Doubt

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Journey
Chapter 2: Troubled Sleep
Chapter 3: A Little Help
Chapter 5: The Show
Chapter 6: Bumps and Brusies
Chapter 7: Carrots
Chapter 8: A Trip Through Town
Chapter 4: Canterlot

Chapter 1: The Journey

CHAPTER ONE
THE JOURNEY

She had begun to hate the sound of her own hooves. The very hooves that, merely two days ago, had been perfectly polished and comfortable, but now ached with almost the same intensity as her distaste for the chipped polish and scuffed edges. Those hooves had been trudging along this desolate road for almost a day now, and, she feared, would not be able to go on for much longer.

She had taken the closest path that she could find when escaping from that purple unicorn and her cronies, and it had turned out to be a bad decision. She was travelling through a desert that, without the care of the pegasi, was barren and fruitless. The worn and nearly invisible dirt path was surrounded only by more dirt, rocks, and the occasional patch of withered grass. Clack, clack, clack. How she hated that noise, the noise of her attempts to journey to Canterlot, the noise of her hooves hitting the path that was her only hope. The sun beat down hard on the unicorn's back, the back that was caked in a layer of dirt and sweat, when, only yesterday, it had been silky and cool.

She sighed loudly, the sound of her breath breaking through the silence like a razor. There was no other sound in this desert, and she was glad to know that she had not become deaf during her travels. Earlier that very day, she had been trotting along this path, thinking about herself, a wicked smile across her face as she did so. Perhaps humming some tunes of her own invention, perfectly content, knowing what awaited her. But she had not expected it to take so unbearably long. Not expected that her sly grin would be replaced by a defeated frown, crowned with sagging eyelids and downcast eyes. Not expected that her regal head would sag as it did in the hot day's sun, that she would become as lowly as the next earth pony to pass by.

But nopony passed by. Nopony to praise her, not even simply pay attention to her, the greatest unicorn in the land. If those idiot foals hadn't brought that Ursa to town... She thought bitterly to herself, as memories flooded her tired brain as she thought back, back to...

"Now, now, dear, stay away from that cave"

"Why, mother?" A small, blue unicorn responded, her face lighting up as she stopped her curious drifting towards a dark cave that sat a while away from the road where their carriage rested. The carriage's right front wheel was missing, floating in front of a gray pony, who was levitating another tool next to it while eyeing it distastefully, trying to fix it. But the blue unicorn had gotten what she needed. Her mother had finally noticed her. Just what she wanted.

"There might be a creature in there, one of those beastly Ursa Majors. I don't know, figure it out and leave me alone, won't you?" The head of a regal, Canterlot unicorn turned on it's long, graceful neck to stare down at her daughter. It must have been the first time in days, no, weeks, that this beautiful unicorn had turned to even glance at her own flesh and blood, at the thing that longed for her stare, her praise, her love. But never got it.

The little blue unicorn looked down at her hooves, pawing the ground nervously. Her shiny silver hair made contact with the ground as she lowered her head in shame. She couldn't miss this opportunity. "But, mother, if I were to-" She blurted out, her head whipping upwards, trying to make contact with those distant eyes. The ones that regarded her with so much distaste, the ones that always had something else to look at.

"You'd die. Now shut up; Mama's busy" The mare turned her head away and showed her daughter only the back of her expensive hairstyle, ignoring the unicorn who looked as though she was about to cry.

Trixie raised her head and focused her tired, faded eyes on the path she had chosen in her haste to escape those inferior beings, the citizens of Ponyville. The rough and unused dirt road that was taking her to Canterlot looked long and empty, almost exactly like the hours spent walking on it. How could the Great and Powerful Trixie possibly be stuck here, travelling like a crude little Earth Pony on this horridly pedestrian pathway? Ponyville. That was why.

She stopped, her mangled hooves bringing up a small cloud of dust as they thudded to the ground. She could do nothing now but long for rest, for relaxation, for escape. If she had had the energy, she would have been repulsed by the disgusting dirt, and would have taken the time to at least pull over onto the dry grass by the edge of her lonely road, although, after taking a good look at that sorry excuse for a bed, she decided that it did not offer many benefits compared to her dust resting place. Her legs, shaking violently from pain and exhaustion, finally gave out under her, and she fell to the ground, bringing up even more dust, which settled in her bedraggled mane and cape.

Lying on the ground, Trixie’s mane fell in front of her face, and her cape slid right off of her body and onto the dirt by her rugged hooves. It was the only object that had survived the wreck of her old stage, and was her only possession now. Could that torn and dirt caked piece of fabric once have been a cape? If she had not been the very one to wear it, she would have doubted it. Some parts might still be in decent condition, the design visible, maybe the beautiful jewel still untarnished, but her straggly mane blocked most of her vision, the once sleek and shiny hairs that had become disordered and dirty. The beautiful unicorn seemed no more, replaced by a vagabond ruffian.

She sighed deeply, half in relief, and half in anger, despair, and loneliness. If only she had had her cart, her stage, her sanctuary. Her plush bed with silk sheets and her pillow stuffed with cloud, her possessions and her prides, her memories and her friends. How she longed for the bed that, for so many nights, she had not appreciated. But they were all gone. Thanks to those dimwitted unicorn foals, she thought angrily, her brain now going full flow using her small reserves of energy, and her fuel of hatred.

They had caused this. They had reduced the most powerful, most beautiful, most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria, to this snivelling pile of…

No, thought Trixie bitterly as her eyelids closed and her muscles relaxed. Trixie still has the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie. Trixie is no less. Trixie is still greater than all the ponies in Equestria, than that Twilight character, her eye muscles became tense and her teeth bared as she let loose a growl of frustration at the very thought of that unicorn, more powerful, even, than the Alicorns themselves!.

But if you’re oh-so powerful, Trixie, whispered a snide voice, hidden in the back of her head, the one that had chided her since the day she had donned the her title, then why couldn’t you get rid of that Ursa Minor?

That part of Trixie knew it was right. Knew that Trixie was just a lair. But the other side of Trixie was too headstrong, too powerfully had it manifested over the years, especially the early ones. It was in charge. But tears still nearly escaped from Trixie’s eyes as a flood of images flowed through her brain. The way that purple unicorn had saved the town, the town that looked at her with adoration, and at her with raw hatred in their eyes. Those eyes that Trixie thought she would never have to see again, not since she had left them. She remembered her useless tricks against the beast, then the other unicorn's... She had failed to do it. Had failed to have magic as powerful as- No! Just because Trixie does not have the tricks of a run-of-the-mill pony such as that does not mean that Trixie does not still have her amazing, show-stopping abilities!

And the mare’s thoughts, so full of lies, selfishness, and confidence, the spawn of years of being ignored, the thirst for attention, were silenced. Comforted, and still so sure of her superiority, she began to drift off, a confident smile making it's way onto her face.

But Trixie soon realized that see was too uncomfortable to sleep. The dirt did not make a very good bed, and the many pebbles jammed under Trixie’s limp figure were not exactly welcome there. Tired as she was, her standards were so high that she forced herself to shift, but to no avail. She signed loudly; she knew exactly what she must do.

