Trixie: Take 2

“Oh, this day just gets better and better, huh?!” The pink pony thought to herself, as she offered the Blue Pony some popcorn. “First I wake up with Gummy curled up into the cutesy ootsey-est ball after last night’s crazy *PLATONIC* party, Mrs. Cake has a free strudel for me, and now I get here just in time to see the princess pretend to get angry at my friends while I eat this great popcorn!” Although her ecstasy was cut short upon realizing something, something important in what she had just said… Thoughts raced through her head in order to detect the problem, although she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. “Oh my good golly gosh!” she cried. “I forgot the butter and salt for this popcorn! No wonder something seemed wrong with this situation!” She slapped her forehead, annoyed that she could have missed something so obvious. "I forgot to add butter and salt to this popcorn! I mean, come on, what's popcorn if it isn't drowning in butter and salt? I guess it is still popcorn, but come on, what could be more boring than that?!" Pinkie went on and on about how popcorn was not popcorn unless it had the necessary, no, crucial seasonings toppings, but managed to arrive on the topic of why Fluttershy wouldn't make a good wrestler, and had offered her popcorn, if you could call it that, to Twilight, hoping to cure her apparent bad mood.

“Apple Jack, what have you done? Trixie didn’t want to hurt anypony, she’s trying her hardest to make amends, why can’t you forgive her?” While the purple mare did not say this aloud, she certainly wanted to. She had always known Apple Jack to be a stubborn pony, but this wasn’t like her, she could always see the best in everypony! Twilight shifted her attention over to the Princess, who had her head hung in disappointment. She could hear Pinkie sitting back in her chair eating popcorn as if there wasn’t a care in the world. She did, however, find some consolation in the fact that Pinkie seemed t suddenly realize that what was happening was not something to be enjoyed, and even appeared to make Pinkie lose her appetite! It was almost strange, seeing the Pink pony take something so seriously after taking it so light-heartedly. While she was proud of Pinkie for showing moderation, she could see it didn’t bother Trixie, though, so she chose to follow the Show pony’s lead.

“First, this pony comes out of nowhere and sets a huge fight in motion, then she procures a lawn chair and popcorn out of thin air, to watch the fight between this hick and me, and now she’s offering me food? I know I expected this day to get less and less normal, but who could expect that?!” The show pony was suddenly aware of how easily she was distracted from the more pressing matter at hand: Luna was upset, and Trixie was sure she wasn’t going to be seeing a pretty end to this argument, certainly not anytime soon. “I shouldn’t be complaining” she thought “I SHOULD be huddled underneath a tree right now, half starved. Had it not been for the princess, I’d be in that very situation right now. While Trixie had some choice words she’d like to share with Apple Jack, although she could see how upset the display in the library had made her, any more hostility at the moment may cause a second outburst from Luna. “Listen here, Miss Jack, I really don’t want any trouble, and I’m sorry for anything I’ve done to offend you, but keeping Luna happy is-or at least SHOULD be- top priority here. Truce, for now?”

“Did she really just say that? I knew she had a problem controllin’ her ego, but this is unforgivable! Now, I like to think I’m a forgiving pony, always willin’ to let go of what happened in the past, but not If it involves hurtin’ my friends! I don’t know why Twilight stands this sort of behavior, but I’m certainly not going to be bossed around by a one-trick-pony with a bloated ego!” Apple Jack walked away from Trixie without a word to sit by Luna’s side. “I’m sorry for the way I acted in the library, Miss-erm, Princess Luna, what I did just wasn’t right, and I’m truly sorry.” While she meant what she was saying, she didn’t think it was having an effect on Luna. She continued on, in hopes of cheering up the night princess. “I know you didn’t want to hear the truth about Trixie, but what she done is even less justified then what I’ve done! Anypony can seem good, and It ain’t your fault for fallin’ for her tricks, but Trixie’s not the kind a pony anypony should spend too much time around.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this.” Luna growled. “You are NOT one to tell me who I should and shouldn’t be friends with, young Apple Jack. Do you realize I could have you imprisoned for what you have done here today, for what you have done to my friend? She has shown nothing but self control, while you have shown the opposite! Twilight spoke very highly of you, and I’m sure you have good intentions, but you and I are NOT equals, do you understand?” Luna let out a sigh of relief. “Hoo! That felt good! She suddenly realized what she had said, and what impact they had on the humble earth pony. “I… I apologize. Perhaps I have not completely ridden myself of my “Princess” personality.” She said, with a nervous chuckle, and was about to request Twilight explain what she meant, seeing as she too grief-stricken to explain, but she noticed she was busy talking to the pink pony about something.

