For many years, Trixie has known her flaws and fears, her struggles to confront them, and her failures to overcome them. For years, she has successfully kept it all hidden beneath the hat and cloak that was her Great and Powerful persona. Eventually, the mask she wore began to fuse, transforming her from a joyful showmare who sought to spread joy and wonderment to a haughty braggart, a seeker of fame and glory who would gladly shoot down anyone who got in her way. But now, as she hides in the alleys of Ponyville, disgraced by the Alicorn Amulet debacle, the mask is chipping, and Trixie can see now who she is and what she has become. Her first thought, her only thought, is to run. Run from the ponies that would be hunting her, from the past that helped shape her. But when she is confronted with the ponies that she'd victimized the worst, she finds herself forced to face her fears one last time. Both past, and present.

An A/U-ish ending to Magic Duel; also, a sort of prequel/segue to a later story that I am planning.