She shifted her body weight over so that she rotated onto her sore hooves, and, shaking profusely, her legs managed to haul her body a few inches off of the path. It was agonizing. Her legs could simply not hold her for much longer now that they had once again started to burn. Using the only energy she could possibly find in her bedraggled and exhausted form, she concentrated on her horn, on the very energy of her body travelling to it, collecting inside of it, on its presence and its power. She thought of the dirt beneath her, and then, of grass. Of thick, soft green grass. On the way it felt, the way it smelled, the richness of its being. She thought of all those feelings, and directed them to the dirt, seeing in her mind’s eye a patch slowly making its way through the dirt, feeling it do so, forcing it to do so.

Through her eyelids, Trixie saw a small amount of light coming from above. The light cascaded over her rugged form, casting shadows onto the ground, and causing her body to glow with the aura of her magic, the magic that she knew was her very life. And she could see it coming from below, feel the glow radiating off of the dirt.

She could feel the small amount of energy she had fail her, and her tormented legs collapsed under the weight of her body, splaying themselves onto the ground, where they met a soft, wet patch of grass. Her body, cooled and cradled by the grass created out of her very essence, slipped into a troubled sleep.

Author's Note:
While the first chapter may not have exactly been a hilarious thriller,
their will be much more comedy, action, and plot development
in later chapters

Thanks for reading, and if you continue on (which I suggest you do) then
Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Troubled Sleep

CHAPTER TWO
TROUBLED SLEEP

She sat there, in the field of soft, rounded clouds. Her hooves caressed a small doll, and her eyes rested on this curious object of her desire. Around her, the head of the mail pony who had messed up many of her delicate deliveries popped out of the clouds, spilt into fifteen of itself, and orbited the small blue pony who sat in her thoughts. Some heads chewed muffins, while others chewed various muffin shaped objects, and one had its mussel in a cylindrical contraption that read “BUT WILL IT BLEND?”

All perfectly normal, nothing to see here.

This must have been why the unicorn sat staring so intently at her doll, and only her doll. Or was it? Was it important? But none of these thoughts occurred to the blue pony, which simply sat and looked at the doll. But was it a doll? It was not shaped like a doll; in fact, it was not shaped like anything. But it was still there. And the blue pony knew that it was a doll.

The blue pony blinked, and the doll had a shape. It was the shape of a pony, and was coloured blue, with a mane that shined silver. A small blue horn could be seen behind the front of the mane of her face, which cascaded over her delicate features and small purple eyes. The blue pony realized that she was looking at herself. It was more than a doll; it was flawless, lifelike, and perfect. She could almost feel a heartbeat coming from the small pony in her hooves. From herself.

The blue pony smiled at her reflection, it was all that had ever mattered to her in the world. So her eyes never left it. Never.

And the blue pony realized that all eyes never left it. The clouds around her had morphed into a field of eyes, all with bright blue irises and large, dark pupils, all focused on the blue pony’s reflection. The heads of the mail pony began to speed up, spinning around and around the reflection. The objects in their mouths had turned into eyes, and they drifted away from the mail ponies to join their friends.

The heads, now free of their burdens, closed in around the reflection, circling ever faster. They spun so fast that it was becoming hard to make out any features of the clumsy grey pegasus that journeyed around the unicorn and her reflection, completely enclosing them in a whirl of colour. The blur of grey and yellow closed in and surrounded the reflection, and the blue unicorn felt it being lifted from her hooves as the blur rose and spread, then, suddenly, separated. Splitting apart and flying away from the sight that met the blue unicorn’s wide eyes.

The figure of Twilight Sparkle towered over the unicorn, her purple coat glowing with the essence of her power. An evil smile covered the pony’s face, and her eyes were wide, though the pupils were small. Her horn glowed with the power that the blue unicorn had seen when the purple unicorn had beaten the Ursa Minor.

Suddenly, the eyes that had adored Trixie, watched her, loved her, turned. They all shifted to the gigantic unicorn, the gentle blue melting off as they turned, replaced by a layer of fierce red. They adored Twilight, they watched her, loved her, forever. They watched as the purple unicorn raised a hoof over the head of the blue unicorn, her grin widening as she did so. The eyes around the pair of unicorns grew as they watched, still focused completely on the huge Twilight before them. Not even one tried to glance at the helpless little blue unicorn. The unicorn who had risen to her hooves and was galloping, galloping as fast as she could, as far as she could from the horrible creature behind her.

But with every step, the giant unicorn only grew larger behind her, and the eyes only stared more adoringly at her. She was being pulled towards Twilight, shrinking as she ran, or, perhaps, it was everything around her growing, pressing in more tightly, compressing her. She could hardly breath, the only air that she had captured escaping in loud, sharp gasps as she ran endlessly onwards.

A shadow fell over the blue unicorn and the red eyes flashed menacingly, then turned to the blue unicorn, but instead of watching, they were glaring, hating, repulsing. The unicorn could feel the hate emanating off of them, like heat from a burning fire. She could feel the heat burning her, searing her prized flesh, clouding her vision. With the little sight sh had left, the unicorn saw that reflected in the eyes was a giant purple hoof, and under it was a small blue shape, moving desperately and pointlessly.

The giant hoof fell from the sky and the unicorn sprang up from her bed of grass, screaming to the morning sun as loud as she could possibly manage. But other than her terrified yells, Trixie heard a loud voice.

“Whoa there, Ahm only tryin’ tah help”

Chapter 3: A Little Help

CHAPTER THREE
A LITTLE HELP

"Gaaaah!" shrieked Trixie, bolting to her hooves. Who was that? The answer stood right in front of her, looking a bit shocked at this response. A yellow stallion with a light brown mane and tail, wearing a brown leather vest and a brown cowboy hat (brown must have run in the family). He looks quite like that farm filly I saw back in Ponyville... Trixie thought, quite uncouth, if you ask me.

"Well, ahhh... Glad tah see you're fully conscious." Replied the stallion awkwardly. He had a strong accent, and as he spoke, Trixie caught a strong smell of apples on his breath, mixed with... Well, it must have simply been bad oral hygiene.

"Who are you?" Said Trixie loudly. Now that she was in the presence of a simple earth pony, she had regained most of her swagger. "Do you even know who I am?" Here, the mare struck a quite ridiculous pose. Her chin was so high that her head nearly touched her back, and her lips were puffed in out in what she obviously thought was an alluring expression. Her right hoof went to bounce her mane for that extra hint of I'm better than you, but it quickly became tangled in the horrid mess that she used to brush almost constantly.

"Ahhh, well, Ah'm Braeburn," The stallion said as Trixie fought with her curtain of tangled hair, "And, ah... Who are yah, exactly?" He continued, smiling sheepishly.

"I? I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie has freed towns from the evil clutches of terrible creatures, saved innocent ponies, done the best magic in all of Equastria!" She bellowed, and once again, she attempted to strike a pose, but quite forgot that her hoof was still grievously tangled in her mane. "Ow!" Well, at least her hoof was free from it, but so was a lump of hair from her scalp. She raised the hoof to massage her scalp, but quickly realized that that was a bad idea, and lowered it again to strike her pose properly, then continued in an angry voice "Are you telling me you don't know who I am?!"

"Well, as a matter of fact, no." Said Braeburn shyly, but, being the kind stallion he was, did not want to make the mare before him upset, "But ah' reckon that yah must be a... a wonderful unicorn! And ah was just wonderin' how a hero like, um, yerself got ahhh, stuck out here! And it's ah... a pleasure tah meet yah!" He finished, beaming as he took one of her hooves in his and shook it. Hard.

