The Most Magical Unicorn

by hauntu4ever

Rating: everyone
Tags: Trixie, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5426

After leaving Ponyville the first time, Trixie becomes the apprentice of Princess Luna.

Her home destroyed and her life in ruin by the hooves of Twilight, Trixie is left with next to nothing. When a chance to turn her life around is presented by an unexpected source, she jumps at the opportunity. With the aid of her new mentor, Trixie might just be able to fulfill her thirst for revenge, and rebuild her life in the process.

A/N: This story takes place between Boast Busters and Magic Duel. However, it also takes place after Luna Eclipsed. Essentially, Boast Busters takes place somewhere in Season 2 for the purposes of this story. Find the reason why here.

Published 2013-04-08 22:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-16 16:51:36 UTC

Showmare

Trixie walked through the woods, head hung low. Not three hours ago, she had been on top of the world. Then, suddenly, everything had crashed and burned. Now, she was suddenly destitute, homeless, without anything left of her life up until now.

Blast that insufferable mare! She thought back to the events of the night, of waking to the sound of a pair of screaming colts. She had exited her traveling home in exasperation - only to find a real, live Ursa Major - or apparently an Ursa Minor! - rampaging through the town.

Of course, Trixie thought. I tell one simple, harmless lie, and it comes back and bites me in the flank! She had never seen an Ursa, Major or Minor, and she hadn’t been to Hoofington, either - at least, not yet. She figured it would be a harmless story, certain to gain quite a few bits in every town she passed - Hoofington not included, of course. She certainly hadn’t expected to have to prove it!

Just my luck for stopping in the only town in all of Equestria that happened to have an Ursa living within walking distance and two colts foalish enough to go get it!

And then . . . that mare. Twilight Sparkle. She had been so afraid to stand up and challenge Trixie during her demonstration. What did Trixie have to fear from a pony like that? Apparently everything. She had masterfully shown Trixie up, defeating the Ursa Minor without so much as breaking a sweat - and then she’d had the gall to tell Trixie that it wasn’t even an Ursa Major! The nerve!

Well, the showmare thought, I guess my career is done for. Once the story of how the Great and Powerful Trixie was bested by a simple country unicorn got out, she would be a laughingstock. Nopony would believe her stories. They wouldn’t bother to watch, much less spare a bit for her. She was on the road to starvation now, unless she found a new line of work.

Perhaps I can find a job in the show business. It certainly won’t be particularly lucrative, but at least I’ll enjoy it. Even if it does mean I can’t keep traveling. . . . She sighed, and looked up at the sparkling night sky. The pegasi had opted for a cloudless night. She almost wished it were raining.

I’ll never see the world like I wanted to. She sat down against a tree trunk, resting on its roots. I’ll find a home somewhere and never travel further than the city limits. The forest was silent around her. Nothing seemed to move, as if in perfect tranquility. There was no wind, and no animals made a sound.

I’ll never chase my dreams. She huddled up against the tree. I’ll never wow a crowd again. The hard wood offered little comfort, but she took what she could from it. I’ll never. . . .

I’ll never. . . .

She wished it was raining.

Maybe it would hide the tears.

She attempted to pull her cape around herself for warmth, before she remembered that her cape was still in her crushed wagon. It only made her sob even harder.

A memory returned to her.

She was six years old, sitting on her family’s front porch. In front of her was a toy magic kit. Nothing special, but fun to play with. She was levitating the wand, and using it to tap on a small black box.

“Abracadabra!”

Nothing appeared to happen. But that was fine, because she knew that when she opened it up, the comb inside would be changed into a necklace. Smiling, she lifted the box up and took off the lid.

Inside, there was a silver comb.

She frowned. Why wasn’t it working? It had worked when her dad had showed it to her. The necklace was so pretty, too!

“Still playing with it, eh?”

She turned around to find her dad walking through the open doorway to their house. He was smiling, and had a box in his magic’s grip.

She nodded, then held it up to him. “But it won’t turn into a necklace like you showed me! I think it’s broken.”

Her dad chuckled. “No, don’t worry, it’s not broken. Here, put the lid back on and I’ll show you.” She did so, then stepped back as he lifted up the wand and tapped the box with it. “Abracadabra!” He nodded once, satisfied, then told Trixie to open the box.

Inside, there was a silver necklace.

Trixie gasped. “How did you do that?!”

