"The Great and Powerful Trixie shall now show the audience some of her many magical and wondrous feats!," a voice exclaimed in the middle of the Canterlot Square, where a large, brightly painted stage had been set up.
The owner of the voice swayed back and forth slightly as she stood on her hind legs and extended her hoofs, saying, "The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a volunteer from the audience!"
The slight crowd that had gathered around the stage milled nervously. Most of the ponies were there simply to have a laugh at Trixie's expense, after all.
The pony on the stage sighed. She had figured it would be like this. Even after her apology to Twilight Sparkle, she still wasn't taken seriously. It seemed that every show she'd done since then had ended with the audience laughing and jeering her off the stage. Straightening up, the unicorn glared at the crowd of ponies in front of the stage.
"What, is nopony brave enough to witness The Great and Powerful Trixie's feats of magic?!" She cried, nearly upsetting her pointy hat.
A grey stallion near the back of the crowd shouted back, "Maybe we would be, if you HAD any magic!" Despite the lameness of the insult, the crowd erupted in mocking laughs.
The unicorn on the stage sighed again. Tossing her mane, she walked back inside the room to the back of the stage. She pulled the levers that closed up the stage, then shifted the now-mobile stage into drive.
The crowd made way for the stage-car-contraption, not out of respect but out of an unwillingness to get squished by it as it drove out of the square. The mare inside turned the steering wheel and headed out of the city.
As the vehicle came to a rest on the outskirts of Canterlot, Trixie turned it off and stepped out. Sitting down on the grass nearby, she took off her cap and looked at it morosely.
"I've tried, Mom. I've really tried," she said, stroking her hat. She closed her eyes and let the wave of memories wash over her.
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A dark blue unicorn mare with a white mane and purple eyes, wearing a tall, pointy hat with stars on it, stepped onto the grass outside her traveling stage. Sitting down on the ground next to a small blue filly, she smiled.
"It was a good show, wasn't it, my little Trickster?" She said, turning to the filly.
"Yes Mommy, it was," the filly replied, glancing up at her.
"Did you see that crowd? They went absolutely wild for my magic?!" The mare said, spreading her hooves wide for effect.
"Yes, Momma," said the filly, leaning up against the mare.
The mare looked fondly down at the filly. Her daughter had grown to be such a beautiful, clever young mare, she thought to herself.
The filly stirred a little and looked up at her. "Mommy?," she said.
"Yes, Trixie?"
"Would daddy have liked tonight's show?"
The mare paused, before looking down at her filly with a soft tenderness in his eyes. "Yes, he did."
"What do you mean he did? He's dead, Mommy," said the filly, tears springing to her eyes.
"Oh, baby," said the mare, pressing her daughter close. "He may not be with us anymore, but he can still see us." She let go of the filly and pointed up at the sky with a hoof.
"You see the sky?," she asked.
"Yes, Mommy, of course," said the filly in a rather confused tone.
"Daddy's up there, baby. When good ponies die, then they get to go up to a beautiful place in the sky called Heaven, where everypony is always happy, and flowers are always blooming," she smiled as tears came to her eyes.
The little filly was silent for a moment before asking, "So can he see us from way up there?"
"Yes, Trixie. He sees us every day, and he marvels at his wonderful baby daughter," said the mare, stroking her daughter's head.
The filly was silent again before reaching a hoof up. "Daddy," she said in a small voice,"I miss you."
The mare said nothing, but hugged her baby tightly as a soft smile wrinkled her eyes.
***************************************
Trixie stood by the side of a hospital bed, leaning over it with tears in her eyes.
The elderly mare inside was barely recognizable, her skeletal frame poking through her dark blue fur. Tubes were connected to her forelegs and snout, as she clearly struggled to breathe. Raising her old eyes up to meet her daughter's, she cracked a weary smile.
"Trixie, honey," she said in a tired, strained voice. "I won't be here much longer."
Trixie stood up straight in surprise before she cried out, "No! You've got to stay here, Mom! You're going to get better, and...and you'll feel good again, and you're not going to go away! You've got to stay!" Panic tinged her voice.
The mare on the bed sighed sorrowfully, her smile fading. "Trixie, I don't have a choice. I'm going to go away soon, I can feel it," a fit of coughing interrupted her, before se regained her breath and continued. "I know it'll be hard on you, honey. I'm sorry. I just want you to promise your mommy one thing before she goes."
Tears welled up in Trixie's eyes. "What is it, mom? I'll do anything for you!"
"Promise to be a good sport," said the mare. "Make your mark on the world, and make your silly old mommy proud."
"Oh mom, you're not silly. You're the best mother ever!," cried Trixie, clearly sobbing now.
The mare smiled and closed her weary eyes. "Do that for me then, honey. Make your momma proud."
Trixie sniffled and wiped her nose with a hoof. Stepping forward to say goodbye, she cried out. The readings on the monitors had gone flat. Her mother's heart wasn't beating anymore.
Oblivious of the nurses that had come in, she sat down in a corner and wailed in misery as her heart broke in two.
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The day after her mother's funeral, Trixie stepped inside her mom's old stage-room. As she packed the few belongings up with tears on her eyes, she noticed a hat sitting in a corner by itself. She rushed over to it. Picking it up, she saw the stars embroidered on it. She sniffled slightly before smiling and setting it on her head.
"I'm going to do it, Mommy. I'll be just as Great and Powerful as you were. I'm going to make you proud, Mom," she whispered softly to herself. "I'm going to make you proud."
***************************************
Trixie sighed once more as she set her hat down on the grass beside her. "I tried. I really tried, Mom. I really did. I failed you, Mommy. I'm so, so sorry!" She let herself give way to sobs as she buried her face in her hooves. "I'm so, so sorry..."
