Blood is Thicker / The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser

Chapters

Blood is Thicker
"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 1 - What's Old is New
"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 2 - Prisoner of Kindness
"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 4 - Penance of the Pompous Performer
"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 5 - The Heir of Hoofdini
"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 3 - An End and a Beginning

Blood is Thicker

Overall, the day had shaped up to be a usual one for the citizen of Ponyville. Early that morning, she woke up, took care of her usual morning chores, and then went about with her typical Friday morning. She trotted over to the market to buy groceries, stop in at Sugarcube Corner for a quick chat with Pinkie Pie, then went home for lunch. However, that was when her usual schedule ground to a complete and utter halt. Just as she dug into her daisy and daffodil sandwich, a knock sounded on her front door.

Irritated, the pony groaned. Couldn't she ever sit down to eat in peace? She reluctantly got out of her seat and walked over to the front door, opening rather suddenly, about to chew out whomever dared interrupt her meal. There, standing at the door stood the most introverted Pegasus she had ever known... none other than Fluttershy; Ponyville's resident animal expert. "Oh... um," she started, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I... I know it's close to lunch, but... um... would you mind if I... joined you? To talk?"

"Well, of course you can, Fluttershy," the unicorn replied with a sigh. How could she stay mad at the socially awkward filly? She opened the door and allowed her friend entry, fixing her a sandwich too, despite her protests to not bother. Once the initial unease passed, the two friends quickly got around to talking; they discussed animals, mostly. It was quite rare for Fluttershy to drop by unannounced, but after some pressing, the yellow pony revealed that she felt a little alone that morning, and simply wanted to talk to somepony she knew.

Suddenly, a knocking came at the door for the second time in an hour. "I'll get it", the mare spoke to her friend as she pulled away from the table. In true fashion, Fluttershy had ducked under it at the sudden and loud noises coming from the other room. Twilight Sparkle could easily guess just who would come around at this time of day. "Afternoon, Derpy," she smiled to her yellow-eyed friend. "What did I get today?"

"Chipmunk, diddly!" Depry happily chirped. Her left saddle bag looked full beyond its limits. In fact, the diligent mail mare titled slightly to that side due to the weight. She slipped herself out of her saddlebag and nudged open the flap, motioning to her purple friend that she simply couldn't lift the heavy package. Using her magic, Twilight lifted the large box-shaped parcel out of the bag and gently onto the table she kept by the door for her mail.

"Squiddle, coconut!" The grey Pegasus pony added as she produced a clipboard, obviously asking for her signature. Using her magic, the purple unicorn floated over a quill that Spike typically used to write letters to the princess and signed for her package. She had to confess, she was confused about the parcel's origin. Twilight never mail ordered anything, and she didn't really know anypony who would send her a package out of the blue like this.

Her duty complete, Derpy slipped the saddlebag back over her neck and onto her back. "Before I forget," Twilight started. "I found that spell I was telling you about last week. You know... the one to help other ponies understand you? Did you... want to go through with it?" The blond-maned pony simple shrugged before taking off to continue her route, leaving her friend alone at the door.

The unicorn sighed as she shut the door to the library, sometimes that Pegasus could be so indecisive. Ah well, she wouldn't press it on her if she felt uncomfortable about it. Still, it hurt Twilight to have such a brilliant friend be viewed as... mentally incompetent. She sighed to herself and turned tail back to the kitchen, hefty package and letter in tow, floating behind her.

"Sorry about that, Fluttershy," Twilight started as she shut the kitchen door. "It was just the mailmare dropping off a package for me." She sat at the modest wooden table again and started munching on her sandwich, her friend spying the brown-paper-wrapped box with great interest.

"Y...you can open it if you want, Twilight... I'm kind of curious," Fluttershy confessed after a couple of minutes.

She would have become flustered again... had she not finished her sandwich just moments previous. Pondering about it for a few quick seconds, she recognized that she was curious and nodded to her friend. She slipped out the envelope nestled between twine and package and opened it. He heart skipped a few beats as she recognized the writing on the letter and did a small jump for joy, startling her friend.

Twilight blushed and spoke sheepishly, "Sorry... it's just... it's a letter from my mom!" The unicorn was giddy with excitement... more so then she was for her first sleepover. It was a rare treat to get a letter from her mother, never mind a package. It wasn't because she didn't care, or didn't love Twilight... it's just that she was so busy just trying to support herself.

"My darling Twilight," she began reading to her friend.

"It's been too long since my last letter, and I deeply apologize for that. I've been as busy as usual, plus a little more since I've been collecting some things for you. You see, when I was about your age, your grandmother gave me a task that I'm about to give you. It's not exactly easy, but it's nothing compared to what you have accomplished, dear.

I'm so proud of you, Twilight. Words cannot describe how proud I am to call you my daughter. Yes, I have heard the rumours, and even asked the Princess herself about it. She was kind enough to tell me the whole story about how you freed her little sister, and I must confess that I cried tears of joy for you.

So now I feel that you are old enough to handle this obligation. You see, the firstborn foals in our family line have done this since long before Her Highnesses' reign. It is keeping our family tree up-to-date, a task which I have not done as well as I should have. However, in the package, along with the book, I have given you the materials necessary to finish what I have started. Please, heed their clues and follow them through. I have faith in you, my beloved little filly.

With Lots of Affection,

Mom."

Twilight was in a daze as she finished the letter. Her mother had left her unfinished business? She was now in charge of a book that was potentially older then her own teacher? Excitement gripped the young unicorn as the twine unravelled and the brown paper pulled away. She was licking her lips in anticipation, having never even known that such an old book existed.

The flaps of the box flew open, several papers and documents drifting lazily onto the table, followed by what she wanted to see the most. It was an old tome, no doubts about it. It wasn't particularly big, but it seemed to radiate whispers of ages long past, chilling her to the bone despite the summer's heat. Placing it in front of her, she carefully flipped through the yellowed pages, seeing what her ancestors had written about themselves and their lives. She'd read it more in depth later... for what she was really interested in was...

She simply couldn't bring herself to look, shutting the book before she even got close to the page she wanted. Her eyes were dangerously close to tears and her friend seemed to notice. "Twilight?" Fluttershy spoke with concern. "Are... are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the unicorn lied, pasting a smile on her face. "Just a little nostalgic is all." The two friends continued to spend the day with each other, going out in the afternoon to watch Rainbow Dash try to break another silly record. Twilight enjoyed herself, but her mother's letter still ate at her subconsciously. Just what, exactly, had she failed to do?

~*///*///*///*~

Just what did they expect she was? A simple show pony!? It was ridiculous the way they could treat a magician of her power and fame. The Great and Powerful Trixie paced the dressing room, back and forth, trying to piece together a new show. The attendants had given her a Barley Shake when she specifically asked for an Oat Shake! The nerve of some ponies! Ah well, she couldn't complain that much, considering she had landed a steady string of performances in a well-known theatre in Canterlot.

Every night she'd wow ponies from all walks of life in the city. In fact, some of her best customers were the social elite; tycoons of industry and even members of Parliament. In Equestria, you see, Princess Celestia had grown weary of managing the day-to-day functions of the country some centuries ago. So, she created the Royal Equestrian Parliament; a body of publicly elected officials to run the more mundane functions of the country. The Princess was still the final authority and had final say in all actions and laws passed by the house.

The Great and Powerful Trixie looked in the mirror of her dressing room, trying to get herself ready for this particular performance. The Prime Minister himself had given word that he would be in attendance. If Trixie played her cards right, perhaps he would give her his official endorsement and allow her to perform for the Royal Court! Of course, after the performance, she had a rendezvous that she looked forward to. She glared at herself in the mirror, repeating a phrase she uttered before every performance she ever made. "You are The Great and Powerful Trixie... You are The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

~*///*///*///*~

The last couple of days had found very little sleep for the purple unicorn. It wasn't really out of the ordinary for her though, since she would typically go on such binges when she had found a particularly interesting spell, enchantment, or field of study. This time, however, it was genealogy that so wracked her brain. Twilight had taken her mother's request to heart, and dug through the records and ledgers provided... still not having a clue what she meant yet.

Spike, meanwhile, had been urging her that this could wait for a while since the person she was looking for was probably long dead and wouldn't be bothered if it took a little more time to find. "Come on, Twilight," he urged one afternoon. "You're not going to get anywhere by forcing yourself!" Normally, when she got like this, he wouldn't really mind, since it meant a few extra hours of sleep for him... but this time, she had been more bossy than usual, which was saying something.

Twilight sighed in defeat, "I suppose you're right Spike. I guess I could use a break."

"Now, don't you try to worm your way out of... oh." The baby dragon started, surprised when he realized she agreed with him. "Well... okay then!" Spike muttered to himself something about finally getting some sleep as the purple mare left the library to go interact with her friends. Although he didn't like to show it, he worried about her sometimes.

On his way up to his bedroom, he couldn't help but take some of the papers Twilight had been poring over. He didn't get why this was all so important, dragons didn't keep track of their lineage, so the concept eluded him. If it was this puzzling and important to her, then she needed some help, he reasoned. Sitting on his little cushion of a bed, he took a look at them. At first, there was nothing to be found, but as he handled the papers, he felt extra ones in the ledger that one couldn't make out if they used magic.

Inside, he found two nearly identical papers in a small, easy-to-miss sleeve in the back of the book. He felt his jaw drop in sudden realization. "Holy Guacamole!" He said to himself.

~*///*///*///*~

Flash and dazzle: wisps of light and puffs of smoke. Her performance had it all; grace, elegance, magic, and even a good story to add to the mix about how she heroically saved the town of Ponyville from a cranky Ursa Minor. They cheered, asking, no, begging for more of her amazing illusions and tricks. Most nights, she would be happy to indulge them. Alas, she couldn't this night, as she expected some company. It was obvious they were a secret admirer of sorts, which would explain why they signed anonymously in their letter.

It was only natural that The Great and Powerful Trixie had many adoring fans, but nopony ever had the courage to write to her before. Sure, they were vague about their intentions, but as she trotted back to her dressing room, she could imagine a tall and handsome stallion, asking to court her. Sadly, she had to keep her wild fantasies to herself, since it would be quite the story if The Great and Powerful Trixie should ever blush like that over a stallion.

Back in her dressing room, she paced. She simply could not wait to meet such a dedicated fan. Trixie couldn't help but dig into her desk and pull out the letter once more.

"Great and Powerful Trixie," the letter started, Trixie reading it aloud to nopony but herself.

"I simply cannot keep this a secret any longer. I should've known from the moment I saw you that you were the one. It took me a while, but I know it fully at last. If you wish, I'd like to meet you in Canterlot, in your dressing room, after your performance on the night of the 15th. I have something of great importance to discuss with you, and I hope that we can become very close.

Please write back soon,
T.S"

Hanging up her new cloak and hat, Trixie began to groom herself... for her date.

~*///*///*///*~

"Oh, Spike, you would not believe the day I had," Twilight spoke as she entered the library later that evening. Celestia's sun had just set below the horizon, Luna's night taking hold in its starlit glory. However, the purple mare didn't hear a sound from the baby dragon. Concerned, she trotted upstairs to find him sleeping peacefully in his bed. She let out a quite sigh and covered him in his blanket, deciding not to disturb him.

The unicorn walked down the stairs and back to her waiting work. So far, she had traced family records from the beginning of the tree to almost the top. Yet, for the life of her, she could not find any holes. Sure, some branches got cut-off and others disappeared with time, but with the documents her mother provided, she simply could not understand what she meant. She could be so vague sometimes.

Hours ticked by as Twilight gave the books and pages of her family tree a second look. She must have missed something, not like it was hard to do with the jumble of mostly yellowed sheets she had to work with. At around midnight, she found that she simply couldn't concentrate any more. She sluggishly pulled herself away from the desk and into the Kitchen to fix herself a cup of coffee. The warm vanilla scent tickled the insides of her nose, rousing her as they cooked and poured into the pot.

With a steaming cup clenched in her teeth, the purple mare walked back to her work, taking a small sip to help her get going again. What drove her to work so hard on this? Twilight reasoned that she wanted to impress her mother yet again; to make sure that she not only didn't fail, but to do it faster then she could. But then, there was the whole challenge aspect to the idea of tracking down a long-lost, distant relative.

Just as she was about to call it a night, two white sheets of paper captured her interest. They looked so crisp and clean compared to the others, as though they weren't very old. One of the two papers turned out to be her birth certificate. Like most, it stated her name, date of birth, attending doctor, where she was born, if she was a filly or a colt, and the name of her parents. Twilight couldn't help be feel a pang of sorrow as she read out her father's name. Granted, he died when she was very little, but she still could remember him if she tried really hard, the images and sounds blurred with time.

In her mind's eye, she could still make him out. He was a blue, purple maned unicorn colt with a medium build. She could remember him pushing her on some swings when she was a foal, smiling and laughing in a soft, yet firm voice when she squealed in delight. In front of them sat her mother on a bench, a purple and silvery-blue maned filly, smiling at her husband and daughter as they played in the park. Twilight could feel tears welling in her eyes when she remembered how long ago it had been; far longer than she ever dare mention.

She sighed, nearly forgetting about the second piece of paper behind it. She figured it had to be her father's death certificate, since she didn't recall seeing it in the rest of the pile. However, she felt compelled to check it, just in case. She was glad that she looked at it. Shock swept over her entire being as she drank the words on the page like a pony that hadn't had any water in a week. The unicorn's eyes went wide as they dwelt on a particular name on the sheet.

"It couldn't possibly mean..." Twilight finally voiced, barely able to speak at all. Tears began to well in her eyes again as she pushed her memory to her very limit, able to make out something she hadn't really noticed before. No faces were visible, but there were colours, and those colours spoke volumes to the purple unicorn. She knew what she had to do.

~*///*///*///*~

The Great and Powerful Trixie, as much as she hated to admit it to herself, grew anxious as the minutes ticked by. Time seemed to slow down just to annoy the blue unicorn and all her radiant glory. She needed her, to hug and hold... to voice her fears and anxiety to. Trixie bit her lip and moved over to her trunk, opening it in a dazzling light blue glow. She risked a lot heading back into Ponyville after the Ursa Incident, but she simply couldn't leave this behind.

The cart, her fireworks, her makeup, even her trademarked hat and cape could all stand to be lost to her. There would be other hats and capes, other spell books... but what she risked so much to extract from the splintered ruins of her cart was priceless. Levitating out of the trunk was a purple, plush unicorn doll. Trixie had her as long as she could remember, and although her precious Bella looked disturbingly similar to the unicorn that nearly ruined her career, she simply couldn't part with it.

"Oh, Bella," Trixie started, snuggling her foalhood toy close. "Trixie finally has a fan that wants to get close to her. She hopes that he's rich, but he probably isn't. What does Trixie do?" She placed an ear close to the toy's imaginary mouth, and nodded at the imaginary advice that she whispered. "Alright, Trixie will try." She replied.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on her dressing room door, causing the pale blue unicorn to jump. She quickly tucked the toy back into the trunk, trying her best to regain her composure. Giving a last brush of her mane, and a reciting her chant, she replied to the knocking. "The Great and Powerful Trixie grants you entry!"

She kept her back to the door, head held high in the air. Trixie would allow them to gaze upon her godly body, to drink in her power and marvel at her beauty, before she would turn to face them proper and make their life complete. An awkward shuffling of hooves met her ears, the admirer clearly nervous about being in her awesome presence! The Great and Powerful Trixie smiled to herself as the hoof steps died. She had let them bask in her glory long enough.

"Y-you!" Trixie shouted, her voice ringing of anger, shock and, although she'd never admit it, fear. Standing before her, instead of the handsome and rich stallion she imagined, was that irritating purple unicorn again. Had she come to expose her to her loyal audience here? Have her outcast again to wallow like a... like a common pony!?

Twilight Sparkle saw the distress in the unicorn's eyes. It was evident that she hadn't forgotten the Usra Minor Incident, or how she had essentially run her out of town. It only made her task harder, but it had to be done... even if she would never accept it. "Trixie... I'm sorry about the deception. I can tell you're upset, so I'll just make this as brief as possible. Please, hear me out."

"No!" Trixie shouted. "The Great and Powerful Trixie knows why you are here, and she will never let you ruin her career again! Whatever it is you have to say, The Great and Powerful Trixie does not want to hear it. You can just turn around and march right out that door, Twilight Sparkle!"

The purple mare sighed at the unicorn's stubborn attitude. Then again, she remarked to herself, it was a trait they shared. "Look, I'm not here to ruin your career, Trixie. I just want to tell you something important." Twilight nudged around in her saddle bags for the papers she collected here in Canterlot. Along with the ones her mother sent, they should have made for an air-tight case. "I've been looking into my family history for the last week or so, and I discovered something."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't care to hear about your stupid family history!" Trixie replied, her snout held high into the air.

"Trixie..." Twilight started, deciding to be blunt. "We're sisters."

Silence hung in the air for a long time, as if breaking it would send the world over the precipice of disaster. Neither of the unicorns moved or made a sound for minutes, looking each other in their purple eyes. At last, the silence was broken by a sigh from Twilight. "I know it's hard to believe, but I have proof." Using her magic, the purple mare passed the papers over to the blue mare.

As she read, her eyes narrowed. It simply couldn't be true! There was no way she could be this... this commoner's... sister! She was The Great and Powerful Trixie, not the younger sister to Twilight Sparkle! Anger erupted in her eyes as she sent the papers flying back into the unicorn's face.

"How dare you shove these lies under The Great and Powerful Trixie's nose!?" She shouted in indignation, face flushing in anger and embarrassment. "There is no way in all Equestria that she is related to a sorry excuse for a unicorn like you! Yes, you may have vanquished a cranky Ursa Minor, but Trixie is still the superior magician! You disgust her with your blatant forgeries! Now get out of her sight, before she calls the guards!"

Twilight sighed and left the dressing room, defeated. There was simply too much anger and hurt welled up inside her for her to accept the truth. "Maybe one day, Trixie," Twilight spoke before the door closed. "You will be able to call me 'sister.' When that day comes... you'll know where to find me."

Trixie slammed the door behind the arrogant purple unicorn, overwhelmed with emotion. Anger, hurt, jealousy, and fear swirled around inside her like a torrent just wanting to get out. She stomped angrily over to her trunk and withdrew her precious foalhood toy, slamming it roughly against the walls of her dressing room, crying out in anger and frustration. Trixie threw herself onto her bed after the initial surge of anger and brought her toy... her only friend in the entire world, close to her. Hot tears streamed down her face as she sobbed. She never meant to hurt her, and now her precious Bella had lost a limb and her horn. The blue unicorn cuddled her close, vowing under pain of death to find her missing stuffed limbs come sunrise. For now, she just wanted to sleep: to forget the pain and confusion.

~*///*///*///*~

"Hey, Twilight!" Spike chirped happily to the unicorn. "How was Canterlot?"

She could hear a voice calling out for her, but the purple mare found herself lost in a fog of indifference. The purple unicorn hadn't said a word since she tried to show Trixie the truth... a truth she spit back in her face and rejected outright. Twilight made it a point not to cry: not until she was safe in her room and away from the prying eyes of the baby dragon.

"Twilight?" He called as she trotted past, not seeing the tears welling in her eyes.

Twilight slammed and locked her door tight; digging deep into her trunk, pulling out a blue unicorn doll her mom had given her before she sent her to the Royal Academy. Only now did she realize how much it looked like Trixie... like her little sister. She buried her head into her pillow and sobbed, recalling the letter her mother sent after she told her of her discovery. The family had lived happily together for a couple of years... but a year after Trixie was born, their father died.

Her mom, unable to support herself, not to mention two filly foals, had to make a tough decision. She tried to send them both off to the Royal Academy, but they only accepted Twilight. Reluctantly, their mother had to separate them, despite her wish to keep them together. Trixie was put up for adoption and found a loving home. However, before they were separated for the final time, her mother gave them both dolls... each made to look like the other's sister so that, in some small way, they would always be together.

Hours later, Spike climbed the stairs into the bedroom, unlocking it with a trick he learned from Snips and Snails. He opened the door cautiously, expecting to be yelled at for interrupting. Instead, he saw the unicorn curled up on the bed, clutching her little doll in a death grip, tears still visible on her face. It hurt him to see her like this, but in time, he figured, she would get better. In the meantime, he crept over to her bed and pulled the blanket over her sleeping form.

"Good night, Twilight."

"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 1 - What's Old is New

The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser - Chapter 1: What's old is new.

It was beginning to shape up like one of those days where the baby dragon wished somepony... anypony else had been the one to hatch him, as opposed to his dearest friend. Sure, Spike saw Twilight as more of an older sister, maybe even a mother then an employer and caretaker, but times like this made the idea of quitting more palatable. Although she had been on-edge all week, the unicorn suddenly reached levels of stress that he had not seen since the fire, and this worried him for obvious reasons.

"No, Spike!" she cried out in annoyance. "What are you doing!? The dictionary goes on the table by the door, not by the stairs! Oh, how am I ever going to get this place sorted out by this evening? She's going to think I'm a disorganized foal who can't even keep a room in order, never mind a library! Stop stalling and get back to work!"

"Twilight!" the baby dragon cried out, finally pushed over the edge. "We're talking about your mom here, not some member of parliament or the princess! I'm sure she won't mind a little mess, but if you don't calm down and breathe for a change, I'm going to get the mayor to block your magic, just in case you go loco again!"

"I am breathing, Spike!" Twilight shouted defensively. "I took a breath about ten minutes ago. I'm fine!"

"I mean like a normal pony! Deep breaths, like Princess Luna taught."

The baby dragon breathed a sigh of relief himself when the purple mare started about her exercises. Almost a week ago, Derpy arrived at the door with a letter for his pony friend. Apparently, Twilight's mom, Shimmer Tail, got a new job with much better pay and vacation time. In fact, in the letter she said she was going to have the next week off and wanted to be with her daughter for the first time in years.

At first it was touching, and the baby dragon was excited to see the white unicorn since the last time they met he was just a hatchling. However, as the week wore on, the purple pony slowly, but surely, became high-strung and neurotic... he actually had to look the word up to describe her! He never did anything like that before! And now, with her arrival in mere hours, he feared for the safety of Ponyville since she became so stressed out. It was not like they could afford to rebuild half the town again, and the princess would have strong words for her if the library got damaged.

"Are you feeling better, Twi?" he asked after the huffing unicorn showed signs of slowing her breathing.

Taking another deep breath, the unicorn finally opened her eyes, still a little bugged out, but much more serene then he remembered. "Yeah, I'm feeling better, Spike," she replied. "I'm sorry for shouting at you. I just want to impress my mom, and I got a little... stressed out. I mean, sure, we've written, but I haven't actually seen her since I was a filly, and I want to make a good impression."

"Gee, you think?" he replied somewhat sarcastically, earning him another look from his old friend. "Right, right, Dictionary by the door, I got it." Picking up the heavy book, Spike slowly carried it over to the door and set it on the table with a heavy thud. If he had dropped it with much greater force, he feared he would have broken the table. His stomach growled in protest, coaxing a giggle out of the purple mare, as the afternoon grew late, and neither had lunch yet.

"How about we take a break from cleaning and have some lunch?" she asked. "You've been a very big help to me today, Spike. Thank you."

The baby dragon practically skipped over to Twilight; she did not have to ask him twice. It was about two in the afternoon and he was practically starving. Together, the mare and dragon walked into the kitchen, counters flying open as a soft, purple aura surrounded them. Bread, hay and a few stalks of daisy floated out and arranged themselves into a couple of quick sandwiches in front of them.

Trying his best to hide it, a certain look of disappointment filtered through his face. Sure, he could stomach all of this pony food, but it just did not fill him as much as a good gemstone or two. Seeing the lacklustre expression on his face, the purple pony smiled. "Since you've been such a big help to me this week, I think you deserve a little treat." Looking up, the baby dragon's eyes went wide when he saw the most delicious gem he had ever seen float out from one of the cupboards.

"Turquoise! My favourite! Thanks a million, Twi!" He lunged forward and gripped the unicorn tightly around the neck in a hug. It was a little tighter then he meant to, but the purple pony made no move to dislodge him, allowing the time for a proper thank you. He immediately dug into the hand-sized gem, gleefully gnawing on the soft semi-precious stone. The gem positively gleamed in the light coming through the window, the highly polished and delicious stone almost too pretty to eat. Almost, mind you.

