Of Maids and Mistresses

“You’re sure this dryad bark has been dried properly?” Twilight asked as she tapped a hoof against the jar, not fully convinced.

The shopkeeper--a colt--smiled at her from behind the counter. “But of course, Miss Sparkle. Have we ever let you down?”

The unicorn shook her head as she looked around, letting her eyes wander over the many shelves that had been crammed full with strange and wondrous items, each seemingly more useless than the one before. But Twilight knew not to judge by appearances: to an advanced spellcaster such as herself, they were material components of incredible potency. Manelin’s Magnificent Mageporium had never let her down before, but this time she needed everything to be just right. There had been too many failed attempts already.

“All right,” she said, as she put a few bits onto the counter, “I’ll take it.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fully satisfied, ma’am. If not: money back! And remember-”

“-you’re not responsible for any magical disasters which may occur while using any ingredients bought in this shop,” Twilight finished the sentence for him. “Don’t worry, I know.”

The shopkeeper smiled, and he put Twilight’s bits into the register as she gave the jar of dryad bark a place in one of her saddle bags.

“Anything else?”

“No, I think I got everything, thanks,” the purple unicorn replied. “I’ll uh... see you again next time.”

The colt bowed down gracefully as she headed out the door, stepping out upon the sunlit streets of Canterlot. Ponyville was a fine place to live, but because it had been founded by earth ponies it was severely lacking in magical supplies and resources. Twilight had relied on mail-order services at first, but quickly found the quality of their goods to be sub-par at best. Because of that, she now made the trip to Canterlot once or twice a month, which wasn’t too unpleasant. After all, it gave her a chance to see her hometown and meet up with the princess every now and then.

She checked the position of the summer sun, and realised she’d finished her business a lot sooner than she had expected she would. That wasn’t really a problem, but it did leave her with a rather sizeable amount of time before the Ponyville Express left on its return trip, and she didn’t really know what to do with it.

She shrugged. She had planned to do her dinner shopping in Ponyville, but she supposed Canterlot’s marketplace would do as well.

***

An hour later, Twilight’s bags were packed full, but her purse was considerably lighter. She had forgotten how much more expensive food was in Canterlot, but it didn’t really matter. She received a scholarship from Princess Celestia which was anything but small, so bits were never really a problem.

There was still some time to go, so Twilight just started browsing the various stalls and little shops, without really buying anything. She rounded a corner and froze, as an eerily familiar voice rang out above the general murmuring of the crowd.

“Come one, come all, and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

She looked around and, sure enough, quickly spotted Trixie up ahead, sitting behind a sort of makeshift counter made out of a few wooden planks. There was an alley behind her, and a glass jar stood upon the counter. Twilight could tell that there wasn’t much inside of it, even from where she was standing. The entire setup looked rather amateurish, and Trixie herself didn’t look so great and powerful anymore, either. Her coat was somewhat unkempt, and the condition of her mane suggested she’d gone quite a few days without a good brushing; that wasn’t at all like the Trixie Twilight remembered. On top of that, she still hadn’t replaced her showmare’s costume. She’d found a hat somewhere, but it was... yellow. That was probably why it just lay besides her, Twilight mused.

Even as Twilight pondered the mare’s strange appearance, an earth pony stepped forward with her foal. The two of them stopped in front of Trixie, and the mother gave the unicorn a quick look-over. She didn’t seem too impressed.

“Alright, show us what you can do, then,” the mare said haughtily, while her foal sat down and clapped his forehooves together excitedly.

Trixie’s eyes sparkled, as she grabbed hold of the hideous hat. “Behold, the most amazing magic ever seen in Equestria!” she said loudly.

Her horn lit up, and she zapped the hat with a bolt of energy, quickly pulling out a bundle of flowers. Twilight remembered Trixie doing a similar trick when she came to Ponyville, but the flowers she had produced this time simply did not compare. They looked somewhat sickly, and if Twilight had to guess, she’d have said there probably hadn’t been enough power behind the spell that time around. The mother glanced at her foal, and the little one furrowed his brow, clearly unimpressed. The two of them turned tail and left, adding nothing to Trixie’s near-empty jar. The blue unicorn hung her head, and the crowds just ignored her.

By that point Twilight had gotten really intrigued, and a bit worried. Why was a showmare of Trixie’s caliber hanging around the streets of Canterlot, doing petty magic tricks? And why did she look so... miserable?

The purple unicorn sneaked closer to investigate, and she felt a pang of guilt when she finally managed to take a good look at Trixie: either her ribs had gotten bigger, or she had lost a lot of weight. Twilight knew it wasn’t any of her business, but somehow she couldn’t help but feel involved.

She finally stopped in front of Trixie’s counter, and the blue unicorn lifted her head with a smile upon hearing her approach.

“Ah, another pony has come to admire...” she started, but her mouth fell open as she laid eyes on Twilight. “You!” she hissed between her teeth. “Trixie is amazed you even dare show your face in her presence.”

Twilight blinked. “Erm, excuse me? You were the one in the wrong last time, remember? Big head, Ursa Major, and all that?”

Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. “All part of the act.”

“The act?”

“Yes, the act,” Trixie said again. “It’s part of my persona. Boast, provoke the audience, wait until a few hotheads in the audience feel the need to challenge Trixie’s claims...”

“You mean my friends,” Twilight said with a frown. She didn’t like where this was going.