“A PICNIC!!! Ooooh, I just love picnics! They’re just like parties, except you get a good meal out of them!” This, added onto the list of things that made the day great for the Pink Tornado, made Pinkie the only pony of the group who could say she was having a good day. Once she was finished with her little outburst, Twilight shot her the nastiest look she had ever seen. “Oh… right… the picnic was a secret… oopsies…”

“Twilight, what’s all this about a picnic? What’s going on here?” She could see Twilight grow even more uncomfortable, which only added to her worries, until Twilight finally cracked under the pressure.

“Apple Jack, I’m sorry. You’re a great friend, and I wouldn’t trade you or anypony for anything in all of Equestria, but you’re acting so weird today! I understand you’re mad at Trixie, and I can respect that, but you have to understand that ponies change!” She let out a sigh, something told her that things were about to get a lot louder. “I decided not to tell you about the picnic so that you wouldn’t…” Twilight was treading on thin ice, and she knew it, she had to choose her words carefully. “…We just felt you wouldn’t have had a good time with Trixie there.”

“D…D’ya really think I’m wrong here?” There was no anger in her voice, only sorrow. “Twilight, I’m sorry. All of you, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Princess Luna, even you, Trixie, I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible friend, and I know it, but I promise to behave myself.” Throughout the entire apology, Apple Jack maintained a low volume, and kept her head low, not out of respect, but of shame. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and expected to see Twilight looking at her, but was shocked to see Trixie staring at her, smiling, although Apple Jack couldn’t bring herself to meet her gaze.

“As terrible as this might make me” thought Trixie “I’m glad I’m not the one apologizing this time!” Now that the picnic was common knowledge, Luna announced that she thought the preparations should begin, with Pinkie and Trixie going to bake some food for the picnic which Luna could not bring, and Twilight, Luna, and Apple Jack going to do 2 things, the first of which was gather up the remaining ponies, although Trixie had her suspicions about whatever else they had planned based on the fact that Twilight claimed they were going to clean the library, which seemed innocent enough, and would have satisfied Trixie, had it not been for several things, one of which was Twilight could not look Trixie in the eyes, and yet another was the fact that she was laughing about it. The other cause for suspicion was Luna claimed they were going to the race tracks, which directly contradicted Twilights excuse, and she planned on questioning them about it later, but the trio raced off, leaving Trixie and the “Less than mentally stable pony” to prepare the food. She followed the bouncing pony back to Sugar cube Corner, and saw her maneuver the shelves and cupboards to retrieve the necessary ingredients expertly, and wondered why her cutie mark wasn’t of baking equipment. Deciding working while conversing beat working silently (not that Pinkie was capable of such a thing) she questioned her about it. *After a story identical to the story Pinkie would later tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she said “How’d you get YOUR cutie mark?” This elicited only a bemused stare from the Magician. “Oh, right! Silly me! Your parents must have been so proud of you!”

“Well, actually, they were rather ashamed of it.” She let out a soft chuckle when she saw Pinkie had a look of utter confusion on her face. “Allow me to explain.” Trixie offered.