"We-e-e-ll I-I J-J-Jus-" Trixie pulled her hoof out of the yellow stallion's grip, but, much to her dismay, found that she was still shaking quite violently. Once it had subsided, she continued, "Ah-hem. As Trixie was saying, Trixie just left a town Trixie was saving so Trixie could get to Canterlot. They require the presence of their hero, The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Well, then, Great and Powerful Trixie, need any help? Ah got room for another on mah way ta Canterlot." He gestured as he spoke, towards a beaten up cart filled with apples that was trailing behind him, attached to him by a harness.

"Help? The Great and Powerful," Trixie said, emphasizing the last three words, "Trixie does not require help from filthy peasants like you!" And with that, she turned her head with a loud Hmph and began to trot away, levitating her filthy cape onto the top of her head as she walked.

"Well, ah, judgin' by tha fact that ah found ya sleepin' out here in tha middle of a desert, I reckon ya'll go could do will ah little assistance," Braeburn replied, quite unfazed by Trixie's rude response, as he began to trot beside her, taking his creaky cart with him.

"Trixie does not!" Trixie said peevishly, turning her head away once again, causing the cape to ruffle and slide over her eyes, and trotting to the side to avoid the farm pony.

"I reckon yah do!" Said Braeburn happily as he moved sideways too, making sure that he stayed next to her.

"Do not!" Yelled Trixie as she drifted further away and quickened her pace, while moved her cape to its proper place on her back.

"Yah do to!" Said Braeburn, still right next to her.

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do n-AHHH" Trixie, who had been going at a gallop now with her head turned stubbornly to the side, had tripped over a rock, and had fallen face first into the dirt. "Mmph! Mmph mmph!" She protested, but her words were too muffeled to make out.

Pop. Her head freed itself from the small crater it had made in the ground (it must have been pretty big to leave one like that). Her face, covered in dirt that barely budged as she spluttered and pawed furiously at it, turned angrily to Braeburn, but almost instantly looked away again, a look of terror and disgust on her face.

"Dirt! Dirt! Filthy disgusting dirt!"

She moved with speed that would almost make the Wonderbolts jealous as she fled to the only clean, or at least moderately not completely made out of dirt, place near her, Braeburn's apple cart, where she stood, shaking, completely terrified of getting dirtier. Although at this point, that seemed quite impossible.

"Good tah see yer finally agreein'!" Said Braeburn brightly as he began to trot down the road.

Trixie glared at Braeburn. She didnt want to give up so easily, but one look at that surrounding dirt, at how distance the castle was... "I- It's- Fine!" She relented as she turned around so that she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. Down on the ground, she saw a small, brown-purple object. She levitated it over, only to find out that it was her cape, though it looked more like used underwear now. Placing it on her back as thought it was the most regal cape in the land, she finally sat down in the cramped little cart, although only about 20% of the time was actually spent sitting, the rest was spent in the air as the old cart hit rocks and bumps and dead turtles or who knows what.

Around Trixie sat apple after apple after apple. Some were red, some were green, some yellow, and much to Trixie's amazement, some were rainbow coloured. But they were still apples. Boring little Apples.

Bored already, she placed her head on her left hoof and stared forwards, a glazed and bored look in her eyes as she thought about more important things, such as herself.

"Yah know, now would be a great time tah tell yah mah life story!" Said Braeburn excitedly. He evidently loved talking.

"I'd rather you just-" began Trixie, a little annoyed.

"See, it all started when I was born. So my story starts with," Continued Braeburn, "Me being born. You see-"

"Braeburn, I!"

"I was born on my birthday,"

"BRAEBURN!"

But it was evident that the stallion could not hear her over the sound of his own dialogue, since he continued as though nothing had happened, "My birthday is the day I was born. I was born that day, on my birthday."

