Where did it all go wrong? Trixie thought, slowly walking towards the outskirts of her hometown of Hoofington. I was on the fast track for success, I would have made it. Then everything would have been better, everything would have been perfect.
The blue unicorn stopped at the end of the road leading into Hoofington. Thoughts of the letter she had received two weeks earlier floated through her mind. ‘Mother is worse, please come home. Your brother, Flash.’
Mother is worse… Trixie hadn’t thought of her mother in nearly a year. Trixie’s thoughts flooded back to her fillyhood, a simpler time before this whole mess had started up. Before her thoughts had been side-tracked, before… if only she could go to before.
Trixie stood by her mother’s side, her older brother had just been accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Trixie beamed with her mother, she knew that she herself would be accepted into the school one day, it was tradition. Both her parents had graduated from it, and now her brother was accepted with high honours.
“Mama, when will I get to go?” Trixie asked as she watched her brother take his books and board the chariot that would take him to Canterlot to learn advanced unicorn Magic.
“In time dear,” Trixie’s mother said to her, nuzzling the filly. “I’m sure you’ll blow them all away. You know what I think? You hold the most potential of them all, you will be great I know you will.”
Trixie wrenched her mind away from the memories. Simpler times… if only simplicity stayed that way. Trixie started to walk into town, she remembered the road well. It lead right past the graveyard. Her father lay there, long gone where Trixie could no longer run to him. She remembered the last time she saw him. She herself had just been accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She could almost see him standing there, waving her off as the chariot flew off to Canterlot where she would begin her studies. She never saw him alive again.
Next news that Trixie heard of her father was disturbing and abrupt. She was told that her tuition hadn’t been paid, and that she was being sent back home. At the time Trixie was confused, but it all became shockingly clear when she got home. Trixie detoured into the graveyard, finding her father’s grave. It read ‘Here lies Bom Great, loving father and husband’. There were flowers sitting on the grave, and memories once again flooded Trixie’s mind.
Trixie was standing on the side of the grave as the dirt was shovelled onto her father’s coffin. Angry tears streamed down her face. He had left her, abandoned her when she was relying on him. She knew that without her father’s income she would not be able to get back into school. She also knew that it hadn’t been his fault that he had heart failure, not his fault but she blamed him anyway.
When she got the news two days ago she couldn’t have been happier. She had finally gotten her cutie mark, a token from her love of performance. She had won the talent show for best magic act, trotting circles around the competition. Next day she was told that she was going home, the tuition wasn’t going to be able to be filled and she was to be pulled immediately.
Back at her house Trixie kicked the wall in frustration. “It isn’t fair! It just isn’t fair! I was on the fast track, I did all my work, I was the best.” Trixie cried.
“Hush, hush my dear, I know I know.” Trixie’s mother wrapped her forelegs around the little filly. “I know you are powerful, hush… everything will be all right.”
“It won’t be all right, Dad is dead and I can’t go to school anymore.” Trixie said tears streaming down her face. “How can you just sit there and say everything is going to be all right? How will I learn magic now?!”
“Well, my silly filly of a daughter.” Trixie’s mother said, nuzzling her daughter before giving a small kiss on the forehead. “I’ll just have to teach you won’t I?”
Trixie’s mind returned to the present, the memories giving her a pain in her chest. She rubbed the spot, hoping to find some external problem that she could blame it on. Nothing, so she tried her best to ignore the feeling. Trixie took another look at her father’s grave, summoning a few flowers to place on the grave. “I love you dad…” She said softly, a tear rolling down her face as she turned back towards the town.
As Trixie treaded the path into the main part of town she realized how much Hoofington had changed in her years of absence. The restaurant that she used to eat with her parents was dark, clearly having been closed for some time. Her first school had been repainted, and the general store where she had gotten her first job after her mother fell ill wasn’t even there anymore.
