crown headbutted Trixie, then blasted her with a quick magic missile and hurled the magician back against the front of her stagecoach. Trixie bit her tongue as a searing heat rolled throughout her back, but being so hyped up on adrenaline, Trixie threw herself back onto her hooves and stomped one, hard. Unphased by the supposed show of muscle, Ember Crown smirked.

“Trixie will not be stood up by some peasant!” Trixie stomped before charging up her horn and unleashing a powerful magic blast. Believing that the spell was weaker than it looked, Ember Crown shot a blast of her own from her horn only for it to be swallowed whole by Trixie’s.

“What!” Ember Crown shrilled, wide-eyed and stunned. She took the full force of Trixie’s magic and skidded across the dirty ground until she came to a rolling stop thanks to a violet aura catching her.

“What is going on here?” a familiar voice demanded. Trixie blinked when she heard the annoying pitch of that purple mare. When Ember Crown opened her eyes and set them upon the alicorn who had just touched down between herself and Trixie, she got an idea and aptly forced tears from her eyes.

“Oh, Princess Twilight! It’s horrendous! I came here to see my old friend, Trixie, perform,” Ember Crown sobbed, professionally making a show of struggling to get back onto her hooves before she limped towards the Princess of Friendship, “and she attacked me! She indiscriminately attacked me!”

“She what?” Twilight Sparkle’s head snapped towards Trixie, the real injured mare in this situation, and narrowed her eyes. “Trixie, what reason do you have to simply attack one of your friends?”

Trixie stumbled back, scoffing both at the lie Ember Crown had spun so quickly and at Twilight accusing her of being the hostile pony. “Trixie did no such thing!” she argued honestly. “Trixie did not attack her—she attacked Trixie first. Trixie was simply defending herself! And she is not Trixie’s friend! Not even if Nightmare Moon were to rise again!”

Ignoring Trixie’s supposed tale, Twilight Sparkle walked up to Ember Crown and bowed her head low. “As the Princess of Friendship, and princess of Ponyville, I sincerely apologize for your rude welcoming. I also apologize for one of my students attacking you without probable cause or legal reason. As my token of apology, allow me to set you up in our finest inn.”

Looking past the bowed princess and straight at Trixie, Ember Crown’s sobbing vanished and a devilish grin took its place. If Trixie hadn’t known better she would have thought that Ember Crown was spitting in her eye, which she pretty much was at this point.

“I humbly accept your apology, Princess Twilight,” Ember said as she reverted back to the victim. “I find your offer commendable, but I must respectfully decline. You see, I will not be staying long. I was just passing through to visit Trixie here when,” she stopped, sticking her bottom lip out as she gave Twilight her best pouting impersonation.

“Yes, I understand. Until Trixie...” Trixie cringed at how vile Twilight seemed to be when mentioning her name, even shooting her another disappointed glare, before returning her attention back to Ember Crown.

“Princess, in return, I simply ask that you teach your student a lesson. Make her understand how wrong it is to attack defenseless ponies. Make her see that she cannot possibly make friends with such a spiteful attitude,” Ember Crown told Twilight before she started to walk away, the limp in her gait evident.

Trixie will show her defenseless and spiteful. Trixie thought to herself before she snapped out of it by Twilight clearing her throat, loudly. “You didn’t actually believe her, did you, Twilight Sparkle?”

“As a matter of fact, I did, Trixie,” Twilight replied. “And as for you, we are going to have a talk.”

“Sorry, Twilight, but Trixie has to clean up and get ready for her next show—”

In a flash of light Trixie rubbed furiously at her eyes, then looked around her in shock. Twilight had teleported both herself and Trixie straight to Twilight’s castle, the throne room, to be exact, from what Trixie saw when she laid her eyes upon the round table surrounded by six tall-backed chairs, each embroidered with the Cutie Mark of Twilight and her five friends, and one shorter one right next to Twilight's own just for her greatest assistant, Spike.

“—Trixie demands she be returned to her stagecoach at once!” Trixie shouted at Twilight angrily.

“Not until we’ve had a talk, Trixie,” Twilight denied, furling her wings against her back and walking past Trixie and over to a smaller table that had a large beanbag chair at one end of it and pillows around the other sides. Twilight sat on the beanbag and motioned for Trixie to sit across from her.

“You can’t be serious,” Trixie gagged. Twilight looked at her indifferently and tapped her hoof on the top of the table twice before laying it back down on her chair. Trixie gulped and choked on her next breath before she joined the alicorn.

“What happened, Trixie?” Twilight questioned.

“She attacked Trixie!” Trixie shouted immediately. “And Ember Crown is not Trixie’s friend like she lied!”

“Trixie, this is no laughing manner. You attacked that mare. I watched you take a swing at her!” Twilight accused. “That isn’t how you’re going to learn from my friends and I, Trixie.”