Groan

~~~~~~~

Blah Blah Apples. Blah Blah Buffalo. Blah Blah Apples. Blah Apples Blah Apples Apples Apples

It was all she had heard for the last few hours. Trixie wouldn't be surprised if Braeburn turned around and pointed to an apple and said That there's mah wife, yuk yuk yuk.

Bored Bored BoredBoredBored- until her boredom was finally remedied by a few simple words:

"We're here!"

Chapter 5: The Show

CHAPTER FIVE
THE SHOW

“Citizens of Canterlot!”

The yell echoed around the square, making the prissy ponies jump in surprise. Faint clinking filled the silence as a few teacups dropped onto the stones and shattered. Many heads turned to glare at the source of the disturbance, which had come from the stage in the center of the square. Collectively, the ponies all let loose loud “Hmph”s as they glared at the unicorn who had interrupted tea time.

Trixie smirked as she saw all the eyes that had turned to ogle at her, even though most of them were narrowed. “Gaze in awe as you rest your eyes on the Great and Powerful Trixie, as she performs some of the greatest acts of magic ever to be witnessed!” She yelled, raising her chin and turning to show the audience her side, one of her front hooves raised in a regal position. As she struck her pose, her horn began to glow with a purple aura. Above her, a white orb grew, shifting and glowing as it floated in midair. Suddenly, it burst with a flash of white light, revealing a fancy purple cape that was dotted with stars. The cape descended and landed on her back, fastening itself around her neck with a shining blue jewel.

Who needs that old rag anyways, Trixie thought as she scrutinized her new cape. Quite satisfied, she turned again towards her audience who all looked a little shocked at her pronouncement, which had evidently not pleased them. They were all very proud ponies, and the even thought of being told that somepony was better than them was repugnant. Their wide eyes began to narrow in dislike as they watched Trixie.

“And what makes you so Great?” Somepony yelled from the edge of the square.

“What makes The Great and Powerful Trixie so absolutely amazing, you ask?” Said Trixie, completely unabashed, “Trixie is the only unicorn with the amazing magical ability to vanquish two terrible Ursa Majors!” And with that, her horn began to glow once more as two brilliant jets of light arose from either side of her and collided in the sky, sending a shower of multicolour sparks over the stage. In the space the jets had collided sat the form of an Ursa Minor, crudely drawn out of blue light. “When the citizens of both Hoofington and Ponyville were left helpless by the terrifying beast, they had no one to turn to in their time of need. That is, until the Great and Powerful Trixie appeared!”

The small blue outline of a unicorn burst into life in the sky as it fought the Ursa by waving around a deadly Wand With a Star on the End. The Ursa was covered by beams of waving and pulsating light that appeared to be emanating from the tiny pony in front of it, then disappeared altogether.

“That, dear Canterlotians, is why Trixie is the greatest unicorn in all of Equastria!,” Trixie finished as her blue outline burst into multiple jets of light, all of which shot off in different directions, some twirling as they went, then exploded in bright flashes of light. “Was there ever any doubt?”

At these words, a few of the unicorns that sat watching stood up in anger, most pawing at the ground with their delicately manicured hooves. A few noticed what they were doing and almost began to cry as they saw the chips in their layers of makeup. One of these poor stallions began to limp towards the nearest salon, as though he required a hooficure to function properly. In the window of the store, two spa ponies sat, looking terrified at the sight of his hoof, and one promptly fainted dramatically.

Eyeing the silent ponies distastefully, Trixie sniffed and began, “Don’t believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?” She smirked, “Well then, Canterlotens, I hereby challenge you to Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.”

A silence followed these words. All the ponies in the square Trixie to be proved wrong, but none of them actually wanted to get up and do it. Trixie’s grin only widened at the sight of the unmoving ponies.

“I’ll take that action” Came a voice from above, and with a flash of blue and yellow, a pony landed on the stage with a loud thunk. The pony’s legs were spaced widely apart in landing position, although one was raised in the air. Raising his head to stare Trixie in the eye, she realized that he was covered in a Wonderbolt’s costume. A dark blue mane stuck out of the top, blown back in the typical windswept Wonderbolt style. His eyes were covered by goggles, and the only other visible thing was his tail and a pair of light blue wings sticking out from either side of his body, still straight from the landing. Staring Trixie down, he looked quite impressive.

The crowd gasped in awe at the sight of a Wonderbolt, and the air was instantly ripe with flashes of light coming from the cameras of the reporters who had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Trixie, however, scoffed.

“A rough, little Pegasus here to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie. Don’t make me laugh.” Trixie turned her back on the Wonderbolt and faced the crowd. “Anypony else?”

“I think you’ll find me quite a worthy opponent,” Replied the Pegasus as he lifted his goggles, revealing a pair of light green eyes. He smiled as he spoke and offered a hoof to Trixie, saying “Name’s Soarin’, in case you don’t know me.”

Trixie ignored his hoof as she turned to face him, scowling. “Alright then, Borin’, what can you do? Oh, and no, rolling around in mud is not a talent.”

Ignoring the unicorn’s feeble insults, Soarin’ lowered his goggles back over his eyes and splayed his wings out, then suddenly took off. He was so fast that a gust of wind blew over Trixie, causing her main the poof up. Combing it back down with her magic, Trixie grudgingly looked up to watch Soarin’ fly, which was something that most ponies had to pay for.

And, much to her dismay, Trixie found herself to be impressed. Soarin’ spun, twirled, and twisted as he cut through the air, appearing as nothing more than a blue blur streaked with yellow. Behind him trailed a line of storm clouds, all dark gray and menacing, all spewing lightning before they faded away into the sky. After about a minute of flipping and dashing in the air, he went into a spectacular dive, heading right for Trixie. She screamed, then cowered and covered her head with her hooves. Right before he crashed right into the unicorn, he suddenly stopped in midair, his wings stretched far to either side of his body, then touched down with grace onto the wooden planks in front of her, breathing heavily.

As Trixie peered out from behind her shaking hooves, she saw Soarin’ bowing to a wildly cheering crowd. Her crowd.

Rising to her hooves, she yelled over the deafening crowd, “Pathetic!”

Soarin’, who had his back to the unicorn, felt himself being pulled backwards and a searing pain coming from his rump. Looking backwards in confusion and fright, he saw that his tail was surrounded by a light purple aura.

The crowd gasped as Soarin’ was yanked into the air, suspended by his tail. His arms waved wildly as he swung, his head turning desperately from side to side. In front of the embarrassing sight, a flash of yellow appeared as another Pegasus landed in the square, although this one was not in uniform. Her mane and tail were swept back like Soarin’s, and both looked to be made out of fire. It was unmistakeably Spitfire, though she must have been off the job today. Spitfire was the only Wonderbolt who Trixie knew by name; she had never much liked sports.

“Another Blunderbolt here to have fun? Good, you’ve come just in time to see the amazing Trixie perform her show-stopping magic.” And with that, she jerked Soarin’ higher, beginning her show.

THUMP. The noise cut through the silent square like a knife. Trixie had swung Soarin’ over her head, sending him straight into the wooden planks of the stage. Pulling him up again, Trixie swung him in an arc above her head.

WHUMP. Harder this time.

CRASH. Soarin’ was smashing into the stage at full speed.

CRASH. CRASH. CRASH. Silence. Trixie had stopped as Soarin’ hit the stage for the sixth time.

Trixie simply stood for a moment, looking down at the Pegasus as he lay at her hooves. The whole crowd was completely silent as they gaped at the limp form of Soarin'. Spitfire's mouth was nearly touching the ground in shock.

“Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has beaten the Wonderbolt at his own game,” She pronounced, smirking as she glared down at Spitfire, who now had her eyes narrowed in anger.

“You didn’t win! That wasn’t what he did!” The Pegasus yelled as dashed onto the stage, so fast that she left a trail of white hot flames in her wake. She had her nose pressed against Trixie’s and was glaring at her with such hatred that the unicorn thought lightning might shoot from her eyes.

“Of course I won,” Trixie replied calmly as she stepped away from Spitfire, “Just look at that pathetic-“

“You didn’t!” Yelled Spitfire, spit (although it was luckily not on fire) flying into Trixie’s face as she did so. “You claimed that you could do anything better, didn’t you?” She continued in a calmed voice, trying to regain her composure, although her teeth were still bared.

“Yes, and as you can see-“

“You didn’t do anything better. You did a cheap little magic trick and injured him even though he challenged you to a flying competition! That isn’t winning!”

And much to Trixie’s dismay, the crowd all collectively nodded, murmuring to each other in soft voices.

Spitfire, who had turned to look at the crowd as they whispered in agreement, spun back to face Trixie, returning the smirk that had just been wiped off of the unicorn’s face.

Trixie simply sat there, until the near silence was broken by a faint groan from behind her. Turning, she saw Soarin’, who was on his hooves and was rubbing his head, wincing.

“Soarin’! We need to get you some medical treatment right away; you have a show in an hour!” Spitfire exclaimed, galloping towards the dizzy Pegasus.

But her friend ignored her completely as he tried to make his way, limping, towards Trixie, a look of utter hatred in his face. They stared daggers at each other until the gaze was broken by Spitfire as she stepped between them.

“Oh, no you don’t! We’re getting you a doctor’s office first!” She exclaimed. She then proceeded to duck her head under Soarin’s body and lift him onto her back. Her back legs slid backwards on the stage and shook under the weight of stallion, who was waving his arms, desperately trying to get to Trixie.

Turning away with a small grin on her face, she turned to the crowd, expecting to see a lump of ponies cheering for her and her victory. There was no way any of them would listen to that disaster over there. Instead, she saw the backs of a few ponies as they walked away, following their peers, who had all already left.

“No! Wait!” Trixie called desperately at their retreating backs. A little filly who was trailing behind her mother turned and stuck out her tongue, then dashed off to her mother’s side again.

Trixie slumped onto the stage and stared at the ground, feebly muttering, “Come… Come back…”

But there was no one there to watch as a tear fell from her muzzle onto the wooden stage.

Chapter 6: Bumps and Brusies

CHAPTER SIX
BUMPS AND BRUISES

She sat, alone, in the darkening light of the evening sky. She had not moved from the center of the stage, though it must have been hours since her show had ended.

Tears poured from her eyes onto the damp wood beneath her, as they had been doing on and off since mid-afternoon. She was left to nothing but her thoughts, and they flowed accordingly. Memories poured through her brain, but one stood out among the rush of feeling, one that had been tormenting her since the faithful day it had happened.

The head of a filly peeked out from behind a thick red curtain, it’s blue hue contrasting greatly with that of her chose of hiding place. Her eyes darted through the crowd, desperately trying to complete their search before they were discovered. After they roved over the whole crowd, they gave up, and were cast to the floor.

The head withdrew as the filly turned and slumped down onto the ground, both her ears and head lowered to the floor. She sighed loudly, trying to fight off the tears that were welling into her eyes. Her mother had failed to show up. Again.

“Next, we have Emerald Glimmer!”

The voice came from an adult pony who stood in the center of the stage, addressing the crowd of eager parents. This pony was the unicorn filly’s teacher, and she smiled brightly as she spoke to the crowd. She taught magic, the unicorn’s favorite subject, here at the Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

As a green filly trotted past her and onto the stage to a smattering of polite applause, the unicorn remembered the acceptance test, the only time her mother had actually showed up to watch her daughter. It was mostly a haze of nervousness, but she could still clearly see her mother’s look of unimpressed anger as her daughter failed to shake the egg. And she could remember the feeling of determination that had filled her small form. She had been dead-set on making her mother proud.

She had passed the test, yes, but not with a very high mark. In fact, she was still surprised that it was high enough for entry into the academy, but she was still very proud, all the same. Her mother, however, had not been. That was pathetic, Trixie. The memory of the words still stung the filly, hurting her even though they had been said months ago. Get home and out of my sight. Her mother’s words had been more effective than a knife on their way out of the testing room.

The quite speech that had been filling the silence around the filly was replaced by the sound of stamping hooves, and Trixie was instantly filled with dread and fear. She was on after Emerald.

“Good luck!” Encouraged the green unicorn as she trotted delightedly off of the stage.

“And now, we have Trixie!”

Trixie stood and walked resolutely towards the stage, her legs shaking. She was determined to win the talent show and make her mother proud. Even though all she wanted to do right now was cry.

And so she did, though it was years in the future. But here, in the present, Trixie was completely alone.

A few times, she had heard the sounds of hooves hitting stone as ponies walked through the square, accompanied almost always by the sound of a derisive snort as they drew nearer. But they had all simply walked past.

And now, Trixie heard the sound again as it approached the stage, along with a strange creaking noise. She simply cast her head down even lower, trying to hide her tears. The hoofsteps came very close, then stopped.

Curious, she raised her head to see who had come to ogle at her. And, much to her surprise, she saw a yellow and brown earth pony standing there, smiling, an empty cart behind him. Braeburn.

Trixie instantly rose to her hooves, her steady flow of tears stopping as she smiled back at the stallion. She began to move towards him, staring at his face as she went, soaking in every bit of his smile. But Braeburn turned his head to look to the side of Trixie, and his eyes widened.

Trixie’s smile disappeared, and she began to move her head to see at whatever had caught Braeburns eye, but before it could turn to look, it was suddenly struck with a sharp blow.

She felt herself fall to the ground, her head searing as though it was on fire. Her vision began to blur as she groaned in agony. She heard hoofsteps approaching on all sides, but they sounded distant, like they were far away, and moving further away.

“TRIXIE!” The panicked scream was the last thing she heard before it all turned black.