Trixie painfully remembered when her mother first fell ill. She tried to hide it at first, but she was soon forced to retire due to illness. The pension her employers gave her could hardly feed herself, let alone a growing filly and her brother. Though Flash insisted that Trixie stay home and continue to study, the little unicorn had insisted that she pull her own weight.
Then a comforting and familiar sight came to her eyes. The theatre where she had once performed was still standing and appeared to be in good condition. She approached the building, but headed for the side door. But for a few occasions she had never entered the theatre through the main entrance. The side passage was much more familiar to her.
“Marvellous Magesto? This is my Daughter Trixie.” Trixie’s mother said, hiding a weak cough as she pushed the filly forward. She was grown now, not yet a full-grown pony but no longer a foal by any stretch of the imagination.
“Oh ho?” The brown colt towered over Trixie, his velvet cape and top hat intimidated her. She wasn’t scared, but she wasn’t pleased with the colt either. “So this is the little trickster is she? The one you keep telling me about.”
“Yes,” Trixie’s mother said, “You told me in one of your letters that you were looking for an assistant, I told Trixie and she seemed interested.”
“I see, well little one, are you interested?” Magesto leaned forward looking Trixie in the eye.
“Of course I am!” Trixie said defiantly, stamping her hoof on the ground.
“Well, can you show me some of your magical talent?” Magesto asked, leaning back again. “Perform a trick for me.”
“Go on dear, how about that trick you always like to do for me.” Trixie’s mother said, smiling at her daughter. Trixie looked between her mother and Magesto, before closing her eyes and concentrating. Her horn sparked a few times before igniting in a radiant glow. Then with a loud bang sparks flew into the air like fireworks, flashing brightly before disappearing.
“Well well well,” Magesto said, smiling. “You certainly have some talent there. But you need practice, and polishing.” Trixie’s ears drooped. She hadn’t done her best, she had let her nerves get the best of her. “Alright Treats, I’ll take her on. But I expect her to work hard to learn the magic of performance.”
“Thank you Magesto, I knew that you would approve.” Trixie’s mother said as Trixie’s ears flew into the air in excitement. She could finally leave that dull job at the general store and do something that pertained to her interest.
“She’ll need a stage name though… something flashy.” Magesto said, tapping a hoof to his chin.
“How about… the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie’s mother said with a smile.
“Trixie? Is that you?” Trixie’s thoughts were jarred at the familiar voice. She looked around and saw the familiar brown coat and orange mane of none other than the Marvellous Magesto, her old mentor. “Oh my, it IS you. I haven’t seen you since you left on a tour for Equestria, how is my old protégé doing?”
“Just fine,” Trixie said, “I came down rather hard, my cart was crushed and I was left to come back home.”
“Your life hasn’t been an easy one has it? I heard about your mother.” Magesto said, bowing his head. “She never would let me clean out your dressing room in the theatre, always insisting that you would come back some day.” He chuckled slightly. “Would you like to see it?”
“Perhaps later Magesto,” Trixie said, walking back towards the street. “I’m supposed to be meeting my mother, I really shouldn’t be side-tracked.”
“I understand, you always were close to your mother weren’t you?” Magesto said. The remark stung Trixie as she remembered how she abandoned her mother for fame and glory, rather than staying home and caring for her with her brother. “I’ll leave the side-door unlocked in case you want to come in, we don’t have any shows planned for today so feel free to come and chat with me if you need.”
Trixie merely nodded in silence and past her old mentor. Her mother never let her old dressing room be redecorated, even after Trixie had abandoned her. Trixie’s mind wandered off to when she was awarded that great honour of having your own dressing room and not having to use one of the stock ones.
“Maaaster, when will I be allowed to look?” Trixie said, irritated at being led forward with a blindfold on. She was a grown pony now, she didn’t appreciate being treated like a foal.
“In just a moment my dear student.” Magesto said, his voice barely concealing a chuckle. “We’re almost there.” Trixie gave a short ‘humph’ of irritation, but otherwise kept silent. A few minutes later Magesto spoke again. “Alright, you can look now.”