Twilight levitated her sandwich and took a bite out of it, chewing thoughtfully. She stared blankly at the wall behind the baby dragon, lost on a train of thought. Spike could gather a guess as to what she was thinking about, but he could not say for sure. It had to be memories of the last time she saw her, the last time she felt her touch or heard her mother's voice. In some ways, he envied her: at least she could remember her mom, even if she was adopted. Yet, the baby dragon reminded himself, in many ways, Twilight was like an adoptive mother herself.

~*///*///*///*~

Life is completely, abhorrently unfair: a literal cornucopia of pain, embarrassment and suffering. It was a lesson she found herself repeating day in and day out, with every waking breath, and with every nightmare she suffered while asleep. Everything had worked out nicely for her until that wretched day she stumbled upon that insipid hick town. Sure, she had a small downward spiral after that, but she got back on her hooves in no time flat. She was even going to perform before the princess... until life decided to cut The Great and Powerful Trixie down once more. Now, she found herself quite literally on the road to ruin, pulling her tiny replacement cart behind her slowly.

The little cart was not even a quarter the size of her once grand caravan. She could maybe fit herself in the thing if she curled up like a tiny foal and lay down inside. Not that it really mattered, since she did not even have a quarter of the stuff she used to have. Not since the unpleasantness that lead to her current situation. All of her current possessions sat comfortably under a tarp drawn over the tiny, open wagon. It was almost insulting to such an esteemed and talented unicorn to have to pull such a wretched vehicle.

For the eightieth time that day, Trixie pondered the possibility that she was jinxed, or cursed somehow. She had a pretty good idea as to who would be responsible for such a heinous act as well. Every time that purple unicorn reared her ugly face, Trixie could not help but notice her life take a significant downturn soon after. Of course, getting her royal show cancelled was probably just a fluke. At least she hoped so. If she ever found out that Twilight Sparkle was responsible for this situation as well, Trixie would hunt her down and destroy her once and for all!

Looking at the radiant sunset in front of her, the azure mare frowned at the prospect of another night without a solid roof over head. Still, the woods she traversed would offer some protection, but not much. It also did not help that she could see dark clouds gathered on the horizon. It was a good indication a town was not far off, but having to visit during a storm did not suit The Great and Powerful Trixie! The very notion of a town ahead caused her stomach to growl painfully, causing her to wince and pause for a couple of seconds. She had not eaten a proper meal in five days... right when she ran out of bits.

The Great and Powerful Trixie sighed and continued down the wooded path. Trees lightly populated the sides of the road, creating a corridor for her to traverse. They still bore no leaves, as Winter Wrap-Up was only three weeks ago. Still, songbirds sat in the trees and belted out an annoying, cheerful tune that made Trixie struggle to restrain herself from making them all erupt in flames of indignation. Hunger, cold nights, and days of endless walking did nothing to ease her cranky mood, and she was not sure if she could spare the energy to punish those feathered freaks. A unicorn as beautiful and talented as she should not even be in this mess in the first place!

Rumours of the incident with the Ursa had spread far and wide. Everywhere she went, Trixie found herself as the laughing stock of the town. Sure, some ponies tried to be tactful about it, but most of them would blurt it out with no regard for her feelings... not that The Great and Powerful Trixie needed her feelings protected, of course! All of this reflection was making her soft, and she would not stand for being soft.

Thankfully, the revery would be broken, but not exactly in a kind manner. As The Great and Powerful Trixie passed under a particularly thick branch, she felt something drop onto her mane. Instinctively, she stopped and ran a hoof through it where the sudden weight stuck her. Pulling it in front of her face, she saw a smear of white upon her regal blue hoof.

Some bird had dared aim their... droppings... on The Great and Powerful Trixie's head! This would not stand! She unhooked herself from her cart and walked forward, turning around to look at the offending avian: a blue jay. "How dare you befoul the image of The Great and Powerful Trixie!?" she ranted, "Don't you know that she could turn you into a feather duster at her slightest whim, you foul cretin!?"

The bird glared at her and puffed out its chest, arrogantly to the blue unicorn. No creature had dared look at her with such contempt or arrogance before. Well... that was not true... but only one pony had ever walked away from it without being humiliated, or treated to a black eye. Despite her wishes, she could not help but be reminded one of her more... outstanding performances. It was not outstanding in that it was amazing... but that it helped lead to her present, hopeless situation.

~*///*///*///*~

It was a typical late autumn day some months after her salvation had been snatched from her by the tyrannical jaws of life. Despite the pesky persistence of the Ursa rumours, The Great and Powerful Trixie still managed to eke out a living and support herself. Sure, she did not have the former prestige or fame from when she started out on her own, but at least she was still self-reliant.

Trixie walked into town early that day, as she usually did to maximise her performance time. It was a very small and out of the way town that rarely saw travelers unless they meant to be there explicitly. It bore many striking similarities to the town she never wished to return to, and briefly mistook it for... that town... before finding out it was actually called Hockdale. Looking back, Trixie would find it silly to think that the town could possibly be the one she hated. For one, there were no mountains in sight, which meant Canterlot was nowhere nearby.

Secondly, the architectural style of the town was all wrong: Hockdale had shingled roofs as opposed to the thatched ones in that most horrible place. None of this mattered to the traveling magician anyway, since she did not care what town she was in, so long as it was not that wretched hick town that nearly destroyed her career. She shook her head and puffed out her chest in triumph, as though she were a returning war hero as she trotted into the village proper.

According to plan, mares and stallions turned out to watch as she proceeded into the square. If only she had enough room on her dinky little cart to write out her name in big, bold, stylized letters. Now, that would really attract attention to her and to her fabulous show! Ah well: Trixie was a resourceful mare, and she would make do with what she had. All it meant was that when she found a place to roost, she would have to be a little louder is all.

Eventually, she found her way into the very centre of town, subconsciously cringing at the rounded square and the tall, round building in the centre. It was only then that she started drawing parallels between it and the town that cursed purple unicorn and her meddlesome friends called home. The mare shook her head wildly as she unhooked herself from her cart. Now was not the time to be lost in the past: the show had to go on, and she would rather starve than deny the masses from her spectacular performance for much longer (in fact, if she did not do the latter, she would probably do the former).

With a spark from her horn, the blue tarp covering her possessions lifted away, settling on the ground in front of the cart in a neat pile. Trixie pulled a collapsible stage out from the cart before laying it out on the dusty street. Using her magic, the small platform of wood quickly expanded to allow her enough room (and a suitable height to look down on her audience) to perform. Before stepping onto the wooden stage, now earning the attention of several passersby, the azure mare extracted a small mirror from her trunk, repeating her mantra.

"You are The Great and Powerful Trixie," she spoke the words of her mentor, gaining strength as she imagined his voice in her place. "You are The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Taking a deep breath, she put the mirror away, secured her trunk and walked up on stage. It was times like this that she missed her hat and cape. Walking up there naked did nothing to help her great and powerful image.

With a puff of smoke, the azure mare appeared on her stage, amplifying her voice to boom across town and draw in her much-needed crowd. "Come one, come all," her radiant voice boomed. "Come and see the magical marvels of... THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.... TR-R-RIXIE!" She stood on her hind legs, pausing for her magical fanfare and fireworks.

"Watch in AWE as The Great and Powerful Trixie performs impossible feats of magic yet unseen by pony eyes! Gaze in wonderment as she weaves tales of greatness of antiquity, and those that she has seen first-hoof!" She immediately dived into her show, a routine embedded into her very soul. She would start off small, conjuring bouquets of flowers, pulling rabbits out of a hat (in this case, a random pot), that sort of thing. Then, she would start with the main draw of her shows: the stories she told.

Just about halfway through her routine, a voice sounded out from the crowd. She could not be sure what exactly he was talking about, but she hoped he was muttering in awe to his friend about her powerful magic. It was always how it started... first the muttering, and then the ponies would start with the insults to her and her abilities. Everything was quickly beginning to go down south, but not as quickly as usual. It had to be because of the remote location of the town.

Sure enough, in the middle of her story, not even related to the incident, a voice pipped up from the audience. "The Great and Powerful Trixie?" asked a young stallion. "The same Trixie that boasted she once vanquished an Ursa Major, only to be proven to be a total and utter FRAUD?" He started laughing, taking the whole audience with him as realization crept across the crowd.

"Well, well, well... it seems we have some NEIGH-SAYERS in the audience. Who has the audacity to dare challenge the magical might of The Great and Powerful Trixie!? Well? Step forward and just try to measure up to the awesome ability of The Great and Powerful Trixie! Anything you can do, I can do BETTER."

The slippery slope had started again, flexing down a similar path like the ill-fated performance that doomed her reputation. It was not always like this for Trixie. She used to be respected and command powerful magic worthy of her name, but now... no! She could not afford to think like that! Not when her honour and livelihood were being so brazenly threatened.

Surprisingly, the colt was far younger then Trixie imagined, maybe by about five years younger then her, judged solely on his appearance as he clambered onto the elevated platform. He was a bright, blue-eyed unicorn colt with a shining silver coat and a vividly red mane. Of course, the cocky look on his muzzle ruffled her feathers more then she would ever openly admit.

"So," he started. "You think you're so big with those cheap little ticks of yours? My little brother could do better than you and he's only two." Several members of the audience laughed at the insult, obviously against the undeniably superior Trixie. She could already feel the anger and hate rising in her, taking this now as a personal assault on her character. Such mockery could not stand! This foal needed to be taught a lesson, and it looked like she was going to be the one to do it.

"Enough talk. You're boring The Great and Powerful Trixie. Either try to upstage her, or shut up and get off her stage."

"Fair enough to me," the unicorn replied. Immediately, his horn took on a soft orange glow. A dazzling display of light and music surrounded him as he stood there, looking smug and sure of himself and his cheap little tricks. Trixie could do such feats of magic blindfolded, and had done so several times, in fact. Little light shows like that were the very basics of unicorn magic itself. If he thought he could best her with such a pitiful display, he had another thing coming.

"Oh please, you think you can challenge The Great and Powerful Trixie with such weak magic?" She smiled as her own light show began, earning a few gasps and cheers from the crowd as she went. Normally, she would use their talent to humiliate them, but such a weak talent could not be made more humiliating. At least, she used to think so before what would happen next. Right in the middle of her performance, the magic in her horn cut out.

"What the...!?" Trixie exclaimed, nudging the appendage with her hoof, trying to spark it back to life. Laughter erupted from the crowd, making her suddenly aware of just how large a crowd had developed. There was the very real possibility that her magic cut out... in front of an entire town of ponies who already saw her with nothing but contempt. Crimson flashed across her cheeks: a unicorn's spell suddenly shorting out was much akin to... well... there was nothing more embarrassing to a unicorn!

Despite the roaring laughter of the crowd, she would not be deterred from showing up the smug unicorn, joining in on the laugh riot with his townsfolk. She closed her eyes and did everything to bring out as much magic as possible, but nothing happened: her horn would only sparkle at best. "I think I know... where you... got your... name, Trixie!" The silver unicorn breathed between bursts of laughter.

The roar of the crowd died down as the hilarity of the disabled unicorn faded away, allowing the red-maned pony the chance to let everypony heard what he thought. "You must have gotten it from... turning tricks in an alley of Canterlot for five bits a ride!" Everypony laughed much harder at the rather... raunchy (and lousy) joke at her expense. Trixie's blush deepened, but not out of embarrassment: her eyes aflame in indignation. She growled and gritted her teeth. No pony, not even that stupid Twilight Sparkle had ever insulted her so much: the little runt was going to pay!

Suddenly, the laughter died as Trixie let out a feral scream and jumped on the silver unicorn. A flurry of hooves met his face as she pounded him from head to hoof, blood from his swiftly broken nose splattering onto her face and down the front of her mane. She wanted him dead, in the most unpleasant and painful way possible. The azure unicorn did not even notice the three strapping stallions it took to pry her off the heavily bleeding colt.

After being removed from the scene, the battered unicorn was taken to the town's only doctor, who ran a small clinic on the edge of the settlement. Meanwhile, Trixie was taken into custody and charged with assault and battery. One hundred hours of community service, and a new criminal record later, the unicorn left the town behind. This only worsened her reputation, and with winter around the corner, the mare would have an even tougher time ahead of her.

~*///*///*///*~

Trixie shook her head and closed her eyes, slowly bringing herself out of the sudden flood of memories. She was used to this kind of thing happening to her. Sometimes she simply could not help but dwell on the past. Her blank, listless stares earned her many a chortle from the greatest pony she ever knew. In fact, a couple of times, he pulled out a pen and sketched liberally on her face in an effort to snap her out of her reminiscence. He would always say that she needed to get past it, or else she might do it on stage and skunk the show.

No! Now was not the time for another trip down memory lane... especially back to such a time. Trixie was a mare on a mission now, and she would make that blue jay pay for its transgression. Relieving oneself on The Great and Powerful Trixie was a crime punishable by death, or by losing its stupid nest. Whatever came first, or whatever was easier, at any rate.

The unicorn's eyes reluctantly turned away from the demonic bird and down to the branch upon which he perched. She followed it through the tangled mess of branches, getting a little lost a couple of times, but quickly getting back on track. Given that all the leaves on the trees had yet to bud, this made the task significantly easier then it would have been in summer.

Eventually, she found the trunk of the tree that the insidious blue jay sat upon, a villainous smile etched onto her stunning muzzle as she closed the distance between her and revenge. Trixie turned around, putting the strong maple tree in the line of fire of her rear hooves. Charging all the force she could into her back legs, the showmare leaned forward and bucked with all the strength she possessed. After several attempts at doing much of the same, the azure unicorn finally admitted defeat at the hooves of nature.

"Dumb tree!" she scolded, more directed at herself then the plant, "Why won't you fall down!? The Great and Powerful Trixie demands it!" With one last, powerful buck, the mare heard a rustling of the branches overhead. If she could not down the tree, then perhaps she could knock down the stupid bird's nest instead? Before she could deliver one last buck to dislodge it, a powerful force contacted her head, causing stars to dance in front of her eyes.

Trixie stumbled around awkwardly, nearly losing her hoofing several times as she tried to make it back to her cart in a dazed stupor. Her vision was blurred and her ears rung constantly: she could almost feel her eyeballs rolling around in their sockets from the force of the concussing blow. However, she could not see the branch that fell from the tree directly in her path, causing her to stumble over it. Defeated, Trixie flopped onto her side, away from the branch, and elected to just lie there... until the world stopped spinning anyway.

~*///*///*///*~

Excitement filled the air that afternoon, despite the main attraction for the day being long since over. Happy screams and laughter echoed through the yellow canvas tent. Yet, despite the over abundant mirth and celebration of the longest day of the year, the filly could not enjoy it. She paced around the tent, the butterflies in her stomach threatening to relieve her of her light breakfast. Beyond the red silk curtains, ponies cheered and applauded the competition.

Trixie sighed and walked over to her trunk, double checking to make sure she had everything she would need for the very first show of her life. For countless years, the young unicorn practiced and trained for this moment. Ever since she was a little filly, the young mare wanted to be on the stage and dazzle ponies with her magic. Many ponies called Trixie gifted with illusion magic. Now, however, it would be put to the ultimate test.

The Summer Sun Celebration Talent Show was a renowned venue for young performers to strut their stuff. It was no secret that Princess Celestia herself liked to watch the show, on occasion. Still, if potentially performing for the princess was not pressure enough, many talent scouts and entertainers of great influence were all but assured to be in attendance. A botched show here could utterly destroy her career before it even began.

"Numbah twelve," called the nasally voice of the backstage organizer with the heavy Manehatten accent. "Get ready to go. You're on in two, kid."

Trixie gulped, looking at her flank to confirm the number resting against her cutie mark. Too nervous to use her magic, the azure filly pushed her small chest up the ramp, standing in the wings to watch the final seconds of the show before her. It appeared to be some sort of juggling routine, as the young colt tossed and caught a number of bright, shiny balls in his hooves.

Time sped up significantly for the filly. Backstage, it felt as though time dragged on, but before she knew it, the colt trotted past her, wishing her the performer's version of good luck, 'Break a leg.' Trixie squeaked a little in fear and intimidation. Quickly gathering her wits she pushed her chest out into the middle of the stage. Even from behind the velvet curtain, the voice of the announcer boomed in her ears, making the filly cringe.

"Wasn't that something?" he commented on the last act. "Now, our next act is a magical performance, so let's give it up for... Ms, Trixie Treats!"

The red curtain pulled back suddenly, the light from the sun stunning the azure filly for the briefest of moments. Thankfully, nopony noticed, since they were too busy giving their polite welcoming applause. Once her lavender eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Trixie scanned the crowd. Thankfully, the princess was absent, and her parents were around the middle of the crowd. Just knowing they were there for her, despite their objections to her choice, lifted her spirits... but only a little bit.

"Um..." Trixie started with an audible gulp. "W-w-WELCOME one and all to... to my show. Um... so... so how about we... um... we get to it?"

With a flash of her horn, the trunk she brought with her opened to allow various tools she would need to float out gently. However, a sudden cough from a member of the audience startled her, causing her to lose concentration, all of her stuff clattering and crashing to the ground loudly. "Uh-oh," she muttered for all to hear, forgetting she was on stage. Trixie turned her back to the audience and started picking up her fallen items with her teeth. It was not like they cared about seeing such easy magic, right?

Once she had all the items in position, the blue filly made them all float and circle around her, one of the items being her precious doll. Trixie took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as she could, causing her toy to twitch and shake before it fell down. Several members of the audience murmured as she welded her eyes shut, needing all her concentration to get the doll to move around on the ground, essentially bringing it to life. But the oohs and ahs all came from the front rows, leaving ponies in the back bored.

Right, she needed to fix that as soon as possible! After having her dear doll Bella strut around the stage for a good minute, she turned her attention elsewhere, causing the stage around her to warp and distort. This seemed to do the trick, as many ponies awed at her power. "So... um," Trixie started, "I also... also like to use magic to um... help me tell stories... so... um... here's the tale of the... lonely pony."

It was a simple, short foal's story, but one that captivated the audience with just how realistic she presented it with her magic. To the ponies in the audience, it was almost as if she had opened a window into the story itself, allowing them to see the events through a magical window. Although, she would pause and stare blankly for several seconds before continuing, and rarely looked at the crowd.

As the story ended, Trixie felt her confidence pick up just a little more. Now that she had their attention, Trixie decided that now was the time to pull out the big guns: her show stopper. She concentrated with all her might, horn glowing almost as bright as a star in the night sky. Sweat visibly dripped down her face as the magic infused itself with the air beside her, causing it to shimmer and distort as the illusion began to take form.

She had not tried to make a creature as big or complex as this before in public, but there was a first time for everything. A large, intricately detailed manticore appeared on the stage in a sudden flash, roaring loudly, startling the crowd. Some of the more flighty ones actually ran away from her marvellous illusion, but it only stayed there for a few seconds, growling menacingly before it disappeared. Exhausted, Trixie took a bow.

"Th-thank you," she breathed. "You... you've been a gr-great audience!"

There was no cheering and standing ovation like she had hoped, but the crowd still applauded sincerely for her impressive magical might. Picking up her stuff with her magic, Trixie trotted back down the ramp, wishing the next contestant luck, still visibly shaking from her ordeal. With a great sigh, the blue mare slumped on the ground, exhausted and underwhelmed. It was a good start, but it could have been better.

"That was absolutely horrible," spoke a deep, gruff voice from somewhere nearby, "The worst showmareship I have ever seen, and that is saying something."

"Oh yeah?" Trixie spoke defensively, "And just who do you think y-"

Looking up, she saw the stallion who addressed her for the first time, Trixie's parents walking in shortly after him. His yellow coat... black top hat... bristly black mane and handlebar moustache... it just could not be him! Her jaw dropped in realization that she had just been belittled by the greatest magician Equestria would ever see: the Great Hoofdini himself!

"Oh," she squeaked in sudden realization, cheeks turning into a deep crimson colour. If he hated her act, she stood no chance in the world of professional entertainment. She was just three seconds away from sobbing in front of the legend before he spoke again.

"However," he added. "Very few ponies are naturals on the stage, and fewer still possess your level of talent and power, Trixie. I think we can come to some sort of arrangement, don't you?"

Arrangement? Just what did he mean by that? Her worried father voiced these concerns out loud for her.

"Well, in exchange for teaching me a couple of her magic tricks, I can take her under my cape and show her the ins and outs of show business. I am not an easy pony to please though... it will be arduous and frustrating, but she will have a real chance of making a name for herself... if she can handle it. I sense great potential in your daughter, and I would be happy to assist the next generation of entertainment."

Was... was The Great Hoofdini offering HER, Trixie Treats, an apprenticeship under him!? Her head swam in thought as her parents discussed his offer with him, as most adults do. Yet, she could not help put ponder some of his words... mostly since she had no idea what 'arduous' meant, exactly. Still, if they allowed him to ask her outright, then of course she would accept.

"Trixie," The Great Hoofdini started as his conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Treats ended. "How would you like to join me on the road and learn how to be a better showmare?"

It would not come as a surprise as to what her answer would be. Who in their right mind would turn down a chance to learn from their personal idol, and an icon of the entertainment industry?

~*///*///*///*~

Waking up with a groan, the blue mare opened her eyes to find the ground covered in mud. Had she really fallen asleep with what she assumed was a concussion? She stood on shaky hooves in the dark of the night, trying her best to get rid of the buzzing in her skull. After another small groan, she felt her way to her cart and hooked herself back up to it. She leaned on the yoke, pulling it forward with a slight jolt.

Trixie shook her head as she walked, keeping her eyes on the road to avoid going over the edge. Times like this demoralized the unicorn more then she would ever care to admit. It was like a pit existed in the very centre of her soul, sucking in all positive emotions these days. No, it just has to be the hunger, she thought to herself. You always get angry and upset when you're so hungry. Just try to bea-- keep your chin up until we get to that town. Then, maybe there they will take... pity on us.

Slowly, the thick woods thinned out as the early spring shower began to soak through her coat, chilling the starving magician to her very bones. If only The Great Hoofdini could see her now: he would be ashamed of her, and maybe even disown her and her title. This line of thinking made Trixie's stomach twirl into a multitude of sickening knots, which would be really bad, since she had nothing in her to throw back up.

Crossing over a small stream, Trixie saw a strangely inviting rock lying on the tiny stone bridge. A thought crossed her mind, but she ignored it as she stepped into some manner of a park. A thick, foreboding wood lay to her right-hoofed side, mist seeping from it like an opened wound. She wisely decided to avoid it, and took the fork in the path that led directly into town, its silhouette vaguely familiar to her through the spreading fog and rain... yet, she could not quite place her hoof on why.

Another hunger pain tore her away from musing once more to focus on the more pressing matters at hoof. She was hungry, exhausted, cold, and about ready to, more or less, drop dead. The only thing she could do was keep moving and hope a pony would see her, take pity on her, and give her something, anything, to eat. However, the further she pressed on into the town, the more the hairs on the back of her mane stood on-end. It was the most curious feeling she had ever experienced.

Naturally, she saw no pony walking around in this sort of weather. The fog from the creepy forest behind her had already choked the streets of the town, meaning she could not see much more than a few pony lengths in front of her. Sometimes, although she was convinced she was going crazy from hunger, she could hear her name being called from somewhere beyond the veil. Chills ran down her tired spine, the smell of baked goods reaching her nose, causing more growls of protest from her stomach.

Out of the mist, an odd, yet curious structure appeared. If Trixie did not know any better, she could have sworn it was made of gingerbread. In fact, the azure mare found herself subconsciously drifting to it, hunger overriding the strange feeling she had about the town. She sniffed the air, mouth watering as the delicate tickle of baking pies, cakes, and muffins wafted across her muzzle, causing her stomach to growl again. Surely, they would take pity on a poor, starving pony without even two bits to her name, right?

Unhooking herself from her cart, the showmare walked over to the door, voices from beyond perfectly audible to her. "... thing. I'm sure that she'll love it," spoke a disturbingly happy voice. "I mean, who in their right mind doesn't like chocolate? It's just too super-yummy to turn down... unless your mom has an allergy! Oh, I can't imagine not being able to eat chocolate! Please, tell me she isn't allergic to chocolate!"

A soft giggle sounded from beyond the door. "Don't worry, she isn't. Now I'd better get this cake to her," a second voice said. The sound of hoofsteps grew louder to the eavesdropping unicorn's ears. Trixie panicked, wondering how they would take the disgraced unicorn hovering over the door like some sort of scavenger waiting for a meal. However, before she could move, the door swung open, revealing the mare behind the door. Her coat was soft lavender, and her eyes were purple enough to rival Trixie's. Her horn positively shone in the halo of light streaming out.