“How do you know about that?” Trixie cried out as her heart dropped.

“Trixie, my friends and I don’t keep secrets. They told me why you came back to Ponyville,” Twilight answered back, letting the topic change for a moment, “but if you keep doing things like this then we may not be able to help you, let alone you help yourself.”

Trixie stood up and snapped her tail from side-to-side. Twilight Sparkle still thought that Trixie was to blame. That was preposterous! “Trixie has heard enough. If you don’t want to believe her, that is fine with Trixie!” Trixie then took her leave, loudly, flaring her nostrils and snorting ragefully.

“Well that went… Well,” Twilight mumbled. “Maybe I was too hard on her?”

/~/~/~/~/~/

Trixie couldn’t take it anymore. After leaving Twilight’s castle and making her way back to her wagon, Trixie was seething like nopony had ever seen before. From disregarding the looks she got from ponies she trudged past to saying how she couldn’t wait to teach Ember Crown a lesson, Trixie was not going to calm down so easily now, nor did she want to. She needed to vent, to rage out and get it off of her chest, and as she approached her stagecoach she was seriously contemplating just heading straight to Fluttershy’s place, but that thought burned down like her banner had earlier. Trixie was not only mad at her rival, but now she was vexed at Twilight and her friends; the ones that were also Trixie’s so-called friends too.

How dare they use Trixie!Trixie thought they were her friends! Trixie’s thought steamed and boiled as she slammed the door shut behind her and she found herself on her bed, face down in a pillow, crying rivers.

And as Trixie cried the rest of her afternoon away, her thoughts fell silent on a mere three words:

I trusted them...

Her Kind Eyes, Pt. 2

Trixie trusted them…

Trusted them…

I trusted them...

“That was a bad dream,” Trixie yawned and sat up. Rubbing one eye with a hoof, she looked down at her pillow to see dark spots on it where she had been crying all night. “Or maybe that wasn’t a dream,” she said with a hard gulp. Shaking her head, Trixie removed herself from the humble mattress she laid upon and sat down at her vanity.

Looking in the mirror, she saw the matted fur beneath her violet eyes and also the melancholy on her own face. Recalling the events of the previous day now took Trixie back to how it had started out in the exact same way as her just waking up did. That is when she remembered Ember Crown, a snobbish and stuck-up unicorn from when Trixie was but a filly, and their intense fight too.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie narrowed her eyes at her reflection as she said the name of the pony whom Trixie despised the second most.

/~/~/~/~/~/

Today was a new day. The day when Trixie would show Ember Crown who was boss and the day she would teach Twilight and her friends not to call her a liar. Trixie would have her revenge, and how else to have it than to put on a small show for the denizens of Ponyville?

As Trixie moved her coach into Ponyville Square she was met with resistance; stallions and mares alike giving her darker stares than usual and holding nothing back whenever they made a comment about her shows, or remarks about the scuffle between her and her childhood enemy. That was okay with Trixie. She was going to put Ember Crown in her place and prove to Twilight that she was wrong, not Trixie, in whom the victim was during that altercation.

“Now that Trixie has made camp she can begin the show!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” an elitist mare cackled.

“Ember!” Trixie turned around expecting to meet Ember Crown face-to-face, but what she was met with was instead the bratty unicorn escorted by two vaguely familiar mares, both of whom were a tapioca creme-color with muddy brown manes.

The two were sisters, evident by their blue eyes and nearly identical mane-do styles, gave Trixie indifferent looks as they sized her up in comparison to their sorority sister, Ember Crown.

“You weren’t kidding, Ember,” the one sister on Ember Crown’s right said with a giggle.

“Pudgy hasn’t changed at all,” the other sister laughed, finishing her counterpart’s sentence.

Pudgy. Trixie is not… “Trixie is not pudgy, you hags!” Trixie shouted, now making her way towards the clique.

“Typical.”

“Yup,” the sisters agreed as they stood their ground with incessant giggling as Ember Crown met Trixie halfway for a second time.

“Wanna go for round two, Pudgy?” Ember Crown asked Trixie with a grin.

“Trixie is not pudgy, you cretin,” Trixie retorted. “You won’t get away this time. Trixie is going to prove to you that she is the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she proclaimed. “Trixie will also enjoy exposing you for what you are: a liar.”

“Liar? Me?” Ember Crown rested on her haunches and brought a hoof up to her chest with a gasp. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she haughtily objected, “what I do remember though is how you attacked me.” she recollected.

That got Trixie to grit her teeth and fuel the fire she had burning inside of her now. Ember Crown, having seen the look in the show mare’s eyes, knew her prompt worked. All she needed to do now was push Trixie a few more steps and she would win for a second time.