Trixie eagerly pulled the blindfold off her face and looked around for her surprise. Magesto told her that this present was the best one she would have in her whole life. It took her a moment before her eyes landed on the star hanging on the door. ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’. Trixie was in such shock that she sat down on the spot, her mouth hanging open.
“I told you that this was going to be the best present ever.” Magesto chuckled opening the door. “Starting today you will have this room as your personal dressing room, and starting next week you will start performing without me.”
“Master?” Trixie asked a little stunned.
“I’m your master no more, I’ve taught you all you need.” Magesto said with a proud smile on his face. “Of course, I’ll still be around to teach you new tricks. I’m certain that you will be a star.”
Trixie’s thoughts were once again interrupted when she found herself walking down the street that led to her house. The buildings all looked so familiar now, as if they were childhood friends who had suddenly come to call without notice. Trixie walked down the street slowly, taking in the sights of all the houses and occasional shop. She came to her house at the very end of the street. She stood there for a moment as she remembered the last time she looked upon it.
“Are you sure you want to leave Trixie?” Flash said, standing with his mother next to him.
“Of course Flash, the real money is in touring” Trixie replied, looking at her new traveling cart. Magesto had sold it to her, something he had used in his younger days when he travelled around Equestria. “I’ll be able to send more money back to you, help you support mom. I’ll visit regularly of course.”
“Be safe, my great and powerful daughter.” Trixie’s mother said, coughing slightly at the end of her sentence.
“I will Mom, I love you…” Trixie cantered forward, rubbing up against her mother’s neck. “I’ll see you in a few months then! Keep in touch.”
Two years later Trixie had just finished a show, they had been getting more and more elaborate. Her ego also started to match the size and style of her shows. She had stopped writing to her family, stopped sending money. Why would she need to send money back to her family? Her brother made as much money as her father had when he was alive he would be able to support their mother on his own. Why did she need to send her hard earned money back to ponies that didn’t really need it? Travelling was expensive, as were her shows. She needed every bit she made.
However her fame still wasn’t what she wanted it to be. In every town she had been hailed as being extraordinarily talented, perhaps even the best magician in all of Equestria. She wanted more, she needed more. She needed to be acknowledged as the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria, only surpassed in magical talent by Princess Celestia.
But how? The answer seemed to present its self in one of the letters that she had been given after the show by her admirers. ‘I bet you have enough magical talent to defeat an Ursa Major’. That was just it, she had heard of Ursa Major’s from her mother’s tales of the frightening creatures in the Everfree Forest. A terrifying bear made out of stars, something that could not be taken down easily. That would be her new selling ticket, she would claim to have defeated an Ursa Major. No pony would dare think of her as just a mere magician peddling simple tricks anymore. And she’d start to spread this tale at her next stop… Ponyville.
Trixie frowned as she tore her mind away from that unpleasant day. She learned her lesson when she arrived in the next town and received the letter from her Brother. During her time traveling she had forgotten of her mother’s condition, she had forgotten how expensive treatments were, she had forgotten… that seemed to be the theme for what fame did to her. Trixie hung her head and walked up to the front door and knocked.
“Trixie…?” The door opened and her navy blue brother opened the door. Flash stood there, his face showing pure shock.
“Hey Flash, I’m home…” Trixie said with a slight smile.
“I-I-I-I” Flash said, opening the door wider drinking in Trixie’s appearance. “I didn’t expect you to actually come. I thought something had happened for you to stop sending those payments, I thought…” His face fell as tears filled his eyes.
“I’m here now.” Trixie said, understanding what her brother hadn’t said. “Where’s Mom?”
“In her bedroom,” Flash said, stepping back and letting Trixie in. “I don’t think she has long…” Trixie nodded in silence, hurrying to her mother’s bedroom. There the old mare lay in bed, still looking young as ever but unusually frail.
“Trixie? Is that… you?” Treats said, lifting her head off her pillow and squinting at the filly.
“Yes Mom, I’m here.” Trixie said, galloping to her mother’s side and nuzzling her. “I’m so sorry, I never should have left.”
