How the great and powerful have fallen

Chapters

Chapter 1 - the beginning of the end
Chapter 2 - Step by step the truth draws nearer
Chapter 3 - Friend or foe?

Chapter 1 - the beginning of the end

It was a stormy night in Equestria, and all across the land there wasn't a single pony about. Thunder and lightning danced across the sky and struck the earth and a driving rain soaked the earth. The worst affected area was a mountainous range miles from Ponyville, and nestled on a secluded, wooded path through the mountains stood a small trailer seeking shelter, but to no avail.
The rain was coming down hard and pelting the window of the lone trailer, the light coming from the window cast a faint, yellow shimmer across the wet leaves of the surrounding plants. Despite the warming glow of the lamp, the atmosphere inside the trailer was far from warm. A single Mare was sobbing profusely, her face hidden by a star spangled hat, the light reflecting off her tears as they fell, before shattering upon hitting the floor, culminating in a small puddle at her folded hooves.

She raised her head, wiping her eyes trying to try and stop the tears from falling. Upon finally regaining some composure she took a deep breath and muttered to herself. 'Why!? It's all her fault, so why do i have this feeling?'
A faint glow enveloped her hat raising it up and gliding it over towards a small hat rack, on which it rested. The glow then enveloped a similarly spangled cape which then flew across the room and draped itself over the pony, covering her from neck to flank.
'This is all the fault of Twilight Sparkle, it's because of her that I've lost everything.Before i met her, I, the great and powerful Trixie, was well respected and adored by all.' She grumbled. ' Ever since I met that wretched mare my life has been nothing but a string of humiliation, ridicule and..... and....' She sniffed, tears once more welling up in her eyes, but this time quickly choked them back. Trotting across the interior of the trailer Trixie moved towards the back section where a small bed was made up, she lay down then rested her head on her left fore leg. ' And yet, why don't i feel angry? Why do i feel guilty? WHY? WHY? WHY!?'

This feeling of guilt was not common for Trixie, never before had she sincerely meant an apology, never once had she admitted she was wrong, but now this feeling hung over her like a dark, looming cloud, all the while complaining it was Twilight Sparkles fault. She tried to be angry, but that only lead to more humiliation, she tried to deny any fault of her own, but that lead to the feeling growing heavier and heavier on her conscience. 'Uuuurgh, whats the use?' she sighed. 'I know why, it's all my fault. i brought this all on myself.'
This was a first for Trixie. Not only had she just expressed true sorrow, but also was honest to herself.
'I only wanted to be famous and well loved, i just wanted people to yell my name in delight when they saw me. I wanted everypony to know the name of the great and powerful Trixie!' As she said this her head raised itself in a proud and dignified pose, a smile beamed across her face. 'Ponies of all ages would marvel at my illusions and tricks, they would cheer my name and give me their bits to see my show, and that feeling of being needed and wanted felt fantastic.' She said this with such fond affection her smile shrinking into a humble grin,but then it soon disappeared,her expression became vacant as a thought shot through her mind.' But i let that feeling get the better of me. i wanted more admiration, and my showmanship to perform better tricks became boastful and conceited.' With this she closed her eye, lowering her head back to rest it on her foreleg once more.

Just as Trixie was about to fall asleep There was a blinding flash, and she was suddenly awoken by a colossal crash outside. 'AIEEEE! WHAT WAS THAT!?' She shot up and ran to the window, but stopped abruptly upon thinking about all the possible things it could be. 'What if its an Ursa?' At that utterance memories flashed in her mind. Memories of herself standing helplessly as an Ursa Minor charged towards her, and how she was saved by the quick thinking of another.
Plucking up all her courage she peered out of her window to try and see what the origin of the sound was, outside the trailer, the surroundings were pitch black and the only thing that could be seen was the reflection of the still falling rain on the window pane.' Urrghhh, whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be moving, but i still cant see what it is.' With a quick flash she picked up her Lamp and levitated it over next to her.
The Light given off by the lamp only illuminated a small part of the gloom, not enough to see what had created the noise. 'Oh this is just ridiculous.' Trixie grumbled, before looking over at the door realizing that if she was going find the answer, she would have to go outside.