“So, Trixie,” Ember Crown sneered purposely, saying Trixie’s name slowly, “instead of having a repeat of yesterday, how’s about we do something different, hm?”

“Why would Trixie listen to anything you would say, liar?”

“You keep going right back to accusing me of being the liar,” Ember Crown laughed loudly. “I think you’d like what I am bringing to the table. Just hear me out,” she offered.

Trixie will hear you out but then make you admit you lied. Trixie thought before she sat on her haunches and waited for Ember Crown to speak. “Speak, cretin.” Trixie could hear the sisters talking about her in the peanut gallery and ignored it as they were only trying to buck her off more than she was already getting.

“How about a little wager, Pudgy?” Ember said with a smile.

“Wager? You want to bet the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Oh indeed, yes. Since you claim to be so great and powerful, I think you would like a friendly gamble,” Ember Crown continued on, pursuing her endgame. “I heard the story of what you did the last time you came to Ponyville. You remember, don’t you? Aggravating that Ursa Minor and then losing to it only to be humiliated when the Princess had to save your sorry flanks, and the entire town.”

Trixie winced at the horrendous outcome of that visit, and how she had been shamed. The memory was painful indeed but she acknowledged it. “What of it?”

“I also heard you left Ponyville for a while only to return and challenge the Princess to a Magic Duel.” Ember Crown smirked. “So here’s the bet, Pudgy: if you win, I will come clean and tell Princess Twilight myself that I lied to her and framed you yesterday. Sound good?”

She would really tell the truth if she lost? “And what does Trixie have to do if she loses?” Trixie asked.

“If you lose, then you have to leave Ponyville. Forever.”

It’s just like when Trixie told Twilight… “Deal! A Magic Duel it is!”

“She’s still stupid,” one sister said to the other.

“Sure is,” the second sister agreed.

Ember Crown smiled darkly to herself when Trixie agreed to her terms of the duel to be had. And what little did Trixie know was that she would see to it that Trixie lost again. Looking over her shoulder at her friends, she winked to them both then turned back to Trixie. “Let’s begin, shall we?” she asked the show mare. With a nod of her own head, Trixie planted her hooves against the dirt and gave Ember Crown her own smirk.

Ember Crown shot first, sending a mediocre magic blast speeding towards Trixie. With a blast of her own, Trixie nullified the missile, then launched three of her own in retaliation. Ember Crown easily stopped their advance with her own and laughed loudly. Trixie didn’t like that laugh one bit.

“This is foal’s play!” Ember Crown cackled, yet again trying to provoke Trixie.

“You started it! So you’re the foal!” Trixie retorted.

By this time their playful melee had started attracting citizens, all eager to see what the commotion was all about, and before the tiny group knew it, nearly every pony in Ponyville was in the square watching, enticed by the spectacle.

As the battle raged on and both Trixie and Ember Crown saw they were getting nowhere, their spells began to become more complex, more aggressive even, that the crowd quickly began to spread out just to avoid being caught in the crossfire of flying, magical missiles.

“What the hay is goin’ on here?” a country drawl sounded amidst the herd.

Hearing Applejack’s voice caused Trixie to lose her footing, which gave Ember Crown the perfect opportunity to blast Trixie with her most powerful spell. Trixie felt the magic strike her in the chest and send her reeling across the ground and into her stage coach.

“Trixie?” Applejack looked at the beaten mare, then snapped her head towards Ember Crown and her cohorts. “Who are you?” she demanded, stepping up to Ember Crown. “And why’re y’all attacking Trixie?”

Ember and the sisters both stepped back when the earth pony confronted them and demanded answers. They knew not who this pony was or where she thought she had the authority to demand answers, but that didn’t mean Ember Crown wasn’t going to snake her way out of an unnecessary discussion.

“Her and I are old pals, and we were just having a duel,” Ember Crown answered the farm pony, “which, remember Trixie, since you lost...” she gave Trixie a broad smile, beaming with the delight of being victorious yet again.

“Old pals? Duel? Trixie-” Applejack turned around to get Trixie’s side of the story but she was already walking away, her hat down over her face and ragged cape hanging down her left side, hiding the scuff marks, dirt, and anything else that might stain the sheen of her blue coat.

But while Trixie was able to hide her shame and tears, she could not hide the visible limp in her gait, or how she seemed to be nearly crawling because one of her front hooves was injured just as badly. Behind her back she heard Ember Crown’s friends snickering at her shameful defeat.

With the brawl over, ponies dispersed and returned to their daily activities as did Ember Crown. After the clearout, Applejack was left alone with only Trixie’s abandoned stage coach. She cantered over to Trixie, wanting to know if the mare was okay and to hear her out.

“Trixie, wait!” Applejack called out. Trixie ignored her, continuing her walk of shame towards the edge of the village. “Trixie! Wait!” she hailed. Again, Trixie did not answer, only sniffling to herself. “Gosh darn it, Trixie.” She finally had enough and cantered past the wounded mare before confronting her.