“Nonsense…” Treats said, her breathing heavy, “How else was the world going to find out… about the Great… and Powerful… Trixie, my daughter?” She coughed, laying her head back on the bed.
“Oh Mom…” Trixie said, nuzzling her mother again.
“T-Trixie?” Treats said, holding one hoof out and resting it on Trixie’s shoulder.
“Yes Mom?” Trixie asked, standing a bit closer.
“I love… you, T-Tr…” Treats coughed again, taking a deep breath. When she exhaled her hoof slid from Trixie’s shoulder landing back on the bed.
“Mom? MOM? MOM?” Trixie said, tears welling in her eyes. But she knew her mother couldn’t hear her, and never again could she hear her.
“Trixie…” Flash stepped forward, placing a hoof on his sister’s shoulders. “Mom wrote something to you, the letter is on her bedside table.”
Trixie blinked back her tears, looking at the sealed scroll on the bedside table. Using her magic she lifted it into the air and walked out with it. “I’ll be back Flash.” Trixie said, “I just need to be alone for a bit.” Flash nodded, before he moved Treats’ covers over her head.
Trixie needed to be truly alone, and she knew precisely the place that she would feel most comfortable. The place she always retreated to when she needed to be alone was her dressing room, whether it was on the road or here where her beginnings lay the dressing room always seemed to hold comfort for her.
She found her way to the theatre, opened the side door. During the entire time she had been away not a thing had changed. More painful memories floated to the forefront of her mind as she navigated the corridors to find her old dressing room.
“That was wonderful Trixie.” Trixie’s mother stood backstage, a large smile on her face.
“Thank you Mom.” Trixie said, beaming in front of her dressing room. She had just performed her first solo show, and never before had she felt more nervous. She wanted to show that she could stand on her own, without having to rely on the Marvellous Magesto doing the majority of Tricks. “Do you really think I did that good?”
“Of course Trixie. Oh, sorry, I mean the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie’s mother laughed lightly, before starting to cough.
“Mom! Are you going to be ok?” Trixie said, rushing forward to check on her mother.
“I’m fine Trixie.” Trixie’s mother said smiling. “Just a small cough, I’ll be fine. Tonight is about you anyway.”
Trixie found her dressing room, still with the star reading ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ hanging on it as it did when she last left the theatre. She slowly opened the door, expecting to be greeted with two years of dust, only to find the place had been kept in prime condition. Her mother, or perhaps her brother on her mother’s wishes, must have kept it tidy awaiting her eventual return.
There on the walls were posters of past shows, hanging on the rack were old costumes, and there beside the mirror were her first hat and cape. They were much too small for her now, but she had always treasured them.
The letter, that’s why she came here. Closing the door and turning on the lights Trixie opened the scroll and began to read.
Dear Trixie,
If you are reading this then perhaps my time has come to return to your father. Hopefully you will have come home so I could see you one last time, and perhaps we are reading this together and merely enjoying each other’s company. I just want to tell you I’m proud of you. You managed to pick yourself up time and time again, you always astonished me. I can still remember how excited you were when you first were sent off to school, how disappointed you were when you had to return home, and that excitement return when you were apprenticed to my old friend Magesto. I want you to know that even when you stopped sending us your bits I never lost faith in you. I always knew you were out there, and you had your reasons for not sending us money or word anymore. I love you, above all know that, and I only want you to be happy. Follow your heart, I know it is good and will lead you true. I love you, and even if I don’t get to see you on this world again, I know we will still meet again one day, with your father and your brother. We’ll be a family again, and we will be happy.
Your loving mother
Trixie’s tears stained the letter as it fell to the ground. She looked into the dressing room’s mirror, tears in her eyes. Great and Powerful… Trixie thought to herself. I’m not Great and Powerful, I’m just an old foal. An assistant to a much better unicorn, daughter unworthy of her mother’s love. Trixie collapsed on the floor, sobbing. I’m sorry mom… I’m so sorry…