Trixie felt her jaw drop to the floor, backing up instinctively in fear and intimidation at the sudden appearance of... HER! It all made sense now! No wonder this place looked so familiar... it was the town that ruined her life! "T...Trixie!? Is... is that you!?" the mare beyond spoke, utterly aghast over the appearance of the azure pony. She needed to run... she needed to get out of this place as soon as possible, before her life could be ruined any worse than it already was!

Pony instinct kicked in, causing the unicorn to back up from the imposing silhouette more. "N...no... no... NOOO!" Trixie screamed. She turned around as fast as she could, making a mad dash to somewhere... anywhere but here, but this town. How could she have possibly lost her bearings so much... to arrive in PONYVILLE!? The mare cringed as the very name crossed her waking mind.

"Trixie! Wait! Come back!" the lavender unicorn called to her, hoofsteps indicating she was in hot pursuit. Trixie did not care... it was probably just a trick for her to be paraded around like the weak, stupid foal that she was! She had to run and never come back... her possessions would have to wait a couple of days before she could get them thou-

BAM!

In her haste to escape, The Great and Powerful Trixie did not bother to look ahead and see the lamp post suddenly emerge from the dense fog. Stars danced in front of her eyes as she slumped onto the ground. Her ears rung uncomfortably as she dropped onto her side, completely and utterly helpless. Darkness surrounded her vision, making her fight to stay conscious... but it was a battle she was quickly losing. A soft, lavender hoof clopped against the cobblestone in front of her eyes, the darkness quickly wrapping her in its cold embrace.

"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 2 - Prisoner of Kindness

The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser - Chapter 2: Prisoner of Kindness

An endless field of blackness, yawning out in all directions; be it left, right, up or down, rested before the world-weary unicorn. Trixie floated in the void, trying to move, to call out... to do anything at all. Yet try as she might, she just could not seem to do anything in the cold darkness. Sometimes, usually without warning, an echo would graze across her ear, usually whispering her name back to the sca- upset unicorn.

Where was she? Was this the afterlife? How did she get here in the first place? Why could she not move or speak? These questions, and dozens more, drifted across her mind as the mare considered her position. Trying with all her might, she dredged up what she could remember before entering the enigmatic realm. There was... there was a bakery... and two mares inside talking. One of them had... a disturbingly familiar voice... and the other was cheerful and blathering on about... a cake and allergies.

Did this mean anything? Did they find out she was snooping, figure out who she was and have her killed? Or was Trixie merely unconscious, passed out from her incredible hunger? This is way too confusing for Trixie, she thought. Either I am dead, or something happened... something that I can't remember. But what could have possibly occurred, and... why do I feel warm now?

During her musings, Trixie slowly felt the oppressive cold lift, and become replaced by a tickling and pleasant warmth that swept over her entire being. It was far more kind then the cold, but for the most brief of seconds, she panicked at the very real possibility that the head injury she sustained had killed her. Wait a minute... how did she know she had a head injury? Was it the dull throbbing of her skull? That had not been there just a second ago! She could not feel anything for the longest time, but now rolling torrents of pain washed over her body, like waves upon the beach.

She moaned, she actually moaned! The Great and Powerful Trixie moaned again to prove it was not a hoax before slowly moving a hoof to her pained head. What else could she control? Slowly, but surely, the darkness began to lift as she fluttered her eyes open... was the darkness really just the inside of her eyelids? Everything was a dull, brown blur as Trixie forced herself to sit up, revealing the warmth to be the covers of a soft bed.

Somepony actually took pity on her, and brought her into their home! An enticing aroma wafted across her muzzle, leading her to a tray of food that lay at her bedside. Despite being half-blind, the azure mare felt the porcelain plate, with a few simple sandwiches upon it. Trixie inhaled the hay and daisy meal greedily, her stomach purring in satisfaction as the food impacted her gut. She did not particularly like hay and daisies, but any port would do in a storm.

Downing a glass of water also on the tray, Trixie rolled onto her side, reasonably full for the first time in days! She wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep again. However, no matter how she tossed and turned on the comfortable (by contrast to the ground) bed, sleep would not come to her. Defeated, the magician rolled out of the bed and stood, wobbling a little from the sudden weight.

Blinking her eyes a couple of times, the mare found her vision returned to its usual perfection, allowing her to drink in the room around her. It was massive, almost unreasonably so. Beyond the table that once held the food, a large library of books rested on the floor below the loft. Another, smaller bed sat directly opposite of the one Trixie slept on, right before the stairs leading down.

Curiosity overwhelmed Trixie to nigh the point of insanity. This place looked far too big to fit anywhere in the bakery she remembered, so just where was she? Obviously, they did not know or recognize her, or else she would be grazing in The Great Plains. Just like... no... she could not think about that. She looked under the beds instead, hoping to find a diary, journal, or something else that would lead her to the identity of her saviour. Indeed, she saw a box lying directly under the bed. She had to stretch to reach it, but soon enough the box was in her possession.

Slowly, the mystery of her saviour was revealing itself before the azure mare's eyes. The simple, cardboard box had a spell on it, she could feel as much. However, it was not to ward off anypony who might dare disturb it. It felt more like a spell to expand the number of items that could fit inside, at least to Trixie. Opening the flaps with her muzzle, she dug into the box, feeling around with her hoof.

Immediately, she came across an item that tickled her curiosity; it felt cold, like metal. Upon withdrawing it, she found it was a large tiara. A massive, purple star of amethyst sat as the crown jewel, supported by spiralling tendrils of gold, securing it to the wide-brimmed base. Trixie recoiled in disgust. "Ew," she breathed. "What sort of pony wears something so... so... GAUDY!?" She simply could not resist putting the offending little tiara on her head mockingly.

Giggling, Trixie trotted over to the mirror above a vanity that sat on the loft. Aside from the white bandage and the lame tiara on her head, she looked exactly as she remembered. "Look at me," she scoffed. "I'm a pretty little princess with a totally lame tiara. Aren't I special? Fah!" However, she was quickly drawn to something else in the mirror... something that disgusted her even more, if it was possible. For the first time in months, the azure unicorn got a good look at herself. Her eyes were sunken and dark and worst of all, she could count the number of ribs she possessed.

"Stupid tiara," she scolded the headdress. "How dare you make Trixie see how... how ugly she has become!" Trixie flipped the tiara off and threw it to the ground, hoping to break the stupid, tacky garment. However, as soon as it contacted the floor at her hooves, a shockwave rippled through the air, causing the mare to tingle from head to hoof. It was the most curious sensation ever, but she ignored it and flinched when she saw it was undamaged.

"Must be enchanted to be unbreakable," she huffed, kicking it across the floor. "Back to the box!" In a flash, she began rooting through it once more, pulling out a variety of weird paraphernalia, which only got weirder the deeper she went. Among the items scattered about the floor were a large, yellow reptilian scale, a fashion magazine with a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane on the cover and a silver, star-shaped mane clip that was missing one of the points.

None of these items held any clues to the identity of the pony in question, but it was undeniable to Trixie that they were, at least, a unicorn. Perhaps they were a bit of a bookworm, or an egghead, but a unicorn nonetheless. Reaching the bottom of the box, she found several magazines and movies of colts and stallions being classy, or at least pretending to be so. Out of curiosity, she flipped open the cover of a magazine to a random page... only to quickly shut it once more.

"Okay, so my saviour is obviously a mare," Trixie voiced, stuffing the magazine back into the box and pushing it back under the bed. Very slowly.

"Either that, or..." she continued before pausing that train of thought. Trixie gave her head a liberal shake, quickly regretting that decision as stars danced in front of her eyes. Taking a breath, she walked down the stairs and over to a perch she had not noticed before. On it sat a large brown owl, head tucked under its wings to allow it to sleep despite the sunlight pouring into the room from the window.

The azure magician, walking around the bird, opened the door to the room and started down the main stairs. As she did, however, voices from the first floor filtered up. It was that ludicrously familiar voice, and that of another... also familiar, but not in any way that she could remember. She paused just short of revealing her hoof and stood there to listen.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" the first, more familiar voice spoke. "She obviously doesn't like me, and from the rumours I've heard about her, I can see why."

"Just show her some kindness, dear," the second spoke. "She will come around in her own time. Just give her a chance to grow. I'm sure your lovely friends will be happy to help."

There was an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air for a while. Trixie knew they were talking about somepony, but she had no clue about whom. "Well... what if she tries to run away? Also, how is the princess? Have you... spoken recently?"

"We have," the older female voice replied. "I know that you know, dear, and it doesn't change a thing to me. I still love you, Twilight."

"Twilight!?" the blue unicorn spoke aloud, forgetting she was spying. Did she mean Twilight as in...? As in Twilight SPARKLE, Twilight!? It just could not be possible! How could a pony like that save her when she was the one to ruin her in the first place!? Her head swam, hoping beyond hope that it was not true. She took some tentative steps down to see the two mares and instantly regretted it.

There, looking at her, stood two unicorns, both with eyes as purple as hers, yet different in tone. The older one was a white mare with a two-tone mane of white and purple. She had three purple stars on her flank and a strange twinkle in her eyes when they looked at each other. Meanwhile, the insidious purple mare she knew all too well stood beside her... the one she loathed more than anything else in this world. Neither spoke before Trixie made it safely to the ground floor, the mare spotting something green in a crack in the door at the landing before it swiftly shut.

"Oh good, you're awake, Trixie," Twilight Sparkle smiled. "We were really, really worried about you... especially when you popped out of nowhere... looking as... well... bad as you do. Did you eat those sandwiches? Please tell me you did! You must have been starving!"

"Yes," Trixie replied curtly, looking at the other mare. "... And who are you supposed to be?"

"My name is Shimmer Tail," the older unicorn replied. "I'm just here visiting my filly Twilight for the week. I've only been here a day or so, though. It's nice to finally meet you, Trixie." The strange mare smiled at her warmly. It disturbed the blue mare a little, especially since she did not know her. Still, she was of little consequence, since the only pony that concerned her stood right in front of her.

Twilight shrunk a little at her gaze, and rightly so as the hatred that seeped from her eyes could only be described as 'intense.' The purple mare lowered her head and scuffed at the floor with a front hoof, intimidated. "Um... listen," she started. "I know you're mad... I would be too if half the things I heard about you were true. But please... please don't run away again. If you do... well... you were half dead that night anyway and I would never forgive myself if you died and I could have stopped it."

"Where is Trixie's cart?" she replied. "The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to accept your... your CHARITY, Twilight Sparkle! She is a grown mare and can make it on her OWN! You know what? Don't tell Trixie. She can find it easily, and be out of this WRETCHED hick town as soon as possible!"

All of a sudden, Trixie felt a warm tingle against her cheek as she tried to walk out the door and found she could not move beyond that point. However, her eyes widened when she looked back and saw Twilight's horn shimmer with magic. "Wh...What spell did you cast on Trixie!?" the azure mare cried out, demanding an answer. A hoof reached up to the doorway and tried to push though, but was stopped by a force. A magenta force!

"I'm sorry, Trixie... but," Twilight started. "Well... I don't want you to die and... you have every right to be mad at me, but... I'm sorry."

"What is this!? What did you do to Trixie!?"

"I placed a Bubble Shield charm on you. In short, you won't be able to go anywhere I do not allow. I'm sorry, but I really don't want to see you any more hur-"

"YOU MADE TRIXIE A PRISONER!? HOW DARE YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!?"

"I will admit," spoke the older unicorn with a small measure of disappointment in her voice. "That I do not endorse this solution... but you are a grown mare, and I am but a guest... so I will not challenge your decision, Twilight. Just know that I don't like it." Although she was blinded with rage, the azure mare could not help but appreciate that the older unicorn did not like this either.

Trixie still wanted nothing more than to give in to her instincts... to charge the lavender unicorn and take out an eye with her horn. She wanted to rip, tear and destroy her like she did that stallion those months ago. The purple pony's eyes began to glisten with tears, but she would have nothing of it. Her pitiful display could not make Trixie less mad, yet she did not charge and give in like she had before.

"Maybe," Twilight started, pausing before she continued. "Maybe I can give you something... to cheer you up a little? I found it when you were last here... in the ruins of your cart." She turned her back on the azure mare and opened up a closet, floating out a wide-brimmed hat and cloak painted in fields of stars on a blue canvas. Trixie's eyes widened as she saw her beloved hat and cape float over to her and land, taking their rightful places on her body.

A regal blue hoof felt the material as it touched her, caressing her skin in a warm embrace, like an old, dear friend hugging her tightly. If she were not so mad at Twilight, she would have cried at the memories such simple items possessed. Instead, she looked up at the lavender mare, without any hate or malice. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely.

"It's the least I could do, Trixie... I'm so sorry... about everything."

"...the Great and Powerful Trixie will forbear from punishing you for now. But you have not yet earned her forgiveness!"

"Will you at least sit down to lunch with us?" the lavender mare continued.

Trixie had to ponder on the proposition... before the fill of the sandwiches from earlier left her stomach, causing it to grumble in protest once more. "Fine," she reluctantly agreed.

~*///*///*///*~

Lunch, for the most part, was an uneventful affair between the three mares (plus a baby dragon, which explained the sliver of green Trixie saw earlier.) Although the other two only had tomato soup, Trixie was treated to a small feast of sandwiches, salads, juice and a couple of chocolates. Even though she ate everything in front of her, she felt a little guilty about how much she had eaten... not that she would ever say that, of course.

Eventually, the three mares went their separate ways. They left Spike, the baby dragon, to look over the library while they were out. Trixie silently mused why Ponyville had such a large library if they were as big a hick town as she thought. Perhaps they used the books for something other than reading: perhaps toiletries? At any rate, Shimmer Tail, the older unicorn staying with Twilight, said she would meet up with the other two mares a little bit later at some place called 'Sugar Cube Corner.'

Relieved of the one sensible mare in town, Trixie had to endure an agonizing walk through it. Granted, it was not particularly hot out, so nopony batted an eye at the azure mare in her cloak and hat. Well, no more than usual, anyway. At first, she pondered why Twilight Sparkle had returned her trademark attire... but looking in a store window made it clear. The shadow of her hat hid the blackness around her eyes, masking it as shadow. As well, her cape smartly hid her exposed and withered frame.

All things considered, if you did not know just how bad in shape she was, with a little makeup Trixie would look as stunning and radiant as ever! Perhaps... just perhaps, mind you... Twilight Sparkle was not as bad as she first thought? Granted, she was still livid over having to stay within twenty feet of her, and the lavender unicorn would simply not stop talking about where they were going. It was some sort of farm with some stubborn mule of a mare in charge of it. Other than that, it all sailed right over her head.

The two mares soon left the limits of town and were on a dirt road leading out into the woods. It was strangely calm and serene here, especially now that she knew how close the Everfree Forest was. Little birds would fly from tree to tree, perch on branches overhanging the road (thankfully not dropping their... droppings on Trixie's head), or sing happily to one another. Trixie still did not trust the sneaky little creatures, though.

Not more than five or ten minutes of walking later, they found themselves facing a large, wooden gate in a fence. Above the opening, there was a sign covered in drawings of apples, which read, "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres." Trixie silently scoffed at the cheesy sign, rolling her eyes instead of going into a tirade about how tacky it was. Now, she really had nothing against it, but she was just tired of Twilight being the only one to do the talking.

Before she could open her mouth to complain, Twilight stopped walking suddenly and turned to the blue mare, looking her in the eyes. "Now, listen, Trixie," she spoke, no hint of mirth in her voice. "Some ponies around here... namely the ones you humiliated... might still be a little antagonistic towards you. Just... keep quiet and try not to offend them more."

"Trixie won't, if they won't," she replied, looking over the purple pony's shoulder to see that orange hayseed she tied up during the show before the Ursa. Twilight bit her lower lip nervously and nodded her head once, suddenly moving quickly, as if she wanted to get what needed done fast so they could leave.

"Hey, AJ," Twilight spoke, gaining her attention. "I came to pick up those apples for the pie my mom wants to bake for dinner tomorrow. You're all invited over, of course." Trixie, meanwhile, hung back as far as she could from her without setting the spell off. She only lingered once before, but the sudden magical kick in her flank was enough to make her not want to repeat it.

"Why sure," spoke the orange pony. "I'd love ta sample some of yer momma's cook..." she trailed off as she saw the azure mare. "Wut is SHE doin' here, Sugar Cube!?" Her eyes narrowed as she walked over, quickly becoming uncomfortably close to Trixie, who did not dare move back, as Twilight had not moved either. The azure mare did her part to stand her ground, unaware of the strength the farmer possessed.

"AJ, please don't be mean to her. She's... she's had a really rough time ever since she left."

"Well, that's a might shameful. Still, ya did humiliated me an' my friends, so sob story or not, ah can't trust ya further than I can throw ya! Still, if Twilight here trusts ya, ah suppose I can TRY."

Trixie stood there, calm and collected, much to her benefit. In fact, Twilight began to think that perhaps she would apologize... at least until her sister opened her big mouth. "Does she come with subtitles?" Trixie asked. "I can only understand... maybe every third word that comes out of her mouth. How do you DO that? Is it some kind of special redneck language?"

"How'd you like yer jaw wired shut, you prissy little bi-"

"OKAY!" Twilight shouted to cover over the last word, "Um, I'll just take those apples now and we'll be out of your mane, okay, AJ?" The orange pony paced around the blue one before her lavender friend interrupted. Trixie tried to shuffle away, closer to Twilight, but found her hooves rooted to the ground and the farmer in a dangerous position with her hind legs facing her weakened side.

"You go on an' get them apples, Twi," she replied, "I'll make sure that Trixie here don't do anything she might regret."

"Applejack, she won't try anything and before you get yourself worked up, you have to know that Trixie i-"

"I think we're both a bit too late for that," Trixie spoke, "The second I walked into this pitiful cabbage patch you call a FARM, Trixie instantly regretted it!"

Applejack grimaced and fumed, obviously trying to keep herself reigned in for Twilight’s sake. The purple unicorn could tell the situation was like a powder keg waiting for just the smallest, most insignificant spark to set it off to disastrous consequences. Carefully, she sidled between the two glowering mares and cleared her throat, gaining both of their attention.

“Trixie,” Twilight started, “kindly keep your trap SHUT, like we discussed. You are not doing yourself any favours, especially since you broke your promise to me to NOT be antagonistic.”

“TRIXIE!? Applejackass was the one to start-”

“Your inability to be responsible for your actions is what lead you here in the first place, and also why I have the Bubble spell on you. Until you learn to do so, you are remaining under my supervision. That is FINAL,” she interrupted. The showmare tilted her head and glowered at the smug expression on the farmer’s face, infuriating her further. “And Applejack, I would expect better from you than to feed into her negativity when it is obvious she is just trying to get a rise out of you.”

The farmer growled a little and gave the blue unicorn a hard look as she foalishly stuck out her tongue at her from behind Twilight, making mocking little faces the whole time. “Okay, fine. But tell me this, Twi; Why do you care about that pony if she is nothing but a rotten varmit? Are you two... together? Like... dating?”

The two unicorns looked at each other and shared a quick blush, forcing a conclusion upon the farmer. “Oh, Twi! Surely you can do... well... BETTER than Trixie! Ah mean, I suppose I can see where you’re coming from: from what I recall she ain’t too bad to look at, but REALLY? If you think you can tame that bucking bronco, ya got another thing coming!”

“A-Applejack!” the flushed unicorn gasped. “It... It’s nothing like that at ALL! I mean, she isn’t too bad to look at, true,” the orange pony smiled as the boastful magician pushed her head into the ground, “but you’re right in that she is not my type because she is, in actuality, my sister.”

The apple farmer smiled more before she started laughing at some unknown joke to the other two, pulling her hat over her face to, unsuccessfully, muffle the laughter. “Ah’ve heard some humdingers in my time, Twi, but really? You don’t need ta use the old ‘sisters’ excuse on me. Ah can keep a secret, don’t you worry none!”

"I would never lie about such a thing, Applejack," Twilight replied in an authoritative voice that would have made the princess proud.

"O-oh... " the orange pony stuttered with her head lowered, kicking at some dirt. "I’m sorry, Twilight. It’s just... you would have told us if you had a sister, or some older brother by now."

"It's okay, AJ." The lavender mare walked forward and gave her friend a hug. “I only found out about her a while ago and, well, she’s kind of hesitant to acknowledge it, so I didn’t want to proclaim anything unless she reciprocated.”

“Trixie is still here!”

“Don’t worry about it none, Twilight. Ah’m sorry I thought you were dating,” she apologized.

“Apology accepted. Now, Trixie? Don’t YOU have something to say?” Twilight looked back, giving the showmare a stern expression that made her gulp in trepidation.

“Trixie is...” she trailed, trying to summon the conviction to say words that she did not mean. “Trixie is sorry she even spoke at all.”

For her part, Applejack smiled as best she could. “Apology accepted, Trixie. Now, how about those apples?” The two friends continued towards the barn with Trixie in tow as if nothing had happened in the last few minutes. Did apologizing, even if she did not really mean it, just get her out of another bad situation?.

~*///*///*///*~

"I'm really proud of you, Trixie," Twilight Sparkle spoke as they walked down the streets of Ponyville once more, "It takes a lot of courage to apologize like that, and I think Applejack was impressed." After getting the apples from the farmer, the two mares walked back to the library, deposited them with Spike, and continued on their way to the bakery to meet another friend of the purple unicorn.

Sadly, the bakery would not be the last stop on the itinerary for the day. Afterwards, Twilight planned for them to stop by another friend's place and pick up some food for the bookworm's pet owl. Then, they had to go to the tailors to see about fixing a few holes in Trixie's cloak. According to her captor, they would finish all of these errands by dinner time.

Trixie did not respond to her comment, seeking to keep the silence between them. Although she could feign forgiveness for the hayseed, she could not for what Twilight pulled on her. Being denied her freedom made her livid. She wanted nothing more than to get far away from the other mare as soon as possible. Until then, she would need to be patient.

However, she would later learn that she would need all of her patience for the day ahead, especially as they descended upon the dwelling of the town's resident party pony: Pinkie Pie. Stepping inside with a jingle of the bell, the magician looked over to a side table and saw the older mare, Shimmer Tail, talking with a yellow earth pony stallion and a blue earth pony mare. "Ah, Twilight, Trixie, there you are. How was the farm? Shimmer hopes that you two didn't have any problems."

"It went better than expected, actually," the lavender pony replied before trotting over. While she went to entertain the older ponies, Trixie set about poking around the sweet shop, finding it a little unfair they had to come to a bakery, and she could not sample some of the wares. Not that she was particularly hungry, but everything looked just so good... too good to not want to take a nibble of some of the baked delights.

"I know! I feel exactly the same way!" chirped a voice directly behind her. Trixie jumped instinctively and nearly hit the ceiling with her concussed head. "Although I would call them simply scrumptious yummy-cakes, but 'baked delights' will do too, I suppose!" How did she know what she was saying in her inner dialogue? Could she read minds? A million questions, mostly how she had not noticed her, buzzed in her skull and threatened to make her light headed.

"It's best not to think about it," she smiled, placing a pink hoof on Trixie's shoulder. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Pinkie Pie! We actually met before, but you were unconscious and I helped carry you to the library, so it wasn't like we actually met and it was more carrying you than anything else. Oh, but there was also that time when you came to town and were a meanie pants abusing the Magician's Code of Ethics by unduly humiliating your audience. Anyway, I had an idea how to cheer you up as I was helping take you to the library!

"I figured you would appreciate a chance to get up and close to some of the goods I bake here, so would you like to learn how? Okay, well, I don't do most of the baking, since I'm just the hired hoof. Mr. and Mrs. Cake can bake ANYTHING though and are, like, the best bakers in town... but Applejack is pretty good too... except for the time she poisoned half the town with baked bads. I know it wasn't her fault, but ponies were throwing up all over the place and..."

Trixie sat in awe of the pink pony blathering on in front of her. If she thought Twilight was a talker, she had NOTHING on this mare. She sat and blinked, unable to form any words, or get in any edge-wise even if she wanted. Instead, she elected to do the wise thing and just let her rant. It soon became apparent that it was not as wise a decision as she thought, since the pink pony just. Kept. GOING!

"Pinkie," interrupted the yellow stallion Trixie assumed was Mr Cake. "I think she would like to go back and help you now."