“My first memories of life are of my mom picking out the cheapest hat for me to wear, claiming whatever she picked out was all the rage, and I believed her for a long time, and why wouldn’t I? She was my mother! She always insisted I wear my hat before leaving the house, and got into arguments with my dad over it a lot, which I didn’t understand for a long time, they were comfortable hats, and I always liked them, and my mother was happy to do it, why would my dad not want me to wear a hat? When I’d leave to go to school, my mother and father would always see me off, my father saying, without fail, ‘Goodbye, my little darling, see you when you get home!” and once they thought I was too far away to hear, I’d sometimes hear my father say things like “You can’t hide it forever.” Which I thought was silly, my mother wasn’t hiding me, she loved me! Why else would she buy me hats? This went on for about 3 years, and I honestly couldn’t complain about life. My mom always bought me new hats when my old ones were out of style, or even if I didn’t like them! I had always thought that she just wanted me to like them so much that I never took them off, and my dad was always there for me, for my problems and to read me a bed time story. While they could refrain from the more brutish acts in my presence, their arguing often woke me up at night. I may have been just a child, but it was painfully obvious that the way the two acted towards each other had gradually become more and more hostile. At first it was just awkward meals due to lack on conversation, but it escalated until the two couldn’t be in the same house. My dad would, more often than not, spend the night at a motel, or at a friend’s house. Yes, this meant I had to sacrifice my bed time stories, but it was a small price to pay to have an adequate amount of sleep each night, and wake up to a mother who was in relatively good spirits. Things went on like this for a long time, spending time with my father every few days, and always sleeping in the same house as my mother, it became routine; That is, until my 8th birthday. Like I said, there was no set schedule for me to spend time with my father, so it was common not to see him for 3 days. I really started getting worried when I had not seen him in over a week, nor had I heard any form of communication through friends of friends of his. While she was very unwilling to co-operate, I finally convinced my mother to explain what was happening, although she refused to go into any detail. She told me that my father had “taken a vacation from being a daddy” and that I wouldn’t be seeing him anymore. While this would be traumatic for any pony, I’m sure you can agree, it was only made worse by the fact that the last person I could trust, my mother, became cold towards me; she stopped talking to me for days at a time, although she had no problems talking with her new colt friend.” At this point, Trixie wiped away a tear before continuing, more for her own sake than her work mate, who had already put the food in the oven to bake and sat on the floor, focused completely on Trixie’s story. “I found a note stored in my very favorite hat a few days after my 8th birthday, from my father…  He told me how much he loved me, and that I should never be ashamed of who I was, and that I was a strong filly, and how he would never forget me. I ran downstairs to ask my mother about it, and when she saw me, she screamed as if she didn’t even know me. Her colt friend, whom I had met many times, shouted at me to “Get out of the house”, claiming I was a burglar. I feel as though, at that point, I truly knew fear: my father was gone, my mother hated me, and I was kicked onto the streets without so much as a hat! She kicked me out of my own home with nothing, but a note. But do you know what the scariest thing is?" She looked at the Party Pony and said, almost hysterically "The... the ink was wet... It was WET, Pinkie!” Trixie then looked slowly and deliberately off into the distance, Pinkie could noticeably see the tears on her face. After a few minutes to get her emotions under control, of sorts, she continues. “Somewhere, out there, is some pony who loves me. The father I lost, he’s out there. For so many years, I survived in the streets by myself, but not before I had repaid a visit to my home to gather anything I might need to make it in the world alone, but my mother had already erased me.” Trixie felt the tears flowing down her cheeks now. “I had to sneak into my- well, my mother’s home- to do so, but I could immediately notice the changes; any photos of me had been taken off the walls, and any evidence in the halls had been cleared. I felt like I could take comfort in the thought that she never could have cleared out my room that quickly, and perhaps I was right, but I can never know. When I got to the spot where my room had once been, I only found a wall of bricks, completely sealing off my room. I had never felt more alone in that moment than I ever had; not only had I lost my mother AND my father, but it was like I didn’t exist! I couldn’t think of anything else to do but take to the streets, always hoping that my father would swoop in and save me, but he never did. I gradually came to realize this, and knew that I no longer had a home. That night, I slept in a dark alley, I was fortunate enough to not be harmed by anything; I was naïve to the dangers that lurk in such places.” She paused to choke back tears. “When I woke up, I realized it had rained the night before, yet I was dry. Some pony had come in the middle of the night to cover me with clean, unused trash bags. My initial thought was that some creep had sheltered me in the middle of the night, but I felt like he would have filly napped me. My next thought was that my mother had forgiven me and wanted me back, but she was nowhere to be found. Then, my eyes fell upon a magicians hat, it was blue, and adorned with hoof stitched stars. My mother had no patience for such frivolous things, which was the first tip off that it was my father, but the big hint was what it said: “Never be ashamed of what you are, be proud of what sets you apart from the average pony, and that, no matter what, you will always be my little darling.” It took me until that moment to realize that my mother was ashamed of me! I was frustrated that it had taken so long to realize that, I was angry that I was being abaondoned, and rightfully so! But, deep down, I was only disappointed... was she jealous of my magic? I did everything I could to impress her, so why couldn’t she just… Why couldn’t’ she just LOVE me?” Trixie was so lost in thought that she hadn’t even realized the tears streaming down her face, or that the room was filled with delicious looking treats, but most prominent was Pinkie holding a lone cupcake with a single word written on it;”Trixy”.

She faked a laugh at this. “I appreciate the thought, but you spelled my name wrong.”

“No I didn’t!” the Pink pony said, in her usual upbeat tone. “You aren’t the same pony as you were when you first came to town, silly, any pony can see that! You’re a totally new mare, you’ve changed for the better in a lot of ways. I know this cupcake isn’t that big a deal, but-“Trixie stopped her short. While the magician still had tears running down her cheeks, Pinkie could tell they weren’t of sorrow anymore.

“It’s the nicest thing any pony has ever done for me” Trixie said.

To anyone who was hoping for a Pinkie-heavy chapter, I apologize, but Pinkie’s a pretty laid back character, she really doesn’t get in fights or any sort of conflict, at least in my mind, so… Yeah! Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave a review or a private message, or a messenger hawk even, just so long as I can hear what you guys are saying.