~~~

Creak. Bump. Creak. Bump.

Trixie was woken by the sounds of… Something. Something that moved underneath her, taking her on its journey over a multitude of bumps.

She slowly opened her eyes. She was still a bit dizzy and dazed from her long sleep. Or maybe it was short. All she knew was that she was certainly not on that stage anymore.

As her eyes opened focused, she realized that she was staring a wooden plank. Confused, she looked up, and instantly regretted it.

A sharp pain shot through her head and she groaned in agony, dropping her head back onto the floor again.

“You finally awake?” Asked a voice that came from in front of her. She knew that voice.

“Braeburn?” Trixie inquired in a low voice, careful to keep her head still, “Wh-Where-”

“Yer in mah apple cart, on your way away from Canterlot.” He said, cutting off Trixie as she mumbled weakly, “I suppose yah want ta know why?”

“Uh-huh”

“Well, then, where do ah start…” Began Braeburn. He paused for a second, pondering his reply carefully. Then, he began.

“Well, yah see, back in Canterlot, you were, well… Injured. By a group of teenage fillies. They were all wearin' shirts with somepony's face on them. Must have been fans of... Somepony. But anyway, one bucked yah right in the head, and ah’m not sure if ya’ll were still awake after that, but then the rest gathered around yah. One stood near yer head, and raised a back hoof over it. Ah knew what they were about tah do, so ah sprang intah action.

“Ah left mah cart and threw those fillies off, and grabbed yah. I threw yah into mah cart- Oh, sorry bout that.” He interjected in a worried tone, “I hope ya’ll are fine. But then, ah grabbed mah cart and galloped. Ah galloped out of tha city, and luckily them gate guards didn’t do nothin’ about it. And now, after hours of trekkin’ through this darned forest, we’re almost there.”

“Where is ‘there’, exactly?”

“Why, Ponyville, a’course.

“PONYVILLE?!” Trixie bolted to her hooves, causing the cart to rock and Braeburn to stumble. Her head once again felt like her brain was on fire, but she did her best to ignore it. From her new vantage point, Trixie could finally see her surroundings. She realized that they were moving through a dark forest that was filled with tall trees, though a path had been cleared through the dense growth of plants. The path, however, was being intruded upon by the long roots of trees and growth of weeds in the dirt that made up the narrow walkway.

“Uh… Yes?” He replied, looking back at her, smiling unsurely.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Trixie exclaimed as she relented and began to massage her head with her hoof. “No, no, no, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Last time I was here-“

“Hold that thought,” interrupted Braeburn. He was peering forwards, squinting to get a good view. Ahead, approaching quickly, was something that looked like a clearing. Braeburn picked up the pace, and within seconds they had passed into the bright sunlight of morning.

Trixie’s eyes burned in the light, and she took her hoof away from her forehead and rubbed her now closed eyes with it. By the time her eyes, blinking furiously, had adjusted to the light of the new day, the cart had stopped.

“Ah’m afraid ah have ta leave ya here. I’ve got tah get back tah Appleousa,” Braeburn said, “Ah considered taken yah with me, but ah don’t think tha country is exactly yer cup a’ tea.”

“Well, thank you, I guess,” said Trixie uncertainly. She was being left here?

She began to move to the edge of the cart, intending to dismount, but stopped as soon as she had started, groaning and clutching her head, closing her eyes due to the pain.

“Headache that bad, huh,” said Braeburn nervously. He turned his head from side to side, looking around the town. After a moment, he had obviously spotted what he was looking for, because Trixie felt a jolt as the cart began to move again, but soon stopped. “There. Ya’ll can stay here.”

Trixie opened her eyes, and saw: A giant tree. With a door. Wow.

“This here’s the… Lib-are-ary,” Said Braeburn, struggling slightly with the last word, “Ya’ll should stay here fer now. Ah’m sure the lib-er-are-y pony can help yah, they’re all egghe- Ah mean, smart.”

The stallion helped Trixie down off of the cart and escorted her through to the front door, supporting her almost completely as they went.

“Ow,” Said Trixie as they stopped, rubbing her head with her hoof.

The inside of the library was pleasantly cool, and was absolutely filled with books. Books on science, books on history, books on magic, books on how to do things for dummies. Books on everything. Books everywhere.

Great.

Trixie’s thoughts were interrupted as she felt arms wrap around her neck.

“Uh… Why are you grabbing Trixie?” She asked, completely confused.

Braeburn let go, looking shocked.

“Ya’ve never been hugged before?” He said, looking slightly embarrassed. But before Trixie could reply, Braeburn said, rather quickly, “Well, I’ll just get going apples to buck, you know, stuff to… something.”

The yellow stallion, though right now his face made him look more light pink, dashed past Trixie and out the door. From outside, Trixie heard loud creaks fade into the distance.

She gulped, and waited for the librarian to show up.

Chapter 7: Carrots

CHAPTER SEVEN
CARROTS

“SPIIIIIIIIIIIKE!”

The yell was distant, but still audible. Her ears perked up as the sound reached them, her eyes darting around, trying to find the source of the call. Right now, Trixie was just glad to know that somepony was home.