Trixie had some difficulty getting the door open as the wind fought to push it shut from the other side, but she managed to force it open. As soon as she had she was buffeted by the swirling cold, and her mane was soaked by the rain. 'This could not get any worse.' Although she was soon to find that it could. Once more the lamp was picked up, this time accompanied by a small plate which hovered over it as to deflect the rain from getting into the top.
Once outside Trixie soon saw what had caused the Loud noise that had woken her, A large tree had fallen across the path a few meters ahead, the base was singed and charred, stray lightning bolt had struck and fell the entire tree.
'This...this.....urrrghh!' Trixie growled, unable to find words to properly express herself. She shut her eyes tight in concentration where, from the confines of her trailer, she tried to envelope the monstrous trunk with her magic, and after struggling for a few minutes, gave up exhausted. Retiring into the sanctity of her trailer, Trixie shook her mane to remove most of the rain water before drying the rest off with her cape. 'Uggh, this is terrible, i cant proceed forward, so that means i have to go backwards.' She winced upon saying this realizing what that meant. ' And the nearest village from here is .............Ponyville.' This made Trixie's heart sink. But for now there was nothing she could do but go to sleep and wait for the morning to come. She lay down, closing her eyes trying not to think about what would happen when she stepped back into Ponyville, and as she drifted off to sleep one final thought crossed her mind. ' At least if i go back there i can.......say..........sorry.......to................Twi................' and before she could finish the thought, she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2 - Step by step the truth draws nearer

It had been two days since that stormy night and once more the weather had returned to the Equestrian norm of clear blue skies with sparse, fluffy white clouds. Trixie turned as a strong breeze blew sending her cape into a flurry, from underneah her hat it tossed her mane into her face, while keeping her hat in place with a hoof and clearing her sight she looked in the direction of the breeze and sighed, a sign pointing in the same direction read "Ponyville 37 miles". Looking behind her once more as the breeze settled, the mountain range that she was trapped in now seemed to be a far off memory as the terrain had shifted from the gray, rocky paths of the mountain road, which flattened out into rolling verdant fields.
The trailer behind her creaked as the wood started settling from being stationary. "I better get going otherwise i'm never going to get rid of this feeling." she looked at the trailer and then towards the horizon pondering about the possibilities of events upon arriving in Ponyville once more." C'mon you old heap, time to get rolling." she smiled weakly to re-assure herself closing her eyes and taking a few steps forward. Trixie's horn glowed with a purple aura as she used her magic to envelope something, but the trailer stayed still, instead only pulling on a set of ropes connected to the front axle of the trailers wheels. The mare continued trotting nonchalantly as the ropes caught up with her, once they passed in-front of her the ends tied themselves into a neat bow, which she caught in her mouth as she proudly trotted on.

Trixie, head held high with the ropes in her mouth, continued as the rope became taut and then finally stopped one the ropes had reached their limit. "Time to really get moving." She chuckled before leaping into the air, using the tense nature of the ropes as a guide and the momentum of her jump she arched before landing on the small veranda of the trailer.
It was all an elaborate show, and in true performers fashion she threw her front hooves in the air with a triumphant smirk on her face, her cape billowing behind her. "NOW! LETS ROLL!" Came the commanding cry,and with a surge of purple the entire trailer was bathed in a purple aura, the wheels began to turn and the wooden vehicle began to roll along the trodden dirt path under Trixie's power .

As the trailer continued to roll along Trixie was lost in thought, her mind reeling at everything Twilight Sparkle might say to her........
"What are you doing back here? Back to cause more trouble? Your apologies don't mean a thing to me! Its too late to change anything. Just leave, Trixie."
All these rattled through her mind, making her question if it was really worth while for her to go back.