"Okie dokie lokie!" she chirped, nudging the blue unicorn into the kitchen. Trixie tried to plead that she had no interest in baking, but the pink earth pony started up again, drowning out her weak pleas for help. Eventually, she found herself in the kitchen of the bakery, her hat and cape hanging on the coat rack. She did not even remember being touched, never mind taking them off!

"How did you DO that?" Trixie asked in genuine awe. The last time she was awed like this was at the hoof of her master. However, she swiftly remembered the incessant buzzing in her head the last time she over-thought that mare and wisely decided to just stop. "Never mind, Trixie has a feeling she doesn't want to know."

"Don't worry about it, Trixie," she smiled. "Your big sis... Twilight tried to figure me out too, but it didn't go too well for her, so don't feel bad." The blue mare was about to chew her out for calling her the s-word to Twilight Sparkle, but thankfully the pink one could see the anger building up in her eyes and backtracked. "Now, let's stop shaking, it's time to get baking!"

Thankfully for Trixie, she soon found out that when inside, the range of the bubble spell changed automatically to fit the hoofprint of the building. This allowed her to move around the kitchen freely without fear of painfully being shoved back. As she would later find out, with rapidly rising dough all around her, this would be a great asset. With Pinkie Pie in the kitchen, mobility was life.

Okay, maybe that was a bit of an overstatement, but that hour in the kitchen proved to be one of the messiest, if informative, hours of her existence. There was some measure of disappointment, not much mind you, when Twilight came to collect her for their next chore. Pinkie Pie... had a unique energy about her... almost as if that void that sucked in her positive emotions was plugged in her presence. No, it had to be a figment of her imagination, since her anger at the lavender unicorn rekindled when she paused at the door just a second too long, resulting in a shove.

~*///*///*///*~

With her hat and cape on once more, Trixie braved the streets of Ponyville again. Thankfully, the citizens of the town were either incredibly secretive about their gossip, or they did not remember her and the Ursa incident. Or... perhaps they knew not to speak of her around the lavender mare, as ponies tended to shy away as she approached. The azure pony could tell there was a trace amount of fear around her, although she did not know why. It could have just been her imagination though.

"Hey there, Scootaloo!" Twilight cheerfully called out to an orange Pegasus filly that just rounded the corner. To say that she was surprised by the sudden greeting was an understatement.

"Oh... hello, Twilight," she smiled. "L-lovely day we're having right?"

"Still upset?" the mare asked as Trixie walked up beside her, still fuming a little. The filly nodded her head a little, ears pinned to her head. "There's nothing I can say to make what I did better, Scootaloo. But I am sincerely sorry that you had to see it first hoof."

"I know," the filly replied solemnly. "I gotta get going... my mom is expecting me home by now."

"All right. Bye Scoots."

The little filly raced off, leaving Trixie to ponder a little on their exchange before she remembered the bubble spell and started moving. "So, what was that about, Twilight Sparkle?" she asked. "Did you lose a fan when you botched a show? Oh, please tell me what you did to make her so SCARED of you!" She was practically giddy with excitement, unaware of the actions and events of that day almost one year ago.

Yet Twilight kept walking, ignoring her with her head held low. "Stop holding out on Trixie! Don't make her guess what you did to that poor little filly. Um... did you burn her favourite toy, or... or maybe you turned it into a rabbit and it hopped away? Oh! I know! You locked her in an iron-maiden box and forgot how to get her out!"

"I beat her idol bloody, hurt my friends, and I burned down almost a quarter of the town all because I got overly stressed," Twilight replied lowly and in a monotone. Trixie could tell that the memories hurt to recall, causing her endless delight. If she was forced to stay close to the insipid unicorn, then she would pay Twilight Sparkle back by being as annoying as possible, and then hopefully get her to dispel it sooner.

"Well," Trixie started with a certain measure of pomp in her voice. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has never had that problem. You know WHY, Twilight Sparkle? Because that stupid incident with the Ursa was a FLUKE! You hear that? You never would have vanquished it if The Great and Powerful Trixie, had not softened him up for you!"

"You're not even close, Trixie," she replied with a measure of sadness in her voice.

"Hey, Twilight, what's going on?" spoke a sudden voice from above. A sky blue Pegasus pony hovered in front of the two unicorns, her mane stained in all the colours of the rainbow. Her rosy red eyes suddenly narrowed as they fell upon the blue one of the pair, glaring at her in anger. "...And what the hay is SHE doing here!?"

Silence filtered through the streets as ponies watching decided they had better things to do and cleared out from the impending doom. Trixie did not expect Twilight Sparkle to defend her after she clearly offended her, so she decided to take things into her own hooves. "Well, Trixie isn't here by her own choice," she started, "She was on her way to another town, any other town when she stumbled upon your Ponyville and hit her head in her headlong flight from your miserable hovel of a village. If it were not for Trixie's mild concussion and her pounding head, she would be long gone by now, Rainbow Dash."

"Flight? You're not a Pegasus!" The ignorance in that sentence made Trixie place her hoof against her face.

"It also means to run away, to travel, or to escape, you idiot!"

"Oh. Well, look who's talking! You're the one who ended up here after what you pulled! I'm surprised Applejack... that's the pony you called a hayseed by the way, hasn't had you tarred and feathered yet!"

Twilight just stood there, looking at a point on the horizon blankly. Trixie turned to look her in the eye and waved a hoof in front of her face. Was that how she looked when she spaced out? Could spacing out like that be a genetic trait? Could she actually be... no, it just could not be true. "Hey! I'm talking to you, Inferior and Weak Trixie! Yeah, that's right: I saw the whole thing with the Ursa. You couldn't do jack about it, and you know it! The only reason you even tried was because of that huge ego of yours!"

"Look who's talking, Rainbow Dash," Trixie replied. "Don't you dare preach about another pony's ego! Trixie heard you the day of her show, saying how nopony needed to worry since you were already better then everypony else. At least Trixie's ego is only for the sake of her show! Or were you too STUPID to realize that it was all just an act?"

"Horse feathers! The way you talked about defeating that Ursa was just you boosting your ego! You said so yourself!" Rainbow countered.

"So what? Trixie is a travelling magician. She needs to make up stories like that to incite interest, or she doesn't eat. Rainbow Dash, you are a complete, insufferable moron if you can't see that!"

"I'm not a moron!"

"I'm not a moron!" Trixie copied mockingly.

"Stop copying me!" The childish back-and-forth of parroting continued for a few minutes, both unrelenting in their repetition. Twilight snapped herself out of her stupor to find herself in the middle of the verbal tennis match. Nopony gained ground and the whole thing was beginning to give her a headache. Sure, Trixie touched a nerve when she brought up... the incident, but she had no way of knowing... and she did not want her to know, for fear that she would... well, fear her.

"I SMELL LIKE PONY PLOP!" Rainbow Dash screamed in an attempt to corner Trixie.

"Well," she replied matter-of-factually, "I wasn't going to SAY anything, but now that you mention it..."

"GAH! YOU LITTLE-!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed, suddenly alive. "I have been having kind of a rough day today an my patience is nearing it's limit. I am not condoning anything Trixie might have said, but if you start anything, I WILL make you regret it since it is my duty as the elder sibling. Do not worry though, I will be keeping Trixie in line, but for now, maybe it would be better for you to work out your aggression by kicking clouds instead?"

The Great and Powerful Trixie blinked in disbelief. Did Twilight just threaten to keep her in line? How was she planning on doing that? Her rapier wit and mind like a steel trap simply could not be contained. If a pony deserved it, she would belittle and humiliate them. But... it was not always like this. It used to be that only performers competing for her title would face the point of her sword. The blue mare lowered her head slightly, barely noticeable to any pony present. She did not hear the beat of wings as the Pegasus retreated, convinced to let Trixie be.

~*///*///*///*~

An uneasy silence followed the two mares as they journeyed from the streets of town and back out into the wilderness. She probably did not do herself any favours by outwitting the Pegasus, but what was Trixie going to do? She was honour-bound to defend herself and her profession from the likes of the aerial nuisance, even if she won the most prestigious award for a young civilian Pegasus in the country.

Maybe Twilight Sparkle was finally beginning to snap herself out of her delusions that the two of them were more than bitter rivals, at best? If it was not obvious to her just how much Trixie hated her, then she had to be about as thick as the earlier mentioned Pegasus. That or her blatant bookworm disposition made her so naive that it was not even funny. Not even to a pony who hated her as much as Trixie did.

Soon enough, the pair found themselves at the strangest house Trixie had ever seen. It, more or less, looked like an above ground burrow. Sure, it had four walls, plenty of windows and a door, but the roof was not thatched like most of the others in town. Believe it or not, the idiotic pony that lived there made their roof out of SOD! Did they not know that it would leak in a rainstorm... or was it simply decoration?

Only when they crossed a tiny bridge over a little stream that Trixie noticed an obscene number of holes scattered about her lawn, and the astronomical number of birdhouses that filled up any remaining space. Twilight swiftly moved up to the door and knocked her hoof gently on the wooden frame, the upper half already open to let some air inside. "Fluttershy?" she called out. "I'm here to pick up Owlowsious' food."

"I'll be right there," sounded a soft, nigh inaudible voice from inside the house. "Just let me take care of something first... oh, Angel, please come down!" Trixie tapped her hoof impatiently. The sooner they could get these stupid chores done, the sooner they could get back to the library and not interact with anypony. She wanted nothing more to do with the town or the ponies in it so she could get back on the road as soon as possible.

After a couple of minutes of irritating waiting later, a disturbingly familiar yellow Pegasus with a pink mane appeared at the door. Trixie could not place her hoof on where, but she had seen her before and recently at that. If it had not been for the earlier events, she would have pinned it in a heartbeat. "Please, come inside. I have some tea boiling if you would like some."

"We'd love some," Twilight replied, much to Trixie's anger.

"Do not speak for The Great and Powerful Trixie, Twilight Sparkle! She has no interest in tea!"

"Oh... um... well, I have some milk, or soda, or water, or juice... and you can have some cookies and other treats too... um... t-that is unless you don't want to..." She wanted to be mad at the yellow pony for making her stay out longer then she wanted, but as she followed her captor inside, the anger just... evaporated.

Maybe it was the sight of all the critters and the ramps, holes and perches littered throughout the living room? Or, perhaps it was the gentle nature of the pony that clashed with her desire to chew her out. Somehow, the idea of making her cry gnawed at her soul; tantalizing, yet far too cruel for her to even try. "Fine," she relented. "Trixie will have some tea and snacks if only for lack of anything better to do."

Walking into the kitchen, the three mares sat at a small, wooden table designed to accommodate only one pony. Yet somehow, the three managed to squeeze together, even if the fit was a little on the tight side. Trixie twitched a little when Twilight pulled out a box of 'Krispy Treats' from the cupboard. Her dad owned the successful company that made them. She could feel herself slipping off into her own mind again, remembering all the tea parties she attended as a little filly and how she was expected to take over the company one day.

"Trixie?" Twilight called, waving her hoof in front of the catatonic mare. This prompted an uncharacteristic giggle from the quiet Pegasus. "Uh... Can I ask what's so funny, Fluttershy?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she quietly giggled. "It's just... she looks like you. I mean... when you space out in thought. It just... um... looks adorable... on you both." Fluttershy blushed; embarrassed that she had used the word 'adorable' to describe one of her friends. "Um... I'm sorry if I'm prying, but... is she... related to you?"

"She's my little sister," Twilight sighed in a mix of resignation and embarrassment. Somehow, the word managed to filter through the blue unicorn, causing her to blink her eyes and look around, a little confused and disoriented for a second. Trixie found a warm cup of lemon tea and a couple of Krispy Treats on her plate.

"Oh, I can see the resemblance," the yellow Pegasus smiled, confusing the magician a little more.

"What did Trixie miss?" she asked with another confused blink.

"Oh, you didn't miss anything, Trixie. My name is Fluttershy, by the way. Twilight introduced us while you... um... spaced out. It's... it's a pleasure to meet you." A simple bat of her eyelashes sent Trixie reeling from the residual anger she felt toward Twilight. It was utterly impossible for her to stay mad around the Pegasus, and it slightly disturbed her.

A white rabbit hopped onto the table rather suddenly beside Fluttershy. Trixie looked at him, and he looked right back at her with a deathly glare, as if trying to tell the unicorn that if she uttered one mean word, he would ruin her. Of course, Trixie would not be intimidated by such vermin and shot him back an equally acidic stare. His face crumpled up dangerously, the little bunny bending his legs to hop at her and attack. That is, until a pair of yellow hooves wrapped around him, cuddling him tight.

"Oh Angel," Fluttershy crooned happily. "Did you want to join us for tea? I'm so happy you finally decided to come down." Either the Pegasus was oblivious to the desperate struggling of the rabbit, or she knew what he was about to do and stopped him with real kindness and love. Not the fake kind of kindness that led Twilight Sparkle to make her a prisoner!

"Well, thank you so much for the tea, Fluttershy, but we have to get going now. Can I help you clean up?" Twilight asked her friend, half an hour after the little tea party began.

"Of course you can. Thank you so much for staying, and for offering to help clean up, Twilight." As soon as the two other mares turned away, the rabbit known as Angel glared at Trixie. She still had a little bit of tea and another biscuit to finish, so she did not get up to help. The rabbit, much against the implication of his name, picked up a butter knife from the table and pointed it at her in lieu of something sharp.

Although he could not speak, the gestures of the white bunny made themselves clear of their meaning. He pointed at his eye, then at the blue unicorn before taking the knife to his throat and made a tiny slitting sound as he slowly pulled it across. Trixie could almost hear his voice warning her, "If you're mean to that pony, I'll mess you up so badly, that they'll never find all the pieces!"

The Great and Powerful Trixie slunk into her chair a little bit, well and truly intimidated by the little white rabbit. He seemed to understand that she received the message, as he hopped down and left the terrified unicorn to her own devices. Was this how ponies felt when she was mean to them? Did they feel as angry, intimidated and scared as this? Maybe she was a little hard on Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but they deserved it for disrespecting her... did they not?

~*///*///*///*~

The two siblings were on the road once again. But this time, it was the invigorated Trixie on a tirade about that obnoxious little rabbit and his macabre threats. For the most part, Twilight Sparkle shrugged it off and dismissed her and her ravings as simply a figment of her overactive imagination. That would not deter the azure mare though. She was convinced that rabbit was evil; much how like the other mare was certain something else was evil too.

Thankfully, the pair swiftly approached the door of their destination. It was a tall, towering building much like the town hall, but it was white with subtle hints of purple. On the upper tier, mareaquins on poles circled the shop over the neat cursive writing that spelled out 'Carousel Boutique.' The name fits to a tee, Trixie mused as the lavender mare leading her went inside.

When she saw the white unicorn mare inside the shop, Trixie was not overly surprised. The whole day seemed to have a theme to it anyway, and the prissy unicorn who insulted her fashion sense the day of the Ursa incident would serve as the final act of the play. The usual greetings were made between the lavender and white unicorn before the latter took notice of her, eyes narrowing dangerously at the performer.

"Well, I suppose I could do... something," the white one spoke, "Can you be a dear and get me the royal blue thread from the back room please?"

"Sure thing, Rarity... and please behave, you two," Twilight replied, disappearing further into the shop. Trixie glared at the white mare just as she did, the two circling each other as soon as Twilight left, both ready for a fight.

"Well, well," the pony known to her now as Rarity started, her eyes going over Trixie from hoof to the top of her hat. "You look like you hit every branch when you fell out of the ugly tree. It serves you right. Great and Powerful? The only thing great and powerful about you, Trixie, is the odour that you exude, like some rotten trash heap!"

"Look who's talking," Trixie replied. "I nearly gagged the moment I walked into this store from all the perfume you wear. What are you trying to do? Lure a colt... or a mare? Either way, it's a big sign that you're desperate. Must be because you're so old."

The white unicorn looked simply aghast at her rather vicious retort. Ah well, it was not like Trixie had been the one to start it. She would have been content keeping the silence, but the sinister mare wanted to dance with her, so she would dance. She would not go down without a fight!

All of a sudden, the azure mare felt her cloak and hat rip themselves from her body, caught up in the magic of the other unicorn, who then smirked when she saw how fragile she was. "I might be a little older then you, but at least I'm not in danger of blowing away in a light breeze. I knew you were jealous of my beauty, but Bulimia isn't the answer, darling."

"Trixie is not bulimic!" she replied indignantly. "So shut up, you annoying little rat! Trixie is the better looking mare of the two of us, even if I am all but only skin and bones!" She turned to leave, opening the door forcefully before running into the barrier. The force of her action was met with an equal and opposite reaction, sending her onto her back in a daze.

"Look at you, Trixie," she said. "You call me that word when you are the perfect picture of an old rat! Twilight has you wrapped around her hoof, and there is nothing you can do about it. If you ask me, that doesn't make you great or powerful at all. You insulted my mane, you humiliated me and my friends, and now you are paying for it, Trixie. Yet... I can see now that you are genuinely in need, and I'm sorry for starting this whole petty argument. If you don't insult me again, I won't insult you. Deal?"

"Trixie doesn't have a choice," she muttered angrily. "So, yes, you have a deal, but know that Trixie doesn't like it." Silence fell on the room as the white unicorn bought her hat and cape over, to her as she sat at a table and scrutinized on every detail.

"Have these been damaged before?" she asked, looking at Trixie, who gave her a quick nod since she refused to speak, "I could barely tell. Whoever you got to fix it did an excellent job."

"Actually..." the azure unicorn muttered, "It was Trixie who fixed them. She's been on her own for years now, but she learned before she started traveling alone. She traveled with... another magician for a few years, and he would have her fix up his costumes and other behind the scenes work."

"You sew, darling!? Then why are you here? Surely you could have asked Twilight to just get you the thread. I know she can't colour coordinate, but she knows her reds from her blues... at least, I hope so."

At that very instant, the lavender mare emerged from the back rooms with a box of spools filled with blue thread. She trotted over to the desk with the sewing machine on it and gently placed the box beside her friend. "I couldn't figure out which one was 'royal blue' so I just took all the blue ones I could find and put them into a basket," Twilight explained, causing Rarity to groan and apply a hoof to her face.

A flash of sudden gratitude washed over Trixie, directed towards Twilight Sparkle. If she had not thrown off Rarity, who now ranted about how she was surprised about her not knowing indigo from mauve, then she would have to answer why she did not fix her hat and cloak herself. The whole encounter only served to remind her just how far she had fallen from her once lofty perch... the she no longer deserved her title or her memories of her master.

Trixie remained silent through the rest of her time at the tailor's shop, and even into dinner. At several points, the two unicorns discussed magic and spells. It came as a tremendous relief when the meal ended, allowing her to escape to the bedroom. The azure mare threw herself onto the spare bed and buried her head into the pillow, bawling at her pitiful state. How could she tell those strange ponies, or even Twilight... how could she tell them that she had lost her magic?

"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 4 - Penance of the Pompous Performer

The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser - Chapter 4: Penance of the Pompous Performer

Despite everything that happened so far, nothing made the azure mare quite as livid or as embarrassed as what was going on around her at that moment. Not even spilling her dark secret (her lack of magic) made her feel quite the way she felt at that moment. Sure, it had been awkward, but at least after the initial shock the two other ponies calmed down. That could not be said, however, of the situation at hoof.

Trixie sat in her chair at the kitchen table the next morning, slumped over it with her hooves covering her face. Shimmer Tail had just finished regaling their guests with the tale of how filly Twilight reacted when she and her father first brought Trixie home from the hospital. If there was one eternal constant in the world, Trixie suspected it would be mothers embarrassing their foals, no matter how hard they tried to remain composed.

Ah well, at least she was doing better than Twilight Sparkle, who had become catatonic, her ears pinned to her skull and her mouth hanging open, as though under some terrible spell. Normally, Trixie would be joining in on the fun they would have at the stunned librarian's expense. Unfortunately, they were a sporting bunch and decided to focus on her instead of the purple mare.

A soft groan of frustrated pain filtered through her crossed legs, hiding her beet-red cheeks in a quiet desperation to save face. "Oh, come on, Trixie," giggled Pinkie Pie. "This was your idea on how to make it up to us for last night! I mean, I would have forgiven you anyway, because you seem nice enough, but you insisted!"

"And yet, here I find myself regretting every syllable," the blue pony replied, muffled through her crossed legs. By that time, she had accepted Shimmer as her birth mother as they seemed to have an instant rapport anyway. So, to make up the events of the dinner to Pinkie and Fluttershy, she foolishly suggested that Shimmer tell some stories about her as a young foal.

"So, girls, do you have any requests?" asked the mother happily. "I'm afraid I can only take one or two more stories before Twilight and Trixie have to go. They said something about settling some things that came up at dinner." Silence fell over the kitchen (except for the continued chortles of the baby dragon who laughed at their combined embarrassment), as the two guests considered their options for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Um... I have one," Fluttershy squeaked. "I'd... kind of like to know... what their first words were... that is, um... if you feel like talking about it, I mean." Fluttershy sunk in her chair a little, hoping she had not overstepped her bounds with her request. Although she knew she could trust the older unicorn, she still felt a little timid and introverted around her, without really being able to explain why.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she started, "I'm sure you'll both find this absolutely adorable. I know I did, even if I was a little disappointed at the time, especially for Twilight's. You see, me and my husband had Twilight sitting in her highchair in the kitchen. For the past couple of days, we had been coaxing her into saying either 'mommy' or 'daddy' as her first word. It was a friendly little competition we had, just because we hadn't had a more... um... physical one... not since Trixie was born, at least."

The two friends giggled among themselves at the implications of that last sentence, causing no reaction from the unresponsive librarian, and a slight groan from the showmare as she slid in her chair just a little bit more. Oh creators, Trixie plead in silent prayer, just kill me now and get this over with!

"Anyway, we had Twilight in her little high chair, and we were trying to get her to talk: you know, asking 'Can you say 'mommy,'' and stuff like that. Poor dear had no clue what we were talking about. Oh, the confusion in those purple eyes: it was so sweet. Eventually, Trixie woke up in the other room and started crying. A couple of seconds later, you would never guess, but she said, 'Twixie!' with the most precious smile you could ever see. Oh, I wish I had taken a picture of it! Sadly, the story about Trixie's first word is far less interesting. I offered her some spinach, and she said 'no!' It was cute, but not as cute as her older sister's first word"

"Awwww, that's so sweet!" Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy chimed in unison. The blue unicorn shuddered, feeling herself on the verge of being sick from all the fawning over something that may well had happened in a different life for all she cared. Just when she thought she had enough of the embarrassment, the older mare started on a story about how Trixie had cried at one of Twilight's birthday parties after a clown 'stole her nose.' Having enough of all the stories, she nosily pushed away from the table and made for the door.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," she muttered as she opened the door.

"Okay, feel better soon... TWIXIE," Pinkie jabbed before erupting into another fit of giggles. Unlike The Great and Powerful Trixie, the Normal Trixie knew that the pink pony was only jesting and that she should not take any offence. The powerless unicorn wandered out into the main room of the library, ignoring the continued mirth from the kitchen. It was late morning, the sun shining in the eastern windows.

Just the night before, she and the two other unicorns stood in that room, discussing how she could have lost her magical powers so completely. Eventually, they settled upon the fact that she was not physically ill, as she had seen a doctor about it shortly after her powers began to short out. That only left one possible cause: a block caused by a lack of emotional stability which in itself was brought on by a lack of social contact. In turn, that left her cut off from the largest and most potent source of magic. In other words, she lost her magic because she had no friends.

Naturally, this gave Twilight the idea of taking her on the town to try and find the three ponies most aggressive towards her and try and make amends. Trixie could see several small... or rather massive holes in that plan, considering her track record, but the lavender librarian replied with, "All I ask is that you have faith in me." Normally, that would not mean squat, but she just HAD to quote her master! She was quickly beginning to regret telling her that story.

Trixie shook her head to remove herself from her musings once more, and trotted over to a book she started reading earlier that morning. The three conscious ponies in the kitchen continued to chatter for several minutes, until the door opened. "You ready to go?" asked the previously catatonic Twilight Sparkle. Somehow, the three mares managed to bring her out of it and send her on her way.

"Yes, Trixie supposes she's ready to face the music," the blue mare answered before reluctantly following her hostess out the door.

~*///*///*///*~

Twilight had a very tactical approach to the events of the day, timed down to the minute of where they had to go and what had to be done. First, they would spend a planned forty-two minutes searching for the first and hardest pony for the blue mare to deal with: Rainbow Dash. Then, with any luck, they would finish in thirty minutes so they could intercept Applejack and Rarity when their paths would cross for all of four minutes. Trixie had doubts the plan would work, never mind go on schedule.