Her father chuckled again. “There’s a trick to it. You have to cast another spell while you’re tapping it. That spell will open a little trapdoor-” he cast the spell as he was talking, opening the trapdoor to reveal the comb hidden beneath “-and switch the two items.”

Trixie grinned widely. “That’s so cool!”

“I’m glad you think so,” he replied. “I did, too, at your age. Now, here. I have a present for you.” With that, he levitated the box over to her.

Trixie frowned and opened up the present. Inside was a purple, star-studded cape and a matching her. She pulled them out with an excited squee and hastily threw them over herself. “Wow! Thanks, dad!”

He laughed, watching her run across the porch, cape flying behind her. “I thought you’d like to have the costume I wore as a showstallion in my youth.”

That stopped her. She stared at her father in awe. “You were a showstallion?”

He nodded. “Yep. Had the time of my life traveling across Equestria, performing for the villages I passed.”

“Wow,” Trixie breathed. “What was it like? Tell me a story!”

He smiled. “How about we have lunch first? Your mother just got finished making us sandwiches. I’ll tell you all about my adventures afterwards.”

Trixie nodded eagerly. “Okay!” She bounded into the house and towards the kitchen, followed by her chuckling father.

Trixie’s tears slowed, then stopped. She sat there on the tree for a moment, drinking in the memory, the echoing sound of her father’s voice, a sound she hadn’t heard in years. When she finally lifted her head up, her red-rimmed eyes were filled with determination. I may have lost everything, she thought, but I’m not losing those!

And with that, she set off down the path back to Ponyville.

The crescent moon was just enough light for Trixie to see by as she snuck through the now-empty streets of Ponyville. Most of the town had returned to their beds now that the night’s excitement was over. As such, nopony saw Trixie as she hurried to the place where her home had been crushed. Fortunately, it was still there. It was probably too late at night to bother with cleaning it up now. All the better for her.

Quickly, she got to work, levitating aside crushed wooden boards, personal belongings, and show props alike. It didn’t take long for her to sort out the items from the rubble, although it was certainly taxing on her heart. Most everything was destroyed, ripped apart by the crushed wagon. Most of her books were flattened, their spines bent. Her bed had four or five separate planks embedded in it, and it looked like a few of her fireworks had exploded, taking with them her curtains, blanket, saddlebags and most of her pots and pans. Fortunately, Trixie was adept at burying emotions due to years of performing for crowds. She could mourn for her worldly possessions later. Right now, she needed to get her hat and cape. That was all that mattered.

Her search quickly turned desperate when she realized that they weren’t even in the pile. Frantic, she searched closer, double-checking under everything she had already moved. Finally, she was certain. Somepony had taken them.

Years of performances didn’t prepare her for losing her most prized possessions. She sat down in the middle of the rubble, tears filling her eyes. How? she thought. Who could have taken them? Who would have taken them?

Of course, there was at least one obvious answer. Twilight, the pony who had defeated her. It seemed like the kind of thing she would do, though Trixie didn’t have a clue what her endgame was. It didn’t matter, though. She would get them back, powerful unicorn or no!

With that thought, Trixie galloped off to find Twilight and take back her possessions.

Of course, that was easier said than done - Trixie had never bothered to find out where Twilight lived. She couldn’t ask for directions, either - she doubted that the ponies of this town would be exactly happy to see her. So, lost, she took to wandering the streets of Ponyville, looking for any clue that would point towards where Twilight lived.

Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless. Trixie found no clues to indicate where Twilight lived. She could be in any of these houses and I’d never know, she thought.

As her frustration grew, so too did her anger. Specifically, her anger at the mare who had caused this in the first place.

Curse that Twilight! she thought as she rounded a house that looked like it had just come out of the oven. What right does she have to destroy all the fruits of my life’s work? All my stage props, all my fireworks . . . gone! And now this! Does she even realize how important that hat and cape is? How much of my show is dependent on just those? How much. . . . Realizing that she was on the verge of tears again, Trixie quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind, replacing them with her anger towards Twilight. When I find that mare, she’s going to pay!

Righteous fury, however, was not a location spell, and Trixie did not know such a spell anyways. She was seriously considering just going into a house and demanding aid, no matter what the townsponies thought, when she approached a giant oak tree growing in the middle of the town. Except it wasn’t an oak tree, she realized after a second glance. It had a door and windows, and there was a light on in the main room. Even in Trixie’s despairing frame of mind, a part of her had to appreciate the ingenuity of turning an old oak tree into a building.