Trixie stopped and slowly sat herself down on her haunches, whining in pain as she did so, keeping her face hidden from Applejack’s view. Who does this pony think she is? Trixie wondered.

“Trixie, what happened?” AJ questioned the mare, looking over how grimy Trixie was. “Did you really bet that mare?” she inquired, getting no response yet again; only silence from the defeated Trixie.

Now Applejack was getting annoyed, irritated really, so she did the only thing she knew that would force Trixie to say something to her. Applejack pushed a hoof against Trixie. She got a reaction. Trixie squealed out in pain and clenched her injured hoof.

“What do you want?” Trixie screamed at Applejack, staring her down with hate-filled, teary eyes.

Applejack was taken aback when she saw the pain she had just put Trixie in. “Ah’m sorry, Trixie, ah didn’t mean to hurt ya,” she apologized. “Ah just wanna know what’s goin’ on, that’s all.”

“‘Going on’? Trixie lost a bet!” Trixie shouted at the mare. “Trixie lost a magic duel, again! She has been shamed for a third time!” she answered before pushing past Applejack. “Now leave Trixie alone!”

“Where ya goin’ though, Trixie? Your coach is back there.”

“Trixie lost a bet!” Trixie hollered, facing Applejack. “Trixie must now leave Ponyville… Forever.”

“Say what?” AJ blinked and stood in a stupor. Trixie had bet that she would leave Ponyville forever if she lost the magic duel? Applejack couldn’t believe it one bit. “Trixie, wait, ya ain’t gotta leave. You can come stay at mah place for a while,” AJ offered Trixie.

“Your place? You really think Trixie wants to stay at a farm with a pony who lied to her?”

“Lied? Ah never lied—”

“—You all lied to Trixie! Trixie thought she had made friends with you, but no! You were never my friend, none of you ever were!” Trixie broke out into sobs. “Trixie trusted you!”

“Trixie, what in tarnation are you talking about? Ah never lied to ya, an’ neither has anypony else!” AJ insisted.

“Yes, you did!” Trixie faced Applejack at last, her eyes red and puffy. “Trixie trusted all of you to believe she wanted to be a better pony, but did Trixie get that? No! She got called a liar instead!” Trixie spat as mucus ran down her nose. “Stay away from Trixie!” with her last words Trixie charged up her horn and disappeared in a flash of white light.

“What the hay just happened?” AJ asked herself, rubbing the back of her head. “Ah sure hope Twi knows what’s gotten into her.”

/~/~/~/~/~/

Rain. It had to be rain. The Pegasi really knew how to ruffle her mane, that much was certain. And what’s worse is Trixie couldn’t even blame Rainbow Dash for it because she was near Canterlot now. The dumps, sure, but it was still close to the royal, hoity-toity city of the Royal Sisters and no matter where you were, you’d always know—whether it be by the stink of the dumps, the filthy and smelly ponies of all ages, or how nopony gave a buck about another after bumping into them—that you were there.

“Trixie should have gone to the Everfree Forest,” Trixie whimpered as she walked along through the alleyway. No! Trixie does not want to see them ever again! “Trixie will just rest here and find a place to clean up.” Her breathing had intensified and become labored.

The longer she moseyed on for, the quicker she tired herself out, and soon her leisurely walking became slow trudging, until finally she fell back against the side of a building and slid down onto the pavement.

“Help,” Trixie whimpered breathlessly. Her eyes grew heavy and began to slip closed, the light slowly fading into darkness. Her chest rose and fell with heavy gasps as she heard the beat of her heart. “Help,” she called out again in a mere whisper.

“Trixie?”

Help…

Trixie…

While Trixie begged for help she slipped into unconsciousness and when she came to hours later, it was to her hearing somepony calling her name.

“Trixie.”

“Who-”

“Oh, you’re awake!” a squeaky voice giggled.

Trixie opened her eyes, blinking a couple times as she tried to focus them. “Who’s there?” she mumbled. Trixie again blinked her eyes in hopes of clearing up her vision, because seeing blurs and blobs, even two or three on the trash can, were enough to start grinding her gears.

“You had me worried,” that same chippy voice spoke to Trixie.

“Who-” Trixie stopped herself and raised her head slightly. Opening her eyes once more and being able to actually see this go around, she saw sandstone brown framing a pair of cyan eyes.

“Aurora?” Trixie droned as she tried to sit up but the moment she put her hoof down, a searing pain shot up into her withers and caused her to faceplant into the concrete.

Aurora, Trixie’s self-proclaimed ‘Number One Fan’, gasped when she saw her idol had hurt herself. Instantly, the filly brought over a makeshift heating pad made of a dirty and stained pillowcase filled with kernels. Using what little magic she had and knew, Aurora heated the pad up then gently placed it down on Trixie’s injured shoulder.