The showmare paused for a moment and threw her a long look, clearly not too thrilled about being interrupted. “In Ponyville? Yes. Then Trixie gets them up on stage, where they can show Trixie what they are worth. It’s not even about outperforming them... Trixie just has to make them look ridiculous.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little... mean?”

“Nonsense!” Trixie said as she waved her hoof at Twilight. “Most ponies realise what it’s all about and can appreciate the joke... Everypony in Ponyville was enjoying the show... Everypony but your stubborn friends! They will never be able to understand the Great and Powerful Trixie’s amazing talent, simpletons they are.”

Twilight rolled her eyes at the veiled insults, but decided not to say anything on the subject. “You still, indirectly, caused an Ursa Minor to attack the town.”

Trixie glared at her angrily. “Trixie cannot be held responsible for the abysmal parenting standards in Ponyville. What foal of that age is so incapable of separating fantasy from reality that they’d bring an Ursa into town?”

“Well...” Twilight started, but Trixie didn’t seem to be done just yet.

“And then Trixie’s wagon and stage got destroyed, so now she’s unable to put on even the most basic of shows, and so she’s stuck here... All because of you, Twilight Sparkle!” She banged her front hooves down upon the counter, leaning forward.

“Now wait a minute!” Twilight sputtered. “I saved your life!”

“Well, yes,” Trixie admitted as she blew a few lost strands of mane out of her eyes, “but you made a fool out of Trixie! You could’ve at least pretended it was an exceptionally powerful Ursa Major, but noooooo you had to prove you’re so smart by saying it was only a baby... And now nopony even wants Trixie to come perform anymore... Even if she did have a wagon...”

Twilight sighed. Even if Trixie claimed it was all just an act, Twilight still found her to be insufferable. And if it was an act, why did it continue off stage? She was just about to tell the blue unicorn off, when a loud rumbling noise interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Was that... was that your stomach?” she asked quietly.

“N-no!” Trixie said as her face flushed red. “T-Trixie... that is to say, the Great and Powerful Trixie is fine! She doesn’t need...”

Another bout of rumbling tore through the air, and this time it was even heard by a few ponies standing further away. Twilight raised an eyebrow, and Trixie buried her face in her hooves out of pure shame.

“Look, Trixie,” Twilight began kindly, “I don’t think what happened to you was my fault, or my friends’ for that matter, but since it happened because of a few colts in my town... I still feel partially responsible.”

The blue unicorn didn’t respond, so Twilight simply continued.

“You lost weight, your magic lacks power... You’re not eating well. I got a ton of groceries in my saddlebags, so why don’t we head out to your house, I’ll cook something up, and we can settle this dispute while grabbing a bite to eat?”

To Twilight’s great surprise, Trixie’s shoulders started shaking. The purple unicorn wasn’t sure what was going on, until she suddenly heard the blue mare sobbing quietly. Twilight stepped over the counter, and put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder.

“Erm... Trixie? Are you alright?”

Trixie finally raised her head, and tears were streaming down her face. Against all expectations, she suddenly clamped onto Twilight, crying heartbreakingly on the other unicorn’s shoulder. Twilight wasn’t sure what to do, so she simply patted Trixie’s back awkwardly, while making soothing noises. The ponies in the street just continued to go about their business, not really paying any attention to the two of them.

“T-trixie doesn’t... doesn’t h-have a... h-home...” the blue unicorn said quietly in between sobs.

“What?” Twilight said in surprise. “But where do you... where do you... ?”

Still sobbing, Trixie pointed a shaking hoof towards the end of the alley they were standing in. Twilight had to squint to see anything in the darkness, but when she did she could just make out a big cardboard box on its side, with a dirty blanket or two lying in front of it. She clasped a hoof to her mouth, as she finally realised how deep the hole Trixie had fallen into really was.

“Celestia... You’ve been living like this?” her voice almost cracked with emotion, as her eyes started to glisten with the beginning of tears as well.

Trixie simply nodded, unable to say anything coherent. The purple unicorn pushed her away gently and smiled, beaming into her eyes. Trixie finally managed to stop crying, but she was still sniffeling miserably.

“Come stay with me.”

“W-what?” Trixie finally managed, as she started to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Come stay with me, in Ponyville,” Twilight repeated with a smile. “We’ve got plenty of space in the library, and you won’t have to worry about money. You can stay as long as you need.”

“R-really? I... I thought you hated me?” Trixie said as she bit down on her lip, her eyes filling up again.

Twilight shrugged, noting the lack of third person pronouns in the other mare’s speech. “I don’t think I know the real you yet. So what do you say?”

Trixie burst into sobs once more, crying even louder than before as she threw her hooves around Twilight, hugging her tightly as she let her tears flow freely. Twilight caressed her mane gently. She realised these tears were different from the ones before, so she simply let the showmare empty her heart out for a while. They had the time.

“But perhaps,” she mused, “we should grab a bite to eat somewhere first?”

Twilight smiled as Trixie started to shake even more, and assumed that meant the mare agreed with her. She wasn’t sure what she had just gotten herself into, but Trixie looked so vulnerable and defenseless right now... she couldn’t help but feel her heart light up in her chest. She was doing the right thing, and that was all that mattered. She looked up into the sky, quickly calculating the time they had left. It’d be a bit of a rush, but they just barely had the time to grab something to eat and still make it aboard the train.

Twilight frowned slightly. She just hoped everything would work out once they were in Ponyville...