There was a sign out in front. Ponyville Library, it read beneath a picture of a book. Trixie frowned at the building. Most libraries closed in the evening. What was this one doing with a light on in the middle of the night?

Well, if I have to ask for directions, a public building is probably better than a private one. With a sigh, she walked up to the door and knocked.

“Who could that be?” a familiar mare’s voice came from the other side. Trixie gasped, then readied her horn.

The door opened. “Hello-” was all Twilight got out before Trixie sent a wave of magic straight at her, knocking her back into the library. Trixie quickly jumped after her, kicking the door shut.

Once inside, Trixie immediately grabbed Twilight’s limbs and muzzle with telekinesis. “You!” she hissed into the trapped mare’s surprised face. “This is all your fault. You destroyed Trixie’s reputation, her home, her-her life, all in a single night. You embarassed and disgraced Trixie in front of a crowd, and you will get no forgiveness for what you did!”

Twilight frowned, recovering from her shock. Her horn began to glow, and Trixie’s eyes widened as she first probed, then removed the blue glow around her mouth with ease. “My fault?” she asked once she could speak again. She then set to work on the telekinesis holding each of her legs, again removing it without a problem. “What I did? Trixie, what exactly do you think happened tonight?”

Well, if magic wasn’t going to work, then at least Trixie could use her hooves. She knocked Twilight back over, holding her down with a front hoof. “Trixie knows exactly what happened tonight! You got those two imbeciles to go find an Ursa Major so that you could show me up in front of the entire town! Then you humiliated Trixie even more by revealing that it wasn’t even an Ursa Major in the first place! You’ve ruined Trixie’s reputation for years to come!”

Twilight glared at her. “I did not!” Using her magic, she lifted Trixie off of her, eliciting a “hey!” from the now floating mare. She stood up, then turned to Trixie. “I would never lure an Ursa Minor into Ponyville!” Trixie scoffed, but Twilight continued right on: “and I wasn’t trying to show you up, I was trying to save the town!”

“Yeah, and make yourself look good in the process! Face it: you just wanted to ruin the life of a helpless showmare!” Trixie tried to cast another wave of magic at Twilight, but the other mare easily stopped her.

“That’s not true at all!” Twilight sighed and took a breath. “Look, Trixie, I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry your house got crushed, and I’m sorry your life got ruined. You have to understand I didn’t want any of that to happen.”

Trixie blinked. She had not expected an apology, of all things. She shook her head; it didn’t make any sense. “How can you expect me to believe that?!”

Twilight frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak, she caught the look in Trixie’s eyes. Understanding passed across her features, and she stepped back, setting Trixie down.

Trixie smirked jubilantly as her hooves hit the ground. “That’s right! You cannot possibly hope to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie! Now, watch in awe as-” she cut off as her hat and cape floated over to her, held in a purple telekinetic grip. “My. . . .”

“Here,” Twilight said. “This is what you wanted, right? I’m sorry I took them. You just have so many powerful enchantments on them, and I wanted to see what they were. Still, no excuse for taking another pony’s possessions. I should have at least looked for you before I took them and examined them on my own. But you had run off so quickly. I had no idea if you even wanted them anymore, and-” Seeming to realize she had started babbling, Twilight cut off suddenly, then finished with a regretful “sorry. . . .”

While Twilight spoke, Trixie simply stared at her hat and cape. They were only slightly damaged; her protection enchantments had done their job well. Her mind, instead, focused on something else. Is it really this simple? I walk in and she just gives them back? Why? When Twilight finally trailed off, Trixie looked up from her clothes. Catching her eye, she voiced her last question aloud. “Why?”

“Well, I - huh?”

“Why are you giving these back?” Trixie hissed. “What purpose does this serve? What do you gain from it?”

Twilight’s ears flattened back against her skull. “Well, I-I was hoping you would forgive me, and we could be friends. . . .”

“Friends? Friends?! Listen to me, you foal. You summoned an Ursa Minor and used it to destroy Trixie’s home and stage.” She overrode Twilight’s objections with a raised hoof. “Trixie doesn’t want to hear it! Even if you didn’t mean to, which she doesn’t believe for a second, you still had your hoof in it. I’m sure of it! Then you made sure Trixie would never perform again! You know how quickly rumors spread. Trixie won’t even make it to the next town over before they are spread across all of Equestria! And you want to be friends with her?!”