Trixie tensed up and let out a tiny yelp of pain before she slowly felt the heat against her battered bones and the bruised muscle around them relax. As the heat sunk beneath her dirt-covered coat Trixie let out a soft sigh and looked up at Aurora. If it were not for the filly’s copycat mane-do to look like Trixie, she might not have recognized her simply from how dirty the filly’s face was with splotches of black dirt and mud covering it.

“I’m glad I found you. You had me worried when you didn’t answer me calling your name.” Aurora frowned, worry present on her face and in her bright eyes. “So I brought you here.”

“‘Here’? Where is here?” Trixie smacked her lips together as the dryness of her throat finally hit her. Trixie felt like crap. She was hurt, shamed, lethargic, and above all, helpless. She was at the mercy of Aurora, her biggest fan, and stuck in the dumps of Canterlot. Trixie should have put herself in the Everfree.

“We’re in Canterlot,” Aurora responded surely.

“We are?” Trixie coughed.

Trixie’s eyes shot open and she got a good look at the scenery before her. She had in fact stared at a rather dirty Aurora and they were in a dank, rundown, and smelly place where the stale air tasted like rotten apples, the water was as black as a moonless night, and anypony who lived beneath the high-strung, fancy metropolis was worse than those that Princess Twilight and her friends have ever faced.

We really are in Canterlot. So Trixie really did send herself here. “What day is it?”

“Umm, Thursday, I think.” Aurora cocked her head to the right and blinked. “Why?”

Thursday? Trixie has been out for two days? “Trixie has been asleep for two days?”

“Yup! You were really, really, really, really tired,” Aurora presumed, reheating the pad and moving it to Trixie’s hind quarters against her injured leg.

Why is Aurora tending to Trixie?

Being a little more conscious and aware of things now, Trixie lifted her head and looked at Aurora. Part of her wanted to thank the little pony for saving her life, but then a part of her wanted to deny ever having been in such a condition that required aid of any sort. The latter won the rather quick debate.

“Trixie does not need your help,” Trixie scoffed and forced herself up onto all four hooves, her two injured ones nearly giving out on her, but Trixie’s boastful ego corrected that in front of Aurora. “Trixie must be going. She needs a shower,” she told Aurora before raising her hat and cape and adorning herself in the soiled attire.

Trixie limped away but only made it a few feet before she fell over, crying out in pain. Aurora wrapped Trixie in her magic and helped the wounded mare back to her hooves. Trixie grimaced at Aurora’s help and hoped that nopony else saw the show mare’s disgraceful trip, much less that she got help from a mere filly. Trixie limped again, stubborn as ever, ignoring Aurora’s voice. She needed to get to Canterlot and clean up before she hid out for a few days, let her body have time to heal and mend, then she’d be on her way.

Trixie wants to beat Ember Crown, but a bet is a bet, and Trixie lost. She can’t return to Ponyville and face Ember again. Trixie’s thoughts fell heavily onto her withers as the weight of her choice finally made its impact. Trixie stopped mid-stride and lowered her head. Her ears folded down, her hair seemed to deflate, her stuck up smile became a long frown, and her bluish-purple eyes filled with silent tears.

Trixie will never be able to return to Ponyville… Ever. Her thoughts grew heavier.

Trixie’s home is in Ponyville. Does this mean Trixie is homeless now? What had she done to herself?

If Trixie cannot return and retrieve her stage coach then that also means she cannot get her saddlebags, which means… The realization finally hit Trixie. Trixie is homeless and poor!

Aurora saw her hero as she seemed to fall from her place and frowned. She had never once thought it possible for the Great and Powerful Trixie to be sad, much less allow herself to get so beat up or covered in muck, but here she was.

“Trixie, what’s wrong?” Aurora ran in front of the show mare and looked up at her.

Trixie wiped away her tears and sniffled before putting on her stoic resolve. “Nothing is wrong. The Great and Powerful Trixie got something in her eye,” Trixie lied, and Aurora wasn’t buying it.

“Trixie, you’re hurting. You should rest,” Aurora argued.

Ha! As if! “Trixie does not need to rest. She needs only to find a shower,”—Trixie’s stomach grumbled, loudly—“and something to eat.” Trixie’s face heated up as a blush of embarrassment overtook her composure and she retreated into a ball.

Aurora covered her mouth and let out a high-pitched giggle at her idol’s embarrassment, then seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke as she ran over to a cardboard box with a yellowish-white blanket thrown over the top of it and emerged seconds later with a bag.

“Here, eat something.”

“Wha?” Trixie cocked her head to one side curiously at the brown paper bag that Aurora held in her magic field.