Still, she could not deny that walking around town had become far easier than it was just two days ago. It also did not hurt that she had eaten enough food to feed a small army, filling out her figure considerably since her arrival. Instead of looking ready to collapse into a pile of bones, Trixie merely looked a little too skinny. Plus, there were less hushed whispers surrounding her, but she still could not tell if this was a positive change, or not.

Either way, tracking down the sky blue Pegasus (who Trixie would later learn was the head weathermare of the town) proved to be a magic trick in of itself. Of course, this was a good way to get to know Ponyville. Like most small towns, it felt relaxed, yet busy in its own subtle way.

"Is this really such a good idea?" Trixie asked for the fourth time that morning as they walked down the street, away from the town square. "I mean, you know how I get when a pony challenges me, and Rainbow Dash seems to like nothing better than pushing my buttons: so how do you expect me to get along with her instead of bucking that little blue rump of hers?"

"That's why we're going to see her first," Twilight replied, "If you can handle being around her, then everypony else will be easy as pie. It's important that you make peace with those three so that you can go about making friends without them actively trying to rile you up. I'm not saying you have to make friends with my friends, but it would be a good place to start since... well... they're a forgiving bunch, most of the time."

"Could have fooled me," the azure mare remarked under her breath, recalling the events of the previous night. The two ponies turned down the open main street, filled with vendors and their carts and onto a smaller side-street. "Why are we going down there? Won't that irritating Pegasus be shopping on the main streets today... or does she prefer more back-alley shenanigans?" Trixie could almost smell the rainbow juice wafting off of the athlete.

"Well, she likes to nap and practice her stunts. You see, she aspires to join the Wonderbolts one day and has to keep herself in top physical shape. So, she usually goes to a nice, open spot away from ponies to practice, which means she might be at the park. This is just a shortcut I picked up in my time living here. Hard to believe it has been almost two years since I moved from Canterlot!"

Once more, the irritating purple mare started on another lecture. This time it was about all she had learned since moving to Ponyville. Time with Pinkie Pie had sharpened her skill for tuning out such annoyances, and she was only getting better at it the longer she stuck around. The two ponies trotted down the street, allowing Trixie to get a chance to glimpse another side of the town she had never seen. Beyond the pastel and cheery buildings on the main streets, filled with flower and candy shops and the like, there was another world.

Granted, it was a small town, and ponies did get bored quite easily without any hustle or bustle. However, down the small side-street, peppered between houses, Trixie saw what she assumed to be some sort of rave club, a filly-fooler bar, and a small theatre. Perhaps Ponyville was not exactly the hick town the azure pony first assumed? After all, she only maybe ever saw the road in, the town square, and the small streets she and Twilight walked down to avoid the crowds.

Eventually, Trixie decided to tune back in to the ramblings of the lavender mare, just on an off-hoof chance she decided they should split up. By the time she became aware of the words that spewed forth from her irritating mouth, they had already arrived at the entrance to the park. "...so we should really start scanning the sky for her," the blue mare tuned in to hear. However, casting her gaze skyward, the traveling magician could see nothing but a couple of lazy clouds floating idly.

"I don't see anything," Trixie spat, annoyed by the search for the stupid blue Pegasus.

"Well, we only just started looking," Twilight replied, trying to be patient with the blue pony. "I mean, I didn't figure we would find her for some time, and we only just started searching. Don't get your mane in a knot, we'll find her event---" However, she could not finish her sentence as she suddenly became blindsided by a streak of rainbow in the sky, vanishing from her spot in an instant, only to appear at the base of a tree with the Pegasus they sought jammed into her.

"I said, 'look out,' Twilight," she spoke to her lavender friend, ignoring the other mare for the moment. "But thanks for softening my landing a bit." She chuckled a little before her rosy eyes finally settled upon the blue unicorn, narrowing as she stepped off of her friend. "What the hay are YOU still doing in town? If you've come to push my buttons, then just shove off! You know what? I'm out of here, before you even start. I don't have time for lame-o's like you!" The Pegasus spread her wings, about to take to the skies once more.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted. "Please, Rainbow, just hear her out! We had a chat last night, and I forgave her for what she said. Please, just give her a chance to talk... for me?" Trixie saw the athletic Pegasus visibly shake as she grunted in frustration.

"Fine, only for you, Twilight," she replied, slumping as she folded in her wings. "Well? Out with it, you jerk!"

Trixie took a deep breath to calm down, reminding herself that she should let the comments the rainbow Pegasus made just slide off her back. "Before we go into what happened last night, let's look at the genesis of all this hostility. I can see that my performance all those months ago made the biggest impact on you and your fragile ego, so we'll talk about that first. You see, Rainbow Dash, as a traveling magician I HAVE to overstate my abilities and boast, or else I don't get to eat and this happens," she gestured to her slender form.

"What about that stupid Ursa lie you told everypony!? Sure, making yourself look good is fine, but you don't have to be so obnoxious about it!"

"I didn't expect an Ursa to waltz up the street, I can tell you that much. However, my usual levels of boasting did not seem to impress anypony here, so I fatefully swung wild. I will admit that it was not the best idea, given the over zealousness of those two foolish unicorns. It's called 'selling yourself,' Rainbow: I have to do it in order to make a living. Twilight tells me you want to be a Wonderbolt, right? Well, like all entertainers, you will have to sell yourself to them. Being confident is a big step, but it just isn't enough, understand?"

"So..." the Pegasus trailed, "...you're telling me all the annoying boasting you did was all a part of the act? That you made up the Ursa story just so you could get ponies to pay to see your weak and pitiful magic?"

Trixie bit her lip and simply nodded her head in reply. "Although, once upon a time I did deserve my title, but that is neither here, nor there. As for my behaviour at dinner last night, I get really defensive when a pony insults me. The Great and Powerful Trixie has a sense of honour that is easily threatened, since underneath... Trixie is... Well... I am sorry if I hurt anypony's feelings, but I am willing to start anew if you are willing to give me the chance to do so. Just one chance is all I ask of you."

"Fine," the Pegasus sighed after pausing to think about it for a few minutes. "However, if you put so much as a HOOF out of line, I'll kick your flank so hard that your parents will feel it! See you later, Twi." With that, the pony zoomed off into the sky once more, leaving a trail of rainbow in her wake. Considering the pony, it was about the best response she could ever hope for; which lent some promise that perhaps Twilight knew what she was doing after all.

"One down, two to go," the lavender mare chirped as she walked away from the tree and towards the magician.

~*///*///*///*~

Since they had managed to find Rainbow Dash, and got her to agree to give Trixie a second chance in record time, the purple mare decided that they had a little while to relax. To that end, she took the recovering unicorn to her favourite shop in Ponyville (and second favourite of all time, after Pony Joe's Doughnut Emporium): Mr. Shake's Shake Shop. "Can I get a Vanilla one, please?" she asked of the shopkeeper, producing her bits. "What would you like to order, Trix?"

"'Trix?'" the azure mare quoted with a measure of loathing at the moniker, "TRIXIE would like a Strawberry and Hay Smoothie, with extra hay, please." She glared at the purple mare. The nickname reminded her of a time before she discovered her love of performing and her cutie mark. As a filly, her parents would often have her in ads for the snack company and was even put on a cereal box once. It was more... embarrassing than aggravating to her though, since her folks would often call her that while on the set.

Once their order had arrived, the purple pony levitated both the glasses with her magic, leading the younger unicorn outside to dine on their treats. It only served to remind her just how useless she felt without her powers: almost like she was three years old again. "I'm sorry if that upset you, Trixie," Twilight apologized, "If he called you that before, then I can see why."

"No, you just reminded Trixie of how..." she almost added 'useless' to that sentence, but decided against it before continuing, "... of how her parents called her that when I was little. You know... we've actually met... once before. That was how I knew your name without being properly introduced."

"You did?" the lavender mare asked inquisitively as they drank their drinks. "When was this? I don't remember ever meeting you."

"I'm not surprised. As the protégé to Princess Celestia, I'm sure you have met FAR more ponies than you even CARE to remember."

"Oh... so... you know?" The blue unicorn nodded her head slowly in reply. "I... I didn't want tell you because I thought that would make you madder at me. You know, since I'm so privileged and you've had to struggle. It's not that I don't trust you, but I have to keep a lot of secrets around the princess, so I'm used to it... but not when it means seeing friends suffer, as I found out."

"Oh please," Trixie scoffed, "It would be so foalish to get even madder at you over something beyond my control. Besides, I figured it out MONTHS ago. Yes, I was pissed off at first, just as you said, but I took time to think about it and I realized something: it was better to be bested by the student of a goddess than by just a random pony. Not by a significant amount, mind you. Anyway, can I just tell the story here?"

"I'm sorry. Go right ahead."

"Well, to begin, my full name is Trixie Treats. Yes, as in 'The Treat family who owns Equestria Mills' so don't get your mane in a knot. When I was little... maybe about seven or eight, my parents were invited to the castle for tea with Princess Celestia. I didn't want to go, of course, since it was boring, especially at that age, but I had no choice since my nanny was on vacation. When we arrived, we were seated as soon as the Princess came in and had a little filly of her own trotting behind her." Twilight blushed visibly at that.

"I was excited at first that I didn't have to suffer alone, but instead of interacting, she just... sat at the table and read books the whole time! Even as she snacked and sipped the tea, she kept reading. When the princess tried to introduce us, YOU just gave an automatic answer and left me to fend for myself. Of course, I expected as much as soon as I saw you crack open that book."

"I'm sorry about that, Trixie," the scholar frowned. "I didn't get out much then and... and I had no interest in making friends. I thought I could do just fine with only my books."

"Whatever," she replied with a measure of spite. It was so far back in the past that the pony did not care in the slightest how sorry she said she was. After finishing their drinks and conversing a little further, Twilight returned the glasses to the shop owner before coming back outside to lead her on. Their new target was the small plaza where the farmer would set up an apple stand and sell some surplus produce they had leftover from winter.

Generally speaking, the cart did a fair sum of business, but not as well as after the height of Applebucking Season, or so Twilight droned. Sadly, the distance they needed to travel was so short that she did not have the time to tune her out before they arrived at the stand to find the orange hayse--- farmer and the white bi--- unicorn standing around. "Hey, Applejack! Rarity!" cried out the librarian as they drew close, prompting a small groan form the anxious blue mare.

"Howdy, Twilight," she spoke cheerfully before adding in a deadpan tone, "Trixie." Meanwhile, the other unicorn proceeded to ignore the blue one as she addressed the librarian. She did not pay much attention as the learned pony tried to convince them to at least hear her out. It was a verbal tennis match that she would rather not spectate, or else it might rile her up.

"Well, Trixie, do you have anything to say?" Twilight eventually asked, gaining the performer's attention once more.

"I suppose I do," she answered. "First, let me apologize for that show I did where I humiliated you. What you have to understand is that, as a performer, I HAVE to boast to make myself interesting. I had no intention as coming off as a braggart, but that happened anyway. As for my claim of defeating an Ursa Major, that was just because my normal levels of self-promotion were not cutting it. Now, about last night's dinner, I get rather defens---"

"Trixie," Applejack interrupted, "We figured out as much on our own, didn't we, Rarity?" The white unicorn nodded her head in reply. "Ah mean, we had some time ta think 'bout what you said last night... an' we both realized that ya had a point. Especially when ya said that we were treatin' you like you had done any more than bruise our egos."

"Indeed," continued the white pony. "We have been most unfair to you and we can not apologize enough. All you did was humiliate us just a little bit: it's nothing to start a vendetta over. That point aside, at least you tried to stop that horrible Ursa, even if it might have been only to protect your image. It takes courage to do something like that regardless and we failed to see that until now."

"So, if ya quit bein' such a loudmouthed braggart, ah reckon we can get past all this like it never happened."

"That and all of the useless bickering frazzles my mane to no end and I'm busy enough without having to brush it five times a day. So, do we have an accord, Trixie?" The blue mare had to think on it... for all of two seconds. If it would mean having everypony off of her back, then of course she could shelve the stupid bragging. Around them, at the very least.

"Of course, and to show you I am sincere, I would like to re-introduce myself," she spoke calmly, altering the tone of her voice so that it would not sound as smug as usual. "My name is Trixie. It is a pleasure to make both of your acquaintances." With that, she stepped forward with all the grace and class she could muster and shook both set of hooves, prompting a double wave of shock to wash over the faces of all ponies present. "What?" she continued in her usual smug tone. "I'm just being polite. Did you WANT me to be rude, because I can do that at the drop of a hat, if you'd prefer!"

"Shoot, ya didn' have to be all hoity-toity about it," breathed the farmer.

"Hmm... I just had an idea!" Rarity spoke in delight after surveying the unicorn. "Fluttershy had to cancel our weekly spa visit with me, so you should come, Trixie! I mean, your mane has split ends, you have BAGS under your eyes and your coat looks tattered and unkempt! Not flattering at all, darling. I'm afraid I can't let such a crisis continue unabated!"

"I don't... really think that's the best idea... I'm flattered, but..."

"I won't take no for an answer! Don't worry, Twilight, I'll escort her home so you can have some time alone with your mother. Come along!" Try as she might to escape her alabaster clutches, Trixie was dragged down the street by her tail with a pleading look on her face. However, Twilight just stood there, dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events... before remembering to think nothing less of the Element of Generosity.

~*///*///*///*~

Two hours later, after a marathon session at the Clear Waters Spa, two unicorn mares walked outside of the door, happily chatting back and forth. Trixie had to admit to herself that the spa left her feeling like a million bits. Her blue coat sparkled in the light of the sun and her mane bounced healthily as she gaited down the street. The spa ponies even threw in a free horn sharpening and buff that felt better then she could say in decent company.

Initially, she wrote off Rarity as a shallow fashion sheep. However, that was before she actually got to talk to her one-on-one. As their time inside marched on, she came to realize that she was actually a trend setter in her own right. Not to mention that she was THE Rarity that all of the fashion magazines swooned over, leaving a distinct tinge of red upon her white cheeks when she heard the news.

A lot of misconceptions were banished in that short time frame, allowing the two mares to draw close rather quickly. While Trixie learned just how creative and deep the white mare could be, Rarity learned that her spa buddy was far more meek than she ever thought possible. Even as they walked down the street with the white mare regaling her with a story, a lesson bestowed upon the blue mare came back to her.

"Inner beauty IS the most important thing in the world, darling, but if one doesn't have outer beauty as well and goes around like a tramp, then no pony will ever respect them. I mean, you wouldn't hire a pony if they looked like filth, now would you? Besides, I like to help bring out the inner charm and character of every pony I meet. It makes them feel better about themselves. You can't tell me that you don't feel a little better then when we first stated, now can you, Trixie?"

As well, they talked about Rarity's friends, and the showmare could draw some parallels between herself and each one of them. For example, both she and Applejack were stubborn, but hard workers while both she and Rainbow were confidant as all outdoors. "... and that is how I and Applejack got over our differences when our friendship first budded," she finished her story about Twilight's first sleepover, bringing the azure mare back to the present, although she hung on every word.

"I can just imagine Twilight reading that stupid book while that massive branch sat in the bedroom. I wondered where all the pine needles under the vanity came from," she giggled quietly as the mental image flashed across her mind. It may have been the scented candles, or the full-body massage, or even that strange leaf they made her eat to help her relax, but she felt as if she could sprout wings and fly off at any moment.

"Don't you feel much better by taking my advice now, darling?" The white unicorn smiled as her new friend nodded her head vigorously in reply. "Although, I think they may have given you a bit too much Blueshade since you seem a tad... giddy. Ah well, it will wear off in an hour or two and is thankfully not addictive. I must remember to give Aloe and Lotus a better tip next week."

"Okie doki lokie," she quoted Pinkie, causing a couple of giggles to escape from Rarity as well. Eventually, the two arrived back at the library, separating to go their own ways, since the fashionable mare had put off some orders just to go to the spa. In the back of her mind, Trixie could not help but feel guilty about it all, yet she felt just too good at that moment to really care.

"Hey there, looks like that spa trip did you a world of good, Trixie," Twilight smiled as the younger mare entered the building. She and Shimmer sat at a small table while they sipped on some tea and ate some cupcakes and various light cookies. The blue unicorn practically skipped over to the table and sat down, causing them to glance at each other. "Well, you just missed mom telling me the best work story ever!"

"Oh yes, but I can re-tell it," replied the older mare. "You see, I work as a bodyguard for the Prime Minister. About late November, he was asked to see Princess Celestia. Well, when we arrived at the gate, we saw a whole slew of balloons fly out of the window. We did our best, but Princess Luna still managed to nail him in the face. After that, apparently, she glued Princess Celestia to her office chair while they discussed the situation."

Trixie giggled airily at the story, still under the influence of the herb. If the effects only lasted an hour or two, then she was going to enjoy the endless optimism and mirth while she could. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Shimmer Tail in the library, allowing the two ponies to catch up with the occasional interruption from other friends of the librarian. The azure pony happily greeted each visitor and quickly developed a minor rapport with them, thanks to the plant.

It wore off all too quickly: leaving the azure mare melancholy over her powerlessness as she sat at the dinner table just a few hours later. If Twilight noticed, she probably chalked it up to the possible side-effects since she did not say a word, even as the unicorn picked at her food. Eventually, she gave up on eating and excused herself, slowly walking upstairs and onto the balcony, having to use her muzzle to open the latch: another reminder of how pathetic she was.

The crisp evening air sent a shiver down her spine. She let out a loud sigh, blanketing herself in a fog of her own breath. Looking up into the failing light of the day, Trixie could see the first, brightest stars begin to shine through the deep indigo of the late twilight hour. Why was she still alive? As a unicorn without a speck of magic, she had nothing to live for! She could not entertain; she could not even open most doors since she lacked practice with her hooves or teeth.

Tears began to stream from her eyes as she saw how pitiful, how helpless she was and how she imagined her master would react to seeing her this way. "What a foal," the dark side of her imagination made him speak. "You can't do any magic? None at all? How DARE you call yourself a magician, my heir... or even a unicorn at all! You might as well saw that useless horn off and live as an earth pony!" A soft sob passed her muzzle as her spiral into a fit of depression began. That was the reason she rarely left her Great and Powerful persona: sooner or later, she would become depressed over how she failed him.

"Hey, Trixie!" called out a voice from inside. "I found that tiara I asked you about yesterday! It was... Trixie?" Twilight stepped out onto the balcony, her magic gently gripping the head dress as she heard her sob softly. "Are... are you okay?"

"Leave me alone in my misery, Twilight Sparkle," the failed magician croaked, lying on the deck with her front legs covering her face. Instead, the nosy mare walked out further onto the deck, dropping her Element of Harmony as she went to comfort the sobbing pony.

"No. Tell me what's wrong. I want to help you. If there's anything you want to get off of your back, I promise you have my ear to chew on." She expected Trixie to push her away: to tell her to mind her own business and leave her to sort things out on her own. It came as a great surprise, however, when the blue mare latched onto her and cried hard into her coat. Despite her surprise, the lavender mare wrapped a hoof gently around the sobbing pony and brought her close, to keep her warm from the early night's chill.

"I failed him!" she wailed softly into her shoulder. "I'm no magician! I'm not even a real unicorn anymore! Even if he was alive, he'd never talk to me again! I've hurt ponies instead of making them happy! I've done nothing right ever since he died! I'm just a useless waste of space that shouldn't be alive! I don't deserve kindness, laughter or generosity towards me! I don't deserve any magic at all! I wish I was dead!"

"Shhh," the older mare soothed, gently stroking her mane with a hoof. "I once thought my life was worthless as well. However, a very wise pony told me that if I was meant to die, I would have done so already. Think of all the ponies that would miss you if you died! Surely your mom and dad love you no matter what. Then you have Pinkie and Fluttershy: they like you a lot, you know. I'm sure you also made a splash with Rarity today. Not to mention me. I could never live with myself if I let anything like that happen to you."

Trixie refused to comment; electing to remain affixed to Twilight and sob her aching heart out. It still hurt, his death, even after all those years. "He was my... he was my idol... my role model... my master... my best friend... he thought of me like a daughter... but I failed him! Not just... because I can't do... magic anymore but... because I... because I made everypony hate me... instead of fall in love with my magic!"

"Everypony makes mistakes," Twilight spoke softly, "You, Hoofdini, our mom, me... even Princess Celestia has made horrible, terrible mistakes. The... the trick is... is learning how to put that behind you... and move on. It's never too late to right a wrong. You just need to be given some love, and a chance to prove yourself. I know you refuse to see me as your sister... and I respect that decision... but I love you like a sister anyway, Trixie. Now, let's go back inside, before we catch something."

All she could do was nod at the suggestion, still crying her eyes out even as they walked back inside. She saw a shape of green in the doorway as they turned, Spike spying on them, obviously, but she was in no mood to care. "How about you tell me a story, Trixie? I'd love to learn about folklore of different towns. I've only ever been to Canterlot, here, and Appleloosa."

"Well... Trixie does know a few..."

"Can you please tell me one? It will get your mind off of how sad you are, I promise! I know a good book always does the same for me," she pleaded as they climbed up to the loft, their mom electing to sleep on a fold-out couch she had downstairs.

"Well... okay. It's worth a shot," she replied as she sat herself on the bed by the stairs, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "This is a story I heard in the small village of Coltsberg, on the other side of the Everfree Forest. You see... some ponies and little foals started disappearing... and they blamed a pony... a pony taller than Celestia herself... a pony who lacked a face... named Slendermane..." a small, almost invisible, smile crept upon her face as she started telling the scary story to the purple pony.

Over the course of the tale, the mare's coat turned from distinct lavender to the pale shade of her mother's coat. She clutched at the covers of her bed, eyes wide in gut-wrenching horror at her graphic depictions of the protagonist's brutal spiral into insanity. By the end of the story, she whimpered and shook in fright as the azure mare finished, "... and the very next morning, after a frantic search of the village... she was gone. Never to be heard from again. They say that if you go out into those woods, you will see ponies wearing masks just on the edges of your vision... all of them matching the descriptions... of the ponies that were taken. The End. Well, I must admit that really did the trick... good night, Twilight."

Without another word, the smirking mare blew out the candle, casting the room into darkness. She had a point, about how a good story could help her take her mind off the bad things. Trixie just hoped she had not scared her too much; little knowing the purple mare would not sleep that night. Of course, the next morning, she would make fun of the unicorn for being frightened of such a ridiculous story. Storytelling was a magic all its own.

"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 5 - The Heir of Hoofdini

The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser - Chapter 5: The Heir of Hoofdini

Later the next day, a curious sight presented itself to anypony who looked up into the early afternoon sky over Ponyville. It was a massive sphere with tiny wings, bobbing up and down on an erratic flight path across the breadth of the town. "Twilight?" Trixie called as she stood outside of the library, just about to go out with the others and enjoy a picnic in the park. "What the Sorrel Hells is THAT thing?"

The purple mare stepped outside and squinted her eyes to cut through the glare, trained on the object the blue unicorn pointed to. "That's Derpy Hooves. She's a mailpony and it's not very nice to call her a thing... unless you're talking about the object she's carrying."

"Well, of COURSE that is what I was talking about, you idiot!" she sighed. "Honestly, you NEED to get out more. If you think that I can confuse a pony with a... big black thing, then you have some real problems. I'd give you the address of a psychiatrist, but I think you are beyond help."

"Hmm," Shimmer Tail mused as she stepped outside to join her two fillies, followed by Spike who pulled a little wagon with a picnic basket and chequered blanket in it. "Looks like a cauldron to me."

"It must be going to Zecora. That would explain why she's heading for the Everfree Forest with it," Twilight reasoned before diving into yet another lecture: this time on who Zecora was and how she and her friends first met her. Trixie found it humorous how xenophobic the townsponies could be if they branded a Zebra as some sort of evil enchantress. She had encountered Zebras before in her travels and aside from the quirk of their constant rhyming she found them all quite hospitable.

Meanwhile, high in the sky overhead, the gray Pegasus wondered just how she got herself into her current predicament. Had it been stubborn pride, or was it sheer determination to show that she could be just as physical as anypony else? Either way, she felt like the mythical pony Atlas, trying to carry the universe upon her shoulders. Except, in this case it was a five hundred pound cauldron and she was struggling desperately to keep it from slipping from her hooves.