It sounded like a mare’s voice, calling from… upstairs? She couldn’t be sure; after all she had never been here before and didn’t know how big the tree house was. But then again, most of the stores Trixie had been to over the years were also the homes of the owners. Most of them had been run by a married couple, possibly with small fillies to boot, and they usually all lived above the main shop. Maybe the mare, who must have been the librarian, was yelling for her spouse.

“SPIKE!”

The yell came again, shorter this time, and was followed by the muffled sounds of talking, then a faint pattering. The noises were coming closer, but they didn’t sound like the sounds of a pony. Instead of the usual Clop Clop Clop of hooves, Trixie instead heard a soft Slap Slap Slap.

The slapping noises were coming closer very fast, growing louder as they approached.

“Mythical Monsters for Dummies. Mytha- What? Oh yah, Mythical Monsters, Mythical…”

A voice, much louder and clearer. It sounded like it belonged to a young stallion, perhaps even a filly. It seemed to be repeating something that sounded like a book title; the owner must have come looking for a book.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Trixie saw a purple and green figure come into view. She turned her head quickly to the side, and was instantly met by an unbearable pain coming from her head. She scrunched her eyes up tightly and once again began to massage her head with her hoof, right over where she assumed the blow from one of those fillies Braeburn had told her about had landed; it was the spot that hurt the most.

Remembering why she had looked around it the first place, Trixie opened her watering eyes to stare at what seemed to be a doorway, but it was empty. For a second, she thought her eyes must have been playing tricks on her, until she heard the voice again, very near now, as though it was right on the other side of the wall.

“TWILIGHT! Come see! It’s-“But the yell was cut short by a several loud thunking noises.

“Spike! I was almost done reshelving in here!” The mare’s voice, very annoyed, responded. It sounded somehow familiar to Trixie, but there had been nopony with a book cutiemark at her last show. Only a huge egghead like that would run a library. And the name Twilight… Wait.

“Just come on! It’s important!”

“Fine. I doubt it’s more important than this, but fine.”

No no no no no. It couldn’t be… Not… HER.

But through the doorway came the unicorn, followed by a small, could it be? A baby dragon? But that was the least of her worries, because now she could see the light purple coat and the dark purple mane, and the look of annoyance on the mare’s face turning into a look of complete shock, which Trixie knew she must have had on her face too.

“Trixie?” Twilight Sparkle sounded confused. Not angry, just puzzled.

“I-Ahhh-Erm….” Where the only things that came out of Trixie’s mouth in reply.

“Not you!” Cut in the dragon, sounding exasperated. He walked up to Trixie, who then realized where the slapping noises must have been coming from. “What are you doing here?” Twilight just stood there, looking confused.

“I-“ began Trixie, speaking quietly.

“We don’t need to hear your stories!” Interrupted the dragon angrily, “Just get out!”

The dragon pushed Trixie with one of his scaly hands. It wasn’t a powerful push, but it still made Trixie’s head spin.

“OW!” She yelped, clutching her aching head with her hoof.

“Are you injured?!” Twilight finally began to speak, sounding worried.

“I-It’s none of your business!” Trixie spat.

“We’ve got to get you to the PonyVille Hospital. I read about this in a book about the pony body, you might have a concussion,” Twilight replied, trotting towards the pained blue unicorn.

“A what now?” Trixie had never heard of a ‘con-cushion’.

“A concussion,” Twilight corrected, “It’s an injury to the head, and a pretty serious one. We should at least get you checked out to make sure.”

“Wait, Twilight,” Spike interjected, “you’re going to take Trixie to the Hospital?”

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I help an injured pony?” And with that, Twilight trotted over to the door, swinging it open with magic as she did so. “Oh? What’s this?”

Something rectangular and covered in a shining purple aura floated next to Twilight as she closed the door and backed back into the house.

“Oh, it’s only the newspaper,” She said, allowing it to drop to the floor, where Spike ran to inspect it. “We can get going now,” And once again, she trotted towards the door.

“Uhhh, Twilight?” Spike muttered, offering the newspaper to the back of the purple unicorn, “You might wanna see this.”

“Ergggh, what?” Twilight picked the newspaper up again and began reading. Her eyes widened as she read:

UNICORN ASSULTS WONDERBOLT

The whole of Canterlot has been in uproar over the attack on Soarin’, one of the famous Wonderbolts. Unicorn after Unicorn has been reporting to the police station that a Unicorn, female, light blue, with a silver mane, attacked the Pegasus yesterday afternoon. According to eyewitnesses, the unicorn attacked Soarin’ as he stopped for a break, using both magic and her hooves to attack the innocent hero. “Really, I’m not injured,” claimed the Wonderbolt, but experts say that this is clearly a case of extreme denial. He was unavailable for further comment due to his nurse telling the reports to buzz off or she would call the Hospital clown on them. The assault…

But Twilight couldn’t bring herself to read any more.

“What?” Said Trixie, annoyed, “What?!”

Twilight turned, but before she could say anything, she felt the newspaper being yanked away. Trixie winced as she held the paper in her magical grasp, her head pounding worse than ever, but she did her best to ignore it. Her eyes darted over the paper, but after a few moments, she smashed it on the floor.

“Lies! You filthy little paper! “She yelled at it.

“Trixie…” Muttered Twilight, “You didn’t… You… Did you?”

“No! Well, yes. But no!” Trixie yelled, annoyed. “I-“

“Not important,” Twilight interjected, “for now, all that matters is that we can’t get you to the hospital.” Trixie gave Twilight a confused stare, and she sighed and continued, “Now that this is on everypony’s doorstep, you’ll be even less welcome here. You saw how Spike reacted; now add that you’re a criminal… No. We can’t have you walking through the streets as… you!”

“Well, I’m sorry,” began Trixie, “but I can’t exactly morph into another pony whenever I feel like it!”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Yelled Twilight, evidently excited, “Be right back!” And she dashed into another room.

“Huh?”

“She does that a lot,” Spike said, glaring at Trixie.

They stood in an awkward silence for about a minute until Twilight returned, galloping back into the room and looking pleased.

“This is the perfect opportunity to test out this new spell I’ve been learning!” She said, “Now, Trixie, just stay still for a second…”

“Wait, what are you-“Trixie began, but the other unicorn’s horn had already begun to glow, her face assuming a pained expression.

Within seconds, Trixie had been engulfed by a bright white light. It surrounded her, swirling and glowing, then suddenly disappeared.

“What did you do, exactly?” Asked Trixie, not feeling any different.

In response, Twilight pulled over a large mirror. It drifted lazily to a halt in front Trixie, but what met the blue unicorn’s eyes was quite unexpected.

In the mirror stood a pony, but that pony wasn’t Trixie. Her coat was the same colour as Braeburn’s instead of the usual light blue. Her main, instead of sleek and silver, was puffy and green. She turned, and saw that her flank was decorated with carrots, and that her tail was in the same state as her mane.

“I-What-You-I…” She tried to speak, but was too confused and shocked to do so.

“Don’t worry. All I did was create a layer of magic over your body. It refracts light differently and forms in a different shape were your mane and tail are concerned.” Twilight explained, but Trixie still looked confused. “It’s an illusion.’

Moving her gaze from the purple unicorn back to the mirror, Trixie realized that she still had one problem.

“My mane is… Green!”

Twilight looked annoyed, but with a sigh and a flash from her horn, the bouncy hair became a bright shade of orange.