Aurora pulled out a bagel and handed it to Trixie. “Here, eat up.”

Still uncertain at the food brought before her, Trixie took the bagel and inspected it. It looked like a toasted bagel, nothing more, so Trixie took a bite, and while she was expecting some toughness, she felt like she had just bitten into a rock.

“Yuck!” Trixie tossed the bagel away from her and spit out the chunk in her mouth. “It’s stale and hard!” she proclaimed. “Where did you find that disgusting bit?”

Aurora backed up, ears pinned down and an uncertain expression on her face. Her body shook as Trixie yelled at her shamelessly. Aurora’s eyes welled up with tears.

“It was the best one I could find!” Aurora told Trixie.

Trixie gasped in a mock expression. “You obviously didn’t look hard enough!” she retorted before she walked away, leaving Aurora behind, in tears.

“It was the best I could do!” Aurora yelled out to Trixie before she ran into her homemade shelter, wrapped herself up in her tattered blue blanket, and cried to herself.

As she walked to the best of her abilities, minus the obvious limp in her gait she had, Trixie kept her nose in the clouds and tried to show everypony around her that she was above all of them. It didn’t work out so well for her since she was downright battered, tattered, and smelly now like everything around her. But still, Trixie’s stubbornness would not allow for her to be disgraced again.

As Trixie made her way through the rundown place she had been brought to, she came upon an elderly stallion who seemed better off than three others around him. He had a rather newish-looking cloak wrapped around him and a blue bowl that wasn’t damaged in any way like others she had seen in the last five minutes. But what really caught her attention was the steam rising from the bowl. The stallion had a warm meal. Trixie’s belly roared again, knotting itself to cause her pain and remind her that she had not eaten yet.

“Excuse me,” Trixie greeted the stallion as she sauntered up to him, using her wounded state to her advantage, “That soup looks good. Trixie was wondering if she could,” she stopped when the coot gave her a suspicious and very unfriendly glare. “No need to be rude! Trixie is hurt and starving!” she declared to the man.

“Oh yeah? Well I’m hurt and starving too, prissy!” the stallion hollered back before he splashed some dirty water at Trixie.

“Trixie has never,” she stared at the miser and, with her magic, stole his soup from him then tied the blanket around his arms and head before knotting it and walking off. “That’ll teach you to mess with Trixie.” she laughed as she sucked down the warm vegetable soup. After she was done with it she tossed the bowl aside and licked her lips.

Trixie had gotten rather used to the many sounds that surrounded her from stallions and mares arguing and fighting over who got whatever spoiled food was found in a trashcan to the sounds of little fillies and colts whining and pleading for food or water only to be rejected outright by selfish ponies who could easily go a day without either source of nutrition.

This caught Trixie’s attention and got her to take a moment to just sit down on her haunches and take in the environment all around her. When she did, she saw she was in a tiny shantytown and just beyond the horizon stood Canterlot itself. She never knew such places existed but taking another look around, it really did.

She saw around her the poor, the sickly, the miserable, and the helpless. And while Trixie only ever thought the poor could be mares, stallions, and the elderly, she saw the young too. She stood idly by and watched as another group of young ponies sat together.

The two colts and filly all slurped out of the same bowl, the top rim cracked and missing a piece, as they were caked in dirt, dried mud and grime, and wore nothing more than worn, shredded articles of cloth as clothing to keep them warm.

Those poor children. Trixie thought from afar. She reflected back upon her own past, her thoughts quickly taking her into deep rumination. Her eyes stayed focused on the ponies only a trot away. The colts had let the filly have the last bit of what may possibly be rotten, cold soup before they both gave her the rags off of their backs and then cuddled up on either side of her, trying to keep her as warm as possible.

Trixie is hurt and shamed and she is suffering greatly…

The sight of the young ones all huddled up together hit her harder than she’d ever been hit by anypony, especially Ember Crown—twice!—and Trixie never thought it would ever be possible.

...But she is not suffering nearly as much as those ponies are.

As Trixie was thrown back to her own filly days, reliving each and every hardship she endured, she watched the present and how an elderly stallion nearly crawled his way over to the little ones and, without a second thought or feeling of self-preservation, set down the large bowl of hay, lettuce, carrots, and water before them before he ripped the quilt from his back and tucked them into it before he slowly made his way back to his corner.

Unbeknownst to herself, Trixie could not identify the strange emotion that had risen up in her chest in that instant, but the warmth that it sent throughout her entire body was enough to snap her out of her own head and bring a hoof to her eye, finding that she had started crying again.

Trixie is crying? She wondered and looked around for some kind of mirror or piece of glass to look at, but she found nothing of the sort until she had found a sizeable puddle of water. That would have to do. When Trixie approached the puddle, she was resistant to gaze into it for fear of seeing the epitome of disgrace and shame, but that warmth in her chest gave her the strength needed to look anyways.