"Derpy!" called the voice of her boss earlier that afternoon. "We have a package here for Ms Zecora. Do you think you can take it over?" The gray Pegasus gave a salute and nodded her head before trotting into the backroom for the parcel. However, her jaw hit the ground when she saw the massive, black cauldron sitting in the middle of the room. Shaking her head, the mare trotted over and sized up the item.

Eventually, a plan of attack formed. The mailmare flew up to the lip of the tub and splayed herself over it so all four of her hooves gripped it tight. Straining her wings, she picked up the wrought-iron cauldron and fluttered over to the door, only for the width of the item to impact the sides. The sudden stop made her lose her grip, causing her to fall into the huge container with a resounding 'blong.'

"Use the carriage doors, you feather brain!" her boss exclaimed after applying a hoof to his face. "Any damage on that door comes out of your pay, so move it!" Putting herself into position once more, the addled Pegasus carried the cauldron out the other door and into the wild blue yonder.

Back in the present, sweat dripped profusely from her brow, all six of her limbs aching and desperate for release from this borderline form of torture. She did not dare drop her cargo, especially over town where it could cause severe damage, or even kill somepony if it landed on top of them. "Groundhog... cakes!" she muttered as she strained to keep aloft. The mailmare had already stopped twice to regain her strength. Besides, she had just flown over the border of the forest, meaning that her destination was only half a mile away at best.

Oh no, she thought after about ten more minutes of flying above the forest, almost at her destination. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't Slip! Don't Slip! Don't Slip! Her legs were slick with sweat from the exertion she put herself through, causing the smooth black iron of the huge pot to succumb to gravity despite how hard she tried to grasp it. A terrifying sound, like a hoof on a window sounded in her ears, meaning that the quarter-ton parcel was about to leave her grip.

All of a sudden, the amber-eyed Pegasus shot into the air before she could collect herself. A massive thud on the ground told her that she had lost her cargo. On the ground, a wild Manticore sat in a clearing in the woods, grooming itself after a tasty meal. Suddenly, something heavy fell on its scorpion tail, causing the appendage to lunge forward in reflex. The beast roared in agony from both the initial pain, and from the sting of its own tail.

Sure, Manticores were immune to their own poison; they would sting themselves all the time. However, the beast still became enraged beyond all rational (as far as a wild beast could go, at any rate) thought. Whatever had caused it pain was going to die! Looking up, he saw a flying pony looking down: obviously the one to hurt it.

"Uh-oh," muttered the Pegasus as she realized just what happened. The Manticore below let out a terrible, bone-chilling roar of agony and anger. It flexed its terrible, bat-like wings and focused only on the pony. Retribution would be swift and in the most primal, brutal way possible. The beast clawed at the cauldron and swatted it off with a single strike before bending his legs and springing into the air with terrible speed. Derpy Hooves was no Rainbow Dash, but she could have easily set a new record for the hundred-hoof sprint for town as the beast charged.

~*///*///*///*~

"There you are, Rainbow. What took you so long?" Twilight asked as the Pegasus descended from the sky. The group had decided to meet in the town square before continuing on to the park. That meant Trixie had to stand out in the open with all of those judgmental ponies for well over ten minutes before the rest of the lavender mare's troupe of friends could meet.

The town square brought back a lot of unpleasant memories for Trixie, mostly about that night with the Ursa. Every little bit of her caravan had been swept up, and all the damage done by the beast repaired: it was as if nothing ever happened. Then again, the showmare reminded herself that the town had suffered a massive fire that was reported in most of the newspapers in the country, so most of the damage from her... episode... probably burned away.

"I took a nap after my morning stunt routine and lost track of the time. Sorry if I left you hanging, Twi," she replied. "So are we going or not? Come on, I'm hungry!"

"Well, we all have to save room for tonight. I'm throwing Shimmer a farewell party since she has to go back to Canterlot tomorrow morning and that makes me really sad because I never really got a chance to talk much with her and she seems like a really nice pony and all, so I might ask for her address so I could send a letter an-"

"PINKIE PIE!" Rainbow shouted, annoyed by her ramblings. Trixie could not help but nod in silent gratitude, since the chromatic Pegasus seemed to be the only pony that could get the pink mare to actually shut up on command. "We know this already: you don't need to tell us again!"

"But the reader doesn't know that!" Pinkie whined.

"Pinkie," Applejack started, "Ya know we all love ya somethin' fierce, but when in the hay are you going to stop going on about that there 'reader' pony ya keep bringing up? Every time you do we get nothin' but bad news, sugarcube."

"Well, I can't help it! I'm just doing what the author says. Besides, the reader isn't a pony at all... they're some sort of hairless monkey in clothes," she chirped happily.

"Oh great, now there's another one," sighed Rarity as she held a hoof to her head. "This is getting old. Can we just move along with our picnic?" The rest of the ponies present decided to ignore Pinkie as she went on a ridiculous rambling rant. She did not seem to notice, so no harm, no foul.

Just as they were about to grab the pink party pony and move out, a grey Pegasus shot overhead, yelling about something distressing, judging by the tone. "Woo! Look at her go!" cried Rainbow in a light sense of pride and surprise at the speeding mare. "Way to go, Derpy! You show that mail who's the boss!" However, shortly after she flew over head, ponies cried out and started to stampede into the square.

"MANTICORE!" a red pony with a lily in her mane cried out as she darted past, just one of dozens screaming and running for their lives. Dust from the fleeing ponies kicked up all around them, sending the assembled ponies (and baby dragon) into a fit of coughing. When it settled, they found themselves alone in the square, no sound other than the approaching steps of the beast present.

"Oh great!" Twilight exclaimed. "Well, considering that it's a Friday, we shouldn't be surprised. Strange stuff happens to me and my friends around Friday," she added, sensing the confusion present on Trixie's face. "Fluttershy, can you go and try to calm it down please? Your way with animals will probably save the day without a problem, and then we can continue with our picnic."

"Oh...okay, Twilight," the Pegasus with the strawberry mane replied. "I hope it's the one we met when we went to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon. He was such a cutie and---" she cut herself short, noticing the glares from her other friends. In an instant, she knew she had said too much and continued, "I'll just... get going then."

However, she did not have far to travel as the enraged monster stomped into the square, knocking over merchant carts with every swap of his pony-sized paws. Seeing ponies in its line of sight angered it more, especially since it could not find the Pegasus that first hurt it. Other ponies had tried to stop the creature as it advanced: a wing hung limply at his side, broken. The yellow pony of the group bravely walked forward with a soothing smile plastered upon her face.

Trixie stood at the sidelines, watching in awe as the gentle Pegasus approached the horrible monster more readily than she approached the azure mare herself. Did this pony have no fear, or was it simply because the creature was not a pony, which lead to a sudden, exponential growth in confidence? She had said something about dealing with them before, and something about Nightmare Moon, but that was just some old mare's tale. It could not actually be true, could it?

At first, the creature was confused: this pony did not charge, nor did she flee from it. However, anger overrode the curiosity as a fresh wave of pain from his injured tail, backside (where the stinger struck) and wing returned two-fold. He roared fiercely, yet it would not deter the pony. "Aw, you poor thing," she spoke softly, wings flared as she approached the Manticore. "It's no wonder why you're so cranky. Now, if you'll just calm down and let me have a tiny little look, I promise that I can help make the pain go away."

In the flash of an eye, the horrible Manticore raised one of its massive front paws; claws extended, and administered a sudden, powerful swipe at the yellow mare. She flew through the air, out of her own control and landed in a heap after crashing into a cart, instantly knocked unconscious from the blow to her head. Everypony gasped and cried out her name, seeing her lying in a wreck, a hoof at an odd angle with small trails of blood coming from her nose.

"Mom!" Twilight called out, suddenly realizing the situation would hardly be shrugged off. "Get Spike and Trixie out of here, now! Find some place safe for them to hide while we deal with this beast!"

"Now, wait a minute!" Trixie voiced in indignation. "Why are you tossing me into the same boat as Spike? Surely I could do something! Maybe serve as a distraction? Please! I want to assist! I want to show that I meant all I said!"

"No time to argue!" she shouted in reply as the rainbow Pegasus rushed forward in defence of her felled friend. "Besides, you don't have any magic, and you'd just get in the way!" The rest of the ponies (mostly Rarity, as she was a fellow unicorn) gasped in surprise at the revelation. This only served to aggravate the blue unicorn.

"Twilight! You promised not to tell!" the failed magician cried with some measure of hurt. "How DARE you say that I would just get in your way! I know my limits, and I wouldn't push myself more then I know I can handle!" However, as the two unicorns argued, the rainbow Pegasus had already started circling the monster at full speed, creating a tornado of rainbow to obscure its vision. She would not make the same mistake as the last time, and kept her eyes constantly glued on the beast's tail, little knowing that the appendage was not likely to flail at her.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't risk it! Now hurry up and go find them!" In the short gap of time, Shimmer Tail had done her duty and grabbed the mischievous baby dragon by the tail before galloping away from the scene, much to his disdain.

"No! I refuse to be babysat by you anymore, Twilight Sparkle!" she spat. "I don't care how many Manticores there are! You are NOT going to shrug me off like a little foal and you will just have to accept it! As you said, we don't have TIME to argue, so I'm staying and there is NOTHING you can do about it!"

Twilight made to start an argument about how wrong and stupid she was being, but a sudden yelp and cry of "GANGWAY!!!" from Rainbow was their only warning to move, or be mowed down by the speeding pony. They all managed to avoid her just in time as she slammed into the base of the fountain; cracking it just enough to let tiny streams of water gush out and wash down her mane. The Pegasus moaned and raised a hoof to her aching head, eyes spinning in their sockets. "I think I'm going to be sick," she moaned.

In a matter of seconds, the rainbow tornado she conjured vanished from existence, revealing the very dizzy Manticore behind it. As soon as it figured out what happened, it roared again, spraying saliva from beyond the sharp teeth it possessed. The ponies quickly scattered from their place as it charged. "We'll have to work together!" cried Twilight as she desperately tried to formulate a plan on the fly.

Meanwhile, the monster stopped dead in the middle of its charge, its eyes darted from pony to pony, trying to find the weakest of the group to attack first. All of a sudden, a weight hit the small of the creature's back, causing it to roar and buck wildly. The pony on its back let out a loud, "YEEHAW!" as she slipped a rope over its head. Applejack rode the beast like she would a bucking bronco at the rodeo: she figured the mythical beast would be easy pickings.

That assumption would quickly turn out to be a big mistake. The beast still had some tricks up its proverbial sleeve. It pushed through the pain and swatted at the orange filly with the stinger-tipped appendage, sending her flying off of its back and into a heap on the cobblestone street. "We got ourselves a live one!" Applejack smirked as she pulled herself up.

A soft lavender glow encased the snarling Manticore before gently lifting off the ground. It flailed its legs in vain desperation to escape the telekinetic grasp of Twilight Sparkle and growled as it realized they had it cornered. Then Rainbow Dash, thinking their victory was assured, charged at the apparently helpless beast.

It saw its chance and capitalized on it, despite not being one of the brightest creatures around.The monster grabbed hold of her as she zoomed close, the force causing it to turn in the magical hold before releasing her, sending the Pegasus on a collision course with the mare who cast the spell. Even a Manticore could see the soft glow of working magic around a unicorn's horn.

Rainbow Dash slammed into the lavender mare, sending her flying into the fountain in the square. The sheer force of the strike cracked the base of the white-stone statue on top, making it wobble unsteadily before the loose head of the pony figure snapped off and impacted the unicorn on her skull. "Twilight!" the azure unicorn cried as the scholar slumped into the fountain.Trixie galloped across the square to find her in a small splotch of red water forming around her head, thankful her muzzle stayed above the surface of the water so she could breathe.

The Pegasus lay on her back beside Twilight, none the worse for wear besides the constant ache she felt all across her body. A soft moan sounded to her side, the lavender mare still conscious, if only just. "Come on, Pinkie! Looks like it's up ta us!" cried a voice from beyond. In light of everything going on around her, the athletic flier decided at that very moment to never charge into something ever again... at least, until she forgot and did it anyway.

Pinkie Pie hopped around the attacking Manticore, defying logic by not being where the monster had slammed its paws into the cobblestone. Every time it thought it squished the annoying pink pony, she popped up somewhere else, giggling. "You're not very good at this game, are you?" she asked with a sigh of disappointment after suddenly appearing on its head. "I really expected you to be a pro at this, since you guy eat moles, right? Whack-a-mole is my most favourite game EVER. Well... maybe after Pin the Tail on the Pony, or darts, but you know that I mean."

While the bubblegum mare continued to distract it, Rarity used her magic to pull as much rope, twine and string to her as possible to make enough rope for the farmer to ensnare the rampaging monster. Everypony seemed able to contribute something to the effort, except for Trixie, who scuffed her hoof next to the fountain. They were giving their all to defend the town, but there she stood, about as useful as a woodpecker in a petrified forest.

However, the Manticore became bored with the pink pony and lunged forward like a rocket, swiping at the orange farmer. Applejack cried out in surprise before being batted into a store window, shattering all the glass and landing inside. "Hey! That wasn't very nice!" Pinkie cried before the monster seized its moment and bucked the pink pony off of its back. Her eyes spun as she lay flat by the edge of the fountain, hitting her head on the cobblestones.

All that stood between the raging monster and the rest of Ponyville at that moment was a duo of unicorn mares: one talented with precision and bringing the inner beauty out in things and the other a powerless waste of space. Trixie looked to Rarity, her eyes wild in desperation. "Well, now what do we do!?" the azure pony cried out.

"I have no idea, but we'd better do it fast!" she replied, the monster slowly approaching them.

Trixie bit her lip, trying desperately to think of something, anything, to get them out of the jam they found themselves in. She had experience in working her way out of tight spaces, but every plan required something she did not have: magic. Sure, Rarity had magic, but the blue mare did not think she could pull off any powerful illusions. It was all beginning to turn hopeless. Her mind quickly brought her back to the Ursa Incident: she could easily turn tail and abandon the town for the sake of self-preservation.

The alabaster unicorn took matters into her own hooves, as her light blue counterpart had taken the inopportune moment to space out. She turned the makeshift-rope she made for Applejack and thrust it at the approaching Manticore, hoping to tie up its legs and keep it immobile until Twilight could recover and teleport it somewhere else, or something of the like.

Ponies lay all around the failed magician, injured as they fought passionately to defend their businesses, their homes and their friends from the rampaging beast. "Always remember, Trixie," spoke an ethereal voice in the back of her mind. At first, it startled her until the foggy wisps of a memory played out in her mind.

The young mare stood on the stage of a small theatre in a town she had long-forgotten. Its stage creaked and groaned a little with each hoofstep, showing its age. Before her stood the magnificent stallion without his tophat or cape, looking down on her with a shadow of a smile. "Always remember, Trixie," the stallion spoke to the tired filly. "Magic is like any other substance in this world. It requires certain elements and conditions to run."

"What are they, Sir?" the filly of about eleven inquired curiously.

He walked over to her, standing tall and proud over the submissive student. His soft green eyes bore holes into her, as if laying her soul bare before him. "The first element is the easiest to acquire: imagination. If you can see it in your mind's eye, then you can make it so! But, you need some... oomph, some power behind it to get it to work: just like with anything else in life."

"And... what is the second element?"

"It is known by many things, my young apprentice, but I prefer to call it 'The Spark. ' Other ponies call it Friendship," he gently swatted the filly when she rolled her eyes. "Friendship is the most available, easiest to tap source of magic around. Sure, there are others, but having some very good friends can make a unicorn... no, anypony... as powerful as any arcane ritual or dark siphoning spell. Do not scoff it or ignore it, or else you may find yourself faced with a challenge you cannot conquer because your magic has become so weak!"

"All right, Sir, I won't," she replied with disinterest towards his wizened words.

"I'm being serious here, kid!" he added with a measure of annoyance in his voice. "If you ever forget that, I swear by the creators that I'll tan your sorry hide from here to Cape Shetland!" She winced at the sudden outburst and nodded her head more sincerely. "Good, now let's go get some lunch. We have a hard evening of drills to run through."

By the time the memory finished playing out in her mind; Rarity was struggling to add more ropes and material to her restraints on the monster. It constantly bit and clawed at the bindings, becoming more enraged with every added fibre. Trixie felt tears well up in her eyes over how truly she failed her master. Even as stunned ponies around her began to stir and regain their composure, she could not see them as anything but broken and too hurt to carry on.

Despite everything she had done, these fillies extended the olive branch to her (eventually) and made Trixie feel like she belonged. Even if they did not particularly like her, since she knew she could be, well, irritating at times. Yet here they were, defending their town, each other, and even her. The azure mare had only known each of these ponies for a few days at best, but she found she wanted to help them in their plight, no matter the consequences she would incur for herself.

Suddenly, the azure mare's eyes went wide as a strange new feeling swept over her. It felt like a wave of pleasant warmth had washed over her cold body, like getting into a steaming bath on an icy winter's night. A fire, long dormant, ignited in her chest. It could only be 'The Spark' that he had told her about those many years ago. Trixie slowly walked over, ignoring the cries for her to turn back.

The beast had ripped away most of the restraints, the alabaster unicorn becoming too tired to maintain a decent hold on them. "Rarity," she spoke as she passed, "Let me handle this annoying little pest."

"Trixie?" moaned a slightly concussed Twilight, blood still seeping from her head wound, "What are you doing!? Get out of the---" However, looking at the younger unicorn, her jaw dropped. "No! Don't do it! This isn't worth it!" she cried out, struggling to vault over the fountain to stop the reckless magician. She had no magic, yet her horn was alight in a soft fuchsia glow.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow asked in confusion, pulling herself up to look. "Isn't it a good thing she has her magic back?"

"Normally, yes, but I think she's using her LATENT magic!" Spying the confused look on the Pegasus, she elected to explain with the short version. "All ponies have latent magic, but only unicorns can tap it. Basically, she's using her... her soul, her spirit to fuel the spell!"

Trixie could hear her words, causing her to roll her eyes as she stood no more than five hooves from the now free monster. Twilight must have really doubted her if she thought she would do something so foalish. "I'm going to give you a single chance," she spoke to the beast, "Leave town right now, and never come back... or I'll throw you out myself!"

Naturally, the towering Manticore did not care about this new participant in the fray, for it had bested other unicorns before. The beast roared with all the ferocity and might it could muster in an attempt to make her shrink back and flee. Saliva rained forward, coating the azure mare in a thick layer of the fluid, but she did not even flinch.

The magician met the eyes of the beast, bored by the primal display of power. Still, if it wanted to play that way, then she could oblige. She puffed out her chest and took a deep breath, filling her lungs to capacity. Something big would be needed to properly scare the infuriating creature in front of her. Immediately, an idea sprung to mind, causing a jocular smirk to crack across her face just at the thought.

With her magic, she amplified and altered the pitch and tone of her voice letting out a bellowing howl that caused everypony around to drop their jaws in shock. If she were not so focused on the task at hoof, she would have joined them since it had been months since she had altered sounds. Even the beast looked a little taken aback, its face blank and eyes blinking in rapid succession. Yet, it was not properly scared. Not yet, anyway.

Trixie's body began to shimmer and cascade into an aura of soft lavender. Her matte coat began to sparkle and glisten as tiny points of light speckled her flank. Sky blue suddenly became a darker, transparent indigo, her mane and tail retreating into her body as her eyes turned red and yellow. She bubbled and twisted as she grew in size, hooves becoming paws, teeth becoming jagged, head rounding out as her horn disappeared into her head.

The magician growled to fit her new role in the play: going from the wiry thespian to the buff (okay, so it was more fat) star in one moment. She towered over the buildings of Ponyville, roaring once more in triumph over the success of her spell. In place of the small, weak little unicorn there stood a large, powerful, and angered Ursa Minor.

"Holy shoot!" exclaimed Applejack in surprise as she dragged herself out of the building, coat dotted with thin trails of blood. No pony else could move or speak at what they just bore witness to: even Twilight could never handle transformation magic on that scale!

The Manticore cast its gaze skyward at the giant Ursa, now directly under the beast's head. However, it would not go down without a fight! The foolish and injured monster jumped onto one of the tree-sized paws and started clawing and biting at the creature. The former mare casually shook the titanic appendage and sent the beast hurtling into a building, glass, stone and wood raining all around it.

Trixie rolled her eyes at the pitiful attempt to bring her down. Yet, she had to admit that maintaining the spell proved just a little more taxing then she realized. It did not matter to her in the slightest, but it might worry everypony else, so she decided she would end it quickly. After all, it had caused enough pain and bits in property damage for one day.

The blue bear reached into the ruined building and extracted the Manticore from it by the tail. She held the flailing monster up to her face and sent concussive blasts of sound hurtling towards the beast's frail form, nearly giving it a heart attack. It must have figured she was going to eat it, since it began to struggle more the closer she brought it to her drooling maw. Trixie snorted, humid breath curling its mane, and tossed the desperate creature a few hundred meters into the air.

Catching it once more by its tail, she began to twirl the beast like a flail, standing on her hind legs to give more height and distance to her throw. The creature howled and cried in desperation, blurred into a single incomprehensible noise by the forces of physics. Trixie gave a toothy smirk, the horrible Manticore reminding her of a foal's toy she used to have.

Then she let go, sending the monster flying towards the dark heart of the Everfree Forest. It gave one final cry of fright as it flew off into the distance, becoming a speck on the horizon. Trixie gave one last roar in triumph as her body shrank and turned back into that of the pony they all knew. She reared on her hind legs, the forward ones kicking at the air as if she were running. "And DON'T you come back, lest you face The Great and Powerful Trixie once more!"

Silence permeated the square, ponies that hid themselves in their homes, or stayed on the edges of the battlefield chancing to come closer. Trixie fell forward, standing on four hooves once more as she shook some sweat from her brow. Only then did she become aware of all the eyes upon her, making the azure magician look around and blush. Twilight, the rest of the gang, and all the other ponies... even Shimmer Tail and Spike looked upon her with mouths agape.

Trixie bit her lip, unsure what would happen next. Would they hate her, dub her as evil, and chase her out of town? No normal pony could do what she had done, but they did not know it was all fake. "Um..." she trailed, looking for words, "That was a trick? I mean, it was an illusion: nothing really got destroyed, so don't get your tails tied in a collective knot!"

Applause: thunderous, wondrous applause filled the square as everypony stamped their hooves upon the cobbled road, cheering in excitement and awe at the display of powerful magic. "Three cheers for The Great and Powerful Trixie!" shouted a colt somewhere in the crowd. "Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!" everypony chimed in. It was the magician's turn to become speechless as the others came over, adding their own words of congratulations and excitement to the din.

As the crowd closed in on the azure pony, they broke out into song to the tune of 'For she's a jolly good filly.' So that's what it takes to earn some respect around here? she mused. You just have to save this town, and you're considered as close as a life-long citizen. There would be another time to ponder the phenomena. For now, she needed some rest, and her companions... her friends needed their wounds treated.

~*///*///*///*~

In the days following the fight, the azure mare felt more at home in the town of Ponyville then she did in her native Canterlot. Walking down the streets, she would get at least five ponies saying hello to her and wishing her a nice day before they moved on with their tasks. In fact, the party to send her birth mother off was twofold: to celebrate a wonderful visit and the return of Trixie's magic.

As much as she liked this new-found sense of belonging and kinship, the magician could not deny her calling. "What do you mean, you're not staying!?" Twilight cried three days after the incident. "The library is big enough to hold you... if it's because you don't want to stay here with me, we can go see the Mayor. I'm sure she'd be happy to find a place for you."

"It's not that simple," she calmly replied. "Your place is here with your books. I just... I'm not ready to be tied down to a single place. Maybe one day I'll come back to stay, but not for a long time yet. I'm a TRAVELING magician, Twilight. I can't deny my destiny."

It had been a struggle to convince her that she had to go, but eventually the learned mare caved and realized that she could not stop her, even if she tried. Trixie stood outside the edge of town the very next day, reflecting on her week and a half in the most horrible place in the world... and how it had become more precious to her than any other settlement she had ever known.

Never in her life had she felt more accepted and welcome, except for maybe her home in Canterlot with her parents, but she was a grown mare now. As much as she was loathe to admit it, the town had become less of a nightmarish hell hole than she had come to label it as. But, she had to move on and let the world gaze upon the NEW Great and Powerful Trixie. Even if Ponyville had become almost like a second home to her.

"Are you sure you have to do this, Trixie?" Twilight asked once more as the rest of their friends arrived to see the magician off.