“Better.”

“Well, in that case, Carrot Top,” Twilight said as she walked towards to door again, looking at the earth pony as she spoke, “Let’s go!”

Chapter 8: A Trip Through Town

CHAPTER 8
A TRIP THROUGH TOWN

*This chapter has not yet been proofread

The sounds of two new ponies could barely be heard over the rest in the market. Shouts filled the air;

"Carrots! One bit each!"

"Apples! Fresh Apples!"

"The best cherries in Equestria!"

"Apples! Buy some apples!"

"Hey, you! Buy some apples!"

Following the shouts of a familiar filly, Twilight carefully made her way through the crowded market, followed by much slower, annoyed looking earth pony. Squeezing out from between some gossiping teenaged mares, the unicorn finally saw the figure she had been expecting; Apple Bloom was zipping around the Apple family's old cart, proudly sporting a white apron and shouting at everypony in sight.

"Hey, you! You want some of these GREAT apples?" She bellowed as she blocked the path of an elderly mare, who mumbled something under her breath in response as she hobbled past the excited filly.

"You! Want some-" She began as she targeted somepony new, a purple unicorn standing near the edge of the clearing around the cart; most other ponies had cleared away to avoid the aggressive advertising. "Oh, hey, Twilight."

"Good Morning, Apple Bloom. Are you in charge of the sales today?" Responded the unicorn, smiling down at the filly.

"Applejack said I could help again! She didn't let me finish last time, and what if my cutie mark is about apples? I couldn't resist not trying again, I know this time I'll get it for sure! Hey, did you know..." The little filly nattered on as she walked beside Twilight, who was now joined by the grumpy looking yellow earth pony.

"Howdy there, Twilight!" Came a voice from behind the apple cart. It reminded Trixie, or 'Carrot Top', of Braeburn; a thick southern accent and an always happy sound to it, though now this voice sounded mostly tired and annoyed. An orange head, adorned with a brown hat and yellow ponytail, popped up from behind the stall, it's ears perking up as the owner saw who was coming. "What can ah do yah for?"

"Morning, Applejack! I see you let Apple Bloom help again," the unicorn said, gesturing at the the filly, who was currently annoying Bonbon and Lyra."

"Actually, she just kinda followed me here," Applejack said, frowning slightly at how many apples were still in the cart. "Barely any sales... But, do y'all need anything? Pies, fritters, take yer pick!"

"I'm just here for some more apples," The unicorn responded, her smile widening as she saw her friend.

"Weren't ya just here yesterday?" Applejack said, looking a bit confused, but none the less still reaching for a bag to fill with apples.

"You wouldn't believe how fast Spike goes through these things," Twilight said, rolling her eyes, her voice accompanied by the sounds of apples hitting the bottom of the bag, "Besides, I was going to pass you on my way the the hospital."

Applejack stopped the bag halfway towards the unicorn and, looking worried, asked, "I would say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but it seems a bit late for that. Is everything alright?"

"Nothing, really, Carrot Top here just has a bad headache," Twilight said as she levitated the bag out of Applejack's grasp.

The orange pony quickly turned to look at the bored Trixie in disguise, "Oh, Carrot Top! I didn't see ya there! Everything alright? Need any Apples?" She gestured broadly to the merchandise.

"No," Trixie snapped as she turned to continue their journey. Her head was aching, and all that unicorn was doing was fetching her groceries.

"Alrighty then," said Applejack, a little taken back at the rudeness.

"Thanks, Applejack. See you Tuesday, then," Said Twilight, a little apologetically as she turned to follow Trixie.

"Eeyup! Can't wait!" Yelled Applejack at their retreating backs, waving energetically.

They walking in silence for some time, Twilight carefully keeping an eye on Trixie.

:"You can't just be rude like that!" The uniorn finally snapped at the yellow back of the earth pony.

"Well, excuse me, but since when did you get to tell Trixie what to do?" The earth pony retorted, growing more annoyed each minute, glaring back at Twilight.

"You're the one accused of assault here!" Twilight said sharply.

"I did no such thing!"

With a flash of purple light, the newspaper from earlier popped into sight. Twilight flicked it open and read:

The assault- Continued on page A2

The unicorn groaned with annoyance as she flipped the pages, trying to find the rest of the article. "There!" she said as she began reading again, this time out loud she Trixie could hear her.

"The assault was reported yesterday evening by a bunch on teenage mares, who also claimed that the unicorn had a yellow accomplice. When asked why it was not reported earlier, one of the group burst out in tears and said that the event had been too traumatizing to talk about. Soarin' was unavailable for further questioning, but the police trust the group's information. The accused, light blue, unicorn, silver mane, should not be approached as she could be extremely dangerous. More details will be posted in the evening paper." Twilight frowned at the end of the article, but continued, "Hmmmmm... Next there's just something about some food thing," She finished by once again encasing the paper in a flash of purple light, causing it to disappear, then raised an accusing eyebrow at Trixie, who grumbled something and ignored the unicorn.

They walked again in silence. Still annoyed, Trixie turned and stuck her tongue out at Twilight. The purple unicorn suddenly stopped in her tracks, and began to speak, but it was too late.

Trixie, who thought Twilight was simply hurt by her amazing comeback, turned to face forwards again, but the only thing her face met as a wooden plank. She had tripped over a stone and tumbled straight into a cart, which toppled over. But the crashing sounds continued long after the first cart had stopped falling.

Twilight rushed over to look at the damage, only to see that Trixie had set off the worst possible row of dominos. Cart after cart crashed into it's neighbor, sending the later into next, causing a chain reaction. When the final cart had landed with a sickening crack, there was only silence. Everypony was glaring at Trixie, who lay on the ground, clutching her yellow head.

"I'm so sorry!" Yelled Twilight into the silence, " Carrot Top is just a little disoriented, we were just heading to the hospital- I'm sorry!"

"It's, ah, quite alright, deary," Said an elderly mare who stood behind her toppled cart, "It was an accident."

Though she seemed to be one of the few with this view. Most of the ponies in the market were still glaring at Trixie as they hauled their carts and stalls back upright, checking their produce, or what was left of it. But, slowly, the market became filled once again with the noise of talking and yelling, and Trixie's moans of pain.

"Great," said Twilight, rolling her eyes at the earth pony, who became encased in a layer of purple magic. Twilight settled the disguised unicorn on her back, and, with grunts and shaking legs, resumed her walk to the hospital.