And when she did, though frightened to see her weak self, Trixie found something completely opposite: she found a mare smiling back at her. Trixie saw that she was not only crying, but smiling too!

Trixie felt relieved, renewed even, and felt like she had a purpose now. She knew what she had to do. If Trixie was serious about becoming a better mare, then she’d have to give more than she wanted to take.

She remembered how she came back to Ponyville and Twilight’s friends had approached her abode out of curiosity. It was then that she asked them for their help to teach her about the magic of friendship. At first, they were hesitant and weary, but then Fluttershy and Rarity stepped up and gave her a chance.

“Fluttershy, Rarity,” Trixie, when she looked back up at the colts and filly, thought she had seen Fluttershy and Rarity both standing in front of them. Her eyes showed her Rarity giving them the quilt while Fluttershy set down the bowl of warm food for them before they looked right back at Trixie.

Friends. They gave Trixie a chance to change and they… They became Trixie’s first real friends. Trixie gulped as the thought hit her and made her eyes water up more. She rubbed at them, trying to dry her tears, but was failing miserably until she finally just gave up and walked away. She traveled in no particular direction, just someplace that wasn’t lively.

No matter how sad and painful it was to see, Trixie needed solitude; to be alone, to cry openly without being judged, so she found one such place down a deserted alleyway and between two garbage cans.

When was the last time Trixie was happy?

Was Trixie ever really happy, or was it all for show?

Trixie cried herself into an exhausted slumber just as she had become accustomed to doing in the past month, but moreso now if she ever wanted to fall asleep. Just as she had fallen to sleep, Twilight landed and approached her and as if the princess could feel Trixie’s lethargy, frowned before huddling up to the sleeping mare and whisked her away in a flash of light.

When Trixie awoke hours later she was surprised to find herself in the warmth of a bedroom that smelled of lilac and lavender and not some cold, smelly alley. She shook her head, even smacked her cheeks with her hooves to see if maybe she was dreaming but sure enough as the beating heart in her chest, Trixie was alive and actually in a room that looked like royalty would occupy.

“Where is Trixie?”

“Oh, you’re awake, Trixie,”

Trixie looked to her left and saw a closed door with a purple alicorn trotting over to her. “Twilight?” Trixie shot the mare a piercing glare only for her to laugh it off. Confused, Trixie raised a brow and crossed her hooves as she tried to decipher what Twilight was planning.

“How do you feel, Trixie?” Twilight inquired with a friendly smile.

“Fine. Now what do you want?” Trixie demanded. Again, Twilight laughed it off and laid a lap tray on her with fresh, warm soup and a glass of milk and juice on the side.

“Trixie, you’re probably starving. Go ahead, eat.” Twilight insisted.

Trixie lifted the spoon and dipped it into the vegetable soup. “What do you want?” she reiterated her previous inquiry.

“Well, I, uhh,” Twilight looked off at an angle while she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. Trixie noticed the nervousness in the alicorn and grew even more curious as to what Twilight had planned for her. “I wanted to apologize,” Twilight bowed her head and Trixie nearly choked on her meal.

“Apologize?” Trixie was flabbergasted. Twilight Sparkle, alicorn princess and arch rival of Trixie’s, apologizing to her? Now Trixie knew something was up but rather than call the mare out on what she suspected to be a really good bluff, she quietly sipped at her meal and let Twilight continue.

“I wanted to apologize about the other day, Trixie, when I accused you of lying to me,”

Did Twilight just blush? Trixie had to take a second look just to see if she actually had seen Twilight’s cheek redden against her royal purple coat or not, and as if to surprise Trixie for a second time in just five minutes, Twilight wasn’t just rubbing an arm with a hoof and looking down awkwardly for no reason—she really was sorry and was blushing nervously.

“Why apologize to Trixie now? You already called Trixie a liar, took the real liar’s side, and banished Trixie from Ponyville forever.” Trixie soon accused, purposely mixing both events together to spite the Princess of Friendship.

“I never banished you!” Twilight digressed, holding a hoof against her chest before getting back on track, “I know I was in the wrong to call you a liar, Trixie, and if it hadn’t been for Applejack and Onyx Shine, I may never have actually seen the error of my ways.” she explained to Trixie.

Trixie nearly choked on her fourth spoonful of soup when Twilight had admitted that she’d been wrong and her ragged coughing alerted Twilight to that fact, but after she’d managed to swallow and not kill herself, she looked at Twilight. “AppleJack and Onyx Shine?”

At that moment, the door opened and Applejack and the colt, Onyx Shine, trotted inside. Trixie blinked as she now thought she was really dreaming. Heck, Trixie was beginning to believe she had died and this was her eternal punishment. Forever in the presence of Twilight Sparkle and company.