"Yes, Twilight. Like I said, you belong here, studying the magic of friendship for the princess. My place is upon the open road, dazzling the masses with Trixie's awesome magic!" she grinned as they groaned at her attitude.

"You just keep that ego o' yers in check, ya hear?" Applejack chided, still bandaged over her more serious wounds.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" the azure mare promised, going through the motions of the typical Pinkie Pie Swear. Speaking of the excitable mare, she swiftly appeared beside the unicorn and gave her a big hug, babbling on about something unrelated, of course.

"Now, darling," Rarity started over the din, "Just remember what I told you about inner beauty and I'm sure you won't have to worry one bit about becoming that obnoxious braggart again."

Trixie smiled and nodded her head. "None of you need to worry about Trixie. There will always be a piece of her here, so it's not like we're really parting ways."

"Well, that's good. If we hear otherwise, we're going to track you down and beat some sense into that thick skull of yours!" Rainbow added snidely. Trixie nodded her head and smiled at the rainbow Pegasus.

"I'd welcome that, actually. Creators know that The Great and Powerful Trixie needs the occasional reality check. If any of you spot my caravan during any of your misadventures, feel free to drop by. It gets... lonely out on the road sometimes and I could always use a laugh. Oh, and could you all please STOP telling Trixie to watch her ego? She's not deaf and she doesn't have a memory problem. Stop squawking at her!" Most of the ponies present just rolled their eyes and shook the comment off, used to the blue mare's smugness by then.

Fluttershy nodded her head and shuffled some of the dirt around with her good front hoof. She had not spoken a word to Trixie since she heard about how she handled the Manticore, but the others had told her that they felt it might have been for the best. She just felt sorry she could not find it to tend to its injuries than anything else. "Have fun," she muttered quietly when everypony else stopped talking.

"Well... if you're really going through with this, then you forgot to pack something," Twilight spoke, pulling a purple unicorn doll out of her saddlebags. "I enchanted them with a spell I found in a book. If you whisper my name into her ear and then talk, I'll be able to hear you though mine." She pulled out her own azure plush doll, handing off Trixie's Bella back in an exchange of telekinetic magic. "So... if you ever want to talk, we can keep in touch since you'll be moving around and the mail will have a tough time finding you."

"Thanks, Twilight," the blue unicorn spoke before gently stuffing her doll under the tarp of her wagon and inside the trunk.

"Just promise me one thing, Trixie," the lavender mare added sternly as Trixie hooked herself into the yoke of her cart, after shaking off Pinkie Pie, (quite literally) of course.

"Fine, what is it?"

"Promise me... Promise me that you'll keep safe. That... that you won't let your ego get out of hoof."

Trixie snorted, groaning in frustration over the overprotecting librarian. "Seriously, Twilight, if you or anypony else mentions keeping my ego in check just one more time, I'll backhoof you from here to Canterlot!" she replied in annoyance. "Of course Trixie promises to keep safe. I'm not a daredevil like Rainbow and I'm not a foal either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Your suffocating kindness is making me tardy for my next performance!"

The lavender scholar nodded her head, remembering the show she had put on for the town as a way to thank them all for their new-found hospitality. The difference in quality between her performances at Ponyville was staggering. Everything seemed far more real and impressive. The azure mare wheeled her cart around, facing toward the woods down the path she came. She started slowly down the road, before deciding to speak again. "See you later... big sister."

Twilight and the rest of her friends stood at the edge of town, waving goodbye for several seconds. The lavender mare had almost not heard those last couple of words, as if she did not want anypony to hear them, but spoke them aloud anyway.

"Did she just..." Applejack voiced in recognition. However, before she could get the full thought out, the librarian interrupted her.

"Yes. Yes, she did." Twilight Sparkle smiled as she watched the magician walk off into forest. A feeling the likes of which she never experienced before flooded to the surface. For the first time, she had an idea of what it was like to have a sibling who shared a mutual respect and love for her. I'll see you soon, little sister, she thought as she reluctantly turned away.

Trixie trotted down the winding forest road, cart practically floating behind her as she whistled a tune she picked up in some town long ago. For the briefest of seconds, she thought she could see Hoofdini among the trees, nodding in approval. A smile crept upon her face as she took that as a sign she was doing the old coot proud again. For once, the future looked bright. For now she took up the title of 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' out of respect for the memory of her fallen mentor. Trixie did not need to hide anymore: not when she had ponies who thought of her as a friend. Not when she had a sister whom she loved more than anypony else in Equestria.

--- The End. ---

"Reluctant Reunions" Chapter 3 - An End and a Beginning

The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser - Chapter 3: An End and a Beginning.

Trixie stood alone on the large, elegant stage while wearing her trademark hat and cape. A bright spotlight shone in her eyes, obscuring the theatre and the occupants from view. She squinted and put a hoof in front of her face before realizing she was in the middle of a show. The mare let out a soft gasp, swiftly lowering her hoof to put on her Great and Powerful Trixie persona. "Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts! Foals of all ages! The Great and Powerful Trixie is here to dazzle and AMAZE you with feats of awesome magic!"

Stifled giggles from a few inconsiderate fillies echoed through the cavernous, infinite theatre, causing Trixie to stumble upon her words a little. However, years of experience had given the showmare the ability to bounce back easily. She ignored their heckling and resumed her show, more giggles sounding from beyond. Soon after she started, the giggling evolved into full-on laughter, no matter what awesome feats of magic she performed.

"Okay!" Trixie shouted, "The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that somepony turn off that irritating and blinding spotlight this instant!" After a couple of seconds of delay, the bright offending light turned off, casting the theatre into darkness as her eyes tried to adjust. Meanwhile, the laughter had grown to absurd and obnoxious levels, echoing off the endless walls of the venue.

The magician felt a chill run across her entire body: the entire theatre was empty save for six seats near the front. "Why are you laughing at Trixie, you inferior KNAVES!?" All six of the ponies she met in that wretched Ponyville, even the pink and yellow ones who had not insulted her before, chortled and roared with laughter.

"Ya ain't great and powerful," snorted the orange hayseed.

"You certainly don't LOOK it anyway. I mean, you're nothing more than skin and bones," the white unicorn continued. Trixie looked down at herself to find her cloak missing, revealing her malnourished figure and skinny legs. She blushed in embarrassment and shrunk a little on the stage, forgetting she was in the middle of a show, before everything vanished completely into darkness.

"Not to mention... that you... I can't finish! It's just TOO funny!" The annoying rainbow-maned Pegasus giggled in fits between her words, tearing up in laughter.

"I'll say it for you, friend," that insidious lavender one smiled, "You've got no magic, Trixie." Twilight giggled a little at first before it quickly rose into a disturbing crescendo that she did not hear outside of cartoons. "Well, on the bright side, you don't have to worry about me calling you my sister anymore. There's no way I'd associate myself with a unicorn as weal and pathetic as you, Trixie."

She felt her lower lip tremble as tears welled in her eyes for no apparent reason. Trixie hated that mare the most out of the group: so why did her comments sting more than the others? More laughter rang out through the vast expanse of blackness, causing her to weld her eyes shut and turn away from the audience. The shame overwhelmed her fury, tossing her into a melting pot of swirling emotions. Her world spun as the laughter echoed, eventually overpowering her senses.

Trixie woke with a start, nearly tossing herself out of the bed and onto the wooden floor below. Her covers lay askew in the soft morning light, barely covering her azure form. She sighed as she realized it was all a dream, then noticed an indigo tail sticking up from the opposite side of the bed. Cautiously, the magician dragged herself out from the tangle of blankets and over to where her fellow unicorn bent.

"What are you doing, Twilight Sparkle?" she asked impatiently. Trixie smirked when the lavender pony jumped and hit her head on the bottom of the bed: a small consolation prize to start off the day. She pulled herself out from under it, her head in the box the magician dug through the day before.

"Oh! Trixie! Good morning!" her voice sounded, muffled from inside the box. Twilight pulled her head out and looked at the glaring mare, shrinking a bit. "Um... have you, by any chance, seen a... a tiara with a large, purple star on it?"

"You mean the tacky one with the amethyst jewel? Yeah, Trixie saw it. Kicked it somewhere, so it's probably under a bed or dresser or something with the other disturbing knick-knacks," she answered.

"You went through my box!?" Twilight raised her voice, her expression rapidly going from betrayal to fear before finally settling on embarrassment, "I guess I deserved it... Especially after the spell... I'm sorry about that, Trixie... It's just... When I get stressed out I stop thinking straight and with you injured and our mo- Shimmer Tail here... I just---"

"Words are cheap, Twilight Sparkle," Trixie huffed, pointing her snout skyward. A wave of warmth suddenly washed over her body, tickling her a little.

"I'm going to trust you, Trixie, like I should have right at the beginning. I've got no right to chain you up... my mom chewed me out last night for it after you went to bed. I haven't felt this... well, ashamed. Can you ever forgive me?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie can never forgive you for what you have done to her! However, she believes she possesses enough mercy to delay your well-deserved punishment until later. You will not know where, when, or how, but it is coming, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie can promise you that!"

Free once more, the livid magician marched down the loft, through the door, and down the stairs. At the bottom stood the white unicorn mare with the two-tone mane of purple and white, looking upon her with that... sparkle in her eyes. "Trixie," she spoke softly, "I guess you're leaving now, but before you do, may I have a word with you? Please? It would mean the world to me."

Trixie paused about halfway down the stairs and starred at the unicorn. She had actually asked her to do something, as opposed to the purple one ordering her around, meaning she could refuse if she wanted to. However, the showmare owed her freedom to her, so she would show the gratitude she earned. The azure pony nodded her head and replied, "The Great and Powerful Trixie does owe you for setting her free and she never forgets favours. So yes, you may have a word with her before she departs."

"Please, follow me to the basement," the older mare started, "These walls have ears." Sure enough, after a nonchalant kick of her back-right hoof, the door opened to find Spike hiding behind it. He grinned sheepishly, knowing his cover had been blown before retreating, citing something along the lines of re-sorting in the crawlspace under the floor.

Silently, the azure magician followed the white pony into the kitchen and through a door that lead into the basement of the library. Despite being made of wood, it was not as dank down there as she expected, although it was a little on the dark side. After reaching the bottom of the stairs, and dodging the various stacks of books and electronic equipment, Shimmer Tail turned around to face Trixie, the sparkle back in her eyes.

"What is it you wanted to say to The Great and Powerful Trixie? Are you going to beg her to stay?" she asked.

"No, Trixie. You are a grown mare, so it is not my right to boss you around... not anymore. I know Twilight has told you that she is your older sister."

"Trixie has no siblings," the azure mare spoke bluntly.

"She wasn't lying when she told you that, but she is wrong for trying to MAKE you feel the same way towards her. I'm going to be blunt with you, Trixie. Twilight and you are both my daughters. However, unlike Twilight, I'm not telling you this to seek your approval. I just wanted you to know that I exist, and that I'll be here for a while yet in case you ever need a helping hoof. You're old and mature enough to form your own opinions about me."

"Well," Trixie started, "Trixie is grateful that you're not going to force anything upon her, unlike that insipid Twilight Sparkle. But Trixie has heard too many tales of the like to believe you. Trixie will not accept forged documents: only the truth will do for her."

"How about this?" Shimmer Tail asked, "If I can tell you a couple of things you have never told anypony before, will you at least acknowledge that I am not lying to you about this?"

"Trixie will consider it, but not acknowledge anything, Shimmer Tail."

"That's all I ask," the elder mare replied, "For one, you and Twilight both have stuffed unicorn dolls. Yours is purple with an indigo mane and tail. Hers is sky blue with white. However, they both have something in common: on the tags of each are three purple stars that look exactly like my cutie mark. Furthermore, you have a birthmark in the shape of a diamond on your left flank. Finally, like Shimmer, you have little trouble speaking in the third-pony perspective, although unlike her, you seem to have less control over it."

Gears turned and groaned inside of Trixie's skull as this new, disturbing information processed in her mind. It was doubtful she could know all of that without knowing where to look, so coming across such details was unlikely. The azure mare's eyes narrowed as new questions buzzed around in her mind. "If you're really The Great and Powerful Trixie's mother, then answer this: Why did you give her up? How come you never looked for me!?"

Shimmer Tail looked toward the ground in a mixture of shame and pity, scuffing the stone floor with a hoof. After a couple of seconds, she looked back up at her, shadows of tears building in her eyes. "When your father died," she said, "Shimmer couldn't support herself and a foal. Twilight was off at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, so she didn't need to worry about her. Shimmer... I tried to get a better job, but I simply couldn't without betraying a promise I made to somepony years before.

"So, with no other option, I had to give you up, Trixie. It was the hardest decision I ever made... but if I could go back in time, I would do it all over again. Do you know why? Because no matter how hard it was, I did it because I love you and only wanted the best for you... Trixie... you did have a good foalhood, right?"

The azure mare thought on that for what seemed like for ages. She could see weekends in the park with her dad, tea with her mom, and all the other fillies and colts she was friends with back in the day dancing in front of her waking mind, like some old home movie. Trixie closed her eyes and nodded, "Yes, Trixie did have a good foalhood."

"Now, as for why she hasn't tried to find you," the elder mare continued, "Shimmer had to work constantly to support herself, and only just managed to get by, since she could not do what she was best at until recently. So, she gave Twilight Sparkle the task of finding you, which she succeeded at... to mixed results as you know. Shim- ... I can never apologize enough for separating you... for destroying your relationship like I did."

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked, curious.

"Oh, you two were so precious as foals. Twilight would be reading her books and you'd be sitting there, watching her read while begging her to play. After a while, she'd take pity on you and would take a break from her studies. It's a shame she has so many problems. I'm sure she told you about the stress, but she also has... a couple of memory issues too. It's not her fault... she was... born that way."

The Great and Powerful Trixie sighed. There was only so much she could take of sappy stuff like that before she cracked, and she was right on the threshold. "Trixie supposes that perhaps a departure right now might be... premature... if only because she still looks like a candidate for a position as a casket jockey. So, she will grudgingly stay here in... Ponyville."

Suddenly, the older, white unicorn stepped forward and wrapped her neck around the azure mare in a hug. She quickly broke off and smiled at the filly softly. "Would you like to help me make the apple pie for tonight?" she asked. Trixie had to take a step back to consider the offer. Of course, she had helped her mom... her adoptive mother... in the kitchen before. Perhaps she could learn something from cooking with her birth mother.

"All right, sure," she replied before following the white pony up the stairs. Although she would admit she and Shimmer Tail shared some common traits, The Great and Powerful Trixie could never accept that insufferable Twilight Sparkle as her sister. Not until there were some massive changes, at least.

~*///*///*///*~

Hours melted into what felt like mere minutes as the trio of mares and Spike got preparations for that night underway. It would be the first time the lavender mare ever hosted all of her friends at that library for a formal dinner, rather than a Pinkie Pie party. More often than not, the parties were usually to celebrate some sort of adventure, not for visiting family.

While Twilight and Spike got around to setting the table and putting the main room of the library in order, Trixie and Shimmer Tail tackled the food. The extra set of hooves really helped, but the purple pony could not help but feel something was... amiss around Trixie. As far as she could see, there was nothing out of the ordinary, yet she could not shake this feeling, like it was just out of her reach of understanding. It did not matter though: they needed to finish setting up, with only thirty minutes until their friends arrived.

Closing her eyes, the librarian shook her head with a sigh. The feeling she had about the blue unicorn probably came from the fact that she nearly starved to death. Or perhaps it came with the fact that Trixie seemed to hate her more than anything she had ever seen before. Anything else had to be simply a figment of her imagination... yet it still gnawed at her enough to voice her concerns. "Spike, have you noticed... anything odd about Trixie?"

"You mean besides the fact that she's a jerk?" he replied, earning him a stern look from his caretaker. "...What? Why are you giving me 'the look': it's true!"

"She's not a jerk. Spike," she retorted, "It's just that... well, she DOES act like one, but only if a pony insults her, or starts an argument with her first. I mean, yesterday she was quite civil around Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie."

"Yeah, but Pinkie doesn't even react when someone spits in her face, and Fluttershy is so timid that ponies can't HELP but be nice around her unless they're a bully like that Gilda. So, your argument isn't really the best one, Twi."

"Have you spoken to her since she got here? I'm sure if you're nice to her, she'll be nice back."

"Well," the baby dragon trailed, "No, I haven't talked to her... How about I fix that by sitting beside her at dinner? Then, if she's a jerk, you won't be able to say I haven't seen it."

Twilight let out a frustrated sigh at the attitude of her number one assistant. Just because they had a bad first impression of her was no reason to assume Trixie was, well, boastful ALL the time. If she had condemned any of her friends the same way, then she would not have any of them in her life. She would probably be back at Canterlot, that very minute, with her nose deep in another unfeeling tome older then her. Actually, thinking back on it, she did condemn them all and the very idea of friendship before they became her friends.

Sadly, her friends seemed unable to see the poor starving filly she saw, and instead saw the same braggart from the Usra Minor incident. Hopefully, this dinner would allow them all the chance to let their manes down and get to know Trixie the unicorn as opposed to The Great and Powerful Trixie: the loudmouthed and obnoxious magician. Meanwhile, she did not notice how much time had passed as she stood musing in the middle of the room.

"Twilight Sparkle? Equestria to Twilight, come in Twilight!" A blue hoof waved across her vision, snapping her out of her stupor. The lavender mare blinked her eyes and looked around in confusion: the table was fully set and the food was all ready upon it. All that remained were their five other guests to complete the set of eight diners.

"Oh, Trixie!" she realized, "I'm sorry about that! I was setting the table, and then I just sort of drifted off in thought. I didn't mean to leave you, Spike and mo-... Shimmer holding the bag. I'm really, really sorry!"

"Trixie understands, just don't let it happen again or else she'll have to ship you off to a mental hospital," she replied. The purple pony could not help but notice a little bit of mirth in her eyes as she gave her deadpan delivery. Had Trixie become more comfortable with her? She had little time to muse on this, however, as a rapping on the door shook her from diving in again.

"I'll get it," the librarian piped up as she trotted over to the door. "Hey girls, so glad to see you could all make it!" Twilight stepped to the side to let in her closest friends. Pinkie bounced in first, followed by a streak of rainbow and the three slower ponies in their wake. Thankfully, there were no sudden exclamations of 'you!' from either side of the room. Foresight allowed the lavender pony to anticipate that event and counter it by telling them all that Trixie would be there.

One by one, the guests walked over to the table and began to chat with one another, including the elder unicorn that they all met the day before yesterday. So far, so good, the scholar thought as she too joined in the festivities. Meanwhile, Trixie decided to tactically seat herself in the best position: on her left sat Shimmer Tail, and Spike on her right. By the time Twilight seated herself at the round table, the only spot left was the chair directly in front of her.

Trixie's plan for the evening was a simple one: all she had to do was keep quiet, not look at anypony and there would be no altercations. However, about ten minutes into the meal, she completely forgot about the sky-blue Pegasus, who had obviously grown bored. "So, Trixie," she started loud enough to silence all over conversation, "How is it that you've been asked five times to pass the salt, but you've ignored it? That seems pretty rude, if you ask me."

"Trixie isn't trying to be rude, Rainbow Dash... unlike you." the azure mare responded, doing her best for Shimmer Tail's sake.

"She ain't bein' rude. She's askin' a simple question... but yeah, that there last sentence was NOT needed," Applejack chimed in, glaring at Rainbow.

"So, what does everypony think of the weather?" Twilight asked in hopes of diffusing the situation, "Pretty mild, don't you think?"

"I'm just saying you haven't been very helpful tonight is all. I mean, you ask anypony else to pass something and they do it in a heartbeat. But you, Trixie, you just look blankly into space until somepony else does it!"

"That's not true: Trixie has been very helpful tonight. She helped me prepare the food and the pie," Shimmer Tail countered, only to be ignored.

"Trixie simply has her head in the clouds, Rainbow. Again, that is just a figure of speech, in case you couldn't understand."

Rainbow growled and muttered darkly under her breath for a little while, looking at the table before looking back up. Trixie smiled, obviously having cornered her into a position where retorting would just make her look bad.

"Trixie," started the farmer, "Just stop now, before ya get hurt. You couldn't win in a fight with this one," she spoke while gesturing towards Rainbow, "Considering how weak and fragile you are now."

"Indeed," Rarity joined, "We don't really want to take you to the hospital for being abrasive to Rainbow Dash."

The Great and Powerful Trixie refused to take any more of those baseless accusations and back-hooved attempts to stop the confrontation any more. It quickly became obvious to her that Rainbow started this intentionally, if only to try and make her look worse! That vermin! How DARE she!? "What do you all have against The Great and Powerful Trixie!?" she rose her voice, standing up at the table, "Sure, she humiliated you all on stage, but how long ago was that? A year? A year and a half, perhaps? You three act as if she hurt a member of your families! If anypony here is being coarse, it's you three!" She swept her hoof across the offending Pegasus, hayseed, and unicorn.

"Trixie, stop this!" Twilight shouted unexpectedly, standing as well, "I don't know about Rainbow, but Rarity and Applejack are on your side! They could be a little more obvious about it, but trust me. Maybe you should go into the other room for a few minutes before you say something that you might regret."

"Don't be a hypocrite, Twilight Sparkle! Yesterday, instead of talking to Trixie, you slapped a BUBBLE SPELL on her!" Several of the ponies, including the shy Pegasus and the party pony gasped, little realizing what happened the day before, "What kind of a pony DOES something like that? I don't care if you weren't thinking straight from stress! If you REALLY cared for Trixie like you keep saying, then you wouldn't have done something so... so barbaric... so soulless!"

Although she could see the lavender mare's eyes widen and glisten with tears, she did not care. At that instant, it felt too good airing her dirty laundry to care for the feelings of such an insignificant pest. "Trixie!" gasped Shimmer Tail in shock. Yet the magician did not hear her and continued on her rant.

"You dare to keep calling Trixie your sister, even after you've demonstrated just how LITTLE you actually care for her! A real sister would not have been so willing to do harm to her sibling! Stop playing Trixie for the fool she obviously isn't. Sure, you probably feel bad that YOU destroyed The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie's life, but you can never be related to her! Not after how pointlessly cruel you have been to her!"

"I...I... I just... that's not... did you... did you WANT to die, Trixie? I never spread those rumours about you! I tried to tell of how brave you were that night for even standing up to it! You... you call the others unrefined for holding a grudge, so what about YOU!? I only did what I had to do, but you keep going on about how you're going to punish me for ruining you? You brought this upon YOURSELF, Trixie! If... if you want to leave and kill yourself... then by all means, go! I'm sick of dealing with you... you... you JERK!"

Without another word, the purple scholar ran for the door, escaping the library before slamming it behind her. Soft sobs filtered through the door for a brief second before they vanished into the uncomfortable silence. After an uneasy minute, a voice suddenly piped up, breaking it once and for all. "Get out," muttered the orange hayseed in controlled rage, "We were only tryin' to help you, and you end up exploding at Twi like that? You don't DESERVE our help, Trixie. Get. OUT."

Looking over the table, the three insidious mares she humiliated, plus the baby dragon, looked at her with unbridled fury. The only thing keeping them from an all-out brawl was but a single word. Fluttershy hid under the table, while Pinkie and Shimmer just sat there staring, neither looking at the magician. "Fine!" Trixie shouted, "You don't need to ask The Great and Powerful Trixie twice!" Without another word, she stormed out of the library.

~*///*///*///*~

Twili--- dusk settled upon the sleepy town a little faster then she anticipated, but she did not mind, since it would make her harder to spot. Trixie did not bother with her cart yet: she would wait until about midnight, when everypony had left or gone to sleep, before she would take her leave. For the moment, however, blind rage coursed through her, leaving deep hoofprints in the dirt road on the outskirts.

It took all of her willpower to restrain herself from jumping across the table at those stupid, hate-filled ponies and beating the living snot out of them like she did to countless hecklers before. She needed something to hit, to kick and tear, something inanimate to take her abuse. It was a shame that the egghead was not around: she would have made a wonderful outlet for her indignation, but Trixie doubted she would last long enough to satisfy her need for revenge.

Trixie sighed as the thought crossed her mind. Revenge: the dish best served cold. Every time she sought revenge against somepony, it usually came back to bite her in the flank. Usually, it happened sooner rather than later, but it would happen nonetheless. Still, as the azure mare left Ponyville behind her, the rage would not leave. Everypony there hated her for her OBVIOUS superiority! So what if a couple of them may have liked her before?