"Next time I say we're going to take a trip through town, don't take it so literally."

~~~

They sat in the waiting room, a purple unicorn, and a yellow earth pony, who was massaging her head and wincing.

"Well, that was an interesting walk," said the unicorn, valiantly trying to smile and get the yellow pony to talk. All she was rewarded with, however, were some grunts.

A few minutes ago, Nurse Redheart had been sitting at the welcome desk. She had said that they would get Carrot Top in as soon as possible, but that she had to check with the doctor. So, now the only thing to do was wait; probably the worst thing that could happen in a hospital.

Twilight massaged her aching hooves and back as she sat in the uncomfortable chairs. Never again, she thought. It was that gym class all over again...

After another awkward silence, the hospital door opened. Both ponies turned their heads to see who had come in, and both almost shared a heart attack. A yellow pony with an orange mane and carrot cutie mark had walked in, carrying a brown bag on her back.

"That's- That's- But she's in Canterlot! For the Big Food Bang!" Twilight said as she gawked at the new arrival, who then walked through a side door labeled 'Cafeteria'. She had, hopefully, not seen the two ponies.

"That food thing?" Trixie grunted, thinking back to Braeburn and his disappearance. "That was last night."

"No! It's tonight! It has to be!" Twilight said, panicking, but then, she remembered. "That next article in the newspaper..." She gulped, sweat pouring off her brow.

"Uh-oh."

Chapter 4: Canterlot

CHAPTER FOUR
CANTERLOT

The carriage stopped with a jolt that almost sent Trixie barreling off onto the road, but she was too busy looking at the giant city to get angry. Trixie hadn't been here for years; she had forgotten how beautiful it was.

Light danced from atop the great, shining turrets of the royal castle, which cast a magnificent shadow over the posh city. Buildings towered and imposed, drawing one's eye's to examine and gawk at the smooth curves of the stone, the brilliant patterns that decorated them with stars, suns, flowers, and moons, and the onslaught of bright colours that could be seen for miles. The swirling towers and shapes crowning them gave the city a sense of importance, unity, and power. And yet, the waterfalls that cascaded over the dull rocks of the mountain Canterlot perched on, the cool and clear ponds, and the stunning nature beckoned, welcoming everypony.

It was clear to Trixie that this was a place for ponies who were not covered horn to hoof in mud.

"Stop this carriage at once!" She bellowed, causing Braeburn to jump as the unicorn behind him yelled straight into his ear.

"We've, uhhhh, already stopped," He replied, massaging his left ear with his hoof. It was still ringing.

"Then allow the Great Trixie access to a place of cleansing. Trixie can not enter Canterlot looking like her chauffeur" She said as she dismounted from the cart and stepped onto the stone road beneath. The rock felt cool on her hooves, which were still sore from her long hike. She longed to place her rump on the path to, as it was aching from the repeated assaults of her seat during the ride, but knew that this was not a very respectable thing to do. Instead, she held her chin high and glared at Braeburn, waiting for an answer.

"Well, I don't know about any 'places of cleansing' and whatnot," He began, much to Trixie's dismay, "but if you wanna take a bath, then you could use the pond right over there," He said, pointing at the water that flowed under the drawbridge of the front gates.

"The Great Trixie, bathe in a hole like that? Trixie will do nothing of the sort!" She scolded, turning so that only her back faced Braeburn.

"Well alrighty then, you can come on into Canterlot," He said as he leaned towards the great city, ready to resume his trotting.

~~~~

A blue shape, almost the same colour of the water, pulled itself out of the pond. Trixie now stood at the edge of the water, shivering profusely. Her silver hair was perfectly straight now, her coat once again a solid colour, and overall, no longer looking like a pony shaped dirt pile.

The water had been freezing, or at least it was to Trixie, who was used to hot baths and spa trips. Her body shook as she dashed away from the water, afraid of falling in once more.

"There. All better," Braeburn encouraged.

Trixie cast him a glare of utter hatred, but her teeth were chattering too hard for her to respond. She looked away and closed her eyes, concentrating. She sat on the damp grass and frowned. A few sparks flew out of her horn, eliciting a grunt of frustration from the unicorn. Trying to focus completely on the spell, she sat in silence for a moment. Her horn began to glow with a purple aura, which was then temporarily blocked from view as the pony was engulfed in a white flash of light. When she emerged from the spell, Trixie was perfectly dry.

"Yowzah!" Yelled Braeburn, who had grow up in an earth pony town, and was therefore quite impressed by the spell, "That was some fancy magic there!"

"Well, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, don't you go forgetting that!" Trixie replied proudly as she sat back down in the cart. Her rump only protested slightly; it was feeling better after the bath.

The carriage creaked as it began moving, it's old frame sagging under the weight of the apples and big headed unicorn, but at least the ride was smooth on the path into Canterlot. As they passed through the gates, Braeburn bowed his head to the nearest guard, who stood perfectly still, not even moving his eyes to watch them walk past. As the cart wheeled straight in front of him Trixie turned and stuck out her tongue, trying to get a reaction, but the guard looked calm as ever. Trixie glared as him until her head almost completed a 180 degree turn, but resumed her regular, confident stare forwards.

The unicorns walking through the streets barely glanced at the apple cart as it passed by, busy as they were with going to tea parties and such. Occasionally, one or two would turn and enter one of the surrounding shops, causing a bell to sound as they passed through the door. Around some of the buildings, the ones that must have been restaurants, were an assortment of tables that each had two chairs at opposite ends and an umbrella for shading the important customers. Canterlot was a busy place, so most of these were filled up a pair of unicorns who always had there hair up in ridiculous styles.

At one table sat a light brown pony with a dark brown mane and a flaming tire cutie mark, who appeared to be yelling at a gray pony.

"Hoofacures do NOT give you hoof Canter!" She yelled, glaring at the pony who sat across from her. Canter... Trixie knew she had hard that once before. Some sort of deadly medical thing? Ehh, who cares.

"Yes, they do!" Yelled the gray pony. He had a dark gray mane and three clovers as a cutie mark, and was leaning over the table in anger at his... marefriend? Could they possibly be dating? "My aunt Aggy died from hoof Canter! She had those everyday!"

"I told you, she didn't die from Canter, she died because she had a CHEESE PROBLEM!" The brown pony raged on, throwing her hooves over her head, her face turning red as she yelled. The gray pony recoiled at this, looking shocked and hurt.

Turning away from the arguing ponies, Trixie continued to eye every building hungrily, trying to soak in all the details as she passed. She had missed this city, and was eager to try to spot place that she might remember. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a pair of unicorns who were walking perpendicular to the cart. As it passed in front of them, they were forced to stop, looking shocked that they could be cut off by such an uncouth vehicle. Trixie locked eyes with one of the unicorns, and they returned each other's glares until they both turned their heads away, their chins held high in a disapproving manner, with a loud Hmph of annoyance. Just like old times.

Returning her view to the sides of the street, Trixie was momentarily confused at the lack of shops, until she realized that they were now entering a square. The square, contrary to it's name was actually circular, and was also filled with the tables the Trixie had seen earlier outside of the restaurants. The ground was paved with clean white stones that were set an artistic pattern as they circled around in an endless line, sandwiched between their twins. Slowly, the rings of tiles became smaller as the approached the center, where a large platform sat. It must have been a stage for preforming bands, because it was covered with an array of music stands and stools, all of which were currently empty.

An idea popped into Trixies head, and she bellowed "Stop!"

The cart slowed to a stop, and Braeburn, a little confused, turned his head to talk to Trixie, only to find that she wasn't there. Turning his head back around, he almost jumped out of his skin as his nose almost bumped into Trixie's.

"GAHH!" He yelled as he almost toppled over backwards in shock, "Trixie, what- why-"

Trixie smiled smugly as she saw his look of fright as she began to speak, "The Great Trixie currently no longer requires your services, chauffeur. But, you shall return to this square this evening to repeat them Trixie's employ. Now, if you could get out of the Great Trixie's space, Trixie has something important to do," and with that, she turned and trotted away, smacking Braeburns's face with her tail as she went.

"Ermmmm... O.K. then, Trixie." Said Braeburn, still slightly confused. But, puzzled as he was, he was also busy, he didn't, after all, drag all of these apples to Canterlot just to show them the sights, and trotted away, thinking about how you could show something to something with out eyes. Rub it all over, maybe?

Trixie, however, was thinking of something quite different. Her eyes were fixed on the stage as she walked resolutely towards it.

She had something important to do.