No! Trixie refuses to believe she is dead! Trixie screamed at herself before looking down at her half-empty bowl.

“Glad to see you, Trixie,” Applejack greeted, lifting her stetson off her head and holding it against her chest, “Ah wanted ta apologize, Trixie,” she began. Trixie raised her head. “Ah just wanted ta say sorry fer how brash ah was three days ago. Ah know it wasn’t none of mah business to demand answers from you, but you seemed so upset and as yer friend, ah jus’ wanted ta help,”

Trixie blinked as she stared at Applejack throughout her entire apology. And when she concluded her apology to Trixie, Trixie looked at Onyx Shine.

“Trixie, you can come back to Ponyville now!” the colt yipped happily.

“No, Trixie cannot,” Trixie looked down with sadness renewed at the thought of not being allowed to return to Ponyville.

“Why can’t you, Trixie?” Twilight and AJ both asked her.

I lost a bet you idiots! “Trixie lost the duel which means she lost the bet, so she is never allowed to go back,” she whimpered sorrowfully.

“That doesn’t matter,” Twilight spoke up smiling, “After Onyx Shine came to me and told me what had really happened between you and Ember Crown, I confronted her.” she told Trixie.

“You what?” Trixie’s head snapped up and towards Twilight. “You talked to that liar?”

“Oh, I did more than that, Trixie,”

“We all talked to her and her ruffians,” AJ stepped in, “when we called them out on their story and showed them what pain they caused, all three of them changed their tunes and left Ponyville.”

They talked to Ember Crown and made her see how much she hurt Trixie?

Trixie turned her head away and closed her eyes. She couldn’t let Twilight, Applejack, or Onyx Shine see her fighting back a sad smile nor how under appreciative she had been to all three of them. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but sure enough, they were telling the truth and Trixie could not deny that.

“Thank you,” Trixie’s resolve shattered. Her words, once solid as stone, were now as brittle as dust and her three visitors picked up on that even before she looked at each and every one of them, “Trixie is sorry,” she responded in kind with dejection, “she said mean things to you, Applejack, Twilight. Trixie said that you were not her friends and that you betrayed her because she trusted you but you did not trust her.”

“Trixie, finish your breakfast,” Twilight interjected before the melancholy air could have a chance to begin suffocating any of the four of them, “then we can get you in a bath and back to Ponyville.” she said, looking at Applejack and Onyx Shine, “could you give us a moment?”

AJ and Onyx Shine both nodded and obeyed Twilight’s directive and as soon as the door closed shut, she looked back at Trixie with a smile. Trixie gave Twilight a curious look.

“Trixie, I just wanted to say that I’m really proud of you,” Twilight told her, “You came back to Ponyville in search of learning from us what friendship is, and to make friends. Sure, we were all skeptical at first, but then you surprised us by showing you meant every word of it,”

Trixie’s eyes held a light in them that Twilight had not seen in some time and it brought a smile to her face before Trixie reached out for her and pulled her close. Twilight embraced the crying show mare without a word and let her cry and apologize.

“Trixie, I have something I want to ask you,” Twilight whispered once Trixie had stopped sobbing and could hear her clearly. Trixie looked up at her and waited to hear what Twilight had to say. “If you are still serious about becoming a better pony and wanting to learn from myself and our friends, then I think you’d make an excellent student,” Twilight told her, “So, would you like to become my student, Trixie?”

Your student? Learn from you, Twilight? Learn of friendship and magic and how to be better at it? All Trixie would have to do is become your student? Crossed Trixie’s mind and while her thoughts were all for it, her iron-will was a lot tougher than that. “Trixie has a better idea,”

“Oh? Better than being the student of the Princess of Friendship?” Twilight’s interest was piqued now.

“Twilight, Trixie knows she has done bad and doesn’t deserve any help from you. That is why Trixie doesn’t want you to help her. While Trixie was out in the dumps of Canterlot, she saw things that hurt her more than ever being shamed or defeated. Trixie wants you to help them. Do this for Trixie, please?”

/~/~/~/~/~/

Since her return to Ponyville, Trixie has turned over a new leaf and demonstrated this new change when she apologized to the many citizens of the town and even donated some of her hard earned bits. And while these were small victories for Trixie, her biggest was when Twilight and Princesses Celestia & Luna found the shantytown Trixie spoke of and soon started a food & clothes drive. Princess Celestia also helped the colts and fillies find good homes and got them into the best doctors in Canterlot for much needed check ups.

Even though Trixie had learned what kindness and generosity were, she still had a long road ahead of her for while she showed generosity to the less fortunate, she still had to overcome her own demons and selfish ambitions.

But there was one little problem that Trixie had to fix first, and that problem’s name was Aurora.

Trixie's Lament

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The Alone and Despaired Trixie

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