“Twilight, who is that?” came a bleary voice from somewhere upstairs. Abruptly Trixie realized she had been shouting. She looked at Twilight, on whose face was a strange mix of guilt and anger. Trixie gave her one last glare before snatching her hat and cape from Twilight’s magical grip and putting them on. In a low voice, she said, “you haven’t seen the last of the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Then, she turned and bolted out of the door and back into the night.

Author's Note

Here we go! Special thanks to Key Strix for helping me make this readable!

In Dreams

Trixie stormed out of the library and back into the dark expanse of Ponyville, forgetting even to be quiet in her anger. She trotted briskly down the main road out of town, and it was only by luck and the lateness of the hour that nopony stopped her.

"Who does she think she is?" she muttered angrily as she passed the first houses. "Does she truly think we could be friends now? After everything that she did to me?" Trixie glared at the idea. She must be crazy!

She stopped at the ruins of her wagon, now looking somewhat neater from her original search. Briefly, she wondered if there was something else she could save from the wreckage, some other small memento of her life up until now. But there was nothing. All she had left was the hat and cape she was wearing.

This is all her fault!

Furious, she turned away from her destroyed home and continued down the road without a plan, powered only by her desire to be out of Ponyville.

I don't know what your end game is, Twilight, or why you chose me to do this to, but I swear, I will make you pay!

A young Trixie stood in the back of the stage, trying - rather unsuccessfully - to stop shaking. She knew that on the other side of the curtains lay a veritable army of fillies and colts waiting to see her performance. Practically the whole school was there! Trixie wasn't ready. She couldn't be ready. Something would go wrong out there, she just knew it. Her cards would slip from her magical grip, or her ropes would break, or something! She would be the laughingstock of the school!

A face slid past her vision, a lavender unicorn mare laughing at her plight. The voice echoed against the walls, doubling, tripling, until Trixie was cowering beneath a deafening roar of laughter.

Twilight herself seemed to materialize in front of her. Her face seemed apologetic, but there was something off about it that disturbed Trixie. "I'm sorry, Trixie," she said. "I didn't mean for this to happen. Here, take this. Maybe we can be friends?" She held up Trixie's cape, but even as Trixie reached for it, it fell apart, the seams literally coming apart before her eyes. "Just kidding!" Twilight laughed, her face twisting into a sickening grin. "Who needs a friend like you? You're weak! You probably couldn't light a candle with your magical power! Who needs a friend like that?"

Trixie cowered under the other mare's laughing grin. The walls seemed to press in on her as the laughter grew to an unbearable pitch. Just as tears began to fall from her eyes, a voice called out, cutting easily through the cacophony. "Twilight Sparkle?"

The laughter faded away to a dull roar as Twilight looked up towards the speaker. Trixie turned too, and gasped at what she saw.

Princess Luna stood in the back doorway, ethereal blue mane waving in the wind. The shimmering of that mane seemed to make everything else dull by comparison, as if it was the only thing that was real. Looking at it, Trixie realized suddenly that it was the only thing that was real. This is a dream, she thought in wonder. Princess Luna is visiting my dreams!

Emboldened by that realization, Trixie stood up. Facing Twilight, she shouted, "leave Trixie alone!", and fired a burst of magic from her horn. The blast tore through the visage of Twilight, vaporizing it instantly. What remained of the laughter faded away with it, along with the surroundings, leaving Trixie standing in a strange swirling black fog, once again her own age. Confused, she looked around at it. The fog seemed to swirl at the edges of her vision, as if trying to overtake her sight. Throughout it flowed various, seemingly random images. Some tried to reach out to her, while some seemed to hide themselves from her vision. She frowned, trying to look past the fog and other images, but like a phrase at the tip of her tongue, they always seemed just out of reach.

“It is the natural state of dreams.”

With a cry of surprise, Trixie turned back to Luna to find the Princess looking at her with an unreadable expression. “Princess Luna!” She bowed hastily.

Luna gestured for the unicorn to rise as she continued. “The images you see are reflections of your thoughts, hopes, and dreams. They are only as visible to you as you are aware of them.” She paused, looking directly into Trixie’s eyes. "You have a talent in this world."

Trixie couldn’t decide whether to smile or find somewhere to hide from that penetrating gaze. She ended up somewhere in between, turning her gaze away from the Princess as she spoke. "Thank you, Princess."

"Pray tell, what is your name?"