None of it mattered anyway. The Great and Powerful Trixie did not need anything as silly or useless as friends. Why, she could make her own friends with her powerful and awe-inspiring magic. At least... she could have, once upon a time. Thankfully, no pony was around to see the sudden, albeit very brief, look of sorrow that crept onto her muzzle before being replaced by anger once more.

Now in the Whitetail Woods, the azure mare walked over to the nearest tree and bored holes into it with her deathly glare. If only she still had magic, she would have set the thing on fire. Her anger boiled over at the idea, causing her to let out a feral scream and leap at the tree. The failed magician kicked, bucked and rammed the tree with her useless horn, not caring how badly she bloodied her hooves on the bark.

Unseen by the raging pony, however, was a pair of happy little fillies walking down the road. One was a purplish-gray unicorn, and her friend was an orange Pegasus filly about the same age. As they rounded the last turn, the grunts and cries of the mare echoed through the trees, bringing fearful speculation on whether it was a monster.

"Aw, it's not a monster," the Pegasus filly huffed as they drew closer, "Well, see you later. I've got to get going home now." The two fillies split at a fork in the road just before the raging azure pony. While the Pegasus trotted away, the unicorn drew closer, curious about why she was mad at a tree like that.

"Hi there! My name is Dinky! What are you doing out here kicking a tree, miss?" she asked.

"Trixie is upset," The Great and Powerful Trixie replied through gritted teeth, trying to fight back her anger and tears for the sake of the innocent filly, "So, she is out here kicking this tree because there are no ponies around for her to beat up instead!"

"Well, why are you so mad, Miss Trixie? Maybe talking about it will help?"

"You wouldn't understand, little filly. Trixie doubts it would help to talk about it. Never mind the fact that it is none of your business!"

"Please? I promise not to tell! Please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeease!" the filly begged incessantly.

There was only so much whining that she could take before she caved, even though, much to her credit, she managed to resist for a few minutes. Inevitably she took a deep breath and sighed before looking down to the small unicorn. "Fine, Trixie will tell you," she conceded, "To make a long story short, The Great and Powerful Trixie performed here some time ago, everypony took it the wrong way, a giant bea... Ursa showed up. Then, Twilight Sparkle arrived and chased it away, so Trixie fled to save face after trying to vanquish it herself..."

The azure mare had no idea why she was telling her long, sad story to the tiny filly. As if she had any idea what true pain and hardship was. Still, she had a point about it helping her feel better to get all of the misery off of her back. Naturally, the filly would gasp and look sad at the appropriate places, making her inner storyteller happy that she had evoked such an emotional response. "... and then I came here to kick at this tree."

"Oh wow," spoke the tiny filly in awe, "So, you're THAT Trixie! As in, Aunt Twilight's sister Trixie!" She smiled and jumped up to hug the azure mare, which stunned the elder unicorn to no end.

"Aunt Twilight!?" Trixie gasped in disbelief.

"Well, she's not really my aunt, but she did help my mommy get me back from some bad people. Well, she's not really my mommy because my mommy and daddy died about a year ago, but she adopted me with help from Twilight, so I call her 'Aunt Twilight' to show how grateful I am. Just because Mommy isn't my real mommy doesn't mean she isn't, like how I know Twilight is only friends with my mommy, but that doesn't mean I can't call her my aunt."

"That still doesn't excuse her from doing what she did to Trixie... Dinky, was it?" The little filly nodded in reply, the gesture still visible despite the encroaching darkness of the rapidly setting sun, "It's obvious to Trixie that she doesn't really see her as her sister, but was just saying that so that her insipid friends would lay off on Trixie a little so SHE could get to make her look like a fool!"

"That's not true, Miss Trixie! Her ways of doing stuff is a bit funny, but Aunt Twilight only means only the best for every pony she meets! I think you hurt her feelings a lot because you were being very mean to her. I'm not saying her friends weren't mean, but you were mean for taking it out on her when she only wanted to help you. So, even if you don't think of her as your sis, she thinks of you as hers, and she sounds really, really hurt, so you should go apologize, or you might feel sorry about it for the rest of your life!"

As much as Trixie did not want to admit it, the filly had a point that deep down somewhere, she regretted hurting Twilight's feelings like she did. Yet, her Great and Powerful persona would not have any of the mushy stuff like that for anything. She was... conflicted at best about if she should really go back and apol... apologi... talk to her about what happened. "Trixie will think about it as she escorts you back to town," she replied.

"Okay, sounds fair to me!"

~*///*///*///*~

Stars blanketed the velvet sky, painted soft indigo by the light of the moon that drifted in the eastern skies. Ever since she was a filly, the lavender unicorn loved to look up to the stars and figure out the deeper meanings of the universe. Memories floated to mind of her lying beside the princess in the observatory tower of Canterlot, asking her the name of every star and the stories they told together. They would stay up so late some nights that she would fall asleep beside her only to wake up in her bed the next morning with her doll resting beside her head.

It was a doll she now knew represented her sister: a mare that would rather see her dead then have anything to do with her ever again. Twilight knew that she needed to be firm with her, but she felt like she had overdone things again, like she had with that spell. She gave such a pitiable look when she called her a jerk... or that could have been when she told her that she no longer cared if she lived or died. The purple unicorn sighed and cast her gaze skyward once more, blocking out everything else. However, the sound of soft hoofsteps on the grass rustled in her ears, though she would not act upon this new stimulus.

After searching the town high and low for the past hour and a half, she had finally found her on a grassy knoll in the park on the border of the Everfree Forest. Trixie approached the lavender pony and quietly sat beside her, searching for the words to start the impossible task before her. It took her a few dozen false starts before anything of meaning could come out of her mouth, the silence making her wonder if she would even acknowledge her.

"Trixie... may have gone overboard back at the dinner," she started, "She could have handled the situation a lot better than she did, but she should not have flown off the handle like that. Still, Trixie knows that is no excuse for solidifying your friends opinions about her and for making you cry, Twilight. She doesn't care if you don't accept this, but she wants you to know this is how she feels."

A long silence passed between the two mares after the words faded into the night sky. Neither moved, except for when the elder of the two decided to sit up instead of lie down. She took a deep breath and then sighed. "Do you want to know why I think you almost constantly speak in the third-pony, Trixie?" she asked, waiting for the answer that would never come, "I think that, subconsciously, you're ashamed of yourself. So, you disconnect from your actions by speaking as if you're not the one doing them."

"Trixie is perfectly capable of speaking in the first-pony! She only does so, however, when she is explicitly serious about something," the azure mare replied.

"Trixie... you're no picnic. You're selfish, obnoxious, and arrogant as all outdoors. By all rights, I should hate you as much as you say you hate me. Yet, no matter how I look at it, I can't see you as anything other than misguided and lonely. But, I have always been serious with you, Trixie. The least you could do is be serious with me. If you're really, honestly sorry about what happened at the dinner."

The Great and Powerful Trixie sighed and closed her eyes. She had not dropped her stage persona in so long that she was afraid to now. Trixie was not anywhere near as strong as the performer and she was far more sensitive. The obnoxious magician urged her to stop, telling her that all that would happen would be pain and regret. She did not need Twilight... she did not need anypony at all! She would have been fine, if she had not been pitied by that frustrating serf! That argument was what settled it for her, for she could not deny just how closely she flirted with death that night.

"Twilight Sparkle," she started, "Trix-... The Grea-... This is really hard. Trixie hasn't dropped her stage persona in years. Not since... well, that can wait. Twilight... I'm sorry for my atrocious behaviour at dinner tonight. Rainbow Dash may have antagonized me, but I should have just been the better pony and ignored her." Suddenly, a pair of hooves wrapped around her as the elder unicorn pressed their bodies together in a hug.

"Trixie, I'm so happy to hear that! I still feel awful about that spell, personally. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." Silence stretched between the pair once more, the younger unicorn nodding her head in reply, looking to the stars herself. Twilight broke off the hug soon after, trying to find a topic to break the ice with. "So... you're a performer, right, Trixie? Who is your favourite... other than yourself?"

"The Great Hoofdini," she replied almost immediately.

Twilight felt her jaw drop, a foal-like excitement coursing through her veins. "Really!?" she nearly shouted, "Mine too! The pr... My teacher would take me to his shows in Canterlot all the time! Oh, I was such a big fan of him before..." That oppressive silence came back as she saw the tears beginning to well in her sister's eyes. "So, what trick of his did you like the most? Personally, I loved the Casket of Catastrophe! I could never willingly get into an iron maiden, and then be buried under a hoof of dirt!"

"I liked the Sultan Surprise," she answered in a suddenly sombre tone. "That one was always the most fun to set up, since I got to go high onto the catwalks to secure the ropes. I don't mention this a lot, but I was sort of his... his protégé."

"What!?" Twilight gasped in surprise, "No way! Are you really telling me that YOU are the fabled Heir of Hoofdini!? Can you do a trick for me, Trixie? Pleeeeeease?" The purple pony looked at her pleadingly, like a schoolfilly meeting her idol for the first time. In a way, it was adorable, but in another it was slightly disturbing to see her lose her composure so quickly.

Trixie bit her lower lip and looked at Twilight apprehensively. She needed an excuse for why she could not do even a simple trick taught to her by her master, when suddenly an opportunity presented itself to her. "No... I can't. I mean, I could do a trick for you, but... well... it would bring back... too many unpleasant memories... mostly about... that day. You, as a fan, know of the day I speak of."

"I cried like a little filly for two days straight, no matter how my teacher consoled me," the lavender mare confessed, lowering her head sadly as her own memories of that day surfaced. "I can only imagine how hard it was for you, his apprentice."

"I've never told this story to anypony before," Trixie confessed,"Forgive me if I break down while telling it. I'll try my best to get through." Already, tears began to well up.

"If it's really that hard for you, then don---"

"I want to, Twilight."

~*///*///*///*~

Five years before, in the revered Pegasus Theatre in the metropolis of Manehatten, a middle-aged unicorn stallion sat in his dressing room, combing his mane while looking into the large mirror. The Great Hoofdini always kept himself immaculately groomed, unless the show called for him to get a little dirty. Tonight, however, his mind wandered to other things, taking his attention away from his greying mane. Was he really ready to perform this trick? What would happen to his student if he should fail?

A knock rapped upon his chamber door, reminding him to resume his confident airs. "The Great Hoofdini allows you entry," he spoke to the pony beyond. The door to the room opened, ponies beyond pushing behind the azure mare that stood upon the threshold. A clipboard levitated beside her as she walked in and shut the door with a soft purple glow of her horn. "Salutations, Trixie, my young apprentice! How are things going under your watchful and attentive gaze?"

Trixie bit her lower lip, not quite sure how to voice her concerns about the finale for his show. "Everything's going fine, Sir," she replied respectfully, "Although, we couldn't find any Mango-cream Pies, so we had to settle for Lemon Twist, and the riggers had to replace a pulley..."

"It's about the Rainbow Faint, isn't it?" he sighed. Trixie looked to the floor and nodded her head, knowing the aging stallion rarely missed a trick around her. "I know it's dangerous, but that's why I'm doing it. Show business is a siren: beautiful, but often lures ponies to their doom. I know my limits, Trixie, and I would never do anything more dangerous than this. If I may confide in you, I am a little nervous."

"Then don't do it!" Trixie cried, "Cut it from the show! Say something came up and you had to cancel it! Save it for another day, another month, another year, if you can!"

Hoofdini smiled, turning in his chair to face his precious student: one of the very few ponies he felt comfortable being himself around. "That's the problem, Trixie. If I don't do it now, I'll become too old and stiff to ever dare try it. Consider this my magnum opus: my last and greatest solo act." He smiled and walked over to the distraught mare, gently placing a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up at him with the shadow of tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Sir. That is... if you... I mean..."

"You are a strong, proud mare, Trixie. You seep confidence now that I never possessed at your tender age. You might not think so, but... I think you're ready to stand on the stage now. Trixie, I want you to perform with me for the shows after this one. It would be just the two of us dazzling the audience with our combined magical prowess. All I ask is that you have a little faith in me."

The azure mare looked to the floor, trying not to cry at the fear of losing her master. Still, the idea of standing on the stage with him, her idol... her friend... steeled her against the possibility. She looked up into his smiling face and nodded her head. "I believe in you, Sir," she spoke sincerely. He suddenly leaned forward and gave her a soft, tender hug, gently stroking the back of her mane to calm her down.

"Now," he said after breaking off the embrace, "If you're going to be on stage with me, we're going to need a stage name for you, kiddo. I've actually been pondering on this for quite a while, and only one name seems to fit your prowess and your wonderful showmareship. From now on, whenever you go upon the stage... you are The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Th-thank you, Sir!" the newly minted magician stammered. "Y-you're far too kind to me."

"Not at all, Trixie. You deserve every letter," he smiled, holding her cheek warmly with a hoof, "Also, you've never really had the chance to see any of my shows. How about you take the night off and enjoy it for once? Consider it a long-overdue gift."

"Y-yes Sir!" she smiled, "Thank you, Sir!" Trixie happily trotted to the door, tail happily swishing back and forth as the door opened. She paused, however, continuing, "... for everything." Hoofdini smiled at her as the door shut, thankful she accepted the invitation. If anything did happen to him... well, he did not want her to feel like it was her fault as the stage manager. He took a deep breath and walked over to his desk to write a letter.

Meanwhile, Trixie received her pass and found the assistant stage manager to take over for her for the night. Not only was she over the moon about her new title, but the idea of seeing one of his shows as a member of the audience thrilled her to no end. Usually, she would be far too busy backstage to enjoy what she could see of the show for much longer than a few scant seconds.

With just a couple of minutes left until it began, she picked up some popcorn at the concession stand with some of the few bits she had. From there, she proceeded to her seat, in the middle of the lower level of the Pegasus Theatre. Ponies from all walks of life filed in, from rich debutantes in the private balconies down to common ponies who could only afford tickets in the nosebleed sections. For a few hours, they would all be joined in the magic of the theatre, temporarily dissolving class like no other spell could.

Suddenly, the house lights dimmed as the spotlights pointed to a blank spot in the stage. "Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts, foals of all ages!" boomed the voice of her mentor. "Prepare yourselves for the magical might of the one, the only, The Great Hoofdini!" Magical fireworks screamed forth as the aging unicorn appeared in a puff of smoke. As usual, he made a perfect entrance, his black cape (and trademarked handlebar moustache) billowing in a magical wind he conjured.

Although she knew the ins and outs of the show like the bottom of her hoof, Trixie still found herself captivated in giddy foalhood delight. For the first time, she was able to see her mentor from the perspective of the audience as she munched happily on her popcorn. He commanded the stage with unparalleled grace and power: something she herself could never hope to accomplish.

However, she could not help but notice some changes to the queue that night. A couple of the tricks scheduled were scrapped in favour of some of her favourites, like the Sultan Surprise and the Dauntless Descent. Trixie smiled as she caught on to his subtle way of trying to sooth her nerves over the finale. It made her relax just a little more, but did not quite vanquish the nagging thoughts from the more macabre side of her imagination.

Before she even knew it, Trixie saw the set for the finale roll onto the stage. Hoofdini would lock himself upside-down, while in a straitjacket, in a large, steel crate. It would then be hoisted to the level of the catwalk, a deadly sixty hoof drop down to the stage below. Once free and out of the box, he would then land on a hidden mat to break the fall and vanish in a puff of rainbow smoke all in one instant before appearing in the aisles... if all went well, anyway.

Trixie bit her lower lip as he trotted into the box, his rear legs shackled to the ceiling of it so he hung upside-down. The box clanged shut before the massive lock was clasped over the rings and the whole thing sent skyward. He had but two minutes to escape before the combined weight of the stallion and the box would snap the line and send him plummeting to his doom.

Like the rest of the audience, she sat upon the edge of her seat in anticipation, uttering silent prayers to the creators to help him escape unharmed. The box creaked and groaned on its only support wire high above the stage, each one making Trixie panic just a little more. Thankfully, after about sixty seconds, the door opened to wild applause from the audience, who then gasped as he swan-dived to the safety of the mat. However, right where he was supposed to erupt in rainbow smoke, there only sounded a meaty crack that filled the air and silenced the theatre.

Medics rushed forwards from behind the scenes, tears instantly beginning to well in Trixie's eyes. Something had gone horribly wrong with the act. She got out of her seat and rushed out of the theatre, waving her backstage pass in the face of the bouncer to let her past. By the time she got there, several ponies and paramedics huddled around him. A white Pegasus she knew as Snowbell came up to her to stop her from getting close.

"I'm so sorry, Trixie," she said, tears staining her cheeks, "He's... he's gone... landed funny... s-s-snapped his neck... f-felt no pain." Her world crashed all around her. The azure mare could feel nothing but cold sweep over her body, tears flowing freely from her eyes. She tried in desperation to call out to him, thinking it was some sort of sick prank. The Pegasus had to restrain the unicorn and drag her back into his dressing room before she could batter the corpse in a foalish attempt to wake him.

In the privacy of the room, the young mare cried like she had never cried before. It was so unfair! She was going to have the chance to perform with him, the legendary magician and escape artist! How dare he die on her like that, after he PROMISED! Trixie rolled around the floor in a sick mixture of pain, sorrow and anger, sobbing loud enough to be audible in the hushed halls behind the stage. "It's not FAIR!" she screamed over and over, pounding on his emotionless possessions all the while.

Minutes dragged on into hours, leaving the azure mare alone in her misery. After expending her energy on smashing some of his old worthless things, she curled up into a tight ball on the floor and sobbed quietly to herself. A quiet knock filled the room. "Trixie?" called the voice of Snowbell, "I... found something for you... from him... I'll just leave it by the door." The dressing room door opened, a plain brown package sliding inside before it shut.

Despite her extreme sorrow, the blue mare pulled herself off the floor, driven by curiosity, and slowly walked over towards the package, pulling a small card from the top before sitting down to read it.

Dear Trixie, it started.

If you are reading this note, it means I failed you. Words cannot express how sorry I am. I wanted to give you a little something after the show, to truly mark you as a bona-fide magician. Alas, now you will have to open it without me there to smile cheerfully at you. Before you go tearing into the package, I just want you to know something very important, Trixie. For the past couple of years now, I haven't really seen you as my assistant, or my protégé.

Now, before you get upset (even more so), this is because you've become closer to me then such an impersonal relationship. I'm sorry I never got the chance to say this while I was alive, but Trixie... you are like the daughter I never had. I realize this is of little consolation in regards to the circumstances, but I have always been proud of you, and will always be proud of you. Even if my untimely death has turned you off from show business, you will always be the Heir of Hoofdini.

No matter what path your life takes, I will always be with you. Even as my body decays, I live on in your heart... yeah, it's cheesy as all sorrel hells, but it's true nonetheless. So, chin up, kiddo! Go out there, and make me even more proud of you! You truly are 'The Great and Powerful Trixie!'

Sincerely,

Hairy R. Hoofdini.

The azure mare wiped her tears off on her leg before ripping the wrapping to shreds with her magic. Brown paper floated around the room like dirty snow, revealing the white box underneath. Trixie cautiously opened the folds in the package to take in a sight that took her breath away. Sitting in the box, stitched in fields of blue, dotted with dozens of beautiful and colourful stars was a magician's hat and cape.

She sobbed once more as her magic gently lifted the hat and placed it upon her head, hiding her horn and most of her snowy white and light blue mane. The fabric felt so warm and gentle, almost like the stallion who gave them to her. Tears flowed freely from her eyes once more: in one night, she had been given a title and attire befitting of a magician... but she had also lost her master. She snuggled up against the cape like a blanket before her emotional exhaustion finally took hold, coaxing her into a dreamless sleep.

~*///*///*///*~

Back in the present, new tears filled the azure magician's eyes, even as the lavender unicorn held her in a tight embrace. It had been so hard to keep her composure while telling the sad tale, yet she managed to do so nonetheless. Trixie sobbed quietly as the memories continued to play out in her mind, the funeral that was held a couple of days later. She had tried to be brave that day, but she just could not keep her composure, babbling through the speech she prepared.

It was all in the past though. At present, she was in the embrace of a unicorn whom she previously blamed for destroying her career, for making a mockery of her magical abilities. Only the brief time outside of her stage persona, coupled with reliving the sore memory, made her realize how her bitterness and pain twisted and distanced her from others. She had become the Great and Powerful Trixie, not to honor her mentor's memory like she told herself, but to run away from the crying filly inside. Cut off from everypony else by her hubris, her sneering mask, she now had no friends left, which led to her currently powerless state. After all, friendship was magic, or so the old saying went.

"Oh, Trixie," the other mare started, "I'm so sorry that I made you relive such a horrible day! I was... I was just curious and I disregarded your feelings and I..."

"It is okay, Twilight," the magician countered, "By making me break my character and... and share something heart-breaking... I realized that... well... perhaps The Great and Powerful Trixie has a bit too much of an ego for her own good. Perhaps... perhaps I should just... just be Trixie. I would keep my title, but... not resort to all the useless bragging. I mean, a little is okay because otherwise I'm not interesting, but nothing like saying I conquered an Ursa Major."

Twilight Sparkle only squeezed tighter at that realization, beginning to cry a little herself, swept up in a tidal wave of emotions. "That sounds great! I'm sure everypony would love to get to know the real Trixie and not that obnoxious persona you built to hide from your own survivors' guilt." A look of surprise on the azure pony prompted her to add, "Trust me: I know what you're going through. I've... done things I'm not proud of. Let's just leave it at that."

A look of shame crept across the purple scholar's face at her own worst day ever, only to suddenly find herself being patted on the back by the other unicorn. "Come on, Twilight," Trixie spoke, "It's getting late out." Indeed, the moon hung high in the sky, telling the learned mare that midnight would soon be upon them. Being that close to the Everfree that late at night never boded well.

As the two ponies walked down the hill and into the deserted streets, Trixie could not help but feel as if a massive weight had lifted from her back, allowing her to nearly float on a cloud of relief-born euphoria. She knew that she would have to do a lot to make up to Twilight's friends, but it was a task she felt ready to tackle. Sure, they all loathed and despised The Great and Powerful Trixie, but they had never met Trixie Treats before.

The blue unicorn smirked at her situation. It was almost like a classical tale of redemption and forgiveness. Well, she was not about to become completely sugary and happy-go-lucky. At best, she would probably give more hints in her snide remarks to show they were in jest, but she was not about to change who she was completely for anypony. Not for her birth mother, not for Hoofdini, and not even for her 'sister.'

Still, it felt nice to let her mane down and just... be Trixie again, for the first time in a very long while. It was almost like stepping out of an old, stuffy room and back out into a fresh evergreen forest after years of confinement. Eventually, the blue mare snapped herself out of her musings, as the duo had walked all the way to the library.

A shiver ran down the blue pony's spine as the events of a few hours ago came back. Would Shimmer and Spike still let her stay, or would they be so angry that they would kick her out? Unfortunately, Twilight held no such reservations about coming home and opened the door immediately, beckoning her to follow suit. Trixie stalled for a couple of seconds, "Well, come on!" the purple pony prompted.

"Twilight! Trixie! Thank goodness you're both safe!" Shimmer Tail shouted before trotting over and hugging them both. "I was so worried when you both stormed out of here!" The room had been cleaned up so well that there was no trace of the table, or any of the food left. It only made the blue mare feel worse how she had spoiled things. It also reminded her of how she hardly ate anything, causing a quiet growl of protest to come from her stomach.

"So... you're not mad at Trixie?" the magician inquired.

"Oh, I didn't say THAT, young lady. I just meant I was worried about you two being out on your own... but I'm glad you managed to find each other and make amends... I think."

"We did, Mom, don't worry," Twilight added, "How's Spike holding up? He's asleep by now, I hope?" While the two other mares chatted about the baby dragon, and how he was handling the events of the night, Trixie began to ponder. It would only be a matter of time before they figured out her lack of magic, so perhaps it would be best to just get it over with and put it out into the open.

After the moment they shared on the hill, Trixie could not help but feel that Twilight would not berate her or parade her inabilities around town. She would take a risk and show her some of the trust placed in her. "Shimmer Tail... Twilight Sparkle... Trixie has... a small confession to make," she spoke, taking a deep breath, interrupting them suddenly, "There's a reason I didn't... or couldn't show Twilight a trick I learned from my master when she asked, and it wasn't because of the sore memories about losing him... at least, not completely. Please, promise to not laugh, but... but I... I can't do magic anymore." She looked to the floor and scuffed it with a hoof, utterly ashamed with herself.

"What!?" breathed both of the other unicorns in shock. This might be a tougher nut to crack than Trixie thought.