"What are you doing here Trixie? I dont want a repeat of last time. Your sorry? that means so much to me Trixie. Can we leave the past behind us and be friends now?"
Once more uncertainty was wrapping itself around Trixie's mind as the positive and negative outcomes fought to the front of her mind. "Leave me alone!" The mental struggle now annoyed her into yelling at the two non existent foes, breaking her own concentration and bringing her back to her senses. Finally she noticed that the day had passed and the sun was starting to fall closer to the horizon. "Wow, i really lost track of time there, i wonder how far I've traveled?"
The sun hung low in the sky casting a golden glow to fall over the land, transforming the green trees into tall, silhouetted pillars looking as if they were aflame in the light. Trixie's eyes fell upon a lake that was now a shimmering pool of gold, pulling on one side of the ropes she held the trailer began to turn getting closer to the lake. A short distance from the golden pool she stopped the trailer and dismounted, the feeling of cool grass under hoof giving her a true moment of release from her thoughts as she enjoyed the soft, cold earth settle. After trotting to the edge of the lake Trixie lowered her head to take a drink, a small grin appeared on her face as she gulped the cold water."Aaaaaah, much better". Once her thirst was quenched she summoned a barrel to fall into the lake and fill itself before capping itself and gliding back into trailer, and with that she hopped back on aswell and resumed casting the spell to move the trailer along.

By now the sun had sunk lower, turning the sky itself into a subtle range of colours, resembling Celestia's mane. The path ahead was becoming harder to see as the light faded, but Trixie could see far enough ahead to notice a small sign steadily creeping closer. As it came into range, she could make out a half faded message which read "P_ny__lle 10m__es"
"urggh, its getting dark now, i dont want to enter ponyville and have to wait, i'll camp here tonight."
With this she started preparing the area, removing rocks and fallen branches away so she could rest the trailer. By the time she had finished the sun had completely dropped and the moon had started to rise creating a serene, ethereal atmosphere to fall as everything was silent, all except for the sound of hoof steps coming from inside the trailer, Trixie was pacing back and forth inside this time thinking of what she would say to Twilight upon seeing her after 2 months.

The light from the now burning lamp was dancing from wall to wall as it swung on its hook. Trixie was soon hypnotized by the flickering light and was soon relinquished from her tumultuous thoughts allowing her to concentrate on other things, like her now rumbling stomach. Trixie resigned herself to preparing an evening meal, unsure of what to have she became lost in thought once more. This time relieved that the biggest worry was what to have to settle her appetite.

Chapter 3 - Friend or foe?

The sun was high in the air as Trixie arrived at the edge of Ponyville, Standing on the cobbled bridge crossing the river, she looked down the main road leading into the center of town. The sweet scent of baked goods wafted from the distant door of Sugarcube corner and past her nostrils, the sound of running water and ponies chatting could be heard with only the slight accompaniment of birdsong flitting in. Suddenly, Trixie's head spun as a loud boom could be heard, shattering the tranquility and she stood in awe as a rainbow ring spread across the sky in the distance. "YAHOOOO!" Seconds later a single rainbow rocketed overhead, led by a familiar yet almost invisible sky blue pegasus yelling at the top of her lungs.

This interruption was enough to snap Trixie out of her daze, and coming back to her senses she took a few tentative steps before continuing on into Ponyville, deciding to leave her trailer on the outskirts of town as, in this rare instance, she wished not to draw attention to herself in town.

As Trixie walked along the cobbled street the dull sound of her hooves echoed off the tall cottages that lined the streets, Despite the friendly pinks and calm browns of the cottage walls they seemed to loom over Trixie, all serving as a reminder to that fateful day. However, being the resilient Pony she was, she just carried on silently, hoping that this ordeal would be over soon.

The town wasn't its usual bustling self and was instead quiet with only a few ponies ambling from stall to stall before heading off to their next destinations, none of them paying attention to Trixie as they were either too busy, lost in thoughts of their errands or just because they didn't recognize the new blue unicorn in town. "Hmm hmm hmm, this town never changes." She giggled to herself as she continued through the market place. "Still dull, without someone to liven it up." The words fell out of her mouth with such an un-enthused sarcasm as she remembered the two times previous that she had been in town.