Trixie grinned, unable to pass up the opportunity to show off. Lighting her horn, she conjured illusionary fireworks behind her as she stood on her hind legs and struck a pose. "The Great and Powerful Trixie, at your service!"

Luna gave a small smile in response. To Trixie it almost seemed . . . relieved? In any case, it was hardly amazed, which was rather disappointing. She dropped back to all fours as the Princess stepped forward, beginning to circle Trixie. "I see. And your profession, it would appear, is performer?"

Trixie nodded, watching Luna as best she could without turning herself. "Yes, Your Majesty. Trixie is a magician and illusionist." Summoning up her courage, she added, "the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria!" At this, Luna raised an eyebrow, causing Trixie to shrink back down. "Well, not really. But I want to be! If it wasn't for that Twilight. . . ."

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle," Luna mused. "The pony who was in this dream with you."

"You know her?"

"Do I know of the wielder of the Element of Magic, my sister's personal protege?" Luna chuckled. "It would be . . . surprising if I didn't. Pray tell, what is your disagreement with Twilight Sparkle?"

Trixie gulped. Wielder of the Element of Magic? Princess Celestia's personal protégé? Suddenly her troubles took on a completely different light. No wonder she was able to defeat that Ursa! She must have the raw power of an alicorn! A thought occurred to her. Didn't the wielders of the Elements of Harmony recently defeat the Mare in the Moon? And wasn't that. . . . She looked back at Princess Luna, still waiting patiently for an answer, and gulped again.

"Er, well. . . . That is, I-"

"Worry not, my little pony," Luna said benevolently. "Thine - your disagreements are your own. I will not judge you for them." She smiled calmly.

"Well. . . ," Trixie began, "if you really want to know, she was the mastermind of a plot to defame Trixie and destroy her home and livelihood. A plot which, unfortunately, succeeded."

Luna frowned. "That does not sound anything like the Twilight Sparkle we know!"

"Well, it happened," Trixie grumbled. "Trixie swears it. And she also swears that she will get revenge on that mare, Element of Magic or no!" She looked back up at Luna. "So that's why Trixie will become the most magical unicorn in Equestria. To defeat Twilight Sparkle in a magic duel!"

With a frown, the Princess sat down in front of Trixie and closed her eyes, her horn glowing. Trixie blinked; that wasn't the reaction she had been expecting at all. She became even more confused as the seconds passed by without Luna so much as twitching. She sat there for so long that were it not for the still-waving mane and glowing horn, Trixie might have worried that the Princess had been frozen solid.

With the Princess immobile in full view of her, Trixie couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing. Hesitantly, she lit up her own horn, reaching out with her magic to see if she could feel Luna’s. She had just begun to grasp a strange power, however, when suddenly Luna spoke. “Be patient, Trixie. I am just considering your story. I will return in a moment.”

“Alright . . .” Trixie sighed, her horn losing its glow. “But that doesn’t explain why your horn is glowing.” She thought she saw the ghost of a smile on the Princess’s face, but no answer came. With a huff, Trixie sat down to wait for the Princess’s “return”, whatever that meant.

In the meantime, her thoughts returned to her enemy. Twilight Sparkle, she thought, rolling the newly learned last name over in her mind. Student of Princess Celestia, wielder of the Element of Magic. It makes sense. No normal unicorn could defeat an Ursa so easily. She’s had training from an alicorn, and she’s got the power of the Elements on her side. She frowned. That’ll certainly make defeating her hard. But I will defeat her! No unicorn with a fancy title or education is going to stop the Great and Powerful Trixie from being great and powerful!

Something moved in the corner of her vision. Turning her head sharply, Trixie found a hazy image of herself standing triumphant over Twilight Sparkle. She smirked even as it faded into the fog again, replaced almost instantaneously by other images.

A thought occurred to Trixie. She looked over to where Luna was standing. The Princess was still sitting in the exact same position, her eyes still closed and her horn still glowing. What is she doing? Pushing the Princess’s actions - or lack thereof - out of her mind, Trixie studied the fog around the alicorn’s form. If my thoughts are being projected, then hers should be, too. However, nothing appeared. The fog around Luna was strangely blank, as if. . . . Is she blocking her thoughts from appearing? Is that even possible? Trixie considered that for a moment before chuckling softly. If it is, Luna is the pony to be able to do it. Shaking her head, Trixie returned to examining the dreamscape, quickly becoming immersed in studying her own innermost thoughts.

