Hats off to you, Trixie!

Milkshake dropped the bucket hanging from her mouth next to the fat dairy cow near the fence, sighing as she nudged the milking stool lying on the ground with her hoof, so it stood upright. She mumbled angrily about Hearty Hay's decision to place the milking area so far from the cottage on the edge of the farm, but she soon returned to silence, gritting her teeth as she began her chores. The double order of milk from the regular buyers was just too much of a strain for her aching hooves this early in the morning. Even though the sun was unusually high in the sky for the early hours of the day, the icy wind still cut through her like a knife.

Shivering, she rubbed her creamy white coat vigorously as her teeth chattered, causing the fur to stick out at odd angles all over her chest. She perched herself on the tiny stool, brushing her light blonde mane behind her head to clear her vision. She reached out towards the bucket, stopping suddenly as she spotted something coming towards her on the other side of the fence, kicking up a small dust cloud on the dirty road. Leaning closer, she could make out a carriage, the wheels spinning at a brisk pace. As it passed her, she smiled to the navy blue stallion pulling it along,  nodding as he wished her a good day.

Suddenly ,her eyes caught a glimpse of a pulsing blue light coming from the small glass window on the side of the vehicle. Leaning upwards, she caught a glimpse of a hat- it was purple, decorated with gold and silver stars. It featured a long and limp tip on the top, and a circular rim at its base. Although she couldn't tell for sure, she thought that the hat was levitating and she could hear something faint... laughter?

As the carriage rolled away from the farm and down the road, she was left puzzled for a second. When she reagained concentration, she whistled to herself and spun to face the cow, patting it on the head as she smiled to it.

"What ah would give fer a hat like that!"

Hats off to you, Trixie!

Chapter one (or prologue, if you prefer)

The hat sat snuggly on Trixie's head, covering her long horn and the majority of her silver mane. The unicorn, standing back from the mirror, adjusted it to fit her liking- symmetrical and balanced, the rim perfectly horizontal- as she posed, taking the cape that hung to her side and throwing it around her dramatically. With a final tug from her hooves, the hat formed a tight seal around her forehead, the large, floppy tip resting against her horn, which made the hat stand to attention, save for a small part at the end that flapped in the breeze, which floated gently inwards through the slightly ajar window of the carriage as it trundled along the rugged dirt track. Once the image of the Great and Powerful one was complete, she blew a kiss to her reflection and turned towards the window.

"I think what Trixie's ensemble needs to shimmer is sunshine! Oh, you are going to sparkle tomorrow, you devil!"

She wedged her front hooves in between the small gap at the window and prised it open gently, pushing it upwards as far as it would go. The unicorn felt a cool and blustery wind rush into the carriage which chilled her to the bone for a moment, and she leaned out to admire the surrounding countryside, the hat swaying in harmonic motion.

The path the carriage travelled wound its way through a series of hills, and the road they were currently occupying was yards away from the edge of a steep slope, populated by a vast expanse of brambles and trees of vastly different shapes and sizes at its base. She glanced at the huge drop downwards, shuddering slightly, but her attention was caught by the midday sun, shining gloriously upon her costume. Her head twisted back towards the mirror, and she squealed in delight as the starry patterns on her cape and hat twinkled in a flurry of gold and silver flashes.

"That's it, Trixie! You are going to blow these simple ponies' brains away with your fabulous fashion sense, and not to mention your talent too!" She pushed herself through the window opening, leaning out as far as she could whilst supporting herself with her hooves. Looking towards the front of the carriage, she sighed impatiently as she observed the blue coated stallion pulling it along the rough road.

"Excuse me, driver!" she shouted, furrowing her eyebrows. The stallion turned towards the unicorn while he continued to pull the carriage along. "The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to know why we are going so slow! We should have arrived in Ponyville by now, so what is the matter with you?!"

The driver gave her a blank look before turning back towards the road, smiling as he entered familiar territory. "The winds a changin', missy," he croaked, "so ah gotta keep a steady stride to make sure ah don' wear mahself out. Jus' be patient, ah'll get ya' there. We'll take a shortcut, if that makes ya' happy?"

The showmare gritted her teeth, but relaxed as she agreed to the idea, pulling herself inside the carriage and returning to the mirror, pulling poses and practicing her speech. Around five minutes later, the old stallion spotted the fork in the road that he had travelled many times during his salad days, and he gulped as he spotted the huge, dark forest which engulfed the path to the left. A cold chill rattled his spine as he stared at the road ahead. The right path, however, was mostly uphill and long, according to his memory, and his bones ached at the thought of it. The carriage sharply turned towards the left and trundled down the hill. Within a few minutes, it disappeared into the darkness of the forest below.