Trixie's natural curiosity was getting the better of her, she started hoping for somepony to glance over at her just for the nod of recognition of her presence, looking down every street and alley to see if there was another pony, before shrugging it of remembering the whole reason for the return." Uuuurgh, I've got to find Twilight's house.......wait.......ummm." She stared in blank humiliation as she realised that she had been travelling for two days to get to Ponyville and had now just walked into the middle of town, all without once remembering that she had never actually seen or knew where Twilight Sparkle lived. "Well, this is just perfect. Now i'm gonna have to ask somepony where she lives."

Trixie whirled round looking for any passer by to ask directions, as she thought everypony must know who Twilight Sparkle is and where she could be found................nobody was about, this puzzled Trixie as she saw a few ponies about just a minute ago. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she noticed a flank and tail slowly moving down a street ahead of her to the right of the market place. "Err..Wait! Stop!...err...please wait!" She called out as she galloped after the disappearing stranger, darting down the street in pursuit.

"Hey! I said stop!" bellowed Trixie as she caught up with the stranger, who promptly stopped in their tracks at the assaulting order. Trixie finally got to see what the pony looked like and was shocked at the attire, a large dark red hat with gold trim and lining covered the pony's mane and head shadowing every feature on their face, a matching red cape accented with golden decorations flowed from underneath the hat covering the body of the pony from neck to flank. Golden bangles around the legs accented the pony's white coat and an assortment of bags were hovering around the stranger.

"Well i never!" Came a shrill cry from beneath the hat, and with a flick of the neck, the brim was flung up to reveal a stunning, white unicorn with an elegantly curled and purple mane. "Never before have i been so rudely addressed, do you not have any mann.........AAAAAAH! ITS YOU!" She shrieked realizing who was talking to her.

Trixie was speechless, of all the ponies she could have run into out of all the Ponyville civilians, she had to come face to face with one of the least likely options she had run into. "R-R-Rarity!?" She finally managed to splutter out still dumbfounded at her own dumb luck, Rarity stood there also in shock at seeing Trixie back in town.

"What are you doing back here?" Rarity queried "I thought you would have learnt your lesson to stay away after the whole ursa and amulet incidents." She added indignantly. Trixie opened her mouth to retort, but hesitated upon reasoning that Rarity's hostility was understandable, She looked at Rarity, before lowering her head and looking at the ground. "Look, i know that in the past I've been a little annoying" She started. "A LITTLE!?" Rarity suddenly interjected. "OKAY,OKAY,I've been absolutely horrible to you......and your friends too." Trixie's eyes raised and met with Rarity's. "But that's why i'm here, i want to try and make things better. I want to apologize for what i did in the past. But i need to find Twilight Sparkle's home so i can apologize to her first. Please help me Rarity, please."

Rarity's eyes saw a side of Trixie that nopony else had probably ever seen, at first she thought this was nothing more than a ruse, but hearing Trixie wanting to apologize as well as going as far to actually say please convinced her.

"Oh alright, if you are sincere then you can reach Twilight's house by returning to the main square and taking the road with the sign indicating to the library."

Trixie's eyes teared up at this sign of kindness and in a sign of humility gave Rarity a sincere smile ans simply thanked her before galloping off to the square. "Well i never!" Rarity repeated again as she watched Trixie gallop away, before turning around and continuing on with her bags.

Back in the square, Trixie was hurriedly looking for a sign post, and then she spotted it, leading down a small road that led onto a dirt path was a small signpost that read "Library" once more Trixie started galloping at full speed to get there quickly and as to not waste anymore time or bump into anyone else. After about 5 minutes of running as she rounded a bend she could see a giant tree with windows in it. "AHA! found it!" She thought to herself proudly, and as she reached the door, she took a long deep breath trying to get back some of her energy.

Knocking on the door she waited straining her ears to hear if there was any life from inside, but after a minute or so with no answer her spirits fell. She was just about to leave when. "Trixie!?" A voice called out her name from quite close by, Trixie looked over her shoulder to see a familiar purple unicorn standing about 10 feet away from her. "Twilight!" Trixie replied, before noticing that twilight was looking at her with a look of both suspicion and anger. Sensing this hostility she calmly said "Twilight please, i need to talk to you." All the while Twilight's horn began to glow.