"We have a proposition for thee."

Trixie jumped, turning back to Luna to find her examining the stage passively as it disappeared. Once it was gone, she continued. "We can tell that thou art a skilled magician, and thou hast a gift in the art of dreams. In contrast, thou art relatively untrained in most magics. You have much to learn. As such, we would extend an invitation to thee, to join us in Canterlot as our pupil for a time. We would be interested in teaching you some small part of what we know, as well as hearing your story in more detail."

Trixie blinked, caught off guard by both the offer and the manner in which it was given. Why is she referring to herself as 'we'? Does she mean both her and Princess Celestia? Then the full implications of Luna's words struck her. Trixie's eyes widened as she realized what exactly the Princess was offering. With a gasp, she stuttered out a weak, "I-I-" clearing her throat, she tried again. "That is to say, Trixie doesn't know what to say. This is an honor!"

Luna gave her a small smile. "Take some time to think it over. We will await thee for five days." With that, she began to fade from Trixie's dream. "Farewell, Great and Powerful Trixie. We will be waiting."

Trixie opened her eyes to find a bed of grass underneath her, light by the half-light of a cloudy dawn. She groaned as she rolled off a root that, from what she was feeling, had been digging into her side all night. Shakily, she got to her hooves. That's what I get for sleeping on the ground. What was I thinking? What happened to my. . . .

Oh. She groaned as memory returned to her. She had run from Ponyville after getting her outfit from Twilight, and headed into Whitetail Woods to find a place to spend the night. She had then spent a good half hour wandering around until exhaustion finally overtook her and she had just picked a tree and fallen asleep under it.

What a way to wake up, Trixie thought, arching her back in an attempt to work some of the kinks out of it. Taking a look around, she found that she was in a completely nondescript section of Whitetail Woods. There were no landmarks in sight. It was just trees in every direction. She sighed. I’m probably lucky I can even tell where the sun is.

She picked up her hat from where it was lying on the ground. She had decided to sleep on it so that it couldn’t be blown away by the wind, or stolen by a curious animal. Her cape she had worn as a blanket. These are the only things left of my life. Trixie thought again back to the moment when she had lost everything, when that Ursa had stepped on her home, when Twilight had defeated it with a complex - and probably unnecessary - series of spells.

For a moment, she hoped it had all been a terrible dream. Unfortunately, the fact that she was sleeping on the ground went quite a ways towards disproving that theory. And besides, she remembered her dream from last night.

Ah, right. Her dream. Trixie rubbed her temples with one hoof, wondering if it had been real. Had she truly been visited by Princess Luna in her dreams, or was it just a projection of her subconsciousness? And if she had, had she really invited Trixie to be trained by not one, but both ruling Princesses of Equestria?

It couldn't have been real. There was no way. What could possibly cause the rulers of all Equestria to take an interest in Trixie, of all ponies? Luna had said that she had "a gift in the art of dreams". Trixie didn't disagree; the way she had defeated the Twilight in her dream had been pretty cool, not to mention all the other stuff. But there had to be plenty of other ponies who could use dream magic. Why her specifically?

She sighed. Does it really matter? She was homeless, penniless, and essentially futureless. Other than this one chance, she had nowhere to go. Might as well take the chance. Even if it's not true, Canterlot can't be that bad of a place to start over.

But if it is true, then I’ll be well on my way to beating Twilight Sparkle.

She looked again at her hat. It was a gift from her father, part of her most prized gift. It had been with her since before it even fit her. It had helped her pull off innumerable tricks, both on stage and off. She smiled. At least if I had to pick two things from my life to keep, it would be these two. They carry more memories than all my other things combined.

Besides, she had another life to look forward to now. Who knew what it would bring? Trixie grinned as thoughts of riches filled her head. I’ll be able to get a new wagon! And new stage props, and new everything! Just a few months from now, The Great and Powerful Trixie will be back and better than ever!

A drop of water landed on her head. Trixie looked up at the clouds above, which were a solid grey, and groaned. Well, that puts certainly puts a damper on things. Unable to stop a grin at the pun, she swiftly put on her hat. Its enchantments would protect her for a while at least. Then she turned to find the rising sun, so as to get her bearings.

Canterlot is north of here, so I should be heading . . . that way. A spring in her step, Trixie took her first steps towards a new life.

Author's Note

Thanks to Key Strix for the editing!