The Great and Powerful Failure
"Behold, citizens of Canterlot, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" the blue showmare sounded, letting the 'r' in her name roll in her tongue before letting it go as fireworks and small jets of flame went up around her.
Trixie was met with the thunderous sound of hundreds of hooves stamping on the ground in excitement as she finished her entrance.
She had presented herself on stage numerous times before, and rarely did she get to perform in places such as Canterlot.
But that was not what had the showmare shivering under her cape and wizard hat, oh no. It was the presence of two very special ponies sitting on the balcony to her right.
While Trixie, among others, could care less for the uppity "nobles" that attended tonight, nopony could not be impressed by the turnout of both of Equestria's rulers: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
As the effects of her entrance died down, Trixie tried to regain her composure and trotted out towards the edge of the stage.
"Stuck in beautiful Canterlot all day, are you all not? That is undoubtedly the reason Trixie has the honor of performing for the two most important ponies in all of Equestria! Er, and the nobles....Of course." Trixie declared, raising a hoof towards the balcony.
Those who had not noticed the princesses before did so now, and Celestia nodded curtly while Luna attempted to hide behind her mane.
Can't mess this up, Trixie; this is your chance to show the world! she thought as she began her performance.
Over the months since the Ponyville incident Trixie had determined that she needed to add, if not change, a bit of her performance.
She had sneaked into Ponyville on Nightmare Night and had witnessed Zecora's fine performance during the play; and Trixie had been inspired to add magical storytelling to her own acts.
"Hydras, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs and Dragons; Trixie has bested them all throughout her life. But once such fight left me craving for more; a fight with an Ursa Major!" Trixie continued, the lights dimming and her voice raising at the last string of words.
The crowd gasped in shock; a simple unicorn such as herself besting legendary creatures? Upon realizing that another unicorn who had accomplished such feats, one Twilight Sparkle, once stood in their midst the crowd's disbelief soon turned to admiration and wonder.
"Yes, an Ursa Major fought its way out of the Everfree Forest during Trixie's time in a small little country town by the name of Ponyville."
Trixie's horn lit up and the stage went from a simple spotlight on a single pony to an elaborate scheme of colored lines that took the shape of buildings and trees and stars to depict Ponyville.
"It was after a performance of simple magic, as I did not wish to scare the villagers there with my full power, that I lay to rest from a weary night. The night, however, would not have such a thing."
A low growl sounded from off stage to announce the cue for the Ursa Major's appearance.
Trixie lit up her horn again and conjured the image of a lumbering starbear roaming around the edges of the town.
"Trixie had sensed the beast as soon as it broke the dark cover of its home, and Trixie quickly rushed to announce the arrival of the threat. However, Trixie was too late for that as the beast let out a tremendous roar and sent most of the citizens fleeing!"
The image of the Ursa Major leapt over the magical houses and landed on the edge of the stage; opening its mouth and letting out a roar before the image retreated for the next scene.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie quickly rushed to banish the beast; Trixie's horn flaring and sparking with raw magic. Soon, the beast caught sight of Trixie and rushed forward to do battle!"
The apparition walked through the images of some of the buildings, sending them flickering out of existance as it approached the showmare.
"Trixie let out her magic as the beast swung it's paw down," she announced, letting loose a harmless bolt of magic that tore through the fake Ursa Major's paw and flew out of sight until it safely embedded itself into a safety precautioned gemstone.
"and then Ursa let out a roar of pain as it lunged at Trixie; but Trixie's magic had recovered fast and sent another bolt of magic its way!"
As the two fought their way through the mock battle, the crowd let out cheers every once in a while but mostly stayed silent in awe.
"In the end, Trixie had bested the beast and sent it scurrying home. And Ponyville still stands today due to Trixie's actions." Trixie said proudly, and the crowd cheered.
Two ponies, however, did not cheer.
"That is quite a tale, showmare, and a wonderful performance regardless if it is slathered in lies." Princess Celestia announced with a snicker.
The crowd gasped in shock and then quickly turned their angry gazes to the shivering mare onstage.
Stupid, stupid pony! Of course Celestia would know what happened, but why did she have to go and reveal Trixie like that? S-Surely the princess would have realized it was all just a performance meant to entertain...
"I happen to have it on very good authority,"' the princess continued as her younger sister smiled. "That it wasn't even an Ursa Major, but a Minor, and that my student, Twilight Sparkle, managed to calm the beast harmlessly."
A few in the crowd called Trixie out on her lie and the blue showmare started to shiver more.
"In fact, according to her letter, you ran off in fear shortly thereafter!" Princess Celestia giggled, which caused a few in the crowd to do so as well.
Nopony doubted Celestia's word.
"Now tell me, 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'," Princess Celestia continued in a mocking tone. "Why would you spread such lies around about my student? It's almost as if you're asking me to personally banish you from Canterlot if not all of Equestria!"
Princess Celestia let out a joyful laugh.
Trixie didn't understand how anypony could take so much pleasure in being this cruel; even Trixie hadn't laughed at Twilight or her friends the way the crowd and Princess Celestia was now.
Her life was ruined.
She had been made a foal of by the Princess herself, and now she would starve on the cold streets of where ever her tired hooves could take her because she had spent the last of her money here; hoping to make a break.
She would never perform again; nopony would allow it or take her seriously after word got out about Princess Celestia's confrontation.
As the laughter grew all around her, Trixie Lulumoon didn't fight back the tears.
She couldn't anymore.
She bowed her head in shame and defeat, causing her signature hat to fall off of her head and onto the cold wooden floor of the stage.
And Trixie dropped her spell.
And the laughter stopped.
Trixie continued to cry as she opened her eyes and took in the scene.
The stage was layered in dust and the spotlights had all been broken a long time ago.
The plush red seats that had once seated hundreds were old, smelly and losing stuffing from years of abuse by moths and other insects.
The theater was cold and dark; having seen light and warmth only years ago.
But Trixie did not care.
She did not retreat back to the old room she had broken into after breaking into the theater herself shortly after the Ponyville incident.
Instead, she just collapsed to the floor and hid under her hooves; crying softly at the failure she had become.
She didn't even hear the soft hoofsteps of somepony climbing the short staircase to the stage.
"Trixie...?" a soft voice called out.
No, not her! Not now! she thought desperately, sniffling in an attempt to stop her tears.
She made no attempt to move, however.
A sad sigh came from the new pony as Trixie felt her hat rest carefully on her head.
It felt so warm; like it always belonged there no matter what.
It was then Trixie felt something warm stir inside her.
"Trixie...I know you're still upset about everything that happened back then and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you, even if it wasn't intentional. I just...I just can't bear to see a pony so broken down like this..."
Trixie picked up her head and stared at her hooves, hoping, praying for the new pony to say what she wanted to hear.
"Trixie...Would you like to be my friend?"
A tear ran down the blue showmare's snout.
But it was not a tear of sadness or humiliation; it was a tear of happiness that was soon brushed away as Trixie hugged the pony tightly, crying again.
"T-Thank you, Twilight Sparkle...Trix-...I thank you..."
